Ryujin didn't answer Jisu's text. They didn't cross paths on campus all through that week. What about Ryujin's photography project? What about all the 'I need your help choosing the pics'? Was Ryujin even working on it? What if she couldn't even look at Jisu through the photographs she took? What if she couldn't finish the project? That would be Jisu's fault.

It also felt weird for her to work on the outfit meant for Ryujin to wear. Jisu finished the skirt that week and could focus now on the button-up shirt. But what if Ryujin would never wear it?

Jisu was pulling another Park Chaewon, overthinking over and over again.

It was Friday now, and Heejin's aura overflowed.

"Be at Ryujin's by nine! Bring food, snacks, drinks, games, whatever!" she said during lunch.

"Are we getting wasted? Can we spend the night there in case we do?" Hyunjin asked.

"Yeah, Jiwoo said so! Oh my god, I am so excited, you guys don't understand!"

"We certainly do," Yeji said. "I am too, I haven't been to a big party in... I don't even remember how long!"

Jisu tried to be influenced by their excitement, but just thinking about going to Ryujin's house later gave her panic. How in the world was she going to face her? How did Ryujin even agree to it? She knew how Jisu would be there. Was she even in the mood to party?

"What about you two, aren't you excited?" Heejin asked.

"Of course!" Jisu forced her voice to come as lively as she could.

Chaewon hummed, nodding, as she munched on her food.

"She's more excited about what happens next." Yeji elbowed her.

"Why?" Heejin irked an eyebrow.

"She's spending the night with Hyeju, obviously."

Hyunjin smirked but didn't say anything.

"I wanna spend the night with Jiwoo too..." Heejin sighed. "I think I'm gonna invite her to my house after. What do you think?"

"If she doesn't invite you first," Yeji said.

"Do you think she would?"

"After midnight is her birthday, after all. I bet she would love a certain gift." Yeji wiggled her eyebrows.

Heejin squealed, hiding her face in her hands, and even Jisu giggled.

"Doesn't she share a house with Sooyoung's girlfriend, Jungeun?" Hyunjin said. "Sooyoung lives literally next door to Ryujin, so if Jungeun stays with Sooyoung, Jiwoo will have her house free."

Heejin's eyes went huge. "Oh my god, that's right! Chaewon, tell Hyeju to ask Sooyoung to convince Jungeun to stay with her!"

Chaewon frowned. "Why me?"

"You're her girlfriend? Duh."

"I bet I don't even have to ask, I'm sure Jiwoo did that herself already."

"I don't care, make sure Jungeun stays with Sooyoung tonight, please!"

Rolling her eyes, Chaewon sighed. "Alright, I'll ask Hyeju if she knows anything."

"Thanks!"

—

Jisu wondered if she should find an excuse to not go to the party. According to what Heejin said, around fifteen people would attend, Heejin certainly wouldn't even notice Jisu's absence.

Don't be stupid.

She sighed, back hitting the wall as she pulled her knees to her chest. She didn't have to talk to Ryujin. But she also could use that opportunity to try and talk to her? But she told her she would give her all the time and space she needed... Jisu took her hands to her head, pulling her own hair in frustration. She had promised Heejin she would go, she couldn't fail her.

Opening her wardrobe, she wondered what to wear. Something comfy, that was for sure. Her eyes landed on her grey sweatshirt, and even hurting, she still reached for it, taking it closer to her face. Inhaling, she still could feel Ryujin's scent on it, cherry and berries, from a week ago, when they kissed and hugged under the full moon. Sudden tears dwelled on Jisu's eyes, but she shook her head and cleaned them, scoffing at herself. It had been only one week since that happened, yet, it felt like months. That was how much she missed Ryujin.

Tossing that sweatshirt aside, she picked another one and rushed to get dressed. She still had to stop at the convenience store to get some snacks and drinks to take to the party. She would have taken the wine and beers she bought on Sunday, if only she hadn't drunk it all during the past week.

She met Chaewon at the convenience store. Hyunjin and Jinsol stood beside her, hands in hands, talking animatedly about something.

"Hey, guys." Jisu waved at them.

Chaewon rushed to her, crushing her under a hug.

