3 YEARS AGO

SEOUL ARTS INSTITUTE

AUGUST 10 

"Just the person I've been looking for!" Yuna exclaimed as she snuck up behind Yewon with an envelope in her hand.

“Oh god, Yuna, you scared me,” Yewon heaved, her hand resting on her chest. Going back to class usually didn’t mean getting surprised by one of your friends. 

“Sorry! I just got super excited,” Yuna smiled apologetically before walking with the younger performer. “So? How was your summer?”

“Well,” Yewon pursed her lips, leading Yuna into her private dorm so both of them can sit while talking. “It was alright. I had a few gigs here and there. I sometimes even sang on the streets, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?”

“Right,” Yuna agreed with a smile. “Did you and Eunbi hangout a lot?”

“Uhm..” Yewon trailed off for a moment. Her fingers were too busy trying to untangle the small tag on the tuning keys on her guitar. She had bought a new instrument from performing so much and it was the first time she ever bought herself something so expensive; she absolutely had to take care of it like it was her own child. 

“I’m guessing that’s a no?” Yuna blinked, scratching the back of her head. “I’m sorry about that, Yewon.”

“No need to apologize,” the younger laughed, finally pulling off the tag with ease and without worry of damaging a string. “We did get to hangout maybe.. I don’t know? Three or four times?”

“Only three or four times?! In under three months?!”

“Yep,” Yewon smiled again. “I always visited her whenever I wasn’t busy and we’d chat, but then she’d say she had to leave to see her girlfriend. The usual I guess.”

“Don’t you miss your best friend?” The other asked with a more concerned tone. She thought maybe Yewon was being too nice considering the way Eunbi was treating her. “I mean.. You guys were like inseparable before Yerin came in.”

“Trust me, I know.”

“You’re not gonna call her out on it? She’s replacing you, Y-“

“I know, Yuna. I do.” Yewon sighed softly and shrugged her shoulders. “But that’s her business.”

Yuna frowned. She couldn’t believe Yewon would let her so called best friend get away with situations like these. Yuna swore to herself that if anyone did the same thing to her, she’d drop them in the blink of an eye. But Yewon was Yewon, and she refused to change. 

“You know, it’s healthy to let loose and get angry every now and then,” the taller coaxed. “So next time you see Eunbi, you should tell her how you really feel. You don’t deserve to be treated like this, Yewon.” 

Yuna scooted closer to the latter as she spoke and wrapped a comforting arm around her body, squeezing her reassuringly. 

“I’ll be fine, Yuna. Thank you for being here for me, but..” Yewon thinned her lips together. “I can’t force her to be my best friend again. If she’s happier with Yerin, then, so be it.”

Yuna scowled. She hated seeing Yewon hurt, but she lifted her arm off of the younger’s body as if to say she’ll leave the subject be. 

“Thank you,” Yewon laughed. She laid her guitar to the side on her lap and tuned by ear, humming along to every sound her strings made. Her eyes wandered at the setting for a moment before landing on the envelope Yuna brought with her. “What’s that?”

Yuna blinked for a moment from confusion, but clapped her hands together when she remembered the reason she snuck up on her friend. 

“It’s for you.”

“For me?” Yewon’s eyebrows knitted together while asking but gradually took the envelope anyway. “What’s in it?”