Work Text:
Yoonchae is waiting in line to buy movie tickets when her phone buzzes with a notification. She opens Instagram. Karlee posted a new story.
Yoonchae’s eyes go wide when she sees the photo. It’s a bedroom selfie of Karlee in a bra and Yoonchae’s gap hoodie. She clicks on the link that takes her to Karlee’s post, and there are several pictures like that—different poses, mildly suggestive—all of them of Karlee in a bra, and wearing Yoonchae’s hoodie.
Yoonchae decides to not read too much into it. She hits like on the post and closes the app.
After she buys the tickets, she finds a seat in the waiting area. She’s on her own until her friend gets here so she occupies herself with scrolling through TikTok for a while then she opens Instagram again. Force of habit. She begins scrolling through one of her comment sections when her phone buzzes in her hand with another notification. This time, it’s a message. From Karlee.
karlee: did u like the pics ;)
Her eyes flit to the clock in the corner of her screen. She is not sure exactly what time it is right now in Los Angeles but, given that it’s afternoon in South Korea, it’s probably late over there. She can easily imagine Karlee just laying in bed, restlessly texting her out of boredom. It hasn't been that long since they last saw each other so, yeah, it must be boredom.
yoonchae: yes
Was that too dry? She doesn't want to sound dismissive but she has no idea what else to say.
Just as she’s about to start typing again, another notification badge appears on the top of her screen. Yoonchae sees Megan’s name, and her thumbs halt mid-motion.
It's a message.
megan: [picture attached]
megan: I did my nails today 💖
The photo that comes with the text is simple enough: Megan’s hand with a blurry background showing off her manicure. Her nails are really pretty. Pastel pink. Yoonchae’s favorite color.
She feels a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she starts typing out her reply. She pauses mid-sentence when Megan suddenly sends another photo. Yoonchae’s eyes widen in surprise. She takes a second to register what she’s seeing. This new photo was taken at a different angle than before, with the camera pointing down towards Megan’s lap while she’s sitting down, one bare leg crossed over the other. Her manicured hand is resting on her thigh, hiking up the hem of her skirt.
Yoonchae finds herself staring at that picture until the light of the screen dims and she has to tap on it again before it switches off.
She glances around, making sure no one can see what she’s looking at. Then she types her reply.
yoonchae: so pretty
She doesn't know if she means the nails or—she quickly discards that thought before it can fully form.
Then she remembers she was going to text Karlee too.
yoonchae: you look hot
She thinks that’s probably what Karlee wanted to hear.
karlee: yeah? u think so? ;)
Was Yoonchae not clear enough? And why does she keep sending winky faces?
Yoonchae rereads the message with a confused little frown etched between her eyebrows before she types a simple: yes.
Then her phone vibrates again.
megan: I’m wearing something…wanna see? 🙈✨
More dots wait in the corner of the screen and Yoonchae stares at them, nervously anticipating what Megan is going to send next.
megan: [picture attached]
Yoonchae smiles softly at her phone. Megan is wearing Yoonchae’s leather jacket. She must’ve forgotten it in Megan’s baggage after their trip to Australia. Megan must be bored if she’s taking random pictures at this hour, standing in front of the bathroom mirror. One of her hands is holding the phone, slender fingers steady around the device, while the other is throwing a peace sign and she is making a pouty face, clearly trying to do aegyo.
Yoonchae is just about to type ‘that's so cute’ when another picture pops up and it nearly knocks all the air out of her lungs. Unlike the first one, this picture is kind of suggestive. Megan is standing in front of the bathroom mirror again, wearing Yoonchae’s leather jacket, but nothing else underneath. Just a bra. The curve of her waist looks sinfully grabbable. Yoonchae’s hand twitches around her phone. She stares for longer than she’s willing to admit.
