Hyunjung watched as several people unloaded a van and carried boxes into the house next to hers. There’d been a SOLD sign on the lawn, which someone had pulled out earlier that day. Most of the people were adults, but one person looked about her size, so that was probably a kid. Hyunjung wasn’t sure when to say hi, as it seemed like the kid was trying to help carry stuff into the house. At one point, the kid stood on the lawn and stared out at the neighborhood, and Hyunjung took at that her cue to walk over.

“Hi,” she said. “Who are you?”

The kid (who, Hyunjung realized, upon closer look, was a girl) turned to look at Hyunjung. “I’m Sojung. I’m going to live here.” Sojung pointed to the house behind her. “Who are you?”

“I’m Hyunjung. I live over there.” Hyunjung turned and pointed to her house.

“So you’re my new neighbor!”

“Yep. Hey, how old are you?”

“I’m six. Why?”

“I was just curious. I’m seven.”

“Sojung!” A grown-up-sounding voice called out. The girls turned toward the voice. A woman stood by the door of Sojung’s house.

“That’s my mom. I gotta go. See you later, Hyunjung!” With that, Sojung ran off towards her house.

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

As the days passed, Hyunjung and Sojung hung out more and more. It was easy to be friends with Sojung, and Hyunjung grew to like her more every day. There weren’t many other kids their age in the neighborhood, and the kids that were their age were on vacation.

One day, it rained hard. They were trapped inside. The rain pattered hard against the windows, and thunder could be heard nearby.

Sojung dropped her elbows on her knees and propped her face in her hands. “What do we do now?”

“Let’s play house!” Hyunjung said.

“What’s house?”

“It’s like, we’re adults, and we’re married, and we do house stuff. You can be the husband.”

Sojung still looked confused, but she nodded. “Okay.”

Despite her initial confusion, Sojung picked up the rules pretty quickly.

“Where is dinner, Hyunjung?”

“On the table, Sojung. How was work?”

“It was good. I did difficult things. I yelled at people. People yelled at me.”

“Oh, wow. I hope you’re okay.” Hyunjung hugged Sojung.

“I am now. It’s all worth it, so that we can buy a bike for our daughter.”

They kept at it like that until Hyunjung’s mom called them for dinner.

They were still eating grilled pork when Hyunjung’s dad came home. Her mom lit up when she saw him.

“Hi, honey.” She pecked him on the cheek. “How was work?”

“It was alright. You know how the boss gets. What’s for dinner?”

“Grilled pork. You can join the girls.”

Only then did he turn and see them. “Hi, girls! How’s dinner?”

“It’s delicious!” Sojung said.

“I’m glad to hear it, but you could’ve finished chewing before you told me.”

Sojung swallowed. “The pork is delicious, Mr. Kim.”

“Well, in that case, I’ll join you.”

Hyunjung’s mom gave him a plate and he sat down next to Hyunjung. “What’d you girls do today?”

“Well, we were playing soccer, but then it rained, so we played house,” Hyunjung said.

“What’s house?”

“We just act like you and mommy,” Hyunjung said.

“That sounds fun.”

“It is.”

Sojung’s fork clattered against her empty plate. “I’m all done. Thank you, Mrs. Kim!” She turned and looked at Hyunjung expectantly. Her bowl was almost empty.

Hyunjung quickly finished eating. “All done. Thank you, mommy!”

With that, Hyunjung and Sojung left to play more house.

“Hyunjung?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want me to act like your dad?”

Hyunjung shrugged. “You can if you want to.”

“Okay.” Sojung leaned over and pecked Hyunjung on the cheek.”

“ Ew! Why’d you do that?” Hyunjung rubbed at her cheek furiously.

“Your dad did it-”

“Yeah, but he’s gross. He doesn’t care about mouth germs.”

“What about your mom?”

“She doesn’t either.”

“Okay.”

Hyunjung felt so uncomfortable, which she rarely was with Sojung. “Can we just go back to what we were doing earlier?”

“Sojung nodded. “Yeah.”

