Two months later…

Taeyeon had an apron tied around her waist, her fingers moving swiftly across the sketchpad. She had taken a liking to art after revisiting it when she first moved back home – abstract, sketching, painting… Taeyeon had exceled in almost all  kinds of art effortlessly. She didn't know what she could do to help herself become less depressed and get out of that terrifying stage of darkness but when her brother suggested that she try going to art classes so she could express her feelings.... that's when the solution appeared before her very eyes. Because she had never done art in school before, Taeyeon didn't know how in the world art could help her get rid of the pains he was feeling but now she did.

It was a blessing in disguise. 

“Taeyeon-unnie!”

“Yes, Seungwan?”

Wendy blushed all the way to the tips of her ears when she heard her birth name leave Taeyeon’s lips. She had been Taeyeon’s neighbour for the past two months, and they always passed by each other along the way back to their apartments. Taeyeon was always friendly to her, and she didn't hesitate to do nice things for Wendy whenever she had the chance to. Wendy didn't want to read too much into things but her best friend had also claimed that the look in Taeyeon's eyes wasn't one from a friend to another. Plus the fact that Taeyeon was a celebrity, but she didn’t behave like one in the least... it confused Wendy deeply.

Taeyeon giggled when she saw Wendy bury her face into the napkin beside her, “why are you getting so shy, Son Seungwan? You’ve known me for quite long now.”

“Still… you’re a celebrity and I’m a normal neighbour.”

A huge frown appeared on Taeyeon’s face when she heard those words; if she was going to be honest about it, Taeyeon wouldn’t have made it up to here without Wendy’s help or kindness. This apartment was new and Taeyeon had first moved in without knowing anyone or how the place worked, because the security here was turned up a notch and different from her old apartment. Wendy was the one who helped her with the setting of passcode and the releasing of stress from time to time. The way Wendy was downgrading herself was not sitting well with Taeyeon; this was not the way she wanted her friend to see of herself when she was worth so much more.

Wendy gasped when she felt Taeyeon’s hands on her shoulders, her eyes widening in surprise; they were considered close friends for now but skinship wasn’t really a thing between them just yet.

“You helped me a lot more than you think, Seungwan. I also know how much you’re trying to pretend that it’s normal to have me as a friend but that is the truth… I am a human, and so are you. Friends don’t look down on one another because of social status.”

Wendy would have crumbled if it wasn’t for the serious atmosphere above their heads – the leader of such a huge girl group staring right into her very eyes was making her heart pound. She could go around telling people about what just happened and no one would believe her anyway. Being friends with Taeyeon for the past two months had allowed her to get to know Taeyeon on quite a personal level, and she knew of Taeyeon's feelings towards another woman. If Taeyeon was going to continue being this nice and gentle towards her, Wendy wouldn’t be able to guarantee that she’d keep her feelings to herself successfully.

It was a terrible thing to do, honestly, nothing was going to come out of it anyway, especially when the group was still active and very much in demand as of now. Just imagining the scandal was outrageous on its own. 

“U-Unnie…”

Taeyeon grinned and patted the younger’s cheek gently, “don’t let me hear you looking down on yourself again.”

It was an absolute shame that Taeyeon didn’t turn around to look at Wendy once more before leaving; because she would have seen the latter with an arm on her chest, trying to calm herself down. Taeyeon was a woman full of charms, talent and unexpected quirky sides, which was most definitely not difficult to fall in love with. Wendy had only known Taeyeon for two months but she was already in the midst of falling in love with the latter; she couldn't understand the person whom Taeyeon was in love with at the moment - anyone would be able to fall in love with the kid leader if they looked at her through Wendy's eyes.

Someone please calm her heart.

*

“Yoong!”

“Yah… where are you?”

“YAH KWON YOONA!”

“WHAT?!”

Yuri burst out laughing victoriously; she had purposefully used her surname as Yoona’s in the hopes that Yoona would object, and she did – successfully giving away her hiding place. She grabbed a cushion from the sofa to shield herself, making her way closer and closer to the little empty area underneath the staircase. Yoona had quite a violent side to her and it was no secret how she always smacked Yuri when she felt her girlfriend needed it. The tanned woman was not going to risk getting a bruise anywhere if she could help it; she already had enough bruises that couldn't be seen.

Yoona smacked her own forehead when she realised that she fell for Yuri’s trick right there; how did her ever-so-sharp personality become so vulnerable in front of Yuri’s mischievious one?

“Omo! Look who’s here!”

“Shut up,” Yoona deadpanned and crawled out of her hiding place.

Yuri flashed a gummy smile at her girlfriend and grabbed Yoona’s waist from either side; she wasn’t going to let Yoona walk away from her this time. She loved playing games with her precious baby; Yoona was adorable when she got frustrated. She had to tug and pull Yoona to face her since the younger was busy sulking like a child; not that Yuri was complaining though, she was truly awestruck by the mere pout on Yoona's face. Yoona had put on some weight recently and she filled out her shirts more often nowadays; it was a good look on her normally skinny self. 

Yoona lowered her head when Yuri’s face was right in front of hers, her cheeks turning pink already. She still hasn’t got over the speed at which her face turned red when Yuri stared at her like that.

“You look away now.”

Yuri pouted in protest and hugged the younger even closer, their bodies pressing against each other’s now. She loved being this intimate with Yoona, whether in front of their members or not. “Why should I look away? Don’t you like seeing me like this? Because I love seeing you shy and in love with me all the time.” Yuri whined childishly, nuzzling her nose into Yoona’s neck this time. She might be called a child or a baby like how her members always but the truth is; she only behaved like this in front of her members, and most importantly right now, Yoona. 

Yoona could literally feel her insides melt when she saw the expression on Yuri’s face; she quickly moved in and pecked Yuri’s nose lightly, resting her head in the crook of Yuri’s neck.

Yuri gently pushed Yoona so they could face each other flashed her girlfriend a goofy grin, “shall we watch a movie then?”

“With popcorn and snacks?