Since the fight was so early in the month, it still left them with plenty of time before the semester started.  Plenty of time to recover. And plenty of time to be a needy cub. 

After a brief discussion with her parents, it was decided that it was time to go back to the apartment. Something that Hyejin gladly pushed and she was glad that she was able to convince her parents and made them agree. 

Dropping the couple off and leaving Hyejin on the couch, Hyejin’s parents had one last thing to say to Wheein. Hyejin’s dad gave Wheein a solemn pat on the shoulder while Hyejin’s mom gave her a lasting hug. 

“Good luck, Wheein. If you need anything then don’t hesitate to call us, alright?” Hyejin’s mother said while giving one last squeeze hug.

“Don’t worry, I can handle her,” Wheein reassured them both.

Hyein’s father only chuckled, “I sure hope so.”

After one last pat on the shoulder, Hyejin’s parents finally left. Taking a moment to gather herself Wheein took in one big breath and braced herself. This was going to be a long week.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   

Wheein knew that Hyejin was stubborn and headstrong. But this took her by surprise. 

The first day was fine enough. 

Wheein quickly established their new patterns. She told Hyejin what she could and couldn’t do around the apartment. Unfortunately there was only one thing Hyejin wanted to do.

Cuddle.

“Wheeeeeeeeeiniiiiiiiieee~” Hyejin cried from the couch as she picked up the dropped remote with her foot.

“Yeeeeea??” Wheein called from the kitchen. She was preparing to make a quick lunch. Simple sandwiches. 

“Can you bring me my water? I left it on the table,” Hyejin drawled. A clear sign of boredom.

She knew she would be out of commission for a bit but she never realised the extent. She took her back for granted and mentally apologised to her back over and over again. Especially when she fell back into old habits and her back screamed at her for it. She wanted to do so many things and yet here she is. Couch and bed bound with only limited movement. This was going to be an interesting recovery period. 

As she dwelled on the woes of not being able to do what she wants to do, Wheein appeared in front of her with a cup in hand. 

A lion sippy cup. 

“Ah? What happened to my other one?” Hyejin asked as she took the sippy cup. The beady little eyes of the cartoon lion stared back.

“The likelihood of you dropping it is high,” Wheein blandly stated.

“What do you mean high?” Hyejin pouted.

“Because this is obviously a ploy to--”

Wheein didn’t even finish her sentence before Hyejin pulled her down and immediately began to cuddle. Or, try to. It was a bit difficult with an injured back and back brace on. Wheein graciously accepted her fate and felt pity for the poor sippy cup that was flung to the side. Luckily it was a top tier sippy cup so nothing spilled.

“Wheeeenieeee~” Hyejin whined while burying her face in Wheein’s neck.

“Can I at least make a couple of sandwiches for lunch first before I give you cuddles?”

“Can you feed me?” Hyejin put on her best puppy face. 

“You assumed I wasn’t going to?”  Wheein asked with a raised eyebrow. Her lion is hurt, of course she would do almost anything to pamper Hyejin. It’s what she deserves.

“Oh? You were going to?” Hyejin looked at Wheein in amazement. She really does have the best girlfriend in the world. 

“Of course,” Wheein got up and planted a kiss on top of Hyejin’s head before going to the kitchen.

All the while, Hyejin’s goofy grin never left her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was nice being pampered. 

The moment she got up, Wheein would have breakfast already ready and waiting. For once, her waking up late came in handy. Next, it was cuddle time. Lying comfortably on top of Wheein, Hyejin was like a cat basking in the sun. The heat from Wheein’s body was comforting and distracted her from her injured back. Then came lunch. It was usually something simple like sandwiches or just a couple of snacks. It was here that Hyejin became more adamant about Wheein feeding her. 

Wheein expected Hyejin to want to be fed but she found out otherwise. During breakfast, Hyejin was adamant about feeding herself. 

“You don’t want me to feed you?” Wheein questioned. She sat right next to Hyejin, ready to feed her but Hyejin took away the fork before Wheein could do anything. 

“Nope!” Hyejin proudly huffed. 

“Really??” Wheein asked with a confused face. As always, Hyejin always manages to be a wonderful outlier.

“You need to eat too.”

“I can still eat. I can just eat later,” Wheein tried to reason. 

