"I need help."

Sooyoung had just arrived for her aftenoon shift and those were her first words upon entering the coffee shop, not even a simple greeting. Hearing the frantic tone, Jungeun paused and put down the carton of milk she had in her hand. Neglecting the iced vanilla latte she was supposed to be making, she worriedly asked, "Like professional help? Because my mom knows a guy that's–"

"What? No, like actual help" Sooyoung answered.

"Oh, so money related?"

"No."

Jungeun furrowed her eyebrows and whispered, "Did you kill someone? Do you need to hide–"

"No!"

"Then what?" Jungeun pursed her lips in annoyance.

Sooyoung exclaimed, "A date. I need help planning a date, that's what."

Jungeun shook her head in disbelief and resumed making the drink, "I'm pretty sure you go on more dates than I do, what makes this any different?"

"I really like this girl, Jungeun. I can't mess up," Not again, a sigh left her lips. It had been a few days since her last encounter with Jinsol and she still wasn't able to think of anything for their date on Friday. Tomorrow.

Taking a glance at Sooyoung's face, Jungeun furrowed her eyebrows in concern. She had never seen Sooyoung so distraught, especially over a girl. But their talk would have to wait after she gave this drink to the customer, a bad review about "slow service" was the last thing Jungeun wanted. Jungeun shot her a sympathetic look, "After this, okay?"

"One iced vanilla latte for Chaewon," Jungeun called.

As Jungeun handed the drink, she could see the customer immediately brightened up when she looked over Jungeun's shoulder.

"Sooyoung!"

"Chae? What are you doing here?" Sooyoung asked incredulously. She didn't expect to see her here, Chaewon would usually call first when she would visit so Sooyoung could come pick her up from the station.

"Buying coffee, duh," she answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world before showing her a sickly sweet smile, "and tell me a good reason why I shouldn't throw this drink in your face."

"Well, it would be a waste of money," Jungeun reasoned, "but I can give you a glass of wate–"

Sooyoung elbowed Jungeun and glared at her, shutting her up. Sooyoung couldn't remember doing anything remotely bad to upset the younger girl. Eyeing her skeptically, she asked, "What did I do wrong this time?"

"Oh, I don't know. You don't remember ghosting me?" Chaewon retorted, trying to look angry, but the corners of betrayed her by slowly tugging upwards.

Ah that, she realized Chaewon was only pulling her leg, "Do you want an 'I'm sorry' muffin or something?"

The aforementioned "ghosting" happened two weeks ago when Sooyoung had to go on a round trip to the mountains in one of her classes. It just so happened that Chaewon had an "emergency" that day and Sooyoung wasn't there for her, because obviously there was no signal available. Sooyoung could only sigh when she came back to twelve missed calls and thirty-nine texts from the blonde, ranging from "hey i think i just found my gaming soulmate :D" to "i might be in love, pls replyy" to "hagsoo, are u dead? do i need to buy a ouija board?".

"No, but you can buy me that new Oh My Girl album," was Chaewon's cheeky reply.

"Now you're just pushing your luck, kid," Sooyoung affectionately ruffled Chaewon's hair over the counter, "But really, why are you here? How did you get here?"

"I got on the train like usual and then I walked, how else?" answering the latter first, the smaller blonde tilted her head innocently.

"By yourself?"

Chaewon hummed in confirmation, sipping her iced vanilla latte.

"I'm glad you made it here safely," Sooyoung breathed a quiet sigh of relief, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I could've picked you up like usual."

The last time Chaewon did something unsupervised, she almost burnt down her own house, cooking nuggets. She definitely didn't want Chaewon to get lost or worse, kidnapped.

Dismissing the sigh Sooyoung released, Chaewon answered with a smirk, "Because I didn't come here for you, I'm actually here to visit–"

"Your sister?" Sooyoung interjected.

"–wait, how'd you know?"

"We met the other day and we ended up talking," Sooyoung answered sheepishly, hand rubbing the nape of her neck.

This was news to Chaewon, hell, she hadn't even seen her sister yet.

With eyes filled with hope, Chaewon questioned, "Does this mean you're gonna stop being a scaredy-cat and get her back?"

