"Goodnight! Thank you for choosing Sumin's Sweet Home!" Sumin bids the last customer goodbye as she waves at them and forms her brightest, most professional smile. Even if she's tired and had a long day at work, she will never miss out on being kind and smiling at the customers until the very last one is gone, she locks her cafeteria and calls it a night.

She locks the cafeteria and no matter her tiredness she still tries to clean up the tables, floor, counter, dishes, glasses and mugs along with the coffee machines in order to find everything clean and ready to be used the following day. That's her routine for a couple of years now. Working from early in the morning until late at night, dedicating her whole self in this work as she's opened the cafeteria all by herself so she fully takes responsibility and care of it.

Maybe she returns late at night back home, and maybe she's always extremely tired. Maybe she doesn't hang out with her friends anymore and maybe she should assume that they're not friends anymore no matter how the girls keep texting her or the group chat and include her in everything. She's such a workaholic that there's never free time left for her to hang out so she doesn't understand why they still consider her as a friend if it's been too long since the last time she properly responded back to them or even hung out with them.

Or so things used to be until recently. Seeun and Yoon have been bugging her to hang out with their group again for a while now. She has been working with the two ever since they all finished high school. Apart from them though, whom she was seeing every single day of her miserable life because work demanded it, the rest of her friends have been gone from her life. She would hear about their news every once in a while as Seeun and Yoon wouldn't stop talking about them or hanging out with them but other than that she didn't know much and never reached out first.

She's not sure why. Maybe it's because she's extremely busy and thinks it's pointless doing so. But she's pretty sure another part of hers doesn't want to hang out with her friends anymore because she doesn't want them to know how miserably she's been failing to have a proper life all those years ever since they graduated.

She can still clearly remember how everyone had the dreams of their own. Even Yeeun who's the youngest one and back then was only a junior high schooler had her own dreams and goals to achieve, a career already planned out in her head. Everyone had dreams and goals even if they weren't exactly related to their future jobs. Some of them dreamed big and thought of themselves in ten years from them, some thought more rationally and dreamed of colleges and master degrees that seemed to be easier goals to set and more realistic too. Some thought of traveling around while some others thought of buying dogs or cats. Stupid or not, everyone had their goals and plans. Everyone except Sumin.

Even back then Sumin didn't have any dreams, goals or plans. She was pretty lost, liked and enjoyed doing a lot of things but nothing stood out too much to her in order for her to have the need to do something more about it and settle goals and create plans related to it. But back then, it made sense not to be that curtain about things, feeling this lost, liking a lot of things but having settled on nothing and coming up to nothing. It was pretty normal because she was young and she was asked for the very first time to try something else. She was completely free from school, completely free from something she knew for so many years, and was completely free to do whatever she wanted as a now young adult. Giving so much freedom out of nowhere to somebody so young and immature can be scary and Sumin was one of those scared people that couldn't handle their life without limits. She always wanted to label things, to place things into the right boxes in her head in order to work properly. Always had her own way of organizing her life in order to live at peace and know how things are and what she has to do from then and on.

So with so much freedom given to her, so many options and opportunities, Sumin simply lost it and just stood there watching others spreading their wings and flying away, following their dreams. She could never understand how everyone was so sure at such a young age, how everyone has already made up their minds, how everyone wasn't afraid of failing of... the most scary question to her; what if this isn't what's meant for her? What if she ends up failing in this field? What will she do then? Go back to study something else and then try hard to find a job related to it? Finding a job isn't that easy especially when you're middle fourties or something...

Sumin has been so afraid and she couldn't understand how everyone was so sure and didn't seem to mind failing, seeming so strong and capable of fighting all the difficulties even if that's not their destined job or future at the very end...

So she chose the easy way. She chose to pave her own way afraid of all fears of failing in her life, away from anxiety and stress and pressure, away from studying too hard to achieve something. Away from all the trouble. She chose to open up her own business and be the boss of her job, control her life, control her work and workplace. She chose to make her own money by herself. She chose her freedom and independence without anyone's help even if it was extremely hard to live at first and overcome all the difficulties the path that she chose had. She chose that path so she decided to fight for it until the very end because this was the easiest way and because she didn't know anything else she could do in this life other than being a complete waste, as she actually felt.

There's also another fear though. Except for the fear of meeting her friends and showing them how miserable her life has been and how workaholic she is, without making much money for herself though, there's another reason as well. One that she prefers not talking about, not addressing it at all, not even thinking about it as she always pushes it deep down.

She swears she's pushed that so deep down that she's forgotten about its existence. Well, she had until now.

