"Wakie wakie sleepy"

 Yongsun lightly taps her girlfriend's shoulder, waking her up.

 “Yong… It’s only 7 am in the morning… I want to sleep…” Byul mumbled. She turned around, covered herself with the blanket.

 “Noooooo” Yongsun whined, shaking the blanket burrito “Byul-ah I want to spend time with you! You slept too much this day! I barely got anytime to play with you” She pouted.

 Byul peaked her head out to look at her girlfriend. Her beauty seems a bit unreal. The young girl always had a hard time to catched her thoughts when she saw that visual. She quickly scrambled up, then stood up on her feet.

 “Yes, milady” She jokingly bowed “What can I do for you today?” 

 Yongsun chuckled “Well then I want your full attention today. But first a small breakfast will be great.”

 Byul smiles gentilly, as she holds on to her girlfriend's precious hand. The loving birds clings on to each other to the kitchen, where Byul puts on the pink apron and starts to scramble some eggs. The young woman busied herself with the eggs and bacon, while Yongsun just sat there at the dining table eyeing every movement of her girlfriend. It was so peaceful, too peaceful it seems like a dream.

 This is their dream house. Both of them have been dreaming for this moment long ago, when they’re still in university. Byul always wants both of them to live together, so when she proposes the idea to Yongsun, they immediately jump to the same goal. They have dated since then, in a strickly homophobic country. Their love has been hidden in layers of lies, in the forms of ‘we’re only friends’. They can’t show their love in public, but for sure when they’re alone, they’ll give their best to each other. 

 “Byul, I suddenly remembered our cooking is the same”  Yongsun tried her best not to laugh at the half burnt eggs and bacon infront of her, while Byul tried her best to hide behind her large hoodie, mumbling “I tried… It seems way harder than how the people in the internet teached”

The older woman doesn't seem to mind it though, as she spoon up a presentable part of the eggs and happily chew on it. Byul nervously sat and watched, but she soon relieved when she saw no sign of her girlfriend wanting to throw up.

 “It’s torrentable” 

 “Unnie I poured my heart and soul onto it and you said it was just torrentable?....” Byul pouts.

 “Alright you whining baby” Yongsun laughs “It is the most delicious scrambled egg I’ve ever had in my life” She teases. 

 After an hour of struggling to finnish half of the dish, both of them decided to call delivery for the best.

While waiting for the food to come, the duo sat there on the couch cuddling each other. They enjoy their warmth, Byul enjoys her girlfriend’s warmth. The younger girl breathes through her girlfriend’s pijama. Yongsun's scent was like a calming forest after the rain. The smell of rain drops, mixed with the earthy scent of mud. All combined to become perfect, to become Yongsun.

 The scent makes Byul feel sleepy, as she quickly closes her eyes, inhaling the lovely scent one more time.

 “Take a deep breath in Byul, everything is ok” She heard Yongsun said

-------------------------------------------------

 Byul’s heavy eyes open up

 She sat there alone on the leather couch, in her flat. Not their house anymore. 

 The young woman slowly sat up, looking around her house trying to find the familiar brown hair girl, but there was nothing. 

 After a few cups of cold water to wake her up from the sleepiness, a rumble from her pocket indicated she had a call. Looking up at the screen, she quickly realized that’s Hyejin, a close friend of hers. Hyejin is one of a few people who knows about her relationships, as it’s still a controversial thing in their country. 

 “Hyejinnie! What’s up?”

 Hyejin seemed a bit surprised by the positive response “Unnie!... I’m glad you felt better now, but uhm… Goss, I felt awful…” She stuttered, hard to pronounce words by words  “It just… unnie, when you’re feeling comfortable enough, can you please head to the funeral?... You,.. I mean all of us need to bid farewell to her for the last time”

 Byul’s brain was numbed. She didn't quite follow what her friend was saying. For her it seemed like a new different language 

 “Hyejin-ah, what are you saying? Who’s funeral is that?”

