A/N: I’m so sorry for how long this chapter took. School and the new Spider-Man game were consuming my time! Not to mention writer’s block... For updates about this fic or if you just wanna chat, follow me on my twitter @marvelouschuu! Enjoy!!!!
 

Heejin POV

“How’s this sound?” Chaewon asked me, strumming an intriguing, dissonant chord followed by a resolving chord. Her dark, inquisitive eyes scanned me up and down and the corners of her lips turned downward a bit as she realized I hadn’t been paying attention. “Heejin?” Her voice lost its usual nonchalant tone and was replaced by confusion as I turned my head sharply to the blonde, my body jumping a bit in surprise. I had totally zoned out, staring at the pastel mint green walls of Chaewon’s bedroom with my mouth hanging open.

 

“Oh, sorry,” I apologized quickly, shifting around a bit so my legs were crossed on the carpeted floor. “Play it again.” My friend obliged, playing the two chords once more and I rested my head on my clasped hands while I contemplated the sound. “This song is supposed to be kind of dark and mysterious, right? Maybe play on that with more seventh or minor chords?”

 

Chaewon gave me a smirk, nodding a few times in approval. “So, you have learned something, huh?” She teased as she played around with a different chord progression for the song. She was a great guitarist and I had always wanted to learn to play just for fun, and so, every once in a while, Chaewon would teach me a few basic chords and some very simple songs. I wasn’t very good yet, and couldn’t practice often since I didn’t own a guitar, but she still sometimes consulted me during her songwriting process. It felt good to know that she valued my opinion.

 

“Maybe,” I responded in a sing-song voice, a smile forming on my lips. “I still don’t even know how to tune the guitar, though.” I usually just got frustrated every time I tried to tune it and made her do it.

 

That earned a small chuckle from Chaewon as she continued strumming away on her acoustic guitar. At her band's shows, she used her electric guitar that she affectionately named ‘Madame Butterfly’, but she found that playing it in her crowded apartment building had earned her quite a few noise complaints. So for now, Madame Butterfly was tucked away in her case against the wall and Chaewon practiced with her plain acoustic.

 

Once again, I found myself drifting off again, eyes pointed upward at the ceiling and my head resting on the edge of Chaewon’s bed. All day yesterday and all morning today, my thoughts had been scattered everywhere like a hurricane had ripped through my mind. I couldn’t get Hyunjin out of my head no matter how hard I tried. When I saw her at the bakery, looking just as beautiful as the first time I saw her, I could hardly function on the inside, but I managed to keep a calm demeanor. I didn't really expect to ever see her again, or at least not so soon after the last time. The bakery had been so busy yesterday that I could barely keep up, so when Hyunjin approached the counter, I was genuinely shocked. Had I not been exhausted, I probably would have had a more obvious reaction, but I kept my cool. Hopefully I was getting better at it, because I wanted to see her again, and I couldn’t lose my marbles every time I saw her, no matter how pretty she was.

 

“Alright, you're starting to freak me out,” Chaewon butted into my thoughts with her soft voice. She had even set her guitar aside, curling her knees against her chest and looking to me in concern. I just stared back with a raised brow and pursed lips, head cocking ever so slightly to the left. I was trying to play cool, but that never really worked on Chaewon. “Are you still thinking about what's-her-face, uh...Hyunjin?”

 

I gulped a bit and felt my chest tighten at the verbalization of her name. I had only learned it yesterday, but it had lingered in my mind’s ear ever since. Hyunjin… My eyes widened against my will and I nervously fidgeted with the sheets of the bed I rested against. “Um, to be honest, yeah.” She saw right through me, there was no point in trying to hide it.

 

Chaewon snickered a few times, shaking her head in amusement. “You're so whipped for this girl, you ain’t slick.”

 

I shrugged a bit with a small string of nervous laughs. “Why should I hide it?” I questioned. “She's the first girl I’ve felt something for since…” My voice trailed off before I could finish that thought.

 

“Yeah…” Chaewon knew exactly where my mind was about to go and didn’t force me to continue. Just thinking of Jungeun and our tumultuous relationship could put a whole damper on my day.

 

I took a deep breath and wiped those dark thoughts away to ponder another time, or hopefully not at all. Not at all would be just fantastic. I didn’t want to think about her any more than I had to. “Anyways,” I continued after a moment. “I appreciate your guys’ help on this. I could feel the energy between us when we touched hands and I could feel her eyes light up when I remembered her.” As I spoke, I began to smile genuinely as I always seemed to when thinking or talking about Hyunjin. I couldn’t even begin to express how that girl made me feel just by looking at me.

 

Chaewon returned the gesture with a slight grin, It seemed like she was really happy for me, which I appreciated. She could very aloof sometimes and come across like she doesn’t give a damn about mushy, feely stuff, but I knew she was a softie at her core.  “What about the number thing, though?” She asked after a beat, the smile being replaced by a curious gaze. “Has she texted you yet?”

 

I gave a half-frown and shook my head. “No, Haseul’s genius plan hasn't exactly worked yet.” When I was talking to my friends yesterday morning, they had given me a lot of helpful tips to indirectly flirt with her. Normally, I wouldn’t need the help since I was pretty forward when flirting, but something about Hyunjin made me doubt everything I thought I knew. I couldn’t just straight up compliment her appearance or do what I’d usually do. The grand idea Haseul came up with was to come up with some reason to have to write on the bottom of the box and then sneak my number onto it. It had been a success and as far as I was aware, Hyunjin didn’t notice anything was amiss. But, she has yet to send me a message, and I’ve been sitting on pins and needles just waiting for something.

 

Chaewon sighed a bit, sounding a bit sad.  “Hate to break it to you, Hee, but she might not have seen it. It was on the bottom and I don’t know anyone who looks at the bottom of bakery boxes.” She was pretty blunt with her words, but they definitely carried truth.

 

I was so caught up in the excitement of this seemingly perfect plan that I hadn’t even considered the possibility that Hyunjin wouldn’t see my number. What if she threw it away and didn’t notice? What if she wasn’t going to come back and I’d missed my chance? It wasn’t like I had her number and this could go both ways; it was a one way street, and if it closed, there could be no chance to see her again. There was so much I was curious to learn about her. Had I literally put any sort of future with her in the trash? I felt so stupid for not thinking ahead about this. I sniffed a bit, my head drooping downward as I frowned and thought about all of this.