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

About a year after Sojung moved in next door, she and Hyunjung started taking singing lessons together, once a week. Their teacher said they were both “quite promising,” and that they could turn into really good singers if they practiced enough.

“What do you say, girls? Do you want to be singers?” Sojung’s mother asked.

“Yeah!” Hyunjung said.

“It sounds fun,” Sojung agreed.

Sometimes, the two of them watched singers and performers on TV. They learned dances together.

“ Gee, gee, gee, ba-ba-ba-ba-bey. ”

“That looks so fun, don’t you think?” Hyunjung asked.

“I don’t know,” Sojung replied. “I think I’d get tired of it.”

“Of what?”

“The song, the dancing, the outfits.”

Hyunjung frowned. Sojung did have a point. “I guess you’re right.”

“I like singing the way we do now, just, whatever we want.”

Hyunjung nodded slowly. “Yeah. So what do you wanna do, then? When you grow up?”

Sojung screwed up her face in thought. “Well, someone had to make the song, like, the part that’s not the singing, right? That would be cool.”

Hyunjung’s eyes widened. “That sounds awesome. Would you make a song for me?”

“Of course I would. I’d save my most beautiful song for you to song.”

Hyunjung smiled. “Thank you, Sojung.”

Sojung smiled back. “That’s what best friends are for, right?”

“Right.”

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

Hyunjung and Sojung had most of their classes together, from the year Sojung moved in through middle school. After school, they’d walk home together.

“So, Sojung.”

Sojung looked at Hyunjung quizzically. “What?”

“Any boys catch your eye?”

Sojung rolled her eyes. “Really?”

“That’s not a nooooo ,” Hyunjung said in sing-song.

Sojung sighed. “No, I don’t like any boys.”

“Not any? ”

“No.”

“That’s so weird. Everybody in our grade’s got a crush on somebody , and you don’t like anybody ?”

“Nope.”

“Damn. I shouldn’t have told you about Dohyun. It’s not fair that you know about my crush and I don’t know about yours.”

Sojung chuckled. “I guess not.”

“But if you had a crush, you would tell me?” Hyunjung pouted at Sojung. Maybe that was a bit much, but she was upset.

“Of course,” Sojung replied instantly. “You’re my best friend.”

Hyunjung preened. “I’m your best frieeeend.” She wrapped an arm around Sojung and hugged her sideways. “We’re best frieeeeeends.”

Sojung hugged her back. “Yeah, we are.” Hyunjung looked down, and she saw that Sojung was smiling. “Whenever something happens, I’ll tell you.”

Hyunjung smiled at that. “Good.”

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

Hyunjung pursed her lips and stared at the bed, clearly nervous. “Sojung?”

“Yes?”

“What are we gonna do when we get boyfriends?”

Sojung looked at Hyunjung quizzically. “We’ll date them?”

“No, I mean- I don’t know anything about kissing. When you date boys, you gotta kiss them. I’ve never kissed anyone. What if I’m a bad kisser?”

“You won’t be a bad kisser,” Sojung said, as reassuringly as she could.

“How do you know? I’ve never kissed anyone before. Neither have you.”

Hyunjung’s eyes flashed briefly. “Hey, what if we practiced?”

“Practiced what?” Sojung asked.

“Kissing. With each other.”

“I-” Sojung tilted her head in thought. “Isn’t that just kissing?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t have to count . We’re just friends. It’s like when we played husband and wife as kids.”

Sojung nodded slowly. “That makes sense.”

Hyunjung shifted so she’d be closer to Sojung on the bed, resting her hand on Sojung’s cheek. Sojung felt really nervous, but she still inched her face closer to Hyunjung’s.

“So I’m just gonna-”

“Yeah.”

“We don’t have to if-”

Hyunjung’s lips were soft, and warm. They tasted like strawberry, which made sense, because Sojung saw her apply that lip balm before. She decided right then and there that she liked the taste.

They pulled apart, and Sojung’s eyes fluttered open. She felt so happy, and Hyunjung was smiling too.

“You’re- you’re a good kisser,” Hyunjung said quietly, her cheeks flushed red.

