Chaeyoung never did get the new pastry, nor did Sana, but the latter didn’t seem to care that much anymore. Something else was occupying her mind (obviously).

 

Sana had been in a kind of daze ever since she saw the brunette in the little cafe. After Chaeyoung had helped Sana realize her hidden feelings, it was like the floodgates had completely burst open. 

 

And there was no going back. 

 

It was new territory for the both of them, with Chaeyoung learning a new side to Sana and the latter constantly dealing with her raging butterflies.

 

Moments where Sana was left alone with her own thoughts were probably the most problematic as it got a bit out of hand. Take now as an example, as they sat in class. 

 

Chaeyoung glanced at the japanese, biting her lip. Hard. She took a deep breath. Do not laugh, Chaeyoung.

 

The professor was droning on about some boring topic like usual, and here Sana was, smiling dopily. Her head was propped up by her hand while the other hand held her pencil limply, the graphite tip making a mark on her otherwise unwritten paper. 

 

The younger supposed it was normal behavior, as she chose to leave the girl to her thoughts, especially since Sana had never been this interested in another person before. What a nice first experience.  

 

Good thing they sat in the back of the class though, or else it’d be a little awkward trying to explain why Sana was giving Mr. Lenin heart-eyes.

 

. . .

 

The sudden noise of students packing up their belongings finally snapped Sana out of her thoughts. She jerked to attention, alarmed and her piece of paper now had a freshly new pencil mark drawn across half the page. 

 

Sana frowned at the sight. 

 

“Oh, you’re back!” 

 

She jolted in her seat. 

 

Startled by the voice beside her, Sana turned to stare wide-eyed at Chaeyoung, who had an eyebrow quirked upwards at her reaction. The blonde stood over her, bag in hand, ready to leave. “You good?” 

 

Remembering she was still in the lecture, Sana’s heartbeat slowed back down to a normal pace. She really had lost track of the time...

 

The older girl tilted her head. “Wait, so what did I miss?” Her brows furrowed together in confusion. Unfortunately, Sana didn’t realize-

 

“What did you miss? ” Chaeyoung snorted loudly. “Girl, you missed everything. The whole lesson.”

 

Someone had been a little too preoccupied with their head filled with a certain pale girl. 

 

Sana gasped, hanging open in disbelief, “What?! No way.” She reached down, rifling through her bag for her phone until she found it at the bottom. Looking at the time, she saw an hour had indeed passed already, meaning class was over. Flushing bright red, she stood up, hurriedly packing up her papers. Chaeyoung chuckled at the sight, putting her bag down momentarily to help Sana with her stuff. 

 

Silence as they walked out of the building. 

 

Then-

 

“Hey, Chaengie?” She innocently asked, her big puppy eyes put out on full display. 

 

The blonde knew Sana too well. Chaeyoung sighed, grabbing her phone from her back pocket, “I’ll send my notes.”

 

Sana smiled sheepishly. 

 

. . .

 

Sana wasn’t stalking the girl. She swears. 

 

It just so happens that she sees her everywhere. 

 

From the cafe again (Sana ran when she saw the girl sitting in the same spot), her favorite boba shop, the supermarket, their university.

 

Sana had been exiting out of her class around one p.m. when she saw the pale girl right there , walking past her. So, of course she stumbled and tripped over air, making a fool out of herself to everyone who saw (a whole damn crowd really). 

 

(“! Chae, did she see me? She whisper-screamed.

 

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. “No, now get off the ground, Sana. People are looking.”)

 

She had been shocked at first, her heart beating out of her chest as her hand clutched at it in a panic. The mere appearance of the girl did this to her; Sana wondered what it would feel like: talking to her. She didn’t really want to think about it though, already knowing it would be a worse experience in the terms of her feelings. But she managed to calm herself down, and that’s when the feelings switched up on her. That’s when she felt an indescribable surge of giddiness, a goofy smile breaking out across her face and overtaking her features. 

 

Her heart soared. 

 

And she was relieved. 

 

Because the girl wasn’t just going to be a small detail in her life that she would never see again.

