Joohyun is still daydreaming about their aquarium escapade when they returned to school the following Monday. 

As has become more frequent over the past week, Joohyun is waiting by the door of Seungwan's class at the end of the day.

When the final bell rings, students scuffle by, not withholding their judging comments on the more regular phenomenon that is Joohyun's presence outside the junior classes.

The president catches some hushed whispers roll by.

"What's Joohyun doing here?" asks a girl with glasses.

"She's waiting for Seungwan again," answers a boy with brown hair.

"They've gotten weirdly close recently," says a student with a cardigan.

"I know right. Isn't it weird? I thought Seulgi was Joohyun's best friend," comments a student with a blazer.

"Yeah, and doesn't Seungwan always hang out with those underclassmen?" 

"Maybe they're more than friends."

"They look too close to be just friends sometimes."

Friends. More than friends. Friends.

Usually, Joohyun finds herself more permeable to these kinds of comments than ever, even if she was always at the center of speculation as to her relationship with a male student that spent a little too much time doting on her.

These ones were different somehow. She isn't as used to comments that pierce her ice armor so easily, red hot pokers melting through her exterior.

And the statements only become more hurtful the more she listens.

"Isn't it gross, to see them hanging on each other like that?"

"Ugh, I know. They're both too pretty to swing... that way."

"Maybe they ditched their friends for a new girlfriend."

"I don't even want to think about it."

Is there something that Joohyun's missing? What was wrong about it?

Joohyun's eyes are fixed to the ground, no longer wanting to look at the sources of these unwarranted judgments. She wants to retaliate, deny them. But would any answer be an affirmation on its own?

She doesn't want to find out.

Fortunately, Seungwan swings through the door right on time, a beacon of light in the dark.

Too naturally, she hooks her arm in Joohyun's, beginning their daily walk to the student council room.

"So what are we doing today, president?"

Joohyun's fears subside with Seungwan's voice, easing into her touch.

"We have to approve some requests for clubs that want to participate in the rally."

"Boring paperwork?"

Joohyun nods.

Seungwan grins more than she should at the prospect of filing and paper cuts.

"It won't be boring if it's you and me, right?"

It never is.

Like every other day they had spent after school together, Seungwan manages to do something new.

Today, the junior chooses to make a ruckus, chasing Joohyun around the council room with the stamp she was supposed to be using on the request forms, eventually succeeding on placing a stamp on the back of the senior's hand. The red ink now sears with the word "Approved". 

Seungwan declares triumphantly, "You're officially Seungwan approved, rubber stamp and all!"

Joohyun can't stay mad at the junior after that explanation.

They had finally quieted down and actually gotten to work when Seungwan speaks to break the silence.

"You're going to be the MC, right?"

The senior nods. "Yes, along with someone else from the student body. I have to review the volunteers tomorrow." 

"Oh, I have their requests right here," Seungwan shuffles a few papers out of the stack. "Did you need to fill one out too?"

"Yes. My position does not exempt me from paperwork. Is my form not there?"

Scanning through the names on the sheets, Seungwan frowns.

"No, it's not."

"I must've left it in my locker then. I'll be right back."

Joohyun gets up from her seat, seeing Seungwan rise with her.

"Oh, you don't have to come with. It's just down the hall."

"And be left approving more of these things? No way." Seungwan throws a paper up for effect, before scrambling to pick it up off the floor.

Joohyun finds the action too cute to scold.

"Fine, then."

They exit the classroom, turning the corner to the stretch of lockers that were assigned to the seniors. 

There's a train assignments left carelessly on the floor, lined paper and notebooks scattered about like Hansel and Gretel's candy trail.

"Someone's backpack must have ripped without them noticing," Seungwan remarks, bending down to pick them up. "I wonder who..." She flips one over. "Why do they have your name on them?" Seungwan rifles through the pages. "Oh look, the request form's even here."

Joohyun is bewildered. Her backpack is safe in her locker.

Or is it?

Growing concern crosses her features, running down the hall to her locker. Seungwan rushes to scoop up a few of the other assignments, following quickly behind.

They come across what looks to be some sort of murder scene, Joohyun's locker door swung wide open, papers and textbooks spilling out. The hook that usually carries her bag strangely empty.

Is this a twisted kind of robbery? It couldn't be. Her wallet is still neatly tucked away on the top shelf, and there is no reasonable explanation as to why she would be targeted as opposed to any of the others.

They turn and follow the remaining papers, Seungwan dropping down to pick them up as Joohyun walks briskly to the end of the trail.

Seungwan's already swept this floor once, and she'll be damned if she lets someone dirty it again. If this is a prank, it's not funny.

The papers lead them to an open window, the pair poking their heads through, peering down to see the school fountain, a distinctive purple backpack floating in the water. 

Someone must have thrown it in.

Immediately, Joohyun sprints for the nearest stairs, driven by the motivation of saving the chemistry project she had spent the last two nights working on.

Seungwan runs with her, sliding down the handles of the stairwell to get there faster. The times she spent racing through the hallways have suddenly come in handy, though she never expected she would need the skill for something like this.

The junior swings through the entrance, not hesitating to tear off her school-assigned loafers as she approaches the fountain, rolling up her slacks and hopping in. She fishes out the backpack first, setting it gently on the concrete before she begins scooping out folders and pencil cases.

Seungwan is too busy scrounging in the water to notice another pair of legs send ripples across the surface, hands joining hers in their search.

Together, they successfully rescue the majority of Joohyun's belongings. Thankfully, she's kept most of her assignments in a waterproof binder.

"Who even owns a waterproof binder?" Seungwan asks, stepping out of the fountain.

"For when it rains," Joohyun answers.

The junior erupts into laughter. "I know you always like to stay prepared, but the line between prepared and paranoia is blurring, Hyun."

"It worked out, didn't it?"

Seungwan couldn't argue with that.

They're sitting now on the edge of the fountain, letting water drip down their thighs as they catch their breath. Seungwan, for one, has had more than enough exercise to gain a whole semester's worth of P.E. credits.

In between huffs, Seungwan brings up the question that's on both of their minds.

"Any idea who did it?"

"Not really. I don’t remember anything I’ve done that would result in retaliation like this.”

Seungwan nods, absorbing the information. "I find it hard to believe that you could do anything that would warrant this, but I'm sure there are a lot of people jealous of you."

"There's nothing to be jealous of, I assure you," Joohyun responds timidly.

