Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Wonyoung was late. After twenty years of waking up every day, you’d think she’d remember to turn on her alarm before going to sleep. She sent Rei a quick text begging her to distract their manager while throwing everything into a tote bag on her chair. Phone, keys, wallet, lipgloss… where did she put her hairbrush? She rushed down the hallway, trying and failing to open the bathroom door. 

“Occupied!” A voice called back to her before she heard the shower turn on. She groaned loudly. As if today couldn’t get any worse. Wonyoung wasn’t religious, but whatever divine power was punishing her by having her live with An Yujin for the next eleven months was too cruel. Even so, she was willing to get on her knees and beg for any type of salvation. That or she ends up on the news for killing this girl.

Pounding on the door of the bathroom, she channeled all her frustration into yelling.

“I don’t have fucking time to deal with you right now! I’m gonna be late for work!” She jiggled on the doorknob. “Let me in!”

“I’m naked!” Yujin replied, “You should’ve woken up earlier!” 

If she could go back in time and prevent herself from ever signing her lease, she would do it in a heartbeat. Since she moved in, Yujin has done nothing but make her life a living hell. It was like someone combined all the bad roommate stories on Reddit into one singular tall and lanky twenty-one-year-old woman and shoved her into Wonyoung’s arms. She never took out the trash. She screamed at her computer playing video games until four in the morning. She took up every single shared space in the apartment with her things, and worst of all, she found it hilarious to annoy Wonyoung until she gave her a reaction.

“Yujin, please. I cannot be late to work again. My manager is gonna kill me.”

“Sounds like a skill issue!” Yujin responded in a sing-song voice. She continued humming random songs as Wonyoung huffed and went back to her room. While changing out of her pajamas, she texted Rei again.

Wonyoungie: PLEASE convince me not to break my lease

ReiRei: we both know you’re not gonna do it.

Wonyoungie: I HATE HER

ReiRei: i think you have other things to worry about

Eventually, while Wonyoung was changing with her bedroom door wide open, she heard a knock. Wonyoung looked over, wearing only a bra and her underwear. Yujin stood in the doorway, covering her eyes with one hand, strangely pink in the face. She was wearing basketball shorts and a huge t-shirt that looked like a dress on her. A towel hung around her shoulders.

“Can you not change with the door wide open? No one wants to see your pigsty of a room.”

“Then don’t look.” Wonyoung grabbed a random pair of jeans she found on the floor and quickly slipped them on.

“Are you going to work?”

“No, Yujin, I’m fleeing the country before the cops can get here.”

She pushed past her. Yujin followed, for some reason, still weirdly red in the face. It was most likely because she takes boiling showers. Her point was proven when she walked into the bathroom and got hit in the face with a cloud of steam. Wonyoung brushed her teeth as she checked the time. 9:19. If she drives fast enough, she can make it in time to clock in. When she finished brushing her teeth, she found Yujin sitting on the couch, leisurely scrolling through her phone. Jobless bum, she thought to herself.

Supposedly, her parents pay her rent and send her money for literally anything else she could possibly need. Wonyoung was sure that was the reason why she acted like such a brat, but it could be her jealousy speaking. She threw on a cute little cropped white t-shirt and grabbed her bag. She was struggling to put on her shoes when Yujin spoke up.

“Hold up.”

Wonyoung took a deep breath, unbelievably frustrated by a multitude of things.

“Leave me alone, Yujin.” She warned.

“Just wait a second.” Yujin disappeared into her room while Wonyoung stood there, seriously questioning why she was entertaining this. She came back out holding a washed-out black zip-up hoodie. The front had a print of a spider near the right shoulder. A little emo but oddly fashionable.

Yujin held it out to her. Wonyoung simply glanced down at it and back at her.

“It’s chilly outside. I’ll kill you if you get a cold and spread your dirty germs around this apartment.”

“I’m surprised you have something cute in your closet. You normally dress like a homeless man.” She slid the jacket on her shoulders before posing in the hallway mirror. Strangely enough, it matched her outfit very well. 

Yujin walked away, waving her off before adjusting her big square glasses. “Don’t come home late and wake me up, or I’m setting all your Labubus on fire.”

“Whatever.” Wonyoung replied, muttering a “bitch” under her breath. She zipped the hoodie up, taking one last look in the mirror before walking out the door.

~

With exactly one minute left to spare, Wonyoung had clocked in. She sneaked into the back and opened her locker, putting away her tote and grabbing her apron. Before she could put it on, she heard the door open. She flipped around, relieved to see it was just Rei. Immediately, she opened her arms for a hug, which Rei happily gave.

“You’re lucky Chaewon isn’t here. She would’ve strangled you.”

“Please. Chaewon loves me.” Wonyoung made another attempt at putting on her apron when Rei stopped her. She inspected her outfit before tugging at one of her hoodie strings.

“Whose is this? It’s cute, but it’s not yours. I know your closet like the back of my hand.”

“It is cute, isn’t it? Who would’ve thought An Yujin knows how to pick good clothes?”

“Yujin?” Rei let go of the string, finally letting Wonyoung put her apron on. “Your roommate?”

“Unfortunately.”

Rei gave her a weird look. “Why are you wearing it if it’s hers?”

“Well,” They walked through the break room door, emerging behind the counter of the quaint little cafe. It was a small campus cafe near the music building, perfect for Rei to get to class straight after work. Wonyoung had simply applied because Rei was working here; best friend codependency at its finest. “I was originally just wearing this crop top, but she told me that it was cold out and gave me her hoodie.”

