Seungwan was trying this new thing where she assumed she wasn’t bothering people unless it became overwhelmingly evident that she was. And by people, she meant Joohyun. It was very difficult to ignore her instincts yelling at her to shut up and go away, but Seulgi had talked her into it with her faultless logic.

It went a little like this: according to Seulgi – and Sooyoung, Seungwan added mentally in her moments of weakness -, Joohyun actually enjoyed her presence, or at least didn’t mind it. Then, either Seungwan was wrong in her assumption that she was bothering her neighbour, and she shouldn’t escape the conversation, or she was right and therefore Seulgi was wrong. But if she was wrong then she was giving bad advice and was, by extension, a bad friend.

“So do you really think I’m a bad friend?” Seulgi then asked, with tears twinkling in her eyes, threatening to spill. Seungwan knew she was doing it on purpose, but she couldn’t help her protective reaction and would rush to reassure her that no, she was the best friend a person could have.

Then Seulgi would smile widely and conclude simply “Then I’m right and she likes talking to you.”

Seungwan knew there had to be a fallacy somewhere in that argument, but she hadn’t managed to pinpoint it yet. Plus, it was kind of working out in her favour, so maybe she could just let the possibly faulty logic be for the moment.

These days, their hallway conversations lasted longer than before and, to Seungwan’s surprise, Joohyun would just announce it when she needed to go. She was almost convinced that the awkward silences were maybe just regular silences that Joohyun tended to lapse into, and not tense indications that Seungwan should stop talking to her.

All in all, things were going great, and it was with a sense of optimism that Seungwan greeted Joohyun on a Saturday afternoon. She’d just come back from lunch with Seulgi, which was followed by a walk in the park as usual, and Joohyun appeared to be returning from a grocery run, from the look of the plastic bags hanging from her hands. She was standing in front of her door as she shifted all the bags to one hand so she could use the other to fish for her keys. Seungwan stood silent for a moment, impressed at the feat, before she stepped forward to greet her with a cheery “Hi!”

Joohyun immediately yelped and dropped her keys. It was pretty cute how she was so easily startled. Seungwan stepped even closer, so she could bend down and grab the keys for her.

“Thank you,” Joohyun said, still slightly out of breath, and took the keys back gratefully. “Were you out?” she asked politely, turning to open the door.

“Yeah, I had lunch with a friend and then we just walked around,” Seungwan replied, proud of her normal and non-awkward response. “And you?”

“Grocery shopping,” Joohyun stated without elaborating. Seungwan suppressed the instinct to disengage. She knew by now that Joohyun was just terse, so instead she leaned against the wall and nodded, fidgeting with the ends of her sleeves.

“That’s cool. Any particular reason?” There was a slight pause, probably just because Joohyun was preoccupied with opening the door. If it was anything like Seungwan’s, you had to shimmy the key a little before it hit the right spot. “I mean, not that you’d need one. People go grocery shopping all the time. Otherwise you’d run out of food. And die.” She chuckled weakly, feeling the familiar warmth in her cheeks. This was her problem, really. She knew Joohyun didn’t talk much, but her brain seemed to interpret every silence as an opportunity to insert foot in mouth. She sagged ever so slightly against the wall.

“My friends are coming over later,” Joohyun explained with a small smile. Mercifully, she didn’t address Seungwan’s word vomit. “But some of it is also for me. So I don’t die,” she added, still wearing that smile. Seungwan expected to feel embarrassed, but she just felt warmth bloom in her chest instead. Joohyun’s tone hadn’t been mocking, more like she was playing along and turning Seungwan’s awkward stumbling into an inside joke.

Seungwan smiled to herself as Joohyun was already crossing the threshold and setting her bags down. “Good, don’t die,” she replied affectionately. Wow, she really hoped Joohyun hadn’t heard that. Sooyoung was right, she was like a teenager. Shaking her head, she stepped away from the wall and got ready to head home.

Joohyun’s head popped back out of her apartment. “Would you like to come in? Yerim isn’t here to scare you now,” she offered in a neutral tone. Seungwan honestly couldn’t tell if the Yerim thing was a joke. To be fair, she might truly be scared of Yerim.

She looked at the grocery bags still sitting right inside the apartment. Was Joohyun busy? She was clearly preparing for a party, or maybe one of their not-parties, she probably didn’t want the distraction. Seungwan considered a polite refusal, then remembered Sooyoung’s words. Joohyun usually meant what she said.

