Ryujin, her hood pulled down to hide her hair, looked up to briefly contemplate JYP. Hundreds, thousands of times she had seen the building at this point in her life, and she didn't give it looks like this anymore. What was the point? It was practically like her second home. She knew it as well as she knew her own home.

She stopped contemplating it and stepped into it, compelled by her thoughts. “How will she be? All alone,” she thought bitterly. “Don't worry, I'm coming.” Jisu, Chaeryeong and Yuna were at their respective homes, enjoying the vacations around Seollal, with no need to come here. Ryujin herself had no obligation to be here either—and yet she felt she had to be there.

Already in the bowels of the place, walking with a not-very-slow-not-very-fast pace, Ryujin took off her hood and dusted her light brown hair so that it fell loosely around her shoulders. It was so short that it barely touched them.

In the dorm area, she glanced at TWICE's dorm. None of the nine girls were there. There was no one in the Stray Kids' either. Again, what was the point, having a home to go back to? “But she… she can't. Her home is 'too far away'.” Ryujin swallowed saliva to get the bitterness off the roof of .

In front of ITZY's bedroom, Ryujin hesitated. Would it be too obvious for her to be there just that day, February fourteenth? Would she notice? “Never mind. I'll just say I came because I had nothing to do.” Ryujin wasn't fooling anyone; she would spit out the truth as soon as she could.

She knocked on the door as a warning and entered. She made her way to the living room, lonely until the door to one of the rooms opened. The first thing Ryujin appreciated about Yeji was her blonde hair, as the leader only poked her head out. Her eyes widened like saucers at the sight of Ryujin.

“Ryujin! Hi,” she greeted, approaching Ryujin. She was dressed in pajamas.

Yeji's voice oozed enthusiasm, and Ryujin was thankful she still had her face mask on, for she hid her smile.

“Good morning, Yeji,” Ryujin said, taking off her jacket and hanging it on the coat rack. She walked further into the room and patted Yeji's shoulder as she passed her. “Hope everything is all right.”

“It is,” Yeji replied, not losing any of her happiness. “What are you doing here?”

“Ah, I'm just passing by,” Ryujin lied, heading to her room.

“Oh,” Yeji's incredibly disappointed interjection came from behind her.

Ryujin smiled. The pantomime would only last a little longer. Why? Because she loved teasing Yeji. Ryujin would make up for it later, of course. She was incapable of doing anything to hurt her beloved Yeji.

“Yeah,” Ryujin commented, turning on the room light, “I came to pick up something I left here. One of my favorite shirts, because I'm going on a date with someone today.”

“Ah.” Ryujin could almost touch the sadness in Yeji's voice. “Cool.” Yeji couldn't fake enthusiasm.

Ryujin rummaged through her closet, letting out a “Here it is” when she found what she was looking for. She spread out her shirt and turned to Yeji, biting her lip to suppress a smile, despite her face mask.

“What do you think?” she asked Yeji hesitantly. “It's nice, isn't it?”

Yeji looked down at the shirt, the corners of turned down slightly. Sorry, hold on a little longer.

Yeji's eyes sharpened as she narrowed them suspiciously. “It's pretty, but don't you wear that around the house?”

“That's right.”

Yeji's confused look almost made her laugh and ruin the performance.

“I don't understand,” Yeji said, shaking her head from side to side.

Ryujin approached her, throwing her shirt over her arm.

“I'm coming to stay with you, unnie,” she said, winking at the leader.

Yeji's eyes widened and she blinked several times, looking, in Ryujin's opinion, absolutely adorable.

“Ah, really? W-why?” Yeji mumbled, looking into her eyes.

Ryujin almost got lost in those eyes, but managed to dodge the spell.

“Because I want to,” she replied, smiling and waiting for her smile to reach her eyes. “I don't like to think that you're alone here.”

Yeji blushed and looked away. God, you couldn't get any more adorable. Sooner rather than later, Yeji looked at her again with a raised eyebrow.

“Don't lie to me!” she scolded her. “Don't play with me like that!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Ryujin said, raising a hand in defeat. “You know it's hard not to.”

Yeji snorted and left the room. In her green pajamas, she gave the impression of a sulky child. Again: endearing.

Ryujin chuckled and closed the door to make herself more comfortable.

“So,” Yeji's shout pierced the walls, “your date is with me, isn't it?!”

