kpop on the side

There were few things Seungwan hated more than her sleep cycle getting cut short on a Saturday morning right after midterms.

As a university student smack dab in the middle of her senior year, tackling five whole courses and several extracurriculars that kept her up well into the early a.m.’s, Seungwan cherished every minute of sleep she could get. Admittedly, it was her own fault for being overambitious.  But after spending week after week downing espresso shots just to get through morning lectures, substituting a good night’s rest for caffeinated blood coursing through her veins, any weekend where she could finally sleep in was a luxury. A godsent gift.  And finally, after getting through the midterm exam week, she could finally get the relaxation she deserved.

The incessant vibrations of her phone against the bedside table, however, said fuck you, Seungwan.

Seungwan groaned, rolling over to her side to reach for her phone.  Who the hell was texting her a storm on a weekend morning?  A precious weekend morning!  She slapped her hands blindly on the table until she found the device, bringing it over to her face so she could read the offending name on the screen.

Park Sooyoung, 7:52 a.m.

She sat up immediately, blinking away the blurriness from her eyes as her vision adjusted to read the words in the slew of texts.

Hey.

Hey.

Hey.

Seungwan-unnie.

I need you.

Meet me at Café Eureka.

I have something to tell you.

Important news.

Cold dread crawled down Seungwan’s spine as she scanned the messages.  Any traces of her sleep-induced haze scattered like ashes in the wind.  It was never a good sign when Sooyoung sent her texts like these—full of urgency yet aggravatingly vague.  Was it good news?  Bad?  Seungwan had never been able to get a straight answer, and she’d long given up trying.  Any attempts for elaboration through text were always met with increasingly evasive non-answers, each one more cryptic than the last.  Coming from a typically blunt girl like Sooyoung, though, it was always a cause for alarm.

At least, it was cause for alarm, until Seungwan had figured out that Sooyoung just liked to mess with her.

See, historically, ‘important news’ from Sooyoung meant one of two things:

1.     either she really did have something important to share—like when she had just broken up with Sungjae and needed to be comforted, or

2.     she was just baiting Seungwan with the fear that there was something hypothetically wrong—only to trick her into coming over to her apartment, trapping her into doing something as inane as figuring out which color dress looked better on her.

So yes, lately ‘important news’ was a dice roll.  Over time, alarm over Sooyoung’s wellbeing had turned into wariness; wariness, into dread.  Dread of a flagrant waste of time.  Her best friend was a mystery at times, and Seungwan never knew which Sooyoung she was going to get on any given day.  Excitable Sooyoung?  Sad Sooyoung? Trickster Sooyoung?  

Well, there was only one way to find out.

Seungwan sighed as she uncovered herself from the nest of her warm, plush blankets, resigning herself to another sleepless day and to Sooyoung’s whims—whatever they were.

I’ll be there in a few, she texted back.

-

For a day that was nearing the tail end of March, the weather outside was still surprisingly wintry: frozen dew clinging onto bladed grass, flowers that were normally in full bloom at this point only just shy of budding.  Seungwan shivered as she stepped out of the dormitory, the chill of the cold spring air seeping through her white cardigan and into her skin.  Maybe waltzing out in jean shorts wasn’t such a good idea.  Out of all the advice she’d taken from Sooyoung, ‘dress for the weather you want’ (which was her go-to excuse for wearing skimpy clothing even in frigid temperatures) was probably the worst.

Not many other students were out and about at this time of day on a weekend. Especially not on a weekend after exams.  There was still the occasional ever-so-disciplined jogger looking to knock out their daily run early—Sooyoung was one of them, which was why she was always up so early—but the vast majority of the student populace was probably enjoying their time off. Doing things that Seungwan sorely wished she could also experience: lazing around in bed, drinking a cup of hot chocolate, recovering from a hangover after celebrating the freedom from the brutal crunch of midterm studying.

While Seungwan didn’t regret her impulse decision to minor in music on top of being a biology major, the bone-deep exhaustion after a strenuous school week was… something else.  She missed having leisure time.  A life outside of school dedicated to hobbies.  Having time to spend with friends.  Partying.

