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There are four universal constants in the life of a college student:
- Professors who love being a pain in the ass.
- Projects that suck the life and soul out of a student.
- Lots and lots of coffee. Bonus points if they induce palpitations but not a state of wakefulness.
- A severe lack of sleep because no amount of coffee is enough to keep one awake.
But for Nayeon who burns through all four on a daily basis, there is one constant which isn’t universal and known only to her—a constant so fixed and immovable Nayeon is convinced no storm in life could ever hope to sway:
- Kim Dahyun.
—
With a relieved sigh, Nayeon saves the final draft of her mock movie review and turns off her laptop, wincing at the cricks in her neck as she rolls her head around. The stiffness in the joints of her fingers and the smarting of her hunched shoulders tell Nayeon she’s been at it for a good while, and a long rest is in order.
Some ice cream would be nice, she idly thinks to herself. And maybe a bar of chocolate, too—something sweet to reward herself with.
Stifling a yawn, Nayeon lazily drags herself out of her chair and shuffles to the kitchen, passing by her roommate, Sana, who sits alone in the living room. Sana’s eyes are glued to her phone, lips stretched into a permanent giddy smile, and legs kicking slightly off the couch.
Nayeon doesn’t need to ask to know it’s Chaeyoung Sana is texting with—the wide smile on Sana’s face is enough of an answer.
“I’m dropping by the convenience store to get some stuff,” Nayeon says, as she sits by the threshold to put on her shoes. “Is there anything you want?”
Sana pauses midway through texting to pay Nayeon enough attention. “Hmm, maybe get some ice cream for me, please? Strawberry flavor—I’ll pay you when you get back.”
“Sure thing,” Nayeon answers as she throws on her jacket, remembering one of Sana’s ramblings about how much Chaeyoung loves strawberries. “I’ll be back soon.”
A distracted, “Take care,” is all she gets from Sana after that, which Nayeon has long since stopped minding. It’s practically impossible to get Sana’s head out of the clouds the moment she starts texting with Chaeyoung, anyway.
Zipping her jacket up to her chest, Nayeon makes a quick jog to the convenience store a few blocks away from their dorm building, flashing the cashier a polite smile before trudging to the snack aisle. More than just a bar of chocolate and ice cream, Nayeon believes she deserves more as a reward for making it through another hellish week in one piece. So, she grabs a few bags of chips, some instant ramen Sana had been talking about, and a bag of candy to refill their jar with.
When she looks at the section with the chocolates, Nayeon sees there’s only one left of her favorite brand, and she hurries to grab it.
Just as Nayeon reaches for the bar of chocolate, however, another hand darts out to take it, in turn causing a slight brush between Nayeon’s fingers and the other person’s. As far as things go, it’s one of the most cliché scenarios to happen, both in movies and real life. Nayeon has completely lost track of how many filmmakers have used this exact same cliché, though she supposes the exact reason why they’re called clichés is because they work.
And boy, does it work. Because when Nayeon turns to look at the stranger toapologize, she finds herself face-to-face with one of the most attractive girls she’s ever seen.
Ripped jeans. Wavy, jet-black hair spilling out of a dark brown beanie, slightly hiding the earbuds plugged into her ears. A padded guitar bag secured over her back. Her incredibly, incredibly attractive face made even more striking by the crooked smile toying at the corners of her lips.
And, like a beautiful movie scene, the acoustic love song playing in the background adds a perfect touch to the mood.
But before she can mistake fiction for reality, Nayeon blinks herself out of the scene.
“Oh, sorry!” Nayeon apologizes, quickly withdrawing her hand.
“No, it’s alright,” the stranger assures with a chuckle, grabbing the chocolate bar and giving it to Nayeon. “Here, you can have it.”
Nayeon blinks owlishly at the girl, at the crooked grin flashed at her. “Huh? But—”
“It’s fine,” the girl says with a laugh, grabbing the almond chocolate bar from the shelf above instead, and waves it in the air, “I’ve been meaning to try this for a while now, anyway.”
Nayeon hesitates at first, and looks for any sign that the girl doesn’t mean it, but the girl’s smile is fixed firmly in place.
“Okay,” Nayeon accepts, a slight flush creeping across her cheeks. “Thank you.”
“No prob!” the girl, this attractive, attractive girl cheerfully says, whistling to herself as she leaves Nayeon to stare after her retreating form.
Oh, no.
