Work Text:
Sooyoung jogs down the trail like she does every day but this time she accidentally runs into someone-
“No, that's way too cliche” Seungwan says, deleting the line.
Sooyoung decides, after a long day training for her singing competition, to let off some steam at the club. Once she’s there a pretty boy catches her eye-
“I hate it” Seungwan sighs before deleting that one as well.
Seungwan hates writer’s block. Sure there are worse things in the world but she was really making progress with this novel and now she has no idea what to do. She wrote out an outline and everything but when it came to actually writing it, she’s struggling. No matter how long she looks at the bullet point, “Sooyoung meets her love interest”, Seungwan can’t find the words to describe their first encounter.
It’s been months that Seungwan has been writing Sooyoung’s life. She’s written about her struggles with university and how she’s questioned her path in life. Seungwan has this beautiful life journey planned out, how Sooyoung ends up dropping out of school to eventually pursue her love of singing. How Sooyoung learns about herself, how she learns to give up everything for her dream. Eventually, Sooyoung won’t exactly become the singer she wanted to be, but she becomes a vocal coach and realizes all she’s wanted is to sing and make a difference which is exactly what she ends up doing.
However, for all of that she needs to start her relationship that will ultimately fail but will teach her one of the most important lessons. It’s when Sooyoung decides to drop out of school so it’s really important, yet Seungwan just can’t write it.
“I give up” Seungwan says, leaning back in her chair.
She can work on it tomorrow, for now, she’s not in the right headspace.
~=+•+=~
“SEUNGWAN!” Seungwan hears as she’s rudely awoken from her sleep.
She shakes her head in an attempt to wake herself before blindly reaching for her glasses on her bedside table. She puts them on and finally opens her eyes before wincing at the bright light from her window.
“Seungwan, honey~” The voice that Seungwan can now identify as her best friend Seulgi “OPEN THE DOOR YOU’RE MAKING ME LOOK BAD.”
“Shit” Seungwan curses. That’s right, Seulgi is bringing her girlfriend over this morning. Why didn’t her alarm wake her!
Seungwan checks her phone but it must have been unplugged from the wall last night because it’s dead. A great start to yet another great day, probably riddled with writer’s block again.
“COMING” Seungwan finally yells back before jumping out of bed to get changed into something more presentable.
Her PJ shirt is fine, a little dorky because it’s a saxophone pun t-shirt her younger sister Yerim bought, but it’s passable. She switches out her sweatpants for jeans before running to the door.
“Hi Seulgi” Seungwan greets with an exaggerated smile “Joohyun! You look perfect as always!”
“Thank you, Seungwan! You look cute, yourself” Joohyun smiles.
“Thanks” Seungwan laughs, pushing up her glasses “ok, well, come in! Can I get you guys anything to drink?”
“Water would be great” Joohyun says, walking in.
Seulgi is wearing a very elegant white dress shirt with her hair in a bun while Joohyun is wearing a blue turtleneck and black blazer. They both look incredible.
As lovely as Joohyun is, she always ends up making Seungwan feel underdressed, particularly today. This is only the third time they’ve met and the first time it’s at Seungwan’s place but Joohyun just has this aura. Joohyun has her life together, she’s mature and well-put together. Unlike Seulgi and Seungwan she already finished her PhD and is working as a professor of mythology. Seulgi is working on a master’s and Seungwan... Seungwan is a lit TA until she can (hopefully) get published.
So while Seungwan does love her best friend and she’s thrilled she’s found a great girlfriend like Joohyun, it does sometimes make her feel... like less of a person. A bit like Sooyoung at the start of the book really.
“Thank you” Joohyun smiles, politely taking the glass of water from Seungwan.
“So how have you guys been?” Seungwan asks, sitting on the chair across from the couple.
“Good, Paris was lovely and it’s nice to take a break between semesters” Seulgi smiles “we brought you a gift actually.”
“Really?” Seungwan says, a little touched they thought of her on their first trip as a couple.
“Yes, here it is” Joohyun says, pulling a small box with a bow on top out of her purse.
Seungwan takes the box and opens it to reveal two stud earrings with little opal-looking gems.
“They’re beautiful” Seungwan says softly, a bit shocked they’d get her something like this.
“It’s a moonstone” Joohyun explains “they’re known for healing, balance, and it can help distinguish what you want versus what you actually need in life. Or so the mythology says.”
“Also, wishes and feminine energy” Seulgi adds with a wink.
“Yes that too” Joohyun says a little more quietly “it just has a really beautiful meaning, I thought you might like it.”
“I do” Seungwan nods “and they’re pretty.”
“Very pretty” Seulgi says with a wide smile “I wanted them too but they suit your style more. Little and cute.”
“I’m not that short” Seungwan pouts.
“Is that what you’d wish for with the moonstone? Height?” Seulgi teases.
“Nah I’d wish for my writer’s block to go away” Seungwan answers.
“Oh that’s right you’re working on that novel” Seulgi says remembering the story.
“You’re working on a novel?” Joohyun asks, intrigued.
“Was” Seungwan specifies “I’ve been struggling to write even one sentence for the past week.”
“Would talking it out help?” Seulgi asks.
“Worth a shot” Seungwan says, putting her earrings down on the coffee table “so the main character is this girl named Sooyoung. She’s 21 and unsure about her degree. She’s working through it but ends up failing a lot because she actually hates her field of study. She parties quite a bit and is a bit flirty. She’s got these tall beautiful and confident vibes but she has a lot of eternal conflict.”
“Interesting” Joohyun says, listening “she sounds a bit like you, the internal conflicts part anyway.”
“A bit but I do love my field of study” Seungwan explains “I’m just trying to actually do something with my degree.”
“So what’s the part you’re having trouble writing?” Seulgi asks.