"Are you okay?" Chaewon asked.

"Yeah."

"For real?"

Jisu gave her a small smile. "I wondered if I should bail, but here I am. I'm fine, really."

Chaewon didn't seem convinced, but didn't ask more too. Getting the food and drinks, Jinsol called an Uber for them. In no time they arrived at Ryujin's house, and if Jisu thought she was doing fairly good, her legs almost failed her when she got off the car. An overwhelming urge to get back into the car and tell the Uber driver to leave her somewhere else came crashing down on Jisu. But Chaewon grabbed her hand and gave her a reassuring nod, and that was enough.

Music played inside the house already. Jinsol went on ahead and rang the bell. The door flew open a few moments later.

"Hi!" Yuna grinned at them and widening her eyes, she suddenly bowed. "Teach!"

"Oh, hi, Yuna!" Jinsol bowed back. "Here for the party as well?"

"I'm actually Ryujin's younger sister."

Jinsol gasped. "What a coincidence!"

Jisu frowned, confusion painted on her features.

"Yuna's one of Jinsol's piano students," Chaewon mumbled near her ear.

"Hi, Jisu!" Yuna smiled at her. "And hi Chaewon, Hyunjin. I remember you from that night I had a class with Jinsol. Welcome, everyone!"

It didn't matter how ty Jisu's mood was, Yuna was such a ball of sunshine it made Jisu chuckle.

"Alright, I am also your host for tonight, and before you come in, I have a few rules," Yuna said. "One, don't break anything. Two, if you mess something up, clean it. Three, and the most important, there are three cats home, so, be careful with them!"

"Cats?!" Hyunjin gasped.

Just as she said that, Dallie appeared at Yuna's feet, looking up at them with confused eyes.

"Oh my god, hi!" Hyunjin squatted, offering her hand for Dallie to smell first, and then patted his head.

Jinsol looked down at Hyunjin with such a warming smile, Jisu couldn't help but smile along.

"Welcome to the party and have fun!" Yuna said, stepping aside.

Jisu followed them inside, her heart hammering in her skull, blocking the blasting music. She looked around, at all the girls gathered together in the living room. Heejin talked and laughed with Jiwoo, Sooyoung sat with who Jisu assumed to be her girlfriend, Jungeun, and her friends from work, Haseul and Vivi. Yeji and Chaeryeong danced to the kpop song playing, but when Jisu looked better, she realized they were a duo, dancing against two other girls, a really small one, who Jisu remembered as Hyeju's little sister, Yeojin, and Yerim.

It seemed everyone was already there, except Ryujin and Hyeju. Chaewon looked around, probably looking for her. As Yuna walked past Jisu, she grabbed her hand.

"Yuna, is... Ryujin around?"

"She-"

The front door opened behind them. Jisu whipped around, her breathing getting stuck in .

"There she is." Yuna patted Jisu's shoulder before walking away.

Ryujin was frozen in place, hand still on the doorknob and eyes locked with Jisu's. Hyeju elbowed her, whispering something in her ear behind her.

"H-Hey," Ryujin mumbled, rushing inside and towards the kitchen.

Jisu let the air stuck in her lungs out. "Hi, Hyeju."

"Hey, Jisu." Hyeju closed the door behind her and approached her. "Ryujin, she... you should try and talk to her tonight."

Jisu frowned. "Really? Doesn't seem like she wants to talk to me."

Chaewon jumped into Jisu's eyesight, throwing herself at Hyeju just in time for her to open her arms and receive her into a tight hug. As if they hadn't seen each other like… the day before. Jisu got her, though. And she couldn't contain the smile as she watched as Chaewon kissed her lips, right then and there.

"Where were you?" Chaewon whined.

"I went to grab drinks with Ryujin. But I'm here now, so don't sulk. Wanna go drop your things at my house?"

Jisu chuckled and let them alone, wondering if she should get a drink or join her friends in their dancing competition. Why not both, right? She walked to the kitchen first, hearing some rustling from there. Was it Ryujin? No. It was Yuna, opening a beer can.

"Aren't you too young to drink?" Jisu irked an eyebrow.

Yuna froze, her arm mid air, but took the can to her lips nonetheless. "I'm turning an adult in a couple of months!"

