A Place We Call Home (Chapter 21)
CHAPTER 21
Sooyoung’s scroll was face up on her bed and from the screen came a perfect projection of the picture Krystal sent them. They sat around the image and inspected it, zooming in and out using the scroll’s viewing feature. After a few moments of contemplation, it didn’t matter from which angle they looked at it. There was definitely something different about Yuri and Jessica.
“Okay, fine. Let’s say that Tiffany’s plan did work,” Sooyoung started. The sentence alone left a bad taste in her mouth and down her throat went her pride. “Even so, what is taking these two so long to tell us they’re screwing?!”
Seohyun cleared her throat. “Language, unnie.”
A few snickers escaped the others and only Hyoyeon let out a full laugh when she saw her partner pout after she was corrected. Then she swiped across the scroll’s screen with a finger to do away with the projection. It no longer did them any good to stare at Jessica clinging on to Yuri’s arm like a pillow on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
“Seriously, though,” Hyoyeon said, “they sure are taking their time. I know how to respect privacy and all but this is too much. Is it because they don’t trust us?”
Taeyeon shrugged her shoulders. “Or they’re getting back at us for teasing them all the time.”
“So they decide to cuddle and be lovey-dovey when we’re not looking? That doesn’t make sense!” Sooyoung pounded on a nearby pillow, causing the newly formed muscles in her arm to bulge against her skin. Hyoyeon noticed and before she could crack another man-arms joke, her face was met by hypoallergenic cotton. She threw the pillow back at Sooyoung but the latter dodged and Yoona was hit instead. It would’ve escalated into a full-on pillow war if Tiffany hadn’t stepped in.
“Hold it! I have another plan!” she announced. She saw Yoona sneak a hit at Hyoyeon before retreating to Seohyun’s side and calling for a ceasefire. She shot Hyoyeon a glare and the latter sighed in defeat, putting the pillow down. “O-kay. Now that that’s over, can everyone pay attention, please?”
She didn’t hear a peep.
“Good. So now that we know how Jessi gets whenever I get too close to Yuwree… what if we try the other way around?”
“Uh… please don’t tell me you’re going to try flirting with Sica unnie-”
“Oh but I am, Yoona.” Tiffany’s teeth shone through the widest smile she could muster. “The next plan is to flirt with Jessi until Yuwree cracks!”
Everyone burst into laughter except for Seohyun who held it in to be polite. But she couldn’t keep it inside for long and had to press her head to Yoona’s back to let the sound out without anyone noticing.
“You guys didn’t believe in the first plan either but it got us a possessive Jessi, didn’t it? If we can get Yuwree to feel the same way then we’ll probably get an even better reaction! Right?”
“Well… she has been kinda off lately.” Suddenly, all eyes were on Yoona even though she only meant those words for Seohyun’s ears. “Uh…”
“Spill it, Im!” Sooyoung demanded, already with a pillow in hand. Behind her was Hyoyeon holding a box of cookies that Yoona had been eyeing since she arrived at their dorm room. “You’ll get a tasty treat if you play nice~”
“Yoona…” Seohyun said with a tight grip on the girl’s shoulder, keeping her from lunging at Hyoyeon. “Tell them what you mean first and then you’ll get your sweets, okay?”
Yoona sat back down and whimpered. “Fine.”
She started with the events from the previous night, when she saw Yuri in her mess of a uniform, sweating like she had done laps around the campus (which wasn’t far from what she claimed to have been doing) while Jessica was nowhere to be seen, conveniently left out of the suspicious activity. She also told them about the joined beds and how she came back to their dorm room every night only to find her teammates lying close to each other but no longer in each other’s arms. Not that she knew for sure that they had been in that position in the first place. It just seemed like something they would do.
And then there was that time when she saw them on the floor, faces flushed and bodies pressed against one another.
“OH MY GOD!! They were actually doing that kinda stuff?!”
Tiffany pretty much summarized everyone else’s thoughts on the matter.
“Yup. And they even came up with the ‘I’m just looking for something that fell’ excuse. Puh-lease. As if I’d fall for that.” Yoona snorted, meriting a tiny laugh from Seohyun who was right beside her.
“Who knew Yuri had it in her?” went a mumble from Taeyeon.
“Had what in her?” Sooyoung wiggled her eyebrows at Taeyeon, waiting for recognition of her tactless innuendo.
“Jessica maybe?” Taeyeon met Sooyoung’s eyes with a wide, teasing smirk and they laughed at the inappropriate joke they managed to make about their friends.
“Unnie! Stop that!”
Taeyeon tried to stifle her laughter and ended up inhaling too much air through her mouth. She let out a few coughs before apologizing to Seohyun who was visibly offended by what she and Sooyoung just said.
“Seriously unnie. You and your imagination,” Seohyun said, shaking her head.
“Now, now, Hyunnie…” Yoona ran a hand down Seohyun’s back as if to calm her. “It’s probably not far from the truth. Based on everything I’ve accidentally seen, they’re getting very intimate with each other and if it does lead to… you know, that kind of interaction then maybe it’s not such a bad thing. Maybe it’s just a sign that they’re most comfortable when they’re with each other.” Yoona smiled and she saw Seohyun’s eyes soften as she smiled back. She almost forgot that they were surrounded by their friends.
“Ugh. Get a room!!” Hyoyeon threw a cookie in Yoona’s direction and it hit her squarely in the nose before landing on Seohyun’s lap.
The two laughed, unwilling to break eye contact, and even more so when Seohyun held the cookie in front of Yoona’s mouth. She ate it in one bite then hurled the pillow she was hiding behind her back in Hyoyeon’s direction. It hit Hyoyeon in the gut and she almost doubled over from the force. “There. Now we’re even, unnie.”
“Why you little-”
“Guys! Focus!” Tiffany once again called for order. Taeyeon’s non-reaction to Yoona and Seohyun’s moment aside, she definitely had an odd feeling about the recent goings-on. “So if they really are at that level already, they’ll be more than bothered whenever someone else tries to get physical with their ‘significant other’ or whatever they’re calling themselves. I swear, where in Remnant and the four kingdoms have the labels for relationships gone?! This used to be so much easier!”
“Psh. Like you’ve been in a relationship,” Sooyoung said, playfully rolling her eyes.
“Hey! Don’t even go there, Choi Sooyoung!”
Sooyoung brows shot up together with both hands. “Just sayin’.”
While Tiffany and Sooyoung were arguing over who was being immature, Yoona and Hyoyeon had pillows at the ready, trying to predict the other’s first move. Taeyeon was standing by, probably waiting to be called to referee the match, when Seohyun tugged on her sleeve and whispered into her ear: “Unnie, I need to tell you something.”
