Bridesmaids had only been playing for thirty minutes when Moonbyul stood up from the couch, heaving a labored sigh as she did so.

“Okay, I’m gonna head out now,” she softly declared. There was some hesitance in her announcement. The way she avoided Yongsun’s eyes told the latter that Moonbyul wasn’t expecting her to take this news well. Instead of blowing up, Yongsun rearranged herself on the couch, sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest. The sudden loss of physical contact with Moonbyul was disappointing, but she attempted to make up for it by wrapping her arms around her legs.

With furrowed brows, she addressed the elephant in the room, “But you just got here.” Not just just, but 45 minutes ago, which was essentially the same thing.

“I know, but I forgot I was supposed to hang out with Sunmi.” Still no eye contact. “She just texted me about it.”

“Oh, okay!” Yongsun winced a bit and internally rolled her eyes at herself. In an attempt to sound affable and unaffected, she’d laid it on a bit too thick and ended up sounding overly excited and fake. It was cringey.

Moonbyul finally locked eyes with her and Yongsun saw the regret there. The smallest part of her held onto hope that the athlete wouldn’t do this. It immediately vanished, though, when the other broke eye contact. Yongsun turned her head to focus on the television screen but she heard Moonbyul say, “I’ll text you later, okay?” Her voice was cautious, but Yongsun didn’t understand why. She hadn’t caused a scene any of the other times over the past week and a half that Moonbyul had ditched her “to hang out” with Sunmi, why would she start now?

Yongsun simply nodded her head and busied herself with whatever antics Kristen Wiig’s character was getting herself into. Moonbyul, she thought, could let herself out. And a minute or so later, the blonde did just that.

Once the door softly clicked shut, the graduate student promptly turned the movie off, gathered her blanket, and headed to her bedroom. There was no point in finishing the film. It had been Moonbyul’s idea that they watch it in the first place, but she left.

Moonbyul grabbed the blankets they’d need. The food she and Yongsun had ordered was already set up in the other room. Reaching to close her friend’s bedroom door with her free hand, Yongsun yelled after her from down the hall, “You can leave it. It should be open cause it’s civil rights. This is the ‘90s.”

The confusion all over the blonde’s face was like a shot to Yongsun’s heart.

“Bridesmaids. You’ve never seen Bridesmaids?” She asked incredulously.

Moonbyul made her way into the living room and plopped herself onto the couch, dropping the blankets down before reaching over the table to grab her chopsticks. “I think I’ve heard of it, but have never seen it.”

“You’re joking, right? You had time to watch all those other weird movies and shows you watch, but couldn’t watch Bridesmaids?!”

“Choosing to ignore the insult and judgment. I didn’t realize this movie meant so much to you,” the younger chuckled lightly. “Let’s watch it then. We can do a movie marathon or whatever next Tuesday since there’re no classes. I’ll bring popcorn.”

The popcorn she had brought now sat untouched on the living room table.

Yongsun leapt onto her bed and lay sprawled on her back. The ceiling was suddenly the most interesting thing ever.

Bored. Bored. Bored. Yongsun had nothing to do. This semester’s classes had officially ended yesterday, but the university granted students a couple days to study and prepare before finals started up on Thursday. As a graduate student, though, she had nothing to prepare for. None of her classes had final exams that she’d have to sit for. They all required projects or papers that had already been turned in, so she had nothing but endless free time for the next month. ‘Be careful what you ask for’ they say, and ‘they’ were right. Ever since the semester began, Yongsun prayed for its end, and now, with her wish granted, she had nothing to do. It had only been one day of being unoccupied, but restlessness was already gnawing at her.

A hobby. She needed a hobby. The winter break would be the perfect time to develop one. Until she figured out what that would be, though, she’d continue with a recently developed bad habit of hers—social media.

It was Wheein’s fault. The four of them came together a few Saturdays ago to eat and laze around. Typical. Upon convening, they had a laugh at the fact that Yongsun and Wheein’s outfits matched.

“Unnie! We’re twins!” Both donned denim on denim ensembles. It was mildly interesting, but Wheein’s excitement about it warmed the other’s hearts. The other three stood on, amused at how happy she was about this coincidence. “Hyejin, take a picture of us. Come, unnie. Pose.”

Wheein gets what Wheein wants. That’s one of the group’s unspoken rules, so Hyejin walked over as instructed and grabbed Moonbyul’s phone—she had the best camera out of the four of them. Yongsun obediently joined Wheein and awaited further instructions on which poses they’d be striking.

“Okay, let’s take some by that wall over there, then we can try some on the couch.”

Twenty minutes later, their mini-photoshoot was complete.

“I’ll edit and post them What’s your Instagram, unnie?”

The question wasn’t as surprising to her as it had been the first time Chorong asked it the week before. It was after Jinyoung’s birthday dinner and the '91 Club had taken several pictures together, including one big ‘family’ picture. Yongsun remembered feeling so disappointed in herself that she hadn’t thought through the fact that people would ask for her SNS accounts. Every single one was embarrassingly neglected and unkempt.

“It’s @yongsun on both Twitter and Instagram, but I don’t use either of them that often, so don’t laugh at how empty they are.”

