Prompt By: @SHINeeMe08

-Title: Age Doesn't Matter

-Ship: YeRene

Characters: [MAIN] Irene/Bae Joohyun (Red Velvet), Yeri/Kim Yerin (Red Velvet) [SIDE] Seulgi/Kang Seulgi (Red Velvet)

Word Count: 696

Warnings: N/A

Summary: In which Kim Yerim confessed to Bae Joohyun, only to be met with an answer she didn’t want.

“Yeri,” Bae Joohyun looked down at her, a sympathetic smile playing across her face. “I’m sorry.”

The words echoed in Yeri’s ears, and she felt dizzy, Joohyun coming in and out of focus.

“Joo.” Yeri forced out, dropping her hands that clutched the unopened letter, the small meal she had prepared for her, and the few flowers she had picked out especially for her.

“You know I can’t,” Joohyun continued, driving the knife in Yeri’s heart in further. “You know why.”

“Tell me,” Yeri said softly, dropping her gaze to the ground. “I want to hear it from you.”

“There’s so many reasons why this isn’t a good idea.”

“Like what?”

Joohyun paused a moment, turning the question over. Yeri thought she had her, seen through her lies and bull, but then she opened again.

“We see each other like, what? Once? Twice a week? The age difference, the fact that I’ll be leaving soon, that we’re two girls…the list goes on.”

Yeri’s head snapped up. “We’ll make time for each other,” she argued. “Age doesn’t matter, Joo! We can work around that. We can work around all of that. You leaving. And who cares that we’re both girls? Love is love, Joo, it has no boundaries-“

“Sh-h,” Joohyun hushed her, laying a hand on her shoulder. “That’s not what I meant. You know many people don’t agree with two girls dating.”

“That doesn’t matter! None of it does! What does is that I love you! And I know you do, too!”

“Yeri,” Joohyun used that same mocking, sympathetic, condescending tone. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. We can’t. This isn’t going to work. I’m like, what? 8 years older than you?”

“It doesn’t matter, Joo,” Yeri pleaded. “Please, just give me a chance.”

Joohyun sighed, running a hand through her hair. “You know what, Yeri? I tried. I tried to let you down easy. Tried to send you away without getting your heart crushed. But you’ve done it to yourself. Even if I liked you, if we were the same age, all conditions ideal, I still wouldn’t date you.

“You blab, Yeri. You tell everyone everything. You change your mind more than you change clothes. You’re compulsive and unpredictable. You hold grudges and blame everyone but yourself for your problems.

“I’m sorry, Yeri, but I can’t be in a relationship with someone like you. I want security and predictability. I want to be able to know that I can trust you and what you say is true.”

A wave of nausea hit her, the knife being driven further, her world spinning.

“I can fix it.” Yeri spat out as she choked back a sob. “I’ll be better, I can be better, please, just give me a chance. Let me show you.”

Joohyun shook her head. “I’m sorry, Yeri.”

Yeri knew she wasn’t winning this. She could beg and plead as much as she wanted, prove herself as much as she could, but at the end of the day, Bae Joohyun didn’t want nor believe her.

Bae Joohyun was right.

Yeri was unpredictable and impulsive, not thinking before she acted.

She held grudges, long and hard, and was known to be quite petty, and did often blame other people for her problems, as she found it easier to blame them than herself.

Yeri’s friends constantly told her they couldn’t tell her anything, because the girl couldn’t keep a secret for the life of her. She always had the overwhelming urge to tell, hence why she was here, standing in front of Bae Joohyun, clutching a letter addressed to her containing all her feelings towards the older girl.

“At least take these.” Yeri said quietly, again pushing the letter, flowers, and the meal towards her for a second time.

Gingerly, Joohyun’s hands brushed Yeri’s as she took the items, mostly out of pity than want.

“Goodbye, Yeri.” Joohyun said, turning on her heel and walking away, leaving Yeri to watch her go, listen to her heels click.


kangseulgi: joohyun told me to tell you to never contact her again
kangseulgi: and she says your cooking is
kangseulgi: i wasn’t supposed to tell you that though