+
They got as far as the staircase that led down to the second floor. Taeyeon leaned over the rail and peered down at the hallway where their dorm room was. They rarely visited the third floor. Now that she thought about it, Sooyoung and Hyoyeon, aside from Krystal, were the only people they knew who had a room here.
But that probably wasn’t what Seohyun wanted to talk about. Taeyeon knew at least that much.
She turned around so her back would be pressed to the rail instead of her front, her view switching from what was below the staircase to her dongsaeng feeling the back of her neck.
“Seohyun, what is it?”
“I don’t really want to beat around the bush so I’ll just come out with it.” Seohyun pressed her lips into a line and inhaled before continuing: “Taeyeon unnie, I love Yoong.”
“What?!” was what Taeyeon meant to say but when she opened her mouth, a cross between a sigh and a gasp escaped her. Not knowing what to do with her hands, which seemed to have involuntarily formed fists, she shoved them into her blazer pockets and lowered herself slightly against the rail. “Aish…” she managed to say.
Seohyun took a step closer and bent forward to meet Taeyeon’s eyes. She expected a more violent reaction and she was grateful that all Taeyeon could come up with was a hint of exhaustion. “I didn’t want to keep it from you for too long, unnie. I hate it when we don’t talk about things. It makes me feel like we’re not friends. I’m sorry if I’m imposing too much on you. I just really needed to tell you this.”
Taeyeon nodded. She also expected to be far less accommodating should she happen to hear this sort of thing from her best friend but now that she actually heard those words, dripping with honesty and longing, she had to admit that it made her feel warm inside. Like when she drinks the soup of freshly cooked ramen. The heat settled in her stomach then spread up to her chest, making her lips spread into a smile as if following its direction.
She stood up straight and placed a hand on Seohyun’s shoulder, signaling that she understood what she was just told. “Well, I can’t say that I didn’t see this one coming,” She let out a slight laugh. “You two have been spending a lot of time with each other lately so this makes sense. Or maybe it’s always been like this between the two of you all along.”
“Oh unnie! You sound like such a romantic~” Seohyun took a step forward and hooked an arm onto Taeyeon’s back as she pulled her into a hug.
“Shut up,” Taeyeon replied in a mumble. She relaxed into the hug and sighed. “Geez. I feel like a mom who has to have the sex talk with her daughter. Where do I even begin?” She laughed and so did Seohyun. She felt their shoulders rise and fall against each other through the round before they broke the hug, trading in the laughter for a smile each.
“Don’t worry, unnie. You don’t have to have the sex talk with me. I know how it works,” Seohyun said, rolling her eyes. She turned away on purpose, a bit embarrassed to hear what just came out of her own mouth. When she looked at Taeyeon again, the latter was staring at her with furrowed brows. “What? I said don’t worry about it. It’s not like Yoong can get me pregnant.”
“That’s not the point! Jeebus!” Taeyeon clutched her forehead and was about to start pacing when Seohyun caught her arm.
“Unnie, if it means that much to you, when it happens do you also want to hear it from me-”
“God no! La-la-la-la-la!! Ugh, the images!!”
Seohyun watched as Taeyeon paced in circles around her, chanting while covering her ears. She kept a laugh to herself and leaned back on the staircase rail. That’s one talk down. Another one to go. She took in a lungful of air and let it out slowly, wondering how long Yoona would take to finish her pillow war with Hyoyeon and whether it would be appropriate to pull her away to have a talk elsewhere. Or I could just go back to where she is and announce it. Would that be okay? It’s not like she’ going to reject me in front of anyone or anything…
She spent a while longer watching Taeyeon pace before the realization came to her.
“Oh god! What if she rejects me?!”
Before Taeyeon knew it, Seohyun was pacing alongside her, chewing on her lower lip.
“Seohyun, what’s-”
“Unnie! What if she doesn’t like me in that way? What am I going to do? What am I even supposed to say? Should I forget about it? It’s not even worth saying, is it-”
“Stop.” Taeyeon placed herself in Seohyun’s way and they would’ve fallen over if Seohyun didn’t come to an abrupt stop as instructed. “Relax,” she said with a small smile. She didn’t want to say it out loud but this side of Seohyun amused her. “Come on, this isn’t like you. You’re always so sure of things. This shouldn’t be any different.”
“But unnie!”
Seohyun seemed incapable of saying anything else. She started stammering at one point and Taeyeon couldn’t help but giggle. Seohyun never stammered. At least, not anymore. The last time Taeyeon heard such incoherence was when they were younger and Seohyun had to introduce herself to the class once she started attending combat school. Her giggling came to a stop when Seohyun shook her by the shoulders.
“Goodness, this is the worst feeling ever! You don’t think she’ll reject me, do you?”
Taeyeon raised an eyebrow, now seemingly reminded of why she didn’t like Yoona getting close to Seohyun. It brought up too many questions and she had no idea what to answer them with. “Well, it might not be such a bad thing if she does. That way I don’t have to share my best friend with a shikshin,” she said.
And she immediately regretted it when she saw Seohyun just blink at her.
“You don’t mean that… do you?”
Oh shit. “Well, ye-No! I mean, yes I don’t want to share you with someone else. But no to the rejection being a good thing. Sorry,
it’s just… Ugh. You know how bad I am with these things. I always say something wrong. I’m sorry, Seohyun. Really. Man, I’m a jerk. I didn’t mean it, okay? It was just me reacting in my usual way when it comes to Yoona.”
“Taeyeon unnie, if you still have a problem with me having feelings for her…”
“No, it’s not that.” Taeyeon brought Seohyun’s hands down from her shoulders and held them with each of her own. “Seohyun, you’re my best friend. And because of that, I’m very protective of you. Up to the point that I often act like an asshole.”
Seohyun cleared her throat, pretending she needed to cough. Taeyeon caught the reference and rolled her eyes.
“Fine. I always act like an asshole. The point is that I care about you and if you have feelings for someone - even if it’s Yoona - then I shouldn’t get in the way of that. Neither should you. You were okay just a while ago when you told me, right? Probably ‘cause you were just telling me the truth. It’s always been easy for you to be honest. You usually don’t overthink things and that’s a good thing. In this case, just do that.”
Seohyun looked away, feeling like she was farther away from Taeyeon’s voice. She was used to staying behind the front lines where she could see everything that was coming at her and she always knew how to react beforehand. With Yoona and these feelings, that wasn’t the case. “I’m scared, unnie,” she admitted. “What if she really does reject me? Or if she doesn’t, what if we don’t last? I didn’t consider these things.”
