As soon as Dami appeared in the clouds she searched for Siyeon. She was half expecting Siyeon to still be down on earth with Sua. However, she found Siyeon on her perch watching Sua with a soft smile.

“Surprised you’re still not with her.” Dami stated as she neared Siyeon.

“I would be but she has an early dance practice tomorrow.” Siyeon said, still with her smile directed at Sua.

Dami only hummed. Then she cleared ready to start the serious topic.

“Two demons were following Yoohyeon and a third one ambushed me when I was banishing the other two.”

“What? Ambushed you? Is Yoohyeon okay?” Siyeon asked surprised.

“Ya, luckily I was able to get her inside fast enough. Did you run into any problems taking Sua home.” Dami asked.

Siyeon blushed and broke eye contact. “No, we kind of rushed back to her apartment and um.. hanged out before I came back.”

“Hanged out hmm. Just like you and her are kinda…” Dami made air quotes with her fingers. Referring to what Siyeon told Jiu earlier.

“Uh ya about that. Sua and I are kind of a thing. Nothing official… yet.” Siyeon said with rosy cheeks.

Dami took a moment to let that sink in. “Official? The only thing official is that you’re Sua’s guardian. A romantic relationship could jeopardize that.”

Siyeon turn towards Dami with narrow eyes. “I can take still protect Sua and be in a relationship with her.”

“You think you can but what if you get caught up in the moment with her. As a guardian you know anything can happen in a moment.” Dami countered.

“I’ll be careful. My priority will always be her safety.” Siyeon replied.

Frustrated Dami rushed out, “You think that but it’s so easy to be blinded. Just look at what happened with me and Yoohyeon. I lost focus of our surrounding for a second and I could of got her hurt.”

Siyeon blinked. “What do you mean, ‘look at what happened with you and Yoohyeon’?”

“I-I nothing. I was just talking to her and I didn’t sense the demons as fast as I should have.” Dami said as she adverted her eyes.

In the moment Dami was going to let Yoohyeon do whatever she was going to do. In the moment she wanted Yoohyeon to do what she wanted. Deep inside she wanted the same thing Yoohyeon wanted. However, now that she’s back in the sky she realized that “want” was a distraction. She could of got Yoohyeon hurt if the demons decided to attack. Dami didn’t mean to be harsh with Siyeon she just didn’t want her to make the same mistake that she did.

Sighing Dami look back at Siyeon. “I just want to make sure you know how fast something can go wrong. Especially with these demons running around. If one ambushed me, there might be other stronger ones out there.

Siyeon soften. “I know. I promise I’ll be extra careful around Sua, but I can’t say I’ll stop seeing her. I like her so much, Dami when I’m with her I feel so happy.”

Dami nodded her head. “I don’t understand it fully but I won’t stop you. Just be careful please.”

“Of course.” Siyeon agreed.

The next morning Dami was at Yoohyeon’s door like she promised. After her talk with Siyeon, Dami did some reflecting. She was ready to admit her and Yoohyeon had almost kissed but she couldn’t be honest to why she was going to let it happen. She decided it was only because she was at a loss of what to do. She was going to let Yoohyeon kiss her because the manual didn’t cover that situation. Yup Dami was a rule follower and because there was no rule on what to do Dami was simply going to let it happen.

The door opening brought Dami out of her thoughts. Today Yoohyeon was wearing a oversized white sweater with a plaid skirt and Converse. Her hair was down and her make up was done. She was dressed nice Dami noted. If Dami didn’t decide to be so closed off she might of wonder if Yoohyeon dressed up for her.

“You’re here!” Yoohyeon happily greeted Dami.

Dami gave a nod, slightly surprised Yoohyeon had opened the door so abruptly before Dami even knocked.

It seemed Yoohyeon must have read Dami’s face because she started frantically rambling.

“I-I mean I happen to see you walking up! I wasn’t just waiting at the window for you. That would be creepy. I just happened to be walking in the living room to get my bag.” Yoohyeon finished with an awkward chuckle.

Dami only smiled. “Okay, well you ready to go?”

“Yup! Totally, let’s go!” Yoohyeon smiled while she linked arms with Dami and heading towards campus.

The girls made small talk on the way to Yoohyeon’s class.

“So do you have classes today?” Yoohyeon asked.

“Ya, I have two in the morning and one in the afternoon.” Dami said. She knew Yoohyeon schedule and matched her classes time.

That way she didn’t have to worry about having to pretend she needed to go to a class around Yoohyeon.

“Really! That’s the same as me! We should meet up afterwards.” Yoohyeon said with a smile.

“Sure.” Dami replied. Luckily Yoohyeon was so friendly and invited Dami to hang out a lot. That made it easier for Dami to keep an eye on Yoohyeon.

“Great! Now hurry to class I don’t want you to be late.” Yoohyeon pouted as she gently pushed Dami.

