Seo Joohyun woke up earlier than usual, feeling her stomach a little queasy. As she sat up on her bed and stirred slightly, she couldn’t help but glance at the family portrait that rested on top of her nightstand. A faint smile crossed her features as she took a hold of it and pressed a kiss to the impeccable picture.

“Good morning umma and appa.” She whispered caringly, completely sure that they could hear her greetings. A renewing energy filled her body, making her ignore the weird feeling on the pit of her stomach as she got up from her bed and went downstairs. Her ample house always seemed so empty and colorless that she couldn’t help but feel a little down whenever she walked through its ample hallways. Wealth had been useful, of course, but it had never meant much to her.

As she went downstairs, she was greeted by the smell of recently-made breakfast, and she smiled as it filled her nostrils. Seohyun hurried a little more towards the kitchen, as much as her weakening legs could allow her to, and sat down on the breakfast table. Her presence startled Hwayeon, her maid and the only person who lived with her in that enormous house. As the middle-aged lady turned to Seohyun, the young girl gave her an ample smile. Seohyun couldn’t begin to explain how much she cared for Hwayeon; she pretty much raised her. Silently, Hwayeon served breakfast for the two of them. Of course, everything on top of the table was healthy food, to take care of Seohyun’s poor health. Finally, as everything was served, Hwayeon went to join Seohyun on the breakfast table.

“How do you feel today?” Came the usual morning question. Seohyun was already used to it, so she smiled and started her breakfast.

“I’m okay, auntie.” Seohyun answered. Hwayeon eyed her for a moment, before gesturing her to lean forward.

“Let me see.” Seohyun obeyed and leaned forward, allowing Hwayeon’s hand to touch her forehead. Checking that, in fact, there was no apparent fever, the middle-aged woman nodded her head in relief and continued her breakfast.

“I’m really feeling better, auntie. If I can continue like this, maybe I’ll be able to enroll in college next year.” Seohyun said after a few moments of silence. Hwayeon looked up from her food, and by seeing Seohyun’s eyes full of hope and joy, she couldn’t help but feel twice guiltier for what she was about to say.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, Joohyun. You’re going to need your health to be at its best.” Seohyun furrowed her brows slightly as she continued eating.

“Jinjja? Why?” Hwayeon averted her eyes for a moment before reaching to give Seohyun’s free hand a squeeze.

“There is no easy way to tell you this, but… I’m leaving.” She sentenced, gulping afterwards. There was a lump in that she needed to go away as soon as possible before she started crying. Seohyun looked at her, and her big brown eyes showed nothing but confusion for a moment.

“Oh… For how long?” The innocent way in which Joohyun blurted out such question almost made Hwayeon start bawling her eyes out. In fact, she had to look away to avoid crying instantly.

“That is exactly the detail, Joohyun. I’ll have to quit.” It took a few seconds for Seohyun to actually process what the middle-aged woman had just told her. Hwayeon was still adamantly looking away from her. Millions of questions started bubbling up in her head; she opened a few times, but no words would come out. It was then that she realized that Hwayeon was starting to sob silently, giving her words a real feel; she was really leaving.

“B-But why? You don’t like it here anymore, auntie?” Seohyun asked innocently. Hwayeon shook her head and finally met Seohyun’s eyes. Seeing that they were welling up with tears, Hwayeon unconsciously started sobbing a little harder.

“Of course I like it here, my dear… It’s just that you know my parents are in the countryside and they’re both sick. It’s my duty as their daughter to take care of them… Please understand, Joohyun. I do not want to leave you, I just have to.” Seohyun looked down at her lap as fresh tears started running down her cheeks. She felt both lost and overwhelmed by the situation.

“Of course I understand, auntie… It’s just that I really don’t want to be here all alone and you’ve always been with me… It will be hard to say goodbye.” Seohyun whispered in-between sobs. Their breakfast was suddenly completely forgotten.

“I know, darling, but you will be okay. You’re a strong girl, Joohyun.” Hwayeon complimented, hoping Seohyun could believe her once and for all. She was proved otherwise when the young girl shook her head and continue to cry silently.

“What about what the doctor said? According to him, it’s not recommendable for me to live on my own…” Seohyun asked, her voice sounding broken and desperate. It broke Hwayeon’s heart.

