Chapter Text
“I knew I was right”.
Seoyeon has cooked for a few people before. However, that was hardly the first thing someone said after trying her food, so she obviously doesn’t understand and gives Yeji a confused look.
“About what?”
Yeji smiles slightly as she eats some more.
“You underestimate your own abilities. This is really good.”
“Oh.”
Seoyeon's face heats up and she rolls her eyes to pretend she didn’t liked the compliment, but her content expression makes her true feelings quite obvious.
“I'm glad you liked it. What do you want to watch?”
Seoyeon grabs the remote and starts scrolling through some series and movie titles, while Yeji is torn between eating and observing.
“Hmm… series or movie?”
“I’m fine with either.”
They end up deciding on a random romantic comedy movie, just so they could have something playing while they eat.
It’s a Sunday night, a week after their first date, and Seoyeon is thankful that Yooyeon has something to do late at night and she can arrange to cook for Yeji without worrying about how awkward it would be to have the two of them in the same space.
The week has gone by quickly for Seoyeon. Between work and college, she hasn’t had much time to do or think about anything else, and all the situations regarding her love life have been put on hold because of that. Sure, she still texted Yeji on a few days and also had the usual awkward situations with Yooyeon (like on Friday, when she got home just in time to see another woman she didn’t even know leaving the apartment), but she hasn’t done anything about it. She’s so tired that doing something isn’t even part of her plans, at least not yet.
That’s why spending time with Yeji was the best possible idea for the weekend, since Seoyeon can afford not to think when she’s with her. Even though it's hard and Yooyeon pops into her head from time to time, it's better than being alone or next to the source of her problems. And since Kim was going to spend the whole day away from home, Seoyeon considered it a push from the universe.
Who knows, maybe it's a message that I should invest in Yeji and stop suffering for Yooyeon, she thinks randomly, not in a very cheerful way. She's still confused about how long this will work, but at least Yeji is nice and doesn't pressure her in any way. Talking to her is easy and being with her is even easier.
Seoyeon realizes, between one thought and another, that she's already lost in the movie plot. She takes advantage of the fact that the two have already finished eating to take the dishes away, returning to sit next to Yeji right after. It doesn't take long for her partner for the night to approach, rest her head on her shoulder and wrap her arms around her. Seoyeon is a little embarrassed by the proximity, but she doesn't dislike it. It's been a few months since she was this intimate with someone, and it would be a lie for her to say she doesn't miss it. And, of course, it's easy to get carried away with Yeji.
So it's no surprise when Seoyeon feels her body relax and lets herself be enveloped by Yeji’s touch. They stay like that for a good few minutes, even though Seoyeon has trouble paying attention to anything other than the proximity between their bodies, the way Yeji's breathing close to her neck makes her shiver, the way her mind and hands seem less and less inclined to keep control.
It's hard to tell who moves first; if it's Yeji who lifts her head to get closer or if it's Seoyeon who pulls her by the chin until their lips touch. It all happens so fast, in such a needy way, as if both need this more than breathing. Yeji takes control, pressing her body against Seoyeon's, invading her mouth with her tongue, surprising her with the amount of desire she shows.
Seoyeon melts, moans when Yeji bites her lip, lets her hand go to her waist, lifts her blouse, feels the softness of her skin and wonders if Yooyeon's skin is as soft as hers, if kissing Yooyeon is better than kissing Yeji, if feeling Yooyeon's body pressed against hers would make her even more horny, if…
Seoyeon suddenly pulls away when she realizes what she's doing, her breathing uneven and her eyes frightened. Yeji stares at her, full of desire and her hands still holding Seoyeon's collar, ready to pull her back.
"Ye-Yeji, I..." Seoyeon begins, trying to find the right words, but is interrupted when Yeji approaches again, getting close enough for their breathing to mingle.
"I don't care what you're thinking," she says, her gaze fixed on Seoyeon's mouth. "If you don't care what I'm thinking either, just keep kissing me."
Seoyeon's words escape her, and she remembers that, like it or not, they're both in this for the same reason. She stands up. Without thinking much and ignoring Yeji's confused look, she grabs her by the wrist and goes to her own bedroom.
Before closing the door, Seoyeon takes off one of her bracelets and puts it on the doorknob.
[...]
Yooyeon should have expected that outcome after arriving home and seeing a bracelet on Seoyeon's doorknob, but a part (perhaps quite hopeful) of her is still surprised when she finds Yeji making breakfast the next day.
