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Her hands glide effortlessly on the strings of the guitar, mindlessly playing a random succession of chords for a melody. She’d taken to playing around in the vocal room, automatically zeroing in on the instrument earlier. She’s been stuck on what she was doing though. Hyunjin can’t focus.
Her mind wanders to her best friend. Great. Now she was feeling a little lonely.
It’s a good thing she didn’t come to the company alone.
“Heejin-ah!”
Hyunjin shuffles in her seat, awaiting a response.
“Heejin-ah!”
She distractedly fiddles with the strings for a bit. She sits patiently, waiting for a reply.
“Heekkie!!”
Her fingers tap the same (now familiar) rhythm on the body of the instrument. She takes a deep breath.
“Heejin-aaahhh!!”
“What?!”
Hyunjin’s smile is automatic as she sees the other girl appear in front of the vocal room.
“Come vibe with me.”
Heejin sighs out. Loudly.
“Yah, Kim Hyunjin. Ah, what’s up with that? I thought you needed me for something serious.”
Hyunjin pats the chair beside her.
“But Heekkie, it is important.”
Heejin’s brows raise skeptically as she regards the other girl.
“How exactly?”
Hyunjin grins as her best friend sits with her. “You need a break. I need a break. Let’s spend it together!”
Heejin scoots her chair closer to Hyunjin’s. “Okay? We just got here like 3 hours ago. What’s this really about?”
Hyunjin’s smile turns sheepish as she answers.
“… I’ve got a new idea for a song. Listen to it for me?”
--
(They spend a few extra hours piecing together the instrumental for a song.
By the end of the day, they’ve fleshed it out and it’s only missing the lyrics and a title.)
((Hyunjin hopes they let them keep it, this time. Hopefully, they’ll get to release it someday.))
---
Hyunjin heaves a breath. Her tears fall wordlessly, the tiring stress of the day weighing down on her. Her hands reach up to cover her face. She grits her teeth in disappointment. It’s embarrassing how she just can’t get the choreo down like she normally does.
Maybe she was having an off day, because whatever this was, it just wasn’t it.
She feels movement beside her before a familiar scent invades her senses, allowing a feeling of calmness to wrap around her. Her head falls on an awaiting shoulder. More tears slide down her face.
They don’t say anything.
They don’t have to.
She actually feels arms wrap around her gently, this time. Maybe she’ll be alright.
Heejin holds her closer.
She feels the familiar comfort in her embrace. It kind of reminds her of her dad. She hugs her back.
Maybe I’ll be alright.
---
(She’s daydreaming, this time.)
The yellow cat blinks at her. Hyunjin blinks back owlishly, sleep dripping through her droopy eyes.
The cat stands on its hind legs.
Hyunjin blinks again.
The feline begins to wiggle.
Hyunjin tilts her head at the absurdity.
The cat mirrors her movement.
“Pspsps-”
The creature disappears in a swirl of yellow.
She jolts awake at the algid feeling that touches her forehead.
“Heekkie?”
The older girl smiles, bringing the drink down. She reaches up to poke Hyunjin on the same place she touched the drink.
“Hey there sleepyhead. Here, I got you your favorite iced Americano.”
The girl just gapes at her. Heejin’s smile turns soft. She hands the cold drink to the other girl.
“Go on.”
Hyunjin smiles back warmly.
“Thank you, Heejin.”
---
Hyunjin catches herself smiling as she chops green onions in the kitchen of their dorm.
Oh no.
Her smile uncontrollably grows wider as she slowly realizes her reason for doing so.
I’m royally in trouble, huh?
It doesn’t leave as she succumbs to thoughts of the very person she was smiling about. It’s not her fault that Heejin was so distracting lately.
Heejin.
That annoying, clumsy loveable little nerd who happened to be her closest friend. And bandmate. Not to mention, her self-acclaimed ‘soul friend’. The very person who makes her heart race and summons little Gowons to flutter rampantly in her stomach.
