“Where are you going?” Bomi's voice peeked out from the back of Chorong’s seat and she peered behind to see the perky friend entertaining herself with a mobile phone game. Unlike Hayoung, who was immersed in the competition with rapid movement of her thumbs, Bomi’s eyes wandered about as she lazily dragged her fingers across the screen to keep from losing all of her virtual lives as she talked with Chorong.

                  “I was just bored. I thought I might go talk to Naeun.” Chorong responded, squeezing herself carefully past Eunji’s legs and gesturing toward Naeun who seemed to be sketching something in her colorful notebook. Bomi looked as if she wanted to say more but Hayoung began to slap her hostility on her arm, screaming at her to pay attention. Chorong suppressed a giggle and walked slowly over to Naeun, clutching onto the seats to keep her balance on the wobbly bus.

                  “We’re going to get off soon,” Naeun said when Chorong reached the seat next to her. She didn’t bother to look up from her sketch and continued to create the soft lines on her notebook. Chorong watched intently, not saying anything for a minute and sitting down instead.

                  “Shouldn’t you stay with your girlfriend?” Naeun tried again, peeking up at Chorong with wide eyes. Chorong smiled and shook her head, then plugged in her earbuds.

                  “My girlfriend is sleeping.”

“But people would get suspicious.”

                  “You worry too much.”

“I know… But I think I’ll stop.”

                  Chorong stared at her curiously. “Stop what?”

“Worrying.” Naeun said bluntly, going back to her drawing after making a broad down the middle of the paper. “I think I trust Eunji.”

                  Chorong broke into a warm smile, then went back to swiping through her playlist to play a song. The two friends never shared a conversation for too long and prefered being engrossed with their separate activities together. Maybe it was because things were never awkward between them but Chorong liked it this way.

                  “WE’RE GETTING OFF!” The professor began to holler through the aisles, alerting the students to pack up their things. Chorong swung her backpack over her shoulders and helped Naeun gather her items, not noticing Bomi and Hayoung jump over their seats to wake Eunji from the other side of the bus.

                  “JUNG EUNJI! WE’RE HERE!” Bomi yelled, striking the top of Eunji's head. There was no sign of a reaction. The girl was deep in her slumber and sudden jolts from her two friends were no use. Chorong, who had finally heard the chaos coming from her original seat, waddled over with her arms tightly crossed across her chest. Her lips were twisted unpleasantly and her eyes were glinting with slight irritation.

                  “Should we just leave her?” Hayoung whispered, confused when Bomi began to pull her away from the sleeping girl. She let out a small gasp of shock when she noticed Chorong tapping Eunji firmly on the shoulder. When she didn’t stir, Chorong sighed and moved around the aisle to grab her water bottle.

                  “Are you going to pour it on her?” Hayoung asked gleefully, giddy at the thought. She had already pulled out her phone and began to record as Chorong mercilessly dumped the remaining liquid onto Eunji’s face. Indeed, that did the trick. Within seconds, Eunji woke up sputtering in disbelief, the sounds of Hayoung and Bomi laughing ringing in her ears.

                  “Get up, Jung Eunji. We’re here.” Chorong spun around and strolled toward the exit of the bus, smiling victoriously as she got off.

.....

                  “Wait up, Rong!” Eunji shouted, running after her with her backpack dragging against the gravel. Chorong halted in her spot, her face already red from embarrassment. Eyes were turning to watch and several muffled guffaws sounded from the people around them. Eunji simply gave a cheeky grin and wiped the rest of the lukewarm water from forehead, swinging her dangling backpack strap over her left shoulder.

                  “Don’t. Call. Me. That. In. Public.” Chorong hissed, shoving Eunji backwards. Eunji didn’t budge and rather reached over the small girl to grab her suitcase which Bomi had rolled over to her from the distance. Chorong huffed at Eunji's indifference on the topic and rammed her luggage into Eunji's arms before marching off with the rest of the class to the entrance of the hotel. It was a large luxurious building, far better than what anyone had imagined. A lawn stretched out into the distance and a gated pool was located at the corner of the greenery, the light blue water shimmering in the sunlight. It looked refreshing in this hot weather and Hayoung was already pointing at it in excitement.

                  “Let’s go there later, Naeun!” Hayoung shouted, bouncing up and down slightly. Naeun looked hesitant but eventually nodded, going back to her book before Hayoung came up with crazy ideas for the trip. Bomi took over on that measure and the two started scheming, happily allowing Eunji to join their circle when she finally arrived with both suitcases tucked under each arm.

                  “HEY RONG! They’re trying to prank you!” Eunji shouted after hearing the plan. Chorong stopped in her tracks, face crinkled in disgust and frustration. Bomi and Hayoung had begun to jump Eunji, who fought them off with her baggage and ran ahead to Chorong.

                  “Don’t talk to me.” Chorong barked, pushing Eunji away from her. But it was no use; Eunji came bouncing back like a rubber band. She never failed to lose her amused grin and twinkling eyes, a charm that Chorong could not bear to resist. With her eyes curved into half-moons, Eunji plopped the suitcases onto the ground and sat on her own, rolling back and forth playfully. Chorong just watched, trying to keep her face straight at the “immature child play.” The rest of the students had gathered around in a crowd around the front desk to figure out rooming issues. As the crowd settled, Eunji took the chance to pull Chorong into her lap, her arms wrapping around her waist tightly so she had nowhere to escape. It didn’t take long for Chorong to surrender and make herself comfortable and Eunji applauded herself for her skillful method of avoiding more conflict. Now that Chorong has given in to one of her tricks, she could no longer chastise her for it.

