Bomi doesn’t know how long she sits on her bed for, but after eating through her whole secret stash of food tucked away in the corner of her room, she figures it’s been long enough; she has to say something. It’s impossible to ignore that they had just confessed to each other. Without really meaning to, but it still counts. Right?

          Bomi groans into her pillow and probably would’ve cried herself to sleep when she hears a loud thud on the other side of the curtain. Bomi holds her breath. Did… Did Chorong just fall off her bed?

          Bomi jerks the curtain open without hesitation. At first, it’s only to check that Chorong hasn’t cracked her skull on her bedroom floor, but after seeing the said woman sitting innocently on her mattress, all Bomi can do is swallow the pool of saliva collecting in . She’s forgotten what she needs to say and at this point, she doubts whatever came out of are words. The way Chorong is staring back at her right now––brows furrowed, lips pursed, hair in disheveled tangles, and cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink––is making Bomi unbelievably dizzy.

          It’s when Chorong finally opens to say something that Bomi dives in, lips crashing into hers exactly as she had imagined in her head so many times before. Her hand slides to the back of Chorong’s head, leaning her forward until they’re impossibly close. Bomi sinks into it all, hands and lips burning against hers when Chorong’s tongue slips into . Her yelp gets swallowed by Chorong’s lips once more and suddenly Bomi is being pushed back into ruffled bed sheets. She grins into the kiss, barely having enough time to catch her breath as she loses herself under Chorong’s touch. Bomi is midway to ripping off Chorong’s top when a phone rings shrilly from the bed stand.

          "Ngh, just ignore it,” Bomi groans, tugging helplessly at the edge of Chorong’s oversized shirt. Chorong her swollen lips and looks tempted, but whips back to her phone when it starts ringing again.

          "I’ll make it quick,” Chorong says reassuringly and she means what she said until she scans Eunji’s name on her screen. Her stomach drops uncomfortably; something tells her she won’t be able to finish what she’s started with Bomi. “Hello?” Chorong grumbles in the same irritable way she always does with her little sister. Her previous nervousness is washed away from the ear splitting music and clamorous chatter in the background of the call. Eunji is shouting something into the phone, but Chorong can barely make out a word.

          “What?” Chorong yells back with her face scrunched up in obvious exasperation.

          She’s waiting patiently for Eunji to respond when a pair of wet lips begin to travel down her neck, gently against her skin. Chorong’s breath hitches as she fumbles to keep the phone from slipping, teeth digging into her bottom lip when Bomi nips affectionately at her ear. A whimper escapes Chorong’s mouth and the noises on the other end of the call clears so that Eunji’s voice becomes audible.

          “Unnie?” Eunji half-shouts Chorong's name and repeats a couple times for good measure. Chorong is too busy trying not to moan into the phone. “I just got out of a party and was wondering if you and Bomi wanted to grab a bite to eat with Naeun and me.”

          There’s a long pause. “Okay,” Chorong says a little too hoarsely. She winces when she realizes Eunji has probably already caught on. She can practically hear her smirking on the other end.

          “The party isn’t too far from the apartment,” Eunji drawls arrogantly, “So please have some clothes on.”

          "Why would I not have clothes on?” Chorong snaps defensively, slightly shoving Bomi off to the side.

          “I just meant have some nice clothes on.” Eunji sings playfully, “I like to be presentable at restaurants.”

          “I’ll let Bomi know.” Chorong says as casually as possible.

          "Please do. Oh, and let her know we won’t eat for too long.” Eunji grins slyly into the phone, “I’m sure she has better things to do tonight.”

          The call ends abruptly and Chorong buries her face in her hands, turning to Bomi with an almost pained look on her face. “Eunji and Naeun are taking us out for dinner.”

          "What about–”

          “Just get dressed.”

          “But–”

          "Get dressed,” Chorong orders firmly and patiently waits for Bomi to crawl through the hole and obediently swipe the curtain closed with a disheartened expression. Chorong sinks back into her bed immediately after hearing Bomi’s feet trot away, muffling her own distress with the nearest pillow. What was she thinking? And why did it have to be then that Eunji called? 

          She shakes her head to clear her thoughts before they go further; it was already overwhelming enough to picture Bomi’s hands under her shirt and lips locked on hers. Instead, Chorong wheels herself over to her closet to choose an outfit. What said I-was-not-just-about-to--your-best-friend?

          She ends up choosing a white cardigan and slightly loose black pants, her hair tossed in a neat half-ponytail. She’s been doing that more often after noticing the way Bomi bites her lip whenever Chorong reaches to tie her hair back. It makes her blush more than she’d like.

          When Chorong finally makes her way out of the apartment, she unintentionally startles the living hell out of Bomi, who had evidently been waiting anxiously in front of her door. Bomi runs a hand through her hair again, eyes flickering between the ground and Chorong. She shuffles around for a good minute before realizing that Chorong is staring at her stiffly.

