Archive of Our Own

I don’t know what else to say,
But you’re pretty fucking dope
- Dope, Fifth Harmony

“Hey Sooyoung, you busy today?” Hyejoo asks, popping her head through Sooyoung’s bedroom door frame.

“Not really. Why?” Sooyoung says, suspicion laced in her tone. Currently, the famed choreographer is taking a break after her last showcase went so well. The EDEN collective absolutely devoured everyone up against them, and as their leader Sooyoung needs some down time to recharge, she reasoned when deciding to step back for a few weeks. And she knows Hyejoo knows this. 

“Me and the gang are filming at Chaewon’s today and I don’t know how long we’re going to be.” Hyejoo rubs the back of her neck before asking, “So I was wondering if you could pick something up for me from the local dispensary? Please?”

Sooyoung looks at Hyejoo. Hyejoo looks at Sooyoung. Sooyoung, lying down on her bed comfortably at the moment, widens her eyes. Hyejoo matches her, neither backing down. 

Sooyoung closes her eyes and sighs. Hyejoo cheers.

“Fine. Text me the addy and what you want me to pick up.” Sooyoung stretches, joints cracking like an arthritic old man, and begins getting out of bed. 

Hyejoo smiles wide. “Bless!” she says, voice squeaky from the adrenaline rush of getting her way. “I kind of dipped into Heejin’s stash last time I stayed over at her place so I sort of owe her the next time we toke up. I’ll text you the deets. Gotta go now, but thanks dude!” 

Sooyoung smiles warmly at Hyejoo’s retreating figure, endeared by her excitement and not processing anything she said other than Heejin’s name and having to head out to film for their gaming channel. She waves Hyejoo off as she gets ready to pick up whatever it is her sister wants her to get. 

Sooyoung stands in front of the place, finding her way there after plugging the address Hyejoo texted her into Google Maps. The storefront reads Into The New Smoke. The building is quite sleek and a lot prettier and more professional looking than she expected. 

She thought it’d have more of a… stereotypical stoner vibe. Like, obnoxiously covered in bright, artificial green and smelling like ass. But the store actually looks nice and does not in fact reek. The front is painted shiny light blue with the store name in a light pink colour. Very pleasing to the eye, stereotype broken! Sooyoung nods to herself and celebrates internally. 

She sees something even more pleasing to the eye when she walks in. Or rather, someone. 

Not even looking up from her manhwa, at the counter a light orange haired Vivi blandly intones “Welcome Into the New Smoke. Please feel free to look around at what we have to offer.”

Sooyoung stops in her tracks at the entrance and stutters out a “T-thanks! Will do.”

At this, Vivi looks up to see Sooyoung give her a shaky smile. Cute , Vivi thinks, giving her a small smile back. Oh my God , Sooyoung thinks at the same time. She walks to the other side of the room, looking at a random display setup away from Vivi to try and get her shit together for a moment. 

After watching Sooyoung stare at nothing for a few minutes, Vivi takes pity on her and goes over to actually do her job. 

“Need any help?” she asks. She takes a moment to casually give Sooyoung a once over. Very cute, especially up close , Vivi thinks. 

“Yeah actually, uh, sorry one sec.” Sooyoung clumsily fishes her phone out of her pocket to bring up Hyejoo’s text. “Do you have any…” she squints at the screen, “shishkaberry pre-rolls?”

Vivi nods, going around Sooyoung to a display a few feet away from them, grabbing a box. “Good taste. I’ve always liked the smell and thought the purple shade was pretty cool.”

Sooyoung lies through her teeth. “Yeah totally” she agrees, faux-nonchalantly. “Purple. Very cool colour. Blue and red. Primary colours,” she says, trying desperately to keep the conversation going with the prettiest girl she’s ever seen. 

“They sure are.”

“Red and yellow too. They make orange. Like, uh, like your hair. It looks super cool,” Sooyoung breathes out. 

The corners of Vivi’s mouth slightly turn up at the awkward attempt at a compliment. It’s refreshingly genuine. “Thank you. Want me to ring you up?”

“Uh yeah, yeah. Thanks.”

They make their way back to the register where Vivi was reading when Sooyoung first walked in, manhwa lying on the counter. As Sooyoung pays for the rolls, she eyes the book. 

“Oh, Full House,” she remarks, momentarily distracted enough to not freak out about the pretty girl in front of her. “I remember watching the series a while back. It was pretty fun.”

“Yeah, definitely. I watched it when I was first learning Korean and I’ve been wanting to read the original series since. And now I am!”

“Woo!” Sooyoung awkwardly raises a fist in excitement on her behalf. 

Vivi laughs quietly. “Woo indeed,” she replies, mimicking Sooyoung’ gesture. “Enjoy your stuff. Hope to see you around again. I’m Vivi by the way.” 

A pretty name for a pretty face, Sooyoung thinks. Her brain also struggles to come up with a response, conflicted between Keep calm and play it cool, just give her your name too and Make it sexy! Make it pop! Make her remember you!

“I’m... Yves and I will definitely enjoy the stuff, Vivi!” Sooyoung lies. YOUR REAL NAME STUPID, her brain scolds her, as though it isn’t the reason she’s in this position now. Before she can say more, she shakily smiles and collects her things, ready to make her leave. “I’ve gotta go now but yeah I’ll see you later!” She gives Vivi one last smile and briskly walks out of the store, taking a deep breath as she starts to make her way to her apartment complex. 

She already wants to go back. She also wants to officially change her name.

Not even a week later Sooyoung works up the nerve to ask her sister if she wants anything from New Smoke. In return for her kind offer, Hyejoo, who was lounging on their living room couch, looks up in alarm to jump on her ass. 

“What do you mean ‘do I want anything’? Who ARE you?” Hyejoo asks, suspicion laced in her voice as she interrogates Sooyoung.

“I’m being nice.” Sooyoung scoffs. “What, am I not allowed to be nice?”

“No you’re my sister.”

“Oh fuck off!”

Hyejoo snorts. “Kidding! Sort of. But seriously, why are you asking though? I know if I asked you’d maybe reluctantly get off your ass but you volunteering is… weird. Plus it’s been like, five days, dude.”

