“Unnie, you look pretty today, but don’t you think it was a bit much to only come out in shorts?” Sooyoung remarked as they stepped outside the café, eyeing her with concern.  “You’re not even wearing a jacket!”

You look pretty today.  The words echoed in Seungwan’s head as she hugged herself tighter, blood rushing to her cheeks.  “I’m okay,” she insisted, even as she rubbed her hands on her shoulders for friction.  “I’m from Canada.”

“You’ve also lived here in Korea for, like, five years.  I think your Canadian skin has thinned out by now.”

“Nonsense,” Seungwan retorted.  “Once a Canadian, always a Canadian.”

With the sun creeping up higher in the horizon and the clouds thinning out to reveal a bright blue sky, the temperature was moderating to something a little more appropriate to spring.  This was nothing.  Child’s play.  Back in Canada in her prime, she might’ve even gone out in just a t-shirt in this kind of weather.  Honestly, who was Sooyoung to question her—

WHOOSH!

A forceful gust of wind blew past them.  Leaves tore off from tree branches.  Her cardigan slipped off her shoulders, and Seungwan squeaked as the sting of cold slipped through the measly protection of her thin clothes, teeth chattering.

Predictably, Sooyoung shot her a knowing look.

“You know this is your fault, right?” Seungwan groused, crossing her arms over her chest, tugging her cardigan back on.  “Dress for the weather you want—isn’t that what you always say?”

“Don’t blame me.  Just because I say that doesn’t mean it’s something that the weak of heart should follow.”

“Weak of heart?”  Seungwan let out an offended gasp.  “I am not—”

“Here,” Sooyoung cut her off, leaning over to wrap her track jacket around Seungwan’s shoulders.  The warmth of it, of Sooyoung’s lingering body heat, soaked into her immediately.  It smelled like her, too—that gentle mix of plums and peonies and the fresh fabric softener she loved to use.

Puzzled, Seungwan turned to her, staring at the bare skin of Sooyoung’s entire upper body—her slender arms, her exposed tummy.  “Don’t you need it more?  You’re only wearing a sports bra.”

Sooyoung hummed.  “Yeah, I guess you’ll just have to keep me warm,” she said, reaching down to grab her hand and pulling her close, their sides flush against the other.

“Oh.”

Seungwan could only stare at her, frozen in awe at how quickly Sooyoung could flip the mood on her like that.  Warmth blossomed in her chest.  It certainly wasn’t the first time Sooyoung had done something like this, offering up her jacket or holding her hand—they’d done that countless times before—but somehow this felt weird.  The stunt she’d pulled earlier at the café right before they left wasn’t helping either.

Sooyoung annoying her in one second, then making it up to her with a thoughtful gesture in the next—that was just how their friendship worked.  Why did it feel so strange?  Why now?

Seungwan chewed on her lower lip.  Oh god, maybe she really was homophobic?  Was that why she was suddenly hyperaware of everything Sooyoung was doing and saying to her? 

“My weak-hearted best friend,” Sooyoung said fondly, giving her a soft smile before leaning against her, shoulders bumping as they walked together.

As she stared at their interlocked fingers, heart skipping a beat, Seungwan found that she couldn’t disagree.

---

Luckily, Sooyoung’s place wasn’t too far from the café.

Being a swanky low-rise apartment in the heart of the city, it was only a seven-minute walk along the blocks housing the retail stores and restaurants.  The deeper they went downtown, the fancier the buildings became: antiquated, brick-worn structures dressed in vines turning into sleeker, modern architecture full of tall glass windows and immaculate wood paneling; the sidewalks, from chipped concrete to smooth slate walkways.  Sooyoung’s apartment sat right in the middle of it all—a residential district separating the quainter, town-like parts of the city from the bustling metropolitan center.  After late-evening cram sessions at Café Eureka with Sooyoung, Seungwan found herself there almost as often as her own dorm room.  The home away from home.

They were sprinting by the time they reached the apartment lobby, desperate to escape the cold, racing up the stairs and making a beeline for the door to her place—number 221.

“I need a hot shower,” Sooyoung huffed out as she closed the door behind them, resting her back against the wooden doorframe.

Sooyoung’s chest rose and fell as she struggled to catch her breath.  Seungwan stared, transfixed by the movements, by the redness of her wind-chilled cheeks.  She didn’t often get to see Sooyoung like this: panting with exertion, her toned body slick with sweat, abs tensing with every inhale and exhale.

Was it warm in here or was it just her?  Did Sooyoung turn the thermostat up extra high today?

Remembering herself, Seungwan coughed and looked away.  “Yeah, you should go do that.”

Before Sooyoung could move and grab a towel from the closet, a bark sounded from the corner of the living room, and a swift ball of white fluff came scurrying at them.

“Haetnimee!” Sooyoung gushed, bending down and holding her arms out.

Her puppy swooshed by her altogether.  Shellshocked, she swung around to see Haetnim jumping into Seungwan’s embrace instead, leaving Sooyoung empty-handed in her own widespread arms, jaw dropped open in stark stupefaction.

“Hi, Haetnim!  It’s good to see you, too!” Seungwan greeted, grinning at the Maltese puppy.  She blew a raspberry at Sooyoung, laughing as her expression shifted from betrayed to affronted as she patted the dog’s head.  “Looks like I’m the favorite today.”