"Good morning," she greets with a smile, and Yooyeon struggles not to grimace when she sees her. It's not that she doesn't like Yeji, she just finds it strange that she's still there.
Anyway, it's not her problem.
"Good morning," Yooyeon answers, her voice tone colder than she intended. "Do you want help with that?"
"Sure. Thanks."
Breakfast is simple, so it's not hard to make or help Yeji finish. Yooyeon does her best to ignore the strange feeling rising in her throat every time her eyes meet Yeji, because she doesn't even understand what she's feeling.
When they're almost done with breakfast, Seoyeon appears.
"Good morning!" She opens her signature ‘just woke up’ smile and Yooyeon beams back without realizing it because Seoyeon smiling is a beautiful sight that she loves to see every morning.
However, when she sees how Seoyeon's gaze seems more focused on Yeji, something in Yooyeon withers without her understanding why. The smile that she usually likes to see in the morning looks strange now, something that causes an annoying knot in her stomach.
When she sees Yeji and Seoyeon get closer to each other, she looks away, imagining that they are going to kiss, which seems like something too intimate for Yooyeon to stare at. She doesn't know if it actually happens, but the thought that they are kissing right in front of her, even if it is brief, makes her a little nauseous.
It's strange because Yooyeon isn't much of a nauseous person, but the presence of Yeji and Seoyeon in the kitchen next to her only bothers her as time passes, as if she’s witnessing something that her being wants to stay as far away from as possible. That's why she eats as quickly as she can, avoiding looking at or interacting with either of them, and goes to finish getting ready for college at once.
Of course, Yeji and Seoyeon will still be there when she's done, and they'll most likely be going with her to college. Because of that, and also because Seoyeon is her roommate and Yeji is her possible future girlfriend, Yooyeon hopes that this bad feeling when she looks at and thinks about the two of them will pass soon, because it doesn't even make sense.
She met Yeji before and liked her. And Seoyeon, of course, is a good friend of hers. Why is she so bothered by them being together?
Yoyeon has no idea. And she just gets more and more irritated, because the thoughts won't leave her head and this anger doesn't make any sense.
[...]
Seoyeon tries not to find the situation weird, she really tries. But when she gets into an elevator with Yeji, Yooyeon, Nakyoung and Dahyun, the whole sequence from the night before seems a little too crazy for her brain to keep up properly. It doesn't help that Dahyun and Nakyoung keep glancing suggestively at Seoyeon and Yeji's holding hands, much less the irritated expression on Yooyeon's face, which Seoyeon doesn’t understand the reason.
Is she having some issues at college or didn’t get a good night’s sleep? Normally, even though she hates waking up early, Yooyeon tends to be a little more smiley and talkative, so it's strange to see her so serious. Yeji doesn't help either, as she's quieter and more thoughtful than usual, and Seoyeon is curious about it too.
Of course, there's not much room to have this kind of conversation in an elevator with two of her friends being the dumbest people in the world. So, as soon as they step out onto the street, Seoyeon slows down enough for the two clowns to move forward with Yooyeon. She's still worried about her roommate, but it's easier to deal with Yeji first.
"Is everything okay? You've been quiet for a while now," Seoyeon says, hoping that this isn't pushing a limit on their relationship. Although, considering the night before, she's not sure if there's still any line to cross.
"Huh?" Yeji blinks before turning to her and giving her a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm just... thinking. I noticed something this morning."
"Hm? What?" Seoyeon raises an eyebrow, curious about what made Yeji so silent.
"The girl you like..." she starts, uncertain whether to continue. "...is Yooyeon, isn't it?"
Seoyeon's pace slows down again when she hears this. Of course, Nakyoung, Dahyun and Yooyeon are too far ahead to hear the conversation, but she is still wary of the possibility.
"Yes. How do you know?" Seoyeon has no worries about telling Yeji, but she is surprised to hear her laugh.
"Seo, as someone who has experience in these situations, I must say that sometimes obvious things happen in front of us and we don't notice. You know that too, don't you?"
Seoyeon frowns, confused by where the conversation is going.
"I guess so...? What are you talking about?"
Yeji laughs again and nothing makes sense in Seoyeon's head.
"You're being slow again," she states and shakes her head, which leaves Seoyeon shocked. "Don't you think Yooyeon is acting a little strange today?"
"Huh?" Again, Seoyeon feels like she's missed some very important context in the conversation, because she isn’t understanding a damn thing. “Yes, I could tell, I was even wondering if she is having some kind of problem at college…”
Yeji lets out another giggle. “Seoyeon! Did you really not see the way she looked at us all morning?!”
