“Thank you, Nicole! Everyone, let's give another round of applause for Nicole and her lovely song on the gayageum.” 



Wonyoung didn’t clap, her hands were too busy rolling Kimbap. 



“And now, let’s welcome our next performers! Give it up for Soojin, Jimin, Jaehee, Hyewon, Jiyoon, Soeun and Yujin!” 



“Order 148, 149 and 150?”



“Wait, everybody pause!” Yena ran to the front of the counter. The customers jumped at the sound of Yena yelling. Even Wonyoung got surprised at Yena’s intrusion. “That’s my sister! She’s performing! Everybody watch her!” 



Suzy clapped her hands. 



“Go, Yujin!” 



“Woohoo! Yujin!!” 



There was no way Yujin would be able to hear them from there and they knew that, but that didn’t stop them from wanting to cheer on the youngest member of their family. 



Wonyoung took the time to take out her phone and check all her missed messages and Snapchats. So far, there was nothing too important. Just her friends laughing about the makeup of a lady one of them saw walking down the street. 



Wonyoung chuckled too, it was pretty ugly. 



She heard the sound of the music playing and that’s when she finally looked up. 



The first thing she noticed was the vibrant colours of the outfits. Everyone was wearing various colors and all had different colors to the other outfits. To Wonyoung, it reminded her of a Crayola box. 



It was kind of messy but still seemed cohesive which surprised Wonyoung. 



Her eyes landed on Yujin who was standing behind one of the chairs with the bubbliest smile on her face. Wonyoung’s toes started to clench when Yujin made the cutest face, her eyes widening in feigned surprise. Who knew Yujin was such a good performer? 



Wonyoung had to admit, on Yujin, she loved the half-cropped sweater style with the fitted striped t-shirt underneath. Half-cropped hoodies were always funny to her because they looked like they were cut in half by a pair of scissors, so it was a nice surprise seeing it worn like that. 



She giggled when she realised that the baggy pants looked way too small on Yujin. She knows pants like that are meant to go past your ankles but on Yujin it barely reached, stopping a good 3 inches above. 



Wonyoung was impressed. Yujin was a really good dancer, too. 



She’s heard Yujin singing before. Wonyoung had heard Ryujin playing demos of Yujin singing. Yujin is Ryujin’s go-to for recording demo tracks of the songs Ryujin writes, that’s how Wonyoung knew she was a good singer. She also heard from Ryujin that Yujin dabbles in writing songs, too. But, Wonyoung has never seen her dance. 



The chorus of the song hit and Wonyoung found herself smiling slightly. Something about the song and the dance made her feel so happy insides. It must have been a mixture of the catchy tune, the bubbly dance and the colourful crayons outfits. That and the bright smiles everyone had. They all looked like they were having a great time. 



As Yujin mouthed along to a part of the song, Wonyoung came to the conclusion that Yujin was born to be on stage. She had never seen someone look so at home up there than Yujin had. 



Wonyoung has never seen Yujin look so carefree. Her outfit flowed along with the song and with it all of Yujin’s worries seemed to fly with it. 



And then it hit her. 



Wonyoung’s breath hitched and her chest started squeezing. She brought a hand to her chest and her heart started beating erratically against the palm of her hand. 



On the stage, it wasn’t seven people anymore. 



It was only Yujin. 



Only Yujin and her dimpled smile. Only Yujin bouncing around the stage in joy, looking like she had no care in the world. Only Yujin giggling and mouthing along to the words. 



Carefree Yujin. 



Wonyoung took a deep breath to calm herself.



Oh God, how Wonyoung wished she could feel what that was like. To be as carefree like Yujin looked on the stage. Wonyoung tried to remember a time when she last felt like that. But, she couldn’t. 



As she watched Yujin stand in front of the others in a triangle formation. Wonyoung had to look away. 



She wanted that feeling for herself. She just didn’t know how. 



…………………




“Yujinnie! You were amazing!” Yena said. “I can’t believe you learnt that in three days!” 



Wonyoung’s ears perked up, spinning to listen to look in Yena’s direction. Turns out the girl was on the phone. 



“You’re a natural.” Yena said. She dramatically sniffed, wiping at non-existent tears. “My baby sister is so talented. She takes after me.” 



There was another moment of silence from Yena as Wonyoung assumed she was saying something. 



“Oh, right now?” Yena said. “Shoot, I didn’t notice the time! I’m on my way!” 



The hung up and pocketed her phone, hastily taking her off her apron and throwing it towards her father who seemed to know it was coming his way. The man already seemed to have his hand out, knowing that Yena was gonna throw it at him. 



