A/N: This chapter gets steamy in the second part after the chapter break (denoted by ***). Feel free to stop reading after the break in the middle of this chapter if you want to skip the steam!

  ***

  Lia

  My cheeks are still scorching as I leave the lecture hall. I know Yeju can be very sweet, but to see her get all mushy in front of so many people is another experience.

  I follow the crowd into a spacious function room next to the lecture hall. Yeju’s b members are setting up a celebration party, and I decide to help them out. But as I tape a balloon to the wall, Yuna jumps on my back.

  “Lia!” she excims, squeezing her arms around my neck. “You look so cute in the photos Yeju showed!”

  Once again, my cheeks burst into fmes. “Oh, t- thank you.”

  “And the two of you look so cute together.” She lets go of me—I can breathe again—and gives me a knowing smile. “Yeju looks really happy, Lia.”

  I smile too. “Yeah. I am too.”

  “So I’m guessing the two of you made up?”

  “Well, yeah. We—”

  “Oh!” Yuna cuts me off. Someone must have caught her eyes, and she grabs me along to run to them. “Jade! Hello!”

  “Yuna!” a tall, older woman greets. She is wearing a blue sheath dress and a beautiful pearl neckce, an outfit that screams elegance and maturity. As she beams at us, there is a vague familiarity in her features I can’t quite pinpoint.

  “I haven’t seen you in a while, my dear,” Jade says. “I missed you.”

  “Same! I’m so happy to see you again. Yeju did such a great job in her presentation. Oh, by the way,”—Yuna gestures to me—“have you met Lia yet?”

  Jade’s eyes light up as she scans me. “My oh my, I’m finally meeting you in the flesh after hearing so much about you.”

  The realization strikes me, and I gasp. “Wait, are you Yeju’s mother?”

  “Yes, I am. Nice to meet you, Lia. My name is Jade Pei. Or Pei Yu, if you speak Mandarin. But honestly, just call me Jade.” She takes my hands into hers, cradling it like it’s a precious jade bracelet. “Thank you for taking care of Yeju for the st couple of months.”

  I didn’t think my face could get any hotter, but it is burning even more now. “Oh, we- we take care of each other.”

  “And that’s perfect.” She extends both her arms and pulls Yuna and me into a giant embrace. “Oh, I am so happy right now. I got to reunite with Yuna and meet Lia.”

  Yuna ughs and tightens the hug. “And your daughter is graduating!”

  “I know, right? Best day ever!”

  When we break out of the hug, the three of us chat like we are best friends. It is so easy to talk to them—Yuna is outgoing as usual, while Jade is so charming and warm. We talk about Yeju’s shenanigans, from childhood to graduate school, before Jade prods me to talk about myself. I tell her about the grant writing work I’ve been doing for Professor Song, the csses I’ll be taking next semester, and what I did over winter break.

  Jade is asking all the questions I’ve always wanted my mother to ask me. She listens and responds enthusiastically. She makes me feel so… seen. Suddenly, I want to tell this woman my entire life story.

  No wonder Yeju is so close to her. I’ve only just met her and I want to be close to her too.

  Our conversations halt when the door opens.

  Yeju saunters in, her hands in the air and an enormous grin on her face. “Guess who’s officially Dr. Hwarng?”

  The room explodes into appuse. The Song b members pop a few party poppers, and confetti rains down on her head. Through the chaos, Yeju ughs and walks across the room. Even as people around her congratute her, she gives them a quick acknowledgment and continues walking—closer and closer to me.

  Our eyes are fixed on each other’s. I can feel Jade and Yuna moving away from me. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me, but all I see is Yeju. She is gazing at me too, and her face is as flushed as mine.

  Before I can utter a “Congrats,” Yeju wraps me in an embrace. I close my eyes and breathe in the familiar aroma. She’s so warm. I forget how safe I feel in her arms.

  Snuggling my head into her neck, I mutter, “I can’t believe you dedicated two slides to me.”

  Her chuckle is a low rumble in her chest. “I would’ve dedicated more, but we don’t have that many photos to fill up more slides.”

  “So… let’s take more?”

