“You’re being so loud,” Chorong wailed, trying to place her hand over Eunji's mouth but immediately pulling back when Eunji began to the palm of her hand. She smiled goofily for a second before going straight back to her singing. She had a beautiful, powerful voice (Chorong had to admit) that flowed well with the booming melody but Eunji's deep love for music eventually grew tiring when she decided to sing every two seconds. Desperately trying to preserve a moment of silence, Chorong clamped Eunji's face between her hands and furrowed her brows threateningly. She could feel Eunji's mocking behavior already peeking out from the contact of skin but Chorong ignored it as much as possible between her clenched teeth.

                   “Be quiet!”

“I’m not even singing that loudly,” Eunji said, reaching up to clutch Chorong's soft hands. Chorong stilled instantly at her touch.

                   “Give up already, Chorong. That girl will never stop singing.” Bomi echoed from behind them. She stared at them with bored eyes, her phone swinging between her fingers as she examined every shop they passed by. She had long been abandoned by Hayoung and Naeun who ran ahead of the three girls. It seemed they had reached the restaurant earlier than they expected because the two girls were nowhere to be seen when the smell of meat wafted down the streets. The small restaurant showed itself from the corner of the block and suddenly Chorong was more than happy that Hayoung and Naeun got ahead of them. People swarmed the entrance and the smell of fire only grew more distinct. Eunji her lips, mouth watering to have a taste of food. She gave Chorong's hand a slight squeeze and pulled her to the door.

                   “Wow.” Bomi breathed when they entered the busy restaurant. Hayoung and Naeun had somehow successfully gotten a table in the bustling crowd and were waving wildly to get their friends’ attention. Chorong spotted at them first and tugged instantly at Eunji's sleeve, managing to leave her grasp at the same time. They seated themselves accordingly, despite Chorong's attempt to stick by Naeun's side. She suppressed a groan of irritation when Eunji began humming into Chorong's ear mockingly, satisfied by how near Chorong was sitting next to her because of how little space there was. After making themselves a little more comfortable, a flustered male worker came hobbling over to where they sat. He introduced himself briskly then plopped a tray of raw meat on their table, awkwardly flashing a grin toward Chorong. He lingered for a moment, his eyes wandering about Chorong's puzzles face before walking away.

                   “He must think you’re pretty.” Hayoung remarked, placing a chunk of the meat on the grill. There was a loud sizzling noise and a clamor to cut the portion in half. Bomi wielded the scissors expertly, still staring up at Chorong to watch the conversation unfold.

                   However, before Chorong could make much of a comment, Eunji coughed noisily to draw their attention. “He better not.” She mumbled, her eyes already dark with a mysterious look. Chorong fell silent, reaching over the table to grab the tongs so she could assist Hayoung with the rest of the grilling. There were little to no hints of emotion on her face as she tended to the cooking, and Bomi had already directed the conversation to a different topic by then. Eunji fell into routine easily, stealing the scissors from Bomi to cut everything into bite sized pieces as she followed along with Bomi's continuous jokes. Yet, Chorong could tell by the minute glint in the corner of Eunji's dim eyes that something was bothering her. She hesitated for a moment, but nudged the tongs into Naeun's hands, hoping that she was making the right decision.

                   “Can someone order more rice for me?” She asked softly, not looking up from the wrap she was currently putting together. Her chopsticks skillfully weaved through the plates to gather the perfect ingredients on top of the lettuce, before finishing off with a neatly cooked piece of meat. Her fingers tightly closed around the wrap to gather the ends and she smiled lightly when she saw Bomi raise her hand to get the worker’s attention. The same one from before raced to their table without a second to waste and Eunji's face seemed to fall by the way he slicked back his hair on the way over.

