"KANG HYEWON!!!!!!!!!!"

 

 

The scandalous voice was loud enough to almost beat the university's emergency siren that it made the students present in the university square stop and turn to where the noise came from.

 

Kang Hyewon, however, with her airpods plugged in, is unbothered by this and continued to walk towards the exit until she is harshly yanked back on her collar by the woman who just screamed her name from across the yard just a few seconds ago.

 

"Ack—" Hyewon thought she'd choke to death as she coughed hard while the culprit of her close-encounter with death stood guiltily on her side, muttering her sincerest apologies with her protruding and puckering mouth.

 

She takes one airpod off and glares at the woman once she's recovered. "What the hell is your problem?"

 

"Dude, you promised to accompany me at the dance club auditions!"

 

Hyewon pauses for a moment and thinks back to the first day of the week when she half-heartedly made a promise to accompany Yena to her dance audition.

 

"That was today?"

 

"YES!" Yena yells in frustraion and glances at her Apple watch. "In like twenty minutes! Come on! You have to go with me."

 

If there's anything that Hyewon hates doing, it is breaking promises. And she just wants to scold herself so hard at the moment because she also made another promise yesterday with another person that she hasn't seen for months.

 

She thinks thoroughly for a while, ignoring her panicking friend who once again caught the attention of the other students passing by. Yena is just such a head-turner with her weird mannerisms that even Hyewon can't control.

 

"Kwangbae, come on. Didn't you say you wanted to see Chaeyeon dance too?"

 

In the end, Hyewon really can't say no to Yena or to the chance that she can get to see their  infamous friend Lee Chaeyeon dance for free. But beyond her friends, she has other reasons to anticipate during the auditions that her friend doesn't know.

 

She heaves a sigh and hopes that Eunbi would also understand why she has to back out.

 

"Okay, let's go."

 

"YES! This is why I love you, Kwangbae!" Yena, without warning, squeezes her into a hug and rubs their cheeks together, much to Hyewon's disgust and she pushes her away.

 

As they walk towards the dance club room, Hyewon sneaks a message to Eunbi.

 

 

[17:10] hyem: unnie, I'm sorry but I can't make it today. something came up.

 

[17:11] eunbi: it's okay. some other time then?

 

 

Hyewon couldn't send her reply because they arrived at the dance club and everyone is told to keep their phones as it is not allowed to be used inside the club room to avoid unauthorized filming.

 

It's okay. She'll understand, she thinks as she sinks on to the floor next to a nervous duck.

 

"Will you please just relax?" She tells Yena who couldn't stop shaking her legs.

 

"I can't! I'm nervous as ." Yena spat the curse a little too loud that the woman sitting a bit close to them whipped her head towards their direction with an annoyed look.

 

Hyewon has an eye for spotting pretty women and she could immediately say and rightfully judge that the annoyed woman is a beauty. And a cute one at that with how she closely resembled a hamster right at the first glance. She didn't look prepped for the audition so she thought she's also just like her, supporting a friend.

 

"Sorry." Hyewon mutters an apology in behalf of Yena who is now suddenly frozen in her spot. The woman doesn’t respond to the apology and turns her attention back to where the dance club members are huddled up.

 

"You need to get your together, duck." She tells her friend but Yena remains unresponsive. She peeks at her and finds that she's still staring at the annoyed woman from a while ago.

 

She smacks Yena hard on the head that earns her a very upset and disapproving gaze.

 

"Focus. You're here to dance, not to flirt."

 

Yena rubs the back of her head and streatches out her legs. "Geez, I'm just appreciating beauty."

 

"Sure. And I can already tell you have something planned in mind right after this."

 

Yena doesn't deny it and instead grins before enthusiastically jumping on to her feet. Hyewon plants a hand on her face. She knows Yena is about to embarrass herself one way or another.

 

***

 

The auditions doesn't start for another ten minutes since, apparently, there are still core members missing—ironically, it's the leader and assistant. Yena is getting antsy but turns into stone every time the hamster-like woman faces their direction. Hyewon had to slap her a few times to get her to focus and not embarrass herself way earlier than she expects.

