You and I, we're like fireworks and symphonies exploding in the sky

With you, I'm alive

Like all the missing pieces of my heart, they finally collide

“I’m cold.” Nayeon whines as she shuffles closer to Jeongyeon. They are at the Han River park, waiting to catch the fireworks. Although the park is filled with people, it doesn’t stop the autumn wind from biting into her bones.

“I told you we should have just stayed at home and watched the fireworks on tv.” Jeongyeon grumbles, but she pulls Nayeon into her jacket, sharing her warmth. “And you should have worn an extra sweater or something knowing that we are staying out tonight.”

“I have you with me. My personal heater.” Nayeon grins up at Jeongyeon and the latter is trying very hard not to melt at that cute bunny smile of her wife. It’s annoying how she’s always rendered useless when it comes to that smile, and it’s also the reason why Nayeon wins almost all of their arguments or disagreements. Jeongyeon just pokes Nayeon on the nose and hugs her tighter.

The fireworks start to go off, and Nayeon immediately exclaims as she detaches herself from Jeongyeon and pulls out her phone, wanting to capture it on her phone. People start to push forward, wanting to get a better view of the show and they knock into Nayeon, almost sending her to the ground if not for Jeongyeon who is quick to grab onto her.

“Are you okay?” Jeongyeon asks as Nayeon just nods, slightly disoriented. She frowns and pulls her wife into a back hug, not intending to let the girl out of her embrace until they leave this crowded place. “Don’t go too far away from me, it’s dangerous.”

“Okay.” Nayeon leans back into Jeongyeon, not daring to stray too far away from her wife after the incident just now, contended to just watch the fireworks in her wife’s embrace while snapping some pictures occasionally. After a few minutes, Nayeon places her phone away to entwine their hands together, left hand to left hand, right hand to right hand, and Jeongyeon feels their wedding rings clinking against each other. Sometimes, she forgets that they are already married, because nothing has changed.

They already live together, so there’s no need to get used to staying together with each other. They still bicker a lot, over little things like who gets to use the toilet first in the morning, who cleans up after eating. And most importantly, they still love each other a lot, still going on dates whenever they have free time off from their schedules, like now. She really loves Nayeon a lot, even though she doesn’t express her feelings often, and she hopes the girl knows.

The fireworks show is over, and Nayeon turns around to look at her, contented look on her face now that she has achieved her aim. Jeongyeon hasn’t seen a single second of the show, but she doesn’t regret, because why would she, when the most beautiful thing is already in her arms?

So stop time right here in the moonlight

'Cause I don't ever wanna close my eyes

Jeongyeon knows she shouldn’t compliment her wife who already has such a huge ego, but maybe it’s because she can see her clearer up close, or maybe it’s because standing under the stars tonight makes her sappy that she suddenly wants to say these thoughts. “Yah, you are quite pretty today.”

“Please,” Nayeon drawls as she drapes her arms around Jeongyeon’s neck, “I’m pretty all the time.”

“You get my point.” Jeongyeon swallows, seeing the glint in Nayeon’s eyes and knowing what is about to happen. She tries to squirm out of Nayeon’s hold, because, they are public figures after all, but the girl just holds her in a vice grip.

Nayeon shakes her head with a victorious smile. “No uh, I’m getting my kiss, and I’m getting it right now.”

Jeongyeon is alright at best with kisses, but she really hates it when it’s public. Like now. “We are in public.” She tries to get out of this, but it’s futile because she knows Nayeon gets whatever she wants.

Nayeon holds the collar of Jeongyeon’s jacket, not letting her go. “I don’t care.”

She closes the gap between the two of them, and Jeongyeon can feel Nayeon smiling against her lips, satisfied she got her kiss. Jeongyeon rolls her eyes when they pull apart, feeling annoyed when she sees the smug smile on her wife’s face. This is not the first time, and will not be the last time she is annoyed by Nayeon, but she would rather have the girl around to annoy her for the rest of her life than to live without her at all. 

Without you, I feel broke

Like I'm half of a whole

Without you, I've got no hand to hold

Without you, I feel torn

Like a sail in a storm

Without you, I'm just a sad song

I'm just a sad song

Jeongyeon pulls the hood of Nayeon’s jacket up, wanting to make sure that the girl is well protected from the cold. Actions speak louder than words, they say, and she firmly believes in that, wanting to use her actions rather than her words to show her feelings.

And she knows Nayeon knows, because the girl smiles as she hugs her. “I love you too, you big softie.”