                   “How may I help you?” he started, his eyes trailing over to Chorong despite knowing that Bomi was the one with the request. Bomi simply snickered at the smitten worker before promptly ordering another bowl of rice. But before she finished asking for another plate of lettuce as well, Chorong had swung her arms over Eunji's shoulders and was now advancing with a sly smile. Eunji stared at her in shock, gaping as Chorong brought her carefully assembled wrap to Eunji's lips.

                   “Aren’t you  going to eat it?” Chorong whispered, playfully tapping the cold lettuce against Eunji's mouth again. Eunji slowly opened, her taste buds tingling with delight when she bit into the food. She could hear the static in her brain buzz mindlessly.

                   The sound of Hayoung's giggling could be heard distinctly from the side, and she began to slam her tongs into the grill to break them up. “We’re eating,” she hollered, “Keep the flirting to a minimum, Park Chorong.”

                   “And my keep-your-hands-to-yourself still applies here, Jung Eunji.” Bomi added, grinning stupidly at Eunji who had already begun to pull Chorong closer to her. She didn’t seem to snap out of it as she chewed, watching the worker leave forlornly with a triumphant smile. Another advance averted. She looked affectionately at Chorong before planting a quick kiss on her cheek.

                   “Sorry, but you know I always have to take it one step further.” Eunji immediately bolted up from her seat, waving her spoon in the air amidst the jam-packed restaurant. Heads turned to stare at the girl who hovered over the people, a bold expression plastered on her face as she spread out her arms without warning.

                   “FOR MY LOVE, PARK CHORONG!” She shouted again and again, her hands cupped against so her voice was echoing off the walls. Chorong's face was now a spectacular shade of red. She seemed to sputter nonsense, her eyes widened and blinking in disbelief. Her hands, however, suddenly went about occupying themselves with making another wrap. It was a careless one that bulged with rice and meat by the time she was finished. She tugged desperately at Eunji's arm, forcing her to sit down before she could embarrass her more. In the meantime, Hayoung had managed to snort out parts of her meal onto the ground and Naeun cringed at the sight of it. Bomi, on the other hand, was tearing up from laughter, slapping Hayoung on her shoulder as she fell back against her chair from chortling. When Eunji finally finished her scene with a deep bow that resulted in her stumbling back into her seat, was met immediately with Chorong's overfilled wrap. She struggled to chew the enormous chunk of food, but Chorong could tell from the way her eyes were twinkling that she was refreshed by what she had done. Indeed, Eunji never lost when it came to expressing their relationship. Chorong barely enjoyed another minute of silence when she felt Eunji breathing against her ear again. 

                   “Can I call you Rong now?”

“What makes you think that I would agree to that all of a sudden?”

                   Eunji grinned, then menacingly stamped her foot on her chair again, midway to standing up when Chorong briskly pulled her down. 

                   “Don’t you dare.” She growled. Eunji chuckled softly, pulling her into a tight embrace and whispering,  

                   “For my love, Rong.”

.....

                   The lobby was empty when they entered the hotel with cups of ice cream dripping onto their hands. Eunji lapped up the rest of hers before tossing it in the trash, eyeing Chorong's mostly filled cup. Bomi decided to find her other friends while Naeun and Hayoung made their way up to their rooms. Eunji whistled softly as they walked about aimlessly, though she seemed to know where her feet were taking her. Her shoes bristled against the soft carpet on the ground until it was met by the screeching stone floor on the far ends of the lobby. Eunji halted, then looked next to her to see Chorong placing a large scoop of her ice cream to her lips.

                   Eunji tilted on her heels for a second, peering through the glass door to get a better look at the hotel gym. There were several running machines and weights scattered throughout the mirror-walled room. Eunji felt her legs tingle with excitement. “I’m going to go change.” Eunji said then turned to sprint down the hall, Chorong following along in her bewildered state.

