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Megan was spiraling again.
Not in a dramatic, throwing-things, crying-on-the-floor kind of way. It was quieter than that. The kind that slipped in between normal moments, like background noise you couldn’t turn off. The kind where everything looked fine on the outside, but inside her brain was running a 24/7 hate campaign specifically targeted at herself.
Right now, she was sitting cross-legged on Yoonchae’s bed, staring at her phone like it had personally offended her.
Yoonchae was at her desk, half doing homework, half watching Megan out of the corner of her eye like she always did when Megan got like this. She didn’t say anything yet. She never rushed it. She just waited, patient, steady, like she knew Megan would eventually say something.
And she did.
“Do you still like me?”
Yoonchae didn’t even look surprised. She just spun her chair around, resting her chin on the backrest, eyes soft.
“Megan.”
“I’m serious,” Megan said quickly, already defensive, like she was bracing for something that wasn’t even coming. “Like… like actually. Be honest.”
Yoonchae got up, walked over, and sat on the edge of the bed. “When have I ever lied to you?”
Megan shrugged, staring at her hands. “You could start.”
There it was.
That tiny, quiet self-destruct button Megan pressed way too often.
Yoonchae’s chest tightened. Not in an annoyed way. Never that. It hurt. Like actually hurt, like someone pressing on a bruise she couldn’t show anyone else.
She reached out, gently pulling Megan’s hands away from where they were twisting together. “Hey. Look at me.”
Megan hesitated, then did.
“Yeah,” Yoonchae said simply. “I still like you.”
Megan squinted, like she was trying to detect sarcasm. “Still?”
Yoonchae smiled a little. “Yeah. Still. And also… more? If that makes sense.”
Megan huffed a small laugh, but it didn’t fully land. “That sounds fake.”
“It’s literally not.”
Megan leaned back against the wall, pulling her knees up. “You could do better, though.”
Yoonchae didn’t respond right away. That was her thing. She didn’t just dismiss Megan’s words with quick reassurance. She took them seriously, even when they didn’t make sense.
“Better how?”
“Just… better,” Megan said, waving vaguely. “Like someone who isn’t…” She trailed off, then muttered, “This.”
Yoonchae tilted her head. “You’re gonna have to define ‘this’ because from where I’m sitting, ‘this’ is my girlfriend who is literally so pretty it’s kind of unfair.”
Megan groaned, dragging a hand down her face. “Stop.”
“I’m not even hyping you up,” Yoonchae continued, completely serious. “Like objectively, you’re insane. If you walked into a room, people would stare.”
“They’d stare because I look awkward.”
“They’d stare because you look like a Pinterest board.”
Megan snorted despite herself. “That makes no sense.”
“It makes perfect sense.”
Megan shook her head, but her shoulders relaxed just a tiny bit.
Yoonchae noticed. She always noticed.
She scooted closer, nudging Megan’s knee with hers. “Where is this coming from today?”
Megan hesitated again. “I saw this girl on TikTok.”
Yoonchae blinked. “Okay.”
“She was like… perfect,” Megan continued, words coming faster now. “And funny. And confident. And she just seems like the type of person you’d actually like.”
Yoonchae stared at her for a second, then laughed softly. Not in a mean way. Just… baffled.
“Megan.”
“What?”
“You just described yourself.”
Megan’s face immediately scrunched up. “Be serious.”
“I am serious.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
Megan groaned again, flopping sideways onto the bed. “You’re literally just saying that because you’re my girlfriend. You’re biased.”
Yoonchae followed her down, lying next to her, propped up on one elbow. “Okay, but like… yeah? I’m your girlfriend. Of course I’m biased. That’s kind of the job.”
Megan peeked at her. “So you admit it.”
“I admit that I’m obsessed with you,” Yoonchae said casually.
Megan blinked. “You’re insane.”
“Maybe. But I’m also correct.”
Megan tried to hide it, but a small smile slipped through. It didn’t last long though.
“Still,” she mumbled, staring at the ceiling. “You could have someone easier.”
“Easier?”
“Yeah. Someone who doesn’t need reassurance every five minutes.”
Yoonchae’s expression softened again. She reached out, brushing a strand of hair away from Megan’s face.
“I don’t want easier.”
Megan swallowed. “Why not?”
“Because easier isn’t you.”
Megan went quiet.
Yoonchae shifted closer, their shoulders touching. “Also, you act like asking for reassurance is this horrible thing. It’s not.”
“It is.”
“It’s not,” Yoonchae insisted gently. “It just means you care.”
“It means I’m annoying.”
“It means you’re human.”
Megan turned her head, looking at her. “You don’t get tired of it?”
