Namjoo and Hayoung’s secret doesn’t last for long.

 

When Chorong comes into their room to return a power bank she borrowed from her sister, she drops it to the floor in surprise. Hayoung quickly scrambles off Namjoo and practically dives to the floor to snatch her shirt.

 

“Do you knock?!”

 

Namjoo screams and pulls the blanket up to cover her bare shoulders. Hayoung accidentally bumps her leg against the bed board when she tries to wear her pants. Chorong just stands there, stunned in shock and unable to process what she saw.

 

“…It wasn’t locked.” Chorong chews her words slowly as she takes a careful step backwards. “I came to return your powerbank by the way. You pick it up.” She mumbles and closes the door shut.

 

The sister walks off in speedy steps and hurries back into her room, hoping this is all some terrible nightmare.Hayoung sighs, hair still in a mess. Face smeared with Namjoo’s red lipstick. “

 

Well, we’re ed.”

 

How they ended up like this, all started with Namjoo asking for Hayoung’s opinions on what texture colours she should use for her upcoming fashion runway project.

 

The girl thinks there’s only three types of pink in the world and that makes the second-year fashion student annoyed. Bringing out her makeup pouch and teaching her the different colours, Hayoung asks her to put one on, because she’ll look cute.

 

Namjoo does as she’s told and—the lovebirds end up making out. Naughty hands reaching down for each other…until Chorong comes in and s them. Yeah. Absolutely great.

 

 

“What are we going to do now?” Namjoo groans, hoping not to get some lecture from Chorong about practically eating her younger sister. Hayoung looks at her shyly and scratches her head in thought.

 

“We could tell them now or…” Hayoung trails behind and slowly grabs the hem of her shirt, ready to remove it again. “…continue what we were doing before.”

 

Namjoo bites her lips and easily kicks the blanket away. “I like the second choice.” She grins and grabs onto Hayoung’s arm, pulling her forward. “Come here.” She growls in Hayoung’s mouth.

 

Ever since Bomi and Naeun went off to their week long road-trip, the couple have been feeling more daring since the house has been pretty empty. But their presence is still felt with their constant spamming in the group chat, sharing many of their lovey-dovey photos.

 

Chorong spends the remainder of the semester break hanging out with Solar and Moonbyul. It’s rare to see her out because everyone knows she’s a homebody. But it’s kind of obvious why she’s avoiding the house, simply because of one person: Jung Eunji.

 

Speaking of Eunji, she finally completed all of her therapy sessions. The girl is ready to get back to her feet, healthy, fit and normal. But she spends most of the time at the gym, building her muscles and stamina. At night, she can be found at the nearby bars with her gang. No, Eunji is in no mood for hook-ups or flirting. She’s just there to drink with company.

 

The thing is, Eunji takes advantage of Bomi and Naeun’s absence and uses their room to sleep. She doesn’t go back to hers, simply because she can’t be in the same place with Chorong. This, in any case, makes their relationship even worse. Namjoo and Hayoung notice it but have given up on trying to mend the cracks.

 

“I’m honestly worried.”

 

Hayoung says as she puts on her clothes after one oral round. If anything, getting into an intimate relationship with Namjoo is probably the best decision ever. Namjoo shows her so many things. She teaches her how to have , how to appreciate it and how to make her feel good.

 

“Worried about what?”

 

Namjoo asks as she relaxes on her bed, eyes on the phone as she sees another photo that Bomi shared to the group. It shows Naeun posing by the beach with a glee smile. She easily texts a reply, “Cute” and adds a heart emoji.

 

Hayoung sighs and reluctantly spills the secret.

 

“Don’t tell Chorong but she’s planning to move out of the house before the semester starts.” She was told two weeks ago on a random afternoon when Hayoung walked into the laundry room to her sister folding clothes.

 

“She, what?!” Namjoo almost shouts but Hayoung is quick to cover . She places her finger on her lips and shakes her head.

 

“Not too loud.” Hayoung hushes. Namjoo nods and returns back to bed.

 

“Chorong got an internship offer from some company in Daegu and they accepted her application. Contract is already signed. She’s going to work there for three months once the semester starts. I…I can’t stop her. She’s already made up her mind.”