Rei paused from the conversation to take an order before turning back to Wonyoung, who was pretending to wipe down the counter. “I don’t know why you hate her so much. She seems nice.”

Wonyoung looked at her like she was crazy. “You’re calling the devil nice?”

“She gave you a hoodie in case you were cold. That’s nice.” Rei passed her an iced Americano with an eye roll. Wonyoung gave it to a customer waiting nearby, shooting them a smile. She turned around, abandoning the rag on the counter.

“She only did it so I wouldn’t get sick and ‘spread my dirty germs around the apartment,’” She said, emphasizing with air-quotes.

“I don’t know,” Rei shrugged, “It’s still a kind gesture. Does she do that often?”

Wonyoung took a moment to think about it before responding. Since they moved in together about a month ago, Yujin has had some nice moments. She puts Wonyoung’s shoes back on the rack, but she can’t count that as nice because she complains about it every time. She switches her laundry out occasionally without being asked to. One time, she killed a spider that was in the bathroom for her. Wonyoung tried to appreciate it, but then Yujin does things like scream at her stupid video games at two in the morning, and she remembers how insufferable she is.

“She’s nice sometimes… I guess. But even if she is, she’s actually so fucking annoying that it doesn’t even come close to cancelling out.”

Rei raised an eyebrow at her. She brushed back a flyaway on Wonyoung’s head, speaking to her like she was gently scolding a small child.

“Have you considered that maybe she bothers you because you’re mean to her?” “I’m not mean!” Rei simply gave her a look. “Well, she shouldn’t be a little bitch.” Wonyoung mumbled, clearly sulking about Rei not being on her side.

“I’m just saying,” She started walking away to take another order, “If you tried to be nice back for once, maybe she’ll bother you less.”

Wonyoung watched Rei as she spoke cheerfully to the customer. She turned around, going back to wiping down random objects as she thought. She could be rather mean. Rei told her all the time, but Wonyoung liked to think she’d gotten nicer since she and Rei started being friends all those years ago. Either way, she had to live with this girl for the rest of their lease, so it wouldn’t hurt to at least try to be somewhat amicable. 

She glanced at the pastries in the display. People like baked goods, right? Unsure of what Yujin would like, she grabbed something simple, a croissant. Neatly packing it into a small paper container, she walked back to store it in the break room fridge. She could warm it up before she clocked out. 

“Wonyoung! I need actual help here if you could stop pretending to be a good person!”

She rolled her eyes as she got up. “Coming!”

~

Eventually, she found herself back at their apartment. She dropped her purse somewhere on the kitchen counter and walked towards Yujin’s room. The croissant warmed her hands as she stood in front of the door. She fiddled with a corner of the paper bag. For some reason, she felt incredibly nervous and was having second thoughts. Yujin typed away on her computer behind the door. 

Maybe Wonyoung shouldn’t bother her. She seems busy… doing some work for a class perhaps? The semester just started, but she seems like the diligent type. What was her major again? Biology? She started to understand why Yujin didn’t like her, because she definitely told her that first awkward week that they tried to be cordial with each other. As Wonyoung was trying to recall everything they had talked about when they had just moved in, the door suddenly creaked open. Yujin almost walked directly into her before stopping with a jump. She looked her up and down.

“Uhh… Hi?” 

Wonyoung blinked at her. “Hi.”

“Just… standing in front of my door? Like a creep?”

“No- I just- Uhm… Here.” She held out the bag with the croissant in it, which had cooled down significantly. Yujin took it, peeking at what was inside before looking back up at her. The silence was starting to actually suffocate Wonyoung, so she started to ramble. 

“We have to get rid of all the pastries at the end of the day, which is like a huge waste, so we get to take some home and Rei, my best friend, and I also work with her, she saved me a croissant, and I’m on like a no carb thing but she had already left so… yeah.” 

Yujin continued to peer at her quizzically. Wonyoung could feel her heart thumping in her chest. Why was she so nervous right now?

Her roommate pulled the croissant out of the bag slightly to take a bite. She chewed on it for a bit before looking at her deadpan. 

“I only eat chocolate croissants. I hate the normal ones.” She pushed past Wonyoung and walked away. Wonyoung watched her incredulously, before furrowing her eyebrows and frowning. She muttered something about her being ungrateful and took a peek at herself in the hallway mirror. Her face was bright red. She ran her fingers through her hair, pushing her bangs out of her face, and shook it off. Ignoring Yujin in the kitchen, she grabbed her bag that was lying haphazardly on the floor and walked out, slamming the front door a bit for emphasis. 

So much for being nice. Wonyoung sighed, peeved as she walked with no particular destination. What was her deal anyway? It was like Yujin existed purely to ruin Wonyoung’s day. She’s probably just jealous that Wonyoung is so pretty. With her humongous glasses and broody little goth look… and she always wore big baggy clothes that were twelve times her size. A slight autumn breeze distracted her from her thoughts. She shivered a bit, hiding more in Yujin’s hoodie that she just realized she was still wearing. 

Wonyoung stopped at a nearby shop’s window, looking at her reflection. She leaned in, inspecting the slight pink that lingered on her cheeks. It has to be from the cold, or maybe she was coming down with a fever. Staring at the hoodie sitting neatly on her shoulders, halfway zipped up, she messed with the hem of the sleeve. This was probably the nicest thing in Yujin’s closet. And yet… she had given it to her.

Vaguely hearing Rei’s annoying voice in her head, Wonyoung groaned. She glanced around the street she had angrily power walked to, slowly recognizing the area. Her legs guided her to a small bakery that she and Rei had visited once. Peeking in through the doorway, the smell of freshly baked goods overwhelmed her senses. She caught a glimpse of the chocolate croissants and made a decision.

