. . . 

Yongsun's hand hovers over her phone on her bedside table, a millisecond before the familiar screeching of her phone alarm sounds and then slams her palm down against it, hoping to make some contact with the 'snooze' option. Her brows knit together into a slight frown and she lets out a light groan at the thought of having to leave the warm embrace of . . . wait. Her eyes snap open as she registers the arm that was lazily draped across her stomach. She turns her head slightly to the side, blinks repeatedly to ensure she wasn't dreaming, and upon realising that this was infact real life, she winces, at the sight of Theo -- ? She takes a peak under the covers and winces again, yeah definitely -- sleeping soundly.

Lifting his arm gently, she slides up on her bed and is met with the sight of a drunken mistake; clothes scattered from her bedroom door leading all the way to her bed. She bites down on her lower lip in contemplation, so much for getting over him. Jinah was going to have many words once she finds out. That was the least of her worries at the moment, she thinks to herself, as she looks back at Theo. 

.

Yongsun runs her hand through her hair, agonising over on what to say or do.

Idiot. Idiot. Idiot! 

She reaches for her phone and her anguish temporarily subsides at notification of an unread text from Moonbyul. Recently, Yongsun had been going to bed much later than she normally would due to late night conversations about the most mundane things. Though they didn't talk into the late hours last night (since Yongsun was preoccupied with . . . she glances over at Theo as he turns away from her and lets out a light snore), yesterday's conversation was just as weird as their other ones. Moonbyul had called her claiming to be 'bored out of her mind' to which Yongsun had replied with, 'so what?'. The conversation eventually spiralled into which pasta shape tasted better (Moonbyul argued that fusilli was the superior one to which Yongsun had wholeheartedly disagreed with, causing the girl to throw a slight tantrum). It was strange, Yongsun could never have imagined being so engaged in such bizzare conversations, yet somehow, she's found herself anticipating these phone calls. 

She tries her best to suppress her laugh at the pasta meme that Moonbyul had sent her by covering with her hand but her efforts are proven futile as she lets out a snort. Theo stirs from his sleep and smiles up at her, "What're you laughing at?"

Yongsun's smile fades almost instantly and is replaced with a look of indifference, "Nothing." She practically leaps out of bed and bends down to pick up her discarded shirt, throwing it on as quick as possible; the thought of him seeing her so exposed gave her goosebumps. She turns and faces him properly, "You need to leave."

He yawns and pushes his hair away from his eyes, "Jeez, way to make a guy feel used," he jokes. His grin soon fades as he realises that Yongsun was being serious, "It's your day off. Come back to bed." He pats on the now empty space beside him with a hopeful smile, thinking that would be enough to persuade her.

She shakes her head defiantly, "I have things to do."

Theo sighs and sits up, already knowing that he had lost this battle, "Alright fine." He grabs his jeans and puts them on almost as quickly as Yongsun put on her shirt. He makes his way over to her and while he zips them up, he says, "At least let me cook you breakfast, hm?" he gives her a light kiss on the forehead before she can protest.

. 

Yongsun stabs at her piece of scrambled egg with her fork a few times; hard enough to break it apart but not hard enough for the piece to stay on the fork. 

"Not hungry?" Theo says with a raised brow

"Not really."

"What are your plans for today?"

To take a long shower and question my life choices.

She shrugs, "Finish a few things on my checklist and then tidy up the place."

When she doesn't continue or elaborate, Theo decides to make conversation for the both of them. Yongsun merely nods along and feigns interest, quietly wishing that he would hurry up and leave. Though she wasn't paying particular attention to what he was saying, Yongsun takes note at how she didn't have pining thoughts about him while he spoke and most importantly of all, how her heart didn't do that pang sensation, everytime he flashed her a smile. You know what that is? Growth. She congratulates herself on her achievement. She was finally starting to get over him. 

. . .

