"Unnie…"

Chorong turned around to look at the owner of the sweet voice she knew more than her own. The girl was standing behind the sofa where Chorong was resting, enjoying her few hours of break between schedules.

"Hey, Bomi-ah. I didn’t know you were home already."

"Oh, yeah," the younger replied. "Manager-oppa let me leave early because they were having some issues at the broadcast station that they had to deal with. I don’t really know."

Chorong looked at her intensely and patted the sofa next to her, motioning for the girl to sit down by her side.

"I’m glad you’re here" Chorong smiled when Bomi sat down. "I’ve missed you."

Bomi leaned forward and kissed the leader on the cheek.

"I missed you too." Bomi linked their hands together, caressing the back of Chorong’s hand with her smooth fingertips.

Bomi looked right into Chorong’s eyes, those dark orbs that fascinated her every time. The whole world seemed to be contained in those small spheres. They were the doors to Chorong’s soul, but they were also more than that. They were the way to Chorong’s heart, and only Bomi had dived right into them.

"Unnie, you know what day it is tomorrow, don’t you?" A huge grin grew in Bomi’s face, lighting up her eyes.

"Of course I remember." Chorong leaned forward and pecked her girlfriend on her lips, something that had become normal by then. After those initial months of hesitation, she finally was into expressing her affection with more than thoughts made into words. "Bomi-ah, is there anything special you’d like for your birthday?"

Bomi looked at her right into her eyes, but she lowered her gaze before replying.

"You know what I want."

Chorong moved back. She knew. And Bomi knew that she knew.

It had taken her months to start dating Bomi. The conservative line of thought that she had been raised with was clear in some aspects. Religion. Relationships. And Bomi was a girl. Once Chorong accepted it herself, Bomi seemed to always want more of her. Chorong was okay with that; her love for Bomi went so deep that she would grant her every wish. All but one. There was this line that she would not cross.

"You know what I think about it," she answered softly. She didn’t want Bomi to think that it had anything to do with her. "I’m not ready. I’m sorry."

Bomi looked disappointed, but she stayed quiet. She had known in her heart that Chorong would say that. That’s what she always said. And Bomi understood. She loved Chorong with everything she had, and she felt so shy asking her for more… There was nothing that she wouldn’t do for Chorong. And nothing Chorong wouldn’t do for her. Except from that very step.

"Okay." Her response was brief, and she knew that Chorong could feel the disappointment in it, so she tried to smile as a way of assuring the older girl that it was alright. "Just… let me know, okay? When you feel… ready."

Chorong moved forward to hug her, burying her face in the crook of Bomi’s neck.

"Of course, Bomi-ah." Chorong’s sweet smile reached her eyes. "I love you."

"I love you more." Bomi grinned.

Chorong shook her head in disagreement, but Bomi stood up and ruffled her hair, her smile never faltering a bit. Bomi leaned down and captured Chorong’s lips with hers. It was soft, it was sweet. And it enclosed every feeling.

~

It was almost midnight and Chorong was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling from in between the bed sheets. In the middle of August, it was too hot to be that covered, but the sheets offered her protection and comfort. She felt safe between the layers of cotton.

Chorong looked at the time. The clock on her bedside table said there were less than five minutes left for midnight. In less than five minutes it would officially be Bomi’s birthday, and the girl wasn’t home yet. Her filming must have been delayed because she was supposed to be home a while before.

While Chorong waited for the clock to keep ticking, approaching the long-awaited moment, her mind wandered around her conversation with Bomi earlier that afternoon. Ready. Was she ready? She had always been waiting for something; marriage, maybe? But things hadn’t gone as planned. She had a girlfriend now. And Bomi was everything to her. What could be holding her back?

And suddenly she knew. To Chorong, Bomi was way more than what she wanted, way more than what she needed. Bomi was everything and even more. With Bomi by her side, Chorong felt like there were no more bumps in the road. Facing the manager? Facing the CEO? Facing her family and the fans? Those seemed like the easiest things to do compared to what Bomi wanted from her. But did she want it as well? And it was Bomi’s birthday.