“No, I mean,” Hyejin chewed her lip in thought, turning a bit sheepish as she finally found the words to best convey what she wants, “I want you to eat with me.”

Wheein blinked a couple of times before she fully comprehended what Hyejin meant. With a soft smile, she brought Hyejin in so she could kiss her temple before agreeing.

So, during breakfast, they would eat together. But during lunch? Hyejin became a demanding cub.

“Another!” 

“Hyejin-ah, that was the last one!” Wheein waved the empty fruit snack bag in front of her.

“I meant another bag.”

“Hyej---”

“Pwease??” Hyejin put on her best puppy face. Well, lion cub face.

Wheein only glared and grumbled as she got up to get another pouch while Hyejin giggled in glee. She knew Hyejin loved food, but she never knew Hyejin could be so demanding about food as well. Nor did she know that Hyejin would milk being fed. She would gently drap herself across Wheein’s lap and await for the food with a grin. 

After lunch, it was time for more cuddles. With some intermittent walking in between. In order to fully recover, Hyejin did some minor exercise in order to not get stiff. During this time, it was Wheein’s turn for a nap. While this would be the opportunity to be a demanding brat, hell Hyejin even considered it, she decided against it. She doesn’t want to be that much of a burden. That’s why she’s insistent on at least helping with cleaning the dishes or other minor tasks. Just because she hurt her back doesn’t mean that she lost all functionality. So, if she ever dropped something or needed something she would try her best to do it herself. Usually this means getting things with her foot but there were some times that she needed help. Less Wheein berates her for not asking for help later. 

Then came dinner. Here, Hyejin would join Wheein in the kitchen and help out with minor things. At first Wheein tried to get Hyejin to at least sit down at the table so there wouldn’t be the chance of hurting herself. But, the moment she saw that Hyejin wasn’t even listening to her, well, she stopped. 

In a way, dinner was a mirror of breakfast. Hyejin insisted on feeding herself so Wheein could eat with her. Afterwards she would help with the dishes and then the rest of the evening was theirs.

After dinner and before taking a bath, this was the time that they spent away from each other. Hyejin would be on one side of the couch and Wheein would be on the other side of the couch. They were going to cuddle later anyway, so it was a nice break for the both of them. Each doing their own thing on the internet and sending memes to each other in the mean time. 

Before long, it was time for a bath. 

At first, Hyejin insisted on taking a bath together. Wheein agreed to it thinking that it would be a moment of relaxation. However, the moment that Hyejin’s hands began to wander, Wheein realised the error of her ways. So, bath time changed.

“This is humiliating…..” 

“It didn’t have to be this way if you kept your hands to yourself.”

“Bu---”

Hyejin was cut off by Wheein pouring water on her head and started to put conditioner into her hair.

“I’m sorry Wheeinie. Can you forgive me?” Hyejin asked with a pout. 

Wheein just gave Hyejin a dead stare.

“No.”

“Wh--”

Hyejin was cut off again by Wheein pouring water on her head in order to wash the conditioner off. Leaving Hyejin’s hair all in front of her face.

“Wow, you look like a mop.”

“Wheein-ah!”

Thus, that was their bath time. Wheein would wash Hyejin as much as she could before finally going off to the side and letting Hyejin handle the rest. Letting her have that dignity. They would talk in the meantime about anything and everything. Though, usually, their bath time talks steered more towards the philosophical and it made them both lose track of time. They only noticed the time when Hyejin started to turn into a prune. The main cue to get out. 

While Wheein took a shower, Hyejin would cuddle Mr. Lion and face towards the bathroom door. Impatiently waiting for Wheein’s return. When Wheein did return, Hyejin would gently wiggle in glee. 

Once Wheein got comfortable in bed, Hyejin made her way to Wheein’s side and made herself comfortable in Wheein’s embrace. Wheein’s touch was healing for her. Wheein’s touch always had some sort of effect on her so it was only natural that it was healing too. Something that Hyejin took advantage of. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that was their schedule for the past week. Nothing too serious or strenuous. Hyejin knew Wheein’s limits with her antics and she didn’t want to be much more of a burden so she kept her childish nature to a minimum. Wheein knew the limits of what Hyejin could do and knew what she wanted to do so she adjusted accordingly. Both made adjustments to each other, and both surprised each other.

