Do You..?
Do You Already Know?The Blockberry Creative staff member finishes announcing the future plans for LOONA and the meeting is officially adjourned; all other staff clears the room, letting the girls freely burst into chaos, as they usually do.
Sooyoung spins wildly in her office chair and sees that Jinsol is already looking back at her expectantly, a huge grin on her face.
“Subunits are back!” Jinsol screeches, her face alight with excitement as she holds her hands up.
“Yeah!” Sooyoung shouts back cooly, high-fiving Jinsol and intertwining their fingers. “I didn’t think they ever would, but it’s a really good way to continue expanding the lore!”
“Right? And we’re with Hyejoo and Haseul,” Jinsol says dreamily. “I’m really excited to be with you and see how stuff changes.” Her eyes soften then, because Jinsol is a softie and she’s always so eager and full of life; surely she’s already imagining all the fun they’ll have as a totally new subunit. After a moment she seems to return to Earth and her usual impish smile is back. “And we’re going to Mexico for the music video filming! We haven’t gone there yet, right? That’s so cool! I wonder what kind of storyline we’ll be following this time?”
Sooyoung pretends she wasn’t staring, thinking about how gorgeous Jinsol looks when she’s excited, and shrugs nonchalantly. “I bet it’ll be convoluted and I’ll have to ask Yerim to explain it all to me.”
“I think she knows more about the loonaverse than the writers do,” Jinsol agrees with a laugh, then turns to Vivi to ask her where she’s going and who she’s in a subunit with.
Sooyoung’s heart pounds as she looks at Jinsol’s side profile. Quickly, she searches up the exact city of Mexico her subunit will be going to. She knows she’s going to have fun, especially with Hyejoo, who she’s already been in a subunit with, but she wants to see what kind of extra fun things will be in store for them. Hopefully something to help her bond with this fresh new team, and hopefully something to help her get even closer to Jinsol, who she’s had a crush on since before debut.
“You’re going to Mexico?! Without me?!” Yeojin shouts, and Sooyoung and Jinsol lean forward to clap their hands over her big mouth.
“You’re so loud!” Jinsol hisses, and doesn’t remove her hand from Yeojin until she senses the teeny brunette won’t attract any more attention in BBC’s relatively quiet cafeteria.
“I’m sorry , but both of my moms are thinking about abandoning me. What else am I supposed to do?”
Sooyoung rolls her eyes as she pulls her hand away but immediately leans back in to squeeze Yeojin’s little cheeks, unable to resist it when she puffs them out angrily like that. “You‘re gonna be with your own subunit, you little bean. Jungeun and Jiwoo can be your temporary moms when you’re in Recife Antigo filming your music video.”
Yeojin attacks Sooyoung with a hug and peeps up at her with those big brown baby eyes of hers. “It’s not the same thing! Those two are so grossly into each other that they always end up ignoring me. Please don’t leave me.”
Sooyoung understands that Yeojin is just super attached to her from the couple years they’ve promoted as a full group, but man, sometimes Yeojin wants to stick to her like gum on a shoe. She’s not excited to go to Brazil? Just because she and Jinsol aren’t going too? Sooyoung can only sigh.
Jinsol smiles and offers, “You’ll be fine. It’s only a week, right?”
This sets Yeojin off even more and she jumps into Jinsol’s arms. “A week? A week! I think I’ll go insane by then!”
Sooyoung leans forward onto the table, arms spread wide in a dramatic angle. “They’re not that bad. They’ve just got their own inside jokes already. Try to talk to them about how you feel, I guess. Like, tell them you don’t want to feel left out. Maybe they’ll keep you in mind more often?”
“Hmph! Like they’d ever stop looking at each other long enough for me to voice my opinions.”
Jinsol sighs as she watches the two bicker so much like a family, it hurts. Sooyoung has always had a soft spot for the youngest member, caring for her in an almost motherly way, if mothers also loved to use every synonym for ‘short’ in the thesaurus to bully their child. Yeojin, in turn, acts like she’s disgusted whenever Sooyoung or Jinsol fuss over her like mother hens, but they know the truth: whenever Yeojin is excited over something or needs help, she runs to them first, always. It’s nice, Jinsol thinks, to have such a bond with Sooyoung and Yeojin like this. (Also, Yeojin calls her ‘mom’ along with Sooyoung, which causes butterflies in Jinsol’s stomach, since she’s been harboring a huge crush on the older girl since forever, but hey, that’s a secret...) She chuckles to herself, amused at the tragically hilarious romantic situation she’s in, before her attention is back on Yeojin and Sooyoung.
“Can’t you take me with you? On god you won’t even know I’m there.” Yeojin smiles so wide, Jinsol can see a piece of french fry stuck between her teeth. She must’ve stolen one from Sooyoung’s plate without anyone noticing.
“No,” Sooyoung deadpans as she turns away from Yeojin to take a bite out of her cold fries. With a full mouth, she continues. “You’ve already got your own subunit and your own trip to go to!”
“Oh,” Yeojin slowly says with a frown, like she suddenly had a revelation, “I know what’s going on here. You hate me so much , don’t you? You just want to go on this trip to get rid of me. That’s it, huh? Well, this mom loves me and won’t leave me!” Yeojin scoots over and wraps her noodle arms around Jinsol’s waist. “Right, mom?”
Jinsol laughs nervously and slowly removes the gangly girl from her, not ready to let the girl down more than they already have. “Oh, sure, I’ll just tell the managers that I don’t care about the plans BBC have made for the subunits, which, by the way, are planned ahead by entire months.”
Yeojin frowns. What‘s going on? It’s almost like Yeojin isn’t the center of the universe anymore!
“Can’t you be like Hyejoo? I’m pretty sure she’s not complaining about the new subunit plans like it’s her job, ” Sooyoung says with her eyes trained on Yeojin, almost pointedly. Yeojin doesn’t even flinch. “Hyejoo is glad to be with me. yyxy have a bond no one can beat!”
“I dunno about that.” Yeojin easily swipes another fry from Sooyoung’s plate and chews thoughtfully. “I’m almost sure I saw her roll her eyes when they announced the units and called your names together.”
Jinsol tries not to laugh at the ridiculous face Sooyoung makes. “Whatever,” Sooyoung says as she flips her auburn hair. “Hyejoo can roll her eyes all she wants. At least someone in my subunit loves me! Right, Jinsol?”
Jinsol spreads her arms out and Sooyoung dives right in. “I do!”
Yeojin makes a face like she just ate a lemon. She steals another fry. “Yuck. You two are almost as gross as my new unit. Just say you’re in love with each other already and get married in Mexico.” Almost as an afterthought, and slightly flippantly, she adds, “And adopt me, of course.”
Yeojin clearly doesn’t understand the weight of the words she just said. Sooyoung panics and looks over at Jinsol nervously; she’s never minded before, being called Yeojin’s mom along with Sooyoung, but this is totally different! Straight up talking about marriage? Has Yeojin lost it? Sooyoung is about to save herself from an embarrassing rejection until she sees Jinsol tap her chin in thought.
“You know, that sounds like a great idea. I think it wouldn’t be too hard, you know?”
