A/N: I can't believe it's been a year since I started this fic. It's fitting that I posted it because of Sowon's birthday, and now here I am completing it because of Sowon's birthday.

Happy Birthday to our 200/100 leader!

Sinbi feels awkward asking her members, minus Sojung, to gather together for a talk. They’ve done it many times, of course, but those are always talks that Sojung organizes and leads. Leader unnie takes her responsibilities very seriously. The room feels too big when she’s not there, with her long legs and gentle smile. Sinbi finds her eyes darting across the room, seeking a glimpse of Sojung even though she has no idea what she would do if she actually saw her.

“So,” Yewon prompts. “What did you want to talk about?”

Sinbi swallows, fiddling with a loose thread in her sleeve. She had asked them to come here so she could talk about this, but now that they’re here she finds herself incapable of speech.

“You look nervous,” Yerin says, soft. Serious. It’s been a while since Sinbi has seen her this serious. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

Sinbi shakes her head. “I just…have something I want to tell you guys.”

“So tell us,” Eunha says, although she has this look on her face that makes Sinbi think she already knows. How is that even possible?

Sinbi swallows again. “I think… I like Sojung unnie.”

“I do too,” Yuna says, and Sinbi almost buries her face in her hands.

“I think she means ‘like’ as in more than a friend, unnie,” Yewon says delicately.

Yuna blinks. “Oh.”

“Was it supposed to be a secret?” Eunha asks.

Sinbi stares at her. “What?”

Eunha shrugs. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious. I’ve known for ages.”

Sinbi gapes a little. How could Eunha have known for ages when Sinbi only figured it out herself recently?

“Eunbi is pretty clueless,” Yerin says.

“That’s true,” Eunha agrees.

Sinbi stares blankly at the two Jungs. “So wait, are you saying that you two already knew I like Sojung unnie?"

“Yes,” they say at the same time.

Yewon coughs quietly. “I kind of guessed too.” Sinbi looks at her with an expression full of betrayal. “Only guessed! I wasn’t sure, and I thought you would talk to me about it when you were ready.”

“Well.” She supposes she’s ready now. Not really though. Not ready to face Sojung, that’s for sure. “I guess I should…tell her.”

“You should,” Yerin says, still in that soft, serious voice. “But only if you’re ready. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

Yerin is teasing and playful so much of the time that sometimes she feels more like a chingu than an unnie, but she’s very much being an unnie now and it’s oddly comforting.

Sinbi wets her lips. “Do you think she would…”

“Feel the same way?” Yerin supplies. “You won’t know unless you talk to her.”

But what if she rejects me? Sinbi doesn’t mean to say the words out loud, but they escape her lips of their own volition.

“But if you don’t tell her, she also won’t accept you,” Yewon says. “It’s a risk you have to take.”

“Plus,” Yerin adds, with a thoughtful expression. “I don’t think she will.”

Yuna gives her a hwaiting fist pump. “Either way, we’ll support you!”

Eunha pushes her on the back. “Go get her.”

Well, Sinbi thinks, at least she knows that no matter what, she has her members on her side. It makes her walk out of the room with a full chest and steady legs, knowing that they’re behind her.

Although hopefully not literally behind her. She wouldn’t put it past them to be hiding in a corner and spying on them during her confession.

“Sinbi.” Sojung smiles when she sees Sinbi, which makes her heart skip in a way she finally recognizes. “Just the person I wanted to see.”

“Y-you wanted to see me?” She can’t believe she’s stuttering. She and stuttering don’t go together, except apparently when you add Sojung into the equation all sorts of things get turned around.

“Yeah, I wanted to talk about the choreography for that special stage we have coming up at the festival with you.”

“Oh.” Sinbi swallows. “Sure. What did you want to talk about?”

Sojung gives her a concerned look. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah.” The damn stuttering again. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You look a little off. Are you feeling all right?”

Sinbi forces herself to hold still as Sojung puts a hand on her forehead to check her temperature. Sojung’s skin feels cool, refreshing, but it probably means that Sinbi’s burning up.

