Nayoung sat on the edge of her bed, lightly dragging her fingertips, drawing patterns on Jieqiong’s bare leg.

The somewhat fresh off the laundry shop sheets were draped over the Chinese girl’s upper body, a smile spreading across her face at the realization that the slim digits on her leg were just being dragged randomly with no real image being drawn.

This was everything she imagined and everything she did not imagine.

The fingers trail further up and stopped below her knee. The smile on Jieqiong’s face was quickly replaced by a mixed expression of fear and disgust, a tiny hint of anger.

“Don’t.” she warns as she simply swats Nayoung’s hand away and used the remaining sheets to cover her leg.

“It’s not as bad as you think it is,” Nayoung reassures as if they haven’t had this conversation a thousand times already. “In fact, it’s not bad at all.”

The younger whips her head to the side, a curtain of hair covering her face.

Nayoung took it upon herself to tug the sheets down, taking Jieqiong by surprise.

The latter was quick to put the sheets back on, but Nayoung was quicker, placing the entirety of her palm on the side of Jieqiong’s knee—on Jieqiong’s biggest insecurity. She flinched violently although being fully aware that the pain had subsided years ago. It had already been a force of habit.

“Scars can be beautiful, too, Kyulkyung.”

Jieqiong almost laughs. Not once was she able to behold in the sight of the surgery mark on her leg, as if it made her feel unsafe; exposed. The huge scar was there, just there embedded on her skin, and it insulted Jieqiong to no end.

However, this time felt different.

As if she’s never felt so comfortable , Nayoung’s hand being the only real protection for her. And maybe that was it.

Or maybe it was Nayoung knowing the right words to say even if she didn’t, or maybe it was just Nayoung’s existence so near her, or maybe it was really just Nayoung herself.

“So you’re saying I should stop putting concealer on it?”

“I’m saying,” the older girl shifts closer, hand no longer on Jieqiong’s scar. “You shouldn’t be afraid of it.”

And maybe some time lapse Jieqiong wasn’t aware of just happened because suddenly, a pair of lips met with the surgery mark.

I would fight for you. I would tear through bricks of walls with my bare hands if it meant being with you, and quite frankly, I would go against anyone who says we shouldn’t be together because none of that would be nearly as hard as being in love with you and not being able to tell you that unless it was a spur of the moment was what Nayoung wanted to say, but she had never been good with words.

So instead she says:

“A kiss usually takes the pain away,”

There were times when Jieqiong wants to say it—scream it even, but the timeworks were never in her favor. But Nayoung was pulling so hard on her heartstrings, knocking on her heart, so now was a good a time as any.

I love you was what Jieqiong should’ve said. But what she really said was:

“Good morning,”

Not her smartest moment.

But with the older girl staring at her as if she was the one thing that mattered the most, she knew that she got the message.

“Morning back,”

They were a rather odd pair, but they make it work.

And in the midst of their daytime laconism, there was a knock on the door. Maybe it wasn’t such a good morning.

The knocking continues. They pay no attention.

“It’s probably just Siyeon reminding us about her moving up ceremo—“

The knocking became so violent that Nayoung was sure her apartment’s door was only three knocks away from being broken down. (knock knock knock. pun intended.)

Her phone started buzzing, and the name “Minky” pops up.

“Go get it, tiger,”

Nayoung picks up.

Open up the door, loser.

“You’re disturbing the neighbors,”

Nayoung hangs up.

Jieqiong heaved a sigh before reaching over to Nayoung’s shirt that was discarded on the floor due to last night’s events.

xx

“Your shirt’s on backwards,” were Minkyung’s first words the moment the door opened.

“It’s backwards day today,”

Minkyung only scoffed. “Is Kyulkyung here?”

xx

Jieqiong was fully aware of the consequences she had to face after her major stunt last night. An angry Minkyung was the cherry on top of it all.

But Minkyung was on the sane side. She was as equally as mature as Nayoung, and she takes good care of them. She was sugar and spice, and everything nice despite all the rumors of her underage drinking and bullying during her rebellious years.