“You’re not supposed to, I think,” Taeyeon replied. She couldn’t speak for Yoona but she knew that Seohyun’s feelings were just as she said. Love. Cliché romantic movies aside, Seohyun’s fear was well-founded. “I know that it’s scary. Confessing is a big decision after all. Of course there will be a lot of what ifs. The things that you said just now are valid points. But if you dwell on them too much, you’ll be missing out on other what ifs. What if she feels the same way? What if she loves you? What if you’ll be together forever?”
She internally cringed at that last one but she went on: “Love is about taking risks. No one really knows what’s gonna happen. All you can do is trust in yourself and in your relationship should it come to that point with you two. It’ll be worth it at least. If it doesn’t work out then that’s that. Easier said than done, I know, but worry about that when it does happen. For now, nothing has even begun yet and there might never be anything if you don’t tell her how you feel. You can probably wait for her to confess to you instead but knowing that twerp, she’s too concerned about it affecting our friendship so we’ll all be dead in the war before she decides it’s the right time to tell you. Whatever the case, just know that I’ll be here for you every step of the way. Uh, except the bedroom steps, of course.”
“Unnie!” Seohyun finally cracked a smile. Signaling her fake disgust, she shook her hands which were still in Taeyeon’s and let out a slight groan.
“I’m just being specific. You like it when things are detailed. And speaking of such, ‘Every step of the way’ includes me torturing her before I kill her the moment she breaks your heart. I’ll still be keeping an eye on her so tell her not to get too comfy.”
“Oh unnie…” Seohyun pulled Taeyeon into a hug and rested her chin on the latter’s shoulder even though she had to bend forward more than usual. “Who knew you could be so profound when it comes to matters of the heart? You’re acting like a real unnie for once,” she said. The she felt a pat on her back in response.
“Just shut up and thank me!”
Seohyun laughed as she broke away from the embrace. “I’m just teasing you. Thank you for the encouragement. It means a lot to me.” She puffed her cheeks and did her best not to sound too annoying with her squeaky voice: “I love you, Taeyeon unnie~”
Taeyeon’s right eye twitched involuntarily. It was just another one of her natural reactions. But this was Seohyun, her best friend. Instead of dismissing the display of cuteness with a harsh remark, she pulled Seohyun back into another hug and held on as tightly as she could. Seohyun hugged her back and that was that.
They parted ways after Seohyun said that she needed a moment to herself. Taeyeon didn’t object and then retreated to their room. She could only hope that Yoona wasn’t going to be stupid enough to reject her best friend. Then again, that idiot is in a pillow war for goodness’ sake. Dear Remnant, Seohyun, why did you have to fall for this one?!
+
After she closed the door to their dorm room, it cracked open again, revealing a glimpse of Tiffany’s pink cloak. She watched as Tiffany walked in with that usual smile on her face and she wondered why she couldn’t help but stare at it every time. Tiffany had been nothing but insufferable since they got back to Beacon and even before that she was already a handful. A smile shouldn’t be enough to make up for all of that.
“TaeTae, I have a question.” Tiffany’s smile grew even wider and apparently it really was enough to distract Taeyeon from whatever she was complaining about. Not that Tiffany knew she had that effect on her teammate. “Are you listening to me?”
Taeyeon nodded, unable to come up with a proper reply. It got even worse when Tiffany took another step closer and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. At this point, she could only blink.
“I’m sure you’ve checked Jessi out at least once. Right?”
Taeyeon released a breath. Suddenly, Tiffany was mortal in her eyes once more, no longer a smiling goddess that had the ability to petrify tongues and cause brain death. “Why would you even ask me that?”
Tiffany rolled her eyes and snorted. “Oh come on! I see you staring at girls’ asses all the time. You can deny it all you want but I know you like it.”
True enough, she could’ve denied it. It wouldn’t have changed Tiffany’s mind about her odd habit but it would’ve been enough to save face. She saw Tiffany tilt her head to the side as if waiting for the denial only to mock it and prolong this discussion. She wasn’t going to fall for that again. “Assuming that it’s true that I do like looking at girls’ asses, what does that have to do with Jessica?”
Amused, Tiffany drew her lips back into a grin. She liked how Taeyeon was always frank with her, similar to how Jessica was. Only cuter and without the cold shoulder. Taeyeon was definitely less intimidating and that only made Tiffany more eager to get a rise out of her. “I just thought you could give me something to work with when I attempt to flirt with her. I mean, sure, she’s pretty hot when she’s angry but other than that I can’t say I’ve paid enough attention to her to make this believable.”
“Oh geez. Like you can ever get her to even give you a second thought. She’s not gonna fall for it.”
There was still less than a forward step between them. Tiffany made sure of that. Taeyeon anticipated another bold move just because Tiffany was reckless and predictable that way. And, not a second later, she was proven right. Tiffany took that forward step and reached out for her cheek, the tips of her fingers landing on the soft, pale surface one by one as if pressing piano keys.
“Do you think you can do better? Hm?”
The whisper lingered in between their lips. Taeyeon thought that Tiffany had kept a considerable distance between them but the breath that met hers said otherwise. Willing herself to remain unfazed, she moved her eyes upward until she met Tiffany’s gaze and she held it. The fingers that pressed lightly on her cheek shifted to a steady caress and she matched it with a firm grip on Tiffany’s hips, drawing her arms back slightly to bring Tiffany closer. She saw no change in Tiffany’s expression. Not even after she brought her face closer and slowly lowered her gaze to Tiffany’s lips while parting her own.
She saw that smile though.
“Not bad…”
Taeyeon blinked then re-established eye contact. If she hadn’t already been looking at Tiffany’s lips, she could’ve sworn she felt them on hers when Tiffany gave her the compliment.
“You were just dying to try that on me, weren’t you, TaeTae?”
“As if you’re even worth my time.”
Tiffany expected Taeyeon to have pulled away by now, taking from past experience, but the latter didn’t flinch. Admittedly, this was a welcome surprise. Intrigued, she moved her hand from Taeyeon’s cheek to the back of her neck and met it with her other hand, her thumbs resting just below Taeyeon’s earlobes. “I bet I’m worth every damn second,” she said. She felt Taeyeon’s fingers dig into her lower back in response and she inched closer voluntarily, her pelvis coming into contact with Taeyeon’s, eliciting a tiny gasp. Tiffany wanted nothing more at this moment than to hear it again so she brought her face closer to Taeyeon’s until she saw her eyelids fall in anticipation for a kiss-
“Gotcha.”
