"Your fridge is empty again." Sieun's first comment to Sumin was as soon as she saw the blonde girl behind the counter of her cafeteria, busy working, as usual, on a Sunday morning. Sumin sighs heavily, annoyed at the comment, already.

"What do you want me to do about that? Teleport to the nearest convenience store and buy whatever you need while a clone of mine stays here and works?" Sumin replies, crossing her arms to her chest in a defensive motion as she glares at Sieun for a brief second before she gets busy making orders again. She's not surprised that not even a "hello!" Or "good morning!" Or a "how are you today ?" Or even a plain "morning" comes from Sieun's lips. They're used to greeting each other by immediately getting on the point and omitting the rest of the parts and the casual friendly formalities and greetings friends use according to human nature. No. Once again, they refuse to be like everyone else out there. Then again, does Sumin mind?

She's not sure. Sometimes she catches herself being annoyed at how the other girl has cut the formalities or all the friendly greetings people usually use with each other and only seems to remember them whenever it's convenient for her, but some other times Sumin catches herself doing the exact same thing to the orange haired girl so she's one to blame too, and can't really put all the blame and fault on Sieun and only.

"That's definitely not what I said but it would be very convenient. Actually it would be very convenient if I went shopping with your clone rather than with you." Sieun spits out in return, definitely not liking Sumin's sarcastic comment as she leans closer to the counter and glares at Sumin's frame with half lidded eyes.

"I don't even get why you need me to go shopping." Sumin huffs as she pours the black liquid of yet again another coffee in a plastic cup.

"Because I don't know your taste yet. I'm still figuring it out. And I want to make sure that you eat too, so I need to buy what you like too as a first step." Sumin sighs before she argues with a visible frown on her lips.

"I eat."

"Really? What was your last meal then?"

"Spaghetti."

"Because I cooked that last night. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have been eating." Sumin scoffs and laughs bitterly and sarcastically.

"Oh really? That's what you think? Because I know that I've been doing fine and eating fine by myself all this time." Sumin scoffs, her tone audibly an annoyed one as she glares at Sieun, the plastic cup being the only thing separating them now as Sumin grabs a plastic lid from the stuck nearby and places it on the top of the cup, her fingers clenching onto it tightly out of how annoyed she feels. The atmosphere between them is an intense, odd one. So thick that you could cut it with a knife. The glares are there, the challenging and provoking stares and feelings all hidden in the eyes of the two hot tempered females.

"Uh, well, hi Sieun unnie! I didn't see you there! Want anything?" Jayun asks in an awkwardly bright tone as she clears and walks towards the two in order to separate them and stop them from arguing.

"No. She doesn't want anything. She was just leaving." Sumin takes the initiative and says, in order to force Sieun to leave as she glares at the girl intensely as if she's telling her through her eyes to go with it and leave her alone, before she quickly pushes the cup of the coffee a bit further on the counter towards the customer who had been standing a bit further from the two, staring at them awkwardly.

"Thank you for visiting and choosing Sumin's Sweet Home. Please pay for your order at the cash desk over there. Jayun is in charge." She says as she looks at the customer with a fake, yet professional smile on, and pushes Jayun towards the cash desk yet again, reminding her that her spot is there for today's shift so she shouldn't be here.

"I wasn't leaving, Jayun! I just passed by! So I'm staying. For as long as I want to, except if you have a timing for each customer." Sieun says with a bright tone as she looks towards Jayun who smiles at her and walks back to her spot by the cash desk along with the customer.

"Well specifically for you we have a timing, yeah. Which is zero seconds. You're not allowed in here." Sumin says through gritted teeth as she glares at Sieun once again.

"If you don't have an official certificate that prevents me from entering this store I don't see a solid reason why I shouldn't be in here." Sumin growls.

"Enough you two. What's that you want unnie?" Seeun says as she returns to the counter with a tray filled with empty mugs, bowls, glasses, cutlery and dishes for Sumin to clean up. She places the tray right in front of Sumin who gets busy immediately by taking everything out of the tray and placing it in the sink.

"I want to go shopping with Sumin. She refused the first time and I accepted it. But we do really need to go for proper shopping at some point. It's just shopping after all. I don't get why she can't even do that with me!" Sieun says. Sumin growls.

"I'm here! Don't talk as if I'm not."

"Well to me, you're not."

"It's my cafeteria and I'm the boss of my own business how can you act like as if I'm not here? How disrespectful!"

