The song reached the crescendo and the two voices came together in a perfect harmony that only years of practice could produce. Siyeon's lips curled into a satisfied smile as her eyes met Yoohyeon's, the pretty face contorted in concentration as she maintained the note.

Absolutely nailed it.

Siyeon clapped gently against the microphone as they received praise from the DJ and they reclaimed their seats. Radio was always one of her favorite parts about promoting. Somehow, sitting in a small room with just a few people and some microphones felt more intimate than something like a variety show. She enjoyed being able to hear everyone's voices magnified through the headphones.

Not to mention the host, Lee Hongki, was everything Siyeon wanted to be. A rock star with a radio show on the side.

“So, today we've had the pleasure of meeting Siyeon and Yoohyeon, two vocalists of new group Dreamcatcher.” He said, “And you guys are currently promoting, is that correct?”

“Ah we just finished promoting our debut.” Yoohyeon corrected him.

Siyeon nodded and added. “But I don't think people are going to have to wait long for us to come back.”

“Ah, then once against my listeners have heard it first on Kiss the Radio. Then, please support Dreamcatcher by picking up their debut single “Nightmare” and anticipate a comeback soon! Thank you for stopping by today. We're going to take a short commercial break.”

As soon as the formalities of the exit were done, Siyeon was reaching into her backpack for her hat and face mask. The cold she had for the last few days was finally ebbing away but the last thing she wanted to do was get anyone else sick.

“That went really well.” Yoohyeon said, leaning against the wall in the hallway.

Siyeon turned to nod at her while pulling the loops of the face mask over her ears. “He's really easy to talk to huh?”

Yoohyeon nodded through a yawn, “Very professional.”

A smile spread slowly across Yoohyeon's face as she watched Siyeon put on her hat.

“You look tired.” She said, pulling playfully on the bill of Siyeon's cap.

Siyeon just smiled, letting the kid play. Her head swaying back and forth to Yoohyeon's will as she yanked the bill side to side. Like a little puppy, the smallest things in life made Yoohyeon happy.

She found it was very easy to get lost staring into Yoohyeon's eyes during moments like these..

The door behind them opened and finally their manager came out, leading the way to the van.

Finally this day is over.

The best part was that they had a late start to tomorrow's schedule as well. Sleeping in was such a rarity these days.

Siyeon's eyes began to gloss over as she stared blankly at the street lights while they cruised silently through the empty streets of Seoul, leaning her head against the cool glass of the back window.

She envied the fact that her fellow members were probably already asleep, warm in their beds, drooling and snoring... but at the same time there was something so beautiful about the city at night. Despite her fatigue, she wanted to walk these streets and feel the cool night air play with her hair.

A warm body came to rest leaning against her. Yoohyeon's head nested on on Siyeon's shoulder, her arm stretching across her stomach to grip her hip.

Siyeon draped her arm around Yoohyeon's shoulder in response, loving the fact that no matter how lonely you could sometimes feel when you get caught up in your own head, you were never actually alone in this group.

“I'm hungry.” Yoohyeon muttered.

“Me too.” Siyeon hummed.

“Plenty to eat at home.” In Kwon said over his shoulder from the driver seat.

Yoohyeon sighed softly and neither of them spoke against for the rest of the ride.

Upon their arrival, Siyeon stumbled out of the van and waited for Yoohyeon to do the same. She pulled her backpack onto her back while leaning into the passenger side window.

“I'll be here at 10 sharp to pick everyone up for practice.” In Kwon said.

Siyeon nodded.

“Great job today. Get some rest.”

The manager offered a high five which Siyeon took before turning for the stairs. She got to the top step before realizing she wasn't being followed.

Yoohyeon was still on the sidewalk, frozen with a thoughtful look on her face as she stared down the street.

This happened often. It could take upwards of several minutes for Yoohyeon's brain to completely reboot after having a deep thought. It's not to say that Yoohyeon was stupid, not at all. She was just very unique and Siyeon thought this was adorable. She smirked, watching the van drive off while she waited.

“Unnie.. let's go eat.” Yoohyeon said.

“What do you mean?” Siyeon asked.