“Okay, yeah, sure,” she replied with excessive cheer, hoping her nerves didn’t show in her voice. She stepped into Joohyun’s apartment and bent down to help carry the bags to the kitchen.

The layout was similar to hers, except the kitchen was on the other side of the apartment, but Joohyun’s personal taste led to a completely different look. The decoration was sober and muted, leaning towards darker colours, with a wide sectional sofa in an L-shape set against the wall, turned towards the kitchen, encompassing a wooden coffee table. There was an old-looking television between the sofa and the kitchen, a bit to the side like it was rarely used, standing in contrast to the modern sound system in the corner. Then there was a pair of bookcases stacked full of books, one having found its way to the side table near the sofa. The whole place smelled flowery and soft. Whatever soft smelled like.

Seungwan followed Joohyun to the kitchen, putting the bags down carefully and appraising the equipment with a critical eye. She spotted a toaster, a coffee maker and a stove. The basics. Joohyun probably didn’t even have a muffin tray, Seungwan thought to herself as Joohyun opened and closed cabinet doors to put away the food. Still, the toaster seemed in use, so at least she didn’t skip breakfast. The little victories.

Joohyun nearly bumped into her on her way to the fridge. Seungwan stepped back, suddenly aware that she wasn’t helping and was really just in the way. “Sorry, I just have to put these away,” Joohyun offered apologetically before Seungwan could speak. “Why don’t you go sit in the sofa and I’ll go meet you when I’m done?”

Seungwan nodded obediently and walked away, sitting down comfortably to wait. Across the room from her, she could see Joohyun flit around from side to side, seemingly putting things away in the most disorganized way possible. Not wanting to stare for too long, Seungwan directed her attention to her right, where two doors stood. Presumably, one led to the bedroom and the other to the bathroom. If it was like Seungwan’s apartment, the bedroom was to the left. If the layout was fully inverted, it was the bathroom. She pondered over it for a moment, wondering if there was a clever way to tell without opening the doors, when Joohyun called out from the kitchen.

“Do you want tea? I can make some.” Seungwan snapped around at her voice and smiled encouragingly.

“Uh, yeah, sounds good,” she replied, leaning forward in the sofa. “Do you want help?”

“No, that’s fine. Do you have any preference for the tea?” Joohyun asked, back turned to her as she rummaged through what Seungwan assumed was her collection of teas.

“No, anything’s good,” she answered truthfully. Tea was tea.

She watched Joohyun’s back as she reached for a kettle from one of the upper cupboards, filled it and plugged it in. While it heated the water, she pulled out two mugs from another cupboard. She turned around, causing Seungwan to whip her head to the side in alarm, to avoid being caught staring. She felt something crack in her neck and hoped she hadn’t given herself whiplash.

“Do you want anything in your tea? It’s chamomile.”

“No, just the tea is fine,” Seungwan replied, turning her head innocently to face Joohyun like she hadn’t been staring her way just a moment ago. She smiled at her politely to reinforce the impression. Joohyun returned her smile with a small one of her own and Seungwan was suddenly glad she was already sitting down. Joohyun’s beauty really slapped her in the face every once in a while.

She looked down, busying herself with her phone while she waited for the tea. She debated texting Seulgi to tell her where she was, but she didn’t want to be assaulted with a barrage of texts when she was supposed to be paying attention to Joohyun, so maybe it should wait. Instead, she fiddled around for a few moments, mostly just skipping from app to app and not actually doing anything.

She looked up to see Joohyun walking her way with two steaming mugs, which she set down on the coffee table in front of them before sitting down next to her. It was the first time they sat together, which was a weird first to focus on, but Seungwan’s mind lingered on it regardless. She felt the way the pillows dipped under Joohyun’s weight, the same flowery smell that invaded the apartment becoming stronger as she settled nearer. She turned slightly to the side and saw Joohyun impossibly close, her black hair falling like curtains around her face, framing a perfect nose and wide, beautiful eyes. Seungwan watched as her neighbour reached for the tea and her lips curled to blow cool air on the surface of the liquid. The steam twisted wildly as it flew off and vanished for an instant. Seungwan was tongue-tied, fascinated by the image, her own body vaguely reminiscent of the steam as she felt her insides twist and flutter every which way. She struggled for a breath which wouldn’t come. She turned away but the pressure against her lungs barely shifted. Coughing into her hand for relief, she lifted her own mug to her lips and promptly burned her tongue. Right. Tea hot.

