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1.
It’s late. Or early, depending on who you ask. Yoohyeon types the numbers into the pad slowly. Her trembling fingers are freezing and her eyes are half closed, but thoughts of their warm apartment keep her awake. She shouldn’t have stayed at the studio so long, but there was the new Japanese song and upcoming comeback and she knows the stress wouldn’t have let her sleep anyway.
The door clicks open and Yoohyeon nearly falls inside. Heat hits her like a brick wall and she sighs. Almost immediately the shivers stop and Yoohyeon relaxes. No lights are on except for the dim night light that’s always on in the hallway, but there’s a faint glow coming from the living room.
Yoohyeon leaves her shoes at the door, shedding her outer, winter layers as she moves sleepily though the dorm. The corners of her mouth turn up when she walks into the living room and Yubin's curled up on the couch. She’s tucked into the corner, wrapped in a blanket with her laptop on her knees. She’s watching a video, but pauses it and look up when Yoohyeon walks in.
“You stayed out late.” Her voice is soft, on the verge of sleep. Yoohyeon shrugs and unzips her last jacket. She throws it over the opposite arm of the couch and falls beside Yubin.
“It’s not like you’re asleep either. What are you watching?” With the comeback near, they’d all promised Minji they’d at least try to get back to a normal sleep schedule. Oops.
Yubin turns so Yoohyeon can see the screen.
“Just old concert videos.” She says it like it’s nothing, but Yoohyeon can hear the ache in her voice.
“I miss them too,” she sighs, leaning her head on Yubin’s shoulder. She hits the space bar on the laptop and the video continues playing. The volume is so low Yoohyeon can barely hear, but she can see Bora jumping around on stage, can hear the sound of her excited laugh in her head.
“I want to perform for them again. See them,” Yubin mumbles. Her hand finds Yoohyeon's under the blanket and she squeezes lightly.
“Me too.” There’s a pause, and Yoohyeon extracts herself from the blanket, only to wrap herself entirely around Yubin. Yubin huffs out a laugh, blowing Yoohyeon’s hair out of her face. Yoohyeon burrows further into Yubin's neck. There’s another pause before Yubin moves her hands to Yoohyeon’s back, rubbing lightly.
“What’s this for?” Her breath tickles Yoohyeon’s ear.
“Think of it as a giant hug from Somnias,” Yoohyeon says. “We’ll see them soon.”
2.
Yoohyeon feels Yubin flinch beside her as the girl on TV screams.
It’s movie night in the dorm and somehow a horror movie had made it into the rotation. Yoohyeon knows Yubin would’ve just skipped, except you’re not supposed to skip out on movie night. It’s a deal they’d all made with each other years ago.
The older girls have dibs on the couch of course, and the younger ones crowd in at their feet. Gahyeon insisted it wasn’t that scary, but even she’s cringing away from the TV, hiding behind Siyeon’s legs.
Yoohyeon glances down and watches Yubin ball her hands into fists. Her face betrays nothing as she stares impassively at the screen, but Yoohyeon can feel the tension dripping off of her.
Slowly, so as not to startle her, Yoohyeon slides closer to Yubin, covers a clenched fist with her hand. Her other arm snakes around Yubin’s waist, pulling her in close. Yubin doesn’t even resist, as she might have usually done. She unclenches her fingers, flipping her palm up and intertwining them with Yoohyeon’s.
“I hate this,” Yubin mumbles. Yoohyeon barely hears her over the screeching of the music in the movie.
“I know. I’m sorry.” Yoohyeon tightens her hold on Yubin, the fabric of Yubin’s shirt bunching between her fingers.
“Don’t watch. Just look at me.” They turn toward each other and lock eyes. Yoohyeon watches the lights from the TV flicker across Yubin’s face. Watches Yubin draw her lower lip between her teeth, the way she always does when she’s worried. Watches her wince as the music halts and they’re thrown into silence.
Yoohyeon’s heart skips a beat, because she knows what to expect next. Neither girl sees the jump scare, too focused on each other, but Yubin flinches again as Bora screams with the girl on TV. Yoohyeon bites back a smart quip in Bora’s direction and let’s go of Yubin's hand. She pulls the other girl into her, blocking the TV from her sight.
“It’s okay,” she whispers, running a hand down Yubin’s back. “It’s almost over.”
3.
When Sooyeon calls for a five-minute break, Yoohyeon nearly collapses to the floor. With the music on pause, the only sounds that fill the dance room are harsh pants and groans of relief. They can hardly see themselves in the mirrors anymore, thanks to the condensation that’s blurred them.
Yoohyeon falls out of her ending pose, her joints cracking as she hits the floor. She hisses, rubbing a sore foot with one hand and wiping the sweat from her eyes with the other. She takes a quick second to thank her past self for deciding to wear her hair up today. From inside the practice room, you’d never be able to tell it’s the dead of winter.