Even if Yujin was a bitch, Wonyoung didn’t have to be one too.

Chapter Text

She has to be planning something, Yujin thinks. 

The two of them have been butting heads since they moved in. It may have partially been Yujin’s fault (God forbid a woman wants to ragebait), but it’s not like Wonyoung was completely innocent either. She was overall just rude to Yujin for no apparent reason, constantly making fun of her or disregarding any boundaries she set. Yujin’s attempts at being kind to her are barely met with a “Thank you” or a “Sorry for being a raging bitch”.

So, naturally, it was beyond belief that she suddenly decided to be Mother Teresa by bringing her pastries from work every day and starting small talk. Granted, she shielded it by insulting her or coming up with some lame excuse for it, but she was definitely being nice on purpose. For a split second, Yujin had hoped that maybe Wonyoung was changing her ways, but that’s what bitches like her want you to think. They lure you in with their pretty faces and chocolate croissants before leading you to your death.

After considering it for about three days, Yujin had reached two conclusions. One, Wonyoung was about to ask for something absolutely fucking ridiculous that Yujin would never agree to, or two, she’s trying to be the “bigger person” or whatever bullshit horrible people tell themselves. Either way, Yujin isn’t letting her win this one. Wonyoung doesn’t get to feel good about herself.

Which is why she was dicing fresh herbs on FaceTime with Jiwon while she was rambling about this one girl who works at the campus cafe. Or at least Yujin assumed that’s what she’s still talking about. She stopped listening about four minutes ago when she was trying to figure out how to puzzle-piece the two steaks she bought into her cast-iron skillet.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Yeah, yeah, pretty girl,  you’re gay. Do you think both of these can fit at once?” She picked up the phone and showed her the steaks.

“Definitely not.” Yujin sighed, placing Jiwon back on the counter and wiping her hands on her apron. “Why are you eating two whole steaks anyway?”

“I’m not eating both, stupid, the other one is for my roommate.” When she finished dicing the herbs, she grabbed her other cutting board to place the steaks on.

“Don’t you hate your roommate?”

“Yes, but recently she’s been acting weird, and I think she’s plotting against me.” Yujin heard shuffling as Jiwon presumably got up, most likely getting ready for class.

“I don’t follow.” Placing her knife in the sink, she gathered her herbs into a small bowl and put them to the side. She grabbed a handful of paper towels, patting both steaks as dry as she could as she spoke.

“She’s been, like, nice to me. The other day, she brought me a croissant and was standing in front of my door, waiting to give it to me.” Yujin scrunched her face up at the juice that came out of the steaks. She threw away the soiled paper towels before washing her hands. “And I was totally fucking with her and said I only liked chocolate croissants, and she actually left and brought me back a chocolate croissant!”

Jiwon paused from getting ready to give Yujin an attitude, “Wow, that’s despicable. I truly understand your hatred for her now.”

Yujin rolled her eyes, grabbing various seasonings from the cabinet. She generously ground pink Himalayan salt onto the meat. “She’s never just nice to be nice, Jiwon. She’s such a raging bitch, I don’t think it’s even possible for her to think about anyone except herself.” 

“No, yeah,” Jiwon replied, seemingly done getting ready, “She’s so rude for bringing you something you like.”

Yujin dropped the salt grinder on the counter, glaring at Jiwon on the phone screen. “You don’t get it. For all I know, she’s doing it for an ego boost.” She grabbed the pepper grinder next, turning the top as she made her point, “But I’m not letting her win. I’m cooking her a steak for dinner because she’s a health freak and is supposedly on some no-carb diet. I’ll be ten times as nice as her.” 

“You know this is completely optional, right?”

She stopped grinding to look at Jiwon, completely deadpan. “If I was put on this planet for one thing, it’s to put snarky bitches like Wonyoung in their place.”

“Ooookay…” Jiwon raised her eyebrows and looked away, “Well… you enjoy your spite dinner. I’m going to go find psychiatrists for you to meet.”

Yujin waved her off, refocusing on seasoning both the steaks. Her phone chimed as Jiwon hung up, leaving her alone in silence. When she was done patting the seasoning into both steaks, she placed her cast-iron skillet on the stove and turned the heat medium-high. The less visually appealing steak (the one that was supposed to be her’s) was placed in the fridge while she waited for the skillet to be hot enough. Once it was, she gently placed the meat into the pan, the sizzle sounding like music to her ears. If Wonyoung didn't appreciate this, she would have been insane.

After about twenty minutes of her cooking and plating it, she heard the front door unlock. Yujin put on her best nonchalant look and didn’t even turn around when she heard her roommate walk into the kitchen.

“It smells like shit in here.” Her voice sounded raspy, as if she had been sleeping a few minutes ago. This wasn’t really surprising; she seemed like the type to sleep through her lectures. Yujin finally glanced behind her, watching Wonyoung place yet another paper bag with a chocolate croissant on the counter. She shrugged, flipping her own steak and suppressing her excitement over how nice the crust looked. Fully turning around, she watched Wonyoung examine the beautifully plated dinner on the counter.

“Are you really eating two?” 

“No. That’s for you.”

“Really?” Wonyoung whipped her head towards her. Yujin watched her expression go from excited to suspicious. “Why?”

Yujin looked down, pretending to adjust her apron while hiding a smirk. She won; a measly little croissant couldn’t compare to a home-cooked meal. Her tone was cool and composed when she replied, “Oh, you know. Needed to make some space in the fridge.”

