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Making a name in the music industry is tough. Especially when you’re from a small town in Australia — so small that there was only one other girl in your class at school.
Despite having not much to compare to, everyone in Marysville knew Lily could really sing. She did so at every opportunity.
At choir and in talent shows in her younger years, before becoming a regular at local venues where she would perform her original songs and sing popular covers for the adoring drunken locals.
It would not be a stretch to say she was one of the most popular people in town. Nobody had a bad word to say about her, and everyone believed she could make it.
The problem was getting seen. There were only 500 people in the entire town of Marysville, and there were no major record label executives randomly stopping in to find local talent.
Lily, like so many others, turned to the internet to try and further her career.
It was a very vulnerable thing to upload a singing video for the world to react to, but there was no other option, and singing was all she wanted to do.
Talent-wise she was undeniable. Her original songs, however, never broke through, and her covers of popular songs only garnered a few thousand views.
Still, from a town of 500, a few thousand views every time she hit upload felt amazing.
People really want to spend their time listening to me? And leaving nice comments? Amazing.
Slowly but surely she began to build a following, and soon enough she was contacted by a venue in the heart of Melbourne to come and perform her first gig in the city.
She had been to Melbourne before many times, it was only a few hours away, and it is arguably Australia’s most vibrant and artsy capital city.
And, of course, it was where Taylor Swift comes when she tours.
Lily wouldn’t be performing at a giant football stadium like Taylor, but she revelled in the opportunity to sing with a live band at famous, old, small venues around the city.
Every two weeks she would make the drive and spend the weekend, meeting new people, making new friends, getting new connections in the music scene.
Her talent alone made her one of the hottest names in the city, and her popularity within Melbourne eventually led to the call that would change everything.
Her manager phoned to present an opportunity: “How would you like to be a supporting act for a K-Pop group?”
That group, it turned out, was NMIXX.
Chapter 2: Who is NMIXX?
That night, after immediately accepting the offer, Lily got online and searched up everything she could find about NMIXX.
Five members: Haewon, Sullyoon, Bae, Jiwoo and Kyujin.
She watched their music videos, listened to the most popular b-sides, and even checked out a long group introduction that identified each member.
Of course Lily was aware of K-Pop. She was half Korean.
But her mum never really listened to it, and it was not something that ever came up in Marysville conversations.
This was her first time truly deep-diving into a group. And it was mind-blowing.
Lily was humble, but she had never had any competition growing up for the ‘Best Singer in Town’ title. But listening to NMIXX — they could all sing.
Like, really sing.
The image she had of young Korean girl groups was a kind of a 'sweet bubblegum fairy princess aesthetic'. This was not that.
There was something weighty and artsy about the music that really caught Lily’s ear. And the members themselves caught her eye.
They were all outrageously beautiful, but the combination of her face and her eyes and, most importantly, her voice, made one stand out in particular.
Haewon.
Haewon’s voice genuinely shocked Lily. It was unlike anything she had ever heard in Melbourne, and it had something captivating that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
They also had a similar taste in music. Lily’s NMIXX search eventually turned to a Haewon background check, going all the way back to the beginning to find out everything she could.
There, Lily found Haewon covering a couple Beyoncé songs: Halo, and Destiny’s Child’s Survivor.
She sounded so good. And so different from Lily’s own voice — in a way that excited her.
As a way to announce her addition to the concert on social media, Lily came up with the idea to film her own cover of Survivor, and upload it side-by-side with Haewon, as if it were a duet.
The video ended up being, by far, the most viral thing Lily had ever uploaded.
Hundreds of thousands of views in a week. Massive increases in followers on all platforms. K-Pop fans listening to Lily’s original music.
It was a whirlwind, and a real dream come true as far as breaking through and getting seen on an international scale.
Haewon also enjoyed it.
She wondered if her and Lily would be friends in real life.
And she wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.
Chapter 3: Lily, meet Haewon
The day quickly arrived when Lily finally met NMIXX.
She arrived at the arena at 11am to rehearse for that night’s show, eager to watch NMIXX’s sound check and hear all of their voices in person.
Butterflies filled her stomach and when Lily thought about actually meeting Haewon, still unaware what the world-famous leader of a girl group thought about her bold Survivor duet that she posted without permission.
Lily couldn’t decide if she preferred the idea of Haewon having seen the video or not. She suddenly felt very self-conscious, unsure if she would be accepted.
