It’s been a long day at work for Minji. Being a teacher is rewarding when she gets to help her students through the year and watch them grow, but it’s also very tiring some days. Today, some of her students got into a fight over a girl and she ended up having to scold them and lecture them after school. Luckily, the principal decided to give them a warning this time, so Minji didn’t have to stay longer to talk to the parents as well. Dropping her bag by the door, she shrugs off her jacket and slings it over the back of her couch haphazardly. Her muscles are sore from running after the kids all day, and all she really wants right now is a nice warm shower to release that tension. Grabbing her phone, she checks her messages on the way to the bathroom.

 

Minji chuckles to herself as she sees a text from her new colleague, Yoohyeon. Yoohyeon has been the latest addition to their school’s team, the new English teacher. Fresh out of college, she shows a lot of potential and the kids already love her. Minji was picked to show her around in the beginning and the 2 women started an easy friendship.

 

‘How are you? The kids were worse than usual today :P’

 

Smiling, she types a quick reply. ‘Could have been worse. At least I’m home now.’

 

Humming to herself, she starts undressing, leaving her phone on the shelf next to her walk-in shower. She stretches out as she steps in, trying to regulate the temperature of the water before getting under it. Once pleased with the temperature, she turns and grabs her phone to put on music. A reply by Yoohyeon catches her eye, however.

 

‘Glad you got home safe :)’

 

Deciding to reply after her shower, Minji shuffles her playlist and sings along softly as she steps under the warm streams of water. She lets out a sigh, relishing in the feeling of the steam filling her lungs and warm water soothing her aching muscles.

 

A few blocks away from her, Yoohyeon is staring at her phone intently. She’s currently laying on her couch, sprawled on her stomach with a pillow under her chin. ‘Why isn’t she replying?’ Since her last message she had shakily messaged Minji again.

 

‘Do you have plans this weekend?’ She has been wanting to ask the other teacher out since she met her at the beginning of the semester. Minji is sweet, beautiful and oh so kind. Yoohyeon swoons at the thought of her for a moment. Being the useless lesbian she is, however, she has befriended the woman over the past friends without being able to figure out if she is even remotely interested in her as more than friends. Her friend, Siyeon, a music teacher at one of the high schools on the opposite end of the city, has been telling her to just ask the girl out and see what happens. Yoohyeon being, well, Yoohyeon, she decided today would be the day. And then it got ruined by a couple of fighting kids from Minji’s class, who happened to be fighting over one of Yoohyeon’s students. At least she got to spend some extra time with the other teacher during work, albeit under stressful circumstances.

 

Pouting, Yoohyeon refreshes their chat, but still there is no reply from the elder. ‘I ruined it. She doesn’t want to talk to me anymore. Oh my god.’ From the other end of the living room, a pillow is thrown at her. ‘For the love of all that’s lesbian, will you just call her? Woman up and ask her out, dammit!’ Siyeon sighs while putting on her jacket, ready to go out. ‘But Signie…’ Yoohyeon turns and pouts at her friend/roommate. ‘No, Yooh, please just call the girl. I’ll be out with Bora until late but when I come back, you better have a date of your own planned!’ With a pointed finger and strict tone, Siyeon leaves the apartment. Yoohyeon slumps back into the couch, staring at the ceiling. ‘I guess I could try.’

 

Gathering her courage, her finger hovers over the call button. She closes her eyes and presses it quickly before placing the phone to her ear. Her clumsy self misses the fact that she accidentally hit the ‘video call’ button.

 

Minji frowns as the current song is cut off to loudly make room for her ringtone. Sluggishly, she reaches out for her phone and steps slightly out of the spray of the water to prevent it from getting too wet. Once she realises who’s calling her, her eyes widen. ‘Yoohyeon?’ She squints, realising she’s trying to video call her. Her heart races and she looks down for a moment. ‘Wait…’ Panic sets into her chest as she realises she’s very much under the shower with her colleague/friend/crush is trying to video call her. In a frenzy, she tries to get out of the shower and grab a towel, her phone slipping out of her wet hands onto her tiled bathroom floor. ‘…’

 

Yoohyeon flinches as the first thing she hears through the phone is Minji cursing. ‘Minji, are you okay?’ She moves her phone away from her ear to check if the call hasn’t dropped and screams when she realises it’s a video call and she’s staring at Minji’s face hunched over the phone. ‘OH MY GOD I DIDNT MEAN TO VIDEO CALL! IM SO SORRY!’ Her first instinct after noticing Minji’s bare shoulders and collarbones on the screen is to turn off her phone and chuck it across the room before wallowing in embarrassment in her room.

 

Minji stares at their chat incredulously, heart still beating fast. ‘What just happened?’ Blinking, she puts her phone down and moves to turn off her shower. She manages to get dressed and makes herself dinner, letting the earlier events sink in. ‘Did she see?’ Her mind is running a marathon trying to figure out just how much Yoohyeon might have seen during the video call. All Minji remembers seeing is the younger girl’s ear and side profile before she turned her head and looked like a deer caught in headlights. ‘She looked cute though…’ Blushing to herself, Minji grabs her phone again, checking their message history to see if she missed anything. ‘Oh…’ She smiles to herself as an idea manifests in her mind.

 

***

 

Yoohyeon sighs, eating lunch at her desk. She has been avoiding the teacher’s lounge all day in fear of bumping into Minji. Just as she shoves a piece of bread in , her classroom door opens, revealing Minji with a friendly smile on her lips. ‘Hey, Yooh!’ Yoohyeon chokes on her bread for a moment before quickly swallowing and reaching for her water bottle through a coughing fit. ‘Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.’ Minji has walked up to her by this point, patting her on the back comfortingly. ‘Are you alright?’ Yoohyeon nods, not trusting her voice. A deep red blush slowly travels from her cheeks up to the tips of her ears. Minji notices but doesn’t mention it.

 

‘I wanted to let you know that it’s not your fault, what happened last night.’ Yoohyeon’s eyes widen, the same dumb puppy-eyed look on her face as the night before. ‘I really didn’t mean to-’ Minji hushes her and pats her head. ‘It’s okay. My phone kind of slipped out of my hands as I was getting out of the shower and it accidentally picked up your call. Accidents happen, Yoohyeon.’ Yoohyeon nods, dumbfounded at the elder’s logic. That does make sense but Yoohyeon still feels bad (more like flustered) about the whole situation. ‘I’ll be more patient waiting for your reply next time, to make sure you’re available to chat.’ Minji smiles at her with a nod. ‘I would appreciate that.’ The bell rings, signalling the start of the next period. ‘Have a nice rest of your day, Yoohyeon.’ Yoohyeon walks her out with a smile, feeling slightly better after talking to her. As she walks away, Minji looks behind her for a moment and winks at Yoohyeon. ‘By the way, I’m free on Saturday. Dinner at 6?’ She doesn’t give Yoohyeon any time to answer as she disappears around the corner and students flood the halls. She just stands there, a tall, clumsy, useless lesbian with a dopey smile on her lips.

 

‘Miss Kim, can we enter the classroom?’ She’s shaken from her stupor by the same student those kids were fighting over just yesterday. ‘Yes, go ahead, Gahyeon.’