Falling Leaves Are Beautiful

Groups:

Blackpink Jennie ➥ "Where Do Go From Here" - 17,400 Words

➥"Night In" - 1,700 Words Jisoo ➥"Diamonds and Pearls" - 3,400 Words

Red Velvet

Irene ➥"The Only" - 14,300 Words

Seulgi ➥"Rain" - 9,000 Words

Wendy ➥"Eye Catching" - 11,200 Words

Mamamoo

Solar ➥"Live" - 16,200 Words

Twice Jihyo ➥ "Beautiful Surprise"- 7,300 Words

Itzy Ryujin ➥ "Glorious" - 17,200 Chaeryeong ➥ "Everything I Do Is For You" - 21,400 Words

Weki Meki

Doyeon ➥ "Warm Meal" - 20,300 Words

Lovelyz

Yerin ➥ "Admire" - 2,100 Words

Gfriend

Sowon

➥ "Friday Night" - 2,100 Words

Loona

Yves - N/A

Fromis_9

Saerom

➥ "Ride" - 7,600 Words

Soloist:

Chunga

➥ "Downpour" - 2,600 Words

Iu

➥ "Love Poem" - 19,200 Words

Heize

➥ "Hometown" - 2,400 Words

Lee Hi

➥ "Here Comes The Regrets" pt.1 - 1,300 Words

➥ "Missing U" pt.2 - 1,100 Words

➥ "What's Left Of Us" pt.3 - 900 Words

Luna (former F(x)) ➥"Cupcake" - 600 Words

Tiffany (Girls Generation) ➥ "I Thought You Were The One" - 4,100 Words

"Love Poem"

As the quiet buzz from the air conditioner hummed in the background you were lost in complete thought as your lovely girlfriend delicately traced her finger tips over your inked skin. The two of you were enjoying each other's presence before you had to leave in a few hours for her work schedule. While you were lost in your mind enjoying the feeling of her on your skin, she was scrolling through her phone. You didn’t even have to look over to know that she was reading comments on your shared social media page. 

When it came to said shared social media page, it was all Jieun’s idea. It felt strange considering she was probably one of the most recognizable figures in the entertainment industry but when it came to something she wanted you just couldn’t say no to her. She had proposed the idea of starting the account over two years ago because as she stated, she wanted a place to record the moments of your relationship. At first when she initially brought the idea up you were completely against it, you were worried that someone would find out who she was and that her public image would be ruined because she was dating you. 

Luckily throughout the lifespan of the account no one has figured out who she was thanks to how surprisingly well she was at disguising herself. You yourself had nothing to hide from the public so you were now unofficially officially the face of the account meanwhile Jieun was the real mastermind behind it. With every picture she took and uploaded she wrote a loving caption to go along with it, all the words that were posted all came from her heart and from the feelings she strongly felt about you. Anyone that stumbled across the account could quickly understand how much this woman loved you and how much she loved to write about you. Oh but just what would happen if those same people realized that the same woman that wrote these loving paragraphs about her girlfriend on social media was the same woman, that dedicated many songs to the same girl, had many hit songs that were constantly reaching the top of the music charts all over the country..? 

The account had managed to amass a pretty huge following for it just being a couple’s public love diary, the attention you had garnered from the account had made you feel a bit uneasy. Your experience with social media before meeting Jieun was that it was a place to keep up with family and friends who you hadn’t seen in a while. You never expected to have thousands of people all over the world waiting on the newest picture from your girlfriend. 

When you first started dating Jieun she had tried her best to explain everything about her lifestyle and career to you but that was much different than living it yourself. You were fine at first with supporting your girlfriend  being in the spotlight, but now that you were thrown under one as well, albeit a much smaller spotlight, you couldn't help but feel some uneasiness in life. You were fine with living an ordinary life and working an ordinary job but now you had to deal with the whole new territory that came with social media. You didn’t consider yourself a social media figure in the slightest but you did have to deal with occasionally getting offers from different companies to sign a contract under them. While you hadn’t done that, you, well more like jieun, had accepted a few small gigs for some modeling content. Your most recent gig was for an online shopping mall that Jieun had often frequented, she had snatched that deal for you in an instant. 

But well I guess all this came with dating the woman that made your heart leap out of your chest everytime she looked at you. You would do anything for her and if that meant having to deal with random fangirls commenting about their favorite imaginary “ships” under your post then so be it. It didn’t seem to bother Jieun so you just rolled with it, even when people would comment big names in the industry as being the second half of the relationship in the pictures. You had felt almost flattered that these random people thought you could be in a relationship with all the names in the comments but still, no one was more perfect for you than Jieun. She was the only person that existed in your eyes. 

It wasn’t until Jieun had started uploading videos of you a few months ago that the comments really started to ramp up on the guessing game of who Jieun was. The videos usually just consisted of her poking or annoying you in some sort of fashion throughout the day with your account's signature black and white filter slapped over it. The videos were really nothing extraordinary that would reveal who Jieun was. Well that was up until she uploaded a video where she was laughing in the background. Soon the comments were filled with people saying she laughed just like “Iu”. When you saw that you instantly panicked and you told her to take the video down. Jieun being the voice of reason had told you that taking the video down would only seem more suspicious and to just give it time, people would soon forget about it. You hated to admit defeat but she was right, soon the comments were filled with other people’s names.

Luckily for the both of you, Jieun’s entertainment company already knew about the account and they were completely behind Jieun. If anything were to happen they were prepared with statements for that situation.

“Don’t move…” Her voice was quiet as it broke into your deep thoughts.

“Hmm, okay..” You hummed in response as you did what she said, which was nothing. You stayed still for her.

You heard her phone’s camera make a noise followed by a satisfied hum from her.

“Am I good to move now..?” You spoke without moving your mouth to emphasize your dedication to not moving for her.

She let out a soft laugh, “Yeah you’re free to move now, silly.” She planted a kiss on your cheek before moving back to finish whatever it was she was doing on her phone.

You leaned over to look at what was keeping her occupied, “What are you up to..?” You saw a picture of your new tattoo on her phone as she typed in a caption. 

“I just thought it would be nice to update everyone on your new art piece.” She looked up at you with the sweetest smile. 

“Ahh I see, you better add in there that you helped me settle on this design.” You looked down at your left wrist where your newest addition to your tattoos sat. It was nothing crazy, just a simple outline of all the continents. 

“I did, and…. Posted.” She smiled as she waited for the influx of comments to hit. 

You watched her from where you were sitting, just adoring the way the light of her phone settled on her face, accentuating all the features you loved about her.

“Oh wow, they really like it. Told you it went really well with your other wrist.” She looked over at you before pointing at the tattoo you had on said wrist, it was a heart that had a simple airplane completing the outline of the heart on the right side. 

“Yeah, you’re always right.” You smiled as you thought about both tattoos. You had gotten the heart a few years before meeting her and now with the irony of dating someone who traveled all over the world to perform sold out shows it couldn’t have been any more perfect. You had originally gotten it because when you were a bit younger, you had a job that had you traveling to different countries all the time. 

Jieun let out a small sigh as she leaned her head on your shoulder, “I want one so bad.”

“Easy, then get one.” You leaned your head against hers. 

“No, you know it’s not that easy for me to just go out and get one.” 

“Hmm, why not..? Plenty of people in the music industry have them.” You spoke in genuine confusion.

“But those artists are different than I am. I have a certain image to uphold. You know this.” She closed her eyes as she spoke to you.

“I know that Jieun, but that shouldn’t stop you from doing something you want. You could always just get a small one somewhere people won't see it.” You paused for a minute before smiling, “Well not too small to where it would look like a little mole.” 

Jieun let out a small chuckle before lightly hitting your arm, “I hate you.” 

“Haha I love you too.”

The two of you sat in comfortable silence before Jieun checked the time on her phone. “Hmm we should start getting ready now, he’ll be here soon.” 

“Oh, sounds good.” 

_

“Are you finished getting dressed..?” You heard her ask as soon as the shower turned off. 

“Yeah, I’m good to go.” You sat on your bed as you waited for her to finish up in the bathroom. 

A few seconds later she walked out with a towel wrapped around herself and another one wrapped around her hair. She stared at what you were wearing before humming to herself.

“What’s wrong..? Do I look bad..?”

“No, far from that. It’s just I have something else I want you to wear.” She walked over to your shared closet and you followed right behind her. She looked around for a bit before finding what it was that she had in mind. “Here it is, try this on instead.” She handed you the piece of clothing before walking out and back to the bathroom.

You did as she said, slipping your other shirt off and putting on the one she gave you. “Oh wow..” You looked at yourself in the mirror and noted the way this shirt exposed your shoulders. 

After a few more minutes Jieun had walked back out of the bathroom in her sweatpants and a random sweater she probably stole from your side of the closet. “Nice, that looks way better than I expected.” She smiled happily like a little girl with a crush. 

“It’s nice, where’d you get it from..?” 

“Oh, you remember that photoshoot you had last week for my favorite online mall..?” 

“Uhm, yeah. Why?” You tilted your head to the side when you couldn’t figure out why she brought that up since she couldn’t go with you to the shoot.

“Well you remember how you took Hanteo with you?” (Her manager) 

“Yeah, you didn’t want me going by myself.” You looked to the side as you tried remembering everything. 

“Well while you were in the middle of shooting, I video called him and he took me on a virtual tour of the set. Then in the back I saw this shirt and I knew it would look beautiful on you. So I had him ask around to see if he could buy the shirt from them. We kept it a secret haha.” She ran her fingers on the fabric of the shirt.

“Oh wow.” You looked down with a lovestruck smile, “Hmm, well why this shirt specifically for today..? You could’ve kept this hidden until we had dinner out together.” 

“Well if you must know, it's because I want to be able to see this whenever I look into the audience today.” She pointed to the tattoo of a paper plane you had on your right shoulder. 

“Oh, I see. Well if it makes my princess happy then I love it. Thank you for the shirt.” You planted a gentle kiss on her lips before pulling away to smile at her. 

Her face immediately flushed red, “Okay let’s go before you make it impossible for me to leave.” She grabbed your hand before pulling you around to the front door. 

You were giggling the entire time she was dragging you to the front door. You put your shoes on then helped her with hers. You both walked out once you had everything you needed. 

Her manager had greeted the both of you when you got into the car.

“Are you ready for today..?” He asked Jieun as he pulled out of your driveway.

“Of course, I always am.” Jieun smiled when you reached to hold her hand in her lap.

“Okay good, well get comfortable the traffic is going to make it a headache to get there.” Hanteo gave the two of you one last smile before looking ahead as he pulled into the road.

The ride to the venue did indeed take longer than you were expecting, luckily you spent the whole trip joking around with Jieun. She kept taking pictures of you from the most random angles while you kept trying to snatch her phone from her hands to take some of her as well. 

After pulling into the back of the venue her manager turned around to tell the two of you that you made it.

“Thank you Hanteo, we appreciate the ride.” You told him before opening your door and holding it so Jieun could step out.

“Of course, that’s what I’m here for.” He stepped out of his own door before walking around the front of the car to take a stack of papers he had in the passenger seat. “I have to go hand these out real quick but you two feel free to head inside.”

“Okay, we’ll see you later then!” Jieun smiled at him before grabbing your hand so you could walk inside together.

“What were those for..?” You asked Jieun about the papers Hanteo had.

“Oh it’s about today's schedule for the show, he has to hand them out to everyone. His email wasn’t working all week so he just decided to physically hand them out. You know how hard headed he is when things don’t work like normal.” 

“Ah I see,” You reached out to open the door to the venue, “After you.” Jieun stepped through the door first and you quickly followed behind her. 

You both walked towards her dressing room, hand in hand, as she told you what she looked forward to the most tonight.

When you both made it to her dressing room she sat in the chair left out for her in front of her makeup station, and you went and sat on the counter near her. You took a few seconds to admire the way she looked at herself in the mirror. When she finally noticed you looking at her in silence she couldn’t help but smile. 

“Why are you looking at me like that..?” She asked you as she looked to see if anyone was around. 

“Like what..?” You smiled at her as your head tilted to the side. 

Her face completely flushed red as she used her hands to cover it. “Like that, stop it.” 

You couldn’t help the laugh that her actions gave you. “Jieun, my love, you’re going to have hundreds of people staring at you in a few hours, what’s the big deal with me just admiring you for a few seconds..?”

“Okay but that’s different, all those eyes don’t even come close in comparison to yours.” She peeked through her fingers to look at you before squealing and closing her eyes shut when she saw you moved to stand near her. 

“Haha so cute…” You leaned down to whisper in her ear, “These eyes have also seen more of you than all those people combined.” You kissed the top of her head before moving to sit back on the counter you were originally relaxing on. 

Jieun removed her hands from her face to look at you in complete shock, her face was as red as a ruby as she stumbled over her words, “Huh.. wha- why would you say that…?” 

You couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction, “What’s wrong..?” You plastered an innocent look on your face as you watched the way she reacted to your actions. 

She was unable to say anything else as her crew walked into the dressing room, all of them engulfed in their own conversations. 

“Oh,” The lead make-up artist looked at Jieun’s face in confusion before turning to look over at you. “Are we interrupting something here..?”

You couldn’t help but laugh as Jieun’s face only got more red with embarrassment. “Haha no no, you didn’t. We were just talking.” Your head tilted to the side as you thought about your actions, “Hmm well more like I was admiring my beautiful girlfriend from all the way over here and she was getting flustered by my amazing compliments.” You plastered that same innocent face from earlier as all Jieun could do was shoot daggers at you with her eyes. Oh those beautiful eyes of hers. 

“Ahh I see, well sadly I’m going to have to ask you to refrain from making her flustered. The red on her face is not going to make this easy on us.” The lead make-up artist joked with you, she often worked with Jieun on many projects so the three of you were pretty well acquainted. 

“My bad, my bad, I’ll try to hold myself back. It’s not my fault that this woman gets easily embarrassed when it comes to me complimenting her even though we’ve been dating for almost five years now.” You rolled your eyes in a playful manner at her. 

Jieun was still glaring at you as she crossed her arms over her chest, “Mmm compliments… sure if that’s what you want to call that…” She mumbled to herself as she held her own little huff and puff party. 

“Oh, is that a new piece..?” The lead make-up artist asked when she walked up to where you were sitting to get some of her equipment, referencing your new tattoo. 

“Oh this,” You held your wrist out to her so she could get a better look at the artwork on it, “It is new, Jieun helped me pick it out.” 

“ooh she did..?” She examined the tattoo before looking over at Jieun, “Well she certainly has a good eye haha.” 

Jieun’s eyes darkened as she looked you in the eyes, “Yeah I do have great taste, thanks for noticing.” 

You met her eyes before laughing to yourself, “Anyways, I’m going to go see what outfit they have prepared for you.” You hopped off the counter and walked over to where she was sitting, “I’ll be back in a little bit.” You planted a soft kiss on her cheek, “You look so beautiful.” You walked away so she could get her makeup done. 

“Ugh the two of you are so perfect for each other it makes me sick.” Jieun’s lead make-up artist said as she placed everything she needed in front of her. 

“Haha, thank you for the compliment I suppose..?” Jieun spoke her response in a questioning tone as she didn’t know if she meant what she said as a compliment. 

“It is a compliment, I promise.” She started to pull Jieun’s hair out of her face before she got started on her perfected craft, “When are the two of you going to finally tie the knot..?” She asked as she finished clipping Jieun’s hair back.

“What..? Well uh, I’m not sure haha.” Jieun once again couldn’t help but get flustered at the question. 

“Wait, she still hasn’t asked the question yet??” She asked Jieun in shock.

“No she hasn’t, why has she said anything about it..?” Jieun looked up at her with all the concentration in the world. 

“Hmm no she hasn't, but I just figured she would have proposed already. I mean the two of you act like you’re already married anyways haha.” 

Jieun looked down at her ring finger on her left hand, “Maybe someday…” 

With Jieun thinking about your future together, you were busy bothering her main stylist about the outfit she was supposed to wear for the event. 

“This is what she’s wearing..? Wow, are you trying to give everyone in the crowd a nosebleed..?” You looked at the beautiful sundress that was hanging on the clothing rack in front of you. 

“You know not everyone in that crowd has as big of a crush on your girlfriend as you do, right..?” Jieun’s main stylist grabbed the dress off of the clothing rack so she could bring it to Jieun’s dressing room, with you following right behind her. 

“Well that doesn’t matter, Jieun herself is just too beautiful for this world so putting that dress on her would give just about anyone a nosebleed.” You answered in a “matter of fact” tone as you tried to keep up with her pace. 

“Listen, all that matters is that this dress fits the theme of her album so we’re sticking with it. If she causes a national uproar in reported nose bleeds then that will be PR’s problem, not mine.” She opened up the door to Jieun’s dressing room so she could walk over and show her what the outfit choice for the event was. 

And with her response you were silenced as you shuffled into Jieun’s dressing room passing by all the new interns working with the hair and makeup crew. 

Jieun was engulfed in conversation with her main stylist as she showed her the dress while Jieun was getting her makeup done. You just observed them all from the back of her dressing room as you didn’t want to get in the way. 

“Oh, excuse me, can I just grab that real quick.” One of the interns you passed by earlier was standing in front of you with a nervous look on her face. 

“Hmm? Oh I’m sorry.” You quickly moved out of the way when you could see how overwhelmed the young girl looked. “Are you okay..?”

“What..?” The young girl looked up at you once she finally grabbed what it was that she needed. “Oh yeah I’m fine haha, I just have to hurry or I’ll get in trouble.” The girl waved the object in her hand at you before scurrying on. 

You stared at where the girl was standing before deciding to go and find her, stopping to grab a water bottle along the way. You hadn’t realized that Jieun had watched your entire interaction through the mirror as all you had in mind was helping out the poor brand new intern. 

It didn’t take long before you saw the young girl scurrying back towards Jieun’s dressing room with a new object in hand. You moved in front of her to get her to stop walking. 

“Oh sorry, excuse me.” She stepped to the side to walk past you but then she looked up at you in shock when you moved over as well to stop her again.

“Hey, stop.” You smiled at the young girl, “Take a break.” You reached for the object in her hand before replacing it with the water bottle you had in your hand. “Slow down young one, don’t overwork yourself. I can take this for you, please catch your breath and relax for a little bit.”

“Huh..?” The girl looked up at you with the biggest eyes that quickly seemed to water up. 

“I’m assuming you were bringing this to Yeonha..?” You were able to assume that this was going to Jieun’s make-up artist given the items. 

“Oh yes, she had asked me to hurry with those brushes.” The young girl answered you with reddened cheeks. 

“Okay well I can take them to her for you, please go catch your breath and relax, there’s plenty of time.” You had been to many of Jieun’s work events to know that Yeonha was a rusher when it came to getting everything done even when she would have plenty of time. 

“Thank you so much.” The young girl slightly bowed her head at you before blinking away at the tears that began to form in her eyes. 

“Haha it’s no problem, I know how Yeonha can be, trust me you won’t be this stressed out all the time.” You smiled at the girl before turning away, you held the object in the air waving it slightly. “I’ll get this to her, enjoy your break.” 

The young girl just stared at you in amusement as you disappeared down the hall. 

You walked up to Jieun and her make-up artist, handing her the object you had in hand. 

“Hey, Yeonha, you need to go easier on the interns.” 

“Huh?” She looked at what you had in your hands in shock, “Where did you get that..?” 

“I got it from that poor girl you have running in laps down the hallway, she looked burnt out so I told her I would bring this to you and that she could take a well deserved break.” You shrugged your shoulders before placing the object down in front of Jieun on the make up counter. 

“Oh uh, thank you.” She looked between you and Jieun, unsure of what to say.

“It’s all good, just try to take it easy on her, interns aren’t used to everything yet, just try and ease them into it.” You gave her a small smile before looking down at Jieun. “I’m going to go ahead and walk out to my seat so you can finish getting ready.”

“Huh? Wait..” Jieun held onto your hand so she could get up from her seat, “Don’t forget this.” She walked away to grab something before coming back with one of her albums. “Gotta fit the part.” She smiled at you before placing it in your hands. 

“Ah right, is this one of your special editions..?” You asked with a joking smile since you knew that Jieun loved writing you random messages and doodles in the albums that she gave you.

“Of course it is.” She let out a small giggle before pulling you into a small kiss. “I’ll see you out there in a bit, just try not to look like you’re too in love with me.” 

It was your turn to laugh at her before leaning in to whisper into her ear, “Why, do I make it hard for you to hold back..?” 

Jieun pulled away to glare at you, “Shut up before I kick you out.” 

You let out a bigger laugh, “Haha well I didn’t hear a no.” You gave her lips a small peck, where you would’ve opted for her cheek but due to her make-up being done you wanted to be nice to Yeonha, “Well, I’ll see you out there Miss IU.” You sent her a wink as you said her stage name before walking out of her dressing room. 

“Ugh that girl…” Jieun stared at you as you walked away with a dumb grin on her face. 

“Okay love bird get over here so we can finish your make-up.” Yeonha put her hands on Jieun’s shoulders so she could turn her towards her seat. 

_

You walked around the venue for a bit to see if anyone needed a hand with setting anything up before walking to the seat that Jieun picked out for you. You had just gotten done helping the stage crew bring out some decorations for her first performance so now you sat down bored as you waited for the doors to open to the public. 

You figured now was as good a time as ever to look through her new album. You had seen everything from a behind the scene’s perspective so being able to see the final product in front of you was awesome. No matter how many releases you’ve been by Jieun’s side for, you would never get tired of unboxing the newest product of her hard work. You flipped through every single page slowly to admire all the pictures of her and all of her scribbled notes directed towards you. The smile on your face looked like it would never disappear as you flipped through the pages. 

“Oh,” You got to the end of the pages and were now reading her album’s dedication section. “This is a note to the person who is there for me everyday and night no matter what. Whenever I feel lost they’re always there to reassure me that I am on the correct path. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, even the things you don’t know that you helped me with, I hope to one day properly repay your kindness.”

You didn’t notice the way your eyes welled up with tears until you blinked. “This girl.” You smiled as you ran your finger down the page before closing the photobook. 

A few moments later you could hear the sound of people walking in and talking, you looked up to see a line of fans walking into the venue, many of which were carrying huge cameras. You were able to pick up on some familiar faces in the crowd since they would frequent many of your girlfriends events. The rows began to fill up and soon so was your own row. The seat next to you was now occupied by a talkative fan who hadn’t stopped talking about Jieun’s latest album to the girl next to her. 

“Hey, I like your tattoos, they’re pretty.” 

It took you a minute to register the fact that the hyper fan was talking to you, “Oh thank you so much.” You sent the girl a small smile before looking at your phone. 

Jieun had sent you a message so you quickly checked it and made sure no one around could see the contents. “I’ll see you in five minutes.” She attached a photo of her in the dress you saw earlier and you swore that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. 

“Oh, that dress is dangerous.” You replied to her message before putting your phone away.

After a while of waiting in silence a very familiar figure appeared on the stage in front of you and the once quiet room was now filled with loud cheers. After waving at everyone in the crowd she began to perform the first song on her short set-list. 

Unlike everyone else in the crowd you enjoyed her performance without recording anything and you just made yourself comfortable in your seat as Jieun sang to the crowded room. Before meeting Jieun you had only been to a small handful of concerts but none to any artist you were really into, just some random pop up events that your friends would drag you to, but now here you were at what felt like your millionth performance of Jieun’s. You enjoyed every single one of her performances like it was your first time watching her sing. 

She made it through the rest of her set-list without a problem and then everyone watched as the staff brought out a table and a chair. Jieun had her microphone in her hand so she talked to the crowd as she stood at the edge of the stage. 

“Haha did you all like the songs..?” She listened to the crowd cheer in response, “Well I am glad, I’ve been working on this album for the better part of a year now.” The crowd cheered again and everyone watched as she went to take a seat in the chair behind the table. 

The staff of tonight's event soon started to direct the different rows into a line so they could walk up and get their albums signed. You watched in amusement at how she smiled at everyone that stood across from her and the way she easily made small talk with everyone. 

The first two rows on the right side of the room were nearing the end of their turn on stage so now it was your row’s turn to line up. You were always surprised by how well behaved her fans were when it came to events like this. When she first told you about her career and work events you expected everything to be hectic, but to your surprise it was quite the opposite.

You couldn’t hide the smile on your face as you heard the girl in front of you fangirl to her friend ahead of her. You enjoyed hearing the different things all of her fans had to say about her every time you were near them, it was like you were learning a new fun fact about her every event.  

It was now your turn to get your album signed so you walked past all the familiar faces of her staff before placing your previously vandalized album on the table in front of Jieun. 

“Hey stranger,” You sent her a soft smile as your eyes took in her beautiful appearance from up close, “You look gorgeous.”

Jieun’s cheeks flushed a light shade of pink as she listened to your compliment, “Thank you.” She avoided looking you in the eyes as she opted to look down at your album so she could sign it. 

“A lot of people showed up today, were you nervous..?” You asked as you watched her flick through the pages to find an empty one to write a note.

Jieun shook her head before landing on the one page she left free from her graffiti, “Not really, most of the faces in the crowd are pretty familiar by now.” She closed up your album before sliding it across the table to you with a beautiful smile. 

“Ahh I see.” You picked up the album and you returned her an identical smile, “Well I have to go back to my seat now but just a quick tip. Try no to look too in love with me, you’re making it pretty obvious.” 

Jieun rolled her eyes at the cocky grin on your face before plastering a fake smile on her face, “You’re so lucky I love you.” She spoke through her teeth as she waved at you like you were any other fan in the crowd.

You let out a small chuckle, “Hell yeah I am.” You gave her one last smile before walking along the stage. You could feel her eyes on you as you made your way to your seat. Well what you didn’t know was that there were other eyes on you as your familiar face started to make sense to some of the people in the crowd. 

You sat down with your girlfriend's album in your lap and a dumb smile on your face as you watched her from your seat. 

You were zoned out, lost in your own thoughts, up until you felt someone lightly tap on your shoulder. You looked down in surprise when you were met with the eyes of the girl who was seated next to you. 

“Oh, yes..?” You straightened your posture as you waited for the girl to speak to you.

“Hi, I’m sorry to bother you but I just had a quick question to ask you. Would you mind..?” The young girl asked you for permission as her friend peeked over her shoulder. 

“Huh..? Oh sure, go ahead.” You didn’t take any concern with her request as you figured she was probably going to ask you to take a picture of her and her friend. You got these requests pretty often at Jieun’s events. 

“Okay well my friend and I couldn’t help but notice how familiar your tattoos looked so we just wanted to ask if this was you..? You don’t have to answer if you’re uncomfortable, it’s just that both of us are fans of your account.” The girl was holding her phone out towards you with a picture of you and Jieun in it, well your face was the only one anyone could see anyways. 

“Oh uh,” You looked at her phone then back up at the girl's face before looking over at Jieun on stage then back at the phone. You were racking your brain for answers to give the girl, what would Jieun do in your place..? “Yeah that’s me.” You rubbed the back of your neck as you didn’t know what to expect next. 

The two girls looked at each other and shared a gasp once you admitted to being the one in the picture. 

“Oh my god that’s so awesome, can we please get a picture with you..?” The girl's friend asked you.

“Huh..?” You were super confused as to what you were supposed to do, you had never been recognized in public before so for this to happen at one of Jieun’s events was mind numbing. 

“You know, like a picture..?” The first girl said as she made a picture taking motion with her hand. “I’m telling you we’re both big fans of your account.” 

“Oh uhm, sure. Sorry I’m not used to this.” You admitted to the two girls as you let out a shy laugh, “And for the record that account is all my girlfriends work, I don’t want to take any of the credit for it.” 

“Oh my god that’s so cute, I can’t.” The girl opened up the camera app on her phone and then you were standing with each girl on either side of you. “Smile.” The girl said as she took a few pictures. 

“Are they okay..?” You asked her as she checked the pictures. 

“Yes they’re great, thank you so much.” The girl showed her friend the pictures before they both moved to sit back down in their seats. 

You followed along, sitting back down in your own seat, with a bright blush of embarrassment on your cheeks. You let out a small breath as you thought they were done talking to you, but you were quickly mistaken.

“So where is your girlfriend..? Is she here with you..?” The girl asked you as she looked around the venue. 

“Uh well something like that..” You mumbled quietly before shaking your head, “Oh no actually, she’s working today. Uhm she’s a big fan of Ji-” You paused and blinked a few times, “IU, she’s a big IU fan.” You smiled in a way to convince not only the girls but also yourself of your little white lie.

“Awe so you’re here to get her a signed album from her favorite artist..? That’s so cute, the two of you are such couple goals.” The girl and her friend shared a squeal. 

“Haha yeah…” You wiped away some sweat that had built up on your forehead. 

“I know this is going to sound like we’re crossing a line, but can you show us what she looks like..? You don’t know how curious we are.” The girl’s friend asked you. “The two of you just make the cutest couple, even if we’ve never seen her face, just from the words she writes about you we can tell that she is beautiful.” 

“Oh I’m sorry.” You slightly bowed your head to the two girls, “I can’t do that. My uh girlfriend is just really private.” 

“Oh but you said she runs the account, no..?”

“She does, it’s just that if her workplace see’s that she’s dating a woman uhm she can get fired.” That sounded believable right? You asked yourself. 

“Ohhhh.” Both the girl and her friend said at the same time. 

“That makes so much sense, I’m sorry for bugging you over that.” The girl offered you a sincere apology, “Well thank you for taking the time out of your day to talk to us.” The girl smiled at you before the both of them went back to talking to each other. 

“Oh my god..” You buried your face in your hands as you tried to calm yourself down from having a panic attack. 

Once you had managed to calm your breathing down you lifted your head to look up at the ceiling, counting to ten slowly as you breathed in and out. When you finally looked forward, your worried face quickly caught Jieun’s attention. 

“Are you okay..?” She mouthed to you in a subtle way. 

You gave her a slight nod before mouthing back to her, “Later..”

She sent you back a small but subtle nod before turning her attention back to her fans on stage. 

The rest of the event went on fine, but you felt like you couldn’t enjoy it with the big knot that your stomach was now in. You kept catching the girls next to you glancing over so you tried your best to just act like any other fan of your girlfriend but it was just so weird to you. You were sure they could see right through the act. “They know, they know, they know.” Those words repeated over and over in your head. 

Soon the venue began to empty out as Jieun had just finished performing two encore songs and she finished saying her goodbye’s to everyone. Your row was one of the last one’s to empty out as you stayed seated with your head spinning. 

The two girls that were sat next to you had thanked you once again for the picture before walking out. 

Once everyone had made their way out of the venue, you and the cleaning crew were the only people left in the empty room. You finally stood up after your many minutes of pondering thoughts. You then heard small but quick footsteps running up behind you and then you suddenly felt someone’s weight on your back. The quiet giggles quickly gave up the person’s identity. 

You couldn’t hold back your smile as you quickly put your arms around Jieun’s legs to hold her in place on your back. 

Jieun reached over to plant a small kiss on your cheek, “How was it..? How did I do tonight..?” 

You turned your head to look at her, “You did amazing, like always. Everyone in the crowd loved your songs.” 

Jieun let out a small giggle before reaching for her phone, she held it out in front of you as she captured a few pictures. She hid her face behind your hair but her beautiful smile was still visible. Once she felt like she took enough pictures, she jumped off your back and you turned around to face her. She gave you a small kiss before holding your hand in both of hers. 

“You look tired, are you okay..?” Jieun moved one of her hands to place it on your cheek. 

You leaned into her touch as you gave her a small nod, “I’m okay now.” You turned your head to plant a soft kiss on her hand. 

Jieun’s eyes were still filled with concern even after hearing your words of reassurance. “Okay well do you want to head to the back so you can tell me about what had made you look so stressed out earlier..?”

“Yeah, let me just grab my stuff.” You walked away from Jieun to grab your album and then the two of you interlocked fingers as you made your way through the venue and into the many hallways of the back.

On your walk to her dressing room you gave her a rundown of your interaction with the two girls. 

As you made it to the door of her dressing room she suddenly fell very quiet. The two of you just stood by the door in silence as it looked like Jieun was going through an internal conflict. 

Jieun finally looked back up at you, “I think I’m ready to tell everyone about us.” Her voice was very soft and quiet so it took you a minute to understand what she said. 

“What?” You looked at her in complete shock as your body froze. 

Shock, yes such a strange and bizarre emotion but your body was enveloped in it. But then a wave of relief rode over your body as you thought about how you wouldn’t have to hide the biggest secret of your life. But then fear quickly took over every inch of your body. Jieun was the love of your life. What if this decision was a huge mistake..?

_

“Oh, you dropped this.” You had picked up a phone that had slid on the floor of the bus and then proceeded to hit your shoe. You were handing it back to the girl in the seat behind you since she was the only one it could’ve belonged to. 

“I’m so sorry, I’m so clumsy how could I have dropped this.” The smaller girl laughed before reaching for her phone. “Thank you so much, uhm..?” She raised her eyebrow as she gave you the hint to introduce yourself. And so you did, “Well it’s nice to meet you, my name is Jieun.” The smaller girl introduced herself as well. 

“Oh well, it’s nice to meet you, Jieun.” You held your hand out for the girl to take. 

“The feeling is mutual.” The girl gave you the brightest smile as she returned your handshake. 

You finally pulled your eyes away from her mesmerizing ones as the bus came to a stop. You looked out the window and quickly jumped up. “Oh I’m sorry, this is my stop.” You sent her an apologetic smile before grabbing your stuff to rush off the bus. 

The girl smiled before standing up as well, “Well looks like it’s mine now too.” 

_

“So I’ve given it a lot of thought since we’ve been friends for a while now but uhm.” You paused as you had to look away from her eyes, “But, did you like want to maybe, like you know..?” You made an awkward hand motion as you couldn’t figure out how to put your thoughts into words. 

“Hmm..? Like uhm what..?” Jieun teased the flustered girl that stood in front of her. 

You took a deep breath before speaking your next sentence, “Do you want to be my girlfriend..? It’s okay to say no but somewhere along our friendship I started to get romantic feelings for you and I was just hoping that they would be mutual.” Your face was completely flushed red as you tried to avoid looking Jieun in the eyes. 

Before she responded she let out a little giggle that caused you to look at her, and to your surprise she was nodding her head. “I would be honored to be your girlfriend.” 

You couldn’t believe your ears, you thought you had mistaken what you heard. Jieun then swiftly pulled you into the softest kiss of your life. There was no mistaking what she meant now. 

“Finally, it took you long enough.” Jieun said once she pulled away from your first official couple kiss. 

_

“Oh my gosh, why do you own so much crap? This is so heavy.” Jieun whined as she carried one of your boxes into her neat apartment.

“Hey to be fair you’re the one who bought me most of this stuff.” You smiled at her antics as you walked in with the heavier boxes. 

Jieun placed your box on the ground in the living room before moving to flop on the couch with a loud grunt. “Oh my,” She let out a small huff, “I don’t think I’ve ever had to…” 

Before she could continue to complain you leaned down over her on the couch and you planted a small kiss on her lips. You felt her smile before she moved her hands to hold your face in a sign of defeat. You pulled away far enough for your noses to still be touching as the both of you smiled. 

“Okay, okay I get the message loud and clear.” Jieun moved her head side to side to rub your noses together before she moved to give you another kiss. This time pulling you on top of her on the couch.

The two of you shared a sweet moment together before you moved to lay next to her on the couch. Your arm was wrapped around her waist and your face lay nuzzled in the crook of her neck. 

“Finally, I’ve had to listen to you complain since we got on the elevator.” You smiled against her neck as you heard her groan in annoyance. 

“Ugh I hate you.” She turned her body so she could face you. 

You let out a small gasp, “You hate me..? Oh no, it looks like I’m going to have to move out before I even got the chance to finish moving in.” You moved to try and get up from the couch but you were soon stopped by Jieun. 

“Don’t you dare leave me yet. At least wake me up with some breakfast in bed or something.” She wrapped her arms around you so you could lay in place with her on the couch. 

You let out a soft chuckle as you surrendered to her touch, “Okay, okay, I won’t leave.” 

_

“Hey, wake up.” You whispered in Jieun’s ear, “Jieun get up.” You placed down a plate of food on her night stand before moving your hand up to her forehead to play with her bangs.

“Hmm…” Jieun mumbled tiredly as she leaned into your touch.

“Wake up baby.” You planted a soft kiss on her forehead. 

“I love you, but if the building isn’t on fire then don’t wa- wait.” Jieun’s tired voice came to a halt, “Do I smell food.” She opened one of her eyes to peek out at you. 

You couldn’t hold back your smile at how cute she was, “Yes, I made you some breakfast. So hurry and get up to eat before it gets cold.” 

She let out a small groan and then you helped her sit up. “Thank you.” She smiled at you tiredly as you placed the plate of food in her lap. 

“Mhm.” You hummed happily as she began to dig into the food. You couldn’t help but stare at the woman you were deeply in love with.

_

In what felt like an instant, all of your favorite memories with Jieun replayed in your head as you stared at her with blank eyes. 

“Baby, hey, are you okay..?” You began to hear her voice break through the fog in your mind. She grabbed both of your hands to pull you towards the end of the hallway where no one was around. 

Jieun placed both hands on your cheeks. She held your face in her hands as she looked at you with all the concern she could muster. “Why are you crying..?” She asked you softly. 

“Huh..?” You asked in confusion, “Crying..?” You couldn’t even feel the tears that streamed their way down your cheeks. “Jieun..” Your eyes began to water up even worse as you moved to pull her into a hug. 

“What’s wrong, hmm..?” Jieun hummed against your body as she hugged you. 

You pulled away to look at her, “These are tears of joy, I promise.” You grabbed one of her hands so you could plant a small kiss on her knuckles, “I can’t believe this is happening. My heart, it can’t handle this.” You let out a small sigh, “It only ever beats like this because of you.” You placed her hand over your chest so she could feel the rapid beating of your heart. “You’re the only person that can make me like this.” 

Jieun smiled gently, “So then what are these tears about..? Hmm..?” She tilted her head to the side as she waited for your answer. 

“It’s just, it feels like this is a big step forward for us. It feels unreal.” Your shoulders dropped as you looked down at the ground. “Wow..” You shook your head before continuing, "I've waited for what feels like an eternity to be able to let everyone know we are together. Not because you are 'IU the famous celebrity' but because you're 'Jieun the one girl who can make me feel like no one has before'. I want people to know how much of a beautiful person you are inside and out, how happy you make me, how you take care of me when I'm not feeling the best, how you always reassure me everything will be okay and most of all, I want people to know of the love I hold for you in my heart."

When you looked back up at Jieun you weren’t expecting to be met with her tear stained cheeks. It was your turn to dry her face, your thumb delicately tracing over the small streaks on her cheeks. 

“Are you okay..?” You leaned your forehead against hers as she closed her eyes. 

“Mhm,” She hummed as she took in a deep breath, “I’m fine, it's just you always catch me off guard with your words.” 

You pulled away from her so you could look her in the eyes, “Well they’re not just empty words, they’re my true feelings put into word format. I mean everything that I say when it comes to you. I seriously do love you Jieun, and I’m willing to do any and everything you need me to do.” 

Jieun looked at you for a few seconds as she thought about what to do next. She let out a small breath before smiling at you, “Okay then, let me talk to Hanteo real quick so I can see what we can do.” 

Jieun tried to walk away but you grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving, “Wait.” 

Jieun looked at you in shock but then she decided to let you say whatever it was that you needed to say. “What’s wrong..?” 

“Jieun, I know I’m okay with people knowing about us, but are you one hundred percent sure you’re okay with this..? We live two separate lives, this news coming out wouldn’t hurt me as much as it would your career. Are you sure you’re willing to risk everything for us..?” Jieun had spent her entire lifetime building up her successful career that could quickly fall in ruins at the mention of any news that the public would disagree with. You wanted her to be super sure about her decision. 

Jieun held your hand in both of hers, “Yes, I’m sure.” Three words. It was that simple to her. There was no contemplation on her part, she was ready for everyone to know about your relationship. She didn’t care about anything else, much less the public’s opinion about her relationship. “Whatever happens to my career could never come as close as us not being able to be together. I would choose you over everything else in this world every chance that I get.” Jieun’s tone was as sincere as it’s ever been, she wanted you to know she was serious. “If no one accepts me for who I am and who I love, then what's the point of keeping this career up if I can't be happy.” 

And with that final statement from her, you knew there was no changing her mind now. “Okay then.” You matched the expression she wore on her face, “So we’re doing this..?” 

“Mhm.” Jieun hummed in response. 

“Wow, we’re doing this..?” You repeated your sentence as more of an exclamation as the situation finally resonated in your head. “We’re doing this!” This time it wasn’t even a question, it was more of a cheer. You pulled your hand away from her grip so you could jump up and down in celebration. “We’re doing it!!” You continued to cheer, putting a smile on Jieun’s face, until you felt all the extra energy in your body dissipate. 

“Haha are you okay now..?” Jieun asked once you settled back down from your impromptu cheer performance. 

“Ooh yeah, just a little dizzy.” You placed a hand on your head, your current state being a result from you jumping up and down while spinning in a circle. 

Jieun couldn’t help but laugh at your current state of being. “You’re so cute.” 

It was now your turn to blush as Jieun’s words made their way into your heart. You were used to being the cheesy one in the relationship so you being in this state was a rare sight to Jieun. 

“Ahh so cute.” Jieun couldn’t help the small squeal of excitement she let out when she saw you in your flustered state. “Oh the way I love you is insane.” Jieun wrapped you up in her arms so she could squeeze you. The cuteness aggression she was feeling was serious. 

“Jieun stop…” You couldn’t handle her teasing you like this, so pulling away with a smile you turned away from her. You buried your face in your hands, the warmth on your face was a surprise to your now warm hands. 

Jieun’s eyes widened in adoration, she loved seeing you being so flustered by her actions. She considered this moment as payback for how you were teasing her earlier. She beat you at your own game essentially. 

“Cute.” Jieun mumbled as she moved to hug you from behind. “Come on, let’s walk to my dressing room, I still have to find Hanteo so I can talk to him about all this.” 

It took you a few more deep breaths before you pulled your face away from your hands, “Okay.” You nodded before turning in Jieun’s embrace. “You lead the way?” You asked her as you looked into her eyes. 

Jieun couldn’t hide her smile when she noticed just how vulnerable you looked in that moment. “Mhm.” Jieun released her arms from your waist so she could hold your hand. She led you down the hallway and to her dressing room. The both of you walked in as everyone was packing up all their items. “Wait for me here..?” 

“Okay, but don’t take too long.” Your voice was quiet as you were still feeling shy from her actions earlier. You loved to tease her but when it came to being the one being teased you just couldn’t handle it. 

Jieun’s smile widened, “Mmm okay, I’ll try to hurry.” Jieun spoke with a pout as her voice sounded like she was speaking to a lost child. Jieun cupped your face so she could give you a kiss before walking away. 

You walked to the back corner of her dressing room so you could sit in one of the empty seats. You slowly spun in the chair you were sitting in as you looked up at the ceiling, mind racing about all the possible outcomes of your relationship going public. 

After what felt like an eternity, but was really just thirty minutes, a familiar hand stopped your chair from spinning. You instantly smiled as soon as your eyes landed on the familiar beauty in front of you. 

“Having fun..?” Jieun asked you in a light hearted tone as she moved to sit in your lap. 

You had a small pout on your face as you shook your head, “About as much fun as I can have when you’re not around.” You paused to let out a sigh, ”Which is not much at all.” You responded as you gently wrapped your arms around her while she got comfortable against your body.

Jieun giggled quietly before letting out a small breath, “Hmm well I have some good,” She paused before tilting her head up to look at you, “And some bad news.” She reached up with her hand to place it behind your head, gently tilting your head down so you could look at her. 

“Okay,” You looked her in the eyes as your hand gently traced up and down her side, “What’s the news..?” 

“Oh wait,” She moved her hand away from your head so she could dig her phone out of her pocket. She called over someone in the room, when you looked up you noticed it was the overworked intern from earlier. “Hi, sorry to bother you but would you mind taking some pictures for me..?” Jieun asked the now flustered girl. 

The young girl looked at you and then at Jieun with shock written all over her face, “Oh sure.” The girl grabbed Jieun’s phone from her hand. 

You looked at Jieun while the young girl fumbled with the phone, “You never miss the opportunity for a picture, do you..?” The dumb smile on your face was met with the proud one on Jieun’s face. 

“Of course not babe, you should know this by now.” Jieun moved her face to hide it in the crook of your neck, using your hair to cloak her face. 

You readjusted your hands before looking up at the camera, the intern had been snapping pictures of the two of you since she managed to open the camera application. When you smiled at her she froze before accidentally dropping Jieun’s phone. 

“Oh my I’m so sorry.” The girl quickly reached down to pick up Jieun’s phone before being stopped by Jieun placing her hand on the girl's arm. 

“Hey don’t apologize, it’s okay. Thank you for taking time out of your day to do that for me.” Jieun moved off of your lap so she could pick up her phone. 

The girl quickly bowed her head at you and Jieun. “Sorry.” 

“Hey it’s okay, really.” This time you spoke to the young girl, “Sorry if she held you up from doing what you needed to do.” You gestured to Jieun who was now looking through the pictures that the girl had taken. “She gets tunnel vision when it comes to a photo opportunity.” 

“Oh, okay.” The girl stared at you with big eyes. “I didn’t mind.” 

“Haha okay, well we’ll leave you alone now.” You bowed your head at the girl before placing your hand on Jieun’s back so you could make her bow to the young girl as well. 

“Oh right, thank you so much.” Jieun smiled at the girl once she was upright. 

The girl scrambled off after that so then the two of you moved back to sitting in the chair together. 

“Okay well you got your pictures, are you going to tell me the news now..?” 

