Chapter Text
The waiting room was bustling with the noise of people getting ready for their shoot.
Yujin held back the urge to blink as the makeup artists placed gems under her eyes and smiled as the makeup artists gushed about how she looked.
Many of the staff in this room had already been with them since their debut, but they were never shy about complimenting the artists they worked with. It was one of the things all the members appreciated.
Thinking of said members, Yujin let her gaze wander to the corner of the mirror, where the reflection revealed the other members spread out across the room waiting for her to finish.
Liz and Rei were sitting with their shoulders and heads pressed together, laughing at something on Rei's phone. Those two were the most online out of the group, always referencing things the others couldn't understand.
Gaeul was chapters deep into her novel with her head resting on top of Leeseo's, who seemed to be fast asleep. After making sure they were both alright, Yujin finally let herself check on Wonyoung.
Despite knowing each other the longest, it sometimes felt like the two of them had something unspoken between them. It wasn’t bad—or at least, Yujin hopes it wasn’t—but there are times when she feels as though Wonyoung was holding back. Recently she'd sometimes catch Wonyoung looking at her with an unreadable expression. That in itself was rare, seeing as Wonyoung was the one member she could communicate with solely based on eye expression. Yet every time she wanted to ask they were interrupted or Wonyoung turned away.
Yujin tracked Wonyoung's hand as it tucked her hair behind her ear. As if sensing Yujin, Wonyoung turned to look over her shoulder. Yujin's breath caught. She heard the staff distantly telling her that her makeup was done. She thanked them distractedly as they packed up, her focus suddenly only on Wonyoung and nothing else. Yujin resisted the urge to spin her chair around to face Wonyoung as the girl walked closer and closer.
Internally Yujin felt unsteady, her head slightly spinning out of control. She almost felt dizzy. Externally, she cracked a smile at Wonyoung through the reflection.
"Unnie, are you done now?" Wonyoung whined while leaning against the back of Yujin's chair.
Yujin couldn't help herself, she took a deep breath while leaning backwards into Wonyoung's space. She always smelled good, covered in the subtle floral-fruity YSL Mon Paris Eau de Parfum.
Wonyoung had told her – weeks before even the public knew – that it was her favorite scent. Ever since then, Yujin has been unable to associate anybody else but Wonyoung with that smell. She always kept a small travel spray of the stuff just in case Wonyoung ran out. (Not to apply in small amounts whenever Yujin needed comfort, no certainly not.)
Yujin hummed out loud in a pondering tone, "I don't know, maybe?"
"Stop lying unnie, I saw the makeup artists leave," Wonyoung pouted, her chin resting on the crown of Yujin's head.
"Yah you caught me, what do you need princess-nim?" Yujin teased, grinning as she watched Wonyoung's cheeks puff out in mock annoyance in the mirror. Cute.
"Can you help me take pictures?" Wonyoung asked, smiling bashfully. She leaned back up with her phone in hand.
Yujin did not miss the warmth Wonyoung provided.
"How do you know I won't say no?" Yujin retorted jokingly, turning around in the chair.
"You're already standing up reaching for my phone Yujin unnie," Wonyoung pointed out smugly, moving towards the tables to catch the lights of the vanity mirrors. She leaned against the desks, lights acting as back lighting to give a glow rim effect.
"Fine, fine," Yujin rolled her eyes while smiling to reassure Wonyoung that she wasn't truly annoyed. "I can never say no to you, huh?" Yujin joked.
"Nope! You can't!" Wonyoung said cheerfully with her tongue sticking out teasingly. Her hair fell forward as Wonyoung tilted her head to the side.
Yujin felt herself shiver as a feeling like flowing warm water chill went over Yujin's shoulders. She faltered a bit before raising the phone up. Was she getting sick? First dizziness, then this? Maybe I need to drink more water after this. It'd be tough if she got sick so close to their promotion time. She had to stay healthy and strong as the leader of IVE, they depended on her —almost as much as she did them. She’s been getting these bouts of dizziness and shivers for the past couple of weeks, but today they seemed to be coming out all at once.
After a couple minutes of photo taking, the director called all of IVE to head to the main shooting area.
