Archive of Our Own

Ahn Suho is rarely unsure of herself.

As an MMA fighter, she knows what it means to observe her opponents, analyse risks and take chances. Outside of the ring, she applies it to her basketball matches, her part-time jobs and most importantly, her mid-class napping sessions. She knows which teachers don't care if she sleeps through the lessons and which teachers have bad enough eyesight that propping her head up will suffice. Throughout her various years of schooling, she has perfected the art of calculating the margin of error on everything that she wants to do, with the exception of Yeon Sieun.

Ahn Suho prays everyday, to any deity that will listen, that Yeon Sieun would not only notice her but also fall head over heels for her. She begs like she has never wanted anything more in her life. All day, she thinks about Sieun's magnetic eyes, the way she hunches over her lunch tray and how she always manages to nail that one dance move that all the other cheerleaders can't seem to do quite right. Sieun practically lives in her head rent-free, which is how she's sure that her crush on Yeon Sieun is terminal or a life sentence with no chance of parole.

The deities don't seem to be listening to her and everyday that Yeon Sieun does not notice her is a day closer to Suho's fragile heart breaking. So, she decides to take action and rope her friends into forming a self-defence club. Suho doesn't care about self-defence or teaching. In fact, she hopes that it's not obvious to everyone how much she half-heartedly moves the sessions along. All she is hoping for is that word of the club spreads and Sieun's anxious parents or one of her paranoid cheerleader friends would drag her to a session. Once she is here, Suho would show her how fast she can punch, or maybe even how nice it would feel to be sitting in her lap. They would giggle through out the entire club session, exchange flirty text messages and leave their hands lingering on each other's skin for a touch too long…

By all means, it is an excellent plan. Not only does Sieun show up, she shows up with Na Baekjin, who Humin has been hopelessly crushing on. Baekjin is just sociable enough that she manages to drag Sieun to an after-club hangout that Suho had strategically suggested and the rest is practically history.

Not quite. Suho is sitting in her room with a pen and paper out in front of her, racking her brain. Rarely does anything vex her to the point of needing to visualise the issue. However, a particularly Yeon Sieun-shaped problem has been haunting her and the only way Suho feels like she can deal with it is by employing a Sieun-like method: writing it down.

1. Sieun lied about not having tried the bubble tea at the shop Suho works at.

It was right after the first club session Sieun had joined when Suho had the brilliant idea of going to the bubble tea shop that she works at. Not only are the drinks pretty decent, she gets a staff discount and less money spent on food means more money to spend on better food.

Sieun said she hadn't tried anything from the store, which is fair. It is small shop Suho's aunt started when she was 30 and while she was running a restaurant with her mother, Yeongi and Suho would run the bubble tea store. While Suho busied herself by asking Sieun for her preferences in drinks and being met with her blank but contemplative stare, she still managed to catch Baekjin cocking an eyebrow and amusedly looking at herself.

There was no time to think about what that could mean because Yeon Sieun looked up at her and softly mumbled, "I can't choose between the peach green tea and earl grey milk tea." She looked so much at odds with herself that Suho caved and ordered both for her, telling her that she could try both and take the one she liked best. Before Suho could even savour the hint of a smile breaking on Sieun's icy face, Yeongi yelled at her to get behind the counter and start mixing drinks.

Suho almost forgot about the weird expression on Baekjin's face, which is not surprising given how the rest of the hangout played out. Some unruly delinquent cornered Sieun at the toilet and put his hands on her when she refused to engage. While Sieun managed to put up a good fight before Suho exited the toilet and witnessed the mess, it was still a harrowing experience. Suho couldn't recall the turn of events exactly, all she felt was a boiling anger rising in her as she swung at him before more punches started landing on her body. If it weren't for the rest of their friends, Humin, Hyuntak and Baekjin stepping in, Suho wasn't even sure they would have made it out unscathed.

She was reminded of it a few days later at lunch when Humin looked around the canteen before whispering to her, "Hey, I think Sieun lied about not trying your aunt's bubble tea."

