The two young women began to spend more time together. It was a lot easier for Hyejin to go out without having to much anxiety. She thought back at her situation in November, enjoying the warm water going through her thick hair. She could appreciate how much better she was feeling. Her therapist had talked about her progress last week and had assured her that pride could be taken. But she knew recovery was a long path, if it ever happened, and the last two days weren’t great. She was having low energy and had to kick herself to stay active. This afternoon, she had a job interview, and she was incredibly nervous. She had not told anyone about it, she couldn’t. It would make it real; it would make it important. They would hope for her. She didn’t need the additional pressure.

Going out the shower, she spent a little bit more time than usual to make herself up. She went for a simple outfit, knowing she would change before going to the interview, but she did her make-up carefully. Simple, elegant, but remarkable. She grabbed her things and went out of the door to catch the subway. She had make plans to go thrift shopping with Wheein this morning, with the hopes of finding interesting pieces to tweak. Seeing the number of people that were in the station, she cursed internally. At this moment, the idea of selling feet picture to afford a car wasn’t so bad.

The shop was warm, and packed full of clothes. She felt comfortable and the presence of her friend was definitely a good idea: her artistic mind had a great eye when it came to fashion. And she was cute. And funny. And smart. They joked around trying on furry coats and weird hats, and Hyejin had managed to somewhat relax, but she couldn’t entirely swallow away the nod in . Her stomach was hurting a little, just enough to bother her. Walking through the aisles and going through the clothes, she tried to focus on the moment, but the time went away in a blur.

- “When she showed me that, I swear I was so surprised! I guess I wore weird outfit back then, and those glasses were so… YAH Hyejin-ah! You’re not listening,” Wheein complained.

- “I am! I’m sure you were cute. Overalls without any t-shirt … young you were a bold one!

- Hum…” Wheein squinted her eyes, suspicious. “You’re bluffing. You were somewhere else.

- You are right… I was thinking that it wasn’t normal how good you look with a bob hat.” She said, gesturing towards Wheein’s head. She wasn’t lying, not entirely, and she hoped it would be enough to stop further questions. Wheein cheeks tinted up slightly, and she lightly punched Hyejin’s shoulder.

- “That gives me creeps Hyejinie, stop it.” She looked in the mirror, examining herself. “I kind of like it,” she almost whispered after a few seconds. “Should I take it?”

Hyejin ended up picking a dozen articles of clothing, and Wheein had found herself a complete outfit.

___

She put her bags in a corner of her living room and went to heat up the rests of the last day’s dinner. She reread her notes for the interview one last time, dressed up and, for the second time this day, went through her front door.

The conference room was all white, it almost hurt her eyes. The chairs were grey, the assemble was trying to be modern but ended up sad. The opposite of what she expected for a fashion magazine. She hoped the rest of the office was cosier, for the sake of the employees. A man introduced himself as part of the HR team. He was tall and had high cheek bones. He could be considered as conventionally handsome, but something in his demeanour made Hyejin think he wasn’t to be trusted.

Hyejin put that in the back of her mind and managed her way through his questions. It was going well until the interviewer asked why she had been unemployed for over a year.

- "I've taken time to think about where I wanted to go, what I wanted to do with my life," she replied slowly, knowing it was not enough and trying to buy time to think. Only one thing came to mind: the truth. "And I've been working on my mental health."

As soon as she said it, the thin smile the man had forced onto his face the entire time dropped.

- "Mental health?" he repeated. "It's important I suppose.” His lips thinned. Was that contempt she was reading on him? “Do you still need to work on it, miss?"

Nothing indicated he was genuinely interested about the state of the girl, so Hyejin tried to cover up with an attempt at humour:

- “Don't we all?” She forced herself to laugh. "No but seriously, I'm ready to work."

The fake smile never re the man's face and the temperature inside the white conference room seemed to drop by the minute. He quickly wrapped it up and when he told Hyejin they would be in touch, she knew he had no intention to do so.

