The first thing that caught Hyunjin's eye when she stepped into Heejin's studio apartment was the large, vertical canvas positioned on an easel set in the small living room. The painting looked incomplete, there was still some empty space and messy, scrawled pencil sketches around the bottom half of the canvas but it had already mesmerized Hyunjin immediately. 

Absently, she handed Heejin Pudding for her to dry him in the bathroom. She took the opportunity to walk toward the canvas, taking a closer look at the seemingly hundreds of different daisies painted, all of them linked together by the stem like chains. But they weren't situated in rows or going all in the same direction; it was all sporadic. One chain ran horizontally across the canvas, another ran vertically, there would be one diagonally skewed to the left, some others were skewed to the right diagonally, the possibilities seemed endless. 

Hyunjin felt like it should have seemed crowded; claustrophobic. But she couldn't get herself to see that when she spotted all the tiny little gaps between the daisies, all the smooth painted edges and curves, every shadow painted perfectly on the stems and petals, it all connected in some way to make it seem light and whole. Hyunjin felt like she could physically dive into this painting and land on the daisies feeling like it was a cloud. 

She wasn't an art buff by any means but she was intrigued by the hidden meaning behind the painting. Hyunjin couldn't quite grasp it or wrap it around her head. She simply found the painting beautiful. 

"I think Pudding's all dry," she heard Heejin speak up from behind, prompting her to turn around just as a dark brown blur dashed by her to make a break for the bedroom on the other side. Pudding leaped up onto Heejin's bed, stretched his legs while releasing a big yawn, and then curling up in the center. Hyunjin smiled at the sight before turning to Heejin who held a soft yellow towel in her hand, "Now it's your turn!"

Accepting the towel, Hyunjin simply put it over her head and shoulders, looking very much as if she were wearing a hoodie before watching Heejin sit down on the couch in the living room and pat the empty space beside her. 

"My clothes are still wet," Hyunjin picked at her damp t-shirt, hating the way it stuck to her body. 

Without missing a beat, Heejin dashed away from her couch and over to her bathroom, leaving Hyunjin in a slight daze before she came back with another yellow towel and placed it down on the spot on the couch where Hyunjin could sit. "There! See?"

Muttering her thanks, Hyunjin tentatively sat down. She felt out of her element. She couldn't remember the last time she was invited to someone's house—someone new, for that matter, there were times when Hyejoo or Yerim would invite her to their family's houses during breaks.

Hyunjin just felt out of place, she didn't know what to say, what to do. All she could get herself to do was sit there with the towel wrapped around her head and shoulders while toying with the soft fabric.

"Did you name him Pudding?" Heejin asked and when Hyunjin turned to look at her, she saw Heejin watching Pudding curled up on her bed. 

Struck by the sudden question, Hyunjin couldn't help but stutter a little, "Um, yeah. Yeah, that's what I named him." She pursed her lips and nodded, her own focus diverting to Pudding. The origin of Pudding's name suddenly came to mind for Hyunjin and she couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up within her. "His fur looks just like chocolate pudding!" she explained, tightening the towel around her head. 

To her surprise, Heejin laughed along with her and nodded her head, "I see it!" Heejin turned to look at Hyunjin with a beaming grin on her face. "His fur really does look like chocolate pudding!" 

And maybe it warmed Hyunjin up hearing that because one of the only times she had told someone why she had named a cat pudding, she got teased—i.e. Hyejoo. At least Yerim was more responsive and kind about it, much like how Heejin reacted. But it felt better hearing it come from Heejin considering she had just met her and so far it seemed like she was pretty genuine about everything—or at least, Hyunjin thought so. 

A small silence fell between them once Heejin turned back around to watch Pudding who seemed asleep. It left Hyunjin feeling the anxiety beginning to kick in the more she realized just how out of her element she felt. 

"I know..." Heejin trailed off, momentarily catching Hyunjin off guard by the sudden interruption. "I know you were worried about me being a... a catnapper and all but—" she turned to look at Hyunjin, the latter, once again, thrown off by the eye contact she failed to maintain for longer than a minute. "Can I keep him here? Just for the night? I dunno, I just feel like—I don't want him sleeping out there after what those boys did to him, you know?"

