The early morning sun is filtering through the kitchen window, the dorm is peaceful and quiet, save for the food sizzling in the pan. Seungwan is singing to herself, carefully placing the strips of bacon onto her plate, and preparing the batter for her pancake. She isn’t always a morning person, but everyone agrees that there’s always something special about the quiet early mornings in the dorm. For Seungwan, it’s about being alone with her thoughts, her music and her food. She takes a cup of coffee, warm in her hands, as the pancakes cook. She smiles as she takes a small sip - BAM! - Seungwan sighs at the sound of a door slamming somewhere in their shared apartment followed by a thunder of footsteps running down the stairs and into the hall.

 

“WANNIE!”

 

Seungwan throws a glare at her best friend, but it’s easily wiped away at the sight of the loud girl, now seated at their dining table. Her hair is sticking up in all sorts of places, with so many loose strands out of her bun, and her pajamas are still wrinkly as if she has literally just rolled off her bed.

 

“Well, good morning to you too, Seul.”

 

Seulgi smiles brightly her eyes turning into crescents, “Good morning, Wannie!”

 

“So, what’s up? And keep your voice down please, everyone else is still asleep and I don’t want to be harassed by Yerimie and Sooyoung so early in the morning.” Seungwan turns her back to Seulgi, focusing on properly flipping the pancakes over.

 

“Sorry, sorry. But I really need your help!! So, I was in bed, I kind of woke up cause I didn’t close my curtains all the way last night and the sunlight hit my face but anyway, I woke up and then I realized something!! Hyunnie and I have been friends for 10 years. TEN! Can you imagine that? Well, it’ll be 10 years in a couple of weeks, at least.”

 

“Wait. You know the exact day you met?”

 

“Yeah!” Seulgi replies, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

 

“Do you know the exact day we met?”

 

“Uh… in September?”

 

“Not even close. But go on.” Seungwan slides the pancake onto her plate and takes the seat across from Seulgi.

 

“Anyway, so we’ve been friends for 10 years. And we’ve been through so much together! And I want to give her a gift for the 10 years.”

 

“Just cause of the 10 years?”

 

Seulgi’s brows knit together in confusion. “Yeah, why else?”

 

Seungwan hums in response, cutting her pancake into pieces. “Ah, nothing, just wondering. So how can I help?”

 

“I don’t know what to get her! I can’t think of anything! I can’t get her a necklace or anything-“

 

“Why not?”

 

Seulgi rolls her eyes, “She’s the muse of Damiani! Do you know how much necklaces she has?!”

 

“Ah - right.”

 

“It’s so difficult! Maybe I can get her a bag? But she has so many! Or a hat? But she has a lot of hats too! Should I get her something purple since that’s her favorite? Or something that reminds her of our friendship? Or… or…”

 

“Wow, so this is what it’s like.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I know I talk and ramble a lot but it’s interesting being on the receiving of it.”

 

Seulgi huffs and grabs the fork, pointing it at Seungwan. “Cause this is a problem and you’re not helping!”

 

“Okay first of all, relax. Deep breaths, Seul. Second of all, what about we go shopping later and see if there’s anything you can get for her? P”

 

“Oh, yeah, we could do that.”

 

“See. Simple. Now let me eat.”

 

Seulgi smiles at Seungwan, the fork still in her hand.

 

“What?”

 

Seulgi flashes her friend an even brighter smile, as cute as she can manage.

 

“Oh my god, fine, you can have this. But you’re buying me lunch later.” Seungwan groans as she pushes her plate towards Seulgi and stands up to make another one.

 

“YES! THANKS, WANNIE! YOU’RE THE BEST!”

 

---

 

“I give up!” Seulgi groans as she rests her head on the restaurant’s table. “There’s nothing for her in this entire street!”

 

“We saw so many nice things, I’m sure unnie would appreciate any of those.” Seungwan reaches out to pat Seulgi on the head in an attempt to reassure the other girl. “Why is it so important to you that we find the perfect gift anyway?”

 

“Cause it’s 10 years of friendship!”

 

“And it’s Joohyunnie. She will love anything you give her, you know that, right?”

 

Seulgi sighs, “Yeah, I know but… I want this to be special.”

 

“I mean, I get that. But why does it mean so much to you?”