“You know how doctors are, they tend to exaggerate things… And you can always find a friend who might want to accompany you here, or maybe another maid.” Seohyun continued to shake her head, knowing that she didn’t have the heart to bother her unnies with this situation and that she would never be able to find a maid like the one who was leaving her. She had no choice.

“W-When are you planning to go?” Seohyun asked in a whisper, trying to fight the lump in . Maybe the queasy feeling on her stomach was foreshadowing all of these…

“As soon as possible, I’m afraid.  I just fear that my parents die before I get to… say goodbye. The two are really sick.” Hwayeon said lowly, knowing she was sure going to hit a soft spot with her words. She was proven to be right when Seohyun bit on her bottom lip tightly, almost drawing blood, and her eyes lowered to her lap. Sobs started rocking her body as she held onto the hem of her t-shirt, bawling it in her fist.

“I-I understand, auntie… Y-You can go.” Hwayeon smiled through her tears at the expected selfless answer; as much as Seohyun hurt inside in that moment, she couldn’t be selfish even once. “I’ll just miss you very much…” Hwayeon reached out and held onto Seohyun’s hand, giving it a squeeze.

“You’re a big girl now, Joohyun. You can take care of yourself. Your parents would have been so proud of you…” Hwayeon immediately felt bad as Seohyun’s body started rocking even harder with sobs. Nevertheless, Seohyun attempted to smile and gave the middle-aged woman a nod. In that small smile, Hwayeon felt a strange peace in her heart; the inner knowledge that Seohyun was going to be okay.

…

Later that day.

As terrible as she felt, Seohyun couldn’t help but smile when the familiar smell of her Caesar salad filled her nostrils. In fact, her soul felt rejuvenated the moment she made her way into her favorite restaurant in town. She started eating silently, after all, no one was seating with her and her friend Sunny, who worked at the restaurant, was nowhere to be seen. Since she would always have lunch on her own, Sunny would take a break and sit with her for a couple minutes and keep her company. It sometimes made Seohyun wonder if the shorter girl pitied her for her usual loneliness and poor health, but soon averted those thoughts from her head. Sunny was a great friend and an amazing person overall.

Soon, Seohyun had the familiar feeling of someone observing her. It was started to become a common thing every time she had lunch at Baru, and it made her somewhat uncomfortable. As she turned her head, she was not surprised in the least to find the cashier boy staring at her intently. By catching his gaze, the boy lowered his head and his ears became pink. Seohyun couldn’t help but giggle softly. It was quite obvious that the boy had taken an interest in her, and she was flattered by it besides finding it cute, but she paid no mind to it. Instead, she focused on her almost untouched salad.

“Hyunnie!” Seohyun looked up to find Sunny, clad in her Baru suit and holding some menus in her hands. The younger girl smiled widely and swallowed her food.

“Sunny-unnie!” She greeted excitedly, but Sunny could definitely feel something missing in her seemingly joyful tone of voice. The older girl knew Seohyun too well.

“How are you doing?” Sunny asked as she took a seat next to Seohyun. She furrowed her brows when she noticed Seohyun was avoiding her gaze. “Why are your eyes puffy?” Seohyun sighed, knowing all-too-well that she couldn’t lie to her unnie.

“I don’t want to talk about it, unnie.” She said simply, shrugging her shoulders and giving Sunny and side-smile. Sunny kept her brows furrowed in clear worry.

“Are you okay, though? How have you been feeling lately?” Sunny asked, guessing that whatever was wrong with the younger girl had something to do with her health.

“I’m really better, actually. It doesn’t have to do with that.” Sunny nodded understandingly, placing a comforting hand on her dongsaeng’s shoulder.

“Arasseo. If you feel like talking about it, just call me over.” The short-haired girl said, giving Seohyun an ample smile, which the younger girl returned.

“Thank you, unnie.” Seohyun bowed her head as her unnie went back to her work. Once again left alone in her table, she continued her salad. Rethinking the situation with Hwayeon and the fact that she’d really be alone sooner than expected made her want to cry again, but she promised herself she wouldn’t shed one more tear in that day. Of course, that only made her feelings of worry and loneliness bottle up inside her chest. If this situation had a reason to be, which was it? If her parents were really watching over her from Heaven, then why would they want her to be all alone?

