Based on completely shallow factors alone, you have a pretty good idea of what your future children, home, and all-around life will look like. He could be the one!

It was late, later than she’d planned.  Her flight had been delayed by bad weather and the apartment lights were all off.  There was no loving kiss or candlelit dinner.  No sign of her beautiful girl.  Krystal quietly let herself in to the same black and white apartment she now called home.  She slipped out of her heels and placed her bag on the floor for the morning.

The faintest smell of homemade pizza lingered in the kitchen.  Walking through to the dining room revealed the remnants of a would-be romantic dinner.  The table was set for two, with wine glasses and foil covered dinner plates.  Her tired face brightened at the sight of her girlfriend’s obvious effort.  Krystal shook her head, it never ceased to amaze her that no matter how many times she had to fly overseas for concert tours, no matter how many months she was away, she would always have a home to come back to.

A low groan broke through the stillness.  Krystal froze and turned her sights to the dark living room.  More specifically the couch. Another moan and grumble came from the other side of the couch followed by the rustle of cloth.  She tip toed across and peered over the back of it.  The most adorable scene came into view.  Isobel lay on the dark cushions, curled up in one of Krystal’s oversized hoodies.  She mumbled nonsense in her sleep, but fell back to sleep. 

Krystal smiled softly and Isobel’s hair gently.  She carded her fingers through the dark strands and watched Isobel unconsciously lean further into the touch.  Isobel frowned a little and turned to lie on her back.  Her breathing changed, not as deeply as before and Krystal knew it wouldn’t take long.  Those bleary brown eyes fluttered open and darted around the room in confusion.  They locked on Krystal’s dark glittering gaze and brightened.

“Hey,” Isobel’s voice was husky from sleep.  That whispered word warmed her heart, but sent shivers of pleasure up her spine.

“Hi,” Krystal whispered back.

Isobel sat up slowly, still half in the clutches of her dreamland.  She leaned up and pressed a sweet kiss on Krystal’s lips, “Welcome home, princess.”

Krystal’s eyes drifted closed and she leaned further forward to rest her forehead on Isobel’s.  Her busy schedule and sleepless nights had finally caught up to her.

Isobel her head tenderly, “Soojung? Soojung…”

“Soojung!”

Krystal jerked up in bed.  She looked wildly around the room.  Floral print pillow case, black metal bedframe, wooden desk— it was the room she had in the f(x) dorms.  Everything was familiar, but almost alien. 

Amber watched her worriedly.  The younger girl looked like she was almost in tears after searching her room, for what, she had no idea.  “Soojunggie, you okay?”

Krystal turned wide eyes on the American girl standing by her bed.  She shook her head to clear of the dreams that clung to her consciousness, “I’m fine.”

If anyone had the power to read minds, they would know that wasn’t the first time she’d had those dreams.  It was almost a weekly thing for Krystal to visit the café and together, she and Isobel, would make their way to Isobel’s apartment.  In the last five weeks, they had messaged, called and their weekly ‘dates’ were filled with movies, talking and cooking.  They took it in turns to commandeer the kitchen.  Both loved cooking, but they loved the other’s enjoyment of the meals more.

The problem was that it wasn’t a dramatic love story.  Everything about it was normal.  They met, got to know each other, spent time together—it was exactly what she had always hoped her relationship to be. And that made it all the harder to stop imagining such a detailed future.  Call her a teenage girl daydreaming, but who cares?

Sometimes they were images of galas they would attend together.  Isobel would inherit Parker Industries and be required to attend company functions to socialize and network.  She would don a fitted pant suit with killer heels.  And Krystal would spend the night on her arm, smiling and speaking niceties to countless socialites.  All the while, she would watch proudly as Isobel dominated the room with charm and beauty.

They would arrive in Isobel’s own car.  The valet would park it, after Isobel had reached in and helped her out.  Krystal’s dress would be picked from Jessica’s future fashion line and it would complement her girlfriend’s pantsuit perfectly.  Arm in arm, they would enter amidst adoring chatter and camera flashes.  Nobody cared that they were two girls in a relationship, they were the power couple, the youngest powerhouse who served as role models for their generation.

No matter where they went and who they spoke to, Isobel’s hand rested on the small of her back as a comforting weight the entire night.  In the times they would link arms instead, Krystal would occasionally squeeze her arm as if to say ‘I’m here’.  Isobel would flash her a smile every time, without fail.

Either way, they told the world without words that, “She’s mine and I’m hers.”

