Sweet - Chapter 4
Sweet - Chapter 4
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Sweet
((Chapter 4))
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“Unnie,” Seohyun whispered, “this is really embarrassing.”
“Nonsense,” Yuri snorted. “I totally know what I’m doing here.”
“But. . .why am I wearing this in the middle of the winter? It’s cold.”
“Well, duh, my dear-you’re trying to lure your lady lover with a flash of skin and a coy look or two.”
“I’d say that’s more than a flash of skin you’ve got there,” Jessica remarked dryly. She eyed the white wife-beater and miniskirt combination (both courtesy of Yuri) with a sympathetic eye.
Seohyun pouted slightly. “. . .the skirt’s really short, unnie.” She tugged on the hem in discomfort.
“Of course it is! Stop messing with it, will you? Good girl. Now you’re going to do exactly as I told you, right?”
“Yes, unnie.”
“Okay. Remember, you’ve got your unnies on your side! You will prevail!”
“. . .”
“I said ‘You will prevail!’ Isn’t that right?”
“I. . .will prevail?”
“Right! Now if you just say this to yourself you will have all of the confidence in the world.”
“O-okay.”
Jessica and Taeyeon watched from the doorway, shaking their heads. “Poor Seohyun,” Jessica said.
“Why do I get the feeling this isn’t such a good idea?” Taeyeon wondered aloud.
Jessica eyed Taeyeon. “Maybe because it’s not?”
“Ah.”
They watched Yuri instruct the uncomfortable-yet-earnest Seohyun for awhile longer in silence.
“. . .I just want to clarify that this wasn’t my idea.”
“We know, we know.”
“Yeah. Well. Just making sure.”
“It looks like they’re moving out. Let’s see how this goes.”
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Seohyun politely greeted another staff member, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She was cold, jittery, and about to break into hysterics-it was only the thoughts that her unnies were watching (from somewhere she didn’t know but Yuri was determined and Yuri had her ways) and she was going to see Yoona. Yoona. Her heart warmed and then immediately stuttered when she remembered what she was about to do.
“Seohyun?”
And then her heart went into double-time because Yoona, lovely Yoona, was standing there and smiling softly and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and beckoning her closer. Never one to deny her, Seohyun drew near, forcing her hands not to fidget with her hem. She remembered what Yuri said-to keep her head up and smile at her like she knows a secret and to flutter her eyelashes every now and then.
“What are you doing here?” Yoona asked her, still smiling delightedly. She was dressed charmingly in a white silk blouse and a floral skirt, a baggy zip-up jacket thrown over the outfit for warmth. Seohyun’s mouth dried up instantly.
“To visit you,” Seohyun explained simply. She held up a thermos, feeling the heat even through the metal. “I, ah, brought you some soup because I thought you’d be cold.”
“What about you? You look like you’re freezing!” Yoona reached out and entwined her fingers with Seohyun’s, hissing sympathetically at the cool temperature. She chafed the appendages between her warm palms, completely oblivious to Seohyun’s blissful expression.
“I’m fine, unnie,” Seohyun said contentedly, the biting wind now a distant memory. Yoona was increasingly focused on mothering her, Seohyun began to realize to her dismay. This was not going the way she wanted it to go, right from the beginning.
This called for some emergency measures.
Emergency Procedure Number One: Throw yourself at her. No, really, Yuri had told her firmly at Seohyun’s disbelieving look. It helps if you have a running start.
Seohyun sucked in a breath-she would trust her unnie and leave the rest up to luck. So Seohyun took a step back and said nothing to Yoona’s questioning eyes-then she leaped.
They ended up as a tangled heap of long limbs and mussed hair on the cold, cement ground.
“Seohyun,” Yoona said through a mouthful of hair, “was that really necessary?”
“Yes,” she answered. She didn’t know what else to say so she didn’t say anything else.
“Seohyun,” Yoona said, blowing strands of hair away from her face, “would you mind getting up? You’re really warm but the ground is really cold.”