It was a horrible lie; she had gone to the store today to buy the steaks, but Wonyoung didn’t seem to question it and moved further into the kitchen to wash her hands. Yujin checked the temperature of her steak as Wonyoung sat at the stool on the counter, taking pictures of her food.

As she started to plate her dinner, she sneaked a glance at Wonyoung taking her first bite. When she heard an excited hum from behind her, she couldn’t help but smile. Try to be the bigger person now, Wonyoung, Yujin thought to herself. She took her plate, sitting next to Wonyoung, and left a decent-sized gap in between them. Despite this, Yujin found her legs uncomfortably close to Wonyoung’s. 

They ate in silence, interrupted by the occasional scraping of knives on their plates. It was a lot more awkward than Yujin thought it would be, especially with their long legs grazing each other by accident multiple times. Curse them both for being tall. She cleared her throat, hoping to clear some of the tension in the air as well.

“So…” She started. Wonyoung turned to look at her. “Do you like it?” 

She nodded, covering her mouth as she finished chewing her bite. Yujin never noticed how pretty her hands were. What? Where did that come from?

“It’s a little chewy for my liking, but it’s really good. Thank you.” Yujin flushed. She was unsure if it was from her random thought, the compliment, or the slight tease in Wonyoung’s voice. Did she… actually just thank her? This was the first time she had ever heard those words come out of her mouth. 

“Chewy?” She asked, feeling slightly more comfortable talking to her now, “It’s a perfect medium.”

Wonyoung shrugged, cutting off another small piece. “I prefer rare.” 

“Rare?” She gave her a disgusted look, “Like… still mooing?”

Wonyoung paused from her chewing to give her a side-eye. Yujin took the hint, raising her hands in surrender. They went back to eating, the silence now oddly comfortable. 

When they both finished, which happened to be at the same time as Wonyoung was apparently a really slow eater, Wonyoung almost immediately grabbed Yujin’s empty plate. She put both their dirty plates in the sink and pulled on the dishwashing gloves before Yujin could even react. Yujin followed behind her.

“I can wash my own stuff.”

“Please,” Wonyoung simply squirted dish soap onto a sponge, not even looking at her as she proceeded to wash both plates, “You were gonna leave it in the sink for three days like always.”

Yujin had no comeback to that (since it was 100% true), so she stood there.

Wonyoung waved her off, “You cooked, I clean. It’s just fair.”

She nodded dumbly, slowly walking out of the kitchen towards her room. Unknowingly, the corners of her mouth turned up. A “thank you” and washing the dishes. Maybe Wonyoung wasn’t so bad after all.

~

About two weeks of their strange new, good-natured relationship passed easily. Every day, Wonyoung would come home to Yujin making dinner and pass her a chocolate croissant. They’d eat in comfortable silence and somehow finish at the same time. Then, Wonyoung would wash the dishes as Yujin ate her pastry. This little daily routine was new, but it was honestly a nice change.

Tonight, Yujin decided to blast music from her speaker as she made a yummy chicken alfredo (since Wonyoung was apparently off her no-carb diet now). She had discovered a new band last night, so she had been listening to their most recent album. Nodding her head to the music, she grabbed two plates from the cabinet and placed a generous portion of pasta and chicken on both. She sang along to the chorus, adding a cute little garnish on top of Wonyoung’s plate.

She didn’t realize Wonyoung had come home until the music was suddenly turned down halfway. She whipped around, slightly embarrassed. Her roommate stood there by the speaker, wearing an outfit that was definitely not work-appropriate. Or weather appropriate, really. It was almost autumn, but Wonyoung was still dressing like it was summer, in a frilly red mesh tank top and incredibly short jean shorts.

“Oh. You’re home.” Yujin scratched her nape, “How… How long have you been standing there?”

“Enough for you to look like an idiot.” She threw her tote bag on the floor, sliding into her spot at the counter before going back to the mirror in the doorway. “What are you listening to anyway?” She asked as she posed at her reflection.

Yujin rolled her eyes at her narcissism before responding, “It’s a new album from this band, Scam Likely. They make, like, alt music. Punk rock. Stuff like that.” She added the finishing touches to their pasta, “Spotify recommended them to me randomly last night, and their music was so insane I had to check out more.” Wonyoung continued to play with her hair, winking at herself.

“I didn’t ask for your whole life’s story.” She replied, sitting at her spot on the counter as Yujin placed her dinner in front of her. Yujin stuck up her middle finger as she placed her food down, walking towards the speaker to turn it off before Wonyoung interrupted, “No, no, keep it on. I kinda like it.”

Yujin narrowed her eyes, “You were literally just making fun of me.”

“Yeah, because you’re a loser. That has nothing to do with the song.” 

Yujin gave her a mocking smile before sitting down to eat her dinner. She took a bite, glancing at Wonyoung as she took a picture of her plate, as she’s been doing for the past couple of dinners. Peeking at her screen, she noticed that she had posted it on her Instagram story. Realizing that Yujin was looking, Wonyoung turned her phone away and gave her a look. 

“What are you looking at, weirdo?”

“Do you always post what we have for dinner?” Yujin tried to play it cool, but she felt proud.

Wonyoung scoffed, “You’re not special. I post all my meals on my close friends.”

“It’s crazy that you post my food without even mentioning that I cooked it.” Yujin teased.

“Fine.” Wonyoung held her hand out expectantly, “Give me your phone.”

Yujin paused, her bite of pasta suspended in mid-air, “... What?”