Sojung smiled back, wide. “You, too.” She was sure her face matched Hyunjung’s in redness.

“Can we- I think we should kiss more. To practice. I wanna be a really good kisser for my future boyfriend.” Hyunjung glanced at Sojung out of the corner of her eye as she spoke.

Sojung nodded. “Yeah. That makes sense.”

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

Lots of boys liked Hyunjung in high school. Sometimes, she even liked them back. There was one boy in particular, Kim Minjun, that Hyunjung liked a lot . He played soccer and shared a lot of classes with Hyunjung. After weeks of flirting and circling around each other, they finally started going out. It only took a few short weeks after that for Hyunjung to officially become his girlfriend.

Suddenly, she didn’t need to practice with Sojung anymore. She was getting the real deal. Minjun was handsome, strong, fun, and (according to Hyunjung) a very good kisser.

Even though Sojung knew all along that that was going to happen, she found it still stung to be rejected, to not be needed any more. Hyunjung still needed her in other ways, but it wasn’t the same. Sojung couldn’t explain it. She’d just gotten used to kissing Hyunjung, she rationalized, even though she wasn’t supposed to. It was temporary, a practical measure for gaining experience before dealing with the real thing.

For her part, Sojung couldn’t bring herself to be interested in any boy that crossed her path. She had no idea what the other girls saw in them, but she supposed she had different tastes. Maybe she’d meet somebody in college.

Yeah, that was probably it. College guys were different. They were cooler than high school guys, more mature. She could wait.

Hyunjung disagreed.

“What do you mean, you don’t like any guy? Not even Junseo?”

“Nope.” Sojung shrugged apologetically. “Sorry.”

“That’s so weird .”

Sojung shrugged again. “There’ll be plenty of guys in college.”

“Mmm.” Hyunjung agreed. “Still, it’s kinda weird that you didn’t like anybody in middle school or in high school.”

Sojung shrugged. “Maybe I’m too picky.”

“Maybe.” Hyunjung cocked her head at Sojung. “But you’d tell me if there was someone?”

“Of course I would.”

Hyunjung nodded, but Sojung could tell that wasn’t the end of it.

“What if I set you up on a blind date?” Hyunjung asked.

Sojung groaned. “ No . When have you ever heard of a blind date going well?”

“Miyoung and Minsu.”

“Yeah, but Miyoung liked Minsu before the date.”

“Oh.” Hyunjung sat in thought for a moment. “Then I’ll just find a guy that likes you!”

“And?” Realization hit her. “Oh. Me as Minsu,” Sojung said flatly.

“You as Minsu!” Hyunjung said excitedly.

Sojung didn’t want to go on any date, let alone a blind one, but she knew Hyunjung would not let up on this. “Fine.”

“Whoo!” Hyunjung cheered. “Thank you. Don’t worry. I’m gonna find you someone good.”

Sojung rolled her eyes.

“Hey! I will! He’s gonna be an absolute dreamboat!”

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

Hyunjung’s “absolute dreamboat” of a guy was Taejin, a tall, quiet guy from a different high school. They met up on a Saturday afternoon and took a walk through the local park.

“I should warn you, before we go too far...this isn’t gonna go anywhere. I already have feelings for someone else.” Taejin kept his voice even as he spoke, looking straight at the ground in front of him. Sojung suspected he didn’t want to talk too much about his feelings.

“That’s alright. My friend pressured me into this anyway. Can we still walk through the park? Just as friends.”

Taejin nodded. “That’s fine.”

He opened up bit by bit as they walked. Sojung found out that he was a year older than her, that he liked sculpting, that he preferred smaller, more intimate settings to large gatherings. He didn’t like parties, and some of his friends held that against him.

“That’s not your fault. Your friends are just taking you to the wrong kind of parties. You need something small, and quiet.”

Taejin smiled bitterly. “What teenager is gonna want to go to a small, quiet party, where they can’t hook up in the master bedroom?”

“I’ll come,” Sojung said.

“Alright. I’ll think about it.”

“Just an idea,” Sojung said.

