birthday party

heeyeon opens the door and sees eunae standing alone behind it.

"oh. hey. where's head?" heeyeon cranes her neck out to check if seulgi could be around.

eunae smiles. "i'm alone. seulgi's downstairs waiting in the car."

"oh. you wanna come in?"

"no need. i just dropped by to give you this." eunae hands over a small card. "i'll have a small birthday celebration this thursday. hope you could swing by. it's dinner time."

heeyeon glances at the card. "sure. if it's free food, i won't let it pass."

eunae chuckles. "seulgi was right when she said you'd say that."

"ahh. i miss that bear. what's she been up to lately? i haven't seen her around here for days."

"well, we're sleeping over at my parent's place for three days now," eunae says. "my grandma got discharged yesterday from the hospital. i want to make sure she's getting monitored properly."

"i see. i see. glad your grandma recovered quickly."

"yeah. thanks." eunae points a thumb towards the elevator area. "so, i'll see you this thursday, okay?"

"yup. you take care. please send my regards to seulgi."

eunae gives out a smile and leaves.

heeyeon looks at the card again as she closes the door behind her. she flips it and realizes that eunae handed her a wrong card because a different name was written on the back of it.

"joohyun?" heeyeon quirks an eyebrow. "is this a different joohyun from seulgi's soulmate?"

she smiles and puts the card down.

aside from the free food, she's got other reasons now to be excited for that party.

---

it was indeed a small party, as what eunae initially said.

if heeyeon's guess is correct, it's just eunae's immediate family members and some close friends. if it weren't for seulgi, she doesn't think she'd get invited.

but what bothers her is this certain woman whom she knows is there only because of seulgi. she was surprised when eunae introduced them because she initially thought the woman was a celebrity.

not that she's complaining. since seulgi mentioned the name joohyun from before, heeyeon has always been curious to meet the woman in person.

but dang. how did seulgi got so lucky to be married to a gorgeous woman and have a celebrity-looking soulmate at the same time?

sometimes the spirits do play unfair games, don't they?

after the introduction, heeyeon was tabled with joohyun as they are the only ones who don't know anyone from the party. to make sure they won't feel left out, eunae offered to join them on the table and drags seulgi along with her.

that's when everything starts to feel awkward.

judging from the turn of events, heeyeon's sure seulgi and joohyun didn't plan this setup. heeyeon certainly feels the awkwardness in the air to the point she's asking herself if eunae could feel it as well.

and no matter how delectable the meal is in front of her, heeyeon seems to have lost her appetite.

how could she enjoy the food if she knows the woman beside her is silently suffering at the sight of seulgi and eunae being lovey-dovey towards each other?

the said couple is looking at the stage, eunae leaning against her wife, listening to her grandma talk who's still kicking asses again with her speech.

really a tough old woman, heeyeon thinks.

setting jokes aside, heeyeon can feel how seulgi's being careful with her every move--not being too sweet towards her wife but not rejecting the advances too obviously.

on her side, heeyeon can hear how joohyun sighs each time eunae does something sweet to her wife.

it was so awkward that heeyeon finally decides to do something about it to lighten up the mood. she was about to open to talk to joohyun, maybe distract her with anything, when seulgi speaks first.

"heeyeon-ee, can i talk to you for a moment?" seulgi gestures to the entrance. "it's about the animation project."

"oh. sure." heeyeon stands up, acknowledging eunae and joohyun. "excuse us."

the two women nod. seulgi walks out first, and heeyeon follows.

she's sure this isn't about the animation project.

---

"can you please make sure to drive her home later?" seulgi looks up at the dark sky and huffs.

"who? joohyun?" heeyeon asks, glancing inside the dining hall. "what if she says no?"

"tell her i told you to drive her home. she may need a little persuading, but she'll give in."

"okay." heeyeon takes a good look at her friend. "hey. are you okay?"

"not. tell me, how can i relax there?"

"yeah. i was about to ask you that. did you and joohyun agree to this?"

"no. we haven't talked since eunae's grandma got hospitalized." seulgi brings a hand to her nape. "i knew eunae's planning to invite her, but i didn't expect joohyun would actually come."

"you didn't want her to come?"

"well, i wanted to see her..." seulgi glances inside. "but not in this way. i don't want to hurt her."

"well, she seems to be good at playing it cool."

seulgi shakes her head. "i don't know, man. i have a bad feeling about this night. and what's worse is i won't be able to talk to joohyun until tomorrow." she runs her fingers through her hair. "arg. dammit. this is so hard!"

"... to eunae and seulgi who both have been hands-on in taking care of me," eunae's grandma's voice caught their attention. "thank you both."

seulgi turns to look the stage. her face rearranges into a smile before she waves a hand.

"if there's one wish i want for my granddaughter's birthday," the old woman continues, eyes shifting to eunae, "it's for them to have a kid before i depart this world."

the crowd cheered. seulgi's hand stops waving. heeyeon can see the blood getting drained out of her friend's system.

eunae, on the other hand, laughs and stands up. she approached the stage hugs her grandma.