Dami smiled at Yoohyeon’s puppy behavior. “Alright, I’m going. Let’s meet at the library.”

“Sounds good.” Yoohyeon beamed.

Dami walked around the building and found a quiet corner where she could teleport back without being seen.

Yoohyeon had woke up in great mood. Last night she had a fun time hanging out the all the girls. Yoohyeon kept replaying the walk home with Dami. Dami was calm and made her feel grounded. She felt giddy thinking about how they almost kissed, if only they weren’t interrupted. Yoohyeon had to admit she was a little scared. She had got the chills but she figured it was just from the wind.

Dami had walked her back afterwards and Yoohyeon was hesitant on letting Dami leave. She also wanted to somehow bring up the almost kiss, maybe ask her out too. Ultimately she shook the thought off when she saw Dami waiting for her to go in. It just didn’t feel like the time to bring up a big topic. Dami promising to pick her up the next morning made Yoohyeon feel at ease with letting her walking home alone. It also gave her butterflies thinking about how sweet Dami was.

Yoohyeon got up before her alarm and took the time to pick out a cute outfit and do her make up. She was singing the whole morning and didn’t realize she was looking out her window every so often checking to see if Dami was there.

Yoohyeon was getting her bag ready when she saw Dami walking to her door. The butterflies came back when she opened the door and saw Dami dressed in a pair of jeans and a button up. Her excitement turned into nervousness when Dami was surprised she opened the door so fast. She started rambling trying to explain why and was relieved when Dami smiled at her.

Yoohyeon’s excitement came back and she happily grabbed Dami and walked to campus. She was surprised to find out Dami’s schedule matched hers. That meant they were both free to hang out at the same time.

After class Yoohyeon found Dami already waiting in front of the library for her.

“Hey, how was your class?” Yoohyeon asked.

“It was okay. Yours?” Dami asked.

“Boring, it felt like my teacher was lecturing forever!” Yoohyeon dramatically sighed.

She was about to ask Dami more about her class, curious about anything to do with Dami. However Dami spoke first.

“So do you need to study?” Dami asked.

“No, not really. I have all my assignments done for the next two weeks.” Yoohyeon answered easily distracted by the change of subject.

“Ah, that’s very studious of you.” Dami said slightly surprised.

Yoohyeon blushed a little at Dami’s complement. “Ya so do you have any work to do?”

“No.” Dami easily replied.

Yoohyeon hummed. “What about your job do you have a shift today?”

“No.” Came another simple reply.

Yoohyeon wanted to ask more about Dami but was a little timid, she didn’t want to make Dami uncomfortable. Suddenly an idea popped into her head. “We should go for a walk! I know a convenient store that sells great food and there’s a nice park right by it.

Dami’s face seemed unsure.

Yoohyeon noticed Dami was more reserved today. She knew Dami was normally quiet and calm but today was different. Dami seemed to be holding her self back. Yoohyeon thought she could of felt awkward about yesterday and a part of her was afraid Dami didn’t like her back. Or maybe something else was going on in Dami’s life. Either way Yoohyeon wanted to help her, if she didn’t want to open up to Yoohyeon maybe she could at least distract her.

“It’ll be fun I promise, pleeease!” Yoohyeon gave Dami her best puppy dog eyes.

Yoohyeon knew she won when Dami rolled her eyes and tried to hide a smile.

“Yay! Let’s go!” Yoohyeon cheered as she dragged Dami along.

As the girls ate Yoohyeon told Dami all kinds of stories. From funny childhood moments to the cute birds that she sees every day walking to class. Anything to help Dami feel more at ease and it was working. Yoohyeon could see Dami responding more freely. Her reactions weren’t big but they were less reserved than that morning.

Seeing Dami opening up made Yoohyeon feel happy and more determined to get through her walls.

After dinner the duo were walking in the park Yoohyeon had mentioned. Every so often their arms would bump into each other. Yoohyeon took it as a good sign Dami didn’t pull away, she dared to take a step closer and let their hands brush. After the second time Yoohyeon was going to link their hands but when Yoohyeon was about to, Dami took a slight step away from Yoohyeon. Yoohyeon pouted as her idea didn’t go as planned. She was silently sulking when she got another idea.

With a childish grin she quickly tapped Dami and ran off. “Tag you’re it!”

“Wha-“ Dami replied with as surprised face.

Turning slightly Yoohyeon yelled out, “you have to catch me!”

“Isn’t this a kids’ game?” Dami asked.

“It’s fun! Come on catch meee!” Yoohyeon whined.

With a sigh Dami started jogging after Yoohyeon. Yoohyeon cheered as she took off running again.

The two girls chased after one another. Yoohyeon was laughing and yelling the whole time. Her carefree attitude slowly rubbed off on Dami. Soon Yoohyeon’s loud laughs and Dami’s small giggles were getting lost in the wind. After a couple of rounds Yoohyeon tackled Dami to the ground. Dami found herself facedown with Yoohyeon on her back.