“Huh? What way?” Seoyeon gets worried, because she really didn't expect the reason for Yooyeon's bad mood to be related to them. There's an almost certainty inside her that Yeji is mistaken, but the tiny bit of doubt is enough to make her curious.
“She's jealous, Seoyeon. Of us. Of you.”
Seoyeon stops walking the moment she hears the sentence. Yeji stops too and stares at her with an empathetic look.
“…What?”
“Look, I understand that it must be hard for you to believe, but I'm telling you what I saw today. I've met Yooyeon a few times and she's never looked at me like that before, and the only thing that's different from other times to today is that I'm with you. So, seriously, if you have another explanation for this, you can try to convince me if you want, but I don't see any other reason for her to be so bothered by me or you.”
Seoyeon doesn't say anything. First, because she's too shocked to open her mouth. Second, because her head can't come up with any plausible arguments to counter what Yeji is saying. So she stands there, replaying the whole morning in her head while asking herself if it's possible that Yeji is right, that Yooyeon was — is — jealous of her, that Yooyeon perhaps has feelings for her.
What would Seoyeon do if the answer was “yes”?
“Last week, you said that you can't like Yooyeon,” Yeji continues, holding both of Seoyeon's hands to force her to focus on what she's saying. “I don't know why you think that way, and it's okay if you don't want to say it. But I can't see this situation in front of me, see you waste your chance to be with the person you like, and not say anything. You're amazing, Seo, and meeting you for these two weeks was enough for me to know that you're one of the nicest people I've ever met. I have no idea of what's stopping you from pursuing this, but, in my opinion, I believe you deserve to be happy now, regardless of what this problem is. And we both know that you'd be much happier with Yooyeon than just hanging out with me.”
Seoyeon closes her eyes and lets out a laugh full of disbelief and uncertainty once Yeji finishes talking. When she opens them again, a weird and crooked smile is displayed on her face.
"You're very kind, Yeji. Thank you. Let's just... go, okay? I can't be late today."
Yeji nods, and continues to hold her hand the rest of the way. Their conversation took long enough for Nakyoung, Dahyun and Yooyeon to disappear from their sights, but Seoyeon doesn't mind it even when she separates from Yeji. After all, she has a lot on her mind and just trying to stop thinking about it to focus on class will be hard enough.
And as she approaches her classroom, something inside her stirs as she continues to think about her situation with Yooyeon.
Something new.
A feeling of… hope.
[...]
“I say it was Mrs. Peacock in the lounge with… the knife!” Jiyeon exclaims with conviction, and the other four exchange glances among themselves, waiting for someone to show a card to contradict her statement.
“Nobody has anything?” Kotone asks, a grimace on her face. Since no one has evidence to contradict Jiyeon’s claim, the japanese woman sighs and picks up the card with the answer to the round’s mystery. ”Mrs. Peacock… lounge… knife.”
“YES!” Jiyeon celebrates with a victory dance while the rest of the girls complain and start shuffling the cards again. “I’m on a roll tonight! Maybe I should become a detective?”
“I wouldn’t trust you to solve a real murder, much less walk around with a gun,” Kaede retorts, and Jiyeon pouts, which is completely ignored.
Seoyeon laughs at the interaction, her hands busy rearranging the board to start another round. She's usually the best at this game (and many others), but her mind is a little distracted today and she already let the chance to win pass by several times. Her friends don't seem to notice, at least.
“Hey, Seo, are you okay?”
…Or at least that's what she thought. Seoyeon raises her head and looks at Dahyun, the person who asked. All of her friends are looking at her, though, which makes her a little uneasy.
“Y-Yes… why?”
“You’re putting the pawns in the wrong places,” Kotone points out, nodding to the board.
“Not to mention that you've been all distracted all night,” Kaede concludes, her gaze worried. “Are you tired or something? I know we only had tonight available, but if it's too tiring for you, go get some rest.”
Seoyeon sighs, considering what she should answer. Sure, wednesday night isn't exactly the best time for a college student and part-time worker to have a game night with her friends, but she wasn't that tired, at least not physically. Her real problem is something else, something that she's been thinking about sharing with her oldest friends for some time.
Maybe this is it.
"It's… well, I… I'm in love."
At a similar time to when Seoyeon decides to confess, a person upstairs who is also gathered with her friends says something that catches the attention of those present:
"I think I hate Seoyeon."
Sohyun, Xinyu, Nakyoung and Mayu stare at Yooyeon in complete surprise.
