“Unnie, it’s time to wake up.”

“I’m up.” Siyeon said, without opening her eyes.

Dami’s presence retreated and Siyeon attempted to return to the dream she was having.

She almost made it back to that bliss before another less gentle voice invaded her subconscious.

“You’re going to be late.”

Siyeon remained motionless, hoping Jiu would just leave her. All she needed was five more minutes...

She was almost asleep when she felt her arm being taken, held above her head and then pulled. Her limp body slid easily out of her bunk and her shoulder was the first to hit the floor.

“Hey!” Siyeon yelled, flinging her arm free of the hand grasping it. “I was already awake!”

She glared up angrily at Jiu who smiled down at her with raised eyebrows.

“It’s funny. You look really intimidating. Seriously, if I didn’t know you I’d be afraid of you.” She said. “Unfortunately, I do know you, so I know that even though you may look like a rabid wolf, you’re about as weak as a piece of paper.”

“Want to find out?” Siyeon asked, pushing herself up into a seated position.

“You want to fight me?” Jiu laughed. “Siyeon-ah, I work out. You wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Siyeon narrowed her eyes and fought off a yawn, knowing damn well that she wouldn’t stand a chance.

Jiu was definitely stronger than her…

“It’s a vocal day anyway, I don’t understand why you’re so hostile.” Jiu said, offering her hand to help Siyeon up.

Siyeon reluctantly took Jiu’s hand and was pulled up quickly.

“Good dream.” Siyeon muttered.

The more she thought about it the more she realized she could no longer remember the finer details of the dream, just the feeling.

“What was her name?” Jiu asked, with a smirk.

“Kim Minji.” Siyeon said without missing a beat.

“Ah.” Jiu beamed.

Even though she knew Siyeon was coming from a very real place when she flirted with her, Jiu still seemed to enjoy the attention.

“Was she any good?” Jiu asked.

“A bit too easy for my tastes.” Siyeon grinned.

Siyeon laughed as she was shoved sideways by Jiu. The girl was so easy to work up...

“I think I’ll just wear my pajamas to work.” Siyeon cleared , her voice still very thick with sleep. Since the day would be spent preparing to record their new mini album, pajamas would actually be acceptable to wear to work. She’d done it before.

“Too cold for pajamas.” Jiu said.

“Mmm.. Maybe I’ll take a sleeping bag.” Siyeon chuckled, pushing several heavy coats aside to look for a proper outfit.

Then she remembered a vocal day would mean she’d be spending a fair amount of time with Yoohyeon.

Maybe even alone...

She started looking for a proper outfit then.

“Hey..” Jiu said, her eyes lighting up, “Let me pick out your outfit today.”

“..Why?” Siyeon asked.

“No reason. It’ll be fun.” Jiu said, elbowing her way in front of Siyeon and digging through her closet. “Go take a shower, I’ll have an outfit ready.

Siyeon opened to object but it was futile, Jiu wouldn’t listen. She was practically shoved out into the hallway.

She almost bumped into Dami there who was returning to the room after a shower.

“Be careful, that Unnie is being weird today.” Siyeon said.

Dami nodded with a small smile.

“I mean it, watch out for her.”

“I will.” Dami said over her shoulder as she entered the bedroom.

Normally, having to share a dorm with six other girls usually meant that things like showers would get cut short due to time constraints but Siyeon took her time in the shower today, allowing the heat of the water to penetrate deeply through her muscles into her bones.

Siyeon wished she had Sua’s ability to remember the majority of her dreams.

It seemed lately that her obsession with girls was spilling into her dreams. The only downside was that she never found herself feeling very rested after those kind of dreams.

She felt as though her brain was surrounded by a haze as she dried herself off. Using her palm, she swiped across the mirror in front of her to gaze into her own bare face, at first checking for any blemishes but eventually looking for something deeper.

Would a female find this face attractive?

What do girls even look for in other girls? Siyeon remembered there being endless sources of knowledge when she was growing up on what a husband would prefer in a potential wife; knowledge that would be shoved down at all times, even as a young girl.

As if her life’s only ambition would be to marry a man.

Her eyes narrowed. It felt so unfair that she’d have to find her own answers when it came to girls...

A knock came at the door and Siyeon opened it abruptly, coming out of her own thoughts at lightspeed.

Handong stood there with all of her shower supplies rolled up in her towel. She seemed a bit uncomfortable. When Siyeon didn’t immediately say anything.

“Sorry Unnie. If you’re not done… I can return later.”

“No, you’re fine. Go ahead.” Siyeon said, motioning behind herself. “I just finished.”

Siyeon patted the girl on the shoulder as they passed each other in the doorway. She shook her head as she made her way down the hallway, as if trying to get rid of the muddled feeling she was consumed with. Dami was already dressed when she got back inside and Jiu was nowhere to be found.

Siyeon sighed softly.

She dropped her towel on her bed and closed her eyes, telling herself it was time to properly wake up; that she would have to function like a normal human being today.

Upon opening her eyes, she noticed the outfit the Jiu had laid out for her. It was her red and black checkered flannel, a pair of ripped jeans with a white long sleeved shirt and some black suspenders. Maybe the suspenders were a bit much for a casual day but no big deal if Jiu wanted it for whatever reason. Siyeon had been expecting a strange outfit based on Jiu’s behavior.

She glanced sideways just in time to see Dami look away from her. This made her feel a bit more self conscious and as she began getting dressed, she wondered if there was some kind of an inside joke hidden in Jiu’s outfit..

