The one where Yongsun is sick but she doesn’t want to admit it.

 

--

 

“Hey.”

 

“Hey to you too.”

 

Moonbyul’s eyebrows furrowed together as she looked at her phone. The person on the other side of the screen was wrapped tightly around a thick comforter while her long dark locks were blocking almost her entire face. 

 

“You okay?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You sound weird.”

 

“Well, I just woke up.”

 

Yongsun shifted in her position on the bed, laying down on her side while facing her laptop. She propped an elbow and rested her chin on top of it, exposing her face better, showcasing a visibly red nose and watery eyes. 

 

“Oh no. You’re sick, aren’t you?”

 

“No, I’m not. Why would you say that?” 

 

“Your face says it all.”

 

“Well, thanks for the reminder that I’m not a pretty view in the morning.” 

 

“That’s not what I meant.”

 

“That’s exactly what you meant.”

 

Yongsun blows her nose into a tissue. Moonbyul cocked an eyebrow, sipping from the straw of her iced coffee.

 

“Then what was that?”

 

“What was what? That sniff? I just needed to blow my nose because it felt itchy.”

 

“What a lame excuse.”

 

“Shut up. I’m not sick.” 

 

“I didn’t say that you are. I just said you’re lame at making excuses.” 

 

“Shut up.”

 

Moonbyul chuckled, looking at her phone’s screen in amusement. She sighed internally, wondering when was the last time she had seen this face up close in person. 

 

Three weeks. 

 

It’s been three weeks since she and Yongsun had last seen each other, due to the ongoing epidemic and the individual activities they had to focus on. Moonbyul was busy preparing for her solo debut while Yongsun was taking a break whilst remaining active on her Youtube channel. 

 

Engaging in solo activities is fun and exciting for Moonbyul, but she missed having the idiot around. She always made her days better, even if she was at the point of breaking down  due to stress and exhaustion.

 

She was her happy pill. 

 

“Hey.”

 

Moonyul was snapped out of her thoughts and saw the other woman looking at her with a slight annoyance. 

 

“You weren’t listening to me.” 

 

“I’m sorry, I just remembered something.”

 

“What? Was it more important than me telling you about this guy that has been messaging me for almost a week now?”

 

Oh.

 

Moonbyul’s fingers paused above her phone’s keypad. She looked at the other person on the screen, then back at the words that she had already typed but not yet sent. 

 

“I miss you.”

 

She swallowed hard. 

 

“Yah. You are seriously spacing out on me, you moron.” 

 

She wanted to slap herself. 

 

“S-Sorry. What’s this about this guy messaging you?” 

She started typing on the delete button. 

 

“Well, he’s this guy working as a producer for various music videos. I met him at that after party we went to a month ago. He was really nice, actually. So when he asked me for my number, I decided to give it to him.”

 

“So...are you saying you’re interested in him?”

 

Moonbyul felt a pang of worry as Yongsun started coughing. 

 

“I don’t know. For now, I’m just keen on getting to know him better. As a friend.” 

 

The younger girl wanted to do a fist pump but stopped herself. 

 

“...But I am open to the possibility of maybe--I don’t know-- dating him.” 

 

Oh. 

 

“I see.”

 

That was the most genuine fake smile Moonbyul could muster to show. Her unoccupied hand was now balled into a fist, her nails slightly digging into the skin of her palm. 

 

She could feel that familiar, uncomfortable sensation at the pit of her stomach. 

 

Moonbyul cleared . 

 

“Well then, if you think he’s nice and if he is actually nice, then I think you should go for it.”

 

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

 

“Really?”

 

Yongsun sounded and looked genuinely surprised, but immediately replaced her expression with a gentle smile. Moonyul wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating for that one split second. 

 

“Yeah. You haven’t dated in a long time. Why not?”

 

Yongsun looked down and for a very brief moment, her smile faltered. Moonbyul didn’t see it. 

 

“Anyway, where are you now? You haven’t arrived at the practice room yet?” 

 

The younger girl was thankful for the change of subject.

 

“I’m almost there. We just had to stop by for coffee. Why? You miss me?”

 

Moonbyul wanted to bite her tongue. But it was too late. 

 

“Of course I do.” 

 

Yongsun looked different-- it’s as if she was a different person. The look on her face made Moonbyul temporarily forget about the bright, confident, loud Yongsun that she knows well, and it showed her a different side of the girl that she rarely gets to see. 

 

Yongsun smiled shyly. 

 

“Do you miss me?” 

 

Moonbyul nearly choked on her straw. 

 

“W-What? What kind of question is that?”

 

“So, you don’t?”

 

Uh-oh. 

 

“W-What? Of course I do!”

 

“Then answer faster.”

 

“You caught me off guard! And you know I don’t like mushy stuff.” 

 

“But you like me.” 

 

Yongsun stuck her tongue out playfully, and Moonbyul thought she was going to eat her phone whole with the butterflies swarming her belly. 

 

“I don’t. Because for one, you don’t take care of yourself well.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Look at yourself! You’re obviously sick.” 

 

“I’m not sick.” Sniffed. 

 

Moonbyul rolled her eyes. 

 

“You are. Look at you, your nose is running like a freaking marathon contestant.”

 

“It’s just allergies.” 

