Everyday, it felt like Yujin was learning something new about Wonyoung. Which was surprising because firstly, Wonyoung wasn’t the type who was very open about her feelings nor was she easy to read. Secondly, Yujin was convinced that she wasn’t quite the natural at reading people. Her sister was usually the one that was more natural at it, which was one of the reasons why Yujin had been slowly improving that skill over the years.

 

The random fact of the day was this: Wonyoung loved sushi. Like, she really loved it.

 

The moment they stepped foot into the restaurant Wonyoung’s tired eyes had lit up slightly and her posture straightened just the slightest. Though, she was still clinging onto Yujin’s arm.

 

It turned out Wonyoung was quite the expert when it came to the art of eating sushi.

 

“Yujin! What are you doing?”

 

Yujin froze, a salmon nigiri almost into . She looked at Wonyoung with wide eyes.

 

“Are you trying to drown your food?” Wonyoung narrowed her eyes. “How much soy sauce do you need?”

 

“Oh,” Yujin peered at the nigiri, “is it too much? I just dipped it once.”

 

Wonyoung sighed and shook her head. “You put the soy sauce on the fish, not the rice. And even then you just dab it.”

 

Yujin watched the way Wonyoung tilted the nigiri to the side, lightly dabbing the tip of the fish into the soy sauce. She popped it into with a satisfied squeak.

 

“That is how you do it, Yujin.” After swallowing she quickly added, “Unnie. Yujin Unnie.”

 

Yujin chuckled, mirroring the way Wonyoung dipped her nigiri. She could feel Wonyoung staring intensely from beside her. The two were sitting next to each other on stools as the restaurant seating was revolved around the sushi train in the middle.

 

Yujin took another plate of nigiri, this time it was tuna, and placed it in between the two of them.

 

“You don’t have to call me unnie, you know.” Yujin said. “I know it takes a lot to get used to.”

 

Yujin felt Wonyoung lean into her side a little more. When they sat down Yujin had made sure to scoot her seat close to Wonyoung’s so that she could lean on Yujin if she ever needed to. Especially since there weren’t any back rests on the stool.

 

“Do you not like it?”

 

“No, I do like it! I’m just saying that if it’s hard for you-”

 

“I’m going to keep calling you unnie.”

 

Wonyoung picked up two more plates this time and clapped her hands together in glee. Yujin shook her head and leaned into Wonyoung some more to apply the same pressure that Wonyoung was.

 

“I like it.” Wonyoung said after eating a piece of sushi.

“Me too. I like the tiny ones, they’re cute.” Yujin turned the sushi around in her chopsticks.

 

“No, I mean, I like calling you unnie.” Wonyoung said. She took yet another plate off the train even though they still had food left. “I’m the only one who calls you that. It makes me feel like we’re close.”

 

“Are we not close?” Yujin said, gesturing to the way they were sitting. “I mean, I’d sure hope we were close, we spend an awful amount of time together.”

 

“You tell me, unnie.”

 

God, hearing that really did not get old.

 

“I mean, we seem to know a lot about each other, too.”

“Yeah, like your crush on Jihan.”

 

Yujin’s eyes widened and she quickly placed a hand over Wonyoung’s mouth, shushing her. Wonyoung swatted her hands away.

 

“Relax.” Wonyoung’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. “Literally no one hear will know who she is.”

 

“I just- how did you- not even Jiheon knows about… that.”

 

“Kinda crazy that she doesn’t. No offense but you are so obvious. I’d be surprised if Jihan didn’t know by now, either.”

 

“Am I really obvious? Oh no, do you think she knows?”

 

“What’s the big deal if she did? Scared she’ll reject you?”

 

“N-no. I’m just a little… awkward when it comes to stuff like this, I guess. That’s why I always tend to keep anything to do with romance to myself.”

 

“What’s so awkward about it?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

There was a silence after that.

“Maybe I’m just worried that she might like me too.”

 

Before any of them could say anything the waiter came with their hot dishes. Wonyoung had ordered tons of food. But, something she had already learnt about the girl was that she was a heavy eater. And luckily for her, so was Yujin. Also, Wonyoung had once said that she was the type who stress-ate, which was why Wonyoung’s appetite tended to shoot up right before a competition.

 

After the food came, the subject being discussed was dropped because Yujin knew that Wonyoung could sense her discomfort around the subject.

 

Yujin was the type who preferred the feeling of liking the unattainable. She enjoyed watching things from a far because things that were far away were less likely to hurt you. Which was why she was a little awkward when it came to talking about her feelings. Because, the more she about her feelings, the closer she’d be to them. Perhaps the best way to describe it was that Yujin liked to stay at a reasonable distance. Close enough that she could keep an eye on it but far enough to flee when she needed to. The idea of being so close that she’d get stuck- that she’d get tangled- was scary to her.

