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"Hold still, would you?" Jiwoo bristles as she attempts to zip up the tedious bunny suit. Some of the fur gets caught in the zipper, causing it to get stuck and for Jiwoo to let out a string of curses under her breath. "Ugh, how cheaply made was this thing?"
Heejin shrugs as Jiwoo finally manages to get the zipper to the top. "Dunno. Ask Sooyoung, she was the one who bought this."
Jiwoo blushes at the mention of their managers' name—who only happened to be a few years older than both of them—focusing her attention on fixing the fabric on the giant bunny head.
Heejin rolls her eyes good-naturedly. She pats her blushing friend's hand. "I think it was off some sketchy cosplay website; you know, the kind where it opens some random page whenever you click on it?"
"Mm, sounds about right."
Heejin grabs the mascot helmet from Jiwoo and slots it onto her head, scrunching her face at how snuggly it fits around her face.
Since their station was in the very inconvenient location by one of the exits, they had no break room or even a locker for their belongings. This meant that she had to change in the grimy mall bathroom that reeked of old urine and disinfectant spray.
She stares at herself in the smudged mirror hanging precariously on the tile wall. The eye slits might be small, but she can still clearly see how ridiculous she looks. She sees Jiwoo stifling a laugh beside her, gnawing on her lower lip. Heejin sends her a glare, making Jiwoo lose her composure and let out a loud bark of laughter.
"Sorry Heejin, I just don't think I'll ever get over how hilarious that suit is," she giggles, pulling out her cell phone to snap a picture of her displeased friend. "Say I love the Easter bunny!"
Heejin stares at her, unamused, as she hears several camera shutter sounds coming out of the brunette's phone.
"Let's just get this over with," she mumbles, pushing open the bathroom door with her paw.
Her slippers clacked loudly on the floor as she padded over to the seat decorated with green, yellow, and bright blue ribbons with a large banner that read, "Happy Easter!" in some obnoxious font from Google Docs.
Her blue-haired coworker who was the designated photographer and was currently fiddling with the camera stand, waves and grins at her.
"Hey! Ready for another day of parents forcing their screaming children onto your lap to take hideous pictures that will be forever displayed on their mantle?"
Heejin lets out a pained laugh, settling herself on the firm wooden bench that was buried in artificial flowers. "Ready as I'll ever be, Jinsol unnie."
Initially, when she had applied for a job at the local mall, she had been disappointed to find out she'd be working as a life-size rabbit who took pictures with frightened children rather than at the cupcake stand next to Starbucks. But in the end, she accepted that her dream of twenty dollars an hour and free cupcakes would never be a reality.
Her zoning out is interrupted by the sound of a young child squealing excitedly near their stand. She readies herself, smoothing out the front of the suit and adjusting the head to a more comfortable position. She can see a small girl in a cute purple dress tugging an older girl by the hand towards them. The older girl looked around her age and was possibly a little bit taller than herself, although it might have just looked like that since the small girl next to her couldn't have been above four feet tall.
She can hear the young girl babbling on and on as her sister pats her on the head. "Alright, alright, I'll get you one. Just be patient with me, okay?" The girl nods enthusiastically as the older girl pulls out her wallet and approaches Jiwoo who was waiting patiently at the desk in front of the station.
"Uhm, how much would one picture cost?"
Jiwoo grins at her and holds up a paper that has the prices listed on it.
"Ten bucks for one picture, or twenty-five for three!"
The girl makes an "o" shape with her mouth and nods. "We'll take one then, please." She pulls out a crisp ten-dollar bill from her wallet.
Jiwoo takes it from her and places it inside the cash register. "Awesome, would you like it framed or with any of the filters? I can show you examples if you'd like," Jiwoo offers. The girl shakes her head, smiling warmly.
"No, I think we're alright," she stares fondly at the young girl who had already begun bounding towards Heejin. "Yerim loves the Easter bunny so much; I think just a plain picture with it would make her happy."
Jiwoo coos at her kindness towards the small girl named Yerim. "Aww, that's so sweet. You're such a kind...?"
"Sister," the girl adds quickly. "She's my baby sister. Not my daughter." She laughs awkwardly as if she had been asked this question many times.
