That day was still like a dream.

They stood facing each other and she couldn't tell how much time had passed since it only seemed to have stopped in their world.

Eight years. So many things could happen in eight years. One of them could have even gotten married.

And there were so many things she wanted to ask. But all those questions refused to be deciphered into words.

Joohyun managed to look even more beautiful after eight years.

She hadn't changed. But Seulgi knew she had.

And yet the older was telling her that her feelings hadn't changed.

It seemed too good to be true.

But looking at her eyes Seulgi knew that question didn't need to be asked.

So what was she going to do now?

Seulgi lowered her gaze as she pursed her lips since looking at the older's eyes was too distracting.

But her thoughts were soon scattered away thanks to the sudden grip on her wrist, pulling her and leading her down the footbridge.

She let Joohyun take the lead and saw her pulling out her phone, calling someone.

"I'll be taking a day off today."

Always so reckless.

Then she remembered she had a job too.

Seulgi fished out her phone from her coat pocket and called her assistant even though her mind was still blank.

"Miss Kang?" Her assistant said in confusion. "Did something happen on your way?"

Yes. Something did happen.

"I'll.. I'll be taking a day off." Seulgi said, still staring at the hand gripping her wrist in a daze. "I'm sorry."

"Oh.. Then should I call the meeting off?"

"Tell the staff members I'm truly sorry and they could go back home early," Seulgi said when they stopped in front of an unfamiliar house. "It's Friday anyway."

The door opened right after she ended the call and Joohyun dragged her inside.

The white marble floor was so pale it still intimidated her.

Seulgi gulped as she stared at the floor but caught a glimpse of red slippers even though Joohyun never used slippers.

And that was enough for her to let her feelings take over her.

She embraced the older tight in her arms, not minding for once she could get hurt by the shards.

Seulgi half-expected the older to push her away but instead, she turned around and nuzzled in her embrace and god, how she had missed it.

She tried to choke back a sob as she heaved a heavy sigh and distanced herself from the older to see her face.

"I... I-"

Her words soon dissipated in her head because Joohyun wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled her closer to press her lips against hers.

Joohyun pushed her toward her bedroom and Seulgi collapsed on the bed which was as white as the marble floor.

And as she was about to sit up since her instincts refused to sit on anything clean, the older hovered over her, trapping the younger between her and the bed.

"I.." Seulgi swallowed. "My clothes are too-"

Joohyun stopped her as she held her hand and laughed quietly. "You haven't changed."

Seulgi didn't know why hearing those words hurt and made her want to cry at the same time.

"It's okay." Joohyun caressed her cheek as she took off her coat, letting it drop on the floor. "It's okay."

She kissed her again, distracting the younger from her thoughts and carefully undressed her, buttoning down her shirt with such delicacy Seulgi only realized what they were about to do when the cold air touched her bare skin.

But her thoughts were again drowned by Joohyun's soothing voice and gentle touch Seulgi forgot how tainted she was as she let herself lie down on the pale fabric.

Joohyun ran her fingers through the younger's hair who was asleep beside her soundlessly.

Seulgi shifted a little as she let out a small groan, revealing part of her torso.

Eight years. She had spent all those years trying to reach out to her,

Even when she had finally got a job in the other city, she declined because she had to stay. She had to.

And she never drove unless necessary, choosing to always go the path that will let her pass by the footbridge just once.

But Seulgi never showed up. After about a month Joohyun visited her home she was already gone, and the younger's previous neighbor told her that the girl's grandmother had passed away so she had to move out.

Which made it almost impossible to see the younger again.

Some might say she was being desperate, maybe even foolish.

She had wondered many times if it was right to let go and move on. That her feelings would eventually fade and become a memory that would also fade eventually.

But it didn't.

Was it because she knew how broken Seulgi was?

Was it because she could only seek comfort in her embrace?

She didn't know. She had no idea.

Whatever it was, she was in love with her. And that made her want to stay.

It made her refuse to have anyone else no matter how hard she tried.

When Joohyun had felt so upset with her leaving, she had tried everything to forget about her feelings that made her feel nothing but pain.

She got rid of the red carpet that was still kept in the attic.