Sooyoung glowered, turning her head away in annoyance.  “Oh, I get it, Haetnimee.  You like Seungwan-unnie more than me, don’t you?”

“You were only gone for an hour or two, tops!  Meanwhile, I haven’t been here in one whole week.  Haetnim misses me more—don’t you, girl?” Seungwan cooed, rubbing the puppy’s belly.  Haetnim yipped back in response, tail wagging happily at the attention she was receiving.

“I’m suing.”

Seungwan snorted.  “Suing for what?”

“Emotional damages!”

“Not my fault that you’re fragile.”

“Clowned by my own dog and best friend…”  Sooyoung sniffed, pretending to wipe a tear from her eyes.  “Tired of fake friends!  I’m leaving,” she announced, swiping a towel and slinging it over her shoulders as she stormed toward the bathroom, setting her phone on the kitchen counter along the way.

“Oh my god, don’t be so dramatic!” Seungwan yelled after her.

Reacting to Sooyoung’s disgruntlement, Haetnim flew out of Seungwan’s hold and chased after her actual owner, pawing at her legs.

“Hmph.  So now you want to be with me?  Only when I’m sad?” Sooyoung grumbled, kneeling down to address her puppy, though her smile betrayed how pleased she was that Haetnim had taken her bait.

The puppy whined, cuddling into Sooyoung’s arms as though apologizing.

“Well, I guess I’ll forgive you,” she sighed, giving Haetnim a gentle pat on the back.  Her voice lowered to a murmur.  “Seungwan-unnie is very likable, isn’t she?  I don’t blame you.”  She booped the puppy on the nose before getting back up, slipping into the bathroom.

Seungwan-unnie is very likable.  Again with Sooyoung throwing out those offhand compliments.  Not that it was unfamiliar, but Seungwan got stuck on them more so than usual, rewinding and replaying them in her head over and over again like a broken cassette tape.  She furrowed her eyebrows.  It was almost as if…

“Oh, yeah—unnie!” Sooyoung piped up, peeking out from the bathroom door, towel draped precariously over her torso.  “You left some of your clothes here from the other day.  I washed them for you—your Adidas leggings.  They’re folded on top of my dresser in the closet.  You can change into them if you need to warm up!”

“A-ah—sure!” Seungwan stuttered, tearing her eyes away from the towel that was threatening to slip off.  Her shoulders untensed when Sooyoung finally disappeared back inside and shut the door.  Seriously, that girl was something else…

The sound of running water rushing from the shower faucets filled the room.  Seungwan let out a sigh of relief.  Finally, she could actually relax—

“Also!”  Sooyoung popped her head back out again.

—orrr not!

There wasn’t any towel wrapped around Sooyoung at all this time—only one arm across her chest to cover her s.  Seungwan gawked at the sight.  “Could you brew me some tea?  Thanks, unnie!”

The door slammed closed.  Seungwan stared unblinkingly at it, stunned in place as the tune of Sooyoung belting out Korean trot music resonated throughout the apartment, vaguely off-pitch and definitely off-beat.

Seungwan sat herself down on the leather couch, gripping her head.  Seriously, what was with Sooyoung today?  Or was it not Sooyoung, but rather Seungwan herself?  Sooyoung had always been shameless like that, hadn’t she?  Whenever they were both at her apartment, she’d never been shy about changing in front of her, despite Seungwan’s vehement objections (“It’s my place, unnie.  I should be allowed to do whatever I want!”).  And in public, she’d never been never been afraid of baring a dangerous amount of skin with her outfit; her wardrobe possessed no shortage of crop tops and booty shorts, after all.

So these were things that Seungwan should’ve been used to by now.  The only difference now was—

The puppy’s tiny yelp broke her out of her stupor.  Seungwan turned to see Haetnim waddling toward her, hopping up onto the sofa and into her lap.

Seungwan pulled Haetnim closer, burying her face into the soft curls of the puppy’s fur, letting out a long groan.  “Haetnimee… your owner is going to be the death of me one day.”

---

Sooyoung didn’t like to talk about her family’s background very often, but being able to afford an apartment in the city—while attending one of the country’s most prestigious private universities, no less—spoke volumes about the inherited fortune that lined her pockets.

Especially for a place like Seoul, Sooyoung had snagged a sizable living space.  For a one-room loft apartment, the place certainly wasn’t a hole in the wall: high ceilings, a spacious open floor where plenty of sunlight could filter in, a winding spiral staircase that led to a full-sized bed for guests (who honestly comprised of only Seungwan and occasionally Yerim nowadays).  Compared to Seungwan’s dorm room—heck, even to the majority of the city’s residents—Sooyoung’s place was like a deluxe suite.

Right now, though, Seungwan felt like it was some sort of personal hell.  Maybe she was being a little melodramatic for thinking that way, but after everything that had happened today—finding out that Sooyoung was bi and that she wanted Seungwan of all people to help her choose a future hookup partner—being stuck in her apartment just felt a little… suffocating.

There was no backing out now, though.  Once Sooyoung set her heart on something, it was hard to talk her down.

After a minute or two of wallowing in self-pity at her situation, she managed to collect herself, setting Haetnim back on the floor and rising from the sofa.  The puppy shuffled back to the dog mattress at the foot of Sooyoung’s bed as Seungwan made her way to the kitchen, grabbing a pitcher to pour filtered water into a tea kettle.  Once filled, she set it atop the burner and twisted the range knob, blue tendrils of flame curling underneath the pot.