 

Chaeyeon also dropped by their place to chat,  saying she's also nervous even though she's not auditioning and was just observing as a core member of the club.

 

Hyewon finds it disappointing that she might not get to witness Chaeyeon dance today, but all that is erased when the dancer assures them that the seniors will most likely throw her in for an impromptu freestyle battle with the auditioning members. (She tells them that it's a secret and that doesn't help Yena calm down at all.)

 

Not long after, the door busts open and two beautiful women walk in and everyone is instantly on their feet greeting them and squealing at their presence.

 

Hyewon immediately recognizes the two as she had already been long a fan of them both even before stepping into the university, especially the woman wearing a beanie that added charisma points to her undeniably strong presence.

 

Noh Jihye, or better known as Noze, the leader, has everyone head over heels for her even with just a cropped-top longsleeve and cargo pants. Much more when she stands side-by-side with the assistant leader, Rozalin, who is also a beauty in her own right wearing a beret and oversized t-shirt tucked neatly into her shorts.

 

"Gotta go. Good luck, Yena!" Chaeyeon cheers before skipping back to her place with the rest of the members.

 

Two loud claps were heard and everyone immediately hushed to focus their attention on Noze who charismatically stands in the middle of the room.

 

 

"Want2B is pleased to see a lot of new faces this year. So let's not waste any time and let's get this thing started."

 

 

And the room erupts in cheers.

 

 

***

 

"Congratulations on not embarrassing yourself, ducky!" Hyewon greets Yena right after everyone is dismissed.

 

"Ha ha, very funny." Yena mocks, wiping her sweating neck with a towel Hyewon had handed over to her. The audition have just ended and everyone is already preparing to leave.

 

"Yena! Hyewon!" They turn their heads to Chaeyeon who is jogging up to them. "Wanna go grab dinner with us?"

 

"Us?"

 

"Noze unnie is treating us out. Said we can invite whoever we want. Hitomi and Yuri are coming too." Chaeyeon even points at the only Japanese student who was apparently the one being accompanied by the annoyed hamster-like woman.

 

Seeing who Chaeyeon was pointing at, Yena is quick to give her positive response that leaves Hyewon hesitating as she glances at the message on her phone that she received more than an hour ago.

 

 

[19:02] eunbi: tell me when you're home. let's call.

 

 

"Hyewon?"

 

Hyewon looks up and is about to decline when she spots Noze walking up to them. She couldn’t believe it's finally happening. She's standing literally just a feet away from the woman that she's a huge fan of!

 

"You're joining us, right?" Noze's deep feminine voice sounded refreshing to Hyewon and she mindlessly nodded her head, completely forgetting that Eunbi is waiting for her reply. "Alright. We'll head out first. Drive safely, Chaeyeon."

 

The senior flashes them a warm smile before heading towards the door where Rozalin is already waiting.

 

"She's so cool!" Yena swoons and acts like her knees are giving up which earns a laugh from Chaeyeon.

 

Hyewon laughs too—until she receives another message from Eunbi.

 

[20:27] eunbi: let's just call some other time. i'm heading to bed early. good night, hyewon-ah

 

 

***

 

"No way! You won all those by yourself?" Noze exclaims in disbelief after hearing about Hyewon's Korean Mathematical Olympiad stint in high school. It's a story that bores Hyewon to death when sharing to others, but with how enthusiastic Noze and even Rozalin—who's infamously known for being less expressive when not dancing—were listening to her, she felt proud telling them about it.

 

"I didn't win it all." Hyewon says bashfully.

 

"That's still a feat." Rozalin says with a smirk. "Jihye unnie barely even passed that subject in high school."

 

"Stop spouting nonsense, Eungyu. I had better scores than you."

 

"Eungyu?" Yena asks, curious as she has never heard that name before.

 

"Her real name." Noze points mockingly at Rozalin and the latter glares. "I told you not to call me that." Noze ignores her whining and sticks out her tongue.