Heejin takes this time to really observe the girl. She has round, doe-like eyes that sparkle like the ocean, perfect cheekbones, and flawless pale skin that doesn't have even a trace of a breakout. Her outfit is a canary yellow sweater that has long sleeves that cover her hands and some high-waisted blue jeans. Pretty, Heejin thinks. Then she makes an alarming discovery. Wait, isn't that the girl from civics? If she remembers correctly, that was beautiful girl was Kim Hyunjin, the captain of the varsity soccer team and had the whole school groveling at her feet for her attention. Hyunjin never gave in to any of it, though; always turning down the long line of suitors and the party invites. It mystified Heejin. She had a rather small friend group despite her popularity and usually kept to herself. She was also undeniably pretty; her feline eyes, pale skin, and dreamy smile made it understandable that so many people wanted her heart. She was truly the whole package.
"Cool, cool," Jiwoo responds, smiling. "Alright! Let's get started then, shall we?"
Heejin watches as Yerim climbs onto the bench next to her and settles onto her thigh. The girl weighed about as much as a throw pillow.
She could feel Hyunjin's wary stare burning into her, understandably so, considering she was just a stranger in a bunny costume whose lap her younger sister was sitting on. Heejin tries to send her a reassuring grin, but then she remembers she can't see her face. She turns back to Yerim and pats her shoulder softly.
"Hi—"
But she stops herself, remembering to pitch up her normally low voice to the cheerful work tone she used to calm kids down. Her natural tone of voice sometimes scared them.
"Sorry about that, but anyway, hi! It's Yerim, right?" she asks, seeing the sister's shoulders relax slightly at the discovery that Heejin was a girl and not some creepy old man.
Yerim nods elatedly. "Yeah! And that's my sister Hyunjin over there." She points at the girl watching them closely. Heejin nods, even though she knew that already. "She finally agreed to let me get a picture today. I have been begging all week!"
Heejin chuckles, imagining the girl constantly nagging her sister. "Well, I'm so glad I got to meet you," she says, looking up at Jinsol who gave her the thumbs up that meant she was ready to take the picture. "Alright, are you ready? Jinsol over there says we’re all clear for the picture."
She grins brightly, which Heejin took as a yes, and turns toward the camera.
"Okay, I'm taking the photo now, say 'Happy Easter!"
"Happy Easter!"
When they hear the click of the camera and Jinsol's hum of satisfaction, Heejin relaxes her posture and high fives Yerim.
"Awesome job! I bet the photo turned out great," she says as Yerim excitedly hops off her leg and runs toward her sister to tackle her legs into a hug.
"Can we put it on my shelf?" Yerim asks expectantly. Hyunjin pats her head and nods.
"Of course, we can, Yerimie. Now, how about you say thank you to..." she pauses, waiting for Heejin to say her name.
"Oh! It's Heejin."
"Thanks, Heejin!" Yerim calls as she's dragged away by Hyunjin. "Can we come back next week?"
Hyunjin chuckles, holding the small girl's hand gently. "We'll see."
Heejin really hopes they come back.
***
And sure enough, the duo shows up at the same time the next week.
Unfortunately for Heejin, the moment they show up is when she has her mask off and is downing a twenty-four-ounce Red Bull like she hadn't had anything to drink in weeks.
Hyunjin clears her throat, prompting Heejin to turn around and choke on her energy drink when she sees who it is. Hyunjin stands, this time wearing a pastel-yellow hoodie and gray sweatpants, and somehow manages to still look stunning even in such casual apparel.
Heejin laughs awkwardly, tossing the empty can into the nearest recycling bin. Hyunjin has an odd expression that looks like a mixture of shock, bewilderment, and...bashfulness?
"H-hey there, Hyunjin. Fancy seeing you here..." she attempts to lean against the poles of the rope walkway but fails and misses it by a foot. Hyunjin laughs, and Heejin decides that is her new favorite sound. She wonders if it would be creepy to ask her to record it as her ringtone. Oh my god, you weirdo, stop thinking about these things! Heejin thinks, blushing bright pink.
Hyunjin glances down at her watch. "Well, I promised Yerim we'd come back, but it seems she's run off with one of her friends." The soccer player glances around her, Yerim nowhere in sight.
She looks back up and locks eyes intensely with Heejin.
"Huh." Hyunjin continues to stare at her, confusing Heejin greatly. "Not gonna lie, this is not what I expected you to look like."
"Oh, uhm, cool?"
A look of realization dawns on Hyunjin's face as she quickly backpedals. "No, wait! I meant it in a good way. Like, I thought you were going to be some middle-aged white woman or something, but I definitely didn't expect you to look like a runaway Urban Outfitter's model."
Heejin gapes at her. "Is that how I sound?? Like an old white lady?"
"No— yes? I guess I just didn't expect you to look like that."
"And 'that' being...?"
Hyunjin groans, burying her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I meant I wasn't expecting the mall easter bunny to be so young and pretty." She mumbles the last part as if to try and keep Heejin from hearing it.
