It was an uneventful evening. 

She has finished recording and practicing for the day, jotted down the spontaneous ideas that hopefully would make it into her future songs, and caught up with the latest episodes of some K-dramas she was currently invested in. She has been on the phone for a while now, starting from reading a few entries on To.Moonbyul section on fancafe, to doom scrolling the endless list of random reels and Youtube shorts.

The couch was getting a little uncomfortable for her. 

So what did she do?

She settled on another couch.

9:56 pm

Moonfart Artist

can I come over?

10:00 pm

Yongddunie

will you back down if I say no?

Moonfart Artist

you have a point

i'm outside the door

Yongddunie

smh

don't set my house on fire

gonna go back to practice now

T_T

Byulyi couldn't help but frown. Mata Hari made her get used to Yongsun's rigorous training for the musical, but she would never not worry about her best friend. The rapper could only hope she didn't overwork herself, which, considering the premiere was approaching, might as well be considered wistful thinking.

Moonfart Artist

you got this, fighting~

Read 10:03 pm

She heaved another sigh before punching in the code she learned by heart and entering the apartment. 

Byulyi had long stopped trying to reason why she loved hanging out at the leader's place so much. It just felt different from her own apartment; maybe it was the interior design, maybe it was the vibe, maybe it was the sense of safety and comfort that surrounded her every time she stepped into this space, totally not because this apartment was Yongsun's, the closest person in her life, someone she could confide in for any matter and felt the safest with.

She has been here multiple times without the older woman's presence, but somehow today it was as if something was missing. She sprawled on the sofa and scrolled her phone again, but soon put it down in defeat. Not even the background noise from the TV could drown out the silence of the apartment, and she was too mindful of that to her liking. Begrudgingly, she sat up and let her feet lead her into Yongsun's bedroom.

They have been here before. 

The haunting memories felt like they were fresh from yesterday. They were each juggling between multiple roles and schedules, with their comebacks being weeks apart and Covid-19 adding another burden on their shoulders. Their communication was reduced to messages left on read and replied to only after several hours, quick conversations to catch up on the day before collapsing out of exhaustion, and Byulyi wasn't shy to admit just how much she had craved a cuddle session, a simple meet up or just an exchange of look if they ever cross paths at the company (because even that felt like a luxury that she had no idea what she should trade for).

Byulyi had missed Yongsun badly.

And right now, she dared say she was missing her just as much as she did two years ago.

(And what if they just met up the other night for dinner?)

The younger woman tentatively sat at the edge of the bed. She took a look at the familiar surroundings. The acoustic guitar, the wooden shelf and drawer that - yes - still contained her vaccine certificate (Byulyi never asked for it back and Yongsun never offered to), the dim yellow light, everything brought a cozy atmosphere that excellently served the room's purpose, to sleep and to rest. The fluffy rabbit Moonbyul was placed upright in the middle of the pillows, smiling at her like always. She smiled back, and slightly chuckled when noticing the scratches all over it, courtesy of Yongkeey who seemed to have