Chapter Text
“Yujin-unnie, say there’s this person that’s really pretty and you aren’t in love with them, but you don’t wanna fall for them, what would you do to not fall in love?”
Yeseo lies on Yujin's couch in the older girl's apartment. Her eyes are distant, not particularly focused on anything. Yujin raises an eyebrow at her, looking up from her phone.
“People usually ask about if they know when they’ve fallen in love, not how not to fall in love.” Yujin says, looking at Yeseo. There’s this look of mild confusion on the older girl's face.
“Why are you asking?”
Yeseo tries to think of something to say in response, trying to find the right words to express her thoughts in order to form a coherent sentence, but nothing seems to work. Her words get stuck in her throat when she opens her mouth to try and say something, anything. But words can’t even amount to anything in comparison to the thoughts that swirled in her head.
“It’s just..” Yeseo groans. “It’s just Youngeun-unnie’s..”
And just like that Yujin understands.
She’s seen the way that Yeseo looks at Youngeun. She’s seen the way that the blonde’s cheeks would ever-so-slightly turn pink whenever Youngeun would so as much as smile at her. She’s seen the way that Yeseo’s eyes light up whenever the brunette was around.
She doesn’t need to ask.
The friendship that Yeseo and Youngeun have is precious. It’s something that Yeseo refuses to break. She doesn’t want to ruin it. She doesn’t want to catch feelings knowing that Youngeun won’t feel the same way.
And well, once upon a time Yeseo was hurt.
She was hurt because she loved.
While this is a different kind of hurt, she still wouldn’t wish it upon her worst enemy.
But still, Yujin doesn’t think Youngeun is even capable of hurting someone.
“You like Youngeunnie in that way?” Yujin asks gently.
“I don’t.” Yeseo responds with as much conviction as she can muster. It was like she thought liking Youngeun was a bad thing.
“I don’t like her in that way.”
It’s as if she’s trying to convince herself more than convince Yujin.
Yujin just pats the younger girl’s head.
She doesn’t think it’s as bad as Yeseo makes it out to be.
—
“Don’t let her drive you or pick you up for anything.”
That’s one of the things Yujin had told Yeseo.
And now Yeseo is here, doing literally the exact opposite of that.
But could blame her?
She doesn’t have a car or a license.
But she has a permit!
She’s not that hopeless.
She doesn’t have a license because of that one time she hit Yujin’s car into a curb and nearly gave the older girl a heart attack. The only person that’s willing to sit in a car, almost die, and teach Yeseo how to drive is Mashiro (since everyone else fears for their cars).
One major issue, however.
Mashiro doesn’t have a car.
But Youngeun has a car.
And is willing to drive Yeseo wherever she wants to go.
So here the blonde is, sitting in the passenger seat of a pretty girl’s car.
Youngeun’s car is a dark gray Hyundai. It’s nothing too fancy, but it’s nice and comfortable. She has a little fox and rabbit charm that hangs from her rear view mirror that Yeseo got for her when the brunette first got her car.
(She should really stop remembering things like that-)
“I probably don’t have to ask, but I’m driving you home too, right?” Youngeun asks as she seatbelts herself. She takes out her phone to send a quick text to Bahiyyih and Hikaru that she and Yeseo were on their way.
Obviously, yes.
Yeseo is not going to go into a car with Bahiyyih and Hikaru (Hikaru carpools with Bahiyyih everywhere because she can’t drive either). Those two straight up act like newlyweds. And as cute as it can be sometimes, Yeseo thinks back to that one time when Youngeun was out sick and couldn’t drive her out and she can’t help but gag.
She already had to see the couple making googly eyes at each other once, she doesn’t need to see it again.
“Yes, please.” Yeseo responds, it almost sounds like a plea.
“I’ve already been scarred from last time, unnie. It’s so bad, unnie. It’s worse than Dayeon-unnie and Chaehyun-unnie’s flirting-not-flirting.”
Speaking of Chaehyun and Dayeon, it appalls Yeseo that those two aren’t together yet.
Youngeun snorts, putting her phone into one of the cup holders.
“Tell me something new.”
She shifts the car’s gears to back out of the parking space.
And holy hell-
Youngeun does that thing where you put your hand on the passenger’s seat to look behind so you could back out safely, and god does that screw Yeseo’s head.
For some reason, that one specific action is just so damned hot for whatever reason. Maybe it’s because of how close Youngeun casually got in a matter of seconds or how Yeseo could faintly smell the floral perfume that the older girl tended to use. Or maybe it was just Yeseo’s head deciding to play tricks on her.
Whatever it was, it was not good for Yeseo’s heart-
“Anyway, if you ever need a ride, just text me.” Youngeun said, looking over her shoulder. “I don’t mind driving you around. Plus, it’s a lot better than waiting for the bus or hitching a ride with the others, right?”
Yeseo wouldn’t mind being driven around either. And yeah, being driven to and from places is a lot better than waiting for the bus.
It’s just not good for her heart-
No, it’s fine.
Her heart is fine.
“So then.. you aren’t gonna teach me how to drive?
Youngeun laughs, “Nope.”
“What-”
Youngeun’s laugh is bright.
It’s pretty.
Yeseo looks away, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.
—
Youngeun sits on Yujin’s couch, staring at the TV, playing a movie that she doesn’t have any real interest in. She was there for the night as she was too lazy to drive back to the dorms. No matter, she has a set of clothes at Yujin’s place anyway, and it’s not like she has any classes tomorrow.
“How do the unnies make you feel?”
Yujin raises an eyebrow at Youngeun. It’s a weird question coming from the younger girl, because Youngeun knows the answer. She’s heard it at least a thousand times over from all sides of their love story. She pretty much knows it like the back of her hand.
Yeseo and Youngeun ask weird questions, Yujin decides.
“Why?”
“Curious.”
Youngeun tells her simply, but Yujin knows the younger girl well enough to know that it’s just not curiosity. There’s this look in Youngeun’s eyes that feels too much like pining, pining for Yeseo that is.
Without missing a beat Yujin responds,
“Is it Yeseo?”
“Yep."
Unlike Yeseo, Youngeun will admit that she’s fallen for the blonde.
The moment she met Yeseo, Youngeun knew she was screwed.
She knew that nothing- nothing, could’ve stopped her from falling.
The first few times she was around Yeseo her heart thumped so loudly in her chest that it was deafening. How her eyes always somehow made their way to Yeseo (her eyes, smile- god was Youngeun smitten). How her words always got caught in her throat because Yeseo was as pretty as starry skies-
No, she’s prettier.
She’s the starlight on a cloudy night, the bright lights in the middle of a city.
Yeseo’s the little things in life that make everything just so much better.
It’s laughable with how hard Youngeun’s fallen.
“Ting and Shiro..” Yujin began, a smile slowly making its way to her face as she thought of her lovers. They were the light of her life, sunshine on a cloudy day. “They make me feel like I’m floating.”
The adoration in Yujin’s voice is evident. The look in her eyes is that of pure, unmasked affection and love. Youngeun’s seen it multiple times with Xiaoting and Mashiro.
“They feel like sunshine on a cold day. And those fluttery feelings, you know the ones, they’re nice. Around them. I can’t really explain it, but I’m sure you understand.. don’t you?”
Youngeun nods.
“I get it.”
Yeseo is like a soft, kind melody.
Beautiful and addicting.