She blamed herself for what happened. How come she hadn't prepared for that question? She was ready for everything else, literally. She should and could have anticipated this. What a failure. Her feet found the way back to her place without the help of her brain. Finally home, she looked around and took in the state of her apartment. It was a bit of a mess; dishes of two days were still sitting on the table. Half-emptied mugs were here and there, the cold tea tinting the inside brown. A few coats were thrown over a chair and the mail she had knocked over the table the day before was still scattered on the floor. She closed her eyes, slowly. She was so tired and cold. Her eyes were heavy. She took her shoes off and made her way to her bedroom.

***

Sitting in front of the big canvas, Wheein was trying to remember the colour of the sky in the dream that she had the night before and that she was attempting to recreate. She mixed ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson red to obtain a beautiful purple. Taking some of the colour aside to keep it untouched, she added a touch of white in the rest to lighten in. The landscape slowly came to life as she added shadows and highlights. She added clouds with yellow tones, the opposite colours clashing with each other. She was about to go in with orange to give depth to the clouds when her phone rang.

- “Hello?

- “Hello Wheein, it’s Yongsun.” The older sounded relieved. “Are you home?

- Yes, why? Is something wrong?” It was Thursday and Yongsun usually never called her during her workday, especially not from her work number.

- “I’m not sure, but I need your help if you’re not busy.

- What’s going on unnie?

- Hyejin’s therapist called me. She didn’t show up apparently, her session was half an hour ago. Did you hear from her today?

- Oh. No, we hung out on Tuesday, we haven’t talked since. It’s not good, is it?

- Again, I’m not sure, but tried to call her and she is not picking up.” Yongsun let out an exasperated breath. “I’m stuck at work, do you think you could go check on her?

- Of course.” Wheein was already putting her painting tools away, trying as well as she could not to make a mess with her only hand available. She gave up and activated the speaker. “I’ll be going in a few minutes.

- Can you keep me updated? Just text me, I have a meeting with my boss.

- Sure, I’ll see what I can do.”

Wheein was terrified. Since she had come back from Japan, Hyejin had been alright. She wasn’t always as bright as she used to, but she had not witnessed a nonfunctioning Hyejin. Maybe she was alright, maybe she just forgot and her phone was off. But if it wasn’t the case, she was not sure she could find the right words. She was good at a few things in life, but words had never been one of them. But this wasn’t a fear that would stop her. She finished the necessary tidying up, picked up her shoes and a warm coat.

She rang the doorbell three times and waited about 20 minutes before Hyejin opened her door. She didn’t answer Wheein’s greeting, she just nodded. Her eyes looked empty and the sight broke Wheein’s heart. Without a word, she turned her back and went back towards the living room. Wheein let herself inside, worried. A quick look around helped to confirm her fear. The young woman had made her way to her couch. Wheein took her shoes off and, slowly, went to squat in front of her. Hyejin was wearing sweatpants and an old hoodie. The apartment was warm, she probably had pushed the heat a bit too high.

- What happened?”

Wheein kept her voice low. She tried to sound as tender as she could. Hyejin looked at her for a long moment. She responded after breaking eye contact:

- “Nothing.

- Are you sure?

- Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Wheein felt like it was all she would get from the other one for the moment. She raised her hand and Hyejin’s cheek.

- “Ok.

- You shouldn’t be here.” She leaned into the touch, nonetheless.

- “I’m not leaving,” Wheein asserted.

- “I’m tired.

- I can see that. Were you sleeping?” Hyejin nodded. “Have you been in your bed since yesterday?” This time, she averted her gaze. Wheein heart sank even more. “Hyejin-ah … look at me. Since Tuesday then?” She nodded again. “You looked alright in the morning…”

Wheein didn’t finish her thought. I’m sorry I didn’t see it. Why have you not said anything? I wouldn’t have let you alone. You looked incredible. Neither of those things seemed appropriate. Hyejin’s hand went to cover her own, still cupping her face.

- “I’m sorry.” Hyejin had closed her eyes.

Wheein turned her hand to take Hyejin’s and brought them to her lips, placing a soft kiss on the tips of Hyejin’s fingers.

