It was a weekend and Yujin was in the solace of her room, doing her homework for both History subjects. She was to make two reports about a specific event but the ideas didn’t get into her head.

“This is not…” Yujin mumbled as she made a mistake.

She got frustrated and crumpled both papers. She threw them neatly in a trash can filled with identical crumpled papers and slumped her head on her desk.

Yujin had an idea and dialed a number.

+++

Chaewon was in the solace of her room and started the day fresh. After finishing her morning routines and household chores, she started studying. She was rummaging her book when her phone lit up from its stand. 

Her chill nature was suddenly affected. Nonetheless, she answered the call using her earphones. “Yes, Yujin?”

Unnie, I need help with my homework.

“What’s difficult about it?” 

Everything…

Chaewon sighed. “Tell you what. Formulate your own understanding by writing drafts. It’s alright if they’re mixed up. We can resolve that later in the tutorials.”

Umm…I threw most of them in the trash can, unnie.

“Get them back, Yujin. Gather the information and formulate your final draft.” 

Got it, unnie. Thank you.

“Is that all?” Chaewon asked.

W-Wait, unnie. Can we talk a little longer?

“What can we even talk about, Yujin?” 

Anything. Are you studying now? We can talk about what you’re studying.

Chaewon was perplexed. Nonetheless, she kept the call running and discussed what she was studying in terms Yujin can understand.

It had been like that since Chaewon’s first night in being Yujin’s tutor. She conducted formal tutors for two hours every night and resumed school in the day. During vacant hours and weekends for the both of them, they talked casually, almost like friends.

But in the eyes of the public, it wasn’t a usual gesture that friends do. It was almost like the gesture lovers do. Chaewon created a wall between that but Yujin was innocent to break it down.

Nonetheless, Chaewon went through with it and hoped to keep her wall stronger.

+++

Chaewon was preparing her stuff for the tutorials and changed in a more comfortable attire. Her mother watched from afar and helped her in packing.

“Alright, do you have everything you need? Books?”

“Check, Eomma.” Chaewon showed her bag. 

“Notes?”

“Check.” Chaewon lets them out.

“Scented candles?” 

It was heard from outside. Chaewon’s mother opened the door and Chaeyeon got inside.

“Imo Ranhee~” Chaeyeon hugged her.

“Scented candles, Chaeyeon?” Chaewon raised an eyebrow. “What are you expecting will happen?!”

Chaeyeon laughed her nothing out and waited by Chaewon’s side.

“It’s nice to see you two take an interest in tutoring future students in SNU.” Ranhee said. “But don’t pressure yourselves, okay? You can quit if you need to.”

“Yes, Imo~” “Yes, Eomma.”

“Be good to the Ahns, Chaewon.” Ranhee pointed. “Focus on teaching Little Yujin first.”

“I’ll keep it in mind, Eomma.” Chaewon added. “And by the way, Yujin isn’t little.”

“Really, Imo. Yujin’s taller than Chaewon here,” said Chaeyeon.

“She’s taller than you, too.” Chaewon mumbled.

“Enough with the remarks. You need to go.” Ranhee pushed both girls towards the door.

The two bid goodbye to the mother and went to Chaeyeon’s car. Chaeyeon volunteered to drive at Chaewon’s place before going to her own destination.

“Where are you heading to again?” Chaewon asked.

“To the Jang residence. Yeunjung-sunbaenim, Sungwoon-sunbaenim, Minju, Eunsang, and I will tutor SOPA’s top student Jang Wonyoung.” Chaeyeon spoke. “I heard she and Yujin are classmates. Don’t be jealous, Kim Chaewon.”

Chaewon laughed with Chaeyeon until she slapped Chaeyeon’s shoulder because of her joke. They arrived at the Ahn residence and Chaewon thanks with a wave and a threatening fist. Chaeyeon laughs it off and went.

“Unnie, you’re here~”

Chaewon almost cussed and would’ve thrown a punch when she saw Yujin. She regained composure and greeted the younger. “Hey. You waited here?”

“A bit. Let’s go inside, unnie.”

Chaewon followed Yujin’s lead inside the mansion. Yumi greeted Chaewon with a loving hug and even tasked the maids to prepare their dinner and Yujin’s room for the tutorials.

“The progress is very great, Chaewon-ssi. Yujin’s performance in Science got the highest grade.” Yumi shared. “It’s History for tonight, no?”

“It is, Mrs. Ahn. Yujin wanted help for her reports.” Chaewon spoke. “Have you finished your draft, Yujin?”

“Right here, unnie.” Yujin waved the papers around. “I had to retrieve my trash and rewrite it into this draft.”

“I made sure she accomplishes her tasks, Chaewon-ssi. She’s not missing her responsibilities in my watch.”

Yujin whined at her mom not to humiliate her. Chaewon chuckled of the sight and somehow, Yujin adored her tutor.

Nonetheless, they had to make use of the time and eat dinner. The three women were in their usual seats and ate quietly. In Yujin’s case, however, she couldn’t help but feel her heart racing.

