I'm doing good, I'm on some new

Been saying "yes" instead of "no"

I thought I saw you at the bus stop, I didn't though

I hit the ground running each night

I hit the Sunday matinée

You know the greatest films of all time were never made

 

“Yes,”

 

“Okay,”

 

“Yes,”

 

Eunbi can’t believe she’s doing this.

 

She has 3 classes to fill tomorrow- and she wants to curse everyone for deciding to take a day off on the same damned day. It wasn’t even Christmas!

 

She glances to the piles of unmarked books and papers on her desk and glares at them, as if they’d magically whip themselves into marked assignments.

 

Eunbi can’t physically stand this anymore.

 

Rowdy students, mountains of paperwork and bare minimum pay was eating her up from the inside.

 

So she stands up from her seat abruptly, stomping away from her teacher’s office, where students that were staying back for extra curriculars lingered around, chattering amongst themselves.

 

“Minjoo!” a student- that rascal Ahn Yujin- yells as she chases after someone who was presumably Minjoo.

 

Those two…

 

Eunbi continues her way out of the school, wanting to finally inhale some non-air conditioned air.

 

She finally makes her way out of the building, letting out a sigh of relief as she did, leaning against a nearby column, waiting for her overwhelmed nerves to calm down. Her eyes catch someone pacing around the bus stop, but she closes her eyes instead, trying to drown out anything that could prevent her from not exploding.

 

“H- hi,” a shy voice suddenly calls, and Eunbi barely snaps out of her dazed state when her eyes focus on the woman- sighing when it comes to her that her initial plan to calm her nerves was being cut short.

 

But it wasn’t.

 

Looking at this stranger brought her serenity, a sense of ‘it’s okay’ Eunbi hadn’t felt in the longest while.

 

“Hello,” Eunbi stands up straight, eyes fixated on the lost ones in front of her.

 

“Yeah, sorry but I was just wondering if you knew where my sister- Jang Wonyoung would be?” the stranger asks, and Eunbi haywires for a second, trying to skim through every student she’s ever taught this year.

 

“Class 1A right?” Eunbi’s gears spin faster, hoping the answer would click.

 

“Yeah- she’s taking an extra curricular- but i’m not sure-”

 

“Student body,” Eunbi answers.

 

“The meeting is in class 3A- straight through this door, down the hall last room to your left,” Eunbi explains quickly, and the stranger bows in retrospect, ready to take her leave.

 

“Thank you- uhh-”

 

“Eunbi,”

 

“Kwon Eunbi,” Eunbi says with the little suave she had left, holding out her hand for the well built woman to take.

 

“Lee Chaeyeon,” she says with a soft smile, bowing slightly as she held the hand in hers, the warmth sending tingles down her heart.

 

Stop staring.

 

Chaeyeon pulls her hand away first- the unfamiliar warmth leaving her making her feel somewhat empty.

 

“I’ll be on my way,” Chaeyeon says, unreasonably flustered as she runs off to the destination Eunbi informed her of.

 

Stop. You can’t have her.

 

——

 

I guess you never know, never know

And if you wanted me, you really should've showed

And if you never bleed, you're never gonna grow

And it's alright now

 

“Chaeyeon?” Eunbi suddenly asks, eyebrows arching as she looks up from her desk, surprised to see Chaeyeon at the school’s report card day.

 

“Hello,” Chaeyeon says as she drags the chair, politely sitting down as she waited for Eunbi to say anything.

 

“You’re here for- Wonyoung right?” Eunbi asks, and Chaeyeon nods.

 

“Her real sister and parents couldn’t make it, I’m sorry,” Chaeyeon apologizes, but Eunbi waves her off, shaking her head slightly.

 

“It’s okay, it’s not like Wonyoung is doing anything bad or something- she’s actually doing really well!” Eunbi exclaims, smiling softly as she hands over Wonyoung’s card, a streak of A’s all printed all over it.

 

“Is she okay in school? I mean like, besides studies” Chaeyeon asks, and Eunbi ponders for a while.

 

“Well, she has a lot of friends that’s good- but I guess she’s a bit- distant? But I’m a teacher, most people try to avoid me anyways,” Eunbi sighs as she says this, Chaeyeon nodding- a bit relieved despite one thing still nagging at her chest.

 

“Why? Is there anything I should be aware of?” Eunbi asks, concern dotted on her expression.