“That’s okay,” Wheein waved her hand dismissively as her focus was set on her phone. “I just followed you on both. Follow back.”

“Oh!” Hyejin scrambled for her phone, “Unnie, I’m going to follow you, too. Follow me, okay?”

Yongsun laughed at how eager both were about this. “I really don’t post much. You don’t have to follow me.”

“It’s okay. We can fill our accounts with new memories that we create together.”

“Whoaaaa, Jung Wheein! That sounded so romantic. Byul-unnie, you’re no longer the master. We all have to bow to and learn from Wheein now.”

Moonbyul was off to the side watching the other three cause havoc in her apartment. Although she joined in laughing at Hyejin’s joke, Yongsun noted she was a bit distant. She walked up to the junior and gently nudged her shoulder.

“What’s up with you?” She asked.

“You never told me you had SNS accounts.”

“Really, Byul-ah?”

“What are you two talking about?” Hyejin barged in, Wheein in tow.

“She’s feeling a way because I didn’t tell her about my SNS accounts,” she informed the two youngest. Turning back to Moonbyul, she reasoned, “I don’t post on them. I don’t use them. They’re basically ghost accounts, Byul. It wasn’t a huge secret I was keeping from you. You weren’t missing out on anything.” The junior accepted the explanation with a nod.

“Aww, unnie was upset because you didn’t tell her first? Don’t worry. Everyone knows Yongsun‑unnie likes us the best, but you’re a close third.”

“Aish, this kid.” Moonbyul lunged for Hyejin, but the sophomore was quicker and got away. The former continued chasing the tanned beauty until she inevitably caught her, only to snatch her up into a tender back hug.

The memory made Yongsun smile fondly before she remembered her current situation—alone and bored. The light from her cell’s screen illuminated her face due to its proximity. Aimlessly scrolling, she stopped at times to press the heart on some celebrity posts, but for the most part, she was looking to pass time. Her prayers were answered when, while refreshing her Instagram timeline for the nth time, a new post from Wheein popped up. It was a photo of her and Hyejin standing in a dimly lit room facing each other. Most of Wheein’s face was hidden by Hyejin’s as the former looked to be whispering something in the latter’s ear. Both wore bright smiles as Wheein wrapped Hyejin up in a hug from the front, her right dimple prominently displayed. It was absolutely adorable. The caption simply stated, “Hate her.”

Sounds of snorts followed by a minor coughing fit bounced off Yongsun’s bedroom walls. Wheein was seriously so funny. The heart beneath the picture transformed to red, then she left a comment:

yongsun Feeling left out. Hate me, too, please 😫

^{47s       2 likes   Reply}

Wheein’s reply came almost immediately:

wheein @yongsun Check the group chat!

^{0s         3 likes   Reply}

Before doing as she was told, though, a few of the other comments coming in on the picture caught her attention:

chandong Love the pic. Wonder who took it . . .

sowon Cuties!

minsik 😍 😍 😍

newsun Look at the coolest unnies, @vernon. Well, they’re noonas to you.

It warmed her heart to see that Wheein—and she assumed Hyejin, too—were slowly but surely getting to know more people. It wasn’t too early for her to say that she loved the two and would do anything to make them happy, but she also realized the importance of them socializing with people their age, not that she was that much older than them, but still. She was in graduate school. They sometimes needed to be able to do second-year things with people that were in or near their second year, and she was thrilled that, from the looks of it, they were doing just that. The first time she officially met them, Moonbyul noticed their chemistry with Yongsun and commented on how uncommon it was for them to branch out and befriend others because they had, for so long, only been friends with each other. Yongsun was delighted to see that they finally realized they could befriend others together, as a unit. Judging by the ever‑increasing amount of likes and comments on the post, other members of the SNU community were also delighted by this.

Yongsun headed to their group chat before Wheein scolded her.

