She smelled good. So, so good.

It was Friday night and we were in her room; she had a last-minute assignment to do before she could truly enjoy the weekend.

I usually slept at her place on weekends because I missed her when I couldn’t see her on weekdays; I had school, she had school…and I now realized school was my number one enemy.

So, in order to have an enjoyable weekend with her, I promised myself that I wouldn’t be a distraction – like the good girlfriend that I was.

But it was really, really hard to hold back when she was comfortably leaning against me while reading through her assignment paper and I was practically back-hugging her; my arms around her waist, my legs draped on her thighs and my face buried in the back of her neck.

I was just glad that we were sitting on the floor instead of the bed because she wouldn’t be too happy if I suddenly tackled her then and there.

I took deep breaths and let out a happy sigh.

A soft laugh escaped her. “You’re distracting me, Hyeijn-ah,” she said. She tilted her head to the side, away from my sniffing nose. “I think you’re starting to develop a smelling . Don’t tell me you got it from Wheein?”

I looked at her, feeling slightly offended. “Just because I’m friends with Wheein, doesn’t mean I’m a sniffer too. Besides, I only do this with you, unnie,” I added before pressing my nose against the side of her neck.

She let out a hum and turned her head to face me. “I’m happy to hear that,” she murmured and pressed against mine.

It was our usual kiss; slow and languid with a little bit of nibbling and . But I wanted more (because she smelled good and I was extra tonight) and started pressing my tongue against . I could feel her stiffening in my arms, but a moment later, parted and my tongue eagerly tangled with hers.

It was something new for us and it was admittedly exciting for me to have her and trembling in my arms, clutching at me for dear life as I tipped her back and deepened the kiss. I had one hand around her shoulders, supporting her, while my other hand was on her hip, pulling her closer to me. Her arms around my neck tightened as she raised herself to return my kiss, wrapping her legs around my hips and practically straddling me.

My hands started roaming; in her hair, down her back, squeezing her , her thighs and sliding up until they were resting on her s.

That was when she broke the kiss and pried my hands off of her. I pouted, but she just shook her head firmly. I sighed and resigned to admiring her current state – glasses askew, cheeks flushing pink, beautifully tousled hair, breathless yet calm-looking.

My mouth watered when I remembered the sweet taste of and knots started forming in the pit of my stomach.

She noticed my hand reaching out towards her and she quickly put up a warning finger. “No,” she said firmly as she scooted away from me. “I need to finish reviewing this. If you’re not going to behave, Hyejin-ah, you’re sleeping on the couch tonight.”

“Okay, okay. I promise I’ll behave,” I said, putting up my hands in surrender. “So come back here,” I opened my arms wide and beckoned her over, “please?”

twitched and she let out a sigh. “Fine.” She crawled back towards me and took her place in between my legs, leaning back against me. “If you’re sleepy, go to bed first, okay?” she said before adjusting her glasses and scowled at the paper in her hands.

I nodded, grinning like a fool as I wrapped my arms around her waist and breathed in her delicious scent. Maybe after this, if I ask her nicely enough, maybe then we could-

Hyejin woke up with a start.

She was breathing heavily and covered in sweat. She blinked until her vision was cleared and she found herself staring into Byulyi’s worried eyes.

Hyejin remembered that she had asked Byulyi to stay; she even lent the older woman her PJs which hung a little loose on her thin frame.

“Are you okay?” Byulyi asked, dabbing a wad of tissues along Hyejin’s face. “You were sweating all over. I thought you were coming down with a fever…”

Hyejin remembered the flashback and blushed; she was sure it was a flashback because it was too real to be just a dream. She could easily confirmed it with Byulyi, but it was still too overwhelming for her to form coherent words.

After a while of Byulyi fussing over her, looking worried and nearly calling an ambulance, Hyejin finally spoke.

“I had a flashback.”

Byulyi blinked and slowly set her phone down. “Oh. Do you…want to talk about it?”

Hyejin nodded and slowly sat up. She opened , blushed, and clamped shut again; it was the first time a flashback rendered her speechless and not because she was in too much pain.

“Is it that bad?” Byulyi asked with concern. “Is it about me?”

Hyejin shook her head and then nodded her head. She knew she made no sense by the look on Byulyi’s face, but it was the truth.

Hyejin turned her body to face Byulyi and took deep breaths. “The flashback was about us,” she said, slowly lifting her eyes to meet Byulyi’s dark ones. “About our first french kiss…?”