Jungeun who had been listening in to their conversation, accidentally snorted, "Yeah, if she can pull herself together first,"

Sooyoung scoffed but didn't bother to deny the statement. She might as well introduce her brunette co-worker, "Chaewon, meet Kim Jungeun. Your sister's roommate,"

"Hello, I hope my sister doesn't trouble you too much," Chaewon grinned.

"Wait.. wait. Hold on. Jinsol is your sister?" Sooyoung could practically hear the wheels turning inside of Jungeun's brain, "Soo, you're going on a date with Jinsol? My roommate, Jinsol??"

"A date?" Chaewon squealed at this new information.

I guess the cat's out of the bag now, Sooyoung thought. She decided to tell Jungeun about her past with Jinsol, how they ended up as exes.

"Why were you so afraid?" It wasn't a jab, Jungeun honestly wanted to know. The Sooyoung she knew was the definition of confident, breaking up because of that said reason was the opposite of that.

"Believe it or not, I wasn't always like this. Back then, Ha Sooyoung was just an insecure girl with lanky limbs and an awkward smile.

Chaewon here encouraged me to take up dance during high school, which helped me with my lack of confidence. It took me almost a year to build up the courage but I finally had the guts to confess my feelings to Jinsol,"

"Yeah, she had this stupid crush on Jinsol since we were kids," Chaewon piped up, smiling widely.

Letting out a small laugh, Sooyoung continued, "And surprisingly Jinsol liked me back. So we started dating and everything was all sunshine and rainbows,"

A bittersweet smile formed on her face, "But you know how insecurities never really fade away? It hit me full force on the day Jinsol told me she was going abroad. I just thought that I'd only be in the way of fulfilling her dream so.. I did the dumbest thing imaginable and broke up with her," she finished with slumped shoulders.

"Ugh, you're such an idiot," Jungeun said with a grimace, "but now I can't not help you. Let's get started on those ideas and get this over with," Jungeun huffed and put a small sign on top the counter that said "10 minute break", ushering Sooyoung and Chaewon into the break room at the back of the coffee shop.

In the limited time they had, idea after idea were thrown but none of them felt right, either too boring or too bizarre and nothing in between. It didn't help that Jinsol was calling Chaewon nonstop, asking for her whereabouts seeing as they were supposed to meet up.

Perking up as if a light bulb went on in her head, Chaewon suggested, "Hey, how about reliving your first date? I don't know about Jinsol but some people actually find it romantic,"

Sooyoung's mouth gaped open, blinking her eyes, dumbfounded, "That's– That might work!"

With that, Chaewon excused herself and left, though not before giving Sooyoung a poorly actuated wink, "I expect to see that album on my doorstep sometime soon,"

Patting Sooyoung on her back, Jungeun said, "Now that it's settled, let's go back to work before we get any complaints."

From: Sooyoung<3

Omw, see you in 20 :)

To: Sooyoung<3

Drive safely<3 text me when you arrive, i'll come down. See you!! :D

"Jungeun, help! I don't know what to wear," Jinsol panicked, barging into her roommate's room.

"Leave me alone," mumbled the sleeping brunette.

Jinsol flopped on top of Jungeun and whined, earning a pained groan from the girl under her, "Sooyoung's gonna be here sooooon, help,"

"Ugh, just wear that white shirt you have and pair it off with some shorts or something," Jungeun said while weakly pushing Jinsol off of her, voice still laced with sleep.

"Won't that be too casual? I don't even know where we're going,"

"You can wear a shirt with holes and nasty stains and Sooyoung will still say you look beautiful," Jungeun's eyes were still closed but Jinsol could already imagine her rolling her eyes if they weren't, "Trust me, it's all good, nice and casual. Now get changed and let me sleep,"

Jinsol hugged Jungeun and huffed a hasty "Thanks", going back to her room to get changed.

Hearing the door of her room close, Jungeun opened one eye and took her phone from under her pillow. She sent a hopefully readable mesage and snuggled under her covers, drifting back into dreamland.

To: Sol🐟

I'm here :)

Sooyoung pressed send as she pulled up on the apartment's lobby, checking her phone for other messages as she waited. She smiled when she saw message she received sixteen minutes ago.

From: Kim Lip

hopr shr took my adivce, goid lucl

She sent Jungeun a quick thank you text with an IOU attached, promising to be her wing-woman whenever the occasion arose.

