Hyelin rubbed her eyes as she walked towards the living room. She was going to make a turn into the kitchen but a certain blonde by the balcony caught her eyes. Hyelin let out a small yelp as she quietly grabbed a baseball bat by the door. "I have a baseball bat in my hands, so if you ever thought of laying a finger on me or of robbing this house, you better stand up and surrender!" Hyelin said in the fiercest tone she could come up with, but the blonde stay situated in her seat.

"YAAAA!!!!" Hyelin swung her bat at the blonde while closing her eyes and screaming, but instead of hitting the blonde, Hyelin's hands were stopped and she felt her forehead getting flicked.

"YA! Are you going to hit me with a baseball bat?!" Hyelin finally opened her eyes and immediately when her eyes landed on her Hyojin unnie, she threw the bat aside and jumped onto Hyojin, hugging her like a koala bear. 

"Hyojin unnie!" Hyelin hugged Hyojin so tight the older woman almost couldn't breathe. Hyojin felt her shirt getting wet so she pulled away from the hug forcefully, only to see the younger woman crying like a baby.

"Ya, what's wrong with you?" Hyojin wiped away the tears that were streaming down Hyelin's cheeks.

"Nothing, I'm just so happy seeing you. You've no idea how much I missed you, Hyojin unnie. You really suit blonde hair too." Hyelin was still sobbing, but Hyojin managed to get her to stop crying. Well, after almost twenty minutes. 

"Why do you have a baseball bat when you don't even play baseball?" Hyojin pointed at the poor bat that was sitting in the middle of the living room.

"It's for emergency! There's only Solji unnie and me living here, of course we need something to protect us. Speaking of which, where's Solji unnie? Is she okay? Why is she not here?" Hyelin panicked for a moment but Hyojin cupped Hyelin's cheeks and made her look at her.

"You've always been the bravest among us, Hyelin. Don't worry, Solji unnie is taking a shower."

"How did things go? Did she like Seoul?"

"I'd like to believe she did. It was good, for the both of us. She said she'd like me to come back here for a visit because you missed me a lot." Hyojin stood up and walked around the house. As students, the five of them spent most of their time here after school. Hyojin didn't know when Solji and Hyelin's house became like a guest house for all of them. Studying, eating, movie nights, slumber parties, they spent more time in this very house than their own home. It was crazy how much memories it brought back for Hyojin.

"You confessed to Solji unnie, didn't you?" Hyelin asked, breaking the moment of silence. And Hyojin was taken aback by the question. She was sure that no one knew about her love for Solji. But Hyelin always knew her best. 

"You knew?" 

Hyelin let out a laugh. Of course she knew. She knew the moment Solji and Hani announced that they were dating. Hyojin was never the same anymore. She pretended to be happy for them, but it was breaking her and Hyelin knew. The way Hyojin would avoid sitting next to Hani or Solji during meals or movies. The way Hyojin would talk to Solji and Hani lesser. The way Hyojin would stick to Junghwa. The way Hyojin looked at them. It was breaking Hyelin too, not because she loved the older woman, but because they were so close that it breaks her heart to see Hyojin suffer in silence like this. But Hyojin finally confessed and Hyelin wished her love was returned because she deserved that.

"Unnie, I'm not blind. I never approved of Solji unnie and Hani unnie. Don't ask me why, I just thought you and Solji unnie were better for each other. And it showed. I was right. Hani unnie is materialistic and I know you'd never do anything hurtful to Solji unnie. You're good for her, unnie. I know it." Hyojin pulled Hyelin into a hug, because she didn't know what to say. All the while she thought everyone loved them as a couple. But Hyelin always spoke what's in her mind. She couldn't say anything then because she wanted to protect Solji. 

"Hyelin ah, I appreciate you so much, you know?" Hyojin pressed a kiss on the top of Hyelin's head just as Solji walked out from the hallway.

"Omo, am I missing something?" 

"Not at all. Hyelin was just telling me how much she misssed me." Hyojin ruffled Hyelin's hair and the younger woman went to the kitchen to get some side dishes for Hyojin to bring back to Seoul, and Solji joined her.

"Hyelin... Would you mind if unnie asks you to give us a few hours here alone tonight? I brought a lot of pain to Hyojin, I thought I'd make it up to her by cooking a meal for her." Solji asked in the gentlest voice ever, even though she knows Hyelin would do anything for her.

