“Thank you for over to drive,” Seungwan said tiredly as she leaned back into the passenger seat, head rolling back to sink into the headrest. Her eyes gently closed, the sensation of the car starting sending vibrations through her. “Everything around her smells of lavender, even her car,” she thought, the scent insinuating itself into her memory already.

“You didn’t look ready to walk that far,” Joohyun said as she reached over to place a hand on Seungwan’s knee, fingers curling against the inside of the girl’s leg. Seungwan’s eyes fluttered open, the soft caress of fingernails over her jeans leaving tingles. Her gaze drifted down to that small hand, her breath pent as she felt a wave of panic rising up in the back of her mind.

With a tender squeeze, Joohyun’s hand was suddenly gone, grabbing the gear shifter and putting the car into gear. “I thought I would call a cab,” Seungwan admitted, “But your car definitely smells a lot better than a cab would. Is there anything you own that doesn’t smell like lavender?”

Joohyun looked over, lips pressing into a tiny smile before shrugging. “I like the scent. I use a lavender hand soap, body wash and evening ironing water.” Looking into the rearview mirror, making sure no cars were coming, Joohyun stepped on the gas gingerly and pulled out into the street.

“What is ironing water?”

“It’s scented water you put in your iron,” Joohyun explained calmly, her eyes on the road as she drove down the street carefully. “When the iron steams the scented water penetrates the fabric. It lasts a long while so I like it better than perfume.” Slipping a hand from the wheel, she held out to her side, stretching out in front of Seungwan. “Go ahead, smell.”

With a dubious look at Joohyun, Seungwan leaned her head forward until her nose almost brushed against the billow sleeve of Joohyun’s dress, dark blue fabric with white embroidered flowers and lace. A warm tingle rolled down the back of her neck as she inhaled deeply. “Yup,” Seungwan said, “everything is lavender.”

Joohyun laughed as she glanced sidelong at Seungwan, drawing her hand back to drive with both hands on the wheel. They fell into silence as the car moved through the street, packed with cars and delivery vans. The sidewalks were packed with people out, enjoying the beautiful weather that spring had ushered in.

“Thank you for last night,” Joohyun said, softly breaking the comfortable quiet air in the car.

“You’re welcome,” Seungwan said curiously, eyes scrunched as she struggled to think what she did to deserve a thank you.

As though reading the girls mind, Joohyun said softly, “For being my company last night and being so fun. I don’t think I would have had as much fun without you there.”

“Ah,” Seungwan said as she reached up to nervously run fingers through her hair, eyes gazing out the window, afraid to let Joohyun see the soft blush rising on her cheeks, the memory of that small kiss lingering in her mind. “I want to thank you for not,” she paused a moment, mind working as she pondered exactly what she was going to say before sighing, voice dropping low as she finished, “for not getting mad at me.”

“Why would I be mad at you?” Joohyun tore her gaze from the moment as she regarded Seungwan, her head cocked in question.

“Well, I was drunk and I did something stupid.”

“Drunk, yes. Stupid, no,” Joohyun said in a motherly voice. Seungwan turned her head, almost flinching as their eyes met. “Besides, you did a great job in keeping warm last night when we were all out drinking.” Joohyun’s lips quirked as she returned her eyes to the road, voice teasing as she said, “and keeping me warm in bed.”

Seungwan coughed, her neck and cheeks flashing a deep red as she slowly turned her head, eyes soaking up the pleased look on the woman’s face. She watched as Joohyun looked at her from the corner of her eye and wink.

Reaching up, Seungwan covered her eyes with a hand and groaned. In a voice of mock pain she whispered, “Sooyoung’s teasing is bad enough, but now you too?” Joohyun’s fit of giggles only seemed to make her discomfiture deepend. She wanted to dislike this woman, to put her out of mind and move on, but with each moment they spent together, she found herself drawn to Joohyun.

“Me, a tease? You’re the one who kissed me and then promptly fell asleep. I had to go to sleep feeling unsatisfied,” Joohyun said in a sing song voice, “So who is the e?”

Seungwan’s hand found the door handle, giving it a jiggle, her voice rising an octave as she said, “If you could unlock the door for a moment, I’m going to throw myself out. You don’t need to slow down.”

