Joohyun was seventeen when she removed her soulmate necklace. She had worn it for her whole life. Because people told her to. Because everyone did. Because she would meet the love of her life as long as she kept it. But Joohyun was stubborn. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to meet her ‘soulmate’, it was just that she didn’t believe it. She didn’t believe that two identical items would tell her that she was going to love that person until the end of her life. So, she decided to remove it. She wanted to be loved for herself and not because of a necklace. But Joohyun would never be able to forget the shape of her pendant. She knew that she would remember it forever. She just hoped it wasn’t going to affect her heart or her feelings.

More than ten years had passed without that necklace. And Joohyun had dated people. She had dated guys. She had dated women. She fell in love. A few times. A couple of times. They had accepted the fact that she didn’t have her necklace. And Joohyun knew that none of them were her supposed ‘soulmate’. But that never stopped her from dating. And she didn’t regret it. Because her relationships made her happy. Most of the time, at least.

One day, while she was visiting Seungwan, one of her close friends, she met an unexpected younger woman.

Joohyun felt the gaze of the pretty woman on her. She didn’t know her. It was her first time seeing her. The woman briefly greeted her from afar when Seungwan let Joohyun walk inside the flat.

“I was in the area, so I thought I’d pass by to give you back your scarf.” Joohyun smiled, handing the piece of fabric to her friend.

“That’s nice, thank you.” Seungwan cast a glance at her friend sitting on the couch. “You want to have a drink with us?”

“Sure.” Joohyun accepted. She would have been lying if she said she wasn’t curious about Seungwan’s friend.

“Please take a seat.” Seungwan added in a teasing tone. Joohyun was at home here, she didn’t have to tell her that.

“I’m Joohyun.” The oldest smiled.

“I’m Seulgi. Nice to meet you.”

And that was why Joohyun found herself watching bears at that very moment. Actual bears. Seulgi loved animals. And Seulgi was cute. Really cute. So, when Seulgi asked Joohyun out a couple of days after, the older woman couldn’t refuse. Joohyun was scared of animals. But Seulgi looked so hyped about them that the older woman decided that seeing animals was the perfect thing for their first date. Joohyun wasn’t disappointed. Seulgi was even cuter, tugging Joohyun’s sleeve to show her animals.

Joohyun had noticed the necklace around the younger woman’s neck. But she hadn’t seen the pendant yet. And Seulgi didn’t talk about it. But Joohyun didn’t want to rush anything.

“Aren’t they cute?” Seulgi asked, leaning on her elbows.

“I guess so.” Joohyun looked at the younger woman.

Seulgi slightly gasped. “How? They’re the cutest.”

Joohyun shrugged. “I’m not that sure.”

Seulgi didn’t push it further. She grabbed the older woman’s hand and dragged her to the next animals. Joohyun felt her cheeks flushing at the contact. She was already feeling weak for Seulgi. The grip around her hand was still firm. Seulgi wasn’t ready to let go, so Joohyun gave her a squeeze back.

“Admit it.” Seulgi smirked, leaning back in her chair.

“I mean… They are cute.”

“Told you so. No one can resist red pandas’ charm.” Joohyun let out a chuckle at the sentence. She wasn’t insensitive to those little things’ cuteness. “They’re not cuter than me, though.” The younger took a sip of her milkshake.

“Obviously not.” Joohyun let the words escape . Their gazes met. Joohyun wished she could disappear.

“I’ll hold you onto that.” Seulgi’s smile eased the air.

“I-Right.”

Joohyun had stopped counting how many dates she had with Seulgi. Were they even dates? Maybe not. It could have been chill hangouts. Between friends. Friends definitely flirting and holding hands. Anyway, she was there once more, having dinner with Seulgi. They would talk about so many things. No moment was dull with Seulgi. But somehow, Joohyun felt stressed about the necklace thing. What if Seulgi asked to see hers?

“Joohyun?” The older woman looked at the voice.

“Sorry?”

“I asked if you wanted to talk a walk?”

“Sure. I’d love to.”

Seulgi smiled and called the waiter. They split the bill. Even though Seulgi insisted on inviting her, Joohyun couldn’t let this go. But the younger was stubborn and complied only if they shared the bill. So, Joohyun accepted.

“Why are you like that?”

“Come on, Hyun.” The now familiar nickname made the woman’s heart skip a beat. “You need to get used to it.”

“I do?” Seulgi smiled, taking the woman’s hand in hers. They walked outside, near the Han River.

“Obviously. I…” Seulgi’s face suddenly turned pink. “I was hoping I could take you on more… dates? If that’s okay?”

Joohyun stopped walking, making Seulgi face her. “Yes. I mean. I kind of always thoughts we were going on dates…?” She added with a touch of distress in her voice. Seulgi nodded, a grin on her lips.

The younger woman started walking again, closer to the river, driving themselves away from the busy streets. Seulgi leaned on the fences, her eyes wandering the night. Joohyun watched her, the moon illuminating the woman’s features.

“You’re beautiful.”