Nobody truly knows who they are for too long; people constantly change and grow, blossoming until they become unrecognizable to their former selves. As people grow, so do their beliefs and perceptions about the world; understanding love was no exception to the endless growth humans go through.

It was no surprise that almost every night, three girls pondered the love that coursed through their veins, desperate to understand the wild whispers of their hearts. Even if they couldn’t quite label it or understand it as love, the feeling existed nonetheless.

Park Sooyoung was one of the three afflicted by the unknown feeling of love snaking its way into her body. It had been weeks since her first encounter with a tiny, annoying blonde, and she couldn’t get her out of her head. She felt crazy, and stupid, for allowing herself to fall for a girl who: 1) she barely even knew and 2) clearly already had someone. Wendy had flirted with her and even looked at her in awe, but the way Irene and Wendy existed around each other had Joy feel like an intruder.

Despite her confusion towards Wendy, she found herself hanging out with the girl’s best friend whenever she could, the strange girl quickly becoming her only friend. Irene wasn’t strange in a erse way that caused people to whisper about her—no, she was strange in that she actively avoided any attention that could be given to a girl so beautiful. She never wore any makeup, and her fashion choices were questionable. Still, Irene had a beautiful face and an infectious personality, and Joy found herself wondering how she was supposed to compete with someone so wonderful.

Joy and Irene were hanging out once again, making their way towards a coffee shop when the object of Joy’s affections walked out the door to the small cafe.

“Seungwan-ah!” Irene’s excitement was visible on her face. Joy smiled as the girl standing beside her quickly left her side to be close to her best friend; she smiled despite the burning feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Seungwan didn’t plan on running into the two girls, but when she did she felt her knees go weak. The coffee she had just finished drinking moved wildly in her stomach amongst the butterflies she felt at the sight of Joy.

Joohyun immediately clinged to her side, and Seungwan felt herself relax into the familiar warmth. Her eyes, however, never left Joy’s face.

“Hey,” Wendy simply stated, the single word loaded with intents she couldn’t voice just yet.

“Hey,” Joy replied. There was a teasing inflection in her voice, subtle enough to miss if you weren’t paying attention yet loud enough that Joohyun raised her head in suspicion.

“I didn’t get you a coffee, but I have a hot blonde waiting for you anyway,” Seungwan joked, making Joy blush and shake her head.

Joohyun, on the other hand, tightened her grip on Wendy, her insides feeling like lava as she watched the two converse. Am I even here? She hasn’t even said hi to me yet…

The feeling of nails digging into her arm caused Wendy to look at Joohyun, whose face was uncharacteristically hardened.

“Yah,” she addressed her softly. She smiled when she saw the hard lines of Irene’s face soften as they looked into each other’s eyes. “You’ll get wrinkles if you frown all the time.” She flicked her friend’s forehead before returning her attention to Joy.

It wasn’t quite anger that Irene felt. It was something deeper and darker, a feeling that soaked her mind in gasoline while holding a match. It wasn’t the feeling itself that drove her crazy, it was the inability to pinpoint the cause of such darkness. 

She couldn’t even remember why she was hanging out with Joy in the first place; it was a Monday, which meant she had to be at the dance studio in a few hours, and she could’ve spent those few hours listening to Wendy and Joy flirt, but she had some semblance of self-respect left.

Her two friends continued their conversation, but all Joohyun could focus on was removing herself from the situation. She tugged on Seungwan’s sleeve in an attempt to get her attention, the darkness inside her deepening when her best friend didn’t even budge.

“I think I’m going to go early to practice.” No other explanation was given before she started to walk off, unable to handle being there but also unable to explain why she couldn’t.

A hand closed around her wrist as she began to leave, forcing her to stop in place.

“Why are you leaving?” Seungwan pouted and Joohyun almost considered staying. However, she saw Joy’s enamored reaction to the pout and gingerly removed her wrist from the grasp.

“I haven't been practicing as well recently; Seulgi and I have a duet at the talent showcase in two weeks, you know?” All this was true, but it didn’t take a genius to realize that was still an excuse.

Joy narrowed her eyes and Seungwan opened in protest. “But it’s only 3, and practice is at 5. That’s ridic-“

“It’s an important thing for me, Seungwan.”

Every red flag was waving in front of Joy’s face, but Wendy seemed oblivious to the reason for Joohyun’s seemingly sudden sour mood. Wendy’s face went through several expressions, failing to find the words to convince her best friend to stay.

