It takes three hours for Hyejeong to let herself sleep next to Seolhyun, having crushed herself to the wall and left an unnecessary amount of space between Seolhyun's body and hers. So it's a bit startling to note that every bit of exposed skin on Seolhyun is against her in the morning. Also, Seolhyun has her lips on Hyejeong's neck.

Upon realising the predicament, Hyejeong shoots up, nearly hitting her head on the bunk above, which has been conveniently vacated. Seolhyun doesn't look at her but grabs her by the shirt and pulls her back down into bed.

“Don't move,” Seolhyun says. “I was using my phone.”

Sure enough, Seolhyun had put her arms around Hyejeong and was tapping away at her phone all while clinging to Hyejeong's body. It's rather mind-boggling for Hyejeong to observe that Seolhyun isn't one bit concerned about the events of the previous night or thrashing in pain from waking.

“Are you all right?” Hyejeong asks; she allows Seolhyun to do as she pleases.

Seolhyun hums once and continues to stare into the glare of her mobile screen. Light is just filtering in through the window and that means they've only slept for, what, four hours?

“Are you hurting?”

Seolhyun shakes her head. Hyejeong feels it by her neck and it makes her aware of the warmth radiating again from Seolhyun's body. Hyejeong keeps her hands behind Seolhyun's back, which is comfortably clothed.

“Are you mad at me?” Hyejeong finally whispers.

At this Seolhyun puts her phone away and pushes Hyejeong onto her back. Straddling Hyejeong's hips, she leans down and puts her nose against Hyejeong's forehead. Comfortable, she nods once and says 'yes'. Lips this close, Hyejeong feels a different kind of want surge up in her chest. She swallows thickly.

"A lot or a little?" Hyejeong asks. She asks it blunting her consonants so she sounds abashed and the question cute. It's something she does when she pisses Seolhyun off.

"I don't know," Seolhyun replies, body relaxing and mouth falling to Hyejeong's nose. "You tell me. You refused to tell me what's been going on, making me worried for weeks on end, and then you attack me and  my blood instead of just saying that you do this sort of thing. How angry am I?"

"For the record," Hyejeong smiles, eyes shut. "I don't do this very often at all."

"No?"

Hyejeong wants to kiss her quite badly. Seolhyun's making her forget all about the delivered threats and dangerous situations clustered into a day's happenings. She settles for shaking her head, letting Seolhyun interpret that as she wishes.

"That was my first time."

Drawing backwards, Seolhyun studies Hyejeong's eyes, now open and forcing the appearance of genuine sincerity. Convinced, Seolhyun nods and lowers herself, closing her eyes slowly. Even with somewhat better reflexes, Hyejeong only realises what the girl is trying to do before their mouths touch. Her own eyelids are drooping, willing her to meet the kiss, but she recalls the broken skin on Seolhyun's lower lip in time and places a hand on Seolhyun's chin, stopping her.

"You're very eager, aren't you?" Hyejeong says.

Seolhyun's eyes open. She is unembarrassed.

"Can't I have just this as a reward?" she asks.

Hyejeong falters. Why does Seolhyun want this, of all things? Certainly, butterflies are swarming the room and Hyejeong's stomach at the very idea that Seolhyun is even interested in kissing her. It means something good, maybe that Seolhyun wants her as much as she does, even if not for the same things. Her jaw sets, however, and she shakes her head firmly to say 'no'.

"The blood on your lip," Hyejeong mutters in shame. "I can smell it from here. Dangerous. I don't want a repeat incident."

Seolhyun ignores her completely, lowering her face again. She tilts her face slightly and her lips descend again. Hyejeong doesn't know if she can resist a second time, and the answer arrives when Seolhyun succeeds in pushing her lips against her own. Hyejeong's lips don't move as Seolhyun softly kisses at Hyejeong's mouth, exposing the cut and running her tongue over it. The taste spears Hyejeong's tongue as her lips part, inviting her to take more, to Seolhyun dry. Seolhyun is even encouraging and taking Hyejeong's tongue into . She hums contentedly from Hyejeong's participation in the kiss.

