yongsun hasn’t quit her job at the university, she’s waiting on wheein. if wheein wants her to do it, then she would. but on the other hand, she was going to miss being a professor.  she really did enjoy the job, especially because she could call wheein out in class when she knows wheein isn’t paying attention and is staring at her instead. seeing a flustered wheein wasn’t something that she saw every day, and she thought the way the younger would always stutter when she was flustered was endearing. 

“unnie, remember how you told me you would quit your job if i wanted you to?” wheein asks a few days later. they’ve been seeing each other more often now that they actually had a reason to. 

“yeah, what about it?” 

“i-i,” wheein starts, but she can’t bring herself to tell yongsun she wants her to quit. she knows yongsun wouldn’t blame her for it, but she can’t stop the guilt that washes over her. to have yongsun quit her job just because she was scared of people finding out, wheein feels so selfish. 

“you want me to quit?” yongsun helps her out. wheein looks down at the ground guiltily, nodding her head ever so slightly. she bites her lip, waiting for yongsun’s reaction. 

“okay, i’ll quit,” there comes yongsun’s easy reply. 

“t-that’s it?” wheein snaps her head up, surprised. “you’ll quit? just like that?” 

“yep,” yongsun replies, popping the ‘p’. “i told you i would as long as you wanted me to, didn’t i?” 

“yeah, but isn’t this selfish of me? this is your job, your only source of income, and i’m taking it away from you when you have the right to refuse but why aren’t you angry?” wheein is beyond confused. 

“wheeinie, this isn’t about you being selfish. what you are asking for is perfectly reasonable, given the circumstances. if you’re scared of people finding out about us, then i’ll quit, simple. i would do it in a heartbeat, as long as you give us a chance.” 

“you would really do that for me?” 

“for you, and for us.” 

“thank you,” wheein whispers, her voice barely audible if not for the arms that she has thrown around yongsun’s neck and the kiss on yongsun’s cheek. 

yongsun decides to be bold and presses her lips to wheein’s, taking the younger by surprise. she feels wheein smile into the kiss, and it’s the purest thing she’s seen all day. when they break apart, wheein rests her head on yongsun’s shoulder. it feels so natural now, to have yongsun’s arm around her, the older’s scent surrounding her completely. yongsun always smelled nice, however weird that sounded. she always smelled like vanilla, so sweet and refreshing, with a trace of something flowery. wheein sighs contentedly, burrowing her head further into yongsun’s neck. she wants to stay here in yongsun’s arms forever. 

the television is switched on but wheein falls asleep quickly. maybe it was the feeling of comfort and how yongsun made her feel safe, but she drifts off much easier than she normally would. it’s one of the rare times where she isn’t scared of the monsters that hide in the darkness, because she knows yongsun is right beside her. 

wheein wakes up two hours later, only to find herself alone in her bedroom. the sun has just begun to set in the distance. yongsun must’ve carried her back to her room. wheein can’t help but worry if yongsun has left her already. she wouldn’t do that...would she? she walks out of her bedroom in search of yongsun. 

please still be here please still be here. 

wheein chants in her mind, as if the more she thinks it it will be true. the apartment is dark, and wheein can barely see anything. why did she choose to close the curtains today, of all days? she’s barely taken a few steps out of her bedroom, wrapped in her blanket as if that would protect her from anything when she bumps straight into a figure. 

screaming in fear, wheein starts hitting the figure without thinking, not stopping until she hears the figure cry out in pain. 

“wheein-ah! it’s just me, calm down!” 

“y-yongsun unnie?” she squints harder and realises the person she was hitting was yongsun. 

“who else could it be?” yongsun winces in pain from where wheein had slapped her on the arm, quite forcefully. 

“i-i thought you were a robber or something! you left me all alone in my room, i thought you had left already,” wheein pouts, still a little upset that yongsun had made her worry for nothing. 

“i just went to get a glass of water, you don’t think i would just leave you all alone without saying goodbye, do you?” yongsun turns wheein around and leads her back into her room. 

“i-i’m sorry. i was overreacting, i-i guess i was just worried you’d left me,” she blinks back the tears threatening to fall. why was she always so scared of everything? “i’m sorry, i know i should trust you and i know you wouldn’t leave me alone without telling me but...” wheein sniffles. god, how many times has she cried in front of yongsun within a month? 

please don’t leave me. please don’t leave me, even though i’m so broken inside. i want to trust you, i really do. i’m sorry if i’m not what you thought i was. 

all the words she wants to tell yongsun, everything she wants to apologise for, for not being able to trust her enough, for always being so vulnerable and weak, they get caught in and she can’t do anything but stare at yongsun with tears in her eyes, silently begging her to understand, to stay by her side until she’s better. 

“i know. i understand, wheein-ah. i don’t expect you to trust me this easily either. just know that i won’t leave you anytime soon, okay? don’t apologise for things you don’t have control over,” why did yongsun have to be so understanding? why did she not blame wheein at all for anything? all she’s done is cause trouble for yongsun. 

wheein lays down on the bed, wishing things were easier. wishing she wasn’t such a mess. wishing she could give yongsun the happiness she deserved. yongsun sits next to her, brushing her fingers through wheein’s soft hair as she watches the younger hold back her tears. it hurts her, seeing how wheein always kept everything bottled up inside. she knew wheein was never very good with emotions, she felt a lot but never expressed them. she hates crying in front of people because she doesn’t want to be seen as weak, but the past month yongsun has spent with wheein has shown her the real wheein. 

