"Can we talk?"

The question is asked incredibly quietly, almost as if the brunette is terrified that Bomi is going to reject her. Bomi barely hears the question, in fact she has to strain her ears to hear Chorong but the delicacy of her voice pains her. She watches the brunette stand nervously, any confidence that she has previously exuded around Bomi has vanished as she removes her earmuffs and plays with the end of her scarf anxiously.

She may have found Chorong y when she radiated confidence, but now Bomi finds the nerves she is displaying, adorable. Nevertheless there is still a myriad of reasons why she can't feel like that and a wave of anger flows through and she directs it towards the brunette briefly in the form of a scowl, before turning her attention back to her computer screen.

"I'm busy."

It's an abrupt answer and unlike Chorong's, Bomi's voice doesn't hold any nerves, its harsh and to the point. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Chorong stiffen quickly, the answer evidently taking her by surprise.

"I don't mind waiting."

The loose paperclips beside her keyboard grab her attention and Bomi slowly moves them one at a time to another place on her desk in a meticulous fashion.

"You don't look very busy."

Her eyes flutter shut at the brunette's words. Truth is, she is busy, the vast amount of sport articles she has to write is only growing the more time she spends staring at a blank screen. Still, it's doubtful she will start any of them today regardless how late she stays. However, staying late in the office staring at a blank screen is a much more attractive prospect to her than having a talk with Chorong.

"I'm taking a break," Bomi tells her, pushing the last paperclip across her desk.

Chorong steps forward slightly, glancing over Bomi's shoulder to stare at the blank Word document which rests on the blonde's computer. Her lips curl upwards into a satisfied smirk. "Just exactly how many breaks have you taken today?"

Her right eyelid twitches at the sudden playfulness which laces Chorong's voice, losing control of the paperclip she was holding and it flies towards the other side of her desk. She ignores the question and calmly moves the paperclip back to the pile. "I don't know how long I will be. I was late in today so I need to stay and make that time up."

Chorong shrugs her shoulders and removes her coat. "I have time, we need to talk and you can brush me off as much as you like but I am nothing if not persistent."

"I'm not brushing you off; I'm just busy with work."

Placing her coat on the back of a chair, she takes a seat beside Bomi and crosses her leg.

"Did I say sit down?"

Her question falls on deaf ears as Chorong picks up today's newspaper off her desk and starts flipping through it nonchalantly. "Like I said, I'll wait."

Her calm composure neatly replaces the nervous disposition she possessed only minutes ago and Bomi finds herself infuriated at the other woman's behaviour.

Does she not realise she's making her uncomfortable?

Or maybe that's why she's doing it.

"I can't work if you're sitting there staring at me."

"I'm not staring at you," Chorong replies from behind the newspaper. "I'm reading about what's been happening in the world."

Bomi's eyelid starts twitching again. It's a nervous tick she developed as a child whenever Bomi felt like she was losing control of a situation, or felt like somebody was beating her, her eyelid spasmed ever so slightly.

An annoying habit that she grew into rather than out of.

"Is that tick?"

"What?" Bomi replies brusquely.

"The twitching of the eyelid, that's twice you've done it since I've been here."

"I thought you weren't staring at me," Bomi questions before bringing her attention to Chorong, only to find the brunette's eyes firmly on her rather than the current events displayed in the newspaper.

"I'm observant."

Bomi sighs heavily. "Galaxy diner, it's a quaint little place two blocks down from here. I'll meet you there in an hour," she tells her, in a hope that the brunette will be appeased by her solution.

She may not want this talk but under Chorong's scrutinising gaze, she finds herself shifting uncomfortably in her chair and desperately wants to feel at ease once more.

When Chorong stands and shrugs her coat on, she can't help but smile as relief floods through her. Out of the corner of her eye she observes the brunette placing her ear muffs back on and buttoning up her coat.

"I'll see you in an hour Bomi."

She's less than a minute away from the diner when she contemplates turning around for the fifth time since she left work. No doubt Chorong would just continuously turn up at her work place if she didn't make an appearance. The last thing she needs right now is Hayoung to start questioning why Eunji's girlfriend frequently visits her for a chat.

Hayoung told Bomi a couple of years ago that she possesses a magical third eye which enables her to sense things and it's true. Hayoung's always been able to tell when somebody is lying, when somebody is upset, when somebody is hiding something. If Chorong shows up at her work once more, Hayoung will notice the tension that lurks between them and surmise that something is wrong.

