I was still a little hazy from sleep when I heard Byulyi-unnie and Miss Kim’s voices.

When Miss Kim and I reached my apartment earlier, we fed Ggomo and had dinner before Miss Kim tugged my hand and led me to the couch. She positioned me lying on top of her with her arms around my shoulders and waist. One hand was again underneath my shirt, tracing the spine on my back that lulled me to sleep.

“Your hand’s under her shirt” Byulyi-unnie said dryly.

“It helps put her to sleep,” Miss Kim answered but in a soft whisper.

“Is she—Did you make her cry?”

She must’ve noticed my puffy eyes.

I shifted in my position, pushing my face further on Miss Kim’s neck, as if to react from Byulyi-unnie’s loud voice and to hide my face from Byulyi-unnie.

Miss Kim also adjusted by raising her head to accommodate me. Her arms that were loose held me closer as I felt her soft kisses on my forehead. Her finger on my back traced random patterns that would excite tingles on my skin.

“I didn’t make her cry”

“Then why did she look like she’s crying? I thought you promised you—”

“I did.” Miss Kim sighed heavily, my body rising and falling in action. “Amethyst”

“Amethyst? Is this the dog in the shelter?”

“Yes… She’s about to be put down this week because more dogs are coming”

“Oh, Wheein-ah… She must’ve been devastated”

“She is,” Miss Kim replied.

With how close my ears are to her lips, I could hear the hint of frustration from her.

On our drive there and during dinner, she checked if I still wouldn’t allow her to adopt Amethyst. I was tempted to say yes but it’s still unfair to her and to Amethyst. And I’ll feel guilty if I let her. As tempting as it seems.

“She’s an angel, you know?” Byulyi-unnie’s voice was going farther from the couch. “She has a huge heart and she cares so much but she’s fragile. You’ve seen her when she found out about your wife”

I see, she’s still mad at Miss Kim.

“I am taking care of her”

“I know but if you do that again, I will never let you lay a finger on her. Ever”

I felt Miss Kim tensing underneath me. Byulyi-unnie doesn’t have to be that harsh. Miss Kim did hurt me but that was unintentional. And besides, every single time that we are together, she’s showing that she loves me and cares for me.

“I understand,” Miss Kim answered after a while.

“Good. Are you two going to sleep there?”

“No. I’ll be heading out in a while. I only stayed because I didn’t want to leave her by herself tonight”

“Okay. I’ll be upstairs if she’ll look for me”

I could hear Byulyi-unnie’s footsteps coming closer to the couch as she headed for the stairs.

“Byulyi” Miss Kim suddenly called, urging Byulyi-unnie to stop in her tracks.

And she sounds so serious. I can imagine Byulyi-unnie getting a little nervous. All the strong and confident facade and persona shattered with just one word from Miss Kim.

I made sure to hide my smile so they wouldn’t know I was already awake.

“Yes?”

“She’s an angel too”

This confused both Byulyi-unnie and I. I still maintained a neutral expression.

“Hyejin-ah,” Miss Kim clarified.

“Oh… Yeah, sh—she is.” Unnie agreed but she sounded so hesitant.

“I know you like her”

“What?” I asked before realizing that I said that out loud.

Miss Kim laughed while I turned my face away from embarrassment. Byulyi-unnie too was laughing at me.

“I was wondering when you’d speak up”

I held myself up to look at Miss Kim with eyes wide open. She had an easy smile on her face as she giggled softly. It makes me want to smile back but I held it back by pouting.

“You knew I was awake?”

“Baby, you’re on top of me. It’s impossible not to notice”

I buried my head back on her chest as I groaned out my frustration and disappointment. I thought I did really well. I knew I shouldn’t underestimate Miss Kim. She’s very keen and attentive.

“Do you want to go back to sleep?” she asked.

I shook my head. “What time is it?”

“Ten”

“It’s getting late then.” I got off of Miss Kim before helping her up. “You said you’ll go home?”