When Joohyun finally walked away, Seungwan groaned.

“You ok?” Joy asked carefully.

“Yeah.” Wendy ran a hand through her hair, visibly frustrated.

Hot. “Why don’t we get some coffee and talk about it?”

“I don’t know if you remember, but I just came out of the coffee shop,” Wendy teased, making Joy blush in embarrassment.

“Ok, so I’ll get a coffee and you can watch me be pretty.”

“I’m already watching you be pretty.” Wendy winked and Joy was positive she was beet red.

They sat at a small table inside the coffee shop. Joy, funnily enough, ordered a hot blonde and was sipping it as Wendy watched.

Joy noticed the way the other girl’s eyes would fall to her lips every time she took a sip. “Are you going to just stare at me forever?” She teased. “Anyway, what happened earlier with Irene?”

Wendy shook her head and shrugged. “Don’t know. She’s a grumpy girl; I’m sure she’ll be fine by the next time I see her. Besides, it’s not really your business.”

“Excuse me?” Joy sat back and folded her arms. “She’s my friend too, Seungwan.”

“And who told you to call me Seungwan?”

Joy rolled her eyes and scoffed. ”Joohyun always talks about you, and she only calls you ‘Seungwan,’ so I just figured I might as well call you that too.”

Wendy ignored the pride that swelled in her chest at the thought of Joohyun constantly talking about her. “I’m surprised you can even pronounce a Korean name.” Wendy’s prejudice against the girl was evident; her bias was rooted in the fact that Joy never lived in Korea.

Joy saw straight through the girl’s snide comment. “Where I live does not determine how ‘Korean’ I am. You, me, Joohyun, and my dad are probably some of the only Asian people in this entire school, yet you want to police that because I’m not ‘Korean’ enough? If it helps your nationalist ideology, you can call me Sooyoung. Living in London and studying and growing up there hasn't made me forget my roots—and don’t you forget that.”

Seungwan sat in shameful silence; she was cocky and brash, but she wasn’t arrogant. She knew she was wrong, and she scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment. Was it wrong that being humbled only made her heart run faster?

“Ah, I’m sorry. My head was up my for no reason. I think I was just looking for reasons to not like you.” Seungwan looked down, a blush coming across her face as she quietly admitted the last part.

She’s so cute. “It’s fine; just know that ignorance is not the way to flirt,” Sooyoung teased.

“Who said I was flirt-“

“Anyway, you should definitely talk to Joohyun.”

It was clear that the tall girl wouldn’t stop insisting on checking on Joohyun, so she formulated an idea that would get her the best of both worlds. “Ah, Sooyoung…” she gulped before looking straight into her eyes, feeling herself become uncharacteristically nervous. “Do you want to go watch Joohyun’s dance practice?”

She let out a sigh of relief when Joy actually agreed to spend more time with her.

The woman that had enchanted Wendy wasn’t like any of the other girls she pursued. Those girls were beautiful on the outside, but she only wanted them for a night or two or maybe even several different nights. With Joy, however, she didn’t simply desire her body, and she didn’t just want a simple friendship; she wanted Sooyoung in every imaginable way.

On the other side of town, Joohyun sat on her hands and knees, breathing heavily from exhaustion. The polished hardwood floor was unforgiving on her body, rendering her unable to find any comfort. The floor was slippery underneath her sweaty hands, yet she stayed in the painful position, hoping to find the strength to get up. She hadn’t stopped dancing since she entered the building in an attempt to distract herself from the storm brewing in her heart. Every step she took was harder than the last; she would not stop until she physically couldn’t get up, and she seemed to have reached that point. All she wanted to do was dance until she forgot the feeling of her best friend ignoring her in favor of Joy.

Seulgi entered the dance studio an hour earlier than when practice started, surprised to see that the studio wasn’t empty. None of the lights were on, but the wide windows and mirrors on the walls illuminated Joohyun’s fatigued figure. With concern, Seulgi rushed over to Joohyun, placing a hand on her back. The exhausted dancer flinched away from the contact, her body too sore to be touched.

Seulgi was confused and worried. How long has she been here?

“Hey… what happened?”

Joohyun laid on her back and put her hands over her eyes. She groaned before she answered: “Seul, I’d love to give you a good and honest answer, but I can’t feel my body, and I actually don’t know what’s wrong, so will you just take my word for it if I say I just wanted some extra practice for our duet?”

Seulgi raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Instead, she gently guided Joohyun’s body until she was