Maybe Yuna fell for people faster than she should have. But she was certain that this time was different. This was real love.

 At least, that was what she was trying to convince her best friend Ryujin.

“Yuna, I’ve known you for what…ten years? Eleven?” Ryujin said, picking at her food absentmindedly. She glanced at her watch, then to the café’s clock, then back at her watch again before continuing. “It’s probably just a small crush. How long have you been talking to this… ‘Ryu?’”

“Five months now,” Yuna beamed. She nodded at the waitress who had approached them, tapping her wrist – a mutual friend of theirs, Yeji – and focused back on Ryujin. The café was about to close; it was late in the evening, but Yuna still had a few more minutes to tell Ryujin about this new development in her love life. “We’ve gotten to know each other really well! They’re so funny, and so sweet…”

“You’ve said that about everyone you’ve met,” Ryujin muttered, mouthing a quick thank you as Yeji took her food away to pack it for when they left. Yuna pouted. “So? I can’t help it if everyone I like is funny and sweet! But this person, Ryu…I’m in love, I’m telling you!”

“Do you even know anything real about Ryu?” Ryujin said, leaning back and sighing. “Gender? Age? Which school they go to, or what job they have? You can’t just fall in love with someone that’s giving you fake information, Yuna.”

Ryujin had a point there. Yuna leaned back in her seat just as Ryujin had, crossing her arms and letting out a heavier sigh. Five months ago, on one of her online gaming chat forums, she had met a person by the name of Ryu, who was an avid gamer and liked the same games Yuna did. They had instantly clicked and become friends, talking for hours every day. Instead of going to her part-time job as a model for the local mall (something temporary to fund her car and the apartment she and Ryujin shared until they graduated university), Yuna would take days off just to talk to Ryu. And before she knew it, she had fallen for this person, despite not having talked to them or seen them face to face. Love was love, though, and she didn’t mind.

“Well, I’m ninety-nine percent sure they’re a girl,” Yuna said, ignoring the dubious look on Ryujin’s face. “They’re in our grade…they don’t have a job yet. They’re going to graduate and then get a proper job. Speaking of which, they resemble you a lot,” she mused, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “I mean, Ryu? Ryujin? They’re a pretty serious gamer and they have two cats. The way they speak – type, I mean – is almost exactly the way you do. They’re not weird like you, though.”

“How am I the weird one when you’re talking to someone you haven’t seen or heard?” Ryujin said, rolling her eyes. “Have you tried calling them? Meeting them in person?’

“Obviously,” Yuna huffed. “I’m not as stupid as you.” She continued, speaking over Ryujin’s stammered protests. “Every time I’ve tried to schedule a call or a meet-up, they always say they’re busy or they have to go.”

“And you don’t think that’s suspicious at all?” Ryujin said. They got up, waving to Yeji as they walked out of the café. The setting sun reminded Yuna of the time; Ryu would be active on the forums soon. She quickened her pace, giggling as Ryujin had to run to catch up. “Hey, slow down!” the other girl yelped, reaching out for Yuna’s hand and tugging her back. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Ryu’s probably online right now,” Yuna grinned. She stuck her tongue out at Ryujin. “And I don’t want to waste time with you. In fact…” She slowed down and pulled her phone out with her free hand, logging into the forum and sending a message to Ryu. Hi! Are you there?

Ryujin’s phone buzzed. She let go of Yuna’s hand and took out her phone, checking it. Yuna tipped her head. “Who is it?”

“No one,” Ryujin replied, putting her phone away. She didn’t take Yuna’s hand again, but that was fine; Yuna was busy checking her own phone anyways. Her eyes were fixed to the status of her message as she waited for it to turn green and indicate Ryu had read it. “Isn’t it interesting that right when I send a message, you get a message?”

Ryujin rolled her eyes. “How is that interesting? It’s just a coincidence.” She gently pushed Yuna’s phone away from her face and took her hand. “C’mon, let’s go home.”

“Ryujin, the girlfriend, huh?” Yuna teased. Ryujin scowled. “If you want me to ditch you here and leave you to go home by yourself, I’ll do that.”

“I was kidding, dummy.” Yuna put her phone away and squeezed Ryujin’s hand, leaning into her. “Maybe you should find a girlfriend or something so you stop hanging out with me.”

“I live with you!”

“Exactly. Find a girlfriend and move out!”