“Mhm but wait, look at this one…” Jieun held her phone up to your face to show you a picture. 

“Oh.” Your eyes widened in surprise by how good the picture actually was. You were smiling at the camera but the photo was snapped right at the moment the intern lost her grip on it so it was a little blurry but just in the right way. 

“Right..? It’s my favorite one.” Jieun giggled before putting her phone away. Jieun cleared her throat before speaking again, “Okay so I talked to my company and they told me that as long as I’m one hundred percent sure about my decision then they would stand behind me for everything. They only have one condition, and that’s for us to announce our relationship through a live broadcast.” 

“Oh, so I’m assuming the broadcast is the bad news..?” You asked Jieun after what she said weighed in your mind. 

“Yeah, I just wasn’t sure how you would feel about it. If you don’t feel comfortable about it then we can just cancel this whole thing.” 

“Oh no Jieun, don’t worry. I want to do this just as much as you do.” You smiled at her, “As long as you’re with me I’ll be okay.” 

Jieun admired you for a minute before responding. She knew making that decision was hard for someone in your position. You never cared about being in the public’s eye but now you were essentially being thrown into it because of her career. She would be lying if she said she didn’t feel super selfish for making you make this decision and also super guilty for all the sacrifices you had to make when it came to dating her. She often wondered if you would be happier with just having a normal relationship with anyone not in a public position such as hers. 

“Jieun, are you okay..?” You moved a hand up to hold her face when you saw her having an internal battle. 

Jieun nodded her head as she avoided looking you in the eyes, “Yeah, I'm sorry. I just can’t help but feel like I'm forcing you to do this. I’m sorry for putting you in this position.”

“Jieun, no, you’re not forcing me to do anything. Don’t say that, okay..? I want to do this. I promise.” You leaned down so you could plant a soft kiss on her forehead. 

Jieun finally looked up at you, “Okay, then when do you want to do the broadcast..?”

You shrugged your shoulders in response, “It doesn’t matter to me. Talk to Hanteo and your company, whatever works for them will work with me.” 

“Alright then,” Jieun let out a heavy sigh, “I’m nervous.” She admitted to you in a hesitant tone. 

“It’ll be okay. If anything were to happen I’ll be right by your side.” 

Jieun leaned her head against you before closing her eyes, “I know love, thank you.” 

“Of course baby.” Your voice was gentle when you noticed just how tired she was

_

Everyone had soon cleared out of the room and only you and Jieun were left alone, a few staff members filtered in and out of the room occasionally. Hanteo had walked up to you to let you know the car was ready for you outside. 

You looked down at Jieun, who had fallen asleep on you a while ago, you slid your arms underneath her so you could slowly pick her up so as to not wake her. You carefully made your way out of the room and towards the car outside. On your journey to the car she had wrapped her arms around your neck as she mumbled something in her sleep. 

You and Hanteo walked to the car together as you discussed Jieun’s decision. He told you he was genuinely surprised it took her this long to come to this decision since he always knew her as someone who always wanted to get everything done as soon as possible, not caring about any of the negativity when it came to something she truly believed in. 

Once you made it to the car, Hanteo opened the door for you so you could slide Jieun into the back seat. You quickly got in so you could lean her head onto your shoulder so she could continue sleeping. Hanteo moved to get into the driver's seat so he could get the two of you home as soon as possible. 

_

In what seemed like a flash, a week had passed since Jieun had settled on her decision for your relationship to go public. After a lot of back and forth of planning, her and her management team had come up with a fairly simple but effective plan. 

The day after her fan meeting she had uploaded the pictures she had taken when it ended, (The one she took while on your back and then the one where she was in your lap) and in the caption of the pictures she had mentioned that the two of you would be having a broadcast. Then on her own personal account she started following your couple’s account and then she liked the post about the broadcast. These two simple steps led to a huge whirlwind of events. 

Many people in the comments started to speculate about how it was Jieun in all the photos, well for once these delusional guessing comments would be right, and by just having her personal account following your couple’s account the followers completely blew up. Now you weren’t someone who cared about any of the numbers on anything as this page was mostly like a public diary about your relationship, but even you were impressed by how huge the numbers grew. Your account went from where it sat before to having almost half of what her personal account had. Plus a few of her fellow celebrity friends started following it as well which also caused a huge movement of people discovering your account, well Jieun’s account. 

Continuing on with the plan, Jieun had posted a countdown with the numbers sort of being blended in on the pictures she would post to her story. Some people had quickly caught on but the rest had to find out about it through fan accounts on different social media pages. It soon became like a treasure hunt to find the ticking numbers embedded in her photos. Only those ticking numbers matched up with the scheduled live broadcast for your couple’s account. 

It didn’t take long for your own personal account to be found by her fans and the people who followed your couple’s account. You quickly had to move to delete many of your embarrassing pictures from your teenage years as you had barely used the account nowadays. Jieun took it upon herself to help you update everything on it. The theme of your couple’s account soon took over your personal account. 

_

“You okay, are you nervous..?” 

You looked up when you heard Jieun enter your bedroom, “Uhm, hmm.” You shook your head before speaking again, “Not really.”

“Are you sure..?” Jieun asked as she moved to sit next to you on the bed. 

“Yeah I’m sure Jieun, we’ve been together for nearly five years now, I think it’s time for people to finally know the truth.” You moved to lay your head in her lap, your eyes shined as you looked up at the woman who made your life better every second she was in it. 

Jieun let out a small laugh before placing a hand on your cheek, staring down into the eyes she loved very much. “I think you’re right. It’s time to let everyone know.”

“Just a few more hours to go and we will finally have nothing to hide anymore.” You couldn’t help but melt in her touch as her thumb lightly grazed over your cheek.

“Ugh, I seriously don’t know how I was able to keep us hidden this entire time.” Jieun leaned down to place a gentle kiss on your forehead. 

“Hmm, well I’m seriously surprised no one has ever figured it out yet, especially with the way you look at me in public events.” You had a little laugh at the look she sent you.

“Shut up, I hate you.” Jieun pulled her hand away from you so she could place both hands behind her so she could lean back. 

You wrapped your arms around her waist and moved to nuzzle your head into her stomach, “Oh come on, don’t say that. You love me.” You had a smile on your face as you could feel her laugh. 

“You’re so annoying.” Jieun let out a long sigh, “But I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t true. I think I might even love you a little too much, you turd.”

“Ha, that’s impossible.” You stopped moving your head to look back up at her. “Because I love you way more than you love me.” 

“Oh do you really?” Jieun’s head tilted to the side. 

“Mhm, I do.” Your arms tightened around her waist so you could give her a gentle squeeze. 

“Prove it.” 

“Hmm?” You let go of her waist so you could use your arms to lift your upper body up so your face would be even with hers. “And how do you want me to do that..?” You would be lying if you said the look on her face didn’t give you butterflies. 

“Do you really need me to spell it out for you?” Jieun leaned closer towards you. 

“Not really, but I just want to hear you say it.” Your head tilted to the side as a confident smile took over your features, completely ignoring the warmth that enveloped your entire body. 

“Oh really..?” Jieun raised an eyebrow at your answer. “How long do we have until our broadcast..?” 

“Uhm,” You broke eye contact with Jieun so you could look at the clock on the nightstand behind her. “About three hours or so.” Your eyes locked back onto her now darkened ones. 

“Good, that’s plenty of time.” Before your brain could register anything, Jieun had pulled you down onto the bed with her. 

Ahh Lee Jieun, the only woman who could turn a silly little joke into a crazy competition. Not that you were complaining or anything but jeez this woman drove you insane. 

_

“Oh, I definitely won here.” More than an hour had passed since your antics earlier and now you were hovering over Jieun’s reddened face. 

“Unfair.” Jieun mumbled before looking away from you.

“What..? Unfair?? How..?” You placed a hand on her warm cheek to tilt her head so she could face you. But before she could answer you let out a small chuckle, “Oh you look so pretty like this, Jieun.” You whispered in her ear before planting a kiss on her now sweaty temple. 

Your voice had sent a shiver down Jieun’s back, she tried her best to conceal it from you but she was very unsuccessful. “You’re unbelievable, you didn’t even give me a chance.” Jieun rolled her eyes at you. 

“It’s okay love, I enjoy loving you more.” You finally moved to untangle your body from hers so you could lay next to her. “I’m going to hop in the shower, you coming with..?” You turned your body so you could face her. 

“Of course I am, just give me a second to lay here for a bit.” Jieun sighed before placing her arm over her eyes, “I need to realign my chakras.” 

You couldn’t help but laugh at how random your girlfriend was. “Oh you’re so cute, I love you.” You leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll go get the water started, feel free to join once your chakras are done aligning.” You moved to get off the bed. 

“Wait…” Jieun whined as she threw her arms around your body.

“What’s wrong..?” You turned to look over at your girlfriend. 

All she did was whine before sticking her lips out to you. 

Once again you couldn’t help but laugh at her, “Why are you so cute..?” You gave in to her request as you leaned in to gently kiss her lips before moving on to peppering little kisses all over her face. “Insane Jieun, you drive me insane and I love it.” You smiled as you spoke to her in the softest voice you could muster. 

Jieun’s eyes were filled with all of the adoration in the world as she stared into your own love struck eyes. You finally pulled away from her after what seemed like a lifetime of staring into the others eyes. 

“Okay I have to get up now, we don’t have much time left baby. We gotta wash up, so hurry up with your chakras.” You had a goofy smile on your face as you moved away from your bed and into the bathroom. “Don’t take too long now or else I won’t help you scrub your back.” That was the last thing you said before turning on the water to the shower. 

_

“I still can’t believe you’re still this bad at drying your hair after all these years.” Jieun complained as she sat next to you on the couch in your living room, towel in hand as she gently dried strands of your hair, 

“Well why would I try to get better at it when I can just have you do it..?” You lifted your hand to place it on hers, stopping her from drying your hair. “It should be okay now, we only have a few more minutes left.” You tried pulling the towel out of her hand.

“Ugh fine, but if you get sick later from your hair being damp I don’t want to hear it.” Jieun let go so you could take the towel from her. 

Once you pulled the towel away you turned to face her, “Well whose fault is it that I needed to take a shower right before the broadcast..? Hmm..?” 

Jieun turned her head to look away as she shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know. Crazy mystery.” 

You couldn’t help but laugh at the scene in front of you, “Yeah, mhm, mystery indeed.” You shook your head at Jieun before getting up with the towel in your hand. 

“Go put that away, I’ll set everything up for the broadcast.” Jieun finally looked back over at you. “And stop looking at me like that before I kick you.” Jieun grabbed her phone that she placed on the coffee table in front of her. 

“Okay okay, I’m going.” Jieun had placed her foot on your leg so she could lightly push you along. 

Once you put the towel away you walked back into the living room, the sight in front of you instantly making you laugh. You sped up so you could jump over the back of the couch and sit next to Jieun. 

“What’s happening babe, I thought you were the expert in this stuff..?” When you had walked back into the living room you had seen Jieun struggling with something on her phone so you had to take this opportunity to tease her. 

Jieun let out a small huff before looking over at you in annoyance. “It’s not like you would do any better.” Jieun had the phone up to her face. “Oh, ahh!!” Jieun threw her phone on the coffee table in front of you. 

“Huh, what’s wrong..?” You looked at the phone then back over at Jieun. 

Jieun pointed to the phone before whispering, “I accidentally pressed start, go stop it.” 

“Oh, hold on.” You reached for the phone then you were soon greeted with your own face on the screen in front of you. You froze for a second before looking around to screen for a button to end the accidental live stream. “Oh, I found it.” You clicked on the red button up in the corner of the screen then you gave the phone back to Jieun. 

Jieun let out a huge breath as she placed her hand over her heart, “My goodness that scared the mess out of me.” 

“Did they see your face..?” You moved closer to her, putting your hand on her arms to try and calm her down. 

“I don’t know, I was trying to swipe out of the app but I accidentally hit the button and then I just threw the phone. I don’t know if anyone saw anything.” Jieun sighed before shaking her head. “I’m sorry, this might have been a bad idea.” She let go of her phone, letting it fall onto the couch so she could place her hands on her head.

“Jieun, it's okay.” You slipped your hands underneath her so you could turn her to face you. “Breathe baby, it’s going to be okay.” You moved her hands away from her face so she could look at you. “Breathe.” You whispered to her. 

Jieun nodded her head before struggling to calmly intake air. 

You moved her hair behind her ears so you could look at her face, “It's okay, just breathe.” 

You worked with Jieun for a few more minutes until she was finally able to calm down. You hated seeing her panic like this but it also wasn’t something new to you. 

“Better..?” You spoke to her in a gentle voice when she finally looked you in the eyes. 

“Yeah, I’m okay now.” Jieun’s voice wavered as she answered you with a nod. 

“Hey, everything is going to be okay. Don’t be too hard on yourself for a simple mistake. It happens, at least now we know it works.” You spoke the last sentence in a light hearted tone so she would know it was supposed to be a joke. 

“Mmm well I guess you’re right.” Jieun finally cracked a smile. 

“There we go, all better.” You ran your fingers through her hair before giving her a soft kiss on the forehead. 

Jieun’s smile lingered on her face as she watched you, “Did you still want to do it..?” 

“Hmm, what..?” Your head tilted to the side as you questioned what she meant. 

“The broadcast, do you still want to do it..?” Jieun clarified what she meant as she looked into your eyes. 

“Oh the broadcast.” You couldn’t help the smile on your face, “Of course, as long as you’re okay to do it.” 

“Yeah I’m fine now, I’ll just leave this to you.” She placed her phone in your lap. 

“Okay love, we’ll start it whenever you’re ready then.” You took her phone from her to examine the screen. 

Jieun stood up from the couch so she could grab a glass of water from the kitchen. She didn’t want to admit it to you but she was very nervous about this whole situation. She didn’t want you to get hurt because of her and she knew people would be ruthless to whoever she was in a relationship with. As she stood at the edge of the kitchen with her glass in hand, she watched you sitting on the couch scrolling through her phone. 

“Hey Jieun, uhm people are starting to comment about us saying we’re past the ten minute timestamp you posted about on the story thing.” You were scrolling through all the recent comments on the post Jieun had uploaded a bit ago talking about what time you two would begin the broadcast.

Jieun looked over at the clock on the stove and saw that the two of you were indeed behind schedule. Jieun took a small breath in before walking back over to sit next to you on the couch. “You can start it whenever you want, no pressure.”

You looked between Jieun and her phone, “No pressure.” You repeated what she said. “Okay, just a few more seconds then. I think that I’m now the one who needs her chakras realigned.” You flashed her a smile when you referenced what she had said earlier that evening. 

“Oh, it’s actually kind of quiet in here, isn’t it..?” Jieun looked around the living room before standing back up. 

You just watched as she walked over to the smart speaker you had in the living room then she asked the speaker to play some music. You couldn’t help the laugh you let out when she jumped in surprise at how high the volume was at first. 

“Oh, found it.” Jieun whispered as she turned the volume down to a reasonable level. 

Once Jieun sat back down next to you you looked at her phone, finger hovering over the “Start Live” button. 

“It’s okay baby, whenever you’re ready.” Jieun whispered to you before gently placing a kiss on the side of your head. 

You looked over at her with a small smile, “Okay then, this could either be the beginning of paradise or hell, but for you it is worth it.” 

Jieun leaned against the armrest of the couch so she could get out of her phone's camera frame and she watched you with so much love in her eyes it was crazy. “Let’s hope it’s paradise, because that’s how these past few years have felt.” 

You gave her a small nod before focusing on the screen in front of you. “Here we go, 1.. 2.. 3.” You spoke to yourself before finally clicking on the button that you’d been staring at for what felt like forever. All you could do was stare at the screen for the first few moments as you watched people continuously join the broadcast. The number grew way faster than you expected, the shock was evident on your face. You finally began to introduce yourself once Jieun nudged you with her leg to snap you out of your trance. You looked over at her then back at the phone, clearing your throat, you began to speak. “Oh wow, hi.” You smiled shyly at the camera as comments went flying by on the screen. “There sure are a lot of people here tonight haha.” Your head tilted to the side as you read some of the comments. “Okay well let me get started then.” You cleared your throat again before looking at the camera lens instead of the screen. 

“Hello, thank you all for joining in tonight as we have some crazy news to share with everyone, but before we get to all that I just want to say a few words. I apologize in advance if I come off as incoherent or scattered brained, my girlfriend is actually the professional in all this public speaking stuff so please cut me some slack. But here we go, I want to first of all thank you all for being so supportive of this account and our relationship. I know a lot of you have been following this account for a long time and some of you even since the beginning. We both never expected this account to get the attention it got, it kinda just started off as a way for my girlfriend to record our relationship. She’s a very busy person so she loves to record any moments of us together when she can so that’s how this whole account started off. This was entirely her idea so I don’t want to take any credit for it, I’m just grateful that about a third of our relationship is always available for us to look back on.” You looked over at Jieun with a heartfelt smile before looking back at the camera. “Now, I guess I shouldn’t delay this topic any further so let’s get to it. One of the hottest topics about our account is who my girlfriend is and why she doesn’t show her face. Well she’s here to introduce herself to all of you out there, but I just want to give you all a small warning.” You pulled the phone closer to yourself so you could whisper, “My girlfriend is very very beautiful so just be prepared.” You moved the phone back to its original distance from your face. 

Jieun laughed at your antics as she watched you in amusement. 

You looked over and locked eyes with her, “Ready..?” 

Jieun admired you for a few seconds before nodding her head, “Mhm.” 

Your smile grew even bigger then you looked back over at the camera. “Okay, well I’m going to hand this off to her now, she’s kinda the professional in all of this so yeah. Here you go love.” You handed the phone to Jieun. 

She continued to keep her face out of frame until she was ready. Then slowly she moved closer to you, moving the camera to capture both of your faces in frame. Jieun didn’t say anything as all she could do was stare at the way the comments flew by faster than she could read them.

“Gosh Jieun, how do you manage to look even more beautiful on screen.” You spoke your genuine compliment as you looked between the Jieun next to you and the one on the screen in front of you. “Crazy.” You shook your head in disbelief at her beauty.

Jieun began to blush like crazy when she heard your compliment. “I guess it’s my turn to introduce myself, no..?” Jieun whispered to you.

“Mhm, go ahead baby.” You reached for her hand that wasn’t holding the camera. “You got this.” You reassured her with a gentle squeeze of her hand. 

Jieun looked between you and the camera as she built the courage to speak. Then finally she introduced herself. “Hello everyone, it’s nice to finally meet you all on this account. My name is Lee Jieun but a few of you may know that I also go by another name. And that name is IU.” Jieun’s eyes on screen reflected the comments that were speeding by on screen. “I know this may seem crazy, but yes, that has been me in all these pictures on this account. What do you think, did I do a good job at hiding my identity..?” Jieun asked the viewers as she had a small smile on her face. “I just hope that you all now understand the reason behind me being secretive about my identity on this account for the past two years.” 

The two of you sat in silence after her last sentence while you both tried reading some of the comments. You finally decided to speak up to help break the silence. 

“See, I told all of you that she was very beautiful.” You looked away from the screen so you could look at Jieun’s profile, “Very, very beautiful.” 

Jieun placed the phone in your hand so she could move to hide her face in the crook of your neck. “Stop that, you’re making me shy.” She whispered to you which caused you to laugh.

You held the camera up to show everyone watching the scene that was happening between the two of you. “Haha, did you hear that..?” You asked the viewers watching. “She’s shy.” 

After a small while the comments began to slow down and you were finally able to fully read them. You nudged Jieun so she could look at you. “Look, they’re all pretty much positive.” You gestured to the phone in front of you. 

Jieun finally pulled away from you so she could read the comments as well. “Oh wow…” She mumbled as she stared at the screen. 

“Yeah wow.” You agreed with her statement of shock. “I guess everything is going to be okay now, hmm..?” 

“Hopefully.” Jieun spoke in a quiet voice. 

“Hmm,” You looked between Jieun and the screen. “Well, I feel like we should tell them about ourselves, shouldn’t we..?” 

“Mhm, we should.” Jieun nodded as all she could do was stare at you in admiration at how you were able to lead the livestream even though this was your first time doing anything like this. 

Your eyes grazed the comments that were flying by, filled with questions. You read them outloud to yourself before finding one that you wanted to answer. 

“How did the two of you meet..?” You read the comment out loud then you looked over at Jieun, who was still just staring at you. “Do you want to tell the story or do you want me to..?” 

“You can do it…” Jieun answered as she avoided looking you in the eyes. 

“Okay,” You planted a gentle kiss on her forehead before clearing your throat and looking back at the camera. “It was about seven years ago now, and believe it or not we first met on the bus. Crazy right..?” You smiled as memories started to flood your mind. “I was in my first year of university here and I was heading to a study group at a cafe near my campus. I was still fairly new to the area so I had gotten on the wrong bus at first so when I boarded the one Jieun was on, I was already running late. And Jieun, well actually where were you headed to..? You never told me.” You looked over at Jieun.

“Oh, it was my day off so I was just visiting a bunch of different bakeries and cafes around town.” Jieun answered as she moved to lean her head on your shoulder so she could look at you through the screen in front of her. 

“Oh, interesting.” You smiled when you felt her lean on you. “Continuing, she was in the seat behind me and she had suddenly dropped her phone which slid forward, hitting my shoe, so like any other sane person in the world, I picked it up to hand it to her. But man, when I was handing her her phone, the look on her face was unbelievable. The way she looked at me in that moment still gives me butterflies to this day.” You couldn’t help the smile on your face as you continued to tell the story of your first meeting. 

Jieun happily sat with you, occasionally chiming in to help with some of the story telling, she didn’t know if it was the huge amount of weight that was no longer on her shoulders that made her feel even more comfortable leaning on you. You were her happy place and she would never deny that. You had then given the phone to Jieun so you could explain this part of the story with your hands.

“And yeah, all that has led up to here. I can’t believe I’ve had to deal with your crazy self for this long.” You laughed as you looked at Jieun.

“Ha, you’re the crazy one here, not me.” She playfully slapped your shoulder. 

“Sure, as if that’s not a lie.” You had a sly smirk on your face as you watched Jieun.

Jieun glared at you before breaking out in a bright smile, “It’s insane that I love you so much that I can’t even pretend to be mad at you.” 

You let out a joyful laugh before moving to quickly wrap her up in a hug, knocking her phone out of her hand in the process. “Oh, oops.” You leaned over to pick her phone up from the ground, “I’m sorry about that, are you all okay..?” 

While you were talking to the camera Jieun stared at you from behind, “Dummy…” She mumbled in a not so subtle way. 

You turned away from the camera to look at her, “What did you just call me..?” 

Jieun had a mischievous smirk on her face as she answered you, “Dummy.” This time she spoke with way more haughtiness.

“Oh really..?” You stuck your tongue to the side of your cheek as you nodded slowly. “This is how it’s going to be huh..” You had a small smile on your face as you moved forward to lean her phone against a candle you had on the coffee table. “Okay then.” Once you had the camera set up you turned around to face Jieun. “Dummy, is it..?” You asked before moving to jump on top of her. “Say sorry.” You laughed as you began to tickle the squirming girl beneath you. 

“Hahaha, n-no, n-, hahaha, never!” She laughed loudly, barely letting the words out. 

“Say it,” You couldn't help but laugh at how infectious Jieun’s laugh was. 

“No!” She yelled as her laugh got even louder. 

“Say it.”

“No!”

Say i- woah!” Before you were able to even realize it, Jieun had wrapped her legs around your waist, quickly moving to flip the two of you over. Uh-oh, now she was the one on top. 

“J-jieun,” You let out a giggle, “Stop!! You’re going to make me pee myself!”

“Ha ha, Karma punk.” Jieun now sported that same mischievous smirk from earlier as she tickled. 

By now you had completely forgotten about the camera and broadcast as all your focus was now on getting revenge. 

Somewhere in between your squirming around you were able to grab her arms to stop her from tickling you, you quickly moved to tackle her back down underneath you. “Ha! Got you.” You quickly stood up from the couch and moved to pick her up and throw her over your shoulder, once you had her where you needed her, you began to spin around. 

Jieun was laughing so hard tears began to stream down her face. 

Once you stopped spinning her around, you carefully dropped her back onto the couch, proceeding to throw a pillow at her. Jieun quickly scrambled to sit up so she could throw the pillow back at you.

You caught the pillow as it flew towards you, “Haha loser, I caught it!” You teased, sticking your tongue out at her. You turned around to look for a bigger pillow but then that soon became a big mistake as Jieun took that opportunity to jump on your back.

The two of you continued to play around like children for a while until you finally remembered about the broadcast that was still live streaming your whole play fight. Jieun was currently on top of you on the couch, attempting to do some wrestling moves when you reminded her about the camera. 

“Huh?” She paused in the middle of one of her moves, “Oh no.” She cleared her throat then she rolled off of you to sit down, trying her best to seem normal.

You couldn’t help the huge belt of laughter at the sight of her, “Oh you’re so cute.” You wrapped your arms around her and peppered her in kisses all over. 

Jieun was laughing while trying to free herself from you, “S-stop, haha, the, the, the broadcast.” She managed to get out in between her laughter. 

You finally pulled away from her with the biggest smile on your face. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I can’t help myself. You’re just too cute.” You planted one last kiss on her lips before grabbing her phone off of the coffee table. “Oh wow.” As you sat back down you looked at the number of people watching, it had more than doubled since the moment the two of you started playing around. 

_

It was now time for the broadcast to end and Jieun was the one who was in charge of that as you now sat asleep hugging her from behind. Your head was leaning on her back as your arms were wrapped around her waist. 

Jieun couldn’t help the smile on her face as she watched you from the screen, man was this girl in love. 

Jieun looked back up at the camera to begin speaking again in a hushed tone as to not wake you up. “Well I hope this wasn’t too much of a shock to my longtime supporters but I don’t regret this decision. This relationship is a huge part of who I am and I just hope that you can all continue to support me for who I am and not because of who or how I love. And I mean that with all the sincerity in the world.” Jieun paused to turn her head to look at you, “I love her a lot, she makes me so happy it’s hard to even put it into words.” Jieun looked back over at the camera, eyes looking over the comments, “She’s someone very special to me. She makes me feel things that I didn’t even know were possible. There’s no one out there more perfect for me than her and she has never made me feel anything less than special.” Jieun didn’t notice how a tear had escaped from her eye as she spoke her truth, “I have to go now, thank you for all of your support. Bye.” Jieun waved at the camera then she cut the broadcast off. 

_

“Jieun, I’m not sure about this. I’m nervous.” You whispered as you followed her into the dressing room you were now sharing. Yes sharing, not her dressing room, but one for the two of you. 

After the news about your relationship went viral everything quickly changed for you. You had to resign from your job due to people constantly pestering you about your relationship with one of the biggest artists in your time. Then outside of that people with huge cameras began hunting the two of you down everywhere you went and you were constantly getting bombarded by reporters trying to reach out to you. 

The day after the news came out Jieun decided to take the two of you on a vacation to a small village in a secluded part of the country so you could have some form of peace together. Your couple's account was the hot topic of every news outlet in the country so you went from barely being in a light to being on everyone’s phone in the country. 

Once the two of you came back from your impromptu vacation, Jieun’s manager had requested for you at her company. When the two of you showed up both Hanteo and the CEO of her company were waiting for you in one of the meeting rooms with a contract. After a lot of discussion you and Jieun figured this was the direction you were meant to go in, Jieun couldn’t have been happier for you as you signed the contract. Jieun admired your beauty more than anyone else in the world and now you would have an even bigger opportunity to share it with the world. This definitely wasn’t the way you expected your life to go but for Jieun, all of this was definitely worth it. 

So all of that leads to this moment, the producers of the show “Happy Together,” had reached out to Jieun’s manager to ask if the two of you were willing to appear for a special episode they were planning on shooting. You had left the decision up to Jieun and she agreed to it once the two of you had talked about it for a while. 

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. Just be yourself, there’s absolutely nothing to worry about, okay? I’ll be right next to you the entire time.” Jieun reassured you by placing a gentle kiss on your knuckles. 

“Okay…” You nodded in response before letting go of her hand so she could get her makeup done. You sat on the couch in the dressing room as you watched her through the mirror. 

Then soon it was your turn to sit where she was. You definitely weren’t used to the feeling of someone doing your makeup but you had seen Jieun do this a million times so you tried your best to sit still.

After the two of you were made up you sat in the dressing room together just talking. Jieun had begun to post old pictures of the two of you together on both your couple’s account and on her personal account so that was the topic the two of you were talking about.

There was a knock at the door then one of the producers you had introduced yourself to earlier walked in. He informed the two of you that he was going to give you a rundown of today's episode. He walked the two of you through the set as he explained what to do. “So when this door opens the two of you will just walk through and introduce yourselves, then you can walk towards the couch and sit down. If you begin to feel overwhelmed just let us know, this isn’t being broadcasted live.” He spoke the last sentence more towards you.  

It was almost laughable at how opposite both you and Jieun were at the current moment. She was cool, calm and collected as she smiled at everyone around, meanwhile you were on the brink of freaking out and looking like you could vomit any moment now.

Once the producer walked away, Jieun turned to face you. “Hey look at me, it’s going to be okay. Take a deep breath.” She rubbed your arm as you did what she said. “It’s going to be fine, okay..? If you need me to, I can talk for the both of us.” 

“That would honestly probably be the best choice here, I don’t want to embarrass the both of us.” You gave her a small smile. 

Jieun moved in to hug you tightly and you soon felt yourself relaxing in her embrace. 

“You know I love you, right..?” Jieun whispered in your ear. 

You nodded before whispering back, “Mhm, and I love you too.” 

Jieun continued to talk to you in an attempt to calm you down as they began to film. 

After a couple of minutes the door the producer mentioned earlier opened and it was now time for the two of you to walk onto set. Jieun held your hand tightly as she led the way. 

You felt super nervous but Jieun never once let go of your hand, soon all the introductions were over and the two of you sat down on the couch designated for you. 

As the show progressed you were finally able to calm down as you soon noticed how friendly everyone was on set. This was honestly one of your favorite shows to watch in your free time so actually being able to be on set was super awesome. 

At one point Jae-suk had motioned towards you and Jieun while smiling, “The two of you haven’t let go of each other's hand since you walked in.” 

Instead of Jieun you spoke up, looking down at your interlocked fingers, “Yeah I guess we haven’t.” 

You looked up to look at Jieun, her eyes immediately locking onto your own, a proud smile on her face. 

The two of you then shared a laugh when Myungsoo told a dumb dad joke about your situation. 

Towards the end of the show Jae-suk had brought up the topic of the public's response to your relationship. Not in a way that was invasive but more as setting up the discussion for normalizing queer relationships in the country and in the Media. 

“Well,” Jieun began, “There was a huge amount of support from people outside of our country and by people from the younger generations. I ignored many of the unpleasant responses as I know that our relationship is just as valid as anyone else’s relationship, so to anyone out there saying that we’re setting a bad example for their kids then I’m sorry but I have to disagree. If two people in a healthy and loving relationship is a bad example for kids then I’d hate to see what a ‘good’ example would be for your kids.” Jieun spoke in such an eloquent way that helped disguise the disgust she felt to the people who spoke ill of your relationship. 

You just had to take a moment to admire how she sounded so professional to the camera but yet she was essentially telling people to screw off.

The smile on your face wasn’t missed by Jae-suk as he soon asked you for any input you wanted to add. 

You looked over at him and nodded, “Well just like Jieun said, we both care for each other very deeply and this was a huge decision we both agreed on after years of being together. I knew this choice was going to hurt her career in some form or another but I am glad to know that we can show young people that it eventually gets better. That they are normal and there is definitely not something wrong with them. I know if a celebrity I looked up to as a kid had this in common with me then it would’ve made life a lot easier on me. Not saying that my parents didn’t support me, cause they definitely do, it just would've made everything that was going on in my head make more sense. But now I get to wake up to this beautiful face everyday and I couldn’t be happier.” You looked at Jieun. “And as a bonus, Jieun isn’t as stressed anymore about hiding such a big part of herself from her fans. So I want to thank all of her fans that decided to stick by her side. I thank all of you so much for accepting me and our relationship. I promise to take care of Jieun and to always be there for her.” 

Jieun’s eyes began to water as she listened to you, then Jae-suk asked her if she wanted to add on to what you said. 

“Oh sorry, just give me a minute.” Jieun smiled as she turned her face away from the camera. With the hand that wasn’t holding yours, she patted her finger around her eyes. “Sorry.” She apologized to the cast and crew. 

“No, no, don’t apologize.” Jae-suk reassured Jieun with words of encouragement.

“Okay well,” Jieun started once she was able to collect herself, “We really do hope to become a beacon of hope for young people everywhere so that they know they will always be loved and accepted by us. We both know how it feels so trust us when we say we love everyone out there who may feel like they don’t fit in with society's normalized standards. You will all become happy in the future, I wish things didn’t take such a long time but in the end I promise it will be worth it.” 

Everyone on set couldn’t help but get emotional at what the two of you were saying and Jieun wasn’t helping once she said that she was starting an outreach organization to help give young kids resources to help process their feelings. She stated that she had wished that this was something she had around as a kid so instead she wanted to be the one to establish this organization. Jae-suk even chimed in saying that he would also like to help out sometime. You couldn’t have been prouder of the woman sitting next to you. Always so caring to everyone. 

Overall your experience on the show was amazing, everyone from the cast to the crew was incredibly nice to the both of you. You were glad that you were both given the space to share more about your relationship to people out there who still doubted that relationship was anything more than a publicity stunt.

After the cameras stopped rolling you thanked everyone for allowing the two of you on the show and then it was time for you to leave.

You and Jieun walked outside hand in hand following behind Hanteo. 

“I knew you would do an amazing job, I’m so proud of you.” Jieun said once the two of you were seated in the car. 

“Well I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, but you being there with me really helped out.” You had a small smile on your face as you talked to her. 

“Then I’m just glad you didn’t have a panic attack.” Jieun kissed your cheek, causing you to look at her, “I’m seriously so proud of you.” She planted a soft kiss on your lips before putting her seat belt on. 

_

Once you had made it home you had asked Jieun if she wanted to go on a walk to see the sunset. 

Of course she agreed so as she waited for you by the door you ran into your shared bedroom to slip something into your pocket. You quickly rushed out to meet her at the front door, and even though she didn’t say anything, Jieun knew there was something up with you. 

The two of you walked along the scenic pathway you frequented on her days off, hand in hand, talking about everything and anything that came to mind. Jieun would pause occasionally to take pictures, as always, and you couldn’t help the smile on your face as you admired her. 

You had stopped walking once you made it to what you considered the most beautiful spot on the path. 

“What’s wrong..? Are you thirsty..?” Jieun asked in concern when you pulled her aside. 

You couldn’t help the small smile on your face as you shook your head, “No, I’m fine. I just wanted to ask you something.” 

Jieun raised an eyebrow at your strange behavior, “You know you can ask me anything right..? You don’t have to ask for permission.” 

“I know love, but I think I might need at least some permission for this question.” Before Jieun could say anything else you moved to get on one knee. You pulled out a little black box from your pocket, opening it up towards her and it revealed a simple yet beautiful ring. It had both of your initials engraved onto it, and it was topped off with a beautiful but appropriate diamond. “Lee Jieun, will you marry me..?” Your voice wavered with a bit of nervousness as you asked her the big question.

“You can’t be serious??” Jieun’s face was riddled with shock as her eyes began to water up. “Yes, yes of course! A million times yes!”

You couldn’t help but laugh as your own eyes began to tear up, you slid the ring onto her ring finger then you moved to envelope her in a big hug. 

“Finally…” Jieun mumbled before pulling away from the hug so she could kiss you. “You took your precious time with this love.”  

“I know baby, and I’m sorry it took this long. I just didn’t want to ask you before we went public, I didn’t want to pressure you into feeling like we had to go public. I was happy waiting until you were ready.” You held Jieun’s face in your hands as you admired her eyes. “I love you.” 

Jieun’s eyes continued to water, “I love you too.” 

_

“She’s my fiance, yay! She’s my fiance, yay! She’s my fianc-” 

“Are you okay..?”

“Oh my, Jieun, you scared me!” You had jumped up in surprise when you heard Jieun’s voice behind you. 

It was later that night and you were washing the dishes from dinner as Jieun showered, you didn’t expect her to finish up this fast… so yeah she might have caught you celebrating to yourself. 

“Are you that excited to be engaged with me..?” Jieun wrapped her arms around your neck once you turned around to face her. 

“Are you joking..? Of course I’m this excited Jieun. I’m sure I’m probably the happiest woman on earth right now.” You placed your hands on either side of her waist. 

Jieun had a smile on her face as her eyes looked back and forth from your eyes to your lips, “Well I think there’s probably one woman on earth who is happier.”

“Oh really..?” You raised an eyebrow at her. “And who would that be..?” 

Jieun leaned in closer, “Me.” She whispered to you before leaning in to envelope you in a loving kiss. 

_

“Oh they’re loving this picture babe.” Jieun smiled as she showed you her phone screen.

“I told you, it’s my favorite one.” The photo on her phone was one of her in frame while holding your hand on up to the camera. You interlocked fingers showing the newly found rings on both of your ring fingers. This was the first picture on your couple’s account that featured just Jieun’s face. 

“I liked the one with both of us in it, but you insisted on this one.” Jieun opened up her gallery to show you the picture she was referencing. 

“Baby you can just post that on your account, no one’s stopping you.” 

Jieun gasped, she stared at you with the widest eyes. “You’re so right, I forgot I could do that.” 

"Just walk up to her and ask her, it's not that hard. She's your best friend, you can do this." You cleared your throat after your little self- pep talk and walked up to Chaeryeong, "Hey pinky, do you have a minute..?"

"Hmm" Chaeryeong turned away from her locker to face you, "Of course, is there something you need..?"

"Well, I was just wondering, well actually everyone was wondering but mostly um Ye- oh.." You paused when you saw someone walk up to your best friend, trying to get her attention. "Ahh never mind, looks like someone is coming over to talk to you... I'll catch you later pinky.." You turned from her and tried to move away from her as fast as you could.

"Wait, what were you trying to say..?" Chaeryeong called out as you retreated down the hallway and her attention was soon taken over by the person that was calling for her.

_

"Hey, where's Chaeryeong..?"

"Hmm, what did you say..?" You looked up from the sink where you were washing your hands.

"I was just asking where Chaeryeong is.. are you okay, you look pale."

"Yes Ryujin, I'm okay.." You moved her hand off of your forehead.

"Hmm... I'm not gonna pry any further since it seems like you don't want to talk about it. But like I was asking earlier, where's Chaeryeong..?" Ryujin walked away from you so she could dry her hands off.

"Oh, uh she was talking to someone last time I saw her." You answered as you also dried your hands off.

"Oh okay, well have you talked to her about the dance..? Yeji still wants us all to go as a group, especially since she's bringing her one friend that goes to that private academy across town."

"No, I was going to ask her earlier but then she got busy talking to someone else." You walked to the bathroom door, and pulled it open, letting Ryujin walk out first.

"Okay well just try and let her know as soon as possible, or else Yeji is going to throw a fit." Ryujin sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"I'll try.." You looked down as you followed Ryujin through the hallways.

Ryujin was right, something was wrong with you, but were you going to admit it..? Did you want to tell anyone why you were in such a slump..? No, because telling someone else would just confirm the fact that you've been trying to hide. The fact that you had fallen for your best friend. As cliché as it seemed, you never thought that you'd be one of those bozos who ended up falling for their childhood best friend. It wouldn't have been such a big issue if your best friend wasn't the gorgeous woman she had grown into, it was hard keeping your crush on the low when you were in middle school, but now as you were nearing your last few months in high school, her beauty just seemed to get even more breathtaking. Your feelings for your best friend had grown to the extent that it was hard just for you to be around her these past few weeks.

You had been slowly distancing yourself from her for the last three or so days since you could never seem to get your heartbeat to calm down anytime she was around. Chaeryeong wasn't the only one that had noticed your change in attitude around her, your other close friends did as well. None of them had connected the dots that your change in attitude was related to the feelings you were hiding from her. Well, Ryujin had joked around about it once but that was it. No one knew, and you didn't want them to.

_

It was the end of the day and you were putting everything up in your locker when someone suddenly walked up behind you.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment, in private please..?"

"Oh, you scared me.." You jumped up in surprise at the sudden sound of your best friend's voice in your ear. You turned around to face her, immediately dropping eye contact the second her eyes met yours, "Uh, yeah sure. What's up..?"

Chaeryeong sighed before reaching around you to close your locker, she then proceeded to grab your hand, dragging you down the hall with her.

"Oh what are we doing here..?" Chaeryeong had brought you to the school's gym, it was empty since there was no practice for any of the indoor teams this late in the year.

"I need to talk to you," Chaeryeong answered as she pulled you to sit down on the stands. She stood in front of you as you sat down on the bottom row.

"Why couldn't we just talk out there..? Am I in trouble..?" You tried once again to make eye contact with her but you just couldn't. The look in her eyes was too much for your heart to handle.

Chaeryeong sighed before kneeling down, she reached out to tilt your chin so you were at the same face level with her. "I just have something I want to talk to you about." Her voice was calm, but once again that's what drove you insane. Everything about her was just so perfect, every little single thing she did made your heart race.

"About..?" Your voice was quiet as you had to look her in the eyes, there was no way you could look away.

"Why have you been avoiding me..? Did I do something to you..?" Chaeryeong's voice shook as she spoke to you. "I've been trying to tell you something all week but every time I try you avoid me like the plague. Why..?"

You felt like such a terrible person when you noticed her eyes began to water. "What..? No pinky, you didn't do anything. I promise. I've just been busy with something.." Your eyes shifted as you could see in her eyes that she didn't believe you, "I mean I've been dealing with something personal and I didn't want my mood to affect your own. I know you've been busy practicing your dance after school every day so I just wanted to give you your space."

Chaeryeong let go of your chin and grabbed your hand, "But I'm your best friend, you should know that anytime you go through something I want to be there to help you." A tear rolled down her cheek and that absolutely broke your heart, "It just feels like you want nothing to do with me and that really hurts. You know that I've always been there for anything and everything you've gone through but just now you're trying to go through something on your own..? After thirteen years of us sharing everything with each other, you suddenly want to shut me out..? I don't care about my dance practices if you're not doing well." Her grip on your hand tightened as every word she spoke was draped with the deepest sincerity you'd ever seen from her.

You were stunned, you felt like there was nothing you could say. All you wanted to do was pull her in for a hug and hold her tight. "Chaeryeong.." You mumbled as you reached out to wipe her tears.

Her eyes instantly shot up, making eye contact with you, you never called her by her name unless it was something serious.

"Please don't cry, I promise you've never done anything wrong. I just... it's just.. hmm.." You shook your head as you tried to find the right words. "This is just something I can't go to you about. I... I can't tell you... I'm so sorry.." You felt terrible not being able to tell her why you've been avoiding her, but it's not like you can just tell her that you have strong feelings for her. I mean you could.. but you couldn't.

Chaeryeong's entire expression changed, "Does Yeji know..?"

You were caught off guard by her sudden question and your face showed it, "What..? Does she know what..?"

"What you're going through, does Yeji know but I don't..?"

You couldn't read the look in your best friend's eyes as you shook your head, "No pinky, no one knows. It's a very personal thing."

Chaeryeong's expression softened, as did her voice, "Okay, okay. I won't try to force you to tell me, but please don't ever do that again." Another tear rolled down her cheek, "Don't ever avoid me like you were doing, I don't think I could ever handle that again." Once again another tear rolled down her face, "I was so scared, I thought you hated me." This time it was a sniffle.

"What..?" Your eyes widened in surprise, "No pinky, I could never." You leaned forward to pull her towards you. "You know I could never hate you." You wrapped your arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. This was your moment, having the most beautiful person you knew in your arms instantly put all your fears at ease. "Please don't cry because of me, I'm so sorry, I didn't know it would hurt you like this." Your hands shook as you rubbed her back. You were a terrible person, because of your own personal feelings you had hurt the person closest to you.

Chaeryeong sniffled a few more times as she just lost herself in your arms. "Promise me you'll never do that again." Another sniffle, "Please..?" Her voice was so soft it felt like another dagger to your heart.

"I promise Pinky, I don't ever want to see you cry because of me. I'm so sorry.." Your arms tightened around her. "I promise."

Chaeryeong let out a small breath before pulling away from your embrace, "Do you really..?" She asked with a pouty tear-stained face.

"Of course pinky... I promise." You held your pinky finger out towards her, "I'll never do anything to see you cry again because of me."

After another small hiccup of her trying to catch her breath, she wrapped her pinky around yours, "Promise..?"

"I promise," You smiled softly at her, even in this state she managed to take your breath away.

"You have to kiss it, if you break this promise I'll never forgive you.."

"Okay, I promise forever and ever that I'll never do anything to break your heart." You kissed your thumb as did Chaeryeong, and you both pressed your thumbs together, sealing the promise in both of your hearts.

You both placed your hands down after looking each other in the eyes. Chaeryeong moved to sit next to you, eyes still red from her crying.

You wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her closer to your side, her head leaning over to rest on your shoulder. You gently rubbed small circles on her back as the two of you sat in silence, the only noise coming from her small sniffles as she tried to calm her breathing down. You were grateful for her small noises since you hoped that they would cover up the sound of your heart beating faster than it's ever had before. But it didn't, Chaeryeong could hear every beat, and the smile on her face was hidden from your eyes. You were her comfort place.

"Chaeryeong.." You smiled as you said her name, you just loved everything about her.

Chaeryeong scrunched her nose, "That's weird.."

"What..? You don't like me calling you by your name..?" You asked with a small smile, already knowing the answer.