Sooyoung looks away, hurriedly replying, “I’m not being weird. You’re weird for thinking I’m being weird. Whatever. Do you want anything or not?”

Hyejoo pauses, looks up to the ceiling in thought, as though asking God whether to acquire more weed, before making her decision. “Sure, I’ll bite. Get me some Mandarin Cookies, pre-rolled. I am NOT weak, I just don’t want to deal with grinding right now. Need to protect my arms and hands for our next LOL tournament.”

Sooyoung looks perplexed. “Do they put the weed in the cookies? They bake stuff at New Smoke? Grinding? Like, flour?” she asks. 

“No you moron, it’s a hybrid. But I’m pretty sure they have edibles too. But they’re, like, gummies and stuff.”

Sooyoung understands nothing that just came out of Hyejoo’s mouth. 

“You know what, I’ll just ask Vivi.”

Hyejoo’s ears perk up. “Oh”, she drawls, eyes boring into Sooyoung like a wolf circling their prey. Sooyoung tenses up, waiting for the killing blow. “And who’s Vivi?” 

There it is. 

“NO ONE NOW FUCK OFF. BYE,” Sooyoung shouts as she storms out of the apartment, before coming back in to say, “AND TEXT ME WHAT YOU WANT BECAUSE I’VE ALREADY FORGOTTEN IT” as she actually leaves, slamming the door behind her. 

Hyejoo smirks at the empty space where Sooyoung was just a few seconds earlier. She is definitely going to use this information later. 

Sooyoung walks in and is washed in artificial lights. She didn’t get the chance to really appreciate the way the inside of the store looked the last time she was here, too zeroed in on Vivi.

The sleek maple hardwood flooring shimmers under the lights and the glass display cases are all washed in hues of neon blue and pink. There’s an overexposed quality to the lighting that just makes the store seem that much more aesthetically pleasing and eye-catching. It feels pretty and retro and hazy in a way that’s welcoming, much like Vivi herself.

Speak of the devil. 

Upon seeing Sooyoung enter, Vivi, in all her acid wash denim overall clad glory, walks over to greet her, shoving past a frazzled customer trying to ask her a question. It’s almost as though she was waiting for her to come back, actually stealing glances at the entrance. 

“Hey! You’re back!” Vivi says, pleasantly surprised. It hasn’t even been a week since they first met. But she’s not complaining about seeing New Smoke’s hottest new customer again. (This is an objective observation. Vivi made a spreadsheet. Tuesday was a really slow day, ok?) 

“Yeah! Finished uh, smokin’ them rolls. Need to restock” Sooyoung says, doing finger guns, trying and failing to look cool. Vivi is standing really close and it’s making her brain short circuit. 

Vivi tilts her head. “You... finished the whole pack?”

“Yeah. I’m pretty hardcore.” Sooyoung lies, puffing up, trying to sound like she definitely knows how to smoke without hacking up a lung. 

“That was a pack of 20 joints.” 

“It sure was.” Sooyoung finger guns back at Vivi again, not sure what the big deal is. 

Vivi decides to ignore her thoughts telling her something is off. 

“Anything specific you want?” 

Sooyoung takes her phone out to read Hyejoo’s text order. She refuses to acknowledge the heart and kissy face emojis paired with the message ‘u @ vivi’, grimacing briefly and locking her phone before answering. 

“Yeah, do you have any Mandarin Cookies pre-rolls?”

“Yup. Gimme a sec.” Vivi tells her as she goes to grab a box from one of the table setups. Sooyoung has no idea what any of this stuff is, but if she did, she thinks she would appreciate the nice open space and organized layout of the store. 

Vivi returns with a box and purposefully lets their hands brush for longer than necessary during the exchange. 

“Anything else you want?” Vivi asks while batting her eyelashes a bit. So what if she’s flirting on the job? It’s not everyday someone as hot and adorable as Yves comes into the store. And it’s not like anyone important, like the person who co-runs New Smoke with Vivi for instance, is around to see it. If a tree falls in a forest and Haseul isn’t around to see it, is it really breaking store policy? 

Sooyoung freezes. She wants to look cool but she knows next to nothing about weed culture. She racks her brain for anything her sister has said about smoking around her. What do they call the different weed types again? 

Sooyoung tries to sound confident, lowering her voice slightly to sound serious. “What, uh, breeds do you have?” 

Vivi looks confused for a moment. Dammit , Sooyoung curses herself. She really should’ve done some research before coming back. 

“Breeds?”

“...Yes?” Sooyoung’s voice cracks. 

Vivi cocks an eyebrow at her. It’s scarily attractive. “Do you mean strains?” she asks. 

“Yes!” Sooyoung slaps a hand over her face. “Sorry, I just like calling them breeds in my mind, you know? Like, uh, like horses. You want to pick the right breed so you can, you know, win the race. The race to get high, that is. Because weed. Not really horses. It’s a figure of speech I made up. And use often. Totally.”

Some eavesdropping college kid nearby whose life has just been changed forever whispers to himself “Oh my God maybe they should be called breeds…” as he walks out of the store in a daze of thought. 

In the meantime, a moment passes, and Vivi giggles. “You’re funny.” Vivi smiles so prettily, and Sooyoung flushes in both embarrassment and delight at making her laugh, even if it is at her own expense. “Blue Dream is pretty popular right now. A friend of a friend actually helped concoct it. Want to try it?”

“Sure, I’m down,” Sooyoung replies cooly, folding her arms. Or at least, tries to cosplay as cool in the moment. 

Vivi walks away and comes back with what looks like a jar of either some dead alien life form or a preserved fungus. “Here you go,” Vivi says as she places the jar in Sooyoung’s free hand, lingering. 

Sooyoung has no idea what she’s going to fucking do with this, but she smiles at Vivi, saying “looks great! I think that’s all I need right now,” pulling her hand back with the jar. 

“You don’t need any equipment upgrades? We’ve got some pretty nice sets of grinders that just came in.” 