Before she could think too much, the restaurant door burst open. Seohyun looked up from her food casually, not expecting her eyes meet the silhouette of the girl that had just come into the restaurant. The young girl could only see the other girl’s profile, but that was enough to know that the girl was stunning. She was tall, lean and her skin was almost as white as Seohyun’s own. Her shoulder-length hair was neatly combed and she was sporting an apple hairstyle that made her seem a bit childish. The stranger made her way towards the counter, leaving her in an angle that gave Seohyun much more to appreciate. The girl had a kind, yet slightly shy smile playing on her lips, and had doe-like eyes that you could fall into. She was wearing black jeans that accentuated her legs, a plain grey t-shirt and black Converse shoes. At some point, Seohyun felt a little scared that the stranger might notice just how intently she was being stared at. Because of the girl’s long porcelain neck, Seohyun couldn’t help but compare her with a deer. Once the doe-eyed girl reached the counter, Seohyun lost sight of her, making her sigh in slight disappointment. It didn’t take long for her to see the doe-eyed girl, this time clad in a Baru suit and attending tables. Seohyun smiled unconsciously to herself, happy that she might be able to see this beautiful stranger often.

It didn’t take long before she finished her salad and asked for the bill. The waiter was back in no time, knowing she was a good tipper. After paying, Seohyun grabbed her purse and decided to make her way out of the restaurant. Again, she felt eyes on her, and checked it was the cashier boy once again. This time, he held her gaze enough for her to wave at him with a smile. He stood motionless for a few seconds before waving back at her overexcitedly. Seohyun giggled and proceeded to leave the restaurant, with an amused smile playing on her lips. She couldn’t go too far, though, because a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Slightly startled, she turned around, and she got quite the surprise to see it was the doe-eyed girl who had stopped her. Both girls stared into each other’s eyes for a few seconds. Seohyun felt slightly out of breath by seeing the stunning girl up close, and instantly noticed the girl was even more beautiful than what she thought. This time, Seohyun could appreciate certain details, like how silky the stranger’s hair looked, or how pinkish her lips were or how soft yet defined her jawline looked, that only made her more beautiful in her eyes.

“Uh-Um… Is this your wallet, miss? It was on the floor back inside the restaurant.” The doe-eyed girl stuttered out, blushing slightly. Seohyun couldn’t help but find it adorable; it even took her a few seconds to process what the doe-eyed girl had told her. Finally, she snapped out of her staring and realized that, in fact, the stranger was holding her Guess wallet in her hand.

“Omo… It is, I can’t believe I dropped it.” Seohyun slowly brought her hand to take the wallet from the stranger’s hand, not meaning for their fingertips to touch as magically as they did. The small touch made Seohyun so lightheaded that she almost dropped her wallet. Secretly, she wondered if the beautiful stranger had felt the same.

“It could have happened to anyone. You have it now.” The stranger said with a polite smile, shrugging her shoulders. For some reason, her words made Seohyun smile widely. Said girl averted her eyes for a moment because of embarrassment.

“Yes, thanks to you. Are you a new worker at Baru?” Seohyun herself was quite surprised by her forwardness. Normally, she would have bid her farewell as quick as she could and leave the scene, but this time she just didn’t want to.

“Yes, I started today.” The doe-eyed girl answered simply, smiling.

“I come here almost every day, so we’ll see each other more often.” Seohyun’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Yoona smiling with certain sparkle in her eyes.

“Awesome. My name is Im Yoona, nice to meet you.” Seohyun was slightly surprised when Yoona bowed at her. It was uncommon for someone her age to be so respectful.

“I’m Seo Joohyun, but you can call me Seohyun. It was nice meeting you, Yoona-ssi.” After introducing herself, Seohyun remembered she had to meet her unnies in a few, so much to her disappointment, she bid her farewell with another bow.

“You too, Seohyun-ssi.” She heard Yoona say. “I-I hope to see you soon!” Seohyun stopped in her tracks and turned her head, giving Yoona an ample smile and secretly telling her she was looking forward to the same thing.

...

Later that Afternoon.

“Tiffany-unnie! Yuri-unnie!” Seohyun greeted excitedly by seeing her beloved friends. Both girls turned away from each other to look at her; Seohyun somehow couldn’t help but feel like she was interrupting them. She had agreed with the two of them at a small café inside the mall, hoping that they could console her about her current situation. They were the closest friends she had, and they always knew what to say to make her feel better.