- “Don’t apologise, it’s alright. Do you think you could get washed up?” Hyejin grimaced. “If you get in the shower, I’ll let you back to sleep. But you have to wash your hair too,” she added looking at the top of her head. “Can you do that?”

She made sure Hyejin was entering her bathroom and not her bed. Once she was in, she decided to freshen up the bedroom. She opened the windows for a few minutes and took the bedding off. She struggled to find the clean ones but did it eventually and chose a matching set. She hoped fresh air and clean sheets would help, somehow. It couldn’t hurt anyway. She picked up clothes shattered here and there and found Hyejin’s laundry basket. Once she was satisfied with the bedroom, she went out.

I’m at her place. It’s not great, she has been in bed since Tuesday afternoon, I guess. I’ve sent her in the shower and I’m cleaning up, it’s a bit of a mess.

Thanks, Wheeinie. I’ll call her therapist to keep her updated. Tell her I’ll make another appointment for next week and that I’ll make sure she is going. If you need anything, tell me and I’ll see what I can do <3

Will do unnie. Take care

You too. See you tomorrow

Wheein, more familiar with the kitchen layout than the bedroom’s, emptied the dishwasher in a few minutes and put everything she could find in. As it was a smaller one, it was quickly filled up and she started it. She picked up papers on the floor and put them in a pile on the counter. She opened the fridge to see what was inside and remembered how she had done the same exactly a week ago, in very different circumstances. She remembered the entire day, how it was a rollercoaster of emotion for her. This time, she found inspiration to cook and settled for fried rice. While she was taking the ingredients out, she heard Hyejin getting out of the bathroom. She joined her in the bedroom.

- “Here, I prepared clean clothes for you.” Hyejin grunted, she had already put back what she wore before. “Come on, you’ll feel better,” she insisted.

Hyejin sat on the bed. She had no energy, but at least she smelled good. As she was not moving, Wheein came closer and made her raise her arms. She grabbed the end of the sweatshirt and pulled it off, leaving Hyejin topless. She made sure neither her hands nor her eyes were lingering on places they shouldn’t be and helped her put on a big t-shirt and another sweatshirt.

- “I’ll let you change your sweatpants?” The question wasn’t really one.

Wheein went to the bathroom to find Hyejin hairbrush. When she came back in the room, the other one was standing, with her dirty clothes in hand. She seemed to hesitate before walking to her laundry basket. Once she was back on the bed, Wheein sat behind her and began to comb her long hair in silence.

Wheein’s earlier worries had completely disappeared; she somewhat knew what to do to be useful, she just had to be there. Pushing Hyejin now wouldn’t be a smart move, but she could be there with her. It surprised her that Hyejin hadn’t properly kicked her out, but the woman had barely energy to formulate more than one-word answer, so that might be why.

- “All done. What was the last time you ate?” Hyejin shrugged. “I’ll make fried rice. I’ll let you rest, in the meantime,” she said as she patted the other’s hair with a towel.

When the meal was almost done, Wheein took the time to clean up a bit more. She rearranged the coats on the coat hanger and some shoes back next to the front door. She found a handbag and put it on the table. She noticed two plastic bags in the corner of the room. It was the clothes they had bought together, untouched. Something had to happen. She couldn’t wrap her mind around such a sudden relapse if nothing special triggered it. She put the rice in two bowls and went back to the bedroom.

Hyejin was watching a drama on her laptop. Silently, she gestured her to make her some space and crawled into the blanket next to her. They ate in silence, watching an episode of My Mister. Wheein had already seen it, but she didn’t mind. When they finished, she put the bowls on the desk and settled down in the same spot. Hyejin came closer, lying down on her chest. They hugged until the evening and Wheein decided to spend the night. Without asking, she borrowed a pair of pyjamas and freshened up.

Once settle in bed for the night, spooning, Hyejin spoke.

- “Thank you.

- Sure.

- How did you know?

- Your therapist called Yongsun-unnie. You missed your appointment.