 

In a way, that was how she saw the whole situation with Jihan. Which was why she never told anyone about her crush even though it had been going on for two years now. Two whole years of watching drama performances she wouldn’t have watched otherwise, two whole years of watching tennis matches even though she didn’t like tennis. Just watching Jihan, admiring and spectating from afar. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Jiheon she probably would have never talked to Jihan at all.

 

Strangely enough, it was only after growing closer with Wonyoung that she was able to find the courage to approach Jihan on her own.

 

Honestly, Wonyoung has helped her overcome a lot of things.

 

“Goodness, what could Yena unnie possibly be doing that she’s not picking up?” Yujin glared at her phone.

 

Wonyoung snickered from next to her and Yujin’s cheeks went red.

 

“Don’t answer that, I think I have an idea of what she’s doing.”

 

“Or more like, who.”

 

“Wonyoung!”

 

Wonyoung giggled, her hands going up in defence as if to say, I was just saying.

 

“Your house isn’t too far from here, isn’t it? It’s a nice night out, do you maybe want to go for a walk?” Wonyoung suggested. “Plus, there’s an icecream place on the way, and I kinda really want some.”

 

“You’re still hungry?”

 

“I always have room for dessert.” Wonyoung grinned, patting her tummy proudly. “Mint chocolate icecream, in particular.”

 

“Gross.”

 

Even though Yujin couldn’t stand mint chocolate icecream, she was still looking forward to eating icecream in general. Plus, she wasn’t quite ready to go home yet. She liked hanging out with Wonyoung.

 

“So,” Wonyoung said while walking through the autumn streets with Yujin, “can I ask you more stuff about Jihan?”

 

Yujin went red. Even though it was dark Wonyoung could still see it. It was the kind of embarrassment that one would have when they were caught doing something they shouldn’t have.

 

The streets were still and quiet as the autumn air wasn’t cold enough for trench coats or winter coats. Both girls were in their school uniform with hoodies on top of them. Yujin’s was black and fitted her body perfectly. Wonyoung’s on the other hand, was orange and quite oversized. Yujin thought that it was amusing because she remembered once that Wonyoung seemed to have made enemies with the color orange, giving Yujin a huge speech as to why it was absolutely preposterous that Yujin owned orange shorts.

 

“C’mon unnie. You know you can talk to me about anything?”

 

“Why do you want to know so badly?”

 

There was a short pause while Wonyoung adjusted the strap of her bag.

 

“I’m just nosey.” was all she said after the pause. She nudged Yujin’s shoulder playfully. “Besides, I thought we established that we’re super close now.”

 

“By that logic I would have told Jiheon about it, too. Or my sister.”

 

Wonyoung chuckled, observing the way Yujin kicked slightly at a lone stick on the ground. The girl had both hands inside the pocket of her hoodie while the two of them casually strolled through the streets. Every now and again the two would brush shoulders. Wonyoung definitely wasn’t as exhausted as before, but it didn’t hurt to milk her tiredness a little bit, especially when Yujin was out here sticking so close to her side.

 

“I’m just messing with you. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Wonyoung said.

 

She went quiet for a bit, as if she was thinking about something.

 

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that, if there’s anything you need to talk about, whether it’s negative or positive, I’m always here to listen.”

 

Yujin didn’t say anything. But, Wonyoung knew that she had heard her and appreciated her words because Yujin had leaned towards Wonyoung and nudged at her side. It was as if she was saying a silent thank you.

 

A few minutes later, the two of them had reached the icecream shop. True to her word, Wonyoung had ordered mint chocolate icecream while Yujin opted to go with a basic strawberry gelato. Wonyoung had , claiming that Yujin had the taste buds of a kindergartener. Yujin had argued that at least it was gelato and not just a basic icecream.

 

Since the shop was quite spacious, they were able to find a quiet spot near the back that was a little bit secluded from the rest of the shop.

 

“Can I be nosey, too?”

 

Like before, the two were sitting on the same side of the booth. Though, this time it felt as though they were even closer than before.

 

Wonyoung had her head on Yujin’s shoulder, absentmindedly scrolling through her tik tok feed. Every now and again she’d open , gesturing towards Yujin that she wanted some of her gelato. It was so calming, just sitting next to each other and not really saying anything.

 

“I guess it’s only fair.” Wonyoung said. “What’s up?’

 

Yujin fiddled with the icecream in front of her, swirling it around in circles. She fed some to Wonyoung who had already finished her own icecream.

 

“You talk about your Dad a lot, but I also wonder about your Mom, sometimes.”