“Maknae, you’re here!” Seohyun, being the youngest out of their group of friends, had already owned up to the nickname Yuri had given her. She gave both of them a hug before sitting across from them.

“How are you, unnies?” The youngest girl asked. YulTi looked at each other before looking at Seohyun again.

“We’re doing good, Hyunnie.” Tiffany answered for the two, showing her breathtaking eye-smile. Seohyun smiled back, happy that her unnies were doing well as a couple. It sometimes made her feel like the third wheel, but she was in no place to complain.

“Why did you want us to meet?” Yuri asked as she grasped Tiffany’s hand and started playing with her fingers tenderly. This didn’t go unnoticed by Seohyun, who could only smile secretly. Her smile soon faded as she remembered what she had to tell her unnies.

“You know my nanny, Hwayeon, right?” Seohyun felt slightly embarrassed for referring to Hwayeon as her ‘nanny’, but that’s exactly what she was. Both her unnies nodded; they knew everything Hwayeon had done for Seohyun. “Well, she’s leaving.” Seohyun said simply, feeling the lump in coming back.

“Omo… Jinjja?” Tiffany asked through a gasp. Her expressive eyes could tell how much the news had made her worry.

“But why? She knows you need her…” Seohyun made a defeated expression at Yuri’s words.

“Her parents need her more than I do… They’re really sick and they only have her to take care of them…” Seohyun trailed off, trying to fight the tears that were burning the back of her eyes.

“When is she leaving?” Tiffany asked in a whisper. Seohyun shrugged.

“This weekend, I think.” Seohyun answered simply. There were a few seconds of silence between the three of them, all of them thinking of how to solve Seohyun’s predicament.

“I’ll stay with you, Hyunnie.” Both Seohyun and Yuri turned to Tiffany, both completely surprised by her words. Tiffany was smiling slightly, nodding her head decidedly.

“U-Unnie, I can’t let you do that… I’d be bothering you too much!” Seohyun argued, but Tiffany just smiled wider, letting her know that her choice was made. Yuri just stared at her in awe. “B-But are you sure about this?”

“Of course! After all, your house is much bigger than my apartment. It will be temporary, you know, until you get used to being alone or find another maid, and in case you might have a relapse.” Seohyun widened her eyes at how sure of her words Tiffany sounded.

“Omo, unnie… I can’t believe you’d do that for me…” Seohyun whispered, touched by having such good friends by her side. Yuri, who had been silent, leaned in to kiss Tiffany’s cheek.

“That’s my kind Fany…” The tanned girl whispered sweetly against her girlfriend’s cheek, making Tiffany blush and giggle. Seohyun, who was still in awe, could only look silently and let them have their moment.

“Just tell me when she moves out and I’ll move in. I’m sure we’ll have a blast, Hyunnie.” Tiffany assured with her signature eye-smile. Seohyun smiled back and leaned over the table so she could give her unnie a bone-crushing hug. Seohyun’s conclusion was that she had the best friends anyone could ever ask for.

…

Three Days Later.

The day was getting progressively hot, and it was common during Korea’s excruciatingly hot summers. To Seohyun, who had never been a fan of sunbathing, it was starting to become slightly annoying. The brightness also bothered her eyes a bit, so she immediately put her Ray-Bans to use. The young girl sighed as she reached the shade of the Baru restaurant, still not taking off her sunglasses.

It was then that she realized that a Baru worker was sitting in a bench outside the restaurant and didn’t seem to mind the scorching heat that surrounded the city at noon. Seohyun felt further confused when she realized it was none other than Yoona.

Seohyun hadn’t really seen much of the doe-eyed girl lately, especially since Yoona always seemed so busy whenever Seohyun would have lunch at Baru. Even if Seohyun really wanted to befriend the doe-eyed girl (for some unknown reason), she didn’t want to seem pushy, so she just settled for waving and maintaining short, casual conversations with the doe-eyed girl. Thinking this moment a good one to have an actual conversation with her, Seohyun took off her sunglasses and went to approach Yoona.

