Closer with you (ongoing)

CHAPTER 17

The week and a half at home was healing. Exactly what Moonbyul needed.

It had been far too long since she had last seen her younger sisters—their schooling and extracurricular activities prevented them from accompanying their parents to her basketball games, and her hectic schedule made it impossible for her to visit home. The eldest of three took her role in the family seriously, though, and was intentional over her break about creating space and time to bond with her siblings, both of whom she learned a lot from and cared deeply for. Seulgi, the middle child, was off to college soon, so their conversations were drastically different from those that Moonbyul had with their baby sister Yesol, with whom the athlete had a ten-year age difference. Still, she managed, finding commonalities with both.

Her parents pampered her, as expected, especially her mother, who fussed over Moonbyul's every action. "Don't burden yourself too much," she'd say, "worry only about eating and sleeping. You need a proper rest after working so hard all the time." She absolutely did not need to be told twice.

Also expected, her mother asked for an update on her friends. Wheein and Hyejin seemed to have burrowed their way into the woman's heart, and Moonbyul loved that. The younger girls felt like sisters to her; she was glad her family regarded them similarly. Her question about Yongsun, though, was downright hilarious.

"Is Yongsun doing well?"

"She is, yes. She's with her family in Seoul."

"Are you going to Seoul for the 1st of January then?"

"Uh . . . no. I go back on the 2nd. Why would I leave on the start of the year? We're supposed to bring it in as a family," the confusion she held was clear in her voice.

"Oh," her mom responded, similarly confused. "Well, couples usually bring the year in together, don't they?"

"Excuse me," she guffawed. Moonbyul couldn't wait to tell Wheein, Hyejin, and Heeyeon about this. There was no way she'd tell Yongsun, she'd get weird about it.

"You're not dating her? I thought she was another Goeun."

Byulyi's family knew that she was a lesbian ever since her relationship with Goeun, her ex, had been found out. The two went to high school together and grew close. Their relationship was, for the most part, drama-free. Their first go lasted for 1.5 years—the second half of their third year in high school and all of their fourth year. The entire first year of them being together, Moonbyul introduced Goeun to her family as simply a friend. They both agreed it would be for the best. That farce ended, though, when her mother found the high-schoolers in the middle of actions uncharacteristic of simple friends. They had been in Moonbyul's bedroom, the door unlocked—a rookie move. Things with her family after that weren't turbulent, but more so awkward. Her mother had caught her in the middle of having sex with someone. That would have been uncomfortable no matter who she had been with. Her sexuality did not become a source of contention, to her relief. The entire family was accepting and supportive.

Things with Goeun, on the other hand, grew less harmonious. Their relationship became strained once university decisions came around. The possibility of Moonbyul going abroad for her studies had been briefly discussed, but they tabled it for "later," which ended up being after Moonbyul had already made her decision: Stanford University in the U.S. To her credit, the athlete advocated for them staying together, but Goeun put an end to everything. She didn't want a long-distance relationship with a highly sought after athlete.