“Just give it.” Yujin took her phone out of her pocket, unlocking it with her face before Wonyoung promptly snatched it from her hands. She watched her open Instagram, search for something, and click around. When she got her phone back, Yujin stared dumbly at Wonyoung’s profile, which she was now suddenly following. She looked back at Wonyoung, who was tying her hair up so she could start eating.

“Why…?” Yujin trailed off, not even sure what to ask.

Wonyoung glanced back at her, taking some small strands out of her ponytail so she could still look pretty while she ate, “I’ll tag you in all your dinners, Gordon Ramsay. Since you’re whining about it.”

She started eating her dinner like normal, leaving Yujin confused. She blinked, looking at Wonyoung’s account again before turning off her phone. Awkwardly, she took another bite of her pasta, wondering why her chest felt so strange.

~

The peace didn’t last for long. Yujin should’ve expected it, but some naive part of her believed that maybe her and Wonyoung’s relationship had changed. 

When Wonyoung got home two days after they followed each other's Instagrams, she was eerily quiet. Yujin had thought nothing of it at first, simply ate her dinner and her croissant, and went back to her room to study. 

Then, she made the horrible mistake of starting a conversation.

“Wonyoung!” She called out. No response.

She walked down the hallway, peeking through Wonyoung’s wide-open door. Wonyoung laid on her stomach, hugging her pillow while scrolling through her phone. It didn’t seem like she had her AirPods on. She knocked on the door twice.

“Hey, did you hear me?” 

Wonyoung looked up at her, her face blank. “What do you want?”

Yujin should’ve just left it alone, but she continued, “Are you okay? You seemed a little off during dinner.”

Wonyoung leaned against her arm with a sigh. “Do you need something, Yujin? If not, I’d prefer you leave my room.”

Yujin furrowed her eyebrows. Maybe she was just in a bad mood. “Well, I was just wondering if you could organize some of your makeup in the bathroom.”

Wonyoung went back to scrolling on her phone, barely glancing at her as she spoke, “I don’t think what I do with my makeup is your issue.”

At a loss, Yujin stood at her doorway, half leaning against the doorway. She chewed on her bottom lip again as she tried to figure out how to respond nicely. Wonyoung was obviously being a bitch again on purpose, but she couldn’t understand why. They’ve been getting along fine these past couple of days, so why are they reverting all of a sudden?

Wonyoung saw that she was still there and raised her eyebrows, “Is that all?”

Yujin let out a small huff before she replied, “It takes up all the space on the bathroom counters.” Through her frustration, she realized she sounded a little snappy, so she changed her tone and added on, “I just... don’t want to ruin your stuff by getting water on it or whatever.”

“Then learn how to wash your face without causing a tidal wave, Yujin. I don’t know what to tell you. Can you get out of my room now?”

At this point, Yujin had lost all her patience. She stood up straight, crossing her arms. 

“Why are you so moody? I’m literally asking you nicely. You don’t even use half the shit that’s in there.” 

Wonyoung sat up now, glaring at her. “Why are you still in my room? You’re not my fucking mom, I don’t need you to tell me what to clean up.” She got up, grabbing the side of her door, “Leave me the fuck alone.” 

Yujin stood there, incredulous. She scoffed before storming back into the bathroom. Wonyoung being nice? What a fucking joke. It was clear to her now that she didn’t ever actually care about anyone but herself. How stupid was she to believe that their sharing social media meant they were actually friends? Looking at her frowning reflection in the mirror, she ran her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath. 

Fuck her. Wonyoung wasn’t worth her time anyway.

Chapter Text

She fucked up. Probably. Definitely. Not that she’d ever admit to it aloud.

Wonyoung rolled over, shutting off her alarm before lying back flat on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She sighed, already dreading walking out of her room. Today, she really did not feel like going to her political science lecture, especially since she was on her period. Not to mention, she and Yujin still haven’t talked since they got into that fight. 

Maybe she could’ve been nicer. Or went to Rei’s place after work, knowing what day it was and that she was going to be short-tempered. In fact, she planned on doing so but forgot to tell Yujin and felt even worse knowing she most likely already cooked dinner for them both, luteal phases and emotions and whatnot.

So she went home anyway, despite everything in her body telling her not to, ate dinner, and unsurprisingly got into a fight with Yujin. It was stupid and stubborn and petty for Wonyoung to give her the silent treatment after, but she had no idea why it was so hard for her to just suck it up and apologize, especially since she knew it was her fault. 

To be honest, Wonyoung has been finding it increasingly difficult to talk to Yujin in general, which was also certainly another reason why she’s not talking to her. It’s like every time she saw her, she felt antsy and nervous, and it was confusing. She brushed it off as weird anxiety stuff, but couldn’t help but feel like it might be something more. 

Wonyoung forced herself up out of bed, trying and failing to ignore the throbbing in her head. Last night, she and Rei had gone out to make her feel better about this past week and, as always, she drank way too much. Nothing some Tylenol couldn’t fix, but it was still annoying. After taking a little bit more than the recommended amount, she grabbed her phone and walked out into the hallway. Thankfully, Yujin didn’t seem to be home.

She quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face. In the middle of taking pictures of herself in the mirror, she heard the door open. With a quiet sigh, she wiped water droplets off the counter and left, turning the lights off behind her. Wonyoung kept her eyes glued to her phone screen, feigning nonchalance. As she strolled past the living room, she sneaked a glance at her roommate and nearly stumbled on her feet. 

Yujin stood in the middle of the living room, sporting a really short, tight pair of biker shorts and a large t-shirt. Wonyoung’s eyes unknowingly dragged down her waist to her incredibly toned thighs. She felt her heart thump in her chest and gulped, her throat suddenly feeling very dry. What the fuck? Yujin clearly didn’t notice Wonyoung ogling at her, frowning as she inspected a stain on her shirt. Suddenly, in one swift motion, she pulled it off, revealing a black sports bra and faint ab lines down her flat stomach.