 

Maybe now Sana could have a shot at something new, something she so desperately wanted for herself. 

 

If only she wasn’t a coward. 

 

The japanese whined to her blonde best friend, clutching at her hair, “I can’t! I’m too scared!” 

 

Chaeyoung sat across from Sana at the table, pursing her lips as she listened. Sana had been switching back and forth from obsessing over the girl occupying her thoughts to how she was afraid of approaching her and that someone else would come and snatch the girl away from her. 

 

And the thing was that they both knew her fears could come true if she stalled for any longer. 

 

A thud sounded as Sana let her head fall onto the table in hopelessness. 

 

Would it have been better for her to not have seen the girl at all? For her to return to how she had been before, mindlessly sleeping around to fill the emptiness in her? That way, Sana wouldn’t get involved in all these feelings. These aching feelings. 

 

She thought, ‘yes.' She disliked how her mind always seemed to be preoccupied with fantasies at all times now, of what-ifs. She disliked how she would always be on the lookout for her, eyes subtly scanning the surroundings for any sign of the pale girl. She disliked how she saw her everywhere: a slight glimpse of dark brown hair had her whipping her head around frantically. She disliked how eager and desperate she was. 

 

But she knew the real answer would always be ‘no.’ Because as much as she claimed to hate all of it, she loved it. She loved the feeling itself, to feel so drawn to another person that you were floating on clouds: weightless and free. She loved to imagine being with her, to be able to shower the girl with her genuine adoration and affection, to have movie nights spent cuddling together. She loved the spark of hope and elation whenever she swore she saw the girl in the crowd of people around her. 

 

Sana had never been cheesy, but could you blame her?

 

Because these feelings were as real as they were ever going to get.

 

And yet, Sana dug herself into a deeper hole each time.

 

Reaching her hand over to pat Sana on the head, Chaeyoung made a noise of pity. 

 

Sadly, Chaeyoung couldn’t really relate to having such strong feelings for someone. Sure she had dated her fair share of girls, but none were serious enough for her to feel a strong bond or connection to the other. So, she could never imagine herself in Sana’s position. 

 

Slightly leaning into the soft touch, Sana asked in a quiet voice, “What should I do?” 

 

She was confused, her mind in chaos over a single girl.

 

If Chaeyoung had told Sana that she was going to be ripping her hair out and still manage to be blushing like a madman over some random girl she had never met before, Sana would’ve burst out laughing at such a thought and called her a weirdo. Because that was just pure insanity, right? 

 

But Chaeyoung would’ve been onto something.

 

Half of her was continuously screaming to make a move like how she typically would, while the other half was wrapped in blankets and cowering under a table. Sana related more to the cowering part at the moment. 

 

“Sana-chan, “ Chaeyoung drawled out. “You know already what you should do.” 

 

Sana mumbled incoherently into the table as a response, kicking her feet onto the ground in a tantrum. 

 

Her friend was obviously right, of course she was, but still. It was easier said than done. 

 

“I want to help you, so if that means having to drag you by the leg to the girl, then so be it.” 

 

Sana let out a low groan, picturing the horrific scene. “Please don’t.”

 

Chaeyoung quirked a brow. “Well, it's better to try than not try at all, and I know you know that’s true.”

 

Silence. 

 

The korean let the older girl think about it and stayed quiet. 

 

In the meantime, Chaeyoung turned her attention to her phone that was bombarded by Nayeon’s incoming thread of messages asking how she was and what she was currently doing; in other words, Nayeon being her clingy self. The older korean had messaged her and it looked like their party was going to be pushed back for a bit due to “unforeseen complications,” whatever that meant. 

 

The blonde rolled her eyes in amusement. 

 

Chaeyoung continued to scroll through her social media, with Sana still facedown on the table in silence, when she felt someone staring at her. Her gaze shifted behind Sana and she frowned. “Heads up,” she leaned in and whispered. She then leaned back, pretending to stretch as she averted her gaze from whatever was behind the older girl. 

 

Sana lifted her head from the table in confusion. “Wha-”

 

“Sana!” A bright voice called out to her all of a sudden, interrupting her. 