The park wasn’t that big, so their date was pretty short. Sojung enjoyed herself, though. Taejin had already proven himself less judgemental than some of her other friends, and he wasn’t that hard to talk to once she got past his initial shyness.

“Thanks for...being so understanding.”

“It’s fine. Besides, I had fun today.”

Taejin smiled, and it was genuine. “Me, too.”

“So, we tell our friends we’re not each other’s types, and we part as friends?” Sojung offered her hand.

Taejin shook it. “Friends.”

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

“What do you mean , you weren’t his type?”

Sojung shrugged. “It happens. He said we can be friends, though.”

“Psh,” Hyunjung rolled her eyes. “Of course he said that.”

“ I think he’s nice,” Sojung said.

“Well, if he was really nice, he’d get over his dumb type and date you.”

“Well, it’s not happening, so...”

Hyunjung huffed, flopping down on Sojung’s bed next to her.

“Look, it’s not a big deal, alright?”

Hyunjung turned to face Sojung, propping her head up with her hand. “But you deserve somebody.”

“And I’ll get somebody. Just, not now.”

“But don’t you ever get tired of third wheeling me and Minjun?”

Sojung broke her gaze away from Hyunjung’s and turned to the ceiling. “I never thought about it like that,” she answered honestly. Somethingabout their hangouts had bothered her, but she could never put her finger on what it was.

“Never?”

“No.” Sojung turned back to Hyunjung and turned the conversation back to something she’d mentioned before. “Do you think Minjun is yoursomebody? ”

Now it was Hyunjung’s turn to stare at the ceiling. “I don’t know. I think he’s worth a try.”

“I guess so. I hope things work out for you two.” No, you don’t, whispered a small, malicious part of Sojung’s conscious, the part that insisted she was a third wheel, that things were better when i was just her and Hyunjung. She ignored it.

Hyunjung turned to Sojung and smiled hesitantly. “Me, too.”

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

As the weeks passed, Sojung and Taejin got surprisingly close. She thought they’d fall out of touch because they went to different high schools, but it turned out he was fine with just texting. She could only see him in person a few times a month, but she got used to it. He was more open over text, anyway.

did you ever figure stuff out w your crush, btw? she asked.

 

no. he replied. i can’t ever tell my crush

 

why not?

 

can you keep a secret?

 

yeah

 

i’m gay

 

Sojung stared at her phone, confused.

what do you mean?

 

i like guys

my crush is a guy

 

ohhhhhhhhh

 

please don’t tell anyone

 

of course i won’t. your secret is safe with me.

 

thank you

 

no problem

 

Sojung stared into space. If guys could like guys, did that mean girls could-

Her phone buzzed.

 

do you hate me?

 

of course not

why would you think that?

 

you stopped replying 

 

i’m sorry

i just didn’t know guys could like guys

 

well

they can

 

Sojung wondered if she could ask…it couldn’t hurt, could it…?

can girls like girls?

 

yeah

 

oh

Of course they could. If guys could like guys, then-

 

you didn’t know?

 

no

 

oh

Sojung was about to sink into her thoughts when she got another text from Taejin.

i gotta go do my homework, but thanks for not hating me

 

why would i hate you?

 

because i’m gay

 

i wouldn’t hate you for that

 

i know. thank you

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

Sojung got distracted, and she forgot about what Taejin told her until he brought it up a few weeks later.

why’d you ask me if girls could like girls?

 

it just didn’t make sense that boys could like boys and that girls couldn’t like girls

 

well

girls can like girls

 

thanks

 

no problem

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

Graduation was coming up in a few months, so Hyunjung had given up on trying to find Sojung a boyfriend. They both agreed that Sojung could meet someone in college. Sojung found herself relieved that she wouldn’t have to go on any more dates, blind or otherwise.

Taejin was graduating, too. They would probably keep in touch, though. Sojung liked their conversations, and after he’d come out to her, she trusted him more than most of her friends.

 

hyunjung and i are both going to sungkyunkwan. minjun didn’t get in tho

 

is that a good or bad thing?

