She could see it on everyone’s faces. Like, literally everyone. They, herself included, were all pretty damn confused about why Joohyun had just stormed out of the rehearsal, on the brink of tears, for no apparent reason.

Seulgi was sure there was a reason.

A reason for her abrupt departure from the rehearsal today, a reason why she snapped at Wendy so hard yesterday she was reduced to tears, a reason why she didn’t talk to Joy for three days because she ate the last ritz cracker, a reason why she not-so nicely made fun of yeri’s dancing ability (even though they all knew it was way above all of their own), a reason why she yelled at the stage director for putting the place marker in the wrong place in one of their shows, and a reason why she had avoided all fans, and social interactions for a while.

She just...didn’t know what the reason was.

And she wasn’t the only one, apparently.

All the girls looked about as perplexed as she did following Joohyun’s departure. They all knew something was up too, it wasn’t like Joohyun to be like this without a reason. Joohyun loved people, her fans, and the other girls. She respected each and every member of their crew backstage, and was always as kind as she could be to everyone she knew.

Seulgi sighed.

Snapping out of her little daze, she realised that all the other girls were staring at her.

“Huh?”

Joy grinned wickedly, Wendy smiled sheepishly and Yeri gave a little chuckle.

Oh god. They had done something. For sure. She was in so much trouble. Closing her eyes, as if to prepare herself for the metaphorical blow, she said, “What did you guys do?”

“Us?” Joy said, her face the picture of innocence. “Nothing. Yet.”

Seulgi’s  eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Yet?”

“Well, what you’re going to do is go and talk to Joohyun and see if you can remove the stick that’s been up her all week because we’re kind of done with it. Like, she managed to make little miss sunshine over here cry yesterday and we all know how uncool that is.” Yeri said, clearly being done with all the waiting.

“Why me?”

Joy, Yeri and Wendy all gave her a pointed look.

“Well, for starters, we all voted whilst you were off daydreaming and secondly, Joohyun is always more agreeable when you talk to her. You’re like one giant weak spot for her.”

Seulgi shrugged. She kind of supposed that one was true. But in the same respect, it wasn’t like she didn’t have the exact same weak spot for Joohyun, maybe even bigger. It’s just, something about those brown doe eyes, pouty lips and raspy voice got her every damn time.

Seulgi sighed. She guessed she was talking to Joohyun.

____

Knocking hesitantly on the door of Joohyun’s room, Seulgi silently made a list of all the things that could possibly go wrong right now.

Joohyun could hate her, Joohyun could shout at her, Joohyun could be upset with her. The list was lengthy. It did not help calm Seulgi down in the slightest.

Seulgi knocked again, to no avail.

Sighing, already resigned to her inevitable fate, Seulgi just decided to go for it as she walked through the doorway, straight to Joohyun’s bed. Stopping next to it, she was met by a pile of blankets, curled up into a little ball, shaking slightly. She heard soft sniffles coming from the bed, muffled slightly by the blankets.

God damnit, she was crying. Seeing Joohyun cry was genuinely one of the worst things in the entire world for Seulgi. It was heartbreaking in every sense of the word, to see Joohyun in a state of such sadness.

Gently pulling back one of the blankets, revealing Joohyun’s messy, dark locks, Seulgi slowly started her fingers through Joohyun’s hair, knowing full well that it was one of those spots that just made Joohyun melt, and sure enough the bundle of blankets stopped her sobs for a second to purr contently.

Keeping her voice low, as if she was next to Joohyun under the blankets, she whispered tentatively. “Hey Hyun. Is it okay if I come and lay with you for a little bit?”

After a small moment of hesitation, Joohyun lifted the blankets as if to welcome Seulgi in, simultaneously revealing herself.

Seulgi’s heart broke even more.

Joohyun’s face was tear-stained, her normally vibrant doe eyes dull, lips pulled into a resolute pout.

“Oh no, Hyun. Don’t cry. Baby, what  happened?” Seulgi murmured softly into Joohyun’s ear, climbing into her bed before wrapping her arms around the crying girl’s torso, enveloping her in warmth and love and comfort and just everything Joohyun could have possibly needed at that moment in time.

Unintentionally and from the smallest of gestures from the monolid girl, Joohyun immediately felt a little better. That happened a lot with Seulgi, Joohyun realised. She was infinitely grateful for it.

Joohyun buried herself deeper in Seulgi’s neck, subtly inhaling so she could smell the girl, instantly relaxing as she did so.

(What was that smell anyway? It was amazing, like sunshine and rainbows and home, Joohyun thought absentmindedly.)

Seulgi gently tickled Joohyun’s side, as if to remind her to answer her question, causing the other girl to jolt and let out a shaky giggle, but then groan softly as if in pain.