Faves 😍

Wheeinie

Unnies, are you still doing your movie marathon? 4:47 pm

Hyejin and I reached our limit on studying. 4:47 pm

Hyejin-ah

We want to come over! 4:48 pm

Yongsun

No :( Byul left to see Sunmi . . . 4:49 pm

Wheeinie

. . .  4:49 pm

Hyejin-ah

. . .  4:49 pm

Wheeinie

👀 4:50 pm

Hyejin-ah

👀 👀 👀 4:50 pm

Yongsun

Mood. 4:51 pm

Anyway, you two are welcome to come over! I’m bored. 4:52 pm

Let’s play video games in the lounge! 4:53 pm

Hyejin-ah

Unnie, can we play video games in the lounge?! 4:53 pm

LOL! Great minds think alike. Yay! 4:53 pm

Wheeinie

Byul-unnie’s going to read all of this later. Lol! 4:53 pm

Hyejin-ah

Let’s ask her what’s going on with Sunmi. 4:54 pm

Byul-unnie, what’s going on with you and Sunmi? 4:54 pm

Wheeinie

And let’s send more eye emojis! 4:54 pm

👀 👀 👀 👀 4:54 pm

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 4:55 pm

Yongsun

👀 4:55 pm

Hyejin-ah

👁️️!!! 4:55 pm

Yongsun

Lmaooooo 4:56 pm

Wheeinie

Of course -_- She’s so extra. 4:56 pm

Yongsun

Speaking of extra, Wheein, who’s @minsik? 4:56 pm

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 4:56 pm

Hyejin-ah

*sent with slam effect* 👁️️ 4:56 pm

Wheeinie

Okay! See you soon, unnie! 4:58 pm

Going to get ready to catch the shuttle over. 4:58 pm

Bye! 🏃‍ 💨 4:59 pm

Hyejin-ah

I’ll tell you when we reach, unnie. 5:00 pm

Won’t say it here so that it stays secret from Byul-unnie. 5:00 pm

That’s what she gets for ditching us 😤 😂 5:01 pm

Yongsun

I support this. Punish her. 5:01 pm

Travel safely. See you both soon! 5:01 pm

It would take Wheein and Hyejin about half an hour to get to University Village, and that was if the two of them left right this moment. They lived in Building 906, part of Gwanak-sa, SNU’s largest dormitory complex. From everything they’d shared, their living arrangements were much improved this year compared to last. Their first year had them living in Building 919 with four other suitemates. They were nice and kind girls. Wheein and Hyejin had even reconnected with one of them again this year—Sowon. The issue was the lack of overall privacy. Six people sharing an apartment could be a lot to handle at times, so even though they still shared a room this year, Wheein and Hyejin were ecstatic to have an entire apartment to themselves. The only drawback was the distance to most things. Gwanak-sa was nestled towards the back end of SNU’s campus, 906 the furthest building. As such, campus shuttles were their lifeline. The circuitous routes the buses took were burdensome at times, but they were far quicker than walking.

The point: it would be a while before her friends arrived.

*

To: Faves 😍

ETA? 5:13 pm

Wheeinie

About 30 minutes? Getting on the shuttle soon. 5:14 pm

Yongsun

Ok. See you two soon. 5:15 pm

Yongsun had washed her face and made her bed. The oversized t-shirt she sported earlier had been swapped for sweatpants and a sweatshirt Moonbyul had forgotten some time back. She felt accomplished until realizing how much time was left to kill. Instead of standing awkwardly in the middle of her room, the brunette walked over to her desk before plopping down and opening Instagram again. Navigating to the search bar, the blinking cursor taunted her. What she was contemplating doing would only make her feel worse about herself, she knew this, but Moonbyul’s mysterious silence in their group chat was eating at her. She had to. Just to check.

Thumbs moved with familiarity as she typed in a name she’d become accustomed to in the past week. The graduate student released a sigh full of disappointment, rolling her eyes and shaking her head as she did so.

“What is wrong with me,” she whispered to no one. The top result, ‘miyayeah’, popped up, and she tapped it.

No matter how many times she stalke-, uh, checked out Sunmi’s Instagram account, the fact that hundreds of thousands of people “followed” this girl never failed to stun her. Moonbyul had told her once that Sunmi was an “influencer”. Yongsun had asked for clarification on what that meant. The athlete was unable to provide any. Maybe it was the ambiguity of what Sunmi did that compelled people to stay tuned in to her account? Yongsun didn’t get it.

The girl was pretty, that much was obvious, but her visuals were elevated by a not-so-subtle air of sensuality emanating from every post of hers. Even her dirty mirror selfies came across as alluring and coquettish. There didn’t seem to be any one stylistic theme to her page—photos were different sizes and varying levels of quality—but each post conveyed the same message: luxury. Yongsun didn’t know much about who this woman was or what she did, but she knew that every photo of hers made Yongsun’s insecurity skyrocket.

Sunmi was tall and slim with eyes that ensnared anyone in proximity. Her account was littered with exclusive name brand products, selfies, photos with celebrities, and outtakes from photoshoots—because she was also a model apparently? The status and conventional beauty aside, Sunmi reminded Yongsun that she was from a different world than many other SNU students. A lot of them came from prestigious families, lived lives of grandeur, had summer villas in foreign countries. She couldn’t relate, couldn’t even pretend to relate, and despite being at the same university as these people, their world was one she’d never be able to access.

Yongsun was knee-deep in posts from years ago when a notification from Wheein popped up:

From Wheeinie

To: Faves 😍

Unnie, we’re here! 5:46 pm

Hurry down before the security guard starts flirting with Hyejin. 5:46 pm

Nvm. Too late. 5:47 pm

Yongsun

Hyejin, make the most of it. 5:48 pm

Get him to give you the gaming console and choose some video games! 5:48 pm

Hyejin-ah

I’m on it! 5:49 pm

She couldn’t believe time had flown by like that. Figuring she’d lowered her self-esteem enough, Yongsun closed the app and locked up her room before heading to the lobby to save Hyejin and Wheein from her thirsty security guard.

*

“Hyejin, hurry up! Choose your character already.”

“Stop nagging, Wheein. Give me a second.”

“Unnie, tell her to hurry up.” Wheein was close to throwing a tantrum. Yongsun could tell by the way her legs were rapidly bouncing up and down.

“Fine! There! I picked a character. Happy?”

“Pink Gold Peach? Seriously, Hyejin? She .”

“You wanted me to pick someone and I did that, now you have a problem with the person I chose. There’s no winning with you.”

“There’ll be lots of winning for me, seeing as you chose the worst character.”

“Shouldn’t you be happy then? Stop complaining,” Hyejin frustratedly yelled.