Heejin's eyes widen, heat crawling up her neck. Did Hyunjin just call her pretty?
"A-ah, okay. Thanks."
Hyunjin pauses momentarily, a lightbulb going off in her brain. "Wait. We go to school together, right? I swear I've seen you before." She rubs her chin as she appears to be deep in thought.
Heejin giggles anxiously. The Kim Hyunjin recognized her. "Yup, that is correct. We have civics together."
"Oh my god. Were you the one who fell from a tree that one time when we were sophomores?"
Heejin nods in embarrassment. It had been the first day of school in her sophomore year. She had been forced to walk to school after missing the bus because she had slept through every single one of her alarms.
"Mew."
Heejin glanced up, startled by the sound, and noticed a cat was sitting on one of the branches of a nearby tree.
"I'm late, there's no time for this," she mutters under her breath as she continues to jog. She can feel the cat's gaze on her.
"Mew."
"Fine! Alright, I'll help you. Just don't look at me like that." She sighs, slipping off her backpack. "Uh," Heejin came closer to the point where she was right beneath the cat. It seemed oddly calm for being almost ten feet off the ground, staring blankly down at her. "Did you want me to catch you or...?" she called, squinting her eyes in reaction to the bright sunlight that shone onto her.
"Mew."
"I don't know what that means."
"Mew."
"Okay...I'll just climb up there, then. Not sure how I'll get you down, though." She stared up at the tree, becoming more and more regretful by the minute. She ran her hand over the bark, glancing around a couple of times to make sure no one was watching, and then grabbed onto the lowest branch she could reach and attempted to pull herself up. Her biceps ached as she shimmied her way on top of the branch, ripping a hole in her shirt in the process. "Damnit, I literally bought this shirt yesterday."
After righting herself and standing up all the way, she glanced upwards towards the cat who was watching her struggle in amusement. So many branches. At this rate, she was going to miss her whole first period.
Once she finally reached the final rung, she managed to sit down on it next to the orange feline. "Hey buddy—"
But without even a second glance in Heejin's direction, the cat turned and hopped off the branch, landing gracefully on all fours.
Heejin gaped, jaw nearly hitting the ground. She couldn't believe she climbed all the way up there, just for the cat to jump off and be perfectly fine. She grumbled to herself, agitatedly, pulling out her phone to check the time. It was already thirty minutes into her first class, and she wasn't in any mood to go there quite yet.
Right as she was about to grab onto the trunk to climb down, she leaned a bit too far forward, losing her balance. The next thing she knew, she was falling from almost the top of the tree, face first towards the ground.
Shit, this is how I'm going to die. What a lame way to go.
She just hoped she'd be able to turn onto her back in time so she at least wouldn't get a mouth full of dirt.
When she woke up, she was in the infirmary with an ice pack sitting on her head and a paper-thin blanket draped over her. Her body ached as she tried to sit up. She gave up, laying back down. She stared up at the ceiling, wondering if she should call her mom to pick her up. She didn't think she had it in her to stay the rest of the school day.
Luckily, the nurse informed her later that she had only knocked the wind out of her lungs and hadn't broken anything, though she might have been mildly concussed. The nurse emailed her other teachers informing them that she wouldn't be present due to a minor injury, and Heejin got a good scolding from her mother in the car.
She sighed in defeat, only left with a hole in her shirt and a bruised butt.
"You heard about that...?" Heejin hides her face in embarrassment.
Hyunjin nods. "I was actually the one who carried you to the nurse's office," she says, laughing awkwardly. "I was on my way to school when a kitty came up to me and led me to your unconscious body lying in the middle of the grass."
Hyunjin glanced down when she felt something furry rub up against her leg. It was an orange cat.
"Hi there~" she cooed, scooping up the kitty. There was no collar around its neck. "Do you belong to someone?" That cat stared at her. "I'll take that as a no," she chuckled, setting it down gently onto the grass.
She watched as the cat took a couple of steps forward and then turned back to her. It did that several more times, mewling at her.
"Hmm, are you asking me to follow you?" Another mewl. "Okay, lead the way."
She followed close behind the cat, tilting her head in confusion as it led her in the other direction. Suddenly, the cat sprinted full speed away from her with Hyunjin trailing behind. She only barely managed to keep up, considering she ran a lot during soccer games and practices.
When the cat finally stopped, Hyunjin came to a halt, bent over and panting loudly. She glanced over to where that kitty had gone and saw a foot. She slapped her hand over her mouth, stopping herself from screaming. Had the cat led her to a dead body?