 

“.”

 

“Yeah. I don’t know anymore. Like, I’m happy that my sister has her internship stuff all sorted out. But I feel really sorry for Eunji who has no idea about this. And also, a little angry that she’s just going to keep running away from her own problems.”

 

“…Do you think we should tell her?” Namjoo asks hesitantly.

 

Hayoung sighs and plops to her bed. “We’re either going to make it better or worse.”

 

“Well, it’s worth a try.” Namjoo shrugs. “Sometimes, they just need a little push.”

 

 

 

xxx

 

 

It is the last night of their road trip.

 

Bomi comes out of the bathroom after a quick shower. Her eyes land on her girlfriend all tucked in bed, quietly reading her book again. It brings a smile to her face. There’s just something peaceful about that.

 

How Naeun is cutely wriggling her toes, completely melted into the pillows, fingers gently flipping through the pages and eyes absolutely engrossed in the content, she’s so into the world of literature. Now, books aren’t Bomi’s kind of thing. If she reads more than thirty pages, best bet, she will fall asleep. But she respects Naeun’s hobby and finds it a charming part of her.

 

“And what’s this one about?” Bomi hums as she climbs into bed, easily snuggling into Naeun’s shoulder. She yawns the moment her eyes catch all the blurry texts. Naeun chuckles in response.

 

“It’s about a girl who runs away from home because she doesn’t want to get married.” She explains and sinks into Bomi’s warmth. Cuddling and keeping her close, it’s the best feeling ever.  

 

“Oh…is this like those forbidden love stories kind? Like Romeo and Juliet?”

 

“No.” Naeun shakes her head. “The girl doesn’t want to get married because she likes girls. Not guys.”

 

“I see.” Bomi stops and looks down. There is a moment of silence as she gently circles her thumbs around Naeun’s knuckles. Then, she tells her.

 

“Your family should know.”

 

Naeun closes her book and nods. “It won’t end well.”

 

“Hey, don’t say that. Your family is big. Kind of scary. Powerful too. But they know what’s happening. The world is changing. Conservative my .”

 

“It’s the image we’re talking about.” Naeun says quietly. “There are only two things that I can expect when it happens.”

 

“Like what?” Bomi asks and pulls her closer.

 

“One, my family kicks me out. Two, my family will put me in a mental hospital.”

 

“Naeun.”

 

“I’m hoping for the first one though. Second one seems a little too dramatic.”

 

Naeun laughs it off. But Bomi knows that she’s trying to persuade herself that it’ll be okay. This confrontation that her girlfriend has been preparing. And Bomi promises to be with her in every part of the way. She grabs hold of Naeun’s hand, lifts it up and gently kisses the top.

 

 “No matter what happens, I will be with you through it all.”

 

“Thank you.” Naeun smiles and kisses Bomi’s forehead. “Have you…told yours?” She asks carefully.

 

The girl grins in reply and nods proudly. She stretches over to get her phone from the nightstand and excitedly opens up her family group chat to show Naeun. There is nothing but positive, supportive messages.

 

“They are happy for me.” Bomi says.

 

Naeun smiles sadly because she knows she will never have that from hers.

 

The Son family care about their image more than their own. Traditions run deep and it is easy to be kicked out because she is a female. Girls are nothing much of worth other than a business pawn. That was exactly what the whole set-up was with Taemin, even though he was a nice guy.

 

“If anything happens, do you think…your family will take me in?”

 

Naeun asks, even though she feels sorry for having to. This favour. This burden. She doesn’t want others to think that she’s a beggar on the street after having her family name stripped off. There’s a lot of other worse things that could happen, really.

 

“I’ll ask. But I’m sure they will.” Bomi says confidently. “Please don’t worry too much. Let’s do things one step at a time.”

 

Naeun tightens her grip on Bomi’s hand and nods. “Alright.”

 

 

 

xxx

 

 

 

Eunji learns of Chorong’s decision to move out.

 

But she doesn’t do anything. In fact, she coldly responds to Namjoo and Hayoung with a, “so what?”. This makes the couple stand there in silence, awkwardly glancing at each other. She shoos them away, saying that she’s busy with her own internship applications too.

