Coming into work the next day was hell. 

Yes, Haseul was hungover from a couple beers, and yes, she was not too ashamed to admit it. But boy was she pissed about it. If this headache, exhaustion, and nauseau came around from just a few beers, than Haseul was terrified of what drinking hard liquor would result in. And this morning she decided she would never learn exactly what those results would be. 

Walking into Allison's 24 Hour, Haseul was relieved to see that Heejin and Hyunjin were as dead as she was: neither girl had brushed her hair or put on even a tinge of makeup, as Haseul could tell by the dark under circles beneath both of their eyes. Heejin was slowly, but surely, but very slowly sweeping the floor, and Hyunjin wasn't even bothering to work: she sat down at a table, looking around. When Haseul watched in the two shared an eyebrow raise before Hyunjin slumped her head onto the table. 

"Yo," Haseul said to Heejin. 

"Yo." Heejin looked up and gave Haseul a nod, and Haseul went to the back to clock in. 

As she set her stuff down, Allison walked by, giving her a knowing chuckle. 

"Have fun last night?" 

The feeling of Vivi's arms around her flashed in Haseul's mind and she couldn't stop herself from blushing. 

"Y-You could say that..." 

"Just don't forget you're still technically on the clock, alright?" 

Haseul managed a smile. "I wouldn't dare." 

They smiled at each other and Haseul went back to the front, willing herself awake as she wiped down the counter and register. 

"Why did you guys decide to have a party the night before a workday?" Haseul asked Heejin and Hyunjin loudly, as the restaurant was mostly empty. 

"Because we were stupid," Hyunjin groaned, her head still resting on the table. 

"It was fun though!" Heejin whined. "I'm still glad we did it, and I think everyone else had fun. I'm glad you got to meet Sooyoung and Jiwoo and Chaewon and Hyejoo too." 

"Yeah; they were all pretty nice." 

Hyunjin finally sat up just to give Haseul a smirk. "You did pretty much spend the entire night with Vivi though. We barely talked to either of you." 

"How did you even get home?" Heejin asked. "By the time Hyunjin and I were ready to leave we couldn't find you or Vivi anywhere. We were too drunk to really think about it then but this morning we were kinda worried you and Vivi got hurt." 

Haseul laughed. "Don't worry, we were alright. Eventually we ended up just walking home, I saw her go inside." 

"Oooh!" Heejin and Hyunjin cried simultaneously as Heejin sweeped closer to where Haseul wiped the counter, and Hyunjin finally got up and started wiping tables near Haseul. 

"Did anything special happen?" Heejin questioned. 

"No, not on the walk," Haseul clarified, but immediately cursed her own face: she could feel herself heating up right then and there. 

"You are so lying," Hyunjin groaned. 

Haseul smiled to herself; it would feel so nice to brag to the other girls about what happened between her and Vivi on the beach. Although her memories of the night were hazy in places those moments with Vivi were as clear as if they were happening before her eyes, right now, and Haseul had a feeling they would never fade. Even though in her mind those moments didn't mean anything, it was still so nice to talk about. 

"Nothing did happen on the walk. But at the beach..." 

Both Heejin and Hyunjin immediately threw down their work and ran up to the counter with overly eager and expectant looks.

Haseul laughed. "Okay! Okay, I'll tell you. So...my drunk self thought it would be a good idea to put my feet in the water, right? I don't know why, I can't even really swim, but I just really wanted to...so I did. My dumb rolled up my pants and starting going into the water. Now, wait, some backstory...Vivi has been giving me swimming lessons on our days off." 

"Wait, since when?" Hyunjin interrupted. 

"Pretty soon after we met...she's a lifeguard after all." 

"Oh my god!" Heejin cheered. "You two are much further along than I thought." 

"No way, she just felt bad for me or something since I can't swim so she decided to teach me..." 

"You know teaching someone something is a big investment. Haseul, that's gotta mean something..." Heejin trailed off. 

"I don't know..." 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared a look before Hyunjin spoke. "Alright, alright, now keep telling us about last night." 