Her penchant for forming quick crushes on random, attractive strangers will one day be the cause of her untimely demise. And unfortunately for Nayeon, it gets slightly worse when she gets to the counter, and the cashier tells her the bar of chocolate had already been paid for by the stranger.
Nayeon almost squeals.
—
“Aren’t you going to eat that?”
Nayeon cranes her neck and finds Sana peering over her shoulder, looking at the bar of chocolate with a curious expression, as though trying to find out why Nayeon has been staring intently at the wrapper for nearly half an hour. So, to avoid any further questions which would inevitably end with her spilling her guts about her new crush, Nayeon hurriedly tears the wrapper open and takes a huge bite of the chocolate.
Somehow, it tastes sweeter than Nayeon remembers it to be.
—
The world, as it turns out, is much, much smaller than Nayeon ever imagined it to be.
The girl her roommate, Sana, is dating? Son Chaeyoung?
So, imagine Nayeon’s surprise when she finds out Chaeyoung is best friends with the girl that’s been drifting in and out of her thoughts, ever since that short encounter of theirs at the convenience store. Honestly. She’s watched quite the number of movies for her to not have seen where this was headed, and yet, her head spins anyway.
Because one of the things movies and real life have in common is somehow, somewhere, some way, two people are bound to meet again.
Sana introduces Nayeon to her mystery girl—Kim Dahyun is her name, apparently—before not so subtly leaning in to whisper that out of the trio, Dahyun is the only one still single. Though not here, Nayeon learns Dahyun and Chaeyoung have another tight-knit friend in their circle of three: Chou Tzuyu, they say, and is dating a girl from the dance department named Hirai Momo.
Though with the real sweet move Dahyun pulled at the convenience store, Nayeon is thoroughly surprised to learn that she isn’t seeing anyone.
And to her pleasant surprise, Dahyun remembers her, too.
“Hey,” Dahyun says, eyes lighting up in recognition. “You’re the girl from the convenience store.”
Even though Nayeon isn’t looking at Sana, she already knows what kind of expression is on Sana’s face. It makes her wish her roommate isn’t as perceptive and as quick at connecting the invisible dots, because trust Sana to blow things out of proportion when it comes to anything remotely romantic.
Not that there’s anything romantic going on between her and Chaeyoung’s friend, of course. They just met, actually met, for crying out loud!
“You know her, bro?” Chaeyoung asks Dahyun, curious.
“I just ran into her at the convenience store the other night. You know, when I went out after our practice performance?” Dahyun answers, then turns back to Nayeon, still grinning. “Speaking of, I don’t think I caught your name.”
“Nayeon,” Nayeon manages to answer, thankfully able to control her voice enough to keep it from cracking. “And uhm, thanks for paying for the chocolate.”
“No problem.” Dahyun waves her off with a laugh.
Sana doesn’t look like Christmas just came early. With that gleeful grin on her face, it’s as if her birthday, anniversary with Chaeyoung, and Christmas all came at the same time.
“Oh,” Sana says, giggling, poking Nayeon’s arm, “so that’s why you were staring at—”
Nayeon isn’t sure how, but she manages to push down the alarmed yelp that’s about to embarrass her in favor of stepping on Sana’s foot. Sana pouts, but shuts up nonetheless after the warning glare Nayeon shoots at her.
Deceivingly spiteful despite her cute and sweet face, Sana takes revenge by cramming Nayeon together with Dahyun in the couch opposite of hers and Chaeyoung.
It’s okay. At least, that’s what Nayeon tells herself every time their shoulders brush on accident, or every time Dahyun turns to flash her a smile mid-conversation. Dahyun is friendly, glowing with radiant and genuine warmth, and doesn’t lay it on thick. Definitely not the type to flirt indiscriminately, if Nayeon is reading her right.
Romantically speaking or not, Kim Dahyun is one-hundred percent likeable as a person.
—
Getting along with Dahyun is as easy as breathing. Finding reasons not to is impossible.
She’s smart, charming, just the right amount of laidback, and she makes Nayeon laugh. The loud, throw-her-head-back kind of laugh. Her jokes are always made in good taste, never insensitive, offensive, or off-color.
Finding out that Dahyun is a music major stirs a newfound interest within Nayeon, too. It’s fascinating, how Dahyun knows all these little tidbits about a vast variety of songs and musicians: things like, how Elvis Presley never wrote or composed a single song in his entire career; or how one of Prince’s favorite meals was Spaghetti, and orange juice; or, the first song Kurt Cobain learned to play on the guitar was AC/DC’s Back In Black.