Seohyun’s cheeks began to burn as a wave of humiliation fell upon her. She lowered her eyes as she struggled to her feet, doubt and anxiety and utter embarrassment assaulting her with a side serving of defeat. She, in her self-consumed embarrassment, completely missed the obvious warmth in Yoona’s gaze, instead preoccupying herself with an intense scrutiny of her borrowed shoes. Oh, look, they were scuffed.
“Seohyun,” Yoona said gently, taking a step closer. Seohyun couldn’t look up if she tried. The weight of her embarrassment made her head heavy, too heavy to lift. Yoona helped her out by reaching out and lifting her chin for her. Seohyun found herself looking right into Yoona’s unblinking eyes.
“Oh,” she said. “Hello.”
Yoona smiled. “Hello.”
Seohyun shifted from foot to foot, all the while returning Yoona’s unblinking stare. Her eyes began to burn. She blinked and frowned. “Aw.”
“You were never good with staring contests anyways, Seohyun-ah,” Yoona said. “Come on; let’s get you a jacket or something.”
Seohyun followed the older girl into her own trailer meekly. She wasn’t certain if she should consider this a step forward or backwards in The Plan. Sunny, the apparent pillar of sanity amongst all of this, had managed to convince Yuri that changing the operation name was beneficial. Yuri had agreed, albeit reluctantly, when Hyoyeon lent a hand and held her blender hostage.
“Here,” Yoona thrust a large sweatshirt at Seohyun, who took it blearily.
Seohyun opened her mouth to object-The Plan was grounded by her lack of clothing, according to her new coach-when she caught a whiff of a mouthwatering scent. Seohyun brought the cotton closer to her face and inhaled, blinking rapidly. Yoona, ever observant, noticed.
“I wore that to the set this morning,” Yoona said sheepishly, “so it’s a bit rumpled. Hopefully you won’t mind.”
“I don’t mind!” Seohyun said hastily, struggling into the sweatshirt. Seohyun decided to screw The Plan and wrap herself with Yoona-or as close as she could get.
Yoona watched Seohyun flail around pathetically for a few moments as she desperately tried to yank her head through the right opening in the sweatshirt, stumbling about the room. She sighed and stepped forward, stopping Seohyun right in her tracks by placing her hands on Seohyun’s hips. She gently took Seohyun’s limp arms and threaded them through the correct holes, pulling the fabric down her torso and hands lingering at the hem.
“Thank you, unnie,” Seohyun breathed, cheeks pink and hair a complete mess but completely beautiful. Her fingers twisted the drawstrings anxiously as she stared at Yoona’s chin. Anywhere but her eyes.
“Seohyun,” Yoona called softly, “my eyes are up here.”
Seohyun kept staring as she strategized some more. Nothing came to mind and she was beginning to panic. Was it time for Emergency Procedure Number Two? “Unnie,” Seohyun said slowly, gathering her courage, “I think I dropped something.”
Yoona frowned, puzzled. “Are you sure? I didn’t see anything.”
Seohyun took a step back and then another one. “Ah, that’s because it was-behind me! Yes, it was behind me.” Seohyun abruptly turned so her back was facing Yoona and slid a bobbypin from the tiny pocket in the miniskirt and tossed it onto the ground. “Oh, there it is,” Seohyun said loudly.
“Seoh-”
“Let me pick it up,” Seohyun continued in a loud voice, mentally running through the lines Yuri had instructed her to say. Then she bent over, taking mind to cant her hips in a very awkward position and linger as she straightened.
Seohyun wasn’t sure what was supposed to happen.
Was an alarm supposed to ring? Maybe she forgot to say something? The miniskirt seemed so tight that it might rip-that was bad. Or good, according to numerous sources. Oh. OH. Heat-the heavy weight of Yoona’s stare-raked up her form. Seohyun felt all tingly, and the hair on her arms stood on end. Seohyun concentrated on straightening as slowly as she could. The key, she was told, was to linger.
Seohyun smiled triumphantly as Yoona let out a strange noise-possibly a cross between a groan and a cough. It was working!
After awhile, she heard Yoona call out uncertainly “Uh, Seohyun?”