  Yeju pulls back and winks. “Sure.” She turns to Jade, who has her hands over her mouth as if to be holding back a loud squeal. “Mom, help us take a photo!”

  “I will take a hundred,” Jade decres as she whips out her phone. “Give me a kissing pose! Carry her bridal style!”

  “You know what? Yuna, you take the photo.”

  “Oh, come on, don’t be shy in front of your own mother!”

  ***

  We slump on the couch next to each other.

  “That was so long.” Yeju slides a hand down her face. “I’m spent.”

  “Yeah, but it was fun.”

  The party sted a few hours. After taking a few photos with me, Yeju spent the rest of the time going around the room like a celebrity. It’s no wonder she’s exhausted. Meanwhile, I hung around with the few people I know and got to chat more with Jade, my new favorite person.

  “Your mom’s really cool, by the way,” I add.

  Yeju snorts. “Way too overbearing. She was this close to canceling her hotel reservation to live with us. I had to snatch her phone away.”

  “Aw, she loves me!” I chuckle. “Did your father come?”

  “He watched the defense virtually. He didn’t want to dampen my mom’s mood by coming. He congratuted me and everything on the phone,”—she snorts again—“and said he doesn’t understand a word.”

  “I’ll have you know I understood every word!”

  “I know you did, smarty pants.”

  I roll to my side to face her. “Congrats again, Dr. Hwarng.”

  She rolls to face me too. Our faces are now inches apart. “Hm,” she hums. Her breath tickles my nose. “Say that again. I like it.”

  The air seems to shift around us. I let out a soft, shaky breath.

  “Make me,” I whisper.

  Her smile falters, and her eyes flicker to the rest of my body. “God, Lia…” She loops a hand around my neck. “You drive me crazy, you know that?”

  Then she kisses me.

  This is our first kiss since that fight we had. And we melt right into it as if we’ve still been kissing every single day.

  She tastes as good as I remember; so warm, so sweet, so tender. Her hands tug on my neck and waist, pulling me close, trapping me next to her, while mine roam the body that I’ve been craving. Her skin. Her tattoos. Her new short hair.

  When we break apart for air, her eyes scan my body again.

  “I missed that,” she breathes.

  “I missed that too. Kiss me again?”

  This time, she does not hold back. She crashes into me for the kiss, and soon, she’s pressed on top of me, my back against the couch.

  “My room,” I gasp. “Let’s go to my room?”

  She responds by nipping my neck. A moan escapes from my throat.

  “Ye- Yeju?”

  “Stay,” Yeju says in between her kisses. “I need to feel you right now. Please?”

  I can only answer with a hasty nod.

  She unbuttons my jeans easily. Her fingers slide under my underwear and find the right spot. My head rolls back and I let out a groan. God, I miss her. I miss her touch. I miss this.

  While she draws out all the pleasure inside me, her other hand busies with the button of my blouse. I help her with the unbuttoning, and when my clothes are off, she kisses my breasts while digging into me.

  My mind whirs. I can think of nothing but Yeju. Her smooth, cold lips; her raspy breaths tickling my bare skin; the smell of her hair; her fingers working miracles, satisfying me the way only she can.

  And I want to think of nothing but her. I need to feel more of her.

  The pleasure rises and I yank on her shirt.

  “Yeju, baby, I’m- I’m going to…”

  And the sensation peaks. My vision fades into a blur of light before I slump back on the couch, panting, whimpering.

  Yeju kisses my neck again, more tenderly now.

  “That was…” I mumble. “Wow, I… I need more of that.”

  “Okay. I have plenty of time now.” She kisses my cheeks and my lips. “You’re so fucking beautiful, you know that?”

  I look at her. Yeju is staring at me like I’m an angel deserving of worship. But she’s an angel too, a guardian angel that brings me all the joy in the world, and I never want her to leave again.

  “Let’s go to my room now,” I say, sitting up. “It’s your turn, Dr. Hwarng.”

  Tonight, I’m going to be eating a doctorate.

  ***

  A/N: Yeju’s mom’s full name is 裴玉 (péi yù — family name Pei, given name Yu). Her given name means Jade, which is what she goes by usually.