On her way back to the company, Eunbi could not stop thinking why they are being called. She looked at her phone to check the date. Trainee evaluations are not until next week. There is no entry on her reminder as well. When the taxi finally stopped, she paid and got out. She just stood there while staring at their company building. Eunbi sighed before walking towards the entrance. She entered and was greeted by their company guard. She proceeded to the conference room and when she could finally see it, her steps became heavier and slower. 

Eunbi stared at the door and looked at the knob. She placed her hand on it and the coldness of the metal sent chills to her skin. Still, Eunbi is nervous and for the last time, she closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. When she kind of calmed her self down, Eunbi turned the doorknob and let herself in. The lights were off and Eunbi was confused until the dark room suddenly turned bright.

“Congratulations!” 

That word filled the air as confetti flew around and cheers from her co-trainees and other company staff deafen her. Eunbi closed her eyes as the loud noise started sounding like high frequency sounds. She felt a group of people hug her and when she opened her eyes to see, Chaewon, Suyoon, and Sohee have their arms around Eunbi. They were gathered in a group hug and Eunbi cannot help but smile and shed some happy tears.

When the kids released Eunbi from their hug, the company representative walked towards her, “I could see that you’re back on your feet again,” the representative is smiling like a proud father at Eunbi, “I guess you could say that,” Eunbi smiled and the representative led her to sit.

Everyone sat down around the conference table and food started being served. Eunbi leaned to their representative, “Why are you doing this?” she asked and the company representative smiled at her, “It’s what you deserve,” Eunbi’s heart filled with warmth.

 
They all ate quietly, apart from the endless talking of the other Woollim kids. When the representative finished eating, he stood up and gestured for Eunbi to follow him. Eunbi got up and walked to where the company representative went.

“Do know that I really am proud of you. After all these years, I could finally see the light in your eyes; and they’re shining extra bright today,” he said to which Eunbi smiled wide.

“There’s someone making me smile. You told us before to not let the pressure of becoming an idol get in the way of our personal lives so here I am living that life,” Eunbi answered and the representative pat her shoulder.

“I will not ask further. I trust you and your decisions,” he smiled and Eunbi nodded.

“I have one more thing to ask as well,” she opened and the representative nodded for her to go on, “Can I join a dance troupe? It is not against company rules, right?” 

“You can but keep in mind that you are still a trainee under this company. Whatever you do, you have the company name with you. You also have to be responsible enough and not miss any company-related thing; as well as training and evaluations,” the representative explained.

Eunbi nodded, “I promise I will not ditch my trainee duties. Thank you!” she was very happy that she hugged the representative which took the latter by surprise. Eunbi immediately pulled away and the representative excused himself because he still needs to attend a meeting in a few minutes. 

Eunbi walked back to their table and the other staff congratulated her again before going back to their jobs. The Woollim kids are the only ones left in the conference room now.

“Why did you leave last night? Is Sian-unnie okay?” Chaewon asked and Eunbi turned to her.

“Yes. She’s more than okay,” Eunbi smiled.

Chaewon blinked but she just shrugged because she does not get what Eunbi fully meant. Eunbi cleared after deciding to tell the kids what happened last night, “Also, Chaeyeon confessed last night and I did the same too,” Eunbi happily announced and the kids had their jaws dropped.

Suyoon stood up and ran to Eunbi’s side, hugging her when she got near. Chaewon and Sohee followed suit. When they pulled away, Sohee spoke, “So you’re dating now?” she innocently asked to which Eunbi shook her head, “We just confessed to each other. Neither of us had the guts to ask the other out,” Eunbi laughed and the three sighed in sync out of disappointment.

The three asked Eunbi for details and the eldest could not do anything about it aside from abiding. She started the story with how Sian excused herself to get some blankets then Chaeyeon calling her after a few minutes. She wanted to leave out the cheesy details but Suyoon insisted so she said the lines she and Chaeyeon told each other; it gathered tons of cringe from the three. At the middle of the conversation, Eunbi felt her phone vibrate and when she checked who was calling her, Chaeyeon’s name showed up on screen. Chaewon, Suyoon, and Sohee squealed.

Eunbi stood up and walked away. She made sure that she is far away from the kids before answering the call, “Hey,” she said and a smile instantly formed on her face.

“I miss you,” Chaeyeon made her voice small and Eunbi chuckled.

“Why are you suddenly acting like a baby?”

“Because I want to be your baby,” Eunbi wants to thank the gods that Chaeyeon called after they ate or else she would have choked on everything.

“Stop with those lines, Chaeyeon. My body is curling up due to the cringe,”

“What should I say then?”

“Just be yourself. I liked you when you were just you. No need to be suddenly sweet and filled with cringe,” Eunbi laughed.

