Chapter Text
New Video from Sophia Laforteza
DRUNK RAMBLINGS WITH YOONCHAE JEUNG
Views: 150,403,201
Likes: 752,476
Comments: 1000+
@gnarlyillitfan: this is a prank??? This can’t be yoonchae
@killingmesoph3: first
@biaswreckeryc: what did they put in that hair dye? Emotions?? Personality??
@user1453728: you girls are so hot
@yoonchaeupdates: Queens.
@sakicallme: proof you were here before 24 hours
@iconicbyaccident: hello, is anyone going to talk about the elephant in the room? She has a crush??? Who is he?
@dropdeadangel: @iconicbyaccident girl are you blind, it is def not a he.
Daniela and Manon were cracking up at the comments people were leaving on the video.
Lara was on a phone call out on the balcony, probably with HYBE, while Sophia was busy texting her own team.
Megan and Yoonchae were in the kitchen, making lunch. The other girls decided to give them space. To talk.
Which they weren’t doing at all.
They moved around each other fluidly. Yoonchae chopping vegetables, Megan seasoning and cooking on the stove, but neither had said anything since they started.
Every now and then though, they would graze each other when Megan went to grab something to add to the pot, and there would be a look. A soft one.
They had to talk. They knew it. But where do they even start?
“That was…” Megan spoke up suddenly. Yoonchae stopped the knife in her hand but didn’t look up.
“That was pretty cool of you. Earlier, I mean.” Megan said turning away slightly from the stove to look at the other girl.
“What was?” Yoonchae asked, meeting her eyes.
“When I said that people would assume you’re gay. And you were just like ‘I am.’ That was pretty cool.” Megan repeated and Yoonchae felt something inexplicable pass through her.
“You said you’ve known for a while?” Megan asked curiously and Yoonchae set her knife down gently.
“Yeah. Since Dream Academy, maybe even before. But I didn’t really broadcast it because… ya know. Korean standards. But my family knows.” Yoonchae explained.
“And my real friends.” Yoonchae added. Megan smiled down at the pot. It felt good to admit that that’s at least what they were now.
“Are you okay with that? Me being…?” Yoonchae asked after Megan didn’t speak up for a minute.
“Oh yeah dude-“ Megan said immediately, turning back to Yoonchae, nodding.
“I put the gay in dyslexic.” Megan said deadpan, repeating the phrase on the shirt that Lara got for her when she came out of the closet during pride a few years ago.
Yoonchae couldn’t help the chuckle that came out. But then she immediately stopped herself, defaulting to her stoic demeanor.
Megan immediately caught it, and reassured her.
“Hey. You can laugh. I know I’m pretty funny.” Megan said with that stupid grin that Yoonchae loved. Eventually Yoonchae allowed herself to relax and be honest with herself.
“You’re dumb Mei.” Yoonchae teased with a shy smile.
Megan looked like she just unlocked the secret of the universe with this interaction, her eyes shining.
“If you must know, I’m bisexual. I mean, you know I dated Dani, even though it was literally just for a week.” Megan provided exposition, stirring the pot on the stove and unknowingly the pot of jealousy inside Yoonchae.
Yoonchae still narrowed her eyes at the mention of Daniela.
“But you guys stayed friends?” Yoonchae asked, cutting the vegetables a little bit harsher now.
“Yeah. Me, her, and Lara used to hang out all the time. I guess we have been a bit too busy for her but turns out she was also ditching us for Sophia this whole time!” Megan exclaimed, only loud enough for Yoonchae to hear.
“Does that bother you?” Yoonchae asked suspiciously.
“That she’s hanging out with Sophia?” Megan asked confused.
Yoonchae nodded in affirmation.
“No? Why would I be bothered?” Megan asked, still confused.
“Cause she’s your ex. And you guys are clearly still friends…” Yoonchae trailed off.
“Oh my God.”
“What?”
“You’re jealous of Dani.”
“What-no I’m not. What- why would I be jealous of her?”
“I don’t know. Maybe cause we’re still friends? Why don’t you tell me?” Megan said with a smug grin.
Yoonchae narrowed her eyes at Megan who was staring right back, her eyes bright and mischievous.
“You’re annoying Megan.” Yoonchae said, shaking her head, returning to decimating the vegetables.
