Joohyun watches her girlfriend check the last of her stuff as Seulgi dusts off her hands exaggeratedly and opens her arms in a ‘ta-da’ position to show Joohyun that she’s finished packing. The older girl gives her a small pout and flings herself into Seulgi’s arms, burrowing her face in the taller girl’s chest.

            “Do you have to go? Is there no way you can just do an online orientation or something?” Joohyun grumbles. “I can’t believe they’re taking you away over the weekend! Aren’t there any rules at your university where programs can’t take students to places during the semester?”

            Seulgi laughs, making Joohyun’s body vibrate with the rumbling sound. “Babe, it’s an honours program bonding trip. There’s a lot of pressure for seniors to go so we can train the incoming members; plus, I already paid the dues for it.” She pats Joohyun’s comfortingly. “And you’ve been apart from me a few times because of these workshops. You’ll survive, I promise.”

            “Yeah, but most of those were just late at night, and I knew for sure that you’d return when I was sleeping. This is different!”

            “Like I said, seniors kind of have to go.” The college student runs her hands soothingly up and down Joohyun’s back a few times before prying her off to look at her. “The others have their eye on me because I skipped out the previous ones. No thanks to you,” she teases.

            “But…” Joohyun trails off, looking up at her girlfriend with puppy eyes. “I’m going to miss you.”

            “And I’ll miss you too, unnie.” Seulgi kisses her forehead. “But it’s just the weekend.”

            “The bed will be so cold.”

            “You can get the heating pad from the wardrobe so it won’t be.”

            “And the living room is going to be so—”

            “Oh, come here, you little baby,” Seulgi says, interrupting her. She lifts Joohyun up so that the older girl wraps her legs around Seulgi’s waist and carries her to sit down on the sofa. Joohyun immediately puts her arms around the younger girl’s shoulders and buries her face into Seulgi’s neck, inhaling her girlfriend’s scent as much as she can before Seulgi has to leave for the trip. “You’d think I was goi