A/N: before you read this chapter, please know that this is the final chapter before i post the epilogue sometime soon.

  as usual, i do my best trying to spot mistakes before posting but it's very common that one or two slip through. i'd like to apologize for any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors that this chapter might contain.

*Jinsol's POV*

  "Hey, I'm gonna go with the rest of the girls. Yeojin keeps whining about needing to win that giant plush frog we saw when we first arrived," Jungeun says, touching my arm gently. "You're gonna stay here, right?"

  "Yeah, I'm waiting for Heejin to finish buying cotton candy for her and Hyunjin," I say, gesturing to where Heejin is a couple of feet away, pulling out money to pay for the two cones of cotton candy that are bigger than her entire head. "When Hyunjin comes back from the bathroom, we'll meet you up with you guys."

  "Sounds good," she replies with a small smile. She grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze just as Yeojin tells her to hurry up or someone else might win the frog before she has the chance to. She rolls her eyes and turns to Yeojin, "I doubt that'll happen." She glances at me once more, then catches up to the others who are already walking away, being dragged by Yeojin and Yerim. 

  I watch them walk away for a few seconds, and when I turn my attention toward the general direction Hyunjin disappeared to, she's walking back in our direction. For a moment, she looks at me, then she's looking past me, off to the side, where I know Heejin must be. As she approaches closer, her eyes narrow and her lips twitch, threatening to turn downward into a frown.

  "How long has he been here?" she asks, continuing to stare at Heejin and a guy that I hadn't noticed until now.

  "I'm not sure, but it couldn't have been too long," I answer. "Do you know him?"

  She nods. "Yeah, his name's Hansol. He's in our grade."

  "Would it be wrong to assume you two aren't friends?" I ask cautiously.

  "Not at all. You'd be assuming right."

  I look back in forth between Heejin and that boy, Hansol, talking and Hyunjin looking at them with an almost upset expression. "Should we go over?"

  "Yeah," she says, jaw clenching the moment the word passes through her lips.

  We walk over and I hesitate a couple of times, my pace nearly slowing completely, but I keep going because I can sense the determination in every step Hyunjin takes toward them. More specifically, every step she takes toward Hansol.

  Heejin's eyes light up the moment she sees Hyunjin and she smiles, raising both cones of cotton candy she holds in her hands, "I got the cotton candy."

  Hyunjin only glances at them for a second, "I see." She looks back up at the other girl and Hansol. "What were you two talking about?"

  "Oh," Heejin's smile turns timid, "I was just thanking Hansol for offering to pay for our cotton candy."

  Hyunjin's expression is blank, voice monotone, as she asks, "Did he?"

  "Yeah," Hansol rubs at his nape as he gives an embarrassed smile. "It's no big deal. I saw her and thought I'd offer to pay is all."

  "Oh, that's so nice," I find myself saying without having a moment to stop the words from coming out.

  "Yes, how nice," Hyunjin mutters underneath her breath, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Jeez, what has Hansol done to her for her to dislike him this much?

  "Anyway, we really have to get going. I'm sure the others are wondering what's taking us so long," Heejin says, looking at me for reassurance. I nod my head in agreement. "Thank you again, Hansol. I appreciated the offer."

  "Anytime, Heejin," Hansol says, sounding a bit shy, his cheeks a light pink. They only grow darker as he stammers out, "I-I've been meaning to ask you if you'd like to go out sometime."

  "Pardon?" Heejin looks so adorably lost. 

  "With me," Hansol adds on, hoping it'll make more sense now that he's clarified what exactly it is that he's asking. Heejin's still looking at him with the same smile, her eyes filled with confusion. He repeats it, "I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me sometime."

  That seems to snap her out of whatever trance she was in and her smile quickly fades away. She's careful choosing her next words, saying them slowly, as if it hurts her. "I'm sorry, Hansol, but I'm not looking for a date or a relationship right now. I hope you understand."

  Pain flashes in his eyes and in a matter of seconds, his smile slides off his face and any confidence he had is gone. He's still looking at Heejin, but his eyes have a faraway look in them as if he's no longer mentally present. "Okay, I understand." He stands, unmoving for another moment before turning away. His voice wavers ever so slightly as he says, "Have a good one, Heejin. You too, Hyunjin." Then he walks away, never once looking back.

  I just witnessed a heartbreak.

  I clear my throat awkwardly to break the silence that's draped over the three of us. "I never would've thought I'd witness a heartbreak like that."

  "Me neither," Hyunjin murmurs, shaking her head in complete disbelief.

  "God, I feel so bad!" Heejin cries out, her lips pouting, face taking on a guilty expression. "I tried to let him down gently, but the look on his face...I don't think I'm getting any sleep tonight."

  "Don't exaggerate," Hyunjin says.

