Joohyun notices, after coming home from overtime on Thursday, that the lights in the living room are turned off and there’s no sight of her girlfriend. Assuming that she must be sleeping early, Joohyun carefully takes off her shoes and walks to the kitchen for a glass of water when she hears the very faint sniffling sound coming from their bedroom. Probably from Seulgi. She frowns and makes her way to the door, where the sniffles continue quietly, worrying the older girl. The door opens to reveal crumpled tissues on the nightstand, some having fallen off from the sheer volume of the pile.

            “Baby?”

            Joohyun edges towards the bed, where Seulgi is curled up in a ball under the covers, blanket pulled over her head. She gently peels the blanket off from Seulgi’s head, only for the younger girl to jerk it back over and shake her head from under its protection. The older girl sighs quietly and sits back on her heels, still facing the college student.

            “Honey, can I see your face? I missed you today.”

            There’s a moment of silence before Seulgi at last peeks part of her face outside the covers, but her hair covers her eyes, so Joohyun tucks them behind her ears before placing a hand on Seulgi’s cheek.

            “Did something happen today?” Joohyun gazes worriedly at her girlfriend, who merely sniffles and shakes her head, eyes red and bloated from crying. “Please talk to me, Seulgi. It hurts me to see you like this.”

            At that, the younger girl slowly places a hand on top of Joohyun’s and maneuvers it to kiss her palm. When she speaks, her voice is hoarse. “I just...it’s everything.”

            “Everything?”

            Seulgi nods. “There’s just so much going on.” She sits up, so Joohyun stands as well, but the younger girl pulls her into a hug, burying her face in Joohyun’s stomach, before Joohyun can go anywhere. “I heard back from one of the companies I applied to, and I didn’t make the last round, so I emailed my professor asking if I could get a few days of extension on my final paper so I can write it when I’m in the right mindset, but she said no, and we have to get ready for the university festival coming soon because my the clubs I’m in always have booths and my dance club has a performance, and I’m so busy that I barely get to see you even though we live in the same house, and you were working overtime today, so I didn’t want to call you in case you were working, but I misse