“Unnie, what the hell? I left you two for a few minutes to use the bathroom!”

“I don’t know!” Jinsoul wails into her palms, hunched over as she awaits the doctor. She freaked out and her first instinct was to call an ambulance instead of shouting for her cousin. “I asked if she wanted to take a break, many times in fact but she said it’s okay, and then she just passed out…”

Jiwoo is so close to losing her composure.

Her soft-hearted cousin who can’t even hurt a fly; her best friend who is lovesick – these two are going to be an interesting pair in the future. Today was supposed to be a fun little surprise for both of them, courtesy of Jiwoo obviously. She originally wanted to matchmake the two girls already and it only cemented that agenda when Jungeun’s parents gave her a phone call. Whilst it’s fairly normal for them to have crushes on seniors, most don’t make any move because it’s temporary. That’s what Jiwoo expected when Jungeun started to notice Jinsoul; the older girl was one of the most popular on campus, after all.

When Jungeun still didn’t move on from the latter after half a year, Jiwoo knew the latter was a goner. She tried ways and means to get them to bump into each other, which were often thwarted by people around them both.

“Unnie… do you remember me telling you about this junior who has an insane crush on you but refuses to approach you because she’s scared?”

“Well, yeah but what does this have to do with the situation right now?” Jinsoul groans. She’s too worried about Jungeun at this moment to read between the lines or whatever riddle her cousin wants her to decode.

“It’s Jungeun.”

Jinsoul’s eyes snap open, her face looking up from her palms in surprise. She knows the two have been best friends for years and Jiwoo isn’t giggling or smiling like she does when she’s joking. “W-What? Are you sure you should be telling me all this then? It’s not your place to tell me after all…”

“I know I shouldn’t, but I also know you’re uselessly nice to everyone you meet, Unnie. Jungeun’s my best friend and I know she’s really, really into you but if you don’t have the least bit interest in her… then I don’t know. I just want to protect her, you know?”

Although feeling a bit offended at the lack of confidence Jiwoo has in her, Jinsoul’s eyes soften when she hears her cousin’s explanation. It’s only natural to be protective of the people you’re closest to anyway. Considering Jungeun was completely willing to forgo breaks just to spend more time with her… Jinsoul’s heart does feel warm. She was not completely vocal when they were having their photoshoot but she did notice Jungeun blush heavily at certain times, namely when she calls her beautiful and compliments her angles. At first, Jinsoul did find it a little odd but everything makes sense now – Jungeun’s little crush on her.

“I… I can’t say for sure that I like her, but I do have some good feelings towards her and if it helps, I think she’s extremely adorable.” Jinsoul mumbles, playing with her fingers.

Before Jiwoo can form her own reaction to Jinsoul’s relatively shocking revelation of her own, they’re interrupted by a much deeper voice.

“Jingoo?”

The refined woman gives her husband, probably, a good nudge in the ribs and whispers harshly, “Honey, her name is Jinsoul!”

The senior’s eyes widen, a mixture of shock and worry visible in those big puppy eyes of hers – why would this couple be mentioning her? Her palms begin to sweat profusely, shaking her knee out of habit.

“Auntie! Uncle!”

Oh.

Oh.

These are Jungeun’s parents…

As Jiwoo continues to fill Jungeun’s parents in, Jinsoul’s mind is moving into overdrive. How is she going to explain what happened? Better yet, the fact that they even know her name… are they here to teach her a lesson? What is she going to do now that she has to answer to them?  

“Unnie… Unnie!”

“H-Huh?!”

“Come here,” Jiwoo beckons, waving her over.

Now that Jinsoul is standing in front of them in the flesh, Mrs Kim doesn’t find her daughter’s infatuation with said senior surprising at all. Ever since Jungeun entered high school, she always had crushes on girls similar to Jinsoul – tall, dark-haired, toned and of course, a cheeky grin. Well, the last trait hasn’t shown itself yet but according to Jiwoo, Jinsoul can be extremely mischievous when she wants to be. As a mother, she definitely feels that sense of protectiveness wash over her because Jungeun is her baby. Should anyone hurt her or even attempt to take advantage of her… boy, they do not know what’s coming for them.

Yet, Jinsoul, this supposed senior is literally sweating buckets in front of her and bowing like a broken machine, rambling apology after apology about how this wasn’t meant to happen.

“Jinsoul? Listen, relax.” Mrs. Kim laughs, patting the student’s shoulder gently. “She hasn’t been sleeping very well so it’s probably just exhaustion. We don’t blame you.”

Mr. Kim a brow at his wife and stares, grumbling under his breath though loud enough for Jinsoul to hear. “What do you mean, we? You’re on your own.”

When Jinsoul’s face turns pale at those words, Jungeun’s mother can’t help but smile inwardly. Her daughter might be extremely private when it comes to the girls she fancies from time to time but this is the first time they’re meeting one of them face to face. Not to jump the gun or anything but wow, Jungeun’s standards are pretty high.

“Don’t think too much, Jinsoul.” Mrs. Kim smiles kindly. She can’t even bring herself to tease the senior or the latter might be next to passing out. “My husband is just overprotective over Jungeun, so don’t mind him. Also, I think you and Jiwoo can go get something to drink downstairs while we visit her.”

Before Jinsoul gets dragged away by their daughter’s very hyperactive best friend, the senior doesn’t forget to issue another apology and a bow.

Seeing the way Mr. Kim’s arms are now uncrossed and the wrinkles nowhere to be seen, Mrs. Kim knows her husband is already close to giving in. Any normal father would be protective over their daughters, especially when it comes to partners or anything about their love lives. Jungeun, in particular, gets hurt so easily because she’s sensitive. The memory of tiny Jungeun running home crying because a boy had thrown her doll into the drain near their kindergarten still sinks deeply in Mr. Kim’s heart. It was an understatement to say he was hopping mad and planning all sorts of things to get back at the boy.

 It’s simply his protective instinct.

“Well, honey? What are your thoughts on Jinsoul?”

“She’s cool, I guess.”

Yeah, right.

Your face already gave you away, silly man.

 

 

“Relax, Unnie. They’re not going to eat you up.” Jiwoo rolls her eyes, kicking her cousin’s leg under the table.

Jinsoul heaves a big sigh and rests her head on the table, unable to even eat or drink anything till Jungeun wakes up. She already felt guilty for not forcing the younger girl to take a break earlier but after Jiwoo’s revelation… her heart just aches repeatedly. Honestly, Jinsoul’s only aim for university is to graduate with a bachelor’s degree and get out quickly – a relationship was never in her field of consideration.

“I think Jungeun’s really cute and all but… I don’t know, I’m confused.” Jinsoul whines, knocking her forehead on the table. “You know I’ve never been in a relationship before. I don’t know if I’m feeling guilty or I’m attracted to her.”

Perhaps Jiwoo is worrying about the wrong person; maybe she needs to pay more attention to her cousin instead of her best friend.

Scratch that, they’re both newbies to dating.

Matchmaking the two of them without any other back-up plan or second thoughts might cause this to end up in an irreversible disaster. Yet… Jungeun and Jinsoul are just such a good match, at least from the eyes of a third party.

“Just go with the flow, okay? If you two develop any feelings then you can figure it out together but don’t coop yourself up all the time, Unnie. Go out and have some fun, you know? When you graduate, you won’t have time to socialize so freely anymore.”

 

Meanwhile…

 

“You silly girl! How can you jeopardize your health just because your crush was there?”

Jungeun groans and covers her face with the pillow; she’s never going to hear the end of this conversation. She only passed o