Standing on her tippy-toes, she opened the cupboard above the stove, finding various blends of foreign tea stacked in small boxes: phoenix oolong tea from China, lotus tea from Vietnam.  Seungwan dug through the depths of the cabinet, pulling out a packet of chrysanthemum tea.  She and Sooyoung had bought it together over last year’s summer break, when Sooyoung’s parents had invited her along their trip to Jeju Island.  Although they were obviously well-to-do people, being a powerhouse couple employed in medical professions, her parents were a kind and humble pair.  They’d always treated her as if she were their own daughter, and Seungwan could see where Sooyoung got her thoughtfulness from.

Waiting for the water to boil, Seungwan leaned her back against the marbletop counter, eyeing the picture they’d all taken together during their time at Iho Tewoo beach.  There she was at the center, buried in the sand from the waist down; the younger Park sisters on either side of her, flashing toothy smiles and ‘V’ signs; the parents in the back, laughing; Sooyoung kneeling down, arms wrapped around her in a snug back hug, a million-watt grin on her face.  It was framed in the center of the wall along with all the other family photos.  Sooyoung had gotten it printed at the local kiosk the very day they’d arrived back from the family vacation.  A priceless memento of her favorite people all in one place, she’d said.

Seungwan smiled unconsciously.  Right—Sooyoung was still the same sappy girl she’d always been, bi or not.  Still excessively handsy and overt in her displays of affection.  Still overly sentimental.  What was she overthinking things for?

Something buzzed by her side.  Turning, she saw Sooyoung’s phone display light up, a text message notification flashing on the screen.  Seungwan didn’t mean to stare—she really didn’t—but the words on the screen were already seared into her memory before she could help it.

Kim Yerimmie, 9:35 a.m.

Yo unnie!

How did Seungwan-unnie react?

Seungwan inhaled sharply, ripping her gaze away.

What—

The tea kettle shrilled.  The metal lid rattled as frothing bubbles forced their escape from the pot, boiling water spilling over the edges, sizzling angrily as it hit the stove. 

Seungwan’s eyes widened.  “!” she yelled, rushing to turn off the range and lift the cover, blowing on the water to quell the bubbles.  The moment they died down, she leaned against the counter, letting out a long exhale.  Burning down Sooyoung’s apartment was not something she wanted to add to her list of life failures.

“You good there, unnie?” Sooyoung called out from the bathroom.

“I’m fine!” she shouted back, wiping sweat from her brow.  (She wasn’t fine.)  “Fantastic, actually!”

“Okay!  I’ll be out in a few minutes!”

Seungwan squeezed her eyes shut, counting to ten as she steadied her breaths.  When she felt calm enough to open them again, she saw Haetnim perked up from the dog bed, ears standing straight, watching her inquisitively.

“Yeah, yeah.  I’m a mess, aren’t I?” she sighed.

Haetnim yipped.

“Thanks, girl.  Really appreciate the support.”

---

By the time Sooyoung stepped out of the shower, Seungwan had already finished brewing the tea and changed into comfier clothes—the blue flannel button-up and Adidas leggings that Sooyoung had tucked away for her.

It was annoying not having the clothes when she needed them back at the dorm, but she couldn’t deny the convenience of leaving spares at Sooyoung’s place.  Yerim had once joked that they might as well move in together already, considering a good portion of Seungwan’s belongings were strewn all over her apartment.  Little trinkets and here and there piling up over the years: her clothes, some school supplies, spare toothbrushes.  Even the peeler she used for apples.

“Ooh, is that chrysanthemum tea I smell?” Sooyoung asked, strolling into the kitchen, wearing an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of shorts, damp hair wound into a messy topknot bun to keep from getting her clothes wet.  She pulled a stool up to the counter, and as soon as she sat down, Seungwan could smell the fresh cucumber-scented body wash she always used.  “Good choice, unnie.”

“Hey, perfect timing—here,” Seungwan said, sliding a cup toward her.  “Yeah, it’s the one we got from Jeju Island, remember?”

“Oh, yeah!  I totally forgot about it.”  Sooyoung swirled the cup, blowing gently on the steaming liquid before taking a sip.  With her other hand, she grabbed her phone and her screen.  “Ah, Yerimmie texted me.  Her band practice must be done now.”

Seungwan bit her lip, the memory of the texts popping in her head again.  How did Seungwan-unnie react?

Seriously, what was all that about?  She was afraid to consider the implications.  There was something unsettling about it all—the fact that they’d been talking about stuff like that behind her back.  Seungwan couldn’t quite pinpoint why, though.  It was harmless, wasn’t it?

Well, it wasn’t like she could ask.  She probably wasn’t even supposed to see that text.  Actually, no—she definitely wasn’t.

Maybe a more indirect approach could work, though.

“Oh?  What’s up with Yerim,” Seungwan asked, voice level, trying not to sound too curious.  She grabbed her own cup, washing down her nerves with a gulp of tea.

“Not much.  She just wanted to know how you reacted to my important news.”

Oh.  That was… surprisingly straightforward.

Wait—important news?  Seungwan blinked.

A second ticked by.

Then, it clicked.

“So, Yerim knew before I did, huh?  Everything.”  Seungwan chuckled, trying to keep her tone light.  Hurt stabbed at her chest as the realization settled in.  Just how long had Yerim known about Sooyoung?  How long was she left out of the loop?

