The construction workers outside Byulyi’s apartment woke her up as per usual. She ruffled her already messy hair and checked her phone. Three missed calls from “Ahnyonce” greet her, but she does not bother to call her back.  After wallowing in self-pity for a good thirty minutes, she rises from her bed and walks down the corridor, towards the kitchen. The bowl on the dinner table is full of rotten fruit and the sink is full of unwashed dishes.

Byulyi has been trying to figure herself out for the past few weeks, and it has taken a toll on her and her relationships. Her friends Hyejin and Wheein have been trying to get her out of the house, but it has been mostly futile. Byulyi is not trying to be overdramatic, but finding out that one might not be into the opposite , tends to have an effect on people. For twenty-five years, she has not once thought about this, but life is full of surprises. She even broke up with her first ever boyfriend as a result. He was a sweet and caring person, but she could never see him as more than a friend. 

Byulyi decided to take a shower to clear her thoughts, but her phone rang right before she stepped into the shower. “Why does she have to be so damn persistent?”  Byulyi thought before she picked up her phone.

“Yes Hyejin, why are you calling me on a Saturday morning?” she said with a slight hint of irritation. “Well, I just got off the phone with Wheein, and she wants to visit this new ice-cream parlour downtown,” Hyejin said excitedly and giggled a bit. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to join us. Wheein invited another friend too, but the more the merrier am I right?” Byulyi rubbed her temples slowly, sighed and nodded despite the fact that Hyejin could not see her. “It’s not like I have a choice here right?” she asked annoyed. “Not really, but thanks for complying,” she snickered lightly, before hanging up.  What has she gotten herself into this time? 

After her shower, Byulyi put on her shorts and a simple white t-shirt, before exiting her house and locking the doors behind her. She found her tiny red car and drove to the address she received from nosy friend. On the way there, Byulyi felt her hands getting clammy. She never was good with new people. She just did not know how to act around them, and she would get especially weird with new girls. After a while, she stops her car, takes a few deep breaths and gets out of her car.

Immediately, she hears some ear-piercing sounds. She turns her head to the noise, and sees three small-statured girls, two of which seem familiar. “Unnie, over here!” the shortest of the three girls jumps up and down eagerly. Byulyi walks down to the girls and greets the two familiar beagles, before focusing her attention onto the new girl. She has long and wavy blonde hair, chubby cheeks, and a small mole above her eye. “Hello there, I’m Wheein’s friend Yongsun, nice to meet you,” she said and smiled sweetly. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you Miss Byulyi,” she added when Byulyi did not answer. “I’m sorry… it’s just that you’re very pretty,” Byulyi suddenly blurted out and swiftly covered . That is when she heard the screeching noise once again. Turns out it was Yongsun’s laughter. “Wow, that was super cringey, what school taught you this?” she spoke through her laughter. Byulyi was most likely red from head to toe, but she managed to laugh along. She really needs to remember to shoot herself later.

The four girls walked through the park towards the ice-cream parlour. Byulyi could not help but sneak a little peek at the Yongsun. She realised that this girl attracted her somehow, but she was not sure why. Byulyi was pleasantly surprised when Yongsun turned her head and their eyes met. She flashed her signature “Killer-smile™” and the blonde smiled back, displaying her dimples. “If you two would stop flirting already, you would see that we’re here,” said Wheein and motioned towards a cosy looking café. “It was not flirting, just friendly acknowledgement,” Byulyi whispered looking down and Yongsun just chuckled. “Right, of course, now move along unnies,” Wheein said and opened the door to the café.

The girls chatted in the café for a couple of hours. Byulyi found out that she and Yongsun have a lot in common. They share a similar taste in music and food, and a similar need to strangle their younger friends sometimes. She also found out that Yongsun is a year older than she is and therefore wished to be called “unnie”. Wheein and Hyejin were both forgotten, when the two older girls talked. Byulyi was surprised over how easy it was to talk to Yongsun. Her earlier uneasiness was all gone and a newfound attraction was beginning to form.

After the sweet outing, it was time for the girls to head home. Hyejin and Wheein went home to their shared apartment together as per usual, while Byulyi decided to walk Yongsun home. While they were walking, Yongsun sneakily brushed her hand against Byulyi’s. Her face flushed instantly, but she got the hint.

“I’m really lucky to have met you today, Byul,” Yongsun made eye contact for a second, before looking in the other direction, acting as if it was accidental. “No, I’m the lucky one, to have met such a pretty girl,” Byulyi said and winked at her. “Wow, too cheesy. I take it all back, I can go home alone from here on,” Yongsun said and let go of Byulyi’s hand just to run away teasingly. “Oh no, I’m sorry my sweet princess, let me walk you home!” she barely shouted through her laughter and ran towards Yongsun. When she caught up to her, both of them were out of breath, but they were still laughing.

“We’re here cheeseball,” said Yongsun and looked at Byulyi half-expectedly. In her head, Byulyi was contemplating asking for her number, since they seemed to click so well. Yongsun managed to wash away all of her worries in a single day and she does not want to let her slip away. While she was deep in thought, she felt her phone being snatched away, and looked up to see Yongsun grinning. “I had to take this matter into my own hands, since you were braindead for a second there,” Byulyi approached Yongsun without thinking and pressed her lips against the older woman’s cheek. She was scared of having stepped over the line, but all her worries washed away when Yongsun smiled in the most sincere way she had ever seen. “See you soon, hopefully,” she said before running inside hastily.

After a few minutes, Byulyi felt her phone vibrate. She took it out of her pocked and beamed when she saw what was on it

“Goodnight, Byul-ah~”

“Sweet dreams, Yongsunnie~”