Hyunjin, ideally, wasn't sure how to react. On one hand, she wasn't expecting the question at all; she thought that both her and Pudding would stay at Heejin's for an hour at most, get dry, and then they'd both leave to which Hyunjin would leave Pudding in the plaza where he frequents and she would go back to her dorm room, and that would be that. They'd all go their separate ways, resuming their daily lives and leaving the event as a distant memory for future storytelling. 

On the other hand, Hyunjin really couldn't think as to why it would be a bad thing. She hadn't known Pudding for all his life but there was a possibility he'd never experienced a roof over his head (although considering how amicable and friendly he is towards people, it hardly left much to the imagination; Hyunjin felt like he must have had some kind of home before). And as she looked at Heejin—finally mustering up the courage to do so—she really couldn't find any bad intentions within her request. How much harm could it actually cause?

"I-I mean," she faltered, unintentionally stuttering until she cleared and began to nod her head. "Yeah. Yeah, I think that'd be good for him," she replied earnestly, producing a small reassuring smile toward Heejin who's expression completely changed to that of pure elatedness. 

"Really?" she exclaimed, edging herself closer to Hyunjin from her excitement. 

But Hyunjin, not so used to physical contact, flinched involuntarily. Glad to see that Heejin didn't notice, she simply nodded in affirmation, "Y-Yeah! He seems to really like your bed, anyway." An airy laugh escaped her as her gaze briefly flickered to Pudding, Heejin doing the same as she turned back around. They seemed to do that a lot; switching from looking and talking to each other and then looking at Pudding and talking about him. It amused Hyunjin how back and forth they seemed to be going about everything with a lot of ease.

"I don't mind sharing!" Heejin replied, jumping up to her feet and crossing the threshold into her bedroom—which, ideally, wasn't really much considering there was no wall or door separating the living room, bedroom, or kitchen. It was only the bathroom that had its own door—which made sense considering privacy and all that. Hyunjin watched as Heejin gingerly pet Pudding behind his ears, and even in the living room, Hyunjin could hear his loud purring from where she sat. 

Hyunjin took the opportunity to dry herself some more with the towel she had, pressing against her damp hair and around her shirt where she got hit the most by water. After this, Hyunjin decided, she would go back home. Although, she should probably text Hyejoo and Yerim considering she had left them behind in the dust. But, as she tried searching her pockets for her phone, she came to the realization that she didn't have it with her. While any rational person would understandably freak out a little, perhaps even panic at the prospect of losing their phone. But Hyunjin really only used her phone to bother Hyejoo during class, talk to Yerim during class, or completely disregard she was in class entirely and play some video games to pass the time. 

"Um," she began to slowly get up, patting her pockets again just in case she somehow managed to miss her phone, "I think I lost my phone." She heard Heejin gasp, making her smile at how theatric it sounded. And when she saw the horrified look on Heejin's face, she waved one hand dismissively to ease her worries, "But-but I bet my roommate picked it up or-or something," some of her stuttering came involuntarily, she wished the habit would just go away. "So, I better go home before m-my roommate starts to worry," that was a lie; Hyejoo probably forgot all about her the moment she walked into their dorm room. 

"I understand!" Heejin bounded back over—once again crossing the invisible threshold that separated the two rooms—and over to Hyunjin with a grin. There was something childish—well, not exactly childish but something child-like—about Heejin that Hyunjin found strangely endearing. "I'll take good care of Pudding! Cats like milk, right?" her eyebrows quirked up and her head tilted to the side, reminding Hyunjin of a puppy confused by hearing a new sound. 

"Oh," Hyunjin shook her head, the thought of Pudding getting sick over a mistake terrifying her. "No, cats are lactose intolerant."

"But kittens drink milk?" 

Hyunjin shugged, not too sure about the specifics, "I dunno. Kittens can drink milk from their mommas but adult cats can't drink human milk."

"You mean milk from cows, right?"

"Oh," realizing her mistake, Hyunjin merely laughed rather than getting embarrassed. "Yeah."

Heejin laughed with her—not at her—and shook her head slightly. "Then I'll rule milk out and..." she trailed off, her bottom lip poking out and her pointer finger extended. "What can cats eat?" 

Again, she wasn't an expert on the specifics. "W-Well, he never seemed to have a problem when I gave him bread." At least, she hoped he never had a problem with bread. He always ate it regardless when she gave it to him so he couldn't imagine Pudding being any different from any other bread. 