"No.. it's pinky to you." You felt her slightly shake her head against your shoulder.

You let out a small laugh before sighing, "I know, I just wanted to see what you would say."

Chaeryeong's eyes closed as she found herself getting more comfortable with you.

After a few more minutes of the two of you sitting in silence, you decided it wouldn't hurt to tell Chaeryeong some of the truth, not the whole truth but a small part of it.

"Hey, pinky.." Your voice was low as you made sure you didn't want to harshly break the silence that washed over the two of you.

"Hmm.." Chaeryeong lifted her head to look at you, "What is it..?"

Your hand rested, just sitting on Chaeryeong's back, "I want to tell you something."

Chaeryeong studied your eyes for a second before shaking her head, "Wait, I want to tell you something first."

"Oh.." You were caught off guard by her reply but you just nodded at her so she could continue. "Go ahead."

"So you know how I told you that I was trying to get a time slot at the school dance to put on a performance with some of the girls that go to my dance academy..?" Chaeryeong leaned her head against your shoulder again.

"Yeah, I remember you talking about that, that's why you've been so busy lately." At the mention of Chaeryeong's recently busy schedule, you didn't even notice your hand on her pulling her closer to you.

Chaeryeong had noticed how you pulled her closer and that made her smile. "Well, I was told on Monday that my performance had gotten approved..."

"What?" You turned to look at her, "Chaeryeong, that's amazing, I'm so happy for you. You honestly deserve it." The smile on your face showed her that you meant every single word, you were so happy for your best friend.

"Yeah, that's what I've been trying to tell you all week.." Once again her voice got quiet as she thought about you purposely avoiding her.

"Oh Pinky, I'm sorry. I wish I didn't make you feel like you couldn't come to me with this amazing news, but I actually want to talk to you about why I was acting the way I was." The tone in your voice softened as you thought about how you were going to tell your best friend, the one person who had known you better than anyone else, that you liked her. Well, maybe you wouldn't tell her all that, just a small snippet of what you've been hiding about your personal life.  Unfortunately, before you could continue, Chaeryeong stopped you before you could say another word.

"No, don't force yourself to tell me anything right now. I don't want you to think that you have to tell me anything since I cried. It's just that my heart really was broken thinking that you didn't want to be around me anymore." Chaeryeong sniffled again before letting out a small breath. "I want you to tell me whatever it is when you are ready to. Not because I made you feel like you have to share." 

You let out a small sigh, slowly nodding your head in defeat, "Okay, I won't tell you then." Internally you felt super relieved that your secret would be safe even just for a small while longer.

Chaeryeong grabbed the hand you had on her back and she held it in her lap, intertwining her fingers with yours, "You know I will never judge you, right..?" Her sudden statement and her soft tone completely threw you off guard.

"Hmm..?" You looked at her in confusion, but she didn't look back at you, her eyes were focused on your interlocked fingers in her lap. "What do you mean..? Of course, I know that."

Chaeryeong glanced over at you, "Okay, I just wanted to make sure."

There was something off about how she was talking to you, you knew there was something she was trying to say without saying it. You knew her better than she thought you did. Her little mannerisms like this were just one of the things about her that you had gotten used to over the years of knowing each other. "No, tell me what you really meant. There's something you're not telling me, what is it..?"

After looking down in silence Chaeryeong let out a small sigh. "It's just... I think I know what it is that you're afraid to tell me." Chaeryeong looked up at you, the look in her eyes showing that she was serious.

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Wait, what..? I.. first you say you don't want me to tell you what it is and now you're telling me you know what it is..? I don't understand what you're trying to tell me, Chaeryeong. You're being really confusing right now."

Chaeryeong's heart felt a small ping when she heard you say her name again, "I'm just trying to let you know that I'll always be here for you and that I would never judge you. We've been best friends for thirteen years now, I wouldn't let this affect our friendship." Chaeryeong tried to read the look in your eyes but she couldn't.

Your face started to heat up, and your heart was beating rapidly, "Chaeryeong what are you talking about? Just say it." You raised your voice and called her by her first name again, this just got very serious and Chaeryeong knew it.

"All I'm trying to say is that I know and that it's okay. There's nothing wrong with it." Chaeryeong kept tip-toeing around the subject and it had started to make you worry even more.

"Know what, Chaeryeong..? What is it that you know.." Your eyes darkened and your hands started to shake.

"I know that.. well, I know that you," Chaeryeong's head tilted to the left as she tried to find the right words, "Well I know that you like g-"

You panicked and your hand instantly pulled away from hers, you covered her mouth to stop her from saying anything else. "Chaeryeong, please stop."

The panicked look in your eyes and the sweat beads building up on your forehead made Chaeryeong worry.

"I, I promise it's something I'll work on getting over, I, trust me I know it puts you in an uncomfortable spot and I don't want that for you. I'm so sorry, I promise I'll never do anything or act upon those feelings... I'm seriously so sorry." You pulled your hand away from her face in a manner that had made it seem that you had touched an open flame. "I'm sorry.." The way you stumbled over your words and the way your breathing turned erratic made Chaeryeong worry.

"Wai-" Chaeryeong tried to do something to calm you down but you didn't even give her the chance.

"No, don't say anything, I.. I.." And without another word you took off in a sprint away from her and out the gym doors. 

Chaeryeong sat still for a moment just staring at the door you left out of.  "What did she mean when she was talking about not acting on her feelings.." Chaeryeong asked herself once she got over the initial shock of you running from her.

_

"Where are you headed at this hour..?" Your mom asked when she saw you putting your shoes on.

"I have to go see Chaeryeong, if that's okay with you of course. It will be quick I promise." You looked up at her once you had your shoes on.

"Of course that's fine, just be careful and give her my greetings."

"Thanks mom, I'm always careful, bye." You waved at your mom before stepping out of your front door to head down to the dance academy Chaeryeong was enrolled in. She was there everyday after school until late into the night. 

The whole walk there you tried to figure out what you were going to say to her when you saw her. A part of you hoped that she wasn't even there and that she had left early, but knowing Chaeryeong she wouldn't let anything get in the way of her practice. While walking down the busy sidewalk you continued to rack your brain with questions. Why did you run from her without any sort of explanation? Right after making that promise with her you just up and left her alone. So here you were, trying to find the right words to explain everything to your best friend, you didn't want to feel more awkward around her when this could all easily be explained. Well as easy as coming out and telling someone you like them could go... 

The closer you got to arriving at her dance academy you started to walk at a slower pace but as you reached the building your eyes instantly landed on her, she was outside talking to someone, your heart  immediately began to race. Even though you couldn't see her face, just seeing her from behind made you go crazy. You truly did have the most beautiful friend.

"Yeah I'll catch you later Chaer, be careful on the way home." The girl that was talking to Chaeryeong walked away after giving her a small wave.

Chaeryeong let out a small sigh before walking over to the front of the building, she pulled her phone out and leaned against the brick wall. After clicking through whatever it was on her phone, she moved to hold it up against her ear.

A few seconds later you felt your phone begin to vibrate in your pocket. You smiled as you put it up to your ear, "Hello..?" Your voice was calm, unlike your heart that felt like it would leap out of your chest at any moment.

"Hey, I'm sorry to call you just randomly like this but I was just wanting to check on you because of what happened earlier. Are you okay..?" Chaeryeong was looking at the ground as she played with a random rock.

"No, don't apologize, I like it when you call me randomly." You couldn't see the shade of red that made its way onto Chaeryeong's face since you were behind her. "I'm okay now, I'm sorry for running out on you like that. I should've stayed and talked to you more about it, instead I ran away." You cleared your throat as you slowly walked up behind her, "So that's actually why.." You hung up and hugged her from behind. "I came to see you in person." Your voice was low as you whispered in her ear.

Chaeryeong jumped up in surprise, "Oh you scared me." Chaeryeong smiled as she turned in your embrace, hugging you back.

"Surprise.." You smiled sheepishly as you tried to pull away from the hug.

"Wait.." Chaeryeong held your arms in place, "You feel warm."

"Are you cold..?" You smiled when she nodded, "Okay." You pulled her closer to you. "You didn't bring a jacket..?"

"No, I forgot to put it in my bag this morning." You felt her body relax as she rested her weight against you.

"Even after stealing most of mine you forget to pack one in your bag..? Wow pinky, your mom would be so disappointed." You laughed at her, "Ow.. what was that for..?" She nudged her elbow into your stomach.

"Don't pick on me, I had a million things going on in my head this morning." Chaeryeong had a small pout on her face as she thought about her morning.

"Hmm..? Really, why..?"

"Well, some mean idiot was ignoring me all week so I was busy thinking about what I did wrong." Chaeryeong picked her head up so she could look at you. "So technically it's your fault I don't have a jacket with me."

You let out an exaggerated sigh as you pulled away from the hug, "Fine." You pulled your hoodie off and handed it to her, "Here put it on."

Chaeryeong's eyes lit up in joy as she took the article of clothing from you. "Thank you very much."

"Well I guess I can kiss that hoodie goodbye since I'll never see it again." You rolled your eyes at your best friend.

Chaeryeong had a small satisfied grin on her face once she put your hoodie on, but that grin was short lived and her expression soon turned serious. "So what was, I mean why did you come all the way out here..?" She struggled at first to find the correct words.

"I wanted to talk to you.. about earlier I mean. I don't want us going to bed when there's unspoken words that need to be unveiled between us." You dropped eye contact with her, "I mean I just wanted to get this heavy weight off my chest, there's nothing you did wrong it's just all me. Like always.." You whispered the last part to yourself but Chaeryeong still heard it.

Chaeryeong's expression softened and she reached out to hold your hand, "Let me run inside to get my bag and you can come over and we'll talk about this in my room. Hmm..? How does that sound..?"

"No.." You shook your head, "I.. I think it would be better to talk outside." You didn't exactly know how to tell her that being alone with her in her room would cause your heart to leap out of your chest.

Chaeryeong hummed as she squeezed your hand, "Okay, if that's what you want then that's what we'll do. I'll just go get my bag. Wait out here for me." Chaeryeong planted a small kiss on your cheek before running inside.

Now that was a normal thing in your friendship so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Chaeryeong always had her ways of showing affection and before now they never seemed to bother you, but now you stood outside with flushed cheeks. You placed your hand flat across your chest to feel your heartbeat.

"Just as I thought, she's going to be my cause of death." You shook your head as you walked in small circles as you waited for her. "Oh my gosh, why is she so beautiful??? Just why did it have to be her..? Why couldn't I have liked anyone else, hmm..? Why heart, why does it have to be Chaeryeong..? Why does it have to be my Pinky..?" You paused as you stared at the ground. "I know Chaeryeong is the most beautiful person to walk this earth, but she's also my best friend. Why do you have to go crazy over her..?" You sighed as you stopped moving. "I just have to be truthful with her, I'm sure she already knows how beautiful she is but it won't hurt to tell her."

"Boo!" Chaeryeong jumped on your back with happy giggles. "Did I scare you..?"

"Ah! oh my gosh you did!" You sarcastically joked with her as you spun in small circles with her on your back.

"I knew it!" She let loud laughs out this time as her arms tightened around you. "Ahh you're going too fast."

You laughed as well while slowing down, "Oh I'm getting too old for this, I'm dizzy." You stopped spinning and hunched down a bit so Chaeryeong could get off carefully.

Chaeryeong hopped off your back and you spun around to face her. You instantly smiled when you saw how happy she looked.

"So cute." You reached out to squeeze her cheek.

"Hmm..?" Chaeryeong's eyebrows went up in surprise at what you said.

"I said you look cute. I like it when you smile like this, it makes me happy to see you have fun." You pulled your hand away from her cheek.

"I'm always like this whenever you're around, so as long as you don't leave me I'll always be happy.." Chaeryeong walked up next to you so she could wrap herself around your arm.

You let out a small laugh as you nodded, "Okay, I'll keep that in mind then."

Chaeryeong leaned her head on your shoulder, "Where did you want to go to talk..?"

"Hmm..? Oh right, Um I'm not sure." You had completely forgotten what you had originally come down here for once you and her got to your usual antics. "Oh I know, we can go to that park near your house."

"The turtle park..?" Chaeryeong pulled her arms away from you so she could hold your hand.

"Yeah that one, let's go.." You smiled at her as you led the way.

The both of you walked in a calm silence, you looked over and saw that her hair was damp, so you decided that you could use that as a discussion topic.

"So, did you have a busy practice today..? Are you tired..?" It took you a little bit to finally speak, but once you did you were glad your voice came out normal.

"No, it wasn't anything particularly too hard. We were just running through the choreo for the dance I'm performing at school." Chaeryeong always had this look in her eyes whenever it came to talking about dancing and it was one of the things you'd adored the most from her.

"Oh really? You're not thirsty or anything? We can stop by and get you something to drink." The concern in your voice was evident and Chaeryeong appreciated it.

"No I'm fine, Bell bought drinks for everyone today. How about you..? How was your day?" Chaeryeong looked at the side of your face as you guided her down the walkways.

"It was okay, I got home, did my homework then helped my mom with dinner. Oh right, she told me to tell you that she said hi."

Chaeryeong smiled and squeezed your hand in excitement, "Oh I haven't seen your mom in a while... Hmm? When was the last time I'd seen her..?" Chaeryeong's head tilted to the side as she was deep in thought, "Oh right the last time I saw her was when I spent the night a few weeks ago."

"Ah yeah, that's right. You haven't been over in a while." You stopped walking when you arrived at the park.

"Once the dance is over I'll have some more free time, I can come over more often, Oh we're here." Chaeryeong's eyes widened when she saw the playground set in front.

"Here come this way." You tugged on her hand so she could follow you. "Here, sit down."

"Hmm? Here?" Chaeryeong pointed at the swing.

"Mhm, I'll sit in this one." You gestured to the swing right next to the one she pointed at.

"Okay." She sat down first then you moved to sit in the swing next to her.

The both of you rocked back and forth for a little bit in silence before you finally spoke up.

"Pinky, do you mind if I ask what it was that you were going to say back at the gym earlier today..?" Both of your hands rested on the icy chains, and your eyes were focused on your swinging legs.

"Are you really going to be okay if I say it..?" Chaeryeong looked over at you, her eyes taking in all your features.

"Mhm, just say it. I'll be okay," You looked up at her and locked eyes, "As long as you don't leave me after you say it." You quoted her from earlier.

"Okay.." Chaeryeong spoke up after much thought. She stopped swinging and she sat still as she tried finding the right words to use. "What I was trying to say was that I think that I know that you." She paused again, her eyes were darting around until she settled on looking at her shoes. "That I know that you like... Girls." Chaeryeong looked up at you, her eyes locking onto yours, "And there's nothing wrong with that, but I shouldn't have said anything until you were ready to tell me. I just hated the thought of you avoiding me because of that since there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I would never think of you any different just because of that, it's a part of who you are and that's fine, because you're my best friend and I love you. Everything about you and that will never change, no matter what."

Chaeryeong tried to read your expression but it was difficult. She couldn't tell what you were thinking, hell you didn't even know what to think.

"Are you okay..?" Her voice was gentle and she hopped off her swing to stand in front of you. "If you don't want to talk about this right now, I completely understand. We can revisit this in the future."

You hummed and shook your head, "It's okay, I'm fine." You gave her a small smile, "You're right though, I do like girls. I think they're pretty, they always smell amazing, they have the best smiles and personalities. And luckily for me the most beautiful one is right here in front of me." You didn't mean for the last part to slip out but it was too late to take it back.

Chaeryeong's whole face flushed red at your compliment, "What? What do you mean? Me?"

"Mhm," You nodded as you decided that now was the time to give her all the compliments you always say when she's not around, to her face. "I think you're beautiful Chaeryeong. You're the prettiest girl in my eyes. You have the most amazing smile and your laugh is the best music to my ears. You have the kindest personality out of everyone that I have ever met. And I guess there's no better time to say it than now, but... I like you. Not just as friends, but as something more. I've felt like this for a while now and I don't expect you to return those feelings for me, but I also don't want you to hate me for them either." You tilted your head down and stared at your lap, "You drive me insane, Chaeryeong. Even just your name is beautiful to me. Every moment I'm around you my heart goes absolutely insane." You looked up at her, "That's why I've been avoiding you at school. My feelings for you took over every aspect of my life and it was hard to concentrate on anything else whenever you were around."

"Do you really mean that..?" Chaeryeong's eyes were watery and she was on the brink of tears.

"Yes Chaeryeong, I meant everything I just said. Even right now I just want to scream because of how beautiful you are. You drive me insane." You hopped off your swing and the two of you were standing in front of each other. "Here this will prove it." You grabbed her hand and placed it over your heart so she could feel how rapidly it was beating. "I'm crazy over you but I don't want to ruin our friendship. I cherish our friendship over everything else." You moved her hand away and let it drop at her side.

"Wow, I didn't know you felt like that about me, and you really think I'm beautiful..?" A tear slipped down her cheek.

"Oh no, looks like I broke my promise." You wiped her tear off her face, "And yes I do. I think you're cute, pretty, beautiful, stunning and gorgeous." You cupped her cheeks in your hands and looked her in the eyes, "You are beautiful Chaeryeong." You pulled your hands away from her face and shook them in the air, "Sheesh you're hot.." You smiled at your lame joke.

Chaeryeong smiled as she lightly punched you in the arm, "You're so lame. And no, you didn't break your promise. This is a different type of crying, I'm not sad " She wrapped her arms around you and pulled you into a hug. "Thank you." Her voice was muffled against your chest.

"For what..?" You returned her hug, and you moved one hand up to run your fingers through her hair.

"For being so nice to me, I don't deserve your compliments." Her arms tightened around you.

"No, those aren't compliments. They're my true feelings. Everything I said came straight from my heart, I meant every single word."

Chaeryeong pulled away so she could look you in the eyes, " I don't really know what to say.."

"Hey, it's okay.." You moved to hold her face in your hands, "I don't expect you to have any feelings for me. I honestly don't even know what I'd do if you did, but I just want us to be friends. I want everything to be normal again. I'll try to get over these feelings I have for you but at the same time I don't want you to avoid me or for you to feel awkward around me, because before everything else, you're my best friend. Our friendship is the most important thing to me and I don't want to be the reason why our friendship gets ruined." You smiled at her, "Hmm, how does that sound..?"

Chaeryeong nodded as she placed her hands on top of yours, "Okay, I'll never treat you any different, and I want you to know that I will work on trying to figure out my own feelings for you. I've never thought of you in that light, but I guess I never needed to since I always thought that you would always be there for me. I couldn't imagine my future without you in it."

After just staring at each other in silence you thought it would probably be best to just leave this conversation right here. "Come on, let's get you home. We can talk about all this more later on." You let go of her face, "Are you okay..?" You asked her when she seemed to be zoning out.

"Hmm..?" Chaeryeong blinked for a few more seconds before snapping back into reality, "Oh yeah, I'm okay." Her beautiful smile took over her features.

"Good, now come on." You grabbed her hand to lead her away from the swings.

"Where are we going..?" She asked as she walked with you.

You let out a laugh. "I'm taking you home, Did you not hear me say that..?"

"No I didn't, sorry.." She looked embarrassed as she answered you.

"It's okay, don't apologize. I know you, this happens often." You let out a small laugh before shaking your head.

"What? What's so funny?" Chaeryeong eyed you in suspicion.

"Nothing, it's nothing. I promise." You raised your hands in a sign of defeat to show her you meant no harm.

"I don't believe you." Chaeryeong narrowed her eyes to glare at you.

"Wow you don't believe your best friend..? How could you, that hurts my feelings." You placed a hand over your heart.

"Stop being dramatic and just tell me what's so funny. You know I don't like it when you make fun of me.." Chaeryeong's voice showed that she genuinely wanted to know what was going on inside your brain.

"Oh.." When you realized she was being serious you stopped joking around, "It's just that even when you zone out like that all the time you still look so cute to me. It wasn't anything funny, I just found it so cute."

Chaeryeong turned away from you and she covered her face as it started to warm up, "Stop calling me cute.." She whined as she shook her head.

You couldn't help but smile as you moved to stand in front of her. "Why..? I'm just stating the facts here." 

Chaeryeong moved her fingers apart so she could look at you from in between them, "I can't deal with it.." 

"Hmm..? What do you mean..?" You took a step towards her, "Is it making your heart race..?" You tilted your head to the side as you teased her, "Are you blushing..? Oh my god Chaeryeong do you have a crush on me?? Gross." You scrunch your nose as you place your hands over hers. You then move to pull her hands away from her face. "Adorable.."

Chaeryeong groaned as she pouted, "Stop doing that.. you're so annoying."

"Huh? Doing what..?" You leaned your face towards her to examine her expression. 

This time it was Chaeryeong who pulled her hands away from you and she took off running away from you. "STOPPP ITTT!"

You laughed before running after her, "Pinky slow down, you're going to trip."

"Only if you promise to stop doing that!" She hollered as she kept running.

"Doing what? What are you talking about?" You caught up behind her and reached for her arm to stop her. 

"You.." She took a deep breath as she stopped running, "You know exactly what you're doing." 

You laughed again and shook your head, "No, I really don't." 

"Ugghhh stop smiling like that. I hate you so much." Chaeryeong punched you on the shoulder. 

You couldn't help the laughter that erupted from you, "Ow, ouch Pinky what the heck. I'm not even doing anything haha, why are you bullying me." You pretended to fold over in pain as you put your hand over the spot where she had hit you. 

“Oh..” Her eyes widened as she watched you, “Did it hurt..?” Her mouth was agape as she stared at you in shock. 

You sucked air in through your teeth and nodded, “Ow yes it hurt, why would you hit me…?” You made your voice sound weak as you pretended to stumble into her.  

“Oh my god I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to hit you hard, I just can’t handle it when you look at me like that.” She blurted out the last part as she tried to pull your hand away from your shoulder where she had hit you. 

You let out a little laugh before looking up at her with a warm smile, “I’m just joking pinky, it didn’t hurt. I just wanted to hear you admit that you get butterflies around me.” 

Once again Chaeryeong was staring at you in shock, “What? So I didn’t hurt you?” 

You laughed again as you reached up in the air with both hands, “Nope, perfectly fine, see.” You shook your hands in the air. 

“Well now you’re going to be in pain..” The look in her eyes darkened as she fixed her stare on you. 

“Huh? What? Wait, whoa whoa, calm down Pinky.” Your voice sounded panicked as you started to walk backwards, “Pinky chill, I’m sorry. Please don’t attack me.” 

“Sorry isn’t going to work right now you buttface.” Chaeryeong braced herself before starting to chase after you. 

“Pinky, wait, stop!!” You yelled after you turned around to start running away from her. “Pinky you know I’m faster than you, stop chasing me you’re going to wear yourself out.” You kept a steady pace in front of her, occasionally turning around to peek at how far you were from your best friend. 

“I don’t care, you asked for this. This is karma,” She took a big huff of air before continuing, “It’s not fair that you’re the one who confessed your feelings but,” Another big huff from her, “I’m the one feeling butterflies.” She slowed down a bit before continuing on, “It’s not fair I just got out of practice, you have way more stamina than me.”

“Wait,” You stopped running when you heard what she said, “Pause…. You just said it, you said the word.”

Chaeryeong stopped running when she reached you, she bent over a bit and placed her hands on her knees, “Huh? What word? Stamina?” She spoke every word with a deep breath in between. 

“Butterflies, you just said that you’re feeling butterflies because of me.” You turned away from her to throw your hands up in the air as a sign of celebration, “I won, I did it. I want to thank everybody in the world. I have won the best award anyone on this planet could ever get.” You spoke to no one but the wind as you continued to cheer, “I was able to give pinky butterflies.” 

After catching her breath for a few more seconds she walked up to you, “What are you doing, who are you talking to..?” Her face showed just how puzzled she was by your actions. 

“Hmm, oh.” You turned to face her when you noticed she was next to you, “I was just thanking the universe for this amazing moment in my life.” You had the cheesiest grin on your face when you saw Chaeryeong cringe from your antics. “Why are you making that face..?” You asked as a small laugh escaped your lips at the look on her face. 

“Because you’re so weird, are you okay..?” Her head tilted to the side as she tried to examine your face.

“Oh I'm more than okay, I’m feeling amazing right now. Want to know why..?” 

“Of course I want to know, only then will I find out what’s turned you into a crazy person.” 

“Haha oh pinky, you humor me.” You cleared your throat before you explained to her what had made you so thrilled, “Well since I will never have the chance to date you, giving you butterflies is the next best thing I could ever achieve in this life.” 

When all she did was look at you with the most confused stare ever you tilted your head in confusion before speaking to her again. “Uh, hello..? Pinky, you there..?” You waved your hand in front of her eyes. “Is everything alright in there..?” You balled your hand up into a fist and lightly knocked on the side of her head.

“When did I say that..?” Her face still looked like she was blanking out but her tone was serious.

“Hmm? When did you say what..?” You moved over to stand where she was just blankly staring.

“When did I say that I would never date you, I never said that did I..?” And with that question her eyes seemed to come back to life as they looked at you directly in your own. 

Now it was your turn to look confused, “Uh what..?” You let out an awkward laugh before diverting your eyes from her now intense ones. “No you never did haha, but I just figured since you said you never saw me in that light um yeah haha… woo is it really warm out here, where did the wind go..” Your voice was quiet as you spoke to yourself at the end there, and you used your hands to fan some air towards your face. 

“So I never said that, but you just assumed..?” 

“Oh well when you put it that way I guess I did just assume.” You scratched the side of your head in confusion, “Are you mad at me..?” 

Chaeryeong hummed in response, shaking her head. “No I’m not, but I want you to stop doing that.” 

“Stop doing what..?” You still couldn’t look her in the eyes so you just settled on looking at one of the trees in the park.

“I want you to stop assuming answers from me. Wasn’t that the whole reason you were avoiding me all week, because you were afraid to tell me about your feelings and how I would respond, yet I said nothing negative about them. And now you’re assuming things about me that I haven’t even figured out myself.” She paused to let out a small sigh before continuing, “Please let me figure myself out before you make assumptions about what my conclusions will lead to.” 

“Oh, Chaeryeong I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize I did that so much. And I’m sorry to not have realized how bothersome that could be to you..” You let out a small breath of air before clearing your throat, “Um well let’s go get you home before it’s too late..”

Chaeryeong didn’t move, instead she continued to stand where she was, “And this too, can you stop doing that..?” 

You were frozen in shock, you didn’t realize your best friend felt so strongly about the things you did and how you were unintentionally bothering her, “Huh, uh what..?” 

“This..” She moved her hands to gesture at the both of you, “You try to leave from serious conversations without letting me finish what I want to say, or you just don’t offer anymore dialogue to help sort things out. When anything becomes just slightly too much for you to handle you just run away. You don’t even think about how that makes the other person feel and how it can hurt them.” Chaeryeong had felt so strongly about what she was saying that her eyes began to water, “And you did it again,” She let out a small sniffle, “you called me by my name again.” 

You felt frozen in place, what did you do..? You never realized you did these things but to find out that they were bothering the person you cared about the most this much was a lot to handle. It took everything in you to stay standing as suddenly the air around you felt the heaviest it’s ever been, you found breathing to be nearly impossible as you just couldn’t move. You knew you needed to comfort her but you just could not physically move from your spot.

Chaeryeong wiped her eyes, “I told you I don’t like it when you call me that yet you keep doing it.” She let out a small hiccup as she grabbed your arm, “Are you not going to say anything?” 

“Sorry,” Your voice was rough but you were finally able to speak after being frozen in place. “Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-i just, I. I’m sorry.” You couldn’t bear to look at her so you managed to pull your arm away from her grip before turning your head to look away from her. You took in a deep breath as you realized what you were going to do next. You hated it but you just couldn’t bear being here with her any longer, you shook your head before covering your ears so you wouldn’t be able to hear what she would say next. “You’re going to hate me but I have to do this. I’m sorry Chaeryeong.” You finally managed to move yourself, but it wasn’t towards your best friend, In Fact it was in the opposite direction. You were doing just the thing she said she didn’t like. You didn’t want to do this but you just could not physically handle the situation you were in. 

You couldn’t hear anything so you figured she went in her own direction as you continued on your path to no destination. The only thing in your mind was getting as far away from her as possible. 

With only that thought in mind what happened next was not what you were ready for. Out of nowhere you felt something wrap around your waist and you felt an oddly familiar warmth embrace your body. You froze for a few seconds before looking down and seeing the sleeves of the hoodie you had on moments prior. 

You slowly lowered your hands from the sides of your head as realization about your current situation hit you.

“Don’t leave me again. At least walk me home.” 

Hearing her voice be as shaky as it was made your heart break into a million pieces. “Please don’t do this, I can’t right now. I’m sorry.” Your own voice wasn’t much better than hers but it was able to carry all the confusing emotions you were feeling. 

You felt the grip she had around your body tighten as she spoke her next words carefully, “I don’t want to ask for a lot from you right now but can you just walk me home. I won’t ask you to talk to me, I just want you next to me. Please..?” 

You looked down at the ground as a bunch of emotions you didn't know how to control flooded over you. You felt your own eyes begin to water and your vision became shaky, "Chaeryeong I'm… I can't do this right now. I don't know what's wrong with me, why do I feel so defeated. I don't want you to hate me but I can't stand feeling things that I don't know how to control. Why do I feel so broken..?" Your voice was shaky and Chaeryeong could hear just how terrible you felt in your voice alone. "I just didn't know you had so many issues pent up because of the things that I do. I never want to be an inconvenience to you but it seems like a nuisance is all I've been to you. I'm so sorry." 

“Stop… Okay just stop talking already.” Chaeryeong moved around so she could see your face, “Stop talking down on yourself, this isn’t what I want.” She reached out to place her hands on either side of your face, “Look at me.” Her voice was calm and mature, much different than the way you were feeling inside. You had given her a small nod before looking into her eyes, “Breathe.” 

You did as she instructed you to do so. You took several deep breaths, your eyes never leaving her now calm ones. “I’m sorry…” You sounded defeated but you just wanted her to know how bad you felt.

“Shh, don't talk right now, just breathe with me. In,” She took in a deep breath with you following along, “And out.” She exhaled and you followed suit. “Just a few more, come on.” She proceeded to help you take a few more deep breaths. “There, don’t you feel better now.”

“Mhm..” You hummed before finally looking away from her. “Thank you.” 

“How do you feel..?” She ran her thumb across your cheek, cleaning the remnants of your breakdown. 

“I feel,” You took in another deep breath as you closed your eyes, “Like poop.” You opened your eyes to look into her own, “A big piece too.” You were able to offer her a small smile. 

Chaeryeong let out a soft giggle before shaking her head at you, “You’re making jokes again so at least I know you’re feeling better.”

You stared at her for a few a little while longer before speaking up again. “How do you feel..? I didn’t know you had so much pent up anger in you. I’m sorry.” 

“No stop apologizing, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that all at once. I should’ve just waited for the right moment to talk to you about it like a civilized person. I’m the one who’s sorry, I guess I just didn’t realize how much it bothered me.” Chaeryeong shook her head as she thought to herself. 

“No I’m glad you told me all that, now I can at least try working on it. I don't think you understand, I don't want to be a burden to you. So please pinky, tell me when I’m doing anything wrong that makes you feel uncomfortable. Please.” 

“Okay,” She gave you a small smile as she agreed to what you said, “I will make sure to do that, because I don’t want this to ever happen again.” 

“Promise..?” You raised your eyebrows in surprise as you waited for her to answer. 

“Mhm, I promise.” 

Before you could say anything you felt the wind around the two of you begin to pick up. You sucked some air in between your teeth as you rubbed your exposed arms. 

“Oh are you cold..? Do you want your jacket back..?” Chaeryeong took a step back from you so she could start to remove the article of clothing.

“No! Pinky keep it, please. I don’t need you getting sick.” You placed your hands over hers to stop her from pulling the jacket off. 

“But what about you..? You could get sick.” Her lips were in a small pout as she talked to you.

“Don’t worry about me,” You offered her a reassuring smile as another gust of wind swept between the two of you, “You have something important coming up, keeping you from getting sick is more important than me getting sick. I’ll be fine as long as you’re fine.” 

“Are you sure..? My house isn’t far, you have a longer walk home.” She looked at you with the most concerned eyes. 

“Yes pinky, I’m sure.” You still had your hands covering hers, “Oh, sorry.” You quickly retracted your hands away. 

“No, don’t apologize,” She started to squirm before covering her face in frustration.

“Hmm, what’s wrong..? What did I do wrong..? I’m sorry.” You began to panic as you tried thinking back to the few moments before, trying to gauge where you went wrong.

“Don’t get scared of touching me.” She moved her hands away from her face to look you in the eyes.

“Huh..? What do you mean..?” You tilted your head to the side as you tried to understand what she meant. 

“What I mean is we’ve been best friends for thirteen years now, you’ve never had a problem with holding my hands but now you act like I’ve burned you.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just because now you know that I have romantic feelings for you. I don't want you to think I'm a creep by trying to touch you or anything. I-i, it’s just hard to explain but I don’t want you to be disgusted by me.” You scratched the back of your neck as you explained your actions. 

“Well I don’t think that. I just want you to treat me the way you always have, okay..? All those negative things you keep thinking are going to happen. I’m not going to act differently around you, and I’m most definitely not going to be disgusted by you. That’s crazy.” She stuck her hand out towards you, “So hold my hand and walk me home.” 

“Huh..?” You were surprised by how assertive she was being so you immediately complied, “Oh okay. Sure.” You slipped your hand into her soft ones and you couldn’t help the smile on your face as she interlaced her own fingers with yours. 

“Now walk me home like you said you were going to.” She moved next to you and gestured with her free hand for you to lead the way. 

“Yes ma’am.” You joked with her before leading the way to her building. 

The two of you walked in a comfortable silence up until the elevator ride to her apartment's floor. 

“Is your mom home..?” Your voice was quiet as you asked her. 

It took her a few seconds to snap out of her inner thoughts, “Hmm..? Oh no, she had to take Chaeyeon somewhere this weekend so they’ll both be gone. It's just me and Chaemin today. Oh wait, no she's staying at a friend’s house tonight.”

“Oh, is your dad still away for his conference..? I thought he was getting back this week.” 

“He was originally supposed to be back tonight but something happened so they extended his stay until next week.” Chaeryeong shrugged before realizing what all that meant, “Oh so that means it’s just me home today…”

“Huh, you’re going to be the only one home..?” You looked to the side as you thought back to the conversation the two of you had when you showed up earlier. “Oh, since it’s been a while, did you want to come over to my house for a sleepover..?” When she didn’t answer you at first you shook your head, “Ah but if you already have plans for tomorrow don’t worry about it, I forgot it’s the weekend tomorrow haha..” You stepped out of the elevator when it had arrived at your designated floor. “Are you coming out..?” You asked with a chuckle when your best friend just stared at you from inside the elevator.

“Oh yeah, sorry.” She shook her head in a manner that seemed like she was trying to snap out of something.

You were the first one to make it to her door, you entered the passcode you memorized as a kid and the door unlocked. It had been a while since you had been over at her apartment but the entire walk here from the park felt so familiar to you it was jarring. It seemed like just yesterday the two of you were playing in the same park as snot-nosed kids. 

_

It was currently the early afternoon right after school let out for most elementary schools so there was a group of kids gathered at the park playing the age old game of Tag. 

“Tag! You’re It.” A little boy had tapped a young girl who was bent down messing with one of her shoes before sprinting away.

“Hey, that's not fair! I was tying my shoes.” The young girl yelled as she fell over when the boy lightly tapped her shoulder, throwing her off of her balance.

“I don’t care, it still counts.” The little boy yelled back at the young girl before completely disappearing into the playground equipment in front of them. 

“But my shoes.” The young girls’ eyes watered up as she messed with her loose shoelaces. 

“Hey, you can tag me, finish tying your shoes.” 

“Huh..?” The young girl looked up to see a young you staring at her with the most pitiful eyes. 

“Here, tap my hand, I can be ‘It’. My mom says it’s not okay to run around with your shoes not tied.” You were standing in front of her with your hand extended out towards her. “It’s okay, it’s not cheating. I promise I won’t tell anyone.” 

“Oh are you sure..?” The young girl stared up at you from the ground.

“I’m sure, I already said I promise.” 

“But do you pinky promise..?” The young girl sniffled as she wiped her nose.

“Do I pinky promise..? What’s that..?” You had moved to sit on the ground next to the young girl.

“It’s when you say, ‘I pinky promise,’ and then you do this.” The young girl grabbed your hand to move it in a certain way, “See and then once our pinkies are tied together we press our thumbs together, and then my dad says you kiss the back of your thumb to seal the promise for forever.” 

“Oh wow, that’s so cool…” Your little brain was completely blown away from the concept the young girl was showing you. “Haha pinky promise is a funny name.” 

“Is it..?” The young girl smiled at your laugh, completely forgetting about the tears she almost shed over her untied shoes.

“Uh-huh,” You nodded as another giggle escaped from you, “Pinky haha that’s funny.” Looking back now you didn’t understand why your small elementary brain thought that that word was the funniest thing in the world. 

“Haha I guess it is funny, but do you pinky promise that you won’t tell anyone that you let me tag you..?” The young girl asked you as she gestured to your hands that had your pinkies interlocked already.

“Mhm, I pinky promise.” You went through with the little motions she taught you earlier. “Boom, I did it.” You cheered when you completed the little ceremonious promise seal. 

“Okay well now it’s sealed, you can’t tell anyone.” The little girl let out a giggle, “So now, tag!” She poked you in the arm. “You’re It now.” 

“Yes, I’ll go get that boy back for you. Oh but first.” You looked over at her still untied shoe. “Here I can do it for you.” You moved your small hands to tie her shoelaces, “and then the rabbit goes through the hole and..” You were mumbling quietly to yourself as you remembered the lesson your dad gave you on tying knots. “Done! I did it!” You had the proudest look on your face. “Okay now I’ll go! Bye!!”

“Oh, thank you,” The girl got up to try and chase after you but just as you had showed up out of nowhere, you were gone into thin air just as fast. 

_

“No really, don’t think you have to come over now just because I invited you.” You watched as your best friend packed up a bag with her clothes. 

“I promise, I don’t have any plans for this weekend. Plus like I said earlier, it’s been a long time since I’ve slept over.” She had just finished zipping up her bag but then she walked back over to her closet. She pulled something off of one of her hangers before walking over to you and placing it in your arms. 

“Okay but I don’t want you to feel like I’m forcing you to come over, I just don’t want you to be home all by yourself.” You looked down at what she placed in your arms. “Oh my old hoodie…? I thought I had lost it, you had it this whole time..?”

“You left it here a while ago, and I already said I want to come over so come on.” Chaeryeong walked out of her room with you following right behind her. “Put the hoodie on, it’s cold outside.” 

“Yes ma’am…” You grumbled as you slid your old favorite hoodie over your head. “Oh my mom said she can come pick us up if you don’t want to walk, it’s up to you.” You pulled your phone out of your pocket once you had the hoodie on all the way, and you showed her the messages. 

“Oh no it’s okay, we can just walk.” Chaeryeong walked to the front door of her apartment after making sure all the lights inside were off. 

“Are you sure..? I don’t live as close as I used to when we were five. It’s a little bit of a longer walk now.” You walked out of the front door that she held open for you.

“I’m sure, tell your mom not to worry.” 

“Hmm, okay then.” You messaged your mom back as you walked with Chaeryeong to the elevator. “You better not complain about your feet hurting later.” 

“I won’t. I promise that I’m okay with walking.” She pressed the button for the ground floor. 

“Ha you promise..? But do you pinky promise..?” You giggled to yourself, shaking your head at your own lame joke.

_

“Mom, we're home.” Both you and Chaeryeong had just walked through the front door of your house. 

“Oh my, is it really you Chaeryeong, it’s been ages since you’ve last been here. Look at how much you’ve grown, wow.” Your mom walked to the door to greet the both of you home, well by the both of you you mostly meant Chaeryeong. 

“Mom, calm down. It hasn’t even been that long since you’ve seen her, she still looks the same.” You finished taking your shoes off before grabbing the bag that Chaeryeong had on her back, “I’ll take this to my room, feel free to catch up with your bestie here.” 

Chaeryeong let out a small giggle as she let you slide the bag off of her shoulders. “Okay, thanks.” She turned to face your mom so she could politely introduce herself. “Haha it has been a while since I’ve been over here, I’m sorry for not making any time to come visit.” 

While you were getting everything settled in your room, chaeryeong walked with your mom to the kitchen.

“Oh no that’s nonsense, we don’t live as close to you as we used to haha. Plus your mom has told me about how busy both you and Chaeyeon have been. I guess it’s no surprise that the two of you are the pride and joy of that dance academy that you both go to.” Your mom gestured for Chaeryeong to take a seat at one of the barstools in your kitchen as she began to dig through the refrigerator. 

“Well I wouldn’t go as far as to say that we’re the pride and joy of the academy but they do keep us pretty busy. That's actually why Chaeyeon and my mom aren’t home this weekend, they have her going to a seminar out of town to meet a choreographer from overseas for a special project.” Chaeryeong sat on the barstool, keeping her eyes on what your mom was doing.

“Oh a special project, that sounds exciting.” Your mom pulled a few containers out of the refrigerator. “But what about you, do you have any special projects coming up..?” 

“Well I just got approved this week to put on a dance performance with some of the girls from my academy during the school dance.” 

“Oh my, really? That’s so awesome! How much longer do you have till the dance..? Someone here hasn’t even mentioned your school dance.” Your mom gestured to the direction of your room. “She gets weirdly moody everytime I bring it up for some reason.” 

“Ah so she’s been moody around you too haha. But um the dance is in two weeks so it’s a little nerve wracking but I’m excited.” Chaeryeong watched as your mom began to place some food on a plate.

“What do you mean ‘too’? Has she been acting weird around you as well..?” Your mom walked over to where Chaeryeong was sitting and she placed the plate of food down in front of her. 

“Ah yeah, just a bit. But it’s okay, we’re okay now.” Chaeryeong grabbed the utensils your mom handed her. 

“You’re okay now..? Did the two of you get in a fight..?” Your mom took a seat next to Chaeryeong and she gestured for her to start eating. 

“Well not necessarily a fight haha, just some small misunderstandings is all. But I promise we’re okay now.” Chaeryeong thanked your mom for the food before beginning to eat. 

“Okay well I’m glad you’re okay now, just during this period in both of your lives don't take anything she does to the heart. It’s just puberty haha. The two of you have always been super close since you two first met. I still remember the day she introduced me to you as the ‘pinky promise’ girl.” Your mom let out a small laugh, “The first day she met you she kept making random pinky promises with me and her dad. She told us she wanted to be cool like her new friend.” 

“Mom, you better not be embarrassing me.” You walked into the kitchen when you heard your mom laughing, just knowing she was probably telling Chaeryeong something that you would rather her not know. 

“Oh please, you do that enough. I’m just telling Chaeryeong about how happy you were to have met her. Remember..? When we came home you kept wanting to make pinky promises with me and your dad..?” 

You huffed and rolled your eyes, “No, I don’t remember that.” You took a small piece of food off of Chaeryeong’s plate and tossed it in your mouth. “Anyways, I’m going to go take a shower, my room is ready for you whenever. Also don’t believe anything she says, she’s just trying to embarrass me.” You made a face at your mom before running away to your bathroom. 

“That girl, I swear…” Your mom mumbled before smiling at Chaeryeong, “When you’re finished with your food, just place the plate in the sink, I’ll clean it up. If you’re still hungry feel free to grab some more. I’m going to go fold some clothes.” 

“Okay, thank you so much.” Chaeryeong smiled at your mom before going back to eating. 

“Of course sweetie.” 

_

“Hey are you on your way yet..? We’re supposed to be meeting Yeji’s friend across the street before we head in.” 

“Yeah sorry just give me like five minutes, Yuna spilled something on her dress.”

“Okay, well I’ll tell Yeji then, I can’t stay for too long because I have to go see Chaeryeong before her performance.” 

“Alright alright, we’ll be there soon, just go ahead and meet her friend.” 

“Okay, well I’ll see you later then.” You hung up before looking around in confusion. 

It was the night of your school dance, and as much as you wanted to skip it, you showed up just to support Chaeryeong. The past two weeks went by with this weird sort of tension between the two of you that neither one of you wanted to speak on so you just didn’t. After she had spent the night at your place the two of you went back to talking like normal, but due to her practices you really hadn’t had much time to spend with each other outside of school. Today was the first time since the sleepover that you would be seeing her outside of classes. 

“Is this the right place..?” You looked at the building in front of you before stepping in. 

“Oh hey you’re here, where’s the two shins..?” Yeji walked up to you with a big smile as another girl followed behind her. 

“Oh Ryujin said that she was helping Yuna get a stain or something out of her dress because she spilled something on it.” You shrugged your shoulders. “But she said they would be here in like five minutes. I just don’t think I can stay for much longer since I have to go visit Chaeryeong in a bit.” 

“Ah okay, well here, first introduce yourself. This is Lia, we go to the same cram school.” Yeji gestured to the girl that was standing behind her. 

“Oh, hi. It’s nice to meet you Lia.” You smiled as you stuck your hand out towards the pretty girl. 

“It’s nice to meet you as well. I’ve heard a lot about you from Yeji.” She shook your hand, returning a friendly smile. 

“Oh really..? Did she say good things about me..?” She looked over at Yeji before looking back at Lia. 

“Mmm, mostly.” Lia looked up and to the side as if she was deep in thought. 

“Wait, mostly..? What did she say..?” You just kept your eyes on yeji as you waited for Lia to explain what she meant. 

“Well she’s said that you’re very nice but that you tend to bully her.” Lia was just joking because Yeji had put her up to it.