Sooyoung nearly collapses on their table but stops before she humiliates herself. Did—did Jinsol not object to marrying her? Is this another one of Sooyoung’s thoughtful dreams? She pinches her thigh. It’s not a dream. Oh yeah, this is totally going to keep her up at night. “Y-yeah, totally,” Sooyoung agrees, trying her best to sound like she’s joking with a laugh just in case this is all a jest.
Jinsol studies Sooyoung’s response, then takes a fry from her plate to chew on in order to have a full minute of thinking. Sooyoung didn’t mind her comment. She’s totally fine with the prospect of marrying her. Or is she just joking? Her laugh made it seem like it...
“Oh, brother,” Yeojin mutters to herself as Sooyoung and Jinsol avoid eye contact with each other despite sharing a plate of food. These two are terribly oblivious about each other’s feelings, she thinks, and it’s making me sick.
Weeks later, they’re all standing at the gate waiting to board their flight. There’s a vibe in the air now that they’ve passed the check-in stage: it’s a mix of excited anticipation, dreadful nervousness, and, in Yeojin’s case, bitter, bitter loss.
“This is so messed up. This is so cruel and wrong. I know Spanish, you know! I could translate what the locals say for free, all I would need is a ticket to Mexico too.” Yeojin hops after every other word, making sure everyone in the airport is looking at her.
Sooyoung glares at Jinsol. “Why did you let Yeojin come with us to the airport? I’m irritated as it is having to wake up at 4 am and having to nurse this headache with the LOONA TV camera following us; now I have to hear this garden gnome lie and complain until we leave?” She holds her head as another wave of pain overtakes her head.
“She’s sad, Sooyoungie. She’s going to miss us! Have a bit of compassion for the baby, it’s not her fault your head hurts.” Jinsol turns to Yeojin and babies her, gently cooing at her and pulling her cheeks as Yeojin sniffles and whines like an 8 month-old. “And don’t you leave without telling your baby goodbye,” Jinsol adds seriously.
Sooyoung deflates as her crush turns Yeojin to face her. The tiny girl’s face is red and puffy, like she’s been crying for hours (when she’s only been crying for around ten seconds), and she waddles up to Sooyoung like a penguin. The waddle is what gets to her. She softens.
“Come here, sprout,” Sooyoung says weakly, and gives the kid a tight hug. As they hold each other in that position, Yeojin rises on her tiptoes and whispers something in her ear:
“Win her heart in Mexico, okay?”
Sooyoung jerkily pulls back, confused, but Yeojin looks like nothing happened, like nothing was said, and continues crying.
Haseul and Hyejoo step close and Jinsol waves them over.
“We barely found them, but here,” Haseul says, handing Jinsol a little packet of pain relieving tablets. “Olivia saved the day! If she hadn’t been there with me, I don’t think I would have seen them in the store.”
Hyejoo shoves Haseul playfully, shy about the compliment. “It’s not that big of a deal. They were right in front of us. We just kept passing by ‘em accidentally.”
Jinsol thanks them for the favor, bowing deeper for Hyejoo to a bit, too. She turns to Sooyoung and holds up the packet for her to see. “I sent Haseul and Hyejoo out to buy these for you. Take one and see if the headache goes away.”
Sooyoung smiles at Jinsol, touched that she’d asked the members to get her some medicine to relieve the sharp pain. “Thanks, Jindori. You’re the best.” She opens a packet and is about to pop one of them into when she stops and groans. “I don’t have water and I’m bad at dry swallowing. Do you think we’ll have time to find a shop before it’s time to board?” Sooyoung looks over at the long line of staff members standing around. The plane hasn’t arrived yet, but Sooyoung is infamous for her terrible luck. It wouldn’t be the first time a plane left her...
Jinsol nods. “The tickets say we have at least ten more minutes before the plane arrives. Plus, we’re in the lowest class possible, so we’ll be boarding last. We have time.”
Sooyoung grimaces, every part of her brain feeling like it’s being grilled. “Yeah. But our bags…”
“Yeojinnie,” Jinsol grabs their friend’s attention. “Sooyoung and I are going to buy some water. Can you take care of our luggage?”
Sooyoung eyes Yeojin suspiciously when she accepts the request without complaint. “You’re awfully helpful,” she notes dryly, to which Yeojin shrugs.
“I just...love you girls so much that I’m being nice. As a parting gift. Nothing wrong with that, right?” Yeojin’s tone is wry.
Sooyoung pauses to scrutinize Yeojin but ultimately shrugs, deciding that Yeojin is right. Her pain is too great to worry about possible ulterior motives, anyway. She feels like her head is about to split open and give birth to a goddess of wisdom. “Yeah. Okay, sorry. We’ll be right back,” she mutters as she ruffles Yeojin’s hair. The two older girls walk away, Yeojin watching them zigzag around foreign people to find a place that sells water. Once they’re out of sight, Yeojin grabs one of Sooyoung’s suitcases, the red one. Checking around her to make sure no manager or LOONA TV camera person is looking, Yeojin dumps Sooyoung’s items into a nearby trash can and climbs inside the now empty suitcase, carefully zipping it closed. She sends a quick text to Jinsol, making her plan even more convincing, then snickers wickedly.
“ers! If neither one of you makes a move, then I’ll have to work my magic!”
Minutes later, when Sooyoung and Jinsol return, Sooyoung takes a pain tablet as Jinsol spins around, searching for their youngest friend. “Sooyoungie, I can’t find Yeojin.”
Sooyoung swallows the water and medicine, grimacing at the taste. “What?” she splutters out.
“She’s not here. Do you think she went to the bathroom?” Jinsol starts to nervously pick at her face.
Sooyoung begins to worry when she sees her suitcase abandoned nearby. “What the—Jinsol, look! She left our suitcases alone.” Sooyoung tugs on one of hers, the big red one, and it seems to weigh more than it did earlier this morning, but she’s a little too worried about Yeojin to think too much about it.
Jinsol checks her phone and sighs in relief. “Look, she sent me a message a while ago. One of the other managers came by and took her back to BBC. They’re going to Brazil now, too.”
“Oh. Thank god. I was about to run up to an employee and take over their mics to scream for Yeojin,” Sooyoung jokes nervously, making Jinsol laugh too.
“I know you would’ve. You’re a big softie for her. No wonder she called you her mom first,” Jinsol says adoringly as she finds herself a seat now that the mystery is solved. Sooyoung stands next to her, no more empty chairs around.
“How are you feeling?” Sooyoung asks some time later. Jinsol has continued to pick at her face, a nervous habit of hers that Sooyoung’s noticed over the years. “You okay?”
Jinsol looks up at her crush with a nervous smile and hides her hands, forcing herself to stop messing with her face. “I’m fine. I’m just—nervous, I guess? Yeojin is safe, I know, but now I’m overthinking everything. New photos to take, hours of filming for our new music video, all in a whole new country...I don’t think we even know the subunit name yet, do we? Everything is going by so quickly.”
Sooyoung kneels and rubs Jinsol’s hand soothingly. “We’re all worried too. But remember, nothing’s going to go wrong. I promise. It’s gonna be just like the other times we’ve done this. We’ll do amazingly and Orbit are gonna love it.” She smiles reassuringly but Jinsol doesn’t look convinced, so she switches tactics. “Is there…any way I can help right now?”
