The room went silent as Yongsun and Byul both sat there with their eyes burning holes into their cans of coffee. Suddenly, Byul’s hand clenched tightly, crushing the empty can.

“Byul?”  Yongsun turned her head slowly to look at Byul. The look in her eyes was unreadable, as though they were blank and void of any emotion and it was beginning to worry her. She quickly stood up as a tear escaped her eye.

“Perhaps I should go. I understand if you are disgusted by the fact that I like girls…I can’t help who I am, and I won’t force you to accept it either.” She took a step forward before she was tugged back and pulled into a tight embrace.

“Don’t go” Byul said barely audible. “You’re right, I am disgusted…” She put her hands on Yongsun’s shoulders and pulled her back so she could look into her eyes, “…but it’s not because you like girls. I’m disgusted by the fact that the two people you trusted the most in this world broke your heart and left you for such a piss-poor reason!”

Yongsun stared at her in shock. Her mind was slow to process what Byul had just said. “Byul…but I like girls! There has to be something wrong with me right!? I mean, if they left me, it must mean that I’m not…”

Yongsun’s eyes widened as she felt Byul’s lips crash onto her own. Her mind went completely blank, all she could think about was how soft her lips felt…how right this felt.

Byul pulled back and caressed  Yongsun’s left cheek, “Yongsun-ah…there’s nothing wrong with you. The heart wants what the heart wants. Who you like doesn’t define who you are as a person.” Once more, she wrapped her arms around Yongsun and pulled her into a comforting hug. “If people can only see you for who you like rather than who you are…then that’s their loss…not yours.”

Yongsun wrapped her arms around Byul’s waist, clenching onto the back of her shirt as she began to cry.

“It’s not fair Byul-ah…I was a good person…I treated them so well…So why…Why did I end up like this? This whole time…maybe Krystal was right…maybe if I had fought harder…maybe if I was like her…”

“Yongsun-ah…” Byul pulled her back and cupped her face, wiping the tears from her face. “Look at me Yong.”

Yongsun’s eyes shifted back and forth, not wanting to look at Byul in the state she was in. Her eyes focused on the floor until she felt Byul’s finger go beneath her chin and raise her head to look at her. The air was silent, but Byul’s gaze was so soft and comforting that she didn’t know how she should feel.

“Sometimes life isn’t easy…but you can’t let the hard times define who you are as a person. I know you have a good heart Yong-ah. If you were more like Krystal, sure you might have more things go your way…but just like her, you’d be living in a constant lie…making use of other people to give yourself a false sense of security. I know that’s not who you are…you’re more than that.” Byul used her hand to brush a stray strand of hair behind Yongsun’s ear as she smiled warmly at her.

“But I’m not…” Yongsun’s voice was almost a whisper as her eyes shifted to look up at Byul. “I’m no better than her! If you were to hear all the thoughts that go on inside my head you would know! I know you’re just being nice…but there’s no way you could know how I’m feeling right now!”

Telling Byul her past has opened up doors that have been closed for so long. Her emotions are flooding out all at once, as are her reasoning and sensibility. She tore herself away from Byul, stumbling backwards until her back hit the door.

“Yongsun…please…” Byul called out softly as her hand reached out towards her.

“No! I can’t….you can’t…” More tears began to flow d