Archive of Our Own ^beta

“You of all people cannot be making fun of me for being single, unnie.”

“Hey! What are you insinuating?!”

Faint harmonization leaks from the vocal rooms behind them. The members in there were much more productive than the two sitting outside, panting on the hardwood. In between sparse run-throughs of choreography, they had been bickering.

Bickering about their loneliness.

“I’m just saying, I think you might be in worse straits than I am.”

“Yah, Jeong Hyerin!”

Dahyun begins charging at the redhead, who rapidly pushes herself off the floor to the other side of the room. Sneakers squeak against the shiny floors as the chase goes on. They reach a standstill as Hyerin shields herself using a rolling chair for the practice room’s computer.

“I was just saying it how I see it, unnie. You have a lot of audacity to be making fun of me for being single!” While still keeping a grip on it, she flicks the chair in the direction of Dahyun’s jabs at her.

“I have audacity? You’re like four years younger than me and saying things about how sad it would be if I were to die at 80 without a girlfriend!”

“It would be very sad!”

“Jeong Hyerin!”

“Ack—! Let go!”

Ripping the chair from Hyerin’s hands, Dahyun quickly pounces on her. She fails to evade and is stuck in a brutal headlock.

“Apologize!”

“NEVER!” Prying Dahyun’s arm away, she takes refuge by the water filter, holding out a paper cone as her last line of defense. “There’s no reason for me to apologize. I, Jeong Hyerin, am most certainly less lonely than you!”

“I bet you don’t even have a girlfriend!”

“Ah, well—says who? Matter of fact, I actually do!”

“Yeah, right, like you’ve suddenly gotten someone in the half an hour we’ve been practicing together,” she drops sarcastically, about to pop a vein. The vocal room door handle turns in the corner of Dahyun’s eye.

“It’s not that we just got together, but we’ve been hiding it. Soomin’s my girlfriend.” There’s something odd about the way she pronounces it, but Dahyun can’t pay any more attention to it because of a loud door hinge creaking and an even louder voice.

“Yup! Hyerin and I are dating! Can’t believe you guys took so long to realize, though. I wanted to see how long it’d take anyone to believe us. Told you she’s been my girlfriend.” Wrapped behind the redhead is Soomin, who zipped away from Nakyoung, hearing the conversation. Though a normal position for the two, Hyerin unexpectedly blushes at how easily Soomin slots herself against her.

Bewildered, Dahyun freezes. She looks at Nakyoung, whose head is only turned towards the three. In one hand is a water bottle, and in the other is a set of keys she fumbles around with, missing the keyhole to the vocal room.

“I told you, unnie. You don’t even go outside. How would you ever get a girlfriend like that?”

“You—well, no! I did get a girlfriend like this, mind you! Nakyoung and I are dating!”

A harsh crumple of plastic comes from Nakyoung and her now broken and leaking water bottle. She finally managed to get the right key in with one hand, but her wrist was now frozen where she holds it. Red ears infect the rest of her pale face with their bright hue, making her resemble a tomato more than anything.

“I—ah. Well, I didn’t think this was how,” she breathed deeply and crunched the poor bottle harder, “how we would come out.” Her jaw was tense, teeth gritted, and everything. The sentence came out slow, like she was leaving room as patent for the interpretation. “We haven’t really… discussed anything about that yet.”

They watched her cross to the room, offering her hand to Dahyun, who desperately snatches it up. “Yes, Dahyun and I are dating.” Each word was forced out more reluctantly than the last, and she frantically glanced between them and Dahyun to make sure she wasn’t overstepping.

“Pfffft. Like we would believe that, unnies. You guys probably haven’t even gone on a date at all!”

“That is so not true!”

“Yeah! We can even go on a double date to prove that isn’t true!” Nakyoung’s suddenly emboldened attitude shocked Dahyun, causing her to turn in bewilderment. The attention made her shrink back again, her voice following suit. “There’s a festival happening soon—in two weeks, I think? It’ll feel completely normal for us, not sure about you two.”

“Right. Because that’s so convincing.”

”What, are you scared, Hyerin?” Dahyun takes the opportunity to challenge the young girl.

“Of you and Nakyoung unnie? No. Definitely not.”

“Definitely not?!” This time, Hyerin hid behind Soomin, who willingly sacrificed herself as a human shield to the even redder Dahyun.

“Definitely not!” Soomin chimed, not helping the situation at all.

There was an odd crack that Dahyun made, seemingly from her neck, before she started moving.

The eldest in the room tried pulling the blonde woman back, but between Dahyun’s uncontrollable anger and her injured hand, the fury was unleashed. Screams of terror followed.

“Dahyunie, no!”

“YOU RASCALS! GET OVER HERE!”

On normal days, the rest of Shion’s roommates depart for whatever insane plans they have, leaving the room to her and Kaede as their quiet little area of respite.

It is by no means a normal day.

The room is, in fact, not left to her and Kaede, because Dahyun has dragged a rather rosy-cheeked Nakyoung with her in some sort of panic. So, Kaede is left to her own devices, laying on her girlfriend and playing with said girlfriend’s hands. It would be better if it were just them, but watching her girlfriend speak from down here was good enough.

“So you’re lying to children now?”

“Couldn’t you have found literally any other way to phrase that?”

“Fine. Let me rephrase. You were getting made fun of by one of the kids for being single, so instead of teaching her it’s okay to be single, you doubled down and told her you’re dating Nakyoung-unnie despite not actually dating Nakyoung-unnie?” Shion turned her head to the other of the fibbing partners. “And you,” she emphasized, “willingly played along with it?” Nakyoung turned an even darker shade of red and buried herself behind Dahyun.

“Never mind, please stop talking,” Nakyoung begged.

“You came in here for our advice!”

“Kaede, please tell your girlfriend to stop being mean to us!”

“What are we talking about again?” Pausing her fidgeting, Kaede rested Shion’s hand on her heart and covered it with her own. “Something, something, scheme to trick the kids?”

“Why do both of you phrase everything so nefariously?!”

“Last time I checked, you were the one telling Hyerin and Soomin that you’re dating when you’re not.”

“In my defense, she also said she’s dating Soomin, which is totally unbelievable!”

“Why would that be unbelievable..?”

The three turn to Shion. Realizing none of them shares her skepticism, she waves it off and pushes them to a different topic. “… Never mind. Whatever. What exactly do you want us to do about them dating?

“Not anything about them dating! Just like—I don’t know, how are we supposed to be a couple?”

“… What?”

“You seriously did not just ask that.” Kaede’s originally amused expression flipped to one completely unimpressed. “‘How are we supposed to be a couple?’ Really, unnie?”

“What else was I supposed to say,” Dahyun sputtered, and the bold attitude she stormed in with was starting to dissipate. Nakyoung was close to grabbing a shovel and digging through the apartment floor. “We have to convince them we’re dating now!”

“How would we help with that?!”

“For starters, you guys are actually dating. That’s miles ahead of us,” Nakyoung mumbled through Dahyun’s shoulder. “We don’t know where to start. Dahyunie won’t let us quit either.”

Was that a nickname?

Kaede looked up to her girlfriend, who shared the same recognition and raised eyebrow towards it. They stared back at the pair of liars, seemingly adjusted to the new vocabulary.

… That’s not unusual at all, she supposes. At least, to them it didn’t seem so.

Back to business, or something.

“Have you tried actually dating?”

“How helpful, Kae,” Dahyun sarcastically threw out. “Obviously, we haven’t tried dating if we’re here asking you for advice. I should have asked Xinyu or something. She would actually have ideas.”

“Go to her, then. Leave me and Shion alone.” She rolled on one side, purposefully pointing her back to Dahyun and Nakyoung. “It’s a Saturday. Go out and have fun or something along those lines.”

“You know what? We will!” Shooting off the bed parallel to them, the blonde takes Nakyoung by the wrist, practically dragging her along the floor. “Nakyoung, we’re leaving!

