( brownies & broken hearts !  )

───── THE FAINT SOUND OF BILLIE EILISH PLAYED THROUGHOUT THE BLACK BMW . hyejoo's shades sitting at the top of her raven colored hair as she drove with one hand on the wheel . her gaze looking over the body language of her blonde girlfriend , her eyebrows furrowing when she noticed how deep in thought chaewon seemed . usually , hyejoo would have asked chaewon what was wrong the moment she noticed there wasn't a smile on the older's face but hyejoo wasn't really in the best mood herself and preferred to not question chaewon .

hyejoo had a few thoughts invading her peace . mostly about her friend group , she hadn't talked to yeojin in lord knows how long and she didn't plan on it anytime soon , yerim was practically ignoring her . however , despite yerim claiming it was because she found it fair to be by yeojin's side , it was wasn't a well kept secret that chaewon and yerim hung out quite a few times . for hyejoo , that's when things started going downhill . the argument between her and chaewon still fresh on her mind three days later .

hyejoo didn't feel comfortable with chaewon hanging out with yerim alone , no matter how many times chaewon chose hyejoo , at one point the best friends were fighting for chaewon's attention . so yeah , maybe sometimes hyejoo felt a little insecure about being a choice and having chaewon lie about being with the same girl hyejoo was in competition with didn't really help that insecurity . hyejoo's feelings were justified, she knew that and it seemed as if chaewon just dismissed her and her feelings more and more.

there were multiple moments in their relationship where hyejoo thought that chaewon regretted choosing her over yerim . she wondered what their friend group would be like if chaewon had just chosen yerim from the jump . would they have stayed friends ? would the four of them have a completely different dynamic ?

"ugh i have headache" hyejoo's older sister, jungeun, complained as she rolled down the car window from the backseat .

hyejoo rolled her eyes and took a second long glance over at chaewon before putting her eyes back on the road .

"okay . what?" chaewon finally snapped, growing aggravated at the continuous glances .

"whats up with you?" hyejoo asked her tone dry .

"nothing" chaewon stated , turning her attention back to the window .

"clearly" hyejoo scoffed under her breath .

"do you have something you want to say ?"

jungeun , who was used to the couples bickering and useless arguing , tuned the couple out like she always did by putting in her airpods and blasting lady gaga . it was either this or dealing with jiwoo's car karaoke . jungeun preferred something she could actually block out and with the couple had been arguing for days with no break , it made jungeun wish she didn't get her license suspended last month .

"did i not just ask you a question ?" hyejoo responded and chaewon just stared at her with a raised eyebrow .

"is this about me talking to yara?"

"i should be the one asking you that"

"can you just give me a straight answer for once?" chaewon groaned.

"can you just give me the truth? for once?" hyejoo finally snapped .

chaewon rolled her eyes and went back to her phone .

"whatever" chaewon mumbled "i'm not doing this with you today"

"like usual" hyejoo jabbed.

"why are you acting like this? if you have something to say then say it" when hyejoo didn't say anything, chaewon scoffed in disbelief . "you know what ? just take me to yerim's"

"what?" hyejoo snapped her head in chaewon's direction for a few seconds , trying to get a good reading of chaewon's expression .

at chaewon's silence , hyejoo just shook her head , she was speechless herself and chaewon's words cut deeper than she knew . the one thing hyejoo didn't want to happen... the one thing yeojin warned her was inevitable in a love triangle . was actually starting to become true . the rest of the drive was filled with silence , the radio playing a new song by billie eilish trying its best and failing to drown out the tension between the couple .

pulling up to yerim's apartment , hyejoo parked the car and leaned her back into the seat . refusing to speak as chaewon gathered her things into her white and silver school bag . grabbing her phone , hyejoo mindlessly scrolled through her instagram feed while chaewon texted yerim to let her know she was outside .

upon getting the text message the purple haired seventeen year old , while miraculously still keeping her freshly painted pink nails untouched , jumped off her bed with a quickness she only had for the blonde beauty . yerim ran to the door while holding her phone to her ear , yeojin on the other line .

"yes yeojin . i heard you for the millionth time" yerim groaned as she almost tripped running down the stairs . "i still don't understand? why doesn't she like dates ? thats the whole part of dating ... right ? also whats her deal with chae and hyejoo ? there's definitely something fishy there"

"yeah yeah i'll try to get something out of chae . yeah they've been arguing ever since the whole yara thing happened don't tell them i told you though ... oh yeah... you guys don't talk anymore . kk bye !" yerim hung up as she opened the door and stepped outside of her condo apartment.

chaewon was already walking through the gate and up to the door when yerim came out . smiling up at the taller when yerim held her arms out for a hug , one that was very much needed in chaewon's mind. after a few moments , the close friends pulled away from each other so they could walk towards the elevator , which opened up a little faster than the last time . yerim turned to chaewon .