She grimaced, trying her best not to signal her mistake, then put the tea back down. She studied Joohyun from the corner of her eye. She seemed to still be focused on her tea, so there was a chance she hadn’t noticed Seungwan being a mess. She wasn’t about to turn around and check, she wouldn’t make the mistake of gazing at Joohyun again.

“Your house is nice,” Seungwan commented, breaking the silence. Joohyun set down her cup of tea, which was clearly still too hot to drink – at least one of them had thought of that, Seungwan thought bitterly, nursing her throbbing tongue -, and turned towards her, as people do when engaging in conversation. Seungwan considered remaining stubbornly in place, but eventually relented and shifted towards Joohyun.

“Thank you,” Joohyun replied. Her cheeks were flushed from the warmth of the tea, making her look welcoming and homey. Seungwan fought back the silly urge to cup those warm cheeks. “Is it very different from yours?” Joohyun carried on, oblivious to Seungwan’s wandering mind.

Seungwan was slightly surprised. “Oh, you didn’t see it? I thought you’d at least peek inside when I asked you to take care of Mr. Fluffers.” Joohyun’s expression quickly tightened to her usual troubled look and Seungwan realized with a start that she probably felt guilty over the incident. “Out of curiosity, I mean! Not, like, obligation, there was no obligation,” she rushed to add. She felt a surge of relief as Joohyun’s face relaxed at her words.

They sat in silence for a moment, Seungwan once more lost in the curves of Joohyun’s face and Joohyun probably thinking of her tea. Seungwan honestly wasn’t sure what her neighbour thought about during those long silences. Then she remembered that she hadn’t answered Joohyun’s question.

“Oh, uh, about your question. My house is a little different, I guess. I have a bigger TV,” she pointed out with a grin, then lapsed into silence because she wasn’t sure what else to mention. “Oh, and the kitchen and the couch are the other way around. The kitchen’s here and the couch is… Over there,” she finished lamely.

“That’s interesting,” Joohyun remarked, which in Seungwan’s opinion couldn’t be farther from the truth. “I don’t really watch television. Hence the older model.”

Seungwan hummed against the tea mug, which she’d picked back up in the meantime. She took another sip experimentally, pleased with the temperature. Now at least she could rely on the tea to hide her face and provide convenient pauses.

“So what do you do if you don’t watch TV?” she asked curiously, genuinely wondering what people did with all the time saved from not sitting in front of the TV for an hour every evening.

Joohyun was quiet for a moment. She seemed to be pondering the question. “I’m not sure,” she finally said. “I drink my tea, sometimes I read. I enjoy the quiet.”

“Sounds nice,” Seungwan mused. “Peaceful.”

Joohyun took a sip of her tea, then held the mug between her hands to warm them. “And sometimes Sooyoung and Yerim come to visit.”

“Less peaceful,” Seungwan commented simply, chuckling into her tea.

Joohyun smiled softly in response, probably at the thought of her friends.

“They’re around pretty often, huh?” Seungwan smiled at Joohyun’s cute nod.

“They visit every weekend. Yerim brings me whatever book she’s been reading lately and I read while they do their school work. Sooyoung installed some program in my home computer so she mostly works there. Sometimes one of them sleeps over, the sofa is comfortable enough.” Joohyun paused to take a sip of tea. Seungwan watched in fascination, treasuring this glimpse into Joohyun’s life. She suddenly remembered her own tea and lifted it back to her lips.

“They also come during the week, sometimes. When something is on their mind or they want to talk,” Joohyun continued. “Sooyoung wanted to visit the other day, but I was away, working late. I hope it wasn’t anything important.”

Seungwan recalled Sooyoung’s unexpected visit, feeling glad that she hadn’t kicked her out. She figured it was better not to say anything about it, it could be their little secret. She suddenly felt giddy at the thought that she and Sooyoung shared a secret. It was like her world and Joohyun’s were coming together almost seamlessly. She hid her grin by taking another sip of her tea.

“And you? What do you do in your free time?” Joohyun asked.