Krystal groaned and pulled herself out of yet another fantasy she fallen into.  Nowadays it didn’t matter if she was in the middle of work or sleeping, those errant thoughts kept invading her mind.  This time it was during dance practice.  Sweat dripped down her face and trickled down her back.   She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and wished she had a cold drink.  She couldn’t help but wonder if Isobel would ever visit during practice, if she had been allowed into the building, of course.

A knock would sound from the closed door.

Her voice called out teasingly, “I have a delivery for the best girl group!”

Happy grins stretched on everyone’s faces, their tiredness forgotten for a moment.  Krystal bounded to the door and pulled it open.  She grabbed Isobel’s hand excitedly, dragged her inside and shut the door.  The young maknae threw her arms around the leather jacket clad waist and nuzzled her girlfriend.

“Ew! You’re all sweaty!!!” Isobel playfully struggled in Krystal’s hug, pouting as she smeared the offending sweat on her favourite jacket.

“Deal with it,” Krystal stuck her tongue and rested her head on Isobel’s shoulder, looking up at her contently.

“Hmph. Hi, unnies, Luna and Sulli,” Isobel greeted the others, knowing full well that she’d never win an argument with the Ice Princess.  Better to stop now while she was still being cute, before the real Ice Princess came out.  She shuddered internally at the very thought.

“Hi Isobel!/Hi unnie!” They greeted back, with Sulli adding an honorific for the older girl.

“What’s that?” Victoria pointed at the previously ignored plastic bag in her hand.

Isobel lifted it up with one hand, the other was wrapped around Krystal, and smiled, “Thought you guys might want drinks.”

They all cheered and rushed over for the surprise.  Everyone pulled out their favourite drinks.  By then, Isobel had learnt the drinks they preferred from the number of times they ordered it in her café.  She made them herself before arriving.

There were happy sighs all round as they decided to take this as a break time to enjoy the drinks.  The girls were all sipping happily, except for one. Krystal stared up at her blankly.

“Princess?” Isobel held up the bag containing her mango smoothie and raised an eyebrow in question.

Krystal frowned at her and merely tightened her hold on the older girl’s waist.  Isobel sighed, but smiled softly.  She pulled out the smoothie, put in a straw and held the drink up to Krystal’s lips.  Krystal’s eyes lit up and she immediately drank the offered smoothie.

Not quite believing it, but at the same time expecting it, her girlfriend’s want to be spoiled at time always looked endearing to her.  With a smirk, Isobel pulled the drink away from Krystal’s mouth and took a sip herself.

“Yah!” Krystal squeezed her waist tightly for a brief moment, to display her displeasure, “That’s mine!”

“Mmhmm,” Isobel drank again before replying, “But I made it!”

“You said it was a gift!” Krystal tried to reach for the smoothie, but Isobel held it high above her head, “Sulli! Help me!”

The tallest member of the group was too busy laughing with the others, “But it’s funnier to watch.”

Krystal stomped her foot and tried, unsuccessfully, to reach for it again.  Isobel laughed and jerked it away at the last second. Krystal smacked her shoulder in frustration, “Give me my drink!”

Isobel smirked and leaned in close, “Give me a kiss first.”

She looked at her in disbelief.  But seeing that Isobel was serious, Krystal rolled her eyes and leaned in—

“Soojung!” Victoria’s voice crashed through the daydream she had fallen in, again.

Krystal opened her eyes, not having noticed them fall shut in the first place, and blinked rapidly at the bright lights of the practice room.  All her members were looking at her confused stares.  She had zoned out for the last five minutes.  Her cheeks were on fire at the very thought of what had distracted her in the first place.

“Soojunggie, you okay?”  Amber put a comforting hand on her arm.

Krystal cleared awkwardly, but didn’t trust herself to speak.  Instead she nodded.

“It’s getting pretty late, maybe we should head back and get some sleep?” Luna suggested.  The dark eyes and pale face on Krystal worried her more than she could explain.  Their maknae was sure to work herself to the ground again.

Everybody agreed and soon Krystal was shuffling into bed.  Freshly showered and in pyjamas, she should have fallen asleep straight away.  Instead she tossed and turned in the dark.  She was restless and she missed her—... 

She actually wasn’t sure what they were.  They’d been dating and seeing each other, but neither had been too bothered to think of labels. Plus, their schedules had been so busy this week that they hadn’t had a chance to see each other for their ‘weekly’ dates.  And both were too exhausted for calls. 

Now, lying here in the dark of her dorm room, Krystal couldn’t help but miss the older girl. Nor could she push away the uneasiness at realizing she wasn’t sure what they were.  Their relationship had transitioned so naturally, there was no single point in time where they decided, that ‘now, we are girlfriends’.  They went through the motions of it all, but had never talked about what they were.

