Work Text:
The key twisted into place with a loud click. Yoona’s body stiffened as the sound echoed around her. Her little visit to the local game café had lasted way past midnight, which meant she was certainly getting a lecture from Haewon. She slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside the dorm.
“I’m home,” Yoona muttered but her words quickly disappeared into the complete and utter silence spreading across the apartment.
Is everyone asleep? Yoona scratched her temple, entertaining the idea but she remained doubtful because every single NMIXX member had a horrible sleeping schedule. However, her suspicions were confirmed when she found Jiwoo peacefully snoring inside their shared bedroom. She mumbled something under her breath as usual. Jiwoo had the habit of talking in her sleep and Yoona found that strangely endearing.
“Sis…” Jiwoo muttered, then proceeded to add a few more unrelated words and phrases.
Yoona had no idea what Jiwoo could be dreaming about, she just smiled softly as she watched her curl more and more into a ball until she completely disappeared under the thick blanket.
She’s just like Bomi, Yoona thought.
She quietly placed her bag by her desk and made her way to the bathroom but was taken aback by the tiny beam of yellow light that peeked underneath the door. Somebody was awake after all.
“Hello?” Yoona said feebly, pressing her ear to the door, waiting for an answer.
“Come in,” Jinsol’s voice echoed from the other side.
“Ah,” Yoona let out a sigh of relief. She was glad Haewon wasn’t the one currently occupying the bathroom. “You’re still up?” She asked after joining Jinsol.
“Mhmm,” Jinsol murmured while towel-drying her hair. “I have to bleach it again.” She tossed the towel and leaned closer to the mirror. “My roots are showing.”
“It’s so damaged though.” Yoona ran a hand through Jinsol’s hair. It had the texture of a damp broom. “Why don’t you go back to a darker color?”
“I like it blonde,” Jinsol whined. “NSWERs like it blonde too…”
“Sol, they’re gonna like you regardless of your hair color,” Yoona said.
Jinsol kept staring in the mirror. She slicked her hair back, examining the dark brown roots with a pout. Her eyes caught Yoona in the reflection. She was also staring.
“And you?” Jinsol began, unable to hide her satisfied expression. “Would you like me regardless?”
A shiver ran down Yoona’s spine. She shoved Jinsol away from the sink and turned the tap on. For a few awfully frantic seconds, Yoona could not spot her toothbrush. Her vision seemed weirdly blurry, while her brain had turned into a mush. She reached towards the shelf anyway, desperately trying to save face.
“Why are you like this,” Jinsol said, her voice had that usual overly-dramatic note to it. “People use words to answer questions.”
“You know the answer and you’re being annoying about it.” Yoona’s tone was firm, cutting through Jinsol’s playful banter.
“Maybe, I just wanna hear you say it.” Jinsol scooted closer again, grabbing her own toothbrush off the shelf. “This one is Lily’s, by the way.” She pointed at the pink toothbrush clasped in Yoona’s palm.
Yoona didn’t say anything, she just awkwardly replaced Lily’s toothbrush for hers. The two pieces of plastic did not even resemble each other nor did they share the same color, making the situation that much more embarrassing.
“Are you feeling alright?” Jinsol mumbled through layers of toothpaste.
“Yeah, uh,” Yoona stuttered. She needed an excuse for her odd behaviour and she needed it now. Her thoughts shifted to the game café. “My team lost the game,” she blurted out. It wasn’t a lie but it did not sound convincing enough. “Some random guy kept trash talking me in the chat.” Also not a lie but she had to admit that she was trash talking him back.
“How do you know they were a guy?”
“The username was “yejisdoormat”.”
“Oh,” Jinsol choked out a laugh, toothpaste dripped down her chin. “Well, they could still be a girl, you never know.”
An amused grin creeped up on Yoona’s face. She couldn’t help it, a tiny laugh escaped her lips while her body unintentionally swayed to one side. Her shoulder bumped against Jinsol’s and neither of the two moved, they just let the quiet tension stretch between them. A feeling so familiar but so nerve wrecking nonetheless.
Yoona was aware of the slightest movement that Jinsol’s body made and of every little breath she took. A dangerous question roamed within the walls of her mind. She tried to drown it out but it kept rising back to the surface.
“Sol…”
Do you feel it too?
“I can dye your hair,” Yoona spoke, pushing away the urge to say or do something irrational. “If you’d trust me.”
“Which one should we buy?” Jinsol squinted at the shelf filled with hundreds of hair dye boxes.
“Oh, how about this one! You can match with me.” Kyujin’s hand shot forward, grabbing the darkest possible color.
Kyujin had tagged along on this little shopping trip only because she wanted to buy herself a new nail polish. However, she had gotten randomly invested in Jinsol’s struggles to pick a hair color.
“That’s a little too much though, no?” Jinsol scratched the side of her neck. A feeling of uncertainty was taking over her as she eyed the black dye.
“Well, if nothing else,” Yoona began. “It would cover the blonde for sure.”
“I don’t know,” Jinsol murmured. “It’s a bit too drastic of a change… can’t we go for a lighter color?”
Yoona and Kyujin exchanged a glance. It was not unusual for Jinsol to be indecisive but this level of nervousness was strange even for her. Yoona decided to back down and respect Jinsol’s wish, because otherwise they were going to be stuck in this store for hours on end.
