Seungwan looked at the bottom right of her monitor and realized that it was lunch time. She stretched her stiff arms and legs and yawned. After locking her computer, she walked up to Seulgi.

“Seul, let’s go grab some lunch. I’m longing for ramyeon and I know that you’re longing to see an employee from that particular ramyeon house.” Seungwan expressive eyebrows danced above her eyes.

Seulgi’s eyes were still glued to the monitor. “Don’t you usually bring your own lunch?”

“Yeah,” she peered at her desk with a guilty look on her face. “But it’s just fruit salad. Joohyun and I haven’t got the time to do some shopping, so I wasn’t able to make anything else. And I don’t know why, but I’d kill for some ramyeon right now.”

“Maybe because it was raining earlier.”

Seungwan shrugged. “Maybe,” she poked Seulgi’s cheek. “Come on, let’s go.”

Seulgi sent her an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Wannie, I brought a lunchbox.”

“What? Lunchbox?”

Seulgi nodded and pulled her lunchbox from a tote bag. Seungwan caught a glimpse of smiley and heart symbols written on a green post-it on the lid before Seulgi took it off and put the box on the desk.

“I must say, you’re being really suspicious today.” Seungwan said while examining the neatly-packed lunchbox—too neat to be prepared by the clumsy bear herself. “You’re still not telling me anything?”

Seulgi scrolled her worksheet and pretended to read something. “What are you saying?”

“You’re such a bad liar, Seul.” Seungwan chuckled. “Okay, I’m gonna eat by myself then.” She started walking towards the lift, but on the third step she turned her back and said, “You want me to send your warmest greetings to Sooyoung?”

Seulgi loved her best friend so much, but right now, she really wanted to wipe that smirk off of her face. She could feel her face heating up. “Hey!”

The brunette waved her hand without looking back at the bewildered Seulgi and said, “Fine, I’ll tell her that you miss her!”

+ + +

Park’s Ramyeon House was packed as usual. Its strategic location and mouth-watering ramyeons never failed to attract starving customers, and Seungwan was one of them. She managed to score a corner table for two and a waiter came up to her soon after.

The waiter stood beside her and smiled. “Good to see you, Seungwan.”

“Hi, Sooyoung,” she returned the smile. “Sorry I couldn’t drag Seulgi here.”

Sooyoung’s eyes bulged. “What?”

“I’ve been to this place often enough to notice that green apple-shaped post-it, Sooyoungie. I’d like to order the same lunchbox, but unfortunately it’s not on the menu,” she winked. Seungwan was trying so hard not to burst out laughing when she saw Sooyoung’s face went pale. She patted the girl on the arm. “Hey, don't worry. I’m just so glad to know that you guys are finally together. Congratulations!” She squealed.

“I... We are not... I mean...”

“What? What do you mean that you are not...”

They went completely silent for a moment before Seungwan made a conclusion and muttered, “Seulgi, you dense bear.”

Sooyoung frantically waved her hand and shook her head. “No, no, not like that. I mean, we’re not planning to tell anybody just yet.”

“But it’s official, right?”

“Kind... of?”

“What do you mean ‘kind of’? You made her lunch!”

“It’s because I like her so much!”

Another silence.

“I can’t understand this at all and maybe it's because my stomach is empty. Can I order the usual, please? I seriously can’t think right now.”

Sooyoung mumbled a weak ‘okay’ before walking away.

Seungwan was about to call Seulgi, but as fate would have it, she left her phone in her purse. So she grabbed a glass, poured a generous amount of water, and finished it in a gulp. She exhaled and said, “Kids these days.”

+ + +

Seungwan went back to her desk fifteen minutes past her lunch break. Questions about the nature of Sooyoung and Seulgi’s relationship were still swimming inside her head. She tried to get Sooyoung to talk, but she was so busy catering to the customers and of course Seungwan couldn’t blame her for it. The only further explanation she got was when Sooyoung handed her change at the cashier.

