It is a nice clear day and all Lovelyz members are never been more ecstatic before because today... They are going to amusement park!

Well, all members beside one..

"Ah choo!"
Soojung takes another tissue for the 275367th time to wipe her already red nose. She started feeling unwell since yesterday, has slept longer than usual with hope that she would get better for their long awaited, super rare day off, but this morning Soojung instead woke up with more sneezes and fever.
What a worst timing to catch cold. Now considering herself might causing trouble if she insists to go with the others, Soojung decided to just stay at home today.

The wall clock on their living room shows half past 9 AM and the girls - all set to go with bags on shoulders - are waiting for their managers to pick them up. Soojung is there too in their living room to send her members off, keeps smiling to reassure disappointed Yein that she is fine and they should have fun even without her.
But there is this one person between seven of them, who has always been taking a closer look at her, and able to catch very small glimpse of sadness Soojung can't hide when she occasionally glances to her backpack left unattended on the corner of the room.

"Soojung the red nose reindeer~ Had a very shiny nose.." Mijoo creeps and tries to poke Soojung's nose from behind, gaining herself some hits and slaps as Soojung squirming and flailing to escape.
"Get off of me, you freak!"
The other members shake their heads at Mijoo goofing off and Soojung pushing her in complete disdain.
"Some things would never change..."

The door flung open and their manager shows up asking if they're ready to go right now. One by one the members say goodbye to their leader then leaving dorm.
"Mijoo come on, we gotta go now." Jisoo grabs the slightly younger girl's arm and drags her away from Soojung.
"Soojung unnie I love you! Don't miss me too much!" Mijoo shouts for last time, winking and blowing kiss to Soojung's direction.
"Yeah hate you too! I hope they leave you in haunted house alone!" Soojung retorts before closes the door.

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Peace.. Peace finally comes to earth. That's what she feels now after being left home alone without the seven other girls. Soojung leans back against the pile of pillows, allowing herself some moments of just relax and not thinking about how many times left before the next schedule and practice.
Not that Soojung hates liveliness of the other girls, she actually loves it when everyone gathered and having fun together. Moreover, she can't be more thankful to her members for it was them who have helped her to became a better person over these past years - the timid and introverted Lee Soojung, who had to practice just to smile in front people, but here she is now, out from her tortoise shell, living her big dream in the vast entertainment world. It's just, sometimes quiet time like this is also good for a change. Maybe once in a while it's not that bad to fall sick.
But placidness is short lived as now Soojung starts to feel feverish and her head pounding more than before. She gets up from bed, walking unsteadily to the kitchen to get medicine and something to eat.
"Ah... Haven't gone shopping for groceries this week."
There's nothing much beside leftover food from last night, and it surely doesn't increase her appetite. Soojung sighs closing the refrigerator. But something else catches her attention as she takes glance to the washing room connected to their kitchen. All their clothes has been washed and now hanging tidily on the drying rack.
"Who did this?" Soojung mumbles to herself, totally confused because it's supposed to be her turn to do the laundry chores today.

Suddenly, a non familiar ringtone sound is heard from the living room. Soojung remembers their manager Sehee unnie has left a cellphone to her, so in case of emergency she can call someone for help.

Incoming video call...

Soojung taps the answer button and immediately moves the phone as far as possible from her face; her members are all hello-ing and shouting on same time it's almost like the phone just bursted out.
"Unnie we're here already~ How are you there?" Myungeun and Yein waves their hands simultaneously.
Sujeong appears behind them showing off the white long ears decorating her head. "Look I got this bunny ears!"
"We will bring you a lot of merchandises!"
"Unnie look they got spin ride!"
"Sujeong stop pushing me!!"
The video is shaken and panned around to random directions, and they are so loud she don't know who's speaking what anymore. But seeing all her friends are so excited, Soojung can't help but giggles at the screen too.
"Soul unnie we're going bungee jumping!"
"You will go bungee jumping alone, Yein. I don't want to die!" Three maknaes start bickering about which rides they want to take and finally the phone is taken over by the sane ones.

"Are you alright? Your face seems redder than this morning.." Jiae's voice laced with concern.
"It's just fever.. But I'm fine don't worry!"
"Oh by the way, we're sending someone back to take care of you."
What? Who?
Soojung's eyes widened as she's down to realization of the absence of particular annoying voice she's so accustomed with. There is one person missing during their whole phone conversion.
"She supposed to be there already, I think.." Jiyeon looked at her wrist watch.

