Just wait a little longer, Jiwoo. 

With only days until fall semester, temperatures have dropped and Sooyoung’s schedule has filled up.

Truthfully, she’s grateful to be busy again. Errands, meetings, and last-minute club tasks put more immediate goals on her plate and less the dreary feeling of idleness. She has always thought she was meant to be on her feet all the time.

She hasn’t talked much with Jiwoo since SolsticeFest, and she doesn’t know if she wants to. Not yet, anyway. This is for the best, or so she tells herself.

Nor has she talked much with Jiwoo’s friends. She runs into Heejin at dance club meetings, but they exchange ordinary greetings between junior and senior at best, Sooyoung having turned a blind eye to Heejin’s concerned looks a while ago. Heejin, always so polite and attentive, construed it the first time around: ‘no mention of the kiss nor Jiwoo’, as if telepathically communicated to Sooyoung.

She sees Chaewon at a ‘job interview’ – term used loosely because they’re sitting on upturned buckets in the staff break room, Chaewon’s shooting daggers at her, and it seems like a police interrogation more than anything.

“Is this necessary?” Sooyoung vexes impatiently. “I gotta be out of here by noon.”

“You can’t get the job by avoiding my questions,” Chaewon says pointedly. So, breaking news: she’s the assistant manager at Spookytown now.

“Your questions aren’t even relevant!”

With this fake dating stint coming to a close, Sooyoung needs a new income source for the school year. She was hoping Spookytown would re-hire her without much hassle, especially with Chaewon now at the helm. Unfortunately, the supposed assistant manager is more determined to siphon her of personal answers than check her qualifications.

“Yes, they are, I said so,” Chaewon retorts, “now, I will ask again. Why are you ghosting Jiwoo?”

The girl beside Sooyoung raises her hand. “Excuse me, ma’am? I still don’t know who Jiwoo is.”

Chaewon shoots her a look. “Shush, Yeojin.”

“Isn’t it illegal to hire twelve-year olds?” Sooyoung quips, narrowing her eyes at the smaller girl.

“I’m eighteen!” Yeojin protests before turning to Chaewon. “What is her problem? She’s been giving me dirty looks since I walked in!”

“She doesn’t do well with teenagers,” Chaewon hums. “Sooyoung, do I need to repeat my question? And don't lie to me.”

This is a job interview from hell. Is death the fate of anyone who steps foot into Spookytown? Or have I angered the gods and I'm just cursed?

Sooyoung lets out a heavy sigh. “I’m not ghosting her, I’m just busy.” A half-truth is no lie. “And she barely texts me nowadays, I’m sure she’s busy too.”

Jiwoo’s attempts at reaching out, while initially rebuffed and unanswered, have tapered out as the days went on. Sooyoung knows ignoring her is not the wisest thing to do but, well, she has half a mind to do something about it...

What would she say, anyway? Going after Jiwoo feels more and more futile as Sooyoung’s confidence shrivels. She’s been hoping her utter incompetence in dealing with this is somehow cancelled out by her competence in other things.

Hence the prioritising of literally everything but Jiwoo.  

“She's at her grandparents' place. She also doesn’t wanna bother you because she thinks you’re super busy, but I call bull.”  

“I am!” Sooyoung exclaims defensively.  

“Well, can’t you make time for her?!”

Chaewon poses a valid question; one of her many talents. Sooyoung only sighs and redirects her stare; also one of her many talents.

“I say this Jiwoo dodged a bullet,” Yeojin pipes up randomly. She had been watching them bicker back and forth.

Sooyoung turns to her with a scowl. “Shut up? I don’t even know you,” she grumbles, checking her phone as she gets up. “Look, I’m gonna be late for my meeting, so just text me if I’m not getting the job. But I swear if you hire this hobbit over me…”

Yeojin’s face contorts in offence, but Chaewon cuts her off before she can protest. “I will if you don’t contact Jiwoo. I won’t if you do.”

“What?! Hey! You already told me over the phone I got the job because you were severely understaffed! I did not sign up for this character assassination!”

Chaewon furrows her eyebrows at Sooyoung’s retreating figure. “Sooyoung!” she yells after her, “text Jiwoo! Or else!”

Sooyoung waves her hand dismissively over her shoulder as she heads for the door.

She stares a hole through her phone as her mind runs with Chaewon’s words (threats). Considers maybe…maybe…but then her brain sputters to a blank, like an engine failing to start. Then as if on cue - the gods must be mocking her - she gets a text from a club member about some meeting for tomorrow afternoon and then a ping of a new e-mail from one of her professors. Sooyoung sighs as she opens her laptop. It was idealistic of her to think she'd actually have a relaxing Wednesday night. 

First, it was about giving Jiwoo time, but Sooyoung has now realised that her busy schedule won’t let her follow up anyway. Anything related to the girl has taken the back burner. It’s almost as if her focus has entirely shifted, as summer fades into autumn, August giving way to September.  

That is, until a force of nature barrels into her life on a Wednesday evening and compels her to pull out the massive elephant she had swept under the rug.

The harsh knocking on her door is akin to a policeman about to raid a crack house.

Sooyoung looks through the peephole and finds a figure in a gray MIT hoodie. Her head is dipped, black cap shadowing her eyes, but oh, Sooyoung can only think of one person who’d go out of their way to disturb her in the most inconvenient of times.

“You brat...” Sooyoung bids goodbye to a productive Wednesday night and reluctantly opens the door.

She and the untimely visitor stand in silence for what feels like an eternity before the girl pushes up her cap and greets Sooyoung with crinkled eyes and a massive, dazzling grin.

“SURPRISE, BEAUTIFUL LADY!” Jinsoul shouts, “DID YOU MISS ME?!”

Sooyoung winces at her volume. “Not at all,” she deadpans, “you were a character in my story all along?”

“Yeah, this is the part of the play where I’m lowered onto the stage in a crane. You know, like god-from-the-machine or whatever?”

Sooyoung narrows her eyes, amused. Jinsoul’s habitual and lofty claims of being a ‘godsend, godsent, godsending’ has never consistently held water. But Sooyoung tries and fails at keeping her jaded look, a small smile inching its way onto her lips at the sight of her friend.

With a wiggle of her eyebrows, Jinsoul shows herself in, throwing her arms around Sooyoung. She doesn’t release her suffocating embrace until Sooyoung coughs out an ‘I can’t breathe’.

“You can cry, Hasoo, let it out, let it out. I know you missed me so much!”

“Right, how was…where did you go again? Africa?”

Jinsoul throws her shoes off at the door, leaving Sooyoung to automatically straighten them herself, before waltzing straight to the refrigerator.

“I went to the moon and back,” she answers, shooting Sooyoung a wink and drinking straight out of a big bottle of Mountain Dew.   