Oh! Sooyoung remembers Hyejoo saying something about grinding. She knows this. 

“I’ve got a good grinder at home, no worries. Old Faithful, I call her. Because like, we’ve been together so long. Like, I’ve had it for a while. Since I smoke regularly. And therefore need the grinder. Yup.” 

“Hey, I’m not trying to separate you two,” Vivi laughs out, “But you’re sure you don’t want to get a new one? If you’ve had yours for a while the pegs might be dull, making it more work for you.” Vivi pouts at the thought of Sooyoung expending more energy than necessary. She’s only known her for a week, but she knows she deserves the best. 

Sooyoung, a sucker for a pretty face, leaves New Smoke with her sister's stuff and a bunch of shit she has no idea what to do with. Curse Vivi’s excellent business strategy of being too hot to say no to. 

“... And that’s why we should watch the cinematic masterpiece, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again tonight.” Jiwoo finishes her rant with flourish. 

“Oh my God, just put the movie in. I already said yes ten minutes ago,” Sooyoung groans, head in her hands as she leans forward on the couch in her living room. “I can’t believe you brought your own personal copy when it’s on Netflix. Wait, I take it back, I can believe it.” 

“You know I have to watch it, with all the deleted scenes and director's commentary, at least once a month or I’ll die.” 

“Yes, I know. Just, why couldn’t you watch it with your girlfriend?” 

“Because Jungeun’s busy with her doctorate stuff. But why don’t you want to watch it with me?” Jiwoo says, her infamous pout appearing. Sooyoung tries to look away just as Jiwoo continues with her spiel. “It’s a brilliant piece of filmmaking, an artistic accomplishment of epic proportions! Do you hate ABBA? Is that it? How could you?! Their discography is-“

“NO,” Sooyoung interrupts quickly, not wanting to set off another Jiwoo Rant. “No, I don’t hate ABBA! I just don’t have the same tolerance for watching the same movie over and over! But I said yes already so we can watch it because I’m a good friend.” 

“Thank you,” Jiwoo huffs, pleased that her friend does not actually hate ABBA. She moves to put the movie in the DVD player. 

“While you're up, can you grab a blanket from my room please?” Sooyoung asks. 

“I am a guest in your house, and this is how you treat me,” Jiwoo says, shaking her head but still making her way to Sooyoung’s bedroom to get a blanket. 

“I let you pick the movie!” Sooyoung shouts after her. “I’m being super hospitable right now!” 

She hears a gasp, and in less than a second Jiwoo is sprinting back to the couch with something in her hand. It’s not a blanket. 

“Dude where’s my blanket-“

Jiwoo abruptly cuts her off, waving a jar in her face. “Is this a WEED in your good, pure, untainted, Christian room? What happened to the Sooyoung I used to know?!” she asks, eyes wide with maniacal glee. 

“Shit it- it’s not what you think! I- I just...“ Sooyoung struggles to come up with an answer that doesn’t make her sound like a loser. 

“Wow,” Jiwoo breathes out, ignoring her poor excuse of an explanation and coming up with her own, “I could see you being driven to edibles or infusers, but smoking? This break’s cutting deep, huh?” 

“No, the break has been great! I feel super well rested and ready for the upcoming competition season! I have that, uh, because… wait, how do you know what edibles and infusers are? I thought you didn’t smoke either! I don’t even know what infusers are!” 

“I don’t smoke, but Jungeun does,” Jiwoo corrects her. “And some of those edibles are tasty! Especially the candy ones. Don’t eat a whole bag though,“ Jiwoo advises sagely. “You will meet God and it will feel like the emotional, mental, and spiritual equivalent of your heart being ripped through your asshole.”

“Um.” Sooyoung doesn’t know what to say to that. 

“Anyways, you’re deflecting! You’re straight edge as hell! It’s the only straight thing about you! I know you have that personal dancer code or whatever to take care of your body so you stay away from this kind of stuff. And now you’ve suddenly got a stash?” 

Sooyoung raises her hands in defense. “Ok, hold on, I can explain!” 

“Please do,” Jiwoo responds. 

“Well, you see, it’s just that-“

“She’s too gay to function,” Hyejoo says as she emerges from her room, having come out to look for some snacks.

“Oh my God, go aWAY HYEJOO!” Sooyoung yells to her sister, hands over her face in embarrassment. Hyejoo takes a seat at the kitchen counter, eating a bag of chips, content and amused watching her sister’s frustration.

“Don’t you have video games to play, or literally anything else to do other than be here?” Sooyoung asks, feeling a headache starting to form from Hyejoo’s mere presence alone. 

“Yeah, I thought you guys did daily streams?” Jiwoo adds, actually curious and not just trying to get her to leave. 

“Yeah but Hyunjin’s got the channel covered today. She’s doing a Caturday stream with Chaewon. They’re opening fan mail right now. Last I saw, Chae was making a bracelet with a kit a fan sent while Hyunjin got her ass stuck in the box it came in.”

Sooyoung and Jiwoo blink at her. “Is she... ok?” 

“In the immediate sense? Yeah. She’ll get out of the box just fine. Generally? That’s debatable. She says she started Caturday to ‘grow the channel’s fanbase and attract niche online communities’ but I’m pretty sure she just wants a reason to wear cat ears and meow without anyone saying anything,” Hyejoo muses. 

The room goes quiet. I’m not sure how to respond to that , Sooyoung thinks. 

“You don’t have to respond,” Hyejoo says as though reading her mind, “when you can tell Jiwoo why you’re so gay,” she then so helpfully supplies. 

“Right!” Jiwoo says, her focus back on Sooyoung, who looks like she wants to throttle her sister. “So this is for a girl?! Yes, get back out there!” Jiwoo claps excitedly, but quiets down almost immediately. “But, I know you’ve vowed to never touch the stuff. This girl… I don’t know what’s going on but,” Jiwoo turns to Sooyoung and grabs her hands, serious as she looks her in the eyes, “She’s not pressuring you, is she?” Jiwoo asks worriedly. 

“No! No, nobody’s pressuring me, I swear!” Sooyoung promises, squeezing Jiwoo’s hands to affirm it. 