A loud laugh burst out of Joohyun, the woman giving Seungwan’s leg a firm slap, the noise of the impact resounding in the small cabin of the car followed by a yelp. Seungwan stared at Joohyun, mouth open, shocked at the sudden attack. Her slack mouth look of surprise was simply met with Joohyun sticking a tongue out at her.

“How old are you,” Seungwan asked with narrowed eyes, finding it hard to believe that this whimsical woman was somehow her senior.

“Old enough to invite a strange woman into my bed,” Joohyun said, her voice filled with confidence as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh God,” Seungwan groaned as she hung her head. “I’m not going to hear the end of this, am I?”

“Nope,” Joohyun said with a laugh.

“Hey,” Seungwan began after a minute of silence had fallen over them. Turning sideways in her seat the best she could, her eyes took in the sloping profile of Joohyun’s face. “What was the pretty girl, the tall one, you were talking to at the bar last night?” She watched as Joohyun’s happy grin slipped, lips drawn into a straight line.

“Long brown hair?”

“That’s the one,” Seungwan said. “She’s very pretty and I was wondering who she was.”

“Why,” Joohyun said, her voice tight as the line of her lips pulled down into a frown, face seeming to harden. “Are you interested in her?”

“Interested in her?” Seungwan pondered that a moment before realizing what Joohyun meant. “Oh, not like in someone I want to date or anything,” she responded in a hurry, the words tumbling out of .

She saw Joohyun’s shoulders slump, tension seeping out of the woman’s face. “Her name is Jenny,” Joohyun said softly, a tinge of sadness in her voice before sighing. “She’s my ex girlfriend.”

“Ex girlfriend,” Seungwan said suddenly, eyes flying open wide. She had wondered who these two women, both with matching numbers, knew each other. “How come she’s an ex?” Her voice carried the surprise she felt, pondering how these destined lovers were not together with so little time left.

“Because we broke up,” Joohyun said simply. “Isn’t that how someone becomes your ex?”

“Well, yeah,” Seungwan said meekly. “I get that but,” she could see them together, standing close, their numbers ticking down in unison, so vivid in her mind. “Can I ask what happened?”

The car slowed to a stop, the traffic light before them shifting from green to red. A flow of people moved across the street, the sound of traffic seeping through the car windows. Joohyun’s head turned slowly, eyes narrowed as she gave Seungwan a piercing look.

“How about this,” she finally said, a tight smile cracking on her face, “you tell me about Sejeong and I’ll tell you about Jennie.”

“Let me get back to you on that,” Seungwan said after a moment of thought, her voice cracking ever so slightly. They fell into silence, the only noise about them the sound of the car’s engine and the road beneath them. Turning down Seungwan’s street, Joohyun slowed the car down to a stop, pulling into a space next to the park they had first met.

“Come on,” Joohyun said as she reached over, her hand finding purchase on Seungwan’s thigh. She watched as the girl’s eyes fell to stare at her hand, uncertainty mingled with worry crossing Seungwan’s features. “If you don’t have anything pressing, let’s sit under our tree and talk about it?”

“Our tree?”

“Yup. Our tree,” Joohyun said happily before opening the door and stepping out. A sense of uneasiness washed over Seungwan as she opened the door, forcing her legs to work and step out of the car. Joohyun came around the car to flash a beatific smile, a happiness in the woman’s eyes that Seungwan couldn’t shake. She felt herself drawn into them. Joohyun’s hand slide into Seungwan’s once more, fingers together as she dragged the girl behind her.

“This isn’t good. I shouldn’t be doing this,” Seungwan thought as they trudged up the hill, her stomach full of butterflies, the lonely bench set beneath the gingko tree, shaded by the reaching branches above. As they reached the bench, Joohyun settled down and pulled Seungwan down beside her, hips pressed tight together, their clasped hands falling into the woman’s lap. “She’s not mine,” she reminded herself.

“So,” Joohyun said as she leaned against the wood and metal back of the bench, her short legs slowly kicking back and forth like a child. “Shall we just sit her quietly or air out our past to each other?”

“Why,” Seungwan began as she shook her head in disbelief, “do you want to know so much about my ex girlfriend?”

“Why do you want to know so much about mine?” Joohyun challenged back, brows rising as she leveled a stare at Seungwan.

“I have my reasons,” Seungwan replied quickly.

“And I have mine,” Joohyun said with a mysterious smile.

