To: Eric
What are you doing this weekend? 10:11 am

There was no point in waiting to start this “enjoy the single life” thing. School started in a few weeks and once it did, Yongsun would have significantly less free time to be “carefree”. If she was going to do it, she needed to do it now.

Excited that she agreed to try being more social, Wheein and Hyejin decided to strike while the iron was hot. They proposed that the three of them go out to Hongdae to eat and see where the night took them. Not wanting to look like she was retreating into her antisocial ways, Yongsun accepted the offer. Only afterwards did she remember that Chorong would be moved in by then and asked if her same-aged friend could join them—the younger girls gave her permission. Figuring she might as well make an event out of it, Yongsun also decided to invite Eric. It wasn’t until this morning, though, that she remembered to message him about it.

Wrapped in her comforter like a burrito—sleeping with the air conditioning on high was a habit that needed changing—the black-haired girl laughed quietly to herself at how excited she was about assembling her “crew”. Never before had she had one. A few people she hung out with from time to time, yes, but a collective of people, all of whom she cared deeply for and felt close enough to share most things with? No. This was a first. A welcomed one. It was astonishing how much of a difference one year could make.

Having spent enough time in her head, the graduate student resigned herself to getting out of bed. Chorong was moving in today, so, even though Yongsun had no work at the Center, she needed to triple check that the apartment was presentable. Her bare legs were only just swung over the side of her elevated bed when her phone vibrated. Feet dangling, she took a moment to respond, knowing before checking her notifications that it was Eric.

From: Eric

Depends. 10:25 am

To: Eric

🙄

Nevermind. 10:26 am

😅Joking! What’s up? 10:26 am

We’re going out.

I wanted to invite you. 10:27 am

I’m in! 10:28 am

Haven’t even given you details yet . . . 10:29 am

Doesn’t matter. I need a night out. 10:30 am

Uh oh. Everything okay? 10:31 am

I’ll tell you this weekend. 10:31 am

😳 10:32 am

Accurate.

I can crash with you, right? 10:34 am

Absolutely. 10:35 am

Chorong’ll be cool w/ it? 10:36 am

This was going to be an adjustment for her. In her head, Yongsun knew that Chorong was moving in. That information hadn’t yet seeped into her thoughts and actions, though, not only because sharing the space with her friend hadn’t happened yet, but also because Misuk was very different. The younger girl was almost never in the apartment on weekends, and when she was present, she stayed in her bedroom. Yongsun rarely had to consider someone else when deciding to have people over, which was part of the reason Moonbyul came over as often as she did. It felt most of the time as if she had a single. While she and Chorong hadn’t lived the life of roommates yet, the black-haired girl thought it safe to assume that Chorong would not be a Misuk. She needed to start considering her when making plans that would potentially affect them both.

To: Eric

Good question.

She likes you. It should be fine. 10:40 am

From: Eric

Nice! Excited! Ttyl about details. 10:40 am

As that conversation was neatly wrapped up, a new message flashed onto Yongsun’s screen:

From: Rongie

Arriving around 1:00 pm. Cool? 10:40 am

To: Rongie

Perfect! See you soon! 10:41 am

She needed to get her up immediately.

*

Chorong was punctual. At 1:00 pm, Yongsun received a text alerting her to the girl’s presence at UV. Although her new roommate had already signed a lease for the apartment, there was additional paperwork that needed to be completed. As such, while Chorong dealt with that in the management office, Yongsun and Changsub worked alongside one another to bring Chorong’s possessions upstairs. By the time she joined them, a good amount of progress had been made.

A couple hours later, the girls struck up a conversation as they sat watching Changsub set up the big-screen television—all three agreed that was the number one priority.

“What are you going to unpack next?”

“Nothing,” Chorong chuckled.

“Nothing?!”

“I’m too tired,” she whined before dramatically laying her head on Yongsun’s shoulder.

“Changsub and I did most of the heavy lifting.”

“Um, I did most of the heavy lifting,” Changsub peaked his head out from behind the television.

“Changsub, this isn’t about you. This is about Chorong unpacking her things and getting set up in the apartment.”

“I put sheets on my bed. That should count.”

“That’s . . . a fair point,” Yongsun conceded.

After another half hour had passed, Changsub finally had the television set up. The three lazed around poking holes in the plot of the drama they were watching when a rap on the apartment door caught their attention.

“You expecting anyone?” Yongsun asked her new roommate.

“Definitely not. It must be for you.”

Her curiosity piqued, Yongsun lifted herself from the couch to check. Once she saw who it was, though, she quirked an eyebrow before easing the door open.

“Why didn’t you just call or text me that you were outside?”

“Isn’t knocking on the door how it was done in the old days when you were young?” Hyejin brushed past her, Wheein in tow.

“You can leave, you know?”

“She’s joking, unnie,” Wheein spoke up in a placating tone.

“I am,” Hyejin promptly agreed. “I was joking. I love you. We both do.”

“What do you want?” Yongsun rolled her eyes.

“We’re hungry,” the youngest pouted.

“Fine. What do you want to eat?” No matter what, Yongsun would never allow them to go without food. The three of them had reached a point where that went without saying.