 

it , but they’ll figure it out

 

are you sad about it tho?

 

Sojung had told him about feeling like a third wheel. Minjun was a great guy, but he’d never done much to get to know Sojung without Hyunjung around.

not really

 

do you think they’ll do ldr?

 

idk

 

so it could just be you two

 

yeah

 

no more third wheeling

 

yeah

Sojung smiled at the thought. She liked it when it was just the two of them. That’s how it had been for ages. She was comfortable with that.

 

sojung

can i ask you something?

 

yeah

 

do you have a crush on hyunjung?

 

What?! Why would he ask that? Of course not.

no

 

okay

 

why would you ask me that?

 

just a guess

don’t worry about it

 

i thought we were supposed to be honest with each other

 

...fine

you don’t talk about her the way other people talk about their best friends

 

like what?

 

i don’t know

just

the way you’re so close, and you don’t mind not having a bf because you have her, and you’re not even interested in guys in general, it just had me thinking maybe you liked girls

specifically hyunjung

 

oh

well

i don’t

i don’t like girls

hyunjung is just my friend

Why did it feel weird to send that? Why were her hands shaking?

 

i’m sorry

 

it’s okay

 

i didn’t mean to upset you

 

i’m not upset

but you’re wrong

 

okay

 

thank you for being honest though

 

no problem

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

Hyunjung and Minjun broke up right before the semester started. After a lot of back and forth, they’d both decided against long distance. It was a friendly break up, and they planned to keep in touch.

Sojung and Hyunjung ended up being roommates, of course. Hyunjung was gonna major in vocal performance; Sojung in music production.

They moved in two days before classes were supposed to start, and spent the rest of the time unpacking. After dinner, Hyunjung opened a bottle of wine (supposedly to christen the place) and poured them both glasses.

“To our new home!”

“To the future.”

“To us.”

On and on, until the wine bottle was empty. Unlike Hyunjung, who gulped down her glass with every toast, Sojung took small sips. The end result was Hyunjung was quite tipsy, while Sojung was barely light-headed.

“Sojung,” Hyunjung slurred, “I’m gonna, I’m gonna help you find somebody. You’re gonna find somebody this year, get a boyfriend. Yeah. You’re gonna do it.”

Sojung rolled her eyes. “What makes you think I need your help?”

“Becauuuuuuse if you didn’t then you’d already have a boyfriend. You’re a great kisser too, so it’s not like- it’s not like that’s holding you back.”

Hyunjung missed Sojung’s blush; she was too busy tipping back the wine bottle and trying to finish the last few drops. Sojung was grateful, because it gave her a moment to freak out and calm down in privacy.

“Um, thanks?”

“You’re welcome,” Hyunjung replied, having finished off the bottle. “Trust me. I know what I’m talking about.”

Sojung gulped and nodded slowly. How the was she supposed to reply to that?

“Do we have any more-”

“Nooooo,” Sojung said quickly. “We have classes tomorrow. Ignoring Hyunjung protests, Sojung forced her to drink a glass of water before tucking her into bed.

“Good night,” Sojung said, turning to leave when Hyunjung grabbed her by the arm.

“Listen,” she said, “I just want you to be happy. Sometimes it feels like you’re not happy, and I can’t figure out why. Maybe if you had someone, you could be happy.”

Oh. Sojung couldn’t say she’d never had thoughts like that, but it was surprising to hear them voiced by Hyunjung. Still, it was time for her - forboth of them - to go to sleep. This topic could wait for later.

“Thank you, Hyunjung. I appreciate it. Good night.”

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

taejin?

 

yeah?

 

with your crush

how did you know?

when you liked him

 

well, i just kinda felt warm whenever he was around

nervous sometimes

i wanted to kiss him sometimes

Oh, , thought Sojung.

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

“Welcome to Sungkyunkwan’s Gay Straight Alliance! I’m the president, Moonbyul. I use she/her pronouns and I’m majoring in theater. Why don’t we all go around and introduce ourselves? Name, major, pronouns, and what you hope to get out of this club. That way, I can work towards making it better for all of you.”