Seungwan’s eyes fluttered, mouth opening and closing before finally giving a loud laugh. She shook her head as she spoke, “Fine, you win. But I warn you, there is a chance I might turn into a blubbering mess. You’ll have to take responsibility if that happens.”

“I promise you, I am definitely going to take responsibility,” Joohyun said with a wink. “So, how did you meet Sejeong?” Her eyes were filled with questions as she gave Seungwan’s hand a tender caress.

Sighing, Seungwan closed her eyes and leaned her head back, that girl’s beautiful face playing across her memory like a ghost. It haunted her whenever she thought about it. “Shortly after I moved here,” Seungwan began slowly, her voice thick with emotion. “After I signed with my entertainment company, they wanted me to refine my voice.”

“Really,” Joohyun said in surprise. “You have one of the most amazing voices I’ve heard.”

Seungwan’s lips crack a smile. “Thank you. That’s where I met Sejeong, at the vocal training studio. She was a trainee with a pretty big company. I mean, my company is very indie and small but her company had some pretty big names in music.”

“So, she’s a singer too,” Joohyun said softly, her other hand falling to rest atop Seungwan’s, wrapping the girls hand in comforting warmth. Her eyes glued to Seungwan’s lips, watching them as they moved, jutting out as the girl spoke before leaning her head to rest on the girl’s shoulder.

“She’s supposed to debut soon,” Seungwan said as she gazed down, her eyes watching Joohyun’s hands, afraid to look at the woman’s face. “At least that is what I have heard.”

“How did you get together?”

“She approached me, actually,” Seungwan said as she scrunched up her nose. “One day she asked me out to lunch. After we ate she asked me to have dinner with her,” she chuckled softly, remembering the way Sejeong had clung to her that day, touchy and boisterous, “and after that, asked me over to watch television with her.”

“I think it would have been pretty clear that she liked you at that point,” Joohyun said, her eye’s watching the play of emotions on the girl’s face.

“You’d think, but not me,” Seungwan said wryly. “I guess I can be dense about it, but she did the same thing the next day. And the day after that. If I wasn’t at my company, I was with her.”

“Then how did you guys wind up dating?”

“We went on for a month like that, spending our free moments together and then she confessed to me.” Reaching up with her free hand, Seungwan rubbed her cheek slowly, eyes distant as she stared off into nothingness. “I was inexperienced and here was this amazing girl asking me out,” she continued, her voice growing softer as she spoke, “but I knew she and I weren’t meant to be so I told her no.”

Joohyun leaned forward, head dipping to slip within the line of Seungwan’s gaze. The girl blinked in surprise, shaking her head, the image of Sejeong disappearing from her mind, replaced with Joohyun’s caring eyes. “Because she had a number and you don’t?"

Seungwan blinked in surprise, her eyes growing wide and mouth slack as he found herself speechless. “How,” she began, her eyes darting side to side, “did you know that?”

“You talked in your sleep last night and said you didn’t have a number, so I assumed,” Joohyun said softly was she watched Seungwan’s face change and shift, a look of consternation on those sharp features. “But you still wound up dating her anyway.”

“I did,” Seungwan said with a nod. “She was persistent and I did like her, despite everything telling me I shouldn’t. But she was lively and funny. I gave in to her charms even though I knew she was going to leave me someday.”

Seungwan sniffled, voice wounded as she continued, “And she did. One day she came to me and said she met someone. I knew it was her soulmate. I had tried to prepare myself for it but I found out there really is no way to prepare for it.”

“It hurts, doesn’t it,” Joohyun said sympathetically.

“It did,” Seungwan said with a catch in before giving a pained chuckle. “At least I got to experience it once in my life.”

“Love or heartbreak?”

“Both,” Seungwan said slowly. She turned her gaze to Joohyun, the woman’s face mere inches from her own. She could feel the woman’s breath as it caressed her cheek, eyes looking up at her filled with sympathy. “Why are you so insistent on hearing about her,” Seungwan asked in a whisper.

“If I’m going to compete with the past,” Joohyun said slowly, “I want to know what kind of past it was.”

Seungwan’s eyes scrunched as the woman’s words, confusion playing across her features in a vivid display. Eyes moving back and forth, lips working, nose scrunching. Joohyun watched the play of emotions and giggled before grinning and simply saying, “I just like to know about my friends. After last night I’d definitely call you a friend now.”

