"TALK about timing…"

Joohyun sighed after sending their barista home. Right after she sent the part timers to the festival, the barista came to her and told her about his stomach suddenly hurting. He even told Joohyun that he had already drank medicine but it was no use. Knowing that they can't function with a barista with diarrhoea, Joohyun decided to just close the cafe prematurely.

She changed the cafe sign into 'Closed' before proceeding to clean everything all by herself. Right after she made sure that she already locked everything, someone came and gave her a surprise.

"Y-Yujin?" She called to her cousin who suddenly appeared at her back. "And… Minjoo-ssi?"

"Are you closing already?" Yujin asked, looking down with her brows rising up and down, as if telling Joohyun to look down as well.

Joohyun's eyes widened when she saw how the two were holding hands. She looked at their faces and their clasped hands back and forth.

"W-What's going on?" Joohyun asked.

She watched how Minjoo's face turned beet red while the smug smirk on Yujin's face turned into a toothy grin.

"Well, Joohyun-unnie." Yujin started. "I just want to inform you that it's okay to call Minjoo my girlfriend from now on."

Joohyun's mouth slowly opened. "You were just denying it weeks ago---"

"Well not anymore." Yujin raised their clasped hands and looked straight at Minjoo. "Minjoo is now my girlfriend, we started to officially date yesterday."

"Oh~~" Joohyun gave her a slow nod. "Well thanks for informing me that, Young Mistress~"

Yujin just smiled at Joohyun's teasing. "I thought the café would be open until late night? I was actually thinking of spending the time here while waiting for the fireworks."

Joohyun sighed. "Our barista suddenly got sick. I sent him home already."

"I see. I guess we'll have to find another place." Yujin looked at her watch. "What about you, Unnie? Aren't you going to the festival with that Kang girl?"

"W-Well... Seulgi-ssi did ask me but--"

"Of course you declined, right?" Yujin shook her head, acting like she's now the senior when it comes to love-related talks.

Joohyun, with a smug smile, crossed her arms. “Well, yeah. I am actually about to go home now.”

Yujin’s brows furrowed a bit. She doesn’t like Kang Seulgi for her cousin but she knows well that Joohyun isn’t acting like the Joohyun-unnie that she knows. It would be much better for her to be with Kang Seulgi than acting like someone she’s not.

“Joohyun-unnie…” Yujin called once again. “I know this is uncalled for but let me say this to you…” Yujin’s hold on Minjoo's hand tightened. “I learned the hard way, luckily I wasn’t late. You better not waste any time. I know this isn’t your way of romance.”

“We’ve got nothing romantic going over us anyway.” Joohyun lowered her stare. “I only see her as a younger sister.”

“Then can you tell her that?”

Joohyun’s eyes quickly widened. She looked back at Yujin who was flashing her a challenging smile.

“I bet you can’t.” Yujin then turned around. “Let’s go, Minjoo. See you around, Joohyun-unnie.”

“Y-Yujin, wait.” Minjoo let go of Yujin’s hand and quickly ran back to Joohyun. The girl grabbed Joohyun’s two hands and looked at her as if there were fire in her eyes.

“J-Joohyun-sunbaenim, I-I will cheer for your happiness! Please choose whatever it is that will make you happy!” Minjoo then gave a 90-degree bow before running back to Yujin. She could feel steam coming out of her head due to embarrassment.

“You can just call her Unnie.” Yujin said as they walked away.

“B-But she’s still a sunbae, Yujin… She’s like the prettiest senior I have ever seen!” Minjoo was whispering but Joohyun could still hear her.

“Well, she’s my cousin. Of course, she’s beautiful.” Yujin scoffed.

Minjoo scoffed as well. “Not everything is about you, Young Mistress.”

Joohyun just shook her head which was quickly followed by a deep, deep sigh.

“Kids these days think they already know a lot when it’s only their first time to get in a relationship.” Joohyun then started pinching Yujin’s head with one eye closed. “Yes, yes, I am talking about you Young Mistress Yujin of the proud Ahn Clan!”

Joohyun then started laughing at herself.

“Choose whatever that makes me happy, huh?” She repeated what Minjoo said. “If only that’s easy…”

She then looked at the direction of the school. She could already hear the sound coming from the stage.

“What is even my way of romance, Yujin? What do you even know about me, you bookworm?” Joohyun checked the door once more and started walking away from the cafe.

“Then can you tell her that?” That question of Yujin kept on replaying at the back of her head. Her hands balled into fists.

“Sometimes I really hate when Yujin is right.” Joohyun stopped and took a good look at herself from a parked car’s window. “And you think it will be fine to go to the festival like that, Joohyun-ah?”