 

“Because Joohyunnie makes me so happy. For 10 years now, she’s made my life feel so much brighter. She’s always pushed me to be better… but not in a bad way. It’s like she inspires me to be my best self… I mean, you all do that for me. But she feels special you know? I can’t imagine my life without any of you guys… but without her… I think it would break me if we weren’t friends anymore. Is that weird?”

 

Seungwan hums in response, “No… not really.”

 

Their lunch continues, and Seungwan distracts Seulgi by talking about other things. They’re in the middle of dessert, when Seungwan finally says what’s on her mind, “Seulgi… I have to ask you a question. You’re my best friend so please don’t be offended by it.”

 

“Okay, shoot.”

 

“Are you… maybe… in love with Joohyunnie?”

 

“Huh?! What? No! I mean… I love her for sure. Like as a friend. Like a special friend. Cause she is. But not in love. For sure.”

 

“It’s okay if you are…”

 

“You’re crazy, Seungwan. Why would I be? I’ve never even considered myself gay before or even bi. And with Joohyunnie? That sounds crazy. Totally crazy.”

 

“Okay, okay, sorry I said anything.”

 

But Seulgi continues to ramble, “I mean, do I think she’s pretty? Definitely. I mean we all do, right? Like doesn’t the whole entire world agree she’s a goddess? And is she amazing? For sure. Does she make me smile? Always! Am I happy when I see her? Yeah! Do I worry about her? I mean I worry about all of you. But sometimes I worry if she’s hiding stuff because she’s the leader and if she’s happy. I really want her to be happy, you know? Cause she deserves it. Do I want to hold her hand? Yeah, they’re so tiny! They fit in mine so well! Her hugs are definitely one of my favorite things and she smells so good all the time! And she’s so kind, she loves us all so much. She’s a great leader and she’s secretly really funny and I’m glad we see that side of her. But in love? Yeah no way…”

 

Seungwan stares at her best friend in silence, waiting for the gears in Seulgi’s head to click.

 

Seulgi is still mumbling to herself, waving her dessert fork around when suddenly, “OMO!”

 

“Yes, Seul?”

 

“I’m in love with Joohyunnie.”

 

“There we go.”

 

Suddenly, Seulgi drops her fork and grabs Seungwan by the shoulders, “Wannie!”

 

“What???”

 

“I’m in love with Joohyunnie.”

 

“Yes, we’ve established that.”

 

Seulgi beings shaking the tiny girl. “I’M. IN. LOVE. WITH. UNNIE. WHAT. DO. I. DO.”

 

---

 

Seulgi watches as Joohyun sticks her tongue out in concentration, her paint brush delicately moving across the paper.

 

“How could I not have realized sooner that I’m in love with her?” Seulgi thinks to herself. “Loving Joohyun is easy… but I wonder when it changed… from me being in awe of this amazing woman to actually being in love with her. Maybe I’ve always loved her?”

 

“Seulgi-yah… you’re not listening to me.” Joohyun pouts, and it takes everything in Seulgi not to squish her unnie’s cheeks.

 

“Hmm? Sorry, I spaced out.”

 

“I was asking if this was okay.” Joohyun said showing Seulgi her work.

 

After the duo drew Santa Claus for their Christmas VLIVE, Joohyun has been asking Seulgi for art lessons. It’s not anything formal, Seulgi never really had lessons so she doesn’t feel qualified to teach but she knows it’s another way for Joohyun to release all her stress, plus, the older girl really does love learning new things. They’ve drawn a couple of times, and Seulgi can already see the improvement in the older girl’s work. Today, however, Seulgi suggested they try painting with watercolors, which Joohyun happily agreed to.

 

“Of course, it is!” Seulgi answers, “Do you like it?”

 

Joohyun shrugs, “It’s not as good as yours.”

 

“Hyunnie, I told you, I’ve had a lot of practice. This is your first time doing it in years! Besides, are you having fun?”

 

“Of course! I’m with you!” Joohyun answers simply, and Seulgi is grateful that the older girl is examining her work again so she can’t see how red Seulgi’s ears have gotten. 

 

“A-anyway, if you want, we can draw on it when the paint dries? Just to add something to the sunset you painted.”