Ryujin choked and started coughing. She had forgotten that her words could be interpreted that way. Yeji's laughter made her smile between coughs.

~~~

“Let's make the meal together,” Ryujin proposed, already changed into more comfortable clothes, entering the living room.

Yeji's blonde head turned to her swiftly.

“Sure, why not,” she said, getting up from the couch and accompanying Ryujin to the kitchen.

“Do we have ingredients to make tteokguk?” Ryujin asked, opening and closing the cabinets.

“Why that?” Yeji asked back, but helping her look for the ingredients.

“You didn't eat anything special to celebrate Seollal, did you?” Yeji's silence was answer enough. “Well, we'll celebrate Seollal.”

“But it already happened.”

“But you didn't celebrate it.” Ryujin put down the black peppers she had grabbed from the counter and faced Yeji. “It's going to take a while, but…” She shrugged.

Yeji snorted and gave her a sidelong glance, but a smile tugged at her lips.

“You're stubborn,” she said, pulling a tray out of the refrigerator.

“I don't deny it,” Ryujin agreed. Yeji's chuckle lifted her spirits a thousand shades.

A while later, a couple of pots on the stove were steaming deliciously, while the rice cooker was quietly cooking the rice.

With nothing else to do but wait, Ryujin leaned against the counter, wiping her hands with a white handkerchief. Her attention fell on her blonde companion, who was frowning at the pots.

“It's not going to burn, you know,” Ryujin told her, mockingly.

“I know,” Yeji replied sticking her tongue out at she, moving away from the stove and mimicking her position.

They spent a few dozen seconds in silence, watching the steam from the pots rise and spread through the air. It was Ryujin who broke the silence:

“Have you been well?”

“Hum? Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I be?”

Ryujin shrugged, looking at the fire on the burners.

“Dunno. You've been alone for several days.”

“It's only been six.” Out of the corner of her eye, Ryujin saw Yeji wave a hand to play it down. “It's no big deal.”

You lie. Ryujin knew that gesture well; Yeji used it when she didn't want to worry anyone. However, Ryujin let it be. She would get the stones to talk before Yeji admitted that not going home was taking its toll on her mental health.

Ryujin felt her blood boil like the broth in the pots in front of her, and her gaze became so hard she could split stones with it. Yeji had gone months without visiting her parents, her relatives and her pets. That couldn't be coped with without some kind of consequence to oneself. She threw the handkerchief on the counter.

“I hate that those bastards won't let you go home,” she mumbled, clenching her fist.

“Don't swear and don’t insult managers,” Yeji admonished her. “Besides, there's a pandemic—”

“I don't care,” Ryujin interrupted, clenching her fist even tighter at her side. “We have several days off, and if you go straight from here to your house there shouldn't be any problems.” In a very low voice, she mumbled, “.”

Ryujin felt a hand rest on her arm and caress it. She turned her head toward the owner, meeting a calm gaze that soothed her. She relaxed her fist and softened her gaze.

“It's okay, Ryujin. That you're here makes up for those lonely days,” Yeji reassured in a soothing tone.

Ryujin looked at the pots again, feeling her cheeks heat up. She put her hand on top of the one Yeji had on her arm. It was soft as satin. Touching her was always so… pleasant.

“I'll come more often,” Ryujin promised, fixing her eyes on Yeji's slitted ones again.

Small, captivating dimples appeared on Yeji's cheeks as she smiled a joyful smile. Ryujin felt like poking them with her finger.

“Great.”

Ryujin swallowed saliva, which was a little hard for her as was dry. She gave Yeji's hand a squeeze before withdrawing her own. She racked her brain to say something else, but the beeping of the rice cooker saved her.

“I'll go,” Yeji said, removing her hand from Ryujin's arm, who immediately missed the touch.

She tied up the scraps of her courage. She had come to the bedroom full of it, but Yeji's smiles and glances had sapped it from her like waves eroding a rock, leaving her with only pebbles.

Would Yeji feel similar nerves to hers when they spoke to each other? Ryujin didn't know what names to call such nerves. It was very strange, but not unpleasant.

With the food ready, Ryujin was in charge of setting the table and Yeji was in charge of serving the dishes. They sat side by side and recited the prayers pertinent to the celebration. When they finished, Yeji put a hand to her nose and sniffed it.

“It smells like black pepper,” she complained, her nose wrinkling.

“It's a good smell,” Ryujin said. She took Yeji's hand, who didn't object, and sniffed, purposely exaggerating the sounds. “Yeah, they smell good.”

Yeji laughed and pulled her hand away.

“Good grief, Ryujin,” she said with a chuckle, picking up her chopsticks.

“I'm serious!” Ryujin insisted, mimicking her. “It's a nice smell.”

“I really wanted to kiss her hand,” Ryujin thought, disappointed. “Although it would have been weird.”

She wanted to, anyway.