Enter: Jung Jinsoul. Sooyoung’s best bro slash beloved ex-roomie. They only lived together for a semester during their second year, but oh did it transform their relationship. Nowadays, Jinsoul still marches around the place like she pays the rent. They never really were the world’s most compatible roommates, but they did end up being quite the compatible partners-in-crime.

Sooyoung gives her a lopsided smile. “How was your trip to the moon and back, then?”

It might as well have been a trip to the moon, Jupiter, Jupiter’s moons, and back. Sooyoung still remembers being sat down after spring semester concluded and lectured of Jinsoul’s extensive summer plans. Something about transforming herself into a 'cultured cosmopolitan'. Something about backpacking in South East Asia, building schools in Africa, trekking the Himalayas. Something about walking in pride parades and protest marches, going to inspirational workshops with the world’s best yogis. Something about…turning vegan?

(However her little Eat Pray Love escapade went, Jinsoul only managed to afford it by not putting her money into anything else. Including her rent. But more on the repercussions of that later…)

 “…it was eye-opening. I learned so much about myself and the world. Leaving the dust pollution here and getting a real breath of fresh air, trying the vegan life, escaping the toxicity of social media…” Jinsoul goes on with a dreamy tone and upturned eyebrows, Mountain Dew in one hand and fish sausage in the other. “I’m a new person, Sooyoung.”

“You’re eating a sausage right now.” Sooyoung raises an eyebrow as she leans on the counter, arms crossed over her chest. 

Jinsoul glances at the snack before shrugging. “I said trying the vegan life. Never said I committed,” she says matter-of-factly, pointing the sausage at her.

“Good to know you blew your parents’ money on trying the vegan life.”

“Hey,” Jinsoul warns sternly, “they were my savings. You think I looped Intellectual Wanderer’s ‘wikiHow to save money’ for three months straight and studied the lyrics for nothing?”

Sooyoung frowns at Jinsoul’s unflinching mention of the Soundcloud rapper. “I thought you were listening to her ironically.”

“I was, but you know, she’s not bad actually.”

She groans. Sooyoung dreads the day Jinsoul finds out that ‘Intellectual Wanderer’ is actually the squeaky girl who works at Spookytown. Sooyoung’s kept it a secret for this long, only because the thought of a Jinsoul-Chaewon tag team and what they could possibly cajole and psychologically coerce her into scares the living daylights out of her.

“Okay, stop looking at me like I just threw up on your shoes, didn’t you miss me?”

Sooyoung acquiesces at Jinsoul’s pout. “Would’ve been nice to get updates from you, but you just had to swear off social media for the summer,” she grumbles. “You had me thinking you were kidnapped into joining some cannibalistic cult somewhere!”

“I'm fine. But after realising that I’m going back to being a sleep-deprived physics student in a few days, I wish I was…” Jinsoul laments, “I wish I was. But here I am, so just admit you’re happy to see me, you big baby.”

Sooyoung purses her lips. “Fine. I’m happy you’re alive.”

“That’s the spirit. Come here, bring it in.” Jinsoul spreads her arms and Sooyoung reluctantly walks into them to embrace her in a big hug.

She really did miss Jinsoul. How would this summer have gone if she never went off on her trip? Sooyoung might’ve had Jiwoo to herself a long time ago, under Jinsoul’s sage wingwoman guidance. Or maybe Jinsoul could’ve scored her a different job at the end of the semester, and Sooyoung might’ve never met Jiwoo.

What-ifs, what-ifs. Well, why waste time on what-ifs.

Jinsoul makes her way to the couch – once her bed for four months – and hops on it from the back. The sight is so familiar to Sooyoung that she feels like they’ve gone back in time to when they still lived together. Back when they were slightly younger, slightly pettier, and slightly poorer.

(Scratch that. They’re probably poorer now than they were then.)

“How was your summer without me? Boring?” Jinsoul exclaims over her shoulder.

Sooyoung shrugs, even though Jinsoul can’t see her.

Jiwoo’s billion kilowatt smile flashes in her head, as do a number of other things, from almost dying in Hyunjin’s bathroom to almost dying in the Spookytown haunted house; from Chaewon in a unicorn headband to Heejin and Hyunjin eating omelettes for an hour; from the subtle touches to the practice room kisses. Memories taking shape, the feelings of then revisiting her thoughts and quickening her heartbeat.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s been a pretty good summer. It really has.

“It was alright.” Sooyoung smiles a little to herself before plopping next to Jinsoul. “Pretty eventful these past few weeks though…”

“No . You went to SolsticeFest?!” Jinsoul garbles with a mouthful of sausage. “If you’re gonna break our annual tradition of skipping, at least win an arm-wrestling match there. Traitor!”

Sooyoung groans, head falling back as she stares at the speckles on the ceiling. “Oh my god, you heard about that?”

“Also heard the other girl doesn’t even go to our school. Way to represent, Hasoo. And losing to a pretty girl?” Jinsoul tsks. “Once classes start, I can’t be seen with you on campus, okay?”

Sooyoung grimaces at Jinsoul thinking Jungeun’s prettier than her. Where’s the loyalty? The devotion in the sacred bond of bestfriendship?! “Shut up. Topic change. Please.”

“Not ‘til you explain yourself.”

“For a girl, okay, I went for a girl. Satisfied?”

That’s when Jinsoul’s eyes light up in interest. “Who?!” she gasps.

Sooyoung sighs as she reaches for the strip of photos on the coffee table. It’s been sitting there, face down and untouched, ever since SolsticeFest. Looking at them for the first time in days, the wallop of feelings coming to her is almost overwhelming.

“Ooooh, she’s cute,” Jinsoul teases, nudging her shoulder as she leans in to take a better look at the photobooth pictures of Jiwoo and Sooyoung. “Oh, is this the girl in the penguin photo at the aquarium? The one you posted on Instagram?”

Narrowing her eyes, Sooyoung glances over. “Huh? You saw that? I deleted it the next day.”

(Per Jiwoo’s request. She thought her grin was a little maniacal. Sooyoung fought her with a strong defence of ‘that’s nonsense you’re the cutest girl in the universe’ but ended up respecting Jiwoo’s wish. The photo will never leave her gallery, though.)   

“Oh, uh…” Jinsoul pauses, fish sausage three inches from . “So this group I was with in Thailand was protesting at an elephant sanctuary and there might’ve been free WiFi...?”

In disbelief, Sooyoung scoffs. “You’re kidding. You go on a social media-free trip but check Instagram the second you have WiFi instead of letting us know back home that you’re not dead somewhere?!”

She rises off the couch, but Jinsoul gives her a flippant wave. “Okay, okay, hey. We’re not talking about me right now, we’re talking about you,” she interjects, “because I drop off the face of the earth for a few months and in my absence, you get yourself a girlfriend? Little summer fling action?!”