They’ve been working out together lately (Heejin more so than anyone in the group) and well, who can really blame her for thinking about it? Hyunjin isn’t blind, she’s fully aware of Heejin’s admirable physique, and that partnered with her gorgeous self is just about enough to drive anyone wild (Hyunjin, more so than anyone else).
It’s so unfair how the older girl could simply just exist and effortlessly worm her way into Hyunjin’s thoughts unprompted. Like now. For (oh my) goodness’ sake, they live in the same dorm and she already misses her.
It’s literally 7 in the morning, dummy!
It’s probably too early to be thinking of someone this much, but maybe that’s just how love is.
Hyunjin hums to herself.
Love, huh?
It’s not a secret to anyone that the two share a close bond, and it’s only natural that even their fans have taken a liking to the duo’s chemistry. Some even going as far as wanting to see them together-together. Hyunjin is aware of that. She’s not worried though, since she knows that her friendship with Heejin is more secure than anything.
She sighs. What she is honestly thinking about, is what would happen if they ever choose to become something more.
She pauses her chopping to entertain that thought. What would change if she and Heejin actually got together? Will having a label change anything between them? (It’s not like one of them ever brought it up for discussion, and to be completely honest, she’s perfectly content with whatever it is that they share right now.)
((There’s also the small detail that they’re not even really allowed to date yet, but it’s not like anyone would ever know unless they tell.
Plus, who really cares what the company says anyway?))
She finishes chopping the onions.
What about their families? What would they think? Would they approve of them? Their families are like a close-knit group of friends, too.
What would happen when the fans eventually, inevitably find out? What if they stopped liking them for liking each other?
(Hyunjin snorts at the idea. If anything, some of them would probably rejoice at the fact.)
She makes her way to the sink and washes her hands.
Nah, as long as I have Heejin with me, I know I’ll be alright.
She heats the pan and prepares to stir fry the marinated meat.
She smiles to herself again. It really is too early to be thinking about this.
“What are you smiling about you weirdo.” Hyunjin nearly drops what she was holding.
Heejin enters the kitchen, hair a little messy, and glasses low on her face. She squints at what Hyunjin had in her hands and cheers at seeing the marinated beef that she (already) saw the girl prepare last night.
“You’re making bulgogi?? I could kiss you right now!”
The younger one turns around to focus on cooking, strategically hiding the color of her face as she does so.
There she goes again.
Hyunjin feels arms slowly wrap around her from behind.
“Thanks for the meal~!” Heejin whispers into the other girl’s ear.
“Ah,” Hyunjin says, “you’re making my heart flutter.”
Heejin giggles into her neck and Hyunjin…
Well, Hyunjin just swoons.
Because really, what else was she supposed to do?
Hyunjin is helplessly in love, and Heejin isn’t making it any easier for her.
---
“Heejin, it’s difficult.”
The older girl hums mindlessly. “What is, Hyun?”
“This…” she gestures between the two of them. “Us, and these, these emotions.” Love.
Heejin just hums again. They were strolling casually around their dorm area, and she doesn’t really know what brought this about. Sounds like the other girl had been thinking about it for a while.
She stops walking, makes a point of grabbing the younger one’s hand and intertwining their fingers, and resumes her trek, pulling Hyunjin along with her.
Hyunjin is puzzled.
“What’s this for?”
Heejin just hums and begins to lightly swing their hands in between them.
“It doesn’t have to be that hard, Hyun. This,” she says, bringing their entangled hands up, “this is easy enough, isn’t it?”
Heejin smiles and continues their walk without another word.
---
Hyunjin almost immediately picks up her phone at the familiar, specific ringtone. She decides to let it play out for a bit before answering. (She hums and dances along to ‘I’ll be there’)
“Yah, you let it play again, didn’t you?”
Hyunjin hides a smile. “No, I didn’t. I was in the bathroom.”
Heejin’s voice is disbelieving. “Yeah, whatever. Anyway, I’m almost home. Gonna be passing by the bakery~ want anything?”