Taeyeon’s eyes flew open and, instead of a gasp, out came a sigh through her untouched lips. She shrugged Tiffany’s forearms from her shoulders and pulled away entirely, shoving her hands into her blazer pockets. “I’ll just go. I have better things to do.”
“Awww… Don’t be like that. We were having so much fun!” Tiffany attempted to get a hold of Taeyeon’s arm but only managed to pinch part of her blazer before she sped out the door. She clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and rushed outside the room, hoping to still catch a glimpse of where Taeyeon could’ve gone. She got as far as the end of the hallway before she gave in to the realization that she would never be able to catch Taeyeon at that speed. She returned to their room and pulled her scroll out to type a message: “TaeTae, it was just a joke! Don’t be mad! I thought you were into it!”
The reply came faster than she expected: “Gotcha. ;)”
She laughed to herself, shaking her head at how she almost panicked over Taeyeon walking out on her. The reply should’ve reassured her but her heart thundered in her ears and even more so when the door opened to reveal Taeyeon smirking at her, relishing her victory. For a second, she thought Taeyeon was going to rush in to pick up where they left off. And when Taeyeon didn’t, she swore felt her heart sink. Oh god, no.
+Yoona’s grip on her scroll tightened as she approached their dorm room. Seohyun hadn’t answered any of her calls or her messages. She knew that the pillow war took longer than it was supposed to because Sooyoung just had to join in and make it two-on-one, but she expected Seohyun to come back for her like she always did. She saw her leave with Taeyeon and she just assumed it had something to do with their training. That or she wanted to lecture Taeyeon about not making her bed again. Whatever it was, she didn’t think it would keep Seohyun occupied for so long.
“Darn it, Hyunnie,” she mumbled to herself. She was about to turn the door knob when it occurred to her that Yuri and Jessica might have locked the door again. She held in a sigh and turned on her heel. She hadn’t been to her usual thinking spot in weeks. Mostly because I’m with Hyunnie whenever it’s possible. Tsk. Where the heck is she?
She sulked while she walked, her eyes glued to her boots the entire time. When she saw another pair at the end of the hall where the window was, she quickly lifted her head and apologized for invading the space.
“Sorry, I-Hyunnie?” Had she not seen Seohyun look a bit gloomy, she would’ve smiled in a heartbeat. Instead, she followed the small scout that fluttered about with her eyes. It reminded her of the one Seohyun conjured as an example when they had their first conversation. “What’s wrong? Have you been here all this time? I left messages and I tried to call you. I’m so sorry I took so long in there. You know how fights with those two unnies go. I can’t stand not winning and-Uh, but that’s not important. Sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you waiting or anything. I just thought you would come back after you did your thing. I should’ve gotten the hint. You were probably bothered by my behavior, weren’t you? Geez, I’m so stupid. I’m so, so very sorry, Hyunnie. Really. I didn’t notice.”
She drew a breath and let her arms rest on her sides. She must have done a hundred gestures while she talked and it occurred to her that it might not have looked sincere. “I’m sorry,” she said once more for good measure. Seohyun still hadn’t made eye contact with her. She sidestepped so she would be in Seohyun’s direct line of vision but all she saw was the scout landing on the window sill then it disappeared when Seohyun poked it. She was wondering whether it meant anything when Seohyun finally spoke up.
“Yoona, we have to talk.”
“Of course. What's up?”
If Yoona knew that she was going to receive a confession - and from Seohyun at that - she would’ve chosen to say something other than “what’s up?” But she didn’t know and that made it all the more extraordinary once she felt the weight of the following words: “Yoona, I want to be with you.”
She felt everything that she was supposed to feel after drinking ice-cold water on a summer day or after the clock strikes twelve and the fireworks shine and flicker even after she closes her eyes to sleep away the first day of a new year. It was whatever she felt every day with Seohyun multiplied only slightly because, really, how much happier could she be allowed to be in this lifetime? She asked herself that more than once and it later dawned on her that she hadn’t said anything in reply. “Hyunnie…” she managed to start. Her smile was getting in the way. It just kept getting wider and there came a point where she worried over looking like a maniac. “Hyunnie, I’m right here. I’ve always just been right here. That’s not going to change. Ever. That is, until you tell me to go.”
She hoped that it sounded right. To her, it was a jumble of words that could probably pass as decent by Seohyun’s grammar standards, but it was the truth nonetheless.
There a brief silence and it was broken when Seohyun released a heavy breath as if she had just finished bench-pressing twice her weight. A smile followed and then she fit her palm against Yoona’s cheek. “Never,” she said.
Taeyeon was right. Telling Yoona how she felt was worth it. She felt like she was touching a sunrise with legs. The relief that came with living for another day rose from the depths of her butterfly-filled stomach and she likened it to being lucky enough to be here at this moment, with girl she wanted to be with, who also wanted to be with her. And the best thing of all was that they had finally said it. No more subtext and no more excuses.
“Although we may need to be physically apart at certain times,” Seohyun continued. It was just her paying attention to detail, particularly with her words. She wanted to take it back because it sounded rude but Yoona just laughed it off and leaned into the touch of her hand even more.
“I know that, Hyunnie. It’s not like I want us to be attached at the hip or any body part for that matter. Oh wait.” Yoona hid a laugh and flashed a smile instead. “What I mean is that I just want to spend what’s left of this life with you. And I want you to want that too.
As childish as that sounds.”
Seohyun raised an eyebrow both because of the innuendo that Yoona poorly masked and at the mention of being selfish. “If that’s your definition of childish then I must be the most juvenile person in existence.”
Yoona let out another laugh. “God, I can’t believe how nerdy you are with words!”
“Psh. You love it.”
Yoona smiled. There was no denying that she did. She brought her face closer to Seohyun’s until their foreheads touched while she held the Seohyun’s hand that was on her cheek and her free hand found Seohyun’s in between their bodies. “That. And you.”
“Well, seeing as we’re in this position, the next logical step would be to-”
This time Yoona was a step ahead. Or rather, her lips were. They found Seohyun’s with such ease that she wondered whether they had already kissed before without them knowing it. She knew that she had thought about it. Countless times, really. Maybe Seohyun had too. But that was a thought for another time. Right now, this was all she wanted to do. She felt Seohyun’s lips part and she sealed them with her own, steadily growing familiar with the pace of the kiss and losing sense of everything else, including the fact that they were in public. Seohyun pulled away for a second but only far enough for their foreheads to be touching again.
“What is it?” Yoona asked.
“I think we should-”
“Hyunnie, stop thinking. Just feel.”
“-do this more often.”
Yoona couldn’t agree more. The smile that was forming on her lips was interrupted by another pair and, ironically, she couldn’t have been happier that she was unable to give Seohyun her usual smile.
