Yoon knocks softly against the black wooden door of Soojin’s room. She patiently waits for an answer, ear pressed against the wood to be attentive to any sound that may come from the other side. 

“Jin?” She knocks again after a few silent minutes, twisting the door open to peek inside the room. 

The blinds still covered the tall windows, keeping the room completely dark besides the blue LED lights running across the edges of the ceiling. Yoon sees the lump on the bed, covered in the thickness of the duvet, unmoving. 

A frown grows on Yoon’s lips as she walks into the room quietly. She knows her sister isn’t asleep. Yoon could only assume Soojin was being like this because of one thing, and that’s because of her situation with Shuhua. Soojin didn’t talk about it with anyone, not even her or Soyeon. She just kept it to herself like always, and from what Yuqi said, Shuhua was the same. 

“Jin?” Yoon calls for her softly, crawling onto the bed to peek over Soojin’s shoulder. She rests her chin where the blanket covered her sister’s arm, a pout on her lips when she sees that Soojin was spacing out at nothing. 

“Jin, you can talk to me, you know.” Yoon tells her, adjusting herself so that she could wrap her arms around Soojin. “I’m a good listener, I promise.” 

Soojin shifts, turning her head to finally look at her little sister. “Oh, you’re home from school.” She turns on her back, enveloping the high schooler in her arms. 

A sigh leaves Soojin’s lips, placing a kiss onto Yoon’s head. “I’m just resting, Yoon. I’ve been feeling tired lately.” 

“I know something happened with you and Shuhua. Yuqi told me she’s been harder on herself than usual, and that she’s really worried, but Shuhua hasn’t been telling her anything either.” Yoon mumbled into Soojin’s shirt. 

“She’s what?” Soojin’s eyebrows furrow in concern. 

Yoon lifts her head up, “yeah, Yuqi said she’s barely home. Sometimes she doesn’t even know if Shuhua comes home because when Yuqi goes to sleep, Shuhua is still at the library, and when Yuqi wakes up, Shuhua isn’t there either.” 

“And you.” Yoon gives her a face, “you’re still in bed at three in the afternoon. That’s not like you. You’re a workaholic.” 

Soojin smiles fondly, “is my little sister…nagging me right now?” 

Yoon holds her head up high, “yes, I am.” 

She sits up, crisscrossed, wagging a finger at Soojin for emphasis. “You need to take care of yourself. Or let me take care of you. You can’t stay in bed all day without eating and bathing.” 

Soojin stares at her in amusement, eyebrows rising, as Yoon continues to blabber on. “You need to feel the sunlight. You need to go outside and touch some grass.” 

“Touch some grass?” Soojin questioned. 

Yoon flicks her wrist, “never mind that. It’s a young people thing, you wouldn’t understand.” 

Sitting up with an offended look, “Did you just call me old?” 

Yoon gives her a sassy look, “no. I just didn’t call you young.” 

Soojin clicks her tongue, flicking the high schooler on her forehead for her sass. “Don’t give me technicalities and an attitude.” 

Yoon pouts, rubbing her forehead. “But really, Jin. Are you okay?” 

Soojin’s expression turns sullen, and Yoon knows she’s not okay before the older woman could even tell her. The way her body dejected, becoming limp against the headboard; Yoon knows that it must’ve been bad if it had gotten Soojin to act unlike herself. 

“I’m not.” Soojin admits with a heavy sigh. 

A frown grows on Yoon’s lips, shoulders dropping in sympathy for her sister. 

“I just lost the love of my life… I chose to walk away because I…” Soojin pauses, looking down at nothing, just simply hanging her head low in dejection. 

Yoon comfortingly pats Soojin’s leg over the comforter. “I’m sorry, Jin. I know you really love her. And she loves you too. I know it.” 

Soojin sighs again, “yeah… I know it too.” 

“... then why did you walk away?” 

“I had to.” Soojin’s heart clenches, “she was right. If we continued, we could both end up hating each other… Neither of us wanted that to happen. I just had the heart to do something about it because… well… I don’t know…” she blinks in thought, “I guess after yesterday I grew so frustrated after seeing her with Tzuyu and with the whole situation, that I exploded… she saw me angry a-and… violent…” 

Yoon furrows her brows, “Jin…” 

“I was scared that after seeing me like that she would hate me…. or be scared of me…” Soojin mumbles, playing with her fingers. 

