“Why are we here again?” Wendy asks as she and Jongdae stand in front of a shop selling longboards.

    “Because,” Jongdae starts, pressing himself up flat against the glass and peering inside the shop, “I want to get a longboard.”
 

    Wendy surreptitiously brings up a hand to shield her face, not wanting to be seen with the embarrassment that is Kim Jongdae, before accusing that, “You don’t even know how to ride one.”

    She narrows her eyes at him in suspicion to which he only lets out a boisterous laugh and replies, “Well, I kinda need to have a longboard to begin with if I want to learn how to ride it.” Wendy gives a sigh of defeat before acknowledging that he was right. “C’mon,” Jongdae grins brightly, dragging Wendy into the store by the arm, “let’s go!”

    Inside, the air is humid and old fans blow warm breezes throughout the shop. There was a slight dimness that the sunlight streaming through dirty windows and the flickering lights above Wendy’s head couldn’t ward off, and the paint on the wall was yellowing in the parts where it wasn’t actually just peeling off. It was kind of a dump. And that was putting it nicely. Because Wendy is a nice person. Actually, Wendy corrects herself, it was a lot of a dump. (Wendy may be a nice person, but even she has her limits.)

But the gear was pristine- screws and wheels and tools nicely lined up on rusting shelves- and Wendy somehow manages to lose Jongdae- who prances off to god knows where- the moment they step foot inside. Knowing that it was a small shop and that she’d find Jongdae (eventually), Wendy herself wanders around, curious fingertips grazing the gizmos and gadgets that she (and probably Jongdae) would have no idea how to use.

A burst of color out of the corner of Wendy’s eyes catches her attention and she finds herself drawn to the section of the shop where the longboard decks are held. Displayed on shelves lining the wall are longboard with colorful designs- depictions of cities drowning in the sunset, of tidal waves reaching towards the sky- containing details captured with a casual artistry Wendy has never seen before. “Wow,” she breathes out, reaching out to trace one of the designs. “So pretty,” she mumbles to herself.

Even though she was mumbling to herself, Wendy’s voice has always been pretty loud and said mumbles manage to carry themselves away in the wind and all the way to the cute cashier slouched against the cash register. “Thanks.” Wendy jolts at the sudden voice and swivels around to see a girl- her age, probably- seated down the aisle, behind the cash register.

It takes her a while to gather herself from the shock but once what the cashier had said registers in her mind, she’s caught off guard again. “You-” she trails off, gesturing to the artistic board designs. The cashier simply nods in reply and Wendy’s “REALLY?” bounces against the aging walls of the shop. is agape and her eyes are wide and Wendy’s pretty sure that she looks terrifying because Jongdae has always said that she makes the most hilarious expressions when she lowers her guard down and this time, her guard was dropped like an atomic bomb, but the cashier only lets out fond laugh that sounds better than that bell that tinkled when she entered the shop.

“I’m Seulgi,” the cashier introduces herself and Wendy slowly walks up to the counter, mouth still wide open as she takes in the rest of the designs painted onto the backs of longboards.

“Wendy,” she says simply, still carefully gazing at the designs. “Wow,” she says, turning her attention back to Seulgi, “these are really nice. Like, really nice.”

“Thanks,” Seulgi laughs, grinning in a way that makes her eyes curve upwards and her dimple show and Wendy’s heart skip a beat. “They’re really just for practice though.” At Wendy’s curious look, Seulgi further explains that, “I’m majoring in art at school but my scholarship only covers the tuition so this is basically just a business deal between me and my brother- he’s the one who owns the shop. He gets board designs for cheap, I get canvases to practice on and money to buy art supplies. It’s a win-win.”

Wendy nods but before she can say anything, Jongdae pops up out of nowhere like the nuisance he is and interrupts their conversation. “Wendy!” he shouts out even though they’re only about two meters away from each other, and Wendy huffs in exasperation. Seulgi notices the irritation painted clearly on Wendy’s face and lets out a warm laugh.

“Are you done?” Wendy asks, noting that Jongdae doesn’t have a longboard in his arms.

