At a certain cafe shop just in the corner of a back-alley, sat two young women who were spending their time together. 

 

“Honey, look at this pancake. It’s so cute, like you!” The rather popular Instagrammer placed her phone down after several snaps here and there. Such actions only invited a weak grin on the other lady’s face, who was getting more and more insecure about her partner’s flighty actions in the past few weeks lately. 

 

“I guess work has taken over you so much that you only know how to compliment others now..” The sales manager mumbled softly so that the egoistic girlfriend of hers wouldn’t take notice. 

 

“Anyways, we should really eat! The pancakes are not going to eat themselves..” Jungeun happily dug into her food without a care in the world. 

 

“Jungeun..”

 

---

 

Perhaps that day went wrong, whether it was planned by the gods or not. The manager found herself in silence as she ran through the entertainment weekly page in the newspaper, revealing the news of her current girlfriend finding another new toy to play with. 

 

“Jungeun.. We need to talk.” Only one sentence ran through her mind for the entire day ahead of her as she braced herself for the worst. 

 

Calmly waiting outside the workplace of the Instagrammer, Yves cleared her mind for the confrontation ahead. As soon as she caught her-

 

The rumors were true.. It’s true..

The women she saw in the newspaper were exactly the ones she saw when the door opened. 

 

Unable to contain her emotions any longer, she ran away. 

 

Both in fear and betrayal.

 

---

 

‘On today’s evening news, 3 major road accidents were reported to the Police Department. The most recent one involved a 26-year-old woman who suffered severe facial damages and had been sent to the ICU immediately. Others consist of..’ 

 

In front of the TV broadcast, two women sat in silence. Particularly for one of them. 

 

“Yves.. It’s all my fault.. I should’ve told you from the start..” The cries of the woman were soothed by the other sitting next to her while holding her hand. 

 

---

 

“Lalala..” A plainly-dressed woman was making her way downtown when she felt a slight bump on her right. In an instant, she heard the sound of objects falling onto the ground and quickly turned around. 

 

A frail-looking lady of around the same age as her was laying on the floor, scrambling her arms around to pick up any objects that had been dropped out of the bag. 

 

“Oh no.. I’m so sorry for not paying attention while I’m walking. Here, let me help you.” With her swift hands, the kind office lady managed to grab the last apple before the ex-manager did. 

 

Noticing how the lady was sporting a pair of sunglasses and a walking stick, Jinsoul couldn’t just leave her behind like that. Holding her arms out, she got both women standing up together in no time. 

 

“Uhm.. Thanks for helping me, stranger.” Yves stuttered while looking in another direction. 

 

“Aww.. That’s so sweet of you. I hardly even hear a word of thanks while I’m helping others at work. Consider it my treat for making my day!” Jinsoul exclaimed happily but was met with an awkward response. 

 

“What do you mean by.. ‘Treat’?” The other lady paused in her shoes. 

 

“I don’t get to accompany you home while helping you to carry some stuff of yours?” The fishie sounded despondent as soon as the question was dropped. 

 

Picking up on the tone of the statement, Yves felt a little bad for rejecting the kind lady’s offer, so she nodded. 

 

As both women made their way back to her residence, they shared a hearty conversation. One that the ex-manager missed as she recalled back to when she first met her ex-girlfriend.

 

It wasn’t long till they reached their destination but the woman was still in her thoughts. 

 

Not wanting to be rude, Jinsoul simply tugged at her shirt slightly since it was the most indirect way to get the blind lady’s attention back to the present. 

 

“Oh, we must have reached. Thank once again for-” The sound of thunder struck before the sentence finished, causing the woman to be crippled in shock. Squatting helplessly at the front door, the office lady offered to open the door in her place. 

 

“Do you mind handing me the key, we should get in quickly, so you won’t be scared of the noise anymore.” Trembling, Yves handed her pouch to the other lady immediately, seemingly trusting her in the short span of time since they met each other. 

 

‘Click.’ The key went in right when another lightning struck, giving both women time to enter the safe haven of the blind lady before the thunder once more. 

 

Slowly guiding Yves to the nearest chair, the office lady chirped. 

 

“I’m happy we made it before the thunderstorm hit us. Now I have to be on my way-” Her sentence was interrupted by the host’s voice abruptly. 

 

“Wait. I still haven’t gotten your details, nice stranger. Perhaps.. If anything happens to me, I can still contact you.. Right?” The blind lady fiddled with her fingers, uncertain if she would get what she wanted with such a bold request from the other woman. 

 

“Sure, of course! Hold on, lemme just-” The woman then gleefully took out her cell phone but paused for a while.  

 

“I’m sorry.. I forgot.. You’re partially blind, right? Perhaps I’ll just do it for you then.” Jinsoul whistled while keying in her details swiftly. Within a few minutes, the deed was done. 

 

“Let’s see.. Oh no.. I forgot my umbrella at my parent’s house again.. T-T” Yves chuckled when she could imagine how the woman’s face looked like for a second in her mind. 