“Easy day.” Siyeon said to break the silence as she buttoned her jeans.

“Yeah, should be good.” Dami replied.

Siyeon pulled the white shirt over her head and turned to Dami as she fumbled with the flannel.

“Unnie, you forgot.” Dami pointed.

“Hmm?”

Dami reached behind Siyeon to retrieve the suspenders. Without prompting she began attaching them to Siyeon’s jeans.

Siyeon smiled and watched how carefully Dami was helping her dress, pleased that the girls behavior had gone back to normal after their trip to Japan.

“Are you recording today?” Siyeon asked.

“Yeah, are you?” Dami asked.

“Nope. Still reviewing.”

Dami pouted slightly, “That's a shame.”

“One day we'll record together.” Siyeon smirked.

“Subunit.” Dami chuckled.

Siyeon pulled the flannel on over her shirt after Dami finished and began buttoning it up. “I expect you’ll be letting me sing on your mixtape, if you ever let anyone to see what you write…”

“No, no. You should leave it ed. It looks better that way.” Dami said.

Siyeon watched as Dami ed the buttons she’d just fastened, wondering mildly why so many people were taking an interest in her appearance today.

Siyeon’s eyes flit across Dami’s face and she smiled when Dami wouldn't even spare enough attention from her task to meet her eye. She considered Dami well beyond her own years in terms of maturity and thoughtfulness.

“There, that's the look.” Dami said, stepping back to get an overall view of Siyeon’s outfit.

“Thank you.” Siyeon said.

“About the mixtape, as soon as I write something worth recording you’ll be the first to hear it.” Dami said.

“I’m sure you already have.” Siyeon said quite seriously.

Smiling sheepishly, Dami shook her head and looked away. Siyeon couldn’t help smiling too. Whenever Dami smiled like that, her massive eyes would somehow turn into twin crescents.

It was too cute.

“Ride’s here!” Siyeon heard from the main room.

Siyeon swept her gaze across her belongings doing one last inventory check, grabbing things like her phone, her backpack in which she stuffed things like mirrors, brushes and makeup before deciding at the last minute to bring along her huge Captain America blanket.

It tended to get cold at the company at night…

“Ready? She asked Dami from the door frame.

“Yep.” Dami said, leading the way through the empty dorm.

Two vans were parked out front with the sliding doors open, the first van seemingly full, Siyeon stowed her bag in the second van.

Gahyeon and Yoohyeon were in her van, and she made sure to spare Yoohyeon a smile as she adjusted her flannel.

Only then did she notice the head poking out of the first van.

Sua’s face was blank but her eyes were very meticulous as she slowly took in Siyeon’s appearance. Her gaze was powerful enough to claim ownership on Siyeon without a single word spoken.

Siyeon took great pleasure in the attention…

Their eyes met and Sua sneered with apparent satisfaction.

“Are we going to leave today?” Gahyeon asked sardonically.

“Oh.” Siyeon blurted out, realizing she probably looked like an idiot stalling on the sidewalk.

Looking back she could see that Sua’s head retreated back into the other van.

Siyeon sat in the front seat and closed her door, hoping nobody would ask her for an explanation of her weird behavior.

Siyeon rested her hand on her chin, her other hand spun a pen absentmindedly as she stared at blankly across the table feeling her eyes gloss over.

Yoohyeon’s face was scrunched up in concentration as she listened to the guide tracks for the new mini album for the fourth time. She looked both absolutely adorable and completely unbalanced with the massive headphones only being supported by her long neck.

Her head bobbed gently with the rhythm.

Siyeon was just pleased that the girl was so distracted so she could stare openly at her.

Yoohyeon’s bangs were pinned aside as they were not quite long enough to be swept back with the rest of her hair yet, but it was the look she would be employing on their next comeback. Siyeon enjoyed the rare glimpse of the girls forehead for as long as she could remember, Yoohyeon always wore very uniform bangs. This look was so fresh and really showcased how animated Yoohyeon’s eyebrows were. Even the smallest change in her expression was so noticable now. Siyeon was entranced by it.

She bit down on the pen as she watched Yoohyeon begin to sing along, eyeing the girl’s neck muscles twitch with every note. A smirk filled her face as she watched, feeling a hundred times more confident before because now she knew all along, as much as Yoohyeon tried to hide it, she had enjoyed the kiss they shared.

Siyeon’s heart began to flutter just thinking about it. She wondered how much trouble she could possibly get in for confessing to Yoohyeon now and even tried to talk herself into the idea that all of the trouble in the world would be worth another kiss.

Yoohyeon took of the headphones and placed them on the table.

“I’m feeling really good about this distribution.” She said, making a few adjustments on the pad of paper in front of her.

She looked up and was brought up short by the intense stare Siyeon was giving her.

Siyeon didn’t respond but she didn’t look away either. She squinted a bit, as if she was trying to read the thoughts on the inside of Yoohyeon’s skull.

Yoohyeon blinked several times before looking away.

“You’re looking at me like I’m a meal.” She said.

Siyeon could feel her smile swelling further.

“Sorry.” She muttered.

Was Yoohyeon… flustered?

“I think I’m ready to record.” Yoohyeon said.

Siyeon cleared and broke her gaze for the first time in what felt like hours. “Yeah… they probably won’t get to us until tomorrow though.”

