Coming back to the hotel from a long concert in Kobe, all Yujin wants to do is collapse on her bed and sleep the rest of the night away. Forget showering, forget removing makeup - just sleep. It isn't a crime to sleep the rest of her birthday away, and she'll fight anyone who argues otherwise.

So when she hears a calm knocking on her hotel room door, she's almost tempted to tune it out and hide under the duvet. 

But what if it was Eunbi, coming to finally claim her cheek kiss from today's birthday Vlive? Yujin shudders at the thought. She's not kissing anyone. It's awkward and she's not the type to express herself like that. Let someone else do it. Eunbi knows how grateful Yujin is to her without all these acts of affection anyway. Yujin would follow her to the ends of the Earth, no questions asked, forever a loyal pup to her parent. 

What if it was Minjoo? Oh, now that is tempting. Imagine opening the door to a beautiful goddess. She thinks about drowning in quiet words that hold the grace and deliberation of a poet. She dreams of the times when Minju climbs down from her bunk back in their dorm on cold nights, climbs into her bed, wrapping long arms around necks and waists, frozen fingers dancing up her sides.

Maybe it was Wonyoung, even. Born exactly 365 days apart, Yujin had always thought of the younger girl as her other half, her better half. It was inevitable that they meet, for they would never have been more complete without the other. How could someone so young be so beautiful, so resilient and radiant under the brilliant stage lights? It's a struggle for Yujin to express her deeper emotions, her love and gratitude and everything to do with the strange organ beating in her chest, but especially so with Wonyoung. But the bunny-like girl would always understand, reading Yujin's mind almost too easily. They are soulmates; nothing will ever change that.

The knocking becomes louder, more frantic. "Alright, alright, I'm coming!" Yujin grumbles, hauling herself off the bed. Dragging herself across the room, she prepares to jump whoever dares to bother her tonight.

She opens the door to a banana.

Wait, what? 

Yujin rubs her eyes, and sure enough, there's a banana waiting for her on the floor. Confused, she picks it up to examine it. Yup, it's a banana all right.

"What the actual-" 

Nako slides into view, a cheeky grin on her face. She has another banana, holding it to her ear like a phone. "Is this Ahn Yujin?" she asks, expectant.

Yujin immediately plays along, placing the banana by her ear. "That's right. Can I help you?"

"I have a message for you," Nako announces, attempting a serious face. "It's from someone really special." 

"Oh?" Yujin tucks her hand into her pocket. "By any chance, is this special someone a short girl, about 20cm shorter than me, with dyed hair? You know, someone who's standing in front of me right now?"

Nako narrows her eyes at the height remark. "If you're going to keep being like that, I'm not going to deliver the message."

Yujin chuckles. "Fine, fine, I'll stop."

"Good."

They stand there for a while, two girls on either side of a doorway with bananas in their hands. It's kind of silly, this kind of scenario, isn't it? And yet it's so very them, playmates and friends and lovers of a sort, hearts attuned to the same wavelength. They gaze into each other's eyes, standing in comfortable silence, dimples growing on reddened cheeks.

"Ahn Yujin, thank you for being born," Nako starts quietly, and Yujin has to strain to hear her words. "Thank you for helping me whenever I needed help, thank you for always entertaining me, thank you for always making sure I'm happy and safe." 

Nako's breath hitches and she gives Yujin a soft smile. "Thank you, and I love you." 

Yujin surges forward and wraps Nako in the warmest, tightest hug she can give. She easily plucks the smaller girl off the ground, and Nako flings her arms around Yujin's neck. Spinning around, they laugh like children at the peak of puppy love, bananas forgotten on the floor. 

Yujin boosts Nako up, allowing Nako to wrap her legs around Yujin's waist and bring them into a gentle kiss. And suddenly all the exhaustion from the day is gone, a warmth filling Yujin's chest as she deepens the kiss greedily. The butterflies that emerged from their cocoons in her stomach during their very first kiss had never really left, and they flutter still at every smile, every hug, every kiss.

Yujin twirls them into the room, leg subtly closing the door behind her before they land onto the messy bed. When they part, she finds Nako on top of her, lips swollen and stars dancing in her eyes. Somewhere in her dazed mind, Yujin wonders whether she looks the same, breathlessly in wonder of the girl before her. 

"Happy birthday," Nako murmurs. 

"I love you too, " Yujin replies quietly.

The only person who can draw those difficult words out of her; the only one who can make her stomach do backflips and play her heart like a set of drums; the girl who contains a thousand lifetimes' worth of love in her petite body and gives it out as easily as taking a breath of air - she fits in Yujin's hands so well, too well. 

"Sorry for coming here so late at night," Nako says, playing with Yujin's hair. "I wasn't sure whether you were sleeping or not."

"I was going to," Yujin answers truthfully. She yawns, covering with the back of her hand.

Catching this, Nako lies down on her, settling beneath her chin. Yujin pulls the duvet over both of them. One hand finds itself on Nako's back, drawing slow circles; the other is held tightly by the older girl, fingers interlocking. They breathe in and out as one, and Yujin closes her eyes to a quiet lullaby. 

If this is what being in love is like, Yujin wouldn't trade it for the world.