She handed me my glasses but even with my blurry vision, I could see her nodding. She opened her arms, inviting me in for a hug.

I stepped forward and gave her the tightest hug as she snuggled her face on my hair. “Drive safely, unnie. Text me if you have arrived home, okay?”

“Of course.” She pressed a kiss on my temple before calling Byulyi-unnie’s attention again. “Byulyi”

“What?”

She sounded irritated at first but when I faced her, she looked scared once again. Even more nervous now that Miss Kim revealed she knew about her little crush for Miss Ahn.

And I didn’t notice it at all?

“I’m not stopping you but I’m watching”

Her eyes subtly widened and I could see moving when she gulped hard, making me giggle.

“I just want to say that. For now”

Miss Kim never bothered to hear Byulyi-unnie’s response when she turned her attention back to me again. She said her goodbyes and promised to text me once she gets home. At the doorstep, she insisted I should stay when I offered to walk her to her car.

“Stay with your Byulyi-unnie. She looked upset when she arrived”

This surprised me. Oh yeah, I was pretending to be asleep this whole time so how would I know?

“Okay…”

“I promised I’ll find a way about Amethyst, okay? So please don’t get too upset, my dear”

I pouted at our intertwined hand instead. “Just please don’t do anything you’re not willing to do for me”

She chuckled softly, bringing me in for another hug. “I’m willing to do anything for you. But I promised I won’t adopt Amethyst. I don’t want you to be mad or upset at me. But I’ll find a way”

I hugged her tighter in my arms, grateful for all her help and support when she didn’t have to worry about my own worries.

“Thank you, unnie”

She cupped my cheeks, bringing my face closer to her for a tender kiss that made my heart bounce.

“I love you”

“I love you too”

“Stay with your unnie. She needs you tonight and I’ll always be here for you”

She laughed at how red my face had turned while I pushed her out of the apartment for teasing me so much. She waved goodbye and sneaked another kiss on my cheek before she finally went inside the elevator.

While Byulyi-unnie was in the shower, I ordered chicken and beer. I also added soju for good measure. I set up outside on our patio so the cold night air can help Byulyi-unnie calm down. I still don’t know why she’s upset but if Miss Kim says she’s upset, then she is upset.

Once she was done, I invited her over and opened our first bottle of beer. We clinked our bottles and drank our beer while eating chicken. It was quiet for a while. Though I could see Byulyi-unnie thinking hard.

“Miss Kim said Amethyst is about to be put down this week,” she said.

“Yeah…” I sighed sadly, fidgeting with my bottle when that ache in my chest made itself known again. “Yongsunnie wanted to adopt her for my sake”

“Yongsunnie?” she teased with a smirk.

I giggled, shaking my head to brush off the warm rush to my cheeks. “She’s been calling me with every endearment possible but I’m too shy to say it back. I got tongue tied once and now she wants me to call her that”

“If she’ll adopt Amethyst, then why did you cry so hard?”

“I told her not to”

I told her the same reasons I said to Miss Kim and she also agreed with me.

“But she said she’ll find a way and I know I can trust her”

“Is she taking good care of you”

I nodded. “You don’t have to worry about me, unnie”

“You know that’s not going to happen, Wheein-ah”

She chuckled and took a swig of her beer while I pouted at her.

“Yongsun-unnie said you were upset when you arrived” I said, which caught her attention, making her raise an eyebrow at me. “Does it have something to do with what she said earlier? That you like Miss Ahn?”

“I actually never thought she’d notice. Both that I like Hyejin and that I was upset when I arrived”

“So it’s Hyejin now, huh? And not Miss Ahn” I teased and she only chuckled. “How long have you liked Miss Ahn?”

She released a heavy breath as she thought it over. “For a long time now, I guess… I think I’ve liked her ever since. I just… I didn’t realize it”

“Does you being upset now have something to do with it?”

