The jerking motion of the elevator ascending must’ve woken Chungha up. She blinked a few times before rubbing her eyes, she felt a firm, but reliable grip on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Hyoseol looking at the monitor installed in the lift. She looked lost in thought, and Chungha suddenly felt a burst of euphoria. How did we get here? Chungha felt Hyoseol shifting her weight so that she could lean on her instead of the cold walls of the elevator.

She felt safe in Hyoseol’s arms. The always reliable Hyoseol. Steadfast and caring, Chungha loved that about her. She felt envious of her cousin Julie for knowing her first. Those thoughts faded away as she melted in the feeling of security, being tucked under Hyoseol’s arm.

The lift came to a shuddering stop as it reached the floor of Chungha’s apartment. Hyoseol started to walk towards the open door, when suddenly she fell a tug on her jacket.

You turned look at Chungha, who looked slightly dazed, and her cheeks still flushed from the alcohol. “If you can’t keep up with the Hyuns when it comes to drinking—then do yourself a favor and don’t challenge them,” a hint of annoyance in your voice, “I had to drag your lifeless body into the car and to top it off, I didn’t even get one sip in before the three of you decided to chug it out.” You sighed.

Chungha pressed closer to you and looked up at you with puppy eyes. She was trying to make you feel guilty for lecturing her.  

Damn those puppy eyes. You started toward the door again. But Chungha freed herself from your grip and stumbled toward the control panel of the elevator, pressing the button to close the door.

“Chungha, what are you doing?” You reached out to steady her. With a glazed look on her face, she leaned forward into your arms.

“Hyoseol…” Chungha dug her face into your chest. She mumbled, “Forget about her. Just date me instead…” Her voice trailed off in the end. She wrapped her arms around you and leaned closer. Your phone’s screen lit up while you were holding it with your hand, before it abruptly faded.  

Your eyes widened in shock from her sudden confession. You froze as she leaned into your embrace. Then she went limp in your arms. You struggled to catch her before she fell. “What is this girl saying?” You laughed, “She must’ve drank a lot.” Shaking your head, you pulled her up. Tilting your head, you could make out the faint sound of her steady breathing. She had fallen asleep again.

Brushing aside Chungha’s spontaneous confession, you hoisted her onto your back and gave her a piggyback ride to your apartment.

//

Sejeong felt a glimmer of hope as the call connected on the screen. Please, please, please pick up. The call cut to the voicemail. No! I’ve been stuck here for 30 minutes. I definitely can’t leave now. He’s still there!

Sighing, she tried to calm down. Sejeong dialed the number again and waited for it to connect.

//

After making sure Chungha was comfortable in the guest room, you felt a vibration in the pocket of your jacket. Putting down your cup, you reached in, and took out your phone. A number you didn’t recognize filled the screen. Who the hell is calling me at 3 in the morning? You wondered. You decided to answer it anyways.

“Hello?”

“H-hello, um Hyoseol-ssi? It’s Sejeong,” she paused, “Please help me.”

//

Please help me.

You parked your car haphazardly on the sidewalk and sprinted into the Family Mart past a man in a suit.

After the automatic doors opened, you stopped to scan the aisle for her. Spotting her near the back of the store you ran to her.

“Sejeong-ssi!” You stopped in front of her. You grabbed her wrist to see if she had been hurt, you did a quick check to make sure she was okay physically.

Sejeong’s face looked extremely pale. She stared at you, still in a daze.

“What happened? You scared me, calling me all of a sudden out of the blue.”

“There’s a man who comes to the bakery where I usually work… And he’s been following me…”

“What?! You should have called the cops!”

“I didn’t want to make a scene! Besides, he can just get away, I don’t have proof.” She huffed. “Anyways, I’ve been stuck like this for almost an hour… I couldn’t leave.”

“You’re obviously being stalked!” Exasperated, you looked outside the window. The man leaned against the bus stop billboard, with an impassive expression on his face.