“Fine,” Chaeyeon sighed.

“Why did you call, by the way?”

“I said I missed you,”

“I miss you, too. What’s up?”

“I just miss you,” Eunbi sighed at Chaeyeon’s reply.

“Come on, Chaeyeon,”

“That and Yujin wanted me to tell you that there will be a practice later. We will meet the other members of the troupe and start on doing the choreography. I’ll just text you the address,”

“Thank you,”

“Please don’t put this down yet,” 

“Why?”

“Uhm,”

“Is everything okay?” Eunbi starts to get worried.

“There is one more thing I want to tell you,” Eunbi hummed so Chaeyeon could continue, “Since we both know we like each other and we've been friends for quite some time now, is it too fast to ask if we could go out? Just the two of us?”

Eunbi blinked. She did not see this coming nor did she prepare herself mentally for this. She was caught in the moment and words got caught up in . Eunbi has not replied so Chaeyeon spoke again, “It’s okay if you say no. I would underst—” Chaeyeon was cut off when Eunbi suddenly spoke, “No, I’d love that,” was what Eunbi said and the two started blushing.

“Do you want to grab dinner after practice?” Chaeyeon asked.

“Sure,”

“Oh and I am new to this. Is this considered day one?” Eunbi chuckled at how innocent Chaeyeon seemed.

“You mean if we’re officially together now?” Eunbi asked, her heart is now beating out of control.

“Yes,” and their hearts followed a fast rhythm, “That’s only if you agree to it,” Chaeyeon continued.

“Then it’s day one,” Eunbi cannot help but smile and she started jumping around.

“Cool,” Chaeyeon said and Eunbi heard muffled screams from the other end; she figured it was Chaeyeon burying her head on a pillow before screaming. 

Silence followed as the two try to think of something to say. Eunbi heard shuffles on the other end of the line, “See you later, then?” she said, “Sure. See you,” Chaeyeon answered back but the younger girl did not put the phone down yet.

Eunbi giggled, “I’ll end the call now. If I won’t do it, we might stay on for hours,” Chaeyeon replied with a chuckle.

“Bye, sunshine,” Eunbi said, “Okay, moonlight,” Chaeyeon told her and Eunbi pressed end.

Sunshine and moonlight.

It was an endearment that came out naturally. They did not think of it but it somehow worked. These were words that have a different meaning to them It was something special—a meaning that only they  can understand.

Eunbi went back and she could see the other three looking at her. She saw Chaewon give her a teasing grin so she raised her eyebrow, “Hm?” she said and Chaewon cleared , “Why are you as red as a tomato?” Chaewon asked and Eunbi put the back of her hands on her cheek and felt them heating up.

The eldest went near the three, “Scratch what I said earlier,” she started and before the kids could reply, “Chaeyeon and I are dating now,” Eunbi declared then she immediately ran outside, not looking back. Chaewon, Suyoon, and Sohee were just blinking and they exchanged glances. Their minds are still trying to process what just happened and when they finally realized, they followed Eunbi’s tracks to outside the company only to be disappointed because it was already too late.

Eunbi rode a taxi to their dorm so she could prepare for the sudden dance practice. She took a bath but did not change her clothes just yet; instead, she wore a robe and her towel is wrapped around her hair. She looked for a piece of paper and a pen to leave a note for the three. She knows they would not be back soon because they have a scheduled training today. Unlike them, Eunbi is more free with her schedule and is only required to train at the company twice a week; the kids need to be there for five days a week. 

On the note, Eunbi wrote that she will be going out to practice with the dance troupe Yujin invited her to be in. She also made sure to include that the kids could think whatever they want to think but she will not think twice on trying to get back at them. Before she ended it, Eunbi wrote that the kids should just order some food because she is going out with Chaeyeon for dinner. When she was done, she used the magnets on their refrigerator to keep the note in place and also to make it easily noticeable.

Eunbi got up and started drying her hair. Getting bored because it was too quiet, Eunbi dialled Chaeyeon’s number. The younger girl did not answer so Eunbi called her again. Unfortunately, Chaeyeon still did not pick up. Eunbi sighed and put down her phone. She was about to continue what she was doing when her phone rang and Chaeyeon’s name appeared. She let it ring, not answering it, until it ended. Her phone vibrated just as she received a message from Chaeyeon which read: ‘Please pick up your phone. I was taking a bath. Sorry :(‘

Eunbi smiled and dialled Chaeyeon’s number again—the younger girl answered after the first ring.

“I’m really sorry,” Chaeyeon apologized immediately.

“It’s okay. I can’t believe I tried to be petty,” Eunbi laughed.

“Why were you calling?”

