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Chaeyoung’s steps reverberate through the quiet street as she walks fast, holding a paper bag closely to her chest. She has her hoodie on and her bangs keep getting on her eyes; she reminds herself to ask Dahyun to trim them.
The night is unusually dark despite the yellow lampposts, and even if there is no one else in the street but a few stray cats, Chaeyoung hurries to reach her destination quickly.
She stops in front of a house with all the lights off, and she opens the gate with her foot. She knows the door is open, so she manages to turn the door handle with her elbow and walks in.
Dahyun is sitting in the dark living room with a laptop illuminating her face. Her brow is furrowed, and her tongue keeps poking out of her mouth every now and then. Chaeyoung isn’t sure for how long she stays in the middle of the entrance staring at Dahyun, but it feels like hours until Dahyun notices her and finally lifts her gaze from the screen.
“Someone could come here to murder you and you wouldn’t notice.”
“That’s the plan.” Dahyun closes the laptop and the room becomes completely dark. Still, Chaeyoung knows the place like the palm of her hand, and she walks over to where she knows there’s a table to leave the bag. Upon hearing the clinking of glass, Chaeyoung can feel Dahyun walk over to her and she can’t help but smile.
In a second, after colliding with a misplaced sofa, Dahyun is by Chaeyoung’s side. Now, in that new position closer to the window, the soft moonlight streaming through the blinds allows Chaeyoung to see the small smile on Dahyun’s face.
“Happy eighteenth birthday,” Chaeyoung says quietly, not being able to look at anywhere but at Dahyun while the older girl eyes the bottles Chaeyoung brought with her. “I hope these are good enough.”
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to buy beer.”
“Hey, these fruity drinks have alcohol alright? It’s all that clerk was willing to sell me, and I still had to give him ten extra bucks.”
Dahyun presses her lips to Chaeyoung’s cheek for a few seconds, taking her time.
“Thank you.”
They move the bottles to Dahyun’s backpack and Chaeyoung reminds Dahyun to grab a coat, and she zips it up herself ignoring Dahyun’s complains. When they leave, Dahyun doesn’t bother to lock the door, and Chaeyoung seriously wonders how nobody has robbed her yet.
The night is still quiet, save for both of their footsteps as they stroll down the street. Dahyun has the backpack hanging off her shoulder and both hands in her jeans pockets, but Chaeyoung reaches out and grabs Dahyun’s wrist to pull her hand out so she can hold it. Dahyun lets her, of course; and even brings their linked hands up to her face to leave a small kiss on Chaeyoung’s knuckles.
“You don’t feel like yourself today…” Chaeyoung comments quietly, kicking a pebble as they walk in the middle of the desert road.
“You know I don’t like birthdays.”
“But you’re always so cheerful for mine…”
“Because it’s about you; and you know I’m always happy when it comes to you.”
“There’s the cheese I like.”
“Don’t call me cheese…” Dahyun is far too quiet for Chaeyoung’s liking, not to mention her gloom expression and the sighs she lets out every five minutes. But Chaeyoung understands, so she doesn’t push it. Simply opting to play with Dahyun’s fingers and hope her sunny girl will be back in the morning.
A small square comes into sight and they follow the path they’ve made so many times before. They sit on their usual bench; a dirty, old and slightly broken one that is perfectly hidden behind an even older tree. Chaeyoung sits cross-legged and takes her hood off, running a hand through her short hair. Dahyun, who sits next to her with the bag on her lap, reaches out to ruffle her hair and move her bangs out of her eyes.
“I’m gonna need to trim that.”
Chaeyoung smiles; of course, Dahyun doesn’t need to be asked.
The drinks are… peculiar, or so Dahyun says. The fruity taste is rather artificial, but they bought it for the alcohol, not for the watermelon taste; and after emptying the first bottle the taste isn’t even that noticeable anymore.
“My tongue feels numb,” Dahyun sticks her tongue out and giggles when Chaeyoung tries to lean in to kiss her. “Don’t be gross.”
“Oh, now you’re calling me gross? How about that time we-” Dahyun kisses her and laughs against her lips, shaking her head slightly.
“Shut up.”
And she does, willingly so; because whether it is from the cheap alcohol or Chaeyoung’s kiss, Dahyun is smiling genuinely again, eyes turning to crescent moons in the way that made Chaeyoung fall in love in the first place.
“Happy birthday,” Chaeyoung’s smile is dreamy, and anyone within two miles can see how her eyes shine for Dahyun.
“You’ve said that already.”
“Yeah, but I wanted to say it again.”
They lean in at the same time and Chaeyoung smiles because Dahyun’s lips taste faintly like watermelon; maybe it wasn’t such a scam after all. But the taste fades the longer they kiss and Chaeyoung checks by herself that Dahyun’s tongue doesn’t really taste like watermelon but more like alcohol.