"Sieun is coming back to town." Seeun has started the conversation once Sumin has started mopping the floor. Yoon has been cleaning the counter and Seeun the tables.

Sumin flinches. She tries her hardest to remain calm though as she feels and knows too well that Seeun is studying her expressions and reaction. She tries hard to pressure herself to keep mopping as if nothing happened. She even forces herself to turn her back on the girl, pretending to be too busy and into moping. In reality though, her stomach has tightened into tight knots, her legs have started feeling like jelly as her whole body turns stiff, hot and cold, her heart hammering in her chest as her mind steps on overdrive.

She's lost control of her mind. Only for a second, but she did.

Warm round light brown eyes that always made Sumin feel dizzy, heart shaped soft pink lips forming into a familiar, playful yet annoying grin. A laughter, a giggle Sumin always hated and she swears she has forgotten though she doesn't understand why she remembers it so clearly now. A honey-like, high pitched voice all too familiar to lure Sumin and awaken all her senses.

The picture of the female girl is a bit blurred and faded in Sumin's eyes as it's been way too long since the last time Sumin thought of her, moreover saw her with her very own eyes. The version of the girl is also the very last one Sumin can remember, the one from the very last time she saw her on their graduation day.

Back then Sieun was wearing their school's burgundy toga, her brown long hair falling in waves as her clear face was shining so much out of how happy she was.

Sumin knows this isn't how the girl looks now but she can't force her head to picture a newest version of the girl as she hasn't seen her in too long so she simply doesn't know how the girl looks now. Second of all, and most importantly, Sumin forces herself to get those thoughts out of her head immediately.

She takes control of her brain again and tries hard to shut the small opening of the chapter Sieun that has closed for her so many years ago. No. This is all in her head and she should better stop thinking about it immediately or else she's gonna end up in huge trouble.

It can't be the Park Sieun she knows. It must be somebody else.

"Sumin unnie? Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Seeun asks as she scoots closer to the older girl, realizing that the older one has been too quiet and hasn't had any response to what Seeun has just said so far.

"Yeah. Congratulations." Sumin only mumbles, forcing out a short indifferent reply, aiming for this talk to end right here right now.

"I didn't say I'm pregnant though. Why do you wish me congratulations?" Seeun asks her, confused, before she turns to look at Yoon for help, who shrugs her shoulders.

"What do you want me to say Yoon Seeun?" Sumin blurts out, walking further away from the girl and keeps moping hard, her hands already gripping tightly on the mop as her body tenses up. She definitely doesn't like this conversation and her little hopes of ending here are thrown out of the window immediately by how Seeun seems to keep pressing on the topic.

"Something else. Definitely not that. Do you even realize what I'm telling you? Park Sieun is coming back to town!"

"So what about it? What do you expect me to say?" Seeun looks at her puzzled before she groans, throws her hands in the air and exclaims,

"I give up! I'm tired! Yoon, tell her yourself. I'm not gonna be the one breaking it to her. She's so stubborn!" Yoon sighs heavily and clears before she walks back to Sumin who only mumbles,

"I'm moping, what do you want? Hey don't step there! I just mopped it!" Yoon sighs again as she takes a seat at the nearest table and tangles her hands nervously.

"Uhm... unnie? Don't get mad but..." She then takes a quick breath before she blurts out quickly and loudly,

"I told Sieun unnie to stay at your apartment!" and runs back to the counter to hide behind Seeun. For a couple of seconds they don't get any reaction from the older girl so when Yoon slowly and uncertainty peeks behind Seeun to see Sumin's reaction she's surprised to find the girl still moping.

"She definitely didn't hear what I just said." Yoon mumbles.

"That's it. She's officially diagnosed as stupid." Seeun agrees. Just then though, Sumin turns around and glares at the two, eyebrows knit together as she asks aloud,

"What do you mean you told that Sieun to stay at my apartment?"

"Uh oh. Huiston, we got a problem." Seeun says. Yoon gulps as she holds onto Seeun tightly, not moving at all from behind her as if Seeun's thin and definitely shorter than hers frame could somehow protect her from their angry boss.

"Maybe we should call Chaeyoung unnie?" Yoon suggests before Sumin takes a step closer to them.

"What do you mean you told that Sieun to stay at my apartment Jayun?" She exclaims even louder and Yoon lowers her head behind Seeun even more.

"I'm scared." She lets aloud.

"She calls her That Sieun and just called you Jayun so it's definitely red code. We run in three, two, one..." Seeun counts down and as Sumin is about to take another step closer to the two the two run away.