The girl then started walking to the direction of her house. “Let’s get changed first then.”

SEULGI just drank in one shot another glass of beer and soju mixture while Wendy and Sooyoung watched her in shock. Seulgi wiped her lips with her sleeves and asked for another glass from Wendy.

"When did you become this barbaric?" Wendy asked as she opened another bottle of beer. "The last time I asked you to drink you even couldn't drink wine."

Seulgi just laughed at Wendy, her eyes were already showing signs of being tipsy. "I've always wanted to drink and I am really glad that I can do it freely now."

"Are you sure it's really okay for you to drink like this, Unnie?" Sooyoung asked. "It won't be bad for your health?"

"Of course!" Seulgi puffed her chest and started thumping it with her fist. "I am strong strong~"

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Drink moderately, will you? You don't live in your own house, remember?"

"Don't worry." Seulgi took a piece of grilled meat and munched it right away. "I don't really get drunk drunk. I can handle it."

"You're already repeating your words!" Wendy shouted.

The three were in the KBBQ booth prepared by the Business Majors and for sure the booth was a big hit. It's already doing massive but the sales exploded even more when the three started dining in.

"Here, Sooyoung-ah…" Wendy placed the meat on Sooyoung's plate. "This is already cooked."

"Thanks, Wendy-unnie." Joy elegantly ate as if she was being filmed for a CF. "Anyway, Seulgi-unnie. Where is this girl that you love, huh? I really thought that you would be going to the festival with her."

Seulgi scratched the back of her head. "I did ask her for a date but she declined."

"She declined!?"

Joy smacked the table which caught the attention of other diners. Wendy immediately calmed her down. "She declined Kang Seulgi's date invitation!? Such a person exists!?"

Seulgi laughed awkwardly. "We can't help it. Sunbae is really busy and also very considerate. She sent all the freshmen to the festival and she's working alone now with their barista."

Sooyoung leaned back to her seat, her arms crossed. "Well, thanks to her consideration that you are with us tonight. Just enjoy the night with us, alright, Unnie?"

A faint smile curved up Seulgi's lips. "Yeah, thank you for spending time with me."

Wendy immediately noticed the melancholy on Seulgi's drowsy eyes. "Come on, Seulgi. We are your friends anyway. You don't have to thank us for the little things that we do."

She then poured soju on Seulgi and Sooyoung's cup while Sooyoung filled her cup. "There's no need to worry about us getting punished by your father like your former friends. We've been friends for the longest time and your parents know us very well too. It's very fine to spend time with us."

Joy, now leaning on the table with her glass raised, also looked a little sad. "Wendy-unnie is correct. We are your friends and it's okay to lean on us whenever you need us. You never let us down in the first place. You are always the first one to help whenever we are in a pinch."

Seulgi raised her glass as well and made a toast with the two. Her heart was filled with joy. "Thank you, guys. I really appreciate you two."

They all finished the drink in one-shot and all giggled out of nowhere. It's just a miracle when friends who only feasted on kids' drinks last until they are already allowed to consume alcohol.

"But, Seulgi-unnie, please be honest with me…" Joy moved her seat closer to Seulgi before looking up on her. "What do you like about that Joohyun-sunbae? Please tell me because I am dying to know."

Wendy rolled her eyes once more. "I already asked her about it but her answers were always cryptic. She only told me that she started confessing to her last semester's midterms."

"What!?" Joy slammed the table once more. "You've been confessing to her for that long but she's still not fazed?"

Seulgi sighed but she's still smiling. "I guess I don't really appeal to her. Sometimes I feel like she only sees me like one of the freshmen part timers in the cafe... Someone like a younger sister."

Wendy's attention was immediately caught by Joy's hands that were already balled into fists.

Seulgi's shoulder became even heavier when she started to think about it deeper. "I know Joohyun-sunbae only took me in because of pity and I am the only one who kept insisting myself on her even though I can afford a place to stay. I thought that staying with her would actually make her like me back but I was wrong. I wasn't even close."

Wendy poured more alcohol on Seulgi's glass. "Go ahead, Seulgi. We're listening. Let it all out."

Seulgi just laughed but then proceeded with her side. "I don't know, Wendy… Whenever Sunbae is around, my heart won't just calm down. I get butterflies in my stomach whenever she looks my way. I get a frog on my throat whenever she talks to me. I've been living with her for about a month now but this nervousness when I am with her just won't disappear yet I really like it. I like that she makes me feel alive."

Seulgi then pressed her lips together while looking blankly at her shot glass. "I want to express myself better to her but this is my first time that I actually liked someone like this. I tried to woo her secretly but she just won't believe me. I risked doing it publicly but worse she thoug