As soon as she entered the house, she knew something was off. The lights were off and not a single sound was heard. It was eerily quiet. The only noise she heard was the sound of Hyejin’s car driving away, but even then, that noise quickly vanished into nothing. The only sound left to accompany her was the echoes of her own footsteps. Well, until she started to pass the living room.

The moment she passed in front of the living room, the lights . The sudden burst of light resulted in Wheein jumping and letting out a small yell. And accidentally bumping into the hallway table.

“What th--”

“So now you come home.”

After adjusting to the light, Wheein faced her mom. Her mom, who was currently sitting in the middle of the couch, with arms crossed and an unreadable expression on her face.

“Huh? It’s barely passed 6!” Wheein exclaimed while she gave her mom a confused look. 

“Oh, was that you who made all that ruckus?” Her mother peered over the stairs and looked down at Wheein.

“Mother, mom scared meee!” Wheein whined. 

Moonbyul only hummed, “Well, that sounds like a you problem so I’m just gonna go back now. Byeeee. Good luck~”

Before Moonbyul could fully turn in order to flee, Yong’s voice stopped her.

“Get down here. And you,” Yong stood up and beckoned Wheein to come into the living room, “you have some explaining to do.”

Wheein barely entered the living room before she stopped. Explain what? What does she need to explain? It wasn’t like she arrived home at 3am and tried to sneak in. Or came home while under the influence of god knows what.

“Yong?” Moonbyul finally made it downstairs and stood by her daughter. Her wife’s tone confused her. She sounded mad, no, more like upset and irritated by something. The sort of irritation that stems from a carefully crafted plan that winded up falling apart. 

Yong breathed in deep and exhaled before giving her wife and daughter the answer they were looking for.

“Wheein, why didn’t you bring your friend inside? I’ve made all these snacks!” Yong gestured to the table in front of her and both Wheein and Moonbyul went over to see it for themselves. 

And before their eyes was a table full of finger foods. Moonbyul looked between the snacks and her wife. While Wheein stared into the abyss, hoping to be embraced by the void.

A few more moments of silence passed before Moonbyul finally spoke.

“Yong, what the hell.”

Wheein continued to stare into nothingness. Her soul had long since ascended.

“I was thinking that our beloved daughter would invite her friend inside. Maybe for a refreshment or two, or maybe to hang out for a bit more in the comfort of her own home.”

Moonbyul nodded but her face still spoke of confusion, “Uh-huh, so you made a whole bunch of finger foods for them?” 

Yong huffed, “Of course! They’re teenagers. They’re always eating something.”

“You have a point, but, uh, why am I here?” As much as Moonbyul loves her wife’s antics, there are just some things she can’t figure out. She just can’t figure out what goes through Yong’s mind sometimes. And maybe that’s why she fell for her. But she didn’t expect a table full of finger foods to be a part of the deal.

“Simple,” Yong stood proud, “this is our dinner now. We’re not wasting this much food.”

Wheein finally returned back to earth just in time to catch the tail end of her mom’s sentence. 

“What--”

Moonbyul’s resigned sigh cut her off, “I’ll get the napkins.”

As her mother left to go to the kitchen,  Yong beckoned her daughter to sit next to her. As Wheein went over her mom wore one of the biggest smiles Wheein has ever seen on her face. But the reason for the smile presented itself the moment Wheein sat down.

“So, how was your date? And you can’t tell me it wasn’t a date,” Yong pointed at the flower that Wheein delicately held, “That’s evidence enough.”

Yong continued to eagerly look at her daughter expectantly with an ever knowing smile on her face.  Her mother returned with napkins and sat across from them. But even she had to put in her two cents.

“And don’t you leave out any details. Afterall, we can’t judge. We were probably more worse than you two were. ” Moonbyul finished her sentence by passing out the napkins with the finger foods on them. Her face had the smile of someone remembering 

Once they had their food, they both got comfortable and looked at Wheein. Wheein took a couple of breaths before telling them how her day went. 

