Of citrus and turpentine (Joygi)

of citrus and turpentine

It had been officially fourteen hours, thirty five minutes and twenty-two seconds since Kang Seulgi last kissed her girlfriend, and it showed.

"For god's sake Kang, lay off the tissue!"

Seulgi blinked and returned to the present to find the nibbled, lipstick stained paper napkin grasped tightly in her hand. She had been absent-mindedly chewing on it in the middle of the cafeteria where the group had congregated.

"Someone lost their hamster," Wendy drawled as she twirled noodles on a fork.

"Specifically Joy," Yeri giggled.

"It's a big, clumsy ass hamster too," Irene fussed as she took the nibbled napkin and snapped her fingers in front of Seulgi's startled face. "Snap out of it, can't you go for a few hours without pining for her like a puppy?"

"You really want her to answer that?" someone said and they all laughed.

But Seulgi wasn't hearing; already, she was daydreaming of Sooyoung, her girl with the killer model look that had the student community at large drooling at the sight of her. But Sooyoung wasn't merely all looks; it was quite unfair that she also possessed the brains to complete the jackpot and make her even more desirable in Seulgi's eyes.

After all, they do say that smart is the new sexy. And not only did Sooyoung embody that concept but Seulgi was convinced that her girlfriend's picture should be included with the dictionary defintion of 'smexy'.

Sooyoung, or Joy as she was affectionately called by their friends owing to her joie de vivre, was set to be the youngest business graduate of her year, since she had skipped ahead several years owing to her admirable drive and advanced intelligence and knowledge. To say Seulgi was proud would be a gross understatement: when Joy confided the news, Seulgi was so enraptured that she had stood up too quickly and through some bizarre chain reaction nearly ended up tumbling over her balcony where they had been having a romantic candlelit dinner date.

It was really a mystery to their friends at large how two such unlikely people ever got together, but once they delved deeper, everyone came to the same conclusion: there really is no one better suited for Seulgi and Joy, except themselves.

Where Joy was outgoing and popular, Seulgi tended to be quieter; where Joy liked to talk and talk, Seulgi liked to daydream; where Joy was the life of a party, Seulgi could usually be found painting within the sanctuary of her one room apartment that doubled as her studio; where Seulgi's adventures with cooking nearly cost her a hand and her entire life's insurance, Joy could have considered culinary school as her Plan B career.

Nonetheless, the two girls complemented each other, their influence rubbing off and bettering them, molding them into more rounded versions of themselves.

Joy learned to listen and empathise more; Seulgi learned to let loose. Joy started to appreciate the vast complexity of art and artists throughout the ages; Seulgi grew more aware of the intricacies of business microcosms and how they functioned. Joy grew to appreciate the effort in fixing and mending something instead of replacing it straight away; Seulgi learned how to make a sandwich without slicing her finger off.

>>>>>>

In the beginning, there were Seulgi and Irene.

They went way back since nappy days and Seulgi still had an endearing habit of calling Irene jagi, because they had even gotten fake married in elementary school. Wendy had been their officiating minister as well as their divorce coordinator. Yeri was a snivelling kid they picked up after all three girls beat up the bullies that tormented her and from then on, Yeri became a part of their group, following Irene around with heart eyes.