“Owowowowowow, Dahyunie, please lighten your grip.”

“WORST CONSULTANTS EVER!”

…

They should start charging for entry.

In theory, Kaede could charge one dollar for every duo that barged in on her and Shion’s private time. Consider it her startup business.

She would have two whole dollars by now.

“And just to be completely clear without any misunderstandings, you two aren’t dating?”

“No.”

“Nope!”

Shion winced at their immediate reactions. Hyerin’s eyes darted to the wall despite seeming to be the instigator of this entire situation.

… That’s not suspicious at all.

“You were purposefully making Dahyun unnie mad about her being single?”

“Yes, but it didn’t even start that serious at first! It was a little joke and then she completely blew up at me!”

“What did you tell her?” Shion stared curiously.

“Let’s not get into that.”

That’s definitely not suspicious at all.

Kaede firmly shut the dresser doors, hearing something knock off the inner shelves and cringing. Despite the physical reaction, she didn’t bother opening it to check. Her complete focus was drawn towards the younger two’s dilemma.

“This is going to be so scary! Do you think the others will be able to see we’re not dating? When we were talking with Nakyoung and Dahyun unnie, it was really clear they’re not dating. They should just drop it, at this point! We’ve basically already won!” Soomin seemed to be the only cheery person of all six in the loop of the situation. Excitedly, she spoke to her respective fake girlfriend.

“It doesn’t really look that fake,” Shion whispers.

Upon further analysis, the two are literally in the same position Shion and Kaede were sitting with the first fake-couple. Soomin happily laid over Hyerin’s legs, who did complain about the weight but then proceeded to do absolutely nothing over it. Both were relatively relaxed for people in their circumstances.

“I can’t believe I let her get me like that. I should have just kept poking at her and kept my cool.” As if it were the most casual thing in the world, she moved an eyelash from Soomin’s face. “Now I’ve dragged you into this stupid thing.”

“It’s alright! I’m stuck with you now, so I think that’s good enough for me!”

“This definitely cannot be fake,” Shion whispers even harsher.

“They could always just be really, really good friends.”

“Really good friends don’t typically say being stuck with the other is a good thing.” Clearing her throat, Shion caught their attention before she lost them for the rest of the conversation. “And so do you genuinely want to do this fake dating stuff?”

“There’s no way I could admit to Dahyun unnie about lying that Soomin is my girlfriend. Absolutely not. I’m way too far in now.”

“So that’s completely out of the picture.” Shion’s eyes squint at them, quietly observing for a moment before another thought. “Why don’t you just… be normal?”

“As in not do what couples do?”

“No, I mean quite literally be normal. Do what you typically do in a day.”

“Oh c’mon, unnie. That’s way too obvious! I think even Chaewon would be able to see through that!” Soomin began cracking up at the simple plan, but she stopped as Hyerin’s face neutralized.

“That’s… not bad..? We could really just do whatever. Let them be the ones panicking over it.”

“Well,” she finally paused after what felt like years, “if you’re on board with it, then aye aye, captain! Let’s go get some food now. I’m hungry.”

And then they just… left. Hyerin trailed out the door after Soomin without even waving goodbye. They both got up around the same moment, holding hands as soon as they stood.

“I cannot believe that worked. Good job, babe.” Planting one kiss atop Shion’s head, she threw herself onto the bed and pulled out her phone.

“I can’t believe it either, but I have a feeling they didn’t internalize a single thing I just suggested.”

“They came here for advice. Can’t make them take it. We should probably order something for ourselves, too.”

…

“You know, I really don’t believe they’re not dating.” They had switched positions, Shion now on Kaede’s lap while the older girl stroked her hair.

“Who? Hyerin and Soomin?”

“Yeah, those two.”

“Huh… I mean, I think I see it?”

“Right?” As if she had been waiting for ages for someone else to share with, she jumped up from Kaede’s lap. “You don’t even have to be with them for that long to notice it! There’s no way they’re not dating! I swear they are and they just don’t realize it themselves.”

“Wait.” Kaede pulled Shion in and stared at the door in focus. “Baby? Should we… tell Dahyun and Nakyoung..?”

“Hm? Tell them what?”

“… That they’re not dating?”

“Why would we tell them that?”

“Babe, they were just in our room before those two, talking about how they’re now stuck in a fake relationship because Soomin and Hyerin are ‘dating’.” Realization dawned on Shion, her face now in an uncertain frown.

“We shouldn’t.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s not.” Shion laid back down and settled in on Kaede’s lap. Bewildered by the abrupt decision, Kaede only kept playing with her girlfriend’s hair. “They’ll… figure it out.”

Looking up, she could see a firmly raised eyebrow from Kaede.

“Will they?”

“I have faith—I think. Maybe in like, three months, but they’ll get it.” Her face scrunched and she thought a little further. “I hope.”

The fair was packed, not a single inch of the road left unused. Families loitered along the railings of the bridges. Kids were lifted to try and catch cherry blossoms falling from the trees that lined the event. Colorful umbrellas sat below the bridges, filling the space between the two lanes.

Despite the ongoing conflict between the pairs, they still moved as one group. The elder two shadowed Hyerin and Soomin, keeping them (more so just Soomin) from wandering too far alone. Hyerin was sure Dahyun was trying to drill holes into the back of her head.

“Wait, hold on!” Stopping in their tracks, the three turned to Nakyoung, who held her phone out. She grabbed Dahyun gently, tugging her to the spot she was rooted in. “Do you want photos here? I think it’ll look really pretty with the cherry blossoms.”

Nakyoung? Willingly taking photos for someone? Not asking for photos of herself in exchange?

In the years Hyerin has known Nakyoung, the catlike woman has never ever offered to take photos first, aside from when she would be getting photos right after.

Hyerin glanced at Soomin, who was staring right back. Her eyes asked the same question.

Then it clicked.

This has GOT to be a ploy!

“Me too, me too!” On cue, the youngest of the group took a small camera from her bag, passing it to Hyerin. “Nakyoung unnie, are you even sure you can take a good one? Whenever I ask you, they always turn out weird!” A devious grin set the stage and cued her in.

This is ALSO a ploy!

“Obviously, I wouldn’t take them badly for Dahyun! You just haven’t seen me take them properly.”

“You don’t take them properly for me?! I have to post those, you know!” Now infuriated, Soomin clings to Hyerin and harshly mutters under her breath. “We have to see how these come out. If she takes them really all that much better, then they might actually be dating, which is a lot scarier to think about. Does she really not put effort into my photos? I do so much for hers!”

They peered over Nakyoung’s shoulder, watching her hands violently tremor compared to the usual slight wobble. Dahyun, who was originally posing, now stood straight and watched her awkwardly fumble with the phone. Hyerin couldn’t tell whether her ears were red from embarrassment, pressure, or the sun.

As she returned to her position, Nakyoung’s hands regulated themselves. The two watched her angling the camera, centering Dahyun and Dahyun alone. The cherry blossoms seemed to be an afterthought to the composition, barely considered at all.

Lowering her arms, they began to review the picture without the muse, who was still walking over. Sunlight hit her side, nicely illuminating her face.

Again, though, no cherry blossoms, Hyerin noted. The exact thing that she promised was going to complement her visage.

“Unnie? I think you zoomed in just a little too much. You missed, like, all the trees.” Dahyun seemed to have the same criticism. The younger two met eyes to give a mental high-five.

“See, Nakyoung unnie? These came out poorly, too,” she snickered. “Does that mean you don’t put effort in for your girlfriend either? Dahyun unnie, you should re-evaluate if you want to be with her.”

“HEY! They aren’t that bad!” Turning what looked to be close to a painful sunburn shade of pink, Dahyun covered Nakyoung’s ears to shield her from the judgment. “I like them. They’re cute! And it’s your guys’ fault, anyway! How could she focus with you swarming her like bees?” Nakyoung’s head dropped in shame, letting Dahyun defend her.