“Move out with your Ryu, then we’ll talk.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If Yuna could spend the whole day talking to Ryu, she would. Every little moment, every “:)” and “<3” sent only made Yuna’s love for Ryu grow. A month had passed, and she had gotten to know Ryu some more. Ryu was a girl, for starters; a fact she constantly nagged Ryujin with until the other girl told Yuna to shut up. (Of course, it didn’t work.)

What was always baffling was how similar Ryu and Ryujin were. At first, it was their names, then their personalities, and then personal details about them. Both girls had two cats, both girls liked to watch one specific movie and cry and then sleep, and both girls were obsessed with mocha bread. But there were differences, too – Ryu’s hair was black (revealed in a half selfie she sent Yuna), while Ryujin’s was temporarily dyed pink. Ryu owned a gaming console Ryujin didn’t. Ryu had a sweet tooth. Ryujin didn’t prefer sweet foods that much. Yuna didn’t think too much of it, but sometimes she’d entertain her imagination and wonder if Ryujin was behind Ryu. What would happen if the girl she liked turned out to be her best friend? Being in love with Ryujin was something Yuna didn’t think about, and she preferred not to think about it.

Then the moment she had finally been waiting for arrived.

“Ryujin!” Yuna yelled, running into Ryujin’s room. The other girl looked up at her from her bed, laptop shut beside her and phone in her lap. “What?”

“I’m dating Ryu!” Yuna flopped down beside Ryujin, unable to stop the wide smile on her face from growing. The more her cheeks ached, the more her smile grew. “I’m her girlfriend – she’s my girlfriend – we’re girlfriends – we’re dating!”

“Congrats, kid,” Ryujin said dryly, reaching over to ruffle Yuna’s hair. “Welcome to the real world. How do you feel?”

“Like I’m flying,” Yuna said, clutching her hands to her chest. It was cheesy, but she really did feel like she was in the air, floating aimlessly through the clouds. Her heart was light, and bubbles fizzed up inside of her. She felt magical. She felt so hopelessly in love with Ryu.

Ryu, Ryu. Charming Ryu, who asked Yuna out first in an interestingly bashful way, so unlike the girl Yuna had been talking to the last six months. She found it cute – the easy-going gamer suddenly a shy, adorable girl. Of course, she had always been adorable, but it seemed to increase even more as she stumbled her way through asking Yuna to be her girlfriend. If Yuna could kiss her, she would. That was the only thing she wanted to do.

Yuna shook herself out of her daze – she’d have time later to bask in it – and glanced at Ryujin, who seemed to be glowing as well, a small lopsided smile on her face. “And what are you happy about?”

“Nothing much,” Ryujin said, though her smile wouldn’t disappear. “Something personal.”

“Did you get a girlfriend too?”

“No comment.”

“Yeah, no one would fall in love with you, anyways.” Immediately, Ryujin lunged for Yuna, tackling her and pushing her face into the bed. “Say that again, I dare you.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry!” Yuna mumbled, mouth full of the bedsheet covers. She felt Ryujin straddle her, keeping her weighed down. “I said I’m sorry!”

“What was that?” Ryujin said, her voice teasing. “I didn’t catch what you said, Yuna.”

“I’m sorry!” Yuna yelled, turning her face to the side so she could see Ryujin. Her heart skipped a beat at the expression on Ryujin’s face – so light, carefree, happy, as if she was content to live in this moment forever, playing around with Yuna. Yuna’s voice softened. “You’ll get whoever you like, Ryujin. No one could resist you.”

Ryujin’s face fell. It was subtle, but Yuna still caught it. She stared at Ryujin confusedly as the other girl got off of her and walked to the door, pausing. “I wish.” She sighed and shook her head. “I’m going over to Chaeryeong’s for a bit. You wanna come?” Chaeryeong, another one of their mutual friends who lived nearby. Yuna gave Ryujin a weak smile. “You go ahead.”

“Okay.” Ryujin smiled back, more weakly than Yuna had, and left. A few seconds passed before Yuna heard the front door slam shut. She her back, holding her hand up to her forehead, palm facing the ceiling. What was that about? The enjoyable atmosphere had turned tense within seconds, all because of Yuna. Was it what she said? But she meant it. She truly believed Ryujin would get anyone she wanted. Who wouldn’t fall for Ryujin? Ryujin was irresistible, loyal, defending and caring and though she seemed tough, she was soft. Yuna knew everything about Ryujin, from her closet full of clothes everyone assumed were black but were actually bright colors, to the way she cooed over her two cats, willing to give up everything for them. If Ryujin did start dating someone, Yuna didn’t know how she would feel. Happy, right? She had her own girlfriend, Ryujin would have her own. But somehow, Yuna couldn’t imagine herself feeling happy.

