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It was roughly seven in the evening when Moonbyul made her way out of her bedroom and joined her family at the dinner table. Despite her parent's hectic work schedule, they always seemed to find the time to stop by for dinner every once in a while. Oh yeah, side note - Moonbyul didn't live with her parents. She and her sister, had been living together for the past five months or so and so far... let's just say that it's definitely put some sort of 'liveliness' in her boring day to day life so to speak and we'll leave it at that. 

Her parents had always been a strict bunch especially towards her older sister. Yejin had always been unpredictable growing up, her grades were average but good enough to get into unversity though that didn't really last as she ended up dropping out after just three months, much to their parents' disappointment. She had yet to figure out what she wanted to do with her life and their mother's constant badgering of the topic managed to drive her over the edge one day, so she moved out into a spacious condo in the city (Moonbyul suspected their father helped out with the financial stuff because there was no way in hell her sister could afford a place like this with her measly income). Their mother disapproved of the idea at first but she has since voiced any of her objections to the matter, after realising how her blood pressure levels had returned to normal due to her daughter moving out.

Moonbyul had moved in with Yejin after learning her parents got a job offer in another city and the rest was history. She got along with her sister fairly well but lately it's been a struggle and at times she found herself wondering if she were the eldest child. She loved her sister dearly but the way Yejin had been acting in regards to future plans made her frustrated. Her sister had always been creative but restless when it came to her various career paths. Her latest job venture was a testament to that - fortune telling. As if that would last long, Moonbyul could already sense that her sister was growing bored of it and had it not been her loyal client over the past two years, she had no doubt Yejin would have given it up ages ago. Just thinking of that poor person made Moonbyul pitiful, who could be dumb enough to fall for that crap? Despite her reservations for her sister's job, Moonbyul had to admit that Yejin had a way with her words, she was charismatic - a trait she oh so longed to have... maybe it would have made talking to Irene much easier.. but anyway whatever crap Yejin was feeding her client seemed to work since she was earning money. 

"I wish your sister were here to join us." Her mother said as she slowly cut into her piece of chicken. It had been a while since she saw her eldest daughter and though they always seemed to argue whenever they were in close proximity with each other, she missed her dearly. 

"I know but she told me she had to meet up with her client."

Her mother wrinkled her nose in distaste at the allusion of her daughter's job. "Is she still doing that?" She sighed deeply, "When will she realise that it's a waste of time? I wish she were more like you." 

Moonbyul shifted uncomfortably in her seat and refused to meet her mother's gaze. She had always found herself in the crossfire of her mother and Yejin's arguments and although her sister would never admit it, Moonbyul could sense that it had somewhat driven a wedge in her relationship with Yejin over the years. 

As if sensing his daughter's apprehensiveness, her father swiftly changed the topic of conversation. 

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Moonbyul could feel her shoulders relax when she heard the familar rustling of her sister coming through the front door. She had lost track of the time as she waited, her mind had drfited to her current worries concerning a certain brown-eyed brunette. She usually wasn't one to overthink things but right now she felt like she could give Wheein a run for her money in that she hadn't stopped thinking about the sticky situation she had put herself in ever since she had had that talk with Mr. Barnes. What the hell was she thinking? Moonbyul knew she didn't have the patience to tutor someone which was why she had refused when her former teacher had asked. 

"Why are you brooding?"

Moonbyul jumped slightly when she saw her sister in front of her. She answered her question with a question of her own, "Where have you been?" She frowned as she caught a whiff of the stench of alcohol that Yejin seemed to carry. "Have you been drinking?" 

Yejin rolled her eyes as she slumped down beside her, "Yes I have been drinking, so what?"

"You do realise, Mom and Dad were here earlier? You could've at least come home and said hi."

"And what? Have Mom make digs and undermine me? As much as I enjoy that I much prefer drinking."

Letting out a frustrated groan, Moonbyul stood and faced her, "What is wrong with you?"

