Hyewon was already regretting their agreement to meet in the morning. She paced in front of the bakery, biting her nails, only pausing to check the time on her phone before starting up again. Running her fingers through her hair, she stared at her reflection in the display window of the bakery, and wondered whether it was too late to hop into an oven and vanish from the world. She’d do anything to avoid seeing Eunbi again after breaking down in front of her.

Thinking about that meeting only made Hyewon more nervous. Maybe she could move cities - no, fake her death, get a new ID, move countries, cut off all links to the Internet. But that meant no gaming, and she was going to miss talking to her gamer friend.

“You think too loudly,” a cute voice remarked. Hyewon turned around to grimace at her friend, a slightly shorter Japanese girl with long blond hair, squishy cheeks, and makeup done to perfection.

“Hitomi, I’m actually dying.”

“God, you’re so dramatic,” Hitomi rolled her eyes and shoved a cheese bun in Hyewon’s face. “Eat this and calm down, will you? You’re not the only one dying here.”

Hyewon pouted before munching into the warm bun Hitomi brandished. She didn’t question Hitomi’s methods of acquiring freshly baked goods despite the bakery not being open just yet. The girl had been blessed by the bread gods, and Hyewon was one of the lucky few to be associated with her. “Wait, are you dying too?”

“Hyewon, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’ve actually been so busy with cheerleading practice I haven’t seen Nako since finals ended. Do you know how difficult it is to survive without seeing your girl-” Hitomi suddenly stopped, breaking into a wide grin. Hyewon knew that smile, and thus also understood the implications that came with it.

“Nako!” Hitomi jumped up and down in excitement.

“H-Hitomi!” Nako blinked in surprise, waving at her. “And Hyewon! You’re really early today.” She took a quick glance at Eunbi who had suddenly volunteered to walk her to work this morning.

Eunbi raised her eyebrows at Nako. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“Of course.” Nako grabbed Hitomi’s arm to keep her in place. “This is Hitomi, my… friend. Hitomi, this is Eunbi, my older sister.”

Eunbi smiled at Hitomi in greeting, although her mind was too focused on the woman beside her to notice the pause in Nako’s introduction. “Nice to meet you, Hitomi. Good morning, Hyewon.”

“Good morning, Eunbi.” Hyewon kept her eyes on the ground as she chewed her way through her bun. 

After a few awkward beats, Eunbi cleared . “Well, don’t let us stop you, Nako. Go ahead.”

“Um, okay, bye?” Nako glanced between Eunbi and Hyewon suspiciously before dragging Hitomi into the bakery with her, leaving the two older women outside.

Hitomi waited until they were out of sight before pulling Nako into a soft kiss. When they broke apart, Nako embraced Hitomi, breathing in her scent. “I missed you, Hii-chan.”

Hitomi hummed in agreement, peppering the top of Nako’s head with kisses. “I missed you too, babe. I wish cheerleading practice didn’t take up so much time, but you know semi-finals are approaching.”

Leaning on the locker door behind her, Nako poked Hitomi’s soft cheeks with a finger. “Why are you here so early in the morning, anyway?”

“I heard that you’re working here, so I thought maybe I could come and surprise you before work.” Nako raised her eyebrows at her girlfriend; Hitomi rolled her eyes in response. “Fine, Hyewon also asked me to come toda