She put down her mug before answering, trying to remember what it was she did exactly. “Well, uh, during the week I mostly just watch a little TV and have dinner and by then it’s pretty much bedtime.” She cleared . So far, she was doing a great job at making herself sound like a boring old lady. “Then, on weekends, I hang around the house. Watch more TV, do some baking, sometimes I have some work stuff to take care of. Oh, and I go out with my friend. Friends. Plural. I have more than one friend, obviously.” She mentally apologized to Seulgi for making it seem like she wasn’t enough for her. But most normal adults had multiple friends, right? Joohyun had at least two.

Now she had to change the subject before Joohyun asked any questions. “So, your friends, uh, how did you meet?” This probably wasn’t the best course of action, because what if Joohyun asked her the same thing? Really, her curiosity had got the best of her caution. She drank some more of her tea and thought of a way to divert attention after Joohyun’s answer.

“Well, my parents and Yerim’s are friends, so when she came here to study they asked me to keep an eye on her. And Sooyoung attended a presentation I did at her university, on behalf of the company I work at. Something about it made her decide to befriend me and, well, Sooyoung is eerily skilled at getting her way.” She smiled broadly, her fondness for the younger girls evident in her voice and on her face. “And they have such a small age difference, they got along right away.”

Seungwan smiled at her, her brightness contagious. She took another drink, almost done with her tea now. She’d completely forgotten to think of something else to ask, she now realized, but before she had the chance to come up with something there was a knock at the door.

Joohyun jumped up, her mug left forgotten on the coffee table. In a few quick strides, she was at the door, opening it wide for her two young friends to step through. Sooyoung leaned down to hug Joohyun in greeting, but Yerim bounced by her into the apartment, talking animatedly about something or other. Before Seungwan could catch up to the topic, Yerim stopped abruptly, looking at her accusingly. “Why is she here?” she asked no one in particular.

“I invited her in,” Joohyun offered simply, leaving Sooyoung to go wrap her arms around Yerim in an affectionate back hug. She stepped back to tap a warning finger on her shoulder. “Now be nice.”

“Yeah, she scares easy,” Sooyoung volunteered helpfully, stepping into the apartment and closing the door behind herself.

“Good,” Yerim replied, fixing narrowed eyes on Seungwan. She gulped down the rest of her tea and got up from the sofa.

“So, I should probably… Go now,” she mumbled, already heading to the door. She took the longer route, the one that kept the largest distance between her and the little devil.

As she was reaching the door, she made eye contact with Sooyoung, who rolled her eyes like Seungwan was making her do all the hard work yet again. The taller girl was about to step in her way, to stop her from leaving so fast, when Joohyun spoke up. “You can stay, if you want.”

Sooyoung’s eyes grew wide for a moment, then she just raised her eyebrows in admiration. “Would you look at that, now you’re officially more useless than Joohyun,” she whispered so that only Seungwan could hear. Seungwan rubbed at her neck forcefully, to try to hide the blush that immediately rose at Sooyoung’s words. Then Sooyoung was grabbing her arms and pushing her back towards the centre of the room and its occupants. “Yay, Seungwan’s staying!” she exclaimed before Seungwan had even had a chance to give her opinion on the subject.

Seungwan cringed as she approached Yerim’s fiery eyes. Luckily, Sooyoung let go of her at a somewhat safe distance. She turned to the side to realize she was right beside Joohyun. She jumped slightly, frowning at Sooyoung’s giggles.

“Well, if Seungwan’s here, we can’t work,” Sooyoung started innocently. “It would be rude to our guest. We’ll just have to eat ice cream and watch Joohyun’s bad TV.” She clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh, we can have a dance party! I’ll connect my phone to the loudspeakers.” She skipped to her bag, but was stopped by a suddenly stern Joohyun, who had her hand gripped firmly around Sooyoung’s arm.

“You can do your work and Seungwan can choose how she’d like to spend her time,” she said firmly. Seungwan suddenly felt like she’d been dropped off at day care. Probably not a good thought to have about her crush. She scratched at the back of her head, trying to think of a better comparison. One that was a little more flattering.

Yerim interrupted her thought process with a “Fine, whatever,” before dragging her backpack to the sofa and settling down cross-legged with a large notebook and a highlighter pen. Sooyoung took her cue to stomp across the room to the door on the left, presumably where Joohyun’s desktop was. So it was an inverted layout, Seungwan thought distractedly.