As she rounds the final corner, she spies Chorong waiting outside the diner, her back to Bomi.

She attempts to plaster confidence on her face as she walks towards the brunette but the nerves that are swimming through her stomach overpower her will to be confident and she's pretty sure her face betrays her. Chorong must possess an attribute similar to Hayoung's magical third eye as she turns around and looks at her, even though she's still a good way away from the diner.

It's too late to back out now.

Due to the fact that there is still a significant distance between them, Bomi can't be sure if Chorong's mouth curls into a smile or whether she's mistaken.

"Why are you standing outside in the cold?" Bomi questions lightly as she finally reaches the brunette, noting Chorong is no longer wearing ear muffs.

"I didn't want to be sat inside when you stood me up, I thought it looked better if I stood outside, that way if you didn't come, I could just walk away and save myself embarrassment," Chorong replies, tugging at the bottom of her coat. "I wasn't sure you were coming. Did you know you're twenty minutes late?"

Yes, she did know that. She had done it intentionally in the hope that Chorong would grow tired of waiting for her and leave.

She was right when she said she was persistent.

"I guess I lost track of time."

Chorong frowns at her and Bomi knows she doesn't believe her but that's neither here or there. She opens the door to the diner and allows Chorong to go in first.

"How very chivalrous of you Bomi."

Bomi has to stop herself from releasing the door on Chorong, she didn't mean to be chivalrous towards the brunette but it's a force of habit. Her parents had brought her up with manners and it's the way she treats everybody, she doesn't need the brunette reading into it and thinking that she isn't still annoyed at her.

Sighing to herself she follows the brunette inside and heads towards the counter as Chorong stands awkwardly just inside the door. Bomi picks a menu off the counter before tapping Chorong on the shoulder and pointing towards a table in the corner of the diner. She strolls towards it, glancing over her shoulder every now and again to make sure Chorong is still following her.

"Do you come here often?" Chorong asks, taking a seat opposite Bomi as she starts ing her coat.

"Is that a chat-up line?"

Chorong blanches. "No, I…I was just…I would never…"

"Relax Chorong, it was a joke," Bomi tells her, putting an end to the embarrassed brunette's stuttering. With a shrug of her shoulders, she answers Chorong's question. "Sometimes"

That's a lie but she doesn't feel the need to divulge her life details to somebody she hardly knows. Truth is she frequents this diner regularly. She likes it here; it's quiet yet has an atmosphere that Bomi likens to a 1950s diner. She's one of the regulars and as a result she knows the other regulars.

They all share a somewhat tentative friendship, they're never going to be best friends but occasionally they will share the odd conversation with each other and learn a little bit about one another. There's Haewon, a single mother whose eight month old baby will only settle when the jukebox plays one of S.E.S records. There's Daejung, the retired High School teacher who comes in every Monday and Thursday night, orders steak before sitting on his own and reading quietly to himself. Although he's not here today, Haneul usually sits at the table behind Chorong, using the diner as an escape from his parent's constant arguments. Finally there's Solbin, one of the waitresses who works here part-time around her college work as a means to earn a little extra money for her future.

Bomi runs her fingers through her hair as she eyes Solbin approaching the table. "Do you want something to drink?"

"I'll get myself an iced Americano."

Solbin comes to a halt beside them and gives them both a small smile. "Bomi, we don't normally see you on a Tuesday, to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Just keeping you on your toes."

Solbin chuckles. "No Hayoung today?" Bomi just shakes her head. "Okay, do you want the same as normal?"

"I think I'll skip the food today and just have a drink please," Bomi replies. "But can you make it two iced Americanos instead of one."

"Of course," Solbin replies, bringing her attention to Bomi's guest. "Can I get you something to eat?"

"Oh no, I'm fine thank you."

"Okay, I'll bring your drinks right over," Solbin states before disappearing to another table.

"Just sometimes?"

Bomi's eyebrows furrow. "I'm sorry?"

"You said you come here sometimes but I'm guessing it's more than that if the waitress knows your order."

"Maybe I'm just incredibly predictable." She drums her fingers against the table impatiently. "Somehow I doubt that the topic of conversation you had in mind when you suggested we talk was my eating habits."

