The others froze for a bit too, seemingly surprised at what they heard. They are not oblivious, they also noticed the tone Wonyoung used when she asked Yujin if she could spend the night at her house.

Sakura cleared , nervously glancing at Minjoo and yelped at the gloomy expression painted on the brunette’s face. Her eyes then darted to the two tall women, who are talking casually before looking at Hyewon who’s also giving her a pointed look.

Eunbi played along though, not wanting for Yujin to notice the awkward and uncomfortable silence. “Wow~ What would go guys do? Can you guys invite us over for a party?” She said, wiggling her brows teasingly and suggestively.

Yujin snorted while Wonyoung chuckled, liking the suggestion. “Well, I don’t know, it’s up to Yujin if she wanted to have some fun alone with me or with other friends. I don’t mind having a small party at her place.” She said then slowly eyed the blue haired woman with a meaningful look.

“Well, sure, why not? If y’all are free.” Yujin answered with a shrug then pressed her lips together. “The newly married couple would be so jealous if they hear this though,” She added and chuckled, earning a chuckle from the others too.

Nodding, Chaeyeon agreed. “Oh, they definitely will.” She retorted. “I’m free, my classes will start in the afternoon, so does Sakura’s shift. So, we’re both in.” She said then raised her hand with a playful smile. “Our meat will be my treat.” She added with a smug look making Wonyoung latch over her with sparkly eyes.

The other couple nodded to each other. “Okay, we’re also fine with it, although we might leave early, we can still go and have some fun with you guys. Chicken is my treat. Drinks would be Yujin’s, of course!” Hyewon announced, snorting at the growling blue haired woman.

Yujin huffed at them, crossing both of her arms. “Fine, but I’ll just buy a few though, Victoria can’t drink for .” She snorted. Wonyoung glared at her when she heard that the older called her by her English name but her eyes softened immediately when she realized something. The tall woman immediately went over to her and gave her a hug, a tight one then snuggled her cheeks into Yujin’s with a big smile. “Oh my god! You can still remember that I can’t drink alcohol!” She gushed, chirpy.

Trying to get off from Wonyoung’s grip, she hissed at the woman who’s literally suffocating her, her cheek getting squished painfully. “Get off me,” She warned, frowning. “Of course, I do remember.” She added, reminiscing a very traumatizing event when they made Wonyoung drink a shot of soju and went wild. She shivered at the memory. After that event, they swore that they won’t let the bunny taste anything with alcohol on it and would always buy her milk or sodas when the circle of friends was having a drinking session.

“Aww, Yujinie is such a caring almost-girlfriend.” Wonyoung teased as she pinched Yujin’s cheek before giving her a hug again. The blue haired woman growled, hating the unwanted affection, but she’s used to it. The other woman is such a very clingy and affectionate baby, she would hug anyone out of blue. “Oh god, don’t call me that.”

The others watched the two bicker there, smiling goofily, well of course, except for Minjoo who’s still silent beside Sakura. The Japanese woman laughed awkwardly, draping her arm around the brunette’s shoulder. “You’ll go to the mini party with us, right, Minguri?” She asked, trying to light Minjoo’s mood up.

That earned Yujin’s attention, her head fully turned to Minjoo, staring at her while Wonyoung pouted and also looked at the direction where she was looking.

They waited for the brunette’s answer.

Slowly, Minjoo lifted her head up, revealing her chirpy yet apologetic face. “I’m afraid that I can’t join,” She replied sheepishly, rubbing her nape. Yujin deflated, thinking that Minjoo is avoiding her.

Hyewon was quick to ask. “Why?” The brunette shrugged. “I still have lots of work left to do, so I’m sorry, I can’t join the fun. You guys just enjoy.” She answered while smiling slightly then glanced at her watch. “Oh, I need to drop by to my office to get some stuff. I’m going first, I’ll just hail a taxi.” Said by Minjoo, looking like she’s in a hurry.

Eunbi grabbed her arm, preventing her from dashing away. “Wait, we’ll drop you off—” She was cut by Minjoo swaying her hand, refusing the offer. “No, no. It’s okay, unnie. You guys go straight to Yujin’s place.” She insisted before looking at all of them, avoiding Yujin’s concerned gaze at all costs.

“I’ll be going now, nice meeting you, Wonyoung-ssi. Enjoy the party.” Minjoo said one last time before running to the exit before Chaeyeon could even stop her.

She just stopped when she’s far enough from the others, taking a deep breath before sliding her fingers through her brown locks, exhaling frustratedly. It’s so suffocating there.