Before Hyejin could spout off her, no doubt, very specific order, Chorong interrupted.

“Hyejin and Wheein live in University Village, too?”

“Sorry. Where are our manners? Hi, Chorong-unnie, Changsub-oppa,” the young girls greeted the apartment’s other occupants. “We don’t live here, we’re visiting for the week and are staying in Byul-unnie’s apartment down the hall.”

“Her apartment is down the hall?” That was directed at Yongsun, who tried to deflect.

“Hyejin, tell me what you and Wheein want so I can order it.”

“She lives down the hall, Yongsun?!”

“I mentioned that before,” she dismissively responded.

“You did not. You mentioned that she lived in the same building, which is one thing. Her living down the hall, though, is very different.”

“Oh yeah,” Hyejin laughed, “I forgot the two of you don’t like each other.”

Yongsun shook her head at the comment before fishing her phone out of her shorts’ pockets. This was not the conversation she needed right now.

“Hyejin-ah, please, just tell me what you want to eat. Please,” she pleaded.

*

Thankfully, the looming tension from earlier dissipated and the five of them were able to find topics of conversation enjoyable to all. To show his excitement over Chorong moving in with Yongsun, Changsub bought enough food and drinks for everyone. In his words, it was a moment of celebration, so they should all celebrate.

What resulted was a mini-party, just the five of them playing music and chatting amongst themselves. The atmosphere was light and comfortable. Despite Chorong’s warnings against it, Changsub somehow conned Wheein into letting him be the DJ. His first selection was a rap song that Yongsun, Wheein, and Hyejin were all unfamiliar with. It wasn’t bad at all, but they found his dance moves distracting.

“See, this is why I said don’t let him pick the music. He only plays the most obscure rap songs.”

“This is real rap, Rong-ah.”

“Agreed,” Wheein mischievously encouraged him. “Those dance moves are no joke, oppa.”

“Are you joining us this weekend? After seeing you like this, you have to come out with us,” Hyejin insisted.

“See, Chorong? Wheein and Hyejin have taste.”

“They’re making fun of you,” the girl rolled her eyes.

“Jealousy is a disease, Chorong. As for this weekend, Hyejin-ah, I can’t. I’m hanging out with Jinyoung and Hodong. Unless . . . I bring them?”

“Well, seeing as the whole point of the weekend is to get Yongsun-unnie to meet and hook up with new people, it may not be the best idea to have her ex around.”

“I did not agree to hook up with people, Hyejin! Stop saying that.”

The younger girl simply waved her off before joining Wheein in checking what food was left.

“Speaking of Jinyoung,” Changsub concluded his dancing to sidle up to Yongsun on the couch, “why didn’t you tell me that the two of you broke up?”

Yongsun took a look around to see what the others were doing before she responded—Chorong was on her phone on the armchair by the window, Wheein and Hyejin were in the kitchen area.

“I figured he’d tell you.” She never thought she’d have to tell everyone personally. When it happened, Yongsun told Chorong, and she assumed either Chorong or Jinyoung would tell the others.

“He did, but . . . I don’t know. It kind of hurt that you didn’t mention it.”

The last thing she expected tonight was a heart-to-heart about her breakup. “I’m . . . sorry. Didn’t know it would affect you like this.”

“You and I are friends, too. Maybe I’m being dramatic about it, but I don’t want you to feel like I’m more his friend or anything like that. We’re all still friends.”

“Of course,” she smiled sincerely. He leaned in for a hug and she reciprocated. Changsub hugs were some of the best hugs and it had been too long since she last had one.

“Why are the two of you hugging?” Chorong interrupted.

“Would you like to join?” Yongsun playfully asked.

“No. I’ll pass,” she sat to Yongsun’s left. “Excited about this weekend, though! I really think it’ll be fun. Hyejin and Wheein are right, you need to let your hair down and have a carefree night or two.”

“I kind of want to cancel on Hodong and Jinyoung now. Yongsun letting loose sounds epic.”

“The two of you are a mess. Before I forget, Chorong, Eric is joining us this weekend and wanted to crash here. I told him it would be fine, but wanted to double-check. If not, I’ll figure something out for him.”

“It’s fine. Eric’s cool.”

“Now I really want to cancel on Hodong and Jinyoung. Eric gets to spend a whole weekend with a group of beautiful women. Not fair.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Chorong laughed.

*

“Yongsun, you don’t think you’re overreacting a bit? It’s just a game.”

“Happy to know you have no national pride, Chorong,” she responded dryly as she got comfortable in her cross-legged position on the living room floor in front of the television.

“National pride? It’s a basketball game. Calm down.”

“Unnie, leave her be. This is how she’s been with all the games. She takes them very seriously,” Wheein tried explaining. Judging by the expression on Chorong’s face, though, her opinion remained the same.

Yongsun couldn’t care less. This was a big deal. Korea could possibly move on to the semifinals of the Olympics. She needed to focus and wasn’t going to let Chorong or anyone else distract her.