“Yes, unnie?” Seohyun called over her shoulder, bent at the waist at an approximately ninety-six degree angle.
“Are you okay?”
“Of course, unnie,” Seohyun said. Ninety-eight.
“It’s just that. . .you seem stuck. Did you hurt your back or something?”
“Oh, I’m fine,” Seohyun reassured her. Ninety-nine.
“If you’re sure. I can get it for you, if you want.”
“It’s fine!” Seohyun said hurriedly, straightening quickly. She pouted inwardly at the unaffected expression Yoona had on her face. As always.
“Miss Yoona!” a voice called from outside, accompanied by a knock.
Yoona turned regretfully towards Seohyun, who was unable to hide her disappointed and defeated expression. She knew what it meant.
“I have to go,” Yoona said, obviously not hearing Seohyun’s inner monologue. If she did (and had in the past) then maybe she would’ve jumped her bones by now. Seohyun pouted some more. Then Yoona stepped in close and the warmth in her eyes became a searing heat and Seohyun couldn’t breathe.
Then Yoona grabbed the sweatshirt’s drawstrings and pulled her even closer, hips brushing together softly. Seohyun’s eyes fluttered closed as Yoona’s soft cheek slid intimately against her own. Yoona’s breath, hot and delicious, tickled her ear. Seohyun felt like she was on fire. And whoozy. Sitting might be a wise course of action. But, oh, that would mean moving away. And she really, really did not want to do that.
“Keep the jacket,” Yoona said, and pressed a warm hand against Seohyun’s clothed hip. Then she was gone.
Seohyun stared after her, the heat of Yoona’s palm against her skin lingering long after she had disappeared.
Wasn’t she the one who was supposed to be doing the seducing. . .?
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“Well it wasn’t a complete failure,” Tiffany consoled Seohyun later on as she helped with her roommate to wrestle out of her miniskirt. It seemed futile. Tiffany considered just taking a pair of scissors to it, as much as she loved the skirt.
“But it was, unnie!” Seohyun replied, out of breath. “Why is this so hard?”
Tiffany moaned in frustration, tugging fruitlessly at the skirt again. “Too tight! God, why do you have such big hips? Yuri’s would’ve fit you better, but noooo she just had to wear it tonight. The girl needs to just plant one on Sooyoung already instead of prancing around in tight clothing and bending over all the time! I’m getting tired with all of the freakin’ sexual tension.”
“Unnie just doesn’t realize when someone’s flirting with her,” Seohyun complained in that non-complaining way of hers that only she could do.
“I know, right?” Tiffany said, pausing to swipe a lock of hair behind her ear. Her cheeks were flushed from exertion. She looked forlornly down at her own hips, pouting. Why couldn’t she have nice hips like Seohyun? “Sooyoung needs some sense knocked into her!”
“I was talking about Yoona,” Seohyun said.
Tiffany flopped tiredly on the bed beside her. “Oh.” She fanned herself. “Well, same goes for you. You need to take the direct route. Yuri means well, dramatic as she is, but thinks all it takes to get a person to like you is to bend over a few times and wink.”
Seohyun turned her head to stare at Tiffany pointedly.
“Oh, alright, alright,” Tiffany amended, “I know it worked for me-god Jessi is so hot in those jeans-but the point is you need to be blunt.” Before she could say any more and let Seohyun digest this new advice, the door slammed open and Hurricane Yuri rushed in.
“The eagle is landing, the eagle is landing!” Yuri shouted, skidding to a stop. She crossed her arms and frowned. “Hey. Didn’t you hear me?”
“We heard you,” Tiffany groaned, sitting up. “Yoona’s coming home.”
“Yeah, so-hey.” Yuri squinted her eyes and surveyed the situation for a moment. Two panting, disheveled girls, a rumpled bed. . .certainly a suggestive situation. And where there were suggestive situations, there was. . .
Yuri spun around, reaching out to stop-
“NOT AGAIN!” Sooyoung wailed, slapping her hand over her eyes.
Tiffany rolled her eyes. “You,” she informed Yuri, “need to make her stop talking.”
