She separated her hands away from the black paper, backing away slowly to inspect it even further. Myung-Hee sighed with relief to see that there were no striking blemishes. Finally. Her shoulders slumped and she wiped the sweat beading down her forehead with the back of her hand. She flinched when she remembered that her palms were still covered in chalk.

Dipping forward, she checked her reflection with the small mirror that she often kept in her work table. It served more of a purpose when Myung-Hee had trouble coming up with facial expressions in her drawings rather than actually improving her appearance. She laughed when she saw that her suspicions were correct, a white streak ran across her forehead. “Whoops.”

Myung-Hee seized a wet wipe and cleared away the dust from her face and palms. She grinned as she tossed the rag into the bin next to her, thrilled that she didn’t procrastinate her work for once. Unlike Wheein, Myung-Hee knew immediately what her muse would be for this assignment. It was what she wouldn’t trade for the world, her most prominent memory.

Outside of her room on the second floor, there was a balcony that she held near and dear to her as a memento. There wasn’t much room to walk around, but it didn’t stop her and her brother, Sunggyu, from racing outside as their father watched them with a hearty laugh. He would set up his telescope outside, sharing his knowledge over any constellation that stole his children’s attention.

Those nights were what drove Myung-Hee’s brother to pursue an occupation as an astronomer. He strove to one day discover a new planet or constellation and show it to their father. “Then, everyone will know who the real favorite child is,” Sunggyu teased Myung-Hee. She smiled at him, unfazed as she socked him in the stomach.

Stargazing with her family affected Myung-Hee in a different sense. While Sunggyu wanted to discover beautiful sights, she wanted to create new ones. Her goal was to evoke the same intense emotions that she felt while putting sweat and tears into her work.

Against the black parchment, white stars were spread throughout the sky, most of them connecting into patterns. It was in the perspective from two onlookers at her balcony, their backs turned, giving a sense of ambiguity. The woman lay her head against another person’s shoulder, who was hidden by the house’s opened door. The unknown figure was supposed to be interpreted. The hidden person could've been someone that had watched the sight with the woman before, someone that was witnessing the scene for the first time, or someone that has yet to witness the scene with the woman. Someone Myung-Hee wished would witness the sight with her someday.

Her pocket buzzed and she blinked, snapping out of her reverie. She dug inside her pouch and took out her phone. She smiled when she saw the name displayed on the screen. What a coincidence. She accepted the call and held the phone against her ear. “What’s up, Wheein?”

“Hey, Myung-Hee,” Wheein started. “And um… nothing particularly interesting. What about you, how was your day?”

“Funny thing you asked.” Myung-Hee plopped back on her bed. “Before I arrived in Bucheon, I was homesick and couldn’t wait to see everyone, even that useless jerk, Sunggyu.” She made a disgusted face. “But now I remember why I left in the first place. I swear I’m about to lose my mind.”

Wheein chuckled. “What did he do now?”

“God!” Myung-Hee groaned. “So I was asleep, right? I stayed up all night watching this drama—”

Wheein hummed.

“Oh, don’t even try to judge me.” She shot up from her bed, putting a hand on her hip. “May I remind you who was the one that made us oversleep the day of our presentation because she kept bugging her innocent friend to watch a drama with her?”

“Innocent?” Wheein scoffed. “I don’t remember you objecting at all. In fact, weren’t you the one that insisted we watch the season finale?”

“You’re talented when it comes to peer pressure,” Myung-Hee refuted. “Anyway, we’re getting off topic here. So I ended up oversleeping and I guess my dad told Sunggyu to wake me up for breakfast. He couldn’t have woken me up by just nudging me on the shoulder like a normal sibling, no sir! Guess how he woke me up.”

“Well, if it were me, I would’ve jumped on your bed until you fell off.”

“After what I’ve been through, that would’ve been welcomed!” Myung-Hee insisted. She slammed her fist into the bed, causing the mattress to jiggle. “He decided to wake me up by letting our dog into my room and pounce on me while I was asleep!”

Wheein laughed, the sound bursting out through the speakers. Myung-Hee knew it was the kind of laugh where Wheein would throw her head back. “I wish I was there to see that!”

“Wow, laugh at my pain, Jung Wheein!” Her complaints were insincere though, for Myung-Hee felt a smile creep onto her face as she listened to her friend. “I promise that dog is taller than you on its hindlegs. I could’ve died!”

“Quit being a baby,” Wheein said. “You’re alive, aren’t you?”

“But at what cost?” Myung-Hee shivered, looking back on how much dirt she had to clean off her sheets.

Myung-Hee paused, paying attention to how elated Wheein sounded just for a little while longer. “So why did you call?” she asked.

There was a brief silence from the other line. “Huh?”