“That place just around the corner is open 24 hours.. We could get ramyun.” Yoohyeon said, biting her lip. “Do you have money?”

“Uh.. I do but..” Siyeon said, looking back at the door to the dorms. “I mean.. aren't you tired?”

She looked back to see Yoohyeon grinning wider now.

“Of course, but... ramyun.” Yoohyeon said enthusiastically, climbing two stairs to take Siyeon's elbow.

“I don't know..” Siyeon said, walking alongside her anyway. Who could possibly resist the full force of that beautiful smile anyway?

Yoohyeon looped an arm through Siyeon's and skipped happily.

“We never get to do stuff like this.” She said.

“Yeah, because we aren't supposed to.” Siyeon said, wondering how much trouble they would get in if they got caught.

As the restaurant came into view she couldn't imagine it'd be too terrible. This place was barely 400 feet away from their front door and surprisingly packed with people at this hour.

It was unlikely they'd be recognized as they were fresh debuts and most of their younger target audience was probably asleep by now.

Of course rationalizing made everything less scary.

“Oh god, it smells good.” Yoohyeon said, holding the door open.

They got a table near the back and ordered quickly.

Yoohyeon rested her chin on her hands and smiled across the table at Siyeon.

“This is so cool.” Yoohyeon said enthusiastically.

“Why?” Siyeon asked, amused by Yoohyeon's giddiness.

“I've never really.. gone out to eat this late before, you know?” Yoohyeon said, her eyes twinkling. “I guess I just feel like an adult.”

Siyeon grinned, thinking of how cute Yoohyeon was as a kid when they met so many years ago. “It's weird to think of you as an adult..”

Yoohyeon's face went blank again but for much shorter a time this time.

“Unnie..” The expression of a dawning idea on Yoohyeon's face scared Siyeon a little. “Let's get soju.” Yoohyeon said, hanging open at her own brilliance.

“No way.” Siyeon said, snorting at the idea of it.

“Why not!?” Yoohyeon looked affronted.

“We're already sneaking out and you want to drink? I'm not going to be responsibl-”

“I'm an adult!” Yoohyeon talked over her. “The responsibility is mine. Come on, we've never had a drink together..”

Siyeon couldn't believe she was about to go along with this, but Yoohyeon kept up her tangent.

“Come to think of it, I haven't been able to drink with any of the unnies yet...”

“Alright, alright.” Siyeon said, but it fell on deaf ears.

“And we only have to walk a little bit to get home. It's not even a big deal. And we don't even have to wake up early tomo-!”

Siyeon reached across the table and covered Yoohyeon's mouth with her hand.

“You better have your ID on you.” Siyeon said, getting up from the table.

She returned shortly with a green bottle and two shot glasses. With a twist of her wrist, she cracked the seal and began filling each glass evenly.

She locked eyes with Yoohyeon as she poured, “Do you drink well?”

“Not really.” Yoohyeon smiled sheepishly. “I don't have a tolerance.”

“Great,” Siyeon sighed. “I'm going to be carrying you home.”

“That's only because you take such great care of me, Unnie.” Yoohyeon grinned, picking up one the shots and holding it with two hands.

Siyeon picked up her own glass and pulled her face mask off, putting it in her backpack.

“To Dreamcatcher.” Yoohyeon said. “And great success.”

“And ramyun. And breaking rules.” Siyeon added, clinking her glass with Yoohyeon's.

Siyeon downed her glass and set it back on the table, watching with much amusement the wretched facial expressions Yoohyeon was turning out as she tried to handle her own alcohol.

So cute..

“You okay?” She finally asked.

“Of course.” Yoohyeon choked, wiping her eyes.

Siyeon let her eyes wander around the restaurant, pleased with how loud it was. One party in particular on the other side of the room comprised of 5 guys was particularly loud, and seemed really drunk. Luckily, it only made it easier for herself and Yoohyeon to fade into the background and go unnoticed.

Her attention returned at the sound of Yoohyeon tapping her nails against the table. Siyeon was surprised to find the girl glaring at her.

“What?” She asked.

Yoohyeon rolled her eyes.

