Horrible was an understatement.

Yerin felt like the worst person on this planet. She knew Eunbi well enough that she could read her feelings inside out. The way her eyes slightly watered and the crestfallen look on her face? God, Yerin wanted to head back out onto the balcony and throw herself over the rails. She slapped her cheeks with both her hands and took a deep breath.

Boosting herself up from the bed, she walked over to the desk to grab her laptop. Opening it, she checked her emails and her worry dissipated for a moment. Her boss was very pleased with her work and so were the clients. She sent back a quick email of thanks before going to review the photos that she took for herself. Or rather, Eunbi. 

Oh, Eunbi…

Just thinking about the girl made Yerin feel bad all over again. Before she could wallow in guilt and self-hatred, there was a light knock on her door. Yerin got up and looked through the peephole to see her fellow workmate.

“Hey, we were going for dinner and we thought of asking you along,” the boy said.

“Sure, lemme just grab my stuff real quick?” Yerin asked and gestured behind her.

“Sure thing! We’ll catch you downstairs?”

“Yeah, see you,” the photographer smiled before closing the door. She wasn’t feeling particularly hungry but she knew she needed to eat something at least. Shrugging her coat on, she grabbed her phone and wallet before leaving her room.
 

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Placing her pyjamas neatly into her carrier, Yerin zipped it up and gave the room a visual sweep to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind. Satisfied, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and left her room with her carrier in tow. She met up with her fellow photographers at the receptionist and once they were done with their check out procedures, boarded the minibus that took them to the airport.

“Is your wife gonna pick you up?” the boy asked.

“I actually told her I had to stay another week so that I could surprise her,” Yerin said sheepishly and earned the coos of her colleagues.

“That’s so sweet but so evil,” the boy laughed and Yerin could only sigh, letting her head fall into her hands.

“Don’t remind me.”

“It’s okay, I’m sure she’ll be more than happy the moment she sees you. She might even forget you pranked her.”

“Trust me, she won’t,” Yerin said absentmindedly as her mind drifted to Eunbi’s possible reaction. She leaned against the cold window and watched as the peaceful Icelandic town passed by. It was a beautiful place and she’d stay longer if she could but she knew she wouldn’t. Not when Eunbi was back home waiting. Maybe one day she’ll come back with Eunbi.

One day, Yerin thought to herself.

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Two flights and two stopovers later, Yerin was finally back on home grounds with a happy heart and a bag full of souvenirs for her group of friends. Collecting her baggage, she bid her colleagues a good day before skipping off to get a cab.

“Good morning, 190 Sinsu-dong please,” Yerin greeted the driver as she got in. The 45-minute drive felt like the longest 45 minutes of Yerin’s life. As soon as the cab pulled up in front of the apartment, Yerin paid the driver and got out to unload her carrier from the boot. 

As quietly as possible, she lifted her carrier rather than roll it to avoid making a sound and crept to their apartment door. Pressing her ear against the door, she listened for any sound of Eunbi being home. It seemed silent on the other side and so she knocked a couple times before hastily ducking into the stairwell. There wasn’t any response for a few minutes and so Yerin let herself in. 

The windows were shut and Eunbi’s shoes were gone which meant the girl really was out. Grinning, Yerin quickly dragged her carrier into their room and began to unpack as fast as she could in case Eunbi were to suddenly return home. She stuffed the carrier into the storage closet and hid her shoes before going to the study. She had just plugged her laptop in to charge when she heard the electronic beep go off. 

She quickly slid behind the study door and pressed her back against the wall, pulling the door against her to hide. Yerin could hear as Eunbi kicked off her shoes and held her breath as the girl walked past the study to their bedroom. She prayed that the thumping of her heart in her chest couldn’t be heard. Her stomach was churning with excitement and even though the apartment was slightly chilly, she felt her whole body heat up from the adrenaline.

Carefully, she slipped out from behind the door and crept up to Eunbi who seemed to be texting with her back to the door. Before she could be detected, Yerin jumped upon Eunbi and covered the girl’s eyes with her hands.

And as any normal person would when they were home alone - or so she thought -, Eunbi was scared out of her skin. She screamed and whipped around, flinging her arms so violently that Yerin had to step back to avoid getting a black eye.

“B! It’s me!” Yerin said and grabbed Eunbi’s shoulders to calm her down. Eunbi looked at Yerin and blinked a couple times. “Surprise?” the photographer said sheepishly with a nervous smile.

The smile quickly turned into a wince when Eunbi punched Yerin in the gut but of course, not too hard.

“CHRIST, you scared the out of me!” Eunbi scowled as she rubbed her heart.

“Good to know you can fend for yourself,” Yerin said as she rubbed her stomach.

“I’m sorry but gods,” Eunbi rolled her eyes and pulled Yerin to sit on the bed. “But hang on.. Why are you here? Not that I don’t want you to be here but you told me you had to stay another week…?”

“I lied.”

This earned her another punch to her shoulder.

“I really want to strangle you right now,” Eunbi growled and grabbed the collars of Yerin’s coat, pushing her back onto the bed.

“But you love me too much to,” Yerin said through her nervous grin. Eunbi, however, had a murderous glint in her eyes. The younger girl lifted her hand, making Yerin squeeze her eyes shut. Instead of pain, she felt something soft press against her lips and she broke into a grin.

“Idiot,” Eunbi mumbled under her breath.

“I’m sorry. I just really wanted to surprise you. I almost caved in when you looked so disappointed over the call but I also really didn’t want to ruin this,” Yerin confessed. Eunbi could only sigh and let herself flop on top of Yerin. 

“What would I do with you…” 

“Love me,” Yerin smiled and rubbed Eunbi’s back. She really wanted to show Eunbi the stuff she brought home but she figured that could wait. They hadn’t seen each other in a week.

Cuddles comes first.