“I cannot believe you went from avoiding this girl at all costs one day to almost smooching her in the photo studio the next!” Jungeun yelled through Sooyoung’s phone.

 

“I don’t really believe it happened myself,” Sooyoung said into her phone as she paced back and forth in her room, as she usually did. “I feel like it was a dream. I must have dreamt it, she can’t possibly like me like that.”

 

Sooyoung heard Jungeun groan loudly and could clearly see the face she was making in her head.

 

“ Sooyoung, sweetie, listen to me. Listen to the words I’m about to tell you. Are you listening?” 

 

“Yes..?”

 

Sooyoung heard Jungeun take a deep breath, and then silence. It felt so long, she checked that the call hadn’t ended and turned the volume all the way up to make sure she wasn’t missing anything.

 

“Hello--”

 

“ SHEEEEEEE LIIIIIIKES YOUUUUUUUU. SHE WANTS TO SMOOOOOOOOCH YOUUUUU.”

 

Sooyoung pulled her phone away from her ear and checked that it wasn’t bleeding. Jungeun was always dramatic, but she hadn’t expected her to scream like a banshee at her.

 

“Jungeun--”

 

“EVERYONE KNOWS YOU LIKE EACH OTHER. WE ALL SEE IT AND WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR ONE OF YOU TO GROW SOME BALLS AND DATE ALREADY.”

 

“W-what? What do you mean everyone knows?”

 

“ Sooyoungie,” Jungeun’s voice was much calmer now. “You think you’re fooling anyone with how much you avoid her? You think she’s fooling anyone with how often she stares at the back of your head in class?” 

 

“I thought you told me she thought I hated her.”

 

“ She does! Well, she did.” 

 

Sooyoung finally stopped pacing and flopped face-first onto her bed.

 

“Kahei told me she’s had a crush on you for ages, ever since the first time she saw you on campus last year. She’s tried to get your attention multiple times, but you kept running away from her.”

 

Sooyoung cursed to herself, but it was muffled by her pillow. She held the phone closer to her face. “Did you tell Kahei how I feel?”

 

“I didn’t have to, dude. She said she could tell you were just panicking, but Haseul was convinced otherwise.”

 

Sooyoung rolled onto her side and ran a hand through her hair. She wasn’t sure what to say or how to think. She had been dreaming of dating Haseul for months, but with this new information in mind, she wasn’t sure what to do next. 

 

“ You have no choice but to shoot your shot now. You’ve gone past the point of no return.”

 

“I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know how to talk--” 

 

Sooyoung cut herself off when she heard her phone vibrate. It was a text from Haseul.

 

Haseul: hey

 

Haseul: are you busy?

 

“.”

 

“What is it? Did she text you?”

 

“She asked if I’m busy.”

 

“ Let me help you answer that question.”

 

The call ended, leaving Sooyoung with her thoughts. She stared at the text, unblinking, trying to figure out what to say. She knew this should be the easiest question to answer, but she also knew she was afraid of what would come after she answered it. The typing bubbles appeared and her fingers reacted before her brain could catch up.

 

Me: nope! what’s up?

 

The bubbles disappeared for a moment, then reappeared. Sooyoung bit at her nails as she waited for the reply.

 

Haseul: can i call you?

 

Sooyoung felt a wave of anxiety wash over her and the goosebumps that usually come with it rise over her entire body. She bit down on her bottom lip hard and willed herself to respond before she could chicken out.

 

Me: sure

 

She flipped her phone face-down and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to try to slow her heart rate. She felt like it was about to beat out of her chest. Too soon after, the call came. She checked the screen, and the sight of Haseul’s name across the top was enough to send another wave of goosebumps through her. With a shaky thumb, she answered.

 

“Hello?” Sooyoung heard herself sound much more put together than she felt.

 

“Hey,” Haseul’s voice sounded like velvet, even through the phone. “I hope this isn’t too weird.”

 

“No, I was, um,” Sooyoung gulped. “I was actually just thinking about you.”

 

Sooyoung pushed two fingers into her temple and mouthed OH MY GOD at her own words. Who was she? Jungeun? But much to her surprise, she heard a chuckle on the other end of the line.

 

“That’s funny you should say that. I was thinking about you, too… obviously, I guess.”

 

Sooyoung bit her lip again, this time trying to keep from smiling too widely. She wasn’t sure what to say, so she just laughed in response.

 

“Anyway, I just wanted to call and ask if you, ahem, if you wanted to… uh…” 

 

Sooyoung didn’t try to keep from smiling now. Hearing the nerves in Haseul’s voice was too adorable to bear. Although she could tell this was difficult for Haseul, she waited patiently for her to finish.

 

“If you maybe wanted to go out for ice cream? With me?” 

 

“Ice cream, huh?” Sooyoung felt a confidence she had only ever felt when she was modeling. She knew the moment was fleeting, so she ran with it.

 

“Are you asking me on a date, Haseul?”