Jisu snorted a laugh. "Go ahead, I won't tell your sister."

"You could, she doesn't mind." Yuna shrugged, taking large gulps of her beer.

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know. I don't think she's much in the mood to party."

"Do you... do you know..."

"Yeah, I do know what happened." Yuna walked over, leaning against the counter next to Jisu.

"Oh..." Jisu sighed, serving herself a glass of vodka with orange juice. "Do you, perhaps, have any advice for me? What should I do?"

Yuna took another sip of her beer. "Talk to her. Even if she doesn't want to. It's not like she doesn't, actually. She's just running away at this point."

"Running away? Why?"

Yuna smiled. "You should hear it from herself, not me. Now let's party, yes?"

Dragging her to the living room, Jisu joined Yeji and the others in their dancing competition. She was no match for them, so she ended up more of a spectator than a contestant, but it sure was funny. Yeojin and Yerim's energy was unmatchable, and while Yeji and Chaeryeong dropped to the floor out of breath, those two kept dancing.

"Who wants to play Mario Kart?" Hyeju shouted in the middle of the room.

Chaewon threw her hand in the air, and so did Heejin and Jiwoo, and Sooyoung, Hyunjin, Jinsol, Haseul, Yerim.

"This is a problem..." Hyeju scratched her neck. "We'll rotate the players, let's go, sit around."

Hyeju set up the game on the big TV and everyone sat, occupying all the couches, and on the floor. Jisu dropped next to Hyunjin, who sat on the floor with her back against the couch and between Jinsol's legs. Byullie laid on her lap, Hyunjin's big hand deep in his fur.

"I wanna live here," Hyunjin said. "with Ryujin's cats."

"We'll adopt a cat when we move in together, okay?" Jinsol said, patting Hyunjin's head.

"Just one?" Hyunjin leaned her head back, looking up at Jinsol.

"Two."

"Three."

Jinsol stared back at her and sighed. "Don't look at me with those eyes, you know I'm weak and I can't say no to you."

"I know." Hyunjin smiled.

Squealing, Jinsol scratched under Hyunjin's neck and leaned down to kiss her lips. They were so adorable Jisu wanted to cry. Looking around, Hyeju and Chaewon sat together, so close Chaewon was almost on her lap. So many couples, and Jisu could be part of it, if only she hadn't ruined everything. Ryujin wasn't even around. Did she lock herself in her room or something?

Yeojin had lowered the volume of the music playing on the speakers, but they were being so loud while playing Mario Kart, that Jisu couldn't even hear the music anymore. She had finished her vodka already, and wondered if she should get more.

"What do you want? I'll get you more," Yeji said, stealing the glass from her hand.

"No, I don't want more."

"You sure? You were looking at it as if hoping it would magically refill itself."

"Bring me a beer!" Hyeju said.

"One for me too," Sooyoung added.

"Hey, I'm not the bartender in service!"

"I'll take care of it." Haseul stood up. "Everyone, let's go, I'll prepare you some nice drinks."

Mario Kart was long forgotten as all the girls gathered together in the kitchen, taking orders after orders, and watching as Haseul and Vivi prepared the drinks and cocktails.

"We serve coffees all day, this is nothing we can't handle." Haseul smiled as she agitated the shaker in her hands.

Preparing drinks for everyone took longer than they expected, but also they were enjoying watching them showcase their bartender skills.

"There's only a few minutes left for midnight!" Heejin said.

"We should toast," Sooyoung said. "wait, not without Ryujin, though."

"I'll go get her." Hyeju rushed up the stairs.

The girls went back to the living room, standing in a circle, drinks in hand. Jisu gripped the glass between her fingers, glancing at the stairs every five seconds.

"She'll come," Chaewon said, holding her arm.

Finally, Hyeju appeared, dragging Ryujin with her, and everyone cheered. That brought a smile to Ryujin's lips, and Jisu's heart went on a rampage. She missed it so much.

"A toast to Heejin, that it's still her day!" Jiwoo said, raising her glass.

The glasses clicked together in the air in loud clings, with wishes and more cheers before they tasted their drinks.

