Eunbi held back a sigh--or tried to. Her cat ears perked as she looked through the window, waiting for Sojung to come back from wherever she had went to.

The older had told her to hide her ears and tail when there was a risk of humans seeing it, but she couldn’t really help it--her body got out of her control when she got anxious and now, Eunbi was anxious as hell.

Pursing her lips out, she rested her arms on the windowsill. It’s been months since she arrived and things were starting to feel more and more weird between the two of them. Sojung, who would always cuddle with her and back hug her in the most random moments now didn’t even get close to her when they slept; Sojung, who would always be giggling at Eunbi’s frown, now didn’t even ; Sojung, who looked completely fine, now had a slight frown every goddamn second.

Yes, Eunbi admits that sometimes she was a little harsh and she may have given off the impression that she didn’t like the older’s touches, but she was just embarrassed! It’s not like you can control your feelings when there is this gorgeous, tall shapeshifter giving you undivided attention!

“Ugh,” Eunbi let her head drop and winced when her forehead hit the windowsill. Her tail hit the wall impatiently and she sighed. “Why do I do this to myself? Things weren’t supposed to go like this…”

Things definitely weren’t supposed to go like that. Eunbi told herself countless times that Sojung was only being a nice person--someone with a golden heart that gave her shelter at the lowest point of her life--but that was it.

She should not have let her heart wander around, seeing things that did not exist; she shouldn’t have let her mind go blank whenever Sojung’s hand touched her hip when they were sleeping; she certainly shouldn’t have let those… feelings be developed.

Now, Sojung was acting off and she was doomed. “And it’s all my fault,” Eunbi mumbled, raising her head and looking at the street once again.

Eunbi didn’t want to be feeling the things she was feeling and she tried her best to stop it, but, now… looking at how painful it was to not have Sojung next to her all the time, patting her head and calling her ‘kitten’, she probably should have stayed quiet.

“Should I call her…?” she asked herself, eyes darting to the telephone.

Eunbi shook her head almost immediately. Things started to get weird right after she called Sojung that day she went out with her friends and Eunbi had never touched the telephone again--who knows if that was what made everything go bad?

“Maybe she thinks I’m too clingy,” Eunbi bit the inside of her cheek, unaware of how strong her fluffy tail was hitting the furniture around her. “Maybe I should start sleeping on the couch…”

“Why would you do that?”

Eunbi yelped, jumping at the sudden voice. She turned around, bristly tail and ears, her heart painfully hammering her ribcage. “What--”

Her voice died when she saw Sojung before her, a plastic bag on her hand. The older girl was wearing her casual clothes--a white t-shirt and dark jeans--and she still looked insanely good.

Eunbi gulped down.

“Don’t--don’t scare me like that!” she pouted and Sojung’s lips curled up.

“Sorry, but you were saying some pretty weird stuff.”

Eunbi quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, was I?”

Sojung nodded. “Yeah, like… why would you sleep on the couch?”

Because you are acting like you don’t want me there anymore . Eunbi shrugged. “Don’t know. Maybe I just grew tired of hearing you snore.”

“Oh, yeah?” Eunbi gave her a sharp ‘yeah’ and Sojung slowly nodded. “I don’t think that’s the case, though.”

Eunbi, who had her arms crossed in front of her chest, felt a chill run down her spine. There was something different about Sojung’s tone; something that definitely wasn’t there before. The shorter girl eyed Sojung.

“You’re being weird,” Eunbi mumbled, tough act quickly falling down.

Maybe she was a little tired of playing games.

“Am I?”

Eunbi groaned and rolled her eyes. “Why are you answering me with questions?”

Sojung chuckled and took a step closer to her. “Sorry. I guess I’m nervous.”

The younger girl squinted her eyes. “Why are you nervous? Did something happen?”

“Nah,” Sojung sighed and placed the plastic bag on top of the center table and scratched the back of her head. “I mean… something did happen, but it happened almost months ago and only now I’m…”

Well. This was getting weird. “What are you even saying?” Eunbi quirked an eyebrow and felt something pull on her chest when Sojung shrugged. “Is this… about that day when you went out with Yewon?”