  Heejin smacks her arm slightly, "Tell me you don't feel bad for him, too!"

  The other girl places a hand on the area that Heejin's hand made contact with. "Of course I feel bad for him," she shoots back, "I mean, I was his friend at one point."

  "Wait," I say, causing both of them to look at me rather than each other, "I thought you said you weren't friends earlier."

  Hyunjin rolls her eyes as if I've just said the dumbest thing she's ever heard. "We aren't. Not anymore at least."

  "Should I apologize?" Heejin suddenly blurts out when I've begun to think that she's become a little too quiet. "I think I should apologize."

  "Calm down, will you?" her best friend says, placing a firm hand on her shoulder in an attempt to put her at ease. "My thoughts on whether you should apologize or not are unimportant in this matter, but I will say that you shouldn't do it anytime soon. I know Hansol—I was one of the people he was closest to—so I know how hopeful he can be at times. If you do it immediately, he might misinterpret something and think you've changed your mind. That wouldn't be good, would it?"

  "No, it wouldn't," Heejin agrees. The gears in her head are still turning as she makes out a plan but they come to a screeching halt when she says, "You're good at this stuff, did you know that?"

  "What stuff?" The taller girl has no idea what she's referring to. (Thank god because neither do I.)

  "Giving advice," the older girl answers without missing a beat. "You're so calm and you don't let your own personal feelings get involved. It's very admirable."

  Hyunjin waves her hand dismissively, saying, "Jeez, you're so bare minimum. There's plenty of other people who are capable of doing that as well."

  "I never said it was unique. I just said it was admirable," Heejin retorts, defending her stance. "I'm allowed to praise you every once and a while. You're lucky I don't do it more often with how mature you are."

  A short burst of laughter escapes the other girl and whatever remains takes form as a smile on her lips. "Mature?—" She cuts herself off, opting to shake her head, all the while saying, "Bare minimum."

  "Maybe," Heejin starts then mutters under her breath, "But only for you." Judging by the look Hyunjin sends her, I assume that she also caught it.

  "Only for me?" Hyunjin asks, lips curved into a smug smile. She places a hand atop her chest, "Why, my dear Heejin, I'm beyond flattered."

  "Yeah, yeah," the other girl says, rolling her eyes at the exaggeration in the taller girl's voice.

  "Awww, Heekie," Hyunjin cooes and wraps an arm around her, pulling her close. "Where's the love now, huh?"

  "Any trace of it left when you called me 'Heekie'," Heejin deadpans, not appearing to be having any of whatever Hyunjin seems to be doing.

  Hyunjin isn't fazed at all though because she continues to . "I thought you liked being called that," she remarks. She leans closer, dropping her voice so she isn't speaking too loudly into her ear, yet still loud enough for me to hear, and says, "Or is it because Jinsol is here that you think you have to act like you don't like it?"

  I'm startled by how quickly Heejin shoves her away and from the looks of it, Hyunjin is too because her smile falters the slightest bit, worried that she might have actually angered the shorter girl. Except, Heejin doesn't look angry in any way, but rather embarrassed. The most embarrassed I've ever seen her before which is honestly surprising. Her cheeks are lit with a blush as she exclaims, "Of course not! Now, will you quit doing things like that?"

  "What 'things'?" Hyunjin asks, feigning innocence. She would have succeeded had it not been for the smile still gracing her face.

  "You know exactly what I'm talking about," Heejin retorts, annoyance creeping more and more into her every word. "However, if you'd like me to be specific, I'm talking about leaning that close, and stating something like that, knowing very well how it makes me feel."

  "And how does it make you feel?" Jesus, this girl just doesn't know when to stop, does she?

  "Hyunjin," Heejin warns, having reached her limit. 

  Thankfully, the other girl finally seems to back off, holding her hands up to protect herself if needed, but that same grin hasn't left. "I didn't mean to get you so worked up," she says, taking notice of how affected Heejin seems to be. "I'm sorry." 

  The older girl's expression softens at those two words. "It's fine. It's just..." Her voice trails off as she contemplates how to phrase her thoughts. "It's just, we've talked about this before."

  Hyunjin's smile disappears, replaced by a small frown, and she replies, "I know we have, but I thought that was behind us."

  "What do you mean?" Heejin questions, her pretty face contorting with an emotion I've never seen her display. "You were the one who first brought it up."

  "I know, I know, and it was stupid of me to even vocalize such idiotic thoughts," the taller girl admits, "but we've changed a lot. We've grown, together, and these dumb 'rules' that we set are just going to hold us back. Don't you think so?"

  Heejin stays silent.