"Who's the disrespectful one here when you are the one getting on defensive mode and wanting to kick me out of here in the first place before I even did anything!?"

"Enough! Both of you! Unnie, take a break. And remember to breathe and chill for once jeez! Go shopping with her. She's your roommate so you need to take care of her. And by taking care of her I mean shop with her too and make sure she has everything she needs. Ok?" Seeun says as she walks towards Sumin and takes the cutlery from the girl's hands, stopping her from cleaning them up and putting them in the washing machine.

"You can't give me a break! I'm the boss here." Sumin argues.

"Well I just did. Don't worry about us. We can handle the customers. It's not that hard. We have uncle Ben and if anything happens we can always call your cousins to help us out too. Right uncle Ben?" Seeun says as she turns her head and looks towards the middle aged man with slightly grayish dark brown hair and light beard that turns to look towards them upon hearing his name.

Sumin's uncle along with Sumin's few relatives overall are always bright and welcoming people. They're fun and extremely friendly and they know exactly how to approach young adults as they adapt to their jokes pretty easily. That's how uncle Ben is. He's not as teasing as Sumin's mom is, but the whole teasing and bickering runs in the family's blood —that's where Sumin got it from too.

So as a fun and good at giving advice but also to listen to other people's problems person, Sumin's uncle has told everyone working at Sumin's cafeteria to call him uncle Ben even if he's not their uncle. He thinks of all of them as his own children.

"Seeun is right." Uncle replies with his goofy wife smile, showing his teeth and gums in the process, a very similar smile to Sumin's. Even his grayish dark brown mustache smiles along with his lips.

"You didn't even hear what she said I'm sure!" Sumin argues as she glares at him. She's not wrong. She knows she's not. Uncle Ben would easily side with Seeun, Jayun or his children whenever it would be them versus Sumin, easily explained because he likes them more —because they click well when they joke and because he enjoys teasing Sumin. So it's not the first time Seeun would get him on her side this easily without him having heard anything of the conversation. Sumin has played that play way too many times before she knows exactly how it goes.

Then again, uncle Ben is standing by the tables a little bit further from the counter, having just finished writing down orders as he wipes his hands on the black apron on his lap, looking as clueless as ever. That's definitely the face he makes whenever he indeed hasn't heard anything and that habit of wiping his hands —even when they're clean— on his apron is another habit of his that he does whenever he's caught doing something without knowing why or without knowing what he's doing exactly. It's the awkward kind of motion and sometimes Sumin feels like she's staring at a child rather than her uncle.

The fact that he's a bit further from the counter means that he most probably haven't heard their conversation because of the distance but his clueless and expressions confirm it to Sumin even more.

"Uhm..." he pauses. Sieun chuckles before she says softly,

"Do you want any help uncle Ben?"

Yes, even Sieun calls him that. If anything Sieun must have been the first person to call him that as she's been really close with Sumin's family in the past. But that's no news. That's old news. And Sumin hates it.

"Seeun just suggested that Sumin take a break from work this morning to go shopping with me. Is it ok?" Sieun says in her sweet, honey-like voice, the one that she always uses whenever she wants to convince someone. And uncle Ben is one of those people that likes being persuaded and convinced with the cutesy method. Sumin hates him for that —not really but you get the point.

"Of course it's ok! It's more than ok! Sumin, you need a break, hon. Go. Just go! Why are you still here?" He says and immediately moves his arms as in a pushing motion, pretending to be pushing Sumin away towards the exit, even if he's still way further from her. Sumin groans.

"I hate how easily you get convinced. You corrupted old fart!" Sumin says between gritted teeth, half lidded eyes glaring at him before she unties her apron and hands it to Seeun by basically tossing it to the girl's chest, pushing the tray of dirty cutlery, dishes mugs and glasses towards Seeun's side. Sieun tries her hardest to muffle her laughing which she fails doing so as her lips form in a happy smile in the process, making Sumin glare at her once she's past the counter and already walking towards her.

"What are you laughing at?" She scowls. Sieun can't help herself and a small chuckle escape her lips before she says with a smile,

"Nothing. I just looooove how even your uncle isn't on your side." Meanwhile Sumin's uncle had obviously ignored the insult as Sumin keeps calling him pet names ⏤usually curses actually⏤ all the time. That's their relationship after all, neverending bickering and calling each other by nicknames and curses.

