Standing in such a place as they were, behind the production crew and near the speakers, the bass vibrating through her bones almost made it impossible to think. Siyeon continued her vocal warm ups even though she could barely hear her own voice through her ear piece.

After months of practice, it was finally go time and they were up next.  

Siyeon’s pent up anxiety was turning into adrenaline as it usually did. Finally she was free from the prisonlike practice room. Just being able to see daylight again was such a blessing in itself. It was even worth it to have to wake up at 3:30 in the morning as long as she knew she'd finally be on stage again.  

Performing was Siyeon’s greatest passion in life and as she watched the other girls go through their pre-performance rituals all she could feel was thankful that they were all perfectionists like she was. There was simply no greater feeling than absolutely nailing a performance that had seemed so overwhelming and difficult as they were learning it together.

The bond they shared was truly something special. 

Her eyes landed on Jiu who was directly in front of her, pacing back and forth while adjusting the battery pack near on the back of her costume. For this comeback she had streaks of purple near the bottom of her hair which was now almost down to the middle of her back and gently curled.  

Siyeon thought it suited her very well…

A group’s first comeback was always super important in a rookie group's career and since their debut hadn’t really gotten the attention they would have liked, they would have to find more success this time around if they wanted to continue as a group.

It was a super pivotal moment for them and you could actually taste the tension in the air.

Jiu was one of the best at keeping her cool in times like these. She raised her eyebrows when she noticed Siyeon watching her, mouthing the word “Okay?” and raising a hand.

Siyeon nodded back at her with a smile, resuming her vocal warmup.

Handong and Gahyeon, the members who had had the least amount of training, looked the palest. Handong’s expression was very stoic and difficult to read.

Siyeon had a great deal of respect for Handong.  It was difficult enough learning hard choreography and then dancing while singing live, she couldn’t imagine doing it in a language she could barely speak. To her credit though, Handong had been learning very fast. Even in the last few months she was improving by leaps and bounds.

Siyeon was looking forward to the day when she could get to know Handong better and they could communicate freely.  At the rate Handong was learning, it wouldn’t be long now…

Siyeon looked just in time to catch Dami glaring at her before the girl looked away quickly.

She didn’t think much of it because people handled stress in many different ways. Dami was just naturally a chic person and in the time they’ve been training for this comeback she’d seemed shorter than ever but it was surely just the stress.

Dami usually looked surly on a good day.

Feeling her hand bending in a peculiar way, Siyeon looked down to see another hand grasping her entire pinky.  Yoohyeon was standing silently beside her staring a thousand yards away. She appeared to be her teeth.

Siyeon smiled at the adorable gesture before nudging the girl with her shoulder.

“You’re going to do great.” She said.

Yoohyeon only sighed, not looking at her.

“Hey, you always do this. You act like you’re walking to your execution and then you get up there and blow everyone away.” Siyeon continued, following Yoohyeon’s eyes to nothing in particular.

“...Just because you don’t get nervous anymore...” Yoohyeon muttered.

Siyeon looked sideways at her and Yoohyeon returned her gaze for the first time.

Yoohyeon’s hair for this comeback was a dip dyed a shockingly vibrant red that really stood out against the mat black costumes they were wearing. She looked so beautiful, she would certainly have every eye in the room when she walked on stage. Siyeon even had a hard time tearing her eyes away now.

“A girl like you should be more confident.” Siyeon said, looking away and breaking the connection. “You have never screwed up.”

“Yet.” Yoohyeon said.

“Stupid.” Siyeon said, shaking her head.

"You're stupid.” Yoohyeon retorted.

Siyeon was overjoyed that playful Yoohyeon was back and that no lasting damage was done that one night. Yoohyeon would even joke about it these days in off handed comments that nobody else would be able to decipher.

After a few moments of silence, Yoohyeon slid the rest of her hand into Siyeon’s, gripping it tightly.

