Sojung had had it.

            Yerin was yelling her name when Sojung stormed off her temporary office, ready to slice someone’s throat, but she didn’t stop. She just kept marching towards the elevator and ignoring all of the curious eyes on her.

            She just didn’t know who was worse; the director or his employees. Either way, they were incompetent, it was simple as that.

            She entered the lift, pressed the tenth button and took a deep breath. Sojung couldn’t believe it. She knew something was wrong with the account reports, but to find out that a large chunk of money had disappeared under the director’s care was definitely not what she was expecting to discover.

            It wasn’t the first time she had such situation in hands, but it never failed to piss her the hell off.

            Sojung did what she always did when it came to this: she took care of it. Usually, it involved a very confused CEO, a huge black hole into the finances and some bastard who was stealing money. It wasn’t pretty, never was, but it happened.

            At the end of the day, when the president took the matter into her own hands, Sojung found herself dozing off on her desk. Piles of paper surrounding her together with a good portion of stress weighting on her shoulders had been the only things present in her life for the past hours and it always left her exhausted. Yerin gave her an energy drink or whatever that was, but the bottle was left forgotten among the paper sheets.

            Sojung wanted to relax. She really did, but that wouldn’t be possible until she was back home.

            Or maybe if she visited that bar from the previous night.

            Wait, since when did going to a bar help her relax?

            “Eonni,” Sojung raised her head to look at a worried Yerin. “Are you alright?”

            Sojung took some time to ponder on that. Was she alright? Well, it wasn’t like she was feeling bad or anything of the sort; she was just tired. Maybe Sojung needed vacations after this whole ordeal was finished.

            It’d been so long since she last took days off. She could only recall that week three years before when she allowed Yerin to pull her into a trip to the younger’s hometown. It had been fun, and she had gotten back to work feeling better. Yeah, maybe she should do that.

            “I’m fine. I just… need to rest. I’ll probably schedule a week off after this.”

            Yerin frowned. “Okay, that’s long overdue, I completely agree with that. But… you’re looking like you’re going to pass out now. So… why don’t you take a break? Go see the city, I’ll handle the things here.”

            “That’s…” Sojung was ready to say that it was not a good idea. How could she leave Yerin to fix things on her own like that? Of course, her secretary was more than competent, Sojung wasn’t questioning her efficiency; she just felt like it wasn’t fair.

            But, when Yerin squinted her eyes, acquiring that stubborn expression, Sojung found out that she didn’t really have the energy to argue with the other.

            She sighed. “Fine.”

            Yerin grinned. “Great. Now, I was just looking at the touristic attractions and I think the MICA museum—or museums, I think there’s more than one… anyway, it’s still open. You could go check it out.”

            “But you really want to go there,” Sojung mumbled, “I can’t go alone while you stay here.”

            “Yes, you can, and you will, this is America, eonni!” Yerin quoted with a bright smile and added with a softer tone, “we can visit it together later, too. It’s not like we have plane tickets scheduled.”

            Which reminded Sojung that they probably should start looking on that.

            “Okay,” she grunted and stood up. “Call me if anything happens.”

            “You know I will,” Yerin winked.

            They both knew she wouldn’t. It’d made Sojung apprehensive, but warm.

            Yerin had been her friend for longer than she could remember, the other’s presence in her life being an unwavering constant. Sojung had grown up to watch Yerin get into trouble more often than not, so to worry about her was just a given. Caring about Yerin was natural and Sojung couldn’t imagine a life not doing that.

            That being a fact, together with how flirty and quirky her friend was, it was easy to forget that Yerin was a grown adult, and a very responsible one, especially when it came to work. Yerin dealt with things differently than her, though, and it often slipped Sojung’s mind how much Yerin also worried about her little workaholic self.

            In her own playful ways, Yerin was always looking out for her, and it embarrassed Sojung to think that maybe she gave Yerin more reasons to worry about than the girl did to her. Her serious persona was not synonyms with self-care and, as much as it pained Sojung to say that, Yerin was excellent in that aspect, leaving Sojung guilty enough to give in to Yerin’s requests from time to time.

            Sojung knew very well how adamant she was and even if knowing that Yerin wouldn’t call her had any trouble come up for the sake of letting her relax made her worried, she relented for the moment. It was a bonus that Yerin always looked radiant when she got to take control of the situation, Sojung thought. Yerin didn’t look like it with her smiles and soft voice, but she was quite similar to Sojung.