There’s an entire world of music tucked away inside Dahyun’s head, and for Nayeon, there’s an entire universe of movies in her own. While Sana and Chaeyoung are busy flirting it up, Nayeon shares her own trivia of films: George Lucas not attending the premier of Star Wars: A New Hope, because he had been so sure the movie would fail; Back to the Future’s script being rejected more than forty times; and James Cameron being the one to sketch Kate Winslet from the iconic ‘draw me like one of your French girls’ scene.
It's a nice feeling, having someone to nerd out with—even if they’re into two completely different things.
Most of all, Nayeon likes the way Dahyun is genuinely interested in listening to her ramblings. There’s always a smile on her face, accompanied by a subtle nod for Nayeon to go on. And every time, every time, it evokes a reaction from Nayeon in such a way that warmth prickles at her skin, sometimes even enough to tickle at her cheeks until they turn rosy pink.
Because contrary to first impressions and popular opinion, Nayeon is fairly bashful and easy to fluster.
And oh, does Kim Dahyun fluster her so.
—
Eventually, they reach the level of comfort where they no longer have to rely on Sana and Chaeyoung so they could meet up. They make plans to hang out, just the two of them, and it’s there without the distraction of Sana and Chaeyoung’s sickeningly sweet behavior that Nayeon notices Dahyun’s little habits. Things like, how Dahyun walks with her hands in her pockets, randomly runs her fingers through her hair when she’s lost in thought, the way she taps a beat against her knee to the singing of cicadas.
And in those quiet moments where Nayeon observes Dahyun, her crush worsens, taking shape into something deeper, more profound. More tangible.
Nayeon always did fall in love easily—too hard, too fast, her friends used to tell her. Maybe they’re right. Because when she falls, she falls, and does absolutely nothing at all to break it. She’ll jump off the proverbial highest cliff, eyes closed to the dangers of falling at breakneck speeds, arms spread wide open to welcome whatever is waiting for her underneath.
But Dahyun eases her into it. Little by little, like her tiny habits which Nayeon discovers more and more of over time.
Little by little, like the thickening of a movie plot.
—
The fall, or the turning point which often changes the trajectory of the lead characters in a film, happens one chilly Thursday evening.
Nayeon is sitting by her desk, listening to the audio recordings Dahyun had been frequently sending her over the past month while she pores over her textbooks, when her phone lights up with a text. Try as she might to contain the giddy giggle in reaction to seeing Dahyun’s name flashed across her screen, she fails with a big, bright red ‘F’.
(She does manage to tamp down a squeal though, and that has to count for something.)
[hyunnie <3]: open ur door? :D
In her haste to get to the front door, Nayeon almost trips over her own socked feet as she skids across the floor, unintentionally stirring a napping Sana in their living room with the ruckus she makes. With bated breath, Nayeon braces one hand against the doorframe for support, internally cursing herself for not putting her slippers on first, then throws the door open.
And then there’s that broad, crooked grin and half-crescent eyes, taking Nayeon’s racing heartbeat along for the ride. Nayeon is calling it: it would forever be Dahyun’s fault if Nayeon falls in love with her. Right here, right now, she’s pinning the blame entirely on Kim Dahyun.
“What are you doing here?” Nayeon asks, stunned. “I thought you were working on a group project?”
“I am,” Dahyun answers. “I just swung by to give you this, since your dorm was on my way.”
Dahyun fishes out a blue flash drive from her pocket and pushes it into Nayeon’s hand. Curious and confused, Nayeon stares at the flash drive, then at Dahyun, and blinks. “What’s this?”
Instead of giving her a direct answer, Dahyun simply grins and kisses Nayeon’s nose. Heat, fierce and feverish, burns Nayeon’s cheeks scarlet. Other than the brush of a hand against hers, or an arm slung around her shoulder, it’s rare for Dahyun to initiate affection—especially ones which involve kisses anywhere on Nayeon’s face.
“Just plug it in and you’ll find out,” is about all the answer Nayeon gets, and with her head struggling to process Dahyun’s lips on her nose, she doesn’t get the chance to ask for clarification.
And then Dahyun is pulling her hood back on over her head, waving Nayeon goodbye as she starts walking backwards, as though reluctant to leave and have Nayeon away from her line of sight. With her cheeks still burning warm, Nayeon touches her nose, then shakes her head and retreats back into her bedroom.
