Yujin was laughing to her heart's content. Her eyes further curving up so happily that it radiated around her. 

 

 

Minju believed the girl could easily have anyone wrapped around her finger as soon as she shows even a tad bit of happiness on her face, as cliché as it was of her to think so. 

 

 

And she wonders if other people were able to see this side of the girl often as well. 

 

 

"Sorry... aha.. I'm sorry. I'm not laughing because you're pitiful", Yujin says, trying to gain her collectedness. Minju almost missed the way the girl laughed, but Yujin was still semi-smiling, her cold aura from when they first met no longer remembered. 

 

 

"Then?" She urged

 

 

"Well I just thought..." 

 

 

Yujin wore a look of hesitance she once saw the day before. And this further intrigued her. 

 

 

It probably had only been a few seconds of silence, but it really makes a difference when one is anticipating. Seconds could feel like minutes... and so on. 

 

 

Minju isn't one to care about what other people think of her, yet here she was now, impatiently waiting for a response. 

 

 

"You looked adorable."

 

 

This time around, Yujin couldn't look her in the eye. The girl intently clears  whilst adjusting her duffel bag that didn't need any fixing in the first place. Minju understands the impulse and smiles. 

 

 

"I guess I need to get hit in the forehead often, then." She jokes, butterflies in her stomach rejoicing.

 

 

"Definitely don't do that." Yujin waves a hand, still a bit flustered from her honest remark. 

 

 

Before Minju could further enjoy witnessing Yujin's shy side, a black Mercedes SUV parks by the gutter a few feet from them and honks. Both of their attention now on its passenger-side door opening. 

 

 

Out came a long-haired girl seemingly younger than they are, her height matching Yujin's. She enrobed a simple gray "Clotty" hoodie and ripped skinny jeans that ran along her long legs. 

 

 

Minju mouthed "wow" without realizing it, admiring the model-like figure the girl had and a pretty face to match it. 

 

 

She turns her head back in front of her only to see Yujin's smile gone, her usual look of indifference back in its place. 

 

 

"Sakunie told you where I lived?" 

 

 

"No. I asked Uncle." 

 

 

Yujin could tell Minju was feeling awkward, caught in between her and her visitor, so she had to move on from there. 

 

 

"Mind if you give me a ride to school?" 

 

 

"Was hoping you'd ask." 

 

 

And with that, Yujin glances at Minju's curious eyes and gives her a tight-lipped smile, as reassuring as she tried it to be, before walking around her to join the other girl. 

 

 

Minju stood in place, not daring to look back. 

 

 

What made her not want to, she wasn't quite sure. 

 

 

And as mystifying as it is, she isn't a fan of what she's feeling.  

 

 

 

 

🌹

 

 

 

 

"She's cute." 

 

 

Yujin stares off the window in a trance, her right elbow leaning on the door's arm rest habitually; but she responds nonetheless. 

 

 

"It's not what you think." 

 

 

There was a sense of defense in her words, as if she was worried about what Wonyoung would end up feeling or misunderstanding. 

 

 

Old habits die hard, she thought. There was nothing to defend anymore, no feelings to save. 

 

 

Wonyoung sees through Yujin's dilemma and chuckles. 

 

 

"You've changed." 

 

 

"I had time to." Yujin didn't mean for it to sound bitter, but all of the past wounds seemed to have manifested back now that Wonyoung was here. Almost. 

 

 

That struck at the other's heartstrings for a minute, but she catches the silver bracelet with a dog pendant she's given Yujin a while back, dangling loosely over the girl's right wrist. 

 

 

She smiles contently. 

 

 

"You're still wearing it." 

 

 

"Wonyoung-ah." 

 

 

"Hm?" 

 

 

"Why did you come here?" Yujin finally breaks away from the window and looks at her, eyes soft but slightly exhausted. 

