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The first thing Kim Jiyeon promised her when Lee Luda agreed to finally set her on a blind date was that the person would be truly amazing. Initially, Luda didn't believe her heart was healed enough for her to venture into love again. It had been a year since she broke up with her ex, since the last time her path crossed with Son Juyeon and she should already feel healed.
Those were Jiyeon's arguments, not hers.
But with the moral support of Hyunjung, her fiancée, Jiyeon managed to convince Luda to finally give someone new a chance. She promised that the person wouldn't hurt her and would take her to a nice place. The use of the argument “Juyeon moved on immediately and will you be sad forever?” was what finally convinced Luda. So there she was.
She sighed softly, smoothing her clothes to make a neater impression. She didn't feel well, that restaurant wasn't that expensive, but it was definitely meant for dates. People came and went with their arms entwined and Luda hoped that the girl Jiyeon arranged for her to meet would have the dignity to realize that.
There was a receptionist at the door asking if she had a reservation and Luda almost swallowed hard. She expected her partner to be late, after all, she had arrived ten minutes early. However, the receptionist guided her to a table where a woman with blue hair was sitting, directly next to an extensive window.
Luda almost stopped when she realized she recognized that jaw and that nose. At the sound of her footsteps, the woman's attention turned to her and Lee was unable to help but sigh softly. The other's beauty was breathtaking, her bright eyes and small smile completing her perfect features and making Luda's heart flutter with anticipation.
“Dawon-ssi.” Luda greeted as the receptionist stopped beside the blue-haired woman. Nam Dawon stood up with a small, quiet, cute smile, bowing briefly to the slightly older girl.
“Luda sunbaenim.” She muttered embarrassed and blushing a little. Lee's heart ached a little at the sight of Dawon and she smiled, quickly noticing the difference in height between the two.
It wasn't as much as her and Juyeon, but it was still significant. Dawon wasn't wearing heels, she was wearing a white shirt and simple jeans with a pair of sneakers. She looked beautiful and Luda couldn't deny that even though she was wearing her best dress and expensive heels Jiyeon had given her the previous Christmas.
"Please don't use honorifics," Luda asked as she sat down across from the other girl, who nodded briefly, still blushing that deep red hue. "Jiyeon unnie didn't tell me you were my date today."
“Are you disappointed?” Dawon asked, handing her a menu. Luda flashed a small smile, the first of the night, before shaking her head.
"It's unexpected, Dawon-ssi, but it's not a bad surprise." Luda disagreed briefly, her hand tapping the table gently after she set the menu on it. "I like your new hair."
“Thanks… it was a bet,” Dawon said with a smile on her face. “Yeonjungie, and I think you should meet her, she is my hoobae in a music class and she bet me that I wouldn’t dare to perform Mirotic at the Festival with her.”
“And you won't?” Luda asked curiously, her hand resting on her chin as she stared at the younger girl. Dawon made an offended expression.
"Of course! Can you imagine performing for the whole university to see? I would rather die.” Dawon exclaimed, making Luda chuckle softly.
“Weren't you a trainee to become an idol for a while?”
She remembered perfectly the rumors that were going around the college about someone who had given up on debuting and had gone to music college. Probably that area of the college was full of these people, but Dawon was truly one voice among millions. Luda could remember the game night she participated in at Hyunjung and Jiyeon's apartment a few years ago when someone had challenged her to sing and how Dawon's voice was like hearing an angel singing.
"I was. I gave up because I found out I hate the stage.” Dawon explained quickly, blushing again. Luda realized that this was a sensitive topic so she started to think of other topics to talk about. “And Yeonjung bet knowing I would lose as she wanted me to perform in an open suit with a training top.”
Luda bit her lip as she looked at Dawon, thinking the idea wasn't that bad. The other girl blushed deeply at her gaze, lowering her head. Luckily for Nam, the waitress soon came back asking about her orders and the two were distracted by it.
Luda soon realized how amazing Nam Dawon was. The girl talked a lot about the things she liked, like music and dramas, and her passionate gaze was making Luda's heart flutter. She didn't imagine she would be like this on a first date, not so soon after Juyeon, but there they were.
Dawon started talking about the extensive collection of H.O.T albums her mother had and how the woman was a Kangta fansite when it even existed, something that made Luda laugh out loud because her mother was a fan of the Sechskies. The two showed pictures of when they were babies and how their mothers decorated them and Luda couldn't help but fall in love with the little version of Dawon. The little Dawon seemed to have the stars in her eyes, as well as the older version of herself, who threw her head every time she laughed and it made Luda's heart ache in softness.