"Thanks unnie!" Wonyoung beamed as Yujin handed her phone back.
"Anytime Wonyoungie," Yujin smiled, now she felt short of breath. This could just be nerves, Yujin told herself. No matter how many times they filmed, starting a shoot was always nerve-wracking for her.
Wonyoung and Yujin quickly gathered up the other members and then all of IVE assembled in front of the director.
As the director laid out his plans to the idols, Yujin couldn't help but observe Wonyoung.
Wonyoung was always pretty, everybody knew that, but something about today kept drawing Yujin's eyes to her.
Once again Wonyoung looked over as if summoned by Yujin's thoughts.
The second they made eye contact Yujin looked away.
Get a grip, Yujin scolded herself, redirecting her attention to the director. You can talk about it later with Gaeul unnie, just focus on the shoot first.
-a couple hours later-
"Thank you for the hard work!" all the members yelled in unison while bowing. The shoot had finally come to the end, so they were free to head to the van after changing out. As she was walking, Yujin heard her manager discussing something with someone rapidly on the phone.
"What do you mean?!" Yujin overheard her manager exclaim.
"What's wrong?" Yujin asked, walking up to her manager.
"Apparently the other van left thinking another driver would be picking you up, do you want to wait or do you want to squeeze in with the others?" the manager asked sheepishly.
"I don't mind at all, don't worry." Yujin reassured the manager. He nodded before moving to pull the unused car seats up.
After informing the members of the sudden development, Yujin quickly changed out and walked towards the van. For the first time in forever the group would all be sitting together. Yujin hesitated outside the door, unsure if there was a seating arrangement she should be aware of.
"Unnie, what are you doing?" a voice called out from inside. It was Wonyoung.
Yujin quickly opened the door before poking her head in. "Wonyounie!" she exclaimed as soon as she spotted the girl, "I didn't know you were already in here."
"I change pretty fast you know! I'm an expert at it now," Wonyoung insisted.
"I'm sure you are," Yujin agreed warmly. "Are there any seating arrangements I should be aware of?" she asked.
"Not really, but since you and I both had another event later, manager-nim said we should sit in the back. He wanted to drop the others off at the dorm since that was on the way to our next solo schedules." Wonyoung informed, patting the seat beside her.
"If that's the case, don't mind if I do," Yujin replied, sliding in beside Wonyoung.
They both pulled out their phones to check if they had gotten any messages from their managers. After a bit, Yujin glanced over at Wonyoung's screen to see what she was doing. Words flew by as Wonyoung scrolled.
Looks like she reading her book, Yujin thought to herself, turning back to her screen. In the silence of the car with nothing but their synchronized breathing and Wonyoung's scent, it was almost too easy to fall asleep. Yujin's eyelids felt heavy and it was getting harder to concentrate on the email she was reading.
She blinked, letting her phone completely drop into her lap.
A longer blink, her head falling forward.
One final blink, and Yujin was gone.
-about an hour later-
"Yujin unnie wake up." A nudge. Someone was tapping her thigh.
Yujin groaned and tried to bury her head into the warmth beside her.
The tapping stopped for a bit before continuing even faster.
"Yujin unnie you have to get off, we're at your stop!"
Wonyoung? Yujin opened her eyes. She froze. The warmth? That was Wonyoung's shoulder. Yujin immediately straightened up, face red and apologies spilling from her mouth.
"It's fine unnie," Wonyoung interrupted with a small smile, ears a bit red. "Are you alright? You've been off today." She asked.
"I'm fine," Yujin insisted while rubbing her eyes lightly. "Just tired I think." She looked around. "Where are the others?" she asked.
"They're all at the dorm already, you fell asleep before they came in." Wonyoung replied gently.
Yujin nodded quickly before gathering her stuff. She apologized again to Wonyoung and then the driver before hurrying off, not noticing the look Wonyoung gave her.
Why did I fall asleep?? It's only the afternoon, I shouldn't have been that tired. Yujin thought as she was once again placed in another makeup chair. Her face flushed as she remembered that she had practically been sleeping on Wonyoung's shoulder for more than an hour and the girl hadn't said anything. Once I'm done I'll talk to Gaeul unnie about this.