She plugs the flash drive into her laptop, mouth hanging open when she finds folders of audio files inside, categorized into her favorite movie soundtracks. Come to think of it, there was this time Dahyun asked what her favorite movie soundtracks were. Nayeon thought nothing of it though, and simply chalked it up to Dahyun wanting to get to know her better.
This—Dahyun taking time out of her already busy schedule to record her reimagining of said soundtracks—is something Nayeon never expected Dahyun would do. Dahyun made this for her, most likely even stayed up until late learning Nayeon’s favorite soundtracks by heart and adding her own personal touch to the arrangements.
It leaves Nayeon to wonder how movie experiences would be, were it not for people like Dahyun who exist to stir all different kinds of emotions through the music they craft for the most pivotal moments. They wouldn’t be as moving or heartrending for sure—wouldn’t be as memorable as the night she met Dahyun, with the mellow song playing in the background to set the mood.
If the music is the beat in a movie’s heart, then Nayeon guesses it wouldn’t be farfetched to say Dahyun’s existence is the song playing in the film which is her life.
Like her favorite soundtracks, Nayeon could listen to Dahyun and her sleep-deprived meandering over song arrangements in the dead of night over and over again, and never tire of it.
—
Dating Dahyun is comfortable.
She lets Nayeon wear her clothes, lets Nayeon drape her arms around her neck and shower her cheeks with affectionate kisses. Nayeon likes sitting on Dahyun’s bed with her knees tucked underneath her chin, likes how much softer Dahyun’s hoodies are on her skin as compared to her own. She watches Dahyun fiddle around with her guitar, wire-frame glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, hair pushed back in such a way that has Nayeon reeling.
Her hands have been idling too long, she decides, and for something to do with them she takes Dahyun’s glasses off, giggling over how Dahyun automatically squints her eyes in an attempt to see clearly.
“I have an idea,” Nayeon says, as she slips the glasses back over Dahyun’s ears, busying her hands by touching Dahyun’s guitar instead.
“What do you have in mind?”
Nayeon reaches for Dahyun’s laptop and types in the passcode (her birthday, which Dahyun apparently changed into after they started dating), then searches for a couple of her favorite movie scenes—which are mostly sapphic, but who can blame her? Girls are so pretty and attractive.
She turns the laptop around so the screen is facing Dahyun, and grins. “I’ll play my favorite movie scenes on mute, and you have to come up with your own original background music to go along with them.”
Dahyun cracks her knuckles and rolls her neck around, brimming confidence as she positions her fingers over the fretboard. “Challenge accepted.”
At first, Dahyun does the challenge seriously, Nayeon inevitably swooning when Dahyun plays a romantic melody to go along with the intensely romantic scenes. Then they drift to horror clips, and rather than dark, ominous phrases, Dahyun decides to goof around by playing the Mario sound effects and end-stage theme.
Nayeon laughs and giggles, smacking Dahyun’s arm repeatedly, unaware of the deep orange streaks of fading sunlight kissing her skin, and how because of it Dahyun can’t seem to tear her gaze away from her.
—
Nayeon lives for every moment: the big ones, the small ones, the in-betweens. It's why she takes lots of photos, films videos on her phone - to forever memorialize those moments and have something physical and tangible to look back on.
Between the two of them, Nayeon is the serial poster. She loves showing off those little, heartwarming moments of theirs: posting photos of Dahyun bringing her takeout food after a rough day, Dahyun in the kitchen making her tea, the two of them cuddling on the couch...
Though more of a private person herself, Dahyun doesn't mind. She lets Nayeon do her own thing, sometimes even reposting their photos together. Other times she posts photos of Nayeon too, and let Nayeon tell you, her girlfriend takes the absolute best and most beautiful photos of her. It's as if she's seeing herself through Dahyun's eyes, raw, beautiful, and unfiltered, and wholly herself: Im Nayeon.
Dahyun never minds when Nayeon whips out her phone to take photos of their dinner, or even when she has an ice cream spoon dangling between her teeth and Nayeon takes a photo of her. She just smiles, casual and somewhat lazy, and Nayeon finds she very much likes that kind of smile of Dahyun's.
That morning as they sit cuddling in Dahyun's bed with yellow-golden trails of sunlight warming the covers, that same casual, lazy smile appears as Nayeon tucks her head underneath Dahyun's arm and lays her head against Dahyun's chest, smiling into the camera as she takes a shot of the two of them.
She shows it to Dahyun, smile wide and happy as she says, "We're so cute, aren't we?"