So suffocating yet Minjoo doesn’t have any clue why. Her chest felt so heavy all of a sudden, the moment Wonyoung appeared everything felt so uncomfortable and there’s a weird sensation churning on her stomach. She hated how she feels like this towards a new friend. Especially when Yujin said she and Wonyoung dated before, she shouldn’t be supposed to act or feel like this, if anything, she should be glad.

She slapped herself before her idle thoughts could even eat her up.

Minjoo’s mind and heart are in a mess again. If Yujin didn’t just bluntly confess that she still loved her, she’s probably not acting and thinking like this.

Maybe Yujin just missed her? That Yujin just really missed their past but her feelings are already long faded?

The brunette doesn’t know what to do or think anymore. She hailed a cab and went home, she just lied about work so she could escape from them.

For now, the best thing that Minjoo can think of doing is to: Avoid Yujin.

-

Minjoo would be lying if she said that she slept well last night. The brunette couldn’t even get a wink of sleep, and it’s better if she won’t think of why she suddenly can’t sleep peacefully.

The sleepy brunette entered the office, black bags under her eyes, and groggily went to her cubicle, her head slowly going down until it landed on the table with a soft thud but after a few seconds, she lifted her head up, slapping herself to wake herself up.

Softly heaving a sigh, she stood up and slowly made her way towards the pantry to make some coffee for herself because for sure, she won’t even survive the day if she doesn’t take any caffeine. She’ll probably take four-six cups this day, she can’t slack off or take a nap, she doesn’t want to risk it since the president usually roams around the office sometimes. Being fired at work is the last thing she wanted to happen to herself.

While making her way to the pantry, she stumbled to Chaewon who’s also walking towards the pantry. The head manager immediately gave her a bright smile and frowned after when she saw the current state of the brunette. “Hey,” She greeted, examining Minjoo’s face with a worried gaze.

Minjoo smiled weakly and tiredly, even scrunching her nose up. “Hi.” She greeted back. The orange haired woman tilted her head, obviously concerned. “You look like you didn’t get any sleep. Are you okay?” She asked with a soft and caring tone, reaching for the brunette’s hand and gently caressed it like it’s a fragile thing.

“Haha, I watched some dramas last night, didn’t realize the time, and thus, I didn’t get any sleep at all.” Minjoo lied through her teeth, she doesn’t even watch any movies or dramas anymore. It’s a relief that Chaewon bought her lies without any suspicion.

The head manager clicked her tongue. “You shouldn’t have done that, you know that you’ll work the next day. Now, look at you.” She scolded her softly, side-eyeing some workers who kept gawking at them. She gently tugged Minjoo’s hand, dragging her to the pantry, and let her sit on the provided stool there. “I’ll make you some coffee, you could use a fifteen minutes break.” She retorted before walking towards the coffee machine.

Minjoo pouted but she let the head manager do it, she rested her head at the table, and instead of closing her eyes and take a short nap, she just watched Chaewon pad around the pantry to get some mugs and coffees. It’s not the first time the head manager did this for her, Chaewon would make her some when the brunette is too preoccupied at her work then drop by her cubicle to give her some. The orange haired woman even knows her favorite coffee flavor and makes it perfectly.

She unconsciously smiled. Chaewon is such a sweet and caring woman, Minjoo is so lucky to have her.

This gesture brought some memories to Minjoo though, as usual. It reminds of her when Yujin used to make her coffees and hot chocolates back then and would also give her hugs to make her feel better and give her energy. Both treat her as their princess, however, Chaewon is still a little bit careful with her since they still don’t have a label—

Hold on.

Minjoo’s smile dropped, shaking her head violently like those thoughts would disappear. Why is she comparing Chaewon to Yujin?

God, she wanted to throw herself down to a cliff because she can’t help herself by thinking like this.

Sighing heavily, she slapped herself again, chanting Stop, stop, stop thinking of her, in her head.

Chaewon walked over to her with light steps, holding two mugs, placing it in front of her before settling on the stall just beside her. She watched Minjoo slowly sit up properly as she picked up the mug, blowing the hot coffee before taking a sip on it.

“Is the taste alright for you?” She asked, also taking a sip from her coffee. Minjoo gave her a small smile and a bashful nod. “Yup, it’s perfect. Thank you for making me some.” She replied. Chaewon blushed a bit, coughing lowly as she awkwardly brought the mug to , letting her upper lip rest on the rim.

There’s a silence between them but not awkward, but a peaceful silence. They are just calmly sipping on their coffees.

Chaewon cleared after she finished her mug, awkwardly shifting onto her seat and fully faced Minjoo who’s finishing her coffee. “Say, Minjoo,” She started off nervously, cheeks burning. The brunette responded by humming. The head manager was playing with her fingers when she finally dropped the bomb. “W-Well, can we go out this weekend? After work?” She asked shyly.

