[Two-shot] A Wonderful Surprise

[littlemelonblue]

←part one

"In celebration of Eunsook's sixth month with us, I'd like to treat all of you to dinner tonight," Juri announces after all the staff members had gathered around the break room, and they all cheer happily.

"She never did anything for me," Gwiboon grumbles. "She loves Eunsook so much."

Minjung chuckles. "She deserves it. She's worked hard for these past few months. Unlike you."

"Hey, maintaining this body and this hair and this whole fabulousness is hard work enough, okay?" Gwiboon retorts. "Someone has to look good around this dreary place."

The younger woman simply shakes her head in amusement, leaving Gwiboon's side to catch up to Eunsook. When she spots her, she grabs her by the arm and pulls her away from the crowd.

Eunsook beams. "I can't believe it, Minjung-ah! I survived six months without getting fired! I'm so happy!"

"Congratulations, unnie. I told you, you could do it." Minjung grins, ruffling Eunsook's hair. "Are you excited for tonight?"

"Yeah!" Eunsook nods eagerly. "I'm looking forward to hanging out with everyone. I mean, I know we all see each other at work but the atmosphere's just different when you're out, you know?"

"I under-"

"Hey, Minjung! Stop hogging Eunsook-unnie all to yourself. We still have a few hours left of work, you can do whatever you want to her later," Junghee shouts, causing everyone-including Juri-to laugh out loud.

Minjung becomes so embarrassed that she can't look at Eunsook in the face anymore. "I, uh, I guess we better get going." She really hated Junghee for ruining the moment. "I'll see you later tonight okay, unnie?" She doesn't wait for Eunsook's answer before shuffling out of the room quickly.

And because of that, she doesn't even notice that Eunsook was blushing red as well.

The restaurant was filled with loud chatters, it being a weekend night. It was fully packed and Minjung had a difficult time wedging her way through the sea of bodies, so when she spotted Junghee waving at her from a short distance, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's boiling in here," Minjung comments, greeting everyone on the table and took a seat next to Junghee.

"Tell me about it," Gwiboon replies, fanning her face with one hand, the other one grabbing at a glass of soju.

"Is Eunsook-unnie not here yet?" Minjung asks, scanning the place.

Junghee grins. "No, your precious little princess hasn't arrived yet."

Minjung flinches. "Will you stop that?"

"Aw, come on, Minjung. Just admit that you like her."

"I don't," Minjung protests, pouring some alcohol into her cup. She had a feeling that she needed it a lot tonight, with Junghee and Gwiboon being there at the same time, ready to torment her.

"You do, and you know it. You're just scared to say it out loud," Gwiboon states.

"Yeah. We've both noticed the way you look at her and the way she looks at you. You guys are so frustrating, why not just come out with it?" Junghee adds.

"Are you two stalkers or something?"

"Stop denying it!" Junghee and Gwiboon both shout in unison, thumping on the table.

Minjung downs her shot in one go, cringing at the slight burn on her throat. "I don't like her."

"Yes, you do!" Junghee insists. "You're always all flustered around her and you stutter a lot too."

"Maybe I just feel inferior." Minjung shrugs.

Gwiboon scoffs. "Oh, please. With your ego, you'd never feel that way. I don't understand why you're so against the idea of dating her."

Minjung sighs, denying the assumptions again. "You two will never stop will you? I said I don't like her. At least, not in that way. I like her as a…friend."

"Minjung, you really-" Junghee was about to say but was cut off when Eunsook appeared.

"Oh my goodness, is it just me or is it really hot in here?" she pants, cheeks flushed from the heat. She stands there for a few moments, saying hi to everyone before proceeding towards the three friends. "Hey guys, did I miss a lot?" She smiles.

Minjung hears Junghee and Gwiboon reply but can't quite make out what they're saying as she focuses on Eunsook. She's wearing a plain white tank top, high enough to not reveal too much but enough to make Minjung crave for more skin. Around her waist sits a pink ruffled skirt that accentuates her full thighs and although Minjung has seen her in the nurse dress all the time, it's not quite the same. All in all, Eunsook looks…

"…gorgeous."

