Wheein is crying.

Yongsun doesn't know why. She is at one of those award show after parties and it has been months since she last saw her because of their solo schedules. They kind of lost touch and Yongsun doesn't really know much about her other than the updates Byulyi or Hyejin would share to her, or those news articles she read about the younger girl. No hi-hello text messages. No random phone calls at midnight.

But Wheein is prettier than when she first met her. She is beautiful, she’s Wheein, she always has been— but she is standing by herself in the dimmer part of the room and she is wiping her tears quietly. And Yongsun has seen Wheein cry before but never this serene. She is more mature now, despite her signature ragged appearance. But she is more at ease now, and she carried herself confidently.

And Wheein is beautiful.

Yongsun is about to go over to her, even though she is never the best person to comfort someone. Yet, she thought that she should make an effort to check on the younger girl, but before she can, Joohyun stands close to Wheein and hands her a beer, frowning.

Wheein attempts a smile, and Joohyun sort of says something, which makes Wheein laugh, and her smile grows more genuine. Like, it was a smile Yongsun used to receive from the younger girl. But not anymore.

Byulyi came over to Yongsun and they talked for a bit. But she is distracted by watching the two of them, because all of a sudden, Yongsun feels like she has seen this scene before. Joohyun rests a hand against the younger girl’s cheek, and Wheein leans into the touch, and Yongsun knows they are friends but not really that close and they both don’t seem that drunk.

And then Joohyun kisses Wheein’s forehead, and the younger girl stands straight and puts her arms gently around Joohyun’s waist.

“Byulyi,” Yongsun says urgently, and gestured toward the two of them.

She looks. “I think Wheein is having one of her bad days.” And then shrugs. “They kinda make sense, don’t you think?”

Yongsun has to stare at them for a few more seconds to understand. “What?”

Byulyi’s brows knit together. “Wheein and Joohyun-unnie are dating.”

“They are not— “ Yongsun doesn’t finished her sentence because Joohyun put her other palm on Wheein’s neck and ran a thumb under Wheein’s eyes, wiping along the gentle tear tracks and soft skin, removing the slight frown on the younger girl’s face. And then Joohyun kisses Wheein.

And it is beautiful. And so sweet. Because Yongsun knows Wheein has always been affectionate and Joohyun is a gentle person. And they looked practiced. And they closed their eyes. And when Wheein leans towards the contact and deepened the—

“— Yongsun-unnie?” Byulyi says, interrupting her thoughts.

“Oh,” She says. “I didn’t know— good for them.”

Yongsun struggles to not look back over at them.

“How did you know?” She asks, mostly as a diversion, but Yongsun is also curious now.

Byulyi answers. “Wheein told me. But honestly, I knew it before she said anything. I heard it from Seulgi, who heard from Sooyoung, who heard from Yerim, who heard from Seungwan— “ She paused to glance at Yongsun with a bittersweet smile. “Both of you just, um, had it rough after the break up. And I figured, you know, Wheein always opens up whenever she’s ready, so.”

“Sometimes, you can be considerate, Byulyi-ah,” Yongsun says, playfully patting her on the back. “How long have they been together?”

Byulyi rolls her eyes at her. “For a while now, I think. They are not really keeping it a secret and all. I mean, you’ve been watching them.”

Yongsun smiled and looked over at Joohyun and Wheein again, who are now just talking with their faces close enough to kiss again. “Well, they look cute.” She says.

Byulyi nods, and then a panicked Hyejin steps between them and attempts to hide behind their backs. “Unnies, people have been offering me drinks nonstop.”

“I told you it is not impolite to refuse them,” Byulyi scolds her softly, but Hyejin smiles and she follows Byulyi away from the crowd without protest, after excusing themselves to their leader.

Yongsun talked to a few other people, trying to ignore the pang in her chest as she thought about Wheein and Joohyun. She is not jealous, not in the slightest, and she is genuinely happy for them. Yongsun loves Wheein, she will always love her because after all, she is Wheein, and she is still the most wonderful person Yongsun ever had, and ever will. Yongsun loves Wheein. She wants the best things for Wheein. It is strange, because even though they tried so hard to make it work and they had been together for years, they never seem like the right fit. Wheein is probably the most talented person she has ever met, and she’s beautiful, and life wasn’t that easy for her— for the both of them. Yet, it feels like a longtime ago. Yongsun doesn't even know her favorite food anymore, or how many are her tattoos— she did know them once, but she can’t remember now. And Yongsun sometimes thinks that maybe she never really paid enough attention anyway.