            “See you soon, I guess,” Sojung muttered after getting her purse ready. “You’re going to take a cab to the hotel?”

            “Yeah, after I finish here… and visit some places,” Yerin giggled at Sojung’s wince. “Go see art, eonni.”

            Sojung drove to the sound of a local station thinking about what kind of art she’d see.

            MICA was huge and astonishing. Sojung had visited a lot of different places during her life, but that kind of architecture never failed to amaze her. There was something about bricks, grass and white windows that left her feeling hazy, comfortable and giddy. Sure, she could see modern buildings composing the campus as well and that made it all better.

            Sojung had attended to one of the best colleges in Seoul on a full ride and while the technology definitely facilitated the students life, she couldn’t feel any connection to the place. The tall building was new and shiny, but it didn’t reflect anything—anything historical, meaningful.

            Yerin had told her that it was something weird to think and that she was getting too philosophical for an economy student, so Sojung didn’t mention it again.

            It didn’t change the fact that she liked MICA’s campus a lot better, though.

            She parked the car and asked a stray student for directions. Walking slowly, heels hitting the sidewalks with soft noises, she took her time looking around. Art was something that had always fascinated her. Sojung once mulled over studying something related to it, but there was nothing to support that idea—her family didn’t like it and she didn’t find herself talented in anything besides numbers.

            Sojung didn’t hate getting degrees in Economy and Administration—again, she was good with that—but there was something about it that didn’t feel quite fulfilling. She settled for visiting museums and sponsoring a couple of art projects around the world, then.

            She wasn’t a part of the process, but at least she could help it come alive.

            Soon enough she was standing in front of a building open for outsiders. All the pieces were made by students and that somehow made everything better. Entering the place and greeting a girl sitting on a table by the door, Sojung allowed her muscles to relax.

            Painting, sculptures and framed poems were all over the spacious room, little metal plates beneath or above them telling a little about the works and their creators. Sojung looked at each and every one of them with a renewed attention that made her spend at least five minutes looking at each piece.

            Sojung had been there for about thirty minutes when she saw her.

            A couple of meters from Sojung and sweeping the floor was a short girl with tired eyes. Her hair covered part of her round face as she weakly swept the broom around, but somehow Sojung could clearly see her. Wearing the seemingly same jeans from the previous night and a dark fleece sweater, Jung Eunbi cleaned the white tiles.

            She looked tired, but not as tired as the other night.

            Sojung hoped the girl had had a good night of sleep.

            Following the slow movements Eunbi made with her eyes, Sojung had no idea for how long she stared at the girl. After what she hoped to be just a few seconds, Eunbi straightened her body and stretched her neck.

            Suddenly, it didn’t matter for how long Sojung had been staring at Eunbi, the fact was that she was caught doing that.

            Jung Eunbi’s eyes widened and—was that a blush on her cheeks?

            It definitely was.

            They stared at each other and Sojung didn’t even realize she had started walking towards Eunbi until the girl took a step back. She blinked a couple of times, noticing they were just three steps from each other. Sojung put some more distance between them.

            “Jung Eunbi.”

            “Sojung… eonni.”

            Sojung smiled at the sound of her voice. “You study here? Or are you just working?”

            Eunbi hesitated. She looked a little overwhelmed, as if she wasn’t sure if Sojung was really there. She could relate to the feeling—encountering Eunbi was not something she was expecting.

            “Yes, I do,” her voice was sweet, and it sounded so much better in the gallery’s silence. “Study, I mean.”

            Clear, soft and melodic.

            “What are you studying here?”

            “General Fine Arts,” Eunbi answered. “My… my classes for today are over, so I’m helping a little here.”

            Sojung hummed. “You look awfully tired, though,” Eunbi casted her eyes down, “shouldn’t you go home?”

            “I’m alright,” Eunbi muttered and Sojung was not convinced. She couldn’t bring herself to press on it, though. She barely knew Eunbi and it’d be nosy of her, wouldn’t it? Eunbi inhaled a shaky breath. “And what brings you here, eonni?”

            “Work,” she stated. “I was stressed and came here to see what’s MICA all about.”

            Eunbi looked at her through her lashes, eyes suddenly sparkling. “Do you like art?”

            It was impossible to not crack a smile at the excited undertone of Eunbi’s question. “I do. Art has always been a great part of my life. I’m not good at making it, but it doesn’t stop me from appreciating it, does it?”

            Eunbi was vehemently shaking her head before she could even finish her phrase. “Of course not! Art… art is not selective? I mean… sorry, I don’t really know how to explain. I’m usually better with my words than this,” Eunbi rubbed the back of her neck, “but, no, art is for everyone to appreciate.”

