Her uniform felt suffocating. She was not given a chance to change when she arrived back in South Korea from Lebanon, and the sun was a lot warmer than she expected. In a way, it felt wrong to be in her uniform, especially since she was not technically a soldier anymore. The slight discomfort on her hip was a reminder of it. She wanted to change, but she knew someone was waiting to pick her up. After stepping out of the airport, she scanned the area for a certain long brown-haired beauty. Turning her head, the woman she was searching for was leaning against her car, a smirk evident on her face.

“Do my eyes deceive me? Or is that Jung Wheein in the flesh?” The woman’s raspy voice made the short blonde-haired woman beam with happiness. Wheein fast-walked toward the woman with her arms wide open. The woman embraced her in a tight hug and Wheein realized she hasn’t been hugged like this in a long time.

“Hyejin, you look a lot ier than before, what happened to the awkward child I last saw?” Wheein joked as she pulled away from the hug getting a better look of the woman.

“You don’t look too bad yourself. I never realized I had a thing for a woman in uniform.” Wheein blushed at the statement but was then scolded “But if you hadn’t left me, you would have seen me grow into a y woman.” Hyejin’s words were meant to be joking, but Wheein knew that the brunette was mad at her for leaving. Wheein gave her an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry Hyejinie, I’ll try to make up the time we lost.” Hyejin softly slapped her arm and gave a slight chuckle.

“It’s okay Wheein-ah, I knew you’d come back to me sooner or later.” Hyejin gave one last soft smile before gesturing toward the car. “Now come on, you can first make up the time by buying me lunch.”

The pair got into the car and made their way to a gopchang restaurant. The drive was silent but comfortable. Wheein looked out the window observing the city around her. It has been 7 years since she was in Seoul and the area looked somewhat different yet familiar. While observing the city, Wheein started to get warm and realized that she was still wearing her uniform.

“Hey, do you mind if I change out of my uniform? I’ll just put on a different shirt.” Wheein asked, grabbing a shirt from her backpack in front of her. Hyejin only nodded, still keeping her eyes trained on the road. Wheein proceeded to undo her uniform jacket and took off the undershirt as well since it was drenched in sweat. Hyejin looked over and almost gasped seeing Wheein’s abs glistened with sweat, but she repressed it when she noticed the scars near her hips and at the top of her chest. Although Hyejin turned her head back to the road as quickly as possible, Wheein knew she saw. She put the new, clean shirt on and before she was able to address what Hyejin just saw, she realized they were parked in front of the restaurant.

Lunch was somewhat awkward. They made some small talk and Wheein could tell Hyejin had questions but the long-haired woman chose to just eat the food in front of her. The pair ate in silence for a bit, both eating as though they hadn’t had a meal in 2 years. Eventually, their meal was consumed, and the women sat there trying to catch their breaths as the food started to set. Wheein missed having these kinds of meals.

“You’re sleeping at my place,” Hyejin said after they got back into the car. Wheein was about to protest but the brunette cut her off.

“That was a statement, not a question. You were in the military, right? Now listen to one last order,” Hyejin said smugly, and Wheein couldn’t help but accept, knowing she would not be able to change the woman’s mind. 

“Thank you, Hyejinie. I owe you.”

“No, you don’t, but do me this favor and stay with me for a while. I’ve missed having you around and I think we should catch up. After you get back on your feet and make a living, then you can move out, but for now,” Hyejin turned her head looking straight into Wheein’s eyes, “let me take care of you.” Wheein was shocked by her words and if it wasn’t for the fact she was a master at hiding her emotions she probably would have cried, but instead, Wheein smiled at her friend and nodded. She was grateful to have a person like Hyejin in her life.

The two best friends made it to Hyejin’s apartment and Wheein brought her stuff up to the second floor. When Hyejin opened the door, Wheein was stunned by the sheer size of the apartment as well as the design of it. The apartment’s furniture was modern yet the room had pieces of abstract art to help bring character to the room. There was a balcony overlooking the city and the kitchen was almost the size of Wheein’s room where she was last stationed.

“Whoa, Hyejinie. Your place is so nice.” Wheein said while observing the art more closely.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I got help from someone that lives here actually, you might meet her someday. Anyways, your room is down the hall on the left. I’ll let you get situated, while I make a few phone calls.” Hyejin informed before pulling out her phone and heading to the balcony.  Wheein followed Hyejin’s instructions and went to her room and began unpacking. After putting away most of her stuff she realized she left her uniform jacket in the backseat o