Sooyoung was softly singing along to the radio when she saw the blonde burst out the lobby doors, clearly out of breath. Sooyoung unlocked the car door and motioned for Jinsol to come inside.

"Sorry, the lift was being repaired and I had to run six flights down," Jinsol explained as she tried to catch her breath, with flushed cheeks she complimented, "You look pretty today,"

"Look who's talking," Sooyoung complimented back, grinning when she looked at Jinsol's outfit, a loose white shirt tucked into her shorts, Outfit check.

Sooyoung herself was wearing a black crop top that displayed a moderate view of her abs, topping it off with faded ripped jeans. Now Jinsol wasn't really sure if her flushed cheeks was only because of unexpected cardio she just did.

"Sooo you never told me where we're going," Jinsol drawled out, putting on her seatbelt.

"You'll see," Sooyoung winked and started driving.

"You brought me to an aquarium, and not just any aquarium but the very one I start working in next Monday," Jinsol said in amusement, "I did tell you that right?"

Sooyoung didn't forget but the aquarium she took Jinsol on their first date unfortunately closed down two years ago so she had to make do with Jinsol's future workplace.

"Eating and working in McDonalds's are two separate things, what's your point?" Sooyoung rebutted playfully.

"Fair point," Jinsol chuckled and held out her hand. Taking the outstreched hand, Sooyoung pondered, I wonder if she'll figure it out.

Sooyoung paid for both their admission tickets, replying to Jinsol's whine of disapproval with "I'm the one who asked you out so I get to pay for everything today. That's just how it works,"

"Fine, but I'm paying next time," Jinsol pouted, dragging Sooyoung by their intertwined hands to the entry point.

Biting her lip, Sooyoung could barely contain her smile, She's already thinking of a next time.

They took their time in every themed exhibit the aquarium had to offer, reading all the labels about the fish inside the tanks. Oohing and aahing appreciatively whenever a stingray or a sea turtle passed by when they went through the underwater tunnel.

They were ventured the jellyfish exhibit next. It was darker than the other exhibits, the only form of illumination was the color-changing side lights on the different tanks of each species, allowing visitors to see the nearly invisible marine animal better because of the contrast.

To recreate one of their memories, Sooyoung tried to sneakily take a silhouette shot of Jinsol standing in front of the illuminated tank, keyword tried. She failed on her first attempt when her flash went off. Jinsol laughed it off, teeth faintly glowing because of the blacklight, even posing for Sooyoung, "If you wanted a photo of me, you could've just asked,"

"Shut up."

Continuing their journey exhibit after exhibit, they were at the last one. In this particular exhibit, Sooyoung was going to recreate their last moment of their first date.

Hands feeling clammier, she had to let go of Jinsol's hand to wipe them on her jeans. Clearing , Sooyoung asked, "I have a fish I want to see, come with me?"

"Sure," Jinsol trailed behind Sooyoung with a happy smile on her face, oblivious to Sooyoung's nervousness.

Sooyoung stopped in front of a medium sized tank, "I'm sure you're familiar with these guys," referring to the dark dusky-blue fish decorated with yellow rimmed scales.

"Of course," Jinsol said. The French Angelfish, one of her favorite species of marine angelfish.

"Do you remember the first thing you told me about these fish?"

"I'm not sure," scrunching her eyebrows together, Jinsol tried to remember, "Maybe the fact that they're not the same species as Nemo's friend?"

("Hey, Sol. Isn't this Gill from Finding Nemo?"

"Nope, these are French Angelfish, juvenile ones whereas Gill is a Moorish Idol. They look really different, Soo,"

"I saw Finding Nemo when I was like.. six years old, sue me. Tell me more about the French Angelfish then,"

"The lable is just right there, or did you forget how to read?" Jinsol .

"I remember you said they're one of your favorites. So it's better to hear it from the expert herself, right?" looking expectantly at Jinsol.

"Whatever you say," Jinsol shook her head in amusement)

Well, she's not wrong, blinking her eyes, Sooyoung prodded, "How about the one after that?

"Is it how they're monogamous?"

"Do you remember what I said after that?"

("Well, first of all, the French Angelfish are monogamous," Jinsol started off, "Even when their mate dies, they don't try to find another one. It's kind of sad when you see an adult French Angelfish swimming on its own, knowing it probably lost its mate."