The junior gives an incredulous look. "Beautiful, brilliant, kind... The list goes on and on. The only flaw you might have is that you're not seeing it."

Joohyun drags her feet along the concrete, watching as droplets draw patterns on the floor. "When the list can include cold and stubborn, it's not a flawless list."

"Still," Seungwan offers, "It's not something to trash your locker over."

Joohyun's silence is its own agreement.

"By the way," Seungwan says, digging her hands into her pockets. "I think I found a note along with your things upstairs."

She fishes out a crumpled piece of notebook paper, handing it to Joohyun.

The hasty scribbles in black ink read: "That's what you get for rejecting me, Ice Queen. Hope your things have a nice icy bath in the fountain. Also, I thought I told you to stay away from her. Consider this an escalation."

It's almost too corny, sounding like a line from the villain of an outdated comic. There's no sign off, no name or identifier. Of course. The person is too much of a coward to reveal their identity, associate themself with such blatantly childish actions.

"A rejection? Doesn't that sound familiar?"

Joohyun skims the note a second time, sighing.

"It must be him."

"The guy from last week?"

"Yes, the one you saved me from." Joohyun's expression softens as she reminisces on Seungwan's strange rescue.

"I didn't quite catch all of what he was saying. You just looked uncomfortable, so I acted without thinking. I'm sorry, by the way."

She looks at her shoes, head ducked down.

Hands are suddenly placed on hers.

"Don't apologize, Wan," Joohyun smiles. "I should've thanked you more earlier. I didn't know him, so I rejected him, told him that I had to focus on my academics." 

"He didn't look like he took it too well then, and he sure as hell isn't taking it too well now."

Internally, Seungwan starts crafting plans of tracking the boy down and unleashing another round of confetti bombs in his locker. It would be a great use of the extras she has from the initial prank.

Joohyun chuckles softly. "This might be one of the better reactions, though, If I'm honest."

"A better reaction? Really?"

"Another boy followed me home and tried asking my father for my hand in marriage."

"Joohyun, that's terrifying."

The senior dismisses the statement with a wave. "I like to think that it must have been more terrifying for that student. My father surely did something that scared him so much that he won't even cross my path in the halls anymore."

Seungwan reasons that she doesn't need to contrive a retaliatory prank for that kid. Joohyun's dad must have already done a phenomenal job.

"Remind me to never do that."

"Do what? Ask for my hand in marriage?" Joohyun teases. "I don't think I have to worry about that."

The junior glows bright red after realizing the implication of her statement.

Unfazed, Joohyun simply continues, ruffling Seungwan's hair, damp with stray droplets.

"I think my dad would go much easier on you."

That makes the usually loud Seungwan quiet for a moment before she rushes to change the subject.

Her wet slacks are chafing against her skin.

"Damn, we're really soaked."

Joohyun doesn't give a response, simply staring at the floor. Her teasing smile just a second before is replaced by a more fraught expression, wrinkles written into her brow. Seungwan gets the sense that the potential implications of the note are finally sinking in. It's almost as if she can see the flurry of thoughts just behind the senior's forehead, brain twisting and turning in a labyrinth of questions as to what it could all mean.

Seungwan doesn't want to see Joohyun like this.

"Do you ever stop caring about what other people think?"

Joohyun looks up from the concrete, eyes overcast.

"I... I don't know."

"Stop. Just for a minute," Seungwan pivots, facing Joohyun. She waves her hand at their surroundings as if trying to wipe steam off of fogged glass. "Pretend that there's only two people left on the entire Earth. Me, and you. Can't you do anything? Like..."

With sudden vigor, she stands. One second, she is watching as water cascades down the tiers of the fountain. The next, Joohyun spins as she hears two splashes in the water, turning to see Seungwan with her pants rolled, face shining with the reflections off the fountain tile.

"Like hop in this fountain!"

"Hey, don't do that without reason! We could get in trouble!"

Joohyun extends her arm, trying to grasp Seungwan's hand and pull her back out of the water. Like a fish, the junior slips out from Joohyun's hold, picking up her feet as she runs just beyond the senior's reach, giggling all the way. Her feet are firmly planted in the blue, water swirling around her shins.

"We can't get in trouble if we're the only two people left in the world! You don't have to care about the rules anymore, the box others put you in. You can do anything!"

She gives a series of playful kicks in Joohyun's general direction, kicking up water like the grass of a soccer field. Joohyun only watches as Seungwan stomps across the fountain, upturning water with splashes as she traipses along. Joohyun fails to stifle a smile when imagining the junior as some sort of toddler, plodding around with her hands holding the seams of her pants.

She almost wants to join in, but knows she can't.

Joohyun can only watch, observing Seungwan as if she is a specimen in a glass jar, removed from the world that she exists in.

"If we were the only two people left in the world, I'd still care about what you think."

Seungwan stops, bringing a leg mid-air back down to settle quietly in the water.

"What I think?" The junior's expression relaxes, exuberant grin taking the shape of a more pleased look. "You should know that I only think of you with adoration."

Joohyun is sheepish, tips of her ears burning red as she focuses on the ripples across the surface of the fountain rather than Seungwan's gaze. 

"I'm sure you think that I'm stubborn too..."

Seungwan chuckles. "Well, you sure are being stubborn now," she says, any bite absent from her tone. Suddenly, she sweeps down, back arched as her hands send waves in the basin, scrambling for the coins on the tile. She straightens up as she cups an assortment of pennies, nickels, and dimes in her hands, shimmering as brightly as the shifting pool of water.

"You know, this fountain was made for wishes," Seungwan remarks, beginning to flick the handful of coins back into the water, marching around in a circle.

A penny is sent soaring. "I wish for Joohyun to stop caring about what others think."

A dime is flung Joohyun's direction. "I wish for Joohyun to start appreciating herself more."

A quarter sinks to the bottom. "I wish for Joohyun to understand that the opinions of others don't determine her self worth. I—"

Joohyun interrupts the constant stream of wishes and coins. "Oh, come on, Seungwan. Stop doing this. We don't live in a vacuum, and your actions have consequences."

The senior actually appears to be more amused, more comforted than she seems to be legitimately admonishing. It would be strange to admit, but with every wish, Seungwan seems to lift a slight burden off of her, like the pressures of others were flinging away with every penny, sinking to the bottom of deep water.

Seungwan can only grin.

"You want me to stop?"

Her eyes flash with something undefinable — amusement, intrigue, mischief.

