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Jiwoo likes giving kisses. It's one of her favourite ways of showing affection, but as much as she enjoys giving them, it's not something she does often.
Not everyone likes being kissed—Lily being a prime example of that—so Jiwoo holds herself back from giving her members too many pecks on the cheek. She saves them for the days when she's feeling particularly affectionate, or for special occasions like birthdays, when she has plenty of reasons to shower them with love.
At least, that was what she usually did.
Somehow, over the past year, Jiwoo has developed a strange habit of kissing Yoona as a way to "apologize" to her.
It all starts from a careless mistake Jiwoo makes.
They're on a set to film the VCR for their fan meeting, and during their break, Jiwoo spaces out as she watches Yoona snap pictures of Jinsol with her phone. A faint glimmer catches her attention, and Jiwoo looks toward the source, finding a white gem on Yoona's earlobe.
It's an earring that Jiwoo has never seen before on her. Something about it stirs her interest, even though it just looks like a normal gem. "Are those your earrings, unnie?" she asks, leaning closer to peer at them.
Yoona lowers her phone, flipping it over to show the results of her photos to Jinsol. When Jinsol gives her a thumbs-up and walks away, Yoona focuses on her. "Yeah. They're mine."
"Really?" Jiwoo blinks. "It's pretty."
Yoona stares at her. Then, she huffs, facing the camera filming behind them. "Kim Jiwoo doesn't have any interest in me at all."
Jiwoo widens her eyes.
Huh?
How did Yoona come to that conclusion?
All she did was compliment her earrings.
Yoona turns to her again, this time with an expectant look in her eyes. But no matter how much she racked her brain, Jiwoo couldn't figure out what Yoona was waiting for. She stares blankly back at her, and Yoona shakes her head with a disappointed sigh. "I don't even have ear piercings," she says.
Oh.
Right.
No wonder the gem drew her attention. Other than the occasional ear cuffs, she rarely sees Yoona with accessories on her ears, because she doesn't have a single piercing. How did she forget such a simple fact about her?
"You asked me if they were my earrings," Yoona grumbles to the camera. "They're stickers."
In her defense, they were very convincing stickers. Jiwoo holds that thought to herself. Instead, she juts out her lips in a pout. "Sorry. I forgot for a moment because you looked so pretty with them."
She knows Yoona isn't actually annoyed by her forgetfulness. Jiwoo catches her lips quirking up before she drops them back into a frown. "Hmph." Yoona crosses her arms, turning her face away from her. "I bet you were completely distracted by Bae just now."
"Unnie," she whines, moving closer to her. "It's not like that."
Yoona keeps her head turned away from her. "Sure. You're always thinking about Bae. You don't pay any attention to me. I haven't had my ears pierced since the first time it closed up—"
Jiwoo hooks her arms around her neck. She stands on her tiptoes to peck her cheek, landing her lips on its softness. Yoona makes a noise in her throat, her complaints coming to an abrupt halt. Jiwoo smiles before she steps back from her.
"What was that for?" Yoona giggles.
Why did she kiss her? Jiwoo isn't sure either. It just seemed like the right move to get Yoona to look at her. "An apology kiss?" she opts to say, pouting her lips again. "Unnie, don't be mad at me. Sticker or not, it suits you. "
Yoona gives up on acting annoyed. "Fine. I'll forgive you since you gave me a kiss." She pats her head, the corners of her eyes crinkling, and her voice light with fondness.
For someone who was just grumbling and huffing, Yoona looks way too happy to forgive her.
Jiwoo doesn't call her out on it.
The second time Jiwoo gives Yoona a kiss to apologize, it's over a matter she genuinely feels bad about.
It's an hour before their fan meeting concert in Macau starts, and Jiwoo has been agonizing over what pose she should make during her freestyle part in Beat Beat. "Jinsol-unnie. What do you think? Should I make a puppy again for Beat Beat?" She asks, bringing her hands up to her head to demonstrate the pose. "Or a cat?"
Jinsol grins at her. "They're both cute!"
"Really? Maybe I'll do puppy for today and cat for tomorrow. Oh, but I also want to do something new…"
"You could try an animal Macau has if you don't want to repeat a pose you've done."
"You're right, unnie. I didn't think of that." Jiwoo beams, grabbing her phone and searching for Macau's Animals. As she scrolls through the results, she feels someone coming up behind her and peering over her shoulder. Long arms wrap around her waist, pulling her flush against a warm body—and Jiwoo knows it's Yoona behind her before she even speaks.