“No , I’m fine Sooyoung,” Jinsol says as she slumps in her chair. She sees Sooyoung relax. She does too, but not before a thought presents itself and refuses to leave her brain. She tries out her luck—
“You can—“
—but she gets scared suddenly and the words get caught in . Would it be asking for too much?
Sooyoung notices and lowers herself even more, the two girls’ dark brown eyes now level with each other. “Anything. No request is too much,” she whispers, almost like she had been reading Jinsol’s mind.
Jinsol nods. She looks at the hand Sooyoung is holding, lovingly rubbing, and the way her eyes focus on her like she’s the most important person in the world. She bites her lip and tries again.
“You can…promise to keep holding my hand. Being with you always makes me feel better, and when you hold my hand I feel safer.” You’re like my rock, she wants to say.
“It does?” Sooyoung does her best to not sound so happy about it, but she can’t help it when the only girl she’s ever loved confesses she feels safe when they’re together, holding hands.
“It does.”
“You make me feel safe too,” Sooyoung admits, lowering her eyes as she feels her ears warm up. ”Let’s take care of each other and make sure this new shoot is perfect, okay?” She looks up from their joined hands and sees Jinsol’s eyes twinkling beautifully.
It may just be the person sitting behind her, but Jinsol swears that she hears one of Sooyoung’s suitcases gag.
On the plane, Sooyoung is terrified. The turbulence is unusually violent this time, the chairs shaking like they’re scared too, but it’s clear Jinsol is having a great time. She’s still holding onto Sooyoung’s hand, thank god, and her face is pressed to the window, her voice full of amazement.
“Look, Sooyoungie,” she says, and points at the dark clouds under them. “This is so awesome! I know we’ve flown before but—!” Jinsol shoves her face into the window again, amazed at the sight, and her hand squeezes Sooyoung’s tighter. It provides the latter some relief, a small blanket of happiness and a reminder that she’s with Jinsol, not dying ; they’re still in the air. Everything is fine.
Sooyoung feels safe enough to fall asleep with Jinsol but a couple hours later they’re woken up by Hyejoo, who is sitting in front of them with Haseul and leaning over her chair to shake them awake. She points to a manager who’s clearly been talking to them for a while.
“—going to Zacatecas, a city named after the state it resides in. We’ll be arriving in the morning, but the arrangements we’ve made in terms of transportation means we don’t start until the day after. We’ll take photos for the album jacket for two days, between three different locations, and the music video will be shot in a different Mexican state, Jalisco, for another two days. Any questions?”
Hyejoo raises her hand. “So what will we do on the day we arrive? It sounds like a free day to me.”
The manager nods. “It will be. You can stay in the hotel room all day and rest, like sleep or use your phones, or you can leave the room and walk around. We won’t be leaving the hotel, however.”
“Why not? We can use the time and explore the city, get a feel for the colors of the area. I think it would be nice,” says Haseul, who loves exploring the shooting area and eating local food.
“Sorry. We don’t think it’s a good idea at all. Just stay indoors.” The manager seems adamant and turns away then, leaving the four girls to complain about the wasted opportunity.
“I wanted to try the churros,” Hyejoo mumbles as she furrows her eyebrows, settling back into her seat to go back to sleep.
“Me too, Olivia. Me too,” Haseul says, wiping a fake tear. “Also tacos. I wanted tacos sooo badly.” She shakes her fist and settles with sleeping the pain away.
Sooyoung’s face falls. The admittedly-not-very-well-planned plans she made back in South Korea dissolve before her very eyes. She had looked up areas to walk around, to buy food for Jinsol and to have a good time with her. What’ll she do now that the opportunity has been taken away?
Frustrated, she’s about to say something to Jinsol when she sees that the girl has already fallen back asleep.
Oh, well. At least I’ll be spending more time with her in general, Sooyoung thinks, coming to terms with it. Carefully, so as not to wake her, Sooyoung kisses Jinsol’s knuckles, then settles more comfortably in her seat. She turns her body a little so she can rest and still see the view.
(And the view? It’s not through the window.)
The arrival to the airport is nothing special, and neither is the ride to the hotel. The only thing that Sooyoung can say is that she packed way too much into that damned red suitcase.
Hyejoo finds herself needing to offer Sooyoung help dragging the luggage up to the third floor, where the room she’ll share with Jinsol is. Sooyoung heaves as she and Hyejoo toss it onto the bed, feeling like maybe, at some point, she stuffed a dead horse in it and forgot, somehow.
“Thanks, Hyejoo. I owe you one,” Sooyoung says, trying not to make it too obvious that she’s out of breath.
Hyejoo gives her a signature shrug. “Yeah, how about dinner? Stop taking all your makeup and just let the stylists use their own. Maybe then your suitcases won’t weigh like you’ve got a dead body in them.” She cackles at her joke and heads to the room she’ll share with Haseul.
Sooyoung laughs lightly, feeling slightly uncomfortable. Truth is, she didn’t take any makeup with her this time... What the hell is in that suitcase?
A few seconds after Hyejoo leaves, Jinsol enters and walks with a pep in her step since she slept well on the plane.
“Hey! We’re here, huh?” Sooyoung asks, starting the unpacking process with the lighter suitcase. Jinsol doesn’t respond, so Sooyoung looks up at her. Jinsol is standing at the door, her jaw slack as she stares at... something in the room.
“Jinsol? What’s wrong?”
“There’s...only one bed,” she replies slowly.
Sooyoung’s eyes travel down to look at the well-made bed and it’s crisp clean sheets.
Ah.
Is it the wildly different Mexican weather suddenly getting to her, or is it just Sooyoung, because she gets hot all of a sudden. It’s a full bed, too, she realizes as Jinsol recovers. We’ll have to hold on to each other so neither one of us falls if we roll over.
“I mean, it’s fine! Just, you know. Haha…” Jinsol wants to punch herself. Sooyoung clearly didn’t mind, didn’t think twice about it, and now that Jinsol pointed it out, it probably makes Sooyoung feel like Jinsol doesn’t want to share the bed. She needs to clear the air now. “If it doesn’t bother you, it doesn’t bother me,” she adds quickly with a wink. She hopes it looks flirty and not like her face spasmed.
Sooyoung seems chill about it, which Jinsol is grateful for. She gestures to the bed and grins in that heart-fluttering way she always does. “We’ll have to be reeeal close, though—“
“—Perfect!” Jinsol trips over herself to say. “This room is cold, so it’s perfect. We can keep each other warm.”
Sooyoung purses her lips and quietly tries to still her pumping heart. As they unpack, Sooyoung tries not to make it obvious she’s shaking in glee. Sleeping? Next to Jinsol? What’s next, they accidentally kiss and fall in love? They confess they love each other under the moonlight? She can only hope her luck stays this good. To wake up to the sight of a sleeping Jinsol, it’s so domestic and cute and it makes Sooyoung want to double over in pain.
“EUGH,” Sooyoung hears someone say, and in horror she realizes it’s coming from that heavy suitcase. Jinsol heard it too, she can tell by the stance she’s taken up, and Sooyoung crab-walks to Jinsol. If whatever’s inside can attack, she will not let Jinsol be a victim. Jinsol holds onto Sooyoung’s arm tightly, tighter than she’s held anything in her life, as Sooyoung puts a finger to her lips, pointing to the suitcase as it slowly s itself.