~~~

Ryujin shivered as she stepped out of the bathroom in her room. It was freezing cold. Grumbling something about the Korean winter, she pulled on a pair of thick pink socks, and put on a comfortable, loose-fitting coat. She also put on a black woolen cap, which had been a gift from Yeji. Perhaps that was why it was one of her favorites.

Seeing that the blonde was not in the living room, she went into her room. She didn't knock; that kind of formality had been lost a long time ago. Inside the room, Yeji was combing her hair in front of the mirror, with a concentrated gesture. She stopped to give Ryujin a small but warm smile, which Ryujin reflexively returned. Ryujin closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Yeji's straight hair glistened in the yellowish light.

Ryujin opened with the intention of asking Yeji what she would like to do, but as she was thinking about her hair, she ended up saying, “Can I comb it for you?”

Yeji looked at her, somewhat surprised, and then looked at the comb. Ryujin was also surprised at herself, but she quickly regained her composure; dozens of times before she had helped one of the girls comb their hair.

“Will be more effective,” Yeji agreed, approaching Ryujin and holding out the brush. “It's hard to do it looking in a small mirror.”

Ryujin, with short hair, didn't find it difficult, but she supposed it was different with long hair. She sat down on the bottom bunk bed—which was the one Chaeryeong was using—and patted the spot next to her. Yeji sat up and turned her back to her, revealing her cascading blond hair.

Ryujin began brushing it, in comfortable silence. She pursed her lips slightly in concentration. Yeji's hair was soft between her fingers. And beautiful, just like its owner. Ryujin blinked: that last thought was intrusive.

“Did the food turn out well?” she asked in a casual tone, but biting her nails inside.

“Delicious,” Yeji replied calmly. “You asked me that before, though.”

“I just wanted to confirm,” Ryujin replied, camouflaging the relief in her voice with calm. To avoid Yeji's teasing, she changed the subject. “Shall we watch movies to pass the time?”

Yeji hummed thoughtfully. Ryujin bet Yeji’s eyes were closed.

“Sure,” the leader finally replied. “Romance?” she asked mischievously.

Ryujin's eyes bugged out. That particular day? Still, the idea was appealing, and she didn't know why. And what's with that tone?

“Works for me,” she agreed. “It's been some time since I've seen anything like that.”

The pair lapsed into silence again. Ryujin was careful not to accidentally pull a knot, running her fingers through Yeji's hair gingerly first. This dusted the apple-scented fragrance of the shampoo, which Ryujin inhaled gladly. All of Yeji exuded perfection.

“—wrong?”

Ryujin gasped, meeting Yeji's eyes giving her a quizzical look.

“What's wrong?” Yeji repeated.

“What's wrong with what?” Ryujin answered, lost.

“You've been running your fingers through my hair for several seconds, without using the comb.”

“For real?” Ryujin cursed to herself. You fool! Weirdo. “It's just that I remembered something and I space out thinking ’bout it.” She calibrated Yeji's hair to avoid looking at her face. “Anyway, it's ready now.”

She could almost feel Yeji's amused smirk, but the girl didn't say anything related to that.

“I owe you one!” was what she said, patting Ryujin's arm before getting up.

Ryujin followed her with her eyes. Yeji opened the top drawer of the nightstand, pulling out something long and square. Only when Ryujin had it in front of her did she realize what it was: boxed chocolates.

Ryujin gagged and jumped to her feet. She shot a stunned look at Yeji, who was staring at the box with furiously burning cheeks.

“I was planning to give this to you when I saw you,” the leader spluttered. “I didn't expect it to be just today! It just, you know, happened to be that chance and—”

“Thank you,” Ryujin mumbled, taking the box with calm fingers. They brushed Yeji's, sending a surge of electricity up her arm. “That's very c-cute of you.” She congratulated herself for not mumbling so much. So much was the key word.

Yeji took the comb—which Ryujin forgot he was still carrying in her hand—and walked over to the dresser, turning her back to Ryujin, all too quickly.

“Fine. I'll take my sheet for the living room,” was what Ryujin heard her mutter.

“I'll go turn on the TV and stuff,” Ryujin said, slipping out of the room and feeling her ears like two burning embers.

As Ryujin worked on it, she gave a thousand thoughts to the gift resting on the glass table between the television and the large sofa. “It was a coincidence, nothing more. If she had given it to you on, don’t know, the twentieth, you wouldn't be overthinking things.” Yet years and years of knowing Valentine's Day traditions gnawed at her calm. Her heart fluttered profusely at the sight of the box. Nevertheless, she f