Hyunjin didn’t remember the last time she slept so bad. She was glad it was morning already and she could leave her bed and go through a new day, in which she knew Heejin didn’t feel anything for her. Scratch that, she was not glad. In fact, spending the day in her bed seemed like a good option, but her bladder was begging her otherwise. 

It was still early, and after leaning her ear on her door and not hearing a sound, she assumed it was safe to go now.  

She was wrong. 

“Oh, good morning!” The girl who spent the night where Hyunjin was supposed to said.  

“H-Hi,” Hyunjin mumbled, rushing to the bathroom. 

She was not supposed to meet her, for god’s sake. Just like she was not supposed to spend her time locked in the bathroom, so she left and was about to step in her room when the girl spoke. 

“I made you tea.” 

Hyunjin froze, only her neck turning to face the girl. “Why?” 

“Well since I slept over, I thought I could do something nice for my hosts to compensate for the burden and the water I used when showering. Heejin told me you don’t like coffee, so I made some tea while you were in the bathroom,” she said, putting a cup of Hyunjin’s favorite tea on the table, along with some freshly made toast, judging from the steam that came from them. “I’m Kim Jiwoo, nice to meet you, Hyunjin!” 

Jiwoo smiled, bowing at 90 degrees, and it seemed like the sun had just risen in the sky from how bright was smile was. 

And why would Heejin tell her she didn’t like coffee? 

“Nice to meet you too.” Hyunjin reluctantly bowed back. 

“Come and eat, or else it will go cold!” Jiwoo pulled a chair for her. 

“T-Thank you.” 

Wait a second. Why was Jiwoo being so nice to someone she just met? And she was so cute, her reddish hair pulled in a ponytail and bangs just above her big, round eyes that turned into crescent moons when she smiled. Hyunjin was supposed to be angry, mad at her, but she couldn’t. 

“I’m sorry but, how do you know my name?” Hyunjin asked before sipping on her tea. 

“You see, I was asking Heekkie how she was doing since she moved and she kept talking about how the house was so great and close to work, and her cute roommate called Hyunjin, and...” 

Hot tea burned Hyunjin’s tongue as her arm jerked, making her hiss and almost curse. Heekkie? Cute... what? 

“Are you okay?” Jiwoo asked, rushing to her side. 

“Yes, yes, I’m sorry, I didn’t expect the tea to be so hot.” 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I messed up.” 

“No, it’s not your fault, don’t worry,” Hyunjin said, trying to calm the girl down. “B-But you were saying, about Heejin. What exactly... did she tell you?” 

“Oh, she told me that you’re a cat and a dog at the same time! You sound like a real dog and a real cat! That’s amazing! Can you show me?” 

A door opened, and both girls snapped their heads to its sound. As soon as Hyunjin’s eyes laid on Heejin, she felt something new. Now she felt angry. Like it was all her fault. 

“Good morning, Heekkie! I made you coffee, and your toast is ready as well, come join us!” 

Heejin hesitated, but nodded and sat in front of Hyunjin, mumbling a good morning, to which Hyunjin answered the same way, but avoiding her eyes. 

What did Heejin tell Jiwoo about her? Why was she talking about her that much even? Why would she brag about her, give her mixed signals, to bring some girl home to sleep with? What was she trying to do?  

“What is this silence? Cheer up both of you, it’s a beautiful morning!” Jiwoo said, blinding Hyunjin with another of her smiles. 

Hyunjin forced a smile and her eyes met Heejin’s for a second, igniting another wave of anger in her body. And why was Heejin acting like that? Wasn’t she supposed to be happy? Hyunjin bet she slept wonders with Jiwoo’s company after some fun. 

“Are you feeling alright, Heekkie?” Jiwoo asked, resting a hand on her shoulder. 

“Not really, my head hurts.” Heejin massaged her temples. 

“You should take something. Do you have anything for hangovers?” 

Oh, they were drinking as well.  

“I don’t know,” Heejin said. “I-Is there something I can take, Hyunjin?” 

“No.” 

“It’s okay, I’ll go out and buy something.” 

“Oh, there’s no need, Chuu, I’ll be fine.” 

Chuu? Oh, please. 

“Where can I go get some medicine?” 

“There's a convenience store two blocks away,” Hyunjin said, taking another sip. 

“Okay, thank you, Hyunjin, and I’ll be right back!”  

It should be Hyunjin taking care of Heejin, not her. But why was Hyunjin wanting to take care of her after what she did? 

The air in the room felt so thick Hyunjin had trouble breathing. Or maybe it was just her because her chest still felt too tight. 

“So, you met Jiwoo,” Heejin said. 

“Yeah.” 

“I’m sorry, you must have been very confused when you saw her-” 

“Not really, I saw you two arrive yesterday, but you were too drunk to notice me.” 

There was a pause, and when Hyunjin peeked at Heejin, the color in her face had drained, and it didn’t matter how angry Hyunjin could be, she wondered if she was actually feeling sick. 