Yoonchae didn’t hesitate. “No.”
“Not even a little?”
“No.”
Megan studied her face like she was searching for cracks in the answer. “You’d tell me if you did, right?”
“Yes.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
Megan exhaled slowly, tension easing just a bit.
Yoonchae smiled softly. “There she is.”
“Don’t say it like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I disappeared.”
Yoonchae shrugged. “You kind of do sometimes. You go into your own head and it’s like… I have to wait for you to come back.”
Megan winced. “Sorry.”
“Hey.” Yoonchae nudged her gently. “No apologizing for having a brain.”
“My brain sucks though.”
“I like your brain.”
“Why?”
“It’s you.”
Megan groaned again, covering her face with her hands. “You’re so cheesy.”
“And you love it.”
Megan peeked through her fingers. “…Maybe.”
Yoonchae laughed softly, then carefully pulled Megan’s hands away from her face again. “Stop hiding.”
“I’m not hiding.”
“You literally are.”
Megan rolled her eyes but let her hands drop.
Yoonchae took a second, just looking at her. Really looking.
Megan always got like this, like she couldn’t understand why anyone would choose her. And every time, it hit Yoonchae the same way.
How could she not see it?
“Megan,” she said quietly.
“Yeah?”
“You’re… really important to me.”
Megan blinked, caught off guard by the sudden seriousness. “I know.”
“No, like… really.”
Megan’s chest tightened. “Okay.”
“I need you to understand that,” Yoonchae continued. “Not just hear it and brush it off. Actually understand it.”
Megan shifted, suddenly a little nervous. “I’m trying.”
“I know you are.”
They fell into a quiet moment, the kind that wasn’t awkward, just… full.
Then Megan spoke again, softer this time.
“Do you ever wish I was different?”
Yoonchae frowned. “Different how?”
“I don’t know. Just… less me.”
Yoonchae didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she reached over and gently flicked Megan’s forehead.
“Ow,” Megan said, blinking.
“That’s for even asking that.”
Megan rubbed her forehead. “Rude.”
“I’m serious,” Yoonchae said. “Why would I want you to be less you? That’s literally the worst version of you.”
Megan stared at her. “That makes no sense.”
“It does. If you were less you, you wouldn’t be… you.”
Megan huffed. “You’re so bad at explaining things.”
“And you’re so bad at seeing yourself clearly, so I guess we’re even.”
Megan couldn’t argue with that.
She sighed, rolling onto her side to face Yoonchae fully. “You really don’t think I’m… too much?”
Yoonchae’s expression softened again, but there was something more firm underneath it now.
“No,” she said. “I think you’re exactly enough.”
Megan’s throat tightened.
“Actually,” Yoonchae added, a small smile forming, “sometimes I think you’re not enough.”
Megan’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
“Like when you don’t tell me what’s wrong,” Yoonchae said quickly. “Or when you keep everything in your head and don’t let me in.”
Megan blinked, processing that.
“I want all of you,” Yoonchae said quietly. “Not just the easy parts.”
Megan felt something shift in her chest. Something warm, but also a little overwhelming.
“You’re really okay with… all of it?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Even when I’m being annoying?”
“Yes.”
“Even when I ask the same question like five times?”
“Yes.”
“Even when—”
Yoonchae gently pressed her hand over Megan’s mouth. “If you say ‘even when’ one more time, I’m going to kiss you just to shut you up.”
Megan’s eyes widened slightly.
“…You wouldn’t.”
Yoonchae raised an eyebrow.
Megan hesitated for half a second. “Even when—”
Yoonchae kissed her.
It wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t intense. It was soft and quick and a little bit smug.
When she pulled back, Megan just stared at her, stunned.
“…Okay,” Megan said slowly. “You would.”
Yoonchae grinned. “Told you.”
Megan’s cheeks flushed, but she smiled too, small and genuine.
For a moment, everything felt quiet in her head.
Not completely gone. It never fully went away. But quieter. Manageable.
Yoonchae leaned forward, resting her forehead against Megan’s.
“You’re stuck with me, by the way.”
Megan huffed a soft laugh. “That sounds like a threat.”
“It is.”
“Good.”
Yoonchae smiled. “Good.”
They stayed like that for a while, just existing together, the noise in Megan’s head fading into the background.
Eventually, Megan spoke again, voice barely above a whisper.
“…You really like me?”
Yoonchae didn’t even sigh this time. She just smiled, warm and steady.
“Yeah,” she said. “I really, really do.”
Megan nodded slowly, like she was trying to let it sink in.
And for once, just for a moment, she almost believed it.