"Ya! Come back here you two if you don't want me to fire you!" She screams. Yes, Sumin is furious. She wants to believe that the two are joking right now as she's still processing what Seeun has told her or the fact that Seeun has decided to talk about this part of Sumin's life that she's left back long ago. Sieun was a part that belonged to her past, just like how high school did, how dare Park Seeun talks about it now?

And now she even has to process what exactly? The thought of Sieun showing up to her apartment unannounced has Sumin shaking to her core. She can't accept it.

"You can't keep threatening us with work! You know we're broke college students and need the money!" Soeun exclaims as the two walk slowly but still afraid towards Sumin.

"That's exactly why I keep threatening you with that or else you would always run away! Now say that again!"

"Listen, unnie." Seeun starts slowly as she takes a small step closer.

"Sieun is coming back to town and... she doesn't have a place to stay. She's applied to a masters degree at our college and she's applied to stay at the dorms too but they didn't accept her request as the dorms are full and they thought her house in her hometown isn't that far anyway. Though it is as you know. I and Yoon are living together, Yeeun is kinda living with Chaeyoung unnie now so the only one who's alone and has enough space in her apartment to make Sieun's life easier is you. Of course if you don't want her around she can leave anytime soon as soon as she finds a new apartment, we've already informed her about it. Just bear with her for a little while?" Seeun says and Sumin looks at her puzzled, then shocked before anger rises up within her once again.

"Bear with her for a little while? Are you hearing yourself!? I'm not staying with Sieun and that's final!" Sumin yells as she stamps her right foot on the floor, her fists clenched to her sides glaring at the two. Even saying the girl's name feels weird and foreign to her. How is she even going to live with her? Definitely not a possibility, Sumin thinks.

*

Sumin drags her feet tiredly, huffing to herself. She hates to admit it but sometimes she feels too old to even climb up a few stairs and reach her apartment on the third floor. Can you blame her though? After working so hard from morning till night with barely a small break for lunch at the break room makes her feel exhausted at the end of the day.Especially her legs and feet. They're always numb to the point that a few hours of sleep aren't even enough to help them rest a little and sometimes Sumin has a hard time standing up from her bed even.

She fishes for her keys from her black jeans' pocket before her fingers aimlessly search for the right key, making her sigh heavily and tired once again. At this point she's reached the top of the stairs, her feet stopping on the last one as she finally manages to get the right key for her apartment. Her eyes catch her surroundings though and she hates the fact that she did as she realizes that the background of the image of the keys in her hands isn't the empty usual marble empty floor, but the same floor filled with what Sumin's eyes catch first a backpack. Soon her eyes travel more around the floor and easily count five more backpacks and three suitcases before her eyes rise up more and stop on a figure. A female thin figure around her height and age with orange wavy hair.

Sumin flinches and almost falls back if it wasn't for her hands to quickly reach out and hold onto the railings next to the stairs wherein seniors are supposed to hold onto in order to help themselves climb up the stairs easier.

The girl slightly flinches back as well, before she giggles to herself, crossing her arms to her chest and scoffing softly.

"Wow. I didn't change that much in order for you to be this surprised to see me Bae Sumin." The voice is familiar. It's that familiar sweet, high pitched voice that Sumin so knows and swears she could forgot and now the more Sumin studies the girl's face the more she realizes she knows the girl's familiar warm light brown eyes no matter how much more mature the girl's face has gotten, covered with makeup too.

"I thought I told Seeun I don't want you here." Sumin mumbles lowly, her voice barely audible as she's still shocked, cursing over and over again Yoon Seeun and Sim Jayun for getting her into such trouble.

"What a nice way to greet your new roommate. I've been waiting out here for more than an hour, you know." The girl says again, her fingers twirling around a loose orange strand of hair, distracting Sumin's attention and making her annoyed immediately, wanting to stop the girl from being so playful. Why is she so playful and so calm after meeting Sumin for the first time in what? Four years? Without having shared a single word or a "hi"? Sumin's stomach flips and she swears she's already annoyed at the girl in front of her. What a way to start with her new roommate...

"I guess your sources didn't inform you that I'm working until late at night, right?" Sumin says sarcastically, finally managing to make her voice audible and fully reply back to the girl and not mumble incoherent things to herself as she pushes herself forward, heading towards her apartment and stepping away from the stairs.