The top half begins to rise, and Sooyoung wonders if Hyejoo was right and there was some kind of dead body in there. Well, undead, she supposes, as it’s moving and groaning around inside the suitcase.
When the top half has fully risen, it’s thrown and out steps…
“YEOJIN?!” Sooyoung shrieks, a familiar vein on her forehead popping.
Sheepishly, the tiny girl trips out and smoothes the wrinkles on her shorts and shirt. She puts on a big smile and opens her arms wide.
“Hehe, uhm. Surprise?”
Jinsol watches tensely as Sooyoung and Yeojin stare at each other from opposite sides of the room. Sooyoung is in a chair, her hands in her hair but her eyes trained on the younger girl like she’s trying to make Yeojin magically explode. Yeojin just looks like she’s going to cry. Maybe it’s working?
Sooyoung already gave Yeojin a good talking-to, but she doesn’t know what to do, if she should turn the young girl in and watch her get into massive trouble. She also loves Yeojin to bits and doesn’t want her to feel unwanted, like she’s a pest in Sooyoung’s life. Of course she’s glad to see her, just not under these circumstances. It’s causing her insurmountable stress.
Jinsol knows she needs to do something before the tension she sees in Sooyoung’s shoulders becomes a pain, but what? She wants to take Sooyoung out somewhere, cheer her up a bit, but the manager made it very clear that today was just a day to settle in and relax before actually going out to do what they’re here for. They can hang out at the hotel lobby, but leaving is strictly forbidden.
Sooyoung is finished glaring at Yeojin and she starts pressing her fingers into her temples. Jinsol looks away and her eyes strain to look at the bright and sunshine-y outside. It’s a picturesque landscape: there are soft white clouds outside; there are people walking around with large smiles on their faces as they buy from food stands and watch performers. This is what she wants from Sooyoung, she wants her to be this happy.
Jinsol turns to her friend, her fellow group member, quite possibly the love of her life , and her heart breaks.
Jinsol takes one more look outside and decides then.
“Hey, Sooyoung? Sooyoungie, look at me,” Jinsol whispers as she lowers herself next to her. She holds out her hands and gently cups the other girl’s cheeks, forcing her to look directly into her eyes. “Let’s get out of here.”
Sooyoung stops looking devastated for a second. “Huh?”
Jinsol takes Sooyoung’s hand out of her hair and intertwines her fingers between the other girl’s. “You heard me. Let’s leave the hotel room. Screw what the manager said. We’re wasting our time here, sitting and waiting when a whole new city beckons!”
Nothing beats the way life returns to Sooyoung’s eyes. “We’ll get in trouble...” she whispers, but Jinsol can see she’s already convinced. The gears are already turning in her head, and her mood is already going up. Jinsol, still holding her hand, pulls her up out of the chair and skips over to her purse.
“Only if we get caught,” she says, repeating something Sooyoung has said many times throughout the years. She’d sneak out of the dorms and go out to eat, or skip a practice session every now and then to sleep. Jinsol always warned her that those were bad ideas, that they could be paying a very dear price, and Sooyoung always gave her that smile with those eyes and said ‘Not if we don’t get caught, Jindori.’ Jinsol used to hate it when Sooyoung said that; it felt like she was always risking too much, like their careers and privacy. And this time, the stakes are even higher. They’re in a foreign country on the other side of the world, in a city they could get lost in easily. They’re forbidden to leave.
Jinsol finds she doesn’t care.
Sooyoung’s shoulders return to their usual angle and she unsuccessfully hides a smile. “Jung Jinsol breaking the rules. Who would have thought?” she whispers in an unbelieving tone, her eyes giving away how impressed she is.
Jinsol laughs and tosses Sooyoung’s purse to her. “Shut up. I just want us to enjoy today. It’s beautiful outside and the street food is calling our names. The managers never check on us anyway. What’s one day of rebellion?”
“Maybe I’m rubbing off on you too much,” Sooyoung says as she studies Jinsol, checking to see that she’s sure about this. She sees nothing but determination in the other’s eyes. “But I’m not complaining about that when we’re about to eat churros.”
They’re laughing and about to exit their room when Sooyoung freezes, Jinsol nearly bumping into her.
Yeojin was forgotten for a moment, but she’s still in the room, silently sitting on a chair far from the window. She’s staring at them, and the way they have a foot out the door.
Momentarily, Jinsol is afraid of what Sooyoung might say. Will she punish Yeojin for stowing away by forcing her to stay in this dark room?
The worry is for nothing. Sooyoung glances at Jinsol and gives her a helpless smile before she says aloud, “Hey. Shorty. You comin’ or what?”
Yeojin’s puppy eyes grow impossibly huge at the expression on Sooyoung’s face. “Aren’t you mad at me..?”
Sooyoung purses her lips and raises an arm. It invites Yeojin over once more. “A little. But screw it, we can figure out how to break it to the managers over some Mexican food.”
Yeojin bursts into tears and dashes into Sooyoung’s arms, sobbing and swearing that she’s sorry and that she’ll behave for her mothers. Sooyoung chuckles and pats the tiny girl’s head, then decides to kiss her shrimpy little forehead. “I know, Yeojin. You’re fine.”
As they sneak out, Jinsol watches the way Sooyoung is a little more careful in the way she deals with Yeojin, letting her lead the way like a spy in a movie and encouraging her to be the first to exit the hotel, making her rebellious desires come true. Jinsol finds that her crush on Sooyoung grows more, a feat she thought impossible.
Freedom is blinding due to the afternoon sun, but when their eyes adjust, they’re met with the grand sight of the city of Zacatecas laid out before them. The city has a colonial vibe to it with a giant cathedral making its presence known in the distance.
They find they're at what they assume is only a small part of a giant main plaza with a beautiful gazebo at the center, where many benches are laid out so people may sit and enjoy their food.
The smell of good food invades Jinsol’s senses, and since she hasn’t eaten since they arrived at the Mexican airport, she naturally follows where her legs take her: to the nearest stall in a large alleyway full of excitedly chattering people.
There, a vendor in front of a sun-bleached food cart is chopping up various fruits into long, thin slices and stuffing them into clear plastic cups, then topping all of that off with either a thick red sauce or an orangey spice-like powder. Jinsol has absolutely no idea what it is but it looks amazing and she finds watering. She’s about to reach for her purse when she remembers that she doesn’t have any Mexican pesos at all. Every bit of cash she has is with the managers, back in the hotel. Buying food seems out of the question.
That is, until she feels a nudge on her side. Jinsol turns and Sooyoung is there with her wallet out. “Chaewon taught me to always bring a secret stash of cash, in case the managers aren’t around at some point. You want a cup?” she asks, a lilt in her voice, and gestures for her to go ahead and order whatever she wants. Jinsol grins and excitedly looks over the array of fruit choices.
“How do I order, though?” she asks when she’s made her choices. She doesn’t speak Spanish, or anything other than Korean, really.
Yeojin smugly pushes her aside then. “Excuse me, ladies. You are looking at a certified polyglot. Watch me work my magic,” she says, and with the confidence of a man about to discuss Quentin Tarantino films, Yeojin lists off Jinsol’s order to the vendor.
