Moon Byulyi is happy. 

As in, genuinely happy. Her chest is light, there is a skip in her step, and her mind is free from any depressing thought.

Fluffy clouds hang above them, and she feels as just as high.

(It’s amazing how a week or so of suffering could have her plummeting so low then have her fly up so high the next.)

Kang Seulgi skips alongside her, her easy-going nature easing Byulyi into a comfortable position. The pair stop at a cotton candy stall and buy two. Happily, they tear away at the cotton diabetes.

Seulgi closes her eyes and smiles, ‘Man, this is life!’ she happily proclaims, popping a piece of fluff into . Byulyi grins silently beside her, tearing away at her own cotton candy.

The candy is sweet, much like her companion, Byulyi muses as the candy melts on her tongue.

(Her fingers are sticky and gross. The cotton candy makes her crave for a gallon of water or two, but, Byulyi thinks as she eyes Seulgi, being here with her friend makes it all worth it.)

‘It’s getting dark.’ Byulyi notes, eyes fixed on the sinking sun. It paints the sky orange, and blue. Pink splashes are miniscule but noticeable, splattered between the two colours.

It looks heartbreakingly beautiful, forlorn yet ethereal. The sun sinks behind mountains tall and the colour blue dominates the sky.

‘Yeah.’ Seulgi nods as she finishes her cotton candy, she fixes her mask back into place and reminds Byulyi to do the same. She takes Byulyi's stick (where the candy was impaled) and hers before disposing of it in a nearby bin. She returns and links her arm around the older girl's and skips happily out of the amusement park. ‘A perfect time for the second part of Operation: Cheer up Byul-unnie! Leggo!’ 

As Seulgi half-drags her across the park, Byulyi smiles beneath her mask.

Thank heavens for Kang Seulgi.

.....

They arrive at a small, devoid-of-customers establishment, and a woman in her early 20s greets them warmly. Byulyi lowers her mask and flashes the kind woman a smile before claiming a seat.

Seulgi claims the one opposite her and calls for a menu.

The woman scuttles over to them and hands the menu over to them. 

The younger girl looks at her unnie, ‘So just how drunk do you want to be?’

Byulyi grins wryly, ‘I want to be drunk as . Does that answer your question, Seulgi-ah?’

The vocalist chuckles and nods, pointing at a bucket promo.

‘Just keep it coming.’ Seulgi tells the woman, who nods furiously and scribbles on her notepad. ‘Don’t let us run out of drinks, no, not until we signal you to. Thank you very much, miss.’

Byulyi doesn’t know what the world did to deserve Kang Seulgi.

‘So,’ As Seulgi leans forward, eyes narrowed and intense, Byulyi feels warm all of a sudden, a her stomach a pyromania of dread. ‘Spill.’

The drinks arrive and Byulyi doesn’t waste any second before gulping the bottle down to half. Seulgi watches, and Byulyi thinks she knows just how big the problem is.

Byulyi slams the bottle down and grins, feeling a little lightheaded. Properly inebriated, she tells Seulgi everything. From how she has loved MAMAMOO's pretty fool of a leader, Solar- to how she has loved her best friend, Kim Yongsun.

She tells Seulgi the scary process of knowing, and the scarier process of admitting it to herself and to her best friend.

(She takes a heavy swig there to numb the pain.

Seulgi takes a sip too, brows furrowed.)

She says how Yongsun got confused at first-

(‘I like you, Yongsun.’ Byulyi remembers confessing, and even though she’s just recounting the memory she still feels her palms sweat. 

Byulyi also remembers pink- vivid blushes and shy glances, before Yongsun answered:

‘I... I don’t know, Byulyi.’ She remembers swallowing in fear and anxiety, and the look Yongsun sent her didn't make anything easier.

‘I have never considered dating.... girls.’ Yongsun explained, drawling the last word as if the concept of such was so foreign to her. Byulyi's stomach sank.

Byulyi should’ve accepted this- the LGBT+ community wasn’t entirely accepted by all yet and chances are, Yongsun may be a homophobe.

It’s okay. Really. Byul should’ve known. Yongsun is the same girl who says ‘Isanghae!’ to her greasy lines after all