Sometimes things don't turn out the way we planned, let alone imagined. After all, we are made up of dreams and thoughts, and what would we be without all this? But while often these are pleasant things, such as looking forward to a delicious meal, or seeing someone you like, or an escape from real life to a better life, sometimes the expectations are too high compared to the outcome. Then disappointment mingles with false hopes, and the result is not delightful.

"You look like ," Yuri remarked, swiftly looking up from her laptop to glance at her best friend.

Minjoo pulled out an earbud, sighing profoundly before placing it back in and turning up the volume on her music.

"Hey," Yuri had walked over, coming to sit on her roommate's bed, who once again sighed as she removed her earphone. "You really do look like ."

"I feel mortified, Yuri," the older of the two girls sighed. "My ego? Shattered. I'm nothing but shame and disillusionment."

"And that's what makes you look like an ?" Yuri rested her chin comfortably on her roommate's raised knees, observing her with wide eyes, completely unfazed.

Minjoo glared at her, "I have no makeup on."

"Seriously, is this for your teacher?" the silver-haired girl shook her friend's legs, and the latter let herself go, as limply as the day before.

"Yeah," Minjoo raised her eyebrows. "It's been two days."

"You simped over an het girl," Yuri giggled as she settled a little more comfortably on her roommate's bed. "Down bad."

"I swear, Yuri, I-Ugh," she argued. "Minjeong asked me to come to her show and tell, by the way."

"So what?" Yuri grabbed a pillow and positioned it behind her back, her gaze directed on her phone.

"Well, I wasn't going to go after getting a monumental stop," the brunette complained, glancing at her phone as well, which was displaying all sorts of notifications, but not the one she'd been hoping for two days already. "Like, 'Hi, it's me, today I'm coming to present to a class of kids how their teacher rejected me'?"

"I'm sorry to inform you that heterouality does, in fact, exist," Yuri scoffed, slumping a little more on the bed. "You should have stayed with the girl from the bar."

"The one with red hair?"

"Yeah," Yuri glanced at her, rapidly elevating her eyebrows teasingly. "Hot, right?"

Minjoo shrugged, disinterested.

"She was talking about herself too much," she said. "I'm studying law, not journalism. I'm not really interested in being an interviewer."

"Looking like and a ty mood?" Yuri laughed, amused by her friend's obvious bad condition. "Everything to please. I'm surprised your teacher didn't send you a message."

"You're the worst emotional support ever," sighed Minjoo.

"Welcome back to earth," smiled the silver-haired girl.

Minjoo and Yuri had met for the first time a few years ago on a summer trip to Japan, not knowing that they would one day find themselves accepted at the same university, studying two separate subjects. Jo Yuri, a scholarship student from Busan, was studying management and digital marketing as a music option, which allowed her to follow both marketing techniques and instrumental specialisation closely. Minjoo and she matched right away. In fact, when the lists of names came out for the campus roommates, they were so relieved to find a familiar name that it took them no more than ten minutes to settle into the modest apartment.

Despite their relatively contrasting personalities, the two girls got along like cats and dogs, a relationship punctuated by differences, disagreements and a pure and sincere friendship. One possessed what the other needed, and what was supposed to be a roommate quickly turned into a genuine friendship.

So one could always say what the other refused to admit but knew deep down.

Minjoo sighed one last time, getting up from her bed with difficulty, "Gotta pack."

"You going home?" asked Yuri, just before yawning uncontrollably.

"You're not?" Minjoo glanced at her roommate who shook her head.

As Minjoo gathered some things to spend the weekend outside Seoul, Yuri settled even more comfortably on her bed, commenting aloud on the Tiktoks that fell under her eyes, while Minjoo answered as best she could going back and forth in the room.

"Couples that always film each other doing pranks and all are sooo annoying, uh?" the younger girl spoke.

"Yeah yeah," the brunette replied as she left the bathroom with a small toiletry bag packed. "Exploitation at this point."

"That's it. So weird," Yuri affirmed. "The girl in my class posted a TikTok of her cat, again."

"And when she'll make money off her cat," Minjoo sneered, earning herself a gasp and a stare from her roommate.

Travel bag packed, done and ready to go, Minjoo dropped onto her roommate's bed-it was one of their little things- taking care to close the laptop that was on it. Now she was only waiting for a message from her sister, stating she and her husband would be here.

The university residence was spread over several hectares of more or less imposing buildings, housing the thousands of students at the large Seoul National University. Theirs was in the European quarter, recognisable by the countless flags hanging from the balcony bars. Italy, France, Germany or Norway, the European students knew how to make their nationality a pride, and for this very reason, the neighbourhood was one of the most pleasant on campus.

After three years, the girls' flat had undergone a massive transformation. If the place was drab and conforming when they initially entered it, they had made their mark. The contrast between Yuri's side and Minjoo's was surprising and amusing. There was a large living room with a kitchen, the second bedroom was used as an office and recording studio, and a small wardrobe near the entrance was overflowing with all kinds of stuff.

While Minjoo had a rather classic style, Yuri had not hesitated to add a drop of decoration to their flat. The basic furniture was given a fresh coat of paint, and a bunch of little trinkets that Yuri said had a "use". Although Minjoo doubted the usefulness of the elephant soap dispenser or the distorting mirror on the front door.

