The room stirred with busy people, continuous chattering, expensive film equipment and a sense of a hustle, for it was the last day of shooting LOONA’s ‘Heart Attack’ music video featuring Chuu. Sooyoung sat on a small sofa in a not-so-quiet corner of the set. Her knees pressed against each other as she carefully held onto a small ball of tinfoil paper which she had forgotten until then to throw away. Someone had finally shut off the LOONA TV camera, and Jiwoo had returned to shoot the last scene, content with her recently nibbled sweet potato cooked by Sooyoung herself early that day. Between multiple dark silhouettes much farther ahead in the studio, she held a glimpse of Jiwoo and several dancers swaying in the pretend snow. The older girl found herself mindlessly chewing on her bottom lip as she watched a very small and blurry Jiwoo in a pretty and almost childish red dress performing her lively choreography.

~

“Sooyoung...Is this song truly about being in love?” Jiwoo asked three nights before as the two laid down in their shared dormitory, hoping that the other wouldn’t already be fast asleep.

Sooyoung’s breathing swiftly came to a halt, her eyes wandering in the dark. That night, they felt more tired than usual and wanted to share the best moments of their day while lying next to each other, arms touching, in Sooyoung’s bed - a common ritual that started once they met as trainees a few months before.

“Yes, I think it is.”

Jiwoo was silent for a few seconds. She opened to speak but stopped herself since she did not have the courage to ask the question floating in her mind. She felt her eyes closing with a mix of exhaustion and coziness, shifting her body in the tiny bed to face Sooyoung’s. The latter did the same, both their knees softly touching under the covers. A dim light coming from the bottom of the closed door was enough for the older girl to see the younger’s features. She carefully and slowly reached out her fingertips to brush Jiwoo’s bangs to the side.

~

“Can I take this for you?” A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts. Sooyoung looked up at her manager’s hand pointing at the ball of aluminium paper still dangling between her fingers.

“Yes, thank you.” She softly bowed with a smile before focusing once again on the scenery ahead. Music blasted from a speaker, and the red haired girl sang along as she danced to her single.

~

“I’m having so much fun shooting this music video with you, Sooyoungie!” Jiwoo chimed happily, wrapping her arms around her unnie’s torso in a quick, tight embrace. Ha Sooyoung chuckled as she tried to maintain her balance.

“And I as well! You’re a natural in front of the cameras. You shine so bright.” The other replied with a wide smile, locking her gaze with Jiwoo’s. They stood there for a few long seconds without saying a word.

During their lunch break, the two waited in line for their food in the cafeteria. “I-...” Jiwoo was interrupted by an excited voice coming from behind.

“I tried to take a peek at your shooting today, but the managers didn’t let me. Jiwoo unnie, Sooyoung has been texting me how amazing you’ve been!” Gowon chanted, pulling Jiwoo into a quick hug.

“Ah, thank you! I’ve been having the time of my life. Everything is beautiful - the set, all the props, the wardrobe, and how I wish you could see the snow!”

Sooyoung watched as Jiwoo jumped up and down excitedly on her tiptoes before exchanging a look with Gowon as they chuckled in unison.

“I can’t wait for you to start shooting, Gowon.” The older girl mentioned with a warm smile.

“Me neither. In a couple of days I’ll start recording, and I’m very excited. I've been working so hard.”

Jiwoo and Sooyoung eventually said goodbye to their friend as she headed to practice. They set their lunch trays in front of each other on a table before sitting down. Their bare knees brushed against each other whenever they made the slightest move, which caused both of them to smile in a shy manner each time.

After Jiwoo devoured a vegetable dumpling, she wiped with a white napkin, cleared , and picked up the red apple on her tray. “With so many green apples on set, it’s very refreshing to finally see a red one.”

“I had my share of red apples when I shot ‘new’.” Sooyoung smiled, before picking a cooked vegetable.

The younger girl examined the apple between her fingers, fully immersed in her thoughts. “The apple…” She mumbled. “...resembles a heart.”

Sooyoung stopped chewing for a couple of seconds, staring at a daydreaming Jiwoo. She then returned to her task as her gaze accidentally landed on the other girl’s slender fingers that carefully enveloped the shiny, red apple.