Jinsoul lets out a long whistle before finishing her sausage in one bite.

“Relax. We’re not actually dating,” Sooyoung grumbles with a sigh. “It’s a long story.”

“Well, spill. I spent all summer being out of the loop, so I need something right now. I feel like a diabetic with low blood sugar.”

Jinsoul switches positions to face Sooyoung and suddenly, she’s reminded of their late weekday nights together in this living room, talking about girls over Sooyoung’s home-cooked meal and ignoring deadlines just for a single night without stress.

Maybe it’s the familiarity of the sight, maybe it’s Jinsoul’s overwhelming therapist-friend vibe, or maybe it’s Sooyoung’s repressed emotions trying to dig themselves out – probably all of the above – but Sooyoung lets down her defences and does exactly that: spill.

Okay, only the basics, though. Jiwoo, the arrangement, their goals. An objective job description, no mention of the blurry lines, the genuine feelings, and all the intimate moments.

“You're telling me your broke became a girlfriend-for-hire?” Jinsoul quips when Sooyoung finishes her crash course on the happenings of her summer break. “Hm. That does seem like something you’d be good at.”

“I’m good at everything,” Sooyoung replies automatically, to which Jinsoul gives her a grand roll of her eyes, “but whatever, it’s over now…I’m trying to go back to Spookytown.”

It’s silent for a moment as Jinsoul watches her intently. Sooyoung wants to ask what she’s thinking about, but then Jinsoul speaks up: “And you’re sooo bummed out because…?”

Oh. Is it that obvious?

It seems Sooyoung’s gotten rusty with the whole ‘fake it til you make it’ thing, or maybe she just naturally becomes less guarded and more frank around her best friend. (Crazy what being cooped up in a tiny one-bedroom apartment for a semester can do for a volatile relationship. Worsen it, probably, but it did wonders for the two of them.)

Sooyoung just returns her inquisitive look with hesitation. They stare at each other for a few seconds, Sooyoung’s blinking wide eyes meeting Jinsoul’s tightly knitted eyebrows.

It hurts me to admit it. Read my mind, Jung Jinsoul, I know you can.

And then Jinsoul snaps her fingers, her face relaxing in realisation.

“Got it. You fell for your fake girlfriend, but she’s still not over her ex.”

An imaginary confetti cannon blasts a rainbow of colours above them. Sooyoung bites her bottom lip and loudly claps once before jutting her thumb out.   

“BINGO! Ah, you know me so well,” she exclaims, impressed with Jinsoul as they exchange a sad high five.

“Oh, Sooyoung,” Jinsoul replies sympathetically, her lips pulling down, “I’m sorry.”

Sooyoung sinks back into the couch. “Thought I had her.”

“Has she been leading you on? I saw a bit of Nguni stick-fighting during the South African leg of my trip and I can fight her if you want me to. All I need are some long wooden sticks and–“

“Ngu- what? No, no,” Sooyoung adamantly shakes her head, “no fighting Jiwoo with long sticks.”

Jinsoul frowns. “Well…are you sure she doesn’t like you back?”

“I don’t know anymore. I don’t know who she wants.”

“Well, she can’t have both of you,” Jinsoul mutters before lowering her voice to a mischievous whisper. “Should we make out in front of her?”

Sooyoung grimaces, her face flashing an amusing look of horror. “What would that accomplish?!”

In response, Jinsoul breaks out into a booming laughter. “I’m joking! Don’t hit me! And stop glaring at me like a homophobe!”

“To you? Maybe I am homophobic.” Sooyoung shoves her lightly. “Not the brightest idea, cassanova.”

“Hey, just throwing it out there,” Jinsoul says, putting her hands up in defence. “Imagine fake-girlfriending your fake girlfriend? It’s hilarious. And a decent strategy, don’t you think?”

Sooyoung takes a moment to consider it but finds that the idea of giving Jiwoo a taste of her own medicine gives her a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“What, making her jealous to reel her back in?” Been there, done that. Sooyoung winces, shaking her head. “I can’t, I’m better than that now…also, it’s evil.”  

Fake dating to keep up an impetuous lie is one thing, doing it to manipulate someone is another. Sooyoung doesn’t know how fine that line is, but it’s a boundary she’s no longer willing to cross.  

Reading her mind, Jinsoul snorts in amusement. “I see the whole Sojung Debacle really turned you into Mother Teresa.”

The back of Sooyoung’s head meets the couch again, a guttural groan escaping as Jinsoul brings up her old flame – or rather, the darling MVP of her whirlwind romantic experiences. “Ugh, I was trying to avoid bringing her up.”

“Personally, I consider your time with her a transformative period in your life,” Jinsoul says, the smugness in her voice uncalled for.  

Okay, interlude: the Sojung Debacle is a double-edged sword - on one hand, it’s an awful memory; on the other, it’s an origin story for Sooyoung and Jinsoul’s friendship. Let’s review:  

Of all things Sooyoung would like to erase from her mind, whatever she shared with Sojung likely tops the list. Their tumultuous relationship ended up taking push and pull to the max as they veered back and forth between feelings of contempt and desire for one another. Frankly, it was nothing deserving of the ‘Real Relationship’ category; simply a frivolous period in Sooyoung’s love life.

Can’t exactly blame her, though. She had just ended things with Vivi, on top of getting abruptly sacked from Burger King. But Sooyoung wishes someone would’ve told her that the old Tinder fling who once shut a door on her poor face at 2AM was not a reliable rebound.

At the expense of Sooyoung’s sanity, Sojung was a professional at mind games. For some reason, in her erratic condition, Sooyoung thought two could play at this game: what better checkmate than to ‘steal’ the girl Sojung was actually into? (Because it sure as hell wasn’t her.)

Unfortunately, that girl happened to be Jung Jinsoul. The chick who lived down the hall. Sooyoung had a bone to pick with her because she always mistakenly took Sooyoung’s load from the laundry room and couldn’t park within the lines to save her life.

A ‘godsend’ would’ve been too generous of a term to apply to Jinsoul at the time, but she was something akin to that: a free agent newly single, newly out, and newly homeless after their landlord abruptly raised the rent and Jinsoul decided her soul-searching-self-discovery tour was more important to fund.

Since her ‘genius’ idea was to make Sojung think there was something going on between them, Sooyoung decided to put their differences aside and immediately asked Jinsoul to move in. Sometimes, one must lose a battle to win the war.

Needless to say, it was an entirely impulsive decision made with petty intentions. And don’t get her started on the glaring oversight of accepting a roommate into her tiny one-bedroom flat.

Sojung lost her marbles.

Doah lost his marbles. (Unintended consequence.)

Jinsoul simply enjoyed free real estate.

Sooyoung won the war, but the sweet taste of victory faded quickly. Luckily, she’s learned her lesson and stays away from girls like Sojung. Jinsoul also turned out to be not-so-bad. Real ride-or-die material, in fact. End interlude. 