Lily kept to herself after arriving at the arena, finding her dressing room through the maze of back hallways. There, she curled up comfortably on her two-seater couch and began to read, waiting for someone from the arena staff to give her the next update about what she was doing.
After a few minutes passed, a knock on the door. Lily jumped up, professional as ever, ready to fulfil whatever duty was needed of her in rehearsals.
She did not expect Haewon to be the one on the other side.
Haewon was dressed casually, with her shoulder-length hair in a small pony tail. Lily thought she was even prettier in person, and a lot smaller and more gentle than she appeared in music videos.
She didn’t know what to say.
“Hello!” Lily defaulted to, with a huge smitten smile on her face.
“Haewon, right? I am a big fan!”
“Hello Lily,” Haewon responded, focusing hard on the upcoming English sentences she had planned.
“I enjoyed your Survivor cover. You have a great voice.”
To Lily, this was best-case scenario. A compliment on her talent, and an appreciation for the gesture she made by reaching out to Haewon in that way.
“Thank you so much!” Lily said as warmly as humanly possible.
“You speak English really well too!”
“Not much,” Haewon made clear, appreciative of the compliment without wanting to oversell her ability to hold a full conversation in her second language.
“Only sentences I practice.”
“Would you prefer to talk in Korean?” Lily proposed, not sure if Haewon knew she was also half-Korean.
Haewon immediately switched to her primary language: “You know Korean?”
“I do!” Lily excitedly shared, switching to Korean before revealing her full name like it was a twist from one of her favourite books.
“It’s Lily Jin Park Morrow.”
“Woah, why did nobody tell me,” Haewon said, playing it cool about a new world of communication opening up with her new friend she wanted to know more about.
“Have you been to Korea?”
“Only when I was younger,” Lily responded.
“I do want to go back some time soon.”
“You should,” Haewon suggested casually, trying not to give away she was mentally planning a future with this woman she just met.
“We could hang out.”
While Haewon was overwhelmingly cool, Lily also felt an incredible warmth from her.
It was such an enjoyable conversation that Lily was sure if she and Haewon both had tails they would be wagging like golden retrievers.
Lily really liked how Haewon had a ‘black cat’ look and vibe but and golden retriever soul. She even for a second thought they might even look cute together.
Lily had so many more questions she wanted to ask — about life as a pop star, as a touring musician.
She wasn’t super tuned into the K-Pop world, but she was aware that the country ran its record labels like sports academies, and that the best of the best rise to the top.
For Haewon to go through that meat grinder and not just survive, but emerge out the other side as the leader of a group from a major company — it impressed and intimidated Lily.
But before they could talk any more, a staff member called out for Haewon from down the hallway to come and prepare for NMIXX's upcoming sound check.
Lily was in awe of how cool Haewon was, and how in control she was of her emotions.
She was not at all visibly flustered like Lily, and was able to maintain an intense eye contact that Lily found hard to match due to sheer nerves.
She wondered what this ultra cool, pop princess thought about her.
Maybe she does this with all the supporting artists she meets on tour?
Maybe she invites them all to come back to Korea with her and hang out?
Maybe she’s not as into me as I’m deluding myself into believing?
Completely hypnotised by her new friend, Lily went to join the small VIP crowd for the sound check, picking a spot to stand where she hoped Haewon would be able to see from the stage.
Chapter 4: Haewon, meet Lily
‘Korean?! SERIOUSLY!‘ Haewon thought to herself, like she had struck gold.
‘What are the chances she speaks Korean! Total game-changer!’
Haewon felt like she had spent more time practicing English in the past week than she had in her entire life up until that point, but it was always going to be tough to speak freely and fully in the language.
There was no doubt about it. Haewon had a crush on Lily.
The Survivor duet was one of the sweetest, and most impressive things she had ever seen. Their voices fit together like yin and yang, the vocal equivalent of a big and little spoon. And Haewon didn’t mind which spoon she was, as long as it was with Lily.
She knew Lily could sing, but it was her kindness and humour that really stood out to Haewon once they met.
Despite trying to maintain a cool, cold persona to exude maximum aura, they were already making each other laugh like schoolgirls during their very first conversation, and the chemistry was undeniable.
She was also breathtaking to Haewon, who didn’t have any western friends, and Lily was so different to anyone she had spent time with.
All she could think of while on stage was Lily. How much they clicked, and what she felt when they looked into each other’s eyes.