 

 

Wonyoung unbuckles her seatbelt and scoots over to where Yujin sat, leaning her head on the girl's shoulder and linking their arms together. She feels relief when Yujin doesn't pull away. 

 

 

"I didn't question when you changed your phone number and laid low because I knew you did it to break away from me." 

 

 

She breaths out a sigh, only continuing when Yujin remains quiet and listening. 

 

 

"I missed our friendship before everything. But ultimately I missed you." 

 

 

 

 

🌹

 

 

 

 

Sakura checks up on her online friends from time to time to see a certain username she always liked to interact with, but to no avail. Giving up, she looks at the bottom corner of her laptop to check the time, her eyes widening at the '15:00' glaring back at her. 

 

 

"I need to get a life." 

 

 

With that, she urges herself to sit up and puts down the gaming gadgets on the bed. She wobbles over to the other side where the window was, stretching her limbs as she basked in the afternoon sunlight. 

 

 

At the same time she catches a familiar figure sluggishly walking out of the dormitory gates. She braces herself and cups her cheeks with both hands, belting out a call louder than it should be. 

 

 

"Hey you!" 

 

 

The girl jerks in return and spun herself around. 

 

 

Sakura smiles at the confirmation that it was indeed Minju. She waves out a hand at the awe-struck girl. 

 

 

"You're leaving already?" 

 

 

"I-I've had an earlier shift today."

 

 

Minju was slightly doing her best to look elsewhere with a blush on her face and Sakura draws a blank before realizing what the girl might have seen. She laughs at her own habit of wearing thin-clothed pajamas with no bra on, it might may have been even more transparent now with the way she's leaned over. 

 

 

"It will take me five minutes to change." 

 

 

Minju gives her a confused look.

 

 

"What are you-" 

 

 

"Let me take you home." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I may not look like it, but I just turned twenty this year. So I'm an experienced driver." Sakura cheerfully reassures Minju, who'd been quiet the first few minutes of the ride. 

 

 

Minju had tried rejecting the offer, as she thought she didn't live that far being only a few blocks away (about a mile approximately). She liked the idea of being active and she always enjoyed her walks. On days where it got a little late, Hyewon would drive her, the girl insisting that Minju wouldn't be safe in the streets passed sunset. 

 

 

"It's bad enough that you walk by yourself. At least let me pick you up when it gets dark."  Hyewon had begged, and she agreed to lessen the girl's worries. 

 

 

Sakura seemed to have shared the same mindset, all the more motivated to take her home after knowing of her daily routine. 

 

 

"I'm not scared of your driving. I just-" 

 

 

Her stomach grumbles, interrupting her reasoning. Minju ducks her head down bashfully when Sakura takes notice by chuckling gently. 

 

 

"Say, how does chinese sound? I haven't eaten all day." The older girl offers. 

 

 

Minju was on her way to refuse yet again, but holds her thought when Sakura continues. 

 

 

"Don't worry, we'll get take out. The place is not too far, so you'll be home just in time." 

 

 

She shyly hums an approval, not finding any way to say no to such offer. During the extra drive, Minju found enough time to gather her thoughts, all of them leading to Yujin. 

 

 

"Can I ask you something?" 

 

 

"Of course." 

 

 

"There was a girl earlier... Well Yujin, is she seeing someone?" 

 

 

Sakura knew right away who Minju was referring to and couldn't help but show her surprise. She didn't think that it'd be today. 

 

 

She'll have to talk to Yujin about it later. 

 

 

Minju was busy looking at the buildings through the foggy window, but Sakura catches the girl drawing small hearts on it which made her smile. They've already reached the Chinese grab-n-go place so she made sure to maneuver the car to line up at the drive-thru before retorting. 

 

 

"You don't have to worry about that. So don't give up just yet." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author's note: Dun dun dunnnnnn, of course a story isn't a story without some old flame in the way hehe what do you think happened between Ahnyeongz in the past? Hope you enjoyed the read! <3