Oh Lovelyzus Christ. Not her please.

"Sooooooooo....."

Soojung nearly throws the phone in shock (but she then remembers it's Sehee unnie's phone so no, she can't throw it), horrified at a sound of someone easing their way through the dorm's door.

"Ah Hyewon oppa is calling! We have to go now! Bye unnie!"

"......oooooojuuuung unnieeeee!"

Click. Video call disconnected.

Soojung facepalms.

"I'm home~ Mijoo is here to keep you company all day long!"

God I can't go to amusement park so you send me this living rollercoaster?!

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"How are you feeling now?" Mijoo throws her jacket and something that looks like shopping bag from supermarket haphazardly on the floor. "Do you need something? I'll do anything for you today!"
"Yeah sure... Stay still and keep your distance at least 5 feet away from me." Soojung replied with sarcastic tone. But of course on the contrary of the leader's command, Mijoo makes her way across the room towards her anyway, sticking her hand to the older girl's forehead.
"Your fever is getting worse! You should rest in bed!" Her sudden change into serious tone prevents Soojung to resist from being pushed to their room.
"I'll cook you something to eat. Wait for awhile, okay?"
"No you will blast our kitchen!"
"Unnie can you have some faith in me?" Catching Mijoo's slightly hurt expression, the leader gives up and finally complies to stay at bed.

Soojung waits with worry, occasionally checking if there's smoke coming from small gap between their room's door and floor, or weird burning smell, or sound of something fall and break. During 4 years of living together never once she witnessed Mijoo actually cooked something that isn't ramyun or another kind of instant food. Occasionally she would also breaking kitchen utensils, cutting her own finger, burning the ingredients, and so on. Thus Soojung highly doubts if this girl who can't even tell apart salt and sugar, could make edible food without causing chaos. But this time thankfully, an hour passed without nothing suspicious happened.

When Mijoo enters the room, Soojung is already half asleep.
"Soojung unnie, are you sleeping?" She whispers.
"Nah.." Soojung stirs in her bed, taking Mijoo's hand that is extended to her she rises to her feet slowly.
"Let's eat a bit and drink your medicine." Mijoo leads her to a bowl of something that looks like a decent chicken soup and hot ginger tea placed on their old, wooden dining table.
"Since when you can cook like this?"
"Ha! There's nothing Lee Mijoo can't do!" She declares, flashing Soojung a teethy smile, but only receives derisive snort in response as the older girl still manages to catch her snatches a crumpled paper of Jiyeon's handwriting recipe from table into her pocket.
They sit down, the taller brunette carefully studying her unnie's face - very carefully, almost like examining extra-terrestrial she never saw for her whole life - as she starts eating. Small hand takes a spoonful of soup and lifting it up to , then finally swallows the warm chicken flavored liquid. One spoon, two spoons, Mijoo finally let out a relieved breath when there's no sign of food poisoned after the third spoon.
"How does it taste?" She asks nervously.
"Too salty. You're still unable to differentiate teaspoon from tablespoon?"
Ouch.
"But you've worked hard to made this.. And I don't hate salt too. So I guess this is good enough." Just a second of seeing Soojung's smiles, Mijoo's frown from earlier unceremonious comment turns into wide grin.