She got up, frowning. She wanted to talk to Ryu, take her mind off everything. She pulled out her phone and sent a message to Ryu, then two, then three. All of them accompanied by hearts. And what confused her was that with every message, Ryujin’s laptop would emit a little ping.

Silence. Yuna stared at the laptop, then her phone. She hesitantly sent another message, followed by another ping from Ryujin’s laptop. This wasn’t a coincidence, that was for sure. Something in the back of Yuna’s mind was telling her not to do it, not to get up and look…but she had to. She needed to know what was going on.

Slowly, Yuna opened Ryujin’s laptop, typing her password (0417.1209 – their birthdays) in. Her heartbeat accelerated. What was she expecting to find? Whatever it was, she didn’t expect to see her chat with Ryu pulled up.

And Ryujin was receiving Yuna’s texts.

Before Yuna’s mind could register this info, her attention diverted to Ryujin’s phone, which had lit up. She leaned over, picking Ryujin’s phone up and reading the notification. It was a message from Yeji. Ryujin, don’t go overboard with this Ryu thing. Another one quickly arrived. Don’t keep it online…take it to real life if you’re so serious.

So Ryujin was Ryu. Ryujin was the one Yuna had been chatting with for the last five months. Ryujin was the one who asked Yuna out. Ryujin was dating Yuna. And Ryujin really liked Yuna – not just through her Ryu persona, but in real life, too.

Yuna was such an idiot. She tossed Ryujin’s phone to the side and shut her laptop, placing it on the ground. How was she supposed to feel? Angry, upset that Ryujin had been deceiving her all this time? Confused? Contemplating life because she had essentially fallen in love with Ryujin? Whatever it was, Yuna knew she shouldn’t have been feeling happy. Yet here she was, feeling happy. It made no sense, but they’d have time to figure it out, right? Yuna hoped so. She rested her chin in her hands, staring at the door and waiting for Ryujin to come back. She had a feeling the other girl would be returning soon.

Now that she thought about it, some things did make sense. The day Yuna and Ryujin were sitting in the café, talking about Ryu for the first time. Ryujin’s phone buzzing when Yuna sent a message to Ryu…Ryujin had received that message. How casually she had said “no one” when Yuna asked who was talking to Ryujin. What would she have done if Ryujin told her back then that it was Yuna’s message she received?

And just today, the glow on Ryujin’s face as Yuna stormed into her room…the smile, the carefree expression of happiness. Ryujin was the one who had asked Yuna out. Even though she was most likely certain of Yuna’s answer, she still was nervous and shy. Yuna smiled, imagining Ryujin like that in real life. If she was being honest, she wanted to see Ryujin be like that. In person this time.

She wanted to see Ryujin be snarky, give those sarcastic answers that made Yuna laugh so hard. She wanted to see Ryujin guide her through the games she had trouble with, hand on Yuna’s hand and maneuvering her through each level. She wanted to hear Ryujin’s soft voice, telling her goodnight, that they’d talk in the morning…

Ryujin always did that. And god, did Yuna love it. The real reason she had fallen in love with Ryu was because Ryu reminded her of Ryujin. All this time, Yuna was projecting her affection for Ryujin on Ryu. Ironic how it worked out.

Maybe if Yuna didn’t like Ryujin, she’d be mad. But she was only happier now that this had been brought into the light. Maybe if Yuna had actually thought about the things she didn’t want to think about before, this would’ve happened sooner.

She was so stupid. Yuna chuckled to herself, voice quickly breaking off as the door opened. “Ah, dammit,” Ryujin said exasperatingly, walking into the room. “I was going to stay a little while longer but I forgot my phone. You didn’t check it or anything, did you?”

Yuna smiled at Ryujin, handing her the phone. “No. Of course not.”

“Are you okay?” Ryujin asked, taking the phone and giving Yuna a suspicious look. “You sound funny.” She didn’t pursue the topic as she focused on her phone, probably to check Yeji’s messages, Yuna figured. She watched Ryujin, taking every feature into account. Ryujin had always been beautiful, but she looked even more beautiful now, with her hair messily tied up, her eyebrows furrowed, her lips forming a slight pout and her eyes narrowed. Yuna wanted those eyes to be focused on her and her only.