 

Hyewon, on the other hand, finds it surreal to be sitting in the same table as the two and sharing a part of her life to them. She wishes someone would just pinch her hard so that she can confirm it isn't dream.

 

And somebody actually does pinch her hard—on her thigh under the table.

 

Her piercing glare immediately directs to Yena and she mouths in silence, "What is your problem?"

 

Yena leans in and whispers, "Help me with Yuri."

 

Hyewon pushes her away, almost making Yena fall off the chair. "No."

 

And that came out too loud than she intended and everyone at their table heard her.

 

"You okay, Hyewon?" Chaeyeon asks.

 

"Y-Yeah. Yena's just being annoying."

 

"Yah, yah, yah! I was asking nicely." Yena reiterates but Hyewon just rolls her eyes.

 

In front of them, Noze is amusingly observing them in silence.

 

 

***

 

Sundays are always uneventful for Hyewon. Ever since Eunbi graduated and she lost a roommate, she is left with nothing but only books to bond with and tons of math problems to solve during the weekend.

 

Not that she actually has a choice when she is under the university's math olympiad adviser and, unfortunately, her advanced calculus professor who always expects her to present answers from solving the pages of math problems and equations that he's given the previous meeting.

 

It's a preparation for the next Olympiad, Professor Kim always says even though she has already expressed no will to particpate this year.

 

But that man is only good with numbers, not with human expressions and language. And Hyewon doesn't know how to say no to people, especially her seniors, so there's that problem.

 

 

Eunbi was the only person that kept her Sundays occupied, no matter how much schoolwork there is needed to be complied—none of it mattered because they were together.

 

 

Together.

 

 

Hyewon knows they were roommates, but she is well-aware that they were more than just roommates. But that was never made clear between them because Eunbi was already packed and ready to leave the day Hyewon realized it all.

 

She didn't even know if Eunbi was aware of it as well—that is not until one stormy night that they were in a video call.

 

 

 

The rain poured like there was no tomorrow and the wind angrily slapped the dorm windows. The storm was scary, but it didn't faze Hyewon at all. She was already prepping for bed, discarding the book she was reading on the bedside table when her phone rang rhythmically beside it.

 

After seeing the caller ID with the prettiest picture she's ever taken of the older woman, Hyewon didn't hesitate on answering the call right away, not minding if she looked presentable or not. It didn't matter anyway. Not when Eunbi already saw her much worse when they still lived together.

 

"Hyewon-ah~" Eunbi, as always, is so endearing whenever she calls for her name. And it makes Hyewon a tad bit flustered, but, of course, doesn't make it obvious.

 

"Unnie, I miss you." She tells her right off the bat and the latter doesn't even skip a beat in answering back. "I miss you, too."

 

They exchange chuckles and stare at each other on their screens for a good few seconds before Hyewon decides to break the ice.

 

"Unnie..."

 

"Hmm?"

 

"When are you gonna visit?"

 

Eunbi gives her a tight-lipped smile, "Soon."

 

Hyewon doesn't dare hide her frown and even shows it visibly on screen. "That's what you told me last time too."

 

Eunbi, by then, already realized Hyewon knew she was lying. Of course, Hyewon would always know when she is lying. Kang Hyewon knows Kwon Eunbi so well and way better than anyone.

 

"I'm sorry. It’s been really tough trying to get leave credits from my work."

 

"You should've just accepted the offer in Seoul." Hyewon unintentionally blurts out, out of her frustration from remembering how Eunbi easily decided on accepting the job offer from Daegu instead of just in the city.

 

Eunbi's gaze softened and Hyewon thankfully thought that she isn't mad at her for saying that.

 

"We already talked about this. I accepted the offer because—"

 

"Because you love the job better than the one in Seoul. I know." Hyewon sighs. "I'm sorry, unnie. I just really miss you. I miss my princess."

 

It must have been the lightning or the rolling of thunder, but something suddenly shifted during the call and Eunbi did not hesitate to even hop on it bravely.

 

"I really miss you too, my love."

 

 

That night, Hyewon was confident that Eunbi knew whatever was going on between them as well. After that, their conversations casually shifted into something more than just what friends would normally talk about.

