Joohyun opened the door and felt a rush of warm breeze welcome her. She covered her eyes from the bright sunlight that shone onto the rooftop. She looked around and found the small girl sitting on top of the worn-down crates that were stashed in front of the wall.

Seungwan.

She approached her slowly.

The dark-haired girl turned and saw her.

There was nothing to hear for a moment, only the rush of the breeze enveloping them.

“You came.” Seungwan said, her hair flying around her face.

Joohyun sat wide-legged on one of the crates lower than the one Seungwan was sitting on. “Of course I did. I’m not a no-show.” She picked up an abandoned bottle cap and examined it. It was still slightly shiny and dented. Maybe someone came here before they did.

“Well,” Seungwan exhaled. “I assumed you wouldn’t come. Thought I was just gonna spend lunch period here with the sun and the wind.” She looked at Joohyun.

The brunette looked back at her. “Why are we even here?” She asked, although of course, she knew. Seungwan sighed. “Obviously I want to apologize. For hitting you.” She ran her hand through her short, shaggy, jet black hair. “But I want you to know your words hurt me too. I won’t punch you out of nowhere, Joo. You know that.”

Joohyun nodded. “I know.” She turned away and looked towards the sun.

Another silence filled the air.

Seungwan could only look at Joohyun’s brown hair. She sighed again.

“Your ego still on a roll?”

The brunette turned back to her. “Well, I gotta say it was satisfying to tell you those .”

Seungwan laughed loudly. “I know you were satisfied. Knowing prideful Joohyun.”

This time, Joohyun really turned to face her direction with her whole body. “Don’t get me wrong, okay. I’m sorry. I’m very sorry with the I did. But it’s not about my ego.” She wiped off the sweat beading on her forehead. The wind wasn’t exactly doing its job to keep them cool. Besides, the sun was still high up and shining. “It’s not about my pride, Seungwan, it’s just… I thought you wouldn’t forgive me after it, you know.”

Seungwan huffed. “I could’ve done that. But I didn’t.” She gave Joohyun a small smile. “Because we can do better than that.”

Joohyun got up and hugged Seungwan, causing the crates almost to topple down. Seungwan almost screamed. “Wait, wait! Let me get down first!” She shrieked, and Joohyun laughed.

Seungwan stood and checked her skirt for stains. “I never should sit on crates.” “Yeah, you shouldn’t.” Joohyun said, dusting her skirt.

The two looked at each other and grinned.

It had been a long time since Seungwan and Joohyun came to the rooftop. It used to be their hangout place after school with Sooyoung and Yerim, but then they started hanging out at Automatic, the chill lounge bar in downtown Seoul where Yerim’s older sister, Taeyeon, had gigs as a local singer. Several scouts always went there every week, recording her performances and trying to convince her to join their various labels, but Taeyeon always shut them down. It was amusing seeing all that unfold every week after school.

“You wanna come straight to Automatic with me later tonight?” Joohyun asked Seungwan after they pulled away from the hug. Seungwan wiggled her eyebrows. “Where else would I be if not my house, school or Automatic?”

Joohyun laughed.

The girls cherished Automatic very much because they had tons of great memories there, both happy and d