“Right, so I’ve written a lot about her wanting to quit school but to do it she needs this push right? Which is supposed to be her breaking up with her boyfriend.” Seungwan explains.
“But you like them together and don’t want to break them up?” Joohyun asks.
“No” Seungwan shakes her head, a little appalled by the idea “I’m stuck at the part where she has to meet him. It’s just like... I don’t know I hate the boyfriend character already because I know he won’t treat her right.”
“Could you just ditch the boyfriend character?” Seulgi asks.
“No, it’s really important for the rest of the plot” Seungwan explains “as much as I hate that part it really teaches Sooyoung a lot and it’s what pushes her to ditch her old life.”
“Sounds like you’re just really protective of Sooyoung” Joohyun answers before linking her arm with Seulgi’s “I know the feeling.”
“Oh uh” Seungwan says looking at her shoes “I mean I guess, she’s been all I think about for months, well that and my life but you know she’s just... important to me.”
“And you don’t want to hurt her” Seulgi finishes the thought.
“Yeah...” Seungwan says “I kind of just want to skip to the end when she’s passed all this and she’s happy. She deserves it.”
“But that’s not much of a novel” Joohyun asks.
“Exactly” Seungwan smiles, happy to have someone understand how she feels “the character development is the whole point, it’s what makes the ending good.”
“Would it be nice if you could help her be happy now? Then you could write the rest of the novel?” Joohyun asks.
“You mean like write the ending first?” Seungwan asks, a little confused about the question.
“Sure” Joohyun answers with a smile.
“I mean I guess that could work” Seungwan answers thinking about it “might help me feel better about putting her through that.”
“You sound like she’s a real person” Seulgi laughs a little.
“I mean she kind of is to me” Seungwan says, feeling a little awkward “I’m writing her life so... she feels real. Sometimes I even feel like she’s talking back to me. Like when she’s thinking about how her life ended up this way, she’s telling me how she feels about the story.”
“Well, I’m glad you have someone” Seulgi smiles “even if she’s not quite real.”
“I’m fine being single” Seungwan rolls her eyes “just because you have a gorgeous girlfriend doesn’t mean I need one.”
“Thank you” Joohyun chuckles.
“Well enough about me, do you guys want to play Monopoly?” Seungwan asks, getting up.
“Sure” Seulgi laughs again.
After a monopoly game that takes hours to complete, Seulgi and Joohyun leave and Seungwan sits right back in front of her laptop just staring at the screen hoping the right words will appear. She did try writing the end but without the build up it just falls flat and Seungwan is unsatisfied.
She eventually gives up once again and turns on the TV to drown out her thoughts. Rewatching Being Again does just that. Once the movie ends Seungwan decides to go to sleep. As she walks towards her room she sees blue light streaming into her bedroom. She looks out the window and sees the moon is blue. Not that second full moon in a month blue moon, the moon is actually blue. Can the moon do that? Obviously, it can since it’s doing it right now... She just stares at it before taking out her phone to take a picture but on her phone, it barely looks blue, it looks pretty much the normal white colour. She continues to look at it in awe of its beauty and she starts to realize it’s slowly turned to a green colour. It kind of reminds her of her earrings, the white gem that shines green and blue.
She watches the moon until it fades to its regular white colour. Weird. There must have been something in the air. Seungwan goes to sleep without so much as a second thought about the moon.
~=+•+=~
Seungwan, once again, wakes up to screaming, but not the coherent kind, this is just a screech of fear. One that Seungwan mimics out of fear because, who the hell is screaming?
“WHO ARE YOU” The voice, very close to her, screams “wait- this isn’t my place. Holy shit how much did I drink last night? I don’t even remember going out...”
Seungwan wakes up enough to sit up and look, well stare really, at the girl beside her in her bed paralyzed in fear. She should be running though, shouldn’t she?
“How uh-” The girl says shakily before swallowing “how did I get here?”
“D-dunno” Seungwan answers as her heart races.
“Oh good” The girl takes a breath “that’s helpful.”
Seungwan just continues to stare with no idea what to do. Despite the panic going on in her mind another little voice is saying this girl looks familiar. Her full lips, flawless beautiful skin, sparkling eyes... she’s breathtakingly beautiful, there’s no way Seungwan would have forgotten meeting her and yet she can’t remember meeting her before... maybe she’s a celebrity? How’d she get here?
“Well um, where am I?” The girl asks.
“My bed” Seungwan answers, still stupefied with fear.
“Uh yeah but where is that?” The girl smiles, somehow no longer afraid of waking up in a stranger's bed.
“Seoul” Seungwan answers before trying to slowly scootch away from the stranger.
“Yeah I know that but- never mind” The girl says before standing up “I was just wondering what subway I’d have to take back home but I guess I’ll just check with Google.”
“Yes” Seungwan nods, still unable to form proper thoughts.
“I’m Park Sooyoung by the way” Sooyoung smiles “thanks for letting me crash I guess.”
“S-sooyoung?” Seungwan says before being hit by a wave of realization “Park Sooyoung, like the psychology major?”
“We’ve met?” Sooyoung asks “well of course we met last night... sorry I just can’t remember it.”
“No you uh” Seungwan says, trying to wrap her mind around this.
“We haven’t met?” Sooyoung asks, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
“But you’re not real” Seungwan frowns to herself “this is a dream, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not” Sooyoung laughs “and I’m real.”
“You’re not though” Seungwan says, biting her lip “you’re a character in my- a book.”
“I’m not a character in a book” Sooyoung says seriously before gesturing to her body. She’s wearing a fitted t-shirt that highlights her curves well and some soft-looking loose PJ pants “I’m very real.”
“Very hot” Seungwan says under her breath before speaking up “but you aren’t real, I’ll prove it.”