"Bread and water it is!" Heejin grinned, making Hyunjin grin along with her. "Besides, it's only for a night. No harm, no foul."

Hyunjin hummed, nodding and finally taking the towel off her head. Before she could even figure out where to put it, Heejin took it upon herself to grab the towel from her hands and tossed it onto the other one still on the couch. Hyunjin looked over at Pudding one last time, feeling like a mother about to part from her child going off to some summer camp. She couldn't help the bashful smile that overcame her at the thought. 

"You'll take care of him tonight, right?" Hyunjin mumbled, fiddling her fingers now that she didn't have the towel to occupy her hands. 

"Promise!" Heejin confirmed, one hand coming up with her pinky finger extended. 

Grinning now, Hyunjin didn't hesitate to link her pinky finger with Heejin's—much like how they did earlier that day. 

And as quick as they were to seal their promise, Heejin quickly retracted her fingers—her expression quickly morphing into something Hyunjin couldn't quite decipher because she was then running around the living room looking for something. 

"I can't find any of my pens!" Heejin exclaimed causing Hyunjin to laugh at the irony of it; here was Heejin—seemingly some kind of artist with all kinds of paintings and drawing lying about—but unable to find a crucial utensil that could practically be found in any household. 

"What do you need one for?" Hyunjin pondered, spinning in a circle when Heejin made a mad dash toward her kitchen on the other side of the living room—there was a kitchen bar with some stools set around it that essentially separated the two rooms. 

"I was gonna give you my phone number so I can update you about Pudding!" she was pulling out multiple drawers, her brows furrowed so that a small creased formed between them the more frustrated she got. 

But when an absurd and outlandish idea popped into Hyunjin's mind—her eagerness only heightening when she turned around to look at the various paintbrushes sitting on the easel—she couldn't help but grin. "Just paint it!" she called out, a laugh coming easy when she saw the way Heejin's head popped out from behind the kitchen bar like she was in some sort of cartoon.

"Perfect! Let me just find a piece of paper..." she rounded back from the kitchen, the tip of her tongue poking out as she tried to find some source where she could find some paper to use. 

But again, Hyunjin had a bizarre and unnecessary idea, "Paint it on my arm."

 "On your arm?" Heejin repeated, stopping in her tracks right beside Hyunjin, a small smile threatening to lift her lips up. "You sure? I could just rip a piece of paper from my sketchbook, or something." 

Hyunjin shook her head, extending her arm out impulsively. "It'd be like a temporary tattoo!" And then, she added, "Plus, we save some trees this way. Just like the Lorax wanted."

Her last comment made Heejin laugh, causing Hyunjin to join in. "All right," Heejin relented, moving toward her easel and picking up one of the smaller looking brushes, "you got me there. Now, what color would you like?"

:..:

"Where the hell have you been?" Hyunjin picked her head up immediately after closing the door behind her—really closing it this time—upon hearing Hyejoo's annoyed tone. Rather than being at her desk behind her computer, she was sitting on top of Hyunjin's bunk with her eyes narrowed and a scowl tugging her lips down. 

"Out," Hyunjin mumbled, feeling like she was being reprimanded by a parent who caught her in the midst of sneaking out. 

"Jesus, of course, you were ing out, but where?" Hyejoo pressed. 

"I-I helped Pudding! Some girl took me to her apartment to g-get him dried and stuff," she explained it quickly, not wanting Hyejoo to be mad at her. "Are you mad?" she mumbled, diverting her gaze to the floor. Now she really felt like a child getting in trouble—she didn't like the feeling of it all over again. 

She heard Hyejoo sigh before hearing a dull thud indicating she had dropped down from the top bunk. "No," a phone—her phone—was suddenly in her view. When she looked up, she saw Hyejoo with a softened gaze and her head tilted to the side. "I'm not mad at you." Hyunjin took her phone briefly remembering the digits painted on her arm. "I'm just ticked off because Yerim got mad at me for not worrying about you."

Confused, Hyunjin furrowed her brows, "Worrying about me?"

"We didn't know where you went and we couldn't contact you so she got all worried and paranoid thinking you were 'boutta get murdered or kidnapped or something." Hyejoo waved her hand dismissively, trudging toward her desk and turned her computer on. "It's all those stupid serial killer documentaries she's been watching, I swear." 