"What?"

"I mean, Baekjin has tried it and you know how close the two of them are. How is it possible that they are practically attached to the hip and yet Sieun has never tried a drink at a store that Baekjin has a 'favourite'?"

Suho shoved another spoonful of food in her mouth, "Ugh, how would I know?"

"I'm telling you, Sieun likes you."

Suho would love to believe that. She really would, but there are one thousand and one reasons to refute the evidence. Maybe she doesn't buy a drink when Baekjin frequents the store, maybe they aren't as close as Humin thinks they are. Maybe Suho's eyes were playing tricks on her that day.

But Sieun did take a little too fast settling on peach green tea as her favourite drink…

2. Sieun lets Suho touch her. In fact, sometimes it's like she's asking for it.

The only good thing to come out of having to drag herself to the self-defense club she started is that it was the only time Suho could talk to Sieun. Despite being in the same class, Yeon Sieun kept to herself and practically buried her pretty head in between books. There was absolutely no chance to get her attention, unless you were the teacher or Na Baekjin. On a day where she was feeling more refreshed, Suho noticed that Baekjin could waltz into their classroom and pull Sieun's attention onto her effortlessly. It left a bitter twang in her heart. If it took having to coach 20 other random girls just to have Sieun's eyes on her, Suho would do so in a heartbeat.

After spending a few more sessions with Sieun, Suho had worked up the courage to approach Sieun after watching her do her kicks wrong. After her heart pounded at her chest for the 60th time, Suho approached Sieun, "Hey, I think you should use your hips more."

Sieun's eyes locked onto hers, "How do I do that?"

"Huh?"

Suho couldn't tear her eyes away from Sieun's, which were somehow getting glassier by the second. Sieun's voice shook a little as she said, "I don't know how to use my hips, could you show me how?"

An embarassing heat bloomed onto Suho's face and she had to gather herself before her head exploded from all the inappropriate thoughts running through her mind. Her leg wobbled a little as she demonstrated the kick before looking back expectantly at Sieun. However, Sieun didn't seem to be paying attention, looking downwards at the floor rather than Suho's torso. When she tried the kick again, Sieun flailed less than before but she still lacked power.

Suho's heart broke as she took in Sieun's slumped shoulders. She just looked so defeated, like she was disappointed in herself for not being able to do a simple kick. It shouldn't affect her this much, Suho thought to herself. Watching Sieun's down turned eyes get even droopier was the last straw for her, so she reached over and patted Sieun on the shoulder encouragingly, "Come on, let's try again. If you don't mind, I'll guide your hips a little as you kick."

Sieun glanced at Suho's hands and Suho swore she could see Sieun gulp nervously before nodding. Suho stood behind Sieun, placing her hands gingerly on Sieun's waist. It felt like a dream come true. Of course it was impossibly soft and small, she had seen Sieun's intense core workout and gotten a glimpse of her abs once when her shirt rode up. Suho bit down on her lip to hold herself back from whimpering pathetically. "Whenever you're ready, " she murmurs.

Sieun lifted her leg in preparation to kick, letting her limb hang in midair when Suho's grip tightened around her waist. "Can you feel where my hands are?" Suho asked.

Sieun nodded while a faint blush crept onto her ears.

A pounding began in Suho's chest and she tripped over her next few words, "Think about bringing this side—" She tapped on Sieun's right hip, "—Over to the front, like so." Her fingers trembled as they guided Sieun's hips to rotate. The ease at which she could move Sieun almost killed Suho right then and there. She was no stranger to how flexible Sieun was, but to witness how pliant she could be in her hands? Suho had to swallow her beating heart down just to make sure it didn't jump out and embarrass her.

"You— Yeah, that was good. Just like that."

Sieun's voice was low and smooth, "Just like that?"

The ticking Sieun's-voice-activated bomb in Suho's head exploded, "Yes, just like that."