"Huh? Why?" Mayu asks, a piece of kimchi halfway to her mouth.
"I can't explain it." Yooyeon shrugs. "Lately I've just been feeling weird around her. Something bad, it's hard to say."
"And what are you doing about it? Like, you live together. Isn't that weird?" Nakyoung asks with a concerned look.
“Yeah, kinda. I've been avoiding her, but that’s obviously abnormal. I don't know what to do besides this, I just can't be the same around her anymore.”
“Does she bother you or something?” Sohyun suggests, trying to understand her friend's feelings.
“Yah, Seoyeon’s an angel!” Xinyu defends. “She wouldn’t be a bother to anyone!”
“You don't know, you don't live with her. Maybe it's different.”
“It's not,” Yooyeon replies. — She never treated me differently or badly, I just... It’s a personal thing, I think. It's annoying.”
Her friends remain silent, pondering the situation.
“Do you know when this started?” Mayu asks, and Yooyeon doesn't even need to think much.
“Last week. Monday, to be precise.”
“What was different on monday?”
“Well…” Yooyeon makes a weird face, suddenly embarrassed to say that out loud, even without knowing why. But she doesn't even need to, because Nakyoung soon remembers something.
"Yeji?" she says, frowning. "Yeji was there on monday, wasn't she? She was with Seoyeon." Everyone looks at Yooyeon in shock, who feels her face turn red. Why do I feel like I'm being judged?
"I guess so…?" she mumbles, embarrassed to confirm that yes, maybe it was Yeji's presence that made her feel so weird about Seoyeon.
Suddenly, Xinyu and Nakyoung start laughing. Sohyun and Mayu just stare at her in disbelief, the japanese also on the verge of laughter.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Sohyun sighs and shakes her head, which makes Mayu laugh a little.
"Wow, Yooyeon, I know you're kind of an idiot with feelings, but isn't this a bit too much?" she mocks, and Yooyeon only gets more confused.
“Are you guys going to say what you're thinking or are you just going to laugh?”
Nakyoung and Xinyu giggle even more, and not even Mayu can hold it in this time. Sohyun lets out a short incredulous laugh, but holds it in to look at her friend.
“Yooyeon, you dumbass. You don’t hate Seoyeon, you’re jealous of her.”
Yooyeon's eyes widen.
“What?!”
A floor below, Seoyeon's friends' reactions to her confession are a little suspicious, as they all exchange somewhat embarrassed glances.
“So, Seo…” Dahyun begins, her gaze avoiding Seoyeon's. “Maybe I told Kae about Yeji…”
“And maybe I told them both…” Kaede finishes with a weak and shy smile.
Seoyeon looks at them and sprays out a loud laugh.
“Oh, only you guys to make me laugh when I’m confessing,” she states after holding in her laughter, with her friends a little confused.
Seoyeon takes a deep breath and tries to control her trembling hands, as well as the cowardice that insists on living in her throat. Ever since Yeji caused that spark of hope in her, she has been trying to come to terms with the idea that it is possible to be with Yooyeon. And since then, her fear and shame of admitting certain things are decreasing with each passing day, although it is still difficult to say out loud.
“It's Yooyeon. Yeji... has nothing to do with this.”
Her four friends express different reactions of shock and surprise. Kaede lets out a loud "eh?!", Dahyun widens her eyes, Kotone chokes on air and Jiyeon just looks in disbelief.
“Huh?! But aren’t you going out with Yeji?!!
“Yeah... but that's all. We're friends, she also knows that I like Yooyeon.”
“Wow…” Kotone scratches her head, recovered from the shock. “I wasn't expecting this plot twist.”
“Me neither,” Seoyeon agrees, and they all laugh.
“So you're distracted because of that?” Dahyun returns to the subject, the board game already forgotten among them. Gossip is more important. (And their friend's well-being too.)
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Wait.” Jiyeon calls everyone's attention, her gaze turning to Seoyeon. “Why are you going out with Yeji instead of Yooyeon?”
In Nakyoung's apartment, unknowing that she’s the theme of Seoyeon and her friends' talk, Yooyeon is in denial while her own friends laugh at her. Except for Sohyun, she is just disappointed with her friend.
“Stop laughing! Me liking Seoyeon doesn't even make sense!“ she complains.
“Then why did you think of her?” Sohyun retorts, her eyebrow raised. “I just said you are jealous of her, but it could be because you like Yeji. Funny that you thought about Seoyeon immediately…”
“Don't even try to play these mind games with me, Sohyun. It's obvious that you implied that I like Seoyeon and that doesn't make sense.” Sohyun snorts and pulls Xinyu by the arm towards Yooyeon.