She drinks a sip from her drink and Yongsun forces to swallow it as she lets herself go outside for some air when everything starts to feel far too suffocating.

Yongsun notices a movement behind her and then she smells Wheein before she sees her. She doesn’t smell any different from when the two of them were still together, and it is sort of comforting.

Wheein doesn’t say anything when she comes to stand next to her, and Yongsun realizes that maybe the younger girl is very much the same and different all at the same time.

“Hello, Wheein-ah,” Yongsun greets.

Wheein drinks her beer, almost emptying it, something that she finds unbelievably attractive. She, then, greets back. “Hi, Yongsun-unnie.”

Yongsun stands there and just will herself to be able to say something not entirely stupid. There is still a small part of her that wants to kiss Wheein, she thinks that part would forever stay with her. But ultimately, she makes Yongsun feel many things. But it is just more of like the world is round sort of way anymore.

The younger girl glances up and then says, “I prefer looking at the sky when it is blue, you know.”

“I know,” Yongsun says.

Wheein turns to look at Yongsun. “It is beautiful.”

Yongsun realizes, looking at her more, that there is still a familiar glint in her eyes but it seems brighter now. “It is.” She says.

The younger girl smiles slightly at that, and she steps just a bit closer. “I was going to tell you about it.”

“About?”

Wheein laughs, heartily, a laugh Yongsun had never heard for awhile. “You’re still a bad liar, you know that.”

Yongsun felt her face heat up and she was glad it was dark. “When did that happen?”

“Well, I always had a crush on Joohyun-unnie ever since,” the younger girl says, gesturing her hand towards the party.

Yongsun waits for a beat and then Wheein laughs again, playfully patting her arm. She is not sure she understands this Wheein, but at least she is glowing.

“Don’t worry,” Wheein says, “It was you that I was in love with ever since.”

“Yeah,” She says, “Okay?”

The younger girl lifts a brow. “I swear.”

Yongsun unwillingly smiles. “You and— “

“Joohyun-unnie,” Wheein says, “yeah. We’ve been officially together since last year.”

The younger girl looks so happy when she tells Yongsun— and she realizes that Yongsun never saw her this happy for a very long time. She wraps Wheein in an embrace before she can think about how she will react.

But surprisingly, Wheein didn’t push her away and instead snuggled into her. “I really wanted us to work,” she says. “I fought for it. I know, you did, too. But we were just breaking each other,” she added.

Yongsun makes a little sound that she hoped sounded far from the sadness she was feeling, because she doesn't want to be the reason for the younger girl’s tears again. “Wheein-ah— “

“Don’t,” Wheein says, “I am not that fragile.”

Those words remind Yongsun of the Wheein she remembers and it makes her smile. She thinks about Wheein, and she thinks about Joohyun. And Yongsun thinks about how Wheein can make Joohyun laugh. And it seems strange to her still— the idea of them together. But she knows that some things don't need to make sense to work. Some things are just meant to be. “Irene Bae of Red Velvet, huh?”

The younger girl says, so quietly, so damn gentle, “yeah.”

Yongsun didn’t say anything for a long time, because that’s one of the saddest things she has ever heard, maybe she understands a little bit of why Wheein was so incredibly hurt in the remaining moments of their relationship and just so sad. “She makes you happy,” she says, when the realization hits Yongsun out of nowhere, the most obvious thing in the world.

Wheein smiles widely, “she makes me really happy.”

She kisses her on her cheek. “You deserve that,” Yongsun says.

“I still don’t deserve her, but I guess I am working on that.”

“Hush,” Yongsun says. “You already are perfect.”

The younger girl hugs her again. “Thanks, Unnie.”

Yongsun is quiet for a while, and when it is clear that Wheein is not going to say anything more, she said, “So, I bet the producers in The L1ve are lining up to work with you.”