Her tongue darts out to lick at the corner of her mouth absentmindedly as her gaze moves up to Megan’s face. It's like she is smirking at Yoonchae through the screen. Her eyes are shiny with mirth, one slender finger touching her bottom lip as if she wants to bite it.
megan: It looks good on me right? 😜
Yoonchae takes a calming breath before answering.
yoonchae: yes
yoonchae: you look hot
It only takes seconds before the tiny seen appears under her message. The little typing bubble from Megan’s end appears, and then disappears, and then appears again, and then disappears again.
Yoonchae frowns. Maybe her reply was too dry. Maybe she should've added a fire emoji? She cringes a little as she rereads her message and she realizes she said the exact same thing to Karlee. But with Megan, she finds herself overthinking the tone of their conversation. On one hand, maybe Megan is just being playful, as usual. Just messing around. On the other hand, considering the picture she just sent, their conversation might be actually bordering on flirtation now.
Yoonchae is not sure.
They’ve admittedly ventured into this space before, something questionable, something past pure friendship, the line blurring. But they’ve never actually pushed the bounds of their relationship beyond a line that can’t be uncrossed.
Is this crossing a line?
Maybe it’s the distance created by the phone—the fact that she’s not actually seeing Megan face to face right now—that makes Yoonchae feel like they’re not really doing something inappropriate. But maybe Megan thinks otherwise. Maybe that’s why she’s taking so long to reply. Yoonchae is just about to start drafting a new message to save both of them from further embarrassment when a new notification from Karlee pops up on the screen.
karlee: can’t sleep
karlee: i miss u
karlee: [picture attached]
Yoonchae taps on the photo, unassuming. Her heart skips a beat and she nearly drops her phone when she sees what Karlee just sent her.
The light in the room is dim and Karlee is laying in bed, wearing Yoonchae's hoodie and nothing else underneath except for a bra. Just like in her Instagram post. Yoonchae's eyes linger on the soft pink of her parted mouth. The fabric of her hoodie touching Karlee's lips. It makes her insides squeeze. Then she notices something else. Karlee's other hand is placed on her lower stomach, the tips of her fingers pointed towards the waistline of her sweatpants, like they're about to slide under it. The gesture is subtle yet still suggestive enough for Yoonchae’s imagination to go in places it shouldn’t go.
She doesn’t even know what to say. And she doesn’t have much time to think about it before another message pops up.
megan: [picture attached]
Her heart jumps against her ribs, her pulse going haywire.
This picture is more than just suggestive. It’s on the verge of being pornographic. Megan has two fingers in her mouth, one hand on her thigh, hiking up her skirt—up, up, up—revealing so much skin, it’s leaving very little to the imagination. If she stares hard enough, Yoonchae thinks she can see the color of Megan’s underwear.
This is the kind of risky picture that Yoonchae imagines Megan might send to someone she’s dating or someone she’s interested in. Probably the kind of pictures she used to send her ex-boyfriend.
The thought makes her jaw tighten. It makes something ugly twist uncomfortably in her gut. Something sharp, something like—jealousy. Yoonchae can't help but wonder who else gets to see Megan like this. She hopes no one does. Maybe it's selfish of her but...she wants to be the only one who gets intimate pictures like this from Megan. No one else. Only her. Only Yoonchae.
“Yoonchae!”
Her friend’s voice snaps her out of her whirlwind of thoughts.
“Sorry I’m late. I missed the bus.”
“It’s okay,” Yoonchae tells her, smiling as she pats her head. She's so much shorter than Yoonchae. It's really cute.
Her friend scrunches her nose, the way she always does when Yoonchae teases her about her height. Then she happily clings onto Yoonchae's arm as they make their way inside the cinema.
Yoonchae sends Megan and Karlee the same message: I have to go. I’m at the movies.
They both ask the same thing: with who?
yoonchae: a friend
megan: who?
karlee: the friend you had dating rumors with?
yoonchae: just a friend…i have to go now bye
She can feel her phone buzzing in her pocket but she’ll deal with all of that later.