  "Come on, Heej. Please work with me here," the desperation in Hyunjin's voice is as clear as day, and she cringes when she realizes, but doesn't step down. "There's nothing wrong with us showing affection. There's nothing wrong with having little to no space between us. We can freely do what other people do. Forget those silly rules, okay? I was able to handle holding stuff back then, but I can't do it anymore. Not when it feels like you're almost ashamed of me. Of this."

  The shorter girl's face crumbles and she doesn't hold back when she says, "Don't you think it was hard for me too? It still is. I thought you were ashamed of people finding out about us so I never did anything that would garner too much attention."

  "Ashamed of us?" Hyunjin softly asks. "God, no. I've never ever been ashamed of us, or you. The main reason as to why I even thought those rules would be good was because I was worried you weren't ready for people to find out. And maybe, I wasn't entirely ready myself."

  "I knew you weren't ready, and I definitely wasn't ready either—I don't know if I'm even ready now—but that's why I never said anything."

  "You should have. That way I could've realized just how much of a I was, am, for putting us through this."

  Heejin steps closer to Hyunjin, eyes filled with a sadness I've never seen but looks too cozy to have arrived recently, and comments, "You were just doing what you thought was best for us. It might not have been the greatest proposal, but you only meant well."

  "Maybe," Hyunjin says although her voice lacks any conviction. After some drawn-out silence, she lets out a sigh that sounds like her soul has been aching for far too long, " those rules."

  "Those are some intense feelings I sense," Heejin notes, the tiniest of smiles pulling at her lips.

  "I had to get that out before I do what I'm about to do right now."

  "And what is it that you're about to do?" 

  Hyunjin's eyes twinkle as she simply utters, "This."

  Heejin's mouth opens to question her further, but she doesn't get a chance because Hyunjin leans forward and presses their lips together. The taller girl wraps an arm around her waist without the slightest bit of hesitation, while the other girl seems a little more conflicted. Her arms are frozen at her sides for a moment, then she moves them up to rest on Hyunjin's shoulders, deepening the kiss as she does so. 

  This causes the heads of people walking by to turn, expressions either staying blank or twisting into ones of wonder, curiosity, and even blatant disgust. And it's obvious that they can both tell that people are staring, but that doesn't stop them from continuing to kiss. So I smile to myself and decide that I shouldn't stop them either. I turn away, allowing them to have their moment for as long as it takes because they deserve every second of it.

*~*~*

  "So, you two are dating?" I ask once their moment has come to an end and I've reminded them that we should really get back to the others.

  "What do you think?" Hyunjin asks sarcastically.

  Heejin elbows her and answers, "Yeah."

  "How long?" I dare to ask. 

  This time Hyunjin answers for the both of them, "A few months." 

  "Wow," I breathe out. "I never would have thought."

  "I don't think anyone would have, to be completely honest," Heejin says.

  "You two are cute though. I'm happy for you both."

  "Thanks," Heejin replies, eyes turning into crescent moons. She turns to look at Hyunjin, who glances at her briefly but says nothing. She rolls her eyes and nudges her, earning a sigh from the taller girl.

  "What Heejin said," she mumbles, only to receive another (harder) nudge from the other girl. She sighs again before quickly saying, "Thanks."

  Heejin continues to stare at her, this time her sharp gaze morphing into a look of complete adoration. It takes a second or two for Hyunjin to notice, but when she does she asks, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  "Can't I just stare at my girlfriend every once in a while?" Heejin counters.

  "Yeah, but there are people around..." 

  "Hyunjin, you kissed me in front of countless people, yet you're worried about what others might think?"

  "That's not what I meant," she whines. Her face starts to become a shade of pink, "When you stare at me like that, it makes me embarrassed, alright?"

  The shorter girl lets out a loud gasp and brings up a hand to cover , "Kim Hyunjin is embarrassed? I never thought I'd see the day!"

  The blush on said girl's face has lessened to the point where it's barely noticeable, and she smacks Heejin's arm lightly. "You're so loud, I hope you know that."

  "Stop trying to play it cool. I know you're still embarrassed," Heejin says, pointing a finger at her. 

  "And so what if I am? Let me be embarrassed in peace," Hyunjin huffs before turning her head away from the other girl. 

  "Alright, I'll back off," Heejin announces, "but only this time."

  "Thank god," the taller girl visibly deflates. "I thought I was going to have to kiss you again to shut you up."

  "Why didn't you?"

  Hyunjin smiles, "It's an effective method, but we both would've liked it too much."

  "That's true," Heejin hums.

  "Are you two done being gross so we can get back to the rest of the group?" I ask, making my presence known for the first time in this conversation.

  "Yes," the older of the two answers while the younger says, "We're not being gross. You're just threatened because Heejin and I are a cuter couple than you and Jungeun." 