“You okay?” She asked. 

“Y-Yes, it’s just my head, but I’ll be fine when Chuu arrives with the medicine.” 

“Of course,” Hyunjin forced a smile. “You two seem like very good friends.” 

“Yeah, we’ve been friends since high school. I know this is shocking, but Jiwoo is actually my senior. Crazy, right? With how young she looks.” 

“Yeah, crazy.” 

With the silence that installed, Hyunjin only fiddled with the wing of her mug, staring down at her tea, the sounds of Heejin lethargically biting on her toast annoying her to a disproportionate extent. 

“I know I look like right now, but you don’t look much better. Bad night of sleep?” Heejin asked with half full. 

“Yup.” 

“What happened?” 

Hyunjin gripped her mug tighter, unbothered by the searing heat of it, which was no match to the heat radiating to her face. 

“I don’t know Heejin, possibly someone was having on the other side of my wall in the middle of the night, and not even bothering to be discrete about it.” 

Heejin seemed to have turned to stone. Hyunjin regretted the harshness of her words for a split second, but then let the feeling of anger that it wasn’t her wash over once more. 

“I’m so sorry, Hyunjin. I don’t know what to say. I didn’t think the walls were that thin. I’m so, so, so, so sorry you couldn’t sleep because of me.” Heejin let her head hit the table. “Damn, this is embarrassing.” 

“And it should be. You brought someone home that I don’t know without telling me, and to do such a thing. I couldn’t sleep!” 

“I know, Hyunjin!” She lifted her head to face her. “I said I was sorry. We drank a bit-” 

“A bit,” Hyunjin mumbled into the air. 

“And as far as I know, you never told me I couldn’t bring visitors home, and Jiwoo isn’t some stranger I met at the party, she is a friend I’ve known for years. I trust her and wouldn’t bring anyone here that I didn’t trust. Haven’t Chaewon or Yerim or Hyejoo been here too?” 

“Actually, I’ve never brought them here to get laid, no. I don’t go and do that with my friends.” 

Heejin scoffed, and as Hyunjin looked at her, the pieces that were once her heart reduced to dust. She had never seen Heejin’s features like that, scrunching in anger, her eyebrows drawn together. 

The bell rang, and Heejin almost threw her chair down from how fast she stood up. Jiwoo was back, probably saving Hyunjin from Heejin’s unknown wrath. Did Hyunjin go too far? 

“Are you busy today, Chuu?” Heejin asked, accepting the medicine from her. 

“Not really, wanna do something?” 

“Yes, let’s go for a walk or something and then have lunch with me, I don’t feel like staying home until my shift starts,” Heejin said, throwing Hyunjin a look. It hurt. 

“Of course! Hyunjin, come with us!” 

“I-I’m going to have lunch with some friends, but thank you for the invitation.” 

Jiwoo pouted for a second, then smiled brightly again. “Okay, Heekkie, go get ready!” 

Heejin nodded, and as her eyes met Hyunjin’s, a forced smile creeped on her lips. Without a word, she rushed to her room. 

Hyunjin looked down, resting her forehead on her hands. 

“Does your head hurt as well?” Jiwoo asked. 

“No, I’m just tired.” 

“Oh no, did I wake you up while making breakfast? I’m so sorry.” 

“I’m just stressed out about this week, with the exams and all. You didn’t, don’t worry.” 

“Oh, I feel you. You should go try to sleep some more so you can have lots of energy to study! When I’m studying, it always helps if I sleep at least seven hours a night.” 

Hyunjin couldn’t help but show a faint smile, because she had to admit, Jiwoo was impossible to be mad at or feel anything negative towards. 

“Yeah, it’s better. Have fun with Heejin.” Hyunjin stood up, and noticed Jiwoo doing the dishes. Why did she have to be like this?! “You don’t need to do that, I’ll do it later.” 

“It’s okay! Rest well and have fun with your friends too!” 

She waved Jiwoo goodbye and locked herself in her room.  

What friends? She wasn’t going to see anyone. All she wanted was to get under her sheets and disappear.  

But maybe calling Jinsol wasn’t such a bad idea. Or not, because she didn’t want to hear that she was wrong. That she ruined everything, that she was rude, judgmental, and overreacted. 

Because she knew that was the truth, but it was easier to believe otherwise, so it wouldn’t hurt so much. It was easier to blame Heejin and keep it like that, so she wouldn’t have to deal with the guilt and regret. 

Since that day, there was no more cooking and having meals together. No more bread brought by Heejin almost everyday, and no, what mattered here was not the bread itself. No more watching movies, no drinking tea together, even though she still waited in silence in her room, because she had to make sure Heejin was home to be able to sleep. No more barking, or aeonging. No more playing piano for her and having her sitting on her bed hugging her cat plushie, talking about whatever. No more playing piano altogether, because the memories were too painful. 