"Kinda like a soulmate, huh?" Sooyoung mumbled out, touching the aquarium. She unconciously voiced her thoughts, "It'd be nice if you were my soulmate, Sol."

Jinsol's eyebrows rose at that, feeling her cheeks heat up. Meekly, she asked, "..do you really mean that?"

Sooyoung turned to Jinsol, tilting her head in confusion, "Mean what?" taking notice of Jinsol's pink cheeks, realization dawned on her, the same pinkish hue appearing, "..I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Seeing Jinsol nod, she decided to come clean, "Well um, I've liked you for a long time," rubbing the nape of her neck in embarrasment, "This was supposed to be a date but I chickened out by not saying that it was, thinking it would weird you out, us being friends since we were in diapers and all. So it's okay if you don't feel the same way, I just.. wanted to let you know,"

"..I like you too,"

"You do?" Sooyoung's jaw went slack at the confession, not expecting her feelings to be returned.

"That's why I asked if you wanted to be my date for my aunt Sooyeon's wedding next month,"

"Oh, I thought that was a childhood friend thing.." now Sooyoung felt stupid. Gathering the last of her courage, she asked, "So now that we established.. our feelings, do you want be my girlfriend?"

"I do," holding Sooyoung's hand, "but we need to have a little talk about being romantic,"

"Alright," Sooyoung chuckled, too elated to care.)

"I do," a faraway look in her eyes, smiling when she connected the dots. The place, the outfit, I see what you're up to.

"Hypothetically speaking, if I asked the same question again, would I get the same answer?" Sooyoung gulped, anticipating the answer.

"No."

With the grimace Jinsol had on her face, Sooyoung's heart sank, she should've expected that. Maybe the date wasn't going as well as she thought it was.

"Because you would definitely get the same answer," Jinsol said, eyes crinkling with mirth, "You should've seen the look on your face,"

"That's totally not funny," Sooyoung crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Aw, is my girlfriend angry?" Jinsol cooed, hugging her sideways by the waist, resting her chin on Sooyoung's shoulder.

Sooyoung's mouth twitched, barely able to hold her smile back, still keeping mum.

"Sooyoungie, come on, don't be mad," Sooyoung could see the pout Jinsol was sporting from the reflection of the tank.

"I'll think about it if you give me a kiss," Sooyoung joked, a tiny smile escaping.

What she didn't expect was Jinsol to release her hold on Sooyoung's waist. But before Sooyoung could protest, she felt a warm hand cupping her cheek, turning her head sideways, a familiar soft sensation on her lips. Breaking the kiss, she rested her forehead gently against Jinsol's, eyes still closed.

"I'm trusting you with my heart, don't go breaking it again," she heard Jinsol murmur.

"I won't."

"It's been a month! You guys are back together and my album still isn't here," Chaewon exasperatedly exclaimed when she burst through the door of Jinsol and Jungeun's shared apartment, seeing Jinsol and Sooyoung cuddling on the couch.

Sooyoung smirked, laying her eyes on the irritated blonde by the door, "Don't worry, I have something better for you. I'm 100% sure you're gonna be pleased with what I came up with,"

Chaewon's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "What do you have up your sleeve?"

Glancing at the clock, "You'll see in an hour tops,"

"Fine," Chaewon grumbled, plopping down on the empty space on the couch, pulling out a pink Nintendo DS from her bag to play Animal Crossing.

Forty-five minutes had passed when there was a knock on the door. Sooyoung quickly sprung up from the couch to open it, leaving both blondes curious as to what lies on the other side of the door.

Sooyoung came back with her arm draped over an unknown girl's shoulder. Even in her state of confusion, Chaewon had to admit that the girl was beautiful, with her sharp eyes, pouty lips, and the blue ombre she was sporting.

"Remember when you said you found yourself a gaming soulmate?"

"Yeah?" not knowing where this was going.

"I found her for you. Meet OliviaHye aka Son Hyejoo, my cousin," Sooyoung introduced, smiling smugly.

"Hey, Crunchy," Hyejoo said with a roguish smile, referring to Chaewon's in game nickname.

"H-hi,"

"Did you just set up my little sister with your cousin?"

"Damn right I did,"

A groan could be heard on the other side of the apartment, inside the kitchen, "Ugh, I'll be in my room. What did I do to deserve this?"