Dahyun grins, the way she always does when Nayeon is happy. "Yeah. Are you going to post it?"
"Yup," Nayeon pops out, heart fluttering when she feels Dahyun's chin tuck into the crown of her head. "I have to show everyone you're still taken by me."
At that, Dahyun chuckles, low and quiet Nayeon can also feel the slight rumble in her chest. "You know I always will, right?"
The look in Dahyun's eye, flickering soft but steady, has Nayeon dropping her phone. There are moments which simply don't need to be captured, and Nayeon knows this is one of them.
Because even if she doesn't, Nayeon is sure that come tomorrow, the day after, or even in the weeks that would follow, she'll see that same look in Dahyun's eye. So, she settles for living in it, content and in bliss to simply curl her head into Dahyun's chest.
—
“Are you free on Saturday? Want to go out on a date?”
They’re out walking around on campus, fingers intertwined as initiated by Dahyun and hands swinging leisurely between them, when Dahyun asks. The last date they’ve been on was over two weeks ago—which was actually just a short ice cream run they squeezed into their busy schedules, and Nayeon has only missed Dahyun terribly since then.
“Sure, I think we can go out on Sat— oh no,” Nayeon cuts herself off with a whine, “I have to do a film study and Saturday is the only time I have for it.”
“Yeah? That’s fine, we can just make a movie date out of it or something,” Dahyun suggests, unfazed, as though asking a film major out on a movie date is a perfectly sound idea.
Thinking the opposite, Nayeon stares at Dahyun, slowly shaking her head.
“What?” Dahyun asks, blinking.
Nayeon’s stare morphs into a strange look. “You do realize watching a movie with a film major is one of the most annoying experiences, right? I’m not going to be laughing or crying or squealing like a normal person—I’m going to be overly critical and break everything down from the script, to the characters, to the acting, and even to the lighting. Basically, I’m going to ruin every single movie in existence for you. You are not going to be able to enjoy movies as much as you should.”
“Then ruin them for me, anyway,” Dahyun says, shrugging casually. Nayeon hates loves how it sounds like something straight off a movie script, from the main character’s love interest, perfectly executed and butterflies in your stomach inducing. “You’re doing what you love, just like I am. And you’ve seen how unbearable I can be when it comes to music, but I don’t think I ruined it for you. Unless I did, but I just missed something?”
It’s Nayeon’s turn to blink. Admittedly, Dahyun does have a point. Truth be told, listening to Dahyun rant about the same four-chord progression being beaten to death in songs nowadays, and how overly simplistic and mindless they are, has given Nayeon a deeper appreciation for music. Even if she doesn’t understand what Dahyun is rambling about more than half the time.
“Fine,” Nayeon relents, wagging a finger in front of Dahyun’s face. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The crooked grin that breaks across Dahyun’s face sets off all the alarms in Nayeon’s head.
Because the problem with dating a music major? They have way too many song references stored in those strange, yet brilliant brains of theirs.
Before Nayeon can prevent her inevitable doom to being subjected to said reference, Dahyun breaks out into song.
“Don’t say I didn’t, say I didn’t warn you,” Dahyun sings, much to Nayeon’s halfhearted ire.
Maybe this is just her karma for constantly tossing iconic movie lines at Dahyun whenever they bicker.
—
So, they make a date out of it, complete with a temptingly cuddly Dahyun in a comfortable, oversized hoodie, styled messy hair, and jeans. Already, Nayeon aches to make herself feel at home right in Dahyun’s arms as she had so been craving these past two Dahyun-less weeks. Which she does the moment they’ve settled down on the couch, feeling like the happiest sort-of-girlfriend when she worms her head underneath Dahyun’s arm.
While she happily curls into Dahyun’s chest, Dahyun starts taking out different snacks from the large plastic bag she brought along, listing them out loud one by one, “We’ve got chips, chocolate, soda, and ah yes, the most important thing—”
Curious, Nayeon peers over Dahyun’s shoulder, which turns into annoyance when Dahyun takes out a box of tissues.
“I said I’m not going to cry,” Nayeon whines.
“Who said these are for you?” Dahyun asks innocently, and if it weren’t for that shit-eating grin on her face, Nayeon would have bought the act.
Instead of arguing about it, however, Nayeon slinks back on the couch with a pout, and hits play on her laptop without another word.
Still, she doesn’t resist the playful apology Dahyun coos into her hair.