Their breathing gets shallow from the kiss and Hyejeong keeps her more feral desires at bay. It's like toying with death just being this close to Seolhyun. She who once prided herself in leaving crushes aside in view of professional commitments to a group, to fans, and to the terms of a signed contract, is breaking apart all at once. The canines are lengthening, growing sharp in .

I want you.

Seolhyun, satisfied, comes up for air and Hyejeong can hear their mouths move apart. Relieved, Hyejeong exhales loudly and she bares her teeth for a moment, letting Seolhyun view, for the first time, the extent of her attraction and sheer ability to rip Seolhyun's lips and tongue to shreds. Seolhyun doesn't seem fazed. Hidden in the display is the warning don't do that again.

"Are you still mad?" Hyejeong asks tentatively.

Seolhyun shrugs. "A little. I'll be much happier if you started telling me things. I hate being kept in the dark the most."

"Won't you be afraid?" Hyejeong raises one eyebrow.

The reply comes in the form of a shake of the head. And of course, Jimin was right about Seolhyun being a bold girl. Brave enough, perhaps braver than Hyejeong has been so far. Fine. We'll do whatever Jimin said to.

Hooking her thumbs on the collar of the cardigan Choa placed on Seolhyun the night before, Hyejeong steels herself and begins pulling the flimsy piece of fabric off the girl. Seolhyun is wearing just a tank top underneath and her shoulders are bare. Bare for all but the bandages that are still on, that is, and only a few spots of blood have seeped through in the night. The gauze was fastened well so the pressure preventing further bleeding. The scent of old blood is not tempting; instead it reminds Hyejeong of what she should and should not be doing.

"Hurting?"

Seolhyun shakes her head again, also studying the bandaging. "It just aches, the muscles. You bit into something there."

"We're going to wash the wound in the bathroom, then."

Seolhyun stops her before she can lead her from the bed. "Who else knows?"

"It's just you and Choa," Hyejeong reassures her. "And the company."

"The company?"

"Jimin and I have slightly different contracts. The punishment for exposure is included and all that. And there are additional responsibilities. Mainly Jimin takes on those. It's why they made her leader," Hyejeong informs her. "I'm pretty inept at all this vampire stuff because I lived as a human for most of my life. All of it, really. Until this."

"Do you mean biting me or whatever's been going on?"

Hyejeong almost groans. "Must you ask about everything?"

Seolhyun breaks out into a giggle and lays a kiss on Hyejeong's eyelid. She stays there for a moment and then pulls back and hops off the bed almost energetically, beckoning for Hyejeong to follow. "Let's go wash up, then. I heard we're going out somewhere for the day. You really should ask before deciding to take me out for a date."

A snort. "Whatever you say, princess."

Hyejeong realises the irony in that statement. Typically Seolhyun's a lot more outgoing and it's Hyejeong who is the princess of the group. Perhaps it's still the situation now, but there's room, they think, for a reversal of roles and some flexibility in their future. Throwing her legs off the bed, Hyejeong puts an arm around Seolhyun's waist and wills herself not to feel the shots of guilt ravage her just staring at the face of gauze and dried blood.

---

Every member of AOA is thrilled about a free day. They haven't had one in months due to promotional activities for "Heart Attack" being frequent and stressful. Mina flips through the channels on the television at seven in the morning, having made breakfast of Korean pancakes with spring onion and slices of ham. Chanmi picks at the leftovers and Yuna is micro-waving something in a packet.

"Guys," Mina says. "Shady news sites say Seolhyun's with Lee Minho."

"I thought he was dating Suzy," Chanmi replies, clambering onto the sofa.

"He is," Mina laughs. "Why is that kid always rumoured to be dating people? She doesn't even go out that much, even though she got her driver's license a while back."

Chanmi 'hmm's in agreement and hits several buttons on the television remote. She finally settles on an American movie on cable. It's rather old, but it's subtitled and someone took his shirt off, so Mina finds it agreeable. Jimin exits her room, stretching, and frowns at the frivolous goings-on of the AOA household. Even Yuna's removed popcorn from the micro-wave and has found a good seat for the movie.

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