"don't you worry, grandma," eunae says into the mic, "seulgi and i are already planning that. it'll come sooner than you have expected."

okay. that is really really really awkward.

heeyeon can see how seulgi's caught off-guard. even so, her friend still manages to raise a thumb up, not wanting to let down the entire family who are looking at her.

it was seulgi's cue to step back in when her wife calls her onto the stage.

heeyeon glances at their table and sees joohyun leaving.

that's her cue to leave as well.

---

"thank you. but i'm okay. i'll just take a cab outside." joohyun turns away, declining heeyeon's offer to drive her home. she's wipes her eyes with heel of her hand as she walks out of the area.

heeyeon still follows, feeling more worried. "but it's hard to get a cab around here."

"i'm okay. don't worry about me," joohyun says, her voice breaking. "you don't need to bother yourself to drive me home. i'm not your responsibility."

"it was seulgi who asked me to drive you home," heeyeon says, making joohyun stop on her tracks. "she knew you'll be stubborn, that's why she insisted that i insist to drive you home."

there was no response. joohyun's still sniffing and wiping her eyes.

heeyeon sighs. "look. i know we just met today, but i'm sure seulgi told you that i know everything about the two of you. you can talk to me about it, okay? i can even smack that head for you if you want. just tell me."

joohyun's shoulders move when she chuckles. heeyeon was glad the joke worked. the woman finally turns to her. heeyeon's heart breaks when she sees those red and teary eyes.

there was another sniff before joohyun says, "thank you."

---

"i haven't seen her for days, that's why i went to the party," joohyun says, her voice still nasal due to crying. they are sitting outside a convenience store after heeyeon suggested they should stop by there to talk.

heeyeon hums as she takes a bite of the sandwich they bought.

yeah. they already ate at the party, but heeyeon thinks this club sandwich is so underrated.

"i know you might think that was a stupid move from me," joohyun continues. "but it's really hard for me to be apart from her for that long. i missed her so much. i took that chance because i wanted to see her."

"is she really worth all that pain?" heeyeon swallows the sandwich and dabs a tissue on .

joohyun just looks at her, eyes still red. heeyeon's heart drops at the sight.

"don't get me wrong. i just think seulgi didn't want you to be there because she knows things like that may happen," heeyeon says.

"i know." joohyun lightly taps the bottom of the empty water bottle on the table. "but it got me thinking; is she really having that kind of conversation with her wife?"

heeyeon couldn't answer.

"i just... i just think that it should have been me, you know," joohyun says softly. "i should be the one sitting beside her earlier, hugging her and kissing her. she should be planning those things with me and not with--" her voice breaks. she covers with her hand.

heeyeon feels more broken now more than ever.

how can seulgi put this pretty woman in this kind of situation? damn that head.

"look. i hope you know seulgi really wants to be with you," heeyeon says. "she's just looking for the right timing to break it off."

"i know. and i understand all of it. i just..." joohyun bites her lower lip and looks away. her eyes welling with tears.

heeyeon clenches her fist and sighs.

"it's just... it's just painful right now, you know?" joohyun sniffs, trying to hold her tears back. "but i'll be okay... i'll... i'll be okay."

sighing, heeyeon produces a handkerchief and hands it over. "i'm sorry if you have to go through that tonight."

joohyun looks at her, asking.

"i haven't used this one." heeyeon presses the handkerchief in joohyun's hands. "y-you can..." she gesture to wipe her face.

joohyun hesitantly takes it and presses the cloth on her face.

heeyeon watches in silence, hearing the sniffs, sobs, and the sighs.

"i'm sorry that you have to see me in this situation," joohyun says. "this is so embarrassing."

"no. don't be sorry. it's totally fine."

"i'm not usually like this." joohyun wipes her eyes again. she looks at heeyeon and forces a smile. "thank you for listening."

"anytime." heeyeon smiles back.

"please don't tell seulgi this. i don't want her to worry about me. i don't want to add to her problems."

"i can't promise you that because i know seulgi will bug me later. i'm the only one she can call without raising any suspicions. and knowing what happened earlier, i'm sure she'll ask how have you been. she could be worried sick at the party now but is just pretending to be okay."

joohyun looks down. "i understand."

"but i can still smack her for you." heeyeon pounds her close fist on her other palm. "just once, so we can get back to her for all the pain she put you through tonight."

joohyun chuckles as she folds the handkerchief neatly. "just don't bruise her too much, okay?"

"alright! one big punch coming right up that head's face!"

joohyun laughs this time and heeyeon feels somewhat better. although she still wants to make sure joohyun is one-hundred percent okay before driving her home, heeyeon knows this is all she can do for now.

whatever pain joohyun is feeling, it's only seulgi who can fix that.