 

Joohyun nods in agreement and sets their paintings aside. “Oh, there’s this song I want you to listen to. Well, Seungwan sent it to me.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

Joohyun pulls out her phone from her pocket, plugs in her earphones and hands one earbud to Seulgi.

 

“Yah, unnie, who still uses earphones? You should really let me buy you airpods instead.”

 

“At least I don’t lose these. How many airpods have you lost already, Seulgi-ya?”

 

“Three.” Seulgi mumbles.

 

“Sorry, I didn’t hear that. How many?” Joohyun says, a smirk on her lips.

 

“Just play the song.” Seulgi pouts.

 

Joohyun laughs then presses play. Seulgi hears the first chords of the guitar and she can’t help but feel her chest tighten. She knows this song, Seungwan made her listen to this song the other day too. Seulgi turns to look at Joohyun, whose eyes are closed as she softly sings along to the music. “I fell in love in spring, have loved you like summer…”

 

Eventually, Joohyun opens her eyes again and Seulgi tries not to overthink about the soft look she’s giving her. “Feel it through your eyes all that I been missing…”

 

“I got 2 things, 2 things, 2 things on my mind…” Joohyun smiles, then points at Seulgi, “You and music…”

 

Seulgi’s ears are on fire again, and she’s sure her face is starting to turn red when Joohyun reaches for Seulgi’s hand. “Sing with me!” Joohyun laughs, and raises their arms together, making them sway as if they’re in a concert. “Got me singing like lalala, lalala.”

 

Seulgi laughs, they must look stupid, but sings along anyway. “Baby won’t you sing with me, your love got me saying lalala”

 

The next song plays but Joohyun doesn’t take the earbud from Seulgi. Instead, she brings their paintings and materials closer to them, allowing them to continue working while listening to music together. They sing along to many songs, Seulgi’s body constantly warm from how close they’re sitting to each other.

 

“Maybe earphones aren’t that bad after all.” Seulgi thinks then turns to Joohyun, whose eyebrows are knitted together, and her tongue is out again in concentration as she scribbles on her painting.

 

“Don’t look! I’m almost done!” Joohyun says, nudging Seulgi away. Seulgi tries to take a peek but Joohyun elbows her on the side.

 

“Ow!” Seulgi cries as clutches her side. For a second, Joohyun looks at her in panic, thinking she actually hurt the younger girl.

 

“So dramatic.” Joohyun sighs, then slides her work over. On the bottom part of her sunset, sit two shaded figures, a string of earphones connecting them and music notes floating above them. “That’s you and me.”

 

“This is wrong.” Seulgi blurts out in response.

 

“What do you mean?” Joohyun frowns. “You don’t like it?”

 

“These girls are the same height! I’m definitely much taller than you.” Seulgi teases, and Joohyun’s pout turns into a glare as she punches Seulgi in the gut.

 

Seulgi laughs as Joohyun begins to tickle her. “I’m just kidding! It’s great! I love it!” Seulgi overpowers her leader and wraps her in a hug, an idea forming in her head. “I love it, I really do. You, me and the music.”

---

 

Sooyoung is eating breakfast with Seungwan and Yerim when the doorbell rings. Before she can even push their maknae off her chair to get it, Seulgi is already rushing to the door with a shout of, “MINE!”

 

“What’s that?” Yerim asks.

 

“Gift for Hyunnie! Byeeeee!” And Yerim, Sooyoung and Seungwan watch as Seulgi runs back up to her room.

 

“Why does Joohyunnie get a gift?” Yerim asks.

 

“Something about them being friends for 10 years already.”

 

Sooyoung raises her eyebrows at Seungwan, and Seungwan mouths, “Later.”

 

“Heeeeeeey, she’s known me for longer! Where’s my gift?”

 

“Uh… You know… That’s definitely a conversation you should have with Seulgi and not me.” Seungwan shrugs, “But maybe you can guilt trip her into getting you some add-ons or whatever for your games.”

 

Yerim’s eyes flash with delight, “You’re so smart sometimes, Seungwan-unnie.”

 

Sooyoung cackles at that and laughs even louder at Seungwan’s hurt expression.

 

“Yah! What do you mean by sometimes?!”

 

---

 

“Wow. Surprising to actually find you here.” Seulgi says, leaning on the door frame to Sooyoung’s room. The two are on the bed, Sooyoung looking for some photoshoot ideas while Seungwan watches over her shoulder.

