Soeun didn't know how to pass the time. Her boss at her record label had given her a couple of weeks off for the holidays after having to deal with multiple dance projects earlier this month. And now, she's stuck laying in bed and staring at the ceiling - counting the number of holes. Her blanket was kicked to the foot of the mattress. A hand rested on her stomach as the other laid beside her, loosely gripping on her neglected cell phone.

Her mind was completely blank. Thoughts only reminded her of the two failed attempts. Her confidence had plummet since then. 

"I don't understand. Why is it so hard?" Soeun rolled onto her stomach and screamed into her pillow in dismay. Her hands and legs thrashed around in pure annoyance before Soeun suddenly stopped and let out a huff. Maybe we're just not meant to be together.

The dancer choreographer laid still, faced down on her pillow. She didn't have the will to move an inch anymore. All Soeun wants to do is crawl into a hole and wail about her sad life. With absolutely nothing to convince her to come out of bed, not even Soojin herself. Okay, maybe her...

Then she heard the doorbell echo throughout the whole apartment complex. 

She muffled a profanity into her pillow, but remained unmoved. Whoever it was, she hopes they would just leave her alone in her own bubble of sorrow. However, that wasn't the case. 

The doorbell rang nonstop, making her feel a pounding headache occurring. Once it stopped, her phone vibrated next to her. With a groan, Soeun lifted her head away from the pillow and checked the mobile device. 

From Hyotokki: 'Please, open the door. :(' 

Soeun sighed. Feeling used to her plans failing, Soeun got up onto her feet and walked towards the front door. 

To Hyotokki: 'Opening. Hold on.'

Han Jihyo was going to be the death of her, and she knew she was right by the time she pushed open the door and was greeted by a bright smile along with two neutral faces. 

"Good morning, Soeun unnie!" Jihyo greeted her cheerfully. 

"About time you opened the door. We were waiting for so long." The other 04-liner frowned. 

The youngest of the three nodded in agree to the previous statement and also gave her the same expression. 

Without another word, they pushed pass her as they walked inside, holding several bags filled with ingredients that seemed like they were meant for cookies. And this made Soeun wonder the reason why they were here - in her own apartment for god's sake. 

Shutting the door, the oldest in the room joined the other three by the kitchen table, where they were emptying out their bags and organizing the items. 

Soeun raised a brow in confusion. "And why are all of you here for?" She questioned. 

Jaehee gave her a strange look. "Soojin unnie didn't tell you?" Soeun shook her head 'no', which made the theater teacher facepalm. "Well, she told us she wanted to bake Christmas cookies to hand out to the kids at the orphanage down the street and wanted us to come by today for it." 

...what... Clearly, Soojin didn't tell Soeun about this plan, not even a sticky note or a text message. 

"By the way," started Hyewon, "is Soojin unnie not home?" 

They all looked at her for answers on Soojin's whereabouts. And in all honesty, Soeun didn't know where the older is, assuming the other left earlier this morning due a possible emergency (but surely, Soojin would have left her a text message if that was the case). 

The dancer raised her hands in defense. "I have no clue where she went." 

"B-But she suppose to be here though..." The younger 04-liner pouted. "Soojin unnie is the only one that's capable at baking." 

Upon seeing the film director pouting, Hyewon gave her girlfriend a side hug. "Maybe Soeun unnie can help us since she could cook, and maybe she could bake, too." She suggested.

"Good idea, Hyewonnie!" Jihyo instantly brightened up at the idea. 

Jaehee shrugged. "It's not like we have much of a choice." 

In disbelief, Soeun couldn't believe they all dragged her in without even asking her. She guess it was better than just laying around and thinking about all the disappointments that happened in her life. But there's one problem, she didn't know how to bake either. The only time she did was with Soojin when they were baking macarons for all her colleagues in celebration of one of Soeun's dance choreography being approved by a huge company. And even then, she had a hard time doing all the precised measurements and constant mixing. At one point, she was hundred percent sure that she messed up along the way, and Soojin had to suggest that it was best for her to watch on the side while the older did the rest of the baking. 

But second time's a charm, right? Yeah, it's not like her second time trying to confess worked out for her. 

"I don't know. I tried baking before, and it ended up turning out bad." Soeun had to reject, in order, to keep her and Soojin's kitchen to stay in one piece. 

Until she saw Hyewon whisper in Jihyo's ear, they looked at each other with a smirk and nodded in agreement. Oh, that was a bad sign. 

"Please, Soeun unnie!" Jihyo displayed her infamous puppy eyes. "Pretty please! You have to help us!" 

God gifted her a death weapon. Soeun tried to resist the guilty feeling in her gut, but the more she look at the sad look on Jihyo's face, it was starting to get harder to stand her ground. 

"Come on, Soeun unnie. It's for Soojin unnie. I'm sure she'll be happy to know you helped her out on this." Hyewon provoked. 

Soeun felt her eyes twitch. It was for the two people she would not hesitate to help. She hates that she has the biggest soft spot for Han Jihyo and Lee Soojin being her weakness. 