“I’m not complaining!” Wheein yelled back. The awkward tension lasted for approximately 0.6 seconds as both burst into uncontrollable laughter.

“Wheein-ah,” Hyejin choked between laughs, “did you see unnie’s face? She was so scared.”

“I saw. She sat there like this,” an impersonation of Yongsun’s stressed state was perfectly recreated by Wheein as Yongsun joined in on the laughter.

“I was so nervous,” she whined. “I didn’t know what to do! Did you two do that on purpose just to mess with me?”

“No. Hyejin always takes forever choosing characters. It’s so annoying, but I can’t stay mad at her. Look at that face,” she gestured to Hyejin, “if I don’t love it, who will?”

“Yah! You see this, unnie? One man puts heart eyes under her Instagram pictures and she doesn’t know how to ac-” Hyejin’s lips were clamped shut before she could finish. Wheein had leapt from her armchair to fling herself onto her roommate.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry!” The two sat there wrestling as Hyejin tried ardently to remove Wheein’s hand, giggles and squeals from both filling the building’s lounge.

Once calmed down, Wheein returned to her chair with a smile lingering.

“Okay,” Yongsun started unfazed by whatever that was, “now that that’s over, I picked the track while you two were wrestling.”

“Anything but Rainb-”

“I chose Rainbow Road.” Groans came in response.

“We hate that track. Both of us at it,” Hyejin sighed.

“I at it, too, so we can all struggle together.”

Aside from the three of them and their shenanigans, the lounge was empty—everyone else seemed to be making the most of the study days. They fell into silence, all of them taking the first lap to get adjusted. Once that was over, though, all bets were off, in the game and out of it.

“So, Wheein-ah, who’s Minsik?” Yongsun asked, eyes glued to the television screen.

“You’re really not going to give up on this, are you, unnie?” Yongsun shook her head, not realizing that the second-year’s eyes were also trained on the television.

“He’s some boy. Met him at Midnight Madn-, ah! Hyejin, why would you use that red shell on me?! What is wrong with this girl, seriously! Sorry, unnie, met him at Midnight Madness. We exchanged SNS accounts. He’s a party promoter and a rapper or whatever.”

“But he’s been messaging her a lot lately trying to take her out and she’s been ignoring it. Poor guy.”

“That’s not nice, Wheein. Why are you avoiding him? Hyejin, if you hit me with that, I’m going to hit you in real life. Exactly, drive elsewhere.”

“Did you not hear the part about him being a party promoter and a rapper? Ugh! I fell off. Hate this course.”

“Party promoters and rappers need love, too, Wheein.”

“Pretty sure it’s not love he’s after, unnie.”

“So you’re just going to keep ignoring him as he publicly expresses feelings for you on your page?”

“Not sure yet. We all at this game,” Wheein declared, dropping her controller. The race was over. Yongsun, Wheein, and Hyejin finished in the last three positions. “Has Byul-unnie responded yet? She’s really good at this game, even on this track.”

“She hasn’t messaged us in the group chat,” Hyejin replied. “Unnie, did she message you privately?”

“Nope. I don’t know anything about what she’s doing with that girl,” she tartly responded. Her tone came out harsher than intended so she promptly changed the topic in an attempt to cover up her bitterness. “Do you two want food? I’m hungry. Thinking about ordering something.”

Yongsun didn’t want to talk about Moonbyul. The basketball player’s actions over the past week and a half bugged her, they truly did. It took time to get Moonbyul to fully forgive her for everything that happened the weekend of Jinyoung and Eric’s birthdays, yet here the junior was, either completely canceling their time together last minute or leaving early. It was only because she didn’t want to fight with the blonde that she bottled her frustrations and said nothing. However, with Wheein and Hyejin now eager to talk about their unnie’s new acquaintance, Yongsun wasn’t sure if she’d be able to hold back anymore.

“'That girl’ has a name, unnie. It’s Sunmi.”

“You know she doesn’t like her, Hyejin. Stop teasing.”

Yongsun still tried to play coy. “I don’t like her? What makes you think that? I’m ordering chicken by the way. Is that fine?”

“That’s perfect,” Hyejin clapped excitedly. “And we don’t think it, we know it. Every time you hear her name, you nearly pop a vein trying not to roll your eyes. You can be honest with us, Byul-unnie isn’t here.” Her melodious laugh only intensified as she caught the cushion Yongsun had flung at her head.

“Yeah, you’re not as good at hiding it as you think, unnie. It’s okay, though, we think she’s kind of weird, too.”

“Why do you think she’s weird?” Yongsun didn’t want to influence Wheein and Hyejin’s thoughts on Sunmi, so she opted to let them air their feelings first before she sounded off.

The armchairs in the lounge were arranged in a semi-circle, all facing the large flat-screen television that still displayed the rankings from their race. Each of the young women scooted to the edge of their seats, getting as close and comfortable as possible for their impending -talking session. Hyejin got things going.

“First of all, she came out of nowhere and is suddenly all over Byul-unnie. That’s weird.”

“Yeah,” Wheein agreed. “They’re in completely different departments, so they don’t have any classes in common. That’s what Byul-unnie told me a couple days ago when I asked about her.”