Today’s game was against France, the fourth-ranked team in the world. From what Byul had told her, and from her own research, they were a powerhouse: skilled, quick, and tall. This would be a challenge, but Yongsun held out faith that Byulyi and the rest of the team could do the unthinkable and make their way to the final four. Judging by the crowd in the arena, many others hoped the same, too. The team’s unexpected run had garnered many fans—Korea was the tournament sweetheart. That alone temporarily eased Yongsun’s anxiety about this quarterfinal match.

“The game’s starting, everyone,” Hyejin announced. “Chorong-unnie, if there’re any last words you have for Yongsun-unnie, say them now before she gets into her zone.”

“Ha ha, Hyejin,” Yongsun laughed humorlessly. “You all can continue with the jokes. They don’t bother me.”

“You’re like a fangirl,” Chorong observed.

“It’s funny you say that! She’s the president of Byul-unnie’s basketball fan club.”

“Wheein,” the eldest protested, “you’re starting with this fan club stuff again?”

“Unnie,” Hyejin jumped in, “look at you. You’re in front of the television stressing over her basketball game. Is that not ‘president of the fan club’ material?”

Turning back to the television, Yongsun responded, “Then as president of the club, all of your applications are denied.”

“I know you’re talking to Hyejin and Wheein because I would never even think of applying for anything of the sort.”

“We get it Chorong, you don’t like Byulyi,” Yongsun deadpanned. The others laughed, but Yongsun focused her attention on the game. She’d given them enough time and ended up missing the opening tip.

Wheein was curious though.

“Why exactly don’t you like her, Chorong-unnie? Did she do something to you?”

“I’ve just heard that she’s messy and that she plays with girls’ feelings. I don’t like that.”

“She does flirt a lot; I’ll give you that. She’s not the type to intentionally play with people’s feelings, though.”

“And we’re not only saying that because we’re her friends,” Hyejin chimed in. “When she first got to SNU, I’ll admit, she was a little messy, but Byul-unnie’s really not like that. She’s the type that likes romance and relationships and all that stuff.”

“Her and Sunmi was ‘romance and relationships’?” Chorong asked skeptically. “From what I heard, she was stringing that girl along.”

“That was . . . a misunderstanding,” Wheein finished unconvincingly.

“Hmm. It seems there are many misunderstandings when it comes to her and others.”

“You two are wasting your time. I’ve tried. She doesn’t like Byul, Byul doesn’t like her. I accepted it, the two of you should, too.” Yongsun said all of that without turning her head from the screen. The other three had no idea she was even paying their conversation any mind.

“Look,” Chorong lifted her hands in defense, “I’m not trying to attack your friend, I’m just sharing what I’ve heard, but the three of you know her best. If you swear by her, then fine. She’s not my cup of tea, but I won’t go out of the way to start problems with her. I can promise you that.”

That was fair. They left it at that.

*

Saying that the game did not go well was an understatement. France dominated in every way imaginable. The first half, Korea was able to play them tough and keep it close, heading into halftime only down by 5 points. It seemed, however, that the pep talk the French head coach gave her team woke them up because they started the second half with a relentless offensive attack and smothering defense. It grew difficult to watch at one point, but Yongsun persisted.

In the end, Korea lost by 15, but that was misleading—France had taken their starters out for almost all of the fourth quarter, giving the Korean team ample time to cut down their 30-point deficit. All things considered, Byulyi and her teammates did their best and showed themselves to have talented players that could be groomed into forces to be reckoned with. No one could be mad at that. Their showing at the Olympics was one that brought pride to their nation.

While disappointed, Yongsun was mainly worried about how Moonbyul would take everything. Twenty minutes after the game ended, the athlete texted her that she’d be calling in a few minutes. That was the quickest after a game that Byulyi had ever scheduled one of their calls. The graduate student didn’t know what to make of that.

“Unnie, do you know what you’re wearing on Friday?”

“No idea, Hyejin. Why?”

“Let me dress you.”

“No.”

“Why?! I did a great job for Midnight Madness. You said you loved it.”

“I did love it. That was a big event, though, this weekend is supposed to be lowkey. I’m not going to a bar dressed up.”

“You’re no fun,” the youngest pouted.

“How about this, I’l—” Hyejin’s hopeful eyes at Yongsun’s sentence turned agitated as the graduate student’s ringtone blared through the room. “It’s Byulyi, gotta take this.”

Yongsun stood to head to her room but stopped momentarily as Chorong called to her from the couch.

“Wait, just like that? You were mid-sentence. You’re just going to leave to talk on the phone that abruptly?”

“Get used to it, unnie. Whenever Byul-unnie calls or texts her, she drops everything.”

“Wheein-ah, don’t lie. That’s not true.” Her gaze was fixed on her cell phone, though, deciding to accept the call before Moonbyul assumed she was busy or uninterested.

“It definitely is,” Hyejin confirmed.

“Byul-ah, they’re bullying me,” she pouted into the phone.

“Who’s bullying my Yongsun?”

“Chorong, Wheein, and Hyejin.”

“Please leave me out of this,” Chorong comically put her hands up in prayer.

“It’s okay, Yong. I’ll protect you.”

“Thank you,” she cutely responded.

