Seungwan liked to think she was a reasonable woman. While others aimed for the moon, she aimed for more achievable things, like a slice of the really good chocolate cake from that coffee place Seulgi had shown her. At the end of the day, the moon was still in the sky and she was pleasantly full of chocolatey goodness.

So of course she didn't expect to actually be with Joohyun in any romantic capacity. That was moon territory. To be honest, the chocolate cake in this analogy would be something like Joohyun looking at her neutrally. What they actually had – a tentative friendship, weekends at Joohyun’s place, smiles of recognition when they ran into each other after work – was already far beyond Seungwan’s expectations. If not quite the moon, it was still something impressive, like the top of the Eiffel tower.

These days, she wasn't sure whether she preferred the long Saturday afternoons at Joohyun's place or the shorter but more intimate encounters on weekdays, always shimmering with the possibility of being invited inside for a cup of tea or even dinner.

It felt somewhat contrary to her personality to be so happy with their time alone. Her reaction to lulls in a conversation had always been to panic and start spewing nonsense, and nearly half of her time with Joohyun was spent in silence, but somehow she'd reached a point where it just felt comfortable. Intimate, rather than nerve-wracking.

She waved goodbye to Joohyun at her door, then moved to her own as she rummaged in her bag to find the apartment key. She wore a wide smile, which she made no effort to suppress as she walked inside.

As no stranger to the law of equivalent exchange, Seungwan wasn't too surprised to find Sooyoung in her home, ready to balance out the happiness still showing on her face.

The taller woman was sitting on the sofa, with a controller and a headset, and gazing at the TV intensely. Seungwan followed her eyes to see what she'd decided to play today, but stopped halfway when she noticed someone behind her.

"You're both here?" she asked, aware that she sounded more defeated than incredulous at the sight of both the demon children in her home. Now it just felt like the universe was against her.

Sooyoung grunted in response, clearly focused on her game, while Yerim looked up from some papers scattered on her lap but didn't bother to say anything. Seungwan sighed and hung her coat by the door, leaving her bag on a nearby chair.

“Fine, just tell me if you're staying for dinner so I can organize myself,” she muttered sullenly. She stood awkwardly as she waited for the answer. There was no point in sitting down if she had to go cook.

“I already have dinner plans,” Yerim deigned to say at last, finally acknowledging her host. She didn't elaborate and just looked back down at what looked like handwritten notes. Seungwan took that as a cue to sit down next to her bag and wait for Sooyoung. After a few moments, the taller woman threw her controller on the pillow next to her and leaned back, removing the headset.

“We needed somewhere quiet to study,” she explained now that she was done with the game.

“You're playing video games,” Seungwan pointed out casually.

“Now I am,” she replied defensively. “We've been here since 3, I deserve a break.”

“You've been in my house all afternoon. That's…” Seungwan paused, because it felt a bit redundant to mention how she felt about that. They all knew and neither of the girls cared. “Yeah,” she finished with a sigh.

“Usually we study at Joohyun's place. We drop by her work at lunch time to get the keys,” Yerim added, probably wanting to make it clear that she'd never enter Seungwan's home if she had an alternative.

“But today you both tragically developed amnesia and forgot where she worked?” Seungwan offered, just in case she hadn't made her displeasure clear yet.

“Something like that,” Yerim replied with a smirk. Seungwan felt her frown deepen. She wasn't even sure when it had replaced her Joohyun-smile. Pausing to gather her thoughts, she finally noticed something.

“Where’s Mr Fluffers?”

“In the bedroom,” Sooyoung said. “I put him in there because Yerim’s afraid of cats. He just jumped on the bed and went to sleep. I don't think he's moved since then.” That did sound like Fluffy. “Anyway, this has been fun, but we have to go before Joohyun gets home.”

At her words, Yerim put down her pencil and started packing her notes into a neat pile to shove into a nearby backpack.

“Well, unless you have a time machine, that one's going to be tricky,” Seungwan began. Giving those two bad news was one of the few pleasures she could find in this situation. “She just got home, same time as me.”

Yerim glanced at her watch incredulously. “What?” she exclaimed. “She never gets home before seven,” she complained, turning to Sooyoung for assistance. The latter only shrugged.

“Why are you avoiding your friend, exactly?” Seungwan asked, a bit curious.

“I don't know, why don't you want your friends in your house?” Yerim spat back immediately.

“Well, first of all, I invited you for dinner so that doesn't even make sense. Second of all,” Seungwan added with a smirk, “so you're my friends?”

“Not if you're going to be all smug about it,” Yerim huffed out.

“Maybe we should just stay here for dinner,” Sooyoung mused, oblivious to the conversation going on around her. “If Joohyun's already home anyway.”

“I already said I have dinner plans,” Yerim reminded her with a slightly whiny voice.

“So reschedule your Buffy marathon. Seungwan's cooking is way better than whatever we'll eat at college.”