“She came back from her year off, didn’t talk to unnie at all this entire semester, now we’re in December about to leave for winter break and she’s after unnie to ‘take pictures’? Please. Give me a break.”

“Her family is filthy rich, Yongsun-unnie. Like, rich rich.”

“Wealthy,” Hyejin made sure to emphasize each syllable.

“Yeah, wealthy,” Wheein agreed. “Have you seen her Instagram page?”

“I have,” Yongsun reluctantly confirmed.

“Okay then. So you’ve seen all her fancy photoshoot pictures and the celebrities she’s met and all that. Now, tell me, if someone has access to all of that, why are they approaching someone that only recently got into taking photos as a hobby and asking them to take pictures of them? It makes zero sense.”

“Except,” Hyejin butted in, “if she’s trying to get with Byul-unnie. Which we think she is. It’s the only logical explanation.”

“That’s what I think, too,” Yongsun agreed. “I told Byulyi that that girl likes her, but she insisted that that’s not the case. ‘She just wants me to take pictures for her,’ she said.”

“Unnie, your impersonation was so perfect. She really does sound like that.” Wheein’s soft giggles joined the background music from the video game in filling the room.

“I’m mad that you’re making me laugh! You don’t even understand how annoying the whole situation is. If she flakes on me one more time, I’m going to snap.”

“Honestly, that’s what makes me think Byul-unnie actually likes Sunmi. The one thing she never compromises is her time with you. That comes before everything else, so the fact that she’s even canceling on you? It’s fishy.”

“Eh . . . I don’t think that’s true.”

“Which part?”

“Her putting me before everything else.”

“It is,” the two youngest responded simultaneously.

“Anyway. If she just admitted that that girl likes her and that she likes that girl back, I’d be less upset about it.”

“Would you really?” Hyejin asked, making no attempt to hide the doubt in her voice.

“Yes. I would. What are you trying to insinuate?”

“Ew, who says ‘insinuate’, unnie?” Wheein couldn’t help teasing Yongsun.

“Yah! People use that word! Don’t even start with me, Wheein-ah.” She lost her steam by the end of the statement and ended up laughing. It was like she could never stay serious with these two.

They took a quick break in their conversation. Yongsun needed to order their food, and Wheein went to use the bathroom. Once the order was complete, Hyejin and Yongsun sat chatting.

“Unnie, what’s up with you and Jinyoung-oppa?”

“Are we only discussing romance today?”

“Now that it’s about you, you don’t want to talk about it, huh?”

“Talk about what,” Wheein joined them again.

“Jinyoung-oppa,” Hyejin said.

“Ohhh! Yeah, what’s up with that, unnie? He’s very handsome and he clearly likes you. What’s the holdup?”

Yongsun normally hated talking about Jinyoung, but that was because the people usually asking had an opinion on him one way or another. Chorong desperately wanted to set her up with him, and Moonbyul always caught an attitude when he was brought up. Wheein and Hyejin, although younger than her, were easygoing and wise beyond their years. Maybe they were the best people to open up to about this.

“I don’t know. He’s attractive, very. And he’s really sweet, surprisingly funny. He’s intelligent and talented. Patient. Very patient with me. I don’t know. I like being around him and spending time with him, but it’s always with our whole friend group, so it gets weird because they all start making jokes or trying to force us together.”

The younger girls looked on contemplatively, but said nothing, allowing Yongsun to let it all out.

“I’ve also never dated anyone before, which you both know, so I don’t really know how that works, and he’s very well-mannered, so he never tries anything. Unless I make the first move, I doubt he’s going to, but I don’t want to be the one to make the first move.”

“Have you told him this?”

“Mm mm,” she shook her head and was met with inquisitive eyes so she decided to explain herself. “I don’t know. This dating stuff is tiring and I’m not even dating.”

“You’re hot, unnie. People are going to want to date you. People already want to date you. If you like him or think you like him, why not, y’know? He seems like a good guy, he’s a friend. It sounds like he’ll take good care of you and not force you into anything.”

“Plus,” Wheein added, “it doesn’t have to be stressful. It could simply be you two hanging out and going places or trying new things together. It wouldn’t have to mean adding labels or being exclusive.”

“The point is, you need practice. He could be great practice.”

They were making great points, giving her a lot to consider.

“What if it doesn’t work out? Then I lose a friend and things get awkward within our group. I don’t want to be the reason for that.” Wheein took that one.

“You should talk to him about that, unnie. The man really likes you and it’s likely he’s also confused about what’s going on between the two of you. Communication is essential to any relationship. If you’re considering dating him, or even if you only want to keep him as a friend, you’d need to be able to communicate with him. Talk to him.”

“But what am I supposed to say?” Wheein and Hyejin found her whining adorable.

“You’re so cute, unnie. No wonder so many people like you.”

“Only one person likes me, Hyejin.”

“If you say so,” the youngest rolled her eyes. “Tell him exactly what you told us. The things you like about him, your concerns, all of that.”

“Make sure to spend time alone, too. Just the two of you.”

“I’ll think about it.”

That was the end of that. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Yongsun let out a massive sigh; she felt great.

“Speak of the devil.”

“What is it Wheein-ah?”

“Sunmi’s Instagram.”