Sooyoung shrugged, typing back her response.  “Yerim’s a lesbian; we both like girls.  It’s easier to talk to her about that sort of thing.”

“Right, because I’m a heterolini.”  She’d meant to make it sound playful, but bitterness had taken root in her voice, twisting her words with a hint of mockery.  Yerim hadn’t even come out to them until about a few months ago.

At that, Sooyoung set her phone down to look at her, frowning.  “Unnie?”

Seungwan refused to make eye contact, turning her face away in shame.  God, what was her problem?  Why did she feel so upset over this?  Of course Sooyoung was allowed to tell her friends in whatever order she wanted.  “Sorry, I don’t know.  I just thought—”

She swallowed, unable to continue speaking.  Thought what, exactly?  That as Sooyoung’s best friend, she deserved to know everything about her first, before anyone else?  It was a ridiculously selfish thought—and she knew it.  Obviously it made perfect sense that Sooyoung would tell Yerim before her.  “It’s nothing.  I don’t know what I’m thinking.  I’m really sorry, Sooyoung-ah.”

Before she knew it, Sooyoung was pulling her into a hug, loose locks of wet hair pressing against Seungwan’s cheek.  “It’s okay, unnie,” she whispered, patting her back.  “I understand.”

Scary as it was that Sooyoung somehow always knew what she was thinking, Seungwan appreciated that she didn’t have to voice it aloud this time.  It was embarrassing enough feeling sore about all of this.  The thought of admitting that she was jealous of Yerim made her want to crawl under a massive rock—better yet, become the rock itself: inanimate, nondescript, unbothered.

As nice as it felt being in Sooyoung’s embrace, Seungwan hated being coddled like this.  She didn’t deserve it.  For someone who had told her not to be a baby earlier, Sooyoung did a great job of babying her sometimes.

Being at such a close proximity, the scent of her cucumber body wash became dizzying.  Seungwan needed space.  “What are you hugging me for,” she chided—more at herself than Sooyoung.  She put a hand on Sooyoung’s shoulders, pushing her back at arm’s length.  “I know I’m being unreasonable.”

“It’s kind of cute, unnie,” Sooyoung teased, giggling.  Her eyes twinkled with amusement.  “I didn’t think you had it in you to be jealous.”

“Stop,” Seungwan begged.  The tips of her ears singed red-hot at being called out.  She plopped her forehead on the counter, pulling her flannel button-up over her head to conceal the blush that was no doubt crawling up her face.  So much for not getting exposed as a territorial best friend.

Not to mention being called cute for it.  Was Sooyoung enabling her sudden possessive tendencies, or what?

“Aw, come on now,” Sooyoung prodded, nudging at Seungwan’s shirt.  “I’m asking you and not Yerim to help me find someone on Tinder, aren’t I?  I wouldn’t trust her opinion for something like this.  Only you.”

With one eye peeking out from underneath the flannel, Seungwan chanced a glance at her.  “Really?” she mumbled.  She couldn’t believe she was being comforted on the fact she was Sooyoung’s go-to pal for choosing hookups.  Was she actually flattered?

Sooyoung laughed.  “Really,” she affirmed, squeezing her shoulder.  “Now come here—I want to show you the app already.  I saw some cute girls earlier on it.”  She slid her hand down Seungwan’s arm, gripping at the fabric of her shirt and prying her off the counter with one forceful tug.

Seungwan squeaked as Sooyoung dragged her across the room to the bed, flailing as she got chucked onto the mattress.  “Hey, what gives!” she protested.  Her body sank into the memory foam, sheets billowing as they cushioned her landing.

“I want to get comfortable,” Sooyoung simply explained, as though she hadn’t just manhandled her.

As they settled on the pillows stacked against the wooden bedframe, Seungwan raised an eyebrow.  “Um—so, question: why are we doing this here, again?”

“So I can get in the mood, duh.  When we’re checking out girls, it’ll be easier for me to imagine things when I’m in bed,” Sooyoung said, fluffing out the bedsheets around them.  “For the immersion—you know.”  She waggled her eyebrows.

Seungwan’s nose scrunched.  “Sooyoungie, I’m sorry but that’s just disgusting,” she groaned, squirming her way out of the bed.

“I’m kidding!” Sooyoung insisted, grabbing her hand and tugging her back down.  “Don’t be so grossed out.”

Seungwan gave her a look.

“Fine—half kidding.”

“As long as you’re being honest,” she sighed, scooting back in.

“So, are we going to do this, or what?”

Seungwan pursed her lips.  There really was no escaping her fate, huh.  Though, she did kind of owe it to Sooyoung after her overreaction to everything this morning—overthinking every interaction after finding out she was bi, getting offended that she’d told Yerim first.  She could at least be a good friend and do Sooyoung the favor of helping her choose a nice girl, right?

Right.  She could do this.

Hyping herself up, Seungwan clapped her hands together.  “Alright, let’s crank this bad boy open.  I want to see what we’re working with here.”  Admittedly, she was kind of curious to see the type of people who used Tinder, if she would recognize anyone on there.

“Finally!” Sooyoung cheered, whipping out her phone.  “I was starting to think you’d never ask.”

“Well, it’s not like you really gave me a choice!”

“Details, details.”