Yejin grumbled a spew of incoherent curse words before sitting up properly on the sofa. Moonbyul scowled as she watched Yejin prop her feet up on the coffee table, not even giving a second glance to the magazines that she had knocked over in the process. She leaned back into the sofa, and watched Moonbyul with a dazed smile, "Well if you must know, sis. I lost my client today."

"Your only client." Moonbyul corrected her.

Yejin dismissed her comment, "I just don't understand." She said more so to herself.

"Maybe they finally came to their senses and realised you were a fraud." Moonbyul said with a shrug.

"Hey!" Furious, Yejin kicked her feet off the table and stood, pointing her finger at her sister accusingly,  "I work my off every day. I don't see you do anything." 

"I go to school because I am a student." Moonbyul made sure to emphasise the last word as slowly as possible, that even a person as slow as her sister could comprehend. 

"You know what?" Yejin walked around the younger girl and grabbed her jacket off the floor, "I don't need this right now." 

The blonde watched as her sister impatiently put on her shoes. Seeing that it was impossible to do without having to bend down, Yejin discarded them altogether and opted for the indoor sandals instead and slammed the front door behind her. After letting out an irritated scream, Moonbyul collapsed onto the sofa face first into the first cushion in sight and buried her face into it. Slowly but surely her mind wandered back to Yongsun, just like it had done for the past five hours.

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Yejin muttered a string of profanities as she searched her pockets for any spare change that she had somehow forgotten about. In her anger, she had made the mistake of not putting on proper shoes (she glared down at her cold feet as she wriggled her toes) and as well as not taking her purse out of her handbag. She scoffed - as if she even had money in that purse to begin with. Maybe her sister was right.. and god forbid, dare she say her mother was definitely right about her. She kicked an empty can across the street as she made her way to the nearest convenience store down the street. What the hell was she going to do now? She was essentially unemployed and right now she had no clue, and no back up plan whatsoever. Whatever, all she had to worry about right now was what type of alcohol she wanted. 'Or more like what alcohol I can afford' she thought bitterly to herself. 

"Welcome." 

She gave a brief nod towards the cashier before making a beeline straight to the alcohol section at the back of the store. To her annoyance, a tall and burly man was blocking the entire fridge. He stood still, his brows knitted in concentration as he his unruly beard as if contemplating whether or not he should buy the beer. In the end, he didn't and walked away without even an apology for making her wait that long. In fact.. he didn't even acknowledge her presence. She tsked at him but quickly reminded herself of her insatiable thirst for some beer. Her eyes scanned the shelves of the fridge hoping to God that there was a cheap, cold can of beer she could afford. 

To her horror, a large, muscular arm reached out from behind her and grabbed the can of beer that she had her eye on. Yejin was conflicted - she didn't know whether to be angry at the fact that it was the last can of beer of that particular brand or the fact that there was a complete stranger behind her, who had most likely invaded her personal space. She quickly spun around, her eyes never leaving the can of beer, she watched as the man gave the beer an inspection (for what? She had no clue) before making his way towards the cashier.

"Hey!"

He stopped and gave her a look, "Sorry?" He asked, confused as to why she was yelling at him.

"Yeah you should be." She walked over to him, though her confidence was slowly fading once she realised how tall the guy actually was. "That's mine." She said, pointing at the can, trying her hardest to seem like she wasn't ting herself right now (metaphorically, of course). 

His eyes went from the beer in his hands then back to the woman, "I believe this is mine, considering I'm the one holding it right now." 

"I was going to take it before you grabbed it from behind me!" She argued.

"Well, then." He smirked, "I guess you were too slow."

Yejin could feel herself losing her patience. Today was definitely not her day. First -  Yongsun fired her for "irreconcilable differences" (she felt like the girl was divorcing her by the way the brunette explained herself) , insisting that neither of them were at fault for her terrible math grade. "We both played a part in the downfall of my grades." The naive girl had said whilst putting her hand on Yejin's shoulder, "I put too much trust in you and in the end I relied on you too much." Before Yejin could voice her objections to that statement, Yongsun put her index finger on the older girl's lips, silencing her, "Shush, don't make this harder than it already is." She said tearfully. With a hug and a smile, the girl left a dumbfounded Yejin in the restaurant (shortly after, Yejin realised Yongsun had left her with the bill as well). Second - her mother (add in that little fight she had with Moonbyul because of her) No further explanation was needed for that. And now this. She glared at the man, "Listen." She said through gritted teeth, "I need that more than you do. I've had a ty day."