Suzy must have noticed Wonyoung’s impressed look, because she came up to her and chuckled. 



“Yena is her Father’s daughter.” Suzy said. “They’re very close.” 



Wonyoung nodded. “So, is Yujin your daughter, then?” 



Suzy just winked at her. 



“Bye, Mommy! bye appa!” Yena kissed both of them briefly on the cheek before jumping over the counter, almost like Parkour. Her jumping over the counter caused the customers to gasp a little, shocked at the girl landing in front of them with a plop. 



Wonyoung couldn’t help but laugh to herself. Yena was so different to Yujin. 



“Where is she going?” Wonyoung asked. 



“She and Yujin are singing together.” 



Wonyoung perked up slightly. She was very excited to see that. 



She continued her work to try and hide the smile that was on her face. She flattened some rice onto the wrap, instinctively adding the ingredients. She had done it so many times she didn’t have to think anymore. 



Twenty minutes later, the MC finally came back on stage. 



“Good afternoon, everybody!” he said. He was a relatively average sized man but pretty buff for a young Asian guy. Wonyoung came to the conclusion that he was probably very into going to the gym. “We have another performance, a sister duo! Here is Ahn Yujin and Ahn Yena!” 



As Yujin and Yena made their way onto the stage, Wonyoung ignored the incessant buzzing of her phone to clap for them. 



“Yujin plays guitar?” Wonyoung said. “She’s very multitalented.” 



However, as Wonyoung was watching Yujin, she noticed that she didn’t look as relaxed as her last performance. She seemed way more nervous. 



She watched as Yujin seemed to fumble slightly with plugging in her guitar, the way she had spent a little too long shifting around in her chair. Yena sat on the stool next to her, fiddling unnecessarily with her microphone so as to not look at Yujin. 



After a few moments, the shuffling from Yujin stopped and Yena finally looked at her giving her a thumbs up in question. Yujin nodded, still looking visibly nervous. 



“Hi.” Yujin said a little too close to the mic. She grimaced a little when it came out louder than expected, instantly leaning her head back. Wonyoung could see her cheeks going bright red from where she was. 



She fiddled with the mic stand, positioning it further away. The sound of her moving the stand could be heard through the speakers. 



“Sorry.” Yujin said when she finished moving the mic around. “Hi, again. I’m Yujin and this is my sister Yena unnie. We’ll be singing a song called Someday by the trio Enozi. Hope you enjoy.” 



“And stan Enozi.” Yena whispered into the mic. 



Yujin just rolled her eyes at her sister with a chuckle. 



Then the song began. 



The sound of Yujin’s guitar playing filled the open field. She was plucking delicately at the strings, almost like she was playing a lullaby. 



Then Yena started singing the first few lines. 



Wonyoung was impressed. Yena’s voice was actually quite sweet. Her talking voice was pretty low and raspy but when she sang it felt like it brightened up. Of course, the raspiness was still there making her voice sound very unique and interesting. 



The song was in Korean, too. To be honest, today was probably the most Korean Wonyoung had probably heard in her life. From the customers conversing with Yujin and her parents, to Yujin and her parents conversing amongst each other, to all the performances with Korean songs and to the Korean music they would play in-between songs, Wonyoung didn’t feel as if she was in America anymore. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad feeling. 



Well, until she remembers that she can’t utter a word of Korean. Except for yeppeo. She won’t forget that one. 



Yena had a very pretty head tone. It was light and calming and just very pretty. 



After the chorus, Yena stopped, only the sound of Yujin’s guitar was playing. Yena glanced at Yujin as if she were surveying her. Yujin only stayed looking at the hand strumming the guitar. 



And then Yujin started to sing. 



It was shaky and nervous, but still beautiful. 



Wonyoung’s breath hitched. She knew Yujin was good, but she didn’t realise she was this good. Yujin’s voice was smooth and clear, enunciating every syllable clearly. All the lyrics were in Korean and Wonyoung had no clue what she was saying, but she was enamoured, clinging onto Yujin’s singing. 



Yena visibly loosened up when Yujin’s voice started growing a little more confident. 



She kept singing, the chorus coming and going with Yujin’s voice soaring over the top. Yena came in halfway through to harmonise with her and it sounded gorgeous. Their voices blended very well together. 



Yujin had finally lifted her gaze, looking at her sister who was singing encouragingly to her. 



