[June 15 | Thursday]

For almost three whole weeks, Kim Dahyun tried her best to keep Minatozaki Sana out of her life. And for the most part, she was quite successful in avoiding the girl. Sana was out of sight and out of mind. Admittedly, there were attempts to talk (by Sana) in the days following their fight, but Dahyun wasn't in a place to accept apologies or excuses.

Sana had really hurt her, unintentionally or otherwise. But the funny thing was that Dahyun could barely recall what had caused her to snap that night. Everything just blew up at that moment and it was all a little too much for her.

Maybe it was the fact that Sana lied about going out with friends and then got extremely drunk again. Maybe it was the fact that Sana kissed her and lied about what it meant when she was confronted. Or maybe it was because Sana said "I love you too" and that implied that she knew how Dahyun had felt even before and never said anything. 

Perhaps it was a combination of all of those things and the fact that Dahyun had been bottling up her frustrations with Sana’s behavior for a while. Especially with how Sana didn’t seem to show much interest in her well-being and what she had going on.

Still, Dahyun knew she also deserved part of the blame. She allowed Sana to take over her life. She willingly went against Jihyo’s advice (on many occasions) to be with Sana. Plus, Dahyun never actually told Sana how she had been struggling or how difficult things had gotten for her. Sometimes she wondered if things would have been different if she'd spoken up. 

Too little too late.

They were a mess. Plain and simple.

At that point, Dahyun believed she owed it to herself to take some time alone to reflect. But of course, she wasn't really alone because Jihyo always hovered around her to make sure she was doing fine and feeding herself at the very least. Not a single 'I told you so' or witty remark to make Dahyun feel worse. Just some comforting words and an understanding that Dahyun needed time to get back on her feet.

The first few days were honestly the hardest; Dahyun barely ate or got any sleep. She couldn't stop herself from crying. 

But step by step, Dahyun eventually found her footing and managed to pull herself together. At least enough to get through the rest of the week. She didn’t miss a single lecture or test; and by Friday, Dahyun even had a smile on her face, ready for her internship. Ready to continue where she had left off with Chaeyoung. 

It was nice; really nice. 

Chaeyoung managed to pull Dahyun out of her sadness whenever they were together. It was easy being around Chaeyoung. That was why Dahyun wished she could have convinced herself to fall in love with the girl. But deep down, something was still missing. That spark. And even though Chaeyoung was good to her, and they had so many things in common, they both came to realize that they were better as friends. 

After a few dates, filled with lots of studying, eating, and gaming, it just didn’t seem like it would work beyond a friendship. A mutual decision. Dahyun was a bit disappointed, but that was part of life. At least she was able to give it an honest try that time around. 

She concluded that Chaeyoung was her soulmate, but the girl was not meant to be her lover. They had both agreed they were better off as best friends-- best bros, actually-- and that they would always be there for each other no matter what life threw at them. 

So, when Chaeyoung eventually got offered one of the two full-time positions at FourSquared Games, Dahyun was not even bitter. She was certain Cheang was the best candidate for the job and their bosses would have been crazy not to choose her. Dahyun was happy with how things turned out even though she didn’t end up getting the second opening. Myoui Mina, another friend of hers, was offered the job instead. 

Mina had been a prominent intern who worked her off the whole time, so it came as no surprise to everyone when her name was called after Chaeng. Truth be told, Mina was a little intimidating at first-- and not just because she was extremely pretty and a literal genius-- but because she was quiet and mostly kept to herself. But once they all got comfortable with each other, Dahyun realized that Mina was just as dorky as the rest of them, perhaps even more so.

In hindsight, if Dahyun had her way, she would have set up Chaeyoung with Mina. But now that the two of them were going to be working together, it made things a little complicated. There was an old saying about how one should never date their coworkers. But Dahyun supposed that if it was meant to be, it would happen anyway.

Just because things didn’t work out for Chaeyoung and her, doesn’t mean she couldn’t see how much of a good catch Chaeyoung was. Maybe it would work out for her and Mina.