“We finally get to go out together and you're so uptight. You're supposed to be the fun unnie and it seems you can't let your guard down and have fun with me.”

Siyeon stared at her. “You aren't scared of getting caught?”

“No.” Yoohyeon stared back. “I just want to feel normal for an hour or two.”

Siyeon reached her hands over the table to take one of Yoohyeon's before staring back into her eyes.

“Alright” She said. “This will be our night of freedom.

Yoohyeon smiled.

“Tell me something.” Siyeon said.

“Like what?” Yoohyeon asked.

“Tell me your life story.” Siyeon demanded.

Yoohyeon's eyebrows raised.

“Actually, I already know that, don't I?” Siyeon said. She bit her lip thoughtfully. “Uhh, tell me.... your dreams then.”

“My dreams?” Yoohyeon entwined their fingers together while thinking.

The younger girl pursed her lips and exhaled a bit of frustration. Siyeon noticed how Yoohyeon's nose can scrunch up a little while she thinks, and how pretty Yoohyeon's eyes looked in the dimly lit restaurant.

Like melted chocolate. Really pretty..

“I don't usually remember them..” She finally said.

“Well, what do you dream to become?” Siyeon asked, still not breaking eye contact.

Yoohyeon smiled.

“Well, I really would like to go busking through Europe.. maybe even the USA. I want to see the world.”

Siyeon nodded, dropping her eyes to their hands. She used her free hand to gently pinch the skin on the back of Yoohyeon's hand.

“My dream is to be able to live my life as a performer, in whatever form it comes.” Yoohyeon continued.

“Ah.. yeah, that's the variety show answer.” Siyeon said. “What about family?”

“They'll understand.”

“No I mean one of your own. Do you want to have kids?” Siyeon asked.

“I haven't really thought about that yet..” Yoohyeon said. “Right now? No... not really. I can't even see that in my future, really.”

“Ha. I can't either.” Siyeon said, releasing Yoohyeon's hand to pour her another shot. “I think it's the mindset of a performer, right?”

“Selfish?” Yoohyeon asked.

“Is it really selfish?” Siyeon mused. “I mean, could you imagine choosing someone you're going to spend the rest of your life with so young?”

They both leaned back from the table because the waitress had returned with steaming hot bowls for each of them.

“They say it just... happens.” Yoohyeon shrugged, her eyes were now more focused on her food than anything else.

Yoohyeon was clearly ravenous so the conversation was put on hold.

Siyeon stared down into her own bowl knowing that in her case, it wasn't going to be something that happened.

For her, it couldn't be that simple.

Yoohyeon was eating as though she'd never eaten before and drinking the soju as if she couldn't even taste it anymore. Siyeon wondered with a small twinge of jealousy where on earth all the food went because Yoohyeon's stick thin figure never changed..

One bottle turned into two, and then three, and as Siyeon was on her way back to the table with the fourth, she realized she felt a little lightheaded.

She made a conscious decision that this bottle would be the last one.

She cracked the seal and poured Yoohyeon's shot while she was drinking the last of her ramyun.

“Your lips are all red.” Siyeon said, smirking.

“It's spicy.” Yoohyeon said, squinting back at her.

“How do you feel?” Siyeon asked.

“Hot.” Yoohyeon said, before laughing. She shrugged out of her jacket and concentrated hard on pouring Siyeon's shot for her. It was taking forever.

“You're drunk.” Siyeon grinned.

“I don't think so.” Yoohyeon said, blinking several times as she set the bottle back on the table.

Siyeon rose an eyebrow and Yoohyeon squinted back at her.

Why is she...? Oh god, she squints when she's drunk.

How could anybody be so cute? Siyeon noticed Yoohyeon's dimple was more prominent in this lighting and she had to use every ounce of self control to keep herself from reaching out and poking it. It stood out proudly while the rest of her face was perfectly framed by her dark disheveled bangs. Siyeon's eyes dropped down to Yoohyeon's lips and she blinked a few times and realized she was staring.

“Is it bright in here?” Siyeon asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You're squi...” Siyeon shook her head and muttered “Never mind, you're adorable.”