“Huh? Me bully her..? Yeji is the one who is always calling me kid and patting my head even though Yuna is younger than me. She’s the kid, not me.” You crossed your arms as you just glared at your friend. “That’s ridiculous, when have I ever bullied you? I can’t believe my ears, just wait till Ryujin hears of these ludicrous accusations.”

“Haha I’m just joking, I promise. Yeji put me up to this but I can’t keep up the act. She has never said that.” Lia got your attention, “Yeji was just trying to ruffle your feathers.” 

“Hmm, well ruffled they are. Anyways I’m going to go see Chaeryeong now, I can’t deal with you.” You rolled your eyes at Yeji.

“Sure sure, go visit your girlfriend, and tell her we say hi.” Yeji waved her hand at you. 

“She’s not my girlfriend you idiot.” You yelled back as you had already started to walk away. 

“Ha, keep telling yourself that.” Yeji called out as you walked out the door.

“Awe, are they actually girlfriends..? That’s so cute.” Lia asked Yeji with a bright smile.

“Hmm well not officially or anything but they pretty much act like a married couple.” Yeji shrugged before smiling when she saw the next two girls that walked in arguing. 

“No I’m telling you, you nudged my arm and that made me tip it over. So technically I don’t owe you anything for you having to help me clean it.” The youngest one argued with the friend she walked in with.

“See now you’re just making up stories, I did no such thing. I move with elegance and grace, there’s no way I would’ve bumped into you.” The older one argued back.

“Ha! Elegance and grace..? Is that what you call it when you sit with your legs spread wide open..?” 

“It’s not my fault that that’s just more comfortable to me.” 

“Girls! Hey! Girls…” Yeji raised her voice to get the attention of the two younger girls in front of her. When they both looked at her she clapped her hands together, “Please introduce yourselves to my friend. Her name is Lia and I hope that the two of you can give her a good first impression.” Yeji gestured to her friend behind her. “And Lia, this is Ryujin.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The girl spoke when Yeji gestured towards her. 

“And this little one is Yuna.” Yeji gestured to the youngest. 

“Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you Lia.” Yuna smiled before looking over at Ryujin and sending her a death glare.

“Haha it’s nice to meet the two of you as well.” Lia politely bowed her head a bit before looking over at Yeji. “You sure do have an interesting friend group.” 

“Ha, they are interesting, until you have to deal with them for what feels like twenty four hours a day.” Yeji rolled her eyes. 

“Okay before you start insulting us, where’s thing two..?” Ryujin asked when she noticed you weren’t there. 

“Oh she left right before you two walked in, she went to go see Chaeryeong.” 

“Dang she already left to see thing one.” Ryujin ran a hand through her hair, “She asked me to give these to her but I guess I’ll just have to go take them to her.” She showed Yeji the white knee pads she had in her hands. 

“When did you get those..?” Yeji looked at Ryujin in confusion.

“Oh Chaeryeong had left them in class by accident and she asked me to grab them for her.”  Ryujin explained as she put the knee pads back in her back pocket.

“Oh, I’m surprised she asked you to get them and not that dummy.” Yeji raised her eyebrows in surprise. 

“It’s because she left early and so by the time Chaeryeong had noticed she had left them I was the only one who could grab them for her.” Ryujin looked around before shrugging her shoulders, “I guess I should head over there as well, her performance starts in about an hour.” 

“Okay well we can walk over with you, we want to get good spots to watch her.” Yeji looked over at Lia, “Does that sound good to you..?” 

“Yeah that sounds great to me, I don’t mind. I’m really excited for this performance, our school would never approve anything like this.” Lia answered back with a bright smile.

“Okay then, let’s start heading that way.” 

_

“Knock knock.” You spoke out loud while knocking on the girls locker room door. 

“Oh hey come in.” Chaeryeong called out to you from behind the door.

“Okay, coming in.” You opened the door then walked in. “Oh,” When you didn’t see her as soon as you walked in, you moved further into the locker room. “Pinky…?” You mumbled as you walked around the corner. “Oh wow…” Your jaw had practically dropped to the ground when you saw her in front of you. “Oh great heavens…” You didn’t even know where you got that expression from but all you knew was that the way your best friend looked in that moment had made you almost pass out from shock. She was in the middle of getting her hair done by someone you had never met. “Wow..” 

“Okay you’re all good now, just remember not to touch your eyes or you’ll smear your makeup.” The lady that was doing her hair smiled at you before dismissing herself from the room. 

“Uh, are you okay..? Do I look that weird with makeup on..?” Chaeryeong stood up to walk over to you. 

“No, wait.” You stuck your hand out to stop her from walking closer to you. 

The Chaeryeong in front of you looked so much different than what she normally did. She had black hair this morning but right now it was a dark shade of red and styled. Her makeup was simple but it accented her eyes so well it made her look even more stunning than she normally did.

"Hmm, are you okay..?" Chaeryeong asked with genuine concern at your strange reaction. 

"Pinky, you are so beautiful…" You had never spoken truer words in your life. 

"What..?" Chaeryeong asked with a soft chuckle as she thought you were joking with her.

"You look insanely gorgeous right now, it's unfair…" You just couldn't tear your eyes away from her. "Damn…"

"D-damn..? Huh?" She had confusion written all over her face as she tried to figure out what that expression on your face was for. 

You finally took a moment to look at the rest of her and you were instantly blown away by her beauty. The white outfit she had on nearly gave you a nosebleed. You reached up to pat around your nose to check, just in case.

"Are you okay..? What's wrong with your nose..?" Chaeryeong asked as she watched the way you touched around your nose. 

"I'm just making sure my nose isn't bleeding..." You finally snapped out of deep concentration. "Wow." You shook your head and then turned around.

"Haha what are you doing now..?" Chaeryeong stepped around you so she was facing you again.

"I needed a break, you're a little too much to handle right now." You waved your hand in front of your face to help cool you down. "Well I mean you always are but right now you're just a little too too much to handle." 

Chaeryeong smiled before shaking her head, "You play around too much, can you just tell me if I look okay..? I'm so nervous..?" She ran her hands along her outfit to flatten the material against her body. 

You closed your eyes before slapping your hands over your eyes, "Don't do that in front of me." 

"Huh? Do what??" Chaeryeong jumped in sudden surprise at your reaction. 

"That," You moved one hand away from your face to gesture to her, "What you just did with your hands. Don't do that in front of me unless you want me to pass out." 

"What? But all I was doing was adjusting my clothes…" 

"I know, I know… But you're just too beautiful right now, I'm going to pass out." You moved your other hand away from your face so you could look at her. "And no I'm not just saying this because I like you, anyone with eyes would be blown away with how beautiful you are right now Chaeryeong." You puffed your cheeks up as you exhaled, "I mean you're always beautiful to me but right now I am going to be so jealous of everyone else being able to see you like this." You smiled as you shook your head. "Now I'm going to have some competition in the crush category haha." 

"Okay see now I know you're lying. Plus you would never have to worry about anyone else, there is no competition for you." Chaeryeong walked around you so she could look at herself in the mirror. 

“Wait, what do you mean by that..?” You walked up behind her as she messed with her hair.

“What do I mean by what..?” Chaeryeong looked you in the eyes through the mirror.

“You said there is no competition for me, so does that mean… uh, hmm…” Your head tilted to the side as you tried to think about what you were trying to say. Your brain felt like it had a million thoughts running through it but trying to grab just one felt impossible. 

You went to take a step forward so you could stand in front of her but at the same time she had turned around so she could face you. So now the two of you were standing too close as she had nowhere to go but against the mirror behind her. All those thoughts you had racing through your mind were now gone as all you could do was stare at your best friend with an empty mind. 

“Does that mean what..?” Chaeryeong asked quietly when she saw the position the both of you were in.

“Does that mean I have a chance..?” Your eyes had never left hers as you asked your question.

“A chance..? With what..? Me?” Chaeryeong asked in confusion, her eyes focusing everywhere else but your own.

“Yes, with you.” 

“Uhm, like how..?” She let out a nervous giggle at the end of her question. 

“Like in having you be my girlfriend, you haven’t mentioned anything to me about our whole situation after I told you I have feelings for you, so I just-” Before you could finish what you were trying to say there was a knock on the door followed by a few giggles. 

“Yo yo, Chaeryeong you in there!?” 

You quickly backed away from your best friend when you heard the door open and the footsteps of four other girls walk in. 

“Wow, what did we walk in on..?” Ryujin asked when she saw how red Chaeryeong’s face was and how you were avoiding looking at everyone in the room. 

“Huh? Oh no, nothing, I was just asking her how my uh makeup looked.” Chaeryeong answered as she turned to look in the mirror so she could only look at herself and avoid everyone else’s eyes. 

“Hmm well you’re asking the wrong person for their opinion if you want an honest answer because she’s only going to tell you about how beautiful you are.” Ryujin said as she walked up to Chaeryeong to hand her the knee pads she had in her pocket.

“Ryujin shut up.” You rolled your eyes at her as you walked past everyone to head to the door. 

“What it’s the truth..? Am I wrong..?” Ryujin laughed, “So what did she tell you then Chaeryeong..?” 

“Oh uh, she said it looked good.” Chaeryeong took the knee pads that Ryujin had brought her. 

“Just good..? Hmm, suspicious…” Ryujin mumbled. 

“Okay Ryujin, leave them alone now.” Yeji walked up to Chaeryeong with Lia following behind her. 

“Oh, Yeji, you’re here too. Hi.” Chaeryeong smiled at her. 

“Hi, this is my friend Lia.” Yeji smiled back at her before moving to the side to introduce her friend. 

“Oh,” Chaeryeong looked at Yeji in surprise before looking over at her friend, “Hi, I’m Chaeryeong, it’s nice to meet you.” Chaeryeong smiled at her.

“Oh so this is the girlfriend..?” Lia whispered to Yeji before smiling at Chaeryeong, “Hi, it’s nice to meet you as well. I can’t wait for your performance.”

“Huh,” Chaeryeong was confused as to if she had correctly heard what Lia first said. “Oh thank you.” She snapped out of deep thought when she realized what Lia had said next. 

“Hey wait where are you going??” Yeji was the next one to speak up when she saw you opening the door to head out. 

“Um, I’m just going to go find a spot before the gym fills up.” You looked over at Chaeryeong one last time before walking out of the locker room. 

“What’s up with her, did you two fight..?” Ryujin asked Chaeryeong. 

“Fight..? Us two..? No we didn’t fight. Why..?” Chaeryeong answered as she moved to sit down on one of the benches in the locker room so she could kick her shoes off and slip the knee pads on. 

“The two of you have just been acting weird around each other for a while now.” Ryujin shrugged before being the next one to walk to the door. “Well not my business but I’m going to follow her so we also have a spot to stand. Come on Yuna.” Ryujin grabbed the youngest’s arm and led her out the door. 

“Oh uh okay…” Chaeryeong was still adjusting her knee pads when Yeji moved to stand in front of her.

“How do you feel..? Are you nervous..?” 

Chaeryeong shook her head before looking up at Yeji, “No, I’m not nervous. I’m just excited today is finally here. I’ve been practicing like crazy and I can’t wait for everyone to see my performance.” 

“Hmm, are you having anyone record this performance..?” Yeji moved to sit down next to her on the bench. Lia just moved to stand behind Yeji.

“Oh actually my dance academy has a small team that usually records our public performances and they said that they’re going to come and set up soon to record.” Chaeryeong started to slip her shoes back on once she had both knee pads on. 

And so the three girls sat in the locker room together talking about everything and nothing until four other girls walked in to ask Chaeryeong if she was ready to stretch with them.

_

“Hmm, this does look like it would be a good spot, oh wow, she has a whole camera crew..?” Ryujin rocked on her feet as she stared at the people setting up camera equipment. “Looks like your girlfriend is going to be a star soon.” Ryujin put her arm around your shoulder. 

You huffed in annoyance before pushing her arm off of you, “Why do you guys keep calling her my girlfriend, we’re not dating.” 

“Haha sorry it’s just so funny seeing how annoyed you get. You take it too seriously, we’re just joking. We seriously don’t think you like her. We just think it’s funny because it’d be so cliche if you did actually like her. But we all know how Chaeryeong is, you could tell her a million times that you like her yet she still wouldn’t believe you.” Ryujin nudged your arm lightly.

It was at that moment when your entire friend group’s jokes flashed through your head, you had forgotten you never actually told them about your feelings for your best friend so the fact that you let their dumb jokes get under your skin might have seemed suspicious. You had to find a way to play it off so that your secret could stay hidden, plus considering the fact that if they found out that she rejected you they would tease you relentlessly. You honestly didn’t know how you would be able to survive their torment.

You closed your eyes for a second as you tried to put on a different persona to throw Ryujin off of your trail. “Ha no that would be silly, it’s just that if she hears all these jokes I don’t want her to start believing them. I don’t want her to feel awkward in our relationship because of the jokes you all make haha.” You scratched the skin behind your right ear as you avoided looking at both Ryujin and Yuna.

“Hmm,” Yuna finally spoke up after being silent for the entirety of the time you’d seen her that night. “That seems a little suspicious but we will buy that excuse for now.” Yuna pulled on Ryujin’s sleeve so she could get her attention then she pointed at your face. 

“Very suspicious indeed.” 

You cleared your throat before looking around at the gym that began to fill up with the various other students that attended your school. “When do you think this will start..?” You asked both Ryujin and Yuna as you attempted to change the subject. 

“I’m not sure, but hopefully soon. They need to hurry it up with the food.” Ryujin mumbled as she scanned the room for where the food was being set up.

Before you could say anything in response you felt someone lightly tap on your shoulder. 

“Oh who’s that..?” Yuna whispered to Ryujin at the mystery girl tapping on your shoulder. Ryujin just shrugged in response as they watched the two of you.

You turned around and you were greeted with very familiar eyes, “Oh, Chaeyeon, what are you doing here..?” You greeted your best friend's older sister with a friendly hug which she quickly reciprocated. 

“I’m here to watch Chaeryeong’s performance of course.” She told you once you finished hugging. 

“Oh that’s awesome, she’s going to be so excited to know you’re here. Oh but you’ve seen the dance already haven’t you..? She told me that you helped her practice some parts at home.” 

“Haha, of course I’ve seen the whole dance already, but no matter how many times you see the dance in practice an actual performance will blow it out of the water.” Chaeyeon laughed as she shook her head, “Trust me this is a performance that I do not want to miss.” 

“Ah okay okay, I understand now. Well luckily for you I think I picked out the best spot to watch from.” You gestured to the empty space in front of you that was blocked off with some cones someone had grabbed from the gym’s utility closet. “Her performance is going to take place up there.” 

“Nice well I hope you don’t mind me joining along to watch from here.” Chaeyeon said as she gestured to the other two girls behind you.

“Oh,” You had completely forgotten that both Ryujin and Yuna were just standing there, “I don’t think they’ll mind. I certainly don’t.” You looked behind at the two girls, “You guys don’t mind if Chaeryeong’s older sister stands here with us to watch the performance, do you..?” 

“Wait, her older sister..?” Ryujin stepped up to get a better look at Chaeyeon. “Wow why has she never introduced you to us.” 

“Wow, she’s pretty.” Yuna said as she walked around Chaeyeon. 

“Hmm well I know what she was doing keeping her away from you..” You mumbled quietly as you talked about Ryujin, “But yes this is Chaeyeon, Chaeryeong’s older sister. And Chaeyeon, this is Ryujin,” You gestured to Ryujin, “And this is Yuna.” You pointed to the youngest. 

“Hi, it’s nice to meet the two of you. Sorry I haven’t met either of you before, I rarely have time in between my studies at university and my work at the same dance studio that Chaeryeong attends, to meet people.” 

“Wow wait, you work there..? That’s awesome, how is it..? Chaeryeong doesn’t ever talk about her studio since Yeji and I both attend ASP Studios across town haha.” Ryujin had moved to stand in between you so she could talk to Chaeyeon now that her interest was piqued. 

“Oh well I started there as a student at the same time as Chaeryeong, but once I entered university I was thinking about dropping out because of the time restraints but then they offered me a position there so they wouldn’t lose me. It’s really fun, I get to work on my own thing while also helping out with the younger children in my free time.” 

While the two of them got carried away in their own conversation your eyes began to wander around the now crowded gym. At the sight of all the faces in the crowd, you began to feel nervous for your best friend. You knew she would do fine and that there was really nothing to worry about but you just couldn’t help yourself. 

“Oh there’s Yeji and her friend.” Yuna tugged on your sleeve as she pointed at your other friend making her way through the crowd to where you were positioned.

“Finally, we found you.” Yeji said with a small huff. “There are way more people in here than it might look like.” 

“Wow there’s even a DJ here..? I’m so jealous of your school.” Lia said as her eyes were drawn to the DJ booth in the corner. The DJ your school had hired was still in the process of setting up so the gym was only filled with the sounds of everyone’s conversations. 

“Oh, who is this..?” Yeji asked you when she noticed Chaeyeon talking to Ryujin. 

“Oh Yeji, this is Chaeyeon, she’s Chaeryeong’s older sister. And Chaeyeon, this is Yeji, another one of our friends.” You introduced the two of them and RYujin quickly caught Yeji up with Chaeyeon’s employment status.

“Wow, that’s so cool that they hired you there. I’m sure Ryujin already told you but the both of us attend the same studio so Chaeryeong doesn’t ever tell us anything about what is going on at her’s. So this performance of hers is a complete surprise to all of us.” Yeji told Chaeyeon. 

“Ah yeah well that’s not entirely her fault, our studio likes to keep everything quiet until it becomes a public performance. They say it is to build suspense haha.” 

“Blah blah blah, enough dancing talk.” Yuna interrupted as she leaned on Yeji. “Let’s talk about something else now, you are all boring me.” 

“Talk about something else..? Well what do you want us to talk about..?” Yeji asked the youngest. Music began to play throughout the gym but by the looks of everything, set up was still taking place.

“Oh what’s that..?” Lia asked when a few people walked in rolling something in the spot that they had blocked off. 

“I have no idea, it's huge.” Yeji said as you all watched the crew of people begin to set up whatever it was they had. 

“Oh it’s a collapsible stage. Our studio had these custom made so that they can support the dances we do. It helps the people in the back to see what's going on as well. Hmm seeing as they brought this they should also be bringing- oh well there it is.” Chaeyeon pointed to the second crew of people setting up what looked like a projectable screen.

“Wow, your studio is taking this performance really seriously.” Ryujin said as she stared at all the equipment in awe. 

“Haha well we take every performance very seriously but this is mainly a big deal because this is going to be used for Chaeryeong’s dance portfolio.” Chaeyeon answered. 

It was your turn to ask Chaeyeon a question. “Dance portfolio, what’s that..? Chaeryeong has never mentioned that to me before.” 

“It’s just where we gather all of her performances to market her as the talented dancer she is in hopes of getting her a few jobs as a backup dancer for some big names in the industry.” Chaeyeon answered you with a smile. “And the reason she probably hasn’t brought it up to you was because she didn’t want you to worry over this performance any more than you already would.”

“Oh, okay I think I understand what you mean.” You looked back over to where the crew of people were setting up the stage and you were amazed at how quickly they’d finished up. 

A voice suddenly started to speak from the speakers that were set up all around the gym. 

“Good Evening and thank you for inviting me to your school dance. I was told to inform you all that the special performance being put on by one of your fellow classmates will begin in just five short minutes. So please standby as we finish getting everything set up. Thank you.” The music resumed playing and you watched in awe as a few people dressed in black with the studio’s logo on their shirts walked past you with cameras that looked more expensive than anything else you’d seen in your life. 

This is when it hit you, your best friend wasn’t just perfect in your eyes, there were a lot more people out there that were in awe of her many amazing qualities and that only made you happy. Not only was she your best friend, but you were hers. That was the one thing you had that all these other people didn’t. 

“Ah five more minutes, ooh do you think I have enough time to use the restroom real quick..?” Ryujin asked which resulted in groans from the group of girls you were with. “Ouch, I was just joking I promise.” She smiled her infamous smile as she apologized. 

“Oh there she is..” Yeji whispered when she saw Chaeryeong walking to the stage with four other girls. “Wait why am I whispering.” Yeji giggled at herself.

“Wow she looks like a superstar…” Yuna said as everyone else agreed. 

Chaeryeong stood out compared to the four other girls thanks not only to her white outfit contrasting their black ones, but her now fiery hair.

“Awe her hair looks better than I thought it would.” Chaeyeon said with a proud smile. 

“Oh speaking of that, when did she get that done..? I swear her hair was normal this morning.” You asked Chaeyeon.

“Ah well it’s just a temporary hair dye so we had to do it as soon as she was released from school today or else it wouldn't have been as vibrant. I think our mom would’ve killed the both of us if we actually dyed her hair for real.” Chaeyeon answered you with a smile. 

There was a chorus of understanding Oh’s coming from you and the group of girls you were with. 

As the other girls got to talking amongst each other you couldn’t help but just stare at your best friend from where you were. Yuna’s words echoing in your head. A superstar. Your best friend was already special enough to you, but the fact that other people may now view her as a superstar made your heart swell for her. 

Chaeryeong walked onto the stage with the four other dancers and they looked around the room in front of them. They were all talking to each other except for Chaeryeong, she looked around the room very intently as if she was searching for someone.

When her wandering eyes finally found your still ones, she smiled almost instantly. When she saw you it had almost looked like she was instantly relieved of a stress you didn’t know was bothering her then she began waving her hand at you. She mouthed something and it took you a few moments before you realized what she was saying.

“Thank you for being here.” 

You gave her a small nod before answering, “Of course, I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

“Oh she sees us!” Yuna yelled when she saw Chaeryeong looking in your direction. 

“Woo!! Chaeryeong!!!” All the girls started yelling for her as they jumped up and down for her attention. 

She let out a giggle as she shook her head at your friend group’s antics.

“Yeah that’s my friend up there, I know her!!!” Ryujin yelled out to the random people around her. 

Your friends finally calmed down when Chaeryeong sent you all one last happy wave before her smile disappeared and it looked like she was getting into her starting position. The four other dancers were already frozen in place with their eyes closed. The music that had been playing quietly faded out and the crowd went silent. The people you saw with cameras earlier quickly spread out in front of the stage as they began to roll film.

A guitar rift started to play through the speakers in the gym as the lights began to dim and the lighting equipment they set up earlier began to shine on your best friend. You didn’t notice when but the projected screen began to show live feed from the first camera they had set up when you first walked into the gym. 

People started to react when a woman began humming through the speakers. Then it began, the look in your best friend's eyes was like something you had never seen before. The way she moved along with the rhythm of the song was something you would never forget. The fluidity in her moves and the concentration in her eyes was something you wanted to remember for as long as you could. Yuna was right, your best friend was a born superstar, and this performance only further proved that. 

The synchronization between her and her dancers had everyone in awe. The entire crowd was silent as everyone had their eyes locked on her. The five dancers on stage had taken everyone by surprise. Not only was their dancing absolutely breathtaking but it was like they were telling a story through their moves and the song. Then it came for the moment where the other dancers had stepped away for a moment and Chaeryeong was in the forefront of the stage dancing by herself for a moment. Your eyes never left her as she danced. It wasn’t only you who couldn’t tear your eyes from her, everyone in the crowd was entranced with the way she moved. Her solo part only proved that it wasn’t just her contrasting outfit that stole everyone’s attention, but it was the way she moved. The way she followed the rhythm and the way she partially lip sang to the lyrics playing through the speakers. Then the other dancers showed back up and the dance moved to the floor. Everyone in the crowd gasped at the absolute fluidity that she rolled around on the ground with. She made her movements look so graceful and easy but everyone knew that if they were to even try to mimic that move it would be everything but graceful. 

This dance was unlike anything you had seen before but the charisma that oozed out of Chaeryeong’s eyes was incredible. She knew she had everyone's attention on her and she reveled in that. She was putting on a show that she knew would be hard for anyone to top. She was in her element and she was breathtaking. But even with everyone's eyes on her, there was only person she was looking at.

The way she and the dancers transitioned from the ground back to being upright was incredible. This wasn’t just a dance, it was an art form and your best friend was the best artist you knew. 

For this next portion they were all in sync except for parts where it looked like she was leading them into the next steps and seeing that in person was absolutely incredible. Then all of a sudden one of the camera men got onto stage as the other four dancers moved away. He held the camera up to Chaeryeong’s eye level as she began to walk away following the winding down of the song. She hit her last pose as the song finished. 

Not even a second into silence the crowd went wild. Everyone was cheering like crazy, but no one could top your friend group in cheering. They were all jumping up and down waving their hands in the air as they cheered her on. Chaeryeong’s super serious expression was soon taken over by her lovable smile when she saw the way you were all cheering for her. 

The other dancers quickly joined her back on stage so they could all bow to the crowd. You didn’t see who exactly it was, but one of the dancers handed Chaeryeong a microphone. 

“Oh!” Her sound of surprise carried it’s way through the microphone as she wasn’t expecting to talk after her performance. The crowd had all let out a laugh at the way she fumbled in surprise when she heard her voice through the speakers. 

Her fellow dancers directed her to stand at the front of the stage so she could give a little speech. 

Before she began to talk she took a moment to bow to the crowd again. Her eyes looked around at everyone in the crowd before she brought the microphone up to her lips. “Hi, uh I’m Chaeryeong. Thank you for giving me your time and attention for this performance that my dance studio helped me put on. Uhm…” She looked around nervously as she didn’t know what else to say, “Oh I have been working on this dance for around seven weeks now so I hope you all enjoyed it.” Once again she smiled her absolutely sweetest smile to the crowd and everybody was in awe once again. “So yeah, thank you for having me.” She bowed once again before waving at the crowd. Everyone cheered as she and the other dancers walked off stage. She handed the microphone off to someone before rushing over to where you and your friends were standing. 

Everyone instantly started speaking at once, congratulating her on her performance and gushing over how incredible she was. 

“Thank you all for being here, I was so nervous but seeing you all in the crowd helped out so much.” Chaeryeong’s eyes locked onto yours for a second longer than everyone else's. 

“Of course are you kidding me?? Who in their right mind would have missed this?” Ryujin said. 

“Yeah that was incredible Chaeryeong, you killed it.” Yeji added on with a proud smile. 

“And you too Chaeyeon, thank you for making it.” Chaeryeong hugged her older sister.

“Awe.” Your friends marveled at the display of family love in front of them.

“Of course, I wouldn’t have missed this. But I do have to go soon, we have a meeting in a bit once everything gets packed back in the vans.” Chaeyeon told her younger sister.

“Okay, well then I’ll see you back home tonight.” Chaeryeong told her before moving in front of you so she could talk to you. 

“Oh it’s time for us to move out, let them have their moment…” Ryujin joked around and everyone else laughed. 

You sent them all a death glare but that didn’t stop them from all walking away after congratulating Chaeryeong one last time. 

“So how was it..?” Chaeryeong finally asked you when everyone else had already walked away and it was just the two of you. 

“How was it..? Are you joking..? I don’t even think you need to ask that Pinky. You were incredible. That was better than any concert I’ve been to.” You smiled at her, “You looked so at home up on that stage. That’s where you belong.” 

Chaeryeong’s cheeks flushed red at the sound of your compliments. “T-thank you.” 

“Haha of course. Oh,” When you saw the way she was still glistening with sweat you smiled softly at her, “Did you want to go sit somewhere so you could cool down..? Do you need some water..?” 

Chaeryeong looked around before nodding her head at you, “Sure, uh my water bottle is in the locker room I can go grab it real quick.” 

“Oh then we can go get it together, I don’t really even want to be here anyways haha.” 

“Huh..? You don’t want to be here..?” Chaeryeong asked in confusion. 

“Yeah I mean the dance. The only reason I really even showed up was to watch your performance. And it was well worth it too haha. But you know me, I’m just not a fan of being around a bunch of strangers lol.” 

“Ah okay, well then we can go get my water together.” She smiled at you before helping lead you out of the crowded gym into the hallway. 

You both made your way into the empty locker room and Chaeryeong went straight to her bag. She reached in it and grabbed her bottle. “Okay I got it.” She turned around with a smile and her water bottle in her hand.

“Okay well take a drink then we can find somewhere to sit down.” You walked towards the sink to grab a hand towel then you walked back over to Chaeryeong. “Here, don’t move.” You used the hand towel to wipe away the sweat that built up on her face around her hairline. 

Chaeryeong stood there with a bright red face as all she could focus on was how close you were to her. 

“There we go, all better.” You smiled at her before walking to put the hand towel away.

Chaeryeong took another drink of water before puffing her cheeks out as she exhaled. You might have been oblivious to it but something inside of her snapped while she performed her dance in front of you. There was something about the way you had watched her from the crowd that had changed the way she felt around you. 

“You ready..?” You waved your hand in front of her face when you saw that she was zoned out again. 

“Hmm,” She hummed before blinking a few times, “Oh yeah,” She smiled at you, “We can head out.” 

The both of you walked out of the locker room and then through a set of double doors that led to the outside of your school. You walked down the pathway for a bit before finding a bench to sit on. You were accompanied by the calm cool breeze of the night all the way to your destination. 

You gestured to Chaeryeong to sit down first which she promptly did. You smiled as you kneeled down in front of her. 

“Hmm..?” Chaeryeong looked at you, eyes filled with confusion as she didn’t know what you were doing. 

“Hold on, don’t move.” You placed both of your hands on her legs right above her ankles, “Your shoe is untied.” You looked up at her with a smile before looking back down at her shoe to tie it.

“Oh, thank you. I didn’t notice.” Chaeryeong looked at the way your hair flowed down your head as you tied her shoe. 

“I could tell, you seem to be really out of it. Did the dance tire you out that much..?” You looked back up at her when you finished with the last knot. 

“Uh yeah, something like that.” Chaeryeong looked to the side to avoid eye contact with you, “I think it was mostly my nerves or something.” 

You moved to sit next to her, not noticing how she was avoiding eye contact. “You were nervous..? Wow I couldn’t even tell. I was nervous for you haha, but when I saw how cool you looked up there I figured that if you didn’t look nervous then I didn’t have a reason to be either.” 

“I looked cool..?” Chaeryeong smiled to herself when she heard that. 

“Yeah you did, and I don’t think I’m the only one who thought so haha.” 

“Hmm, well what was your favorite part..?” Chaeryeong looked over at you. 

“Oh uh I think my favorite move was the one where you had your hands behind you and you spun in a circle while hopping. It was towards the end of the performance, here look.” You stood up to show her your artistic rendition of the move. You couldn’t help the smile on your face when you heard her laugh. “Boom, I think I nailed it.” You sat back down with the goofiest smile on your face. (2:48 of the performance)

“Haha you totally nailed it. You should join me at the academy haha.” Chaeryeong laughed a little louder. 

“Nah, I’m too good for a dance studio. I don’t want to show you all up.” You let out another giggle.

“Oh yeah, totally.” Chaeryeong blinked a few times before fanning her face, “Ah that was funny.” She cleared her throat, “Why was that your favorite part.” 

“Haha well the reason is kind of dumb but it’s because it reminds me of when you were younger and you’d have a little tantrum. Feet stomping around the same way. It was cute.” 

Chaeryeong frowned before rolling her eyes, “Okay now I know you’re joking, what was actually your favorite part..?” 

“I’m really not joking, that’s what it reminded me of. But fine if you don’t believe me I’ll tell you my other favorite part. It was at the beginning when the girls were kneeling down and you were standing in the middle of them moving your arms like you were controlling them. You looked so cool and in charge. It was nice seeing that side of you.” (0:27 of the performance video) 

“Huh? That side of me..? What do you mean..?” Chaeryeong looked to the side in confusion before looking back at you. 

“You just look so cool and confident when you’re performing, it's so different from how shy you normally are. It was nice to see the dominant side of you even for a moment. It’s nice to know that dancing brings that out in you.” You looked her in the eyes as you explained what you meant.

“Dominant side..?” Chaeryeong looked at you, eyes filled with question marks. “What does that mean..? Isn’t that like a weird thing..?”

“Huh?? What are you talking about? Hey wait a minute, where is your brain going??” You joked with her since you knew she’d get easily embarrassed. 

“My brain..? But you said it, I was just asking for clarification on what you meant by that word.” Chaeryeong looked around in surprise to make sure no one was around to hear your conversation. 

“Okay well what I meant by that word was that I liked how it looked like you knew how to take charge. Like you were on top of the world and you weren’t scared of anything because you owned the world for even just a minute.” You narrowed your eyes at her as you eyed her in suspicion. “Hmm, were you thinking lewd thoughts..? I’m going to tell your mom.” 

“What?? You’re the one who used that word, you could have just said I looked cool but you said the word dominant. People usually only use that word when they’re thinking lewd thoughts.” Chaeryeong tried to defend herself yet she just kept digging herself into a deeper hole. 

“Okay but why would you think I was using it in that context..? Did you think I was having lewd thoughts..?” You gasped as you placed your hand over your heart, “That is preposterous, just because I like you doesn’t mean I would disrespect you like that. Just wait till everyone hears about this miss ma’am.” 

You moved to get up in a joking move that showed you were ready to run around to holler. But as you were moving to get up Chaeryeong reached out to grab your shoulders to pull you back down. Somewhere in between those two motions your foot got stuck and you ended up falling onto the bench on your back, bringing Chaeryeong down with you. 

“Ouch, now you’re trying to kill me..?” You joked after you let out a small groan from the sudden motion of being thrown under your best friend's body weight. “Uh, hello..?” You looked up at your friend who still had her hands on your shoulders. Her hair had fallen down like a curtain around the two of you and the rest of the world. “Are you okay..? Did you get hurt..? I thought I took most of the impact…” You mumbled the last sentence before moving both of your hands to rest on both of her arms. 

Chaeryeong was startled by you touching her arms so as she slightly jumped in surprise, she caused one of her arms to buckle which caused her to fall even further towards you, putting all of her strength into her left hand now she removed it from your shoulder to the bench so she would keep the weight off of you. 

“S-sorry…” Her voice was barely above a whisper as all she could do was stare at your face. 

“No, don’t apologize. Did you get hurt..?” You looked at the compromising position the two of you were in so you tried to move a bit but then you realized you were pinned in between both of her legs. 

“Stop doing that…” Chaeryeong mumbled before closing her eyes for a second.

“Hmm, sorry did I hurt you..? I was just trying to move so we would be in such an awkward position.” You let out a stiff laugh as you tried to figure out what was going on in your best friend's head. 

“No, you’re worrying about me when you’re the one who fell down. Are you okay..? Did you hurt your back..?” Since all of her weight was resting on her left arm she used her right hand to run her thumb down your face. 

“Woah,” You reached up with your hand to stop hers, “Don’t do that, that gave me shivers.” Your eyes showed just how panicked that made you feel. 

Chaeryeong didn’t know why but she couldn’t help the smile that gave her, “Did it..?” 

“Uh…” You looked up in shock as you didn’t know what took over your best friend. “Wow…” Your eyes widened as you saw that her eyes looked completely different than they did just moments ago. Her eyes looked like they did when she was on stage earlier. Confident and filled with authority. 

Chaeryeong hummed to herself as she examined every feature on your face as you laid there underneath her. 

“Uhm, pinky..? Uh I don’t want someone to walk out here and get the wrong picture if they see us like this.” You once again tried to move but you soon found your efforts to be in vain as you couldn’t. 

“And what picture would that be..?” She asked you with a smile as she studied your eyes when you answered. 

“Well I don’t want them to think we’re like making out or something haha,” You laughed nervously as you tried to look away from her. You realized that you couldn’t see anything else around you because of the way that her hair had fallen around you. 

“Look at me…” Chaeryeong’s voice was just above a whisper but you could hear her smiling through her words. 

“Uhm, okay…” You whispered back expecting her to tell you a secret or something. 

When you finally looked her in the eyes again she smiled even wider, “Can I ask you something..?” 

“Oh uh, this atmosphere seems a little too intense for just a question but yeah go ahead.” Once you thought your best friend was just joking around you relaxed a bit. 

“What did you think when you saw me dancing..?” Chaeryeong asked with a curious glint in her eyes.

“Hmm..? What do you mean..?” Your eyes showed that you genuinely did not understand what she was trying to ask.

“Your eyes earlier, the way you were watching me was unlike any way you’ve ever looked at me before. What were you thinking then..?” 

“Huh..? Chaeryeong you already know I’ve had a crush on you since middle school, I’m sure you can figure out exactly what I was thinking.” You rolled your eyes at her question.

“But I want to hear you say it.” 

“Say what..?” 

“I want you to say what was going through your mind when you saw me dance.” 

“No, that's weird and embarrassing. Seriously Chaeryeong, just because you know I like you doesn’t mean you can tease me like this for no reason.” You weren't going to lie, you were starting to get irritated as you couldn’t tell what it was that your best friend wanted.

“I’m not teasing you. I promise. I’m just genuinely curious. Because if me just doing this,” She reached up with her right hand again to run her thumb down your cheek before resting her hand on the side of your neck, causing you to close your eyes and let out a deep breath, “Causes you to react like that, then I want to know how my dancing made you feel. Now tell me or I won’t move.” 

You looked up in surprise as you couldn’t tell what was going on in your best friends head. “Fine, fine. You win. Uhm let me think.” You let out a defeated sigh as you thought back to your friends performance. “Okay so at first I thought you looked pretty in your outfit when you walked on stage, uh then I thought you seriously looked really cool at the beginning, uhm oh and then when you were dancing on the floor uh,” You looked away from her, “I thought you looked really hot.” You closed your eyes, “There that’s all, I seriously was just inner fangirling over how good you looked up there.” 

You heard her giggle again so you opened your eyes to find her just staring at you, “Do you want to know what my favorite part of performing tonight was..?” 

“Uh sure, I mean it’s not like I can go anywhere right now…” You mumbled the second part of that sentence to yourself. 

“My favorite part tonight was feeling everyone’s eyes on me as all I could do was keep my eyes on you.” 

“Huh..? What do you mean..?” 

“What I mean is that I like you, dummy.” 

“What? Wait, what..? You like me? Like as in like the way I like you..?” Your eyes widened in shock as you stared at your best friend. “Not in the oh my god your my best friend I like you haha, but as in the romantic way..?”

Chaeryeong let out a little giggle as she enjoyed the way her words rocked you. “Yes dummy, in the romantic way. I told you I just needed some time to figure out my feelings but tonight really confirmed what I thought I had felt.” 

“Tonight..? What did I do tonight to confirm your feelings..?” 

Chaeryeong hummed as she tried to figure out how to word her thoughts, “Hmm, well when I saw the way you were looking at me I couldn’t help but think about how I’d feel if I ever saw you look at someone else like that and I didn’t like that. I couldn’t figure out why I wouldn’t have liked it but then I realized that it’s because I like you and so I only want you to look at me like that.” 

Your stared at her with your mouth agape in shock, “Um, well..” You froze when you felt her move her hand again. “I promise to only look at you, if…” 

“Hmm, if what..?” Chaeryeong traced her thumb over your eyebrow as she studied your eyes. 

“Only if you go out with me. I want you to be my girlfriend Chaeryeong. I don’t ever want to be confused about how you feel about me in the future and I dont want a situationship. I want to date you, no matter what ups and downs we may go through, I want to be able to call you my girlfriend.” You had to let out a little chuckle at the position you found yourself in, you’d thought about this moment for ages but to finally ask her out as shes on top of you was super unexpected. 

Charyeongs playful look in her eyes disappeared as she thought about something, “I’ve never dated anyone before so I don’t know how this is supposed to work.” She rested her hand to sit on your cheek as she stared at you.

“It’s okay, I haven’t either but we can figure this out together. I promise. I would never make you do anything you wouldn’t want to so if you ever want to call it quits just tell me.” 

“So are we dating now..?” Chaeryeong asked with a shy smile. 

“I mean I’m just waiting on a response from you.” You reached up to wipe a smudge of her makeup off of her face. 

“Well then yes, we’re dating now.” Chaeryeong smiled happily as she leaned into your touch. 

You looked up at her with the most sincerity in your eyes, “I don’t think you understand how happy I am right now. My heart is going to leap out of my chest.” 

“So since we’re dating now, it’s okay for me to do this right..?” 

“Hmm do what..?” 

Before your brain could register what was happening Chaeryeong had leaned all the way down breaking the small distance you had between each other as she placed her lips onto yours. 

It caught you by surprise but you had thought of this moment for ages, so thanks to your many hours of preparation for just this single moment you were able to lead what had started off as an awkward first kiss into something that neither of you would ever forget. 

Chaeryeong had caught on fairly quickly to what you were doing and soon the two of you were moving as one. 

Chaeryeong had finally pulled away so she could look you in the eyes again, “Wow, are you lying to me..? Have you dated someone before..?” 

You couldn’t help the smile as you cupped her face in your hands, “I’m not lying to you, there’s only one person out there for me and she’s currently staring at me with the warmest cheeks I’ve ever felt in my life.” 

This time it was you who closed the distance between the two of you as you initiated the second kiss. 

“No I promise it won’t be too long before I can see you again, but I have to go right now, we have to head back on stage for rehearsal.” 

"Okay, It’s fine, just call me whenever you can. Don’t work too hard." You heard her sigh on the other side of the phone before the line cut out. You put your phone down to stare at her contact for a few more seconds before sliding your phone back into your pocket, then you proceeded to walk back into your office.

Your girlfriend had called you just a few minutes ago as you were on the way back from your lunch break. Time for her was limited but you knew She tried her best to keep in contact with you as she was in the middle of traveling for her scheduled World Tour that she had been practicing for for months now. 

It had been about six weeks since the last time you had seen the person you call your other half, Park Jihyo, or when you had met her, Park Jisoo. The two of you had known each other for a long while so this long time apart was no different than her many times abroad before. Well you knew that for yourself being apart wasn’t as hard on you as it was on her. 

As you made your way to your desk chair your phone buzzed in your pocket. You pulled it out as you sat down, “Hmm.” There was a news article about Twice’s most recent performance in Thailand. You smiled to yourself as you read through the article before taking a screenshot of the article's title. 

With the screenshot attached you sent her the following message. 

"See, I'm not the only one who is proud of you ♡"

_

It had been six hours since you last talked to Jihyo on the phone, normally by now she would have sent you a message to keep you updated with what she was doing. You tried to think nothing extra of the time since you figured it was just one of those extra busy days for her. 

Curiosity got the best of you, so you double checked your phone one last time just to make sure you didn't miss a message from her by any chance. You opened up your most recent conversation but the last thing on the bottom of the screen was your message to her without a reply back.

"Hmm," You moved to turn off your computer sitting in front of you. "I know she said they have a new album releasing soon, is that what she’s working on..” You were so lost in thought, you didn’t even realize that you were biting the end of your favorite pen, which was actually a gift Jihyo had brought back from her time in Taiwan with Twice.

A knock on your door brought you back into the present, “Yes, come in.” You called out to whoever was on the other side. 

The door cracked open and it was one of the employees who worked under you that walked in. 

“Oh, Arin, what can I do for you?” You sat up to meet her eyes. 

“Oh nothing, we just wanted to know if you were going to join all of us for dinner today..?’’

You checked the time on your watch before looking back up at her, “I have a few papers I have to run out tonight so I don’t think I’m going to get a chance to make it tonight.” When you saw the look of disappointment on her face you offered her a soft smile, “I’ll try my best to make it next week so how about you take my card to pay for it..?” You reached into your wallet to pull one of your cards out. 

“Oh no, director, it's okay. Dinner is on Minwoo tonight, he lost a bet this week so he has to pay.” 

“Awe dinner is on Minwoo tonight? Man, I really wish I could’ve made it.” You and Arin shared a laugh. 

“Haha well I’ll let everyone else know that you won’t make it. Did you need any help with anything before we head out for tonight?” 

Your eyes panned over all the paperwork on your desk, “Hmm?” You looked back up at Arin, “No, I think I’m okay. Have a good dinner and an even better weekend.” 

“Oh thank you director, I’ll see you on monday.” She flashed you one last smile before heading out of your office. 

Once she walked out you leaned back into your chair, taking a brief moment to yourself, you started thinking about your past.

_

You had met Jihyo almost five years ago when you were in the tailend of your university studies and she was about to debut. You had been working part time at a thrift shop near your university that was fairly popular amongst the students looking to find items for very low prices or who were getting ready to leave university and were getting rid of everything they didn’t need anymore. But then on one lucky day, Jihyo walked in with a small group of girls. 

You remember seeing her walk away from the group she walked in with as they headed to the clothes and she headed towards the area with all the hats and other hair accessories. You watched from afar as she kept looking up to a black hat that was sitting just up above her reach. After watching her struggle for a bit you slowly made your way behind her. 

 “Here I got it.” You reached around her to grab the hat she had been looking at. 

Jihyo had jumped up in surprise at your sudden presence. “Oh my, you scared me.” 

Once you managed to grab the hat you held it near the top of her head, "Wow, this would look beautiful on you." You smiled to yourself while nodding your head in approval of your own statement.

Jihyo smiled shyly and her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, “Ah thank you.” She grabbed the hat from you as you held it out for her to take. “But I don’t know if I’m going to buy it, I just wanted to take a closer look at it.” 

“Haha well it’d be a shame not to, I mean it when I say it would look beautiful on you.” You looked down at the name tag on your chest when you noticed she was staring at it, “Ah and no I’m not saying that because I work here, trust me we don’t get paid commissions here.” You chuckled at your own joke, trying to read her expression before continuing, “I say that because you’re very beautiful, you could wear anything in here and make it look like a limited designer item.” 

"Ah,” She let out a nervous chuckle as she fixed a stray piece of her hair, “I doubt that, but thank you for the compliment."

You tilted your head to the side as you stared at her, “What..?” You raised an eyebrow up in confusion, “I’m not the type to lie, Miss..?” You ended your sentence in a tone that offered the beauty in front of you to finish it. 