"I thought making small talk might break the ice so we needn't feel awkward when we progress into the inevitable conversation." Chorong explains before ducking her head out of discomfiture.

"Do you feel comfortable right now?"

Chorong shakes her head slowly. "Not particularly but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying to make this conversation a little easier."

"Just start talking about what you wanted to talk about, don't bother beating around the bush."

Solbin reappears and places the iced Americanos in front of both women before giving Bomi a cheeky smile. Bomi returns it and waits for the waitress to disappear once more.

"You two seem pretty friendly."

Bomi whips her head back to face Chorong and has to stifle a laugh. "Are you seriously implying what I think you are?"

"I'm not implying anything; I was just noting that you and the waitress seem rather friendly."

Taking a sip of her iced Americano the blonde scoffs to herself. "I haven't slept with her. I know that's what you were thinking but I haven't."

"As I said, I wasn't implying anything," Chorong asserts but the statement suppresses the sudden jealously that appeared in her stomach at the friendliness between Bomi and the dark-haired waitress. She's about to speak again when Bomi interrupts her.

"Why did you tell me your name was Lea?"

Chorong's eyes widen as Bomi finally asks the question that will commence the inescapable conversation. "It just slipped out."

"A name doesn't just slip out unless it's your own, people usually pause before saying a name if it's a lie to give them a chance to think but you didn't."

"It’s my catholic name,” The brunette takes a sip of her drink. "Have you ever seen the play Stop Kiss?" Chorong asks.

Bomi shakes her head, confused by the sudden change in topic of conversation. "Theatre isn't really my thing."

Chorong gasps dramatically at Bomi's response and the blonde can't help but wonder how much her comment has offended the other woman.

"One of the characters is called Callie," Chorong explains. "Callie is my favourite character and her nickname sounds awfully a lot like 'Lea', so it’s also a result of Callie.”

"I have another idea as to why you told me a different name."

"Would you care to enlighten me?"

"Maybe it made you feel better about cheating on your girlfriend if you used a different name."

"Don't you dare play the martyr," Chorong spits. "You said it didn't matter if I was in a relationship or not."

"I didn't know you were in a relationship with my best friend!" Bomi whispers harshly. "I would have cared then."

"So you do have some standards then."

Bomi runs her fingers through her hair once more, her breath ragged with irritation. "You can paint me as the bad guy in this all you want but you are just as much too blame as me."

"I know that, I'm not trying to put all the blame on you," Chorong declares, releasing a sign of exasperation. "You and I both know that if my girlfriend wasn't Eunji, you wouldn't care about what we did. You wouldn't care that I cheated."

"Well that's really a moot point now isn't it? Considering your girlfriend is Eunji and I do care."

Chorong rests her elbow on the table and rests her chin on it, shielding herself from any onlookers. "I'm sorry I gave you a false name, if it makes you feel any better, I regretted it the minute it left my mouth but it was too late to take it back."

"You should have just told me your real name."

"I realise that but like I said, I'm sorry. I don't know what more you want me to say on that subject."

Bomi purses her lips and reads through the menu in order to avoid meeting brown eyes. "It's just been strange thinking of you as Chorong rather than Lea."

As soon as the words leave she stiffens. She was not supposed to admit to thinking about the brunette. Ensuring her gaze is fixated on the menu, she waits for Chorong to speak.

"You think about me?"

Bomi ignores the question, silently praying that Chorong will change the topic of conversation. There's several seconds of perturbed silence before Chorong finally speaks again. "I think it's about time we address the pink elephant in the room. We had ual –"

Bomi grins at the choice of word. "What is it with you and ual ?"

"I find most other words too crass for my liking.”

"Like ing?"

Chorong tuts quietly under her breath at the obscenity but her eyes hold a playful glint. "As I was saying, we need to find some way to deal with it to ensure that things won't be uncomfortable between us. We're obviously going to be in each other's lives for the foreseeable future and if we're constantly ignoring each other, people may start to be suspicious."

"Chorong –"

"We've both agreed to dinner on Friday night and Eunji's intuitive, she'll sense if something is not quite right between us so we need to sort this out."

Bomi takes a sip of iced Americano before circling the rim of her cup with her finger. "Okay, you want to sort it out, let's do it. Why the –"

"There is no need to use such crude language," Chorong admonishes briefly, successfully interrupting the blonde.