-after the shoot-
Yujing quietly closed the dorm door behind her. It was already late at night and she wasn't sure if the others were awake or not. She tiptoed to her room before quickly taking a shower. Once done she peeked out her door to Gaeul unnie's room. The light was still on. She quietly made her way over before knocking on the door, calling to the inhabitant inside.
"Gaeul unnie, can I talk about something with you?"
She heard the pattering of feet coming closer to the door before it opened up to reveal her unnie's face.
"What's up?" Gaeul asked, opening the door and ushering Yujin inside. Yujin took a glance around and saw Rei lounging on Gaeul's bed. She greeted them both before taking a seat next to Rei.
"I think something might be wrong with me." Yujin started.
"Eh?" The two girls straightened up.
"What do you mean?" Gaeul demanded, "Are you sick?"
Yujin shook her head, paused, then shrugged.
"I don't know, it started a couple weeks ago but was especially bad during our group shoot." Yujin explained, grabbing a pillow to hug. She told them about the chills, chest pain, shortness of breath, and the fact that she fell asleep on Wonyoung in the car. "I searched it up on the drive back and google says I might have a heart murmur." Yujin ended her spiel. “I really hope I’m not sick.”
"Wait! Time out!" Rei held her hands up in a t shape. "Does all of this happen when you are with Wonyoung?" She asked.
Yujing tilted her head to the side, "Yes?" she replied, unsure what Rei was going with. She watched as Rei and Gaeul made eye contact before they both sighed in unison shaking their heads. Yujin glanced between the two of them even more confused.
"Unnie," Rei started, "How do you feel around Wonyoung?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" Yujin asked. "Obviously happy, she's my best friend."
"No I mean, do you ever get flustered when she's close? Do you feel hot or warm when she’s near?" Rei asked, "Are there times where you just can't look away from her? Do you ever feel the need to be close to her?" Rei fired off.
"I mean sometimes," Yujin replied, still unsure.
"What Rei-ah is trying to say is we think you like her." Gaeul said point blank.
It took a second for the words to register in Yujin's mind, but once they did, Yujin's face immediately turned red.
"Huh?" she squeaked out.
"Honestly unnie, you really are clueless, huh?" Rei scolded. "After all the love songs you sang over the course of your career and you can't even determine your own feelings?" she clicked her tongue.
Yujin didn't even reply with words, opting to just whine and bury her head into the pillow while squeezing it tight.
The other two members cooed at Yujin's apparent embarrassment. They've been watching Wonyoung and Yujin's dynamic and it seems as if it might finally be progressing.
"What do I do now?" Yujin asked after she had her slight freaking out. Her hair had gotten mussed and her face still had a bit of flush.
"You both have a free day tomorrow, right?" Gaeul asked as she brushed some of Yujin's hair back. "Why don't you pay attention to how you act around her and she you and see if you actually like her or not?"
Rei nodded in agreement. "If you think these feelings are real, then go for it!" she added on.
Yujin looked at Rei in alarm. "What if she doesn't like me?" Yujin asked.
"Honestly Yujin, if she doesn't like you then I'm a sack of potatoes because there's no way she wouldn't." Rei deadpanned, Gaeul nodding in agreement in the background. "Just try it, you never know!"
Yujin fidgeted with the corner of her pillow before sighing and getting up. "Fine, I'll try." Yujin said, depositing the pillow back onto Gaeul's bed.
The two girls cheered quietly.
She got up and walked to the door. She turned back to thank the two members before heading to her room. She got into bed before turning off the lights, mind filled with the possibilities of what tomorrow would bring.
-beep beep beep-
Yujin groaned as she reached over to the source of her discomfort. She blinked blearily at her phone screen then groaned again, letting her arm go limp. Her clock read 5 am, she had forgotten to turn it off last night.
Might as well get up and exercise. She thought as she sat up, running a hand through her hair. Yujin ate a snack bar then brushed her teeth. After exiting the bathroom she silently left her room, glancing at Wonyoung's room. The door was closed and the lights were off. Whenever she had a day off Wonyoung tended to sleep in till 8.
As she closed the door behind her, Yujin thought back on all the little things that she knew about Wonyoung.
