I will remember you 
I will meet you again
I will draw you in my dreams every day
You and I under the blue night sky

The lovely deep blue sky was strung with wispy white cotton clouds. The quality of the light was crisp and direct, it fell on yellow-green buds which were newly emerged on the branches of the trees. At midday even the trampled, slightly dead grass looked rejuvenated, or at least on its way there. The air was remarkably still, but had a perplexing energy, like an expectation. It was dry and so thin it seemed easier to move through somehow. 

A butterfly with speckled orange and black wings flitted past, erratically diving and rising on slight, imperceivable currents. It would land on a wilted bush for a moment before darting off in the blink of an eye only to settle on something else a few meters away. Yoohyeon tracked its zig-zag path with her eyes, keeping her head completely motionless. 

Impulsive, that’s what this beautiful creature seemed like too her. No matter where it landed, there seemed to be no place worthy of remaining for more than a few seconds. A volatile nature with ever changing inclinations turned its attention left, then right, then left again. An unknowable set of senses, an indiscernible set of priorities, governed its every move.

She kept her eyes trained on the speck of orange until it faded from view, and then, even though she could no longer see the shimmering orange, she kept her eyes trained on the nothingness left in its wake, wondering idly if the effervescent butterfly would perhaps come back.

“Yoohyeon, aren't you going to eat?” A voice called over Yoohyeon’s shoulder, startling the girl from her  thoughts.

Handong looked at her expectantly, holding a paper plate piled with wings in her extended hand. “Thank you.” Yoohyeon took the plate with a grateful smile as the other girl slipped onto the bench beside her.

“I can’t believe the shoot lasted two and a half days straight.” Handong dug into a piece of chicken. “When we weren’t on call me and Yoobin slept on the dressing room floor.” She lamented between bites. 

“So it was you two who were the lumps I saw covered in our coats!” Yoohyeon would have slapped the other girl on the back, if her hands had not been very occupied with chicken. 

“Yep. We were exhausted.” Handong tilted her head. “You had so many individual scenes to film though, you must be really drained.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Slumping forward, Yoohyeon let her head hang limp. “I’m so glad we get a break in between filming and beginning promotions.” She swallowed. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.” 

Handong chuckled, and looked over to the rest of the members who were just now coming to join them at the long picnic table. “Scooch over a bit. We've got company.”

Yoohyeon complied, looking over for herself as the cohort approached, clutching plates of chicken and bottles of water. 

“Catch!” Came a loud voice. Yoohyeon had just about a second to contemplate the word before Bora launched a water bottle in her direction. She caught it a few centimeters from her face. 

“Oh my god, you couldn't have just carried it the extra five steps?” Yoohyeon widened her exhausted eyes in exasperation. 

“Nope. My hand was getting cold.” A shrug was given easily, as if this was the most natural explanation. Bora sat down on Yoohyeon's other side and leaned into her a little, a wordless apology.

Yoohyeon sighed to herself. Her good nature didn't allow her to keep up the front of anger for long, and truthfully she’d been more amused than upset. The cheeky grin Bora gave as they bumped shoulders melted the remaining traces of displeasure and she pushed back a little. 

The other four clustered at the opposite side of the table, scrambling a bit to maneuver themselves while taking care not to let their chicken fall from their plates. Yoobin held back, watching the mess unfold before sitting gingerly at one of the ends. Siyeon and Gahyeon, who had far less patience, vyed with Minji, who ended up getting scrunched to the center, across from Yoohyeon.

Chatter filled the air as the girls began to somewhat deliriously discuss how they felt the shoot went. They were all experiencing a second wind, the fleeting burst of energy that comes just before a complete crash. Little of what they said made much sense and they ate in a frazzled manner. 

A lot of time had been spent recording the audio for “You and I” and just as much was spent learning the dance. The MV shoot had been unexpectedly draining, and it seemed like the complexity of the scenes was increasing with every comeback. 

It was tradition in the industry to marathon the shoots. Once filming started it didn't stop until the director felt they had all the shots they needed. Sure, the girls had breaks and opportunities to eat and to take power naps, but something about not walking through your bedroom door at least twice a day took a psychological toll. 

All the girls were tired after the first full day, not to mention the second, but you couldn't see the dark circles around their eyes under perfect makeup. They gave their all when the red recording light was on to mask any trace of exhaustion in the way they moved. Yoohyeon almost collapsed the second the director announced that they had everything they needed. Siyeon too had almost fallen over when Yoohyeon had slumped into her, but reacted quickly, grabbing her arm to prop her up.

