It was way past midnight when Eunbi finally returned home, exhaustion exuding from every inch of her skin. All she wanted was to see Nako before crawling into bed and sleep for at least the next five hours. Throwing her bag to one side, she dragged herself to the living room, where she immediately realised that the adjoining kitchen had its light still . There couldn’t be an intruder in their house, could there?

She inched along the wall, fists at the ready. Peering around the corner, she first met large but tired dark eyes framed by pretty, striking features. “Hyewon? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, hey, you’re back.” Hyewon placed the dish she was wiping onto the drying rack next to her before washing her hands. “Sorry for the intrusion, Nako invited me here.”

“But-” Eunbi stared at her, puzzled. “You just met today.”

“Mm, yeah, well,” Hyewon shrugged. “We’re friends, we even exchanged numbers in the bakery.”

Pressing her lips together, Eunbi made a mental note to remind Nako to not freely give out her contact details to any random person. “Where is Nako, anyway? Is she sleeping?”

“Of course she is, it’s almost one in the morning. She’s over there.” Hyewon pointed to a small bundle huddled in a blanket and lying on the living room sofa. Walking over, Eunbi carefully peeled the blanket away to reveal a sleeping Nako, her hair messily thrown over her face as she rolled over in her sleep. When Eunbi reached out to tuck Nako’s hair behind her ear, the young girl sleepily grabbed Eunbi’s fingers, holding them tightly. 

If she could, Eunbi would have melted right then and there.

“Why isn’t she sleeping in her room?” Eunbi whispered to Hyewon.

“She insisted on staying up and waiting for you, but ended up crashing around eleven. I didn’t want to move her, so I went through your apartment and found a blanket in one of your rooms to keep her warm.” Hyewon glanced at Eunbi. “Hope that’s okay.”

“Let’s be honest.” Eunbi nodded at Hyewon’s slim arms. “You just didn’t have the strength to carry her, did you?”

“And you’re acting like you do?” Hyewon stuck her tongue out at Eunbi.

“Watch and learn, fool.” Eunbi gently eased her fingers out of Nako’s grip. She tucked one arm around Nako’s shoulders, the other under Nako’s knees, and without even a grunt easily lifted the small girl up from the sofa. Impressed, Hyewon gaped at her superhuman strength, staring with wide eyes as Eunbi carried Nako to her bedroom.

Once Eunbi tucked Nako into bed, she came back out into the living room where Hyewon was waiting. “Well, um.” Eunbi stuck her hands into her pockets awkwardly. She supposed she should invite Hyewon to stay the night; after all, the streets weren’t safe at this time, and Eunbi didn’t want her to run into any trouble. Plus, if Nako trusted Hyewon enou