“She’s still not smiling.” Wonyoung mumbled to herself. This was not the same Yujin who was dancing on the stage half an hour ago. Of course, it was a more laid back song and judging by the melody it seemed kind of sad, but even so, Yujin didn’t look as comfortable and carefree as before. 



It would have been fine until the bridge. 


Yena had taken over for that part and Yujin seemed to grow even more stiff, almost as if she was dreading what was coming next. Wonyoung could practically see the gears overspinning in her head. 



Yujin and Yena’s parents clapped in awe when Yena hit a high note at the end of the bridge. Then, they instantly hushed when Yena’s voice sang with more breath, almost as if she was whispering the lyrics. 



Yena took a look at Yujin who was mentally preparing herself. For what? Wonyoung didn’t know. 



There was a slight pause in the music. Wonyoung held her breath as she saw Yujin inhale deeply. Wonyoung could sense a large high note coming. 



And then, nothing. 



Yujin looked as though she was about to sing into the mic,  opening for words to come out. But, nothing came out. Yujin froze, save for the guitar strumming. 



Yena looked shocked, almost missing her cue to sing once again. Thankfully she was able to swing her mic to  and catch up with the beat of the song. 



Yujin looked terrified and dejected all at the same time. She fumbled around, playing wrong chords every now and again that she would quickly correct, her face growing redder after each one. Yena took that as her cue to just keep singing. Yujin, however, did not open  again. 



Wonyoung had never seen her look defeated. It was almost like she completely gave up. She couldn’t bear to see her like that. Especially when she had been do so well up to that point. 



Thankfully, it was nearing the end of the song so Yujin didn’t have to struggle for too much longer. But, when the song finished she couldn’t meet Yena’s eyes. Yena didn’t look mad or disappointed, she just looked concerned for her little sister. 



They both bowed, Yena wrapping one arm around her sister’s waist. 



“Thank you.” Yena said with a bright smile. “Stan Enozi! That’s E-N-O-Z-I, Enozi. Thank you. Kamsahamnida. Also, come get some Kimbaps and Bunggeoppang from our stall if you would like to see my pretty face again.” 



Then she took Yujin’s free hand, twining their fingers together and side by side they disappeared backstage. Wonyoung appreciated how Yena chose to say fun, Yena things in hopes that it will distract Yujin a little bit. 



“Our babies are so talented.” Yujin and Yena’s Dad smiled to himself. Suzy nodded along with him. 



Wonyoung went straight back to work the moment Yujin and Yena couldn’t be seen anymore. 



All the while, she couldn’t get Yujin’s heartbreaking look out of her head. 



……………………………..



“Well done, Yena!” 



Ten minutes after the performance, Yena had made her way back to the tent. Alone. 



Her parents instantly stopped what they were doing to hug their daughter for a bit, her Dad ruffling endearingly at her hair and fist bumping her. Wonyoung gave her a thumbs up from the side as to which Yena acknowledged with a tilt of the head. 



She whispered a few things to her parents, all their expressions growing serious. Suzy just nodded, patting her on the head. 



When they returned to their posts, Wonyoung made her way over to Yena. 



“Where’s Yujin?” 



Yena pursed her lips, refusing to meet Wonyoung’s eyes. 



“Yena? Where did she go?” 



“She’ll come back when she wants to.” Yena said. “Just let her be.” 



Wonyoung pursed her lips. She caught sight of their Mom who was trying hard not to make it look like she was listening to their conversation. 



Then Wonyoung took off her apron, handing it towards Yena. 



“You’re in charge of Kimbap until I come back.” 


Yena looked at her, completely bewildered. “Wha-” 



“That’s final.” Wonyoung commanded, her eyes narrowing at Yena. “I’ll be back soon.” 



“Vicky-” 



Wonyoung didn’t get to hear the rest of Yena’s sentence. She had slipped out the back of the tent and instantly dialed Yujin’s number. 



“Pick up, dammit.” Wonyoung said. She cursed inwardly when the phone kept ringing. Pursing her lips, she started typing out a text, her thumbs moving at the speed of light. She scrolled through her messages, ignoring the spam she was getting from the group chat with her friends. 




Wonyoungie to Yujin: 

I know ur looking at ur phone 

Where are you? 

I need a break from working PLEASE

You better not be ignoring me 

Oh i get it now

Is this why you asked me to help? So that you didn’t have to do any work? 




Wonyoung smiled victoriously when she saw the text bubbles showing up from Yujin’s end. She knew pushing on her buttons would get her to talk. 




Yujin to Wonyoungie: 

I’m by the beach 



Wonyoungie to Yujin: 

THERE’S A BEACH???