 

“I know, she won’t leave me alone.” Sooyoung says, not even sparing Seulgi a glance, as she continues to scroll on her laptop.

 

“You’re the one who wanted to hang out!” Seungwan cries as she tries to push the taller girl off the bed, but the girl barely budges.

 

“Yah… so weak, Seungwan-unnie.”

 

“Anyway, can I borrow Wannie for a minute?”

 

“All yours.” Sooyoung says, not before throwing a flying kiss to both her unnies.

 

As soon as Seungwan enters Seulgi’s room, Seulgi hands her a delicate white package.

 

“Is this it?” Seulgi nods in response. “She’s gonna love it, Seul.”

 

“You think?”

 

“I’m sure she will. It’s thoughtful and unique and very you.”

 

“Okay, good” Seulgi lets out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, “Now that’s out of the way. Our 10 year friendship anniversary is on Sunday. How do I give it to her?”

 

“Are you going all out?”

 

Seulgi shrugs and plops on to her bed. “I guess so, huh? If the songs here are any indication of how I feel. God, Wan, what if she doesn’t feel the same way? What if I go through all this effort… and she just hates me afterwards?”

 

“Listen, I can’t speak for how unnie feels about you, but even if she didn’t feel the same way, I know it won’t get in the way of your friendship.” Seungwan pulls her best friend into a hug. “Unnie loves you, that much I know. Is she in love with you? That’s really up to her. You know how she keeps things close to her chest. Even if she’s sharing more and more with us, this is way too personal. She may need time to be comfortable with it, but you won’t lose her.”

 

“I’m really scared, Wan.”

 

“Hey, I believe in you. Which reminds me!” Seungwan pulls out her phone. “You know how you’ve been trying to find the perfect songs and all? I thought of this one for you!”

 

As soon as Seulgi’s own voice starts playing on Seungwan’s phone, the duo starts laughing. “Really? This song?”

 

“If you get nervous just play this song in your head.” Seungwan sings along. “Don’t you wait no more, don’t you wait no more, don’t you wait no more.”

 

“Thank you so much, Wannie.”

 

“Just ask her out to dinner, then you can give her the record then! Or when you get home. It’ll go great! SEULGI, FIGHTING!

 

---

 

It’s 10:38 on a Sunday night and after meeting up with some friends visiting from Canada, Seungwan is expecting an empty dorm. She toes off her shoes, and switches on the lights in their living room.

 

“YAH! SEULGI! You scared me!” Seungwan said, clutching her chest at the sight of her best friend lying face down on the couch, unmoving.

 

“Oh. Hey Wannie. You’re home.”

 

“Yes, I am. Why are you here?? Shouldn’t you be out with Joohyun-unnie??”

 

Seulgi groans and her reply is muffled by the pillows around her.

 

“Say that again please.”

 

Seulgi sits up and she looks utterly distraught. “Okay, so you know how you told me to just ask her out to dinner and then just do it there? Well, I may have forgot to ask her beforehand because we’ve been so busy. So, I was thinking, no worries, I’ll ask her when she gets home. But when she arrived, I was taking a shower-“

 

“Surprising.”

 

Seulgi sticks out her tongue at Seungwan before continuing, “Then when I finished getting ready, I was going to as her out but Sooyoung and Yerim beat me to it! They said they were tired from their dance rehearsals and wanted to go to karaoke.”

 

“Did they not invite you?”

 

“They did, but honestly, I was feeling too down. We planned so well for this!! Today was supposed to be the day!! And now I don’t know when to do it. Honestly, I’m also a little bummed she didn’t remember the importance of today. It’s just… a lot of emotions right now.”

 

Seungwan sits beside Seulgi, “You’ll get another chance, Seul. It doesn’t have to be today. Ideally, sure. But you’ll get another chance. And knowing Joohyunnie, I don’t think she forgot. She’s just been so busy lately with her CFs that I don’t think she had the time to get everything together.”

 

“I guess you’re right.” Seulgi sighs, “Anyway, want to play Mario Kart with me? I’ve been alone for an hour now and I’m bored out of mind.”

 

They play Mario Kart and any other games they can find well into the night, only pausing when the others blow up their group chat. Their group chat is filled with videos of Yerim and Sooyoung singing as loud as they can, and Joohyun’s laugh possibly even louder. Seulgi can’t help but smile even bigger every time Joohyun’s face comes into frame.