With a roll of her eyes, Bomi continues. "Fine, why the hell did you sleep with me if you had a girlfriend?"

The reply is instantaneous.

"I was drunk."

Bomi's response is just as quick. "Don't lie to me."

Chorong huffs through vexation. "I was attracted to you," she admits. This time it's her who has to drop her gaze to the table to avoid Bomi's intense brown eyes. "I guess you made me feel something that I hadn't felt before." She starts fiddling with her fingers nervously. "I'd had a bad day and you were right when you said I wanted somebody to talk to. You were also right when you said I enjoyed your company. Just so you know I didn't go to the bar with the intention of cheating on my girlfriend but then you appeared beside me and the way you looked at me–" Chorong pauses, thinking of the right way to phrase what she wants to say. "You made me feel wanted and special. You made me feel attractive."

"And Eunji doesn't make you feel like that?"

"We're not talking about her right now, you asked me why I slept with you and I'm telling you."

"The morning after we–" Bomi raises her eyebrows ensuring that Chorong understands, not that she's being very subtle. Chorong blushes but nods in understanding. "She came round to see me and told me that last time she saw you, you argued. Is that true?"

"Yes, we argued," Chorong replies. "I was in a bad mood and I snapped at her. I didn't mean to but I did."

"Were you at the bar because you were angry at her?"

"No."

"Did you want to get back her for some reason?"

"No."

"Did you cheat on her out of spite?"

"No."

With each no, Bomi can tell Chorong is growing increasingly more maddened at the questions directed at her.

"Is Eunji the reason you'd been crying?"

"Eunji had nothing to do with why I was crying."

"Then why were you?"

Chorong smacks her hand against the table causing several other people to look in their direction. "Stop trying to analyse my motives that night, I didn't have any. As for why I was crying, I don't know you well enough to divulge that titbit."

"You knew me well enough to sleep with me."

She watches as the brunette stands through annoyance. "There's no reasoning with you is there? What's the point in even bothering?"

"Sit down," Bomi orders sternly. When Chorong looks at her in disbelief she adds a quiet 'please'.

It takes a couple of minutes before Chorong obliges and reluctantly sits back down. "Let's just get a couple of things straight. You don't need to know my reasoning for going to the bar. What you do need to know is that I didn't do anything with you as some form of twisted revenge or payback on Eunji. As I said earlier, I felt something when you looked at me. It's like you actually looked at me rather than through me. That's how I knew you were actually a nice person deep down and not just somebody who sleeps with anybody with a pulse."

Bomi bites down on her bottom lip, internally debating whether she should give Chorong the truth or lie. The truth would be that there was something about the brunette that Bomi couldn't stay away from, even now she knows the truth, she still finds herself unable to stay away from the brunette.

Otherwise she would have been able to turn around and walk back to work rather than come here.

"I looked at you the same way I look at everybody," Bomi lies bitterly. "I wanted to sleep with you, that's why I made the effort, no other reason. I'm not the person with a sympathetic ear, if you wanted that, you should have gone to your girlfriend."

She expects Chorong to shout at her or to storm away from her but what she doesn't expect is for Chorong to smile softly at her. "Now who's lying?"

"You don't know me okay, stop acting like you do."

"I think my observation of you was pretty accurate actually," Chorong states calmly, drinking some of her own drink. "You even said yourself that I had described you perfectly, even down to the heartbreak. I'd say that I do know you Bomi."

"No, knowing the kind of person I am and knowing me are two different things. You may think you're clever for…" Bomi thinks for a moment. "…guessing about my backstory but that was all it was. A guess. You got lucky."

"Maybe I should start playing the Lotto."

In spite of herself Bomi chuckles slightly.

"In order to prevent further confusion in the future, I want to inform you that nothing is going to happen between us again."

The blonde arches an eyebrow as her eyes widen. "I know that, do you really think I would want something to happen between us now that I know you're dating Eunji? I'm not going to hurt her, you may be okay with that but I'm not."

Okay, that was a rather low accusation.

"How dare you!" Chorong spits. "What happened between us was a drunken mistake and you have no idea how much I regret it. I hate the fact that I've cheated on Eunji, I love her and I never wanted to hurt her. You have no idea how terrible I feel, how disgusted with myself I am, how guilty I feel whenever I look at her."

"I think I have some idea."

Her words are uttered too quietly under her breath for Chorong to hear.