The way her voice would get deeper when she was truly annoyed. The way she used random objects for her bookmarks when she was too lazy to get up. The way she untucked her hair when she felt embarrassed to hide her red ears. How she used to hunch just a little bit back in izone, self conscious about her height. Her habit of scrunching her nose when she woke up and the room was too bright.
Opening the door of the complex gym, Yujin wonders if Wonyoung would scrunch her nose this morning. If she would let out a small 'mm' sound while stretching before rolling out of bed. Yujin looked up at the gym's mirror and saw a fond smile stretched across her face. She shook her head.
Gosh, I can't believe I like her, when did that even happen? It's been way too long since they first met. It honestly felt like they knew each other for all their lives. At what point did their friendship turn into this? When did Yujin start to value Wonyoung's happiness over her own? How did it go from always seeking each other's eyes for comfort to avoiding it because they were too shy to look at each other?
Yujin stepped onto the treadmill and started her playlist, loud american music started playing. She didn't know all the words they used, but listening to something she didn't completely understand helped shut off her mind — something that improved Yujin's running time greatly. She let the music consume her brain as she upped the speed of the treadmill, pushing her thoughts to the side.
2 miles later Yujin decided to head back up to their dorm to take a shower. She hummed the last song that played in her playlist before she had shut it off. It was good, something she could see herself singing. Something about living by Coldplay.
As Yujin toweled off her hair, she froze at the doorway of the restroom. Wait, how am I going to confess to her?
Yujin tugged at the ends of her wet hair. Yes, the other members had assured her that Wonyoung reciprocated her feelings, but were they right? She still had to ask about the looks Wonyoung would give her when she thought Yujin wasn't looking. I'll start with that first, then confess to Wonyoung. Yujin chalked out. Maybe I could take the two of us to that one cafe that reminded me of her. Another cute habit of Wonyoung’s was taking photos with food. The one with soft pink decorations. Nodding to herself, she went to her closet to plan an outfit.
After switching her outfit out 10 times, Yujin checked the time. It was still 7, an hour before Wonyoung would typically wake up. She returned her rejected outfits back into her closet before setting out to make a quick drink for the two of them.
Right as Yujin poured their smoothies, Wonyoung's door opened. Yujin glanced up and her heart dropped.
Wonyoung was also dressed to go out, in a comfortable but lowkey grey sweats, white tank top, and grey hoodie.
They were matching, Yujin herself opting to go for a similar outfit, but with a t-shirt instead of a tank top. She should feel elated at the coincidence, but the only thing running through her mind was the fact that she forgot to ask Wonyoung if she herself had any plans.
"Good morning unnie," Wonyoung greeted, taking a seat at the counter. "Is one of those for me?"
Yujin nodded wordlessly sliding a cup in Wonyoung's direction. She watched as Wonyoung let out a pleased hum at the taste, fingers playing with the base of her own cup.
"Wonyoungie," Yujin started.
Wonyoung hummed.
"Do you have any plans for today?" Yujin mustered up.
Wonyoung shook her head before saying, "No, just going out for a walk before it rains and then reading a bit more of my book, I got to a really interesting point last night!" she replied as Yujin let out a sigh of relief. "What about you?" Wonyoung asked, eyeing Yujin's fit. "We match!" she pointed out cheerfully.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go explore this cafe with me." Yujin ventured face slightly flushed. "It's a small one that just opened up recently, and it's within walking distance."
"I'm down for that!" Wonyoung replied, finishing her drink before taking Yujin's empty cup to put in the sink. "Let me wash these, get my things, and then we can head out!" turning to the sink.
Yujin nodded, realized Wonyoung couldn't see her, replied with an audible yes, then let out a silent whoop. They both went into their respective rooms to gather their things before reconvening in the common room.
"Do you have everything? A mask? Hat?" Yujin checked with Wonyoung.
The girl in question replied in affirmation, pulling up her mask and pushing her hat further down her face. With their rise in popularity came the increased chance of being recognized on the street. If that were to happen they would've been followed wherever they went, not getting a single moment of respite. Being able to walk relaxed down the street was just one sacrifice they had to make.