Yuri opened her mouth to speak when the front door opened. “I’m home,” Yoona called. Yuri paused, a calculating expression coming to her face.
Sooyoung instinctively edged away. “Oh, no.”
“Come here,” Yuri said, snatching Sooyoung by the wrist and dragging her out to the living room. “So here’s the plan,” Yuri said. “I’m going to kiss you and you are going to kiss me back and like it. Got it?”
“Whoa, whoa, WHAT!?” Sooyoung screeched, clawing at Yuri’s fingers before resorting to clinging to doorframes. “YAH! Just because I live with you doesn’t mean I’m a ‘special friend’ or a lady lover o-or. . .”
“You’re always straight-until you’re not,” Tiffany announced cheerfully. She returned Sooyoung’s ‘you-are-not-helping-AT-ALL’ glare with a smile and a wave.
“Daniel Henney! Jo Isup!” Sooyoung wailed. “Chocolate abs!”
“Girls can have seriously hot abs, too,” Tiffany eye-smiled. She helpfully gestured at Yuri, who nodded graciously at her.
“Why thank you, Fany.”
“My pleasure, Yuri.”
Sooyoung stared beseechingly at Seohyun, only to whimper when she saw the ever-eager student whip out a notepad from her nonexistent pocket. “Why do I get no say in this? And when did you get so freakishly strong?”
“By drinking ma juice,” Yuri said smugly. Then she gave one final yank and they stumbled into the living room.
“Oh, hi unnie,” Yoona greeted Yuri.
Yuri spun in place and shoved Sooyoung violently against the wall.
“OW, no need to get rough.”
Yuri cupped Sooyoung’s face, not having to tilt it up because Sooyoung was already taller than her. Yuri stared at Sooyoung with hooded eyes that were supposed to convey her burning womanly desire for her. Sooyoung stared back confusedly, only receiving the ‘burning’ part of the missive and sending a ‘Why-are-you-glaring-at-me-woman?’ stare back. Yuri, well-versed in Sooyoung-Speak, realized this and realized that she would have to-as Tiffany had put it earlier-take the direct route.
Even though this was an educational venture for their not-as-innocent-as-previously-thought maknae, she would sincerely enjoy this.
“Kwon Yuri, don’t you d-mmph.”
Yoona, Tiffany, and Seohyun stared wide-eyed at the couple. Yuri seemed intent on eating Sooyoung’s face, sneaking a glance at the frozen figure of Yoona every so often before renewing her efforts with an increased vigor. When Yoona didn’t make so much as a peep, Yuri became increasingly determined, sliding a hand sensually from Sooyoung’s hip all the way to her knee, hiking her leg up and wrapping it around her waist.
“Uh. . .” Tiffany said. She seemed torn between letting the situation keep on unraveling or throwing a cup of ice-water on Yuri. Then Yuri wrapped Sooyoung’s other leg around her waist and Tiffany sprung into action. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” she said. “Time out. Seohyun, a little help?” When the expected assistance did not come, Tiffany tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked where Seohyun was standing.
At least. . .where she was standing five seconds ago.
“Where did that girl run off to?” Tiffany wondered. “Hey, Yoona, do you know-great.”
Yoona was gone as well, the open front door the only sign of her escape.
“That could’ve gone better,” Tiffany sighed, sliding down to sit on the cool floor.
“What are you talking about?” Yuri said with a dopey grin on her face. “That was fantastic!”
Sooyoung grabbed her hair and moaned “My first kiss!” She slapped a hand over her mouth as if she could magically restore her lips to their previously un-kissed state.
“Oh, you know you liked it,” Yuri said dismissively. Her lip still tingled delightfully. Yes, this had been a good idea.
“But she didn’t even do anything!” Tiffany protested.
“Exactly,” Yuri said sagely. “Her lack of reaction means that she wasn’t opposed to a little sexy action, you know?”
“It also didn’t mean she was like ‘hey let me on this crazy caboose’ either,” Tiffany shot back.
“‘Cah-booze’?” Yuri tried to sound out.
“Close enough.”
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