“It's not a Buffy marathon,” Yerim started, but Sooyoung interrupted her with a cheeky “this time” and a wink at Seungwan. Yerim pretended not to hear her. “I have plans with my friends.”

“But all your friends are in this building,” Sooyoung retorted, sounding innocently confused.

“If you were my only friends I wouldn't even show my face in public,” Yerim muttered, putting on her backpack.

“Ok, fine, go meet your friends.” Sooyoung raised her hands to form finger quotes around the word, but Yerim only rolled her eyes in response. “I'll stay here and have dinner with Seungwan.”

“Oh, your first date, romantic,” Yerim said as she got up from the sofa. Sooyoung kicked her in the shin.

“Bye, I hope you get caught,” she said in a sing-song voice.

“If I do, I'm snitching on you,” Yerim replied simply.

“Same,” Sooyoung threw out with a shrug.

Seungwan watched the exchange silently. Finally, she found her voice. “Um, what's going on?” she asked in pure confusion.

The two women looked at her blankly. Then Sooyoung laughed. “Joohyun doesn't like it when we bicker, so we try not to do it in front of her,” she explained.

Seungwan nodded like it made sense. It didn't and they were terrifying, but she suspected that further explanations wouldn't make the relationship between those two any more logical.

“This is dumb,” Yerim said by her place at the door, where she stood ready to leave. “She's just going to hear us and catch us, her apartment is way too quiet. And we can blame each other all we want, she'll just end up thinking we don't want to spend time with her.”

Seungwan raised her hand to intervene, then immediately put it back down when she realized it probably made her look like a nerd. “Um, quick question, why are you avoiding Joohyun?”

Sooyoung studied her for a moment. Then she shrugged. “She's planning this thing and she's being really annoying about it.”

“What thing? She didn't mention anything just now,” Seungwan replied in surprise. Sooyoung and Yerim exchanged glances.

“It's kind of a party, like a get-together thing. It's this weekend,” Sooyoung explained. “I guess she's keeping it low-key for now, but don't worry, you're definitely part of it.”

Yerim snorted at her words, but Seungwan wasn't sure what was the funny part. Maybe that Joohyun hadn't told her anything? She sighed and slumped back in her chair. When she looked back around, both women were studying her closely.

“I have an idea,” Yerim said slowly.

“Same,” Sooyoung agreed as she got up from the sofa.

The two terrifying women converged towards her.

(...)

So now here she was. Knocking on Joohyun's apartment door like she hadn't dropped her off there less than an hour ago. Sooyoung and Yerim were still in her apartment, waiting for her to worm her way into Joohyun's home and distract her long enough for them to escape. She just hoped she could come up with a reasonable excuse to come in before Joohyun answered the door.

“Seungwan?” Well, that hope was gone.

“Oh, hi Joohyun,” she said cheerily. Her neighbor had changed from her work clothes into more casual jeans and a shirt, and she looked a little confused at seeing her again so soon.

“Is everything alright?” Joohyun asked with a little concern.

“Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. I was just, uh, sitting at home. Alone. And I thought, uh… Well, I was a little lonely, I guess, and since you're just across the hallway, I thought I'd drop by. If that's okay.” Seungwan clamped shut to keep it from rambling on eternally. She could almost imagine the snickers coming from behind her own door. She hoped her voice didn't carry that far.

Joohyun's face lit up in a wide smile. “Of course, come in,” she replied happily and stepped aside, opening the door widely to let Seungwan in. “Would you like something to drink? I was about to make some tea.”

“Yeah, thanks, I'll help,” she replied, a little awkward from the intrusion but mostly filled with happy surprise at Joohyun's apparent pleasure to have her company. They moved to the kitchen, where Joohyun set about preparing the tea while Seungwan hovered, since not much assistance was required for the task.

They stood in silence waiting for the water to boil. “I hope I'm not intruding or interrupting something or...” Seungwan mumbled, really wishing she'd stop trailing off in the middle of completely ordinary sentences.

Thankfully, by now Joohyun had more or less caught on to her confusing habit and needed only a moment to determine whether the pause was temporary or permanent. “Not at all, I'm happy to have your company,” she answered with a smile. “To be quite honest, the only reason I don't invite you inside more often is because you seem to value your time alone. I didn't want to keep you away from it.”

The happy surprise grew inside Seungwan's chest, making her feel giddy and causing another Joohyun-smile to plaster itself across her face. The thought that she probably looked weird made her cheeks grow warm and she tried to turn around casually to hide her embarrassment. Fortunately, the water was ready and Joohyun was too busy filling their cups to investigate.

As they moved to the sofa with their drinks, Seungwan continued the conversation. “I, uh, I do like being alone,” she started with a chuckle, to catch Joohyun's attention. “But that's because being with most people is worse than being alone. But, uh, with some people it's better,” she finished awkwardly, feeling the blush return in full force.

Joohyun's pleased expression made it all worth it, though. “So, am I one of those people?” she asked conspiratorially, bumping Seungwan's elbow with her own, lightly enough not to disturb the tea.