Megan turned off the stove and covered the pot of Japanese curry they had been preparing together.
“Hey.” She said pulling up next to Yoonchae.
The Korean girl stopped what she was doing, including breathing, but didn’t turn.
“We only dated for a week. We kissed twice. Then we decided it wasn’t working. I love her, but only as a friend or even as an annoying sister. That’s all.” Megan explained quietly.
Yoonchae let out a breath. She turned to Megan and looked at her. This time, on purpose, with the gaze.
“Ok, Megan.” Yoonchae said softly, a small smile starting to form.
“Ok, Yoonchae.” Megan shyly matched it with her own smile.
From the corner of the hallway, where they were eavesdropping, Daniela and Manon rolled their eyes.
“This is going to take forever.” Daniela complained and Manon nodded.
“Time for plan B.” Manon said firmly.
“What’s plan B again?”
“That’s where we lock them up together and let them talk while we take Lara and Sophia out.”
Daniela just narrowed her eyes at the other girl who smiled at her innocently.
“You just want to take Lara out.” Daniela accused.
“As if you don’t want to excuse to go on another date with Sophia without telling me.” Manon rolled her eyes.
“Oh my God, it was one time and it wasn’t a date. We’re literally just friends?” Daniela said unconvincingly.
“You guys are only slightly better than them.” Manon deadpanned, pointing over her back to the two flustered girls in the kitchen.
“Fine. Let’s go.” Daniela said, rolling her eyes and walking back to the living room. Manon followed her smugly.
Megan and Yoonchae worked together in comfortable silence, finishing the meal they had prepared for everyone.
They walked out and began setting the table before noticing that the apartment was quiet.
Which wasn’t unusual for them two, but it was strange considering they did have four very loud guests over.
“Guys?” Megan asked out loud stepping towards the empty living room. The couch where Sophia and the other girls were sitting before, now sat there noticeably empty.
She checked the balcony where Lara was freaking out earlier, also vacant.
She furrowed her eyebrows and checked the rooms, finding a severe lack of their friends.
“They’re all just gone?” Megan said confused returning to the living room, where Yoonchae was reading a piece of paper that held Lara’s handwriting. She held it out for Megan to read.
“Went out to deal with this shitshow. Stay out of public. Stay off twitter. Be back with dinner. Love you hoes.”
Megan read out loud. Yoonchae let out a chuckle, very quick, but still adorable.
“What does she mean by shitshow?” Megan asked, pulling out her phone and checking Twitter.
@internetgals: guys, the new Yoonchae video is a serious matter to us gays
@yoonjapchae: I’m sorry but the fucking pussy gaze yoonchae was giving that girl, be fucking for real rn she’s so gay
@jennieyoonchaestan: i'm sick please STOP putting frames from Yoonchae’s video where she's begging for pussy with her eyes sparkling i'm begging
@eatzuchinnipeople: stop bringing up Yoonchae’s pussy hungry gaze on my tl
Yeah ok nevermind, Megan thought to herself.
She had also, unfortunately, caught a glimpse of some of the hatred Yoonchae was getting. Some vulgar and nasty things that Megan immediately wanted to block out of her mind so she closed the app, tempted to delete it forever.
She also saw a message from Daniela.
Daniela: tell her.
Megan: 🖕
Megan: smd
“I guess we’re on our own.” Megan said, locking her phone and placing it in her pocket.
Yoonchae just shrugged and walked to the table. Megan followed and the two sat down.
“This looks good.” Yoonchae said, picking up Megan’s bowl of rice and beginning to ladle the curry over it. She handed it back to Megan before picking up her own bowl.
“Thanks. It’s one of the few things I remember fondly about my time in Japan.” Megan accepted her bowl back and poured Yoonchae a cup of water in return.
“You spent time in Japan?” Yoonchae asked, beginning to eat. Megan nodded.
“Yeah, when I was training to be a J-pop idol.” Megan said casually, spooning curry and rice into her mouth.
Yoonchae just stared at her.
Megan looked up and saw that Yoonchae was just staring at her, waiting for more context.
“Oh. Yeah. I was a J-pop idol trainee for like a year and a half. That’s how I ended up sleeping on Lara’s couch for a year. Cause when I came back I didn’t have a place to stay. Or a job. Or a degree.” Megan snorted at the memory.