Joohyun can't help herself from being mesmerized with that indescribable look, youthful and knowing all at once. That is, until Seungwan locks on her, seizing upon her new target.

"Oh no you don't," Joohyun tries to warn, throwing her hands up to shield herself from the oncoming wave Seungwan pushes her direction.

Water meets skin, and Joohyun shivers.

"Would you like me to stop now, President?"

"Of course I do!"

Seungwan's grin only widens. 

"Then make me."

Seungwan should've known beforehand not to mess with Joohyun, apparently not learning her lesson from their brief basketball game days prior. The president's competitive fury never ceased. Seungwan almost feels a little frightened as Joohyun's expression shifts from one of delight to one of sheer determination.

Unlike Seungwan, Joohyun does not have to worry about holding up her pants before she jumps in, kicking as hard and as fast as possible with the mobility that her skirt allowed. 

Seungwan finds herself often evading Joohyun's vicious attacks, hands still clutching the stack of coins she had collected earlier. It doesn't pose a significant handicap however, as she continues to release kick after kick.

Together, they set off a splashing frenzy, both quickly drenched head to toe.

In order to win the battle, Seungwan thinks that she should unleash her biggest attack yet. She reels back, sweeping her right foot behind her in a large arc, preparing to generate a fountain tsunami. But as she moves forward, she must have miscalculated, feeling her foot slide across the tile underneath, left leg giving out as she tumbled forward.

Joohyun throws out a hand to try and catch the girl, or steady her, at least, but as Seungwan hits the water, Joohyun's hand latches onto the end of Seungwan's shirt. She's tugged down with her, crashing into the fountain only seconds later.

A torrent of water and coins becomes confetti, celebrating their fall.

For one moment, they're still, splayed with limbs touching tile, tangled with each other.

The next moment, Seungwan is laughing, leaned back on her palms as her knees point out at odd angles. Her chest rises up and down with every laugh, short brown hair glistening with water. Seungwan's eyes are crescents, lips pulled into their own, somehow both bright and glimmering even without their usual open shine, teeth and irises concealed like a beautiful secret that too much joy wishes to hide.

As she revels in the sweetness, the ridiculousness of this moment, Seungwan's eyelashes flutter, and Joohyun feels her heart do the same. The older girl takes a second to wonder why she's the one with the title of school angel when Seungwan has always been like this — looked so heaven sent.

When they crashed into the water, it seemed that Joohyun had found something at the bottom of the fountain. It wasn't new, more like a realization of something that had already been there, shining like a coin buried in sand, waiting to be uncovered.

Perhaps, just perhaps, she is in love.

It didn't take the sea falling from the sky to realize that, just a smile, a laugh, a stumble, a fall, a splash.

Perhaps, just perhaps, she has been, for a while.

Ever since that day on the rooftop, possibly even long before. 

Love is weird like that. It doesn't have to strike like lightning b from a gray, tumultuous sky. It's more like a drizzle, getting sleeves and jeans all wet, but not a hassle to walk through without an umbrella.

Love is like the rain, seeping into the seams of Joohyun's fabric before she's even realized it. And once she does, she realizes she's been drowning for months.

Though Joohyun has always been the cautious type, Seungwan makes her feel like going outside without a raincoat. 

How can drowning feel so liberating, suffocating in all that water?

Then again, that's the difference. Seungwan was always the breaths in between, drops spaced evenly enough to trickle down the sides of your nose, inhale the scent of petrichor.

Loving her was anything but suffocating.

Joohyun is suddenly broken from her silent stare as she has another realization. Her arms are thrown across Seungwan's torso, legs planted on either side of the girl.

She rushes to remove herself, face flushing. But she must've been in too much of a rush, as she only found herself slipping again, falling back down on the junior and grabbing onto her shoulders for support.

Seungwan's hearty laugh lowers to a chuckle. "You just can't get enough of me, can you?"

If it was even possible, Joohyun grows more red at the statement, this time carefully standing up and stepping out onto the dry concrete, gathering up her things and putting them in her backpack, mind too numb to realize that everything is still wet.

Flustered, she sputters, "I- I don't even understand why you're laughing so hard."

Seungwan gets up after her, smiling that patented megawatt smile. "Just thinking about the fountain myth."

Joohyun's eyebrow quirks up as if to ask what that means, Seungwan reading the expression, following, "There's a rumor on campus that if two students fall into the fountain together, they'll fall in love."

Joohyun can't bring herself to respond, as she would surely stumble over her words so badly that she would fall right back into the fountain.

As she watches Joohyun flounder, Seungwan takes the opportunity to recover the treasure she lost in the aftermath of her stumble, scrounging for some change. Again, silver and copper dart over the surface of the water as she resumes her circumambulatory march, coins plinking and plunking with every flick of Seungwan's hand. 

"I wish Joohyun would understand that this is what it feels like to stop caring about what others think. I wish I could see her this happy all the time."

Joohyun can't restrain herself from giving Seungwan a smack on the hand, reaching over the water and sending a few coins flying. 

"If you're going to make wishes off of other people's money... At least make some for yourself."

"I'm not wishing for anything that I don't want," Seungwan answers smugly.

"Fine then. I'll wish for you."

She snatches some spare change from Seungwan's open palm.

"I wish for Seungwan and I to be the only two people left in the world. I wish that Seungwan could be this happy all the time, with a genuine smile, not the one she plasters on for others..."

The junior's contented sighs break Joohyun's train of hopes.

"It's no use wishing for things that already are, Joohyun."

The president's head quirks to the side. "But these haven't come true yet?"

"To me, they already have." Seungwan's eyes shine when Joohyun's only twist in bewilderment, nose scrunched in confusion. "We make them come true. You already make me feel as though there's not a single other soul in the rest of the world. You give me my most genuine smile."

The way that Seungwan is smiling in that moment, the way the reflections draw streaks across her face, highlighting raised cheeks with blue light, Joohyun thinks that perhaps this fountain is magical after all.

"I guess I don't need the rest of these then, right?" The junior tosses the coins in the air, catching them as they clink, settling on top of each other. "I guess I could use them on one large wish then. I'll make this a big one..."

She brings cupped hands to her lips, enclosing the coins, concealing them from view as she whispers her final wish like a secret meant to be kept within the confines of this fountain. With less ceremony, she drops them all in, the shine of metallic bronze and silver flickering like stars suspended above the water, the surroundings all twinkling as if she had scattered fairy dust instead of silver.