“That whole thing was messed up,” Sooyoung mutters.

“Duh. You literally took me in to use as a pawn in your little psychological war. But hey, look at us! Look at us, huh? Who would've thought?! Not me,” Jinsoul quips with a grin. “Our friendship may qualify as a case of Stockholm Syndrome, but I’m okay with that.”

Sooyoung can’t help but roll her eyes at Jinsoul’s dramatics but finds herself smiling. “Oh shut up, you were a totally willing accomplice.”

“Fine, I admit that. But only because Sojung was bat crazy.”

They share giggles as Jinsoul links their arms. Sooyoung lets out a relieved sigh.  

“I did all that to hurt Sojung. But I have no intentions of hurting Jiwoo, so I can’t pull that on her. If she sees me with another girl now, it’ll just send off all the wrong signals…”

If she’s learned one thing from that mess, it’s that using jealousy as a weapon against someone makes for a bizarre, unhealthy dynamic. Relationships shouldn’t start with a power struggle.

“Look at you. So mature,” Jinsoul commends. “Okay, I understand. I just want to help, I feel bad I haven’t been here all summer to be your wingman. Whose shoulder do you cry on if not mine? You get more upset when no one comforts you.”

“Wow, you think I have no other friends?”

“No one else like me!” Jinsoul pouts.

Sooyoung reaches over to ruffle Jinsoul’s hair. She shouldn't have much to worry about, though. Not only did Sooyoung do a grand job (too grand) of distracting herself, but Chaewon and the others did a decent job of filling in her shoes too, so well that Sooyoung barely even thought of her all summer. (But she keeps that to herself or else Jinsoul will throw a jealous fit in her living room.)

“Don’t worry, I fared alright without you,” Sooyoung coos. “I’ll take any of your ideas. Just not me kissing another girl in front of Jiwoo, or any of that cliché .”

“Cliché?!” Jinsoul snorts, “says the girl who literally fell in love with her fake girlfriend. Like, hello? Overused Tropes 101.”

Sooyoung pushes Jinsoul away before the girl could laugh into her ears and deafen her.  

She purses her lips in thought. “It’s just…if she sees me kiss someone else now, she’ll just get confused. I can already see it. She’ll ignore it, it’d be weird for me to bring it up, and we’ll just stop talking and drift apart with all this invisible tension, and then school will consume me, and I won’t have any time to see her and I–“ Sooyoung’s spontaneous rambling comes to an abrupt stop. “And I…I don’t want that.”

She would hate it. And after not speaking with Jiwoo for days, no phone calls or exchange of texts between them, Sooyoung realises that she actually misses the girl.

She really, really misses Jiwoo.

(But whose fault is all this?! Yours, Sooyoung!)

“I don’t want to do anything stupid. Not with Jiwoo, not with my current intentions, not with the state of our relationship,” Sooyoung finds herself continuing, “…or whatever we are.”

On the other end of the couch, Jinsoul can only blink, seemingly impressed with the way Sooyoung's thoughts tumbled out of .

“Wow. Feels like I’m looking at a new and improved Ha Sooyoung.”

Sooyoung turns to her skeptically. “What are you talking about?”

“Like…you actually thought this through. You never do that. You just do things. Then you deal with the consequences later.”

Sooyoung returns Jinsoul’s knowing look with a blank one.

Sure, her change in impulsive habits has been noticeable at certain times this summer, like every time she carefully planned out a date with Jiwoo, so it’s not like she’s entirely unaware of it. But something about hearing it from someone else – someone like Jinsoul, who knows her better than anyone – feels like a startling news flash, bold headline popping out at her as Zeus strikes thunder. 

She's inexperienced. The reservations she holds about Jiwoo, her feelings, the status of whatever-they-are – perhaps it’s all a byproduct of the inexperience.

Perhaps her penchant for dealing well with the consequences of her impulsivity has built up a certain fearlessness in her, but a hastily built tower is bound to topple. And Jiwoo was a catalyst, testing the very foundations of character that Sooyoung has so carefully constructed for herself.

Beside her, Jinsoul laughs through her nose and points mockingly at her. “Man, you are in deep.”

Sooyoung can’t think of anything to say so she deflates, limbs falling to her sides and melting into the linen as she throws her feet up on the coffee table. Her gaze blurs as it wanders to the ceiling.

She feels Jinsoul shift on the couch beside her, but Sooyoung doesn’t bother to look. Her mind overfills with thoughts and she can’t concentrate on a specific one.

“You know what you could use right now?” Jinsoul suddenly says.

“What?”

“A smoothie.”

Sooyoung quirks an eyebrow. She could use a smoothie. “Elaborate.”

“The mango mushroom shake I tried in Laos.”

“Excuse me?” This time, Sooyoung’s head pops up as she shoots Jinsoul a suspicious look.

“Oh, it was a total experience in here,” Jinsoul marvels, gesturing to her temple, “because everything was in slow motion, the walls looked like they were breathing, and the picture of Marilyn Monroe on the wall started talking to me.”

“What,” Sooyoung’s features twist as she gawks at her ex-roommate, “the . Hold on, when you said your trip was enlightening, you mean it was because you were tripping on shrooms the entire time?!”

Jinsoul blinks at her. “Huh? N-no, how did you...no! Not the entire time…” she stammers, “it was like one time. Okay, maybe two…maybe three…” She shrinks, glancing at Sooyoung with an apologetic smile. “Sorry…?”

“Jinsoul!” Sooyoung scolds. “That’s illegal!”

“Oh calm down, it was a tiny bit, like microscopic amounts. I was curious, okay, sue me!” 

“What if something happened to you? Like…y-you could’ve died or something?!” (She doesn’t know anything about psychedelics.)

Jinsoul shoots her an incredulous look. “What? Now you’re just being dramatic,” she replies pointedly, “drinking a smoothie is nothing like shooting up he–“

“–You know that saying? Curiosity killed the cat?–“

“–Well at least the cat didn’t die a prude!”

And then the room falls silent as the two of them stare at each other, Sooyoung wide-eyed and breathing heavy. The sound of pounding shoes from outside – someone running down the hallway – fades in and out, bringing them back to reality.

Sooyoung sighs and collapses back on the couch. “What were we talking about again? And what does your stint with recreational drug use have to do with it?”

“Oh yeah,” Jinsoul replies flatly, “I said you look like you could use one right now.”

Sooyoung’s brain fails to process why. “A mango mushroom shake would do nothing for me right now.”

Jinsoul shrugs. “I’m just saying, you could use the brutal self-honesty and reflection it’d force you into.”

“I do not need that…” Sooyoung mutters defensively.

