Yerin stacked up the lunchboxes in a brown paper bag before going to grab her keys and wallet from the bedroom. She shrugged her coat on and took the bag from the counter before leaving the house, humming as she made her way to her car. She placed the paper bag in the back seat before hopping in and starting up the engine.

Whilst the engine warmed up after a cold night, Yerin pulled out her phone to send Eunbi a text.

To: 황 공주님 👑

Good morning :) I’m about to head over and pick you up now. Will text you when I’m downstairs. See you~ 😘

She placed her phone into the cup holder before disengaging the parking brakes. Eunbi and her were freelancers which allowed them the freedom of time. Yerin was a photographer and Eunbi, a dance instructor. They had met in college by chance. Yerin was the photographer in-charge of covering a dance event that Eunbi was also participating in. As soon as the stage lights centred on Eunbi, Yerin knew she was in love. Cliché, but it was true. The shutter on Yerin’s EOS 5D clicked almost non-stop that night. 

After the performance ended and the audience left, they held a de-brief and Yerin plucked up the courage to approach Eunbi. The younger girl later revealed that she too, was drawn towards Yerin by her cute and innocent appearance. Yerin began volunteering for each dance performance that Eunbi was involved in to interact with the girl more often and the rest is history.

Yerin switched the entertainment system on, playing her favourite classical pieces as she cruised down the road. The dance studio a decent drive from their apartment but considering that the lunch hour was over, it took Yerin slightly less than half an hour to get there. She engaged the parking brakes and checked her phone to see that she had received a message from Eunbi shortly after she left their apartment.

From: 황 공주님 👑

Good morning ^^ I’ll be ending my class in about half an hour or so. Feel free to come up and wait :)

To: 황 공주님 👑

Alright, I’m coming up now.

Yerin switched the ignition off and hopped out, walking briskly into the building. She took the lift to the 6th floor and saw that the lights in the studio were still on but it was empty. She tapped her knuckle on the door three times before letting herself in. 

“Hey.” The dancer greeted when she saw Yerin entering the studio.

“Hey. Just finished class?”

“Yeah. Mind waiting while I shower? Or do you want to come along?” Eunbi asked with a teasing wink, slinging her towel over her shoulder.

“Go shower. I’ll just chill here.” Yerin chuckled as she took a seat on the swivel chair. The dancer left the studio, leaving the photographer in silence. Yerin began playing a game on her phone while she waited for Eunbi to return. The girl didn’t take long and was back in the studio in 20 minutes.

“Dry your hair first or you’ll catch a cold outside.” Yerin said without looking up.

“I will. Where are we going after this by the way?” Eunbi asked as she towel dried her hair.

“I’ll assume you haven’t had lunch yet, so we’ll go to the park. I have a surprise prepared for you.” Yerin replied as she scored another headshot.

“Surprise? Again?” Eunbi asked incredulously as she stared at Yerin’s face of concentration.

“Why not?” Yerin shrugged and looked up when the match ended. “Yes! MVP!” she whooped, fist pumping the air.

“Silly.” The dancer chuckled, shaking her head lightly.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

“This is really good.” Eunbi said when she tasted the lunchbox that Yerin had prepared. They were currently sitting on a bench under the tree. It was slightly chilly, but the warm food and drinks made it bearable.

“I’m glad you liked it. I bought the ingredients yesterday while I was out with Eunha. She also came over this morning for free brunch and said that you would definitely like this spread.” Yerin chuckled as she chewed her food.

“That cheeky unnie.” Eunbi laughed. “I’ll take that your morning went well then?”

“Yep, it certainly did.” Yerin smiled. “Do you have anything else you want to do after this?”

“Well… I do have a place in mind.”

“Where?”

“That’s my surprise for you, Santa Jung.” Eunbi stuck her tongue out and Yerin grinned. “Are you working this week?”

“Hmm… I have a shoot tomorrow. Today actually, from around midnight.” The photographer said as she stuffed a piece of omelet into .

“Eh? Won’t you be tired if we’re out now?” Eunbi asked, worried about her girlfriend’s health.

“I’ll be fine. Those college all-nighters will come in handy today.” Yerin grinned. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Alright, but we’ll try to get home a little earlier, so you can at least take a nap before leaving.” Eunbi said and Yerin nodded. There was no changing the younger girl’s mind once she had decided on something. They finished their lunch and packed up the empty lunchboxes. Before Yerin could get into the car, Eunbi pulled on her coat.

“I’ll drive.” She said and Yerin obliged. Eunbi hopped into the driver’s seat and buckled up. Another perk of being the same height as her girlfriend; there wasn’t a need to re-adjust the car seat and they could share the same master control on the memory seats. The younger girl pulled out of the parking lot, gravel crunching below the wheels of the car.

“Kidnapping me?” Yerin kidded as she rested her head against the window.

“Maybe. Wherever I’m taking you, I’m very certain you wouldn’t complain.” Eunbi said with a smile as she glanced at the older girl. They arrived at the mall they frequented after a short drive and Eunbi led Yerin to the lift lobby, jabbing the button for the last floor.