                   “Are you trying to go to the gym?” Chorong yelled after her, gripping against the rails of the staircase. Eunji turned back briefly to look at her, nodding enthusiastically before going back to rushing through the door toward their room. They changed just as quickly as they came and after Eunji threw an extra pair of her training pants to Chorong, Chorong was able to complete her own workout outfit. She tried to slow down the over-thrilled Eunji, worried that she would explode if she didn’t calm down any sooner but she figured it was because of the sugar she got in the ice cream. By the time they entered the gym, Eunji made a beeline for the weights, positioning herself comfortably against the bench. Chorong simply watched from the side, dragging a yoga ball under her so she could at least stretch as she examined Eunji pull the weight on top of her. She started off light, claiming that it was a warmup and easily lifting the pole above her several times. She had a neat form and the muscles that made Chorong's heart feel like bursting bulged when Eunji brought the weights down. Eunji could feel Chorong's eyes on her and for some reason, it made her feel nervous despite the fact that she felt the safest when she was at the gym. She took out most of her energy working out and keeping herself fit. Her thoughts felt most clean when she was focused on one thing and it was a bonus that she got to grow stronger as a result of it. Her eyes narrowed as she began to add more to the weights, feeling the burning strain against her arms and body. Sweat dripped from her face, coiling around the edges of her forehead and wetting the tips of her hair. Chorong's breath caught in when Eunji finally got up from the bench, throwing her arms above her to stretch them back out. Suddenly, Chorong could see the outfit cling to the sides of Eunji's curves and the strands of her hair bounced against her blinding grin.

                   “You should try it.”

                   “I’m okay.” Chorong squeaked, tearing her eyes away from the small portion of skin Eunji showed when she lifted her arms. The yoga ball seemed to slip from underneath her and she ended up sprawled on the floor, face growing redder by the second. Eunji giggled uncontrollably but still set out her hand to help her friend up, smiling softly when Chorong mumbled a quick “Thanks.”

                   “Maybe you should take a rest from the yoga ball,” Eunji said breathlessly, tightening her ponytail and adjusting the ends of her black shirt neatly. Chorong nodded, unable to speak when Eunji plopped back onto the bench with a small dumbbell. She could tell by the frisky movement in her actions that Eunji knew Chorong was thrown off by her toned arms. She gulped, feeling go dry. Just then, a bee swung into her vision, buzzing threateningly in her ear. Chorong yelped in fear, jumping back from her spot toward Eunji. Eunji grasped her waist instinctively, setting down the dumbbell and swatting at the space in the air where she had seen the pesky bug.

                   “H–how’d that even get in here?” Chorong stuttered, voice hoarse from screaming.

“Is there anything you aren’t scared of?”

                   “I guess you can put it that way,” Chorong uttered, fiddling with her fingers as she sat down on the small space Eunji made for her on the bench. Eunji had already picked the weight again and was bringing it down and up slowly, her eyes focused on Chorong's face.

                   “But what are you most afraid of?”

                   Chorong blinked in confusion then turned to stare back at her. There was no sign of a devilish smirk or mischievous eye in her expression; she was being genuine. Chorong thought back for a second, pondering on whether she was ready to talk about her greatest fears with Eunji. She trusted her more than she thought she could trust anyone, but the heavy weight of the topic still never failed to press down on her.

                   “Water,” Chorong said under her breath. Eunji's head tilted curiously, letting her arm drop to the side so the dumbbell hung only inches above the ground.

“Water?”

                   “I almost drowned in a lake when I was a child,” Chorong paused to take a breath, “I survived but my sister didn’t.” There was a long moment of silence as Chorong tried to control her tears. It felt as if she had reopened the wound she kept closed for so long. In fact, this was her first time saying it out loud in ten years and the words were just as grim as she remembered it. 

                   “I’m so sorry,” Eunji whispered, tugging Chorong into an embrace. Chorong could feel her tears getting mixed in with the beads of sweat on Eunji's shirt but she let it muffle her cries anyway. They stayed like that for a while, Eunji brushing her hair and listening to the story of Chorong's trauma unfold in detail...

A.N. : Please leave any comments for suggestions or thoughts on Eunrong!