Wonyoung’s eyes widened before she promptly ran into the kitchen, hiding behind the paper towel roll. Did she just come back from the gym? She peeked at her from behind the kitchen wall, hands grasping at the edge of the counter. Her eyes wandered all over her body, from her sweat-glistening collarbones down to the jut of her hip bones. Wonyoung didn’t even know Yujin worked out, let alone that she had actual muscle and was really fucking hot under all those huge clothes. Feeling her face get uncomfortably warm, she grabbed a cup from the cabinet and filled it up with water. She practically chugged it, feeling her headache come back.

Unable to stop herself, she peeked over again. Yujin didn’t seem like the athletic type. Wonyoung had barely ever seen her come out of her room, but that may be because she never really paid attention to her until now. Even if she wasn’t flexing on purpose, Wonyoung could see the muscle definition on her arms. She felt a sudden urge to feel them.

Placing her cup on the counter rather roughly, she flipped around and leaned against the counter. Gently, she closed her eyes and tapped the side of her face. She must still be drunk. This was Yujin . Her roommate. They weren’t even talking right now, and having a thing for her roommate sounded like a cheesy romcom gone wrong. Yujin was not hot. She’s just suffering from a horrible headache and weird period hormones. Yeah. That’s it. Nothing else.

When she opened her eyes, her heart almost jumped out of her body. Yujin stood before her, still shirtless, staring at her intently. Wonyoung flushed and turned a full 180 degrees. She heard a drawer open behind her before Yujin spoke. 

“What, you’ve never seen boobs before?” Her voice was emotionless, almost as if she were exhausted. Wonyoung kept her eyes locked onto the kitchen wall, completely frozen.

“C-Can you put a shirt on?” She crossed her arms, hoping she didn’t sound as flustered as she felt.

There was a pause before Yujin replied, “Oh, so you do know how to talk. I was thinking you’d forgotten.”

Damn it. Wonyoung had completely forgotten about ignoring her. She scrambled for an excuse.

“I had to say something. You’re walking around the house half naked.”

Yujin seemed to walk closer, raising goosebumps on the back of Wonyoung’s neck, “You change with your door open all the time.”

“T-That’s different,” She squeaked out. Wonyoung felt antsy about not knowing how close Yujin was. “I don’t walk all over the apartment with just a bra on.”

“Whatever you say, princess.” 

Her neck got unbelievably warmer as she scoffed. Her heart beat so fast in her chest she was sure Yujin could hear it. She listened to Yujin shuffling around in the drawer before closing it and walking away. Wonyoung checked in the reflection of the microwave to make sure she was gone before she turned around. Immediately, she grabbed her phone to look at herself. She was only slightly blushing, thankfully.

Yujin was fucking with her on purpose, she was sure, but she couldn’t help the way her heart thrummed nervously in her chest. Desperately, she tried to shake the images of Yujin shirtless out of her head, tried to ignore the echoes of Yujin calling her princess bouncing around in her skull. 

“Snap out of it, Wonyoung.” She muttered to herself, rubbing her temples. “You have class. Focus on class.”

She shuffled back to her room, mindlessly throwing on a hoodie while her brain ran wild, none of it coherent enough to bring forward. Her eyes had practically glossed over by the time she’d changed and grabbed her wallet from the counter. She doesn’t like Yujin, no matter how attractive she may or may not be. It’s impossible. They were complete opposites, day and night, and they hated each other. 

Swinging open the closet door, she kneeled at the doorway, tying her shoes. Yujin has a nice body. That’s all. Wonyoung has eyes and can acknowledge that her roommate is very fit. Lost in her thoughts, she got up suddenly, forgetting about the closet door to her side. Before she could walk face-first into it, she felt a hand on her waist pull her back. She let out a yelp, her head nearly snapping off her body with how fast she looked back. Yujin’s hand lingered, leaving a slight burning feeling even through her hoodie. She had clothes on, thank god, and looked at Wonyoung with the most judgmental expression she’s ever seen from her. 

“You good?” 

Wonyoung stood there, frozen in her spot. Her brain was fried from how close they were, the faint smell of Yujin’s shampoo dizzying. Wonyoung could see every single detail in her face. The small wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, her long eyelashes curling up naturally, her deep brown eyes catching in the light, making them extra shiny. When she realized she was just staring, she quickly stepped back, clearing her throat. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m.. I’m going to class. Bye.” She sputtered, and before Yujin could respond, she was out the door.

Maybe… she had a slight infatuation with her.

~

“Oh, yeah. You’re cooked.” Rei leaned against the counter, giving Wonyoung a pat on the shoulder.

“You’re not helping!” Wonyoung whined. As much as she hated being here while on her day off, she desperately needed to talk to Rei. Thankfully, the cafè was fairly empty, with only two students sitting in the corner studying. “What am I supposed to do about… you know… especially if we’re not talking?”

“How am I supposed to help you? You’re the one who started it.” Rei glanced back at a barista behind her, someone whose name Wonyoung did not care enough to remember, waving goodbye to her as she took off her apron.

“Not true,” Wonyoung said. “She was being annoying about all my makeup in the bathroom. Like, it’s not my fault I’m so pretty and she’s…”

Rei raised her eyebrow, waiting for her to finish, “She’s…?”

Wonyoung blushed, furrowing her eyebrows, “That’s not the point!”