Seungwan gets out of bed and runs to grab her laptop. She brings it back with the document open, showing it to Sooyoung.
“You’re the main character” Seungwan explains.
Sooyoung doesn’t say anything else before grabbing the laptop and reading the document. She stares at the screen intensely reading it.
“I remember this... it was when I decided to switch from an anthropology major to a psych but...” Sooyoung says before frowning “how is it in this book?”
“I told you you’re not real” Seungwan repeats.
“Stop saying that!” Sooyoung says frustrated before getting up and grabbing Seungwan’s hand and putting it on her chest “I’m real, see?”
“Uh” Seungwan says, trying not to freak out that she’s touching her completely fictitious character. She can even feel her heart beating “yeah I don’t have an explanation for that.”
“I’m just-“ Sooyoung says letting go of Seungwan’s hand who quickly pulls it away “I’m going home.”
“Wait-“ Seungwan says “your address is made up, you won’t be able to get home.”
“Really?” Sooyoung asks skeptically before looking around the room for her phone “where’s my phone?”
“I don’t think it’s here” Seungwan says but she starts looking around the room for it anyway.
“Can you call it?” Sooyoung asks “the number is 02-555-6182”
“But 555 numbers aren’t real” Seungwan tries to say softly not to upset Sooyoung who’s obviously not happy to find out she’s a fictional character.
“Fine” Sooyoung sighs “can you just look up my address in Google Maps? It’s 189-“
“Yeah, I know what it is, one second” Seungwan says, doing what Sooyoung wants.
She hands the phone to Sooyoung with the search results.
“It doesn’t exist?” Sooyoung says sadly “then where am I supposed to live? If I don’t have a home then I don’t have money? Oh god I’m not even in university am I?”
“No, but on the plus side, you don’t like your program anyway” Seungwan says, trying to comfort the poor girl in front of her.
“Well... yeah that’s true” Sooyoung admits.
“So maybe this is a good thing? It’s a clean slate, new life!” Seungwan smiles.
“But my home-“ Sooyoung starts.
“You can live here! I don’t have a huge amount of money but I can cover your costs until you get on your feet” Seungwan says, putting a hand on Sooyoung’s shoulder.
“Why would you do that for me?” Sooyoung asks.
“Because I feel bad” Seungwan explains “this is kind of my fault.”
“You brought me here?” Sooyoung asks.
“No, I have no idea how that happened but I um wrote you.” Seungwan admits.
“You wrote me?” Sooyoung repeats “you’re the author?”
“Yes” Seungwan says, feeling a little intimidated by Sooyoung’s glare.
“So you know every little detail about me?” Sooyoung asks “all my preferences and my dislikes?”
“Yeah kinda” Seungwan says, feeling a bit awkward.
“You know about every party I went to? All the projects I failed?” Sooyoung asks again.
“Um yeah that too” Seungwan nods in agreement.
“Wait you wrote every bad thing that’s happened to me” Sooyoung deadpans “when I tried to ask for a regrade but I broke my heel when I walked up to the prof and made myself look like an idiot.”
“It was important to the plot” Seungwan defends trying to justify her choice “and a bit of comedy.”
“And when my voice cracked during a singing competition and I had a whole breakdown?” She says as she grinds her teeth.
“Character development” Seungwan tries to laugh to make the situation less serious.
“Well, why the fuck did you have to have me lock braces with Sungjae during our first kiss?” Sooyoung sighs remembering it.
“Wait I didn’t write that” Seungwan says, looking confused “you had braces?”
“Yeah for like a year in middle school” Sooyoung explains “you didn’t write that either?”
“I write about you as a college student, I didn’t map out every second of your life” Seungwan explains.
“Why didn’t you? Not worth your time? I’m offended” Sooyoung says, crossing her arms.
“I already spend way too much time writing about you” Seungwan laughs at herself “but there’s no reason for me to write about your every interaction before the plot even started.”
“So you don’t actually know everything about me?” Sooyoung asks.
“Well, I guess not?” Seungwan answers.
“Good” Sooyoung says, standing up a little straighter.
“Good?” Seungwan asks, not understanding.
“Because you don’t know me, not everything anyway” Sooyoung starts “since I know literally nothing about you except the fact you like to write books that aren’t that interesting-“
“Hey! Your life is interesting!” Seungwan disagrees “or it was going to get more interesting...”
“Anyway, I just mean since I don’t know you, it would be kind of weird if you knew me completely” Sooyoung explains.
“Oh that’s true” Seungwan agrees.
“But it’s fine because I’ll get to know you” Sooyoung says with a little smile “and then it’ll be fair.”
“Well the first thing you can learn about me is that I’m really good at making pancakes” Seungwan smiles back.
“Oh thank god because I’m starving.”
As promised, Seungwan makes some delicious pancakes that they eat together.
“Tell me about yourself” Sooyoung says, taking another bite of pancake.
“What is this? A first date?” Seungwan laughs at the cliché phrase.
“I just want to know what you’re like” Sooyoung laughs with Seungwan “I mean I know you’re an author and you seem to be a bit nerdy but what else? What’s your life like?”
“Uh well I’m a TA for a couple of classes but it’s the break right now” Seungwan answers “I think nerdy is right, normal people are boring honestly. I like oranges?”
“Oranges?” Sooyoung asks with a chuckle.
“I don’t know what else am I supposed to say?” Seungwan answers awkwardly “I guess I’m sort of trying to figure out what to do with my life too.”
“We certainly have that in common” Sooyoung answers “what are your plans for the day?”
“Stare at a computer screen hoping I’ll be able to write something” Seungwan mumbles to herself.
“What?” Sooyoung asks.
“I don’t really have anything planned” Seungwan answers “maybe we could get you some clothes at a thrift store or something because I’m not sure my clothes will fit you and they aren’t really your style.”