Now, Seulgi knew Joohyun. Like, she really, really knew her. Not just basic things, but everything. What made her tick, her deepest fears and insecurities, her favorite and least favorite things about herself and other people and her opinions about practically everything important, to name a few. So, she knew, immediately, the moment Joohyun let out that small groan of pain, that something was wrong.

Considerably losing most of the cool she had come in with, Seulgi pleaded rather urgently. “Joohyun. Hyunnie. Please, listen to me, baby. You need to tell me what’s wrong so I can help you, okay? I don’t know what to do if I don’t know what’s wrong, and I really want to help you, Hyun. I hate seeing you hurt.”

Seulgi managed to gently coerce Joohyun to move so she was no longer spooning her, but instead was hovering over her, propped up on one elbow, pressed against Joohyun’s side, and gently tracing absent minded patterns on the older girl’s arms.

Joohyun began to speak shakily, against her neck, voice thick with tears. “I-I just don’t know. I’m so sorry, Seul. I k-know I’ve been irritable and I don’t even have a good e-excuse, or the one which I do have is just s-stupid and not even worth mentioning and it’s embarrassing how affected I am. I’m just really...It’s just that...I can’t really-”

Seulgi nodded to encourage Joohyun to go on, arms reaching up briefly to wipe away her tears.

“Go on, Hyun.”

Joohyun started talking, so rapidly that Seulgi could only just about discern it.

“I’ve just started taking the pill and I’m on my period and it hurts so much and I d-don’t know why and I went to the doctor and he couldn’t do anything but my stomach hurts and my head is pounding and my whole body aches and I have the worst cramps and just-”

“Shhh, shhh. It’s okay, Joohyun.” Seulgi shushed her soothingly, face screwed up in sympathy for the older girl. “Why didn’t you say something earlier, baby? I could’ve helped you out. Does it still hurt?”

Joohyun nodded into Seulgi’s neck.

“Alright then. Here’s what we’re going to do, ok? I’m going to run you a nice hot bath, with bubbles, and oils, and the works, just how you like it. Then I’m going to give you a massage to help ease your muscles that are all cramped, because I know that when you’re on your period your back hurts sometimes as well as your stomach. Then you’re going to get dressed into your favorite pyjamas, the warm onesie that you like, and we’re going to cuddle, and watch movies, and eat food. Does that sound fine, baby?” Seulgi questioned, hand still running through Joohyun’s hair, working out the tangles and rubbing gently.

“Will you play with my hair?”

Seulgi chuckled. “Of course, Hyunnie. Whatever you want.”

“And I can be the little spoon?”

Seulgi nodded, a soft smile on her face.

“Will you rub my stomach?”

Seulgi her lips at the thought. She couldn’t help it, really. It’s just, after all that dance rehearsals, gym and general life on tour, Joohyun was ing hot as hell, her stomach toned, jawline and cheekbones beyond flawless, legs lean and long and - god that .

Snapping herself out of it when Joohyun nudged her neck, Seulgi tsked playfully. “You drive a hard bargain, Joohyun. But I guess you’ve got yourself a deal.”

____

Ten minutes later Joohyun was sitting in the bath Seulgi had run for her, doused in hot water from all angles, a mix of her favorite scent and oils surrounding her.

Sighing, she lowered herself even further into the bathtub, as her cramps began to lessen very slightly.

She hasn’t even realised it, but this was exactly what she needed.

Somehow, Joohyun thought absentmindedly, Seulgi always seemed to know her better than herself sometimes, and always knew exactly what to do to make her feel better.

Joohyun wasn’t quite sure how to deal with that.

So, instead, she closed her eyes and relaxed, head resting on the towels that Seulgi had laid above her head so she could lie on them. (Seriously, could she get anymore perfect?)

She seemed to lose track of time as she sat there, water now tepid at best, so when Seulgi knocked on the bathroom door, she jumped a little, causing small sloshes of water to tumble over the edge of the bathtub.

“Hi.” Seulgi chuckled, leaning casually against the doorframe of the bathroom, watching Joohyun’s startled expression. “I didn’t mean to scare you. How are you feeling?”

Joohyun smiled sheepishly in response, cheeks turning a light shade of pink, before replaying hesitantly. “Umm...better, thank you.”

Seulgi nodded her head, then tilted it to her right slightly, seemingly assessing the other girl. It was slightly unnerving, but only slightly, because really, how unnerving could Seulgi really be? She reminded Joohyun of a small bear. “Okay. Now, for real, how are you feeling?”

Joohyun laughed, then winced slightly as the motion caused her stomach to flip uncomfortably. She opted for the safer option, instead marvelling a little at how well Seulgi knew her, before admitting with a quiet smile on her face. “I mean...I wasn’t lying when I said better, just...not a whole lot.”

Seulgi, at that, silently jerked her head, as if asking Joohyun permission to enter the room, and when responded to with an affirming head nod, after Joohyun had of course checked to make sure everything was sufficiently co