“Right, and it’s not because she just doesn’t like you,” Soomin teased. “You’re her girlfriend. You should teach her! Hyerin, let’s show them how we take them!”

Oh no.

Hyerin’s heart dropped.

How we take them?

…

“Soomin, if you don’t hold the camera straight, I’m never taking photos with you again!”

“I’m trying my best,” she said while uncontrollably giggling and evidently not trying her hardest.

“Do it properly!” She hands the camera back. Hyerin stomps back to the table, taking an uncertain peek at Soomin, but still deciding to fully devote herself to the pose. All she wanted was one good photo of her side profile.

“Aaaaaaaaaand okay, got it! This one’s definitely perfect, I swear!”

She takes the camera from the other girl, who dashes away as soon as it leaves her fingers.

“Oh my god—KIM SOOMIN!”

She had taken five selfies of herself.

…

It didn’t seem very wise to do their exact routine.

Following Soomin’s lead, they fought to the bridge railings, determined to get the absolute best view for their photos. Instead of starting with individual shots, Soomin pulled her close. She naturally slotted against the other and leaned back into her, but became slightly flustered thinking about how they looked.

Soomin’s arms went around Hyerin’s waist, head resting on her shoulder to see the digital camera’s screen. They fumbled with the settings, the redhead instinctively blocking the sun with her hand so Soomin could see better. Fully content with their changes, she flipped the camera around and held it above them.

Hyerin was unsure if that was Dahyun’s jaw dropping in her peripheral while they took photos in that pose.

They checked the photos without separating. Hyerin felt somewhat fuzzy, likely a combination of the warmth from the sun and the warmth of Soomin to her back. They were clear, couple-like photos, even if they hadn’t declared anything official.

“Nakyoung unnie, come look! C’mere!” With an arm still around Hyerin, she proudly displayed the photos with an outstretched arm. “This is just the beginning, watch this!”

They ran back, leaving the redhead to stand by the railing on her own. From her position, she could only really hear Soomin. Dahyun and Nakyoung seemed to be trying to stop her from causing a ruckus.

“Is this pose fine, Soomin?”

“Yup!” At an unnecessarily loud volume, she shouted at her. “You look amazing! Seriously too pretty!”

She spares one glance back at her photographer to find said photographer in a half-lunge, half-lying on the ground. For whatever reason, an angle barely two feet from the ground is completely vital to their operation.

Hyerin would have preferred to maintain a moderated face steady as she switches poses, but it cracks.

Because Soomin is shouting affirmations.

“Super pretty!” Minor movement. “Drop-dead gorgeous!” Small adjustment. “You look beautiful, babe!” Head tilt. “Insane! You look incredible!”

Hyerin can’t control her cheeks rising. “WOAH! Crazy cute!” A blush forms. “Adorable!” Vaguely holding her hand to block her smile. “Argh! Too cute!” In emphasis, Soomin drops onto the ground, clutching her heart in one hand and putting on a pained expression.

People stare as she rejoices with the three, wondering who could have caused such an intense reaction. Soomin never does her little supportive bit to such an extent, definitely not enough to draw a crowd. It comes from a loving place, something that Hyerin knows of.

She doesn’t hate it.

“I’ll give it to you, Soomin. I admit! These are actually good! Whatever!” Nakyoung throws up her arms in defeat after seeing the results from the camera. It gets passed to Hyerin, who zones out to inspect the photos.

Some are shaky, probably from Soomin’s unsteady stance, but look good regardless. She captured finer details: the angles Hyerin prefers, light exposure, and even the features of herself she liked emphasizing. They almost feel professional, but are offset by the attention to her preferences.

It’s love. The photos are filled with love.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon! My turn now!” Excitedly, Soomin dashed to the same spot Hyerin had been standing in. She beamed at the redhead, thrilled by just the idea of getting her photo taken by Hyerin.

Prepping the camera, she stares at the screen and squats down to get a better angle.

She’ll reciprocate. She’ll always reciprocate.

…

“That was ridiculous! They could have done that while they weren’t basically back-hugging!”

With the sun coming down, the four had promised to end the day with going on the Ferris wheel. When they finally arrived, however, Soomin and Hyerin insisted on splitting into their own pairs for “privacy”. This left Dahyun with her fake girlfriend in disbelief.

“It was sorta strange…”

“Totally strange!” They sat side by side in the carriage, leaving the other bench untouched and rising slowly into the sky as the ride went on. “They staged it, I swear. And all the compliments while she takes photos? Soomin never does that for me!”

“I mean, if they’re girlfriends, then it makes sense why it’s different.” Dahyun doesn’t notice the slight murmur that followed.

“Are they even usually that clingy? Soomin’s affectionate, sure, but Hyerin has to be at her limit right now. There’s just no way!”

“What are you—Dahyunie!”

“I’m trying to see if they’re really all lovey-dovey behind the scenes! They won’t anticipate me watching them from the cart above!”

Through the glass window, she peered at the carriages below and finally settled seeing the green one that followed. The angle was simply too steep and made it impossible to spot the younger two, so she let her eyes wander to the metal frame. From there, it jumped around to the trees in the distance to some of the larger buildings in the plaza, then even further down.

… Huh.

Those stalls look really small from here.

And the people from below are really far.

Ah.

That looks like a bigger drop than she remembered from on the ground.

Oh no.

Something in her leg strains.

“I don’t think that’s necessary. They probably aren’t even thinking about this whole bet right now,” she trailed off, going quiet as Dahyun’s hand blindly pats around and reaches for hers. “Dahyunie?”

“Hm? Yeah,” she paused, ”yeah. I’m listening.” Her eyes couldn’t tear away from the ground. She had given up trying to look at the green cart.

“Er, right.” Dahyun swallows roughly, feeling the bump forming in her throat. “We’ve been to a lot of places today already, so they’re probably just taking a little rest. Are you..?”

Are they going to stop rising?

Why exactly are they shaking so much?

“Um. Right. That’s right.”

She really doesn’t want to fall.

She squeezes Nakyoung’s hand tighter.

It’s so suffocating in this box.

She’s not really sure what Nakyoung is saying anymore.

There’s nowhere to move in here.

The wind is so loud. Too loud.

“Hey, no. Breathe. Look at me?” Gently, Nakyoung’s hand met the side of her face. She pushed her sight away from the concrete below. “Don’t look down there, just keep looking at me. Breathe slowly.”

They could fall any minute.

Might as well breathe through it.

Dahyun inhales. Consciously and controlled this time.

Her heart raced, lungs burning at the newfound awareness of their air intake. In her panic, she could see concern. Concern and care tinged her partner’s face. It sat in the tensed muscle between her eyebrows, the drooped corners of her mouth, just her eyes alone.

Greedily, Dahyun liked it.

“It’s just, urgh,” she fought through the urge to vomit on the spot. “It’s a little high.”

“I know, I know. We’re descending right now.” Mindful of any nausea, Nakyoung slowly pulled Dahyun’s head down into her neck. She makes sure she doesn’t face any parts of the window. “Give it another minute.”

It was warm, huddled next to her pretend girlfriend. The churning in her stomach began to diffuse because she was being protected like so. She could vaguely make out Nakyoung’s heart, using it as a guide for her own.

At some point, it registers that she might have a better view from below to spy on Hyerin and Soomin.

But Nakyoung is still holding her hand.

… Oh well.

She’ll catch them later.

The bet can wait.

…

“Do you feel like someone might be looking into our carriage?”

“Definitely no—achoo! Not at this hei—achoO!”

“Woah, you okay?”

Though originally wanting to use the opportunity to be able to lie on Hyerin during the cinematic Ferris wheel view, her plans were foiled by at least ten consecutive sneezes that jerked her upright.

“Maybe? Sorry, babe—acHOOOO!”

“Soomin, I don’t think that’s normal.”