"This is delicious!" Jinsol said. "Quit the café and open a bar!"

Haseul and Vivi exchanged a look with a giggle. "Maybe it's a good idea."

"Hey!" Sooyoung frowned at Jinsol. "Are you trying to sabotage my business? They're essential at café Rosy!"

"Hire more people, then!"

"It's midnight, everyone!" Jungeun held her phone in the air, showing the time.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JIWOO!" they shouted at the same time, gathering around her, messing up her air, or patting her arms and back.

Jiwoo beamed so hard it shouldn't be humanly possible.

"Another toast, for Jiwoo!" Vivi raised her glass still half full, and with another wave of cheers, they drank down.

Jisu felt her head spin as she finished whatever was on her glass. Yeah, she wouldn't drink anything else.

"Thank you, thank you, everyone!" Jiwoo opened her arms to hug as many of them as she could, but Heejin made sure to be the one to hug her back. "Thank you for being here and celebrating mine and Heejin's birthday! But now I have something to say."

Everyone stared at Jiwoo, waiting for whatever was coming. Jiwoo grabbed Heejin by her arms, pulled her to the center of the circle, and stared right at her eyes. Even though Jisu didn't know Jiwoo that well, she had never seen such a serious expression on the girl's face.

"Jeon Heejin," Jiwoo said, and lowered her hands until grasping Heejin's. "ever since the first time you stepped on café Rosy that I can't stop thinking about you."

Jisu dropped her chin, scanning around for similar reactions. Sooyoung and Jungeun were about to burst out laughing, but they held onto each other, hands over their mouths to stop themselves.

Heejin had her lips apart, eyes gleaming under the living room's purple lightning.

"Every day at work, I hoped that you would walk in the door and bless my day with one of your smiles. Every time the bell above the door chimed, I turned, expecting to see you. The times that it would be indeed you, I felt like the happiest girl on earth, by just being able to be in the same space as you, breathing the same air as you."

Jungeun couldn't hold it anymore and snorted a laugh in the back. Jiwoo glared at her, but focused on Heejin again.

"Heejin, you're hands down the most beautiful person I've ever laid my eyes on. Your smile, your deep voice that makes my knees weak. You-"

"Just kiss her already!" Hyunjin shouted, and Jinsol, who stood next to her, seemed as offended as if she was the one being interrupted.

"I swear to god if someone else interrupts me, I will roundhouse you to the ground!" Jiwoo looked around. "Heejin—"

"Yes, I love you too, Jiwoo," Heejin said. "And Hyunjin is right, can you just kiss me at once?"

"Kiss, kiss, kiss!" Yeojin started the chant, Yerim joining, and eventually everyone else.

Jiwoo rolled her eyes, probably annoyed that her long, deep, rehearsed discourse was interrupted, but she still cupped Heejin's cheeks and took a step closer, kissing her lips. Shouts and even more cheers exploded in the room, with claps and whistles. Jisu clapped her hands, smiling alongside everyone else, and instinctively searched for Ryujin. She stood next to Hyeju, and she was already looking at Jisu when her eyes found her.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Heejin?" Jiwoo asked, stealing Jisu's attention.

Heejin nodded and kissed her again, with Jiwoo grabbing on her tights and pulling her up, twirling around with Heejin.

"Now you'll have three things to celebrate," Haseul said. "Heejin's birthday, your birthday, and anniversary."

"As long as they throw a party like this every year." Jungeun elbowed her with a giggle.

"One more round to celebrate the new couple now?" Sooyoung asked, and the girls darted to the kitchen.

But Jisu noticed how Ryujin used the opportunity to escape and dart up the stairs.

You should talk to her.

With Hyeju and Yuna's voices in her mind, Jisu rushed after her. She reached the upper floor just in time to grab Ryujin's wrist before she could open the door to her room.

"Ryujin, wait. Please."

She didn't face Jisu, but didn't escape her grasp either.

"Can we talk?" Jisu said, her voice trembling.

"And say what?" Ryujin asked, her voice almost a whisper.

"Let me apologize and explain. And I wanna listen to you too. Whatever's on your mind. Can you please give me a chance?"