 

The door closes and Eunji makes sure that its locked. She hears the two walking along the hallway and it appears they bump into Chorong. There is a small conversation going on but she can’t make it out from the muffled noises. It ends quickly and hears the door close from the other end.

 

With that, Eunji sits down and sighs. She hates the fact that Chorong is just so near to her, only separated by a mere concrete wall. So close but yet, so far. Not wanting her mind to dwell so much on that, she stares at her laptop. No new emails from any of the companies she applied to. Great.

 

Honestly, she’s happy for Chorong. Her roommate has nothing to worry about while she, is ing stressed out. And Eunji realises she’s thinking about her again. She leans back and takes a sip from her coffee mug.

 

Time does heal.

 

Ever since that party, she’s decided to cut all contact with Chorong. No conversations. Completely avoiding each other. Even when their paths cross, they simply move away like strangers. And maybe it’s better that way.

 

Eunji wants to keep her mind occupied with what’s more important. Her future. She did her resume last minute and sent everything in one go. Not that she expects anything back in return anyway. Chorong doesn’t give effort to talk to her anymore, so that’s the conclusion she’s leaving.

 

Then, a notification sound breaks her thoughts.

 

Eunji looks up at her laptop again and there is a new incoming mail. Out of the twenty companies she applied to, one of them replied and they are interested for an interview. This development quickly passes with Eunji rehearsing and preparing for it.

 

Days later and she’s at the headquarters for the interview. After answering a couple of questions and a friendly banter, the employees seem rather happy and immediately offer her the job on the spot. Of course, this takes Eunji by surprise but she’s delighted. Luck is on her side.

 

She accepts it within a heartbeat.

 

As Eunji came out of the office room, she wanted to share the good news to everyone. To celebrate the joy. Hold a party maybe. And the first person that pops up in her head is—Chorong.

 

Suddenly, Eunji stops.

 

Her finger freezes as it hovers onto her contact. She blinks and shakes her head. The girl puts the phone back into the pocket and calls an Uber home. In the end, she too, will keep this a secret. Following Chorong, Eunji won’t tell anyone about her internship placement. At least, until someone figures it out.

 

When the new semester starts in late March, Chorong will leave the house and begin her internship in Daegu. Eunji will remain in Seoul for hers. And for Bomi…well, she’ll get somewhere. The girl has forgotten about it for a moment but she’ll be fine.

 

“And you’re really okay with this?”

 

Namjoo says as she knocks on the door of Bomi and Naeun’s room. She knows she’ll find Eunji there anyway.

 

“I told you, I don’t care. I really don’t.” Eunji sighs, having enough of this. She closes her laptop and turns to scowl at Namjoo.

 

“The way how you’re getting angry at this, tells me you’re not.” Namjoo crosses her arms. “Bomi and Naeun are coming back tomorrow. That means, you’re going to have to go back to your room.” She reminds.

 

“And?”

 

“—Do something!” Namjoo snaps in frustration. “Talk to her!”

 

“I already did!”

 

“And?”

 

Eunji doesn’t say anything. She lowers her head and stares blankly at the closed laptop.

 

“…Don’t do this to me, Namjoo.”

 

“If you’re just going to continue being all depressed and , that’s really not how it’s going to work. Kiss and make up for s sake.”

 

“Do you want to know what happened?”

 

“I don’t want to know. I just want you two to actually be okay again. Friends, lovers, whatever! Just—stop avoiding each other like viruses!” Namjoo exhales. “Please. It’s also suffocating to watch as bystanders.” She begs. “We share this house. We live under the same roof. All six of us. Whatever that happens brings a big effect on everyone else.”

 

“She’s leaving anyway.” Eunji mumbles.

 

“And you’re just going to let her go?”

 

“Then what do you want me to do?!” Eunji erupts.

 

“Go after her, dammit!” Namjoo yells.

 

Go after her.

 

Eunji shrinks at that sentence. She can’t do it. No matter how many times she tried, it doesn’t work anymore. When she goes after her, Chorong runs away. Always.

 

“Look. I’m sorry for whatever that I’ve done. But please. Just leave me alone. I’ll be better. I promise.” Eunji begs as her voice shakes up. Namjoo notices and doesn’t want to press her anymore. She sighs in defeat, apologises and leaves the room.

