A/N: Thank you everybody for 100 upvotes! You gave me a lovely Christmas present, so now it's my turn to give you guys a little New Year's present in return. Here is the epilogue of Death of the Author, I hope you like it.

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“You know, it’s not too late to back down.” Seungwan scanned the coffee shop with a slightly nervous glance. It was nearly empty, but she wasn’t sure how much longer they had.

“Why would I want to back down?” Joohyun’s voice sounded light, a little too light, like her mind was far away from the conversation. She sat by Seungwan’s side, eyes fixed on the front door even though the little bell at its corner would be sure to warn her of any visitors.

“Oh, well, just in case you’re feeling nervous or something.” Joohyun scoffed at Seungwan’s suggestion and turned to face her girlfriend, probably so she could communicate how very calm she was.

“I am not nervous,” the older girl said drily, as predicted.

“In that case, could you not hold my hand so tightly? It’s getting numb, a little bit,” she retorted, trying her best not to sound too smug as she raised their joined hands. Joohyun’s fingers dug into the back of her palm, knuckles nearly white. At Seungwan’s words, the vice-like grip weakened the slightest bit, the look on Joohyun’s face somewhere between apologetic and stubborn.

“You’re nervous too,” she finally relented, and Seungwan couldn’t help a smile at the sight. Before either of them could let out an awkward chuckle that would eventually grow into laughter and relieve some of the tension of waiting, the bell above the coffee shop rang, snapping both their heads in its direction.

The newcomer was a small girl in a middle-school uniform who didn’t even bother going up to the counter and spending her sparse allowance on some caffeinated drink too bitter for her young palate. Instead, she found the couple at the back of the shop in a flash and confidently headed in their direction.

Maybe it was for the best that Yerim had been the first to arrive. After all, she was the closest to the princess, so Joohyun would probably feel most comfortable around her.

“So you’re not really a princess, huh?” Yerim fired off as soon as she’d sat down. Joohyun seemed startled at the lack of formalities, but quickly nodded in agreement. Seungwan began to rethink her previous conclusion.

She’d have to meet them eventually, of course. Seungwan couldn’t just avoid introducing Joohyun to her friends forever. Not to mention how Yerim was also Joohyun’s friend, in a way. But that didn’t make the couple any less nervous, which Seungwan had thought was a silly reaction until this very moment, when they found themselves sitting in front of an aggressively curious Yerim with no chance of escape.

Seungwan had called Seulgi to tell her Joohyun was real as soon as she’d gotten home on that fateful night. After that, she’d also informed Sooyoung and Yerim, although she’d given the younger girls a slightly abbreviated version. One that didn’t include the part where she’d kissed Joohyun and now they were dating.

It was just easier to explain in person. Seulgi had known about her feelings, but Seungwan was pretty sure that Sooyoung wasn’t that well informed, and Yerim in particular probably didn’t have the slightest idea that there had been any romantic feelings between Seungwan and the princess.

 “It’s cool that you’re real. You were okay when you weren’t making me brush your hair.” Yerim reached for each of their drinks in turn, tasting Seungwan’s americano with a displeased grimace and raising an appreciative eyebrow at Joohyun’s hot chocolate. “Are you girlfriends now?” she threw out casually, not even bothering to make eye contact.

Joohyun squeaked out something incoherent and Seungwan fought off a coughing fit to answer the young girl. “I- why would you think that?”

“You’re holding hands.” Yerim tilted Joohyun’ cup towards their entwined fingers, pointing them out, then took another sip.

“That doesn’t even make any sense, I’m always holding hands with –“ Seulgi. Better not mention that, though. “All my friends,” Seungwan finished with a slight stutter.

“Yeah, but all your friends don’t get all red when I mention it.” At Yerim’s comment, Joohyun’s already pink cheeks blushed a shade darker and her fingers jerked, like she was resisting the instinct to pull her hand away, which would be useless at this point.

“Anyway, you’re not wearing a high school uniform,” Yerim carried on without even giving them the time to confirm her suspicions. “Did you already graduate? Are you in college? Do you have a job? How old are you, exactly? Isn’t it kind of weird that you’re dating someone in high school?”

“I’m not that old!” Joohyun cut through the barrage of questions when indignation finally overcame the nerves that had her tongue-tied.