“Yeah, I—” she paused, trying to brace herself for impact that didn’t seem to come before she continued. “I don’t think it’s—ACHOO! I don’t think it’s normal either. Is someone talking about me?”

“What would that have to do with anything?”

“Hm. ACHOOOOO! Dunno.” She shrugged and laid back down.

There is an oddly refreshing freedom in escaping a meeting and going straight to a shopping mall.

They both carry a few paper bags, strolling through the open corridors. They ran to the mall as soon as their director concluded the meeting, uncaring of the papers they were meant to take with them or the shouts of the others. The two were free enough, and that’s all that really mattered to them.

In a relatively more open area, Soomin ran ahead and took Hyerin’s jacket off her shoulders, grasping it in one hand, and twirling around. Her fake-girlfriend beamed at her, radiating excitement at the newfound liberty.

“Hey, wait up for me! Slow down, Soomin!”

“You gotta catch up! Time waits for no one!” Contrary to her words, the squirrel-ish girl stopped in her tracks, not daring to move a muscle until the other caught up properly. “Where should we go next?”

They fell back into step as Hyerin walked over, not quickly registering when Soomin slipped her hand into hers. Even then, it took a while to realize she had actually accepted and was now holding it.

“Not sure, but we’ve been here for a couple of hours now.” Feeling a notification from her pocket, she steered the two into a less traffic-heavy area. “Should we hit one more shop?”

Her phone screen illuminated with a couple of messages from other members, which she momentarily ignored. Social media updates and emails pushed one singular message up top.

A bank statement.

“Ohoho? Did yours come in too just now?”

They had gotten their paychecks.

“We should get bonuses,” she mumbled angrily.

“Do we think our company even has the money for that?” Giggles escaped the both of them at that comment as they continued down the mall. “Let’s splurge what we have! There’s nothing better than wasting most of a paycheck away!”

Flashy brand names glowed in their peripheries, paying more attention to the windows rather than the big signs. They dodged the attendants trying to rope them into a massage and perfumes, finally settling in front of a jewelry store.

In the window? A large, pink poster with a couple-ring sale.

“Soomin, we have couple-rings.”

“But we could have another set! And we need to commemorate!” She threw Hyerin’s jacket over her shoulders again, using the neighboring store’s window as her mirror. “This is a new chapter of us, really! A new step in our relationship to symbolize we’re dating!”

Hearing Soomin say the word “dating” made her feel funny. The louder of the two didn’t think much of it.

“Will they even believe we’re a couple?”

“Obviously they will, just watch.” Intertwining their hands again, they naturally started moving towards the jewelry sale. Staff welcomed them warmly and escorted them to the glass showcase, spotlighting several accessories. Neither paid much attention to the lengthy descriptions of the metals.

“If you’re going for the couple-rings, I would suggest some of these. They seem to be our best sellers so far.” Giving them room, the saleswoman ended her speech, backed away, and accompanied the next customers.

The glass box redirected the bright lights, highlighting the jewels embedded in the rings. Some designs were plain, not flaunting anything other than a smooth finish. Contrary were the clunkier rings. Those had metal joints sticking out at random, making Hyerin flinch at the thought of wearing them. Soomin seemed to judge much quicker than her. Hyerin hadn’t even gotten through the first dozen before Soomin was down near the end of the counter.

“Honeyhoneyhoneyhoneyhoneyhoney looklooklooklooklook!”

“I’m going to assume you found one with how fast you’re speaking.” The pet-name slipped past so easily.

“I diiiiiiiiid!” Lightly, she held her nail directly above one set of rings. “Look at these silver ones! They form a heart! There’s a gem in the middle of each half, too!”

… Silver?

Does Soomin even wear silver?

“Don’t you like gold better?”

“Well, I usually do, but this one’s really cute! And you typically wear silver, so we should get this one.”

“It is cute, you’re right. I really like it, but—”

“Nope! You just agreed! Miss? We’re ready!”

“I’ll ring you up in one moment!”

“Soomin—”

“You think they’re cute, right? We have to get them, then.” She faced Hyerin, boldly looking her in the eye with such earnest.

Unfortunately for Hyerin, Soomin had mastered the ultimate technique of ‘not even looking at the price before swiping her card recklessly’. The receipt had printed before she could get another sentence in, and only after that did they start sizing their rings.

“We could have at least gotten two different metals. I saw they had them in gold. I know you don’t prefer them silver.”

“But then they wouldn’t be matching matching!” She whined in protest, slouching on Hyerin’s shoulder. “And I really don’t mind silver as much as you think. For example, it looks really good on you!”

Hyerin crumbled.

From a distance, a few of the other sales representatives watched the scene unfold. Two girls, giggling and bantering with one another while buying couple-rings, trying to choose what the other would prefer.

“Young love these days.”

...

“Sooooooooooooominnnnnnnnn!”

“My god, Hayeon, you’re so loud! Seoyeon-unnie keeps scolding me for always being involved with all the loud stuff, y’know? You’re gonna get me in trouble, Jeong Hayeon! She’s been telling me, ‘Soomin, you have to keep it down because the other apartments might hear,’ even though literally the only apartment that would hear is the unnies across the hallway and—”

“Yeahyeaheyahyeahyeah whateverwhatever.” Hayeon sat on Soomin’s bed, holding some of her jewelry despite the fact that Soomin literally never told her she could go rummaging. As she approached, light hit a small sliver of silver. “Can I wear this? I need more accessories for the outfit I want today.” Boldly, Hayeon held a ring up to Soomin’s face.

THE silver ring.

The silver ring she got two days ago.

She JUST bought that with Hyerin!

“Hell no! Why are you even looking through MY jewelry?!”

“You and I have similar hand sizes,” she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Who else would I borrow jewelry from?”

“Literally anyone else? Give it.” She threw her hand out, but instead of easily surrendering, Hayeon stood and held the ring backwards. Sidestepping the brown-haired girl didn’t work. She swatted Soomin’s hand away and protected it like her life depended on it.

“Woah! Jeez, why not? You usually let me borrow stuff.”

“Not this one. Hand it over!”

“Nuh uh!”

There’s no way she’s getting the ring.

She can’t let Hayeon wear the ring. It’s for her and Hyerin only! “Put it down!”

“Ugh, I need something though!” It won’t be the ring!

“Take something else!” Go away!

“You’re so set on this ring! Let me take the nice necklace then!”

“What? What necklace?”

“The super duper nice one that you never let me borrow, even if I need it for something important and you guard like 24/7.”

“Oh. Yeah, whatever. Take it. I don’t care.” Waving her left hand around, her right finally collected her precious ring. Hayeon pumps her fist, snatches the nicer jewelry off the desk, and runs away.

Man, that was close. Hayeon wasn’t leaving without a fight. Had she let her wear the ring, it wouldn’t be special anymore.

Thank god she just accepted that necklace.

… Which necklace was that again?

…

“Oh my god—Jeong Hayeon!”

With a cooler in hand, Dahyun happily skipped in front of Nakyoung.

“The weather is really nice today! It’s good we decided to go out.” The park they had picked was full of life. Kids filled the swing sets, the slides, and just about every inch of the pavement. Parents sat from afar, glad to get a break and talk to one another.

“It’s a little busier than I anticipated,” Nakyoung commented.

They scaled down a side of the park, setting up camp on the grass next to the lake. She threw a wide picnic blanket down, adding an extra flourish and prompting an endearing laugh out of Dahyun. The blonde sat down as the other began to unpack their bags.

Brushes, paints, and two small canvases began to infiltrate their blanket. A large stack of napkins sat underneath the brushes as they tore into the canvas packaging.

Instead of going out to eat, Dahyun wanted her and Nakyoung to try something new.

Painting each other.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve picked up a paintbrush, so you can’t get mad at me, unnie!” To exaggerate, she angled her portrait away. Couples slowly drift in the water next to them.