 

Seeing my sadness, Chaewon quickly scooted over to me and gave me a warm hug, rubbing her hand in circles on my back. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said that!” She apologized frantically. “I’m sure she noticed, because it was you! Even if she didn’t see it, I’m sure she’ll come back to the bakery. This isn’t the end of the road, girl! It’ll happen, even if I have to cyberstalk her and give her your number myself.” She squeezed me tighter, resting her head in the crook of my neck. “I’m sorry!”

 

I loved Chaewon so much, even when she apologized too much and gripped me so tight I felt like a balloon about to pop. I smiled softly and uttered a little laugh and returned the hug, feeling my mood pick up just a bit. “It’s okay,” I assured her with a gentle pat accompanying my words. “I should have considered that anyways.”

 

The blonde pulled away from the constricting embrace only before taking my hand tightly in her own dainty fingers callused from years of guitar playing. “You’re sure? Because I can make things happen, ya know? I know a guy who does telegrams for some reason and he can deliver a-”

 

“Shut up!" I interrupted with laughter in my voice, shoving her playfully with my free hand. “I don’t need you to send a love letter for me. But I appreciate the thought.” I was glad Chaewon was here to make me smile and laugh before my mind raced off to a darker place.

 

She released my hand and smugly smirked. “Yeah, well, it’s the thought that counts, ya know.” She nudged me at the end of her sentence, going back to the nonchalant punk she was. I just rolled my eyes and shook my head, fishing my phone out of the pocket of my hoodie. There was still no text from Hyunjin, but I still held out hope for now. It had been less than a day, she was probably busy.

 

For the next hour or so, we continued to chit chat while she experimented with different chords and I gave my approval or disapproval. Hyunjin drifted into my thoughts every so often, but Chaewon usually kept me distracted enough that it didn’t last long. However, when we heard the door to her apartment open, Chaewon shot up to her feet, her hand still wrapped around the neck of the guitar. “Are those my girls?” She shouted with a curious excitement, half walking, half skipping out of the bedroom and down the hall.

 

“The talent has arrived!” A higher, even more excited voice called back. I had an inkling who had entered Chaewon’s apartment, but I followed her after a few seconds just so I wasn’t sitting alone in her room and being antisocial. As I suspected, three girls were standing in the living room-kitchen combo area of the apartment, greeting the short blonde and chattering about something I couldn’t decipher.

 

“Heejin!” A girl with dark red hair squeaked, pointing to me and waving so fast her hand was a blur. She ran over to me and wrapped me in a tight hug, her face incapable of producing a bigger, beaming smile than was already there.

 

“Hey, Jiwoo, what’s up?” I greeted with a bit of laughter coloring my voice. The lead singer of the Eden Girl’s never seemed to lack in the energy department. After she let me go, I sent a wave towards the other two girls, Yerim and Hyejoo. The former sent a “Hey!” in my direction and smiled brightly as the taller dark-haired girl just waved with the vigor of a normal person, which by comparison to her bandmates made her look like a corpse.

 

“Ready to go practice?” Yerim asked Chaewon, her head tilting, and with it, her two high pigtails. “My parents are letting us use the basement since they’ll be out of the house all afternoon.”

 

“Lemme get my baby and we’ll be off,” Chaewon answered with a pair of finger guns and a click of her teeth before retreating back to her room. When she returned with her guitar case and amp, I said goodbye to all of them so they could get to practicing. Their gig at the Orbit Lounge was tonight, so they needed as much practice as they could get. They were good, but I knew they sought perfection, so as soon as I could, I got out of their hair.

 

Today was one of my days off of work for the week, and since Haseul and Chaewon were both busy right now, I decided to head back to my apartment to kill time until later when I could see the girls perform. I absolutely hated not having anything to do since I was such a busybody, so I tried to sit down on my second hand couch and scroll through social media. After all of two minutes, I got frustrated and went into the kitchen to see what groceries I needed since I hadn’t gone in a while. After making a list of various foods, cleaning products and other necessities, I left for the store. The entire process of walking to the bus stop, riding it to the store, shopping and returning home took almost two hours, but I still had around three more hours before I needed to leave for the show. Having literally nothing else to do, I cleaned my small apartment from top to bottom, vacuuming, dusting, scrubbing and doing laundry to keep my restlessness at bay. I was sort of a clean freak when I was anxious. Sort of.

 

The next time I checked my phone to see what time it was, I raised a brow at a text message from a number I didn’t recognize. Wiping my forehead clean of sweat, I picked my phone up and opened the message.

 

Unknown: Hi, it’s Hyunjin, the croissant girl. Is this the right number?

 

I nearly jumped for joy at seeing those words on the screen. It felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted off of my shoulders and I couldn’t stop smiling. She actually texted me! While I tried to think of a good reply, I added her to my contacts. I wondered if I should add a heart emoji next to her name, or would that be too weird? Yeah, we hardly know each other, so that would be very odd. I left her name emoji-less for now.

 

yes! this is Heejin! What’s up?

 

I hoped that I didn’t sound too enthusiastic, but how could I not? The girl I had been thinking about nonstop for three days straight had finally made contact with me! As I finished drying the last of the dishes I had just washed, I heard my phone buzz and quickly dried my hands to read her reply.

 

Hyunjin: Not much, just taking a break from practicing piano, hbu?

 

She plays piano? She’s already a lot more interesting than I thought she’d be. I replied instantly.

 

Nothing interesting like that. Just cleaning my apartment. I’m off work and had nothing to do and you know what they say about idle hands...

 

There I went, talking a little more than I had to. I was pretty nervous just from this text conversation and felt my heart pumping faster with each passing minute. While I waited for a response, I made my way over to my room to gather what I’d be wearing for the show tonight since I had to leave in little over an hour.

 

Hyunjin: That they’re the devil’s tools? you sound like my dad lol

 

Hyunjin: he says that to me almost every day >_<

 

Everyday? She must still live with her parents, but does that mean she’s still in high school? I definitely hoped not, especially if she wasn’t a senior.

 

He sounds soooo fun

 

Since I didn’t want to ask if she lived at home yet since we were still getting acquainted, I decided to take a casual approach.

 

Hyunjin: yeah, my parents are...yeah. Can’t wait to move out and actually adult like you

 

So she wasn’t too young for me. Thank God. I would have hated to halt this friendship-- and more-- because she was a kid. Her text made me laugh, though, since she seemed to think I was handling adult life well.

 

Me? Adult? HA! I’m just faking it as I go. Believe me, I wish I could have stayed at home with my parents a while longer instead of jumping into the cruel world

 

Hyunjin: you have a job and what sounds like an apartment. You’re winning while I just give piano lessons

 

Not only does she play piano, but she’s good enough to teach lessons?? She got more and more interesting by the second.