“Friend is good,” Seungwan thought as she closed her eyes, head tilting to rest against Joohyun’s, her soft cheeks against the top of the woman's head. They sat there in silence, hand clasped in hand. Seungwan wondered how she could be so comfortable with Joohyun, a woman she barely knew. “Friends,” she thought, “because you can’t be anything more than that.”

“Are you always this touchy with your friends,” Seungwan asked after several long minutes of comfortable silence had passed.

“Not all of them,” Joohyun replied softly, “but I felt like you need someone to hold you right now. That song from last night… was it about her?”

“Maybe.”

“That’s answer enough,” Joohyun teased as she gently rub her cheek against Seungwan’s shoulder, soft flesh gliding against soft flesh.

“Enough about me,” Seungwan said after clearing , giving a last sniffle, “what bout you and Jennie?”

“My turn then,” Joohyun said, her turn to sigh. “It was a chance meeting at University. She was coming down the stairs while I was going up them. We turned the corner and bumped into each other and she caught me before I could fall. There I was, life flashing before me eyes and this tall, gorgeous girl wrapping her arms around me.”

“Sounds like how people meet in a drama,” Seungwan said playfully.

Chuckling, Joohyun nodded. “It really was. I apologize profusely and she just waved it off. I thought that was the last time I would see her but a few days later we saw each other on the same set of stairs. We joked about not bumping into each other this time and she said it would be nice to bump into me more often.”

“Smooth,” Seungwan said with an impressed voice.

“She really was,” Joohyun said, the memory still vivid even after several years had passed. “I was a senior but she was a freshman, so while I was busy wrapping up my studies and preparing to join the workforce, she was having fun and enjoying the campus life. She pulled me out of the study room whenever she could and made me go have fun.”

“I know how that is,” Seungwan said, “Happened to me as recently as last night. Thank you, Sooyoung.”

“You did have fun last night though,” Joohyun said quickly as she began to caress the back of Seungwan’s hand, fingers tracing the line of bones and veins. “Your rendition of Baby Shark was the best I ever heard.”

“I think Seulgi owned that one,” Seungwan said with a laugh, Joohyun thinking about it a moment before making a face of agreement.

“So, how did you and Jennie start dating?”

“One day we were cuddled on the couch watching a movie and she just kissed me.”

“She just went for it, huh?”

“That she did,” Joohyun said with a laugh. “I was shocked. I had never really thought about my uality. In fact, before her, I had never had a kiss because I didn’t feel a need. Guys were always asking me out and I just wasn’t interested.”

“Because you were gay?”

“Apparently! We never actually made anything official,” Joohyun said as her brows furrowed. “We just slipped into a relationship and everything that entailed.”

“How did it end?”

“I started working after graduation and got busy. I worked long hours, building the business, and our time together began to be less and less. She would beg me to come out and play with her but I was always in my office or at one of the shops overseeing it.”

“I don’t want to sound like I’m taking her side,” Seungwan said nervously, “but I know I’d be upset if my girlfriend was doing that.”

“You can take her side,” Joohyun said without a hint of defensiveness. “I know I was at fault. I didn’t give her what she needed and I neglected her. One day she stormed into my office and told me we were over.”

Seungwan winced as she lifted her head from Joohyun’s, her eyes falling on the woman’s face, watching those soft lips as the woman spoke. “What did you do when she said that?”

Joohyun sighed, “The wrong thing. I was tired and run down and accepted it cooly. Told her that we can break up if that’s what she wanted.”

“Ouch,” Seungwan said with a wince. “But she also could have tried to be supportive of you and find a compromise. A relationship has to go both ways.”

“Seulgi said the same thing,” Joohyun said with a chuckle. “Last night was the first time I saw her since we broke up,” Joohyun whispered. “I was shaken and ready to climb into a dark hole. My mind was already thinking about which sad movies I could watch to make myself sadder, if that makes sense.”

“Hah,” Seungwan said, her voice suddenly excited, “I do the same thing! I totally did that last night. When I get sad I sing very sad songs and just soak it in. Afterwards I always feel better. I guess you could say it’s cathartic.”

Joohyun slowly drew her head up from Seungwan’s shoulder, lips pursed as she regarded Seungwan’s face, the happiness on the girl’s features as she talked about being sad. “So that was why there was so much emotion in that song? What caused that to happen?”