Yoonchae felt like her brain had scrambled at this new Megan lore dump.
“What’s wrong?” Megan asked, concern now etched into her eyebrows.
“I just… I didn’t know. I guess I never really talked to you about your life.” Yoonchae said, shame suddenly taking over body.
“We never talked period.” Megan joked but Yoonchae frowned.
Ever since they met, it had always been about Yoonchae and her life. Her walls. Her emotional trauma. Megan always helping her.
But never about Megan.
If Megan noticed that, she didn’t show any outwardly care. She just smiled at Yoonchae.
“Well. Ask me whatever you want, I’m an open book.” Megan said with a level of sincerity that Yoonchae almost couldn’t believe was real.
Especially for you, Megan said in her head.
So they started. Yoonchae asked and Megan talked.
Megan talked about growing up in Hawaii. Her parents and her brother. Her heritage being half Chinese. All of her allergies.
She talked about moving to California, to LA, and meeting Lara (and Daniela) in college.
“Growing up, I always just dreamed of being on stage. And like, being Asian, I looked up to idols. So I tried. I made video tapes. I filled out every application. I emailed and called a ton of agencies. Eventually, during my junior year of college, one company in Japan reached back out and told me they would train me. So I dropped everything and went.” Megan explained how she ended up in Japan.
“Wait so what happened?” Yoonchae asked for the rest of the story.
Megan looked up from her food confused.
“What happened with what?”
“Why did you leave?” Yoonchae asked, now confused.
“Oh, I wasn’t selected.” Megan shrugged causing Yoonchae to frown, mainly in disbelief.
“It was intense. I remember being exhausted all the time, and like being scared of the girls around me because we were supposed to be friends but they’re also my competition. Like ‘we’re all in this together but I hope I get in instead of you.’ Definitely wasn’t the best for my mental.” Megan rambled.
Yoonchae felt a pang in her chest from being able to relate.
“I guess in the end, I wasn’t good enough for them so I didn’t get picked.” Megan shrugged again. She had been angry for a time but she had gotten over it (for the most part), especially once she started having to deal with the whole Yoonchae-shaped problem in her life.
“They would tell me that I was doing too much. That I was- that my personality was too playful. And then the next week I was too serious and too intense and mean to the other girls. I gave too much or not enough. I smiled too often or didn’t smile enough.” Megan ranted.
She ranted about a part of her life that she knew Yoonchae could relate to, and maybe a part of her was drawn to her for that reason.
“They didn’t realize that I’m a person. I’m a person who’s complex and layered. That I can do aegyo all day but still feel enough depression and anxiety that I need medication.”
“So yeah. In the end, I wasn’t good enough for them. Either that, or I wasn’t worth all the trouble.” Megan ended, more bitterly than she intended.
“That’s bullshit.”
Megan’s brain froze. Did Yoonchae just curse?
“They’re fucking stupid. You’d seriously be an amazing idol.” Yoonchae said incredulously.
“You have the personality, the charm, the looks- like you’re so beautiful, and then the singing and dancing-“
“Wait, how do you know that? You’ve never seen me sing or dance.” Megan cut her off. Yoonchae smiled smugly and then began singing teasingly.
“You’re just a game boy-“
Megan’s face went red with embarrassment.
“Oh my god, I thought you were still sleeping!” Megan shouted in horror.
“I saw enough.” Yoonchae said with a smirk as Megan hide her face with her hands.
“And here I thought you weren’t a fan.” Yoonchae laughed and Megan huffed, sitting back in her chair.
“I wasn’t! I mean, I knew who you were and some of your music. But obviously I have to listen to more of your music now and I love that song. Sue me. And also,” Megan began laughing remembering some information, “when I first heard the song, I thought you were saying gay boy.”
Yoonchae frowned. “Gay boy?”
“You’re just a GAY BOY!” Megan started singing earning a wide eye reaction from Yoonchae.
“I ain't tryna PLAY, BOY!” Megan said getting louder and standing up.
“I ain't thinkin' ABOUT YOU!” She put a finger up as she sang.
“Not thinkin' ABOUT YOU!” She punctuated the final line with a finger wag.
At this point, Yoonchae was laughing, she genuinely couldn’t help it. Like full on, shoulders shaking, laughing. Megan just grinned, not really caring if that was embarrassing.