 

The japanese immediately recognized the voice, much to her dismay. This was not what she needed nor wanted right now. Turning around in her seat, she saw a familiar figure beaming at her before walking towards them with a little bounce in her step. 

 

The girl bounded over towards their table, wrapping Sana in an awkward hug. 

 

Sana leaned away, trying to smile casually when she greeted the other. “Hey, Eunha…”

 

Chaeyoung nodded at the other korean, greeting her as well. 

 

Eunha peered down at them, looking with doe-like eyes. “Could I sit with you guys for a bit?”

 

Sana saw no reason as to why she couldn’t, but she quickly glanced towards Chaeyoung, who only looked at her. “Uh, yeah sure! Go ahead.” 

 

“Thanks!” The korean girl moved to sit beside Sana on the bench, but she got way too uncomfortably close that Sana had to scoot away. 

 

Don’t get her wrong, she did like Eunha; the younger girl was a fun person to be around, especially at parties and such. But she didn’t like Eunha the way the other did for her. Not like that. 

 

Truthfully speaking, Sana hadn’t really ever been interested in the people she slept with. It was all fun and games really, just something to do. 

 

The feeling only amplified when she knew that they weren’t her. The one she wanted. 

 

Sana turned to Eunha. “So, what’s up?” She already knew the girl wanted something from her. 

 

Eunha let out a huff, furrowing her brows. “We haven’t seen each other that much recently,” Eunha pouted, leaning forward on the table. 

 

“Yeah, I know,” Sana sighed, groaning. “I haven’t really had an opportunity to go out.” And it was true, Sana had been busy with classes and specifically speaking, thinking about a certain cute brunette. 

 

Eunha propped her head up with her arms on the table. “Right? That’s why I came over.” Sana hummed, signalling that she was listening. “I was actually wondering…” Eunha trailed off. 

 

Sana bit her lip, “Wondering about what?”

 

A slow grin started to spread over Euha’s features. She sidled up closer to Sana, looking up and batting her eyelashes flirtatiously. “Are you free this Friday to go to Jennie’s party? A lot of people are going to be there.” 

 

The image of a bunch of drunk college students crowded in a room, grinding against each other, popped into Sana’s head. It was not a pleasing thought. 

 

Sana cringed at the proposal, not knowing how to turn the girl down. 

 

Sana was absolutely horrible at saying ‘no’ to people’s requests and if she tried to lie her way out, it would typically turn into a disaster because Sana was at lying. Chaeyoung was well aware of this fact so she decided to take matters into her own hands when she noticed what was happening. 

Chaeyoung cut in, surprising the other korean, “Oh, we’re actually busy that day; we have to go somewhere.” The blonde said vaguely. 

 

“...Oh.” Eunha’s face dropped in disappointment, an upset frown appearing. “Well, you’re welcome to come if you have time after. And you could also come if you’d like, Chaeyoung.”

 

Sana discreetly looked at her friend in confusion, who just smirked at her. Why is she-? Until she realized what Chaeyoung was trying to do. Sana’s eyes widened and she felt her heart beat faster. 

 

“Um, “ Sana commented weakly. But Chaeyoung once again interrupted her before she could say anything else. “Anyways, Sana and I have class soon,"  she got up from her seat, walking over to Sana’s side. She grabbed the older girl’s arm and turned to Eunha. “But we’ll see you around?” 

 

Eunha smiled at that and nodded her head. 

 

They walked away, Sana turning to wave one last time at the other korean girl; however, the moment they were far enough to not be seen, Sana whipped her head to Chaeyoung. 

 

“Chaengie, please,”  she pleaded. 

 

The shorter girl peered up at her innocently. “What do you mean?” The problem was that Sana could practically see the cheeky grin that Chaeyoung was trying to hide. 

 

Sana scowled at her as they continued to walk. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.” 

 

Chaeyoung pretended to think about it before shaking her head in denial. “I really don’t, Sana.”

 

Sana only huffed in annoyance. Something was definitely up...

 

The two of them kept walking, nearing a turn at the building’s side. They noticed that not many people were outside wal