“Then why do you have all this stuff?” Jiwoo asks, confused. 

“She’s got a thing for the girl that works at New Smoke, that’s why,” Hyejoo answers smugly. 

“Oh my God SHUT UP HYEJOO,” Sooyoung screeches while rubbing her temples, her headache worsening the more her sister talks. “Ok, look. The woman at the counter is really cute and I just, I don’t know, I just want to talk to her more and-”

“And so you’re blowing massive amounts of money whenever you’re there because you’re too much of a loser to talk to her without needing the excuse of buying something”, Hyejoo hums, closing her eyes in smug satisfaction at her wholly accurate description. She doesn’t see the moment Sooyoung finally snaps, but she does feel it having a pillow whipped straight at her face.

Hyejoo sputters on her chips as the pillow makes contact, the bag dropping and scattering her snacks across the floor. “DUDE”, she yells, “YOU MADE ME DROP MY CHIPS! WE AGREED ON NO FIGHTING IN THE KITCHEN BECAUSE OF ALL THE GLASS STUFF AND ALSO YOU MADE ME DROP MY FUCKING CHIPS!”

Sooyoung stands from her spot on the couch. “I’m in the living room so it doesn’t count, stupid! And it’s your fault for not staying out of my business!”

Jiwoo stands up too now, not wanting to have to break up another brawl between them. She just wanted to watch Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again in its longest, purest form with all the deleted scenes and director commentary in peace…

“Ok cut it out guys! Hyejoo, zip it,” Jiwoo points to her in the kitchen. “Sooyoung was- well, she was probably going to get to the point soon if you hadn’t interrupted us! And Sooyoung,” Jiwoo says, turning around to point at her, “don’t shoot projectiles at your sister while she’s eating! You could’ve hit the dishrack! Or she could’ve choked!”

“I hope she does choke!”

“You can choke on these-”

“GUYS, NOT NOW,” Jiwoo interrupts exasperatedly, suddenly feeling more like their Mom than their friend. “Hyejoo, you could’ve been a little nicer but Soo, you shouldn’t have thrown something at her while she was eating. And Hyejoo, you have a point but you could’ve been gentler about it.”

“What do you mean she has a point?!” Sooyoung asks, affronted. Hyejoo cheers from her spot but quiets down when Jiwoo gives her the evil eye. She can be scary when she wants to be, Hyejoo thinks. Plus the last time she and her sister fought, Jiwoo handed both their asses back to them and neither of them would be able to handle another blow to their pride like that right now. 

“You’re not a loser,” Jiwoo starts, “buuuuuuuuut you don’t need to buy something to talk to her. Just go in there and have some confidence! You’re hot! You’re fit! You have a successful career! You’re a catch!” 

“You’re only a bit of a loser,” Hyejoo adds. Both Sooyoung and Jiwoo glare at her, but she continues. “Hey, this is me being nice! I do think you’ve got a shot but dude, you need to sack up.”

Jiwoo’s face scrunches, but she raises her shoulders a bit in silent agreement. The tension in Sooyoung’s shoulders drops. She knows they’re right. In silence and with her head bowed, she grabs the jar from Jiwoo and goes to return it to its place on her dresser in her room, also grabbing the blanket Jiwoo forgot. Sooyoung slumps back on the couch and sighs. “Let’s just start the movie,” she grumbles, needing a distraction even if it’s in the form of the completely bonkers prequel and sequel that is Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. 

Sooyoung was able to hold out a little longer this time. She waits 6 days instead of 5 before heading back to New Smoke to see Vivi and probably make another useless purchase. She stands outside for a minute to collect herself, shaking her nerves out and telling herself to be confident. She doesn’t need to buy anything to talk to Vivi! She can be honest and suave!

When she walks in, the store has a few people milling around looking at the different displays. Vivi isn’t paying attention to any of them, sitting on the counter and reading. Or at least, until she realizes Sooyoung has dropped by. She looks up from her manhwa of the week and smiles brightly at her new favourite customer, getting up, putting her book down and waving a hand at Sooyoung, signalling for her to come over to her counter. 

“Did you like Blue Dream?” she asks.

“Yup. It was pretty dope. Totally excellent,” Sooyoung lies through her teeth, her rousing pep talk from before failing her now. “I actually finished it off and was thinking about what I should get next so I was wondering what else you'd recommend?” Sooyoung asks as she tries to suavely lean on the counter, but her hand, sweaty from nerves, slips on the glass. She yelps as she nearly falls over before Vivi catches her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up before she can faceplant. 

“I meant to do that. Totally. I-I’m fine. Perfect. Uh, as you were saying?” Sooyoung tries not to think too hard about how Vivi’s still holding her arm. And how close their faces are. And how she’s not moving away even though Sooyoung is fine now. 

Vivi smirks and runs a hand through her hair, stretching her neck. Sooyoung audibly gulps. “Well, we have a specialty here. It’s kind of our thing but you need to know to ask for it. I like you so I’ll let you in on the best strain we have” Vivi says and jerks her head over to a cabinet on the other side of the room, gesturing for Sooyoung to follow her. Vivi unlocks the glass panel and pulls out a jar with a sleek white label. 

“Say hello to Haseul OG.” 

At this moment, a scream can be heard from the backroom. Haseul runs out, yelling “I'VE BEEN SUMMONED!”

Sooyoung jumps up, looking like a cat that was dropped in a box of cucumbers, startled at the mini commotion. Vivi isn’t surprised in the least. She’s more miffed to have her time with Yves intruded on, really. 

“Vivi, you wouldn’t happen to be talking about my baby, my namesake, the greatest strain of all time, would you?” Haseul says as she drapes herself over Vivi, hugging her tightly and shaking her a little too. 

“In case you missed it, this is Haseul. She owns the store and runs it with me. I think she’d like to give you the rundown, right?” she asks, looking to Haseul to inevitably take over. 

“I thought you’d never ask,” Haseul hums, letting go of Vivi who rolls her eyes good naturedly, both amused and annoyed at her best friend and business partner’s interruption. 

