Note: Not too thoroughly edited. Sorry for typos 😅 happy reading! 

---

When Joohyun said they'd go outside for a ride, of course she meant using Seungwan's car and have her drive. To where, Seungwan has no idea. Joohyun only said she'd know when they get there. Seungwan could only listen and see where the other would lead her.

The time they'd spent on Seungwan's apartment was enough for the sky outside to bleed red, any trace of radiance the sun could bring slowly losing its light. They'd been driving for fifteen or twenty minutes which consisted of Joohyun showing her directions and once in a while going back to where they were because Joohyun was so bad at this.

The raven-haired woman said it's been a long time since she'd come to this place and her memory was betraying her. Nevertheless, she thinks they're almost there now as they were driving on a highway overlooking the heavens and a bustling city down below. There was no other direction except to drive straight ahead. 

"We're here." Joohyun said, removing her seatbelt and ordering Seungwan to park on the side. 

The brown-haired girl does not understand what "here" means. What she sees on the side of the road has been the same view she's been seeing for the past five minutes of driving on the highway. It's the same sky, the same city, only now, the darkness has been gradually threatening to devour what's left of the light the sky has to offer. 

Once the car was parked, she followed after Joohyun who marched forward outside the lines of the highway. On a closer look, Seungwan saw what made this part of the road different. There was a bench and a boulder that was big enough for one person to sit on. She followed Joohyun sitting on said boulder, not once sparing a glance at Seungwan. 

It was almost pitch black, but the city below fought the darkness. She could see buildings lined up and a whole city come alive. The moon also came into view, almost hidden by the clouds floating by. Seungwan doesn't know what to make of this but she can say that this view, this companionship, it's... healing. It's unexpected. All of this. When Joohyun said they'd go outside, she thought she'd have to work on managing her current situation and just what Joohyun was up to. 

She sat on the bench near the boulder Joohyun was settled on and she just had to watch. Watch a solemn Joohyun, who had her features plastered with calm, looking beyond the horizon. She was ethereal. Even the weak glow of the moon wouldn't be able take away her ability to make sense of the lines that paint her face. The lines she'd come to memorize by just looking. All this time. Just looking. 

A beat. 

Seungwan had to look away. With the little power she has, from now on, she has to always look away. And so they sat there, not one single word uttered. 

Time passed and neither stole each other a glance. They were alone together, with the moon to hear their thoughts. The cold wind passed through, making Joohyun shiver. 

"I'm sorry." Joohyun broke the air of silence, eyes still looking ahead. 

For what, Joohyun?

"I thought the movie would be a good distraction. You weren't quite focused earlier. Watching the movie. You looked troubled." 

I couldn't really focus well with the things that were bothering me.

"When I went near, you were even more uneasy. So I brought you here. Well—you brought us here. But you get my point." Joohyun declared in a humourless laugh. She adjusted her body to comfortably sit on the boulder. "I found this place accidentally. I haven't been here for a long time because this place is far from uni but I've had my fair share of reflective moments here. I wanted to share it with you." 

A beat. 

Seungwan wanted to look. Seungwan wanted to see. 

"Something's troubling you. This place... it helped me unload baggage from the past that I didn't want others to hear about. Because I felt like they were too absurd to be called a problem but they were a problem nonetheless. At least for me." 

Both were looking straight ahead, Seungwan relying on Joohyun's voice to carry her through the barrel of emotions flitting through her. 

"Whatever it is, no matter how small you think it may be of a problem, know that what matters is how you feel. You can always walk away. For yourself. Reflect on it, or forget about it, or think yourself through. Then you can always have the option to come back. We'll listen if you want us to. Joy, Yeri, and me. We'll be here whenever you deem the right time to—" 

Another beat. 

"...Come back to us."

Then another beat. A little louder this time. 

So she looked. And she saw. 

Her. 

"So take your time. Don't beat yourself up too much. Don't beat yourself up for not doing well now. We can't always be doing well in this lifetime. Just because you can't do it now doesn't mean you still can't do it later." 

With the little power she has, Seungwan looks away. 

The beating stopped. 

---

The car screeched to a halt. Seungwan was too preoccupied to notice that she had almost passed by Joohyun's apartment.

"Do you want to drop by? Joy and Yeri's probably home already. I could cook us dinner." Joohyun questioned Seungwan just as she was about to open the car's door. 