The buzzing around her stops for a moment and her friends stare at her funnily.

"Minjung-ah? What did you say?" Eunsook inquires.

"You look gorgeous," Minjung blurts out and when she hears Junghee and Gwiboon snickering beside her, her eyes widen in realisation at what she just said. "I-I mean, you, um, look…nice. Everybody looks nice tonight, don’t they?" she laughs awkwardly.

"Um, yeah, I guess." Eunsook looks at her weirdly. "Are you okay, Minjung? You kind of look red." She slips on the seat beside Minjung and leans to touch her forehead. Her smell wafts into Minjung's nose and she inhales deeply, taking in the peachy mango scent.

"I'm f-fine," Minjung reassures. "It’s just a little stuffy in here."

Eunsook retracts her hand, agreeing. "Hm, it is, isn't it?"

"W-why don't you have a d-drink?" Minjung offers, pouring some soju into the shot glass, shooting a glare in her friends' direction when she catches them laughing at her. She passes the glass to Eunsook. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Eunsook was going to down the drink when Juri stands up, making a speech.

"I know it's a little hard to hear, but tonight we're celebrating Eunsook's success. She's been a wonderful nurse for the past six months and I'm glad to have her on my team. I hope you continue on working hard. To Eunsook." She raises her glass.

"To Eunsook," everyone echoes, clinking their glasses together and empties them down their throats.

"Ah," Eunsook sighs. "Thank you, everyone." She bows lightly. "You guys have been great colleagues and I'd especially like thank Minjung for helping me out a lot. You have been a brilliant support. Without you, I don't think I would have gotten this far." She shifts her gaze towards the younger woman, staring at her intently. "Thank you."

The crowd cheers and howls, but Minjung and Eunsook can't hear anything because their lost in their own little world. Minjung's finding herself drowning in Eunsook warm eyes and she's slowly losing control of her actions, leaning in closer towards Eunsook…

…Until someone pulls her away. Minjung blinks, shaking her head to rid of the spell.

"Unnie!" Luna calls out, dragging a dazed Eunsook away from her seat. "Do you see that stage up there?" She points out and Eunsook nods her head, slightly annoyed that her moment with Minjung was interrupted. "You should sing!"

"W-what?" Eunsook asks, looking at the stage. "Up there?"

"Yeah! I know you have a good voice," Luna continues on. "Come on, it's your night. Let's have some fun."

"B-but…there's so many people," she mumbles.

"You can do it! We all want to hear you sing, right guys?" The cheery woman turns around to face the group and everybody encourages her on. Eunsook looks at Minjung for help but the younger girl can only smile at her, giving her two thumbs up.

Eunsook groans. "Okay, okay fine." She nervously walks up to the stage, and Minjung watches as she speaks to one of the staffs. She's given a book that Minjung presumes contains a list of songs and she flips through it, choosing carefully.

"I didn't know she could sing," Minjung says, turning to her friends to see if they know anything but they shake their heads.

"Oh she can, and she's really good at it," Luna pipes up instead.

"Shh, quiet. Look, she's going to start," Gwiboon hushes them.

Minjung trains her eyes on the stage once again and Eunsook is seated in the middle. The volume in the restaurant suddenly turns down as the lights dim and a spotlight is focused on Eunsook. She can see how anxious Eunsook is by the way she keeps clamping and unclamping her hand on the microphone, but when the music starts, Eunsook takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, letting herself drown in the notes.

To say that Minjung was surprised was an understatement. She was awed, and completely blown away by the softness and beauty of Eunsook's voice. Her heart beats in rhythm with the music and that's when she realises it.

"Junghee, Gwiboon?" she whispers quietly, eyes never tearing away from Eunsook.

"Hm?" they answered together, also captivated by Eunsook's singing.

"You know how I said I didn't like her?"

Junghee and Gwiboon look at each other, blinking. "Yes?"

"Well, I don't. Because…because I think I'm in love."