That piqued Yongsun’s interest. She’d checked the girl’s page a bit earlier and there was nothing of particular interest. Hyejin grabbed Wheein’s phone to see what was going on.

“Is she serious? Watch Byul-unnie still play dumb after this.”

“What happened?” Yongsun felt left out.

“Look.”

It was a new post on Sunmi’s account. Two candid pictures of Moonbyul playing games at an arcade, her back to the camera in both. If people didn’t know Byulyi, they may not have been able to guess it was her. The caption cleared up any confusion, though:

_{334 likes}

miyayeah Making the most of the study day with @byulyi 🙈😍

View all 50 comments

kjw0726 Getting the feeling that not much studying is going on.

          |miyayeah @kjw0726 Shhhh 🤫

khkhldz With Moon Byulyi?! Unnie, you hit the jackpot.

          |miyayeah @khkhldz I know. She’s the best.

^{13 minutes ago}

Wheein and Hyejin stayed stone still as Yongsun took everything in. They had no idea how she’d take the news but grew more concerned as each silent moment passed.

The graduate student’s lips slowly turned into a small smirk as she shook her head and chuckled humorlessly. Suddenly, Yongsun handed Wheein her phone before picking up her own and reading a notification she received. A few beats later, she coolly announced, “Our food’s here.”

The brunette stood to walk down the hall into the lobby where the two assumed the delivery person had messaged her from. As usual, Wheein and Hyejin were on the same page, sharing a poignant look with each other before Hyejin spoke what both had been thinking.

“. She’s pissed.”

*

From: Maybe Lee Sunmi

Hi! Is this Kim Yongsun-ssi? I got your number from Byulyi and wanted to talk to you about something. Would you be willing to meet with me? This is Lee Sunmi btw :) 12:09 pm

She had received the message an hour ago and still hadn’t responded. Part of her wanted to tell this girl off. They weren’t friends. She had no reason to be messaging her. The other part of her, though, wanted to wait for Moonbyul to arrive so that she could question her about the message instead. Yongsun decided on the latter.

It had been two days since her bonding session with Wheein and Hyejin. Moonbyul hadn’t contacted any of them until much later that day—Yongsun ignored the message completely. The athlete tried communicating with her yesterday, insisting that they meet to talk because “things felt weird” the past week or so. Yongsun had wanted to ignore that message, too, but she genuinely missed her alone time with Moonbyul and realized that that was the root of her frustration, so she agreed to meet with the blonde today.

The graduate student’s phone buzzed a few minutes ago with a new text from Moonbyul. She was back at University Village and on her way up to Yongsun’s apartment. The latter took the limited time she had left to read over her notes once more. There were a few points she needed to address so she wrote them down. Moonbyul was a smooth talker and could steer a conversation into whichever direction she wanted to—she’d done it before with Yongsun. This was a way to prevent that from happening. The brunette refused to let her friend wiggle her way out of this; one way or another, she was going to hold Moonbyul accountable for her inconsiderate behavior.

A soft knock echoed throughout the room. Lifting herself up from the couch, Yongsun took her time walking to the door. Once opened, there, with a warm smile, stood Moonbyul bundled in a long black padded coat, a grey sweatsuit, black mask, and a cap.

“Are you warm enough?” Yongsun asked sarcastically before turning and heading back to the couch, not waiting for a response.

“Hi, unnie. I’m doing well, thank you so much for asking,” the athlete smartassed.

“I didn’t ask though.”

“You’re so upset you can’t even go through the motions of pleasantries, huh? I feel like you’re about to tear me a new one.” Her actions belied her words. Nothing she did showed her to be nervous or concerned in any way about the conversation they were about to have. Moonbyul removed her coat at a leisurely pace then headed to the kitchen to get some water. Yongsun watched as she finally made her way back to the living room, setting down her glass, as well as a filled glass she brought back for Yongsun.

The blonde sank down into the couch, legs spread. A cushion was left between them, which was fine by Yongsun.

“Why are you so far away?” Moonbyul whined.

“Because.” That was all Yongsun had to say. It irked her quite a bit that the other woman came in so carefree, as if her behavior wasn’t the reason they were in this situation in the first place. “How was your final?”

“Aww, you still care about me even though I made you mad. I think it went well. It felt like it went well, so we’ll see.”

“Was that your last one?”

“No, I have two more next week, but they’re not exams. A case study for International Business Management and a paper for Tech and Opportunities. Can you edit that for me, please? You wouldn’t have to rush, it’s due on Wednesday. I read it over a bunch of times, but you’re much better at that stuff.” Yongsun nodded. She’d done this a few other times over the semester for Moonbyul, and even though she was mad at the moment, she wouldn’t leave her friend hanging like that.

She wondered if part of the reason Moonbyul was so comfortable was because the junior knew that Yongsun would do anything she asked. Even now, after over a week of canceling on her several times, Byulyi came in making light of everything instead of explaining herself.

“Why so serious?” Moonbyul reached over to relax Yongsun’s furrowed eyebrows. The graduate student moved her head back to prevent the athlete from succeeding in her mission.

“My face is serious because I’m serious.”

“Here we go,” Moonbyul rolled her eyes.

