A/N: Hullo! Hullo! How's everyone doing? First off, lemme just thank everyone for all the support. 54 subs and 9 upvotes! T-T Thank you all for your interest in this story! :) So let's get right into it. Enjoy this update. And leave comments, please! Again, thank you!

Word count: 3,485 words

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Nayoung groans in annoyance as the still fresh ink on the pages of her journal gets smudged on the side of her pinky finger. She reaches in her satchel and pulls out a wet tissue to clean it off. She takes the time to look around the coffee shop she’s in as she wipes her finger.

The other girl should be here by now. She itches to call Minkyung, wants to confirm if she got the time and place right all the while hoping that this is just a big prank the younger girl decided to pull on her (but given all the trouble Minkyung and Kyungwon gave her, she doubts it would just be a prank).

Her hand grips her cup of now cold americano and she makes up her mind fast. If Yebin’s friend doesn’t arrive within the next fifteen minutes, she’ll just go home and watch Netflix. That would be for the best. The thought doesn’t last very long though, because soon a girl is walking up to her (which she doesn’t notice at first because she’s resumed doodling in her journal).

“Excuse me. Are you perhaps Nayoung?”

Nayoung’s hand freezes and she slowly looks up to the person who asked. For what feels like a minute, Nayoung just stares at the girl - long black hair framing a heart-shaped face, sparkling doe eyes, and thin pinkish lips. The lighting of the cafe falls perfectly over her, accentuating her features and Nayoung has to blink because she feels like she’s looking at art. She belatedly realizes that she’s being rude and that she has to reply.

“Yeah, I’m Nayoung. Are you Kyulkyung?” The girl’s eyes form crescents when she smiles and Nayoung has to swallow, feeling like she got er punched. Which is weird.

“Yes. Yes, I’m Kyulkyung.” She replies. “May I?” She gestures to the empty seat opposite Nayoung who nods quickly.

“Did you wait long?” Kyulkyung fiddles with her hands, looks up at Nayoung from her long lashes. “I’m sorry I’m a little bit late. I don’t want to make excuses but I got confused with the streets and I wandered a couple of blocks away.” She shifts in her seat, moving closer to the edge so she’s leaning towards Nayoung more.

“Ah, no. It’s fine.” Nayoung waves off the girl’s apology as she tries not to look dazed. “I needed the time anyway.” She closes her journal, seeing Kyulkyung’s eyes wander to it, although discreetly. She slides it off the table and stuffs it inside her bag.

“So, uh, have you decided what you want to do today?” Nayoung starts, offers the girl a polite smile. “I haven’t gone to a date for… a long time so I’m not sure how this works. Do people still go to the movies for this?” Her smile turns sheepish at the end.

Kyulkyung smiles back at her, enthusiastically so, almost bouncing in her seat. “Oh, okay. Yeah, we can do that. Is there a particular show you’d like to see?”

“I’ve checked the time slots already. But are you fine with any genre?” Nayoung tries to keep her voice level, confused at how she should be responding to the younger girl’s excitement.

“Yeah, I’m cool with anything. Anything is fine.” Kyulkyung nods.

“Do you want to eat first or eat after the movie?” She plasters on what she hopes is an appropriate expression, eyebrows raised and a smile on her face.

“Let’s eat later if that’s fine with you?” Kyulkyung’s smile only grows bigger. Not really knowing what else to say she just nods.

The two of them head to the cinema, making small talk as they went (mostly Kyulkyung while Nayoung nods, shakes her head, or gives monosyllabic answers), keeping a safe distance of a couple feet between them. She knows she’s stretching the definitions of proxemics here, tells herself it’s the gravitational pull of their masses that’s to blame (which is a universal truth; how convenient). So it totally isn’t a conscious decision on her part.

She notices that Kyulkyung’s energy never seems to go down and it makes her wonders if she’s usually like this. If she is, well, Nayoung still isn’t sure what to feel about it, knowing that she herself doesn’t have much energy to match that of the younger girl’s. What she does know is that she finds Kyulkyung’s smile to be quite pretty and she wants to knock herself in the head for it.

Minkyung didn’t tell her much about the girl so she didn’t know what to expect (not even what she looked like). Minkyung had insisted that it was best to let Nayoung see and know the rest for herself. She wonders if what the younger girl did was right, wonders how her decision would’ve differed had she known that Kyulkyung would be this, well, charming for the lack of a better term.