“Sounds good” Sooyoung nods.
That plan seemingly backfires because Sooyoung looks good in literally everything. Seriously, things Seungwan looked at and thought no one could pull off, Sooyoung pulls off. She’s gorgeous and Seungwan regrets writing Sooyoung as such a beautiful character because she can’t really handle giving Sooyoung any more reviews on the short tight dresses she picks out. Or god forbid she try on faded skinny jeans and a button-up. Seungwan’s only human and working very hard not to make her reactions too obvious.
~=+•+=~
Living with her character isn’t as weird as Seungwan thought it would be. Obviously, she gets along well with Sooyoung because they do share a lot of the same world-view points but she still thought there’d be more awkwardness. Instead, Sooyoung seems very comfortable around Seungwan and is always asking her more questions about her life. Sooyoung seems to get to know Seungwan rather quickly and their friendship has grown pretty strong.
Sooyoung is really nice to hang out with but there is one tiny issue, she’s a flirt. Seungwan knows this, she wrote her like that but she never really figured it would be directed at her. Not that it means anything, Sooyoung’s just like that with everyone. A little more touchy, quick-to-say things that make Seungwan blush a bit. For fun. It’s how she shows her affection for people but Seungwan just... isn’t used to it. Every time Sooyoung throws her arm around her Seungwan flinches. Every time Sooyoung winks at her Seungwan has to try not to choke on her own spit. It’s a new experience for sure but Seungwan doesn’t exactly dislike it...
Which is good because Seungwan spends most of her time with Sooyoung. The next school semester starts in a couple of days though which means Seungwan won’t be at home as often and she’ll have a lot less time to write her novel, not that she’s really touched it since Sooyoung has... appeared.
“Let’s play mario kart!” Sooyoung exclaims walking into the living room in her PJs and sitting down beside Seungwan.
“Not yet” Seungwan answers, pausing the show she was watching “you’re supposed to pick a job today, remember? I can’t pay for both of us forever.”
“Just one quick game?” Sooyoung says, batting her eyes to earn some pity but Seungwan just rolls her eyes “but I don’t even know what I want to do.”
“You don’t have to pick your career forever, just something to start with” Seungwan explains “make some money and learn a little more about what type of work you prefer.”
“Dog walker” Sooyoung answers confidently.
“Dog walker?” Seungwan asks skeptically.
“Why not?” Sooyoung asks.
“I thought you might want-” Seungwan starts.
“Want what?” Sooyoung asks excitedly.
“Not saying, you’ll figure out what you want” Seungwan says firmly.
“You know what would help-“ Sooyoung starts.
“Not the outline-“ Seungwan cuts off before getting cut off herself.
“Can I pleeeeease read your outline” Sooyoung begs for the 100th time while pulling on Seungwan’s arm.
“No” Seungwan says firmly despite Sooyoung’s cute face “I told you already, no life spoilers.”
“But that’s not my life anymore” Sooyoung pouts “I live here now, plus it really will help me figure out what I want to do.”
“I want you to figure that out for yourself” Seungwan explains “life is about learning and experiencing, not skipping to the solution. It won’t feel satisfactory if I just tell you what you’d end up being.”
“Fine” Sooyoung keeps pouting “I’m gonna take a shower.”
Sooyoung walks away from Seungwan before turning around and facing her.
“Unless that’s just skipping to the solution” Sooyoung says repressing a laugh “should I stand outside and wait for it to rain instead? Would that be experiencing life?”
“Just go” Seungwan laughs “and don’t use my conditioner! You have your own!”
“Can’t make any promises~” Sooyoung smiles before leaving Seungwan’s view.
Seungwan sits down in front of her computer as if somehow today she’ll find the will to write Sooyoung’s encounter with “asshole boyfriend” as Seungwan has so adoringly named the character in her notes. Seungwan does manage to write out a short scene, just a few sentences describing the setting but that’s as far as she gets before she’s distracted by a sound. Singing. Well of course Sooyoung would sing in the shower, most people do and singing is her passion.
Seungwan has heard Sooyoung sing a few times but this time is just particularly beautiful. She focuses on the sound of her voice and just smiles. She doesn’t know the song but it sounds peaceful and sweet. Seungwan frowns when the shower stops and so does Sooyoung’s singing.
Seungwan’s pouting is quickly replaced by fear when she hears her door unlock, the only person (other than Seungwan) who has a key is-
“Hey sis” Yerim smiles, kicking her shoes off.
“Yerim what are you doing here?” Seungwan asks, a little stressed because she can’t explain the whole Sooyoung thing.
“I need a reason to visit my favourite sister?” Yerim smiles before walking into the living room.
“I’m your only sister” Seungwan sighs.
“I just want to check up on you sometimes” Yerim says, turning to face her sister “you don’t get out enough.”
“I go out” Seungwan disagrees but Yerim just glares “I’m on break right now, I’m relaxing.”
“Break is time to have fun” Yerim says slowly as if explaining it to a child “you know that thing that makes people smile.”
“I have fun!” Seungwan yells a little frustrated “just because I don’t really like parties doesn’t mean I don’t have fun.”
“Doing what?” Yerim laughs.
“Doing-” Seungwan starts before being interrupted.
“Seungwan I used the rest of the-” Sooyoung starts walking into the living room in nothing but a towel but she stops talking when she sees Yerim.
“Her?” Yerim smirks, finishing Seungwan’s sentence.
“NO!” Seungwan panics before pulling her sister quickly towards her to whisper quietly enough so Sooyoung won’t hear “say one more word and I’ll tell mom about that time you drank her favourite bottle of wine she was saving.”
“You wouldn’t” Yerim says but the panic in her voice is clear.