She went out on dates that never went further than a kiss.

She always chose a different route to go to work.

But in the end, she would always go to the footbridge at the end of the day, leaning dangerously close to the fence hoping the younger's voice might stop her.

So when she finally, finally found her all she wanted to do was get the younger back in her present.

And she couldn't help but caress her and touch her over and over again because she was scared this might be another dream she had to wake up.

It was when Seulgi finally opened her eyes did she stop, her hand hovering in the air, her heart beating faster as soon as her eyes met hers.

"Good afternoon," Joohyun said quietly and Seulgi slowly broke their eye contact and stared up at the ceiling, not meeting her eyes.

When it slowly dawned onto her that Joohyun was really beside her and that they were both very much well because of their.. previous event, Seulgi slowly pulled up the blanket, covering her whole because millions of thoughts started to crash into her.

Joohyun couldn't help but laugh as she watched in amusement, wondering if she should pull the blanket off the younger to make her yelp or just let her stay like that for a while.

In the end, she chose neither and also dived under the blanket.

Seulgi's breath hitched when she saw the smirking older staring back at her.

They stayed like that for a moment, and Seulgi strangely felt comfortable making her want to stay like this forever.

Joohyun's hand holding hers was the only warmth under the cold, pale blanket.

"I missed you."

The older started to trace down her every feature with her other hand, starting by lightly touching her eyes and her fingers stayed a little longer on her lips.

Seulgi didn't know which was more tempting. To run away or to kiss her again.

Joohyun touched the hickeys on her neck and smiled a little.

"I like that these are mine."

So many questions that needed to be asked still refused to be let out making the younger stare at her helplessly.

"How have you been?"

And the answer to that question made Seulgi recall everything she had to go through to live the life without Bae Joohyun.

It was painfully cruel how things could get even more tragic after two weeks.

As the cracks on the wall deepened, her grandmother's condition seemed to get worse and Seulgi tried to think of this as an opportunity to at least pour her everything to take care of one of the people she loved.

But it turns out she was never enough.

The world apparently liked to stab her the fact she could never have a happy ending in this life.

Maybe she could experience heaven after this hell.

And Seulgi wondered if her parents thought the same way.

Her grandmother was placed right next to her parents' tomb and Seulgi had quickly moved out, wanting to leave everything behind because it was just too painful she had to live with the memories. Good or bad.

She managed to get a small room in the studio that was a little far from college which was better. She didn't want to risk seeing Joohyun again.

And with her major, she got a job as a design staff in a small company and even became the director of the design department after five years of hard work.

If she told all this process to someone other than Joohyun, they would say 'Wow through all these hardships you made it! You lived a hard life so I hope you could be happy from now on.'.

And Seulgi would have to restrain herself from strangling him/her or herself.

She couldn't describe how she felt during those processes because she experienced different kinds of pain she never thought existed before.

She had stayed trapped in her room crying her eyes out as she pounded her chest to make the physical pain more painful than her heartbreak.

And after her grandmother's passing, she aimlessly wandered around the streets and spent the night at the bar.

After spending her first time as a mistake she became to despise a person's touch. She never gave anyone a chance to get close to her.

And she never gave herself a chance to love anyone.

It was almost a miracle and also a torture she had lived through all that for eight years.

As if she knew deep inside someday she would meet Bae Joohyun again.

Like she was enduring this torture because she knew there will be a miracle.

Explaining all this to Joohyun was impossible.

She didn't know how to express this huge something that was inside her for years.

So she could only say the feeling that always lingered on her way to work, made her hope for a miracle in the afternoon and woke her up in the middle of the night.

"I missed you too."

***

Joohyun refused to be anything other than part of her life after their reunion.

"I'll take things slow." The older had promised her. "But don't ever push me away or I'll do the exact thing I was about to do when I first met you."

Her threat didn't even give the chance for Seulgi to argue.

But Joohyun did keep her promise.

She didn't ask about their relationship but always waited for her in front of her house. And after about two weeks she let herself stay in the younger's place until Seulgi returned.

But that drove Seulgi mad.

What were they?

After their heartbreak, they meet after eight years, sl