- Ah.

- Yeah. Unnie is taking care of it. But she asked me to tell you she will make sure you’re going next time.”

And like that, they slowly drifted to sleep. Wheein tried to ignore she was holding the girl as nothing more than a friend. She told herself that, in fact, she was lucky enough to be able to hold her as a friend. She was sure that a lot of people would be envious. She could feel Hyejin wasn’t sleeping immediately either, but she guessed being in bed for two days could have that effect.

___

Her night had been dreamless. She woke up in the same position, spooning Hyejin. She felt pretty well rested, surprisingly. A look at her phone told her she needed to get going. After a bowl of cereals, she got ready as quietly as possible and went on her way to the café Yongsun had asked her to meet up a few days ago.

She found her at the counter, ready to order. Politely apologising for cutting the line, she made her way until she was next to her.

- “Hi! Sorry I’m late, unnie.

- No worries. What do you want?

- A medium cappuccino, please,” Wheein directed her answer to the barista. “How are you doing unnie? You look tired.

- It’s been a long week, but I’m alright.

- Is it work?

- Yeah, among other stuff.”

As their order was ready, they made their way all the way to a little table near a window.

- “And you, Wheein, how was it yesterday? Are you holding up?” Wheein could tell Yongsun was genuinely worried, probably more about Hyejin.

- “I didn’t know what to expect… She was exhausted. She barely talked.

- I’m sorry I had to send you. I wish I could have gone myself…

- You’ve done a lot already, unnie. Don’t beat yourself up. It’s just that it was my first time seeing her like that.

- Did she tell you something happened?

- She said “nothing out of the ordinary”, whatever that means.

- Hum. Did she eat?

- Yeah. I made her shower and I cooked fried rice. She ate the whole bowl.

- That’s a good sign.

- Unnie?” Wheein hesitated, not sure she really wanted to hear what she was about to ask. “Can you tell me how it was, when it all went down? She told me how she felt but… I think I need to hear how it was from your perspective.

- Well… Yeah, I suppose.” She paused. “I’m not sure when it started exactly. But Hyejin began to party, a lot. Like a lot a lot. And we didn’t see what was happening at first, but the more she went out the less she had structure in her life, you know. I didn’t see she was sad, that she was afraid.

- Afraid?

- Yes. I went with her at her first therapy session, and that’s the word she used. She said she was afraid of thinking. Because she had nothing good to think about. So, she was constantly seeking noise, and the parties were a good distraction.

- I see…

- She made a few bad decisions, so I decided to go with her to at least have an eye on her. I’m lucky Byulyi understood that, looking back. I think we went out the entire weekend for what, three weeks? I’m too old for this, let me tell you. Anyway, I digress. She went too far one night.

- The one you two fought?

- She told you about that?

- She said you had enough, she didn’t go into details, though.

- Well, it doesn’t really matter, I-

- Please, tell me.

- Wheein…

- I need to know what she is capable of doing.” Wheein was determined. “Cause whatever she’s going through, I’ll be right there with her. I have zero doubts. But I need to be prepared.”

Yongsun stayed silent for a minute, sipping on her coffee.

- “Ok, then. She always drank a lot. And you can imagine how she is in a club. She’s attractive and she loves to dance, I guess you got the picture.” Wheein ignored the stomachache she was starting to have and gestured Yongsun to continue. “That day, she took ecstasy.

- Oh … ok.” That was not what she was expecting.

- “Clearly, it wasn’t the first time, but it was the first time I was there to witness it. Anyway, I’m not sure if it was because of that, if she was feeling particularly bad that day or whatever, but she wasn’t herself. She … she was ready to leave with a man who … who offered her money.” Wheein was speechless. “Now I don’t have anything against that, you know, but, as I told her, it wasn’t safe. She didn’t have the capacity of making a clear judgment. So, I dragged her out. We fought. I brought her back to my place and we talked the day after… Are you ok?

- Yeah, yeah… That’s a lot. We are lucky to have you, Yongsun.” The latter let out a sad smile. “What happened next?

