Part II

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Wheein's POV

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When the realization first hits her, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise. 

It feels like an inevitable fate that cruelly squeezes at her heart. It’s just another thing she has no control over, just like most other things that involve Hyejin. 

Wheein met her at school when they were twelve years old. It was like a story from a drama. Two girls becoming close friends after the youngest confidently stated she fell for her. Maybe that courageous attitude was what made Wheein fall for her too. 

They were inseparable for most of their teenage years. Hyejin was there for her through all her hardships. She was there when her parents split up and her father left, and she was there when her grandmother passed away. Wheein was there for Hyejin in times of loneliness, when her hardworking parents had no time to make her dinner or help with her homework. 

They grew up together, and soon enough Hyejin became the most familiar person to her. More familiar than other friends. Even more familiar than her own mother.

“Do you think we were destined to meet?” Hyejin had once asked her after a late dinner at a local chicken parlor. 

“Yes,” Wheein had nodded. She hadn’t even needed to think about it.

Everything about Hyejin felt inevitable to her. Like they were two scales that kept each other perfectly in balance. Like both of them were sliding down two opposing slides that would always meet each other in the middle. 

Looking back, her jealousy should have been an indication of what she felt for Hyejin. Hyejin had no trouble talking to boys. While she was shy and gentle, the girl radiated an extraordinary form of confidence that either intimidated or intrigued boys. 

Her first boyfriend was an . Wheein had told her so more than once, and Hyejin had eventually agreed when the kid had come to her house to ask her for money. While the breakup hadn’t caused her much sadness, it still became a difficult time for her. 

They were at an age where bullying and judgement had started spreading through the school. Hyejin had been a victim to these mean, whispered words. It broke Wheein’s heart to hear the nasty things that were being said about her best friend, but she felt pride swell in her