“I’m just gonna go to the toilet for a minute. I’ll be right back.”

 

Yujin said to Yena as she got up from her chair and walked out of the classroom. Yena nodded with her head in her arms as she tried to process the very little she actually learnt in their last period – which was maths.

 

Her train of thoughts – which was ironically about anything other than maths – was interrupted when Yujin’s phone came to life, making a cute ‘ding’ to signal a new notification.

 

‘She must’ve left her phone…’

 

Yena thought as her attention was still focused on the screen as she drew closer to the notification – in her head she knew it wasn’t right, but the curiosity got the better of her as she looked at the incoming notification from…

 

‘Wonyoungie❤️’?

 

The duck girl was beyond confused as she didn’t know Yujin to use emojis for her contacts – not even Yena had her name saved with an emoji (which made the elder slightly jealous). Her eyes quickly trailed to the actual message which shocked the elder even more.

 

‘I’m missing you, see you after school? I’ll meet you at –‘

 

Before Yena could read the end of it, the screen turned dark which startled the duck. Her index finger was millimetres away from the home button but at that moment the door slid open to reveal a content Yujin as she strolled back to her seat. She noticed how her best friend was lying on the ground, wincing in pain as her chair clattered in the background.

 

“Haha, Yujin, you’re back…”

 

She greeted with a guilty expression on her face that made Yujin question the amount of braincells the older girl had. Her right hand extended out to help Yena up whilst the other put her phone in her pocket – Yena could only watch in disappointment as she knew it was a chance gone.

 

They chatted for a while, but the conversation always felt like would be cut short. Even someone with Yujin’s intellect could tell that something was wrong with Yena as she was a more reserved version of her normally bubbly self. Halfway through Yena slightly rambling about something (probably the music student, Jo Yuri, again), she took a quick glance at her phone and glee took over her when she saw her notification centre. This action didn’t go unnoticed by Yena as she gave the girl a sceptic glance, her eyes flickering between her best friend and her phone as she faked a cough.

 

“What’s got you go giddy, buddy?”

 

Yena asked in a sweet tone laced with suspicion. Yujin took a moment before answering; her fingers quickly typing a response before hastily shoving her phone back in her pocket – a feint blush present on the tips of her ears. The smile she was trying to supress couldn’t hide as they revealed so many unspoken emotions – her pearly whites enough to make any other girl fall.

 

“It’s just some funny meme that I saw on Twitter.”

 

Yena’s been stuck with the girl for quite a while now – to her it’s clear that this isn’t just another one of Yujin’s many funny memes. If it was, the pair of idiots would be howling like hyenas with laugher. The odd quietness caused some concern for everyone as there weren’t any noise complaints by the time the school bell tolled signifying the end of break.

 

Yena skipped to class with less spring in her steps as she had a lot on her mind to ponder – no, not even thoughts of her long-time crush Jo Yuri could stop this train. Her mind devised plans as she examined everyone with a slight glare that looked cuter than it did scary. She was about to give up the time the school bell rang at the end of the day before she saw Yujin running out the school gates.

 

And then it was like a lightbulb – the one idea she didn’t think of.

 

‘I’ll follow her! Just you wait Yujin, this’ll teach you to hide things from your unnie!’

 

An evil chuckle passed her lips and she shoved everything in her bag and ran to catch up to Yujin. She watched from a safe distance as Yujin entered a store – after a few minutes, Yena crawled out of the bush she was hiding in.

 

The sign about the door stood bold and proud: ‘IZ*ONE Café’.

 

It was a fairly modern establishment and garnered popularity with students as it was on route to the nearby school in the area. Yena had been meaning to come but she often spent her afternoons lounging in the afternoon sun.

 

Walking in, she was shocked at how few people were there – which made it easier for the duck-like girl to spot Yujin with her back to her animatedly talking to someone. Yena weaved in between tables and chairs trying to get a better look at the girl but Yujin would move and cover the girl’s face perfectly. But when she did finally get a glance at the girl, she wasn’t expecting the girl to look that pretty.

 

The girl’s aura was pure and innocent as here face reflected that – her eyes turning into crescents at what ever Yujin said as she smacked her lightly before intertwining fingers. Her eyes were bright whenever Yujin started talking and her cheeks would dust with pinkish hues when she glances at their joint hands.

 

Yena looked on with disbelief – the concept unfathomable to her that crazy, loud, takes-a-shower-once-a-week Yujin got a girlfriend before her. She sunk into a nearby chair and rubbed her temple before sighing into her palms.

 

“How can this be...”

 

“How can this be what?”

 

Yena’s head snapped up to the new voice – her eyes widened in realisation when she realised who it was. Even if she wasn’t singing, her voice was still like a song to Yena’s ears - Jo Yuri had such a strong effect on her.

 

“Jo… Yuri…?”

 

The ducky muttered, her body frozen as she looked visibly shaken. She looked Yuri up and down as she wore a plain white and black waitress outfit. Although she begged for her cheeks not to heat up, the pink glow dawned upon her face.

 

“Yes?”

 

Yuri was beginning to feel subconscious under the elder’s gaze – she felt as if she was doing something wrong especially since it was her crush. She turned her head downwards to prevent the duck-like girl from seeing her blushing. On the other side, Yena just assumed the girl was just shy – completely unaware of the effect she had on the younger.

 

“So, what would you like to order?”

 

Clearing and gesturing to the menu in front of the other girl which prompted the girl to quickly scan over the menu before stuttering a reply. The music student giggled at the sight.