 

“Do you wish to borrow mine? I have a few in the cupboard near the shoe drawer. You can pick out any color you want.” The host decided to step in to help the other party when she needed help too. 

 

“But it’s your umbrella.. And I’m not sure if we can meet out of chance like today again..” The office lady let out a peal of sheepish laughter. 

 

Sensing hesitation, the swan asked about the contact number filled in by the other woman. 

 

“Oh about that? I actually created a short-cut, so when you really want to find me.. You could just press ‘7’  and the call will be made at that instant. I suppose you can contact me if you really want your umbrella back.. Hehe..” 

 

And with that, the office lady made her exit out of the host’s house.. Not before..

 

“Sorry for troubling you! But may I know what’s your name?” Yves shouted along the corridor so the other woman could hear. 

 

As if a second felt like an eternity, a reply as loud as the question was received. 

 

“Jinsoul here~!”

 

---

 

Months went by and the two women met up for various reasons.. The first was thanks for the kind deed Jinsoul offered, the next being a trip to a nice cafe downtown, the others for reasons not explicitly spoken. 

 

But one thing was for sure, both women seemed to have a thing for each other. 

 

And both knew about it.

 

---

 

While waiting for her close friend to show up for another one of their ‘dates’, Jinsoul noticed how the clouds were starting to gather and immediately called on Yves to know where she was at that instant. 

 

“..Alright, I’ll be right there. So just wait for me okay?” 

 

The woman hurried her steps as she walked towards the metro station just across several streets. 

 

After around 10 minutes, a familiar woman caught her sight and she ran towards her without fail. 

 

“I’m so sorry for making you come out on a rainy day. Seems like the weather forecasting team was such a bad liar..Hmph!” Jinsoul then checked on her friend to see if she was upset or anything. 

 

Perhaps more than upset was little giggles coming off from the blind lady. Rainy day or not, Yves was just happy to be with the one she loves. 

 

“I thought we’re visiting this newly opened mall today, what are we waiting for?” A smile was all it took to get both women walking. 

 

Halfway through the journey, Yves decided to change things up a little. No longer just placing her hand on the woman’s arm, she boldly spiced things up and went for Jinsoul’s hand while she was holding the umbrella. 

 

Flustered by the sudden hand-holding, the fish yelped out, quickly embarrassed by the strange sound she let out. 

 

“You don’t like it?” The blind lady quickly retracted her hand backward, but slowly felt another hand bring it back to where she left it just now. 

 

“It’s okay.. I don’t really mind that.. Besides, I kind of like it as well..” Soft whispers were exchanged when a harsh tug from behind pulled the swan a little too off-guard. Soon after, people’s random words were crowding around her once again. 

 

Feeling back a sense of pain and terror from the accident she went through a year before, she cried out before finding herself tightly hugged in another person’s arms. 

 

“Are you okay honey? Are you hurt anywhere? Damn that stupid motorbiker.. I’m seriously going to report him to the police for violation of traffic rules..Arrgh!” The voice that she recognizes came back to her as she found herself lifted up by the same person who saved her. 

 

Still cowering in fear, Yves gave an excuse to drop the ‘date’ and it was agreed upon by the other party as well. Though, to her surprise, Jinsoul blatantly pointed out the fact that her residence is nearby where they were currently at. 

 

“Do you mind if you stay there to recuperate for a while first?” Jinsoul asked before making further moves. 

 

This time, a shake was the answer and the office lady knew what to do. 

 

---

 

Upon reaching home, Jinsoul quickly tended to the blind lady’s needs as she prepared for a warm bath for the woman to soothe her nerves better. 

 

Touched by the fishie’s actions, Yves can’t help but speak words that could only dig the girl’s graves a little deeper.  

 

“Did you call me ‘Honey’ just now? If so, perhaps my baby can also accompany me for a bath as well?” As soon as the request was made, a loud clang could be heard from the other part of the house. 

 

“Well.. I know you can’t see so you might not mind.. But I may have thoughts when I see another female body in the same bathroom space as me..and it might not be a pleasant feeling to have.. Ahaha..” The same awkward laugh ensued before the conversation came to a halt. 

 

“Well.. I was just saying..” With courtesy of Jinsoul’s offer, the swan cautiously stepped into the bathtub with the help of the other party. 

 

Of course. 

 

Just when she was about to step out after a while, the bathroom door opened and it was none other than the host of the house herself. 

 

“I’m just here for a nice warm bath. Don’t take it the wrong way..please..” The red-faced Jinsoul then slowly slid herself in the opposite side of the tub where the blind lady sat. As if the swan noticed the tension growing between both from the start of the moment, she teased the fish. 

 

“It’s like you said, I can’t see so I don’t know. But I’m sure you have a nice body figure yourself.” A cat-like grin crept up on Yves' face as she moved in closer to the other girl sitting opposite of her. 

 

“Shouldn’t you be more careful on slippery material, since you can’t see..? And besides.. I don’t think I’m entitled to be this close to you.. Even when you may be in a relationship..” The atmosphere between the two women seemed to have become solemn in a matter of seconds. 