Yoohyeon took the next shot as easily as if it was water.

Before she knew it, Siyeon was staring down at the small amount of soju left in the fourth bottle. She was definitely feeling a strong buzz now. Shot for shot they nearly took down 4 bottles together alone. And Yoohyeon is supposed to be a bad drinker?

“Your face is so red.” Yoohyeon said.

“Is it? Am I glowing?” Siyeon smirked. She was pulling out money to settle the bill on the table in front of her.

Yoohyeon gasped.

“Unnie!”

Siyeon jumped in her seat, looking around.

“They have karaoke!” Yoohyeon all but screamed.

“What the heck? Calm down-” Siyeon started.

“Can we?” Yoohyeon asked, puppy dog eyes in full effect.

Siyeon looked around not seeing anything. Yoohyeon pointed to the corner where the arcade Karaoke compartment machines were lit up, but not being used. It was essentially a small room with a karaoke machine in it. Pay by the song.

“Not a chance” Siyeon said.

“Oh, come on. It's soundproof. Nobody's going to see us in there.” Yoohyeon whined. “What happened to our “night of freedom”?

Yoohyeon extended her hand to Siyeon.

Siyeon glanced at the time on her phone thinking it wasn't that late yet. A few songs and they would go home, and nobody would be the wiser.

They crossed the restaurant hand in hand and Yoohyeon held the door open for Siyeon to enter first and then nearly face planted stepping into it herself, tripping on the raised platform. Siyeon caught her and pulled her in quickly before closing the door behind them.

Yoohyeon was laughing hysterically.

“Stupid.” Siyeon said affectionately, putting her belongings on one of the chairs.

“Relax.. Oh look, there's even a little modesty curtain.” Yoohyeon said, pulling down a small blind to cover the square window on the door.

The lighting in the room was constantly changing. Since there was no music currently playing it was cycling through the colors of the rainbow slowly.

Yoohyeon held out her palms to Siyeon to ask for money for the machine.

Siyeon met Yoohyeon's eyes and immediately regretted it.

Currently the lights were saturating everything in the room with orange, slowly turning into red, and then into purple.

The effect it had on Yoohyeon, who was already very attractive in any lighting, was earth shattering. Siyeon had to put conscious effort into closing her own mouth.

She remembered then that there was a very good reason she didn't drink with her band mates..

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Yoohyeon asked.

When she didn't get a response she slid her hand into Siyeon's pocket looking for money.

This broke Siyeon out of her stupor.

“Yah, my money's in the backpack.” She said, knocking Yoohyeon's hand away.

Yoohyeon chuckled, kneeling beside Siyeon's backpack and retrieving some money. “I think you're starting to feel the alcohol, right?”

Too right she was...

With her back to Yoohyeon, Siyeon closed her eyes and exhaled slowly.

Calm down..

“What do you want to sing?” Yoohyeon asked.

Siyeon turned and stood behind Yoohyeon, glancing over her shoulder at the list of songs that Yoohyeon was scrolling through.

“Anything. You pick.” Siyeon said.

“Hmm.. Nothing says freedom like 90's techno.” Yoohyeon said, selecting a song.

She handed a mic to Siyeon and grinned as the cheesy synthesizer started.

And Yoohyeon was right.

Before they knew it they were dancing and screaming the words to Bakkwo. Yoohyeon's hair was flying all over the place and Siyeon was free and very, very drunk. Every time the screaming note came around Siyeon was sure she was going to bust a vocal cord, but there was no pain. Nothing hurt. She didn't even feel sick anymore. She just felt as though she was swimming in a pleasantly warm haze.

The drunk glow..

The lights dazzled her eyes and she felt as though she was in a nightclub. They began dancing with each other, and as the songs went by, Siyeon could feel her inhibitions melt away as they were surrendered to the alcohol.

It was exactly as Yoohyeon wanted it. She felt as though she were just an ordinary girl in her early 20's out late with a friend having a good time.

It was perfect.

“Pssh, this machine keeps failing us. It's like it doesn't know we're professional singers.” Yoohyeon said, pointing at the giant “F” on the grading screen.