She took hesitant steps toward the unmoving figure, slightly regretting following the cat. When she got closer, she noticed that the person was wearing the same uniform as her.
The cat was perched on top of the girl's chest, prodding at her face–her very pretty face, as Hyunjin might add.
"Oh god, is she dead?" She bent down and placed two fingers on her neck. Luckily she felt a pulse. "Phew."
She thought for a moment, wondering if she should leave her there or bring her to school with her. She stared down at the girl, closely observing her face. She had beautiful, pale skin, a sharp nose, and she smelled like flowers. Her lips were parted slightly and Hyunjin wondered what it would feel like to kiss them.
She felt her face heat up and quickly looked away. Stop thinking about doing things! She decided to look through her backpack to see if she could find a student ID or something identifiable. She pulled out her wallet and luckily, her student ID was displayed right there in the front pocket. Jeon Heejin. Huh, pretty name for a pretty girl, Hyunjin thinks.
In the end, she went with the latter, hoisting her up into the bridal position. The girl stirred slightly, scrunching her eyebrows together. Cute, Hyunjin thought. She looked down at the cat one last time, smiling.
"Thanks, kitty."
She sighed and looked towards the road. This was going to be a long walk.
"Oh my god." Heejin buries her face in her hands from embarrassment.
The dark-haired girl laughs, patting Heejin's shoulder. "I was relieved to hear that you hadn't seriously injured yourself, though."
"My ego was injured instead."
Hyunjin tilts her head thoughtfully, as though she were thinking about something deeply. "I was going to check up on you later on, but you seemed so busy, and you were always surrounded by like half the girls in our grade that I never got the chance to talk to you," she confesses, fidgeting with her shirt. "You were always so popular."
Heejin gawks at her, unable to process what she was hearing.
"I was popular? Not only are you the captain of the soccer team, but you're also the top of our class in terms of grades. The entire student body loves you."
Heejin found it incredibly hard to believe that Hyunjin thought she was more popular than her. Or that she even would want to talk to someone as boring as herself.
"Half of the school wants to be you."
"The whole school wants to date you."
Hyunjin smirks, making the butterflies residing in Heejin's stomach go wild. "You included?"
Heejin blushes furiously, words unable to come out of her mouth. Right as she was about to contest that last statement, Yerim came barreling into Hyunjin's side.
"Yerimie! Where'd you go?" Hyunjin smiles at her younger sister who grins brightly at her, interlocking their fingers.
"I saw Yeojin from school! She was here with her sister, too," Yerim explains, pointing over to the small girl sitting on top of an older girl's shoulders. She turns back to face Heejin, her face showing visible confusion. "Who's this?"
Heejin chuckles. "Ah, right. I'm the bunny you took a photo with last week. I was just on break and took my head off." She points to the rabbit helmet sitting on the bench behind her. "I can put it back on if you'd like?"
Yerim shakes her head, her elated grin never leaving her face. "No, it's okay. You're very pretty."
Heejin blushes at the compliment. "Thanks, Yerim-ah."
"You're also exactly Unnie's ty—"
But before the small girl could finish her comment, her sister was already dragging her away by the arm.
"I think that's enough of that," she mumbles, her cheeks turning bright pink. "Bye Heekki, I'll see you at school!"
The nickname startles Heejin slightly as she waves goodbye to the two, feeling oddly energized.
***
True to her word, the next day, Hyunjin comes up to her seat in their civics class as soon as she enters the classroom and spots her.
"Hi Heekki!"
Heejin smiles up at her, only slightly startled. "Hey, Hyunjin. You're early today, usually I don't see you until like thirty seconds before class starts."
"I just wanted to confirm that you were actually in my class, and I guess it was correct!" she beams, her eyes turning into cute little crescents when she smiles. Heejin had to physically restrain herself from swooning at the sight. "I didn't realize you sat here."
"Yeah, since the beginning of the semester." Heejin can feel her close friend, Chaewon, eyeing her suspiciously at her side. She ignores it and returns her attention to the soccer player towering over her desk. "You probably didn't see me since you sit in the front."
Hyunjin nods, humming in agreement. There is snickering coming from some of the desks behind them. Hyunjin glares at whoever it was, the corners of her mouth turning downward in a scowl.
"Excuse me a moment, there are a couple people I need to go have a little chat with," she mutters, brushing past Heejin's desk quickly.
Once Hyunjin is out of earshot, Chaewon turns to her.
"Umm, since when does Hyunjin talk to you?"
Heejin swats her on the arm. "Hey! Are you saying I'm not cool enough for her to want to talk to me?"