 

“Alright then. I will get out now. Thanks for the bath.” The office lady was about to step out of the tub to help the other lady but was rejected on the spot. 

 

“I’m good.”

 

As Yves went on to stand up on her own after several tries, Jinsoul who was sitting in silence the whole time just couldn’t stand it anymore and hugged the now flustered swan. 

 

“I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, but if you don’t rely on me more.. You’re just going to get hurt again.. And I don’t ever want that to happen to you ever. Not in the same way you did just now.. So please, let me help you alright?” The fish took all her courage to almost confess to the girl in the same bathtub as her.  

 

Afraid that the same thing would happen to her again, the same pity that she received from her ex-girlfriend, Yves simply pulled herself away from Jinsoul’s embrace, claiming that all the kind actions presented were due to just her disability, which made her stood out from the rest of the people Jinsoul was connected to. 

 

“That’s not true! I LOVE YOU..!” The rage-o-meter above one of the lady’s heads simply burst at that moment, causing both women to sit in the now-cooled bath. 

 

“..That’s why I did all kinds of things to you, like going to pick you up even though you don’t really need one.. Or gifting you cakes on your birthday.. I didn’t do it just because you’re a friend to me. I just really lo-” Words seemed to dance around in the swan’s mind and before she knew it, she was pulled into a really tight hug. One she can’t seem to refuse. 

 

“And if you still aren’t sure of how to feel about any of the things I just told you, it’s okay. I’ll wait for you until your heart is ready.” Jinsoul then whispered softly into the ears of the blind lady while softly caressing her back at the same time. 

 

It wasn’t yet long till the dreamy moment got interrupted by a light sneeze from the host. 

 

“We should really get out of the tub now. Any longer and we’ll both get a cold.” This time, both women helped one another up and went to change into their clothes respectively. 

 

---

 

On a certain Saturday afternoon, Jinsoul was bored so she decided to check out on her mailbox that she had left neglected since the last time a guest visited her house. 

 

“Oh?” A pink envelope with an intricate design caught her eyes amongst the bunch of advertisements that came alongside it. 

 

Carefully picking it out from the rest, she read the contents in it slowly. Without further ado, she dialed one of her classmates from middle school.

 

“Hey, Seul. Congratulations! You’d be ready when I see you there! Bye!” The call ended on a happy tone as the woman went back to doing her household chores. 

 

On the other hand, without even reading the wedding invitation card, Yves already knew who sent it to her. 

 

She was still contemplating when her favorite person sent a voicemail to her. 

 

“Hey, sorry for calling you last minute. But there is an event that I had to go to next Wednesday from 5 to 11 pm. I promise I’ll call you right after that, okay?”

 

The swan was a little sullen since that day was already planned to be a date. But if it’s that important to the fish, she probably wouldn’t have minded a little. 

 

Right? 

 

“Sigh..whatever. Let me just put on some music and enjoy the moment.” 

 

---

 

The fateful day came, and while all the visitors were happily celebrating the event with their hosts, only one stayed at the garden, sitting on a bench near the lamppost. 

 

“The time now is 10 pm. It’s time for supper.” The A.I. device spoke to the blind lady, a timely occurrence. 

 

“I’ll just have one at a later time. Thanks for the reminder.” Yves spoke into her phone to end the conversation. 

 

It wasn’t long till the noise around her started to diminish and the lady knew it was time for the main event to end. 

 

But despite all the people leaving her, she stayed at the same spot..

 

Until.. 

 

The not-so-plainly dressed woman was tired from all the talking with her school acquaintances from the past when she saw a familiar figure sitting on a bench all alone. To confirm her suspicions, she went closer to the shadow and was surprised by the reveal. 

 

“Yves? What are you doing here?” Jinsoul squeaked in a high-pitched voice since she didn’t remember spilling the details of where she would be on this date. 

 

“I can’t congratulate my ex-girlfriend for her wedding?” Yves gave a somewhat cold answer that it sent shivers down the office lady’s spine. 

 

“You mean? The one who Haseul married?” The fish wanted to make sure, out of curiosity. 

 

“Oh that’s her name? Of course..” 

 

The mood then dipped down by a ton before the office lady tried to save it by sitting beside her close friend. 

 

“Hey, I’m here. So it’s alright. You can cry if you need to, and I’ll be your shoulder till the end of the day.” Jinsoul was almost choked by her own smooth-talking skills, but it nonetheless recovered a giggle from the other party. 

 

“So it’s only by 23:59 today?” Yves just loves to play hard and difficult on her crush, to sense how short-circuited her girlfriend might turn out to be always pleased her. 

 

“You know I’m always willing to extend the time as long as you want right?” The fish was caught on her wit’s end and the blind lady quietly accepted her offer. 

 

“About the things that you said when we were both and flustered.. I thought about it and.. Uhm.. I think I’m happy to be going out with you.” 

 

As the blind lady chewed on her words slowly, the office lady turned into stone and froze. 

 

“So..so..You mean..?” Jinsoul just wanted time to stop in its place at this moment when her lips were in contact with the other. 

 

“I don’t think I need to explain further, do I?”