“Since when does she act like this? The Yongsun I know is not . . . this,” Chorong waved a hand in Yongsun’s direction.

“You sound disgusted,” Hyejin laughed.

“Because I am. This is so weird.”

“Unnie, that’s just how they are. They get caught up in their own little world. It’s best to not question it. They’re just weird like that sometimes.”

“Byul-ah, sorry to cut you off, but Wheein just called us weird.” Most of what Chorong, Wheein, and Hyejin had said before went unheard by Yongsun, who hung on Moonbyul’s every word.

“Wheein-ah. You’re too pretty to be this jealous,” the blonde shouted from the phone.

“Ew. I’m going to go unpack my room.” Chorong seemed to have reached her limit.

“Rongie, don’t be like that. I’ll take the call in my room. You can stay out here with Wheein and Hyejin.”

Moments later, the two were alone. Yongsun scurried to jump onto her bed and lie on her back. Both legs bent at the knees, she rested her cell phone on her thigh before resuming their conversation.

“Okay. I’m in my room now.”

“I can see that,” Moonbyul chuckled.

“Hush. Where are you?” It looked like the athlete was also lying down somewhere.

“The trainer’s room. Coach finished his speech then I came straight here. I haven’t received treatment yet, but it’s going to take forever. I needed company so I called you.”

“You’re just using me then?”

“Yes. I’m selfish and I’m using you to help pass the time.” Despite her words, Moonbyul’s gaze was tender.

“How’s your face?”

“It hurts. I got hit in the same spot under my eye again,” she winced.

“I know. That’s why I asked. Is it swelling again?”

“Aww, you care about me. How touching. And no, I don’t think it’s swelling. It just hurts. I’ll be okay, though.”

Yongsun hummed in acknowledgment.

“Some people were leaving comments on my Instagram that they like the bruise, so maybe it’s not a bad thing that it’ll last for a bit longer.”

“You just like the praise and attention, that’s why you posted that picture of your face yesterday,” Yongsun accused. Once she saw that Moonbyul had posted something, she went to check the picture, only to see the image and the caption, “Wish I had someone to take care of me 🥺”. Never before had she scrolled past a picture quicker in her life. Yongsun didn’t even want to imagine what the comments under that were like.

“Oh, so you know that I posted a picture? Because I don’t remember seeing a like or comment from you . . .”

“You’re so petty. You checked to see if I interacted with the picture? What a loser.”

“My face hurts and you couldn’t even leave a nice comment? I’m demoting you from ‘top favorite girl’.”

“I checked on you all yesterday,” Yongsun calmly countered with a small smile. Moon Byulyi was ridiculous. Possibly one of the biggest babies to ever exist, and Yongsun thought it was adorable.

“Yeah, but you didn’t leave a comment for everyone to see, so it doesn’t count.”

“Those are the rules?” Once the blonde nodded, Yongsun laughed and played along. “My apologies then. From now on I’ll follow the rules.”

“That’s all I ask.”

“As for the favorite girl thing, you have like fifty thousand favorite girls. The title isn’t special anymore.”

“But there’s only one ‘most favorite girl of all favorite girls in the history of favorite girls,’ and that’s you. I’d argue that’s the most special title, no?”

“I don’t believe you. Sweet words automatically fall from your lips. You probably say the same thing to everyone.”

The graduate student watched with rapt attention as a contemplative look overtook Byul’s face. For moments they both lay on their backs, neither saying a word. Moonbyul broke the silence first. She was serious when she spoke.

“Whatever I say to you is what I say to you. Stop saying that I speak the same to everyone. I don’t. I don’t speak to anyone the way I speak to you.” Yongsun sensed no anger in Moonbyul’s words. The younger girl spoke as if she were reciting a well-known fact, but she also spoke with conviction, leaving no room for argument or misinterpretation. Yongsun’s stomach did a small flip.

Hearing Byulyi articulate her thoughts the way she did filled Yongsun with . . . glee? She wasn’t exactly sure what it was she was feeling, but she liked what she heard and no longer felt shame in admitting that she enjoyed words of adoration and appreciation. They made her feel special, and she liked feeling special. What Yongsun was still unclear on, though, was whether she liked feeling special in general, or if it was Moonbyul making her feel special that she relished.

“When are you coming home?”

“Why? You miss me? It’s only been three weeks.” Byulyi joked.

“No.”

“So why are you asking?”

“I want to know how much more free time I have before you come back and terrorize my life.”

“I’ll keep my return a surprise then.”

“Stop,” Yongsun whined, “just tell me when you’re coming back!”

“My family’s here, so I’m spending time with the team and my family until the team leaves on the 11^th, then it’ll be vacation time with family until the 16^th.”

“So another week and a half until you get back?”

“Yes, ma’am. Think you can last until then?”

“Shut up. Won’t that be tough on you and your body? By the time you get back, you’ll only have a week before classes start.” Moonbyul spoke about her schedule so casually, but training as intensely as she had been for the past three months was difficult. On top of that, with little to no rest, she’d be jumping right back into classes and training for the university team upon her return from Japan. Yongsun would be remiss if she didn’t worry about her best friend’s well-being.

