Hayoung’s confession takes everyone by surprise.

Well except for Eunji—because the two had this conversation before. Chorong gasps in response, Naeun stares at her trying to process the information while Bomi is happy for her.

But Namjoo doesn’t know what to feel.

As much as she wants to be supportive, there’s something in her heart that sank.

There was this thought in her head that Hayoung will always be that innocent happy-go-lucky child who focused on getting good grades. She believed that Hayoung was never the type to be interested in love, especially this early into college.

But who is she to judge? College life is unpredictable.

In the first five months, Namjoo got that first taste. Within a year, she’s gone through hook-ups and the feeling of first kisses. Two years in and she’s had at least two relationships that did not end very well. But either way, Namjoo kept a strong head forward and realizes it’s all part of life.

Then, why is it that, she doesn’t want Hayoung to have that? Why is that deep inside her heart, she doesn’t want to see Hayoung taken away from her?

Is this affectionate friendship? Clingy? Obsessive? Or something else?

“I’m so proud of you! Feels like yesterday when you moved in and had no idea what a hook up was!” Eunji enthusiastically hugs Hayoung and ruffles her hair. “And now, you’re onto your first relationship, your first girlfriend and the first love of your life.”

“Wait till you get laid!” Bomi cuts in with a brim laughter. Chorong throws a glare at the two, pushes through and grabs onto Hayoung’s hand, telling everyone that they need a “a moment”.

The two sisters head upstairs. Hayoung gulps nervously and is lowkey panicking, thinking that she’s going to be in deep trouble for blatantly dropping the bomb out of nowhere. Maybe she should’ve just told her sister first. Or, maybe she should’ve just kept everything a secret. Maybe she should just-

“I’m not going to nag at you or anything, Hayoung.” Chorong reassures her as she leans against the wall with a heavy sigh. Arms crossed as she’s thinking. Thinking of how to process all of this.

“It’s just- you can’t let mom and dad know about this yet. Topics about love, uality, are all sensitive to them.”

“I know.”

Chorong smiles proudly at her answer. Her little sister is growing up so fast. It felt like it was just yesterday when Hayoung was a timid high school girl, shy and scared of the big world. Now, she’s confident, independent and responsible for someone else’s heart.

“No matter what happens in the future, I want you to know that I will support you no matter what. In fact, I’m very happy that you’ve stepped onto this new milestone in life.”

Hayoung flashes a grin at her sister, relieved that it was not the ending she thought. “Don’t worry unnie. I know what I’m doing. I’m not the baby you think I am. Let me grow up.”

Chorong looks at her sister softly and squeezes tight onto her shoulder.

“I am letting you grow up. I guess…I should be expecting something like that to happen eventually. I just want you to know that not everything you experience is going to have a happy ending. There’s bound to be moments of pain. Hardships.”

“Who hurt you?” Hayoung frowns at the way her sister’s tone suddenly dropped.

“Hm?”

Chorong looks at her, surprised that she accidentally slipped her tongue and quickly mutters, “Oh. Uh, I think we’ll leave that for another time. Anyways, I’m happy for you Hayoung. Walk only in a path of flowers, okay?”

Hayoung purses her lips as she looks somewhere else. “H-honestly, I wasn’t the one who started the relationship first. She did.”

Chorong chuckles at her sister’s b innocence. “Well, I can’t wait to meet her this weekend.”

“Oh, don’t worry, she’s a really chill person. She doesn’t have any terrible drinking habits and definitely doesn’t strip her clothes off like a certain someone.”

Chorong scoffs, knowing exactly who Hayoung meant.

xxx

Eunji promised to take Chorong out for a drive three years ago, when she bragged about finally getting her driving license and insisting that she does a better job at the wheel.

But then, summer break happened and all those plans never seemed to bear its fruit. With mid-terms over and everyone procrastinating their assignments to celebrate, it leaves some empty space on their schedules.

So, it happens one Friday morning.

