“Beer is revolting.”

“No, you’re just a wuss. Beer is refreshing, Unnie. Imagine after a long hot day in the sun or after work when it’s time to destress, and the cold beer just goes down your throat like a smooth path down.”

Joohyun grimaces at the oddly, specific description by her best friend and she clamps her hands over her ears. “I don’t know how you single-handedly managed to make beer sound even more disgusting than it already is, Sooyoung. This is not making me want to try beer, it’s making me stay way.”

Sooyoung leans over the table and knuckles the older woman’s head, doing it one more time when Joohyun opens to curse at her. She, unlike her tasteless best friend, is an avid lover of alcohol in general. If someone were to buy her a crate of different types of wine, Sooyoung will drop on one knee to get married immediately. Typically, women are expected to be domesticated and allow their husbands to leave the house to socialize or whatever lame excuse they give. Sooyoung plans to continue doing the opposite of that.

Needless to say, Joohyun is on board with the idea.

After all, she is a lesbian.

“Look, just because you tasted beer and threw up last time, it doesn’t mean that’s going to happen again.” Sooyoung stops herself and takes another mouthful of the cool liquid; she’s about to lose it. “All I’m saying is… come with me for the beer-tasting event. It’s going to be just you and me, so no one’s pressuring you to do anything you don’t like.”

“Aren’t you right now?”

“UNNIE!”

Back in her apartment and extremely far away from her alcoholic of a best friend, Joohyun kicks off her shoes and throws herself onto the sofa – home sweet home. She might not drink much, but the one time she got so drunk that she purchased this expensive, leather sofa and it’s truly a blessing in disguise. One thing about the parties Sooyoung throw is that the influx of alcohol is truly astonishing; it could be a small get together for five to six of their friends and Sooyoung would still order enough for at least ten normal people.

That was also not Joohyun’s first time drinking… so, there really isn’t any other excuse she can make for that unnecessary sofa. Just as she’s ready to open the dating application on her phone, a familiar but unwelcome voice echoes through the apartment.

“Joohyun?”

“What the !”

So much for coming home to peace and quiet, Joohyun squeezes her eyes shut.

“I… I missed you so I came here…”

It’s been a good two years since her ex-girlfriend broke up with her, neither woman making the slightest effort to reach out to the other ever since. It’s a little harsh to say they ended on bad terms because it was a build up of different situations that drove them apart. However, Joohyun found out that within a mere two months, she had the audacity to start dating some businesswoman from a rival company – it’s almost as if the break-up was inevitable in the first place. Whatever happened after, Joohyun bared no interest or gave a single damn.

Joohyun buries her face into her hands; she was already tired from work and then her dinner with Sooyoung. This meeting isn’t going to end well if this woman doesn’t get the hell out of apartment right now.

“Just because I didn’t change my passcode, doesn’t mean you get to waltz in here as if nothing happened between us, Chorong.”

“Calm down, silly. I didn’t come here to do anything out of the ordinary. I came to drop off something for you but the door wasn’t locked and I really needed to pee so…”

The speed at which Joohyun’s cheeks burned a bright pink is notable, and Chorong has to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. She has a habit of jumping to conclusions all the time; clearly, that part hasn’t changed very much. Their relationship was filled with both happiness and sadness because of that; Joohyun knows that very well.

Chorong approaches the woman, sitting on the armrest albeit cautiously. She rests a hand on Joohyun’s sagged shoulder. “I… I just wanted to drop off my wedding invitation. We might not be in each other’s lives the same way but I don’t want to lose a friend like you.”

Truthfully, Joohyun held a grudge against Chorong ever since she broke up with her and then dating someone else so quickly. She remained bitter for the whole of two years, barely lifting a finger to get out of the slump she put herself in. Although Sooyoung successfully persuaded her to come to parties a few times, Joohyun steered clear of the women there. She kept to herself and stuck to her favourite flavour of soju, ignoring the common mixture of soju and beer shots. Eventually, Sooyoung downloaded the dating application for her and told her to ‘get her head out of her and start dating’.

“Oh… are you getting married to the businesswoman?”

“Yeah,” Chorong blushes slightly, breaking the eye contact they held. “Eunji’s a wonderful lady. You two would have gotten along, I think.”

Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Joohyun stands and faces her ex-girlfriend with a much brighter disposition than before. She swallows the lump in and lifts Chorong’s chin gently.

“I’ll be there at the wedding, I promise. You deserve the world, and I know she’ll bring you happiness.”

It doesn't take more than two minutes of silence before the two women are bawling in each other's arms. Leaving behind scars are a problem, especially when it carries for too long; this is a good example of that. Joohyun could have let go and Chorong could have reached out earlier, maybe their friendship would have been rekindled quicker. With this one embrace, old wounds begin to close and scars begin to fade.