“You’ve got something on your mind, but you don’t want to think about it, much less tell me. Either way, we can’t talk through it if you refuse to and you’ll just continue to be stuck in this self-inflicted limbo of terrible assumptions,” Jinsoul says, and it’s funny how sensible she can sound sometimes with that greasy drawl of hers. “Also, I wanted to tell you I did shrooms in Laos, but I wasn’t sure how to bring it up.”

They shoot each other glances, one unreadable and the other hesitant.

And then Sooyoung smiles a little, her lips slowly pulling into a teeth-baring grin. Jinsoul mirrors her amusement and within seconds, boisterous laughter filled the space of Sooyoung’s tiny apartment. They laugh, clutching their stomachs and hitting each other, as they slid to the floor.

“You’re right, by the way,” Sooyoung admits once they’ve settled down. She pulls her knees to her chest. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”

“I knew it,” Jinsoul says lightly. “Fess up. I’m all ears.”  

“Well, for starters, Jiwoo kissed her ex…or her ex kissed her. I don’t know.”

“Oh.”

She tells Jinsoul about her confrontation with Jiwoo the day she came over and froze Sooyoung’s world on the very spot they’re sitting on. She tells her about her multitude of feelings that day, from anger to disappointment to humiliation. She tells her about all her misgivings, putting aside the discomfort of rehashing them. She tells her about Jiwoo’s troubles with sincerity and her habit of keeping worries all to herself. She tells Jinsoul all of it.

“I’m sorry, Soo…”

“Jiwoo must still feel something for her ex, right? Not that I’m surprised, I mean, they were together for a long time and Jiwoo really loved her. I just thought we were on the same page. More than anything, I guess I’m just…disappointed.”

Chaewon had told her she was the golden key, the string that would lead Jiwoo through the dimly lit labyrinth. But with the way things have gone, she feels like they never even left the maze. She’s failed herself, she’s failed Chaewon, even Hyunjin and Heejin, but most of all, she feels like she’s failed Jiwoo.

“Stop that. I know that look,” comes Jinsoul’s voice from her right. Sooyoung turns to look at her. “You always blame yourself when things don’t go as you expect them to.” Her tone is stern but consoling, like a mother scolding a child who has injured themselves.

Sooyoung marvels at how easily Jinsoul can read her.

“But you’re not responsible for her feelings, you’re responsible for your own. You can’t do anything about her…” Jinsoul pauses, her face scrunching as she searches for the right term, “…emotional constipation. That’s her problem to deal with. You’re just caught in the crossfire.”

Sooyoung opts to stay silent as her gaze floats to the coffee stain on the table. Her hand falls to the carpet, fingernails digging into threads. The photobooth photos lie face down on the table.

“You do you. You’re sure about your own feelings, aren’t you? So put them at the forefront! I know you’re used to taking on responsibilities, being dance club leader or whatever–“

“–vice president–” Sooyoung quietly interrupts.

“–same thing.” Jinsoul clicks her tongue. “But however Jiwoo feels, it’s not on you. And if you feel like you’re not good enough, or you’ve ed everything up somehow, or the reason this whole thing failed is because of you, then…” Jinsoul sighs, “quit it. It isn’t always your fault.”

“A part of it is…”

“Then fix what you can. But you can’t let yourself bear the brunt of it all.”  

“I know,” replies Sooyoung. “Thanks, Jinsoul.”

Jinsoul doesn't hesitate to bump the fist Sooyoung meekly offers her. But when Sooyoung retracts her hand, Jinsoul lets out a gruff ‘ah, come here’ and drapes a lazy arm over her. Sooyoung lets her head fall on Jinsoul’s shoulder and it’s only during times like these that her protruding clavicle feels more like a comforting pillow.  

“Don’t I always give good advice?” Jinsoul asks smugly. “You just never listen to me.”

Sooyoung rolls her eye with a smile. “Yeah, because it’s you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just kidding. I’ll listen to you from now on.” Sooyoung brings a hand to her brow in a salute.

“Hmph. You better,” Jinsoul replies sternly before her tone goes light. “You know I always have your back, right? Like you had mine during the Doah Debacle? And you even hated me back then.”

“Okay, I didn’t ‘hate’ you, it was more of a slight annoyance,” Sooyoung replies defensively. She tells Jinsoul it was Doah who forced her and Jungeun into arm wrestling at SolsticeFest, like some unfair divine retribution.

Jinsoul’s eyes bug out. “Wait a minute, the hot girl you were arm-wrestling was Jiwoo’s ex?” She barks out a sharp laugh. “Holy . Talk about battle of the century. Well, now that I know Jiwoo’s ex is prettier than you, I’m not so sure about your chances anymore,” she jokes.

Sooyoung gives her an offhand grunt and deflects the attack. “I wouldn’t be so white-knightey about her…they’re cousins.”

“Doah and Jungeun are related?!” Jinsoul beats her chest with a fist. “Maybe being a bad ex is genetic?!”

Sooyoung can't help but chuckle. “Speaking of exes, I’m going to file a restraining order against yours.” At this point, the mere mention of Doah triggers her fight or flight senses.

Jinsoul frowns. “Doah’s getting on your case again?”

“He still thinks I had a thing with you.” Sooyoung retches, to which Jinsoul rolls her eyes.

“I haven’t seen him in ages.”

“See, I’m torn between tolerating him for having the balls to actually respect your privacy and hating him for not respecting mine.”

“I’m sorry,” Jinsoul says remorsefully, “I’ll talk to him.”

“No, no, don’t bother. He’s dense anyway, denser than you.” Sooyoung ignores Jinsoul’s offended scoff. “I don’t want you anywhere near that guy.”

“Aw! You’re so sweet,” Jinsoul says, drawl coated in amusement as she caresses Sooyoung’s cheek. “But you make too many enemies, Soo. And it’s like you ask for it. Too confrontational for your own good.” She tsks.

“I know,” Sooyoung mumbles. That’s what Jungeun told her, too. “Jiwoo wouldn’t like it.”

Maybe it’s true that her passion is misplaced sometimes because she always seems ready to fight people she shouldn’t waste her time on, teenagers especially.

“I cannot believe you were this close to having a fist fight with this chick in the middle of SolsticeFest, of all places.”

“It was a lapse in judgement…” Sooyoung replies through gritted teeth. “Can’t believe you ever dated Doah because he said he could turn you straight and you believed him.”

“IT WAS A LAPSE IN JUDGEMENT,” Jinsoul retorts, roughly shrugging Sooyoung’s head off her shoulder. “I was in self-denial. Stop bringing that up, it’s your worst trump card.”

She heaves in a deep breath over Sooyoung’s terribly amused giggles. “This isn’t Jinsoul time, this is Sooyoung time, so tell me,” she says, quickly changing the topic, “do you really, really like Jiwoo?”

Sooyoung’s giggles calm down in a second. “Very much.”