The hours passed without either of them noticing and Luda insisted on ordering dessert for both of them to share, making Dawon sit next to her while she read some articles from her college. Luda couldn't contain her glowing gaze at all and it was no surprise when the receptionist glared at them with a cheesy smile.
It was raining when the two left the restaurant. Luda didn't expect that, but Dawon did, and the younger girl immediately tucked Luda under her arm as she opened her umbrella.
“Did you come in your car?” Luda asked in a shy tone, her hand gripping Dawon's waist tighter so she wouldn't stand in the rain. Dawon chuckled, pulling into the parking lot.
"I don't have one, I came by subway," Nam said in a shy tone, the arm on Luda's shoulder squeezing gently. The slightly older girl pulled her closer by the waist and walked purposefully to her parked car.
"I'll take you home then," Luda spoke, the tone giving Dawon no chance of an answer.
The taller girl led her to the driver's door before heading the other way, while Luda had a little freak out for having announced that without thinking a little bit first. But it was obvious that she wasn't going to leave Dawon on the street to ride a crowded subway and risk getting wet and sick. Not when the girl had been so kind before.
“I don't know if you should drop me off at home, sunbaenim, my apartment is on the other side of the Han River, it's too far,” Dawon muttered worriedly as Luda started the car's engine.
"It's okay, I was always going to let Ju-" Luda broke off mid-sentence.
She couldn't believe she almost mentioned Juyeon in front of the other girl. Her embarrassment washed over her face and she knew she was blushing, but Dawon immediately reversed it by starting to talk about her roommate, Dayoung. The girl had a sense of humor that stressed Dawon and the stories started to make Luda laugh a little, even though the ghost of her old relationship still burned in her stomach.
She managed to get to Dawon's apartment without further complications and looked up at the taller girl, who was fiddling with her fingers and looking confused. Luda wondered if Dawon had ever been on a date before and if she should drop the girl at the door, maybe kiss her.
The thought of that made her heart race.
“I had a lot of fun today.” Dawon started timidly, still fiddling with her hands. Luda smiled and leaned against the steering wheel of her car, blinking softly. “I… me, you, hmm…”
“Do you want to go on another date?” Luda asked in a soft tone, not wanting to scare the taller girl. Dawon squeaked, looking terribly shocked and that made Luda chuckle softly.
“Y-yes.”
Luda immediately took her cell phone out of her pocket and unlocked it, feeling a slight tightness in her chest when she saw the wallpaper of the place she had gone to so many years ago with Juyeon. She was going to start over, finally, she thought as she handed her cell phone to Dawon, who jotted down the number there and made a brief call to herself.
“When will you be free?” Luda asked quietly, her hand retrieving her cell phone and stroking Dawon's hand along. The taller girl sighed at the contact and Luda bit her lip, realizing how kissable Nam Dawon looked at that moment.
"Friday," Dawon muttered, her hand gripping Luda's fingers in her own.
“It's a date, then. I'll pick you up at six.” Luda promised the slightly young girl. She was ready to lean over to hug Dawon, but the girl slowly let go.
Luda relaxed. It was okay not to kiss on a first date and she couldn't wait to spend more time with the other girl. Everything was fine, she was finally starting to live again.
×
A soft sigh left Luda's lips as she saw how beautiful Dawon looked on stage. She couldn't believe the girl had finally worked up the courage to climb up on one for the annual Music Graduates Show. As far as Luda knew, it involved another bet from Yeonjung, but she didn't know exactly what it was.
She just knew she was happy that the girl she was in love with was finally comfortable being in one, after all, she'd been through. Dawon was a force of nature and the two had been going out for five months but had never really defined what they really had. Luda just knew that she loved her very much and that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Dawon.
She had no idea if Dawon wanted the same thing, but for them to be hanging out for so long and being “exclusive”, the feeling must have been at least somewhat mutual. Luda was happy to have her.
“Your girlfriend is really hot.” Jiyeon's voice beside her caught her attention and immediately Luda punched her hard. Jiyeon complained loudly, whimpering into Hyunjung's neck, who frowned at the movement.
“She's right, Ludi. Your girlfriend is really hot.” Hyunjung stated, giving a thumbs up to Luda who rolled her eyes.