“Ah, Jisoo, oh ah I mean Jihyo. My name is Jihyo.” She seemed confused by her own answer. 

“A woman with two names, hmm, what kind of life do you lead..?” You took a small step toward her, “Miss Jihyo.” 

This time you were able to get a laugh out of her as she shook her head before answering you, “No it’s nothing crazy I promise. My birth name is Park Jisoo, but the industry that I am hoping to pursue my career in already has enough Jisoo’s haha. So I figured that before I got started in my dream industry I should change my name. And so Jihyo was my choice.” 

“Oh Jihyo, hmm like the actress.. Oh wait but that’s not her real name..” You looked up in deep thought. “Well I guess it is a beautiful name fitting for a beautiful woman.” 

Jihyo looked down at the hat in her hand before looking back up at you, “Ah if you don’t mind me asking, how much is this hat..? I don’t see a price.” 

“Oh it is..” You grabbed the hat from her as she handed it over, “Five bucks, but just for you miss two names, I’ll give it to you for a single dollar.” 

“What, no you don’t have to do that.” She started to shake her head in protest as you handed the hat back to her. “And it’s just one name now.” 

“Okay Miss Jihyo, but I’m sorry that’s the deal on the hat now. If I could give it to you for free I would, but I can’t do that or I’d get fired.” You smiled at her. 

“Yeah but that’s ju-” Before she could finish her sentence you had to cut her off since you heard your co-worker calling for you.

“Oh Miss Jihyo it is time for me to go, I am being summoned. If I could stand here and chat with you for the rest of the day I would, but I’ll see you at the register.” You sent her a friendly wink before making your way to your coworker who needed help with one of the store's item displays. 

"Wow who and what was that..?" A voice coming from behind Jihyo made her jump. 

“Huh? Oh Sana, hey.” Jihyo smiled at the girl staring at her with wide eyes, “Uh she works here, she was just helping me get this hat.” Jihyo held the hat up to show Sana.

“Just helping you get that hat?” Sana questioned her in an unbelieving tone. “She sounded like she was trying to get your number.” 

“What do you mean?” Jihyo’s eyes conveyed that she couldn’t believe what Sana was saying. 

“What I mean is that she was spitting some serious game, I should really ask her for tips.” Sana joked with Jihyo before walking away. 

“Game?” Jihyo was all alone in the hat section as she revisited the conversation she had with you earlier in her head. “Me?” 

Quite some time had passed and once you had helped your co-worker finish up the item display she was working on, you found yourself looking around the store, hoping for your eyes to land on the beautiful woman you were talking to earlier. After a few minutes of spinning around in a circle you decided to call your failure and you walked to the register to take over check out duty so your other co-worker could go on her lunch break. 

After ringing out a few customers you were soon face to face with those beautiful brown eyes from earlier. “Wow, well if it isn’t the most beautiful person in this store, it’s nice to see you again Miss Jihyo.” You smiled as you took the items she had placed on the counter in front of you. After she didn’t say anything your smile quickly faded, “Oh I’m sorry, was that too much, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” You soon made yourself busy with the hat and the pair of boots she had placed on the counter earlier. 

After just staring at you for a few more seconds she finally decided to speak up, “Is this ‘game’ to try and get my number..?” She asked in what you assumed was a serious tone. 

You wanted to take her question seriously but you just couldn’t, “Haha what?” 

At your sudden outburst of laughter Jihyo decided to add some context to her question, because context is always important and more information behind something is better than no context…

“Oh well my friend came up to me after you left and she said that you were attempting to get my number by ‘spitting game’, whatever that means.” 

This time you were the one to be embarrassed, “Oh wow was I that obvious?” You shook your head as you chuckled to yourself, “Well Miss Jihyo, your friend is correct, I was trying to get your number, but I was hoping to get it after I invited you out for dinner this weekend.”  

Jihyo stared at you in shock for a few seconds as she totally didn’t expect Sana to be right. She thought that it was ridiculous for someone to have wanted her number, especially someone like you. 

“So is that silence a no..?” You sucked air in between your teeth, “Ouch, well it’s okay. I’m sure someone as beautiful as you already has someone waiting for her at home. I just figured it didn’t hurt to ask.” You rang up the items that were sitting in front of you, “Your total came out to two dollars and fifty cents.” 

Jihyo continued to stare at you until she was finally able to find her words, “Wait I didn’t say no.”

Your eyes instantly lit up when you heard her speak, “So it’s a yes..?”

“I didn’t say that either…” Jihyo looked to the side as though she was internally questioning something. 

“I, um it’s completely okay to say no…” You quietly added as you placed her items in a bag. 

“Is this weekend dinner a romantic thing or just a friendly thing..?” Jihyo finally spoke up once she found the courage to meet your eyes. 

“Well I was hoping for it to be a romantic thing, but if that’s not something you’re looking for right now I would be more than happy for it to be just a friendly thing.” 

“Fine, then I’d like to go out for dinner with you this weekend.” Jihyo smiled as she reached into her purse to pull out her card. 

“Wait, you agree on which one, the romance date or the platonic date..?” You questioned as you pointed her towards the card reader in front of you. 

Jihyo smiled once again as she paid for her items, “That’s for you to figure out this weekend.” 

“Oh, so it’s like that then, huh. Well Miss Jihyo I’m just going to assume that you have fallen for my undeniably amazing charm and that you are now in love with me.” You winked at her in a joking way, “Now I was originally trying to get your number but here, take mine instead.” You grabbed her receipt that had printed out and proceeded to write your number down on the back of it. “This way I know you have to be interested, you wouldn’t call me to find out where we’re meeting this weekend if you weren’t interested in me. Especially if I don’t have your number to bother you.” You had a sly smile on your face as you slipped the receipt into her bag before handing it to her. 

Jihyo had to take a few seconds to register everything you had just said but the one thing she commented on wasn’t what you expected her to speak on, “Wait, you already know where you want to go this weekend..?” 

You couldn’t help but laugh at her, “Haha that’s all you have to ask, and yes I already know where I want to take you. I’ve also already completely planned out our wedding in my head.” You studied her eyes to try and read her reaction at your lame joke.

“Wedding? What??” She looked confused at what you said, seeming to not catch that it was a joke. 

“Haha don’t worry, I was just joking. Unless you want to start making plans for that this weekend. I’ll just have to shift a few things around on our date itinerary.” You didn’t realize it but you were comfortable enough talking to her that you found yourself leaning forward on the counter between the two of you.

“No no, that’s okay. Marriage is far out of range for me in the next few years.” She scoffed as she shook her head, “Ha I don’t even know if dating would be allowed for me yet either.” She spoke the last sentence more to herself but you were still able to catch what she was saying.

“You’re not allowed to date..? Jeez what kind of career field are you going into..?” You looked down at the black hat and the black pair of boots that you had bagged earlier, “Oh my gosh..” You gasped dramatically before moving closer to her to whisper in her ear, “Are you a spy??” 

This time you were able to get a laugh out of her, “No, no. I promise it isn’t anything crazy like that. Well? Hmm.. I guess I honestly don’t actually know..” 

“You are one interesting lady, Miss Jihyo. I hope to learn more about you this weekend too.”

Before Jihyo could get a chance to answer you, the small group of girls she had walked in with were calling for her from the front door. “I’m so sorry, it looks like they’re all ready to leave now.” 

“No no, don’t apologize. Go ahead, we’ll have plenty of time to talk to each other this weekend.” 

“Hmm..?” Jihyo's eyebrows furrowed up in confusion before she realized, “Oh right, this weekend.” 

“Well judging by that answer, that’s if you don’t forget to call me.” You let out a small laugh before clearing your throat, “Well I’ll be here all week if you ever need help with anything, or if you just miss my face.” You smiled at her as you pointed to your name tag, “And you can always leave a review online about what a great employee I am. I could use a few good comments.”

“Why? Is flirting with all your customers not a good way to increase your rep..?” This time it was Jihyo who seemed the most confident in her tone.

“Oooh ouch, that hurt.” You playfully placed your hand over your heart to indicate that what she said wounded you, “But no not all my customers. There’s just this one new customer that I think is the absolute most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. You’ll have to catch me later for an update on her though, because I invited her out for dinner uh, this weekend actually, and I’m hoping she doesn’t ghost me.” 

“Hmm, well she sounds like a very lucky lady.” Once again the girls by the front door called for Jihyo. “But I have to go now, it was nice talking to you.” 

“The pleasure was all mine, have a great day and don’t forget about me.” Once she walked out of ear shot from you, you spoke to yourself. “She is genuinely the most beautiful person I’ve seen walk in here.” 

_

You were standing in the elevator heading down a few floors with a stack of papers under your arm. You knew mostly everybody in the office was out enjoying their time off so where you would normally look professional with the most perfect posture you could muster, you were instead slouched forward a bit as you looked down at a photo strip you kept in your wallet at all times. 

You laughed to yourself a bit as the memories of when you took those pictures came back to you. You managed to talk Jihyo into getting into a photobooth with you on your first date. 

“How have you put up with me for this long..?” You asked the young Jihyo in the photo strip in front of you, as you admired the way her eyes sparkled back then. “Oh how I miss those chubby cheeks..” You smiled at the photos before putting the photo strip back into your pocket as your elevator had made it to the floor you selected.

_

“Yes this is the only one we have in stock.”

“Did you check the back? There has to be a cheaper one back there.”

“Yes sir I promise you this is the only one we have in stock. We’re a thrift store not a department store, we just have whatever people donate to us.” 

“But this one is too expensive and it’s not going to fit my wife, fix it.” 

“Sir I’m sorry but that’s just not something I can do. Now sorry if you’ll excuse me, I have another customer to help.” 

You walked away from the older man who was trying to haggle with you about the price of some shirt he saw and walked around the store like you had a purpose.

“Ugh just four more months until I graduate, I can’t wait..” You mumbled to yourself as you fixed a few sweaters that were sliding off of their hangers. 

“Uhm, excuse me.” A voice behind you made you turn around. 

“Yes, how can I help you.. Wait Jihyo?” You turned around to help what you assumed was just some random customer but instead you came face to face with the woman you were to meet tomorrow for dinner. 

“Haha, sorry I hope I’m not interrupting anything but I just needed some help with something.” 

“No no, you’re not interrupting anything, I was just doing busy work to escape a rude customer.” The hangers you were messing with now sat undisturbed. “What can I help you with..?” 

“Well I have a date tomorrow but I need to find a cute sweater to wear.” Her eyes darted around to avoid meeting yours. 

“Ah a date sweater, hmm.. What kind of style are you looking for..?” You walked her down the rows of sweaters you had in stock. 

“I don’t really know, just anything that would look good on me.” Jihyo followed behind you. 

You came to a sudden stop before turning around to face her, “Well that doesn’t narrow anything down now does it…”

“Hmm, what do you mean..?” 

“What I mean is that you’re so beautiful that any sweater we put on you would look amazing. Now what is a style you like..?” 

“I don’t really know..” With her reddened cheeks, she turned her head to avoid your gaze. 

“Well why don’t we just look around for now, something here will catch your eye.” You made your way down the row of sweaters, occasionally pausing to grab a few off the rack to hold them up against Jihyo. After going through a few you groaned and buried your face in your hands. “This just isn’t going to work…” Your voice muffled out between your fingers.

“Huh, what’s wrong..?” Jihyo asked in genuine concern.

You moved your fingers apart to look at her, “All of these just look so good on you it’s driving me crazy.”

Jihyo giggled as she shook her head at your antics, “Haha stop, you don’t really mean that.” 

You lowered your hands and your gaze was serious. “No Jihyo I’m not joking. Here, for example, look at this.” You grabbed a sweater that was next to you, “This sweater looks like someone spilled coffee on it and called it a day. See nothing really here to marvel at.” You held the tan sweater with the brown splotch in the air for her to see. “But now, if I move it towards you,” You angled the sweater in front of Jihyo to make the illusion that she was wearing it, “Now it looks beautiful.” You groaned in frustration as you shook your head, putting the sweater back on the rack. “You’re too beautiful, it's unreal..”

“Haha stop, you’re just trying to flatter me.” Jihyo tried to play what you said off as a joke. 

You met her eyes once again, “No I’m not, I already have a date with you tomorrow, there’s no need for me to keep flattering you. I’m just speaking my good and honest truth here Jihyo. I seriously think you are very beautiful. It's almost unfair to the rest of the human population that they will never get to see your beauty.” 

Jihyo just continued to stare at you with a blank face, she didn’t know how to process everything you just said. 

After that weird moment of silence you decided to speak up, “I’m sorry, that was weird wasn’t it…” You scratched the back of your head as you avoided looking at her. “It’s just, I’m being sincere when I say that I think you’re very beautiful, so it hurts my own feelings when you don’t think the same of yourself. So I’m sorry that’s something that I can’t force you to think. I just want you to see yourself the way I see you. I am being so honest when I say that you are beautiful.” After your little speech you turned around to continue looking through the sweaters.

“I,” Jihyo started before moving in front of you so you could see her, “Thank you. That is genuinely the nicest anyone has been to me recently. I just, I’m not the best at taking compliments, especially when it comes to my physical appearance, most of my compliments come from my work ethic.” She gave you a small smile before continuing, “It is just a lot for me to handle, especially hearing it consistently from you, but thank you for seeing me in such a positive light.”

“Well I have only two things to say to you Miss Jihyo. The first is that I will try to tone it down, but at times I can’t help it. I will admire your beauty as much as I can in the now, until you can start to do the same. And the second thing is, I think I found a sweater for you.” You held the sweater you just found up to her and smiled in approval. “Yeah it looks even better than I expected.” 

Jihyo took a look at the sweater before matching your smile, “I like it too. I have a black coat that will pair very well with this.” She grabbed the sweater from you and she folded it over her arm. 

“Uh uh..” You wiggled a finger in the air, “Don’t spoil your outfit to me, I want to be surprised when I see you.” You joked with her as you led her to the check out register.

“Haha fine, not another word from me then.” Jihyo placed the sweater on the counter as she waited for you to ring her up and tell her her total. But when all you did was place it in a bag and hand it over to her, she looked at you with the utmost confusion in her eyes. 

“What..?” You smiled as you tried to once again hand her the bag. 

“I didn’t pay for it yet, why are you handing me the bag..?” Jihyo shook her head once again, refusing to grab the bag until you told her the total.

“Don’t worry about it, I got it.” You smiled as you pulled your own money out and placed it in the register, covering the cost of her sweater. 

“Hey no, you can’t do that!” Jihyo tried to reach for your hand before you closed the register drawer.

“Hmm, well it seems as if I did ‘do that’.” You gave her a big satisfied grin as you handed her the bag and her receipt. 

“Okay but that’s not fair, why would you do that..?” Jihyo reluctantly took the bag when she realized there was no winning against you, which we all know it’s hard for her to take defeat. 

“I did that because I wanted to, now don’t worry about it. Seriously, go and enjoy the rest of your day.” You gestured to the door, “I’ll have you all to myself tomorrow, so go and enjoy your evening.” 

“You are very hard to reason with…” Jihyo began to pout as she looked down at the bag in her hands.

“Hey, I just wanted to do something nice for you, and it’s definitely not because I’m trying to get rid of you. You most definitely do not make my heart race like crazy every time I see you.” 

_

You got into your car and checked your phone, still nothing. This was strange. Jihyo would never go this long without talking to you, even if it was just a quick random emoji heart she would send in between working. You were beginning to feel like you were overthinking everything and being too overprotective. You shook off your worries and drove to your apartment.

When you walked up to your door the smell of your favorite dish made its presence known to your nose. "Oh wow that smells delicious." You looked down the hallway to try and guess which one of your neighbors would be enjoying your favorite meal tonight.

You unlocked the door and walked in. The smell got stronger and light was coming through from the kitchen. "Did I leave the light on again..?" You asked yourself as you took your shoes off.

You walked into the living room and you swore you were dreaming. In front of the stove stood Jihyo, wearing your apron and one of your shirts, while her hair sat on top of her head in a messy bun, which still managed to look like a professional hair stylist styled it.

You smiled very happily to yourself as you walked up behind her and hugged her as tight as you could without breaking her.

"You're home," Jihyo spoke with a smile as she turned around to hug you properly.

"I'm home..? Why didn't you tell me you were going to be here..?" You pulled away and looked her in her eyes, trying to make sure that she was really in front of you. You lifted your hand up to place it on her cheek, thumb softly moving back and forth on her cheek. 

"I wanted to surprise you." The smile on her face instantly made your knees want to buckle.

"Oh you're so cute," you groaned in fake frustration before moving to hug her again.

She laughed as she hugged you back, "You always say that.." Her voice vibrated against your body as she rested her head against you.

"Because it's the truth," you pulled away to kiss her cheek, "The complete and honest truth.

You saw the way a light blush creeped up onto her cheeks before she smacked your arm, “Stop that.”

"Wow even after all these years together I can still make you blush?" You smiled and pinched her cheek playfully, "So cute.”

Jihyo pulled away from your embrace, a small smile evident on her face. "Let me get back to the food before we end up setting this building on fire."

You looked at her in confusion, "We..? Last time I checked you were the one cooking in secret while I'm at work worrying about your wellbeing."

Jihyo laughed before throwing a piece of food at you, "Shut up. You know you would try to take the blame for me."

You sighed in defeat, nodding as you ate the piece of food she threw at you, "Yeah you're right, I totally would.”

The two of you shared a laugh before Jihyo spoke up again. “The food should be ready in ten minutes.” 

“Hmm sounds good, I’m going to change out of these clothes.” You began to walk out of the kitchen but then you were suddenly stopped by Jihyo grabbing your arm. 

“Wait..” 

“Hmm, what’s wrong..?” You turned around to face her. 

No words were exchanged, instead she just wrapped her arms around you once more, holding you as tight as she could. 

You couldn’t help the smile that appeared on your face as you went to hug her back. “Did you miss me this much..?” Your voice was soft as you moved one of your hands to run your fingers through her hair. 

“Mhm,” She hummed as she nodded her head, causing her cheek to softly rub against your chest. “You don’t know how hard it was to keep this surprise a secret.”

”Oh,” And in that moment was when everything in your head clicked in place, “Actually speaking of that, how are you here right now..? Don't you have a concert tomorrow night..?”

Jihyo pulled her head away from you so she could look up at you, “Well it turns out our venue is having some technical issues. Something about the foundation’s support or something. I don't really know, as soon as I heard we were going to come home for a bit everything anyone said to me just sounded like nothing, as all I could think about was seeing you again.”

“When did you find out you were coming home..? Because just this morning you told me you had to get back to rehearsals..? So you lied to me Miss Park Jihyo… wow..” You feigned being hurt just to get a reaction out of her. 

“Oh well we actually found out this morning. I booked a flight home as soon as I could. And when I was on the phone with you, I was actually at the airport, we were getting ready to board the plane so I was in a hurry to hang up so you wouldn’t find out.” 

“Wow..” You couldn’t believe what you were hearing, the fact that this woman went through so much effort just to surprise you made your heart swell up with pure love. ”That is actually very insane, normally whenever you go to the airport there’s like a million articles published and just about as many photos trending online.” 

“Oh, well that’s probably because I’m the only one who came home today. Everyone else is still over there, they’re flying back on Monday. I just couldn’t wait that long to see you again.” She had her arms still wrapped around your waist, both of her hands resting on your lower back as she looked into your eyes, nothing but pure admiration beaming from them.

You continued to stare into her beautiful eyes until your inner monologue leaked out from your own two lips, “I love you.”

“Hmm..?” Her eyebrows shot up in sudden surprise before they settled back down on her face as a beautiful smile soon overtook her expression. “I love you too.” 

You bent down a bit to place a soft kiss on her lips. “So much, I love you so much.” Your hands were now carefully holding her face like a fine and fragile piece of china. “Thank you for agreeing to go on that date with me all those years ago. I don’t think it would be possible for me to be this happy without you in my life.”

She let out a soft giggle before speaking up, “I didn’t have a choice back then. You were literally begging me to go out on a date with you.” She spoke with more confidence in her voice as she began to tease you, “You were literally obsessed with me.”

“Hey now, I remember giving you my number so you could contact me for the date, not the other way around. So you had to have also been interested in me for you to have called me later that same day for the location and time of said first date.” 

Jihyo squinted her eyes as she shook her head, “I don’t quite remember it that way.” 

You smiled as you pulled away from her embrace, “Well I do, and I have proof.” You dug in your pocket to pull your wallet out, you looked through it a bit until you found a sticky note you had folded up in one of the slots. The weathered paper gave away some of its age as you unfolded it to read the contents of it. You cleared your throat before reading from the paper, “February 11th, 2015, 8:47 pm, the beautiful girl I met at work called for information about our date this weekend. We’re meeting on Saturday at 11 am for our date. End quote. I win.” You had a victorious smile on your face as you turned the paper around for her to read the old ink on the old sticky note. 

“You still have that??” Jihyo looked at the paper in surprise. 

“Of course, it’s my good luck charm, along with these.” You looked through your wallet again before pulling out the photostrip from your first date with Jihyo all those years ago. “And look, it’s the sweater I helped you pick out.” You held the photostrip and the note in your hand with the proudest look on your face. 

“I can’t believe you keep those on you at all times, knowing you I thought you had these locked up in a vault somewhere.” Jihyo joked with you as she watched you tuck everything back into your wallet. 

“I mean I would but I told you they’re my good luck charms. It marks the beginning of us knowing each other. I can’t say the beginning of our relationship since we didn’t start dating until almost a year and a half later but still, I like looking back on our early memories. With me being super busy with school and you preparing for your debut in secret from me.” 

“What do you mean ‘in secret from me’, you had secrets from me too. I didn’t know it was possible to get into university at such a young age until I met you. Plus you found out about my career only a few months later.” 

“Yeah you would not believe my shock when I saw the very same hat and boots combo I rang out at the store showing up on Tv. And also that’s not fair, I worked hard to take as many advancement courses as I could when I was younger. It’s not my fault that they made the courses that easy. It’s like they don’t expect you to read the entire course book before classes even start. It was just like a free pass through so many classes.” 

Jihyo shook her head before lightly shoving you away from her, “You drive me insane with that brain of yours, go dress down while I get everything in here set up. The food is going to burn at this rate.” 

You couldn’t help the proud smile on your face before nodding your head at her, “Yes ma’am, I’ll be right back.” 

“Okay good, don’t take too long either, or else…” 

“Or else what..?” You raised an eyebrow at her tone.

“Or else you won’t get the rest of your surprise gift tonight.” And with only that suggestive smile on her face, she turned away from you, giving her full attention to the food on the stove top. 

“Oh, well when you put it like that, say less.” With your now reddened face you turned around to hurry to your room.

_

It was now only a few hours after the two of you had finished dinner and cleaned everything up. You were both currently in bed looking through what you liked to call your box of memories. In reality it was just an old shoe box you had that you threw everything in that reminded you of Jihyo. Whether it was old birthday cards she wrote you or receipts from dates, everything went into that box.

The two of you had just got done looking at a random phone case for an old phone of yours that seemed almost ancient now. “I still can’t believe you misspelled graduation.” You joked with her as you placed the case back in the box.

“It’s not my fault, I was running off of three hours of sleep that day.” She whined as she thought back to that early date of yours. 

The two of you had met up at a little shop in a spot of town that the two of you had never been to. It was soon after Jihyo’s group released their now infamous release “Cheer Up”, so their schedules had been hectic and their faces had been plastered all over the country by that point, so going out in public as a normal couple just wasn’t available to you. So due to this situation, one of your first official dates as a couple was making phone cases for each other. It was one of your most fondest memories and you had vowed to keep the case she had made you for as long as the two of you were together, and you were big on your promises, the case in your memory box only proved that. 

“I know I'm sorry, I just think it’s cute. You don’t know how many people I had come up to me just to tell me my case had a misspelling on it. But it was the best when I told them my lovely girlfriend made it for me.” You smiled as you leaned against the headboard of your bed. “I never knew if I was going to get attacked for admitting that I was gay to a bunch of strangers or if I was going to get congratulations about being proud of having a girlfriend. It was quite a ride but one I’m glad I went on.”

Jihyo listened to your story as she moved your memory box onto your bedside table. Once it was out of the way she went to lay next to you, softly leaning her head against your shoulder. “You told that many people about us back then..?” 

“Well I never told them who you were, I was just so happy about having a girlfriend I couldn’t keep it contained. I talked about you so much, I would just wait for any opportunity in a conversation to bring you up. So many people thought I was making you up, you don’t even understand how bad I wanted to show them a picture of us together, but at last I held back from doing so.” 

“Well I’m glad you were able to restrain yourself haha, if not who knows what could have happened to us.” 

“It’s okay now though, we don’t have to worry about all those crazy ‘what if’s’ now. We have your company’s approval and that’s all that matters to me. But to be completely honest with you, even if we didn’t have their approval, I would still find a way to make this work, one way or another.” You wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to you, “There's no one or nothing in this world that could ever keep me away from being with you.”

Jihyo took a moment to just look up at you before finally speaking up, “You’re so cheesy, you know that?”

You let out a soft laugh before looking down at her, “Am I? I’ve never noticed.” 

“Yes you are, but it’s okay, I find it very endearing.” 

“Well I’m glad you do, because you’re the only person I’m like this for.” You planted a soft kiss on her forehead before moving to get up.

“Where are you going..?” Jihyo asked with a slight pout when you moved away from her. 

“To take a shower, I won’t be long.” When you saw the look of disappointment in her eyes you had to laugh before adding on, “Feel free to join me if you want, I won’t kick you out.”

“Uhm, excuse me.” A voice behind you made you turn around.

“Yes, how can I help you.. Wait Jihyo?” You turned around to help what you assumed was just some random customer but instead you came face to face with the woman you were to meet tomorrow for dinner.

“Haha, sorry I hope I’m not interrupting anything but I just needed some help with something.”

“No no, you’re not interrupting anything, I was just doing busy work to escape a rude customer.” The hangers you were messing with now sat undisturbed. “What can I help you with..?”

“Well I have a date tomorrow but I need to find a cute sweater to wear.” Her eyes darted around to avoid meeting yours.

“Ah a date sweater, hmm.. What kind of style are you looking for..?” You walked her down the rows of sweaters you had in stock.

“I don’t really know, just anything that would look good on me.” Jihyo followed behind you.

You came to a sudden stop before turning around to face her, “Well that doesn’t narrow anything down now does it…”

“Hmm, what do you mean..?”

“What I mean is that you’re so beautiful that any sweater we put on you would look amazing. Now what is a style you like..?”

“I don’t really know..” With her reddened cheeks, she turned her head to avoid your gaze.

“Well why don’t we just look around for now, something here will catch your eye.” You made your way down the row of sweaters, occasionally pausing to grab a few off the rack to hold them up against Jihyo. After going through a few you groaned and buried your face in your hands. “This just isn’t going to work…” Your voice muffled out between your fingers.

“Huh, what’s wrong..?” Jihyo asked in genuine concern.

You moved your fingers apart to look at her, “All of these just look so good on you it’s driving me crazy.”

Jihyo giggled as she shook her head at your antics, “Haha stop, you don’t really mean that.”

You lowered your hands and your gaze was serious. “No Jihyo I’m not joking. Here, for example, look at this.” You grabbed a sweater that was next to you, “This sweater looks like someone spilled coffee on it and called it a day. See nothing really here to marvel at.” You held the tan sweater with the brown splotch in the air for her to see. “But now, if I move it towards you,” You angled the sweater in front of Jihyo to make the illusion that she was wearing it, “Now it looks beautiful.” You groaned in frustration as you shook your head, putting the sweater back on the rack. “You’re too beautiful, it's unreal..”

“Haha stop, you’re just trying to flatter me.” Jihyo tried to play what you said off as a joke.

The sun had just set moments ago and here you were on your Friday evening, waiting in front of the door to the apartment your beautiful girlfriend shared with her five friends. You knew they only had a few more weeks of living together so you wanted to enjoy tonight with all the girls to your fullest extent. The weight of the bag in your hand was finally starting to make its presence known as you waited for the door to open.

You heard a bit of shuffling behind the door before it opened. “Oh it's you!” Yerin smiled before turning her head back into the apartment, “So-jeong, your wife is here!” Yerin looked back at you, well at the bag in your hand, and raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“Hey Yerin, it’s nice to see you too. They’re a bunch of random snacks.” You held the bag out towards her, taking note of her choice of an outfit but deciding not to comment on it.

“Ooh thank you!” She took the bag from you and ran into the apartment.

You followed behind her, closing the door behind you. You balanced yourself against the wall as you took your complicated shoes off. “If she didn’t buy these for me I wouldn’t wear them. Literally feels like I'm in a Saw movie contraption..” You mumbled to yourself as you fumbled with the laces on the left shoe. You let out a big sigh of relief once you got it off and when you looked up you were greeted by the warmest smile in the world.

"Hey you, are you struggling there?” She let out a little giggle as she placed a pair of slippers in front of you.

You stood straight up and crossed your arms in an attempt to seem “cool”, but So-jeong knew you better than anyone, you being cool was just not a thing in her book. “No, no, not at all, I love playing bop-it with my shoes everytime I want to take them off.”

So-jeong laughed a bit, her nose scrunching a bit as she spoke to you, “Well at least you look cute whenever you do it.” She walked up in front of you so she could pull you into a hug.

"Haha well as long as you think it’s cute then I guess it’s fine..” You returned her loving embrace with an exasperated look on your face. You couldn’t hold that look on your face for long since you could feel the love she had for you basically emanating from her. 

So-jeong pulled away to look at your face, “Now what’s that grumpy look for..?” She asked as she lifted her hand to tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear.

You couldn’t help but smile almost immediately, “Why do you have to be so sweet..?” You leaned forward to plant a small kiss on her lips. “You make me so happy.”

She let out a small breath of air before pulling you back into a small tight hug. “I'm glad, because you make me feel even happier. Now let's stop with the sappiness and follow me, I got you something to wear so you wouldn't be out of dress code.” She pulled away from you, her hand moved down your arm to envelop yours in a warm embrace.

“Dress code..?” You finally looked at what she was wearing, and suddenly Yerin’s outfit didn’t seem so random to you, “Oh don’t tell me..” You playfully rolled your eyes. 

“Too late, you stepped through the door so now you have to wear the outfit, c'mon everyone else is already waiting to start.” Toad, I mean, So-jeong said as she led you to her room.

"Okay I guess now I have to ask, why exactly are you dressed as toad and why was Yerin dressed as Luigi..?” 

“Well the girls and I found these on the internet and thought it would be fun to wear these during our Mario Kart night, plus these onesies are super soft so you can sleep in them too.” She let go of your hand once you made it into her room so she could grab something from her closet.

You shook your head as you grabbed what it was when she handed it to you, "Oh god.." you mumbled with a smile as you looked at the Bowser onesie in your hands. "Bowser, really?" You laughed as you looked back up at So-jeong.

She tilted her head to the side as she offered her explanation, "I’m sorry they didn’t have a Link one and the girls had called dibs on all the other outfits." She smiled before opening the package in your hand, “But don’t worry you’re still going to look cute in it.”

You let out a laugh before shaking your head, “That’s not the problem, you know my biggest beef in Mario Kart is with Dry Bones Bowser..” You let out a little sigh as you unfolded the onesie, “Well at least it’s not Shy Guy, I hate that dude too.”

So-jeong let out a giggle, “I knew better than to get you shy guy.”

"Well I appreciate that, but I also want to add that you look adorable as Toad.” You took in her outfit one more time before smiling at her. 

Her cheeks reddened and she turned her face away from you "Thank you, but hurry up and get dressed please."

"Alright, alright." You mumbled as you did what she asked. “Okay there, it's on.” 

So-jeong looked over at you, her eyes instantly lighting up when she saw you in the onesie, “Ahh so cute.” She reached to grab her phone that was sitting on her counter so she could snap a few pictures of you. 

“Ah So-jeong stop, that’s embarrassing..” You covered your face up with your hands.

She let out another soft giggle before putting her phone away, “Okay sorry, but you really do look so cute. How do you feel about it..?”

"Um, well it's really soft," you admitted as you put your hands down away from your face.

"Well I'm glad, now let’s go out, the girls are waiting on us." she grabbed your hand to lead you out to the living room where the rest of the girls were waiting.

Once you made it out to the living room So-jeong let go of your hand so she could go to the kitchen. You made your way onto the couch, sitting next to Eunha, who was dressed as Princess Peach.. Figures. 

"Did you get the game set up?" Yuju asked as she walked in wearing a Waluigi onesie.

"Yeah Sinb did it." Umji answered, in her Mario onesie, as she walked towards the couch with four joy cons in her hands.

So-jeong walked back into the kitchen with Yerin following behind her. The snacks you had bought were in their hands.

They placed the snacks on the coffee table then So-jeong clapped while looking around the room, "Who are we missing? Oh, SinB!" She called out.

"I'm coming!" SinB yelled from down the hallway.

"Okay well hurry up" So-jeong said as she sat down next to you.

SinB walked in moments later wearing a Wario onesie, she sat down on the rug in front of the couch.

So-jeong slipped her hand into yours before speaking up, "Okay so who's going first?" 

"We are!" Eunha, SinB, Umji, and Yuju all said at the same time.

"Okay, losers have to give up the controls."

“Okay.” The four girls responded as they were selecting their characters.

"Who do you think is gonna win?" You asked So-jeong as you played with her fingers.

"Hmm, probably Umji, she's been playing more after practice than usual." So-jeong looked at you with a smile, "What about you?"

"Hmm.. Well my money is on Eunha."

"Thanks!" Eunha yelled as the game was starting.

As the game went underway, So-jeong laid her head on your shoulder as her eyes were focused on the match ahead. 

"Yes!!" Eunha yelled when she crossed the finish line first, followed by Umji, then SinB, and lastly Yuju.

"That's not fair I would've won if you didn't cheat!" Yuju yelled as she set the control down. “I was in first for the first two rounds…” 

"Hey, I didn't cheat, I can place a banana peel on the road, it's a part of the game. Jeez, just stick to singing loser." Eunha flicked Yuju's forehead.

"Shortie." Yuju mumbled.

"Hey!" Eunha hit Yuju's arm, "Sore Loser."

You couldn't help but laugh at the girl next to you, "Its a good thing we don't play Monopoly because I'm pretty sure she would murder one of you." You whispered to So-jeong..

"Yeah no kidding," she laughed back.

After they had settled down it was your turn to play. You got SinB’s control, Yuju gave Yerin hers, and So-jeong got Umji's.

The four of you selected your favorite character then your match started. So-jeong had come out victorious meanwhile you came in last out of the four of you. Yerin was a close second and Eunha closely trailing behind her.

Everyone continued to play for a while longer until everyone was all Mario’d out for the night. Now the seven of you sat in the living room as the youngest two argued over which movie to watch for the night.

"Can we please watch Moanna?" Umji asked for the fifth time.

"But I want to watch Step Up Revolution, we just watched Moana a few weeks ago." SinB whined.

They continued like that for a while until SinB ultimately gave in.

"Fine, we can watch Moanna.." she grumbled as she handed Umji the control.

You looked up at So-jeong, who had let out a sigh of relief, "Oh thank God I thought I was going to have to break up a fight." she smiled at you.

"Umji wouldn't hurt a fly, and SinB, well~ she wouldn't hurt little Umji." you reassured her.

"Unfortunately she's right," SinB answered as she leaned over onto Umji as they both got comfortable for the movie.

So-jeong laughed as she got up, "Where are you going?" You asked her.

"To go get some blankets." She answered you with a smile.

"Oh okay..” you looked around at the rest of the girls who were all sprawled out in the living room, eyes glued to tv, well all eyes except for Yerin’s, since she fell asleep with a gummy bear stuck to her cheek a while ago.

You felt something land on your head.

"Here you go." You heard So-jeong say as she passed out the rest of the blankets.

You pulled the blanket off of your head then looked at her. "Yerin already fell asleep."

"Help me take her to her room?" She asked.

"Mhm," you nodded and stood up.

You gently picked Yerin up and laid her over your shoulder as you followed behind So-jeong to Yerin's room.  

So-jeong opened the door and turned on a lamp. You set Yerin down on her bed and So-jeong covered her up. She looked at peace, and less gummy beared. 

"C'mon" So-jeong whispered as she turned the light off, “She had a busy day today so let's just let her rest.” She reached for your hand so she could lead you out of Yerin’s room.

The two of you quietly settled back onto the couch, while all the other four girls were all entranced by the movie. 

_

Once the movie had ended all of the girls were passed out in the living room.

"Hmm.. Yeah I'm not taking all of them to their rooms." You mumbled as you rubbed your eyes.

"It's alright, we have the day off tomorrow anyways so it's okay if they wake up sore from sleeping on the floor." So-jeong said as she stood up.

"Well it won’t hurt to move them onto the couches, there’s enough room for all of them , I don’t know why they always choose to lay on the floor. You stood up as well.

“Hmm well you can do that and I will clean up real quick.” So-jeong started to gather up the half eaten bags of snacks from the floor. 

“Okay deal.” You moved to carefully lay the four girls on the couches as So-jeong picked up the rest of their mess. 

So-jeong yawned and turned the Tv off.

"Sleepy?" You asked with a smile once you had finished laying Umji down.

"A little bit," she looked at you with a tired smile.

"Okay well let's go to bed" you grabbed her hand once you finished laying a blanket on top of Umji. 

The two of you walked into her room, she laid down on her bed first and you followed right after her. “Wow..” Her fluffy comforter immediately welcomed you.

So-jeong let out a small laugh as she dragged you under the blankets with her. “Good night.” She wrapped her arms around you.

You couldn’t help but smile, “Good night.” Your smile only grew as you felt her place a soft kiss on your forehead.

You were on your way to the venue where you were to host for a very popular groups comeback special. It was a two day special and today was the first day you would be meeting the group, you were nervous but you've hosted probably more than hundreds of specials and shows in general. But something about meeting Red Velvet had made you nervous, very nervous. You weren't even this nervous when it came to meeting EXID. You were even more nervous than when it came to meeting Taeyeon. Red Velvet just had something about them that made you nervous.

_

As a young kid you moved to Korea as a big decision of your dad's job. To be fairly honest, you were grateful for the opportunity given to you because of this tough decision. Soon feeling right at home whenever you got to spend time with your neighbors, who to you were more like grandparents. You honestly couldn't think of anywhere else as home as long as they were around for you. It was a great experience that you were grateful for. It wasn't until High School though when you learned what your biggest passion would be. You had joined your school's broadcasting club, this right here was your calling. You didn't know if it was the feeling you got everytime you were out and about interviewing people, or being able to spread information over the masses that made you feel like you finally found your calling. Throughout High School you would sign up for any hosting gigs to try and get some experience for later on down your, hopefully, future career.

Then came college. Here it got crazy with the amount of chances there was to host something. Literally anything you could think of. From hosting games to assembly's, the possibilities were endless. But that was just a small bite into what you were craving. You wanted to be able to host huge events, interview people, and just interact with a whole different side of an industry that you hadn't experienced yet.

Then one lucky day came. Your college was having a festival where some rookie idol groups were to be performing. It was 2015 and you remembered all the flyers posted around campus. "Lovelyz, Mamamoo, Red Velvet and More to perform! Get ready!!" The club you were apart of was in charge of helping put the festival together. You didn't want this festival to be like every typical college festival you wanted things to be vastly different than the usual festivals you were sure these idols had been too. You wanted to add some mini games for them on stage so they would interact with their fans and they could, hopefully, relieve some stress.

The festival was going to run all day until late at night and you were the one in charge of MCing for the entire day. Everyone in your club had voted for you, specifically, to be in charge. You were nervous since the language was still a little challenging at times but at the same time you were excited. This was just the right thing you were looking for and you couldn't have been more grateful to everyone in your club.

Unfortunately not everything was going to be smooth sailing.. Terrible news arrived that Red velvet, one of the nights main acts, weren't going to be able to attend.

"What are we going to do? the posters have already been everywhere and today is literally the only day we have left. We can't find anyone to perform on such a short notice?" Your clubs leader, Hayoon, yelled as she paced back and forth.

"What other groups are performing?" One of the members had asked, you were too busy thinking to look at who asked.

"Lovelyz, Mamamoo, Got7, Oh My Girl, Day6, Sonamoo, ClC and we have Suran and Heize coming. But now we have an Hour gap of when Red Velvet was supposed to perform. What are we going to do!?" Hayoon was looking through the stacks of paper with the information and contracts of the festival.

Finally after thinking as hard as you could, you spoke up with an idea that would hopefully save the festival.

"Hey what if we add an event where we draw some members of the crowd and the groups to have like a little dance contest kind of thing for a prize. Like we pair a member of each group up with a member of the crowd to perform a short dance for a prize. I'm sure we can make that take over the spot for red velvet, and plus it'll make some memories for some lucky fans." You said with a small smile as you tried demonstrating what you were thinking with your hands, which was a bad habit you had.

Hayoon looked at you while she was trying to work everything out in her head, "You know what, I actually don't hate that idea. But what kind of prize should we give out?"

"A signed album from each group?" You said with some uncertainty. "Oh! And I Know someone who makes custom clothes, we could get a first though third place prize of a jacket with our schools name and logo on it. We can have the name of the festival on the back with the place they won for both the singer and the crowd member."

"Alright I'm sure that will do. Are you sure the jackets will be done in time..?" Hayoon smiled after you gave her a confident nod, "And this is why you're hosting this event, thank you."

"It's no problem, I'll go out tonight and try finding an album of each of the groups. I can call my friend as soon as this meeting is over. I'm certain everything will be done before the competition starts. We'll meet up tomorrow morning when everything should hopefully be set up." You told her with a small smile.

And so the event turned out fine. It was actually better than fine. The event did amazingly well, so well in fact that more and more people had shown up in the middle and towards the end of the festival. Even people who didn't attend your University showed up. It was a crazy experience you were glad to be a part of and an experience you were always going to treasure.

The dance competition did even better than anyone could have ever expected. The winners ended up being Moonbyul from Mamamoo and a girl from the crowd, rightfully so as they went out and put on a show. The competition had almost everyone in the crowd cracking up in laughter, the Got7 boys working their charm on the crowd as they constantly tried to win everyone over in favor of Jackson and the young man he was paired up with. Bam Bam going as far as to yell out that he would marry everyone that voted for Jackson.

This festival was not only a big part in your future career but also a huge part in these idols careers.

People not only instantly fell in love with all the groups and idols that participated in the competition, but they were all amazed at the way you handled things. Immediately after your name was heard all throughout campus and all over the internet. People wanted more of you and your magic way of words that hooked people on to whatever you said.

A few days had passed since the event took place and you were contacted by a company that had offered you a contract to sign with them and in return they would have someone in charge of organizing all of your gigs and to give you a bigger spot light.

You were pretty overwhelmed to say the least since you were sure there were other people out there who were better than you and that were actually born here, not just some random foreigner who managed to do one good thing. You just went ahead and signed to them because c'mon you could do with some extra cash and guidance, not exactly sure of the opportunities this decision soon opened up for you. It was actually insane how quickly everything after that changed. Back to back you had gigs lined up for literally anything. After a few videos and articles of the festival were posted you were a pretty hot topic when it came to MCing for events, big and small. This was something you really never thought was possible, but there you were some random young University student with a bad habit of demonstrating everything with their hands in the same league as people who you thought were way more professional. People who had been working in this field for longer than you had discovered this passion.

Your first really big huge event after the festival was a launch for a highly anticipated computer game. Now you thought since it was just a launch for an online game it would be quick and easy. but oh boy were you wrong. This launch we being streamed everywhere by gamers who had anticipated this very moment for over a few years, this game was one of the most anticipated at the time. To be quite honest you weren't as nervous as you thought you would have been.

And slowly after that you ended up building such a wonderful reputation that you often were on national television. It was crazy to think how this all started thanks to one festival where you were sure everything was going to crash and burn.

It wasn't until late 2016 that you would step into the entertainment industry once again. A new idol group was set to debut and for their first show case you were asked to be the host. Nerves ran through your entire body worse than ever before, this Girl Group was one of the hottest topics in terms of new groups. When anyone talked about a new group, they were always in the discussion. You had to make sure you did a great job... You didn't do a great job, you did an excellent job at the showcase. The group instantly took over every chart they had their eyes on since that night.

From then on you became a staple in the industry for debut show cases. Many believe it's a curse for a group to fail their comeback if you didn't host their showcase. So to put it simple, you were a busy busy person, But it was something you loved doing to the point it didn't feel like you were busy, just enjoying the moment. Hell you even got to travel overseas for hosting events for some companies you didn't even think knew you existed.

You were also very popular for international fans because of the way you treated their favorite artist and the questions you focused on. You never asked about their "Ideal type" or "love life" instead you always focused on the project at hand. You would ask who helped with what and just try and get some information about the process of everything that was put into whatever they did. And fans really appreciated that since it gave them some insight on just how hard their artist worked instead of the usual cringey interviews they would get, especially on variety shows.

~

So there you were getting driven to the venue for Red Velvets Showcase for what they claimed would be their best comeback ever, which is why SM put so much money into this showcase. Outside of the venue it was insanely packed with fans just hoping to get some kind of glimpse at the five beautiful talented artist they adored. It was adorable how excited some of them were.

You rolled your window down to take a video of then when an idea suddenly popped up in your head for the interview. When some fans saw you recording they all started waving and screaming all of the members names. It was insane but cute at the same time.

After you felt like you captured enough footage you rolled your window back up and watched as you were pulled up into the parking lot.

The event wouldn't start for another couple of hours, which made it even crazier to think that those fans would wait out there until it was time.

You walked inside the building and quickly met up with all the people in charge of the event and told them your idea from earlier. They quickly agreed then you were ushered off to meet the girls for a "sneek peak" interview into the event.