The night ends successfully, some a little tipsier than others and they part ways, waving each other goodbye. Minjung offers to walk Eunsook home.

"Oh no," Eunsook declines. "It's already late and I know you've got a morning shift tomorrow. I'm just going to hold you back."

"It's okay," Minjung says, not taking no for an answer. "Besides, I shouldn't let a young lady like you walk alone in the night."

"You're a girl too, you know."

"Yeah, but I'm strong." Minjung flexes her arms, the alcohol in her system hazing through her mind.

Eunsook giggles. "There's no point in arguing with you, is there?"

"Nope," the younger woman states, already grabbing at Eunsook's hand. She was glad that she had a few drinks, it gave her a boost of confidence and if anything bad happened, she could always blame it on the alcohol.

They walked down the streets in silence, Eunsook's hand encased in Minjung's slightly larger one and she blushes as she thinks how perfectly they fit together. Minjung asks for directions every now and then but that's about the only things that they say. Eunsook enjoys the quietness and she's a bit disappointed when they reach her place, the walk having gone too fast.

"This is where you live?" Minjung looks up at the apartment building, releasing Eunsook's hand.

"Yeah."

"Hey, it's not far from where I stay," she says. "I just live down the corner."

"I know, I've been there once, remember?" Eunsook smiles, reminiscing the day when they first met.

"Ah yeah." Minjung drops her gaze, grinning back at Eunsook. "Good times."

"Mhmm~" the older girl hums in agreement.

They stay like that for a while, basking in the cool night air and the soft sounds of crickets.

"You should head back, Minjung-ah. We've still got work tomorrow," Eunsook whispers kindly, trying not to sound like she was pushing the girl away. If anything, she wished she could invite Minjung up to her apartment and cuddle with her all night.

"Yeah, I should. You need your sleep too." Minjung nods. "I hope you enjoyed your time tonight. And may I say, you have a lovely voice," she compliments, and Eunsook blushes lightly.

"T-thanks."

Minjung smiles. "Well, goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"All right."

And before she leaves, Minjung does something that surprises them both. She kisses Eunsook gently on the cheek, giving her one last smile and retreats to her home.

Eunsook watches as Minjung's back fade away, her hand on her skin where Minjung's lips had touched.

"Ugh," Minjung groans, head pounding slight from the previous night's event. She punches in her card and enters through the double doors, massaging her temples in hopes of ridding the headache away. She looks around and sees that nobody is there, most of them probably tending to their patients and Minjung decides that a little rest won't hurt. She drops her head on the reception counter, sighing as the coolness seeps into her skin and she closes her eyes.

Minjung was about to fall into slumber when an ice-cold, wet object bumps against her forehead, causing her to sit up abruptly and blink the sleepiness away.

"You don't want to stain your perfect record, do you?" Eunsook asks, amusement laced in her voice.

"Unnie," Minjung says, relieved that it wasn't Juri who had caught her lazing about. "Good morning."

Eunsook smiles, offering Minjung the chilled can of coffee in her hand. "Good morning, Minjung-ah. Did you sleep well?"

Minjung gladly takes the drink, thinking she really needed it. She mumbles a small thank you and pops the can open, taking a swig of the contents. If she was being honest, she would tell Eunsook that no, she didn't have a good night considering the many times she had to get up to throw up. But she wasn't about to worry the older woman so instead she lies, replying, "Yeah, I did. I just have a bit of a hangover but other than that, I'm fine." And she flashes Eunsook a big grin.

"Good," Eunsook mutters, buying through her lie. Minjung studies Eunsook and notices that she seems a little fidgety. Finishing her drink, she throws the can into the bin and speaks up:

"Are you-"

"Say-"

They stare at each other after having spoken at the same time and end up laughing.

"You go first," Minjung offers.

"Well, um, I was k-kind of wondering if you remembered what happened last night?" Eunsook bites on her bottom lip, her fingers twiddling with her uniform. "I mean w-when you w-walked me home."