The way Sojung’s eyes widened told her she was right. Eunbi held back her frown. “How do you know?”

“It was a wild guess,” she indifferently said. “But… I mean, you…” but, since they were already on the subject… “you did start to act off after that day.”

Eunbi casted her eyes down to avoid Sojung’s surprised eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I… I mean that… ugh, I don’t know. It’s just that before you went there you’d always…” hug, cuddle and give me love . “You know… just never mind it, I’ll--”

“No,” Sojung suddenly had her fingers wrapped around Eunbi’s wrists and the younger girl’s ears stood up (Eunbi hoped she wasn’t blushing). “I want to know.”

She felt her heart clench. Sojung’s eyes were wide, a sincere gleam all over them and Eunbi just couldn’t help the way the words started flowing out of .

“You want to know? Well, then here’s the thing. When I arrived, everything seemed to be perfect and--and I really felt like home here. You made me feel like I was at home even though I never had a place like that.”

Wait, wait, wait, what the is she saying? That wasn’t supposed to be it! Eunbi’s eyes watered and she wanted to stop, but the words were just escaping her chest now.

“But after that day, you just… started to get distant and… and I mean, it’s not like I want you to be all over me all the time, but don’t you think it’s a bit mean to be hugging me and calling me pet names and then out of nowhere stop cuddling? Really, I just don’t get it and I don’t know if I did something wrong or if those girls you call friends or whatever said something that made you realize you don’t want me here anymore and--”

“Eunbi--”

“See! You are even calling me by my name, like what’s with that? I thought after all that ‘Yewonnie’ thing we had established that--”

A loud, way too loud, snort made Eunbi snap her head up, looking completely outraged. “Did you just laugh at me?”

Sojung’s smile may have melted all of the anger inside her though. “No, baby, I’m laughing at my silly self.”

“What?” Eunbi frowned. “Can you please make some sense--”

“I’m talking at how right they were and how dumb I was for not noticing it before.”

“Huh?”

Sojung took a step closer, the tip of her toes touching Eunbi’s. ‘Now she’s just too close,’ Eunbi thought, quickly blinking. “W-what?”

The shop owner sighed, a small smile on her lips. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was hurting you.”

“Well, um, it’s not like I was really hurt,” Eunbi stuttered and she just wanted to punch herself. “But, yeah, you could have not done that.”

“It won’t happen again,” Sojung’s lips opened in a grin and Eunbi pouted.

“What’s with this,” the girl huffed, trying to disguise how affected she was by the proximity. “I don’t get you.”

Sojung’s smile faded. “I… I know. I’m pretty confusing sometimes.”

“You really are,” Eunbi pursed her lips out and involuntarily (or not) leaned forward, bringing their bodies closer. “But… it’s fine,” she whispered.

Sojung seemed to have listened to it, though. “What…?”

Eunbi cleaned . “It’s fine if you are confusing, just… don’t push me away again. I feel…” she sighed, trying to find a word that wouldn’t sound like she was a needy kitty. But before she could speak, long arms were wrapping her shoulders and pulling her closer.

Eunbi let out a short gasp as she felt her body pressed against Sojung’s, the older’s warmth covering her.

“I guess I could say what I have to say now.”

Eunbi’s heart sank on her chest.

What the hell did that mean?

Sojung released Eunbi and took a step back. She reached for the plastic bag and grabbed a little box. The shop owner took a deep breath, playing with the box in her hands for a couple of seconds.

Eunbi tilted her head. “What is that?”

The older girl coughed awkwardly. “They--they said this would be easier if I had a gift, so…”

“What would be easier?”

“Well, um,” Sojung’s eyes darted back forth from Eunbi’s puzzled expression to the box. “You see, I… there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you and I couldn’t because I was confused as hell and I didn’t want to mess up everything we had and I’m really sorry I took so long but…”

Sojung took a deep breath and handed the box to Eunbi.