"Of course, unnie. I'll make myself scarce!" 

+++

Solji was originally going to ask Hyojin to go out with Hyelin for a few hours while she prepare her a surprise, but Hyojin told the older woman that she'd like to go back to her house to visit her parents and brother. It was good for Solji as she didn't need to keep pushing the younger woman out of the house in case she ruins the surprise. 

The brunette made sure she had all the ingredients that she needed before she started cooking. Solji started making scorched rice that Hyojin loved. It was always something Hyojin would ask for, but unless it was just the two of them at Solji's house, Hyojin never got to eat it too often. Hyelin, Junghwa and Hani didn't like scorched rice too much, but Solji didn't mind. And then she thought, was she always so accommodating to Hyojin?

While scorched rice was in the making, Solji went on to grill some pork belly. Solji knew Hyojin doesn't like to eat rice and meat together, it was always one or the other. If there's meat, Hyojin would only eat meat. If there isn't, Hyojin likes scorched rice with a stew and some side dishes. But she knew this time the younger woman would eat both, because five dollars say Hyojin hasn't eaten homecooked meal like this for ages.

And since this dinner was for Hyojin, Solji decided to also make braised beef stew, which the girls used to always pester Solji to cook for them. She knew exactly what her girls like, so cooking for them was no difficult task. Solji always thought that a meal should end with something sweet, so she decided to make a chocolate cream puff for Hyojin. 

Now that everything's ready, all Solji had to do was wait for Hyojin to come back. The older woman poured herself an iced tea and sat at the balcony. The cold, crisp air that kissed her face was very calming and soothing. She started thinking about Hyojin's confession again and her mind wandered off. How many times had Hyojin waited for her like this? How many times did Hyojin get her heart broken because of Solji's ignorance? How could she be so ignorant when Hyojin was suffering in silence because of her? Was Solji doing this because of the guilt inside of her that she was sure it'd consume her if she did not do something for the younger woman, or was this her heart trying to love again? She didn't know but she'd like to find out.

Meanwhile, Hyojin was at the kitchen helping her mom put the side dishes that Hyelin and Solji gave her into the fridge. As she was almost done, she received a knock on the back of her head, she turned around to find her little brother giggling and was busy covering his head. "YA!!" Hyojin smacked the back of his head and chased him as he ran to the living room. 

"Mom, help!" Daehoon shouted as Hyojin let him out of the headlock. 

"I see you still cry for mom when you need help, huh?" Hyojin smacked his stomach before pulling him up from the cold hard floor.

"How can you put your brother whom you haven't met in a year in a headlock?" Gyeonghwa laughed at her children. It wasn't easy, not seeing Hyojin for a year, but she knew her daughter had her own reasons.

"What brings you back, noona? You didn't even buy me a gift from Seoul..." Daehoon almost swung a cushion at Hyojin's face, but controlled himself as he didn't want to be put in a headlock again.

"It was impromptu. Solji unnie asked if I could come back to visit Hyelin. So I decided to come home too." 

"Solji noona? The one who broke your heart?" Daehoon must've said the wrong thing because the next thing he knew was a cushion meeting with his face.

"Stop it." Hyojin warned.

"But seriously, why'd you come back to this place where you once called "A place with nothing but heartache"?" Daehoon put on a serious face and asked with a serious voice. Hyojin sighed. Daehoon always knew she had a thing for Solji, even if she refused to discuss it. But her little brother knew better. It wasn't easy for Hyojin to open up to her parents so the next best thing was Daehoon.

"I finally confessed to Solji unnie. Poured my heart out even. She said she'd give me a chance, but I don't know, Daehoon-ah. I don't think she'd ever be able to move on from Hani, but my heart just keeps yearning for her. Am I happy that she might return my love? I don't know, I think my heart has gone cold from all the waiting." 

"You should trust yourself, noona. You owe it to yourself." 

"I haven't seen you for a year and you've become wiser, huh?" Hyojin smacked Daehoon's head again and the younger man almost cursed at her.

"You know I'll always be here for you." Hyojin nodded and gave her little brother a hug. Even though she hadn't been in contact with him for a year, he still was a rascal and he still loved his