If she could make Yoonchae react to anything, after months of not getting any reaction, she would gladly take it.
“Maybe we should remix my song. And I can sing it so I can come out.” Yoonchae said after she settled down from her laughter. Megan’s smile seemed to fade after that.
“Do you think HYBE will ever let you come out?” Megan asked quietly.
Yoonchae pondered this question for a minute.
“I don’t know.” Yoonchae shrugged. Before Megan could respond, Yoonchae spoke again.
“But I don’t really care anymore.”
Yoonchae stood up, her face reverted back to how she used to be, before yesterday, and quietly took her bowl with her.
Megan followed with her own bowl. Yoonchae set the dish in the sink, along side with her dishes from this morning. She started washing the dishes as she felt Megan walk up beside her.
“I’m sorry if I ruined the mood.” Megan apologized, taking the rinsed plate from Yoonchae’s hand and beginning to dry it off with the dish towel.
They stood like this, side by side, washing and drying the dishes.
“You didn’t ruin the mood.” Yoonchae slowly said. “I just… I’d rather not talk about that right now.”
“Ok.” Megan said in understanding.
Except, not really, because all Megan really wanted to talk about was this.
Whatever this was between them. She knew how she felt. But she wanted to know how Yoonchae felt.
She figured she would let Yoonchae dictate the pace though. She was the one with a lot more to lose here.
“Do you want to play Tower of Hell?” Megan asked when they were finished with the dishes. Megan had brought the leftover curry and transferred it to a container for later.
“Right now?” Yoonchae asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah. Or Minecraft. Something to keep us busy.” Megan said nervously. Yoonchae nodded, a little faster than she’d like to admit.
“Sure.”
So that’s how the two ended up in their respective rooms, on their respective computers, playing Roblox together at three in the afternoon.
For an hour and a half they played like they normally played. Megan yelling out of frustration and Yoonchae silently completing the levels with ease.
But this time, they were on a discord call together. Yoonchae could hear Megan clearly yelling and found herself amused by the girl and her inability to progress. While Megan watched in awe as Yoonchae progressed flawlessly.
They didn’t really talk much but just playing together meant a lot to both of them.
Eventually, Yoonchae felt her phone vibrate with a text message. She glanced over, curiosity getting the better of her.
Megan: hey
“Megan? Did you just text me?” Yoonchae asked into their discord call and got no response. Her phone buzzed again.
Megan: can I come over?
Megan was holding her phone tightly. Her forehead against her desk. She couldn’t bring herself to ask through voice so she resorted to texting.
She braced for Yoonchae to call her weird and reject her even though she knew that the Korean girl wouldn’t. But this was still scary.
Putting herself out there was still scary.
Yoonchae: to my room?
Megan: yes.
Yoonchae: sure?
Megan never closed everything on her PC so fast.
Yoonchae heard the notification that Megan left their discord call. Then she heard a knock on her bedroom door.
Confused, but willing, she got up and opened the door.
Megan almost melted at the sight of Yoonchae with her cat ear headphones on.
“Oh my God, they’re real.” Megan covered her mouth excited staring at the little cat ears.
Yoonchae just rolled her eyes but left the door open and walked back to her desk.
Megan followed her and plopped down on the edge of her bed.
“Why did you stop playing? Last level too hard?” Yoonchae joked carefully and Megan scoffed.
“No, you jerk.” Megan grunted sarcastically, lying backwards on the bed. “Playing with you was nice but…”
“I just…” Megan began playing with the loose string on Yoonchae’s blanket. “I wanted to be in the same room as you.”
Yoonchae felt her face heat up, significantly.
Megan turned her head to avoid eye contact, flustered.
Yoonchae took off her headphones and unplugged them. She opened up Spotify on her desktop and pressed shuffle on one of her easy listening playlists.
The melody of The 1975’s fallingforyou began playing over the speakers, not loudly, just background noise.
Megan felt a weight on the bed and turned to see that Yoonchae had climbed onto the bed, taking a seat against the wall.
Megan found herself inching closer, until her head came into contact with Yoonchae’s legs.
Instinctively, Yoonchae’s hands found their way to Megan’s hair, playing with it.