“Try me” Seungwan grumbles before speaking up “Sooyoung, this is my little sister Yerim. Yerim, this is my roommate Sooyoung.”
“I should get dressed” Sooyoung laughs awkwardly before walking out of the room.
“Roommate?” Yerim asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, to help with rent and stuff” Seungwan lies.
“And her name happens to be Sooyoung? Like the character in your book?” Yerim laughs “man you have it bad, don’t you?”
“N-no” Seungwan shakes her head “It’s just a coincidence, Sooyoung is a popular name.”
“Sure” Yerim says not buying it “just ask her out.”
“Ask who out?” Sooyoung asks, walking into the room in one of Seungwan’s old skirts which is significantly shorter and tighter on Sooyoung. Seungwan forgets what they were even talking about.
“No one” Yerim covers for Seungwan whose brain is still rebooting “pretty girl Seungwan was talking about.”
That woke Seungwan up.
“Thanks for outing me” Seungwan says sarcastically.
“She didn’t know?” Yerim says looking actually shocked “Seungwan, I didn’t know I’m sorry-”
“I don’t judge or anything like that” Sooyoung speaks up “if you were worried.”
“Oh good” Yerim smiles again.
“Now it’s time for you to go” Seungwan says, pushing her sister back towards the door.
“Fine with me, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t spending all your time alone looking at your laptop” Yerim laughs before walking herself to the door.
Seungwan sees her sister to the door before walking back to Sooyoung.
“Sorry about her” Seungwan says awkwardly “she has a big mouth.”
“It’s fine” Sooyoung smiles “she seems nice.”
“She is, she cares a lot and she’s a good sister” Seungwan answers “she just... says things.”
“I mean I don’t know why you were worried I’d judge you though” Sooyoung says a little confused “I’m pan so why would I have a problem with it? That would be weird and wrong. But I mean homophobia is always wrong.”
“You’re pansexual?” Seungwan asks.
“I thought you would know that?” Sooyoung asks casually before sitting down on the couch.
“I only wrote you with male crushes” Seungwan explains.
“Well plothole I’m not straight” Sooyoung smirks “and I have had female crushes, had a girlfriend too.”
“I don’t think I know you very well at all” Seungwan frowns a bit “do you even love dogs?”
“Yes, they are the best animal on the planet” Sooyoung smile “plus if you don’t know me that well it makes this more fun.”
“Makes what more fun?” Seungwan asks.
Sooyoung just laughs and leaves the room without answering.
~=+•+=~
Seungwan abandons writing for the rest of her (short) time off from school. Instead, she works on getting Sooyoung that dog walking job she wanted. It’s a little hard because Sooyoung has no ID or social insurance number but luckily most people don’t look for that sort of thing when hiring someone to walk their dog. Seungwan sets up a little business with Sooyoung as the only employee and puts up a few flyers on nearby lamp posts and they actually manage to get some clients which Seungwan is proud of.
But the break quickly ends and instead of spending her days with Sooyoung, Seungwan is forced to go to her classes, answer emails, talk to professors, and all the other joys that come with being a teaching assistant. Ironically, when she’s at school waiting to meet with a student who ultimately bailed, she makes progress with the novel. She writes the boyfriend character who is named Craig.
They meet in a bar, Craig uses stupid pickup lines and Sooyoung’s lonely so she goes for it.
Joohyun was right, it’s easier to write knowing the real Sooyoung isn’t going through this. Sooyoung isn’t lonely and seems rather happy at Seungwan’s apartment. It’s comforting to think of.
“Knock knock” Seungwan hears before looking up.
Seulgi’s smiling at the door and Seungwan closes her laptop.
“Hey, what’s up?” Seungwan says.
“Nothing much I just felt like dropping by, figured you’d be here” Seulgi says before sitting in one of the chairs in front of Seungwan’s desk “anything new in your life?”
“Uh” Seungwan says before clearing her throat “nah-no nothing.”
“Oh yeah that’s believable” Seulgi laughs “who’s the lucky girl?”
“No one” Seungwan sighs “no one I’m going to pursue anyway.”
“Is it one of your students?” Seulgi whispers “you know it’s legal once they graduate your class.”
“I told you I’m not going to ask her out” Seungwan says strongly “it would be... weird.”
“Well, can you at least tell me about her?” Seulgi asks “you haven’t had a crush since... 2008?”
“Shut up” Seungwan laughs “you know that's not true.”
“It’s still rare though so tell me who’s earned your affections!” Seulgi says excitedly.
“She’s... perfect. Well mostly” Seungwan says thinking about the piles of dirty dishes Sooyoung refuses to wash “She's confident and bubbly. She always knows how to make me smile and she’s really positive. I just want to hold her in my arms you know? Or her hold me in hers cause she has great arms...and legs...and lips. She could be a model honestly.”
“Wow, quite the catch” Seulgi smiles.
“She compliments me and it just freaks me out but in a good way? I can be a bit too serious sometimes but she takes me out of that. She just brings out the best in me.” Seungwan smiles to herself.
“And you’re not going to ask her out?” Seulgi asks “are you dumb?”
“We’re just friends, good friends but just friends. I don’t think she sees me that way at all. I didn’t even know she was into girls until a couple days ago” Seungwan admits “she certainly doesn’t act like she likes me.”
“Is she touchy? Laughs a lot at your jokes? Trying to plan things with you?” Seulgi asks.
“Yeah, but she’s- that’s just who she is. It doesn’t mean anything” Seungwan explains.
“I wouldn’t be so sure” Seulgi smirks “you’re a catch too and I’m sure she’ll notice.”
“Maybe” Seungwan sighs.
“Well, I should probably go” Seulgi says looking down at her watch “but keep me updated on this girl ok?”
