“I hope you know I’m never helping you with anything again.” Wheezing, all said girl could do was nod, peering around the store’s corner, quickly retreating behind it once again.

“That old fart’s still there!”

“What do you except, Kirin?! You threw a damn rock at him!” Minseo exclaimed, voice raising enough that Kirin slapped a hand over .

“Yeah well I’m about this close from throwing /you/ at him so shut up, will you?” The younger bit her hand, causing Kirin to let out a small yelp, pulling back to nurse her wound. “What’s wrong with you?”

Shrugging, Minseo grabbed the other girl’s wrist, pulling her around & towards the store’s small, back door, pushing it open & then she all but threw Kirin inside, slamming the door behind them. 

“Are you crazy?” She whisper screamed.

“Chill out. We won’t get in trouble here.”

“We broke into a store! Won’t get in trouble my-“ 

“Can I help you guys?” Kirin jumped, almost like a cat, all of the hair on her body standing to full attention. A hand over her heart, she looked up at the voice, eyes squinted together accusingly, already seething. Before she could speak up, however, Minseo cut in.

“Yewon! It’s soooooo nice to see you! How’s life?” The taller girl seemed perplexed, like she had been the one caught off guard, not Kirin & Minseo.

“I’m, uh, fine. May I ask what you two are doing in the store at,” She looked down at the pink watch wrapped around her tanned skin, “6 in the morning before we even open?” 

“Well you see, my friend & I might’ve….y’know….gotten into a small bit of trouble, nothing major!” Yewon glanced at Kirin for a moment which made her uneasy for some reason, maybe it was the fact she, in this moment, seemed to be towering over her, before focusing her attention back to the youngest.

“What did you do?”

“/I/ didn’t do anything!” The accused girl huffed, “/She/ on the other hand,” she pointed a finger right at Kirin, almost poking her eye out, “Threw a rock at that Park guy by the bar, causing him to go on a, very slow, pursuit of us & we happened to stumble across this store which so happens to be owned by my ever beautiful-”

Yewon held up a hand, signaling for Minseo to quit yapping which she, thankfully, did. “So, all in all, you & your friend here,” a small glance went in the perpetrator’s direction, “Assaulted an elderly citizen with rocks & decided to hide out in my family’s store?” The other two blinked at each other. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Well, it was nice meeting you but, I think we’ll go-”

“I wouldn’t. He’s still out there.” Minseo & Kirin glanced out the window & were greeted with the wide back & shoulders of the man in question. Kirin coughed awkwardly.

“So you have a point.” At that, the eldest of the trio smiled softly & who was Kirin not to stare as she spoke, “But I have to ask, are you gonna let us stay or not? As much as I like that pretty face of yours, I’d like to know if I need to make a mad dash for my car.” Yewon blinked at her dumbly for a moment before a light blush graced her cheeks which was mostly hidden by her long, chestnut hair but Kirin was still able to get a glance of at at the bridge of her nose. 

“You guys….can’t stay here for very long.” Their faces fell a little, “My parents don’t like people around/in the store when we aren’t open & they aren’t here.” Kirin mumbled a small okay, sad she had to go but oh well, it wasn’t /that/ big of a deal. She’d get to see Yewon some other time right? But why did that matter? They barely knew-

“Can we go home with you then? We still need protection. Mr. Park is like a dog with rabies, persistent.” The tallest laughed, the high sound bubbling up her chest & out of . She nodded.

“I’ll take you guys home in a moment, I still have things in the oven. Give me like, 10 minutes.”

So they did. Minseo & Kirin ducked behind the main counter just in case the old man decided to pay them a visit. Eventually, Yewon came back around with a small bag in hand before leading the two out to her car. “Am I just heading to your house, Min?”

“Well, Kirin can’t come over today because-” the youngest was shot a glare to which she rolled her eyes, “r e a s o n s so you can just drop her off at her place.” Silently, Yewon nodded & the rest of the car drifted into silence. It took about 10 minutes to reach Minseo’s, they bid her farewell & Yewon chided her to stay out of trouble before a short, somewhat chubby girl poked her head out, her dimples could be seen from the car.

