It's been three months since Yeji first moved in at her friend's house. She's managed to keep her mind off of things for a while and just ignore that constant feeling of uneasiness around the thought of living there in secret. But it's starting to feel... A little too much to handle.

"Yeji, please, you don't have to do this. I won't let you go like this. Where are you even gonna stay?"

Yeji sighs before grabbing her friend's hands and locking her eyes with the brown ones in front of her.

"You don't have to worry about me. Not anymore. You've already done so much for me, but this situation is too much for both of us. It could work for a week, maybe a month. But three? Chaeryeong, please, this can't go on any longer."

"Come on! You don't really have much choice... And you've been able to avoid my parents just fine! They don't even suspect anyone has been living here apart from, well, us three."

Yeji seems not to even hear what the younger girl is trying to tell her, as she keeps folding the few clothes she's brought with her after leaving her house. She didn't have much time to pack, after all.

"I'm so tired of hiding. That's literally what I've been doing for my whole life! And you know, even though everything went to absolute  after my parents found those pics, I kinda felt relieved! I was kicked out of my house but still I felt like such a huge weight was taken off of my shoulders! And now I'm here, back to hiding once again. It's like taking a thousand steps back. That's just not how I wanna live my life..."

Chaeryeong is heartbroken because of her best friend's situation. She can't even imagine what it must feel to be in her place. But she knows she can't just let her go. 

"Please. Please listen to me." she says with a shaky voice as she wipes a lonely tear off of her cheek. "Just three more days. I will find a solution to this. I can't just let you live on the streets or something. I promise you, I'll find a place for you to stay." 

And that's how it goes. Three days pass, but Yeji just feels hopeless. Chaeryeong hasn't talked to her much ever since that discussion they had. So now she's finally ready to move on. She's done being a burden. She feels like she's been selfish all this time. Taking advantage of her best friend's kindness, living at her place behind her parents' backs. Because it's not like they would be very accepting of her either; Chaeryeong's parents aren't much different from Yeji's, after all. But she didn't have anywhere else to go, three months ago, and well, she doesn't have anywhere to go now either. But she guesses she'll just figure it out. 

That's what she keeps telling herself as she adjusts the straps of her backpack on her shoulders, ready to finally start a new chapter of her life. She hasn't even said goodbye to Chaeryeong yet, but she feels like she can't wait anymore. She's already been wasting too much time waiting for someone to magically save her life instead of acting, and it clearly hasn't worked. So she isn't willing to stay still one more second. 

As she always does before leaving the younger girl's basement, she turns off the lights before opening the door and waits silently for a while to make sure that no one's in the house. Yeji knows that Chaeryeong's parents are both out for work at the moment and they won't be back till a couple hours later, but she just never feels safe enough to really go out confidently without her silent ritual. A metaphor for her life, maybe. She guesses that's what happens when you spend twenty years of your life just hiding. 

But just as she begins to turn the doorknob, she can hear footsteps approaching. She freezes. It's not like she can run down the stairs now, she would make too much noise. But even if she were the most silent creature of the universe, she still couldn't move one single muscle. Fear has completely paralyzed her. 

She can finally breathe again when a familiar young face with pretty brown eyes and long hair styled in a braid appears on the other side of the door.

"Yeji! What are you doing?" Chaeryeong's voice is high pitched and comes out in an almost-screech. 

Yeji feels ashamed as she realizes how ungrateful she must look to her friend in this moment. Leaving without even saying goodbye? That's some ed up thing to do. 

"I'm sorry... You said three days, and they've passed, so I was starting to get going, you know..." Her eyes are glued to the floor and her voice comes out so quietly that she's not even sure Chaeryeong has heard her. But she has. 

"You were really going to leave me like that? Jesus Christ, what is up with you! I would've been so worried to come home and not find you here! And anyway, three days haven't passed yet. Nine more hours to go till midnight, so you aren't moving your from here until you hear what I have to tell you."

Chaeryeong takes Yeji's wrist and pulls her out of the basement and outside of the house. The two girls go sit on the grass in the backyard. The weather is so nice, it looks like nothing bad could happen on a day like this. And maybe it's a sign, because Yeji can't believe what her friend has just told her. 

"YOU REALLY FOUND A PLACE FOR ME?" 

"Yeji, what did I tell you! I never break promises!" 

Both girls' smiles could light up the whole world even brighter than the summer sun that's shining over them. 

"I really can't believe this... I'll finally be free?! Wait... Are you sure this girl's gonna be fine with it? I don't want to be a burden, you know that." 

"Yeah, I know. That's why it took me so long to find you a place to stay. I wanted it to be perfect for you, because I want you to finally feel comfortable. Things have been so hard for you lately..." As these words escape , Chaeryeong takes Yeji's hand in hers. Their backs are both leaning against a big oak tree that used to be their favorite playing spot when they were kids. Chaeryeong remembers how she and Yeji would always climb on it and pretend like they lived in the jungle. They would always challenge each other to see who could reach the higher branches, and Yeji would win every time because Chaeryeong was too much of a scaredy cat to go any higher than a couple meters from the ground. As these memories come back to her mind, Chaeryeong feels her heart getting warmer. She hasn't seen her friend as happy as she used to be when she was a kid in a very long time, and she can't wait for her to get that part of her personality back. Her bubbly, constantly smiling essence that she seems to have lost in her teenage years. Life hadn't been easy for Yeji, and she deserved a break. 

"I promise you, you'll love it and you'll love her. Yuna kept telling me how nice and chill this Ryujin girl is and that nobody could feel uncomfortable around her. I trust Yuna with my whole heart, so I truly believe you'll be okay." 

Yeji just smiles back at her and then closes her eyes, already picturing what her future life could look like. A life of freedom and honesty. Just the thought is so exciting and revitalizing. 

And a few hours later she finds herself in front of a black door with the number 12 painted on it. She breathes deeply before letting her knuckles touch the wooden surface in front of her, a little anxious but happier than she's felt in months.

And when a slightly shorter girl with blue hair and gorgeous deep eyes appears in front of her, it's like all of her worries finally vanish. 

"Hey, I'm Ryujin! You must be Yeji, right?" 

"Yeah, it's me...", the older girl manages to say, a little awkwardly while scratching the back of her neck. 

Ryujin flashes a smile that makes the cutest whisker dimples appear on her cheeks. And Yeji's heart suddenly skips a beat. 

She suddenly feels as if all of the pain she's been through before was somehow worth it. Yeji would've never thought that being rejected by her own family because of her uality could have any positive sides. But it actually made her relationship with Chaeryeong grow deeper, and it made her meet this angelic girl that's standing a few inches away from her, looking up at her expectantly. As if she couldn't wait to start this new chapter with the taller, cat-eyed girl. As if this random girl suddenly moving in with her was some kind of blessing. And Yeji knows in this moment, that everything happens for a reason. And that despite all the challenges she's faced, she wouldn't wanna change a thing. She knows from just a glance that the girl in front of her will be her savior.

Her heart swells with gratitude as she smiles back, any sign of awkwardness finally leaving her body.

"Well, please, come in! Welcome home."