Hyunjin squeals at the thought of bread. “Yeah! I want bagels and croissants please! Thank you Heekie.”
Heejin mutters out a small “yes!” on the other side. Hyunjin asks what that was about.
“I’m actually here outside now, and I already got exactly what you asked for haha.”
Hyunjin drops the call and rushes to the door.
“Hey there.”
--
(They eat the bread together. Heejin also bought donuts to share with the other members.)
---
Heejin sits down on the floor beside Hyunjin. The two were practicing in the dance room along with Yeojin and Yerim, and the two younger ones went out for a break. The older girl took the opportunity to get the taller girl to open up. She proceeds to stare intensely at Hyunjin, looking like she’s trying to telepathically make her talk.
Hyunjin looks at the other girl questioningly. “What?”
Heejin drops the intense stare and leans back on her arms.
“You look like you’ve been thinking too hard again… I can almost hear your thoughts all the way from over there.”
Hyunjin raises a brow. (Heejin didn’t see, but she proceeds to explain anyway.)
“You’ve had this stressed look on your face. Your brows were all scrunched up like this.” Heejin turns to Hyunjin and points to her brows, exaggeratedly pushing them together. Hyunjin laughs at the ridiculous sight.
Heejin smiles at the sound.
She waits patiently for Hyunjin to answer.
And she does.
“It’s really nothing. I’ve just been a little worried about my dancing. I just can’t seem to get things to feel right whenever I do. I get frustrated because I know I can do so much better.”
Heejin nods along.
“And, I want to do well. I kind of feel like I haven’t been, lately.”
The taller girl turns silent. They let silence hang over them as the older one mulls over what the younger one just said.
Heejin looks at her.
Hyunjin looks back.
Heejin claps her hands together. “Alright.” She stands up and brushes the invisible dirt off her backside. “I know what would make you feel better.”
She reaches a hand out to Hyunjin. She pulls her up to stand.
“Let’s dance together!”
--
(Yeojin and Yerim return to the room to find the two laughing while aggressively dancing face-to-face in what seems to be an intense dance battle. They seem to be trying to best each other at every move. The sight was ridiculous. They weren’t doing anything seriously, but at least they seemed to be having fun.
Heejin screams out as Hyunjin accidentally hits her in an attempt to move past her in a weird jumping motion. The two proceed to chase each other around.
Yerim giggles. “They’re like middle school boys, huh?”
Yeojin sighs. “Yeah, they’re kinda weird like that.”
Yerim giggles again. “But they make a pretty good pair, don’t you think?”
The smaller girl nods as they watch the two now take turns in trying to do a cartwheel. ((Yeojin is pretty sure they’re just playing around at this point; there’s nothing like that in any of their choreographies.))
“Yeah, you’re right, unnie. They do.”)
---
Realization comes in every little thing that Hyunjin sees and does that reminds her of Heejin.
The guitar in the vocal room that the other girl left in there for whenever they would jam together.
The baby bunny videos that keep appearing in her YouTube recommendations.
The avocados on the corner of their dining table.
She can’t do planks without thinking of Heejin.
She can’t look at art without thinking of Heejin.
Heck, she can’t even breathe without thinking of Heejin.
--
“Breathe, Hyun.”
“I- what?”
“You’re thinking too hard again.”
“Who- what? No I’m no-”
“In, and out.”
“Heeji-”
“In, and out. Breathe with me. Like this. In, and out.”
“You’re being weird, Heejin. I wasn’t even thinking.”
“That’s rich, coming from you. And shut up. It’s been nearly 30 minutes since you came in the room and lied down, but you’re not snoring yet. I know you can’t sleep.”
Hyunjin is dumbfounded.
“Yah! I don’t snore! And what does breathing have to do with anything?”
“Did you know that deep breathing helps induce sleep?”
“I- no…”
“Come on, breathe with me.”
