Just when the was building up between the two women, it started drizzling, making them rush towards the nearest resting area. They had the place to themselves, which was good because they didn’t want to be awkward around other people. Avoiding eye contact, they sat together on a bench – close enough to feel warm, but not quite to actually touch. The mundane sound of the raindrops wasn’t enough to calm their racing hearts as they relived the unfamiliar intimacy they just had. It just wasn’t enough. They both wanted to have the kiss that hovered on both sets of lips just before the untimely rain.

Bomi had been stealing glances of Chorong biting her lips. She thought if the older girl would keep doing it, she’ll end up bruising herself. That’s not all Bomi was thinking about though, she’s been counting the number of times Chorong has bitten her lips to see how many it would take for her to break and lunge. This is crazy. Bomi closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Regret instantly fell on her because with her eyes closed, images of Chorong flashed across her mind. At first they were as innocent as Chorong’s smile, her eyes, and her lips – how she craved for those lips; in mere seconds, it escalated to thoughts of her neck, her collarbone, her shoulders, her –

Chorong cleared , dragging Bomi out of her daydream and causing the latter to groan in disappointment. “Do you want to have budaejjigae?” Chorong asked, confused by the odd expression on Bomi’s face. “The rain just stopped. I think we can walk back now.”

Embarrassed on how she daydreamed about the girl beside her, Bomi blushed and replied shyly, “Oh. Sure. Okay. Let’s get going then.” She immediately stood up, anxiously trying to hide her face with her short hair. A good old long hair would be quite useful right now.

The stew wasn’t that bad in Chorong’s opinion, and the place was quite nice and cozy, somewhere only locals would go to. Unfortunately, she can’t fully appreciate the atmosphere as she was distracted by the woman in front of her. “Yah. Aren’t you done yet?” She asked as Bomi was now halfway through her second serving in a mere half an hour as if she inhales her food, and didn’t even show signs of stopping any time soon.

“Come on, unnie. We didn’t have a proper breakfast and we climbed a mountain, for god’s sake.” Bomi retorted with full. “Besides, I was also the one who drove us all the way here. Of course I’m hungry.”

“Alright, alright. Just turn it down a notch, you might end up eating me too.” Chorong snapped, earning a dumbstruck face from Bomi with noodles dangling from . It took a few seconds for Chorong to figure out the reason behind Bomi’s reaction. “A- Ani- That’s not what I meant!” she stammered defensively.

 Bomi burst out laughing, “Unnie, if you really wanted me to, you should’ve just said so.” Fortunately for her, Chorong’s arms were too short to be able to reach across table when she leans back. However, the latter got hold of a bowl of nuts and started throwing them to Bomi. “Yah! Unnie, stop wasting food!” She exclaimed, her point made her unnie stop until, “If you’ll be a good girl, I’ll have you after this.” She winked.

“Yoon Bomi!” Chorong stood up and hit Bomi with a box of tissue. “Shut! Your! Damn! Mouth!” she screeched with her nasal voice and continued hitting the poor girl a couple more times before finally slumping back to her seat. “Just finish up,” she commanded. “And wipe that stupid grin on your face.” It took a whole lot of effort to keep her poker face up, so when she thought Bomi went back to her meal, she let out a grin herself shaking her head.

Bomi learned that Park Chorong isn’t someone to mess with. She also learned that annoying this woman is weirdly satisfying. For one reason, she’s irresistibly cute when she’s infuriated, and Bomi just couldn’t get enough of her.

The two women began their drive home after their eventful lunch. Chorong wanted to enjoy the scenery but she kept looking over to Bomi who was in the middle of yawning. It was her tenth time since they started the drive not too long ago. The woman on the wheel could barely keep her eyes open as she must be really tired. “Do you want to rest for a while, Bomi-ah?” she asked.

“Mm? I’m fine, Chorong-unnie.” Bomi yawned yet again.

