One month later… 

                  “Are you sure you aren’t forgetting anything?” Chorong yelled across the hall, zipping up her own suitcase and pulling out the handle with a loud pop. Eunji’s head popped up from the doorframe of her room and her eyes curved up with her wide grin.

                  “Of course, Rong.” 

                  “I thought we talked about calling me that,” Chorong growled under her breath, huffing furiously while chasing after her out of the room. Eunji simply gave another teasing gesture and hopped to the door to fit in her ragged shoes. Indeed, her suitcase was packed and ready the day before in a neater fashion than one might expect. Chorong was especially impressed at Eunji’s thoughtful process but found herself groaning when she pulled out three extra unnecessary charger wires from the side pocket of her suitcase.

                  “What the hell are you going to need these chargers for?” Chorong had asked, waving the bulk of tangled wires in Eunji’s puzzled face.

“One might break.”

                  “So just take two. Why do you need four?”

“Because, Rong.”

                  The conversation stopped there. Chorong had stood up in harsh protest of the pet name that Eunji had started to call her three days after they started fake dating and stalked into her room. Naeun had suggested she make up her own nickname for Eunji, claiming that it would add to the believability to their relationship. It was true that many still watched the campus couple and questioned Chorong’s dedication to the bond due to her lack of acceptance of Eunji’s continuous advances. Yet, Chorong couldn’t bring herself to build up more embarrassment for herself whenever Eunji kissed her on the cheek or ran her hand along her face. Besides, there was no point in having a nickname for a girl who ran wild either way. She wouldn’t hesitate to try something new if Chorong even tried to take the lead. And that scared Chorong more than anything.

                  “What bus are we taking?” Eunji asked, hooking her pinky with Chorong’s as they exited the building.

                  Chorong stared at her and sighed. “It’ll be here soon. Just be patient.” Eunji seemed to always have a problem with waiting but today, she was especially pleasant about it. Chorong looked up in shock when she saw a smile on her face but realized that it was merely due to the fact that they were in public. The crowd of students hustled their way into the opening and Chorong knew that Eunji had slipped into character. She had already started by pulling Chorong against her body and embracing her into her arms. Chorong felt her warmth radiating through the several layers of sweaters and the grip of Eunji’s hand tightened around hers.

                  “Hey, if it isn’t my favorites?” Hayoung whistled when she saw the two cuddled up at the bus stop. The rest of the class tried to ignore the two, even while knowing their skinship was very common due to Eunji’s flirty behavior. Naeun gave Chorong a nod and smiled gently, watching Hayoung intently. The two had gotten close after they ended up working on a school project together and now stuck by each other's side except when Hayoung accompanied Bomi to their frequent club hangouts and parties. The secret of Eunji and Chorong’s relationship only brought everyone closer and the tight knit group was soon known throughout the school. Chorong was still occasionally met with unwanted advances but Hayoung, Naeun, Bomi, and of course, Eunji tended to the situations better than any of them thought they would. With the combination of Hayoung's growing influence on a variety of majors, Naeun’s cold looks, and Bomi's determined outbursts, the three friends were an iron wall of defense to the secret the whole school would never be able to guess. 

                  “Are you ready for this trip?” Naeun whispered, tapping Chorong on the shoulder. Hayoung and Bomi were already sharing their own conversation with Eunji who remained with her chin snuggled on top of Chorong’s head. Naeun noted Chorong’s discomfort and gave her a look of reassurance though Chorong took it as a sign to attempt pulling away. Her hands tightened around Eunji’s sleeves, tearing them away from her body with a mild grunt of effort. Eunji, who was occupied with the passionate discussion she shared with Bomi, unconsciously reached back out with her arm hooked around Chorong’s neck, pulling her in closer than before. Chorong let out a sigh of defeat and trailed back to Naeun who was watching with a slight grin on her face.

                  “I’m just excited to get away from school.” Chorong mumbled, letting her hands drop to her sides now that she had accepted that she was stuck in Eunji's embrace. Naeun nodded slowly in agreement, twirling her hair between her fingers.

