It had been a long and exhausting day for Hyejin and right now, all she wants is to take a warm shower, have dinner, and have an early rest. She wasn’t even in the mood to hang out with her housemate, Wheein, which says a lot about how drained she is from her day’s schedule.

For some reason, a feeling of uneasiness creeps up her spine as she walks through the entrance door to their shared apartment. She takes her shoes off as silently as she can and tiptoes into the living room, wary that there might be danger lurking somewhere in the house.

Suddenly, she feels something cold and smooth wrapping itself around her ankle.

And maybe, she thinks to herself, that she had just made the worst decision in her life to not turn the lights on when she entered the room.

Shrieking, she immediately jumps away from that ‘thing’.

As she maintains her distance, she narrows her eyes to get a better look at what had just attacked her.

“Hyejin-ah! You’re back!”

She almost goes blind as the room turns bright at her housemate’s entrance.

“ARGH MY EYES!! JUNG WHEEIN, WHAT THE ???”

“Welcome home! I see you’ve met baby Snowy, our new white corn snake,” Wheein kneels down and lifts the small reptile into the palms of her hands.

“Since when did we agree to get a pet?!” Hyejin retorts, clearly unhappy with the current situation.

“Come on, isn’t she cute? That pretty pet store unnie said she’s only 2 months old… Yes, you’re so cute and you know it, don’t you?” she brings Snowy to her face and scrunches her nose as she coos.

“Pretty pet store unnie?”

And suddenly, everything clicks.

“PRETTY PET STORE UNNIE??” Hyejin rages. “JUNG WHEEIN, ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?”

“Shhhh,” the other girl hushes. “You’re scaring Snowy! It’s okay, baby, I know, I know...” she gently pats the snake’s head with her index finger.

Hyejin grits her teeth and clenches her fists at that sight.

She is literally speechless at how malleable her best friend is when it comes to girls.

“You take her back tomorrow and return it!”

“But-”

“No buts! Did you even think this through? Did you budget yourself for a pet?? We can’t even care for ourselves how are supposed to care for a pet???”

“But Hyej-”

“No. Buts,” Hyejin enunciates each word. “Take her back tomorrow, and return it.”

With that, she leaves the two and storms into her room.

A snake.

A bloody snake.

Jung Wheein, you will be the death of me!

(The next day)

Yet again, the countless work meetings she had attended has drained every ounce of energy she has in her.

The only saving grace is knowing that their apartment will be pet-free from today on.

Humming, she unlocks the door and proceeds with her usual routine - taking her shoes off, arranging them neatly on the shoe rack, walking to the foyer table, and placing her keys in the glass tray on it.

Just as she gets to the table, she frowns.

Something isn’t right.

Taking a closer look, she sees a pair of circular eyes staring back at her.

“Wheein-ah?” she calls out, feeling confused as she continues to pay her full attention to that green lizard statue. “Did you go to the thrift shop again today? I told you to stop buying useless things, what in the world are we going to do with such decoration?? It looks so… out of place.”

Wheein pops out around the corner and greets her with a pink apron around her waist. Clearly, she is just in time for dinner.

“Oh hi, you’re back! To answer your question, no, I didn’t go to the thrift shop, and-”

The statue blinks.

“Wait...” A lingering fear rises from within Hyejin. “Did it… Did it just blink?”

“Yeeaahh… About that…”

She snaps her head towards her housemate and finds it convenient that she suddenly refuses to look her in the eyes.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Pretty pet store unnie said Snowy might get lonely so she suggested me to get her a companion. Mushu is actually quite friendly and he’s been getting along very well with Snowy, you should see them this afternoo-”

“Oh. My. God. Jung. Whee. In.” she groans in frustration. “I told you to return SnoWy, nOt gET ANOTHER PET!”

The lizard scurries into hiding at her rising anger.

“But Hyejjj…” Wheein whines. “You should have seen pretty pet store unnie! She was so knowledgeable and was telling me all this information about how to create a loving and safe environment for Mushu. She was so cute yet so y with that intelligence!”

“YOU are incorrigible!”

Her roommate tilts her head a little and looks at her with confusion in her eyes.

“What does that mean?”

“GAHH! Nevermind!” Hyejin throws her hands up in the air. “We are going to the pet store together, tomorrow.”

“Why? Are you also interested in pretty pet store unnie?”

“Yes.”

“What… That’s not very nice,” Wheein pouts. “I like her first!”

“Clearly, you’ve failed to read the sarcasm in my reply but ugh, let’s just forget about that. You, me, pet store, tomorrow,” she gestures at each word.