In Yoohyeon’s mind there was a fine line between moderating your diet and slowly starving yourself. Perhaps she'd come a little too close to the latter in the week or two preceding the shoot. Now, sitting in the park under the blinding midday sun with no makeup on in her street clothes, she supposed it was possible that her face looked a little sallow. Not that anyone else looked much better.

Conversation carried on quietly, mostly without Yoohyeon who was still lost in her thoughts. It had been a slow change from reservedly cheerful to simply reserved. Nearly two years had passed since Minx had been reunited and reimagined as Dreamcatcher.  Yoohyeon hadn't even realized how much she'd changed until one weekend before comeback preparations began. While having dinner with her extended family, someone made an offhand comment about her quietness and although Yoohyeon's mother put it down to being overworked Yoohyeon knew in the back of her mind that it was something else. 

Though she felt vaguely ashamed to admit it, Yoohyeon had been struggling. The stress from her job was one aspect, but looming larger was another. Ever since that first meeting as Dreamcatcher something in her life had changed, and for the worse.

What she thought were isolated, one off instances quickly turned into a pattern of dodging invitations to dinner, or to go on walks, or go to karaoke. It was as if the ground had given way beneath her, and in a matter of weeks she was left mourning not only a shattered friendship but a dying… something else. Something else that Yoohyeon didn't have the words to describe but something that brought her pain. 

Now, Yoohyeon may have been hurt but she wasn’t pathetic. She still had some pride -- and she could take a hint. Her invitations tapered off and stopped not long after. Left confused, she hadn't taken the new development between them well to say the least, but now the pain was more of a dull ache. Occasionally it flared up in moments of weakness, late at night when her thoughts were more likely to wander further than what she allowed during the day. 

The torment was still there, brought by answers she wanted desperately, but knew she'd never get. Questions she felt almost crazy for asking herself still tugged at the back of her mind. But it had been nearly two years, and now perhaps she was stabilizing. 

Was she happy? No. But could she be, in time? Of course. She just wasn't sure how much time it would take. Clearly she and Minji were not on the same page, nor did it seem likely that they'd ever see eye to eye on certain topics again. Yoohyeon had told herself this over and over, yet some stubborn corner of her heart remained unconvinced. 

She glanced down. Her plate was nearly untouched aside from the one wing she'd idly gnawed at. Really, she just wanted to go home. She glanced up. Minji was leaning, one arm on the table, talking to Gahyeon. The older girl listened intently, even when they were all ready to drop Minji made sure to be the dictionary definition of a leader. Yoohyeon drank the scene in. The heel of the girl’s hand supported a delicate jaw, a common posture, but it was turned absolutely regal when executed by Minji. She watched her lips form around words, massaging sounds into beautiful clear tones. Perfect eyebrows raised and lowered slightly, painting her emotions for all to see. With makeup the girl was striking, drop dead, jaw on the floor gorgeous. Without makeup the effect was somehow still the same, but had an entirely different air to it. Yoohyeon took secret pleasure in the idea that such an image was only afforded to those closest to the girl.

Yoohyeon continued to observe everything from her soft eyelashes to the way her nose scrunched up when she grinned. In her drowsiness she completely forgot the public setting. She watched as the girl kept conversing, tracing the lines of her neck and chin they rotated over to face her. 

Wait. 

. 

Alarmed, Yoohyeon looked up to meet Minji’s eyes, expecting confusion, maybe even disgust. She was about to blurt out an apology or an excuse. She had totally spaced out, wasn't thinking, she hadn't meant to stare, honest. She opened , only for the words to die on her tongue. 

The girl was staring right at her, unmistakably, but nowhere was the expected trace of disapproval. Instead, for a brief, glorious second, a dusty shade of rose bloomed across her cheeks. 

Minji quickly turned back to Gahyeon. 

Yoohyeon snapped her head to her lap and chained her eyes to her knees. What was that just now? She hardly knew what to think, she hardly knew if there was anything to be thinking about in the first place, but her heart raced. She chastised herself. No use getting her hopes up. It was just a moment, and come to think of it, the color that rose to Minji’s cheeks could have been from embarrassment, or from laughing in her conversation with Gahyeon, or because she was becoming sick.

There was absolutely no sense dredging up a