“Then, let’s be direct. Confess to her.”

No . As if Sooyoung hasn’t spent minutes totalling hours throughout this summer thinking about doing just that.

“I’d be lucky if she still has an ounce of interest in me after I’ve pushed her away. What if she never even liked me? What if I’ve just been deluding myself this entire time? Am I even right for her?” she says, against her better judgement.

“What the ! Did you listen to anything I just said?!”

Sooyoung narrows her eyes. “Uh, which part?”

“The advice, stupid, the advice!” Jinsoul slaps her thigh.

“Ow– – yeah, you said ‘you do you’ and 'doing me' does not currently involve confessing to Jiwoo right at this moment.” Sooyoung hits her back in revenge. Jinsoul recoils at the slap.

“Why not?! And that’s not what I meant by that! Listen, you’ve been so upfront with your actions, but now’s the time to say it in words. Clearly.” Jinsoul grabs her hands with urgency. “Now, Sooyoung!” she exclaims, the usual lilt of her voice replaced by a rare intensity.

“’Now’ what? Confess now?! Hold on, I need to plan this! I haven't even thought about it at all!” Sooyoung looks at her with wild eyes. “A-and the timing has to be right!”

“The timing is now, coward!”

But wait, how can everything be so slow and then suddenly come up on her really fast?! It’s as if the crane carrying the god has malfunctioned and dropped straight on the leading actor. With her priorities jumbled up all of a sudden, her thoughts resemble a bowl of alphabet soup. 

When Sooyoung only replies with a hesitant wince, Jinsoul groans in frustration.

“You . How do you know what’s right for Jiwoo and what isn’t? That’s for her to decide. I know you’re afraid it might not be you, but she hasn’t rejected you, Soo. Not yet, anyway,” Jinsoul scolds, clicking her tongue in disappointment. “You’re so in over your head for this girl that you’re terrified of messing things up, but it’s so unlike you. Come on, Sooyoung, you're not a pessimist, you’re Impromptu Extraordinaire!”

Sooyoung adamantly shakes her head. Never has she felt so small than she does right now. “I-I’m always the assertive one. If Jiwoo likes me, she can confess first!”

“You ghosted her! Cold turkey," Jinsoul argues, jabbing a finger at her chest. "There could be a confession sitting in your text messages right now. Who knows. Not you, because you haven't opened 'em. Jiwoo also doesn’t seem like the type to try again and again if she thinks she’s unwanted, but she’s not unwanted, is she?”

Not one bit. 

Of course Sooyoung wants to end the radio silence. She was the one who started it, after all. It was warranted, perhaps, considering what happened and how hurt she felt. But the thought of losing Jiwoo, the thought of them drifting apart without ever clearing the air between them, hurts more than anything else.

“So stop sitting on your stubby little fingers and do something about it, goddammit. Hasn’t enough time passed?”

Sooyoung glosses over the offhand insult about her hands. “You know what Jungeun told me? I’m too brash for Jiwoo. She’s the type who gets used because she puts her own feelings on the back burner for the sake of other people.”

“Jungeun knows jack about you. You’re not some bully, you just stand up for yourself when you have to. That’s not a vice.”

Sooyoung’s sigh pierces the air. “But she isn’t totally wrong. When I’m emotional, I care more about what I want to say and not enough about what others are telling me.”

She doesn’t listen. She does and says things without thinking. She’s impulsive. The list goes on. (For someone who claims to be dangerously self-aware, Sooyoung can sure as hell one-dimensionally sum herself up better than anyone else.)

Maybe this is why she hasn’t told Jiwoo about her feelings. She’s terrified of proving Jungeun right.

“Jesus, Jungeun made you look like the villain for ten minutes and it shattered you. I’m gonna end her life,” Jinsoul mutters with narrowed eyes.

“You were calling her hot like ten minutes ago…”

“That was before I realised she beat your self-confidence to a pulp with a couple words.” Jinsoul grunts. “Fine. She has a point – you can be pretty careless. But it’s not like you’re destined to be a hardass for the rest of your life. You’re changing right now! In front of my eyes! Impulsivity isn’t always a bad thing either; growing up and maturing – it’s all just taking a shot in the dark, isn’t it? You’re just a lot better at winging it than the rest of us.”

“But you get my concerns, don’t you?” Sooyoung cries out, “I winged it, and it backfired on me. I did what I felt like I had to do, but why does it feel like I’ve messed up? God, I don’t know…if Jiwoo didn’t before, she definitely has hesitations about me now.”

Jinsoul holds up a palm a few inches from her face, yelling an abrupt ‘STOP!’ and making Sooyoung flinch in surprise.

“Stop what?!”

“Stop assuming,” Jinsoul says plainly before clearing . “Let me put this bluntly. You don’t know , Sooyoung. You don’t know how she feels about you and you won’t know until you talk to her.”

It’s far from being rocket science. Sooyoung should know this better than anyone, but she's never learned how to find the happy medium between her impulses and her precautions.

Pursing her lips, Sooyoung thinks of other ways to stall, any excuse that can justify her inaction. “But what do you think of her? Should I just move on? Are we actually good for each other?”

“What do I think? I’ve never even met her!” Jinsoul replies, but Sooyoung’s gaze is unrelenting. “Ugh. She seems indecisive and emotionally constipated.”

Sooyoung frowns. “Biased opinion. She’s sweet.”

“You asked for my opinion!” Jinsoul counters, sighing when she spots Sooyoung’s pout. “Fine. Your face lights up when you talk about her, you obviously love being around each other, and you genuinely believe she makes you a better person. I think you can have that effect on her too, so…” she shrugs lightly, “go for it. I feel like both of you are only being held back by your own insecurities. So, communicate, for god’s sake. It’s literally Relationship 101.”

Perhaps Sooyoung has always known, somewhere in the back of her mind, that the real barrier wasn’t really Jungeun, or even the kissing fiasco. She may have just needed a voice of reason – a different perspective besides her own blindly-loving-Jiwoo point of view – to get her to realise it.

It’s something far bigger than an impulsive mistake, something that has to do with self-doubt and unspoken uncertainties. There appears a certain kind of fragility from revealing vulnerabilities that they were so keen to keep hidden.

Her lips slowly curve into a fond smile at Jinsoul’s words. A godsend she is, sometimes.

“God, you’re such a sap,” Jinsoul comments at the sight of her smile. “I think you need to let yourself be a little daring right now. Where’s that signature Ha Sooyoung fearlessness?”

“Subdued. Acting without thinking hasn’t exactly worked out for me.”

“You’ve always managed it, though.”

Sooyoung gives her a derisive chuckle. As if having a knack for damage control was something to be proud of.

“I don’t know if I can this time. I can handle getting fired over dumb or having a couple of teenagers despise me,” Sooyoung murmurs, “but I cannot handle real heartbreak.”