Sooyoung unlocked her screen, and the first image that came up was the setup of her Tinder profile info—which, actually, was completely blank.  Aside from a generic cityscape background as a display picture, there was no biography, no supplementary photos.  Nothing.

Seungwan blinked.  “You don’t even have anything on it yet.”

“I wanted you to help me set it up,” Sooyoung said, leaning her body against Seungwan’s as she pulled up her camera roll.  “What photos do you think I should use?”

Folders of various photo albums popped up.  Seungwan hummed, propping her chin on Sooyoung’s shoulder, reaching over to scroll through them.  Post-workout selfies, glamour shots from the time she modeled for a student photographer, bikini pics at the beach.  Really, the question was more like what photo shouldn’t she use?  All of them were a sight for sore eyes—objectively speaking, of course.

“Definitely some swimsuit photos,” Seungwan suggested, selecting a picture from Iho Tewoo beach as the display picture.  She had been wearing a y two-piece bathing suit then—a pink set with an off-shoulder ruffle top and a matching bikini bottom with woven straps that connected the front and backside fabric at her hips, teasing at the exposed skin there.  “You’ll want to show off your body.”

“Oh?” Sooyoung sing-songed.  “You think I have a nice body?”  There was a lecherous grin on her face as she turned to Seungwan, getting all up in her face.

Seungwan swatted her away, heat rising to her neck.  “You know you have a nice body!”  Leave it up to Sooyoung to keep flustering her when she was just trying to focus!

“Of course I know,” she said.  “I just wanted to make sure that you did.”

Against her will, Seungwan’s eyes zoned in on Sooyoung’s figure in the photos.  Her lean abs.  Her toned arms, her robust legs.  Her incredibly fit body—the same one that was currently pressed up against Seungwan, right now.  In this very bed.

Her cheeks felt hot.  What a show off.  Was Sooyoung trying to kill her?

“Well, you work out regularly,” Seungwan answered flatly—matter-of-factly.  She prided herself on sounding neutral despite how fast her pulse started racing.  “You’re very fit.  So yeah, obviously you have a nice body.”

Sooyoung beamed, circling her arms around her waist before planting a kiss to the side of her temple.  “Aw, you’re so sweet.”

Seungwan’s skin tingled where her lips had touched.  She exhaled shakily.  If Sooyoung’s scent was dizzying before, it was just plain overwhelming now—being in her bed, wrapped up in her embrace, light breaths tickling her cheek as Sooyoung peered over her shoulder.  Sooyoung had always been a little clingy with her.  It’d been hard to get used to at first, when they were both just starting to become friends—the handholding, the casual cheek kisses.  It wasn’t like Seungwan was friendless back in Canada, but she’d never received the same degree of friendly affection from anyone else there.

Over time, Seungwan had adjusted accordingly to the skinship, of course.  But now, with Sooyoung holding her so softly, it felt like she was back at square one—the same awkward girl she’d been when she first moved back to South Korea.  Hyperaware of other girls touching her, getting swept by how nice they always smelled, freezing when they got too close.

Swiping the phone from Sooyoung’s hand, Seungwan put her attentions on the Tinder profile instead, doing her best to ignore the way Sooyoung glued herself to her.  She was methodical in how she selected the photos, focusing on the more provocative images—pictures that screamed ‘I’m just here for hookups.’  A couple more beach pics, a gym selfie where she’s wearing tight yoga pants and a sports bra.  The time when she’d worn that beautiful red sequin minidress at her cousin’s wedding.  The one where she’d modeled as a… y police officer?  (Seungwan wasn’t quite sure; the full-leather getup was throwing her off.)

“Here—how’s this?” she asked, handing the phone back.

Sooyoung snorted as she evaluated the selection.  “Wow, you chose a lot of pictures of mine that show skin, huh?”

“Yeah, aren’t you trying to get laid?”  That was the point, wasn’t it?  Seungwan thought she did a good job.

“Hmm… yes,” Sooyoung said, but her lips were drawn tight in contemplation.  “I feel like I shouldn’t show off all the goods at once, though.  There still needs to be some magic in letting someone’s imagination go wild, right?”

“Ah, you make a good point.”

“Besides, what if I meet someone I actually like?”  She gasped, clutching Seungwan’s shoulder, shaking her.  “Oh my god, what if I end up meeting the one?  Wouldn’t it be so romantic if the first girl I meet on Tinder is the one I spend the rest of my life with?”

Seungwan turned to her, incredulous.  “You seriously think a girl you’re going to bang on Tinder is going to be wife material?”  She face-palmed.  “Sooyoung.  Honey.”

“You just don’t understand romance, unnie!” she retorted, extracting herself from Seungwan to cross her arms.  “Unlike you, I actually believe in true love and destiny!”

Seungwan gawped.  Just because she’d been single her whole life didn’t mean—!

She in a breath to chill herself out.  “Sooyoungie, I hate to break it to you, but the only destiny that awaits you is a getting laid in a one-night stand.”

Sooyoung put a finger to her own lips, eyes looking upward in consideration.  “Hmm…”

“Wait—” Seungwan frowned. “—unless you plan to sleep with someone more than once.”  She did say no-strings attached, right?

“Who knows!” Sooyoung said flippantly.  “It’s best to keep my options open, isn’t it?”

“Right…” Seungwan intoned, skeptical.