Minjung feels herself panicking. Oh God, I didn't do anything stupid did I? She racks her brain quickly, trying to find the memories of the previous night.

"I-it's okay if you don't remember, I was j-just asking," Eunsook mumbles disappointedly when Minjung doesn't answer her. "I guess I'll g-get going now."

And that's when it hits her.

"Wait!" Minjung shouts and Eunsook stops walking, turning to face her. "I-I k-kissed you. Is that it?"

Eunsook beams, nodding frantically, making Minjung wonder why she was so happy about it. She couldn't feel the same way as Minjung did, right?

"Yes, that's it. I was, um, surprised, but…it felt nice. I just thought I'd let y-you know."

Minjung blushes. "So…you wouldn’t mind if I did it again?"

"N-not at a-all," Eunsook stutters, feeling heat creep up her cheeks. "Um, w-would you, c-can you walk me h-home again today?" she asks hopefully.

"I…" Minjung trails off, giving it a hard thought. But then, she realises, that she really shouldn't miss out on this opportunity. "I'd love to."

Eunsook smiles gleefully. "G-great! Meet me up at the f-front later, okay? See you!" She waves and-quite literally-skips down the hospital hall.

Minjung chuckles, feeling just as elated as Eunsook.

For the next several nights, Minjung walks Eunsook home and they get to know each other even more. They don’t hold hands like they did the first night but Minjung's content enough to be able to have Eunsook this close to her.

Especially when their little walk ends because that's when Minjung gets to kiss her.

"Seriously, are you two going out or not?" Gwiboon asks, exasperated. "You walk her to work, you walk her home, and you even kiss her-"

"It's just a peck on the cheek."

"-Whatever, it’s still a kiss but you're not together yet? What the hell are you waiting for, Minjung?"

"We don't want to rush into things."

"Rush into-" Gwiboon takes a deep breath, her jaws clenching as she rubs her forehead, completely annoyed at Minjung. "You've known her for over half a year now and you've been doing this thing for two months. What are you so scared of? That she wouldn't like you back? Because I'm pretty sure she does or else she wouldn’t let you touch her. Honestly, Minjung, if you don't make a move, sooner or later, someone else will snatch her away and that's when you'll regret it," the older woman huffs, grabbing her things and stomping down the corridor.

Minjung stares at Gwiboon's retreating back and sighs, burying her face in her hands. She wasn't sure why she was holding back either. Every time she tries to confess to Eunsook, she goes cold feet and completely chickens out. What if Eunsook was just being overly friendly with her? What if Eunsook saw her as just a little sister she never had? What if…what if…what if…

"She's right, you know?" A voice, Junghee's, interrupts her thinking. "Eunsook-unnie's not going to wait forever for you."

"I just can't." Minjung frowns. "I want to…but I always clam up around her."

Junghee pats her on the back. "You have to try, Minjung-ah. You never know unless you try."

Minjung nods, sniffling a little. "What's up with you today? You're usually never this supportive."

"I just want you to be happy."

"You're usually never this nice either."

"Okay, fine, you caught me. To be honest, I just think you need the sex."

Minjung rolls her eyes, her lips twitching into a smile. "You're an asshole."

"And you're a coward," Junghee bites back, grinning widely before they both topple over in laughter. "But really-you should tell her."

"I will. Tonight I shall confess my feelings to-"

"Taemin?" Eunsook's voice suddenly cuts through the air, causing both Minjung and Junghee to look into her direction. What they see next totally shocks them, and causes Minjung's heart to clench in pain. "Taemin-ah!" the nurse yells, smile brighter than the sun as she leaps into the arms of the skinny boy, kissing both his cheeks affectionately.

"-unnie," Minjung finishes off, tone barely above a whisper. "I have to go. I just remembered that Juri-ssi wanted me to do this thing for her," she chokes, feeling the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. "I'll see you later." And she runs off to the comfort room before Junghee can see the droplets rolling down her cheeks.

"I told you so."

"God Gwiboon, can you just not?" Minjung pleads tiredly, feeling her heart crumble again.

