Work Text:
Yoo Jeongyeon fully believes that Im Nayeon is blue. More specifically, she believes that Nayeon is baby blue.
Everything about the girl screams baby blue. Her bright attitude. Her playful smile. Her happy disposition. Her ability to calm Jeongyeon down when she's so mad she thinks her head's going to explode.
Even though Nayeon has been annoying Jeongyeon since middle school when they met during lunch one day, Jeongyeon wouldn't pick anyone else to be her best friend.
'Best friend'. Jeongyeon thinks that isn't what she would like to call Nayeon, but there isn't anything else she could call her. Ever since they were kids in middle school, Jeongyeon has considered Nayeon her closest friend. They would always go to each other's houses to study, they would shop together, drink together, and at this point in their young adult lives, they'd been on several vacations together.
Right now, in fact, Jeongyeon was sitting outside a small café in Paris. Nayeon wanted to do something fun for her birthday and Jeongyeon jokingly suggested an international trip. Nayeon didn't pick up on her best friend's sarcasm, so here they are sipping on espressos and people watching in one of the most romantic cities in the world.
More specifically, Jeongyeon is doing 'Nayeon watching' in one of the most romantic cities in the world. She's thinking about how the sky matches Nayeon's baby blue. How her shoulder length black hair perfectly frames her face and how her glasses rest perfectly on her nose. She's thinking about the little bit of foam from Nayeon's espresso that rests just above her lip once she takes her first sip.
"You've got a little something there." Jeongyeon lets out a small laugh and points right above her own lip. Nayeon thanks her and wipes the espresso foam with her thumb, wiping it on the napkin sitting under the saucer.
"So," Nayeon yawns out, "where do you want to go after we finish breakfast?"
Jeongyeon hears Nayeon's question, but she's too focused on the way she runs her hand through her soft and slightly messy hair. She hears Nayeon's question but she's too focused on what she suddenly wants to call Nayeon that isn't 'best friend'.
"Hello? Earth to Jeong." Nayeon waves her hand in front of Jeongyeon's face, snapping her out of the trance she's in. "Am I going to have to pick what we do today again, or are you going to tell me what you found yesterday for us to do?"
Jeongyeon just silently nods her head and pulls her phone out, scrolling through the endless recommendations of places to go and things to do that her coworkers sent her. She finally stops, her thumb hovering over an art museum. She clicks on the link and pulls up the site, turning her phone around to show it to Nayeon.
"Hmmm the Musée Marmottan Monet. I like Monet and I think he's one of Chaeng's favorite painters." Nayeon scrolls through a few of the featured pieces on the museum's website, making note to take plenty of pictures for their friend back home.
Jeongyeon's arm is getting a little tired from holding the phone up, but she doesn't mind. She'd hold her phone for Nayeon to scroll through all day if that's what the girl really wanted.
"Okay! Let's go see Monet!" Nayeon flashes Jeongyeon a bright smile and gets up, downing the rest of her espresso in one gulp. She holds her hand out for Jeongyeon who quickly finishes her espresso, intertwining their fingers.
Holding hands with Nayeon isn't something foreign to Jeongyeon, but lately it had felt different somehow. Nayeon's hands started to feel softer. She thought they fit perfectly with her own.
//
Jeongyeon doesn't realize how many paintings Monet created as she walks through the seemingly endless rooms. There are other artists' paintings and creations hung up as well. Each room is like a library, telling a different story through each painting. She's roaming through a red room and spots a painting by Alfred Sisley. She looks at it for a while, taking in every brush stroke and every tiny color painstakingly painted onto the canvas before reading the small description on the white plaque to the right of it.
Jeongyeon tries to read the French title first — quickly giving up — and then continues to read the English description. Immediately, she falls in love with the painting. It reminds her of Nayeon. As she's admiring every detail of it, she feels a hand wrap around her arm. She looks down to see Nayeon and smiles before turning her attention back to the painting.
"What's this one? Another Monet?"
"It's called 'Spring in the vicinity of Paris. Apple trees in bloom.' It's by Alfred Sisley."
"It looks a lot like a Monet painting." Nayeon takes a step closer, still holding onto Jeongyeon's arm. Jeongyeon looks down and feels her stomach flip, not sure why she's feeling this way. She brushes it off and watches Nayeon take a step back, standing beside her best friend again. "Is this one your favorite so far?"
Jeongyeon just nods, afraid that if she speaks, her words won't come out the way she wants them to.