“Calm down! I wouldn’t get mad at you!” Using a pick, Nakyoung stabs into a strawberry and holds it up as a peace offering. “Here. Eat before your hands get dirty from the paint.” She accepts the momentary truce and the strawberry, setting aside the blank canvas.

They hadn’t quite coordinated a theme of food. Throwing together whatever they had in the dorms and stopping by shops on the way to the park, their assortment came out as an ungodly amount of spicy foods and bundles of fruits to neutralize them. “This chicken is also good. Here.”

“I feel spoiled, y’know?” Laughing playfully, she takes the chicken from Nakyoung’s toothpick as well, supporting her hand for the reception. “You paid for, like, most of the food. Now you’re feeding me. I should work harder to take care of you, too.”

She watched the older woman flush, averting her eyes. It was endearing to see the shyness on her face. It gave the food a much more satisfying taste.

“It’s not really an issue. It just,” she mumbled while finding the word, “it’s sort of second nature to me. Don’t think too much about it. I like taking care of you, so it’s fine.” As an excuse to stop talking, she picked up some food herself.

Now they both were blushing.

I like taking care of you?! Who says that in casual conversation?!

Picking the canvas back up, Dahyun hastily laid out paint colors to begin her masterpiece. She had bought both acrylics and watercolors, confident in her preference but only half sure of what or if Nakyoung had a liking to any specific medium. Playing it safe only cost a negligible amount of won.

Her partner-in-crime followed suit, beginning her outline and dabbing at some of the colors. They glanced at the girl in front of them for reference. When they occasionally met eyes, they immediately hid back down behind their paintings and evaded the other’s gaze. Dahyun’s cheeks warmed more than once.

The snacks slowly disappeared between the painting and general chatter. The two sat in comfortable silence, letting the ruckus from other families fill the space around them.

“Almost done?” Dahyun looked up to find Nakyoung still working. There was an uncharacteristically focused look on her face. She looked so devoted to the point she must not have heard anything.

Now waiting on the other, Dahyun makes a couple more observations of what’s around them. Different families were now enjoying the playsets. More students were now taking up space at the tables, interacting with some of the kids who dragged them to play. She checked the time to find that they had already been painting for more than an hour. It hadn’t felt as long.

“Sorry, I finished. Did you wait long?”

“Mmm? No, it’s fine.” She turned back, meeting eyes with Nakyoung once more. There seemed to be a slight quiver in her eyes, seemingly uncertain of her final product. Dahyun did a lookover of her own, quickly adding a highlight in. “Ready? Three, two… one!”

Canvases spun around, revealing the paintings. She saw Nakyoung’s eyes light up before looking at the portrait she drew of her.

Gorgeous.

That was the only word that came to mind. Not because of vanity, but because of Nakyoung.

She painted her gorgeously.

They hadn’t even taken that much time to paint from start to finish, but she had finished so much so quickly. She made her look so at peace, adding details so subtle they were barely noticeable to anyone else but them. The highlights in her eyes were shaped as little hearts.

Was that how Nakyoung saw her?

The idea made her burn up.

“Oh? You painted me so well!” Holding out her hand, Nakyoung received the portrait of herself. The smile on her face never left while analyzing it up close. “I love it, Dahyunie. It’s amazing.”

“It’s really not all that much. Definitely doesn’t hold a candle to what you drew, though.” She took hers and felt in more disbelief. “Unnie, this is so good! How did you do all this so fast? It’s incredible!”

“I just sorta went with the flow. It wasn’t difficult after the few couple of minutes. I’m a little disappointed with it.” Timidly, she grabbed the back of her neck and massaged the tissue. She almost looked ashamed of it.

“No, it’s beautiful! It looks better than me!”

“It’s a painting of you… How could it ever be prettier? I couldn’t ever capture you perfectly, definitely not in paint.” The last comment did not go unnoticed by Dahyun’s reddening ears.

This isn’t even the full extent of how she sees me. It’s so good, and it’s not even complete, according to her words.

Dahyun wishes she had given Nakyoung more time to see the perfected version of what Nakyoung sees.

Dahyun is starting to fully believe Hyerin wasn’t lying.

Coming back from a rather lengthy schedule, the girls met up in one apartment, ordering a dinner worthy of all twenty-four. While Soomin was able to enter first and score two seats at the table for her and Hyerin, Dahyun and Nakyoung sat at the edge of the couch, giving Dahyun an opportunity to observe the younger “couple”.

“Unnie, you look seriously insane right now.” Staring from Dahyun’s right were none other than Kaede and Shion with concerned expressions on their faces. “Like, literally insane.” Shion spun her finger in a small circle near her temple as emphasis. Dahyun doesn’t even notice as she doesn’t pry her eyes away from the two at the table.

“I mean, it doesn’t even make sense! How could none of us notice they’re dating?”

She doesn’t receive a response from either and furrows her brows when she sees Soomin and Hyerin pick up their chopsticks. Without putting too much thought into it, she continues to pick food from her own plate and doesn’t notice Nakyoung constantly refilling it so she can concentrate.

They are absurdly natural for a pair that Dahyun is almost certain they’re lying about.

Hyerin mindlessly scrolls on her phone next to the so-called girlfriend, tilting the screen so Soomin can have a better view of what she’s looking at than herself. Soomin’s not even fully invested in what’s going on in the device, opting to chatter with the others around the table and only peeking at it every so often.

While feeding Hyerin. They’re both somehow accommodating and tending to one another while doing completely opposite things.

This is preposterous!

Looking up from the screen, Hyerin seems to get a moment of clarity and scans her surroundings again. She straightens her posture and glances at Dahyun, locking eyes for too long for Dahyun’s sanity before turning back to Soomin and accepting a piece of food from her chopsticks.

“Dahyunie, I think your eye just audibly twitched. Please just focus on eating.” Nakyoung’s hand was over hers, trying to push it to pick up a green bean in the hopes it would work. Had it been quieter in the living room, the sound of the wooden chopsticks cracking would have stuck out.

“Unnie, I swear she just did that to taunt me.”

“I genuinely didn’t see what she did, and I don’t think it’s good for your mental health to keep thinking about it, so please just eat. You’re going to break your plate with your grip.”

“They have to be pretending right now. I genuinely cannot believe this.”

This is SO preposterous!

“Unnie, just leave it be for a second. You have to eat. They’re not even doing anything they wouldn’t normally.” Judgmentally, Shion turns to face Dahyun and scold her. “You’ve watched them do this for years now; this can’t be that surprising to you.”

“You know, Shion, for someone actually in a relationship, I can’t believe you’re completely blind to the obvious acting right now.” Her frustration leaked in a comical way, poking at Shion, who now felt completely attacked for no good reason.

“NOW I’M CATCHING STRAYS?!”

I can’t believe this. THIS IS TOTALLY PREPOSTEROUS!

…

In the midst of Yeonji and Soomin’s banter on the best volume to leave your phone at (which most definitely isn’t more than 30% of the max volume, like how Yeonji insists), Hyerin tugs at her sleeve. She sets down her phone, a signal she needs absolute focus for just one moment before she’ll release her back to the normal conversation. Yeonji automatically turns to Kotone, trying to convince the older woman and get at least anybody on her side, which allows Soomin to pause their conversation.

“What’s wrong, baby?” The nickname embarrasses Hyerin, as Soomin can see from her blush escaping. It hasn’t fully released, to Soomin’s dismay.

“I think I might be going crazy, but I’m pretty sure Dahyun has been staring at us for half an hour. And not in the good way.”

“Really?” Taking a quick scope of the room and allowing her eyes to loiter where Dahyun and Nakyoung were, Soomin’s confusion only grows. “Looks like she’s just squabbling with Shion.”

“Huh?” The redhead dares to take another look, finding Dahyun’s death glare redirected from her to the other vocalist on the couch. “That’s… odd. Every time I looked back, I could have sworn she was staring at us.”