Dating might’ve been nice, too, Seungwan thought as she passed by a couple holding hands, bundled up in hooded bubble jackets.  They were strolling peacefully along the tree-lined paths that led to the city, pausing to take photos together against the sunrise-tinged lake.  Stopping to smell the flowers.  Poking each other’s cheeks.  Laughing.  Living in the moment as if they had all the time in the world.

It reminded her of how Sooyoung had been, back when she was with Sungjae.  Carefree and happy.  But here she was, forever single and without a lick of romantic experience.  Oh, how Seungwan wished she were one of the normal students sometimes.

“Unnie, good morning!” called out a voice that sounded entirely too cheery for a Saturday morning.  “Wait up!”

Seungwan’s shoulders tensed as she turned to see Yerim running to catch up to her, guitar case slung over her shoulder.  Kim Yerim. Resident prankster.  Sooyoung’s partner in crime.

There was a wide grin on her face as Yerim fell into step with her. Despite feeling wary toward her and cranky at being woken up early, Seungwan couldn’t help but return the smile. Yerim’s enthusiasm was infectious like that.  On good days, it made the semester a little more bearable when they shared their music composition class together; on bad ones, it foreboded a future of trouble because she was a little shit sometimes.  Like Sooyoung, Yerim was someone who always knew how to keep her on her toes.  A frightening pair, those two.  Especially when they put their minds together.

Even so, it was impossible not to have a soft spot for her.

“Yerim—hey!”  Seungwan pulled her in, wrapping her arm over her shoulder as they walked side by side.  Mostly, she just wanted to steal her body heat.  “You’re going to band practice?  You have a performance tonight at the new bar, right? What was it called—Tiki Island?”

“Yup!”  Yerim nodded, waving her sheet music in front of Seungwan’s face.  “Also, we’re finally going to try out that new tune that you helped me with earlier this week and see how it goes.  I think Seulgi-unnie is going to love it.  Thanks for that, by the way.”

“No problem, kiddo.”  Seungwan gave her a pat on the head.  “You had great melody—just needed some polishing on the harmonies.  You did say you’d pay me back anyway.”

“Of course, unnie.  I’m a woman of my word,” Yerim said.  With her big round eyes and angelic face, anyone else who didn’t know her as well would’ve been fooled into trusting the innocent smile that graced her lips.  But years of being swindled by that very smile had taught Seungwan better.

She raised her eyebrows.  “Uh huh. Sure.  The most reliable person I know, really.”

“You headed to Café Eureka?” Yerim asked, pointedly ignoring Seungwan’s jibe.

“Yeah, I am.  Did you want anything?  I could get you something to—wait.”  Seungwan narrowed her eyes suspiciously.  At second glance, the smile on Yerim’s face had turned more… smug than anything.  Like she was privy to a secret that Seungwan wasn’t. “How did you know?  Sooyoung told you something, didn’t she?”

“Ah.”  Yerim’s shoulders stiffened under her hold.  Before Seungwan could react to the obvious tell, she was already ducking out of her arm and booking it.  “Gotta jet!” she exclaimed.  “I’ll see you around, unnie!”

“Hey!” Seungwan yelled after her, but Yerim was already several meters ahead, breaking out into a full run.

Seungwan threw her hands in the air, shaking her fist at Yerim’s disappearing figure.  “Why does nobody tell me anything!”

-

Seungwan felt right at home as she stepped into Café Eureka, inhaling the aroma of freshly-made syrupy waffles and the woody scent of weathered books that lined the walls of the upper floor, sighing in relief when the cozy indoor heating soaked into her freezing thighs.

Café Eureka, like any other restaurant business at the edge of the city, wasn’t an overly fancy establishment, but it was her and Sooyoung’s favorite library café to frequent.  As a hybrid breakfast diner and quiet study place, with both sections split into two floor levels to separate the diners from the students, it was a boon for struggling undergrads who needed a break from schoolwork for a convenient quick fix or vice versa.  The food was good; the staff pleasant.  Overall, it was perfect aside from the drawback of being a trek from the main campus.

Once senior year had hit, she and Sooyoung had both become super stressed university students, constantly hunched over reading thick textbooks in dusty libraries through late nights, so it was nice just relaxing at a cute lowkey joint once in a while.  Not too unruly or greasy like fast food restaurants, not too hoity-toity like those hipster coffee shops with one too many bearded baristas wearing an offensive combination of torn jeans and smartwatches.  Café Eureka was nice in that way—just the right balance of homey and classy: comfort foods in the form of all-day breakfast meals, along with the refinement of an academic setting.