Siyeon just smiled to herself, more than pleased to be the one the little puppy reached for in scary times.

Ah, how could such a powerful performer have such shaky nerves like this.  

What an innocent being Yoohyeon is... A huge rush of affection swept over Siyeon for the girl. She wanted to hug her tightly but resisted, even though her attempts at subtlety had been futile until now.

Over the last several weeks, Siyeon tried to put herself and her obvious attraction towards her band mates out of sight but something she realized was that even if she spent the day in her room alone, the others would come looking for her. Even on days when she wouldn’t bother putting on makeup or she’d wear an old ratty outfit, it would somehow garner her even more attention from Sua and Yoohyeon.

And of course, Jiu always seemed to be just around the corner to catch the moment live but as time went on Siyeon felt less uneasy about that situation.  Jiu never made any attempt to confront her about it and even if she did Siyeon had to been thinking lately about telling her everything.

It was becoming really difficult to keep it in and maybe an outsiders opinion could help her.

There was a reason she trusted Jiu so much. She expected even if she didn’t understand Siyeon’s feelings at first she would at least put an effort into listening and she would definitely keep her secret.

The music stopped and the girls watched as the crew members began setting up the stage for them, complete with mirrors and fake trees to resemble the forest from their music video. Siyeon liked everything about this comeback so much that she couldn’t keep the smile off her face as she watched them work.  

Jiu and Sua were now speaking to a camera clad producer from The Show who was filming a behind the scenes segment. They too were commenting on the set design happily. Sua, who’s first reaction to nerves was always wild, manic enthusiasm began showing loud aegyo to Jiu. She jumped around as though she couldn’t stay confined to the bounds of her own skin before attempting, and getting very close, to kissing Jiu on the mouth.  

Gahyeon screamed as she often did when things like this happened.

The producer was happy with the footage he got though. He thanked them before leaving. Sua turned to Gahyeon when he was out of earshot.

“Why do you always scream like that?” She asked.

“Because one of these days you’re going really kiss someone on accident.” She said.

“And then what? Will the world end?” Sua continued, grinning. “It’s not a big deal.”

“But your idol image-”

Sua waved it off with a hand and turned to Siyeon quite suddenly. She began to adjust the flower choker that Siyeon was wearing while continuing her conversation with Gahyeon. “Idol girls kiss girls a lot now. I’m not afraid to kiss a girl. It’s becoming more common...”

Siyeon stiffened as Sua slid her finger in between the fabric and in order to flatten it.

Looking anywhere but at Sua, Siyeon saw Yoohyeon smile for the first time today and though the younger girl didn’t meet her eye this time, Siyeon knew what she was thinking.

“They’re ready for us.” Jiu said. “Gather quickly”

Jiu held two fingers out and the other girls formed around her adding their own hands until all together they had formed a 7 pointed star.

“Just like practice.” Jiu said, smiling at each of them in turn. “Everybody take a deep breath and one... two...  three.”

“FIGHTING!”

As the promotion stretched on, Siyeon could feel herself falling into the routine in which she became a human zombie and the days melted together seamlessly.  Everyday, get up, practice, get dressed, wait, perform, wait, maybe make an appearance on a show, sleep, repeat. The performance alone was what made the entire cycle worth it to Siyeon but she wished it was a more prominent part of her day timewise.

When she wasn’t too exhausted at the end of the day, Siyeon started watching dramas as a way to reward herself after Sua had gotten her addicted to a few of them. Since the girls recently got some real furniture in the house, it was a really nice way to unwind together at the end of a long day.  

On this particularly brutal day, Siyeon was the first on the couch and thought she might be watching her shows alone tonight until Yoohyeon came out and sat on the armchair opposite her.

Siyeon watched her for a moment, lamenting the fact that she had sprawled out on the couch. Maybe if she hadn’t, Yoohyeon would have sat next to her.  She turned her attention back to the show half heartedly, imagining them cuddling in the living area alone late at night…   

She mused that whatever feelings she had for Yoohyeon were growing into a full blown crush, even if it was extremely unwise to allow that to happen.  