I’M OUT HERE WORKING

AND THERE’S A BEACH?? 

Don’t move I’m on my way




Truth be told, Wonyoung wasn’t mad at all. She just wanted to distract Yujin from whatever it was that she was feeling. 



Something she had noticed about Yujin was that whenever she felt any type of emotion, she would be consumed by it until the emotion was gone or replaced by something else. She was like a kid in that sense, where if Wonyoung could distract her with something else then Yujin would be okay and could recenter herself to think rationally. 



After asking a few people for directions to the beach (all of whom called her yeppeo as to which Wonyoung now knew to say thank you to, in Korean, might we add) she finally found the spot. 



It was a small beach, probably only 200m long or so with large bits of seaweed scattered across the sand. The water didn’t look dirty but Wonyoung would still be wary if she ever decided to swim in it. 



Between the pavement and the sand were various rocks of different shapes and sizes. Some were big enough to be called a small boulder. There were actually a few people there, mostly small groups of teenagers who were most definitely bored because they were all perched on rocks and all on their phones. 



And then there was Yujin. 



“Thank God,” Wonyoung said as she approached Yujin, “I need a rest, my hands are aching. Even cheerleading isn’t this tiring.” 



Yujin didn’t say anything. She just kept staring out into the ocean. She had one leg hugged against her chest, her chin resting on her knee. 



“You better go back soon, Yena is in charge of the Kimbap at the moment. I left before I could see what she was making. I really don’t want to see what she’s making.” Wonyoung nudged at Yujin’s hip softly with her foot. “Come on, let’s go.” 



She studied Yujin to see whether or not she would budge. Wonyoung sighed when Yujin kept her position. 



“You were the one that asked me to help! And now you’re out here taking a break by the beach and making ME do all of the work! Don’t be selfish, Yujin. Come on!” Wonyoung exclaimed, praying that Yujin would catch the bait. 



She did. 



Yujin sprung up, her sad demeanor changing to anger. Wonyoung kept her stance even when Yujin had pointed a shaking finger at her. 



“There you go again! You’re angry at me!” Yujin said. “Tell me, what can you possibly earn from being angry at me all the time?” 



Wonyoung kept her gaze on Yujin for a few moments. 



And then,  curved up into a smile. 



“I got you to talk to me.” Wonyoung said, a victorious look on her face. 



A look of confusion passed through Yujin which was very quickly replaced by realisation. She scoffed, albeit less angry as before. “You’re so childish.” 



“I just know how to push your buttons.” Wonyoung said. “But, I’m serious though. I really am tired. So, either tell me what’s on your mind or come back and help me.” 



Yujin's eyes quivered and she refused to look at Wonyoung. 



“Fine.” Yujin said. “I think we should end this.” 



Wonyoung froze. 



It didn’t matter that Wonyoung was one of the most observant people in the world. It didn’t matter that she was able to predict outcomes. What mattered was that Ahn Yujin was the one person who could ruin everything Wonyoung knew. 



“Don’t say things like that. You’re vulnerable right now.” Wonyoung narrowed her eyes at Yujin, grabbing hastily at Yujin’s arm. “Let’s talk about it later.” 



When she started to walk, however, Yujin stayed firm in her spot, pulling Wonyoung back to her. Wonyoung looked at Yujin incredulously, her hand releasing Yujin’s arm. 



“No.” Yujin said. “I want to talk about this now.” 



Yujin was looking at her with so much fire in her eyes. But not a fiery anger like Wonyoung’s. No, Yujin’s fire was more firm. Perhaps the best way to describe it would be something firmer. Like a boulder unbudgeable for almost nothing.



Wonyoung quickly realised that Yujin meant business. 



“Okay.” Wonyoung’s voice was soft. She made sure to look Yujin in the eyes, to let her know that she was listening.



Yujin sighed and sat back down onto her rock. Wonyoung took that as her cue to sit down next to her. She found her way to a rock that was a metre or so away from Yujin’s. In front of them, the waves were softly crashing against the sand. Wonyoung watched as one strong wave dragged a pile of seaweed back into the ocean. 



Wonyoung remained silent, waiting for Yujin to speak. She had a feeling that it was best at this moment to give Yujin the chance to collect her thoughts. 



“I don’t know if I can do it.” Yujin finally said after a few moments. 



Wonyoung turned to look at Yujin’s side profile. 



“I’m sorry, Wonyoung.” Yujin said. “I just don’t think I was the right choice for this.” 