"what happened this time ?" yerim questioned cautiously .

"i don't even remember" chaewon's soft voice came out sounding even smaller than yerim thought was possible .

"do i have to kick her ass again?" yerim joked , smiling triumphantly when chaewon giggled behind her hand .

"if it would knock some sense into her then be my guest" chaewon chuckled out .

as bad as it sounds , which is why she would never admit to it , sometimes chaewon regretted having to break yerim's heart . the girl certainly didn't deserve it but chaewon couldn't help who she had fallen for and hyejoo was her world . she just hoped she made the right choice... because it was feeling like she made the wrong choice with each passing day .

the two had decided on ordering chinese takeout as they rewatched the cheetah girls movies . a personal childhood favorite of yerim . halfway through the second movie , yerim had received a phone call and offered to throw away the trash while she answered it . chaewon had seen a peek of the caller id . it was yeojin . a few minutes had passed since yerim had took the call from their best friend and chaewon was starting to feel guilty for shutting yeojin out . especially in a time where she needed the her friend the most .

"have you talked to yeojin ?" chaewon asked hesitantly when yerim walked into her bedroom .

yerim paused before looking down at her phone . she cleared her throat before smiling back up at chaewon as she laid down on her bed .

"we talk everyday" yerim answered .

"glad that something hasn't changed" chaewon smiled and yerim had to look away , resisting the attraction she felt towards her friend . chaewon had made it very clear to yerim that they were just close friends when she chose hyejoo .

"well she has a girlfriend now so that's changed" yerim chuckled , attempting to change the topic .

chaewon stiffened at the mention of yara , hearing the term girlfriend be used to describe whatever it was that yeojin , her close friend since middle school , had going on with the girl who seemed to make chaewon's blood boil in the most skin crawling way possible was absolutely infuriating . however , chaewon was a master at masking her feelings and she may have slipped up in school but she needed to regain her control . "right... i heard"

yerim noticed the girls tone drop slightly , a rare occurrence for the naturally soft voice chaewon had , and decided to change the subject once again .

"have you finished the project in hwang's class?" chaewon scoffed at the younger's words .

"yerim , the last thing i want to think about right now is homework"

yerim chewed on her lip in embarrassment . of course she doesn't wanna talk about school . yerim wanted to slap herself at that very moment . she knew if yeojin was here she would joke about how "love makes yerim say weird shit" or something along those lines . laying her head on chaewon's shoulder , she basked in the warmth and smell of vanilla .

"i miss our little group" yerim sighed out .

"yeah ... me too" chaewon said softly as she thought about the youngest of the four and what she was doing .

yeojin stood in the kitchen , staring blankly at the oven as she patiently waited for her brownies to be finished , the clock reading 8:38pm . a few moments and several ticks coming from the timer , she heard the doorbell ring twice . a wave of confusion washed over her before she had remembered the brief phone call she had about 20 minutes ago . cursing softly , yeojin made her way to the front door .

"i thought i told her it was fine ?" yeojin mumbled to herself as she unlocked the door and swung it open .

yara stood across from her , her hood covering her hair and face from the downpour of rain . her eyes squinted in a effort to protect herself from the splashes of the thick water . it took about two seconds for yeojin to register yara standing the rain before she pulled her into the home .

"i told you that i was fine" yeojin grimaced as she took yara's hoodie , the droplets of water falling inter her green slippers and the wooden floor , and hung it up .

"yeah well you're a terrible liar" yara sent yeojin a tight lipped smile as she ran her fingers through her straight hair .

"and how do you figure i was lying ?" yeojin scoffed in amusement , her hands resting on her hips as she looked at yara expectingly .

"you sounded terrified over the phone" yara pointed out . "i thought you were genuinely scared and what kinda friend would i be if i didn't check on you ?"

"how sweet" yeojin hummed teasingly , ignoring the slight pang of annoyance when she heard the word 'friend' , shaking her head . "my very own knight in shining armor"

yeojin patted yara's shoulder as she passed by to make her way to the kitchen . yara held yeojin's gaze for a few seconds , her usual ghost smile on display .

"what are you making today ?" yara questioned as she followed yeojin to the kitchen .

