Hyejin knew the birthday party would just be an intimate gathering at Wheein’s apartment; the petite woman was actually an introvert despite her flirtiness.

At first, she hesitated in telling Wheein about Byulyi’s “friend”; she was torn between protecting her best friend and spending time with her sort-of girlfriend.

She was surprised when Wheein easily expressed her agreement.

“If it’s Byulie-unnie’s friend, she must be pretty,” Wheein said over the phone and Hyejin could almost see the greasy grin on her face. “You know I’m all for it when it comes to pretty unnies.”

“I thought you like Eunbi?”

Wheein laughed. “Yes, but I still like pretty unnies, Hyejin-ah.”

Hyejin resisted the urge to lecture her best friend about her unhealthy obsession and quickly ended the call before texting Byulyi the good news. She silently prayed that Wheein wouldn’t throw a fit when she saw who the “pretty unnie” actually was.

Hyejin arrived at Wheein’s apartment an hour earlier than the appointed time.

“Hyejinie~”

Wheein greeted her with a tight hug and practically dragged her inside.

“Happy birthday, Wheein-ah,” Hyejin said, returning the hug as best as she could with one hand gripping onto her handbag and the other clutching onto Wheein’s present. “I got something for you.”

Wheein pulled away and let out a tiny squeal when she saw the neatly-wrapped present. She grabbed it from Hyejin’s hand and quickly tore through the pretty wrapper.

“It’s nothing much,” Hyejin said casually above the noise of the wrapper being torn. “I saw it and instantly thought of you.”

Wheein’s lips curled into a smile when she unveiled a box of art brushes in various shapes and sizes; it was the most expensive brand too. She lifted her gaze to meet Hyejin’s. “Thanks, Hyejinie,” she whispered with tears in her eyes.

Hyejin felt her chest constrict at the sight and quickly pulled the smaller woman into her arms. “Stop,” she mumbled. “You’re going to make me cry and then my makeup would be ruined…”

Wheein chuckled. “Yah, I’m the one who should be crying,” she said, already feeling the waterworks coming and she let it. “This is too generous of you, Hyejin-ah…and sweet.”

Hyejin pulled away to give Wheein a lopsided smile. “What are you talking about? I’m always sweet,” she said. “I don’t care how much it costs as long as you’re happy, Wheein-ah.”

“Okay, enough of this,” Wheein quickly said and stepped away from Hyejin’s arms, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her palms. She tucked her present under one arm and grabbed Hyejin’s hand with the other, her mega-watt smile plastered on her face. “Come and help me with dinner, okay?”

“Okay.”

Hyejin let the smaller woman lead her towards the kitchen area. Her face fell when she saw that her manager was already there, moving busily as if it was her own home.

“Eunbi…?”

Eunbi stopped in her tracks and turned to face Hyejin. “Ah, Hyejin-ssi,” she said, glasses askew and hair up in a messy bun. She bowed her head slightly while holding a steaming pot of stew with mitten-covered hands. “You’re here early.”

“I thought I could help with the preparations…”

“Here, Hyejinie."

Wheein interrupted them and dragged Hyejin towards the stacked up containers near the sink. “If you think these ones need to be heated up, feel free to use the stove or the microwave," she said. "Eunbi and I need to get ready.”

Eunbi dumped the contents of her pot into a large bowl and then placed the empty pot inside the sink. “I need to take this to the dining table,” she said, carefully lifting the bowl. “Go and change first, Wheein-ah.”

Wheein nodded and pecked Eunbi’s cheek before rushing towards her bedroom.

Hyejin stared at Eunbi who was blushing from the roots of her hair. “Did something happened between you two?” she asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Eunbi’s blush darkened and she shook her head fervently. “N-Nothing happened,” she mumbled and quickly headed into the dining area before Hyejin could ask more.

At exactly 6 pm, the doorbell rang and Byulyi’s face popped up on the intercom screen.

Hyejin volunteered to greet the guests while Wheein and Eunbi finished making the drinks. She practically ran towards the door and pulled the two older women in before they could utter their greetings.

“I think something happened between Wheein and Eunbi,” she blurted, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t heard.

“Who?” Byulyi asked, frowning in confusion.

“My best friend, Jung Wheein and my manager, Kwon Eunbi.”

“What’s happening between them?”

Hyejin had almost forgotten that Yongsun was there as well. “Um, are you going to be angry, unnie?” she asked tentatively.

“Why would I be angry?” Yongsun asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Whenever it’s about Wheein and another girl, you always get angry.”

“Hyejin-ah, she’s not my girlfriend anymore.”

“Don’t believe anything she says,” Byulyi said, hooking an arm around Yongsun’s shoulders. “She’s trying to hide her pain, but I know she still loves the puppy.”

Yongsun elbowed Byulyi in the ribs, eliciting a pained cry from the taller woman. “Just because I poured my heart out on the way here, doesn’t mean you know how I truly feel, Byul-ah,” she muttered.

“Hyejinie, what’s taking so long?” Wheein suddenly called out from the dining area. “You better not be making out with Byulie-unnie at my front entrance…”

“Oh,” Hyejin’s face lit up, “speaking of making out…”

She turned to Byulyi, grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her down for a long and hard kiss. Byulyi eagerly responded and her hands automatically rest on Hyejin’s hips, pulling their bodies closer together.

Hyejin smirked into the kiss when she heard Yongsun groaning and muttering something along the line of excessive PDAs.

After what seemed like forever, Hyejin finally pulled away and felt immensely satisfied when she saw the dazed look on Byulyi’s face.

“Not fair, Hyejin-ah,” Byulyi whined, burying her face in the younger woman’s neck. “I’m super hungry right now and you’re making me crave something other than food…”

“Yah, that’s enough,” Yongsun hissed as she grabbed Byulyi by the collar and tugged her loose from a pouting Hyejin. “Wheein is waiting for us-”

“What’s going on here?”

Three pairs of eyes swivelled in the direction of the voice. Wheein was standing at the end of the hallway, her gaze travelling over Byulyi and Hyejin before finally settling on Yongsun.

“Yongsun-unnie,” Wheein said, the expression on her face unreadable. “So you’re Byulie-unnie’s plus one.”

“No, no. She’s my friend. From college,” Byulyi quickly denied. “How did you come to know Yongsun, Wheein-ah?” she asked, pretending not to know about their dating history.

“I dated her. Twice.”

Hyejin and Byulyi looked at each other, both surprised by Wheein’s admission; Yongsun was the only one who looked unperturbed.

“Hello, Wheein,” Yongsun said calmly. “It’s been a while.”

“I didn’t expect to see you again, unnie.”

“I never planned to stay away forever,” Yongsun replied with a shrug. “Korea is still my home.”

Suddenly, Eunbi appeared and gently tapped Wheein on the shoulder.

“Dinner’s ready,” she murmured, letting her hand travelled down Wheein’s arm and slipped inside her hand, intertwining their fingers together. “Shall we eat now?”

Wheein turned to her and smiled. “Yeah, let’s eat.”

Without saying a word to her guests, Wheein led Eunbi towards the dining area.

“Come on,” Hyejin whispered, pulling Byulyi and Yongsun in the same direction. “I think we should be thankful that Eunbi is here or Wheein would have kicked us out by now.”

Yongsun let out a bitter chuckle. “So this Eunbi girl is already affecting her that much, huh?”

“What are you talking about, unnie?”

“They’re getting close a little bit too quickly in my opinion.”

Hyejin pursed her lips. “Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Eunbi already has a boyfriend…”

“What?!”

Hyejin gulped when she saw the dark look on Yongsun’s face.

Uh-oh.