They were sitting outside on the terrace, each with a beer in their hand and Seulgi wanted to laugh at how normal everything felt, as if the girl she’s been in love with for years didn’t just show up suddenly and act as if everything was okay.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Seungwan nods and looks at a light across the street, “I transferred. There was something missing in Toronto and I like Seoul.”

Seulgi wanted to ask, but she didn’t want to know

“We do have better food.”

Seungwan smiles, “That we do.”

Seulgi notices how much older the girl looked. She had blonde streaks through her hair and was wearing a modest red dress. It had only been three years, but her features were sharper, cheekbones more pronounced and her eyes twinkled more.

“So what are you studying?”

“Art, painting, photography, the whole lot.”

“Do you still play music?”

Seulgi remembers the guitar back at home that she didn’t bring to college (or rather she couldn’t). Instead her room was filled with paintbrushes, canvases and cameras.

“Not much, what about you?”

“Same. I don’t have as much time for it anymore.”

“Shame.”

Seulgi doesn’t continue her sentence. The two sit in silence, sipping on their beers, forgetting about the loud music and drunk college students behind them. There were so many questions Seulgi wanted to ask, but didn’t know where to start and she wasn’t sure if her heart was ready for the answers, but luckily she didn’t have to.

“Unnie!”

The two turn to see a drunk Yeri wobbling down the steps. Seulgi quickly stands up to support the younger girl.

“Where were you?”

Seulgi stifles a chuckle, “I’m right here.”

“Joy left my and I saw her flirting with Sungjae. How could she do that to me?”

“Alright, I think it's time for you to go home."

Seulgi put her arm around the younger girl’s waist before turning to Seungwan, “Sorry, have to go.”

She takes a step forward before pausing at the sound of the other girl’s voice, “Wait.”

Both turn to look at Seungwan biting her lower lip, “Can we catch up some time? Please?”

Seulgi wants to say no. She wants to tell Seungwan that she didn’t deserve another second of Seulgi’s time after disappearing, but it’s hard to resist the unsure eyes and small smile the girl is giving her right now so instead she sighs and says, “Sure.”

She walks Yeri back to her dorm and slowly treads back to her own all the while staring at her phone that shows a new text message from an unknown number.

--

Seungwan shouldn’t be able to leave for several years and come back into Seulgi’s life as if no time had passed, yet she did.

She frequently hangs out in Seulgi’s room after school reading her science textbooks while Seulgi draws and the artist hates how right everything feels. She hates that when she goes to sleep at night, there’s a dip in her bed where Seungwan should be, or that when she comes back from an exam, she’s expecting Seungwan to be there with freshly baked cookies to ease her nerves.

She should be questioning their relationship, but decides that she wanted this fantasy to last a little longer.

--

“I give up. I can’t do medicine anymore, I’m just going to busk in train stations.”

They’re sitting in Seungwan’s dorm today and the girl’s glasses are thrown to the side of the desk, hair disheveled and her face flat in her chemistry textbook.

“That’