“That’s okay.” Yoohyeon said, now absorbed with her cell phone.

Siyeon watched her for a moment, musing that this was the day she’d been waiting for for months. Finally she was all alone with Yoohyeon, in this empty practice room knowing that everyone else was several floors above them in the recording studio.

If only she had the guts to use this opportunity to her advantage…

Yoohyeon had swung sideways off her her chair to reach in her bag and reemerged with something tightly wrapped in foil. She unwrapped it, flattening the edges to reveal a pristine roll of kimbap, already sliced and smelling delicious. She popped a slice into without looking up.

Siyeon heard a faint growl in the pit of her own stomach.

“That looks good.” Siyeon said.

“Oh, it is.” Yoohyeon said.

“Where did you get it?” Siyeon asked.

“Prepared it with leftovers from last night.” Yoohyeon said with a full mouth.

Siyeon bit her lip. “... Tuna?”

“Mmm.”

They locked eyes as Yoohyeon was drinking from her water bottle and she smirked, realizing she had all the power in this situation due to Siyeon’s hungry expression.

“Don’t worry, they should bring us lunch soon.” Yoohyeon said, returning her attention to her food.

“...You won’t share?” Siyeon asked.

“You didn’t ask.” Yoohyeon said. “Are you hungry?”

Siyeon nodded.

Yoohyeon grinned.

“Say ah.” She said.

Siyeon opened slowly and watched as Yoohyeon carefully selected a piece of kimbap and made a show of eating it herself.

Siyeon pouted, making her eyes big to incite guilt. Yoohyeon just laughed.

“Hungry.” Siyeon whined, softly.

“Alright, alright.” Yoohyeon said, picking up another piece. “Your face made it worth it.”

Siyeon accepted the piece when Yoohyeon fed it to her and savored it slowly, mildly impressed to find that the girl could make a fantastic kimbap. She nodded chewing slowly before speaking with a full mouth.

“That’ll cost you two pieces now.”

“Ah, is that how it works?” Yoohyeon asked, selecting another piece and waiting for Siyeon to swallow.

Siyeon locked eyes with Yoohyeon as she was fed again and a chill ran through her body when Yoohyeon’s finger brushed against her lower lip. She chewed slower this time, not taking her gaze off of Yoohyeon.

Her heart was basically playing the double bass pedal, keeping time of a death metal band.

“You’re making me want to put on makeup.” Yoohyeon said, looking away.

“Why?” Siyeon asked.

“You’re staring at me so much today, I must look ugly.” She said.

“I’m staring because you’re beautiful. You don’t need makeup.” Siyeon said.

Yoohyeon looked surprised, so Siyeon kept talking.

“I mean.. I’m not used to seeing this.” Siyeon said, motioning towards Yoohyeon’s forehead. “And… your eyebrows are really cute.”

“I’m really self conscious about that so I hope you’re not kidding.”

A small crease of concern appeared between Yoohyeon’s eyebrows. It was enough to stop Siyeon’s heart.

“I wouldn’t joke about that.” Siyeon crooned, reaching out a hand to run her thumb across Yoohyeon’s head in an attempt to smooth the crease.

Yoohyeon face twitched with a smile but she kept her eyes on the table. Siyeon couldn’t tell if she was just imagining the pink flaring in the girls’ complexion. Yoohyeon fed another piece of kimbap to Siyeon in order to take the attention off of herself.

Siyeon opted instead just to take Yoohyeon’s hand and play with it as they ate their way through the rest of Yoohyeon’s food. Hand holding was a more comfortable ground that they were both used to by now. Siyeon’s mind was racing however, panicking that she might have actually made the girl uncomfortable.

Like clockwork, after the kimbap was gone, a staff member arrived with lunch that they both ate to appear grateful even though they weren't particularly hungry after Yoohyeon’s snack.

Siyeon was almost sure when the rest of the girls finished recording that they’d be sent to dance practice. Yoohyeon and herself would do nothing today simply because tomorrow was to be spent entirely in the recording studio. They were recording the most lines on the album and the company wanted to make sure they were rested and familiar with the tracks they were going to be recording.

Normally she would just prefer to dance with the rest of them if for nothing more than to pass the time quicker, but under these circumstances, she was thrilled to have this much time to kill with Yoohyeon.

Yoohyeon didn’t seem to share her enthusiasm.

After the staff member left them alone again, the younger girl became focused on untangling her ear buds. Siyeon watched as she liberated them before plugging them into her phone, wearing a traditional bored pose with one hand holding her head up as she surfed through random youtube videos.

Siyeon, not having a brilliant idea to keep them amused, decided not to interrupt the girl. She rose and began pacing around to stretch her legs. Realizing this might be annoying to someone watching something on a small screen, she left the room entirely.

Siyeon stretched her arms above her head as she walked through the common area, the piles of the other girls’ belongings scattered about were the only evidence that anybody else was here in the building with them.

She stopped in front of the table holding most of the stuff and smiled down at Dami’s bag that resembled a plushie panda. Siyeon picked it up and sat it down in a more comfortable looking position.

From out of the top of the bag Siyeon recognized the notebook that Dami would write her lyrics into, a notebook that she would protect with her life, and of course, as much as she wanted to read it, Siyeon would never betray the girls’ trust.

She let her eyes wander before they fell upon the couch.

A nap sounded spectacular.. But that would be squandered time she could using to get closer to Yoohyeon.

She wondered if Yoohyeon would want to join her for a nap...