Joohyun breaks the silence, breaks the magic with her curiosity.

"You didn't say the wish out loud."

Seungwan's eyes flicker with residual wonder.

"I want to be sure this one comes true."

Joohyun almost wants to probe further, understand why this wish would be so monumental that it has sworn Seungwan to secrecy, but she is stalled by a low voice calling out across the courtyard.

"Hey, what are you doing in there?" the voice bellows.

Ah, Mr. Kim, the physical education teacher. He is notorious for getting Seungwan in trouble.

Upon seeing him, the junior vaults over the edge of the fountain, slinging Joohyun's backpack over her shoulder as she takes the senior's wrist.

"Come on, let's run!"

Joohyun's eyes dart between Seungwan and the approaching Mr. Kim. Hesitation takes a hold of her.

"But you see Seungwan, we're not... We're not the only two people left in the world. We can actually get in trouble and—"

Seungwan turns back to look at the frazzled senior, a grin better than words. 

"Pretend that it doesn't matter for one minute, just like we did before. I promise it'll be alright."

She readies her legs to move, and Joohyun finds herself subconsciously doing the same. With the first stride, Seungwan exclaims with finality, "And I don't make promises I can't keep!"

Joohyun doesn’t have time to respond, already pulled along by Seungwan past the entrance gates, past the lazy teacher trying to shout at them to come back. Her hands are sweaty, and she doesn't know if it’s because of the adrenaline coursing through her from finally shirking the rules, a gleaming moment of teenage rebellion, or if it’s because of just one teen rebel whose hand she was holding.

She doesn't notice the sensation of their loafers hitting the cement sidewalks transitioning to the asphalt lining the alleyways surrounding the school, how her squeaky clean, polished shoes are finally getting scuffed. She can only notice how Seungwan's own beat up soles are crashing the pavement in front of her, how her short hair somehow looks longer in this breeze, carrying the scent of peaches toward Joohyun as they run.

It's almost as if they’re flying, as if Seungwan had sprouted water wings, an angel that could carry Joohyun away. A halo of light adorns Seungwan's crown, created by a vision trick, sunlight shifting and filtering through the leaves of trees disappearing overhead as they run past.

But there are no angels, just Seungwan and Joohyun, running like fools down the streets.

Somehow, it's better.

After ten minutes of running, they wind up on the streets of residential suburbia, streets that Joohyun recognizes.

Seungwan slows to a walk, Joohyun following suit.

"Are we going to your house?" Joohyun asks between heavy breaths.

"Yeah," the junior shrugs. "I figured why not. I thought that it wouldn't make any sense to go back and continue planning for an event when our day has already been so eventful."

"For some reason, I assumed your stupid puns would stop once you got to high school."

"They only got better, really."

Their aimless conversation and bickering over the quality of Seungwan's humor takes them all the way to the junior's house.

They walk up the doorstep, Seungwan fumbling with keys.

"Parents are out of town today, so you don't have to worry about them."

"Oh, but I wouldn't want to intrude while they're gone. I could always just come back later."

Joohyun nearly smiles at the implication that she has a reason to come back. But Seungwan's already through the front door, shuffling off her shoes.

"You're welcome anytime, seriously. Just come in, Joohyun."

Seungwan pulls her in by the hand before she can protest.

"What did you even bring me here for?" Joohyun questions as Seungwan waltzes into the kitchen, setting their things down. If Joohyun noticed earlier that the junior was carrying their things the whole time they ran, she would've had them stop sooner. Luckily, the girl is smiling too brightly to appear bothered by it.

Seungwan puts a hand on her hip. "Well, I don't know if you have a goldfish memory and completely forgot about our recent fountain escapade, which sort of dropped the 'ad' and turned into an escape, but this was the first place I thought of to go."

"We could've run to the parking lot where my car was."

As Seungwan grabs some towels hanging by the sink, laying them out on the kitchen tile to absorb the water from Joohyun's backpack, she responds, "And just drive home like sane people? That wouldn't be much fun." She smirks, receiving an eye roll from Joohyun.

The false annoyance that the older girl displays is not nearly enough to stop Seungwan from continuing to be playful. "Besides, we were soaked! I'm sure the janitors wouldn't have wanted us to throw water all over the tile."

Joohyun lets out a defeated sigh. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Drying off sounds good. Unless you want to stay in that wet, increasingly translucent school uniform. Also pink? I couldn't say that was really expected, Hyunnie."

Joohyun looks down at her damp white shirt, cheeks growing the same color as the undergarment Seugnwan had just pointed out. She scrambles to cross her arms over her chest.

"Aw," Seungwan drawls out, only lightly mocking. "You covered up the view."

Joohyun is only more flustered, sputtering, "Stop joking, Seungwan. Do you have a change of clothes?"

With a click of her tongue, Seungwan disappears up the stairs, Joohyun quick to follow, still mindful to keep her hands folded over her chest. 

Seungwan spins around when they reach the top, teasing expression painted on her face.

"If I had a body like yours, I wouldn't be covering it up."

Joohyun blanches, mouth parted yet unable to respond. Before she can come up with a retort, Seungwan continues down a hallway, headed toward her room. Seungwan lets out a giggle as she reaches her door, hand twisting the knob.

"What?" Joohyun asks, simultaneously defensive and bashful.

"It's okay, Joohyun," Seungwan says, speech interrupted by the opening and closing of cabinet doors. "I'm only joking."

"Your jokes aren't funny."

Congratulations, it's Joohyun's long awaited first quippy response of the day. At this point, the score must be somewhere along the lines of Seungwan 34 - 1 Joohyun, but she'll take it.

This line only has Seungwan wriggling her eyebrows.

"Maybe there's just something in them that you're just not getting."

The scoreboard flipped in Joohyun's head. 35 - 0 Joohyun.

She wasn't aware of any sport in which you could lose points, but surely she just did.

Seungwan hands Joohyun a neatly folded set of clothes. "Here, I pulled out some clothes that should fit you. They're just sweats, but it should be fine. There's a bathroom back down the hall, the second door on the right. It's themed like an ocean paradise — thanks Mom — so you really can't miss it."

"Is it alright if I—" Joohyun starts.

"Take a shower?" Seungwan finishes. "Sure, go for it. I'll be taking one in here, so I don't have to worry about keeping you preoccupied." 

Seungwan ducks in to the bathroom adjacent to her room to turn on the water before returning to her cabinets and pulling out her own set of clothes. She leaves Joohyun with a final comment and a wink as the senior exits.

