Tzuyu rests her head on Jihyo's shoulder and falls asleep. She is tired after all that kissing and crying before. Jihyo can't sleep now; she needs to go to work in an hour so she stays awake watching Tzuyu sleep and caressing her hair, thinking about how to approach the shop owner and their possibilities if the plan goes wrong.
"Tzuyu!!!!" Jihyo screams entering the apartment. "He said yes! I explained everything and he said he will help us! He wants to see you tomorrow. Don't worry, I will be there with you." Jihyo yells running to where Tzuyu is. "Tzu, I'm so happy! It's going to work out well!". She says excitedly and then picks up her phone and starts writing everything again so Tzuyu doesn't miss a single word she said.
Tzuyu smiles and hugs Jihyo after reading the message but hides her worries. She's not all that convinced that it will be this easy. What if he asks her questions? How is she going to answer?
Tzuyu has a hard time sleeping and the next day wakes up already nervous. Jihyo lets her borrow a black suit she has for special occasions and it suits her perfectly. They arrive at the store and stop at the entrance. "You only need to nod, ok? I will talk for you." Jihyo says. Tzuyu nods and they enter the store.
Tzuyu is amazed at Jihyo's convincing aptitudes. She convinces the manager to hire her in 5 minutes. When the manager asks Tzuyu something, Jihyo re-words it making sure the answer can be a simple yes or no so Tzuyu only needs to move her head. They are lucky the owner is in a hurry and tells her to sign the contract right there. He leaves telling Tzuyu she can't be this shy with clients and to talk to them well to which Tzuyu nods and smiles. Once the door closes they look at each other and start laughing and jumping. They can't believe the plan worked.
Tzuyu starts working at the store and Jihyo is there every single day next to her, answering the questions clients have. The contract lasts 8 months which is what was left on Jihyo's one but it's enough to renew Tzuyu's visa.
Working together is easier and the time passes faster but Jihyo is still tired every day. She has 3 more months left to graduate and is extremely busy with her final project which is to create a fashion brand. Her idea was to mix modern and traditional Korean style but after meeting Tzuyu, she decided to change it to a mix of traditional Korean and Chinese fashion but modernizing it so people can wear them on a daily basis. There is no brand doing this so she has to create everything from scratch and do a lot of research. It's a risky project but Tzuyu is very excited every time Jihyo creates a new item and that gives Jihyo a lot of confidence.
After work, most days they go straight home but some days, like today, they sit on a bench right outside the store looking at the Han river and talking through the phone until it gets really dark. There is no one there this late at night and Tzuyu holds Jihyo's hand. Jihyo doesn't hold her back but also doesn't move from where her hands are. Tzuyu can sense she is uncomfortable and after a few minutes, when they hear a sound probably from some leaves moving with the wind, Jihyo puts her hand away. They don't say anything but Tzuyu is hurt. It's not the first time this happens. It's only been 12 days since they kissed and Tzuyu thinks the reason they have not kissed again since that day is because Jihyo is really tired when they arrive home but during nights like this, Tzuyu wonders what's wrong. They have not talked about what happened and at home, nothing much has changed. Jihyo lets her hug her every night and they keep their regular routine. Jihyo spends her mornings at the University or in her studio while Tzuyu goes to Korean class, and in the afternoons and evenings, they work at the store. Tzuyu knows she can't kiss her in public but nothing is happening in private either and now she starts to wonder if Jihyo thinks what happened was a mistake and that's why she's acting as if it never happened. She does not think Jihyo would ever kiss her just to test if she likes girls so that's the only explanation she has for it.
3 days later they are sitting on a bench again, this time away from the store where barely anyone passes by. Tzuyu decides to do something about the situation, she thought they were dating but she is confused now. She gets her phone and starts typing "There is no one around". She shows Jihyo the phone and points around them to show her there really is no one close by and no one can see them from any building behind. Jihyo looks around and nods. Tzuyu takes that as a confirmation that she can hold her hand this time but the moment she does, Jihyo takes it away fast, visibly nervous. Tzuyu doesn't know what to think. She puts her hands on her lap and looks to the river, moving her body a bit to the left facing away from Jihyo. Jihyo feels really sorry about the situation but can't bring herself to do anything about it. There are many thoughts crossing her mind, she's confused and scared.