 

They then send photos from their midnight snack in Sooyoung’s favorite chicken restaurant that thankfully serves tteokbokki, so that means Joohyun is smiling in the picture too. Seulgi and Seungwan send pictures of them playing Mario Kart and suddenly Yerim is itching to get home so she can “Show you oldies how it’s really done.”

 

The trio stays out a little longer when Sooyoung challenges Yerim to see who can finish their plate of chicken the fastest, Joohyun sending videos with a hint of disgust in her voice as she officiates the match.

 

A little after one in the morning, Seulgi figures that knowing the two maknaes, they’ll keep Joohyun out for as long as they possibly can. Plus, Seungwan must be tired too so Seulgi sighs and reluctantly puts the games away and heads to bed.

 

Seulgi isn’t sure if it’s all the video games or just the emotional toll of the evening that helps her fall asleep the moment her head hits the pillow. Her sleep is heavy and dreamless, but at one point, she dreams of a figure gently walking into her room then suddenly fading away.

 

A siren goes off in the distance and Seulgi groans, opening her eyes slightly to check the time on her phone.

 

 5:21 AM

 

She turns away from the wall, trying to get comfortable again when she notices a framed picture on the other side of the bed. “Wait-what?”

 

Seulgi’s eyes shoot open and she scrambles for the lamp switch. The light is blinding for a moment, but as soon as her eyes adjust, Seulgi knows she’s not dreaming. There, propped up on her cabinet, beside her bed is a framed picture of a swing set against a purple and orange sunset. She reaches out for the small note attached to the frame.

 

 

Seulgi gently sets the note aside and sets off for Joohyun’s room. She opens the door to see the older girl asleep and snuggled warmly under her blanket. She wonders for a moment if she’ll be angry at her for waking her up, but before Seulgi can even think of going back to her own room, her feet lead her to Joohyun’s bed. Seulgi is kneeling on the floor, her hand resting lightly on Joohyun’s head, “Baechu-unnie, thank you. Thank you so much.”

 

At first, Seulgi thinks Joohyun can’t hear her, but the older woman opens up her blanket and moves to give Seulgi space to lay down beside her.

 

“Thank you for being my friend for 10 years.” Seulgi says again, as she pulls Joohyun into an embrace.

 

“Thank you also. Now let’s go back to sleep, Kang Seulgi.” Joohyun mumbles, burying her head into Seulgi’s neck.

 

---

 

After a week full of rehearsals, the girls are finally back in their dorm, relaxing after a great dinner courtesy of Joohyun.

 

Seulgi has always loved how Joohyun insists to treat them to dinner from time to time, not because she loves food (well, not only because of food), but because it was one of the ways Joohyun made sure to take care of all of them. They all had their own money and could afford what they wanted but this was always Joohyun’s way of saying she loved them without saying the words out right.

 

Now, everyone was in their pajamas, Seulgi is standing at the kitchen counter, accepting the different snacks that Seungwan hands her for their movie night. Yerim is on the couch, her head on Joohyun’s lap as she plays one of her many games, while Sooyoung dutifully tries to find something for them to watch.

 

“You haven’t let her listen to it yet?”

 

“No, not yet.”

 

“You can do it now, you know.”

 

“But we’re about to have our movie night.”

 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with the other two. Because after this, when will you get the chance? Our comeback is less than two weeks away, we have to practice every day until then and I’m sure we’ll be too tired for anything afterwards.”

 

Seulgi is wringing her hands, her eyes fixed on the trio by the TV.

 

“I’m just saying, Seul. Tonight might be the night.” Seungwan says as she gets Yerim’s favorite chocolate and makes her way to join the others.

 

Seulgi knows that her best friend is right. Honestly, Seungwan is rarely wrong. Tonight’s free night is rare, but that’s why they decided on having a movie night together. Will Yerim and Sooyoung feel bad if she stole Joohyun for the night? But beyond the timing, Seulgi is terrified, what if Joohyun thinks the idea was terrible? What if she doesn’t even think about their friendship as much as Seulgi did? What if she’s making a fool out of herself? What if-

 

“SEULGI-UNNIE!”

