Time ticked by ever so slowly. Every moment she sat in the car the more her nerves were getting to her. Sure, she could easily just get down and grab a table but where’s the fun in that? At least, that's what she told herself. Rationalising her big brain scheme. Her scheme of walking with Wheein into the restaurant and spending the rest of the day together. 

Out of all the things she learned from their all night conversation, Hyejin learned where the gym was. Well, Wheein didn’t outright tell her but she did tell Hyejin the name of the gym and Hyejin looked it up herself. In fact, that was the first thing she did once she woke up five hours after going to sleep. She woke up then immediately searched for the gym to see how far away it was. 

After finding out that it was just a mile or so away, Hyejin began to formulate her big brain scheme. A scheme divided into carefully calculated steps. Obviously, a fool proof plan.

Step 1: Park across the street of the restaurant so it is easy to the entrance, but far away enough that she can see who is coming towards the entrance. 

Step 2: See Wheein walking towards the entrance then begin her stealthy escape from her car to not garner attention. 

Step 3: Upon successful completion of step 2, begin to approach Wheein. Key factor here is keeping up the stealth. 

Step 4: Maintaining her stealth, finally meet Wheein halfway. This way it will seem like a natural coincidence that they met.

Step 5: Profit.

Running over the steps over and over again in her mind, Hyejin almost failed to see Wheein approaching. But, how could she ever fail to notice Wheein? It seems like wherever Wheein is, Hyejin is just naturally drawn to her. But before Hyejin could get distracted over how attractive Wheein is, Hyejin took one last big breath before commencing the operation. 

Operation: Cool Cat

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wheein couldn’t get out of the gym fast enough. Normally she enjoys her time helping out at the gym. Helping little kids perfect their forms, and in some cases, being a mentor to them. But not this time. Not today. 

Oh no. This time, her parents wouldn’t stop teasing her. They kept calling her planned outing with Hyejin a date, despite Wheein correcting them many, many times over. Correcting them with facts and rationalisations like how can it be a date when they barely know each other? Even though, technically speaking, they do know more about each other now than ever before. But she wasn’t about to tell her parents that. That’s just giving them ammunition. She just needs to survive the next couple of hours and then she is free. Free to spend the rest of the day with Hyejin. And with that thought, another soft smile spread across her face. A smile that faintly remained on her face over the next coming hours. 

Or at least, until the last hour. The last dreadful hour. An hour that is always the longest when you are eagerly awaiting for it to be over. Especially if you have plans that start once the hour is over. So, the clock mockingly ticked on. Taunting her every second. But despite those taunts, Wheein kept her focus. Or at least, on the outside.

She went out of her way to maintain the facade that she was nonchalant about spending the rest of the day with Hyejin. Internally, she was a storm. A storm of various emotions, rationalities, and irrationalities. This was all new to her. After the falling out of her friend group, Wheein forgot how it was making friends from scratch. She was so used to making friends by her connections with other people that this was all surreal. 

Sure, one could argue that Wheein did become friends with Hyejin due to her connection with Ji Yeon. But that’s a terrible, childish argument. Hyejin approached her, and Wheein welcomed it in stride. The words her mother told her all those weeks ago, gently echoed in the back of her mind. Words she became more cognizant about and tried to act upon. 

She became more aware of it around Ji Yeon, and once she gained that awareness, and harnessed it, her friendship with Ji Yeon blossomed. It wasn’t long after that conversation with her mom did she and Ji Yeon exchange numbers. But, it was different with Hyejin.

For starters, she rarely interacted with Hyejin no more than a handful of times. But even before her mother’s words, it was easy to feel around Hyejin. It was easy to be open to her, hence why Wheein so easily told Hyejin what happened with the friend group. Why it was so easy to stay up till two am texting her. Why it was so easy…...to feel at ease.

And on and on she went. Down the rabbit hole called  thinking about Ahn Hyejin. She went so far down the hole that she almost missed the hour finally ending. Luckily for her, her mom just had to yell out her name once and she was brought back to reality. So, with a spring in her step, she happily ran towards her mom in order to be relieved of duty. 