Dahyun pulls away with slightly flushed cheeks, and when she surges forward again Chaeyoung moves her face with a loud giggle; Dahyun’s lips land on Chaeyoung’s neck, right below her ear, and Chaeyoung squirms before pushing Dahyun by her shoulders.
“Don’t tell me you’re drunk from this cheap drink,” Chaeyoung teases Dahyun, grabbing her cheeks and pecking Dahyun’s puckered up lips.
“I just wanted some smooches,” There’s the Dahyun she knows.
“You’ll get them later.”
Dahyun opens another bottle, a banana one, and she gags disgusted after the first sip.
“Nope, no, this one won’t work.”
In between laughs, they finish more bottles (a blueberry one and a strawberry one, because Chaeyoung also tried the banana one despite Dahyun’s warning and she was so offended she threw the bottle to a nearby trash can).
Dahyun’s eyes are glossy, and her lips slightly are swollen because Chaeyoung liked the strawberry drink a bit too much and insisted on trying it from Dahyun’s lips. Not that she complained.
“Don’t you think we should head home?” Chaeyoung asks when she notices Dahyun’s eyelids starting to drop.
“But it’s such a nice night…”
“We can lie down in your backyard instead,” Chaeyoung only needs to pout to convince Dahyun, and soon they’re on their way back, hugging each other and laughing loudly when one of them trips.
They easily walk inside the house, and whereas Dahyun heads straight for her room, Chaeyoung goes to the kitchen for a glass of water. When she enters Dahyun’s room, she finds her with her head stuck in her shirt as she tried to take it off. Chaeyoung leaves the glass on the bedside table and helps Dahyun, tossing the shirt toward a corner.
“I thought you wanted to be outside.”
“M’too tired,” Dahyun mumbles and takes off her jeans, making Chaeyoung blush and turn around to remove her own hoodie and pants. Chaeyoung walks to Dahyun’s closet and takes a pair of shorts without asking, as she usually does, but keeps her own shirt. When she turns around, Dahyun has baggy shorts but other than that she’s still only in her sports bra and mismatched socks.
“Are you not gonna put on a shirt?”
“Nope,” Dahyun plops down on her bed; shoulders slumped as she closes her eyes momentarily. Chaeyoung sits with her and hands her the glass of water, making sure she drinks at least half of it.
Chaeyoung leaves for the bathroom, and when she comes back she finds Dahyun with her back against the backrest of the bed, fiddling with the phone in her hands.
“They haven’t called?” She asks quietly, hating how Dahyun’s smile is gone again.
“Not even texted, but I don’t know what I was expecting; maybe I thought that because it’s my eighteenth birthday they’d be bothered enough to call but- I don’t know.”
Chaeyoung huffs angrily and takes the phone out of Dahyun’s hands without any resistance.
“I know they’re your parents, but they suck.”
“You don’t need to be sorry, I think the same thing. I know their work is important but a fucking business trip can’t be more important than your own daughter-”
“Hey, hey,” Chaeyoung sits on Dahyun’s lap straddling her as Dahyun places her hands on Chaeyoung’s legs. “You are important, the most important person in this whole wide world.”
With a kiss, Chaeyoung tries to make Dahyun understand how much she really means her words. Her arms loop around Dahyun’s neck and Dahyun hugs Chaeyoung’s waist, pulling her closer.
When a single tear runs down Dahyun’s cheek, Chaeyoung wipes it her thumb and kisses the spot.
“I love you.”
“I know, I got lucky, because I really love you, too.”
They move on the bed so that they can lie down, and their legs practically intertwine on their own. The bed is rather small, or maybe they’re too grown up, but it gives them the perfect excuse to press against each other as closely as possible.
Chaeyoung can still taste the remnants of alcohol on Dahyun’s lips as they kiss lazily, and despite the hand that starts to crawl up Chaeyoung’s shirt, she knows Dahyun will fall asleep before anything can truly happen.
“Did you lock the door?” Chaeyoung asks all of sudden as if Dahyun’s hand wasn’t on the curve of her breast.
“I don’t know…” Dahyun stops her movements and lifts her head, mouth slightly agape as she tries to remember. “No?”
Chaeyoung can’t help the laugh that burst through her lips, even if there isn’t anything remotely funny about the situation (well, maybe Dahyun’s confused face), but Dahyun starts to laugh as well and Chaeyoung feels her heart filled to the brim with love.
“No one’s gonna enter,” Dahyun says before yawning loudly, letting her head fall to the pillow again and her hand resume its previous actions.
“Are you gonna fall asleep groping me?” Chaeyoung asks with an eye roll.
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Dahyun nuzzles her nose on the crook of Chaeyoung’s neck, and the younger girl sighs, knowing she doesn’t really want to complain, so she simply run her hands up and down Dahyun’s back softly, playing with the tips of the girl’s hair. “G’night.”
“Goodnight love, and happy birthday.”