Chaewon rolls her eyes at her, huffing. "No, dumbass. I meant that she doesn't usually talk to people outside her friend group. Did you secretly join the soccer team or something?"
"Yeah, right. You out of everyone should know how athletically challenged I am. Not even a pretty girl would be able to convince me to join a sports team of any sort."
"Then what is it?" Chaewon pushes, narrowing her eyes at the girl. "Also, Heekki? You're joking, right?"
Heejin sighs, stealing a glance back to where Hyunjin was standing, only to find that she had already been staring at Heejin along with a couple of her friends; one particularly scary-looking girl narrows her eyes at her.
"Okay, so last week she came to the mall with her sister—since I got a job as the easter bunny—and paid for a photo of me and her sister." Chaewon's eyes widen at the confession, but Heejin gestures for her to let her continue the story. "And then she came back yesterday with her sister and saw me while I was on my break without the bunny mask on. And then we chatted for a little bit, and she remembered that I was the one she carried to the infirmary when I fell out of that tree and—"
"—god, I remember that. I wish I had been there. To laugh at you." Another whack at her friend's arm.
"Shush, let me finish. And then I think she flirted with me? I'm not completely sure. It was a lot for my brain to handle."
Chaewon stares at her with an expression that looks like a combination of disbelief and amazement.
"Wow, Heejin, or should I say Heekki?" Chaewon snickers as the latter whines. "That's rather impressive, I must say. It's a shame you're too chicken to make any moves on her."
"You little—"
But she immediately shuts up the moment Hyunjin passes their desks, sending her a swoon-worthy smile as she sat down in preparation for class to begin. The heat travels from her neck to her ears within a second. She can feel Chaewon's amused and knowing gaze on her. "Oh, shut it."
***
Over the next couple of weeks, much to her relief, she doesn't see Hyunjin at the mall. She does, however, see her when she is dragged to one of their high school's soccer games by Chaewon.
"Ugh, why do I have to come with you?" Heejin whines as she starts the engine of her car. Chaewon pouts at her from the passenger seat.
"Because you're my best friend and I don't want to go alone."
"Remind me again why you are even going? Last time I checked, you hated watching sports."
Being friends since elementary school comes with its perks, including being able to notice little things and read the other person like an open book. The way Chaewon's eyes dart around the car or how she wrings her hands anxiously is a tell-tale sign that there's another reason behind it.
"Maybe I changed my mind," Chaewon replies, crossing her arms and staring out the window.
Heejin thinks for another moment before the realization hits her. "You like one of the soccer players."
Chaewon gawks at her, hands coming up to cover her blushing face.
"Wh—what makes you think that?!"
Heejin's smirk only grows wider as her best friend reddens. "Just an inkling. Who is it? It's not Hyunjin, right?"
"No, it's not. No need to worry," the blonde reassures, patting the suspicious girl's shoulder. "It's, um..."
Heejin waits for her to finish her sentence, in dire need of knowing who the object of her best friend's affection was.
"...it's a secret."
"Aww, c'mooon," Heejin prods, giving her best puppy dog eyes. "I swear I won't laugh or tell anyone. Pinky promise." She sticks out her finger with a determined expression. Chaewon laughs, shaking her head.
"Fine, it's Hyeju," she says in a quiet voice.
Heejin's jaw drops. "Hyeju? You mean Son Hyeju, star striker, resident ice queen, and Hyunjin's best friend?"
Chaewon nods, face still buried in her hands in embarrassment. Heejin rubs her chin with her thumb and index finger. It was an unusual pairing that she wouldn't have put together otherwise but now that she was thinking about it, it worked perfectly.
"Hm, good choice. I think you two would be very cute together," she says as she puts the car in park. The moment the vehicle stops moving, Chaewon pushes open the door and runs away towards the stands.
When the game starts, Heejin has no idea where to look. The ball is so tiny and there are so many bodies on the field at once that she sometimes has a hard time telling which team is which. Chaewon ditched her long ago to go stand in the student section and scream until her vocal cords snapped.
Suddenly, there's a loud wave of cheering, Heejin clapping her hands in confusion. She looks down at the field and sees a bunch of players jumping around in celebration. They all clump together in one big pig pile and at the center of the clump, she can see Hyunjin smiling triumphantly. Heejin assumes they've scored a goal.
As Hyunjin's teammates continue to maul her, she and Heejin lock eyes for a split second and it feels as if it were just them in that moment. Hyunjin sends her a wink along with a goofy grin that makes her heart feel like it's about to burst out of her chest.