Chorong’s mind kept revolving around it. She knew the truth. She was scared. But why would she be scared when Bomi was there for her? Chorong wasn’t ready. Or was she?

The clock midnight. Chorong grabbed her phone from the bedside table and dialed Bomi’s number. She wanted to be the first one to wish her a happy birthday.

"Bomi-ah, why aren’t you answering?" The emptiness of the phone ringing far away was the only reply she got.

Chorong heard the phone ring. Once. Twice. Three times. She was about to hung up and try later when she changed her mind in the blink of an eye.

"Bomi-ah, it’s me." She completely hated talking on the phone alone, but she was doing it anyways. "Happy birthday! I wish you were here right now… I hope you can come home soon? I don’t even know why I’m talking nonsense. Whatever. I just… about what we talked earlier… I was thinking about it and… I want to do it. I am ready. I just wanted you to know it. And… yeah. Happy birthday. I love you!"

When she hung up, Chorong buried her face in her hands.

"How come I never find the right words?"

Her own mind didn’t agree. You write great lyrics. Actually, words were her thing. Talking about her feelings wasn’t.

Chorong fell asleep shortly after that. She wasn’t awake to see Bomi get back to the dorm, nor she witnessed Eunji saying happy birthday to the girl. The other members were asleep, something they never did on one of the member’s birthday, but Bomi had arrived after two in the morning, and they all needed to be awake at seven the next day. But still, she felt bad going to sleep.

She wasn’t awake when Bomi entered their room, nor when the girl kissed Chorong on her forehead and whispered in her ear. All Chorong could remember from that night was worrying about Bomi and wondering whether she had made the right choice. She fell asleep long before Bomi kissed her on her forehead, on her cheeks. On her lips. But it was like the Sleeping Beauty couldn’t wake up. Bomi smiled against Chorong’s lips.

"I love you, Park Chorong." She whispered, pushing a rebel lock of hair behind the leader’s ear. "I wanted to be here too, with you. You make me so happy, you know? I hope you didn’t say yes because I pushed you…"

~

The next day went by in a blur. They had a stage at Music Bank, and the members organized a small birthday party in their break. Bomi glowed in joy. Hayoung and Namjoo had prepared a huge birthday cake together with their manager, and he lit up the candles in the perfect moment. Pictures went online. Their memories went on their minds, pieces of happiness to be remembered forever.

After so many hours in the waiting room, they couldn’t wait to be back in the dorm and have something good for dinner. Chorong made seaweed soup for the birthday girl and kimchi stew for all of them. They had a smaller cake for Bomi then, one that the members had made on their own when waiting for Bomi to come back to the dorm the night before.

Soon they were done with dinner. Chorong was washing the dishes while her mind roamed like crazy around her promise to Bomi. She was nervous. She was going freaking crazy.

"Relax." She felt two strong arms embracing her waist; Bomi was giving her one of her characteristic back hugs. Chorong resisted the urge to tur around and just let herself enjoy the hug. It felt so amazing to be just like that. "Are you ready for tonight?"

Even though Chorong was aware that Bomi intended that as a joke, her heart skipped a beat and for a moment she didn’t know what to answer. She turned around, but before she could say anything, Bomi cut her off with a kiss. It had nothing of the chase, innocent touches they had shared during the day. This was a kiss in all its glory. Chorong felt her knees were about to fail her, like they were melting down because of the heat. Her whole body was shaking but she couldn’t help he smile against Bomi’s lips.

"I love you, Chorong-unnie."

"I love you, Bomi-ah."

This time, they were interrupted.

"Yah, you two lovebirds." Naeun tried to remain serious but burst out in laughter not long after speaking. "Go find a room somewhere."

"Sure, we’ll do." Bomi winked at her.

Naeun smiled and nodded.