Wonyoung felt her chest start to constrict slightly, a feeling she had been getting lately around Yujin. As she felt her heart sinking at Yujin’s obvious grief and internal conflict, she knew right away what it was. 



Wonyoung had started to care about Yujin. 



“I disagree.” Wonyoung said, eyes not leaving Yujin who was refusing to look at her. “I wholeheartedly disagree with you.” 



Yujin shook her head. 



“You can’t deny the facts.” Yujin said. “We can’t seem to get everything right. You have it all planned out but I just can’t deliver. Just think, if we were actually dating I wouldn’t be a very good girlfriend. I’m barely able to hold your hand, I can’t even hug you! I forget about you as soon as other pretty girls breathe in my direction and I’m just not able to do the things you expect me to do.” 



Yujin clenched her fist slightly. 



But, the last straw was what just happened on that stage. The moment I left I knew that you were going to be upset with me and I’m sorry. I’m not good enough to win the Battle of the Bands. I’m just not good enough for us, our agreement. I’m not good enough for you.” 



And it was then, that Wonyoung couldn’t hold it in anymore.



“I’m sorry!” 



Yujin tore her gaze away from the beach to look at Wonyoung. Wonyoung, on the other hand, felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. 



“The truth is, the reason why stuff always seems to go wrong is because we’re- no, I- am going about this the wrong way.” Wonyoung said. 



Yujin was rendered speechless. Wonyoung hadn’t said much, but Yujin felt like this was the first time that she could truly peak through Wonyoung’s walls. It was like a small crack had opened up and Yujin could slightly see what was inside. 



Up to this point, Wonyoung had been mostly one dimensional with Yujin. She could tell that Wonyoung was calculated about everything she said. Of course, there have been the times where Wonyoung would get upset but in those times, Yujin felt as though she merely jumped to the top of the wall, her eyes only able to catch the slightest glimpse of what was inside before falling back down. 



Wonyoung was vulnerable. 



“I’m sorry. For all the times I got mad at you, I’m sorry, Yujin. You didn’t deserve it.” Wonyoung said. 



“Why did you get mad at me, then?” Yujin said softly. 



Wonyoung looked away. 



“I wasn’t mad at you.” Wonyoung said. “I was mad at myself.” 



“Even though I was the one that did wrong?”



Wonyoung pursed her lips. 



“I don’t like the feeling of not being in control.” Wonyoung’s voice came out just above a whisper. 



Yujin hushed, sensing the distress Wonyoung was going through internally. 



“I don’t like surprises or wildcards. So, I make sure that I plan everything and organise everything so that I’m prepared for every possible scenario.” Wonyoung said. “And then when things happen that I don’t expect… I-I… I don’t know how to handle it. And I hate that feeling. I hate it.” 



Wonyoung’s hand started to clench tightly at the rock. 



“You know,” Yujin said, “I’m still to blame. I’m the one not following your plan.” 



“No.” Wonyoung shook her head. “You don’t get it, Yujin. I don’t want to feel this way anymore! I hate that I get mad when things aren’t going according to plan because…” 



Yujin watched as Wonyoung trailed off her sentence. She waited patiently for Wonyoung to keep going. 



“Because, what?” Yujin said, her voice still soft. 



There was silence with Wonyoung as she fiddled with the fabric of her shirt. 



“Yujin, I don’t want to keep hurting you, anymore.” 



A doorway. The small crack in the wall had been carved into a beautiful stone doorway. It was sturdy, Yujin could tell that no matter how hard she pushed she wouldn’t be able to open it. No guards stood in front of it, there was no moat. Just a large wall and a closed doorway that wouldn’t open for anyone. 



At least, anyone without a key. 



Something told Yujin though, that the key wouldn’t be too hard to find, from now on. 



“Let’s make a new deal.” Yujin said. 



Wonyoung looked up and met her gaze. 



“We’ll stop this whole thing. We’ll stop the fake dating. And we’re going to rebrand as friends who want to help each other.” 



Friends. Wonyoung liked the sound of that. She liked it a lot, actually. 



“Deal.” Wonyoung said. “Friends.” 



………………………….

A/N: Hey everybody. 

I hope everyone is holding up okay. I just want to let everyone know that despite what happens I will still love and support Izone and will still continue to write for them! I love those girls a lot and bits about their personalities, outfits, actions etc really inspire me to write. I hope that I can keep Izone alive through my writing. Even if it's just for a little bit longer. 

Anyways, TUIM Wonyoung owns my entire heart. She is my baby let me hold her and love her NAWWWW. Let me know what everyone thinks! 

As always, I wish everybody the best!