          “Is there something on my face?” Bomi panics, wiping her cheek with a hand alarmingly. Chorong settles her hand on Bomi’s wrist, halting all the agitated movements.

“No.” Chorong’s voice comes out like in a wispy whisper, “Y-you look perfect.” And then she’s bright red and feeling herself heat up like a boiling kettle.

          If she wasn’t too absorbed with the off the shoulder top showcasing Bomi’s sharp collarbones, Chorong imagines she might’ve been able to compliment Bomi more. However, the rest of their talk is filled with Bomi trying to express her own thoughts on Chorong’s appearance; it’s garbled, repetitive, and unnecessarily loud, but it still makes Chorong’s stomach do crazy flips nevertheless. Besides, it’s so dumb cute that Chorong lets her ramble all the way down the staircase and out the building.

          “So… We should talk.” Bomi says suddenly when they settle by the driveway. Chorong stares at her in disbelief for a second, confused where all the courage has randomly come from. Bomi was always so unpredictable.

          “Right. Our feelings. The confession. That kiss–”

Bomi nods, “Wasn’t even our first.”

          “Yeah, it wasn’t–” Chorong stops in the middle of her sentence, eyes wide with shock when she processes the memory of their first kiss. “Oh my gosh.” She doesn’t even know where to start. “You remembered that night? But you were drunk!” It comes out like a shriek, but it seems appropriate from the way Bomi is just shyly scratching the back of her head instead of explaining.

          “It’s fine,” Bomi waves her hand absentmindedly, “You don’t need to be embarrassed.”

          “Well of course I don’t!” Chorong protests, poking an accusing finger at Bomi’s chest, “You’re the one who kissed me!”

          Bomi shrugs as if that’s nothing. In fact, it probably wouldn’t have taken her longer than another minute to work her feelings out with Chorong if they weren’t abruptly interrupted by Eunji’s flippant whistling from the driver’s seat as she swerves into the driveway. Naeun was seated next to her, too occupied with something else to spare a glance.

          “Get in, idiots!” Eunji hollers, blasting the already deafening music louder. Chorong glances back at Bomi, opened to say something but she closes it after second thought. It wasn’t the time. A sigh caught in , Chorong hops into the car, instinctively scolding Eunji for honking the car while Bomi slides into the seat next to her. 

          The ride to the restaurant would’ve been awkward if not for Eunji and Bomi’s endless prattles. It bothers Chorong more than it should that Bomi seems so carefree in the midst of their personal complications, but Chorong puts off her grudges long enough with the help of Naeun. After admittedly being unreasonable with her underlying hate towards Naeun, Chorong doesn’t find it easy to interact with Naeun at first, but they both make a good effort to initiate small talk. It also helps that Naeun refrains from any exchange with Bomi the entire car ride there. 

          The place that Eunji finally pulls up to is a cozy, nicely lit pizza parlor, buzzing with customers and light laughter. It would’ve taken a long time to get a spot, but Eunji somehow flirts her way into getting an empty table. Naeun scoffs from the side, her arms crossed haughtily until Eunji steals a kiss on her forehead when Chorong isn’t looking. Naeun hates that that’s all it takes for her to be consoled.

          “What should we order?” Chorong asks as she squints hard at the menu. She’s already scanning for what would suit other’s tastes, knowing that everyone else would have their own set opinion on toppings. If they were particularly fickle today, it wouldn’t be a surprise to order four separate pizzas.

          Eunji hums as she taps her finger against the menu, curious as always about most of the items on it. She’s going to need a minute.

          “So what were you guys up to before we asked to eat together?” Naeun inquires as she swirls the ice cubes in her water with the straw. Normally it would be an innocent question, but Bomi’s mind flashes back to Chorong’s tongue in and immediately, goes dry. From next to her, Chorong chokes on her water, the glass fumbling between her fingers. 

          Eunji raises a brow while reading off all the toppings on the meat lovers pizza, pretending to be oblivious of her best friend and sister’s reactions. “Ham, pepperoni, sausage, and ooh, chicken,” Eunji’s voice trails off as she nods her head loosely. 

          Meanwhile, Bomi is squirming in her seat after becoming hyper aware of how small the tables at this restaurant are; the chairs are so close to each other, Bomi’s arm is brushing against Chorong’s every other second and it’s making her forget how to breathe. She’s nervous but she doesn’t know what for until she realizes where her hand is subconsciously headed. Bomi retreats and takes a long sip of water, wiping the sweat off her forehead. Her heart is beating abnormally fast and for a second, she imagines it. She imagines what it’ll be like to hold Chorong’s hand right now under this table and suddenly, that’s all she can think of. The waitress arrives at their table so Chorong reads off their orders. Of course, this is when Bomi decides it’s the best time to take action. 