Although a bit cheesy, it was rumored that the owners had named it ‘Café Eureka’ to appeal to the student population.  A place where epiphanies were made, supposedly, from just spending time there and basking in the atmosphere.  Fresh food stimulating bright ideas, bright ideas paving way to brighter futures—that was something of its brand.  It was said so often by staff and clientele alike that Seungwan was surprised it wasn’t made into a slogan yet.

She found Sooyoung settled at the booth in the corner of the café—their usual spot that overlooked the park and waterfront outside.  The bright ambience really did help with keeping them alert during exam weeks—lots of tall glass windows, with each table partitioned by blue leather seats and tall mahogany posts framed by metal bars.  The seating arrangement was a bit reminiscent of a 1950s American diner, just without all the hustle and bustle.

From where Seungwan could see, Sooyoung was busy scrolling through her phone, eyebrows creased together in concentration.  An untouched plate of strawberry crepes lay on the table in front of her—the same thing she always ordered whenever they were together.  It wasn’t a surprise that she was still in her jogging outfit, but as a non-morning person Seungwan didn’t often get to see her wearing it.  She had to whistle at how modelesque Sooyoung managed to make it look, like she’d just walked right out of a high-profile athletic brand photoshoot: fingerless gloves, hair tied into a high ponytail, tight black leggings with mesh panels, a matching sports bra that gave a wide view of the well-defined abs on her stomach.  Even as a runner, she wasted no opportunity to show off the magnificent physique of her body.

Seungwan didn’t blame her.  The girl was chiseled like a Greek goddess, and she had every right to flaunt it.  Especially ever since the breakup from a few months ago, Sooyoung had doubled down on working out to take her mind off of things, to spend time taking care of herself.  The result was marvelous, of course: leaner arms, toner thighs.  Plumper, healthier gluts.  Even Seungwan herself was guilty of staring once in a while—but hey, it was a crime not to admire art, right?  Not that she’d ever make an obvious show of it.  Sooyoung would never let her live that down, with that ego of hers.

It was a good sign, though, that Sooyoung was out and about instead of moping around, as she was wont to do whenever a wave of bad moods struck her.  Like the week when she’d split up with Sungjae, or had gotten a C on her exam.  If she’d been feeling alright enough to go out for a jog, that had to mean whatever she had to tell her wasn’t terrible, at least.

“Hey,” Seungwan greeted, slipping into the seat across from Sooyoung.

“Unnie!”  Sooyoung lit up, placing her phone down as soon as Seungwan announced her arrival. “You came!”

Seungwan laughed.  Sooyoung reminded her of the puppies that she loved to take care of sometimes at the local animal rescue center—the bright eyes, excitable smiles.  One and the same.  “Yes, I did, you brat,” she said, though it wasn’t with as much bite as she’d wanted.  Then again, she couldn’t stay too mad if Sooyoung seemed happy.

“Brat?” Sooyoung echoed, placing a hand to her chest in mock offense.  “Excuse me—I’m anything but.”

“I think you demanding my time and attention before eight in the morning on a weekend constitutes as you being a brat.”

Sooyoung placed her hands on her hips and glared, bottom lip jutting out in the way that forecasted whenever she was about to summon her grossest baby-aegyo voice.  “Unnie.”

“No,” Seungwan said, looking away.

Protests never stopped Sooyoung, though.  In fact, they always seemed to encourage her.

“Why don’t you ever want to spend time with me anymore?” Sooyoung whined, voice rising in pitch with every word.  “I just wanted to see you.  You’re so mean!  Hmph!” She punctuated her harrumph with a shrill squawk, cheeks puffing out.

Seungwan’s mouth twisted into a scowl, cold shivers rolling down her body.  She couldn’t even stop the gagging noises that emerged from her throat.  Sooyoung broke character at that, cackling as she pointed at the disgust undoubtedly written all over her face.

“Well, you must be in high spirits if you’re out here doing this,” Seungwan scoffed.  “I’m guessing that ‘important news’ isn’t a bad thing this time?”