“I’m alone at the dorm and it was so quiet,”

“You were scared? Where are the others?”

“Practice. And no, I’m not scared,” 

“Really? Fine, let’s just say I believe you,” Chaeyeon giggled.

“Chaeyeon, please. I just want someone to talk to,” Eunbi put the call on loudspeaker so she could dry her hair at the same time. The sound of the hair dryer was too loud and Chaeyeon got distracted.

“I can’t believe you said you wanted someone to talk to but start firing up the blower,” Chaeyeon shouted so that the hair dryer would not drown out her voice.

“I need to multitask or else I’ll be late,”

“I just finished taking a bath. You’ll get there earlier than I would. Plus, Yujin might still be sleeping so don’t be a worrywart,” Chaeyeon told Eunbi.

“Do you know who the other members are?” Eunbi curiously asked.

Chaeyeon shrugged, “No idea. Yujin recruited them,” the younger girl said.

None of them talked after that. The sound of the hair dryer took over the dorm and suddenly another hair dryer can be heard from Chaeyeon’s end.

Eunbi turned her dryer off, “Really, Chaeyeon? Now you want our hair dryers to talk instead of us?”

Chaeyeon turned hers off too, “What am I supposed to do? I need to dry my hair too,”

“I at keeping conversations. What do we talk about then?” Eunbi’s expressions softened and Chaeyeon hummed as she thought of a topic.

“How long have you been head over heels for me?” Eunbi heard Chaeyeon chuckle and she knows the younger girl wants to .

“You want to play this game, huh? Fine,” Eunbi said as she fired up her hair dryer again.

“Hey, answer it,” Chaeyeon shouted and she opened her hair dryer as well.

Eunbi did not reply. She just focused on drying her hair and when she finally did the task, she turned it off as she picked up her phone. She walked towards her bed and plopped down.

“Still there?” she asked. From the other end, the sound of the hair dryer could still be heard so it was very dumb of her to ask.

Since Chaeyeon is not responding Eunbi decided to shout, “HEY LEE CHAEYEON IF YOU DON’T ANSWER AT THIS INSTANT I WILL NEVER TELL YOU THREE SPECIAL WORDS,” 

Eunbi slowly counted in her head but before she could move on to the next number, Chaeyeon answered, the hair dryer still buzzing in the background, “What three words?” Eunbi heard the hair dryer clearer and she figured Chaeyeon must be drying her hair again.

“Depends,”

“If it’s ‘Let’s break up’, you can keep it,” Chaeyeon frowned but since they are only on call, Eunbi did not see it.

“Of course not,” 

“Then what?”

“I hate you,” Eunbi waited for Chaeyeon’s reply before laughing everything off.

“Too bad for you, Eunbi. Hating me will not make me stop loving you,” Chaeyeon answered back and Eunbi knows she lost, “The tables have turned, right?” Chaeyeon asked in a teasing tone and Eunbi could only groan in frustration.

“I was supposed to say something after that but screw it,”

“Come on, moonlight, say it,” Chaeyeon uses the endearment again and it sent butterflies flying in Eunbi’s stomach.

“Shut up. You’re making me soft,” Eunbi honestly said.

“I’ll shut up if you say what you want to say,”

“Screw what I said again. I never want you to shut up,”

Chaeyeon chuckled, “Go on, princess. I’ll listen,” and at this moment, Eunbi wants Chaeyeon to stop calling her names. It makes it hard to think and her heart might get tired of beating. She wants it to stop but a part of her yearns for it.

“I really hate you,” Eunbi blankly said.

The sound of the hair dryer died off, “Why so?” Chaeyeon asked back and shuffles were heard from her end as she walked towards her bed and sat there.

“I hate you because all this time we have been feeling helpless and hopeless when in fact, we feel something special for each other,”

“Please elaborate,”

“We both suffered for too long only to realize that we did not have to go through that mess,”

“You are right but let’s not forget that suffering and pain makes everything worth it in the end,” Chaeyeon reasoned out.

A smile forms on Eunbi’s face, “This may seem fast but we already understand each other. So, Chaeyeon,” the younger girl hummed, “I love you.”

This time, it was Chaeyeon who was caught in the moment. The magical moments she used to see on television, like how fireworks start to light up the night sky when one confesses or how time appears to stop whenever a couple is together, used to only stay that way—just moments. Now that she is experiencing things for the first time, Chaeyeon finally understands. There may be no fireworks at the moment but she could feel her mind blowing up. She could not think; she was lost but somehow, her guts tell her she knows where to go. Time does not freeze but she knows her heart skipped a few beats when Eunbi muttered those three words.

Chaeyeon is happy and she wants this feeling to last.

“Chaeyeon?” Eunbi checked if the younger girl is still on the other end.

