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yooyeon finds herself thinking back on everything that happened in 2025. it was such a busy year for her—more than ever, so much had happened that it almost feels impossible to remember everything. countless of photoshoots, comebacks, concerts, fan-meetings, her first world tour, basically practice and more practice. her schedules had been so all over the place that she could barely get any rest, even fallen sick to the point that she had to ask the company for a break. but even then, even with how hectic her life had been, one thing stayed a constant: kim nakyoung.
even when she’s on tour, despite their respective schedules and the time differences, yooyeon still texted nakyoung everyday. called nakyoung whenever the time is possible for the both of them just to talk about everything and nothing at once, spend hours catching up soon as she got back in korea until the sun came up (because fuck whatever schedule they have the next day). always unchanging that way. nakyoung is her constant, so much the younger became something yooyeon deeply misses whenever not present.
yooyeon glances at the woman walking beside her—buried in a padding jacket, red cheeks puffed as she subconsciously walks closer against yooyeon’s side for more warmth. nakyoung looks especially like a kitten this way, it’s always too hard for yooyeon to act like she doesn’t adore this girl to death (despite her aloof persona). how could she, when she could never hold back her smile soon as her eyes find nakyoung.
“cold?”
nakyoung nods, the little pout suddenly more obvious now the way yooyeon’s gaze falls to the younger’s lips. her hand naturally finds nakyoung’s own then, fingers interlocking as she tugs on it gently towards the direction of her house—nakyoung’s first time coming over after them just recently talking about wanting to visit each other’s houses as their 2026 wishes.
“let’s walk faster then.”
nakyoung obediently gets tugged along, too busy trying not to be flustered at the fact that she’s going to be in yooyeon’s space soon—getting to see the place yooyeon grew up in, filled with childhood pictures she didn’t get to see before, and especially spending the night in yooyeon’s own bedroom. wait, why on earth does she have to be so shy about it? friends come over to each other’s houses all the time, right?
except, they’re not just friends. though nakyoung never dared asking about it until the impromptu cosmo live they did that night at the hotel—because perhaps asking with thousands of people watching won’t make the question sound as serious as it supposedly is. what are we? yooyeon didn’t seem to know the right answer, and honestly, neither did nakyoung (even if deep down, she knew what she really wanted to hear from the older’s mouth). guess for now, all they could do if they still have facebook is to change their relationship status to it’s complicated.
“are you upset with the result?”
nakyoung turns to look at yooyeon, frowning slightly as she tilts her head in confusion. “what result?” she asks, somehow already having an idea what yooyeon meant by the question.
“best couple award.”
well, that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? nakyoung and yooyeon had been looking forward to being nominated for years—even back in 2023, of course nakyoung was really grateful she won the award with yubin, but she still wondered why it wasn’t her with yooyeon instead. maybe next year, they thought. the expectations were set too high for 2024 so when they once again wasn’t nominated, nakyoung was so upset she lost her cool and had to raise her hand to confront the staffs about it in front of the other members. they both were devastated about it, though yooyeon just laughed then—only because she thought nakyoung was really adorable for doing so (which also made nakyoung felt a little sulky because, why isn’t yooyeon unnie protesting at all?!).
obviously they both still wanted the award in 2025, but even then, nakyoung no longer put any expectations for it—trying to avoid being too sad once more if they actually do not get nominated again. so being one of the couple nominations this year already feels good enough, while winning or not is another thing because that is left to the fans and there’s nothing they could really do about it. so if yooyeon were to ask if nakyoung is upset?
“i would be lying to say i’m not the slightest bit disappointed.”
yooyeon hums softly, nodding in agreement. her hold on nakyoung hand tightens just slightly, as if subconsciously trying to comfort the younger. nakyoung takes a little pause before adding, “but as dahyun said, being close is more important. right? an award is just a bonus. what matters is the bond unnie and i have.”
a chuckle escapes yooyeon’s lips at the continuation, and nakyoung was about to protest when yooyeon replies, “no, it’s just, you sound so mature like that. such a contrast to the way you look like a baby with those red cheeks of yours now.”—resulting to nakyoung whining loudly at that, (gently) punching yooyeon’s shoulder with her free hand, even when the other hand is still safely locked in the older’s grip.
“and you? you’re not upset? you don’t care about winning this award with me, huh?” nakyoung accuses, though there’s no real bite in her jabs. spending three years in tripleS with yooyeon had resulted in nakyoung knowing yooyeon like the back of her hand, able to read yooyeon’s mind even when she doesn’t say anything—nakyoung knows yooyeon’s just upset as she is (or maybe even more, since the older is more competitive about it than she is).
“to be honest, i am upset.” yooyeon answers inbetween her small laughs. “we don’t actually get many chances to show wavs how close we really are. if it weren’t for the two of us talking about each other all the time on fromm, would they even know we’re this close?”
“i don’t talk about unnie all the time on my fromm!”
yooyeon rolls her eyes, because they both know nakyoung’s lying. it’s always yooyeon unnie this, yooyeon unnie that. so much for trying to not make it obvious how much nakyoung likes yooyeon—which the younger always complains because, why does it always seem like she’s the one having a one-sided crush on yooyeon now? yooyeon’s the one who crushed on her first, for god’s sake! but again, nakyoung already knows yooyeon like the back of her hand (even if she still gets sulky sometimes whenever yooyeon isn’t as sweet as she deep down expects).
“should we try again next year?”
nakyoung mulls over the question for a bit, and yooyeon patiently waits for an answer as she stares at the younger. because after two years of not being nominated, nakyoung had shown a more pessimistic side whenever they talk about aiming for best couple award again—despite her immediate complains to the staffs back then. on the contrary however, yooyeon who had been the one to stay silent then, is also the one who kept talking about wanting to win the award with nakyoung afterwards. part of it is because yooyeon genuinely wants to receive the award, but the bigger part is because it is with nakyoung. only with nakyoung.
“i’m just happy to be with unnie everyday.”
eventually that’s the answer nakyoung settles with. which is not a yes, though it’s a no either. but either way, yooyeon is still happy to hear the answer—a faint smile blooming on her face as her grip on nakyoung’s hand tightens once more. the older one nods, muttering a small “i’m happy to be with you too.”
“besides, i don’t think we can win against yubin and jiwoo. those two are basically a married couple at this point.”
yooyeon just laughs softly in agreement, but then replies, “and we’re not? a married couple.”
nakyoung’s already pink cheeks due to the cold weather, suddenly reddens even more at the unexpected question—if that’s even possible. yooyeon never really flirts with her, so whenever she does, it always catches nakyoung off guard and she could never hide how much she actually likes it—and nakyoung hates the way it makes her feel like a big loser for this infuriating woman (she is, but it still would be great to not make it so obvious). though then, nakyoung still manages to stammer, “you said we’re like a family!”
yooyeon shrugs nonchalantly, grinning now at the sight in front of her—nakyoung suddenly acting all awkward and trying (failing) to hide her blush. so the older finally decides to give her silly cat a break, and instead shifts the attention as she pretends to fuss over and fix the collar of nakyoung’s jacket.
“well. family includes being spouses too, you know.”
oh, nakyoung swears her heart might beat out of her chest. the younger could only stare at yooyeon for so long with her mouth open—eyes widen and all words leaving her brain. but before she could even answer, yooyeon is already pulling nakyoung over towards her house. “we’re here. close your mouth.”
nakyoung obediently follows the order and lets herself get dragged by yooyeon inside the building. at this point, nakyoung is just praying she could survive the whole night with yooyeon without having a real heart attack by the end of her stay.
after all, they’re just friends. right?