It was past midnight and she was still at the company. These days, with the university festivals, the concerts, and projects they all had here and there, it had gotten complicated to find true moments of peace and comfort. They barely even spent time together. Of course, they saw each other everyday, but mostly on stage, and once everything was over, they were just too tired to hang out or do anything else...

Panting heavily after her three hours of practice for Blossom in Busan and tomorrow's event, Yong felt like she was about to pass out. She had never thought a day would come when she would have to admit it but, yes, she was definitely getting old. Sensing that her knees were about to give way, she sat on the floor and burrowed her head between her legs to stretch her back. She could hear her pulse in her ears and against her temples.

All that Yongsun really wanted right now was a cold shower and a full night of sleep.

'Good work tonight,' she heard Hyojung say from the other side of the dance room.

Lifting her head again, trying hard not to moan at the pain the movement had sent to her spine, she gave a quick smile to her choreographer through the mirror.

'You too. Be safe on your way home!'

When all of Hyojung's dancers had vanished, and she was left with too much space for herself, Yong lay on the floor completely. Spreading her arms and legs with a groan, eyes fixed right in front of her, she wanted to merge with the floor and the ceiling. Lost in contemplation, she raised an arm and pretended to grab the ventilation grid in her palm before bringing it back on her eyes.

I should get up, she thought. As much as she liked it here, she had no intention to fall asleep on the hard floor. It would only be worse if she did. Gradually, and as smoothly as possible, she managed to pull herself up again. She packed her towel in her sports bag and checked her phone.

Apparently, Wheein and Hyejin had already left, since the two of them were sending good night kisses. Yongsun felt touched and grateful for a split second, but the feelings quickly faded away, the next messages looking oddly suspicious in her opinion.

Ew, where did they find such ugly emojis? Wheein had even added a short recording of herself, singing the tomato song in Doraemon's voice. Judging by the giggles in the back, Hyejin must have given her full support. Yong shook her head and smiled to herself. At least, these two were enjoying their night together. It was nice to see them relieve stress like that.

She looked at the time and put her phone back in the bag. Almost 1AM.

She wondered if Byul was still around. Out of all the members, she was always the last to leave the company when they had some extra work, overstraining herself. At times, she even convinced herself that Byul spent her nights here. And when she was not at the company, she was usually holed up at Yong's place so, she barely even came home.

Leaving the dance room, Yongsun instinctively followed the corridor in the opposite direction from the exit, going back to the studio. Right before she reached the recording room, she stopped in front of a door on which the initials “M. S.” proudly shined. Right below the letters, someone had pasted Byul's newly designed logo. Yong snorted. She still could not believe that Byul had gone all the way with this.

It all had started as a joke, after Park Woosang had praised Byul's ability to sing in male key.

'Well,' Yongsun had said, laughing, 'if you're running out of ideas, you can always take a bass clef.'

But Byul had looked at her with starry eyes, as if she had just voiced out her dearest wish. She should have known that she would never miss an opportunity to get something that matched with her. And the association of treble and bass was such a greasy idea to begin with, so, of course, she loved it.

She could almost still feel the embarrassment and the heat slowly reaching her face when they had handed out the drafts to Kim Do-hoon (together, because, obviously, Byul had required that they did it together). His eyes had travelled from the sketchbook, to Byul's radiant face, then to Yong, who was as red as a beetroot and could only look at her feet, then back to the sketchbook. She remembered seeing the word forming on his lips, in slow-motion:

'Right.'

And that was it. For what seemed like an eternity, it was just Kim Do-hoon's impassibility, Yong's will to disappear under the ground, and Byul, in the middle of this, glowing like a solar fire, totally oblivious of the situation. The worst, of course, was the image of their CEO's smug smile when they had left his office, and the sound of a bursting laughter right after they had closed the door.

Yeah, that was far from subtle, indeed.

Pulling herself together, Yong decided to peek inside the room to check if Byul was there... only to be greeted by the cold air of emptiness. No sign of the carrot.

It had been a while since the last time she had come here. When they were a bit less busy, she used to always sneak in when Byul was working. It was a sort of tacit agreement they had made, years ago, when they were trainees. They would both come to each other's personal practice room, mostly to play piano together (even though it was more of a pretext to enjoy physical proximity), or simply to listen to the other sing, or rap. Just appreciating each other's presence.

She took a step inside, and closed the door behind her. Breathing in deeply, she closed her eyes for a couple of seconds. The entire room smelled like that familiar and light touch of jasmine and orange, permeating the air as if Byul had actually stood there, within reach. There was no word to describe the effect this combination had on her. She had never really told Byul about how sensitive she was when it came to scents.

