“Yuna? Yuna yah!” her mother’s cries through the phone shake Yuna out of her stupor. 

“Umma?” pressed, she brings the phone to her ear among her wet hair. 

“Yuna, that was your housemate, right? I finally spoke to her,” her mother’s sensible response as if the commotion was not a commotion troubles Yuna. 

“Umma, how are you?” Yuna asks, knowing it is a conversation she must hold.

Her mother somewhat releases a short chortle. “You’re asking me that? I called to ask you that.”

“Thanks for checking up on me,” Yuna’s response is haste, but it is accompanied by a smile.

“Well, we’ll talk again another time, go speak to your housemate,” Yuna is astonished by how her mother has caught on the situation. A mother knows, she says internally and cannot help but feel moved. 

She turns around and catches sight again of Eunbi’s little act for her birthday on the dining table. Immediately her vision begins to be clouded by her tears. Yuna recalls her inability to bring herself to touch them in the morning.

“Bye umma,” Yuna manages to say before she feels her voice stuck in once again as she begins choking up. 

Yuna immediately brings the phone down and cuts the line, taking a loud sniff as her tears begin to fall.

"Eunbi!" Yuna calls out in an anxious voice, once, and receives no response. Her trembling fingers reach for the card on the table and slides it from below the gift. Yuna can feel her heart palpitating against her chest as she unfolds it the card. She wipes her tears away and starts to read the words in which Eunbi has sincerely penned her heart down. 

Happy birthday Yuna unnie!

I hope you have a wonderful day on your birthday. It’s really sad we won’t be together, but since it’s Chuseok and we’re back with our families I hope you have a blessed birthday with your family back home. 

Unnie, I cannot express enough how grateful I am that you have come into my life. We’ve had so many wonderful and beautiful memories even in just one season. You turned my summer into a dream-like one, you made this home my happy place. Thank you for coming to Seoul and for choosing this place to stay in, because with you it really feels like home. And I look forward to coming home and being with you every day. I am happy whenever I am with you. I apologise for the fits I throw, and I know I am a handful- but all the more I am grateful for you for putting up with me who lacks in this way. 

1004, Angel Day! I’ve said this before, but you’re truly an angel, here to bless my life. More than that, you have a big heart so full of love. It’s your day, unnie. I love you~

I’ll miss you so much when we leave for Chuseok!

Your housemate Hwang Eunbi

Yuna lets the card fall through the from her fingers to the table. Her other hand covers , as she turns her shaking frame towards the closed bedroom door. 

Yuna shuffles in her slippers, the towel on her shoulders lifelessly dropping to the ground as she breaks into a (miniature) run for Eunbi’s room.

Yuna’s eyes observe the pinewood that separates them. Silently, her shoulders rise and fall as she inhales and exhales, recounting their previous disagreements where Eunbi always resorted to retreating into her room. The first one was an uncomfortable one; Eunbi had scurried into her room in the lack of knowledge for a response to the breaking of news. The second one was loud; both of them were raging, ready to destroy each other. Today, Yuna finds that she cannot categorise this situation. Yuna had intentionally inflicted harm onto Eunbi, and the latter seems to be more defiant about than stung by it. Yuna reads the message: Eunbi is giving up on her heedless consolation and support to Yuna; Eunbi is returning hostility with hostility. And Yuna knows for sure where the fault lies.

“Eunbi, Eunbi,” Yuna’s voice through her door stuns her. “Eunbi, come out,” the fervent, urgent tone bemuses Eunbi, who has been seated before her dresser since trudging into her room in a fury. Eunbi is further taken aback by (weak) repeated bangings on her bedroom door. 

“Eunbi yah,” Yuna calls again. The unclear pronunciation gives Yuna away; Eunbi stands herself up on her feet in a flash wondering in concern, is she crying? 

“I’m sorry,” Yuna murmurs, her weak wrists attempting to twist the doorknob. Yuna pushes the door open and stumbles into Eunbi’s room. The two remain frozen for a moment that extends to infinity with the tension. Eunbi takes a deep breath, with enough strength mustered, and slowly brings herself up from her seat and approaches Yuna.

Eunbi looks up, her eyes locking in a gaze with Yuna’s watery ones.

“Yahh,” Eunbi sharply breaks the silence curtly, “you cry too much.”

Yuna’s lips form a frown and in that instant, Eunbi cries, “Again!”

Eunbi feels knives piercing through her heart at the sight of Yuna's tears. Grimacing, Eunbi plunges herself forward and places her arms around Yuna. At this, Yuna is sobbing yet again. 

