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Jaeyeon is an exquisite woman in her thirties. She is well respected by her students at a prestigious university, and she is known for her calm, attractive aura. When she walks through the halls or along the street in her fitted suit, her long dark brown hair braided neatly, glasses resting perfectly on her nose, notebook in her hand, heels tapping steadily, and her bright, polite greeting offered to everyone she passes, she carries a type of kindness that feels naturally charismatic. People stop without meaning to. Men, women, younger, older, they all turn and look at her like she has a quiet pull that makes them pause.
Jaeyeon is always properly professional. So when her students or even her coworkers flirt with her, some in subtle comments and some in loud, playful ways that make the class burst into laughter, she simply lets out a small amused smile and brings everyone back to the lesson. No one ever gets further than that. Everyone secretly wonders why she never shows interest in anyone. Some assume she is playing hard to get. Others say she wants to stay single and successful as an inspiring figure. Most people avoid commenting too much out of respect for her private life.
The truth is something only Jaeyeon thinks about late at night when she is finally alone. She washes off the day in her quiet apartment, slipping into her white silk sleep robe, wiping away her makeup, and tossing her glasses somewhere on her bed before lying down. She gave up on love years ago after her last boyfriend. She has been in several relationships, all with men, and each one looked fine on the outside. But every time, Jaeyeon ended things while they stood there confused, hearing her say the same sentence: "You are a good partner. Something just does not feel right." And then she walked away, unsure how to explain the feeling even to herself.
So one night, she got ready and walked somewhere completely unplanned, acting on pure impulse. A few days earlier, she had randomly seen an ad on social media for something called a “lesbian bar” that was surprisingly close to her apartment. She had been at her office computer when it popped up. For a moment she bit the tip of her long, beautifully dark red polished nails, staring at the ad while trying to understand why it caught her attention at all.
The poster showed two women in a pool, leaning against the edge. One had a wine glass in her hand. Both had that quiet, intimate smile as they looked at each other. Their hair was wet around their shoulders. They were in bikinis.
Jaeyeon closed the tab quickly when a coworker walked past without noticing. She pressed a hand to her chest and let out a small, shaky breath, confused by her own reaction.
And now here she was, after days of pretending she had forgotten about it. She had been idly checking small chores around her apartment on a planless afternoon when her body simply moved before her thoughts caught up. She opened her closet, pulled out a short dress, did her makeup, styled her hair, chose her best purse, put on high heels, and walked out of her door.
Now she was actually on her way to that bar.
What was she even doing?
Jaeyeon arrived at the bar and stood outside for a moment, looking at the banner, the lights, and the entrance. A few women walked in and out in pairs, laughing softly or holding hands. Jaeyeon found the whole scene beautiful and strangely inviting, but it also made her feel exposed in a way she was not used to. She ran a hand over her bare arm, exhaled, showed her ID card to the staff at the door, and walked inside.
The bar had a warm vibe despite the lively energy. Dark, golden, and brown furniture filled the space. It wasn’t too crowded but not empty either. Jaeyeon looked around with that familiar hint of insecurity, half expecting someone to give her a judgmental look. She did not see any. Instead everything felt calm and natural.
She did, however, see two women in matching black dresses kissing on a couch. The sight made Jaeyeon look away immediately, her cheeks warm as she gulped.
Eventually she sat at the counter. The bartender, a woman with blonde hair tied high, looked at her with a bright smile and asked what she wanted. When Jaeyeon answered, the bartender turned to prepare her drink.
Jaeyeon sat there quietly, taking slow sips. She found the atmosphere attractive, almost comforting, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that she did not belong here. Maybe she should just leave. She was about to slide off the stool when a delicate, beautiful hand with a dazzling accessory and soft pink nails lightly touched her glass.
A gentle voice asked, “Are you here alone?”
Jaeyeon looked up. Sitting very close to her was a woman she could not quite guess the age of. Maybe her own age. She wore a pretty white dress, and her long wavy pink hair matched her soft pink nails. She looked at Jaeyeon with wide, doe-like eyes and gave her a bright smile, tilting her head slightly as she waited for an answer.
