The window was weirdly dark when Ryujin came into her apartment's driveway after her dance class. She's about to take a quick shower and meet Yeji for a birthday dinner in an hour, and she cannot wait to see her again.
She isn't one to celebrate birthdays that much but with Yeji's excitement on the phone earlier, she couldn't help but look forward to their dinner, too.
She jumped out of surprise when she opened the door and heard the cheers and the loud greetings from her friends who were all gathered inside.
In the middle of the room was Yeji - all smiley and holding a birthday cake as she started singing happy birthday, followed by the others.
The birthday celebrant was too stunned to do anything so she gave in to Yeji's subtle hug and blew the candles out.
"Wh- How did you guys even get here? We were just dancing an hour ago. Oh my god, Yeddedong."
The brunette's eyes were so wide and everyone else was laughing at her reaction.
When she was able to take a good look at the living room, her mouth hung open with the abundance of expensive-looking food served in the kitchen. There were balloons and party props on the living room table, and the bottles of wine looked like they could pay for Ryujin's tuition.
She didn't expect the cat-eyed girl to pull off this kind of surprise as she has always been so passive when it comes to these kinds of activities - at least it seemed that way before they started dating.
"You didn't tell me your girl was rich RICH", Lia appeared on Ryujin's side as the rest of the girls started to eat and drink.
Ryujin gave her a confused look and Lia lowered her voice before the approaching Yeji arrived. "She took care of everything. No one else dropped even a single penny."
The brunette has to change her expression in a split second as she can see Yeji approaching. She gave her best friend a knowing look that says 'we'll talk about this later' before proceeding to meet the cat-eyed girl halfway.
"Hey", she smiled softly as she could see the spark in the other girl's eyes.
"You're proud that you were able to pull this off, are you?" Yeji grinned at her and pulled Ryujin towards her bedroom.
"Wait, what are we-"
Yeji closed the door and turned Ryujin around to show her surprise before she could even say anything.
The brunette stood - mouth agape - as she saw a big white box in the middle of her room. She could feel Yeji moving closer and she caught her breath when the cat-eyed whispered.
"Happy Birthday, Jagiya."
She almost wished that she didn't have to move and live instead in the comfort that Yeji's warmth brings. It took everything in her not to lean back and pull Yeji even closer.
"Open it."
Ryujin did as she was told and her jaw dropped when she saw the contents of the box.
Several canvases, all kinds and sizes of brushes, acrylic paint, pastels, graphite - all the best kinds! It was a lot that Ryujin might not have to buy anything else for the rest of the year.
"Yeddeong."
"Hmm?" The other girl sat in front of her with a proud grin.
"Did you like it?"
"What do you mean- of course! I don't even know what to say. Thank you. These are so precious. You must've spent a lot on this."
"Shhh. Don't mind that, Ryuddaeng. It's your day, I'm just glad that you're happy."
Ryujin felt like she's about to burst. She leaned in and kissed Yeji in an attempt to express how grateful she was. The kiss quickly deepened and all of a sudden, everything else became blurry. She swiftly got rid of the box between them and climbed on top of the cat-eye.
She pulled back a little.
"Did I mishear or you really just called me Jagiya earlier?" She asked in a teasing tone.
"I did. Now hurry up and kiss meeee" Yeji whined and Ryujin chuckled because of how cute she was.
They knew they had to come out soon so they broke the kiss off after several minutes and fixed themselves up.
"There's one more thing that I'd like to ask before we go out and mingle with everyone, though", Yeji said softly.
"Hmm?" The brunette directed all her attention to the cat-eye.
She senses the anxiety in the way Yeji was standing awkwardly, and with the way she cannot meet the brunette's eyes all of a sudden.
"What is it, Yeddeong?" She held the other girl's hand and caressed it lightly.
"A-are we..."
Ryujin waited.
"Are you... my girlfriend?"
Ryujin was surprised - mostly because she didn't expect the question, and the rest was because Yeji looked so unsure and vulnerable, which was not her usual self.