Don't you see me I
I think I'm falling, I'm falling for you
And don't you need me I
I think I'm falling, I'm falling for you
Slowly and surely, even though neither of them said anything, Megan found her head resting on Yoonchae’s lap. The Korean girl was softly playing with her hair, earning a sigh from Megan.
“I never thanked you. For dying your hair with me.” Yoonchae spoke first, breaking the silence, her fingers twirling a pink strand of hair.
“You were scared. I get it. I’ve been there before.” Megan said with her eyes closed.
“They made you dye your hair. When you were a trainee.” Yoonchae realized solemnly. Megan nodded.
“So I understood. I was scared too, maybe not as much as you,” Megan bantered. Yoonchae scoffed but didn’t stop combing her hands softly through the pink strands.
“You got good at reading me.” Yoonchae observed out loud.
“I just paid attention.” Megan shrugged.
“You never said anything. But sometimes, your face would twitch. Or your hands, you would find something to squeeze whenever you’re nervous. Sometimes you tap your leg but not enough to make it a big deal. If I didn’t know any better, I’d just think you were restless.”
Yoonchae felt it again. That complex feeling. It was gratitude, at being perceived, at someone caring enough to perceive her through the walls that she had built.
It made her want to be brave, even for just a moment.
“Megan.”
The girl opened her eyes, and her breath caught. Yoonchae was looking down at her, her eyes shiny, with the gaze.
“I think we should talk.”
Megan felt her mouth get dry but she nodded.
“I don’t… I don’t know how to do this.” Yoonchae revealed with a sigh. “I don’t… I’ve never…”
Megan found herself reach up and take one of Yoonchae’s hands. She gave it a reaffirming squeeze.
Yoonchae took a breath.
“I like you. I like you a lot.”
Megan’s world stopped. For just one second, she just lived here.
In this moment, with her head in Yoonchae Jeung’s lap, one hand in her hair, the other hand holding hers, and the girl had just confessed.
Then it continued.
“But I don’t know how to do this. I’ve never dated anyone. By the time I figured out I like girls, I was an idol trainee.” Megan nodded, encouraging Yoonchae to keep going.
“I’m scared. Because I spent so long shut off from these… feelings. I didn’t want to have them. And now with you, I can’t stop having them. I just don’t know what you’re expecting.” Yoonchae said, her voice getting sadder and sadder.
Megan let go of her hand and that caused her to pause.
She felt Megan move before anything. Then, suddenly, the girl was sitting up and turning around to face her.
“Yoonchae.” Megan’s face was gentle, yet serious.
“I don’t expect anything from you. I didn’t even expect you to like me back-“
“Wait.” Yoonchae blinked. “Back? You like me?”
Megan’s face did the thing again, where her heart broke and opened at the same time.
“Yes, you goofball. You think I would stay in this low paying job if I didn’t?” Megan asked incredulously, but Yoonchae knew it was sincere.
“Wait. They’re not paying you enough?”
“That’s soooo not the point.” Megan rolled her eyes but laughed.
“We don’t have to define anything about us right now.” Megan said scooting closer. “I just want you.”
Yoonchae swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, her eyes filled with tears, mainly of happiness.
“I want you too.” And she found herself leaning forward, wrapping her arms around the other girl.
Besides the few times they held hands, this was the most physical contact the girls had made.
It was something that neither girl had realized they craved until this very moment.
Yoonchae buried her face into Megan’s neck and Megan rested her cheek on Yoonchae’s head.
“You smell like my soap.” Yoonchae mumbled.
“That’s cause I ran out of mine last week.” Megan responded.
“I hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
Both girls smiled knowing the truth.
The two of them eventually ended up cuddling on Yoonchae’s bed.
Troye Sivan’s TALK ME DOWN played quietly in the background.
Megan had her arm around the blonde’s shoulders, her hand stroking her side tenderly. Yoonchae’s hands were bundled up in the fabric of the hoodie that Megan had thrown on.
Yoonchae decided to speak up again, feeling guilty about not admitting something during one of their earlier conversations today.
“HYBE knows by the way.”
Megan’s hand froze for a second but then continued its movements.
“About you?” Megan asked carefully. Yoonchae nodded.
“They knew during Dream Academy. And when I won, they said they wouldn’t encourage any rumors with male idols out of respect, but I couldn’t act suspicious with any female idols either.” Yoonchae explained. “Not that any of those idols knew. I only really talk to a handful of them but none of them know the truth.”