Siyeon laughed and leaned against the wall beside the machine. “I'm gonna take a breather for this one.”

“I'll finish with a ballad then..” Yoohyeon said, scrolling down the screen.

“Yes, serenade me.” Siyeon demanded, her lip upturned.

“Okay baby.” Yoohyeon grinned.

All Siyeon could think about at this point was how beautiful Yoohyeon was. She stared at her shamelessly, admiring her beautiful profile in the changing lights.

She already knew that Yoohyeon was gorgeous, of course, but under these circumstances... after this much soju... Yoohyeon was the center of her universe.

And in an alternate universe where such behavior was universally accepted, Siyeon might even try to pursue her. 

As the first few chords of the song started Yoohyeon turned to Siyeon abruptly. Siyeon wasn't expecting this but found that she couldn't stop staring even though she'd been caught.

She wondered if Yoohyeon could see the hearts in her eyes.

Yoohyeon began to sing.

'Serenade me' was a joke but Yoohyeon was making it happen. She stepped closer to Siyeon, taking her hand and earnestly belting the lyrics.

Oh, Baek Jiyoung.

It wasn't just a ballad that Yoohyeon chose, it was a love song. A very romantic one at that.

A beautiful girl singing her a love song was an amazing scenario, one Siyeon never thought she'd experience living in her closeted existence.

Then it dawned on her why Yoohyeon was staring at her the way she was. They were drunk. Both of them. This wouldn't happen if they were sober because of course Siyeon would have her own emotions under control and Yoohyeon isn't actually interested in her. Perhaps she's an affectionate drunk.

An affectionate, beautiful, playful drunk.

Siyeon tried to stabilize her facial expression as Yoohyeon let go of her hand to reach up and cup her face. Blood was flooding to her cheeks so quickly that she felt dizzy. Her first instinct was to take a step back out of Yoohyeon's reach but her back was already up against the wall.

Her mind was racing. If she showed too much interest she could out herself. If she slammed on the brakes, the night would turn sour and until now it had been an amazing night.

Siyeon exhaled slowly, containing herself. Of course she was overreacting. Yoohyeon would often play around like this with her and the others. Alcohol just exaggerates everything you feel.. right? It's like hovering a magnifying glass a few inches above your emotions.

Siyeon resigned to a small smile even though Yoohyeon was practically nose to nose with her. She kept up the mantra in her head that this was completely normal, even as Yoohyeon removed her hat so she could play with her comma bangs.

Yoohyeon stopped singing abruptly. She blinked and dropped the mic to her side right in the middle of the verse she was singing.

They stared into each others eyes, the music still playing in background was merely an afterthought. As far as Siyeon was concerned, they were the only two people left on the planet.

This isn't normal at all..

Panic began to set in because Yoohyeon wasn't budging. Siyeon had to ball her fists to keep her entire body from shaking. She swallowed hard, waiting for Yoohyeon to make the first move. Of course the girl would laugh it off and probably make fun of her for taking her seriously. That was the only normal way this situation could end.

Yoohyeon only raised an eyebrow. Her eyes scanning back and forth between each of Siyeon's.

Siyeon was trapped, unable to move and barely daring to breath. She did the only thing she could think of to try and lighten the mood, the first goofy thing that came to mind.

She crossed her eyes.

A smile stretched across Yoohyeon's face, a smile that Siyeon returned with great relief.

Yoohyeon took a more relaxed stance but spoke quietly.

“Yah.. you think I'm too chicken to do it, don't you?” She asked.

Siyeon sighed, the remainder of her smile washing off of her face. “I.. just can't figure out why you'd want to.”

Yoohyeon's eyebrows drew together and her eyes darted off to the side. She remained lost in thought for several seconds, blinked several times and then her eyes focused on Siyeon's lips.

“I can't figure it out either.” Yoohyeon muttered finally.

“Uh-” Siyeon choked, but before she could say another word Yoohyeon was kissing her.

It was an abrupt and clumsy action that you would expect from Yoohyeon. Siyeon jolted backwards, her head bouncing off the wall with a gentle thud.