“For now,” Jongdae agrees, slowly pulling Wendy towards the exit of the shop by the hood of her jacket.

“I hope to see you soon,” Seulgi waves farewell to an unwillingly departing Wendy. Wendy hopes she gets to see Seulgi soon as well, or else she’s going to kill Jongdae.

.

    Apparently Jongdae doesn’t only want to learn how to ride a longboard, he also wants to learn how to make one- meaning multiple, hour-long trips to that dump of a shop. Normally, Wendy would complain and maybe extort Jongdae for a new guitar or something, but Seulgi’s a cool person (cooler than Jongdae) and she actually likes hanging out with her.

    “Doesn’t it bother you when you see people using the boards you painted on?” Wendy asks the time Jongdae visited the shop trying to choose which types of trucks were sturdier. Wendy’s sitting on the counter in front of Seulgi. The air is as humid as it was the first time she visited and the back of her thighs are sticking to the paint there, but Seulgi fondly grins at her everytime she swings her legs back and forth, feet not touching the floor, and Wendy guesses it’s pretty okay. At Seulgi’s curious look, Wendy further explains that, “I mean, when you see your artwork all scratched up after the skaters use them.”

    Seulgi lets out a noise of understanding before saying, “People don’t perform tricks on longboards- those are purely just to ride- so my designs don’t really get scratched up.” A contemplative look crossed Seulgi’s face before she continues. “And I probably won’t be bothered if the designs do end up scratched up. I mean, they’re mostly just for practice. These,” Seulgi says, gesturing to the longboards displayed against the wall with a shrug, “they’re like the equivalent of doodling in your notebook. Cheap materials, two or three layers of paint at the most- they mean nothing.” Wendy nods but can’t help but wonder how something that could mean so little be so beautiful. She wonders how something that could mean so little to Seulgi mean so much to her.

.

    Jongdae- and by default, Wendy- ends up visiting the shop a lot more than Wendy would’ve thought (mostly because Jongdae is an indecisive little brat and Wendy likes hanging out with Seulgi too much to pressure him to just choose something already!). So Jongdae wastes a large portion of the quarter standing over rusted shelves, trying to choose between two of the same item and Wendy wastes a large portion of the quarter swinging her legs back and forth from atop the counter of the shop and talking to Seulgi. Sometimes she gets fed up with how long Jongdae takes shopping there, but most of the time,Seulgi laughs when Wendy tells embarrassing stories and hmmm’s in understanding at the right intervals when she complains about her composition which is due next week, and lets Wendy take home the sketches she doodles onto the back of old receipts, and overall, Wendy thinks, she likes spending time there.

.

    “What do you like painting the most?” Wendy asks one day, when Jongdae goes to the shop to compare the durability between the different brands and sizes of the wheels.

    “I don’t have one,” Seulgi says simply, eyes never leaving the sketch she’s working on. It’s on the back of a napkin Wendy had found in her jacket pocket, and Wendy watches as Seulgi slowly breathes life into a coast city melding into the ocean.

    “Why not?”

    “Because then I’ll just end up going with what I like and if I limit myself to just what I like and what I'm familiar with then I won’t try anything new. I won't grow,” Seulgi explains, finally looking up to face Wendy, “as an artist or as a person.” Wendy’s heart beats in the silence that passes through them.

    “Really?”

    “I don’t know,” Seulgi shrugs, “Probably not. I just made it up; sounds good though, right?” When Wendy’s face falls, Seulgi’s laughter rings through the shop, even after Wendy shoves her off her chair.

    “Do you really not have one though?” Wendy asks after Seulgi’s laughter finally fades away, “A favorite scene to paint, I mean.”

    “I have one,” Seulgi replies seriously. Her eyes linger on Wendy’s face long enough to make the shorter girl start to squirm, and for a few seconds more before she breaks out into a familiar grin.

    “What is it then?”

    “Wouldn’t you like to know~” Seulgi teases in a sing-songy voice that results in Wendy kicking Seulgi off of her chair again. Seulgi’s laughter still sounds better than the bell that tinkles whenever someone enters the shop.

