To be part of a group that is so tightly knitted together meant fewer secrets to hide. They respect the part of letting problems fix themselves because it will do no good to intervene.

For example, Bomi has no idea that Naeun has a big, fat crush on her, but, everyone else knows. It is common knowledge that Chorong smokes but stopped during her third year. There was a period where Eunji and Namjoo hooked up several times for fun. And most recently, Hayoung talks in her sleep which is now a running joke in the morning—the poor girl has no idea.

But sometimes, there are secrets that are kept amongst themselves. Like whatever happened during the summer break that year.

Namjoo happily headed home early as she was so excited to eat home cooked food again. Naeun was picked up by her father’s limousine as she had other duties to attend to as the prized daughter of the prestigious Son family. Bomi signed up for a summer camp and was already gone.

This leaves Chorong and Eunji who have nothing planned.

It is rare to wake up to a quiet household, without Bomi’s screaming or Namjoo’s chatter. The common sight of Naeun reading her book quietly in the corner isn’t there. But what remains is Eunji sitting on the couch and browsing through the television.

“Didn’t make any plans with your friends?” Chorong asks as she sits beside and drinks her coffee.

Eunji shrugs, “They all went home. What about you? Don’t you have a younger sister waiting for you?”

“Already bought my tickets for tomorrow, don’t worry.”

And the conversation stops there.

The two quietly watch the television as their knees are occasionally knocking each other, shoulders sometimes brushing each other. There is this strange tension in the air as Eunji gulps her saliva down. Chorong isn’t even focusing on the screen because she’s worried that her heart might pump too loudly.

It’s all butterflies in the stomach, something that Chorong hasn’t felt in a long time. But a feeling all too familiar for Eunji.

In fact, this should be easy for Eunji who has dated almost everyone on campus. She’s kissed boys and girls, get down and under and is pretty experienced in all that. But here, she freezes when it comes to Chorong.

It was last year during Christmas when Eunji realizes that Chorong looks at her differently. It wasn’t just a mutual thing. It was something more. And it became clearer when Eunji started to make her advances.

“Merry Christmas, Eunji.”

“Wow, a present for me?” She says in a surprised tone. Eunji never expected to receive anything from roommate. But to have this box resting on her hands, a nice ribbon wrapped around, it’s making her heart melt.

“Oh, you don’t want one? Okay, give it back.”

“Hey, no. I want the present!” Eunji laughs, trying to protect the present with her arms. “Thanks Chorong. Merry Christmas to you too.”

When Eunji starts thinking about the blush Chorong had on her face that Christmas, she wanted to make her move, but carefully.

So, it begins with timid flirting. Then, she starts to observe Chorong with more detail, making comments about the slightest changes like how she stops wearing the same jacket for the whole week or how she suddenly doesn’t make herself coffee in the morning.

Later on, at one of those random parties held at the house, the two played the pepero game together thanks to a game of truth or dare. From there, Eunji could confidently confirm that Chorong feels the same way.

“This programme is pretty boring. Wanna do something fun upstairs?” Eunji fires the shot boldly as Chorong blushes quickly at that statement. She feels the heat burning her skin, thoughts slowly becoming blur. Even though she knows she shouldn’t, but Chorong nods quietly and Eunji takes the lead.

They hurry upstairs and Chorong fumbles around when she takes out the key. She cusses halfway when it doesn’t go in on the first try. Eunji chuckles and purrs, “No need to rush. We have all the time in the world.”

The knob clicks and Chorong smirks at Eunji. She pushes the door open and Eunji along with it. And — Chorong kisses her.

Eunji smiles into and holds onto her waist. She twirls her around and pins Chorong against the door, tongue slowly making its entry. Their bodies began to sway in motion as their lips are locked. Eunji catches her fist onto the hem of Chorong’s shirt and slips her hand underneath. Chorong shivers when Eunji’s cold hands touch her bare stomach. And she moans when Eunji’s fingers drum down her core.

“I love you.” Eunji says, but it’s the very sentence that brings Chorong back to reality. She snaps and opens her eyes, realizing what she’s doing and suddenly pushes Eunji away.

The girl looks at her widen eyes of surprise. Chorong looks away and folds her shoulders.

“I-I don’t want just a hook up, Eunji. I don’t want this to be a one-time thing. I want it to be real.”

“What are you saying, I am being serious about this.“ Eunji leans forward but Chorong continues to push her away.

“I can’t trust you Eunji. And you know why.” Chorong bites her lip. Eunji sighs, knowing where this is leading.