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

Five miles wasn’t bad. Luckily for her she was in shape enough that the five mile bike ride only winded her for a good five minutes. The five mile trek back to Wheein’s house gave Hyejin plenty of time to formulate a plan. Or, at least that is what she should have done.

No, instead all she could think about was seeing Wheein again. Popping by unannounced may be the stupidest ideas she’s ever had. But, how else was she going to give Wheein her handkerchief back? Wait till monday? Nah.

So she peddled. Peddled with all her might. Peddled with the power of her desire to see Wheein again.  Eventually she stopped right before the house so she won’t be caught outside trying to catch her breath. 

After those five minutes to cool down, Hyejin walked with her bike up to the house. All the while she gawked at it again. She doesn’t know if she will ever get used to the house that is standing before her. 

It was a grandiose house. It was on a plot that was, by Hyejin’s guesstimation, maybe five acres. From her view from the driveway from before, Hyejin remembered that it seemed only the front part of the house was two stories while everything afterwards was one story. Hyejin tried her best to think of what kind of floor plan this weird house could have but it was to no avail. Palm trees decorated the grounds around it. And it seemed like there were palm trees sticking out from the middle of the house. 

She wasn’t going to lie. This house seemed like it belonged more on a mediterranean island instead of the mainland. The roof style, arched windows, and colouring made this house stand out like a sore thumb. But, it was beautiful. In it’s own way the house was down to earth. Hyejin felt at ease when seeing the house but there was still a hint of nervousness.

Hyejin had to admit it, she did not plan this through at all. In her eagerness, common sense left and in its place was basic desire. A simple, basic desire. Hyejin could argue this desire was called greed. She was being greedy afterall. Greedy to spend more time with Wheein. 

Hell, she didn’t even text her to see if they could meet outside. No, this was greed. A vile thing, something so vile that the excitement that Hyejin felt earlier dwindled. Instead of excitement, she now felt almost dirty and ashamed.

Dirty. Dirty for just forcibly interjecting herself into Wheein’s life. Just because Wheein allowed it doesn’t mean Hyejin could, what feels like, take advantage of Wheein’s kindness.  Ashamed that Hyejin just kept barreling on. Not once considering what Wheein feels. She just assumed Wheein felt the same. Maybe Wheein feels tired of her already. Maybe all those moments from today were just Wheein being courteous. Maybe they meant nothing in the end. Maybe her answer was just an answer to make Hyejin go away. It really was getting late. Her mind was spiralling into something she always tries to avoid. 

And so she stood there in the driveway. Contemplating whether she should just turn back and wait till monday. It was a little past midnight, she should leave Wheein to rest. So, with a defeated sigh Hyejin picked up her bike and began to make the trek back. But a voice stopped her.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

In her mental spiral, she failed to hear the second story window open. She whipped around to look at the source of the voice. It wasn’t Wheein’s mom so Hyejin assumed it was Wheein’s mother. 

Moonbyul yawned and leaned against the window frame, “Well? You gonna answer me?”

The tone in Moonbyul’s voice was strict. More strict than Hyejin was expecting. After what Wheein told her about her mother Hyejin was expecting more of a friendly tone. This tone was anything but friendly.

There was only one thing to do. Come clean.

“I, uh, was gonna return this handkerchief to Wheein since I forgot earlier but, uhm, I forgot that time existed.” Hyejin said in a defeated tone. A defeated tone with defeated mannerisms. With every word uttered out of , she curled in upon herself like a turtle.

At first, Moonbyul was irked. Irked at having her sleep interrupted but she regained her composure. Something about seeing Hyejin reminded her a bit of how she was when she was younger. Yong was right, it was like looking at a reflection of herself.

With a long sigh, Moonbyul finally responded, “Well, don’t just stand there, get in here.”