Jaeyeon said, “Ummm… yeah, I am in fact alone. It is my first time.”
The beautiful woman nodded in clear satisfaction, her smile growing as she crossed one leg over the other. Jaeyeon caught herself glancing down at her legs before quickly looking up again.
The woman placed her hands together near Jaeyeon, her voice warm. “Nice to meet you. I am Heeseo.”
A few nights passed. Even though Jaeyeon and Heeseo never had one long, serious conversation to get to know each other quickly, Jaeyeon found herself looking forward to nighttime every day. She kept going back to the bar because every little detail she learned about Heeseo added to the last one in a way that felt strangely exciting and fulfilling. Some of Jaeyeon’s usual hobbies even started feeling a little less entertaining compared to the thought of seeing Heeseo again.
Eventually, one evening, she found herself saying more than she expected. Heeseo was leaning her cheek on one hand on the counter, her other hand making small absentminded circles near Jaeyeon’s own hand. Her focused eyes and faint, almost lazily charming smile, framed by long lashes, kept distracting Jaeyeon more than she wanted to admit.
So Jaeyeon told her about her past relationships, about how she was a professor, how she lived alone, how much she loved her family, her friends, and her job. But she also admitted she secretly wished for a kind of intimacy that had always been missing with the boyfriends she had dated.
Why was she even saying all of this to Heeseo? She had not even been drinking enough for that to count as a reason.
Sometimes, while Heeseo listened with that calm interest, Jaeyeon caught herself thinking about what different eyeliners or eyeshadow colors might look good on her eyes.
She later found out that Heeseo was two years younger than her, lived alone as well, and worked in a bakery. One night, Heeseo showed Jaeyeon a selfie on her phone. In the picture she had a cute beret on her head, posing proudly with a new cupcake she had been experimenting with. Her face had small streaks of dough on it, but she still held the cupcake up with a flashy smile, looking completely pleased with her work.
Jaeyeon laughed more than she expected. At some point she ended up resting her hand on Heeseo’s knee and said, “You look unbelievably cute in this selfie.”
She paused, staring at Heeseo for a second before admitting quietly, “It makes me want to squish you.”
Heeseo just laughed and shifted her attention back to her phone, like she knew something Jaeyeon didn’t know yet.
Eventually, one night, they were taking a walk around the river area near the bar, street lights reflecting softly on the water. Jaeyeon suddenly stopped walking. Heeseo stopped too, arms naturally folding as she raised a brow in question.
Jaeyeon blurted out, “I want to try what you all do in the bar too, but I don’t know.”
Heeseo blinked. “What do you mean?”
Silence stretched for a moment.
Then Heeseo let out a soft, almost fond chuckle and stepped closer. “You mean you want to try being with a woman?”
She said it while running a subtle finger along Jaeyeon’s bare shoulder, which made Jaeyeon shiver and lose her breath for a second.
“I… I mean, yes…” Jaeyeon managed. “I am in search of what I was looking for before and never found. I’m not sure it will work though. I don’t even know how to do it.”
Heeseo’s expression shifted into a small look of realization, followed by a slow nod.
After a brief pause, Heeseo said, “I can teach you.”
Jaeyeon swallowed. “How…?”
“I will teach you how to do it. Then you can decide if you want it or not. Easy. Do you trust me?”
Jaeyeon hesitated only for a second before answering quietly, “I trust you.”
An hour later, they were in Jaeyeon’s place. Jaeyeon’s heart was pounding as she closed the door, stepped inside, and hung her own coat. Heeseo looked around while slipping off her high heels at the entrance.
“Beautiful, cozy place you have here,” she said.
Jaeyeon cleared her throat. “Hmmm… ummm… would you like something to eat?”
Heeseo gave her that calm smile that always caught Jaeyeon off guard. “Just water. Thank you. I’ll be waiting in your bedroom.”