Hopefully, these scars never resurface with the aid of passing time.

Before Chorong takes her next step out of the front door, she turns behind to spare another glance at Joohyun.

“You deserve happiness too, Joohyun, and you will get it once you start opening your heart to new horizons. People would be stupid to pass up that opportunity.”

Joohyun sees her ex-girlfriend out the door, bidding farewell for now till the wedding preparations begin. She can’t explain the lifted weight off her chest, but God, she’s thankful. All this time, it always felt as if her heart was being held down by an enormous boulder that couldn't be lifted even if she tried. It’s the main reason why she refused to see new people; it wouldn't be fair to start dating if she’s not ready to move forward.

Yet with the conversation and necessary closure tonight, Joohyun has an idea - one that won’t disappoint Sooyoung at all.

“Hey, I’ll go to the beer-tasting event with you.”

“Really?” Sooyoung all but shrieks into the receiver, bolting to attention with that one simple line.

“Yeah. I think it’s time to try new things.”

***

God knows where this damned tasting event is, because the next thing Joohyun knew, she was on a train ride that seemed to go on for eternity.

“Geez, Sooyoung. You said in town but you didn’t say in another city altogether.” Joohyun grumbles, holding the top of her jacket against her freezing body.

Sooyoung gives her a wry smile, brushing off the complaint. As long as Joohyun is willing to come along, she can pretend the complaints are music to her ears – the fact that she’s here with her is an achievement in itself. She usually hitches a ride with one of her friends whenever they head over to the bar, but a train ride will help Joohyun calm her nerves. Plus, she's more interested in why the sudden change of heart; Joohyun is usually headstrong and firm about each and every decision.

It’s very intriguing.

“So….”

“Chorong came to see me, and she dropped off her wedding invitation.”

“Oh, that’s cute.” Sooyoung gushes. She saw the break-up coming miles away but she'd never say that to Joohyun. “I’m guessing you got your closure and that’s why you changed your mind.”

Joohyun nods silently, looking up at her best friend with a particular smile – one that has been hidden away ever since the break-up. She finally got back to her senses and that’s all that matters, even if it took two years to do so.

“Anyway, you’re going to be thanking me because beer is not only great…. but the bartender is ing hot.”

Even though Joohyun tries her darn hardest to conceal her inner excitement, her eyes tell Sooyoung everything unwittingly; Sooyoung knows her type very well. The blind dates that she had Joohyun go on several times in the past is solid proof of that; they all possessed similar traits. Yet out of the blue, Sooyoung doesn’t say it’s just any other normal woman, it’s the bartender for crying out loud. Bartenders have a charm to them – or maybe because most of them are usually men – so female bartenders, and by Sooyoung’s standards?

Of course, Joohyun is exhilarated.

Seeing as her best friend is finally excited about getting to venture into new waters, Sooyoung takes out her phone sneakily.

text message to: blonde dwarf

I’m bringing a friend tonight

can you whip up something fresh?

she’s not a really big fan of beer

Although it is a beer-tasting event, Sooyoung means it when she said no one will pressure Joohyun to do anything she doesn’t want to. It’s completely understandable since she prefers the sweeter kinds of alcohol.

text message from: blonde dwarf

is she the one you were telling me about?

mind if I pull out all the stops tonight? 😊

The smoothness of that sentence makes Sooyoung cringe, but the goofy smiley emoji at the end of her question is just… so her. She’s been to this particular bar a couple of times and the bartender never fails to show off her clumsy side. It’s quite ridiculous if you put careful thought into it; bartenders need to be meticulous and skilful with their drink-mixing and that’s where she never fails. The area she simply can’t seem to grasp is none other than the romance but her actions are clumsy but genuine, which Sooyoung thinks will attract Joohyun.

Stealing another glance at her now snoozing best friend, Sooyoung chortles whilst she types a reply and a little bit of advice.

text message to: blonde dwarf

just be yourself

sparks may fly for all you know

*

“Seungwan, can I get one pint of Pilsner?”

“Asahi dry for me, please!”

The blonde-haired bartender chuckles at the two women sitting in front of her; these two have been here since this afternoon, trying to spend more and entice her to give her phone number to them. She probably can’t make it any clearer with the number of times she smiles politely and rejects them, but well…  

It is still business, after all.

For some reason, Seungwan felt as if today was going to be a good day the moment she got out of bed this morning. Besides the beer-tasting event which is a hit every year, her gut just told her today was definitely going to be special. When her loyal customer, Park Sooyoung, texted her about bringing a friend – she knew it