---------------------

"Unnie..." Mijoo goes back to their dining table, sitting beside Soojung after cleaned up eating utensils the sick girl used awhile ago.
"Hmm?" Soojung murmurs a reply while sipping ginger tea from her mug.
"Do you hate me?"
The short blond stiffen at the question. "Silly, there's no way I'd hate you."
"I thought you were a bit angry when I came home."
"It's not that, Mijoo." Guilt apparent on Soojung's voice. Converting what's actually on her mind into action is definitely not her forte, and most of the time that was what causing people to misunderstands her true intention.
"You're always cheering people up with your antics, and I believe everyone feel grateful to have someone like you in the group to make us forget bad things. To the point that sometimes we also forget that you have your own worries."
"I just want you to have fun, really just fun without thinking about any work-related problems. Because you deserve it the most." Her mind trails back to the days before their comeback, a long hell of staying until late night learning new choreographies, recording songs, monitoring old performances, and many more.
"All those hard times we've been through, I must admit that I.. Uh.. I mean all of us, we managed to went through it mostly because you were there with your optimistic attitude. You're the life of this team."
"Spoken by our almighty leader.. Should I be proud of this?" Mijoo's lips quirked into smug smirk, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Well I maybe am, but you know me.. I tend to be overly honest, and for a while I was a bit scared that one day I would hurt them. You're the one that helped them in a way I could never do."
"So in the end we complete each other, right?"
"... Yeah I guess." Soojung feels her cheeks hot, and she's unsure if it's because of freaking influenza, or because 'we complete each other', or the way Mijoo lazily leans down onto the table with head facing Soojung, smiles at her lovingly, and that gaze, she finds herself is pinned by that most beautiful pair of eyes, it drive all butterflies inside Soojung's stomach fluttering madly.
"Uh.. However.." She clears to chase away tenseness that suddenly coming in. "Thank you. I really appreciate you came home for me. Is there anything you want from me to pay you back?"
"Hmm.." Brief pause as Mijoo taps her chin, considering what would be equal to return her good deeds. "Give me a kiss?"
"Wha.." Soojung almost drop the mug in her hands, eyes wide and cheeks flushes brilliant shades of red.
"I'm just kidding no need to get all panic like that!" Mijoo launches into peals of laughter.
"Unnie, I think next week there's one day when two of us don't have any activities to attend." She starts again, now with less mischief in her voice.
"There is?"
"Yeah. Only Sujeong and Kei will appear on radio show that day, and the others respectively have variety to shoot, I think."
"If we get permission.. Let's go to amusement park together?"
Deep inside her, beneath the perfect mask of indifferent she wears, Soojung's heart beats rapidly. Is this date?
"Fine. I think I can convince sajang-nim to let us go." Soojung nods anyway, and Mijoo just chuckles.
"You will. You're his favorite."

---------------------

They spend the next 30 minutes reading some novels. Or more like, Soojung spend the next 30 minutes reading novel she hasn't finished yet, because after the first page Mijoo already fell asleep. The blond shakes her head, picking the book that now laying over Mijoo's face, when suddenly the phone rings again.
Soojung fumbles, wildly pressing answer button, more to stop the chiming ringtone rather than actually answer the call. She clambers to her feet and runs outside in hurry before the noise waking Mijoo up.

It's Jiyeon's voice chirping on the other end. Telling her that the members had been worried if being left alone, Soojung and Mijoo presumably would try murdering each other.
"So where's Mijoo unnie now?" Jiyeon asks, relieved to know that both of them are alive and their dorm isn't turned into battlefield.
"Uh.. Sleeping." The leader rolls her eyes a bit. "And I'm the one with bad cold here.."
Jiyeon laughs heartily. "Mijoo unnie is probably tired.. She stopped midway and took subway home just because she's worried so much about you."
"....? She didn't go home with Hyewon oppa?" Dark eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Everything starts to be unveiled to her.
"No, she insisted able to go home by herself. It would take too long if she have to wait for oppa to send us to amusement park then take her back home."
Suddenly, pieces are now clicking into place to Soojung.
"Don't be too hard on her, unnie. She maybe not really showing it, but actually Mijoo has done a lot for you."
"Was it her?" Soojung's hand clamps firmly around the phone.
"The one who took in my place doing chores today? It was Mijoo?"
And put her shoes inside her bag when she had completely forgotten about it. And deliberately picking on her during shows so she wouldn't be left alone because of her quiet nature. And blasts her favourite songs in their dorm to cheer her up when she's down. List of all those little things goes on..
There's a hesitant pause before Jiyeon reply. "She asked me to not telling you.."
"Yes, it was her."

---------------------

Soojung closes the door behind her, then plops herself down beside the futon bed where Mijoo is laying still in deep sleep. She reaches out brushing some stray bangs away from Mijoo's eyes, softly staring her beautiful feature, her expression's so calm and her breathe even.
"Dork. Are you trying to be cool? Why are you always like this..."

"You make me want you so much."

They have been knowing each other for almost 4 years now, and it's rather complicated, to the point Soojung could never find a way to interpret their relationship well.
During the beginning of their meeting, as Mijoo's "annyeong haseyo" turned into just "annyeong" and polite bow into shameless, flirty skinship, how she feels towards the girl 2 years junior of herself also gradually grew from utterly annoyed into completely fallen for her charm. Soojung spent the next few years in angry denial, of course. Her position and huge responsibility as leader of a rookie idol group with progressing popularity surely won't give any room for romance, let alone with one of her member.
Still, there's no way to avoid something that lives under your skin. The feeling Soojung's been trying to supress started surging out uncontrollably as time went by. And inevitably, she finally had to admit it. She needs Lee Mijoo. Yes, they're always up to endless fights; disturbing teasings and innuendos versus unreluctant bluntness, but there's something more to it. Something deeper that even herself cannot discern, that makes Soojung yearns for Mijoo's presence by her side; so she can smile brighter, and feel safer, and live her bustling, packed-with-tight-schedule life happier.