 

But still, neither of them verbally placed the label on it nor did they ever talk about it.

 

It just happened.

 

Eunbi never stopped calling her my love either.

 

And now, for months, Hyewon has been dying to score a romantic date with Eunbi, with hopes that during that, she can finally, and bravely, bare her feelings and let the label be firmly established between them. No longer do they have to wander individually still with uncertainties about where they both stand in their relationship.

 

However, that has been proven to be a lot tougher than her math problems.

 

Because ever since she had turned down Eunbi on the only day that she's been sent to Seoul for work, it has become more difficult to even just plan when the next opportunity for them would be available.

 

Eunbi may love her job, but Hyewon definitely hates it to the core. Especially when she found out that the woman has to work even on weekends. Before, they would still be able to spend time every night talking to each other over the phone, but now, it's even more scarce than the food stock Hyewon has in the dorm.

 

Hyewon's stomach grumbles after reading her dreaded sushi word in the problem she is solving and she remembers she is supposed to do groceries.

 

 

She sighs.

 

It was definitely a lot more easier with Eunbi as her roommate. Not only because she felt inspired (although she was still painfully oblivious about it), but also because Eunbi definitely knew how to take care of them both.

 

With Eunbi, she's never skipped a meal. With Eunbi, she's never been late to class. With Eunbi, she's never had trouble finding her belongings. Although the older woman had tendencies of being such a baby sometimes, to Hyewon, being with Eunbi felt everything was just like how it was for her when she was still living with her parents.

 

 

To put it simply, Eunbi was like a mom.

 

 

She shivers at her thoughts. No, she doesn’t have a kink. Oh god, no. She really just misses her.

 

 

God, she really needs to call her REAL mom later.

 

 

***

 

Another thing that made it easier when Eunbi was still around is that Hyewon never really had any dilemma when doing grocery shopping. Eunbi always had an instant answer to her every question and all she really needed to do was push the cart and follow the older woman around.

 

And now that she's alone, she can't even decide if she wants to buy the discounted bacon or the premium beef.

 

"Oh? Isn't it Hyewon?" Hyewon whips her head at the mention of her name.

 

Just a meter away, Noze stood behind her own cart that is filled with nothing but chips.

 

Hyewon quickly drops the bacon she was holding and dips her head to greet the senior.

 

"Hello, sunbaenim."

 

"I told you, just call me unnie." Noze smiles and Hyewon bashfully smiles back. "O-Okay, unnie."

 

"Are you doing groceries alone?" The dancer asks and she nods her head.

 

"Me too. I mean, I'm not alone, but yeah. Groceries." Noze lightly stomps her foot and looks around the area, muttering a question. "Where did that woman go?"

 

"Jihye—" Hyewon heard another familiar voice at the other direction and spots Rozalin with a huge watermelon in her hold. She looked surprised at first before realizing that it's Hyewon that's looking at her. "Ah... Hyewon-ah, hello!"

 

"H-Hello!"

 

"Where did you get that?" Noze asks, pointing at the watermelon.

 

"Middle aisle. Discounted." Rozalin answers briefly as she carefully places the fruit in their cart. Then she turns to Hyewon, "You should buy one too. It's the perfect pair to this damned weather."

 

That is true. The summer heat is really being such a that Hyewon even had thoughts about mintchoco ice cream even though she hates it. Eugh!

 

"I– Okay."

 

"Say, Hyewon, are you going somewhere after this?" Noze asks while Hyewon is placing the bacon in her cart. Sorry beef, maybe next time.

 

"Uhm, no. Just going back to the dorm." And drown in mathematics.

 

Hyewon isn't quite sure if she saw it right, but Rozalin was subtly tugging on the hem of Noze's sweater. The latter doesn't seem to notice it so she dismisses the thought.

 

"Let's have dinner together. My treat." Noze says casually and Hyewon is definitely sure she caught Rozalin's pout before the latter quickly wiped it with a smile.

