Jeju, The Republic of Korea

 The hotel room was dark, save for the flashing lights from cars passing by. Seulgi checked her phone for the umpteenth time. She couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. She counted sheep, did breathing exercises but nothing seemed to work. She sat up, careful to not wake up Irene sleeping beside her. The older girl was sleeping so peacefully, Seulgi couldn’t resist a smile. Irene was curled up in her side of the bed, her face soft and sweet. Seulgi leaned down and kissed her cheek, gently her soulmate’s face. She then gingerly got out of bed, slipped on a bathrobe and went to the transparent sliding door separating their room from the balcony. She opened the door and stood by the balcony, savouring the night sky. It was cold but not as cold as Seoul. Seulgi shivered slightly and drew the bathrobe tighter.

 Jeju looked really different at night, Seulgi could make out the faint silhouettes of the buildings in the island centre, lights twinkled like the stars. The night sky was beautiful, it was the first time she saw stars that shone so brightly. Back in Seoul, the brightest star she had ever seen was the dimmest here. Seulgi absentmindedly brushed her hair, toying with the rose leaves that tickled the side of her face. 

 Seulgi jumped and spun around when she heard a whimper. She knew it was Joohyun. Her soulmate was having really bad nightmares these past few days. Seulgi didn’t tell Joohyun that another reason for their trip of Jeju was to ease the older girl’s stress and the intensity of the nightmares. Joohyun would always wake up crying and in cold sweat. The first few times were really bad. Joohyun’s roommate Sooyoung reported that t