“I’ll get to that later,” Sooyoung wheezed out, still recovering from her laughing fit, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Later?”  Seungwan let out an exasperated sigh.  Of course. “What—”

Sooyoung clapped her hands together.  “First things first, unnie!” she exclaimed, peeking her head outside the booth and snapping her fingers.  At her cue, the waiter walked over to their booth, a platter full of food on his hands.

“Rainbow fruit yogurt parfait for Son Seungwan-ssi?” the waiter presented, a teasing lilt to his voice.

It was Jongdae—one of the regular morning employees who usually ended up serving them more often than not.  Being regulars at Café Eureka, he was long past just a familiar face in the establishment. He felt more like an older brother at times to the both of them, even going as far to preemptively serve them their usual orders before they could even formally request the food themselves.

He smiled as he placed the plate in front of her: an assortment of cleanly chopped fruit—watermelon, mandarins, pineapple, kiwis, and grapes—placed in neat rows, separated by yogurt and granola within a tall glass cup.  Her favorite.  She hadn’t bought it in a while, though, since she was on a budget and it was expensive to order on a daily basis.

“I guess you finally have enough money now to splurge, huh?” Jongdae quipped.

“Actually,” Sooyoung interjected.  “It’s my treat for her.”

Seungwan blinked, mouth falling into an ‘o’ shape.  She looked back at Sooyoung, who was already staring at her with a smug grin, elbow propped on the table as she rested her chin on her palm. Just sitting there, looking like she was so proud of herself.

“Whoa.”  Seungwan couldn’t say she wasn’t impressed by Sooyoung’s thoughtfulness.  Not that she had expected to come out completely drained after meeting up or anything, but it was nice to know that Sooyoung could still surprise her with small gestures like this.

“Are you bribing her, or something?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, nothing like that,” Sooyoung denied, though the smirk on her face made Seungwan feel a little unsettled.

Jongdae snickered.  “Well, I’ve got to go back to work now.  Enjoy, girls!” he said, bowing before he left.

“Thanks, oppa!” Seungwan called after him.

Sooyoung pushed the parfait closer to her, placing a spoon in her hand.  “Bone ape tit, unnie.”

“I think the phrase is ‘bon appétit’, but thanks.”

“Am I still a brat?” Sooyoung asked, batting her eyelashes.

Seungwan smiled despite herself.  Maybe it was worth going out after all.  “Aside from grossly butchering the French language?  You’re alright, I guess,” she conceded.

“Bon appétit, then,” Sooyoung said, slicing into the crepe with her fork, slathering a generous helping of cream over it.

It looked good.  Seungwan’s mouth watered at the sight of it.  “Hey, let me have a bite of that?” she requested, opening her mouth wide.

The fork halted before it reached Sooyoung’s mouth.  She shot her an incredulous look.  “Unnie, you have one whole parfait in front of you.  You’re really going to make me sully my fork with your cooties before I even try my own crepes?”

“Don’t be difficult.  You’re the one who pestered me to come see you.  Besides, I haven’t tried it in a while.”

“Are you sure you aren’t the brat?” Sooyoung laughed, extending the mouthful of food out to Seungwan.  “You should be honored.  I don’t spoon feed just anyone, princess.”

Seungwan’s eyes lit up as she bit into it.  “Mm!  No wonder why you love this so much,” she said, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

“Yep!  Well, glad to know it’s fantastic as usual.”

“It is.”

Spooning her own parfait, Seungwan took her first bite, humming contently as the taste of kiwis and creamy Greek yogurt melted on her tongue.  Ah, fresh fruit.  Definitely hit the spot.  Crepes were good, but nothing beat a helping of fresh fruit in a parfait.   “It’s delicious.  Thank you, Sooyoungie—you seriously ordered this for me?”

“Duh.  I wasn’t going to drag you out here from the freezing cold in the morning for nothing.”

“Why did you, then?”  

Sooyoung leaned forward across the table.  “So, listen…” she said, voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, a sly smile tugging on her lips.  The hairs on Seungwan’s arms stood up.  A smile like that from Sooyoung spelled trouble—

“I’m thinking of hooking up with a girl.”

—and bad ideas.

Seungwan whipped her head up from the parfait, mouth stopping mid-chew.  Her eyes widened to saucers.  “What.”