"You must be as miserable as I am if you enjoy seeing me suffer. Seriously, don't you have anything better to do?" Sumin fires back as she passes past Sieun, bumping her shoulder with the orange haired girl's in the process, obviously pissed. Sieun can only let out an ironic laugh.

"Wow! Your humor is so..." Sieun lets out as she follows the girl towards the door, leaving uncle Ben, Seeun and Yoon staring at them with troubled faces, wondering if the two will ever stop arguing.

"Good? Enjoyable? Perfect? Aw thank you, you didn't have to, though I'm already mastering it because it needs some fixin-"

"Awful, Sumin. Awful! It literally makes no one laugh!" Sieun lets aloud, frustrated.

"It makes me laugh, so that's enough."

"Humor is supposed to make others laugh, not just yourself. But I guess you're so lonely that's why you enjoy making jokes only for yourself. And for your record, no, my life isn't miserable, because I'm definitely not only enjoying seeing you suffer. I have so many other things to do!"

Sumin scoffs as she pushes the door open and the two walk outside of the cafeteria.

"I'm not lonely. I'm workaholic. It's different."

"How?"

"It just is! And what's the things you have to do huh?" Sumin says as she stomps her right foot on the pavement, having turned around to glare at Sieun as she leans closer to her face, left hand clenched tightly into a fist, knuckles having turned white while her right hand is raised up on Sieun's chest, her index finger pointing at the girl's chest. Face annoyed, eyebrows knitted together, lips parted and eyes holding so much anger within them.

"Because I'm betting you have nothing else to do and you just want to-"

"Why are you even so angry!? Why are you acting so childish with me? I don't get it! I really don't. As much as I think of it, I just don't get it. I just passed by to get you to go shopping, what's the big deal about it that got you so worked up?" Sieun lets out, also frustrated by the assumptions she's been getting from Sumin.

Yes, that's right. Assumptions. That's what they've been doing for a while now. Ever since Sumin has refused to give a proper, clear reply to Sieun's question about what she's been doing all those years Sieun was away or overall to reply to Sieun's questions and get close again and get to know each other again, Sieun has started guessing instead or assuming. She hasn't started it first though. Sumin was always the one making assumptions about Sieun's life. Sumin was curious too, but she wouldn't ask Sieun herself and asking her friends was like as if she was asking the enemy herself as her friends would of course give her away to Sieun and the last thing Sumin wanted was Sieun to come up to her face with that stupid playful grin of hers saying,

"I heard you're asking about me."

Then again, Sieun wouldn't tell her herself because she was like,

"If Sumin wants to know, she can just ask me."

Both of them has put their egos in the front line, having built huge thick walls that way and making the communication between them impossible. So if Sieun wasn't telling Sumin things about herself, herself, and Sumin wasn't asking her or asking the other girls about it, then Sumin's only way to know was by assuming, annoying Sieun by how many wrong assumptions she's made and forcing the girl to deny them all and state out the truth to prove her wrong. That way, Sumin would get what she wanted ⏤definitely a hard and idiotic way to get information about someone but Sumin would never put her huge pride on the line for Park Sieun out of all people. In return, Sieun would also make assumptions about Sumin's life because of course she didn't want to be the only one insulted. It totally makes no sense and Sieun is already getting tired of it as it reminds her of their high school days. With the only difference being that they're adults now, 22 years old, in fact, so they're definitely not suitable for little, immature bickering and push and pull games that teenagers do in order to get closer and finally confess their feelings. No, they're adults and adults are straightforward. Yet here they are beating around the bush...

"Maybe because I'm literally abandoning my own job?" Sumin exclaims as she takes a step back and throws her hands upwards in an attempt to show how annoyed she is about it. Sieun sighs.

"Your uncle isn't wrong, you know. You really need a break. You've been working nonstop, with no days off and if your cafeteria was a 24 hours open one you wouldn't even be sleeping!" Sieun states as she starts walking again, heading towards Sumin's car, having already gotten way too familiar with how the car looks or what model it is.

"Let me decide if I need a break myself." Sumin replies deadpan as she also starts walking too, following Sieun's steps and trying to reach her and walk by her side. She's not the one to follow others from behind like a dog, especially if that other person is Park Sieun.

Sieun sighs heavily.