 

 

 

xxx

 

 

 

Three days after Bomi and Naeun returns from their road trip, the Son family has invited their daughter to dinner. She agrees and attends.

 

As she waits for the chauffeur to pick her up, Bomi stays with her outside. Despite the still cold weather, they hold hands and keep each other warm. The couple knows that after today, everything will be different. No one knows what the outcome will be, but as long as they are together, nothing is impossible.

 

Naeun sees the car come through from the far distance and Bomi immediately lets go. She greets the driver and resists the temptation to peck her girlfriend’s cheek.

 

“I’ll be back soon.” Naeun says as she rolls down the window.

 

Bomi smiles softly at her. “Go.”

 

The vehicle drives off and she waves goodbye. Bomi lingers around for a little longer as she stares up at the clear sky. No signs of dark clouds. She hopes this means something good.

 

At the dinner, all family members are present, including her cousin whom she hasn’t seen in awhile, Son Seungwan.

 

It’s all busy chatter since Naeun hasn’t returned home in a long time. So, there’s a lot of answering questions from curious aunts, wondering what she’s been up to in school, reasons behind her break-up with Taemin and entering the first semester of her final year. She’s trying to find the right time to bring up the topic.

 

That is until, Seungwan announces that she has something important to say. Everyone turns silent as all attention is on her. Naeun watches as Seungwan inhales and exhales slowly.

 

“I have a girlfriend.” Seungwan confesses.

 

Naeun widens her eyes in surprise as everyone at the table gasps in shock.

 

“Seungwan, what nonsense are you talking about?! Sit back down!”

 

“No, father. I won’t! I am telling the truth. I like girls. I am ually attracted to them. I-“

 

“I’m so sorry everyone, I think my daughter must be sick.” Her uncle apologises as he hurries to grab Seungwan’s hand. “You need to leave.”

 

“Father, no—!”

 

“Wait.”

 

Naeun says as she stands from her seat. She feels everyone’s eyes on her, even her father. She knows there’s no stopping now. Even though she is afraid, terrified of what’s going to happen next, she sees Bomi in her head and that is enough to push her forward. She wants to live a happy life and not be tied down by such rules formed under the family.

 

“If you’re going to take Seungwan out, then by all means. I will leave too.”

 

“Naeun, what are you doing?!”

 

“Father. I’m sorry. But just like Seungwan, I too, have a girlfriend.” She confesses. “And if you wish to exile me from this family, then please do so. Now, if you excuse us.”

 

Naeun steps out from her seat and approaches her cousin. She takes her hand and gives one last look at the dinner table. She sees the stunned expressions on everyone’s face—it is somewhat amusing.

 

“Naeun…” Seungwan says softly but gives her a warm smile.

 

The two cousins leave the dining hall and make their run, because the guards start to chase after them after their father’s calls. They enter the car waiting for them at the courtyard—Naeun had bribed the driver earlier. With luck and good timing, the vehicle zooms past the gates and leaves the grand mansion.

 

The ride back to Seoul is somewhat silent. Naeun and Seungwan are seated at the edges of the leather seat, both catching their breath from the run. But they look at each other and laugh.

 

“You’re so brave, Naeun. I never knew you were like that.”

 

“Same goes to you too, Seungwan.”

 

Seungwan offers her a high-five and Naeun happily returns it.

 

“Let me guess. You’re dating Bomi.” Seungwan hums in thought.

 

“H-How did you know?”

 

Seungwan laughs and tells the story of how she came to visit Naeun after the accident. She spotted Bomi there and noticed she was there, every single day. This girl never left her cousin’s side since day one and Seungwan knew that there was a lot more going on than just ‘friendship’.

 

“That’s just really sweet of her. I could really see the love in her eyes. She cares for you a lot.” Seungwan smiles. “Bomi reminds me of my girlfriend. And I miss her now.” She looks at Naeun. “Her name is Joohyun. Bae Joohyun.”

 

“I would love to meet her one day.”

 

“Double date then?”

 

Naeun giggles and nods. “Sure. Double date it is.”

