After their sleepover, Yuna tried her best to move on. There was no use pining after her best friend who had feelings for someone else. It was her fault for coming up with that dumb idea anyway so it was best that she figure out if her feelings are really genuine first before she impulsively confesses to Ryujin.

Except, moving on was a lot harder than she thought. Not when Lia has been the devil on her shoulder whispering things in her ear that stopped that poison called jealousy from consuming her.

“Ryujin’s been out and about lately. I thought things would be better when you two ended it?” Lia blurted out in the middle of their study session. Yuna who had earplugs in with no music playing stopped scanning the boring page from her history textbook and sighed.

Right, that’s what I thought too.

She stared at Lia, “Do you know… where she’s been going?” She glanced at the open window beside her and shivered. Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to open a window at the end of January? Ugh, she stood up and as her fingers grazed the window sill, she froze as her eyes landed on two familiar figures under a tree, laughing.

Ryujin and Chaeryeong.

“Umm, I’m not sure but where else would she be? She used to study with us during this time.”

Yuna brought her right hand in the air as a way of getting her older friend to quiet down. Lia raised an eyebrow, “What⁠— do you need help or something⁠—”

Without a warning, the younger girl slammed the window down, getting the attention of the two figures she has been observing for the past minute. Being the coward she is, she immediately crouches down under the window so that she would not be seen. Her heart was thumping loudly and even she didn’t know what gave her the courage to get their attention in a passive way. Lia, being in a convenient place with a pillar covering most of her face, angled her head to see who was behind the window. Upon seeing the two confused figures return to the bench, she groaned and turned her attention to Yuna once more.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Yuna sighed.

Those words jabbed at Lia. She knew one way or another, Yuna would find out. She herself didn’t know why Ryujin suddenly started spending more time with Chaeryeong, but seeing Yuna’s reaction, she had a feeling the younger girl knew why and that she had a valid reason to hide it from her.

“I’ve seen them around, but trust me, I have no clue why they⁠—” 

Yuna stood up and started to pack her books into her bag, “I know, Lia. It all makes sense now.” 

“I like someone else.”

Ryujin’s words echoed in her ears like a siren from a distance, approaching closer and closer. She wished it would stop. 

She stormed out of the study hall with Lia yelling after her, but the siren was too loud for Yuna to hear. 

Since they were kids, Yuna always knew what she wanted. She knew what type of doll she wanted for Christmas ⁠— in detail from the edition to the outfit, she had it all down. In high school, she knew she would only drink matcha lattes with almond milk and less ice. Deciding what university to go to was even an easy feat for her. She just had to check how much she’d pay with her scholarships and the ratings and decide from there.

Every decision has been simple for Yuna, but when it came to love, she overthought everything. Not just with Ryujin, even with Chaeryeong, she just wasn’t sure. She liked the feeling of floating on clouds and the butterflies, sure, but was she ever ready to just confess? Was she ever ready to commit time and be vulnerable with another being? Maybe not. That’s why with Ryujin, things became complicated. With Ryujin, everything was easy. She trusted her; before she even knew the concept of time, her time was Ryujin’s and the latter’s time was hers. 

Yuna has always known what she wanted, and maybe that’s why it hurts like hell that