Title: Love Language
Genre: College AU
Pairing: ChaeKyul (Chaeyeon & Jieqiong)
Words: 3600+

Sometimes, all Jieqiong needs is a little touch.

- & -

It was a lazy Saturday morning; the sun shining through the small crevices of the window blinds and the birds singing their odes to the flora beneath them as the five girls laid dispersed throughout the living room, enjoying the weekend away from the stress of college education.

Jung Chaeyeon sat on the sofa, browsing the Internet and checking up on social media, while her girlfriend, Zhou Jieqiong laid next to Chaeyeon, her head leaning on the older's lap. Kim Chungha was below them, leaning against the foot of the furniture, dozing off as Im Nayoung read her novel silently along the other side of the room. Even the infamous, hyperactive Kim Sejeong seemed to feel particularly lethargic, rolling around the warm carpet in the middle of the living room.

It seemed as if the five girls would stay like that forever, oblivious to any amount of time that passed out in the real world.

That is, until Sejeong suddenly stood up, proceeding to tackle Chungha in an affectionate hug.

"Yah!" Chungha yelled, still groggy from her brief nap.

"Unnie~" Sejeong mewled, wrapping her arms around the older as she nuzzled her head against Chungha's neck. "Have I ever told you I love you?"

"Oh, stop, you," Chungha responded. She pried Sejeong's arms off her next and sat the younger next to her. She leaned her head against Sejeong's shoulder as she held her hands. "Stop being so cheesy."

Jieqiong observed the older couple in front, her eyes blinking slowly as she thought of her own relationship with Chaeyeon. She frowned as she stared back up at Chaeyeon, who was fully invested in her mobile device. A jealous Jieqiong then suddenly snatched Chaeyeon's phone out of her hands as she sat up, tossing the phone off to the side.

"Hey! What was that for?" Chaeyeon tilted her head, confused as to why Jieqiong suddenly took her phone away.

"Hmph!" Jieqiong pouted, crossing her arms. "You like your phone more than you like me, don't you?"

"Awwwww," Sejeong teased, her eyes narrowed to small half circles. "Is somebody jealous over a phone?"

"What a cutie," Chungha added along.

"I'm not jealous!" Jieqiong shouted in protest, shaking her head ferverously, 'no', as she held her hands out in front of her. "I-It's just- uhm-"

"Come on, Chaeyeon," Nayoung intervened, still focused on her novel. Her eyes never looked away from the pages as she continued. "Make her happy by hugging her already."

"Geez," Chaeyeon responded, her cheeks burning with embarassment. She was never one to publicly display affection, let alone initiate any skinship in private, but Chaeyeon soon found succumbing to Jieqiong's pleas as she brought the younger closer, hugging her from behind as they both laid against the arm rest of the sofa.

Jieqiong giggled as Chaeyeon's hands came around her sides, satisfied and happy that the older was now giving her attention.

"Well, that's my cue to leave," Nayoung said, standing up and stretching her arms out wide. She stepped toward her room. "I'm going to go read in my room to give you couples some privacy."

"Somebody sounds lonely~" Sejeong snickered from the side. "Just say the word, unnie. I can set you up with somebody if you want~ It'd help you destress a bit and maybe even help you learn to actually smile!"

Nayoung simply stared back with her stone cold expression, her eyes blinking nonchalantly as Sejeong grew ever more nervous.

"Don't tempt me, Kim Sejeong," Nayoung replied with irony.

- & -

Jieqiong remembered reading in an article one day that there were five different love languages total.

Words of affirmation. Acts of service. Receiving and giving gifts. Quality time. Touch.

But no matter how much she observed and analyzed Chaeyeon, Jieqiong could never figure out what Chaeyeon's true love language was. Chaeyeon would often tell Jieqiong the words, "I love you", and whisper sweet nothings in her ear as they slept; the older girl would often go out of her way to do things for Jieqiong like helping her move her bipa around campus or keeping her focused on studying; she would often give gifts on days marking key points in their relationships - birthdays, anniversaries; and she'd even spend her vacation days with the Chinese girl instead spending it with her own family, fully aware that Jieqiong had no other choice but to spend vacation days all by her lonesome in the dorms.