“The arcade?” Yerin asked when the elevator doors slid open.

“Bingo. So, do you mind?” Eunbi asked, slipping her hand into Yerin’s.

“Nope.”

“Thought so. C’mon, let’s go win some games.” The dancer beamed and dragged Yerin towards the front desk. They bought a handful of tokens and began to walk around.

“What shall we play first? Racing, basketball, claw machine…” Eunbi listed as they walked around.

“Let’s take it easy and start with some racing games.” Yerin grinned as she pointed at the row of racing machines. They slid into the slightly cramped seats and inserted a token each. Unlike what Yerin said, the race was anything but easy. Yerin, being competitive by nature and Eunbi, who always likes a challenge, raced each other like there was some monetary reward for placing first.

Their cars were neck and neck, foot never once easing on the accelerator. Just when it appeared like Yerin was going to win, Eunbi turned her wheel all the way to the left and locked it while jamming the brakes, causing her car to slip into a drift and pass the finish line before Yerin did.

“What!” Yerin exclaimed in both shock and mirth, obviously surprised at the sudden turn of events.

“Drift master.” Eunbi grinned as she raised a peace sign.

“I demand a rematch.” Yerin huffed playfully and so they went for a second round. After a couple laps of intense racing, they decided to keep their pace and went for a zombie shooting game.

It ended with them dominating the zombies and setting a new high score on the machine.

“Yeah man! Teamwork!” Eunbi cheered, waving the blue plastic gun in the air.

“How many tokens do we have left?” Yerin asked as she returned the gun to the holster.

“Uhh… 5. Basketball then claw machine?” the younger girl asked over the blaring soundtracks of the machines.

“Sure.” The dark-haired girl smiled and took Eunbi’s hand, walking over to the basketball machine. “Loser pays for dinner?” she suggested after they inserted the tokens.

“You’re on.” Eunbi smirked as the metal gate lowered and allowed the basketballs to roll down. They reached out synchronously for the balls and tossed them at the hoop rapidly. Their arms were on autopilot; grab and throw, grab and throw.

“AH!” Yerin yelled as her arms began to grow tired of the repetitive action. The score on the LED display continuously increased with every shot. The timer began counting down their last 5 seconds and they began sinking in shots with all their might.

The buzzer sounded, and the last ball left their hands.

“How much?” Eunbi asked as she peered over.

“155.” Yerin declared proudly. She knew instantly that she had won after seeing Eunbi’s face of disbelief. “Dinner is on you~”

“No problem, you did prepare lunch after all.” Eunbi said coolly. “Now let’s go to the claw machine.” Yerin nodded enthusiastically and the couple made their way towards the brightly lit machines.

“Woah, there’s so many!” Yerin beamed when she saw the machine full of plushies. Eunbi held Yerin’s wrist and brought the girl’s palm up to hand her the remaining tokens. She watched as the dark-haired girl inserted a token and scanned the glass box for a potential prize. Eunbi loved when Yerin played with the claw machines. The older girl was so good at it that one might think she cheated.

There was this sparkle in Yerin’s eyes that made the girl look carefree and delighted whenever she was doing or looking at something she liked, which also includes looking at Eunbi.

“B, I have an idea.” Yerin said and the younger girl leaned forward to rest her chin on Yerin’s shoulder.

“Hmm?”

“I’ll use this doll to drag one closer to the opening.” Yerin said as she tapped her finger against the glass. “How many do you think I can win? 3?”

“I think the claw machine fairy can make anything work.” Eunbi teased and Yerin chuckled before grabbing the joystick. Both girls had their eyes glued to the claw as Yerin positioned it above the baby Apeach as accurately as she could before pressing the button. The claw descended and grabbed the plush’s belly.

“Hehe, it’s so cute.” Eunbi giggled as the claw raised the pink plush up. It wobbled slightly but remained within the grasps of the metal claw. Just as Yerin had planned, the claw dragged the baby Apeach towards the hole where it fell in. She pulled the claw back to get a Ryan doll. The metal claw grabbed it by the head and dragged it towards the opening, securing another plush. Yerin then tried again, this time for a doll that was right beside the opening. Her first attempt failed when Jay G’s head slipped out from the clutches of the claw.

“Ah, what a waste.” Eunbi said but patted Yerin’s back. The girl tried again and this time, she was successful.

“Yay!” Yerin yelped in glee, before bending down to retrieve the prizes.

“You really are the claw machine genius.” Eunbi chuckled as she Yerin handed her baby Ryan and Apeach.

“Why of course I am!” she said as she looked down at the Jay G plush in her arms. “More to add to my collection.”

“Our house is going to become a plush wonderland.” The younger girl laughed as they walked out of the arcade.

“It’ll be fine, there’s always space for one more. The cabinet in our study still has some space.” Yerin said, the soft plush.

“If that’s what you say. What would her highness like for dinner?” Eunbi asked teasingly.

“Only but the finest Chinese cuisine.” Yerin replied jovially, linking her arm with the younger girl.

“This way, your highness~” Eunbi said as she did a quick bow, causing Yerin to burst into laughter. Today was definitely a day well spent.