“No fair. You can’t tackle someone.” The shorter hair girl was shocked at Yoohyeon bold move.

“Just did.” Yoohyeon poked her tongue out.

Yoohyeon squealed as Dami flipped them over and started tickling Yoohyeon.

“okay I’m- I’m so-rry!” Yoohyeon finally gave in.

Dami’s tickling turned to a light rubbing motion as Yoohyeon tried to catch her breath. Eventually Yoohyeon’s breathing evened out and she looked up at Dami. With her short locks framing her face Yoohyeon couldn’t help but admired Dami’s handsome features. The sun behind the girl made Dami look like an angel.

My angel. Yoohyeon thought.

Yoohyeon saw Dami’s eyes shift downwards and she felt her heart race picking up again. Dami didn’t stop at her lips though, they kept going down until she was looking at Yoohyeon’s torso.

The red head looked down to see her sweater had ridden up showing her tattoo. She then noticed Dami was rubbing her skin this whole time. A blush formed as she felt Dami running her fingers over her tattoo.

“It’s french for liberty.” Yoohyeon said barely above a whisper.

“What does it mean.” Dami said just as quietly still caressing Yoohyeon’s side.

“I want to live my life freely. Even if someone doesn’t agree with my beliefs I want to live as me.” Yoohyeon finished as Dami looked back up at her.

Dami was looking at Yoohyeon so intently. Like she was debating something in herself. Slowly her eyes were softening and she was looking at Yoohyeon so fondly. Dami’s deep gaze almost made Yoohyeon squirm but she didn’t dare move a muscle, afraid of ruining the moment. Finally Dami let out a sigh so soft Yoohyeon could only see because she was so close to her.

“That’s beautiful.” Dami said looking into Yoohyeon’s eyes.

“You’re beautiful inside and out.” She added with her hand just resting on Yoohyeon’s side now.

Yoohyeon’s blush spread to her neck now and her heart was beating faster but she never felt more grounded.

Taking a chance Yoohyeon slowly reached her hand up to cup Dami’s cheek. Slowly she let her fingertips rest on Dami’s cheek and when the brown hair girl didn’t move the rest of her hand followed. Yoohyeon hand was barely touching Dami as if she was a deer that could run off at any moment.

Dami closed her eyes and leaned ever so slightly into Yoohyeon’s palm. With her eyes closed she whispered. “Being free is beautiful.”

The moment felt perfect just looking at Dami. If she had imagined this scenario it would have ended with a kiss but now all Yoohyeon wanted was time to stop with them just like this. Yoohyeon was looking at Dami like she was the only thing that mattered. Dami was still touching Yoohyeon like she was the most precious thing. Everything about the moment felt so intimate, even more intimate than a kiss.

After a moment Dami opened her eyes to see Yoohyeon looking at her so delicately. The two stared at each other for a moment longer before Dami started to get up. Yoohyeon wished they could stay in the moment longer but she wasn’t disappointed it was ending. Physically she was letting go as Dami was getting up but Yoohyeon knew she would be holding on to Dami for a long time.

“It’s getting late. Can I walk you home?” Dami chivalry asked.

“Yes I would like that.” Yoohyeon said with a content smile.

Dami grabber her hand and lead the way. The girls walked in a comfortable silence. Even the normally goofy and talkative Yoohyeon wanted to bask in the silence while holding Dami’s slender hand. Once they made it to Yoohyeon’s apartment, Dami turned towards the red head.

“Can I walk you to campus tomorrow?” Dami asked.

Yoohyeon’s smile grew as she couldn’t believe how sweet Dami was.

“Yes, you don’t mind always walking me?” She asked, wondering if Dami did it out of niceness or if she really enjoyed Yoohyeon’s company.

“No.” Dami said it softly but Yoohyeon wasn’t convinced.

Afraid she was a burden, Yoohyeon looked down at their joined hands. Dami squeezing her hand made her look up.

The brown hair girl gave her small reassuring smile. “I like walking with you.”

Dami then nervously flicked her gaze away and added. “As long as you like it too.”

Yoohyeon smile came back along with a warmth blooming in her chest at Dami’s timid vulnerability.

“I like walking with you too.” This time she was the one to squeeze Dami’s hand.

Dami looked back at Yoohyeon with a small smile and a nod. “Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Yoohyeon leaned in to kiss Dami’s cheek and giggled when she saw the smaller girl with a blush.

“See you tomorrow Dami.” She said as she went inside.

From her window she could see the brown hair girl standing at the doorway. Slightly stunned with rosy cheeks, before she smiled and rolled her eyes. Yoohyeon was giddy herself as she watched Dami turn to leave.

Yoohyeon had just said bye to Dami but she couldn’t wait to see her again. She let out a squeal as she ran to get ready for bed and hoped for the morning to come fast.