“Okay, I got it. Let me buy something to eat first.” You moved to the back of the store and took two drinks, then grabbed a piece of fried chicken on a stick. You went to the cash to pay, with Sejeong waiting behind you.

“Thank you, please came again.”

“Thank you, have a nice evening.” You smiled.

You offered the chicken to Sejeong, who refused. You finished the chicken and motioned for Sejeong to follow you. “C’mon, let’s go.”

You took the lead with Sejeong following behind. The man glanced up, recognizing Sejeong’s face, and started to move towards you. “Sejeong-ssi, do you trust me?” You turned around to look at her. She nodded.

You moved beside Sejeong. “Sejeong-ah,” Your voice lowered as you leaned closer to Sejeong, moving your hand to cup her cheek. “I love you.”

“What?” Her eyes widened in surprise.

You bent down and kissed her. You held on to her waist, careful not to hurt her as she leaned away from you in surprise. You watched the expression of man change. His eyes widened as he swore under his breath. He hastily turned around and left.

//

Sejeong-ssi, do you trust me?

You nodded your head. Before you could register what was happening, Hyoseol stepped closer to you, held your face gently, leaned in and kissed you.

Sejeong-ah. I love you.

Your heart did a backflip when her voice dropped an octave. Especially when she dropped the honorific in your name.

You clenched your eyes instinctively as she bent down to kiss you, closing the distance between the two of you in a short step. Her lips brushed against yours gently and you could make out the faint smell of vanilla perfume on her clothing.  She held your waist with a firm grip as you leaned back in surprise. It was reassuring to have someone to hold onto just as you were going to fall.

It felt—comfortable, in a weird way. It was different than how it used to be with Chungha, instead of following and matching her actions, it was more like she was supporting and anticipating your movements and accommodating to you as necessary.

You leaned in—surprising yourself, and pulled Hyoseol closer by grabbing onto her shirt. The taller girl suddenly stepped back, breaking the kiss.

You felt a little breathless, with stars dancing in your vision. You took a step back to balance yourself, and noticed Hyoseol staring behind you.

//

Satisfied that the man wasn’t going to come back, you leaned back—breaking the kiss.

Looking behind Sejeong, you watched his figure slowly fade away.

“He’s gone.” You whispered. You peered down to see a blushing Sejeong.

“Sejeong-ssi… a-are you okay?” You asked hesitantly. “I’m sorry,” you paused, bending down to level with Sejeong. “That kiss—you understand right?” You took a step towards her.

“I know! I get it!” She put out her arms to stop you from moving closer.

“I kissed you without your permission...”

“It’s okay! It was just to help me chase away the stalker right? Then it’s totally okay!”

“W-well… even then…”

“I said it’s okay!” Sejeong’s cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. She stared at the ground.

“Honestly, I didn’t really think you’d pick up… When the first call got cut, I was so scared…” She fidgeted with the bracelet on her wrist. “No one was picking up and—“

You cut her off. “Why would you think that?” You searched into her eyes.

Sejeong’s head snapped up, she bit her bottom lip anxiously.

“There’s no reason for me not to come.”

“I thought you’d be mad at me… for avoiding you.”

You blinked a few times. “Oh that?” You sighed, “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. What did I do that was so horrible that you couldn’t tell me about it?”

You were curious. The interactions you’ve had with Sejeong lately have been minimal at best. There wasn’t much you could have done to offend her in such a short time. “Did I do something that offended you somehow?”

Sejeong looked hesitant. Should I tell her? W-what if she gets mad at me?

“Well… You know the day you got hurt from helping Sohye…? I was walking up to the nurse’s office when I overheard you talking to the two other girls…” Sejeong paused. “I heard you tell them to take care of the situation with Sohye, and you used money to get them to do it too.”

You were surprised, that wasn’t something you expected. Thinking back, you realized that your choice of words wasn’t the best. It was easy to misunderstand what you were saying. Your fluency in Korean wasn’t up to Jieqiong’s standards, having been in Korea for so long, so your words probably got lost in translation or something.

“I didn’t pay them off with money.”

