Note: The Hanahaki Disease is an illness born from one-sided love, where the patient throws up and coughs of flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. The infection can be removed through surgery, but the feelings disappear along with the petals. Another way to cure it is for the patient's love interest to reciprocate his/her feelings. When the flowers' petals get darker, the patient gets closer to death.

~

"Che-in," a young Jieqiong starts, the foreign syllables still unfamiliar on her tongue, "what flower is that?" she points, eyes glued to bright yellow petals and contrasting stems. Chaeyeon tightens her grip on the girl's hand and smiles smugly, knowing exactly what it is. "That's a daylily. It's very pretty, right? Just like me."

Jieqiong's face scrunches up and she's about to disagree (maybe she misunderstood what I said, Chaeyeon thinks) when Chaeyeon plucks one, small, gentle fingers delicately placing it behind Jieqiong's ear. Cool breeze dancing on their skin and ruffling their hair, Jieqiong lifts a hand to feel the small flower. "I like it. I like - what was it again?" she asks, young mind still unable to grasp new things and remember them when someone just like her, as if she were her mirror, is standing in front of her, arms on her chest and eyes shaped like crescents.

"Daylilies," Chaeyeon smiles and Jieqiong makes sure she doesn't forget this time, "Daylilies. I like daylilies."

"Yeah," Chaeyeon's walking away, presumably picking another one, before giving it to Jieqiong. "I like them, too."

~

When Chaeyeon rolls over to the other side of her bed, she's greeted with a mop of hair and long limbs. She inhales the scent - weirdly enough - and smiles when she realizes it's her favourite mix of strawberry and vanilla and maybe three sprays of perfume too many. Her eyes open and as impossible as it was, her smile grows wider, lips seemingly pulled up high to create a dazzling, morning visual akin to the sun itself. The bed creaks and Chaeyeon hears a soft groan before she sits up and chuckles, "good morning, Jieqiong."

The voice is muffled and obviously exhausted but she replies anyway, Chaeyeon managing to make out the words 'good' 'morning' and 'to you too.' 

~

Jieqiong is her best friend. 

Chaeyeon wonders from time to time when they had made the label official - but brushes it off afterward, says that it isn't important. Jieqiong begs to differ, tells her that friend-versaries are important, too. Chaeyeon always ends up giving in, unable to resist the way Jieqiong's thin lips would curl into a cute frown. 

They're best friends; they have been for a while now. 

From two girls who met at the playground, barely able to communicate because the other was not from this place - they carefully stepped their way around the thin thread of hesitation and curiosity and got rid of any and all fears that the other had. They were each other's haven, soulmate even - this, Jieqiong would not argue with.

"I miss Doyeon and the others," Chaeyeon had said one day. Jieqiong tilts her head to the side, puts her book down as a playful frown appears on her face. 

"Are you replacing me with Doyeon?" eyes narrowing and finger pointing accusingly, Jieqiong scoots closer to Chaeyeon and the older girl just laughs, "of course not, Jie. Silly."

Jieqiong breaks out into a smile, one Chaeyeon has seen countless times, and once again she acknowledges her best friend's beauty. Looking at her with a curious gaze, a small flitter of her eyelids and a slight pout playing on her lips, she studies the faint line running down her back, the bony expanse of Jieqiong's shoulders, and she sees to herself how she never realized how thin Jieqiong was.

"Hey, Jie," she starts, a worried tone wrapping her voice. Jieqiong looks up, confused, and Chaeyeon doesn't blame her because Chaeyeon rarely speaks like that. "Yeah?"

"Why are you so..." Chaeyeon trails off, wondering why she even cares so much. Maybe it's the morning grogginess, maybe it's the stale coffee she had earlier - but she brushes it off and shakes her head instead, mouths a 'nothing' to Jieqiong and snakes her hand to find Jieqiong's cautiously as if she'd never done it before.

"You're weird," Jieqiong chuckles, music to Chaeyeon's ears, and she nods, silently confused as to why she cared so much more than usual today.

~

"Chae, we're going to hang out with Nayoung unnie and the others soon!" The younger girl says, too excited for Chaeyeon's liking. She groans, "but I have to finish my thesis."

Jieqiong halts, puts a hand on her hip, and stares at Chaeyeon with an eyebrow raised. "That isn't due until next-next month. Besides, it's spring break soon. You work way too hard, Chae."

She grins, putting down her laptop. "Okay. Anything for my little Jieqiong," she teases, pinching her cheeks and secretly regrets spending too much time on her thesis. All those days spent in front of her laptop when she could have spent them with Jieqiong instead. She agrees to the idea of hanging out, not because she misses her other friends - and no, that did not feel bad to say - but because she wants to relax and have fun with Jieqiong.

It doesn't take too long before the girls start to get ready, and Chaeyeon still can't shake the feeling of jealousy when she heard Jieqiong say Nayoung's name so enthusiastically.

~

The lights embrace Jieqiong like a second skin. 

Special weekends at their dorm have always been like this; flashy lights and music a volume bar too loud, messy pillows and traces of food on the carpet that should not have been there. 

Jieqiong likes partying; Chaeyeon learned this when they were eighteen. Drinking six glasses too many and taking more shots than necessary, Chaeyeon doesn't ever remind Jieqiong of the time they partied for thirty minutes and had to leave after fifteen because Jieqiong had passed out.

She had counted - it takes approximately three seconds for Jieqiong to do a one-shot, seven and a half to do another one, sixteen to drink a glass of whatever she felt like drinking that night, and twenty-five to get up and pull Chaeyeon to the dance floor.

The lights have always looked good on her, Chaeyeon thinks. They'd dance and the spotlight would hover over them for a while before moving on, blinding some other group of friends that were drunk and embarrassing themselves willingly.

This time, the yellow and red make her look like the sun. Ungodly hours and trashy pop music defining their version of a party, the lights are less blinding this time and Chaeyeon, tipsy Chaeyeon, finds herself thanking them; Jieqiong is stunning, what with her dark hair and pink lips, sharp nose and prominent jawline, sparkly eyes and -

"Chaeyeon! Dance with us!" Nayoung, Jieqiong's favourite unnie Nayoung, exclaims and Chaeyeon remembers that they were all hanging out for a night before heading to wherever Doyeon wanted to take them for a break. She spots a full glass of water and downs it, tries to sober up a bit before she does something Jieqiong wouldn't like, nods in response and joins the other girls. She checks up on Jieqiong and sees her eyes have been replaced with hearts, tries to follow her line of sight and sees Nayoung.

~

"We're dating!" Jieqiong muses, lifting intertwined hands and lips rising high. Nayoung blushes, tries to hide it, but gets a small pinch on the cheek from her girlfriend in return.

Chaeyeon smiles, the kind that doesn't reach her eyes, and congratulates them with a heavy feeling in her chest. She feels something come up and excuses herself to the bathroom, Jieqiong looking at Nayoung too lovingly that she doesn't notice her best friend disappear.

S