Eunji slides into their room and casually sits on Chorong’s desk. Her roommate has her legs folded on the chair, back hunched, eyes busy on the laptop as she is browsing some online shopping website even though Eunji knows she’s not going to buy.

If she leaned a bit closer to the left, Eunji would knock over the picture frame of them from summer camp two years ago. Eunji has her whole body buried in the sand except her head sticking out and Chorong’s playfully poking her face—it was their first ever trip with everyone.

If she leaned slightly backwards, Eunji would bump onto the picture frame of them at the orientation party three years ago. Chorong is smiling awkwardly while Eunji secretly has bunny fingers poking behind her roommate’s head—It was their first meeting together.

On the wall hanging behind her, is a framed picture of them posing in front of a Christmas tree last year. This was when Chorong gave Eunji a present that sparked the beginning of their relationship taking a turn.

Chorong wonders if Eunji realizes how much space she takes up in her life—and how much more she’s willing to give.

Even if they are not lovers, but as good friends.

These four years together has been a rollercoaster ride and it would be a lie if the friendship forged between them, are not stronger than anyone else’s in the house.

“Come on, no matter how long you are going to stare at that dress? You know you are never going to buy it.” Eunji comments with a chuckle, playfully closing Chorong’s laptop.

“Then, what do you suppose I do to kill time?” She sighs, giving an annoyed look to her.

Eunji grins and takes out the car keys from her pocket. “If my memory’s correct, I promised to take you out on a drive.”

“Three years ago.” Chorong adds coldly.

Eunji laughs and nods, “Yeah, three years ago. But hey, at least I still remembered!” She tosses her keys up in the air and catches it midway. “So, what do you say? Weekend drive downtown with your personal Uber driver, free of charge?”

Chorong leans back and crosses her arms in thought. She is considering the offer. She looks at Eunji for a moment and notices that she’s giving her the “please-just-say-yes” look and it makes her chuckle. Well honestly, the thought of sitting in the car alone with Eunji somewhat makes her heart thump.

“Well…?” Eunji blinks once, waiting patiently for an answer.

“Surprise me with your driving skills, Uber driver.” Chorong says as she gets up from her seat.

And so, the two drive to downtown Gangnam.

There’s a lot of traffic—typical on a weekend. But its fine because they have each other. As they talk about college and assignments, it’s as if whatever that happened last summer break, never did.

The two laugh over their awful professors they have this semester. They gossip about their group members and sometimes, dive deep about their uncertain future like internships and becoming working adults.

They missed times like this.

Not when they were suddenly avoiding each other. Not when they suddenly pretended not to know each other. Just right now, in this moment, its perfect where they are.

“Honestly, all we can do is sit and watch. It’s not wise to meddle someone else’s affairs. So, whatever happens with Hayoung and her girlfriend, the most we can do is be there for them and pray hard.” Eunji says as she steps onto the accelerator slowly.

“I just hope they stay together long enough and not have any broken hearts. It hurts to see my sister cry. Knowing her, she’s too precious for this world.” Chorong sighs as she sips onto her iced Americano. The two stopped by Starbucks before deciding to head east.

“And you say that I’m a bad influence to her? Oh, please.” Eunji scoffs. “I’m going to be that scary unnie so that no wolves will approach her. Did you forget that I took up boxing classes?”

“Did you forget that I have a black belt in Hapkido?” Chorong counters and Eunji raises her hand in surrender. “Alright master, you win.”

Chorong laughs and the two continue their drive.

They soon arrive at a large shopping mall complex and spend half the day, looking at new clothes for the new year. Although it’s still early, but there’s already a lot of sales going on.

The two joke around when they enter the lingerie store, suggesting to buy Christmas presents here for their housemates.

“Wow, red ones for Bomi? You’re crazy!” Chorong laughs as Eunji insists on buying it. But her roommate shakes her head and drags her out of the store, eventually arriving at a department shop.