 

Hyewon wants to decline, but her stomach has already been growling the entire time she's in the groceries and her wallet is also screaming no to fast-food. Her allowance isn't coming until Tuesday.

 

And most importantly, how can she deny an offer from a pretty woman like Noze?

 

"Is it really okay?"

 

"Of course. Why wouldn't it be?" Noze even cracks a little chuckle. "Come on. Let's go pay for these. I'm starving."

 

Noze starts pushing her cart with Rozalin walking closely beside her and telling her something in a hushed tone. Hyewon thinks about backing out and heading straight home instead and just cook herself some cupped ramen but, again, her stomach growls angrily and she easily gives up the thought.

 

***

 

The moment Hyewon arrived at the dorm, she immediately discarded her groceries in the kitchen and plopped on the couch.

 

She is dead tired. And the heavy dinner that Noze treated them with just made her feel lazier to even move a muscle. She makes an excuse to herself to get a power nap.

 

A minute or two of shuteye will do.

 

But a notification bell from her phone interrupts her time just ten seconds after she shut her eyes.

 

 

Thinking that it might be Eunbi, she doesn't complain and swiftly fishes her phone out of her pocket check the notif.

 

Unfortunately, it wasn't a message from Eunbi.

 

But rather from Noze whom she just exchanged numbers with an hour ago.

 

 

[20:08] noze: you forgot your watermelon

 

 

Hyewon groans in frustration. She knew she left something and yet she just ignored her gut because she wanted to get home fast.

 

 

[20:09] noze: what's your dorm number? will drop it off in the morning

 

[20:09] hyewon: oh no i'm really sorry unnie

 

[20:09] hyewon: it's 342G, west wing

 

[20:10] noze: don't worry about it, it's fine

 

[20:10] noze: zal will knock around 7am. you're still around by then, right?

 

[20:11] hyewon: yes.. but who's zal, unnie?

 

 

The reply doesn't come immediately, giving Hyewon time to guess who it is. Her sleepiness completely worn off as she thinks hard.

 

Her phone pinged as the reply came.

 

 

[20:13] noze: sorry, i meant rozalin, haha

 

[20:13] noze: don't tell her i slipped up

 

 

Hyewon ponders for a bit, but doesn't ask why.

 

 

[20:14] hyewon: okay unnie

 

[20:14] hyewon: thanks for the dinner... again

 

[20:15] noze: don't mention it

 

[20:15] noze: i won't hesitate about treating you again :)

 

 

That night, Hyewon's mind is flooded with questions about Noze's intentions and her relationship with Rozalin.

 

 

***

 

"Hey."

 

Hyewon looks up from her paper and sees Sakura taking the vacant seat in front of her. It's lunch time and she's passing time in the cafeteria solving another set of math problems her professor gave her earlier.

 

"Don't you get tired solving those?" Sakura asks as she unpacks a sausage stick, then quickly taking a bite.

 

"I've got no choice." Hyewon shrugs and goes back to solving the equation she's been dealing with the past ten minutes.

 

"You always have a choice. You just never take the other one." Sakura meaningfully says and it stops Hyewon from solving again.

 

"What are you trying to say?"

 

To be honest, it irks her that Sakura suddenly shows up and ruin her mood for the day. They were really good friends—they were close like how she is close with Yena since the latter was the common friend that intoduced them to each other. Sakura was also close with Eunbi.

 

But for who knows what reason, after Eunbi graduated, they suddenly slipped apart. They stopped hanging out and they stopped talking. It only got better when Sakura got into a relationship with Chaeyeon. But still, their bond was severed and Sakura never stopped saying cryptic messages to her when they're alone just like what she just did that neither Hyewon's mathematically-trained mind ever could crack to understand.

 

Sakura just kept munchung on her sausage stick, ignoring Hyewon's confused look.

 

"Kkura—"

 

"I heard you got close with the Want2B leaders?" Sakura asks, pretending like the previous exchange never happened.

 

"They're just being nice."

 

Sure, she's been spending a lot of her free time with them. She doesn't even remember how it exactly started to become frequent, but it just happened once and since then, she never says no each time they ask her to join them, especially when it's Noze asking her. That woman just really has her ways with people that doesn't warrant you to decline.