 

“Whatever it is, you obviously aren’t okay. Why don’t you buy yourself some medications or go see the doctor?” 

 

“Well first off, you know I don’t like going out in the morning especially looking like this,” Yongsun gestured towards her pajamas and bare face. “And hospitals freak me out. This is just some random allergies maybe I forgot to clean my room yesterday and the dustmites are like attacking me.” 

 

“So? You’re just going to let it be?”

 

“Yup.”

 

Moonbyul sighed. “You can’t do that.”

 

“And why not?”

 

“You know it’s hard for your body to recover whenever you get sick. I get it, you want us to always think you’re strong, that you can take care of yourself-- so we won’t have to worry about you.” 

 

There was no answer from the other end. 

 

“But we do. Especially me. I worry about you.” 

 

Yongsun bit her lip. 

 

“I thought you said you didn’t like mushy stuff?”

 

You’re always an exception to everything.

 

“Yeah, I don’t. But how else would I convince you to take care of yourself better you idiot.” 

 

Moonbyul chuckled, earning a glare from the other girl. She couldn’t help but think of how adorable she was even at her attempts to look intimidating. 

 

“You can be sweet and mean at the same time, do you know that?” 

 

The younger girl smiled knowingly. “I know.” 

 

The two of them stared at each other for a short while, none of them saying another word. Finally, an awkward moment passed by until the older one cleared . 

 

“I guess I better leave you to your business.”

 

“Yeah. I’ll talk to you soon.”

 

-- 

 

Moonbyul’s rehearsals ended later than she expected. She glanced at her phone and noticed that it was past midnight. 

 

Sighing, she dialed her driver’s number and asked him to pick her up. 

 

--

 

It was nearly 1 in the morning when Moonbyul found herself standing outside Yongsun’s apartment. 

 

Her eyes darted from the grocery bag in her hand and at the door in front of her.

 

It’s pretty late. Maybe I shouldn’t disturb her.

 

But she recalls the look on Yongsun’s face earlier and the way she was sniffing and coughing. Moonbyul tightened her grip on the bag and reached for the electronic door lock. 

 

Once the door opened, Moonbyul let herself in. 

 

--

 

Moonbyul did not expect anything, but she was kind of disappointed as she saw her soundly asleep on her bed. 

 

An amused smile formed across her face as she stared at the sleeping figure buried under a massive pile of bedsheets and comforters. She always knew Yongsun loved to keep herself warm even during summer. 

 

Tiptoeing towards the bed, Moonbyul placed the grocery bag on the nearby study desk. 

 

She softly sat at the corner of the bed. Her eyes widened when Yongsun stirred a little bit, but sighed in relief when the older girl continued to be unconscious. 

 

Moonbyul scanned the room and took notice of the box of used tissues lying on the floor. Her eyebrow raised at the leftover Chinese food lying next to it.

 

For a hard-worker, you sure lack the effort in tidying up your room. 

 

She took one last glance at Yongsun before getting up. 

 

--

 

Yongsun loved sunshine. She considered it to be one of the most naturally beautiful things in the world.

Except when it’s shining directly at her eyes. 

 

“What the--” She groaned loudly, stretching her arms and arching her back.

 

When she turned to the other side, she was surprised to realize that she wasn’t alone.

 

Her sleepy eyes were awakened by the sight of a blonde woman sleeping right beside her. 

 

“Byul..” She whispered into thin air. 

 

As if on cue, her hand slowly reached towards the other girl’s face, gently tracing its outline. Yongsun bit her lip, feeling her heart beating erratically inside her chest. 

 

She always knew Moonbyul was beautiful. But looking at her at such a close proximity, Yongsun didn’t expect she could even be more beautiful than ever. 

 

Knowing Moonbyul, Yongsun guessed she probably snuck in last night to check on her. Despite the other girl being younger, she always acted as the older one and took care of her all the time. 

 

At first, Yongsun didn’t know why Moonbyul was so nice to her. Their personalities are completely opposite and yet they manage to blend together so well all the time. 

 

She knows Moonbyul cares a lot about her, more than she knows. She just isn’t sure why. 

 

Yongsun was brought back to reality once the person in front of her opened her eyes. 

 

“Stop staring at me. I know, I look amazing.”

 

The older girl instantly retracted her hand, hiding her flustered cheeks behind the comforter. 

 

“What the-- you scared the out of me. I thought you were sleeping.”

 

Moonbyul grinned. “I was. Until I felt a cold hand touch my face.”

 

“I was trying to remove a bug.”

 

“Really? With the way you were doing it so gently, I highly doubt it.”

 

“I didn’t wanna wake you.”

 

“But you did. Feel bad I caught you?”

 

“Stop it. I’m not in the mood.”

 

Moonbyul snorted a laugh. Yongsun couldn’t help but smile as well. 

“So, how are you feeling?” 

 

“Better. My nose still feels stuffy but at least I’m not coughing anymore.” Yongsun turned to look at the other girl with her eyebrows furrowed. “You slept next to me. What if you catch my cold?”

 

Moonbyul raised her hands up. “Hey, you were the one who insisted she wasn’t sick. And I was just a fool that believed you.” 

 

“You idiot.” 

 

“Look who’s talking.”

 

Yongsun playfully shoved her, both of them laughing together.