The two give their opinions of certain outfits and wait for each other at the waiting rooms.

“I think the brown one looks better on you.” Chorong says, coming forward to adjust Eunji’s collar.

“Really? I prefer the blue one though…” Eunji mumbles, staring at the other piece hanging.

“Blue one is slightly more expensive, but with this material, I don’t think it’s practical.”

Eunji hums in thought. “You make a good point.”

The two take a break at an ice cream shop and decide to post Instagram stories of their day.

“No, hold this. Okay, pose like that. And…great! Stay still!” Eunji orders as she stabilizes her phone and snaps the picture. She proudly shows it to Chorong who gives a nod of approval.

“As expected, you take the best photos.”

“Of course.” Eunji raise her head high with a proud smile. “Hey, help me take a picture for me too.”

To anyone, it may seem like a normal outing between best friends. But for these two, it’s a date. Even though none of them say that it is.

On the drive back home, the sun is setting and there is a beautiful orange hue set across the horizon. Chorong wows in amazement and pulls out her phone to take a photograph. Eunji smiles and finds it adorable at how she’s taking a picture of the sky.

Eunji is happy.

Happier than the time she dated those people on campus. Happier than the time she had with strangers she met. Happier than any other days.

“I’m tagging you.” Chorong says as she films a short 5-second video of Eunji driving. She posts it onto her Instagram story and commends her roommate for the drive.

Eunji gets the notification ding and smiles at that. She will open all those tagged stories later. For now, she wants to spend this rare moment in the car with her roommate.

“Kind of that after today, we’ll be back to hell.”

Chorong sighs at the sudden reminder. “Well, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Eunji laughs.

A silence follows.

Eunji glances over, wondering if Chorong got tired from all that shopping and is slowly falling asleep. But she doesn’t. In fact, her roommate is just staring out at the window.

She seems to be…in deep thought. Eunji doesn’t question anything and simply focuses on driving. It’s all quiet until the car pulls up at the front porch of their house.

“Thank you for today, Eunji.”

“No problem. It was fun.”

Chorong looks at Eunji, as if she’s been wanting to say something. Eunji blinks once and tilts her head. “Yes?”

“…Could we have more days like this?”

Eunji widens her eyes and wonders what that question could mean. “You mean…a date?”

Chorong blushes but shyly murmurs, “Yes.”

“What was that? I didn’t hear you?” Eunji giggles playfully, leaning her head forward.

“I said let’s go on a date next time.” Chorong repeats herself and she’s distracted by a sudden wet peck on her cheek.

“Okay. A date it is then.” Eunji leans backwards, smiling softly at her. And—Chorong kisses her back.

“Christmas.” She says as she unbuckles her seatbelt. “Let’s have a date on Christmas.”

xxx

It’s one of those compulsory dinners at the Son Mansion that Naeun has to attend, with all of the family members present. That also means the presence of her relatives, distant uncles, aunts and cousins.

Naeun isn’t exactly close with her cousins, except for one. Son Seungwan.

Unlike her, Seungwan is attending Harvard. The same university that offered her an exclusive place but Naeun preferred something more down-to-earth and closer to home.

Despite her father’s protests, Naeun pushed through and the rest was history. Because of this decision, Naeun had the opportunity to share a house with other strangers, who in turn, became her best friends in life.

She met Chorong who was wiser than her age. She met Eunji who showed her the way of enjoying college. She met Namjoo who made her understand that it’s okay to be different. She met Hayoung who made her realise that there are still people who are very pure and innocent.

And she met Bomi, who made her realize that love exists.

“How are you doing, cousin?” Seungwan brims in with a handshake. Naeun returns it and smiles.

“Same old. I heard you’re returning to intern at the Son company.”

“Yeah, duty calls. It’s the kind of destiny we have with the Son blood in us.” Seungwan shrugs, “And also, call me Wendy. It’s so weird to hear everyone calling me my Korean name. Been up in Harvard for far too long.”