“As long I have you by my side, I’ll be okay.”

Why was she so good with her words?

*

If you asked Wheein and Hyejin, night #1 of the group’s weekend out was a failure. To their knowledge, Yongsun spoke to no new people, got no phone numbers, and hooked up with no one.

If you asked Yongsun, it was one of the best nights out she’d ever had—she and Eric got to catch up, almost all of her best friends were in the same place, and they were all having a good time. Things didn’t get much better than that.

Although Wheein and Hyejin gave her constant reminders throughout the night to get her act together and socialize with new faces, Yongsun got too caught up in the jokes her friends were making to remember that she was supposed to be interacting with other people. They found a restaurant to eat at for a couple of hours before deciding to spend the rest of their time in Hongdae bar‑hopping.

She hadn’t taken a sip of anything alcoholic all night, realizing that her friends were doing enough of that, but Yongsun still enjoyed herself. The five agreed that the bar they were currently at would be their last—they had an 11:33 pm train back to SNU and if they missed it, they’d be assed out.

With Wheein, Hyejin, and Chorong off mingling, Yongsun took the opportunity to catch up with Eric, who still had yet to update her on what hin so frustrated earlier in the week. Deftly sliding into the seat next to him and playfully bumping his shoulder, she broached the topic.

“So . . . ready to talk about what was bothering you? I waited until you had a bunch of drinks in your system before I brought it up.”

He scrubbed his face aggressively before releasing a heavy sigh. “It’s a girl. Well, I guess past tense is more appropriate. It was a girl.”

“A girl?!”

“Don’t sound so surprised,” he sipped from his can of beer.

“Sorry,” Yongsun blushed from embarrassment. “It’s just that you don’t really talk about seeing anyone, so it caught me off guard. Anyway, what about this girl?”

“Not much to tell. Went out with some friends one night, met her, we started chatting, then we exchanged numbers. We spoke a lot, had a lot in common, then we started hanging out and then hanging out turned into hooking up. I liked her and she seemed to like me, but as soon as I mentioned wanting a more official relationship, she started acting hot and cold.”

“How?”

“I’d message her and then she’d ghost me, then would pop up a week or so later as if nothing happened. It was frustrating, but I figured she was busy with work or something. I don’t know.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah. Anyway, a couple days before you invited me out, I found out she had a boyfriend. Like, a boyfriend boyfriend. As in, been together for a year boyfriend.”

“No!”

“Yup,” he popped the p. “It makes sense now why she got so weird after I started talking about the two of us being in a relationship. Her stringing me along also makes all the sense in the world now.”

Yongsun gently laid her head on his shoulder and hugged him. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that. No one deserves that.”

“It’s okay. Tonight has helped a lot, though. You and your friends are a lot of fun. Helped to take my mind off of that.”

“They’re your friends, too.”

“I guess.”

“There’s no guessing. They are.” She waited a few moments before asking, “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“We were seeing each other and I wasn’t sure where it was going, so there wasn’t much to tell. Her ghosting me . . .  that was embarrassing, so I definitely wasn’t going to mention that. Plus, you had your thing with Moonbyul going on. I didn’t want to put that on you while you were figuring that out.”

“Are you kidding me,” she gently smacked him on his stomach, “that would’ve been the perfect distraction. I was so in my head about the Byulyi stuff. It would’ve been helpful to have something else to figure out.”

“Next time I get ghosted and played, you’ll be the first I tell about it.”

“Stop. It won’t happen again.”

“You have no way of knowing,” he laughed softly.

“Don’t doubt my abilities.”

“Okay, Yongsun.”

Suddenly, she sat up, startling Eric.

“Give me your phone.”

“What?”

“Give me your phone! I’m going to text that girl.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m not. Give me your phone. Stop shielding her. That was gross what she did.”

He contemplated it for a moment before chuckling softly and fishing his phone from his pocket. Finding the proper contact, Eric handed her the phone. “Here.”

“Perfect.”

It took her 10 minutes, but Yongsun eventually crafted what she believed to be the perfect text to such an inconsiderate person. Eric was sweet and kind. He deserved someone that realized and treasured that.

“Sent it!”

“Oh gosh. Let me see what you sent.”

The black-haired girl looked on expectantly as Eric reviewed what she wrote, hoping he’d approve.

“Yongsun!” Eric guffawed. “Oh my goodness,” he forced out as he laughed uncontrollably.

“I did good?”

“Yeah, you did good.”

To: Danbi

Hi. This is one of Eric’s best friends. You’re lucky I don’t live in Suwon anymore. He just told me what you did to him and, you know what, it’s a good thing the two of you didn’t work out. He deserves much better than someone as classless as you. Don’t ever talk to him again; if you do, I’ll fight you (I’m a girl by the way, so it’s okay if I fight you). You’re gross and I feel bad for your boyfriend. Hope you get a papercut between your index finger and thumb. 10:58 pm

“Oh!” He suddenly changed gears. “Guess who I saw the other day? Seungyeon.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She stopped by SKKU to say hi to Coach Lim and I caught her on her way out. I mentioned that you were in Seoul and she was surprised by that, so I’m assuming you never contacted her like you said you would.”

