Work Text:
“Your eyes look beautiful tonight.” Yubin tries to mutter out loud, her words drowning in a sea of their friends’ boisterous laughter as they celebrate Gahyeon’s birthday, the youngest in their friend group.
“What was that?!” Yoohyeon asks leaning closer to Yubin, her scent empowering her will to say the right words.
Yubin wasn’t sure what to say, especially when Yoohyeon beams at her as she drinks her not-so-cold beer that has been out of the refrigerator for forty-five minutes now. “Nothing. Never mind. And yes. I drink alcohol now. Some things change.”
“Impressive, babe.”
Yubin freezes, Yoohyeon’s “babe” spins inside her head and her heart starts feeling abnormally warm. Her skin feels icy cold, but her blood is running rapidly from head to toe.
“Th-thanks. I just tried it once at one of the college parties. And I liked it.” Yubin manages to croak out from deep within. She’s feeling weak, and she wishes it were because of the beer.
“What do you think would have happened…” Yoohyeon stops in the middle of her sentence to put out her cigarette, the one she swears is her last for tonight because Bora hates the smell in her house (that’s why she uses vape). Yubin glances at her, after staring at the windowsill for far too long since Yoohyeon walked over to her while their friends were wilding over parlor games. Yoohyeon looks back. “If… you know. I didn’t leave and study abroad.”
“I, uh, wow. Still direct to the point, I see.” Yubin downs calculated gulps, just the right amount to keep her throat from drying out as Yoohyeon laughs softly, making her heart feel sick. She knew going to Gahyeon’s party tonight was too steep a hill to climb for her. But she didn’t think it would be this steep. Only Yoohyeon can make Yubin miscalculate about a lot of things, no matter how damn well they know each other. It's like Yoohyeon always has a trick up her sleeve to keep her on her toes all the time. “I-I don’t know, really. Anything could have happened.”
“Oh? You think so?” Yoohyeon’s voice sounds playful, but somewhere inside her she starts breaking slowly, quietly.
“I mean, we were young then. And I didn’t want to lose you at the time that I did, but it had to happen because it was for your dreams.” Yubin devours the last drip from the bottle, quite displeased that she has to pass by Yoohyeon to grab herself another bottle because that means having to get a whiff of her. And this isn’t the time to be intoxicated by her first love, not when it’s their first time meeting again since Yoohyeon left the country for college.
“Well I think we would have stayed together.” Yoohyeon says confidently even if her heart has started falling apart the moment she entered Bora’s apartment, her eyes immovable from the figure standing beside the window with a beer in her hand.
Yubin’s chest starts beating frantically, her breathing laborious and she feels her entire face warm up like a furnace. Her left hand unconsciously starts crawling through the windowsill, searching for something she has always wanted to hold since the last time she was forced to let it go.
“Guys! I think we should play truth or dare!” The birthday girl shouts from across the living room looking a bit buzzed, but sober enough to carry three bottles of beer - one for her consumption, the other for Bora, the last she emptied herself for their game.
Yubin hurriedly retracts her hand, suddenly disconcerted and antagonized by the move she just tried to pull off. She told herself to pull it together - to not think of her beautiful face, to not imagine her hand clasped with hers, to forget how her lips tasted like strawberry Chapstick. And she is obviously failing miserably.
Fuck. Yubin knows she is fucked. Like that first time she met Yoohyeon in the school library, peacefully reading the book that she has been wanting to borrow for weeks. She is fucked, because she knows nothing else will matter in this world again but her.
“Gahyeon?! Aren’t we a bit too old for that?!” Yoohyeon screams, jesting, and the whole room looks over to where the two of them are, earning faces from their friends. “What?! Why are you all looking at us like that?!” Yoohyeon raises her arm and carefully places it around Yubin’s cold shoulder, Dongie smirking at the sight.
“Nothing! But we should totally do what the birthday girl wants!” Bora says, controlling her lips from curving upwards to not make her best friend’s reunion with her ex be awkward. She knows what this night means for her.
Yubin on the other hand is frozen, surprised with disbelief as she feels Yoohyeon’s arm around her. She counts from 1 to 10 just to make sure that she’s not dreaming, because that’s only where she has been seeing Yoohyeon for the past few years.
“Fine by me!” Siyeon says as she stands up, heading to the living room hand in hand with her wife Minji while shooting glances at her best friend Yubin whose eyes are now glued to the floor. Yoohyeon lights another cigarette with her free hand, her other still warming up against Yubin’s wool sweater.
“Sorry.” Yoohyeon says, immediately aware where her other arm is and takes it back to her side. Yubin suddenly feels the cold biting her skin. “I just- Sorry. Habits are scary.” Yoohyeon laughs as they look at each other. Yubin tries to relax, but the stars in Yoohyeon’s eyes have never lost their glimmer since the last time she saw them. She is pitted, once again, to the depths of her heart, and is forced to look away after getting lost in a trance.