          “Can we get one margherita pizza, one–” In an instant, Chorong’s heart skips a beat and she forgets how to speak. Because beneath the table, Bomi confesses for the second time. Her fingers lace carefully between Chorong’s, perfectly fitting and warm.

          There’s a shot of exhilaration that spreads everywhere in Bomi’s body. She wants to shout from joy at how thrilling it all is: the feeling of a real relationship and knowing that Chorong has those same butterflies with her hand in hers. They try not to wriggle, but the blush on their face tells all, so Naeun ends up finishing the order. It’s not that either Naeun or Eunji know what exactly is happening out of their sight, but it would take an absolute idiot to not notice the shift in atmosphere. Something about Bomi and Chorong is different; they aren’t necessarily talking but the way their eyes meet, the affectionate touches here and there, and the pinkish light in their cheeks is far from the first giveaway.

          When the food comes, Bomi fiddles with Chorong’s fingertips, almost as if she’s scared she’ll have to let go. They both don’t eat as much as normal because they only have one available hand, but the struggle is worth it anyways. Perhaps if they hadn’t been pining after each other for so long, a simple hand hold wouldn’t have felt this special, but Chorong can’t help but regret not doing this sooner. She had barely been able carry a conversation for longer than a minute before; but here she was now, hours after a makeout session and hand clasped in Bomi’s under the pizza parlour table, knowing that everything was just right.

          Chorong bites back another giggle when Bomi tickles the palm of her hand with her thumb. It makes her want to steal a glance of the whole scene so she does, furtively scooting backwards and lowering her gaze to Bomi’s playful hands. It’s as cute as Chorong has imagined it… that is until she catches a different subtle movement lurking under the table from the corner of her eye. What is unmistakably her little sister’s foot slides under Naeun’s loose black jeans and there’s no doubt it’s deliberate. It takes a few seconds to click, but when it does, Chorong’s eyes automatically narrow and glower threateningly.

          “Why is your foot up Naeun’s pants?” Chorong cries out, her voice easily several octaves higher. Eunji struggles to keep her face straight but Naeun just lets out a sigh. “Don’t you dare try lying to me,” Chorong warns and it looks like a million thoughts run through Eunji’s head in that moment.

          Her eyes dart to Naeun, who looks indifferent as always but nudges Eunji’s foot out of her pants for good measure. Eunji clears , “I’m dating her.” There’s a pause that lets Chorong process why she’s upset in the first place. “Look,” Eunji explains, “I’ve done worse things than dating or punching holes in your wall or even setting you up with my single, cute, hot, lonely best friend but––”

          “What?!” Chorong yells out for the second time. Suddenly every single thing makes sense.

          “She didn’t know about the setting up part.” Naeun informs Eunji calmly and rolls her eyes when Eunji confirms in a small voice, “Yup. She did not know about that.”

          “You thought you could just force Bomi and me together and get away with it?” Chorong retorts while Bomi sits flat out bewildered by back and forth exchange happening before her.

          “Well…” Eunji drawls out, half shrugging as she avoids eye contact, “I’m pretty sure I was about to get away with it.”

          That’s when Chorong purls around, meeting Bomi’s wide frightened eyes. “And what about you? Were you really stupid enough to let Eunji talk her girlfriend into recommending the apartment that just so happens to be next to her dear old sister and then make me jealous of her own girlfriend so I confess to you?” Chorong has to catch her breath after that excessive monologue.

          Eunji takes advantage of the break to enthusiastically cheer, “Oh my gosh! You confessed?”

          Chorong just glares at her then haughtily turns to Bomi for an answer.

          Bomi starts off timidly, looking down in her lap, “I just… I… I don’t know.” Bomi sighs defeatedly, “I don't know a lot of things but I do know how I feel about you.”

          “How do you feel about me?” Chorong repeats quietly.

          Bomi puffs up her chest a little, an air of confidence tinted in her tone, “I like you a lot. I guess I was blinded by it but that’s all I really ever think of so… so it never crossed my mind that Eunji did anything wrong.” Bomi smiles gently at her best friend and they likely would have burst out into laughter at their connection if Chorong didn’t reach boldly across and take Bomi’s hand in hers.

          “Oh. I guess you're right,” Chorong admits sheepishly, looking into Bomi’s eyes. “I like you a lot too."

          Bomi blushes a dark shade of red, eyes shimmering with sweetness as she says softly, "Eunji or not, I know we would've got together somehow."

          “Woah there!” Eunji protests before Naeun can hold her back. “I think we all know you two es would not have made it anywhere near even talking without my ploys.”

          "Shut up!” Chorong snaps. And this time, Bomi follows up with a whiny, “You’re ruining our moment!”