On second thought, Suho realised that Yeon Sieun was no stranger to using her hips, Suho has seen that girl do twists in the air like she's Simone Biles. How is it that she has one foot on the ground and suddenly does not know how to rotate her hips? It's bizarre, absolutely bizarre.

3. Sieun ignores Suho. Sometimes.

Eunjang Girls High School has this horrible and humiliating practice of publicising the rankings of the students in each class. The teachers would print out a list of everyone's grades and put it up on the projector for everyone to see. While Suho wouldn't normally care about finding out where she stands amongst her classmates, Sieun always studied the projector screen intensely, scanning it as if she didn't already know she had topped the class once again.

Once, Suho had done decently well on the recent mock test after she started tagging along with Humin to Sieun and Baekjin's study sessions. As fun it was to take a nap in an air-conditioned environment, Suho realised that she was missing out on prime Sieun-interaction-time and started willing herself to stay awake. With nothing better to do, she started working on her homework instead of leaving it to the last minute.

She managed to actually learn the material, what was once a nonsensical string of letters and numbers morphed into a polynomial equation that she could solve. Kings and officials she had once dismissed as grumpy, old men that had too much time on their hands became characters in stories that Suho could recount like it was the latest episode of her favourite soap drama. In the few hours that the mock test took, Suho focused on actually trying to answer the questions, scratching the option she thought fit best onto the paper.

To her surprise, her grades shot up and for once, her class ranking hovered around the middle. As she shifted her sight from the projector screen to Sieun, she realised that Sieun had been twirling her pen while looking intently at the screen. Sieun doesn't twirl her pen. Sieun was too grounded to do anything extra like this, always keeping a light but firm grip on her stationery when using it. Sieun's shoes tap happily on the floor when she looks back down at her table, pen now scrawling randomly on her mock test.

That week, Suho slid up to Sieun during self-defence club again. In Suho's mind, they had a carefully choreographed routine. Suho would ask Sieun to pair up and Sieun would take one look at her before turning around as if Suho was invisible. She would spend the rest of the session with Juntae, giggling and pretending she doesn't feel Suho's eyes on her. To her surprise, Sieun broke routine and agreed to her proposal.

Suho sputtered, "Huh?"

Sieun tilted her head and replied in a confused tone, "I said yes. Let's pair up for today."

Before she could come up with a reply, Sieun turned on her heels and led them to a spot in the corner. Suho followed like a puppy, eyes wide like saucers. When she looked over at Hyuntak, her mouth was hanging open as if she too was surprised at the turn of events. However, there was no time to waste, Yeon Sieun finally accepted her offer and she had a limited time to make a good impression on her. She gulped nervously and tried to speak without stuttering, "Sieun, what made you join the club?"

She looked at her hesitantly, "Same reason as everyone else. Why did you start it?"

"Just… Just because, I guess. Brought it up to Humin and Hyuntak, and they also thought it was a good idea. Would be better for all of us to have this skill."

Sieun let out a soft snort, "How noble of you, Ahn Suho."

"Are you making fun of me?" Suho asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I am," Sieun looked straight into Suho's eyes before giggling. Her plush lips curled into a mischievous smile and her tongue darted out to lick at her lips before retreating into her mouth again. A dry, scratchy feeling began blooming in Suho's throat. Her palms get clammier as she wiped them on her sweatpants, unable to rid herself of the heat growing in her body. She gulped before laughing nervously. Sieun's eyes formed the prettiest half crescents as she smiled at Suho.

It must have been dumb luck for Suho to have scored that well for the mock test or maybe it was the nerves getting to her now that she knew she could do better, but Suho practically bombed the next test, returning to her spot at the bottom of the class. That week, Sieun beelined for Seo Juntae, barely sparing her a glance before Suho could get a word in. Suho spent the rest of the club session whining to Hyuntak and looking wistfully at Sieun, who was laughing it up with Suho's new mortal enemy, Seo Juntae.