Byulyi looked blankly at her for a moment and then blushed. “Oh.” She covered with one hand and looked away. “Yeah, that first one was a bit intense...”

Hyejin felt her face warming up even more as she thought about the kisses that came after that first time.

Byulyi lowered her hand and faced Hyejin again, a smirk playing on her lips. “These flashbacks of yours…they’re pretty random, huh?”

“It depends on what triggered it.”

“Oh?” Her smirk widened and her tone became playful. “So what triggered the ‘french kiss’ memory?”

Hyejin bit her lip, hands clutching tightly at the edge of her T-shirt as she lowered her eyes and shyly said, “Your smell…”

“My smell? Hyejin-ah, I used the same stuff you used. Soap, shampoo, moisturizer. I’m pretty sure we smell the same.”

Hyejin shook her head. “No, you have a different smell, unnie,” she insisted. “It’s…softer and really, really good. I just can’t…”

Before Hyejin realized it, she was already leaning forward and pressing her face on the side of Byulyi’s neck. She quickly withdrew, blushing and apologizing profusely.

But Byulyi just laughed.

“That part of you haven’t changed, huh?” she said, playfully pulling on Hyejin’s nose.

“Isn’t it a good thing?” Hyejin asked, wiggling her nose to make sure it was still there. “Even with my memory loss, some things just…stick.”

A dark look crossed Byulyi’s face and the smile on her face became grim. “Maybe it’s good, maybe it’s not,” she murmured. “Who knows?”

Hyejin wondered if the older woman’s reaction had something to do with Hyejin’s previous crush on Wheein. Based on that passionate flashback, she was sure there was some misunderstanding between them.

“Byul, why do you think I dated you instead of Wheein?” she asked quietly.

Byulyi looked at her, confused. “I…don’t know,” she said hesitantly. “You never told me.”

Hyejin nodded. It was just as she thought; Byulyi knew as little as she did about her own choices.

But she was sure about one thing.

“Byul, I like you,” she said, smiling adoringly at the older woman. “I liked you back then and I like you now. I just wanted you to know that.”

Byulyi looked stunned. Then, a tear rolled down her cheek, sending Hyejin into panic mode.

“B-Byul?”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Byulyi quickly assured her as she wiped the tear away. “I just…” Another tear rolled down her cheek, but this time, she let it be. “You’ve…never said it to me before.”

“What do you mean I never said it?” Hyejin asked, frowning. “How did we start dating again?”

Byulyi laughed. “I’ll let you remember that on your own.” She paused, a deep frown etched onto her face as she swallowed the rest of her tears. “I know you like me, Hyejin-ah,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “It’s obvious in your actions, your gazes, your touches, your kisses…but sometimes I just wished that I could hear you say it. That’s all.”

“Then, I’ll say it as many times as you want,” Hyejin said with a firm nod of her head. She flung herself at Byulyi, arms around her neck and mouth pressed against her left ear. “I like you, I like you, I like you,” she breathed.

Byulyi giggled as she hugged Hyejin’s waist and buried her warm face in her neck. “I like you too, Hyejin-ah,” she mumbled. “I like you too.”

It didn’t take long after that for Hyejin to feel the exhaustion from the flashback experience washing over her. She let out a wide yawn and nuzzled her face against the side of Byulyi’s neck.

Byulyi chuckled and kissed her temple. “Let’s go back to sleep, okay?” she whispered.

Hyejin nodded. She laid down, pulling Byulyi on top of her. Byulyi tried to gently pry Hyejin’s arms from around her neck, but the younger woman was a lot stronger than she remembered.

“Hyejin-ah, how am I supposed to sleep like this?” she asked, looking down at Hyejin helplessly. “Let me go, please?”

Hyejin shook her head. “No,” she muttered, voice heavy with sleep. “I’m not letting you go. Ever.”

Byulyi chuckled. “Okay, okay,” she said as she settled down next to Hyejin, careful not to crush the younger woman with her weight. “I’ll just sleep over here then…”

Hyejin automatically snuggled close, her body half-covering Byulyi’s as she rested her head on her chest and draped her right leg over her thighs. Byulyi smiled and kissed the top of Hyejin’s head.

“Good night, Hyejin-ah,” she whispered. “See you when the sun is up.”

Hyejin wondered what Byulyi meant, but she was too tired and Byulyi was too warm and comfortable that she just drifted off without realizing it.