But all good things must come to an end. Especially when the past always comes knocking in one way shape or form.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was finally the weekend and it was time to resupply the fridge. But, Wheein couldn’t just leave Hyejin by herself. Yes, Hyejin would probably be napping, but it’s dangerous to assume things with Hyejin. So, time for some babysitters.

When there was a knock on their door, Wheein expected to see Ji Yeon. What she didn’t expect was Ji Yeon’s apologetic face and Sujeong’s excited demeanor.

“Oh, Sujeong?” Wheein has never been this confused in her life. Well, besides figuring out her feelings for Hyejin but that’s beside the point.

“Ah, sorry for butting in like this but I bumped into Ji Yeon and I just wanted to pop in and cheer Hyejin up a little,” Sujeong beamed. The perfect picture of a friend wanting to help another friend. 

“Oh, that’s alright--” Wheein finally noticed what was in Sujeong’s hand and what it led to. 

“Is that your dog?” Wheein asked. A question that Hyejin easily heard.

“SUJEONG BROUGHT HER DOGGO?!”

“Holy , Hyejin. Warn us next time, please,” Ji Yeon rubbed her pained ears.

“Well, get in here so we can give you dog all of our attention for the next hour and ignore Hyejin,” Wheein said while ushering in Ji Yeon and Sujeong.

“Hey!” Hyejin cried from the couch.

Once they were all comfortable, Sujeong explained where she got her dog from. 

“I got this little guy from the shelter back home. Apparently no one wanted him due to bein’ in recovery and still having to be monitored,” Sujeong started.

“Recovery?” Hyejin asked while giving the dog all of her attention. Attention that the dog gladly accepted.

“Yea, he was brought to the vet in terrible condition by someone,” Sujeong shrugged while petting her dog.

Wheein blinked a couple of times as she started to connect the dots. Dots that Ji Yeon was also connecting.

“Really? When was this?” Ji Yeon asked. 

“A couple years ago. I wanted to get in contact with the person who brought him in but the place never got their information. I wanted to thank them for saving this pup,” Sujeong softly smiled.

“Wooooow,” Hyejin was too engrossed with the dog to really pay attention to what Sujeong was saying. 

After an hour of giving the dog all of their love and attention, Wheein finally left.

While Wheein was gone, the three of them laid around like lazy sacks of potatoes. Hyejin easily dozed off while laying across Sujeong’s lap. Ji Yeon faded in and out of consciousness. And Sujeong was awake the entire time. 

Eventually, Ji Yeon excused herself to the restroom. It was on the way back that things took a turn.

She was barely at the door when she heard Sujeong softly speaking to a still sleeping Hyejin. She couldn’t understand what exactly Sujeong was saying, but the next moment shook her to her core. She was in the doorframe trying to decipher what Sujeong was saying when Sujeong called out to her. 

“Hey, Ji Yeon? How could you forget me?” Sujeong faced Ji Yeon with a sad smile.

Ji Yeon froze. She didn’t know what to do. Was there even anything she could do?

“You…..You remember??” Ji Yeon felt cold.

“The moment I saw Hyejin-ah, I remembered everything,” Sujeong looked down at the still sleeping Hyejin and her hair. 

“Wait, then what--”

“I’ve always remembered bits and pieces, but the moment I saw her, it all clicked,” Sujeong continued to gently Hyejin’s hair. Earning a content sigh from the sleeping cub.

“What are you doing then?? She still believes you don’t remember!”

“Simple. I want to be by Hyejin’s side. Since she has Wheein there’s no way I could ever take that spot now. So, what’s the next best thing?”

Ji Yeon couldn’t believe what she was hearing. To think that Sujeong would go to such lengths just to be by Hyejin’s side.

“But--”

“I’m not going to sabotage them if that’s what you’re worried about,” Sujeong sighed, “I want Hyejin to be happy so I’m fine with just being a bystander. But….”

Ji Yeon felt her heart still as Sujeong gave her an unreadable expression. It made her skin crawl.

“If Wheein ever breaks my Hyejin’s heart, well,” Sujeong smiled, “I’ll be there to pick up the pieces.”

Despite those words, Ji Yeon knew what Sujeong really meant. It was the same thought that Ji Yeon herself had all those years ago before she got over her crush for Hyejin. But this? This was different. This was wrong.

Before Ji Yeon could confront Sujeong, Wheein burst through the door with an armful of groceries.