“Will do” Seungwan nods.
Seulgi walks out of the office and Seungwan opens her laptop to keep working on the novel before she’s interrupted by another knock.
“Um, I had an appointment” A student says shyly.
“You’re 40 minutes late” Seungwan stares and the student tries to walk away from the door “it’s fine, have a seat, what did you want to discuss?”
~=+•+=~
“He was 40 minutes late for his 15-minute meeting!” Seungwan complains “like how does that make sense!”
“I know the feeling” Sooyoung sighs “You know those two little dogs I walk, Vivi and Monsieur? Sehun, the owner, had his boyfriend drop them off today instead. The dude was like 25 minutes late.”
“It’s so frustrating!” Seungwan continues to complain “we have better things to do with our lives.”
“We certainly do” Sooyoung smiles putting a hand on Seungwan’s shoulder, who blushes a little at the act “like eating takeout!”
“Now I want takeout” Seungwan pouts.
“We can get some, I might have complained about Sehun’s boyfriend but the dude gave me like a 50,000 won tip for being late” Sooyoung says fishing out the 50,000 bill from her jeans pockets.
“Damn, I wish my students tipped me” Seungwan laughs “if you’re buying, I’ll go get it.”
“Sounds good!” Sooyoung smiles.
~=+•+=~
“Let’s drink!” Sooyoung exclaims when Seungwan walks back into the apartment, clearly already having had something to drink “Yerim was right, you need to loosen up a bit and I’m here to help! You’re welcome.”
“You might be right about that but I have class tomorrow” Seungwan smiles while putting the takeout on the counter.
“At what time?” Sooyoung asks, raising her eyebrows way too high.
“1pm...” Seungwan admits.
“Yay! Drink!” Sooyoung says handing a shot of soju to Seungwan.
“I’m not sure you’re as good of an influence on me as you think...” Seungwan smirks before taking the shot.
One shot leads to many more and eventually, all their takeout is eaten and their soju is gone.
“Tell me about your plans” Sooyoung mumbles “for the rest of my book.”
“I’m not supposed to” Seungwan giggles.
“Why not?” Sooyoung pouts.
“Um, I can’t remember” Seungwan says, trying to think of the reason.
“So tell me! What happens next!” Sooyoung exclaims excitedly.
“Well you meet some dumb boy and fall in love” Seungwan starts, the words tasting bad in her mouth, unless that’s the taste of soju.
“Dumb boy? I love a dumb boy?” Sooyoung asks.
“He doesn’t treat you right” Seungwan explains “You’re special, you know? You’ve been through a lot and you deserve someone who would help you find your purpose. Someone who’d support you and cheer you on. But also hold you when you make mistakes and encourage you to try again. Someone who’d be there for you because you deserve it.”
“I want that” Sooyoung says just staring at Seungwan which makes her stomach flip upside down, luckily she doesn’t throw up though.
“Yeah” Seungwan nods “but this guy doesn’t get that. He keeps telling you to keep studying harder for your tests. You’d talk about your other plans, how you want to be a singer and all that and he’d tell you to give up on that dream.”
“What a jerk!” Sooyoung yells.
“Yeah, he is. But he helps you because when you break up with him you realize you don’t just want to break up with him, you want to break up with school. So you do, you drop out.” Seungwan explains “He sucks but he’s there for a reason, to help you see you need to stop being held back by school.”
“Well, I’m glad I didn’t go through that” Sooyoung concludes “instead I have you to help me and I’m not in school anymore so win-win!”
“I guess that’s a good story too” Seungwan nods.
“You treat me way better than he would have” Sooyoung continues while looking at Seungwan like she’s the only thing in the world that matters and Seungwan practically forgets how to breathe “you’re always helping me learn things and try new things. You got me a job and stuff. And you’re helping me find my passion and path in life. You’re so good to me Seungwan.”
“That’s because you deserve it” Seungwan answers honestly, she’s thought about what Sooyoung deserves for so long it’s so nice to tell her, right to her face and watch her react to the words like they’re poetry “you just deserve to be happy doing what you want.”
“I want to kiss you” Sooyoung says looking down at Seungwan’s lips before leaning in “can I?”
“Yea-yes-yeah do it” Seungwan says as her heart rate doubles.
Sooyoung’s lips feel exactly like Seungwan imagined, not that she’s pictured this often or anything. Her lips are soft and taste mostly bitter from the alcohol but are slightly sweet like fruity lip balm. Seungwan basks in the feeling, absolutely adoring it before her logical brain checks in. She pushes Sooyoung off gently.
“Wait, we can’t” Seungwan says, trying to muster the control to not just pull Sooyoung right back.
“Why not?” Sooyoung pouts.
“Because um it’s wrong” Seungwan answers “there’s some reason why this is wrong...”
“Because we’re drunk?” Sooyoung asks.
“Yes, that’s it! We’re drunk!” Seungwan says excitedly “so we can’t because we’re not thinking straight, you want to kiss me now but-“
“I always want to kiss you” Sooyoung admits.
“Oh me too” Seungwan replies “but we’re drunk...”
“Ok” Sooyoung says before hugging Seungwan “I’ll just kiss you later.”
“Good” Seungwan says with a smile “I love you Sooyoung.”
~=+•+=~
“I hate you Sooyoung” Seungwan grumbles, covering her eyes from the bright light around her “how are you not hungover?”
“I had a headache but I took an Advil” Sooyoung smiles “but don’t worry I’ll take care of you!”
“You better, I need to be ready for class” Seungwan frowns.
“That’s 4 hours away, you’ll be ready.” Sooyoung laughs “want some bacon.”
“Oh hell yes” Seungwan says, finally managing to smile.
Sooyoung finishes cooking the bacon as well as some eggs and gives the whole meal (along with some juice) to Seungwan who greedily eats it. Sooyoung starts eating her own food before pausing.