“Is this alright?” Yoona picked up an ash brown color. It was a smidge too light. She hoped it would do the job.
Jinsol just nodded, reaching out to take the box. Her fingertips brushed against the back of Yoona’s palm, who in turn quickly withdrew her hand and shoved it in the pocket of her hoodie.
Kyujin’s gaze suspiciously darted between the two. She put the black dye back in place with a sigh. “Boring!” She noted before strolling off towards a different aisle.
Watching Jinsol anxiously fiddle with the cardboard box made Yoona’s chest tighten. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” she said.
“No, I want to,” Jinsol replied. “I mean you’re right, my hair is in bad condition. It’s just that…” she trailed off, pulling down on her face mask to adjust it. “I know it’s silly but I do genuinely wonder if our fans would like me the same.”
It wasn’t as silly as Jinsol thought. Being an idol meant you were always in the public’s eye. People dissected everything about you, from your personality to your looks. Jinsol’s worries didn’t appear out of thin air.
“I would,” Yoona shrugged. The words rushed out of her so suddenly, she couldn’t do anything to stop them. “If that means anything.”
“So, you are capable of giving me a normal answer?” Jinsol’s eyes beamed. Yoona could almost picture her grinning like an idiot under the mask.
She bumped Jinsol’s side with her elbow, groaning in annoyance. “You’re unbelievable,” she said under her breath.
“Ahh, but,” Jinsol gently rubbed her ribs but her mood remained just as joyful. “You like me.”
Yoona sighed, it was a low and hopeless whiff of air. Jinsol didn’t even flinch at Yoona’s exasperation, her eyes kept shining like two tiny stars. Two insufferable, glowing stars.
I do, Yoona admitted to herself. And I don’t even know why.
Yoona poked Jinsol’s temple, forcing her to twist her head sideways. Using a brush, she spread yet another layer of dye through her hair.
“Be careful!” Jinsol whined loudly. “You’re getting it all over my ears.”
“That’s why I put vaseline,” Yoona objected while adding more dye.
“Do you even know what you’re doing?”
“This isn’t rocket science,” Yoona snapped but she was in fact winging it. “Just stay still.”
For a couple of excruciatingly long minutes, they did not speak. The only sound filling the stiff air around them was the music booming out of Jinsol’s phone. As one song finished and a new one started, Jinsol clasped her hands together in excitement.
“I love this one,” she cheered. Yoona needed a moment to recognize Tate McRae’s “Sports car”. “Lily said the vibe reminds her of me.”
Yoona let out a weird sound between a snort and a giggle. “Seriously?”
“What?” Jinsol gasped. Her voice was so loud it drowned out Tate’s questionable lyrics. “You don’t agree? What song reminds you of me?”
Yoona hasitated.
“Ocean”? No, I can’t say that. Yoona hated how quickly the song had appeared in her mind. A memory floated before her eyes. It was distant like a dream that she was desperately trying to remember before it could fade away completely.
The tip of Jinsol’s nose, just centimetres away from hers.
Yoona shook the thought away. “I think… “Papillon”.”
“Oh,” Jinsol’s expression beamed again. “I can live with that… “Cool” reminds me of you.”
“How so?”
“Cause you’re always trying to play it cool,” Jinsol said, her words followed by an audible giggle.
Yoona had the burning urge to slam the plastic bowl filled with dye on top of Jinsol’s head. “You gotta wait about thirty or forty minutes now,” she said instead, discarding the brush in the sink.
“There’s a lot of dye left though.” Jinsol peeked at the half full plastic bowl.
“I kind of didn’t consider how short your hair is.” Yoona stared at the remaining dye, almost pitiful that she’d have to throw it out. “I’ll get rid of it.” She grabbed the bowl and headed out, even though she could have easily used the bathroom sink to clean up.
“I can do it,” Jinsol began.
“It’s fine,” Yoona cut her off. “Thirty-forty minutes. Be patient and don’t touch your hair.” She reminded Jinsol before disappearing down the hallway.
Jinsol held the towel around her head, unsure whether she wanted to reveal the final result. She gave Yoona a glance, her eyebrows shifting anxiously.
“You’re acting like brown isn’t your natural color.” Yoona’s patience was wearing thin.
“But what if this isn’t my shade?”
“My god!” Yoona snatched the towel, throwing it aside. Her heart paused for a split second. Jinsol’s change in appearance wasn’t drastic but still noticeable.
The new color was something one would get after adding lots of milk to a hot cup of coffee. It was soft and shiny against Jinsol’s fair skin. Yoona stepped closer, running her fingers through Jinsol’s hair in an attempt to arrange it a little.
“How do I look?” Jinsol was still, letting Yoona play hairdresser for a bit longer.
“You look pretty.” Yoona’s hand slid down, cupping Jinsol’s face and tilting her gaze towards the mirror. “Do you like it?”
Jinsol’s lips twisted into a smile. She leaned her head till it met Yoona’s, their cheeks pressed against each other. Yoona couldn’t tell if her own face was heating up or if the warmth of Jinsol’s skin was being transferred to her.
“I do,” Jinsol said, her voice almost a whisper.