"Why won't you do a rabbit or a deer?" Yoona says, her voice close to her ear.
Jiwoo hums in response, distracted by the articles she's reading. "I guess I could, but I don't want to repeat animals if I can help it?" She pauses. "Hey, if I pose as a panda, does that count as repeating Haewon-unnie's animal? They're bears."
"Pretend you're eating bamboo. That will make it different." Jinsol quips beside her.
"Oh my god. Jinsol-unnie, you're really a genius." She types into her search bar for pandas eating bamboo.
"Jiwoo." Yoona murmurs, squeezing her waist briefly, and Jiwoo tries to ignore her heart skipping a beat.
"Hm?"
"You've haven't made a single rabbit or deer pose the entire tour."
Jiwoo gasps, whirling around to face Yoona. "Huh? No way. I did everyone's animals."
Yoona pulls away from her with a huff. "Yeah. Everyone but me."
"I swear I did do a rabbit!" Jiwoo gapes at her. They've done numerous fan concerts in the past few months. Surely she did one of Yoona's representative animals at least once for Beat Beat?
"Umm…Now that I think of it, I don't think you ever did Yoona's, Jiwoo." Jinsol coughs.
"Oh. Really?"
"Really."
At Jinsol's confirmation, the thought of Yoona waiting for her turn—all this time— during Beat Beat fills her with guilt. She hadn't meant to forget about Yoona. It may seem like a small matter, but the fact that she remembered everyone but her probably stung. "Sorry, unnie, I thought I did a rabbit pose before."
Yoona, who has been awfully quiet, smiles at her. "It's okay."
Jiwoo furrows her brows. Unlike the previous time with the earrings, she couldn't tell if Yoona was truly fine with her forgetfulness. "Unnie—"
"Yoona, it's your turn to film the TikTok challenge!"
Yoona looks over to their manager. "It's really okay, Jiwoo." She pats her arm before leaving.
"Ohhh, you're done for, Kim Jiwoo." Jinsol slides next to her, throwing her arm around her shoulder.
Jiwoo sags under her weight. "Why?"
"Yoona's going to remember this forever. I can tell." Jinsol laughs. "She can really hold a grudge. It's been months since I accidentally called her by your name when we camped together, and she still brings it up sometimes."
Jiwoo feels her shoulders slump even more. Yoona? Holding a grudge against her? She hates even the thought of it. "What should I do, Jinsol-unnieeeee," she whines.
"Nothing?" Jinsol shrugs.
During Beat Beat, Jiwoo makes sure to do the cutest, loveliest bunny pose she can think of. She even sends a heart with her hands to Yoona right after. The bright grin she gets from Yoona in return eases some of her worries, but after the concert ends, Jinsol's words still linger in her mind.
Jiwoo decides she'll talk to Yoona again when she finds the right time. Maybe at the hotel? She ponders over it as she tugs at the wire of her in-ear. It's caught somewhere on the back of her outfit, and Jiwoo struggles to set it free.
"Let me help you."
Yoona appears behind her again. She brushes over her nape, moving her hair out of the way. Jiwoo swallows at the touch. Yoona glides her fingers past her shoulders and down her back, following the wires of her in-ear to find where it's caught on.
Warmth gathers in her cheeks. Couldn't she use her eyes instead? Jiwoo fights the urge to combust.
Yoona pulls the wire free, and she also removes her receiver pack for her, handing it over to one of their staff for safekeeping. "There. All done."
Jiwoo feels like she can finally breathe. She faces her. "Thank you," she says, wincing at how shy she sounds.
"It's nothing." Yoona reaches out, fixing a messy strand of her hair back into place. Her gaze softens as she smiles."I saw you sending me hearts during Beat Beat."
Jiwoo feels her own lips curling up. "Did you like it? You're the only one who got that from me, unnie."
Yoona laughs, and her heart stirs at how pretty she sounds.
"Really? I guess I'm lucky, then." Yoona lets out a fond sigh, petting her head.
Jiwoo leans into her touch on instinct. "I'm still sorry about forgetting about you. I didn't mean to."
"It's okay," Yoona says, and this time, Jiwoo doesn't doubt her. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed, but that all went away when a cute puppy gave me a heart on stage."
Jiwoo almost chokes on her saliva. Her mind short-circuits at the word puppy, and it doesn't help that Yoona is still stroking her hair. "So you won't hold a grudge against me?"
"What?" Yoona laughs again, her eyes shining with amusement. "I don't think I can ever hold a grudge against you. You're too adorable, Jiwoo."