- Something I had never anticipated. She did a 180 and didn’t go out for days. I had to drag her out for her first two sessions. I waited outside the second one. Byulyi and I took turns to buy groceries, make her eat and keep her company, and she slowly got better. You know the rest.”

The two of them stayed silent for a while, Wheein needed time to understand what had been said.

- “Do you think it’s back to square one, then?” She finally asked

- “We’ll see, but I don’t think so. And her therapist doesn’t either. The first time around, she had been so far and it had lasted so long. But this time around, she has plans. She was doing great. I think she’ll be able to bounce back easier. I hope, anyway.

- Yeah, me too. I spent the night at her place, and I’ll go back after to make sure she has what she needs.”

- Yongsun nodded quickly. “That would be great. I can take over during the weekend if needed.

- Ok. I’ll call you tonight to tell you? Yongsun agreed. “Anyway, why did you ask me to come in the first place?”

They talked business for about an hour before Yongsun said she had to get back to the office. She came with an unexpected proposition that made Wheein excited. They needed an illustrator for an advertising campaign and Yongsun had shown her art in the office. They found it very fitting and wanted to know her price. Wheein was going over all the details in her head when she opened Hyejin’s door. She had taken the spare key on her way out this morning to be sure she would be able to enter the apartment again.

What she found made her melt. A tiny Hyejin was sitting down on the floor in the middle of a big mess, looking at her with eyes big of surprise. A bobby pin was sticking out of . It was incredibly cute. The mess was a one she would be happy to tidy up: pieces of fabrics were in unorganized piles, the thrifted clothes all over and the plastic bags in which they were were thrown a bit farther away. Clearly, she had underestimated her, and she couldn’t be happier about it.

***

Byulyi woke up late in a panic. Right, Saturday, she told herself, calming down. She looked at the clock, it said 10:34. She had worked crazy hours for a big project this week, and she was more than happy to spend a few more minutes in Yongsun’s bed. My bed, she corrected herself. She still had to get used to calling this place hers. For the two weeks she had officially lived there, she barely got to enjoy living with her lover. She had worked late at night, as that’s when she found herself the most productive. She had even slept in her old place once as she finished early in the morning, and it was closer to her studio. She was happy with the perspective of spending an entire weekend lazing around with Yongsun, and she would say they had a pretty good start. Yongsun shifted a bit in her arms, probably dreaming of something. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to thrift back to sleep for a bit more.

She woke up again, feeling kisses on her collarbone. It had taken a while to get Yongsun to be affectionate, but she did not regret even one second she waited for her. She felt like she had won at life. She pulled her up to kiss her, and only then she opened her eyes. Yongsun smiled and tried to get up. Byulyi stopped her, grabbing her gently by her waist and making her sit on her.

- “Where are you going?” She let her hands wander along the iest body that was ever made. Yongsun laughed at her.

- “Calm your hormones, Byul! I need to pee. And I’m hungry.”

Well, she couldn’t compete with two very basic needs. While Yongsun went in the bathroom, she made her way to the kitchen and put a teapot on the stove. She took eggs out of the fridge and began to prepare an omelette. Hyejin always talked about her cooking, but she had made effort to better herself while watching cooking tutorials. When the couple were together, she was always the one making breakfast.

- “It smells good, honey.” Yongsun came to hug her back. “I missed you.

- Me too. I’ll come home earlier this week, I promise.

- You better!” Yongsun playfully menaced her. “Did you finish your book?

- I finished the first draft. The layout turned out great, and I think the pictures will look good on the paper I asked for. I sent it for the proof impression yesterday.

- I can’t wait to see it

- I can’t wait to show it to you.” She turned around to kiss Yongsun. She had one of Byulyi’s oversized shirt on and her toned legs were showing. “You look stunning.”

The omelette was ready and they moved to the kitchen island. They sat in front of each other on the high stools.

- “How was your week?

- Exhausting,” Yongsun sighted.

- “Tell me more.

- Well, remember how my evil colleague was against the new campaign? She went behind my back and complained about my behaviour to my boss.