The rest of the girls lower themselves to the ground a bit less aggressively. Yoohyeon can hear Bora trying to pump them back up, but even Minji just laughs and star fishes out on the floor.
“That’s kinda gross,” Gahyeon says, wrinkling her nose. Yoohyeon opens her mouth to agree, but a bottle of water appears in front of her face. She looks up to find Yubin standing above her.
“Thanks,” Yoohyeon says, taking the bottle. She twists the cap off and downs half of it in a few gulps. Yubin sits next to her, leaning back on her palms.
“Is your ankle bothering you again?” She asks, nodding at the spot Yoohyeon's still rubbing. She hadn’t even noticed.
“Oh. Not really. I mean, not more than anything else is bothering me right now. We’ve been going for like, two hours straight without a break.”
Yubin nods in agreement and huffs out a breath. There’s a dull thump as Yoohyeon stretches her legs out on the floor and groans as the muscles pull. She leans back, into Yubin’s side, and giggles when Yubin squirms.
“Gross. We’re both nasty." She pushes against Yoohyeon’s shoulder but Yoohyeon leans all her dead weight into her.
“Yeah but you’re so comfy!” Yoohyeon whines. Yubin pushes half-heartedly, and only manages to maneuver Yoohyeon further down her lap. Yoohyeon grins up at Yubin, batting her eyelashes. It’s a losing battle, Yubin knows. She throws her hands up and sighs.
“Fine. I’m too tired anyway.”
Yoohyeon pats Yubin’s leg in mock sympathy. She doesn’t miss the way Yubin grabs her bottle and downs the rest of the water inside to hide a smile.
Yoohyeon’s just about to doze off when the door to the practice room opens and Sooyeon walks back in.
“Alright girls. Less cuddling, more dancing!”
4.
Pie yips playfully, skittering across the floor. Yoohyeon is glad she brought her over for much needed dog therapy.
As soon as Pie pranced through the door, the girls came rushing in, sitting in a circle on the floor.
Pie, being Pie, made a beeline for Yubin. Yubin became Pie's favorite the moment they met, and if Yoohyeon’s being honest, she’s still a little hurt. But her envy never lasts long. How can it, when Pie is able to melt away Yubin’s cool expression in less than a second?
Yoohyeon watches them now, Pie turning in circles between Yubin’s stretched out legs, Yubin cooing down at her, a smile turning her eyes into half-moons.
Nails tapping on the hardwood distracts Pie for half a second as Siyeon tries valiantly to capture the puppy's attention. It doesn’t work for long. Handong, Gahyeon, and Minji laugh and pat Siyeon in consolation. Everyone’s mood is brighter, and Yoohyeon is glad she could do something to help them relax.
Yubin’s moved Pie into her lap now, and Pie jumps up to lick at her chin. A smile twitches at the corners of Yoohyeon's lips, but she bites it back and walks over, crouches behind Yubin. Pie, noticing her presence, growls.
“Pie!” Yoohyeon gasps in mock hurt, her hand flying to her chest.
“I am your mother! You can’t just forget me the moment Yubin walks through the door.” Yoohyeon pouts, her lips and eyebrows drawing together. Bora overhears from the kitchen and laughs.
“C’mon Yoohyeon. You just have to accept it like the rest of us. Yubin is your dog’s favorite!”
In front of Yoohyeon, Yubin giggles at Pie.
“She’s just tired of your chaos.”
“I’m not that chaotic,” Yoohyeon mumbles, wrapping her arms around Yubin’s waist. Her blonde hair hangs over Yubin’s shoulder as she rests her chin there. Pie turns in a circle, another low growl emanating from her tiny chest. Her pompom of a tail arcs aggressively back and forth.
“Nuh-uh Pie,” Yoohyeon teases, tightening her grip on Yubin. “I saw her first. She was mine before you were even born.” Yoohyeon faces off against Pie in an intense staring contest and Yubin just laughs. She slaps a hand playfully against Yoohyeon’s leg and leans back in her embrace.
“Sorry Pie,” Yubin shrugs. “Apparently I’m already taken.”
The resounding whine that falls from Pie’s mouth sends everyone into a fit of laughter.
5.
It’s freezing. Worse than freezing. Is this how all award shows work? Yoohyeon is starting to regret this. Who needs to be a successful idol anyway?
She hops up and down, the heels of her performance boots clicking on the pavement. A hand warmer in the bottom of each of her shoes, and one in each of her pockets still can’t stop her limbs from going tingly. She begins to run through the Boca choreography, just to keep her toes from turning blue. She gets through the first chorus before she looks up.
At least she’s faring better than Yubin. The poor girl already hates the cold, being cold natured in the first place, and she looks absolutely miserable. Her eyes are barely visible under the hood of her puffy, double-lined coat. She’s practically a marshmallow, and Yoohyeon can still see her shaking like a leaf.