Heat crawls up her neck, and something swells in her chest. Yoona moves her hand away from her hair. Jiwoo catches her wrist, pressing a firm kiss to her palm before letting her go.
Yoona stares at her palm where the imprint of her lips is clearly visible. "What was that for?"
It feels like deja vu when Yoona questions her. Jiwoo tries to keep a straight face, even as she panics internally over her own impulsive action. "Just in case a heart wasn't enough, unnie."
Later, on their ride to the hotel, Jiwoo catches Yoona looking at her palm in the car through the reflection of the front mirror, tracing over the mark with her fingers.
Their eyes meet.
Yoona turns her hand over, gazing outside the window like she wasn't doing anything else.
The third time it happens, Jiwoo thinks Yoona is being a little silly.
They've just finished doing a livestream on YouTube together, and Jiwoo's preparing to wash up. She rummaged through her luggage, huffing when she couldn't find what she was looking for. "Unnie, have you seen my black pouch? The one with all my skincare?"
"It's on the dresser. You took it out this morning." Yoona answers her from her bed.
Jiwoo looks around their hotel room for the dresser. She spots her pouch hiding among the mess scattered across it.
The past few days in Australia have been a little hectic, and neither of them has had the time to tidy up their mess. Jiwoo makes a mental note to do it after washing up. "Thanks," she says, walking over to grab it.
Yoona hums softly in acknowledgement, looking down at her phone. She hasn't stopped scrolling since their livestream ended, and if Jiwoo could make a guess, she's monitoring what their fans are saying on social media.
As Jiwoo prepares to head to the bathroom, she hears her own voice sounding from Yoona's phone. Is she replaying one of their clips? Jiwoo doesn't think much of it, until Yoona turns up the volume, and she finally processes what her voice is saying—Jagiya.
"Unnie!" Jiwoo rushes over to her side, her cheeks flaming in an instant. "What are you watching?" she asks, even though she knows the exact clip Yoona managed to dig up.
Yoona shows her phone to her, and right there on her screen, Jiwoo sees herself looking up at Jinsol as she calls her Honey again.
"So the fans were right," Yoona grumbles, turning her screen back to her again. "You didn't hesitate to call Jinsol 'Honey'."
The clip loops. Jiwoo cringes when she hears her own voice again.
"You said you were too shy to say Jagiya during our livestream. But I guess that doesn't apply when it comes to Jinsol." Yoona continues sulking, her lips set in a thin line as she stares at the looping clip.
Jiwoo scratches her cheek. "That was, um, because—"
The sound of her voice sweetly calling out to Jinsol interrupts her. How many times will Yoona let it loop? Jiwoo huffs, climbing onto the bed to grab her phone.
Yoona dodges her attempt. She raises her phone high in the air, far away from her reach.
Why are her arms so long? Jiwoo pinches her brows together. "Unnie, seriously…"
Yoona gives her an innocent smile in return. Jiwoo refuses to let her win. She crawls onto her lap, putting a hand on her shoulder for leverage—and she tries reaching for her phone.
Why are her arms so short?
"Oh my god, Jiwoo." Yoona giggles at her attempt. Her shoulder trembles under her grip, and she continues to keep her phone out of her reach.
When it's clear her current approach isn't working, Jiwoo changes her strategy. She sits back on Yoona's lap.
"Is my puppy giving up already?" Yoona teases, waving her phone at her.
Jiwoo tickles her sides. Yoona jolts, body twisting beneath her in response, and her arm drops back into her reach. She snatches the phone out of her grip and stops the clip from playing, puffing out her chest as she says, "I won, unnie."
With her target achieved, Jiwoo finally registers the warmth pressing against her thighs.
She's straddling Yoona's lap.
A noise escapes her throat. Jiwoo feels her cheeks flush, but before she can scurry away, Yoona grabs her waist, keeping her still.
Yoona pouts at her. "So Jinsol can hear you say Honey but I can't?" she says, sounding breathless from the tickle attack Jiwoo sprung on her.
Is she really still sulking over that? Jiwoo pushes past the—very—distracting hands on her waist to muster her voice. "Do you even like pet names?"
Yoona looks flustered at the question, her fingers curling into her shirt. "Huh?"
"Because I like calling you unnie the most. Not Honey." Jiwoo presses on, her heart hammering in her chest. "You don't want me to call you unnie?"
Yoona averts her eyes to the side. "I didn't say that…" she says, red dusting her cheeks.