Haseul cleared . "Alright. So I was in the water with my feet and legs in and suddenly, someone ran into my back and hugged me and I, like, knew immediately that it was Vivi." 

"Oh my god!" Heejin and Hyunjin squealed simultaneously. 

"And she was kinda holding me back from going deeper since I can't swim and all...like...like she was keeping me safe, oh my god I sound so stupid...and she told me to promise her I wouldn't drown..." 

"OH MY GOD!" The girls repeated. 

"I dunno, I dunno, it's probably not a big deal, it was kinda stupid but oh my god it was so wonderful....and then after that I walked her home. And, yeah. That was the night." 

"Oh my god that sounds so amazing," Hyunjin said. 

"Who doesn't love a good back hug?" Heejin added. 

"Not to be cheesy....but it was one of the most amazing things that's ever happened to me." 

Heejin looked up at Haseul. "And dude, that is a big deal. If you know anything about dating girls, it's that little gestures like that mean everything." 

"What do you mean?" Haseul asked.

"Duh. Haseul, if it wasn't already obvious before, then it should be really obvious now." 

"That what?" 

"That she likes you!" Heejin and Hyunjin said at the same time. 

Haseul felt that fire of hope bubble up and die in her chest, in just seconds. It was just a hug. They were drunk. They were just friends. A friend would tell a friend not to drown, right? This wasn't romance. How could it be? It was just too small of a gesture, one Haseul should absolutely not let herself get attached to. 

"Guys...it was just a hug. It doesn't mean she likes me." 

Hyunjin let out the most haggard sigh Haseul had ever heard from her. "You, my friend, are a fool. It's different with girls! It's different than the movies where people just come out and say things! You have to read between the lines when dating." 

"And anyways, I personally think that was an instance of coming out and saying it. It seemed like a confession to me," Heejin added. 

Haseul scoffed and shook her head, going back to furiously scrubbing a milkshake stain on the corner of the register. "No way." 

"Haseul, it's time you asked her out on a date. You'll get the confirmation you need of her feelings, and if she doesn't like you, which is absolutely impossible, you'll at least be able to end this whole debate. And anyways...how much longer do you have here?" 

"Hyunjin, that's mean!" Haseul cried. 

"Don't bring that up," Heejin added with a little rub to Hyunjin's arms. 

"Sorry, sorry," Hyunjin breathed. "I just...I just want you to be happy, okay? I'm probably just making worse with all my pushing..." 

"No, I know, I know..." Haseul answered. And she believed it; she believed they thought Vivi liked her, that Vivi could like her, that a confession would be the best thing all around. But they didn't know Vivi as well as she did and they didn't know that Vivi saw her as just a friend and maybe they didn't know just how deep Haseul's insecurity ran, that even if Vivi liked her back there would be no way she could ever see it without a loud, clear declaration of I LIKE YOU.

But now the air was awkward, Hyunjin felt weird for pushing too far and Heejin felt weird for letting her girlfriend push too far and Haseul felt weird for not even taking an inch of the confidence Hyunjin and Heejin were trying to give her. Haseul sighed a little. It was gonna be like this the rest of the shift, sad and awkward and uncomfortable until-

"Where are they?" A normally higher pitched voice growled loudly, pushing the doors to the restaurant open with her little hands, forcing her way inside. And there was Im Yeojin: minecraft shorts and hoodie set on, froggie backpack on her shoulders, glare in her eyes. 

"Yeojinnie!" Heejin cheered, spotting the ten year old. "We haven't seen you in so long, we've missed you so much!" 

"Don't give me that," Yeojin answered in her most serious voice. Heejin frowned and fell back from where she was about to hug Yeojin and Hyunjin pouted, but Haseul just laughed: she could see behind Yeojin's eyes that she was joking. "Where was my party invitation?" 

"Oh Yeojin, it was a teenager party! We didn't think you'd have all that much fun," Heejin explained. 

"Plus I don't think your grandma would have let you out so late," Hyunjin added. 

Yeojin just stood there with her little arms crossed and Heejin and Hyunjin's faces fell further. 

"Oh Yeojin, we're really sorry," Heejin spoke up. 