Her emotions are on the line. It’s an entirely different ballpark. Sooyoung has never found it easy to make do with impulsive mistakes involving people she genuinely cared about. Nor has she ever been able to successfully shed all the insecurities she held when it came to love.

For someone who jumped so impulsively into a fake dating scheme to earn some extra cash and kill some time, Sooyoung sure took relationships quite seriously.

Jinsoul reaches for the photobooth photos on the table and hands them to Sooyoung. “Look. She tried to kiss you inside this nasty photobooth. She followed you after arm wrestling even though you embarrassed yourself in front of everyone. And don’t even get me started on the movie night sleepover. She held you to sleep! How else would you explain any of that?”

Sooyoung remains quiet and Jinsoul knows it’s because she can’t explain any of it without relinquishing her pride and admitting that her fears are veering far too much into unreasonable territory.  

“I know you’re not blind, you’re just scared. But to resolve this mess, you two have to it up and talk it out.”

“What if she was just confused? And I was just…I don’t know. Convenient.”

She almost winces for admitting something she knew would hurt to even think about.

Jinsoul reacts appropriately for her. “Do I have to spell it out for you? She likes you, ! Or at least she did, before you dipped because her ex psyched you out,” she argues, volume rising unnaturally, “I thought the Sojung Debacle taught you not to fall for the mind games, Soo, the mind games!”

Sooyoung shuts her eyes. “The ing mind games.”

“I know what you’re trying to do. You’re curbing your short temper for her – which is great – but turning in on yourself and ignoring the problem isn’t the way to do it,” Jinsoul tells her intently, intuition shining through. “Then there’s Jiwoo, who seems like she’s trying to be more open and genuine with you – which is also great – but your coward has shut her out.”

Talk about an untimely swapping of habits.

Her fears of pushing Jiwoo away have done exactly that.

Sooyoung props her chin on her knees with a defeated purse of her lips. “What should I do…? It feels like all my courage has been out of me. How can I bring myself to talk to Jiwoo after ignoring her?”

She knows the answer. It’s just way, way, way easier said than done.

“I bet Intellectual Wanderer has a song for this,” Jinsoul quips.

“Jinsoul, I’m serious.”

(Funny thing is, Chaewon probably would have some strong words for her if she knew about all this.)

Jinsoul’s smile melts into a look of determination. “Okay, listen. This is when push comes to shove. I know it’s hard, but that’s why I’m here. Imagine what all the kids would say if they ever found out self-proclaimed hotshot Ha Sooyoung is a .”

 “I am not a ,” Sooyoung weakly grumbles. (That’s exactly what she is.)

“Then call Jiwoo right now.”

Sooyoung’s only response is to stare longingly at her phone. If only her limbs could act on their own.

“Come on. I will drag your spineless to her house if I have to.”

Sooyoung is not about to relent to some threats. Trying to overcome accruing hesitation and fears feels like the most impossible thing in the world right now. “I’m not pulling up to her house at 10PM,” she mutters.

“Oh, I think you are.”

“You literally can’t make me…”

A dubious glint takes over Jinsoul’s eyes as her lips curl up in a smirk. “Oh, I think I can.”  

And before Sooyoung could even react to Jinsoul’s words, the rascal suddenly lunges for her phone and sprints to the bathroom.

What the hell?!

Sooyoung almost trips while jumping to her feet, scampering after the girl only to get the bathroom door slammed on her face. The sound of the lock clicking sends panic coursing through her veins. She bangs on the door.

“Jinsoul! Give me my phone back! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“I’m making you drive to Jiwoo’s house at 10PM!”

“I am not leaving this apartment! You can’t force me!” Sooyoung shouts. “My phone is locked anyway!”

“Eleven twenty-eight,” comes Jinsoul’s sing-song voice from within.

Sooyoung’s blood runs cold at the mention of her password. “WHAT THE ! HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?”

“I know a lot about you, Ha Sooyoung!”

“I know a lot about you too, Jung Jinsoul, like your immense hatred for avocados - which I will shove down your throat - skin on - if you don’t let me in right now!”

She hears a whistle from within. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard that pickup line before.”

“Please,” Sooyoung whines, the desperation surfacing, “if you don’t open this door, I’ll break it down and wring your neck.”

“As if! If you lay a finger on me, I’ll contact my lawyer!”

“LET’S DO IT, BABY, I KNOW THE LAW!”

From inside the bathroom, Jinsoul has the nerve to laugh. “Sooyoung, just trust me! Stop being so stubborn!”  

Her forehead hits the door. “Jung Jinsoul. Do you really want your last breath to be in my bathroom? It’d be a humiliating way to go out.”

(Jinsoul has probably thrown up in that toilet more often than Sooyoung would like to know. It’s arguably the worst place to die.)

“Sooyoung, imagine we ended your story like this? Your readers wouldn’t like it!”

“MY WHAT?”

Seemingly forgetting that the landlord will never let her hear the end of it if she actually breaks the door off its hinges or punches a hole through it, Sooyoung continues to do so with worrying force as Jinsoul hums up a tune inside the bathroom.

“Holy , Jiwoo’s texts to you are like a mile long, dude. You’re such a ! 'Call me'...'hope you're okay'...”

“You’re looking through my texts?!” Sooyoung wails.

This is not what a godsent moment is supposed to feel like.

And then suddenly, mid-swing of her fist, the door flies open to Jinsoul’s satisfied, -eating smile.

“Appointment made. You’re welcome.”

Sooyoung almost punches her. She wants to, but her concern immediately shifts as her eyes go straight to her phone. She snatches it from Jinsoul’s hand and checks her messages in a panic.

She texted Jiwoo. Oh my god, she texted Jiwoo.

“She's totally into you…I mean, no girl’s ever replied to me that fast,” Jinsoul chirps. “I bet you she’s just been staring at her phone waiting for a reply.”

(And Sooyoung’s been sitting here, busying herself with other things, yearning for a loss that might’ve never been a loss...)

Jiwoo’s replies are as succinct as Jinsoul’s messages, keen to keep up, with only seconds between their messages.

to: kim jiwoo ♡
hey jiwoo
let's talk
in person
asap

from: kim jiwoo ♡
sooyoung
hey
wait

to: kim jiwoo ♡
coming
right now
front gate

The latest message might just be the worst of them all…

to: kim jiwoo ♡
be there or be square

…Read, but unanswered.

Sooyoung panics when she sees the bubble of dots indicating that Jiwoo’s typing out a reply. She shuts her phone off immediately. Jiwoo’s instantaneous replies aside, the dread of the situation catches up scarily fast as Sooyoung realises that she must now face what she has been avoiding all these days.

It may be the right thing to do, but why does she feel like sobbing right now?

“’Be there or be square’?! Are you ing kidding me, Jinsoul, I would never say that!”

