One week, three days, and eight hours was all it took for Im Jinah to fall in love. She didn’t particularly planned on doing so, except with the brief glances she’d steal, the timid feeling when she was near, and watching from afar. Although, she did enjoy the heart pounding feeling. It wasn’t like she chose having a deep attraction for an individual. She was a modest woman but people didn’t see it that way; they viewed her as an aloof student. Nothing more, nothing less. In the end, Jinah did not mind appearing unapproachable... maybe a little when it came to her newfound interest.

A little over a week passed, Jinah concluded it wasn’t some petty little crush, as immature, brainless fools would refer it to as. As an experience date doer, never in her life has she felt connected to someone. There was actually someone, and that person was a sophomore, preferably named Park Sooyoung. Within all her past boyfriends, she never had those kinds of feelings for them; she didn’t even know she was homoual in the first place.

The tall brunette felt her eyes being cupped from soft hands, concealing her vision from the simple action. She grinned widely, automatically assuming who the attacker was. Reaching up to remove the fingers away from her eyes, she gently touched the skin on the latter’s wrist, only to flinch from the contact. Shyly, she twirled around to face the girl with her hands still in hers. Jinah smiled weakly as Sooyoung beamed radiantly with her captivating simper. Just simple gestures from the caramel haired girl made it hard to wipe the foolish grin off Jinah’s face.

“Hi-ya Nana,” Sooyoung sang, swinging their arms together like a child, “What brings you here?”

“Oh, the usual,” a simple statement Jinah used frequently. She was accustomed to sitting by the tree and read during her free time. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?”

Sooyoung only replied with a soft smile, pulling her down to sit on the grass. They sat down under the shade, Jinah was reading her novel while an unamused Sooyoung played with the green blades, plucking the tips off the ground. Jinah watched the bored damsel from the corner of her eyes, then closing her book silently.

“You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to Lizzy.”

Sooyoung looked up to Jinah’s face, her expression bewildered yet indifferent. She shook her head in disapproval. “I like being with you.”

Jinah unconsciously flushed, her cheek pigments pinkening from her sentence. It had a huge impact on her chest: that tingling feeling running throughout her body. Five words could easily make her lose herself in her hopeless fantasy. Then it clicked in Jinah’s mind, “Why do you exactly like being with me? I mean, there’s other people out there nicer than me.”

“I don’t really have a reason… I just enjoy your presence. It’s comforting.”

Silence introduced itself in their atmosphere. Jinah keeping a mum, refusing to utter a noise to ruin the moment. They leaned against the trunk of the tree, staring at the tranquil environment around them. Shoulder against shoulder, the older brunette listened to the latter’s quiet humming. Sooyoung’s fingers accidentally brushing against hers from time to time, giving Jinah's heart a mini meltdown.

“Lizzy, I have a confession,” she sighed. Sooyoung paused her incoherent singing and gazed curiously at the blonde girl. Jinah didn’t bother to face the younger woman; she shielded her eyes, closing them from the world. She took Sooyoung’s hand into hers in a friendly manner, letting their skin melt together.

“I like being with you too.”

. . .

Months went by and Sooyoung now had a boyfriend, who was supposedly named Myungsoo. Jinah was still very much attracted to the Busan colleague; she couldn’t hide the fact that she was disappointed. She dwelled upon the fact deeply. She was more often alone since Sooyoung busily hung around with her boyfriend, leaving Jinah in the dust. They drifted so far apart. Jinah felt like she didn’t exist in Sooyoung’s eyes or anyone else's.

January, the month where every square inch was covered with pearl frozen cotton-like snow. Jinah blew into her hands, rubbing them roughly together as she walked to her next class. Her nose reddening, she pulled her scarf tightly against her neck, covering parts of her face with it. She let out a breath: the white puff dissolving with the air around her. Sounds of steps followed behind the oblivious brunette as a figure neared towards her.

Jinah jumped from the sudden contact from something, finding arms wrapped around her waist. She turned her head at the intruder, almost tripping on her own feet seeing it was Sooyoung.

“L-Lizzy, what are you doing?” the damsel with a model body questioned. Her eyes dilated at the realization that the shorter girl was giving her a back hug. Jinah blushed fiercely from how close her face was to hers, but relieved that the scarf hid her cheeks.

“I miss you…” she muttered, pressing her face deeper into the crook of Jinah’s neck, “I miss talking to you. I miss hanging out with you. I miss everything. I miss us.”

Unable to move, the brown-haired woman held in her breath and patted Sooyoung’s covered hands, squeezing them for reassurance. Jinah was rather speechless, finding it hard to collect and form words correctly. She thought and she conjectured, believing Sooyoung moved on, settling for Myungsoo and forgetting their friendship. She was wrong.

“It’s okay Lizzy,” Jinah whispered, grimacing at her own words. She couldn’t deny how much she missed the latter as well. Her heart longed for her dearly and she wanted to hold the girl in her arms forever.

“I just- I feel like we never spend time with each other anymore and it’s all my fault,” her voice shook. She noticed the girl trembling from the cold, or maybe from the guilt, but Jinah couldn’t care less. She released her hands from Sooyoung’s, with her body now turned to see the girl’s sad face.

“Lizzy, it’s fine. I know you have a boyfriend and you’re a busy person,” Jinah exhaled exasperatedly. She ran her bare fingers through Sooyoung’s hair for comfort and as distraction for herself. Jinah avoided looking into her eyes; she wanted to show her friend she was supportive of her relationship and their friendship was something they can resolved later. However, Jinah wasn’t okay. She was far from being okay. 

“Nana, do you think we can hang out later? Like the old times?” her crush asked hopefully, her eyes twinkling in the white winter day.