“Alright. I get it. I’m not the girlfriend type. I move on with feelings quickly. I and forget. But this is different when it comes to you.”

Among the group, everyone knows that Chorong and Eunji are the closest. There were many moments where they drank together at a nearby bar, took walks to the park or stayed overnight to cram for finals. They had so many conversations that were not shared with the rest.

Like the part where Eunji confessed about lying to everyone about growing up in a happy, harmonious family.

Her parents were killed in a tragic car accident that left her an orphan. She was taken in by her grandmother who worked hard in the market until she passed away from a . Eventually, she was taken in by her distant uncle who constantly complained about her mere presence in the household. Eunji knew that she was a burden to everyone. When she turned eighteen, she left and became independent.

Or the part where Chorong confessed about lying to everyone that she has never been in love.

She was a victim of an abusive relationship. At an age where she was too naïve and lived under his control, Chorong gained many bruises and developed bad habits like smoking. In time, she learnt it the hard way that it was important to always be independent, to solve everything by herself, to constantly be strong-headed and to never rely on others.

These were secrets that they kept within themselves. An oath, a promise.

“I’m not like him.”

Eunji implies, hanging onto this hope that Chorong would change. That she would take the chances with her. She believed that because of their pasts, they could make it work.

But instead, Chorong mutters a “I’m sorry” and slides out of the door. The last look Eunji remembers is her wet eyes as she hears her run down the staircase. Eunji sits on the floor and buries her head, knowing that she screwed up big time.

For the first time in her life, she felt her heart drop to the lowest depth of the world. It hurt. It’s a pain that won’t be felt anywhere else.

“.”

That night, Chorong never came back.

When the next day arrives, she already left with all of her things. She didn’t even say goodbye to her.

Eunji returns to her home in Busan two days later and spends her summer break taking up several part-time jobs. On her off days, she meets up with her high school mates and goes to the night club with them. Eunji gets friendly with a couple of strangers, does body shots and even spends the night together.

She posts all of these in her Instagram stories and every time, Eunji fights to urge to check if Chorong saw it.

The thing is, Chorong saw all of them and never once did she reply.

And just like that, summer break is over.

September arrives and Chorong’s little sister, Hayoung joins the house. Nobody will know what happened that day and it will remain a secret.

At least, until someone figures it out.

xxx

A month has passed since Hayoung’s move in and honestly, getting comfortable hasn’t been easy. Well, it doesn’t help the fact that she lived happily with her family back home. Food was always there. She had her own private room and didn’t have much to worry about.

Ever since she saw Eunji strip her clothes and throw them up the ceiling fan, she can’t stop thinking about it. There is this image in her head that Eunji is a bad influence. But turns out, Eunji is actually a really nice person—but very talkative. Hayoung admires her devotion in working out in the morning, which explains why she doesn’t have an ugly beer belly despite all that heavy drinking.

Bomi is the funniest person Hayoung has ever met. There is never a dull day with her random jokes and antics filling the house with laughter. If anything, Bomi is also the sweetest person who offers to drive Hayoung around town and familiarize herself with the place. But recently, she tends to playfully threaten her about paying money for every coming request.

When it comes to Naeun, she’s a difficult one. But after much observations, Hayoung comes to a conclusion that everyone in the house lets her do her thing quietly. They respect her space and she does the same. She can finish one book within a week and returns with a new one. She will respond to your questions but won’t continue the conversation unless you do. But Hayoung thinks that she’ll become closer soon.

As for Chorong, she is the same. Her sister treats her like a baby whether at home or outside. Everyone says that Chorong suddenly turned into a mother ever since Hayoung’s move in—which is true. She’s constantly asking Hayoung if she’s eaten, bathed and basically anything that’s happening in her classes every single day. Her ears are probably immune to it but Hayoung doesn’t mind. It’s that little love and affection that she will miss once Chorong graduates. 

And then comes, her roommate.

It’s not that Hayoung has any problems with Namjoo in the last month. It’s just that, she feels oddly jumpy around her.

When Namjoo isn’t around and keeping her company with lots of conversations, Hayoung feels lonely without her presence. When Namjoo sits next to her every morning at the breakfast table, Hayoung tenses up. When Namjoo smiles and laughs at her, Hayoung can’t help but to constantly stare at her, often looking at that cute dimple she has and wondering if she could poke it.

“Okay, hold up. One important question before we continue your life crisis here.” Sooyoung stops Hayoung as Yerin chuckles. “Are you gay?” Both of them ask.

