Byulyi walked back to her shared apartment shortly after ten in the evening. Her students found her moping around outside after Yongsun’s taxi sped off into the night. They brought her back inside and tried their hardest to cheer up their favourite teacher.

Unfortunately due to Sunghyuk spiking the punch, Byulyi had to brave the light snowstorm and make her way back home by foot. She would have called Hyejin to pick her up, but she needed the fresh air to help sober her up.

Hyejin was lounged leisurely on the couch by the time Byulyi stumbled into the living room. Wheein, Hyejin’s childhood friend, was also sat on the couch. Byulyi flopped down onto the spare space on their L shaped grey couch and groaned loudly.

“Byul?” Hyejin asked, after getting nothing in return she continued, “I’m sorry Byul. I heard what happened.”

The teacher whipped her head around in her direction, “How?”

Holding up her phone, Hyejin answered, “I follow Jisung on Twitter. He live tweeted the whole thing and even took a picture of you lying on the floor feeling sorry for yourself.”

Snatching the phone from her friends hand, Byulyi sighed, “That’s actually a great photo of me. God that boy is so talented.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“Nope.” Byulyi shook her head and sat up into a sitting position on the couch, “I do, however, want to talk about all this that’s in my living room though.”

Inside of her living room were boxes upon boxes full of someone’s belongings, two kayaks, an inflatable boat, four boxes of half opened wine bottles and two suitcases. Byulyi almost tripped over the suitcases before she flopped down onto the couch.

“Wheein’s moving in,” Hyejin’s face formed a tight smile, “Isn’t it wonderful?”

“I broke up with Jungkook and I need somewhere to live.” Wheein explained, “That reminds me, Hyejin we need to go back to his to pick up the rest of my stuff.”

‘The rest?’ Byulyi mouthed to Hyejin who averted her eyes to avoid the angry expression on her friends face.

Wheein and Jungkook were in an off again on again relationship. Wheein moved in with her boyfriend three years ago and consistently ‘broke up’ with him every two months only to get back together a day or two later. Byulyi couldn’t keep up with them.

“You say you’ve broken up, but I bet you slept together this morning.”

“Well, yeah we did,” Wheein admitted, “But he did it from behind so I didn’t have to look at him. That’s how he knows he’s pissed me off.”

Byulyi tried not to laugh at her friend, “I think you’re sending him mixed messages, Wheein.”

“Whatever.” The other girl rolled her eyes before jumping up from her seat and heading to the bathroom.

“She cannot stay.” Byulyi whisper-screamed across to Hyejin.

“Where else is she supposed to go?” Hyejin replied.

“I don’t care! This two bedroom apartment isn’t big enough for three people! Especially ones who bring ing kayaks! Who needs kayaks? This is Seoul not the ing Amazon!”

Hyejin scooted closer to the teacher on the couch, “I will admit that she’s brought too much random , but Byul, I’ve known her since before I can remember. It’ll be fun, us all living together! It’ll be just like boarding school but without the bullies!”

Byulyi snorted, “Does that mean we can all power shower again?”

“Byul, I power showered with you once and it wasn’t good. The other girls definitely overrated you.” Hyejin stood up and stretched out her limbs, “I’m not making that mistake again.”

“Plus you have a boyfriend.” Byulyi added as she also stood up and began moving Wheein’s stuff into the small corner of the room.

Hyejin hesitated slightly before answering, “No I don’t.”

The teacher stopped what she was doing and turned to face her friend, “You broke up with Seokjin? Why? He was the nicest man I’ve ever met.”

“Yes, he was nice and kind and attentive and always goes out of his way to cheer me up,” Hyejin began, “and, Byul, I’ve never been so ing bored in all my life.”

Sighing, Byul pouted, “Poor Seokjin, how did he take it?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t actually told him yet,” after getting a judgemental look from her friend, Hyejin continued, “Don’t look at me like that, what am I supposed to do? Look into his kind eyes and tell him it’s over?”

“Well, yes. That’s what reasonable adults would do.”

“Oh god no. I’m going full coward. I’m ghosting the out of him.”

“You’re ignoring him?” Byulyi asked in disbelief, “He deserves better than that.”

Hyejin made her way towards the hall, “I’m not ignoring him, I’m ignoring his texts and calls. That’s what ghosting is, Byul.”

Before Byulyi had the opportunity to reply, Wheein poked her head out from the bathroom, “Can anyone unblock a toilet? The water’s overflowing.”

Once the shorter girl headed back inside the bathroom, Byulyi turned to her old school friend, “She needs to go and you need to be the one to tell her. You have until I get back from my parents on the thirtieth.”

____________

“What about Minhyuk?” Byulyi’s mother asked her after their Christmas meal.

It’s tradition in the Moon household to host a party on Christmas Day for their whole family. It used to be fun for Byulyi to see all her cousins in one place and be able to frolic with them to her hearts content. But now she’s older, seeing her cousins is a lot more depressing than it used to be. Especially because most of them are married and have children of their own leaving Byulyi looking like a spinster.