"I don't have to worry about you sneaking a peek, right?"

Joohyun shuts the door more quickly than she ever has in her life.

---

When Joohyun returns to Seungwan's room, she realizes how much escaped her notice while caught up in the junior's antics. She marvels at how much it's changed over the years. Whereas the walls were sparsely populated, they are now plastered with even more posters of Seungwan's favorite musicians. The window just beside the desk now has a clothesline attached to the top corners, pins holding pictures of Sooyoung, Yerim, and Seungwan. Often, there would be more pictures of just Sooyoung and Yerim, the junior presumably behind the camera.

Joohyun continues scanning the room and spots a familiar guitar in the corner, stickers now decorating almost every inch of its surface. She wonders how much Seungwan's improved since she first picked it up those years ago, when shy chords would echo out from between smaller fingers, short demonstrations of what the girl had learned in her lessons that day. Joohyun remembers that despite little mistakes, despite too much sliding or buzzing from inexperienced strings, she would hang on to every note like the songs Seungwan sang were a confession, each carrying a letter that spelled out something about love.

She wishes that they really were confessions now.

At the very least, they were friends again, and that was more than Joohyun could ask for. But the quickening rhythm of her heart tapped out an internal message in morse code, one that secretly wished for something more. As if being something more with Seungwan would mean that she could have more fountain hopping, more dances on rooftops, more spontaneous storage room monologues, more confetti surprises. And she thinks that although she's never really liked surprises before, Seungwan could change her mind.

Maybe that fountain myth is true after all.

While Joohyun is peering around the room, Seungwan is splayed across her bed, legs loosely tangled in a blue blanket, a chipmunk plushie tucked away in a corner of the bed. She's scrolling through something on her phone, damp, short hair lain across a towel, only looking up once at Joohyun after she notices her standing there.

"You can sit anywhere you want." She gestures toward the swivel chair in front of her desk. "You can take the rolly chair." She then points at the set of beanbags pushed against her closet. "There's also the beanbags." Seungwan then scoots slightly from her spot on the bed, patting the empty space she's just created. She peels her eyes from the screen to direct a smirk Joohyun's way. "Your final option is here, next to me."

Joohyun rushes to the swivel chair by the desk, the closest of the options that didn't involve sitting on the bed next to Seungwan. 

Laughing lightly at Joohyun's actions, Seungwan teases, "I don't bite, bunny."

The senior really didn't know what she signed up for when she first asked Seungwan to help her. Of course, she knew that the girl would a great resource when it comes to fun, albeit unorthodox events and, as more of an ulterior motive, it would be a great opportunity for them to rekindle their relationship. However, she doesn't recall ordering a side of mushy mashed potato feelings or a healthy dollop of Seungwan's flirts. If they were actually flirts, that is. Joohyun couldn't tell what with Seungwan's already boisterous attitude. Perhaps Joohyun is just getting too many ideas now. It seems that these days, her pale skin is almost always tinted pink.

To distract herself from the churning in her chest, Joohyun spins around to look at the contents of Seungwan's desk. She sees books neatly stacked, school materials ordered and organized in their respective shelves, everything categorized and in their proper place. This seemed very contrary to the carefree — often edging dangerously into reckless manner — that Seungwan often had.

As if reading Joohyun's thoughts, Seungwan speaks up, watching Joohyun from her spot on the bed. 

"Surprised?"

"A little."

"Don't be. Organization is required for all of the best pranks."

Rolling her eyes, as she swivels around, Joohyun replies, "And you told me you had no skills for event planning."

"I'm here now, aren't I?"

As Joohyun smiles, a purple bag by the door catches her eye. The junior must have brought it up for her. Sweet.

Yet it serves as a reminder of sorts, that Joohyun should be leaving now, shouldn't continue learning more about the life Seungwan has led without her, how she's changed and grown in her absence. 

But she swings the chair back around, starts looking into the drawers, wanting to see the little quirks that Seungwan has accumulated. She looks to Seungwan, searching for some reaction or opposition to her rifling, but there is none. The junior simply glances over with an ambivalent expression before rolling over to face the wall.

Joohyun assumes that is a permission if any, and begins opening drawers. In one, she finds scattered trinkets, arcade tokens, a pressed four leaf clover. It's more disorganized than the more frequented shelves above the desk, more aligned with Joohyun's initial perception of Seungwan. It was as if Seungwan had just put things there to keep, but never open.

Using her hands to brush away bits and baubles, she sees something she recognizes, a purple envelope, a letter she had written to Seungwan to open for when she graduated — when she left Seungwan behind. She takes it out, the lingering scent of the lavender perfume she used to wear so much of at the time hanging onto its exterior. She flips the flap open, bunny sticker still attached to it.

But there's no letter to be found.

As her curiosity piques, she opens the leftmost drawer, finding it full of paper cranes. The colors and patterns form a desultory mosaic. The crisp folds and details along the wings indicate that some have been folded with origami paper, while strange colors and arbitrary fonts decorate the edges of others, appearing to have been made with discarded worksheets and flyers.

Joohyun reaches into the drawer, pulling out a deceivingly simple crane folded from a piece of notebook paper. It was resting atop all the others, placed gently, yet appearing as though more attention had been paid to it than the others. The creases were worn, edges frayed in the way that paper that had been folded and unfolded too many times often were.

Adjusting the desk lamp, she places the creation on the surface of Seungwan's desk before picking it up to inspect it more carefully, turning it over in her hand. There's handwriting scrawled all across it, following the printed blue lines that zig-zag horizontal to the folds. She runs her hand from beak to tail, trying to make out the bits and pieces of sentences. The blue ink looks familiar. On the underside of the left wing, she sees words that confirm her suspicions.

"Dear Wan"

She needs to unfold it more than anything, remember what she wrote. As she positions her hands along the seams, she hesitates, thinking that it would be best to ask Seungwan first.

"Hey, Seungwan?"

"What's up?"

The senior brandishes the crane in hand. "Is it fine if I unfold this and read it?"

The junior pulls her phone down, expression flickering with realization as she catches the crane in her eyeline. The corner of her lips tug down, eyes softening. She buries her face into the pillow, muffling her voice.

"You wrote it."

Joohyun thinks that that is as much of an agreement as she'll get from the younger girl, taking it as her cue to unfurl the crane.