“Well,” she shrugged, “fair enough, really. You’re so pretty, Hyerin. Who wouldn’t want to stare at you? Hehe.” A sly look is sent her way, accompanied by a totally discreet wink that she most definitely didn’t hold for a second extra.

Hyerin’s blush has officially made a jailbreak.

There is something so absolutely gorgeous about Dahyun that Nakyoung cannot explain.

The two are alone, sneaking around the closest night market and walking past countless of stalls. Dahyun drapes herself over Nakyoung’s right, clutching the arm between hers and uncaring of the extreme heat. They walk side-by-side, the catlike woman only ever getting dragged when the other sees something she really wants.

Nakyoung holds a paper cup with greasy, wooden skewers sticking up like a safety hazard with her other hand. About ten stalls back, to Dahyun’s insistence, she accepts the last bite of their lamb skewers.

She’s going to refuse to answer whether it’s the heat or it’s Dahyun feeding her that makes her so red.

Dahyun drops the cup in a bin as they turn the corner. Bright lights sit overhead, amplifying the humidity. The sector they had started going through seemed to focus more on games and clothing, which the blonde had tunnel visioned on.

Still looking around, she let herself be led to one of the minigames.

Darts.

Nakyoung is terrible at darts.

“Unnie, that plushie looks exactly like you!”

Following Dahyun’s finger, Nakyoung is met by a large pink bear-thing. Set on top of the pink bear seem to be bangs, just sitting above its eyes. Large, black glasses sat across its face.

Is that what she thinks of me?

… I don’t want to look like that.

To her disappointment, her partner kept raving about the doll. “It’s so cute! It’s like a one-to-one copy of you!”

… But she wants it.

Nakyoung slams down ten tokens. There’s no way her aim is that bad, right?

“Oh, you kids are ambitious,” the elderly man running the stall chimed. “I haven’t seen anyone get three balloons, let alone five for that big plush.” He pulled a few darts from a metal tin, setting them in front of her.

“Unnie, you don’t have to use your tokens on me.” Dahyun’s face was tinged with concern and shock. “I have a couple of plushies at home, I don’t need this one.”

“It’s cute, you said, no? I’ll get it for you. Don’t worry.”

Nakyoung picks the first dart up, takes a deep breath in, and tosses it.

Complete miss.

She picks up the next dart and releases it clumsily.

One balloon down.

Four to go.

“You can do it, unnie!”

Nakyoung flubs the next shot. She can hear Dahyun actively withdraw her statement.

She misses again. Still four balloons to go.

Again.

Four balloons.

“You might just want to listen to your friend, kid. It’s going to take a lot to get that doll.”

Again.

Four balloons.

… It is a harsh day for Nakyoung’s wallet.

It takes another fifteen darts to pop the rest of the balloons. Her wrist aches from the repetitive motion, but Dahyun’s arms are full of the big plushie. She isn’t even sure of what Dahyun is saying at the moment, but she’s sure it’s something happy!

Worth it.

…

What is THAT?!

“Unnie, look! I bought us this weird fried snack!”

In the blonde angel’s hands must have been a snack sent by Satan himself. Brown, sectioned blobs bounced around in the cup that she stuck in Nakyoung’s face. They ground against the paper walls, making hollow knocking noises every time they rustled. Had there not been such a pretty woman presenting it to her, she probably would have barfed by now. She wasn’t sure if tree shedding had accumulated in Dahyun’s return, or if it was genuinely a leg she saw in the cup.

Nakyoung’s feet were pounding, unlike her companion’s unbounded energy. She had let Dahyun wander for maybe ten minutes at best on her own to recover on a bench she found, and somehow, Dahyun has brought back something new.

Bugs.

Dahyun has brought back bugs.

Nakyoung hates bugs.

“Dahyunie, did you—do you know what this is..?”

“Ah, about that, actually,” the proud smile on her face slowly phased to embarrassment, “the stall… might have been missing a sign?” Nakyoung couldn’t control her face’s pure terror, to which Dahyun immediately panicked. “I saw a certificate of health, though! It looked interesting; I assumed neither of us had tried it.”

Nakyoung is never leaving this woman alone again.

“You bought… that from a stall with no signs and didn’t ask what it was before buying it? Were there even people around that stand in the first place?”

“A couple of friends, yeah. Their faces looked funny while they ate it, though, so maybe it’s an acquired taste?”

“An acquired taste.”

“Think about it, unnie! Even if we hate it now, we can let our taste buds develop, and in the future, if we become fancy connoisseurs, we’ll be adjusted to whatever it is. We’ll fit right into high society!”

Nakyoung cannot think of a single high society that holds grasshoppers as their fine eatery.

“And you’re absolutely sure you want to eat them? You’re looking at it and thinking you’re hungry?”

“I mean, we might as well try them. I already bought them for us, unnie.”

She bought it to try with you, Nakyoung. You can’t hate it. She bought it to try with you, Nakyoung. You can’t hate it. She bought it to try with you, Nakyoung. You can’t hate it. She bought it to try with you, Nakyoung. You can’t hate it.

“Right. You paid for them.” Like they aren’t free ninety-nine on the grass beneath them at the moment! “With money. We should eat them.”

“Exactly! Might as well make the most out of it!” Returning to her cheerful nature after Nakyoung’s concession, she watched the angel boldly pinch one of the fried grasshoppers in what felt like slow motion.

And brought it to Nakyoung’s mouth.

Dahyun is feeding Nakyoung a fried grasshopper.

Good heavens.

In the nanoseconds that she agonizingly waited for Dahyun to offer her the bug, she took the time to wonder where exactly their date had gone wrong for this to be the current activity. Mentally, she wandered down the market corridors, looking back on each vendor and questioning the layout of the place.

Not once did she ponder telling Dahyun, “Hey! I absolutely hate bugs! I will throw up if I eat this!”

In fact, she pondered the exact opposite.

The terror that was the fried delicacy being presented to her was… manageable! The one and only, Seo Dahyun, was personally feeding her, had thought about her in the purchasing process, and was preparing to become a fancy connoisseur with her! This was doable! Nakyoung has faced so many hardships; a grasshopper will not become one of them!

With grace and humility, Kim Nakyoung accepts the grasshopper.

CRUNCH.

Never mind.

Nakyoung loses the grace and humility.

…

Staring into the musty bathroom mirror, Nakyoung can only groan.

She hadn’t even really begun chewing yet, but good god, she didn’t like it. She didn’t even taste that much, but the knowledge of it being a grasshopper made everything ten times worse. She still isn’t sure what stall Dahyun managed to buy them from, considering how cold they were.

The insect wins. It is officially one of Nakyoung’s many hardships in her life. Grasshoppers are now her sworn enemy.

The defeated cat swishes around what might be her twentieth handful of water before spitting it out into the sink again, trying to cleanse herself of any grasshopper remnants. Her cheeks burned red from embarrassment. She had just completely freaked out by one little crunch of a grasshopper in front of the love of her life.

She’s about to stay in this bathroom forever!

“Unnie, are you almost done? I’m sorry for making you eat it!”

Nakyoung leaves the bathroom.

Awaiting her is her angel, holding a white paper box. She must have seen Nakyoung’s violent flinch and jumped to reassure her. “No, unnie! It’s not anything bad this time!” She sighs before opening the box. “I bought cakes from your favorite shop. I saw they had a stall, so while you were in the bathroom, I went to buy you some.”

Once again, she took the arm of the elder girl, pulling her back to the seating area. They fail to hunt a table and have to settle on one of the more isolated benches. The crowd is sparse there, allowing them to hog the entire thing.

“Dahyunie, I can feed myself-”

“Just eat the cake!” Her cheeks were tinted a similar pink to Nakyoung’s. This time, instead of a cursed arthropod, she extended a bite of a chocolate cake her way. Pulling her arm away didn’t work, nor did wrestling the fork out of her hand, so she gave up and accepted the chunk.

She remembered my favorite cake spot!

Nakyoung’s focus drifted.

