"Are you still up? I can't sleep." Yongsun-unnie texted me in the middle of the night.

"I also can't." I replied.

"Can I call?" She asked.

"Sure." I shortly answered.

 

"Anything bothering you?" I asked as soon as I picked the call since that might be the reason why she can't sleep.

"Not really. Maybe I just had too much coffee. How about you?"

"I can't sleep when I'm stress. And my bills are stressing me up right now so yeah."

 

She suddenly giggled and said, "You're so cute."

 

"Hey, since you let me stay there last time, why don't you spend the night here next time?" She asked out of nowhere.

"What for? We can just call like this is you want someone to talk to."

"Don't be so cold. It's still different when you bond in person of course."

"Okay, next time."

"Really?! Then-- why not now?!" She excitedly asked.

"Seriously?! Do you even know what time it is?!" I half-shouted out of shock.

"Your place is kind of near mine actually. Just 30 minutes away from here if you take the taxi. So please?"

 

I checked the time.

 

"It's already almost 1am but okay. How do I get there?" I asked.

 

It's weekend so it's okay. Not a very bad idea I suppose. Besides, this is the first time I'll be sleeping on a friend's house. It makes me excited.

Without traffic and all, I was able to reach her place in 20minutes. It's near mine like what she said. Her house looks simpler and smaller than I imagined. She's also leaving with no one and that makes it better. I don't have to be shy at all or be more careful because someone is sleeping near us or something.

 

"Don't you get bored living alone?" I asked.

"I do but I don't have a choice. If I live with my family, I'll need to travel for 4 to 5 hours before I reach work. That's not convenient at all."

"I see."

"Aren't you sleepy yet?" She asked.

 

I shook my head.

 

"Give me a few minutes, then. I'll prepare some kimchi fried rice for us.

 

I stood behind her to watch her cook.

 

"You better be a good cook. Men like that." I said.

"Are you?" She asked.

"Just average. Maybe that's why I'm single." I chuckled.

"Or maybe I'm just not likable at all." I added.

"Naaah. You're just aloof. Everything about you--" She looks back at me with a smile and says, "I like it all."

 

Suddenly, it felt stuffy. Maybe because her place is small? It's so hot and I'm kind of having a hard time breathing. Maybe that's also why my heart rate is increasing.
I went away for a bit and sat down to relax and feel more comfortable.

 

"This is my first time cooking for someone, to be honest. So, I hope you'll like it."

"Really? You don't cook for your family?"

 

She shook her head and said, "There is one person who asks for me to cook all the time, but I never agreed due to lack of confidence. After all, I only learned by watching online."

"Are you confident now since you're cooking for me, then?"

 

She faced me and thought of it for a while before answering.

 

"Not really. But being around you makes me feel okay. I mean, I don't feel unsafe or uneasy at all when you're around because you're always there to help me. When I dropped my coffee, you were there to clean it all up for me because you think I shouldn't with the skirt I was wearing. When I got wasted you took care of me instead of just leaving me behind. When I don't know what to do, you help me and explain things to me precisely. With you beside me, I'm having the feeling that -- everything's going to be alright. Like, being imperfect is fine because you'll be there to save the day."

 

Hearing her words, I got really speechless. It was overwhelming.

 

"Why do I smell something burning?" She asked.

"Omo!" We both forgot about the fried rice.

 

We laughed out loud together.

 

"You just did something wrong and now I can't do anything about it." I said as I laugh.

"I'm sorry, it was a failure." She laughs with me.

 

She was about to throw it away, but I stopped her.

 

"Don't waste it. It's still edible. It's not entirely burned anyway."

"Who will even still eat that? Just looking at its color it's already obviously bad."

"I will, babo." I took the pan from her and put all the still-fine-looking rice on a large plate. I got the table ready and sat down after.

 

"Won't you eat?" I asked.

 

"Oh, yes, I will." She sits in front of me.

 

After taking a spoonful, I felt satisfied.

 

"This is good! Much better than I expected since you kind of burnt it. How good would it be if it wasn't burned? Wow!" I continue eating.

"You saved the day yet again." She said.

"By preparing the table?" I asked.

"I was feeling really bad about burning it but in an instant, you made me feel much better. I promise to cook for you more in the future."

"And it won't be burnt too." She joked.

"What if this is good because it was burnt?" I joked.

"I was about to say I'm going to burn everything I'm going to cook for you, but I changed my mind because I might end up burning my whole place. Scary."