 

“Nothing, her family has just been away a lot so I’m just hoping it’s not taking a toll on her,” Chaeyeon says softly, and Eunbi nods.

 

A wave of silence hits the two- but it’s not awkward, more questioning. Questioning their current situation, questioning their next moves. Questioning.

 

“Are you free after this?”

 

But we were something, don't you think so?

Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool

And if my wishes came true

It would've been you

In my defense, I have none

For never leaving well enough alone

But it would've been fun

If you would've been the one

 

“How come I never see you with Wonyoung?” Eunbi asked as they walked through the open air mall, the summer air lingering around the two.

 

It’s been a month since the first time they hung out after the report card day, and they’d been on countless ‘dates’ since then, Chaeyeon always hanging around at the bus stop after school.

 

“Wonyoung isn’t my biological sister,” Chaeyeon says casually as their steps echo against the cement flooring, the near closed mall almost barren with people.

 

“It’s Chaeryeong right?” Eunbi asks, and Chaeyeon nods, clicking her tongue at the thought of those little rascals.

 

“My mom married another man a long time ago- he’s Wonyoung’s dad,” Chaeyeon tells, and Eunbi listens, and she finally gets why the two had different last names. “Sorry- overshared,” Chaeyeon says awkwardly, but Eunbi waves her off.

 

“It’s alright- it’s nice to know,” Eunbi says, and they arrive at the center of the mall, where water spewed out of an old fountain, the faded angels seeming to radiate more negativity despite the holy attributes associated with them.

 

“Do you believe in it?” Chaeyeon asks, walking forward to lean against the barrier of the fountain, staring at the shiny pennies that lay on the floor of the fountain.

 

“What?”

 

“Wishing on fountains,” Chaeyeon says as she slips her hand into her back pocket, finding loose pennies housing themselves within the pockets of her jeans.

 

“I don’t believe in a lot of things,” Eunbi says with an awkward laugh as she moves to lean against the barrier with Chaeyeon, who hands her a penny.

 

“I don’t believe in it either,” Chaeyeon says with a smile, and Eunbi looks at her, clearly confused.

 

“Then why?”

 

“It’s what everybody else does,” Chaeyeon says softly, looking to her own penny.

 

“And everybody else's dream always comes true,” Chaeyeon says, and Eunbi they both sigh.

 

“I wish my dream would come true,” they say at the same time, causing them both to laugh at the sudden sync.

 

“What is your dream?” Chaeyeon asks after they both go silent, looking at the soft moonlight that adorned Eunbi’s face.

 

“To be honest with you,” Eunbi says as she traces her finger around the penny, as if making eye contact with the figure etched into the penny.

 

“I don’t really have a dream,” Eunbi says, but she drops the penny into the water, the plop of the penny echoing through their ears.

 

‘Then why did you-”

 

“Maybe I do have a wish,”

 

“Maybe I just don’t know what it is yet,”

 

I have this dream you're doing cool

Having adventures on your own

You meet some woman on the internet and take her home

We never painted by the numbers, baby

But we were making it count

You know the greatest loves of all time are over now

 

“So what was Eunbi to you?” Lia asks, curiosity taking over her entire being.

 

“She was freedom,”

 

——

 

“What do you do for a living?” Eunbi asks, curiosity about the younger daunting her mind.

 

“I used to dance,” Chaeyeon says with a tiny smile, her feet seeming to want to fly at the mere thought of dancing again.

 

“Me too! Oh wow? Really?” Eunbi chirps, pulling Chaeyeon’s wrist so that she would come closer.

 

“Yeah! I even had a studio in my house and all,” Chaeyeon tells with enthusiasm- it’s been a damn long time since she was given the opportunity to speak of her passions.

 

“You danced too?” Chaeyeon asks, and Eunbi nods, looking like a little kid on Christmas eve.

 

“All the way through college- I met some crazy dancers on the way- some people we met through the internet,” Eunbi reminisces, her eyes going dreamy at the thoughts of her collegiate life.

 

“I miss college,” Eunbi sighs, looking up towards the night sky, as if searching for a shooting star, desperate to make a wish upon it.

 

Wishes again wishes again.

 

“Sounds fun,”

 

“College?”

 

“Yeah, I never got the chance to go,” Chaeyeon says softly, and Eunbi frowns, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it, so she says nothing.