 

The night after dinner, Naeun wakes up to a lengthy text message from her father. It is exactly what she had expected. There was a little hope inside that he might be different. But alas, the Sons are all the same.

 

It starts with Naeun’s father expressing his utter disappointment in his one and only daughter whom he raised with so much care to pull off such a stunt at the dinner. He isn’t just upset but disgusted that his daughter has turned to such a ‘person’ of nature. The message ends with Mr. Son announcing that Naeun is no longer ‘worthy’ to be part of the family and thus, has been disowned.

 

Everything relating to Naeun has been cut off. This includes the credit cards given to her and whatever she owns under the Son property. Though, her bank account is safe but now, she will have to fend everything by herself. Pay for her own tuition fees. Deal with housing all by herself. She is to be completely independent and Naeun prefers that.

 

No more ties.

 

The first choice happened and honestly, it doesn’t make her sad. She’s in fact, grateful that it wasn’t choice number two. She shares the news with Bomi who assures her that the Yoons will welcome her with open arms.

 

What makes her happier is that, she isn’t alone in this battle.

 

Seungwan too, received an eerily similar message from her father and announced her exile from the Son family. The two cousins are in this together and from here onwards, there will only be nothing but a flowery road ahead.

 

Love wins.

 

 

 

xxx

 

 

 

The day before the new semester starts, Chorong comes home drunk. It’s two in the morning and Solar pulls up her car at the entrance. Moonbyul gets out to ring the doorbell. The only person awake is Eunji.

 

“Hi.”

 

Moonbyul greets with a wave and casually dumps an asleep Chorong onto Eunji like she’s some object. Eunji instinctively catches her but remains completely dumbfounded at the whole situation. She looks at Moonbyul for answers.

 

“Yeah, we don’t know either.” Moonbyul shrugs. “She called us out for a drink so we’re like okay, sure why not. Then suddenly, she starts ordering like twenty ing shots and got herself wasted like that.” She sighs. “Kinda cried and said something about hating her life and all that. Bad, depressive .”

 

“You should’ve stopped her.” Eunji says, a little angry that her ‘friends’ did nothing and simply watched. There’s something defensive in the way she speaks and Eunji doesn’t notice the change at all.

 

Moonbyul gives her a smirk.

 

“We could. Anyways, good luck with her. You’re the best bet.” She pats Eunji’s shoulder and walks off to Solar’s car. The vehicle drives away and Eunji sighs. It doesn’t take a dumb person to know what her words meant. Eunji knows it was completely intentional.

 

Sure, she could not give a and ignore everything. But to have Chorong in her arms, drunk and asleep, it makes her heart pound again.

 

“What the did you do?”

 

Eunji murmurs softly as she closes the door with her leg and grunts, carrying Chorong bridal-style. It would be a lie if she isn’t absolutely concerned about her roommate. The fact that they’ve basically stopped talking for a whole three weeks, she has no idea what she’s going through.

 

Then, it hits her.

 

Just how much more pain she’s putting Chorong in. How much of a burden she’s slowly becoming, the longer she stays in this house. It hurts. A heck lot. She thought it was better distancing herself but turns out, she made it worse. It’s all her fault.

 

As Eunji takes slow, careful steps up, the wood creaks softly into the silent air. She can hear Chorong’s rhymical breathing against her skin and the stench of alcohol from . It’s a familiar smell but usually, it would be her like this. Not Chorong.

 

It brings back memories. Flashes of dejavu. The many times where Eunji gets knocked out drunk after some hardcore drinking game and without fail, Chorong carries her back to the room. But this time, their roles have swapped. It is the first ever.

 

And Eunji knows that Chorong is never the person to let herself be taken control by alcohol. She keeps herself to the limit and doesn’t fall. But today, her roommate has crumbled. Walls broken. Shield down. She is so vulnerable in this state and Eunji wants to hug her. Tell her that it’s alright.

 

But she can’t.

 

“I don’t even know anymore, Chorong.”

 

Eunji sighs as she slowly approaches the door of their room. “You make me angry. Sad. Yet, worried for you.” She mumbles while struggling to turn the knob open. “I want to hate you but I can’t. I want to push you away but I can’t. You just keep…ing coming back to me.”