Moonbyul usually called around 10 pm, Yongsun had noticed, which was why she had exactly 21 minutes to finish the last thing on her checklist. Forcing herself to look away from the clock and focus on her laptop, Yongsun straightens her back, gives her hands a bit of a shake and gets to work with sheer determination. 

. . . 

Yongsun frowns as she stares at her phone sitting neatly on her coffee table. She had finished her work almost half an hour ago and during that time the only instance where her phone screen lit up was due to a work email. She lets out a small sigh, unsure as to why she feels a tinge of disappointment; it's not like they had arranged to call at a certain time. Nevertheless, she makes an effort to shake away the feeling. She should be elated to have a few hours left of her day off to do whatever she wanted but funnily enough, all she wanted, at that very moment, was to talk about why farfalle is the best tasting pasta shape. 

. 

Moonbyul glances at her phone. 11:40pm. Was this considered too early to leave a house party? Yeah probably. She had intended to skip this party but Wheein wanted to go so that was that. She inwardly groans as she watches even more people arrive. This living room is definitely getting far too packed for her liking and stuffy as well, to the point where she could practically smell the sweat in the air. Though, of course, everyone else doesn't seem to mind nor care, probably because they're too invested in drinking and having a good time. She spots Wheein having the time of her life while playing a game of beer pong. She makes a mental note to stop by the pharmacy tomorrow morning . . . they were out of painkillers and no doubt her friend will have a raging headache.

The loud pounding of music coupled with the dark fluorescent lights begin to take its toll on Moonbyul. It starts in the form of a budding headache which then slowly manifests into that familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach which she had grown accustomed to over the years but also hated at the same time. She recoils when someone lightly brushes against her arm. As the feeling becomes more prominent, she looks around for the nearest exit. She needed space and fresh air. She could feel herself starting to hyperventilate. She barges past the crowd and makes her way into the front garden. She finds herself a secluded spot away from all the loud noises and people and there, she starts to work on her breathing in a bid to slow down her racing heart beat. It takes several minutes for her heart rate to calm down and eventually the tingling sensations in her stomach also fade, much to her relief. She takes in another deep breath and slowly exhales, while enjoying the feeling of cold, fresh air hitting her face as though it were waking her up from a nightmare.

Just when she decides that she was confident enough to go back inside, her phone starts to vibrate, causing her to jump ever so slightly in fright. Though, that feeling quickly dissipates into surprise once she sees the caller ID.

She answers almost immediately.

"Hi." 

"Hey. Are you busy?"

Moonbyul smiles to herself at the switch in dialogue. It was normally herself asking that question because for one, Yongsun never seemed to be the one calling, that is, until today. 

"No. What's up?"

"I'm bored out of my mind."

Moonbyul grins, "So what?"

"So . . . talk to me."

"We are talking," she points out

Yongsun lets out an audible sigh to which Moonbyul has to pull away from her phone due to the noise almost bursting her eardrum. "Never mind." 

"Hey. I'm kidding. I'm actually glad you called," she admits, "Gives me an excuse to not go back inside."

"Inside where?"

"A crowded room filled with drunk students."

It takes a moment before Yongsun pieces together that Moonbyul was at a party. She eventually says, "I miss those days."

"Oh? Were you a party animal back in the day?"

Yongsun makes a noise out of annoyance, "I'm not that old. I literally graduated like . . . a few years ago."

For the first time that night, Moonbyul laughs. "Alright. Okay. So, were you?"

"Was I what?"

"You claim to not be old but your memory span begs to differ." 

"It's because we're having two conversations at once!" she reasons 

"Ah, your brain can't keep up, huh?" 

To her surprise, Yongsun laughs lightly. Moonbyul imagines her, a blurred faced woman, shaking her head whilst biting down on her lower lip. She wonders if Yongsun really was as attractive as she sounds.

"I can't win with you, can I?" she says softly. 

"Maybe one day I'll let you win."

If we ever meet, Moonbyul wants to add but then decides against it. 