 

You teach piano? that’s awesome!! i just know a little guitar but that’s it.

 

Hyunjin: That’s cool! But yeah, i teach lessons to kids mostly, helps to pay for my rent and other stuff

 

While I gathered my wardrobe choice for the evening -- a light pink crew neck sweater and black leggings -- we continued to chat and talk a bit about ourselves. It turned out that we were both nineteen and both were born in this town but went to different high schools. She was open to talking about her family of successful musicians which was nice. I rarely spoke about my family since I wasn’t exactly on the best of terms with them...

 

I knew I really needed to get ready for the show and I didn’t really know how to say goodbye, so I decided to just leave her reply unread until I was done. But, as it turned out, she was the one to say goodbye first. After I was dressed and my hair was styled into long waves down to my collarbones, I reached for my phone to check for her reply.

 

Hyunjin: I’ve got to go!

 

I frowned for a moment as I read the message but then I noticed a second message below the first which made me smile.

 

Hyunjin: Talk again soon! :)

 

Boiling hot blood flushed to my cheeks.“Yes!” I shouted out in excitement, hopping a couple inches into the air. I made it through a text conversation with Hyunjin and didn’t malfunction! While I put on some light makeup, I felt really proud of myself. My friends knew me as a flirt and quite confident. If only they could see me now. Feeling a bit bad for not replying, I decided to send a quick message before getting back to fixing my mascara which wasn’t looking so good.

 

Aw, alright :( see ya!

 

I didn’t receive a reply, but, I didn’t really expect one either. I had around a half hour until Haseul would be here to pick me up, so I fixed myself a quick meal with some leftover kimchi and rice Haseul had given me. She was always giving me food even though she knew I could cook, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I could take care of myself. She enjoyed caring for Chaewon and I, so I tolerated it. It saved me money, after all.

 

Right at eight o’clock on the dot, Haseul sent me a text letting me know that she was here. Of course I was running late, so I frantically packed a few things into my purse and slipped on my black and white canvas shoes before running down the stairs and out to her car.

 

“Running late, again?” She asked as I got into her sedan, panting like a dog.

 

“What gave it away?” I joked as we pulled away from the curb and onto the road which was covered in a very thin blanket of snow. I was glad that it wasn’t too snowy today since driving in the winter always gave me anxiety. A few moments passed in silence before I looked over to Haseul with a crooked grin. “So...guess who texted me earlier.”

 

For a second, her brows knitted together in thought, but then her eyes lit up and she looked over to me with a bright smile. “She finally texted you??”

 

I laughed at her genuinely happy shock and nodded. “Yeah. We didn’t talk about too much but she’s the same age as me, she plays piano-- even teaches it. She still lives with her parents who are like, big time musicians. I dunno, I was just so happy to be talking to her at all. I was scared that she wouldn’t see my little note on her box.” I found myself gushing over her, finally able to verbalize all of what happened.

 

“That’s great, Heejin! I’m so happy for you.” She was so sincerely glad I was happy, and that’s why I loved Haseul. She thrived in the happiness of others and was practically a saint. I think everyone needs a Haseul in their lives. “But, as great as that is, I really can’t wait to see Chaewon and the others tonight. This is supposed to be one of their biggest ones yet.”

 

***

 

Haseul was definitely right, When we entered the venue, a local bar called the Orbit Lounge, it was almost completely packed. A small amount of the patrons weren’t here to see the Eden Girls, but the vast majority were crowding around the stage either at high tables or just standing, waiting for the girls to come out and perform. Their instruments and microphones were already set up on stage, and the sound system was already manned by their sound technician, some guy whose name continues to escape me even though Jiwoo has introduced me to him half a dozen times. They even had a few lights overhead, but it didn’t seem as though there would be a light show tonight, not on their budget at least. Just a nice mix to light up their pretty faces.

 

“I remember when they had to beg people to come to shows,” Haseul thought aloud, looking to me with a bit of nostalgia. “Now they can fill the whole venue almost every show.” It was true. A couple of years ago when the Eden Girl’s started and it was just Chaewon, Jiwoo and Hyejoo, they never had more than a couple dozen people at their few and far between shows. Haseul and I went to every show that we could and always screamed and cheered the loudest for them. As time went on and Yerim joined the band, their popularity began to increase rapidly. They’ve even played at a few weddings and festivals in addition to playing at bars like this. I was so proud of them since they were all so talented and deserved the fame and recognition they were seeking.

 

Pushing and squeezing past quite a few people, Haseul and I s through the crowd toward the stage so we could get a front row spot for the show. We always tried to get as close to the band as we could so they could see their number one fans and show our support as best we could. It didn’t always happen, but this time we were fortunate enough to get to the edge of the stage and occupy a meter or so of space. We figured that at this point, we’d gained a reputation of being superfans and people either thought we deserved to be in the front or just wanted to get out of our way.

 

Mere moments later, the lights in the venue went down and only the stage was brightened. Walking out into the light were four girls dressed in leather and denim who wore bright smiles. Jiwoo approached the first mic and grabbed it from the stand. “What’s up, Orbit Lounge?” She greeted with enthusiasm, causing the crowd to clap and cheer. We knew the Eden Girls wouldn’t play unless we were as pumped as them, so Haseul and I jumped up and down to hopefully hype up the crowd. Cheers and shouts and “woos” erupted in the crowd and Jiwoo gave a devilishly charming grin. “That’s more like it! Let’s start with a favorite of ours, ‘Rendezvous 18.6y.’ Are you all ready?” A deafening roar was her answer and so Chaewon began to strum on the guitar to signal the introduction.

 

Once Jiwoo started to sing, the show began in full swing. The crowd was jumping and dancing and singing along with the band. Yerim and Chaewon were absolutely beaming as they played. Even the normally gloomy and quiet Hyejoo was smiling and singing backup vocals during the choruses while she pounded away at her drum kit. Once that song came to a close, the Eden Girls continued with a new track, ‘Sweet Crazy Love.’ I couldn’t believe my ears. The intro chord progression was exactly what Chaewon was working on earlier. They were playing a song they wrote this afternoon at the show! It was an absolute success, and the crowd was absolutely loving it. It was at this point that Jiwoo would start to thank the crowd for coming and introduce the next song. I’d heard her spiel dozens of times so my eyes wandered elsewhere. Scanning the other side of the crowd towards a high table at the back, I spotted gorgeous locks of dark brown hair and an unmistakably familiar set of eyes.