Naeun chuckles, “Right. I notice a clear difference in your accent as well.”

As their conversation went on, it was time for the grand dinner. At the large dining hall, members of the Son were seated according to their positions. Naeun and her family were at the front as they were of higher rank. Seungwan was in the middle and the other cousins whom she isn’t familiar, are at the lower end of the table.

The dinner goes on with boring talk of business, plans of the Son Corps and inheritance. It’s clear that her oldest cousin, Son Dongwoon would take over the company in the far future. Females here have no place, a sad reality that Naeun has come to accept.

“I believe it is time to start looking for suitors. My daughter is already of that age and I am sure that she is at most, ready to seek love.”

Naeun freezes at her father’s suggestion to the floor. Her uncles and aunts start whispering among each other, looking through their phones for suitable contacts.

This is the part that she doesn’t like about family dinners.

“Do not worry, my dear daughter. There is no rush. I want you to take your time. Sometimes, it is hard to find the perfect man. But I believe you are ready for the next path in your life.”

Naeun shrinks in her seat, unable to say anything. Wendy is the only one who notices her change in mood, but she too, has no power to do anything.

The dinner ends with a heavy heart in Naeun’s chest.

When her personal driver drops her off at the house, it’s all quiet. No one greets her at the porch because its already too late into the night. She comes into the room and sees Bomi snoozing away.

It makes her smile a little as she picks up the fallen pillow on the floor and gently sets it next to Bomi. She sits down on her bed and stares at her roommate for a long minute. She’s thinking a lot about where their relationship can go from her.

With pressure from her father, maybe she should stop looking for a love that will never reciprocate in return.

Naeun thinks that Chorong is right.

Bomi only sees her as a friend. Nothing more, nothing less. Even when they are having , even when their lips are locked, these feelings are simply mutual. There is no other spark or fire that fuels inside.

Just friendship.

It’s on one of those weekends when she finally puts the wedge between their relationship.

“We should stop.” Naeun says as Bomi’s about to kiss her. She gives her a paused look and retracts back.

“Oh.” She shrugs and scratches her neck awkwardly. “Okay.” Bomi leans onto the wall and looks at Naeun, “But, we’re still friends, right? I mean…even after everything we’ve done?”

“Yeah. We’re still friends.”

Naeun says with a smile that feels so hard to put up with. The fact that Bomi just fired the bullet right there with one statement, it was clear that this was the right decision. “It’s just that you don’t have anyone to practice with anymore.”

“That’s fine.” Bomi grins, “But hey, since this is our last time, might as well go out with a bang right?” She wriggles her eyebrows, still insisting that they have .

Naeun blushes at that, but it makes her feel better.

“Make it a night to remember then.”

The week after Naeun and Bomi ends their “friends with benefits” thing, she announces to the group that she’s dating.

A young, bright male from a different university in Seoul, Lee Taemin.

xxx

Namjoo doesn’t know why she agreed on this. Surely, her club meetings are way more important than this.

But here she is, in the living room and helping Hayoung to bake brownies. Not brownies for the house. Brownies for her girlfriend, Chungha.

“Does it taste okay? Oh god, why are you making that face? Did the chocolates expire? Is it too sweet?” Hayoung sighs with lots of worry, eyeing closely at her roommate who is taking a bite at the first batter.

Namjoo laughs at how her roommate is freaking out over baking brownies for her girlfriend. It’s kind of cute.

If only she does that for me.

“Tastes fine. Exactly the same as the ones you baked for us. Try it.” Namjoo feeds Hayoung a piece and watches her face turn into pure relief.

“Thank god! You think she’s going to like it? Actually, I’m not sure if Chungha eats brownies. Crap, what if she’s allergic to brownies?!”

“Come on, you’re just going to stress yourself out if you think like that. Calm down!” Namjoo laughs once more and slaps Hayoung’s back. “Just say it’s a present. Made with love.”

“If you were her, what kind of present would you want?” Hayoung asks with deep thought.