“How much do you remember from last night?” Sooyoung asks.
“Uh little bits, the food was good, the soju was gross” Seungwan answers, eating her food.
“I think you talked about the book but I can’t really remember” Sooyoung says “I’m sorry if I pressured you into telling me.”
“Oh” Seungwan stops eating as more memories trickle in “yeah you did and I told you about the uh... next part of the novel. I probably would have told you eventually... in like a month or something.”
“Well, I don’t really remember what you said anyway” Sooyoung says before taking a sip of juice.
“It’s not really important” Seungwan answers “I just told you about the story and why I wrote it and then-“
Seungwan’s fork slips out of her hand and lands on the plate creating a loud crashing sound.
“And then?” Sooyoung asks.
“No nothing I uh forgot I didn’t do the prep work for my class last night, I have to do that soon” Seungwan covers.
“We kissed, didn’t we?” Sooyoung asks.
“I d-don’t uh I’m not sure, everything’s fuzzy” Seungwan half-lies, it is fuzzy but she’s also pretty sure they kissed.
“It’s fine” Sooyoung smiles as she starts eating again “we were drunk, it happens.”
“Yeah, right” Seungwan says, trying to steady her voice. Seungwan has never kissed anyone else while drunk but sure, it happens.
~=+•+=~
After the whole drinking incident, Seungwan feels a little awkward around Sooyoung. Meanwhile, Sooyoung doesn’t seem to care at all, she’s just continuing to wrap her arm around Seungwan when they watch movies together, still making Seungwan blush with compliments. It kind of makes Seungwan a little sad because while their... kiss clearly shook Seungwan up it must not have meant much to Sooyoung if she’s just acting normally.
So Seungwan decides to focus on her job, which isn’t difficult considering her students submitted their first paper to be graded and she has so much reading and grading to do. 23 papers to do exactly which should take... 23 hours... that is if she doesn’t have any interruptions.
“Hey, I’m back!” Sooyoung calls out loudly “and I got a new client!”
“That’s great” Seungwan mumbles while continuing to read over the paper she’s grading.
“Sehun mentioned me to his friend so I walked Toben and Zzart today and now I’m going to walk them every weekday!” Sooyoung says excitedly “Toben is kinda hard to handle, very excitable but it’s fun. He’s cute. Zzart is such a sweetie though she listens so well.”
“Sounds fun” Seungwan says before correcting a spelling mistake.
“Are you listening?” Sooyoung whines.
“That’s nice” Seungwan nods.
“Seungwan!” Sooyoung whines before plopping down on the couch and resting her head on Seungwan’s lap to interrupt her grading “pay attention to me.”
“I have papers to grade” Seungwan sighs looking down at Sooyoung’s face.
“Can’t you take a break?” Sooyoung pouts.
“Uh-” Seungwan says nervously, realizing the position they’re in.
“Please~” Sooyoung says while frowning.
“Ok, maybe 5 minutes” Seungwan gives in, putting all the papers in a neat stack on the coffee table “what do you want to do?”
“Mario kart!” Sooyoung exclaims excitedly.
“Ok, but only one game” Seungwan sighs.
Sooyoung gets off her lap and immediately reaches for her remote. They turn the console on but before they can even start playing the stupid thing has to update.
“This is boring” Sooyoung whines (yet again).
“Do you want to do something else then?” Seungwan asks.
“We can just talk” Sooyoung says, leaning back on the couch “I feel like we don’t talk as much anymore.”
“I’ve been busy” Seungwan says, looking away from Sooyoung. She knows it’s an excuse but she’s not really willing to talk about the real reason.
“It started before you had all these essays to grade though” Sooyoung says seriously “we’re good though, right? You’re not upset I’m here, are you?”
“No, no of course not” Seungwan says quickly to reassure Sooyoung.
“Are you sure?” Sooyoung asks softly, moving a bit closer to Seungwan “because I know I’m a burden. I only just got a job and it doesn’t pay much. I take up your time and distract you from your work and book... I know living with me is hard and I’m sorry but I don’t want it to ruin our... friendship.”
“I’m really happy you’re here Sooyoung. You mean a lot to me, so for you to be real... it’s a big deal to me” Seungwan says seriously “and I got these earrings and- you know what never mind this is stupid.”
“Tell me” Sooyoung says, moving even closer.
“I have these gem earrings and they were given to me because they’re supposed to help distinguish what you want from what you need” Seungwan explains “and I wanted to get over my writer’s block but what I needed was... well you.”
“Oh” Sooyoung says, looking away from Seungwan.
“Um well it’s been 5 minutes” Seungwan says awkwardly after realizing she really shouldn’t have said that “so I think I’m gonna head to the library to finish this. I’ll be back late... after dinner sometime.”
Seungwan quickly grabs all her papers and rushes out of the room. She thought Sooyoung might say something or try to stop her but she just sits on the couch silently which may or may not make Seungwan feel even worse but she pushes down her feelings and leaves the apartment.
~=+•+=~
The library turns out to be a much better place to grade papers, although it closes at 2 am so she won’t be able to finish today. Then again there’s no Sooyoung so she’ll probably get more work done anyway. Plus she can get some sleep when she gets home so really all around better.
“God, these are all the same, is no one creative nowadays?” Seungwan sighs “they’re passable though...”
Seungwan fills out yet another rubric before her phone pings.
Joohyun: Hey Seungwan, I was wondering if you’d have time to drop by my office. I have something for you I think you could use.
Seungwan laughs a little that Joohyun uses periods in texts. Seungwan checks the time 4:36 pm, she’s making good progress with her grading... she could stand to take another break.