After double checking with Wonyoung one more time, Yujin turned off the lights and locked their dorm door behind them.
"So Yujin unnie, where are we going today?" Wonyoung sang, hands quickly finding the crook of Yujin's arm.
Yujin's mind immediately flashed back to when they filmed their free day with MBC. Wonyoung had done the same then too. Despite the cameras then, Yujin really did enjoy that day. She had an excuse to spend the entire day with Wonyoung, they got to work out together, and eat together. She hopes that this day could be similar or even better, since there were no cameras on them this time.
Yujin stammered before pulling Wonyoung to the right, in the direction where the cafe was.
"Yujin unnie," Wonyoung whined, poking at Yujin's side. "Did you memorize the route or something?" she asked.
Yujin nodded, still at a loss for words.
"Woww, so dependable." Wonyoung teased with a grin.
"It wasn't much," Yujin replied, finally regaining her voice. Yujin shook her head before pulling Wonyoung closer, using the crowded street as an excuse for the proximity. "Just a couple turns and we'll get there to be honest."
True to her word, after a couple minutes, the entrance of a cafe appeared in front of them. There were only three other people when they entered the establishment, one the cashier and the others a pair of older women talking at the window table.
Yujin smiled as she heard Wonyoung gasp in delight before quickly ushering her into a corner seat away from the window.
"Unnie this place is so cutee," Wonyoung gushed, sliding into the booth against the wall. "How did you even know about this place?"
Yujin huffed in amusement before replying, "I was talking with Young ji after we finished filming and she told me about it."
She didn't mention that Young ji told Yujin to take Wonyoung specifically. At the time Yujin thought Young ji was only saying that because Wonyoung was her most recent IVE show guest and she didn't want Yujin to go alone. Now she thinks it might have been Young ji trying to set them up.
"And plus," Yujin added brushing the thought aside, "it's been a while since we have been able to go out together."
To avoid seeing Wonyoung's reaction, Yujin took a look around the small establishment. It really was cute, and totally fit Wonyoung's taste. The walls were soft white with light pink accents that made the room seem more colorful than it actually was. Small hanging plants were scattered throughout and the room smelled like coffee and bread.
When Yujin looked back at Wonyoung, she noticed that Wonyoung's hair had become untucked and her face had fallen forward, hidden from view.
"Wonyoung?" Yuiljin called softly tucking Wonyoung's hair back. Her ears were red. "Are you alright?"
She heard Wonyoung mumble something.
"What did you say?" she asked, hand stilling.
"Unnie you're so unfair." Wonyoung whined, her hands going up to grab Yujin's still hovering arm. Her eyebrows were drawn together and her eyes had a slight sheen to them.
"Oh wait sorry what did I do? Are you ok?" Yujin, fearing that Wonyoung would start crying, leaned closer to Wonyoung. The grip on her arm tightened.
"You're just so-" Wonyoung started, leaning back before shaking her head. "Nevermind," she sighed. The hand gripping Yujin's arm loosened and slid down so they were holding hands.
"O-ok," Yujin stammered, "Let me order something for us and then we can talk, yeah?" she asked, hand squeezing Wonyoung's.
Wonyoung nodded before releasing her hold on Yujin's hand.
Yujin got up unsteadily before making her way to the counter.
"One avocado toast, one strawberry cream pastry, one dubai chocolate dessert, and two americanos please," Yujin uttered.
The cashier's head snapped up.
"Are you?" she asked in awe."Yujin? From IVE?"
Yujin winked while placing her finger in front of her mouth in a shushing motion.
The worker squealed quietly while inputting their order. "Is it okay if I ask you to sign my photocard? You're my ultimate bias wrecker" the girl gushed.
Yujin raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Who's your favorite?" she asked while taking the offered photocard and marker.
"Uh I'm sorry Yujin ssi but I really like Wonyoung. Actually- I think I might like the look of both of both of you together because your visuals match-" she rambled.
Yujin laughed before leaning in to whisper conspiratorially, "Wonyoung's my bias too."
The cashier was nearly vibrating with excitement as she took the photocard back from Yujin. "Your food will be right out!"