—
Not even halfway into the movie, Nayeon starts sniffling despite having insisted she wouldn’t shed a single tear. In her defense, the actors delivered the hard-hitting lines a little too well, and Nayeon isn’t some cold-hearted monster to not feel a single thing after watching and hearing all that.
“Tissue?” Dahyun offers, smug.
Nayeon shoots her a death glare before swiping the tissue from her hand and mutters, “I just got something in my eye…”
“Mmhmm.”
Oh, that is it.
With a loud huff, Nayeon bumps the top of her head against Dahyun’s jaw.
“Oww…” Dahyun groans, rubbing at the spot where Nayeon headbutted her. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re hardheaded?”
“Keep that up and you’ll find out exactly how hardheaded I can be,” Nayeon warns.
Dahyun immediately shuts up, lets Nayeon tuck her head back under her arm, plays lazily with Nayeon’s hair as the movie starts again.
—
By the end of the movie, Nayeon is at a complete loss for words. Her cheeks are wet with tears, which she abruptly wipes away with the back of her hand before blowing her nose into the tissue Dahyun hands over.
“That was a good movie, wasn’t it?” Dahyun murmurs, eyes quick to hold Nayeon’s gaze, the quiet intensity of emotions brewing within causing Nayeon to exhale a shuddery breath. She can’t quite tell if it’s because of the movie’s aftereffects, or if she’s the one seemingly making Dahyun feel things.
Then again, it could be both.
Then:
“I think I could watch it again.”
Dahyun is still gazing at her, clearly no longer referring to the movie, and Nayeon could play dumb, she really could, but she can’t. She’s always been honest about her feelings, and even more so when it comes to matters of the heart. But she doesn’t know what to say, either, and so she settles for inching closer to Dahyun, losing more and more of her breath the nearer their faces become.
But Nayeon needs to know if Dahyun wants her as much as she does Dahyun. So, she lingers, waiting breathlessly, looking into Dahyun’s eyes. Dahyun dips her head the tiniest bit, asking for silent permission, always so sweet and thoughtful of Nayeon’s feelings that way.
“Would you?” Nayeon asks in a small voice, because she needs to hear it from Dahyun.
“Would you let me?” Dahyun whispers, hands coming to splay around Nayeon’s waist, and no, Nayeon is sure she’s no longer thinking of the movie.
Still breathless, Nayeon nods. Watches Dahyun inch closer, until she can feel the light brush of Dahyun’s lips against hers. Another cliché—the first kiss in front of a finished movie with the lights down low, but it works. It sparks something different in Nayeon, warm and safe, leaving her comfortable enough to let Dahyun put more pressure into the kiss.
But even with the added pressure, Dahyun kisses her so achingly soft it tickles Nayeon’s lips. It’s nice, has Nayeon sighing, has her pulling back a little to watch Dahyun watch her, skin tingling at the wonder in Dahyun’s gaze.
Before Dahyun, Nayeon has dated a fair bit, though she doesn’t think she’s ever watched anyone watch her. But Dahyun does, as though Nayeon is her favorite film. Like Nayeon is her favorite scene, the one she rewinds over and over again, the one she thinks about constantly even long after the movie has ended.
Maybe, Nayeon realizes faintly, as she idles her fingertips through Dahyun’s nape, that this was what she had been aching for all along. For someone to look at her like she’s their favorite movie, the one which could never be outdone by any other film in existence.
It makes Nayeon brave.
Brave enough to be the one to lean in and kiss Dahyun this time, a soft noise bubbling at the back of her throat when Dahyun’s arms wind around her, pulling her in for a deep embrace that both skyrockets Nayeon into the sky and tethers her securely onto solid ground.
Being wrapped up in Dahyun’s arms is nice. Dahyun is nice, the clean scent of cologne stuck to her shirt tickling Nayeon’s nose pleasantly. When she buries her face into the crook of Dahyun’s neck and finds the smell of the cologne is stronger there, Nayeon closes her eyes and expels another sigh, skimming her fingertips around the shape of Dahyun’s back.
Maybe, Nayeon wonders idly, as she indents the shape of her own fingers into Dahyun’s back over her shirt, she can allow herself to get used to this.
—
She does get used to it, and comfortably so. Dahyun always texts her first, sends Nayeon these random recordings of guitar riffs, some her own renditions of Nayeon’s favorite movie soundtracks. Nayeon has them all saved on her phone, listens to them a lot, particularly when she’s stressed out about exams and other university-related things.