What could she really do about it though? You can’t control how you feel about someone… Siyeon suddenly felt so powerless.

“What did I miss?” She asked.

“Um,” Siyeon had to think about it. She cleared , surprised to find it thick with lack of use. “Not much. Just the previous episode recap.”

“Oh, good.” Yoohyeon murmured.

Funny how Siyeon hadn’t been pining for Yoohyeon until she was this close.  It wasn’t even in her mind to wonder about the girl’s whereabouts until now. She wondered what Yoohyeon would actually think about her feelings if she knew. Would she be angry? Disgusted?

She felt herself slipping away into sadness and the words being spoken on the television were nothing more than background noise at this point.

“What did I miss?”

Siyeon looked up, surprised to see Sua standing there.

“Nothing.” Yoohyeon said.

“Good. Let me in.” Sua said.

It took a moment for Siyeon to realize Sua was talking to her and another moment for her to realize what she was talking about.

She jerkily sat up and scooted against the back of the couch before holding her covers up for Sua to slide in in front of her.

“Ah it’s good, you’re so warm.” Sua murmured, pulling the covers up to her neck and settling in with her head resting on Siyeon’s arm.

Siyeon watched Yoohyeon carefully before settling back in herself, realizing that the girls blank stare never left the screen. She rested her hand on Sua’s side before comfortably fitting her head on the pillow against the armrest of the couch.

Immediately, Sua grabbed her hand and pulled it fully around her body. The action changed the center of Siyeon’s gravity forcing her basically to lean against Sua… which admittedly wasn’t terrible.

Sua played with her hand through the entire rest of the show which kept her happily distracted from anything happening on the TV.  

She wasn’t sure exactly when it happened, but at some point the comfortable position teamed with Sua’s soft touch and body heat and she lost the will to remain conscious. The room was dark when she opened her eyes again. The TV was off, and through the darkness she could just barely make out that Yoohyeon’s chair was empty.

She heard steady breathing below her and saw that Sua was also asleep. She must have rolled over because she was now facing Siyeon with her arms around her. She gasped at this realization and blinked slowly watching Sua’s face, hoping that wouldn’t accidently wake her.

Sua seemed very deeply asleep though.

Siyeon watched her on baited breath. She was unable to process how someone so loud and powerful could look so peaceful and gentle when she slept.   

Siyeon thought that maybe if she didn’t have to worry about working tomorrow, she might like to just watch Sua sleep all night. Her eyes fell to the girls lips, gently parted and moving slightly every breath she took. It was one of Sua’s best features… they looked so soft and inviting.

All at once she realized how creepy this would look if Sua woke up and found her staring like this.

She delicately pushed on Sua’s shoulder.

“Unnie…” She whispered.

Sua arched her back, stretching and releasing a loud noise of dissent.

“Not yet.” She whined.

“Unnie, we should go to bed, it’s late.” Siyeon continued.

After a deep sigh Sua opened her sleepy eyes, blinking a few times as she came back into reality. She pushed up into a seating position without a word, rubbing her face.

“Floor is so cold.” She whimpered, before finding her slippers and getting to her feet. She turned around to offer her hand to Siyeon.

Siyeon took it and followed the girl slowly down the hall, her body still feeling warm where Sua was resting against it.  

Sua opened her bedroom door and Siyeon made to turn to her own room when she noticed Sua wasn’t letting go of her.

Sua turned to look at Siyeon with questioning eyebrows.

“Um…” Siyeon started, looking to her own bedroom door.

“Shhh.” Sua hissed quietly before tugging gently at her arm again.

Nervously, Siyeon surrendered.

Siyeon’s mind went into overdrive as she followed Sua into her bedroom. It was so dark that she was afraid to take a step anywhere without first being pulled along.