“Me?” Namjoo ponders in thought. “Honestly, anything with food makes me happy. But I think adding a letter would be a nice touch.”

Something clicks in Hayoung’s head. She runs into the room. scrambles the drawers for some leftover paper and returns with a pen. Settling at the counter, she freezes and stares at Namjoo.

“What do I write?”

Namjoo laughs once more and shakes her head. Seriously, her roommate is so adorable and cute.

“Hayoung, no. You do not ask Google to write a letter for you. Alright fine, I’ll help out.” She chuckles and sits next to her roommate.

Within half an hour, Hayoung completes a handwritten letter for Chungha and wraps up the brownie into a nice package, all with Namjoo’s kind help and suggestion.

“Thank you so much! You’re the best!”

Hayoung hugs Namjoo tightly. She cannot express the amount of gratitude she has towards her roommate, who went out of her way to help out.

“Anything for my roommate.” Namjoo says with a smile. But today, her smile feels heavy.

Somewhere in her heart, she wants Hayoung to do the same thing to her. Somewhere in her head, she wants to be Chungha.

Namjoo isn’t sure why she’s suddenly behaving that way. Since the beginning, she has always been fond of Hayoung as a cute, little sister to have. After all, it was lonely having a room by herself for one whole year.

But maybe, there’s something more than this sisterly love she has for Hayoung.

When she waves goodbye to Hayoung who excitedly leaves to meet Chungha, Namjoo returns to the kitchen and sighs. In the end, she’s the one cleaning up the mess. She doesn’t know why she has to do this.

She’s confused.

“Rare to see you here.” Naeun says as she climbs down the stairs with another book in hand. She puts it down on the table and proceeds to help Namjoo. The girl glances over and notices that Namjoo isn’t her usual, bright, cheery self.

“Are you okay…?”

Namjoo sighs and looks at her with a sad smile. “It would be a lie if I said yes, right?”

Although Naeun and Namjoo may be total opposites, but that doesn’t mean they were never friends in the beginning. They watch out for each other silently, without much conversations because actions deliver stronger than words.

Like that one-time Namjoo fell sick and Naeun came into the room silently to put a bag of medicine on the table. Or the one time someone tried to hit on Naeun at a party, and Namjoo came to the rescue. They may be different in terms of personalities, but at heart, they are together.

The two are gathered at the couch as Naeun is listening to Namjoo’s rant about Hayoung. She listens about her conflicted feelings towards Chungha and how she’s confused about her relationship with Hayoung. Naeun takes note of every single word, tone and expression written on Namjoo’s face.

And she finally makes a verdict.

“Maybe you don’t just like Hayoung as a little sister.” Naeun says. “Maybe you like her more than that.”

“What? You mean romantically? I mean, yeah, I’m biual but I don’t feel the same way with how I deal with other people. Hayoung’s my friend. Our friend.”

“I was confused at first too, when it came to Bomi.”

Namjoo’s eyes widens as she listens closely to her.

“I kept wondering if my love towards her was just me, wanting a nice, older sister. But I realized that I was wrong. I love Bomi, more than just a friend.” Naeun says as she knows that it’s just an impossible dream now. Especially since she has made her decision.

Namjoo looks down and sighs. “I’m going to need some time to process all of this. It’s…really a lot to handle.”

Naeun places her hand on Namjoo’s shoulder and gives her an encouraging smile. “Whatever decision that you make, choose the one that makes you happy.”

Namjoo looks softly at Naeun and grabs her hand.

“Thank you. I too, want you to happy. And I’m saying that you dating Taemin, is an absolutely terrible idea.”

--

a/n: namjoo's spilling some straight facts to naeun, oof. but the girl herself is in quite a dilemma with how she's feeling with hayoung dating chungha (someone is real jealous). but on the other hand, we finally got us some cute, fluffy eunrong at last uwu, they even kissed and have a plan for a Christmas date~ ^^