“You are my chocolate chocolate, sweet Valentine!” Wheein rapped out, struggling to breathe from laughing so much. Byulyi was leaning back on her chair while clutching her stomach and Yongsun was letting out her dolphin laugh. The music and laughter mixed together and resonated through the store. For the past 2 hours, the three had been sitting in the same spot, eating and chatting. Wheein and Byulyi had gotten closer through their shared interest in dance, which Yongsun would have joined in their mini dance party if she didn’t worry about showing any signs of Solar. When a slower rap song started, Yongsun thought the two had calmed themselves. She could not have been more wrong. Byulyi started an over-exaggerated yet smooth rap, impressing Yongsun and Wheein. They had started an impromptu karaoke session, at which Yongsun could not resist showcasing her splendid vocals. They sang, sang, and sang, not caring about the time or the fatigue that would hit in the afternoon. 

The door of the convenience store opened, revealing a university aged boy. Wheein quickly turned the music off and stood up.

“Hi, is it time already?” she asked as Yongsun and Byulyi attempted to compose themselves. 

“Yeah, um, I’ll take it from here now.” He quickly went inside, leaving the girls alone. Wheein turned to Yongsun and Byulyi. 

“My shift is over! And the sunrise is in 20 minutes. Can we please go watch it together? Please?” she pleaded, tugging on their sleeves. The two older girls looked at each other and smiled. 

“Of course, let’s clean up first and then we can go.” Yongsun gestured to Byulyi, who scrambled up and started stacking ramyeon bowls and wrappers. In 5 minutes, Wheein had changed out of her part time worker vest and Yongsun and Byulyi had wiped the table clean. Together, they walked towards the path that Byulyi and Yongsun had tensely been on earlier in the morning. However, the tension and awkwardness was replaced with laughter smiles. Wheein slipped her hands through the ones of the two older girls and started to run. Byulyi and Yongsun were pulled along, laughing the whole time. 

Finally, they found a nice place to settle down along the riverside. They sat down and leaned against each other, as if they had known each other for years. They sat in silence, comfortably enjoying the presence of each other. A soft breeze blew through the morning air, brushing some stray hair out of their faces. Yongsun turned to look at her the two beside her. Her gaze fell on Wheein.

Wheein. They’ve only known each other for two years, yet she was Yongsun’s only friend. Words could never express how grateful and proud she was of her little puppy. She had grown a lot in the last two years. Not vertically of course, but she had become more sociable compared to when they had first met. From what she had told Yongsun, she had joined a lot of different clubs and organisations that helped her get well integrated into the community. She even had sorted out living with the rude roommate that she had been assigned to room with. They were now in a decent friendship of sorts, though she would always be out somewhere, probably drinking as Wheein would joke. Yongsun smiled and patted Wheein’s head gently. Her gaze shifted to the blonde.

Moon Byulyi. Yongsun didn’t know why Byulyi was so kind and patient with her. Ever since that first class, Byulyi would always sit in the back next to Yongsun and try to start a conversation with her. Yongsun would merely answer with one word answers every single time and now, as Yongsun softly gazed at Byul’s closed eyes, she felt a pang of guilt hit her. Byulyi had shown her nothing but kindness and yet she had ignored her and reject her friendship. Was Yongsun really ready for a second friendship? 

Byulyi slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to meet Yongsun’s stare. She titled her head with a playful, questioning gaze. Yongsun smiled and shook her head after seeing Byulyi’s indian dimples and scrunched nose muscles. 

“Unnie! Look! You can see the sun start to come up!” Wheein squealed excitedly. They snapped their heads towards the bridge and spotted the tips of the sun peeking above the bridge. As the golden ray slowly became more visible, Yongsun played around with her phone, nervously spinning it in her hands. Before she could think properly about it, she held her phone out to Byulyi.

“Byulyi-ssi, want to add your number here?”

“Byul-ah, do you want anything from the student cafe?” Yongsun asked as she stood in line to get her coffee. 

“Iced coffee, please,” Byul replied. “I might be a bit late for class. Save me a seat, unnie.” Yongsun sighed. 

“Why are you always late?” she answered with a hint of annoyance. She wasn’t exaggerating. For the past few classes, Byulyi was always 5 to 10 minutes late. Every single time. And Yongsun always answered for her during attendance. Thankfully, the professor never noticed, but Yongsun was tired of being scared of getting caught. Byul never gave her a proper answer either. She’d just say “sorry” or “I was busy with something”.

“Unnie, I’m really sor