 Silence. Her friend didn’t reply to her, only the sound of Hyejin’s sobbing can be heard through the mic. Her friend, a woman who's the most powerful one Byul can ever meet. Who can never drop a tear no matter what, are now sobbing, cracking up like a child. A voice of comfort can be heard lightly, and quickly a person replaces Hyejin with the phone.

 “Hey unnie, Wheein’s here” Wheein was also a friend of Byul, well more likely a friend of Yongsun. They were strangers at first, but quickly grew a friendship between. 

 “Unnie we know that you’ve gone through hard times alone” Wheein’s voice hoarse “But I really think you should be here. Unnie you’re the most important person to her. Really unnie, no matter what you think, please come here quick” She started to spoke faster, an attempt to not crying again

 It seems like Byul’s brain has stopped working, cause she can’t put this puzzle together “Wheein-ah, calm down. Who’s funeral is that?”

 Now Wheein was truly shocked. A few seconds of silence, then her broken voice spoke. It was small and seemed inaudible. 

 “Unnie, today is Yongsun’s unnie funeral…”

 Byul can’t hear the last part. Her head was numb. Her feets and hands were cold. She felt like dropping down from a 10 floor building. Yongsun, her Yong are dead? No that can’t be true? 

 “Wheein stop joking around” Byul’s laughing maniacally. Her laugh seems like forcing “That can’t be? I just met her”

 Now the young girl starts to cry out loud. Her voice carried sadness, but also a pinch of dissapoting and angry “No unnie. That's just your dream! Please wake up, and please, please come here!” The call ended. The pleading voice echoing in Byul’s brain. 

 She can feel something creeping up in her brain, wanting to come out. But she shut that thought before it could reach daylight. She might be in disbelief, but somehow still went up to the closet and changed to a full black vest. The whole process made her body betray her brain. Why was she doing that? She clearly knows that Yongsun is still alive, that her girlfriend might be jogging around the neighbourhood as usual. But why is a part of her still showing pain in response? 

 Her body shakes in disbelief, her shaky hands reach to the other pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. As she inhales one, then two, then three non-stop. All her brain needs are the deadly smokes of the tobacco to calm her down. 

 ‘This might be just an intense lucid dream’ She thought to herself. It’s true. Since childhood her lucid dreams were always strong. Most of the time Byul can just lay down and get lost in the worlds of her dream. Sometimes it can be the most unbelievable dream, in the world where she can fly or dragons exist. But most of the time the dream can be the closest to real life, maybe too real. One time she even dreamt of working in the office and basically spent a whole productive day in her dream. 

 She pulls over a cab, then mechanically enters. The driver was trying to have a small talk, but this isn’t the best time for her. After a few attempts were unsuccessful, the driver stopped talking and focused on the road. 

 The ride is quiet, but not as quiet as Byul’s mind right now. Is she being too calm? No she can’t panic because she can’t be sure if all of this is real. 

 Still in the state of shock, Byul let herself sink in the car’s seat. Her mind started to dizzy out, before she closed her eyes one more time. 

-------------------------------------------------------

 “Byul!! Come on, we're watching a romantic movie and you're just sleeping like that?”

 Her eyes open again, and the first thing she sees are their TV playing Titanic. Byul quickly sat up, turning to her girlfriend.

 “Yong! You’re here!” 

 Yongsun gave her a questionable look “Yes? Where the hell can I be?” 

 “No! I mean…” Byul scratches her neck “I don’t know? Maybe it just a bad dream” 

 “It sure hell is. Byul you’re sweating” Yongsun laughed. She reached out to the AC controller to turn the heat down. Byul exhaled, as she felt the cooling wind blow her sweaty bang away.

“It was… so real Yong” Byul still can’t shake away the dream. 

 Yongsun held her hand, reassuring the shaky girl with her warmth “I’m here Byul, it’s ok now. I’ll always be here for you.”