Then it was just her and Joohyun, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. Suddenly, her brain was completely void of any activities typically performed by human beings to pass the time. “I guess I can… read something,” she suggested before the atmosphere became even stranger. The silences that had begun to feel comfortable somehow went back to being entirely unbearable when there was someone else to witness them.

Joohyun assented silently and moved to the sofa, stopping to pick up the book on the side table and her own mug of tea, which still wasn’t entirely empty. “Take your pick,” she said as she gestured to the bookcases along the wall.

Seungwan studied the books uncertainly, a bit unnerved by the sudden silence that bespoke concentrated work. It felt strange for everyone else to be settled and focused while she hovered without purpose, like her aimless presence was a distracting force.

To be honest, she didn’t read much these days, and the only books she recognized in Joohyun’s shelves were ones she was sure she didn’t want to read. Mostly bulky classics or things she’d read in high school and didn’t feel like getting into again. She was about to pick something at random when she noticed a small pocket of science fiction at the bottom. She was somewhat partial to those. She reached for a book of short stories about robots and turned around to study the sofa. Yerim and Joohyun sat side by side in the middle, leaving the corner next to Joohyun or the edge next to Yerim for Seungwan to occupy. The choice was obvious, so she squeezed herself into her seat, trying to leave as much room as possible to let Joohyun sit comfortably and also so she would be able to actually focus on her book.

At first, she was actually paying attention to what she read, and she managed to get through a full story – it was mostly about how robots had to follow specific rules but they had a lot of loopholes that were interesting to explore. Pretty captivating stuff, really. But then she got to the end of the story and chanced to look around, her eyes immediately landing on Joohyun. She sat cross-legged like Yerim and she was looking down at her book with a concentrated face. Seungwan stopped reading for just a moment, gazing at Joohyun from the top of her book. When her face was aimed down at this angle, her lips drooped into a slight pout, which she sometimes chewed on absent-mindedly before releasing it again. Looking up a little, Seungwan could see her eyes flitting from left to right as she took in the book line by line. Sometimes they’d pause and go back, rereading what Seungwan assumed was a particularly interesting or difficult passage.

She had been watching Joohyun this way for a bit longer than she probably should, robot stories all but forgotten, when the older woman’s eyes suddenly widened in surprise. Afraid that she’d been caught, Seungwan quickly buried her nose back in her book, trying to act casual. Or read casual. Whatever that was. She chanced another peek at Joohyun, but she still seemed entirely focused on the book. Then she realized that she’d just been reacting to the story, which was just... Too much for Seungwan’s little biual heart to handle.

She never got past the first story, too enraptured by Joohyun’s silent reading – except for once, when she gasped very softly at something in her book that must have been outrageous. Seungwan wasn’t sure how such a simple and seemingly boring activity could hold such a wealth of entertainment for Joohyun. But she wasn’t complaining.

She suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable, without being able to pinpoint the reason. Slowly, she realized that she could see Yerim in her peripheral vision. Then she realized that Yerim was looking straight at her. Cold sweat sprouted on the back of her neck at Yerim’s narrowed eyes, burning with suspicion. She watched as Yerim’s hand reached out to clutch at Joohyun’s knee.

“Joohyun, I’m getting kind of hungry,” she said in a neutral tone, without breaking eye contact with Seungwan. “Maybe we should stop for dinner.”

Joohyun glanced at her watch, then put down her book. “You’re right, it’s getting late.” She got up, smoothing down the wrinkles in her pants. “I bought some food, I’ll go prepare it. You can continue your work for a little longer.” She turned to Seungwan, then. Seungwan felt oddly guilty for receiving her attention while she was still under Yerim’s close scrutiny. “Seungwan, maybe you can help me cook?”

She was about to agree, eager both to show off her cooking skills and to escape Yerim’s proximity, when the young girl raised her voice in a childish plea. “Can’t we just have pizza?” She tugged on Joohyun’s sleeve until she looked in her eyes, which she opened very wide in an attempt to look cute. It did kind of work, if you didn’t have the memory of her evil stare still branded in your memory. “Sooyoung wants pizza too,” she added, then she raised her voice to be heard in the bedroom “Sooyoung, do you want pizza?”

A muffled “Hell yeah” sounded from behind the bedroom door. Joohyun resisted for only the briefest of moments before she relented with a sigh.