She wondered how much of an opportunity she would have to spend time with her new friend since they were only in Melbourne today and tomorrow, and most of that time was already planned out.
So it was an extremely pleasant surprise for Haewon to see Lily amongst the crowd at the sound check.
Lily must have been staring for a while, because the second Haewon found her, their eyes met instantly.
It was one of the most fun sound checks Haewon’s ever had. The constant eye-contact made it feel like a private performance for one, and she was determined to give Lily something she would remember.
She desperately, desperately wanted to be on Lily’s mind all day.
And she succeeded.
But Haewon wasn’t ready to leave it there.
When it was time to leave the NMIXX sound check, Haewon was the only one to stay and watch Lily’s sound check.
She quietly admired from side of stage where Lily could not see her, enthralled by the raw vocal talent.
More than anything, Haewon loved singing, and ‘game respects game’, as they’d say of a star athlete watching another star athlete at the peak of their powers.
It was almost a turn-on for Haewon to see Lily work in such an intimate setting with such intensity, not toning down her performance in any way despite thinking nobody’s watching.
Haewon thought to herself: 'am I turned on by professionalism? What does that say about me?'
But it was more than that. It was the combination of her off-stage personality with her on-stage power.
There was perhaps even a hint of jealousy buried in there somewhere. At no point had Haewon ever really been out-sang, and for the first time she was hearing a voice that she thought could match her own.
Instead of feeling competitive, it excited her.
The possibilities excited her.
All the possibilities.
When Lily wrapped up her last song, Haewon emerged from the shadows and began walking over to where Lily was on stage.
The look of surprise and gratitude on Lily’s face when she realised Haewon sat through her entire sound check, alone, unlocked something in Haewon’s heart.
She wanted to see that look again. It made Haewon feel something intense.
“You can really sing,” Haewon said, trying to not match the hilariously giddy look on Lily’s face and keep the aura high-ground.
“I didn’t know you were watching!” Lily giggled, now suddenly embarrassed as she thinks of all the extremely minor mistakes she made that would be invisible to most ears, but not Haewon’s.
“I can do better! I will do better tonight, I promise.”
“Relax,” Haewon reassured her.
“I mean it — really really good. And really pretty.”
The second comment caught Lily off guard.
“You’re the pretty one!” she said, completely unprepared to go flirt-for-flirt with a pop star.
“No you!”
“No you!”
Like school kids.
“I want to sing with you,” Haewon said.
“Survivor?”
“Survivor!” Lily lit up.
“I would literally love nothing more... I don’t think anyone here has the Survivor backing track ready to go though..”
“Acapella?” Haewon suggested, eager to share the intimacy as their vocals intertwine with no other noise to interfere.
With no time to plan or compose an equal share of parts and harmonies, Haewon and Lily just sung together, the whole song, getting closer and closer as they continued.
By the second chorus they were holding hands, not dancing, just feeling each other’s skin as they danced with their voices.
It was the most intimate thing Haewon can ever remember doing.
When they finished — while gasping for air after belting their hearts out — their hands moved up each other’s arms, and they came together to embrace.
Not a side-hug or a quick friendly hug. A real embrace. From two people who just shared something and want to never let go.
And for a brief, brief moment, it felt like they’d never have to.
Eventually Haewon snapped back to her senses, aware she is in a public place and could be being recorded at any time, and quickly separated to readjust her hair and clothes to appear normal.
“I’ve got to go back to the hotel now,” Haewon said, before stepping in face-to-face to add: “I’ll see you tonight?”
“I’ll see you tonight,” Lily responded, bright red and unable to maintain eye contact with the beautiful woman invading her personal space in a way she loved.
Chapter 5: The Concert
Lily always arrived at venues 30 minutes before she has to.
Usually, it was just as a statement of professionalism and courtesy, and to leave a strong impression.
This time, however, she would rock up a full two hours ahead of schedule, just to see if she could catch a glimpse of Haewon.
They hadn’t exchanged numbers after the sound check, leaving their last interaction on a repeating loop in Lily’s mind.
She could still feel the power Haewon had over her. It was magnetic, like she was being drawn to her.
Lily was a bit worried by how emotionally invested she was in the situation, but more than anything she was excited.
‘A pop star coming to my city and falling in love with me?’ Lily thought to herself.
“Why not!”
She really was a glass half-full kind of operator.
Unfortunately the NMIXX pre-concert was tightly planned, and Lily’s waiting in areas where she hoped she would ‘accidentally’ bump into Haewon went unrewarded.