"Will you forgive us?" Hyunjin said. 

Yeojin held her angry expression for a few more moments before bursting into laughter. "Oh my god, I was just kidding!" 

"Ah thank god," Heejin breathed out, pulling Yeojin into a hug with Hyunjin following behind.

"We'll invite you to parties from now on," Hyunjin said. 

"It's okay, your party sounded boring anyways." Yeojin gave them a smile and slid into a seat. "I just came to hear the gossip." 

Both Heejin and Hyunjin gave Haseul a look and she winced and turned away. 

"Really? Ugh, you came back too late last night and left too early this morning for me to question you! So shoot." 

And with Yeojin's blessing she rehashed the night over again, not that she minded at all: it was a treat to get to relive those moments with Vivi. All three girls looked at her with wide excited eyes and when she finished telling her tale, Yeojin's excited cheers joined in with Heejin's and Hyunjin's. 

"So you two are basically dating now, right?" Yeojin asked. 

Haseul laughed. "I don't know about that, that's not exactly how it works." 

"Oh come on, Yeojin is right!" Heejin answered. 

"Of course I am!" 

"See, Yeojin agrees with us too," Hyunjin spoke. 

"Never mind it guys," Yeojin spoke up. "Haseul's not gonna believe a thing until Vivi grabs her face and screams I like you to her." 

Heejin and Hyunjin shared a look and sighed and Haseul just shrugged. 

"She's right. Nobody knows me like family." 

"Of course I know." 

"But you all know that's never going to happen, right?" Haseul said. 

"You're wrong!" Yeojin whined. 

"You are fully completely totally wrong!" Hyunjin added. 

"Guys, stop getting my hopes up," Haseul groaned. 

"How could we be getting your hopes up if your hopes are correct?" Heejin spoke. 

Haseul sighed. It hurt how badly she wanted their words to be true, how badly she wanted that feeling of hope she had from the night before to be more than just a hope, but a truth. But, it couldn't be. Vivi and her were friends. That's all they'd ever be. 

"At least ask her on a date. Then you'll know for sure," Yeojin said. 

"I already do know for sure," Haseul answered. 

"I said that too though! You know, now two separate people have advised you to do this, so it's probably a good idea," Hyunjin spoke. 

"And I think it's a good idea, so that's three votes," Heejin added. 

Haseul thought. Maybe...maybe it wasn't such a terrible idea. Of course, she would get rejected. But maybe a solid no would give Haseul the push she needed to stop falling for Vivi before it was too late. 

She probably wouldn't do it though. 

"Maybe," she finally answered. 

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A/N: hey guys! we're a little more than halfway through the story now! i hope everyone is liking it so far, please let me know what you think in the comments!!

this is the point in my writing where I decide the next story i'll write (once our beach is finished, of course). I always like to get my readers opinions! Here are the two ideas I have floating around right now: 

a. a dark academia au, around 20 chapters. It would sorta be in the style of the secret history by donna tarte, if you've read that, but it wouldn't follow the plot exactly. basically, the plot is viseul, lipsoul, and chuuves as students at a catholic college who get corrupted. the ~vibe~ is supposed to be dark n y but there wouldnt be blatant . i dont wanna say anymore bc i think thatll give it away??? idk, i keep alternating between this au ending up kinda cringey or something really different and cool. the tags are like kinda angsty, mature rated, college au. 

b. a high school soulmate au, around 30 chapters. if youve read my nct/exo soulmate aus it will definitely follow that structure/format, of course each couple will have unique struggles but yeah. it would feature ot12 (viseul, lipsoul, chuuves, hyewon, 2jin, and yeorry) and would be a typical high school au except suddenly the students can all sense their soulmates and ~chaos ensues~. the tags are like mildly angsty, mostly fluffy, all the cliches, high school au. 

So...let me know which one you'd prefer!! let me know also if both of those ideas sound bad or if you have any of your own. i'll leave a poll below and please vote and/or tell me your thoughts in the comments! it helps me a lot and helps you get the fics you like. 

Sincerely, 

RainbowDonkeys