"Maybe."

Moonbyul breathes out, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Calling at the right moment."

. . . 

Yongsun stares vacantly at nothing in particular as she sips on her glass of wine. She was at yet another work event; this time, a farewell dinner dedicated to her mentor and senior editor, Lee Mi-kyung. She had been reluctant to attend, in fear of running into the man who had previously made unwanted advances towards her at the last work event. She had acted out several scenarios in the shower, about how she would confront him, each one ending with a slap to his face and a bruised ego, on his part. But no matter how satisfying it was in her mind, confronting him in reality was a whole other story. Thankfully, he had not made an appearance tonight. And sadly enough, neither did the girl she had looked forward to seeing again -- Wheein. She had made a conscious effort to commit her name to memory, in hopes of calling out to her amidst tonight's crowd. She downs the rest of her drink. She loved and respected Mi-kyung, she really did, but Yongsun desperately wanted to be anywhere but here. 

She flinches at the touch of someone's hand on the small of her back. 

"Relax, it's me."

Of course he'd be here, she thinks to herself with a roll of her eyes.

"Don't do that," she says with a slight glare.

Theo blinks in surprise at her hint of annoyance, "Sorry. Force of habit," he replies with a meek smile. When she doesn't respond, he takes a moment to study her. As he ponders on what could be putting Yongsun in a bad mood, his mind starts to dwell on the sinking feeling in his stomach at the fact that she no longer responded to his lingering touches with that smile he adored so much. He takes her in, the way she was standing, the way her arms were crossed across her chest and the way she was looking anywhere but at him. She ducks her head down after giving a smile in greeting to some person across the ways from where they were standing, something she did to avoid having to engage in conversation after making eye contact. Theo's hand twitches by his side, resisting the urge to reach out and tuck in the strand of hair that had fallen out of place when she had lowered her head. 

"Can we talk?" he finally asks

"About what?"

He swallows, "About us." 

She finally looks at him. But not in the way that he had grown use to. The way she stared at him now was more distant. As if they were merely acquaintances.

Yongsun narrows her eyes slightly at him, "There is no us," she says, simply.

His words die on his lips as he searches her eyes for some sort of hope that she missed him just as much as he missed her. 

"I made a mistake," he starts to say.

"Can we not do this here?" she whispers

"You don't respond to my texts or calls so what else can I do?" 

"I don't owe you anything. What happened between us was a mistake and will never happen again." she whispers under her breath whilst simultaneously plastering on a smile and nodding at a passerby in greeting.

"Yongsun, I miss you. I --"

"Stop," she says quietly but firmly.

"Please." he pleads, "I was an idiot. I shouldn't have given up on us so easily. I know I hurt you, but I will keep trying to earn your forgiveness," he pauses, "Can you give me another chance?"

"I need a cigarette," she mutters and makes a move to grab her clutch. When he too moves forward, she looks up at him, sharply, "Alone." 

. 

Moonbyul silently curses at Wheein in her mind, as she balances two trays in her hands. She had an inkling that Ed will probably end up shouting at her at some point tonight about the most trivial thing. Goddamn, how many of these events does this company host? She remembers the last event she had catered for like it was yesterday. Though, really, it was more so to do with the woman she had met that had her thinking back to that night every so often which was why it was still somewhat fresh in her mind. Her memory of the rest of that night however, was gone. She had since forgotten the impromptu lesson that Ed had given her, on the proper etiquette in serving guests (which was probably why he was so grumpy with her tonight). 

She quickly busies herself with clearing the empty wine glasses and readies to start serving more drinks.

Just how much alcohol do these people drink?

"Moonbyul?" Jiwon's inquisitive expression brightens into a smile, "It is you!" 

Moonbyul blinks in surprise, "Jiwon? What're you doing here?"

The girl gestures at her small glass of wine and takes a tiny sip with a mischievious glint in her eye, "Working. The question is, what're you doing here? I half-expected to get into a fist-fight with Wheein tonight."