4. Sieun always stares at Suho.

Ahn Suho didn't know why Sieun had to play hot and cold with her, acting like she was enamoured with her one day and chopped liver the next. But that's okay, because she was granted special permission to be around Sieun sometimes, which means that she got to tag along to Sieun and Baekjin's study sessions at the library.

She had figured Sieun out. Sieun liked it when she did well academically and was doing this "hot and cold" act to bait her into studying and scoring well. She'd bite. She would hunker down and study hard if that was what Sieun wanted, she would do the problem sets, memorise the various men that did things in the past and perhaps pay attention during science class.

Ahn Suho must be the luckiest person alive because she would have never predicted that doing her homework could lead to Sieun paying attention and talking to her. She had her head buried in a problem set, tapping her fingers on the table as she tried to figure out this math problem which was making her sweat in the cold library. Suho decided to take a break, swivelling her head to get a look at something that was not paper for once. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches the shine from a pair of particularly glassy eyes.

Sieun quickly turned back to look at her work, pretending like she had been perfectly immersed in her literature text. The nervous tapping of her feet betrayed her, giving Suho the feeling that she was embarrassed to be caught staring. How long had she been looking at her and just how long would she continue to stare if she hadn't looked up?

Sieun stared during practice too. While Humin was too busy basking in Baekjin's attention, Suho was running diligently. She kept her head down and did her laps as fast as she could, so she could rest for longer. As Baekjin yelled back at Humin, Suho found her eyes travelling over to the bleachers naturally.

Yeon Sieun was sitting down, dabbing a towel on her face gently. Her eyes were trained on Suho's moving figure and it felt like time had slowed as Sieun licked her lips. She held back a laugh when she witnessed Suho almost running into one of her teammates, hiding her smile behind her hands.

The sight gave Suho a high like never before. As much as it was difficult trading her rest time in the shade for more of Sieun's attention, Suho slowed down to a comfortable jogging pace, letting Sieun admire her for as long as she pleased. Despite her coach shouting at her to pick it up, she maintained her slower pace till Sieun disappeared into the gymnasium for her actual cheer practice.

Even during games, Sieun was looking at Suho. Suho was used to having eyes on her as she played, she was a flashy kind of player after all. It also came with the territory with being part of the main sporting event. Having the eyes of spectators, coaches, opponents on her was only natural. However, none of those eyes lingered like Yeon Sieun's. She watched like a hawk, only taking her eyes of Suho when it was time to perform her routine, which was when Suho became the hawk.

It had been an intense game, the players from Ganghak had a propensity to shove. While Suho did her best to resist against the urge to hit them, she wasn't immune to a few shoulder checks while dribbling. She had just evaded multiple players trying to get in her face and steal the ball from her before coming up under the net.

A tangle of limbs and jerseys flooded her sight and she could barely see any of her teammates, let alone make a good pass to any of them. She dribbled the ball cautiously, holding her arm out to block any attempts to steal the ball away. The wall of opponents parted slightly, giving Suho an opening to take advantage of. Like a snake, she slipped between the cracks, keeping the ball close to the ground before planting her feet into the ground.

She kept her eyes on the hoop, willing her body to reach it. The ground left her feet as she leapt into the air, feeling the cooler air brush past her hair. The net looked closer than ever as she threw the ball up. Suho had done this many times during practice or a pick-up game. She let the ball follow the trajectory of the throw as she landed on the ground, watching it intently.

She heard the swish of the net before the crowd erupted with cheers, roaring with excitement. Her teammates swarmed her, patting her encouragingly and jostling her around. She barely got to soak in the glory before she spotted Sieun looking at her again. Her hands was clasped together and her little cheer skirt was slightly rumpled from having stood up too fast.

There was a noticeable sparkle in her eye as she observed Suho. She must be looking at the way Suho leaned into her teammates, watching her eyes crinkle into a smile too. When the game ends, Suho jogged over to the bleachers.

"Were you watching me?"

Sieun didn't look up from packing her things, "Everyone's watching the game."

"Yeah, but I'm asking if you were watching me."

