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It had been a rough day for both of them.
The group's newest album was slated to be released in four months; the first they would release under JSY Entertainment. None of the five women had renewed their contracts with CUBE, and Soyeon had finally been able to announce her new company. (G)I-DLE was being rebranded to just IDLE, something they had wanted to do for years.
Even with all five members now writing, composing, and producing songs for the new album, there was immense pressure on them. Out of the whole group, Yuqi felt that pressure the most. They were finally getting to do a ballad album, which had been great in theory. Sure, she had created slower songs in the past, but the level of emotion the group wanted to convey in their songs was almost too much for her. She normally couldn’t hide her emotions to save her life, but lately her mind hadn’t been able to take her to that creative place like before.
Her alarm went off on her phone, signaling it was eight at night and she had to go home to cook dinner. With a sigh, she closed her empty song sheet document and headed home.
Soyeon, in a different room withiin the brand-new building, simply had too much work to dedicate her usual hours to music. It saddened her when she would press down on the keys of her piano, finally getting the melody that was bouncing in her head out, just to receive a phone call about yet another financial decision. Her mind was filled with ideas, plenty of emotions she was ready to display through her favorite medium. The concept, the title, and everything else about this album excited her. It was by far the easiest she had come up with lyrics and melodies. If only she could touch the almost unused equipment in her office to empty her head. However, after her final meeting of the day, she looked at the clock and saw it was already past midnight.
With a sigh, she turned off the equipment and headed home.
When Soyeon walked through the front door, she smiled at the scent of her favorite Chinese dish coming from the kitchen. Her smile faded when she walked further into the house only to see the side lamp by the couch on, but no sign of her girlfriend. They hadn’t been able to see each other since that morning due to their busy schedules, so she had been hoping Yuqi would have stayed up until she got home. It was almost two in the morning though. Soyeon couldn’t blame the younger woman for wanting to go to bed.
She ate quickly and put the leftovers in the fridge, then swiftly made her way to their bedroom upstairs. The scent of Yuqi’s vanilla floral perfume invaded her senses, and she knew she would never get tired of it. It was home.
The only light in the room was Yuqi’s same giraffe night light she has had since their days in the CUBE dorms. The yellow-orange light provided just enough visibility for Soyeon to see her girlfriend snuggled up to her large lion plushie, deep in sleep as adorable little snores escaped her. Leaning down, she placed a light kiss to the brown-haired woman’s forehead before going to the bathroom to do her nighttime routine.
Cleaned up and in a fresh pair of lemon printed pajamas, Soyeon went back to their bed and took a minute to just admire the person she loved the most. It was obvious to the whole group that Yuqi had been struggling to get her usually overactive creative mind to kick into gear. The three main producers—Soyeon, Yuqi, and Minnie—were doing two songs each while Miyeon produced a song written by Minnie, and Shuhua was getting to write, compose, and produce her own track. While four of the women were already halfway or fully done with their musical assignments, Yuqi barely had a chorus or verse. The Beijing Puppy had been more pouty than usual in their group meetings, especially whenever the others bragged about how close they are to being done.
The older woman carefully got into bed, removing the lion plushie from the arms of the other. She made sure to quickly replace the empty space with herself, arms wrapped tightly around the taller woman, and face immediately buried into her neck. It didn’t take long for Yuqi to stir, and Soyeon felt her lips turn into a smile on the top of her head.
“You’re late.” Yuqi’s raspy voice, thick with sleep, came out muffled due to her nuzzling the top of Soyeon’s head.
“Sorry, love. No one told me how many meetings I would have when I started this venture.”
A hum was the only response she got, making her chuckle against the other woman’s neck. Her nails gently scratched Yuqi’s back, causing the younger woman to only snuggle closer.
“I’m not going to finish my songs on time,” Yuqi mumbled after a few minutes of silence. Soyeon was on the verge of falling asleep, but the worry in her girlfriend’s voice immediately woke her up.
“You will. You have always been able to work through a rut. And if you can’t get them done,” Soyeon said with an air of teasing as she leaned back to look into Yuqi’s eyes, “we’ll push the release back. The perks of dating the CEO of your company.”
The brunette smiled and let out her signature laugh, Soyeon’s favorite sound. Their lips met in a brief kiss, the stress of the day melting away instantly.