 

But she really wouldn't consider herself as part of their 'close friends' circle. She's just a common friend who got absorbed and not given the chance to back out because of their strong and persuasive personalities.

 

Don't get her wrong. She loves being in their company. But of course the feeling of not belonging to their group will always linger. Also, there are people who misinterpret it often—with Sakura being one of them.

 

Sakura hums as she crumples the plastic in her hand. "Of course. It all starts there."

 

"Excuse me?" Now, Sakura is definitely sounding ridiculous to Hyewon. "Seriously, what is your problem?"

 

"Solve it, genius. Don't you always have the answers?"

 

"I don't waste time on solving something that's clearly not what is being asked."

 

Sakura stares at her and Hyewon equals her gaze the same.

 

If Chaeyeon didn't arrive and interrupt them, someone might have already died in their head.

 

"You guys should've seen Yena in practice. She killed the choreo."

 

Chaeyeon was telling them stories about the club practice. And yes, Yena did sucessfully get into Want2B, along with Hitomi and four other people that Hyewon can't remember the names. Hyewon isn't fully paying attention to Chaeyeon's stories though as she's still annoyed by Sakura's inexplicable attitude towards her.

 

"I bet Eunbi would love to try it out." Sakura says and it catches another portion of Hyewon's attention.

 

"Oh, definitely! I heard Noze unnie is trying to get in touch with her for a special project, but that's still undecided."

 

Now, Hyewon's torn her eyes off the numbers and is looking eager to squeeze out more details from Chaeyeon.

 

"What project? Is she gonna come here?"

 

It doesn't escape her sight how Sakura is mockingly smirking at her. But she pretends not to see it. She is not interested in whatever bull Sakura is thinking.

 

"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you actually..." Chaeyeon lets out a nervous chuckle. She was never supposed to mention it to anyone after all.

 

"Just tell her, Chae. Who knows she might finally choose the right thing to do this time."

 

Hyewon slams her hands on the table and leans over to the Japanese who remains unfazed in her seat. The busy cafeteria is hushed and all eyes are on them which causes Chaeyeon to panic and immediately moves to stop them.

 

"H-Hey, Hyewon, calm down. Don't make a scene here." Chaeyeon successfully manages to get Hyewon off the table, but the latter doesn't tear her threatening gaze from Sakura.

 

"You should tell your girlfriend to watch ."

 

"I– I will. Just, please just chill out and take a seat."

 

Instead of doing so, Hyewon gathers all her stuff and swings her bag on her shoulder. She is about to walk away when she hears Sakura talk again.

 

"Until when are you gonna make the choice just an option?"

 

Hyewon pauses. When she turns around to look at her again, Sakura no longer has the annoying smirk on her face and is looking at her seriously, ignoring how Chaeyeon has been nudging her to stop.

 

"That is up to me to decide and not for you to meddle."

 

 

With that, she leaves the table and walks out of the cafteria going up to the fifth floor. She frustratingly runs a hand through her hair the moment she arrived in the isolated restroom and unceremoniously slams her bag on the sink before glaring at her reflection in the mirror.

 

She finally understood what Sakura has been telling her and she is so annoyed at herself for not realizing it sooner.

 

"Kang Hyewon, you—"

 

 

A thud followed by a series of flirty giggling noises interrupts her intended monologue. She whips her head towards the last cubicle with a scowl.

 

Sure, some students love to hang out in the 5th floor restroom because people barely use it—unless otherwise they're like Hyewon who needs time for herself to reflect and scold herself—but there's no ing way someone's doing it in the restroom.

 

She purposely opens the faucet, and the noise from the cubicle immediately stops. She allows the water to run longer just to annoy whoever were inside.

 

Hyewon doesn't give the damn if she interrupted them. They interrupted her moment too anyway.

 

Once satisfied, she shuts the faucet, fixes herself in the mirror and makes her exit.

 

 

But before she's completely out into the hall, she yells, "Go get a ing bedroom!"