Yoohyeon pulled back looking amused, extending her hand to cradle the back of Siyeon’s head.

“Be careful, Stupid.” She whispered before tilting her head and resuming the kiss.

Siyeon remained completely frozen, her eyes wide open and focused on the side of Yoohyeon’s face, completely blurry due to her proximity.

Surely, this had to be a joke. Any minute now the other girls would barrel through the door and it would just be a big laugh, right? Maybe a hidden camera...?

Siyeon trailed her eyes over Yoohyeon's shoulder to the small ‘modesty curtain’ the girl had pointed at earlier and a wild thrill ran through her when she had the idea that Yoohyeon might have planned this...

She forced the idea out of her head immediately.

There was simply no way..

Yoohyeon’s lips began moving against her own then, and every coherent thought she ever had evaporated out of existence only to be replaced with euphoria.

Siyeon's eyes fell closed slowly and she finally started returning the kiss.

Even if this meant nothing at all, even if Yoohyeon never had anything more than platonic feelings for her, this was a life altering moment, for more than 10 years of nagging curiosity was being confirmed for her now.

She was finally kissing a girl for the first time in her life. And it was everything she ever dreamed it might be and more.

She couldn't wrap her mind around how soft Yoohyeon's lips felt against her own, the way they changed shape to contour around her own, the warmth of her breath.. even the taste of spicy ramyun and soju didn’t put Siyeon off. She wouldn’t change one thing about this moment and she wanted to commit every single detail to her permanent memory.

Every movement..

Every caress..

There was no saying when this would ever happen to her again..

Fingers began to pry at her balled fists, and Siyeon allowed Yoohyeon to entwine their fingers. Yoohyeon immediately brought her hands up and around the back of her neck before taking Siyeon’s waist.

How..?

How could this be real..? How could anything feel this good?

She gently played with the little hairs on the back of Yoohyeon's neck with her fingertips, the action only making Yoohyeon hold her closer but somehow it wasn't close enough. Siyeon wanted to be closer. 

She lost all concept of space and time. The music stopped playing long ago and all that could be heard were the sounds of their lips and the muted restaurant. The only consistent thing left in her universe was her rapidly beating heart in contrast against Yoohyeon’s calm, constant breathing. Siyeon would happily spend the rest of her life kissing Yoohyeon under the changing lights if she could... 

After what could have been hours, Siyeon felt Yoohyeon smile against her lips and as abruptly as it began it ended with Yoohyeon pulling away only to rest her head against Siyeon’s shoulder, leaning her against the wall and hugging her tightly.

Perplexed and having no idea what to say, Siyeon remained silent and hugged the girl back.

“I’m tired.” Yoohyeon hummed.

Siyeon’s mouth dropped open. Was that all she had to say?

Yoohyeon pulled away and looked at Siyeon for the first time, dissolving into her signature puppy dog smile after seeing the expression on her face.

She waved a finger in Siyeon’s face and stumbled backwards clumsily.

“You didn’t think I would.”

Siyeon took hold of Yoohyeon’s wrist to stabilize her. A bittersweet smile came to her lips as she realized they were back to the real world now. She cleared , he voice ragged as if she hadn’t used it in hours.

“Ah… You really showed me.” She said. “But… we should go, it’s probably late.”

Yoohyeon did a full 360 before finding her backpack on the ground behind her and pulling it on. Siyeon watched her, frowning slightly. The last of her own buzz was wearing away but it looked like Yoohyeon was drunker than ever.

The kid was a bad drinker after all, it just took longer to hit her.

Siyeon found her hat on the floor and pulled the bill low over her eyes before taking Yoohyeon’s hand and leading her out of the restaurant. Luckily it was still so packed that she didn’t think anyone paid them any mind.

After they got outside Yoohyeon drew level with her, looping her arm through Siyeon’s and leaning onto her shoulder as they walked.

Siyeon couldn’t even feel her own legs moving, it was as if she were floating.

She smiled to herself about how natural this all felt.

To have a girl on her arm after everything that happened tonight...

A girl.