 

From her spot of laying on Yujin’s shoulder, Wonyoung’s thumb halted her scrolling and she turned off her phone, slowly putting it on the table so that it was face down.

 

“She’s in Korea.” Wonyoung said. “My parents split when I was eight. I stayed with my Dad while my Mom flew halfway across the world to find the love of her life. I don’t remember her too much but I do know that because of her, pink is my favorite color. She can’t cook either. But, that’s why Yaya was the one who taught me.”

 

Wonyoung’s phone buzzed and she briefly checked her notifications to see that Michael was asking if she needed to be picked up. She placed the phone back down, opting to text him later.

 

“I see. I’m sorry to hear that.” Yujin said.

 

Wonyoung shrugged, “it was awhile ago. She can do whatever the hell she wants, why should I care?”

 

“You’re her daughter.” Yujin said. “And she’s your Mom.”

 

“And she made her decision to leave long ago.” Wonyoung said. Then in a softer voice, she added, “there was nothing I could do about it, anyways.”

 

Yujin swallowed, letting Wonyoung’s words ring into the air.

 

“It was out of your control.”

 

Wonyoung pursed her lips, refusing to lift her head from her spot on Yujin’s shoulder.

 

“Do you talk to her much?”

 

Wonyoung shook her head.

 

Their conversation had returned to a silent air, Wonyoung sitting up from laying her head on Yujin’s shoulder to text back Michael.

 

“Sometimes I wonder how things would have been different if I decided to go with my Mom to Korea.” Wonyoung said while texting Michael. Her eyes were glued to her screen.

 

“You wouldn’t have met me.” Yujin joked.

 

However, Wonyoung didn’t seem to laugh along with Yujin. In fact, Wonyoung seemed to be deep in thought.

 

“You’re right.” Wonyoung said, turning towards Yujin with a glint in her eye. “I wouldn’t have met you.”

 

Wonyoung had realised recently that a series of seemingly unrelated events happened in order for Wonyoung and Yujin to get to the point they were at today. Never in Wonyoung’s life could she have planned for this, let alone have control over this.

 

And honestly? She did not mind that fact.

 

If Wonyoung hadn’t shown up that day at the festival, if they hadn’t fought beforehand, Wonyoung wondered if the two of them would’ve had the close relationship they had now.

 

Even more, what would’ve happened if Wonyoung hadn’t offered to cook for Yaya’s birthday? If Yaya hadn’t requested tteokbokki and if Wonyoung chose to go to a different store instead of Yujin’s? What would have happened if Jacob and Mikayla decided to choose a different part of the neighbourhood to hang out in?

 

What would have happened if she went with her Mom to Korea? Would Wonyoung be living the life her Mom had planned out for her? Studying to go to a particular university? Dating the family friend that her Mom’s partner has been trying to set up with for years now?

 

Whatever it was that brought Yujin into her life, Wonyoung was no doubt extremely thankful for it. All her life, Wonyoung was the type to plan hard. She’d think about everything she’d have to do and she’d break it down, step-by-step.

 

But with Yujin, it was natural. Yujin was the one thing in her life that she didn’t have to plan and work meticulously for. Almost like Yujin was a special gift that was given just for her.

 

It was like, no matter what Wonyoung did, Yujin would always find her way back to her. Or Wonyoung would find her way back to her.

 

“I’ve never been kissed before!”

 

Wonyoung was roughly brought out of her thoughts by Yujin’s outburst. She didn’t even have time to dwell on the fact that she must have been deep in her thoughts for a long time.

 

Honestly, Wonyoung would have been confused for a longer period if she wasn’t so distracted by how absolutely adorable Yujin looked. She was a legit tomato. And she looked like she regretted the words that had left .

 

Wonyoung was rendered speechless and so was Yujin who was staring straight ahead. Anywhere that wasn’t Wonyoung.

 

“S-sorry, I was just thinking about something I could share about myself since you were so open about sharing something about you but this is really embarrassing, sorry.”

 

Wonyoung had to resist her massive urge to just lean over and plant a kiss onto Yujin’s adorably red cheeks. She was good at that, holding back when it came to her… romantic urges for Yujin. Though, Yujin sure didn’t make it easier for her.

 

“Don’t apologise, you just kind of caught me off guard.”

 

If Yujin were brave enough to look at Wonyoung, she would have seen the way she was looking at her with so much endearment in her brown eyes. Everything about Ahn Yujin was special.

 

“So, any particular reason as to why? Why haven’t you kissed anyone yet?”  Wonyoung kept the conversation going so that Yujin didn’t feel too awkward.

 

“Just… never had the opportunity, I guess?” Yujin was stabbing at her melting ice cream. “B-besides, no one really wants to kiss me.”

