Chapter Text
Jiwoo nearly chokes on her carton of milk while they’re eating lunch, “someone’s confessing to her again ?!”
Chaewon nods simply, proceeding to take a bite from her fried rice after halting in fear of her friend spewing milk all over her.
Jiwoo sighs, “doesn’t it get tiring?” Jiwoo remarks as she eats a spoonful of the school’s suspiciously chunky mashed potatoes.
“She did say it was annoying, but she’s like a gamer egirl, boys are clambering to get her attention,” Chaewon shrugs.
“Nooo,” Jiwoo groans loudly enough for the tables around them to glance over at them, “I meant, doesn’t it get tiring for you? Didn’t she promise to play smash with you during lunch?” She flicks her spoon at Chaewon pointedly.
Chaewon chews thoughtfully for a second, “No, we can always just play after school.” Hyejoo’s been asked out a considerable number of times, most of them being greasy freshmen who can’t fathom the words “woman” and “video games” in the same sentence and jump on their chances. Whenever they do try anything while Chaewon’s present, they’re turned down quickly, and she assumes that’s how it’s done privately as well. Hyejoo once said that she wished she could just punch them square in the face, but Chaewon’s pretty sure she was joking, pretty sure.
Jiwoo shakes her head, “nevermind,” and as if on cue, Hyejoo sits down next to Chaewon, and Chaewon instinctively slides over another thermos her mom had prepared for lunch.
“How’d it go?” Jiwoo asks as Hyejoo gratefully takes the thermos and starts eating ravenously.
“I said no,” Hyejoo swallows a large bite,” this is so good, your mom literally belongs on MasterChef. Sad it’s not hereditary though.” Chaewon rolls her eyes playfully at the jab, a quip already on her tongue in response but Hyejoo’s already turning to Jiwoo with more, “get this, she tried making tteokbokki on Sunday, and she burnt the rice cakes,” she stifles a laugh, “the edges were literally crunchy.”
“You said it tasted good,” Chaewon whines in betrayal. Jiwoo’s failing at her attempt to stifle a laugh and she can tell she’s not going to hear the end of this story for a while.
“The end product was good,” Hyejoo admits cheekily, “but the process… a trendsetter for sure,” she laughs as Chaewon hits her in annoyance.
__
Hyejoo’s already waiting at the lockers when she gets out of her last class, and doesn’t miss her chance to tease her again as she goes to do her combination, “Wolfgang Puck! I didn’t see you there.” Chaewon huffed as her locker swung open, she was going to get Hyejoo back for this.
She pulls out a few binders and textbooks that she’ll need for homework tonight, and a small letter falls out along with her acquired materials. She squints at the sight, and Hyejoo leans down to pick it up for her as she’s busy stuffing her belongings into her bag.
“You didn’t tell me you had a secret admirer,” She jokes, tilting the letter for Chaewon to see her own name written in neat cursive handwriting with a little heart on the envelope.
“Weird,” Chaewon shrugs and sticks it into her bag before zipping it up. “Mr. Nam actually just assigned an essay that’s due like, Friday, so I can’t really play tonight.” Hyejoo nods in understanding, closing Chaewon’s locker before they walk off.
“That’s fine, sorry about bailing during lunch anyway,” Hyejoo pushes the door open for them as they stroll out towards Chaewon’s car, “it shouldn’t be happening any time soon anymore.”
Chaewon smiles warily, well aware that Hyejoo probably threatened the guy to some extent. She swings the driver door open and sits inside next to Hyejoo. It doesn’t take long for her teasing tone to return.
“Well then, may I have the aux, Guy Fieri?”
Chaewon’s seriously going to get her for this one.
___
Chaewon isn’t sure when they became friends, most likely somewhere in the timeline around 2-3rd grade, but it’s indefinite and blurry, but beginnings don’t usually stick out to her to begin with. She’d like to think she’s detail-oriented, but in a way that she’s horrible at piecing them together.
