Chaewon is anything but happy, standing underneath the blazing sun to sell overly priced lemonade (who in the right mind would buy a $1.55 lemonade?) on a busy weekend. Her legs wobbly for having to stand for almost 3 hours now as she takes the high road and let her best friend, Minjoo, seat on the only chair available (chivalry is never dead for someone like Kim Chaewon).

She slaps herself for being so weak. She could be binge watching Terrace House in her warm and cozy room instead of being cooped up in a lemonade stand with lemons, paper cups and a glass pitcher.

She’s so gonna make sure she gets something in return from Minjoo after this.

"Hmm ..." Minjoo lifts the paper cup with both hands, handing it to the customer with her ever-so-pretty smile. She mouths a soft 'thank you' to the teenage boy afterwards and Chaewon doesn’t miss how the boy’s ears turn a shade red almost so quickly when Minjoo shoots him a polite smile.

"All we need is 40 more cups and we'll finally reach quota," she announces confidently and Chaewon groans, forehead hitting the sign board with a dramatic thud.

“I’m so close to dying Minjoo, can we just settle for 20 more and leave this sidewalk?”

"But we need to sell exactly 100 cups, Chae. If we want to succeed in life, we should always settle for a hundred, do you see?" Minjoo never needs to argue, doesn’t even have to plead.

All she has to do is look at her with those soft brown orbs and lay things out quietly and calmly, and Chaewon almost always surrenders. Just like how it's always been between the two of them ever since they first met way back at Yena’s duck themed birthday party.

They’ve been inseparable kids after.

Chaewon thinks that it’s just that kind of attachment you get when you’re an anti-social toddler who experiences having a decent friend (a pretty one to be exact) other than your weird neighbor with hilarious lips.

Chaewon rejects Minjoo’s requests from time to time, well, at least she tries to. At the point when that sort of circumstance emerges, Minjoo will either listen to her point of view and possibly alter hers (because Minjoo can always talk things out her way), or she'll lose her temper and show her fierce and strong side.

A side to Minjoo that only Chaewon is aware of, maybe Minjoo’s family too.

When there's anger blazing in her eyes and the flushing of her cheeks appear, Minjoo is admirable and striking because, who would even expect such a side to a living angel like Minjoo? All that makes Chaewon powerless to resist her and just does whatever she wants.

It's always been this way.  

So Chaewon usually tries not to let things get to that stage because then the longing escalates. What's more is that it’s something she tries her utmost to avoid. She would never let the younger girl know how things are for her, simply because they're not the way things are for Minjoo.

"I see nothing. But fine, if it must be 100 cups of this stupid lemonade then so be it. You owe me at least a free lunch and my favorite mint choco ice cream."

"No fair! I thought you’re doing this out of friendship? Do you even love me?" Minjoo whines and that brings a familiar pang of pain in Chaewon’s heart– oh, you have no idea.

—

Forty minutes and twenty-eight cups of lemonade later, Chaewon’s phone lights up and vibrates on the table, and it's loud. She picks up the phone and shakes her head when she sees the notification. 

It's a message from Yena attached with a photo of a pretty girl with a sweet smile plastered on her face. She gets one of these each couple of days from Yena who is always nosy enough to pry on Chaewon’s love life and hook her up with other girls.

She appreciates it and all of Yena’s efforts but she doesn't quite know how to deal with them, so, sometimes she just doesn’t mind them.

[02:10:08 PM] choiyenA$$: this is jang wonyoung, chae. she’s a freshman, pretty popular because she’s a huge sweetheart. totally your type!

[photo attached]

"If you have to answer that then go ahead Chae. It seems important," Minjoo says scrutinizing from where she's sitting and Chaewon isn’t sure if her last sentence is a question or what not.

“Nah it’s just Yena being annoying.” She replies, disregarding the topic.

But then there’s another ding from her phone and Chaewon automatically looks over it and then to Minjoo whose eyes are also fixated on her phone screen.

[02:16:38 PM] choiyenA$$: here’s another picture! very charming right?

[photo attached]

"Really? Then why is there a picture of a girl?" There's interest and a dash of ... something different in her imposing voice. Minjoo’s voice that Chaewon will never get tired of listening to.

"Nothing serious, just a random freshman."

"Random and nothing serious," Minjoo cuts her off unexpectedly, "is there something you’re not telling me?" 

"But there’s nothing to tell, is there?" Chaewon murmurs and declines to say much else regarding the matter.

They're regularly quiet when they do things together - once in a while they talk, here and there they don't, and it's perfectly okay.

But now, they’re not talking.

And it's nothing close to perfectly okay.

At the point when there are 100 cups of lemonade sold, Chaewon starts cleaning the stand. Putting their used items in Minjoo’s favorite tote bag (her first ever present from Chaewon) and tossing the lemon peels over the trash bin.

"Thanks for helping, Chaewon," Minjoo says quietly and it's like her, but at the same time it isn’t. Chaewon just can’t point out the problem.

Chaewon walks Minjoo back, all the way home, and she sees Minjoo’s lovely face in the corner of her eyes.

Her eyes unsettled and her lips set in a firm line.

Things have become strangely awkward between them and– they're never awkward. Playfulness or sulkiness towards each other, yes, but there's never any strangeness between them.

When they finally reach the front of the driveway of Minjoo’s house, the way she speeds up her pace and how she doesn’t seem to want to face Chaewon doesn’t go unnoticed.

Chaewon grabs her wrist carefully so that they’re finally facing each other again. She watches her for a moment to examine Minjoo’s current state. 

“What?” Minjoo avoids eye contact and it brings a sting to Chaewon.

She hates it when Minjoo gives her the cold shoulder. What makes it worse is that Chaewon has no idea why.

So she does the only thing she c