--

Jihyo feels like a fish out of water, not knowing what to do with herself as she watches the other people mingle around the venue. She’s seated at the front row of one of the shows at Seoul Fashion Week, and she feels extremely uncomfortable because seated on her right is Sunmi, a big senior in the industry. Sunmi is nice, making small talk with her, but it doesn’t help to dispel her nervousness. She just hopes the person sitting on her left is someone she knows or is close to so she can talk comfortably to the person without worrying.

Instead, a girl she has never seen before is ushered into the seat beside her, and she looks even more intimidating than Sunmi. The girl is really pretty; with huge doe eyes that can rival her own, staring unblinkingly as she glances around the room, seemingly trying to take in all the new sights. She catches Jihyo staring at her, and the latter just gives her a sheepish smile, embarrassed at being caught.

“Hello.” Jihyo greets, not wanting to come off as rude. And they are going to spend the next hour or two stuck here in this seat, so she might as well take this time to make some friends.

The girl just nods at her, pauses so long that Jihyo thought that might just be the end of their conversation when she speaks out. “It’s my first time.”

Jihyo gives her an enquiring look at her short sentence, and the slight clumsy pronunciation. She’s probably not local, which explains why Jihyo hasn’t seen her before. But Jihyo brushes that aside, her main priority now is to make sure this shy girl beside her is comfortable.

“It’s my first time here in Korea.” The girl adds on.

Jihyo nods and smiles at the girl, hoping to alleviate some of her nervousness. “Where are you from?”

“Taiwan.” The girl says, face stoic but Jihyo can tell she’s nervous with how she’s twirling her thumbs.

“You speak Korean very well.” Jihyo reassures with an encouraging smile.

“Thank you.” The girl smiles at her, and Jihyo can see a dimple peeking out on her left cheek. Cute. There’s a lull in the conversation, and Jihyo thinks this is the end of their conversation when the girl interjects in again.

“I’m actually a fan.” She clears . "Of TM, I mean."

“Oh really? Thank you.” Jihyo smiles, thankful and glad that they actually have fans abroad, a celebrity fan no less. She asks a question to keep the conversation going, but okay, she might just be a tad bit curious which member had caught this pretty girl’s eyes. “Who’s your favourite member?”

She had expected the girl crush Jeongyeon, or their charismatic and talented producer Chaeyoung, but the girl’s answer threw her off completely. “You, Jihyo-ssi.”

She thinks the girl might just be saying it’s her to be polite, but judging from her intense stare which seems to be boring holes into her, Jihyo doesn’t think so. She gulps a little, trying to maintain her composure and her increasing heartrate.

“Thank you…?” She holds her hand out.

“I’m Tzuyu.” She says as she takes Jihyo’s hands in hers, and Jihyo swears her hand burns when they make contact.

“Nice to meet you, Tzuyu-ssi.” Jihyo smiles at this newfound camaraderie. 

--

But my friends won’t love me like you

No, my friends won’t love me like you

It’s not camaraderie, because a few months later, Jihyo finds herself in Tzuyu’s apartment in Taiwan, watching over the girl as she makes kimbap. Jihyo lays out the ingredients so that it’s easier for Tzuyu to reach for them, watching as the girl spreads the rice on the laver. It’s evident she’s not very adept at this, hesitating and probing Jihyo every few seconds to ask if she’s on the right track. But instead of getting annoyed, Jihyo just gently guides her along the way, finding the girl extremely adorable.

When she says adorable, it’s different from how she finds Chaeyoung and Dahyun adorable some times.

“I’m doing well right?”

“Yeah.”

“Praise me.”

Although she might not look like it, Tzuyu is like a puppy, craving for attention and affection.

“Aigoo,” Jihyo coos at Tzuyu before patting her on her head. “Yes, you are doing really well.”

It’s not camaraderie, because Tzuyu beams at the compliment and leans in to kiss Jihyo on the cheeks. Gucci starts yapping at Jihyo’s ankles, never really taking a liking to the Korean girl even though it’s been months since they met. She retreats behind Tzuyu, watching as the taller girl coos at the dog before lifting it up to comfort it.

“She really doesn’t like me, doesn’t she?” Jihyo asks as she watches Tzuyu rub Gucci in the middle of its ears, the dog nuzzling into her touch, but still glaring at her.

“Give her some time, she’s just jealous.” Tzuyu chuckles as she holds up Gucci towards the light, like how Rafiki held up Simba in the Lion King movie. “But I will always love you the most, alright?” She says to Gucci, before bringing the dog down to nuzzle her nose into its fur.