Sooyoung’s scroll was face up on her bed and from the screen came a perfect projection of the picture Krystal sent them. They sat around the image and inspected it, zooming in and out using the scroll’s viewing feature. After a few moments of contemplation, it didn’t matter from which angle they looked at it. There was definitely something different about Yuri and Jessica.
“Okay, fine. Let’s say that Tiffany’s plan did work,” Sooyoung started. The sentence alone left a bad taste in her mouth and down her throat went her pride. “Even so, what is taking these two so long to tell us they’re screwing?!”
Seohyun cleared her throat. “Language, unnie.”
A few snickers escaped the others and only Hyoyeon let out a full laugh when she saw her partner pout after she was corrected. Then she swiped across the scroll’s screen with a finger to do away with the projection. It no longer did them any good to stare at Jessica clinging on to Yuri’s arm like a pillow on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
“Seriously, though,” Hyoyeon said, “they sure are taking their time. I know how to respect privacy and all but this is too much. Is it because they don’t trust us?”
Taeyeon shrugged her shoulders. “Or they’re getting back at us for teasing them all the time.”
“So they decide to cuddle and be lovey-dovey when we’re not looking? That doesn’t make sense!” Sooyoung pounded on a nearby pillow, causing the newly formed muscles in her arm to bulge against her skin. Hyoyeon noticed and before she could crack another man-arms joke, her face was met by hypoallergenic cotton. She threw the pillow back at Sooyoung but the latter dodged and Yoona was hit instead. It would’ve escalated into a full-on pillow war if Tiffany hadn’t stepped in.
“Hold it! I have another plan!” she announced. She saw Yoona sneak a hit at Hyoyeon before retreating to Seohyun’s side and calling for a ceasefire. She shot Hyoyeon a glare and the latter sighed in defeat, putting the pillow down. “O-kay. Now that that’s over, can everyone pay attention, please?”
She didn’t hear a peep.
“Good. So now that we know how Jessi gets whenever I get too close to Yuwree… what if we try the other way around?”
“Uh… please don’t tell me you’re going to try flirting with Sica unnie-”
“Oh but I am, Yoona.” Tiffany’s teeth shone through the widest smile she could muster. “The next plan is to flirt with Jessi until Yuwree cracks!”
Everyone burst into laughter except for Seohyun who held it in to be polite. But she couldn’t keep it inside for long and had to press her head to Yoona’s back to let the sound out without anyone noticing.
“You guys didn’t believe in the first plan either but it got us a possessive Jessi, didn’t it? If we can get Yuwree to feel the same way then we’ll probably get an even better reaction! Right?”
“Well… she has been kinda off lately.” Suddenly, all eyes were on Yoona even though she only meant those words for Seohyun’s ears. “Uh…”
“Spill it, Im!” Sooyoung demanded, already with a pillow in hand. Behind her was Hyoyeon holding a box of cookies that Yoona had been eyeing since she arrived at their dorm room. “You’ll get a tasty treat if you play nice~”
“Yoona…” Seohyun said with a tight grip on the girl’s shoulder, keeping her from lunging at Hyoyeon. “Tell them what you mean first and then you’ll get your sweets, okay?”
Yoona sat back down and whimpered. “Fine.”
She started with the events from the previous night, when she saw Yuri in her mess of a uniform, sweating like she had done laps around the campus (which wasn’t far from what she claimed to have been doing) while Jessica was nowhere to be seen, conveniently left out of the suspicious activity. She also told them about the joined beds and how she came back to their dorm room every night only to find her teammates lying close to each other but no longer in each other’s arms. Not that she knew for sure that they had been in that position in the first place. It just seemed like something they would do.
And then there was that time when she saw them on the floor, faces flushed and bodies pressed against one another.
“OH MY GOD!! They were actually doing that kinda stuff?!”
Tiffany pretty much summarized everyone else’s thoughts on the matter.
“Yup. And they even came up with the ‘I’m just looking for something that fell’ excuse. Puh-lease. As if I’d fall for that.” Yoona snorted, meriting a tiny laugh from Seohyun who was right beside her.
“Who knew Yuri had it in her?” went a mumble from Taeyeon.
“Had what in her?” Sooyoung wiggled her eyebrows at Taeyeon, waiting for recognition of her tactless innuendo.
“Jessica maybe?” Taeyeon met Sooyoung’s eyes with a wide, teasing smirk and they laughed at the inappropriate joke they managed to make about their friends.
“Unnie! Stop that!”
Taeyeon tried to stifle her laughter and ended up inhaling too much air through her mouth. She let out a few coughs before apologizing to Seohyun who was visibly offended by what she and Sooyoung just said.
“Seriously unnie. You and your imagination,” Seohyun said, shaking her head.
“Now, now, Hyunnie…” Yoona ran a hand down Seohyun’s back as if to calm her. “It’s probably not far from the truth. Based on everything I’ve accidentally seen, they’re getting very intimate with each other and if it does lead to… you know, that kind of interaction then maybe it’s not such a bad thing. Maybe it’s just a sign that they’re most comfortable when they’re with each other.” Yoona smiled and she saw Seohyun’s eyes soften as she smiled back. She almost forgot that they were surrounded by their friends.
“Ugh. Get a room!!” Hyoyeon threw a cookie in Yoona’s direction and it hit her squarely in the nose before landing on Seohyun’s lap.
The two laughed, unwilling to break eye contact, and even more so when Seohyun held the cookie in front of Yoona’s mouth. She ate it in one bite then hurled the pillow she was hiding behind her back in Hyoyeon’s direction. It hit Hyoyeon in the gut and she almost doubled over from the force. “There. Now we’re even, unnie.”
“Why you little-”
“Guys! Focus!” Tiffany once again called for order. Taeyeon’s non-reaction to Yoona and Seohyun’s moment aside, she definitely had an odd feeling about the recent goings-on. “So if they really are at that level already, they’ll be more than bothered whenever someone else tries to get physical with their ‘significant other’ or whatever they’re calling themselves. I swear, where in Remnant and the four kingdoms have the labels for relationships gone?! This used to be so much easier!”
“Psh. Like you’ve been in a relationship,” Sooyoung said, playfully rolling her eyes.
“Hey! Don’t even go there, Choi Sooyoung!”
Sooyoung brows shot up together with both hands. “Just sayin’.”
While Tiffany and Sooyoung were arguing over who was being immature, Yoona and Hyoyeon had pillows at the ready, trying to predict the other’s first move. Taeyeon was standing by, probably waiting to be called to referee the match, when Seohyun tugged on her sleeve and whispered into her ear: “Unnie, I need to tell you something.”
