“What’cha doing stalking Sana?”

Jeongyeon’s voice right next to Jihyo’s ear startled her, causing the younger to fumble the phone in her hands. Even though her heart was still pounding in her chest, she threw her friend a glare, “Uh? Can I have some privacy? Thank you.”

Opened on her phone was Sana’s Instagram profile. She’d been going over it obsessively over the past few days, ever since she left the dating class.

The woman in the picture, smiling up at her from her phone, made her stomach erupt in butterflies. It was probably because of those piercing eyes that Jihyo swore were somehow seducing her through the screen. Or maybe it had something to do with that smile, she thought faintly. It was coquettish in a manner that was somehow y and… cute at the same time. Utterly captivating. Either way, Jihyo couldn’t seem to stop scrolling through the girl’s profile.

Her friend rolled her eyes before taking a seat next to her, “What are you doing stalking Sana?”

“You know her?” Jihyo asked before groaning and laying back against the couch, laying her phone in her lap, still open to Sana’s profile. Jeongyeon simply nodded, “She’s in that dating class Nayeon dragged me. We’re partners. Whatever that means.”

Jeongyeon was giving her a wide-eyed look that she recognized the pride in before a smug smirk took over, “So, you’re technically dating Sana, right?”

Jihyo found herself shifting uncomfortably at the tone of her voice but nodded slightly, because… well, it was kinda true, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Jeongyeon’s dubious look shifted, melting into laughter, “She’s friends with Mina. I don’t know how I never thought about it before, but you guys could totally work.”

“I doubt that. I think I’ll drop out, anyways. Nayeon’s probably doing it too, so there’s no point of me continuing,” Jihyo huffed out a laugh, “She’s partnered with Yeri.”

A disgruntled, strangled sound of protest worked its way out of Jeongyeon’s throat, “Of course she is. That girl is the unluckiest person I know, Jesus Christ. You know they’ll probably gonna end up ing, right?”

A devious smile played on Jihyo’s mouth, even as her exasperation showed in her tone, “I’m sure that’s exactly what they’re doing right now. She hasn’t been replying to my texts.”

“She’s so stupid, honestly. But there’s no reason why you should let this opportunity pass just because Nayeon can’t keep it in her pants. Sana’s really nice, y’know. Sometimes even a little too nice; the type to make Mina jealous,” Jihyo gave her a surprised look but Jeongyeon’s smile didn’t falter, “You know I love Mina more than anything. What I mean is: there’s no way you’re not gonna end up liking her, seriously, trust me.”

For a moment, the option to text Sana seemed to taunt her, and her mind ran amuck with the idea of seeing the girl again. Or even going on that date with her. Just a moment was enough for her heart to race, she quickly shook her head, “I don’t think so.”

“Why not? She’s hot, you’re hot. You need an introduction to the rainbow world, and she’d be a really good one,” her friend’s voice was so matter-of-the-fact that it almost didn’t make Jihyo blush.

As it was, she glanced at Sana’s picture again, before taking a deep breath and shaking her head again, “It’s not that easy, Jeong; I don’t just want to hook up with a girl, you know. I’m not like Nayeon who’s happy to sleep around and don’t give two s about it. And besides, she’s– I mean, look at her. She’s gorgeous! I’ll end up making a fool of myself.”

Jeongyeon gave her a defeated look before turning her attention to her phone, and Jihyo was grateful that the subject seemed to be dropped. Not that she thought it would be dropped for long, considering she’d known Jeongyeon forever, and when she got her teeth into something, she held on tight.

Jihyo should have known her friend was letting her off the hook too quickly. She really should have known; it was practically her own fault when her phone was snatched from her hands.

For a moment, Jihyo sat there, stunned into stillness. Before she lunged forward, hands out, grasping. Only for Jeongyeon to elude her, hopping off of the couch and running to the kitchen, as she started tapping at the screen.

“Yoo Jeongyeon, give my phone back now,” she commanded, and she knew in the momentary pause of Jeongyeon’s typing that she did a pretty great job of projecting her voice into a strong reproachful tone. Not good enough, though.

Her friend had a familiar bright-eyed devious look as she held Jihyo’s phone up and wiggled it; but not close enough for Jihyo to swipe it out of her hand, “I’m helping you out,” not moving her eyes from the screen, “If I don’t this then you’ll never know.”

Brown eyes narrowed as determination to not be railroaded into something rushed through her. And in a calculated leap, she closed the distance between them, grappling for her phone back.

It was fruitless, though. Because only a moment later, Jeongyeon cried out victoriously, “Sent!” as she pumped her fists over her head in celebration.

The sound that left the back of Jihyo’s mouth was nearly feral, “You didn’t!”

“Of course I did,” Jeongyeon gave her a smile that showed no regrets, “Hyo, you need to get out of your shell. I’m doing you a favor.”

Jihyo only hesitated for a moment, but it was enough for Jeongyeon to latch on to. Still, she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

It seemed Jeongyeon knew her too well, though, because she held her hands out in a peace offering gesture, “Look. I’ll give you the phone if you promise you’ll give it a chance. Just go on a date with her, that’s it. I know that there is at least a part of you that wants to try this out. Otherwise, you would’ve texted her off already.”

There was no argument against it even in her head because she did. There was that part of Jihyo that wanted to meet Sana again.

Even as nerves jangled in anxiety and excitement inside, she found herself nodding and reaching for her phone. As she wrapped her fingers around it, she shot Jeongyeon a look and cautioned, “A date. I can do that, but then I’m out.”