Hayoung blinks and raise her eyebrows with much confusion herself. “I…don’t know?” Sooyoung and Yerin sigh.

“Let’s have you take a, am I gay? test online!” Yerin jokes as she pulls up her phone. Sooyoung laughs and says that it’s a terrible idea. Hayoung pouts and leaves the table, complaining that her “best friends” aren’t helping at all.

When she returns to the house in the middle of the afternoon, Hayoung expects to be the only one there. After all, everyone is probably busy with classes. She’s just lucky to have a Thursday off. But she bumps into Eunji lazing on the couch, chewing onto an apple as she’s watching the television.

“Hey there!” Eunji waves with a smile. She rises and watches Hayoung approach her with a concerned look.

“Unnie, can I ask you a really random question? But promise you won’t tell Chorong.” She pleas, putting her two hands together.

Eunji smiles at the innocence b from Hayoung. She’s really a precious baby in this house and will do anything to protect her.

“Fire away.”

Hayoung purses her lips and looks away while asking, “How…did you know you were gay?”

“You mean biual. Don’t worry, it’s the same thing.” Eunji laughs as she watches the sudden dark expression on Hayoung’s face. She loves playing around with her.

“At first, I thought I was straight because I used to fawn over Lee Dong Wook and later, Kang Haneul. And then, I felt the same way when it came to female celebrities.”

“But isn’t that just a celebrity crush?”

“Good question, indeed it is. But then, high school came and I was torn between two crushes. One of them, a boy in my class. The other, a girl who was my senior.”

“Wow, so you’re into older girls huh?”

Eunji grins at that, “I call it taste.” Hayoung rolls her eyes at that comment and thanks her for the answer.

The thing is, Hayoung has never experienced love before. Sure, there was high school and all that but Chorong babied her so much that boys wouldn’t dare to go near her. Hayoung only knows love from the cliché romance novels, shows and movies. But that’s really it.

Hayoung sighs and shakes her head.

It’s too much to think about when it hasn’t even happened, or rather, she doesn’t have the answer yet. Why does she have to worry over something so small when there are more important things that matter? Like her group assignments—she hasn’t found her members yet and the project is due in two weeks’ time.

“Sis is right. Falling in love is a waste of time.” Hayoung mumbles, remembering the advice that Chorong told her.

xxx

Birthday celebrations are always a happy occasion and there will no doubt, be a party at the house. But on August 13^th, Naeun suddenly had to head home for an important business dinner with her family. She left with a sorry heart, only managing to wish Bomi when the clock struck midnight. Bomi forgives her and is more than happy with a simple message.

With a new semester passing through, Naeun has been thinking a lot about getting Bomi the perfect present. No matter how much she thought about it, she never really found the right one even though she knows that Bomi will be happy with absolutely anything.

That is until—Bomi confessed that she’s never had .

It’s a thought that hits her head once. It makes her blush and her heart thump, because she has tried her best to keep those dirty desires away.

The only person that Naeun talks about her dilemma is Chorong.

It’s one of those quiet weekend nights where everyone is out except the two of them. Namjoo is busy attending her club meetings. Bomi and Eunji are chilling at another party. Hayoung is studying at the library.

“You know Bomi better than I do. She’s dumb. She’s dense. And is that person who will be the first to get kidnapped.”

Naeun chuckles at Chorong’s description.

“But I don’t want you to feel hurt because Bomi may simply take your present as an act of friendship. Not love. “Chorong continues. “I know how it feels to be scared knowing that she may not have the same feelings as you, and it probably can be a little mean to take advantage and have with her…” She says and trails her body against the balcony.

Among the three bedrooms in the house, Chorong and Eunji’s room is the only one with a balcony. It’s also the place where Chorong used to sneakily smoke when everyone was preoccupied downstairs—at least that doesn’t happen anymore.

“Naeun, whatever decision you take, consequences could happen. I’m just…concerned as a friend.”

“Thanks, unnie.” Naeun smiles as she looks up at the night sky. It’s beautiful today. “I think I know what to do now.”

Its past midnight and usually by this hour, she would already be asleep but today, she waits until Bomi returns and pops the question. Bomi is surprised when she sees that her roommate hasn’t slept yet.

“Trouble sleeping?” Bomi asks with concern, easily heading over to her side. “Got a fever?” She places her hand on Naeun’s forehead. “Hungry, maybe?” She goes over to pick a snack that’s hidden underneath her bed.