Jihyo doesn’t even mind being placed second after the chihuahua who seems like it’s always in a bad mood. She just finds Tzuyu’s love and adoration for dogs cute. “You are cute.”

“Have you seen yourself?” Tzuyu asks bluntly, and a blush immediately envelops after she realizes what she just said. She ducks her head as Jihyo laughs. “You think I’m cute?”

“You aren’t half bad.” Tzuyu clears , trying to keep it cool. She has to maintain her cool image, she can’t just let this girl in front of her destroy it! (Okay, maybe she can, because this girl in front of her is really, really cute.)

Jihyo loops her arms around Tzuyu’s neck, pulling the girl closer to her for a kiss. And Jihyo knows it from the way her heart is beating wildly in her chest, and from the contended dazed look Tzuyu has on her face, that this is not camaraderie, it’s love.

--

The waiting room is exceptionally quiet today with none of her members fooling around. Dahyun sits on the make-up chair as the staff bustle around her to fix her up for her solo debut stage later. Yes, she is going to make her solo debut later, the first one from their group and she doesn’t even know why she’s the first one when she isn’t even the main vocalist, or heck the main rapper. She had merely showed the song she had written to Chaeyoung to ask her for her opinions, but the girl had immediately brightened up and the next thing she knew, she was preparing for her solo debut with that very same track.

Her phone rings, and she looks at the name on her screen, mood instantly lifted. She picks up the call and greets, “Jagiya-yah!”

Sana laughs. “Yeah jagiya-yah, good luck for your solo debut stage later. I will be watching it live.”

“You better do, I wrote it for you.” Dahyun chuckles, missing her girlfriend dearly. Being in a long-distance relationship is hard, but being in a celebrity in a long-distance relationship is even harder. Although there isn’t a time difference between where they are living, it’s hard to put aside time, even if it’s just a short phone call, for each other outside of their hectic schedules. They had been communicating via texts for a few weeks, and to be able to finally hear her girlfriend’s voice makes Dahyun feel so alive.

“Yep, so I’m going to watch and listen really carefully.” Sana teases.

“I miss you…” Being able to hear Sana after so long only makes her miss the girl more. Dahyun wants to be able to hug the girl, kiss her and hold her.

“I miss you too, my darling.” Sana drawls and Dahyun can already imagine the pout on her face as she says it.

“I will fly over once my promotions are over. Wait for me.” Dahyun says resolutely.

“I want a kiss when you do.” Sana asks for a kiss, but Dahyun wonders if Sana knows she is willing to give her the world if she asks for it. But she just chuckles. “You don’t even have to ask.”

“I have to go…” The disappointment in Sana’s voice is evident at their very short phone call.

“Okay, good luck for your schedules today! Text me when you get back home?” Dahyun asks and she hears a hum of agreement from Sana.

They hang up after making kissy noises at each other, and Dahyun sighs as she leans further into her chair. The phone call has made her so full, but also so empty at the same time. She can’t wait to meet Sana after this round of promotions.

--

Dahyun is waiting at the foot of the stage, waiting for the staff to give her the go-ahead to go on stage. She’s fiddling with her in-ears, unable to keep her hands still. She hopes her nervousness is not showing, trying her best to smile and wave to the fans. The staff gives her the signal to go on stage, and Dahyun nods, taking a deep breath before heading up on stage. She gets into position with her four backup dancers, not forgetting to wave at the fans while doing so. She closes her eyes, readying herself for this moment, and the music cues.

“Sana-chan, listen carefully.” She says before she breaks out into the dance routine.

All the things that surround me –

I know that you’re nervous that they might disorient me

(“Do you know GFriend?” Sana asks out of the blue one day, and Dahyun just nods, not thinking much to her girlfriend’s question. “We have met them a few times at some events and shows.”

“Are you close to them?” Sana asks as she lifts up their entwined hands, suddenly scrutinizing Dahyun’s nails.

“Only SinB. We used to emcee for a show together and we are the same age, so we get along pretty well.” Dahyun answers absentmindedly.

Sana hums ambiguously. “Do you think you get along better with someone your age, or someone older than you?”

Dahyun finally understands where this is going. “Well, I get along well with people regardless of their age, but I only love this one person who is 1 year and 5 months apart from me.”

Sana groans at being exposed as she buries into Dahyun’s embrace. “But she’s so pretty and nice and she gets to be around you so easily.”