They end up picking an animated film to watch. Not wanting to ruin their appetites for dinner, they skip the snack bar and immediately head off to the theater. The trailers are yet to finish rolling but Nayoung catches herself second guessing her choices already.

Was it right for them to watch a movie? She admits that the reason she thought it would be a good idea to go is because it would give them less time to interact. But that was before she saw Kyulkyung, before she got a good look at her, enough to be intrigued this much. She should’ve suggested doing something else but had gone on autopilot the moment Kyulkyung sat in front of her and now she is left feeling like she made the wrong choice. The sense to get to know her is just overwhelming. Is this how normal people interact? Is this how dates work?

Nayoung swallows at the thought. She thinks it’s bad enough that she already agreed to meet Kyulkyung in the first place. Now she feels like she wants to know everything there is to know about her? When she only agreed to go on one date? Especially because Kyulkyung’s only going to be here for the summer-

Kyulkyung’s only going to be here for the summer.

And it hits her.

Minkyung, that sly fox.

She really made Nayoung believe that she was only agreeing to one date when she and Yebin probably laughed behind her back. They both knew that Nayoung wouldn’t be able to just go on one date with Kyulkyung. They knew that and they baited her with that. And she just walked right into their trap, huh?

Well, two can play at this game (Or three since there’s her and Minkyung and Yebin). They want her to date? She’ll do just that and she’ll do so without regrets, take everything she can out of it. All the feelings of fulfillment and satisfaction those scientific journals blurt about on dating.

She leans back on her seat, looks at Kyulkyung at the corner of her eyes and smiles. Nayoung knows full well that this is something that’s not meant to last so while she has the chance, while she has the time, she might as well enjoy it.

&&

Kyulkyung has yet to stop laughing over what she says is her favorite scene from the movie and Nayoung can’t help but to smile at that.

The sky outside has gotten dark. The crowds in the streets have become thinner. However, the restaurant they’re in is still somewhat full of activity, accommodating customers for the late dinner hour.  Nayoung has had a couple of drinks (just beer) and she blames it for the warm feeling bubbling in her chest, spreading through her entire body, up to the tip of her fingers. She blames it as she laughs out loud to Kyulkyung’s cringe-worthy impression of the characters from the film they just saw.

“Okay, okay. Stop let me breathe.” Nayoung almost pleads as she tries to calm herself down. Kyulkyung looks at her with a proud smile on her face and then she too takes a swig of her own drink.

What’s left of their dinner has long grown cold on their plates but they both don’t seem to care. They’ve been talking non-stop for hours, exchanging facts on a 3:1 ratio (in favor of Kyulkyung). Their waiter’s lowkey judgmental gaze is testament to that. Not that Nayoung minds what anyone else thinks. At least, tonight she finds she doesn’t.

Kyulkyung seems to have that effect on her (or maybe it’s the alcohol?). She takes all of her attention and makes nothing else matter. The girl is smart (a bit sassy), bright (also, loud) and very amicable (more like clingy, literally). Something tells her that maybe she should get up and run as fast as she can but something else urges her to sit still and let all of it, let everything about Kyulkyung, pull her in and she just can’t seem to focus on anything else.

Nayoung learns that Kyulkyung studied high school in Seoul and came back to Shanghai after she graduated (which explained how good her Korean was and how she came to know Yebin). Kyulkyung tells her about her passion for music and her being a music major (majoring in bipa and minoring in guitar). For some time, she talks about her friends as well and when that topic gets exhausted, Nayoung calls the waiter (who looks relieved) to bring their bill. As they’re waiting for the staff to return with Nayoung’s card, Kyulkyung brings up the fact that she is staying in a nearby hotel for the time being, as she’s interning in her uncle’s recording company.

Nayoung’s eyebrows nearly shot off her face because she knows where this is going to go already. The look on Kyulkyung’s eyes become dark and her voice drops to a low whisper.

Without any stuttering she asks, “Do you wanna come over and have a couple more drinks with me? We can talk some more, too, if you’ll come.”

Maybe it’s because she wanted to spend more time with Kyulkyung or maybe it’s because she already knows what’s she getting herself into and that she wants it just as much as Kyulkyung is projecting. Whatever the reason may be doesn’t really matter anymore because either way, Nayoung already knows it would be impossible to say no.

&&

Kyulkyung pushes the door open with so much force that it bangs against the adjacent wall. She mutters a quick apology before she inserts an extra keycard on the slot in the wall. The light in the hall and the bedside lamps turn on and Nayoung takes in the sight. The room is spotlessly clean. The immaculately white king-sized bed is made. The closet on the hallway is open by a couple of inches and she gets a glimpse of a hot pink carrier which doesn’t even look like it’s been unpacked.