Nevertheless, it’s surprising that as they grow up, they never grew distant from one another. Chaewon had wished they’d stay together forever, but she knew that they’d have some falling out eventually like most friends. Although the issue with that would be that they rarely fight, Hyejoo’s too tolerant with her and voices her concerns simply, while Chaewon’s patient and apologizes easily. Along with their constant teasing, they diffuse arguments easily.
Applicable to now, both on Hyejoo’s bed on a Saturday afternoon, with the girl sulking next to her after being beaten by Chaewon the 8th time in Mario Kart this afternoon. Chaewon glances at the scoreboard, a considerable point gap between their two characters. Now very few things could truly cause an argument between the two, and Chaewon knows from experience that this isn’t one of the cases and that Hyejoo’s just being overdramatic. So she takes the chance to take a jab.
“You know, some say victory is an achievement, but I just think of it as a hobby,” Hyejoo scoffs in response. As the screen fades back to the menu, Hyejoo leans her head onto Chaewon’s shoulder, muffling her groans against her hoodie. Chaewon just laughs and plants a kiss on her head, “do you want a rematch?” she pauses, “oh sorry, I meant another re-rematch,” Hyejoo lets out another groan and pulls away.
“I can’t believe you tricked me into believing you’re some soft girl who keeps an aesthetic bujo, but you’re just a big bully,” She pouts as Chaewon giggles. She pulls Hyejoo in closer and presses a kiss to her temple, “I learned from the best.”
There’s a pause, and she catches Hyejoo staring at her, her eyes holding a familiar tenderness she’s grown accustomed to over time.
“I know,” Hyejoo breathes out, attempting to go for cheeky but instead sounding more content with the statement. She turns to face Chaewon, softly reaching over to cup her cheek in her hand as Chaewon giggles at her response. She leans in and they share a slow, languid kiss. It’s warm and comforting, the way the late afternoon sunlight seeps through the bedrooms curtains and makes Chaewon think of all the previous times they’ve been here, from hot summer hangouts to cozy winter sleepovers. Hyejoo pulls her closer and Chaewon opens her mouth to let her in. Chaewon grasps at Hyejoo’s shoulders, her own arms looping from under the girl's arms to increase their closeness as Hyejoo cradles the back of her neck with her hand.
Chaewon eventually breaks away, placing her chin on Hyejoo’s shoulder, still a bit breathless. It takes a few moments before Hyejoo breaks the silence, “let’s have a rematch,” which prompts Chaewon to pull away to look at her. The girl’s hair is mussed slightly, and her cheeks are dusted pink. She laughs at the sight, quick to fix some of Hyejoos hair before leaning into her lap, already fetching the controllers for them.
She wins, obviously, and turns to Hyejoo, poorly biting back a smile, “A wise man once said, ‘everyone else is trash,’ and I strongly stand by that belief.”
(She definitely got Hyejoo back for that.)
____
The ASB meeting is going for longer than she expected, and Chaewon sends Hyejoo a quick text that she’ll be late before readjusting her attention to the issue at hand.
Park Jihyo, the ASB President, animatedly explains the solution to their club funding issue, and Chaewon jots a few notes down to remind her brain that she should be engaging in the discussion. It doesn’t take long for the group to come to a consensus and they disperse after some ending notes. Chaewon hastily stuffs her notes into her backpack when a voice calls out to her.
“Hey Chaewon, there’s going to be a party at Minatozakis tonight, are you down?” Chaewon turns to see Kim Seungmin standing expectedly in front of her.
It’s a Friday, and she just barely made it through the week, so in consideration of her introversion, it’s safe to say that she’s not really looking forward to a high interaction event. Then again, that’s her thought process nearly every time he’s asked her about a weekend party. She opts for her usual answer and shrugs, “I’m not sure, I’m a bit busy.” She’s pretty sure she’s just going to stay in with Hyejoo and play Overcooked, but she doesn’t want to shut out the option of possibly going out this weekend.