Haseul grabs the jar from Vivi and holds it up like she’s the baboon from Lion King presenting the pridelands with royalty. “This”, Haseul starts of with a whisper, her operatic flair for the dramatic and slight buzz from her off the clock activities in the breakroom making themselves known as she raises her voice, “is Haseul OG. She’s a sativa dominant hybrid and the greatest thing I will ever create. Yes, that includes if I ever have kids because Haseul OG is my baby, and my favourite one at that. She will help you release your inhibitions, feel the rain on your skin, you know?” 

Vivi has forgotten her annoyance and has shifted into full amused attentiveness. “Mhmm,” she hums, agreeing with the high praise Haseul is giving herself and her namesake strain. “It’s the ‘breed’ we’re most known for here”, Vivi giggles, and winks at Sooyoung for full flirting effect. Vivi wanted to be subtle, but she also wants Sooyoung to be able read the signs she’s putting up. This is like a Times Square Billboard, and Vivi thinks Sooyoung would have to be stupid to not see it. 

Haseul, at the very least, can see what’s going on here. She watches the gay activity going on around her and, being the good friend she is and a great wingwoman, decides to cause some chaos. She wraps an arm around Vivi’s waist, hand just resting on her hip. It’s decent enough for being in a public shop, but also sending a message with a challenging look on her face, as though telepathically asking Sooyoung ‘what are you going to do about it?’ to see how she’ll react.  

Sooyoung laughs, excited at the prospect of having an inside joke with Vivi but also nervous under Haseul’s scrutiny. Sooyoung sees the almost possessive grip Haseul has on Vivi, and her heart nearly shatters at the thought that Vivi might not actually be single. She knows she has to find a way to figure out if they’re ‘together’ together before trying to take things further with Vivi, with further meaning talking to her like a normal person. What did that wink mean? A wink can mean anything. Maybe it was a tick. Did she laugh to be nice and do her job or because she thinks Sooyoung is funny? Sooyoung head is overwhelmed with questions, and she decides she needs to gather more information. 

Gathering all her brain cells together to formulate a plan, Sooyoung looks to Vivi and continues with their banter. “Yeah, definitely looks like a cool ‘breed’. Did you two make it… together?” 

Vivi feels like Sooyoung is asking her something else, but she isn’t sure what so she just answers honestly. “No, this was all Haseul. We do own the shop together though!”

“Yeah, I’m the brains and Vivi’s the face of the business. It really suits her, don’t you think? She’s got such a pretty face, hasn’t she?” Haseul asks slyly, riding on the high of causing problems and moving her hands to cup Vivi’s face and puff out her cheeks.

While Vivi tries to figure out what’s going on, Sooyoung takes the bait, stuttering out “Y-yeah super pretty. So pretty. Your boyfriend is super lucky” Sooyoung cringes at how bold a statement that is but, hey, if it gets the job done. 

Vivi frowns in Haseul’s hands, which causes Sooyoung backtracks. “Or girlfriend? Sorry, didn’t mean to assume,” she asks, somewhat hopeful but also cautious, wondering if Haseul might be the girlfriend in question. 

Vivi’s face returns to a more neutral state, but still with eyebrows furrowed in thought. “Definitely no boyfriends. And no girlfriends either, unfortunately,” she sighs, looking up to Sooyoung with wide eyes and shaking her head. She definitely wants that to change, if the person in front of her is willing to pick up on what she’s laying down. 

Sooyoung accidentally lets out a sigh of relief that Haseul definitely catches. She jumps on it, telling Sooyoung, “Yup, Vivi is shockingly, tragically, incredibly single! So very, very, very single. It’s crazy,” to which Vivi lets out an affronted “Hey!”

Haseul pats her cheeks and steps away. “Just telling the truth Vi.” Haseul decides she’s done enough to help for one day, and starts to make her leave. “Well, it was nice meeting you…” 

“Yves.” Lie maintained, well done Sooyoung, she congratulates herself. 

“It was nice meeting you Yves! I have some important matters to attend to so I’ll leave you two to it. Meet me in the breakroom later, Vivi?” Haseul asks before turning on her heels and leaving them before Vivi can even respond.

“Alright...” Vivi weakly calls after her, knowing she can’t hear it but still wanting to verbalize her answer. 

Vivi turns back to Sooyoung. “Sorry about her,” she laughs quietly, “she’s my best friend and I love her to death but she can be a bit much sometimes. That’s why I’m the one at the front.”

Sooyoung chuckles a bit too. “I can see that. Well, I’m glad you’re the one at the front too!”

“Glad to hear it”, Vivi says, flushing slightly. “So… do you want some Haseul OG?”

“Uh, sure! I need to restock, you know! Finished what you gave me the last time I was here so you know how it is. And I’m always looking for new things to try!” 

“Wait you finished- really? But it’s only been- ok. Alright. Cool.” Vivi says haltingly. Pieces click together in her mind of all her interactions with the gorgeous woman in front of her. Still, she goes to get a Haseul OG baggy for her. The rest of the transaction is pleasant, if a little quiet while Vivi thinks over some things she hadn’t noticed before. 

Sooyoung leaves with a smile and when she’s out the door, Vivi makes her way to the breakroom. 

“‘Seul I think Yves has a problem.”

“Damn. Want a hit?” It’s a redundant question, because of course she does. That’s half of why she came to the backroom and why she would’ve come even if Haseul hadn’t directly told her to. But Vivi accepts politely with a “yes, please ”, grabbing the joint from Haseul and taking a drag. 

“It’s only been, like, a little more than two weeks and I’m pretty sure I’ve sold her more weed than she’s legally allowed to be in possession of.” Vivi states, passing the joint back to Haseul. 

“Well that’s just you doing good business my dude. I wasn’t kidding earlier, you have a face that makes people want to buy things. It’s in our best interest that you be selling our stuff!”

“I know, I know. I’m just worried.” 

“And why’s that? Wouldn’t have to do with the gay activity I was subjected to witnessing earlier?” Haseul inquires coyly, smirk ever present on her face while taking the joint back. 

“Ok, first off you came out on your own and only enabled any gay activity that may or may not have been happening earlier.”