“What?”

“I didn’t… pay them off with money. They wouldn’t leave her alone so I asked them if it was because of money. My choice of words probably wasn’t the best.” You gauged her reaction. “I threatened to press charges if they didn’t leave Sohye alone.”

Sejeong’s eyebrows were knitted. She processed what Hyoseol was saying. It’s very possible that was the case. I must’ve misunderstood…

“Do you really think I’m that kind of person, Sejeong-ssi?”

Sejeong glanced up. There was a mixture of hurt and regret on Hyoseol’s face. A sad smile lingered on her face, making Sejeong’s heart ache uncomfortably. Especially when there was the emphasis on the honorific.

“N-no, I just… I misunderstood the situation. I’m sorry Hyoseol-ssi.” Sejeong felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. How embarrassing! I can’t believe I misjudged her. Especially after all she’s done for me…

The kicked puppy look never left Hyoseol’s face. She seemed to ponder what Sejeong said wordlessly.

You can’t help but feel hurt at the accusation that you would use money to solve your problems. I suppose it’s a stereotype that many people have about people that have money, but if there’s anything you’ve learnt from spending your exile overseas, was that money doesn’t solve everything. Especially since it came from Sejeong, you felt the wound dig a little deeper.

Breaking the silence, you spoke, “Well, I guess we should get going. My car’s parked on the side of the road, let’s go before I get a ticket.” You walked pass Sejeong in the direction of where your car was parked.

Sejeong hesitated to follow. After a couple of steps, you turned around noticing that she wasn’t following you. Sejeong bit her lip again and rubbed her neck nervously.

“I-it’s okay Hyoseol-ssi, I’ll take the bus home.”

Sighing, you walked toward her. Sejeong took a step back.

“You’ve been stalked, stuck in a store for an hour, and you want to take the bus home?”

“Y-yes.”

“Well… you’re out of luck then, the last bus left a few minutes ago.”

Sejeong slumped her shoulders in defeat. Nothing was going right today.

“I guess that means you’re taking my car right?”

Sejeong nodded, having given up already. You gently grabbed her wrist and led her to your car.

You helped her put on the seatbelt, and handed her a carton of milk. “Here, it’ll help you grow.” You smiled, teasing her. Sejeong gratefully accepted the drink. She shifted awkwardly in the seat while you drove. You glanced at her and noticed her biting her lip, sending your mind in a more R-rated area of thought. I better control my hormones before I crash the car. 

You forced yourself to focus on the road and wished that the drive home was longer.

//

Entering the elevator, you stood next to Sejeong whose cheeks were still slightly pink. She looked at you nervously from the corner of her eye before speaking up, “I’m sorry. Again.” She bit her lip. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.” She dug her hands into her jacket pocket.

The elevator slowly came to a stop, and announced the arrival to the selected floor.

Sejeong stepped out of the elevator and turned around, waiting for your answer.

“I won’t lie, I’m a little hurt and disappointed that you’d think of me like that…” You smiled, “but I think kissing you can be considered compensation for that.”

Sejeong instinctively reached to touch her lips, and blushed—still remembering the sensation of her lips on yours.

The door started to close.

“I’ll see you in school Sejeong-ssi.”

Sejeong’s reaction was delayed, before she could say another word the door closed in her face.

//

After stumbling into the door, Sejeong immediately ran into her room and plopped on her bed. Her face was still hot from embarrassment as she dug her face into her pillow.

“I can’t believe I kissed her. We haven’t even known each other for that long!”

Sejeong proceeded to roll around in her bed, trying to make sense of everything that happened over the course of the evening. The scenes of tonight’s events kept replaying in her mind. Especially the kiss. The kiss. Closing her eyes, she could still feel Hyoseol’s lips on hers. She remembered how soft they were, how her arms s around her waist, how she might’ve leaned in a little closer to really feel Hyoseol’s lips.

“We really kissed...”

