Today

The attractive man put his strong arm gently around the waist of the slender woman and extended his hand to Seulgi. The latter swallowed hard, but shook it anyway. "It's good to see you again without a bloody face, kiddo."
"Seul is my best friend and if she doesn't like you, I'll dump you," the older woman joked and Bogum narrowed his eyes in amusement before whispering: "Then I'll do anything to please you both."
"You've already achieved that with me." They kissed briefly.
"Come on in," Seulgi said, making a welcoming motion as she held the door open for them.
"Wow, candlelight dinner? Did you know Bogum was coming?" Joohyun ran toward the table, set for two. Three red candles were lit and stuck in a white holder. Shiny dishes and half-filled wine glasses completed the romantic picture. The light above their heads had been dimmed and Joohyun's favorite song was playing as a piano version in the background.
Bogum opened his mouth in astonishment.
"Yes, you told me, Hyun," she said with a blank look.
"Did I?"
Seulgi nodded. "Yes, and I was supposed to have dinner with you, but," she scratched the back of her head nervously, "Something came up, so I thought a romantic dinner would be just the right thing for you. The food is in the kitchen, everything is set and just needs to be served."
Joohyun rushed up to her and kissed her cheek, "You're the best friend anyone could ask for! So selfless...Unbelievable, thank you Seul!"
The younger woman smiled and gently pushed her back.
"Enjoy. I think I'll sleep at my place tonight."
"If Hyunnie doesn't have a guest room, maybe that's better," Bogum said in her direction, winking as Joohyun blushed.
"I've got to get going. Have fun." Seulgi gave her friend another intense look before breaking eye contact and letting the apartment door fall shut behind her.

Did I know that Bogum was coming along? Of course not, but how else could I talk my way out of it? I certainly didn't prepare the three-course menu and ambience for that guy.
It was for Joohyun. For Joohyun and me. It was always Joohyun.
I wanted to tell her that she doesn't need all these men.
Who always brings her home? That's me.
Who is there for her when she cries her eyes out? That's me.
Who laughs with her at stupid jokes? That's me.

Or was I?

Because now there is Bogum. Park Bogum. The great CEO of the partner company of the company where Joohyun works. Did I ever have a chance? Joohyun is smart, pretty, successful...a grown woman.
And I? A uni student, barely keeping my head above water thanks to a scholarship, and worst of all: a child in Joohyun's eyes.

A week earlier

Seulgi got on her bicycle. The bag rested on her right side.
"Are you picking up your girlfriend?"
"She's not my girlfriend," Seulgi replied, earning a raised eyebrow from Seungwan.
"Yeah, sure…You guys are just practically living together and doing what couples do as well."
"Shut up," the student said, grinning.
"See you tomorrow!" called Seungwan after her, but Seulgi gave her a half-hearted wave, having already left.
It was a thirty-minute ride from her campus to the office building where the woman worked. She took the distance every day. For Joohyun. For her Hyun.
Today, she even had a very special surprise. As Seulgi came to a stop in front of the high-rise building, she opened her bag and rummaged out flowers.
"Here to pick up Ms. Bae, Seul?" She looked up and smiled at the security guard.
"As always."
"And the flowers?"
She shrugged her shoulders and was about to answer, but her eyes now followed a pretty woman with long black hair and pale skin. Seulgi was about to reach out her arm and call her when her smile slowly faded. Joohyun ran toward a white Mercedes without looking back. Seulgi swallowed hard as an attractive man got out and hugged her.
"Park Bogum?"
"Who?" she asked absently.
"The CEO of Park Industries," the chubby security guard replied.
Seulgi watched the man whip out a bouquet of white roses from behind his back and Joohyun jumped in the air like a little child. She thanked him with a kiss on the cheek, her own face reddening as she did so, and the man grinned in flattery.
The student looked at the slightly crumpled flowers in her own hand. They were beautiful and purple. Compared to the roses, however, they looked more like home-picked flowers from any front yard. Her grip on the stems tightened and she clenched her jaw.
Joohyun got into the car and shortly after, the man's chauffeur drove off.
Seulgi watched behind them. The guard eyed her and said in a sad voice: "Drive carefully, Seul."
She blinked away the tears which gathered in her eyes. Her cell phone vibrated.

Hyun:

You don't need to pick me up today, I have a ride.
See you later, love you!