“i’m s-so sorry unnie. i’m always so scared of everything and it’s so pathetic of m-me. i’m always causing you trouble but you never seem to mind and it makes me feel even worse, i feel so useless. i can’t even make you happy because i cry about everything and i’m always bringing the mood down. i’m sorry i’m such a letdown. i know you probably expected someone cheerful and happy and i’m sorry i’m not that person who can make you smile or laugh,” wheein chokes out through her sobs, curling herself into yongsun’s side. yongsun’s heart aches at how wheein thinks of herself. how could such a beautiful angel like her be so broken inside, without anyone knowing? 

“it’s okay to be scared, wheein. i don’t blame you for anything because whatever that you’re scared of, i know you have your own reasons for it. i’ve never thought of you as a burden or as someone who’s caused me trouble, trust me when i say this,” yongsun wraps her arms around wheein’s shaking shoulders. “and i already told you, you’ve made me so happy these past few weeks. happier than i ever thought i could be again. you never brought the mood down, wheein-ah. you taught me what it’s like to be more human. since she happened, i’ve just been empty and soulless. you brought life back to my grey world, and i’ll always, always, remember that,” she kisses the top of wheein’s head, wishing the younger knew just how much she’s helped yongsun. and there is so much more she wants to tell wheein, how even with all her scars from the past, physical or emotional, she is still so breathtakingly beautiful, inside and out. how her rare smiles mean the world to yongsun, and how the sound of her laughter brings sunshine into yongsun’s life. 

but she doesn’t say any of this out loud, because at this moment, the only thing that mattered was the person beside her, the one she has her arms around, the one she has come to adore so much. the only thing that mattered to yongsun was to heal wheein. no, she wouldn’t fix her, because she knew better than anyone else, a broken person cannot be fixed. a broken person was just like a piece of shattered glass, you could try to fix it, but it would never be the same. the scars, the cracks and missing pieces would still be there. and even if you did manage to fix it, it would be fragile. that was wheein, although strong on the outside, but just one push and she would break all over again. and yongsun wished, she wished so much and she prayed that wheein would let herself be healed. that she would stop pushing everyone away and let them care for her. like how she was doing with yongsun now. 

“thank you,” 

“f-for what? i didn’t do anything,” wheein looks up at yongsun, her arms wrapped firmly around yongsun’s waist, her voice still hoarse from the drying tears. 

“for letting me in. it must’ve been hard for you, but i’m glad you did it. i know how hard it is, to want to shut everyone out and be alone with your thoughts, but sometimes it’s the thoughts in our head that are so toxic that they kill us slowly. i’m glad you were strong enough. strong enough to let me in, however hard it was for you. and for that, i’ll always be proud of you,” yongsun says while patting wheein’s shoulder absentmindedly. her attention is immediately drawn back to the younger when she feels wheein’s shoulders start to shake once again. “hey, hey, why are you crying again? did i say something wrong?” 

“n-no. you keep- saying stuff like this- and it- makes me- cry,” wheein shakes her head. she smiles through the tears, feeling yongsun’s hands cup her cheeks. 

“then i hope every time you cry it’ll be because of the stupid mushy things i say. i hope when you cry they’re tears of joy,” yongsun presses her lips to wheein’s soft ones, the faint taste of salty tears present in the latter’s mouth. still, even with tears streaming down her face and silent sobs coming from her, wheein looked as beautiful as ever. maybe yongsun just liked her so much that everything about wheein now attracted her. from her almond-shaped eyes to her adorable dimple and her tempting red lips, yongsun loved everything about her. wheein was like the colour to her blank canvas, she was slowly painting yongsun’s life into a bright and colourful masterpiece. the way the sun seemed to shine brighter whenever she was around and the way the clouds seemed to darken whenever she was sad, yet she never seemed to notice how big of a part she played in yongsun’s life. 

this is happiness. something yongsun could not describe. the dictionary says it’s the feeling when things are going well and you can’t help but smile. yongsun thinks it’s the feeling of having light shone into your life. the feeling when the sun isn’t annoyingly hot but is instead a steady, comfortable warmth. the type of warmth that spreads through your body, leaving you all warm and fuzzy inside. the feeling of wheein’s presence beside her, of wheein’s head on her shoulder, of wheein’s lips on hers. wheein was her happiness. 

she thanks the gods that wheein had decided to make the deal with her. she doesn’t know what’s going to happen when wheein’s boss starts to question wheein. she couldn’t keep lying, there was no way it would work. this problem gnawed at yongsun constantly, every moment she spent with wheein, the little voice at the back of her head was telling her she shouldn’t do this. the only thing that would come out of this was heartbreak and pain, because yongsun would be brought to wheein’s boss sooner or later, whoever she was. yongsun definitely did not want to meet her boss. she sounded scary enough for yongsun to know she was someone to avoid. but yongsun always found herself saying yes to wheein, whenever she asked to see each other, her husky voice and the teasing tone behind it, yongsun found herself falling deeper and deeper into wheein. perhaps she wanted to. maybe she has finally let herself free, from the terrible deeds she had once done. maybe she finally knows what she’s been missing the past two years. she never did fully recover from byulyi’s sudden departure. but with wheein, she was better. not whole again, because she would never be, not after byulyi had left her feeling so empty and hopeless. but maybe, just maybe, yongsun thinks she has found someone who gives her hope, someone who helps her be the better person she has always wanted to be. 

with tears still falling freely down her face and her blonde locks surrounding her like a halo, yongsun thinks she’s truly met an angel. a beautiful, broken angel who just needs a little help from the vampire herself.