She squealed and dug her face deeper into her pillow. She decided to just call it a night and went to brush her teeth, hoping that the cold water would calm her down. After washing her face, she laid in bed still thinking about the kiss, before promptly falling asleep.

The last thought that formulated in her mind before she drifted off, was that the kiss tasted like fried chicken.

//

Kim Sohye had always tried her best to blend into the crowd. Standing out meant that you would have a target on your back at all times. Unfortunately, despite her best efforts, it appeared that it wasn’t enough.

Being dragged to the bathroom by two sunbaes and being harassed was the breaking point for you. But somehow—someone came to save you.

You could still remember the desperate look on the other girl’s face as tried to make sure you were okay. Everything went kind of blurry after that, though the sound of bone hitting flesh was still clear in your mind.

The girl somehow managed to drag you and herself to the nurses’ office, which was an amazing feat, I mean it’s not like you were extremely light you know. The girl got discharged before you woke up. You really wanted to thank her for saving you, but unfortunately the school called your parents. Your father flew back from New York and sent you to the hospital for further treatment, which was basically house arrest.

You’ve missed school for a few weeks now, the doctor recommended that you take the time to recover before heading back to school. Your dad got the two girls expelled and raised hell before your mother managed to calm him down, before the threatened to sue the school.

It felt exhausting sometimes, just living.

But on the second week of being in the hospital, a bouquet of flowers was delivered into your private room while you were attending your therapy appointment. On it was a card with a bunch of signatures and little messages from your classmates. The writing that stood out the most was written in purple, with large and bubbly characters was written, “Sohye-ssi I hope you’re feeling better! I’m wishing for your quick recovery. Please take your time, we’ll be waiting for you! I believe in you, please take care of yourself. Fighting! – Kang Mina~ <3”

Sohye smiled while tracing over the characters with her finger. There was some good in the world after all.

//

When Chaeyeon opened the door, she didn’t expect Hyoseol to be standing there with Suhyun who looked like she was going to puke any minute, and a very drunk Heehyun. The Chinese girl was struggling with one on each arm, and barely managed to drag the two of them into the living room and onto the couch before collapsing on the floor.

“What happened?!” Chaeyeon yelled in shock, running over to Heehyun. She kneeled over Heehyun, with a worried expression.

“The three of them decided,” you paused trying to catch your breath, “to have an all-out chugging competition.” You laid on the floor, with your chest heaving.

“Three of them??”

“Oh right,” you took a deep breath, “Chungha’s outside the elevator, I should” you paused, “drag her sorry in here.”

“Unbelievable.” Chaeyeon massaged her temples, annoyance clear in her voice.

“I didn’t know where Suhyun’s apartment is, but I don’t think I can drag anymore people around the building.”

“I’ll take care of these two drunk idiots” Chaeyeon reassured.

You sighed, “you know what, I’ll just bring Chungha to my apartment, I don’t want you to have to take care of another idiot.” You got up and moved towards the door to leave, before turning back. “But, how did you get in here? Chungha said that it was only her and Heehyun that lived here?”

Chaeyeon’s head snapped up immediately. “O—oh, Heehyun gave me the code to their apartment…”

“Ah…” you nodded, “I’m sorry to have troubled you. I’m sure you were worried about her…” You turned around to check on the two girls passed out on the couch, you wondered how Chaeyeon would handle them, but you decided to trust her. “Well then, good night Chaeyeon-ah.”

After Hyoseol left, Chaeyeon stood over the two passed out girls. Oh, Suhyun’s going to get it in the morning. And as for her… she’ll definitely die when she wakes up. She thought with an evil glint in her eye.

She sat next to Heehyun and studied her features. The older girl looked like a puppy while she was sleeping, a complete 180 from the usual scowl on her face. It was nice, seeing her features relaxed, Heehyun looked younger and more innocent.

Chaeyeon slowly and tentatively reached out her hand to touch Heehyun’s face, before changing her mind. She stood up, blushing and turned to leave, but Heehyun grabbed onto Chaeyeon’s waist. Chaeyeon stood there frozen, not daring to move.