In her opinion, the room would look like any other hotel room had it not been for the framed picture of, what Nayoung assumes is, Kyulkyung’s family on the dressing table and the soft cased instrument leaning against the wall by the couch.

“You can sit anywhere you want. I’ll get the drinks.” Kyulkyung says, over her shoulder as she walks away.

Nayoung finds herself gravitating towards the huge glass windows. Twenty floors up, she’s given a view of the city’s Sunday night traffic. People walking down on the streets below are reduced to tiny dots and she can’t help but compare this view to that of hers back at her apartment, only four floors up.

From the corner of her eye, she sees Kyulkyung hold out a glass half full of amber-colored liquid. She turns away from the window, takes the offered drink, and mutters her thanks.

“Whiskey.” Kyulkyung says, takes a sip from her own glass, keeps it close to her lips as she continues. “You know how places like this have them stocked in those small fridges.”

Nayoung nods, tries not to think about how loaded Kyulkyung’s family is if she’s staying in suite like this for the course of her internship and even goes through the liquor like it’s nothing. She waits for Kyulkyung to sit on the edge of the bed and turn on the television that’s on a rotatable TV-mount before she sits next to her, maintains the safe distance between them. For a moment, they just take sips of their drinks and stare into the television that is on some variety show with too many middle-aged men.

“You know, you have a really cute voice.” Kyulkyung suddenly says. “But you don’t talk much.”

Nayoung takes notice of the pink tinge of the younger girl’s cheeks and she just smiles, knowing that the younger girl is probably just drunk. “I don’t have a lot to say is all.”

“I don’t believe you.” Kyulkyung keeps her glass at eye-level and looks at Nayoung through it as if it was magnifying glass. “I mean, don’t you think it’s unfair that I’ve already said things that should be covered on the 3^rd or 4^th date but you’ve only talked about your job and a little bit of your time in uni?” She lowers her glass a little, gives Nayoung a challenging look which she takes full on.

“Well, what do you want to know? Ask me anything. Preferably something that’s 3^rd or 4^th date coverage material so as to make things fair. Go ahead.” She downs half of her drink in one go, feeling like she’ll need more courage for this conversation.

Kyulkyung raises an eyebrow at her. Her eyes shoot up to look at the ceiling in thought and finally asks, “Where do you live?”

Nayoung laughs. “Okay, that’s very stalker-ish but I’ll tell you. I live in an apartment close to the science museum. Like four blocks away, heading to the direction of the Han River. The building that has a 7 Eleven on the ground floor, Unit 405. Happy?”

“Not quite. Not yet.” Kyulkyung’s smirk dissolves as she puts on that thinking face again. “Do you live with your family?”

“No, I live alone.” Nayoung says tips her glass to her lips, finishing it.

“Got any siblings I should be worried about?” Kyulkyung moves to get the bottle of alcohol and refills both their glasses.

Nayoung laughs for a good minute. Even she wonders why it’s so funny. “No, I don’t.”

Kyulkyung blinks at her a couple of times before nodding slowly. “Wow, I am envious.” She says it so softly that Nayoung could’ve easily missed it if she wasn’t paying all of her attention on her.

And luckily, she was. “Why so?” She lowers her glass, rests it against her knee as she moves a little bit closer to Kyulkyung whose eyes had widen as if she really wasn’t expecting Nayoung to hear her.

A look of fear flashes across the younger girl’s face briefly, quickly replaced by hesitation, and then finally resignation.

Nayoung opens , wants to say that she doesn’t have to answer if she doesn’t feel like it but Kyulkyung already starts to speak.

“I-it’s just that… back in Shanghai I have to live with my family – dad, mom, a younger sister, and a younger brother.” She pauses, looking up at Nayoung as if she’s gauging her reaction. “Dad’s always at work. Mom’s always with her friends. When they’re not, they’re both too busy coddling my brother. My sister was so sick of it, she went off to boarding school. I was able to do that when I was in high school and now, I’m here for the summer.”

Nayoung falls into silence as images of years long ago and of people long forgotten resurface to her mind.

Kyulkyung continues speaking. “I just… want to be away from that. I mean I love my family but I can’t help but feel very lonely around them. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yeah, I do.” She admits, tries her hardest not to get choked up.

