Lia thinks Ryujin is cheating.

But that doesn’t make sense, they’re not dating.

Are they?

Not that they both have discussed it in the past.

Or more of Ryujin has been tiptoeing around the idea since they started—

Started what? They’re not dating. She doesn’t even know what they are.

So, Lia did what Lia does best. Sulk all day, and let her grumpy self take over.

She may or may have not called Karina ten times now.

Why the hell is this girl not answering her phone?

“I was busy.” Karina explained when she answered on the eleventh one.

“Busy doing what? , it’s summer break.”

“Well…”

“Don’t answer. I called about something else.”

“And I care because?”

“What’s the deal with Ryujin?” Lia says otherwise, ignoring the comment from the other girl. “I mean, is she just messing around with me but messing around with someone else at the same time?”

“I don’t think—”

“Like, she’ll suddenly get these calls and she would discreetly go outside to talk.” Lia continues.

“I’m not s—”

“Then, whenever I would check up on her… Not that I’m trying to sneak up on her or something.. She’d hurriedly end the call and would whisper to whoever the is on the other line and come back to me like nothing happened.”

“Well does she—”

“I swear, I’m not that paranoid girlfriend—not that I’m a girlfriend or sort, I don’t even know what are we but I’m starting to get suspicious of her. Is she actually dating someone else behind my back? Or worse, am I the third party here?”

Lia continues to rant, and Karina just chuckles in the background.

“You see, I’ve known Ryujin for a little while now, and I don’t think she’s capable of doing that.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Well, for starters, she didn’t even want to date—at all.”

Lia hums on the other line.

“She had been so wary of getting attached to someone, I’m actually surprised you’re…. wait, what are you again?” Karina teased.

“Shut up.”

“But hey, that’s progress. She’s doing things to you—”

“With you—” Lia corrects.

“Yeah, that too... It’s slow, but it’s still progress.”

“You talk like you know a lot about relationships.” Lia quips.

“Oh no, I don’t. But at least I’m in one.”

“WHAT THE YU JIMIN?!!”

“Bye Jisu.”

“DON’T YOU ING DARE HANG UP ON ME WHAT RELATIONSH—”

Toot. Toot. Toot.

That —

She’s already dating Winter and I’m yet to confirm my dating status with Ryujin?

The audacity?!

-

Three more days.

Three more days before Winter’s mom comes to pick her up.

It’s sad, really. All her hopes of having a normal high school life like any of her friends are gone. Once she enrolls in their hometown, it’ll be the third school she has to deal with for her high school life.

Winter thinks she’s like those kids with their fathers in the army, moving every single time their dads change the location too.

Except for her, it’s because of her mom.

The initial choice to move to AE-U was hers— at least with that, she won.

That makes her feel like she's really going to have a hard time winning this one. Somehow, it felt like the chance to decide where she wants to go was already used up, so the ball is now on her mother's court.

SM-U was great. That’s where she spent her middle school years too, and she made good friends along the way.

That’s where she met Yi Zhuo, and she’ll always be thankful for having that girl as her best friend. Of course, Chaeryeong as well. The three of them had been friends since then and there’s no reason she’ll leave SM-U because of them.

The majority of her decision can be accredited to where she lives.

SM-U was too far from Taeyeon’s place, so for her whole middle school and first year of high school, she was staying with their aunt.

It was going so well, but then her aunt married, and her husband started living with her, as expected.

Then her aunt got pregnant after five months, and the place was starting to get smaller and smaller for all of them. Her aunt, bless her, still wanted her to live with them, but Winter thinks it’s better off for her to live with her sister instead.

It was not an overnight decision, really.

It was an accumulated series of events that led to her leaving SM-U and joining her sister who’s then starting her own business.

She initially wanted to continue her studies at SM-U, but it would be too hard for her to travel from Taeyeon’s place.

Plus, the first year of high school in SM-U wasn’t that enjoyable for her really, as she skipped a year and left her friends in the final year of middle school.

That, and because of Min—

Nope, Minjeong, don't think about her anymore.

So... it wasn’t that heavy heart for her to leave SM-U and move to the nearest school from Taeyeon’s place—AE-U.

Now, she’s off to moving schools again and she’s running out of reasons why she should stay with Taeyeon.

“I don’t want to leave my friends, Omma.”

“You left Yi Zhuo and Chaeryeong in SM-U, and you’ve been with them for years. You’ve been in AE-U for a semester, Minjeong, don’t be ridiculous.”

“But Omma, the quality of education is way better in AE-U.”

“I’m enrolling you to a private school in Busan, that school you said you wanted to get in before.”