“Yes, here we go. You repeatedly canceled on me for more than a week. I don’t know what you’re used to, but that is rude. Then you messaged me, asking to talk about it, but instead of talking about it, you waltz in making jokes like everything is okay.” Yongsun was getting riled up, her words blurring together as the anger caused her to start speaking quicker. “It seems you’re starting to take me lightly, Byulyi. Maybe I’m too easy on you. That can change. Just say the word and that will change. Most of those times we were supposed to hang out were your ideas. If you already had plans with your little girlfriend, then don’t make plans with other people.”

“My little girlfriend? Who is my little girlfriend, unnie?” Yongsun hadn’t meant to say that part out loud, but it was out there. There was nothing she could do about it now. A big part of her found satisfaction, though, in how annoyed Moonbyul seemed by that comment. She smiled internally.

“The same girl you kept canceling on me for. The same girl that randomly messaged me today asking to meet. About that, don’t give strangers my phone number. I don’t know that girl, she’s not my friend. There’s no reason for her to have my number and you had no right to give it to her without asking me first.”

“She said she wants to get to know you better and asked for your number, so I gave it to her. It’s not a big deal,” Moonbyul shrugged.

Yongsun sat and counted her breaths. She didn’t know what it was about Moonbyul that got under her skin like this, but the younger woman was pissing her off with how dismissive she was being. Once she gathered herself, she responded in a forced calm voice.

“It’s not a big deal? Don’t tell me it’s not a big deal, Byulyi. Like I just said, that girl is not my friend. We’ve never interacted before. I don’t know her from a hole in the wall. Whatever you’re doing with her behind closed doors doesn’t make me and her friends. She’s a stranger to me. And don’t act bold with me about my number. You have your girls, that’s your business. Keep them away from me.”

“You want me to keep them a secret the same way you keep your little boyfriend a secret?” Moonbyul spat. Yongsun’s mouth nearly dropped open from shock, but she refused to give Moonbyul the pleasure of knowing that the comment affected her. She forcefully pursed her lips instead. Never before had Byulyi spoken to her this way. Her best friend attacking her like this in defense of some random girl was confirmation enough for Yongsun that something was indeed happening between Moonbyul and Sunmi.

“He’s not a secret. You’re the only person I don’t talk about him with.” Moonbyul flinched and Yongsun felt like an . This was not how the conversation was supposed to go. All she wanted coming into this was an apology. Instead, she let her anger get the best of her. There was no way they would resolve this today.

The hurt on Moonbyul’s face rendered her speechless. Nothing she said now would make a difference, but Yongsun figured she’d try anyway.

“Byul-ah,” she choked out, “I’m sor-”

“I’m gonna go now,” Moonbyul interrupted her. She stood up and picked up her coat, all while avoiding eye contact. “We have practice later. I need to nap before that.”

“Byul-ah,” Yongsun tried again.

“Don’t worry about editing my paper. I’ll find someone else to do it.”

“Byul-ah.”

No response came. There were no histrionics, no yelling, no nothing. She just left, gently shutting the door behind her.

After a few minutes of sitting in stunned silence, Yongsun walked to her room, jumped into her bed, and covered herself from head to toe in her comforter. She replayed everything that transpired, looking for where she could have said and done things differently. Tired of thinking, she allowed the weight of her emotions to overtake her, which wasn’t much better because before she knew it, salty tears were trickling down her face.

She fell asleep crying over the state of her relationship with Moonbyul.

It was the first time. It wouldn’t be the last.

*

Upon waking from her slumber, Yongsun responded to Sunmi’s text. It was hours later, but she couldn’t care less. The girl should be happy that she got a response at all. Sunmi immediately responded afterwards, asking if they could meet the following day to talk something through. That was how Yongsun found herself currently at the SNU Café.

The two had agreed to meet at 2:30 pm. It was 2:35 pm. She had half a mind to leave and go about her business. She was curious, though, about what this girl wanted so badly to discuss. That kept her seated.

Another two minutes passed before the “influencer” showed up frazzled.

“I am so sorry, Yongsun-ssi. I had a meeting with a professor that took longer than anticipated. Again, I’m really sorry about that.” Yongsun stayed seated and said nothing. Noticing this, Sunmi continued, attempting this time to ingratiate herself with the brunette. “I know you probably don’t care. It makes sense. Your schedule must be so busy as a graduate student.”

Yongsun still said nothing. She busied herself instead with taking in the young woman before her. She’d considered Sunmi pretty upon first seeing her Instagram pictures, but watching her in person, the girl was beautiful. She was also taller than expected. A lot more awkward than Yongsun initially thought she’d be. Cute voice. Energetic. A welcoming energy about her. Yongsun wished, though, that the girl would get to the point so that she could go about her day. It seemed her prayers were being answered today because Sunmi did just that.

“I’ll get to the point. I want to throw a surprise party for Byulyi’s birthday and was hoping that you’d help me with some of the details.”

A sardonic laugh almost escaped Yongsun’s lips. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” Sunmi enthusiastically responded. “I know there isn’t much time since her birthday is next Sunday, but I’d get everything together, you wouldn’t have to worry about that. One of my friends agreed to let me use her apartment in University Village, so we have somewhere to host it. I’d use mine, but I have a roommate. My friend has a single. Was planning on taking Byulyi somewhere beforehand, but was hoping you could tell me more about what she likes so I have a better understanding of where to take her and what gifts to get her.”

