“Here we are,

In a place where it’s perfect, I want to tell you all about me,

Will you always be where you can reach me, by my side?”

— Here We Are by GFRIEND

**

iMessage

👯 👯 👯(4)

Kim Wish-nim

Yennie’s going with me to the car shop! Let’s have supper tonight, and test out my new car!

Hwang ShinBi

Heol, driver Wish-nim. I’m with Yupup and Kim Thumb now in their unit, we’re all in! What about Galaxy-nim?

Kim Wish-nim

Arasseo, I’ll let you know when we’re coming to pick you up. Uri Jjanyangie, I left some food on the table for you. Eat, arasseo? 

Hwang ShinBi

Galaxy-nim, we will be waiting for your little presence to join us <3

The loud sound of the thunder jolted Eunha awake. She blinked lazily for a few times to adjust her eyes to the darkness of her room, before groaning as she rummaged the bed for her phone. When she found it, she tried unlocking it, only to realise that it was completely dead and she immediately remembered why. 

It’s been two months since Jungkook’s drunk-dialling stint in LA, and he’d been going at it and calling her every other day that he went out to drink ever since. Every single time she wanted to hang up, Jungkook’s dejected voice and coercion would always get her to stay on the line. 

“Jungkook, I should really go…”

“Eunha, just a while more, please?”

“Jungkook, I can’t do this.”

“Eunha, please… Don’t hang up on me, please…”

Eunha walked into the dark living room, only to find it empty as she sat alone at the dining table. She tiredly smiled at the small note Sowon left her by the food, and lethargically began eating. Halfway through, she heard the notification alarms from her phone fill the home as she unlocked her phone to read the messages from her girls. The last message from another sender caught her attention, as it did the morning after every single time the situation repeats.

JJK

Sorry about the call last night. It was a mistake, it won’t happen again. 

**

“Sleep queen’s here!” Eunbi shrieked as she came into the lower dorm living room with Eunha. The other two girls yay-ed and pulled Eunha to the middle of the large couch, where they all laid. 

They spent the whole evening watching movies, from rom-coms to thrillers, while sharing various things with each other, and the whole time, Eunha wholeheartedly listened as she watched her maknae line speak on the things they held so much love for – their dreams, their goals, and Jung Eunha herself.

“Was that DK oppa?” Eunha asked when Yuna came back from her room after a phone call. “Eung, maja. He asked me to check if he’d left his cap here last night.”

“I’m so happy for you, Choi Yuna,” she told the same-aged girl sincerely. “You look so happy.”

“I am,” Yuna shyly giggled and joined them on the couch again. “He treats me like a princess, I love him very much and I’m just thankful for him and for you girls, obviously. Oh and pole dancing!”  The others laughed out loud at the randomness of the girl and Eunbi slapped her arm jokingly. 

“You should explore different aspects of pole dancing, unnie,” Yewon chimed in. “Who knows what else you can experience with your hobby? Like recently, I’ve been learning English hardworkingly with the teachers in the company, and they told me I could consider being a translator with how fast I’ve been progressing. It actually made me think about it, maybe as a back-up plan.”

“You don’t need a back-up plan, Yewonie, don’t think like that...” Eunha pulled the maknae into her arms when she heard the subtle doubt the younger one had towards their current career. Yewon smiled at the gesture of the older girl and chuckled.

“I think the better description would be career progression,” Eunbi snickered, trying to add on a witty remark to prevent the falling of the mood. “We should all have goals set for the future, especially at our ages. I have various short-term ones like collaborations, but a long-term one would probably be accepting Mina unnie’s offer to join her team when I’m older.”

“Omo, jinjja? She offered?” 

“Eung, but of course I told her I can’t accept the offer now, because I have Yeochin. So she let the offer remain on hold, till later,” Eunbi answered Yuna’s question, and then she remembered something else. “Speaking of offers, Hope oppa offered to collaborate too. A dance cover, he said. But, I didn’t think much of it because it’s just been a while since we haven’t dropped our professional fronts with them, so I didn’t wanna harp on it too much. It’s just weird speaking with them now, even.”

“Eunbi-ya, you know the collaboration would be so good for you… You should try it,” Eunha advised calmly. She knew Hoseok and Eunbi had a history of dancing casually with each other, and with how big his name has gotten in the industry, a dance collaboration now would bring so much exposure for the younger one. 

“I know, unnie,” Eunbi sighed, and laid her head on Eunha’s lap. “But maybe for later. When things get better between us, or at least till I can completely get over this line I’ve drawn with all of them. I treasure and love you too much, unnie. I can’t just get over it so quickly. They’ve hurt you, with how much you’ve trusted them to be honest with you. With all of us. I don’t believe they kept you in the dark all that time, just because they think it’s ‘for your own good’.” She air-quoted the last bit, with a hint of disdain. “Maja, we feel the same unnie. You are our Jjanyangie, and we lost our old Jjanyangie last year. We want her back,” Yewon pouted and leant her head on Eunha’s shoulder.

Hearing the honest thoughts of her little ones touched Eunha so much, that she almost broke into tears from hearing how much love she’d been receiving, especially from Eunbi. The girl would usually be a ‘tough love’ kind of person, and she would always relay her love for all of the girls in a subtle manner. 

Eunha bravely leant down to place a kiss on the younger one’s forehead and came back up to kiss the other two girls on their cheeks as well. “I love you girls so much, thank you for always taking care of this unnie,” she hugged them as tight as she could. “We love you too, so much okay! You can be sure of that!” Yuna spoke for the other two girls, who giggled at her chirpiness. 

**

Eunha was about to doze off when the sound of her phone ringing jolted her awake. Without looking at the caller ID, a terrible habit of hers, she picked up the call and waited for the other to speak as she was still in a sleepy daze.

"Hey, are you at your dorm?" The low, husky voice asked. A voice she was not really familiar with.

"I'm sorry, who's this...?"

She heard the man chuckle at her question. "Should it hurt me that my own girlfriend doesn't recognise my voice?"

"Oh, Jaehyun," she giggled abashedly. "Mian, I didn't see who was calling. What's up?"

"Are you free right now? I'm at the bench by the river... Join me?"

Eunha folded her arms tightly as she walked down a familiar route to the place where they first met. She had her hood and a mask on to cover up, and it didn't take long for her to recognise the increasingly familiar back of her 'boyfriend'. When she reached him, she jokingly tapped his shoulder before sitting next to him quickly. He saw her beside him and laughed at her attempt to trick him.

They sat side by side in silence for a while, before she made a move to take something out of her pocket. She took out a stick from her pack and lit it up, completely unfazed by the surprised look he had as he watched her. And then he surprised her by doing the same as well, snatching the lighter from her hands and lighting up his own. As they smoked silently together, they somehow established a mutual internal agreement to not speak about their habits that night.

"So..." She broke the silence. "Are you okay?"

"Why do you ask?"

Eunha gawked at him and tsk-ed. "So I'm here for nothing?" She jokingly sulked. Her cute reaction amused him, as he laughed at it.

"I guess I just needed company," he chuckled, looking at how she was still expectant for a reply from him after his laugh. His amusem