"We're not girlfriends yet." She muttered under her breath, but her friends heard her anyway.
"Which?!" Hyunjung exclaimed in shock, eyes widening. "You've been going on dates for five months and you're still not official?"
“At least something must have happened already, right?” Jiyeon asked in a mischievous tone, raising her eyebrows to tease Luda who hit her hard. "No!"
“My God, you and Juyeon were always almost taking off your clothes in front of us and now you've been with Dawon for five months and you haven't even kissed her!” Hyunjung said in an incredulous and unusually loud tone and this time it was she who was punched by Luda, even from a distance.
"I hate you both," Lee replied, ignoring them. "We're taking it slow, okay?!"
"So slow that if this were a race, a turtle would overtake you." Sojung, her friend who was quiet and watching the show, spoke in a monotone that drew laughter from the other two. Luda rolled her eyes and went back to watching the presentation, which now had other undergraduate boys.
“They suck,” Hyunjung whispered and that made the group laugh. Luda was glad the subject had been changed from her and Dawon.
The rest of the festival was interesting and soon the four of them were leaving to find Dawon outside. They were going to celebrate the girl's performance at some bar near the college and Luda, even though she knew she couldn't drink, was excited at the prospect of going out to a place she and Dawon hadn't been yet.
"Hey, babe." Her soon-to-be girlfriend's soft voice greeted her from behind and immediately Luda turned to Dawon, jumping into her arms and grabbing her neck. Dawon groaned low at the sudden contact but gripped her anyway, breathing deeply into her hair.
"Hey, my love. You were so good on stage!” Luda exclaimed happily, pulling back a little to meet the bigger one's eyes, which were soft, happy, and excited like never before. Luda wanted to kiss her there again but soon heard her friends whistling.
“I didn’t know you had a second-generation male idol hidden inside you, Nam Dawon!” Jiyeon teased, making Dawon hide her face in Luda's neck. The shorter girl hid the other and scowled at her friends, who laughed out loud.
"Dawon!" Im Dayoung's shrill voice became audible and the five turned to Dawon's roommate, whom Luda had known for some time. “Cheng Xiao is going to have a party at her house, you know how it is and she sent me to call you.”
“Are the girls invited too?” Dawon pulled away from Luda just to ask and Dayoung shrugged.
“Honestly, with the number of people that Cheng Xiao herself has already invited, one or two more people won’t bother her,” Dayoung stated calmly, casting a predatory look at Sojung who cocked her head to the side. “Especially if they are beautiful people .” Im's clear flirtation made Luda fake vomit and Sojung looked extremely confused.
Dayoung left after a few seconds and Luda turned to her friends to get their opinion, but Hyunjung and Jiyeon were already chattering about the situation. Dawon, beside her, gave her a resigned look. The two of them would have to go to the party anyway.
The place was not at all what Luda had expected, it was a very luxurious place that left even her out of place. Her friends, however, were already getting along with some people from other colleges who were there. Luda knew she couldn't drink, just as Dawon knew that too, so the other girl poured them both soda before they went to sit on a couch away from the mess.
“Do you feel uncomfortable too?” Luda asked the taller girl who had her under her arm. Dawon cringed a little, seeming to think.
“I like Cheng Xiao’s parties, the drink she buys isn’t cheap like most of the parties Dayoung took me to.” Dawon started, her hand stroking the older girl's head. “But I hate the number of people.” She finished with a whisper and Luda could connect with the feeling.
She liked being at parties and dating Juyeon made her feel freer over time, but she hated being in crowds. Even the bar they had scheduled to go to was never full, one of its best traits. So she just watched the movement of people dancing and screaming while Dawon's arm served as very big security for her.
"You did great today Dawonie, I'm glad you got over your fear of going on stage," Luda muttered as the song Dawon's group had performed began to play. “I don't think I've ever seen you so free and happy in all the time we've known each other. You changed."
“I changed thanks to you,” Dawon confessed in a low, happy tone. Luda lifted her face to face the taller girl who had a soft look. Dawon tucked her hair behind her ear and stroked her face gently. “I just have to thank you, Lee Luda. You have changed me for the better these last five months, I am so happy to have you with me.”
The soft confession said under that bright light made Luda's heart flutter deeply and she wanted so badly to lean down to kiss the other girl, but she just buried her face in Dawon's neck, breathing in the sweet scent the girl had and closing her eyes. The words she wanted so badly to say were there, in her throat, ready to be spoken when they both heard a loud noise.