The doe-eyed girl didn’t seem to notice her, as she sitting Indian style on the bench and looking down at her lap. With her slightly oversized Baru working suit, Seohyun concluded that Yoona looked quite adorable, but preoccupied. By the way Yoona’s head was lowered and there was not a sound coming out of , Seohyun was strangely reminded of Shmuel, the Jewish boy from the movie The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Seohyun giggled slightly at the strange comparison, making Yoona look up from her lap. By seeing Seohyun, Yoona couldn’t help but smile a little. She didn’t know how, but the few times she had seen Seohyun, the younger girl had always had that effect on her.

“Annyeong, Yoona-ssi!” Seohyun greeted, giving the doe-eyed girl her best smile. Yoona weakly smiled back.

“Annyeong, Seohyun-ssi…” Yoona muttered. “Ready for your healthy lunch?”

“Why are you out here all alone, and with this temperature?” Seohyun asked, ignoring Yoona’s previous question.

“It’s my lunchtime.” Yoona shrugged her shoulders as she answered. Seohyun decided to seat next to her on the bench.

“Well, aren’t you going to eat?” Seohyun asked, nodding towards the restaurant. “Come on, we can eat together.”

“Sorry, Seohyun-ah, I don’t like salads. I enjoy more greasy food, like burgers and chips.” Seohyun grimaced at Yoona’s words. “Yeah, I suppose you don’t like those.” Yoona joked, nudging the younger girl.

“You’re right. But you should eat, Yoona-ssi, you work too hard in there.” Yoona made a vague gesture, but secretly thanked Seohyun for showing she cared.

“I’m okay… I need to think about some stuff.” Yoona muttered bitterly. Seohyun stared at her hard, trying to figure her out, while Yoona just stared off into space.

“Stuff?” The younger girl asked, not taking her eyes off Yoona’s face.

“The student residency I’m staying in is about to close.” The doe-eyed girl looked down at her lap again. “The superiors only gave us a three week warning to get our stuff out, otherwise they will. The building was pretty old and deficient, but it was the only thing I could afford. And they couldn’t even give us a month to look for somewhere else to stay, only three freaking weeks…” Yoona said bitterly, running one of her hands through her hair. “That means I’m pretty much homeless now.” Yoona finished, looking up to meet Seohyun’s eyes. The look of desperation and stress that reigned over Yoona’s beautiful doe-like eyes melted Seohyun’s heart.

“Have you looked for any other dorms you can book?” The younger girl asked, genuinely worried for Yoona. The doe-eyed girl nodded.

“Yeah, I have, but I still haven’t found any that I can afford. They’re quite expensive, you know?” And Seohyun actually didn’t know; she didn’t even know what it was like to be in college. “I still haven’t told Sunny-unnie or Luhan or any of my co-workers because I don’t want to worry or trouble them… I guess that if I really can’t find anywhere else to stay, I’ll just have to quit school for now and go back to my hometown. It’s the best thing to do.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that, Yoona-ssi, but I’m sure you’ll find a place to stay.” Seohyun placed a comforting hand on Yoona’s shoulder, kneading it unconsciously. Yoona turned her head towards Seohyun’s, and the two locked eyes.

“Thank you, Seohyun-ssi, I really appreciate you worrying about me.” Seohyun blushed at Yoona’s intense gaze and couldn’t help but avert her eyes and remove her hand from Yoona’s shoulder. “Aigo, this is the first time we’ve really talked and I’m here bringing you down with my problems.” Yoona chuckled softly, making Seohyun shook her head frantically.

“Aniya, Yoona-ssi, I want to be a source of moral support if I can.” The younger girl smiled kindly, making Yoona’s heart skip a beat. It was becoming a common thing now whenever Seohyun smiled and Yoona couldn’t help but wonder what it meant. “What are you majoring in?”

“You won’t believe me…” Yoona muttered with a playful smile.

“I will! Tell me, palli, palli!” The doe-eyed girl let out a defeated sigh at Seohyun’s excitement.

“I’m majoring in Theater.” The younger girl widened her eyes and made an ‘o’ shape in surprise.

“So you’re an actress?” Seohyun asked, arching a perfectly sculpted eyebrow playfully.

“Don’t I look like one?” Yoona pointed towards her face, making Seohyun giggle.

“Not really, but you could try.”