Haseul gives Vivi a look. 

“Also, yeah.” Vivi shrugs.

“I knew it! As your boss, I should say something about, like, company policy or some shit like that but I don’t care that much about it. As your friend, I say go for it!”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah! You need to put yourself out there. Also I’m not that much of a hardass dude, jeez.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Vivi says, hands up in apology. “Well I’m glad Yves has your stamp of approval. I think you scared the shit out of her though,” Vivi laughs, shoving at Haseul’s shoulder.

“I needed to play some psychological warfare. I could just tell you guys were totally inert before I came along, just making googly eyes at each other instead of PROGRESS!” Haseul exclaims, waving her arms around, “If I wasn’t there, Yves wouldn’t know now that you’re available!”

Vivi sighs. “Ugh, I guess. I’m still worried about her though. I’ve never had to do an intervention before. She’s cool, but with the amount of stuff she’s buying, I think she might have… a problem.”

“Dude, you’re on your eighth break of the day, smoking company product in the backroom, and it isn’t even 2:00 PM. We’ve all got problems.”

“... Touché.”

“Just, if you’re that worried, be chill about it. You never know what it might be.” Haseul cares, she does, but her gut is telling her it’s not that serious. And her gut is what guided her in making Haseul OG, so she trusts it. But if Vivi’s worried, she’ll support her friend. “Have you considered,” she treads carefully, “that maybe she keeps coming back to see you?”

“Ugh I want to believe that but she keeps buying shit to ‘restock’. It’s, like, a lot! And of quality shit too! She could just come and say hi! Like, does she like the weed or me?” 

“Dude, maybe that’s a symptom of her liking you! Your pretty face has that effect on people! With your customer service quirk being ignoring customers and still having them come back, it’s natural that you’d have an even stronger effect on customers you actually pay attention to.” 

Vivi scoffs and flips her hair back. “I’m too pretty to pay attention to customers.”

“I know you are, and you’ve made one customer exempt from that practice,” Haseul smirks. “Seems you’re also too pretty to follow company policy and not flirt with certain customers.” 

“You said it was fine!” Vivi whines.

“I know I did. And it is, really. You just make it very easy to give you shit about it,” Haseul says, grinning gleefully around her joint. Vivi glares at her, unamused, but secretly a little amused because, yeah, she’s right. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. “But I’m just saying,” Haseul continues, “just, you know, don’t assume the worst.” 

“Maybe you’re right,” Vivi says, shrugging her shoulders thoughtfully. “Now let me take one more hit before I have to go back out and provide poor customer service.”

“I’m going to walk in there, be honest, talk to her, and not buy anything. Maybe even get some money back by returning some of the stuff I bought,” Sooyoung asserts as she walks on the sidewalk, looking to Jiwoo and her sister for confirmation. 

“Mhmm,” Hyejoo hums noncommittally, staring straight ahead. She just wanted to do her birthday shopping for Chaewon in peace. 

It was supposed to be a quick trip, but when she told Sooyoung where she was going, said sister asked to tag along with her. Sooyoung then brought Jiwoo along for moral support, knowing she wouldn’t be getting anything but teasing from her sister. So here Hyejoo is with them in tow. 

While still a bit ticked at Sooyoung for interrupting her alone time, Hyejoo is a little excited to have a front row seat to whatever it is that happens every time Sooyoung tries to talk to Vivi.

“I’ve got my sights set, and I am going to hit my target goal.” Sooyoung physicalizes her intent, shooting an imaginary arrow in front of her and then switching to doing the Wonder Woman pose. She read online that it helps boost self confidence, and she needs as much as she can get. Screw the pedestrians that have to avoid her pointy elbows on the sidewalk. She needs this. 

“You couldn’t hit a swimming pool if your body was the arrow,” Hyejoo snickers, shaking her head at Sooyoung’s ridiculous pose. She has no expectations for her goofy ass sister today, and she is going to bug the life out of Sooyoung about it. 

Jiwoo shoves at Hyejoo. “Can you be more supportive? She’s going to try and that’s what matters!”

“Hey, what do you mean 'try'? You don’t think I can do it either, Jiwoo?” Sooyoung pouts, feeling slightly betrayed. Her resolve crumbles slightly and her arms fall limply at her sides. 

“Umm. Well, that’s up to you!” she counters brightly, trying her hardest not to lie but also instill some positivity at the same time. “Life is a game, and you’re playing to win! But you’re the one playing, you know?”

“You’re right, I can do this,” Sooyoung says. They’re at the storefront now, and Sooyoung pulls the door open to let her friends in before her. Outwardly polite, but inwardly giving herself a moment to breathe before entering. 

“Hey, who are we getting stuff for again?” Sooyoung asks Hyejoo, and just as she’s about to answer, Vivi walks over to them.

“Hey Yves!” Vivi greets her favourite customer, not noticing they have company. 

“Who the fuck is Yves?” Hyejoo pipes up from beside her, knowing exactly who ‘Yves’ is. 

“Oh, hey Olivia,” Vivi says, finally noticing her presence. “You know Yves?” 

“Wait, you know Hyejoo?” Sooyoung asks Vivi. 

“It’s Olivia,” Hyejoo cuts in. 

“It is NOT.”

“Whatever Sooyoung ,” Hyejoo replies, a little bit too gleeful at exposing Sooyoung in front of her crush but also wanting to expedite the process of her sister coming clean. She knows very well Sooyoung might chicken out without that extra push. Sooyoung on the other hand, has never wanted her sister dead more than now. 

“I know her videos,” Vivi says to answer Sooyoung’s question, and unknowingly distract Sooyoung enough not to commit second degree murder in her store, “because I know Hyunjin and Heejin. Who’s Sooyoung?”

The Sooyoung in question runs a hand through her hair. “Um. That- that’s me.”

“Sure is,” Hyejoo adds.

Sooyoung turns to her sister, her anger returning. “Oh, so she can call you your fake name but not mine?”

“Nope! I’m going to go look at some stuff now and leave you two alone,”she wiggles her eyebrows and walks away with a “Bye!”