The dessert was as good as she remembered, likely even better, which might have to do with who just gave it to her. She very much likes this cake, more than the pest-that-shall-not-be-named.

They didn’t take turns to feed each other, but rather Dahyun giving almost every bite to Nakyoung. Enjoying the cake too much, she hadn’t even noticed when the blonde woman had started lecturing her. “Seriously, unnie, you don’t always have to do what I want. I feel so bad now.”

“Mmm?” This is some good cake. She likes the frosting.

“I didn’t even realize they were grasshoppers. If you knew what they were, you should have said something!” She paused her rant to take a bite of cake herself. “I wish you just told me. I don’t want to do something you hate.”

Something she hates?

Nakyoung’s hand twitched. She didn’t take the next forkful prepared for her. “Unnie?”

Nakyoung doesn’t hate a lot of things. She hates grasshoppers, most of all, but there isn’t much after that.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything after that.

“I hate this.”

“… What?”

“Seo Dahyun, I hate this.”

“Wait, hold on—unnie!” She stuttered and tried backing away, but Nakyoung held her tightly in place. “You hate what? Why—when were you going to tell me this?! Do you hate me? Is that what this is?”

“No, Seo Dahyun, listen—”

“What is there to listen to anymore?!” Tears began flowing uncontrollably.

“Dahyun, listen.”

“No! Just let go of me if you hate me that much! I don’t get why you bothered with all of this if you couldn’t stand it—” She pushed and pulled against Nakyoung, failing to escape and ending up holding up her arms to shield her face.

“Dahyun. I don’t hate you. I hate this,” she said softly.

Tugging the arms away from her face, Nakyoung looks straight into Dahyun’s eyes. Water clustered at the corners of her eyes, spilling down her face. Her eyebrows furrowed in frustration and confusion, all caused by Nakyoung.

“What is that even supposed to mean?! ‘I hate this’? How am I even supposed to respond, Nakyoung? What even is ‘this’?”

“It’s this, Dahyun. The fake dating.” The frustration was turned into panic, prompting Nakyoung to speak even softer. “I don’t hate you. Seo Dahyun, I am madly in love with you. I have been since the moment we met. You run through my head like crazy, even when we’re not together.

I hate this. I hate having to pretend like I’m in love with you, because I am in love with you. I don’t like that. I don’t like pretending like that. I want to be yours, truly yours. I want it so badly.” Her own eyes darken. “I hate thinking about when you’ll break this off. I hate dreading the moment we go back to just being friends or coworkers or whatever, and I’m no longer yours, even if you don’t really see me as yours right now.”

She breathes in sharply. Somewhere in her monologue, she let go of Dahyun’s hands that made their way to her face. “You drive me absolutely mad, Seo Dahyun. Every second I’m with you, all I can think about is if you’ll call this off, and then I lose the privilege of even pretending that we’re together. I want to be together, I want to be yours, and I don’t want—”

“Say no more.”

Pulling her out of her spiraling, she sends Nakyoung into a stupor.

With a kiss.

Nakyoung is being kissed by an angel.

Their lips meet, and Nakyoung can still taste some of the sugar, either from the cake or Dahyun’s pure being—she has no clue which one. Adrenaline shoots through her, keeping her conscious enough to continue kissing her. Dahyun pulls her face impossibly closer, which prompts Nakyoung to do the same.

Is she in heaven? Nakyoung is literally kissing an angel.

They finally break away, leaving her completely dazed. They gaze at one another, both not really sure what just happened. “Be mine.”

“Huh?”

“Kim Nakyoung. Be mine. Be mine—for real, this time—and I’m completely yours.”

Being Dahyun’s?

Nakyoung has been waiting for that.

Nakyoung has been waiting forever.

That would be heaven.

“I already am. I have been.”

“Then you’ve already been mine,” she affirms, “and I’m now yours.”

Nakyoung is in heaven.

Graced with another day where nobody dares barging in on them, Kaede and Shion lounge around on the latter’s bed. The former is on her back, holding her phone up to the sky while playing a game as the other half watches and scrolls on her own device.

Huffing, Shion suddenly lays her phone on Kaede’s stomach.

“Do you get the feeling they still don’t know?”

Too focused, Kaede doesn’t quite process the question and replies with a noncommittal hum. Shion replies to that with her very committal flick to her forehead. The pain messes her up, her crosshair flying away from the enemy in front of her while bullets are lost in the sky. “You didn’t hear a thing I said, didn’t you?” Flicking her eyes back and forth between Shion and her phone, she can see a firm pout and her COD avatar falling to the ground, fading into dark red obscurity.

“I’ve been caught!” The phone is tossed aside, bouncing somewhere against the wall. She rolls on top of Shion and ignores the surprised cry from the younger one. “I didn’t register a single word.” Pressing a kiss atop the pout, Kaede finally settles underneath Shion’s chin. “Please, love, educate me on what I missed?”

“Urgh, you…” Another flick to the forehead. “I’m talking about Dahyun and the rest of them. Do you think any of them figured their situation out yet?”

“Genuinely speaking?” She took a moment to think about the fictional case they were observing.

Nakyoung very clearly likes Dahyun. They don’t need to dwell on that any longer. Dahyun isn’t quite seeing that yet, from what she can tell, but it doesn’t seem to be THAT unsuccessful on the eldest’s part!

Hyerin and Soomin are gay, though. No thinking required, according to Shion. Kaede herself doesn’t really pick up on that stuff, but she trusts her girlfriend. Basing her conclusions on that knowledge, they should, in theory, act like a couple.

Kaede shrugged. “Probably not.”

“Really? You have that little faith in all of them?”

“Honey, think about it. It’s Dahyun and Nakyoung,” she emphasized. “I sincerely doubt they’ve came any step closer by now. Plus, Soomin and Hyerin are just like that. They probably don’t realize they’re being gay; it’s just their norm, like you said. The older two are basically set up for failure.”

“You’re saying they’ll never realize? That’s kinda’ sad though.”

“Sad? Why sad?” Kaede can only imagine the millions of sympathetic thoughts now running through Shion’s head for this ridiculous setup. “They’re the ones who agreed to this whole competitive dating nonsense.”

“But they all seem so stressed about keeping up their act around each other. It’s so pointless, though!” Her fingers traced the design on Kaede’s shirt, which helped in no way with Kaede’s concentration. “Like, when you think about it, they’re just running circles, and I don’t think any of them will want to admit they’re not actually dating.”

“Oh, Shionnie.” Kaede blindly pats around for her phone, holding it up and starting a new COD match. Her thumbs hover over the controls before the game starts. “I don’t think any of them would like it if we rat them out. It’s basically out of our hands.”

She could see Shion staring at her face again in the corner of her eye. She was unusually quiet for a minute, but Kaede was about to die to some noob because he had managed to get an automatic gun in the first 20 seconds, so she couldn’t question it.

“… You know what’s not in your hands?”

“Hmm?”

“Your girlfriend.”

“Right, right.” The noob wins this time. “Getting on that right now. Yes, ma’am.”

Soomin loves days like this.

A miracle from management has been bestowed upon her, leaving both her and Hyerin free for a weekend. Meaning, they get enough time to have one of their rare sleepovers.

Or in other words, Soomin crashes at Hyerin’s place despite many (loving) objections and complaints from the cat-like girl.

The apartment isn’t foreign to her, having already memorized it from previous sleepovers and many video calls. At most, the only thing different is a stack of prep books that has been moved around. She moves through the rooms with ease and arrives in Hyerin’s room while she trails behind her.

The room is unapologetically Hyerin’s. It smells like her, has the spec of organized chaos that Hyerin likes to keep, and the decorations are clearly hers. The bed is pushed up against a corner, leaving an open space everywhere except the walls.

Dropping her bag of clothes next to her fake-girlfriend’s wardrobe, she turns and grins at her aforementioned fake-girlfriend.

“Snacks?”