Suddenly, Jiwoo stretched her arm out at the brunette with the apple in her hand and offered it to her. Sooyoung swallowed a large chunk of food. Her stare interchanged from Jiwoo’s eyes to the apple in front of her. She thought Jiwoo was playing around and impersonating herself in the music video, but her facial expression demonstrated seriousness. Slowly setting down the metallic chopsticks, Sooyoung gently took the apple from the girl’s hand. Their warm fingers lightly touched. Jiwoo’s gaze wouldn’t leave Sooyoung’s, and her lips began forming into her all-teeth signature smile with squinting eyes. The older girl was about to speak when the other swiftly stood up, picking up her tray. “I’ll see you later, Sooyoungie! Have an amazing afternoon at dance practice!” Jiwoo exclaimed with the brightest smile and a short bow before heading off towards the automatic tray dispenser and disappearing into a crowd of chatty trainees.

Sooyoung sank back in her chair, still speechless. Her eyes kept falling on the apple in her hand as her mind contemplated the possibility that that little gesture had not been so trivial.

~

Her thoughts were interrupted by an eruption of clapping around the set. She immediately clapped along, standing up from the sofa. “Is it a wrap?” Sooyoung asked the closest manager, walking past her. He nodded and kept walking. The brunette got on her tiptoes, looking around the room for Jiwoo, who was nowhere to be seen. She had probably been taken to the dressing room to change into regular attire. Sooyoung crossed her arms, looked around, and decided to wait a few minutes.

~

“Are you excited for tomorrow? It’s the last day of ‘Heart Attack’.” Sooyoung asked as she set the dish drying cloth on its tiny hanger close to the sink of the dorm’s kitchenette. She turned around to face a tired Jiwoo sitting by the dinner table, resting her head on both her hands; her dark crimson hair, loose and long, stretched out along her back. She lifted her gaze up to meet Sooyoung’s, as her face beamed with a smile.

“I’m very excited, Sooyoungie. These past few days have been some of the best of my life so far, and I can’t wait for more days like these to come!”

Ha Sooyoung tilted her head to the side as she returned the smile, leaning back against the counter, arms crossed. Both girls found themselves gazing at each other, secretly adoring one another in comfy clothes and their clean and natural, bare faces. “You’re so pretty.” Jiwoo whispered, loud enough for the other to hear.

Sooyoung could not stop herself from smiling, her ears growing hotter. “And can I ask the reason for your whispering?” She whispered in return, slowly moving towards the table, to sit on the chair in front of Jiwoo’s.

“Well...it’s a mix of being very tired with a trace of mysteriousness.”

“Shall we go to sle-”

“Sooyoungie.”

“Yes?”

Jiwoo lifted her head from her hands, sitting back on her chair. “I ran into Jungeun on a break this afternoon. She told me how much she liked my song, and that it was surprisingly a very romantic song.”

Sooyoung slightly nodded, waiting for Jiwoo to keep on narrating that day’s event.

“The first time I read the lyrics, I wasn’t too sure I fully understood the song...But now, I think I do! The music video helped me a lot.”

The brunette smiled, elbows resting on the wooden table.

“And I asked Jungeun if she had already offered her apple-I’m sorry, her heart...to someone, and she said ‘no’. And then I asked her if I could offer mine to anyone.”

“Anyone? Jiwoo, you shouldn't-”

“Yes, I know. I meant it as in, anyone, doesn’t matter what age...what gender…” Jiwoo’s gaze fell down for a couple of seconds and onto her own hands, still on the table, before looking back into Sooyoung’s eyes.

“You should give it whenever you’re sure the other person will take good care of your heart and will protect it always.” Sooyoung explained, her voice soft and steady, holding the younger girl’s gaze.

Jiwoo smiled with a nod and an affirmative hum. “Yes.” She scooted her hands closer to Sooyoung’s, at a slow pace. The brunette took them quickly on her own, her thumbs caressing the back of Jiwoo’s hands. The latter was staring longingly into the other’s eyes, slightly agape in a hesitating manner, as if trying to find the courage to voice a few words. But at the same time, the look in her eyes suggested that she was expecting Sooyoung to understand what she was trying to disclose. The brunette broke their gaze for a few seconds to look at the shiny red apple, the one given to her by Jiwoo on the previous day, in the fruit basket on top of the small white fridge. She was almost certain of what she had meant by that subtle gesture, more meaningful now than ever. Jiwoo watched her attentively and eagerly, her fingers softly squeezing Sooyoung’s, motioning her to meet her eyes.

“I’m very tired. I need to sleep…Tomorrow’s a big day!” The red-haired girl finally spoke, letting go of Sooyoung’s hands and swiftly standing up.

Sooyoung cleared , sitting back on her chair. “Do you want to sleep with me tonight again?”

“I think I’ll sleep in my own bed. I tend to be too snuggly and that’s probably not good for your back.”