“Lara knows because HYBE informed her when she became my manager. I didn’t actually mind because she was already out so I didn’t care that she knew.”
Megan nodded, understanding now why Lara seemed to know about Yoonchae before she did.
“I don’t know how to do this.”
“You said that before.” Megan reminded her gently.
“And I meant it. I’ve never… I’ve never been in a relationship Megan. My crushes never even knew I liked them.” Yoonchae explained her thoughts.
“Well that’s good for me because they probably would’ve cuffed you if they had the chance and I wouldn’t be here right now.” Megan laughed.
“Cuffed?” Yoonchae asked and as always, Megan patiently explained.
“Cuffed means being with someone. Like in a relationship. Like we are handcuffed together.”
“We are?” Yoonchae asked shyly. Megan just gave her a squeeze.
They laid together a bit longer, not saying anything but letting the music fill the silence for them.
But I wanna sleep next to you
And that's all I wanna do right now
And I wanna come home to you
But home is just a room full of my safest sounds
So come over now and talk me down
“Do you think…” Yoonchae started talking out loud, “there’s a universe out there where you became an idol?”
Megan turned her head to look at the girl in her arms.
“Yeah. I mean, probably. There’s infinite universes out there, right? I’m sure in one of them they chose me.” Megan nodded along to the thought.
“But that Megan probably wouldn’t be as happy as I am right now.”
Yoonchae’s face flushed immediately. Megan smiled at that, happy that she could say things like that now and that Yoonchae would, was willing to, react.
“Maybe there’s a universe where we are idols together.” Yoonchae mumbled before yawning causing Megan to chuckle.
“Yeah. We’d be in global girl group together.” Megan added, rolling her eyes. But Yoonchae noticed that her voice was somewhat serious. Like she was certain it was true.
“Now that sounds like fanfiction Mei.” Yoonchae muttered, amused, teasingly.
“The fans would totally ship us.” Megan continued, also amused, but feeling her eyes starting to feel heavy.
“Because we would be best friends.” Yoonchae nodded in agreement. “And do everything together.”
This turned into the two of them going back and forth.
“We’d always be holding hands.”
“And laughing about inside jokes.”
“I’d take all your photos for you.”
“I’d sit in your lap.”
“We could do lives together.”
“I’d flirt with you on camera.”
“I’d make sure you drank enough water during rehearsal.”
“I’d drive you home after.”
“You’d let me drive your car.”
“You already have, remember?”
“Oh yeah.”
A comfortable silence settled over them again. Megan had almost fallen asleep and was almost certain Yoonchae had until the girl whispered.
“I want all of those things.” Quiet. Almost like she was scared to want them.
That woke Megan up.
“Then we can have those things.” She said, a bit louder than the quiet register that they had been previously talking.
Yoonchae turned to her, roused from her sleepy state.
“The us in this universe. We don’t have to imagine other versions of us. The us right now, we can play video games together and cook together and cuddle in bed together. We can hold hands and have inside jokes and just be us.” Megan emphasized this by giving her another squeeze.
“I meant it when I said I just want you. However you’ll have me for now. Whether that’s as your assistant, just a friend, a best friend, or even as a girlfriend. We’ll figure it out.” Megan confessed.
“So we just be us?” Yoonchae said, her heart beating in her ears, as she adjusted herself out of Megan’s arms so she could look at the other girl face to face.
“We just be us.” Megan affirmed nodding, her heart also racing excitedly. “We take it slow. The rest will follow.”
Megan couldn’t help it. Her eyes glanced down to Yoonchae’s lips.
Yoonchae noticed, she always noticed. Before she even realized she was always watching Megan, she noticed.
“Last night… did we?” Yoonchae asked glancing down to Megan’s lips before glancing back up to Megan’s eyes.
“No… we almost did…” Megan met her eyes, but couldn’t stop herself from leaning an inch closer, her eyes traveling back down to Yoonchae’s lips.
“Why didn’t we?” Yoonchae wondered. Not that she was mad. She would much rather remember their first kiss. Her first kiss.
“You were drunk. It wouldn’t have been right.” Megan said quietly. Yoonchae felt her heart almost leap out of her chest.