“And I’ll be 18 in a few months,” Seungwan added quickly, although that only drew Yerim’s unimpressed attention. She took a calming breath and tried again. “Joohyun is in college, and she does have a job, I guess, but it’s part-time. And she’s not that old,” she conceded, drawing a satisfied smile from her girlfriend.

Yerim fell silent for a moment, staring at each of them in turn while she continued to drink Joohyun’s hot chocolate. Seungwan felt the pressure on her fingers increase as Joohyun’s hold tightened once more. Finally, Yerim shrugged. “Yeah, okay.” Joohyun let out a relieved sigh at Yerim’s casual acceptance. “But you’re a for not telling me.” Yerim punctuated her accusation with a glare in Seungwan’s direction, but her bright smile quickly returned, so Seungwan didn’t take her words too seriously.

Neither of them noticed the bell had rung again until Seulgi and Sooyoung appeared by their table with their own drinks, apparently having arrived at the same time. Yerim let out a pleased squeal at their presence and quickly pulled Sooyoung to sit by her side.

“Sooyoung! Joohyun and Seungwan are dating!” she immediately announced to her best friend, who glanced around and aimed a shy smile at Joohyun. Joohyun matched it as warmly as she managed, but Sooyoung let her gaze drop quickly and returned her attention to Yerim.

Seungwan watched the two young girls speak in low tones, her gaze softened by fondness. Seulgi looked on as well, still standing by the table. With Joohyun and Seungwan sitting on one side and Yerim and Sooyoung on the other, she hovered uncertainly for a bit before she pulled over a chair to settle at the head of the table, between the two pairs.

“So, Captain Kang,” Joohyun began in an attempt at humour. Seulgi smiled nervously, fingers tapping against the sides of her cup. “It’s nice to meet you now that you’re no longer responsible for keeping me locked up.” Joohyun let out a self-conscious chuckle at her own joke, with Seungwan and Seulgi quickly offering their own smiles.

“It’s nice to meet you now that you’re no longer trying to run away whenever I turn my back,” Seulgi shot back experimentally, some of the tension in her frame fading as Joohyun smiled in return.

Seungwan watched the exchange in silence, unwilling to meddle when her girlfriend and her best friend seemed to be getting along well enough on their own. Across from them, Yerim continued to whisper apparently endless gossip in Sooyoung’s ear, the shy girl clearly relieved at not being pulled into conversation with the other three, particularly Joohyun, whom she didn’t even know.

“I’m curious, why did you choose to be captain of the guards?” Joohyun asked Seulgi, pulling Seungwan’s attention back to the pair that most worried her. She hadn’t forgotten Joohyun’s jealousy and she really didn’t want it to get between the two girls, who she was sure could be good friends. So far, though, everything seemed to be going great.

“Oh, uh, I guess I just wanted to protect people. Make sure I was there to keep anyone from getting hurt. Or kidnapped,” Seulgi added playfully. Joohyun’s shoulder bumped into Seungwan’s as she leaned a little closer to talk to Seulgi more comfortably, the contact almost as reassuring as the easy smile still on Joohyun’s lips.

“That’s very noble of you,” Joohyun commented, not entirely joking. “I’m glad to know it wasn’t just because you like to beat people up.”

“Yeah, I don’t think she could if she tried,” Seungwan finally cut in, reaching out to wrap her fingers around Seulgi’s arm in evidence of her scrawny frame. Seulgi slapped her hand away with a good-humoured eyeroll, both girls falling easily into their usual teasing friendship before snapping apart in apprehension at Joohyun’s reaction.

The older girl only leaned more fully against Seungwan, watching the exchange with seemingly innocent interest. The friends relaxed, resuming their exchange without further physical contact.

“I’m working on that,” Seulgi countered Seungwan’s comment self-consciously. “I’ve started taking Taekwondo classes,” she added for Joohyun’s benefit, catching the older girl’s curious gaze.

“Sounds fun. I used to do Taekwondo when I was younger.” Seulgi’s surprise was evident, her eyes widening comically as fell open. The reaction drew a slight giggle from Joohyun. “What? I’m not actually a princess, you know. I had a regular childhood,” she pointed out with amusement, Seungwan laughed along even though she had to admit she was also having trouble wrapping her head around the image of a younger Joohyun doing Taekwondo.

