Yuna gets jittery as the day to meet Seokmin draws near; unbeknownst to her, Eunbi is equally— if not more— jittery, for reasons Eunbi wants to stay ignorant about. But pretending not to know why she’s upset about Yuna going for a date when it’s all that is bothering her in her head day and night is hard: she just does not want Yuna to meet him. She does not want anything to blossom between the two. It puts her on the edge, as if something is threatening her, but she has yet to think far enough to realise why— after all she’s still in denial that she’s actually anxious for her housemate to meet the high school friend.

Eunbi plays yet another wrong note. She feels her face burn up in blushes, and the load of all pairs of eyes of her section on her.

“Your sight-reading is pretty slow today,” the section leader mutters, his eyes narrowed at her.

“I’m sorry, I’m trying my best to focus,” Eunbi replies. Focus, she thinks, no more stupid thoughts about Yuna unnie.

“You’re here early!” Yuna arrives at the restaurant in surprise.

Seokmin presents her a bouquet of flowers, which she finds difficulty accepting. Her heart sinks when she receives the bouquet, and following it her mood darkens and any motivation to continue this meal together simply fades away.

“So, how was your day?” Seokmin asks first to start a conversation.

“I’m good,” Yuna gives a default response before she remembers Eunbi avoiding her in the morning and wants to take back her own words. Nonetheless, she continues, “I had a lesson with a student just now who’s progressing really well.”

“That’s nice,” Seokmin nods, trying to hide the awkwardness he is trying hard to resist.

Yuna realises that she has forgotten to return the question. “What about yours?”

“Oh, it was good, but you know, work is just, the usual,” Seokmin replies with much effort. He puzzles over how this is what their phone calls and messages have reduced to as they share a meal together for the first time. Is there something wrong with her today? He thinks with an internal frown.

Nonetheless, he remains hopeful. “You know, I’m really grateful I got to meet you again after all these years,” Seokmin says with an optimistic smile that makes Yuna feel sorry.

Yuna sighs yet again; why does Eunbi keep appearing in my mind?

“Me too,” Yuna quickly answers when she realises that she has not given a reply.

This time, she isn’t like her usual oblivious self. She sees his hands approaching hers, and she sees his eyes on them. Just as his hands reach for hers, Yuna swiftly retracts them, startling Seokmin and in turn startling Yuna herself.

Seokmin looks up, his stunned eyes wide and glaring at Yuna’s. Yuna, equally astonished by her own deed, silently faces him and does not move.

Seokmin briefly clears his throat. “I-I’m sorry,” he tries to speak, his voice seemingly hoarse.

Yuna tries to speak, but no sound emerges from her quivering lips.

When Yuna returns home, dejected and without a sound, Eunbi is perplexed and cautious.

Should I ask? Eunbi wonders. She thinks if it’s inappropriate, but the curiosity within her and the annoyance from her thoughts the whole day that just could not leave her mind alone, let alone allow Eunbi to function normally urges her on.

“Unnie-” Eunbi wants to talk but Yuna goes straight to her bedroom. Eunbi waits rather impatiently on the sofa, distracting herself with her mobile phone yet merely mindlessly swiping through as she remains thinking about what she should do. Her thoughts are interrupted when Yuna enters the living room yet again, but she goes straight for her cello.

Eunbi takes a deep breath. She figures that the older girl would need some time alone, and decides to give her the space she requires. Eunbi gets her mug from the coffee table and proceeds to the kitchen. Over the sound of running water, she hears the melancholic cry of Yuna’s cello and the heavy biting of the bow on its strings. A buzzing sound when Yuna plays an open C string seems to augment the weight of the atmosphere. Eunbi, now feeling ashamed of her earlier wishing against Yuna meeting Seokmin, heads for her bedroom in hurried tiptoes.

Just as Eunbi is about to retreat in her own room, she hears a sniffle.

Halting her motion, Eunbi contemplates between leaving Yuna alone and involving herself. Eunbi clicks her tongue and throws all caution to the wind as she makes an unguarded decision to approach the now sobbing cellist.

Yuna’s cello is now rested on the floor as she stands at the window with tissues in her hand covering her face. Eunbi stands quietly beside Yuna, offering her more tissues which the latter accepts. Eunbi carefully brings up a timid arm as she watches Yuna, giving her weak pats on the back in hopes of comfort.

Yuna stops herself after a short while, calming herself as she tries to say, “I’m fine actually. Nothing much happened. I just, feel so bad,” the tears return when she realises that Eunbi is the reason why she feels troubled for her situation with Seokmin. Nonetheless, she wills herself to cease the crying and decides to be strong. She realises only then that she cannot find any logical reason to the guilt she’s holding anyway.

“It’s okay, unnie,” Eunbi mutters softly, her eyes full of concern as she Yuna’s hair with her hand highly raised. Eunbi can feel a bitterness growing within her, as if the emotional pain is infectious.

“Nothing happened, Eunbi yah, so don’t worry,” Yuna reiterates, “I am good.”

Eunbi stops a sigh from escaping her lips.

“I hope you are.”