Until right before Lily was set to go on stage and open.
As she emerged from her dressing room to make the walk, Haewon appeared in the hallway, waiting for Lily to pass through the only corridor connecting her dressing room to the stageside area.
Lily felt instantly energised, like she was a solar panel and Haewon was the sun. Just her presence alone made Lily feel like she had super powers.
“Good luck,” Haewon said with warm eyes, leaning up against the wall as Lily approached in what she felt was a cool stance.
Lily came to a stop close enough to grab both of Haewon’s hands for a second and return the warmth.
“Thank you!” she replied, as appreciatively as she could possibly convey.
“Good luck to you as well! I’ll be watching!”
“I’ll be watching you too,” Haewon reminded Lily, clearly about to watch her walk onto stage imminently.
The thought of Haewon watching what was already one of Lily’s most high-pressure and high-stress gigs suddenly hit Lily like a ton of bricks.
She hadn’t even realised Haewon was watching her sound check, and she really wanted to impress.
Fortunately, Haewon made one last parting comment that took Lily’s mind totally off any performance jitters.
“Wait for me after our show,” Haewon commanded gently.
“Ok!” Lily agreed. “I promise.”
They sealed it with a pinky promise before they went off to deliver their respective performances.
They both had a little something extra that night. More emotion in their voice, more expression in their movement. More feeling.
They both couldn’t wait for whatever was coming after.
Following her own set, which went as well as she could have hoped, Lily returned to her dressing room to briefly decompress.
It had been a crazy day, and, based on the tension between herself and Haewon, it had the potential to be an even crazier night.
Lily wondered what the plan even was. Haewon had asked her to stick around, but what do NMIXX do after concerts?
Are we all going to hang out as a group in the main dressing room?
Are we leaving and going somewhere else?
Will I get any time alone with Haewon?
Before her mind could run too wild, a knock on the door came from an NMIXX staff member, handing Lily a wristband that she would need to tag along with wherever the group headed next.
The tension inside Lily continued to build across the next two hours as she watched NMIXX perform from a number of different vantage points.
From side stage, on the monitors, and even from the back of the venue in the standing only section.
While her mind was solely focused in on Haewon, Lily had an immense appreciation for the entire group and their skills. They were all beautiful and intimidating.
She worried if they would accept her as warmly as Haewon did, or if their time together post-show would be awkward and uncomfortable.
Eventually the time came. NMIXX said their goodbyes, played their encore, and the fans began filtering out of the arena.
It suddenly was becoming so real to Lily. She could feel her heart pounding through her chest as she sat in her dressing room taking deep breaths trying to slow everything down.
It was beginning to work — until Haewon showed up at Lily’s door once more, still in her full concert attire, a crazy combination of leather and lace and thighs.
And Haewon knew she looked amazing, so she wanted to make sure to come and leave an impression before she had to change.
“What did you think?” Haewon asked of her performance as she stood leaning against the door frame, still desperate to impress Lily by her skillset.
Having quickly sprung off the coach, Lily stood perfectly still as she replied, not sure if she was supposed to close the distance between them.
“You were so good,” Lily insisted, in complete honesty.
“All five of you sang really well, it was very impressive!
“Kyujin’s voice even reminded me a little of my own… we have a lot of similarities.”
“Kyujin?” Haewon shot back with surprise, closing the door behind her before slowly walking towards Lily.
“Our Kyujin?”
Haewon knew Kyujin was an extremely gifted vocalist, but she didn’t like someone else having caught Lily’s eye — or ear — at a moment where she was hoping to have the strongest impression.
But Haewon also liked the way it made Lily squirm when she thought she might have accidentally insulted her. It was endearing, and cute.
As she approached, Lily instinctively went to step back, but with the couch behind, she ended up stumbling down into a seated position.
“But you were the best!” Lily scrambled to add.
“I could listen to you all day, you’re even better than the recording!”
Haewon was charmed by the flattery, and even more touched at how much Lily wanted to reassure her.
“May I?,” Haewon requested with intense eye contact, standing right in front of Lily and staring down at her.
‘May I what?’ Lily thought to herself. But it didn’t really matter what Haewon meant — the answer remained the same no matter what.
“Of course” Lily agreed, ready for literally anything.
So Haewon took her biggest chance so far, putting one knee on the couch next to Lily, before throwing her other leg over the Lily’s lap to straddle her.