“Alright,” He flashes a sweet smile, “well if you can come that’d be great, it’s starting at 10, apparently they’re having a smash tournament.” Chaewon feels her ears perk at that speck of information and gives a polite nod in kind. She quickly makes her way out of the meeting room, giving her phone screen a quick glance.
WON TAP
meeting going late :(
sorry
HYEJOO1
its ok
im waiting in the car
WON TAP
omw!! >:O
The sky’s turning a deep orange at the late hour as Chaewon scurries into the driver's seat, already spitting apologies and Hyejoo replies with a carefree smile and simple “let’s go get chipotle” that easily dries her guilt as she starts the car. They absentmindedly chat about their day and what video game they’re planning on playing later in the night when Chaewon remembers Seungmin’s proposition.
“So there’s a party at Minatozaki’s tonight,” and Hyejoo just hums in acknowledgment as she taps their orders into her phone.
“When is there not,” Hyejoo quickly remarks, not looking up from her phone. There’s a short pause before Hyejoo realizes that Chaewons waiting for a better response.
“Oh, are we going?” She asks, glancing up at her.
“I mean, apparently there’s a smash tournament,” and Chaewon keeps her eyes trained on the road but she can feel Hyejoo hum next to her seemingly mindlessly, but Chaewon can tell she’s interested.
“Well, you wouldn’t bring up a party if you didn’t want us to go, right?” Hyejoo asks, “I swear you’ve turned down every other offer this year.”
“I may be considering the offer this time around,” Chaewon words carefully, “honestly just to wipe the floor with them in smash, and if I were possibly to go, I would have someone to accompany me.”
“Well if you’re going to go, I’m going,” Hyejoo states plainly, “but I already know I’m going to whoop all of their asses in smash; guaranteed.”
When they arrive at the Minatozaki house, Chaewon remembers that the Minatozaki’s are, in fact, loaded. The house is the size of half the school, and its driveway is already packed with cars, and she can hear people splashing in the pool in the backyard. They didn’t bother to change, Chaewon still wearing the same yellow sweater and light cropped jeans she wore to school and Hyejoo her typical black leather jacket and ripped jeans. As they step out of Chaewon’s Toyota, she notices Hyejoo’s relatively gloomier expression and reaches for her hand. Hyejoo looks at her as she gives it a quick squeeze.
“We’re whooping their asses, then we’re out,” Chaewon reassures her. Hyejoo sighs, pulling Chaewon along with her.
“You’re lucky I like making people lose,” She huffs. They enter the packed house, the pungent smell of weed and fruity alcohol welcoming them. The house has far too many rooms and hallways for Chaewon to navigate but Hyejoo easily leads them both of them to a spacious area on the 3rd floor that she can assume is the game room. There are numerous beanbags and chairs lying around a screen the size of her bedroom wall and she can see a generous group of people huddled near the screen.
She can make out a few faces, and she’s surprised when Hyejoo seems to nod at a few that Chaewon have never seen before. There’s a whiteboard with names scribbled and a bracket displaying the current setup. There’re about 20 names already on the board, but she finds two open slots in the bracket and fills them with their names.
The two share a beanbag near the front, and it takes a few matches of spectating and Chaewon can already tell she’s got easy competition, she effortlessly breezes through her matchups, leaving the audience awe-struck. Hyejoo, being even better at smash, has matches she compares to child’s play, and she’s visibly relaxed as she 3-0’s her frustrated opponents. The crowd only further cheers at the sight of game characters getting pummeled to death, because honestly, who doesn’t love a good old virtual brawl. The two of them cruise into the final 4, only left against Myoui Mina and Lee Minhyuk.
Chaewon’s leaning against Hyejoo on the cushy bean bag as they watch the losers bracket, and a familiar voice brings her out of her comfort-filled daze.
“Chaewon! You came!” It’s Kim Seungmin bounding up to her, his cheeks are a bit flushed, probably from alcohol, “I can’t believe it, finally decided that parties were cool enough for you?” He jokes and Chaewon sits up to show her attention.