Rei smiled, leaning into the counter to poke Wonyoung’s cheek, “You’re worse than I thought. I haven’t seen you blush since the seventh grade.”

Wonyoung smacked her hand away. “You’re no help. Where’s Hyunseo? I heard she’s coming back today.”

As much as Wonyoung loved Rei, she had a soft spot in her heart for her adopted freshman. Hyunseo started working around the same time they did, but took some time off for some dance club she’s in. 

Rei rested her head on her hand, fiddling with her pen. “How exactly is she supposed to help with your little cru-”

“Shut up!” Wonyoung covered her mouth with her hand, “That’s not what it is! It’s just a slight interest!”

“Slight interest in what?” To Wonyoung’s delight, Hyunseo came out of the breakroom doors, tying her apron. Her eyes lit up as she reached for a hug over the counter.

“Nothing. Rei’s being mean to me.” Wonyoung pouted. She practically bear hugged the younger girl into the counter. Hyunseo didn’t seem to mind, though, smiling and hugging her back. 

“Wonyoung, you’re smothering her.” Rei gave Hyunseo an apologetic look. Wonyoung stuck her tongue out at her before finally letting Hyunseo out of their awkward position to gently pet her hair.

“How was your showcase?” She asked, gently squishing her cheeks.

“It was fun!” Hyunseo beamed, “I got a lot closer with my club members.” She somehow pried herself away from Wonyoung to make a drink for herself. “What were you guys talking about?”

“Wonyoung’s roommate.” Rei smiled mischievously.

Hyunseo tilted her head, “The one she hates?”

Wonyoung was suddenly really interested in coffee stirrers, “It’s… a bit more complicated now.”

Hyunseo perked up at that, “Oh?”

Before Wonyoung could tell her the story, she heard the familiar chime of the shop doors opening. She quickly glanced towards it, thinking it was some regulars, only to freeze up.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” She hissed out.

Speak of the devil, and she will appear. She watched as Yujin walked in with a shorter girl, smiling at her as she held open the door for her. Instantly, a frown appeared on her face. Hyunseo leaned in closer, also looking at the girls that just walked in.

“Who’s that?” She whispered. Wonyoung ignored her as she made eye contact with Yujin, whose smile slowly dropped. Her roommate rolled her eyes as she and the mystery girl walked up to the counter.

“Oh, hey Jiwon!” Rei cheerfully greeted her, smiling so hard her eyes nearly squinted shut, “It’s nice to see you again. Who’s this?” As she spoke, she glanced at Wonyoung, noticing her harsh glare.

Yujin and Wonyoung kept their eyes glued onto each other, having an intense staring contest. Jiwon’s eyes darted between the two of them before she pointed a thumb at Yujin.

“This is Yujin. My best friend. I wanted to show her this place.”

Wonyoung ignored the slight wave of relief that washed over her to scoff at Yujin. “Are you stalking me at work now?”

“Please. I was clearly dragged here against my will. I didn’t even know you worked here.” They stood there, continuing to shoot daggers at each other before Hyunseo spoke up. 

“Uhm. Do you two know each other or…?” Hyunseo asked.

“This is my roommate,” Wonyoung said, crossing her arms.

Hyunseo, seeming to realize something, widened her eyes and looked at Rei. The two shared a knowing look before breaking out into huge smiles. Wonyoung raised her eyebrow at them, wondering what was so funny.

“Yeah,” Yujin looked back at Jiwon, “This is Wonyoung. Unfortunately.”

Jiwon also seemed to smirk at that, nodding before turning back to Rei. “Small world, huh?”

“I’ll say,” Rei said. “It’s nice to see you again, though. I’m glad you brought a friend. Do you want your regular? Strawberry matcha with oat milk?”

Jiwon nodded, “Yeah. And an iced Americano, please.”

Hyunseo nudged Rei a bit, the two of them sharing another look and a smile before she went to go make their drinks. Wonyoung shot Yujin one last glare before following her behind the counter, grabbing two disposable cups to help Hyunseo. When she glanced back over to the register, Jiwon was still talking to Rei even though Yujin had sat down. She turned back to Hyunseo, bumping their hips together.

“This has to be the worst day of my life,” She spoke quietly, not wanting Jiwon to hear them.

Hyunseo looked up, batting her eyelashes, “Why do you say that?”

“Fuck you,” She shoved her, “You guys aren’t any help either, giggling to yourselves. You couldn’t have made it more obvious.”

“Oh, that’s not why we were laughing,” Hyunseo smirked, handing Wonyoung the finished iced Americano and starting on the strawberry matcha. 

Wonyoung blinked, “Then what were you laughing about?”

Hyunseo stopped what she was doing, fully turning to smile mischievously at her, “She’s exactly your type. It’s kinda funny.”

Wonyoung blushed, turning away towards the pastry display. “Shut up.”

“Are you blushing?” Hyunseo tilted her head to look at her, “Holy shit. You totally like her.”

“ Shut up.” She repeated, grabbing a chocolate croissant from the display and bagging it before placing it on the counter with the iced Americano. She turned back to point a finger at Hyunseo, “ Don’t tell her I gave her that.” 

Hyunseo gave her a smile and a wink, walking past her with Jiwon’s drink and calling over Yujin. Wonyoung didn’t stay much longer after that, swiftly walking past Rei and kissing her on the cheek before rushing out of the cafè. As she walked out the door, she peeked at her roommate, ignoring her irregular heartbeat as Yujin watched her walk away.

~

A few days and 5 stages of grief later, Wonyoung had learned to accept it. Not only the fact that she has a horrible, terrible, twisted crush on her roommate, but the fact that she is forced to get along with her now. 