- She didn’t!

- You bet she did” Yongsun rolled her eyes.

- “What did she say?

- That I was reckless and rude, because I was taking steps that could place the company in danger and when she raised valid concern I, and I quote, reject her and make her feel inferior. I swear. I couldn’t make that up!

- How do you know she said that?

- My boss told me.

- Wow.

- Yeah, he said he asked her to take a few days off, to breathe. He knows my results, and I’m crushing it, Byulie. She has no vision. Anyway, the day after she resigned. So, I had to take her project on top of mine and I got double the work.

- Nooo way. That’s a plot twist.

- Yup. But it turned out great. She was working on an advertising campaign and in her notes, I saw the company had evoked the idea of creating animated content. So, I showed Wheein’s work, and they were convinced. I really hope she’ll make us a proposition.

- That’s why you were meeting her yesterday?

- Originally, yes. We talked about it, she’s interested. God, she has talent. She deserves much more than a deal for advertising but it’s good money.

- Huhum, I see.” Byulyi got up to take cut fruits out of the fridge. She put the bowl in between them and Yongsun went in immediately. “Why did you say originally?

- What?

- You said that your meeting was originally to talk business. What else did you talk about?” She was inspecting the fruits with attention, deciding to go with melon first.

- “Oh right. Hyejin.

- Girl talk?

- No, something happened.” Byulyi’s head snapped up. “Don’t worry, she is fine, but she had a … temporary relapse? I’m not sure why. She skipped her therapy appointment Thursday and her therapist called me. She couldn’t reach her. She was in bed.

- Damn. Since when?

- Tuesday, sometimes during the day. Apparently, the kids hung out in the morning, so sometimes after.

- Was this on Thursday afternoon? Did you manage to take half of the day off or…

- No no, I couldn’t leave the office. I had to send Wheein.

- Oooh.” Byulyi nodded slowly a few times. “How did that turn out?

- She managed quite well, I suppose. She’s in, you know. Like really.

- Did she tell you or is it your spidy sense?” Byulyi teased, trying to lift up her lover’s mood.

- “Don’t make fun of my spidy sense! It works. And she told me. She said something about wanting to hear everything about what happened back in November to be as much prepared as possible, because she would stay no matter what.

- Jesus, she’s becoming greasy,” Byulyi joked and Yongsun followed.

- “Right? But I could see it was hard for her to see Hyejin with so little energy and hear about all of it.”

Byulyi understood that Yongsun was sad and worried about the situation. She made her way to her, made her stand up and hugged her.

- “She will be alright, honey. Wheeinie might be all little and cute, but she’s a strong woman.

- I know, I know.

- How is Hyejin now? Do we need to go see her?

- No, Wheein told me she found her making clothes when she came back from our meeting.

- Really?” Byulyi spoke with a bit more volume than she had wanted and Yongsun covered her ear, making a displeased sound. “That’s amazing! That’s big Yong, like big big!” Yongsun chuckled at her excitement.

- “Yeah, it is. It’s big big.

- Should we celebrate?

- How?

- Well… We do have the entire weekend free, right?” She gently pushed Yongsun on the stool she had been sitting on a few minutes before.

- “Yes…?” Yongsun’s expression told Byulyi she had sensed her intentions.

- “Then I have an idea, you might like it,” Byulyi said, keeping eye contact with her girlfriend while getting on her knees and she began placing kisses all over her lower legs, making her way up.