But Gwiboon doesn't stop there. "From the rumours going around, I heard that he's the son of some big cooperation and he's unnie's fiancé. He just got back from his business trip to Switzerland." She sighs. "It must feel nice to have a rich, stable guy looking out for you."

Minjung closes her eyes, taking a deep breath and counts to ten. Why did she even think she had a chance with Eunsook? Eunsook, who is amazing and beautiful and kind. She would have never chosen Minjung. After all, Minjung was just a mere nurse who works overtime just so she can pay her rent. Minjung, who also, works in the café during her free days to earn extra money. She could barely provide for herself, let alone for two people. It was no wonder that Eunsook had found someone else.

"He's been coming to visit her a lot lately," Gwiboon continues.

Like Minjung hasn't noticed. She's seen him picking up Eunsook during lunch time, the girl looking happier than she ever was when she was with Minjung.

"They look good together, don't you think?"

She couldn't take it anymore. "That's enough, Gwiboon," Minjung flares, banging her hand against the table and stands up abruptly, causing the chair she was sitting on to fall backwards. At the same time, Eunsook enters the room and she looks just as startled as Gwiboon does. Minjung looks up at her, eyes cold.

"What?" Minjung spits out.

"I, um, I just wanted to a-ask you something b-but I guess it's a bad time," Eunsook says, voice small. She was about to turn and leave when Minjung stops her.

"No, you can ask me now. Go ahead."

Eunsook glances at Gwiboon, questioning the girl with her eyes about the chilly atmosphere. Gwiboon simply shrugs.

"I-I know I haven't e-exactly been around lately and w-we haven't g-gotten the c-chance to spend time, but I'm free tonight and I w-was wondering if w-we could walk h-home together?"

Minjung stares at Eunsook for a full one minute, and then scoffs. "I can't. I'm working overtime. Maybe later," she answers curtly, before picking up the things that had fallen off the table and leaves the room, slamming the door shut.

Eunsook flinches, slightly hurt by Minjung's coldness towards her and can't help but question what she had done wrong.

The next few weeks, Eunsook keeps trying to get to Minjung but it seems like the younger girl was trying to avoid her. She wanted to speak to her but that itself was difficult with the way Minjung kept disappearing.

Eunsook pouts, rubbing her chest in attempt to soothe her aching heart. She really missed Minjung, and she was going to do anything to get her back.

"Minjung!" Eunsook screams when she spots the young nurse. "Minjung-ah!"

At the sound of Eunsook's voice, Minjung speeds up her pace, trying to run away from the other. She really wasn't ready to face Eunsook again after her embarrassing outburst. Yes, she was hurt and angry but that didn't give her the right to take it out on Eunsook.

"Minjung, please wait!" Eunsook begs, struggling to keep up with Minjung's pace. She runs up the stairs in an attempt to catch up to Minjung's long legs but ends up tripping over a step and landing on all fours. "Ow," she whimpers, tears stinging her eyes as the pain of the fall takes over.

Her little cry doesn't go unheard by Minjung and the tall girl stops, looking back and sighs when she sees the older woman on the floor. She immediately feels guilty. Minjung doesn't think twice and climbs down the stairs again, crouching down in front of Eunsook with her back facing towards her.

"Get on," she simply says and Minjung can't see it but Eunsook nods, wiping away her tears before latching herself onto Minjung's back.

Minjung carries her into a small room and sits her down on a chair, leaving only for a moment to grab the first aid kit. She inspects the scratch on Eunsook's knee, taking out a few antiseptic wipes from the box and rips it open, cleaning her wound. Eunsook visibly winces.

It takes a while for Minjung to completely sterilise Eunsook's skin because the cut is deeper than it looks. Eunsook takes the chance to speak up.

"Minjung-ah, I don't know what I did wrong, but please, tell me if I made you upset because I can't stand this."

Minjung remains silent.

"I can't stand not talking to you. I can't stand having you run away from me. So will you please tell me what's wrong?" Eunsook pleads.

