By the time Seulgi hears Joohyun’s scream, the younger trainee is already leaping from her bed and bolting over to the doorframe to flick the lights on. She reaches her destination just in the nick of time, and the lights flash on a brief heartbeat before the thunder crashes outside.

And then she hears the whimper from beneath the older girl’s comforter, and Seulgi’s heart just drops.

“Unnie,” Seulgi calls softly, trying not to wake the girls in the other rooms nearby. She pads quietly over to the lump of covers on Joohyun’s bed, sitting herself down on the edge gently. “Unnie, it’s alright. It’s just a storm. We’re okay, unnie.”

There’s a muffled, “I know,” that exits the blankets, but no movement other than a little bit of shifting. Seulgi sighs, running her tongue over her teeth to hold in a smile. Without another doubt, she wraps her arms around the lump and pull it towards her, feeling Joohyun’s smaller frame lean into her embrace through the fabric.

She doesn’t quite remember when she grew taller than Joohyun; all she knows is that the added height comes in handy, especially during times like these, when the best way to calm Joohyun down is by means of physical contact.

“Unnie,” Seulgi coos. “You might suffocate if you don’t at least poke your head out.”

Joohyun is still under the blankets, but Seulgi can practically see her pouting.

“Only because I don’t want to die from lack of air,” Joohyun mutters moments after, now surrounded by a cocoon of blankets. She pulls the comforter even tighter around her, still pouting incessantly. “That is, if I don’t die from getting struck by lightning first.”

“But we’re inside,” Seulgi giggles, not even flinching at subsequent bang of thunder that sends Joohyun scrambling into her arms. “The lightning can’t get you when we’re in here, unnie.”

“That’s just what they want you to think,” the older girl says, her voice barely detectable as she mumbles into the crook of Seulgi’s shoulder. “Listen to me. Unnie knows best.”

“Sure, unnie,” Seulgi absentmindedly begins Joohyun’s hair. The older girl had just dyed it a light copper brown the other day, and Seulgi was absolutely in love with the color, almost dyeing it the same herself before coming to the conclusion that she simply wasn’t worthy of having the same hair color as Joohyun, let alone at the same time.

“We should sleep,” the younger girl suggests, her fingers tangling in Joohyun’s long, long locks. Joohyun makes an indiscernible noise. “We still have training tomorrow, so we should be well rested.”

“When did you get taller than me,” Joohyun asks instead.

“I’ve always been taller than you,” Seulgi replies boastfully. She’s met with a weak slap to her arm, and Seulgi laughs, tipping her head back slightly.

“Can I sleep with you?”

“Sure. Let’s just lay down here and—”

“In your bed.”

“In my bed?” Seulgi raises an eyebrow at that. Joohyun nods into her skin. “Unnie, my bed is smaller than yours.”

“I know.”

“Wouldn’t it be more comfortable for us to just—”

“Please?”

Oh no, not the perfect puppy dog eyes. Internally, Seulgi groans. She can never refuse Joohyun when she pulls out the cute factor. (Well, she doesn’t know how to resist Joohyun period, but the older girl really doesn’t need to know that right now).

“Okay.”

And it’s still stormy outside, but Joohyun’s smile is a beacon of light, and the older girl doesn’t even notice when lightning flashes and the lights flicker momentarily. Because Seulgi’s never thought much about skinship (she’s never been one for linking arms... at least, until Joohyun came along), but as she hauls the older girl across the expanse of their shared bedroom to Seulgi’s smaller bed, Seulgi can’t help but love the warmth.

“Let’s jump in puddles tomorrow,” Joohyun says sleepily once Seulgi has pulled the covers over them both. “I wanna wear rain boots but I don’t want to wear a rain jacket. And I wanna jump in all the puddles and I’ll splash you all over. And we’ll both be soaking wet but happy because we’re trainees at SM Entertainment and we can do anything, even jump in puddles.”

“We might get scolded,” Seulgi teases gently.

“Doesn’t matter,” Joohyun insists, her words becoming more slurred. “Listen to me. Unnie knows best.”

Seulgi chuckles into Joohyun’s hair as the brunette tucks her head underneath Seulgi’s chin.

“Okay, unnie.”

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