Hyunjin laughed in spite of herself. "There was nothing to worry about," she assured, absently turning on her phone to see if she got any new notifications—not that she expected any from actual people, but she was hoping to see if there were any updates from any of the games on her phone. 

"See—that's exactly what I told her!" Hyejoo exclaimed, spinning her chair around to express her distress to Hyunjin. "She's getting all paranoid for nothing," she muttered as she reached for her own phone waiting for her computer to boot itself up. "Better text her now to let her know you're home safe and sound so she'll stop giving me the silent treatment."

Hyunjin laughed at that—immediately receiving an annoyed glare from Hyejoo—before she pulled up her own contact list on her phone. She looked back and forth from her arm to her phone, beginning to type the digits into her phone. 

Hyejoo, observing from the side once she had finished texting Yerim, spoke up, "Whatcha up to there, bud?" 

Hyunjin hummed but didn't pay her any mind until she made sure she got all the numbers right for Heejin's contact, "Nothin'."

She heard footsteps come toward her and before she could do anything, the phone was snatched out of her hand. "Is this the girl you were with?" Hyejoo teased, dodging and weaving her way around Hyunjin's arms when she tried getting her phone back. "She gave you her number? What's her name? Is she cute? She's cute, right?" 

"Who cares? Give it back!" Hyunjin tried grabbing her phone, but for whatever reason, Hyejoo eluded every one of her attempts. 

Hyejoo laughed, finally relenting and tossing her phone to Hyunjin who caught it easily, inspecting the messaging app to see if Hyejoo had sent anything to Heejin she might regret, only to be relieved when she found nothing. "I just wanted to see, chill." 

Thinking that was the end of the teasing, Hyunjin made to go get ready for a shower but was stopped when Hyejoo grabbed at her arm and looked at the numbers scrawled in bright pink paint across her arm. She let go with a taunting grin, "What, paper wasn't good enough?" 

Hyunjin, with a huff, moved past Hyejoo to grab some clothes and get ready for the night. "We're saving the trees."

Hyejoo only cackled after hearing Hyunjin's defense, "Like the Lorax?" 

Ignoring her, Hyunjin gathered her things and left to go shower, leaving her phone on her bed before she left. 

:..:

Hyunjin was drying her hair with a towel when she walked back into her dorm, only to be engulfed in a tight hug the minute she walked through the door. 

"Oh," Hyunjin managed to huff out. "Hi, Yerim."

"Hyunjin," Yerim whined, removing herself from her only to flick Hyunjin on the forehead. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to talk to strangers?"

Flinching at the contact, Hyunjin rubbed the spot where she got flicked, "Ow..."

"Hyunjin got out just fine," both Yerim and Hyunjin turned to look at Hyejoo indulging in her game. It looked like League of Legends again. "Also, you're welcome, Hyun."

Confused by the sudden comment, Hyunjin looked to Yerim for any sort of answer but she was too busy glaring at Hyejoo. "Um, what am I thanking you for?" she resorted to just getting the answer out of Hyejoo considering Yerim looking like she could incinerate her girlfriend if she glared at her long enough. 

"Helping you." That was all Hyejoo responded with, only baffling Hyunjin more because what did Hyejoo do to possibly help her?

Before she could delve in and get to the bottom of Hyejoo's vague responses, Yerim grabbed hold of her arm to lead her up to Hyunjin's bed. "Ignore her," Hyejoo scoffed, Yerim continued undeterred, "I'm gonna show you what happens when serial killers find their victims."

Hyunjin let herself be dragged onto her bed, momentarily grabbing her phone and placing it inside her hoodie's pockets so she could lay side-by-side with Yerim who was getting her laptop set up. "But I wasn't with a serial killer," Hyunjin argued with no real malice in her tone, just merely stating a fact. 

"Doesn't matter," Yerim replied quickly, seeming very invested in getting a documentary up and running for Hyunjin to watch. "This is for future reference."

"Are there that many murderers out there?"

"Well, I don't know. But there are a lot, I'm guessing."

"Oh. Hyejoo, do you wanna join us?" Hyunjin called out, glancing over the railing to take a peek at Hyejoo at her desk. 

"No."

"Nope."