 

 

***

 

Eunbi doesn't reply to her messages for a week.

 

Although it worries her, she convinces herself that maybe the woman is once again drowned in her job just as she is drowning in academics that just never seem to end.

 

"You should make a schedule." Yena tells her when they were at Subway, munching on each their own sandwhiches.

 

"Since when did you know a thing about scheduling?" Hyewon asks, baffled at the unusual suggestion from her friend.

 

"Since Yuri showed me how efficient it makes me get things done." Yena nonchalantly bites on her sandwhich again.

 

"What? You two dating now?"

 

"We're getting there."

 

Hyewon is in disbelief with how fast Yena is progressing with the said woman. It's only been a few weeks since they first met!

 

"But yeah, I think you should do that." Yena says going back to their topic.

 

"I'd rather not." Hyewon sips on her cola. "Following a schedule only stresses me out."

 

"But doesn't Eunbi do that before?"

 

Hyewon raises a brow. "Scheduling? No. She hates it as much as I do."

 

Confusion took over Yena's expressive face. "But she always seems to know what and when to do something."

 

"She's efficient that way. She get things done the moment she thinks about it. No second thoughts." Hyewon proudly says.

 

Yup, that was really another perk of having Eunbi around. She influences Hyewon to get everything done without wasting any time. No matter how spontaneous it is, Eunbi was diligent enough to never procrastinate.

 

"Oh god, you're at it again." Yena grimaces and Hyewon blinks at her.

 

"The hell are you saying?"

 

"Every time you talk about Eunbi, you always make that face." Yena even points a finger at her face and swirls it around as if she's drawing something.

 

"What face?"

 

"The disgusting one."

 

Hyewon doesn't skip a beat in smacking Yena on the head. "You're talking nonsense."

 

"Believe me, you do have it on your face. I know you miss her so bad but you don't have to show how down bad you are for her."

 

The remark causes blood to run up Hyewon's face and she panics. She tries to cool herself down by sipping on her cola but she's ran out and her face still feels hot.

 

"W-What are you saying?"

 

"Dude, you're literally blushing right now." Yena smugly takes a sip from her drink. "You like Eunbi, don't you?"

 

Hyewon almost choked, but thankfully she managed to get the food down and through . "Nonsense. Of course I like her."

 

"No, not like that." Yena shakes both her head and free hand for emphasis. "I mean you like her more than just a friend."

 

Albeit not mentioning to anyone about her feelings for Eunbi, Yena’s intuition and observative are really pains in the .

 

 

Hyewon looks away, opting not to answer. But of course, that was a terrible idea when it's Yena you're talking to.

 

 

"Heh. I knew it." Yena concludes with mischievous grin.

 

"Oh shut up."

 

 

"Look, it's Noze."

 

 

The aforementioned woman have just walked into the establishment but her eyes are already settled on them. Instead of heading to the counter, she walks up to their table with a heart–stopping smile.

 

"Hello, unnie." They greet her at the same time.

 

"Hello. Is this seat taken?" Noze asks and Hyewon shakes her head. Hyewon also gives a subtle glance at her outfit: a sweater vest over a white t-shirt, black leather pants and red Jordans.

 

"Have a seat, unnie."

 

"Thanks."

 

"Aren't you going to order, unnie?"

 

"Later."

 

Yena nods her head and continues eating her sandwhich. But Hyewon is bothered by Noze's gaze on her and decides to wrap the remaining food instead.

 

"You're not gonna finish that?" Noze asks, pointing at her sandwhich.

 

"Saving it for later."

 

"Ahh." Noze nods. "Speaking of later, do you wanna hang out?"

 

Hyewon has to blink numerous times, not believing what she just heard from the woman. She turns to Yena, looking for validation and with the latter looking dumbfounded as she is, it has been confirmed.

 

"You can come with us too, Yena." Noze adds, now also smiling at Yena.

 

"Oh, actually, I already have a thing planned with Yuri later."

 

"That's too bad. Guess it's just us then, Hyewon." Noze grins and Hyewon feels like she needs to hold