“Sorry. I was surprised,” Chaeyeon shyly admitted.

“You have to get used to it, though,” Eunbi chuckled.

“I know.”

Silence ensued after. Eunbi still waited expectantly for Chaeyeon to say the right reply. She figured the other girl is still not that comfortable to say it back. Eunbi was about to tell Chaeyeon that she does not need to pressure herself when the younger girl spoke, “I love you, too.”

Eunbi reached for her pillow and started burying her face in it. She put down her phone far away from her and screamed into the pillow. She never thought that it would be this fluttering. Her heart is racing but she can breathe properly. Her mind is blank but she knows she will only think about their exchange for days. The older girl feels better and everything felt right. Now that Sian has finally moved on, Eunbi knows she can finally experience this whole thing without any guilt. Eunbi can now tell the world how much she loves Chaeyeon and no one would get hurt.

“We should start fixing ourselves properly. See you later, moonlight,”

“I second that,” Eunbi chuckled, “See you, sunshine.”

After she put down her phone, Eunbi got up to change her clothes. As she opened her closet, she does not know what to wear—which was a first because Kwon Eunbi never bothers to dress up. She knows she has to dress comfortably but she also wants Chaeyeon to be in awe once the younger girl sees her. Eunbi stood in front of her closet for a long time before shaking her head. She told Chaeyeon to be herself but here is Eunbi trying to change her fashion to send the younger girl flying. Eunbi sighed and just took a plain white V-neck shirt and grey sweatpants. She also took out some other shirts and shorts for her to change into after the practice.

When all of her things were ready, Eunbi got going but she did not forget to text Chaeyeon that she is on her way. Eunbi got on a taxi and showed the driver the address. It was only a fifteen-minute ride from Eunbi’s dorm to the practice place which was convenient for her because she knows she could just walk next time to save money. She paid and got out of the taxi. When she arrived, no one was still there so she stayed outside. After a few minutes of walking back and forth in front of the entrance, Eunbi decided to call Chaeyeon. 

Chaeyeon answered fast again, “I’m alone,” Eunbi whimpered.

“I’m on my way. I’ll go and message Yujin to ask where the others are if you like,”

“Just keep me company. I don’t want to awkwardly stand here,”

“Are you the one wearing a white shirt and grey sweatpants?” Chaeyeon asked.

“How did you know?”

“Turn around, princess,” Chaeyeon said and Eunbi obliged. The younger girl’s eyes grew wide as she stared at Eunbi. The older girl, on the other hand, saw Chaeyeon’s taxi park in front of her and she followed it with her eyes. Chaeyeon shook her head and paid but before she got out, the taxi driver talked, “She’s beautiful,” he said and Chaeyeon frowned, “I know and she’s mine,” she scoffed before getting out and closing the door with so much force. Eunbi was startled but when Chaeyeon turned to her after the taxi drove away, the younger girl was smiling. 

Chaeyeon went closer to Eunbi and hugged her, “I can’t believe we are a thing now,” Chaeyeon said and Eunbi hugged her back.

“I don’t think it will ever sink in,” Eunbi laughed and Chaeyeon did the same.

The two pulled away and they were about to talk again and they heard someone loud. They suddenly felt heavy on their shoulders and a grinning Yujin appeared, “Hello,” their new company greeted. Chaeyeon hit Yujin’s head, “Late again. You never change,” Chaeyeon said but Yujin just stuck her tongue out, “I’m with our two other members,” Yujin moved aside so that the other girls could be seen, “This is Yena, my classmate,” she said and the two nodded. Yujin then gestured to the other girl, “And this is the younger Yujin,” she introduced but the other girl talked, “Correction: the better Yujin,” the younger girl said to which Yujin hissed, “Shut up, kid,” she said before turning to Chaeyeon and Eunbi, “And they are Chaeyeon and Eunbi. They both won on the dance competition last night. We are in good hands,” Yujin exaggerated so Chaeyeon punched her arm.

They shook their hands and bowed at each other. Yena cleared , “Yujin, we need something to distinguish the two of you,” she said and Yujin pouted to think. The other Yujin raised her hand so the others had their attention on her, “My full name is Ahn Yujin. You can call me Ahnyu instead,” the younger girl suggested and they all agreed, “I’ll be Goyu then,” the older Yujin said and Chaeyeon giggled to which Goyu replied with a glare.

After the introductions, they all went inside. They first warmed up and gathered before practicing. Goyu led the meeting, “There’s another dance competition coming up and sorry for the late notice but it’ll be three weeks from now,” she said but the other girls said it was okay. “Now, we have to decide on a song,” she continued but Yena raised her hand, “I think it will be nice if we choose a leader to keep us i