"I’m going to bed now," she finished. "I hope you… had a great day? Happy birthday, unnie! I can’t believe you’re getting this old so fast…"

Bomi laughed, but pushed Naeun towards her room in a jokingly manner.

"You can just go." Bomi told Chorong after they were alone once again. She pointed at the remaining dishes. "I’ll just finish this quickly."

"No! It’s your birthday!" Chorong crossed her arms in disapproval. "I refuse. Completely. I’m doing it."

Bomi sighed, but kissed her girlfriend on her cheek before jumping on the counter and sitting there, waiting patiently for Chorong to finish.

"You’re making me nervous," the leader muttered.

"You have no idea of how cute you are when you’re nervous. No idea at all." Bomi grinned. "You make me want to jump your bones off and ravage you. You make me want to throw you on the bed and tie you up there. That’s how beautiful you are when you’re like this."

Not even Chorong could keep a straight face after that. She shook her head, but she couldn’t help her laughter.

~

"Bomi-ah?"

"I’ll be right there."

Chorong was lying on her bed, her nightgown loose around her hips and her heart beating loudly. She believed even Bomi could hear her heartbeat from the bathroom they shared.

"I’m here." Chorong’s mouth opened in shock when she saw Bomi come out of the bathroom. The girl was wearing her pajama t-shirt. Only the t-shirt. And the cut was too low to be proper anyway.

"Bomi-ah! What are you even wearing?" She covered in surprise..

Bomi walked towards her, step by step until she had walked the whole distance from the bathroom to Chorong’s bed. She leaned forward, laying her hands on the bed, and her shoulders went up in a way that lowered the t-shirt even more.

"Bomi-ah!" Chorong’s eyes were huge in their sockets.

"What? Don’t you like it?" Bomi moved even forwarder, and Chorong’s pale features got dominated by the red flush that appeared in her cheeks. She had blushed so deeply that her ears were red as well. "Oh my, you’re so cute I want to eat you."

Chorong’s face lost all blush in an instant, and she moved back in instinct, her back hitting the wall. She was cornered. Bomi crawled on the bed, slowly, very slowly, the seductive smile never leaving her face. When she reached Chorong, the girl was shaking. A part of her was scared, but the other… The other was shaking in anticipation.

"Unnie?" Bomi called for Chorong’s attention. When she had it, she continued. "Lie down."

Chorong did. She was lying down on her bed, Bomi crawling between her open legs and the younger girl’s face inches from her.

Chorong closed her eyes when she felt Bomi touch her inner thigh, a caress as light as a feather’s touch. But she felt it. Then Bomi’s hand lifted her chin.

"Open your eyes." It was an order.

Chorong opened them, her dark orbs looking into Bomi’s browner ones.

Then Bomi moved. She lifted her body from the top of Chorong’s, and she positioned herself so her head was on Chorong’s pillow, right in front of the pale girl’s. Chorong looked at her confused, but Bomi just moved closer and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was soft and sweet, and it made Chorong think of cotton candy. Then Bomi smiled, and kissed Chorong on the forehead to end this.

"Bomi-ah?" Chorong didn’t know what answer she was actually looking for.

"I don’t need anything else" Bomi said matter-of-factly, pushing Chorong’s nightgown down so the girl looked as proper as she felt-. I already have you. The pure Park Chorong is all mine, so what could I ever want? I don’t need this. Having you by my side like this is more than I could possibly wish for.

They looked at each other intensely for a minute, their eyes locked in the dim light of the room. Their hands caressed each other, and in that moment, nothing else mattered. No one else did.

"I love you, Bomi-ah" Chorong looked at her girlfriend, the image of a young woman with the golden heart of a child who never grew up.

"I love you, Park Chorong," Bomi said. "You are every wish I could ever ask for, and somehow you’ve been granted to me. Just like this."

Chorong looked at her with seriousness in her face. And then, she smiled. The whole room seemed to be lightened up by that smile, and Bomi’s heart definitely did.

"Happy birthday."