“How’s school for you, Chaewon-ssi?” Yumi asked. “Doing good?”

“Doing well, Mrs. Ahn.” Chaewon spoke. “We may have tutorials every evening but it’s never a excuse to slack off.”

“I fully agree to that.” Yumi said the pointed at Yujin. “She’s slacking off and close to graduating. I would be disappointed if she doesn’t do well.”

Chaewon quickly finished her meal and got up. Yujin joined her and the taller stormed in her room first. Chaewon read her emotions like an open book and bowed lightly at Yumi. “We’ll start the tutorials now, Mrs. Ahn.”

Yumi nodded and Chaewon quickly went up to Yujin’s room. Chaewon knocked first and a drained Yujin opened the door.

“Maybe we’ll call this a break.” Chaewon suggested as she got inside. 

“I’m sorry about the dinner, unnie. I…” Yujin huffed. “…I have a cocky woman for a mother sometimes.”

“Mothers are like that. I know that was too much for you.” Chaewon spoke, patting Yujin’s head.

Yujin gulped of the contact. Chaewon’s hand felt soothing. In fact, Chaewon may be a serious tutor but was also a caring unnie that shared her sentiments. After all, Chaewon was once a high school student herself.

However, Yujin’s heart hoped for something more.

“We won’t discuss things this evening. Let me help you with your homework.”

“No, no! We can still have lessons, unnie.” Yujin spoke. “Is it okay for you to discuss my reports and guide me while I make them?”

Chaewon agreed wholeheartedly. Yujin’s drained expression gained its vibrancy as she prepared her long coffee table. Yujin also got her references and patted a spot next to her. “Have a seat, unnie.”

Chaewon felt tensed. Here she was with a charming Yujin next to her. Usually, tutorials were done in the living room, were under Yumi’s supervision, and that they sat across each other. Tonight was the first tutorial in the bedroom with no distance and no supervision.

Focus, Kim Chaewon.

“Unnie, I’m ready~” Yujin’s cheerful voice made her return to reality.

“Okay.” Chaewon got to sit next to her. “Let’s start with the Battle of Plataea.”

Chaewon read Yujin’s draft first. Then, she discussed the topic in its textbook form, explained it in simple terms, and correlated it to Yujin’s draft. Yujin listened and jotted down at her best and wowed of herself since she finally understood her topic.

“Don’t forget the date, Yujin.” Chaewon pointed.

“It was on August 27, 479 B.C, right?”

“You got it!” Chaewon clapped and Yujin cheered while writing.

“You explain better than my teachers, unnie.” Yujin spoke while writing. “Your way of tutoring makes me remember better.”

Chaewon had to hide her blush through an open book. Yujin noticed her discomfort and checked on her. 

“You okay, unnie? Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

“You’re flattering me with your words, Yujin~” Chaewon spoke her heart out. “Don’t give me too much credit. You just need a better approach to help you focus more, that’s all.”

“But I can’t help but appreciate, unnie.” Yujin spoke. “No wonder you’re the top student of your batch in SNU.”

There goes the flattery again, Chaewon thought. Yujin may be younger than her but she couldn’t help the butterflies in her stomach just by being with her in the tutorials. Yujin meant all those words and she was just as nervous as her.

“Unnie?” Yujin called, face closer than usual.

“Y-Yes?” Chaewon spoke, gulping that their faces were closer than usual.

“Can we proceed to Korean History?” 

Chaewon agreed and got her own reference of Korean History. Yujin wowed of the new book as she became eager to go through the tutorials.

+++

It was another morning and Chaewon woke up with a bright spirit. She even sang on her way to the kitchen and gave her mother hugs and kisses.

“Someone’s jolly.” Ranhee chuckled and hugged her daughter back. “Did you have a great tutoring last night?”

“I did, Eomma.” Chaewon got to table and ate a piece of scrambled egg.

“Is it because of Yujin?”

Chaewon almost spits her meal and her mother went ‘bad girl’ mode real quick. Chaewon bowed many times before swallowing her food. At least most people know where she got that spunk from.

“Yes…and are you like Chaeyeon now, Eomma?”

“Do you want to trade places with Chaeyeon?”

“Joke only~” Chaewon did a peace sign. “In all seriousness, it’s because of Yujin BUT I heeded your words many times, Eomma.”

“Good…as long as you don’t pressure yourself, you don’t lose your focus, and you don’t lose happiness with what you’re doing.” Ranhee spoke and joined her.

Happiness. I like that, Eomma…

“Which reminds me…” Ranhee spoke again. “…can you go do groceries before your study hours?”

“Sure, Eomma.”

“Here’s the list. I have the grocery dolly ready.” Ranhee handed it to her. “You’ll go after breakfast to make up the time.”

Chaewon raised a thumb up and continued eating.

+++

Chaewon scurried her dolly inside the hypermarket as she looked at her list. She walked at a fast pace when she bumped into someone.

“Sorry, I – Unnie~!!!”