"Why is it your favorite?" Nayeon looks up at Jeongyeon expectantly, eyes full of warmth and comfort.
"Uh... It reminds me of my mom." It reminds me of you.
"Why does it remind you of your mom?"
"The small little details. Every petal is perfectly painted on and the baby blue sky with the streaky white clouds is so peaceful." The baby blue sky reminds me of you.
"Does it look like somewhere your mom would live?"
"Uh yeah it kinda does." It looks like somewhere I'd like to live with you.
Nayeon nods, satisfied with the answer Jeongyeon gives her. She gently tugs Jeongyeon into the next room, wanting to see more of the paintings before they have to leave for dinner.
At least a hundred pictures and many rooms later, Jeongyeon and Nayeon successfully made their way through the museum. Jeongyeon checks her watch, sighing in relief that it's still fairly early.
Jeongyeon's noticed that things go a little slower in Paris. People tend to get up later and stay up later. Over the past three days they've been in the country, she's gotten used to eating dinner at 11 at night. She thinks the city glow does wonders for Nayeon's features.
"Got any dinner plans in mind?" Jeongyeon looks down at Nayeon, admiring the slight glow of the street lights and city lights that illuminate the older girl's face.
Nayeon shrugs her shoulders and zips her jacket up. It's gotten a little chillier and the slight breeze makes it feel even cooler.
"How about I surprise you somewhere? Somewhere nice. I-I know you brought one of your fancier dresses." Jeongyeon feels her breath leave her as she says this, unsure of where the sudden burst of nerves just came from.
Nayeon looks at her best friend questioningly but slowly nods, agreeing to Jeongyeon's little surprise. She's never let her down before. Well maybe that one time they went to get ice cream and the place had been sold and turned into a dog salon.
//
Jeongyeon told Nayeon she'd wait for her in the hotel lobby. She didn't think she'd be able to handle seeing Nayeon right away. Since she held onto her arm in the art museum, Jeongyeon felt off. She felt fuzzier and warmer than usual whenever she was around Nayeon. Maybe she's just hungry. That's what she keeps telling herself as she turns her phone on and off, scrolling back and forth on the pages of her phone despite having no notifications to check.
Jeongyeon fidgets with her jacket, suddenly too hot in the clothes she picked out. She nervously checks herself in the mirror by the seating area. She's wearing a cream colored cable knit sweater, tan corduroy pants, and a brown pea coat in case she gets too cold on the walk to the restaurant. Or if Nayeon gets too cold so she can give her her jacket.
As she's tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Jeongyeon hears the elevator ding and Nayeon appears in the reflection in the mirror. Jeongyeon turns around and swears the room is at least 10 degrees hotter. She just stands there, mouth open at how breathtakingly beautiful Nayeon looks.
Baby blue. Under a fur lined jean jacket, nayeon is wearing a flowy, baby blue midi dress with a faint white daisy print. Her hair is slightly curled and she has small daisy earrings to match the print. Jeongyeon's almost relieved that she's wearing white high top Converse instead of heels. She doesn't think she'd be able to handle much more and she doesn't want Nayeon to freeze to death.
Nayeon smiles and shakes her head as she walks to Jeongyeon, amused at her best friend's bright red face. "Do I look that bad?" She asks this with a playful pout.
Jeongyeon furiously shakes her head and manages to spit something out. "N-no. You look great. Great- you look beautiful."
Nayeon thanks her and quickly loops her arm around Jeongyeon's before leading them out of the hotel. "You don't look too bad yourself."
//
Jeongyeon had initially chosen some fancy Michelin star rated restaurant but decided against it last minute. It would not only save her pockets from the amount of money she'd be spending, but she also found a place she deemed far better.
Juveniles was on the list of recommendations from her coworkers. The pictures she saw on Naver promised a cozy and bit more laid back atmosphere. When she stepped into the restaurant, she was glad the photos were telling the truth.
The lights cast a soft glow over the whole establishment and the people dining are dressed in a mix of formal and casual. It's perfect. Jeongyeon rushes to pull Nayeon's chair out without thinking, smiling at the slight blush that appears on her face.
"Well aren't you sweet?" Nayeon lets out a small laugh as she watches Jeongyeon sit across from her. She drapes her jacket over the back of her chair and picks one of the menus up.