“Sorry, it’s just still kind of weird. Wannie told us you’re real and all, but I’m just so used to… uh…” Her words trailed off to nothing as she took in Seungwan’s look of panic, suddenly becoming aware of the nickname she’d just used.

Sure, their reaction might be a little exaggerated, but princess Joohyun had been upset when Seungwan had called Seulgi by her first name, so it wasn’t completely unreasonable to think that the real Joohyun might object to an affectionate nickname.

The older girl sighed, the worry on Seungwan and Seulgi’s faces impossible to ignore. “I’m not going to get mad or anything, okay?” As promised, she didn’t sound angry at all. If anything, she seemed a bit embarrassed. “I know that as a princess I was a little… Spoiled and possessive. But that’s not, I mean… As a princess, you don’t really learn how to share, you know?”

They hurried to nod along, Seungwan taking the care to brush her thumb along the back of Joohyun’s hand for encouragement. “But I’m not a princess anymore. I’m an adult and I can handle my girlfriend having friends. I’m glad you two are such close friends,” she added, looking between Seungwan and Seulgi. “It’s honestly really embarrassing to think about how I acted with this. So I’m sorry and I promise I won’t get jealous again. You guys can relax.”

Seulgi waved away her apology without hesitation, beaming widely in her best attempt to set Joohyun at ease. Her easy-going disposition was hard to resist and soon Joohyun had exchanged her contrite expression for a tentative smile which Seungwan further encouraged with a quick peck to her cheek that had the youngest in the group instantly breaking off her conversation with Sooyoung to complain loudly at the public show of affection.

After the initial tension, conversation progressed easily between the three oldest, Joohyun and Seulgi bonding so quickly that Seungwan almost began to fear for her own position as Seulgi’s best friend, much to the amusement of the other two.

On their side of the table, Yerim and Sooyoung kept up their own hushed communication, despite a few attempts from Seulgi and Seungwan to pull them away from their little bubble. Sooyoung was clearly shy and unsure how to approach Joohyun and Yerim seemed to have taken it upon herself to save her the trouble by monopolizing her attention. She had good intentions, but obviously it wasn’t a long-term solution.

Surprisingly, it was Joohyun who intervened, despite her own introverted nature. She waited until Yerim got up to go to the bathroom, then quickly slipped away from Seungwan to take the younger girl’s place by Sooyoung, who immediately froze like a deer caught in the headlights. “Sooyoung,” she began gently, her expression as inoffensive as she could make it. “We never really met in the story, did we? Not in Seungwan’s version of it, anyway,” she added with a light smile that Sooyoung weakly returned.

She didn’t get a verbal answer, only a slight shake of Sooyoung’s head in confirmation. She leaned forward conspiratorially and Seungwan had to restrain herself from leaning in as well, to catch whatever Joohyun would say next. “I’m actually kind of glad,” Joohyun admitted to everyone’s surprise.

Sooyoung’s eyebrows rose curiously and she shifted closer to Joohyun unconsciously, the older girl’s mysterious behaviour already beginning to succeed in bringing Sooyoung out of her shell. “This way I get to meet the real Sooyoung, as the real Joohyun. I think I’ll make a better first impression.” Joohyun’s face scrunched up in exaggerated embarrassment, pulling Sooyoung’s lips into a wider smile.

“So, nice to meet you.” Joohyun stuck out her hand, despite their position side by side making it a little awkward to manoeuvre. “My name is Joohyun.”

Sooyoung studied her hand for only a moment before reaching out her own and shaking it. “I’m Sooyoung,” she said in a low but decided voice.

When Yerim returned from the bathroom, all four girls were already excitedly debating some absolutely trivial topic. The young girl slipped into the seat by Seungwan without protest, taking in the scene. Finally, she leaned closer to Seungwan.

“I think Sooyoung stole your girlfriend,” Yerim whispered in her ear.

“I think Joohyun stole your best friend,” Seungwan riposted with a laugh.

(…)

After saying their goodbyes to the other girls, Joohyun walked Seungwan home. They took their time, neither of them in any rush to leave the other’s presence, joined hands swinging lazily between them as they strolled down quiet streets.

“You really got along well with everyone today,” Seungwan commented happily, bumping her shoulder lightly against Joohyun. “Be honest, how much did you practice for today?”