“I don’t know… What about Myungsoo?” his name rolling off Jinah’s tongue with distaste. She didn’t quite enjoy talking about the boy, especially since he was dating Sooyoung.

She shook her head, her hair grazing passed Jinah’s finger, “He’s visiting his parents on the other side of Seoul. I won’t see him this whole weekend.”

Slowly nodding her head, Jinah agreed to her suggestion, appeased that she’ll be with Sooyoung, even if it’s only for two days. Fourty-eight hours. She wished the number could be infinite, limitless. This time looking straight into the caramel headed peer, she blurted, “But I have a confession.”

Sooyoung tilted her head, her eyes blinking innocently, “What is it?”

“I like it when Myungsoo wasn’t in the picture,” she slowly said, pausing for a bit, “Just you, and me.”

. . .

A little over a year passed since Jinah had first met Sooyoung and she was still in love with her. Six months flew by since they chatted: the day when she confronted the now junior colleague about her own feelings about her boyfriend. Jealous? Perhaps, but she could remember the little grin Sooyoung had when she said that, though Jinah was expecting to be rejected by the girl. She was immensely confused about her and herself, wishing maybe it was a sign that Sooyoung felt something for her. Then again, she could’ve been amused by her abrupt statement.

One day, Sooyoung would break up with Myungsoo. That was what Jinah wanted to happen. She didn’t want Sooyoung to be hurt and pained from the breakup. Yet, it was excruciating for the brunette to see and watching the two together scarred her heart. For hours, she would ponder about thoughts of whether or not to let Sooyoung go, or hold onto her until she couldn’t bare it any longer. The dilemma was another poison that withered her; decisions and more choices piled up to only stress her out to the maximum.

The long day was finally over. Jinah was relieved to return to her dorm and sleep for the rest of the day. College classes were exhausting and she could hardly last an hour into the lecture. Jinah stood in front of her room, fishing out her keys and joyously sticking the metal object into the keyhole. As she opened it, her roommate was sitting on their couch while staring blankly at the television.

Jinah eyed the girl oddly, noticing the TV wasn’t playing anything. No dramas and no cartoons. She closed the door and walked inside the room, setting her things down as she slipped off her shoes. “Hey, I’m back.”

There were no response from the latter. She remained silent with her legs crossed and her eyes unmoving. Being Jinah, she situated herself next the auburn, glancing at her worriedly.

“Lizzy, what’s wrong?” was all she could ask. She had no idea what was going on with Sooyoung. Placing her hand on the younger’s thigh, she felt the paralyzed woman quiver slightly from her touch. Sooyoung slowly breaking down from her defense.

“We broke up…” Sooyoung said quietly, her lips barely moving.

In the inside, Jinah was rejoicing, but she was clearly shocked from the surprising news. Being the good friend she was, she took Sooyoung’s hand in hers by instinct while rubbing her thumb lightly on the top of it sympathetically. She was expecting Sooyoung’s eyes to be brimmed with tears, but she wasn’t crying. She was staring attentively at her.

“Why?” the words left Jinah’s mouth automatically; the filters failing to conceal her straightforwardness. She then bit her lip, regretting her dumbness for asking bluntly. Based off her expression, it was indifferent and serious, unlike the Sooyoung Jinah knew.

Sooyoung was inaudible, looking back at the unanimated screen of the television. She let out a sigh, pressing Jinah’s hand tighter with hers as if she never wanted to let go. “We were never meant to be together. I couldn’t remain his any longer.”

“If it makes you feel better, there’s plenty of men out there. You’ll eventually find the one way better than Myungsoo,” Jinah responded, biting her tongue harshly to prevent any other words from coming out of . She didn’t want add fuel to the fire, especially to herself. The things she said only added more pain to her heart.

“Maybe,” Sooyoung uttered.

“And Sooyoung, can I confess something to you?”

Her brow raised from the use of her real name. It was strange for Jinah call her that unless it was something important. Sooyoung faced her again, her face softening. “Sure.”

“It’ll be the last one, don’t worry,” Jinah reassured, intertwining their fingers together, “I promise.”

“Nana, you can tell me anything. Even if there’s a million confessions, I’m willing to listen to all of them.”

Jinah smiled briefly; she didn’t want to confess something to Sooyoung when she and Myungsoo broke up recently. She blamed for saying whatever she thought, not giving her time to think if it was appropriate to share. Her heart thumped rapidly against her chest, breathing became harder for her and she now wished she kept quiet. What exactly did she really want to confess? Maybe she was going crazy.

“Sooyoung, I didn’t know it was possible to have these kinds of feelings. A year was all it took for me to develop such strong attachment, love to be exact, for this person. My mind questions it but my heart accepts these feelings. Is it wrong to love someone like this? I didn’t want to continue hurting myself with these petty feelings, so I have to confess them. I guess what I really wanted to say is that I like, no, I love you Park Sooyoung. I loved you from the start.” Jinah laughed to herself--more like laugh at herself, “You probably think I’m foolish. Let’s forget I said any of this.”

Jinah was about to stand up to leave and hide herself inside her room. Her face burned bright red and her heart wouldn't stop pounding against her chest. However, Sooyoung’s grip on her hand tightened and she pulled her down on the couch with her. She couldn’t read the auburn’s expression, but she wish she could kill herself right now for spilling out her emotions.

Before Jinah could react, she felt a pair of warm lips against her very own, moving softly on hers. She found it difficult to register what was happening, but she responded to the kiss by deepening it. Her tongue grazed the younger’s lower lip, using her free hand to hold the girl’s chin and pulling them even more closer.

Sooyoung rested her forehead on Jinah’s, breathing heavily from the kiss as she stared into her dark brown orbs. It was now her turn to confess.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t feel the same.”