“Hi, Haeun!” Yewon greeted from afar, the younger giving her a bright smile, hand waving wildly before she was pulled back inside by Minseo. Letting out a quiet breath, Yewon turned to Kirin, “What’s your address?” Kirin blinked dumbly for a moment, causing the other to laugh, “So I can take you home?”

“Oh.”

There was a thick silence for a moment, Kirin’s eyes were staring down at her lap as she thought, she couldn’t exactly let Yewon take her home, her mom would go ballistic. Sensing the change, the elder spoke up. “Do you want to come home with me?” All she got for an answer was a small nod but Yewon smiled before starting the engine to her small, canary truck before driving off, head far enough out of town that Kirin had no idea where they could be going. Sure, it was weird that she barely knew the person driving her & maybe she was being kidnapped but there was something about Yewon that made Kirin feel safe, dumb as it may sound.

It must’ve been, half an hour to an hour until they reached the Son’s residence, the younger having fallen asleep somewhere along the trip. When she looked beside her, the driver’s seat was empty & she panicked….had she been left alone? She was about to throw herself out of the car when she noticed the lithe figure of Yewon walking down the house’s steps. The other reminded her of a wife from maybe the 60’s, the pale blue of the house a sharp contrast with the hot pink of flowers planted amongst the porch.

Kirin took her time in stepping out of the car, almost falling thanks to the gap between the truck & the dusty ground. When she looked up, Yewon was standing at the base of the porch, a small smile gracing her face. “Do you wanna come in? You should probably eat something.”

    “Oh, yeah, sure.” Kirin shuffled over to & up the stairs. As she walked, numerous bushes & petals brushed against her skin, she turned back to Yewon. “What are these even for?”

“My grandma planted them. She says they keep “bad things” away,” the pink haired girl scoffed.

“You don’t believe her, do you?” There was a small shrug followed by a moment or two that passed in complete silence.

“I mean….you never know.”

“You’re absolutely ridiculous.” All the brunette could do was laugh, hand coming up to cover . Kirin trudged into the house, Yewon following her quietly, shutting the door behind both of them. “How old is this house?”

    “Just full of questions, aren’t you?” The younger stared blankly at the other, causing her to hold both hands up in defense, “Alright, alright. I think it’s around, maybe 20-30 years? About the same time since my grandparents moved here.” 

“Are they still alive?” A quick shake of the head.

“My grandfather died when I was 10 & my grandma passed away last week.” Kirin’s face fell, moving quickly. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t-”

“It’s fine, really, Kirin. That’s partially why we have so many of those flowers. My mom’s been tending to them nonstop since she passed, I guess it’s her way of coping.” The younger nodded, not knowing what to do. She’d probably made her angry. “Well, enough of that. Come with me.” Yewon grabbed onto her wrist, dragging her off towards their kitchen. It was littered with china on multiple shelves, pictures of the family adorning the walls. Yewon pushed the girl to sit down at the head of their small table before turning to rummage through the fridge.

She must’ve been in an awfully spacey mood because she’d just been staring at a small, photo without a frame, it had a family of 4, & somehow, without knowing why, the younger could tell which was her host. Seated next to their mother was a small girl who looked about 8, her long hair brought up into 2 pigtails, her already golden skin seemed to be radiating from inside the paper.

Eventually, Yewon came to sit next to Kirin, placing a small plate in front of her & a small glass of water. “I hope you aren’t allergic to strawberries. I probably should’ve asked you first.” The latter of the two just laughed, shaking her head.

“It’s alright, Won. Thank you for letting me stay here.”

“Anytime, Kirin. It’s nice to finally have someone over, Minseo spends most of her time with Haeun now.” Kirin nodded, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips, those two had been inseparable for years.

After the girls finished their food, most of the crusts having been thrown at each of them, Yewon snatched them up & placed them inside the sink, passing it off that she’ll wash them later (she probably won’t). “I really do appreciate you taking me home.” The younger finally spoke up & Yewon smiled.

“I appreciate you letting me take you home. It’s about time we got to Knowing each other, don’t you think?” She did have a point. They’d been acquaintances for years & Kirin didn’t know what kept her from approaching the other. 

“I should probably get going. I don’t want-” A soft hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her back down.

“Stay.” Yewon whispered softly, already laying herself halfway in Kirin’s lap. Maybe she would take that offer up.