Sieun bit her lip, "I was watching the game."

By now, Suho had basically became the Yeon Sieun encyclopedia. The combination of the lip bite and the avoidant look towards the left is a classic tell for Sieun. She was evidently lying about not having paid attention to Suho, especially with the way she was eyeing her up now. Sieun looked like she hasn't had a drop of water for days, drawing a proud smile on Suho's face "Whatever you say, Sieun," Suho said, fanning herself with her jersey.

5. Sieun lingers around Suho.

Sieun had this habit of waiting for everyone to fall into position before looking for a spot to situate herself. She would stand slightly off to the side and wait for the group that she's with to settle before slotting herself next to Baekjin or another friend that she's comfortable with.

Suho understood. Yeon Sieun was a shy girl of little words, preferring to spend her time in the presence of people that she was genuinely comfortable with. Unlike herself, Yeon Sieun didn't crave the spotlight, she didn't need to crack jokes to make everyone laugh. Instead, she was content with spending time around her friends, which makes where she situated herself all the more important.

Baekjin had a way of making Sieun feel included in the conversation without needing her to participate much. She glanced at Sieun every so often, sharing little giggles with each other. Additionally, Sieun developed some weird, unknown rapport with Juntae. Their shoulders were always squished too close together for a friendship that started the same time as Sieun and Suho's. As much as Hyuntak thought it was hilarious to see Suho jealous of a dorkier version of Sieun, Suho did not find it funny that the only two people that Sieun seemed to enjoy more than everyone else were basically polar opposites of herself.

That was until she noticed Sieun lingering around her. It first started with Sieun hanging back a little longer to wait for Suho, who was always last when refilling her water. Then, it escalated to leaving for the canteen when Suho did instead of waiting for Baekjin to pick her up. The final straw for Suho was when they started having lunch together. Suho had asked Sieun about it offhandedly during one of their studying sessions and Sieun must have been in a good mood that week because she agreed. Sieun took her time joining the queue, letting everyone else go before her such that she was the last of their friend group, queuing up right behind Suho.

She watched as Suho piled food onto her tray and picked up more of Suho's favourites onto her plate. For once in their lives, Suho's dumbass friends had enough sense in them to leave the seat next to Suho empty, which Sieun promptly filled. Suho had been stuffing her face when the slightest brush of bare skin against hers jolted her from her trance. She stopped mid-chew, peeking out the corner of her eye at Sieun, who was picking up morsels of food to eat.

She looked indifferent to the contact, chewing in her usual bored manner. Sensing Suho's eyes on her, Sieun finally looked up, cocking her head to the side as if she's asking what's wrong. Suho couldn't bear to look at her cute face while she was eating like a bear, choosing to wave it off instead.

A few minutes later, Sieun's thigh brushed over her own again. This time, her legs did not move away, choosing to stay as close as they could to Suho's. After the shock wore off, Suho tentatively inched her leg closer to Sieun's, watching to see if Sieun would move her leg away. However, Sieun remained still, letting their legs remain touching. The prolonged contact felt hot, like there were sparks forming between them.

+1

Writing helped clear her mind and Sieun having a crush on her is starting to look like the most reasonable explanation. However, it has been weeks upon weeks of Suho laying it on thick, while Sieun doesn't seem to be in a rush to do the same. As much as Yeon Sieun could theoretically toy with her all she wants, realistically, Ahn Suho doesn't like being led by the nose. She needs confirmation that Yeon Sieun actually likes her and isn't taking advantage of her feelings for entertainment, or worse, an ego boost.

The moment the thought crosses her mind, Suho feels a pang of regret. She shouldn't feel this way about someone she likes, especially someone as perfect as Sieun, but doubt has a stubborn grip on Suho's heart and she cannot bring herself to make a move if she isn't 100% sure.