But, of course, the road to freedom is fraught with danger. In this case, the danger is facing one last obstacle. Her mom.

“Now, don’t stay out too late.” Yong stated while handing Wheein her coat.

Wheein only rolled her eyes with an exaggerated sigh.

“Mom, for the last time, this isn’t a date.”

Yong only hummed in response while handing the mittens over. Wheein thought that would be the last of it, but the dragon always needs to have the last word.

“From what I saw, I would argue otherwise. Besides, she seems nice enough. I was briefly worried there for a while you know?”

Wheein could only look at her mom with an expression that was a mix between disbelief, shock, and confusion. The fact that her mom, the one who has always encouraged her to focus on her studies first and foremost, was actually worried about her love life?

After a few more moments of trying to comprehend what was just revealed to her, Yong only chuckled. She knew her daughter’s expressions well enough to figure what was going through her mind. Might as well put the poor girl at ease. 

“Yes, yes, I know. I’ve always told you to focus on school and schoolwork and never really encourage you to date or anything. But,” A mischievous smile etched it’s way onto Yong’s face. A dangerous sign. “You are Moonbyul’s daughter too and I remember, very vividly, how she was when she was younger. Besides, I know she gives you her…..’wisdom’.”

Wheein’s expression quickly changed into disgust. An expression that made Yong laugh even more.

“Relax you. I’m just saying, I was expecting this day to come.” Yong ended the sentence in a proud huff. Proud that her daughter finally found someone. Someone that she is compatible with. Yong liked Wheein’s other friends, but she never could see any of them being with her daughter. They were all close, yet so distant at the same time.

“It’s not a date!!” Wheein whined with a small stomp of her foot. Will they ever understand? Hyejin is just a friend. A new friend at that. When was the last time Wheein had a new friend? Of course Wheein would want to spend time with her. That’s what friends do.

Yong only chuckled while giving her daughter a hug. She saw the two girls moment in front of the school. She saw the look in Hyejin’s eyes. A look she saw before, and continues to see. A familiar look. A look she desperately hoped that Wheein would experience one day. She just didn’t expect Wheein to have the experience in front of the school, but that’s beside the point. 

The point was, Yong recognized that look. And even though both girls may not know the meaning behind it, Yong could only hope that the both of them will find that meaning. Together. Whether the meaning leads both girls down the platonic path or romantic path, Yong doesn’t care. She only cares about her daughter’s happiness. A happiness that has increased exponentially ever since Wheein connected with Hyejin. 

With soft disgruntled noises, Wheein hugged her mom back. And after receiving a goodbye kiss on the top of her head, Wheein finally set out. Set out to meet Ahn Hyejin. What could go wrong?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With step one complete, it was time to initiate step two. Stealthy escape. Hyejin parked on the opposite side of the restaurant, which was a gamble. She failed to verify which side of the street the gym was on. Knowing that it would’ve been easy to deduce which side of the street Wheein would be coming from. But that doesn’t matter. What matters now is leaving the car with as little attention as possible. 

With Wheein coming from the same side as the restaurant, it would garner too much attention if she were to leave from the drivers side. Sure, sometimes it seems like Wheein is not paying attention around her and is off in her own little world, but what if she was just as nervous as Hyejin and thus became hyper aware of her surroundings? Hyejin secretly hoped Wheein felt just as nervous as she does currently. But she can’t figure out why she secretly hopes that. But that’s an issue for another day. Right now it is time to stealthy leave the car from the passenger side. 

She easily clambered over to the passenger side. All the while, she maintained Wheein’s position. Wheein is walking faster than she expected so time to speed things up. So, with a couple of deep breaths, Hyejin began to move. 

After a quick assessment of her surroundings, Hyejin opened the passenger door and slinked out. By this point, Wheein just passed her car so Hyejin quickly scampered across the street. Thus, the start of step three. Approach Wheein. There was just one problem though.

How.