"Long time ago I once imagined how if we were somebody else and not ourselves today.. Had we ever met in another circumstances.. Most likely we would end up together already. But now that I think again, it's a foolish of me, right?"
Soojung lies herself down beside Mijoo and scoots closer, so close their face are just an inch away, her fingers ghost over Mijoo's cheek.
There's plenty of times Soojung was afraid; question marks and what ifs about their future, there might be repercussions, and another helpless doubts over uncertain things.
But so far Mijoo have proved her, that when Soojung falls, she would always be there to catch her, and if she soars, they would fly together. That if they are brave enough to turn the pages, there might be some brand new ending. Who knows? Sometimes the best love plan is to not plan anything at all. This time, Soojung wants to trust Mijoo.
"We can never foresee what awaits us.. But now I am sure, that I want to go through everything with you.. Wherever would we be tomorrow, it's gonna be fine. Because I believe our existences complete each other." She presses a kiss to Mijoo's lips, gently as to not wake her up, yet still lingered with passion. "So, promise you will always stay with me, okay?"

---------------------

Lovelyz dorm's door creaked open some hours later, and the six members find their leader and dancer are peacefully enjoying light snack in the living room.
"Oh, both of them are still alive in one piece. Thank God!" Their group's maknae exclaims.
"Do you think we're barbarians or what?" Mijoo seethes in protest.
"Uh.. She's not really wrong, you are indeed kind of savage.." Soojung comments evenly while munching a cupcake. Privilege of being sick, she's allowed to eat whatever she wants.
"At least I make people happy, unlike a certain someone who's always brooding.."
"I'm not brooding!" Pillow is thrown across and Mijoo narrowly dodges it, sticking out her tongue to Soojung.
"Danhoobak!" Okay, let's scratch 'peaceful' from here.
"Enough, enough! We brought souvenirs for you two, stop fighting and go check it out!" Jisoo puts down her bag in front of them and takes out various merchandise from stuffed plushies to tshirts with the amusement park mascots picture in it.
"Actually you don't need to.. Because we will go to amusement park alone too next week. But still, thanks for these." The pair chuckle and other six members burst into 'ooh' and 'aah' squeals.
"Is that why Mijoo unnie looks so happy?" Jiyeon smirks at Mijoo who has been smiling noticably more radiant than usual.
"Well.." There's a hint of blush creeps over Mijoo's face. She shoots a meaningful wink to Soojung. "I got two of my wishes granted.."

What else did she ask beside going to amusement park? The leader is completely perplexed. Until Mijoo leans closer and whispers in her ear.

"I'll always stay by your side. I promise."

Oh...

Train of realization hits, and now Soojung feels every single drop of blood inside her are making its way up to her head.
"Oh my God you weren't sleeping that time?!!" Soojung cries, face flushed as red as tomato.
Either daft or dauntless, Myungeun claps her hands loudly in revelation. "Ooh I know! Soul unnie kissed you?!"
The whole room once again turn to harmonious hoots and applause. Soojung shouts and waves her hands in desperate attempt to dismiss the topic (she considered to deny for some split of seconds, but no, lying is not her thing) while Mijoo silently giggles and buries her embarassed face between her knees. In the end, crowds dissipated just after the oldest girl allowed them to get food and promised to keep it secret from their managers.
"Let's order a lot! Soul unnie and Mijoo unnie will pay!" They insisted. Thus, 20 minutes later everyone is deeply preoccupied, chicken in their hands and mouths, and finally left Soojung and Mijoo alone in the corner of the room.
The leader smiles brightly, she has the best people - her group members - surrounding and showering her with affections; she feels safe, with fingers of the one she loves so much entwined with hers and warmth oozes between their pressed hands; she, definitely, lives a happy life.

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Intended to write just a short, fun fluff but look how this turned out lol ;w; I promise the next one wouldn't be another too-serious, 3000++ words long story! :P

Thanks for everyone who read!