She walked toward the bedroom before Jaeyeon even processed what to say. The palms of Jaeyeon’s hands were sweaty at the sight of this beautiful woman being in her home. And they were alone. Oh my god.
So Jaeyeon brought the water. Heeseo was sitting on her bed, looking around. She took the glass, drank a sip, and Jaeyeon sat next to her, watching the shape of Heeseo’s jaw and thinking without shame about how kissable it looked. She wondered how she had never felt like this toward a woman before, considering how new all of this was.
Heeseo wiped her mouth, thanked her, then pointed toward a picture frame on a nearby table. It was a photo of younger Jaeyeon when she was a university student. “You look so pretty here,” she said.
Jaeyeon smiled lightly and played with a strand of her own hair. “Thank you…”
Heeseo shifted herself on the bed and placed her hands on Jaeyeon’s lap. She looked straight into her eyes and asked softly, “Why are you stressed?”
Jaeyeon sighed, her expression softening. She looked at Heeseo with quiet fondness and spoke in a low voice while brushing her fingers through Heeseo’s pink hair, gently tucking it behind her ear so she could touch her cheek more easily. “I’ve only ever… been with men…”
Heeseo smiled knowingly. “I know. You think there’s only one blueprint for sex, and it’s the same old, stereotypical straight one you’ve been taught since childhood.”
Jaeyeon stared at her, stunned for a few moments, then whispered, “Y… yeah… I guess that’s the case.”
Heeseo slowly shifted herself forward and sat on Jaeyeon’s lap, gazing into her eyes with a reassuring smile. She brushed Jaeyeon’s hair off her shoulder and pressed a gentle kiss onto the newly exposed skin. That alone made Jaeyeon feel undone and shivery.
Heeseo reached up and slid Jaeyeon’s glasses off, placing them aside. She put both hands on Jaeyeon’s shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and said calmly, “You see… there is no set definition for sex or intimacy, ma’am. Put aside the rules. Do what you feel like in the moment. Don’t calculate anything based on some unnecessary time limit or finish line. And that’s it. That’s how you do it.”
Jaeyeon blinked. “That… easy?”
“Sure,” Heeseo said without hesitation.
She guided Jaeyeon’s hand to her thighs and waist and added, “As long as you’re vocal about what you like and don’t like, and you make sure the other person is too… there are no other rules.”
Then she leaned in and kissed Jaeyeon. Jaeyeon’s hands moved without her thinking, wandering along Heeseo’s body, over her thighs, her waist, the smooth skin of her legs. She found herself lost in the kiss, lost in the warmth pressed against her.
The night stretched on as she let go of the thought of time or “how this specific thing should be done.” She moved based entirely on the desire she felt for Heeseo in each moment, following it wherever it wanted to go, on a messy, slow, sometimes random path that felt strangely natural.
When Jaeyeon woke up in the morning, she felt like a completely new person.
One month later
Heeseo was in the café on a sunny, breezy noon, working on cakes behind the counter. She was cheerfully placing cute toppings on them with her coworkers, her smile and eyes looking extra pretty under the soft midday light.
That was when a woman entered the café quietly, holding a bouquet of flowers in front of her face. She wore a jacket, skinny jeans, and her long wavy brown hair was down around her shoulders. One of Heeseo’s friends nudged her and joked, “Girl, I think someone’s here for you…”
Heeseo looked up and immediately brightened. She hurried over and called out, “Unnie!”
Jaeyeon moved the bouquet aside and hugged her tightly with her free arm. Heeseo wrapped her arms around Jaeyeon’s small waist as Jaeyeon gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Some younger customers at nearby tables, along with Heeseo’s coworkers, giggled quietly at the sight.
Jaeyeon gently cupped Heeseo’s cheek and asked, “Are you done for the day, baby?”
Heeseo held her flowers against her chest cutely. “No, unnie… you can sit a bit. There’s just a little left. Then we’ll leave.”
Jaeyeon squished both her cheeks lightly and said, “Lovely. I can’t wait to have some alone time with my doll girlfriend after a whole week of classes.”