In no time, Jinsol is holding her fruit cup in one hand and Sooyoung’s slack jaw in the other.
“How do you know Spanish?” Jinsol asks through a watermelon slice.
Yeojin smirks and sends Jinsol finger guns. “I told you two at the airport! For half a decade, I was under the tutelage of one Miss Dora the Explorer.” That seems explanation enough for Yeojin because she walks off to explore some more. Sooyoung’s mouth is still hanging open and Jinsol feeds her what looks like a piece of mango. Sooyoung blushes a pretty pink and chews thoughtfully, then makes puppy eyes at her until she’s fed another slice. Jinsol thinks she might explode from holding back a squeal.
Yeojin weaves through the crowds as Sooyoung and Jinsol struggle to follow until she makes a hard stop near the cathedral courtyard, at a stand selling churros. By this time, the fruit has been completely devoured and Jinsol is drinking any leftover spicy juice.
“Let’s get some churros, huh?” Sooyoung says and does her best to communicate that to the vendor, not one to be shown up by a little kid with a height deficiency. The vendor, a young woman with a bright smile, seems to understand well enough and happily makes them three snacks, but then says something to Sooyoung that she obviously can’t understand. Yeojin, the smug smile now permanent on her face, replies to the vendor, and when they’re walking away snacking on their churros, Jinsol breaks the silence that Sooyoung is too proud to.
“What did the lady say?”
Yeojin bites her churro to stall for a bit. The lady had said ‘Me encanta el peinado de la niñita,’ or ‘I love the little girl’s hair style,’ but Yeojin is seriously so tired of seeing these two yearn for each other for 3+ years, so she lies, seeing what kind of change she can bring. That’s why she’s here, after all. “Hmmm. She said you two make a very cute couple!” She then scurries away, leaving the two best friends alone.
Do people really think that about them? Jinsol avoids Sooyoung’s eyes and bites her churro, afraid that the longing she’s been harboring in her heart will be obvious and burdening.
Sooyoung sees Jinsol avoid her eyes, but notices her cheeks are tinged red. For a moment, Sooyoung allows herself to wonder if there’s a possibility that Jinsol returns her feelings...
“Looooook!” Yeojin shouts from far away, breaking Sooyoung out of her reverie. “Puppets!”
Sure enough, there are two young women next to the gazebo playing with puppets, making them move in an almost life-like way. One of the women hands Yeojin a puppet and shows her how to move it around using the sticks.
“Ohmygod! Look! I’m making it wave at you!” Yeojin shakes a stick and the tiger puppet shyly waves at Sooyoung and Jinsol.
After watching for nearly five minutes, Sooyoung generously tips the puppeteers, appreciative because Jinsol and Yeojin’s smiles as they play around are priceless.
Later, Sooyoung can tell that 6 o’clock is the busiest time of the day for the city, as there’s an even larger crowd wherever they walk. Jinsol slips her smooth hand into Sooyoung’s, and Sooyoung grabs onto one of the space buns on Yeojin’s head, all determined not to lose each other.
Little by little, the group makes their way to the highest hills of the city. Sooyoung explains that the day when the BBC staff announced they were going to Zacatecas, Sooyoung searched the place up and found that there is a cable car ride that takes you from one hill to the other. “The ride wasn’t on the LOONA itinerary, though, so I got kinda sad when the managers said we wouldn’t go exploring. It looked cool.”
“Aren’t you glad I convinced you to sneak out, then?” Jinsol asks, jabbing Sooyoung with her elbow. “Now you have the opportunity to ride them.”
Sooyoung looks up at the cable cars and sees the people inside one waving down at whoever is looking. Sooyoung waves back at them, a smile growing on her face. “Of course I am. Me, my two favorite girls, a ten minute ride nearly a hundred meters above ground? What more could a girl ask for?”
Jinsol pretends her knees don’t go weak at her words.
As they find the line to the ride, the day grows even hotter, so Sooyoung suggests they get some drinks so they can sip as they wait. Yeojin finds them a man who is selling ‘fresh water’ but when they approach his stand, it all looks like an array of flavored drinks.
“I swear that’s what the sign says! Not my fault he doesn’t have water bottles!” Yeojin defends.
Jinsol peers at the stand and the man smiles at her patiently.
“You want?” the vendor asks in unpracticed English. Fortunately, Jinsol knows enough English to understand what he asks and to more or less know how to reply.
“This is...good?” she asks back in English. She wants to know if this stuff will actually help with the hot weather, and whether it’ll taste good or not. She’s adventurous when it comes to trying new food, but since it’s Sooyoung’s money being spent right now, she can’t afford to be so bold. Also, these refreshments look a little funny. There’s a brown thing floating around in a white drink and it looks a little weird.
“This? Delicious!” he says enthusiastically. “Try!” He grabs a small cup, fills it with the very drink Jinsol was unsure about and hands it to her. Nervously she tries it, but finds that it’s actually really good. It’s got a sweet, slightly creamy and cinnamon-y flavor to it. That must be what the floating brown thing is: a cinnamon stick.
She gives Sooyoung a sip and her eyebrows furrow in satisfaction.
“This is so good,” Sooyoung mouths, also very appreciative of the ice floating around in the drink.
The man looks so proud of their reactions and puffs up his chest. “I tell you!”
He hands them another sample, this one being a pink drink. Yeojin makes a really satisfied sound when she takes a gulp and his smile grows ten times wider.
“Guayaba,” he says, and all the girls get excited because they recognize the fruit. They leave the stall with two of the white drinks and the guava drink for Yeojin. They get in line for the cable cars, ready for the long wait with their ice cold refreshments.
“Look at those people! They look like ants!” Yeojin points, making the older girls check and laugh at how correct that observation is.
Sooyoung leans against the open window and enjoys the strong wind presence, the breeze flying through her hair so satisfyingly that she can’t help but close her eyes and grin.
Jinsol takes her phone out and tells Sooyoung and Yeojin to pose next to the graffitied walls of the cable car, hoping to get the two right when the wind messes with their hair. She gets her wish: in the picture, Sooyoung looks like a frightened cartoon character with her hair in the air like that and Yeojin, who’s hair is done in twin buns, still has a few baby hairs sticking out so she looks like she has antennas. Indignant, Sooyoung tries to snap a pic of Jinsol with her hair messed up, but after three tries and Jinsol looking prettier in each one, she accepts that the universe has favorites and Jung Jinsol is one of them.
As they near the end of the ride and Yeojin starts singing a LOONA song at the people below them, Sooyoung leans against the cable car’s window and looks outside, feeling the breeze play with her hair again. Jinsol makes her way to the window too, both girls sticking their heads out as they watch the other hill get closer. The proximity is intoxicating to Sooyoung. She can smell Jinsol’s perfume, a sweet flowery scent, and it makes her snake her arm around Jinsol’s waist.
