Work Text:
Yoonchae woke up exhausted. For the past few days, she had been super busy at Coachella. The group had only performed one day, but she was still walking around the festival and attending sets and parties on the other days as well. And now, she was starting to crash from all of that recent adrenaline. She reached out from under her covers towards her nightstand, grabbing her phone and unlocking it. It was already past nine, with most of her friends already awake or starting to wake up. She could hear the faint sounds of Megan laughing at something in her room, so she knew she was awake.
Yoonchae opened Instagram, checking to see if Megan posted anything while she was asleep, like she usually did…And this time, she did. She clicked on Megan’s story, seeing that she reposted a post from Laufey about the music video she had made for one of her new songs. With all that had been going on, Yoonchae had forgotten it was already coming out. She remembered when Megan had told her about it, about the concept and the dates she would be filming and who she would be filming with. She remembered when Megan had first sent her photos and videos of herself in the outfit for the music video, and how beautiful she looked. She quickly swapped over to Youtube to watch the video.
Yoonchae liked Laufey’s music, and her new song Madwoman was no exception. The music video had such a fun vibe to it, and each time it featured a glimpse of Megan, she smiled a little bit more. The concept of the video itself was kind of stupid, at least to Yoonchae. She giggled when Hudson Williams got slapped with a fish and fell into a pool nearby, coming out of it with his shirt off in what she assumed was supposed to be a sexy montage. Maybe if she were interested in men, it would have had a bigger impact on her. All of the girls were interested in him, or at least that was the concept Megan had told her. But Megan didn’t really seem to be interested all that much in that way, and Alysa Liu was just laughing at him. It was kinda funny.
As the music video carried on, Yoonchae continued to watch it, enjoying each frame she could get of her girlfriend in the small black and white dress she was wearing. Up until she was almost halfway through the video, when it cut to a segment of Megan and Alysa dancing with each other. She tried hard to ignore the twinge of jealousy that popped up, but she couldn’t help it. She hated that Megan was smiling at Alysa, and that they held hands at one point, and that they were even that close to each other. And it wasn’t like Yoonchae hated Alysa. She liked her a lot. She was an Olympic gold medalist, and she had just recently gotten that medal in a sport no United States competitor had gotten in years. It was impressive.
But that thought only made Yoonchae feel even more jealous. She liked Alysa for all of her achievements at such a young age. She chased her dreams to the most professional level that she could, and her skill was certainly nothing to scoff at. And meanwhile, Yoonchae was just…a popstar. Which, yes, had been her dream since she was little. But she felt that it was far less impressive compared to everything Alysa had done. She found herself starting to worry that Megan would realize this, that Megan would see Alysa as a better option, that Megan would leave her. She knew it was a stupid worry, born from insecurity. But knowing something was wrong didn’t just make it go away for her.
Yoonchae couldn’t bring herself to continue watching the video, pausing it and closing the app. She pouted slightly, her bottom lip jutting out in an almost childish manner. She tried to scroll on social media to distract herself from her situation, but it was no use. Most of her timeline was filled with clips of her and her members from previous Coachella sightings, or the occasional tweet about the new music video Megan was starring in. It only served as a way to remind her of her jealousy, of the slightly possessive nature she usually tried to hide. It had been driving her insane.
“Yoonchae!”
Yoonchae could hear Megan’s loud voice through the door, followed by two quick knocks. Before Yoonchae could even reply, Megan was already barging into her room with a smile. She tried to hide the sour expression on her face, but she had failed. Miserably, if she had to assume, because Megan’s expression immediately fell. She swiftly approached Yoonchae’s bed, crawling onto it and approaching her girlfriend.
“Are you okay, baby?” Yoonchae always loved how soft Megan got when she was upset. “Are you still tired from last night? You stayed up late.”
Yoonchae pushed herself up to a sitting position, staring at Megan with the same small pout on her face. “You’re all mine, right?”
“Huh?!” Megan only seemed even more confused now. “Of course I am! Where’s this coming from?”
“Come closer.”
Yoonchae tried her best to be demanding, huffing quietly when Megan hesitated. She got a bit irritated at the fact that Megan wasn’t instantly bending to her demands. When she finally caught on, Megan moved closer, crawling across Yoonchae’s bed until she was right in front of her, facing her. Yoonchae reached out, grabbing hold of Megan’s hips and turning her around. Megan squeaked quietly, surprised at how easily Yoonchae could move and adjust her. She pressed Megan’s chest to her back, her arms moving to wrap around her. Her hands clasped together at the front, keeping Megan locked in place, as she rested her head on Megan’s shoulder. She hoped that Yoonchae couldn’t hear the sudden speed increase in Megan’s heart rate.