“I’m thinking of hooking up with a girl,” Sooyoung repeated, eyes twinkling in the way they always did whenever she took in Seungwan’s distraught expressions. Clearly, she was enjoying herself.

Seungwan set her spoon down slowly, swallowing her last bite before she irrevocably choked on it.  She’d been so absorbed in eating that she’d nearly forgotten that Sooyoung had dragged her out for a purpose.  Right. The ‘important news’.

Something actually important, or just a bait?

For once, Seungwan wasn’t sure which it was.

She didn’t even know Sooyoung was into girls in that way.  She’d been dating Sungjae for the majority of the time Seungwan had known her—a few months into their first year of school—so she could see why there wasn’t much opportunity for Sooyoung to express interest in the fairer sex.  Sure, Sooyoung had made a couple of comments about girls here and there that warranted a bit of eyebrow raising, but Seungwan thought that was just how she was.  No filters and unapologetically shameless.

Like when she’d half-jokingly considered bombing her organic chemistry exam just so she could get extra tutoring from the hot teacher’s aide, Bae Joohyun. Or when she’d gone slack-jawed watching Seulgi, their mutual friend from Yerim’s band, dance in a well-fitted suit and remarked I can see why they call her ‘oppa’.  Or when she’d said girl butts were more fun to look at than man butts—and oh god, Seungwan was an idiot.

Sooyoung liked girls.  How could she have missed it?

When she came to from her (extremely belated) revelation, Sooyoung was still staring at her expectantly.  Right, she hadn’t even answered her yet.

“Uh,” Seungwan said eloquently, licking her lips to catch a stray granola bit hanging off the edge of her mouth.

“Well?  Thoughts?” Sooyoung prompted.

What was even the proper response when your best friend simultaneously came out to you and announced she wanted to hook up with a girl—all in one breath?  “Congratulations?” she offered.

“‘Congratulations’ is damn right!” Sooyoung asserted, slamming a palm on the table, plates rattling with the force of the thump.  Seungwan winced, gripping her parfait glass to steady it.  “It’s been months since I’ve broken up with Sungjae. Can’t a girl treat herself?”

“Treat herself… to a hookup?”

Seungwan could already feel herself growing some white hairs.  This was all coming out of left field, honestly—Sooyoung liking girls, Sooyoung wanting flings with girls.  For all the years they’d known each other—ever since freshman orientation—Seungwan had never thought Sooyoung as the type do anything scandalous, like hitting the clubs in hopes of engaging in one-night stands.  Despite her outwardly flirty nature, she was a romantic at heart.  Someone who valued stability.  Softness. Not hedonistic passion.

“That’s right,” Sooyoung confirmed cheekily.

“And this is a good idea—how?  Why?” Seungwan rubbed her temple.  Having a bomb like this dropped on her definitely was not how she envisioned spending her Saturday morning.

Sooyoung picked up her fork, finally digging into her crepe.  She popped a strawberry into her mouth, chewing slowly as she looked out the window.  Seungwan followed her gaze, and outside she could see the couple she passed from before, still ambling near the lake.  She hadn’t noticed earlier, but they were both women.  Wow, she really was oblivious sometimes.  

“You know, I was always curious about how it’d feel like.  Being with a girl.  Even before I accepted that about myself.”

The tone of her voice sounded a bit more contemplative now.  Like she’d actually been mulling the idea over in her head, instead of tossing it out there just to throw Seungwan off balance. Maybe this was a serious matter after all.

“You never told me,” Seungwan said, hiding the frown that tugged at her lips behind another spoonful of yogurt.  The watermelon had turned mushy.  Great. “That you like girls, I mean.”

Sooyoung shrugged.  “Yeah, I’m bi.  I thought it was pretty obvious, unnie.  I just didn’t think it was necessary to talk about, with me dating Sungjae and all.”

Bi. Sooyoung was bi.  Seungwan felt her ears warming, hearing that out loud. She wasn’t embarrassed—just… caught off guard.  Yeah, that was it.  It was such a Sooyoung thing to do, confessing an important secret so casually. Flippantly, even.