With an annoyed, but extremely fond smile, the red-haired girl holds up her phone. It’s bright, black squiggles of text showing a receipt to some random delivery app.

“Already ordered some.”

…

Steam wafts out of plastic takeout containers. The smell of oil and garlic begins to permeate the air, and Hyerin sits down after throwing out the last bag. Between them sits a small assortment of both their favorites. The more energetic of the pair digs right in as the other snaps a photo.

“Owowowowowow—hhhhhhhhot!” Soomin aggressively sucked air into her mouth, on fire from the burning food. Knocking over a pile of napkins, Hyerin lunges for a cup and pours her some water, holding it up to Soomin’s mouth. Soomin, in turn, grasps onto Hyerin’s hand, taking greedy gulps while trying to alleviate the pain.

“I told you to blow on it first! The soup was literally evaporating off the rice cake!”

“But it smelt so good!”

“I’m not helping next time you burn yourself!”

“You know you will!”

It’s domestic in a sense. Soomin really likes how it feels. Except for the burning. She doesn’t really like that. That really hurts. But she likes everything else! She likes Hyerin, being with Hyerin, bickering with Hyerin, food, and Hyerin.

Soomin wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“Like hell I will!”

”Oh c’mon, Hyerinnnnnnnnnnnn!”

She takes the cup from Hyerin and sets it down on the table. As they lower back into their chairs, she slips her hand into the space the cup left. Even without prior discussion, Hyerin permits the hand holding. Their rings make a small clinking noise as they meet. She must have thought the same way as her. “You reaaaally wouldn’t do it? For lil’ old me?”

Time to bring on the puppy eyes.

“You—! Urgh, whatever…” Her face becomes flushed almost immediately, still squeezing Soomin’s hand but pointedly avoiding her stare.

Critical hit!

“I knew you loved me!”

She lets out a celebratory fist pump with her other hand, knocking her phone off the table when her elbow drops. The pain shoots up her forearm, but the joy persists and pushes its way onto the other girl’s face as well. She can barely hear the warmhearted lecturing about situational awareness over her own giggles.

She really likes this.

…

One of the best things about days like this is Hyerin’s bed. To Soomin, quite literally, anyone else’s bed is way more comfortable than her own, but Hyerin’s especially!

It’s a special occasion. She must prepare very carefully. There are only so many days that Hyerin will let her sleep in her bed, even if Hyerin has never said no since they met.

The sink handle creaks as she pushes it back to normal. There’s an odd feeling in her chest while she hangs her towel next to Hyerin’s. She can’t hear much coming from the bedroom, not even the sound of Hyerin doom-scrolling.

It’s an unusual silence, even if they’re both tired.

Oh well. Speaking of tired, Soomin’s getting to bed. Hyerin’s all alone!

She flicks the bathroom light switch behind her, finding the red-haired girl staring up at the ceiling and her phone next to her. She doesn’t seem to notice when Soomin enters.

Soomin takes this time to attack.

She slowly creeps towards one side of the bed. Bending her knees, Soomin launches herself towards Hyerin, taking the stance of a flying squirrel midair, and lands right over Hyerin, who becomes visibly startled by the operation. Shock makes her grab onto the blanket and embarrassment to hide under it.

“Oh my god, Soomin!”

“Hi! You were sleeping with your eyes open, I think!”

“No, I wasn’t! Oh my god, you’re so—you scared me!”

“Boo!” She pulls the blanket away and rolls herself on top of Hyerin’s left arm. “I’ll be a big, scary monster then! Scare you for eternity. You’ll never get rid of me!”

“Pfffft. What are you talking about?” With her one free arm, she wraps herself around Soomin, kicking at the blanket to push it back onto them. They end up in Soomin’s favorite position: big spoon and little spoon. “You’re no monster. I wouldn’t even try to get rid of you anyway.” Hyerin stretches behind her, tugging at the lamp’s pull chain. The warm glow is replaced by the moon’s much weaker power through the window.

“Uh, yeah. Because I’m gonna be stuck to you like glue for forever,” Soomin said matter-of-factly.

“… Yeah. Forever.” Soomin took the tense pause as her cue to stop talking.

Hyerin must be tired. She couldn’t see her face, but she assumed Hyerin’s eyes were likely closing by now. It was late, way past both of their bedtimes.

That’s okay. She could still talk to Hyerin in the morning, like usual. She was also sleepy. Her hearing was basically cutting in and out.

Breathing filled the room. Soomin’s eyes closed, embracing the feeling of Hyerin’s arms around her.

Soomin really likes Hyerin’s warmth. She has for a while. It’s cozy.

“… you… girlfriend?”

“Mmmh?” It’s really nice being able to sink into Hyerin’s arms after a while.

“Soomin… you… my girlfriend?”

“Yeah, I know… I thought that’s the—” Soomin takes the time to yawn before sleepily continuing, “the whole point of you and Dahyun-unnie’s thing?” She isn’t that concerned when her voice gets closer.

She can make out a sigh coming from behind her and doesn’t think much of it until Hyerin squeezes extra tight. Hyerin’s voice is right next to her ear this time.

“No, Soomin. Will you be my girlfriend?”

She speaks clearly and still quietly, but still shocks Soomin a good deal awake. She spins around, struggling against the bed to look Hyerin in the eye.

It’s a loving look. Her eyes are soft and half-lidded, the faint glow of the nightlight bouncing off her. If Soomin didn’t know better, Hyerin seemed confident.

But Soomin knows better. There’s worry. Fear and worry that don’t suit her at all. They make it seem like Hyerin is about to lose her in this very moment. Soomin wants to fight whatever is causing it. “We’re already so,” she hesitates, “so similar to what couples do. Things won’t really change between us.”

“Mmm. I know.”

“You know? And you’re sure you’re okay with that?”

… Okay with it?

Soomin is more than ‘okay’ with it.

“I don’t want things to change between us, though? I don’t need it to feel like a completely different life. I like this.” Cradling Hyerin’s face, she shifted to get a clearer sight of her. “I like talking to you, over the phone or right to your face. I like being able to sit next to you, even if you’re tired and need me to redirect some energy elsewhere. I like being able to hold hands with you or hug you when I’m sad. I like comforting you when you’re sad.”

The glint in Hyerin’s eyes has turned into pure restlessness, darting all across Soomin’s face. She holds her tightly, almost nervous Soomin will just walk out and leave after pouring her heart out. “I don’t care if it doesn’t change. I like this, Hyerin. I like you—scratch that, I love you, Hyerin. I love this, and I’d love to call it romantic. It might not change, but it’ll change. We’ll feel it.”

“You’re right,” she breathed out. “We’ll feel it. I love this, too, Soomin.” Walls and walls of doubt and uncertainty came crumbling down. Hyerin sat up with Soomin following suit. “Actually, Soomin, I love you.”

“I love you too, Hyerin.”

Neither dared to make a sound after that, letting the faint hum of air conditioning fill the room. Soomin’s eyes flicked back and forth, up to Hyerin’s eyes, then down to Hyerin’s lips.

Was this too fast for Hyerin? Was she too forward?

Soomin has not been hesitant with Hyerin for years. The uncertainty was now hitting her like a train.

The fear was devastating.

So, she didn’t move.

But Hyerin did.

It was soft.

And, god, it was everything Soomin had been waiting years for.

It was loving. It was slow. There was no rush to something they could develop for more years to come. They moved instinctively, but coordinated.

And Soomin loved it. She loves Hyerin.

Both of them pulled away at once, meeting each other’s eyes. White noise floated around them as one of Soomin’s hands dropped to fall into Hyerin’s. She could feel the latter nervously fidget over each of her knuckles.

They took the time to study each other. She could recognize how warm Hyerin’s face had become underneath her fingers and how much more relaxed her face had become.

And Soomin loves it. She loves knowing Hyerin’s worries are slowly melting away.

Soomin loves Hyerin.

And now, Hyerin loves Soomin too.

Actually?

She always has.