“Y-Yujin-ah...” Chaewon scooted away and made a peace sign. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, unnie.” Yujin grinned. “What brings you here?”

“Buying groceries.”

“Same! We should do grocery shopping together.”

Chaewon felt her face heat up because of the idea. Grocery shopping together was too big of an idea for her. Yet, her conscience took over and agreed to it.

Coincidentally, they had matching dollies.

“Let’s go, unnie.” Yujin went ahead and got a basket.

Chaewon followed suit and they decided to go through all aisles to get what they need. Yujin was the talker between the two, asking which product to buy or storytelling about what she liked to eat. Chaewon was silent despite being older.

She can’t keep quiet. She had to talk to Yujin too.

“Unnie, should I buy the small pack or bigger pack?” Yujin asked as she showed packs of detergent.

“Here’s a tip, Yujin.” Chaewon checked both detergents. “Always check the number of grams and do estimations and comparisons with the prices. The key objective here is to buy products that gains you resources but saves you money. Example…” She pointed at the label. “…Detergent A is 1500 grams for ₩4500 while Detergent B is 2500 grams for ₩5000. Let’s say you consume 200 grams per wash and you do grocery shopping every week. How many grams would you spend in a month? Base that answer in choosing the right detergent.”

Yujin scratched her head. She at Math so bad she can’t even do so in buying detergent. Chaewon chuckled of her cute confusion that she helped her out.

“Do you do the laundry weekly?” Chaewon asked.

“It’s twice a week, unnie. Eomma had that small scoop and she uses 3 of those in every wash.” 

“A cup is equivalent to a pack and a pack is almost 30 grams so let’s say you use a 90 grams per wash. Since you wash twice a week - ”

“That would be 180 grams per week, times 4, so 720 grams?”

Chaewon clapped and did a thumbs-up. Yujin was happy to solve that without a calculator and got excited. “What’s next, unnie?”

“Divide the prices to the detergent’s grams.”

Yujin scrunched her head. Chaewon couldn’t but adore her as she works hard to solve a simple equation.

“Detergent A has ₩3/gram while Detergent B has ₩2/gram.” Yujin spoke. “I can use Detergent A for 2 months while I can use Detergent B for 3. The difference is too low, unnie.”

“Correct. You can also check the purpose of the detergent. Does is prevent clothes from getting smelly, does it maintain the color, or does it clean tough stains?” Chaewon spoke. “It also depends on Mrs. Ahn’s preference.”

Yujin wowed and made comparisons. She couldn’t help but practice her brain while admiring Chaewon doing the groceries. 

It just goes to show that their tutorials not only gained knowledge but something more.

“I’m picking Detergent B, unnie.” Yujin made her choice. “It saves more months of buying plus Eomma prefers it.”

“Excellent choice.” Chaewon raised a thumb again. “You’re getting good at Math, Yujin. I might prepare harder problems for you to solve.”

Yujin chuckled as she and Chaewon went to pay their groceries. Yujin lets Chaewon go first.

“Unnie.”

“What is it, Yujin?” 

“You don’t seem as scary as you looked the first time we met.”

Chaewon was shocked yet she got to pay all her groceries. Yujin got her turn and apologized, fearing that her words embarrassed or offended Chaewon.

“Oh, it’s fine, Yujin.” Chaewon spoke. “I don’t mind you saying what you think.”

“I just think that you’re a badass unnie.” Yujin chuckled. “But a caring unnie suits you more.”

Chaewon was flattered yet again. She never thought that the taller high school student had the exquisite words to express her feelings. 

“All done.” Yujin got her dolly full. “We should eat together before going home, unnie.”

Chaewon checked her wallet and was relieved to bring her earnings from the tutorials. “Okay. You pick where to eat.”

+++

Chaewon always thought Yujin was the rich kid who would prefer fastfood or fancy restaurants. She didn’t expect Yujin settled for a simple tteokbokki place. She could only look at her chew pieces of rice cake and slurp broth happily.

“I didn’t expect this, Yujin.”

“People say that a lot, unnie.” Yujin grinned as she ate. “You should try. The tteokbokki here is delicious.”

Chaewon tried a piece and Yujin wasn’t lying. She ended up joining Yujin in eating and both enjoyed each other’s company.

“Unnie…” Yujin called. “…didn’t I ever tell you that I’m happy that you were my tutor?”

Chaewon froze at first but she gulped the rice cake down, saying. “You express it in many ways, Yujin. And I want you to know that I’m also glad that I got to tutor you.”

Yujin got her turn to be frozen. Chaewon continued to eat whereas she had to join her since they needed to return to their homes. Chaewon offered to pay for their meals but Yujin offered to pay. 

In the end, they split the bill.

“Thanks for the meal, Yujin.” Chaewon spoke. “See you this Monday.”

“Thank you too, unnie…for you time.” Yujin spoke. “See you.”

The two waved goodbye, separating ways and skidding their dollies of groceries by their sides. Although they were already far from each other, their smiles and blushes meant one thing.

They were happy that their relationship was growing.