"I'm starting to believe that you're the old hag. Not your uncle." Sieun mumbles through gritted teeth, her fast steps having already helped her to reach the car. Yes she's walking fastly as she's pretty annoyed. She definitely didn't have in mind that she would end up arguing with Sumin again when she has left their apartment with the thought of going shopping earlier. It totally affects her mood now.

Sumin is struggling to keep up pace with her but she's trying her best still, nonetheless.

"Excuse me!?" Sumin lets out, angry and shocked at the remark as she rushes towards her car, glaring at Sieun. If she was a cartoon character would be foaming, smoke would be coming out from her ears and her face would be deeply red by now.

"You're seriously acting like an old hag. Always angry at everything and everyone! How did you want me to call you?"

"Don't call me at all." Sumin says deadpan, glaring at Sieun. Sieun scoffs. Sumin sighs heavily, deciding to end that battle at that point instead of scolding Sieun for calling her an old hag right in front of her face ⏤though she's really tempted to shut her off⏤ as it would be pointless and they would never end arguing. She really needs to end it here. No matter how she's arguing with Sieun, Sieun won't just magically leave from her life one morning or disappear from her apartment one night. She came back, and she's here to stay, for long. So Sumin really has to accept reality, which includes Sieun living with her. The sooner she accepts it the easier it would be for her to return back to her daily routine and workaholic, busy life.

After all, Seeun was right earlier. Sieun is staying with her so Sumin has to take care of her new roommate. She's not living alone anymore so she should be more considerate.

With that thought, she unlocks the car and the two enter it in total, awkward silence.

*

"We're not buying this." Sumin immediately grumbles for the millionth time that morning, feeling annoyed and like as if she's gone shopping with a five years old kid who's excited to buy everything a convenience store has for sale.

"Why not?" Sumin turns to face Sieun saying deadpan,

"Tell me why we should. Like seriously. Tell me a solid reason as to why we should buy you a water gun."

"Uhm... because we wanna have fun?" Sumin growls between gritted teeth, grabs the water gun from Sieun's hands and lets it back down on its previous spot.

"A freaking water gun! Gosh I feel like I've brought a five years old with me!"

"Oh come on! Life is about having a little fun. After all, if you don't, what's the purpose in living then? Right? Just to be a work slave?" Sumin gasps, annoyed, as she clenches her fists to her side and turns to look at Sieun again, totally pissed.

"So you think I'm a work slave?"

"Well, your words, not mine. I never said it directly, but yeah, fine I give up, yes you're a work slave. Satisfied to know what's on my mind?" Sieun says, tilting her head to the side and looking at Sumin with a done face.

"No, I'm not satisfied at all!"

"What a shame!" Sieun says, irony audible in her tone. Sumin scoffs and keeps walking, ignoring Sieun's presence by her side as she would constantly keep removing things from their basket, scolding Sieun for taking unnecessary things.

"Sumin look!" Sieun exclaims like an excited kid at some point. Sumin sighs heavily, rolling her eyes, tired and annoyed already, the only thing on her mind is getting home already, leaving the bags and Sieun and returning back to work again.

"What is it again?" She asks tiredly, slight annoyance in her voice before she turns her frame towards Sieun's who has been left a few steps behind. She frowns slightly as soon as she sees Sieun holding a specific bag of chips, one that the wrapping is colored red. from a specific brand. The chips were spacy flavor and if Sumin remembered correctly Sieun couldn't handle the spaciness of these chips, so why was she holding them in her hands in the first place?

"Do you remember these? We would always get those each time we would buy the new Volume of My Secret Garden, remember? It was our ritual!" Sieun says excitedly, trying to refresh Sumin's memory in case she would have forgotten. Sumin hasn't though. In fact, she can't get annoyed at Sieun, not when the girl looks this adorable and happy about a memory they shared, a memory of the past, a memory that she seemed so cherish as much as Sumin does. Sumin can only look at Sieun's frame fondly.

She only smiles softly as memories flood her head.

"Sumin! I got it! I got it!" Sieun's happy cheerful voice is heard loudly throughout the whole neighborhood. Sumin's eyes are now met with a younger version of Sieun, one from the first grade of high school and Sumin from the present gets reminded once again of how things were back then, how she felt for Sieun back then, how she had firstly started liking her. Back then things were way easier as Sumin had only just started liking Sieun and discovering how that felt, and at first, it felt amazing. That sparkle and fluttering feeling in her chest that made her feel all giddy and excited inside.

Yeah, that was an amazing moment for Sumin. When things were still innocent and her feelings had barely touched the surface of the real problems that were about to follow the following years.

