Right there, on the doorsteps of the person she least wanted to talk right now. Not that there was any resentment that was lingering towards the girl. Nayeon didn't even imagine herself to be in front of this house. The chilling air of the night was louder than ever, somehow finding its way up to Nayeon's shoulders. Shivering violently for a second, she in a cold breath, holding them tightly to her.

After knocking, more like banging, on the door about two times, Nayeon waited in the cold.

What's taking her so long? She must be asleep already. I mean it is sort of late.

Just as about Nayeon was going to turn around and take the first step down, the door swung open. The sound was loud enough for Nayeon to stop. She was halted by a confused yet lighthearted voice.

"Nayeon? What are you doing at this time?"

To say the least, Jihyo was quite perplexed on why Nayeon had shown up in front of her doorstep. The way she looked right now indicated that she was not expecting company at this hour. She looked comfortable in her attire.

She need not take another glance at her outfit before rushing her inside without hesitation, worried that she was freezing her off.

Although Nayeon wasn't that cold to begin with, she complied, her body flying in first before her stick.

Jihyo shut the door softly behind her, pressing her back against the large door. Cup of tea in her hand, she briefly examined Nayeon's state. Clothes weren't too shabby. Her hair seemed a bit ruffled, not fully combed, but it wasn't a bird's nest. More than ever, Jihyo wanted to know Nayeon's purpose for coming here.

Remembering what she wanted to get out of her, Jihyo slightly took a gulp of air and pushed away from the door. Following the gasp and suddenly growing worry, Nayeon turned around, a blatant expression on her face. Jihyo opened to say something, but then quickly closed it. Out of habit. She stood there for a few seconds.

"Oh! You must be terribly cold. How long have you been standing outside?"

Jihyo sprinted to get Nayeon a blanket and rushed back to heat up the fireplace. The maids were already long gone since it was past their work time already.

"No, I'm alright. I just got here a few minutes ago."

Nayeon didn't need help finding the couch. The living room did feel rather huge to her, taking a little longer to find it. She only needed to feel around for something luxurious.

Watching on the side was Jihyo, looking over her shoulder every once in a while to see that Nayeon was doing and if she was able. Jihyo didn't want to crowd her so she continued to check on the fire. She fanned it with a piece of cardboard.

"Please don't mind the mess. Also the way I look right now. I obviously wasn't expecting you to show up so out of the blue.." Jihyo chuckled.

"It's totally fine. Don't sweat it. It's not like I can see you right now to be the judge."

Palms still out and searching for the couch. Nayeon touched something soft. She raised her hand and gave it a small smack. It was the couch. Relieved to have found it, Nayeon took a seat, trying to feel comfortable as she waited for Jihyo.

After it was heated for a few minutes, Jihyo jumped up, turning around. She clasped her hands together, looking at Nayeon. The other girl had her head down, fiddling with her fingers. There were no signs of sleepiness from what Jihyo could see. Taking a seat on a singular couch, Jihyo cleared . This caught Nayeon attention, her ears twitching at the sound.

"So as I was saying, why are you here, Nayeon?" Jihyo instantly wanted to back her words, adding on to them to explain. "Not that I don't welcome you here, despite it being pretty late and without notice. But, umm.."

Feeling that she wasn't heading towards a point, Jihyo cut herself off, her lips in. She held a breath, wanting Nayeon to answer her question to save her the embarrassment.

Should I be straight with her? Does she even know that I like Jeongyeon more than a friend? Or that I know that she likes Jeongyeon? Jihyo is a reasonable person. I can totally do th--

"It's about Jeongyeon.."

Stop beating around the bush, Nayeon.

"Jihyo...I know you like Jeongyeon."

The awkward grin switched into a tight line. Jihyo had her jaw locked tightly, unsure of how to react. It was the feeling of her esophagus equivalent to the weight of a bowling ball dropping twenty-four meters from a cliff. Jihyo always had an answer to everything, but now she didn't. She couldn't possibly lie to Nayeon's face. That wasn't her intention to, anyways. Right when she was about to open , Nayeon went further.

    "I understand,  though. Jeongyeon is an..amazing person."
Nayeon nearly swooned just describing her. She had to pull herself together, not to get off track.
   "I had been very unsure of my feelings for quite some time and in that time of our distance, you were there for her. And I'm not saying you can't be there for her anymore. But, from now on, Jeongyeon and I..will be seeing each other."

That was it. Those words that Jihyo were afraid of hearing for herself, but knew they were coming. She had been preparing herself for this day. Out of all the times in the universe, it had to be when she was half awake, wearing a messy bun, and her blue silky PJ's. Timing had always been off for her. The throbbing in the pit of her stomach would not stop regardless of the smile she wore. It was hefty to even lift the corners of .It's okay to hurt, Jihyo. You knew this was coming.

At least she wasn't hearing this from Jeongyeon herself. That would've broken her on a whole other level. Coming from Nayeon's mouth, Jihyo was able to bear with it. Something in her told her that it wasn't the time. She didn't feel like crying so the throbbing beat in her stomach would suffice.

"Ahh...I had prepared for this day. But I didn't know it would be tonight."

