Seulgi's arm was firmly locked around Seungwan's as they waited for their cab. Seungwan was vaguely aware that she was more or less leaning her entire weight on that poor arm, but when she tried to ease the pressure and stand on her own, she invariably started listing to one side and Seulgi had to scramble to pull her back upright.

It was Seulgi's fault, really. They were all aware that Seungwan was the world's biggest lightweight and yet her best friend still hadn’t stopped her from ordering all those beers. She was surrounded by traitors.

“I'm surrounded by traitors,” she repeated out loud, startling Seulgi. She wanted to raise an accusing finger for emphasis, but both her hands were currently occupied with hanging onto her friend.

Seulgi waited for an explanation, eyes slightly widened in confusion. “Not you, you're sweet and perfect and you've never done anything wrong,” Seungwan hastened to clarify. Seulgi was the best friend in the entire universe and she had to know that she was perfect, always. Seungwan squeezed her life-saving arm for reassurance. Why was she mad again?

“It's those demon children,” she realized with a gasp. “They're the traitors. Awful, awful, vicious people. So mean to me,” she confided in a sad voice, truly stricken by their cruelty. “I've done nothing to merit their attacks, their... vile, baseless accusations.”

Seulgi giggled at her side. Traitor.

“Joohyun told them about,” she started, then turned to whisper the rest of the sentence in Seulgi's ear, “my crush.” Seulgi nodded. Seungwan had already told her about that, maybe, probably. She carried on regardless. “You know, the one I told her about, but it's actually her, but she thinks it's someone else. But they know, the demons know it's her,” she hissed out. Seulgi pulled away with another giggle. She'd probably tickled her ear.

Just then, the cab arrived and they got inside. Seulgi leaned forward to give the driver the address. She looked back at Seungwan, dreamily slumped against the corner of the car, content with gazing silently out the window for the moment. She shrugged and turned to the driver, who was attempting to engage in some polite conversation with his passengers. He was in luck, because Seulgi was just the right person for polite conversation.

Seungwan snorted quietly as she thought of the two people who definitely weren't polite. The demons. The two women who haunted her every interaction with Joohyun.

“So Seungwan, Joohyun told me how you're friends with your crush now,” Sooyoung had said in a cheerful voice, some time ago as they all sat in Joohyun’s living room. Settled beside Seungwan, Joohyun nodded in validation.

Seungwan looked up from her food warily, then mumbled something noncommittal, unwilling to be caught in her own web of lies.

“Meaning you weren't friends before?” the younger woman retorted lightning-fast, while Seungwan nearly avoided choking on air. “Wow, you've made a lot of friends recently,” she added with fake admiration. That snake.

“I didn't,” Seungwan started, coughing into her hand, “say it was a new friend. Just that we're friends,” she explained in a weak voice.

“So you were friends before. Been friends for a long time?” Sooyoung prodded, studying her nails intently, like the topic of conversation was the furthest thing from her mind.

Seungwan poked at her food and stubbornly avoided all eye contact from any source. Namely, Yerim, who was staring at her in open amusement. “I, uh, didn't say that either,” she mumbled into her plate, incapable of stopping the warmth in her cheeks.

Curiously enough, it was Joohyun who saved her, by abruptly changing the topic of conversation with a stilted “So Yerim, how is your work going? Did you find any new gay undertones?” Once she'd gotten Yerim started on her rant, she leaned closer to Seungwan. “You seemed uncomfortable. I thought you might not want to talk about your embarrassing crush any longer,” she whispered in her ear. Seungwan's brain short-circuited for only the briefest of moments before she reached out to squeeze Joohyun’s hand gratefully.

The taxi screeched to a halt at a red light, interrupting Seungwan’s reminiscing. Seulgi was still talking animatedly with the driver. As expected, they'd found a common interest, and were now eagerly discussing soccer, or maybe another ball-involving sport. There were quite a lot of those. Come to think of it, what sports didn't involve balls? Well, hockey had more of a cylinder than a ball. And badminton, that one had a half-ball with feathers. Who had even come up with that? Seungwan racked her brain for more, but she didn't know much about sports on a good day, let alone a drunk day.

Of course, there were no more good days, not since the demons had caught onto her weakness. To be fair, they already knew before, but now they had proof. And they were really mean about it.

Whenever Joohyun hugged her in greeting, Yerim would waggle her eyebrows at her behind the older woman's back.