They’re always hugging, always cuddling, always sneaking in kisses on the rare chance they get to settle down and snuggle together over a movie or concert clips.
Nayeon gets so used to these soft, little moments of theirs that Dahyun kissing her quickly shoots up to the number one spot of Nayeon’s favorite experiences ever. She likes clutching the soft fabric of Dahyun’s shirt, likes bunching the material around her fists when their kisses turn deep, likes how Dahyun looks deeply into her eyes before dipping her head to kiss Nayeon again.
It’s innocent, mostly, with just a stroke of warmth when Nayeon wants a bit more.
Then more becomes everything, and clothes are on the floor, and hushed moans are spilling out.
Nayeon gets indescribably used to Dahyun touching her, kissing her, being with her.
—
No thanks to the slight hiccups and technical difficulties they’ve encountered along the way, filming their entry for a short film contest takes longer than anticipated to finish. Worried that Dahyun might be starting to get impatient, Nayeon takes their next fifteen-minute break as a chance to sneak away from the makeshift set and to the corner where Dahyun is still asleep but in a sitting position this time.
“Dahyunnie,” Nayeon whispers, cupping Dahyun’s face.
“Hmm?” Dahyun stirs, groggy and out of it, eyes unfocused as she slowly cracks them open.
“You can go now,” Nayeon softly says. “The shoot is going to take longer to finish, so you can go ahead.”
Dahyun shakes her head and stifles a yawn. “It’s fine, I’ll wait until you finish.”
Nayeon bites down on her lower lip. Despite her evident sleepiness, Dahyun seems determined to stay and wait, her sleepy, reassuring smile tugging at Nayeon’s heartstrings. The thing is, she doesn’t even need to. Nayeon would have been perfectly fine even if Dahyun hadn’t stopped by, but here Dahyun is, not having made a single complaint since she arrived nearly two hours ago.
It would be a complete lie if Nayeon were to say it doesn’t make her happy. Because it does. Dahyun makes her so, so happy Nayeon doesn’t even know what to do with herself sometimes.
Still, Nayeon has to ask again. Just to be sure Dahyun isn’t forcing herself.
“Are you sure?” Nayeon asks.
Dahyun nods, taking one of Nayeon’s hands to press a lingering kiss against the inside of her wrist. “Absolutely.”
Nayeon suddenly can’t help herself. Dahyun is too sweet, too good to her.
The last minute of her break, Nayeon uses every single second kissing Dahyun.
—
The entry before theirs is disqualified at the last minute, inevitably pushing Nayeon and her group’s one spot up. Meanwhile, Dahyun still has her own band rehearsal to prioritize—a twenty-minute drive from where Nayeon’s contest is being held—and wouldn’t finish until before the disqualified entry’s time slot.
Nayeon’s heart sinks. Much as she hates the way things have turned out, much as she would have loved for Dahyun to be here, there’s no helping it. She can’t be selfish and ask Dahyun to ditch her band for her—more so when Dahyun has sacrificed a good chunk of her time to visit and wait for Nayeon throughout the filming period.
Maybe next time.
She texts Dahyun about it, reassuring Dahyun she should focus on her own rehearsal and shouldn’t worry about not being able to come. That this is beyond both their control, Dahyun doesn’t have to push herself to come, that she’ll just give Dahyun a copy after the contest.
A minute later, probably during a short break, Dahyun reads her text but doesn’t respond. Maybe there isn’t time for her to send one, but Nayeon doesn’t fault her for it. They can see each other after they’ve each done their own thing and talk then.
For now, she’ll have to focus on keeping her nerves in check.
That’s when Dahyun comes bursting into the scene, looking harried with her hair blown in different directions, brow glistening with sweat, breathing hard, mumbling her apologies as she searches for Nayeon in the crowd of students.
Nayeon’s heart stops beating from the tide of emotions running high in her chest.
(“I’ll make it,” Dahyun promises, confident, as she encircles the date on the calendar.
Nayeon furrows her eyebrows, frowning at the other note Dahyun had written underneath. “You have band rehearsals that day, too. And it’ll already be the brunt of the rush hour by the time your band finishes.”
“I’ll make it,” Dahyun repeats, certain of herself, as though she’d move heaven and earth to make it happen. Maybe she would. Nayeon wouldn’t be surprised if she did. “I’ll ditch our car and run if I have to.”
Though it isn’t passed off as a joke, Nayeon didn’t think Dahyun was actually serious about it.)
