-I’ll be there in 5 minutes.-

“Hyunjung unnie just texted me, she will be here in 5 minutes,” Luda delivered the context to the other girls with her. 

Hyunjung arrived when the waiter arranged their food and drinks on the table. “Sorry girls, I didn’t expect the traffic would be worse.”

“That’s alright, unnie. I’ve ordered for you,” Luda replied when Hyunjung took a seat beside her. She has Dawon on her right side and Hyunjung on her left side while Juyeon and Jiyeon are at the other side of the table, facing them. 

Hyunjung smiled and caressed Luda’s head. “Thank you.”

The other three didn’t say anything about it. 

 

The atmosphere was good until Jiyeon brought up the topic that no one expected.

“So Luda, Dawon… Juyeon told me that you’ve kissed.”

Their loud table just now turned 360 degrees in a split second to silent. 

Juyeon lets out an awkward laugh when no one gives any reaction. Luda’s and Dawon’s faces turned into a bright tomato while Luda lowered her head, couldn’t make eye contact with anyone. Dawon mouthed silent “YOU’LL GONNA DIE, SON JUYEON” to Juyeon. 

“Then, what's next? Have you talked about it?” Jiyeon provoked the situation, she knows very well what happened between them, especially looking at how tense the older girl on Luda’s left side was. 

Juyeon noticed it too.

“Ah, unnie…” Dawon laughed awkwardly. “I’m working on it and trying from time to time.”

Luda looked at Dawon in an instant in confusion.

Dawon felt an eye on her but she ignored it. “We’ll see it later.” She winked at Jiyeon.

Jiyeon nodded. “Luda, you shouldn’t let Dawon wait too long. You should know by now what you want and need,” Jiyeon gave Luda a bit of hidden advice and glanced at Hyunjung.

Luda saw a meaningful look in Jiyeon's eyes and silently sighed. 

“She is old enough to make her own decision, Jiyeon. Don’t push her when Dawon herself didn’t say anything,” Hyunjung spoke up for the first time since the topic was brought up.

“Yes, of course she does. But do you, unnie?” Jiyeon counterback Hyunjung made her flustered. Of course she feels sorry for what happened between Luda and Hyunjung but the past is in the past and she doesn’t want it to affect their future especially when she sees there is a potential between Luda and Dawon.

Juyeon and Dawon just watched three of them soundless as they didn’t get what they were talking about. 

“Enough, unnies. Please don’t fight here,” Luda said weakly. 

“I’m not trying to pick a fight, Luda. I just want to make sure that you are very clear on every thing that you do. I don’t want you to feel regret later…again,” Jiyeon explained her deed.

“I get it, unnie. Just…please…”

“One last thing, Luda. Don’t take anything for granted,” Jiyeon said in her last piece of advice before changing to another light topic and trying to save the mood that she had ruined before. 

 

-

 

Jiyeon: I’m sorry about tonight, unnie.

Jiyeon decided to text Hyunjung for what happened that night as she knows she shouldn’t talk like that to Hyunjung. She felt guilty.

Hyunjung: I know you mean well, Jiyeon. I should accept who I am by now. Thank you for the wake up call, Jiyeon-ah. I’m tired, good night.

Hyunjung set her phone on silent then let her drown in her old bittersweet memories before she fell asleep.

 

-

 

“Can we go for a walk?” Luda asked Dawon who was driving her home. 

“Yeah, sure,” Dawon smiled.

 

“It’s funny.”

“What is funny?”

“Yeah, like, we met first but Juyeon and Jiyeon unnie make it faster than us,” Dawon scoffed. Dawon eyed Luda with her peripheral vision. “Us… do I have the right to use that,” Dawon mumbled to herself.

They were sitting on one of the benches at the lake garden they always go to. Comfortably feels the night wind while having their own thoughts. 

“I never thought that I would like you this much,” once again Dawon broke the silence.

“Dawon-ah, I…”

“Shh… please let me talk first,” Dawon's gentle voice pierce with the wind on Luda’s ears. 

Luda waited.

“I don’t know what’s going on between you and Hyunjung unnie and I wish I will never know because I’m afraid it will hurt me.”

“It’s hurting me, Luda. I thought that you may feel the same as me, but when I saw you with Hyunjung unnie, it made me doubt myself, if I was right or wrong.”

