Lime was taken aback by the other girl’s sudden offer that she stood on the same spot for minutes. Her cheeks flushed red when a hand took her own - it was Ara’s; her touch was soft and gentle. She dragged Lime to the couch inside the room and figured her to sit. “I’ll make some tea, wait a minute!” Ara said with a tone that made her sound as if she was waiting for Lime, as she eagerly started preparing tea. As the aroma of the tea filled the air of the clubroom, Lime found herself more relaxed as compared to her earlier state. This was her chance, the answer is right in front of her, this she thought to herself as she gathered her senses. “Kim Hyelim-shi” a voice called, Lime looked in front to see that Ara was already finished preparing the tea. Ara took two teacups; one for herself and another for her newfound acquaintance, she then poured them their rightful content with downright elegance. Lime just stared at the teacup for a few minutes until Ara spoke: “Do you not like tea?” this made her shook her head to show her response for she cannot seem to find her own voice. “Drink it up. It’s good.” Ara said; her words were like commands that Lime can’t disobey as she finds herself drinking the cup of tea. Surprisingly, the tea made Lime better and from her lips escaped the words “It’s good…” and a sigh. Well, it was a good tea I tell you dear readers, but what kind of tea is it, I have no idea myself.

Minutes have passed without any words from the two; Lime just bowed her head the whole time she was drinking tea because she felt like there was a pair of eyes glued to her, well, at this note she was not wrong, for Ara never took her round eyes off of Lime from the moment she entered the room. “What do I do? What do I do? The sun is setting already!” these were Lime’s thoughts as she caught a glimpse of the setting sun. “Is something the matter?” Ara asked out of the blue. “Uhmm. There’s something that I want to a-“ Lime was cut off by the sudden ringing of her cellphone. “I’m sorry, I must take this call.” she said as she stood up and bowed before leaving the room. Lime took the call, it was Yooyoung. “Why now, of all times, Youngie!” she yelled in her mind. “Yoboseyo? Unnie? Where are you? Mom’s looking for you; she’s worried because you didn’t call her!” Yooyoung yelled over the phone. “I’m at school; I needed to run some errands for Yoonjo because she was sick. Tell Mom I’m sorry, okay? I’ll go home right away.” Lime answered promptly. “Yoo… Yoonjo unnie is sick? How is she?” Yooyoung’s voice cracked up when she heard that Yoonjo was sick. “She caught fever, currently she’s at their house taking a rest. I need to hang up now, bye Youngie!” Lime turned to the room after the phone call only to see that Ara was cleaning up. “It seems that you need to leave urgently, Hyelim-shi” said Ara, she had overheard the conversation because the door was left open by the other girl. “I’m sorry; my Mom is looking for me…” Lime said with a voice full of regret and apology. “Worry not. I’m sure there’ll be more opportunities like this. You can always find me here on Friday afternoons. Come again and let’s have some tea together” Lime felt a shiver as Ara gave her this invitation. She then bowed and bade farewell to the other girl before she hurriedly walked away from the music room.

“You will come again, right?” Ara whispered to herself.

As the phone call ended, Yooyoung hurried to the kitchen to find her Mom. “Mom! I’m going over to Yoonjo unnie’s to check on her; Lime unnie said she was sick.” Yooyoung yelled; worry painted all over her voice. “Omo! Is that so? Here take some fruits with you!” her Mom replied as she prepared the fruits for Yoonjo. After her mother finished preparing, she took the fruits and got on her bike; Yoonjo’s is just a few blocks away, but our Yooyoung was in a hurry. She arrived at the Shin’s doorstep and rang the doorbell. “Who is it?” a well-toned and high-pitched voice answered – it was Yoonjo’s mother. “It’s me, Kim Yooyoung Mrs. Shin. I heard that Yoonjo unnie is sick, so I came over to check on her.” Yooyoung replied in a respectful manner. “Oh! Come in, dear!” Mrs. Shin answered back as she opened the door. “How is Yoonjo unnie, Mrs. Shin? Yooyoung asked the moment she went in. “Well, her fever is going down, but she’s still not in proper shape. You can just go upstairs to her room, she stayed there all day. I’m sure; she’ll be thrilled to see you!” Mrs. Shin figured Yooyoung upstairs as she said this. Yooyoung knocked a few times before she turned the doorknob and pushed the door.

As she entered Yoonjo’s room, she saw the pitiful girl in her pajamas, snuggling a huge teddy bear. She took a few steps forward and came to a stop a few inches away from the bed. All her worries seem to fade away as she gently watch the girl in front of her. She did not dare wake up the sleeping beauty; she just knelt at the edge of the bed and took Yoonjo’s hand and held it. “Yoonjo unnie…” she felt all her blood rushing to her cheeks as her eyes find the other girl’s lips. Her body felt a shiver and she closed her eyes; slowly she leaned towards the other girl’s face. All that she can hear was her own pounding heartbeat, and it made her nervous; more nervous. And as their lips were just an inch away from each other, Yoonjo’s body suddenly twitched which forced Yooyoung to back away. She was shocked by the sudden movement of the other girl but her eyes were still on Yoonjo’s lips. Words came out of the blue from Yoonjo’s lips: “Lime-ah…” Yooyoung felt Yoonjo’s grip tighten as she said these words. “Please be with me until morning…” as Yoonjo said these words; Yooyoung felt her whole world collapse.

She knows from the start that what she was feeling was wrong, Yoonjo only thought of her as a dongsaeng. She can’t remember when she started falling for her, all that she knew was that she liked how Yoonjo cared for her and that she wants to be with her – always. But what she had heard gave her the decisive blow; it had always been her Lime unnie, it was only Lime that had mattered to Yoonjo. Of all people, why her unnie? She felt her heart split into two pieces and tears were flowing down her eyes as she also tightened her grip on Yoonjo’s hand. She laid her head close to Yoonjo as she granted her request; being her Lime unnie’s proxy for that night. Yooyoung can’t stop herself from sobbing as she spent the night with her precious one; the room’s silence was replaced with Yooyoung’s sobbing as she tried to contain herself – it didn’t do her any good though, it only made her worse.

Through her sobs she managed to cry out a few words:

“Baboya, this is not what I want…”