“Alright, I’ll go get pizza.” She glanced at Seungwan, who was eager to volunteer to provide company, but Yerim was too fast.

“Great, meanwhile we’ll stay here and get to know Seungwan better,” she offered with an innocent smile. Sooyoung had already stepped back into the living room, her work immediately abandoned at the thought of dinner, and only raised her eyebrows curiously at Yerim’s change in attitude.

Seungwan wanted nothing less than to be alone with this terrifying duo, but she knew her fate was sealed as soon as she looked into Sooyoung’s eyes. They were glinting with mischief. She was doomed. “Yeah, sounds like a great idea,” Sooyoung chirped happily. “Go on, Joohyun, we’ll keep Seungwan company while you’re gone.” She stepped to Seungwan’s side and grasped her arm playfully, smiling reassuringly at the older woman.

Joohyun glanced at Seungwan for her opinion. It was sweet that she thought Seungwan had any choice in the matter. She simply nodded wearily and set Joohyun free, the regret pouring in before the door was even closed.

Yerim was by the door in two bounds, listening to Joohyun’s fading steps. After a moment of waiting, presumably when she was convinced that Joohyun was no longer within earshot of any cries for help Seungwan might attempt, she came back to the other two women, who were both sitting on the sofa. She sat on the edge of the L shape, trapping Seungwan in the corner between herself and Sooyoung. Her intense glare contrasted strangely with the careless curiosity in Sooyoung’s eyes.

“What are your intentions with Joohyun?” Yerim spat out, still scrutinizing her closely. Seungwan cringed further into the corner. She looked at Sooyoung for support, but she was just watching in amusement.

“I- I’m not – No intentions, uh, I don’t know,” she spluttered desperately. She clutched a pillow and hugged it defensively, holding it between her and the younger woman, who was much too close for comfort. The ideal distance would have been something like the Pacific Ocean. “She’s nice. Friendly intentions, I guess.” She heard Sooyoung’s derisive snort at her elaboration and resisted the urge to smack her with the pillow. She needed it for protection.

“A likely story,” Yerim replied in a tone that made it clear that it really wasn’t. She leaned forward, close enough to jab a finger in Seungwan’s sternum, just above the pillow. “As you might know, if you’ve actually talked to her and not just stared creepily,” she started in an accusing tone, causing Sooyoung’s eyebrows to raise in interest. “She’s never been in a relationship. And I won’t have some creep taking advantage of her inexperience.”

Seungwan reddened slightly, twisting away from Yerim’s finger. She wasn’t sure what exactly she meant by “taking advantage”, but the thoughts that came to mind were not what she should be focusing on when a scary child was threatening her.

“Then again, if Joohyun has never been interested in dating I doubt that it’d be this one that changes her mind on that,” Sooyoung weighed in with a helpful grin. Now Seungwan really did smack her with the pillow. It wasn’t like it was providing any real defence. Sooyoung took the pillow away from Seungwan easily, only snorting again. Then she patted her on the head.

Yerim watched this interaction with narrowed eyes. “What’s happening here? Fraternizing with the enemy?” she asked curtly. Seungwan wasn’t sure which one she was more offended at.

“I can’t help it, she’s so small and useless. It’s kind of endearing.” Sooyoung pulled her into a side hug as if to illustrate her point. “I’m just drawn to hopeless cases. It’s why I like you so much,” she added with an evil grin, one of her arms releasing Seungwan to reach out and pinch Yerim’s cheek.

Yerim swatted her hand away with a look of affront. “Shut up, you cry at dog videos.”

“Dogs are precious and sweet creatures who have done nothing wrong and deserve the world,” Sooyoung replied without hesitation. “Unlike you, you oversized gremlin. Terrorizing the children,” she added protectively, pulling Seungwan closer. The latter finally gathered herself enough to respond, and promptly pushed Sooyoung’s arms away, then stood up from the couch to put some distance between herself and those two.

She should have known there was no point, because Yerim was already getting up and stepping around the coffee table after her. She took another step back, trying to keep their distance.

“Let me just make one thing clear,” Yerim began menacingly, not breaking eye contact. She tripped against the corner of the table, which kind of ruined the effect, but Seungwan wasn’t about to point that out. “If you hurt Joohyun in any way, shape or form. I will hunt you down. And beat you up.”