Siyeon crossed the room to check that a different partition room was unlocked. It was.

There was a more private couch in there…

Siyeon jogged back to their room to find Yoohyeon applying makeup.

She was taken back that the girl was really going through with the makeup. She had to make an effort not to stare so much from here out and find a very delicate way to bring up her nap idea.

“Why?” Siyeon asked, sitting down.

Yoohyeon didn’t look up from her mirror as she applied eyeliner. “It’ll make me feel better about my hair.”

“Ah, you’re crazy.” Siyeon said.

“Why do you care anyway?” Yoohyeon asked.

Siyeon smirked. “I care. Is that so bad?”

Yoohyeon hissed as she put the cap back on her eyeliner and stowed it in her bag. She eyed herself in the mirror for several more seconds.

“What do you wanna do today?” Siyeon asked.

“Well, we should practice our harmonizing.” Yoohyeon said, putting her compact away and meeting Siyeon’s eyes.

Siyeon looked away quickly.

Yoohyeon’s so damn pretty...

“We could do that.” Siyeon nodded.

Yoohyeon didn’t look too excited about it though.

“I’ve got an idea.” Siyeon said, tapping her fingers on the desk. “We’ll sing for a while and then when we feel like we’ve made a lot of improvement, let’s watch a movie.”

Yoohyeon’s face lit up like an explosion. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I mean why not? They don’t want us to overuse our voice. They don’t want us to get tired dancing… What else can we do?” Siyeon asked.

Yoohyeon held her breath as she thought about it.

“You’re right.” She finally said. “But… what movie?”

Siyeon laughed. “It doesn’t matter. Any movie you want.”

“Any movie?” Yoohyeon asked.

“Any movie.” Siyeon said.

Yoohyeon absolutely beamed at her. Innocent, like a joyous child, Yoohyeon’s happiness was pure and wonderful. Siyeon thought it might be enough to sustain her, as though she could survive solely because of it. She found herself smiling back mutely, words completely failing her.

“Okay. Let’s get through this.” Yoohyeon said, tugging Siyeon closer by the arm as she started browsing songs on her phone.

Something as small as having something to look forward to was the difference of night and day in Yoohyeon’s mood. They shared the earbuds and used Yoohyeon’s phone to listen to the music, while Siyeon’s recorded it.

As a result, they had to keep their heads very close together as they sang.

While Siyeon was certain she was imagining the adoration in Yoohyeon’s eyes, her playfulness was undeniable. Many times Yoohyeon left Siyeon hanging to sing a note alone, beaming at her own cunning and seemingly prepared for every playful slug Siyeon would throw in response.

Siyeon knew if an outsider would were to look at them now, they would appear as two girls flirting. She tried to dismiss that thought immediately.

Yoohyeon was surely just being playful as a result of the turnaround of her mood.

Happy Yoohyeon, nothing out of the ordinary. But Siyeon liked happy Yoohyeon so, so much.

As they listened to the playback for the fourth or fifth time, it was evident that Yoohyeon’s heart wasn’t in their work at all. She took Siyeon’s hand and playfully began to bite on the girls knuckles, baring her teeth in such a way to look like a vicious animal but only succeeding in looking like a clumsy puppy.

Siyeon stared at her feeling her heart swell immeasurably. She thought if Yoohyeon met her gaze, she might not be unable to stop herself from confessing all of her deepest feelings...

Instead, she took Yoohyeon’s hand and kissed her fingertip, diverting her eyes back to the table.

“What do you think?” Yoohyeon asked.

“Hm?”

Yoohyeon removed her earbud. “I think we improved a lot.”

“Yes. Definitely.” Siyeon said, smirking to herself because she hadn’t paid attention to the recording at all.

“So….” Yoohyeon said, setting her phone on the table. “What do you want to watch?”

Siyeon shrugged. “I told you I don’t mind. You pick.”

“You might not like what I pick..” She said, pulling up a streaming website on the laptop in front of her.

“Well, next time I’ll get to pick.” Siyeon said.

“Next time.” Yoohyeon smiled. “Are we making this a regular thing?”

“We should.” Siyeon said, smiling back.

She stood up and grabbed her blanket for the corner, throwing it over her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

“Go where?” Yoohyeon asked.

“Come on.” Siyeon said, holding the door open.

A little confused, Yoohyeon unplugged her laptop and carried into the open area outside of their room. Siyeon lead her across the way to the other partition, setting her blanket down at the end of the couch.

“Oh..” Yoohyeon said as she followed her inside. “You genius.”

Siyeon flashed a winning smile while Yoohyeon found an outlet to plug her laptop into. She sat on the couch first

As soon as she got settled, Siyeon sat beside her, pulled the blanket up over them both and couldn’t believe her good fortune as she laid back and got comfortable.

“This movie is Swedish.” Yoohyeon said.

“Will you translate?” Siyeon asked.

Yoohyeon snorted, “There’s subtitles, Unnie.”

Siyeon smirked because Yoohyeon had taken her seriously.

“Aish, you’re always making fun of me.” Yoohyeon said, starting the movie.

“Maybe I do it because I like you.” Siyeon said, softly.

“Yeah, right.” Yoohyeon chuckled. She fell quiet after becoming absorbed in the opening scene of the movie.

Siyeon tried her hardest to follow along with the movie but so far it seemed like of the strangest movies she’d ever seen.