“You could’ve told me,” Seungwan grumbled, pouting.  Did Sooyoung think she was homophobic?  She wasn’t!  Sooyoung knew that, too.  She had to, right?  When Yerim came out to them as a lesbian, neither of them had even batted an eyelash, accepting her with open arms.  Well, it wasn’t like she was entitled to know everything about Sooyoung, even if they were best friends, but still…

“I could’ve,” Sooyoung agreed, looking back at her, laughing when she saw her face.  “Why so grumpy?”

“Did you think I would judge you?” Seungwan blurted out without thinking. She couldn’t even keep the hurt from her voice.

Sooyoung frowned at that, sobering up instantly.  “No, that’s not it.”

“Then—”

“Hey,” Sooyoung said softly, reaching over to grasp Seungwan’s hand. “I know what you’re thinking when you have that look on your face—” Seungwan wrinkled her nose.  What look? “—but you know I would trust you with my life, right?”

The fact that Sooyoung could read her so easily was a bit terrifying.  Her shoulders slumped as she stared into her parfait instead of meeting Sooyoung’s gaze.  “Sorry,” she mumbled.  “I know it’s none of my business.”

“Like I said, it’s not like that.  I just thought it’d be more fun if you found out this way.”

Seungwan rolled her eyes, but she didn’t mind when Sooyoung interlaced their fingers together.  Her hand was warm.  “More fun for you, maybe,” she huffed.

“Yep!” Sooyoung chirped, leaning forward to poke her cheek.  “So don’t be such a baby, okay?”

The way Sooyoung’s finger dug into her dimple tickled, and it made her laugh as she withdrew her hand.  Sometimes Seungwan hated that she could be placated so easily.  “Well, I guess it was kind of funny,” she admitted, rubbing the back of her neck.  “And to be honest, I should’ve expected it.”

“Yeah, well, you heterolinis can be dumb sometimes.”

“Heterolinis?”  Seungwan frowned.  She was less offended at being called dumb than baffled at Sooyoung calling her a… a heterolini.  Where did she even come up with that?

“Yeah.  You know—straight people, with their straight lives, always viewing things through their straight lenses.”

Seungwan gaped.  She wasn’t that bad, was she?  “I’ve never even had a boyfriend.  Who knows if I’m straight?”  She furrowed her eyebrows, head tilting quizzically at the words that came out of her own mouth.  Why was she even arguing?  She’d barely even questioned her own sexuality before.

Sooyoung eyed her skeptically.  “Girl, the number of times I’ve caught you staring at Cha Eunwoo from the music department, though…”

Heat rose to Seungwan’s face.  “And what about it!” she protested, jabbing her spoon into the parfait and taking an angry bite out of it, munching loudly.  “He’s beautiful!”

“Yeah, so?” Sooyoung scoffed, crossing her arms.  “So am I, but you’re not attracted to me.”

Seungwan’s eyes widened.  Whoa. Sooyoung really went there. Abort, abort, abort.

“When did you even figure out that you were bi?” Seungwan asked instead, floundering for a change of topic.

Rather than replying, Sooyoung delicately placed her fork down on her plate, metal clacking against ceramic.  She clasped her hands together, looking out the window again.  Birds chirped outside. The front door of the café jingled with the arrival of new customers.

When Sooyoung went quiet a few seconds too long for comfort, Seungwan fidgeted in her seat, backpedaling.  “Sorry—was that too personal?”

“It’s fine.  I was just thinking.  I think I always kind of knew—but it probably only hit me a year ago or so?”

“Oh, wow.”  Seungwan’s eyebrows shot to her forehead as she took in the new information.  A year ago.  That had to mean…  “You were still dating Sungjae at the time?”

“Yeah.”

“Is that why you two broke up?”

“No,” Sooyoung answered immediately.  Her lips pursed into a thin line as she swept her fingers over her hair, pushing them away from her eyes.  “Well—not entirely.  Yes and no. We had our differences, but I can’t say it didn’t factor into it.  He didn’t know, though.  I never told him.”

“Ah.”

“Mhm.”

They fell into an uncomfortable silence as they went back to eating, the scrape of utensils the only noise filling the air.  Seungwan grimaced.  Sooyoung never went into the details of the breakup before, but Seungwan hadn’t expected that to be part of the reason.  She really had to be nosy and open up old wounds, didn’t she.

When it was clear Sooyoung wasn’t going to elaborate any further, Seungwan cleared her throat.  “Oh, yeah! So, anyway—about girls.  You wanted to try hookups?”  She cringed as the words left her mouth.  Hookups.  It sounded so crass.