          Eunji leans back, hands in the air and smug with the knowledge that she was the reason Bomi and Chorong were smiling at each other like two lovestruck fools. Naeun watches with an envious glint in her eye, remembering her own first few days with Eunji; to be honest it was a mostly physical start, but they had their moments. And almost as if Eunji heard her thoughts, Naeun feels Eunji’s lips press a soft kiss against her temple. 

          The rest of the meal time passes peacefully enough, though Naeun is admittedly more bothered by the fact that Eunji can initiate any kind of skinship now that Chorong is aware of their relationship. She has a feeling Eunji is getting more entertained off the glares Chorong throws at her whenever she attempts the slightest touch. Bomi, however, is still too focused on her hand so when Eunji asks them if they want to join them to go see fireworks, Chorong is left to make the call.

          “Sure,” Chorong remarks cooly, then pokes at Bomi’s hand with her finger to get her to pay attention. Bomi immediately nods without any idea what she’s agreeing to.

          “What’s happening?” Bomi hisses into Chorong’s ear when Eunji and Naeun go to pay the bill. Chorong rolls her eyes at her and begins to nag, scolding her for being so obvious and anxious for no reason at all. Bomi ends up sitting through a complete monologue before she finally learns they’re going to a nearby river to see fireworks.

          “Let’s get going now then!” Eunji hollers at the two, leading Naeun out the door while Bomi and Chorong gather their things to catch up.

          The ride to the river is quieter than normal and when they arrive, Chorong is surprised to see that Eunji has invited Hayoung and Namjoo as well. Namjoo’s eyes sparkle when she catches Bomi and Chorong standing close together; the two exchange nervous glances when they realize everyone is staring at them.

          “What is it?” Bomi finally asks out loud, throwing her hands into the air while Naeun pretends like she has no idea what they’re talking about. Namjoo does the same, but it draws more attention to Bomi and Chorong’s suspicions. Chorong narrows her eyes, trying to force it out of her smirking little sister.

          “We were notified you and Bomi are finally official,” Hayoung confesses in a bored tone, blinking absently at Chorong’s flushed cheeks. Bomi laughs nervously from the side, rubbing the back of her neck as she thinks about how to deny it without really denying it. 

          Except she’s stopped by Chorong’s whispering quietly, “I guess we are.” Bomi feels herself melt, heart exploding from her chest, and mouth dropped in disbelief. She looks so stupid that Eunji has to slap her chin to at least stop her from drooling. Chorong gives her a small smile, nudging her with her shoulder. “We are, right?”

          “YES!” Bomi answers without missing a beat. Her arms jerk out in excitement, swiveling backward to where Namjoo is standing. Luckily Namjoo’s reflexes are fast enough to dodge the arm, but at the expense of Hayoung getting smacked right at her nose. Loud wails of complaint ring through the night: Eunji yelling at Hayoung to it up, Chorong quickly tending to her pain, Bomi repeatedly apologizing excessively, Namjoo doubled over in loud laughter, and Naeun off to the side wondering if she should step in to help. It almost feels like a normal friend’s night out, standing under the night sky while they fuss over each other.

          Chorong would’ve let them roughhouse for longer if there wasn’t the occasional bystander sending them irritated glares as they walked past, so she eventually forces them to settle until the fireworks start. Music booms in the background, the explosion of lights against the black sky entrancing everyone to gaze up with mouths agape. Eunji begins to make out with Naeun on the side, lost in their own world despite Namjoo watching in curiosity and Hayoung hollering at them to get a room. Chorong and Bomi are secluded on the other side of the rails, leaning forward towards the river view. More lights glitter across, the cool breeze blowing in rhythm as Chorong takes a long breath of air. A subconscious beam spreads across her face when suddenly, she feels a pair of eyes ogling at her.

          “Why are you looking at me?” Chorong giggles as she naturally links arms with Bomi. Bomi smiles and rests her head against Chorong’s shoulder, feeling a pang of satisfaction in her chest.

          Bomi hums for a second, listening to the whizz of another firework bursting into the air. “I’m just really happy right now.”

          Chorong shakes a little from laughter, before turning to peck Bomi gently on the top of her head. “Me too.”

          And it’s the truth. Chorong hasn’t felt happy in a long time, but with Bomi’s warmth embracing her, she knows that this is it. Bomi may have only been that strange woman that made her impolite, the contradicting social introvert, her little sister’s goofy best friend, the fire to her water at first, but somehow her dumb cute neighbor had become something so much more.

          And she loved it.

~fin

-- this was the last chapter~ I'm not too satisfied with the ending but i hope it still had enough sweet elements to make it somewhat enjoyable. thanks to everyone who gave this fic so much support and pls drop me some possible sequel ideas (mmmaaayyyyybbbeeee i'll write it?) or just other thoughts in the comments! --