What started as a normal movie soon evolved into vampires with several shockingly violent scenes and the subtitles didn’t seem to be done very well but it all made sense that an odd girl like Yoohyeon would enjoy such a movie.

Over time Siyeon edged her hand into Yoohyeon’s, first lacing their fingers and then slowly using her other hand to massage the girls’ wrist.

It was intoxicating and so terribly distracting to be this close to her that she soon gave up trying to keep along with the movie, knowing that just staring at Yoohyeon’s face would be more satisfying than any movie.

Trying to make it subtle, Siyeon turned her head towards Yoohyeon and kept her eyes on the screen but the movement made Yoohyeon drop her hand to loop her arm around Siyeon’s.

Siyeon closed her eyes and smiled because this was so much better than just staring. It was as though she felt herself melting against Yoohyeon’s touch. Her stomach was churning so violently as different feelings shot jolts of electricity all over her body. Siyeon felt as though she could finally relate to all those soppy love songs she’d sang over the years.

She wondered if this manic feeling was what it truly felt like the fall for someone. She was grateful that Yoohyeon didn’t talk during movies cause she didn’t think she’d be able to string a sentence together at that moment.

She curled closer to the warmth that was radiating off of Yoohyeon’s body, all the while the back of was heavy with the words that she would never be able to say.

After some time Siyeon opened her eyes again and was surprised to find a very active love scene on the screen. She squinted as her eyes adjusted and noticed that Yoohyeon was no longer holding onto her.

She peered sideways and was surprised to find Yoohyeon staring at her, but something was off. Her eyes appeared sharper and there wasn’t a single hint of amusement on her face.

Without a word Yoohyeon closed the laptop, sending the entire room into darkness.

Siyeon felt Yoohyeon stretch across her to place the laptop on the floor. She became alarmed when Yoohyeon didn’t move from her position hovering just inches above her.

“So.. what do you want to do now?” Yoohyeon asked in a voice unlike her own.

Siyeon laughed nervously. “Uh… the movie wasn’t over, was it?”

“I think there’s better things we could be doing with our time.” Yoohyeon said.

Siyeon stared at the place where her voice was coming from so close to her face. All she could see was two small glints where Yoohyeon’s eyes should be.

She gasped when she felt Yoohyeons hands cradle her neck before brushing up to her chin.

This couldn’t be just teasing, so Siyeon closed her eyes and hoped for the same clumsy kiss that started them off before, but it wasn’t anything like that this time.

Yoohyeon kissed her firmly, sighing with the effort. Her low, satisfied hum was enough to set Siyeon’s insides screaming, but she returned the kiss in kind. After waiting this long to kiss Yoohyeon again, she had little patience and used her hand to pull the girl’s face closer.

Yoohyeon wasted no time in straddling Siyeon’s hips, gripping her suspenders to steady herself.

Siyeon was just surprised she hadn’t passed out from lack of oxygen yet. She tried her hardest to keep up with Yoohyeon but it was almost too much…

All at once Yoohyeon broke the kiss to reach beyond the couch and turn the light on.

Siyeon stared at her, looking for an explanation while she tried to catch her breath.

“I want to be able to see you.” Yoohyeon said.

“Oh..” Siyeon cracked, her mind going straight to the gutter.

Instead of resuming the kiss, Yoohyeon began to kiss along Siyeon’s collar bone.

“You’ve wanted this for a long time.” Yoohyeon said.

It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.” Siyeon breathed.

“I’ve wanted this too.” Yoohyeon said, dragging her lips against Siyeon’s neck.

Siyeon closed her eyes and bit her lip. “Y-you have?”

“Mmm.” Yoohyeon breathed.

“Oh my god.” Siyeon whispered as she tried to keep her breathing under control with little success. She let her hands fan out on Yoohyeon’s shoulder blades, running them downwards and trying to memorize every curve of the girl’s body.

It was beyond heaven. It was by far the most pleasure Siyeon had ever felt in her life. She tilted her neck back to grant Yoohyeon more access.

Siyeon opened her eyes and concentrated more on the movement of Yoohyeon’s mouth, gasping with every sharp kiss she was leaving behind. As time went on it felt like the kisses were getting sharper and sharper, right to the edge of pain and pleasure. Siyeon wasn’t bothered by this but had to be concerned that she might leave a mark. As a performer that simply wouldn’t be acceptable.

“Ah, don’t leave a mark.” Siyeon said.

Yoohyeon released Siyeon’s neck and became as still as a statue.

After several minutes catching her breath, Siyeon realized that the area where Yoohyeon’s mouth was felt unusually warm and brought her hand to it.

She froze when she saw blood on her fingertips..

Yoohyeon sat up then, her eyes on Siyeon’s fingers.

“Wanna make a blood bond?” Yoohyeon asked with a smirk.

Speechless, Siyeon just stared at her. There was a deep red tint to Yoohyeon’s eyes, and, though Yoohyeon’s mouth was only slightly ajar, were those… fangs?

After a while of no response, Yoohyeon shrugged, took Siyeon’s wrist and slowly the blood off of her fingers.

“... What... happened to you?” Siyeon breathed.

Yoohyeon smiled sheepishly and, indeed, there were now fangs there, but it didn’t detract from how insanely attractive she was. Siyeon was so torn between the need to flee and the desire to stay close to her.

“Don’t worry about it” Yoohyeon said. “It won’t hurt that bad.”