“So did anything happen with Ryu while I was gone?” Ryujin said, placing her phone on her desk and sitting down beside Yuna. Finally, Yuna could look into Ryujin’s eyes. Her smile only grew. “How about you tell me?”

“What?” Ryujin seemed taken aback. She shifted, her fingers playing with the hem of her jeans. She was nervous, Yuna could tell. It was a habit of Ryujin’s to play with her clothes when she was nervous. Yuna giggled, leaning closer. “Don’t play dumb, Ryujin. You know what I’m talking about.” She leaned away, amused at the blush that had spread across Ryujin’s face. It was cute, she thought. “I always thought it was weird Ryu would never want to call me or meet up with me. Turns out I was meeting her and talking with her every day.”

“Yuna, I…” Ryujin trailed off as Yuna stopped her, resting her finger on the other girl’s lips. “I’m not mad, Ryujin. But I want to hear two things from you. First, explain all of this.”

Ryujin took Yuna’s finger off her lips, oh so gently, and lowered it. She didn’t let go as she spoke, something that Yuna noticed and liked. She liked it a lot. “I didn’t know I was talking to you at first. Your username is just shin. That could be anyone. I genuinely liked talking to you, though, and you reminded me, well, of you. And you probably already know…” The three unspoken words hung in the air between them. I like you. Yuna nodded. “Go on.”

Ryujin fidgeted as she continued. “A month or two before you told me about everything, I walked into your room while your laptop was open and I saw our chat on the forums. I knew you were the person I had been talking to. I didn’t tell you that you were talking to me, I know I should’ve, especially when you told me about how you liked this Ryu person. But I was happy. Weird, I know, but it felt like you were telling me you liked me, since I was Ryu.” She smiled sadly. “Then when I asked you out, trust me, I was nervous. I knew you’d say yes, but I was still nervous and I felt bad. Yeji told me I should be doing this in person if I was so serious about you, but I guess I’m a coward. Everything felt like I was doing it in person, since you’d tell me all the developments every day. So…I’m stupid and an idiot. You don’t have to tell me.”

Yuna pried her finger out from Ryujin’s grip, not missing how Ryujin’s face fell. It reminded her of earlier – Ryujin’s face falling when Yuna told her she’d get anyone she wanted. Ryujin wanted Yuna, and she thought she wouldn’t get her. She was in for a surprise. “Now, ask me out,” Yuna said, crossing her arms. “Here. If you’re going to do it, do it properly.”

Ryujin’s eyes widened. She cleared , playing with her cross necklace. “I, um…” Her face flushed a deep red, and her eyes darted in every direction. Yuna smiled. Ryujin really was adorable when she got shy. She took Ryujin’s hands in hers. “You’re so hopeless, Ryujin. Start over.”

With a deep breath, Ryujin met Yuna’s eyes. “I like you. I’ve liked you for a long time…at this point, I can say it’s love. I love you, Yuna.”

Yuna gazed at Ryujin, not answering. She wanted to tease Ryujin by leaving her in suspense, and god, were Ryujin’s eyes beautiful. Ryujin opened to speak again but Yuna broke her off, cupping Ryujin’s face with her hands. “I’m glad I finally got to hear you say it.” There was nothing she wanted to do more than kiss Ryujin, and she did. Moments felt like blissful hours, and Yuna was content with that. She wanted to stay like that forever. Ryujin pulled away first, a wide and surprised grin on her face. “Since when were you such a good kisser?”

“Since now,” Yuna said, before pulling Ryujin in for another kiss. “Besides,” she mumbled, “I’ve been wanting to do this.” She felt Ryujin smile. “Loser. Save it for tomorrow.”

Yuna leaned back, one eyebrow raised. “What’s tomorrow?”

“I’m taking you out, obviously,” Ryujin said. Her smile sent a pleasant thrill throughout Yuna. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it the right way.”

“So no more kisses right now?” Yuna pouted. Ryujin laughed, getting up. (Yuna could listen to Ryujin’s laugh forever.) “I’ll give you all the kisses you want tomorrow.”

“Ryujin?”

“Yeah?”

“Come here.”

Ryujin turned around, yelling in surprise as Yuna pulled her back down to the bed, swiftly capturing the other girl’s lips in hers. She wasn’t going to let go of Ryujin any time soon. Ryujin pushed herself up after a few seconds, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Hey, Yuna.”

“What is it?”

Ryujin’s smile was warm. “Whatever you feel for me…is it love?”

Yuna could only smile back. This was a question she was certain of and would always be certain of. “This is real love. I love you, Ryujin.”