Jinsol stiffens at the touch at first, but when she looks at Sooyoung’s serene expression, the landscape reflected in her eyes, she loosens up and leans in. She’s in the arms of the girl of her dreams, so she does what she usually does when they’re this close: she closes her eyes, leans her head against Sooyoung’s, and pretends they’re dating. In her mind’s eye, they’re on a date, Sooyoung has her arm around her protectively, and she feels safe. She paid for this ride so they could be alone, with only the sun above them. Sooyoung will whisper that she loves Jinsol. She might lean in, her soft lips getting close, and Jinsol will lean in too—
When her lips actually connect with something, Jinsol’s eyes shoot open.
Sooyoung is looking back with her eyes just as wide and a hand covering her lips.
They kissed.
And the ride ends abruptly. The cable car swings as the ride attendant grabs hold and opens the door for them, but Sooyoung and Jinsol continue to stare at each other, neither one believing what just happened.
“Hey, ride’s over!” Yeojin says as she hops out, thanking the attendant.
Sooyoung can’t hear anything over the waves of blood rushing to crash against her eardrums. She’d been fantasizing about finally kissing her crush and hadn't even realized that her face was that close to Jinsol’s at all, but somehow they kissed and now Sooyoung doesn’t know what to make of Jinsol’s expression. It’s shocked and Sooyoung can’t tell if it’s a bad thing or what.
“Hey, hello? Ride over,” the bored attendant says, and Sooyoung turns to glare at him in such a frightening manner that he closes the door with the girls still inside and gives the operator a sign that says ‘Good to go.’ He’d rather not deal with angry foreigners and they don’t pay him enough to.
Sooyoung turns back to Jinsol, who’s snapped out of her stupor.
“Jindori?” Sooyoung tests, worried about the tension they’ve created.
“Did we—?”
Sooyoung nods fervently. She needs to apologize before any bridges between them begin to burn. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention—“
“—You...” Jinsol interrupts Sooyoung, raising a hand and resting it on the other girl’s shoulder. “You don’t have to apologize for anything, Sooyoungie.”
“I don’t?” The two words come out shaky.
Jinsol’s cheeks turn pink and she gazes out of the window to avoid Sooyoung’s eyes. “I didn’t mind it. It was unexpected is all.”
Sooyoung’s worried frown gives way to a confused one. Jinsol doesn’t mind?
Jinsol and Sooyoung look at each other, both wanting to say something, when the cable car lurches a bit and they realize that they’re...moving? Didn’t the ride end at some point?
Both girls’ eyes shift to the world outside, then at the car’s interior... and they gasp simultaneously.
“Where’s Yeojin?!”
They rush to the farthest side of the car and press their faces into the glass, and there! At the exit area! Yeojin, now a mere speck in the distance, is madly waving her arms and screaming for them in an attempt to get their attention! They’re too far away now to hear what she says, however, and Jinsol quickly whips out her phone and texts their younger friend, telling her to stay put at the exit area so Jinsol and Sooyoung can find her easily.
When the text sends and Yeojin responds with a thumbs up emoji, the two girls finally let out relaxed sighs. They chuckle, thinking that this situation is ridiculous but also, they’re still thinking about the accidental kiss. Sooyoung wants to talk about it, right here and right now, maybe finally confess to Jinsol about how she’s felt about her for so many years. If she says she didn’t mind that kiss, then maybe..? She shakes that thought away. They need to get to Yeojin first, then settle whatever is going on between them.
When the car swings to a stop at the hill opposite of Yeojin’s, Jinsol is so distracted thinking about how wonderful that kiss felt that she forgets to wait for the door to open and crashes right into it.
Sooyoung is immediately there, holding her as Jinsol covers her nose.
“Are you okay?!” Sooyoung asks, worry etched into her face. Jinsol nods and pulls her hands away, revealing a sizable trail of blood. “Think it’s broken?”
Jinsol shakes her head. “I’m fine, I think. I’m just so—so clumsy. I was thinking about…” About their kiss. About what they might talk about later, and how it might change everything. “...about you.”
Sooyoung gives her that crooked little smile and helps Jinsol step out. “Me? What about me, exactly?” But her smile lets Jinsol know that Sooyoung knows exactly what about. It’s clear when she doesn’t mind when Jinsol doesn’t reply and by the way she holds her hand with an added wink.
Finally, they walk their way to where Yeojin is, hand in hand. Weaving through the crowd, they make it to their baby in no time. When they see her in the distance, she looks cool and calm, but as soon as they catch her eye, she pushes past a couple and jumps into their arms, fake sobs ringing in their ears. Sooyoung kisses Yeojin’s left cheek and Jinsol kisses her right one, and to the average Mexican passerby, it looks like a family reunion after years of not seeing each other, not 15 minutes.
“Did you guys do something while I was gone?” Yeojin asks innocently, wiping a fake tear. “Why is Jinsol bleeding? Is she okay? Did you guys fight someone to get to me? That’s so cool!” Her older friends look at her, then send each other knowing glances. Yeojin sees the unsubtle interaction and has to stop herself from celebrating. Did her crazy plan work? Willingly getting lost might just have been worth it! “Nevermind,” she says knowingly, and suggests they head back to the hotel.
“You don’t want to stay out a little longer?” Sooyoung asks, gesturing above them. The sun is close to setting, painting a bright orange across the sky, but it’s still light enough to explore the city some more. “I still have a ton of money. We can get tacos or something.”
Yeojin grabs their hands and pulls them along. “Nah, I’m getting a bad sunburn. Plus, I’m done delaying the inevitable,” she explains. “I think it’s better I let the managers know I’m here before I’m missed in Korea, y’know? Hopefully I don’t get into too much trouble. Maybe if I turn myself in now and let them sleep on it, they’ll wake up in better moods tomorrow?”
Sooyoung nods, agreeing with that logic. “Yeah. I hope Haseul isn’t too mad at me about it either.”
“Or Hyejoo,” adds Jinsol. “Both of them are pretty protective of you.”
Yeojin hums. “I’ll make sure they go easy on you. Well, no promises on Hyejoo. Anyway, I’ll also grab Jinsol some first aid stuff for her nose, if you want.”
Their walk is relatively boring, but as Jinsol explains to Yeojin why her nose is bleeding, the youngest notices that Sooyoung looks at her with what might as well be heart eyes. It’s not even subtle; she’s glowing from simply watching and listening to Jinsol speak. Yeojin feels a rush and hopes that something happens today. If nothing does and they don’t get together, she’s straight up locking them in a room.
They arrive at the hotel, but before they enter the building, Yeojin covers the doorway with her entire body. Suddenly it hits Sooyoung that earlier, Yeojin said that she’ll grab Jinsol stuff, as if they won’t be entering the hotel.
“Actually, hehe, fun fact; this was just you two dropping me off. The day isn’t over,” she says as she lodges herself tighter between the doorframe, Sooyoung trying to push past her.
“What? Why?” Jinsol asks, also doing her best to enter the premises.
“Because,” Yeojin shouts, fighting off the other two girls, “You two need to talk. I’m tired of watching you two beat around the bush and not get anywhere! If I wanted to watch two idiots dance around their feelings, I’d watch Heejin and Hyunjin try to talk about their obvious crushes on each other!”
Sooyoung stops fighting Yeojin. “You’ll go straight to the room?” she asks, unsure of whether she can trust Yeojin after her antics.
“Cross my heart. I’ll be good if you guys get it together.”
Jinsol purses her lips but nods. “Pinky swear you’ll go to our room once you’re done explaining it all to the staff?”