 

Wonyoung’s face frowned at Yujin’s words. That earned a hard punch onto her shoulder and Yujin finally looked in her direction.

 

“Ow!”

 

“What they hell are you talking about?” Wonyoung glared at Yujin. She punched her again which earnt another yelp from the poor girl. It was a funny sight, seeing a rabbit beating up a large puppy.

 

“Why are you mad at me?” Yujin whined. “I’m just stating the truth!”

 

“It’s not the truth, don’t think like that!” Wonyoung said. She huffed and crossed her arms, “you are the paboest pabo I’ve ever met.”

 

Curse Yena and Yuri for teaching Wonyoung that word on the car ride there.

 

“Y-yah! Then name someone who would kiss me if I asked them to.”

 

Wonyoung tapped forcefully onto Yujin’s temples “Anyone. With. A. Functioning.. Brain.”

 

“Um. Wrong? You fall under that category, then.” Yujin said. “And from what I remember? You said you wouldn’t wanna kiss me.”

 

“And when the hell did I say that?”

 

“At the bakery?”

 

“I said that about YOU kissing ME.”

 

“What’s the difference?”

 

Never in a million years would Yujin have been able to anticipate Wonyoung’s next actions.

 

Wonyoung leaned closer, one hand on the table in front of Yujin. Yujin’s eyes widened, her heart beating faster at the close proximity of Wonyoung. Her eyes very very quickly flitted towards Wonyoung’s lips that were getting closer and closer to hers.

 

Yujin hadn’t noticed how far she had leaned back until she felt her back hit the wall. She gulped, her eyes returning to Wonyoung’s lips, this time for a longer time than before.

 

“I never said anything about me kissing you.”

 

Wonyoung’s voice had dropped to just above a whisper and she was looking at Yujin as if she were challenging her.

 

Once again, it was a funny sight to see Wonyoung’s playful grin as she brought her face close up to Yujin’s absolute panicked one.

 

Then it happened so quickly. Wonyoung’s face dropped from her playful grin to a softer look.

 

“Yujin.”

 

Yujin finally met Wonyoung’s eyes, the playful glint now gone. Despite her panicked demeanour beforehand, something about the way Wonyoung was looking at her made Yujin feel at ease.

 

Because, Wonyoung was trustworthy. She was honest. Sometimes a bit too brutally, but still, honest. She was reliable. She was hard to read but that’s why Yujin appreciated how she would just say and do what was on her mind.

 

And most of the time, Wonyoung told Yujin what to do and Yujin, in a heartbeat, would almost always comply, not because of Wonyoung’s charismatic presence (though she did possess that) but because she trusted Wonyoung’s judgement and she respected Wonyoung.

 

To Yujin? Wonyoung felt safe.

 

“If I kissed you right now, what would you do?”

 

Yujin’s entire world stopped.

 

Wonyoung’s voice was still so soft. Her breath slightly hitting Yujin’s lips when she spoke. Yujin took a shaky breath and she could smell a hint of strawberries from Wonyoung’s perfume.

 

In that moment, it was just Wonyoung.

 

Jang Wonyoung, the girl who used to be a universe away from her even though they coexisted in the same world. The girl who never crossed her mind but now Yujin couldn’t go a day without her, whether she wanted to or not. Wonyoung, the girl who seemed to believe in her even though Yujin doesn’t think she should.

 

Wonyoung.

 

Wonyoung Wonyoung Wonyoung, that was all that was running through Yujin’s mind at the moment.

 

Before she could begin to think about anything else, Yujin let some words slip .

 

“Do it, coward.”

 

Her words must have surprised Wonyoung because the girl’s head tilted back slightly as she let Yujin’s words simmer through her head.

 

“Kiss me, Wonyoung-ah.”

 

Wonyoung’s eyes didn’t leave Yujin’s, as if searching for something.

 

She must have found it because straight after, Wonyoung was leaning in more.

 

A part of Wonyoung was expecting Yujin to push her back the same way Wonyoung had done at the bakery.

 

But, she didn’t.

 

Next thing Wonyoung knew, their lips had connected in the softest and purest kiss Wonyoung has ever had before.

 

She didn’t want to overstep since this was Yujin’s first kiss, so she opted to just lightly kissing her, the tips of their noses barely grazing onto each other.

 

Wonyoung made sure to linger there, wanting the kiss to be short and sweet but just a little bit longer than a peck.

 

It took literally everything in Wonyoung to pull away. She wanted nothing more than to just keep kissing Yujin. But she knew that she had to break it off eventually.

 

Good thing that Yujin wouldn’t let her.