“You do feel a little warm,” Sojung notes with a frown. “Are you getting sick?”

“No. No, I’m not sick.” If Yerin were here, she’d probably tease Sinbi that she’s lovesick. Good thing Yerin isn’t here. Or is she?

“What are you looking for?” Sojung asks, amused, as Sinbi cranes her neck trying to check every nook and cranny to make sure none of the members are hiding around.

“Nothing,” Sinbi says, doing one more vigilant sweep. “Just…being careful. You never know who’s lurking around.”

“If you’re looking for crazy fans, I don’t think they can get into our dorms.” Sojung grimaces. “At least, let’s hope not.”

“No, I’m looking for Yerin unnie. Although I guess you can call her a crazy fan.”

“She is pretty crazy about you.”

“Well, who can blame her?” Sinbi strikes a pose with her thumb and forefinger under her chin. “I’m awesome.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Sojung says solemnly. “Yerin has a lot of competition for your heart.”

“But she doesn’t,” Sinbi blurts out.

Sojung blinks. “Hmm?”

“She – nobody – has any competition because…” Because you’re the only one I like. Sinbi is pretty sure she says the words out loud, but then—

“Eunbi, I have no idea what you’re saying. Can you speak a little louder?”

“I, I—” Sinbi almost loses her voice. She definitely loses her courage. “It’s not my fault if you’re so old your ears have problems, unnie.”

Sojung sighs. “And here I thought we could have a conversation without you bringing up my age.”

Sinbi shrugs. “Here I thought we could have a conversation where your age wouldn’t come up, but here it is getting in our way again.”

Sojung shakes her head. “It’s a shame. If only nothing was in our way.”

If only, Sinbi thinks ruefully.

It’s just Sinbi’s luck that she gets cornered by the two Jungs right after.

“So?” Eunha asks expectantly. “How did it go?”

“Ididn’ttellher.”

“What?”

“I didn’t tell her, okay?”

Yerin looks sympathetic. “You couldn’t get it out?”

Sinbi huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. “It’s not that easy.”

“Of course it’s not easy,” Yerin says. “Feelings rarely are.”

“Feelings,” Sinbi says emphatically, “.”

Yerin sniffs, suddenly, and Sinbi looks at her, alarmed. “I feel like my baby is growing up,” she says, wiping at her eyes. “How did this happen so fast?”

“There, there,” Eunha says, patting her on the shoulder. “They grow up really fast these days. Take it easy. You still have Yewon.”

Yerin brightens. “That’s true! But what if Yewon gets a crush on someone? She and Yuna seem awfully close these days, don’t you think?”

“That’s a talk for another day,” Eunha says, before turning to Sinbi. “Don’t be too discouraged, Eunbi. Are you going to try again?”

“Well. I guess.” Sinbi gnaws on her lip. “I hope I won’t stutter next time.”

“You stuttered?” Yerin asks. “Aww, that’s so cute! Do you need a vocal coach? I’m here for you, Eunbi. We can be like that British movie.”

“Goodbye,” Sinbi says firmly, as she turns around to leave, but Yerin catches her sleeve. “Unnie, I swear—”

“Okay, sorry, I got overwhelmed there for a second.” Yerin has that soft, serious look on her face again. “I don’t want to make you feel like you can’t talk to me about these things. You can.”

“I know.” Even if Yerin is acting like—Yerin, Sinbi knows that she’s here for her. Maybe a little too here for her. “But I’m not sure talking about it with anyone other than Sojung unnie is going to help at this point.”

“That’s true,” Eunha says. “You need to talk to her.”

“I know,” Sinbi repeats. “It’s just…easier said than done.”

Yerin and Eunha look like they have nothing to say to that. And really, what is there to say?

Sinbi, being the diligent student she is, rehearses in front of the mirror. She had to take acting classes as a trainee, and she tries to tell herself that this isn’t so different. If she can just get her lines right, then she can land this role.

The first part is both the easiest and the hardest.