If she wasn’t head over heels for this girl already, that would’ve been the nail in the coffin.
“I’m not drunk now.” Yoonchae responded. Megan sucked in a breath.
“Yeah.” She breathed out.
Suddenly the two were leaning in, their eyes fluttering closed, until they collided. Their lips moved against each other and for a moment, it’s like nothing else mattered.
Yoonchae wasn’t a twenty one year old superstar. Megan wasn’t her twenty two year old assistant. They just were.
And for now, that was the only thing that mattered.
Yoonchae eventually spoke when their hearts finally settled down after releasing each other’s lips.
Megan was now sleepily pressed up against Yoonchae’s side, the Korean girl’s arm around her shoulders.
“We should probably get out of bed before the girls get back.”
“Hmmm five more minutes.” Megan whined nestling into Yoonchae’s neck.
Five turned into ten, which turned into thirty, which turned into the two girls falling asleep on each other.
Not that either of them would have complained.
A while later, the four girls entered the apartment using Lara’s spare key.
“Why’s it so quiet in here?” Manon asked.
“This is how quiet it usually is. They never really talk at home.” Lara revealed as they began turning on lights. She placed the giant stuffed teddy bear that Manon won for her down on a chair.
“Megan-“ Daniela opened the pink haired girl’s bedroom door but found it empty.
“She’s not here.” She said to Manon who was behind her.
“Lara, I thought you said Megan’s car was still here.” Manon asked the girl who also entered the hallway.
“It is. We parked next to it.” Lara said confused. She walked over to Yoonchae’s room. She knocked softly before she slowly opened the door.
Clinton Kane’s I GUESS IM IN LOVE filled the silence, playing softly from Yoonchae’s PC speakers.
Sophia entered the hallway last, she saw the three girls standing in the doorway of Yoonchae’s room. They all had their phones out, pointing inside, giggling and taking pictures.
“Guys. Knock it off. Go set the table.” Sophia ordered sarcastically.
The three girls groaned but walked away, Daniela gave her a playful shove as the Filipina walked by. Sophia just playfully attempted to grab her earning a shriek from the Latina.
Sophia peered into the room and found Yoonchae and Megan cuddled together on the former’s bed, fast asleep.
And darlin', this is more than anything I felt before
You're everything that I want, but I didn't think I'd find
Someone who is worth the wait of all the years of my heartbreak
But I know now I found the one
Sophia felt the warmth in her chest, genuinely happy for Yoonchae.
She had a flashback to a younger Yoonchae back in Dream Academy, nervously telling Sophia that she liked girls and trusted her enough to tell her.
She remembered Yoonchae complaining how hard it would be to find a girl if she actually won and became an idol.
Sophia rolled her eyes and gently closed the door to Yoonchae’s room, leaving the two in peace.
Megan slowly blinked awake, her eyebrows furrowing when her surroundings felt unfamiliar.
But the warmth wrapping her arms around Megan’s torso reminded her where she was.
She could hear the loud, maniacal laughter of Lara and Daniela, outside the room.
Inside the room, she heard the melody of Lauv’s Paris in the Rain.
“Yoonchae.” Megan said softly.
The Korean girl just mumbled, squeezing tighter.
“C’mon. Let’s go see if the girls brought food.”
“Don’t wanna.” Yoonchae whined into Megan’s neck.
'Cause anywhere with you feels right
Anywhere with you feels like
Paris in the rain
Paris in the rain
“Stop being so cute.” Megan huffed. She could feel Yoonchae smile into her neck.
“You first.” Yoonchae replied.
We don't need a fancy town
Or bottles that we can't pronounce
'Cause anywhere, babe
Is like Paris in the rain
Eventually, the two walked out of Yoonchae’s room and found the other four girls eating take/out Chinese food on the couch, the interview comments pulled up.
@sophiaspurse: whoever that woman is needs to get drafted by the army. She is the strongest soldier.
@jennifersayshuh: If Yoonchae looked at me like that I would fold. No chance I survive
@donttouchmeimantifragile: lesbihonest, we been knew about Yoonchae fr
@cantfindthegllit: fr her outfits gave her away
@gabrielahandsoff: the closet is a glass box at this point
@whosyourbias2: yoonchae patch notes released! Firmware upgraded! I’m living for it!