  That easily earns a laugh from me and I respond, "I'm definitely not 'threatened' by you two. I think Jungeun and I are pretty high up there in terms of being a cute couple, but we don't hold the number one spot. And although you two are serious competition, I don't think you hold that spot either."

  "So who does?" Hyunjin's eyes stare into mine as if it'll get an answer out of me.

  "Just these two people I happen to know," I reply, fighting back a smile. "You may or may not know them."

  "Kevin and Jacob?"

  I shake my head.

  She lets out a groan of frustration, "Then who?"

  "I've said too much."

  She lets out another groan and continues to pester me for information, but I don't budge. 

*~*~*

  "Wait, are you joking?" Yerim asks, to which Hyunjin and Heejin shake their head simultaneously. Her eyes widen, "You're actually dating?!"

  "Yes, Yerim," Hyunjin says. "Why would we lie to you?"

  "Yeah, Yerim, why would they lie to us?" Yeojin asks, batting her eyelashes at the girl. Her eyes twinkle and her lips turn up into a triumphant smile, "Get ready to cough up those five dollars."

  Heejin perks up at this snippet of information, zoning back into the conversation that she tuned out so long ago. "You two bet on us?"

  "Maybe," Yerim admits, guiltily.

  Yeojin, on the other hand, doesn't try to hide it. "Yeah, we bet on you a while back," she says without an ounce of shame. "I kept insisting that it was obvious that there was something between you two, but Yerimie didn't want to believe me."

  "Really?" Chaewon asks in disbelief, swallowing the remains of corndog in . "Did you not notice how frequently they went to the bathroom? Together?"

  "Look, I thought that they actually had to go," Yerim explains.

  Hyejoo shakes her head softly with a smile, "Yerim, you're so oblivious it almost hurts."

  "Hey!" Yerim blurts out. "In my defense, I had no reason to think otherwise."

  "What do you mean 'no reason to think otherwise'?" Chaewon questions with a look that says "I can't believe this girl".

  "Yeah, what do you mean?" Hyejoo asks, raising an eyebrow at her. "They act gay all the time. How did you happen to miss that?"

  Yerim places her cup down on the table, leaning back slightly. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't gang up on me," she says, speaking a bit louder than she did previously.

  "Wait..." Yeojin murmurs as if something has dawned on her, "Yerim, do you not have a gaydar?"

  "What?" Yerim asks incredulously, sounding genuinely offended. "I don't know! I might, I might not. I don't really go about my day, observing people, and wondering if they're gay, somewhere in between, or neither."

  Hyejoo makes a tsking sound, "What a shame."

  "Yeah," the youngest of the bunch says solemnly. She stares off into the distance for a moment, then slowly, she inches toward Yerim and lowers her voice, "Don't you like girls yourself?" 

  "Well yeah." Hyunjin doesn't hesitate to open , most likely to say the first thing that's come to mind. Luckily, Heejin notices and nudges her arm, causing her to decide against saying anything. Beside them, Chaewon and Hyejoo turn to each other at the same time, sharing a look of mild surprise. "But that doesn't mean that I can tell whether or not someone is into girls or guys. Or both." 

  There's a second or two of silence between Yerim's words and the ones Hyunjin has started to say. "Yerim, what girls—or girl—have you liked?"

  "It doesn't—"

  "—You know that girl from the photography club?" Yeojin interrupts.

  "The one with glasses?" Hyunjin asks, visibly straining to remember who's in the club.

  "No, the one that has some of the healthiest hair I've ever seen," Yeojin states. She turns to Chaewon, "You have some competition." The blonde lets out a gasp as she reaches up to place her hands on her scalp, touching her hair in a protective manner. The raven-haired girl sitting next to her runs her fingers through her golden locks before grabbing ahold of one of her hands, pulling it down to their laps, and intertwining their fingers.

  "Oh, her?" Heejin eyebrows shoot up. "I have P.E. with her. She's cute."

  "Yeah, she's definitely cute," Chaewon agrees enthusiastically. "The taste jumped out, huh?"

  Yerim turns a deep shade of red, an embarrassed smile painted on her face, shaking her hands in front of her frantically. "I don't like her anymore. It was just a little crush."

  "You said that about that boy from the robotics club, but you crushed on him for weeks," Yeojin reminds her, much to her best friend's dismay.

  "I was the only one who helped you win that plush frog!"

  "So?"

  "You said you wouldn't tell anyone about that," Yerim says in a hushed voice.

  The shorter girl shoots her a toothy grin. "I made no promises." 

  Yerim frowns, looking utterly devastated at the betrayal that her supposed best friend is exhibiting in front of the rest of us. "I told you those things in confidence and I thought you'd be able to stay quiet," she mutters. "I keep my side of our promises. Like that one time, you said that you thought you might like—"

  Yeojin smacks a hand over the other girl's mouth, successfully muffling whatever words come after so that they're incoherent. "I think this is enough talking, right?" No one answers but she continues anyway, "Let's go play some more games. Hyejoo, didn't you mention wanting to win something for Chaewon?"

