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Best friends since high school, Jeongyeon and Nayeon only recently tested the waters beyond the bounds of friendship a year and a half before Nayeon graduated from college. It was fun. They spontaneously stole away to the mountains or to the beaches instead of going to classes when things got too stressful for either or both of them.
Best friends for almost a decade, they never realized that there was so much more about each other that they otherwise wouldn't have known about until they crossed the bridge separating friends from lovers. Oh, definitely got to know each other more and had fun. On the flip side, they also found things to fight about as girlfriends. But hey, they're Nayeon and Jeongyeon. "2yeon" as the people who have noticed (a lot in their uni have) their chemistry would call them. A bit temperamental, Nayeon had always been complemented by Jeongyeon's more understanding side. With every argument, they easily slipped back into a dance they've known and memorized for so long. They're Nayeon and Jeongyeon and Jeongyeon and Nayeon—best friends of almost a decade...and now girlfriends.
Until, Nayeon moved to a different city after graduating from college for a job opportunity she had been eyeing for while Jeongyeon was left at uni to finish her degree with a year more on her plate.
So they tried doing long distance. It was something completely new to them having almost spent half of their lives with each other physically side-by-side. It was bittersweet. The distance was obviously something they wished wasn't there. But they did say that the heart grows fonder with distance. They made it up to each other by video calling each other every night and taking turns to visit each other (mostly Jeongyeon though) every week or two. They still danced the same dance, just a bit different.
Until it stopped. First, it was the missed city visits, because both have been caught by their busy schedules. They'd always try to reschedule it until their weekly visits became once a month. Second, it was the subsiding beeps on their phones brought by the calls or texts they send each other throughout the day. The only buzzing Jeongyeon hears are the missed phone calls to Nayeon. They still danced, although a different dance accompanied by the tune Jeongyeon knows best—"The number you have dialed is either unattended or out of coverage. Please try again."
One night, as Jeongyeon was just about to leave a text asking how Nayeon was and how she hopes that she's doing fine with, to her surprise, she receives a text from Nayeon.
"We need to break up."
Three weeks later, after finally finding the perfect time and so much convincing that they'd at least do it in person (of course, Jeongyeon also tried to fix things with Nayeon), they're here in a park on a beautiful spring day.
Jeongyeon sits on a bench as she fidgets with the two cups of coffee in her hand. She almost crushes it and makes a mess when she sees Nayeon taking small and hesitant steps towards her.
"Hey!" She nervously greets Nayeon making sure she doesn't do it with some cute pet name she had grown accustomed to calling her ex. She flashes her a crooked smile, just small enough that her nervous and heartbroken self can muster but big enough to mask any vulnerability that presents itself through her eyes. Nayeon would know.
Nayeon's eyes take a second to roam before briefly giving Jeongyeon a glance.
"Hey..." she says as she sits down on the bench three feet away from the owner of the heart she was about to give back.
"I got you your coffee. Hazelnut latte." It was Nayeon's favorite.
Three weeks isn't a long time, but for a heartbroken Jeongyeon...three weeks felt like three months when she was hoping that something would change, that Nayeon would have a change her heart, would suddenly surprise her outside the apartment they used to share near their school...would tell her it was all a mistake. Unfortunately, three weeks was as uneventful as the weeks leading up to their breakup.
Contrary to popular belief, despite being a scorpio, Jeongyeon is led by both her head and her heart. Three weeks was plenty of time for her to see where it all fell apart.
The cracks in their relationship had already shown itself even before the distance separated them. Maybe it was not obvious, because they had always masked it with the dynamic they've had more experienced dancing in instead of the unfamiliar territory of being in a romantic relationship with each other, but somehow it was exactly the bandaid that covered the cracks that eventually destroyed them.
She knew Nayeon knew. They were not working at all.
And then there they are, a sunny Saturday morning with birds chirping on the tree before taking flight with the flock soaring high above them. It is a perfect place to have a romantic date at. She almost wished it would rain. She thinks it is unfair how the sun only highlighted Nayeon's beauty, almost tempting her to fall in love deeper and trap her in a pit of pain brought by a love that was lost, a love so close yet so far.
But there they are, three hours later, finally closing a book that had the final period written three weeks ago.
Three hours of beating around the bush catching up with each other like they did when they were younger whenever Jeongyeon would be gone on a vacation with her family. Three hours before both finally mustered the courage to face the fact they did share something more than friendship.
Three hours was more than enough for Jeongyeon to see Nayeon's own suffering having been the one to break things off between them (even if it happened through a text); after all, Nayeon loves Jeongyeon just as Jeongyeon loves Nayeon...just not the same way they had hoped or though it was over the years. Three hours was more than enough to accept things and realize that maybe friends were all they are going to be and had always been meant to be.