“Touché!” Yoona pretended to be hurt, crossing her arms and looking at Seohyun in mock disbelief.

“I’m just joking, Yoona-ssi.” The younger girl said as their laughter subsided. Yoona then remembered about her promise to Luhan, but for some reason felt uneasy about telling Seohyun about her Baru fanboy.

“You know, Seohyun-ssi, one of my co-workers really wants to meet you…” Yoona trailed off, waiting to see the younger girl’s reaction.

“Jinjja? It’s the cashier boy, isn’t it?” Yoona couldn’t help but laugh, concluding that Luhan had probably been a little too obvious with his staring.

“That’s him: Luhan. And he’s really nice, so if you ever feel up to meeting new people, make him number one on your list.” Seohyun shrugged her shoulders.

“He can talk to me without any problem…” Seohyun trailed off. The conversation was about to continue when the two girls heard Seohyun’s stomach growling. It caused both girls to laugh heartily.

“Go inside already, Seohyun-ssi. Don’t worry about my problems, I can fix them.” Yoona gave Seohyun a reassuring smile, even when she didn’t believe her own words. Seohyun seemed gullible enough to believe her as she nodded and slowly stood up from the bench.

“I hope you’re right, Yoona-ssi. I know we haven’t met for long, but I wouldn’t want you to leave already…” Yoona’s cheeks felt warm and so did her chest as Seohyun blurted out those sweet words.

“I know, and me neither, Seohyun-ssi. See you around.” The younger girl nodded and made her way into the restaurant. Yoona just stared at her elegant silhouette until she got lost inside the vegan restaurant, smiling to herself.

That night.

“Yoboseyo?” Seohyun smiled at hearing her unnie’s voice through the phone.

“Fany-unnie? Are you busy?” The young girl asked, lying down on her bed and staring at the ceiling of her room.

“Aniya, why?”

“It’s just that I already talked things out with Hwayeon, and she’s leaving this Saturday. Just so you know…” Seohyun trailed off, feeling slightly guilty that Tiffany was really moving in with her temporarily. Even if it had been the Korean-American girl’s idea, Seohyun still felt quite guilty over the situation.

“Oh, okay. I’ll pack my things on Friday, then.” Tiffany answered.

“What about your apartment, unnie? You worked so hard to buy it and decorate it…” Seohyun trailed off again. She heard her unnie sighing through the phone.

“Yul can come and keep an eye on it. It’s not like I’m not coming back, you know? Stop beating yourself over this, maknae. This is something I want to do for you, as your friend.” Tiffany reasoned, making Seohyun feel a little better.

“Fine, unnie, but if you don’t like it here and you start missing your apartment, don’t hesitate to tell me, arasseo?” The younger girl could almost picture Tiffany nodding and holding her pinky finger outwards.

“I promise I will. Now what’s up?” The Korean-American girl asked.

“Nothing much, unnie. I’m just a little worried about someone.” Seohyun commented, still picturing Yoona’s sad doe-like eyes in her head.

“Jinjja? Worried about who?”

“It’s just a new friend that works at Baru. She was staying in a cheap student residency that is about to close. If she doesn’t find a place to stay soon, she’ll have to quit college.” Seohyun explained, and she heard Tiffany humming. “Her name is Yoona.”

“Why don’t you offer her your place?” Tiffany asked simply. Seohyun almost choked on her own saliva. “It’s a pretty reasonable thought if you ask me. You need a companion and she needs a place to stay, so why not? Is she a troublemaker or something?”

“N-Not that I know of… You’re pretty right on that one, unnie.” Seohyun stuttered out, still caught off of guard by the idea.

“If she doesn’t find a place to stay, go to her and ask her.” Tiffany suggested. Seohyun nodded even though her unnie couldn’t see her.

“Arasseo, I will, unnie.”

The conversation continued, but all Seohyun could think about was about asking Yoona to live with her, as crazy as it sounded.

Two weeks later.

Yoona was peddling as fast as she could on her bike. Her classmate Jiyoon had called her telling her about a student residency that could be affordable to the doe-eyed girl, especially since she was running out of time and still hadn’t found a place to stay in. As soon as Yoona got off work, she had taken her bike and started peddling towards the direction Jiyoon had told her, in hopes of getting there before it got too dark outside.