“I like you but this hurt me so much.”

Luda could hear hurt and desperation in Dawon’s voice. 

Dawon took a deep breath before locking her eyes on Luda. Slowly, she reached Luda’s hand and gripped it softly then brought it higher so she could kiss it tenderly.

“I like you and I want to protect you, Luda. Will you give me a chance to prove it to you? Would you be my girlfriend?” Dawon tried to convey her sincerity through her words and eyes that she hoped Luda could feel.

Luda didn’t expect that Dawon would confess tonight as in right now. Suddenly, she felt not ready to make a decision and hesitated.

“Dawon, I…” Luda's eyes were dark with some unfathomable emotions.

Dawon saw it.

“You don’t have to give the answer now. I can wait.” 

Luda felt guilty but she could’t form any words to say. 

The silence took over again before Luda voiced out.

Dawon felt disappointed despite kinda expecting this to happen. 

“She’s my ex-girlfriend.”

“WHAT?” That’s the last thing that Dawon could ever think of. However she felt dumbfounded at the sudden confession.

“You heard me. Hyunjung unnie and I dated for 2 years and a half but we broke up last year,” Luda didn’t dare to look at the shocked girl.

“But we broke up on good terms. That’s why we are still friends and Jiyeon unnie has been there since we were dating and until now. She knows everything.”

“And may I know why you both broke up?” Dawon asked carefully.

“We never matched. We always argued even on a little simple thing. It was different before we dated. So, we decided that we didn’t match each other, we did not meant to be and we separated then.”

 

-

 

Luda woke up the next morning with a slight headache. She looked at the watch and it was past 10 in the morning. Then she reached her phone to check if there were any messages for her. 

Luda unlocked her phone as soon as she saw Dawon’s name in the inbox.

Dawon: Don’t push yourself. I can wait. I will wait for you. I’ll be out of town for a few days because of work. I just found out about it just now. Take care of yourself. Don’t overwork and don’t forget to eat, okay? 

Luda remembered Dawon's confession and question last night. 

“I like you too, Dawon-ah. I’m sorry for being uncertain and wavering about it,” Luda spoke to herself , put aside her phone then went to the bathroom. 

Luda replied to Dawon's text while she was having breakfast. ‘Thank you, Dawon. You too, don’t overwork and get enough rest. Just to make you sure, I like you too, Dawon-ah.” She sighed after she tapped the send button.

After a few seconds, Luda’s phone ding a notification.

Dawon: Thank you 😊 and I like you more.

 

-

 

That was the last time Dawon texted her and never called her since then. It has been 5 days and she still didn’t get any news about Dawon. When she asked Juyeon, she said that Dawon didn’t tell her when she would be back and she didn’t know where Dawon went. However, Luda knew that Juyeon lied to her. 

‘Has she given up on me? But she said she will give me time and wait.’

While Luda lost with her thoughts, her doorbell rang. She was excited and anticipated that maybe Dawon wanted to surprise her. 

“O-oh, Hyunjung unnie..”

“You look disappointed. Are you expecting someone?”

“No no. Come in, unnie.”

Hyunjung sat at the end of the couch while waiting for Luda to go to the kitchen. 

“Do you want to drink anything, unnie?” Luda shouted from the kitchen.

“I’m good.”

Luda came out a few minutes later with two mugs on each hand and passed one of them to Hyunjung. “Here, your favourite.”

“Th-thanks.” She sipped a bit of coffee.

“Why are you coming at a late hour, unnie?”

“Nothing. Just want to check on you. How are you and Dawon doing?” Hyunjung's eyes fixed on the tv that display a random advertisement. 

“Honestly, I don’t know. She hasn't contacted me for five days,” Luda sighed.

Hyunjung looked at Luda’s advent and saw a gloomy face. 

“Luda-ah… I think we should settle unspoken things about us first. Dawon deserves better than this. I know I have hurt her and you more than I think.”

“What else do you want to talk about, unnie? Isn’t it you want this from the first? You didn’t show your effort for us and we broke up. Now you are saying this, what? Do you regret it now? That I found Dawon?” Luda’s voice sounds tired and drained.

“I know it’s my fault too. To you and Dawon. But the past is in the past, unnie. I never regret dating you because with you, I learned so many things. But, I don’t want to feel regret later because I missed such a great opportunity to meet such a nice person as Dawon. Her absences for these 5 days made me realise that I want her.. I need her.”