"Fine, but if the kitchen ends up in flames, you guys are taking the blame." Giving in, Soeun knew she would soon regret this. 

They cheered at their success, then began to transfer all the ingredients from the table to the kitchen island. 

"Let's get started!" Jaehee looked through the cabinets for the necessary utensils and baking ware. 

With her conscious telling her otherwise, the choreographer helped them locate all the equipment they would need. They followed the receipe and the set of instructions Soojin had given Jaehee, in case the young doctor was absent (cue the situation now). First, they tried to make the usual sugar cookie dough. This ended up having the first batch to have a liquid appearance, and they knew it was not right. The second time the batch came out a bit better, but the dough felt like it was sand paper. With the third time, the batch came out decent unlike the last two - it wasn't perfect, but it was better than nothing (especially when they were running out of ingredients to make yet another batch). 

They cut out the cookies into variety of shapes, such as snowmen, candy canes, reindeers, and santa clauses, then spaced them evenly onto the cookie tray and popped them into the oven, which was set at the instructed temperature along with a timer. Next was making the frosting and icing to decorate the pastries, which Jihyo and Hyewon claim they can do themselves to give Soeun and Jaehee a quick break from doing most of the work on the dough. 

Making cups of tea, Soeun joined Jaehee at the dinner table and passed her a mug. Her and Soojin always made sure to have extra to-go packs of green tea Jaehee likes since the theater teacher always take the time to come and visit often - the younger was literal about promising to be there for every moment with her best friend. And Jaehee being in a relationship with Jimin gave her more of a reason to live up to her promise. This just means she knew Soeun's feelings towards Soojin after seeing her constantly taking extra miles for the older. Which led to this conversation...

"So?" Jaehee took a sip out of the mug and let out a sigh of satisfaction. 

Soeun pretended to act oblivious. "So what?" 

"Don't act dumb with me, Park Soeun. Did you ever end up telling Soojin unnie yet?" The younger didn't even try to mask the irritation that was noticeable in her voice. 

Hiding behind her own mug, Soeun mumbled, "...no..." Despite being older, she felt small under Jaehee narrowed eyes. 

"No?! Ugh, Soeun unnie. I didn't think you were such a coward." Jaehee pinched the bridge of her nose in agony. "I guess all those things Jimin unnie has been telling me were true." 

In the background, there was a loud sound of the mixer and the giggling from both Jihyo and Hyewon. 

"But I did last night and..." Soeun started to belittle herself in embarrassment as Jaehee sat up in her chair in anticipation. "She ended up falling asleep by the time I was able to say it."

Then Jaehee deflated. "And you thought it was a good idea to tell her after a long day at work why?" 

In a small voice, Soeun said, "because I thought it was the right moment to tell her." 

Jaehee gave her those judging eyes that told Soeun she was not amused. Watching them dance around each other was cute at first, but after time went, it was starting to get on Jaehee's every last nerve. She have seen every one of their love language with each other; the hand holding, the cuddling, and even shared pecks on the cheek. It was unreal that these two were not dating yet. 

"Maybe... I don't know... telling her when she's actually fully functioning. And you just have to tell yourself to stop thinking about the consequences because there's a high possibility that it'll end up in your favor more than not." Jaehee took another sip of her tea because it was much needed. 

"I don't know, Jaehee-ah. I don't think I have the confidence to do it anymore. Maybe it's not worth trying." Slouching in her chair, Soeun felt downcasted. 

The sound of the mixer stopped right when Soeun said her sentence. Judging by the gasps, Soeun knew both Jihyo and Hyewon heard it loud and clear. 

"Park Soeun losing confidence? Never heard that before." Hyewon commented. 

Hearing a whine, she knew Jihyo was back to being pouty. "Don't give up Soeun unnie! I'm sure you would totally confess to Soojin unnie one day!" The film director encouraged, then added a piece of advice, "just don't do it on a bench with a wet paint sign on the back of it, or give her roses with thorns on them." 

"Jihyo unnie!" The model was not happy about Jihyo spilling her own previous attempts during the time she courting the younger 04-liner. 

Jaehee rolled her eyes at this. "Yeah, just don't be like Hyewonnie." Then she stuck her tongue out at the youngest when Hyewon threw a napkin at her from across the room. Jaehee turned back to Soeun with all seriousness. "Failure is part of succeeding. It makes the reward more worth it." She took another sip before continuing, "are you trying to say Soojin unnie isn't worth it anymore?" After she was finished with her statement, her mug ran empty.

Soeun entered into deep thought. Maybe her thoughts giving up did mean something because she knew Soojin was more than just worth all the effort. And maybe it was best for her to give up trying instead of not trying at all because she thinks Soojin deserves it. Even if she'll die trying, at least, she'll knew by then she won't have any regrets. 

"Um... Soeun unnie? How long were we suppose to leave the cookies in?" Jihyo's voice trembled in worry. 

"About 20 min-" When Soeun turned around in her chair, all she could see is the black smoke coming out of the oven. 