“I think you should ask Seulgi. I’m honestly a bit confused myself.”

She landed on her chair and stared at Seulgi. Her best friend was usually the one who was confused by so many things in life and now she’s the one making her longtime crush confused about what they both really were? This was definitely one for the books.

The whole situation made Seungwan felt a bit nostalgic. It was like reliving the times when Joohyun and her used to tiptoe around each other. When they were finally sure that their feelings were mutual, Seungwan thought that was enough. She didn’t really feel the need for labels. But after one dinner at Joohyun’s apartment, the older girl asked, “What are we, Wan?”

She remembered how confused she was and after a short debate, a frustrated Joohyun blurted, “Okay then. So, would you like to be my girlfriend?” (And damned her cheesy for answering, “Well, I thought we’re already girlfriends since a week ago.”)

The memory made her smile and seeing how her other colleagues were either looking serious, bored, or tired, her ridiculously happy face stuck out like a sore thumb.

In the end, she decided to wait for Seulgi to say anything—if the bear ever wanted to say anything at all.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize that her phone was continuously vibrating.

+ + +

Jisoo wasn’t lying when she said that her cooking skills had improved. She still couldn’t peel potatoes efficiently and Joohyun had never seen someone cry so much while cutting onions, but her boisterous little sister—she didn’t believe that she was about to say this—could really cook.

“Unnie, can you please hand me the carrots?”

Joohyun did as told. “I’ll check the glass noodles.”

“Yes, please.” Jisoo put the carrots in, mixed them with other ingredients in the pot, and put the lid on. “What time does Seungwan Unnie usually come home?”

“Seven or if the traffic’s awful, eight.”

Jisoo looked at the clock. “It’s Saturday, you think she’s gonna work late again tonight?”

She saw sadness flashed across her sister’s face and Joohyun took a bit longer before answering, “I really hope not.”

Joohyun walked over to the dining table and went back to arranging the content of a beautiful light blue box that was going to be given to her wife.

“Do you need help with that? You sure you’ve got everything?”

“No, thank you, and yes, don’t worry.” Joohyun looked at her creation and felt a bit proud of herself. “Not bad,” she smiled, imagining how Seungwan would look when she receive the care package. “Not bad at all.”

Jisoo stood beside her while wiping her hands on the apron. “Mom and Dad sure weren’t being biased when they said that you’re the tidy one between the two of us.” Her eyes caught a purple envelope that was tucked neatly beside the cough syrup bottle. “You wrote a letter, too?”

“Yes, and no, you can’t read it,” Joohyun looked at her pouting sister. “I know you.” Then a sudden realization struck her. “Hey, the chicken!”

“Relax, Grandma, I kept it at low heat,” she admired Joohyun’s work once again and said, “You always do this when you’re away?”

“No, this is the first,” Joohyun smiled. “Pretty good, huh?”

The look of disbelief was evident on Jisoo’s face. “Seriously? I’m impressed. Where did you get these love stickers? And since when did you get so romantic anyway?”

“I don’t know,” she grabbed her phone. “One of the perks of being married to Seungwan, I guess.” Joohyun proceeded to take a few pictures of and with the box. “Shouldn’t you go back to your cooking, Chef?”

“Alright, alright, sheesh.”

+ + +

After rinsing the last plate, Joohyun wiped her hands while leaning on the kitchen table. “You really cook now, huh?”

Jisoo smirked. “Told you.”

Joohyun threw the cloth at her. “Cocky,” she walked towards the living room. “Thank you for the food.”

Her little sister bowed. “My pleasure. You just have to reheat the chicken when Seungwan Unnie comes home. I’m gonna take a nap before preparing my luggage and the things for our trip.”

“Okay,” Joohyun answered while turning the TV on.

Soon she felt Jisoo hugging her from behind. “Thanks, Unnie.”

+ + +

The lift opened and Seungwan saw her supervisor, Ms. Kwon. The sound of her marching stilettos sent an uneasy wave to her stomach. Please, please don’t tell me that we have to...