“I’m sorry because my actions make you confused.”

“Do you know that you are selfish, unnie?”

Luda’s question made Hyunjung taken aback.

“You’re selfish because you didn’t let me go although you know that you couldn’t protect me. And I was so foolish to get confused between our past and Dawon.. that I couldn't make up my mind.”

“I hate you,” Luda's tears started to fall down.

Hyunjung immediately pulled Luda in her hug. “I’m sorry, dear. I’m so sorry.”

Hyunjung accompanied Luda that night and decided to let her go and move on from the past. 

 

-

 

“I don’t know if she has woken up or not but you know her. She is really a sleepyhead,” Jiyeon said to Dawon while unlocking Luda’s front door. “You can go search that pendrive first, I will look for her. She must be surprised.”

Dawon nodded and straight away entered Luda’s work space to find her pendrive that she mayhaps misplaced before. 

“Luda, are-” Jiyeon opened Luda’s room without knocking and saw something that she never thought she could see again. Jiyeon gasped. She saw Hyunjung and Luda sleeping together on the bed and cuddled. “Dawon…” she whispered when she remembered Dawon is here.

“Unnie, did Luda wake up? I think Luda knows where it is,” Dawon approached her and saw her pale face. “What’s wrong, unnie? Where is Luda?” Dawon pushed the door that Jiyeon was holding and startled at the scene. 

Hyunjung and Luda woke up at the commotion and noticed Jiyeon and Dawon at the door. 

Dawon shook her head hard as an attempt to get rid of the awful sight. She walked away and went to the cabinet, thinking that she thought the pendrive may be there.

“Dawon?” Luda jolted up.

Dawon searched all the drawers that she could reach with her blurry eyes. Rush and nasty was shown in her movements. “Unnie, can you help me find it? It has important work in it.” Dawon asked for Jiyeon’s help without looking at her. 

“ARGHH! Where the is it?!?” Dawon got angry with her tears falling. She slammed the drawer.  

“Dawon-ah…” Jiyeon called her. She never saw Dawon as angry as this. 

“Dawon, listen to me first. What you see is not as what you think.” Luda tried to explain to the raging woman. “Please, Dawon-ah.” Luda grabbed Dawon’s hand.

Dawon stopped searching and finally let Luda see her disappointed face. “What else should I listen to, Luda? I give you time and space to think but this is what I get in return?” Dawon took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking again. “I have heart and feelings, Luda. I’m hurt,” Dawon’s voice was sorrow. 

“You did not contact me for these past five days. You owe me some explanation too.” Luda tried to defend herself by pointing out Dawon’s little to no effort if that is what she thinks.

Dawon wiped her tears from falling down again. “So, because of that you go back to your ex?!” Dawon couldn’t stop from saying bitter words. Dawon smirked. “I got your answer. Thank you, Luda.”

Dawon looked at Jiyeon. “Please don’t look at me like that, unnie. I was so pathetic, I know. I have to go now. If you find my pendrive, please pass it to Juyeon.”

“I’m not blaming you, Hyunjung unnie. I mean, how can someone forget and move on from a person like Luda, right? She's an amazing and wonderful person that I know ,” Dawon smiled sincerely. 

Dawon walked closer to Luda and stopped a step from her. “Thank you, Luda, because of you, I know what love is,” Dawon brushed Luda’s tears with her thumb. “Please don’t cry for me. I don’t deserve that.” Dawon closed her eyes slowly and gave a soft kiss on Luda’s forehead. Then, she walked to the front door.

“Dawon, wait! You haven't heard my answer yet!” Luda called her in a panic. But, she couldn’t stop Dawon and strangely she couldn’t say the word. Then, she remembered the pendrive. 

“Unnie, tell her to wait, I’ll get her pendrive,” Luda rushed to Jiyeon then left for her bedroom. She came a minute later with a pendrive in her hand. “I keep this pendrive because I don’t want it to get lost. I know this pendrive has your works.”

Dawon took it from Luda and smiled. “Thank you.”

Luda was left devastated and sat on the floor in front of the door absentmindedly. Jiyeon and Hyunjung didn’t know what they should do and it made Hyunjung feel more guilty. 

 

 

 

 

P.s. Should I just ended this here?