 

“I want to show you something,” Chaeyeon says as she holds out her hand, and Eunbi an eyebrow, but she takes her hand, and off they go- into a getaway car, running from the realities that found them each other.

 

——

 

“Is this your house?!” Eunbi exclaims, amazed at the beauty of the place Chaeyeon lived.

 

“Y- yeah- pretty much,” Chaeyeon says awkwardly as they step onto the grandeur steps of the mansion, Eunbi’s mouth agape as she tries to digest the whole situation.

 

Why is this house so familiar?

 

“Come on,” Chaeyeon says excitedly, grabbing Eunbi’s hand again- eyes like a child as she dragged Eunbi through the grand halls of the home, up the stairs and into the last room at the end of the winding hallway.

 

A dance studio.

 

“You have this at your house?” Eunbi says, in complete awe of its size and the massive speakers inside the room. It was quite literally a professional studio.

 

“It’s the only thing I wanted,” Chaeyeon says with a smile, turning on the lights and the speakers, looking to Eunbi after she did so.

 

“So,” Chaeyeon says with a chuckle, watching Eunbi inspect the mirror too closely to be considered normal.

 

“What song?” Chaeyeon asks, and Eunbi waddles up to her, looking to the laptop for all the songs Chaeyeon had.

 

“I like this one- but-” Eunbi says, pursing her lips as she doubts on what choreo she could do for the younger.

 

“I need a chair to do it,” Eunbi says with a smirk, and Chaeyeon gulps at the words.

 

“A- a chair?”

 

“Oh don’t worry Chae,” Eunbi says with a chuckle, Chaeyeon’s heart fluttering a bit too much at the nickname.

 

“It’s not a ,” Eunbi clarifies, waving her hand to indicate that Chaeyeon was safe, but Chaeyeon still gulps, because as much as she wants to see it- she can’t risk Eunbi figuring out how much Chaeyeon’s stomach explodes whenever she’s around.

 

“Unless you want it to be,”

 

I guess you never know, never know

And it's another day waking up alone

 

Chaeyeon waits at the bus stop.

 

Students were pouring out of the school, alongside a few teachers- and of course, Chaeyeon sees her- Kwon Eunbi. The older walks with her head down, seeming to be in a rush as she walks past Chaeyeon as if she were air, crossing the street to a car that was tinted almost completely, where a raven haired woman with thick bangs was leaning against the luxurious car.

 

Chaeyeon extends her hand, as if wanting to take Eunbi’s hand and run away with her.

 

“This is so tiring,”

 

“But it’s fun!” Eunbi yells over the music in the studio, and Chaeyeon nods, the two of them laying on the wooden flooring, their breaths heaving as they looked to the brightness on the ceiling.

 

“It is,” Chaeyeon replies between breaths, Eunbi turning to look Chaeyeon in the eyes.

 

“You’re a real good dancer Chae,” Eunbi says softly, the comment making Chaeyeon’s heart beat even faster than before.

 

“It’s all I ever do,” Chaeyeon says with a shrug as she turns to look at Eunbi. And god were they sitting close to each other. Too close for Chaeyeon’s insides to bear.

 

“I’m glad you chose me to be your dancing partner,” Eunbi says with a soft smile, her eyes twinkling more than the LED’s mounted onto the wall.

 

“I’d like to be more than just your dancing partner,” Chaeyeon admits, and Eunbi is silent for a moment, but she then takes Chaeyeon’s hand- she grips it, squeezes it, and says.

 

“All these months,”

 

“Do you know how much I’ve longed for a love like you?”

 

“Unnie!” Chaeryeong suddenly calls, and Chaeyeon snaps out of her memories, looking to her real sister, who waves at her.

 

“I’ve missed you! I’m glad Irene unnie is back,” Chaeryeong chirps, and Chaeyeon moves to engulf her in a hug.

 

“Me too,” Chaeyeon says as Chaeryeong returns the embrace, gripping her shirt, making the white of the shirt wrinkle.

 

“I missed you taking care of me,”

 

But we were something, don't you think so?

Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool

And if my wishes came true

It would've been you

In my defense, I have none

For never leaving well enough alone

But it would've been fun

If you would've been the one

 

Eunbi does admit she misses Chaeyeon. But she can’t dare to see her face to face again.

 

When I kiss you I see her.

 

And I love kissing you.

 

She misses Chaeyeon.