Naeun shakes her head. “No.” She laughs at Bomi’s adorable attempts in figuring out why she’s still awake. “I…still haven’t given you your birthday present yet.”

“Oh. That?” Bomi waves her hand. “Don’t worry about that! It’s totally fine, Naeun! You don’t have to give me one. I’m already more than happy that you wished me!”

“But I feel bad for not giving you a birthday present…” Naeun mumbles as she clutches her shirt, her heart starting to thump as she’s going to say it to her.

“I gave it a lot of thought.”

Bomi looks at her patiently as Naeun grabs her hand.

“You said that you never had before. I…I can make that come true for you.”

“Naeun, this-“

Bomi gapes as she can tell that Naeun isn’t playing around with her. It’s clear with that determination in her eyes. It’s cute that she’s trying very hard but as a present? Oh boy, that’s messy—even though deep in her heart, she wants her.

“I can teach you. It’ll be…” Naeun bites her lips and looks at her. “Fun.”

Bomi gulps nervously as she goes over to lock the door. She closes her eyes, inhales slowly and exhales.

“Okay.” She says while awkwardly tugging on her shirt, cheeks slowly flaming up. “Teach me, Naeun.”

xxx

The morning after, Bomi yawns as she comes down to the common area. Her slippers make squeaky noises as she sleepily heads into the kitchen to make coffee.

Eunji, Namjoo and Chorong who are all seated around the television all turn to look at her quietly, not even wishing her a good morning. They are all staring at this strange spot on Bomi’s neck.

“Hm? What?” Bomi asks as she yawns again, returning with a cup of coffee.

“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all!” Eunji says while Namjoo tries to clean the scene, “You just look really tired. Rough night huh?” Chorong nudges an elbow at her while Bomi just shrugs, not even taking the hint.

“Yeah, thank god it’s a Sunday. I’m heading back up to sleep some more. Bye.” Bomi waves as she goes upstairs.

The three wait until they hear Bomi close the door and Eunji starts, “The did we just see?”

“That’s not a bruise. That’s a ing hickey!” Namjoo exclaims as Eunji tries to shush her loud, excited voice.

Only Chorong knows what those marks on Bomi’s neck meant. But Eunji and Namjoo are all going to take it the wrong way.

“Poor Naeun. How is she going to feel about this?” Namjoo sighs and clenches her fist. “That idiot really has no idea!”

“I’m going to have a long talk with her. Where in the world did she even find the time to have with someone?” Eunji groans.

“You don’t have to talk to her about it.” Chorong cuts in and she finally explains what happened last night.

The whole talk she had with Naeun, her worries about getting Bomi the “perfect” birthday present and how it led to those marks on Bomi’s necks.

The two tried to contain their squeals, “You mean, they actually—?” Namjoo covers her own mouth, trying to remind her body not to be screaming this early in the morning.

“I never knew Naeun was more of the first-head approach type. This is really fresh to hear.” Eunji chuckles as she’s randomly flipping the remote control around her palm. “Well, let’s all just sit back and watch the pieces fall into place. They’ll work somehow.”

“I’m betting they will go official in December.” Namjoo raises her hand.

“Nah, I’d say next year March the least. Bomi’s an idiot and Naeun likes to play her games carefully.” Eunji says.

Chorong shakes her head and gets up from the couch, not wanting to involve herself in this whole betting game. But that’s not the reason why she’s leaving. Sooner or later, Namjoo will leave the house for another club meeting and that means, it will be just her and Eunji.

She wants to avoid that from happening. Or rather, she’s running away from whatever that’s been left hanging of them. Although Chorong knows she’ll have to face it eventually, it’s safer to run for now.

Eunji watches quietly as Chorong walks upstairs while Namjoo stays a bit longer to finish the show. She’s still staring at the now empty staircase, pondering whether she should follow Chorong up and talk to her. After all, they are roommates.

But ever since the party, Eunji wants to respect Chorong’s decisions and give her space. The two only talk when there’s at least someone around and act like nothing happened between them.

When they sleep in the same room, conversations don’t happen. It’s as if they’re sharing a room with no one, a total ghost. When they bump into each other on campus, they simply give quiet glances and walk past.

Eunji knows that the two of them can’t keep this up for long. It’s only a matter of time till this secret will eventually be let out of the bag.

--

a/n: we're getting a little insight of what happened between eunrong that summer break & a glimpse of their past. naeun's moving towards her friends with benefits agenda, Hayoung's trying to push love away for the sake of education. things are slowly starting to fall in place~