 

Hyunjin was here? What were the odds of that? Pretty low, I’d say. She was standing on the edge of the crowd with a tall blonde girl and a shorter pink-haired girl at her table, neither of whom I recognized. She had a huge grin plastered on her face and was laughing at something the blonde said. Before I could stare too long, the next song started--my favorite, ‘Frozen,’ at that--so I turned my attention back to the stage. Even as I shouted along to the chorus and danced with Haseul, my mind was on Hyunjin. I suddenly felt so nervous just like the first time I saw her. She was across the room, but she still had a hold on me. Part of me wished that she wouldn’t see me and that I could avoid talking to her because I did not want to make a fool of myself and ruin things.

 

When Jiwoo called intermission after a couple more songs, I looked across the crowd to Hyunjin who was looking at her phone with the blonde girl. Part of me wanted to text her something like, ‘I see you!’ but that would be extremely creepy. Instead, I just gazed in her direction, taking in her beauty even in the dimly lit room. The waving of a hand in front of my face snapped me out of my stupor and I looked over to Haseul who was stifling laughter. “What are you looking at?” She asked, cocking her head to the side.

 

I gulped softly, feeling the heat rise within my chest in embarrassment as I looked over to her. “Well, um…” I was drawing a blank, trying to put together a coherent sentence. I really needed pull myself together. After a deep breath, I quickly pointed in Hyunjin’s direction. “She’s here,” was all I managed to put together. Hopefully that was enough for Haseul. She was very observant. Maybe too observant at times.

 

She raised her trimmed brow and looked over to where I pointed, squinting and scrunching up her face to discern who I was talking about. Then it all hit her at once. “Oh!” Her head whipped back to me and she swiftly grabbed my arm, her brown eyes wide and bright. “You should go talk to her! We’ve got like ten minutes ‘til the next set!”

 

I blinked slowly and dramatically at her absolutely ludicrous suggestion. “What? No! What??” My eyes were as wide as hers, only they were filled with fear. How dare she suggest something so impossibly...impossible.

 

“Come on!” She goaded, pushing against my arm to rattle me out of my fear and shock. “She’s right there, a stone’s throw away! Don’t you like her?”

 

“Well, yeah,” I scoffed immediately. Without a shadow of a doubt, I was into this girl.

 

“Then why are you hesitating?” She countered.

 

I honestly didn’t know why I was so scared to go talk to her. She was a shy girl, she wouldn’t bite my head off if I literally just said ‘hi.’ But still, I hesitated to reply to Haseul because I genuinely could not answer the question. I just stared past her with dull eyes as I tried to wrangle my thoughts and emotions before they ran off.

 

“Well, then, how about after the show is over?” Haseul suggested after a few moments, figuring that I wasn’t going to say anything. “There’ll be less people around and if it goes bad, we can just leave. How does that sound?” She offered an earnest smile, her hand reaching out to rest on my arm in a successful attempt to soothe me.

 

“Alright,” was all I said, but I returned the smile. Haseul had this way of making me do things by convincing me to believe it was what I wanted to do, and this was no different, save for the fact that I really, really wanted to talk to Hyunjin.

 

***

 

That had to have been the shortest set I’ve ever heard a band play. Or at least it felt like it. The Eden Girls had played around five songs and then an encore of their biggest hit, ‘luv4eva.’ I would have enjoyed it more if the air didn’t feel so thick and my stomach didn’t feel like it was made of concrete.

 

In just a couple of minutes, I was going to force myself to talk to Hyunjin for the first time outside of the bakery, and I had absolutely no idea what to say. Asking how she liked the show would be too boring, but I really couldn’t come up with something clever or witty. After a quick pep talk from Haseul and her assurance that she would be right there if I needed her, I took a deep breath and I started to make my way through the thinning crowd towards Hyunjin who still stood at a table with her two friends. As I neared them and could make out their faces, I remembered that these two were with Hyunjin at the bakery yesterday.

 

“Go!” Haseul whispered in my ear after I spent almost a minute just standing there, eyes darting around in hopes to avoid making eye contact with any of them. Her last push was all I needed, jolting forward in surprise.

 

As I clambered forward and tried to recompose myself, I felt three sets of eyes on me. Looking up, I was almost face to face with Hyunjin and I nearly lost it. We were less than a meter apart and there was no counter between us to serve as a barrier. She wore an adorable white button-up shirt that was tied up, revealing a bit of her midriff and high waisted blue jeans. She was breathtaking... As our gazes met, I offered a wide smile, trying to use my nervous energy as happy shock to see her here.

 

“Hey!” I greeted with as much enthusiasm as I could muster without seeming strange. I tried to sound surprised to see her, like I’d just bumped into her and hadn’t been creeping on her from across the room for two hours. My lips curved upwards and I fought against my feet which wanted to run away, instead just shifting my weight from side to side a bit awkwardly.

 

An equally surprised Hyunjin smiled back at me, her cute, little laughs leaving her lips as she grinned. “Oh my gosh, this is so weird-- and cool!” She said back with what seemed like her usual nervous energy. “Um, hi!” Her friends both just smiled softly at me for a moment before turning away and talking to each other.

 

I wasn’t sure what to do with my hands since they felt like fish flopping around so I clasped them together. “What are the odds of running into you here?” I asked, feeling my voice shake a little bit. Hopefully with how loud people in the bar were being that she wouldn’t notice. “I mean, we were just talking a few hours ago.” My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest, but I was managing to keep all my panic internalized.

 

Hyunjin laughed a bit, leaning her elbow on the table. Her eyes seemed to land everywhere but on me, which I was okay with. A few moments without direct eye contact was good to calm down. “Yeah, I came here to support one of my piano students, Jiwoo,” she explained, eventually looking back to me.

 

“No way, you know Jiwoo?” I asked with a bit of surprise. I didn’t know Jiwoo took piano lessons. “She and I sort of know each other. The guitarist, Chaewon, is one of my best friends.” This was crazy to me, seeing our worlds collide like this. Not only did she come to the same show as me, but we both knew people in the band personally. I was dying to find out what we had in common.

 

“Small world, huh?” Hyunjin laughed through her nose, and this time, she kept her eyes fixed on mine. My breath hitched just by the dark, enchanting shine of them and I felt my whole body flush with warmth. “This is the first show of theirs I’ve been to. I heard they were good, but this was something else.”

 

“For real! My friend and I have been supporting them since they started. We’ve been to almost every show, and I still never get tired of them.” As we started to get into a more substantial conversation, I felt more comfortable, almost like I was talking to an old friend. My heart still was beating much faster than normal, but my mind didn’t race as quickly and my body relaxed.