But it was still easier like that. It was easier to avoid each other when the both of them were home, than accepting things as they were. 

--- 

“Hyunjin,” Chaewon called and grabbed her hand, stopping her from almost running outside, like she had been doing the past couple weeks. “You’re driving me crazy. Stop running away like that! What did I do? Are you mad at me?” 

Hyunjin took a deep, silent breath, and turned to her. “For the, I already lost the count, time, nothing’s wrong and I am not mad at you.” 

“Then what’s happening?” 

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” 

“If you don’t wanna talk, how about that chocolate bread from ViViD? That always cheers you up. I bet you’re in such a bad mood because you haven’t had that bread in a while.” 

“What are you trying to say?” Hyunjin rolled her eyes, escaping her grip. 

“You stopped going there, there must be a reason.” 

There were times Hyunjin was thankful Chaewon was so clueless. 

“Let’s go there, then-” 

“No.” Hyunjin walked past her. 

“Why not?” Chaewon walked beside her. “We’ll go there, you’ll eat your chocolate bread, and see Heejin!” 

Hyunjin clenched her jaw, forcing her legs to keep moving. 

“Oh, I see what happened. Something went wrong with Heejin, and so you’re not having chocolate bread anymore because you don’t wanna see her!” 

“Hyunjin not eating bread?” Yerim’s voice appeared from the other corridor. “She’s sick! Or on a diet? Please tell me you’re not thinking of that. I’ll fight you.” 

Hyunjin halted, head down. That was the last thing she needed. 

“Fight? Who do I need to punch?” Hyejoo said. 

“Hyunjin. She stopped eating chocolate bread because she’s dieting.” 

“Dieting? You can’t be that dumb, Yerim. She stopped eating bread because it reminds her of Heejin and they had an argument.” 

“Can you all just stop?!” Hyunjin spit, fists balled beside her body. “Yes, that’s true. Please stop telling me to go there. I don’t wanna talk about it.” 

“I’m sorry, we didn’t know,” Chaewon said, resting a hand on her shoulder. 

“Well, I did. It was pretty obvious,” Hyejoo mumbled under her breath.  

“Why don’t we go eat?” Yerim suggested, holding Hyunjin’s hand. “Somewhere where they have bread better than ViViD. Nobody in this world is worthy enough to make you stop eating bread, Hyunjin. Love yourself.”  

They walked to the best coffee shop around campus, the one Hyunjin used to get bread from, picked some food, and sat where it was the quietest. Hyunjin mustered up courage to talk and explained everything, from that night to their argument. Her friends listened to everything in silence, different reactions shaping their features. 

“Maybe it wasn’t the best choice to bring someone home without telling you-” 

“Yes,” Hyunjin interrupted Hyejoo. 

“And I don’t think we can possibly know how painful it had been for you to see and... hear that-” 

“Yup.” 

“But she didn’t owe you any explanation because you’re not in a relationship, so she did nothing wrong, and you were kinda rude.” 

Yerim and Chaewon nodded with an apologetic smile, and Hyunjin sighed. 

“I know.” Hyunjin looked down. “But look, this is too confusing! She looked like she was interested in me, and I even thought I had a chance, but then she brings someone else home and the next morning Jiwoo tells me she’d been bragging about me the night before? I mean, what?!” 

“So? Just because you wouldn’t hook up with someone else while you were interested in a person, it doesn’t mean everyone thinks the way you do,” Hyejoo continued, “Some people separate both things strictly.” 

“And at least you know for sure that she’s gay,” Yerim added. “Yaaay!” 

Hyunjin glared at her. “What does that matter, I’ve ruined everything already.” 

“Just apologize,” Chaewon said. 

“Saying sorry won’t save everything, it isn’t that easy.” 

“I’m not saying that you should just say sorry. You need to apologize and explain your feelings. And you know what that means.” 

Hyunjin sighed. “Jinsol said the same.” Yes, because on that same day, Hyunjin had told Jinsol all about it, or maybe more like Jinsol made her spit everything. That girl could sense something was off with Hyunjin from miles away and wouldn’t give up until she had an explanation. When Hyunjin mentioned the name Jiwoo, Jinsol laughed, claiming Jungeun’s best friend was called Jiwoo. Then, they realized it was the same person, and in fact, Jiwoo and Jungeun had also been together like that in the past. What a small world. “Then what?” 

“There’s no way to know until you talk to her. But you need to. I don't think it can get any worse than it is right now,” Hyejoo said, “the worst that can happen is you being rejected, but I’m sure that she’ll accept your apology and you guys can be friends again and not have that atmosphere home.” 

“Uwaa...” Chaewon wowed, looking at Hyejoo with bright eyes. “You’re so wise.” 

Hyunjin rolled her eyes, and they were in their world again, as Hyejoo barely couldn’t contain a shy smile and Chaewon held on her arm, resting her head on her shoulder. 

---

A/N: I bet you didn't expect the girl to be Jiwoo kekekekekekek