 

She wants to love Chaeyeon, care for her, dance with her.

 

Eunbi just can’t seem to fulfil that dying wish of hers.

 

“I shouldn’t have believed in those ing pennies,” Eunbi scowls as she sits back onto the seat at her desk, glancing at her phone to see a text, which she wants to reply to, but the stacks of unmarked homework catches her eye- and she sighs.

 

“Who in the ing ministry of education thought homework was a good idea,” Eunbi blabbers, and she picks up the first stack from the pile, and she read it through.

 

Lee Chaeryeong.

 

About My Sister.

 

Eunbi hisses at the piece of paper, sliding it away. The last thing she needed currently was more thoughts about the eldest Lee. Yet the curiousity inside her rages, begging her to become a nosy person and to read through everything about the younger.

 

So she reads, and she reads.

 

And she crumples the paper.

 

I, I, I persist and resist the temptation to ask you

If one thing had been different

Would everything be different today?

 

“This sounds like me being desperate- but I’ll never understand why Eunbi didn’t stay,” Chaeyeon says, as they laze around in their spot in Nako’s mother’s Café- where Lia and Chaeyeon had been meeting for the past few months.

 

“Did she figure it out?”

 

“Maybe,” Chaeyeon says, clicking her tongue.

 

“That’s why Chae,” Lia says with a frown, and Chaeyeon bites her lip.

 

“I would’ve ran away with her,” Chaeyeon says, the desperation evident in her tone. “I would’ve made things different,”

 

“I would’ve changed,”

 

“You would have,” Lia says, taking her hand.

 

“But could you have?”

 

We were something, don't you think so?

Rosé flowing with your chosen family

And it would've been sweet

If it could've been me

In my defense, I have none

For digging up the grave another time

But it would've been fun

If you would've been the one

 

Eunbi holds Chaeyeon’s hand as they walk through the open air mall. She wants to hold it forever.

 

But it doesn’t feel right.

 

Though they desperately want, wish, for it to be right.

 

“Do I love you?” Eunbi asks with a chuckle, their fingers intertwined with a bond stronger than before.

 

“I wish,” Chaeyeon replies with a chuckle, pulling her closer.

 

“Why do we want us to happen?” Eunbi asks, cocking an eyebrow.

 

She’s read that essay- she knows the truth.

 

Though she doesn’t know whether she should say it, could say it even.

 

I guess we both have our secrets to hide, Lee.

 

“We want to be free,” Chaeyeon says, smiling a bittersweet smile.

 

“Or maybe we just wanted to dance,”

 

——

 

“Shouldn’t you be waiting for your sister?” Eunbi asks the woman, who chose to linger around the bus stop til office hours ended.

 

Waiting for Eunbi.

 

“I’d like to wait for you instead,” Chaeyeon says with a chuckle, correcting her posture so that she would tower over Eunbi.

 

“You should put family first Chaeyeon,” Eunbi says, trying to literally seem like the bigger person.

 

“Then I choose you,”

 

“What?”

 

“I choose you to be my family,” Chaeyeon says with a smirk, but Eunbi only sighs.

 

“Perhaps that should’ve been a sign,” Chaeyeon says to Lia, who hums in response.

 

“That she loved someone else?” Lia asks gently, taking Chaeyeon’s hand, gently caressing the palm.

 

“Did she love someone else?”

 

“Or did she just not love me?” Chaeyeon questions, and Lia pursues her lip.

 

“That’s not the only thing stopping the two of you,” Lia speaks sharply, and there’s nothing Chaeyeon hates more than reality.

 

She wished she’d choosen more of her life- if she could travel back in time, she’d beg herself to run away, far away to a place where no one in this wretched town would find her- and the life she lived now far in the distance, never to be seen again.

 

She wishes for a lot of things.

 

Sometimes she believes all those pennies in the pool were hers.

 

“Did you love her?”

 

“Who?” Chaeyeon replies quickly, Lia shaking her head.

 

“Eunbi,”

 

“Perhaps- it was more of being in love with the idea of her than her,” Chaeyeon rants, and Lia listens, the way she has these pass months. “I wanted someone who could be with me all the time- who could love me all the time- not just someone with riches and a mansion,”

 

“I wanted the idea of Kwon Eunbi- but never really her,” Chaeyeon admits with a sigh, shaking her head.

 

“And I think she wanted that too,”