Jiyeon and Hyunjung were sitting on the couch opposite them, not noticing their presence even as they fought. Luda looked up at Dawon and they both knew what to do without even saying anything, both standing up at the same time and walking away from the stormy couple.
"Do you want to leave?" Luda asked in a low, soft tone, feeling Dawon gently squeeze her hand.
"Please," Dawon said, pausing for a moment only for her to put her arm around the shorter girl's shoulders, who accepted the contact. Luda remembered how uncomfortable she was when Juyeon did that, but with Dawon it just felt right.
They walked down to the parking lot and Luda texted her friends briefly to let them know her whereabouts before driving to Dawon's apartment, which was closer than her own. Dawon ordered pizza at her favorite place close to home and Luda stopped by to get what would be their dinner.
Luda picked a crappy movie on Netflix and the two ate their pizza before going to laying down together. In this case, Luda was on top of Dawon who complained every ten seconds, saying that she was too full for that. Lee didn't care at all, even putting her leg over the other girl at one point just to annoy her.
Dawon stopped complaining as the movie scenes started to heat up and she looked terribly shocked to see the two girls on screen kissing. Luda stared straight at her, a smile on her face as she saw how the slightly younger girl turned red in ten different shades.
"You're ashamed?" Luda teased, making the girl laugh in embarrassment. Dawon tightened the arm she had around her and turned to look at Luda quickly.
“How do actresses kiss like that and not fall in love?” Dawon asked with some urgency, seeming to distract Luda, who chuckled softly. The shorter girl climbed onto the other's lap, who held her hips and stared at her in embarrassment.
"And I haven't even kissed you yet and I'm deeply in love with you." She said in a low tone, something that made Dawon shift uncomfortably beneath her. Her slightly long fingernails skimmed over Dawon's uncovered stomach, and she sighed softly.
“Luda…” Dawon muttered, moving again. Luda heard the request hidden behind the word and leaned in until her faces were inches from each other. It even made her sigh softly, Dawon's face looking even prettier in the low light of the TV.
"You are so beautiful." She whispered for only the other girl to hear and it made Dawon close her eyes, her hand moving from the shorter girl's hip to her face, pulling Luda towards herself in milliseconds.
The contact was the smoothest thing Luda had ever felt in her life. Dawon's hands, large compared to hers, clasped her face as the girl led the kiss. Luda was only able to sigh, the butterflies in her stomach finally calming down, as contact was something they had both craved for so long.
Dawon bit her lip gently and Luda was more than happy to let her take care of the kiss, opening her mouth gently for the younger girl to explore. Her nails on Dawon's stomach didn't stay still either, as she scratched that surface hard each time the kiss took another direction.
Luda had never felt so complete in her entire life. It was as if her kiss was something already destined, that their souls had wanted for a long time and she couldn't help but feel the tears forming behind her eyes from pure happiness. Dawon was showing how much she loved her with just one kiss and Luda could feel every little twinge of that emotion.
"I love you so much," Dawon muttered over the older girl's lips, who sighed loudly. Luda wanted to pull her down again, toward another kiss, but those words made her heart ache in pure love.
“I love you too, Nam Dawon,” Luda said aloud, her heart aching with the urge to scream it out for all the people in the world to hear. Dawon grabbed her neck again and was ready to pull her in for another kiss when Luda's small hand stopped her. "Be my girlfriend."
She hadn't expected the request to come out of her mouth so eagerly, so desperately. Much less Dawon, her eyes were slightly surprised at that tone, but Luda didn't take the words back. She wasn't going to make a more romantic request, because that desperate tone was enough to show how much she loved the woman beneath her.
“Of course, Lee Luda. Of course, I accept being your girlfriend.” Dawon responded with a few tears coming out of her eyes before she pulled Luda into an even longer, happier kiss.
The two smiled into the kiss, something that, along with the tears, made the contact incredibly messy. Neither of them cared about it, finally feeling complete for the first time in their lives. Luda was only able to feel her heart beating so hard that she thought she was going to die. She wondered if anyone had ever died of love until she felt the way Dawon held her face and kissed every bit of it.
If she died there, she would die happy. Because even with all the time, love had found her again. And this time, with Nam Dawon, she was going to make it work for a long, long time.