Dear Wan, 

By the time you read this, I'll officially be a high school student! As I'm writing this, I'm not quite there yet, but I can imagine that you must've been at my graduation, holding back tears. I know you've been worried that things might change. This letter is to assure you that they won't.

So I'll make a few promises.

1. I promise we'll still hang out as much as possible. Though I might be busy with the increased workload, I’ll still come over whenever I can. And you can always come over to my house. Maybe sometimes you’ll be stuck watching me study, but I think you’d still like even that. I don’t mind. I like doing nothing with you.

2. I promise to keep texting and calling all the time. Even when I'm busy, I'll be able to talk to you. I just hope that you won't be too busy to pick up.

3. I promise we'll be best friends forever. I feel like this one doesn't need extensive explanation.

4. I promise to always love you. Even if there are periods where we don't talk, even if you become annoying when I'm away, even if you somehow grow taller than me, even if you change your hairstyle and chop off those bangs you know I adore, I'll still love you.

Forever and always,

Hyun

As she looks at her loopy, clumsy, outdated signature, Joohyun finds herself burrowing her fingers into the paper, as if it is a last note from a disappearing loved one, even if the disappearing one was only her. She almost cries, almost mourns over the promises she didn't keep.

If not promises, at least she was used to keeping tears in.

Joohyun moves to fold it only to realize that she doesn't have the faintest clue as to how to recreate the crane that Seungwan had made so many times before. She smooths it out, opening the drawer and laying it neatly atop the pile of paper birds. She is certain that once she leaves, Seungwan will find it, fold it again.

She spins slowly in her chair. Seungwan's eyes are on her, head raised slightly off her pillow, hovering. She doesn't look in scrutiny nor pity. Her face is veiled in some expression that Joohyun can't read. But it doesn't hurt, isn't sharp like the daggered looks she's been receiving from passing students in the hallways. Her look is soft, comforting, almost as if Joohyun could drown in the ripples of brown that comprised Seungwan's irises.

Like being pulled from the deep, Seungwan's face disappears into sheets.

Perhaps Joohyun was correct in that she had no right to get such an intimate glimpse into Seungwan's life after she had already relinquished her claim to it, even if all she got were stray slices of the girl, puzzle pieces that she had to assemble herself. Perhaps she should just leave now, allow the hurt she had inflicted on the girl to heal rather than open up old wounds, sprinkle salt in the crevices of flesh. 

But the other part of her screamed to stay, pleaded to make it up to the girl. After all, in Joohyun's short list of broken promises, the thrumming in her chest tells her that she did keep the last one.

Was it enough?

Seungwan shifts as she hears the click of the desk lamp shutting off, but doesn't turn to speak, her usual quick tongue stilled. She shifts more when she hears the padding of feet across her carpet, even more when it's followed by a dip at the edge of her bed. She finally turns to look.

"Joohyun?"

Abruptly, her question is muffled by a sweatshirt pressed against her, the body underneath trembling slightly. 

But it is warm, familiar, and Seungwan doesn't want Joohyun to let go.

Seungwan doesn't think that it would hurt to probe one more time, though.

"What's this for?"

The room is bathed in silence in the seconds it takes for Joohyun to respond, choosing her response carefully. As she waits, Seungwan's senses are filled with lavender and fabric softener, slow caresses, fingers running through her hair. 

In the end, Joohyun doesn't quite answer the question.

"I promise I'll stay this time."

Seungwan likes this answer more.

---

They waste away hours just like that, snuggled close. It seems as if they don't care about the sudden lack of personal space. It was all too easy to slot into each other's arms, a perfect fit, like it had been before. The silence, a blanket, comfortable and soft. Wool pulled over already closed eyes.

Neither cares about the implications of their hearts beating in tandem, only caring about the sensations they bring, the warmth of hands around torsos, slow breaths across collarbones.

Sometimes they interrupt the silence with whispers, small secrets exhaled into the space between them, conversations about anything and everything. Why the universe constantly expanded. What they would do if it ever stopped. 

Aside from conversations about the far future that exists at the end of existence, Seungwan has another thought on her mind, about a nearer future, one that didn't involve the end of the world.

"What are you going to do about that note?"

"I don't really know yet." Eyes blissfully shut, Joohyun pulls Seungwan a centimeter closer. "It's scary. I don't want to think about what it might mean."

"Speaking of what it means, that 'her', in the note. It must be me, right?"

Joohyun's eyelids quiver. "I can't think of anyone else I've spent more time with these past days."

"Then you're not doing a very good job of it, staying away from me."

If Joohyun's eyes were open, she would notice the way Seungwan's lips are pulled up, one corner of higher than the other, smile askew.

The senior only nestles further into the crook of Seungwan's neck.

"I suppose I'm not."

Silence settles around them, a companion in the quiet of Seungwan's room.

But Joohyun chases it away with another question, voice supplanting the sounds of the tree branch knocking on the junior's window.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Be so carefree?"

Seungwan shrinks at the question, sheets contracting as her legs pull them along. 

"I'm not though. There's still so many things I care about. I care about making others smile. I care about my studies, surprisingly. That's why my desk is so organized — I actually use it."

Joohyun disturbs Seungwan's spiel with curt laughter, quieting down to let her go on.

Seungwan's eyes crinkle at the corners. "And I care about my friends. I care about my family... I care about you."

Seungwan combs her hands through Joohyun's hair, twirling locks around her fingers.

As she feels herself unwind at Seungwan's touch, Joohyun thinks back to that question in the gym. Reputation or love.

"But do you care about what others think?"

Bubbles rise at the question, filtering out through Seungwan's lighthearted laughter. 

"Of course I do. But only if I care about them. There are some people who matter in your life, those you can't live without. Mine is a very short list, my family, Sooyoung, Yerim, you." Seungwan's finger disentangles itself from Joohyun's hair. "Why should I bother with the opinions of anyone else beyond that?"

"Why do I, then?"

A hand trails down the side of Joohyun's jaw, each touch writing words of reassurance and understanding into her skin.

"Sometimes we can't help it, I think. After all, these are people we see every day. Maybe our brains can't distinguish people we can't live without between people who are always around."

Joohyun has left the persona of class president and model student behind, shedding her skin, laid out raw for Seungwan to hold. Her voice comes out like the glass under her leather skin, shattered, vulnerable, fragile.

"I feel like mine should be able to."

"It's okay to be concerned with others. It just means that you're considerate, empathetic. But when that crosses into the realm of insecurity... Well, I'll just let you know that you're someone too good to be insecure."