"brownies" yeojin answered as she put on her oven mitts before bending down to grab the glass pan filled with chocolate . "fudge brownies to be exact"

"you definitely know the way to my heart" yara let out an airy chuckle . "brownies are my favorite"

"they are?" yeojin met yara's eye for a split second before going back to cutting squares into the brownies .

"my oldest brother" yara started , catching yeojin's attention as she finished cutting the brownies . "he's engaged right now and his partner always made brownies every summer on the last day of school like some sort of tradition"

yara noticed the way yeojin stared up at her , her eyes blank for a while as she seemed to be dazed or distracted by something . "it's stupid , i know-"

"no!" yeojin interrupted abruptly. "that's not-it's just ... that was my first time seeing you smile ... you're pretty"

now it was yara's turn to be stuck . frozen , blinking to bring her back to reality and yara wasn't sure what to make of the compliment . usually , she was smug and quite cocky when it came to her appearance because she knew she was a beautiful young lady but it seemed different coming from the petite blonde who was warming up to her . yara wasn't completely sure as to why but she would realize it sooner or later .

"is no one else here ?" yara switched topics smoothly .

"no , my grandma fell sick a few days ago so my parents went to go visit and haseul is at sooyoung's so ... it's just us"

yara only nodded before going to take the brownie on top of the pyramid that yeojin had stacked onto a plate . yeojin watched yara's reaction closely , not only was baking a stress reliever for her but she enjoyed when other people enjoyed her desserts .

"how is it ?" yeojin questioned .

"good, definitely my new favorite" yara spoke , returning yeojin's bright smile with her own ghost smile .

"you're such a sweet talker" yeojin chuckled out with a playful roll of her eyes .

out of the corner of her eye , yara noticed the way yeojin wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her arms to create some type of heat . while in deep thought , yeojin's eyes wandered down to her frog slippers . quietly munching on the platter of fudge brownies , yara thought of a way to bring yeojin's mood up . it was one of the reasons yara enjoyed being in yeojin's presence . the younger's eccentric and carefree attitude dimmed yara's nonchalant ways and seriousness . yeojin was the peace that gave yara's life the serenity that she always sought for .

boom !

the thunder sounded , even making yara's eyes blink as she wasn't prepared for the sound , yara almost forgetting there was a thunderstorm happening . yara snapped her head over as she watched yeojin flinched through the corner of her eye . her fingers coming up to block her ear's from the loud roar of thunder .

"are you okay ?" yara asked , her voice soft and if yeojin had opened her eyes she would be met with yara's cat shaped eyes filled with worry .

"yeah . why ?" her voice shaky from her fear of loud noises .

"are you scared ?"

"no" yeojin rushed out and yara gave her a pointed look .

"yes" yeojin corrected with a sigh .

she didn't want or need yara knowing she was scared of thunder and the dark ... now that would be humiliating .

"what are you scared of ?" yara questioned softly . looking down to meet yeojin who avoided yara's eyes by looking down at her feet .

yara sighed when yeojin didn't say anything and went to pull the girl into a hug . yeojin's eyes widened as she was pulled into yara's hold , took a few moments to register what was happening before her arms found their way around yara's thin waist . pressing her face against yara's shoulder .

resting her chin on the top of yeojin's head , yara found herself breathing in the smell of toasted sugar and chocolate . closing her eyes as she basked in the bliss of a moment she hadn't had in a while . a feeling sparked , igniting a warm rosy glow on yara's cheeks as she felt her heart beat pick up .

"yara" yeojin called softly , the older humming back just as softly as she brushed her fingers through yeojin's wavy blonde hair .

"i know you're supposed to be like this hardass or whatever but this feels really nice"

yara scoffed in amusement followed by a deep chuckle , yeojin smiling as she felt a low rumble ripple throughout yara's body.

"you think i'm a hardass?" yara asked looking down at yeojin with a smile.

"its your aura" yeojin joked.

both of them laughed , their laughter creating a melody of joy and adoration . yara ran her hand through yeojin's hair once again .

"thank you" yeojin mumbled after what felt like an hour of silence .

"for what ?" yara asked curiously with furrowed eyebrows .

"being here... i feel like everyone's been slipping away from me"

yara sighed and pressed a soft kiss on yeojin's head , smiling contently when yeojin snuggled closer to her .

"you don't have to worry , i'm not going anywhere" yara's husky voice held determination .

she knew those words were a lot to work behind, considering who her family was. but, as yara held onto yeojin's small figure , the silence blessing them , she didn't know what she was thinking when she promised herself to never be the cause of tears falling from those eyes.