“Hello, everybody,” she acknowledged all her team members. “I’m sorry for bearing some bad news,” she turned to Seungwan. “Again.”

Seungwan could feel herself deflated for she knew what was coming. As the team leader, she was the one who had to stay behind the most to make sure that her team’s work was in order. She had worked late for the past five days and hoped that today would be an exception, but Ms. Kwon’s announcement just threw her hopes out the window.

“Boss moved the deadline forward because he wants to check it before he flies out to Australia, so we have to hand the report to him by Monday.”

A chorus of groan was heard. “I know, I know, I want to go home, too. But you know that this is beyond my control.”

Ms. Kwon went to talk to Seulgi and Seungwan reached out for her phone to inform her wife. She saw three missed calls from an unkown number and decided to ignore it. She opened the chat app and typed:

Working late again. . Go eat dinner without me. I’ll be home soon

She saw that the message was sent and put the phone down. But she suddenly remembered something and picked it up again.

My package arrived yet?

+ + +

Joohyun woke up on the couch and could hardly believe her eyes when she saw that it was almost 8.30 pm. She drank a glass of water before going to the bedroom. It was dark and she walked over to retrieve her phone on the bedside table. A bubble beside the chat app showing number ‘12’, so she opened it and looked for Seungwan’s name. She sighed after knowing that her wife wouldn’t be home on time. So much for a job that clearly said ‘9 to 5 business hours’ on its description.

She opened the guest room and Jisoo was still sleeping soundly under the tangled blanket. She closed the door as quietly as possible and decided to take a bath.

Fifteen minutes later, feeling fresh and a bit cold, Joohyun walked to the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea. On the second sip, she heard the door click.

Soon a very ragged-looking Seungwan appeared. Joohyun rose from her seat and was ready to embrace her wife. But when their eyes met, Seungwan’s expression turned into something completely different, something that Joohyun had rarely seen in the years they had spent together. Whenever the frown and that clenched jaw appeared, Joohyun knew that something must have gone really, really wrong.

“Wannie?”

“Don’t.” The answer was too terse for Joohyun’s liking.

She could only watch when Seungwan took off her coat along with her purse and just threw them on the couch. Seungwan just stood there and tried to calm herself while the air that surrounded them was starting to feel suffocating.

Joohyun decided that a couple minutes was more than enough, so she approached her wife carefully. “Do you want some water?”

“No,” Seungwan turned to face her. “I just wanted you to do something simple for me once and you couldn’t even do it.”

Seungwan’s tone made Joohyun uncomfortable, but she tried to keep her head cool. Someone’s got to do it and right now, it definitely wasn’t going to be Seungwan. She kept reminding herself to be patient or this would end in a way that they both would regret.

“What do you mean?”

Seungwan’s face looked as if her wife just said one of the most absurd things she had ever heard in her life. “What do I mean? Really, Joohyun?”

Joohyun took a step forward and said, “Talk to me, Seungwan, please.”

Something inside Seungwan’s heart turned into a mush upon hearing the way Joohyun said that last word. She looked at her wife’s confused, pleading eyes and felt a pang of guilt. She never ever wants to hurt Joohyun in any way, but when her wife makes a mistake that affects her, she wants her feelings known. “I asked you to retrieve my package.”

Joohyun felt a rush of relief. So, this is just a misunderstanding, she thought.

“The delivery man didn’t show up, babe.”

“He did, but you weren’t home. He called me,” she paused. “Where were you?”

“I went to buy something,”

“Oh, you did? Great, just great,” Seungwan could feel her voice rising, but she couldn’t help it. “Was it too much to ask, Joohyun? Was it so urgent that you just had to go out and buy it today? Why didn’t you say that you couldn’t? It would be far much better compared to this.”

Joohyun felt her anger slowly rising. “Is it that important? What is it?”