@terminatoryoonchae: I need to change my username now.
Daniela and Lara were wheezing at the comments, reading them out loud, exasperated.
Yoonchae has never felt so properly embarrassed in her life.
But also, the comments felt accepting. They weren’t mean in the way that she was dreading,
At least, not all of them, but the overwhelming majority of them were supportive.
“Well well well, look who’s finally awake.” Manon smirked at the two.
“You guys looked way too comfortable to wake up.” Daniela smiled at them.
“We only took like seven hundred photos, for evidence of course.” Lara laughed.
Sophia just shook her head. “You guys ok?” She asked, the only one actually caring.
Megan just glared at the other three girls before flicking them off earning scoffs.
Yoonchae just stared at them deadpanned, worrying them, before her facade eventually cracked and she also flipped them off earning even more exaggerated responses.
“The audacity-“
“What the hell-“
“Fuck you too-“
“They didn’t even answer my question.” Sophia complained earning a laugh from Daniela.
“You guys totally ditched us to go to a carnival.” Megan snorted sitting down on the couch as Yoonchae stayed standing and examined the food on the coffee table.
“How do you even know that?” Daniela asked confused and Megan pointed at Sophia and Manon.
“These two are internet famous. All it takes is one person to recognize them and then they’re all over my feed.”
Yoonchae sorted through the Chinese take out before picking up two containers, one of orange chicken and one of beef and broccoli, as well as two pairs of chopsticks.
She handed one container and a pair of chopsticks to Megan and sat down next to her, careful not to spill her dinner.
The two dug in, hungry from all the emotional revelations they went through today, eating from their own containers and occasionally reaching across and stealing pieces from the other’s container.
“Wait, look at that one!” Manon pointed out with a wheeze before reading it out loud dramatically.
@chaechaetrain: that staff member trying her best to avoid eye contact so she doesn’t fall in love, only for Yoonchae to grab her shoulders and stare deeply at her… my god she’s so evil
“I swear, she was trying to kill me.” Megan mumbled shoving a piece of broccoli into her mouth.
Yoonchae just laughed loudly. Louder than anyone had heard before. Louder than she had allowed herself to laugh in years, because she didn’t worry about her volume or filtering it. She just did it.
The other girls smiled but chose not to comment and diverted their attention back to the screen.
“Oh my god, is that from Yunjin unnie?” Yoonchae asked, eyes wide.
@huhyunjin: hell nahhhh, I am not going on your show anymore. @sophialaforteza You almost killed her!
@huhyunjin: but also so proud of you bb @yoonchae
“I’ve been trying to get Jen to come on my show for weeks.” Sophia whined and Daniela, sitting pressed into Sophia’s shoulder, rolled her eyes.
Yoonchae sat up straighter when she saw comments from other idols that her and Sophia were mutual friends with.
Idols that she spoke to relatively often.
The ones she had told Megan didn’t know the truth about her.
All of them joking around, but filled with love and support, for Yoonchae and her behavior shift, and more importantly, not hating her for being her.
Her eyes slowly started to fill with tears when she saw their comments.
It wasn’t just her fans, but her peers also supported her.
Yoonchae had no idea what happened next for them. The road ahead of them looked difficult. But Yoonchae also felt a bit excited.
For the six years she’s been on this path, fighting the same battle. Fighting for her dreams on a survival show, fighting the loneliness in isolation of the training they put her through after she won, and fighting for success as a solo artist.
Now, this was a different fight. A different dream.
This time, she was fighting for Megan.
Yoonchae’s hand gripped the couch cushion, her leg bounced, and her face twitched without her realizing.
Instantly, Yoonchae felt a hand holding hers and turned. Megan was already looking at her, her very own version of the gaze on her face.
Megan had read Yoonchae and acted before the latter could even register that she was nervous.
Yoonchae flipped over her hand and interlaced their fingers together, squeezing tightly.
Tomorrow, they could deal with HYBE.
Tomorrow, they could deal with the public.
Tomorrow, they could talk more about what they actually meant to each other.
But right here, right now?
Yoonchae just wanted to enjoy this moment.
“Just us.” Yoonchae mumbled staring intently at Megan’s beautiful face. Megan looked back at her with a smile.
“Don’t ever stop looking at me like that.”