“Is this okay?” Haewon asked, maintaining full eye contact as she sunk down into Lily with as much pressure as she could.
Lily struggled with the eye contact part, but she loved the way Haewon looked at her, so she couldn’t look away.
And she loved the way it felt to be sit on like this, which was a brand new experience.
“Yes it’s okay,” Lily consented, giving an awkward ‘thumbs up’ that made Haewon laugh and took away a small fraction of the tension that made Lily feel like she may pass out at any second.
So instead of making conversation, Lily just wrapped her arms around Haewon and pulled her close, burying her head into Haewon’s chest in what felt like the most intimate hug of both of their lives.
When Lily finally let go of her squeeze, she made sure Haewon knew this was a big deal for her.
“I haven’t done this before,” Lily said with tinges of embarrassment and shame.
“With a girl?” Haewon asked.
“With anyone!” Lily made clear.
“There weren’t many boys in Marysville my age growing up, and when I go into the city for my music I’m very professional.”
“Boys?” Haewon queried with a cheeky smile on her face, wriggling around slightly to make Lily feel the grown woman in her lap.
“Well I honestly never even considered that my first time would be with a woman,” Lily admitted.
“I’ve never felt like this before.”
“First time doing what?” Haewon teased again, fully aware of the torture she was inflicting by making Lily say these things out loud.
“Sorry I didn’t mean to assume we’d do anything…” Lily said, feeling like she was stepping on a pile of verbal rakes Sideshow Bob-style.
So Haewon finally put her of her misery with a kiss.
A gentle, extended, passionate kiss to quiet any thoughts in Lily’s head.
“We just did do something,” Haewon said at nose-to-nose range after breaking contact with Lily’s lips for a second, and going in for more.
Lily did not know what to do with her hands, but she wanted to feel Haewon, so she ran her hands up and down her back and also down the outside of her thighs, tracing the body that was grinding on top of her.
It was only a knock on the door that stopped them in their tracks, both quickly springing to their feet to play innocent.
It was the staff to let Haewon know they were about to leave for the after party, which would be held at a private room at NMIXX’s hotel, up in the penthouse.
“Shall we?” Haewon proposed, putting her hand out for Lily to grab onto.
“Together?” Lily worried.
“Won’t people think something is going on?”
“Let them,” Haewon said with a smile, almost proud to show off her hot new crush to the rest of her friends.
Chapter 6: The After Party
Having only seen them in passing at the venue that day, Lily still had not met the other NMIXX members, and now the stress of the new introductions was also becoming real.
Lily and Haewon’s walk from Lily’s dressing room to NMIXX’s was silent as Lily tried planning in her head what she would say.
Right before entering, Haewon gave Lily a friendly, reassuring look, and they walked in together.
“Everybody, this is Lily,” Haewon said as all eyes focused on the new arrivals in the room.
“She speaks Korean as well.”
Of course, the rest of the members went out of their way to make Lily feel welcome, introducing themselves individually and complimenting her Survivor cover that had gone viral.
Immediately the worst-case scenario of the mean girl pop stars was off the table, and Lily realised that in another life, they probably all would have been great friends.
Following introductions, they all filed into NMIXX’s tour vans to head back to the hotel.
“Who wants to go with Lily and I?” Haewon asked the group.
Bae was the first to jump at the opportunity, while Sullyoon, Jiwoo and Kyujin split up into the other van.
During the short drive Bae was enthralled by her new Australian friend, trying to learn as much as she could in their brief time together.
Haewon gladly watched as one of her oldest friends and her brand new love interest hit it off — a clear green flag, in Haewon’s eyes.
It was 11:30pm by the time they arrived at the penthouse for the after party.
For Lily, that was pretty much bed time, but she knew these K-Pop idols operate on next-to no sleep, and that the night was just beginning.
Still, it didn’t feel like nearly midnight. Lily had not felt this full of energy and excitement in a long time, maybe since her first proper gig in the big city.
Just like then, there was a ton on the line right now. There may never be another chance to randomly fall in love with a famous musician.
And Lily didn’t want another chance in the future. She wanted to take this opportunity and not let go.
The after party was small, just including the members, staff and some local corporate connections invited by the record label for networking purposes.
Lily had hoped this could be an extension of what had taken place in her dressing room after the concert, but it became clear quickly that, with all these people around, that was never going to be possible.
