Sunlight peeked through the sidelines of curtains. Birds’ chirping transformed into soft music to anyone around. Especially in one room where a girl’s sleeping on her stomach, party dress still attached on her. The combination of the rays and the chirps wrinkling her deep-set eyes as she slowly opened them.

Consciousness didn’t seem to want to approach, but one thing she felt was that is dry and burning. her neck to reduce the pain but she eventually coughed. She couldn’t take it any longer, she needed to drink, she needed someone to bring her a drink,

“Ergh, Wendy,” Joy weakly called her name, still unaware of the surroundings. “Bring me water. Wendy, Wendy... Wendy!”  She angrily kicked the blanket as she leaned her back against the wall. Dizziness came to her, adding the burning sense in , she shouted in annoyance, calling the name again,

“WENDY!!!”

Only silence greeted her. Only the chirpy birds were willing to answer. Joy frowned looking at the door, wondering why that girl still hadn’t come,

“Ugh, useless !”

Unable to bear her burning throat, she got up still with her unending rant and headed for the kitchen. Relief felt as cold water flew into , lubricating it to keep it dry. Gulp by gulp quickly emptied the glass. A loud bang was heard when Joy slammed it on the counter,

“Hah, what a life!”

And that was the first time she consciously without any burning pain inhibiting, traveled her eyes to the whole room. At the whitewashed wall, at the TV that showing dark, at the beautifully dotted furniture there, at her whole living room. How the memory of yesterday slowly intruded empty space in her head and the parting words resonated again,

When she looked at the sofa,

Thank you for letting me stay.

When she saw the coffee table,

Happy Anniversary.

And that door, the door that witnessed that girl's departure,

I love you.

Joy paused, still processing what her brain was trying to tell. When the consciousness of yesterday's happening was fully absorbed, a smile appeared on her lips. The smile grew bigger and bigger and eventually turned into laughter. She laughed, hard.

“WHAT A LIIIIFE!!!” Both hands high up, enjoying it. Celebrating what she now believed was worth celebrated. Welcoming a freedom that now completely belonged to her and dismissing traces of that girl’s existence in her life, even the petite ones.

Pleasing whistling sound slipped out of her lips, accompanying her light footsteps back to the room. She cheerfully opened the closet to get ready for a bath and greet a completely new day without any parasite alike. Her phone rang,

Gayoung.

“Hey, are you ready?” Gayoung's pleasant voice was in her ear. She unknowingly shook her head to answer and only a smooth murmur came out, ignoring her stupidity, a smile arced upon her lips. Seemed like Gayoung wasn’t expecting an answer either when she again said, “I'm on my way, I'll pick you up at the usual place, ‘kay?”

That's when Joy finally responded, “No!” the shouting startled Gayoung for she didn’t say anything for a while. A suspicious tone was heard as she spoke,

“Don’t you have class today? Are you going to skip it again?” She paused for a moment, “Well, if you are, you know I’ll be there to support you. Let's go to some place fun!” A laughter echoed from the other line, made Joy also laugh with Gayoung teasing tone and her so called support,

“No, silly. I'm not going to skip class.” Joy said, gathering energy for the one sentence she’s about to throw. Well, she didn’t have any doubts, she would be afraid no more. ‘Cause the parasite was gone and there’s no point in hiding now, “Pick me up in front of the house.”

It seemed that the effect of that sentence hit Gayoung real bad when the latter fell silent. Joy even had to call her name a few times with a smile of amusement thinking about her current expression. Thus Gayoung seemed to not want to question the details when she slowly threw an ‘okay’ with somewhat cheery tone.

That pleasing whistling was heard again once the call was over. She did the little jumps while humming. Yes, the new day had arrived. Days where all the control was now in her hands. She leisurely the shower, enjoying the warmth that immediately spread throughout her body. Relaxing her mind, relieving her whole being, thinking about Gayoung and,

Ignoring a beat,

...that echoed emptiness through her heart.