She couldn’t possibly be that mad at her.

“You’re making me feel like the Mr. Krabs meme!”

Jieqiong was sat on the sofa in Minkyung and Kyungwon’s apartment.

The latter was watching from the sides, prepared to in just in case things got a little out of hand.

The former was pacing back and forth in front of her.

“I told you to let her catch her breath before you take it away again!” Jieqiong winced at the choice of words, bothered at how painfully accurate it was. “And what did you do? What did you do, Kyulkyung?! You did the exact opposite!”

“It wasn’t like tha—!”

“Then what was it? You’re leaving us!” Kyungwon fidgets with her hands as she continues to watch the two of them banter; their calm demeanor nowhere to be found. “You’re not even going to be at Siyeon’s ceremony!”

“But I will!” Jieqiong shouts back, tears forming but dare not fall. “I will! I’ll make it to Siyeon’s ceremony and—and after that….”

“What happens after that?” Minkyung’s voice softens, Kyungwon stops fidgeting. “You leave. You’re gonna leave us. You’re gonna leave her.”

She wanted to say that she never signed up for this kind of relationship, but she can’t, because she did.

And if the hickey that she was trying so hard to cover wasn’t enough proof of that, then she didn’t know what was. In short, she’s ed.

Jieqiong’s lips part by a millimeter, wanting—aching to say something.

“Why did you do it?” the question snapped her out of her trance.

“What?”

“Why would you do something like this to her?” there was a hint of…. something in Minkyung’s voice, and only then did Jieqiong realize how much Nayoung meant to Minkyung. How badly, painstakingly desperate she was, and everything suddenly made sense.

“You’re leaving and there’s nothing we can do to change your mind, so why did you do it?”

“Because—“

“Because what?”

“Because I love her,”  Jieqiong can say it a million times over but there’s nothing more she can add to intensify what it meant, nothing stronger than what it was.

“You don’t,” Minkyung says.

“Minky,” Kyungwon stands up. “that’s enough,”

“You don’t love her— you might’ve loved her once but right now, you don’t. If you really loved her,” the taller girl finally meets eyes with the Chinese, not minding the the ghostlike tear stains on her cheeks. “You would’ve stayed.”

xx

“We have gathered here today to put aside our differences for our little satan’s moving up ceremony,” A couple of groans here and there before Yebin added, “Sungyeon came back for this and we had to bail Yewon out of prison—“
 

“It’s called a day off.”

“—so please do not pull any Romeo and Juliet bull. This is absolutely directed at Nayoung and Kyulkyung.”

“Romeo and Juilet died,” Nayoung deadpanned.

“You might as well end up the same if your hormones can’t be contro—“

“Okay, we get it!” Jieqiong flails her arms and uses her hand to cover Yebin’s mouth, stopping her from delivering her prepared “award-winning speech”.

Nayoung could only sigh as Eunwoo joined in on their tangling of limbs.

“Wait for us to pick you up and watch over the kids,” Kyungwon said.
“It’ll be fun,” Kyungwon said.

Endure. It’s not every day Siyeon celebrates a moving up ceremony.

A car maneuvers its way towards them. The three break apart as soon as they got bundled up together in the first place.

“I call shotgun!”

The window rolls down only to reveal Kyungwon already on the passenger’s seat.

“Sorry,” the husk in Minkyung’s voice made Yebin and Eunwoo want to punch the living hell out of her face. “You can’t call shotgun on my car unless you’re of god’s creation that goes by the name of Park Siyeon or Kang Kyungwon.”

“I don’t think god had anything to do with Siyeon,” Eunwoo mutters.

Yebin nods in agreement before fixing her gaze on her fellow Kang. “And what the hell, Kyungwon?! You have your own car!”

“Just get in already.”

And so they do, a few mumbles of profanities before doing so.

The last pair trailed behind, fingers intertwined.

Jieqiong catches Minkyung’s gaze, the latter offers a small smile. A sign of an apology and forgiveness all at the same time because everything they’ve been through had at least constructed this much of a connection.