Jiwoo, who’s just been standing to the side this whole time, jumps in to take some of the heat off Sooyoung, feeling a little bit bad for her. “And I’m Jiwoo!” she says brightly, introducing herself. She puts a hand out for Vivi to shake, which she does. Jiwoo then turns to Sooyoung. “I’m also going to go look at stuff with Hyejoo,” she says before making her way to the display Hyejoo is perusing. 

It’s just Vivi and Sooyoung now. “So, your name isn’t Yves?” Vivi asks.

Sooyoung sighs. “It’s not my, like, legal name, but it is a nickname I have. I’m the leader of the dance group EDEN and so as a joke, my members started calling me Yves, you know, since I was the one that started it all. And it kind of stuck. I just thought it was cool, that’s why I introduced myself with it,” she explains sheepishly. 

“Ah. No worries, I understand,” Vivi says, and she means it. “My legal name isn’t actually Vivi, it’s Kahei. I just liked the way it sounded and wanted to start fresh when I moved here, so I get it. I didn’t know you knew Olivia, or Hyejoo though. I do know her real name. I had to double check her ID the first time she came in here because she looks like a baby. But I’m more familiar with her online than in real life. It slipped out when I rang her up the first time she was here and I just kept using it, is all.”

“No, that makes sense. Hyejoo’s my sister, unfortunately. That’s how I know her.” Sooyoung shoots a disdainful glare at her sister across the store, annoyed to find that her and Jiwoo are staring at her and Vivi like some side show. Can’t a girl get any privacy in a public place?

“Ah.”

“Yup.”

They both grow quiet, unsure of how to continue the conversation after… that.  

In this pregnant pause of a moment, Sooyoung notices Vivi chewing on something, gum it seems, as she starts to blow a bubble. She remembers what Jiwoo said about edibles. Not the asshole part, but the gummy part. Edibles can be candies. Gum is like candy. This is a weed shop. Maybe it has weed in it. Ask her about it to show you know stuff! her brain supplies, forgetting for a moment that she came here to be honest. She just really wants to break the silence. 

Vivi pops her gum coolly, and Sooyoung asks “Does that have weed in it?”

Vivi swallows her gum. She’s not supposed to consume store products in front of customers. “... No.”

Sooyoung gets the message. “Got it. I won’t say anything, promise,” whispers with a laugh, miming locking her mouth with one hand and raising her pinky up with the other. Before Sooyoung can overthink whether pinky promises mean anything to adults, Vivi looks at her and smiles. 

Shit , Vivi thinks as she locks their pinkies to solidify their non disclosure pact. She’s being so nice. I feel bad for what I’m about to do. 

“I actually wanted to talk to you”, Vivi says.

Oh shit, she wants to talk to me. Be cool, be cool, be cool. “What about?” Sooyoung asks. 

“It’s, uh, nothing huge. Just was noticing some things and wanted to, you know, discuss them,” Vivi says a little nervously, ducking her head down. Sooyoung has never seen her like this, almost flustered. She seems almost as nervous as I feel, she thinks. It gives her that extra little push she needs to come clean, other than her sister and best friend across the room clearly eavesdropping, the latter giving Sooyoung a thumbs up. 

“I also wanted to talk to you too. I kind of have something to tell you, so good timing!” Sooyoung says, giving a slightly shaky thumbs up herself. 

Vivi chuckles a little at that, but still feels guilty for what she’s about to do. Sooyoung is so cute and she doesn’t want her to stop coming to the shop. But she actually, kind of, maybe, cares about her wellbeing. Just a little bit. In the midst of Vivi preparing herself, she doesn’t notice Sooyoung working up the nerve to speak at the same time. They both take a breath and:

“I-“

“The truth is-“

They both laugh at having cut each other off. 

“You can go first,” Vivi offers, head bowed. 

“No you,” Sooyoung politely declines.

Not knowing who’s going to speak first, they both blurt out: 

“I can’t sell you stuff from here anymore!”

“I don’t know anything about smoking!”

“Wait, what?” they both blurt. On the other end of the store, Hyejoo and Jiwoo are having the time of their lives watching this unfold. This is WILD, Jiwoo thinks, at the same time Hyejoo thinks I should have brought snacks for this. 

“I actually wanted to return this stuff”, Sooyoung says, pulling out the jar of Blue Dream and Haseul OG of her tote bag. 

The unopened jars finally make everything click into place for Vivi. Of course, alongside Sooyoung’s admittance of ignorance. 

“So you didn’t actually use any of the stuff you bought here?” Vivi asks, just to be sure. 

Sooyoung purses her lips. “... No. The thing is, I originally just came to buy stuff for my sister. I gave all the rolls I bought to her. I don’t even know what a shishkaberry is. Is it like a special kind of raspberry or something? I have no idea.”

“It’s not a real berry. Just the name.”

“Oh.”

Vivi looks at her with something that looks like relief. “You really don’t know anything about weed?”

“Yeah, no. I’m sorry. I only know what little I remember from my sister,” Sooyoung admits.

“Oh, this is great!” Vivi exclaims. 

“It is?”

“Yup. I thought you were either hoarding borderline illegal amounts of weed or going through that stuff way too quick to be good for you and was scared I’d have to cut you off and that you wouldn’t come back,” Vivi answers honestly. Might as well put her cards on the table since Sooyoung seems so skittish. 

“Well you don’t have to worry about that, for sure,” Sooyoung laughs. “I’d have still come back anyways,” she adds. 

Vivi’s pretty sure now that Haseul was right - that Sooyoung does like her and was coming back to see her - but she wants to hear Sooyoung say it. She’s going to make her say it.

“You said you gave the rolls to your sister, but even after that you came back. Why did you?” she prompts. 

“Would you believe me if I said I wanted to help boost the economy? Support a local business?” Vivi raises an eyebrow. “Ok, fair. I was buying stuff to have a reason to talk to you,” Sooyoung sheepishly confesses. 

“You wanted to talk to me?” Vivi asks.