 

“Well, I, yeah, I mean, if you want it to be,” Haseul stumbled through her words. “If not that’s totally fine, I understand I’m like way out of your league--”
 

“I’d love to, Haseul. It’s a date.” 

 

“Really?” Haseul sounded genuinely surprised but recovered quickly. “I mean, great! How’s right now?”

 

Sooyoung looked down at her pajamas that she had already put on at 5:00 in the afternoon. She had originally intended on sitting in her room and worrying all night, but this was a much better alternative. 

 

“Uh, sure! Can I have, like, an hour to get ready?”

 

“Absolutely, absolutely. I’ll be there around 7?”

 

“Perfect, I’ll see you then.”

 

“I can’t wait. Bye!” 

 

The call ended and Sooyoung was faced with her reflection in the blank screen. She looked ridiculous with a goofy grin across her face. It was the face Jungeun made whenever she was around Kahei. Come to think of it, since when are Jungeun and Kahei close enough that they talked about her and Haseul? She shook her head and decided she would have to come back to that later. 

 

She had a date to get ready for.

 

***

 

The doorbell rang just as Sooyoung was heading downstairs to wait for Haseul. Yerim ran to the door and reached it before she could, roughly opening it to a startled Haseul. 

 

“H-hi! Is Sooyoung here?”

 

“Who are you?” Yerim asked, suspicion in her voice.

 

“She’s my friend, and we’re going out for a bit,” Sooyoung interjected as she gently pushed Yerim out of the way. 

 

“Does mom know you’re going out?”

 

“Yes, bye!”

 

Sooyoung closed the door in Yerim’s face and locked it before turning to Haseul.

 

“Is that your sister?” Haseul asked.

 

“Yeah, she’s been a little weirdo lately.” 

 

“Most sisters are,” Haseul said with a laugh. “Shall we?”

 

Sooyoung nodded and followed Haseul to her car, an army green Jeep with the windows rolled down. Sooyoung hadn’t expected Haseul to own a car like this, but she figured there was a lot about her she didn’t know.

 

“You car, madame,” Haseul said as she opened the passenger door with a flourish and bowed slightly, waiting for Sooyoung to step in.

 

“Thank you, Jeeves,” Sooyoung replied as she took her seat.

 

Haseul closed the door behind her and jogged to the driver’s side, grinning widely at Sooyoung as she climbed in. 

 

“Thanks for coming out with me,” Haseul said as she pulled out of the driveway.

 

“Of course,” Sooyoung replied. “If I’m being honest, I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.”

 

“Get ice cream?” Haseul asked, glancing over at Sooyoung with a smirk.

 

“Yeah, get ice cream, see a movie, take a walk, whatever you wanted to do.”

 

Sooyoung didn’t look over, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see the grin on Haseul’s face grow into a full smile.

 

***

“I’ll have a cup of salted caramel cookie dough, and you can add in whatever the lady’s having.”

 

Sooyoung opened to protest, but Haseul simply raised a firm hand and waved her to the counter to order. 

 

“Can I please have a scoop of mint chocolate chip on a sugar cone?”

 

Haseul slid her credit card to the cashier and turned back to wink at Sooyoung, sending her heart into a somersault. She didn’t know what took her so long to do this. Haseul was everything she had imagined she’d be.

 

“Why don’t you go snag that table in the corner over there?” Haseul asked, pointing to a small table with two chairs in the very back of the shop. “I’ll bring our food over.”

 

Sooyoung nodded and made her way through the other tables to the corner. She sat with her back against the wall, positioned so that she could see Haseul more easily. Haseul was facing away from her, watching the single employee scoop and prepare the ice cream. Sooyoung studied her profile, committing to memory the slope of her nose, the way her ear pokes out from behind her hair, the way her eyes get squinty when she smiles…

 

“What are you smiling about?” Haseul asked as she approached the table with ice cream in hand.

 

Sooyoung didn’t realize how long she had been staring, or why it took so long to realize Haseul was looking back at her. 

 

“N-nothing,” Sooyoung said, taking her cone. “I was just zoned out, I guess.”

 

Haseul nodded and took her seat across the table. Sooyoung at her ice cream, trying to think of what to say now that they were face-to-face.

 

“What year are you?” Haseul asked, breaking the silence.

 

“I’m a junior,” Sooyoung replied. “You?”

 

“Senior. I’ve got all electives this year, so it’s been pretty sweet.”

 

“I should have planned my courses out like that. I’m taking two math classes this semester.”

 

“Yikes,” Haseul said with a wince. “What’s your major?”

 

“Computer Science.”

 

“Wow,” Haseul said around her spoon. “Beauty and brains.”

 

Sooyoung rolled her eyes at that, but she couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“Too corny?”

 

“A little, but I liked it.”

 

“Good,” Haseul said, pointing her spoon at Sooyoung. “There’s more where that came from.” 

 

“What’s your major?” Sooyoung asked.

 

“Art History.”