Chorong felt sorry for the girl. She would’ve offered to drive but she didn’t have her license with her – if she ever had one. She pondered on the situation and made up her mind. “Bbom-ah, we can just find a place to stay for the night. You need to rest.” She offered with unmistakable concern in her voice.

“A- Are you sure?” Bomi inquired in surprise.

“Why not? Then if you’re up to it, we can drive around tomorrow and see what else we can do.” Chorong said casually. “We’re out here anyway, might as well make the most out of it.” She smiled.

Bomi had to admit, she really was sleepy. She was actually worried how she could drive them home safely at her state. She felt relieved that Chorong offered to get a place to rest. When she thought it couldn’t get any better, Chorong even offered to drive around the following day. She loved the idea, she didn’t want it any other way. “Alright, unnie. Thank you.” She obeyed and looked for an affordable place.

By four in the afternoon, they’re bringing up their things in the room. It just took one trip since they only had their hiking pack and spare clothes to change with. The room was nice, it was in a small lodge just on the outskirts of the district. It had bare wooden floors, a vanity dresser and a coat rack just beside it, a coffee table by the window, and a mini fridge by the bed. Everything seemed fine except for one thing: the room only held one bed.

The uncertainty on Chorong’s face when her eyes fell on the bed was evident for Bomi. “I can just ask for a fold-up bed,” she offered. “Don’t worry about it.”

Bomi left the room without waiting for Chorong’s approval. The latter felt relieved for the offer at least, she could’ve been fine sharing the bed with Bomi but with what had happened earlier, she wasn’t quite sure if she could resist this time. She still wanted that kiss, thinking about it still made her feel woozy. As an attempt to clear her mind off of those borderline dirty thoughts, she hopped in the shower.

“Chorong-unnie, they don’t have anything for us. I’ll just sleep on the flo-” Her gaze was locked in Chorong’s direction where the latter was brushing her hair. Now, it might seem quite ordinary, but Chorong was wearing a loose sweater and had her hair on one side, revealing her bare neck and shoulder. Bomi came to realize that ever since she met this woman with silky hair, she hadn’t seen her wearing clothes that were too revealing – and all she wore so far were Bomi’s, all of which are nothing near conservative. Somehow Chorong managed to wear her clothes with much more decency though, another one of the things that impressed Bomi.

She lost track of how long she’d been ogling at Chorong but thankfully, the latter was too busy to notice Bomi. “Uhm. Unnie, I’ll just sleep on the floor, okay?” she said as she cautiously walked closer.

“Don’t be silly, Bbom-ah. You’re already tired from today. I won’t let you sleep on the floor,” she chirped as she got up from the dresser and sat on one side of the bed. “Let’s just share the bed. It’s a double anyway, we have space.”

Bomi’s face lit up rather too brightly. “Are you sure?”

“Of course Bomi-ah. It’s not the first time anyway” she giggled, remembering the dawn when she sent Bomi to bed and the latter asked her to stay.

Bomi remembered that too, it was the first time she allowed herself to admit that she needed Chorong by her side. She only had the nerve to do so because of the alcohol. What’s her excuse now? At least Chorong was the one who offered this time, she would hate to impose and would’ve really slept on the floor. “Y- Yeah,” she chuckled awkwardly. “Thank you, unnie. I’ll take a bath now then.”  As much as she wanted to spend more time with Chorong, her body was slowly giving up on her. “Oh, by the way unnie. I don’t think I’ll have dinner tonight. You can just have something brought here if you want. Sorry.”

“It’s alright Bomi-ah. I don’t think I’ll have dinner either. In fact, I was just about to ask you if it’s okay to go ahead and hit the hay.” She replied.

“No problem, Rongie.” Bomi teased as she went to the bathroom. “Sleep well.”

“Aish. That kid.” Chorong chuckled as she shook her head and settled herself on the bed. She wanted to wait for Bomi but thought it’s better not to, she’d find it harder to fall asleep with Bomi beside her so she took this chance to try getting some rest. She might have misjudged her exhaustion because within minutes, she’s already in deep sleep.<