“Sojung unnie, I like you.”

“As in, not the way I like Yewon and the other unnies.”

“You’re special to me.”

“In a good way! I’m not making fun of you this time.”

“In fact, I think I make fun of you so much because I like you.”

“Oh god, is that what Eunha unnie meant by the pigtails thing?”

“I can’t believe I’m following her advice. And Yerin unnie’s too.”

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way.”

“I mean, I hope you do but I understand if you don’t.”

“You probably just think of me as a brat.”

And suddenly, another voice, a very familiar voice cuts through her monologue.

“I do, but a very cute brat.”

Sinbi almost trips over thin air as she spins around, only to see Sojung looking at her with an expression caught between amusement and affection.

“S-Sojung unnie.” And, of course, the stuttering makes a comeback. “You’re here.”

“I am,” Sojung says. “I didn’t mean to listen in on you talking to, er, yourself. But I guess you’re also kind of talking to me, aren’t you?”

Sinbi is reduced to just dumbly staring at her. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.”

“So.” Sinbi swallows. “You heard everything.”

“I heard a lot,” Sojung says, “but I’d still like to hear it from you, properly.”

Sinbi opens , tries to speak and closes it when nothing comes out.

“Let me go first then,” Sojung says. “You are a brat. You talk back to me all the time, you push us around like a drill sergeant during dance practice, you love to make fun of everything from my age to my height.”

Sinbi’s face must have fallen, because Sojung’s voice suddenly becomes gentler.

“I haven’t finished yet,” she says. “You work so hard and expect so much from yourself, and you expect it from us too. You push us because you want the best for us, and you’re always there to offer your help. There’s no one I’d rather have on my team and by my side. You’re genuine and you won’t pretend even if our company instructs us to. You tease us a lot but you’re never cruel about it and you’re always there when we need you. You’re always there when I need you.”

Sinbi only realizes that Sojung has stepped closer to her when she finds herself raising her face to meet Sojung’s eyes. Her proximity pulls the air from Sinbi’s lungs, leaving her breathless and dizzy, finding Sojung far too close and yet not close enough.

“You are a brat,” Sojung repeats, “but you’re my brat.”

Sinbi manages to in enough air to ask her question. “You always call me that,” she says, her voice coming out raspy. “Isn’t it time for a new name?”

Sojung holds her eyes. “What do you want me to call you then?”

And this time, Sinbi manages to say it.

“Yours,” she breathes. “I want you to call me yours.”

Sojung has patted, pinched, even kissed her cheeks on more than one occasion, but this is the first time she’s cradled them as she pulls Sinbi into a kiss. Sinbi’s eyes flutter close as Sojung’s lips meet her own, warm and gentle and just a little chapped.

“Mine,” Sojung murmurs, soft and just the slightest bit possessive, and Sinbi’s blood sings in her veins.

She’s always thought of Sojung as beautiful, but Sojung with mussed hair (by Sinbi’s fingers) and shining eyes (by Sinbi’s words) and swollen lips (by Sinbi’s kisses) is a sight beyond what ‘beautiful’ can describe.

It looks like Sinbi will have to invent some more words for Sojung. The regular dictionary just isn’t enough when it comes to her.

“Finally,” Eunha says. “I was getting sick of the unresolved tension between you two.”

“She still gives me tension,” Sojung says, giving Sinbi an exasperated look from the corner of her eye. Sinbi flashes a smile back.

Eunha makes a face. “I don’t need to know that, unnie.”

“It’s not like that!” Sinbi splutters.

“Don’t be jealous, Eunha,” Sojung says. “You know I still love you.”

Yerin looks at Sinbi expectantly, clearly waiting for a reaffirmation of her affection.

“Don’t be jealous,” Sinbi says. “I’m sure Sojung unnie still loves you too.”

Yerin’s crestfallen face makes Sinbi almost collapse from laughter. She falls against Sojung, who puts an arm around her and holds her up, and even after Sinbi steadies herself Sojung doesn’t let her go.

Sinbi doesn’t mind.