“I ran out of patience, put some sense into this empty head of hers,” she asks, to which the Chinese girl has to make an effort to stop laughing before looking at her friend.
“Okay, okay. Phew, that was a good laugh. Come on, let's get to business now: why doesn't it make sense for you to like Seoyeon?”
“Because… it doesn't! She's too…” Yooyeon has trouble finding the right words, and the others wait for her to continue. “…too perfect! She's not my type, you know?”
“Seoyeon is what? Can you repeat that? I don't think I got it right,” Xinyu teases and Yooyeon grunts in frustration.
“Okay, I’ll help this poor idiot and admit that she has a point,” Nakyoung speaks before anyone else. “Yooyeon either hooks up with the most crazy and unpleasant woman in history or a super nice girly girl. Seoyeon doesn't fit into any option.”
“That doesn't mean it can't be different this time. Besides, other girls she hooks up are just that, right? Hookups. Seoyeon is different, it seems. Have you ever felt this way about someone before? Have you ever been in love?”
Yooyeon frowns. “Love? No, I don't think so.”
“Oh, so that's why you're denying it so much.” Mayu laughs softly and shakes her head. “You have no idea what it's like to be in love, do you?”
The question is enough to make Yooyeon speechless, her face a little red.
“Are you happy when you're by her side?”
“Do you miss her when you're away?”
“Do you get angry when you think of her with someone else?”
“Stop!” Yooyeon exclaims, interrupting her friends' sequence. “I'm going crazy already!”
Her friends start to suppress their laughs again, but none of them say anything while Yooyeon takes a deep breath and composes herself.
“Let's change the subject, okay?! I don't want to talk about this anymore!” she decides and the four of them shrug and nod at her.
“It's up to you. But don't be annoying to Seo, okay? She's too sweet for that,” Sohyun warns, to which Yooyeon rolls her eyes and sighs.
“I won't…”
While Yooyeon recovers from her outburst and tries to gather her thoughts, Seoyeon is at Dahyun’s apartment, considering whether she should tell her friends everything.
Their curious eyes stare at her after Jiyeon’s question, and she knows there’s no reason to keep what’s on her mind bottled up. Even if she tried to argue with herself about the benefits of talking or not, she’d probably lose that fight, so she ends up letting out what she can. (Not everything. She can’t say everything.)
“I didn’t have the… courage to try with Yooyeon,” she admits, taking a moment to gather the strength to continue. “It might be a stupid reason, but… I fought so hard to move out, to be a little more independent and get this life I have now, and Yooyeon should be part of it as a roommate, you know? That’s all. And I keep thinking… if I get involved and it becomes more than that, if it ends up going wrong, this whole life I have now will fall apart. I'll have to move or she'll look for another place, which will make me feel like shit, or maybe we'll end up living together in a terrible way because we don't know how to live as a couple or as friends anymore and…” Seoyeon stops and takes a deep breath when she realizes she's already vented enough, letting out a long sigh. “Anyway, I don't know if I'm ready to deal with another big change. Moving out, starting college... it's been too much. Trying to date and, heck, breaking up? I don't know if I want that.”
“You're being negative again, Seo,” Jiyeon notices, smiling.
“Huh? I'm not negative.” Her friends laugh as if it were a joke, and Seoyeon rolls her eyes.
“Remember how you felt after you graduated from high school?” Kotone says. “You were planning what you would do with your life if you didn't get into college before you even took the test.”
“I was just preparing myself for the worst!” Dahyun laughs at the answer, while Kaede rolls her eyes.
“Seo, being prepared is very different from what you do. Sometimes it seems like you want the worst option to happen just so you can use your plans.”
“That's true.” Jiyeon nods and holds Seoyeon's hand. “Look, you've always been very mature and taken all the responsibilities upon yourself. I understand that. But you're still young, Seo. Isn't it time to take some risks and just... see where it goes?”
Seoyeon looks at Jiyeon's hand in hers and almost laughs at the irony of her high school crush advising her to go ahead with her new love — not that Jiyeon even knows that, of course. Still, it's something so curious that Seoyeon wonders if it's not some higher power out there trying to send a message for her to not miss the chance this time.
“Let's play another round,” Seoyeon states, giving Jiyeon a smile before letting go of her hand. “I need to beat you guys at least once or my reputation will go down the drain.”