Sooyoung rubs the back of her neck. Wow, it’s suddenly gotten very hot in here! “Yeah. You’re super cool and nice and helpful and pretty and I just wanted to talk to you, you know?” she rambles. “I’m sure you’re like that with everyone who comes here, but I don’t know, I really liked being around you and spending time with you, even if I did have to spend a lot of money on stuff I know nothing about to do so.” 

Vivi looks at her for a moment. Under her scrutiny, Sooyoung feels like she’s going to pass out but she holds herself together, wanting to hear what she has to say. “You know, my typical approach to dealing with customers is a bit unconventional.”

Sooyoung’s not sure where this is going. “Uh, how so?”

“I don’t give a shit about them.”

Huh. Well that’s blunt , Sooyoung thinks. 

“But I do give a shit about you. Enough to feel the need to cut you off. But it looks like I don’t have to do that.”

Oh. Is she saying… “Yeah?”

Vivi giggles under her breath. “Yeah. I paid attention to you, Sooyoung. I actually wanted to help you out. I wanted to talk to you too. I don’t do my job for just anybody, you know.” 

“Not even other cute girls?”

“Nope. I get paid to sell stuff, not be nice to strangers.”

“Well, being nice sometimes helps you sell stuff.”

“Yeah, example number one right here,” Vivi says, giving Sooyoung a very blatant once over, looking her up and down slowly. 

Sooyoung turns bright red at Vivi very much checking her out, and is elated at knowing Vivi was purposefully going out of her way to be nice to her. But being her dumb, awkward self, she still is not 100% sure Vivi’s saying what she thinks she’s saying. “So… we both wanted to talk to each other,” she says with cautious optimism.

“Yes.”

“Ok, that’s cool. Very cool.”

Vivi thinks Sooyoung’s polite hesitation is cute, but not conducive to her goals at the moment. Namely, getting Sooyoung to admit she likes her and not in the ‘you’re-my-favourite-cashier-at-the-grocery-store-because-our-banter-is-great-and-you-scan-my-items-quickly’ way, but in a romantic way. Vivi knows she’s going to have to take the first step for anything to happen. Sooyoung is illiterate so she needs to spell it put for her; no more hesitation and restraint. 

“I think it’d be cooler to get to know you outside these four walls though.” 

“Yeah?” Sooyoung breathes out.

“Yeah. If you asked me out to dinner I’d say yes right now. I mean, I have been flirting with you by being a decent employee so it would suck if my efforts went to waste,” Vivi says with a hint of a smirk. 

Sooyoung’s face lights up. Oh shit! She does like me! Like I like her! Do something! Her brain supplies, finally giving her a decent course of action to follow. Now that Sooyoung knows for sure that she isn’t misreading any signals, she is quick to jump on the golden opportunity gifted to her. So Sooyoung finally asks her with only a hint of nervousness “So, like, since we’ve established dinner is an option, would you want to go out with me sometime?” 

Vivi grins. “Yeah, I’d really like that-“

Their moment is interrupted when Haseul walks out from the back of the store. She had come out to do some reorganizing and was passing by Jiwoo and Hyejoo. She spares them a glance, but does a double take at seeing one particular person. 

“Jiwoo?”

Jiwoo’s eyes are wide as saucers looking at Haseul. “God?!” 

“Yes, but I prefer Haseul,” she says, still surprised to be seeing Jiwoo. She thought the first time would be the last.  

Sooyoung and Vivi look between the exchange happening before them and each other with palpable confusion. “Your friend knows Haseul?” Vivi inquires, surprised. Sooyoung is just as surprised. “I guess? How though, I don’t know.” 

Jiwoo makes no move to explain, still in a state of shock. So Haseul recounts how they met. “I picked her ass up off the floor of my flat after she ate a whole bag of gummies at a party I threw. I invited Jungeun and she brought Jiwoo along. Found her out cold on our balcony, covered in our plaid blankets and just talking nonsense. I thought she was having a heart attack at first since she kept muttering about chest pains but she was just majorly out of it. Had to leave my own party and drive her and her ‘sexy genius astronomer girlfriend’, your words, not mine by the way,” Haseul says, pointing at Jiwoo before shifting back to face Sooyoung and Vivi, “home since neither of them had the brain capacity to make it out of my apartment without doing something stupid. Or falling over and dying.” 

“You were so faded you couldn’t even remember Jungeun’s name?!” Hyejoo cackles at Jiwoo’s side as she flushes in embarrassment. This has been a very entertaining day for her, and she’s suddenly very glad she let her sister and her friend tag along with her. Sooyoung just watches from the other side of the room, glad that she’s not the one who’s made a fool out of herself right now. 

Haseul turns to Jiwoo, “You’re lucky I’m nice and that Jungeun and I are best friends or I would’ve kicked you to the street, truly. You ate my favourite gummies that night! I don’t even know how you found them! I didn’t even take them out to share!” Jiwoo is red as a tomato, properly contrite at having raided Haseul’s kitchen for sweets and embarrassed knowing that what happened wasn’t just a weed induced fever dream. She takes a deep breath to steady herself before apologizing. 

Sooyoung tunes out Jiwoo’s apologies to give her attention to more important matters. “This is why I don’t do weed,” she remarks to Vivi, eliciting a giggle from her. “You guys are kind of crazy, but I like you so I’ll let it slide,” Vivi quips, looking at her before returning to watching the chaos that is Jiwoo trying to save face through a loud, apologetic ramble. 

Sooyoung beams at her. It’s nice finally not being the embarrassing one right now. Feelings laid bare and comfortable in Vivi’s company, there’s no place she’d rather be. “I can refund your stuff by the way, since it hasn’t been opened,” Vivi says, grabbing Sooyoung by the elbow to the cash. “And about that date,” she says, pulling her phone out of her pocket, “Put your number in and send me the time and place. Know that I expect to be wined and dined. Some dancing too would be nice so I can see you in your element. I work very hard and want a fun night out,” she adds with a wink as she goes behind the counter to process the refund.

Sooyoung smiles at her on the other side. “Of course. It’ll be dope. Totally excellent, for real,” she promises, already making plans in her mind, her brain finally in working order.