The only time Sooyoung had also stepped forward to hug her, she'd held her too tightly to escape then leaned to whisper in her ear “She's wearing a red bra today, hope you have fun with that,” pulling away to laugh at Seungwan's tomato-red face. “You've got to stop getting so flustered around me, it's just sad,” she'd concluded as she patted her cheek.

Seungwan didn't hug Sooyoung anymore.

Also, they kept trying to make Joohyun take her into her bedroom. Not in a y way, just physically take her there. Yerim had spilled her drink on Seungwan's shirt, according to her on accident, but very, very clearly on purpose, then insisted Seungwan should borrow one of Joohyun's shirts, and obviously she had to go with her and pick it herself.

It's true that Seungwan could have just gone next door to grab one of her own shirts, as Sooyoung pointed out to her immediately and on several occasions afterwards, but she was too flustered to think of that at the time, obviously, nothing else to it.

She still hadn't returned that shirt, now that she thought about it. She probably should. It didn't even smell like Joohyun anymore. Not that she'd noticed that. What did Joohyun even smell like? Who knew? Not her. She didn't memorize what people smelled like.

But she really should return the shirt.

Suddenly, the street they were driving down sparked Seungwan's mind with familiarity and she realized the next turn would leave them at her building just as the driver was turning the wheel. Home at last. A warm, comfy bed in her near future. She was living the dream.

She stepped out and wobbled on her unsteady legs for a moment before Seulgi was at her side and offering her arm once more.

“No, you'll lose your ride home,” Seungwan whined as she realized Seulgi had already paid the driver and he was getting ready to drive off.

Seulgi shrugged with her free shoulder. “Actually, I'm a little hungry. I was going to stop at that diner before I go home.”

“Waffles diner or pancakes diner?” Seungwan asked simply.

“Hmm, pancakes?” Seulgi offered thoughtfully.

“Good, that one's closer.” Seungwan relented then, clutching Seulgi's arm tightly. She her heel, hopefully in the direction of pancakes diner. She was a little disoriented. “Okay, let's go.”

“No, you're going to bed,” Seulgi replied, poking her cheek with her free hand. “It's way past your bedtime, young lady,” she added with a giggle.

Seungwan grumbled, but didn't offer too much resistance. She did feel exhausted and wanted nothing more than to flop down onto a comfortable horizontal surface. Pillows would be a plus. “Okay, but call me when you get home. No, I'll be asleep, that's useless. Call one of your friends who's still awake,” she finished, feeling very proud of her reasoning. “But also text me, for when I wake up.” Yes, mind as sharp as ever.

Seulgi only nodded in silent agreement and walked into the building with her. While they waited for the elevator, Seungwan began sharing all the embarrassing events that had sprung in her memory on the drive home. Each story was punctuated by an exclamation of “demons” or “just mean” or “stupid beautiful children”. Seulgi hummed in validation, patting Seungwan's head for emotional support.

They stopped by her apartment door. She leaned against it, finishing her complaints. Seulgi alternated between squeezing her shoulder for comfort and bringing her finger to her own lips to remind her that she had neighbours and shouldn't be talking above a whisper at this time of night. In response, Seungwan's voice fluctuated between barely audible and a little too loud, as Seulgi's warnings were chased away by her growing indignation, in turn replaced by fresh warnings.

Her protests finally died down and she stood for a moment recovering her breath. She saw a glint of amusement in Seulgi's eyes and suddenly felt a little guilty. She pulled her into a tight hug, then stepped away and launched right into an apology. “Seulgi-bear, I'm sorry we never hang out and now all I talk about is Joohyun and her friends,” she began sadly.

Seulgi smiled widely in response. “You don't have to worry about that, Wannie. I know that you can't handle a lot of human interaction at once and with new people you have to spend more time with them, get to know them,” she responded in a reassuring tone. Well, Seulgi did know better than anyone how to make friends. “And best friends don't stop being best friends just because they don't see each other for a while. Plus, we text all the time,” she added. That was true, they did text a lot. Seungwan smiled slightly, feeling less worried.

She looked down and reached for the edge of Seulgi's jacket, fiddling with it for comfort. “I'm glad you have other friends and you don't have to hang out with me all the time,” she admitted in a whisper. “But I'm also... a little jealous that you have other friends and don't have to hang out with me all the time,” she added in an even lower tone. “It's dumb,” she continued, speaking up a little, “it's not like I feel neglected, or that we don't hang out enough, or that you're not there when I need you, it's just... I get a little worried that you'll notice all your other friends are cool and funny and great and I'm not and.. I don't know,” she finished awkwardly, trying to shrug away the insecurity.