 

Hyunjin seemed just as interested in the conversation, leaning in a bit and nodding enthusiastically. “Honestly! Their blend of pop, rock and techno elements into their own style is so cool! I’ve seen fusion done before, but there’s something about their sound that’s out of this world.”

 

“If they keep filling venues like this, they’re gonna get noticed, and I couldn’t be more happy for them.” I felt so fondly for the band even if I didn’t know them all as well as Chaewon. They were in their prime under the stage lights, making music together like one soul in four bodies. I couldn’t imagine them not going far together. “You should definitely go to more shows. I can let you know when they are, if you want.”

 

The brunette nodded immediately, her interest in the band having been piqued by this gig. “Yeah, definitely!” Her eyes trailed up and down my body for a split second, and chills ran up my spine. “I’d love that.” Was she checking me out, or was that just my imagination? It had been so fast, no way enough time to appreciate anything. Either way, I was blushing again, and there was no hiding this one.

 

“Maybe we can--”

 

I was cut off by the blonde girl turning to Hyunjin, saying something about Jiwoo wanting to talk to her and so she shot a smile back to me. “It was great seeing you!” She called to me as Jiwoo dragged her away to presumably talk her ear off. I heaved a deep sigh, proud of myself for having gotten through that without fainting or saying something stupid. I just wish I could have gotten to suggest going to one of these shows with her next time. But, I wasn't too upset. The time would come eventually, I was sure of it.

 

Now that I had jumped over that hurdle, I felt ready to go home and decompress. Upon scanning the crowd, however, I couldn’t spot Haseul anywhere. My brows knitted together and I squinted, looking at every person in the bar who could be her, but I came up short. Maybe she’d gone to the bathroom and assumed I’d still be talking to Hyunjin? Pulling my phone out of my purse, I didn’t see a message from her, either. I knew I shouldn’t wander off, so I stayed put, slipping my phone back into my bag. When I looked up, though, the high I was on suddenly crashed and burned up on impact.

 

“Not who you were expecting, huh?” A smooth, sultry voice addressed me. It took a few moments for me to recognize the blonde dressed in red before me… Jungeun. She had a hand on her hip, the other gliding up her figure to brush a few strands of hair out of her made up face. One knee was popped out like she was posing for a picture, but that was just how she stood, especially when she was talking to me. It made me feel breathless, and certainly not in a good way. “I think I saw Haseul talking to the bassist, uh… what’s that girl’s name?” She rubbed her chin in thought, appearing quite pensive.

 

I wanted to vomit. Just seeing her was revolting, and listening to her talk to me like I was her friend was rage-inducing. Why did Haseul have to leave me alone when this demon was always circling the skies like a bird of prey hungry for innocent little rabbits? Sure, I couldn’t have anticipated this, but I felt very vulnerable right now.

 

“Yerim,” I answered with as blank of a tone as I could manage, my fingers digging into the fabric of my sleeves.. “Her name is Yerim.” It made sense that Haseul might talk to her since her sister Yeojin was best friends with Yerim.

 

“Ah,” Jungeun recalled aloud with a low, exaggerated gasp. She was silent for a moment, slowly looking me up and down and her lips like I was her next meal. I shuddered a bit, fear taking hold of me. I would rather her talk than do… this. I knew this look. She wanted to take me home with her. Her dark, soulless eyes lingered on my figure a bit too long before she finally spoke again, those black orbs peering right into my very soul. “Anyways, I really hope I can see you at the party next week.” Her words dripped with honey, but I knew her intentions were sour.

 

“Yeah,” was my response through gritted teeth. I wanted to run away or hit her or do something, but we were in a public space. I knew she wouldn’t do anything too risky.

 

But that didn’t stop her from leaning in and planting a soft, sensual kiss on my cheek that made my entire body clench up in fear, anger, bitterness and humiliation. The way I scrunched my face up made it seem like she’d stabbed me or caused me great pain.  “See you around, tokki,” she whispered with a wink before sauntering off like nothing happened.  

 

It took me a few moments to pull myself back together and sharply bring my wrist up to my cheek to wipe off her red lipstick with my sleeve. To say I was angry would be an absolute understatement. How dare she just kiss me like that? She never did things like that when she wanted to hook up with me, and she hadn’t called me tokki since we were together. Her whole act was different, and I couldn’t predict what her next moves would be. Why would she be so...romantic with me? She made it very clear she wasn’t looking for a relationship with me. She and I would never be what we were or what I wanted with Hyunjin.

 

Wait. Had she seen me talking to Hyunjin and gotten jealous? She was always very distrustful of me and got angry whenever I’d talk to other people, even if they were just friends. In a way, it still felt like she was possessive of me. She knew she had me in the palm of her hand no matter how I fought it. Maybe she needed to assert her dominance and let me know that she was still in my life whether I liked it or not.

 

“Heejin! What is up??” A familiar voice called to me from behind, snapping me out of my confused, angry inner monologue. Turning around quickly to see Chaewon, my mood flipped like a switch and I beamed happily, returning the fist bump she initiated. I was still mad about Jungeun, but that mattered a lot less than congratulating my friend on a great show.

 

“You guys killed it!” I praised, pulling the petite blonde into a tight hug. I felt her squirm a bit from the affection, making me giggle a bit as I let her go. It was just then that I noticed Jiwoo standing next to her and I offered a bright grin. “Amazing vocals as always, Jiwoo. That high note in ‘Frozen’ never gets old.”

 

“Eeee!” The redhead squealed, balling her hands together in front of her face and bouncing like a little child. “Thank you, Heejin! That note is super hard sometimes and I wasn’t sure I was gonna nail it today. You’re literally the best fan we could ask for! Oh, and Haseul too! You two are super fans, you know? We owe you guys for sticking with us for so long and we wanna celebrate our first sold out show with you two!”

 

A lot of what Jiwoo said went in one ear and out the other since it was too fast and high-pitched for the human ear to perceive. But, the last part caught my attention. “You want to celebrate?” I asked, raising a brow.

 

“Mhm,” Chaewon answered with a slight nod. “The kids and I wanna go bowling with you and Haseul.” A small smirk formed on her lips, almost like she knew something I didn’t, which usually wasn’t good. She was such a little imp. “You really should come.”

 

Before I could even open my lips to reply, Jiwoo clasped her hands together and pouted out her lips. No wonder Chaewon called the rest of the bands her kids; Jiwoo, the oldest, acted like a toddler sometimes. “Please, Heejin! It’ll be so fun!” She pleaded.