"Working." Moonbyul echoes.

"Oh?"

"Wheein drank a bit too much last night. She's too hungover to work," she explains

Jiwon rolls her eyes, "Figures."

Moonbyul shrugs, "It's not that bad I guess. She'd do the same for me." Though, Moonbyul doubts that Wheein would last 10 minutes at her job. Her friend wasn't exactly a patient person and being related to Wheein, Moonbyul guesses that Jiwon probably already knew that.

"Don't you hate big crowds?" Jiwon recalls

She chuckles weakly, "Yeah. That's the only bad part of this." 

Jiwon hums in agreement, "Well on the bright side, at least you don't have to memorise these people's names." 

"Do you?"

She nods, "Occasionally. When my boss has had a bit too much to drink, her memory tends to get a bit hazy."

Moonbyul perks up and her curiousity gets the best of her, "Where is this infamous boss of yours?"

Jiwon points to a young woman standing not too far from them and recognition lights up in Moonbyul's gaze. The one person that she had hoped to see again, stood just a few feet away from her. The weird tingling sensation in her stomach becomes evident but this time, it was welcomed. As Moonbyul continues to gawk at her, her goofy smile slowly turns into a tight lipped grimace; judging by the woman's body language, she certainly was not enjoying her conversation with the guy that she was with. Before Moonbyul can react, the woman throws him a glare and storms off, rummaging through her clutch while the man in question, stares helplessly at her as she leaves. Moonbyul sets down her tray, determined. Her eyes dart around for any sign of Ed, thankfully, he's nowhere to be seen. 

"Sorry, I just remembered I have to go help out at the back," Moonbyul says in a rushed manner and throws Jiwon an apologetic smile. She can hear the girl call after her but Moonbyul ignores her and practically sprints after the woman.

Though, that was unnecessary because she already knew where she would be.

. . 

Yongsun holds her cigarette between her lips as she smoothes out her dress. Taking a slightly longer drag than usual, she exhales, slowly. For what seemed like forever, she had conjured many scenarios be it in the shower, or during the moments when she was alone in bed trying her hardest to fall asleep, about Theo confessing that he missed her and wanting to start over. Her answer was always the same and the two would ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. But if she was being completely honest, a part of her still hadn't forgiven him for what he had did at the gala; how he just stood idly by . . . she shudders at the memory. 

She shakes away her thoughts on that night; her feelings were already in disarray at the moment, no need to add anger into the mix. She lightly leans her head back against the cold brick wall and exhales. She had never felt so confused. For the first time in a long time, she did not know what she wanted. Did she miss him? Or was she just lonely? She frowns slightly at herself, as she dives deeper into her thoughts. There was something else. Something that she didn't fully yet understand; it was a novel feeling that she couldn't exactly place. 

"I see you still haven't given up smoking."

Thankful that she is distracted from deeply analysing her thoughts and feelings, Yongsun scoffs lightly and offers her a hint of a smile, "I see you're still nosy."

The girl comes to a halt beside her and leans back against the wall too. "I saw you earlier," she admits

"Oh? I didn't see you."

"You were talking to someone and then you ran out before I can say anything." She gives her a half-smile, "You're pretty quick you know, probably faster than Naruto. Quite impressive, especially in those heels." 

Yongsun laughs lightly, "Years of practice."

"Are you alright?" the girl asks, voice laced with concern.

For a split moment, Yongsun almost concedes to the urge to shake her head and then proceed to talk about everything that was bothering her. But eventually, her senses kick in. Perhaps it was a bit too much to ask for, after all, she probably had a lot more to worry about tonight than Yongsun's trivial problems. "Yeah, I just needed to get away for a moment to clear my head," she finally says.

The girl nods in understanding, "Okay, I just wanted to check up on you. I'll leave you be."