Seulgi grabbed her hands and massaged them softly. She kept her eyes on Seungwan's, waiting for her to look up. “Wan-wan, do you think I'm a bad judge of character?” she asked with a smile.

“No,” Seungwan grumbled. She knew where this was going.

Seulgi gasped in fake surprise. “But I think you're the greatest and super funny and an awesome best friend,” she exclaimed like she'd made a sudden discovery. “So, if I'm a good judge of character then doesn't that mean that...” She gasped again. “You must be awesome and just the best!” she finished happily.

Seungwan held back a smile and released one of her hands to poke at Seulgi's side. “Maybe I just tricked you. With my wiles.”

Seulgi snorted. “Oh yes, your wiles. All of those wiles that you have.”

She poked her again, now definitely smiling. “Then I bought your love with all those cakes I baked you.”

“I won't lie, the cakes are a plus,” Seulgi said with a giggle. “But the biggest plus is that smile,” she added, reaching out to pinch Seungwan's cheeks. Seungwan tried to evade her hands, backing into her apartment door, but she had nowhere to run.

She dragged out a whine until Seulgi released her, then turned around to open the door. “Now go away,” she threw over her shoulder in an affectionate tone. “Before the pancake diner closes. Hungry bears are dangerous.”

She stepped into her apartment just long enough to turn on the lights and take off her heels, then headed back out to throw herself into Seulgi's arms. She wrapped her in a tight hug. “I love you, Seulgi-bear,” she whispered in her ear.

“Love you too, Wan-Wan,” Seulgi replied happily. “Now go sleep.”

Seungwan stepped back inside, waving Seulgi away, then shut the door. She crossed the room quickly, heading straight for the bedroom, where she collapsed diagonally onto her bed, jostling poor Mr. Fluffers, who retired to the sofa in protest. She was probably going to regret not taking off her make-up in the morning. Oh well, that was a problem for future Seungwan. That and the hangover.

She thought of getting up for a glass of water. Instead, she rolled over and fell asleep almost instantly.

(…)

(Joohyun POV)

The apartment was quiet. In the silence and stillness of the room, Joohyun could even hear her own breathing. It was nice, comforting. Peaceful. She cradled her cup of tea between her hands, letting the warmth transfer from its surface to her palms and slowly travel up her arms. Wisps of steam rose from the hot liquid in shuddering shapes, twisting to form their own unique pattern, never to be repeated. Carefully, she brought the cup of tea closer to her lips. She watched as the movement displaced the steam, temporarily disturbing its elegant dance. As her hands stilled, it hesitantly reappeared, soothing in its regularity. She appreciated the balance of constancy and change, uniqueness and uniformity.

She blew softly on the hot tea, watching the clouds curl away and disappear. As she recovered her breath, the scent of wild berries filled her nostrils, almost overpowering in its intensity, and she closed her eyes to let it envelop her for a moment. She brought the cup to her lips and drank slowly, the scent growing stronger as the liquid entered and settled on her tongue. She swallowed and brought the cup back down to her lap, her hands still curled around it for warmth. A hint of wild berries lingered in the back of her tongue. A hum of satisfaction rose in .

The sound of steps reached her through the wall, easily distinguishable in the silence that surrounded her. One of her neighbours must have been out. It was a Friday night, after all. The steps grew louder as they neared her apartment, then stopped outside its door. No, she corrected herself as she identified the voice that accompanied them. Outside her neighbour's door.

Seungwan spoke in an animated voice which modulated strangely in intensity. Regularly, her volume increased until it dropped and became inaudible for a moment. Then it increased again until, presumably, her partner in conversation convinced her to drop it back to a whisper. Joohyun's curiosity was piqued and she rose silently, leaving her cup on the coffee table. In a few careful steps, she was at the door.

Seungwan's voice was no longer animated and now she and her companion spoke in equally hushed tones, having apparently grown more cautious of disturbing the neighbours. On the other side of the door, Joohyun caught words too muffled to make sense of them. She hesitated only momentarily before standing on the tips of her toes to settle an eye against the door's peephole.

Seungwan stood against her own door, somewhat obscured by her companion, a woman, whose back was turned to Joohyun. She wore a worried expression, but it was strangely unfamiliar to Joohyun. The worried Seungwan she knew looked away, eyes darting around the room. She scratched the back of her neck and replied quickly, usually with a joking comment intended to change the subject. But the Seungwan she saw through the peephole looked fragile, her insecurity clear in the way she looked at her companion. The vulnerability etched so strongly into her face struck Joohyun almost violently.