 

She had only just pulled away, her eyes beginning to flutter open when she felt a hand cup her jaw and connect their lips again, this time with more force than their previous kiss.

 

She felt Yujin’s thumb drawing light circles on her cheek and Wonyoung tilted her head to deepen their kiss.

 

And for once in Wonyoung’s life, she stopped thinking.

 

All she could feel was Yujin. Yujin holding her so delicately. The side of Yujin’s leg pressed up against hers. Yujin’s body twisting slightly so that she could face her easier. Yujin kissing her.

 

Wonyoung couldn’t help the rush of disappointment when she heard her phone buzz. with a text message. Though she really didn’t want to, she pulled away from their kiss to check the message, her eyes flickering downwards onto her phone screen. It was a text from Michael.

 

“Michael is here.” Wonyoung whispered, not trusting her voice at the moment.

 

Both her and Yujin were still in the same position with Yujin still holding the side of her face and both of them still twisted to face each other. The only difference was that Wonyoung’s head was turned to look at her phone.

 

“Okay.” Yujin said.

 

Then with her free hand, Yujin brought two fingers to the side of Wonyoung’s face and pushed it slightly so that it was facing her.

 

And she connected their lips once again.

 

This time the kiss was deeper and the pace had quickened in urgency. They were leaning further into each other, as if the other would disappear if they parted just for a second.

 

They had no clue how long they were there for. In reality it was probably barely 10 seconds but to both of them it felt like an eternity.

 

Finally, they broke apart again because a phone started to buzz incessantly, this time it was Yujin’s phone.

 

“It’s, uh-“ Yujin cleared when she realised how coarse she sounded. “It’s Yena unnie.”

 

“Y-yeah.” Wonyoung coughed slightly. “I should probably text Michael.”

 

“Unnie?” Yujin said when she answered the phone. She grimaced and brought the phone away from her ear when was almost deafened by whatever music Yena was blasting in her car.

 

“What?” Yujin had to yell into the phone. “I can’t hear you. Unnie! Turn down the music for God’s sake.”

 

Wonyoung sat quietly on the side, fidgeting with her phone by flicking through the pages of her Home Screen.

 

“You’re here?” Yujin said once the music was turned off. “Okay, on my way.”

 

She hung up the phone and coughed awkwardly.

 

“Yena unnie is here.” Yujin said. “If you, um… if you didn’t guess from my conversation.”

 

“Nice.” Wonyoung said.

 

“Nice.” Yujin parroted back.

 

There was a brief moment of silence before Wonyoung hastily gathered her stuff and stood up.

 

“Right, I need to let you out of the booth.” Wonyoung said. “Michael is waiting for me, too.”

 

“Cool.” Yujin said.

 

“Cool.” Wonyoung parroted back.

 

They made it to the front of the shop where the bored worker was almost asleep at the counter and Yujin offered him a quick ‘thank you’ as they passed by.

 

The boy’s voice was monotone as he kept his eyes glued to his phone.

 

“Thanks for coming to Dream Creamerie where our taste is like a dream.”

 

Wonyoung and Yujin got a dreamlike taste, that’s for sure.

 

When they made it outside, the fresh air was enough to make them both shiver slightly. It was a contrast to the warmth they were both feeling.

 

“Good luck with your competition.” Yujin said. “And um, thank you for… for helping me with…”

 

“You’re welcome.” Wonyoung said. “I’ll see you on Monday?”

 

Wonyoung and her team were set to fly to Texas the next morning, which meant that they wouldn’t be attending school that day.

 

“Okay.” Yujin said.

 

“Okay.” Wonyoung parroted.

 

They stood there awkwardly in front of each other for a few moments, Wonyoung clutching on tight to her gym bag.

 

“Um, bye bye.” Yujin said.

 

“Bye bye.”

 

They both looked at each other, as if waiting for the other to do something.

 

Eventually, Yujin put out a fist in front of Wonyoung. Wonyoung quickly bumped her first with hers.

 

“Cool, see you.” Yujin said.

 

Wonyoung gave her one last wave before turning to get into Michael’s car.

 

Once Wonyoung had turned away, Yujin let out a breath she didn’t know that she was holding.

 

Jang Wonyoung. Jang freaking Wonyoung.

 

………………….

 

“Yujin! Dad and I are going to the store, do you want anything?”

 

“Chocolate, please!”

 

“Anything in particular?”

 

“Mint chocolate, please!”

 

“Okay!”

 

Mint chocolate? Was Yujin okay? Since when did she like mint chocolate? Yujin sat on her desk, choosing not to dwell too much on it.