  Hyejoo looks at her weirdly and then says, "Yeah, I did. You sure you don't want any more food though?"

  "No, I'm all good," Yeojin's words are stilted and her hand is still covering Yerim's mouth even though the other girl is actively trying to pull it off.

  Jungeun finally speaks up, "Alright. If we're all done, we can manage to get a few more games in before it starts to get dark." 

  We all nod and move to through our trash away so we can get back to goofing off. Once that's done, Yerim finally manages to free herself of the death grip Yeojin had on her face, and when she does, she gives an apologetic look. Yeojin doesn't say anything, staying uncharacteristically quiet, and grabs onto her arm. She doesn't utter a single word until we're back in the crowd of people, and then she speaks, but her words are drowned out by everyone else's. However, the taller girl must hear her because she listens and nods from time to time, even appearing to offer a sentence or two back.

  I must admit, it's a little unsettling to see how an unfinished sentence had the ability to drastically change Yeojin's entire demeanor.

*~*~*

  Hyejoo's hand smacks against the glass of the machine with a thud. Kahei gently pulls her hand away from where it presses against the glass, quietly shushing her, and warning her that we could get kicked out if she continues this. The younger huffs, but listens nonetheless.

  "Jesus, Hyejoo. Smack that machine a little harder and you might shatter the glass with your bare hand," Hyunjin says from the claw machine beside them.

  Hyejoo only scoffs after hearing that, before shoving a couple more tokens into the machine to play again. "Focus on winning your girlfriend something, and I'll focus on winning mine something."

  "Fair enough," is Hyunjin's plain response.

  Except Jungeun has just processed Hyejoo's words and she says, "Wait just one second."

  Hyejoo tears her eyes away from the Kirby plush toy that she's been determined on winning for the past ten minutes. "Yes?"

  "You and Chaewon are dating?" Jungeun asks, eyes shifting from one girl to the other.

  "Oh," Hyejoo is short of words.

  "Yeah," Chaewon says, swooping in to save her girlfriend whose tongue is in knots. She waves her hands awkwardly at her sides in an attempt to show enthusiasm that clearly isn't there, "Surprise?"

  Jungeun rolls her eyes, but she smiles as she says, "You've succeeded in surprising me. Congratulations on being a couple."

  "Thank you—" Poor Chaewon doesn't get to finish her sentence because Hyunjin, rudely, cuts her off.

  "Jinsol!" Never, in my entire life, have I ever heard someone say my name with such distaste.

  But I know better than to mirror Hyunjin's tone of voice, so I sweetly say, "Yes, Hyunjin?"

  "Earlier, you were talking about Hyejoo and Chaewon, weren't you?"

  I glance uneasily at the two girls that she just mentioned, only to find that they're already looking at me, both clearly confused. Crap. "Maybe?" I say, sounding unsure. I follow it up with, "Why does it matter?"

  "Because," Hyunjin jabs a finger in my direction and I almost flinch, "you knew about them the whole time!"

  "Hey, what was I supposed to do? Tell you all about business that isn't mine?" I ask, holding up my hands in a defensive manner. Hyunjin's glare softens and I let my hands fall at my sides. "Besides, you act as if you couldn't tell that there was obviously something between them."

  "Hey!" Chaewon blurts out.

  I turn to her, "It's true though. You and Hyejoo weren't exactly a secret."

  Haseul, who was previously watching Yeojin and Yerim play some game, lets out a hum of approval. "She's right, Chaewon."

  The blonde shrinks back, her face turning a shade of pink. "Well, we tried to be discreet..."

  "You were both gay as hell," Hyunjin comments absentmindedly as she concentrates on transferring the plush toy that the claw has latched onto, into the opening in the corner.

  Hyejoo reaches down before straightening up with the Kirby plush in her hand. "You're one to speak," she says with a smile. "If we were gay, then you two were equally as gay, if not more."

  "Well duh, we acted gay. We are gay," Hyunjin says in a matter-of-fact tone. She shudders and turns to Heejin, "Imagine if we acted straight?"

  Heejin makes a face, "I'd rather not imagine that."

  Hyunjin turns her attention back to the machine, beginning to lean down, as she says, "Me neither."

  Haseul cuts into the conversation, Yeojin and Yerim trailing after her, and asks, "Think it's time to go soon?"

  Jungeun checks the time on her phone, then nods. "Yeah."

  "Wait," everyone turns to look at Chaewon, who in turn, is looking at Hyejoo, "I never won anything for you."