Her body moves before her brain does, and the next time she blinks she’s standing in front of Yubin.
“You still alive in there?” Yoohyeon jokes, waving a gloved hand in front of Yubin’s covered face. A rumbling, barely understandable response comes from somewhere inside the bundle in front of her.
“Oh, come here!” Yoohyeon rolls her eyes and unzips Yubin’s coat.
“What—” Before Yubin can ask her if she’s lost her mind, which maybe she has, Yoohyeon unzips her own coat and draws Yubin in. She weaves her hands through Yubin’s layers and finally joins them against the small of Yubin’s back. The shorter girl stands rigid, against the cold or her touch Yoohyeon isn’t sure. She tries not to be bothered by it.
“This only works if you hug me back, you know.”
“And what, exactly, is this?” Yubin gripes into her neck. Her breath is warm against Yoohyeon’s skin, and Yoohyeon suppresses a shiver that has nothing to do with the cold.
“Sharing body heat, duh. Survival one-oh-one,” she answers, squeezing Yubin around the middle. A beat of silence passes and Yoohyeon pleads to whatever god listening to please not make this awkward. And then Yubin sighs. Yoohyeon doesn’t so much hear it as she feels it in the sagging of Yubin’s body against hers.
She thinks she hears a muffled “fine” before she feels Yubin’s hands slide between her coat and her dress. Yubin tucks her face in the crook of Yoohyeon’s neck. They’re pressed together from head to toe, and Yoohyeon tries hard not to regret her decision. Feelings never make anything simple.
They stand in silence, huddled together, as Yubin’s shivers lessen, then stop altogether.
“Warmer?” Yoohyeon whispers against Yubin’s ear. Her voice breaks halfway through the word and she clears her throat.
Yubin nods, and then.
“I hate the cold.” Even if she couldn’t feel Yubin’s lips against her collarbone, Yoohyeon would still know she was pouting. She can’t help it. A giggle rises in her throat and escapes, unbidden.
“I know. Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll get to go inside soon.”
+1
Free days come once in a lifetime, and Yoohyeon plans to take full advantage of hers. She would go home, but her parents are already on vacation, Pie at a family friend’s place. And that’s okay with Yoohyeon anyway. She’d lost the meaning of the word “sleep" halfway through promotions, and fully intends on getting reacquainted.
Laying around the house all day feels amazing, after her body had been in constant motion for over a month. It’s a good sign that they were allowed to promote longer than usual, Yoohyeon guesses, but the lengthy stretches of dancing and singing on a handful of hours of sleep took its toll.
Between watching movies and dozing, Yoohyeon hardly notices the sun dip below the horizon and keep sinking. She’s not alone in the dorm. Siyeon and Handong have come home, but they’re holed up in their own rooms.
The front door beeps and opens around one in the morning, and Yoohyeon doesn’t even look up. A figure walks in, silent as a ghost as she sheds her bag and coat. Yoohyeon doesn’t tear her eyes away from the TV even when said figure falls beside her on the coach, tucking her legs underneath her.
“Your eyes are gonna get stuck like that if you don’t blink,” Yubin murmurs. Yoohyeon grunts, noncommittal. Her focus on the movie playing before her is laser-like. That is, of course, until an arm circles her waist and a head falls against her shoulder.
Finally, Yoohyeon turns away from the TV and toward the girl at her side. Even with only the light flickering from the screen, the circles under Yubin’s closed eyes are visible.
“Exactly how much sleep have you gotten in the last forty-eight hours?" Yoohyeon asks, her voice low for Yubin’s benefit. This time, Yubin is the one who doesn’t answer. Yoohyeon sighs, but a fond smile grows on her lips anyway.
“Why did you even go out today? You should’ve stayed home and caught up on sleep.” It’s a natural thing, for Yoohyeon to run her fingers through Yubin’s soft hair. It’s surprising, considering how many times it’s been bleached. It’s even more surprising when Yubin arches up into the touch. The movie plays on, completely forgotten.
“You must be very tired,” Yoohyeon says, laughter present in her voice.
“How can you tell?” Yubin asks without opening her eyes. A yawn pries her mouth open, and she pulls away the hand that had settled on Yoohyeon’s stomach to stifle it. Her feet push in between the cushions and the pillows as she shifts, relaxes further into Yoohyeon.
“You’re not usually—like this.” Yoohyeon resists the urge to fidget. She doesn’t want to give Yubin a reason to move away.
“You're. . .warm. Enjoy it.” Yubin smiles, nuzzling further into Yoohyeon. Her arms wind back around Yoohyeon’s bare waist. Yoohyeon snorts, settles back into the couch. Her hand covers Yubin’s.
“We could just go to bed, you know.” She turns her head slightly to look at the other girl. Yubin doesn’t answer. She’s already asleep.