As if on cue, Yong opened the front door and beckoned Hyejin inside. Hyejin paused for a moment, wondering what the hell was happening, but this was her chance. Her chance to finally give back the handkerchief. 

After Hyejin was in the entryway, Yong closed the door and happily faced the now shy youngster.

“I’m glad you’re finally here. I’ve saved some snacks for you.” Yong pointed at the tray that was placed on the table.

“Please eat them. As much as I love my wife’s cooking, I don’t think I can survive another meal of just finger foods.” Moonbyul finally made her appearance as she was walking down the stairs.

Hyejin paused. She looked between them, wondering if maybe this is how she gets murdered. But Yong beckoned her again to eat the snacks and who was she to refuse free food?

As she ate, the dragon striked.

“So, you want to return a handkerchief?”

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

Wheein’s sleep didn’t come easy. She kept looking at her phone, expecting some sort of message from Hyejin. But none came. How desperately she wanted another goodnight text. 

Eventually she gave up waiting and decided to turn in. Maybe something will be waiting for her in the morning. So with disgruntled huff, Wheein wrapped herself up in a cocoon. The sheets barely gave Wheein enough comfort that she desperately craved. A comfort that seemed to come from being in Hyejin’s arms. 

And that’s how the rest of Wheein’s night went. Restless despair. Trying to understand these newfound feelings and trying to comprehend them. Were these feelings platonic? Was it romantic? Wheein had no basis for comparison and she couldn't read Hyejin’s mind either. So, for all she knows, everything was platonic. All the lingering touches, the soft looks, the koala clinging. All platonic. If it was all platonic, Wheein wouldn’t mind. Or at least, that’s what she would tell herself. Blatantly ignoring the ache it caused in her heart when thinking that it was just platonic. 

Eventually sleep did come for her. A deep sleep filled with nothing but the void. But it was interrupted. 

She felt a couple of pokes on her face, so she turned around. The pokes stopped for a brief moment but then started up again. So, she covered herself with a blanket. It worked for a brief while before she heard her name.

“Wheein, I know you’re awake. Get the up or I’mma move all your items slightly to the left.”

A familiar voice. A safe voice. A voice she can listen to all day.

Wait.

Wheein jolted up with such force that she headbutted Hyejin.

“Gah, the hell Wheein. What’s your head made of?” Hyejin rubbed the spot where Wheein headbutted her.

Wheein could only stare. How the hell did Hyejin get into her room?

“Hyejin, did you ing break into my house?”

Hyejin stopped rubbing and scoffed, “I’ll have you know, I wa--”

“Dear god Hyejin that’s illegal!”

“Wait I didn’t--”

“We have cameras! Oh my god my parents are going to know. Wait, , they have an alert system on their phones. Quick, Hyejin into the closet!” Wheein got up with such speed and began to usher Hyejin towards her closet.

“Wheein, wait, I--”

“You just wait in there and I’ll grab you a pack of ice.” Wheein felt the bump on Hyejin’s forehead. “Huh, I guess I do have a hard head.”

As much as she wanted to milk the experience of having Wheein’s hand on her forehead, she had a mission. She grabbed Wheein’s hands and held them close. The action was intimate enough that Wheein froze just long enough that Hyejin was able to get a sentence in. 

“I didn’t break in.”

Wheein finally unfroze just enough to comprehend what Hyejin just told her. 

“Huh? Then how--”

The light came on so suddenly that both girls hissed. Well, hissed and sought shelter from the light by clinging onto each other desperately. 

“It’s getting late now Hyejin, you can stay the night if you want. Just let your parents know, ok?” Yongs voice lazily filled the room.

Wheein glared at her mom, “The hell mom?”

Moonbyul came into view carrying a couple of blankets and pillows.

Wheein felt her soul ascend once more as all the pieces began to click.

“Why are you guys like this?” Wheein groaned as she buried her head into Hyejin’s chest, desperate to escape.

Both the dragon and the hamster chimed in in harmony, “Because we love you.”