"If by my sources you mean Seeun and Yoo-"

"Yeah I totally mean them. Now call Yoon Seeun and tell her that she and her girlfriend are fired. Also tell them that they should pass by my apartment. You'll need help carrying all those suitcases back to their apartment." Sumin says, sarcasm evident in her voice as she walks past the girl, trying her hardest to ignore the girl's intoxicating scent and how it still makes her weak to her knees or shivering so much. She forces herself to unlock her apartment, open the door and step inside but it seems like she's not fast enough as the orange haired girl also steps inside along with her, placing her suitcase first, making sure that Sumin wouldn't try to close the door right on her face.

"After four years and you're still the same sarcastic Sumin I remember. No progress for the better at all." The girl lets out and Sumin swears she fleets herself greeting her teeth out of annoyance. The girl always had her ways to push Sumin's buttons in milliseconds and make her annoyed way too fast. No one has ever surpassed the girl's highscore in being the person who annoys Sumin the fastest out there.

"Yeah. Exactly. You wanna know something cool? I've become worse." Sumin says, forming a fake grin, her teeth on full display before her smile fades away in milliseconds as she purses her lips together in a serious thin line.

"I can tell. Will you help me get my suitcases inside?"

"Isn't it obvious that I don't want you here? Haven't I mentioned it already?" Sumin answers back with another question instead of replying to the orange haired girl as she walks further inside the house, kicking off her shoes tiredly. This night already seems like a nightmare to her and she so looks forward to waking up and realizing that these all are just a bad dream.But the more time that passes the more she realizes that it's not a bad dream. It's harsh, cold, unfair reality...

"Seeun has informed you that I have nowhere else to stay. Don't flatter yourself, I also don't want to stay with you." At that, Sumin clicks her tongue, finding it hard to find a good reply to quip back as she always, always, wants to be the one to have the last word between their arguing.

"You knew; Sumin. You knew, yet you still act like a child." The orange haired girl lets out as she drags another suitcase inside once Sumin doesn't reply. Sumin turns around facing the other girl, feeling irritated by her words.

"Correction. I didn't know. Seeun informed me half an hour ago."

"Well, I get why she would do that. Judging from your childish reaction I wouldn't inform you earlier either."

"You're not even five minutes here and I am already annoyed at you. You know what? You've also haven't changed at all, Park Sieun. Still the same annoying brat." Sumin spits out harsh words before she turns around and heads towards the kitchen to clean up her hands and get herself something quick to eat before she crashes herself to sleep, not minding the other girl in her apartment. She really doesn't care whether the girl decides to stay or leave, to have dinner or not, to sleep on the couch or the other empty bedroom.

*

Her night has been a terrible one. She hasn't slept at all. Barely an hour or two. Her stomach has tightened into tight knots and her body has turned so stiff and oddly hot that even if she was tired and her system was seeking for some rest so badly she couldn't fall asleep. She felt tense the whole night as her mind has been occupied with millions of thoughts, all of them related to the orange headed next door.

Her head has been aching in pain out of how much she has been thinking that all she's been doing was sighing and groaning out of how frustrated she feels at herself. Still, she couldn't stop herself from thinning of the orange haired girl.

She can't understand why Sieun decided to come back now, after so many years, after so many years of no calls or texts —though she's equally at fault if more to blame. She can't understand why out of all places Sieun has to stay at her own and as much as she tries to convince herself that this is temporary deep down she knows and has a feeling that it's not temporary and Sieun will indeed stuck with her for too long for her to handle.

She hates her.

She hates her for messing up her life again in a matter of a few minutes that the two interacted. She hates her for messing up her life from now on as well and making it a living hell. She hates her for occupying her head again, she hates her for having changed so much but at the same time being the exact same annoying person too. She hates her for showing up now, for living with her. For being so unfairly pretty and successful in her life.

But most of all she hates her for giving her a headache and that stupid familiar fluttering feeling in her chest.

Sumin has been trying to convince herself all night that what she feels towards Sieun is the old faded feelings she used to have and that it's temporary. That it's just some sort of leftover fluttering from the love that used to be there. After all those years Sumin had been obviously completely over Sieun anyway and falling for the annoying same aged girl was stupid in the first place back then anyways. Anyways, Sumin is glad she's over her now, so she tries to convince herself that this is nothing, this is just some little, harmless enthusiasm of her old faded feelings and that once she gets used to Sieun's presence these feelings will vanish.

Still, something doesn't settle right and no matter how hard she tries to convince herself deep down she knows she's a fool and hasn't gotten over Sieun even after all those years so living with her will definitely be a hell not just because the girl is annoying but also because Sumin will have to avoid her in order not to make those feeling resurface again...