Seungwan packs up her stuff and checks online to see where Joohyun’s office is. Once she gets the info she heads towards the arts building. A short walk out of the elevator leads directly to the room. Joohyun seems pretty focused on whatever she’s doing on her computer because she doesn’t even notice Seungwan enter.
“You have something for me?” Seungwan speaks up, getting Joohyun’s attention.
“Oh yeah, have a seat” Joohyun says with a smile before pulling something out of a drawer.
“I’ve been so busy with the new term, I completely forgot to give you this” Joohyun says, pulling out a manila envelope and handing it to Seungwan “I hope it hasn’t been too hard without it.”
“What is this?” Seungwan asks, opening the envelope and seeing various papers as well as what seems to be a passport.
“Some important documents for Sooyoung” Joohyun answers “the basic government stuff, birth certificate, passport, high school diploma etc.”
“S-sooyoung?” Seungwan says trying not to panic “like my fictional character.”
“Who has become a real person, yes” Joohyun smiles finishing the sentence “she’s handling it well, right?”
“How do you know about that?” Seungwan asks, putting the envelope on her lap.
“Because I’m the one who did it?” Joohyun laughs a little “well with the power of the moonstone, I’m not powerful enough to pull that kind of spell off alone.”
“So you’re a-” Seungwan starts.
“Witch, wiccan, sorcerer, whatever term you prefer” Joohyun answers.
“Uh” Seungwan pauses trying to wrap her head around it “does Seulgi know?”
“Yes” Joohyun smiles at the mention of her girlfriend “it was her idea actually, she thought bringing Sooyoung to life would be good for you and her argument seemed valid so eventually I agreed. You have made progress with your novel right?”
“Yeah” Seungwan smiles “you were right, seeing Sooyoung happy helped me not feel bad for writing the tough parts.”
“Oh good” Joohyun smiles wider “and you’ve made her happy I assume?”
“What are you insinuating?” Seungwan asks.
“Come on Seungwan, you know what I mean” Joohyun scoffs.
“It’s not like that- we’re not like that” Seungwan answers “I don’t know- wouldn’t it be weird for me to date a character I wrote?”
“She’s just a person” Joohyun answers “one you care very much for.”
“Well I don’t think she likes me back anyway” Seungwan says looking down.
“I wouldn’t be so sure” Joohyun smirks.
“Why?” Seungwan asks quickly “what do you know?”
Joohyun just raises her shoulders and smiles as an answer.
“You should probably give those to Sooyoung” Joohyun says looking at the envelope “Seulgi and I would love to meet Sooyoung, we should plan a double date sometime.”
“We’re not-” Seungwan says standing up before eventually giving up “ok whatever, sure I’ll call Seulgi to plan it.”
Seungwan decides to give up on grading papers and just goes straight home to Sooyoung to tell her everything she’s learned.
“Sooyoung I’m home!” Seungwan says as she takes her shoes off.
“You’re early” Sooyoung says pausing the show she was watching “I thought you said I’d eat supper alone.”
“Yeah well, change of plans” Seungwan says before quickly walking over to Sooyoung to hand her the envelope.
“What’s this?” Sooyoung asks, taking the orangey envelope.
“Everything you need to legally be a real person” Seungwan smiles.
“Does that mean I can start a real career?” Sooyoung smiles excitedly.
“You can do anything you want” Seungwan answers “I would start with opening a bank account but up to you.”
“Thank you!” Sooyoung says quickly wrapping a small Seungwan up in a hug “thank you so much!”
“I’m not the one you should thank” Seungwan mumbles from the tight hold “Joohyun’s the one who gave it to me.”
“Joohyun?” Sooyoung asks, letting go of Seungwan.
“She’s a friend” Seungwan answers “and a witch apparently. She’s the one who made you real.”
“Well then I have a lot to thank her for” Sooyoung smiles widely “she saved me from the fate of having an awful boyfriend.”
“You said you didn’t remember!” Seungwan pouts.
“I didn’t but eventually some of the memories came back to me” Sooyoung answers “some particularly good ones.”
Seungwan still hasn’t gotten used to how flirty Sooyoung is so the comment has her visibly shocked, not that Sooyoung seems to care.
“She also gave me the opportunity to have a great girlfriend instead” Sooyoung smiles, grabbing Seungwan’s hand.
“A what?” Seungwan asks while trying not to externalize her internal screaming.
“I like you” Sooyoung says softly “so if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like it if you were my girlfriend.”
“That would- good yeah” Seungwan stutters out.
“You’re so cute when you're flustered” Sooyoung says before pushing up Seungwan’s glasses for her.
“You tend to have that effect on me” Seungwan laughs a little as blush continues to creep on her cheeks.
“Beautiful” Sooyoung whispers with a serious look on her face before she gently runs a hand through Seungwan’s short hair.
Sooyoung slowly leans in closer and Seungwan notices and closes the distance. Unlike their first kiss, this is a lot sweeter and not just because Sooyoung’s lips don’t taste like soju. It’s slow and innocent. Seungwan’s also able to appreciate it with a sober mind and the feeling in her chest swells. After a few seconds, Sooyoung pulls away but wraps her arms around Seungwan’s waist to keep her close.
“You know I had your whole story planned out and you ruined it” Seungwan smiles wrapping her arms around Sooyoung’s neck.
“Correction: you ruined it” Sooyoung smiles, stepping a bit closer.
“Technically it was Joohyun” Seungwan smiles.
“Well I don’t think ruined is the right word at all” Sooyoung says quickly while looking into Seungwan’s eyes “I like this ending better.”
“You don’t like my book?” Seungwan asks sadly.
“No- that’s not what I meant-“ Sooyoung panics.
“I get it” Seungwan laughs before standing on her tippy toes and kissing Sooyoung sweetly “I like this one better too.”
The end.