When the referee blows their whistle signaling a timeout, both teams run off to the sides to have a quick regrouping and a drink of water. She watches as Hyunjin lifts the hem of her shirt to wipe the sweat off her forehead, revealing a shiny set of toned abs. Heejin quickly averts her gaze, a blush creeping up her face. Hyunjin was going to be the death of her.
She glances at the Flip-a-Score located on the other side of the field that shows their school was winning 1-0. She decides to excuse herself to go buy some concessions since they weren't playing at that moment. She wasn't sure how much more of sweaty Hyunjin her heart could take.
By the end of the game (yes, she stayed the entire time), their school scored two more times, only giving up one goal, leaving them with a winning score of 3-1. The girls jump on Hyunjin—who had scored the last goal—and pummel her to the ground in celebration. Heejin's heart warms at the sight, wondering if she should go up to the girl and congratulate her after they finish. She decides against it and goes to find Chaewon so they can head home, leaving her spot in the bleachers. Unbeknownst to her, the soccer player had been watching her the entire time.
***
The next time they see each other is at the party Hyeju hosts.
Heejin stares apprehensively at herself in the mirror. She furrows her eyebrows and turns to pull off her blouse and put on yet another article of clothing (this was the fourth time).
After much debate, she settles with a tailored vest she had bought at the mall several months ago and some matching black pinstripe slacks to go with it.
Once she does her finishing touches to her hair and makeup, she rushes out the door so that she'll make it to Chaewon's house in time to pick her up for the party.
When the two arrive, Heejin wavers at the front door, smoothing out the front of her clothing.
Chaewon rolls her eyes. "Don't worry, you look great. Now knock on the door and go inside. I bet Hyunjin's here."
Heejin nods warily and knocks three times. Hyeju, who opens the door, smiles at them and gestures for them to come inside. "Hey, guys. Thanks for coming to our party."
"Thank you for having us," Heejin responds, returning the smile.
"Hey, Chaewon."
"H-hi."
Heejin stifles a laugh as she leaves her flustered friend alone with her crush.
The party is loud, as parties usually are, with sweaty bodies smushed together and strobe lights that she was afraid would give her a seizure. Parties were not her scene. Secretly, she wonders if Hyunjin was there tonight.
She squeezes past the clump of people and makes her way over to the table lined with snacks and red plastic cups filled with suspicious liquids.
She stuffs a handful of chips in her mouth and gingerly picks up a solo cup. She sniffs it and scrunches her face with her nose is hit with the pungent smell of a weird combination of poorly mixed hard liquors. A sudden voice from behind her startles her.
"Didn't expect to see you here tonight."
Ugh, I really don't want to deal with him tonight, she thinks, gritting her teeth. She turns slowly and is faced with the guy who doesn't know how to take no for an answer and shamelessly continues to pursue her.
"Hansol, please. I don't want to do this with you right now."
He smirks, clearly intoxicated.
"C'mon, don't be like that." He glances towards the staircase leading to the upstairs. "There's a guest room right up there. You won't regret it."
Heejin laughs bitterly, glancing around for anyone who could rescue her from this situation.
"I don't know how many times I need to tell you; I'm not interested."
He frowns, stepping closer. Heejin is trapped between him and the table. "Now, you listen to me..." he slurs, reaching out a hand to grab onto her.
But before he reaches her, his hand is slapped away, and an arm comes to wrap protectively around Heejin's waste. The scent of the familiar perfume wafts into her nose.
"Didn't you hear her? She said she's not interested," Hyunjin says firmly as Hansol glares at her. She returns the glare, daggers practically shooting out of her eyes.
"And who the fuck are you?"
Hyunjin's hold around her torso tightens slightly. "That doesn't matter. What matters is you're bothering her, and I think you should get the hell out."
"Who do you think you are, telling me to get out?! This isn't even your house—"
"You heard her, get the fuck out of my house." Hyeju comes up from behind and grabs him roughly by the shoulders, dragging him towards the door with Chaewon in tow. She sends Heejin an apologetic grimace.
"Hey, I'm really sorry about that," Hyunjin says, turning to face her. She glances down at the drink in Heejin's hand. "I wouldn't recommend drinking that. I think dickface put something in it."
Heejin makes an "o" shape with her mouth and throws the plastic cup in the trash.
She turns back to Hyunjin and shakes her head. "Thanks. It's fine, I guess. This happens a lot and I just haven't gotten used to it yet."
"Just because it happens a lot doesn't make it okay. You shouldn't have to put up with getting harassed," Hyunjin says, frowning. "God, I hate men so much."
Heejin smiles at the protectiveness radiating off the soccer captain. She leans her head onto her shoulder.