Their room could be divided in two by large sliding wooden fences, but only the decoration made it possible to determine which side occupied which. Minjoo's double bed was surrounded by garlands of ivy, and several small pots of plants decorated the tidy white bedside table. On the other side, music posters of all kinds lined the walls, and clothes littered the floor and the small desk as if a tornado had just passed through. The only thing in common between the two parts of the room were the guitars attached to the wall; one acoustic each, one bass and one electric for the musician.

Minjoo's phone buzzed.

"I'm going, Yul," she announced as she hoisted herself out of her roommate's bed, hurriedly grabbing her headphones and a bottle of water. "See you on Sunday."

"See you, headass," the grey-haired girl smiled wryly, waving her unoccupied hand.

The lift ride down was with two Spanish men who had a relatively distinct accent as they greeted her in Korean. The two friends spoke at such a speed that Yuri's flow of speech would never impress her again, yet the musician was breaking records for speed.

Taehyeong's black Hyundai roared up in front of the building, and Minjoo hurriedly threw her bag into the trunk before jumping into the vacant back seat.

"Hey hey," she said, fastening her seatbelt as Minjeong looked on intently.

"Hi, sweetie," Jisoo greeted with a smile, followed by her husband wearing his sunglasses.

"Auntie Minjoo!" the little girl exclaimed as the car started up again, speeding down the concrete road. "I have some stories to tell you."

"Oh yeah?" She ran an affectionate hand over her niece's hair. "Tell me when we get home, I'm going to sleep."

"Aren't you too young to be tired?" Taehyeong teased, glancing at her through the rearview mirror. "Uh?"

"Very funny. I did eight to nine yesterday and we went out," the brunette defended as she made herself more comfortable on the seat. "I'm not to blame anymore, good night."

"Good night, Auntie," chimed the little girl, comfortable in her car seat which elevated her enough to spend the hour's drive looking out, commenting on the familiar landscape, chatting with her parents while Minjoo was already asleep, her head resting against the window.

They arrived at the family home in a small forested area near the Seoulite outskirts at around 7 pm. Minjeong was the first to get out of the car, and after tripping over the step and making sure everything was okay after the fall, she rushed into the house.

Instead of piano lessons, the little girl would have to take athletics. At five years old, Minjeong had already run more kilometres than Minjoo had in twenty-three years.

"You've got your head up your ," Taehyeong commented as he helped Minjoo get her things out of the trunk.

"Why is everyone telling me that today?" the girl complained, her hand on her growling stomach.

"There's a reason," the young man scoffed again. "You're drooling, there, no there."

"Shut up," Minjoo huffed after repeatedly wiping under his laughter. Taehyeong tangled her hair, shoving his ringed hand into his sister-in-law's curls.

"You two behave," Jisoo grumbled, taking Minjeong's bag.

She and Taehyeong had known each other since high school. At first, they were practically enemies, their relationship based exclusively on Taehyeong throwing anything at Jisoo whenever they were in the same area. Then gradually, the young man made it clear that he was nothing but seeking her attention, and Jisoo admitted she liked to have him around. They had been a couple for nine years, soon to be ten, and had been married for five years already.

Taehyeong had an awfully teasing personality, and Minjoo was the new victim.

"I'll take your bag, go ahead," grinned the short-haired man, dressed in a simple Ralph Lauren polo shirt and beach shorts...which was a nice change from suits and ties.

"Thanks for being a man," Minjoo joked as she headed home.

Good habits die hard, and she received a slipper right on the head. After so much practice, a worn-out wife and sister-in-law, Taehyeong never missed his target. Hence, both he and his daughter possessed incredible athletic skills.

After hugging her parents, Minjoo went to her room, which was the same one she had spent her entire childhood in.

The meal, once again, was hearty and plentiful. Minjoo and Jisoo's parents loved to have their children over on weekends, and each time they would cook as if the children had not eaten all week. And what's more, they didn't even bother to make it organic, much to Jisoo's displeasure.

As everyone was enjoying their food, Minjoo's phone vibrated between her legs, and when she discreetly unlocked it, her eyes widened and a lump appeared in her stomach.

--- 02-332-3458

hey it's minjeong's teacher

i was kind of expecting to see you at the show and tell lol

sorry for not texting earlier :/ i was mad busy

---

Oh.

.

She texted.

It was two days after, but she sent a message. Minjoo bit her lower lip nervously, resting her phone between her thighs after reading and rereading the three texts from the unknown number-- her crush. She picked up her chopsticks again, twirling the small chive leaf in her dish of home-cooked noodles, reciting the teacher's words over and over to herself.

Therefore an answer meant that she was possibly interested... So why wait two days? Sure, she said she was busy, but it seemed more like a simple oversight. Still, Minjoo could have sworn that if, and now she doubted it, the teacher who had been staring at her was really attracted to her for a while, she would have sent a message as soon as she got home. But then again, maybe Minjoo had gotten a little carried away, maybe looks don't tell the whole story, and maybe the woman in the deer outfit wasn't reciprocating the feeling.

