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The dorm is quiet. Too quiet.
It's the kind of silence that settles thick in the walls, in the dark corners of the hallway where the nightlight doesn't quite reach. Everyone else is asleep—probably knocked out from dance practice and vocal training and god-knows-how-many rehearsals.
Jiyeon should be asleep too. But sleep doesn't come easy when your head is full and your heart is louder than your thoughts.
She sighs, rubbing at her eyes as she walked softly down the hall, hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands. The dorm floor is cold against her bare feet. Maybe ramen will help. Maybe warmth and sodium and a little steam will quiet the spinning in her chest.
The kitchen is dark, but she knows it by muscle memory now—light switch by the rice cooker, second cabinet for the pot, third drawer for the chopsticks. Everything is soft and slow, and she moves like she's trying not to wake the walls.
She's just setting the pot on the burner when she hears a tiny, familiar sound: the creak of the hallway floorboard near the bathroom. She freezes.
Then—
"Unnie?"
Jiyeon turns. And there's Yubin, standing in the doorway in oversized sweats, a T-shirt that says "I LOVE GURLS" in big letters, and the sleepiest eyes in the world.
Jiyeon blinks, then offers a faint smile. "Can't sleep?"
Yubin yawns, nodding. She walks in without asking, dropping into a chair at the little kitchen table, arms slumping on the wood. "Dreamed I was on stage but forgot all the choreo. Then my mic fell off. Then I turned into a literal donut."
Jiyeon snorts. "A donut?"
Yubin shrugs. "A jelly-filled one. With sprinkles."
"...Were you at least a cute donut?"
"The cutest." Yubin rests her cheek on her arm, watching Jiyeon move. "You making ramen?"
"Yeah. Want some?"
Yubin smiles sleepily. "Always."
The noodles boil softly, and the scent of soup fills the small kitchen. Jiyeon adds the seasoning without measuring—she knows how Yubin likes it. A little extra spice. No seaweed. She catches Yubin watching her out of the corner of her eye and pretends not to notice.
They eat side-by-side at the table, the kind of comfortable silence that only exists between people who've spent months waking up next to each other for schedules and falling asleep in the same room after collapsing into bed half-dressed.
Halfway through slurping her noodles, Jiyeon glances up and says, "You okay?"
Yubin looks up mid-bite. "Huh?"
"You've been... I don't know. Kinda quiet lately."
Yubin chews, then sets her chopsticks down, staring into her bowl like it might have answers. "I guess. Just a lot in my head, yk?"
Jiyeon nods. She knows exactly. "Me too."
There's a pause.
Then, softly, Yubin says, "Sometimes I feel like I'm playing catch-up. Like... everyone's so good, and I'm still trying to figure out how to not mess up my own left from my right on stage."
Jiyeon's heart tugs. She leans back in her chair, turning toward her. "Hey. That's not true. You're always improving. And you have this energy that no one else has. It's not about being perfect. It's about being you."
Yubin doesn't respond right away. She just looks at Jiyeon—really looks at her. The soft glow of the kitchen light makes her eyes look warmer than usual. There's something unreadable in her expression.
Then she says, almost too quietly, "That's easy for you to say."
Jiyeon blinks. "What do you mean?"
"You're..." Yubin's voice catches, and she exhales, trying again. "You're so calm. So focused. Everyone notices you. You're like... if a main character walked into a room."
Jiyeon lets out a soft laugh, unsure what to say. Her cheeks flush, and she hides her face behind her ramen bowl for a second before peeking out. "I'm not that special."
"To me, you are."
That's when it shifts.
That soft, glowing thing in the air between them—so subtle you could miss it if you weren't looking—suddenly sharpens. Jiyeon sets her bowl down. Her hands feel warm, and not just from the soup.
"...Yubin?"
Yubin doesn't look away. "I like you, unnie."
The words are simple. Almost careless in how gently they're dropped, like a pebble in a pond.
"I think I've liked you for a while," she adds, voice a little shakier now. "And I didn't want to say anything because, I don't know, maybe it would make things weird. Or you wouldn't feel the same. Or it'd ruin the group. Or—"
"Yubin."
She stops rambling.
Jiyeon leans in, heartbeat loud in her ears.
"You talk too much," she whispers.
And then she kisses her.
The kiss is quiet, but it cracks something open.
Not loudly. Not in a fireworks, chest-thundering kind of way. But more like the gentle pop of a soap bubble against your skin—surprising, delicate, and impossibly light. Jiyeon leans in, and Yubin doesn't flinch. She breathes her in. Spicy soup and strawberry lip balm. Familiar and brand new, all at once.
When they pull away, their foreheads bump softly, like neither of them really wants to break the moment.
"...Wow," Yubin whispers, eyes still half-closed. "That actually happened."
Jiyeon hums. "Yep."
"I didn't pass out."
"You didn't."
"And you kissed me."
"I did."
A small silence. Yubin bites her lip, clearly trying to keep a straight face. And then—"Okay but hear me out."
Jiyeon narrows her eyes immediately. "Oh no."
"Ramen noodle kiss. Like Lady and the Tramp please please please please please" Yubin begged as she shot Puppy eyes
"You're unbelievable." Jiyeon shook her head and held back a smile as she tilted her head slightly looking amused at Yubin
"One noodle. Just one." Yubin pouted
"Yubin—"
"Come on. Are you really gonna say no to this iconic kiss???"
Jiyeon opens her mouth to protest. Then closes it. Then sighs like the most exhausted girlfriend in the world—even though she technically became one five minutes ago.
"Fine," she mutters. "But if I choke and die, I'm haunting you forever."
"Deal, besides i would love getting haunted by you."
They scoot closer. Jiyeon tries to act normal, but her palms are sweaty and her pulse skips.
Yubin picks the longest noodle in the bowl and holds it up dramatically. "Your end."
Jiyeon takes it delicately. "Don't laugh."
"Only if you don't," Yubin says.
They lean in slowly, cautiously. Jiyeon slurps one end. Yubin mirrors her, their eyes locked. The noodle draws them together—closer, closer—until their lips meet.
And this time, the kiss is smoother. Longer. Still silly, but with something electric underneath it.
They pull away, cheeks flushed, breath light.
"I cannot believe we just did that," Jiyeon says, hiding her face.
"I can," Yubin says proudly. "We crushed that."
"You're ridiculous."
"You love it."
"...Maybe I do."
They sit like that for a while, warm and quiet and soft.
Eventually, Jiyeon glances toward the hallway. "...Wanna come to my room?"
Yubin doesn't hesitate. "Yeah. I really want to."
Inside Jiyeon's room, the lamp is dim, casting everything in amber. Her bed's a mess, but she doesn't care.
"Come on," she whispers, patting the mattress.
Yubin crawls in. Jiyeon pulls the blanket over both of them, settling close until their legs tangle and arms wrap around waists like it's the most natural thing in the world.
"You're warm," Yubin murmurs.
"You're annoying," Jiyeon whispers back, but she's smiling.
"I like you too, by the way."
"...I know."
A beat of quiet.
"Hey, Jiyeon?"
"Mm?"
"I think this is the best night of my life."
Jiyeon presses a kiss to her forehead. "Me too."