If there was one thing Jieqiong was sure of, it was that touch was most definitely not one of Chaeyeon's primary love languages.

That is, until recently.

Over the past few weeks, Jieqiong had noticed Chaeyeon was beginning to drift away. Despite the fact that the major examination period had passed, Chaeyeon started to spend more time at the library studying; and more often than not, the older girl would have a reason not to join Jieqiong for a small lunch date during their leisure time. It didn't help that their six month anniversary was coming up soon, and Chaeyeon seemed to be distant as ever.

Which is why Jieqiong found herself third wheeling in the middle of one of Chungha and Sejeong's outings at a nearby cafe.

"You know, I offered to stay behind at the dorms..." Jieqiong said. She was seated in between Chungha and Sejeong, who were facing each other on opposite sides. She sipped at her strawberry latte. "It's not like I'd be alone or anything either."

"No, no, no," Sejeong chimed in. She wagged her index finger in the air in disapproval. "We're actually really happy you're here with us, Jieqiong-ah. We don't really get to spend much time with you since we're in different departments and all."

Jieqiong nodded her head softly. It was true; since Jieqiong's major focus was on playing the bipa, she rarely saw Chungha or Sejeong, who were more focused on dancing and singing respectively.

"Besides," Chungha added on. "Nayoung needs some time for herself, anyway. I heard she was going to bring some of her friends over."

"Still, though..." Jieqiong muttered.

"In any case, this gives us some privacy to do some couple talk with you," Sejeong smirked, resting her head on her palm as she leaned on the table. She waved a biscuit in the air before taking a small bite.

"C-Couple talk?"

"You know, the usual-" Sejeong explained. "Your first date, your first kiss- things like that!"

"I-I don't know... Chaeyeon-unnie and I haven't really gone that far..." Jieqiong spoke softly, her voice barely reaching a whisper.

"How far have you guys gone?" Chungha asked nonchalantly. After a few seconds, she realized just how personal her question was and her cheeks began to tinge pink. "I-I mean, d-don't go into detail about all the stuff. Y-You know what I mean!"

"Ehh, unnie~" Sejeong playfully hit Chungha's shoulder. "Don't play innocent~ Do you want me to tell little Jieqiong-ie about all the things I let you do to me-"

"Shush!" Chungha yelped, bringing out her index finger to Sejeong's lips to stop her from revealing too much. Sejeong snickered as she teasingly winked at the older.

"Well..." Jieqiong began. She held her head low, fiddling her thumbs. She spoke even more quietly as she continued on, egging Chungha and Sejeong to lean in more closely to hear more precisely. "I-I mean... I've kissed her on the cheek before, but that was only because she turned the other way when I tried to kiss her on the lips-"

"W-WHAT??" Chungha and Sejeong yelled out, bewildered.

"B-But you're Zhou Jieqiong!" Sejeong pointed out, as if the statement made any sense on its own. "You're like- the most expressive girl I've ever met! Hell, you've even kissed Nayoung-unnie on the cheek before-"

"Only because you got me drunk!" Jieqiong retaliated with a loud hush.

"Wait, so you're telling me that you and Chaeyeon are about to hit six months dating, and the farthest you guys have gone is a simple kiss on the cheek?" Chungha raised a brow.

"Well... It was really just me who did that," Jieqiong said. "Chaeyeon-unnie's only really ever kissed the top of my head before."

"Oh, god, I just... I just can't," Sejeong stuttered, mocking disbelief. She shook her head, dismissing the very thought of not being able to kiss her own girlfriend. "Where is Chaeyeon, anyway? I thought she was going to come with you?"

"Ah, unnie said she was going to hang out with a high school friend today," Jieqiong explained.

"High school friend?" Chungha asked, curious as to who it could be. She had actually gone to the same high school as Chaeyeon, despite being a grade above. "What's her name? I might know her too."

"Uhh, let me check my phone!" Jieqiong said. She scrolled through her texts with Chaeyeon until she found the name. "Her friend's nam