Seungwan looked down and Joohyun followed the motion, her eyes landing on entwined fingers, hands which the strange woman was slowly swinging from side to side. Whatever she was saying, its effect on Seungwan was clear, as her features lifted slowly until she was fighting back a smile. Now the woman was giggling and Seungwan smiled widely in return. She suddenly surged to grasp Seungwan's face despite her protests. Joohyun could understand the urge. She looked radiant, not only from her dazzling smile but from the glow of happiness that had so easily overtaken the previous insecurity. Seungwan was adorable.

Her neighbour entered her apartment and Joohyun was about to step back and return to her tea when Seungwan suddenly burst back out and wrapped herself around the strange woman. She stumbled slightly under the sudden impact but quickly righted herself, clearly used to the occurrence. Seungwan's hands clenched tightly at the woman's back, moving against her ear. A moment later they were moving apart and Seungwan returned to her apartment with a final wave.

Joohyun's mind was racing. She thought of the way Seungwan reacted to her own touches, how she stiffened in her arms or merely accepted their joined hands with apparent indifference. She'd assumed she was uncomfortable with physical contact, but willing to make the effort, and her opinion had only been reinforced by the fact that Seungwan had seemed so ill-at-ease the only time she'd allowed Sooyoung to hug her. Yet clearly her assumption had been wrong, as evidenced by the ease and happiness with which Seungwan had melted into the arms of the woman that now stood alone in the hallway.

The vulnerability in Seungwan's face etched itself in her mind, revealing a simple truth. However guarded she might be in her daily life, reluctant to initiate physical contact or share her feelings, everything changed with this mysterious woman. With her, she couldn't help but bare her heart and soul, all painfully exposed in her eyes, her limbs. Her voice, Joohyun concluded, suddenly itching to know what words had been traded between them.

This was the friend Seungwan loved, Joohyun realized with a start. Her heart swelled with a rush of sudden pride at having made the discovery. She knew she sometimes missed things that were obvious to others, Sooyoung and Yerim had mentioned it to her before, but for once she had connected the dots and reached the inevitable conclusion on her own. She wouldn't have to describe the event to Sooyoung, who tapped her own arm patiently and walked Joohyun through the steps of logic that eventually led to the truth. Except when Yerim walked by them and swiftly expressed it with an unconcerned look before walking off to do something else. She could imagine it now.

Sooyoung, carefully disguised frustration in her brow, looking in Joohyun’s eyes. “So Seungwan, who never hugs anyone, just jumped into this woman's arms and didn't even forget to hug back,” she'd repeat slowly, while Joohyun nodded, possibly putting emphasis on one of the words like “never” or “anyone”, trying to guide her thoughts.

Then Yerim would pass by them with a heavily annotated book in her hand. “Okay, we get it, she's in love with her,” she'd throw out casually, then stop for a moment. “Joohyun, do you have any more chips?”

She smiled fondly at the thought of her caring friends, who never gave up on her. She didn't know how she'd been lucky enough to surround herself with such good people. She only wished she could do more to help them.

How could she help Seungwan with this strange woman?

She thought back to her conversation with Sooyoung. She'd told her of Seungwan's reluctance to discuss her feelings and Sooyoung had agreed that she shouldn't insist. She was relieved, because it was very difficult to think of what to say and she felt extremely ill at ease at Seungwan's discomfort, which was severe enough that even she could pick up on it.

Unfortunately, Sooyoung had other thoughts. “So if you can't talk to her about it, you'll just have to find another way to help,” she declared simply.

Joohyun was entirely at a loss, and a little downcast at the thought that she had to further entangle herself in the complicated web of subtle human interaction. “What way?” she asked fearfully.

“Oh, I don't know. I'm sure some opportunity will present itself,” Sooyoung replied, seeming to ponder the question herself. “You'll know it when you see it,” she added with a wise smile.

Joohyun really wished people would stop talking about knowing when she saw it. She much preferred knowing when it was explained to her thoroughly.

The woman still stood in the hallway, her fingers tapping rapidly on her phone. She gazed at it for a moment then, seemingly satisfied, placed it in her jacket pocket and her heel.

Joohyun stepped away from the peephole, readjusting to binocular vision. For only a moment, she gazed around the apartment uncertainly. It was late, her tea still sat on the coffee table, she was terrible at conversations with strangers.

She reached for her coat, slipped into the nearest pair of shoes and dropped the house keys into her pocket. Then she walked out as silently as she could manage and made her way to the stairs.