                  “I just thought you would be uncomfortable being in public for an entire week, but now I’m starting to think there won’t be a problem.” Naeun’s eyes narrowed slyly, gesturing ever so slightly to Eunji’s wandering hands. Chorong felt her face grow red and she quickly shoved off from Eunji's stomach to keep her from tracing circles along her waist. It was one of Eunji's silly habits that she claimed made her feel comfortable though Chorong scoffed at the statement after remembering how bold Eunji was even without her aimless habits. Yet, Eunji remained in shock at Chorong’s sudden movement of resistance and her eyes bored into the back of Chorong’s head in burning confusion.

                  “What’s wrong?” Eunji whispered between her teeth, not wanting to draw attention.

“You’re doing the thing again.”

                  Eunji looked confused for a moment but then peeked down at her fiddling hands. Chorong’s heart fell at the hurt look on Eunji's face. It was almost like looking at a kicked puppy and Chorong couldn’t resist feeling gradually more guilty. Before she could stop herself, Chorong gulped hard and took a wide step forward, closing in the wide gap between her and Eunji. Eunji was still staring at her hands when Chorong rapidly slipped hers into Eunji’s, intertwining their fingers shyly. It was the first time she advanced first and there was a strange feeling that beat in her chest when Eunji’s expression brightened at her touch.

                  “What’s this?” She asked, playfully brushing her free hand through Chorong’s hair.

“I’m just keeping your hands occupied so they don’t start making circles on me.”

                  “Is that so?” Eunji teased, chuckling lightly at the Chorong’s nervous, fast paced statement. She could feel Chorong shrinking under her presence and it fascinated Eunji that Chorong could become so vulnerable over something so silly. Her eyes filled with frisky mischief, Eunji slid closer to her until their noses were almost touching.

                  “And my hands were cold.” Chorong murmured under her breath, quickly escaping onto the bus that had finally arrived before Eunji could see her face flush a dark shade of red. Eunji giggled wildly and waited for her friends to get on the bus, following calmly behind so she could give Chorong some time to relax. She had chosen a seat in the back and was looking out the window to ignore the rustling butterflies in her stomach when Eunji entered the vehicle. It’s not like she had done something crazy but for some reason, this was more than she could handle. Her breaths were still uneven when she felt a familiar tingling pressure on her knee. She tried to disregard it, staring out at the green landscape of rolling hills and bustling students on the campus but found it was useless. She could feel the finger trace deeper into her knee until Chorong finally purled around with her eyes burning with annoyance. Eunji seemed to back away for a quick second as if shocked by Chorong’s furious expression but she recovered before Chorong could make use of the brief amount of power she had.

                  “What are you doing?” Chorong asked, clearly exasperated and failing to control herself from being embarrassed. Eunji simply sniggered, her eyes disappearing into charming moon shaped curves.

                  “Can’t you tell? My hands are making circles on your knee.” She paused for a second, glancing down at Chorong’s hands that were gripping onto the glossy seatbelt. “Aren’t you going to keep them occupied?” Eunji said mockingly, her eyes glistening devilishly. Chorong felt her face grow hot and she swung back around to the windows to ignore Eunji's giggles. Chorong furrowed her brows and redirected her focus back out the window, not really looking at anything in particular. But of course, Eunji knew just when to keep her on her toes. Just when Chorong collected herself, she felt a peck on her cheek and was pinned back against the metal windowsill before she could protest. Eunji grinned widely down at her, closing in the space between them. Her hair hung low against her face and her eyes pierced with a playful glare.

                  “Hey! Hurry up and put your seatbelt on Jung Eunji!” The professor pulled Eunji back into her seat, watching curiously as Chorong hustled to sit straight. Her hands fiddled endlessly with her hair, her eyes darting back and forth as Eunji buckled herself in. Much to Chorong’s surprise, Eunji looked relaxed in her spot and didn’t seem to want to cause more trouble. Perhaps she was tired.