The sounds that leave Yuna’s lips create the familiar dreadful heartache within Eunbi. her lips and squeezing tears out of her eyes, she gives the older housemate gentle rubs on the back. “You’ve had it really hard,” Eunbi whispers, finding a lump in .

“I shouldn’t have taken it out on you,” Yuna tries to speak amidst her weeping, her speech blurred. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think of how mean I was to you,” she repeats her apology, “I’m sorry.”

Eunbi shakes her head. She doesn’t find it in herself to say “It’s okay,”, but Eunbi accepts the apology well. She recalls the time she had emerged after closing her door on Yuna for the first time and Yuna’s repeated apologies.

“I,” Yuna appears to find difficulty in her following statement, “I have so much to thank you for. But so much to apologise for, at the same time,” Yuna hangs her head low when they release each other.

"Don't say these things anymore, unnie," Eunbi shakes her head again. She tries to put up a smile, as she raises a hand and gives Yuna's back a few gentle pats of comfort. 

The girls exchange a glance that displays slight discomfort, confusion and pain. Eunbi wants to stay by Yuna's side, but knows not what she should say; she knows that Yuna would not have much else to tell her as well. She knows as well, and is right in that, that Yuna also sees no destination in their conversation and is impatient for it to end.

"I had a late lunch, so go ahead and have dinner before I do. I will take a shower now," Eunbi leaves as soon as she states. 

Under the running water, Eunbi closes her eyes and grimaces. What on earth was that? Eunbi releases a confused and cynical sigh as she questions. She wonders if it was considered progress, since the hostility and tension that kept them on their toes since Yuna’s return. Eunbi shakes her head. They are still, going to be on their toes, after all.

Eunbi emerges from the shower to find Yuna seated at the piano with her back against her. Eunbi identifies elements of French Romanticism and guesses that Yuna is practising for the ballet lessons, and does not care to analyse further. Yuna does not respond even as Eunbi shuffles her feet behind her, gathering her music stand, her scores and her clarinet case. 

When she is behind the closed door of her room, Eunbi flips through the black folder on the music stand. Her hand stops when she sees Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 662. Eunbi's orbs glare at the music sheet as she remains motionless. After a moment of stillness, Eunbi continues flipping and finds a piece for a gig to come in two days with another ensemble where she performs with irregularly (whenever she feels like it, and the upcoming repertoire with Borodin had seemed like something Yuna would like- but Eunbi could not invite the older to come watch her amidst the catastrophe and with their current circumstances Eunbi has no heart nor intention for that invitation). 

Rehearsal’s tomorrow, let’s focus, she tells herself and heaves a sigh, while the piano in the living room continues to resound as its pianist heeds no attention to Eunbi’s music as well. Though of course, it is impossible for Eunbi to block Yuna entirely out of her head; her beating heart reminds her every moment how precious Yuna's existence is for her.

Yuna arrives early at the rehearsal, knowing she's had barely enough practice when the performance is tomorrow. She reciprocates courteous smiles with the other cellists and bassists arriving and settling in their seats around her, amidst intermittent flipping through the music score to try her best in ingesting its contents and focusing on several crucial points. 

“You must be new here,” she hears a kind voice from behind her.

Yuna turns and nods when she sees a cellist about her age, “I am. Nice to meet you, I'm Choi Yuna!”

“Jang Sojin, nice to meet you. I assume we haven't been able to make it for the same sectionals,” she gently laughs. 

Yuna releases a soft chuckle. “I was away for a bit in my hometown. I’m from Ilsan, I just moved to Seoul a few months ago.”

“Oh! I'm from Gwangju, I have been living in Seoul for a while.”

“I’m from Ilsan, I just moved to Seoul a few months ago,” Eunbi’s ears catch the voice she knows well without any delay. Securing her black file onto the music stand before her, she whips her head in the direction of the voice. 

“Heol,” her eyes are wide, befuddled, her voice hushed and furious.

a/n: surprise surprise HAHAHA i'm so sorry i left you guys hanging for so long, i'm really lost on ideas to continue the plot. my winter vacation just ended and today's my first day of lessons in the new semester. i can't believe i left this for a whole semester?? it still feels like a mess now tbh, my writing, and the story feels a little disconnected. i'll see what i can do about that sighs. and now i'm just really tired even though it was only 4 hours of lessons xD i hope all of you have been well! happy 2020 to you all, also we're nearing our girls' 5th anniversary it feels so surreal,,, all these years they meant so much to me, even the simplest things like dying over how cute shinb and yuju are keke speaking of which they're progressing so well omg i remember 2015,, ㅠㅠ time really flies