Sooyoung perked up, a wide grin spreading on her face as though nothing had happened, and Seungwan was thankful it was that simple to dispel the awkward atmosphere between them.  “Yeah! I installed Tinder—I was just setting up my profile right before you showed up.”

“Tinder?” Seungwan repeated.  “Like, for local randos?  Not someone from our school?”

“That’s the point of hookups.”  Sooyoung rolled her eyes.  “I’m not supposed to see them again.”

Seungwan pressed her lips together as she regarded Sooyoung.  Sooyoung, who always cried at the climax of romantic comedy movies.  Sooyoung, who once dumped a boy she was seeing simply because her Maltese puppy, Haetnim, didn’t like him.  Sooyoung, who—despite having a reputation for being a flirtatious tease—valued the fine art of courtship.  Late-night candlelit dinners, picnics under a blanket of stars.

“This isn’t usually like you,” Seungwan pointed out.

“Yeah, maybe I just wanted to try something different.  Something uncomplicated, no strings attached.”

“Why not dating, though?”

“Because I’m probably not ready for a relationship right now?  And also, I’d really just like to kiss a girl.”

“Oh.”  Seungwan flushed at the mental image of Sooyoung doing just that.  Stupidly sexy Sooyoung, kissing a girl—not for the titillation of men but for herself.  “Wow.”

“What is it?” Sooyoung asked.  Seungwan didn’t like the look on her face—the annoyingly self-satisfied smirk that suggested she knew exactly what Seungwan was thinking.

“Nothing,” Seungwan said, shaking the idea from her head.  “Just getting used to you being bi.”

“Well…” Sooyoung began.  She slid out of her seat and into Seungwan’s side of the booth, a devilish sparkle in her eyes.  Her voice had turned husky.  “I think I have an idea of how to help you.”

Their hips bumped together as Sooyoung pushed her farther inside to make room for the both of them.  She pressed in so closely that Seungwan could catch a hint of the fruity floral perfume she always wore.  Plums and peonies.  Of course she had to smell intoxicatingly nice even after a jog.

Seungwan tensed, fingers gripping onto the hem of her shorts.  “Help me… get used to you being bi?”  Why did that sound so ominous?

“Yep.”

“How?”  Seungwan didn’t know if she liked where this was going.

Sooyoung gave her an impish, lopsided smile as she leaned in, maintaining eye contact with Seungwan the whole way even when the distance between their faces shortened to mere centimeters.  Seungwan’s neck craned back as she strained to put space between them, head bumping against the window, and she had to hold her breath so it wouldn’t mingle with Sooyoung’s.  Goosebumps rose on the surface of her arms at the heat radiating from the other girl’s body. It felt nice after walking in the cold for so long, but suddenly Seungwan found herself at a crossroads: uncertain if she wanted to pull her closer for warmth or push her away for her own sanity.

Finally, after what seemed like several excruciating seconds, Sooyoung spoke.

“I…”  Sooyoung licked her lips, moving in almost impossibly close—so much so that their noses almost touched, and it took all of Seungwan’s willpower not to scream.  “…am going to have you—”

She jabbed a finger onto Seungwan’s chest.  Oh, hell.

“—help me pick out a date!” she declared cheerfully.

Before Seungwan could even process what was happening, Sooyoung had already pulled away, slapping a couple of 10,000 won notes on the table to foot the bill, laughing and slipping out the booth with a jolly spring to her step.

Seungwan exhaled shakily once she actually had room to breathe again, feeling a cold draft of air in the absence of Sooyoung’s presence.  “Huh?”

What?

What?

“Come on, Seungwan-unnie!  Let’s go back to my apartment.  I want to shower already, and we can talk more about it there!”

Rooted in place, Seungwan stared after Sooyoung as she made her way to the front of the café, unable to shake how fast her heart was pounding.

What!!!

Once her brain kicked back into gear, Seungwan rushed to scarf down one final spoonful out of her parfait before chasing after Sooyoung—curse her and her long legs.  She noshed on the granola, savoring every munch and crunch as though it could smother the budding realization that threatened to slip out from the tip of her tongue.

She chanced a look back at her wristwatch.  It was only 9:17 a.m.