You got fixed up then you were showed into a room off in the back where it was quieter. It was set up nicely with a beautiful backdrop of the night sky.

You sat patiently going over everything while the cameras got set up. You held you smile in your hand as you warmed your voice up. There was a long few hours of talking ahead for you and you wanted your throat to be prepared. You were taking a drink of some nice warm tea when the door opened and the five young women walked in, smiles pasted on all their faces as they greeted all of the staff.

You were instantly stunned by the beauty that instantly took over the room. Their smiles were the first thing you noticed, they were incredible. The energy they emitted in the small room made you feel like this was the first ever interview you took part of.

They each walked up to you and individually introduced themselves before taking the seat they felt the most comfortable with.

You were on the left in a single seat followed by a small space then it was Wendy, Irene and Seulgi on the bottom row. In the top row with the taller seats was Yeri and Joy.

They were talking among themselves as everything got checked before the cameras started to roll.

You looked at all of them, then you looked at Wendy, she was looking right back at you with a big smile. You smiled back then checked the cards in your hands.

After the camera director told you everything was ready, they started recording. After giving him a small nod your work persona instantly took over, starting off with a big smile you started your rehearsed introduction.

"Hello everyone, I'm here with Red Velvet moments before their big showcase, How are you each currently feeling..?"

"Oh um wow, well we feel nervous of course but at the same time we're excited. This is something we've never really done before and it's a concept I hope many of our fans are anticipating." Wendy spoke like a very well rehearsed professional, as she avoided making any form of eye contact with you and just stared at the camera.

"Yes just like Wendy said, we're extremely nervous but at the same time we know we put a lot of hard work into this album so I hope our Reveluvs like it a lot because we wouldn't work this hard on something if we didn't think they would like it." Irene said as she looked into the camera with a smile.

"I mean every song and album you guys have come out with had been amazing, so to you, what makes this one so special?" You asked again looking at Irene for an answer.

"Well during creating process each member got to help with some form of the production of at least two or more songs on the album so I just feel like with all of our personal touches in the songs we hope our fans can see another side of us. And this is also a project we've worked so hard on for almost a year. It's kind of a special gift to our fans." Irene answered again in her almost too perfect, professional voice.

"Okay so you mentioned that each member helped with a form of production, do you think you can tell us what exactly each of you did..?" You motioned to all of them with a smile.

Instead of Irene it was Wendy who answered, "We really wish we could but we kind of want to see if our fans can figure it out"

"Kind of like a treasure hunt!!" Seulgi added in with a smile.

"Well for this "treasure hunt" will there be any kind of prize for a special fan that figures it out?" You asked Seulgi with a smile.

"That's also a secret" Joy chimed in with a smile.

This interview was pretty different. You had always managed to squeeze out information no one else could very easily but these girls had a way of shutting you down.

"Okay well moving on from the musical side of things, since we will talk about that more on depth later on at the showcase, what can we expect from the choreography..?" You asked Seulgi.

Seulgi looked at Irene, almost as if she needed reassurance to make sure that what she was going to say was okay. Irene nodded her head slightly and Seulgi smiled. "Well like the album, each member got to add their own touches to the dance. Kind of in a way to highlight what makes each of us special to the group."

"Well each of you are very special to the group with your own charms so which points did you try and high light in the dance.?" You smiled to yourself knowing this question would at least help satisfy some eager fans who couldn't wait.

"Well with me I would say it's my voice so there's a move I chose to add where i-" Wendy got cut off by Irene putting her hand over her mouth.

"I'm sorry you and the rest of out fans will have to wait for the actual comeback to know." She smiled then looked at Wendy giving her a 'what are you doing' kind of look.

"I'm sorry she distracted me I forgot we weren't supposed to say it." Wendy whispered to Irene quietly, but you managed to hear it.

"Okay well I'm sorry to all the 'Revluvs'" You looked at the girls to make sure you got their fandom's name right, "Out there but its pretty hard to pry information out of them. I guess we will all have to wait until the comeback to see the magic in it's true works." You looked at the girls and smiled, "Is there anything you would like to tell your fans..?"

"Ah yes" Yeri chimed in. You nodded at her to continue, "My dance is totally better than Joys, that's all you need to know!" She smiled and then looked at Joy.

"Hey, it is not! My dance is way cooler than yours!" Joy looked at Yeri.

"Do you want to show us..? I'm sure your fans can decide on that" You smiled as you tried your best to get them to give some kind of preview.

"Sorry we're not Wendy you can't distract us cause we don't have a crush on you!" Yeri said then stuck her tounge out cockily.

Joy lightly smacked the back of Yeris head and Wendy had completely turned red.

"Um" You looked at the camera and smiled. "Well I guess we can wrap this up here, right?" You asked the camera director.

He nodded at you and you sighed.

"Alright well this has been fun, and I'm sorry guys that I couldn't pry information out of them as easily as my other victims" You smiled as you thought about how many comeback details you were able to pry out of other idols, especially Twice they were like an open book. "But that just means I have to come up with a better method, I'll see you guys at the showcase" you looked at red velvet, "And I'll see you there too."

Red velvet said something to the camera each, for their fans, then the interview was over.

"Alright, well thank you ladies for letting me interview you, I'll see you in a couple hours" You stood up and smiled at them.

You walked over to some of the staff and handed them the cards you had, not like you looked at them but still, it was nice to have a reference for questions. You talked to the director about which parts to cut out, especially Yeri's little sentence at the end of the entregues as You were sure she had worded what she ment wrong.

You felt a tap on your shoulder and smiled when you saw Seulgi. "Yes?"

"Wen- I mean, my members wanted me to invite you to our dressing room so we can hang out for a little before the showcase, something about wanting each other to feel more comfortable with one another on stage." Seulgi smiled as she spoke.

"oh um yeah that sounds like a good idea, a little friendly chemistry could hurt" You smiled back at Seulgi, "I just need to go find my manager to talk to him about something but I'll be there soon."

"Okay!" Seulgi giggled then walked out to join the other girls.

_

"Wendy!! She said she'll come!" Seulgi yelled when she walked in the dressing room.

"I've never seen her cheeks get that red!" Yeri teased.

"Hey shut up it's just really hot in here" Wendy rolled her eyes.

"Really..? I'm cold" Irene said as she waddled up to the girls with a blanket wrapped around her.

"Wendy you must really have a big crush on her, you haven't even spoken a word to her off camera but she has you wrapped around her finger." Joy laughed as she twirled a piece of hair on her finger.

"Shut up I don't have a crush on her. Okay..?" Wendy said as she looked down with her arms crossed.

"Sure, it's not like you watch literally every single interview she conducts. You even watched her commercial for some toilet paper brand about a hundred times." Yeri pulled her phone out and looked something up.

"Shut up, I Did Not!" Wendy glared at Yeri meanwhile Yeri smiled as she played the commercial out loud. Wendy knew the commercial word by word but she wouldn't admit it. Especially to Yeri.

"How do you even have a crush on her. You hevent ever talked to her you little chicken shit" Joy laughed at the look on Wendy's face.

"Joy! Language" Irene scowled from her spot on the couch.

"Yes grandma Rene I'll watch my language" Joy laughed again when Irene rolled her eyes.

"I think it's cute!" Seulgi chimed in about Wendy's crush.

"You think anything is cute" Yeri told her.

"Okay true, but c'mon you have to admit that we've never seen Wendy this flustered." Seulgi said as she walked up to Wendy to poke her cheek.

"I'm not flustered I'm jus-"

There was a knock at the door that interrupted wendy mid sentence and caused the entire room to fall silent, "Hello..?" Your voice drifted its way into the room, slightly muffled by the door sperating you and the girls.

Joy pulled Wendy up and pushed her towards the door. "Open it you coward" Joy whispered.

"C-coming" Wendy said as she tried to catch her balance.

Yeri secretly recorded Wendy to have something to tease her about in the future.

Wendy opened the door and smiled shyly at you, "Yes..?" She looked at the box in your hands then back up at your face.

"Oh Hi, Wendy..?" You said raising your eyebrow to make sure you got her name right. You continued speaking when she gave you a small nod, "Um Seulgi asked me to come over here, so.."

"Oh yeah of course" Wendy tried opening the door but it hit her foot at first. "Ouch" She moved out of the way to open it correctly, "Come in"

"Thank you" You smiled then walked in. "Hi" You told the rest of the girls in the room.

"Hi!" They all said back.

"Ooh, What's in the box?" Yeri asked as Wendy quietly walked past you to sit down.

"Oh I brought some chocolates that I made yesterday" You smiled and handed her the box. "I Always make extra so I can bring some for the staff and if there's still some more I usually give them to whoever's fans are still outside at the end of the event. It's a fun hobby of mine, I like making people smile with the idea of food."

Yeri opened the box and Joy gasped, "No way! is this nama chocolate??" She looked at you in surprise.

You smiled and nodded. "Yup I'm kinda going through a Japanese dessert phase right now. My friend just came back from Japan and showed me how to make them"

"Wow awesome" Seulgi said as she walked over to Yeri to look at the chocolate in more detail.

"It looks delicious." Wendy quietly said from her seat.

"Please help yourselves, I have plenty more so don't worry." You smiled at all of them.

"Even the box is so cute. It looks profesional!" Seulgi gushed as she grabbed a chocolate.

You heard your name and looked over at Irene. "Here come sit down" she patted the seat on the couch next to her.

You walked over and sat down in between her and Wendy.

"Oh my god if this isn't the best chocolate I've ever had I don't know what is!" Joy said as she grabbed another piece.

"It's so creamy and delicious. Wow you have some magic hands" Yeri said with a mouthful of chocolate.

"Let me see. Bring me some." Irene said from her spot on the couch.

"Why do I have to get up" Yeri whispered as both Seulgi and Joy nudged her to get up.

"Because you're the youngest and we know grandma's joints aren't the best." Joy whispered back and pushed Yeri.

Yeri brought Irene the box and Irene picked one out. "Mmm this is really good!" Irene said with a hand covering her mouth.

Yeri walked over to Wendy and held the box out to her, wiggling her eyebrows as she glanced between you and Wendy.

After mouthing something to her, Wendy reached out to grab one but Yeri just gave her the whole box. "Here now you have something to fangirl at home about." Yeri said quietly with an innocent smile.

Wendy took the box with red cheeks and she sent Yeri a look that screamed "you're in trouble" .

You looked at Wendy with a big smile, "Try it, let me know what you think."

"Ok" Wendy nodded and she picked out a chocolate, examining it for a small moment as a small smile made its way on her lips. After admiring the gift from you for a few more seconds, she finally plopped it in her mouth "Oh wow" She gasped when she ate it. "It's amazing." She looked at you with wide eyes.

"Thank you" You smiled at her before looking over at the other girls. "I can make some more and send them to you if you would like. We can always arrange a way to get them to you."

"Oh no we don't want to bother you." Irene said as she looked at you.

You shook your head, "It wouldn't be a bother, I like making food for people. It makes me happy"

"Well only if it isn't an inconvenience for you, we will take you up on that offer." Irene agreed with a small nod.

"Yes!" Seulgi yelled from where she was seated, "Free delicious snacks!"

Yeri and Joy exchanged a look before laughing. "Excuse us we need to go get our make up touched up, we will be back in a little bit" Yeri said as she and Joy stood up. Joy sent Wendy a look as they walked to the door.

"We'll see you in a little bit, thanks for the chocolate!" Joy said and Irene just shook her head and looked at Seulgi.

Seulgi got up and walked to the door, lightly nudging Wendy as she walked by behind the couch you were seated on, and excused herself to go get something.

"Oh no did my chocolate give them stomach problems?" You asked Irene.

Irene laughed and shook her head, "No I highly doubt it. Those girls are always up to something."

"Oh okay" You laughed quietly. You looked over at Wendy. "You're not gonna disappear on me too now are you..?" You asked her jokingly.

Wendy shook her head with a small smile. "I don't plan on it."

"Okay good, I was beginning to feel self conscious." You joked with her.

After a small moment of silence in the room Wendy spoke in a soft voice. "I didn't know you were into baking. Well if that's what you call this" She said as she lifted up the box in her hand.

"Oh" You smiled at her, "I didn't know I was either until a few years ago when I made my first cake from scratch."

"Really..? That's so cool" Wendy said. "What flavor was it."

"I was just going to make a chocolate cake but my friend convinced me in to making it a Red Velvet cake." You told her as you pulled your phone out of your pocket to look for the picture you took of it.

There was a quiet snicker from Irene. "Ooh the coincidence" She told herself quietly before getting up. "I have to go do something. I'll be back" She said as she walked out before you or Wendy could say anything.

"I'm into baking too" Wendy said after watching you scroll through your phone in silence as she quietly played with her bracelet.

"Really..?" You looked up at her and smiled, which honestly Wendy was surprised she didn't have a heart attack considering the amount of times you had smiled at her in the past ten minutes. "We should join up one day and bake together." You suggested.

"Oh" Wendy paused and then smiled to herself, "That sounds like fun."

"Ah found it" You said to yourself then you showed Wendy the picture on your phone. "I know it looks bad but trust me it actually didn't taste that bad."

Wendy couldn't hold back the little laugh she had when she saw how smeared and everywhere the frosting was. What she really couldn't keep her eyes off was the way you were smiling as you held the cake to show the camera, flour all over your clothes and frosting somehow managing to end up on your face and hair.

"Are you laughing..?" You asked with a fake gasp.

"I'm" She laughed, "I'm sorry, it's cute. I promise" She smiled at you.

"They've gotten a little better." You said as you pulled a more recent picture up of a three tiered cake you made for a friend's birthday.

"Oh wow that's really nice!" Wendy said as she took your phone in her hands to get a better look.

There was a knock on the door and you heard your name. "Yes?" You called out.

The door opened and your managers head peaked in. "Hey sorry to interrupt, but there's something important we need you for."

"Oh" You nodded your head, "Okay I'll be right there."

"Okay meet us in your room" You manager said before dismissing himself and closing the door.

You stood up and Wendy looked at you. "Heres your phone." She handed you your phone with a slightly disappointed smile.

"Thank you. And as much as I would love to continue to talk to you about dessert, duty calls." You smiled at her as you grabbed your phone.

Wendy stood up and smiled at you. "It's Okay I completely understand. And honestly I should try and go find where the girls went."

You looked around the quiet room and laughed, "Yeah that seems like a good idea. We can continue our conversation at a later time if you would like..?" You asked her.

"Oh yes, yeah totally! I'm always down for talking about baking" She spoke with so much enthusiasm.

"Ah cute" You said to yourself with a small laugh. "It was great talking to you." You held out your hand but shook your head. "Can I give you a hug..?"

"huh, uh" Wendy looked at you.

"Sorry I like giving hugs more than handshakes theyre just better and less awkward in my opinion." You told her.

"Y-yeah that's fine." Wendy smiled.

You gave her a hug, "I'll see you at your showcase."

You walked out to find your manager before you got in trouble for taking too long.

_

One by one the girls all barged into the room after they saw you walk by in the hallway with a smile as you stared at your phone.

The girls all teased Wendy when they saw her standing in the spot you left her with the most love struck look on her face.

"Oh my god what happened?"

"Your Face is so red"

"I think I can hear your heartbeat all the way over here"

"Did you get her number"

"No I didn't get her number, but she offered me to hang out with her to bake together.." Wendy said as she snapped out of her daze.

"Baking together..?" Irene asked her.

"That's like the gayest most adorable thing I've ever heard!!" Yeri yelled as she gave Joy a high five.

"Yes our planned worked.." Joy cheered as she gave Wendy a pat on the back.

"Ooh you had a plan..? I just walked out because I knew Wendy was going to make it awkward." Seulgi said as she grabbed a bag of fruit snacks that were on the table in the middle of the room.

Irene laughed before nodding, "That was a good decision, Wendy did make it awkward. It was adorable but hard to watch." Irene stuck her hand out to Seulgi so she could give her some fruit snacks.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help but get nervous. Have you seen her..? She's literally perfect." Wendy sat on the couch with a little huff.

"How did you even manage to get a crush on her if you've never even met her before..?" Joy asked as she sat on one of the many chairs in the room.

"Well you see the thing is we have met before, but it was before all this happened. Before she became the huge successful person she is now and before we managed to become who we are right now. It was a long time ago so I doubt she even remembers it, especially with how busy she's been since then." Wendy said as she tapped her fingers on the couch.

"Wait really?? Why did you never tell us this..? And when??" Joy sat up so she could hear whatever wendy was going to say next more clearer.

"Well it was back in 2015 at the end of spring, beginning of summer. I had gone with our manager at the time to go talk to a few universities about performing at their festivals but none of them really caught our attention. Until we went to the school she was from. While we were there talking to her and taking a tour of the school, she explained everything to us with just the biggest and most beautiful smile I'd ever seen. She was constantly asking us if we needed to take a break from walking or if we were thirsty. She was just constantly making sure we were okay." Wendy looked to the side as a small smile had made its way up on her lips while she remembered the past. "So then we had agreed to participate at the festival and she thanked us so much I thought my heart was going to burst."

"Wait but I don't remember performing at any festivals at that time..?" Irene said as she racked her memory for what they did during the specified time period Wendy mentioned.

"Exactly, we never ended up going." Wendy's smile disappeared. "It honestly broke my heart because she was so excited for us to go but then we couldn't anymore. It was hard but I kept telling myself that I'd never see her again so there was no reason to feel guilty." She let out a small laugh, "Oh but how the universe has its way of letting life play out. After the day of her universities festival her face was all over social media. She had become a hot topic all over every platform. It was insane."

"And that's how she's become who she is now.." Yeri mumbled once she finally understood everything.

"Correct." Wendy nodded before taking in a sharp breathe of air, "That damn smile of hers still managed to find it's way into my mind at random times."

"Wow how did we never know this..?" Seulgi asked as she looked at all the other girls in the room.

"I never told anyone because I thought we would never cross paths in life again, I guess I was wrong." Wendy told all of them as she looked down at the ground.

"Wrong doesn't even begin to describe it, she's literally worked with almost all the top girl groups in our industry, did you just think she was gonna just skip right past us..?" Joy told Wendy as she made a not so nice gesture to show her how much of an idiot she was.

"I honestly don't know what I thought, I guess I was kinda just hoping she would skip over us." Wendy admitted before standing up.

"Wow I've never seen you so flustered over just one person before," Irene told her as she gave her a small pat on the shoulder.

"I don't know what's going on with me." Wendy sighed as she shook her head. "I'm gonna go outside for a bit, I need some fresh air."

"Okay, just take your phone, we'll call you when you need to come back." Irene told her as she handed her her phone she left on the couch.

"Alright, thanks." Wendy gave her a small smile as she took her phone. "See you in a little bit." She waved to all the girls before leaving out of the room.

"Wow.." All three of the girls mumbled at the same time.

_

Wendy wandered the hallways of the Venue for a while before finding a door to the outside. Stepping out into the fresh air, she took a deep breathe and smiled. She walked around outside to look for a place to sit down and that's when she saw you out there watching something on your phone. She didn't know wether or not she should go up and say something, but luckily for her the ringing of your phone took all of you attention as she just stood back and watched.

"Hello..? Yeah what do you want this time..? Huh..? Yeah it's Red Velvet this time, what..? No I'm not getting them to sign anything for you, what..? No, aren't you supposed to be studying right now..? Wait what time is it there..? Why are you still awake, our parents didn't send you back to America just for you to goof off instead of studying. Huh..? ugh fine then I'll talk to you for just five more minutes. Who, Irene..? Ah the short one, you want her to sign something for you..? Well do you remember what I told you when you asked for a twice member to sign something, yup my answer is the same. No. Huh..? Which one caught my eye, hmm.. What do you mean there has to be at least one I like, you're such an idiot. I'm working, I'm not here to oogle at pretty women. But I hate to admit that you are right, yeah can you guess which one. Yeah you're right, she has a nice voice. Yes of course she's pretty too. Uh-huh, okay well at least try and get some sleep, don't you have exams next week..? okay well if you don't do well I'm not gonna let you come visit. Okay, alright then you little butthole. Go to sleep, okay, bye."

Wendy just stared in awe, she'd heard you speak English before in almost all of your interviews but to hear you drop the professional tone and just speak naturally was amusing to her. She hated to admit it but she found it oddly attractive.

You went back to watching whatever video you had playing before your younger sibling had called.

"Just do it, don't be a chicken.." Wendy mumbled before getting the courage to walk up to you. She took a few steps closer to you before clearing her throat to get your attention.

You jumped up in shock before looking up and immediately making eye contact with the short haired woman in front of you. "Oh, Wendy, hello.." You smiled at her in an attempt to hide the fact that she startled you.

"Hello.." You said awkwardly as she didn't know what else to say, luckily you took control over the conversation.

"What brings you outside..?" You asked before pausing, you then continued to talk when she continued to only stare. "Ah I know what it is," you gestured to the phone in her hand, "I've been to this venue a bunch of times and the service inside can be pretty spotty at times. Out here is where you get the best service." You lifted your previously abandoned phone in the air to show her.

"Oh, right haha" She mumbled awkwardly.

You moved over on the concrete ledge you were sitting on, it was surrounding a beautiful tree they had outside for decoration, and patted the spot next to you. "You can sit right here, I don't bite."

After giving you a small nod she moved to down next to you. "What are you watching..?"

"Hmm..?" You looked down at your phone then back up at her, "Don't laugh, I'm just watching some baking videos.."

"Oh really..? And why would I laugh, I do that all the time." She answered with a small smile.

"There's this channel called Cooking Tree and I just really love their videos." You turned your phone to the side so she could see what you were watching.

"What are they making..?" She asked as she moved closer to see better.

"They're making a Cream Puff Cake, it looked good on the picture of the thumbnail." You held your phone more in the middle of the both of you, that way you could both get a better view.

The two of you sat there for a while just watching a few more videos and talking about the things you've both made in the past.

"Hmm, you seem to know a lot about baking." You told Wendy as you turned you phone off since it was about time for you to head inside.

"Yeah it's something I really like a lot, it's a lot of work but the end product is always worth it." she answered with a smile.

"Oh yeah trust me, I know all about that." You returned her smile before humming, "Hmm you know what, if you ever want to come over to bake together," You paused before adding, "Or just bake by yourself, let me know."

"Come over to where..?" Her head tilted to the left as she watched you stand up.

"My house, like around two years ago I turned one of the spare bed rooms into my own at home baking studio. It took a lot of work, but I hired some great people so it is amazing. You're free to come by anytime." You watched the way she smiled and continued, "Of course I know it sounds odd for me to be inviting you over to my house to bake even though we just met, but I have a few other people I met at jobs like these that come over to hang out and bake."

"Really..? Like who..?"

"Let's see, there's Eunji from Apink, she's a great person to bake with she constantly will make you laugh, um oh Suyeon from Weki Meki, she likes to send me random recipes that we can try making together, oh and also one of my closest friends, Baekho from Nu'est, do you know him..?" You asked her with a proud smile.

"Nu'est..? Of course I know them, who doesn't." She smiled as she took note of everyone you mentioned.

"Well we met a little over a year ago for a showcase they had and since then he's been coming over so I can show him how to bake. He likes surprising his members with cakes. He may look like a big tough guy on the outside, but on the inside he's just the absolute sweetest guy I've ever met."

"Oh wow I definitely did not know that, he definitely doesn't seem like the baking type." Wendy stood up after you did and she started stretching.

"I know right, he's absolutely adorable when he focuses so hard on adding the right amount of ingredients." You smiled as you thought about just how long he spent measuring every single ingredient. You looked at Wendy, surprised to see the look she had on her face. "I mean, adorable as in a sibling kind of way. I don't think about him in that other kind of way.." You shook your head to further prove your point.

"Huh..? oh no I never thought you did.." Wendy mumbled as she waved her hands in front of her, in a way to try and clear up the misunderstanding.

"Oh, it's just because of the look you had on your face. I guess friendships between guys and girls in this type of industry can't be that open and honest between each other." You shook your head as you avoided making eye contact with her. "I should really go now, I have some things I need to look over before the show case." You mumbled before respectfully dismissing yourself.

"Right, I should probably head in too, we need to go over the set list for tonight.." Wendy said as she watched you walk away.

_

There were approximately ten more minutes left until fans were going to be let into the venue, so everyone backstage was running around making sure everything was set up and ready to go. You were in a corner talking to your manager and one of the camera directors about how long tonight's even was going to be and if one of your special surprises was all set for later in the event. Red velvet were lined up in the hallway as they got all of their microphones fitted. Seulgi was going over a few of their dance moves with the youngest two in the group, as the older two talked about the songs they were going to be performing before the event let out.

"All right doors are opening, the first few people should be heading in now." A staff member had told your manager before dismissing himself to go let the others know.

"You nervous..?" Your manager asked you when he noticed the look on your face.

"What..? No of course not, it's just another day." You answered him with a smile as you fiddled with the cards you were holding in one hand.

"Okay, well if you need to take a drink of water I'd suggest you do it now, this event is going to last a while." Your manager looked away when his attention was being called for by another staff member, "I have to go, you're going to do great!" He reassured you before walking away.

You leaned against the wall behind you, lifting your head up to take deep breathes in a way to calm your nerves. You never got this nervous before an event, so this feeling was completely new to you.

You soon felt someone tapping on your shoulder so before looking down at who it was you closed your eyes to draw in one more deep breathe. You looked down and smiled when you saw who it was, "Yes..?"

"Ah, im sorry to bother you, but we couldn't help but notice that your hair got entangled in your earring."

"Oh really..?" You stood up straight as you reached for the ear she mentioned.

"Oh here, I got it.."

"Thank you Yeri" You smiled at her once she placed your hair back in place.

"It's no problem, we've all been there before." She smiled back before walking back to her group mates.

"You're the one who noticed it and I told you to go do it, why did you make me go..?" Yeri glared at Wendy.

Wendy shrugged, "Just because.."

"Just because..? That's it..? Ugh I hate you, I hope you trip on stage," Yeri crossed her arms across her chest as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey stop it, she doesn't mean it Wendy." Irene lightly smacked Yeri's arm, "Don't say that, she could get hurt on stage, it's not something to joke about Yerim."

"Ouch, okay I'm sorry Wendy." Yeri rubbed her arm before walking away to join Seulgi and Joy.

"Hey guys, less than three minutes left. The host is going to walk on stage first and give a brief introduction of today's events then you will all walk on stage. Introduce yourselves then go and sit down in the spots you chose earlier." A stage assistant told the girls before running off to go and tell you that you were ready to head on stage.

Music was playing over the speakers as the lights in the venue began to dim. The song had something to do with Butterflies but you didn't have time to sit and listen to music, it was time to walk out on Stage.

As soon as you walked out on the stage with the spot light on you, the crowd began to cheer. You swallowed the nerves that had been building up inside of you for the past few hours and smiled. This was who you were, you were in your element and nothing could distract you now.

"Hello everyone" You bowed your head to the crowd and smiled as some of the crowd began to cheer even louder. "Wow, I'm definitely loving the energy in here right now, and I'm sure the girls will too. How's everyone feeling today..?" You paused as you listened to the crowd yell their responses, a mixture of either goods or saying it's hot. "Haha, I know a good amount of you had been waiting out there for a few hours, so someone is walking by handing out waters, so feel free to take one." After you saw the relieved look on some of the members of the crowds faces you continued, "Alright then, I'll go ahead and introduce myself. Hello I am the host for tonight's event. Day one of Red Velvets Third Full Album showcase. I'm am excited to be here tonight to host this event and I hope all of you are excited as well." You waited for the crowd to calm down before taking a few steps back, "Alright so let me introduce, Red Velvet." You gestured to the side of the stage where the girls were going to walk out. You couldn't hide the smile on your face when you heard the crowd go absolutely crazy as the girls stepped out with smiles.

The girls introduced themselves to the crowd and then you all moved to go sit down.

You sat in your spot and smiled as you held your microphone in front of you. "So did you guys watch the short interview that was uploaded an hour ago..?" After hearing a bunch of yeahs from the crowd you let out a small laugh, "Okay then so you are all prepared for how hard it's going to be to crack them for information." The crowd laughed as a few of them nodded. "Alright then, let's begin."

_

You were now standing back stage watching the girls perform their five song set list for the night. They were currently on their third song when you went to find a staff member to make sure your surprise was ready.

After checking everything and making sure it was all set up, you went back to watching the girls perform. They were soon finished so you walked back out with a smile as you clapped.

"Wow let's give up to Red Velvet." The crowd cheered even louder while the girls took a moment to finally catch their breathe.

A staff member ran out on stage to hand the girls a bottle of water each before disappearing behind the stage.

You waited for the crowd to calm down before speaking again. "Wow that was an amazing performance, I bet you are tired so why don't you catch your breath and sit down." You told all five members who only nodded as they started opening their water bottles. You walked up closer to the edge of the stage as the members all walked to go sit down. "So how was that..? They were amazing weren't they..?" You asked the crowd, amazed at the way they managed to get even more loud than they were at the beginning of the event. "Wow which song was your favorite..?" You asked again as you waited for a couple of answers to be shouted from the crowd. "What about that dancing..? Wow that was amazing." You turned to smile at the girls. "Well it's looks like we only have around ten more minutes left for tonight," You walked to go sit in your spot. "So Irene, would you like to remind everyone when the album comes out..?"

Irene smiled before holding her microphone up to her mouth, "Yes, our new album, Red Herring, is coming out tomorrow morning at ten alongside our new Music Video. We really hope you all enjoy it as we've all put in a lot of hard work. This was a long project but a project we're very proud of."

"Thank you Irene," You sent her a smile before turning to face the crowd again, "I hope you all remember that their first performance of their new songs will be here tomorrow evening, I hope we get to see some of your faces here tomorrow too." You stood up, "Now I have a surprise for everyone here today, I really hope you all like it." You looked over at the edge of the stage and gave the stage director a nod.

Two staff members ran on stage with small bags to hand out to the members. As they got their surprise, staff members walked all through the rows of seats handing everyone in the crowd their own bag of goodies.

"Wow what's this..?" All the girls asked question's when they looked at the bags in their hands.

You smiled proudly as you saw everyone look at their bags, eyes filled with joy.

"Now, I'm sure you are all wondering what this is, allow me to explain. These are macaroons, im sure you're all familiar with them. I made all of these myself this past week and they represent the members of red velvet and you guys. Yeri I'll start with you." You pointed at the bag in her hand, "You got five purple macaroons with the flavor grape, you'll notice there's also a half pink and red one in there. That represents your fans. Reveluvs. Joy you got five green macaroons, flavored as Kiwi. Wendy, this was a weird combination but I enjoyed making it, you got five blue macaroons, flavored orange. Seulgi you got five yellow macaroon's, flavored pineapple. And lastly Irene you got five pink macaroons, flavored watermelon. You each get one half pink and red macaroon to symbolize your amazing fans." You stood there as the girls all smiled and clapped, "Now you guys," You gestured to the crowd, "All of you got one of each of these to represent red velvet and yourselves. There's a little piece of paper in there with all the ingredients so if you're allergic to anything listed please do not eat anything in the bag and let a staff member know, I have something else prepared for those of you with allergies. I also wanted to let you know that the dye used in these macaroons are all natural dyes. I hope you all enjoy."

"Thank you so much, this is the sweetest thing anyone has done for us and our reveluvs." Irene spoke into the microphone before placing it down to whisper to Wendy. "I can see why you like her."

"Haha, it was no problem, I really enjoyed making them. I hope you all enjoy them." You took a moment to wait for the crowd to settle down before ending the event. "Now, sadly, it is time to say goodbye. I hope I see some familiar faces here tomorrow night since you never know if you will get another surprise." You smiled happily as some of the fans in the crowd lifted their bags in the air, cheering. "Please be careful on your way out and have a great night guys." You moved out of the way so Red Velvet could say bye before walking off stage. You followed after them, relief taking over you body as you stepped back stage.

"Good job today, you did great." Your manager walked up to you, helping you take the microphone pack off your clothes.

"Haha, your tongue is blue, did you try them..?" You asked him once he got it off you.

"Of course I did, you know I love your baking." He smiled, teeth blue.

"You better, or else you'd have to find someone else to bake your wifes birthday cake. Make sure everyone gets some, I made a lot."

"Everyone is making sure to get their share, go ahead and get dressed. We have a quick conference call with the boss then I'll drive you home."

"Okay, sounds good." You walked down the hallway do your dressing room, a happy feeling every time you saw someone walk by with a macaroon in their hands.

_

You and your manager just finished up the meeting with your boss that lasted around fifteen or so minutes. He was sitting in one of the chairs in the room, scrolling through his phone as he waited for you to get ready.

"Oh, hey is it okay if I go do something real quick. I have a few boxes with extra macaroons in here and I don't want them. I wanna go see if the members of Red Velvet want them." You showed him the stack of small white boxes in front of you.

"Yeah I don't care, I'm not in a rush. I'm ready whenever you're ready. Go, take your time." He waved at you with one hand as he used the other to hold his phone.

"Okay, ill be back in a little bit." You got up with the boxes in your arms. You made your way down to Red Velvets dressing room, you could hear them all talking and laughing behind the door. You couldn't quite knock so you tapped the bottom of the door with your foot.

After a few seconds the door opened and you were greeted with Yeri smiling at you, "Hey, what are you doing here..?" You couldn't help but notice the purple on her lips.

"I was just stopping by to see if you all wanted these. I made quite a lot of extras and I still have a few at home so I don't need these." You gestured for her to take a box so she could look inside.

"Oh my gosh, of course we want these. Here come inside, we're just doing a live broadcast so don't mind the other idiots." She opened the door to let you.

You were hoping just to be able to quickly drop the boxes off then head home, but it seemed like luck wasn't on your side.

You walked in and placed the boxes down where Yeri showed you and you were almost out of the door until Joy stopped you.

"Hey look who's here." She hollered to everyone else in the room.

Everyone walked over, including Seulgi who had a phone taping everything.

"Hey, did you need something..?" Irene asked you.

"Huh..? Oh no Yeri already helped me out, thanks for asking though." You smiled at her before trying to escape.

"Yeri..?" She looked over at the youngest.

"She brought us boxes of extra macaroons, she said she didn't need them since she still had extras at home so I told her we'd be glad to take them." Yeri explained, gesturing to the white boxes you placed down in the room.

"Oh no way, that's awesome. Yeri basically ate all of ours." Joy yelled as she ran over to the boxes.

The other three followed behind her and you were left alone with Wendy by the door.

"Okay, well I'm leaving now. I hope you enjoy them." you told them before stepping out.

You made it a few steps out the door before being stopped by Wendy.

"What's up..?" You turned to face her.

"Um, those uh macaroons, they're amazing." Wendy stumbled over her words, not quite knowing why she followed you outside, but here she was talking to you. "How did you make so many..?"

"Oh haha, well I was just playing around with a bunch of recipes I found online, tweaking them to my liking and then just started making a bunch. They're really simple once you get used to making them. I thought they would make a nice gift for tonight." You made eye contact with her as you answered her.

"Really? I do that too. I find recipes online and make them my own all the time. It always turns out better that way."

"Yeah that's true. The macaroons were easy, yours were actually the ones that gave me to most trouble. I kept forgetting what flavor they were supposed to be but in the end I think it all turned out good. There's a whole box in there filled with them." The both of you just stood there in silence, you didn't know what else to talk about so you were about to walk away until wendy finally spoke up.

"Do you think you could show me how to make them..? I've tried making them before but they never turned out like that." Wendy's voice was shaky as she avoided your gaze.

"Huh?? Really? I would love to show you how to make them!" You clapped your hands in front of you.

"Really..?" She finally looked up at the bright smile on your face.

"Of course, I love baking with people. I can give you my number if you'd like. We can set a date for you to come over and bake." You pulled your phone out of your pocket.

"Oh, that would be nice." Wendy grabbed your phone as you handed it to her and entered her number. Then you switched and you put your number in her phone, the entire time talking about which flavors you wanted to try.

"Okay Wendy, it was nice talking to you and I can't wait to bake with you but I should let you go back in now, I'm sure your members are wondering where you went off to."

Wendy just stared at you for a while before speaking up, "Hey, wait. Before you go, I just wanted to apologize for earlier today. I totally wasn't thinking whatever it was you thought I was thinking. I was just more surprised at the fact that a man like Baekho focused that hard on ingredient measurements, I cant even get Yeri to add the right amount of water to packaged noodles so it was just surprising to me. I'm sorry if my facial reactions offended you in anyway, I didn't mean to. I've actually been a big fan of yours for the past few years and I'm kind of upset with myself that that was the impression I left on you."

"Oh, Wendy No. You don't need to apologize, I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have reacted that way without hearing you out first. I'm sorry, I was just stressed out and I let my stress get the best of me. I shouldn't have let it. I don't think you're a bad person in any way, you're one of the nicest people I met. I hope we can put that whole thing behind us. It was childish for me to make an assumption like that. I'm truly, deeply sorry." You looked down at your shoes in shame.

"I would like it if we could just put it behind us.." Wendy's voice was quiet as she watched the way your fingers fumbled with each other.

"Me too.." You looked up at her. "Hi Wendy, it's nice to meet you. I heard you're a big fan of baking, so am I. Want to bake together one day..?" You stuck your hand out to her.

Wendy looked at you in shock before understanding what you were doing. "Oh, hello there. Of course that sounds like an amazing idea. I cant wait." She shook your hand, both of your smiles matching each other.

"Alright then Miss Wendy, it's time for me to go. I'll see you tomorrow." You let go of her hand to wave at her.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." She waved back, watching you walk down the hallway. It wasnt until she heard someone call her name that she looked away from you.

"psst, seungwan, what happened??" All four of the girls were peaking out of the cracked door, Joy asking the questions, "Did you get her number?"

Wendy walked up to the four of them, unable to hide her smile as she nodded. "We have a baking date soon.."

"What?" All four of them yelled in shock.

"Well it's not a date date, but she invited me over to her house to bake with her." Wendy explained as she stepped past the girls to go inside.

"That is adorable, I wonder how it's going to go.." Seulgi said walking behind Wendy.

"Yeah I do too, I guess we'll find out later." She mumbled as she checked her phone when she got a message from you.

"Can't wait to bake with you Wendy! Have a great night and stay safe!"

Wendy smiled at her phone before typing back her reply. "Thank you, I can't wait either. See you soon"

"Oh my god are they already texting each other, she just left.." Yeri whispered to Joy.

Joy laughed and shook her head, "Don't judge her too much, she finally got the chance to talk to her dream girl, we should be proud of this idiot."

"Hey pinky"

"Hmm..?"

"Ahh nevermind, looks like someone is coming over to talk to you.." You closed your locker, sighing as you watched the young man you were referring to walked up to your best friend. "I'll catch you later pinky.." You walked away, trying to ignore the conversation the two shared after you walked away.

_

"Hey where's Chaeryeong..?"

"Hmm, what did you say..?" You looked up from the sink where you were washing your hands.

"I was just asking where Chaeryeong is.. are you okay, you look pale."

"Yes Ryujin, I'm okay.." You moved her hand off of your forehead.

"Hmm.. I'm not gonna pry any further since it seems like you dont want to talk about it. But like I was asking earlier, where's Chaeryeong..?" Ryujin walked away from you so she could dry her hands off.

"Oh, uh she was talking to someone last time I saw her." You answered as you also dried your hands off.

"Oh okay, well have you talked to her about the dance..? Yeji still wants us all to go as a group, especially since she's bringing her one friend that goes to that private academy across town."

"No I was going to ask her earlier but then she got busy talking to someone else." You walked to the bathroom's door, pulling it open, letting Ryujin walk out first.

"Okay well just try and let her know as soon as possible, or else Yeji is going to throw a fit." Ryujin sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"I'll try.." You looked down as you followed Ryujin through the hallways.

Ryujin was right, something was wrong with you, but were you going to admit it..? Did you want to tell anyone why you were in such a slump..? No, because telling someone else would just confirm the fact that you've been trying to hide. The fact that you had fallen for your best friend. As cliché as it seemed, you never thought that you'd be one of those bozos who ended up falling for their childhood best friend. It wouldn't have been such a big issue if your best friend wasn't the gorgeous woman she had grown into, it was hard keeping your crush on the low when you were in middle school, but now as you were nearing your last few months in high school, her beauty just seemed to get even more breathtaking. Your feelings for your best friend had grown to the extent where it was hard just for you to be around her these past few weeks.

You had been slowly distancing yourself from her for the last three or so days since you could never seem to get your heartbeat to calm down anytime she was around. Chaeryeong wasn't the only one that had noticed your change in attitude around her, your other close friends did as well. None of them had connected the dots that your change in attitude was related to the feelings you were hiding from her. Well, Ryujin had joked around about it once but that was it. No one knew, and you didn't want them to.

_

It was the end of the day and you were putting everything up in your locker when someone suddenly walked up behind you.

"Hey can I talk to you for a moment, in private please..?"

"Oh you scared me.." You jumped up in surprise at the sudden sound of your best friends voice in you ear. You turned around to face her, immediately dropping eye contact the second her eyes met yours, "Uh, yeah sure. What's up..?"

Chaeryeong sighed before reaching around you to close your locker, she then proceeded to grab your hand, dragging you down the hall with her.

"Oh what are we doing here..?" Chaeryeong had brought you to the schools gym, it was empty since there was no practice for any of the indoor teams this late in the year.

"I need to talk to you." Chaeryeong answered as she pulled you to sit down on the stands. She stood in front of you as you sat down on the bottom row.

"Why couldn't we just talk out there..? Am I in trouble..?" You tried once again to make eye contact with her but you just couldn't. The look in her eyes was too much for your heart to handle.

Chaeryeong sighed before kneeling down, she reached out to tilt your chin so you were at the same face level with her. "I just have something I want to talk to you about." Her voice was calm, but once again that's what drove you insane. Everything about her was just so perfect, every little single thing she did made your heart race.

"About..?" Your voice was quiet as you had to look her in the eyes, there was no way you could look away.

"Why have you been avoiding me..? Did I do something to you..?" Chaeryeong's voice shook as she spoke to you. "I've been trying to tell you something all week but everytime I try you avoid me like the plague. Why..?"

You felt like such a terrible person when you noticed her eyes began to water. "What..? No pinky, you didn't do anything. I promise. I've just been busy with something.." Your eyes shifted as you could see in her eyes that she didn't believe you, "I mean I've been dealing with something personal and I didn't want my mood to affect your own. I know you've been busy practicing your dance after school everyday so I just wanted to give you your space."

Chaeryeong let go of your chin and grabbed your hand, "But I'm your best friend, you should know that anytime you go through something I want to be there to help you." A tear rolled down her cheek and that absolutely broke your heart, "It just feels like you want nothing to do with me and that really hurts. You know that I've always been there for anything and everything you've gone through but just now you're trying to go through something on your own..? After thirteen years of us sharing everything with each other you suddenly want to shut me out..? I don't care about my dance practices if you're not doing well." Her grip on your hand tightened as every word she spoke was draped with the deepest sincerity you'd ever seen from her.

You were stunned, you felt like there was nothing you could say. All you wanted to do was pull her in for a hug and hold her tight. "Chaeryeong.." You mumbled as you reached out to wipe her tear.

Her eyes instantly shot up, making eye contact with you, you never called her by her name unless it was something serious.

"Please don't cry, I promise you've never done anything wrong. I just.. it's just.. hmm.." You shook your head as you tried to find the right words. "This is just something I can't go to you about. I.. I can't tell you.. I'm so sorry.." You felt terrible not being able to tell her why you've been avoiding her, but it's not like you can just tell her that you have strong feelings for her. I mean you could.. but you couldn't.

Chaeryeong's entire expression changed, "Does Yeji know..?"

You were caught off guard by her sudden question and your face showed it, "What..? Does she know what..?"

"What you're going through, does Yeji know but I don't..?"

You couldn't read the look in your bestfriends eyes as you shook your head, "No pinky, no one knows. It's a very personal thing."

Chaeryeong's expression softened, as did her voice, "Okay, okay. I won't try to force you to tell me, but please don't ever do that again." Another tear rolled down her cheek, "Don't ever avoid me like you were doing, I don't think I could ever handle that again." Once again another tear rolled down her face, "I was so scared, I thought you hated me." This time it was a sniffle.

"What..?" Your eyes widened in surprise, "No pinky, I could never." You leaned forward to pull her towards you. "You know I could never hate you." You wrapped your arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. This was your moment, having the most beautiful person you knew in your arms instantly put all your fears at ease. "Please don't cry because of me, I'm so sorry, I didn't know it would hurt you like this." Your hands shook as you rubbed her back, you were a terrible person, because of your own personal feelings you had hurt the person closest to you.

Chaeryeong sniffled a few more times as she just lost herself in your arms. "Promise me you'll never do that again." Another sniffle, "Please..?" Her voice was so soft it felt like another dagger to your heart.

"I promise Pinky, I don't ever want to see you cry because of me. I'm so sorry.." Your arms tightened around her. "I promise."

Chaeryeong let out a small breath before pulling away from your embrace, "Do you really..?" She asked with a pouty tear stained face.

"Of course pinky.. I promise." You held your pinky finger out towards her, "I'll never do anything to see you cry again because of me."

After another small hiccup of her trying to catch her breathe she wrapped her pinky around yours, "Promise..?"

"I promise," You smiled softly at her, even in this state she managed to take your breathe away.

"You have to kiss it, if you break this promise I'll never forgive you.."

"Okay, I promise forever and ever that I'll never do anything to break your heart." You kissed your thumb as did Chaeryeong, and you both pressed your thumbs together, sealing the promise in both of your hearts.

You both placed your hands down after looking each other in the eyes. Chaeryeong moved to sit next to you, eyes still red from her crying.

You wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her closer to your side, her head leaned over to rest on your shoulder. You gently rubbed small circles on her back as the two of you sat in silence, the only noise coming from her small sniffles as she tried to calm her breathing down. You were grateful for her small noises since you hoped that it would cover up the sound of your heart beating faster then it's ever had before. But it didn't, Chaeryeong could hear every beat and her smile on her face was hidden from your eyes. You were her comfort place.

"Chaeryeong.." You smiled as you said her name, you just loved everything about her.

Chaeryeong scrunched her nose, "That's weird.."

"What..? You don't like me calling you by your name..?" You asked with a small smile, already knowing the answer.

"No.. it's pinky to you." You felt her slightly shake her head against your shoulder.

You let out a small laughed before sighing, "I know, I just wanted to see what you would say."

Chaeryeong's eyes closed as she found herself getting more comfortable with you.

After a few more minutes of the two of you sitting in silence you decided it wouldn't hurt to tell Chaeryeong some of the truth, not the whole truth but a small part of it.

"Hey pinky.." Your voice was low as you made sure you didn't want to harshly break the silence that washed over the two of you.

"Hmm.." Chaeryeong lifted her head to look at you, "What is it..?"

You hand rested to just sitting on Chaeryeong's back, "I want to tell you something."

Chaeryeong studied your eyes for a second before shaking her head, "Wait, I want to tell you something first."

"Oh.." You were caught off guard by her reply but you just nodded at her so she could continue. "Go ahead."

You dreadfully woke up to the sound of your alarm. With a groan you grabbed your phone, careful to not wake your sister, as you turned it off .

You sighed quietly as you sat up, turning to look at the sleeping mess next to you. You pulled Sun-hee's cover over her and gave her a small kiss on the side of her head.

"I'll go fix your things" you whispered with a small smile.

You got up with a yawn then walked to the rack of clothes. You grabbed your sisters uniform then walked to the Ironing board.

As you ironed her clothes you heard her move around on the pile of blankets that was your bed.

"What time is it?" Her small and tired voice asked from under the pillows.

"Its still really early, go back to sleep," you spoke softly as you hung her clothes up, then walked to the small kitchen.

You heard her move around more, "Do you need help?" She asked as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

You grabbed the eggs out of the fridge, "No I'm fine, but go back to sleep Sun-hee the sun hasn't even risen yet"

"Okay" You heard a small thump as she flopped back down into the pillow.

You fixed her breakfast, then yours, setting it at the old broken down table. You walked over to her and lightly rubbed her arm, "Wake up little sis"

She yawned then opened her eyes, smiling at you.

"Food's on the table" you stood back up, offering your hand to help her up.

She grabbed your hand and stood up. "Thanks"

"No problem."

When she sat at the table and began to eat, you threw your uniform on then walked over to the table to eat with her.

"What time do you get off of work today?" Your sisters voice broke you out of your thoughts.

"Um," you played with a piece of egg on your plate, "Probably late again"

"Oh..." you heard her sigh quietly.

You looked up at her, "Whats wrong?" You asked as you set your silverware down.

Sun-hee looked down at her lap, "Its just that, today is the day ya'know. I was hoping you could walk me there and back from home" she spoke quietly.

Today was the day Sun-hee was auditioning at an entertainment company. She's loved dancing since she was little, it was the best way for her to cope with everything that had happened throughout your childhood.

"I know, I don't want to miss it. How about I just go in late today to walk you there. Then I'll try to see if they can let me go a little earlier than usual."

Sun-hee quickly looked up with a small smile, "Really?"

You nodded with a small smile, "How about we even take a cab?" You prompted, pulling your wallet out of your pocket.

"Wow someone is feeling fancy today," she smiled, then she quickly frowned. "Are you sure you want to spend your money on that?"

"Why wouldn't I? It's for you and plus I got a small bonus two weeks ago that I've been saving to use on anything you might need."

"You're the best," she got up to run around the table and wrap you up in a hug.

You laughed then patted her back, "as much as I would love to hear more compliments, I have to go," You stood up, "Your uniform is ironed and I already packed you something for lunch."

"What about you?" She lightly tilted her head as she watched you put your shoes on.

"Um, I'm good. The breakfast should fill me up for the rest of the day" You stood up and grabbed your backpack.

"Are you sure? You know you can get sick if you don't eat three meals a day, right?"

You looked up at her with a small smile, "You know that's just something older people say to get kids to eat" You squeezed her cheek, but you could see the sadness in her eyes, knowing you avoided saying the word Mother.

"Okay" her voice came out quietly.

"I'm fine honestly, I'll just go across the street and get myself a bag of chips or something" you smiled, knowing that wasn't true.

You never ate at school because you just couldn't afford it. With all the bills you had to pay, and having to take care of your little sister, not being hungry was never at the top of your list. As long as you had a roof over the both of your heads and Sun-hee was taken care of, it was worth it.

Sun-hee nodded then she walked up to you grabbing your hand to look at it. "When are you going to get burn cream? Your hand isn't looking any better"

"Sun-hee, it's fine, I'm used to being in a kitchen. It's just a small burn I'm fine." You tried reassuring her.

"Yeah just a small burn, what about all these cuts and the rest of these burn marks?" She looked up at you.

You looked down at your own hands and had to admit they looked pretty beat up, but that's what eight hours in a kitchen does to you.

"Look it's fine, if you stop worrying I'll try and get you that teddy bear you've been wanting, deal?" You smiled at her.

She sighed then nodded quietly, "Deal"

You smiled then kissed her forehead, "I have to get going kiddo or I'm going to be late" you grabbed your wallet and gave her some money, enough for a cab ride and a snack.

"What's this for?"

"Just in case I can't get off early enough to get you home, take a cab it's too dangerous to ride the bus at night."

"Okay" she nodded.

You grabbed your phone, "Bye kiddo" you opened the door.

"Bye" she waved at you.

You waved back then walked out.

You started your thirty minute walk to school thinking of how you were going to be able to get Sun-hee to Next Level Entertainment in time for her audition, while still getting to work on time.

As you were walking you saw an older lady struggling to carry some bags up the steep hill so you ran over to her. You grabbed her bags and walked next to her.

"Oh my, thank you young lady" she smiled at you.

"Its no problem at all Ma'am" you smiled back.

You walked until you arrived at a really nice restaurant.

"You can set the bags down at the front door, I'll just ask my grandson to bring them in" the older lady said.

"Are you sure? I can bring them in, it's no problem"

"No No no, it's okay" she reassured you with a motherly smile, a smile you wish you had seen more in your childhood, "you have school to get to in time"

"Oh... right" you almost forgot, then set the bags down. "I better get going now," you smiled at her, then you dismissed yourself.

"Wait" the older lady spoke before you left, "Here" she held out some money.

You looked at the money then back up at her, shaking your head almost immediately, "No no, it's fine."

She grabbed your hand and set the money in it. "I can tell by your hands that you are a hard working young lady, you deserve this," she smiled.

"T-thank you.. um.." You paused not knowing what to call her.

"You can just call me grandma"

"Grandma?"

She pointed up to the sign above the restaurant, and you read it, Grandma's Kitchen .

"Oh Grandma" you mumbled then looked back at her, "Thank you Grandma, this means a lot."

"Come by anytime for a free meal, and bring your sister with you one day" she offered with a sweet smile.

"My sister?"

"Yes, the younger one who you are always walking down the road with"

"Oh" you smiled again, "Thank you again, Grandma" you dismissed yourself again then walked towards school.

You checked your phone 7:35  "Oh crap!" You stuffed your phone and the money in your pocket before taking off in a sprint to your school.

_

You were taking deep breaths by the time you made it to the school gates, you checked your phone 7:48 . You had two minutes.

You ran all the way to your classroom barely making it before the bell rang, you felt the sweat on your forehead begin to run down your face. You quickly wiped you face with your sleeve then walked to your seat in the back.

You heard whispers and laughter as you walked, then you felt a piece of wadded up paper hit you in the back of your head.

"Look, Ms. Homeless actually made it on time" you heard someone whisper.

You sat down in your seat and tried catching your breathe, looking down as you knew everyone was staring.

You felt someone tap your back and you clenched your fist, getting ready to feel something hit you. Then you remembered, no one sat behind you. You turned around slowly and were greeted by, what you could tell by her height while seated, a tall girl with long brown hair.

She smiled at you then she held a small package out to you, "Need a tissue" her voice was as soft as her skin looked.

You blinked then looked at her hand, you reached out and grabbed a tissue, "Thank you"

You could tell, you could always tell, that she was looking at your hands. You quickly moved them away and thanked her again before turning around.

You wiped your forehead then grabbed your notebooks out of your backpack.

_

Usually you could have fallen asleep by now during your fourth period class since Algebra was really easy to you, but the quiet humming coming from behind you kept you awake. It didn't bother you at all, instead you rather enjoyed it.

"Do I have a volunteer to come up here and solve this equation?" Your teacher prompted as she looked around the room.

You looked at the equation on the board and figured it out quickly, it was fairly simple. You raised your hand.

"Would you come up here and attempt to solve it?" Your teacher asked you with a smile.

You shook your head, "There's no need ma'am, the answer is X equals 7 plus or minus 4i square root of 13 over 2."

You teacher looked back at the equation then at you, "Can you show me your work?" She began to walk towards you.

"Um, unless there's a way to project what's going on in my mind, I highly doubt I have any work to show you ma'am"

You teacher stopped walking when she was next to your desk, "You solved that whole equation in your head?"

"Well yes, if I would say so myself. That is if I got it right ma'am"

Your teacher crossed her arms and looked as if she was trying to figure something out, "Well do you think you got it right?"

You looked back at the equation on the board then nodded when you solved it again, getting the same answer as before. "Yes ma'am" you looked back over at her.

"Hmm" she looked back around at the classroom, "did anyone else get anything different?" She asked the rest of the classroom.

You could hear a pencil quickly scribbling something down behind you.

"Nope, we didn't even attempt it, we thought Ms. Homeless knew what she was doing" the class clown answered.

"Yeah looks like someone isn't as smart as they hoped so" His buddy answered after him.

You looked down at the table, wishing you never even spoke.

"Haha looks like she's not just Ms. Homeless but she's also Ms. Dumbass" someone else added, you didn't even bother to guess who it was.

"That's enough!" Your teacher's voice shut everyone up. "If I hear anyone else say anything else about this young lady I will directly escort you to the office, understand!?"

A bunch of muttered "Yes ma'am's" and "Yeah's" filled the room.

"Now did anyone else get anything different?" She asked again in a more irritated voice.

You heard the pencil stop scribbling behind you.

"Yes Ms Kim?" Your teacher spoke again in her softer voice.

"Um I got exactly what she got," the girl behind you spoke.

Your teacher smiled and clapped, "Of course you did!" She called your name causing you to look up at her.

"Yes ma'am?"

She bent down to speak to you, "I knew you were correct, I just couldn't believe it myself. But you, even when I couldn't believe it, you never doubted your answer." She smiled and looked at the girl behind you, "Doyeon, thank you sweetheart for backing her up."

"No problem ma'am."

Kim Doyeon, so that's who you had to thank. You couldn't help the small smile that formed on your face.

"Do you know what makes an intelligent person, well intelligent?" She directed the question to you.

"Um, their brain?" You answered and asked slightly confused.

"No, Ms Kim?" She looked at Doyeon.

"The person never doubting their answer even if others don't believe them?" You could hear the smile in her voice.

"That's exactly correct Ms kim." Your teacher looked back at you, "Never ever doubt your answer, even when other don't believe you don't ever doubt yourself or change yourself for anyone," she spoke to you in a soft motherly tone, which made your stomach feel weird. "Meet me after class, okay?" She whispered.

"Yes ma'am" you answered.

Your teacher stood back up and began walking back towards the front of the classroom, "Alright class.." she began to speak again.

You turned around to look at the girl behind you, "Thanks" you mumbled quietly while shyly looking at her desk instead of her.

"No problem, and how did you do that in your head? Look how much writing it took me to do," She showed you her journal that had a ton of work scribbled on it which you then realized that that was what she was aggressively scribbling back there for.

"Oh, I don't know. It's just really simple I guess"

"Simple? Wow you have to tutor me because this is going to kill me."

"I'm sorry" you mumbled, "I have to rush to get to my little sister's school so I can take her to an audition while also rushing to get to work on time."

"Oh, I was just joking"

You looked up at her then immediately looked back down when you felt your face heat up, "S-sorry" you turned back around in your seat.

You heard her giggle quietly and that only made your face even more red.

You opened your notebook and began to take notes, which you were probably never going to look at.

_

When the bell rang for lunch you stayed in your seat as everyone else got up to go to the cafeteria.

You closed your eyes, letting out a soft sigh, as every one walked out of the classroom.

When you opened your eyes you noticed a note on your desk, already knowing it was another hate note you slid it in your note book.

You gathered your things then stood up to walk to you teachers desk.

"Ma'am?" You spoke quietly.

Your teacher looked up at you and smiled, "Pull up a chair"

You nodded then did as she asked.

You played with your fingers as you watched her type something in her computer, then she turned to face you.

"You normally don't speak in class so I never hear anyone talk about you, but does this happen often?" She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

You looked down with a sigh, nodding, not wanting to speak.

"How often?"

"Every day ma'am."

You heard her chair squeak as she sat back up, "You're a very smart kid."

"Tha-" you started but she cut you off.

"Wait let me finish"

"Yes ma'am" you mumbled quietly.

"Why do these kids pick on you? You have the highest grades in your class but you still refuse to be class president, why? Your attitude is very put together but your presentation isn't, why? I have many questions for you young lady."

You looked up at her, "They pick on me because I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth, they pick on me because I actually have to work to survive, that I have to work to provide for my little sister and myself, that every moment out of this school I have to fend for not only my life but for my little sister's. And I don't want to be class president because that will put more attention on me and I don't have the time. And I may not look as well put together as the rest of these kids but I sure do try my best to be more respectful than any of them. And I don't look as well put together because I focus more on my little sister's presentation because I want her to be better. This year has already been too much. So excuse me ma'am if all you're going to do is dig into my life I would like to be excused" You didn't even notice how hard you were clenching the arm rest.

The look of shock on your teachers face was quickly replaced with a calm look, a look you could probably never achieve.

"Please calm down, I was just trying to see if you needed help with anything. And if you do don't be afraid to ask. If you're ever if trouble and you need somewhere to sleep I have a guest bedroom where you and your little sister can stay. I would be more than happy to help you" She spoke as her motherly tone made you feel something you never felt before, it made you feel as if the world wasn't as horrible as a place as you had thought it was.

You looked down as tears built up in the rim of your eyes. You quickly wiped your eye as soon as a tear slipped, "I'm sorry" you mumbled quietly.

"Its fine, we all have a breaking point" she reassured you in her calm motherly tone.

You buried your face in your hands as you began to cry quietly. "T-thank you" you mumbled in between sobs.

"May I see your hand?" She asked as she held her hand out.

You nodded slowly and put your hand in hers.

She examined your hand then she put it down, getting something out of her drawer. It was a medical kit.

"What do you do after school?" She asked as she pulled a tube, from what you could tell it seemed liked burn cream, out of the box.

"I um" you wiped another tear with your free hand, "I work in two different restaurants" you answered quietly.

"Two?" You teacher looked up at you in surprise.

You nodded and slightly flinched when she began to put the cream on your hand, "Yes ma'am, one is a restaurant a couple blocks away from the school and my house and the second one is a catering business"

She reached for your other hand and put cream on the burn marks, "So you cook?"

"Yes ma'am, well I try my best to cook"

"Which restaurant do you work at?"

"I work at the restaurant right next to that shoe store, it's called Taste Of Love"

"Taste Of Love?" She put your hands down when she finished tending to your wounds.

"Yes ma'am" you nodded.

She looked at you and she slightly tilted her head, "So you work at a restaurant, well two basically, but you look like you barely even eat or even try maintaining your health, why?"

"Well being fed isn't my top priority, My-" she cut you off again.

"Your sister is" She finished for you quietly.

"Yes ma'am that is exactly correct" you nodded.

She grabbed something else then handed it to you, "Here."

You looked at what she gave you and it was a coupon for a free ice cream with a purchase of a burger, and enough money for a burger, from the burger place across the street from your school.

You put it down and shook your head, "I'm sorry ma'am, I'm not a beggar."

"You're not begging, I'm giving" she put the coupon and money back in your hand.

"Well thank you but I'll just give this to my sister" you mumbled quietly as you put it in your pocket.

"No, this is for you, right now. Now you will either go across the street and eat or I will walk with you and get you something to eat."

You looked up at her then nodded, "okay, okay.."

She smiled then she stood up, "Okay well you better get going before you waste too much time to where you can't eat"

You stood up as well, "Thank you," you quietly dismissed yourself.

As you began to walk out your curiosity got the best of you and you pulled out the note from your notebook that was left on your desk.

You normally would just throw them away on your way to work but now that you had to actually walk across the street, you needed something to occupy yourself with.

You read the note to yourself as you headed to the front doors of your school. "𝙃𝙞, 𝙄'𝙢 𝘿𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣, 𝙄 𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩, 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙖𝙝𝙖, 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚. 𝘿𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙪𝙥 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙮. 𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩. 𝙊𝙠𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙮𝙚 ♡- 𝙆𝙞𝙢 𝘿𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙤𝙣"

You couldn't help but smile at the badly drawn heart, automatically knowing that she was rushing to write the note. You stuffed the note in your pocket as you made your way down the halls.

You heard footsteps behind you but you ignored them. Then you heard them get faster and not before long there was a tap on your shoulder. You turned around and were greeted by the notes author.

You looked at her in confusion, "oh hey?"

Stared at you with a big smile, "Did you get my note?"

"Note..?" You tilted your head to the side before lifting your head slightly, " Ah, You mean this one?" You pulled it out of your pocket.

She smiled and nodded, "yup"

You stuffed it back in your pocket then shrugged, "Nope, sorry. I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Haha very funny" she laughed sarcastically. "But what do you say?" She looked at you with a small smile.

"Um" you rubbed the back of your neck, "ah sure why not, but um if I don't go and get something to eat from the burger place out front, our teacher is going to kill me so.. yeah."

"Oh that's perfectly fine, I can go with you" she smiled and began to walk towards the doors.

You followed behind still trying to process why she was even talking to you, did she not hear what everyone was saying about you? Surely by now she'd have the same thoughts about you. You knew deep down that she was just going to be another person you wanted to avoid.

When you got to the burger place you ordered exactly what the coupon stated it was good for. You went to sit down at a booth, waiting on Doyeon to finish ordering her food, then she proceeded to sit down next to you.

You looked at her slightly confused, "Um I don't really have friends so I don't know exactly how these things work, but uh aren't you supposed to sit on the other side, like that..?" you pointed to a guy and a girl who were sitting across from each other in a booth across the fast food joint.

She smiled then pulled out her math notebook, "Yeah that is what normal people do, but it's easier this way for you to show me how to do these problems" she said pointing at her homework, which you had already finished during class.

"ah okay.." you nodded slowly. When you heard your number being called you looked at Doyeon, "Oh, my number was called" you showed her your receipt.

"I'll go get it for you, stay here." she stood up and walked away.

"Jeez what am I, a charity case" you mumbled before looking over the equations on her paper.

You felt her slide in next to you, sitting a little closer than she was before she got up to get all the food.

You had already written the answers to all ten problems while she was gone.

"Wow" she mumbled as she looked at the paper, then she looked at you, "Where's the work?"

You pointed to your head, "Um it's kind of all in here, but don't worry I'm still going to show you how to do them."

"Oh okay.." she nodded slowly.

You began to show her how to do the first few problems, going through the steps slowly while finding simple ways to explain the steps, then soon she was able to do the rest on her own, letting you check them as she finished each one.

When you both finished eating you checked your phone, "We better get going, we have five minutes till the bell rings" you put your phone back in your pocket.

"Oh already" she looked up at you.

"Yeah" you nodded, "I'll throw the stuff away"

"Okay" she slid out then you followed behind.

You picked up all the trash and threw it away. You put your hand over your stomach, feeling weird since you usually only ate in the mornings and sometimes late at night.

You walked back to the table and watched as Doyeon had begun packing all of her school work, following her lead, you gathered your own belongings.

"So.. about what you said earlier, what did you mean by that..?" Doyeon started the conversation as you stepped outside the fast food restaurant.

"What are you talking about..?" You kept your eyes looking ahead as you crossed the road.

"You said something about getting a sibling to an audition, do you mind if I ask you for what..?" She continued as you looked up at her with an amused look in your eyes, "Ah sorry, I just find these sort of things interesting, sorry if I crossed the line."

"Oh no, not at all," You started as the two of you walked through the school's main gate, "Uh well my little sister is a really great dancer, she's always been dancing since she was little, she was a natural at it. So she came up to me one night saying that she wanted to try taking dancing more serious but since we don't have the money to send her to a dance academy she wanted to try out in some entertainment company's auditions so she could basically get free dance lessons." You took a second to catch your breathe, "And it just so happens that one of those auditions is today. So I have to figure out how I can rush over to her school, so I can take her to the company where the audition is being held and still get to work on time."

"Oh wow, that's awesome. I hope your little sister makes it." She smiled while shaking her fist in the air.

"Ha, thanks I hope she makes it too. It will help keep her busy while I'm at work." You pulled your phone out of your pocket. "Want to see a picture of her..?"

"Huh?" Doyeon looked at you in surprise before nodding her head. "Of course."

You stopped walking and unlocked your phone, showing her your wallpaper. It was a picture of you and Sun-hee together in front of a bridge, it was an older picture and due to your phone's quality it was pretty blurred.

"Oh wow, she's tall.." Doyeon mumbled as if she herself wasn't a tall person.

You smiled and nodded your head, "Yeah and this was a while ago, she's grown even more." You looked up at Doyeon, "Actually I think she's about your height now. She's 174 Cm (5'9)"

"174? ah no she has me beat, I'm only 173 Cm (5'8)" Doyeon mumbled, "How old is she..?"

"She just turned 15, ah she's growing up so fast." You opened your gallery and showed Doyeon a more recent picture you had taken of your sister.

"15? Wow, hmm..." Doyeon looked at the picture, "The two of you don't look related.." She mumbled more to herself, not really meaning to say it out loud.

You let out a small sigh before nodding your head slowly, "It's because we're not." You turned your phone off and placed it back in your pocket.

"Huh..? Oh but you said she was yo-"

"I know, we were adopted together when she was a baby and I was just a toddler.. and then we were abandoned together.." You whispered the last part so quietly it was hard for Doyeon to catch it.

"Oh really..? Well blood isn't the only thing that makes you family." Doyeon smiled before reaching out to lightly pat your shoulder. "You have a beautiful little sister, she's lucky to have such an awesome big sister."

You couldn't help the small smile that made it's way onto your face, "Thank you. She's a great kid, I'd do anything for her."

"I bet, you seem like a really great per-"

Before Doyeon could continue you grabbed onto her arm and hurried inside, "We have like a minute until the bell rings. What class do you have next?" You asked as you led her into the building.

"Uh, oh I have history next," Doyeon said as she just followed your lead, a slight blush coating her cheeks.

"Room 262..?" You asked as you made your way through the halls.

"Oh yes!" Doyeon said when she remembered the number from her schedule that she had studied all morning.

"Okay, we're headed to the same place then." You were finally able to slow down when you made it to a door with the numbers 262 above. "We're here." You finally let go of Doyeon's arm to open the door for her. "After you.." You gestured for her to step inside the classroom.

"Thank you, I had no idea where I was going." She looked you in the eyes with a genuine smile before walking in.

You walked in behind her, "My seat is in the back, there's a few empty seats nearby." You pointed to the back of the classroom.

"Ah, ok.." Doyeon mumbled when she noticed everyone staring at the two of you, whispers spreading around the classroom.

Doyeon noticed right away the moment when you finally heard what was being said, your shoulders dropped and your eyes focused on the ground, it absolutely broke her heart to see you that way.

"Well I'll leave you to find a seat.." You turned away from her to begin walking to your desk, but when you heard her footsteps follow behind you, you paused and turned around. "Don't sit near me unless you want to be treated like I am here. You shouldn't get close to me." You bowed your head down at her, "I hope you understand why I say this. You deserve to have friends here." And with that, you walked away from her, leaving Doyeon to just stare at you while everyone around whispered about the two of you.

At the sound of the bell ringing, Doyeon was knocked from her daze, deciding on where to sit.

"isn't that reporter Kim Seoyoung's daughter? What is she doing hanging out with that loser?"

"Kim Seoyoung's daughter? No wonder she looks familiar.."

"You don't think the two of them are friends do you?"

"No way, the daughter of such a famous reporter would never be friends with some homeless loser."

"haha you're right, you think I should try asking for her number?"

"dude her mom is the hottest reporter for SBS, do you really think you have a chance with her daughter?"

"Doyeon, I told you not to sit near me.." You whispered when the taller girl sat down next to you at the shared table.

Doyeon took all her stuff out of her bag and placed it on the table. Once she was satisfied with how everything was laid out, she looked over at you, her eyes locking onto your own. "If sitting next to you means not having to be friends with those terrible people then I will sit with you every chance I get." A soft smile took over her features as she reached over to place her hand on your arm, "You're the only person here who has genuinely been nice to me. Thank you." She gave your arm a soft squeeze before facing away to greet the teacher that walked in with the rest of the class.

You stared at the side of her face, your hand sitting atop the spot on your arm where her hand was just seconds ago.

_

The rest of your day was spent with Doyeon following you around so she could navigate her way through the halls to class, and with her schedule perfectly aligning itself with yours, it couldn't be better. She wasn't lying when she said she would sit next to you every chance she could get, your mind had never been as occupied with thoughts other than your school work before. This new girl was just all you could think about. You had never had someone be this nice to you, you knew you couldn't get too attached to her, you were just waiting for the moment when she would become like everyone else.

The final bell rang and so you slowly packed up all your belongings as everyone made their way out of the classroom. This had become routine for you, you found it easier to leave without conflict once everyone else was along their merry way.

"Huh? What are you still doing here?" You asked when you noticed Doyeon was still next to you when you finished zipping up your bag.

"Me? I'm waiting for you!" She smiled brightly.

"Why?" You asked in genuine confusion.

"Because we're friends, and friends wait for each other." She answered as she stood up to place her bag on her shoulders.

"We're friends..?" You asked, copying her movements of putting your own bag on.

"Well.. I was hoping we were.. Are we not?" Her head tilted to the side as her eyes read your facial expression.

"Um, I mean.. If you want to be. I've never had a friend at school before.." You admitted to her quietly.

"Really? So I'm your first??" She asked excitedly.

"Uh... yeah? I didn't know that was something to be proud of," Your eyebrows turned up in confusion at her reaction.

Doyeon laughed before shaking her head, "It's really not, honestly It's kind of sad but... you have to turn your negatives into positives! And I'm probably the best positive in your life!" She smiled as she placed her hands under her chin, fluttering her fingers.

You couldn't hold your laughter in at the sight of that dumb smile on her face. "You're so weird.."

"But I made you laugh, no..? That's all that matters!" She gave the top of your head two light pats. "Now let's go, we have to get your sister to her audition in time." This time it was Doyeon who grabbed your arm and led you out of the classroom and through the halls.

"huh? We? What do you mean we?" You asked in confusion as you just allowed yourself to be dragged around by her.

"Well I want to meet your little sister, I can't let you take her to a random company all on your own." Doyeon flashed you a smile before looking ahead.

"Ah, um okay..? Also do you even know where you're going..?" You looked at where she had led you... the front doors were on the complete opposite side of the building from where she was leading you.

"Nope not a single clue, I was hopping it'd come back to me as we passed through some of the halls but nope. Nothing.." She smiled as she continued to blindly lead you through the halls.

"Okay, well take a left here. We're too far to go through the front doors so let's just go through here." You gestured to a metal fire escape door.

"Huh? Won't it sound an alarm..?" Doyeon finally stopped walking, pausing in front of the metal door.

"No, trust me. I go through here all the time." You took a step forward, opening the door and gesturing for her to walk through.

"Okay then, if we get in trouble I'm blaming it on you." She hummed before walking through the door to the outside.

You followed behind her, your eyes taking a minute to adjust to the bright sunlight. "See, no alarm." You walked out until you made it to the path that wrapped around the outside of the school building.

"Wow, you were right.." Doyeon mumbled as she followed you.

"Of course, I'm always right." You led her to one of the side gates. "Okay, well seriously, I should let you leave now. I have to hurry to my little sister's school." You gave her a small head bow before trying to turn away.

"Hey wait," Doyeon grabbed you by your shoulder, stopping you from turning away from her. "I wasn't kidding about what I said earlier. I'm going with you." Her hand made it's way down from your shoulder until she held your hand in hers. "Follow me." She led you along the side walk until she saw what she was expecting. She walked up to a black car that was parked on the other side of the street.

You watched as the man that was behind the steering wheel stepped out to greet Doyeon with a respectful bow. He went to reach for the back door, but paused when he saw you, sending Doyeon a questioning look.

"She's a friend. We have somewhere to go." She smiled at him. "I'll call my mom in a little bit, don't worry!"

"Yes ma'am," He answered her before opening the door.

"Go on.." Doyeon gestured for you to get in first.

"Doyeon, you can't be serious.. I could've taken a cab." You looked from the car back to her.

"Don't be ridiculous, get in." She stared at you, seeing as you weren't going to take another step forward she got in first, tugging on your hand until you got in with a huff. "There we go, now was that so hard..?" She smiled as she let go of your hand so she could buckle you in.

"Where to ma'am..?" The driver looked at Doyeon through the rear view mirror.

Doyeon looked at you. You whispered the address to her and she repeated it to him.

"Okay, we'll be there soon." The driver smiled at her and then to your surprise after he pressed a button a black divider lifted itself from between the front seats and where the back seats were.

"Wow.." Your mouth fell open as you looked at the divider in surprise.

Doyeon just smiled as she placed her own seatbelt on. She reached over to hold your hand in the both of hers.

You looked over at her in surprise, "I'm already in the car, I can't run away now.." You joked with her to downplay the blush that made it's way on your cheeks.

"I know," She ran her thumb over your knuckles, "I just wanted to.." She whispered quietly before looking out the window on her side.

"oh.." you looked out the window on your side as well, hiding the smile on your face. You hated to admit it, but spending the whole day with Doyeon had partially relieved some of the stress you had been feeling lately. For the first time in a while you actually felt happy in life.

The car came to a stop and the black divider slowly lowered itself. "We have arrived, miss."

"Thank you, just wait here for a minute, we'll be right back." Doyeon told him as she unbuckled hers and your seatbelt, reaching to open the door.

"Wait miss I have to op-"

"Don't worry about it, I can open my own door." She smiled at him before opening the door and helping you out of the car. "Okay and now where is this talented little sister of yours at..?" Doyeon asked with a smile.

"Oh she should just be getting out of class now, we can go wait by the front entrance." You pointed to the front of the school's building.

"Sounds good." Doyeon hummed before grabbing your hand to lead you to the entrance.

The two of you waited by a light pole as students made their way out of the school.

"Oh there she is!" You raised your hand in the air to get Sun-hee's attention. Once your little sister finally noticed you she ran over.

"Big sis! You're here?" Sun-hee's eyebrows raised in surprise before she hugged you.

"Of course I am, I wouldn't miss this for anything." You hugged her back before pulling away to fix her hair. "How are you feeling..?"

"Oh I don't feel nervous at all, I'm so excited!" Sun-hee bent down a little bit so it was easier for you to fix her hair. "Oh, who's this..?" Your little sister looked over at Doyeon, who was just smiling by your side at you and your sister's whole interaction.

"Oh Sun-hee say hello to Doyeon, she's a friend from school." You stood next to Doyeon as you introduced the two of them to each other. "And Doyeon this is my little sister, Sun-hee."

"Hello Sun-hee, it's nice to finally meet you. Your sister talks about you a lot." Doyeon smiled at your little sister before sticking her hand out towards her.

"Ah, Well hi Doyeon, it's nice to know my sister has a friend to accompany her in school." Sun-hee accepted Doyeon's handshake. "You never mentioned you had a friend at school, I thought you just studied on your own all day." Sun-hee said once she faced you.

"It's cause I didn't, today was her first day at our school." You answered the questioning look in your little sisters eyes.

"Your sister here, is the one that showed me around all day. Well I kind of forced her to show me around, I stuck by her all day. So technically I forced her into being my friend." Doyeon wrapped an arm around your shoulders.

"Oh I see, so if you don't mind me asking, did you follow her all the way here too..?" Sun-hee's head tilted to the side as she focused on the arm that was wrapped around you. Now Sun-hee was your younger sister, but who says younger siblings can't be as protective over their older siblings like how older siblings are over their younger ones.

You stepped forward, letting Doyeons arm drop, and placed both of your hands on Sun-hee's uniform's blazer, straightening it while you spoke to her. "Doyeon here actually gave me a ride here so I could take you to your audition. Now are you ready to head on over to that company?" You smiled at Sun-hee as your hands moved to hold onto both of her arms, giving her a small squeeze.

Sun-hee stared at Doyeon a little longer before smiling at you with a nod. "Yeah, I'm ready. I looked it up earlier and it's just about a thirty minute walk from here."

"Oh really? That's not bad at all. Well let's say bye to Doyeon before we head on over, okay..?"

"Okay big sis, we can say bye to your friend first." She gave you a funny look before looking over at Doyeon.

You turned around to face Doyeon, Sun-hee looking at her from behind you. "Okay Doyeon, well I'll let you go on your way now. Thank you for the ride, I really appreciate it. Me and Sun-hee are going to go ahead and head over there."

"No way, there's no chance I'm letting the two of you walk over there. Come on, the car is waiting over there." Doyeon smiled at the two of you.

"No, Doyeon really, you don't need to do that. We'll be okay, really we're used to walking everywhere anyways." You looked up at your sister, "Right Sun-hee..?"

"Yeah my sister is right, we walk everywhere together, we'll be okay." Sun-hee placed her hands on your shoulders.

"Guys come on, I know I don't need to do this, I want to do this. Now will the two of you please just get in the car. Please." Doyeon gave the two of you puppy eyes.

And after exchanging a look with your younger sister you sighed, "Fine, we'll go with you, Doyeon."

"Huh? Really?? Okay, follow me then!" Doyeon's eye's lit up before walking over to the parked car, you and Sun-hee following behind her.

"Is she always this energetic..?" You sister whispered to you as you followed behind Doyeon.

"I honestly don't know, like I said earlier I've only known her since this morning. But she's really nice if that accounts for anything." You shrugged.

"Ah okay, well I'm glad you have a friend now big sis, now you can focus on something other than me for a while."

"Nothing in this world will ever be a bigger priority to me than your health and well-being." You smiled at your little sister, "I have to pat myself on the back, I think I've done a good job so far, especially with seeing how tall you've gotten."

"Of course you did a good job, I couldn't have asked for a better big sister."

You and Sun-hee paused behind Doyeon who stood next to the open door.

"Oh, um Sun-hee do you think you can slide in first. Your sister is the shortest one so it would probably be best to put her in the middle don't you think." Doyeon suggested to your little sister with an innocent smile.

Sun-hee stepped infront of you, a smile on her face. "It's okay, I can sit in the middle."

"Oh..? Are you sure..? I didn't want your legs to get cramped especially before an audition." Doyeon shrugged, "Well sit however your comfortable with arranging yourselves."

You walked up, grabbing your little sisters arm, "It's okay Sun-hee, I can sit in the middle. Doyeon is right, you should be comfortable before your audition." You walked up to the car door, pulling your little sister with you. "Go on." You smiled when she gave you a funny look, "It's okay, go ahead and get in. We don't want to be late now do we..?"

Sun-hee let out a small huff before shaking her head, "No we don't." She mumbled something quietly before nodding her head, "Okay, I'll get in first."

"Yay," You joked with her as she slid in the back, sitting behind the driver seat. You turned around to face Doyeon, "Sorry about that, she has a hard time with letting me get close to people she doesn't really know that well."

"It's all good, I understand." Doyeon smiled before gesturing for you to get in.

"Ah, right." You made your way into the car, sliding in next to your little sister.

Doyeon stood at the door for a few more seconds, taking the time to study you and your little sisters small actions. She smiled to herself as she watched the way you took care of Sun-hee's appearance, fixing some strands of her hair and pulling the bottom of her uniform's skirt to cover her legs.

"She's pretty..." Doyeon whispered as she watched the way your eye's twinkled when you spoke to Sun-hee. "And nice, the perfect person in my eyes." Doyeon got in the car, closing the door behind her. As soon as she shut the door the black divider rolled down.

"Where to miss..?" The driver spoke to Doyeon.

"Ah, give me a second." Doyeon pulled her phone out before facing you. "What was the name of the company..?"

"It's called Next Level Entertainment." Sun-hee answered for you.

"Oh" Doyeon met Sun-hee's eyes, "Thank you." She typed the company's name into her phone and looked for the address, once she found it she read it out loud to the driver.

"Okay, we'll be there soon miss." The driver said before pressing the same button from earlier causing the black divider to go up.

"Was that thing up for the whole drive over here..?" Sun-hee whispered to you, pointing at the divider.

"Yeah it was, why..?" You whispered back, not quite being able to read the look in her eyes.

"No reason.." Sun-hee mumbled before grabbing both of your hands and holding them in her lap.

You couldn't help but laugh on the inside at how protective your little sister was being. "Sun-hee, you have to put your seatbelt on first."

"Oh right.." Sun-hee mumbled before looking past you to stare at Doyeon.

You pulled your hands away so you could buckle her in. "Sun-hee, it's okay. You don't have to be on guard. Take this time to relax." You whispered in her ear as you clicked her seatbelt in place.

Sun-hee hesitated before nodding her head. "Okay, I just don't want to see you get hurt again by someone we don't know."

"It's going to be okay, alright..? Do you trust me..?" You fixed the way the seat belt crossed her body, making sure it laid flat against her upper body and it wasn't digging into her body.

"Of course I trust you." She sighed, "But okay, I'll try to trust your friend. If you're that adamant about her being a good person then I have no choice but to try to trust her."

"Okay there we go." You gave your sisters arm a small squeeze, "Thank you for worrying about me Sun-hee, but let's leave all the worrying to me. Okay..?"

"I can't help it, youre so small I can't let you try to defend yourself because then you'll just get hurt."

"It's all going to be okay, alright..? Just relax, you got a busy day ahead of you. Try taking a nap."

Sun-hee nodded before leaning her head back, slowly closing her eyes.

You let out a small huff before putting your own seatbelt on. Your buckle was on the other side, on Doyeon's side.

"Oh sorry I didn't see your hand there.." You quickly apologized when your hand bumped into Doyeon's as she was also buckling her seatbelt in at the same time.

Doyeon let out a small chuckle, "It's all good, there's no reason to apologize." She placed her hand over yours, buckling your seatbelt in all the way. "There we go. All buckled in." She gave your hand a small pat.

"Thanks." You told her, trying to keep your voice down so Sun-hee could try and take a small nap.

"Is she sleeping..?" Doyeon matched your hushed tone when she noticed Sun-hee's closed eyes.

You hummed, "I told her to try and get some rest before we get there."

"Oh really..? Then we should probably give her some more room so she's not all pressed against the door." Doyeon moved over more towards her door, gesturing for you to move closer to her.

"Ah right.." You nodded before sliding over just a little bit so you and Doyeon were closer together and Sun-hee had more room for herself.

The back seat was silent for a while before Doyeon finally spoke again. "You're a really good big sister."

"Huh..?" It took you a moment to register that Doyeon had spoken since you had gotten used to the silence in the car. "Oh thank you, I'm really not, but I try hard for her. She deserves to have a sort of normal childhood. I want her to be able to make friends and have fun while she's young."

"Basically all the things you gave up to raise her.." Doyeon added quietly.

It took you a moment to respond as what she had said echoed in your head. "Well I never thought of it in that way. I just wanted her to live as close to a normal life as she could."

"I see..." Doyeon smiled at you, "Like I said before, she's got a great big sister."

You and Doyeon continued on with small talk until the car finally came to a stop, the black divider slowly rolled down.

"We have arrived Miss." The driver informed Doyeon.

"Thank you," Doyeon answered the driver before turning to face you, "You can wake her up now." She gestured over to Sun-hee who was still sleeping.

"Ah right.. hey, Sun-hee, we're here. C'mon wake up.." You slowly tried waking up your little sister.

After a few more seconds of you trying to wake her, Sun-hee finally spoke up. "Hmm..? okay, I'm awake.." It took a little bit longer for her to open her eyes. "I'm awake now.." She smiled at you.

"I see" You fixed her hair and smiled back, "Well are you ready..?"

"Of course! I'm going to crush this audition then I'm going to become famous and make enough money so you never have to work again." Sun-hee's eyes sparkled.

"Wow, you're feeling ambitious. But we both know you're going to crush this audition, no one dances better than my baby sister."

"Ah, stop I'm not a baby." Sun-hee scrunched her nose when you pinched her cheek.

"I know I know, but in my eyes you will always be three year old Sun-hee."

"I'm fifteen now, I'm basically a grown up now. You don't have to baby me anymore." She pulled your hand away from her cheek.

"Ha, no. You need to live your teenage years as a teenager, leave the adult stuff to me. Okay..? All I want you to focus on is crushing this audition."

"Okay big sis, you can trust me. I'll make you proud." Sun-hee smiled the brightest smile you'd seen in a while.

"Hey, I'm always proud of you. No matter what you do, I'll always be proud of you. Okay..? So let's hurry and go so miss Doyeon here can get on with her day."

"Oh, right. We should hurry then." Sun-hee nodded at you.

You turned to face Doyeon, who just smiled at you. "Oh did you guys want me to open the door..?" Doyeon asked.

"Yeah, if you don't mind. I don't want Sun-hee opening the door into traffic." You gestured to the cars passing by, just a few paces away from the parked car.

"Oh, right. Okay." Doyeon gave the both of you one last smile before opening the door on her side and stepping out. You followed behind her and then Sun-hee was the last one out.

"Wow.." Sun-hee looked at the front of the entertainment building.

"Wow..." You echoed as you also took in the view in front of you.

Doyeon giggled as she quickly pulled her phone out to snap a picture of the two of you just staring at the building, mirroring each other's expression.

"Big sis... I wasn't nervous before but now.. I'm starting to feel a little nervous.." Sun-hee finally looked away from the building to look at you.

"No, don't be nervous. You'll be okay. Come on, I'll walk inside with you to see where you have to go." You gave your little sister an encouraging pat on the back.

"Okay, well let me get my bag out of the car then." Sun-hee walked back to the car to pull her backpack out.

"You look nervous, are you okay..?" Doyeon asked, once she walked up to you.

"Me..? Yeah I'm okay." You feigned a small smile, you didn't know why but your stomach began to feel weird.

Doyeon smiled before placing her hand on your arm, "Your little sister is growing up and chasing her dream, it's okay to feel nervous. She's going to be okay. Trust me." She gave your arm a small squeeze before letting go.

"Thank you for that, I just can't believe she's already so grown. I swear she was just a kid a few days ago."

"The both of you are technically still kids. So don't stress out too much." Doyeon joked, giving you a small nudge on your shoulder.

"Actually, I'll technically be an adult next year. I think.. I don't remember.."

"You don't remember when you were born..?" Doyeon asked in genuine confusion, but before you could respond Sun-hee made her way back, squeezing in between you and Doyeon.

Sun-hee smiled, "I got my backpack. I'm ready to go in!"

"Okay, well lets go inside." You took a step back so you could see Doyeon, "You don't have to come inside if you don't want to. I know you're probably busy."

"Are you kidding..? No I want to see this through, nothing is more important than your little sister making it through her audition." Doyeon smiled at both you and Sun-hee.

"Okay, but you can leave at any moment, I don't want you to feel like you have to be here." You grabbed Sun-hee's hand, "Let's go."

"Okay!" Sun-hee smiled, before looking at Doyeon and moving closer to you.

Doyeon couldn't help but laugh at how protective your little sister was over you.

The three of you made your way into the building, there were no signs pointing to an audition so you took the role of walking up to the main desk to ask for help, Sun-hee and Doyeon stayed further back to watch you talk to the main desk worker.

"Hey I have a question.." Doyeon whispered to Sun-hee.

Sun-hee looked over at Doyeon, taking a few moments before answering, "What is it..?"

"Why don't you like me..?" Doyeon asked outright.

"Huh..? What are you talking about..?" Sun-hee was confused at the question.

"You just seem to not like me. Did I do something wrong..?"

"No, you haven't done anything wrong. I'm sorry if you got that impression from me. I don't dislike you."

"Then, why do you seem to have an issue with me being around your sister..?" Doyeon's eye's showed that her questions were sincere.

Sun-hee let out a small sigh before turning to face Doyeon. "Because my sister is kind of dumb when it comes to knowing what other people are thinking and feeling, so I have to take it upon myself to make sure she doesn't get hurt. She does everything for me so this is the least I can do for her." Sun-hee stood a little taller so she was just barely above eyelevel to Doyeon. They were almost the same height, but Sun-hee just barely had her beat.

"So what does that have to do with me getting close to your sister..?" Doyeon had to tilt her head up a little to look Sun-hee in the eyes.

"It's just pretty obvious that you have certain feelings towards her. Now I don't want to make any astute assumptions on what those feelings may be, whether they're just platonic or maybe even romantic, I just want to protect my sister. She's never been close to anyone before and in my eyes from just the few interactions I've seen and heard between the two of you,  you are pretty insistent on wanting to maintain a relationship with her. Once again I won't make an assumption on if that relationship you want is platonic or romantic, that is up to you and my big sis. I just know that my sister does not see you as a permanent figure in her life yet. Once again that is not your fault, it's just the way my sister is. No one she meets is someone she see's as a permanent figure in her life, except for m-"

"Except for you.." Doyeon finished Sun-hee's sentence for her. Doyeon had to admit, she was really impressed by the way Sun-hee spoke and carried herself. You had really done a good job on raising her.