She silently nodded as she took another swig of her beer.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with her. And we’ve gotten pretty close. So close that we even share the same bed when she insists I stay over at her place when it’s already late”

“Practice safe , unnie” I said, teasing back at her.

She laughed at me and even reached over to pinch my cheek.

I whined because it hurts but I let her. I always let her be.

“It’s nothing like that, silly”

I pouted while glaring at her. “I was just teasing”

I stopped the glaring when I saw her sad and distant gaze. She had abandoned eating the chicken and was just playing with her bottle.

“She’s been having a hard time sleeping. She asked if I could stay with her just so she has someone sleeping beside her. It helps her. So I always stayed.

“She mumbles in her sleep and cries too. She’d often mention a name I wasn’t sure at first until you mentioned Gabby. I kind of figured out that it has something to do with that. I put two and two together and found out that Hyejin and Miss Kim are connected because of Gabby.

“Hyejin never told me about Gabby. But she has been asking me random yet deep questions I realized has everything to do with Gabby. How lost she felt. How it hurts so much. And how to move forward. If she can move forward that’s what she said”

“Her worries are also the same as Yongsun-unnie’s. Gabby meant so much to both of them that when they lost her, they’re lost too”

Byulyi-unnie nodded her agreement.

“Did you confess to her, unnie?” I asked.

She smiled sadly and her eyes started to glisten with her tears but she forced to stop them.

Byulyi-unnie…

“Seeing that you and Miss Kim worked, I took my shot and confessed to Hyejin.” She huffed out a laugh, albeit humorless. “It didn’t work”

I frowned at that, feeling hurt for her. “What do you mean it didn’t work?”

“I told her that I like her but she said she’s not ready, which I understand but—I…” She took a deep breath first. It must be so hard for her. “She said she’s not ready and I understand that. And I asked her if there is a chance that she likes me back and she says she’s not sure and that hurt me, Whee”

“Unnie…” I moved to sit right next beside her.

Her arm went around my shoulders to hold me as if I’m the one that needs comforting. But that’s just how we are. And I know that she feels my presence and support just by sitting close to her.

“I just want everything to be clear between us, Wheein-ah. Because if I don't have a chance or she doesn’t like me at all and just wants me to hold her or be there, at least I can set some boundaries. I don’t want to give meaning to all of her actions when all of it was for nothing at all. I don’t want to expect”

“I understand, unnie. How about Miss Ahn?”

“She only said she’s sorry, Wheein-ah”

“Unnie…”

I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close to me. I was already frowning at the ache I felt for her but it hurt more when she couldn’t hold back a lone tear that escaped.

“Maybe she was really confused, unnie. Yongsun-unnie was really hurt when they lost Gabby too. She was a huge part of her life. She even confused me as Gabby at first”

“I don’t know, Whee”

“Give her time, unnie. I may not noticed that you like her but I do notice how she cares for you”

She chuckled as she said, “She cares for all of her employees”

“No!” I said defiantly. “It’s different with you, unnie. The subtle glances too”

She raised an eyebrow. “You noticed that?”

I playfully rolled my eyes at her just to make her laugh and it did. “I’m her secretary. I watch her every move to see what she needs. I just thought that she looks at you because she has somewhere to go or that she notice you there but it happens way too often”

“I don’t know… I don’t want to hope too much too”

I rested my head on her shoulder, hugging her again. “It’s okay, unnie. But if you ask her out, I’ll support you. If you need a little push, I’ll help you too. I can still take care of you like you do to me too”

“Oh… Jung Wheein…” She put me in a headlock and ruffled my hair so hard. “You’re a big baby now”

“Yah!”

“Miss Kim’s baby?”

“Unnie…” I hid behind my hands to hide my blush. Then I smacked her for laughing too hard. “Stop teasing!”

“I still can’t get used to the two of you, honestly”

“Well, you have to, unnie…” I whispered, feeling my face heating up.

“Hmm… Just don’t do it in our place, Wheenie”

“Byulyi-ah!” I pushed her