“That’s really not a problem.” Yubin lies, because it is a problem. And she can’t think of a solution any time soon. “Let’s go?”
Yoohyeon nods, putting out her barely-puffed cigarette before they both make their way to where their friends are seated in a circle. They see the two empty spots beside each other and Yoohyeon shakes her head at Bora who is right across from her. Bora mouths a, “What?!” and tries to pretend she has no say whatsoever in this arrangement. Yoohyeon replies with an inaudible, “Fuck you.”
“So? Should the birthday girl start the spinning?” Dongie looks over to Gahyeon who is now wearing a crown, cheeks flushed deep red, and immediately spins the bottle hard with a smirk on her face.
“Yubin!”
Oh for fuck’s sake.
“Oh hoooo! Our Yubin! So! Truth or dare!” Siyeon sounds a bit more ecstatic than usual as she finally lets go of her wife’s hand for the first time the whole night, just so she can hand the iPad to her best friend who is supposed to choose the questions on her own. “See, we’re pretty high-tech now. Unlike back in the days.”
In true Yubin form, she chooses “Truth” and taps on “Generate question” on the application.
Siyeon starts reading out loud, “What is the last thing that you searched on your Instagram?” Yubin looks up from staring at her clasped hands, giving Siyeon a small smirk.
“Dog groomers.” Yubin says confidently. She’s sure it was the last thing she searched before this game happened because looking at puppies helps her loosen up a bit. It is most definitely the last thing she looked at before setting foot into this party.
“And if she’s wrong? What’s the punishment?” Dongie starts, her talent tonight being the annoying friend.
“I think it’s to remove one article of clothing for each wrong answer or each dare that can’t be done.” Yoohyeon answers, eyes undirected to Yubin as she laughs with their friends.
“I agree! That should be it!” Gahyeon says from the other side of the circle.
“Okay, well, Yoohyeon, since you’re the one next to me and next to Yubin, please check her phone.”
The confident Yubin suddenly deflates, electricity running through her veins as she pulls out her phone from inside her pocket. Without a word she unlocks it and opens the app before handing it over to Yoohyeon. Yubin rarely forgets about things, but her memory fails her the moment she needs it the most.
“Okay. Yep. Doggogroomers was the last search! I confirm.”
Yubin’s blood rises, too ashamed to face Yoohyeon as she snatches her phone from her. As Yubin tries to wish for the earth to swallow her whole at that moment, her search terms on her Instagram haunt Yoohyeon.
doggogroomers
yoohyeonkim
musicassockr
liveloveandpridekr
“Okay then! Yubin, please do the honors of spinning now?” Siyeon looks over at her best friend, confused at her panic-stricken eyes. She knows something is up, but now isn’t the time to bring it up.
Yubin slowly crawls over to the bottle pointing at her and spins it with lackluster energy, still feeling frail from forgetting that she had searched Yoohyeon before she went to this party. Not that she doesn’t look at her other social media accounts on a regular basis.
The bottle stops. And it is now pointing at Yoohyeon.
The rest of the group cheers, and Yoohyeon pretends to laugh but her heart starts sinking as Yubin hands her the iPad to choose her question or dare from.
“Of course, I’ll choose dare!” Yoohyeon says as she taps the screen, and the whole room once again a sea of screams.
“Okay, for Yoohyeon’s dare...” Yubin swallows, her voice unusually unstable. “Kiss the person on your right.” The last word rolls off of her tongue carelessly. The whole room goes crazy even more, except for the pair’s best friends. Bora and Siyeon look at each other with uneasiness, knowing everything the two had to go through to prepare and be present at this party - both mentally and physically. They switch their eyes when they both see Yoohyeon moving forward towards Yubin.
“Just a dare.” Yoohyeon whispers, mostly for her but Yubin hears it eventually, her hot breath gashing Yubin’s composure (or the lack thereof).
Their lips touch as soon as Yoohyeon leans closer, hesitation masked with their guarded hearts - the fireworks crackle on New Year’s Eve, the flowers bloom on the first day of spring, there’s a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow. For a split-second, Yubin remembers how soft Yoohyeon’s lips are. It’s already been years but she still tastes like the strawberry-flavored Chapstick she likes buying from the nearby drugstore. Her scent still makes her feel light-headed, making her want to devour more of her. Yubin snaps back to reality as she tunes in to the claps and screams of their friends that have been spectators of their story since day one. She pulls away, the parting of their lips feeling like weighted thorns on Yoohyeon’s chest. Yubin stands up and runs away, and Siyeon looks at her Minji with defeated eyes. She knew that wasn’t gonna end well. She shakes her head and looks at Yoohyeon. “Sorry. It has never been easy for her.”