But just before she could swing a right hook at Jinsoul, they’re interrupted by a vibration. Sooyoung feels her terror and hysteria physically amplify, if the way her entire body freezes means anything.

“It’s her, oh my god. It’s her, it’s her,” she cries out, pointing at Jiwoo’s name on her screen.

“What are you waiting for? Answer it!”

“You answer it!” She shoves the phone into Jinsoul’s hands.

Jinsoul tosses it back. “Why the would I answer it?! She doesn’t even know me!”

“You’re the one who texted her!”

They pass the phone between them like it’s a ticking bomb before Jinsoul finally volunteers to answer the call. Both her and Sooyoung fall dead silent, wide eyes gaping at each other.

“…Hello? Sooyoung?” Jiwoo’s voice can be heard from the other end, apprehensive. “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

“She sounds pretty concerned about you,” Jinsoul whispers.

“. Hang up!” Sooyoung frantically whispers back. “Fake bad service and hang the up!”

Jinsoul’s eyes go wild at Sooyoung’s suggestion. “I’m not doing that!”

“Then what am I supposed to say?!”

“Tell her you’ll be on your way, stupid!”

“Sooyoung? Are you there? Is everything okay? I’ve been trying to reach you for days.”

Jiwoo’s words fall on deaf ears as Jinsoul and Sooyoung are more concerned with whisper-shouting at each other.

“–Jinsoul, I swear to god it works, just tap the mute button over and over again while you talk so you’ll sound choppy and she’ll–”

“–If you make me talk, you’re gonna regret it,” Jinsoul interjects. A beat of silence passes. Sooyoung remains unrelenting. Her arms are stiff at her sides, fists clenched, as her eyes dart from Jinsoul to the phone. Jinsoul raises her eyebrows in challenge. “I’m warning you…don’t make me.”

This stare-down feels like the tensest moment of their lives. She doesn’t know what Jinsoul will do, but Sooyoung decides to curtly shake her head, far too prideful for her own good. What could Jinsoul possibly say?

“Hang up.”

“Wrong answer, Sooyoung…” Jinsoul swallows thickly before bringing the phone to her ear. “Um. Hi. Hey. Hello?”  

“Hello? Who…who’s this? Is Sooyoung there?”

“Uhhh,” Jinsoul clears . “Hello…I am…Jinsoul. My name is Jinsoul.”

(Why is she so painfully awkward sometimes? Sooyoung takes a moment to reconsider their entire friendship.)

“Oh. Hi…? Who…”

Jinsoul puts a hand up. “Okay, listen, Jiwoo. Sooyoung’s being a and refuses to take the phone, so I’m gonna be brief,” she starts and Sooyoung shuts her eyes in terror, “did you know how much this poor girl’s been pining all summer? Can you tell she’s actually super in love with y–“

Sooyoung’s eyes fly open as she dives for the phone. Jinsoul concedes it with no resistance, immediately squaring up in defense position. Instead of giving her a beatdown, however, Sooyoung desperately presses the phone to her ear.

“JIWOO!” Sooyoung blurts out, “HELLO!”

Jinsoul cringes, mouthing a ‘relax, act cool’ before shielding her face again just in case Sooyoung decides to throw a punch at her.

Sooyoung mouths back a kind ‘ you’.

“Sooyoung! Is– um– is everything okay?” Jiwoo asks and the genuine concern in her voice is touching, but then she quiets to a murmur. “Are you with someone right now? Is this a bad time or…? If I’m interrupting something, I don’t…um…”

“No, no, you’re not," Sooyoung hurriedly reassures. "Don’t worry. That was just Jinsoul, Satan’s spawn. I’m really sorry about this sudden call and the weird texts. She sent them. Please ignore everything.”

Jinsoul fervently shakes her head, eyebrows flying up.

“Oh. Um, okay…does that…does that mean you’re not really going to my house or…? Because I actually…”

Sooyoung fails to catch the disappointment in Jiwoo’s voice, or maybe the way Jinsoul’s miming at her like a maniac is far too distracting.

“Yeah, about that…”

“Say you are, !” Jinsoul whispers, shooting her a thumbs up.

Straightening her back, Sooyoung lets out a sigh. “I mean, yeah, yes, yes, I’m coming,” she says, despite herself.

“Really? You are?”

“On my way. I’ll be there, Jiwoo, just wait for me.”

“W-wait, Sooyoung, hold on, you ca–“ Sooyoung hangs up before Jiwoo could finish her sentence. Realising what she had just done, she lets out a curse.

“I ACCIDENTALLY HUNG UP ON HER,” she yells, spinning to face Jinsoul with pure terror in her eyes. “, should I call back and apologize for hanging up on her?! Why do I always cut her off, oh my god, I’m such an idiot, what have we done, this is exactly what Jungeun said is wrong with me–“

She starts pacing, bringing a shaking hand to her forehead.

“Calm down, calm down,” Jinsoul comforts as she cautiously tiptoes out of the bathroom. “Relax.”

Luckily, Sooyoung looks far too shell-shocked to beat her up right now. Jinsoul carefully takes the phone from her hand and stuffs it into the pocket of a jacket. “Here, put this on, stop freaking out, and drive over to her place.”

“But–“

“Get it together, soldier!” Jinsoul bellows, suddenly giving Sooyoung’s shoulders a rough shake. “Go tell her how you feel! Kiss and make up, reunite and make out, or whatever it is annoying cute couples do. Jiwoo’s probably already at the gate by now. Don’t keep her waiting.”

The realisation of Jiwoo waiting outside for her in the evening chill has Sooyoung snapping out of her daze. She nods her head clumsily, shoving her arms into her jacket while trying to put on her shoes at the same time.

“Jinsoul, I am so not ready for this…” Sooyoung protests even as she yanks her keys off the wall.

“Yes, you are! You’ve been ready for weeks! Just pour your little beating heart out!”

“Oh my god, this is really happening,” she stammers. “B-by the way, what you were about to say to her was so out of line, Jinsoul, it is not your place to confess for me!”

“I’m sorry, I warned you! But it had to be done!” Jinsoul keeps a safe distance just in case Sooyoung changes her mind and decides to end her life right then and there.

“Wait here, I’m gonna kill you when I get back, I swear!” Sooyoung shouts over her shoulder as she rushes for the door.

“No, you won’t! Just remember, we do not want a Jiwoo Debacle, we want a Jiwoo Success!”

They could at least agree on that. Sooyoung has faced far too many disasters already and she’d hate for this one to end like the others.

Swinging her front door open, she gives Jinsoul a last gesture with her middle finger. As she bolts down the hallway, Sooyoung hears Jinsoul’s faint ‘GO GET ‘ER, TIGER!’ from behind her.

You don’t need to wait any longer, Jiwoo.