The first time I went over Seungyeon's house was weird. It felt weird not being in the yogurt shop with her. I had not even planned on going over to Seungyeon's house. It just happened to be storming the day my parents both stayed late at work, meaning I had to walk home, and Seungyeon offered me a ride home.

Though, like the idiot I am, I forgot my house keys. So she suggested I go over her house.

I had debated with myself about this. It was either go home with Satan’s spawn or walk home in the pouring rain. I very nearly picked walking home until I heard the loud thunder and then I didn't hesitate walking into Mr. Jang's car.

I noticed that her room was quite big. (Bigger than mine, at least.) She had white walls with pictures of friends and family hung up in random places. It didn't seem messy, though - it seemed neat.

"Welcome to my humble abode," She grins, her cheeks lifting upwards the way they always do when she smiles, "this is where the magic happens."

I snort. "The magic?" I sit at the edge of her neatly done bed.

"Mhmm." She nods, taking a seat in her swivel chair. "Well, if you consider school projects and essays as magic."

Rolling my eyes, I glance outside the window as a streak of lightning flashes. "Idiot." I mumble.

"I have better grades than you." She narrowed her eyes. I narrowed my own eyes right back.

"Then why do you always ask me to help you on your homework?"

She rolls her chair over towards me and I couldn't help the small squeak that escapes my lips when she wheels herself right in front of me. I move back when she leans in, that stupid little smile still on her stupid pretty face.

"Because maybe I like your attention on me." I almost squeak again. I didn't expect her to be so blunt.

"And so you pretend to be dumb?" I deadpan, struggling to keep my voice steady.

(The loud thunder did not help.)

"Exactly." She nods, taking her work cap off and setting it aside, pulling the hair tie out of her hair; setting her hair loose. She moves away from me and I release the breath of air that I hadn't realized that I was holding in.

"It works, doesn't it?" She grins.

Yeah, it works, but I didn't say that. I didn't say anything else because if I did, I would have also unintentionally blurt out that she didn't need to act dumb in order for me to pay attention to her. She'd never let me breathe properly if I said that.

(It was already a bit of a struggle breathing around her.)

I’ve seen Seungyeon’s hair out during school but somehow it looked different now. It looked more casual, a little bit more messy - but it looked better. She looked worn out and tired but she was pretty nonetheless.

“So, Miss Oh,” Seungyeon bends down and reaches into her backpack, lifting it up and placing it on her desk, “will you help me on my homework?” She pulls out her pink folder and hops off of the swivel chair. She plops onto the bed, ruffling up the neatly-made white sheets.

I look out the window once more and it looked like the rain wouldn’t stop any time soon. I was a bit stuck, wasn't I?

With a sigh, I turn and watch Seungyeon’s smile widen.

“Whatever.” I grumble.

<*>

(I’d quite literally want to bury myself ten feet under the ground if I ever admitted that I actually enjoyed spending the evening at Seungyeon’s house with her.)

<*>

The next day, she comes in late for the first time. She was dragging her bag behind her, getting it all dirty from the wet ground outside and the unswept floors inside. My eyebrows move up unconsciously as she walks right past me and into the back room. I wasn’t thinking when I moved from my spot at the register to follow her. Seungyeon throws her bag onto one of the chairs before throwing her body on another one, head placed down on the table with her arms covering her face.

I’ve never seen her like that. I walk closer hesitantly, wonder if I should even get involved, and then I sit down next to her.

“Are you…” I trail off, lowering my head to get a glimpse of her face. “...okay?”

She doesn’t answer me.

“Seungyeon?”

No answer.

The bell chimes at the front of the shop. I furrow my eyebrows when Seungyeon doesn’t move an inch. Usually she’d be the first one out to greet the customer, her mood bright and her voice even brighter.  

I take one more look at the down girl before I get up to serve the customer.

When I get back, Seungyeon was still in the same position. I sit down in the chair next to her and scootch closer.