 

A can of coke sat on the corner of her desk right next to Yujin’s almost empty ballpoint pen. She was more into handwriting things when she can. Especially when whatever she was writing was something creative, like songwriting or a short story for english class. English was one of her favourite subjects, alongside music and history. No surprise that she would be writing a lot, which was why she seemed to have a neverending supply of pens.

 

Currently, Yujin was studying for her biology test. On her page were three different highlight colours. Yellow, green and light blue. They were her favourite highlighter colours whenever she was studying. Yellow was for titles. Green was for the terms she had to remember. And light blue were for key aspects of the definitions to remember.

 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw herself in the mirror and she almost jumped upon seeing how messy her hair was. Scouring through her drawer, she fumbled to find her hairbrush.

 

“It feels like there’s a birds’ nest.” Yujin grunted while brushing her hair. She had to struggle a little bit when the brush started to get stuck in her hair.

 

She had been brushing a little bit when a knock sounded on her door.

 

“Come in!”

 

She was in the middle of trying to brush through a particularly thick knot when Yena walked in with Yuri trailing behind her.

 

“Yujin, tell Yuri that I’m loyal! I don’t hang out with all these guys and girls when we’re apart.”

 

Yujin groaned, especially when Yuri scoffed and crossed her arms. Annoyed Yena was super annoying because she was insufferable. Annoyed Yuri was annoying because she acted like a brat. But, annoyed Yena AND Yuri? It was a nightmare.

 

“I am not getting involved in another one of your arguments.” Yujin said. “Figure out your relationship problems yourselves.”

 

“Besides, you are one to talk, Jo Yuri.” Yena ignored Yujin’s words and continued to argue with her girlfriend in front of her sister. “Last time I checked, you’re still good friends with Kang Hyewon. Remember her? Your first love!”

 

“We have the same mutual friends, of course we’ll hang out!”

 

“Alone?”

 

“That was one time and you know it! And she was asking me advice about her fianceé!” Yuri shoved at Yena’s shoulder. “You hear that? Her FIANCEÉ.”

 

Yena huffed. “I still think it’s weird that she’s asking her first love to be her maid of honor.”

 

“Bridesmaid, baby. I’m just the bridesmaid.”

 

Yujin rubbed at her temple. She was really not in the mood to hear them arguing again.

 

“Unnie, take Yuri unnie to that sushi place that you dropped me off at today.” Yujin said. “Trust me. Go eat some food.”

 

Yena and Yuri’s relationship was quite an interesting dynamic. For two people who seemed to be similar in every way also felt like they were opposite in every way. For one, Yena was quite the free spirit, while Yuri preferred to keep to herself. But, in a way, their constant arguments were good for the two of them because she knew that Yena and also Yuri were the types to get bored easily if the relationship was too stable. Which was completely opposite to how Yujin liked things. And it worked especially well for the two because they never let it escalate to the point where it was too much for them. Was it too much for Yujin, though? Most of the damn time.

 

“Just do it.” Yujin groaned when it looked like Yena was about to protest. “Please, I need to study.”

 

Food was always the best way for the two to make-up.

 

“Don’t do long distance, Yujinnie.” Yena said while leaving. “You will lose your sanity.”

 

“You have none to begin with, baby!”

 

“Out!”

 

Yujin let out a sigh of relief when the two left the room, leaving Yujin back to her sense of peace.

 

“Finally.” Yujin sighed. “Now, where was I? Oh, a new topic.”

 

She wrote down the words ‘bioenergetics’ in capital letters at the top of the page and highlighted the title with a pink highlighter.

 

When she finished her highlighting she furrowed her eyebrows slightly. Since when did she own a pink highlighter?

 

Just then, Yujin heard a knock.

 

“Again?” Yujin threw her head in her hands. She placed her hands on her desk in frustration and pushed herself off her chair. “Yena unnie, please leave me alon-”

 

She opened the door, only to see that nobody was standing behind the door. When she listened again, she realised it wasn’t coming from the door. In fact, it sounded a bit different to a knock. It was higher in pitch and further apart in rhythm.

 

“Is someone throwing rocks at my window?” Yujin said, turning around and indeed, she saw bits of pine bark being pelted at her window.

 

Nothing could have prepared Yujin for what she saw waiting for her at the bottom of her house. Or more specifically, who.

 

“Wonyoung?”

 

“Yujin unnie!” Wonyoung said. “Finally, it’s so freaking cold out here.”

 

Standing in the backyard of her house was Jang Wonyoung, still in the clothes she was wearing when they ate sushi and ice cream and shivering slightly.

 

“Is that a rope?”

 

Wonyoung stared down at the object in her hand. “No, it’s a snake. Of course it’s a rope, babe! I’m going to throw it up, can you tie it to something sturdy?”