Siyeon remained frozen in place as Yoohyeon lowered her face back towards her neck. She began to shake as her heart started to thunder, as if protesting this indifference towards this obvious suicide. She closed her eyes again and waited for the pain to resume.

Maybe Yoohyeon wasn’t trying to kill her…

Maybe she was trying to make her one of them. Siyeon didn’t think that sounded so bad…

And then she was able to feel her flesh tear as the fangs sunk in deep.

Siyeon’s entire body convulsed. Her eyes flew open and they were stung by the bright light coming from the laptop.

She sat up, breathing deeply before looking sideways at Yoohyeon who was staring at her, bemused.

“Punk fell asleep during my movie.” She muttered, obviously displeased.

Siyeon gaped at her before composing herself and laying back down.

It felt so real…

Siyeon was now questioning her own sanity as she was upset that the dream about her imminent death didn’t really happen.

“Sorry.. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.” She said.

“Bad dream?” Yoohyeon asked.

“No.” Siyeon said. “Good dream… well actually, it was a little bit different this time…”

“Clearly.” Yoohyeon said.

“...I wasn’t talking, was I?” Siyeon asked.

“...No.” Yoohyeon said.

The hesitation made Siyeon’s stomach drop. She was too scared to ask further questions about the topic.

What if she had just ruined everything?

“Sounds like you need a dreamcatcher.” Yoohyeon said.

As Siyeon was trying to process what Yoohyeon meant, Yoohyeon rested her head on the older Siyeon’s shoulder and suddenly all the worry evaporated from Siyeon’s stomach. She put her arm around Yoohyeon’s shoulder as she thought of a response.

“..Aren’t you a dreamcatcher?” Siyeon asked, grinning

“Ha. You know what I mean.” Yoohyeon said.

“Ah, I do. And I’ve got one of those too. Surely Sua’s made one for everyone and their entire family by now.” Siyeon said.

“Stupid.” Yoohyeon muttered clearly still invested in the movie

Yoohyeon held Siyeon’s hand again and all was right in the world. This time, Siyeon wasn’t afraid to get caught staring. She watched Yoohyeon watching the screen with hanging open like a child playing video games.

Yoohyeon looked at her and Siyeon did not look away.

“I really like your hair like this.” Siyeon said.

Yoohyeon rolled her eyes and smiled.

“I’m serious” Siyeon said.

“Why are you being like this?” Yoohyeon asked, obviously cringing.

Cringe or not, she had cringed into Siyeon, so this only spurred her on.

“Why can’t you take a compliment?” Siyeon retorted.

Before Yoohyeon could answer, Siyeon brushed a hand across her forehead, sweeping a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

Yoohyeon scoffed indignantly and looked away, though it was obvious even in the dark that she was blushing at the action.

Siyeon saw an opportunity and used her hand to pull Yoohyeon’s chin back so they were looking at one another again.

Yoohyeon was blinking rapidly…

Just then the door flew open and both girls jolted violently out of shock.

“Oh. I’ve been looking all over for you guys.” Sua said.

“Why would you burst in here like that? You scared the heck out of me!” Yoohyeon yelled.

Sua laughed as she turned the lights on.

“I didn’t even know you were in here, calm down.” She said, strolling to a stop in the center of the room and folding her arms. “You guys look cozy…”

Siyeon watched as Sua’s smile slowly faded away into an unreadable expression as she took in the scene in the room, her gaze lingering extra long on Yoohyeon with the faintest hint of accusation.

“Well, it was cozy.” Yoohyeon said, laying back down.

Siyeon peered between Yoohyeon and Sua.

Sua’s expression stiffened and she opened to say something but Siyeon hurriedly interrupted because she was positive it wasn’t going to be something nice..

“You finished recording?” Siyeon asked.

Sua bit the side of her cheek and looked away from Yoohyeon before answering. “Yes, finally. Everyone’s almost done actually, we’ll probably go home soon.”

“Ah..” Siyeon said.

“I was texting you. You didn’t answer.” Sua said.

“Oh.” Siyeon patted her pockets only to find them empty. “I must have left it in the other room, sorry.”

“That’s fine.” Sua said. “Could I have a word with you?”

“Umm, sure.” Siyeon said, glancing once more at Yoohyeon before swinging the blanket off of herself.

Sua turned for the door without a word to Yoohyeon.

“I’ll be right back.” Siyeon said, tripping on her way after Sua.

Sua led the way across the common room into the dark stairwell. She walked down half of a floor and turned around on the stairs to look up at Siyeon.

After laughing apparently at the exaggerated height difference, Sua took Siyeon by the shoulders and swapped their positions so that Siyeon was on the lower step.

Siyeon smiled, it wasn’t often she could look directly into Sua’s eyes.

“Hi.” Sua said.

“Hey.” Siyeon asked.

“I didn’t really get to see you today..” She said

“Yeah,” Siyeon said, scratching her head uncertainty. “Probably be the same tomorrow as well.”

Sua pouted. “Yeah…”

She pulled Siyeon into a tight, lingering hug that Siyeon returned carefully, unsure of Sua’s intentions. On any normal day… Siyeon would be happy about this, but she just had a very good day with Yoohyeon…

Not to mention, Sua’s cold behavior towards Yoohyeon brought up several red flags…

“I think we should talk.” Sua said softly, still hugging Siyeon.

“What’s on your mind?” Siyeon asked.

Sua let go and eyed Siyeon tentatively.

It wasn’t a common expression one would ever see on Sua’s face.