As she was crossing a narrow street, the lights of a speeding vehicle blinded her. Before she had the chance to cross on time, the front of the car was impacting the wheel of her bicycle and, therefore, impacting the side of her torso.

Yoona fell onto the ground, gasping in pain and holding onto her aching torso. The car had stopped and a man came out of it, running towards where Yoona lied in pain, crouching down to be at level with her. Yoona opened her eyes with some effort due to the blinding lights coming from the car. The young man that had come to her aid was wearing an expensive suit and looked genuinely worried about her. Yoona attempted to sit up, yelping in pain as she did so.

“O-Omo, are you okay, miss?” Slowly, he helped Yoona onto her feet. The doe-eyed girl’s breath was coming out in pants and as she touched her aching jaw, she noticed it had made impact with the hard concrete and there was blood coating her hand and the collar of her t-shirt. Still, what hurt the most was the right side of her abdomen. “Omo, this is all my fault, I was over-speeding…” The young man looked like he was beginning to freak out, running a hand through his hair. Yoona took in as deep as a breath as she could and crouched down a little to decrease the pressure on her torso.

“I-I’m okay… Just…” Yoona said in-between pants, looking for her bicycle that now rested underneath the brand new convertible. It was completely destroyed. “Aigo… What am I… going to do… without my bicycle?”

“I’m so, so sorry, miss. Let me take you to the hospital.” Yoona widened her eyes and shook her head frantically, making the young man furrow his brows.

“No! Don’t! I’m okay, just let me go home.” Yoona insisted, still struggling a little to breathe.

“Why not? I’ll take you there myself; I can’t leave you like this…” The young man gestured towards Yoona. The doe-eyed girl shook her head.

“You’ll just have to, because I’ve got no medical insurance. If you take me to the doctor, my father and I will be economically devastated. Do you get it now?” Yoona explained, feeling a little angered. The young man nodded understandingly and looking into the pocket of his trousers.

“Fine, but here’s my card and some money, you know, for your bike and some medicine. I’m really, really sorry about this and I wish there was more I could do…” Yoona’s heart softened a little as she saw the guy’s eyes watering. He looked like he really felt guilty.

“Just go… If someone saw this, they might call the police.” Yoona said in a whisper, holding onto her abdomen.

“Can I give you a ride, at least? You don’t like you’re in condition to walk.” He offered. Yoona considered it for a few seconds before nodding her head.

“Fine.”

The next day.

Seohyun made her way to Baru, humming a small tune and smiling happily. She had woken up in a pretty good mood and felt better than ever, and she didn’t even know why. As she reached the large restaurant, she noticed a familiar silhouette sitting on the outside bench. Smiling even wider at the thought of talking to Yoona, Seohyun made her way to where the doe-eyed girl sat.

“Hey, Yoona-ssi.” Seohyun greeted. Her happy smile soon turned into a look of pure horror and disbelief as the doe-eyed girl lifted her head and met Seohyun’s gaze. It was an understatement to say that Yoona looked restless, with those dark circles under her eyes, but what shook Seohyun the most was the doe-eyed girl’s jawline, which was marred and swollen on its right side. Yoona attempted to smile, but it came out as a grimace. Yoona felt slightly embarrassed; she would have never wanted Seohyun to see her like that.

“"Yoona-ssi? What happened to you?" Seohyun asked through a gasp as she carefully examined the older girl's features. Yoona looked down again and kept quiet, hiding the fact that she was touched that Seohyun even cared. The younger girl was about to insist when Yoona's hand caught hers and gave it a faint squeeze.

"You're really kind, Seohyun-ssi... Don't ever lose that kindness." Seohyun furrowed her brows and unconsciously held tighter onto Yoona's hand.

"What happened to you?" Seohyun insisted, even more firmly now.

"Don't worry about it..."

"No, Yoona, this ends today." Yoona widened her doe-like eyes; she didn't exactly know what surprised her the most, whether it was the fact that the proper Seohyun had addressed her without honorifics or the fact that the younger girl was offering her the only thing she had been screaming for all her life; help.

A/N: Here goes chapter #2. Pretty long, but it needed to be that way. You’ll know more about Seohyun’s family background and such as the story progresses. Thanks for reading, commenting and subbing, all of you! Hwaiting :P