While her time at FourSquared had come to an end, all hope was not lost for Dahyun’s career in video game development. One of her supervisors saw her potential and referred her to a friend at a different company. Not wanting to waste a good opportunity, Dahyun was quick to submit her application and interview with Cloud Nine Games. A few days later, she was offered a spot on their team as a junior developer after she graduated.

She gladly accepted the offer.

Dahyun couldn’t believe how much had happened in the three weeks since she’d last seen Sana. With all the free time she had had by not being preoccupied with Sana, she found time in her days for herself. She found ample time for academics, professional development, and even a healthy social life. Most importantly, she found time for herself to just do the things she'd once enjoyed on her own.

Good old-fashioned “me time”.

 When she wasn't studying, she killed time by playing Assassin's Creed all over again (Ezio's Arc, duh), because unleashing video game violence was better than lashing out at the world when one was stressed out by final exams.

Dahyun’s college career was nearly over and it had been one hell of a ride. The last few quarters were a little suspect, but she made it through. Almost. Just one last final left and then it was time for graduation.

To new beginnings. And hopefully moving on.

It had been about three weeks since Dahyun had last spoken to Sana. Evidently, there was no immediate cure for a broken heart; only time could heal the wound. She had been hurt, and she took the time to heal, but she definitely missed her best friend. Life without Sana just wasn’t the same. 

Now, that didn’t mean that Dahyun was ready to forgive Sana for everything that had happened. But she was willing to extend an olive branch. After all, graduation was in two days and she could not see herself ending her college career without mending things with Sana. 

So, for old times’ sake, Dahyun sent the girl a single text, not really expecting an immediate reply. 

(5:28 PM) Dahyun: Hey Sana, good luck on your last psych final! Jihyo has one tomorrow, so I figured you had one too. 

(5:28 PM) Sana: Thank you, Dahyun. Good luck on any other finals you may have as well.

That was all she could muster up the courage to say. Dahyun didn’t have the heart to send anything else. Partly because she didn’t want to make things any more awkward than they already were. But mostly because she knew she wasn’t the only one who had been in pain for the past few weeks. She knew that Sana was probably hurt too. 

Dahyun honestly didn’t think she would get to a place where she could talk to Sana again, but deep down she believed their friendship was still worth salvaging.

And so, Dahyun sent one last text before putting her phone away.

(5:29 PM) Dahyun: You got this! It's almost done.

Dahyun closed her eyes and let out the breath she’d been holding. For the first time in a while, she felt like she could breathe again.

[June 16 | Friday] 

Dahyun couldn’t believe she had made it. Four years of undergraduate studies ended the moment she submitted her last final exam. No more projects to turn in, no more tests to take, no more deadlines to meet. She was free. Dahyun heaved a sigh of relief as she handed over her exam paper to her professor. It felt so surreal to be done.

That's it. It's really over. 

The only thing left to do was attend the commencement and ceremonially graduate. Well, there was one other thing she had to do. Traditionally, Dahyun would always buy hot chocolate from the Coffee House to celebrate the end of every finals week. She definitely wasn't going to miss this one. 

Dahyun walked over to the Coffee House at a leisurely pace. She wanted to take in the beauty of her college campus one last time. There was no need to rush and she didn't have anywhere she needed to be. So with every step she took, she recounted wonderful memories of four years well-spent and the people she shared her life with. People she could never forget.

As Dahyun walked across the courtyard to get to the entrance of the Coffee House, she locked eyes with a certain someone, coming from the opposite way. It seemed that Sana was also heading to the Coffee House and they'd arrived at the same time.

The girl flinched and stopped in her tracks before flashing her a tight-lipped smile which Dahyun immediately returned. Sana was hesitant for obvious reasons, so Dahyun took it upon herself to break the ice.

"Hey, Sana…" Dahyun wanted to say more but she couldn't coax out the words. 

"Hi, Dahyun." Sana waved.

"Are you going inside?" Dahyun asked, gesturing towards the Coffee House. 

Of course, she was. That's a stupid question. 

Sana nodded. "Umm-- are you?"

"Yeah, yeah I am. I just-- uh-- finished my last final. I'm done with college… yay…” she giggled nervously under her breath, “How about you?"