Apparently, Jiwon had asked Rei out that day and had been talking. Unfortunately for Wonyoung, Rei actually liked Jiwon a lot, so Wonyoung needed to find a way to get back on good terms with Yujin quick

The problem is that she cannot find it in herself to actually speak with Yujin. Since Wonyoung broke her weird silent treatment, they’ve only talked to each other if it was absolutely necessary, with the occasional conversation about Rei and Jiwon. Even though Yujin probably hated her, Wonyoung desperately wanted to do anything to get back on her good side. For Rei’s sake, of course. 

She started bringing back little treats again, wordlessly handing them to Yujin and waiting for a reaction (which she never gave). She stopped leaving her things on the floor, she cleaned up her makeup in the bathroom, and even started playing music in her headphones instead of blasting it out loud like she normally does. Despite all of this, Yujin barely spared her a glance.

After a brief consultation (an eight-hour call), she decided to take Rei’s advice and apologize to her with words, no matter how awkward and uncomfortable it made her.

Tomorrow. 

Today, Wonyoung was walking towards her apartment with yet another bag of baked goods and an iced Americano. She ignored the familiar feeling of anxiety churning at the bottom of her stomach as she unlocked the door, putting on an indifferent look. After she took her shoes off, she immediately placed Yujin’s things neatly on the counter. As she thought about whether to write a note, she saw a figure in the corner of her eye.

There, Yujin sat, head hidden in her arms, curled up in the far corner of the couch. Wonyoung’s eyes widened as she heard a small sniffle. She stood still, not sure what to do. Crying people had never really been her expertise. Wonyoung wasn’t even really a crier herself; the only times she ever did was when she was so angry she couldn’t do anything but silently implode. Rei was always better with that stuff, more caring and supportive. She thought about what Rei did whenever she comforted her. A hug? They definitely weren’t close enough for that. Maybe rubbing her shoulder is better?

Yujin suddenly lifted her head, snapping Wonyoung out of her thoughts. She rather roughly wiped the tears from her face and looked at Wonyoung before grabbing her phone off the coffee table, getting up to leave. Before she could stop herself, Wonyoung stepped closer.

“W-Wait!”

Yujin startled a bit before standing still, peering at her, annoyed. Normally, Wonyoung would’ve just backed off and let her walk away, but she thought about Yujin crying alone in her room instead and felt her heart ache. Tentatively, she walked closer until they stood face to face.

“Are you…” Wonyoung trailed off, nervously playing with the ends of her hair. Obviously, she wasn’t okay, so it’d be stupid to ask her that. She racked her brain for something better to say, settling for, “What’s wrong?”

“Like you care.” Yujin spat back, trying to push past her. Wonyoung blocked her, unconsciously grabbing her wrist. 

“I- I do.” Yujin looked down at Wonyoung’s hand, causing her to let go, a faint pink appearing on her cheeks. “I care.” 

They stood there in silence for a moment. It took everything in Wonyoung’s power not to squirm away from Yujin’s gaze. She would’ve paid all the money in the world to hear what she was thinking.

Eventually, the silence was too unbearable, so she spoke up again, “I’m… sorry. For… being a bitch to you that one time. And all the time, I guess.” 

She fiddled with her hands, finding relief from Yujin’s stare by looking at the ground. She took a deep breath before she continued, “You were being nice, and I was in a bad mood.” She glanced back up, Yujin’s expression still unreadable, “N-Not that it excuses anything. I’m just… I’m sorry. And I do care- I want us to get along. I want to… try. If that’s okay with you.”

Wonyoung didn’t realize how much she was picking at her nails until she stared down at them, avoiding Yujin’s gaze once again. She could see small bits of blood and silently cursed. Suddenly, Yujin sighed deeply, taking Wonyoung’s hands into her own. 

“You’re really strange, you know that?” She muttered.

Wonyoung looked up at her. All the anger in her eyes had disappeared now. Her face was slightly puffy and watery, but Wonyoung still felt her stomach drop from how beautiful she looked.

“What?” She squeaked out, getting increasingly flustered as she felt Yujin rub the tiny wounds on her fingers soothingly.

“I said you’re weird . One minute you’re rude and bitchy, and the next you’re practically tearing your nails off trying to apologize.” The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, as if she was amused. Before Wonyoung could respond, she gently tugged her towards the couch, urging her to sit down. Wonyoung, still a bit dazed and incredibly distracted, sat there obediently as Yujin got out a small first aid kit from the side table, kneeling in front of her and grabbing her hands again. She watched her apply tiny drops of ointment on the bigger cuts.

Wonyoung snapped out of her trance when she heard another faint sniffle, “Are you… Do you want to talk about it? Why you were crying?”

Yujin barely looked up, now covering her fingers with cute pink band-aids. She shrugged, “Just family stuff. I don’t really get along with my parents.”

Wonyoung nodded, because god she understood that. “I’m sorry.”

When Yujin finished, she smiled, showing off the deep dimples carved into her cheeks. “Yeah. I know.” She chuckled when Wonyoung frowned at her response. “I accept both apologies. As weird as you are, I think you have good intentions, and I’d like to get along too.” 

Wonyoung nodded again dumbly, at a loss for words now from how close they were. Yujin chuckled again, lifting her pinky finger. “Truce?”

Small hints of hope fluttered in her chest. No more mistakes, she thought to herself. Slowly, but surely, she linked their pinkies together. When Yujin’s smile grew, her dimples curving deeper than she thought possible, Wonyoung knew she was in for the worst crush of her life. “Truce.”