“Are you okay, Yoonchae?” Megan looked down, the bright blonde hair filling her vision. “Did I do something?”
Yoonchae grumbled quietly, still frustrated. “You were too close to Alysa in the music video.”
Megan was surprised for a moment, her jaw dropping just barely before she managed to compose herself. “Wait, this is about Alysa? Like, the gold medal winning Olympian?”
“Yes.” Yoonchae moved closer, pressing closer against Megan’s back.
“I don’t think I understand.” Megan pushed, trying to understand what was really eating away at Yoonchae. “You don’t have to worry about her stealing me away from you, or anything. If that’s what you’re worried about?”
“But I do!” Yoonchae exclaimed, tightening her hold on her girlfriend. “You’re perfect. Anyone would want to steal you from me. And she could probably get anyone she wanted…”
Yoonchae looked sad, almost pitiful as she kept her grip on Megan, like she would be taken away if she didn’t hold on hard enough. Megan tried her hardest to focus on the task at hand, which was calming Yoonchae down, instead of thinking about how her strong arms kept her from moving away. She reached up, gently resting a hand on Yoonchae’s head, fiddling with a couple of strands of her hair.
“I just wanna keep you for myself…” Yoonchae muttered, her possessive nature slipping into her tone. “It’s not fair that someone could steal you from me.”
“I’m sorry baby, you know I would never want to make you feel this way.” Megan looked down at Yoonchae for a moment, letting one of her hands rest on Yoonchae’s wrist. “But you don’t have to worry about it, I promise. I’m yours.”
Megan leaned more into Yoonchae’s touch, her back pressed flat against her chest. Yoonchae huffed, her grip only tightening further on Megan. She could feel her girlfriend nuzzling closer to her neck, her warm breath landing on Megan’s skin and causing small goosebumps to form. She hated to admit that she found this newly revealed possessive behavior attractive.
“I just wish there was, like, an easier way to show it.” Megan continued, trying her best to appease Yoonchae. “That I belong to someone, you know? So you’re not worried about this in the future, or something.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke. But then Yoonchae spoke up. “I have an idea.”
“Really? What is it?” Megan tilted her head a bit to look down at Yoonchae, who was looking up at her from her shoulder with a small smirk. “Don’t look at me like that. You’re scaring me.”
Megan quickly made it out the door, just in time to see her Uber pull up. She could’ve driven herself, but right now she just wanted to get to Manon’s place without any issues. She exchanged pleasantries with her driver while climbing into the backseat, buckling her seatbelt and setting her bag down next to her on the seat. She stared out the window, watching as her home slowly moved out of sight. She reached for her phone, opening the camera and flipping it so that she could see herself on the screen.
Megan craned her head slightly, observing the mark near her throat that was already starting to turn to a purplish red. She brought her free hand up to her neck, her fingers tracing the edges of the bruise. It was incredibly obvious. Anyone looking at her straight on would notice it. But that was Yoonchae’s whole goal. She had prevented her from covering it with makeup, or wearing anything around her neck to distract from it. And to be honest, Megan wanted it too. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she thought about someone, like a fan or maybe an ex, seeing her in public like this. Just as she was about to put her phone back down, she got a notification for a message from Yoonchae.
‘have fun with manon, my love <3’
Megan smiled slightly at the message, quickly typing up a reply before setting her phone down.
‘ily!!! will call you when im coming home :3’
Megan watched as houses and cars passed by outside before her driver finally pulled into the street Manon lived on. She thanked her driver as she got out of the car, quickly walking over to Manon’s door and knocking. Almost immediately, she was met with a soft meow from the other side, and the sound of footsteps approaching the door. Soon enough, Manon opened the door with a smile on her face, already reaching for Megan to pull her inside. She had to watch her steps to avoid accidentally stepping on Spoon, who was right next to their feet.
“Megan! It’s been so long!”
“Didn’t we like, just perform three days ago?” Megan giggled as she shut the door behind her, momentarily forgetting about what had happened earlier that morning.
“Well, yes.” Manon rolled her eyes. “But when was the last time we hung out that wasn’t for work?”
Megan thought about it for a moment. The girls really didn’t have much of a chance to see each other outside of work in a while. They had been constantly practicing for Coachella and their next comeback, or they were filming another interview or collab for promotion. It would leave the girls exhausted, without much time to really hang out with each other in a normal context. Megan missed it quite a lot, if she were honest.
“I don’t know, guess you’re right.” Megan glanced around before setting her bag down. “Is Dani still here?”
“No, she’s out right now, she said she’s hanging with Jonah again.”
Megan’s face wrinkled slightly in disgust. “Again? She was like, with him all weekend.”
“Well, yeah…” Manon agreed, but soon waved her hand as if to dismiss Megan’s words. “Whatever makes her happy, or something, right?”