Yujin thanked the cashier again as she tapped to pay before walking back to where Wonyoung was seated. The girl had regained her composure and was busy checking her reflection on her phone.
Yujin grabbed Wonyoung's hand again before leaning closer to the girl. "Are you sure you're alright? Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.
"You first unnie, you've been off since a few weeks ago." Wonyoung retorted, her ears back to their bright shade of red.
“Well, uh” Yujin stammered, “about that,” she hesitating, her plan of gauging Wonyoung’s own thoughts foiled before it could even start.
“Your food is here!” the server cheerfully interrupted. As she placed down their plates the girl looked up and gasped. “Wonyoung??” she whisper screamed.
Wonyoung let go of Yujin’s hand before smiling and nodding at the girl.
“Oh my gosh you are my ult!! I’m your biggest fan,” the girl gushed. She hastily pulled Wonyoung’s photocard from her carabiner and a marker from her pocket. “Do you mind?” She held both items up questioningly.
“Not at all,” Wonyoung said, taking both items, very much like Yujin did before.
After bowing deeply to the both of them, the server left them to enjoy their food.
“I still expect an answer, unnie.” Wonyoung pointed at Yujin threateningly.
Yujin nodded in defeat. “I’ll tell you after for sure.”
The two of them pulled out their phones to take photos of the food. After a mini impromptu photoshoot they picked up their utensils.
Yujin smiled as she listened to Wonyoung’s small exclamations of delight. She’ll really have to thank Young Ji unnie when they meet for another shoot.
The two of them ate with loaded silence. Yujin was mentally preparing for what she would say. She couldn’t tell what Wonyoung was thinking about at all. At least she knew Wonyoung liked her cafe choice for the day.
After they finished eating, the two waved goodbye to the still starstruck worker before walking out the cafe. The clouds were starting to roll in, but neither paid the weather any mind.
This time, Wonyoung took the lead, grabbing Yujin’s hand and walking briskly in a direction away from their dorm. Yujin recognized the route. They were going to the park where the two of them used to hang out during their trainee days. She hurried to walk in pace with her crush.
Crush… Wow I can’t believe I have a crush on Wonyoung. Yujin thought giddily. It was nice to put a positive word to the weird things that she had been feeling lately. She was relieved to not be sick, and having a crush on Wonyoung wasn’t the worst thing ever. I’m lucky enough to be close enough with this angel and have a crush on her. She swung the hand in hers happily.
“What is this?” Wonyoung asked, “What’s got you so happy unnie?”
“We’re walking together!” Yujin replied cheerfully, still in her giddy mindset.
“Jeez, you really,” Wonyoung shook her head, hand squeezing Yujin’s.
Once at the park they made their way to their tree and sat underneath it, hands still together but facing away from each other.
“So,” Wonyoung started. “What’s the deal with you unnie?”
Yujin fiddled with Wonyoung’s fingers, entire body thrumming with nervous energy. They sat in silence as Yujin tried to find the words to say.
I always did like your hands, they are so pretty. Yujin thought.
Wonyoung’s hands clutched Yujin’s.
Crap did I say that outloud?
“You did unnie. And you shouldn’t say bad words.” Came Wonyoung’s voice.
Yujin groaned. “I did not want to start my confession like this.”
“Confession?” Wonyoung squeaked, “You like me too?!”
Yujin banged her head against the tree. !! Why was she messing up so much!! Wait-
“Too?” Yujin shrieked, turning to look at the girl who held her hand and heart.
They both looked at each other before bursting out in laughter.
“We’re such idiots aren’t we?” Wonyoung asked.
“We really are,” Yujin agreed.
Right as Yujin finished speaking, the rain started pouring.
The two girls cried out before hurrying back in the direction of their dorm. They ran down the streets laughing, Yujin pulling Wonyoung behind them.
Yujin turned to look behind her as she ran, beaming at the girl who now knows her feelings and reciprocates them.
-
The other members returned to their dorms in the evening to find the two of them cuddling on the couch. Yujin laying down hugging Wonyoung’s midriff watching TV and Wonyoung leaning against the side reading her book.
“So, should we wear noise cancelling headphones after 10 or?” Rei smirked.
“REI!”