Deselecting some of the skimpier pictures, Sooyoung scrolled through her other albums, picking out photos where she was wearing more modest clothing—cable-knit sweaters and jeans; long, flowing dresses decorated with floral patterns.  They were closer to the Sooyoung that she knew in private: the one, who despite her high-maintenance appearance (and her unabashed habit of showing off her body), found pleasure in unassuming things.  Scenic walks in nature with her puppy, hot cups of tea in the morning, reading poetry on the patio during a sunny afternoon.

Regardless of what people said about her, she was a modest girl.  Never bragging about her wealth, never acting like she was of a higher social standing than others.  Seungwan liked that about her.  Sooyoung had once told her that she preferred the vibe of the countryside to the hubbub of the city, and that as a child she’d dreamed of being a shepherd, spending her days droving fluffy sheep with a trusty border collie.  Sooyoung was a surprisingly simple person for someone who was so obviously rich—and the pictures she chose reflected that.

“That’s a little better,” Sooyoung said, nodding with a satisfied smile.  “What do you think?”  She passed the phone onto Seungwan, showing off the new selection.

Seungwan bit the inside of her cheek as she regarded them.  Sooyoung was beautiful—she always had been, of course.  But seeing the duality in those photos—the iness juxtaposed with how cute and down-to-earth she could be—stirred something in her, made her go a little light-headed.  It looked less like a profile for hookups now and more like… just any other dating profile.  One that called for consecutive dates and deep conversations, with the promise of steamy evenings.

“It’s great,” Seungwan said, even as she felt something in her chest clench.  It was so Sooyoung, to say she wanted something casual yet whip up a profile for herself that was anything but casual.  The mixed signals were driving her crazy!  Did she want a simple, uncomplicated fling or not?

“Perfect!” Sooyoung exclaimed.  “Now, all that’s left to do is my biography.”  Typing in a few words, she finalized her profile and saved her settings.

Park Sooyoung, 22.  Just looking for a good time.  😉

At least that was nice and straightforward, if not a bit generic.  It got the point across, though, which was all that mattered.  “Okay, we’re all set now, right?” Seungwan asked.

“Yup!” Sooyoung confirmed, voice giddy with anticipation.  “Let’s check out the girls.”

Finally—the moment Seungwan had been dreading all day.  Oh, well.  She needed to get it over with sooner or later.  “So how does this work?”

“You swipe left on people who don’t interest you; right for those who do,” Sooyoung explained, showing her the interface.  “And unless you swipe right on someone who’s already swiped right on you, nothing happens.  You only get a match if it’s mutual.  But there’s ‘Super Like’, where you can swipe up to get the attention of somebody you’re really interested in—though you can only do that so many times, I think.”

“I see.”  Seungwan nodded.  Simple enough.

As Sooyoung pulled up the first profile, though—a girl with monolid eyes and shoulder-length hair—it dawned on her, the reality of her situation.  She was going to help Sooyoung choose a future partner.  One of these girls was going to kiss her, touch her.  Have  with her.  !

Blood rushed to Seungwan’s head.  She felt faint.  Why didn’t it hit her until now?  How did that detail escape her?

“Jo Haseul,” Sooyoung read aloud.  “Twenty-one.  Single mother of… ten children?  My ex-wife Vivi left me.  Please help me raise these rabid animals.”

Seungwan laughed at that, feeling some of her nervousness melt away.  At least people on Tinder had a sense of humor.  “It looks like she’s a club leader of some sort?” she inferred, swiping through the pictures and finding several group shots of her with some other girls, sitting together in a dance practice room.

“She’s cute.  Seems like a nice girl, but—” Sooyoung swiped left.  “—not what I’m looking for.”

“What are you looking for?” Seungwan asked.  She knew what Sooyoung’s type was for guys—frizzy-haired men that looked straight out of the eighties—but she had no idea what sort of girls she even liked.

The next profile they landed on was of a purple-haired woman decked out in a navy denim jacket and fishnet stockings.  She was straddling a motorcycle, biting her lip sensually.

“Ooh,” Sooyoung said, eyebrows hiking up to her forehead.  “Someone hot—like that.”

“Moon Byulyi, twenty-five,” Seungwan read for her.  “I hear you like bad girls.  I’m bad at everything.”  Topped off with a clown emoji.

Just like that, Sooyoung’s excitement deflated instantly, eyebrows falling back down.  “Nope.”  Left.

“Alright,” Seungwan said, “so next we have… Kim Yubin, thirty.  Still on the search for my perfect bottom.”  She stared bemusedly at the choice of emojis following tacked at the end of her bio: 😔🥀.

“That’s switch erasure, so… left it is,” Sooyoung said.

Seungwan frowned.  “What do… ‘bottom’ and ‘switch’ mean?”

“I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

“I’m literally a year older than you.”

Sooyoung laughed as she swiped to the next profile.  “Minatozaki Sana, twenty-two—oh!”  dropped open.  “She’s the Japanese girl from my animal biology class last semester!  We sat next to each other a few times during lecture.  She’s really pretty!”

She was pretty.  Doe eyes, a bright smile, lush honey-blonde hair.  Quite the girly-girl: tight skirts and flowy mesh tops.  A hint of a bad girl vibe as well, if the black choker necklace in her display picture was any indication.  She seemed to be a heavy party-goer, too—hopping around local clubs in the city, fruity cocktails glasses pinched between her fingers in almost every photo.

But wait—

“Didn’t you say earlier that you didn’t want to meet anyone from our school?” Seungwan asked.