"Yeah, except for me." Sun-hee nodded.

"I see. Well thank you for explaining that to me, it makes me feel better. I thought I did something to you. But you're right. I do want to establish a relationship with your older sister, and I would be lying if I said there were not any romantic feelings there either. I just want you to know that I will not act on those feelings, I just want to establish a friendship with your sister."

"Why..?" Sun-hee asked bluntly before shaking her head and speaking again when she saw the slight shock in Doyeon's eyes. "I mean, why my sister..? Nothing against you, it's just no one has ever wanted to be close to her. Plus I thought the two of you just met."

Doyeon smiled before nodding her head, "We did, and I don't know how to explain it. Your sister is just a really good person. It's been a long time since I've been around anyone that has treated me like a decent person. Plus she's really pretty." Doyeon's cheeks reddened in embarrassment at the look Sun-hee gave her.

"Hey that's my big sis, just because you're nice doesn't mean I want to hear you gush about her." Sun-hee rolled her eyes before laughing, "I'm just joking. But on a serious note, If you do go about trying to pursue anything with her, just be nice to her. She's done a lot for me and she's never really taken care of her own self, so please just keep an eye on her for me. I would appreciate that, Doyeon."

"Oh trust me, I have kept my eye on her.." Doyeon mumbled.

"Okay, ew.." Sun-hee pretended to throw up.

"What..? You don't think your sister is pretty..? Because you'd be surprised by how much she brags about you. She's complimented literally everything about you." Doyeon laughed at Sun-hee's expression.

"No, I know my sister is pretty, but hearing it from someone else that I now know likes her is just weird." Sun-hee scrunched her nose before joining Doyeon in laughing.

"Hey you two, what's so funny..?" Your voice made the two of them freeze. "Um..?" You looked at them in confusion as Sun-hee shot Doyeon a look. "Did I miss something..?"

"Huh..? Oh no, uh Sun-hee here was just telling me about something funny that had happened at her school." Doyeon answered once she cleared her throat.

"Ah, was it the story about the teacher that farted in the middle of your exam..? Or about that kid that sneezed when he was eating soup in the cafeteria..? Or when your principal left the intercom microphone on and everyone heard his conversation with the vet about his dog's bad diarrhea..?" You asked Sun-hee with a smile.

"Uh.. it was the fart one." Sun-hee smiled and looked over at Doyeon while nodding, "Right..?"

"Ye-yeah, it was really funny, ha ha.." Doyeon looked at Sun-hee like she was in distress.

"um.. okay, well anyways I found out where we need to head to." You cleared your throat before continuing, "We need to head down that hallway," You pointed to a hallway that headed to the left, "And then three doors down on the right side there should be a sign that says something about the audition and then we head in and find the name tag with your name on it."

"Oh okay, well then lets go." Sun-hee smiled before making her way to the hallway.

"Hold on, wait for me.." You told her before rushing off behind her.

"Oh, and me!" Doyeon yelled before running to catch up to the both of you.

"1... 2.. 3.. ah there's the sign." Sun-hee stood next to the door and pointed at the sign on it.

"Oh wait, stay right there, this will be a good picture.." You smiled as you pulled your phone out of your pocket, opening the camera app.

"Hey, what are you doing, go stand next to her. I'll take a picture for you." Doyeon pulled her own phone out.

"Oh, are you sure..?" You looked at her, unsure on whether or not you should put your phone back in your pocket.

"Yes I'm sure, hurry." Doyeon smiled as she gestured for you to stand next to Sun-hee. "Okay, ready. 1.. 2.. 3.. Perfect!" Doyeon showed you the picture.

"Oh, that came out good. Can you send that to me..?" You showed Sun-hee the picture.

"Ah I can, I just need your number." Doyeon opened up to the dial pad on her phone and handed it to you.

"Oh right, okay."

You didn't notice Sun-hee shaking her head behind you as you typed in your number.

"Smooth" Sun-hee mouthed to Doyeon.

Doyeon simply shrugged with a sly smile, "What can I say?" She mouthed back.

"Here you go." You handed Doyeon her phone back before turning back to face Sun-hee, "Let's head in to find your name tag."

"Okay!" Sun-hee smiled and opened the door.

"Oh good, looks like there isn't that many people here yet." You walked through the open door with Doyeon following behind.

"Oh, hey!" A girl that was going to walk passed you stopped when she saw Doyeon.

"Oh, Seheun..? What are you doing here?" Doyeon said to the girl that spoke to her, Seheun you assumed.

"I should be asking you that, I'm here to audition. I thought you gave up on wanting to be a singer..?"

"Uh.. big sis, I'm going to go look for my name tag." Sun-hee whispered to you before walking to the table with name tags on it.

"I did actually, I'm here accompanying a friend." Doyeon answered her before gesturing to you and Sun-hee who was now reading over all the name tags on the table.

"Oh she's pretty, is she the one auditioning..?" Seheun asked.

"Oh no, her little sister is auditioning." Doyeon pointed to Sun-hee.

"Little? She's tall for being the little sister. Anyways, it's crazy seeing you here, I haven't seen you since you moved schools." Seheun smiled as she spoke to Doyeon.

You just stood there awkwardly not knowing exactly what to do, but that's when Sun-hee came running back over to you, with a big sticker that had her name written on it.

"Well I have to go, I'll see you soon Doyeon. Take care!" You were distracted by the huge sticker on Sun-hee's shirt to hear what Doyeon had said in response to the girl before she walked away.

"I found my name tag!" Sun-hee smiled as she pointed to the sticker that was now on her shirt.

"Yeah that's kind of hard to miss." You joked as you pulled your phone out once again to take a picture of your sister.

"Here I got it," Doyeon said before snapping a few pictures of Sun-hee for you, "Go stand next to her."

"Ah right. Okay." You walked over to Sun-hee and gave her a half hug for the picture.

"Got it, looks good." Doyeon smiled as she showed you the picture.

"It does, thank you Doyeon." You let Sun-hee look at the picture before turning to look at her. "Okay well I think this is as far as we can go with you, so I'll have to leave you here now. Do you still have that money I gave you this morning..?"

"Yes, it's in my bag." Sun-hee nodded.

"Okay, well take that money to get a cab to the restaurant and I'll walk with you home from there. Okay..?" You placed your hands on her shoulder.

"Okay big sis. Thank you for being here today. I hope you're not late to work." Sun-hee gave you a small smile.

"Ah it's going to be okay. You're more important than my job. All I want you to focus on is crushing this audition, okay..?"

"Okay, I'll do really good for you!" Sun-hee smiled before hugging you.

"I know you will, just don't be nervous and have fun. That's all that matters." You hugged her back. "Call me if you need anything, okay..?" You pulled away to look at your sister.

"Okay, I will. Be careful on the way to work. I'll see you later." Sun-hee smiled as she waved at you.

"Alright Sun-hee, I'll see you tonight, have fun." You waved back at her.

"Oh and bye Doyeon, thank you for the ride." Sun-hee then waved at Doyeon.

"Hey, anytime." Doyeon smiled before following you out the door.

"Wow, I hope she does good..." You mumbled as you made your way down the hallway.

"Hey she's got this. She has the best role model in the world. She's going to do great." Doyeon grabbed your arm. "Don't be nervous."

You let out a small sigh before nodding, "You're right, she's got this."

The two of you made your way out the door and you walked with Doyeon to the waiting car. You finally snapped out of your daze when she opened the door.

"Oh no, I can walk from here, I've held you back enough today. You probably have other things you need to do, I can get to work on my own." You pulled your arm out of her grip.

"Hey, don't be ridiculous, you know there's no chance I'm going to let you walk to work. Get in." She grabbed your arm and pulled you towards her, it wasn't aggressive but it was enough for you to get the hint. She wasn't going to take no for an answer.

You had to let out a small smile, "I've never met anyone who was so aggressively nice before."

"There's a first time for everything I guess. Now get in the car before I pick you up and put you inside the car myself." She smiled before nudging you to the car.

"Okay okay, I'm getting in." You got into the car, sitting where Sun-hee was just moments ago.

Doyeon got in and closed the door after her, "There we go, see how easy that was..?" She smiled at you.

"You know I'm starting to feel like I'm about to be kidnapped, should I start screaming now or should I wait a little bit longer..?" You joked with her.

"Ha ha very funny, now buckle up young miss. Don't need you getting hurt now do we..?" Doyeon reached across you to pull your seatbelt across your body and buckled you in.

"Thanks.." You mumbled once she wasn't leaning so close to you.

"Now that's all better.." She smiled at you and then the black divider made it's way down again.

"Where to now..?" The driver asked Doyeon.

"Oh right, where do you work..?" Doyeon turned to face you.

You told her the address to the restaurant you worked at and then she relayed it to the driver.

"Wow that's crazy, one of my mom's co-workers had recommended that restaurant to us when we first moved to this side of town."

"Really..? Well I'm glad it has a good reputation. There's a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes at that place.." You subconsciously ran your finger over the burn scars on your hand.

"I bet, they're lucky to have such a hard worker like yourself working with them." Doyeon complimented you like it was nothing. And maybe to her complimenting people truly was like nothing, but to you every kind word she said seemed to lift your mood.

"Ah thank you, that means a lot."

For the rest of the car ride to the restaurant Doyeon just asked you random questions to try and get to know you better.

_

"We have arrived miss." the driver spoke, you didn't even notice the car had stopped moving or that the divider had gone down.

"Okay, thank you." Doyeon replied to him before the divider went back up.

"Well I guess this is where we part ways then." You took your seatbelt off and looked her in the eyes. "Once again, thank you so much Doyeon, you didn't have to do this."

"I already told you, I did all this because I wanted to. You don't need to thank me." Doyeon took her own seatbelt off. "I'll walk you inside." She opened her door and stepped out.

At this point you knew there was no talking her out of it, whenever Doyeon said she wanted to do something you knew she was going to do it. "Okay."

Doyeon held her hand out to help you get out of the car, you stared at her hand for a moment before taking it into your own and stepping out of the car. Doyeon closed the door behind you and the both of you made your way towards the restaurant.

"Well I have to go into the back now, thank you so much Doyeon." The two of you paused at the door leading into the restaurant. There didn't seem to be many people there yet but you knew that the dinner rush wouldn't start for another few hours, which meant a lot of prep work had to be done.

Doyeon let out a little groan, "Fine I guess I have to let you go now." She let go of your hand, "Thank you for keeping me company today, it's been a long time since I've genuinely had a good time."

"Oh, and if you don't mind can you send me those pictures you took earlier..? I might try going this weekend to get them printed out."

"Of course, I'll send them to you soon, but I guess I should really let you go now. I don't want you to get in trouble because you're sitting out here talking to me." Doyeon took a step back and gestured for you to head inside.

"Okay Doyeon, I'll see you tomorrow at school." You waved at her before walking into the restaurant.

Doyeon stood outside just taking a few more moments to herself to look inside the restaurant. She watched as you interacted with a few of the customers there and then headed to the back. Doyeon would have spent a bit longer just standing there but her phone ringing snapped her out of her trance.

"Hello..? Oh hello mom, yes I just had something to do. No everything is fine, I just found out earlier so I couldn't give you much of a heads up. No I can still make it in time, It's all good. I'm sure, yes of course. Okay I'll see you in a little bit. Bye Mom." Doyeon hung up then she jogged up to the car.

"Are you ready for your meeting now Miss Doyeon..?" The driver asked when Doyeon buckled herself in the back.

"Yes we can head there now." Doyeon gave him a small nod as she pulled her phone out.

"Yes ma'am, we'll be there shortly."

Doyeon scrolled through her pictures, a small smile on her lips as she admired your beauty in each picture. She opened up her messages and started a new conversation with you, she sent you all the pictures with a small message attached at the end. "Have a good shift at work, don't over work yourself and make sure you get something to eat."

After she sent you the message she moved down to a previous conversation with a different contact, "Xeheun", She typed in a message and sent it. "Hey can you let me know what time everything over there is finished. And can you keep an eye out on my friends little sister for me. Message me whenever she's finished with everything please."

Doyeon exhaled as she leaned her head against the head rest and she closed her eyes.

_

Your work shift seemed to go by pretty smoothly, there wasn't that big of a rush for dinner like everyone expected so everything in the kitchen was running without an issue. Right now everyone was cleaning up for the night before getting ready to leave. You were just getting done with mopping up the floor as everyone else finished up what they were cleaning.

"Alright guys, everything looks good, once you finish what you're doing you can head home. Thank you for all your hard work today." Your manager spoke as he walked through the restaurant helping everyone with what they were doing. You heard him call for you so you leaned the mop against the wall and walked away to find him.

"Yes sir..?" You found him in the back helping one of the cooks clean off the stove.

"You can head home." He looked up from where he was scrubbing to smile at you.

"But I still have to finish mopping up the front.." You looked at him in surprise.

"It's okay, I can do it. Head on home now, it's getting late." He placed the rag he had in his hand down and walked up to you. "If you were my daughter I wouldn't want you walking home any later than now, so head on home. I can finish mopping."

"Are you sure..? I can do it.." You mumbled as you gestured to the front of the restaurant.

"Yes I'm sure, I know you can finish it but I'd rather you get on heading home, it's been a long day. You need some rest. Go on now." He gave you a small nod before heading back to finish helping the cook with cleaning the stove.

"Okay.." You let out a small sigh before walking to the back to gather your things then you headed to the front door.

The manager you were just talking to had just started working at this restaurant and it was your first time working with him on the night shift. He had came down from working at a really popular restaurant from a neighboring city.

You pulled out your phone to call Sun-hee, you wanted to see where she was at. You walked out the front door with your phone up to your ear but before your phone could even dial Sun-hee's number you heard someone call out to you.

"Oh big sis, over here!" You heard Sun-hee's voice before you even saw her.

"Oh Sun-hee, you're already here..?" You walked up to her, she was standing next to a tree with.. Doyeon standing next to her. "Wait, what are you doing here..?"

"Hey, nice to see you too." Doyeon smiled as she walked up to you with Sun-hee next to her.

"No yeah, it's nice to see you too but what are you doing here..?" You gave Sun-hee a hug then looked at Doyeon.

"I just wanted to make sure the two of you made it home safe." Doyeon answered with a beautiful smile. "And I also wanted to make sure you got something to eat for the night."

"Oh Doyeon you worry too much, we would've been fine. You didn't have to come all the way out here." You finally took the time to look at what she was now wearing, her clothes looked a lot more formal and she had make up on, she looked pretty.

"I wanted to." She smiled and then placed a hand on Sun-hee's shoulder, "Plus I wanted to hear about how her audition went."

"Big sis she looked really cool, I walked out of the building and she was outside leaning on her car. She looked like an actress." Sun-hee smiled as she flattered Doyeon.

Wait why the sudden change in attitude towards Doyeon..? You questioned as you looked at the both of them but decided to keep that question to yourself.

Well what was the sudden change in Sun-hee's attitude towards Doyeon, well here we go.

_

An hour earlier.

"Hey Sun-hee, over here!" Doyeon called out to the crowd of girls walking out of the building in front of her.

"Doyeon? What are you doing here? My sister isn't here." Sun-hee walked towards the girl leaning against her car.

"I know, I'm here to pick you up." Doyeon answered the younger girl.

"Me..? For what..?" Sun-hee raised her eyebrow in suspicion at the older girls words.

"So I can give you a ride over to your sister's job. Here get in, we'll talk more in the car." Doyeon opened the passenger side door and then walked around the front of the car. "Get in" She told the girl again before getting into the drivers seat.

Sun-hee looked at the car hesitantly, it was a different car than the one they rode in earlier that day. She took a little longer before getting into the passenger seat and closing the door.

"Okay what did you want to talk about..?" Sun-hee asked as she put her seatbelt on.

"You, how did your audition go..?" Doyeon checked her rear-view mirror before pulling away from where she was parked.

"Uh, it went well. I passed." Sun-hee answered as she looked at the older girl in confusion.

"That's good, you're sister will be excited to hear that." Doyeon kept her eyes on the road as she drove through the late night traffic.

"Yeah she will, is there anything else you wanted to know..?"

"No, I just want you to feel more comfortable around me so I figured going for a drive wouldn't hurt until we wait for your sister to get off of work. Speaking of which, what time does she get off..?" Doyeon stopped at a red light and looked over at Sun-hee.

"Um.." Sun-hee looked at the time on the car's media display, "She normally gets off at around ten, so in about an hour or so." Sun-hee answered her.

"Okay, well did you want to go anywhere while we wait..?" Doyeon turned down a road filled with a bunch of shops.

"Um no I think I'm good." Sun-hee looked out the window at the passing store fronts. It had been so long since she got to ride in a car.

"Hmm.. well I want to stop by somewhere if you don't mind the small detour." Doyeon smiled to herself.

"It's your car, I'm fine with whatever." Sun-hee kept her eyes focused on the people passing by.

"Okay sounds good to me then." Doyeon drove around for a little longer until she found somewhere to park. "We're here." She announced as she parked the car and turned it off.

"Ooh where are we..? I've never seen this side of town before." Sun-hee finally looked over at Doyeon.

"It's one of the shopping points here in town, they have a lot of stores here with a variety of items. I just needed to pick something up real quick." She unbuckled her seatbelt. "You can leave your bag in here." Doyeon got out of the car and waited for Sun-hee to do the same.

Sun-hee left her bag on the floorboard in the front then she walked up to where Doyeon was standing.

"Oh wait." Doyeon walked to the backseat and opened the door. She pulled something out and handed it to Sun-hee.

"What's this..?" Sun-hee took whatever it was out of Doyeon's hand.

"It's a hoodie, you changed clothes and I don't know if you want to walk around here in that top." Doyeon gestured to the top Sun-hee was wearing.

"Oh, I guess you're right. This is good for dancing but not so much being in public.." Sun-hee mumbled as she put the hoodie on. "Done." She smiled at Doyeon once she had it on.

"Okay good, follow me." Doyeon waved her hand to gesture for the younger girl to follow her. Sun-hee walked next to Doyeon, often times letting the lights coming from the stores next to her distract her. "In here Sun-hee." Doyeon snapped her out of her gaze and led her into a store.

"Oh wow.." Sun-hee looked around in shock, she had never been in a shoe store as nice as this before. "This place is nice..."

"Over here." Doyeon walked over to one side of the store. The wall was covered in athletic looking tennis shoes. Doyeon glanced down at Sun-hee's shoes then back up at her, "What size are you in shoes..?"

"Huh..? Why?" Sun-hee looked at Doyeon in shock.

"If you're going to be dancing more often then you need a good pair of shoes. They get worn out pretty easily." Doyeon answered her with a smile.

"Oh I know that but why are you asking me that..?"

"Just consider this a gift from a friend, so what size are you in shoes..?" Doyeon began to look through the shoe boxes.

"No don't be crazy, I can't accept that from you." Sun-hee walked up to Doyeon to stand between her and the shoe boxes. "You don't need to do this, I'm fine. My sister usually buys me new shoes every year."

"You and Your sister are very stubborn when it comes to letting someone help you. Please just accept it, we're not leaving here until you get new shoes." Doyeon crossed her arms as she looked at your younger sister.

Sun-hee let out a groan as she didn't know what to do. She could just accept the shoes and then come back at a later time to return them and give the money back to Doyeon somehow.

"Fine.." Sun-hee ran her fingers through her slightly damp hair before telling Doyeon what size she was.

"See was that so hard Sun-hee..?" Doyeon smiled as she walked down to a specific spot and pulled out a box that had Sun-hee's shoe size on it. "Here try these on." She handed the box to Sun-hee.

"Okay.." Sun-hee took the box and found somewhere to try the shoes on.

"How do they feel..?" Doyeon asked once Sun-hee had the shoes on.

"Oh wow, they feel really nice." Sun-hee walked around in the shoes, her feet instantly falling in love with the soft material inside.

"Not too big or small..?" Doyeon asked as she looked at the shoes.

"No they fit really well."

"Okay good, you can put them back in the box." Doyeon said as she walked back over to the wall of shoes. "Here try these on too." She handed Sun-hee another box.

"Huh..?" She looked at the second box in shock but knowing Doyeon she just had to accept it. "Okay.." She tried on the second pair of shoes.

"Do you know what size your sister is in shoes." Doyeon kept looking around at the multiple shoes in front of her.

"Uh yeah.." Sun-hee finished putting the shoes on and then told Doyeon what size you were in shoes.

"Okay, thanks. And how do those feel." Doyeon pulled another box out and set it aside as she looked at the shoes on Sun-hee's feet.

"They feel good too. They fit."

"Okay you can put them back in the box." Doyeon went back to looking through the different shoes again.

Sun-hee placed the shoes back in the box and then she stacked both boxes that Doyeon handed her on top of one another.

Doyeon walked back over with another box in her hands. "Okay can you bring those two up to the front?" She gestured to the two boxes Sun-hee stacked, as she grabbed the other box she had set aside earlier.

"Yeah I can." Sun-hee grabbed the boxes Doyeon told her to grab and she followed her to the front.

Doyeon placed the boxes she had on the front counter and Sun-hee did the same. "Can you go wait by the front door, I'll come over there when I'm done." Doyeon told Sun-hee.

"Me? Uh, okay." Sun-hee gave Doyeon one last confused look before walking away to stand near the front.

Doyeon got all the shoes rung up and then she paid for them. "Hey can you do me a favor and write on the boxes that there's no returns or refunds." Doyeon spoke to one of the workers behind the counter.

"On the boxes..? But we offer returns within thirty days of purchase." One of the workers answered her.

"I know you do, but this isn't for me, it's so that a friend doesn't try to bring them back, please." Doyeon pleaded with the employee.

"Oh, um then sure. As long as you are aware of our return policy." The employee shrugged before pulling a black permanent marker out of the drawer. She took her time to write on all the boxes before placing them in a bag. "Here you go." The employee handed the bag over to Doyeon.

"Thank you so much. You have a great night!" Doyeon smiled at the employees before walking towards Sun-hee with the bag in her hand. "Come on," Doyeon told Sun-hee as she walked past her and headed towards the door.

"Okay" Sun-hee caught up with Doyeon and followed her out the store.

The both of them walked over to the car and Doyeon opened the trunk. She placed the bag inside then she looked over at Sun-hee. I paid with a card so there no returns. These are for you and your sister. I don't want them, they are for you." She closed the trunk then she started walking in the opposite direction from the shoe store.

Sun-hee scrambled to catch up with her. "It's going to take a lot of convincing for my sister to accept them, you know that right..?"

"I know, which is why we'll drop them off at your house first before we go to pick her up." Doyeon walked into another store and Sun-hee followed her.

"My house..? uh.. I don't know if my sister would be fine with having company over.." Sun-hee mumbled as she followed Doyeon.

"I didn't say I would go inside. I don't want to invade your privacy without permission." This time instead of walking around Doyeon walked up to the check out desk and the employee standing there recognized her and pulled out a few bags from behind the counter.

"Wow.." Sun-hee's eyes widened in shock as she saw all the bags the employee was placing on the counter.

"Thank you." Doyeon smiled at the employee before grabbing some of the bags and handing them to Sun-hee. "Here hold these." Then she grabbed a few bags to carry on her own.

"What's all this..?" Sun-hee asked as she followed Doyeon out the store.

"Well you're going to be dancing a lot so you need clothes that are comfortable to dance in, right..?" Doyeon spoke as she walked towards her car.

"No, I don't. I have a lot of old clothes that I can wear. I don't need all this." Sun-hee stood next to Doyeon as she opened the trunk. "Also when did you buy this..? You don't even know what sizes I wear.."

Doyeon put her bags in the trunk and grabbed the one's from Sun-hee's hands, placing those in the trunk too. "We're the same height, well almost. I just bought the sizes that fit me. They should fit you." Doyeon closed the trunk. "Get in, we just have a little longer until your sister gets off.

Sun-hee got into the car at the same time Doyeon did. "You know you really do not need to be doing any of this. I really do not have any ill feelings towards you."

Doyeon turned the car on, "I know, once again just consider this a gift from a friend." Doyeon pulled her phone out and handed it to Sun-hee, "Can you type in your address..?"

"Mhm," Sun-hee hummed before typing in her address into Doyeon's phone.

"Thank you." Doyeon did something on her phone and then the directions to your house popped up on the media display in the car. "Seatbelt." Doyeon reminded Sun-hee as she placed her own seat belt on.

"Right.." Sun-hee put her seatbelt on as  she stared at the display in awe.

Doyeon drove away and she followed the directions on the screen in front of her. Sun-hee was quiet for the rest of the drive so Doyeon put on some music to softly play in the background.

"Is this the right street..?" Doyeon asked Sun-hee as she looked around.

"Yeah it is, the house is just up there, you can park anywhere." Sun-hee pointed further up the road.

"Okay," Doyeon found an open parking spot and parked her car. She pressed the button inside to open up the trunk then she got out.

Sun-hee got out as well and met Doyeon out by the trunk of the car.

"Here I'll let you take all this inside, I'll stay out here."  Doyeon handed Sun-hee some of the bags.

"Okay, I'll be quick." Sun-hee took the bags with her and she headed of to your house.

Doyeon stayed by her trunk and she pulled her phone out of her pocket. She checked her messages to see if you had ever responded but no, you didn't.

"Okay I'm back," Sun-hee huffed as she reached in the trunk for the rest of the bags, "I'll close the trunk for you." She slid the bags up her arm so she could close the trunk.

"Thank Sun-hee, I'll wait in the car for you." Doyeon walked around to the drivers side and she got in. She watched as Sun-hee walked away. "hmm, she must be really busy if she didn't answer..." Doyeon sighed as she placed her phone down. "Why am I so attracted to her in the first place.." Doyeon asked herself with a little laugh. "She is really pretty, and so nice. I don't think I've ever been around anyone so nice before.." Doyeon continued to talk to herself as she waited for Sun-hee to get back.

The passenger side door finally opened and knocked Doyeon out of her thoughts.

"You know where my sister works right..?" Sun-hee asked as she buckled herself in.

"Yeah, I got it from here. We should be there soon." Doyeon smiled at her before driving away.

_

"Big sis, Doyeon is really cool." Sun-hee whispered to you as the both of you followed Doyeon to her car.

"When did you become such a big fan of her..? You seemed super skeptical of her earlier today." You whispered back.

"Well that's because I didn't really know her and she had you giggling and all that weird stuff. I had to make sure she was cool before I let you get close to her." Sun-hee playfully rolled her eyes.

"Oh so you're going to let me be friends with her now, Ma'am..?" You joked with her.

"Of course, she passed my personality check, she seems genuine." Sun-hee nodded with a goofy smile.

You just shook your head before walking up to Doyeon. "What did you do to my sister..?"

"Hmm..? What do you mean..?" Doyeon looked over in surprise.

"She's turned into a fangirl of yours. It's weird.." You pretended to shiver in disgust.

"Haha, really..? I didn't do anything, I just picked her up from the audition and I talked to her like a normal person. We just chatted for a bit as we waited for you to be done with work." Doyeon answered as she walked up to the parked car her and Sun-hee were in earlier.

"Wait you picked her up from her audition..?" Your eyes widened in shock. "Doyeon, seriously you don't have to be doing all this for us."

Doyeon laughed and sent Sun-hee a look, following that look Sun-hee got into the back seat, giving you and Doyeon some privacy. Doyeon pulled the keys out of her pocket and turned the car on from them.

"Here, come over here." Doyeon gently put her hand on your arm and pulled you away from the car to talk.

You followed her as she walked by to some nearby benches. The both of you sat down and faced each other.

"What..?" You asked Doyeon quietly as she just stared at you.

Doyeon cleared her throat, a small smile making its way onto her lips. "God she's so pretty..." She whispered to herself.

"Hmm..?" You hummed as you didn't catch what she had said.

"Okay, look.." Doyeon started, "I just want you to know that everything I've done and everything I will continue to do is by my own will. I wanted to do everything I've done, and I will continue to want to do the things I will do. There are some things I want to do more than others..." She paused for a split second to look down at your lips, but just as fast as she looked down she snapped herself out of it, "Please don't thank me for anything. I'm not doing this to earn brownie points with you or Sun-hee, I'm doing this because I want to. I don't know how many times I've already told you that I'm doing all this because I want to but I will continue to tell you every time you thank me for doing something."

"But why..? Why are you so nice to me and Sun-hee even though you've only known us for less than a day..?" You asked as you looked her in her eyes.

"It's because of you." Doyeon simply stated with no other explanation.

"What do you mean..?"

"I don't know how to explain it but there's just something about you that I really like. You're just such a nice and genuine person, I want to get closer to you. I feel like if I don't try to maintain any sort of a relationship with you I will be greatly disappointed in myself in the future. Being around you all day at school made me super happy, I can't even explain to myself why but just being near you makes me happy. And then seeing the way you treat Sun-hee makes my heart even more happy. You're just such a beautiful person inside and out. I don't want to miss my chance to establish a relationship with you. So please just let me be who I've been, let me be there for you. Let me treat you the way I have been, all I want is to just see you smile." Doyeon finished as she subconsciously reached for your hand and held it in-between the both of hers.

It took you a moment to reel in everything she had just said but you couldn't hide your smile, "You know, if I didn't know any better I'd almost assume that this was some sort of love confession." You laughed, unknowing that Doyeon was practically screaming in her head.

Doyeon had to smile, "I mean it could be if you wanted it to be.."

"What was that..?" You asked, moving closer to her to hear her better.

"Uh, nothing. It was nothing.." Doyeon squeezed your hand and let out a small sigh.

"Okay, well thank you miss Doyeon for everything you've done for both me and my sister today. I don't think I've ever met someone as nice as you before. I feel bad accepting everything you've done for me but if you truly insist this much then I guess I have no choice but to accept everything. I've kind of already learned early on that trying to turn anything you do down is kind of impossible." You joked with her, smiles appearing on the both of your lips. "But honestly, thank you so much. You don't know how much of a relief it is to now know there's someone around to be nice to me."

"Of course, you're such a great person it feels illegal to be mean to you." Doyeon ran her finger over your knuckles.

"Well, you'd be surprised by how many other people don't feel that way. I've done nothing to anyone yet I'm hated by everyone..." You sighed as you thought about how everyday of your life has been spent since the moment you gained consciousness.

"Well those people don't deserve to have you in their lives." Every word she spoke was so genuine it made you go crazy.

The two of you just sat there for a while longer, just enjoying each other's presence.

Doyeon was the one to break the silence, she let out a small sigh before giving your hand another small squeeze. "Come on, let's go get you something to eat." At the look you gave her she continued, "Don't even say anything cause you know what I will tell you. Let's go, I don't want to keep Sun-hee waiting for longer than she needs to, she's probably hungry too."

"Ah you're right, oh my I didn't even ask her how her audition went.." The blood drained from your face at your realization.

"It's okay, she wanted to wait until you ate to tell you." Doyeon reassured you.

"Oh really..? Okay then, we should head back."

Doyeon stood up first and you followed behind her. The two of you talked on the walk back to the car. Doyeon walked up to the passenger side door with you and she opened it for you.

"Thank you." You got in and buckled yourself in as she closed the door for you.

"Psst, big sis.." Sun-hee whispered to you as Doyeon walked around the front of the car.

"Yes..?" You turned to look at her.

"The two of you look good together." Sun-hee gave you a thumbs up before leaning back into her seat as Doyeon opened her door.

You stared at her in shock as what she had said stayed in the back of your mind.

"You good..?" Doyeon whispered to you as she put her seatbelt on.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good." You smiled at her before readjusting yourself in your seat.

"Okay, well I already have a place in mind to go eat if you don't mind. I probably should have asked you if there was a specific place you wanted to go but I feel like you would like this place." Doyeon said as she adjusted the temperature in the car.

"Wherever you want to go is fine with me, I trust your judgement." You replied as you let out a small sigh.

"Okay, well it's not that far so just get comfy." Doyeon gave you one last glance before driving away.

_

"And then when it was my turn to go the speaker they were using stopped working so we had to wait another twenty minutes for them to get it working again. So I was just standing in the middle of the practice room as everyone was focused on fixing it."

"Wow so did you get to choose which song you got to dance to or did they choose for you..?"

The three of you were now sitting at a table at one of those outside tent street stalls, Doyeon had said that this was one of her favorite places for late night eating.

"Mmm," Sun-hee finished eating the food that was in her mouth before continuing, "We all got to perform one dance that we prepared before hand but then they gave us all a song that we had to listen to and come up with a dance to. We got split into pairs and the girl I was paired up with was named Seheun, she was a really good dancer big sis. Like her dancing was way better than anyone else I'd ever seen, I got lucky getting paired up with her. We were able to come up with a choreo right away." Sun-hee spoke happily as she recalled her auditioning process earlier that day.

"So then how did that go..?" You asked as Doyeon placed more food on your plate.

"We were told by the company's main choreographer that we did the best out of all the other pairs. So me and Seheun were pretty much guaranteed a spot after that. So when all the other pairs were done everyone that they deemed as passing were told to sit on one side of the room. It was me, Seheun and like three other girls. We were able to watch as everyone else had to go through other little test and things like that. Then once they finally kept who they wanted we had to go to this other room and we had some interview questions thrown at us. Oh, and then we had to sing, which I was not prepared for at all. I just went for the dancing but apparently we all had to sing. Luckily one of the other girls that had passed the first part of the auditions was friends with Seheun and she gave me some quick tips on what to do. I believe her name was Yujin. I got pretty lucky and did an alright job. They told me I had a little bit to still work on when it came to singing but since my dancing was really good they said we could always just work on it as time went on." Sun-hee's eyes sparkled as she continued to speak about her audition process. "So after all that only about half of the girls that made it through the first part were left. We then had to go to another room and get our height and weight checked, oh and during all this they had a few people following us around with cameras. It was so crazy big sis, I just wanted to pass so I could get dancing lessons and here they were treating us like we were going to be singers."

"Wow they even checked your height and weight..? That's crazy in depth, I didn't think they would be doing all that just for some simple dance auditions." You shook your head before taking a sip of the water Doyeon had brought you.

"Yeah I thought it was crazy too, but after that only a handful of girls were left and we just had to sign more paperwork. But yeah, now I'm officially what they call a 'trainee' of Next Level." Sun-hee had the biggest smile on her face as she took another bite of food.

"Oh Seheun and Yujin? Yeah they passed, they were amazing big sis. I can't wait for you to meet them, they're really nice and they're the same age as you too."

"Wow 'trainee', what are you in the military or something.." You joked as you shook your head. "So did your other two friends make it as well..?"

(a/n i just want you all to know that the word "trainee" gives me pretty bad ptsd after BMT lol)

"Okay well I'll meet them whenever we have the time to. I'm glad you were able to make new friends." You slid your plate over to Doyeon to let her know that you were done eating.

"Okay big sis, I'll let them know." Sun-hee finished the rest of the food on her plate.

"So what is your schedule going to be like..?" You grabbed her plate and stacked it on top of your own.

"Um well we have practice every weekday, they said everyone should show up at around five and that they will try and let us out at around ten every night if the schedule allows for it. They also said that there wasn't any set practices on the weekends but if it seems like some of us really need to show up for longer practice then it will become mandatory for those that need the extra help. And on the weekends we can go and practice if we want to, it would just be self practice if it isn't mandatory for you." Sun-hee finished the rest of the water in her cup.

"Wow.." You were happy that Sun-hee had passed her audition but now that this all was finally real you were starting to feel worried about how she would get home every night. The thought of your little sister walking home at night didn't sit well with you. "What about your school..? This isn't going to affect your grades is it..? Remember school comes first."

"No it shouldn't, I'm passing all my classes and I do my homework early all the time. They even told us that they would offer us free tutoring if practice interfered with our grades. This company really has it all planned out big sis." Sun-hee handed her empty cup over to Doyeon.

"Okay well we'll talk more at home about how we're going to get you there and back home everyday, okay..?"

"Okay big sis." Sun-hee smiled at you before getting up to stretch her legs.

"Hey.." Doyeon got your attention.

"Yeah..?" You turned to the side to face her.

"I could take her to practice everyday and take her home every night. That way you don't have to worry about it."

"Doyeon, don't be ridiculous." You let out a laugh as you shook your head.

"No, I'm being serious." Doyeon's face showed that she was truly speaking from the heart.

"And so am I, I can just try saving up to get her a bike." You stood up, keeping eye contact with Doyeon the whole time. "I'm serious Doyeon."

Doyeon got up as well, she moved to stand right in front of you and then she leaned forward, causing you to lean back against the table. "No, that's unnecessary, let me do this for you." She placed her hands on the table, one on each side of you. "I'm not joking, I don't want you to be worrying about something else when I can help you."

"But Doyeon, that's asking way too much of you, I don't want to be a burden to you. You have other things you need to worry about." You couldn't lean back any further so all you could do was look her in the eyes.

Doyeon let out a small laugh before shaking her head, her eyes locking onto your own, "You just don't get it, do you..?"

"Get what..?" The look in her eyes made you feel weird inside.

"Nothing you do will ever be a burden to me, I am willing to do anything for you. You've worked hard your whole life, let me try and help relieve some of that stress for you." Doyeon tilted her head to the side as she leaned closer to you. "Let me help you. Please..."

Your words got caught in your throat as you just stared in her eyes. It took a moment to finally get some words out. "Doyeon, it's harder then you think it is."

"Why..? Please let me know why it's so hard for you to accept my help, because I can promise you that this is genuinely coming from my heart. I don't expect anything in return, I just want to see you happy."

You took a small moment to look around, you forgot you were still in public, and with the way the two of you were standing, you didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. "Doyeon, can we talk about this later. In private. Please."

"Huh..?" Doyeon seemed like she snapped out of a trance then she looked around, "Oh right.. Okay we can talk about this later then." She pulled away from being so close to you. "Sorry.."

"No don't apologize, it's okay." You stood back up. "Here, lets clean up." You gathered everything up on the table, throwing away all the trash.

Doyeon quietly helped you and Sun-hee just watched the both of you, a small smile on her face.

"They're gonna date, I'm calling it right here.." Sun-hee whispered as she watched you begin a conversation with Doyeon to get rid of the awkward silence.

"Sun-hee, are you ready to go..?" You called out to your younger sister once you and Doyeon finished cleaning up.

"Yeah I'm ready!" Sun-hee walked over to you.

The three of you walked with Doyeon to her car, a calm silence washing over all of you. As you approached the car Doyeon opened the door for you.

"Thank you." You got in and put your seatbelt on.

"Mhm," Doyeon hummed as she closed the door. "What..?"

"Right in front of my salad, seriously.." Sun-hee shook her head as she crossed her arms.

"What..?" Doyeon asked again in more confusion. "Salad? You had a salad?"

Sun-hee let out a sigh before laughing, "It's an internet joke. Also if you want to kiss my sister please don't do it in front of me, I'm not trying to be traumatized for the rest of my life."

"Huh?? I wasn't.. what.. what are you talking about..?" Doyeon rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment.

"Sure, whatever you say miss Doyeon." Sun-hee gave her an exaggerated eye roll, "Kids these days.. tsk.." Sun-hee got into the back seat.

Doyeon walked around the front of her car thinking about what Sun-hee said. "I wasn't going to kiss her. No, I mean do I want to..? Yeah but that's a whole other conversation.." Doyeon let out another sigh as she opened the door and got in the driver's seat. "Uh... your address." Doyeon handed you her phone that was opened up to her maps application.

"Hmm..? Oh, okay.." You grabbed the phone from Doyeon's hand. You typed in your address and handed her her phone.

"Thank you." Doyeon smiled as she made the directions show up on the car's media display. Doyeon already knew how to get to your house but she didn't want you to know that she had already been there.

On the drive over to your house music played quietly in the background as you looked out at the passing streets.

_

"Sun-hee head in and wash up for bed, I'll be inside in a little bit, okay..?"

Sun-hee unbuckled her seatbelt and nodded, "Okay big sis, see you in a bit" Sun-hee gave Doyeon a look before getting out of the car and heading inside.

It took a few more moments of you and Doyeon just sitting in the car as music played before either of you spoke up.

"So.." Doyeon cleared her throat and placed her hands on her thighs.

"Hmm..?" You finally looked over at her.

"Um, well I don't know how to start this off other than me just asking for you to accept my help." Doyeon made eye contact with you, "You keep saying that it's not easy for you to accept it and I just want to understand why that is. Can you please tell me..?"

"Doyeon, there's just not a simple explanation for it. I don't know how to put it in words." Your voice was shaky, the look in her eyes made your stomach feel weird.

"Well then I can sit here with you all night and we can find the words together." Doyeon smiled at her attempt of lifting the mood.

"Why are you so nice to me Kim Doyeon..?" You smiled as well, every time she smiled you couldn't help but smile back.

"I already told you, but I will keep telling you. I just want to see you happy. And this," She pointed at your face, "This smile, I want to keep seeing this, everyday." She placed her hand back down.

Your face started to warm up, "I.. Doyeon, I don't deserve this."

"Says who..? Where in this universe does it say that you don't deserve to be happy..? Hmm..? Because in my eyes you are someone who deserves nothing but the best, and I feel it in my heart that I'm the one that can give it to you." Doyeon shifted her body in her seat so she could face you better, "Don't ever tell me that you don't deserve something, because I will just go out and do something even more extravagant for you."

You couldn't but laugh at her, "Doyeon, you are just something else."

Doyeon had a satisfied smile, "And that laugh right there makes this all worth it."

You shook your head as you unbuckled your seatbelt, "I'd better go before you make me fall in love with you Miss Doyeon." You joked with her.

"Wait so you haven't already..?" She teased you back.

"Just because you're pretty doesn't mean you need to be cocky." You rolled your eyes at her.

"Wait, you think I'm pretty..?" Doyeon's eyes widened and her smile had never been bigger.

You let out an exaggerated sigh before reaching for the door handle, you couldn't believe that you had just said that out loud but now you had to play it off.

"Wait," Doyeon reached over and grabbed your hand, causing you to look at her.

"What..?" You tried to avoid eye contact with her.

"Do you really think I'm pretty..?" Her voice was soft and quiet, her eyes never left your wandering ones. After a few more seconds of you not answering she asked you again, "You think I'm pretty..?"

"Doyeon, I, yeah, I mean who doesn't." You finally looked her in the eyes, "You're the prettiest person I've met." You let out a small laugh, "There, are you happy...?"

Doyeon shook her head, "No, say it like you really mean it."

Your eyebrows went up in surprise at her response, "Like I mean it..? But I did..?"

Doyeon shook her head again, "No, it didn't sound like a real answer. I want to hear it from your heart and not your brain. You think too much, sometimes you need to let your heart do the talking. Not everything you say has to be so thought out and calculated. I want to hear what you truly have to say."

"From my heart..?" You sat in silence for a moment as you tried to let whatever came into your mind form a sentence. "Well um.." You tilted your head to the side as you tried to speak, "Doyeon, I think.. no, that doesn't sound right." You let out a small huff, "Um.."

Doyeon smiled, she reached out with the hand that wasn't holding yours so she could lightly grab your chin, gently moving your head so you were looking her in the eyes. "You're really struggling with this aren't you."

"Yeah.." You're voice was quiet as all you could focus on was her hand holding your chin.

"Here, I'll show you how to do it." Doyeon let go of your chin then she cleared her throat. "You are the most incredible person I've ever met. Everything you do is amazing in my eyes. You're so kind and sweet, you have a heart of gold. You're so pretty but every kind thing you do just makes you so much more attractive. I'm so lucky I got to meet someone like you... No, I'm lucky I got to meet you. Every moment I'm around you I just feel so happy. You're incredible and if no one has ever told you before well then I will. I think that you are one of the most beautiful people to walk this earth. There are no words to describe your beauty." Doyeon's voice was a little lower than her normal speaking voice and her eyes never left yours.

She left you speechless as all you could do was look her in the eyes. You were stunned, you really had the most beautiful person in existence sitting here speaking good things about you, what did you ever do to get this lucky. Wait, maybe this was exactly what you should say, this is what you were feeling in the moment and Doyeon did say to speak from the heart. So that's exactly what you did, you didn't notice the moment where your inner thoughts became you're own dialogue.

"Doyeon, I don't know what I did to get lucky enough to have the most beautiful person in existence tell me good things about myself. My whole life I've been having to put up with being treated like garbage and like I was never good enough. I've gone through times where I just wanted to give up completely but now I'm glad I never did since I get to sit with you in this car in this moment of time. You've made all that worth going through."

Doyeon's smile made you finally breakout of your trance. "Wow.. Now you see how easy that was."

"I said all that.." You pulled your hand away from Doyeon to put it over your mouth in shock, "Out loud..?"

"Yes, you did. And I'm very glad you did."

You shook your head, "I've got to go, you're going to drive me insane." You reached for the handle and opened the door. "Bye Doyeon," You got out and stood by the door, "Drive safely and have a good night. Bye!" Before she could even say anything you had closed the door and ran towards your house.

Doyeon let out a small laugh in disbelief as she placed her hands on the steering wheel. "That girl doesn't even realize the effect she has on me." Doyeon shook her head, small smirk on her face, "I'm going to get her to fall in love with me."

_

"Uh big sis.."

"Yes Sun-hee..?" You finished putting on your school uniform and you were about to head out for the morning.

"Um.. Come here." Sun-hee motioned for you to come over to the window.

"What is it Sun-hee..? This better be important because you still need to finish your breakfast and get ready for school." You walked over to where she was. "What am I supposed to be looking at..?" You looked at wherever Sun-hee was pointing too and that's when you saw what she was talking about. "Oh my god, this girl is going to drive me insane." Doyeon was outside standing by her car.