Hyejin followed Wheein and the restaurant loomed ahead and was steadfast approaching. Gotta be quick, but there were so many options. Technically two with different variations of each. Option one was calling out to Wheein. But what can she say? Just shout out her name? No, that ain’t cool. Option two was to quickly catch up to Wheein and give a quick little tap. Even though her instinct says to drape her arm around Wheein and give her a little nuzzle. 

Hmm.

Option two is definitely out. They weren’t that close. Yet. So option one it is. 

“Oi, Wheein-ah!” Hyejin called out while gently jogging to catch up. 

Option one may not have been dramatic or lasting, but it served its purpose. Wheein stopped and turned around to face Hyejin. 

As the two faced each other, both had a minor heart attack. Both for the same reason.

Hyejin stumbled a bit after seeing Wheein. Wheein was the definition of cute in her outfit. She looked like she could fit into a pocket with how the coat she was wearing engulfed her. Her hands looked even smaller with those mittens. If she wasn’t focused on keeping her cool, Hyejin would’ve just melted at the sight of so much cuteness before her. Oh how she wanted to just cuddle Wheein right then and there. 

Meanwhile, Wheein had a hitch in . Hyejin’s attire didn’t surprise her, the combination of black jeans, boots, white shirt, and black leather jacket, was standard Hyejin attire. No, what did surprise her was how she felt. How she truly noticed how dangerously attractive Hyejin can be without trying. 

Hyejin finally caught up, and the two continued to stare at each other for another beat before both awkwardly looked away. Feeling a blush creep up, Wheein dug her face deeper into her coat. Passing it off as if she was just cold. 

“Did you just get here?” Wheein’s question was muffled but Hyejin understood her well enough.    

“Y-yea.” Hyejin’s response surprisingly came out more as a squeak.      

“Ah, I’m glad. I didn’t want you to wait for me too long.” Wheein said with a small smile. 

Feeling her groove getting back, Hyejin confidently answered.

“I’ll wait for you till the end of time.”

Wheein cocked her head to the side. And for the briefest of moments, Hyejin felt fear. Was what she said a mistake? But that fear was quickly eradicated.

“Aww, even if there is food waiting for you?” Wheein said with a hint of mischief in her eye. After their text conversation, it’s pretty obvious what Hyejin’s priorities are.

Hyejin’s smile reflected that same mischief, “Well, that depends. If the food will remain hot then yea, I can wait for you. But once the food starts getting cold then I’m ditching your .”

Both girls laughed. The awkwardness from before vanished and familiarity set in. Soon enough both of them were in the restaurant and eating. And all during that time, they talked. They talked like old friends. Old friends who haven’t seen each other in years but every time they do see each other, they pick up right where they left off. 

Despite all their talking, they did enjoy their meals. The restaurant was a small little italian restaurant, where everything tasted as homemade as it was. Which only amplified their experience. They both got different plates but it was easy to share. In fact, so easy that Hyejin didn’t even ask if she could try Wheein’s dish before stealing a bite. Wheein only glared a little before stealing a piece of Hyejin’s plate. Thus it was Hyejin’s turn to glare and steal another piece from Wheein’s plate. 

The only moment of silence between them. And it was a staring contest while stealing bits of each other’s plates. A friendly battle. However, they were civil with the bread and equally divided the bread amongst themselves. 

And that’s how their lunch went. They talked, laughed, took bits and pieces of each other’s plates, and split dessert. And before either knew it, the check came.

“I’ll pay for it.” Wheein went to grab the check but Hyejin snatched it.

“Nope, nope, nope.” 

Wheein only pouted, “Oh come on. At least let me pay for it. I just had to walk here. You had to drive.”

A sound argument to anyone willing to listen. Which was not Hyejin.

“An interesting proposal, here’s my counter offer,” Hyejin said while getting her wallet, “No.”

“Hyejin-aaaaah,” Wheein whined out, “can I at least get the tip?”