She looked on her left, her eyes meeting with the pictures Byul had put on the wall, above the keyboard. They had been set there, as if the girl expected the people in the photographs to actually talk back when she was writing, or composing; giving their assent, or returning a smile. It was cute how she never seemed to allow them to get out of her sight, somehow.

The biggest ones were all pictures of the group. Some were posters. One of them was an adorable selca she had taken with Wheein during their “Yes I Am” promotions. All the other smallest ones, however, were... well they were pictures of the two of them, together.

Girl, you're such a lost cause, Yongsun thought, softening. She had even put up those pictures of them with the balloons shaped into wedding rings and marked “I do”. Yongsun remembered how they had decided to wear complementary outfits that day, to go with the theme and all. Oh, and there was this one as well, when they actually did wear ceremony outfits! Why does she have to look so good in suits, though?

Thinking back, Yongsun wondered if they had always given off this vibe of married couple, because all of these pics were screaming “long-term relationship and on-going”. And the answer must have been “yes”, which would notably explain their CEO's reaction. Ironical, if one thought about how reluctant to approach the younger girl she had been when they had first met.

After frowning at the view of the many Coke cans on the shelf –one of Byul's strongest addictions, with MMORPG–, her attention was caught by a sheet of paper on the desk. Lyrics for a solo project, abandoned here with a half-emptied cup of now cold latte.

I feel thirsty

My voice is hoarse, huskier

Skip the uncomfortable calls that break the silence

Everyday I see your smile

It feels like I'm always lingering in the same place

How did I laugh before?

Yongsun sighed loudly. How come she never writes anything cheerful?

It was a part of Byul that, at times, puzzled and scared her. Even when she could swear she was happy, there was something, lurking in the dark. Memories from bad previous experiences, and lots of insecurities. Fear of loneliness, or rather, of being left alone, was probably first on the list. Fear of having to witness the ones who loved you once from outside the window came right after. It was not that she had difficulties trusting people... but sometimes, those fears were just stronger and Yong wished she could do more to ease these worries away.

Switching off the light as she went out, she closed the door and grabbed her bag again. She was about to leave the building when she realised she had forgotten her sweater in the restroom and turned around.

It was dark inside when she pushed the glass door. Knowing the place by heart, and since her locker was the first on the left when you came in, she did not bother with the light.

Her sweater was not there though. Hissing at the idea of having to go home with just a tank top on, she was about to step out when she heard a discrete moan and the rustle of a clothing in her back. She did her best not to jump out of fright, before realising someone had actually been asleep on the sofa this whole time. Hoping she had not awaken the stranger, she stood on tip-toe and was heading for the door when she suddenly stopped her course.

Wait a minute. Is it...?

She would recognize that light snore anywhere. She got closer to the sofa and crouched down to get a better sight of Sleeping Beauty. Her eyes were progressively getting used to the dark. Cautiously, she brought her hand to the sleeper's forehead and pulled back a rebel strand of hair, a sweet smile painting her face.

The girl on the sofa shivered under her touch and opened a pair of tired eyes, only half-awake.

'M..'nnie?' Byul managed to say in a grumble, '...done with practice?'

'Yes, I'm done'

'..hmwas waiting for you'

'I see. And what's best, you didn't even fall asleep,' Yong teased.

'...sleepmmm'

Yong left out a warm laugh, looking at her in adoration. Only then, she noticed the thing Byul had wrapped herself in.

'Hey, that's my sweater!'

But 'Hmm' was the only thing the thief had to say in her defence. Yong tried to shake her gently to get her up on her feet, but Byul did not seem to like the idea, for she groused loudly.

'But baby, you can't sleep here. It's not your room'

And then, everything happened quite quickly. She did not really know how, but in a few seconds, she found herself on the sofa, pressed against Byul's chest and wrapped in her arms, the sweater spread on the both of them. Firmly locked in that embrace, she did not dare move, for Byul was still half-asleep and had much more strength in that state than when she was fully awake.

'Byulie?' she asked when she felt a hand her hair.

But Byul could not really hear anything anyway.

Giving in to the warmth that surrounded her, Yong felt herself slowly drifting. A glimpse of the past, when they often shared a bed in the rooftop house from their trainee days, passed in front of her closed eyelids. It was the same sensation of wholeness, the same impression that she was at the right place in the right time, that she belonged there.

Right before crashing, she could swear she had heard Byul say something, but it was all so confusing that she could also simply have imagined it.

'My room is where you are.'