The brunette chuckled as she stood up, adjusting her long white shirt. “You might be right, but you know that I don’t mind.”

With a slight head tilt, Jiwoo smiled, before walking over to Sooyoung and standing very close to her. “Goodnight, unnie. Don’t go to bed late.” And after a soft, tender, and an unusually long kiss on the older girl’s cheek, Jiwoo headed to their room.

Sooyoung headed towards the side table by the sofa to fetch her diary in its drawer. She had written a lot about her roommate over the past couple of months. Almost every entry was in relation to Jiwoo; these often included documents of moments they often shared together and descriptions of what she meant to her. Such activity would require her to go to bed a little late at times, hence Jiwoo’s caring advice.

~

Nearly fifteen minutes had gone by, and most of the crew members had already exited the set. Sooyoung walked to the now-empty synthetic snow area, gently kicking some of the snowflakes with her white sneakers. She glanced around. There was no one in the room. She stepped into the center of the bright spotlight, and with slow and gracious moves, Sooyoung began dancing sections of Jiwoo’s choreography that she had memorised.

Jiwoo exited the dressing room, and as she turned around the corner to witness Sooyoung dancing to ‘Heart Attack’ by herself in the illuminated circle of light, she stopped in her tracks. Flicking her bangs off of her eyes, Jiwoo watched the dancing girl, and her lips unconsciously formed a genuine smile. She had seen Sooyoung dancing many times before, but never as pure as in that moment. For she was not only dancing to Jiwoo’s choreography, but she also added her own moves and ideas. Jiwoo felt her whole body bubbling with joy, along with a specific sensation of warmth she associated only with Sooyoung.

Jiwoo quietly made her way towards the white space of snow and light, smiling so brightly she had to cover with both hands. She knew Sooyoung would not see her until she reached the area illuminated by the single spotlight.

“Those look better than my actual choreography.” Jiwoo spoke, stepping into the circle of light.

Sooyoung stopped dancing all of a sudden at the sound of the other girl’s voice. She turned around to face her, and a smile began to spread across her face as she quickly fixed her hair. “Hi! Thank you, but absolutely not. Your choreography is beyond adorable. It fits you perfectly. I was just...Well, I’ve never really danced in the snow - even if fake.” The brunette chuckled and twirled on her tiptoes.

Jiwoo giggled in return, and with a sudden gasp she exclaimed. “Sooyoungie! What if that machine still has some snow left? Wouldn’t that be lovely?” The younger girl looked up at her left, a tall and dark machine hanging above them. She stepped into the darkness and fumbled among several power cords before finding the right one and plugging it into the wall. Soft, fabricated snowflakes began slowly pouring out from the machine and into the circled area, already covered white. Jiwoo squealed happily before returning to the light.

Sooyoung smiled with arms spread, lifting her face up while keeping her eyes closed. “It tickles a little bit! As if butterflies were coming to land on my face!” She declared, her face glowing and arms falling down gently onto her sides.

Jiwoo stepped closer to the brunette and watched her attentively, as she too could not contain her grin. She reached up to blindly clean off the white flakes from her hair. Sooyoung ultimately opened her eyes to face the other girl standing before her. “Leave them be; it looks cute.” She chuckled. The two smiled at each other, both wanting to break the silence. Finally, to their surprise, they began speaking at the same time.

“Jiwoo, please go first!”

The red-haired girl nodded before taking a deep breath to ready herself. She confidently did not glance away from Sooyoung’s eyes. “Two days ago, after lunch, I gave you that apple. Remember?”

“Of course I do. It’s in our kitchen. I kept it.”

Jiwoo raised her eyebrows, and a smile appeared on her face. “Oh! So that’s my apple!”

Sooyoung nodded with a chuckle.

The younger girl quickly tucked her hair behind her ears. “Well, I was wondering if you knew the meaning behind that gesture. Because I did not give away that delicious looking apple just because I wasn’t hungry. In fact, I was still hungry, and that apple could’ve been enough to satisfy my belly.”

Sooyoung’s heart rate began to increase, although she had to bite her lips to stop herself from giggling at the girl’s statement. She could not bring herself to say any words for a moment. With a little effort to keep her voice steady, the brunette subsequently spoke. “I’ve been wondering ever since you gave it to me, but I was hoping you’d tell me so I can be sure.”

Jiwoo brought up both hands to once again tuck her hair behind her ears, this time in a slightly more nervous fashion. “Yes.” She was not aware of the amount of courage it takes to form an entire sentence declaring one’s feelings. Jiwoo let herself breathe for a few seconds.