Yoon sighs, “you know, they’re just friends, Jin.” 

“I know. I got mad for other reasons, Yoon.” 

“I’m sorry, Jin.” Yoon pouts, “I know things will get better though. And you’ll be together again in no time.” 

The corner of Soojin’s lips raise subtly, “you think so?” 

Yoon nods, “I am confident. You guys are made for each other. Like, peanut butter and jelly.” She claps her hand together like a sandwich, “or like milk and cereal. They just fit, you know. That’s like you and Shuhua.” 

Soojin giggles, “oh, little sister.” She pinches the high schoolers cheeks, “you always know what to do to make me feel better.” 

Yoon smiles proudly, “of course, I’m a ray of sunshine.” 

“That you are, little sister.” 

_

“You know, I should just make you your own little private corner where you can just study all day and night.” Soyeon places Shuhua’s second cup of iced coffee onto her table, careful not to get any liquid onto Shuhua’s books and stacks of notes. 

Shuhua sighs in relief, taking her first sip from the cup. “Thanks, Soyeon.” 

The older woman slightly shakes her head, fingers tapping on the wood of the table. When Shuhua looks up to meet Soyeon’s concerned gaze, she shakes her head. “I don’t want to hear it, Soyeon.” 

“I’m not going to.” Soyeon sighs, “Yoon’s been just as curious as I am. Yuqi too, but it’s not our business if you don’t want to talk about it. Soojin has been the same.” 

Shuhua gulps at the mention of Soojin’s name, releasing her own heavy sigh, as her eyes cast down. 

“She’s been keeping herself busy too, you know, to cope. Maybe not as hardcore as you have, but she’s been busy.” A light chuckle comes from Soyeon as she eyes the ridiculous amount of work in front of Shuhua. 

“I wasn’t fair to her, Soyeon.” Shuhua mutters. 

“That doesn’t mean you don’t love her. You seem to have valid reasons. You’re trying, Shuhua. I know Soojin knows that. This, unfortunately, seemed to be the healthier choice. I’m assuming that’s what Soojin was thinking. Sometimes you have to make those kinds of decisions.” Soyeon moves to pull the chair that’s in front of Shuhua, sitting down and pushing her responsibilities away to just be there for Shuhua, even for a minute. 

“She’s going to wait for you, Shuhua. However long it’ll take for you to be ready. I hope you know that. Don’t think otherwise.” Soyeon assures the younger woman, “she’s never felt like this for anyone before, and I don’t think her feelings are going anywhere anytime soon.” 

“Neither are mine.” Shuhua sighs, “I want her to know that.” 

Soyeon smiles, “I think she knows, Shuhua. You don’t have to worry about that.” 

“Oh, I worry. I feel like that’s all I do.” Shuhua says, a playful tone to her words. 

Soyeon looks at her sympathetically, eyes scanning the tiredness on her face. “Maybe you should take a break, Shuhua. Can I get you something to eat?” 

Shuhua shakes her head, “I’m good with just this.” She points to the coffee on her table, and Soyeon sees her finger practically shake from a combination of caffeine and tiredness, and probably lack of needed nutrition. 

“Shuhua..” Soyeon raises her eyebrows at her knowingly, “you know Soojin will kill me if I let this slide…” she pauses, tilting her head, “so would Yuqi.” 

Shuhua ignores her persuasion, checking the time on her watch, and cursing to herself. “I actually have to leave. I picked up an extra shift at work.” 

Soyeon’s eyebrows burrowed, and she hurriedly clasped onto Shuhua’s forearm to stop her from getting up. “Work? You found a new job?” 

Shuhua blinks, “...no.” 

“You went back? Shuhua, are you crazy?” Soyeon looks at her as if she was, and Shuhua twists her arm from the older woman’s grasp. “Look, it’s fine. I can handle myself, and besides, I need this job. I don’t have time to go to interviews and do job searching, okay? I have other to worry about.”