It was upsetting for Lily, but she didn’t want to seem like some horny teen only interested in finding some quiet place to get freaky, so she gladly engaged in a group setting as Haewon went around with Lily to start a conversation with each member individually.
She found a lot in common with all of them; everyone chasing the same dream. To be heard, and to be loved by those who appreciate their music.
They’d all accomplished more than the vast majority of artists ever do, and they all had ambition and desire to go so much further.
They compared jealousies with each other, how Lily wanted to tour the world like NMIXX, and how NMIXX wanted the freedom to write their own music and set their own schedules like Lily.
They brainstormed collaborations, and decided that no matter what happened in the future, their journeys would always be linked.
“Like fate?” Haewon joked with Lily, who she could tell was into that kind of thing.
“Maybe…” Lily said, now a little embarrassed to be injecting herself into a group she had just met.
Hours of conversation had passed, all of the staff and random invitees had left, and eventually it was just the NMIXX girls and Lily on the couch.
Trying to not be too obvious, Lily and Haewon had landed on different chairs before everyone settled in, leaving them staring at each other from across the coffee table for what felt like forever.
They technically had the penthouse booked for the entire night, but each of the members wanted to back to their own rooms for their own bedtime routines.
“It was great meeting you,” Sullyoon said to Lily as she was the first member to call it a night. Jiwoo and Kyujin followed.
Bae was now the last person standing between Haewon and Lily’s alone time, and now that it was a smaller group, the feeling of being a third-wheel only just hit her.
Bae quietly watched Lily and Haewon not break eye contact for a full minute before she took the hint.
“Alright! Bed time!” she said as awkwardly as she could, making it clear she was leaving solely to give the pair some time by themselves before the sun came up.
Haewon got up to hug Bae for the gesture, worried that it was never going to happen and that the opportunity would pass her and Lily by.
The impending sunrise in a few more hours felt began to feel scary for the two of them. It had been their day, something they would share forever, and it was almost over.
“Are you going to go as well?” Haewon asked Lily, fully prepared for the devastation that a ‘yes’ response would bring.
They both waved good night to Bae as she shut the penthouse door behind her, leaving just Lily and Haewon together.
At that moment, Lily decided she would be the one to make the move, getting up and walking over to Haewon’s couch with a blanket in hand.
“I’m not that tired yet,” Lily said.
“Are you?”
Haewon’s impending doom turned to joy.
“I’m wide awake now,” she smiled.
Chapter 7: After the After Party
Before anything else, Haewon got up to lock the door before walking back to join Lily on the couch.
As real as things were before, the sound of the door clicking shut raised the stakes even higher.
It was scary, and her heart was pumping fast again, but Lily had been thinking of recreating their time in her dressing room ever since that damn knock on the door made them stop.
With no interest in waiting and seeing what happened, Lily turned to Haewon sitting next to her and climbed on top, pulling the blanket over the top of both of them as Haewon happily put her hands on Lily’s waist.
Underneath the blanket, the two began kissing again, this time even more passionately, with the privacy of a locked door.
Having surprised Haewon by taking top position, Lily surprised again by escalating further, pulling away from the lips to start kissing and sucking on Haewon’s neck.
Haewon affirmed her approval by moving her fingers down Lily’s back, grabbing her ass with both hands, and pulling her down as hard as she could to create as much pressure as possible as they grinded back-and-forth on each other.
Stunned by how good the attention on her neck felt, Haewon decided to return the favour.
With Lily still straddling her lap, Haewon picked her up slightly and lay her down along the coach, taking top position for herself as Lily wrapped her legs around Haewon’s waist.
Haewon kissed up and down her neck, up to Lily’s ears and down across her collar bones.
Underneath, Lily writhed in ecstasy, completely entangled physically and emotionally with the beautiful woman she had fantasised about.
“Do you want to do more?” Haewon asked breathlessly, doing a mountain of work on top.
Lily froze for a second. She never had done more, but when was an opportunity like this going to come up again?
“We can if you want!” Lily said, trying to not be the buzzkill.
Haewon stopped her kissing bombardment to ask another question, looking Lily straight in their eyes as their noses touched.
“What do you want?” Haewon insisted on finding out.
Lily’s eyes closed to avoid the piercing eye contact and she reached her lips out to kiss Haewon’s lips again, but she couldn’t reach, as Haewon kept just out of range.
She wanted a real reply.
“I don’t know specifically what I want…” Lily finally said.
“But I know I want you, so there’s nothing we could do that I’d regret.”