“Yeah, I will definitely also do that,” Sooyoung chimed in from the couch, where she was now lying down, stretched along its length. “Not that I find the possibility very likely,” she added as an afterthought, shrugging carelessly.

“I’m not going to hurt anyone,” Seungwan squeaked desperately. She backed into the kitchen counter and was forced to stop her retreat.

“I know where you live,” Yerim pointed out, a bit redundantly.

Seungwan braced herself against the counter, her knuckles going white as she gripped tighter. “Listen, I don’t know what exactly you’re insinuating, but, uh, if I was going to, uh, sleep with someone and then dump them or something,” she began bravely, feeling her entire face burn up. She could only imagine how red she was right now. “Wouldn’t I, uh, pick someone who actually knows what they’re doing?”

Yerim stopped in her tracks. Her face was blank. Behind her, Sooyoung suddenly burst into laughter. Seungwan was glad someone was amused.

“What the hell was that?” Yerim finally exclaimed, her face incredulous. Then she turned back to Sooyoung. “You were right, she’s a mess.” Sooyoung was wiping her eyes, which had filled with tears of mirth, but she stopped long enough to nod at Yerim’s words. She then turned back to Seungwan. “I still don’t like you, but I can’t see how you’d be a threat with that smooth tongue,” she quipped. “So I guess you’re off the hook for now.”

Seungwan was relieved, or maybe embarrassed, most likely both. She sighed, letting her body deflate, but made no move to return to the sofa, unlike Yerim, who grabbed Sooyoung’s legs to drop them on the floor and occupy their place.

Before she could recover fully, Joohyun was back, carrying a stack of pizza boxes. She dropped them on the kitchen counter next to Seungwan, and gave her a small smile of greeting before walking inside to grab dishes and napkins.

“Seungwan, would you like a knife and fork or will you eat with your hands?” she asked as she rummaged through drawers and retrieved a pizza cutter.

“Uh, hands is fine,” she replied uncertainly. On the sofa, Sooyoung was waggling her eyebrows at her. She ignored her stoically.

“Wow, Joohyun, you’re such a good host,” Yerim broke in, with a bit of a weird statement in Seungwan’s opinion. “You really know what you’re doing,” she added with a smirk, watching Seungwan redden.

Joohyun’s face lit up with a genuine smile. “Thank you, Yerim,” she replied happily. “That’s very nice of you.” Maybe Seungwan didn’t mind being the of Yerim’s jokes all that much, not if they made Joohyun look like that.

The rest of the evening went by much faster than she could’ve expected. With Yerim and Sooyoung around, it was hard for her and Joohyun to get a word in, for her mostly because she was afraid of their teasing, for her neighbour probably because she just didn’t speak much. Instead, she watched as Yerim once more spoke animatedly about her work, something about Hermann Hesse and the Apollonian versus Dionysian and a lot of gay undertones. Maybe Seungwan should read Hermann Hesse.

Under Yerim’s scrutiny, she tried to keep her staring to a minimum, but it was so difficult when she saw for the first time the full glory of Joohyun around her friends. She was smiling widely, eyes sparkling with affection as she followed Yerim’s excited speech. Even when Sooyoung intervened to call Yerim boring, she would just slap her lightly on the arm, which Sooyoung invariably took as an opportunity to cling to her side before detaching to take another bite of her pizza.

After dinner, Yerim was quick to exclaim that she would be spending the night, aiming a look at Seungwan that clearly stated how much she didn’t want her to be alone with Joohyun. It was probably for the best, really, because Seungwan felt too dazed to have any kind of normal one-on-one conversation with her neighbour at the moment. So she excused herself soon afterwards and walked the short way home with an unwavering grin. Mr. Fluffers complained at her delay, but quickly hurried off indignantly when she tried to pick him up and rub her face on his belly.

She waited for his return on the sofa, then suddenly remembered her phone. She rummaged for it and immediately sent off a text to Seulgi.

Seungwan: «Guess where I had dinner~~ »

She was 30 minutes into some bad movie she’d found zapping through channels when Seulgi replied. She must be out with friends.

Seulgi: «Did you go back to that Nepalese place without me?? D: »

Seungwan: «Noooo, better :0 »

Seulgi: «You found a place better than the Nepalese restaurant and you went without me?? D: D: D: »

Seungwan: «It was~~ Joohyun’s place~~ »

5 seconds later, her phone was ringing in her hand.