"Seungyeon?"

"I'm fine." She grumbles.

"You call this 'fine'?"

"Leave me alone."

I didn't.

"What's wrong?"

Seungyeon turns her head and looks at me, her cheeks squished from the way she laid on her arm. "I feel sick."

Something inside me forces me to reach out and touch her forehead. I pull back instantly, surprised at her burning skin. "You should go home." I frown.

“I don’t wanna go home, though.”

“You’re sick, Seungyeon.” I state.

“But if I go home then you’ll be all alone here.” She mumbles, jutting out her lower lip. I try to ignore the increase rate of my heartbeat at her caring nature.

“You’re sick. You should be at home resting.” I reply. Seungyeon pouts even more.

“But what about you?”

“I’ll be fine.” I assure her. “Come on, you need to go home.”

“I’d rather stay here.”

“You look miserable.”

“I’d look even more miserable at home.” She retorts.

“You need to rest.”

“I wanna stay here with you.”

“Why?” The word slips out.

Seungyeon shrugs, her posture slumped. “I like you.” She admits. “And I don’t want to be home alone.”

I sighed. “Fine. But let me do all the work. You seriously need to rest.”

Seungyeon smiles cheekily. “Since when did you care so much about me?”

I stand from my chair and roll my eyes. “Shut up.”

“You’re blushing.” She cooes.

“Shut up.”

<*>

“You’re walking home?” I ask in disbelief. “Seungyeon, you’re sick!” I say as she grabs her bag from the back room. She joins me at the front counter.

“Wanna walk with me?” She suggests, raising an eyebrow while holding a hand out to me. I wavered a little bit. I would have to walk home, anyways. And Seungyeon’s house is closer than mine… I took her hand, only because I didn’t want to walk all the way across town to get to my house.

“Your hands are really soft.” Seungyeon hums as she locks up the cash register with her free hand. She squeezes my hand gently before tugging me out the front door.

When we arrive at her house, she immediately jumps into bed. I sit down next to her and she shuffles her head over onto my lap. Her eyes were closed and she looked peaceful. My hand reaches up and settles on her forehead. She was still warm.

“Do you wanna take medicine?” I ask her. She shakes her head and moves my hand a little upwards, towards the roots of her hair.

“Having you is enough to make me feel better.” She mumbles drowsily.

I blush and my heart skips a beat, my hand running through her silky hair slowly. “No, but seriously… you have a fever.”

Seungyeon peeps an eye open. “You always have to ruin it, don’t you?” She asks in an amused tone. My eyes widen. “What did I ruin?”

She smiles and shakes her head. “Nothing.”

I try to remove my hair from Seungyeon’s hair but she holds my wrist, keeping it there. “That felt nice.” She pouts, asking me to continue doing it with her eyes. I sighed and rolled my eyes but continued nonetheless.

After a few minutes, I called out to her. “Seungyeon.”

She hums sleepily.

“My legs are losing consciousness. Lay your head down on the pillow.”

Seungyeon groans and gets up before slamming back down onto the bed, eyes still closed. “Keep doing it.” She whines in a groggy voice. I take a deep breath before laying down in front of her, my right hand moving up to rest on her nape. She smiles contently as my fingers massage the back of her head.

“Thank you.” She whispers. I prop myself up on my left elbow, looking down at her. “For what?”

“I don’t know. Everything, I guess?”

I giggle quietly. “You’re weird when you’re sick.”

Her eyes open instantly. “Am not.”

“You’re right...” I say. She looks at me with a confused expression. I smile. “You’re weird all the time, sick or not.”

She slaps my waist but her hand continues to rest there. My hand stops its movements and Seungyeon just stares. She stares and stares until it gets too much for me and I look away with a burning face. She still stares, though.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“What’s your opinion on same- couples?”

I blink twice before returning my gaze towards her. This was the most serious I’ve ever seen her. It scared me a bit.

“I guess I don’t mind them.”