 

“Ah - sorry, Sooyoung. I’ll be there in a bit.”

 

Seulgi runs her hand under the kitchen tap and wets her face to wake herself up before she joins the group. She takes a seat at the other end of the couch, lifting Yerim’s legs to place them on her own lap.

 

“So, what are we watching?”

 

Honestly, Seulgi doesn’t hear Sooyoung’s response. Her body is suddenly hyper aware of everything else going around her. She can feel Seungwan nudge at her legs from her seat on the floor. A nudge that signaled, “Do it now, please!” She hears Yerim cry out in frustration over something in the game, and when Seulgi turns to their maknae, Seulgi feels like her heart is about to burst. Joohyun is laughing, her eyes shut, her head back but her hands still the youngest’s hair in an effort to calm her down. She’s sure she’s sending what Sooyoung and Yerim call, ‘heart eyes’, at Joohyun but she can’t help it. She is beautiful and too adorable for Seulgi to handle.

 

Another nudge at her knee causes Seulgi to snap out of whatever trance Joohyun locked her in and she looks at Seungwan who is tilting her head towards their leader. Sooyoung is looking at Seulgi as well, a smirk on her face which makes Seulgi want to hide, because she’s sure Seungwan told Sooyoung everything. The small thumbs up Sooyoung gives Seulgi is reassuring, yes, but not any less terrifying.

 

Okay, this is it.

 

Seulgi stands, takes a deep breath, and pretends to stretch before turning to the woman on the other end of the couch, who is now back to watching Yerim play on her phone. “Unnie?”

 

“Yes, Seulgi-ya?” Joohyun smiles as their eyes meet, and Seulgi tries her hardest not to melt.

 

“Remember that record player you bought me for my birthday? The orange one… that you bought when we were in LA? Anyway… I haven’t used it yet because I was looking for the perfect first record to break it in. Anyway, I finally found the perfect record! We should listen to it! Since you gave it to me. And… yeah… so do you want to come up and listen to it with me?”

 

Sooyoung looks like she’s about to burst out laughing at Seulgi’s rambling. Seungwan is shaking her head and Yerim has her eyebrows raised at Seulgi.

 

“Oh, sure! That sounds fun! What about you guys?” Joohyun asks, as she pushes Yerim to sit up so she can get off the couch.

 

“Eh, maybe later. Sooyoung has been telling me all about Parasite so I really wanna watch it.”

 

“Yeah! And I’ll watch with Seungwannie just in case she has any questions.”

 

“What about you, Yerim-ah?” Joohyun asks.

 

“Oohh, I’ll come! OUCH DID YOU JUST PINCH ME?”

 

Sooyoung glares at their youngest. “I- I mean, I’ll listen to it next time! With Seungwannie and Sooyoung-unnie. Besides, Seulgi-unnie has such a small room we might not fit. Yeah, yeah, I’ll do it next time.”

 

“You’re so weird.” Joohyun chuckles, as she ruffles Yerim’s hair, “Lead the way, Seulgi-ya.”

 

Seulgi hops up the stairs, two steps at the time, mostly out of nerves.

 

“Okay, so get comfy, unnie! I’ll set it up.”

 

Joohyun sits with her back against the wall, her knees folded to herself and Seulgi’s blanket wrapped around her.

 

Seulgi gently gets the vinyl out of its sleeve and puts it on the turntable. Before she lets the needle drop, she turns to Joohyun who is watching her intently with a smile on her face.

 

“Actually, Baechunnie, this record is a gift for the decade of friendship. I promise I had this before the day, but you were busy, then you went out with the children… and then we got really busy preparing for the comeback and I didn’t have time to give this to you.”

 

“Don’t worry, Seulgi, all I gave you was a picture…”

 

“A really important picture that I love! It’s so me and it’s so us… and on my end…  I wasn’t sure how to condense all those years into one gift so, I decided that it’d be best through music. It’s the biggest part of our lives anyway.”

 

“Seulgi-ya… thank you.”

 

“Don’t thank me yet, you might turn out to hate it.”

 

Joohyun laughs. “If it’s from you, I doubt it. I love everything you’ve ever given me.”

 

“Are you comfy? Okay, good. Here we go. This is very special, so I want us to really enjoy it.”

 

Joohyun pats the space beside her. “Then come here then.”