+
They got as far as the staircase that led down to the second floor. Taeyeon leaned over the rail and peered down at the hallway where their dorm room was. They rarely visited the third floor. Now that she thought about it, Sooyoung and Hyoyeon, aside from Krystal, were the only people they knew who had a room here.
But that probably wasn’t what Seohyun wanted to talk about. Taeyeon knew at least that much.
She turned around so her back would be pressed to the rail instead of her front, her view switching from what was below the staircase to her dongsaeng feeling the back of her neck.
“Seohyun, what is it?”
“I don’t really want to beat around the bush so I’ll just come out with it.” Seohyun pressed her lips into a line and inhaled before continuing: “Taeyeon unnie, I love Yoong.”
“What?!” was what Taeyeon meant to say but when she opened her mouth, a cross between a sigh and a gasp escaped her. Not knowing what to do with her hands, which seemed to have involuntarily formed fists, she shoved them into her blazer pockets and lowered herself slightly against the rail. “Aish…” she managed to say.
Seohyun took a step closer and bent forward to meet Taeyeon’s eyes. She expected a more violent reaction and she was grateful that all Taeyeon could come up with was a hint of exhaustion. “I didn’t want to keep it from you for too long, unnie. I hate it when we don’t talk about things. It makes me feel like we’re not friends. I’m sorry if I’m imposing too much on you. I just really needed to tell you this.”
Taeyeon nodded. She also expected to be far less accommodating should she happen to hear this sort of thing from her best friend but now that she actually heard those words, dripping with honesty and longing, she had to admit that it made her feel warm inside. Like when she drinks the soup of freshly cooked ramen. The heat settled in her stomach then spread up to her chest, making her lips spread into a smile as if following its direction.
She stood up straight and placed a hand on Seohyun’s shoulder, signaling that she understood what she was just told. “Well, I can’t say that I didn’t see this one coming,” She let out a slight laugh. “You two have been spending a lot of time with each other lately so this makes sense. Or maybe it’s always been like this between the two of you all along.”
“Oh unnie! You sound like such a romantic~” Seohyun took a step forward and hooked an arm onto Taeyeon’s back as she pulled her into a hug.
“Shut up,” Taeyeon replied in a mumble. She relaxed into the hug and sighed. “Geez. I feel like a mom who has to have the sex talk with her daughter. Where do I even begin?” She laughed and so did Seohyun. She felt their shoulders rise and fall against each other through the round before they broke the hug, trading in the laughter for a smile each.
“Don’t worry, unnie. You don’t have to have the sex talk with me. I know how it works,” Seohyun said, rolling her eyes. She turned away on purpose, a bit embarrassed to hear what just came out of her own mouth. When she looked at Taeyeon again, the latter was staring at her with furrowed brows. “What? I said don’t worry about it. It’s not like Yoong can get me pregnant.”
“That’s not the point! Jeebus!” Taeyeon clutched her forehead and was about to start pacing when Seohyun caught her arm.
“Unnie, if it means that much to you, when it happens do you also want to hear it from me-”
“God no! La-la-la-la-la!! Ugh, the images!!”
Seohyun watched as Taeyeon paced in circles around her, chanting while covering her ears. She kept a laugh to herself and leaned back on the staircase rail. That’s one talk down. Another one to go. She took in a lungful of air and let it out slowly, wondering how long Yoona would take to finish her pillow war with Hyoyeon and whether it would be appropriate to pull her away to have a talk elsewhere. Or I could just go back to where she is and announce it. Would that be okay? It’s not like she’ going to reject me in front of anyone or anything…
She spent a while longer watching Taeyeon pace before the realization came to her.
“Oh god! What if she rejects me?!”
Before Taeyeon knew it, Seohyun was pacing alongside her, chewing on her lower lip.
“Seohyun, what’s-”
“Unnie! What if she doesn’t like me in that way? What am I going to do? What am I even supposed to say? Should I forget about it? It’s not even worth saying, is it-”
“Stop.” Taeyeon placed herself in Seohyun’s way and they would’ve fallen over if Seohyun didn’t come to an abrupt stop as instructed. “Relax,” she said with a small smile. She didn’t want to say it out loud but this side of Seohyun amused her. “Come on, this isn’t like you. You’re always so sure of things. This shouldn’t be any different.”
“But unnie!”
Seohyun seemed incapable of saying anything else. She started stammering at one point and Taeyeon couldn’t help but giggle. Seohyun never stammered. At least, not anymore. The last time Taeyeon heard such incoherence was when they were younger and Seohyun had to introduce herself to the class once she started attending combat school. Her giggling came to a stop when Seohyun shook her by the shoulders.
“Goodness, this is the worst feeling ever! You don’t think she’ll reject me, do you?”
Taeyeon raised an eyebrow, now seemingly reminded of why she didn’t like Yoona getting close to Seohyun. It brought up too many questions and she had no idea what to answer them with. “Well, it might not be such a bad thing if she does. That way I don’t have to share my best friend with a shikshin,” she said.
And she immediately regretted it when she saw Seohyun just blink at her.
“You don’t mean that… do you?”
Oh shit. “Well, ye-No! I mean, yes I don’t want to share you with someone else. But no to the rejection being a good thing. Sorry,
it’s just… Ugh. You know how bad I am with these things. I always say something wrong. I’m sorry, Seohyun. Really. Man, I’m a jerk. I didn’t mean it, okay? It was just me reacting in my usual way when it comes to Yoona.”
“Taeyeon unnie, if you still have a problem with me having feelings for her…”
“No, it’s not that.” Taeyeon brought Seohyun’s hands down from her shoulders and held them with each of her own. “Seohyun, you’re my best friend. And because of that, I’m very protective of you. Up to the point that I often act like an asshole.”
Seohyun cleared her throat, pretending she needed to cough. Taeyeon caught the reference and rolled her eyes.
“Fine. I always act like an asshole. The point is that I care about you and if you have feelings for someone - even if it’s Yoona - then I shouldn’t get in the way of that. Neither should you. You were okay just a while ago when you told me, right? Probably ‘cause you were just telling me the truth. It’s always been easy for you to be honest. You usually don’t overthink things and that’s a good thing. In this case, just do that.”
Seohyun looked away, feeling like she was farther away from Taeyeon’s voice. She was used to staying behind the front lines where she could see everything that was coming at her and she always knew how to react beforehand. With Yoona and these feelings, that wasn’t the case. “I’m scared, unnie,” she admitted. “What if she really does reject me? Or if she doesn’t, what if we don’t last? I didn’t consider these things.”