I can feel her fingers curling around my waist and my heart began to race. I was anticipating a certain thing, but then I realized exactly what I was anticipating... and I froze. Seungyeon blinks and then moves back, laughing a little.

“Sorry.” She apologizes, though I had no idea why she was apologizing. She takes her hand off my waist and my heartbeat calms down.

“Why do you ask?”

She hums. “I’m just wondering.”

<*>

After that day, my brain wasn’t functioning at its best. In class, my mind would wander off here and there but it always ended up thinking of one certain person. At work, suddenly I was the clumsy one. I was the one who knocked over entire tubs of yogurt and I was the one who tripped over nothing. Seungyeon, the person whose fault it was that I was acting like this, would just laugh at me.

“Who’s the clumsy one, now?” She’d ask me in amusement as we both bent down to pick up the gummy bears sprawled over the ground. I hissed at her.

As exams neared, the yogurt shop would become busier and busier as students would flood down right after school to study with friends. Seungyeon and I had to work nonstop as groups of kids would come and go. When it calmed down, Seungyeon and I leaned on the counter.

“Wanna come over today?” Seungyeon asks suddenly.

“Any special occasion?” I quirk an eyebrow. She shakes her head, pushing herself off the counter to stand in front of me.

“No.” She stood closer than she needed to. “Can’t I just ask my friend if she wants to come over my house?” She blinks innocently. I place a hand on her hip and push her away.

“Okay, I’ll go.”

I saw her eyes flicker to the front door before I felt her lips on my cheek. Before I could yell at her or do anything, the front door opens with the annoyingly sharp chime of the bell. Seungyeon greets the customers brightly meanwhile I take a moment to calm myself. When the customers finally leave, I slap Seungyeon on the arm.

“What the hell?”

Seungyeon rubs the spot I smacked her on. “Ow?” She says in a questioning tone. “What was that?”

“What was that?” I retort, pointing to the spot on my cheek where she kissed me. She stops rubbing her skin.

“That’s called a kiss, Seunghee.” She starts explaining to me as if I were a preschooler. “It’s when a person-”

“I know what a kiss is!” I cut her off. She walks into the back room and I follow her. “Are you gonna answer me?” I ask her. She sits on the table, dangling her legs as she looked at me with bright eyes.

“Why do you think I did that?”

I stand awkwardly. “I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking you.”

She tilts her head to the side. “Why do people kiss each other, Seunghee? Think hard.”

“Because.. they like eachothe - oh.”

Her eyebrows raise in amusement. “Ding dong deng.” She chimes.

“But…”

She hops off the table. “I’m taking it you don’t like me back?”

I stay silent because I really don’t know. She sighs dejectedly but smiles nonetheless. “I kind of expected that.” Her voice was cheery but I knew there was an undertone of sadness. Maybe that undertone of sadness was what made me snap into realization.

When she tries walking past me, I grab onto her wrist. “Don’t take my silence as a ‘no’.” Her eyes widen.

“Eh?”

Her fake smile turns real and her eyes curve the way that they do whenever she smiles. “So you like me back?”

I shy away. “Maybe.”

She squeals and I cover my ears and close my eyes because before I know it, she’s hugging me tightly and my head is resting against her shoulder. She’s jumping around excitedly and I couldn’t help but giggle. Seungyeon pulls away from the hug and places her hands on my shoulders, looking directly into my eyes.

“Say it.”

“Say what?”

“That you like me.” She was smiling widely.

“What? Wh-”

“Just say it!” She whines.

I blush. “I like you.”

Seungyeon is silent for a moment as if she needed to really take a moment to let that sink in before she’s back to squealing. When another customer comes in,I laugh and watch as she skips around to the front counter, taking the person’s order with a bright smile on.

Sure, Seungyeon was annoying, but that’s what made her Seungyeon. And that Seungyeon is the Seungyeon I (unexpectedly) fell head over heels for.