Jihyo was straight—she had dated guys in the past, and she planned on dating guys in the future, as well. She planned on meeting The One, the guy that would change her life forever, the one who would love her to the point of marrying her; and then she planned on making her own happy, little family with him, just like the one her parents, her younger sisters, and herself made.

Jihyo had so many plans for herself, and falling in love with a woman wasn’t one of them, and yet…

“Ji—hyo—jjang!” A smile crept onto Jihyo’s face as her name was drawn out playfully by the sweetest voice she has ever heard. Jihyo didn’t even know she had tension in her shoulders, but as soon as the other hugged her from behind, Jihyo was certain she felt everything release as she relaxed. “Guess who?” The voice had changed slightly to something sillier, but the following giggles were characteristic to a fault.

“Sana?” Jihyo asked, knowing very well it was the other girl.

Sana giggled even more and hugged Jihyo tighter. “How’d you guess that?”

“I have a Sana sensor, you know,” Jihyo replied teasingly, removing Sana’s hands from her waist so she could turn around to face the older.

Looking at Sana was always Jihyo’s favorite part about meeting the older woman. Sana was bright and cheerful, and comparing her to the Sun would be an understatement. Sana was like a parade; one held during the evening on a summer day, where everyone slowly but surely joins in on the festivities, and at the end, they all meet up to view a big display of fireworks. Wherever she went, whoever she was with, Sana brought with her a feeling of warmth and wholeness, love and happiness.

Sana gasped. “Ehhhh, since when?” Sana smiled. She smiled, and her cheeks became even fuller, and her eyes sparkled even more, and Jihyo’s chest squeezed even tighter.

Jihyo had so many plans for her future, and falling in love with a woman wasn’t one of them, and yet here she was. If Jihyo’s relationships up until now were comparable to trekking through a forest during the winter—lost, cold, but trying to make something good out of it by appreciating the scenery—then Sana was like finally making your way back home to everything that was warm and filling. And Jihyo hated it at first, she hated the comfort and ease that she fell into Sana’s embraces; she hated how she gradually began to look forward to Sana’s kisses; she hated how Sana made her realize just what love was, and it was never with the guys she dated.

“Since forever. I think I was born with it,” Jihyo answered. It was unusually quiet, and she might’ve meant something else somewhere underneath her words, but who was going to look into it, really.

“Then that means we’re soulmates?” Sana pulled Jihyo in for another happy hug and Jihyo welcomed her into her arms just as happily.

“What about Momo?” Jihyo chuckled.

“Eh? Momo? Who?” A burst of laughter from Sana that felt like a shot to Jihyo’s heart, nothing new.

“Eunha?”

“Eunha has her own soulmate, I think…” Sana wondered and casually pressed her cheek against Jihyo’s.

“The list goes on,” Jihyo gave up, so many people she could chose to list next.

“I didn’t even know you had a list. Does that come with having a Sana sensor?” Sana turned her face slightly and stared at Jihyo. Jihyo pursed her lips, and wondered if it was weird that she has kept track of all the people Sana has casually (or not casually) flirted with, all people that Sana has called her soulmate or something to that effect before.

“No, it’s just in case…” A weak excuse and Jihyo knew it.

“Just in case…?”

“Someone breaks your heart? I guess…” Jihyo fumbled, but she tried to play it off with a chuckle.

“I don’t think anyone on the list will break my heart, though,” Sana pulled away from Jihyo, but she kept her arms wrapped around Jihyo’s neck. Her fingers laced loosely at the nape of Jihyo’s neck, and Jihyo felt tingles go down her spine whenever Sana would twirl a bit of her stray hairs at the base. Jihyo was half cursing herself because she had put her hair up today, and half thanking herself so that she could have this interaction in the first place.

“That’s good then. You have good people in your life,” Jihyo glanced a bit too long at the floor beneath them, and her smile was losing its edge.

“I don’t think the person I’m interested in isn’t on the list, she’s too special for that,” Sana’s voice was softer, and when Jihyo looked back up at her, Sana was giving her the look she gives everyone when she flirts, but there was something else to it. Or maybe there was a lot else to it, because it had Jihyo desperately trying to catch her breath, and not rolling her eyes or returning a similar look like most people do. Sana’s look was fond, and her cheeks were dusted pink, and she made it worse by tucking her hair behind her ears.

“Is that so?” Jihyo swallowed, and it was so dry that she almost choked.

“Yep. She’s more than just playful, casual flirting. She’s smart, she’s bold, but she can also be a bit of a baby. She can be strong and unrelenting, but she can also be weak and vulnerable, but she never lets either side of her get the best of her. She takes care of the people around her, whether they’re older than her or not, but she also loves to tease them. She makes me remember just why falling in love is so good in the first place,” Sana rambled on, her face flushing even more as she talked. Jihyo’s heart sped up considerably, and if it were any other person or any other situation, Jihyo would have denied vehemently that Sana was talking about her, but the way Sana looked at her as she talked, the closer that they pulled together with every word—it was all so undeniable.

“Sana-yah,” Jihyo wrapped her arms around Sana’s waist and closed the distance between them for good. Jihyo and Sana both leaned into each other with wide smiles on their faces; the kiss they shared was soft and slow, forcing the world around them to stop just for this moment, because they’ve both been holding onto things for so long and they’ll be damned if they let this moment end too quickly.

“I love you,” Jihyo said as soon as they pulled away from each other despite being left breathless.

“I love you, too,” Sana replied, giggles and all, and she rested her forehead against Jihyo’s to nuzzle against her. Jihyo nuzzled Sana back, and joined in on her giggling, because she understood. She was happy, she was lifted, she warm, she was loved.

“If I had known love could have felt like this, I would have found you sooner,” Jihyo tucked her head under Sana’s chin.

“With your Sana sensor?” Sana asked, Jihyo’s cheek.

“Yep, since I was born with it.” Jihyo and Sana shared a laugh, then a few more kisses, and then even more laughs in between those kisses.

And later that evening when the two of them were going on an impromptu dinner date to a local family restaurant, Jihyo looked on at Sana as she happily ate Korean food and talked excitedly with the auntie that owned the place, and she couldn’t imagine a better plan for her life.

Jihyo ended up meeting The One she was destined to be with for the rest of her life, she was sure, and she couldn’t wait for the day that the two of them started working on their perfect little family. It might be hard, but it was worth it.

“Jihyo, I think I got us free leftovers and dessert! I didn’t even know they had dessert here!” Sana leaned over the table and whispered excitedly to Jihyo, giggling quietly behind her hand and then wiggling in her seat. Jihyo snorted and gave Sana a high-five, asking her how in the world she managed to do that, and listening intently as Sana animatedly described the whole entire conversation.

It was definitely worth it.