I decided that I didn’t miss Hyejin after all.

Especially when she had invited herself to stay for lunch – with some unwanted help from Omma – and started teasing me and Byul about our more-than-friends status.

I was too engrossed in fighting off the blush in my cheeks to notice that Byul had fallen into Hyejin’s pace and had joined in on the teasing. By the time I realized this, I was being assaulted from two sides and I had become too overwhelmed to make any coherent responses.

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t mind Byul’s teasing. When she teases me, she had this gleam in her brown eyes that was both playful and flirtatious. It never failed to make me blush and stammer and that was with the stutter. Sometimes, I wondered what would happen when that stutter goes away and she goes into that teasing mode…

I felt a pleasant shiver run down my spine, but I refused to dwell on it.

After lunch, Hyejin immediately went to my bedroom. Byul and I quietly followed her – at least I was quiet; Byul was busy laughing, apparently very amused with my so-called best friend.

“Your room looks the same, Wheeinie,” Hyejin commented as she slowly twirled around, hands behind her back while her eyes roamed the entirety of the small room, “it feels like just yesterday that I’ve been in here…”

“I came back once in a while,” I said, looking around as well, taking in the various posters, trophies and books littering the room, “but I never thought of changing anything…”

“Good. Don’t,” Hyejin stopped twirling and looked at me with a wistful smile, “I like that nothing’s changed.” She paused and her voice softened as she added, “Just like you, Wheeinie.”

For a moment, it felt like we were in high school again, standing in the middle of the room and exchanging silent words through our eyes. My cheeks warmed at the memory – we almost always ended up on the bed, “experimenting”, in those days. A sudden loud cough brought me back to the present and I looked over at Byul who was scowling at both me and Hyejin. I had to bite back a smile, glad that I wasn’t the only one having a problem with the green-eyed monster.

Hyejin noticed as well and her lips curled into a devious smirk. The next thing I knew, she had her arms wrapped around me and I was tucked neatly under her chin.

“Jung Wheein is my precious and most important person,” Hyejin declared as she tightened her hold around me, “so if you hurt her in anyway, Byul-ssi, I will hunt you down and give you hell.”

I didn’t have to look to know that Hyejin had that sickly sweet smile on her face and her fiery eyes held a promise of unspeakable acts of violence. I had seen it way too many times in the past when she had threatened my ex-boyfriends. Hyejin had made good on her promise each time they broke my heart – even after we had gone our separate ways years later.

I sneaked a glance at Byul who was regarding us with a thoughtful look on her face. I felt flattered that she was seriously considering Hyejin’s words, but I couldn’t help worrying a bit when she took too long to respond.

“I-I can’t p-promise that I w-wouldn’t hurt her,” Byul finally said, looking directly at me with a gentle smile on her face, “b-but I w-will try my b-best to avoid that f-from happening.”

There was a beat of silence before Hyejin let out a loud huff.

“Fine,” Hyejin said as she released me and took a step back, “but that’s only because you didn’t straight up promise you wouldn’t hurt her.”

I smiled bitterly. Oh, how many times my past boyfriends had made those empty promises and ended up hurting me in the end anyways. Hyejin and I knew better now than to trust those kinds of people again. I was glad that Byul at least considered that hurting me was unavoidable – I could at least believe in that and prepare myself for it. Suddenly, a strange feeling started to pool at the bottom of my stomach and I had to fight the urge to throw myself at Byul then and there.

We talked a bit more – mostly Hyejin and I reminiscing our misadventures while Byul listened patiently with a smile on her face. Then, Hyejin received a call from her father asking her to come home. I was a little disappointed because I wanted to spend more time with her before she leaves tomorrow, but also relieved because my hands were itching to touch Byul in the most indecent way.

After we had sent Hyejin off, I grabbed Byul’s hand and dashed upstairs towards my room. This time, I remembered to close the door behind me and lock it.

Then, I turned around, back pressed firmly against the door, and pulled Byul down by the front of her shirt, crashing our mouths together. Byul braced her elbows against each side of my head as she kissed me back with equal fervor. My hands travelled up her chest and into her silky dark hair while my leg loosely circled around hers. My temperature rose with every swipe of our tongues and my heart thumped against my ribs, threatening to burst out.

I whimpered when Byul suddenly pulled away. My eyes, that I didn’t know had fallen shut, slowly opened and I stared into her dark orbs, recognizing the swirl of lust and desire in them that must be reflected in my own as well.

“Wh-what…was th-that…for?” she asked breathlessly.

I brought my hands down to cup her face and traced her cheekbones with my thumbs as I drank in every inch of her face. “For. Saying. The. Right. Things,” I murmured, placing butterfly kisses on her swollen mouth with every punctuated word.

She leaned in and gave me a long, sweet kiss before pulling back and looked at me with a grim smile. “I j-just said the truth b-because I know I will h-hurt you someday…”

A different kind of chill ran down my spine, but I shook it off and frowned at her in confusion. “What are you talking about, Byul?” I demanded quietly. “Why would you hurt me?”

Byul hesitated briefly before taking a step back, creating a significant distance between us. She toyed with the scarf around her neck – the scarf that covered her scar – while her free hand was shoved inside the pocket of her slacks while she pointedly avoided my eyes.

I suddenly felt cold after losing Byul’s warmth. I straightened up and wrapped my arms around my body, but it wasn’t the same. I wanted her back in my arms, but I also wanted to hear what she had to say.

“I-I’m not who y-you think I am,” Byul finally said, her voice was strained and a sheen of sweat had started to form on her forehead, “I-I’m sorry that I l-lied to you, Wheein-ah, b-but I had to o-or they will f-find me…”

Her face had gone deathly pale and her whole body was shaking. I knew that it was taking a lot from her just to speak this much. I was torn between quietly listening to her and stopping her before she passed out. Before I knew it, my feet had moved and I was approaching her. She stiffened as I came nearer, but visibly relaxed when I pressed my palms against her cheeks and gently turned her face towards me. I saw the tears b in her eyes – either from the pain or from her own emotions – and I wished that there was something I could do to stop those tears from falling. But I also saw the determination in those beautiful brown eyes and I knew that all I could do was listen to her until the end.

“It’s okay,” I whispered. “Take your time and tell me.”

Her lips quirked into a small smile and I could see the relief on her face reflected in her eyes. “Th-thank you,” she sighed as she cupped my hands and pressed her forehead against mine, “p-please bear with m-me because this w-will be a long story…”

“I’m not going anywhere, Byul-ah,” I assured her. “I promise.”