“We should talk about the tension.” Sua said.

Siyeon stared blankly at her for a long moment…

Tension…?

Had they been quarreling? Surely not…

As Sua gripped both of Siyeon’s suspenders and pulled gently as she ran her eyes down to the girls feet and back up again. The true meaning of Sua’s words struck her. Siyeon’s mouth fell open.

“Oh…”

“You can’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Sua said.

“No.. I mean yes, I know what you’re talking about.” Siyeon said, softly.

Siyeon watched Sua contemplate her for a long while…

A sinking feeling began to resonate in Siyeon’s stomach. Was it now the time where she would have to choose? She wished for someone, anyone to come through this dark abandoned stairwell because she simply wasn’t ready to decide.

“You look really good in this.” Sua said, pulling on the bottom of Siyeon’s flannel.

“Thanks.”

Sua looked up at her from under her eyelids. A look that could kill.

“It’s weird, right?” She asked.

“I don’t think it’s weird.” Siyeon said, shrugging.

“It’s weird to me.” Sua said.

“Is it?” Siyeon asked.

“I’ve never been attracted to a girl before.” Sua said.

Siyeon’s brain essentially exploded. On one hand, Oh my god, was that a confession? On the other hand, Siyeon envied Sua’s directness. One day she prayed she’d be able to be this forward with someone.

“You’re… attracted to me?”

Sua winced. “I don’t know what this is okay? I feel confused.”

“Sorry..” Siyeon said, even though she felt slightly relieved.

Sua pulled her into a hug again.

Siyeon frowned in thought as she held Sua. Sua would be an amazing partner. She’s absolutely gorgeous, sweet and loving, funny and maybe the first girl to ever express any interest in her sober…

But as much as Siyeon might regret this for the rest of her life, she knew that she wanted Yoohyeon more… It wouldn’t be fair to Sua to start anything while he emotions were running wild about another girl…

“Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out.” Sua said.

“Find out what?” Siyeon asked.

Without notice, Sua gripped the back of Siyeon’s head and pulled back far enough to drag her into a kiss.

Siyeon expelled a nasal exclamation, eyes wide, but any attempt at movement was hindered by Sua’s grip.

After the shock wore off and Siyeon stopped struggling, Sua embraced her and tilted her head. The kiss became less frantic and more pleasant, but it didn’t stop the trepidation running through Siyeon’s head.

She tried her hardest not to enjoy the kiss but it was impossible… Sua’s lips were so supple and every movement seemed to end with a soft, satisfying smack that echoed off their small enclosure walls. It stirred very similar feelings in Siyeon to the last kiss she had, but just remembering that time made Siyeon feel somewhat guilty even though a loud voice was screaming in her head...

‘YOU HAVE NO COMMITMENT TO YOOHYEON’

Guilt broke the kiss first as Siyeon let her face fall. Sua kept her forehead against her own for several moments while she contemplated.

“I think… we’re gonna need further investigation.” Sua whispered.

A door opened downstairs that caught Siyeon’s attention.

“Maybe you should come stay with me tonight.” Sua said, squeezing Siyeon’s hand as she took a step back.

Siyeon felt dizzy with panic, or maybe it was just the kiss.

“But.. what about Yoohyeon?” She asked.

“Yoohyeon is a heavy sleeper.” Sua said, with a half smile before turning and heading back up the stairs to where they came from.

Siyeon frowned after her, rooted to the spot.

What about Yoohyeon?

Of course Sua took that question with a different meaning...

The footsteps were getting louder, drowning out the sounds of Siyeon’s brain at war. It was just a single pair of feet climbing the stairs below Siyeon.

Jiu’s head came into view before she was even aware Siyeon was standing there. She stopped when she saw her, a range of emotions flying through her tired face before it landed on something slightly smug.

When she noticed Siyeon looked upset however, it turned to concern.

Jiu sighed softly and dug a hand into her pocket, producing a tissue. She walked up to Siyeon and began wiping at .

Siyeon was confused for a moment until Jiu pulled her hand back. Siyeon looked down to see there was red on the tissue.

Lipstick.

Sua loves lipstick...

Siyeon physically deflated. Jiu smiled softly.

“Looks like you had a good day.” Jiu said.

Siyeon imagined that her life probably would have ended had she gone and greeted the others with covered in smeared lipstick.

She anticipated the accusation in Jiu’s voice when she was about to start the flood of questions, but surprisingly they didn’t come. When the door opened again downstairs and more footsteps approached, this time accompanied with voices, Jiu offered a hand to Siyeon.

“Come on, let’s get our things. We’re going home.” She said

Siyeon retreated to her room immediately upon returning home, skipping both dinner and the ritual insanity that accompanied their dorm life.

As a single woman, was it wrong to flirt with one girl and kiss another?

She kept telling herself that Yoohyeon never actually expressed any interest in her and that it was okay to enjoy kissing Sua, because who wouldn’t, honestly, but no matter how she reasoned with herself she still felt like an awful person.

Then she went through a phase where she tried to insist that she hadn't enjoyed kissing Sua at all but found that it was impossible to lie to ones self. It was incredible, and a large piece of her will was trying to force herself to go lay down in Sua's bed to wait for her instead, but she resisted.

She pulled her comforter up to her neck and stared at the wall wondering how something she wanted so badly just a month ago could cause her so much inner turmoil.

She listened to the other girls mutely through the walls, clearly hearing Sua’s shrill laugh above the others.