Slowly, Ryujin turned her head, meeting Jisu's pleading eyes. Sighing, Ryujin pulled Jisu and opened the door to her room.

"Oh, for 's sake.” Ryujin halted. “Really, Chaeryeong?"

Jisu peeked over Ryujin's shoulder and widened her eyes. "Yeji?"

Chaeryeong and Yeji almost stumbled as they got up from the bed, clearing their throats and fixing their clothes.

"What's up with y'all tonight? And when did you even get here?"

"Y-You were downstairs with them, we thought you would stay there." Chaeryeong scratched her neck.

Ryujin sighed. "Well, sorry for interrupting your... moment, but this is still my room, and I need it now."

Chaeryeong and Yeji nodded, rushing outside while mumbling apologies.

"Don't you dare go to my sister's room," Ryujin yelled. "go home if you wanna get laid!"

Ryujin shut the door and twisted the lock.

"Seriously..." Ryujin sighed again, even harder this time, and walked past Jisu to go sit on her bed.

Jisu stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. Only the street lamps from outside lighted the room, aggravating the tense atmosphere.

"Are you gonna stand there?" Ryujin asked.

"S-Sorry." Jisu sat next to her, fidgeting with her hands on her lap. "I'm nervous. And a bit dizzy."

"What did you wanna talk about?"

Jisu faced her. Her eyes were adjusting to the dim light, and she could now make Ryujin's face. The same expressionless lips and eyes as when she left.

"Why are you acting so indifferent?" Jisu found herself asking, her hands balling. "Does it really not matter at all to you what I have to say? I know I ed up, but god damn, I'm trying, Ryujin. This is hard for me too."

Ryujin met her eyes for a second and dropped her head. "Maybe if I act like this you'll give up on me."

Her ears failed her, for sure. But she hadn't drunk that much to be hallucinating. "What?"

"You've seen it. How quickly I snap and turn aggressive, how I chicken out at the minor inconvenience. It's not worth it, Jisu."

"What..." Jisu was so taken aback she couldn't speak. "What are you saying? What is not worth it?"

"Me. You should be with someone who can trust your good intentions, who can give you just as much as you do."

Jisu scoffed, flaring her nostrils. She balled her fists so hard she felt her nails dug on her palms. "And you're the one to decide that for me?"

"I can decide that it shouldn't be me."

"No, you can't. Ryujin, I ed up, but I want to fix it."

"There's no fixing this when I'm the problem."

"You're the one convincing yourself of that!" Jisu's voice raised.

"But it's true!" Ryujin matched her tone, her eyebrows furrowed together, creasing her forehead. "I can't trust anyone when people lie so easily. It was so easy for you to lie about what you were doing during that day, that you were meeting someone else, so it should be just as easy to lie about anything at all."

Jisu's lower lip trembled and the tears were so sudden and overwhelming she couldn't contain them. "Ryujin, I'm sorry. I know what I did was so wrong, maybe if I didn't know about what you have been through it would be different, but I don't have any excuse. But I've never lied to you about anything. I just wanted to prepare dinner for us, I got so carried away I didn't think about what I was doing and what could make you feel. I'm sorry." Jisu sobbed, cleaning her eyes. "Everything I've ever told you about my feelings, that I was falling for you, that I won't just stab you in the back and leave you, they're all true!"

"And how can I know?"

"Why would I lie about it?"

"Why would she lie?!" Ryujin shouted. "She never had a reason to do so, but she kept doing it, over and over again when she told me everything was fine, and it wasn't!"

"I am not your ex, Ryujin!"

Ryujin burst out crying. She took her hands to her face, sobbing into them, and Jisu dropped her head back, running her hands through her hair and huffing in frustration.

"I don't know what to do," Ryujin said, her voice muffled in her hands. "I just don't."

The clench in Jisu's heart hurt physically, each draw of breathing harder than the previous.

"Ryujin." Jisu held her arms. "Just tell me what you need. What you need to believe me, what I can do to make it easier. I am not giving up on you, Ryujin, I just won't."

"And why not?"

"Because I don't want to!" Jisu gripped her sweatshirt. "You did say you wanted to risk it, that you didn't want to live in fear and with the regret of the what ifs. We can never know when we can get hurt, and we're hurt now, but does this have to mean it's the end? I wanna keep trying, I wanna listen to your worries and needs, and be here for you-"

"But why? Why go through all that for me?"