"You wanna bet?" He crossed his arms, "It can't be as ty as mine."

"Excuse me." 

The two of them turn at the sound of a new voice entering their conversation. The cashier stared at them, irritated. All he wanted was for his shift to be nice and peaceful but the bickering from the two of them was slowly starting to ruin his quiet night. "Ma'am, you do realise there's a store further down the street that probably has that brand of beer?" 

Yejin gaped at him, "Ma'am? D-did you just call me 'ma'am'?" 

The cashier flinched at her wide eyes that refused to blink. He felt like she was staring deep into his soul. "Umm.."

"It's 'Miss'!" She said.

With a roll of his eyes, the beer thief nudged her aside as he placed the beer on the counter. "How much?"

The cashier scanned the item, "$4.50"

The man dug deep into his jean pocket and pulled out various items that ranged from sweet wrappers to used bus tickets. "I only have $4." 

"Well, sir, it's $4.50"

"I'm aware of that." He snapped.

Yejin slid over with a smirk on her face, "Well. Well. Well. Look how the tables have turned." She shoved him aside and nodded at the beer, "I'll buy it." 

"$4.50 please."

As she searched her pockets for her money, it suddenly dawned on her that she too didn't have enough to buy the beer. Turning her jacket pockets inside out, she heard a clang noise as the 50 cent coin made contact with the floor. She crouched down to pick up the coin whilst simultaneously avoiding both male gazes in embarassment. After a few moments of reflecting, she straightend herself up and cleared . "Hey you," She peered over her shoulder at the jerk, "I have the fifty if you wanna split the beer?" 

"That's hardly fair." He protested.

"Do you want it or not?" The cashier asked, impatiently.

With a sigh, the man slammed his $4 onto the counter, making both flinch. 

"Thank you, enjoy." The cashier says with a forced smile, "Please don't come again." He whispered the last part under his breath.

"I'm William by the way," He said as the both of them grab a seat at one of the tables outside the convenience store, "William Barnes." 

"Yejin." She replied, though her attention was strictly on the can of beer in front of her. 

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Moonbyul had a feeling of turmoil in the pit of her stomach. A huge part of her wish that she could fast forward time and skip the next hour or so. Goddamnit. This was a bad idea. She glanced down at her notes in her hands and squinted at her writing. Holy . She never noticed how messy her handwriting was. Great. Just great. Now she had something new to worry about. 'Pull youself together, Moonbyul.' She thought to herself, 'What's the worst that can happen?'

With that, she entered the empty classroom.

She was met with the look of confusion from Yongsun, who had clearly been anxious before her arrival. 

"What're you doing here?" Yongsun asked, with a tilt of her head

"I'm here to tutor you."

The girl's brows shot up in surprise, "Oh? But I thought Eric was my tutor."

Moonbyul frowned, she was sure Mr. B would've told Yongsun. But then again he did seem pretty out of it earlier. More so than usual, that is. "Well there's been a change of plans. Sorry to disappoint." She replied as she sat down beside her, "If you're not happy about it, I can switch with Eric if you want."

"No." Yongsun quickly placed her hand on the blonde's forearm, "I'm glad it's you."

Moonbyul could feel her face flush ever so slightly at how sincere the brunette sounded. She cleared , "So I thought we could go over your test and see what you have trouble with."

Yongsun nodded, "Okay, yeah sounds good." She reached down into her bag and pulled out the test and placed it in front of Moonbyul. She sat diligently with a smile on her face as the latter skimmed over her test.

"How the hell did you get 53 in this question?" 

"Oh. I don't know." She shrugged, "I guessed?"

Moonbyul felt her shoulders sag, this was going to be a long session.