Joohyun laughed at her teasing words, but didn’t refute them. “I guess all those diplomacy lessons came in handy. Even if they were more intended for pleasing foreign dignitaries than making friends.” She shrugged, gaze a little distant despite the humour in her voice.

Seungwan had thought about it on occasion. Her own fading memories were only of a short time, the few weeks she’d spent in the fairy tale. For everyone else, however, it was a bit more complex. Real memories mixed with fake ones, creating a whole new life. It must be difficult to juggle.

“Is it weird?” Seungwan asked a bit hesitantly. “Having two different sets of memories in your head?”

“It’s worth it to remember you,” Joohyun replied, her tone playfully flirty. Seungwan’s habit of making cringy comments was clearly rubbing off on her. “But honestly, it’s not really the memories that make it weird. It’s having two different Joohyuns in there.”

Seungwan’s brow furrowed in confusion and Joohyun cooed at her look of concentration, which according to her was very cute, before elaborating. “Princess Joohyun did and thought things that I wouldn’t, but at the same time I can understand why she made those choices because, in a way, it was me making them.”

“That does sound confusing. I guess I got an easier deal, since I was the same Seungwan in both worlds.” It began to dawn on Seungwan, the meaning of all that Joohyun sacrificed to hold on to the memories of their first meeting, of their time together in that fantasy world. To think that she treasured those memories so deeply made something warm and fluttering sprout in Seungwan’s chest, along with a silly urge to kiss Joohyun right there in the middle of the street.

“It’s confusing, but I’m beginning to think that it’s also kind of nice. Or maybe not nice, but… Useful. Important, I guess. It helps me empathize. See why people would do the things they do, even if I don’t agree. Or understand that there must be a reason, even if I can’t see it.” Joohyun trailed off, suddenly shy, although Seungwan couldn’t see why.

“You’re amazing,” she whispered honestly, clinging a little closer to Joohyun’s arm. Her girlfriend laughed it off, though the tip of her ear that poked out from under her hair had reddened visibly.

“I’m amazing? Might I remind you that you saved my life?” Joohyun questioned with teasing incredulity.

“Oh, please. If I hadn’t gotten you out of that book, someone else would have managed it eventually,” Seungwan was quick to argue, just as reluctant as Joohyun to be praised so highly.

“Fine, let’s say you didn’t save my life,” Joohyun replied sceptically, before growing serious. “You still changed it, for the better. Much better.”

Seungwan looked into Joohyun’s eyes, seeing the sincere gratitude and adoration shining in them. It felt impossibly wonderful, that she was dating the most incredible person who thought Seungwan had changed her life, when it was so clearly the opposite.

She glanced around the empty street, making sure they were alone, then pulled Joohyun closer and brought her free hand to the older girl’s cheek, brushing it gently with her thumb. She watched Joohyun’s eyes flutter closed under her caresses, lips parting slightly in anticipation, then leaned in, closing the short space between them.

Kissing Joohyun was like nothing she’d ever felt. Warmth enveloped her from head to toe, even in the coldest winter night, and she felt so happy, so contented and safe, that she never wanted to pull away. Joohyun’s lips felt like home. All of Joohyun felt like home.

“I’m really glad I met you,” she whispered, still impossibly close to Joohyun, a smile growing on her face at the way the older girl nodded, silently returning the sentiment. “Everything’s just easier with you. There’s so much in my life that seemed so overwhelming, all these choice with school and college and everything. But now I feel like I can do it because even if it goes terribly, you’ll still be there. Like things can never really get that bad. You know?”

Joohyun nodded again. “Being an adult doesn’t seem so scary if we do it together.”

“Yeah,” Seungwan agreed easily. “No need for magic and princesses.”

Joohyun pulled back then, fixing Seungwan’s eyes with an unreadable gaze. “I thought I’d always be your princess,” she pointed out in mock hurt.

She probably expected Seungwan to cringe at the cheesy comment, which was exactly why Seungwan decided instead to gasp dramatically, jumping away from Joohyun’s hold. “You are right, your Highness! How could I have forgotten my place?” she questioned in shock. Her façade cracked almost immediately, unable to resist Joohyun’s momentary bewilderment, and she let out a loud laugh before taking off in a run.

Behind her, she heard Joohyun’s laughter echoing her own, her girlfriend sprinting to catch her.