When I arrived at Yongsun’s apartment, Hyejin was already there. She hurried over to me and frowned when she saw Yongsun slumped against my back.

“What happened to her?” she asked as she walked beside me, her eyes never leaving Yongsun.

“She passed out at the club,” I said. “Help me get her in.”

Hyejin opened the door to Yongsun’s apartment and took Yongsun from me. Suddenly she hesitated, looking at me with uncertain eyes.

“Byulie-unnie,” she said in a timid voice. It was so unlike her, my feet were frozen in place. “Can you please stay? I…I need someone to talk to.”

I was speechless; I thought I would be the last person Ahn Hyejin would turn to.

I just gave her a nod and she smiled. Then, she headed to the bedroom with Yongsun in her arms.

As promised, I headed into Yongsun’s living room and waited.

I stood sat by the window and stared out at the night sky, wondering if I should text or call Wheein; it was probably just my guilt talking because I did ditch her at the club. After a lot of arguments with myself, I sent a goodnight text to Wheein, hoping that the little angel wasn't too mad at me.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a door open and close. I turned away from the window and a sullen Hyejin appeared. She flashed me a brief smile when our eyes met.

Without a word, she settled down on the couch and I quietly sat next to her.

I studied Hyejin from the side. She looked different from the usually fierce Ahn Hyejin; maybe it’s because she was barefaced and dressed sloppily, but this Ahn Hyejin looked younger and more vulnerable.

“Are you okay, Hyejin-ah?” I asked. “How long were you waiting out there?”

“A while,” she answered. “When Yongsun ran out of my place, I chased after her. I thought she went straight home, so I came here, but...”

“But she was at the club,” I said. “Hani called me and said she passed out after drinking a one-shot.”

Hyejin let out a long sigh. “It didn’t cross my mind,” she murmured, running a hand through her dishevelled hair. “Yongsun rarely drinks, after all.”

“It must be something that bothers her so much, she had to drink,” I commented.

Hyejin scoffed. “I’m the one who needed a drink.” She paused and sighed. “Yongsun thinks I’m still in love with Wheein.”

Hearing Wheein’s name, I turned my body towards Hyejin and gave her my full attention. “What’s this? You were in love with Wheein?” I asked.

Hyejin looked at me and smirked. “I’ve never seen you this eager for gossip, unnie,” she said. Her smirk disappeared as she added, “But yes, I was in love with Wheein. She’s my first love.”

Oh.

“What happened between you two?” I asked.

Damn my curious heart.

Hyejin pursed her lips and frowned. “Nothing,” she said. “We were in high school. I confessed and Wheein rejected me. End of story.”

Except Wheein is now in love with you, Hyejin-ah.

I decided that it wasn’t my place to divulge that particular information. Instead I asked, “Yongsun knows about Wheein?” Hyejin nodded. “Then why would she think you’re still in love with her?”

Hyejin shrugged. “I’m as confused as you are, unnie. I already told her that I’m over Wheein.”

“You know how Yongsun is sensitive about other people’s feelings,” I reminded her. “Maybe she sensed something about you and Wheein.”

Hyejin tilted her head to the side, her lips pursed. “I don’t know. I’ve treated Wheein the same way…” She paused and sighed. “Only Yongsun can tell me why she said what she said.”

Silence fell over us.

I checked my phone again, just in case Wheein decided to reply, but there was nothing. I frowned; maybe the little angel really was mad at me.

“Byulie-unnie.”

My head snapped towards Hyejin. “Hm?”

“Do you like Wheein?”

I blushed at the unexpected question. “Yeah, I do,” I said softly.

“Then there’s something you should know about her,” Hyejin said with a solemn face. “She’s a runner. She runs when she’s scared and she will do everything in her power to push you away.” She paused. “You’ll have to be patient with her because she will come back. She always comes back,” she added with a soft smile on her face.

I was surprised at Hyejin’s sudden advice; it felt like she had given me her blessing to pursue Wheein and my throat constricted at the thought.

“Th-Thank you, Hyejin-ah,” I mumbled, barely able to contain the emotions in my voice. “That…that means a lot…”

Hyejin laughed. “Why do you sound so serious, unnie?” she asked, patting me on the back. A moment later, a tear slid down her face. “Ah, dammit. Now you’ve made me cry.”

It was a crying reflex for both of us; seeing Hyejin’s single tear, I started to cry and seeing my tears, Hyejin’s single tear became an unstoppable torrent. I pulled her into a hug and, despite her protests, she hugged me back; both of our clothes were wet with tears, but we didn’t care.

“You better take care of her, unnie,” she sobbed into my shoulder. “If you make her cry, I will murder your skinny behind.”

I chuckled. “I’ll take care of her,” I murmured. “I promise.”

After we both had calmed down, we pulled away and suddenly awkwardness set in between us.

“I-I’ll go check on Yongsun,” Hyejin mumbled as she stood up and wiped her tear-streaked face. Then, she turned to me and asked, “Are you staying, unnie?”

“I-”

Suddenly, my phone rang.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw the caller ID. “Hello, Wheein-ssi?” I answered brightly.

“Hello, miss. Is this phone owner’s your friend?”

Hearing a stranger’s voice instead of Wheein’s, alarm bells started ringing inside my head. I jumped off the couch and tightened my grip on the phone. “Who is this?” I asked harshly.

The stranger quickly explained; Wheein and her friend had passed out and the owner of the place needed them to leave because it was closing time.

“Okay, I’ll be there. Please text me the address. Thank you.”

I met Hyejin’s gaze and explained, “Wheein passed out after drinking with her friend. I’m going to pick them up.”

Without waiting for a response, I gave her a two-finger salute and rushed out of the apartment.

______________________________________________________

A/N: Hi, finally back with a long update. *whew*

It took me a while to get this chapter right without cramming in too much info..haha..

Thank you for reading and thank you for the comments! ^^