 

Sooyoung raised her eyebrows in response, full of minty chocolate.

 

“Surprising?” Haseul asked.

 

“Yeah, honestly. I expected you to be in Film or Communications, maybe.”

 

“Communications? It took me almost a year and a half just to talk to you!”

 

Sooyoung covered as she laughed to hide any chocolate that might have gotten on her teeth. Haseul smiled back, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. 

 

“I’m glad you did,” Sooyoung said.

 

“Well, it wasn’t really me. It was those paper slips we pulled.” 

 

“True,” Sooyoung nodded. “I guess you’re right.”

 

Haseul was still smiling, and Sooyoung couldn’t tear her eyes away from her gaze. Haseul’s eyes were soft, but striking at the same time. There was just something mysterious and inviting about them. Sooyoung felt someone could get lost in those eyes, much like she was right now.

 

“You’re dripping,” Haseul said.

 

“Hmm?” Sooyoung blinked out of her trance.

 

“Your ice cream. It’s all over your hand.”

 

Sooyoung was suddenly aware of the cold wetness around her fingers and looked down to find her ice cream half-melted and starting to drip onto the table.

 

***

They spent the rest of the evening walking around the nearby park, talking about anything and everything. Sooyoung learned that Haseul’s love of art came from years of visiting museums and seeing plays with her mother, who was a curator at a very popular museum in New York. Sooyoung told Haseul about her family, who have been pressuring her to go into the computer science industry ever since she first learned to use a computer at 2 years old. 

 

“Is that what you really want to do, though?” Haseul had asked.

 

Sooyoung shrugged in response. “I can’t really think of anything else I’m good at.”

 

Haseul looked like she wanted to ask more about it, but she held back. Sooyoung appreciated her not pressing the issue, but it did spark the thought in her mind. She felt like she could talk to Haseul about anything, but maybe not tonight.

 

Around midnight, they had wandered back to Haseul’s car. Haseul pulled her keys out of her pocket and fiddled with them as they got closer.

 

“I guess I should take you home,” she said quietly.

 

Sooyoung didn’t want the night to end, but she didn’t want to seem creepy or pushy.

 

“I guess you should.”

 

Haseul opened the passenger door once again, this time without the bow but the smile was just as warm as before. Sooyoung slipped into the passenger seat, and Haseul closed the door behind her. As she walked around to the driver’s side, Sooyoung tried desperately to keep her cool. She wanted to finish what they started in the studio, but she didn’t know how to make the first move. All the confidence she felt earlier had vanished, and she didn’t have any time to find it now.

 

Haseul climbed into the driver’s side but didn’t turn the car on. Instead, she looked down at the keys in her hands, her hair falling to cover her face. Sooyoung shifted in her seat to face Haseul. A lump started to form in . 

 

“Sooyoung,” Haseul said, tucking her hair behind her ear and looking up at her.

 

“Yeah?” Sooyoung said, barely above a whisper. 

 

“I really, really like you.”

 

Sooyoung could feel it again. That pull that she felt in the studio. It was like two magnets coming together with an unbreakable force but in slow motion. Her heart was beating in her ears, and her stomach was in huge knots. Haseul’s eyes fell to , and her lips parted ever so slightly.

 

“I really like you, too, Haseul.”

 

They were centimeters away now. Sooyoung could feel Haseul’s breath on her. Her hand found its way to Haseul’s waist, touching very gently with just the tips of her fingers. 

 

“Really?” Haseul whispered.

 

Sooyoung let her body answer. Her hand gripped onto Haseul’s shirt, pulling her in closer as she surged forward the rest of the way until their lips met. Sooyoung felt a hand wrap around her neck immediately, another reaching around her own waist. Haseul’s kisses were gentle but firm at the same time. Sooyoung could tell she had been wanting this just as long as she has, and the moment was even better than she could have imagined. Haseul climbed over the middle console and onto Sooyoung’s lap, both her hands twisted in her hair now. Sooyoung wrapped one arm around Haseul’s waist, and moved the other across her back, gripping the back of her neck. 

 

Haseul pulled away, much to the dismay of Sooyoung, who whimpered at losing the warmth of her lips.

 

“I’m so sorry, this is too much,” Haseul whispered, panting quietly. 

 

“Do you want to stop?” Sooyoung asked, letting go of her grip around Haseul.

 

“I really don’t,” Haseul said, running a hand through her hair. “I just don’t want to go too far too fast. I just got carried away.”

 

“Don’t apologize. I totally understand. I think we both got a little carried away.”

 

Haseul laughed and kissed Sooyoung quickly before climbing back to the driver’s seat.

 

“I’ll take you home now,” she said as she turned the ignition.

 

Sooyoung put a hand on Haseul’s arm before she could put the car in Drive.

 

“Can we do this again sometime?”

 

Haseul winked in reply and started the drive back to Sooyoung’s house.

 

Sooyoung sat back and watched out the window at the buildings whizzing by. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was.