Damnit. She had forgotten all about that.

“I forgot.”

“You always forget. I’m going to message her now and see if we can all get together before I leave on Sunday.”

A slightly tipsy Chorong appeared just then, wrapping an arm around both Eric and Yongsun.

“I was told by Wheein to tell the two of you that we need to leave to catch our train.”

“You drunk, Rongie?”

“No, Yongie,” she giggled, “I’m a little tipsy, but I’m feeling great.”

“Remember we have another night of this tomorrow. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

“You’re right, Yongie. That’s why we’re going home now.”

“Okay. Let’s go home. Come on, Eric.”

“Yes, ma’am. Chorong, where’s your bag? You came with a bag.”

“Aww, you’re so sweet, Eric!”

“He’s a gentleman, yes.”

And so, the three rounded up Wheein and Hyejin before heading home for the night.

While on their second train, Yongsun’s phone buzzed.

From: Maybe Seungyeon

Hi, Yongsun. It’s Seungyeon. Eric mentioned you lived in Seoul now and gave me your number; I’m in the city, too. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to meet up with the two of you this weekend, but maybe you and I could catch up sometime next week? Let me know! 12:15 am

Maybe the night wasn’t a complete failure.

*

Night #2 went a bit better.

The quintet, once again, made their way to Hongdae, and Yongsun put in a modicum of effort. Although she kept her outfit simple, the graduate student straightened her hair and put on eye makeup—it made Hyejin happy, so that was a good sign.

After eating, they all went to a nearby club.

“You have no excuse tonight. You look good. The place is packed. Be social, unnie.”

And she tried. Yongsun genuinely tried to be open to any advances from others, which led to a moment of embarrassment. She wasn’t sure when it started, but a handsome young man had been chatting her up for most of her time in the club. He was well-mannered, giving her space when it seemed like she needed it, and offering to buy drinks for her and her friends. As with the night before, Yongsun opted to not drink, but the rest of her friends took advantage of the opportunity. They spoke and spoke, growing comfortable enough with each other that Yongsun decided she’d give him her number if he asked.

He eventually did ask her something, just . . . not what she’d expected.

“You’re friends with that girl over there, right?” He pointed at Wheein.

“You’ve been chatting me up all night so that you could try getting closer to my friend?”

“When you say it like that, it sounds horrible.”

“How else did you think it was going to sound?”

He thought about it for a bit before responding. “You have a point.”

“Let me introduce you to her,” she laughed.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Truly. I’m not hurt.” And she wasn’t. It was just funny that the moment she became okay with meeting someone, they weren’t actually interested in her. A humbling experience. She had to tell Byulyi.

To: Byul-ah

I’m out tonight trying to “meet new people”. A guy was chatting me up all night so, naturally, I thought he was interested. He just wanted to get on my good side so I could introduce him to Wheein. 11:45 pm

She didn’t have to wait long for the response.

From: Byul-ah

😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭 11:46 pm

To: Byul-ah

Thank you for being so considerate. 11:46 pm

From: Byul-ah

Yong, that is HILARIOUS 11:47 pm

It’s not. It’s embarrassing.

Thought I got it right in one try 😩 11:48 pm

You’ll get em next time, champ. 11:50 pm

What are you doing tonight? 11:51 pm

And so, the two of them ended up in their own little world via text. Moonbyul was out partying with her teammates. From what she had told Yongsun, it was a fun time, nothing too wild. Yongsun highly doubted that, Byulyi took great offense to that so, of course, they went back and forth, Yongsun trying to uncover the truth, Moonbyul insisting she was being honest.

So engrossed in their conversation was Yongsun that she hadn’t noticed Hyejin charging at her. She certainly noticed, though, when her phone was snatched from her hands as she was in the middle of a response to Byul.

“Hyejin!”

“Unnie!”

“What’s your problem?”

 “You’re supposed to be socializing and instead, you’ve been on your phone for the past 20 minutes. You can’t be serious. Ah,” she checked Yongsun’s screen, “of course. You’re talking to Byul-unnie.”

“I was socializing, but then something funny happened.”

“While you’ve been sharing your ‘funny story,’ that guy over there has been checking you out and you haven’t noticed because your head has been in your phone.”

Following the direction Hyejin’s long nails had pointed, Yongsun spotted a tall, lean young man. High cheekbones, casual clothes, hair in a topknot. Brown eyes met . . . she couldn’t quite tell what color his eyes were because the club was dimly lit, but their eyes met and he looked away shyly, his small smile revealing a cute dimple. It was cute.

“I’ll go talk to him. Can I have my phone back, please?”

Hyejin eyed her skeptically before handing it over.

As Yongsun walked over to the young man, she sent Moonbyul one last text.

To: Byul-ah

Hyejin scolded me. Going to talk to someone now.

Will report back. 12:01 am

From: Byul-ah

Looking forward to hearing how this goes.

Be safe. 12:01 am

She wished so badly that Byulyi was there with them.