Hyejin gave the card to the waitress and pretended to think. She had to admit, seeing Wheein being all whiny and pouty was kinda cute. And as much as she wanted to stretch out this experience, she doesn’t know Wheein’s limits yet and doesn’t want to test them now. Maybe another time.

But for now, she will gladly give in to Wheein’s demands.

“Ugh, fiiiiiiine. How bout we switch off who pays and gets the tip?”

Wheein raised an eyebrow, “Oh? How many more times are we gonna go out to eat?”

“I wanna try different plates, ya know?” Hyejin said with a bold grin.

Wheein only gave Hyejin a deadpan expression, “You just wanna steal more food from my plate.”

A pretend hurtful scoff. A playful delicate hand across her chest as if the words out of Wheein’s mouth pierced her heart. 

“Wheein, I can’t believe you would think such a thing! Like I would take advantage of a friend's meal!”

Wheein’s deadpan expression broke just slightly. The corners of hinted at a smile. A smile caused by Hyejin’s antics. Hyejin wouldn’t admit the amount of joy she felt when she saw that hint of a smile. It felt like a small victory. 

Eventually the waitress returned and Hyejin barely grabbed her card before Wheein stole the check, looked at it briefly, quickly grabbed some cash, and then placed it on the table. Hyejin could only stare.

“Did...did you just do math? In like, five seconds?”

“Hm? It’s just a tip, it’s not that hard.” Wheein responded with a nonchalant shrug.

“Yea but like, that requires like percentages and .” Hyejin finally got her card back in her wallet and returned the wallet to its rightful  place. 

“Hyejin, it’s just moving the decimal place and knowing basic math.”

Hyejin only blinked.

Then blinked again.

And again.

“Hye--”

“The …” Hyejin muttered so softly, yet she sounded so defeated. As if she had been told the answer to a riddle and the answer was something so simple a toddler could figure it out. 

Wheein couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Hyejin-ah, are you gonna stare at the check all day or are we gonna get a move on?”

That’s right. The shops. Hyejin quickly got out of her chair, quickly put it back, and offered her hand to Wheein. All while unknowingly having a giant, eager smile on her face.

“Let’s go then.”

Wheein smiled back, and took Hyejin’s hand. Once her hand was in Hyejin’s, Wheein was taken aback a little. It was odd how their hands seemed to fit each other. How it felt natural to hold hands with Hyejin. How, even despite being dragged to the nearest shop by Hyejin, the sense of safety and comfort and warmth quickly enveloped her. How she did not want to let go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“--and then I grabbed her hand and we went shopping. And, she was cute as the whole time. Honestly, I don’t know how I’m alive right now. Just, how can anyone contain that much cute?? And oh my god, her side profile? Crafted by the gods themselves.” 

Hyejin laid in bed with her laptop as she was in a discord call with her friends. Friends that were currently going mad over Hyejin’s day with Wheein. And teasing her at the same time. 

“Oh my god the mighty Hyejin is smitten. What a time to be alive.” Chu Do-Yeon said in a deadpan voice

“Not gonna lie, that’s cute as hell, like, what the Hyejin-ah. I need more. Tell me More.” Ryom Tae-Hee said with laughter in their voice.

Min-ah didn’t miss his chance to pipe in, “But did you kiss her though? A lil peck? A lil smooch?”

“If Hyejin did manage to give her a kiss, then she wouldn’t be in this call right now. She would be too busy thinking about that moment over and over again while ignoring us.” Ji Yeon stated and the others hummed their agreement.

“Hey, I’m getting there, lemme finish.” Hyejin has been giving them the play by play. But she knows the amount of they are going to give her but this is too important. This was a day she can’t just contain to herself. She has to share it even if it exposes her as a love sick lion.

But before Hyejin could continue, Ji Yeon had to cut in.

“Ok, but before you continue, tell me one thing. Please, for the love of god, please tell me that you finally gave her the handkerchief back. Cuz if I have to hear how you forgot again I’m--”

“.”

“Hyejin-ah!!” All the others said at once before dissolving into endless laughter.