The girl held out the flowers to the guard. "Do you want them for your wife?"
"You don't want them for her still-"
"They weren't for Joohyun," she eagerly and coldly cut him off.
The man sighed and nodded as he took them from her. "Of course."
Seulgi drove off, faster than she was supposed to, which was her undoing when she tried to go around a corner and slipped away with her tire. Fortunately, it happened in the park and not on the road, but she still hit the small stones hard, which caused abrasions on her palms, knees and the left side of her face. She lay disoriented for a while before someone came and bent over her.
"Do you need an ambulance?"
Seulgi shook her head, thanked the older woman and limped back to her apartment complex. She locked up the bike in the private underground garage and stepped into her seventh-floor-apartment a short time later.
She disinfected the wounds and bandaged a deeper one on her arm before sitting down on her bed and looking around.
A small kitchen, a closet, a TV, a desk, two chairs, her bed and a bathroom. Everything was small. She had never been ashamed of it, and Joohyun had always smiled and said how cozy it was at Seulgi's, quite different from her apartment with a total of five rooms.
But now? She was uncomfortable.
Park Bogum certainly had a huge house. Probably even an oven and not a microwave like Seulgi and also more than two chairs. Maybe even a bathtub and definitely no mold in the corner, which was covered by the TV. Park Bogum certainly had everything she didn't.
Seulgi had to admit that wasn't particularly hard, but it still bothered her.
Her thoughts went on a merry-go-round and the pain in the left side of her body didn't help either.
She fell asleep and didn't go to her lectures the next day.

Even though everything hurt, she still cycled to Joohyun's company building and came to a stop next to the guard, who looked at her in wonder.
"Has she left yet?"
"Accident?"
"Mr. Song," she urged, standing on tiptoes to look over the heads of the people hurriedly leaving the building.
"No, Ms. Bae hasn't been picked up by him yet."
Seulgi nodded and waited.
"Didn't you bring flowers today?"
"No, too expensive," she said absently, grinning when she saw the woman.
She waved at Joohyun, who had widened her eyes in shock and nearly bumped into several people because she was hurrying so much to get to Seulgi.
"What happened to you?!"
"Slipped," she said, getting off her bike so she could hug Joohyun.
"You fell on your face too?"
"Can we please not do this? Come with me, I'll buy you an ice cream and-"
"Have you been to the hospital? You could have a concussion! God, Seul!"
"Calm down, Hyun. I slipped with my bike and hurt myself a little. No big deal. Who gave you a ride yesterday?"
The guard drew in his breath sharply.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," she said with a smile, "I met someone."
"Ah yes? So, it's," she paused for a moment before pressing out, "Something serious?"
"We'll go to the hospital and then I'll tell you everything, okay?"
"I don't need to go to the hospital," Seulgi sighed in annoyance, but Joohyun looked at her seriously.
"Don't be a baby."
The student rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide a small smile. She liked this caring nature of Joohyun. The guard wished them both a nice day and gave Seulgi an encouraging wink, at that moment she remembered yesterday again. Park Bogum.
If Joohyun was that worried about him, too? No. He was a grown man. Seulgi clenched her fists and turned to the woman, "I don't have to go to the hospital, you don't have to be so caring." Seulgi pushed her bike and Joohyun walked closely beside her along the park avenue.
"Of course I have to, Seulbear."
The student made a grimace. "I'm not a child, you know. I'm a woman."
"I've noticed that, too," she said with a laugh, "At least when I was in the pool with you the last few times." Seulgi blushed bright red as she remembered showering together and the times, they had been laying on a blanket in the grass and let the sun dry them.
"No, I mean, I'm an adult. I can take care of myself."
"Responsible people would have gone to the doctor, but you're acting like a little girl who's afraid of a shot."
Seulgi bit her lower lip. The hospital was just behind the park and she locked her bike before entering the large building with Joohyun.
"I'm 21, Hyun."
"And I'm 26. What's all this talk about being an adult all of a sudden?"
"Well, I don't want you to think of me as a child," she replied.
"Seul, you're my very best friend, you're like a little sister. I will always worry," Joohyun said, taking her right cheek in her soft hand as she smiled lovingly at the student.
"But we're not related," Seulgi grumbled. How could she make it more obvious that Joohyun should finally perceive her as a woman and just not a little sibling?

"See, a concussion."
"See, no need to worry,