To know with a hundred percent certainty that this was what she wanted in her future was overwhelming. Sure, she’d always been curious about girls for as long as she could remember. She always liked looking at them... but never knew until this moment how it would feel to be affectionate with one.

To Siyeon, love and relationships had always seemed like something that would be a distraction, something that might stand in the way of reaching her life goals. She’d watched everyone around her lose their minds when they hit puberty and become obsessed with the opposite and she simply couldn’t relate. She spent her entire time in school deflecting any guys that ever showed interest in her but the more she thought about it now the more it seemed like she’d just deflected them because they were guys..

Girls just felt right, at least Yoohyeon did. Yes, of course it was unlikely that under these drunken circumstances Yoohyeon had any real interest in her but just the actions blindsided her and made her more eager than ever to experiment.

Maybe.. even she could fall in love... If she met the right girl, she could even have a relationship like a normal person. The prospect alone made her dizzy.

In no time at all they were at the entrance to their building. Yoohyeon tripped on the first stair they approached and Siyeon was so lost in thought that she was almost pulled down with the girl.

“Aish..” Siyeon sighed, pulling Yoohyeon back up. “Be careful.”

Yoohyeon chuckled in response. “I don’t remember those stairs being that tall.”

“Ah, you’re so out of it.” Siyeon said, smiling softly. She positioned herself behind Yoohyeon to follow her inside, ready to catch her at any moment if she must.

Yoohyeon made it inside without incident though. As Siyeon slid the door closed behind them, Yoohyeon dropped her backpack in the entry hall and ambled away from her, kicking her shoes off in the process.

“Sleep.” She muttered.

Siyeon locked the door and turned to frown at Yoohyeon’s diagonal trajectory.

“Wait a minute.” Siyeon said, grabbing Yoohyeon’s wrist and guiding her to the kitchen.

She dug through a cupboard to pull out painkillers, and found an empty glass in another one. While she was filling the glass, Yoohyeon’s arms came around her.

A kiss landed on her cheek.

Siyeon jumped at the sudden attack but recovered quickly.

“You’re so good to me, Unnie.” Yoohyeon said. She sounded like the last ounces of energy were leaving her. The alcohol was winning.

“Ah, this will make you feel better in the morning.” Siyeon stammered, fishing out a few pills before turning and handing them to Yoohyeon. “Drink it all.”

They had a staring match as Yoohyeon swallowed the pills. Siyeon decided by the predatory way Yoohyeon was looking at her, it was pertinent to get her to bed as soon as possible.

“Bed.” Siyeon said, taking the empty glass from Yoohyeon when she was done. She started guiding her down the hall. “And remember, we weren’t really supposed to go out so you shouldn’t tell Sua-”

“Bathroom.” Yoohyeon said.

"Ah, right." Siyeon leaned against the wall in the hallway and closed her eyes.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, wanting only to get into bed and allow her brain a quiet comfortable place to process everything that'd happened tonight..

Lucky the dorms were silent… surely everyone was passed out by now. Well, Jiu was probably still up. Jiu hardly ever slept. She wracked her brain trying to come up with an excuse for getting back so late.

Then the bathroom door opened.

Yoohyeon came out wearing only her bra and ripped jeans, holding her shirt at her side.

Siyeon blinked multiple times, stunned.

“... Why... did you take your shirt off?” Siyeon finally asked.

Yoohyeon looked down, seeming almost surprised to see her own shirt removed.

She shrugged. “Felt like taking it off.”

Siyeon sputtered a confused noise before shaking her head and forcing herself to look away from Yoohyeon's incredible abdomens. She pointed towards Yoohyeon’s bedroom door.

“Go on.”

Yoohyeon took a step towards her bedroom before turning.

“Aren’t you coming with me?” She asked.

“I. No, what? Why would I?” Siyeon asked.

“I want to cuddle.” Yoohyeon murmured, placing her hands on Siyeon’s shoulders.

Wow... As much as she wanted to take her up on this offer, Siyeon thought this probably wasn't a good idea.

“Ehm, not tonight.” Siyeon said, spinning her around and giving her a nudge towards the door.

Yoohyeon finally made it to the door, making an unsatisfied whiny complaint about Siyeon not loving her before entering the room and closing the door behind her.

