Work Text:
“And then— he was late for our third date too! When he was supposed to pick me up! I mean, who does that?!”
Woo-Hyeon looked unimpressed. “Someone who doesn’t deserve to be your boyfriend. Just break up with him already.”
“But…” Hayeon deflated. “He’s not all bad. He can be really sweet!”
“‘Can be’ or ‘is’?” probed Woo-Hyeon.
She groaned in response, laying her head down on the table. “I don’t know what to do, Woo-Hyeon!”
“Okay, but I do: break up with him.”
The other girl glared at her halfheartedly. “You’re not helping.”
Woo-Hyeon sighed. This girl…
“Why do you want to stay with him so bad? He’s not even that cute—and that’s putting it nicely. And I know you’re not the type to want him for his fame or whatever.”
“It’s just— I don’t know… I love him?”
Woo-Hyeon crossed her arms. “Was that supposed to help your case? You said that like it was a question.”
Before Hayeon could answer, she continued. “Are you in love with him or the idea of him?”
The mage only pouted in response, prompting yet another sigh from Woo-Hyeon.
She’s lucky she’s so cute.
“You said you met him when your dad paid him to tutor you, right? If you ask me, I think you just want to make your parents happy.”
She snapped up. “That’s not— No way! That’s not true!”
“You don’t sound very sure of yourself there, Hayeon-ah.”
The girl in question froze before returning to her pouting. She twirled her hair absently, a faint blush on her cheeks. “I do like him. At least a little bit.”
Woo-Hyeon tilted her head, her eyes narrowed. “I don’t think you should date someone just because you like them ‘a little bit’.”
“But— Maybe I do like him more. It’s just that we don’t spend enough time together.”
That’s part of the problem—!
“It’s hard to tell, you know?” She looked to the other girl for reassurance.
Geez…
“…Do you ever feel anything when you kiss?” Woo-Hyeon shuddered as the thought of Sang-U kissing anyone invaded her mind, but the question had to be asked.
Hayeon flushed. “Well— Um.. It’s nice.” She glanced away. “He’s not very good at it though.”
The other girl cringed. “Even if he’s not, you should still feel something.”
“But how do I know if what I’m feeling is ‘something’?” she asked desperately.
…I’m about to do something very stupid.
Woo-Hyeon sighed. “Come here.”
Hayeon looked confused but leaned in, close enough for the other girl to press a gentle peck to her lips.
“Did you feel anything?”
Hayeon froze as a gradual understanding dawned on her face.
“Maybe I should break up with him…”
Woo-Hyeon raised an eyebrow. “That’s all it took?”
“Well— It never felt like that when I kissed Sang-U….” She flushed again. “Or any man, actually.”
“…Are you sure you’re not a lesbian?” she asked with narrowed eyes.
It’s better for me if she is, I guess… Then I don’t have to compete with that lazy bum.
“But— I don’t.. hate men,” she stammered. “I’m not against the idea of dating them…”
“But would you ever want to?”
“I don’t know… Maybe if I found the right one?” She looked up at Woo-Hyeon as if the other girl might hold the answers to her uncertainty.
“Then you’re bi. Simple. Or if you don’t like that you could go find something else—or just go unlabeled. Don’t try to force yourself into being something you’re not—or,” she paused, making Hayeon look her in the eye, “force yourself to be with someone you don’t want.”
Hayeon whined. “But what if I don’t know? I don’t want to lead some poor girl on only to realize I don’t feel attracted to her either.”
“Well, you could date me.”
Hayeon stared at her for a long moment. Woo-Hyeon had to fight to keep a straight face.
“Just to try it out.”
FUCK. Why would you say that?! She’s gonna think you’re a creep now—
“But— Wouldn’t that be unfair for you? I mean, I’d just be experimenting and you’d just.. come along for the ride?”
She shrugged. “It’s not like I have a bunch of women lining up to date me right now anyway. It could be fun.”
Fuck, that makes me sound desperate. I am desperate. Fuck.
Hayeon’s cheeks were flush with excitement. She couldn’t even meet her gaze, but Woo-Hyeon was too busy calming her own racing heart to notice.
“H-how.. How would that even work?” She finally looked up to see Woo-Hyeon’s wide eyes. “I-I mean— Hypothetically speaking, how would we… experiment?”
Woo-Hyeon shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “We kiss, go on a few dates. See if you feel anything. We could try sex, if you want to go that far.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she was already regretting them.
But fortunately, Hayeon didn’t seem disgusted. “W-well.. That doesn’t sound so bad.”
The other girl tilted her head. “Did it sound bad before?”
It probably did… Fuck, stop making this weird, Woo-Hyeon!
“N-no! Not at all! I’ve just.. never dated a girl before.”
“It’s not all that different from dating a guy. Just better—in my opinion, at least. I’m sure someone like Junyeong would disagree.”
Hayeon blinked. “Junyeong is..?”
“Gay. Very gay,” she said flatly.
“Oh!” She thought about it for a moment. “I guess that makes sense…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you fix your gaydar when we go on our first date.”
“I-I haven’t even agreed yet!”
Shit—
“Oh, really? It sounded like you were going to.” She leaned in closer.
I might as well commit to it now…
Hayeon’s whole face was red at that point—something, Woo-Hyeon noticed, that never happened whenever she saw her with Sang-U.
She turned away with an embarrassed whine, hiding her face. “Okay, yes! Yes, I was going to! Yes, I want to try it!”
Woo-Hyeon chuckled softly, turning away herself to hide the faint flush rising to her own cheeks.
That went much better than I ever thought possible.
“Uhh.. But, wait… How do I tell Sang-U?”
…Shit.