Sojung had the misfortune of accidentally sitting down right next to the president. She cleared and stared at her lap, uncomfortable with all the eyes she felt on her.

“I’m Sojung. I’m majoring in music production, and I, uh-“

“Pronouns?”

Sojung glanced at Moonbyul. “I don’t know what those are.”

“Well, are you a boy, or a girl, or-“

“I’m a girl.”

“Then your pronouns are she/her.”

“Okay. Um, I’m here because...because I think I’m in love with my best friend, and I don’t know how to deal with that, and I thought maybe someone here could help me.” It hadn’t felt real until she’d said it aloud, but now that she had, she felt something change. Her shoulders lightened, only for her to be swept up in terror a moment later.

I’m in love with Hyunjung. . ! I can’t be-

She felt an arm wrap around her and looked up to see Moonbyul smiling encouragingly at her.

“You’re very brave, Sojung. Thank you for coming.”

Sojung just nodded. With her intro finished, everyone turned to the next person.

“Hi, I’m Wheein…”

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

“Heyyyyyy.”

Sojung looked up from her computer to see Hyunjung leaning on the doorframe, clearly drunk. “Hey. How was the party?”

Hyunjung shrugged. “Alright. Would’ve been better if you were there.”

Sojung blushed and looked away. She’d been feeling weird ever since-

“Whatcha reading?” Hyunjung asked, peeking over Sojung’s shoulder at her laptop. Sojung hadn’t even noticed her walk over.

“Nothing,” Sojung said, slamming her laptop shut. She’d been googling words that kept coming up at SGSA, but she didn’t want to tell Hyunjungthat .

“Biual. What’s that?”

Too late. She already saw.

“It’s when you like more than one gender,” Sojung said shyly.

“Huh. Same.”

What?

“Huh?”

“I like girls sometimes. I guess I’m biual.”

Holyholyholy- “I guess you are.”

Hyunjung yawned. “I’m tired. Can we talk more in the morning?”

“Yeah. Good night, Hyunjung.”

As soon as Hyunjung was asleep, Sojung ran out into the hallway and called Taejin.

“Ugh, what is it?”

“Do you remember when you said I liked girls?”

“I asked you-“

“You were right.”

“I- what?”

“I like girls. I like Hyunjung. And she just came in, drunk, and told me she’s biual.”

“Really? Why?”

“She saw the word in my search-“

“Oh, damn.”

“What should I do?” Sojung swallowed. “Do you think I have a chance with her?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“Because she could reject me .”

“And then what, you go back to mooning over her, same as you did before? Ask her out.”

“But-“

“Good night.” The line clicked, and Sojung was left alone with her thoughts.

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

In the morning, Hyunjung had no memory of what she’d said the night before. Sojung didn’t bring it up.

The day’s classes passed in a haze. Sojung’s mind went in circles, wondering what girls Hyunjung liked, when she liked them, why Hyunjung had never mentioned them, whether Sojung should come out to her (of course she should tell her- no! it’d make things weird!), on and on and on.

Taejin was no help. When she texted him, he insisted that she should just shoot her shot. Useless advice. Why would Sojung throw away a lifetime of friendship just for Hyunjung to reject her?

So she texted Moonbyul.

can i ask you something? idk who to ask

 

what is it?

 

my friend came out to me

but she was drunk

so she forgot

Sojung clenched her teeth as she typed.

i’m wondering if i should come out to her too

 

why not? she’ll definitely accept you

 

yeah but

this is the friend i have a crush on

and i don’t want to tell her that i have a crush on her

 

so? you being a lesbian does not automatically mean you have a crush on her

 

but i DO have a crush on her

 

but she won’t know that!! not from you coming out!!

 

promise?

 

yes

 

okay

thanks

 

no problem

 

i have another question 

 

shoot

 

do you think i have a chance with her? dating?

 

i think you should ask her

 

but what if it ruins our friendship?

 

how?

 

wouldn’t you be weirded out if your friend asked you out?

 

no

would you be?