“You’re not supposed to, I think,” Taeyeon replied. She couldn’t speak for Yoona but she knew that Seohyun’s feelings were just as she said. Love. Cliché romantic movies aside, Seohyun’s fear was well-founded. “I know that it’s scary. Confessing is a big decision after all. Of course there will be a lot of what ifs. The things that you said just now are valid points. But if you dwell on them too much, you’ll be missing out on other what ifs. What if she feels the same way? What if she loves you? What if you’ll be together forever?”
She internally cringed at that last one but she went on: “Love is about taking risks. No one really knows what’s gonna happen. All you can do is trust in yourself and in your relationship should it come to that point with you two. It’ll be worth it at least. If it doesn’t work out then that’s that. Easier said than done, I know, but worry about that when it does happen. For now, nothing has even begun yet and there might never be anything if you don’t tell her how you feel. You can probably wait for her to confess to you instead but knowing that twerp, she’s too concerned about it affecting our friendship so we’ll all be dead in the war before she decides it’s the right time to tell you. Whatever the case, just know that I’ll be here for you every step of the way. Uh, except the bedroom steps, of course.”
“Unnie!” Seohyun finally cracked a smile. Signaling her fake disgust, she shook her hands which were still in Taeyeon’s and let out a slight groan.
“I’m just being specific. You like it when things are detailed. And speaking of such, ‘Every step of the way’ includes me torturing her before I kill her the moment she breaks your heart. I’ll still be keeping an eye on her so tell her not to get too comfy.”
“Oh unnie…” Seohyun pulled Taeyeon into a hug and rested her chin on the latter’s shoulder even though she had to bend forward more than usual. “Who knew you could be so profound when it comes to matters of the heart? You’re acting like a real unnie for once,” she said. The she felt a pat on her back in response.
“Just shut up and thank me!”
Seohyun laughed as she broke away from the embrace. “I’m just teasing you. Thank you for the encouragement. It means a lot to me.” She puffed her cheeks and did her best not to sound too annoying with her squeaky voice: “I love you, Taeyeon unnie~”
Taeyeon’s right eye twitched involuntarily. It was just another one of her natural reactions. But this was Seohyun, her best friend. Instead of dismissing the display of cuteness with a harsh remark, she pulled Seohyun back into another hug and held on as tightly as she could. Seohyun hugged her back and that was that.
They parted ways after Seohyun said that she needed a moment to herself. Taeyeon didn’t object and then retreated to their room. She could only hope that Yoona wasn’t going to be stupid enough to reject her best friend. Then again, that idiot is in a pillow war for goodness’ sake. Dear Remnant, Seohyun, why did you have to fall for this one?!
+
After she closed the door to their dorm room, it cracked open again, revealing a glimpse of Tiffany’s pink cloak. She watched as Tiffany walked in with that usual smile on her face and she wondered why she couldn’t help but stare at it every time. Tiffany had been nothing but insufferable since they got back to Beacon and even before that she was already a handful. A smile shouldn’t be enough to make up for all of that.
“TaeTae, I have a question.” Tiffany’s smile grew even wider and apparently it really was enough to distract Taeyeon from whatever she was complaining about. Not that Tiffany knew she had that effect on her teammate. “Are you listening to me?”
Taeyeon nodded, unable to come up with a proper reply. It got even worse when Tiffany took another step closer and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. At this point, she could only blink.
“I’m sure you’ve checked Jessi out at least once. Right?”
Taeyeon released a breath. Suddenly, Tiffany was mortal in her eyes once more, no longer a smiling goddess that had the ability to petrify tongues and cause brain death. “Why would you even ask me that?”
Tiffany rolled her eyes and snorted. “Oh come on! I see you staring at girls’ asses all the time. You can deny it all you want but I know you like it.”
True enough, she could’ve denied it. It wouldn’t have changed Tiffany’s mind about her odd habit but it would’ve been enough to save face. She saw Tiffany tilt her head to the side as if waiting for the denial only to mock it and prolong this discussion. She wasn’t going to fall for that again. “Assuming that it’s true that I do like looking at girls’ asses, what does that have to do with Jessica?”
Amused, Tiffany drew her lips back into a grin. She liked how Taeyeon was always frank with her, similar to how Jessica was. Only cuter and without the cold shoulder. Taeyeon was definitely less intimidating and that only made Tiffany more eager to get a rise out of her. “I just thought you could give me something to work with when I attempt to flirt with her. I mean, sure, she’s pretty hot when she’s angry but other than that I can’t say I’ve paid enough attention to her to make this believable.”
“Oh geez. Like you can ever get her to even give you a second thought. She’s not gonna fall for it.”
There was still less than a forward step between them. Tiffany made sure of that. Taeyeon anticipated another bold move just because Tiffany was reckless and predictable that way. And, not a second later, she was proven right. Tiffany took that forward step and reached out for her cheek, the tips of her fingers landing on the soft, pale surface one by one as if pressing piano keys.
“Do you think you can do better? Hm?”
The whisper lingered in between their lips. Taeyeon thought that Tiffany had kept a considerable distance between them but the breath that met hers said otherwise. Willing herself to remain unfazed, she moved her eyes upward until she met Tiffany’s gaze and she held it. The fingers that pressed lightly on her cheek shifted to a steady caress and she matched it with a firm grip on Tiffany’s hips, drawing her arms back slightly to bring Tiffany closer. She saw no change in Tiffany’s expression. Not even after she brought her face closer and slowly lowered her gaze to Tiffany’s lips while parting her own.
She saw that smile though.
“Not bad…”
Taeyeon blinked then re-established eye contact. If she hadn’t already been looking at Tiffany’s lips, she could’ve sworn she felt them on hers when Tiffany gave her the compliment.
“You were just dying to try that on me, weren’t you, TaeTae?”
“As if you’re even worth my time.”
Tiffany expected Taeyeon to have pulled away by now, taking from past experience, but the latter didn’t flinch. Admittedly, this was a welcome surprise. Intrigued, she moved her hand from Taeyeon’s cheek to the back of her neck and met it with her other hand, her thumbs resting just below Taeyeon’s earlobes. “I bet I’m worth every damn second,” she said. She felt Taeyeon’s fingers dig into her lower back in response and she inched closer voluntarily, her pelvis coming into contact with Taeyeon’s, eliciting a tiny gasp. Tiffany wanted nothing more at this moment than to hear it again so she brought her face closer to Taeyeon’s until she saw her eyelids fall in anticipation for a kiss-
“Gotcha.”
Taeyeon’s eyes flew open and, instead of a gasp, out came a sigh through her untouched lips. She shrugged Tiffany’s forearms from her shoulders and pulled away entirely, shoving her hands into her blazer pockets. “I’ll just go. I have better things to do.”