 

“I want you – I MEAN! A chocolate parfait, please…”

 

Internally, Yena was screaming and punching herself for her mistake whilst Yuri was furiously blushing – the tips of her ears turning into a dark shade of red. She quickly scribbled down the order and said a quick “Thanks,” Before running behind the counter, disappearing into the kitchen.

 

When they were both feeling the way their heartbeat so fast whilst they thought of each other. Yuri shook her head whilst Yena patted her cheeks to try and get rid of the blush currently on their faces.

 

When Yuri returned to Yena’s table, she placed the dessert of the table and tried to escape from the girl’s intrusive gaze – it was as if Yena was staring into her soul. Unfortunately, she knocked into the wooden table which caused the metal spoon to fall onto the floor – the noise echoed in the store and caught everyone’s attention.

 

‘So much for my cover.’

 

Yena thought as she leaned down to picked up the fallen cutlery – little did she know that Yuri bent down to the same. Their fingers collided unexpectedly as they both looked up to see their faces inches apart. Their hearts hammered in their chests as their eyes stared at the beauty in front of them.

 

“Pretty…”

 

Yuri mumbled under her breath which made the music student snap out of her gaze, picking up the spoon – the burning gaze of Yena trailed after Yuri’s retreating figure as many hollers and ‘whoops!’ were heard throughout the room. The duck girl could see Yujin walking up to her table, making a lot of noise along the way.

 

“Finally getting your girl?”

 

Whilst slapping Yena on the back, Yujin laughed at her despite being younger. The girl winced but a lovestruck smile was present on her face anyways. She didn’t notice the girl standing behind Yujin for a few moments and then – like a bolt of lightning – it struck her. The reason why she was here in the first place.

 

“You couldn’t even tell your unnie you got a girl yourself, Yujin.”
 

The girl declared with a teasing tone – a smirk present on her face. It was now Yujin’s turn to be embarrassed as she looked at the older in surprise. She hid her face in her hands whilst the girl beside her giggled at their antics.

 

“And you must be ‘Wonyoungie❤️’, right?”

 

Yena expected the girl to blush or to at least seem embarrassed – instead she laughed and turned to Yujin whispering a quick “This must be Yena, right?” before turning to the older girl.

 

“Yeah. I’m Jang Wonyoung, Yujin’s girlfriend.”

 

The smile she wore was dazzling and Yujin just swelled in pride. They had been together for over 2 months and whilst it was difficult for them to hide their relationship, they managed through every struggle and argument that faced them.

 

Yujin came from a humble background but Wonyoung was the daughter of a successful businessman – whilst their relationship wasn’t denied, they were simply asked to keep it secret in case of the media coming to ruin their lives. Yujin would never forget to remind the girl how much she loved her which begged the question of who was truly the luckier in their relationship.

 

The trio stayed in the café until the sun began to set, idly chatting (more like Yena barraging the couple with questions whilst Yujin got embarrassed and Wonyoung laughing at the two). It was the couple that left first.

 

Yena waited patiently outside the café, blowing warm air into her gloved hands and rubbing her palms together to tackle the cold winter breeze that surrounded the area. She tugged her coat closer to her body; wrapped the pastel yellow scarf around her neck an extra time before shoving her hands into her pockets. She fished out her phone from the pocket as it flashed’20:05’.

 

Whilst looking at her phone, the door’s bell rang behind her and she was faced with a very confused Yuri whose face clearly reacted from the shock.

 

“Yena!”

 

The girl in question simply smiled and held her hand out to the hamster girl; Yuri took tentative steps and hesitated before taking hold of the hand. Yuri swore the sun rose again when she saw Yena giving her one of the brightest smiles she’s ever seen; her heart skipped a beat as a wave of warmth flowed through her.

 

Yena then began walking with no words being said but over a million thoughts and emotions being conveyed by their joint hands. Yuri watched as they walked through a series of streets and passed by several shops as their lights began to slowly fade into the distance.

 

When Yena abruptly stopped, the hamster girl almost bumped into her slightly-taller figure. Yena let go of Yuri’s hand, she could almost feel a bit of her fade with the warmth the girl provided.

 

“I like you.”

 

Yena stated bluntly and confidently but her eyes darted everywhere else as her hands made wild gestures before she shoved them in her pocket.

 

“I’ve liked you since you’ve been singing here to be honest… When you stopped showing up, I tried looking around, but I couldn’t find anything – who knew you were so close? Haha ha…”

 

Her posture was straight at the beginning as her right hand scratched her nape slightly but slowly drooped, her arm loosely swung at her side. Her laugh trailing off into a sigh. Yuri’s heart broke a bit to see the girl like this, but she also knew that nothing would happen if she didn’t say anything.

 

“I… like you too, Yena-unnie.”

 

Yuri was proud of the fact she didn’t stutter. She took a step closer to the other girl so that they were right in front of each other – the distance between the two being barely anything. Yuri’s confidence was at an all time high as she continued.

 

“Your energy is so bright, unnie, I’m left with a burn. Seeing you happy makes me happy. Whenever you help me in the halls or protect me in sport, I fall a bit harder. You approached me even though I’m shy. I like you, Unnie.”

 

Yena blushed at how cute Yuri was and quickly enveloped the younger girl in a hug. The warmth was overwhelming, and they were content. It was as if their hearts were beating as one as time felt like it slowed down.

 

Even as the small flecks of white fell from the sky, they just used it as a reason to pull each other closer.