“Spoilsport,” Jeongyeon muttered before letting out a long-suffering sigh but released her phone anyway. She quirked an eyebrow, “Now, have you changed your mind about coming out with us tonight?”

Jeongyeon had invited Jihyo to a party at Mina’s dorm, something that happened every other week. Time and time again, Jihyo would refuse, choosing to stay at the comfort of their apartment with the company of a good ol’ book rather than to mingle with drunk people she didn’t even know. Tonight was no different if the glare Jihyo sent Jeongyeon was answer enough.

“Fine, fine. Suit yourself. Stay home and obsess over Sana.”

Ignoring her friend, Jihyo frantically navigated through her phone to see her sent messages. And then just about died.

 

Jihyo 8:21PM

hey, it’s Jihyo from dating class

i just wanted to let you know

that i’m making the first move

by texting you, so i hope you

make the next move by kissing me x

 

Horrified, she didn’t acknowledge at all as her friend all but ran out of the apartment. Jihyo didn’t think she could possibly blush more than she already was. Low-key panic started to build.

With a groan, she brought her hand up to rub at her temples. It was futile to worry, right? Because there was nothing she could do now. Texting something more would just be humiliating. If Sana humored Jeongyeon’s ridiculous message and answered back, then Jihyo would just explain the situation. Hopefully, Sana would think it was funny, and that’d be it.

Jumping to the girl’s Instagram, she peered again at the picture of the woman. She bit her lip as a small sigh escaped. Sana was almost too hot if that was possible. Which was a good thing, she reasoned with herself. She probably wasn’t even going to have to try to explain Jeongyeon and embarrass herself because Sana was bound to have a ton of people flirting with her all the time. Jihyo wasn’t the first, much less the last.

She locked her phone with that in mind putting it face down on the table, and tried to shake off the whole ordeal.

 

 

A couple of hours later, Jihyo could be founded purposefully finishing Jeongyeon’s favorite ice cream, rooted to the same spot on the couch. Jihyo herself wasn’t a big fan of the pistachio flavor, but it was a small strike back against her friend for her earlier actions. Jeongyeon should know there would be several small acts of justice coming her way.

When her phone vibrated on the table, she assumed it was either Nayeon, with some excuse of why she hadn’t been replying, or Jeongyeon, saying she’s sorry. If not, then maybe a family member. There were several expected options.

She wasn’t expecting it to be from Sana.

The spoon she’d been holding clattered into the bowl as she hurriedly unlocked her phone and tapped on the notification, leading her to see Sana’s new message splayed on the screen.

Nervously, she leaned forward to put her bowl on the table and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. It didn’t work, and she clicked on the message anyway.

 

Sana, 10:36 PM 

I could make that happen…

Just tell me when and where ;)

 

Jihyo’s eyes widened as she triple-read that. Her heart beat just a bit faster at that, as she flushed and bit her lip. Did Sana mean what Jihyo thought she meant? She had to; there was no other way to interpret that.

She hesitated as her mind took her options and ran with them for a few solemn moments. She thought of being that kind of person who could go out and hook up with Sana and have that be it. No feelings involved. She was so very nervous about her first everything with a woman that maybe having with someone she barely knew and getting it over with would be easier.

But that wasn’t her, even if she thought it might be nice if it was, in this case. And sometimes, she’d learned, easier was not always better.

Biting her lip, she started typing.

 

Jihyo, 10:45PM

LMAO

my friend actually sent you that as a joke

sorry, should’ve texted you explaining

 

Jihyo stilled after she sent the message. Clasping her phone in her hand, she stared blankly at the movie on the television for a few moments. Being honest was good, right?

The answer came a few minutes later.

 

Sana, 10:49PM

Oh

Can’t say that I’m not sad :(

 

For a moment, she thought about what that might mean. Entertained the idea that maybe this gorgeous woman had seriously been interested in making out with her, and to say it was a major rush was an understatement.

Her phone chimed again before she had a chance to reply.

 

Sana, 10:49PM

but I’m still glad you texted me

I was wondering if you weren’t going to

 

Truth be told: Jihyo wasn’t, but she couldn’t tell her that. Jihyo wasn’t rude. She never did something if she thought it would actually be the wrong move, never acted on a thought without considering it carefully. So she thought on it for a few moments.

 

Jihyo, 10:50PM

ofc I was

ive just been busy with school lately

 

It wasn’t exactly a lie. Jihyo’s always busy.

 

Sana, 10:53PM

I know the feeling

So, have you decided about our date

 

No. Jihyo had not thought about their date. Her mind had been too preoccupied with obsessing over Sana’s appearance that she couldn’t think about anything else. But there’s no way she could tell her that, either. It’d been two days already; she should have a plan by now. So she typed the only cover-up she could think of.

 

Jihyo, 10:54PM

i did…

im not telling you though

it’s a surprise

u’ll have to trust me

 

She hesitated before sending the message because she didn’t like lying. Regardless, Jihyo sent it anyway. It bought her enough time to come up with something interesting for them to do.

 

Sana, 10:54PM

Ohh I love surprises :)))

When and where do we meet

 

 

The next day Jihyo’d been lying on her back, staring up at her phone, without enough energy in her to jump from surprise when her bedroom door swung open, Nayeon’s voice ringing out, “Should I wear leggings, with those y boots I have or red dress with your -me heels that you will obviously let me borrow?”

Without taking her eyes from her phone, Jihyo considered the options for a moment before answering, “Red dress.”

She didn’t bother directing her where to find the heels; Nayeon knew very well where they