As she shoved her phone into her back pocket, though, so, too, did she shove the thought from her head. Instead, Yongsun steeled herself for the impending conversation. Her reluctance had nothing to do with the guy himself, and everything to do with her lack of experience flirting with people. Then again, that was the point of this weekend—for her to grow more comfortable with this side of herself.

The distance between him and her closing, Yongsun put on what she hoped was a natural smile and uttered what she hoped would serve as an effective conversation starter.

“Hi. I saw you from across the room and figured I’d regret it if I didn’t come talk to you.”

*

Sunday was a lazy day. No one did anything. Yongsun barely made it to the living room to see Eric off—he left much earlier than he originally said he would, but he had work the next day, so Yongsun chalked it up to him wanting to have enough time to recover in his own home.

He wasn’t the only one that changed plans, though. She, Chorong, Wheein, and Hyejin convinced themselves that they’d be able to do brunch Sunday afternoon. That did not happen. The four ended up sprawled around the living room, stomachs growling in protest at not being filled anything of substance for hours now.

“Chorong. You can cook, right?”

“Normally, yes. Right now, no,” Chorong lethargically answered.

“Unnies, we’re hungry.”

“I know, Wheein-ah. I’m working on it.”

“I’ll call Changsub and make him order us food.”

“Isn’t that asking too much of him?” Hyejin tried being considerate, but Yongsun and all the others knew she was not-so-secretly in support of the idea.

“His family has money. He’ll be okay,” Chorong reassured her.

An hour later, the four young women were in more energetic spirits as they happily devoured their meals.

“Bless Changsub-oppa’s heart,” Wheein sang. Various grunts of approval flowed from full mouths.

“I’m going to miss the two of you around here after you leave tomorrow,” Yongsun suddenly confessed.

“We’re going to miss it, too, unnie.”

“Just see if you can move into UV instead of staying in dorms. Then we can have sleepovers all the time.”

“And you can feed us all the time,” Wheein wagged her eyebrows.

“I seriously would. That’s how much I want the both of you around.”

“Well, whether you move into UV or not, we all have to go out again like this weekend. I had a lot of fun,” Chorong shared.

“Yes! We must!”

The four lounged around for the rest of the day, chatting about whatever came to mind. Hyejin soon started asking the real questions, though.

“Yonsgun-unnie, what happened with you and the guy I made you talk to?”

“It went well! I was really nervous about it at first, but he was nice. Very shy, which I did not expect.”

“See, you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

“True. He was sweet. We exchanged numbers. Not sure if it will go anywhere, but I’m proud that I challenged myself.”

“Definitely don’t let it go anywhere. The point is not to get into a relationship, it’s to practice talking to people that are interested in you so that you grow comfortable and confident.”

“Wheein’s right. Next time, don’t give them your number, just take theirs. That way you control the situation and you only have to talk to them again if you want to.”

Yongsun wasn’t sure how these two knew so much about all of this at the age of twenty-one, but she didn’t question it.

“Why did Eric-oppa leave so early, unnie?”

“I have no idea. He said he was going to stay until mid-afternoon, but he woke me up around 11:00 am saying that he was heading out. I was so confused.”

“Maybe he had work he forgot about?”

“I doubt it. He was so excited to get away for the weekend after all the drama he was in.”

“What drama?”

It was a debrief session, so Yongsun felt okay sharing the Danbi situation with everyone. If Eric were here, she reasoned with herself, he would be okay with it.

“They were together for three months, not two,” Chorong quietly corrected Yongsun at one point during her retelling of everything.

“What was that, Rongie?”

“He and Danbi were seeing each other for three months. You said two.”

“Oh. Sorry. . . . Wait, how do you know that?” She asked quizzically.

“He told me,” the ash-brown haired girl responded.

“When did he tell you?”

“Last night,” she blushed.

“Oh. I didn’t see you two talking at the club.”

“Not at the club. When we got back to the apartment.”

Everyone’s ears perked up. It wasn’t Chorong’s words that drew curiosity, it was how soft her voice was and how red her face grew with each passing second.

“Unnie,” Hyejin jumped in, “did something happen between the two of you?”

“Yeah, I guess,” she breathed out. “I don’t know. We hooked up or whatever.”

“Excuse me?!” Yongsun was stunned. She had to have misheard that.

“We hooked up.”

“You hooked up with Eric?!”

“Shh, unnie, shh! Chorong-unnie, when you say hooked up, what exactly does that mean?”

“Good question, Hyejin,” Wheein encouraged her friend.

“We had .”

“Oh my goodness!” Yongsun stood on the couch and screamed out loud. She didn’t know what took over her, she just knew that the information just dropped on her was too much for her to handle and her body needed a way to rid itself of the awkwardness she suddenly felt. Wheein and Hyejin erupted in hysterics, jumping up and down while they laughed. Chorong simply sat composed on the opposite end of the couch, trying to hold back her own laughter. It was chaos.

“You had with Eric?!” Yongsun sought clarification.

“Yongsun, stop,” Chorong laughed. “He’s sweet.”

“You had with Eric.” She kept saying the words, but they felt foreign on her tongue.

“Unnie, let her explain. Go ahead. How did it happen?”