 

We laugh together.

After eating, we went to bed. It's pretty small so I had to lie sideways for us to fit properly.

 

"Sorry about this. I should have thought of this before inviting you." She apologized.

"I think it would be better if I'll sleep sideways. You lie down properly instead." She said.

"It's okay. I'm used to sleeping this way anyway." I lied for her not to feel so bad.

"Good night, Byulie." She smiles.

"Good night, unnie." I close my eyes.

 

I was about to fall asleep when I suddenly felt someone's hand on me. It was her, trying to put my hair behind my ear.

 

"I'm so lucky." She half-whispered.

 

I wanted to pretend I am asleep, but I wasn't able to help myself from smiling after hearing her words. I opened my eyes and asked, "Really?"

 

She suddenly faced the other side of the bed and pretended to be asleep. Seriously acting like a kid.

I sat down and tapped her waist.

 

"Ms. Kim, excuse me. Do you really feel lucky because you met me?" I asked.

"Mmm..." She continues pretending.

"I know you're not asleep." I lied down sideways again and hugged her.

"When we just met, you hugged me, and I thought it was weird. But now it's been quite some time and I'm comfortable with you so doing this is fine, I believe." I said.

"Wow, hugging someone is sure comfortable." I added.

 

We both closed our eyes with a smile on our faces and fell asleep hugging each other.

It was still early when I got awake from pain. My arm, it’s aching, obviously because unnie is lying on it. Slowly, I lifted her head to pull my arm out. As I do it slowly, I heard her murmur something crazy. Crazy enough for my heart to race like crazy.

 

“I like you.”

 

Stunned at the moment, I didn’t know what to do.

 

“Yongsun-unnie—” I called her name to make sure she’s asleep.

 

She didn’t say anything. I guess she’s dreaming of the one she likes or maybe her family.

I was about to pull my arm away when her hug suddenly tightened.

 

“Are you having a nightmare?”

 

She didn’t say or do anything. I guess she is. I pulled her closer to my chest and let her sleep on my arm, still. The pain doesn’t matter as long as she feels safer.

 

After a couple of hours more, I got awake again. My arm no longer hurts and she’s no longer beside me. I looked around and found her cooking breakfast. I took my phone to check the time. I guess that’s actually for lunch, not breakfast. Didn’t notice the time at all. I must have slept so well for me to get awake in the afternoon.

 

“Do you need help?” I asked.

“You’re up.” She smiles at me.

“Did you sleep well?” She asked.

“I sure did.” I answered.

“You were having a nightmare last night.” I said.

“Really—” She responded shortly.

“You don’t look surprised at all. Does it happen all the time?” I asked.

“I guess… It all started when I lived by myself. Maybe I’m just not used to living alone yet, that’s why.”

“Do you mind me asking about your personal life?” I asked.

“Not at all.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

 

She laughed out loud and answered, “Do I look like I have one?”

 

“Right—If you have one you would have called him last night instead of me.” I said.

“Yeah, exactly. Why did you suddenly ask me about that though? So weird of you to suddenly ask that, especially with the fact that you just woke up.”

“Last night you suddenly murmured some words that made me think you were actually dreaming of your boyfriend.”

 

Suddenly, she stopped moving.

 

“You suddenly said—”

“All done! Let’s eat!”

 

Did she just try to stop me from talking?

 

I sat beside her and asked, “Won’t you even ask me about the thing you murmured last night?”

She shook her head and said, “I don’t want things between us to get awkward.”

I frowned in confusion and asked, “What do you mean?”

 

She took a deep breath and smiled.

 

“Take the first bite and tell me how it is.”

 

She ignored me again. I won’t force her to talk about it again then.

 

[After a few days]

 

“Byulie—” She calls me.

“Yes, Ms. Kim?” I asked.

 

She scratched her ear and said, “I still don’t like the sound of you calling me that way. I’ll never get used to it.”

I just replied with a smile, thinking she’s cute.

 

“Can I ask you for a favor?”

“Yes, Ms. Kim.”

 

She shook her head and frowned.

 

“Stop it. You’re making me shiver.”

I chuckled and said, “Just for now, then. I’ll talk informally. What is it that you want me to do for you?”

“Can you go to my place again this coming weekend for a sleepover?” She asked.

I nod and answered shortly, “Okay.”

“You’re really easy to talk with. That’s why I li