.

    This time, Wendy doesn’t even bother trying to find out Jongdae is here for, but they’re at the shop again, and Wendy’s telling Seulgi about that one time she walked into the wall on her way onstage for her first solo in the school recital. Well, she was telling Seulgi that story until Jongdae drops something that echoes a loud metallic klang! throughout the shop.

    “My bad!” his voice rings out from the back of the store, sounding appropriately apologetic. “Nothing’s broken so don’t worry.”

    “Your boyfriend’s kind of clumsy, isn’t he,” Seulgi chuckles, eyes twinkling with amusement.

    “Oh, Jongdae’s not my boyfriend,” Wendy corrects. “He’s gay,” she blurts out in addition.

    “Oh really?” Seulgi’s eyebrows are raised for a second before they lower back down and a grin spreads on her face. “That’s great! So am I.” And Wendy just stares at her in confusion because why on earth would that be great? (Unless Seulgi wants to form some sort of gay pact with Jongdae, which Wendy would not recommend because Jongdae is probably the last person anyone would want to form a gay pact with.) It’s not until Seulgi winks at Wendy that- oh. Oh.

    Wendy’s mouth is agape as she tries to say something but all that comes out is a soft “Oh.” And then a burning warmth rises all the way to her face as she backs away from Seulgi, bumping into a wayward shelf in the process. She stalks over to Jongdae and grabs him by the arm, telling him, “Let’s go. Now. Let’s go now.” And before Jongdae can protest that he still needs more time to decide between which identical product to choose, Wendy persuades that, “If you leave with me now, I’ll buy you a burger,” and then Jongdae immediately drops the tools in his hands back onto the shelf and drags Wendy out by the arm.

.

    “So what’s exactly the problem?” Jongdae asks, his voice muffled by a mouthful of cheeseburger. “You’re into hot girls and Seulgi definitely fits that criteria.”

    As much as Wendy wants to throw a used napkin at Jongdae, she leans back into her seat and sighs, begrudgingly acknowledging that he is right. “I think it’s because I like her back,” Wendy says softly as she quietly comes to the realization.

    Jongdae shoots her a ‘duh’ look and rolls his eyes. “I know,” he says, reaching over for her milkshake, “So what’s the problem?”

    Wendy thinks for a moment, a long moment, in which Jongdae finishes his burger and is currently reaching over to steal hers. “I guess there isn’t one,” Wendy replies hesitantly, lowering her head onto the linoleum table. And then she groans when she realizes that there is a problem: her. Being a complete by running out on Seulgi. She buries her head in her arms and groans again. Jongdae pats her on the back with a greasy hand and reaches over to grab some of her fries.

.

    Wendy tells Jongdae to wait out because she doesn’t want him to ruin her moment with Seulgi by accidentally sneezing too loud or something, and enters the shop. The tinkle of the bell rings through the shop and Seulgi looks up from her seat behind the cash register. Her eyes are rimmed red and even though the taller girl tries to smile, the corners of her lips tug down and so does Wendy’s heart. You’re such an , Wendy thinks to herself, stepping closer and closer to Seulgi.

    “Hey,” she lets out. Her voice is rough and hesitant and her mind is a jumble and before she can chicken out, Wendy blurts out, “I’m sorry.” A beat of silence passes by and Wendy continues, never one to linger too long. “For earlier, I mean. I was an .” Another beat of silence, but Seulgi’s light sniffles have stopped and Wendy takes that as a good sign. “I’m sorry for running out,” Wendy tries again, “I wasn’t sure what I wanted and I just-” she breaks off and shrugs her shoulders in defeat. “-bolted, I guess. Sorry,” she mumbles for the last time.

    “And have you figured it out yet? What you want?”

    Wendy looks up from the floor to see Seulgi, a hopeful glint in her eyes and bottom lip caught between her teeth. “Yeah,” she breathes out, “I did.”

    “What is it?” Wendy doesn’t let a full beat pass by before she answers.

    “You.”