Seungwan nodded, then let out a small laugh. “Yeah, it's a pretty short list,” she admitted as they put down their cups and sat down. “Probably just you and Seulgi,” she added, scratching the back of her neck.

“And the girl you like?” Joohyun probed, more a statement than a question.

“Yeah, her too,” Seungwan added quickly, almost reaching for the tea before she remembered her burnt tongue from the last time she'd tried that. She settled back in the sofa instead, fighting the urge to cross her arms. It made her look defensive.

Joohyun only smiled enigmatically in return, then reached for her own cup to warm her hands and blow on the hot tea. “I noticed Sooyoung and Yerim weren't on that list,” she commented with amusement, seemingly dropping the previous subject. Seungwan was glad they weren't going to pursue that, for once.

“They're nice,” she replied in an uncertain voice, “but they're a little... exhausting.”

Joohyun chuckled and nodded in agreement. Seungwan couldn't help but ponder on how unfair it was that everyone else managed to chuckle without looking like an idiot. Joohyun even looked good. Pretty and approachable.

Her buzzing phone brought her back to reality with a start. She reached for it to read the message from Sooyoung.

Sooyoung: « We're off, you can go back »

She was about to put the phone down when it buzzed again.

Sooyoung: « Or don't ;) »

She tried not to blush at Sooyoung's words. Even at a distance, she was annoyingly skilled at getting Seungwan flustered. Sometimes it was hard to decide which of the two younger women was more dangerous to her peace of mind.

She looked back up to notice Joohyun studying her with curiosity. “That was, uh,” she started, with no idea how to finish. “Seulgi,” she finally mumbled, just trying to get a name out before the embarrassment developed.

Joohyun smiled knowingly, but made no comment. Seungwan decided to risk the tea. Thankfully, it had cooled down enough not to burn her again. Joohyun followed her lead and they both drank in silence, savoring the warmth as much as the taste. The pleasant quiet that enveloped them gradually soothed Seungwan's nerves in a way that was somehow familiar and thrilling at the same time.

It was the tea, the stillness, the fatigue of the day that rested gently on her bones to make her limbs heavier and her mind lighter. It was Joohyun.

It was like they clicked. She couldn't explain it, but she'd never felt what she did with Joohyun. It was almost ironic that the one thing keeping her from being completely at ease in Joohyun’s presence were her feelings for her. It was only that pesky detail that kept her stuttering, blushing and desperately shoving away poorly-hidden secrets.

She moved her cup in tiny circles and watched the tea swirl around inside. How cruel, to be constantly moving towards nowhere at the whim of an uncaring hand. But if she stopped, the liquid would just continue on its circular path, its trajectory becoming more and more erratic, meaningless, chaotic. There was no going back to its peaceful beginnings.

She sighed quietly and abandoned her thoughts. Instead, she looked up and studied the apartment she'd visited many times before. It looked the same as always, sober yet cozy. Just like Joohyun, when you got to know her.

“We should go somewhere one of these days. Outside,” Seungwan said, breaking the silence. Sooyoung, and maybe even Seulgi, would have scolded her for taking the perfect opportunity to ask Joohyun out and making it sound entirely like a friendly outing. In her defense, she never would have found the courage to ask otherwise.

Joohyun's face fell at her words. Oh god, had she made it sound like a date after all? She really only wanted to meet Joohyun in a different place, see the way she interacted with the world outside of her three friends. It wasn't supposed to sound like a date. How had she even managed to accidentally ask someone out?

“I'd love to, but I already have plans for this weekend,” Joohyun replied, sounding genuinely upset at the situation.

Seungwan felt a wave of relief wash over her. “We can do it some other time,” she said quickly. Joohyun smiled in response, evidently pleased. “So, what are your plans for this weekend, then?”

“Just... spending the afternoon here,” Joohyun supplied after a pause. Seungwan was a bit confused by the answer.

“That counts as plans?” she asked before her brain could catch up to her words. “I mean, uh, isn't that just a regular weekend?”

“Yes, but this one's special,” Joohyun said enigmatically. “It's Saturday, make sure to be there,” she added. Seungwan finally realized that this was probably the get-together Sooyoung and Yerim had mentioned. But why was it special? Was there a birthday she didn't know about?

“Okay then, I'll make sure not to miss it.” She returned Joohyun's excited smile, even though she wasn't entirely sure what the excitement was about. “But does that mean you only have plans for Saturday?”

“Oh! Yes, I suppose so,” Joohyun mused after a short pause.

“Then we can still do something on Sunday,” Seungwan offered. “If you want to,” she added quickly, not wanting to seem too pushy.

Joohyun smiled widely. “I do,” she said simply, then brought her cup of tea to to finish her drink.

“It's a plan, then,” Seungwan concluded with a fluttering heart, trying to remind herself that it wasn't a date. Looking at Joohyun, she suddenly realized she'd forgotten all about her own tea.