“Mmm, okay! I need to buy some rocks for Mushu anyway.”

Hyejin rolls her eyes at that.

(The next day)

They arrive at the pet store and much to Hyejin’s surprise, it isn’t as shady as how she had imagined it to be.

The first thing that catches her attention is the LED signboard in cursive that says ‘You will never leave empty-handed and that’s a promise!’.

Well, at least we know the owner stays true to her words.

Aside from that and the bright, yellow coloured wall in this dull neighbourhood, nothing looks out of the ordinary. In fact, she hates to admit it but the design of the place ever-so-slightly manages to lift her spirits.

“This is it! Are you ready to be blown away by the most beautiful person ever?” Wheein looks over to her with a goofy grin.

“I see that person every morning, in the mirror,” she counters. “But sure, lead the way.”

The bells on the door chime when they enter and almost immediately, a chirpy voice greets them from behind the counter.

“Ahh, Wheein-ssi, back again so soon? How’s Snowy and Mushu getting along?”

“Hi, unnie!” Wheein drags Hyejin by her arm and rushes towards the older girl. “You were right, Mushu loves cuddles and Snowy was happy to oblige! Oh, before I forget, this is my housemate, Ahn Hyejin.”

“Hi.”

“Hi! I’m Kim Yongsun, but you can call me Solar if you want, that’s what everyone here calls me.”

“Woah… You have a very pretty name…” Wheein whispers under her breath, but still loud enough for the other two to hear.

“You’ve been here for two days and you never got her name??”

“Well…” she shies away, feeling rather embarrassed.

“To be fair, she did refer to me as unnie when we first met and since she’s obviously younger, I didn’t really mind that,” Solar flashes a warm smile, mainly at Wheein.

Hyejin bites the inside of her cheeks as she observes how the other two are acting around each other. The way both of them break into a wide grin when their gaze connected says a lot.

“Anyway,” she clears , snapping them back to reality. “I’m here because I want to know the return policy for the animals you sell. Wheein has made a terrible mistake of buying not one, but TWO pets that we can’t afford to raise.”

“Hm… I understand. But Hyejin-ssi, do you know what would liven up your room and make you look forward to coming home every day after loonnngg and excruuucciiating hours at work?”

“What?”

“A fuzzy fluffball!”

Out from under the counter, Solar lifts a munchkin with orange fur and white strips.

Her brows crease in confusion when she suddenly comes face-to-face with a kitten with floppy ears.

Sensing her inner turmoil, it meows softly, as if greeting her and tempting her to give in to its cuteness.

“No, no, no, no,” she shakes her head. “We’re here to RETURN! Not BUY! The only reason that we’re even in this predicament is because Wheein has been coming home with pets and rambling about this pretty pet store unnie!”

A heavy silence falls upon them at that outburst.

Hyejin’s eyes dart between the older girl and her housemate.

It doesn’t even surprise her despite their best efforts to remain calm, they are now as red as tomatoes.

“A-Ahn Hyejin, not cool… I told you that in confidence!” Wheein stutters, looking away to hide her flushed cheeks.

“Pretty pet store unnie, huh...” Solar breathes out. “If it makes a difference, I think you’re pretty too… And cute.”

“Oh...”

When Wheein finally looks her in the eyes, she gives her a wink, earning her a groan as the other girl hides her blushing face in her hands.

“Can I get your number?” Solar asks.

Wheein nods vigorously while fumbling with the pen and paper that Solar handed to her.

“Thanks, cutie, you can expect a text from me tonight.”

Another wink.

And another blush.

“So, Hyejin-ssi, imagine this…”

Solar pockets the neatly folded piece of paper and refocuses her attention back onto her.

“You come home, exhausted from your long day, and all you want to do is go to bed. But then, a soft meow calls out to you and you find this fluffy ball of cuteness rubbing against your ankle, demanding for attention.”

As if on cue, the kitten on the counter meows as it its paws.

“Ginger is his name, by the way, and he just wants to help you relieve your stress before bedtime. Think about it, think of how happy he would sound, purring, as you pat his head and the both of you slowly drift off into your well-deserved rest.”

Ginger rubs his head against Hyejin’s arm, meowing softly for Hyejin.

She gulps. 

(Outside)

“What the hell just happened?”

“I gave pretty pet store unnie my number!” Wheein exclaims, clearly ecstatic about the whole situation.

Hyejin looks down at what she is currently holding in her arms.

“HOW THE HELL DID WE END UP WITH ANOTHER PET?!”