By now, nothing Dahyun does should surprise her anymore. With how much Dahyun has done for her, how much Dahyun has been consistent by constantly blowing her expectations regarding relationships out of the water, Nayeon truly should have known better than to underestimate the sheer force that is Kim Dahyun.
Like something straight out of a movie, the crowd parts for Dahyun, opening a path to lead her straight to Nayeon. How she manages to be that person who comes at the perfect time, Nayeon will never know. Maybe it’s the stars aligning, maybe it’s always simply meant to be.
“You came,” Nayeon whispers, wide-eyed and hoarse, staring at a breathless Dahyun.
Dahyun grins, like she didn’t just run part of the way across the city and fought through salarymen to get to where Nayeon is. “I told you I’d ditch the car and run if I have to.”
Nayeon shakes her head, whispers, “Are you crazy?”
“No,” Dahyun disagrees, holding Nayeon’s gaze steady. “But I would be crazy if I missed my girlfriend’s first contest because of some dumb traffic jam.”
The word girlfriend settles over Nayeon like a cloudy haze. To hear Dahyun call her as such out loud for the first time, after sprinting out of the car where she left her bandmates in, to keep her promise she’ll be there for an important milestone in Nayeon’s life, is crazy.
Crazier still, but even more beautiful, is when Dahyun hugs her tight, kisses her hair, and mumbles, “I’ll always find a way for the stars to align for us, Nayeon.”
Nayeon doesn’t think she’ll ever hear a line more romantic than that, no matter how many movies she watches.
—
The final turning point, the realization and admission of how deep their feelings truly run for, happens while Nayeon is in her favorite cuddling position: her head tucked safely underneath Dahyun’s arm, hand splayed over Dahyun’s stomach, Dahyun catching Nayeon’s hair between her fingers before letting the silky strands fall back around Nayeon’s shoulder. She likes the sound of Dahyun’s beating heart pulsing against her ear, likes how it goes on beating steady whenever Dahyun’s gaze falls on her face.
Steady, smooth, constant.
It’s especially nice after they’ve resurfaced from drowning in each other underneath the covers, Nayeon perfectly content to snuggle against Dahyun, little sighs escaping her while Dahyun traces her bare skin with her fingertips. With her eyes closed, Nayeon winds her arms tighter around Dahyun’s waist, letting Dahyun play with her hair.
A shiver, small yet electrifying, prickles at the base of her spine when, underneath the thick covers, Dahyun’s hand finds the small of Nayeon’s back. It pushes Nayeon into unwinding her arms from where they encircle Dahyun’s torso, so she could touch Dahyun’s face and entice her into a kiss.
One more might be a little too much, considering they were kissing a lot while their hands were all over each other’s bodies—tracing, mapping, digging, memorizing. Dahyun, thankfully, doesn’t seem to agree like her, and gives in to the wordless enticement. The deep, lingering kiss which she indulges Nayeon with leaves Nayeon breathless and shivering, until Nayeon is helpless but to wrap her arms around Dahyun’s neck.
Her fingers soon tangle themselves into Dahyun’s hair, and she’s so drunk in the moment and how Dahyun’s kisses melt into softer, tender ones that Nayeon almost doesn’t hear Dahyun’s quiet, throaty whisper.
“I love you.”
Dahyun has stopped kissing her now, her face held between Nayeon’s palms, her gaze so steady it steadies the turning of Nayeon’s world, too.
Nayeon sucks in an audible breath.
For all her previous relationships, she always was the first to say it. The first to crack, the first to expose herself completely. The one who waits for those words to be said back to her, and never the other way around.
Hence why she’d always thought she would be the first to say it—that, in one little moment of theirs such as this, she would simply be unable to hold herself back, look at Dahyun with the most vulnerable expression, and whisper she loves Dahyun.
To find herself on the opposite end this time around is unprecedented. But this is Dahyun, who has loved her far better, far more than Nayeon ever imagined she could be loved by anyone else.
Enough to be the one between them who says it first.
Nayeon bites down on her lower lip to keep it from trembling, and for the first time in her life, whispers it back.
“I love you, too, Dahyun-ah.”
—
The best part is, one year into their relationship and Nayeon is still Dahyun’s favorite movie. No matter how often or infrequently they see each other, Dahyun never finds a new film to love as much as she does Nayeon. She often tells Nayeon there’s no reason to, that she’ll never tire of watching Nayeon move and revolve around her.
Unlike the movies Nayeon is fond of watching, however, Dahyun promises she’s the one without an ending.
She never is. They never are.