“To be honest, I’m still insecure about this and I really don’t know if I’m doing the right thing now, but… it’s like Yewon and Yuna said… being like this is just hurting you a-and I don’t want this at all.”

Eunbi astonishedly looked at the box, taken aback by Sojung’s words. “Eonni, I…”

“I like you, Jung Eunbi.”

Eunbi’s words died in .

“More than I can ever explain.”

The tension that took over the room was bone-crushing. Eunbi and Sojung stared at each other’s eyes for what seemed like an eternity, both drowning in a killing silence.

“Are you serious right now?”

Eunbi’s voice sounded foreign to her own ears, the sound weak and shaky.

Sojung nodded and her eyes burned.

“Y-yah, eonni. You really shouldn’t play like that, I--”

“I’m not playing or joking or pranking you, Eunbi,” the seriousness of her tone made Eunbi tremble. “I bought this to you to see if it made it any easier to confess, but I guess it didn’t help much,” a nervous chuckle escaped her lips. “I… I really like you.”

Eunbi sobbed and Sojung’s eyes widened.

“W-why are you crying? Oh, no, baby, I’m sorry. Did I--”

“Shut up!”

“U-uh?”

“Do you,” Eunbi balled her hands and weakly hit Sojung’s shoulders. “Do you have a-any idea of worried I was!”

“K-kitten,” Sojung placed the box somewhere and, completely taken aback by Eunbi’s reaction, took a hesitant step towards Eunbi.

“I-I thought you hated me!” she yelled, but didn’t try to distance herself from Sojung. “And y-you say now that you like me! What the hell!”

Sojung bit the inner flesh of cheek, holding back a smile. “I’m sorry, kitten.”

“You better be!” Eunbi angrily dried her cheeks with the back of her hand and, with the most adorable pout, she glared at Sojung.

The older, feeling braver than before, cupped Eunbi’s cheeks, her thumbs gently catching the last tears. “Does this mean you like me too, though?”

“You--!”

Sojung laughed and Eunbi rolled her eyes.

Then there they were; Eunbi softly sniffing and Sojung smiling. Their eyes were locked and soon enough the mood shifted.

Sojung’s eyes fell to the pouty lips just centimeter apart from her and she her own lips. The shop owner looked up, meeting Eunbi’s eyes, with a silent question.

She didn’t get her answer as Eunbi herself locked their lips.

The feeling was breathtaking. Eunbi sighed into her lips and her mind couldn’t understand anything anymore. Did her heart stop? Did her heart break a rib? Is her mind going blank? Oh, is this Sojung’s hand on her neck? Where is the other--oh , she’s really wrapping her arm around her waist?

Eunbi might have moaned.

They separated for a brief second and Eunbi was ready to say something very dumb and incoherent, but Sojung lips catched hers again and now there was a tongue.

Eunbi didn’t even have time to think before Sojung’s taste was invading and her knees almost buckled. Sojung’s arm tightened around her waist and Eunbi went pliant when the older’s fingers slowly pressed on her skin.

She panted against Sojung when they finally let go.

Sojung pressed their foreheads and the hot feeling of the older’s breath on her skin was probably Eunbi’s new favorite thing.

The younger girl opened her eyes in time to see Sojung her lips and, damn, how hard it was to not get on her toes and kiss her again.

“Eunnie?”

“Hm?” she inhaled, trying to clear her mind. Sojung raised her body, putting some distance between them, and Eunbi held herself back to not complain.

Their eyes met.

Suddenly, there was no need for words anymore.

That was enough.

*

“Ugh, I should have not helped them,” Yuna groaned and Yewon giggled. “They are way more disgusting than I thought they would be.”

Yewon smiled and looked at Sowon given Eunbi’s the thousandth peck that day.

“I’m happy for them.”

Yuna sighed.

How could they not be?

Kim Sojung and Jung Eunbi were made for each other.

the end