Wheein shakes her head. “You are exaggerating. Although,” she says, grinning, “it is kinda nice to be appreciated by other people more, you know.”

“Yeah,” Yongsun says, “of course.”

The younger girl laughs and waves her hand a little. “How about you, what are you up to?” She asks.

Yongsun is not really sure how to answer that as she is still processing the discovery she had earlier. So, she just shrugs. “Busy day after busy day.”

Wheein nods, and sensitive enough to not ask further questions this time, Yongsun watch her down her drink her beer in one go, and then Byulyi’s Wheein is having one of her bad days runs through her head, and Yongsun never really cry that much, but this is Wheein, and—

The younger girl catches her staring at the empty bottle, and she just simply holds it still and says, “I don’t drink that much anymore.”

Yongsun doesn't know what to say, and all of this is way too much to process in her emotional state and this late at night, so she just says, “have you been eating well?”

Wheein laughs lightly, which is encouraging, and then she says, “Yeah. Joohyun-unnie is making me eat all the food she’s been cooking.”

This is Wheein. Still Wheein. The one she used to know so well and it is comforting in a way. “That is good,” Yongsun says.

The younger girl nods and both of them are quiet for a while. Yongsun tries not to dwell on Wheein, who was once hers, but she has moved on now and she has been feeling better and dating Joohyun.

“Can I tell you one stupid thing?” Yongsun asks.

Wheein quirks an eyebrow at her. “Sure, Yongsun-unnie.”

“Our height difference is much more adorable than yours and Joohyun’s.”

“I am going to take the cute part. Though, Unnie, you’re not much taller than I am,” the younger girl says dryly, but her smile is so easy and soft, and Yongsun smiles back.

There is silence again and it is getting late. And Yongsun takes one last look at Wheein.

Joohyun comes outside, and she catches her eyes before Wheein does, and she smiles at Yongsun before she says, “Wheein-ah, ready to go?”

Yongsun feels the younger girl nod and pulls away from her arms. Wheein takes Joohyun’s hands with the warmest look she has ever seen her give to anyone, and then she says, “don’t be a stranger, and call me sometime or message me, okay?”

“Yeah,” Yongsun says. “I will.”

“Take care, always, Unnie,” Wheein says, and Joohyun places a gentle kiss on her shoulder.

They look really nice together, Yongsun has to admit. “You, too.”

She grins at them, and Joohyun fixes Wheein’s hair with a laugh as they walk away.

“Hey, Wheein?” She asks, before they were out of sight.

The younger girl turns around. “Unnie?”

Yongsun shrugs. “You’ll alway be my, well— you know.”

Wheein nods. “You, too,” she says. “You, too, Yongsun-unnie.”

They are gone now, and Yongsun wonders if they really ever stood a chance.

Yongsun left her a message one day— Hi, Wheein-ah. You know I am really bad at expressing myself. I just wanna know how you are. And also congrats on your new album!— a few months later. Wheein messaged back and it was very genuine, which didn’t really surprise her much. It was just so her. Even in a text message, she still endearingly rambles.

I have never been better, Yongsun-unnie, She messaged, We are always been the same in that aspect, you know? The expressing the feelings part. But, I already know, that you know. Does that make sense? Anyways, thank you! I was afraid to be honest since this was the first album I worked with people I barely know. But, they had been encouraging. Joohyun has been supporting me every step of the way. She’s really special, and she’s always been so, so patient with me, and I am still trying to finally let myself have that. Everything in general. I realized that it is such a wonderful thing to fall in love and to not mess it up. Maybe this is the closest thing to happiness I will consistently get. But, of course, I still have to work hard for it. I wish it would be enough. I want it to work, this time. 

And, see you soon, Unnie!

Yongsun reads it over a few times, and she decides that Wheein is always going to be the person she wants to be around. She is always going to be it. Wheein is the same and different and mature and more beautiful and more human. But she’s Wheein, and Yongsun loves her. She’s Wheein, and that day Yongsun watches the people around her. And they make her feel like somewhere someone understands her. And it makes her feel not as hopeless as before. And she thinks of Wheein: that warmhearted person with eyes full of life.

See you soon, Wheein-ah, Yongsun messages back.