 

In the back of her mind, Yujin wondered why Wonyoung was doing all this instead of going through her front door, but she still complied with Wonyoung’s request.

 

After Wonyoung threw the rope up, Yujin tied it to the foot of her bed. For extra measure, she also wrapped the rope a couple times around her waist.

 

“I’m coming up now!” She heard Wonyoung call.

 

Sure enough, after a few moments, Wonyoung was pushing herself up onto Yujin’s window, the end of the rope also tied around her waist. Yujin quickly came over to help her in. She held her hands out for Wonyoung to grab onto and helped her steady herself as she lifted herself into Yujin’s room.

 

Of course, she had to fall into Yujin’s arms along the way.

 

Yujin caught Wonyoung who only giggled and looked up at Yujin with a bright smile.

 

“Hi.” Wonyoung said, her eyes crinkling and her cheeks puffing out. She was wearing no make-up and looked incredibly fluffy.

 

“What are you doing here?” Yujin said while Wonyoung steadied herself to stand straight. Once she was standing Wonyoung wrapped her arms around Yujin’s neck while Yujin instinctively brought her hands to Wonyoung’s sides.

 

“I missed you.” Wonyoung said. “Is it too far out there that I’d miss you?”

 

Yujin couldn’t help but giggle along with the grinning Wonyoung and she moved her hands to hold Wonyoung’s waist, pulling her so that they were closer together.

 

Wonyoung must have taken that movement as a sign to kiss her because next thing Yujin knew, their lips were connecting together in a short peck.

 

“Yujinnie. Unnie.” Wonyoung said when their lips disconnected. She still had her face close to Yujin’s, still grinning cutely. “Can you show me another Korean movie?”

 

Yujin had to study for biology, didn’t she? But, Wonyoung had the cutest smile in the world and she made it so easy to just agree with all of her requests.

 

“Okay.” Yujin said, forgetting all about whatever she was doing before Wonyoung arrived. “I can find a more modern one, this time.”

 

“Yay!” Wonyoung said, pecking Yujin’s lips again. “Thanks, love.”

 

Yujin’s heart skipped a beat at the nickname.

 

Love.

 

Wonyoung excitedly sat cross legged on Yujin’s bed, watching as Yujin travelled to her desk to grab her laptop. She wasn’t grinning anymore, her smile was just a happy close-lipped smile, but it was still enthusiastic nonetheless.

 

“Um, this is a really weird request but, is it okay if you change into some of my clothes?” Yujin said while placing the laptop down on her bed. “I just have a thing about outside clothes on my bed.”

“Neat freak.” Wonyoung scoffed, a 180 to how she’s been acting this whole time. But, then she smiled. “But, I’m exactly the same.”

 

She jumped off the bed, brushing at the spot that she was sitting on and went to stand behind Yujin who was searching for things in her closet.

“Your closet is really neat.” Wonyoung said when she peered at the closet from over Yujin’s shoulder. “I approve.”

 

“I took one look at Yena unnie’s and made a promise with myself that mine will never look like hers.” Yujin said with a chuckle. She gestured towards the closet. “The things on this side are my house clothes. What do you like the best?”

 

“What do I like the best?” Wonyoung mulled to herself while inspecting the contents of the closet.

 

There were a bunch of hoodies, some sweatpants and some loose shorts all folded neatly and stacked to one side of the closet.

“I think…” Wonyoung said with a playful lilt to her voice. She wrapped her arms around Yujin’s waist and placed a chin onto her shoulder. “I like you the best, unnie.”

 

If Yujin wasn’t evaporating into a ball of nothing then, she definitely did when Wonyoung placed a short kiss onto Yujin’s cheek.

 

“What about you?” Wonyoung pouted at Yujin when she turned her body to face Wonyoung, trying to gage if Wonyoung was being serious. “Who do you like the best?”

 

Yujin couldn’t answer. Firstly, because she didn’t even know the answer herself. But secondly, because she physically could not move. When she tried to open it wouldn’t let her. She couldn’t even leave from Wonyoung’s hold. She swore she couldn’t even figure out how to breathe.

 

“Well?” Wonyoung looked at her expectantly.

 

“I-”

 

“Yujin!”

 

The door of her bedroom suddenly flung open and both her and Wonyoung pulled apart to look at the intruder who had walked into the door with a bright smile.

 

When she saw who it was, Yujin felt her legs give way and she had to lean up against her wall to steady herself.

 

“J-jihan!” Yujin finally was able to speak.

 

Jihan and Wonyoung exchanged a glance, both girls looking shocked to see the other there. Jihan’s face was more of a surprised puppy while Wonyoung’s eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes narrowed at Jihan in an intense glare.

 

“What are you doing here?” Wonyoung said.