“You do?” Nayoung looks Kyulkyung in the eye and nods, tries to get her sincerity across because she can’t really find the right words to say. Fortunately, Kyulkyung seems to get it because she lets out a small smile.

“I probably shouldn’t be saying this so soon but I think I like you already. I think I like you a lot.” And then she giggles. She’s definitely drunk. “I’m gonna buy Yebin a cake for setting us up. She’s a good friend. That midget.”

Nayoung chuckles, her tipsy mouth wants to say that she thinks she might like her too but the words never leave her because Kyulkyung puts her glass down on the floor and then scoots very close to her, crossing the so-called safe distance she had put between them.

And then with her eyes half-lidded and her gaze alluring, she asks “Do you think it will be all right if I kiss you?”

Nayoung doesn’t answer. She chooses not to answer and instead she lets her hands cup Kyulkyung’s face as she leans in to capture her lips with her own. Kyulkyung responds, matches her energy – slow at first then gradually building up, growing stronger and hungrier and more desperate with each passing second.

Kyulkyung moves back from the edge to the middle of the bed and Nayoung gives chase, keeps her legs on either side of Kyulkyung. She hovers over the younger girl as they move, not daring to break apart. Nayoung deepens the kiss, slips her tongue in as her fingers tangle in her hair.

That’s when her mind starts to swim in thoughts of Kyulkyung. How she tastes like alcohol and peach flavored lip tint and the breeze on top of a hill in June. How her hands on Nayoung’s shoulders feel like the hot sun on a midsummer day, radiating heat and burning her skin through her clothes. How she’s pulling her so close as if she’s the dark sea floor and Nayoung is a rusty ship’s anchor. How she’s ever so softly into Nayoung’s mouth like a malevolent witch casting a spell on her. The thoughts pile up into a tidal wave and Nayoung has to pull back to safety, has to take in a breath because she is drowning.

But she doesn’t go far, knows she can’t go far so she keeps her forehead pressed against Kyulkyung’s.

She wants to ask her if they have to go further, wants to feel assured that doing so wouldn’t ruin what Nayoung can tell is a good connection between them, that this won’t just end up being a one-night stand. Oh, how the tables have turned. But Kyulkyung pulls at her collar hard and looks at her with her eyes burning.

“Take them off.” She whispers into the small space between them.

Truthfully, Nayoung doesn’t have much strength to hold back and so doesn’t need to be told twice. She starts kissing her again as she lets her hands fly to her own shirt as Kyulkyung works on her own.

&&

Nayoung doesn’t remember who turned off the lamps or the TV in the heat of the moment. She barely even remembers putting her drink down on the carpeted floor because it all happened so fast.

Kyulkyung’s hotel room had become a mess; the blankets spilling off to the side, the pillows on the floor, and their clothes everywhere. Nayoung lies breathless on one side of the bed and when she looks to her right, she finds Kyulkyung staring right back at her with a look on her face that can set her alight again - eyes half-lidded, mouth slightly parted, and chest heaving with labored breaths.

With much difficulty, Nayoung looks away and throws the blanket over the younger girl to keep her from being cold. She gets up and takes the other end of the blanket, covers herself as much as she can with it as she retrieves her clothes.

“Are you going somewhere?” Kyulkyung asks, which makes her stop.

Nayoung wants to say that she has to go home because it’s already too late and she has work in the morning and it really, probably, isn’t a good idea for her to sleep over but one look at Kyulkyung - now sitting up on the bed with a worried look on her face - gets her to stop.

“Can’t you… can’t you stay?” And Kyulkyung really doesn’t even have to say the next words out loud because Nayoung can already hear them just by looking at her. “I don’t want to be alone.”

Within a heartbeat, Nayoung relents, closes the space between them and takes Kyulkyung’s breath away with a kiss, gentler this time, wanting to make her worries disappear.

“I’ll stay.” She whispers when she pulls back, resigning to the fact that she really doesn’t want to go anywhere anyway.

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A/N: Aha. Given the nature of the story, y'all might be getting more of that implied stuff. Nothing explicit though. I can't write to save myself.

Also, I actually wanted to add a bit more on proxemics (study of human distances) here but I had to stop myself. It's not hardcore science. Rather, it's a non-verbal communication concept but I do not want any of you to get lost somewhere so I just mentioned it and tried to focus on how Nayoung rationalizes and explains the emotions she's feeling with concepts and theories in the beginning. I hope I was able to get that across somehow because I did rush this update with last minute revisions so I'm not completely satisfied. Please let me know what you guys think. See y'all around  :)