Days continue like that and Tzuyu assumes the kiss was a one-time thing. She clearly remembers Jihyo telling her she's beautiful when she cries and she knows the way she looked at her and how she kissed her it's not something you do to a friend, of course, but she likes to think that was just Jihyo trying to make her stop crying so this way she doesn't get more hurt. She thinks Jihyo would have approached her already if it meant anything more.
Tzuyu has met Jihyo's mom 3 times already, this being the 4th. She loved Tzuyu since the very first day and this time she brings a family album just to tell Tzuyu funny and embarrassing stories from Jihyo's childhood.
"I'm glad Jihyo's making new friends now. She's been happier since she met you, you know? I wish you were a boy sometimes so she could get married already because I'm afraid she's going to end up alone all her life at this rate" she tells Tzuyu, unaware that Jihyo is hearing them from her studio. Jihyo's mom always makes sure to speak slower to Tzuyu so Tzuyu can understand her, and this time she does but she wishes she didn't. She knows, despite her words, Jihyo's mom would never actually approve of a girl marrying her daughter but it's ok, Tzuyu thinks, because it will never happen, not only because they are in Korea but because Jihyo doesn't like her like that anyways, she convinces herself.
Jihyo has been acting strange since her mom paid them a visit but Tzuyu doesn't confront her either. She thinks it must be the stress. Jihyo's birthday is approaching and Tzuyu decides to throw her a surprise home party so they can relax and have fun for a bit.
Jihyo has 4 friends from University she's always talking about. Tzuyu has not met them yet but she knows Jeongyeon's phone number is on the fridge. Jihyo put it up there and told Tzuyu to text her if she ever has an emergency. It's not an emergency but well, it kind of is. They need to have some fun. The last time they did something exciting was when Jihyo took her to the amusement park a month ago for her birthday. Luckily, Jeongyeon is all in for the party and says she will text the other 3. After 10 minutes she gets a message saying they all will be there at 10:30pm, when they arrive home from work.
Jihyo has no idea what is planned. Since it's a Sunday, she has her morning free and wakes up late. She wakes up due to the smell coming from the Kitchen. Something's burning and there's smoke everywhere.
"Oh my god! Tzuyu are you ok?" she says loudly and runs to the kitchen. She finds Tzuyu with a frying pan under the faucet and 3 small pancakes completely burned under the water. She's glad there's no fire and she starts laughing at the situation. Tzuyu looks at her embarrassed and Jihyo hugs her from the back. She takes a step back and using sign language tells her good morning before going to the bathroom to get ready for the day.
Once she goes back to the kitchen, Tzuyu has given up cooking and is looking for some ready-made food to eat. Jihyo stops her and tells her she will cook instead. After eating, Tzuyu goes to the studio and comes back with a small box. She gives it to her along with a birthday card. Jihyo is really happy; it's been 5 years since she got presents this early in the morning. She opens the box to find two small keychains, one with "Hyo" and one with "Tzu" engraved, a small heart next to both names. "I love them! Thank you, Tzuyu!" she tells her. Tzuyu is about to hold the "Tzu" one for herself but Jihyo takes it and gives her the box with "Hyo" on it. "You can keep that one" she tells her and leaves, looking for her keys so she can attach the new keychain.
Jihyo suggests going hiking but Tzuyu refuses, she does not want them to be tired later at night. After discussing some options, they settle for having lunch together at a close-by sushi restaurant and watching a movie at home before they have to start their shift at the store. Jihyo doesn't care which movie they see so she lets Tzuyu choose but since she doesn't know many, she just looks at the movie posters to decide. After a few minutes, she settles on one. Jihyo looks at the screen and her eyes go wide. "This one? Why?" she says looking at Tzuyu. Tzuyu points at one girl and then says "pretty" in sign language. "Are you sure? This movie is a bit... controversial" she says playing with her fingers nervously. Tzuyu nods but writes on her phone "unless you want to watch a different one?". Jihyo shakes her head and starts the movie. "The handmaiden" it says in big bold letters.
Tzuyu's face has never been redder. She didn't know what she was getting into when she chose this movie. 20 minutes after it started she knew she was screwed. They are both sitting on the floor, with their backs touching the sofa, only a palm in between them, and the bathroom scene with the thimble playing. Tzuyu looks at Jihyo discretely and laughs internally at how tense she is. She moves her hand slightly and Jihyo jumps. Tzuyu finds this super funny and decides to test the waters a bit more. Slowly, she moves until she can rest her face on Jihyo's lap. They stay like that for a while but she didn't see something coming, the bed scene.