***

The week had passed quickly. After waking up alone on the previous Friday, Hyejin had felt even more lethargic. At first, she had thought Wheein had simply left, without saying goodbye. As much as she had tried to resonate with herself that Wheein had her own life, that maybe she had planned something that day, that she had left quietly because she didn’t want to wake her up, she had felt abandoned. And when she finally had kicked herself out of bed and found a note from the one she loved explaining she had a meeting with Yongsun, she had felt stupid. Happy, but oh so stupid. She would be back in a few hours, and here she had been, sulking over absolutely nothing. Before all those feelings were admitted, there were the best of friends, after all. Wheein wasn’t going anywhere. And if they weren’t a couple, it was because she asked for time, not because Wheein didn’t want to. She had felt like a sparked went from her brain all the way to her toes, waking up her entire body. She had been lethargic the past two days, and it was time to move on. After, she had noticed how Wheein had managed to make her apartment decent again, and she had made a mental note to properly thank her. In a flash of creativity, she had dug up the clothes they brought together and found combinations she wanted to try. So, she took out her sawing kit and her scissors, and went to work. She was in the middle of pinning pieces of fabric to the arms of a jacket when Wheein sprung out of out nowhere. She had been at it for far more than she had realised.

And now, a week after, she was getting ready to go to the karaoke. They were celebrating Yongsun’s promotion, her freedom from her famous dinosaur colleague and Wheein’s first paid work, even if the girl was humble about it and pretended she only got it because of Yongsun. “She would not have recommended you if you weren’t talented,” Byulyi had said and Hyejin couldn’t agree more. She was excited: all four of them loved to sing, and they were freaking good at it. An at-home karaoke was always fun, but this was the real deal, they would be able to let it all out.

She arrived fashionably late, as usual, and the three others were already there, but they were waiting for her to take the first shot and get the party started. She noticed how smart Byulyi looked. The woman had a masculine energy most of the time, but she was quite feminine in her sensibility. The perfect balance for Yongsun, her long-time friend who needed someone to force their way in. Well, forced wasn’t the right term, more like someone very patient. And stubborn. Anyway, Byulyi had glasses on and minimal make-up, and she looked smart. And Yongsun had stole her cap, clashing with the blazer she was wearing. She must have come directly from work. The two looked so in love. They’re end-game, she thought.

They began the festivities cheering on the two women, asking for a first duet. The night was perfect and Hyejin was having a blast. A few songs went by, and she sang along. She began to lose her voice somewhere in the process, but she didn’t mind too much. It’s a problem for future me.

What wasn’t a problem was how good Wheein looked. She had gained a bit of weight and her hair was back to dark brown, and she looks so healthy. Her voice always fascinated Hyejin, and today was no exception. The girl was now singing with Byulyi, and it was freaking gorgeous.

The end of the song was approaching when her voice cracked, and she completely lost it. Yongsun joined her and Byulyi could only take the little punches Wheein was throwing at her while cracking up. The song faded away. A last punch was thrown and Byulyi, this time, retaliated. She pinched Wheein’s waist, who shrieked before jumping on Byulyi's retreating back. At the sight, Yongsun seemed to have found in herself the capacity of hitting a note only animals can hear, but it didn't bother Hyejin. The young woman's cheeks hurt, and her abdominal muscles needed a rest, but it didn't matter.

She couldn’t take her eyes off the scene before her. This whole scene, with these three beautiful women, she thought, was happiness. Wheein eventually slid off of Byulyi and landed on her feet. She wiped the tears that had formed in the outer corner of her eyes, still grinning. She looked in Hyejin's direction, and their eyes met for a few seconds. It was comfortable. Hyejin felt like she was under a warm blanket on a cold day. Yongsun said something and the three of them were laughing out loud again, but Hyejin didn't know what she had said.

- "Wheein-ah!"

The words were leaving before her brain could even think of them. They did not hear her with all the noise they were making.

- "Wheein-ah!"

She almost yelled. This time, Wheein turned to face her, still chuckling. Her dimple was showing. This is love, she thought, her eyes still on her. Hyejin didn't see the older ones anymore, not that they had gone anywhere but her focus on Wheein was so intense that almost anything else disappeared.

- "Would you want to go out, sometimes?"

Wheein eyes widened slightly. She seemed to think about it for a second, but Hyejin had faith.

- "I’m free tomorrow”, she replied, showing a smile that Hyejin labelled as the brightest she had ever saw.

- "ing finally!” Byulyi shouted, filling four glasses before handing them to everyone. And this time, Hyejin joined the others in the harmony of laughter.

___

THE END