  "It's fine," Hyejoo says, looking down at her with a gentle smile. "You don't have to."

  "But I want to," Chaewon protests with a pout.

  Hyejoo's smile grows wider. "All that matters to me is that you got the plush toy that you wanted and you're happy."

  "Can I make it up to you?" Chaewon asks, guiltiness pooling into her eyes.

  "Hm," Hyejoo ponders aloud. She pretends to think for a moment before suggesting, "You could come over to my house after this and we could—"

  "Whoa! Calm down, will you? A child is present," Hyunjin says, pointing over to Yeojin who stares back with an unamused expression.

  "She wasn't going to say anything indecent," Chaewon tells her with an airy laugh.

  Hyejoo snickers, "Yeah. I was just going to suggest that we play Mario Kart."

  "Oh," Hyunjin lets out.

  "And maybe make out afterward," Hyejoo quickly adds with a smirk.

  Yerim swats at her before Hyunjin is able to, "We didn't need to know that!"

  Hyejoo only laughs at her. "Relax. It's a normal thing for couples to do," she says as she clasps Chaewon's hand in her own. "Besides, it's not like we're inviting you over to watch."

  "Hyejoo, please stop talking," Heejin pleads.

  "Fine," the big baby huffs, but not before she plants a small kiss on Chaewon's cheek.

  The reactions are instantaneous as strangled noises are made in the back of several throats and a soft coo leaves someone else. Yeojin begins to fake gag so convincingly that Yerim starts to become concerned for her. "Disgusting," Yeojin says once she's finished dry heaving and straightened up.

  Hyejoo and Chaewon simply roll their eyes at her antics, then turn to each other and kiss again—for real, this time.

  Hyunjin walks up to them, whacking them both upside the head with the palms of her hands, and says, "We're trying to get home. You can do this at a later time, love birds."

  Chaewon caresses the back of her head with a frown, and Hyejoo looks as if she wants to say something to Hyunjin but decides against it. 

  "Ready to go?" Haseul asks when silence has finally fallen over the younger bunch. Several groans are given in response, but Haseul only smiles. "I'll take that as a yes."

*~*~*

  "Jin," I call out when we've gotten away from the louder portion of the crowd. 

  Three heads turn to look at me and I smile sheepishly.

  Not very smart of me...

  "My bad. I shouldn't have been so general when addressing you," I apologize. I jerk my head in Yeojin's direction, "I meant the youngest."

  She meets my eyes, and smiles, before having the audacity to say, "I'd like you to address me by name."

  "Yeojin."

  Still, she isn't satisfied because she cups her ear and nearly shouts, "What?"

  "Yeojin," I repeat.

  "That's not it and you know it," she points out. She starts to turn her attention away from me with a disappointed expression.

  I roll my eyes and reluctantly force out, "Lil Yeo."

  Her eyes light up as if she's recognized me just now, "Ah, Blue Betta! What do you need?"

  "Blue Betta? I already told you not to call me that," I mutter.

  "Nonsense, Betta! Embrace the rapper within you," she encourages. "I heard you spit bars when we had a karaoke night. You have a lot of potential!"

  "Enough to be featured on a Soundcloud song of yours?" I ask, craning my head to look at her from where she now stands beside me.

  She takes a sharp inhale. "I'm not sure about that just yet," she answers with a grin. She playfully bumps her shoulder into me, "Anyway, what is it that you called me over for?"

  "Earlier, I saw the reaction you had to what Yerim said," she blanches considerably, "Are you okay?" 

  "Yeah, yeah," she forces out an awkward laugh, "I just had a little moment is all. I'd tell you, but I don't really want to talk about it."

  I hold up a hand to stop her from continuing further. "It's okay, I won't ask." At that, she manages a weak—but somewhat genuine—smile.

  "Thank you."

  "For what?"

  "For making sure I'm okay," she clarifies.

  "Of course." I nudge her lightly with my elbow and joke, "I have to make sure you're okay so you can keep putting out songs. It'll increase my chances of getting a feature in the future."

  She gasps loudly and pushes me away from her. "Here I thought you actually cared for my well being, but you only want to use me for my clout!"

  I pout, "That's not true."

  "Yes, it is," she retaliates.

  "Okay, maybe just a little," I admit. She gasps again, quieter this time, and I jump to my own defense, "But only because the world could benefit from a duet from us."

  She slaps my arm as she breaks into a fit of giggles that shakes her entire body. Deep laughter that betrays her baby face falls out of in short bursts, restricting her from getting in a proper breath.

  My skin is still tingling from the contact her hand made with it—when did she get so strong?—but I find myself laughing along with her.

  Through her laughing, she manages to say, "You're ridiculous."

  I shrug in response, "Maybe so. You have to admit it though; my statement has some truth behind it."