Jihyo laughed bitterly, her tone inaudible, but Nayeon could still hear it.

"I always knew that I never stood a chance with Jeongyeon. I didn't even expect to see her more than a friend. I was also pretty selfish when I decided to kiss her."

Nayeon winced at the mention of the kiss that Jeongyeon told her about, few days prior. She shook it off, going back to focus on listening to Jihyo. The spotlight was on Jihyo and Nayeon didn't wanna take that from her.

"Thank you for telling me this, Nayeon. I know not to get my hopes up, even though I knew I shouldn't have in the first place. I wish you two all the best."

A comfortable silence circled around the two. Nayeon was content but somewhat worried for Jihyo and how she felt now. On the other hand, a crucial ton was slowly being removed from Jihyo.

"Thank you, Jihyo. For understanding. I don't want bad blood between us though and would very much want us to still be friends."

Nayeon took a deep breath and stood up, extending her arms out to Jihyo. Watching Nayeon get up made Jihyo jump from her seat to openly take Nayeon's gesture. They hugged for a long minute and then released each other. Nayeon gave Jihyo a solemn look and gripped her arm for support.

"Of course! Nothing changes between us."

Jihyo gladly helped Nayeon on her way out. The other girl didn't say anything else.

From the time they started talking, the wind had settled down. More of the moon was illuminating the streets. Nayeon still had a strong grip on Jihyo's arm whilst walking.

"You still need me to walk you to your car?"

"Nah, I can take it from here."

Jihyo nodded, releasing Nayeon from her grasp. Grounding the cane on the pavement, Nayeon hoisted herself up and started trotting back to her vehicle. Standing in front of her house with her arms crossed, Jihyo waited to see Nayeon off before entering her house once again and closing the door behind her. The cup of tea she had was long finished.

















 

When Nayeon got out of bed, she did everything she usually did in the morning before going to school. Rolling out of bed, with her blanket still swallowing her like a burrito, Nayeon fell to the floor with a mild thud. She roared out a frustrated groan. Kookeu awoke by the crash and started barking. He sped to check on Nayeon who casually dismissed him.

An unreasonable wave of despair and laziness came over her. She was unfeeling move at all. Any minute now, her mother would come rushing in and see what has become of Nayeon. That's not something she wanted to face right now. With the blanket wrapped around her, Nayeon forced herself up, feeling around the carpeted floor to guide herself to the restroom.

Kookeu had always been of great help to Nayeon. Being the good boy that he was, he was in charge of picking out Nayeon's outfit for the day. And it wasn't that bad. The weather was clearing up a bit and the sun was starting to show again. That meant that Nayeon's summer collection could be of use for the new couple of weeks.

"A sundress, Kookeu? Really? You're too kind."

Chuckling whilst tilting her head down at the stress before facing Kookeu again. Her furry little companion barked happily in response, wagging his tail as he saw the amused smile of his owner.

Just then, a knock came at the door and Nayeon threw her head over her shoulder calling out to her mother.

"Bugs? You ready?"

Nayeon's mother's usually loud and cheerful voice was absent right now. As if there was some hindrance in her tone. But Nayeon didn't catch on to it. She turned around to her mother's voice and smiled softly.

"Mom! Yeah, I am. Just need to get some knots out of my hair."

"Let me help you with it."

Taking the brush from her daughter's hands, Nayeon's mother stood in front of the vanity and softly took her time to caress Nayeon's hair.

"Hey, sweetie.."

"Yeah, mom?" She hesitated for a bit before going on. Holding down on her tongue for a while.
"You do know that if there's anything bothering you, you can come to me, right? We can talk it through, sweetie. I know you have Momo and well..."

There was a too much of a pause in between her words. Even the slightest shift of tone, Nayeon took note of it only after understanding the reason for it once her mother continued.

"Jeongyeon. But from time to time, you could at least come to me to get some motherly advice."

In her own good time, Nayeon's mother placed her hand on Nayeon's shoulder and carried a weak smile. Nayeon didn't flinch at her mother's touch, relaxing and letting her shoulders drop down. Something in her was telling her that her mother was smiling at her right, causing Nayeon to unintentionally smile right back at her.

Why is mom suddenly getting soft-centered at a time like this? When I'm supposed to be at school right now? Typical mom.

"Yes, mom. I know this very well. You don't have to worry about me."

She eased the hand off her shoulder and put it on her lap, grasping it dearly. Nayeon gave her another endearing smile to fully convince her.

"I wouldn't hide something from you if it was life-threatening."

Nayeon tried to laugh off her halfwit of a comment. Her mother joined along with her saccharine statement and laughed with her to ease Nayeon's hidden embarrassment. The two shared a quick hug.

"I kept you long enough with my boring speech. Let's g--oh you know what? Did you want to drive today, hun? You've been taking your car out a few times, recently."

"Uhh no actually Jeongyeon is coming to get me."

"In her motorcycle again?"

Remembering where her bag was usually placed, Nayeon snatched her bag off the bed, chuckling to herself.

"Yes, mom. You know how it's been."

From the doorway, with her arms crossed loosely, her mother laughed.

"Jeongyeon, that troublemaker. She's isn't getting into fights again, righ