“I think Nebobo would be upset with us if we tried to do that,” Yuqi replied, her lips brushing against Soyeon’s as she talked. Soyeon hummed in agreement, knowing that their fans had already waited six months since their last comeback.
“Did you know Shuhua’s song is about Soojin,” Yuqi asked, just as Soyeon was falling asleep again. This time she didn’t open her eyes, just nodded her head and moved to bury her face in the taller woman’s neck again.
“She asked me if it was okay to write about her the other day after our meeting. I told her the fans would be excited to hear it.”
Now that they weren’t under CUBE, their fans had been discussing the possibility of Soojin returning to the group. What they didn’t know was Soyeon offered just that to her friend as soon as she found out she would be starting her own company. It had been long enough that the general population had seemingly forgotten the false accusations that cost Soojin to lose her dream as an idol.
However, the ex-member declined the offer. The road to healing from what happened had been long and exhausting, and she didn’t want to be thrust back into the same industry that turned its back on her. Instead, she offered to be a choreographer for the group. An offer Soyeon took immediately.
“Why don’t you write about me,” the black-haired woman asked, exhaustion evident in her voice. “I’ve written countless songs about you. Return the favor, Song.”
The truth was that Yuqi was writing about Soyeon. The problem was there was too much to say, and everything she wrote down didn’t sound good enough. She’d get on a roll, getting through to the second verse of the song, just for her to hate the words and quickly erase them. She’d look back at the older songs she had written for her girlfriend, but it only made her feel worse about her current situation. She used to be such a great songwriter, so why wasn’t she now?
“Yuqi-ah,” Soyeon asked, concerned when she heard the small sniffles that were coming from above her. “Hey, I was just kidding. You don’t have to write a song about me. Write about whatever you want!”
Soyeon pulled back and put a hand on Yuqi’s cheek, which the younger woman immediately leaned into as tears started to slide down her face. They were wiped away just as fast as they appeared.
“Woogs, we’re going to get through this. It’s been a stressful year. How about we skip work tomorrow and go for a hike? Maybe rent one of those campers, roast marshmallows, stargaze, and take our minds off everything?”
A watery laugh escaped Yuqi before she leaned in to give Soyeon the deepest kiss she could. God, did she love this woman. Whatever higher power made sure their paths crossed, Yuqi was eternally in debt to them. Out of all the people she had met in her life, Soyeon was by far the greatest. She was her soulmate, her best friend, and her safe haven. If she were a boat lost at sea, Soyeon would be the lighthouse in the distance, guiding her safely back to shore.
“We’ve been over this, darling. Our fans have waited long enough. No days off until after promotions are over.”
“I think the fans would rather you take care of yourself instead of worrying about releasing new music.”
“Baby—”
“Nope,” Soyeon cut her off and placed a finger over her lips. “As your boss, leader, and girlfriend, you are banned from going to work tomorrow. Minnie can handle all my meetings for the day. I’ll look up rentals in the morning.”
Several hours later, the couple had loaded their car with all the necessary supplies. Soyeon found a lodge in the countryside they could rent for the night, and after a quick phone call with Minnie and lots of kisses to convince Yuqi to go, they were on their way. Most of the car ride was spent singing along to songs from her playlist while Yuqi took a much needed rest in the passenger seat.
When they arrived at the lodge, the Chinese’s stress already seemed to be melting away. Her usual puppy-like personality appeared as they carried everything inside, getting excited at the smallest details in the house. She was particularly fond of the island in the kitchen, which she just had to lift Soyeon on top of to see if it was the perfect height for making out.
“We have food we need to unpack,” Soyeon said breathlessly as Yuqi left a trail of kisses from her jawline to her collarbone. A small hum was all she got in return before her shirt started to be pushed up her torso. She grabbed the hands that were sending bolts of electricity through her body and reluctantly pushed her girlfriend back. The obvious want in Yuqi’s eyes made her gulp but she stayed strong. “Food first. You can seduce me later.”
They stayed close to each other as they unpacked everything, small touches here and there making both of them blush as if they hadn’t been together for eight years. With their busy schedules, they rarely had any time to be like this. To just exist together and enjoy having the other near. While they were both workaholics and would choose staying locked away in their studio over going on a date, it was nice to have a break and seek that familiar romantic comfort.