---
Hyunjin is in the practice room again. The members were scattered all around, making the most of their short break. She sees the time nearing the end of their break. She cups her hands around her mouth.
“STANDBY!”
The members in the room collectively groan.
“Hyunjin unnie, I thought we agreed to stop doing that already!”
“We’ll take your selfie out of the idol house!”
“Hey! That was for into the unknown, not standby!”
“I don’t care!”
Hyunjin huffs out as the members gather around again, the younger ones making a fuss. She starts to do a headcount (a habit she picked up from their leader which she took the liberty of doing since her hiatus) as some of the members call out to the ones outside.
“Hey, where’s Heejin?”
Hyunjin turns to their matnae. Her face turns soft as she regards their oldest member.
“Hey unnie. Don’t worry about it, I’ll call her.”
Kahei smiles as Hyunjin cups her hands over her mouth again (evidently calling out in a softer tone this time).
“Heejin-ah!”
The foreign member hums as the younger one continuously calls out to their first girl. “How come you don’t call everyone else like that?”
Hyunjin turns to look at her confused. “What do you mean, unnie?”
Kahei laughs at the oblivious girl’s face, seeing the other girl appearing in a rush back into their room.
“Nothing…”
---
Hyunjin is out with some of her old friends. (She hasn’t seen them in a while, and they were coming around the area, so she took a bit of their weekend off to spend time with them.) They’d had a good meal over some time catching up earlier, and they were on their way to check out a café that newly opened.
Her mind wanders as she walks with her friends. They were rounding the corner to the café, and Hyunjin’s friends awe at the aesthetic design that appears in their sight. Hyunjin also stares in awe as they make their way to enter.
Heejin would love it here.
Hyunjin and her friends take pictures inside the gorgeously designed café. The walls were a brown beige with couches and padded chairs to match. The wooden tables were lined in a strategic matter, providing a fair amount of space to move effortlessly through, while still giving a close distance for people who came together.
Small yellow bulbs hang over the ceiling, with extra lights coming from around the paintings that hang on the walls, giving the small café an extra glow.
The café’s windows were tinted from the outside, so they didn’t really see the interior until they came in. From inside, however, they could clearly see the view of the city outside, so it provided a good sense of security for the customers. Hyunjin swears to herself that she’d bring Heejin (and the other members, of course) here sometime.
--
(Hyunjin’s friends ask her about their group.
She doesn’t shut up about Heejin.)
---
Hyunjin jumps as she nearly collides with somebody on her way out of their room.
“Oh sh- sorry-”
“Hey, sorry-”
They talk over each other before awkwardly pausing at the same time.
“Ah.”
Hyunjin smiles a bit as she sees who she almost rammed into earlier. “Heejin?”
The girl in question smiles sheepishly. “Hey there, I was just about to wake you up.”
Hyunjin collects herself as she moves to get out, the two of them walking together mindlessly.
“Oh. Why?”
Heejin looks at her outfit up and down and grins. “Well, I was about to go for a walk-”
Wow, me too.
“-and I thought I should bring you with me. From the looks of it though, you’re all ready to go! Yay!”
Another smile breaks out. Hyunjin nods along.
“Yeah, yay.”
--
“Hey, Heejin…”
The older girl hums.
“hm?”
“Can we get bread on our way home?”
Heejin laughs. She grabs hold of Hyunjin’s hand.
“Sure, Hyun.”
Hyunjin smiles.
“Anything for you.”
---
Hyunjin turns around her bed as she prepares to sleep for the night. Her heart is still pounding from the moment she shared with Heejin earlier. She feels another smile coming. (She’s been doing that a whole lot, lately.)
It’s been hours. Hours since this morning.
Hyunjin begins to breathe deeply. (She’s trying out the breathing technique Heejin taught her.)
Her eyes begin to close as her body succumbs to rest.
The smile doesn’t leave.
--
(She dreams of a pink bunny and a yellow cat.
And of warm bread, and warm hands.)
---