 

Rolling my eyes, I let out a few small chuckles. “Sure, as long as Momseul’s willing to stay out past midnight,” I joked. Haseul wasn’t really a night owl, but this was a special occasion and so she might bend.

 

“Yerim already got her to go, so we’re good,” Chaewon confirmed. Jiwoo’s mouth formed a huge smile and after exclaiming her joy that I was going, she ran off to help Hyejoo load their equipment. While I waved a temporary farewell to her, Chaewon leaned in close to me, cupping her hands around my ear to whisper, “By the way, Jiwoo got Hyunjin and her friends to come with. Figured I should tell you.”

 

As she pulled away, my eyes widened a bit and I looked to the blonde with pleasant shock. “I owe you guys big time, huh?”

 

“Oh, yeah you do.”

 

***

 

During the ride to the bowling alley, I was chatting Haseul’s ear off about my talk with Hyunjin and how exciting it was. She was super into the story, gasping, laughing and smiling the entire time. But, when I brought up the encounter with Jungeun, she was quick to console me and assure me that I didn’t have to go to her party. I still wanted to go, to show that I could be strong and not fall prey to her advances, but this situation made it even harder. But, before I could get too sad about it, Haseul distracted me with her plans to get me in the same game as Hyunjin at the bowling alley. When we got there and were checking out bowling shoes, she let Chaewon in on the plan and she also agreed to help. I had the best wingwomen in the world.

 

As it turned out, their plan would be successful. As I approached the row of seats near our assigned bowling lanes, a space on the end next to Hyunjin became available. Before anyone could claim it, I planted myself in the seat and bent down to tie my shoes. I tried to act cool, like I wasn’t aware who I sat beside and kept my attention on what I was doing. There were only so many times I could pretend to mess up at tying my laces without getting odd looks, so eventually I had to it up and finish the job.

 

Sitting up straight, I looked over to Hyunjin who was giggling at what her blonde friend said. After a few seconds, she turned her head and jumped a bit, letting out a few surprised laughs. “Oh, hey! Did Jiwoo invite you too?” She asked, tilting her head slightly to the side and smiling.

 

“Yep!” I answered with a happy nod. “She claimed that because I was a super fan, I deserved to come with.” I then turned the question on her. “What’d she say to get you to come?”

 

“Nothing like that.” She just snorted, giving a small shrug. “She just said they were going bowling, and, well, I love bowling,” she explained casually. I should have figured that Jiwoo would be able to convince her piano teacher to join the fun. Her pouting and whining tactic was always effective.

 

“I’m no good at it, even though I did bowling club in high school.” My voice had a hint of laughter as I downplayed my skill at this particular sport. I wasn’t trying to sound modest, though; I really was very mediocre at bowling.

 

“How can you be bad at it if you were in a club for it?” She was laughing, too. Was I making her laugh? I didn’t really consider myself to be a funny person, or at least, not as funny as Chaewon was.

 

“You’ll just have to wait and see my laughable form,” I joked, once again eliciting cute chuckles from Hyunjin.

 

As it turned out, she was a lot a better at bowling than me, usually getting a spare or a strike in each of the first five frames, whereas I could never get all the pins and sometimes even landed my ball in the gutter. Hyunjin’s friend Jinsol, the blonde, was in our game, and it surprised us when Jinsol got a turkey within the first half of the game. It turned out she had joined a bowling league in the city her university was in. She was quick to accept our praise, playfully bowing as we showered her with compliments.

 

“Can we take a break?” Jinsol asked after her fifth strike, pretending to wipe nonexistent sweat from her forehead. “It’s tiring wiping the floor with you guys.” She wore such a smug look that I couldn’t help but laugh.

 

Hyunjin rolled her eyes, catching her ball as it shot out of the ball return. “I’m only like thirty points behind you!” She shot back, slipping her fingers into the holes on the ball and playfully glaring at her friend. “Besides, when I get another strike, the frame will be over. Just hold on.” She was confident, wasn’t she? I loved a woman with some self-esteem.

 

“That’s thirty points you’ll never catch up with,” the blonde taunted. “But, fine, if you want to hasten your own demise, be my guest.” Jinsol crossed her arms over her chest, looking to Hyunjin expectantly. “Well, what are you waiting for? Bowl another strike.”

 

Before Hyunjin approached the lane to bowl, she turned to me with a small smile, cradling the ball in her arms like a baby. “Think I can do it?” She asked with such a cute innocence I could have puked. It was that sweet. She stood on one foot, the other gently brushing back and forth on the polished wood floor as she waited for my answer.

 

For a second, her warm, happy expression paralyzed me and I just looked back to her with my mouth slightly agape. After I came to my senses, I narrowed my eyes with a feigned intensity and gave a quick nod. “Give her hell,” was my gruff reply. And hell she gave as Hyunjin bowled a textbook strike, sending the ball in a straight line at the pins which fell in a chain reaction as they were hit. I took this moment to steal a few glances at her and admire her beauty. With her friends, she seemed a lot more self-assured, which only made her even more attractive. Sure, she was cute and soft when she was shy, but this other side of her was so enticing.

 

As she turned and stuck her tongue out at Jinsol, I clapped enthusiastically, standing up like she’d just performed an entire piano sonata. “Woo! That’s how you bowl!” I cheered. I might have been crazy, but it seemed like my exaggerated applause made her blush. She giggled a bit and covered in what looked like embarrassment while Jinsol just groaned in mild annoyance.

 

After her successful strike, the three of us joined Haseul, Jiwoo and Kahei for pizza and drinks. The three younger bandmates had abandoned their bowling lane, instead migrating towards the arcade where Hyejoo was apparently kicking Chaewon and Yerim’s butts at a shooting game. Maybe I’d check out what games were available after I was beaten by Jinsol and Hyunjin at our bowling game. As we crowded around a high table and enjoyed our pizza, the six of us exchanged small talk about the show, our bowling games and other mundane topics. That is, until Jiwoo began to steer the conversation.

 

“So, Heejin, tell me a little about yourself,” Jiwoo said, looking to me with a curious gaze. She may have known me through Chaewon, but we had rarely had personal conversations.

 

“Well, I work at a bakery with Haseul,” I began, trying to find interesting things to say about myself which always seemed to be a monumental task. “It’s kind of boring--no offense, Haseul-- but I really like decorating the cakes and cookies and all of that stuff. I want to go to culinary school and become a pastry chef, but I’ve got a ways to go.”

 

Haseul smiled warmly and joined in the conversation, patting my shoulder. “She’s great at it! My hands are always so shaky when I pipe icing, but she’s like an artist.”