"Too good? I think that's just what others think. They think I'm so perfect that they put me on this pedestal, one I don't think I belong on. I'm scared of what might happen if they find out. Will they topple my statue?"

Seungwan's words are no longer full of their usual puns, usual flirts. Somehow, they're exactly what Joohyun needs to hear.

"I might be full of random advice, but I can't pretend that I know exactly what to say here, Hyun. I just wish I could make you happy, despite that. I can only offer that I'll be there for you, even when the statue tumbles, even when the sea falls from the sky."

The conversation drifts to a lull. Somehow they stumble on the topic of school, what they're going to do after, whether Joohyun still wants to be a writer, whether Seungwan still wants to pursue music. They wonder what kind of homework they'd have in university, whether assignments on music theory or literature would kill their passions.

Homework... Homework...

Why does something gnaw at the corner of Seungwan's mind?

A revelation splashes across her face like a bucket of cold water.

She scrambles to get up from the bed, pulling up some sheets to scrounge around under her bed for her bag. 

Joohyun is left in a disarray of blankets and confusion. 

"Seungwan, what's wrong?"

"It's a school night, and I completely forgot about my homework!" 

With all of these existential problems, more concrete ones would never stop plaguing them.

Joohyun sits up as Seungwan checks under her desk.

"You can't wait until tomorrow morning?"

"I have a half-written five page report that'll be thrown into the test category due tomorrow morning!" Seungwan runs her hands through her hair, bottom lip caught between her teeth. "It can't wait!"

She stops her frantic pacing about the room as recognition dawns on her features.

"I left my bag at the school."

Conveniently, Joohyun remembers that her car is still sitting in the vacant parking lot. Her parents would kill her if she left it there.

Seungwan reads Joohyun's troubled expression, offering her hand to help the girl stand. 

"How do you feel about sneaking into the school at night?"

---

There is something about Seungwan that makes Joohyun feel like breaking the rules. So here she is, breaking the rules again.

It's almost nine, nowhere near the dead of night yet, but she's never been to school at this hour, not without permission, keys, an activity slip, anything that would provide proof that she was allowed to be here.

As they walk through the shrubs near the side entrance of the school, Seungwan tries finding a way to still the senior's nerves.

"How about we play a game?"

"Another one?"

"Truth or dare. It's simple. You already know the rules. Whoever isn't able to answer truthfully or fails a dare loses."

"I don't know, Seungwan. Sounds like it could be dangerous playing with you."

Seungwan throws a sly look Joohyun's way. 

"Too chicken to flirt with danger, Hyun?"

Joohyun could be called many things, but hell if she would allow herself to be called chicken.

"Never."

They approach the metal fencing, Joohyun dubious of Seungwan's plans.

"Why can't we just go through the front gates?"

"There are cameras there, duh. Don't worry, I've snuck in through here a couple of times to set up pranks and have never gotten caught."

Joohyun crosses her arms. "Who's to say that now isn't the perfect time to be caught?"

"Fair point, but I'm pretty confident," Seungwan says as she puts a foot through a crosshatch of the fence, testing if it holds. "And hey, don't try bullying me to get out of truth or dare."

The senior recoils, defensive. "I'm not!"

Seungwan only beams. "Sure you are. Anyway, you go first. Joohyun, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Isn't that the coward's way out?"

Joohyun huffs, arms folded. "Not if there's interesting secrets to spill."

Seungwan starts her ascent over the fencing, effortlessly going hand over hand as she continues the conversation. 

"Somehow, I doubt that you have that many secrets."

"How will you know if you don't ask?"

"Fine then." A beat of quiet save for the whirring of Seungwan's thoughts follows. "Any of those dating rumors turn out to be true? I swear there have been like five different times people have assumed you were dating that one senior with the nice hair."

Joohyun's face contorts into disgust, causing Seungwan to nearly cackle.

"I'll take that as a no."

Joohyun nods to confirm Seungwan's conclusion, lips still pursed at the egregious assumption.

As the junior swings over the top of the fence, trained experience written into the ease of her movements, she continues as she makes her way down the other side. 

"What, none of the boys at school meet your standards? I know you get a lot of confessions."

"No, no. It's nothing like that. I just didn't find them very interesting, or compatible, I suppose."

Seungwan prevents herself from breaking into a grin. 

Jooyhun goes on, as if more explanation is needed.

"Besides, I should be focusing on my studies, right?"

"Sure, Joohyun."

By then, Seungwan's feet are already firmly planted on the concrete of the other side. She reaches through the metal diamonds to poke Joohyun's nose, the owner of which has been intently watching as Seungwan made her way across. The senior's nose twitches, scrunching like a rabbit at the sudden contact.

"Are you going to hop over the fence, bunny?"

Joohyun is fiddling with the seam of the sweatshirt Seungwan lent her. Seungwan doesn't feel like pressuring her too much.

"It's fine, you can just wait here and I'll run and get my bag and your car." The junior sticks her hand back through the fence, wiggling her fingers. "Got any keys for me?"

Seungwan is surprised when she doesn't feel cool metal, but rather, a warm hand.

"I'll come with," the senior insists. "But first, it's your turn, isn't it? Truth or dare."

Seungwan rolls her eyes, but the expression of seeming sarcasm doesn't match the smile making its way across her lips.

"Dare."

Joohyun puts a hand to her chin, contemplating what she should make Seungwan do. Her eyes light up with the answer, letting the idea grace her tongue. 

"I dare you to help me over."

"After I'm already on the other side?"

"Rejecting a dare so soon?"

Seungwan immediately begins climbing. 

"Never."

In an instant, her sneakers meet the grass back on Joohyun's side. Seungwan looks at Joohyun expectantly, urging the girl to step up to the fencing. 

Joohyun clambers up to it, hands wrapping around the iron. She looks at Seungwan with a shaky smile. 

"There's nothing to it, really, Hyun. Just start climbing." Seungwan walks up to the girl, places her hands firmly on either side of her lower back. "I'll be here to catch you, don't worry."

With Seungwan's support, Joohyun ascends a rung at a time, the warmth of Seungwan's hands burning a hole into her back. Perhaps she moves faster because of it, already at the top. When Joohyun was halfway up, Seungwan stopped spotting her and started scaling the fence herself.

Joohyun is sitting on the top, apprehensive to jump down. Seungwan vaults over the top with ease, landing on the grass of the other side with a thud.

The senior looks at the ground, feels herself get queasy. Why is she even doing this?