Anyway, if she had waited for a message, the y professor would wait for an answer.

And three minutes later-she tried-, Minjoo grabbed an empty carafe, her phone, and went into the kitchen, leaning on the counter as the carafe slowly filled with water.

Her fingers began to type an answer, but she promptly deleted it; it sounded too cheerful. She turned off the water before the carafe overflowed, ran a nervous hand through her brown locks, pursed her lips and then wrote a new message…

Hi sounded too cold, Hii too playful, Hiii too childish, hiiiiiii too desperate...

---

hi🙃

---

Well, first thing's done.

Next, what to say to the second message? And first, what did it mean? Leaving school with her niece, right after giving her number to the teacher, Minjoo had already seen herself the next day at the show and tell, only coming to pursue this little game of seduction that was going on between them. Nevertheless, faced with the other young woman's lack of manifestation, her pride had gotten the better of her, and she convinced Jisoo to leave work and go to the show and tell herself.

But then, why did Chaewon - wow, being able to call her that set off a small spark in Minjoo's stomach- say she'd hoped to see her? It was contradictory, but it did mean something, right?

"Minjoo?" her mother's voice came from the dining room. "Honey, can you get the soy sauce, please?"

The girl stepped away from the counter, opened the drawer with one hand and grasped the small bottle, "Yep yep."

Sleep on it to think better, and getting soy sauce does the same.

In the end, she might as well give it a shot; there was only one way to find out if the 'thing' was really mutual, or if her feeling was indeed wrong.

---

you wanted to see me? 

---

Then for the last message, she wasn't going to mess around. Straight-she frowned at the word-, to the point.

---

it's okay🙃 i guess i misunderstood some things

---

And there it was; sent.

She slipped her phone into the back pocket of her jeans, took the carafe and the bottle of Soy sauce, then left the kitchen with impatience for a response mixed with apprehension about getting an another stop. But deep down, despite the doubt caused by the two and a half days of absolute silence, she knew she had made a pretty good impression on the teacher.

And it was immediately confirmed when her mobile phone vibrated in her pocket.

--- 02-332-3458

isn't it evident now lol

minsunderstood?

oh i see

well, i know how to make it clear

---

Despite her good manners, she couldn't help but discreetly open the message application, flinging a thoughtful glance around the table as her -full- belly turned in on itself. This time she wasn't even listening to her thoughts, letting her fingers type on the keyboard.

how?

She raised her eyebrows nervously as the three little dots appeared in the conversation, a sign that Chaewon was already typing an answer.

--- 02-332-3458

we're going out

---

Minjoo instinctively bit her lip to keep from smiling too much, glancing nervously at her family members who didn't seem to notice her agitation. Her heart raced in her chest.

--- 02-332-3458

whenever you're free

---

-

Lying on her bed, a clay mask applied to her entire face, another mask of avocado and argan oil working on her brown curls in a bun, Minjoo typed at full speed on her keyboard, giggling like a teen seconds later, as she had for the past three days without interruption.

--- chaewon

last year a kid drew on my white prada bag and i honestly rethought my whole life decisions

lipstick on your valentino white bag!?

not lipstick

wait-

was that another vine reference?😂

boomer

and what was the drawing? maybe some creator would love the design

---

Her roommate sighed loudly, not withdrawing her eyes off her laptop screen. The little rock playlist that had been playing for a few hours now was replaced by a frankly ridiculously romantic tune of trumpets and a mushy voice; Careless Whisper.

Minjoo chuckled, glancing petty at her best friend, "Told ya."

"Told ya," scoffed the other girl.

Of course, the first thing Minjoo did when she got back to the flat after two nights at her parents' house was to throw her phone with a dozen new messages in Chaewon's name at Yuri. And of course, Yuri kept teasing her about it, especially since Minjoo and Chaewon were talking absolutely incessantly.

--- chaewon

we're literally the same age

oh honey, only desigual would pull something like this

---

Whether it was through messages, voicemails and even a phone call that lasted almost two hours, the two young women never left each other for a second, and to tell the truth, Yuri even insisted on unrolling the artificial wall that separated their room in two under the pretext that seeing too much love made her nauseous.

"Are you coming home to sleep?" asked Yuri, turning down the music.

"When?"

"Tomorrow," Yuri said as if it were obvious. "After your date."

"Duh," Minjoo gave her a wide-eyed look. "I'm not going to her place on the first date."

"Considering how it's between you two, I expect the worst..." giggled Yuri then, delighted to see her friend's ears blush, caught in the act. It had to be said, Teacher Chaewon knew how to seduce, and Minjoo was happy to fall for her game.

---

i saw you in a deer onesie and still thought you were hot..but you in a desigual patchwork dress...i won't pretend🙁

do you have to remind me every time?😭

i will never stop

everyone has different tastes when it comes to dress, but you just make really bad decisions 

stop attacking my clothes😂😭

or at least guarantee you're gonna take them off someday

of course, deer teacher😌

good nighttt

good night:)

---

And the two roommates spent the end of their Sunday evening rather quietly, one immersed in her management revisions, the second busy smiling like a damn fool behind her screen.