They all shared a concerned look before they sprung into action. Hyewon let the oven fall open causing the burnt smoke blow into their faces, resulting them in waved it away as they coughed. Reaching over, Jaehee twisted the dial to turn off the applicance while Jihyo rushed to open the door to the balcony. Grabbing a oven mitt, Soeun took the risk to reach in and pull out the hot cookie sheet. And wow, did the cookies were melted onto the pan, showing a extremely darken black color. 

And only one thought ran through Soeun's head. 

Soojin unnie is going to kill me.

--

The two youngest tried to fan out the smoke as the other two were trying to separate the cookies from the pan, then tried to wash out the leftover burnt marks before Soojin came back from wherever she was. But like Soeun's luck, Soojin had arrived home a few minutes after the incident had happened. Let's just say they all were doomed when an infuriated Soojin took in the disastrous sight. It ended up with all their younger friends using her as their way to escape the situation - breaking their agreeement of taking the blame. 

Soeun learned to never let them drag her into any of their schemes, especially when she knew it would end up badly. 

"So, you guys didn't think to wait for me before having to go through all of this?" Soojin crossed her arms and gave Soeun an unpleasent glare. 

After everyone had slipped out, the both of them stood by the island near the crime scene. As if she already felt small under Jaehee's judging eyes, she felt even smaller under Soojin's. 

"We didn't know where you were so they wanted me to help them with the cookies because they thought you wouldn't be coming back anytime soon." Sheepishly, Soeun rubbed the back of her neck and gave an apologetic smile. 

"I guessing you didn't check your door for my sticky note saying I was just going to be stopping by the hospital to check up on a few things before going to the store myself to get the ingredients." The medical profession looked at the mess of scattered flour and sugar on the counter nearby and could only exhale tiredly. 

So she did leave a note. Now, Soeun could only hang her head - ashamed. "Sorry, Soojin unnie." She apologized. 

"It's okay, Ssong-ah." Her hands were on both of Soeun's shoulders as she leaned down to match the younger's eyes, then gave her a smile. "How about I get changed into comfortable clothes, and we can redo it with the ingredients I've brought." A few pats, Soojin left to her room to change. 

She felt her heart skyrocket. Her head feeling dizzy from seeing the smile that she knew that was meant only for her. All the thoughts of giving up flew out the window as the feeling of confidence came back to her. She was more than determined to succeed now because Lee Soojin was making it worthwhile. 

--

Waiting for the cookies to bake, Soeun texted the younger three to come back as the coast was clear, with only Jihyo responding back to her, as her and Soojin made sure to stay nearby the oven to prevent the previous incident from happening again. 

Soeun took notice of what Soojin was wearing and tried to stop her face from going red. 

"Isn't that mine?" Soeun pointed at the piece of clothing - her old dance team hoodie. 

"Yeah." Soojin answered nonchalantly, her eyes not leaving her phone. "I found it in my closet."

The clothing in question was slightly oversized on Soojin. Its sleeves engulfed the older's hands as Soeun had longer arms than her. The hem of it stopped at mid-thigh making Soojin look smaller. It made her look more adorable according to Soeun. 

"Now, I know where my hoodie went." Soeun tried to keep up with her act.

Soojin shook her head. "You mean our hoodie." She continued to swipe on the screen of her phone. 

Yup, Lee Soojin knew how to play with her heart because she had the ability to cause Soeun to have a heart attack. 

"B-But it's my lucky hoodie! And it even has my name on the back! So, I want it back!" Soeun was lying through her teeth. If Soojin wanted her hoodie, then she was glad to give it to her. And that's the same goes to everything else.

The taller wrapped her arms around the shorter's waist in hopes to playfully swing her around. 

"Yah! Park Soeun!" It was meant to sound like angry yell, but with how Soojin was laughing, it obviously didn't. 

"I want it back!" Soeun was laughing along with her. 

In the midst of all the silliness, they stumbled into the edge of the sink beside them. Soojin's lower back coming into contact with it as Soeun stopped herself from crashing into her with the help of having both hands on either side of the older's waist. They stood frozen at the close proximity. The tips of their noses touched as they stare into each other's widened eyes. 

Could this possibly be it? Soeun thought. The sparkling of Soojin's dark brown eyes was distracting her, but this was another chance she couldn't afford to miss. "Soojin unnie," Soeun breathed out. 

"Y-Yeah?" Soojin avoided her eyes for a moment, but looked back up at Soeun's eyes again. 

Soeun noticed the dash of pink on the other girl's cheeks and made her wonder if hers were the same color. "Soojin unnie... I... I lo-"

The knocking on the door interrupted them. They looked towards in that direction, then back at each other, then back at the direction. 

"I-I'll go get that." Soeun backed away and left to open the door for the returning three with a straight face. 

Opening the door and stepping aside, they each walked right into the apartment not knowing what had happened earlier... besides Jaehee, of course. 

"Don't tell me, we just ruined a golden moment." Jaehee didn't need to know the details because it was written all over Soeun's face that was covered in disappointment. 

"Oh, trust me. You surely didn't." Soeun said that as sarcastically as possible. All these bad timings. I swear I'll make sure it doesn't happen again next time.