            There was something about how Eunbi said it that made Sojung feel warm. She couldn’t smile this time, though. Looking closely, she saw dark bags under Eunbi’s eyes and the blush on her cheeks wasn’t that pleasing as it contrasted too much against the paleness of the girl’s cheeks.

            Eunbi didn’t only look tired—she looked sick.

            “It sure is,” Sojung tried to not frown. “Maybe we could get a coffee and talk more about it? I’ve come to find Baltimore quite pretty too. You could talk about the city a little. What do you think?”

            Sojung wouldn’t deny it—the way Eunbi’s eyes widened was adorable. But she didn’t have much time to appreciate the view as the girl started to refuse the offer. “I’m sorry, I… I have, um…”

            Quirking an eyebrow, Sojung looked into Eunbi’s eyes. “What do you have to do at this time of the day, Eunbi?”

            The girl swallowed dryly. “I have to study. Sorry, eonni.”

            Sojung wasn’t a forceful person. Actually, she thought of people who forced their opinions and wishes on others as scums. But the weakness in Eunbi’s eyes and her slightly trembling grip on the broom made Sojung want to stand her ground.

            She wouldn’t pressure Eunbi, but she could at least try a little harder.

            “You can study after we drink our coffee. I can drive you to your apartment if you want too, I’m sure the public transportation is quite crowded at this time of the day,” Sojung said and added, “I’ll pay for it, Eunbi.”

            At that, Eunbi almost dropped the broom, hands opening to physically deny Sojung. “Oh, no, eonni. Please, that wouldn’t be fair—”

            “Why,” Sojung frowned, “wouldn’t it be fair?”

            “Because… um…” Eunbi bit her lower lip and the silence stretched for a second before something popped into Sojung’s mind.

            “Is it… is it because of the tip I gave you yesterday?”

            The way Eunbi shrank, eyes dropping to the ground, was answer enough.

            Sojung’s eyes softened in a manner that had never happened before. “That was your tip, Eunbi, for your hard work. Me paying you a coffee today is not related to yesterday in the slightest.”

            “But,” Eunbi started to protest, voice growing weaker at every word, “but… it was… too much.”

            “I don’t think it was, no,” Sojung smiled and waited until Eunbi had lifted her head again to continue, “I just thought that you deserved it—I still do. You,” she chose her next words carefully, “you seem like a good girl. So, no need to feel in debt with me or anything of the sorts. Do you feel like you owe the customers anything when they give you tips?”

            “No,” Eunbi pouted, “but they usually keep their tips to one digit.”

            Sojung chuckled. “I’m not a usual customer.”

            The student looked like she was going to say something else, probably try to talk Sojung out of it, but the words didn’t seem to come out. Eunbi let a tiny sigh out and looked at Sojung briefly before mumbling, “no… I guess you’re not.”

            Sojung hoped the smile on her face didn’t look as triumphant as she felt. “Glad to know we’re on the same page. Then, coffee?”

            Eunbi was hesitating and maybe there was a pause long enough to leave the both of them uncomfortable, but Sojung didn’t mind it. Yerin was handling things back at the company, she had enough time to wait.

            When Eunbi nodded, it all felt worthy.

            Eunbi was the one to guide Sojung to the coffee shop. She knew its menu well enough because of Yewon and the girl’s sweet tooth, so she thought it was better to eat there than to try out a random café. Sojung seemed satisfied by that and, no, Eunbi didn’t feel happy to have pleased the other.

            She did not.

            The coffee shop was outside the campus, but it was near enough to go by walking. It was a two-floor building, with a balcony and vintage furniture. Above the double glass door, the rusty name of the coffee shop indicated it had been there for a long time already. The smell reminded Eunbi of libraries too and it pleased her. She’d definitely visit the place more if she had money.

            She reached for the knob, but Sojung beat her to it. Eunbi looked at the taller woman and her confusion was met with a gentle smile.

            Kim Sojung opened the door for her, pulling it and stepping aside. Eunbi blushed when she realized Sojung was waiting for her to enter first. Sweet Jesus, what does she think she’s doing, Eunbi entered the establishment with her head ducked down, oh God, I think my face is going to combust.

            “Do we order at the counter or they have waiters?” Sojung asked, walking just behind her.

            “We can sit at the table,” Eunbi said, “they’ll… they’ll come take our order.”

            “Alright. Where do you want to sit?”