“Neither has it been for me. Just. Continue playing without us. I didn’t come here to lose her again.” Yoohyeon says, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. She stands up and wipes her face as she breathes out the tension that has been building heavily around her chest ever since the first time she saw Yubin this evening.
Yoohyeon finds Yubin on the building’s rooftop, the sky pitch black but with stars shining wildly.
And Yoohyeon knows how to do this, she knows how to deal whenever Yubin steps out to have some air for herself. She stands and rests her back on the ledge while looking up at the sky, and she knows Yubin knows she’s been there for the last fifteen minutes. They would know how each other’s shadows form on a rainy night, and they know how each other feels even without saying anything.
“Hey.” Yubin says, her voice a lot more calm but her breathing still unsteady.
“Hey.” Yoohyeon answers, her voice feeling tensed again as Yubin starts walking towards her. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Yubin stops with a couple of meters in between them. She thinks, this is the safe distance. With this amount of gap, she wouldn’t have to imagine about Yoohyeon’s lips again. Of course she’s wrong. She can’t stop looking at her supple lips.
“For being too much tonight.” Yoohyeon bites her lower lip and oh how it drives Yubin insane.
“It’s not that. Not why I left.” Yubin’s words sound warmer now, and Yoohyeon knows what this means. She’s now ready to talk about anything. So she prods.
“Then what is it?”
“Just… your whole presence. You. You’re intoxicating.” Yubin and her words, the only thing that makes Yoohyeon speechless. The shorter girl looks at her with tantalizing eyes, you wouldn’t dare mistake to break her heart. Yoohyeon feels this familiar heat covering her face, then spreading to her whole body. And whatever is happening inside her heart right now is what fireworks are made of.
“Yu-Yubin.” Yoohyeon starts, her tongue pretty much feeling like it’s caught in fire. “I came here tonight because Bora said you’d be here.” It’s honesty hour, anyway.
“And?” Yubin thinks that was pretty vague, even if she already knows what it means.
“Because I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you every day since.” Yoohyeon walks a bit closer, their eyes staring at each other admiring the splendor.
“That’s not fair, Yoo.”
“What? Why?”
“Cause I’m doing my best here not to kiss you. But now you’re just spitting nonsense.” Yubin moves a bit closer, this push and pull killing both of them, testing their patience and self-control.
“This is not nonsense. I wanted to see you. When I got home last month, yours was the first face I wanted to see. But I couldn’t. And I wanted to celebrate my birthday with you like old times. With midnights and sunsets. You know, our usual things.”
Yubin feels naked, vulnerable and exposed as Yoohyeon completely tears her walls down. “So what are you saying exactly?” The gap remains between them, but Yoohyeon reaches out to hold Yubin’s hand and she can’t remember the last time it felt this warm to hold someone’s hand.
“That I want you back. I want to try things again. I want to pick up where we left off. If we could. You know, if you could.”
Their strongest suit is understanding each other from the most mundane actions to the faintest shadows of their words, and at this moment, they knew there was only one thing left to do.
Yubin reaches up and carefully splays her fingers on Yoohyeon’s smooth face, the taller girl slowly pulling Yubin closer to her chest as she feels the warmth on her cheek. No words were needed, no more push and pull, just one force to fill up everything they’ve lost these past few years.
Their lips marry under the dark yet dimly-lit sky, passion and longing in their kisses as one as they take each other’s breath away. Gently pulling on each other’s hair with their delicate hands, Yoohyeon moans as Yubin works her way down to her neck, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. Yoohyeon is defeated, but it’s the kind of war she is willing to not win if it means winning Yubin back. This old yet familiar feeling that she has longed for ever since she set foot in that foreign country to follow her dreams, not knowing she will have to leave her other dream behind at that time.
“I love you.” Yoohyeon frees these three words so easily, while Yubin is still buried at her neck.
“You have no idea, Yoohyeon.” Yubin says as she tells herself to focus and go back to Yoohyeon’s lips for now. There's plenty of time for other things.
And there’s always the right time for everything - like this perfect night sky tonight, this party, and their two hearts meeting halfway as they come home from their own sojourns.
“I am back for good now. And just like I promised, I’ll be back after I finish college. And I went back for you.” Yoohyeon says as their lips part, leaving her wanting for more.
“I know, I know. And I’ve always been here waiting for you.” Yubin says as she tiptoes and kisses the tip of Yoohyeon’s soft nose.
This has been the most beautiful night they have both ever had since parting ways. And tonight, they meet again with a promise of taking a journey together as one.