Twisting in her seat, Seungwan looks. "I think I'll be working on that project now." 

Joohyun stares again, observing her. So Seungwan puts on a genuine smile. One of gratitude, of fondness, and of something that she refuses to acknowledge. And she says, "Thank you." 

There was so much to be said, so much Seungwan wanted to say. But since today, she knew Joohyun understands her more than she let on. For the most part. Maybe Joohyun feels more than she shows. Maybe they're both tangled in a mess of words that seem to lose its meaning the more they try to make it make sense. So maybe now, what they need is the simplicity that the words convey. Right now, they can only make use of what makes sense. And she was right, because Joohyun smiled too. Tenderly. Endearingly. Gently, she walked out and bid goodbye. 

And again, Seungwan looks away. 

---

Seungwan felt renewed. That night, she took a rest and comfortably listened to music on her pajamas. Seulgi arrived a little after she was home to eat food from her fridge and to talk to her. The bear said her "bestfriend senses" were tingling and Seungwan must have sent her a cry for help. Seulgi was not that wrong though, she did look for her the moment Joohyun came barging through her door. "So you did look for me? Daebak! I knew we were soulmates, Wan. I just know it." Seulgi messily spoke through , munching on Seungwan's readily cut fruits. 

"Yes, whatever helps you sleep at night." Seungwan chuckled while putting her left earphone back on her ear. Her eyes were closed and she was relaxed, calmly taking in the soul that the song she was listening to was offering. Her mind drifted to grasp Joohyun's words, her lines, and what it meant. To have been comforted, to be cared about, to be understood. To finally, finally, see. Even if it was just a glimpse of Joohyun. For Joohyun to show a bit of her when Seungwan has always been looking but never seeing through, Seungwan felt grateful. She's happy that the day had come for her to truly feel like her friend, like someone Joohyun trusted. Just for a moment, she let herself feel.

So she'll take this slow. Slowly. She'll take her time. It's been working so far, the song has surprisingly almost been done and she's managed to handle it, along with the club. The club which will cover the talent competition that Taeyeon will enter. In fact they're in a meeting now and it's boring Seungwan. They've been going around for more than an hour and maybe she needed to get away because it's Bogum who's speaking. 

"I guess that's it, guys? I'm volunteering to handle taking photos during the event." Bogum ended as he politely smiled at everyone inside the room. 

Yes. Sure. So humble of you to volunteer. Being the club's head photographer.

Wendy was quick to bolt out of her seat and gather her papers. She had another idea for the song and maybe she'd be able to finish it tonight. Everyone had almost left when Bogum approached her. "I heard some rumours about you and that Sana girl, Wen. How're things going?" Bogum remarked in a playfully teasing way which discomfited Seungwan. He sounded too casual, like they were bros for life. How could this guy possibly assume what's going on with her life from the gossip that goes around campus? "I don't know where you get ideas like that, Bogum. Please refrain from believing rumours that have no basis," Seungwan spat with a little bite. They've never been interested in each other's lives before because Bogum always saw her as a competition and frankly, Seungwan can't be bothered to change his mind. Not anymore. 

"Actually, I heard it from—" Bogum wasn't able to finish when someone appeared from behind. "Hey, you're here!" Zooming past Seungwan, Bogum engulfed a figure who looks a lot like an angel in a hug. Said angel was looking at her over the guy's shoulder so Seungwan waved and smiled. The angel returned a shy smile that was maybe followed by a wave of her own but her vision was obstructed by two devils. Seungwan frowned. She was just gifted to see an angel walking through the dull doors of their club, so what were these two devils doing here? These two devils that she unfortunately held dear to her heart? 

"Unnie, today's a good day, isn't it?" Yeri's brows were bobbing up and down, hinting at something Seungwan can't understand. "You know why? Because today is...?" added Yeri on a hanging tone for the brown-haired girl to finish. Seungwan pondered for an answer but ended up with an empty one. What she could remember though, was her twitter username. "Today is... Wendy?" When Seungwan thought of what she said, she guffawed because of her quick thinking. Yeri could only groan in response. 

"No! Today's the last day of the week's worth of deadline you have been given." Yeri stated while smirking and Seungwan was showered with a sudden case of i