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The sky was slowly turning to a crisp orange when the two girls made their way through the school parking lot. The tutoring session was tiresome and draining but on the bright side, Moonbyul only got angry once or twice at Yongsun's silly mistakes in her calculations. Even if Yongsun didn't learn anything from that session, the fact that Moonbyul was able to keep herself level headed was an achievement all on its own. Besides, it was only the first session. She had plenty of time to help the girl boost up her grades. 

"So how many others are you tutoring?" 

Moonbyul looked at her, unsure what to say. She brought her hand up to the side of her neck and scratched lightly - a habit of hers when she felt awkward. "Just you." She replied quietly.

"Oh?"

Moonbyul internally groaned, should she tell her? Ah it. "I saw how uncomfortable Eric made you." 

Yongsun said nothing to this and kept on staring ahead rather than at her, which prompted Moonbyul to continue, "It's not a big deal or anything. Think of it as an apology."

This seemed to grab her attention, "Apology?"

"Yeah for calling you delusional....and an idiot."

"Seems like an awful lot for an apology." She stated.

"Look. I'm just trying to be a good person. If you don't want me as a tutor then that's fine. I won't take it personally. But honestly? I'm the best chance you have for getting good marks in your tests."

"Well aren't you modest."

This time it was Moonbyul who remained silent.

"I meant what I said." Yongsun looked at her for a brief moment, "I'm glad it's you."

Crap. She could feel her cheeks tinge with warmth, what the hell was wrong with this girl? How can she go round saying stuff like that? 

The brunette punched the taller girl lightly on the arm, "I mean, you're top of the class! Of course I'm thrilled you're tutoring me. I'll have good marks in no time." She said as she stopped walking and gave her a bright smile, "That's my bus stop over there." She pointed at the bus stop across the road. 

"Oh you take that bus as well?" Moonbyul asked in surprise, "I do too. How come I've never seen you on it?"

"Hyejin usually drives me to and from school."

"Oh."

"Are you getting the bus too?" 

She shook her head, "My sister is picking me up."

As if on cue, the familiar looking bus pulled up beside the stop. A stream of people made their way off the bus while others waited patiently to get on.

"Well I guess I better go. See you tomorrow." 

Moonbyul watched as the bus drove off and when it disappeared from her line of sight, she made her way back across the car park to wait for Yejin. Knowing her sister, it was going to take a while. As she walked, she found herself deep in her thoughts again. Not paying attention to where she was going she stepped in front of a red BMW as it was pulling out of it's parking space. She froze and then suddenly found herself on the ground.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" 

Moonbyul could feel her breath hitch at the back of . She wondered if she had died and gone to heaven. That could be the only reason as to why Irene was crouching down beside her, holding her up. She could feel her long hair tickle her face and she smiled crookedly at her.

"I'm--I'm fine." 

"Are you sure? You came out of nowhere and I swear I didn't mean to hit you."

"You didn't hit me." She reassured her, "I'm fine. No worries." She stood and dusted herself off.

Irene did the same. A moment of silence took over, both girls not knowing what to say or do in this situation. Irene stared awkwardly at the girl then to her car. Was it bad to just leave if she knew that the girl was uninjured? No...that seemed rude.

"You're Moonbyul, right? We have biology together."

Holy ing . She knows my name. Stay calm, Moonbyul. Be cool.

"And you're Irene." She cringed at how awkward that sounded, "I mean.. yes I'm Moonbyul. And yeah we have math and biology together."

Irene smiled as if realising something mind blowing, "Ah that's it. I was asking myself what other classes we have together. I felt too rude to ask." She said shyly.

Moonbyul shuffled her feet awkwardly, she could feel herself blushing just because of the fact that Irene was smiling. And that smile was directed at her. That thought alone was causing her hearbeat to accelerate quite drastically.

"Um, I'm about to head home. D'ya want a lift?" Irene asked.

Say yes. Say yes, you goddamn idiot. "Y-yes please."

"Cool." She made her way back to her car, "Let's go."

Moonbyul stared open-mouthed, she was flabbergasted at this whole situation. Wow if she had known that all it took for Irene to notice her was for her to almost get run over, then she would've jumped in front of her car ages ago.

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