“As promised,” Jieqiong quips.

“Cheeky as ever,”

xx

The ride was by no means quiet. Not with god knows what music was booming from the stereo, partnered with them laughing about god knows what.

The only thing close to silent was Nayoung and Jieqiong in their own little bubble, conversing in shushed tones, fingers still intertwined.

Nayoung’s free hand draws tiny circles on Jieqiong’s thigh, a small tug on the corner of her lips as she noticed there was no concealer applied on the now exposed scar thanks to the denim shorts she wore.

“What did you and Minky talk about the other day?”

“Korean,” Jieqiong lies through her teeth. “My Korean needs work.”

Nayoung’s brows creased, not buying the excuse. She drops it anyway when Jieqiong leans onto her.

xx

“I’m free from hell!” Siyeon shot her fist in the air.

A pat on the back.

“Good job, princess.”

The ruffling of hair.

“It’s a moving up ceremony, not a graduation.”

quiet giggles.

“Satan can never be free from hell,”

“I’m hungry,”

Even if Jieqiong had her eyes shut, she would still know who was doing what, who was saying what.

They were back at Minkyung and Kyungwon’s.

Eunwoo, Yebin, and Siyeon were playing, Minkyung was in the kitchen with Yewon and Sungyeon, Nayoung and Kyungwon were setting up the table, and Jieqiong…. Jieqiong was just watching.

She checked the time on her phone. She had a plane to catch.

“Hey, kid,” she calls out to Siyeon who was too absorbed in their game.

“Yeah?” she responds, eyes never leaving the screen.

Jieqiong chuckles at this before fishing out a small box from her bag and placed it beside the younger girl.

“I would call it a graduation gift but you didn’t graduate,” a peck on the cheeks and it still wasn’t enough to catch Siyeon’s attention. Jieqiong doesn’t mind anyway. “So instead, I’ll call it a moving up gift.”

She can see how hard the younger girl tried to stop the smile coming its way and that was more than enough.

She shot Minkyung a glance and she could only provide her a sad smile. Jieqiong still doesn’t mind.

She makes her way to the dining area and sees Nayoung. Kyungwon must’ve said something amusing because the older girl was smiling.

Her smile was heartbreakingly beautiful except Jieqiong had little reason to be heartbroken so she settles with stunningly beautiful—her smile was that pretty.

And Jieqiong’s stomach drops at the thought of that smile fading when Nayoung finds out that she left without a word.

The older girl looks over at her, and Jieqiong couldn’t help but move closer.

Kyungwon quietly slips away.

“Are you okay?”

my god, her eyes are sparkling.

“I’m fine,” she lies again. “I just need air. You can start dinner without me.”

“I’ll save you dessert. Ice cream and all that,”

She tried. She really did. But the drought was too overwhelming. Jieqiong quickly snakes her hands around Nayoung’s nape and meshed their lips together. She kissed her as if it was their last, and it, maybe it was.

Nayoung kisses back and the Arctic Monkeys were right. Her lips are like the galaxy’s edge.

They part, and even though Jieqiong was selfish, Nayoung still looked lovingly at her.

“I’ll be back,” hopefully.

Jieqiong quickly excuses herself because if she stayed any longer in her touch, she wouldn’t have held it together.

xx

Nayoung rests on the rooftop, busying herself with watching how the city goes on at night.

There was already physical pain in Minkyung’s chest from watching the desolation. A couple hours into waiting for someone to come back—who never did, she expected to see real sadness.

But instead, all she saw was Nayoung in a complete process of disheartenment, all hope abandoned.

Minkyung clears . “She—“

“She left,” Nayoung finishes for her. She laughs weakly before turning around.

And as if she couldn’t take in the sight any longer, Nayoung says, “It was the ice cream, wasn’t it?”

FIRST OF ALL, #VERYVERYVERY1STWIN THEY DID THAT. AND SECOND, should there be a sequel or should i just leave it like this? leave a comment on what you think ^^ AND LASTLY, WHAT THE ACTUAL ZHOU JIEQIONG