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This was supposed to be Jimin's room. Only.
But somewhere around 7:00 (or more) in the morning, three heads of mussed up hair are buried in pristine white pillows where only one should've been. Aeri and Yizhuo have taken liberty in the early hours to migrate from their room to Jimin's, settling deep within the mattress, encasing Jimin right in the middle.
“Aren’t we supposed to be up and ready at 9:00?” Jimin's voice is scratchy and barely audible from beneath the thick duvet. The soft ticking of a wall clock somewhere in the room serves as a reminder to their upcoming schedule.
Today is Day 2 of Synk Road. The series awaited by many where aespa goes on a little vacation, a bit of a break from all the promotion and crowds. Still filming though, which is unfortunate, but a break is a break.
Aeri has her entire head under heavy sheets when Jimin's voice penetrates her ears with a familiar name, one that sends her heart thumping a beat faster.
“Is Minjeong up already?”
That's when she crawls out from under the bedsheets, singing melodically that she'll take her leave to wake Minjeong up.
Minjeong's room is dark. The only thing bringing light in is the slight crack in the door when Aeri pushes it open. Half buried under blankets, Minjeong is still fast asleep, hands above her head on the pillow.
Aeri creeps into the small room quietly. The door clicks closed behind her when she reaches the corner of the bed at Minjeong's feet. Carefully, she slips into the bed underneath the covers not on the unoccupied side of the bed, but on the little space beside Minjeong's body near the edge.
The movement must've stirred Minjeong awake because before Aeri can pop her head out from under the covers, Minjeong's already mumbling incoherently. “Oh my god, you scared me really bad… I thought you were something else.”
“Something else?” Aeri questions curiously, finally worming her way up and sticking her head out.
“The stupid virgin ghost from yesterday!”
Aeri's booming laughter bounces off the walls. Of course. She should've known Minjeong would still be traumatized after a little game with a definitely fake ghost. Especially with the way she'd continued crying even after her turn.
Watching Minjeong rub her hands over her face, Aeri pushes herself up onto her elbows. “Come on, it wasn't that bad. The ghost wasn't even scary.”
“For you,” Minjeong argues, groggy. “I don't like ghosts..”
“Neither do I.” Aeri snorts. She takes ahold of Minjeong's hand, bringing it down away from the girl’s face. Her thumb rubs mindless circles on Minjeong's lithe wrist, slowly. “But I’ll protect you from them.”
Minjeong's eyes narrow at her, before she's closing her eyes again. Aeri’s free hand sweeps in to pick at her eye gunk without a second thought. “What are you doing here?”
The elder sits up, crawls closer and over Minjeong. Naturally, Aeri leans down to press a kiss on Minjeong's brow. “Time to wake up. Jimin said we need to get ready by 9:00.”
There's a protest on the tip of Minjeong's tongue and Aeri can sense it. Which is why she ends up tucking her face in the crook of Minjeong's neck, lips meeting soft warm skin. She draws a line down the column of her girlfriend's neck, stopping to give extra attention to the pretty collarbones peeking out of brown-and-white pajamas.
Minjeong's chest rises in response, deep sighs slipping past her teeth. A small, faint mew blends in with the sighs. Aeri sneaks her two hands up Minjeong's pajamas, large palms resting idle on her ribs as plump lips waltzes over her skin gingerly.
Aeri noses at her jaw, nudging her chin upward to grant herself space on the underside of Minjeong's jaw. Minjeong complies, and Aeri inches her hands further up, thumbs teasingly sneaking beneath the edges of a loose bralette.
“But it's still so early.” Minjeong finally begins her complaint, voice soft like room temperature butter.
“I know it is, baby…” Aeri coos gently against her skin. “You want me to wake you up again later at 9:00?” She offers.
She smiles when Minjeong shakes her head no. Minjeong's hands find purchase in her head of hair, and she draws in closer. Aeri is unhesitating when it comes to leaning back in and leaving ghosts of her lips on Minjeong's skin again.
The kisses don't cease even five minutes later. Aeri doesn't want to stop, and Minjeong isn't doing anything to stop her. But when–
“Aeri unnie,” Minjeong's voice cuts in slow and steady, warm in the cold morning. “I think there's a camera in the corner over there.”
Record scratch. Freeze frame. Aeri tenses above Minjeong. Her fingers seem to turn to stone on Minjeong's body, her heart froze over. “…Where?” She asks, unevenly.
Minjeong's arm stretches up, points at a corner near the headboard of the bed. Aeri’s head follows the movement. She sees it; a little camera literally taped to the ceiling.
Aeri's mouth dries up. “Um,” she clears her throat. “They’ll… cut that out. Right…?”
“Probably.”
She wonders why Minjeong doesn't sound all that worried, wonders if she should be as calm as Minjeong. But then everything goes dark and suddenly, they're fully buried under the covers.
“What are you—?”
Minjeong smiles at her in the dimness, and Aeri loses her train of thought for a moment. The younger girl just looks so sweet and sleepy that Aeri’s at a loss for words and she has to resort to pressing her lips to Minjeong's, unable to contain herself.
They spin and giggle underneath the sheets, hugging and kissing like they're on a honeymoon. And it lasts too short because they hear Yizhuo’s booming voice coming from the floor below and that's how they know it's really time to get up.