“I’m home!” Lime shouted as she hurried towards the kitchen. “Mom, I’m really sorry that I didn’t call, something urgent came up!” explained Lime the moment she caught sight of her mother. “It’s okay, dear, I heard it from Yooyoung. How is Yoonjo anyways?” replied her mother. “I don’t know. I haven’t checked on her yet. I’ll ring their house later.” she said as she went to her room to change. “Oh, ask Mrs. Shin if Yooyoung is still there too, she checked on Yoonjo after your call.” added her mother. Before changing clothes, Lime took a short shower for she found the day tiring – after all that had happened. She entered the bathroom with a sigh, as she took off her clothes and went in the shower. Slowly she closed the curtains and the shower.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head towards the shower, with the hope that the water will sober her up. But as the cold water trailed her precious skin, she felt a shiver and chills were sent down her spine; in her head was the image of Ara smiling straight at her. Through the cold water stream, her cheeks flushed red; “Arghh! What’s wrong with me!” was all that she could shout as she covered her face with her hands. It was a new feeling for her and she has been thinking for a while; why she can’t take her eyes off of Ara, why she loses all her strength on Ara’s presence, why her heart beats fast when Ara is near, and why she can’t take Ara out of her mind. It’s all about Ara – and it’s driving her nuts. We all know what this feeling is, don’t we, dear readers? But unfortunately, our Lime is so flabbergasted that she can’t think straight and realize what it is that she is feeling. Well, maybe we can’t blame Lime’s clouded reason, for all that had happened sure is surreal; not to mention that this was her first, if you know what I mean.

After showering and changing clothes, Lime went down to make a call to Yoonjo’s to check up on her. “Hyelim-ah, Youngie still hasn’t come back. Ask Mrs. Shin, okay?” her mother reminded her as she picked up the phone. She dialed Yoonjo’s home number and after a few rings, a voice answered: “Yoboseyo? This is the Shin residence, how may I help you?”. “Is that you Mrs. Shin? It’s me Kim Hyelim; I called to check on Yoonjo, how is she?” asked promptly by Lime. “Oh, Hyelim dear! Yoonjo is fine, her fever went down but apparently she’s still not in the right shape so she’s still resting. You really love our Yoonjo, eh? Your dongsaeng came earlier to check on her too; oh, mind you, she’s still upstairs.” replied Yoonjo’s mother. “Of course we do! That’s really good to hear Mrs. Shin, well; she has the whole weekend to get better. Oh, can I speak to Yooyoung, Mrs. Shin?” said Lime as she felt like a thorn was plucked out of , after hearing that her bestfriend is fine. “Sure thing, sweetie. I’ll go call her, wait for a minute, okay?” said Mrs. Shin as she went upstairs to see Yooyoung.

As Mrs. Shin arrived in front of Yoonjo’s room, she knocked twice before carefully turning the doorknob and pushing the door quietly. There she saw an image of two girls; one was her daughter and another was a beautiful angel that was holding her daughter’s hand. She was overjoyed at the sight, as she saw the blissful faces of these two maidens. As a mother, she felt happy that her daughter found loving friends like Yooyoung and Lime. She did not dare wake up the two and just quietly closed the door with a whisper of “Goodnight, dear ones.”

“I’m sorry Hyelim, but it seems that Yooyoung fell asleep as she was watching over Yoonjo. I’ll send her home tomorrow, okay, sweetie?” said Mrs. Shin after she picked up the phone again. “Is that so, Mrs. Shin? Okay, I’ll tell mom. We’re sorry for the bother! Please take care of our Youngie!’ replied Lime. “I will, sweetie. Goodnight.” said Mrs. Shin and Lime replied with a respectful and thankful “Goodnight, Mrs. Shin.”

Yoonjo woke up as the warmth of the Sun’s rays hit her bare face, still sleepy, she felt another kind of warmth, she wondered what was it for minutes until she opened her eyes and realized that it was Yooyoung’s hand that gave off the warm feeling. “Youngie?” she blurted with complete daze. A few seconds later, Yooyoung also awoke to see the other girl in front of her with a baffled expression. “What are you doing here, Youngie?” Yoonjo asked abruptly. Yooyoung didn’t know what to do or say, as last night flashbacked unto her and her cheeks flushed red. When she saw that she was still holding Yoonjo’s hand, she clumsily drew her own hand back. “Were you watching me all night long, Youngie?” asked Yoonjo, still confused. “Y..Yes.. unnie..” replied Yooyoung in a stuttering manner. Yoonjo suddenly leaped over to the girl that was sitting on the floor and hugged her; Yooyoung’s eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. “You’re sooooo sweet, Youngie!” yelled Yoonjo loudly; okay, she’s fine now, I must say. Now, you can imagine Yooyoung’s face getting redder, no? Well, see what will happen next. “Omo omo omo. You’re just like a husband on a TV drama! Omo! Yeobo~!” yelled Yoonjo as she rained kisses on Yooyoung’s already red cheeks. At this point, Yooyoung’s redness was at its maximum, well, we can’t blame her, can we? Yoonjo continued this assault for minutes until she calmed down and offered Yooyoung breakfast. On the dining table, Yoonjo kept on calling Yooyoung “Yeobo” as she did things like feeding her, etc.; this did not help Yooyoung’s blushing at all. After breakfast, Yooyoung bade the Shins farewell – her cheeks still red.

When she came back home, her mother was preparing breakfast and her Lime unnie was still in dreamland. She went straight to her room to gather her senses. She tossed her body unto her bed and stared at the ceiling for minutes. Her love for Yoonjo was one-sided; that fact she knew, but after what happened last night, she realized that even though her love was imperfect, it was all that she needed. Being with Yoonjo made her happy; watching Yoonjo as she was sleeping made her realize that even a one-sided love is love and that love needs not to be received but given. This was her first love and it may not be the perfect one, but she knew and felt that this; she will treasure forever.

She touched her cheeks; the part Yoonjo barraged with kisses and closed her eyes. Her lips figured into a smile – Yoonjo’s image was vividly painted on her mind; and a word she muttered almost incoherently:

“Yeobo”