With those thoughts in mind she stands up from her bed earlier than her alarm, turning it off and heading towards the bathroom, realizing that it's pointless trying to get some rest at 6 AM as she hasn't gotten any sleep anyways and sooner or later she will have to get ready for work anyway.

She looks at her reflection and almost doesn't recognize herself being faced with a gray depressed ghost in front of her. Yes, that's exactly how she looks right now. Messed up hair, red eyes, black circles beneath her eyes, tired, dry lips and face... She screams insomnia from miles away and she's pretty sure she'll have to apply way too much makeup today in order to look presentable. She would especially like to look presentable for Sieun not because she minds what Sieun thinks of her or that Sieun likes her. Not even close. But because she doesn't want Sieun to because apparently the said girl is always ready to bicker —though Sumin is the one who teases, bickers and provokes the other the most between the two yet she would never admit that to herself.

She washes her face for a while —after brushing her teeth— and buries it in the towel for a little longer, wanting somehow to relax and vanish all of her stress as she sighs heavily.

She walks out of the bathroom and heads to the kitchen, having no idea whether the orange haired girl has managed to gather all of her things last night. For a couple of seconds she feels guilty for not having helped her out but she quickly remembers that it's Sieun she's thinking about and immediately gets annoyed at herself for feeling that way. Why would she feel guilty or want to help out the girl who has been hurting her the most? Why would she show mercy? Why would she be soft? Just because she used to love her? She was a fool back then for letting herself feel that feeling and become soft. She's definitely sure she won't make that mistake again.

She doesn't even get the time to fully enter the kitchen when she hears a familiar honey-like high pitched voice saying,

"Your fridge is empty. Don't you eat?" She flinches, having forgotten that Sieun lives with her for a second even if it's been the only thing in her mind all night and morning. She's still not used to it. After all, the girl has just moved in with her the night before, only, so Sumin still has a long way to go to get used to her presence around her apartment —and trust her, she doesn't want to get used to it.

Her eyes settle on the orange haired figure standing in front of her fridge —realizing that the girl must have witnessed her presence just by hearing her footsteps without having to look at her as that has always been Sieun after all, unlike Sumin who needs her time to get used to and familiar to things— and she can't help but roll her eyes in annoyance, taking in the girl's words.

"Wow people's first words are usually a "good morning" yet you were always an odd one." Sumin mumbles to herself, whistling in amusement. Through her peripheral vision she sees Sieun pursing her lips, also annoyed at the remark but doesn't get bothered or guilty at all.

"Apparently you don't eat. That's why you're so thin." Sieun says and Sumin can only sigh. She's usually the one to quip back, not letting a single fight get won by Sieun as she dislikes losing, especially from the annoying girl. But sometimes she's too drained or not having a good enough reply ready to be spilled so she gives up on arguing.

After all, Sieun is right. She doesn't eat at all lately. She usually makes something quick whenever she's at home or eats the leftovers at the cafeteria before heading home once she closes it. She doesn't have the time to properly cook in order to buy ingredients for it as well.

"We should go shopping." Sieun speaks up again as she closes the fridge and turns around to face Sumin who has already been busy drinking some water.

"You mean, you should go shopping." Sumin corrects her.

"No. I said what I said and I don't mean anything different. We should go shopping."

"We? Why is it a we? We as in what? All the group? Or just you and Chaeyoung? Or you and Seeun? Or-"

"No we as in you and me." Sieun clarifies, cutting off Sumin's endless rumbling. Sumin frowns for a few seconds before she scoffs a laugh and points at herself, then Sieun.

"You" she says pointing at Sieun who nods her head.

"And me." She says and points at herself and Sieun nods her head again.

"Together." She says again and Sieun nods her head again almost about to start grumbling about why Sumin needs to repeating the same thing over and over again.

"For shopping." Sieun nods her head again before she parts her lips about to grumble only for Sumin to laugh hard. Sieun frowns.

"What's so funny?"

"You're the funny one." Sumin exclaims between her laughter, not being able to stop herself from laughing. The moment she does, she says again,

"You're really funny this early in the morning. That's a good thing. You should keep doing it." Before she turns around and grabs a slice of bread to stuff , not finding anything better to eat. She doesn't exactly want anything to eat honestly as she's used to working with an empty stomach. She mostly wants something —usually bread— in order for coffee not to affect her system and nerves and make her too hyper.

"I'm not being funny. It's a fact Bae Sumin. We need to go shopping if you want me to stay here."

"Two mistakes in one sentence, Park Sieun. You should be careful about that. First of all, we won't go shopping together. Secondly, I don't want you to s