Minjung applies a cream over Eunsook's wound and finishes it off by sticking a bandage on it. She closes the kit and throws away the wrappers, washing her hands and finally looking at Eunsook, smiling sadly.

"Congratulations on your engagement," is all she says before leaving Eunsook alone in the room, completely dumbfounded.

A week after the "conversation" they had in the room, Eunsook doesn't come after Minjung anymore. Minjung doesn't how she should feel about it, but she does know that there's still unhappiness lingering in her heart.

"Maybe, you just weren't meant to be."

Junghee's words swim through her mind as she walks down the corridor, clipboard clutched close to her chest. She doesn't notice when the patients greet her because she's too absorbed in her thoughts. As she was about to turn a corner, she was suddenly yanked forcefully, making her snap out of her reverie. When she hears the lock clicking into place does she only realise that she was pulled into an old storage room.

"I finally got you."

Minjung spins around, the clipboard in her arms dropping to the floor as she sees Eunsook standing before her.

"What are you doing?" she asks. "I really don't have time to play games right now, unnie. I have to get back to work."

"No," Eunsook states firmly, blocking the door. "You can't. Not now. I believe there have been some misunderstandings going on between us and I need to clear things up."

"Can we do it later? Because I really can't-"

"If we do it later, you're going to run away from me again. If we do it later, this thing will never end. So will you please, sit down and spare me a few minutes. It's not going to cost your job."

Minjung purses her lips, realising there was no way out of this. She sighs, dusting off an old desk and plops on it. "You've got two minutes."

Eunsook takes a deep breath. "Okay, so I realise that after talking to Junghee and Gwiboon, that you have been feeling hurt and upset and it was all because of me. At first, I didn't understand what I did to make you so angry at me that you didn't want to talk to me, or walk me home, or even look at me-"

"One minute."

"-but then they told me what you saw and to be honest, when I heard of it, I thought it was really funny because seriously, Minjung, how can you possibly be jealous of-"

"And your time's up," Minjung announces quickly, even though she knew there was still a lot left. She just couldn't bear listening to Eunsook mock her feelings. She gets off the table, smoothing out her uniform and reaches for the door but Eunsook blocks her.

"No! You can't leave I'm not done with you yet!"

"Unnie. Move."

"I'm not going to move until you finish listening to what I have to say."

"Seriously, while I'm asking nicely of you, move." Minjung hovers over Eunsook, glad of the height advantage.

Eunsook doesn't flinch one bit though. "No."

And that's when Minjung snaps. "God, why won't you just leave me alone?" she cries out, digging into her hair in frustration. "You ask me to take you home, you let me kiss you, you give me all these feelings that I've never felt before and you give me hope that there's something special between us and then you go around hugging and clinging onto some other guy. You've been giving me all these mixed messages and I don't know what to think or what to feel anymore and it's all because of you." She drops her head, sighing heavily, going back to take a seat on the table.

"Do you even realise what you're doing to me, unnie?" she continues, whispering. "I like you, you know? I like you a lot. I might even be in love with you but…but it's painful because you don't feel the same way."

Minjung's sudden outburst comes off as a shock to Eunsook but the words that spill out of her mouth doesn't surprise her at all. "Can you…can you say that again, please?" she requests, stepping closer to Minjung.

"What?" Minjung asks confused, looking at Eunsook.

"Repeat the last thing that you said."

"I…I like you?"

Eunsook beams brightly, her eyes twinkling in delight and that's the exact same look that Minjung has seen her wear around the guy. "I like you too, Minjung-ah."

Minjung blinks, more puzzled than ever. "Huh? Than what about the-"

"He's my baby brother, silly," Eunsook giggles, now directly in front of Minjung. She dares herself to wrap her arms loosely around Minjung's neck. "That was the big misunderstanding."

Minjung quickly processes Eunsook's words and when everything sinks in, she suddenly feels really, really, really stupid. "Oh."

"Yeah," Eunsook breathes, not being able to keep the grin off of her face. "You really should have just faced me and told me about that. Or else we wouldn't have to go this far as to locking ourselves in a room."