Every move has a margin of error. Suho knows that miscalculating it is the difference between a graze and a slug. Right now, she doesn't want to risk making a move if it's going to end with her in tears and Yeon Sieun telling her to never talk to her ever again. There will always be a non-zero chance that Sieun would treat her like she's invisible again, given how closely she guards her social circle. Infiltrating it without enough confidence is akin to signing her death warrant and she would much rather die than never speak to Yeon Sieun ever again.

However, there is also a non-zero chance that Yeon Sieun likes her back too. The amount of attention she showers Suho is out of the ordinary for regular friends and the energy spent on this never ending hot and cold act must account for something. Ahn Suho, the opportunist, would never give up on a chance like this, which meant that she needs to come up with a scheme to push the odds in her favour.

At every stoplight and every short lull during her shift, Suho thinks long and hard about how to make Yeon Sieun come running into her arms. Yeongi suggests taking inspiration from romance movies and shows, like weaponising jealousy. She says that if Suho got herself a fake girlfriend, perhaps Sieun would realise what she is missing out on and finally confess her feelings. It initially sounded like a good idea but Suho couldn't bear the thought of dating anyone but Sieun. Furthermore, she is way too afraid of Sieun simply throwing in the towel and taking her feelings to the grave. Also, what if Sieun doesn't have feelings for her and then Suho would have to orchestrate a dramatic breakup to cover up her scheme? It hurt Suho's head just thinking about the possibilities.

Suho's million dollar idea comes when she's gutting the ice machine and hosing it down with warm water. If Sieun could give her mixed signals, so could she. Maybe she will withdraw for a few days, make Sieun wonder why she's acting out of the ordinary which is when she will panic and show her hand. As Suho scrubs the nasty floors of the shop, it starts sounding like an even greater idea.

So, Suho doesn't look for Sieun in every room she enters. She barely asks Sieun to partner up anymore, locking arms with Hyuntak as soon as she can. She doesn't ask to join Sieun for lunch anymore and when they inevitably do because of Humin and Baekjin, Suho makes sure there isn't a free seat next to her for Sieun to sit in.

Sieun's eyes widens as she approaches the table, lips pursing into a noticeable pout. Her brows knit into a confused furrow as she settles for the seat diagonally across from Suho, glaring at her. How could she still be stuffing her face at a time like this, Sieun must be thinking. Just the thought that Sieun is hurt is stabbing at Suho's heart, making her mouth ache just from resisting the urge to tell her she's sorry for ignoring her. For the plan to work and for Suho's peace of mind, she averts her eyes and continues shovelling food into her mouth.

For the first time in months, Yeon Sieun turns back to look at Suho in class, completely disregarding the teacher up front. Even between her drooping eyelids, Suho can feel the cogs turning behind Sieun's head.

"Yeon Sieun, don't get distracted."

The class erupts in giggles as Sieun bashfully looks down at her desk and turns to the front. Suho yawns, stealing a look at Sieun's back. Her shoulders look smaller than normal and her feet tap anxiously on the ground. A smug smirk finds it's way onto Suho's face, it's clear to her that Suho is getting under her skin.

Now that she has bailed on Sieun's studying sessions, she has all the free time after basketball practice to go home or pick up another shift. She saunters towards the showers, leisurely grabbing her clothes out of her bag. All of a sudden, she feels a smaller hand grip onto her wrist. When she looks up, all she sees is Yeon Sieun stomping down the changing room and dragging her into an empty shower.

Sieun huffs as she glares at Suho, raking her eyes up and down her body like she's checking for something. Suho's lips move to form words but none escape her throat, which is quickly drying up under Sieun's watchful eye. The corner of Sieun's eyes twitch as she grits her teeth, "What is your problem?"

"What— What do you mean 'What's my problem?' " Suho sputters.

Sieun hisses like an angry kitten, pressing closer to Suho, "I'm asking you why you are doing this to me."

"Doing what?"

"This! This— This 'pretending that I'm nothing, like I'm just one of your many friends' act! "

"You are my friend!"