They maneuvered blindly to the front of the bunk before Sua motioned for Siyeon to get in first, holding her head down so the latter didn’t hit her head.

Siyeon lay on the mattress stiffly uncertain of what to do now as Sua got in herself before pulling the modesty blanket down after her. It was suddenly much, much darker than it was before.

Okay... this is happening...

Siyeon remained still as she felt Sua moving around. Blankets came to cover her before the girl pushed up close and rested her head on her shoulder.

“Why.. am I here?” Siyeon whispered.

“Because I want you here.” Sua responded, simply.

“Oh..”

In a fluid movement, Sua leaned up to kiss her cheek before she could even realize what was happening.

Siyeon’s mouth fell open.

“I always kiss Yoohyeon goodnight but I probably shouldn’t wake her now.” Sua whispered.

She pulled herself even tighter around Siyeon before becoming comfortable. All Siyeon could do was enjoy the sensation, staring into the thick darkness in front of her.

“Are you healthy?” Sua murmured after a moment.

Sua's voice was coming from very close to her neck. Siyeon had to close her eyes.

“Uh, yes?”

“Your heart is beating like you just ran a marathon.” Sua hummed.

“Ah... don’t know why.” Siyeon stammered.  

Sua sighed slowly and all the warm air she exhaled was tickling Siyeon’s neck.  Siyeon bit her lip.

“Your hair smells good.” Sua continued.

Siyeon laughed once, nervously. “Unnie, we use the same shampoo.”

“Tch, that doesn’t make it smell any worse.” She said, before laughing herself. “Don’t make me laugh, if we wake up Yoohyeon she’s going to be pissed.”

It was likely inevitable. Whenever Siyeon and Sua were together it was basically impossible to stay quiet.

Siyeon’s body shook a few more times with silent laughter.

“Stop.” Sua said. With her words slid out her hand to rest against Siyeon’s stomach, palm down.

Siyeon ceased movement immediately.

Concentrating on how small Sua’s hand felt, she thought to herself that she wouldn’t mind being the taller girl in a relationship. It definitely had it’s benefits. She enjoyed being Sua’s shoulder to lean on.

Sua or Yoohyeon...?

They were both absurdly attractive and Siyeon got along really well with both of them…

She really enjoyed having to lean up to kiss Yoohyeon though. As long as she lived, Siyeon would never forget the look on her face before they kissed. She liked how good their voices sounded together in duets… the passion that they shared for vocal training and performing. She adored all the cute little quirks and oddities that Yoohyeon had and expected that she’d never again find another girl quite like her.

But nobody could make her laugh like Sua…

Sua was aggressive and Siyeon thought she was quite fond of that, seeing as how she could never really picture herself as the aggressor. If Sua wanted her somewhere, she would simply take her. It was possessive, and not only did Siyeon like it but she was powerless against it as demonstrated by the fact that she was now in the girl's bed.

She wondered what it would be like, kissing Sua, and figured it would be a lot more forceful than Yoohyeon’s slow deliberate movements. Where Yoohyeon would back her against a wall, Sua would probably throw her against it.  

She deliberated that scenario for a long time.

Fascinating how two girls who are so different from one another could each be considered perfect partners to Siyeon.  The smallest part of her was even happy that neither of them were interested in her because if she ever had to make a decision it might be impossible.

Sua’s hand slowly s right up the middle of her body to rest over her heart.

“Calm down…” She crooned.

“Sorry.” Siyeon muttered.

Sua placed another quick kiss on Siyeon’s head, this time landing directly underneath her ear.

“Hyperactive child.” She hummed to herself.

Siyeon took a deep breath and closed her eyes, smiling to herself.

The next morning was disorienting to say the least.

Siyeon woke up with Sua basically on top of her. Sua’s comforting hand from last night was now up her shirt and resting against her bare ribcage. The girls leg was also firmly wrapped around her waist.  Sua’s forehead was resting completely on Siyeon’s shoulder and the covers were half torn off of them both.  