“What reputation? Being an idiot?”
“Shut up, Dahyun.”
The girls laugh and Kotone starts dealing the cards. Seoyeon rearranges the board, this time making sure that each piece goes in the right place. None of them mentions a word about Yooyeon for the rest of the night, and Seoyeon is glad to have friends who understand her so well and always try to help her.
The hard part is following their advice.
[...]
Seoyeon is surprised by how quiet Yooyeon is for the next week. She has been a bit weird ever since the day Yeji slept over at the apartment (Seoyeon still doesn't believe it's jealousy, but the spark of hope is there), and would barely be at home or spend some nights locked in her own room or just not talk to Seoyeon like she used to.
However, after wednesday, Yooyeon stopped running away. She went back to her usual routine of spending her nights in the living room, using her laptop or watching something on TV, and she no longer seemed to be escaping Seoyeon, but also didn't talk much. She usually stayed quiet, and every now and then Seoyeon felt like she was being stared at, never knowing if it was her imagination or if something was really happening.
Perhaps because of Yooyeon's abnormal behavior or maybe because she was still shaking off the remnants of her fear, Seoyeon couldn't do anything about the situation until friday of the following week. In the meantime, she went on with her life as best as she could, doing her college work, being a good employee, updating her friends on the situation, and even going out with Yeji again — just as friends this time. It was a good distraction, and the opinions of others only served to make her more determined little by little, until the night she came home with some bags in her hand and grinned at the Yooyeon sitting on the couch.
"Wanna cook with me?"
There’s silence. But Yooyeon smiles back, nods, and stands up, and the two of them walk into the kitchen without another word.
Seoyeon discovers that she enjoys doing anything with Yooyeon. No, actually, she already knew that, but that time spent cooking is a greater proof than all the others. There’s happiness inside her every minute, every time she has to explain to Yooyeon again what she should do, every time a laugh escapes when she sees her do something with her crooked coordination, every time she manages to take a break and admire her concentrated expression.
“Hey, um…” Yooyeon calls her attention, her voice a little wary. “Am I doing this right…?”
Seoyeon’s gaze drifts to the way she’s holding the knife and trying to cut the carrot, and a déjà vu almost makes her laugh.
There’s no fear when she approaches Yooyeon and holds her hand to demonstrate how she should be doing the movements.
“It's amazing that you don't cut yourself every time with the way you hold the knife,” she jokes, a slight smile on her face. “Do you understand how to do it?”
Seoyeon turns her head and, this time, she isn't scared by the proximity between them. She keeps smiling while admiring Yooyeon's details and lingers as long as she can in her eyes, perhaps trying to say something to her silently or perhaps because she finds her eyes beautiful.
“Your turn,” she whispers, stepping back just enough to let Yooyeon's hand do the work on its own. The proximity is still there, and Seoyeon watches as she adjusts her posture and cuts the carrot. “Uh-huh, just try using this for all the vegetables, instead of going back to the old posture every time you cut something different.”
Yooyeon smiles at the provocation and gives her roommate a quick glance.
“Maybe I like when you teach me.”
Seoyeon looks at her a little surprised and then laughs lightly, her stomach covered by butterflies.
“Then I'll teach you as many times as you want.”
A smile remains on both faces even when they stop looking at each other and go back to cooking. Seoyeon feels her body tingling with an excitement she's only experienced a few times before, and she really likes it.
At dinner time, while Yooyeon is looking for a movie to watch, Seoyeon gathers her courage once more.
“Hey,” she calls, waiting for Yooyeon's attention to fix on her before continuing. “You've been acting a little strange lately... I don't really know why and it's your business that I don't want to intrude on, but I thought we could... hang out tomorrow. I was recommended a nice confectionery nearby and there are some interesting shops that I've been wanting to check out for a while. Just to distract you from whatever’s bothering you... and also because I'd like your company.”
Seoyeon tries to smile as sweetly and confidently as possible, even though she's a little apprehensive and afraid of getting a negative response. Yooyeon takes a moment, her initially lost gaze soon focusing on her roommate.
“Just us?”
Seoyeon's throat goes dry at the question. Gosh, she can't remember the last time she was this nervous just talking to someone.
“Yes. Just us.”
Once again, it takes a few seconds, but Yooyeon shows a soft smile and nods.
“Okay. Thank you for worrying, Seo.”
A sense of relief washes over Seoyeon's entire body, which immediately relaxes at the positive feedback. She lets an even more genuine smile take over her face.
“Always, Yoo.”