Feb. 13^th 

“Yong~” A voice wafts over the counter and plinks her on the side of the head.

“What is it Byulyi?” She asks tersely, not looking away from her monitor. The other woman had been irritatingly affectionate the entire week and she was tired of being caught off guard. Not that she didn’t like the attention, but she was a professional. Greeting passengers with a flushed face was decidedly not professional.

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

Yongsun pauses from scanning the upcoming flights, but she keeps her eyes glued to the monitor. Byulyi looks way too dashing in her security uniform and even after four months, it still made Yongsun’s mouth a little dry.

“I don’t have anything planned. Why?”

“Get dinner with me.”

Yongsun raises her head at that. She’s expecting Byulyi’s confident smirk because, well, Yongsun has never told her no, but instead there’s a soft smile gracing the security guard’s lips.

“I supposed I can.” Yongsun purses her lips, trying to figure the other woman out. It’s not the first time they’ve gotten a meal together, but that’s usually when they happened to get off work at the same time. As far as she knew, neither she nor Byulyi had work tomorrow. Also, Byulyi had never specifically planned to have a dinner with her before.

“Great!” Byulyi chirps, a full-blown grin scrunching her nose. “7PM, I’ll pick you up, wear something nice.” Byulyi stretches over the counter and Yongsun feels her breath tickle her ear. “It’s a date!” She whispers conspiratorially before skipping away to do some rounds.

Byulyi scampers off before Yongsun could tell her off for being inappropriate. She fans her face with her hand to cool off the blush.

Feb. 14^th

In the morning, Yongsun wakes up around 8AM, but it’s not until her phone pings half an hour later that she finally opens her eyes. This better not be from work, she thinks groggily.

It’s not. It’s a text from Wheein.

Comanie:

^^ unnie ^^ do you have choco for me today ^^ ^^

Yongsun stares at the text blankly. Sure, Wheein was always asking her for snacks, but for her to be asking for chocolate first thing in the morning…

Why would I have chocolate for you

Comanie:

TT so cruel, it’s valentine’s day u kno

Oh right!

Comanie:

<3!!

Sorry wheeinie but you’re only supposed to give chocolate to people you love :(

Comanie:

*****!

Don’t curse at your elders.

Yongsun tosses her phone to the side and make a mental note to go out and get some chocolate for Wheein later. She can’t really comprehend how she forgot the holiday, considering all the pink hearts on every storefront in the area. She cringed at the thought of going out into the sea of couples, but it’s not like she was doing anything today anyway, aside from that dinner with Byulyi.

It’s a date.

Byulyi had asked her to dinner and called it a date.

Yongsun’s brain froze in sudden realization. It’s Valentine’s Day.

She slams the call button so hard her thumb nail starts to hurt.

Wheein answers her (surprisingly) but with her whiniest 4-year-old voice.

“Unnieee, if you think you can apologize by calling me I’m not going to accept unless there’s chocolate at my door~”

“Wheein,” she cuts in, “Byulyi asked me out?” She says like she’s not sure if it happened.

Silence from the other side.

“So?”

“What do you mean ‘so?’, she asked me out! On a date! On Valentine’s day!”

“Yeah, thanks for the play by play. Why are you freaking out?”

“Why shouldn’t I be?!”

“Uh, aren’t you guys dating or something?”

Yongsun sputters so much Wheein’s starting to feel ghost moisture from the other side of the phone. She sets her phone down next to her on the desk and waits for her senior to stop choking.

“Okay. Okay let me explain myself.” Yongsun takes in a deep breath. Wheein waits for her to continue.

Yongsun thinks of her coworker, one of her best friends, Moon Byulyi, who grabs her a coffee from Terimnal A every morning and tells her jokes on slow days and buys her lunch on busy days. Byulyi, who’s genuine smile makes her blush. Byulyi, who fixes her bangs with her pretty hands. Byulyi, who’s eyes lit up in wonder when she told her her secret hobby was singing. Byulyi, who she kind of maybe likes a little more than she should.

“I am not dating Byulyi. That’s it.”

“Okay, but she asked you out yesterday didn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“And she said it was a date?”

“Yes.”

“And you said yes?”

“Yes.”

“Sooo, aren’t you dating her now then?”

Yongsun whines loudly.

-

Turns out, dinner was at the expensive restaurant Yongsun had been jokingly pestering Byulyi to take her to. Byulyi had, as promised, showed up at 7PM dressed nicely. For added effect that blew Yongsun’s “is this actually a date” doubts out of the water, Byulyi had in her arms a beautiful bouquet of white and red camellias.

Yongsun bit her lip to try and hide her smile. “What are these?”

But Byulyi hadn’t answered her. She looked like she was in daze, a slow flush spreading across her cheeks. Yongsun had decided to let her hair loose for the occasion, whereas it was usually in a tight bun at work. It fell over her shoulders in soft, rich brown waves. Byulyi wondered what it would be like to run her fingers through those locks, to see if they were as soft as they looked.

“Byul?”

She snapped back at the sound of her name. “Ah, sorry. I got distracted by your beauty.” Smile, wink, be cool Byul.

“Yah, if you’re going to be greasy like this all evening I won’t come.” Yongsun threatens but she feels a similar blush creep on her cheeks. She drops the bouquet in her living room, Byulyi takes her hand, and as they head towards the moped Byulyi whispers “you really are beautiful” into her hair.

-

Yongsun stares at Byulyi from across the table and sips on her water contemplatively. The usually confident woman suddenly seems shy under her gaze. Yongsun likes that. She sets her cup down.

“So,” she starts, and Byulyi locks eyes with her. “Why’d you ask me on a date, Byul?”

Byulyi’s mouth hangs open at her question. Apparently, she hadn’t thought Yongsun would just ask her outright. Well, Yongsun had always been told she had a blunt way of speaking.

Byulyi bites her lip and she looks halfway between smiling and bolting. “Do you really want to know?”

Yongsun feels unrighteously in control then. She smirks. “Tell me.”

“I didn’t want you to spend Valentine’s Day all by your lonesome.” Byulyi’s expression 180s into her annoying, fake-innocent face.

Yongsun’s cocky expression drops. “I’m changing my order. I’m getting the most expensive thing in this restaurant.”

Byulyi grasps her hands to keep her from calling back their waiter. “Wait Yong please, you know I can’t afford that.”

Yongsun takes a moment to feel bad for putting Byulyi on the spot but the other woman squeezes her hands and the greasy grin slides back on her face.

“Don’t you know that your smile is priceless?” Yongsun rips her hands out from Byulyi’s and reels back so she can give her arm a good punch. “Ouch! I have to use these.”

“It’s what you deserve.” Yongsun says with finality. Byulyi guesses she’s trying to look annoyed, but she looks so cute that the guard feels her stomach clench. The intense heart pounding she’s felt since yesterday afternoon is only more apparent now. Byulyi laughs to shave off the nerves.

“Tell me.” Yongsun demands again.

Byulyi fiddles with the silverware. Suddenly words just don’t come easy. “I…”

Yongsun leans in the slightest bit and Byulyi throws caution to the wind.

“I was thinking…if I asked you to be my girlfriend, would you say yes?”

Yongsun’s eyes turn to crescent moons. As if she could say no.