  Her body nearly gives in to the laughter that rumbles through her, but she withstands long enough to reply, "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say."

  "Does that mean that we can start working on our collaboration?"

  Her laughter comes to a sudden halt, "First off, do you even know how to use Soundcloud?"

  "No idea." Her laughter resumes, sounding much more intense now. "You can teach me though."

  She lets out a string of words, coupled with chuckles, that sounds something like, "I will."

  I smile for the next few minutes, offering a laugh or two of my own, as I watch her nearly pass out from the lack of oxygen that she desperately tries to obtain.

  After a while, Yerim takes pity on her and decides to give her the water bottle that she has in her hand, hoping that it might be of some help. She tosses it at Yeojin, and though the latter is aware of what's happening, she doesn't have the best hand-eye coordination. She ends up with a water bottle to the face, as she still struggles to catch her breath, and crumples to the ground. 

  Yerim rushes over, stumbling out apologies so quickly that they're barely coherent. "Sorry, sorry, I thought you would catch it. I wouldn't have thrown it if I knew that it would smack in the face—"

  "It's fine, Yerim," Yeojin rubs her cheek. "It was my fault, don't worry."

  "Yeah, but—" Yerim stops herself from completing the sentence. With a sigh, she says, "At least let me help you drink this water."

  Yeojin's eyes grow wide, "Why? I'm not a baby."

  "That's true," Yerim agrees with a nod of her head, "but you're my—"

  "Baby?" Yeojin asks, cutting her off perfectly.

  "What? No?" Yerim's face flushes slightly as she stares at the younger girl with a confused expression as if she can't believe that's what Yeojin thought she was going to say. "I was going to say that you're my best friend and I care about you."

  "Oh."

  "Yeah, 'oh'," Yerim shakes her head. She picks up the forgotten bottle of water from the ground and shakes it, "Now get over here so you can drink this."

  "What, are you gonna hold the bottle for me?" Yeojin teases.

  "No, but I will if I have to," Yerim replies calmly, although her eyes twinkle.

  This time, Yeojin flushes—clearly embarrassed—before scowling at the girl before her. "Haha, how funny."

  Yerim only beams at her, the type of smile that lights up her whole face, as if she hadn't noticed the sarcasm in the other girl's voice. "Thanks, I try."

  Yeojin doesn't respond, just rolls her eyes and guzzles down the much-needed water. "Thank you," she mutters under her breath, handing back the bottle.

  "What was that?" Yerim asks, leaning forward slightly. 

  "Thank you," Yeojin repeats louder than she previously had.

  "I heard you the first time," Yerim takes the bottle from Yeojin's extended hand.

  "Then why'd you ask?"

  "I just wanted to hear you say it again," Yerim says with a laugh.

  Yeojin opens to say something, but Yerim leans forward and plants a kiss on her cheek before walking away. The smaller girl stands frozen in place, then proceeds to wipe at her cheek furiously as if she's seven years old and someone just convinced her that she now has cooties. "You're gross. Why'd you kiss me?" Yeojin demands, wiping her hand off on her pants (maybe to transfer the germs elsewhere).

  "Because I love you," Yerim starts, "and I know how much you hate it."

  "I thought I could trust you," Yeojin says in disbelief.

  "Maybe you thought wrong."

  And maybe Yerim shouldn't have said anything at all because Yeojin breaks into a run and the older realizes it too late. Yeojin launches herself onto Yerim and begins peppering her with kisses mercilessly. Yerim squeals each time Yeojin's lips make contact with her skin, all the while trying to push her away and failing.

  "Jinsol! Help!" She cries, her pleading eyes meeting mine.  

  All I can do is shake my head and fall into step with Jungeun who's a few feet ahead.

  Yerim sees this as another opportunity to be saved. "Jungeun! Please help me!"

  Jungeun turns to Yerim before turning her head to me and asking, "Should we help her?"

  "It's only Yeojin, she'll be fine," I say with a wave of my hand.

  Despite this, Jungeun seems apprehensive. "Yeah, but..."

  "She'll be okay, Jung. Don't worry," I take her hand in mine. "It's only harmless kissing."

  This seems to make her relax a bit more. "Yeah, you're probably right," she says, tightening her hold on my hand.

  Except Yerim is still squealing, even louder now, and I'm starting to worry that I might not be right.

  And that bubbling suspicion is confirmed when not only Yerim but also Yeojin let out a scream that causes all of our heads to turn.

  "What happened?" Haseul asks, motherly instincts seeming to kick in.

  "She...she kissed me," Yerim sputters out, hand reaching up to touch her face as if to confirm that this is, indeed, real life.

  "On the lips?" Hyejoo asks.

  "Yes, on the lips!"

  "Alright, I was just asking," Hyejoo says, putting her hands.