"I have my last final in a bit. Just needed to grab a quick coffee to stay awake. Pulled a few all-nighters this past week and I’m barely hanging on. I had lots of material to catch up on." Sana rubbed the back of her neck, the corners of her lips curving upward slightly.

There was a tension in the air that made it feel heavy. It was a little awkward between the two of them. Probably because the past few weeks were the longest time they'd gone without seeing or talking to each other. Neither really knew how to act in front of the other at that point. 

But Dahyun studied Sana carefully. Despite the smile she wore on her lips, her eyes looked weary; perhaps it was the result of one too many all-nighters.

"Are you okay, Sana?" Dahyun asked, genuine concern present in her tone. 

Sana bit her lip and nodded once. "I'm okay, just tired. It's been a long couple of weeks."

"Yeah… it has been…"

"Do you-- umm-- want to go inside and grab a drink together? My treat." 

"Ah-- you don't have to pay for me. I can spot myself, Sana." Dahyun waved both her hands. 

"I want to," Sana insisted as she held the door open for Dahyun. "You just finished your college career. You should celebrate."

Dahyun smiled and thanked her. She followed close behind as Sana walked by a few tables to get to the counter. Luckily there wasn’t much of a line.

"Hey, Sana! You’re back again, I see!” the barista greeted.

“Hi, Tzuyu. Yeah, I-- uh-- have my last final in about half an hour.”

“Ah-- I had mine yesterday.”

“Lucky you.”

“So, what can I get you? Just the regular iced americano?" Tzuyu asked.

"Yes, but could I also get a regular hot chocolate with toasted marshmallows and vanilla sprinkles?"

Sana remembered her order. A soft smile crept up on Dahyun’s lips.

"Of course! That will be $9.35 please.”

“Here you go,” Sana handed over her credit card.

After Sana paid, they both walked over to a standing table and waited for their drinks. Seeing as Sana was about to have her last final exam pretty soon, Dahyun figured the girl wasn’t planning on staying long. 

There were a lot of things on Dahyun’s mind that she wanted to say to Sana, but she didn’t know where to begin.

But she didn’t have to worry long because Sana spoke up instead. “Dahyun…”

“Hmm?”

“I’m really sorry…” she whispered, “For everything that happened. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I did-- so, I’m sorry.”

Dahyun didn’t really know how to respond. There weren’t words to describe how she felt. Yes, Sana had hurt her, but Dahyun was also partly responsible for how bad things had gotten. Anyway, she had taken the time to move on from that night.

“Sana-- I-- it’s okay…” 

“It’s not. But thank you for being kind enough to say it is. You don’t need to spare my feelings. I know I messed up and I’m really sorry,” Sana sighed. She gazed down at her fingers which had been resting idly on the tabletop. “But hey, I’ve been sober. And I even started seeing my counselor again.”

Dahyun wanted to reach over and hold her hand. She couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. “That’s good. I’m glad you’re taking the steps to get better.”

“Yeah, me too. I was worried about graduation for a while, but I was able to make deals with all my professors about my grades. They said if I turned in all missing assignments and did well on the finals, it would be enough to pass.” 

Sana sounded hopeful, but Dahyun knew that that was a huge undertaking. Even for someone who was as smart as Sana, surely, that was a lot of work to get done in a short amount of time. That explained the all-nighters and the frequent coffee runs.

“I’m proud of you, Sana. I--”

“Iced Americano and hot chocolate for Sana!” Tzuyu called out, cutting Dahyun off mid-speech. 

Sana jogged over and brought back their drinks. She wore a genuine smile on her lips. Clearly, Dahyun could see that this wasn’t the same Sana she’d left behind that night. There was a fire beneath those tired eyes that strived for redemption and took pride in hard-earned work. 

I knew you could do it.

“Thank you, Dahyun. For saving me from myself,” Sana hummed as she handed Dahyun her drink.

Not wanting to discredit Sana’s efforts, Dahyun immediately shook her head. “I didn't save you, Sana. You did it on your own. I may