“Oh,” Seungwan said as she scratched her cheek, “I ran into a mutual friend of mine and Sejeong. I,” her eyes darted away, worry seeming to creep into her voice as she spoke, “sometimes need to remind myself that I don’t have a number.”

“Number schnumber,” Joohyun said with a scoff. Her voice firm as she slipped a hand from the jumble of hands and fingers in her lap, reaching up to cup Seungwan’s chin, forcing the girl to look at her. A fire seemed to burn in Joohyun’s eyes as she said in a firm voice, “Make your own destiny.” Seungwan blinked, taken aback at the intensity of Joohyun’s reaction.

Tearing her gaze away, she cleared , afraid to let Joohyun’s words give her hope. “Do you think there is a chance for you and Jennie,” Seungwan said, voice hopeful, as she sought to change the direction of the conversation.

Joohyun’s expression changed in an instant, that firm resolve turning to disbelief as she looked at Seungwan as though the girl had gone insane. “You’re honestly asking me,” Joohyun began with a surprised voice, “if I am going to get back with my ex girlfriend after you spent a luxurious night in my bed?”

“What?!” Seungwan sputtered, suddenly wondering if there was something more about the night before she was forgetting. She started at Joohyun in horror, stuttering as she spoke, “Did I… Did I do something… other than that little kiss?”

Joohyun’s face suddenly broke into a picture perfect mask of false innocence as she cooed at Seungwan, “You really don’t remember after what we did?”

“Yah,” Seungwan said as she looked at the woman, panic rising in her voice and features, “Please tell me I didn’t do anything I’ll regret?”

Joohyun cocked her head, eyes growing wide and brows rising as she said in a voice laced with disappointment, “Would doing something with me really be anything to regret?”

“If I’m drunk and don’t remember doing it,” Seungwan said loudly, her voice carrying, before slapping a hand over , looking around, afraid someone else may have heard. 

Joohyun’s lips slowly twitched before curving into a lopsided smile, her eyes dancing as she leaned into Seungwan, pressing herself tight against the girl, “Oh, well, that’s understandable, but no, you didn’t do anything other than cuddle me all night and mumble a bit in your sleep.”

“Cuddling,” Seungwan said with a relieved tone, her body deflating. “Cuddling is okay.” Her mind told her it wasn’t. The way the woman’s body pressed against her own, the sheer joy she felt at it should serve as a warning. She wanted to run away before the seed of hope could be planted in her again but her body wouldn’t move, glued to Joohyun. Her mind and body were at odds.

"Did I say anything else other than the face that I didn't have a number?" The soft smile and shake of Joohyun's head in the negative eased her mind a touch, worried just what other secrets she may have spilled. They fell into a moment of silence, simply sitting there in the afternoon shade, leaning against each other.

“Really, though,” she eventually said, voice cracking as it pierced the silence, “do you think you and Jennie would ever get back together.”

“No,” Joohyun said with a huff. “She’s dating someone else now. Someone probably better suited for her than I ever was.”

“Don’t be sure about that,” Seungwan said cryptically, her face turning away, afraid to meet those eyes again. Her eyes swept the park, her mind racing for an excuse to get up and leave, playing through various scenarios she knew she would never follow through with. As her gaze swept through the park, her eyes fell on two people slowly jogging down the path, side by side, and she sat up straight with a loud gasp of surprise in .

“Omo,” Joohyun said as she jumped. “What was that?”

Raising her free hand, Seungwan pointed off across the park. Eyes squinting, Joohyun followed the line of the girl’s fingers to where a man and women jogged, casting lingering glances and smiles at each other. “It’s them, Chanyeol and his soul mate!” she blurted in sudden realization, jumping up to sit on the edge of the bench, Seungwan doing the same beside her.

“See,” Seungwan said slowly as she smiled, her words meant more for herself than anyone else, “the numbers don’t lie.” She turned her gaze, her eyes taking in the look of joy that had taken over Joohyun’s face, mouth open and eyes dancing happily. Drifting upwards, she watched those numbers flash brightly, ghostly white.

47,791

“It’s destiny,” she thought bitterly to herself as the butterflies in her stomach only seemed to flutter with even more excitement.

Authors Notes: And so, more of the past has been explicitly revealed. Not a huge revelation over what was learned last week, but now it’s put into words and both Wendy and Irene have an idea about each others past. Next chapter is going to be a Jennie POV and Jisoo enters the story. You’ll get a glimpse at the other side of that story.