The junior looks up at her, arms open wide.

"If you jump, I'll catch you. I won't let you fall."

That's the only thing Joohyun needs to hear to take the leap.

---

When they enter the classroom, windows have been left open by forgetful students, curtains billowing with a late summer breeze. The white curtains feel more like fresh linen hung out on clotheslines, waving a greeting to the pair. The moon is filtering through the classroom, painting squares of light across the hardwood floor.

Seungwan isn't lost in the view, only lost in Joohyun's voice, how it's been echoing through the empty hallways. She's listened to stories of Joohyun's most embarrassing moments and heard explanations as to why she's scared of everything that moves. The senior chooses truth far more than dare, but Seungwan couldn't mind less. She would never mind learning more about her.

"So, Joohyun, truth or dare."

"Dare."

"Oh, feeling adventurous for a change, are we?"

"It's not like you can dare me to do anything dangerous in here."

Of course, with that prompt, Seungwan immediately starts contriving the most dangerous thing that one could do. 

"I dare you to stand on a desk."

Joohyun balks. 

"Stand on a desk? But they-"

A smug smile grows on Seungwan's face.

"So you want to lose then, reject the dare?"

Joohyun's steps up the chair answer Seungwan's challenge.

She stands upon it triumphant, seeing above the sea of desks and the tides of moonlight dancing across the floor, shifting with the churn of the curtains. She feels like a princess, ruling over her kingdom with this newfound vantage.

Seungwan watches Joohyun's grin grow.

"Now touch the ceiling."

"We're not allowed follow up's are we?"

"What's the harm? You're already up there."

So Joohyun stretches to the ceiling, fingertips barely able to graze the plaster overhead. Strangely she feels magical, feels mighty. It is as if the world is reduced to nothing but the four walls of this classroom, the only light that from the moon, the only breeze that which whistles through the windows, the only person the one that is standing on the floor below her.

Joohyun lowers her arms.

"We're the only people in the world."

Seungwan smiles.

"And you can do anything, right?"

She can do anything.

And so she does. She starts hopping from one desk to another, foot after foot leaving dirt on the surfaces of the tables. Seungwan clambers up onto the desks and they play a dangerous game of tag, going diagonally, sideways, across the chessboard of wood, a knight and a queen dancing on squares. 

But Seungwan catches the queen, grabs onto the sleeve of her shirt. They come to a standstill. The chase is over. They step down off the desks, giggling.

Seungwan quickly spots her blue backpack thrown carelessly under the chair in the front corner of the room, but doesn't rush to grab it. Instead, she goes to the window, leans her arms on the sill. Joohyun joins her. They whisper their questions to the wind, dares all but forgotten in the swirl of it all.

But they wrap around to an interesting question.

"If you could do anything you wanted in the world without consequence, what would you do?"

Seungwan watches as Joohyun bites her lower lip, mind appearing to rush with thoughts, as if the girl is flashing through so many things, none of it she feels permitted to say aloud, as if once the words leave , they will be carried on a breeze out the window to someone's ear, someone that shouldn't hear.

"I don't know," she answers, taking a seat in some vacant chair.

"What do you mean you don't know. Surely there's something."

Seungwan walks closer, throws a glance over to the shining moon before directing her look towards Joohyun.

"There are things I know I could never do."

Seungwan can only laugh. "But that's the point of the question Joohyun. Those things you could never do, what would they be if there were no consequences?"

The senior shrugs, sinks further into the chair. 

"I can't live like you, Seungwan," she says without anger, tone only indicating a hint of solemn defeat. "I can't always live like my actions don't have consequences."

The junior appears by Joohyun's side, has taken a chair and dragged it to the desk opposite her, put her head in her palms as she marvels at the senior staring dejectedly out the window in the direction of the moon that Seungwan had just been peering at.

"I think you've got me all wrong, Hyun. It's not that I think there are no consequences for my actions. I know there are. It's just... It's just that I know the benefits outweigh the harms." She leans the back of her chair against the desk behind her, kicking her legs up in the way the teachers always warn you not to do. "You see, I don't just act on impulse. I think. And I think a lot more than you all assume I do. I think about fish. I think about pranks. I think about joy. I think about the rain, the sea, and the sky. I think about what I want to do today. I think about whether or not what I'm doing is able to make others happy. I think about you."

"You think about me?"

"Only all the time," she replies with a soft smile so unlike her usual megawatt grin, eyes drawn languidly to the ceiling as if counting the tiles like counting sheep.

"All the thinking, doesn't that have consequence too?"

"Sometimes. Especially if I think about a certain thing for too long."

"What sort of things would that include?"

Seungwan lets the legs of the chair clank to the floor as she stands up, palms pressed against the edge of the desk in front of Joohyun.

The senior is looking up at her, irises swirling like tide pools in the reflection of the moon.

"I've been thinking about this one thing for so long, wondering if there will be a consequence I'll regret. Suddenly, I—"

She feels mesmerized by those irises. They sway as Joohyun's eyes scan Seungwan's face, bewildered, intrigued, perplexed. Seungwan wanted to dive right in.

Love makes people bold.

And Seungwan has been in love with Joohyun for a long time. 

Love makes her bold enough to battle the monsters of Party City. Love makes her bold enough to recite Romeo and Juliet. Love makes her bold enough to hop fountains, to dance in the rain.

She fell in love with kind eyes the first day she transferred in middle school, when she found her first fan, the first one to pay her any attention.

She thought that she'd forgotten her feelings, but every moment together had proven otherwise. 

Because Joohyun still had those kind eyes, that compassion that Seungwan felt every time the senior took her hand, listened attentively to ramblings about sea creatures, tagged along on stupid escapades.

Seungwan was in love and love made her bold. Bold enough to scale fences. Bold enough to roam the school at night. Bold enough to...

So she leans down. She kisses her.

It's fast. Their lips collide. Seungwan's hand cups Joohyun's cheek. Her lips are as soft, as mildewy as she had always imagined them to be. This kiss was all she had been thinking about since that day on the rooftop, the day that the sea fell, the day that the sky fell. 

And if Joohyun was the sea, and Seungwan the sky, their lips would be the horizon, mouths pressed together like a line of blue beckoning for a cosmic crash.

But it was over as quickly as it had begun. 

As Seungwan pulls away, she swears she can feel traces of ocean salt line her lips.

Instead of running away, instead of flustering, Seungwan just stands, smiles.

"I hope that kiss won't have consequence."