The distance makes things hard of course, because you are constantly missing your other half in some faraway place, not being able to see, hug or kiss them. But what makes it harder is seeing so many other attractive people being able to be around them all the time, it just makes you insecure and worried that someone might catch their eye and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it, because you are 926km away. Dahyun holds Sana by the chin and gently lifts her head up to make eye contact with her girlfriend. “Sana-chan, no matter who comes along, it’s always you for me.”)

My glamorous life, the glamorous women around me

Up close, they’re nothing

Up close, no matter how up close

The thing I can endlessly look at is only you

In my eyes, I only see you

In my ears, I only hear you

In my heart, only you live, so I can’t live without you

Baby girl you’re the only one for me

You’re the one for me

You’re the one, you’re the one

The song comes to an end and Dahyun points at the camera as it zooms in on her face. The fans cheer fervently and the lights dim, signalling the end of her live stage. She bows to the staff and the fans before making her way down the stage, heaving a sigh of relief as she does so. She did it, she finished the first stage of her solo debut!

She hops into the waiting room, receiving applause from the staff and she smiles and bows at them, thanking them for their help. After all, this is only possible with their help. Now that she has finished the recording of the stage, she is much more relaxed, finally at ease enough to joke around with the staff. Her phone rings, and she excuses herself from the room to pick up the call.

“Sana-chan~” She greets as the call engages.

“I love you Kim Dahyun.” Sana confesses over the phone, obviously already seen her live performance.

Dahyun chuckles as she leans against the wall. “I love you too Sana-chan and remember, you are the only one for me. So don’t worry.”

“Now I’m worried because I don’t know how I'm going to deal with you, this big cheese ball for the rest of my life.” Sana groans dramatically, but the teasing tone in her voice is obvious.

“Too bad, you don’t have a choice!” Dahyun retorts. She hears Mina telling Sana that she needs to get ready already, so she doesn’t hold her up any longer. “Go, you need to work.”

“Okay, I will call you when I reach home tonight.” Sana promises.

Dahyun hums. “Okay, work hard! Bbyong!”

“Bbyong!” Sana greets back, and Dahyun makes sure the girl hangs up first before she hangs up herself.

Making her way back to the waiting room, Dahyun finds herself feeling warm at the prospect of spending the rest of her life with Sana. It’s not like she can imagine any other outcome to be honest, because is there even a future if she has to live without Sana? No, Dahyun doesn’t think so, and that is why even though Sana is really clingy and demands a lot of her attention, even though she gets jealous easily, even though they are always an ocean apart, Dahyun is sure that they can conquer all of that and spend forever together. 

--

“What do you want to eat?” Chaeyoung asks as she looks at the menu board. Seeing no reply from her girlfriend, she turns to see the girl visibly distracted and slightly distressed, if she must add. “Minari?”

“Yeah?” Mina is finally snapped out of her reverie, attention focused back on Chaeyoung.

Chaeyoung sighs as she pulls Mina against her, resting her head on the latter’s shoulders. “What are you distracted by, hmm?”

Mina and Sana are in Korea to visit for a week, which means they finally get some well-deserved date time and she was really pumped up about it, but her girlfriend doesn’t seem to share the same sentiments, seemingly dazed and distracted. She had been fine, but the moment they arrived at the baseball stadium and left the comforts of their car, Mina had been behaving weirdly.

“Do you not want to watch a baseball match? We can do something else…” Chaeyoung frowns, not wanting to waste time here if Mina doesn’t like it.

“No!” Mina immediately disagrees, but struggles to add on. “It’s just… people are staring…”

She turns to look behind, and true to Mina’s words, there are a group of teenagers pointing their cameras at them, squealing when Chaeyoung turns to look at them. Chaeyoung smiles and waves at them, causing them to squeal even louder and hit each other excitedly. Chaeyoung brings a finger to her lips, telling them to keep it down, and the girls do, although the excitement is still evident from their flushed faces.

“Can we get an autograph?” One of the girls shout from where they are, and Chaeyoung looks to Mina, waiting for her to nod before nodding at the girls. The girls close the distance, passing Chaeyoung a pen and some paper. As she signs, the girls begin to crowd around her, causing Mina to be pushed to the back. Upon seeing this, Chaeyoung frowns slightly, but tries to keep the smile on her face.

“Guys, stop pushing.” She says as politely as possible as she pulls Mina back close to her. “She’s my girlfriend, so please don’t push her like this.”

Although she’s not done signing for all of them, Chaeyoung hands the pen back to them, smiling curtly. “We are going to go first, it’s nice meeting you guys.”