Once everything is unpacked, both of their stomachs growl and Yuqi decides to make them ramen. As she’s waiting for the water to boil, she feels two arms snake their way around her waist and a body press against her back. It makes her heart swell, and she leans into the hold, the last ounce of stress leaving her. Soyeon started swaying them from side to side, creating a calm tempo just for them that activated the songwriter in Yuqi. However, when a pair of lips left a kiss just behind her ear, she filed the tune away in the back of her mind and turned in the shorter woman’s arms.
They were both almost entirely undressed when the sound of boiling water hitting the stovetop stopped their frantic movements. Screams of panic replaced the moans of pleasure as Yuqi quickly shut off the burner and moved the pot to the side, the noodles more than cooked in what broth was left. After laughing off the small disaster, they put their clothes back on, prepared their bowls, and moved to sit outside to enjoy their meal.
That was where they stayed until the sun started to set, enjoying the view of the hills of trees whose leaves were starting to change colors. The air was starting to get chilly, so Yuqi started a fire in the pit in the center of the patio as Soyeon grabbed everything needed for s’mores, along with a blanket big enough to cover both of them. Seeing Yuqi crouched in front of the pit, gently stoking the fire to life, she felt her insides fill with butterflies. She dropped everything in a nearby chair then stood behind her girlfriend, pulling her head back so she could lean down to kiss her.
“Mm, what was that for?”
“Do I need a reason to kiss you?”
“Jeon Soyeon, do you find me starting a fire attractive?”
“Stop before I push you into that fire.”
Yuqi let it go after another kiss, her confidence overflowing as she continued stoking the flames. Once it was big enough, they started roasting their marshmallows and assembling their s’mores—only a few marshmallows lost to Soyeon keeping them in the fire for too long. As the sun sunk behind the hills and stars appeared in the sky, they moved to lay in the lounger they had been sitting on. Soyeon laid down first, her arms and the blanket around her open to Yuqi, who happily settled between the producer’s legs. The blanket enveloped them perfectly as they looked at the millions of white dots in the sky, Yuqi’s head tucked under Soyeon’s chin.
“This is all I want in the future,” Yuqi said after awhile, breaking the comfortable silence between them.
“What do you mean, love?”
“You, me, maybe a couple kids, living a slow quiet life. No deadlines, no choreography to memorize, no endless schedules, no stress. Just you holding me and being at peace.”
Soyeon kissed her temple and smiled. “You got it. I’ll hold you for the rest of eternity and then some.”
Their lips were about to meet when Yuqi gasped and jumped back, removing herself from the shorter woman and running into the lodge. Before Soyeon could fully register what had happened, she was coming back with the acoustic guitar she packed and a notepad. Sitting with her back facing her girlfriend, she started strumming the tune she thought of earlier, scribbling frantic words on the paper when she stopped.
“Soyeon-ah, you just told me you’d hold me forever, and you break that promise within the first five minutes? Some girlfriend you are.”
Soyeon rolled her eyes and sat up, wrapping herself around Yuqi like a koala, her chin doing its best to rest on her shoulder with the strumming and writing happening. The few notes Yuqi started with quickly turned into a full song, complete with lyrics within an hour. She played it for the person it was about, earning herself a very suggestive look. The guitar and notepad were safely brought inside before they made their way to the bedroom, continuing what they had started earlier.
I Dream released a month later, topping every chart despite Soyeon’s worries of it being a ballad album. Win after win on music shows followed, as well as several interviews both as a CEO and with her group. While most of the interviews focused on their title track, one interviewer asked about the other songs produced by the other members.
“Yuqi, fans are gravitating towards the song you wrote, Hold Me. It feels like you really let us see into your heart with this song. What lead you to make this song?”
“I was going through a bad case of writer’s block awhile back, so someone very special to me took me out to this little lodge in the country to get my mind off work. We were watching the stars and they were holding me, and as we were talking, the lyrics just appeared in my head. It’s a song for them, its about them and how I feel about them. I’ve always written songs about my own life and experiences, but this was different. It’s like writing about my home. My safe place.”
“Well, I’m sure you’re very grateful to that person for taking you out to that lodge! The song is beautiful.”
“Yeah,” Yuqi responded as she looked to her left, where Soyeon was sitting, “just like the person its written for.”