                  “One pair has to use a room on their own.” The professor announced, holding up the keys as the students discussed the situation.

                  “EUNJI AND CHORONG CAN USE THAT ROOM!” Bomi hollered, pushing her way through the sea of students. The professor looked at her with a skeptical eye but the some of the students began to chime in in agreement. Chorong, on the other hand, was already getting sweaty from the thought of having to be in one hotel room alone with Eunji for the rest of the week. Sure, they shared a dorm but they had separate rooms and never slept in the same bed. And with Eunji constantly in character so they would survive the week, Chorong was unsure if she could handle more. But as always, Eunji was more than happy to accept the request if it meant she could be with Chorong for a second longer.

                  “We’ll do it!” Eunji shouted back, her grasp tightening around Chorong as she tucked her chin on her shoulder. The professor tossed her the keys and the students began to pair off into groups of three or four, getting their corresponding keys to their rooms.  Naeun, Hayoung, and Bomi had chosen the room next to Eunji and Chorong and were now ascending up the stairs as a group. They entered the narrow hallways with their voices echoing off the walls despite Chorong's attempt to keep them quiet.

                  “See you guys at dinner!” Hayoung giggled and pushed open the door to their room. Naeun waved briefly and followed her in, pulling Bomi along with her before much else could happen. Eunji chuckled at the friends and handed Chorong their keys, watching intently as her nimble hands jerked the door open.

                  “Unpack first. Play after.” Chorong said nonchalantly, tugging at her suitcase that Eunji was still holding from earlier. Rather than doing as told, Eunji set her luggage in the corner and began to swipe through her phone, occasionally looking up to examine Chorong. She was pretty when she tended to her everyday items and Eunji couldn’t help but stare sometimes. Ding!

                  “My phone? Your phone?” Chorong asked, scanning the room in search of her own device.

“Both our phones. The girls are discussing where we want to go to eat.”

                  Chorong finally located her phone and began to look through the messages.

Naeun: Can we go get meat?

Hayoung: Yeah, let’s do that!

Bomi: But I want something else...

Hayoung: What?

Bomi: I don’t know.

Eunji: You’re so difficult, Bbom.

Naeun: We can get something else.

Hayoung: No, I want meat.

Chorong: There’s a restaurant close to the hotel for meat.

Bomi: FINNEEEE.

                  There was a pause in the messages for a while and just when they thought the conversation was wrapped up, Eunji felt her phone vibrate.

Hayoung: How’s your room?

Eunji: Nice and cozy. How’s yours?

Naeun: It has a really nice view.

Bomi: Just make sure to keep your hands to yourself while you two are alone, Jung Eunji.

Hayoung: Yeah, don’t her.

Bomi: Hayoung! You’re supposed to be subtle about these things.

Eunji: I don’t make any promises.

                  Eunji giggled, turning to glance at Chorong's reaction. Sure enough, the girl hovered over her phone with her hair drawn closer to her burning face. She sputtered in confusion for a second, then began to type furiously.

Chorong: You guys are being ridiculous. Stop saying nonsense and finish unpacking your things so we can go eat.

                  “Are you embarrassed?” Eunji pressed, her voice low as she advanced towards the small girl. Chorong began to shrink in her seat, backing away onto the bed as her face continued to grow redder. Eunji hopped onto the mattress with her, not breaking their stare.

                  “W–What would I be embarrassed about?”

                  “I don’t know. You tell me.” Eunji whispered, her face inches from Chorong's. Her arms were surrounding Chorong, rigid with tension to keep from letting her body crash into the girl under her. The tension was too much to bear and Chorong could feel the temperature rising. Eunji's eyes darkened and for a second Chorong thought she would kiss her, but there was only the intense glare of her eyes, tracing the edges of her face. Chorong looked away, trying to ignore the squirming feeling in her stomach when she caught sight of Eunji's arms that were taut with muscles.

                  “Didn’t I say to keep your hands to yourself, Jung Eunji?” the sound of Bomi's voice sounded from the direction of the door and Chorong harshly pushed her roommate off of her. Eunji landed on the floor with a loud bang but hopped back up quickly to face her friends.

                  “Didn’t I say I don’t make any promises?” she replied teasingly, her eyes flickering toward Chorong.

                  “Shut up.” Chorong drawled, shoving her backpack into Eunji's arms. Eunji groaned at the impact before obediently swinging it over her shoulder. No matter how much they bickered, it seemed that Eunji was always willing to follow Chorong's orders. They exited into the hallway together, walking ahead of Naeun, Hayoung, and Bomi.

                  “I think they like each other more than they let on.” Naeun said softly from the side, watching as Eunji playfully bumped into Chorong as she wandered down the stairs. Bomi and Hayoung looked at the quiet girl in surprise, their eyes blinking in disbelief. Sure, they were all thinking the same thing but never did they think that Naeun would be the one to say it out loud.

But nevertheless, Hayoung and Bomi looked at each other for a second, grinned, and said,

“Definitely.”