Minjoo blinked for a few times before breaking out into a bashful grin. “Sure,” She answered. Chaewon’s eyes lit up instantly. “Really?!— I mean, okay okay…” She excitedly said but she held it down, not wanting to look she’s eager and very much excited for their date on the weekend.

The brunette nodded with a smile then stood up from her seat, grabbing her and Chaewon’s empty mug before placing it on the sink. “Well, I’m going to go back to work now, Head Manager.” She said and walked towards the door, she was about to open it when Chaewon called her.

“Minjoo,” The orange haired woman calls her softly. Minjoo looked at her, curious and confused, taking a few steps closer.

When she’s near enough, the head manager suddenly reached for her wrist, tugging her closer, and wrapped her arms around Minjoo’s slim waist while sitting on the stool. The action caught Minjoo off guard, her cheeks burned furiously. Chaewon is getting clingier each day passes, Minjoo doesn’t mind it though.

The brunette just smiled and gently patted Chaewon’s head. The hug didn’t last long though, Chaewon immediately retreated, not wanting to make Minjoo uncomfortable and a co-worker might walk into them hugging, she just wanted to hug the latter out of a sudden. She’s actually surprised at what she did, she suddenly got bolder, fortunately, Minjoo didn’t push her away.

“I expect an answer from you soon?” She whispered lowly, looking up to meet Minjoo’s doe eyes.

Minjoo just smiled, she knows that the head manager is referring to that. “Give me more time, please?” She replied back with a low voice. She felt guilty making Chaewon wait because she’s still trying to heal.

Her heart fluttered a bit when Chaewon smiled at her and said, “Of course, take your time, I’m not rushing you, I’m just asking. I can wait for you, Minjoo.” She said then blushed. The brunette grinned, relieved.

Slowly but surely

—

Days quickly passed by and Minjoo will proudly admit that their date later is the only thing she thought of for the past few days. She’s happy and excited for today.

She wore her best outfit just for today and of course, to impress the head manager.

She skipped on her feet to the bus stop, a smile plastered on her face. Nothing can ruin her day. It’s been a while since she ever went on a date with another person, Chaewon didn’t directly ask her for a date but technically, it's a date. Way back before, Chaewon would always hang out with Minjoo but with other people around.

But of course, the universe hates her.

Her phone rang, indicating that someone is calling. She took out her phone and saw Eunbi’s name. She hasn’t met her close friends ever since that airport thingy but she sometimes talks with them at their group chat, although not often because Yujin got added there and the pup is active there.

She accepted the call, wondering why Eunbi is calling. “Hello?” She greeted the older woman.

“Minjoo!” Eunbi chirped from the other line, making the brunette move her phone away from her ear, hissing at how loud Eunbi is, she seems to be very excited. “I miss you so much, my baby.” She added with a squeak.

“Oh, I miss you guys too. What’s up?” She asked, standing up from her seat when she saw an elderly woman padding towards the stop, gesturing for her to take her seat instead. The elderly woman smiled at her, sitting down with a soft sigh.

Giggles can be heard. “Well, we’re planning to meet later in the evening! Let’s roam around and stuff,” Eunbi said, making Minjoo drop her smile. Of course, she will reject it. “U-Unnie, actually, I have plans later with Chaewon so I think I can’t come…” She answered back sadly.

There’s a short silence from the other line then a soft, “Oh,” from Eunbi. Minjoo suddenly felt guilty. “Can you guys just tag with us along? Pleaseee, we won’t disturb you guys.” The older woman pleaded and Minjoo can already see Eunbi’s puppy eyes. She hesitated because of Chaewon, she thought she’ll go alone with her this time.

“Fine,” She answered, defeated. She heard happy squeals from the other line. “But,” Minjoo suddenly said, making the noise slowly fade. “I’ll ask Chaewon first.” She added. Eunbi hummed from the other line. “Of course, of course.” She replied instantly.

The brunette sighed a bit. “I’ll just call you later if Chaewon is alright with it. Bye.” She bid goodbye. “Okay~ See ya.” Eunbi said and ended the call.

Minjoo pouted as she pocketed her phone, she didn't want to make her friends sad and feel upset but she wanted to have a peaceful date alone with Chaewon even though Eunbi promised not to disturb them, she’ll be awkward because for sure, Yujin would be there.

She heaved another sigh, watching the bus slowly come to a halt in front of the shed. She slowly went in and sat at the vacant seat with a troubled expression, hoping that Chaewon would be fine with it.

The moment she got the chance to talk to Chaewon at the office, she immediately asked the head manager about it. And not surprisingly, she said she’s very much fine with it. Minjoo could only sigh, as long as Chaewon is fine with it, then she’s also fine by tagging along with her close friends.

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