            Eunbi panicked. “I… I don’t know—um, you can choose.”

            But Sojung didn’t seem to think much of it. “What about that one?”

            Eunbi was nodding before she even saw which table it was. It was a good one, nonetheless. Right beneath a shelf with small vases and red flowers, the white table was against the wall, a little isolated from the others, closer to the staircase leading to the second floor.

            They walked, sat down and got the menus from a familiar tall boy. Eunbi wondered if he attended to one of her classes, but it wasn’t like she was going to ask anything. Gluing her eyes to the menu in front of her, she pretended to read the options as Sojung chose her order.

            “What are you going to eat, Eunbi-yah?”

            Eunbi looked at the woman and blurted out the cheapest option there only to earn herself an exasperated sigh. “What? I really want…”

            “You really want a slice of pumpkin and…” Sojung grimaced, eyes falling to the dish’s description, “and grape pie?”

            Sure, Eunbi had never eaten that before, but hey, it couldn’t be bad, right?

            “Yes, eonni,” she firmly answered.

            “What about coffee then?”

            “Just an expresso.”

            Sojung eyed her for a second, looking like she wanted to say something. The waiter was back to their table before she could say anything, though.

            “May I get your orders?” He politely asked and Sojung nodded.

            “She’s going to have a slice of the pumpkin and grape pie and an expresso,” Sojung quickly looked at the menu, “I’ll have a piece of strawberry cake, a chocolate croissant and a cappuccino, please.”

            The boy wrote it down and left. Eunbi had both eyebrows raised.

            “What?” Sojung innocently asked.

            Eunbi pondered what to say next. “Do you… like sweets, eonni?”

            “Not that much. But I thought that I’ll probably want to eat a bite of your pumpkin pie and, well, we could share the cake and the croissant,” Sojung’s lips curled up. “The food here honestly sounds delicious, after all.”

            Why did Eunbi feel like she was falling into some kind scheme?

            “Oh, I… that’s good, eonni. But, um, it’s your—”

            “Please, Eunbi. You don’t think I’m petty enough to not share my food are you?”

            “What? No, not all,” Eunbi shook her head and Sojung grinned.

            “Then it’s settled.”

            Again, Eunbi felt like she was being played there.

            “So, Eunbi,” Sojung started, attentively looking at her, “tell me how you got here in Baltimore.”

            Even if the way the older girl was looking her was a little unnerving, Eunbi found herself relaxing. She could answer that question.

            “Well, I attended to a good school in Seoul and I always had a thing for arts. I danced, I sang, I painted, and I did a lot of digital art too. The school often had me design their logos and banners—for things like sport festivals and other presentations, you know? And it happened that one of my teachers had contacts in MICA and the Institute was open for scholarships. A few Korean schools took part in the selection, but I was the only one who got accepted,” Eunbi quietly said, “and when I was finished with high school, I came here.”

            Sojung had a smile set on her face as she listened to Eunbi. “This sounds amazing. Congratulations for getting the scholarship, Eunbi-yah.”

            “Thanks,” Eunbi saw Sojung raise her eyebrows at her voice’s half-hearted tone and Eunbi tried to explain, “it’s just that… I couldn’t keep it. So, I don’t think there’s much to congratulate.”

            “You couldn’t keep it?” Eunbi shook her head. “Then… you’re paying your tuition?”

            Money talk was a really something that she wanted to avoid. But Sojung didn’t look like someone who would be easily distracted by a change of subject.

            Maybe she’ll understand if I just say that I don’t want to talk about it, Eunbi looked at the waiter placing the dishes in front of them. But she felt weird about doing that. Sojung had given her a huge tip and was now paying her a coffee, besides, she was so incredibly nice; it felt unfair to not answer the elder’s questions.

            Eunbi took a deep breath. “I made a deal with MICA’s office. I’ll pay for it after I’m done with the course and start working.”

            There was a short pause filled by the clatter of their forks and knives. “You’re contracting debts, then,” Sojung thoughtfully stated. “What about your dorm?”

            “Since I lost the scholarship, I had to move out of the dorms. It was kind of expensive to keep one in campus, so I got an apartment together with this girl,” Eunbi eyed her pumpkin and grape pie. “It’s far from college, but there’s public transportation, so it’s okay. I… I have part-time jobs.”

            Eunbi didn’t really want to bite that pie, but she needed a distraction from Sojung’s eyes.

            It didn’t taste bad.

            “How many?”