"Do you want to know something ironic?" Chorong asks, continuing before Bomi can answer. "Eunji told me about you, actually warned me about you would be more appropriate. Before we were introduced she told me that I should be wary of you because you had a reputation and the line between harmless flirting and making a mistake are blurred to you."

"She said that?" Her voice breaks as she speaks and although Bomi tried her hardest to contain the fact that the comment hurt her, her voice has just given it away. "Well it's not true."

"It's not?"

"No–" Bomi cuts herself off mid-sentence and her eyes flash from hurt to anger as she stares at the other woman. "Did you know who I was?"

"I'm sorry?"

"When we met, did you know who I was?" Bomi questions. "You've just said that Eunji told you about me and Bomi isn't a very popular name so you must have known it was me."

"I didn't."

"Did you decide sleeping with your girlfriend's best friend was adequate punishment for whatever she did to annoy you?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I wasn't trying to punish her?" Chorong states angrily. "I didn't know who you were," she replies rapidly. "She always referred to her best friend as Bbom. She may have told me your name was Bomi at some point but if she did, it was a while ago. This isn't some sort of lurid scheme, like I said it was a mistake."

"Okay."

"If I had told you my name was Chorong, would you have known I was Eunji's girlfriend?"

Bomi shakes her head meekly. "I guess not."

"And by the way, I'm willing to bet that you're not the only Bomi in Seoul, therefore the probability of you being Eunji's best friend is rather slim."

"Okay," Bomi repeats. "I believe you didn't know who I was."

"It is just a rather unfortunate coincidence."

"There are no coincidences, only the illusion of coincidence," Bomi says softly.

"Come again?"

"It's from V for Vendetta," Bomi explains.

"So you're saying the fact that we met and we both have connections to the same person wasn't a coincidence?"

Maybe it was fate?

"I don't know."

Chorong glances at her watch quickly. "I have to go. I'm supposed to be meeting Eunji."

"I thought you'd already seen her."

"I did but then she had to go help her mom with something so we agreed to meet up again later," Chorong explains, grabbing her coat from the back of her chair. "Just to clear up any uncertainty or worries you may have, I'm not going to tell her about what happened between you and me. I don't like lying to her but I would dislike hurting her even more and since our rendezvous was a one-time thing, there's no reason for her to know. If I can spare her feelings, I will."

"I'm not going to say anything either," Bomi replies adamantly. "Like you said, why hurt her unnecessarily.”

Chorong shrugs her coat on and buttons it up. "May I ask what the situation between us is now?"

Bomi takes a sip of her drink and shakes her head. "I highly doubt our situation has been miraculously solved with this one conversation."

"No, I'd say you're right. I suppose we could always try and be friends?" Chorong suggests, finishing her own iced Americano.

Bomi chuckles under her breath. "Friends?"

"I know the suggestion is rather silly given our circumstances and I'm fully aware that it is not going to be an easy feat by any means, I mean the fact that we have both seen each other is testament to that alone. However, we need to learn to deal with one another and being friends seems to be a logical direction to take."

"Chorong–"

"I'm not expecting us to become best friends but hopefully we'll be able to move on."

"I suppose I can try and be your friend."

Chorong sends a smile in her direction and the genuineness of it causes her to smile back. The brunette rummages in her bag and pulls out her purse.

"What are you doing? I'll pay for your drink."

"No it's okay; I have the money right here."

"I don't mind, Chorong."

The brunette hesitates momentarily. "You don't need to do that."

"I know I don't need to," Bomi replies. "Consider it a stepping stone to us becoming friends."

"Thank you," Chorong says and Bomi shrugs the gratitude off. "I better go but I guess I'll see you on Friday?"

Bomi just bobs her head in response and Chorong gives her a shy wave before heading towards the exit of the diner. Bomi watches her go, unsure as to why she suddenly feels weighed down through disappointment that Chorong has left. She's supposed to still feel angry; the brunette lied to her and has inadvertently caused Bomi to feel guilty every time she's near Eunji yet all Bomi can think of is how troubled the brunette was when they first met and how she still doesn't know why.

As she catches Chorong walk past the window, she can't help but smile as the brunette wraps her coat tighter around her.

She can be friends with the other woman; she's certainly capable of it.

That's not the problem.

The problem is, she's not sure whether she can be friends with Chorong without eventually wanting more.