Heehyun, still in a dream, mumbled a “Don’t go. You’re mine,” before her arms went limp. She rolled over and fell asleep again.

 Chaeyeon turned around slowly, and felt her cheeks. They were burning from embarrassment from Heehyun’s drunken confession.

Sighing, she bent down and rested her chin on the sofa.

She stared at the other girl’s face, and whispered: “I was always yours, you dummy.”

//

Jieqiong and Nayoung were headed toward a café after finishing up some student council work. Jieqiong was a few steps away from Nayoung, leading the way to a new trendy café that had recently opened. She walked with a bounce in her step, and occasionally turned around to point out a restaurant’s specialty and how much she loved the food there.

“That place has the best mandu!” Jieqiong suddenly stopped and pointed to a restaurant across the street, “I mean seriously, it’s like mandu heaven! I could eat 50 of them just for lunch.” She turned to look at Nayoung with a wide grin, “Nayoung we should totally come here for lunch next week!” Nayoung nodded and smiled to herself.

She enjoyed watching the younger girl radiate her positivity. So bright and full of energy— Nayoung was the complete opposite of Jieqiong, at least that’s what most people assumed. Stone Nayoung, Stone Buddha, or just plain Stone often were what her nicknames consisted of. It’s not that she didn’t have any emotions, it’s just that she had a hard time showing them sometimes.

But with Jieqiong, it wasn’t that hard. Nayoung found herself opening up and smiling more in the presence of the Chinese girl. Nayoung couldn’t help but feel drawn to Jieqiong. She would always find herself looking at Jieqiong, she’d find herself holding her a little longer whenever they had to part, and she’d find herself trying to make the younger girl smile.

She loved the way they could communicate without actually having to say anything, the comfortable silence they could share together, she loved the way her eyes would curve into crescent moons whenever she’d laugh or smile. Everything about her just felt like home to Nayoung.

The world was dark and lonely for Nayoung. Before she met Jieqiong, life was monochrome. Devoid of color, the scenes in her life played out one by one. She wasn’t living but just going through life. But that all changed when Jieqiong came into her life. The world was no longer monochrome, but vibrant and filled with color. The never ending rain in her world ended. And was filled with sun and warmth. Memories with Jieqiong were always warm and happy. Nayoung wished she was better at showing her emotions—better at expressing how she felt about Jieqiong. The words were always there, but they always got caught in . She hated herself for that.

She felt like she could lose the younger girl—Jieqiong was always beautiful, but in the past year she’s blossomed. Boys and girls took notice immediately, and flocked to her. Everyone wanted to be friends with her. She was friendly and kind, and people loved her even more. Just like how Sejeong had a fan club following her, Jieqiong had one too.

With that kind of following, it was no surprise that she would receive confessions almost daily. However, unlike Sejeong who actually dated someone during this time—Jieqiong hadn’t. Which was odd to many. Although Jieqiong was rich, she was also extremely down to earth and never used her status on the social hierarchy to her benefit, which made people fall in love with her even more.

Nayoung however was not born into a rich family and actually entered SKYY through a scholarship. She was the second eldest of six siblings, and was actually more like a part time mother to her siblings. When she still lived at home, her parents were constantly working to support the household financially, which left Nayoung and her older sister to take care of things at home. But unlike her sister, she never really received praise or love from her parents, which made her feel lonely. Sometimes, it was as if she was never there.

If she disappeared from her family, they wouldn’t even notice. So when she was accepted into SKYY, she noticed that one of the conditions listed in the scholarship was that housing and the majority of living expenses would be covered by the school as long as her grades were in the 90s. Seeing an opportunity to break free from her chains, Nayoung took it.

Maintaining her grades was no problem for Im Nayoung. Luckily she was quick to understand concepts and be able to apply them right away, so studying always came easily to her. Thanks to her brain, she was able to meet Jieqiong.

//

Nayoung made her way to the library and sat down in an empty booth. She had recently found out that the school was recruiting tutor, and without thinking much of it, she applied.