 Byul sigh. She calms herself down before telling her everything. How it was so real, how she heard of the dead news, and how she was believing it for a moment.

 “So I was dead?” 

 “Yap. I was scared to death. Luckily it just a dream”

 “Why am I dead Byul?” Yongsun suddenly grew interested in the topic, which to be honest made the younger hesitant to answer. Byul doesn’t want her brain to recall that horrible scenario she just witnessed. 

 “Oh uhm… I don’t know Yong, I was too scared to find out” 

 Yongsun gives the scared girl a kiss, as she stands up and walks to the kitchen “It's just a nightmare Byul. I’m going to brew some tea to calm you down. Strawberry or Earl Grey babe?” 

 “Strawberry please, and uhm 4 sugar cubes too if you can” A little bit of sweetness can be used to calm her for a moment now

 “Sure baby, anything for you”

 As the clock kept ticking by, Byul finally went back to normal. And by normal standards, she only stops visibly shaking in terror. Both of the girls are now in the kitchen, enjoy their peaceful quiet together 

 The tea had gone cold a long time ago, but Byul still grabbed onto it. She stared at the sweet drink, unable to find the right words to say.

“Baby, we finally got some time for each other but now you're just gonna sit there and be quiet?” Yongsun said, she’s clearly bored.

 Moon Byulyi stops staring at the cup. She gathered herself ‘That’s right, there’s no time for this crap. I need to enjoy this moment together while I still can” 

 “I’m so sorry Yong. What do you wanna do?” She steps closer, embrace her girlfriend in a big hug 

 “Well we’ve been inside for too long now, it’s suffocating. Mind if we walk outside for a bit?”

 “Sure thing”

 It’s still December, so the weather is not in the best condition for a walk. Both of them grabbing on a thick coat with scarf, fully kitted for their short walk outside their backyard . Snow started to fall down, whitening the whole area. 

 “Hey Byul” The older woman playfully picked up some wooden sticks. “Wanna make a fire camp? We can make some s’more if you want”

 “Unnie are you twelve or something?”

 “Stop criticizing me! It’s not my fault for my soul to be so young you know!”

 Byul chuckle, defeated by her girlfriend’s cuteness “For sure for sure, let me help you then” 

 A small fire camp was held, as they sat there, enjoying the crackle of fire. They can’t have any s’more, because someone decided to eat a whole bag of marshmallow the other days. Not to point fingers at anyone but that’s definitely Byul’s work. 

 “This reminds me of my childhood” Yongsun said, while throwing small sticks to the fire “Sitting in front of a fireplace, listen to my grandma’s fairy tales.”

 “Fairy tales really aren’t a thing in my family dictionary, we don’t do that often ” Byul recalled. Her mother and fathers are always busy with themself. They rarely spend time with her, so most of her memories are the four walls with a lot of annoying kids inside the kindergarden by day and childcare by night. The teachers and nannies are all nice, but they themself are also too busy to pay attention to her.

 “Then let me introduce to you some new things honey!” Yongsun excitedly jumping in her seat

 “Wait I mean-”

 “It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark…” 

Now the older woman is completely immersed herself in the story. ‘The Little Match Girl’ by  Hans Christian Andersen. Classic. Byul already knew this story. Sure there was nobody there to whisper tales to her but she can still read it on her own? But it doesn't matter much, cause now she finally had someone willing to tell her all of the stories she wanted to hear. 

 “Her hands were almost dead with cold. Oh, how much one little match might warm her! If she could only take one from the box and rub it against the wall and warm her hands.” Yongsun takes a box of matches out, imitating the girl in the story “She drew one out. R-r-ratch!” 

 Byul can only follow with a smile and melted heart

 “How it sputtered and burned! It made a warm, bright flame, like a little candle, as she held her hands over it; but it gave a strange light! It really seemed to the little girl as if she were sitting before a great iron stove with shi