“I guess.”
Spoon meowed at Manon, pawing at her leg. She smiled and reached down to pick the small cat up. “I was thinking we could watch some movies! We haven’t had the chance to relax in so long.”
“If you make me watch Twilight I’m leaving the group.” Megan stared Manon down, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.
“Well, I’ll appreciate you on your solo journey.” Manon laughed at her own joke, turning to the kitchen. “I’ll make popcorn, sit down wherever.”
Megan sighed, resigning herself to her fate and sprawling out on Manon’s couch. She rested her head on the armrest of the sofa and pulled out her phone while waiting. She chuckled quietly at some of the tweets about her performance in the new music video, or about their most recent single, or the Coachella performance the girls had done just a couple of days ago. She enjoyed going onto social media and seeing what fans had to say about her performances. She could hear the faint sound of popping coming from the kitchen, before it stopped and Manon came back out into the living room. She was balancing a large bowl of popcorn in one hand, while also trying to cradle Spoon with her other arm.
“Megan, take this!” Manon held out the bowl, her arm slightly wobbling. “Quickly!”
Megan threw down her phone, quickly reaching for the bowl and pulling it from Manon’s hand. “Spoon can just walk, you know. She doesn’t need you to hold her everywhere you go.”
Manon let out an almost offended gasp, now using both arms to support Spoon. “You don’t know anything!” She sat down on the couch, reaching for the remote and already navigating towards her favorite movie series.
Megan sat the bowl of popcorn down on the couch in between the two of them, and Manon let Spoon lay down on her lap. The movie began to start, with the two girls slouched into the couch, finally taking a moment to relax after spending so much time working and attending long and hot days in the desert for Coachella. Megan occasionally made small quips at the movie, while Manon gently scratched Spoon’s head and offered the cat a small piece of popcorn. Megan sometimes caught Manon glancing over at her, but she brushed it off as Manon just wanting to make sure she was actually watching the movie and not sneaking glances at her phone.
At almost a half hour into the movie, Manon interrupted. “Who’s the lucky guy, Megan?”
Megan glanced over at Manon, confused for a second, before noticing she was staring down at her neck. She could already feel heat starting to travel up her cheeks, and she hoped it wasn’t as noticeable as the mark on her neck was. She had totally forgotten about it, caught up in the movie she was watching. She subtly shifted, trying to hide the mark with her hair, even though it was pretty obvious and Manon had already seen it. She knew she couldn’t tell her that it was Yoonchae. She hadn’t told anyone else yet, and she was almost certain Yoonchae hadn’t told anyone either. She had to make sure Manon couldn’t somehow weasel this information out of her.
“Well, I mean…She just wanted to-” Megan was caught off guard by Manon interrupting her again.
“She? I’m so un-woke…” Manon lamented. “So, who’s the lucky girl?”
Megan glared at her friend from across the couch. “I’m not telling you that.”
“Is it anyone I know?” Manon questioned again, undeterred by Megan’s refusal to answer.
“Stop asking me questions!”
“Fine, fine!” Manon relented, holding back a laugh.
After moving on from the topic, the two girls continued watching the movie, snacking on the popcorn between them. They ended up watching the first three movies, not content with just watching one movie at a time. On occasion, Manon would randomly blurt out a name of one of their mutual friends, trying to scout out who Megan could possibly be seeing in private. She ended up cycling through all of their friends, and she even started to say the names of other random artists, in hopes that something would stick. And each time, Megan denied each possibility. She had guessed Yoonchae at some point, and Megan hoped she had enough of a poker face for her to not have noticed any reactions.
After the third movie, Megan decided it would be best to request for another Uber. Manon didn’t want to drive Megan back, and Spoon was already taking a nap in her lap, and she insisted that she couldn’t wake the princess up from her slumber. After chatting for a bit, Megan saw that her ride was approaching, and ended up having to say goodbye to Manon. There was still light outside by the time she got out, which was good. She got into the car, making small talk with the driver for a moment before getting a chance to look back at her phone. She quickly dialed Yoonchae’s number, wanting to let her girlfriend know that she was on her way home, and also to complain a little bit. When Yoonchae picked up, Megan couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
“Yoonchae, don’t you think this was a bit on the nose?” Megan tried to keep her voice down, in an effort to not annoy her driver too much. “I had to scramble to keep Manon from figuring out who you were.”
“You are lucky.” Yoonchae’s words were slightly muffled through the phone as she replied. “You would have hated my other idea.”
“Your other idea? And what was that?”
“Something more ‘on the nose’ than that.” Yoonchae repeated Megan’s words back to her in a teasing tone. “But that can be for another day.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She was only met with the sound of Yoonchae giggling through the phone. “Don’t laugh at me!”