"Because I love you and you're not something to toss aside like this!"

Ryujin lowered her hands and raised her head, her teary, gleaming eyes facing Jisu.

"Maybe someone else would just leave after this, but not me." Jisu held her gaze, a hand moving to cup Ryujin's cheek. "And you were wrong. You are worthy. I promised Hyeju I would give you the best. And by that, I meant love, support, trust, commitment. And I'm not one to break promises like that."

The silence was agonizing. Jisu couldn't tell what Ryujin was feeling, thinking, or what she would do next.

"I don't want to just promise I won't lie again. I wanna prove it. I wanna correct what I did, and never do it again." The words left Jisu's lips with ease, maybe because she had alcohol and that was somehow working with what to say. "You don't like surprises? I won't do it again. I'll tell you all about my days, I'll be the annoying girlfriend that spams you with pictures and tells you how amazing and beautiful you are and how much I love you every hour. I'll reassure you whenever you want and I'll listen to your worries and needs. I just... wanna make this work."

Ryujin's body trembled under Jisu's touch, and as her lips quivered, she bawled her eyes out again. But this time, she pulled Jisu against her body so she could cry on the crook of her neck.

"Damn it..." Ryujin mumbled, squeezing Jisu's body so hard she stopped breathing. "I don't deserve you, Jisu."

Jisu finally hugged her back. "You deserve everything good in this world. And I would love to give it to you."

Moments dragged, the comfortable silence settling in, save for the music echoing on the walls from the lower floor. Ryujin had calmed down, but didn't pull away. And neither did Jisu. She closed her eyes, taking in deeper, slower inhales, savoring Ryujin's scent, how it felt to have her so close.

"Ryujinie," Jisu called in a sweet tone. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Ryujin pulled away, enough to meet Jisu's gaze. Her eyes wandered around, as if looking at Jisu for the first time. "I wanna talk too, if that's okay."

"I just said I would listen to whatever you want to say. Go ahead, I'm all ears."

"I know you had the best intentions. And I'm sorry for leaving when you probably had a lot of work preparing dinner for us."

"Don't worry about it." Jisu smiled. "I'll do it again. With you knowing about it."

Ryujin smiled too. "I know it sounds stupid that I don't like surprises, I mean, who doesn't? When someone prepares something so nice with so much care. But it gives me so much anxiety. And all my brain told me was that you lied, and that if you lied about something so trivial, you certainly would lie about something else, and hide stuff from me. It triggered a lot of stuff. I did try and use my rationality to tell myself that you didn't do it on purpose, that it was just an innocent lie, but I spiraled out of proportion. I felt bad for leaving, felt angry and stupid for having acted the way I did when I was supposed to be thankful and enjoy it, and for snapping and showing you that side of me. I really didn't want to."

Jisu shook her head. "You don't need to feel bad for feeling stuff. And it's not stupid that you don't like surprises. I get that it may cause a lot of anxiety, so, I won't do it again. And it's not because you got angry that you're a bad person, as I told you before. You suffered a lot because there was a lack of communication. Instead of talking openly about problems, she dealt with them without telling you and ended up holding grudges against you for no reason, when conversations could solve them. So, let's always talk. Even if it sometimes hurt, there's nothing better than to solve things peacefully with a good talk."

Ryujin nodded, holding her hands. "I wanna know if I do something wrong. I don't want you to keep things for yourself."

"I won't. No matter how well two people get along, family, friends, or lovers, misunderstandings and mistakes are bound to happen. But that doesn't mean they need to solve it with arguments and fights. If there's something that needs to be fixed, expressing our needs is the best way."

Leaning forward, Ryujin rested her forehead against Jisu's. "You're so understanding, Jisu. Thank you. Right now, there's something that needs to be fixed, yes."

"What?" Jisu gulped.

With a hand snaking on the back of Jisu's neck, Ryujin kissed her lips. Jisu inhaled through her nose, her back straightening and her hands gripping on her arms as Ryujin scooted closer and kissed her with so much urgency and passion. It felt like they haven't been in each other's presence, tasted each other's lips in years.