 

i guess not

 

then she shouldn’t be either

worst case is she says no and you stay friends

best case is she says yes and you date

but you have to ask

 

Sojung frowned at her phone.

okay

i’ll talk to her

thank you

 

no problem

i’m proud of you 

good luck

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

Sojung paced restlessly in her dorm room. She didn’t know what to say to Hyunjung, how to say it. Her mind went round and round in circles.

She was going over her umpteenth mental draft when Hyunjung came in, interrupting her thoughts and her pacing.

“What happened?” She asked, concerned.

“Nothing. Well, not nothing. Um, do you remember what happened last night?” Sojung stared at Hyunjung with wide eyes, not even sure what shewanted to hear. 

“Not really. Was it bad?”

“No, no, it was- you said you were biual?”

Hyunjung grimaced. “Hey, listen, if it makes you uncomfortable, you can just forget it-"

“No! That’s not- I’m- I’m a lesbian,” Sojung said, gesturing wildly.

Hyunjung’s face broke into a smile. “Sojung, that’s great!” She wrapped her arms around Sojung and pulled her into a hug.

Sojung hugged her back, relief flooding through her. “I-I thought you’d-"

“I thought you’d- "

They both laughed awkwardly, but comfortably. It felt like they were on the same page again. Sojung felt like she could breathe normally.

They sat down on Hyunjung’s bed, and Sojung let herself relax.

“Um, when’d you find out?” Sojung asked, trying to be conversational.

Hyunjung chuckled and scratched the back of her neck. “I kinda always had a feeling? But it’s not like there were any girls around that were...like me, so I just stuck to boys. What about you?”

Oh, . .

“I, uh, it just clicked when I got here! You know I’ve never been into guys much, and then I came to college and heard of it when I got here.”

Hyunjung narrowed her eyes at Sojung. She wasn’t buying it. .

“Who was it?” She asked.

It was Sojung’s turn to stare at her lap. Now or never.

“You don’t have to tell-“

“You. It was you,” Sojung said shakily. “It- It is you.”

The silence was deafening. Sojung tucked her knees under her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs.

“I think I love you too.”

Sojung looked up at Hyunjung, dazed. Was she dreaming? She punched Hyunjung in the arm.

“ Ow! ” Hyunjung punched Sojung back, hard. “What was that for?” She asked, rubbing her arm.

Sojung smiled widely, despite the pain in her arm. A warm feeling spread through her chest. “I thought I was dreaming.”

Hyunjung rolled her eyes. “You’re so stupid.”

“But you love me,” Sojung said. It felt surreal.

Hyunjung smiled. “Yeah. I-I love you.”

Sojung scooted closer to Hyunjung on the bed, a sudden boldness flowing through her. She reached out her hand and cradled Hyunjung’s jaw.

“Can I…?”

Hyunjung nodded ever so slightly, and that was enough. Sojung kissed her slowly, gently, still not sure there wouldn’t come a moment where Hyunjung would push her away and take it all back. Her lips were soft, and they tasted like strawberry. Sojung wanted to live in this moment forever.

Instead of pushing Sojung away, Hyunjung wrapped her arms around Sojung’s waist and pulled her closer. Sojung felt tears behind her eyelids. She couldn’t believe this was happening. It was only when Hyunjung started deepening the kiss that she pulled away, trembling slightly.

“Are you crying?” Hyunjung asked.

Sojung just sniffed.

“You are crying! You big baby!” Hyunjung hugged Sojung tightly. Sojung hugged her back.

“I just- I can’t believe this is real.”

“Well, you better believe it, because I still want a proper date.”

Sojung pulled back so she could face Hyunjung properly. “A what?”

“A proper date. You can’t just kiss me once and call me your girlfriend. I want to be treated right.”

Sojung snorted. “Since when do you have such high standards?”

“Hey! I deserve to be treated like a lady.”

Sojung rolled her eyes, but she was grinning. “Okay, fine. Kim Hyunjung, will you go out with me?”

Hyunjung grinned back. “Chu Sojung, I would absolutely love to go out with you.”

Sojung was still smiling when Hyunjung pulled her in for another kiss.