Yeojin curls her pinky around Jinsol’s. “After I get you a first aid kit for the blood—that’s still coming out, by the way. After that...pinky swear.” She walks backwards into the hotel and closes the door, but not before giving them a really obvious wink.
Sooyoung chuckles nervously and scratches her head as she looks at Jinsol, who’s blushing just as much as she is. “Well, looks like our day in Zacatecas continues,” she says.
Soon, Yeojin brings the first aid and leaves before they ask her to help clean Jinsol up, but Sooyoung and Jinsol can see through the glass door that she’s pantomiming two people kissing using her hands.
“Scram!” Sooyoung shouts playfully and Yeojin rushes back fighting a fit of giggles.
“This kid…” Sooyoung mutters as she opens the first aid kit provided by the hotel staff. All of the labels are in Spanish and English, but she figures she knows what to do. “Come here,” she whispers to Jinsol. Jinsol complies and leans closer.
Sooyoung rips various packets and smears this and that on Jinsol, being very careful to not harm her any more than she already is. At some point, Jinsol’s eyes flutter shut, overwhelmed by how worried Sooyoung looks as she works at her face, the tenderness and proximity making her brain go crazy.
“There,” Sooyoung says quietly, snapping the first aid box shut. She runs a finger across the bandage on Jinsol’s nose, smoothing the edges. The gesture is simple but Jinsol finds herself leaning into the touch. “There’s a big cut on the bridge of your nose, but there might be something up with the inside that I can't see; that may be where the majority of the bleeding is from. It’s most likely not a broken nose, so…” Sooyoung tries to continue, but Jinsol’s eyes are glittering in the waning light, so soft and so pretty. She’s looking at her like she’s the only person in the world, and it’s distracting. She forgets what she was going to say.
“Sooyoung?” Jinsol tries, begging herself to not give into her fears and stop halfway. It needs to be said now that they’re face to face, alone with no interruptions. “I’ve been thinking about us. About how we make each other feel, whether it’s a simple touch or when we lock eyes. About how we’ve been...playing around but never gotten anywhere.” Jinsol looks directly into Sooyoung’s eyes now, trying to make her intention as clear as possible without overwhelming her. Her hands freeze in the air as she stops herself from picking at her face. “You care for me so tenderly, so lovingly, and I’m terrified that I’m getting the wrong idea, that I’m reading this all wrong. I want to make sure we’re on the same page.”
Sooyoung feels her stomach drop. The thought of them being at the cusp of change, that this could alter their life’s trajectory, is daunting. Sooyoung is terrified too. When Jinsol says ‘you make me feel safe’, is she saying it with the same type of tenderness as when Sooyoung says it? Is Jinsol about to break her heart and tell her that she’s been misinterpreting these past years?
Daring, Sooyoung cups Jinsol’s face just to examine it closer. Her expression is open, if maybe a little agitated. Sooyoung thinks back to the cable car, how Jinsol said she didn’t mind the kiss at all. How she looked so happy after, despite bleeding out of her nose. Sooyoung laughs at herself inwardly. How could Jinsol ever hurt her when she’s spent all of their time together doing everything but? The knot in her stomach untightens.
“I want to know if you feel the way I do,” Jinsol continues, her voice wobbling with the way Sooyoung caresses her face. She’s looking directly into her eyes and it’s like she’s coaxing the words out of Jinsol. “Do you understand what I’m trying to say?” She’s being so vague, she admits it, but she’s scared, her heart beating so fast it’s about to burst out of her body. This can’t possibly mean anything else, though; Sooyoung has to understand.
“I think I do,” Sooyoung whispers, looking every bit as nervous as Jinsol. “How long have we known each other? It’s been less than I can count on one hand, yet I feel as though we’ve known each other forever. I hope you’ll let me take care of you for that long.”
Jinsol nods, overwhelmed by the sudden rush of feelings at seeing that Sooyoung understands what she meant.
Sooyoung’s fingers start to shake on Jinsol’s face. This is her chance, this is what she’s been waiting for. Sooyoung begins to lean forward, ever so slowly, giving Jinsol enough time to react—to reject or accept what’s coming.
Jinsol reacts.
She leans in and connects their lips halfway, and she swears it’s like a Ghibli film; the wind picks up and swirls around them, pushing them closer together as they share their first kiss. She’s not sure if the goosebumps on her arms are from the breeze or from the kiss, but either way, when they separate, she’s shivering.
Sooyoung giggles then, and Jinsol can’t help but laugh too.
“Sorry,” Sooyoung says through bubbles of laughter, “it’s just that this morning I was hoping for this. I wondered if I’d be lucky enough to kiss you. I am, I’m so lucky. We had to go to another country, we had to lose Yeojin, you broke your nose, but we’re here.”
“We’re here,” Jinsol repeats, her arms wrapping around Sooyoung. “I’m sorry for always being so vague. All those glances, those words I said to you, they were my way of telling you that I—“
“That you what?” Sooyoung asks, suddenly bold with an eyebrow raised.
Jinsol ducks and blushes. “That I love you,” she squeaks out.
Sooyoung laughs again and presses Jinsol into her, whispering “I love you too, Jinsol, I love you, I love you.”
Jinsol can’t get enough of it, and can’t stop saying it back either. For a while it’s like they’re broken CDs, skipping tracks, the way they repeat it over and over, the rush of the words finally being out there intoxicating them.
The night grows colder, the sky darkens until the only lights are the stars and the streetlights, and crickets chirp all around them. They’re in each other’s arms, talking about the different times they’ve dropped hints about being in love with each other, when a stillness passes over them. The only sound to be heard is that of a group of mariachis softly crooning in the distance.
“Jinsol?” Sooyoung noses Jinsol’s neck.
“Yes?”
“Will you be my girlfriend?”
Jinsol starts to giggle, thinking Sooyoung is cute for asking so shyly, but when she leans back to look at her, Sooyoung’s expression is worrying. Her eyes are avoiding her, instead looking at her hands, which she’s rubbing together anxiously.
The giggle dies out. They just confessed their feelings for each other, Jinsol told her she’s in love with her, and Sooyoung is still afraid of being rejected by her. It hurts Jinsol to see her like this, still so afraid of their future, so she wastes no more time to say, “I want to be your girlfriend.”
Sooyoung’s downcast eyes rise and the fear sizzles out in an instant. “Really?”
Jinsol nods as she opens her arms for her to fall back into. When Sooyoung crashes into her, she presses a kiss to her hairline and asks “Now, will you be mine?”
“Of course I will,” Sooyoung answers seriously, but her expression breaks into a grin in no time.
They kiss again, letting their lips linger for longer. When they pull apart, Sooyoung looks as if she’ll melt at any moment. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” she murmurs and kisses Jinsol again. “All I ever wanted to do was hold you and kiss you.”
Jinsol laughs and says “You already got to, in the cable car!”
Sooyoung makes a face and buries her head into Jinsol’s neck. “That doesn’t count and you know it!”
Well, you can kiss me now, and whenever you want. They’ll all count now, thinks Jinsol, but figures she can tell her all this with more kisses.