"Are we fine?" Jisu asked.

"We are. I wasn't even mad at you anymore. More at myself."

"I was mad at myself as well for making such a stupid mistake. Let me make it up for you. Have dinner with me tomorrow. And this time, you choose."

"Then let's do it like this. We can have lunch here or somewhere else, then we go to your dorm, you help me choose the pics, and I'll edit them while you make dinner. I want to eat what you cooked the other time."

Jisu beamed, her chest about to burst. "Perfect. You... didn't touch the pictures the whole week?"

Ryujin chuckled. "I tried. But I would cry whenever I looked at your smile."

"Awn, Ryujinie." Jisu cupped her cheeks, making them puff in her face, and she tried not to giggle, but she looked so cute. "I'm sorry."

"I would cry because a million different feelings and thoughts went on my mind, but above all those, I missed you. And missed hearing your laugh, and seeing your smile, and kissing your lips. I thought I would never have any of that again because I'm not even worthy of it."

Frowning, Jisu pinched Ryujin's nose, earning a whine. "Do not say that. Every time you say that, I'll charge you a hundred kisses."

"I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy, I'm not—"

Jisu took a hand to cover Ryujin's mouth, but she still tried to say it, her words coming out all muffled. Pressing harder, Ryujin burst out in a fit of giggles, letting her body fall down to the bed with Jisu on top of her.

"Okay, bad idea. But I'm serious, Ryujin." Jisu looked down at her, and Ryujin stopped laughing with the intensity of her stare. "Please don't say that."

"I won't. But you owe me three hundred kisses. You can start paying now."

Since Ryujin asked for it, Jisu leaned down and started pecking Ryujin's lips over and over again. But as Ryujin's hands gripped her sides, Jisu kissed her for real. She would have a lot of time to pay her debt, anyway.

"Stay the night," Ryujin said in between kisses.

Jisu halted. "I didn't bring anything."

"Is that really a reason not to?" Ryujin irked an eyebrow.

A smirk made its way on Jisu's lips. "No, not really."

"Thought so."

"Wanna head downstairs and join them, or... stay here?"

"Maybe we should go. I'm hosting a party in my house and being incredibly absent. It's Heejin and Jiwoo's birthdays, after all."

"Wasn't Yuna the host?"

Ryujin chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Did she drink too much? She gets so excited for parties..."

"I don't think so? She said you wouldn't mind her drinking, though."

"Aish, that girl... It's not like I don't mind, but since we're home, it's okay, I guess. As long as she doesn't go too wild."

"Let's go then and check how's the party going. We'll come back and resume our make out session later."

Jisu stood up and went for the door, but before leaving, Ryujin twirled her around and pulled her in for another intense kiss first.

"D-Don't..." Jisu took in a shaky breath. "Do that. Unless you're trying to kill me."

Ryujin smiked, giggled, and went on ahead, opening the door and pulling Jisu down the stairs. Upbeat music still played, and a big group danced in the living room, while Heejin and Chaewon sat on the couch, looking more dead than alive.

"EVERYONE!" Yuna's booming voice made both girls jump, and caught everyone else's attention. "They've arrived! And they're okay! One more round for everyone, to celebrate one more happy ending!"

The girls threw their arms in the air, shouted, cheered for Ryujin and Jisu's names, all while they stared with widened eyes at the whole scene.

"Yeah, I think she drank a bit too much..." Ryujin shook her head.

Hyeju dashed to Ryujin, holding her around her waist, and pulled her up, jumping around, the duo laughing their lungs out.

"I'll prepare the drinks!" Haseul said, making the girls follow her to the kitchen like little ducklings following their mom.

The overwhelming happiness spread in Jisu's chest like a firepit burning at the end of a summer night.

One more happy ending, indeed.

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A/N: I sincerely hope you liked this chapter and can understand better Ryujin's actions and feelings! (hooray for heechu and chaerji!)

There's only two more chapters left for this story, basically one per ship to close the story! Thank you so much everyone who's reading so far! 

Twitter - @itzloonatic
CuriousCat - curiouscat.me/itzloonatic