quick author's note: i used hani and soyou's real names in this so they'll be heeyeon and jihyun respectively. enjoy!

Every Friday, Chorong has dinner with Eunji. It’s a tradition they started when they began their careers to make sure they stayed in touch with each other. They still text each other throughout the week with random stories and thoughts, but no matter what, they always meet up for dinner on Friday. Whether it’s at one of their apartments or out at a restaurant, they make the time to see each other. It’s Chorong’s favorite day of the week. Eunji and her have been friends since their first year in university, and after so many ups and downs with school, the two of them have stuck it out with each other. Eunji has become Chorong’s rock, someone to lean on when times are tough. That’s why Chorong always looks forward to their dinners.

This Friday is no different, and Eunji greets Chorong with a warm hug and a smile. “Hey, Rong,” Eunji says. “How was your week?”

“Long,” Chorong sighs as they head into the restaurant. As they’re being led to their table, she asks, “How was yours?”

Eunji beams at her. She pulls out Chorong’s seat for her before sitting down herself. “Good!” Eunji tells her. “Really good! I got a new coworker. She sits at the desk right next to mine.”

“You get along?” Chorong asks. She remembers the last coworker Eunji had. It was an older man who constantly looked down upon her and her work. Chorong had been on the receiving end of some angry rants before the man got reassigned. “Is she nice?”

“Really nice,” Eunji replies. “Her name is Ahn Heeyeon, and she’s just a year older than me. She’s new to the company, so I’ve been helping her out. She’s really sweet.” Chorong opens to tell her that’s good, but Eunji keeps going. “She’s kind of clumsy, but it’s cute. She really wants to do well. We also got paired together to work on a project, so we’ll be working closely together for the next few weeks. Oh, she’s new to the area too, so I thought I should invite her out sometime. Maybe to our dinner next week?”

Chorong listens to Eunji ramble on about her coworker with a growing sense of displeasure. She’s glad Eunji is getting along with her coworker so long, but she finds herself kind of annoyed too. Why invite her to their weekly dinners? This is the only time Chorong gets to see Eunji during the week. Even their other friends know not to try and intrude on this time, but there’s Eunji, just inviting a complete stranger. Then again, the thought of Eunji going out with this Heeyeon alone also makes her feel kind of sick.

“What do you think?” Eunji asks, and Chorong realizes she has no idea what she’s asking about. As if she can tell, Eunji smiles and asks, “What do you think of Heeyeon joining us for dinner next week? She’s really great. I’m sure you two will get along.”

“You seem to really like her,” Chorong says instead of answering.

Eunji tilts her head, a puzzled smile on her face. “I do,” Eunji says. “You know there aren’t a lot of people at my company that are my age, not to mention another woman. It’s nice to have Heeyeon around now. I just want her to feel welcome.”

“I’m sure she does,” Chorong says, not quite able to keep the irritation out of her voice. She gets it. Eunji has never had anyone like Heeyeon before. Heeyeon is so great, and Eunji’s new mission in life is to make her welcome. She gets it.

“Good,” Eunji says slowly. She stares at Chorong for a moment before saying, “I was thinking we could meet her at that skewer place we like next Friday?”

Chorong shrugs and makes a noncommittal noise, but before Eunji can press her on it, their food arrives, and Chorong swiftly changes the subject to whether Eunji has found a new couch yet. Eunji clearly notices the subject change, but she doesn’t question her. She just goes along with it. 

After dinner, they go for ice cream, taking a seat in the small shop to eat. Eunji reaches out and dips her spoon into Chorong’s ice cream, and Chorong rolls her eyes but lets her do it anyway. As they eat, Eunji says, “Hey, did I say anything to upset you earlier?”

Chorong pauses, spoon midway to . She meets Eunji’s worried gaze and smiles. She reaches across the table and squeezes Eunji’s hand, reassuring her, “No, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Then is it about Heeyeon?” Eunji asks, always so blunt and honest and curious.

“I was just surprised,” Chorong says carefully. “It’s been so long since you’ve made a new friend so easily.”

To her surprise, Eunji just laughs and turns over her hand to tangle their fingers together. She squeezes her hand and says, “Ah, so you were jealous?”

“Shut up,” Chorong says, half-heartedly trying to pull her hand away. She feels her cheek warm as she says, “I said I was surprised.”

“Sure,” Eunji smiles. She winks and says, “Don’t worry, Chorong. You’ll always be my number one. Best friends, remember?”

Chorong agrees and shovels a spoonful of ice cream into , ignoring the tiny part of her that said she wanted to be more than best friends. 

After her dinner with Eunji, Chorong’s weekend goes by fast, and the week goes even faster. Her work just took on a huge project with another company, so Chorong’s days are spent mediating and emailing and planning. By the time Friday rolls around again, Chorong has completely forgotten about Ahn Heeyeon. At least, she forgot about her until Eunji texts her Friday afternoon.

From Eunji: hey i realized you never answered me the other day

From Eunji: is it okay if we meet heeyeon for dinner?

Chorong stares down at her phone, fighting back the wave of jealousy that hits her. She thinks about the way Eunji’s face had lit up when talking about Heeyeon. Chorong bites her lip and shakes her head. No, she can’t do that to Eunji.

To Eunji: that’s fine. the skewer place at 7?

From Eunji: yes and change out of your work clothes!! i don’t want heeyeon to think i hang out with boring people :/

Chorong feels a flash of irritation about Eunji caring so much about what Heeyeon thinks.