The more Sunmi’s lips moved, the more annoyed Yongsun grew. They weren’t speaking at the moment—in part because of Sunmi, actually—but Yongsun and Moonbyul had discussed the latter’s birthday a month ago.

Moonbyul, as usual, came to Yongsun’s apartment after training. The two sat on the couch with some k-drama playing in the background. Gentle fingers playing in her hair made the athlete sigh contentedly.

“That feels good, unnie.” Her head was in Yongsun’s lap, her eyes closed.

“You always say that.”

“Because it always feels good,” the junior laughed.

A comfortable silence filled the room until Yongsun remembered that Moonbyul’s birthday was a little over a month away. As one of her best friends, she’d be expected to do something special, but she had no idea what that should look like.

“Byul-ah, what do you want to do for your birthday?”

It took some time, but Moonbyul eventually answered. “Nothing.”

“What do you mean nothing? It’s your birthday, you have to do something!”

“I don’t,” she shook her head. “I mean, I don’t want to go anywhere or anything like that. Maybe just a dinner at my apartment with the four of us and Heeyeon if she’s around, but it’s on a Sunday, so that makes things difficult.”

The timing was a little challenging, Yongsun thought. Moonbyul’s birthday was Sunday, December 22^nd. Finals finished on Wednesday, December 18^th, so it was expected that most people would leave campus on that Friday or Saturday to begin their month-long winter break. The basketball team got one week off before they had to return for trainings and games.

“I leave for home on the 23^rd, but if you’re here, you and I can spend it together.”

“You shouldn’t spend your birthday with me, Byul-ah.” It sounded wonderful to Yongsun, it did, but she didn’t want Moonbyul to feel obligated to say this simply because she asked about her birthday.

“Why not? I love spending time with you. Even when we’re doing nothing, it’s fun. Healing. Re-energizing.”

The brunette bit back a smile. There was no way for Moonbyul to know, but her words warmed Yongsun’s heart. They spent a lot of time together, but Yongsun knew the athlete was very popular. A lot of people wanted some of her time and attention. For her to say that she only wanted to spend her birthday with Yongsun made her feel like the most important person in the world.

“Okay,” Yongsun simply replied.

“Okay,” Moonbyul copied her with a bright smile.

“She doesn’t want a party or anything.” Sunmi seemed to not have heard her, so Yongsun cleared and spoke up again. “She doesn’t want anything for her birthday. I already asked her.”

“Everyone says that,” the junior laughed and waved Yongsun off, “she definitely wants something.”

“K.” There was zero reason for the two of them to be talking right now. This girl had already made her mind up that she was going to throw this party.

“Since I have your number, I’ll text you all of the details once they’re confirmed. I told her teammates, but I don’t know all of her friends. Would you mind telling others about this? Whoever you think should be there, tell them.”

“Cool.”

They seemed to be done, so Yongsun reached for her jacket at the back of her chair. She noticed, though, that Sunmi made no move to leave.

“Are we done?”

“For the most part, I guess.” This was the first time since they began talking that the girl sounded hesitant.

“You guess, or you know?” Yongsun’s query was gruff.

A few beats passed before Sunmi spoke up. “She talks about you a lot.” Yongsun lifted an eyebrow at her and Sunmi took that as an invitation to say more. “Moonbyul. She talks about you a lot. That’s how I knew you two were close. That’s why I asked for your number; I figured you’d be able to help.”

There it was. Yongsun had been wrong yesterday when she berated Moonbyul. There wasn’t anything official going on between the athlete and Sunmi, but Sunmi wanted there to be. Obviously. One doesn’t throw a surprise birthday party for someone they’ve only known for a week and a half unless there were feelings. Well, that’s what Yongsun thought, at least.

Sunmi called Yongsun here looking for answers on the nature of her relationship with Moonbyul.

If she wasn’t over it before, Yongsun was certainly over this girl now.

“At first, I thought that you two were dating,” a fake laugh followed her trap of a statement. “Whenever we met up to take pictures, it was like everything we did or said reminded her of you.” She said the last part while looking down at the table and playing with her fingers.

“Mmm.” Yongsun couldn’t care less about giving this girl the answers she was looking for and she certainly wasn’t concerned with making Sunmi feel better about herself.

“Yeah,” she wistfully added.

“Okay. I’m going to leave now. I have another meeting.” She didn’t.

“Thank you for meeting with me,” Sunmi smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll make sure to follow-up with the details for next week.”

“Cool.”

That was that.

As she walked back to her apartment, Yongsun drafted a text and almost sent it to Byulyi—it was a reflex. A pang of sadness hit her as she remembered their situation and that they weren't on speaking terms.

She sent the message to Wheein and Hyejin instead.

Yongsun

You are not going to believe what just happened. 3:06 pm

Note: Well.

Yell at me in the comments if you’d like. Let me know your thoughts. Was Yongsun doing too much? Was Moonbyul doing too little? I remember one person asked for Sunmi. Here she is.

Thank you everyone that has subscribed to this story! It didn’t register at first how many people had done so, but wow. Thank you so much!