“That’s not the point. God! Don’t you understand?” Seungwan closed her eyes and sighed in frustration. “I don’t want to do this, Joohyun. I don’t want to feel like this right now, because in case you can’t see it on my face, I’m exhausted. I just want to go home, take a nice bath, drink some tea with you, and hug you,” she couldn’t hide her disappointment and she knew that it show. “But I can’t do that right now, because I asked you to do one thing and you said yes, but you didn’t do it and went shopping instead. I would retrieve it myself if I could or if I didn’t have to work late every single damn day this week.”

There was something in the last sentence that struck Joohyun’s nerve. “You’re being unfair, Son Seungwan,” she felt her eyes burning. “You talk as if the only thing I know is to go on a shopping spree.”

“The problem is that you often do this! It’s always the same story. You go shopping, lose the track of time, and then forget everything that you’re supposed to do in the first place.”

“Often?” The accusation made Joohyun’s face contort in anger. “The most I’ve done this is twice, Seungwan. Don’t exaggerate, please. I know you’re tired and your work is stressing you out, but you’re being ridiculous.”

Seungwan couldn’t believe her ears. “Twice? Really?”

“Yeah, the first was when we had to throw a housewarming party for our house and this was the second time.”

“Well, when your parents came to vis—"

Joohyun cut right in. “You think that counts? Gee, Seungwan, I thought you would let that one pass because they’re, oh, I don’t know, your mother and father in-laws? And I’m sorry if I wanted to make everything look as perfect as possible! Was that so wrong?”

Behind them, a door was slowly opened. Jisoo woke up because she heard people arguing and she thought it was coming from the TV before realizing that one of the voices belonged to her older sister. She prayed that her sister wasn’t shouting at her wife, but after peeking through the door, her heart broke when she find out that she was right. Jisoo closed the door while hoping that they wouldn’t notice her and that they would make up soon.

“So, what was it this time, huh? We said we’d go together, remember? We could’ve gone tomorrow! Why couldn’t you wait? Why didn’t you tell me anything? Why are you so—“

“Did you really think I was that selfish? I bought the stuff for our house! And I had to buy a few things because I wanted to make something for you! And we could’ve gotten home earlier if Jisoo didn’t insist on buying you a present! We just—“

Seungwan blurted. “For me? Why would I need anything else when I already have you?!”

The silence that followed was deafening. They both were just standing a few feet across each other, completely frozen. People could’ve mistaken them for statues if their eyes weren’t blinking rapidly.

On the other side of the guest room door, Jisoo had been holding hear breath ever since she heard her name being mentioned.

Seungwan opened to say something, but she seemed to have lost her ability to speak.

It was Joohyun who broke the silence. “Wan, what did you...”

“I’m perfectly aware of the last sentence that flew out of my mouth, thank you.”

Joohyun sighed and smiled. “Dammit, Son Seungwan.”

“I know. It’s a curse.”

They hugged each other tightly. Joohyun held her wife’s face, it was still looking tired as ever, but her eyes were now full of so much affection and she recognized it as the face of a woman whom she had vowed to spend the rest of her life with. “If you keep doing that, we’ll never really fight, babe.” She gave a light peck on Seungwan’s lips. “Not that I mind, I just want you to know that, you cheeseball.”

Seungwan returned the kiss. “I know. Oh God, Joohyun, I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too. I should’ve told you that I was going out or waited until the package arrive.”

“That’s okay, forget it. What matters most is that we're okay now. Seriously, I’m sorry, Joohyun. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m really—“

Joohyun’s lips silenced her. “Stop it. I love you.”

A smile and a pair of fluffy cheeks adorned Seungwan’s face. “I love you, too.”

They both leaned in for a kiss, but a few seconds later, a cough interrupted them. “Sorry. Hi, Seungwan Unnie. Long time no see. Um, I’m glad that you guys have made out, up! I mean, made up,” Jisoo grinned. “But I really need to use the toilet,” she sprinted out of the room and shouted, “Don’t mind me! I’ll be away for a while!”