Wong Kahei was starting to wake up.

 

Sensation was returning to the tips of her fingers, the numbness slowly fading as her lungs began to move and take in breaths in sputtering motions. She felt the odd need to cough, as she always does when waking up, but for now settles with just focusing on the act of breathing. It doesn’t take long until she hears her heart--feels it--bumping in her chest like it hadn’t stopped.

 

It used to bother her so much back when she was just getting used to it. Sleeping, if it could still be called that, felt like dying just as vividly as her own previous experience with it felt. With less shattered bones, but the same sort of desperation in trying to fight to stay awake. The darkness cocooning her with the gentlest sense of emptiness. Stay alive. Kahei takes a shuddering breath, tries to regain the presence of her current reality, because she’s already learned the bitter lesson that trying to remember her previous life will only lead to a system overload at best and a full-blown panic attack at worst.

 

Disorientation sets in after the initial waking up. This part she still isn’t used to, no matter how many months she’s experienced it on a daily basis.

 

Slowly, she opened her eyes, knowing that it’s best to do this slowly or else her senses might get overwhelmed. Despite this, it seems her vision hasn’t kicked in. Like a void, she thinks. Colors soon blur into fruition, as details mix and dance in her surroundings like she’s inside a painting. The ends of twitch, still not able to fully form a smile, but she slowly recognizes that it’s a classroom. She spots her friends chatting and hanging out a few seats away from her, probably to make sure that she’s safe while she’s charging.

 

She waits for when she’s finished waking up, deciding not to test her vocal abilities yet. She waits for it to end, to have any resemblance of her previous humanity back.

Kahei tries swallowing the dryness of , adjusting to how it feels to be real and alive again. Well, maybe real wouldn’t be the right word for it, but alive is close enough to being the truth.

 

“Oh, she’s waking up!” someone says, someone who’s supposed to be familiar, but Kahei’s voice recognition system hasn’t started up yet. It’s a bug of her system, that full capabilities doesn’t mean that she’s actually working like she’s supposed to.

 

“Kahei?” This voice Kahei does recognize, almost by instinct, with no need of a machine in her brain to help her because she’s memorized this voice with her heart.

 

“Haseul?” Kahei asks, and it sounds wrong even to her own ears, as if the word was slurred and completely foreign on her tongue.

 

The girl materializes in front of her in full glorious detail, but Haseul somehow looks too beautiful to be real. Kahei almost feels overwhelmed with emotions as she stares up at someone who’s basically an angel. Naturally, Kahei can’t help but stare blankly, glad that her vocals still aren’t working so she isn’t expected to speak more. She’s completely happy just looking at the person in front of her, feeling the remnants of her humanity fall in love with Jo Haseul for the thousandth time. In every single lifetime, Kahei always finds herself charmed by the younger girl.

 

And Haseul’s beautiful, her eyes like royalty and her presence like home. Kahei smiles instinctively and the movement grounds her system awake. An angel, with the light hitting her hair and giving it a halo effect, her makeup simple and gentle on her skin and so gorgeous. She seems so loving and caring as she looks at Kahei and waits for her to wake up, like Haseul missed her and she’s glad that she’s back.

 

“Is it morning?” Kahei asks, voice airy and full of so much light and love. She tilts her head a bit to the side in an attempt to stretch, to snap out of whatever daze she’s in and act like a proper person, or as much as a person she can be as she is, but definitely more proper than a lovestruck idiot.

 

Haseul smiles, giggles a bit and it sounds like music. “Sweetheart, it’s five in the afternoon.”

 

Someone laughs, ’Hyunjin’ according to the voice recognition, and that’s when Kahei actually pays attention enough to look around at her surroundings. It’s a classroom Kahei hasn’t taken a single lesson in, at least not in this lifetime, and-

-it sends an annoyingly red warning displaying itself over real life. Kahei blinks the warning away, effectively shooing it, so she can look at reality some more. Look at Haseul some more.

 

Because then Haseul’s saying, “Hey, let’s get you home,” and presenting her hand for Kahei to take a hold of, and this simple act of Haseul’s everyday kindness is lowering Kahei’s ability to remember they’re supposed to be just friends.

 

“You’re my home,” Kahei says without thinking, taking Haseul’s hand and standing up.

 

Before she can even realize how incredibly embarrassed she should be over what she just said as, she’s being pulled back down, as if there was a chain on her neck halting her freedom. Kahei falls ungracefully, almost taking Haseul down with her if she hadn’t made sure to let go first.

 

Hyunjin laughs again, this time at Kahei’s lack of overall balance. “Sleepy Vivi is the best!”

 

Kahei’s fingers shoot up to the back of her neck, finding the charging port. She takes it in her hand and quickly removing it like it offends her, throwing it back. Kahei takes Haseul’s hand with a bit of frustration, determined to get it right this time, and Haseul helps her up with an airy laugh.

 

Kahei doesn’t remember to feel embarrassed over what she had said a moment ago, but she does notice the light blush on Haseul’s cheeks and she can’t help but wonder what it means.

