NOTE: I was admittedly a little worried about posting this chapter, since it might be a rather sensitive topic for some. But nevertheless, I hope you guys enjoy it!

It'd been almost a month since they moved in together. They had slept the first day away, and spent the second tidying up the house, but from the third day onwards, they were left with nothing to do, and they hated it. It gave them time to remember their current situation and left them vulnerable to their emotions.

Solji spent most of her time in bed, sometimes sleeping or sometimes just staring blankly at the wall. She almost always had tears in her eyes, so often that her eyes seemed to remain red and puffy all day long. She was unmotivated and didn't feel like doing anything at all. She always felt tired, even when she just woke up or after sleeping for a long time. She only got up for meals and to use the bathroom. Rarely, she would be out of bed, just wandering aimlessly around the house, or cleaning the floor even when it wasn't dirty.

LE wasn't any better. She always had to be doing something. Every surface in the house was wiped several times daily. Not a single speck of dust was spared. She cooked all the meals, and spent several hours a day on her laptop. She didn't touch her social media. Neither of them did. They both had their phones turned off, just not having the mood to socialise even the slightest. Rarely, she'd be doing exercises on the floor. Sometimes, when she couldn't keep her mind occupied, she would cry with Solji, neither of them speaking.

LE looked to Solji, who sat on the floor next to her, crying again. She could feel her own tears forming in her eyes as she looked up at the ceiling and exhaled, trying to compose herself.

"Solji unnie." Solji gave no reply. "That day, when we first met. Why were you so willing to live with a complete stranger?" Her question slowed Solji's sniffles. "Most people wouldn't just agree to live with someone they never knew." Solji looked to her slightly.

"Because..." She started, in between hiccups and sniffles. "Because, I didn't have anywhere else to go. My parents disowned me." LE couldn't keep her jaw from dropping when she heard that.

"W-Why?" She eventually brought herself to ask, which only served to make Solji cry harder.

"T-They couldn't accept that I like girls." Her heart sank at Solji's words. She just couldn't believe it. Just for that?

FLASHBACK

"Mom... Dad... I...I'm..." Solji drew a few deep breaths to compose herself. "Do you love me?"

"What's with that sudden question?" Mr Heo asked.

"I-I...Please, I just need to know if you love me." Mrs Heo got up and embraced her.

"Oh, Solji, you're our daughter. Of course we love you."

"R-Really?"

"Solji, what's wrong? You didn't ask that just because you're curious, right?" Juseung asked, sensing that something was up. Solji merely nodded as went dry. "What is it? You can tell us anything, Solji."

"W-Well... I..." She swallowed the lump in as she finally found her voice again. "I'm a lesbian." The way her mother pushed her away instantly was like a blow to her gut.

"You mean you like girls?" When Solji looked up only to be met with nothing but looks of disgust, it was like a thousand knives had been driven into her. Her eyes watered as she looked down again, nodding. "You can't like girls!" Her mother blurted out. "It's not right!"

"Why? Why is it wrong to like girls?" Solji whimpered when her father slammed his hands down on the table.

"Get out! I want you out of this house! I don't have a lesbian daughter! If I still see you tonight, I'll call the cops on you for trespassing!" He warned as he stormed off into his room and slammed the door loudly, making Solji jump as tears streamed down her face, her eyes kept tightly shut. Her mother just shook her head in a mixture of disgust and disappointment at her as she walked away as well.

"I...I'll just go, uh, talk to them." Juseung said as he, too, walked away, leaving Solji, who finally allowed her tears to fall and sobbed into her hands.

She was gone that very night, leaving behind not a trace of her existence except for a single letter left on the table. None of them had even heard her leave. She even left behind the house keys as she fled from the house she had grown up in and the only family she had ever known.

END OF FLASHBACK

By the time Solji finished her story, LE was in tears as well.

"That's not right... That's just...not right..." She cried. "Why must they treat you like that just for being a lesbian? It's not wrong to like the same gender! It's not wrong!" For the first time since they met, Solji initiated a hug, gathering LE into her arms, and began to cry with her, letting out all the sorrow, hurt, and pain she felt in the form of loud anguished wails.