                  “Wake me up when we get there.” Eunji whispered, then immediately closed her eyes, still formed in a small smile. She didn’t even have to look to know that Chorong was examining her but she soon fell asleep before she could point it out. The noisy background chatter and occasional bumps in the road were not enough to disurb the deep sleeper. In fact, Chorong did not have a drop of concern regarding the resting girl next to her which easily allowed for her to slip on her earbuds and watch the cars whiz past the bus. One thing Chorong recalled learning about her roommate was that nothing could wake her up.

                  RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! Not again. It was a typical Monday morning and Chorong blinked groggily up into the dark. She squinted to check the time on her phone, only to see that it was 4 AM. WIth a habitual sigh, Chorong drowsily got up from her bed, walking past the hallway into Eunji’s room to check if the girl had awakened. Not much to her surprise, Eunji seemed unaffected by the blaring noises from her alarm and was snoring quietly at the edge of the mattress. This wasn’t the first time her sleep driven roommate set up twenty different alarms starting from the break of dawn. It wasn’t even effective anyway as Eunji ran late to all of her morning classes without a doubt. Chorong paused to turn off the deafening noises then shuffled back to her bed, her head still foggy with half-made thoughts about reprimanding Eunji in the morning. It was only thirty minutes after when the ear splitting sounds began again. RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! RING! There is goes again. Chorong groaned as she hopped back onto her feet, dragging herself down the hall again in the dim light of the moon from the glare of their window. After calmly removing the batteries from the clock, Chorong stalked back to her bedroom and attempted to sleep again, only to find it impossible to do so. With a heavy heart, she got up and grabbed a granola bar from the cabinet in the kitchen so she could start her breakfast. It was a quiet morning and Chorong found herself enjoying watching the sun peek up from the hills outside with a mug of steaming bitter coffee in her hand. Once it was 7 AM, Chorong shuffled into Eunji’s room with a cup of cold water, ready to do anything to get her roommate to wake up.

                  “Jung Eunji!” Chorong tried, clutching Eunji’s shoulder and shaking urgently in hopes of disturbing her sleep. As expected, noises and violent movements were pointless and all Chorong could think of next was the water. Her tongue between her teeth and her breath in , Chorong slowly tilted the cup above her head, trying not to giggle when the water began to trickle down. At first it seemed to have no effect as Eunji merely scrunched up her face in confusion, but as Chorong grew bolder with the angle at which she poured, Eunji’s body began to squirm.

                  “Argfss,” Eunji grumbled, wriggling to catch droplets of the water on her face.

                  “Get up!” Chorong shouted, her voice at the dangerous tone that Eunji preferred to avoid. Chorong could tell from the way her eyelids were quivering that the girl was awake but refused to get up. Eunji tended to attempt escape from Chorong’s scolding as much as she could but being the troublemaker she was, it was almost impossible to stay out of Chorong’s motherly rebukes. With her fists clenched against the sheets under the covers of her soft blankets, Eunji desperately forced herself to keep her eyes closed, still fighting the urge to wipe away the water that was tickling the sides of her nose and cheeks. She could vaguely make out a small puff of air from Chorong’s sigh and the light padding of her feet against the boards of their dorm floor. There was another quiet sound of the door squeaking closed and Eunji listened carefully to make sure that Chorong had truly left. Coast clear.

                  “That was a close one,” Eunji whispered to herself, immediately using her pillow to swipe the wet sides of her face. Her eyes flickered open and traced themselves to the door only to see Chorong still standing jauntily over her with her arms crossed. Eunji gulped.

                  “What did I say about the alarms?”

“I–I tried–”

                  “I’ll just wake you up from now on.” Chorong cut her off before she could make an excuse, then sighed as she threw Eunji’s pillow back at her face, “It’ll save me more sleep from your twenty alarms.”

                  Eunji tried to protest, disgruntled by the thought of having to face Chorong’s wrath every morning to get out of bed. But by the sharp look on Chorong’s face, Eunji knew she had no choice. She was overpowered.

A.N. : I'm not sure if this was obvious enough but the italicized portions are past memories :)