“I’ve been living great with Taeyeon unnie, why can’t I just stay with her?”
“Are you telling me you don’t like living with your parents? You’re breaking my heart here, Minjeongie.”

-

Ryujin was washing the dishes when she heard her phone ringing nonstop from the living room.

"Unnie, Jimin-unnie is calling you!" Ryujin hears Yuna, voice getting nearer and nearer.

"Here." Yuna shows up her phone with the contact Yooji-unnie flashing on the screen.

"Answer it, I'm almost done." Ryujin instructs.

"Jimin-unnie!!!" Yuna excitedly greets, putting the phone on speaker.

"Shinnayu~" Karina calls lovingly and Ryujin smiles at that. She's finishing up washing and is now placing the utensils in their dish rack.

"She's still washing the dishes so I'm answering on her behalf." Yuna tells the older.

"Ooh did you trick her into doing that?" Karina teased and Ryujin rolled her eyes.

"You're acting as if I don't wash the dishes regularly." She yells from the sink. Ryujin hears Karina chuckle on the other line.

"How's our Shinanyu doing hmmm?" Karina said, getting her attention back to the youngest.

"I'm fantastic, unnie. I can't wait for the next semester to start... and for it to finish so I can be on the same campus as you guys!" 

"Ah of course, now you'll easily know if your unnie's getting into trouble, yeah?" Karina jokes again, making the youngest grin. 

Ryujin dries up her hands and Yuna hands the phone to her sister. Ryujin takes it off of speaker and signs for Yuna to go back to the living room. The youngest frowned and yelled I miss you unnie visit me soon before disappearing.

"What's going on?" Ryujin greets.

"Nothing from you and Lia, apparently." Karina quips.

"Huh, weird for you to say that when you're in the same boat." Ryujin states, somehow proud of her come back.

"Not anymore..." 

"You— who asked first?" Ryujin said. "No, of course, it was you. You asked me first then too." 

"Funny that you said that, it was her actually. Well, she beat me into it." Karina said. "And please, don't flatter yourself, Jinie. I was confused." 

"Meh, I should call her and warn her. She still got time to get away from you." Ryujin jokes. 

Karina was quiet on the other line though, making Ryujin feel guilty of her joke.

"I'm kidding, Yooji unnie, I'm sure you'll be a great girlfriend."

"No, it's not that. She's actually getting away from me." Karina confessed.

Karina tells Ryujin everything—well excluding why Winter's mom is trying to get her to go home, and that of course, she can hear thoughts. She tells her how hard it was for both of them, especially Winter.

"I don't know what to say." Ryujin mumbles.

"You don't have to say anything. Actually, I didn't call about that." Karina said, realizing she got sidetracked from her original purpose of calling. 

"Huh, what is it then?" 

"Lia."

"Did she tell you why she's mad at me?" Ryujin asked. She noticed that the girl has been cold recently, only giving her one-word answers and not her usual clingy self.

Ryujin tells Karina about all the reasons she thought were the cause of the sudden shift in her lover's mood. 

Ryujin thinks back to everything they did during summer break, after the trip with the gang.

They didn't do much, really, but she spent most of her days in Jisu's place, like always. The older was supposed to go home to her parents but decided against it, and just stayed in her apartment instead.

Sometimes, Yuna would sleep over too and the three of them would bond over Korean series, horror movies, and board games. 

When it's just the two of them, Ryujin would come with Lia whenever she needs to go outside. They'd go out to get groceries, sometimes they would end up window shopping too in the furniture section, looking at curtains and bedsheets and pillowcases. Lia often jokes she'll need to get a bigger bed because Ryujin takes up a lot of space.

Ryujin thinks hard of why Lia was mad at her, so she takes a stroll to her memory lane, digging up into the past two days.

Was it because she said pizza shouldn't have pineapples?

Was it because she chose the green curtain when- I thought we both love the color blue, Ryujinie?

Or was it because she said mint chocolate ice creams are just toothpaste-flavored ice creams?

Or maybe it's because she scared her in the bathroom when they just finished watching a horror story?

"Whatever you're thinking, it's not that." Karina breaks her train of thought.

"What it is then? I was supposed to come over tonight but she said no and then when I asked her when I should sleep there she just left me on read."

"Tell me, Ryujinie. Who else do you talk to on the phone aside from her and obviously me?"

"Well Yuna, omma, appa—"

"Aside from them, pabo." 

"Hmmm. I don't think— OHH. Ohhh." 

"Who is it?"

"Ningning."

"Ningning, as in, Ning Yi Zhu