“I don’t want to know how it happened.”

“Shh, let her talk, Yongsun-unnie.”

“Okay,” she started bashfully. “We had talked before at your birthday celebration and got friendlier this weekend. Once we got home last night, we all went our separate ways—you to the your room, him to the living room, me to my room. A few hours after I fell asleep, I heard a noise in my room that woke me up. It was him. He was looking for the bathroom and confused my room with yours, then ended up tripping on one of the unpacked boxes in my room—that was the noise I heard. We laughed about it and started talking. He told me about the girl he was seeing and what happened between them. Then . . . yeah, one thing led to another and . . . yeah.”

“One thing led to another? This should be illegal.”

“You’re overreacting, Yongsun. He’s a handsome guy.”

“She’s right, unnie. He is.”

“You’re telling me that you never had a thing for him?”

“Ew, Chorong. No. He’s like a brother to me.”

“Well, I cannot say the same,” Chorong burst into laughter, prompting the others to do the same.

“Okay, but was he good?” Hyejin refocused the conversation.

“Hyejin, oh my gosh. What is wrong with you?”

“What? You don’t want to know?”

“No!”

“Well, I do.”

“Me, too, unnie. I’m curious.”

“You’re all sick.”

“He was really good,” Chorong ignored Yongsun’s disinterest in the topic. “I was surprised by how good he was. Not that I expected him to be horrible, I just hadn’t thought about it. But yeah, he was great.”

“So, did you, you know?”

“Did she what?” Yongsun asked.

“Have an . I did, yeah. He’s good.”

“Don’t tell me you and him are going to be together now.”

“Why would we?”

“Because you had ?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed to hooking up with him again, but I don’t want to date him. It’s just , Yongsun.”

“That’s weird,” Yongsun muttered.

“How? People have all the time. It just happens.”

“It does not ‘just happen’.”

“It does. Example, see last night.”

“Yeah, that’s weird to me.”

“I could understand. You’re used to relationship . It’s different being single.”

The little s that they are, Wheein and Hyejin snickered at Chorong’s statement.

“What?” A confused Chorong asked.

“You two are so annoying,” Yongsun’s face gradually grew pink.

“What?” Chorong asked again.

“Yeah, unnie,” Wheein directed her gaze at Yongsun, “what?”

“They’re laughing because you said I’m accustomed to relationship ,” she rolled her eyes.

“What’s wrong with that?”

“She’s never had relationship ,” Hyejin finally blurted out.

“Oh. I assumed you and Jinyoung did it. Sorry.”

“We didn’t.”

“How come? You weren’t attracted to him like that?”

“It’s not that,” Yongsun mumbled. “I’ve just . . . never had before and I’d always get nervous when things would heat up with him. So . . . yeah.”

“You’ve never had ?”

“Oh my gosh, I’m leaving. This is embarrassing.”

She stomped off, but Chorong caught her arm before she get far.

“Aww, no, don’t go. I didn’t know! Aww, our girl is a .” Chorong pulled Yongsun onto her and hugged her tightly. “It’s okay, nothing to be embarrassed about. That’s why you two were laughing?”

“Yeah. And that’s why we’ve been so adamant about her getting more comfortable with herself before she dates again.”

“My Yongie is a . Oh, our baby,” Chorong caressed Yongsun’s face, occasionally pinching her plump cheeks.

“Isn’t that so cute?” Hyejin cooed.

“It really is. Well, don’t worry about it. Your time will come and it’ll happen on your terms. You’ll be fine.”

“Can we change the topic now? Wheein and Hyejin, tell us how the weekend went for the two of you.”

Thankfully, they allowed the diversion, delving into a play-by-play of the funniest moments they’d experienced or observed. Yongsun readjusted herself, laying her head on Chorong’s lap before reaching for her phone and sending two messages, neither of which were to Moonbyul. That was progress, right?

To: Eric

YOU HAD WITH CHORONG?! 5:38 pm

To: Seungyeon

Hi, Seungyeon! Apologies for the delay; it’s been a wild weekend. I’d love to meet up! Maybe we could grab some ice cream towards the end of the week? How about Thursday? 5:40 pm

Both responded almost immediately.

From: Eric

😅 5:41 pm

He was an idiot.

Seungyeon’s response was more promising. Even with the bomb that Chorong dropped on her about hooking up with Eric, Yongsun felt at peace knowing that she had a fun weekend with people she genuinely cared about that genuinely cared about her, too. She loved having friends and, although she and Seungyeon were never the closest during their time at SKKU, the prospect of making a new friend was exhilarating.

From: Seungyeon

Thursday’s great! I know of a really good ice cream place. Let’s meet at 7:00 pm? I’ll drop you home after. 5:42 pm

It wasn’t the socializing Wheein and Hyejin had envisioned, but Yongsun thought this counted.

The graduate student quickly sent a response to both before putting her phone away for good and listening attentively to Wheein animatedly explaining how she tried to reject someone but somehow ended up agreeing to go out with them instead. Her friends were a mess.

Note: My sincerest apologies for the delay. I told anyone that would listen to take care of themselves and not get sick, then I got sick. Tragic.