On Sunday the sun was shining bright and it was relatively warm considering winter was just around the corner. Leaves the color of latte decorated the ground and you could feel the melancholy in the air, as it always happens in fall. Sungyeon, Yewon and Siyeon still didn’t know what to do. After discussing all their options, they decided to just wander around for a while and grab lunch somewhere cheap.

Sungyeon was glad her friends didn’t bring up Friday’s incident; she didn’t really want to talk about it. She swore she didn’t have anything against Yaebin at first, but the older was making it difficult to stay that way. The way she acted at the library was insufferable; it made the young librarian want to punch a wall –maybe that was an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

It was quite nice, strolling around the town with Yewon and Siyeon, talking about everything and anything under the sun, and not thinking about the exams that were coming up. At some point, they came across an old music shop where they sold, mainly, alternative records. Being music lovers, the three of them decided to take a look. The store had a really vintage vibe, as it was expected, and it was quite small, but cozy. A big smile spread on the girls’ faces. They didn’t know where to look at first; there were so many records that caught the girls’ attention. It was strange they hadn’t seen said store before, since their town wasn’t that big, maybe they just didn’t pay enough attention to their surroundings sometimes.

Being there, something stirred inside Sungyeon, a feeling of overwhelming warmth and nostalgia. Maybe nostalgia wasn’t quite the word, but the girl couldn’t quite name it. The three of them met when they were children, because their parents knew each other and that was enough reason for them to play together back then, but the thing that made them connect so much and create such a strong bond was their love for music.

Sungyeon wasn’t one to show her emotions frequently, but right then, she felt the great urge to hug her friends, and so she did, leaving them startled.

“Thank you for being my friends” that’s all she had to say for her friends to understand. A wide smile spread on the girls’ faces; they only needed each other to be truly happy.

“Hello, Kyungwon” a familiar voice greeted who Sungyeon guessed was the clerk of the shop. The cute moment over, and the librarian’s mood ruined she untangled herself from the hug as her friends did the same. Sungyeon tried to hide herself behind the slightly taller figures of Yewon and Siyeon, but miserably failed as the newcomer’s eyes landed on her.

Shock and surprise were written all over Yaebin’s face, she didn’t expect to find the younger girls there. To be more specific, she didn’t reckon she’d find Sungyeon of all people here. Despite the initial shock, her face soon lit up and waved the younger students enthusiastically. She directed a huge, happy smile to the small librarian.

Yaebin looked so good standing right there without doing anything, too good for Sungyeon’s liking. She frowned, how infuriating could the older girl get? Despite being angry with the other, Sungyeon had to fight a small smile. The heck.

“I think we should get going,” the librarian suggested, head low, avoiding the looks Yewon and Siyeon were giving her. “We just got here five minutes ago, though, we’ve barely had time to look at the records” the youngest of her friends said. Sungyeon realized she was being selfish, she couldn’t do that to them.

“Yeah, you’re right, let’s stay here for a little more, but not too much, please,” she pleaded, and sighed, defeated. Yewon and Siyeon looked at her, worried, and the librarian offered them a small smile. Her friends didn’t say anything else, but their faces clearly gave away their confusion and concern.

Yaebin tired to not let her smile falter, but Kyungwon who was watching from the sidelines and knew the other pretty well –they were cousins– saw it. The three young friends kept checking out the store acting as if nothing had happened. Yaebin quickly reacted, and instead of standing there, doing nothing and looking a bit hurt, turned to look at her older cousin.

“What was that about?” asked Kyungwon, disconcerted. The younger girl shook her head, and smiled brightly. “Nothing, why?” questioned the other. Kyungwon raised her eyebrows, not believing what Yaebin said.

“Didn’t look like nothing to me” she shrugged, but didn’t press the topic further. “What are you doing here anyways?” Kyungwon asked changing the subject.

“Came by to say hi and to check if there was anything that caught my attention, I don’t know what to listen to these days” the long-haired cousin explained casually. Kyungwon hummed in understanding and showed the girl in front of her some new records that arrived a couple of days before.

While the two cousins were engaged in their conversation, Yewon, Siyeon and Sungyeon decided to finally leave, much to the latter’s relief. Yewon offered a small wave to the clerk while Siyeon voiced a loud goodbye. The remaining friend didn’t say nor did anything and exited the store quickly.

Yaebin pressed her lips together in a thin line, disappointment filling her insides.

–– a/n: i thought i'd be able to upload this yesterday, but writer's block didn't let me. at least it wasn't a long wait (i think). i hope you enjoy this chapter, i'm trying my best! i appreciate your comments a lot, thank you for reading my story. have a nice day y'all