***

Gayoung was already waiting in front of her house. She opened the door as Joy approached her. The sight of Gayoung right in front of the house made Joy's heart throb and the desire to kiss this girl swelled. Joy's lips were faster than her brain as she pulled the girl and smashed their lips in a brief kiss. The kissed one was shocked,

“Hey, she can see us!” Frightened, she looked up at the house, bringing a mysterious smirk to Joy before the latter get on the car. Gayoung followed her but curiosity didn’t seem to want to leave her for she was staring at Joy, causing her to blush,

“What?” Joy said looking down shyly

“What are you so cheerful for?”

“Take a guess!”

Cute little smiles were still annoyingly attached on her face, making Gayoung think hard and her beautiful brows furrowed. One thought crossed her mind from the many possibilities that occur. So she voiced it,

“The dwarf is gone?”

Joy's laughter filled the narrow space of the car, “The dwarf is gone!” The confirmation also immediately brought laughter to Gayoung, they’re much likely overwhelmed,

“Kiss me again!” Gayoung pleaded as she brought her face closer to Joy. The latter realized that there’s no longer an obstacle for them, Gayoung liked to show their closeness. Although in fact none of them knew whether this –whatever they have- was real or not,

“My pleasure, Princess.” Warmth ran through her lips.

The car drove slowly. Countless times Joy had seen her driving, she never got bored to see how cool Gayoung was. And it looked like Gayoung was aware that she had become an object of fantasy as she squeezed Joy's hand, “Let's go out tonight. I found some place fun, they have amazing beers!”

Quivering eyes lingered on Gayoung for a good moment and a question loaded with suspicion was thrown, “Is it one of the nightclubs again?”

“Of course. But they have this amazing beers and I'm sure you're gonna love it, right Sulyoung?” A pun on her name wasn’t enough to make Joy agreed on such thing, she’d already felt so packed with all the loud thumps of music that now just sounded annoying,

“Can we just- can we like, go to some place different without any possibilities of being drunk? I'm sick of it.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to go with me?”

“No, do not twist my words! I'm trying to ask you out for a date, god dammit. A real date.” Joy inhaled deeply, “Go on a date with me but we aren’t going to those clubs of yours. I’ll make sure everything prepared.” The hopeful look was caught Gayoung off guard then again she still hesitated to answer. Joy knew Gayoung’s kind of fun was the loud music that she hate and good beers, but she wanted to try something else, something where she could stare into Gayoung's face clearly without being interrupted by drunken.

Unknowingly they had arrived at the campus. When the hopeful face wouldn’t cease from her view, Gayoung briefly replied, “Okay”

And that was enough for Joy to pull her for hug to quickly peck her cheek, “You won’t regret it!”

She happily headed to class when a familiar scent invaded her nose. The scent she had been rasped for years, the scent of certain girl who went away from her. Joy was confused, that girl wasn’t likely to be here ‘cause this wasn’t even her department. Nevertheless Joy's eyes unknowingly scanned the place, unconsciously searching for that girl but she found nothing. As she was about to go into class, that was when she caught a mere sight of a brunette disappearing at the corner of a hallway.

***

There's a new kid.

Joy first found out in her way to a class. Everyone gathered at one spot, the hallway to a certain pale girl’s department. Most of them were male but there were also women fuming with admiration. Being a cool girl she was, she just walked pass by, ignoring the crowd.

Until a news reached her ears.

News of a beautiful girl with a bit spice added in it, that that girl was a childhood friend of certain someone. Someone who had recently parted ways with her. She found out from friends that Wendy’s name often place alongside another name that sounded new to her,

Irene.

The news that formerly was just Irene this and Irene that in a short time had turned into Irene and Wendy did this together or Irene and Wendy went there together or sometimes the gossip enthusiasts would say that Irene and Wendy were seen having a date.

Nonetheless, all that had nothing to do with her anymore.

She already had Gayoung, a girl who’s greater in everything. Joy had never got a chance to be at her ex’s department again though there had been a time when her curiosity flared up but she managed to keep it under control, accusing Wendy as a liar, despising the petite girl. How could a person who not too long ago said they love her had quickly changed their path and went out with others?

Until the time