“Sana is an exception.  I wouldn’t even mind trying to date her.”

Seungwan wanted to scream.  What happened to not being ready for a relationship?  “Oh, really?”

“There was this one time she noticed I’d been absent from lecture and she let me borrow her notes,” Sooyoung elaborated.  “Really saved my back then.  But yeah, she seems like she’d make a great girlfriend.  Very attentive and thoughtful.”

Seungwan nodded, but she couldn’t help the dubious quirk of her eyebrow.  Seriously—sharing notes as a criterion for being a good girlfriend?  She’d shared her notes with Sooyoung plenty of times before.  Was the bar really that low?  “She must be something special, then,” she remarked.

“She was really nice to me.  Her Korean is actually pretty amazing, too, even though she’s only been here for a few years.  Almost like she’s a native speaker.”

“Really?  That’s pretty impressive.”  Seungwan knew what it was like, moving to an entirely different country and having to learn a completely new language.  It was hard at first—and lonely at times.  But this girl seemed to be pretty popular despite all of that.

“What are you talking about, unnie?  You had to do the same thing, too.  You moved to Canada when you were like—what, eleven?—and now you’re fluent in English.  That’s pretty cool.”

Seungwan scoffed.  Yeah, sure, it was ‘cool’, but unlike some people, her bilingual skills hadn’t landed her any luck in the dating scene.  “I guess,” she said, shrugging.

“Anyway, she did kind of ping my gaydar.  I’m so glad I was right.”

“Really?  How can you tell?”

“Super touchy, complimented me a lot.  Extremely friendly with other girls.”

“Isn’t that normal?”  Seungwan scratched her cheek.  A lot of girls were like that, weren’t they?

“Oh yeah, she also keeps her fingernails short.  Really made me think at the time, you know?”

“I don’t get it.”  Seungwan looked down at her own nails: freshly manicured, painted over with a vibrant sheen of blue nail polish.  They were getting kind of long, though.  Unlike Sooyoung, she didn’t make it a habit of t them as often.  What could fingernails possibly tell about someone’s uality?

“Oh, unnie.”  Sooyoung gave her a fond—pitying?—look.  “How could you be so innocent?”

Seungwan flushed.  She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know anymore.  “Ah, hmm, you know what—yeah, that’s fine then.  She is cute.  She has my stamp of approval,” she said, offering a thumbs up.

“Yay!” Sooyoung cheered.

Seungwan held her breath as her best friend made her first right swipe of the day.  It was really happening.  This Minatozaki Sana girl could be someone that Sooyoung hooked up with, and Seungwan would have to live with being the one to give her the okay.

The following few were simple fillers:

DM my Instagram for feet pics.  Left.

Please, I need a sugar mommy.  Please.  I am begging.  Left.

Jung Sooyeon, 29.  Swipe left.  I’m just here to catch my cheating girlfriend.  Kim Taeyeon, if I see you on here, we’re done.  Grimaces from the both of them.  Left.

The profile after seemed oddly familiar.  “Bae Joohyun, twenty-seven,” Seungwan said.  She tilted her head, pausing.  “Hey, isn’t that—”

Sooyoung tensed beside her, gasping.  “Holy , unnie!  It’s her!”  At rapid pace, she scrolled through her photos, eyes widening so much that Seungwan was afraid they’d pop out of their sockets.  “The hot TA from my organic chemistry class last year!  Oh my god!”

“Oh, wow.”  Seungwan felt a little short of breath, too, as they checked out her profile.  From what she could tell, Bae Joohyun had a fantastic sense of fashion: in one picture, a blue blazer over a black crop top and leather pants; in the next, big round glasses and a puffy-shouldered sweater, complemented with an innocent smile.  It was a little bit of a whiplash, going from a sultry photo to a cute one, seeing all the styles she could pull off so effortlessly.

Seungwan had never personally met the woman before, but she’d heard stories of the infamously attractive Bae Joohyun at their campus, whose looks could kill a man with just one glance.  That was just how hot people worked, she supposed—they could do anything, be anything.  Just like Sooyoung.

“I can’t believe it.  She’s into girls?”  Sooyoung’s jaw was still hanging open in shock.

“So,” Seungwan began, nudging her.  “This is a ‘Super Like’—right?”

“No!”  Sooyoung ripped the screen away from view.  “No way.  As much as I joked about wanting her to tutor me, I do not want to be known—nor perceived—by her in that way!”

Her panicked reaction awakened something in Seungwan—like a lion’s predatory instincts kicking in at the sight of a prey running away.  Before she knew it, her lips curved into a wicked grin.  Sooyoung was hardly ever nervous about things like this.  It made Seungwan want to exploit it, rile her up a little.

So she did.

“Oh, that’s too bad.”—was the only warning she gave before she smacked a pillow right into Sooyoung’s face.

Sooyoung screeched at the impact.  “Hey!” she yelled, losing her grip on the phone and dropping it.

At the opening, Seungwan leapt forward, diving in for the device.  Once in her grasp, she rolled away, making her way to swipe upward on the profile.  Sooyoung recovered faster, shoving another pillow in her face in retaliation before she could do anything.

Throwing off the pillow, Seungwan found herself flat against the bed, sinking into the mattress.  She held tight onto the phone, stretching her arm out to keep it away from Sooyoung’s reach, waving it back and forth to dodge each swing and lunge, cackling as Sooyoung let out an angry whine.  Before she could roll over and escape, though, Sooyoung climbed on top and straddled her, pinning both her wrists above her head with one hand.