"Thank you for saving me."
Hyunjin sighs and rests her head on top of Heejin's.
"I've got your back."
***
Heejin sighs, clicking the power button on the side of her phone and slipping it into her pocket. She and Chaewon had planned to meet up at the Starbucks near their school, but just now Chaewon had texted saying she had to go somewhere with Hyeju. As happy as she was for her friend being able to get closer to her crush, she couldn't help but feel a little abandoned.
Suddenly, she senses a presence approaching from behind. She turns her head and is faced with a smiling Hyunjin.
"Hey, Heekki!" She grins at her, pointy canines on display. "What are you still doing here?"
Heejin sighs. "Well, Chaewon and I were supposed to hangout, but she ditched me for your friend." Hyunjin hums in understanding.
"Mm, I see. Would you like to hang out with me instead?"
Heejin's face blooms with excitement. "YES!" She blushes, cover her mouth with her hands at her outburst. "...I meant that would be nice."
Hyunjin smiles at her once more, making her knees feel as if they would collapse (luckily, they didn't).
"What did you have in mind?" Heejin asks, looking around. The weather was nice, but she wasn't in the mood to do anything outside. She tended to be more of an inside cat.
Hyunjin thinks for a moment, rubbing her chin. "I'm not sure, it was kind of a spur of the moment suggestion." She chuckles airily.
A lightbulb goes off in Heejin's brain. "I've got an idea! Follow me, I think it should be still open." She mindlessly grabs Hyunjin's wrist and pulls her along into the school.
Once they reach their destination, Heejin twists the doorknob eagerly and much to her delight, the room is unlocked. She guides Hyunjin into the empty music room and switches on the lights.
"Woah." Hyunjin looks around the classroom in amazement. "I didn't know we had a music room."
Heejin chuckles, going over to one of the cabinets. "Yup. I used to come here all the time during lunch and after school."
She opens the door and looks around, shutting it again after seemingly not finding what she was looking for. She heads to another cabinet that she eagerly opens. After opening it, she grins when she sees what she was looking for and grabs an expensive looking acoustic guitar from the holder it was hanging on. "Found you."
Unbeknownst to her, while she had been searching for the guitar, Hyunjin had seated herself at the grand piano. Heejin walks towards her, guitar hanging from her shoulder.
"Do you play?"
Hyunjin chuckles. "Used to. My mom kind of forced me to take lessons, but I ended up really enjoying it." She sighs, looking up at Heejin. "I decided to stop when I got into middle school though because I wanted to pursue soccer instead. It was a bittersweet choice."
Heejin nods in understanding. She loved playing guitar. She had picked it up in her later years in elementary and got hooked. She knew how much it would suck if she had to choose between two things she loved.
"Play something for me."
Hyunjin's eyes widen with excitement. "Okay! I was actually playing around the other day with my friend's piano and figured out how to play this song I really like. It's called Mariposa." She placed her fingers on the keys, a determined expression appeared on her face.
As she begins to play, her eyes close, focusing deeply on the music. Her technique is impeccable, showing old habits are hard to break. Her hands travel over the keys effortlessly, playing the delicate chords. It's when she begins to sing that Heejin's jaw drops.
I can't wait for you to come my way, I've been far away, but I'll keep running just to find a way to you.
Her voice was soft and airy, but strong and emotion-filled at the same time. Heejin was in awe. Kim Hyunjin never failed to amaze her.
Know you're wanting something more, my heart is like an open door, just ring me where you wanna go.
When the song finishes, Hyunjin opens her eyes and sees Heejin staring at her with an expression mixed with astonishment, surprise, admiration, and something else she couldn't pinpoint. She stands up from the stool and walks towards the frozen girl. "Your turn. Now that I've played something, I want to hear you."
Snapping out of her daze, Heejin nods quickly and grabs a chair. She adjusts the guitar and shakes out her hands. She can feel Hyunjin's expectant gaze on her and giggles nervously. "Here is a song I've been listening to recently."
She closes her eyes and begins to strum, Hyunjin watching her attentively.
Sing love with me, and baby dance with me, it may still be a mess.
She peaks open an eye and sees Hyunjin with an unreadable expression. She continues to sing.
You hug me like nothing, don't turn around and keep smiling, holding me full.
Heejin loves this song. She thinks the vibe and the sweet lyrics together are very moving. She often annoys Chaewon by humming it during classes.
Well, I'm phoning again, I'm singing please be with me. My heart is not a heart that goes all over the place, please know.
As she brushes her fingers over the strings one last time, she lets the sound ring out. She opens her eyes to find Hyunjin staring at her once more.