The fabricated snowflakes kept on pouring ceaselessly. The dark hair of both girls had become overgrown with a layer of immaculate white. As Jiwoo struggled to find her words, Sooyoung was suddenly and completely certain of what she was about to confess.

“Jiwoo.” The brunette gently took the other girl’s hands in her own. Her voice was warm, soft, and assured. “I know. I have for quite some time, but not entirely. Like when you gave me your apple in the cafeteria, knowing that’s what Chuu does in the music video. I mean, you. I’ve never paid much attention to romantic feelings - perhaps because I never felt them. But with you, when we started to get to know each other, knowing we’d be in Loona together, I began to realize that I don’t usually feel these...particular feelings towards anyone else. I thought it was my gastroenteritis at first.”

As if a gigantic load of tension had been pulled off Jiwoo’s shoulders, she burst into laughter, holding tightly onto Sooyoung’s hands. The latter chuckled along. “I’m really sorry. As you can see, I have the romantic skills of a grandmother.”

Jiwoo’s eyes were shinier than ever, almost watery, her face beaming with her smile. She shook her head to reassure Sooyoung that she was doing perfectly fine.

The brunette took a step closer to Jiwoo, taking her hands, pressed together between their bodies. Sooyoung focused her gaze on the slightly shorter girl’s half parted, rosy lips, as she let go of her hands. Jiwoo’s chest increased its motions as her breathing accelerated, her mind racing and heart palpitating. Sooyoung brought her hands up to the sides of Jiwoo’s neck, fingers spread out along its back, thumbs on her cheeks. Her skin was warm, soft. Her familiar and sweet scent had become significantly stronger, making her feel simultaneously more relaxed and nervous. Sooyoung shifted her gaze to look into Jiwoo’s eyes; their faces had never been this close to each other before. The crimson-haired girl silently gasped at the feeling of Sooyoung’s breath on her lips, her eyes closing for a moment. “Can I kiss you?” Sooyoung whispered ever so softly. The two girls met each other’s gazes. Jiwoo’s hands landed on the brunette’s waist before travelling to the small of her back, gently pulling her body closer. And with another whisper, amidst a tinge of sweet impatience, she replied “Yes, please.”

Sooyoung closed her eyes, her fingertips gently the back of Jiwoo’s neck while mindlessly interlacing them with strands of hair. With no hesitation, she closed the remaining space between them, pressing her lips longingly against Jiwoo’s. The latter let out a soft whimper in return, allowing her entire self to melt into the kiss. Sooyoung wrapped her arms around Jiwoo’s neck, both their lips moving together in complete sync - soft but hungrily, inexperienced but passionate.

Jiwoo’s hands gripped tightly onto Sooyoung’s clothing, bodies pressed together. The two girls breathed heavily, for they were intoxicated by one another.

The sound of a closing door echoed throughout the room, causing them to quickly take a step back from each other and look towards the exit. After ascertaining they were indeed alone, they faced each other once again, still happily astounded by what had just occurred. Gazing at each other with smiles plastered on their faces, Sooyoung broke the silence as she brought a hand up to fix her hair. Her gaze never left Jiwoo’s. “Hi.”

Jiwoo chuckled in her own high pitched manner, and with a nod she replied. “Hi! You have some-” She stepped forward and lifted her hand to gently wipe a couple of smudged dark pink lipstick stains off of Sooyoung’s lips. “There.” She then proceeded to wipe her own.

“It would be an honor to accept your apple. Even though technically I already did, two days ago. But this is the official statement.”

Jiwoo’s eyes were shining in complete exhilaration, as a gasp accidentally left her lips. She quickly threw her arms around Sooyoung’s torso pulling her into a tight hug, squawking happily. The brunette immediately returned the hug, trying her best to hold her balance. “Thank you, Sooyoungie! I’m very very happy! Although...I think we need to get ourselves clean.”

To their surprise the machine had stopped working, for it had run out of flakes. “We really should.”

Jiwoo had started walking towards the exit, taking the brunette by the hand, when the latter gently pulled her to stand still. “Wait.” Sooyoung spoke. “You gave me your apple, but I haven’t offered mine to you. And it needs to be equal.”

Sooyoung guided Jiwoo’s hand towards her chest. “Will you take it? It belongs to you.” She asked, eyes attentively watching Jiwoo’s every movement.

The crimson-haired girl could feel Sooyoung’s heart fluttering against her palm. Her lips formed into an all-teeth grin with an unconscious tiny tiptoe bounce. “It’s my biggest honor to take it!”

Jiwoo and Sooyoung embraced each other once again very tightly before heading towards the dressing room, hand in hand.