It’s a little bit silly, Yeri knows, but she can’t help being drawn to Joy, with the way she sings with her soulful voice and how she exaggerates her dance moves just for laughs, not to mention her astounding beauty. So perhaps it was a lucky coincidence that her floral design tutorials are just a block away from the building that is the Music Faculty, where if she plans her timing right she can see Joy practising through the first-floor window, and even though the window is usually open just a crack she can hear her melodious voice as she practices vocal arpeggios. 

Today, however, has gone all wrong. In the morning, the alarm set on her phone failed to wake her up, some of her precious flowers were too old and started to wilt, and to top it all off, her teacher had unexpectedly chosen to extend their lesson today, leaving her with no choice but to exit her class an hour later than usual.

The most unfortunate part of the whole day, she thinks, is the silence that wraps around her as she stands in front of the Music building. The room where Joy usually stands in, harmonising with a singing and guitar-playing brunette, is empty, devoid of life. Yeri sighs, her far-fetched hopes vanishing, and starts to trudge home, depressed.

But she manages no further than ten steps before a shout rings out from the sliding glass doors that protect the Music Faculty. “Yeri!” She turns around to see Joy waving at her, and another girl — the guitarist — lags behind her, hauling her excessively large guitar case on her minuscule back. “What are you doing here? I didn’t know your course was Music too!”

“Um,” Yeri shuffles her feet awkwardly, trying to find the right words to say, which she finds really rather impossible when the blonde is beaming at her with all her brilliantly white teeth flashing. “I’m, uh, I was just passing by, I don’t…”

Fortunately for her, the brunette cuts in to salvage the situation. “You’re not in Music, are you? Don’t you study, like, flower art or something?” Yeri raises her eyebrows in surprise, but nods. The brunette tugs on Joy’s sleeve, continuing her explanation. “Ah, I knew it! She was in Seulgi’s team on that day of orientation where we had to show the younger kids around our faculties and stuff, and you hit her when you fell and were embarrassed, right?” The brunette turns the question on Yeri, making her blush furiously while Joy snorts with laughter next to them.

“Ah, don’t mind Wendy, she remembers the most random of things sometimes,” The tall woman says as she wipes tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes and pats her friend on the back, then asks whether the youngest girl is on the way home from classes. When Yeri nods, one corner of her lips curl up. “Want to get some coffee first?”

Which is how Yeri finds herself in a staring competition with Joy sitting opposite her in a café nearby their campus. This is when she also learns that the older woman can charm the socks off anyone, as Wendy stands patiently at the counter to wait for their order to be called after receiving the most honey-dripping coo of persuasion from Joy. 

Yeri finds it extremely easy to keep her eyes on Joy, because honestly, who can't? She finds herself falling for those chocolate-brown eyes, lit up with specks of gold a few shades brighter than the woman's hair, the long eyelashes that adorn her eyelids, and the way how Yeri herself is reflected in those beautiful, beautiful irises...

And then Joy blinks, spoiling the daydream. "Dammit!" She exclaims, knuckling her stinging eyes. “I didn’t expect you to be this good!” 

Wendy slides into the seat next to Joy with a tray of coffee and a hearty chuckle, startling the duo. “It’s because no one can take your eyes off you, Joy. You’re too pretty.” Yeri accidentally takes a large gulp of hot coffee and starts to cough and choke, scalding her tongue in the process. Wendy snickers behind her cup of mocha, and nudges Joy to get a glass of water for the spluttering girl.

When Joy is fidgeting at the counter, urging the barista to finish the coffee that she is preparing to get her a cup of water, Wendy leans over the table in a very suggestive manner, and places her chin on the back of her hands. “You like her, don’t you?” Yeri’s eyes bulge out from their sockets. “I knew it. I’ve seen you at the window sometimes, just listening to her sing. Don’t worry, I won’t tell her,” Wendy winks at her — how can a small hamster-like girl be so suggestive? Yeri wonders — and continues, “but only if you help me pass this to Seulgi.” She slides over a small folded piece of paper, placing it securely under the younger girl’s fingers, and returns back to her seat just in time for Joy to rush back with a cup of cold water.

The redhead grabs the offered cup and hastily downs the water, eyes diverted to one side to avoid Joy’s and Wendy’s stares. When her eyes flicker towards Wendy, the girl subtly holds up a pinky. Promise? Yeri raises her own in response, and the two exchange small nods.

*

That night, Yeri sits at her desk, busily drawing designs and various arrangements for her flowers. Her roommate, a senior majoring in Film and Drama, pops her head in to remind her of a schedule. Flipping through her diary, Yeri notes down a time for next Monday, and writes next to it ‘Photoshoot, Joohyun-unnie picking up at 2pm.’ Her phone buzzes then, with a message from Seulgi, her senior from the Art faculty where her classes take place.

S: Hello! Are you busy?

Y: Kind of, I’m preparing for the photoshoot next week. Thank you for choosing me to take part in this photoshoot, it really means a lot to me.

S: Good, good. You have amazing skills, so you definitely deserve it. Speaking of, I have some information about your model partner, let me find it for you.

A silence follows, and Yeri suddenly remembers her agreement with Wendy. She starts to type out a request to hand Wendy’s note over to Seulgi, when the next two messages that arrive catch her undivided attention.

S: Your partner’s name is Park Sooyoung.

S: But she says you can call her Joy.

----

author's note:
seems like joyri isn't as popular as their unnie line counterpart... T-T
although in many of their videos the couple are almost always lowkey flirting or just being touchy with each other lol