Yongsun hates to talk about her age. In her class in high school, she was a year older than everyone else. No one minded it though, and it was enough for her. However, Yongsun hates it more when people who she knows are younger than her exclude honorifics when they call her. She still valued respect over everything else. So when her sophomore year came and a transferee addressed her so casually, she couldn’t hold herself back from asserting her dominance.

The transferee was obviously taken aback by Yongsun’s snappy attitude, and awkwardly apologizes for mistaking her as someone younger. They never exchanged anything more than glances after that. And though Yongsun inwardly felt complimented by the transferee’s remark, she would never actually admit that to anyone.

———

When their senior year came, everyone in their class were told to “buddy up” for their class picture. Yongsun somehow finds herself standing behind the sophomore transferee, named Moon Byulyi, after being shoved further in the back. Not that she didn’t mind since she could still be seen, but when the photographer instructed them to act friendlier with one another and immediately starts counting down, Yongsun doesn’t know what to do and acts on impulse—which was to hug the person right in front of her.

She felt Moon Byulyi tense at the sudden contact, nonetheless, kept silent about it. Once the photoshoot was done, the two 16 year old teenagers eyed each other awkwardly with Yongsun being the first one to pull away.

———

Graduation came and it was time to say good bye to their class. Yongsun passes her dream school and is looking forward to attending her first year of college at SKKU*.

However, before she could even leave the venue, she heard someone yell her name. Out of instinct, Yongsun turns around and sees Moon Byulyi jogging towards her.

“Did you need something, Moon Byulyi-ssi?” Yongsun asks. The younger girl grimaced at the name. “You sound so formal, unnie. Byulyi is fine.” She says, grinning at Yongsun.

Unsure of how to react, Yongsun bites her lower lip instead. Byulyi notices this, and goes on to apologize for being thoughtless and disrespectful during their first meeting.

“I’m afraid we started off the wrong.. foot?” Byulyi announces, then proceeds to stretch her hand for Yongsun to accept as she continued her statement. “Anyway, I’d love it if we become friends, unnie. You know, since we’re graduating and all.”

Yongsun reluctantly accepts Byulyi’s hand and shook it. She didn’t miss the way the younger girl’s face lit up at the action and thought that she looked cute with that dopey smile stretched across her lips.

———

Their friendship grew stronger over the years, and even with college in the way, they still managed to allot time for each other. Suddenly, the nights that Yongsun usually spent alone in her apartment became evenings that was filled with movie nights and sleepovers.

Yongsun isn’t one to initiate skinship, but whenever she was with Byulyi, she could not help but to crave for the younger girl’s touch and embrace.

Yongsun thinks that this is because the younger girl was always by her side that she’s grown so used to it by now, and it starts to feel weird when she’s not around. Sometimes when Byulyi wouldn’t hug her, she would somehow find a way for the other girl to hug her or sometimes, she would even do it herself.

Years ago, she would’ve thought that this was disgusting. But at this moment—as they watched a drama, snuggling against each other with Byulyi’s hands scratching her head in a gentle, rhythmic pattern, Yongsun felt something warm and fuzzy settle in the pit of her stomach and spread throughout her body. It was a new feeling for her, yet, it also felt as if this were something that she could get used to. She decided that she wants to spend her evenings like this: enveloped in warmth.

———

Yongsun wasn’t clingy nor does she take compliments well, but she secretly loved it when Byulyi shamelessly threw greasy comments here and there.

She would deflect it; say that Byulyi was being weird and crazy, but would find a way to subtly fish more compliments from the younger woman anyway.

Sometimes she thinks that maybe she was the weird one.

———

Yongsun is clever but dense. There are times when even obvious things should have been noticed by now, but remains incognizant about it. It was why she earned that nickname from Byuilyi, after all: Yeba or in simpler terms, a pretty fo