They’re giggling, stumbling from being so happy as they unlock the door to their dark hotel room. Sooyoung is still giggling but Jinsol shushes her when she spots a sleeping Yeojin on their bed. They share glances, knowing by the way she’s leaning on the headboard that she tried staying up for as long as possible to see if they finally got together.
“What do we do? I don’t have the heart to move her,” Sooyoung asks.
“I have an idea. Let’s get ready for bed,” Jinsol whispers, and a few minutes later they’re washed up and in sleepwear. Jinsol leads them to one side of the bed and climbs in, Sooyoung following soon after. “It’s a full, so all three of us’ll barely fit, but I think we’ll be fine as long as we stick close, though.”
Sooyoung reaches over to turn off the light as Jinsol carefully lays Yeojin down and curls around her.
“Aww, look at her,” Jinsol coos, pressing a soft kiss against Yeojin’s temple.
Sooyoung curls around Jinsol and buries her face deep into her shoulder. “You know, Yeojin said something in my ear back at the airport in Korea,” Sooyoung whispers. It tickles Jinsol’s ear a little and she can’t get enough of it. “Something about winning your heart here, in Mexico. You think she had anything to do with this? Like maybe this was her plan all along?”
Jinsol turns her head. “The rascal probably had everything planned out the moment she climbed into your suitcase. I don’t know what was part of her plan and what wasn’t, but I think you’re onto something.” Jinsol turns away again, basking in the feeling of having Sooyoung hold her tightly against herself.
“We should thank her,” Sooyoung whispers, sleep blanketing her words already. “I know this much: she didn’t let us enter the hotel and it led to us finally saying something.”
“We should,” Jinsol replies through a yawn. Her eyes refuse to open and she barely manages to say one last sentence before she’s out. “Maybe adoption papers will do.”
“Excellent!” Snap! “Now do the other pose!”
Sooyoung raises her hand to cover Haseul’s eyes with her hand, blocking the sun. It’s meaningful, apparently, to the loonaverse lore, but since Yerim seems to be the only person who understands it, Sooyoung just does the pose because she was asked to. Haseul’s head is on her lap as they sit on the greenest grass Sooyoung’s ever seen, and the photography team loves the chemistry between them.
“How’d yesterday go?” Haseul asks from the corner of her lips as the photographers run around to take pictures from a different angle. They want many options to choose from for the album photobook. “Yeojin told me you and Jinsol…” She wrings her hands together, eyes watching the photographers carefully. “You know.”
Sooyoung’s heart races. So Haseul knows now, huh? Her reaction seems pretty normal, accepting even, so maybe she’s just unsure if she can say it out loud with so much staff around. Sooyoung trusts Haseul and decides to confirm.
“Yeah. Jinsol and I are together now,” Sooyoung whispers as she leans in closely. “It took a lot of time, to be honest, but it was worth it.”
Sooyoung watches as Haseul’s unsure expression blooms into a smile. She rolls her eyes and sits up, smacking Sooyoung’s arm. “Finally! You know, I’ve been watching you two for years now, dance around your feelings, and I always wanted to do something about it. I never did, ‘cause it’s not really my business, but according to Yeojin, a little push wasn’t so bad. I’m really glad, though. Maybe you two can set an example for the other lovebirds.”
Sooyoung checks around them to make sure no one hears. “Wait, you knew? That Jinsol liked me?”
Haseul shrugs as she picks a tiny golden flower and puts it in Sooyoung’s hair. “I mean, yeah. Everyone did. I feel like you were the only one that didn’t notice how much love she had for you.” At Sooyoung’s frown, she adds, “Don’t act like you never caught her staring at you.”
“I was afraid I was just thinking too deeply about it. Like maybe I was just translating her actions how I wanted to.”
Haseul giggles and shakes her head. “Typical. But hey, at least Jinsol was as unaware as you were. The both of you are clueless dorks, so I guess you really are soulmates.”
Sooyoung can’t defend herself because the photographers are back to snapping pictures, but she makes sure to pinch Haseul real quick. Haseul squeaks and they spend the rest of their session tickling each other, the LOONA TV camera person taking the opportunity to film them.
After Sooyoung’s shoot with Haseul, the team swaps her out with Jinsol so that they can get a few pictures together.
“Alright, I want tension! These are to advance the story of LOONA! ” The photographer explains that she wants Sooyoung to rest her head on Jinsol’s shoulder. “I need to see longing in your eyes, girls! Turn your heads a little so you can look at each other! Think of something you desire to help!”
Jinsol fights a laugh as she looks down into Sooyoung’s eyes and sees her send her a wink. “Think of something you desire, Jindori,” Sooyoung whispers teasingly.
“I will,” Jinsol says with a grin.
“Yves! Excellent! Jinsoul! Ack! This is perfect! You two look so intimate! The sweet tension! The fans will eat this up and make theories about this!” The shoot ends successfully and the crew begins to pack up to rest for the day, as tomorrow will be busy with the continuation of the jacket shooting.
Sooyoung laughs into Jinsol’s shoulder. “What did you think of to make the photographer go crazy like that?”
“What did you think about? Did you even listen to her rave about your expression?”
Sooyoung chuckles. “More like who. I thought of you.”
Jinsol blushes and stutters a reply. “Oh. You’re so cute. And cheesy.”
“But you like it.” Sooyoung says confidently. “You?”
“I guess I have no right to call you cheesy, because I was thinking about you too.” Jinsol helps Sooyoung up from the grass and dusts her off. Hyejoo, Haseul and a bouncing Yeojin call them over from the other side of the field, their own photoshoot over too. It’s time to go back to the overcrowded van.
“Hey…” Jinsol says, bumping shoulders with Sooyoung as they go to join everyone else. “Do you think we should tell the members? About us? We don’t have to, but I feel like they’d be really excited for us.”
To keep Jinsol from teasingly bumping into her, Sooyoung wraps an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “I’d like that. I know that Jiwoo will throw us a party or something. You know how she is.” Jinsol laughs in agreement and Sooyoung continues. “Oh, and Haseul knows already, by the way.”
Jinsol pauses, then sighs like a tired mother. “Let me guess...Yeojin.”
“Oh yeah, you know it.” Sooyoung rolls her eyes. “That squirt can’t keep shut for five minutes. She didn’t even let us tell her ourselves! We better call the members soon before Yeojin tells everyone else before we can.”
“We should. Let’s break it to them as we give them their souvenirs.”
Sooyoung’s expression looks guilty as she says, “Well… It’s too late to buy the girls souvenirs, isn’t it? We didn’t buy them anything yesterday. I was too focused on buying you food. You know, the easiest way to someone’s heart.”
Jinsol thinks as they continue walking. It takes a while for her to speak, and when she does, she’s got a sly little smile that piques Sooyoung’s curiosity. “...What?” Sooyoung asks, poking Jinsol until she spills.
Jinsol grins at her girlfriend, the devilish kind Sooyoung has only seen occasionally. “It may be too late if we follow the rules,” she emphasizes, “but if we don’t... Today’s jacket shoot is over, after all... ”
“What exactly are you suggesting, Jung Jinsol?” Sooyoung sounds like she’s chiding Jinsol, but she‘s already looking around to make sure no one’s watching, an equally mischievous expression growing on her face.
“You up for another adventure in Mexico?”
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