An urge she's becoming increasingly familiar with surges in her, and Jiwoo doesn't fight it. She kisses her warm cheek, eyes closing as she lingers longer than she would for a simple peck. Yoona tightens her grip on her, dragging her just a tiny bit closer to her.
Jiwoo forces herself to pull away, her pulse racing when she opens her eyes again.
Yoona doesn't ask her what the kiss was for. At least not verbally. She gazes at her with dazed eyes, digging her nails into her sides.
"So, are you still upset, unnie?" Jiwoo summons the last of her courage to say.
Yoona breaks out of her stupor with a shake of her head.
If she thought Yoona was silly to sulk over the Jagiya incident, the next grievance Yoona brings up to her is even more ridiculous.
She's lying on her bed, eyes barely open as she checks what schedules she has for tomorrow before she goes to sleep. The warmth of her blanket hugs around her, her bedside lamp casting a cozy orange glow, and Jiwoo has to fight her drowsiness to stay awake.
The door opens. Yoona walks into their shared room, looking just as sleepy as her. She settles on her bed, flicking her own bedside lamp on and staring in her direction.
Jiwoo notices her eyes on her, but Yoona likes to space out sometimes—especially when she's sleepy—so she just assumes she's zoning out as usual. She focuses on her screen, taking note of what time she needs to wake up tomorrow.
When she finally sets her phone down, Yoona's still looking at her.
"Jiwoo," she says.
It's a simple call of her name, but her tone alone catches her attention. She knows that tone. It's one that she always uses before she starts pouting, and the question Yoona asks next confirms her suspicions. "Do you really want to change your roommate?"
Jiwoo immediately knows what brought this on, which doesn't make her question any less confusing, because—
"You know those cat-ear headbands react to any brain activity, right?" she says slowly. "Just because they twitched when Haewon-unnie asked me that question doesn't mean I thought yes."
Yoona walks over to her bed, settling by her side and pouting down at her. "So what exactly did you think?"
Jiwoo blames this situation on Haewon. Why did she have to ask her a question like that? She also blames whoever included that game segment in their fan meeting. There's no way those brainwave reading sensors were accurate.
She sits up, her brows creasing. "Unnie. I like being roommates with you. Why would I want to change my roommate?"
Yoona lets out a loud sigh. "Who knows. Maybe you might like having Jinsol as your roommate more."
Jinsol? Where did she come from? Her first instinct is to defend herself, but she stops herself.
It's late. They're both drowsy from their long day, and instead of sleeping, Yoona decides to blow a silly game segment out of proportion. She's exaggerating her reactions on purpose, but why?
Is she teasing her?
Well, since Yoona has delayed her sleep, Jiwoo isn't going to give in so easily. She mumbles on purpose. "I guess the thought did cross my mind."
"It did?" Yoona frowns, taken aback even though she was the one who brought Jinsol up.
"Just for a quick second. I swear." Jiwoo gives her a sheepish grin. "I haven't roomed with Jinsol-unnie before, so naturally I thought of her for a second."
Yoona deepens her frown. "Oh. Really? I'm disappointed," she grumbles under her breath, and she sounds like she's actually sulking now.
"Sorry, unnie."
Yoona glances at her, making a disgruntled noise in her throat. She turns her head away, but at the same time, she scoots a little closer to her, her body making a subtle lean forward.
Huh.
Yoona steals another glance at her, fiddling with her sheets. The tip of her ear blazes with red when their eyes meet. Yoona quickly looks away again, and something finally clicks in her mind.
Yoona's waiting for her kiss.
The realisation fills her with both exasperation and fondness. Yoona's behavior makes a lot more sense, but did she have to resort to baiting her for a kiss? Jiwoo would kiss her if she asked.
Yoona peeks at her again, the red from her ears spreading to her cheeks at their prolonged silence. "Um. Okay. Goodnight?" She chokes out, her voice wavering with embarrassment.
The mattress shifts as Yoona tries to escape, but Jiwoo catches her arm, tugging her back to the bed. "Unnie," she says. "You know you can just ask me for a kiss, right?"
Yoona freezes like a deer caught in the headlights, her throat bobbing as she swallows. "Was I that obvious?"
"A little." Jiwoo giggles softly. She shifts her hold on Yoona's arm to the top of her hand, brushing her thumb over the smooth expanse of her skin. Then, she brings her knuckles up to her lips, giving them a quick peck. "There. Happy now?" she teases her with a smile.