“Awww… Don’t be like that. We were having so much fun!” Tiffany attempted to get a hold of Taeyeon’s arm but only managed to pinch part of her blazer before she sped out the door. She clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and rushed outside the room, hoping to still catch a glimpse of where Taeyeon could’ve gone. She got as far as the end of the hallway before she gave in to the realization that she would never be able to catch Taeyeon at that speed. She returned to their room and pulled her scroll out to type a message: “TaeTae, it was just a joke! Don’t be mad! I thought you were into it!”
The reply came faster than she expected: “Gotcha. ;)”
She laughed to herself, shaking her head at how she almost panicked over Taeyeon walking out on her. The reply should’ve reassured her but her heart thundered in her ears and even more so when the door opened to reveal Taeyeon smirking at her, relishing her victory. For a second, she thought Taeyeon was going to rush in to pick up where they left off. And when Taeyeon didn’t, she swore felt her heart sink. Oh god, no.
+Yoona’s grip on her scroll tightened as she approached their dorm room. Seohyun hadn’t answered any of her calls or her messages. She knew that the pillow war took longer than it was supposed to because Sooyoung just had to join in and make it two-on-one, but she expected Seohyun to come back for her like she always did. She saw her leave with Taeyeon and she just assumed it had something to do with their training. That or she wanted to lecture Taeyeon about not making her bed again. Whatever it was, she didn’t think it would keep Seohyun occupied for so long.
“Darn it, Hyunnie,” she mumbled to herself. She was about to turn the door knob when it occurred to her that Yuri and Jessica might have locked the door again. She held in a sigh and turned on her heel. She hadn’t been to her usual thinking spot in weeks. Mostly because I’m with Hyunnie whenever it’s possible. Tsk. Where the heck is she?
She sulked while she walked, her eyes glued to her boots the entire time. When she saw another pair at the end of the hall where the window was, she quickly lifted her head and apologized for invading the space.
“Sorry, I-Hyunnie?” Had she not seen Seohyun look a bit gloomy, she would’ve smiled in a heartbeat. Instead, she followed the small scout that fluttered about with her eyes. It reminded her of the one Seohyun conjured as an example when they had their first conversation. “What’s wrong? Have you been here all this time? I left messages and I tried to call you. I’m so sorry I took so long in there. You know how fights with those two unnies go. I can’t stand not winning and-Uh, but that’s not important. Sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you waiting or anything. I just thought you would come back after you did your thing. I should’ve gotten the hint. You were probably bothered by my behavior, weren’t you? Geez, I’m so stupid. I’m so, so very sorry, Hyunnie. Really. I didn’t notice.”
She drew a breath and let her arms rest on her sides. She must have done a hundred gestures while she talked and it occurred to her that it might not have looked sincere. “I’m sorry,” she said once more for good measure. Seohyun still hadn’t made eye contact with her. She sidestepped so she would be in Seohyun’s direct line of vision but all she saw was the scout landing on the window sill then it disappeared when Seohyun poked it. She was wondering whether it meant anything when Seohyun finally spoke up.
“Yoona, we have to talk.”
“Of course. What's up?”
If Yoona knew that she was going to receive a confession - and from Seohyun at that - she would’ve chosen to say something other than “what’s up?” But she didn’t know and that made it all the more extraordinary once she felt the weight of the following words: “Yoona, I want to be with you.”
She felt everything that she was supposed to feel after drinking ice-cold water on a summer day or after the clock strikes twelve and the fireworks shine and flicker even after she closes her eyes to sleep away the first day of a new year. It was whatever she felt every day with Seohyun multiplied only slightly because, really, how much happier could she be allowed to be in this lifetime? She asked herself that more than once and it later dawned on her that she hadn’t said anything in reply. “Hyunnie…” she managed to start. Her smile was getting in the way. It just kept getting wider and there came a point where she worried over looking like a maniac. “Hyunnie, I’m right here. I’ve always just been right here. That’s not going to change. Ever. That is, until you tell me to go.”
She hoped that it sounded right. To her, it was a jumble of words that could probably pass as decent by Seohyun’s grammar standards, but it was the truth nonetheless.
There a brief silence and it was broken when Seohyun released a heavy breath as if she had just finished bench-pressing twice her weight. A smile followed and then she fit her palm against Yoona’s cheek. “Never,” she said.
Taeyeon was right. Telling Yoona how she felt was worth it. She felt like she was touching a sunrise with legs. The relief that came with living for another day rose from the depths of her butterfly-filled stomach and she likened it to being lucky enough to be here at this moment, with girl she wanted to be with, who also wanted to be with her. And the best thing of all was that they had finally said it. No more subtext and no more excuses.
“Although we may need to be physically apart at certain times,” Seohyun continued. It was just her paying attention to detail, particularly with her words. She wanted to take it back because it sounded rude but Yoona just laughed it off and leaned into the touch of her hand even more.
“I know that, Hyunnie. It’s not like I want us to be attached at the hip or any body part for that matter. Oh wait.” Yoona hid a laugh and flashed a smile instead. “What I mean is that I just want to spend what’s left of this life with you. And I want you to want that too.
As childish as that sounds.”
Seohyun raised an eyebrow both because of the innuendo that Yoona poorly masked and at the mention of being selfish. “If that’s your definition of childish then I must be the most juvenile person in existence.”
Yoona let out another laugh. “God, I can’t believe how nerdy you are with words!”
“Psh. You love it.”
Yoona smiled. There was no denying that she did. She brought her face closer to Seohyun’s until their foreheads touched while she held the Seohyun’s hand that was on her cheek and her free hand found Seohyun’s in between their bodies. “That. And you.”
“Well, seeing as we’re in this position, the next logical step would be to-”
This time Yoona was a step ahead. Or rather, her lips were. They found Seohyun’s with such ease that she wondered whether they had already kissed before without them knowing it. She knew that she had thought about it. Countless times, really. Maybe Seohyun had too. But that was a thought for another time. Right now, this was all she wanted to do. She felt Seohyun’s lips part and she sealed them with her own, steadily growing familiar with the pace of the kiss and losing sense of everything else, including the fact that they were in public. Seohyun pulled away for a second but only far enough for their foreheads to be touching again.
“What is it?” Yoona asked.
“I think we should-”
“Hyunnie, stop thinking. Just feel.”
“-do this more often.”
Yoona couldn’t agree more. The smile that was forming on her lips was interrupted by another pair and, ironically, she couldn’t have been happier that she was unable to give Seohyun her usual smile.