“Don’t you dare,” Sooyoung warned, even as her body shook with laughter.

At some point, her bun had come loose, locks falling in wavy cascades over her shoulders.  Seungwan could smell her shampoo more keenly like that, the aroma of her freshly-washed hair diffusing with the liberation of her topknot—nice and fruity.  There was a dangerous glint in her eyes now, as she peered down at Seungwan.  She couldn’t help but stare back, hypnotized by how long her eyelashes were, by how their chests brushed together with each breath they took.  By her slightly parted lips.

Distantly, Seungwan was aware that she should be freaking out with how close they were, but…

Sooyoung was so pretty.  It was normal, to be so taken by pretty things—right?

Seungwan swallowed when Sooyoung leaned in, eyes going crossed-eyed the closer she came.  Provoking her was clearly a mistake.  Who was she, to think that she could be a lion, when she was only ever the prey when it came to Sooyoung?

Instinctively, she closed her eyes.

Without sight, Seungwan became more cognizant of everything else around her: the light snoozing of Haetnim resting in her dog bed, the ticking of the wall clock hanging in the kitchen.  The silky sheets rubbing against the exposed skin of her lower back, the shallow intakes of air between the two of them.  The barest hint of chrysanthemum tea that still colored Sooyoung’s breath.

A beat passed.

Then a few more.

Seungwan didn’t know what she was expecting, really, but it certainly wasn’t the feeling of the phone being wrenched from her hands.  Her eyes shot back open, head craning up as she gaped at Sooyoung in disbelief.  Frozen stiff, Seungwan didn’t even have the energy to fight back as Sooyoung crawled off of her, whooping at her victory.

“Ha!  That’ll teach you to mess with me,” Sooyoung taunted, sticking out her tongue as she tied her hair back up.  It was irritating, how impeccable she looked even after their scuffle, clothes tidy and unwrinkled—while Seungwan herself was a mess, with her t-shirt hiking up her stomach and her hair strewn all over the bed.  Why in the world did she think it was a good idea to challenge her?

Tension drained from Seungwan’s body.  Her head flopped back onto the pillows.  Staring at the ceiling, she pondered her life choices, all the decisions she’d made that led her here.  This whole morning was exhausting—just dealing with Sooyoung, her impulses and contradictions.

“Yeah, remind me not to try that again,” Seungwan croaked, hiding her face in the covers.  Judging by the way her entire body was burning, she was definitely blushing from head to toe, and she did not want Sooyoung to see that.  She rubbed at her wrists, trying to shake the lingering feeling of Sooyoung pinning her down, of Sooyoung’s thighs squeezing either side of her hips to hold her in place.

Heat pooled to the pit of her stomach.  Teased a faint ache between her legs.

Oh, no.

Seungwan sat up abruptly.  She dragged a hand through her hair to steady herself, smoothing out the tresses, fingers snagging on a knot.  Her heartbeat palpitated, hammering against her chest.  What the hell?

“Your hair is so unruly,” Sooyoung teased, reaching over to help her untangle the locks.  Her nails grazed her scalp, like hot electricity to the touch.  Shivers ran down Seungwan’s spine.

She went rigid.  It was too much—feeling Sooyoung tend to her like this after everything.

“Hey, I can do that myself,” she insisted, brushing Sooyoung’s arm off.

Sooyoung retracted her hand as if scalded, smile dropping from her lips.  “Oh—sorry, unnie.”

Seungwan didn’t have the heart to look at her, at the confusion and hurt clouding her expression.  She hated it when Sooyoung was upset.  It was far worse knowing she was the cause of it.

Haetnim barked at them, hopping onto the mattress to check out the commotion.  “Hello, my girl,” Sooyoung crooned, dragging the puppy to her lap, chuckling when Haetnim nuzzled into her.  The puppy’s eyes fluttered shut, content to be cuddled with her in bed.

The sight of them being so cute together—of the smile restored on Sooyoung’s face—calmed the jitters in Seungwan’s belly.  “I think Haetnim has the right idea,” she said, rolling away from her, flopping back down.  If she pretended to be drowsy, would that relieve her from wingwoman duties?  “I want to take a nap, too.”

“That’s alright, unnie,” Sooyoung said, voice soft.  “I know I woke you up pretty early this morning.  Thanks for helping me out.”

“You’re welcome.”  Lying on her side now, though, she really did feel tired—limbs heavy and head woozy.  Sooyoung’s bed was so big and comfortable, too.  It wrapped around her well.  Rich kids and being able to afford apartments with memory foam mattresses.

Seungwan’s eyelids drifted closed.  “What time is it?”

“Almost eleven.”

“Okay.”

At the cusp of sleep, she felt Sooyoung pulling the comforters over her body, tucking her in.  The warmth of the plush blankets enveloped her.

“Sleep well, Seungwan-unnie,” she whispered.  “And… thanks for accepting me.”

“Mmh.”

Chasing thoughts of Sooyoung from her mind, Seungwan fell into a dreamless sleep.

---

Fun fact: I actually had to download Tinder to figure out how it worked... I Do It For The Craft. 😔🤘🏼

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!  Feel free to follow me at @jiuwuming! As always, comments and feedback are welcome!