Chaeyoung pulls Mina by the hand, heading to the entrance of the baseball stadium. Mina tugs on their entwined hands, feeling good that Chaeyoung stood up for her, but afraid that she’s going to get backlash from it. “Yah, you are going to get scolded by netizens for that behaviour just now.” 

“I don’t care, you are more important.” Chaeyoung gripes as they queue to enter the stadium, taking the time to look at Mina. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Mina shakes her head, and Chaeyoung nods, satisfied, before pulling Mina into her embrace again. Mina chuckles at how unusually clingy Chaeyoung is, but she understands, they spend more time apart than together, so she just wants to make every second they have together count. And she has the same sentiments as she rests her head against Chaeyoung’s, inhaling the girl’s unique scent.

--

It’s one of the breaks in between the match when the jumbotron lights up, telling them it’s kiss time. The camera will film two of the audiences randomly, and they will have to kiss each other. The two of them just watch on while cuddling, laughing as they see how the couples on the screen are placed on the spot, and cheer when the couples are good spot and really go in for a passionate kiss. It’s all fun and games until the next couple appears on screen, and it’s them.

They freeze up instantly, and the smiles on their faces fall, not knowing what to do with themselves. Although they are in each other’s arms, they can’t bring themselves to look at each other, both being too shy at being placed in the spot. It’s not like they haven’t kiss before, but this is kissing in public and by public we are talking about being-broadcasted-to the-whole-stadium kind of public. The stadium cheers for them, not wanting to wait any more and Chaeyoung seems to have readied herself, sitting straighter as she pulls Mina closer by the nape. Mina has her head bowed down, hair covering her face so the screen is not able to capture her face, but Chaeyoung sees Mina’s beet red face very clearly. She doesn’t want to put Mina in a harder spot then they already are now, so she just leans in to plant a light kiss on Mina’s forehead. Some things are better kept private.

The crowd seems to be satisfied from the cheers and the screen changes to another couple, and the two finally heaves a sigh of relief now that they are not in the hot seat. Chaeyoung slouches back against her seat. “Welps. That was pretty distressing.”

Mina hits Chaeyoung on her arm, burrowing herself into the latter’s embrace to hide her face. “I’m never going to another baseball game ever again.”  

“Agreed.” Chaeyoung says as she runs her hand up and down her girlfriend’s back to soothe her. She’s a celebrity, and Mina used to be one (albeit fleeting), but they have to agree that no amount of on-screen experience could ever get them ready for that traumatic experience just now. The game is far from over, but Chaeyoung just wants to bolt out of this place immediately. “Do you want to go? Let’s go grab food.”

“Yes please,” Mina mutters against her skin, and that’s all the reassurance Chaeyoung needs to pull her girlfriend up to leave.

--

They stop at a traffic light, having placed some distance between them and the stadium and Chaeyoung sees some colour returning to Mina’s face. She reaches to hold Mina’s hand, resting their entwined hands on the armrest in the middle of the two seats, smiling as the latter looks at her. “Feeling better?”

“Yes, I’m sorry we had to leave…” Mina says, feeling apologetic for ruining the date which Chaeyoung had planned.

“Nah, I felt uncomfortable too.” Chaeyoung reassures her before stepping on the gas at the green light signal. Mina tries to remove her hand from Chaeyoung’s grip, wanting the girl to focus on driving, but the girl just tightens her hand around Mina’s.

“Why, why? I want to hold your hand.” Chaeyoung whines as she focuses on the road.

“You need to focus on driving.” Mina reproaches, but doesn’t pull away anymore.

“Don’t worry, I’m a very good driver.” Chaeyoung boasts before pulling Mina’s hand for a kiss.

Mina lets out a huff, obviously not believing her girlfriend. “Yeah, says the one who hit me with a car.”

“In my defence, I did it on purpose. And besides, look where we are now. If I didn’t hit you, we wouldn’t have known each other.” Chaeyoung tilts her head a little to beam at Mina cheekily, causing the latter to just roll her eyes at her. “You are the worst.”

“Will you feel better if I say I would totally hit you or hit on you again and again?”

“Simply terrible.” Mina says, but the small smile on her face betrays her.

--

a/n: we have reached the end, thank you everyone 

i know updates haven't been regular towards the end, so i would really like to take the chance here to thank all readers for continuing to support this story even with all the long wait!! 

also, shameless plugging: head over and subscribe to my new story!

http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1304772

really, really excited to start writing it and ofc sharing it with y'all! 

cheers and have a great day ahead! 

p.s: show some love to peekaboo - red velvet :D (it's a really great song, i promise)