“I’ll probably never meet him again though,” Yuna states and stifles a rather pathetic laughter. “But nothing happened. Thankfully.”

Eunbi wonders what Yuna means.

“Ah, Eunbi, are you going back home for Chuseok this year?” Yuna asks on a Friday night as they do their laundry as usual.

“I should be,” Eunbi answers rather absent-mindedly, for it has been a habit of hers to return home during the special time of the year. Part of her also remembers that if she doesn’t do so, her mother will personally come and drag her home from Seoul. “Chuseok and the New Year are the only times I get to go home,” she adds.

“You’re so busy,” Yuna slips the remark from her lips.

“It’s just that Cheongju is really far- okay, three hours isn’t that far but I’m lazy,” Eunbi shakes her head with a slight frown. They share a chuckle in response.

“Ah, unnie, it’s your birthday on Chuseok this year!” Eunbi exclaims, fascinated.

Yuna releases a soft chuckle when she recalls, “Ah, I think so.”

“You going back?” Eunbi asks back.

“I should be. It's my first time out but I should go back,” Yuna states, rather casually.

The numbers representing the date flash big and loudly in Eunbi’s head. “Unnie, you’re an angel, you know?” she remarks softly, her eyes on her shirt as she lays it down and flattens it, but Yuna can see them glisten, accompanying the small yet sweet and expressive smile on Eunbi’s lips. “Not just because you’re born on that day,” Eunbi adds, “but because you are as beautiful and wonderful as one.”

And when Yuna’s heart thumps in her chest upon hearing Eunbi’s words, a click in Yuna’s mind tells her that Eunbi is something more; Eunbi is not just a friend or a housemate.

Eunbi is special.

Disbelief arrives before the realisation of how much of a fact that is. When it sinks in, Yuna finds the logic: Eunbi has held a special key to her heart since she's stepped into this home. Maybe it's because this is Yuna’s first time living with someone, or maybe because it's her first time being so close to a younger person such that Eunbi fills in as a younger sister; there are several possibilities why. But in all honesty, they don't matter now, as long as it's a fact, and an unchangeable fact at that.

“Unnie, you’re spacing out again,” Eunbi wears a playful look. Behind her snickers is a fluttering heart, contented for having expressed her feelings, feeling very correct about what she has said. It feels even more right that Yuna is not embarrassed by her words; it was not Eunbi’s intention anyway, but for Yuna to know her thoughts.

Yuna narrows her eyes at the younger. Just when we were having a moment.

“Yahh, I’m not!”

“Eunbi yah, it’s my turn,” Yuna pops her head into Eunbi’s open bedroom door one night with an excited smile.

“Huh?”

Yuna enters and places a ticket before Eunbi, who turns to her in awe before bringing the ticket closer to her eyes. “Unnie!” she shrieks.

Yuna chuckles. “Now you’ll be watching me for the first time,” she beams.

“여름, 끝 (Summer, End),” Eunbi reads out the theme of their performance, giving the name a ring to it.

“It’s our yearly outdoor performance, a smaller one besides the gala performance, to mark the end of summer,” Yuna explains. She continues elaborating, “It’s actually this Saturday though. I wasn’t sure if I could make it in time because I only just came in, but I did so I got you a ticket. It’s limited seating and the ticket isn’t free but since it’s outdoors, people can stand around to listen for free as well. I hope you're able to make it,” she ends with a hopeful sentence.

“Unnie,” Eunbi doesn’t know what to say. Her eyes turn into crescents, and her lips reveal her white teeth behind them. “I’m so happy.”

The day draws near, and Eunbi finds herself urgent and impatient. At the moment she finally sees Yuna onstage, Eunbi tastes for the first time in her life an unrivalled sweetness in that accompanies a hurting sourness in her heart. 

Eunbi has her enthralled eyes on Yuna as she plays gracefully, her beauty mesmerising. As night falls, the sky changes from blue, to pink, to a purple hue before it darkens. The sweet smile on Eunbi’s lips remains unchanging as she watches Yuna intently and listens as the music makes its way to her heart.

Eunbi’s eyes glisten with a nominal amount of tears as she recalls her time thus far with Yuna, with much bittersweetness. She prays earnestly that their time will not disappear like a midsummer night’s dream.

a/n: the gfriend reference here is overflowing~~ lolll anyway i shall explain: gfriend has a song called 겨울, 끝 (It’s You) and the korean title means “winter, end” but they said the original was “summer, end” and i decided to use that hehe. and the last sentence is exactly from their song Falling Asleep Again, where in the bridge from umji’s line to shinb’s line the lyrics are “한 여름 밤의 꿈으로 사라지지 않기를 기도해요” which could almost literally translate to my last sentence of this chapter. i really like these two references and in fact i really love that line in the bridge, it’s my favourite line in the song and Falling Asleep Again is my third favourite gfriend song after Me Gustas Tu and A Starry Sky. i had so much fun writing the last part ahhh the nostalgia. i hope you guys liked this update! well i'm not sure if i can give an update next week bc i'll be overseas and won't have my laptop with me :( nonetheless thank you for the support for this fic!! <3