Jeongyeon's eyes are tracing over the menu but all she can think about is Nayeon. The way Nayeon looks in the warm glow of the restaurant lights, the faint smell of her perfume, and the sound of her laugh when the waiter compliments her.
Thankfully, Nayeon is a girl who knows what she wants. She's able to easily order for the two of them so Jeongyeon doesn't have to embarrass herself by nervously stumbling through what she thinks she would want.
Jeongyeon watches her order, entranced by the way her lips move and the way her hair gently bounces on her shoulders when she nods. She doesn't even realizes how long she's staring until Nayeon turns to her, her head tilted in slight confusion.
"You're looking at me like you've never seen me before. Are you okay? You've seemed a little off today." Nayeon asks, genuine concern present in her words.
Jeongyeon just gives her a small smile and shakes her head. She takes a long sip of the red wine they ordered, enjoying the dry flavor as it coats her tongue. "I'm okay I promise. You just look really pretty tonight. Can't a girl stare at her best friend a little?" Jeongyeon tries to joke to cover up the way her heart feels like it's going to beat out of her chest.
"Whatever, Yoo." Nayeon laughs and playfully rolls her eyes, easing her way into a conversation about the art they saw earlier in the day. Jeongyeon's thankful she does. Although she's still lost in warm brown eyes, she's able to focus better on Nayeon's words. The sound of her voice. The excitement in her motions and expressions as she talks about her favorite pieces.
The rest of dinner contains much of the same. They talk about old memories, their separate struggles at their respective jobs, and what they think the future holds. It scares Jeongyeon a little at how natural everything feels with Nayeon.
Sure she's been friends with the girl for over 15 years, but that doesn't settle the butterflies that have been going crazy in her stomach since the plane landed in Paris. Jeongyeon's content to blame it on the atmosphere for now. Paris is a city full of love so it wouldn't be too odd that her feelings are getting a little jumbled.
//
The walk back to the hotel is slow. Nayeon has Jeongyeon's jacket draped over her shoulders since it got a little colder and her thin jean jacket wasn't enough. Her arm is looped through Jeongyeon's and they've somehow matched each other's steps. Nayeon looks anywhere but Jeongyeon as she talks, pointing out all the cute little cafés and bookstores they could go to during their last two days in the country.
Jeongyeon is looking only at Nayeon. She's admiring the shadow that the streetlights are casting on her face, showing off her already defined jawline. She's again noticing the smell of her perfume. It's a clean scent mixed with a hint of pine that's just so undeniably Nayeon.
Jeongyeon's eyes are trained on the side of Nayeon's face, now extremely thankful that she didn't wear heels. She likes the slight height difference they have. She thinks it's cute. She also likes the way that Nayeon pulls her jacket tighter around herself to make sure it stays on her shoulders. She likes the way she glances up for a moment but looks away when they briefly lock eyes.
Suddenly, Jeongyeon stops. They're only a few hundred feet from their hotel and Nayeon can see the bright sign in the distance. Nayeon stands in front of Jeongyeon, her eyebrow raised in confusion as she looks up at her best friend.
"Why'd you stop?"
Jeongyeon doesn't answer. She just stares at Nayeon. She looks into those warm brown eyes she absolutely adores, quickly getting lost in them. She's suddenly hyper aware of how dry her throat is. Suddenly aware of how warm she is despite the fact that Nayeon has her jacket. Suddenly aware of the knots her stomach is in.
"You're so beautiful."
These words leave Jeongyeon in a breathless whisper before she leans in, wrapping a gentle arm around Nayeon's waist. She presses her hand into the small of her back and pulls her impossibly close as she tilts her head, the feeling of Nayeon's warm breath on her lips. Jeongyeon gulps and closes the mere centimeters between them, her whole body feeling a shock rush through it. It's like nothing she's ever experienced before. Nayeon tastes like a mix of the wine they drank and her strawberry lip gloss. It's making Jeongyeon dizzy as their lips effortlessly move together.
After a minute, Jeongyeon pulls away to catch her breath. She rests her forehead against Nayeon's and smiles, a small chuckle escaping her. She feels warm. Not just her her body either. Her thoughts are warm. There's those fuzzy feelings clouding her brain again and she doesn't mind this time.
"How long have you wanted to do that?" There's no need to whisper since there's no one under the light but them, but Nayeon wants to. She wants to make sure that Jeongyeon is the only one who hears her.
"It took a long time for my head to catch up to my heart, but I think since I met you in the lunch room that day."
You were wearing baby blue.