            “Huh?” Eunbi looked up from the pie. Yeah, it was weird, but it wasn’t bad.

            “How many part-time jobs, Eunbi?”

            She swallowed. “In total or those in which I’m currently working?”

            Sojung quirked an eyebrow. “Total.”

            “Um,” Eunbi frowned, trying to count them. “Well, there’s the bar—I work there Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights; there’s the convenience store… I have morning shifts there… there’s also a couple of translations I got from some classmates. I’ve worked a couple of times at the elementary school near my apartment too, doing cleaning and stuff like that. Uh, there’s also the cleaning I do for the college. Sometimes I clean the dorms, but I don’t do that a lot. Oh, there’s a bookstore near the bar that I’ve filled some shifts from a classmate there… I think that’s all? It’s hard to find part-time jobs with a constant schedule I guess. The convenience store and the bar are the only jobs I go to every week.”

            It was almost comical how wide Sojung’s eyes were.

            Eunbi let out a humorless chuckle. “I’m a little busy.”

            “Busy is…” Sojung’s brow furrowed, “definitely an understatement. How do you keep up with your studies?”

            “I study at night mostly,” Eunbi answered, “I guess that’s okay actually. I get creative at night time anyway.”

            Sojung didn’t comment on that.

            Noticing the increasing tension on the table, Eunbi tried a smile. “It’s not bad! Tiring, for sure, but it’s alright. Rent is the thing that I worry about the most, but that rope isn’t around my neck anymore since—”

            The woman tilted her head at Eunbi’s interruption. “Since what?”

            She wanted to hit herself. “Um… since your… your tip was quite… generous?”

            God, she wanted to die.

            “You’re saying that the tip I gave you was enough to help you with rent?”

            “Eonni’s saying it like you can’t believe it,” Eunbi was shocked by Sojung’s serious expression. “Um… yeah? It was a hundred dollars, of course it was enough to help me with rent.”

            “I see,” Sojung took a sip of her cappuccino, prompting Eunbi to do the same with her coffee. “I guess I’ll have to go to the bar more often, then.”

            Eunbi tried to not grimace at the coffee’s bitter taste. “Sorry, what?”

            Sojung smiled. “Nothing. Taste the cake. It’s delicious.”

            Sojung was a hundred percent sure that if Yerin saw the both of them like that, she’d never hear the last of it.

            That’s why, after winning a half-heated discussion with the small one about whether Sojung would drive Eunbi home or not, she decided to not tell any of it to her friend—not all of it at least. Maybe Sojung could say that they had met at the college’s gallery, had some coffee and talked a little. Yes, that was enough. It wasn’t like Sojung wanted to lie to Yerin, she’d never want that. Sojung was just… omitting some information for the greater good.

            Her greater good.

            “Eonni,” Eunbi’s soft voice was increasingly becoming more and more charming to her ears. Sojung glanced away from the street to look at Eunbi.

            The girl looked relaxed, probably full after Sojung managed to trick her into eating half of her own desserts, and it looked the best on her. Eunbi was still pale, especially under the white streetlights, but there was a fresh sparkle in her eyes. Sojung wanted that to continue where it was.

            “Thank you for today.”

            Sojung smiled, fingers loosely wrapped around the wheel. “No need to thank me. I had a lot of fun. I’ll probably pull an all-nighter today so going out really helped.”

            “An all-nighter?” Eunbi quietly repeated. Then, a smile bloomed on her face. “Guess we’ll both need good luck tonight.”

            Sojung thought she was too young to die of a heart attack.

            “Yes,” she cleaned . “I guess we will.”

            Eunbi giggled—she giggled—and pointed to her building. “You can stop there, eonni. Thanks again.”

            Sojung parked the car and looked at Eunbi. Before unlocking the door, she turned her body to take a better look at Eunbi.

            “Don’t forget to have dinner.”

            “I won’t,” the girl said, lips curled up.

            Sojung squinted her eyes and thought that this was her chance.

            With her business voice, she said, “I think I should have your number to check if you ate myself.”

            She was quite proud of herself for not stuttering.

            “Um,” Eunbi blinked, clearly taken aback. “Okay…?”

            “Good. Give me your phone.”

            The way Eunbi promptly handed the mobile to her probably shouldn’t have satisfied Sojung so much.

            “So… eonni is going… to text me later?”

            Sojung looked up from the old phone and had to hold back a smirk at Eunbi’s pink cheeks. “That’s the plan. Any objections?”

            Eunbi blushed darker. “None.”

            “Great.”

            Great, indeed.