“Ah, I just came for the smash competition,” Chaewon waves a hand amicably, which prompts him to squint at the board and realizes Chaewon’s position on the leaderboard, “oh wow, didn’t peg you for a gamer.” He takes a sip from the red cup in his hand.
Chaewon smiles, “yeah, I’m not that bad at smash.”
Seungmin sways a bit in place, “well, if you win the tournament I’ll get you a celebratory drink,” he winks with a charm that Chaewon can’t say she swoons under and she freezes up slightly.
“Oh, I don’t drink.”
“Don’t worry, we have non-alcoholic drinks,” he smiles, “well, good luck!” and walks over to a few other people a couple of feet behind them.
Chaewon shrugs as she leans back against the beanbag returning to her comfortable position on Hyejoo’s shoulder. The loser's bracket ends and it’s winner quickly gets shut down once more. Chaewon’s surprised at Mina’s proficient mechanics but the girl still loses a 1-3, and Chaewon gives her a good-natured high five. Hyejoo on the other hand, powers through her match against Minhyuk with a 0-3, giving him a bored stare when he tries to give a congratulatory handshake. The quarterfinals narrow down to just her and Hyejoo.
The crowd has grown considerably large and as they load into a map Chaewon nudges Hyejoo playfully, “loser loses driving privileges.” Hyejoo narrows her eyes in realization, “you suck,” only Chaewon has a license out of the two of them, she’s also the only one with a car.
They go head on head, the crowd whooping and cheering them on. It takes heavy rallying until both they’re avatars are on their lowest possible health, and Chaewon eyes how Hyejoo’s avatar bounds across the screen towards her own. She waits for them to shorten the gap before she spams a melee combo, one that would for sure knock Hyejoo off-screen, but it’s too late. Her avatar goes flying off the far left of the screen, the words “GAME!” pan across the screen. The crowd hoots in excitement as Chaewon groans, collapsing into Hyejoo’s lap dramatically.
“Some say victory is an achievement-” Chaewon cups her hands over Hyejoo’s mouth to stop her from continuing the plagiarized quote.
“Nooo shut upp,” She moans as Hyejoo only cackles muffledly.
“Let’s go?” Hyejoo asks just barely above a whisper as she leans closer into Chaewon, so she can hear the question through her fingers. Chaewon hops off Hyejoo’s lap, dusting herself off quickly before turning to wait for her.
“That was a close game!” Seungmin walks over from the audience to commend Chaewon, his cheeks even more flushed than earlier, and his speech slightly off. Hyejoo walks over to Chaewon, giving Seungmin a nod of acknowledgment before giving her a blank glance that said please tell me we’re leaving I don’t want to talk to people.
“Hyejoo, do you want a drink? You kinda just mowed through the competition there.”
Hyejoo shakes her head politely, “No, I don’t drink. We should be going now though, we’ll catch you around sometime,” she waves goodbye to a few of the people she knows in the crowd and they make their way out of the house.
It’s around 12 AM when they’re near their houses and Chaewon instinctively asks Hyejoo to sleep over even though her own house is just a 5-minute drive away. But just like always, Hyejoo silently complies, albeit much more groggy and sleepy this time around. Chaewon manages to pull Hyejoo through their nightly routine as the girl seems to be ready to just collapse on Chaewon’s bed.
Once she closes the lights and Hyejoo’s already out next to her, she realizes that she’s finding it hard to sleep. It’s odd, she typically sleeps easier with Hyejoo, but her mind’s buzzing with thoughts as if she’s alone.
At times like this, Hyejoo would probably tell her to stop thinking so much, as per usual, but without her friend's remark, Chaewon overthinks. She just had her first Junior year party, and she’s honestly surprised that she didn’t embarrass herself or get thrown in some peer-pressure induced situation. Actually, Hyejoo kept her out of any rabbit hole she would tumble down, and the thought makes her chest fill with gratitude.
She’s thankful for having Hyejoo to stop her from doing anything stupid. She reminds herself to go easy on Hyejoo during their next Mario Kart session as she closes her eyes, consciousness already drifting away.