Sieun's younger version looks as short as the one in the present. The girl's frame is similar with the only difference being that Sieun used to be more delicate —definitely not as delicate as Sumin used to be but that's a story for another time. The girl's cheeks were chubby, her high cheekbones always apparent. Her hair was the same brown she used to have throughout her whole student life while Sumin's used to be a light faded link back then.

The girl has just stepped out of the bookstore at the corner of Sumin's neighborhood screaming loudly and having the happiest brightest smile she could master. Her eyes quickly searched for Sumin's frame—whose task was to buy the spicy chips from the nearest convenience store while Sieun gets to the bookstore— and as soon as they landed on it she smiled even wider. Sumin bit her lips, trying her hardest to suppress her smile but she failed to do so. How can she not smile, or like Sieun even more when the girl was smiling this widely and looked this happy? Even if Sumin was also excited with what Sieun bought because they've been obsessed with that book together, she was happier and cared more for Sieun's happiness rather than her own.

Sieun raised her hand up in the sky and shook it lightly showing Sumin the book she's got. It was a series of books they've both been faithfully reading ever since the very first volume. A romance series, a classical one, wherein most teenagers like them have been obsessed with, especially girls. They would all rush and stand in huge lines outside of bookstores after school when that day of the release of the next volume would come each month. Sieun and Sumin had almost missed out on getting some volumes on time because the stores would have run out. Fortunately the bookstore in Sumin's neighborhood was way further away from their school and usually no one would get this far to get the volume and ever since Sumin has discovered that this bookstore also brought this novel her and Sieun would always go tuere to get it rather than wait in line to end up leaving empty handed.

"I got it!" Sieun said again, proud and excited before she started walking towards Sumin who had been waiting for her by the park across the bookstore, sitting at the nearest bench, the bag of spicy chips next to her.

"Really? Congrats." Sumin said in a light teasing tone. Sieun frowned, displeased at the comment but deciding not to fire back. She sat next to Sumin before she showed the novel again happily.

"You got the chips?"

"Yeah. Right here." Sumin said and pointed them at her side, the other one that Sieun wasn't sitting at.

"I don't get why we still get those though. They're the most spicy ones out there and we both can't handle eating them."

"It's Yurim's favorite! We can't just not eat them! It's also our ritual by now! We always eat them when we read the new volume!" Sumin sighed a little. The reasons weren't even convincing anymore because only she, herself —well Sieun too— knew how badly her stomach ached each time she ate them. Eating spicy chips that she couldn't handle just because of a stupid friendship ritual and because it was an imaginary female protagonist's favorite weren't solid reasons but Sumin couldn't really say no to Sieun so she still kept this up even if she was the least excited when it came to eating the chips.

She stood up from the bench and took the bag of chips in her hands.

"We should get going then." She said. She turned around to face Sieun, waiting for the girl to follow her.

"My house?" She asked, extending her hand for Sieun to take, a little hesitant. She could even sacrifice her weird preferences of avoiding physical contact just for Sieun. She could try at least. She then awkwardly rubbed her hands —both hands— on her thighs, deciding that skinship, especially with Sieun, was too much to take.

"Wasn't that always the plan?" Sieun said as she stood up as well, her eyes having landed on Sumin's awkward extended hand even if it lasted only for a few seconds before she looked back at the girl.

And so, they headed back to Sumin's house. As always, they've walked down the welcoming street of Sumin's neighborhood, entered Sumin's home which was as usual empty since Sumin's mom had been working again, having a late shift at the hospital that time. The girls laughed, like the immature teenagers that they were as Sumin led the way to her room, having Sieun following her right behind. They quickly got their position on Sumin's bed, laying their legs on it while their back was resting on the carpet on the floor —they always loved that position— before Sumin opened the bag of chips and settled it between them while Sieun opened the novel.

They could buy two copies of the novel. But Sieun's family wasn't really supportive of the girl's immature, spontaneous and rebellious choices or preferences so if they caught her collecting such a meaningless series of books they would throw them away immediately claiming that she's wasting her time and that Sumin is "bad influence" for the millionth time. So they've stuck to the choice of just sharing the books and paying for them together while Sumin kept them safely at her desk in her room.

Sumin should have been focusing on the novel as Sieun read it aloud and commented on it every once in a while but honestly that afternoon, she really couldn't. Maybe it was that she felt tired from a