For the many weeks that followed, Jessica and Yoona gradually grew to become inseparable. Sooyoung eventually gave up on trying to patch her friendship up with Jessica and thus the latter spent all her free time in school with Yoona.

The two thoroughly enjoyed every single moment together but that was as far as things went. Nobody ever mentioned anything else about taking their friendship to a different level even though they both clearly had strong feelings for each other.

For Yoona, it was still the inferiority complex. Although it was slowly fading away, she still couldn’t muster enough confidence to do anything about her friendship with Jessica. Something just seemed to hold her back every time she wanted to bare her heart and reveal her emotions. For Jessica, it was the fear of rejection, simply put.

One fateful day, however, things were about to change. Or rather, seemed as though they were about to change. There was a storm going on that evening after classes and both girls decided to stay on campus until it died down. The two were perched upon a bench with absolutely nothing to do.

“Gosh, I’m freezing.” Jessica rubbed her hands together rapidly, desperately trying to warm her numb fingers.

“Here.” Yoona immediately started to her coat.

“No, no. I’m fine. Keep it on.” Jessica grabbed Yoona’s hands to stop her.

“You sure?” Yoona looked at her apprehensively.

“Of course! I could just sit closer to you!” Jessica grinned playfully, inching nearer to the other girl until their shoulders touched.

Yoona smiled and gently picked up Jessica’s right hand, rubbing it between hers in an attempt to make the girl feel warmer. Jessica habitually leaned against the taller girl’s shoulder, enjoying the contact.

Just then, a question popped into Jessica’s mind, the same question she had stowed away deep in the corners of her heart. For some reason, everything felt right at that moment and she felt a little braver than usual that day. After a few more moments of contemplation, Jessica decided to just go ahead with it.

“Yoona-yah…” She started.

“Hm?” The other girl replied softly, still calmly massaging her hand.

“What exactly are we?”

At her question, Yoona stopped short, and a surge of emotion arose in her heart. It wasn’t because she didn’t have an answer. She knew exactly what she wanted them to be but she wasn’t so sure she was good enough.

She never thought this topic would surface so soon. She wasn’t prepared at all. She had frequently painted many scenarios of how she would finally develop enough backbone and assurance to ask the girl out, and this definitely wasn’t the time.

She had to make sure she was capable enough of giving Jessica complete happiness before jumping to any conclusions. She loved the girl more than anything else in the world, even more than herself, but she did not want to rush into anything. The last thing she wanted was for Jessica to suffer because of her incompetence. As such, she could only sit there in utter silence.

“Aish, you know what, forget I even asked. I know it’s silly and ridiculous.” Jessica sat up straight at once and drew her hand back swiftly.

“Jessica… I’m sorry. It’s just that… I don’t know. My mind’s in a mess right now… but it’s not you, okay? It’s really just me. I…” Yoona halted when she noticed how upset the other girl looked. She felt so guilty for messing things up.

“Are you alright?” Yoona inquired temperately.

“I think I’d better go.” Jessica hastily seized her bag and walked away in huge strides before Yoona could pull her back. The rims of her eyes grew warm and a sour sensation built up in her nose as she walked away, and before she knew it, the tears were already falling uncontrollably.

-----

Jessica sat quietly at one of the more deserted corners of the school, sniffing now and then. She had no idea how long she had been crying but she did feel exhausted and her eyes felt puffy.

Unexpectedly, a pack of tissues was presented to her and when she looked up, she saw a somewhat familiar face. She couldn’t exactly put a name to it but that varsity jacket looked so recognizable. It took Jessica a few seconds more to realize it was Taeyeon.

“Um, you could do me a favor and take the tissues, you know.” The petite girl spoke.

“Thank you.” Jessica hurriedly received the pack and Taeyeon settled down opposite her without being asked.

“What do you call a guy with