She took it as a good thing that the cat-eye was actually thinking about making their relationship official, and that she sounded cautious about it, too. That means she has thought about it a lot.
The brunette, on the other hand, hasn't thought about it. Because she has only ever dated Yeji and no one else, her automatic habit was to enjoy the company, plan out dates, look forward to seeing her again, and just devote all her feelings and attention to her. Besides, if there's someone who would know about labels and relationships, it wouldn't be her.
But she has someone to talk to about it now. And she has never felt so relieved and sure of where the conversation will go.
She smiled softly at Yeji and held her steady so that they're looking into each other's eyes.
"I never thought I'd be able to lead this kind of conversation ever", she started.
"But... You tell me, Jagiya..." she said it so dearly that Yeji blushed with the endearment.
"Am I your girlfriend?"
A small smile broke into the cat-eye's face as she pulled Ryujin closer and nodded against her chest.
The brunette also let out a wide grin as she hugged her girlfriend tightly.
"It's settled, then. Now, let's go back out before the others come looking for us."
They broke apart and walked out hand in hand as the rest of the girls cheered and teased them endlessly.
It was a celebration that's one for the books.
That night, Ryujin couldn't count the times when her heart fluttered every time she looked towards Yeji and saw her smiling back at her.
She was pretty sure that she's in love.
*
The following weeks went smoothly for the couple.
They've established a routine that works around their class schedules. Because they attend different schools, they often meet after class and on weekends. They take turns in picking each other up from campus - something that Ryujin insisted despite not having a car because she would like to maximize all the possible minutes that she can be with her girlfriend.
Yeji also makes sure to tag along to the dance classes whenever she's free.
Eunseo never said anything when Yeji started going back to the studio again. She even nods or smiles politely at the couple whenever she sees them.
This was the case until Yeji accidentally ran into a familiar face on campus.
"Yeji-unnie?" She heard a familiar voice say.
When she turned around, she saw someone she didn't expect to see. "Yujin-ah?"
The younger girl grinned and ran towards her for a quick hug.
"I knew that was you that I saw. I ran here to say hi", she continued.
"What are you doing here?" Yeji hugged her back and smiled.
"Oh, I was inquiring. I'm planning on going here next year."
"I see that you got a little lucky and ran into a senior."
Yeji's head whipped to the direction of the voice and surely, Minju was walking towards them.
"Minju-ah? What a surprise!" Yeji met her halfway and gave her a quick embrace.
They chatted for a bit as they walked towards the parking lot.
Yeji learned that Yujin is planning to take an exam in SU for the next academic year and Minju was very supportive of her decision. She is planning to take a business major and the cat-eye was happy to offer her support if the younger girl would need it in the future.
Minju sounded comfortable and they seemed to have agreed silently on burying the hatchet. It has been several months, after all.
Just as they were walking their separate ways, Yeji caught a glimpse of Ryujin who was already sitting on the bench near her car. Her eyes fixed on the cat-eye's direction.
The earlier smiled and scurried towards her girlfriend but instantly got worried because the brunette wasn't smiling back, or showing any emotions at all.
Yeji's smile faded as she halted in front of her girlfriend.
"Jagi?"
Ryujin finally stood up and walked past Yeji.
"Let's go."
Confused and slightly hurt, Yeji followed.
She usually opens the door for me. Yeji thought to herself as she awkwardly settled in the driver's seat. She looked over to the brunette and her expression was still the same. She was on the far end of her seat and was looking straight, not acknowledging her presence at all.
"A-are you okay? Did something happen?" The cat-eye reached out to touch Ryujin's arms but the latter flinched with the contact so she immediately pulled her hand back.
Not knowing what to do, Yeji looked away and fastened her seatbelt.
"Take me home, please", was the only thing that she received from the brunette as she started the engine and drove quietly.
This might be our first fight as a couple. Yeji thought to herself.
And she didn't know what to do.
She gripped the steering wheel tightly as she struggled to stop her lips from quivering.