Siyeon stared down at the state of themselves in shock for a moment until she heard the reason why she had awoken so suddenly.

Yoohyeon was snoring loudly… as she usually does.

Siyeon ran an experimental hand down the leg that Sua had wrapped around her so tightly, delighted that she could feel the incredible muscle definition in Sua's thigh. Siyeon thought that heaven must feel something like this.

But she suddenly wanted to get out of this situation before Sua woke up to see what they looked like. Siyeon thought it could lead to more and she wasn't sure she was ready for that... yet.  

They were wrapped up in one another so tightly that she didn’t think there was a way to get out of this without waking Sua up.  

It would have to be a sudden movement then…

She relished in this situation for a few more long seconds before leaning down and kissing the sleeping girl on top of her head briefly. Siyeon sat up in a swift movement and started crawling over Sua. The girl rolled easily right out of her arms.

“Ugh, where are you going?” Sua moaned, thickly.

“...Bathroom.” Siyeon lied.

“Hurry back.” Sua demanded, before rolling over.

Siyeon took one more look at her before letting the privacy blanket drop. She suspected the girl would be back asleep within thirty seconds of her leaving, tops.

She snuck silently across the hallway to her own door.

If she played this right, nobody would ever know she was there.

She cracked her door and peered into her room, trying to see through the darkness. Suddenly movement close to her peripheral vision made her blood run cold.

She jumped backwards and held her breath to keep from crying out.

“Oh my god.”

The light came on. Jiu was standing there with a horrified look on her face holding a ceramic panda over her head.

“You scared the hell out of me!” Jiu whisper yelled. “I thought you were in bed!”

“I’m sorry.” Siyeon said weakly, finding her voice again and remembering how to breath.

“Why would you sneak up on me like that, are you crazy?” Jiu continued. “I swear to god, I was so close to hitting you.”

“I was trying not to wake you up.” Siyeon said. “I’m sorry.”

Jiu fell back into a chair and stared at Siyeon for a while, fixing her glasses that had become askew in the almost-scuffle.

“Where were you?” She asked.

Siyeon frowned for a moment, staring over Jiu’s head and weighing her options. She could lie, but the truth of the matter is Sua would probably complain loudly in front of everyone that she never came back to bed this morning. Siyeon glanced to the side and noticed Dami appeared to be dead in her bed.

“I was sleeping with Sua.” Siyeon said quickly.

Jiu just smiled and shook her head.  “Of course you were.”

Siyeon rolled her eyes and glanced at the time.  

Wow, only two in the morning? 

“Have you even slept yet?” She asked Jiu.

“A bit.” She said.

“Why are you up?”

“I’m going to the gym since we start late today.” She said.

“You’re crazy.” Siyeon said, sitting on her bed.

“I keep telling you to come with me.” She said. “I think you’d really enjoy it. You feel really good afterwards.”

“But bed feels really good all the time.” Siyeon said, raising her finger like she just won the argument.

Jiu nodded thoughtfully for a moment.

“I’ll make you a bet.” She said.

Siyeon beamed back at her. “I don’t want to make a bet.”

“Hear me out.” Jiu said. “If you come with me just this once, and you don’t like it, I’ll never ask you again.”

They stared each other down for a long time before Jiu continued. “And I’ll buy you breakfast.”

Siyeon laughed quietly. “There is absolutely no way you’re getting me out of this bed right now.”

Jiu’s face fell, she got up from her chair and came to kneel in front of Siyeon, staring deep into her eyes, a pout playing at her lips.

“Okay, that’s not fair.” Siyeon said turning away. Jiu quickly held her in place by her wrists.

“Would you do it for me then?” She asked.

“You would seriously sink so low?” Siyeon asked.

“Think about me there all alone, what if something was to happen to me? You’d never forgive yourself.” Jiu continued, dramatically.

Siyeon’s entire posture deflated.

All she could think about was how tired she was going to be later.