 

My cheeks warmed at her compliment and I dismissively waved my hand at her. “Aw, shush,” I deflected. “I’m alright at it.”

 

“You seem great at it!” Hyunjin added in, looking across the table at me with a bright grin. “The cookies and other stuff there looked so pretty.” Haseul’s compliment made me blush, but Hyunjin’s words had me practically boiling from the inside. I curled my toes in and pressed hard against the sole of my shoe to keep myself level as her words rocked me.

 

“Thank you,” I said meekly, blushing faintly with a bashful smile. God, was I mortified right now. I felt so embarrassed and just couldn’t accept compliments well. I avoided eye contact with anyone for the next few moments. Fortunately, the conversation moved on rather quickly after that awkward pause and Jiwoo once again took the lead.

 

“So, Heejin, Haseul, did you know that Hyunjin is an amazing piano player?” She asked us with a playful, singsong quality to her voice.

 

Hyunjin seemed to sink into her hands which covered her face as he laid her forehead on the table, mumbling something like, “Not again…”

 

“Um, yeah, she mentioned that to me earlier,” I replied, raising a brow. Where was Jiwoo going with this and why didn’t Hyunjin want to talk about this?

 

“Well, don’t you think that our band would sound even greater with a keyboard player?” The redhead asked, clearly getting at something. “Hyunjin is so, so good, and all she does with it is teach piano lessons to little kids!"

 

"Like you?" I interrupted, teasing her a bit since it was so easy.

 

"Yeah!" She agreed without a second thought. I facepalmed so hard at how dense that girl could be. "Anyways," Jiwoo continued. "She could be our fifth Eden Girl and totally round out our sound. It totally having to pre-record our synth tracks and they’d sound better live!”

 

Before Hyunjin could protest, Jinsol, full of pizza, chimed in, “Yeah, Hyun’s great! She memorizes those big fat classical songs like they’re nothing.”

 

“Yes, it’s always so nice listening to her play. It’s her favorite thing to do,” Kahei agreed, smiling widely.

 

“Guys…” Hyunjin groaned, lifting her head and glaring at her friends. Oh, man, could I relate.

 

“Oh, well, then I’d love to hear her play!” I mused, looking to the shy pianist with a little grin. When she looked back to me with mild surprise on her soft features, she returned the smile which warmed my entire body so much that I had to roll up my sleeves.

 

“Th-thank you.” For some reason, I couldn’t look away for the longest time. Even as Jiwoo and the others started talking about the band’s upcoming shows, Hyunjin and I kept our eyes on each other. God, she was so beautiful that it felt like if I moved my eyes or even blinked she’d disappear. We didn’t say anything or move an inch, but the way my heart raced and breath hitched made it seem like I’d just ran a marathon. There was something about looking into someone’s eyes that was always such a surreal experience. For just a few moments, you knew that the other person was as focused on you as you were on them. There was some saying that I thought of, 'The eyes are the window to the soul.' I wasn't sure,  I wanted it to last forever,

 

Almost a whole minute passed before she suddenly looked away, taking a drink of her water as if nothing happened. What the hell? I was thoroughly confused, and spent the rest of our bowling game wondering what that was all about. Why did she spend so long looking at me? That in and of itself was weird. I definitely enjoyed it, but the way she looked away so quickly was really strange. Maybe that interaction wasn’t as meaningful as I’d thought, and she’d just zoned out? I did that sometimes, especially these past few days.

 

When the game came to a close, Hyunjin was just a few points short of beating Jinsol, much to her disappointment. The blonde jumped for joy, showboating and celebrating like she’d won an idol competition show. I was just glad to get above a hundred points.

 

“Wanna play again?” Jinsol asked eagerly, already holding her ball and wearing a competitive grin.

 

“No thanks,” Hyunjin declined immediately, shaking her head as she removed her bowling shoes and replaced them with her sneakers. “I’m gonna be a sore loser and waste my money on stupid arcade games instead.”

 

Jinsol furrowed her brow and pouted, “You’re no fun! What about you, Heejin?” She looked to me expectantly and I was sort of scared to be honest.

 

“Nope.” I just shrugged with an apologetic face. As much as I loved getting my handed to me, I wanted to keep what little pride I had left intact. “The skee ball machine is calling my name.”

 

As I said that, Hyunjin looked to me with excitement. “Hey, do you wanna play together?” She asked with sudden enthusiasm, gesturing behind her towards the arcade with her thumb. “I was gonna go play that anyways, might as well play together!”

 

How could I say no to that? I couldn’t, that’s how. I definitely wasn’t going to pass up a chance to spend time with Hyunjin, especially alone time. “Sounds good!” I agreed before looking back to Jinsol. “Maybe you can hop in on the others’ game.” Jinsol just grumbled a bit at my suggestion but seemed to oblige, taking her ball towards Haseul, Kahei and Jiwoo to invade their game.

 

Now it was just me and her...and the awkward silence that followed Jinsol’s departure. For around ten seconds we just stood there in awkward silence. I pretended to check my phone so it seemed like I wasn’t absolutely drawing a blank. This was great!

 

Hyunjin spoke up first, “Well, the skee ball machine isn’t going to play itself.” Pivoting on the ball of her foot, she started walking over towards the arcade and I followed suit, grabbing my purse. The bowling alley arcade wasn’t glamorous by any means, but it had a few games worth playing, a couple claw machines and an air hockey table which Chaewon and Hyejoo were facing off at with Yerim cheering them both on.

 

When we arrived at the skee ball machine which looked older than us, a half smirk crept across my lips as an idea grew in my head. “You know, I’m a bit better at skee ball than bowling,” I said with a hint of mischief in my tone.

 

Hyunjin narrowed her eyes, taking out a few coins to pay for her game. “Is that a challenge?”

 

“You know, what?” I inserted a couple of coins into the machine and grabbed a rubber ball from the receptacle, gripping it tightly in my hand. “It wasn’t before, but now it is.”

 

“You’re on!” Hyunjin accepted, her tone becoming so playful and competitive that I couldn’t keep from grinning. “What are the terms? What does the winner get, or what does the loser have to do?” She cocked her head to the side and tossed the ball she held between her hands. This was the first time I noticed that her hands were a bit bigger than mine which surely helped her piano skills I reckoned. I had this mental image of her strong fingers intertwined with mine, keeping them safe and warm. I wanted that so badly.

 

“Hm…” I my chin pensively, dramatically thinking of what would be a suitable prize for the winner. There were so many risky ideas I had, like the winner getting a kiss on the cheek, or even a date, but I was too scared. I didn’t know what Hyunjin’s intentions were yet and we were barely friends at this point, so I decided, “The loser has to buy a round of drinks for everyone who’s legal.”