Having had enough.  Krystal threw off her blanket and quietly got changed.  She grabbed her phone, keys and wallet.  Then as quietly as she could, she crept out of her room and out the front door without waking anyone up.  Their apartment complex was weirdly echo-y in the dead of the night.  When they got home it was already late, it was nearing 2 am now.  It was no wonder the place gave her shivers.

Krystal snuck out and luckily caught a taxi that was making its final rounds for the night.  She gave the now familiar address and sat back to watch the city fly by through the windows of the car.   Not was word was said except for the address, and she glad for it.

When she finally arrived, she paid the driver and headed up the elevators.  The metal doors slid open on the top floor and she stepped towards the only door that mattered.  With a deep breath, she knocked.

Unsurprisingly, there was no answer.  Not wishing to disturb others with more knocking, she took out her phone and dialled Isobel’s number.

It rang for a few moments before a voice, husky from sleep, answered, “H’llo?”

“Hey.”

“Princess?” Isobel sounded more awake now, if a little confused, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

An involuntary smile tugged at Krystal’s lips at hearing the worry in that voice, “Open your door.”

“Huh?”

“Just open your door.”

“Okay, okay,” there was the sound of rustling, a dull thud and Isobel’s breathing over the phone. 

The door swung open to reveal Isobel.  Her hair was a mess.  She was in pyjama shorts and an old oversized tee.  Her eyes were half closed, squinting against the hallway light.  She was perfect.

Krystal ended the call and whispered, “Hey.”

“Hi,” Isobel put down her phone, and scratched her head confusedly.  She frowned and tilted her head to the side, but just mumbled, “I missed you.”

That sleepy confession from the barely awake girl was all she needed.  Krystal stepped inside and threw her arms around Isobel’s neck, “I missed you too.”

Isobel shut the door, then hugged Krystal close, relishing in the scent of her familiar shampoo.  She sighed happily, and hoped that if this was a dream, she never woke up.  Isobel pressed a sweet kiss on Krystal’s cheek and whispered, “C’mon, let’s get to bed.”

They climbed into the large bed together.  Krystal sent off a quick text to her members, then put her phone on the bedside table.  Isobel pulled the blankets over their shoulders and pressed her front to Krystal’s back.  Krystal sank into the embrace and lay a hand over the arm thrown over her stomach.  Even though this was the first time they had slept together, to her it felt like home.  She was completely wrapped in Isobel.

Both their breathing started to slow.  Krystal could feel Isobel’s start to even out, as her own eyes struggled to stay open.  But she still had one more thing to ask.

“Isobel,” she whispered.

“Hmmm?” was the lazy reply.

“What are we?”

There was a pause.  Then she felt Isobel lean forward from behind and rest her cheek atop her own, “What d’you mean?”

“I was thinking earlier… We’ve never put a label on…’us’,” Krystal played with Isobel’s fingers, glad that she hadn’t pulled away, but too nervous to turn and look at her.

Isobel pushed herself up with one hand and gently turned Krystal over.  She lay on her back and gazed up at Isobel hovering above her.

Isobel lifted her left hand and the side of her face.  Nothing more than feather light touches that skimmed her cheek and jawline, but Krystal shut her eyes leaned into the touch.

“I’m sorry I never asked,” Isobel finally whispered.  Her eyes were pinpoints of light in the dark room and they were staring straight at Krystal.

“It’s okay,” Krystal whispered back, as if to speak any louder would ruin the moment.

Isobel leaned forward and rested her forehead on Krystal’s.  They were so close, the windows to their souls were inches away.  Their breaths fanned across the other’s lips.  Isobel watched those eyes drink in the sight before her, and asked, “Be my girlfriend?”

“Of course,” Krystal whispered.  She leaned up and closed the distance between them.  Isobel wrapped her arms around Krystal’s waist and flipped them over as the singer gently on her bottom lip.  Krystal splayed her fingers on her Prince’s shoulders as she lost herself in the taste of peppermint and her girlfriend. She pressed their lips together even harder at that thought – she could get used to calling her that.

Krystal pulled away slowly and looked down at her.  She whispered again, “Hey.”

Isobel pecked her lips once more, “Hi.”

They grinned like idiots and Krystal shuffled down to lay her head on Isobel.  Isobel wrapped her right arm around Krystal’s shoulder.  Krystal looped hers around Isobel’s waist.  She tangled her legs in between the older girl’s and tucked her head under Isobel’s chin. 

Once more, Isobel pulled the blankets up and their eyes fluttered shut.

“Night, babe,” Krystal murmured.

“G’night, princess,” Isobel mumbled back.