Yes, she’s only twenty eight, but unfortunately twenty eight is the new seventy eight. Her aunts and uncles that judged her growing up are certainly enjoying ridiculing her about her current marital status. Even her mother has started pitying her.

“Minhyuk?” Byulyi repeated, “You are aware that he’s my cousin.”

“So? It worked for your aunt and uncle, they’re very happy.” Byulyi’s mother waved a dismissive hand.

Rolling her eyes, Byulyi replied, “Yes, but their son isn’t! Anyway, mother, I’ve told you before I’m a lesbian, I only like girls.”

“Oh, I thought you were bilingual.”

“You mean biual and no I’m not,” Byulyi sighed, “That’s Wheein.”

“Which one of you is the one with the obsession with cookware?” Her mother took a swig of green tea.

“What?”

“You know, the pan enthusiast?”

Facepalming, Byulyi replied, “Oh, mother. You mean panual and it doesn’t mean she has an obsession with pans! I like that you’re making an effort, but you’re coming across a little offensive.” Rubbing her eyes, she continued, “That’s Hyejin.”

Her mother’s face brightened up, “Oh Hyejin!” She lightly smacked Byulyi’s shoulder, “When are you going to bring her here? I miss her.”

“You could always visit us,” Byulyi suggested just as her younger sister, Seulgi sat down, “You’re always welcome.”

Her mother scoffed loudly, “I cannot visit your apartment after what happened last time I was there.”

“Mother, it was over two years ago! You have to get over it.”

“I will not.”

Seulgi grinned, “What happened two years ago?”

“Mother decided to surprise me for my birthday and just burst into my apartment.” Byulyi explained, “Then she saw that I had a girlfriend.”

“Wait.” Seulgi’s face was etched with confusion, “You refuse to go and see your eldest daughter because she’s gay?”

“No, Seulgi, listen.” Byulyi scooted closer to her younger sister, “She saw that I had a girlfriend.” She put as much emphasis as she could on the word ‘saw’.

Mouth opening in shock, Seulgi began to laugh, “Mother, you walked in on her?”

The woman in question nodded whilst sipping her tea.

“I was dating Dahee at the time,” Byulyi began, “But she was a good sport about it, she said, ‘Hello Mrs Moon! Nice to meet you, would you like some strawberry jam? It’s low fat!’.”

The older woman set her tea back down and pretended someone in the corner of the room wanted her attention before bidding farewell to two out of her three daughters. As if on cue, the youngest Moon sibling slumped in the chair her mother just vacated.

Despite being almost ten years younger than Byulyi, Yesol was very close to her older sibling. Yesol has dreams to become an actress but her parents did not approve and refused to help fund her ambitions. Instead of letting her youngest sibling give up on her dreams, Byulyi offered to pay for anything Yesol needed which included headshots and agent fees.

Yesol held a hand over her face in an attempt to avoid the gaze of one of her relatives.

“What are you doing?” Seulgi asked her younger sister.

Taking the New York Yankees cap off of Byulyi’s head, Yesol shoved it on her own and turned her back to the rest of the people in the room, “Our creepy uncle keeps trying to talk to me.”

“The one who gives five minute hugs?” Byulyi asked.

“Yep.” Yesol grimaced.

Byulyi looked over to the man in question who had roped an unfortunate cousin into a boring conversation. Presumably about life insurance.

“He hasn’t spoken to me at all today,” the eldest began, “I think I’m too old for him.”

“Lucky you.” The two other siblings groaned.

“How was your audition, anyway?” Byulyi asked her broody looking sister.

“Don’t ask.” She mumbled.

“Ouch, that bad?”

Yesol chuckled grimly, “Seriously I’ve had the worst two weeks of my life.”

“I bet mine was worse.” Seulgi grumbled.

“I actually hope you two have had worse weeks than me,” Byulyi laughed, “Tell me yours and then you can have mine as a dessert.”

“You go first.” Seulgi gestured to her younger sister.

Sighing, Yesol answered, “I was auditioning for some action movie but on the day of the audition I was really sick and they took me to a room with a dummy in the corner and told me to run and punch it. But I was so sick that I stumbled towards it and slapped it. Then I apologised to it.”

The two older siblings laughed straight in Yesol’s face causing the younger girl to smack their arms in frustration, “It’s not funny! After I apologised to it I threw up on it! Suffice to say I’m not allowed back to that production company.”

“Your turn.” Byulyi turned to Seulgi.

“Well, I finally moved in with my boyfriend and then four days later I moved out,” Seulgi began, “He said I was harder to live with than an at a funeral.”

Grimacing slightly, Byulyi replied, “He’s not wrong.”

“Shut up.” Her sister snapped, “Anyway, after I moved out I ended up running him over with my car and before you ask, yes it was an accident but no I didn’t record it.”

“Is that why he’s in a wheelchair?” Byulyi looked over her shoulder to see Seulgi’s boyfriend in a heated discussion with one of her uncles. “Seulgi, he told me he got shot.”

“He said it was less embarrassing than telling everyone that I ran him over whilst he