 

“Boring, but a drink would be nice right now. She turned towards the machine to line up her first shot, still wearing a devilish smirk. “Especially since I’m not gonna have to pay for it,” she added cheekily.

 

“What, you think you’re gonna beat me at this, too?” I taunted, eying the ‘100’ cup on the left side. “You can’t be good at every sport.”

 

She snorted, taking the initiative and bowling her first ball, landing it in the ‘50’ cup. “Basketball is a sport. I’d even say that bowling is a sport. This is just a game.”

 

I followed, tossing my ball into the ‘20’ ring. “This isn’t a game,” I countered, confidently puffing my chest out. “This is a test of skill, and I’m very skilled.”

 

“I’m already winning.” Hyunjin rolled another 50 points and I knew I’d have a lot to catch up with. I needed to get a hundred points to take the lead. Even if I had a big crush on this girl, I wouldn’t let her beat me. I wasn’t a complete pushover.

 

Taking a deep breath, I focused on the ‘100’ cup like a laser and after winding up a few times to practice, I let the ball go. As it rolled up the ramp and flew into the air, it landed on the edge of the cup and started spinning. Come on, I thought to myself, crossing my fingers and holding my breath. After an agonizing three seconds, it rolled into the cup, taking me into the lead with 120 points versus Hyunjin’s 100.

 

“You were saying?” I teased, looking to her with a wink as I grabbed my next ball.

 

Hyunjin laughed softly, shaking her head and locking eyes with me a moment. “That was all luck,” she insisted. Tossing her third ball up the ramp, she groaned in annoyance as it landed outside the ‘10’ ring, netting zero points. “Damn it!” She cursed, stomping the ground in frustration.

 

“Aw, you’ll get it next time,” I mocked with a pouty face. Now to see if my lucky streak continues, I thought. Lining up my shot, I gained another forty points. I wasn’t as lucky as before, but I was still ahead by sixty points. “I think it takes more than luck to get points every time.”

 

Hyunjin didn’t even talk, instead tossing another ball into ‘50’ cup and heaving a sigh of relief. “Yeah, but it takes skill to consistently get the same number of points each time you do score.”

 

We continued to boast and tease as we continued our game, no one person keeping the lead for more than a round or two. She was good, and so was I, which made the game quite interesting. Our banter continued up the ninth and final ball where one of us would reign victorious. Right now, I had 270 points and Hyunjin was winning with 300 points. Our friendly game of skee ball turned intense challenge had finally reached its , and Hyunjin was so sure she’d win.

 

“And with her final toss, Hyunjin secures her victory over the sad little baker,” she narrated dramatically, winding up her ball and rolling it up to the ramp. We both watched with anticipation as it climbed up, and up, and up and… into the ‘10’ ring.

 

I burst out into laughter. “Whomp, whomp,” I teased, earning a playful shove from the disgruntled Hyunjin. Her touch had been meant to be aggressive, but the feeling of her hand on my bicep sent shockwaves of warmth and tingles through my entire arm. I turned away, chuckling and hiding my blush as I reached for my final ball.

 

“If you roll anything higher than forty, I’ll…” Hyunjin grumbled, crossing her arms and intently  watching me line up my shot.

 

Letting my ball go, it flew up the ramp a bit faster than I’d hoped. I couldn’t go down like this, I just couldn’t! As I crossed all my fingers and silently prayed for a miracle, the universe decided to deliver just once. Once the ball hit the top of the scoring area, it bounced down and right into the ‘50’ cup, bringing my final score to 320...ten more than Hyunjin.

 

“You’ll what?” I asked, placing a hand on my hip and playfully looking at her.

 

Hyunjin tried to stay angry for a few seconds, her brow deeply furrowed and lips upturned, but eventually she unraveled into a fit of laughter, leaning forward and inadvertently hitting me with her head. “I’ll buy everyone drinks,” she conceded, her words interspersed with warm chuckles. For a moment, her glistening dark eyes lingered on mine and my stomach was in knots. She looked so incredibly happy, and I felt the same, smiling widely like an absolute idiot. We were mere inches away now, so close that I could almost feel her breathe. Part of me was reveling in this moment and wanted to do something stupid like kiss her, but another, smarter part of me decided to widen the gap and suggest returning to the others.

 

After seeing what all the adults in our group wanted, Hyunjin was off to the bar to fulfill her end of the bet. Leaning against the table we were gathered at again, Haseul looked to me with suspicion. “You look happy,” she observed, brow raised and lips skewed to the side.

 

I laughed nervously, eyes darting away from her. “Well, I challenged Hyunjin to a skee ball game. Loser had to buy everyone drinks,” I explained. That was the truth, but not the whole truth. I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk about the weird end to our game.

 

Obviously, Haseul knew I was holding back on her, so she poked my shoulder with her pointy index finger, causing me to flinch a bit. “Okay, but you don’t look happy because you won a game.” She thought for a moment before widening her eyes and bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement. “Did you kiss her??”

 

“No, no, no!” I insisted, shaking my head and waving my hands frantically. “We were just having so much fun that I forgot all about being nervous. We teased each other, bantered and she even playfully shoved me once. But, then... “ I paused, vividly seeing Hyunjin’s eyes in my head and how stunning they were. I looked around and made sure Hyunjin wasn’t in earshot before continuing. “When I won, and we were laughing, we got so close to each other, like, really close. I could have kissed her if I wanted to, but I got scared.”

 

“Why didn’t you do it??” Haseul demanded to know, sharply poking me again.

 

“I… I don’t know. We had locked eyes like that earlier when were all eating, but then she suddenly looked away like nothing happened. That made me think she might not actually be interested, so I didn’t want to do anything I’d regret.” My head drooped a bit sadly as I recounted the strange events from earlier.

 

Haseul pursed her lips, nodding slowly in understanding. “It’s alright, I think you did the right thing,” she assured me, gently rubbing my arm with her soft hand. “But, honestly, would you really have regretted kissing her?” Her voice lifted up a bit, trying to get me to laugh.

 

She was successful, eliciting a few chuckles from me. I wanted to say I would regret it, but, “Nah, I wouldn’t have.”

 

Next time, I won’t hesitate.

 

A/N: I want to apologize AGAIN for how long this chapter took! I genuinely didn’t mean to take this long, but I hope it was worth the wait. I really appreciate your comments so much! Please continue to give feedback as it helps me to know what you like!