  "Hold on, Yeojin you kissed her?" Haseul asks, attention shifting to her stepsister.

  Yeojin pulls her hand away from it rests at her lips. "It was an accident."

  "You shouldn't have been kissing me in the first place," Yerim counters.

  "Well, you kissed me on the cheek first!"

  "And you kissed me on the lips."

  Yeojin throws her hands up, "It was an accident!"

  Yerim takes a deep breath to compose herself. "You know what, it's fine. You're right, I shouldn't have kissed on the cheek, to begin with."

  Yeojin gives herself a moment to breathe and process what just happened, and then she says, "And I shouldn't have attacked you with kisses either. Sorry about that, and sorry for accidentally kissing you on the lips. I really didn't mean to."

  "I know you didn't," Yerim says. "Anyway, it's partially my fault for not moving away in time."

  "No, don't blame yourself. It's my fault," Yeojin insists.

  "But—"

  Yeojin places a finger over Yerim's lips, successfully shutting her up. "Shush, stop speaking nonsense. It's my fault."

  It takes a second or two of contemplation, but eventually, Yerim silently nods her head as if to say that she won't disagree with her so they can move on from this.

  "It's amazing, isn't it?" Jungeun whispers into my ear.

  "What is?"

  "The way they work together to resolve their problems," Jungeun answers.

  I watch the two girls as they walk side-by-side like the accidental kiss just moments ago hadn't happened. They both take the steps needed to gather their thoughts before escalating an argument any further, and if their maturity isn't incredible, then I don't know what is. 

  So I nod my head and agree wholeheartedly, "Yeah, it's pretty amazing."

*~*~*

  Jungeun's hand reaches out and grabs onto my wrist, stopping me from inserting my key into the keyhole. "What's wrong?" I ask, looking up at her, confused.

  "Nothing," she responds, also confused because she must not understand why I asked. "Do you want to go to my dorm instead?"

  "What for?"

  "Because Jiwoo and Sooyoung are already in there," on the last word, she gestures toward the room with a slight nod.

  "So why would that stop me from going in?"

  She sighs and looks at me like I've somehow lost my last two brain cells. "It won't, but I wanted to spend some time with you."

  "But we spent time together today—"

  "—God, Jinsol, I want to spend time with you alone," she says, clearly annoyed at how slowly I'm processing all of this.

  "Oh."

  She lets go of my wrist to run a hand through her hair. "Do you want to?"

  "Yeah, sure—" Her hand reaches out once more, wrapping firmly around my own. She tugs me in the direction of her dorm and I oblige, but ask, "What are we going to do?"

  "Whatever you'd like," is her honest answer and I can't fight the smile that makes its way onto my face.

  Does she realize how much power she's putting in my hands?

  I want to make sure, so I test the waters and ask, "Anything?"

  "Yeah," she answers faintly, preoccupied with trying to unlock the door.

  "In that case, can we talk about today? I had—"

  She shoves me into the room, closing the door behind us, before roughly slamming her lips onto mine. Her hands grab onto my shirt to pull me closer as she kisses me like she hasn't done so for a long period of time. (For the record, I gave her a small kiss when we entered the building.)

  I place a hand on her shoulder, pushing her away slightly so I can speak. "I thought you said we could do anything I'd like?"

  "I know, I'm sorry. I've just been wanting to do that all day."

  All day? "Really?" 

  She laughs softly like she can't believe that I'm surprised by her statement. "Yeah, of course. Jinsol, if I had to do something for the rest of my life, I'd seriously spend my time kissing you."

  And then her lips curve into that smile of hers, and I start to think that maybe she's asking to be kissed. So I do just that.

  Except, she pulls away after only a few seconds, and I don't have enough time to stop the whimper that escapes me at the loss of contact. "I thought you wanted to talk about today?" she asks teasingly.

  "I do, but we can talk later," I say and connect our lips again before she can say anything else.

  Thankfully, she doesn't, and we don't have the conversation about our day until what feels like hours later. However, it's perfectly fine by me because every hour wasted with Jungeun is time well spent in my book.

A/N

  i'm back after over three months, and the first thing I'd like to do is apologize. i'm really sorry for taking so long to update, but i had no idea how to write this final chapter for the first two months. and when i finally figured out what i wanted to write, i either got lazy or didn't have time to write. not very good excuses, i know, but i hope you understand at the very least. 

  let me know what you think of this in comments because it's greatly appreciated :) i'd also like to let you know that this isn't the end just yet. as i stated before, i'm going to be working on an epilogue which will take place sometime around 10-12 months later. please look forward to that as it's going to provide more insight on the girls' relationships with one another. again, your comment are appreciated and thank you for reading!

  twitter: @allhailhyejoo