Siyeon wondered if Sua was as affected by tonight's events as she was. It didn’t really seem like it..

Would Sua be hurt when Siyeon didn’t show up to spend the night with her?

Why did all of this have to be so damn complicated?

The voices outside grew quieter and Siyeon knew she would soon have to share her safe haven with two others. She had no desire to talk to anyone and was determined to pretend to be asleep.

The first person that came in was silent and moved to the side of the room that made Siyeon think it must be Dami.

Yoohyeon’s best friend.

Siyeon wondered if she could benefit from trying to gather some more information from Dami about Yoohyeon’s feelings. She wondered if Dami would even share it with her if she knew.

The best thing about Dami was that even if she didn’t give Siyeon information, she wouldn’t judge her. Siyeon was struck by the idea to come out to the girl, thinking it would be nice to have another point of view.

It would be nice to have another outlet, anyway..

The door opened and closed again.

Jiu…

It must have been at least 40 minutes until both of the girls settled down and the lights went out.

Siyeon took a small victory in having fooled them, but she knew it was only a temporary victory.

Jiu would eventually corner her and make her speak about what happened and Siyeon wasn’t sure she knew how to convey why she felt so ashamed without explaining everything from the beginning. Jiu was her friend, she knew that, but she was also her leader. Their lives revolved around a business, and how would it look if Jiu knew Siyeon was going around and making out with the other members seemingly one by one?

Siyeon swallowed hard, coming to terms with another sleepless night.

It wasn’t until she heard Dami breathing heavily that she felt the bunk bed shudder.

Jiu was climbing down again, which wasn’t unusual. Jiu never really slept much.

Siyeon’s heart stopped when she felt the weight shift on her own mattress.

Jiu slid up behind Siyeon wordlessly, arms coming around the girl’s midsection.

“You didn’t eat.” Jiu whispered.

“I wasn’t hungry.” Siyeon lied.

Siyeon felt Jiu push her forehead against her back and sighed.

“I don’t know why you’re upset about this.” She said.

Defeated, Siyeon rolled over to face Jiu. Her eyes were so adjusted to the darkness that she could make her out perfectly.

“I don’t know what to do.” Siyeon said.

“But you like her.” Jiu said.

“Yeah, but I like someone else more.” Siyeon said, shame consuming her.

“Ahh and you don’t want to hurt Sua’s feelings.”

“Yeah.”

“But if you mess around with Sua, you’ll ruin any chance you might have with Yoohyeon.” Jiu nodded.

“Yeah… but it’s not even that.” Siyeon said. “It’s not fair to either of them. I feel like I shouldn’t have gotten into this situation in the first place. Sua’s just so aggressive-”

Siyeon paused as Jiu’s words smacked her in the face. “How did you…?”

“You’re so obvious.” Jiu said. “I can see the way you look at her, Siyeon, like she’s the 8th wonder of the world.”

“She is.” Siyeon said in a small voice.

Jiu smiled, cupping Siyeon’s face. “You’re so sweet.”

“She kissed me.” Siyeon blurted out.

Jiu squeezed Siyeon’s cheek and shook it gently.

“..We were drunk, but still.” Siyeon muttered.

“You’re like a magnet.” Jiu said.

“Why…?” Siyeon asked.

Jiu shrugged and took Siyeon’s hand, squeezing it.

“It’s just something about you.” 

“I don’t understand” Siyeon said.

Jiu sighed. “You’re a beautiful girl Siyeon, you really are, but at the same time, you’re… handsome.”

“Handsome!?” Siyeon choked.

“The way you dress, the constant compliments and skinship, the sound of your voice..” Jiu’s lip curled and she shrugged her shoulders. “It’s just attractive. It’s what women find attractive.”

Siyeon’s mouth was hanging open, stupefied.

“If we weren’t being idols, you know we’d all be at an age where we’d be discovering love and dating. Just because there are rules against it doesn’t mean that we can turn off that biological need to get close to someone.” Jiu said.

Siyeon opened but couldn’t fault Jiu’s logic. On paper, this made perfect sense.

“We live very lonely lives and I just think you make it really easy for people to want to get close to you.”

“You’re insane.” Siyeon said.

“Maybe, but I’m right.” Jiu laughed.

“Even if you’re right, it’s a curse. Someone’s going to end up getting hurt.” Siyeon said.

“Sweety.” Jiu said. “You’re single. You’re not obligated to anyone. You need to stop taking this so seriously and just enjoy it.”

“But I really like Yoohyeon.” Siyeon said.

“So tell her.” Jiu said. “What’s the point of waiting? If it doesn’t work out, you can start with Sua.”

Jiu made it sound so easy. Siyeon wasn’t so sure she’d ever be able to drum up the courage.

“Tell her soon.” Jiu crooned.

“...I’ll think about it.” Siyeon said.

“Good.” Jiu said.

She took Siyeon’s arm and rolled over, essentially pulling Siyeon close to spoon her.

“We can finally get some rest.” Jiu yawned.

“You’ll sleep here?” Siyeon asked, surprised.

“Unnie gets lonely too.” Jiu said softly.

Speechless, Siyeon slid her arms completely around Jiu’s body and closed her eyes, deeply inhaling the scent of the girl’s shampoo.

Sleep came a lot easier with a warm body in her bed. She concentrated on Jiu’s breathing as sleep came closer, repeating the same mantra…

What’s the worst that could happen?