"So," Heejin begins, nervously fidgeting with her hands. It wasn't often that she played for other people besides Chaewon and her parents. "What did you think?"
Snapping out of whatever train off thought she was absorbed in, Hyunjin grins. "That was amazing, Heejin." Her voice is sincere and filled with admiration and wonder. "Have you ever considered making music or becoming an artist?"
Heejin nods. She had actually thought about this very topic thousands of times, though she had always found a way to talk herself out of it. "Yeah, I have. I don't know how good I'd be though..."
Hyunjin narrows her eyes at her. "Are you joking. You're incredibly talented, you have this way about you; this natural skill that is impossible to teach. I think you should have a little more confidence in yourself."
She steps closer to Heejin, making the latter flinch slightly. She pats her head, surprising her. "I really liked it. Please play for me again sometime. For now, I've got to head out," she says, glancing at her phone. "Hyeju texted saying there was an emergency, and she needed my help. I'm assuming it's nothing crazy."
Heejin furrows her eyebrows. "Isn't she with Chae?"
Hyunjin makes the "ah" sound and nods. "Yeah, that must be it. She has a tendency to gay panic and then run away. I hope she didn't give Chaewon the wrong idea."
"Yeah, I'll check in with her." Heejin pulls out her phone to text her best friend. "I really enjoyed this. We should do it again."
"We should. Thank you, Heekki." And with that, Hyunjin sprints out the door and down the hallway.
Heejin is left with a huge grin that she doesn't bother fighting.
***
Heejin liked to think of herself as a hardworking person. She tried her best at both her job and her schoolwork. However, occasionally she'd get behind on a couple assignments and then turn them in at the last possible moment they were able to be submitted. That is exactly what happened in the last week. Her teachers had somehow collectively decided to pile on the homework, causing her to have several missing assignments in almost all her classes. Knowing how she was and her poor habit of leaving things till the last minute, she should have been spending every spare second working on it; she really needed to crank out the essay.
She would tell herself this over and over, but that still didn't explain why she was sitting across from Hyunjin at a table near the bakery stand, her lower half still clad in the bunny costume, instead of working on her essay on Jack the Ripper. Screw homework, she thinks to herself, watching Hyunjin practically inhale three large croissants. It's a wonder how Heejin can stay so infatuated with the girl, even when watching her eat like she hadn't been fed in a month.
Hyunjin looks up at her in confusion. "What, is there something on my face?" she asks through a mouthful of pastry, wiping at her mouth with a paper napkin.
Heejin chuckles, shaking her head. "No, you're fine. I was just thinking."
"About...?" Hyunjin waits for her to continue.
"How you eat like a toddler." Hyunjin pouts. "And how I still find it incredibly attractive. Well, maybe not the part where you have crumbs spilling out of your mouth."
The dark-haired girl blushes, swallowing the last of her food. "O-oh. Uh, thanks?"
"I also think your smile's really pretty. You should smile more."
"Heejin—"
"Do you like cats? I like cats. Let's adopt one together and raise it."
Hyunjin laughs at Heejin's rambling. "So, I'm guessing this means...?"
Heejin grins at her, despite the blatant redness of her cheeks. "Yes, Hyunjin. I like you. And I'd really like to get to know you better and I was hoping I could take you out sometime. If you'd let me?"
Hyunjin laughs, and Heejin releases the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Oh my god, I thought you were never going to say it." She grins at Heejin, a sparkle evident in her beautiful eyes. "Yes, I'd love to go out with you."
"Yes! Oh, thank god." She pumps her fist in celebration. She whips out her phone and opens her messages. "I've got to tell Chaewon about this."
"Speaking of Chaewon," Hyunjin begins, taking another bite from her final croissant. "What does she think of Hyeju?"
Heejin giggles, thinking about Chaewon and how hopelessly in love she was with the striker. "She's got a huge crush on her, if that's what you were wondering."
"Oh good!" Hyunjin sighs in relief. "Hyeju was worried she scared her off."
Heejin grins. "I think it would be pretty hard to scare Chae off."
Unbeknownst to them, their two friends were both seated in a booth nearby, spying on their little date.
"Shit!" Chaewon whisper yelled as she fumbled with her phone to turn off the text alert. Hyeju gave her an alarmed glance.
"You idiot. Who the hell leaves their ringer on when they spy on someone?"
"..."
Hyeju sighs, turning away from where they had been watching the two girls. "It's a good thing you're cute," she mutters under her breath.
Chaewon doesn't catch what she said. "Huh?"
"Nothing!"