"No. Stay." Yongsun blurts out

"Huh?"

"Stay," she repeats but then adds, "Only if you're not busy and if you want to," she says the last part quietly.

The girl nods and settles back against the wall, "I like your hair by the way."

"Thank you. I like yours too." 

"We seem to have swapped hair colours." 

"Seems so."

The conversation comes to a lull. After a few stolen glances, Yongsun eventually says, "It's good to see you again, Wheein."

The girl tilts her head slightly before forming an "o" shape with , "Actually, I'm --"

"Moonbyul!" 

Her head turns at that name and she grimaces as a burly man comes into view looking anything but pleased, "What the hell are you doing out here? I ain't paying you to slack off!"

Moonbyul bows her head, "Sorry. I got a bit overwhelmed in there," 

"I expect you back inside within 2 minutes." he says and without another word, he heads back inside with a shake of his head.

Moonbyul looks back at her with an apologetic grin, "Duty calls," but before she can take a step, Yongsun grabs a hold of her wrist. 

"Your name is Moonbyul?" 

The girl's eyes flit down at her fingers wrapped around her wrist and then back at Yongsun with a puzzled expression, she nods.

"I'm Yongsun." Yongsun says, her eyes searches hers for any glimmer of recognition. 

"I'm sorry, I don't . . . " 

Yongsun lets go of her wrist hastily, "Sorry." She covers her face with her hands and lets out a low groan, "Sorry. I probably had a bit too much to drink." 

"That's alright."

"Forget that happened."

"Already forgotten."

"Okay." 

Without another word, Moonbyul turns and leaves. While Yongsun was too preoccupied with cringing in embarassment, she had failed to notice that Moonbyul was speed-walking away as if her life depended on it. However, just before she disappears through the door of the building, she makes sure to steal one last look at Yongsun. 

. . . 

. . . KKKKKKKK.

WHAT THE .

THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING

WHAT THE , WHY IS SHE SO PRETTY?

.

Moonbyul's mind races with the same five sentences over and over as her body works in autopilot, clearing the tables as quickly as possible. Ed was busy barking orders through the headset that she was obligated to wear, but that was drowned out by the rapid beating of her heart and her loud thoughts. She desperately wanted to go home and for the second time that night, she curses at Wheein. She decides that this was definitely the last time that she will step in for her at work. Her grip tightens on the plate that she is holding as she thinks back to the subtle look of disappointment on Yongsun's face earlier and is instantly filled with regret at how she had handled things. It was definitely a fight or flight type situation and in Moonbyul's case, it was a flight response. She spots Yongsun making her way back into the hall, her expression unreadable. Moonbyul crouches down, pretending to be interested about something on the floor, silently wishing that the floor itself, would form a huge black hole and then she could jump into it and be transported onto her bed . . . or anywhere but here.

She didn't have the courage to face her. She doubts she ever will. How does one recover from that? Just walk up to her and be like 'oh hey, turns out I do know you. You're the girl I've been having late night conversations with, right?' 

Stupid.

She hangs her head low in frustration, her legs already feeling the burn after squatting for less than 30 seconds. 

Moonbyul stands up and digs out her vibrating phone from her pocket.

How long had this been ringing?

Her eyes widen at Yongsun's name. She stares at her phone, dumbfounded for several moments before pressing hard on the decline button with her thumb.

"So you do know me."

Moonbyul freezes, like a deer caught in the headlights. She peers over her shoulder and sees Yongsun standing there, observing, phone in hand with a hint of a smirk playing on the corner of her lips. 

Their moment is cut short when Theo makes a beeline in their direction, to which Yongsun groans inwardly. What is with him? 

She returns her attention back to Moonbyul, "Do you want to get out of here?"

. . . 

author's note: ah. finally. as always, thank you for reading. please leave comments, i love reading every single one. it feeds my ego lol hope you enjoy this chapter and stay safe :)

kofi: ko-fi.com/fleurly