Jiu entered the room first, turning the lights on.  She set her cell phone and keys on a small table to the right of the entrance.

“It’s really nice, when I come here this early I always have this place to myself.” Jiu said.

Siyeon stood in the door frame peering out at her horrible fate.  

It wasn’t a real gym, it was just a small area with some work equipment provided by their building. A few short rows of treadmills, a couple weight machines and some loose barbells.

Sensing Siyeon’s hesitation, Jiu hooked her arm and pulled her forward a few steps.

“I can set you up on a treadmill.” Jiu said. “I’ll set a good beginner pace and you just pop your music in and.. Just go.”

Siyeon hated sustained physical activity and didn’t at all look enthused.

“What are you going to be doing?” She asked.

“I’m gonna do a few reps on my arms first and then I’ll do the treadmill, too.”

“You do weight training?” Siyeon asked, surprised.

“Not for mass or anything, just… a little definition.” The girl slid out of her jacket to reveal the tight tank top she was wearing underneath. She walked up to one of the nearest mirrors and turned to the side, flexing her arm.

Siyeon had never really taken notice of Jiu’s arms before but it was in plain sight that whatever she was doing was working.  She noticed then that Jiu’s flat stomach was showing and looked away quickly.

“Look, this isn’t exactly my thing so don’t expect me to be able to keep up.” Siyeon said.

“Do it for yourself, nobody’s going to judge you. I won’t even watch.” Jiu said, walking up to the machine nearest Siyeon and pushing a few buttons. “Just concentrate on the music and do what you can.”

“Okay then.” Siyeon said, clapping once and glaring down at the machine as it came to life in front of her.

Siyeon watched it for a moment, thinking that it didn’t really look that fast.  Begrudgingly, she pulled out her ear buds and stepped onto the monster. As soon as the music started she placed herself on the tread.

Why on earth would anyone want to put themselves through physically taxing activities before going to work to do more physically taxing activities? Siyeon might be able to understand working out on a day off, but Jiu tried to do this every single day.  

Siyeon started jogging, and then had to turn up her music so she couldn’t hear her own footfalls.

She felt ridiculous. This was so outside of the realm of her interests… She could be in bed right now comfortable and warm. Dozing. Snoring. Cuddling with Sua…

If she played her cards right... even kissing Sua...

A few songs later and one of her favorites came on. Her first instinct was the sing along but then she was aware that her breathing was already labored.

How embarassing...

She saw Jiu was still on the other side of the room and appeared to be finishing up with the barbells.

She sighed and wondered how long this could possibly go on for…

She smirked to herself at the idea that Jiu actually thought she’d enjoy this, that in the future she’d want to come voluntarily. After just one workout she wouldn't be able to keep herself away.

She grinned at the back of Jiu’s head as the girl started turning on her own machine. Jiu clearly thought too much of her.

Jiu started running, and her form looked a lot more like a professional runner than Siyeon’s awkward lope. She was running much, much faster too.

Siyeon’s eyes ran over Jiu’s body, admiring the deep line that ran down the center of her lower back. Seeing Jiu look like this made her feel self conscious of her own body.  Even if Siyeon did run everyday, she didn’t think she could look as good as Jiu did.  

Jiu’s pace was really something else…

...Jiu’s was really something else, too, and Siyeon allowed herself to appreciate it. She didn’t know how anybody could be this physically attractive but Jiu wore it proudly like aura. It was impossible to look away from her y frame on a normal day, but watching it move like this? Seeing physics take its course? Forget about it...

Bounce bounce...

Siyeon couldn't look away even if she wanted to... 

As time went on, this running thing didn’t seem so bad. She might even be able to do this every day if this was the view she would get to see.

She smiled to herself. Perhaps she could become a marathon runner, running behind Jiu across the countryside. Screw it, with this view she could win olympic gold! Well, silver anyway.