She had gotten the position fairly easily, after all she was one of those in the scholarship group—her grades were excellent.

On most day, the job was fairly quiet, which made it ideal for Nayoung. She was making money just sitting there and doing homework. The pay was better than what minimum wage was, and the rooms in the library were air-conditioned. Making it very comfortable for Nayoung and her fellow tutors.

Nayoung was busy deriving a proof and didn’t notice an underclassman walk into her booth. The girl entered quietly and stood there watching Nayoung. She approached the table slowly without making a sound, and Nayoung was too focused to realize that there was a girl standing right in front of her.

Sensing a shift in th eair, Nayoung looked up and screamed in surprise, falling off the chair.

“AH OH MY GOD!”

Nayoung was sprawled on the floor and knocked her head against the floor when she fell. The girl quickly ran over and apologized for scaring her.

Ignoring the pain in the back of her head, Nayoung smiled meekly and got up.

“S-sorry about that, I didn’t realize you were there. You scared me.”

“I’m sorry sunbae-nim! I didn’t want to disturb you while you were writing so I just wanted to sit in the chair while you finished…”

“A-ah, I see. It’s okay, it’s not your fault.” Nayoung studied the younger girl’s features. ‘She’s pretty’ she thought to herself absentmindedly. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

The younger girl pointed to a question in her textbook. “I don’t get this question; I keep trying to calculate it but no matter what I do it doesn’t work!”

Nayoung took a quick look at the question. It was chemistry—a subject she particularly liked. She glanced at the girl in front of her while the other girl was busy flipping through her notes, trying to look for any other questions she might have.

Nayoung started to explain the problem and how to solve it. The younger girl nodded enthusiastically as she followed Nayoung’s explanations. Nayoung would occasionally look up to watch the younger girl while explaining, and noticed how pretty her eyes were.

“Wow… that really makes sense. I never thought of it that way!” The girl beamed at Nayoung.

Whenever the girl would smile, Nayoung would feel a little tickle in her heart, which was a weird feeling but it wasn’t exactly unpleasant. Nayoung finished explaining the concepts and waited for the girl to ask questions.

“So do you have anything else you want to ask me?”

“Nayoung-ssi!”

“Yes?”

“I’m hungry. Do you want to eat dinner with me?”

And that’s how she found herself eating tteookbokki and sundae with a girl she just met. Nayoung surprised herself by accepting the invitation, and the tickle in her heart never went away. In fact, it only grew the more time she spent with the younger girl.

“I realized I never asked you this, but what is your name?”

The girl blinked. “Oops, guess I forgot to introduce myself. My Chinese name is Jieqiong, but you can call me Pinky or Kyulkyung!”

That’s a pretty name she thought to herself. “Oh you’re here on exchange?” Nayoung inquired.

“Nope! Actually, I’ve lived in Korea for a few years now.”

“Oh no wonder, your Korean is really good. I didn’t even know that you’re not from here.”

“I get that a lot.” Kyulkyung stuck out her tongue teasingly. “I’m pretty sure I’m part Korean at this point. But sadly I forgot a lot of Chinese. If I talk to my mom, I find myself responding in Korean sometimes.” Kyulkyung shrugged, shaking her head.

Nayoung smiled, she found herself relaxing and enjoying listening to Kyulkyung talk.

Kyulkyung noticed the lips of the older girl curving upwards, “You have a beautiful smile!”

Nayoung blushed, it’s been a long time since anyone ever complimented her on anything other than her academics.

“T-thank you.” She blushed.

Kyulkyung laughed. It was pure and lovely sound. Nayoung felt the world become a little less dull after hearing her laugh, and found little splashes of color become more vibrant in her surroundings. She stared adoringly at the younger girl as she talked, and found herself falling.

Ever since that day, the younger girl would always visit the library to ask Nayoung questions, and they would spend their nights eating dinner together and talking.

And that’s how Im Nayoung found herself becoming a warm stone under the sun.

Who knew colors could be so beautiful?