 

She gently tucks Chorong in bed and spends a long minute staring at her.

 

“Please. Stop this.” She begs quietly as she stands there, eyes slowly welling up. The girl has no idea why her chest suddenly feels so heavy. Like there’s these emotions flooding inside. Probably because deep inside, she misses her.

 

Despite all the constant avoiding-each-other and pretending that she doesn’t exist, it feels like Chorong was gone for a year. Or even worse, dead.

 

How is she going to cope when Chorong goes to Daegu?

 

. The thought hits her. And it kills her inside slowly. No matter how much she denies it, she doesn’t want Chorong to go. She wants her to stay. Right here. With her.

 

Hesitant, Eunji leans forward and wants to kiss her forehead at least. But a buzz from the pocket stops her. Someone is calling her. The girl sighs and leaves the room, answers the call.

 

“Hello?”

 

 

xxx

 

 

Chorong wakes up in the afternoon with a bad headache. The world is spinning around her but its fine. She is planning to catch the night train to Daegu so she has nothing to worry about.

 

When she comes downstairs, after washing up and carrying her big, heavy luggage down, her eyes meet Bomi and Naeun. As expected, seniors don’t really have packed timetables anymore so it’s not a surprise to see them loitering around the house. The younger ones probably left early in the morning for their classes.

 

And Eunji.

 

Chorong doesn’t bother to ask about her. Even though deep down, she does want to. The girl hasn’t seen nor talk to her roommate ever since the party—it has already been a month.

 

“So, you’re leaving huh?” Bomi asks as she gets up from the couch. Naeun stays and keeps reading her book.

 

“Yeah. What about you? Got your internship covered already?”

 

Bomi shrugs and approaches her closer. “I’m kind of slow but I’ll be fine.” She gives her a smile and watches her go behind the counter to make coffee. The girl sits down and wonders whether to tell her. She contemplates about it. Chorong notices.

 

“You want to say something, don’t you?”

 

Bomi sighs and clenches her fist. “She told me not to tell you.” Her eyes flicker around nervously but she knows that this is the right move. Chorong stops and looks at her, waiting for Bomi to continue.

 

“Eunji told me she’s leaving this place. Forever. Like I’m serious. She packed all of her stuff and left in the morning.”

 

“…I see.”

 

This ticks Bomi off because she really hates how Chorong is trying very hard to not care. Even though it’s so obvious from the sudden look she has on her face.

 

“Heard she was going back to Busan. I guess her internship is there too. Didn’t give us any details. She went off in a hurry and I couldn’t properly say goodbye to her.”

 

“You’ll see her again in three months.”

 

“No.” Bomi shakes her head. “She isn’t coming back.” She stresses it in her tone, as if wanting Chorong to understand what she’s trying to say. As if she’s implicitly telling Chrong to go after her and stop running away.

 

Chorong sighs and looks away. She turns her attention to fill her coffee mug and walks away. Bomi doesn’t say anything. She’s done all that she can. Clenching her fist tight, she returns back to Naeun and decides not to initiate any more conversations with Chorong.

 

When Chorong leaves for the door, Bomi and Naeun give her the cold shoulder. It’s harsh. But maybe it’s better that way. A bitter ending to their time together. As she arrives at the train station, the girl can’t help but to stare at the board listing the times for both Daegu and Busan. For some reason, she looks for Busan.

 

Chorong doesn’t know why. Standing here, she’s supposed to go to Daegu and start her internship tomorrow. Yet, something inside her is telling her to find Eunji. To stop running away. To face everything once again. To try this one more time.

 

She grips tight onto her luggage handle and exhales. Walking up to the counter, the attendant asks her where she wishes to go. Chorong hesitates for a moment as her eyes look back up at the board.

 

“One ticket to Busan, please.”

 

 

--

 

 

---

a/n: its happening! chorong finally isn't running away anymore. also, why is eunji in busan? who called her? as we see positive developments with hajoo and bona, despite naeun being kicked out of the family, but they are happy :') All that's left is eunrong. Let's all form a prayer circle and hope everything ends well. The next chapter will be last, following an epilogue special afterwards ^^ Thank you for reading!