Idiot, she thought to herself. She wondered when she had been become so erted, admitting that that was actually kind of new thing for her as well.  

After god knows how long of staring at Jiu’s , Siyeon’s eyes flickered away, and then up to the mirror in front of them.  

Jiu was staring at her, a sheepish smile growing across her face.

Oh, God no...

Shock froze Siyeon in place, which is the last thing you should do on a treadmill.

A few seconds later she flew off the back of the tread stumbling several paces but somehow managing not to fall.

Jiu was at her side immediately. Siyeon couldn’t even look at her.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“I think I’m done.” Siyeon said, walking back to her machine to turn it off and retrieve her cell phone.

“Don’t go..” Jiu said.

Siyeon ignored her.

“Wait, listen!” She said.

Siyeon stopped in front of the door.

“Um… It’s just you and me in here.” Jiu said.” So... if there’s anything you’d like to talk about, I’ll listen.”

She knows...

“You can trust me..”

Siyeon never really put much thought into what she’d do when the day came that Jiu confronted her. She was drawing a blank now. 

“I don’t know what to say.” Siyeon spoke in a dead voice.

“I wasn’t expecting you to have a speech prepared. You can just.. Say it.” Jiu said.

Siyeon didn’t have words. She continued eyeing the door knob knowing that there wasn’t really anything keeping her there physically. She could end this conversation right now if she wanted to.

Jiu stepped forward to put a hand on Siyeon's shoulder, rubbing it gently.

“There’s nothing wrong with you.” She said, softly.

Siyeon couldn’t understand why her eyes were suddenly stinging and it was so damn hard to breath. Somehow, those words made her crumble instantly.

Before she knew it, Jiu had turned her around and pulled her into a tight hug.  

“Heyy..” Jiu crooned, rocking her slowly. “What are you thinking, going around keeping all of this inside?”

Siyeon response was an unintelligible sob.

“You know I'm here to listen to your problems right? Like a big sister.” A sly grin came to her face. “Your big sister with the really nice , right?”

Siyeon burst out laughing against her own will and continued both crying and laughing for a while. She walked backwards out of Jiu’s arms and tried to master herself, rubbing her eyes and breathing deeply.

They stared at one another for a long time.

“You suffered a lot.” Jiu said.

“I’m okay.” Siyeon said, shaking her head.

Jiu used her thumb to wipe whatever remaining moisture she could from Siyeon’s face.

For lack of something better to do, Siyeon laughed. “Seriously, I don’t know where this came from.”

“It must have been hard.” Jiu said.

“I didn’t realize…” Siyeon sniffed.

“Have you ever said it out loud before?” Jiu asked, sitting on top of the desk and patting the space beside herself.

Siyeon shook her head.

“Maybe it’ll make you feel better.” Jiu continued. “If you want…”

Siyeon sat on the desktop beside Jiu and stared down at her dangling feet. She took a deep breath and puffed out her cheeks.

“Um.. so, a funny thing happened to me a few months ago.” Siyeon said, not raising her eyes.

“Oh?” Jiu asked, smiling faintly.

Siyeon nodded and spoke quickly. “I um, redebuted in a girl group and might have come to the realization that I’m attracted to women.”

Jiu smiled and shook her head. “You’re so cute.”

Siyeon took a deep breath to settle the thrill that came with saying those words aloud.

“You’ve only known a few months?” Jiu asked.

“Yep.” Siyeon said, popping her lips.

“I feel like I always knew…” Jiu said, vaguely.

“...About me?” Siyeon asked.

Jiu nodded.

“Maybe next time you can let me in on the secret.” Siyeon smiled.

Jiu got to her feet grinning. “Let’s go. I owe you breakfast.”

“You don’t have to… I mean, it wasn’t all bad.” Siyeon said.

They locked eyes, and when she recognized what she’d just insinuated, she felt her face flush.

Ignoring it, Jiu took Siyeon’s hand and led her out the door.

“We have so much to talk about…”