Siyeon stared after her for a long while, knowing that any chance of them getting away with breaking the rules tonight was long gone. She brought a hand to her face and shook her head, wondering how Sua was going to react when Yoohyeon drunkenly crawled into bed with her topless.

She laughed to herself thinking about it.

Sua probably wouldn’t mind actually…

Siyeon opened her bedroom door and and immediately locked eyes with Jiu when her head popped up over the top of her bunk. Scanning the room Siyeon was surprised to see that Dami was still awake as well, reading a book on her bed in the corner.

She kept shut and crossed the room to begin changing for bed even though she felt Jiu’s eyes still on her.

Just act normal…

“Aren’t you really late?” Jiu asked.

“Yes.” Siyeon said shortly, pulling a shirt over her head.

“... Your show ended three hours ago.” Jiu muttered.

Siyeon froze in place, shocked. How long did they really spend in that karaoke cabinet?

She heard movement on the bunk and jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jiu asked.

Siyeon turned around to face Jiu, the shirt still covering her entire face.

Jiu pulled it down for her and they locked eyes again. Siyeon felt as though Jiu was x-raying her. Like somehow just by looking at her she’d be able to tell that Siyeon had just gotten done making out with Yoohyeon in a semi public place.

“What happened?” Jiu asked.

Don’t tell her you went out to eat. Don’t tell her what happened..

“We went out to eat.” Siyeon blurted out. She closed her eyes. Stupid.

Jiu smiled, leaned in close to Siyeon and sniffed once.

“...Have you been drinking? Did In Kwon drink with you guys?” She asked.

“No… In Kwon didn’t. We just.. went. It’s just on the corner. Walking distance…” Siyeon said, unable to form a complete sentence.

Perhaps she was still drunk.

Jiu’s eyes widened.

“You didn't tell staff?” She asked.

Dami’s head turned slightly in their direction.

“I, well. No. We just wanted something to eat. And… it just happened.” Siyeon said, arms swinging with forced indifference.

“You went to eat… without me? I’m starving!” Jiu said, hitting Siyeon playfully on the shoulder. She smiled at Siyeon’s uncertainty. “You’re kind of out of it, how much did you drink?”

“We had four bottles.” Siyeon said.

“Wah, that’s crazy! Next time you better come and get me.” Jiu said.

“You aren’t mad?” Siyeon asked.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal as long as the staff doesn’t catch wind of it.” She said, thoughtfully.

And here, all this time, Siyeon was worried Jiu would tell the staff.

Jiu began climbing back into her bunk and Siyeon finished dressing for bed.

“So, does she drink well?” Jiu asked.

“Huh?”

“Yoohyeon. Does she drink well?”

“Um.. No. Not at all.” Siyeon said, climbing into her own bed.

“She didn’t throw up or anything though, right?” Jiu asked.

“No.. no. She just…” Siyeon let the sentence drop, glancing once more to catch Dami watching her. The girl put her book away quickly and rolled onto her side.

Jiu turned out the lights. “Goodnight.” She said.

“Goodnight.” The other two responded.

Siyeon pulled her covers up to her neck hardly daring to believe that that went over as easily as it did, praying that Yoohyeon made it into her own bed and just passed out.

What a crazy night…

The drum roll of her heart began to ramp up now that she was left with her own thoughts again...

Reality bites, Siyeon thought to herself.

Would Yoohyeon be angry tomorrow? Upset? Embarrassed? Siyeon was just happy she wasn't the one that initiated things. Yoohyeon could need some time to sort out her feelings but in the end Siyeon could make her feel like it was no big deal. It would work out fine, right? Surely they'd known each other long enough by now that one wild night shouldn't negatively effect their friendship.

Siyeon smiled to herself at the idea of Yoohyeon having a wild streak. She would have never guessed...

Her eyes slid closed.

Her mind then wandered towards a different angle and she wondered to herself what would be happening right now if she took Yoohyeon up on her offer to cuddle..

She drifted away with her mind on how soft Yoohyeon's lips were and the taste of spicy ramyun and soju...