“Come on, Wheein, I wasn’t born yesterday.” Myung-Hee fluffed her pillow before laying down to rest her head. “You’re never the one to call unless you have something important to say. I mean, even though I’m enjoying this casual talk with you, I also want you to be honest with me.”

Wheein didn’t answer and Myung-Hee wondered if she took it too far until she heard her sigh. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right.”

“Well, I’m all ears,” Myung-Hee assured her. “Take your time.”

“Do you think— do you remember when you asked me if I wanted to talk about what I didn’t want to remember in Jeonju?” Wheein’s voice was small, hesitant.

Myung-Hee nodded, humming to let her know that she was listening. “Yeah, but didn’t you already tell me? Wasn’t it about that girl you tried to avoid, the one you were close with?”

“Yes, but I…” Wheein’s voice trailed off.

“What?”

“I never told you why,” Wheein muttered. “The reason why I didn’t want to remember her.”

Myung-Hee blinked. Oh. “Well… why?”

______________________________________________________________________________

Wheein told the truth. It was darker when she finished, the only source of light in Myung-Hee’s bedroom was the moonlight spilling in from the windows.

“Oh,” Myung-Hee whispered. Turning her head, she made out a few stars through the glass. She took a deep breath. “Can I ask what made you decide to tell me now?”

“I don’t know how long I can keep it in,” Wheein admitted. “It’s— this feeling, that’s been filling me up for so long. Whenever I see her, I—” She swallowed. “I needed to tell someone. You’re the only one that came to my mind.”

Myung-Hee’s chest felt heavy. She smiled bitterly. “That’s not true. I know you thought of telling someone else.”

Wheein was quiet and before Myung-Hee could elaborate, she laughed. The sound was faint, shaky. Broken. “No. There’s really nobody else.”

She hung up.

Myung-Hee was still for a moment. She slowly brought her phone away from her ear, looking down on the lockscreen. Her thumb caressed the matching photo she had with Wheein. She wanted to call her again. Tell her what was on her mind.

You’re going through a lot and I understand. I’m sorry for saying you should go to Jeonju. I didn’t know. It’s almost over.

It’s okay, I still love you.

But Myung-Hee didn’t call her back. Because she knew that, in the end, that those words wouldn’t make her feel better. She could help Wheein forget, but it wouldn’t get rid of the guilt that was coursing through her.

______________________________________________________________________________

Hyejin scrolled through her messages, outside Wheein’s front door.

If I don’t answer the door you can let yourself in, Wheein texted her. If you don’t know where the key is, text me.

She knocked on the door three times, just like she always did. There was no answer. She frowned. Of course, she knew where the spare key was hidden.

Kneeling down, Hyejin tilted the flower pot that stood nearby. She snatched the key, its silver color rusted over the years.

“Should you be doing this?” the manager asked as Hyejin unlocked the door.

Hyejin shrugged. “She said to come inside if she’s not answering and she didn’t.” Beckoning them inside, Hyejin opened the door. Her manager’s eyes scanned her up and down, whose face was unreadable. She stepped inside with the cameraman right behind her. Hyejin was the last one to enter the household, her hand closing the door but halted when she heard laughter.

“Of course, you’d do something stupid like that,” Wheein’s voice said nearby. It sounded light, natural. “You sure like to make me worry, Myung-Hee.”

Hyejin’s face warmed. Her grip on the handle tightened. She was burning, irritated. She slammed the door shut, the force too harsh as the sound resounded through the hall.

The two professionals that came with Hyejin jumped, turning to Hyejin in confusion. What’s wrong with you, the manager mouthed at Hyejin. She ignored her.

“What was that!?” Wheein ran out of the kitchen, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Hyejin and the others. “Thank god. Don’t worry, it’s just the friend I told you about earlier. I’ll call you back, Myung-Hee.” She ended the call, putting away her phone.

Hyejin noticed the photos they took yesterday were attached to the back of Wheein’s phone case.

“Sorry for not answering the door.” Wheein crossed her arms. “I was distracted.”

Hyejin was so confused. Why did Wheein pretend everything was fine? Why did Wheein act like she was still her best friend and keep the photos, when she just seems to love pushing her away? Why was Myung-Hee on her lockscreen? Why did Wheein feel the need to talk to Myung-Hee about her? Why was she replaced?

Hyejin frowned. She knew the answer to the last question. It was her fault. It was moments like these that made Hyejin wonder if she should’ve debuted in the first place.

“It’s fine,” Hyejin lied.

__________________________________

[Author's Note:] This chapter was short in word count compared to the other chapters have been lately, but I hope you enjoy it nontheless. We're almost at the part I really want to see your guy's reactions on. I'm so excited!