A bang cracks through the air, making Suho jump instinctively. Sieun's balled up fist stings against the shower door, "You—" The warm exhale of Sieun's breath draws goosebumps onto Suho's skin and an unsettling, nervous feeling starts to crawl up her spine. All of a sudden, the tip of Sieun's delicate nose crinkles and she chokes back a sob, "Why are you doing this to me?"

Instantly, Suho softens and places her hands on her shoulders, "Why? What's wrong?"

Sieun avoids Suho's attempts to look her in the eye, thrashing against Suho and trying to wriggle out of her hold. "Do you hate me?" She cries, "Did I do something—"

"No, no, no. Sieun-ah, you didn't do anything, Why would you think—"

"Then why are you acting like this towards me!" Sieun's body folds as she crumples onto the floor, sobbing into her hands. Her breath is ragged in between wails, struggling to steady her breathing.

Suho's hands struggle to find a place to land, hovering around Sieun's body pensively. "Sieun-ah, what— Tell me what you mean, please."

" You… You used to talk to me all the time, we used to hang out all the time. Why are you avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?"

A lump begins to form in Suho's throat, preventing her from telling Sieun that she had done nothing wrong to warrant a change in her behaviour. It is Suho's fault for wanting to test Sieun, to push her to the edge that she is currently standing on right now. What she initially thought was a good idea to have Sieun finally realise her feelings was making her cry like a baby on the dingy shower floor. "No, no, Sieun-ah you didn't do anything, it's—" Suho trips over her words, tears streaming down her face.

"Tell me why! Don't you like me, Ahn Suho? What made you change your mind? Tell me what it is and I won't do it again. Please, Suho-ya, I don't—"

Suho lunges forward, wrapping Sieun's body in her arms. Sieun buries her face in the crook of Suho's neck while resisting the urge to let Suho hug her fully, placing her hands in between their torso. Sieun murmurs bitterly into her shoulder, "If you were going to be like this after making me like you, then you shouldn't have given me false hope. You talked to me first!"

"Sieun-ah," Suho shifts to get a better look at Sieun's tear stricken face. There's a noticeable flush on the tip of her nose and puffiness in her eyes. Sieun sniffles lamely as she avoids Suho's gaze, wiping her tears away. "Sieun-ah, you like me?" Suho asks pensively, unsure if her ears are working.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sieun grumbles, glaring at the floor.

Suho fights the grin taking over her face, " No, I didn't know. To be honest, I couldn't be sure that you—"

"So what? You were just going to flirt with me and do nothing?"

Suho finds herself at a loss for words. Sieun's right, she had no real plan to confess to Sieun. In fact, she couldn't have guessed that they would have been this friendly with each other. Suho wipes a tear away that's on Sieun's cheek, "I didn't think you would even like me back. You're you and I'm… I'm me."

"You're great, Suho-ya. Your MMA and basketball stats are good, you're hardworking and good at time management, and you're actually pretty smart when you use your head."

When Suho doesn't answer, Sieun finally looks at her, "Did you think I was the kind of girl that likes losers?"

"No, I—"

"Don't ever think you're worthless, Ahn Suho."

Sieun hugs her knees to her chest, nervously drawing circles on her knees. "Wow, Yeon Sieun. I didn't know you thought so highly of me," Suho teases, trying to hide her pounding heart behind her words.

A warm and gentle smile curls onto Sieun's lips, "Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not making fun of you. You're just… You're so cute, Sieun-ah." Suho jumps back onto her feet, holding out a hand to Sieun. She takes it, gripping onto Suho as she stands back up, wobbling a little on the ascent.

Now, Suho could see the tear droplets that caught onto Sieun's lashes, threatening to stream down her face. From up above, Sieun looked like a bunny with her puffy cheeks and a pout growing on her face. "Now what?" Sieun asks, stroking Suho's fingers gently.

"What do you mean 'Now, what' ? We're dating now, Yeon Sieun. But first, I have to shower so please wait for me to be done, okay?"

Suho's heart almost stops when Sieun eyes her up and down and says, "I can wait right here."