Both Yerim and Hyejoo responded at the same time, momentarily surprising Hyunjin until she laughed at their synchronization. Sure they were going at it with each other at the moment, but Hyunjin knew it would pass shortly—those two could never really stay mad at each other for long. 

"Which one do you wanna start with, Hyun?" Yerim asked, and before Hyunjin could respond with any sort of answer Yerim backtracked herself. "Actually, we can start with Ted Bundy—you know who he is, right?"

Yerim looked at her so intently, as if knowing Ted Bundy was simply common knowledge and some household name, but Hyunjin shook her head because she truly had never heard of someone called that. "No?"

"Oh, my god, okay. It's fine, this is a perfect first step," Yerim began to search for the certain documentary, leaving Hyunjin to wonder how learning about a serial killer could be a stepping stone for her. 

"Before you start watching that," Hyejoo piped up, and when Hyunjin turned to look at her she saw that Hyejoo was still immersed in her video game. "Check your texts, Hyun."

Even more confused, Hyunjin complied as she unlocked her phone and opened the app up only to stare at the screen in complete shock when she saw a very short conversation she did not start. 

"Wh—a winky face? A winky face? Wh-Why did you send a winky face?" she held the phone up to her face, her eyes going over each digital letter and character, her anxiety increasing tenfold at the prospect of talking to someone she didn't know too well when she didn't even initiate the conversation. She read the first message at the very top—the one that Hyejoo had sent without her knowing—over and over again: Hey ;) it's Hyunjin. 

"I'm setting you up!" Hyejoo laughed, either completely oblivious to Hyunjin's despair or wallowing in it like it was some sort of treasure. "It was nothing even that bad, don't worry. She seems nice, anyway—I wanted to see if she was some or something."

"Well, she isn't!" Hyunjin defended quickly, looking at the other text Heejin sent back—there were only a couple of texts on the screen; the few that Hyejoo sent simply letting Heejin know she got home all right and then the ones from Heejin expressing her relief.

"Ooh," Hyejoo cooed, her tone teasing and taunting, "feisty." 

"Knock it off, Hyejoo," Yerim shot back, taking the phone from Hyunjin as Hyejoo grumbled something from below.

"Whipped," Hyunjin quipped.

"Shut it, Hyun."

"Both of you shut up," Yerim interjected, giving Hyunjin her phone back and promptly starting the documentary. "Hyunjin, pay attention, this is crucial," Hyunjin snapped her attention to the laptop, already beginning to get distracted with everything going on around her. "You're gonna witness first hand what can happen if you fall into the clutches of a serial killer," she narrated dramatically.

"Which will never happen," again, Hyejoo spoke up from below which initiated a retaliation from Yerim as she plucked one of Hyunjin's stuffed animals—a small black cat with button eyes—and launched it down toward her girlfriend. "Jesus, Yerim, you nearly made me die!"

"Good!" Hyunjin watched in shocked amusement as Yerim settled back down as if nothing happened. 

Cautiously, Hyunjin rested her head over the railing, seeing her stuffed cat cast aside on the desk. "Hey, Hyejoo, could you toss Toast back up?" She heard Hyejoo grumble something and before Hyunjin could even process what was happening, a small black cat stuffed animal was hurled in her direction and hit her square in the face, bouncing off, and landing harmlessly onto the bed. "Ouch. Thanks," Hyunjin responded, settling back down into her respective spot next to Yerim and finally focusing her attention on the documentary. 

But before she could fully grasp what was going on with so many people talking on the screen, her phone buzzed. Expecting it to be her My Singing Monsters game letting her know that she had created a new type of monster, she was surprised to see Heejin's name popped up instead. Not letting her anxiety get the best of her, she opened up the notification only to be met with a picture of Heejin—seemingly lying stomach-down on her bed—with Pudding rubbing his head against her cheek. Heejin was sporting a smile, one of her eyes closed because of Pudding's close proximity, and one of her hands formed in a thumbs-up pose. 

Hyunjin found herself smiling at the picture and her smile only broadened when another text popped up below the picture:

Taking good care of him!

Quickly, so as to not upset Yerim due to her not paying attention, Hyunjin sent a smiley face—no wink included—and placed her phone face down on her stomach as she turned back to the documentary, trying to jump back into the subject at hand and trying to ignore the giddiness that bubbled within her.