 

Jihan shook a stack of cards in her hands.

 

“I’m here to study for the AP biology test with Yujin.” Jihan said. She looked towards Yujin. “Yujin, what’s Wonyoung doing here?”

 

Wonyoung crossed her arms, her eyes not leaving Jihan’s.

 

“We’re on a date.” Wonyoung said.

 

“But,” Jihan still looked utterly confused, “I thought Yujin asked me out on a study date tonight?”

 

Wonyoung huffed.

 

“Well, did you?” Wonyoung looked towards Yujin who was still pressed up against the wall of her bedroom, frozen and completely freaking out at what was happening.

 

Yujin looked between the two girls who were looking at her expectantly.

 

“I-I did. I forgot.” Yujin said.

 

“Well, you have to pick one of us?” Jihan said, eyes rolling. Yujin’s never heard Jihan sound so annoyed and sassy before. “And it will be me, obviously. I’m the one that you like for real. You’re only fake dating her.”

 

Yujin looked at Jihan. She had a point there.

 

Then she looked towards Wonyoung who was staring disinterestedly at her fingernails. Though, she could see by the way that she was subtly flickering her eyes that Wonyoung was watching Yujin from her peripheral vision.

 

“I- um.” Yujin was close to hyperventilating now.

 

Suddenly, another figure burst into the room.

 

“Yujin!”

 

Everyone turned to the third person who entered the room.

 

“Bestie, can you order me a coke?” It was Jiheon. And she was pointing at something behind Yujin.

 

Yujin turned around to see the coke machine from the second floor of their school right behind her. She kicked at it, a can of coke falling into the pocket.

 

When she turned back around, Jihan and Wonyoung were in front of locker 831, both arms crossed and both glaring at each other.

 

“This is my locker.” Jihan said.

 

“This is my birthday.” Wonyoung retorted, pointing at the number. 

 

“I really don’t know what you see in Vicky Jang.” Jiheon shook her head while watching the two of them. “Can’t you just date Jihan? You two are a perfect match.”

 

“You think so?”

 

“Hey, Vicky.” A deep voice sounded.

 

All eyes turned to the person that had approached the locker.

 

“Jacob!” Wonyoung turned in shock at the boy.

 

Yujin had had enough.

 

She placed two hands over her head and she let it out. She screamed with everything she had in her. But, nothing came out.

 

She looked at the group of people in front of her, all staring at her, waiting for her to say something.

 

Say something, Yujin. Just say something, dammit.

 

“Ahhhh!”

 

Yujin sat up in her bed with a fright, her heart beating a mile a minute.

It took a couple moments for her eyes to adjust in the dark room but she realised that she was in her bedroom. She looked to her closed window, the moon shining a source of light into her room. She looked to her bedroom door, the lights in the hallway still on. She could hear the hushed voices of Yena and Yuri walking down into the kitchen.

The screen of her phone glowed at her, signaling that she had a text message. She saw that the time was 12:47am.

 

Yujin placed a hand on her heart, taking a few deep breaths while her heartbeat returned to a more normal pace.

 

“What the hell was that dream?” Yujin placed a hand onto her head.

 

She groaned, checking to see the last person who had texted. They had texted her about 30 minutes ago.

 

Yujin decided that she would text them.

 

Yujin:
u awake?
i can’t sleep

 

She was about to put her phone down, not expecting them to reply. However, when she was about to turn off her phone, she saw that the person had read her message.

Yujin watched the text bubbles show up on her screen.

 

Jihan:
yesss ( ´ ▽ ` )
something wrong? :(((

 

Trust Jihan to still be absolutely adorable while texting.

 

Yujin:
not really
just something I need to tell you
can I call?

 

 

 

**********************

 

A/N: Nah I think this is my favorite chapter of tuim yasssssss. Sadly, I think there will be about two or three more chapters left of this story as it is coming to close. Though, I have an idea for a oneshot sequel for afterwards that I really want to write. But, I'll actually FINISH the story first before I get onto that. 

Fun fact, I hand wrote the entirety of the first part (before the dream sequence) on a plane and there was someone next to me so I was literally sitting there with my entire body blocking what I was writing. I mean, imagine sitting on a flight and you just see some girl next to you writing about two people kissing hahaha. 

I'm curious, does anybody have favorite tuim chapter? Or moment that has happened so far? Mine is definitely the kiss scene, more specifically the lead up to it... Wonyoungie is such a queen for that 

And sorry if the entire dream sequence confused you but also not sorry cause it's meant to be like that HAHAHA idk if anyone picked it up but that's why Jihan called Wonyoung by her name, even though Yujin is the only one who knows what is/calls her that.

As always, hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!!