Yoona looks her in the eyes, still slightly flushed from being caught red-handed. But her embarrassment soon fades from her gaze. Yoona pulls her hand out of her grip, nudging her to lie down with a gentle push to her shoulder.
Her breath stutters. Jiwoo lets her back meet the bed, and Yoona settles on top of her, propping herself up on her elbows. Her legs—hardly covered by her shorts—press against her, their bare skins touching.
"Unnie…" is the only thing Jiwoo can say as she gazes into Yoona's eyes. The smell of her shampoo washes over her, and she takes in a shaky breath, her fingers twitching.
"You said I can ask you for a kiss," Yoona says, her voice tinging with nervousness.
Jiwoo swallows her growing anticipation. It feels like her heart is about to leap out of her throat. "Mhm. I did."
Yoona drops her gaze to her lips. She isn't subtle with it, lingering purposefully as if she's soaking in every detail of how they look. Jiwoo burns under her attention, her lips parting slightly. A sharp inhale cuts through the silence between them, and Yoona pulls her focus back to her eyes. "Can I have one?"
Honestly, Yoona doesn't even have to ask. Jiwoo lifts her hand, finding the back of Yoona's neck and dragging her close. She might have overestimated the force she needed to use, or maybe Yoona was too eager to lean closer to her face, because they ended up bumping their heads together.
Jiwoo giggles at the mishap, but Yoona doesn't laugh. She readjusts, her breath grazing over her cheek. Soft lips press against hers, and Jiwoo quietens, closing her eyes to savour the fact that Yoona's kissing her.
She curls her fingers further into the hair at Yoona's nape, drawing her in as close as she possibly could. The weight on her shifts. Yoona brings her hand to her cheek, running her tongue over her lips, and Jiwoo parts them for her with a soft sigh. Mint—toothpaste?—fills her mouth as Yoona deepens their kiss, her fingers pressing into her cheek.
Her mind grows fuzzy. It's nice to have Yoona's warmth flushed against her. Why did she wait so long to kiss her like this? She should've just gone for her lips from the very beginning, instead of her cheeks and hands.
Yoona glides her hand down from her cheek, squeezing her waist instead. Jiwoo makes a noise in her throat. Fingers slip under the hem of her shirt, caressing her in a way that will veer them from make-out territory into something else. Which she wouldn't have minded—if they didn't have an early schedule tomorrow.
Jiwoo knows she has to be the responsible one, since clearly Yoona isn't stopping anytime soon. It takes all of her willpower to break their kiss, tilting away from eager lips.
"It's late," she breathes out when Yoona gives her a confused look. "We should probably stop before we, um, go too far?"
The moment the words leave her mouth, Jiwoo's tempted to take them back. Yoona looks even prettier with a flush in her cheeks, and her lips swollen from kissing her. Jiwoo wants to drag her close for a kiss again.
"Hmm, okay. I guess we should stop." Yoona pulls away reluctantly. "But can I sleep with you?"
"Unnie, what did I just say—" Jiwoo pauses. Wait. Yoona probably meant cuddling. Why did she have to word it that way? Oh, but cuddling did sound nice. Jiwoo's more than happy to snuggle into her arms. She gives her an eager nod, tugging at the sleeve of her shirt, and Yoona brightens up at her agreement.
"Hold on, let me go turn off our lights." Yoona separates from her. Jiwoo holds back a whine when she feels her warmth leaving.
The room darkens until she can barely make out Yoona's silhouette. Yoona joins her back on the bed, and Jiwoo doesn't waste a second to bury herself in her arms. She tucks her face into the crook of her neck, tangling her legs with Yoona's as she practically melds with her.
It's times like these she's thankful for her height. She gets to nestle herself entirely into Yoona's hold and be enveloped head-to-toe in the cosiest embrace in the world. Jiwoo lets out a quiet sigh of contentment, nuzzling her.
Yoona trembles slightly as she laughs. "That tickles," she says, her voice light with fondness. "You're just like a puppy." She brings her hand up to her head, petting and playing with the strands of her hair like she always does.
Her mind eases even more with her touch. Jiwoo hums against her throat, blindly feeling for her blanket to cover them with it. Yoona helps her to pull it up, and they both relax under its softness.
A comfortable silence falls over them, the peacefulness of it all sinking her into the fuzzy hold of sleep. As she drifts further and further, she feels Yoona brushing her lips over her temple, laying a gentle kiss on it. "You smell really nice," she mumbles.
The sudden compliment almost pulls her out of her haze. "Unnie. Sleep," she reminds her with a barely coherent grumble.