 

~

 

The school is so eerily quiet around them that the damn system keeps giving Kahei random warnings of potential danger. She dismisses each one, getting progressively annoyed and progressively more determined in paying attention to her friends instead.

 

“Anyway, I’ll start going then!” Heejin says cheerily, squeezing the strap of her bag. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow! And thanks for helping me with my homework, Haseul!”

 

Haseul nods, tired after having to deal with all the kids she calls her friends. “Yeah, yeah, always.”

 

Heejin hesitates before going, suddenly turning back towards Hyunjin. “And thank you for not helping!” she says just as cheerily.

 

Hyunjin rolls her eyes, but then gets up. “If you wanted me to walk you home, you could’ve just said so.”

 

Kahei finds herself chuckling lightly at the two’s antics.

 

Haseul glances at her before turning back towards the two younger girls. “I’ll take care of Kahei, then.”

 

That simple statement manages to fill Kahei’s heart with so much joy. She catches Haseul’s eye before shyly looking back at the other girls.

 

Heejin nods, says her goodbyes again, and finally leaves. She clings on Hyunjin’s arm, who’s only complaining moderately before giving up and letting Heejin be as clingy as she wants. It fills Kahei with a sense of warmth in seeing those two together. They’ve had their share of drama but never let that break their friendship. Kahei admires Heejin’s stubbornness in making sure that, no matter what happens, they’re always together.

 

Haseul subconsciously grabs Kahei’s hand once the girls are gone. “I have to take you home now, right?”

 

Kahei focuses on the ground instead. “I guess.”

 

This immediately grabs Haseul’s attention, causing her to complete turn towards Kahei and lower her face in an attempt to get closer, trying to meet Kahei’s eyes. “Everything alright?”

Kahei dismisses it without a second thought, finally accepting Haseul’s gaze and giving her a sheepish smile. “Yeah,” she says to answer the younger girl’s question.

 

“Oh, your eyes did that little flashing thing for a moment,” Haseul says, raising a hand to gesture towards Kahei.

 

“It’s because we’re not home yet,” Kahei answers nonchalantly, looking away once again. For some reason, she’s been having a harder time maintaining eye contact with Haseul recently.

 

Well, she knows the reason. She just doesn’t want to admit it when she knows how impossible it would be.

 

“Hey, look at me…” Haseul orders, pouting cutely, her eyebrows scrunching up in the middle.

“It’s happening again,” Haseul points out, lowering her eyebrows in concentration as she raises Kahei’s face to look at her. “It flashed twice this time. Does that mean anything?”

More words pop up over real life. Kahei reads the message, noticing the two slashes and the question mark, momentarily wondering what it’s referring to before finally dismissing it.

 

“It went away,” Haseul says before noticing she’s basically holding Kahei in place and quickly lets go. “Ah, sorry!” She looks at everything except Kahei, her cheeks a bit pink.

 

Kahei shakes her head, unbothered with Haseul’s previous closeness, even missing it right now. She hesitates for a moment. “T-take me home?”

 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Haseul pushes, skeptical. “If something’s happening, you can tell me--”

 

“I already told them,” Kahei interrupts, not wanting to follow the matter. She remembers her creators explaining to her that the system has problems in differencing between strong emotions or actual dangers, and how it’s a glitch of human nature that is unfortunately being acknowledged through the system.

 

“Oh, that’s good.” Haseul smiles. Then she takes Kahei’s hand again and leads her forwards. “Ooh, today’s Friday, right? Season two for Midnight Girls is starting today!” Haseul seems so excited, moving her hands around to explain. “We need to watch it together!”

 

Kahei nods, liking the idea of hanging out with Haseul. Still, she remembers her parents telling her this morning that she needs to stop spending so much time with Haseul since Kahei isn’t getting enough rest as a result.

 

“Sleepover?” Kahei asks, not really caring about what her parents instructions were. She just wants to be with Haseul in any way possible, adoring spending time with her regardless of what they’re doing.

 

Haseul’s eyes light up like the idea hadn’t occurred to her before. “It’ll be so much fun!” She stops in her tracks for a split second. “Ah, but your parents-”

 

“It’s fine with them,” Kahei smiles. “And it’s the weekend, so there’s not much to worry about.”

 

Haseul smiles, happy. She squeezes Kahei’s hand. “Let’s buy snacks before we go home then.”

 

~

 

Haseul looks worriedly at Kahei. “Are you sure you can carry all that?” she asks, wanting to grab some of the bags Kahei has in her hands.

 

Kahei moves her arms away, not letting Haseul grab anything. “Haseulie, it’s fine.”

 

“But-”

 

Kahei snaps her fingers suddenly remembering something. “We should have bought pocky! Will it make you feel better if you go back and get some?”

 

“Ah, I didn’t know you liked pocky?” Haseul says, though she’s starting to get her purse from her bag. “Ha, we should play the pocky game when we get back home.”

 

Kahei feels her heart speed up, her face feeling much hotter than it was a few seconds ago.

Haseul giggles when she sees how flustered Kahei is right now. “Your eyes even flashed!”

 

“Go get the pocky or else I won’t watch Midnight Girls with you,” Kahei threatens, though the blush on her face just makes it seem cute.