“Would you prefer to take it slow?” Haewon suggested.
“I feel like we’re a little past that…” Lily worried, now feeling like she stopped whatever was happening dead in its tracks.
“There’s still a lot we haven’t done,” Haewon reminded Lily.
“A lot.
“But there’s no rush.”
“But when will I ever see you again,” Lily said as she let her true fears creep to the foreground.
“You’re literally touring the world… what if this is the only chance I ever get?”
“Does this feel like a one-night-stand to you?” Haewon asked.
“No — but I’ve never had a one-night-stand, so I’m not sure what that feels like,” Lily reminded.
“Maybe people do feel like this about some one-night-stands, but then as the days and weeks and months go by, the magic of that night fades and the everyone moves on.
“I’m afraid when you leave Melbourne that you'll move on.”
“Move on to my next fling in the next town?” Haewon joked.
“Ladies’ man Haewon, huh?”
“No — it’s not like that,” Lily panicked as she worried about being insulting.
“I’m not saying you’re a whore or anything.”
“A whore?!” Haewon continued to prod with a big goofy smile on her face, revelling in her cute little mind games.
“NO!” Lily insisted.
“I don’t know why I even said that word!
“I’m sorry.”
Haewon was not even 1% offended.
“Please relax,” she said, lowering herself back into kissing range as she planted one quick peck on Lily and then assumed a comfortable position laying flat on top of her chest, with her head nuzzled into the nook of Lily’s neck.
Lily appreciated the reassurance and warmth when she could feel herself spiralling verbally.
She was more than happy to return the embrace and wrap her arms around Haewon as they lay there quietly.
As the sexual tension in the air dissipated and everything became comfortable, Lily remembered a comment earlier in the night she wanted to ask Haewon more about.
“Earlier, when you joked about it being fate that we ended up in the same room today,” Lily said.
“Don’t you think it’s weird that out of every supporting act JYPE could have contacted for this concert, that is just happened to be me?”
“The universe did throw us in each other’s path, didn’t it?” Haewon began to agree, although she couldn’t help but be a realist.
“Or did you do this when you uploaded your video with me?”
“I mean, I wanted to get your attention, for sure, but — do you not believe in destiny at all," Lily wondered.
“I don’t know… is it destiny that we’re close to the same age and both in the music industry?” Haewon asked.
“Do you believe in destiny?”
“I do,” Lily said with certainty.
H: “What does that mean to you?”
L: “Like, some things in the universe are meant to be. And no matter the circumstances, in every timeline things end up the same way.”
H: “Do you think in another lifetime we would still wander upon each other from across the globe?”
L: “Who knows! Maybe in another universe I’m in NMIXX!”
H: “Ah, now that would be a fun universe.”
The women lay there for hours, wide awake in each other’s arms, listening to each others’ heartbeats and asking each other questions about their lives.
As the first bit of light shone through the window, it became a sad reality that the night had passed.
NMIXX had one more day in Melbourne, and then the tour was off to the next stop, and it would be who-knows-how-long until Lily and Haewon would see each other in person again.
“What do you have planned for today?” Lily asked, aware that the busy pop star life likely did not have much sleeping-in-and-cuddling time budgeted into the schedule.
“Unfortunately we have schedules in the morning and afternoon, so back to real life,” Haewon said, with a twinge of sadness.
Lily squeezed Haewon tight as she felt the emotional weight of being forced to go their separate ways.
“When will I get to see you again?” Lily asked, braced for a painful response as her Cinderella clock struck midnight and it felt like her fairy tale was ending.
“I totally understand that you’re busy, no pressure or anything, I don’t want to be clingy…”
It charmed Haewon how Lily was still acting like her love was not being returned in full, like Haewon was too big of star to share her feelings.
“I can do an early dinner tonight before we leave?” Haewon suggested.
“That would be amazing…” Lily began.
“But that’s not really what I mean. I mean when, after you leave Australia, will we be able to see each other again?
“I’m afraid we will drift apart…”
“Do you think you will fall out of love with me?” Haewon asked, bringing the 'Love' word onto the table in a way that took Lily’s breath away.
“No… I would never,” Lily replied.
“So why would I?” Haewon reasoned.
Lily began to picture a long future with Haewon. A house together, their families meeting, waking up together every day.
“Do you really think we can make this work?” she asked Haewon.
As they watched the sun rise together, Haewon replied simply: “I would like to try.”