"Well…" Minjung starts. "I can be pretty stubborn at times. And when I'm jealous I guess…I just…shut down." She blushes.

"I've noticed," Eunsook laughs softly. "So now that we've gotten that problem out of the way…Minjung, will you be my girlfriend and walk me home everyday and take me out on dates and love me as long as we both shall live?"

Minjung chuckles at Eunsook's cheesiness. "That sounds like we're getting married." And Eunsook has this glint in her eyes that suggests that they will, someday. "But yes, I will be your girlfriend and walk you home everyday and take you out on dates and love you as long as we both shall live," she answers, pulling Eunsook closer by the waist, their bodies fitting perfectly against each other.

"And now…will you kiss me?" Eunsook asks, looking up at Minjung through her lashes, hopeful.

"And now…" Minjung cups Eunsook's face, leaning in close until they were only an inch apart. "I will kiss you," she whispers, before capturing Eunsook's lips into her own.

Minjung feels Eunsook smile against the kiss and Eunsook's grip around her neck tightens. Eunsook's lips are soft and plump and she tastes vaguely like strawberries. The kiss is so much better than what she had imagined, making her toes curl and her stomach flutter with butterflies. They make out for a long moment until they are disturbed by a loud knock on the door.

"Yah, I know you two are in there! Don't you know that it's inappropriate to have sex at your workplace?" Junghee screams through the door, and knowing her, she probably wasn't ashamed of saying those words out loud. It was a good thing that the area the room was located at was almost deserted. "Come out, we're running out of hands here."

Minjung and Eunsook burst into a fit of giggles. "I guess we should go now." They both readjust their uniform dresses and Minjung steals a quick peck from Eunsook before unlocking the door.

"I honestly don't know which one is better, having you two skirting around each other or having to watch you two be all cheesy," Junghee grumbles as Minjung and Eunsook lace their fingers together, walking back to their main working area.

"Did you know about unnie's brother?" Minjung asks.

"Of course I did, Gwiboon did too. She only said all those things to provoke you because it was getting so tiring seeing you mope about," Junghee explains.

"Well, I guess I should thank you both then."

"You better. Noraebang tonight?"

"Yes, please!" Eunsook pipes up. "Can we, Minjung?"

"Of course, baby." Minjung smiles. "Anything for you."

fin.

「epilogue」

"Hey, there's something I've been wondering about," Minjung suddenly brings up as they cuddle on Eunsook's bed, naked bodies pressed flushed against one another's.

Eunsook snuggles closer to Minjung, inhaling the scent of her skin. "Hm? What is it?"

"If you live so close to me, doesn't that mean you live nearby to the coffee shop as well?" Minjung evaluates. "Why did you agree to come up to my apartment when we first met? I was a stranger after all."

"Uh," Eunsook hesitates, cheeks flushing red as she smiles sheepishly. "I was kinda hoping you wouldn't ask that."

Minjung raises an eyebrow at her. "Why?"

"C-cause it's e-embarrassing."

"Aw, come on, you're lying here naked with me and you seem to be fine with it. I'm sure nothing can be more embarrassing."

Eunsook chews on her lower lip, hiding her face in the crook of Minjung's neck. "Y-your eyes."

"What?"

"Your eyes," Eunsook mumbles against Minjung's skin. "They d-drew me i-in. I g-guess you c-could say it was l-like love at f-first sight."

Minjung blinks, a little more than surprised. "Seriously?"

"Y-yeah. I knew i-it was stupid t-to say. Ugh, you m-must think I'm r-ridiculous."

"No," Minjung laughs. "I think it's kind of…sweet actually."

"Then why are you l-laughing?" Eunsook lifts her head to look at Minjung, pouting.

"Because…the same thing sort of happened to me?"

"You were captivated by my eyes?" Eunsook asks.

"No," Minjung says again, chuckling. "I was more captivated by…you."

end.

///

i realise that after writing this, some people are a little ooc :/ sigh. this is my longest fic yet and i am sort of proud of it lol. i hope it was enjoyable? ;n;