3. And wonderfully

Song recommendation: Cruel by Foxes

Kim Yongsun

A week after our first outing, Byul called me at work and asked me if I was free the next week.

“Of course I'm free,” I said, “I'll always make time for you, even though your Yongsun unnie is a busy bee.”

Silence came over the receiver, then the forced laughter of Byul. “Ha Ha Ha.” Byul said, before, “You're really No-Jaem*, unnie.”

(*No-Jaem, a moonsun vlive reference. A phrase which means lame, or not funny.)

I laughed, but my laugh resonated into the phone and echoed back into my ear. “Ow!”

“Your laugh hurt your own ear, didn't it? Imagine how I feel on a daily basis,” Byul said, her adorable giggles filling my ear, soothing it.

“So anyway, where are we going next week?” I asked.

“Pack your bags, Yong, we're going on a trip.” I could hear the smile in her voice.

The next week, we set off for our trip.

“Where are we going, Byul?” I asked, “what time do we need to be at the gate by?”

“Relax, Yong, I got this.” Byul said, a lazy smile spread across her face.

“But what about the itinerary-” I tried again, but was cut off by her.

“Look, Yong,” she said, pulling me into a loose sideway embrace, her hands resting on my hips. “You planned the entire trip the last time we went to Hong Kong and I've never had the chance to repay you. Let me take care of it this time, eh?”

I nodded, smiling inwardly at how manly Byul was being. My girlfriend.

She pulled me towards our gate before I could protest.

-Bonus Part: Plane ride-

Third Person POV

Yongsun was cold. So, so cold. Her fingers felt as if they were frozen rock solid, refuting her attempt to gather warmth by rubbing them together. Multiple goosebumps rose from the surface of her skin, her nose was runny.

Why was it so damn cold on the plane?

She peeked at Byul's sleeping figure, a small ball in the seat beside her. How her girlfriend could sleep in such cold environment and in such a cute way was indecipherable to Yongsun.

Yongsun wanted to indulge in Byul's warmth. But how would she do that without waking the younger girl up?

She glanced over at Byul once more. The younger girl's hands were peeking out from under the fluffy jacket Yong had lent her.

Yong smiled, this might actually be more fun than she'd thought. Yong reached across to Byul's hand and grasped her girlfriend's hand.

Byul awoke to the sound of giggling and a cold sensation on her hand. Without opening her eyes, Byul could tell that Yong was playing at something.

Two can play at that game, Byul thought, and pretended to remain asleep.

Yong, upon seeing no reaction from her girlfriend, continued by caressing Byul's face with her other hand, Byul's warmth seeping into Yong's hands.

Still no reaction.

Yong was desperate by now. She didn't only want Byul's warmth, but also her attention. Yong was having fun disturbing her, but she was full of want for her girlfriend now. As unconscious as she was.

Stealing a kiss or two would be no big deal, right?

Yong leaned in, closing the distance between her lips and Byul's cheek, placing a gentle kiss on the soft skin.

But you know what would feel better, Yong thought, just ONE more on her lips.

Yong brushed aside the stray hairs that had wandered onto Byul's face, and her lips left Byul's cheek and landed...on Byul's cheek.

Yong's eyes flew open. Didn't she move towards Byul's lips? Why was she back on Byul's cheek?

Byul was having lots of fun trolling her girlfriend. She laughed inwardly, trying not to let her girlfriend catch on that she was awake.

Yong tried again, her lips leaving soft skin and landed...yet again on Byul's cheek. Would she have to keep her eyes open just to get a proper kiss in ? Yong was exasperated.

The third time, Yong reached towards Byul, only to hear a breathy whisper, "What are you trying to do to a sleeping girl?"

Startled, Yong yelped and jumped back into her seat.

Byul burst out laughing uncontrollably at how cute her girlfriend was. sHES POUTING NOW OMYGOSH THAT LITTLE CUTIE, Byul crooned inwardly, pulling into a huge grin.

"Why didn't you tell me you were awake?" Yong huffed, pouting.

"I just wanted to tell you," Byul landed a kiss on Yong's cheek, "how cute you look today," a kiss on her eyelid, "and how cute you are," a kiss on her nose, ",a kiss at the edge of her lips, "when you're mad." And finally, a slow, gentle kiss upon Yong's lips.

Yong smiled, mollified, "Tell me more."
 

-

Back to Yong’s POV

The 10 plus hours flight brought us over hundreds of miles, the dreary and pale city landscape of South Korea morphing into the lush greenery and open fields of Switzerland.

That cheeky git, I thought, did she really think I wouldn't know where we were going? I'd seen the intended destination on our plane tickets, try as she had to cover it.

I smiled at the sight of Byul curled up in the seat next to mine, her arm extended to rest on my thigh.

I'll forgive you just this once, I thought.

A tinny voice came over the PA system, signalling the nearing end of our journey. “Please stay in your seats and buckle up. The plane will be landing soon, at approximately 10:30am local time.”

I steeled myself to wake Byul up ten minutes later, as the plane descended, the wheels of the aluminium contraption scraping the ground in touchdown.

“Byul ah,” I shook her gently, “the plane has landed.”

“Mmm,” she moaned, stirring before she stretched out, her lengthy limbs reaching out to envelope me in a hug, my torso twisted in an awkward position.

“Wake up, you doo doo,” I said affectionately, tousling her silvery hair, which spilled out of her scarf like a waterfall.

Ethereal, I breathed.

I gently slipped my hand under her head, lifting it up before I curved my arms to embrace her head, my fingers splayed behind her head.

Smiling, I whispered, “If you don't wake up now I'll eat all your rice cracker snacks.”

She woke up immediately after that.

-

“Oh, but that's so nice,” Whee In remarked, “to be able to go on a trip with your significant other…”

She sighed wistfully.

“Don't interrupt,” Hyejin said, smacking her best friend's thigh in mock annoyance, “do continue unnie, what happened next?”

-

Byul had rented a car before our arrival in Switzerland, and smirked as she put the car in reverse, pulling out of the carpark lot. The back of my head burned as her hand reached over to place it on the headrest of the passenger seat, her neck croning to check for traffic behind.

The darn girl knew what I loved her doing, and she exploited the hell out of it.

“Where are we going now?”

“You'll see,” she smiled, planting a tiny kiss on my hand.

“This place?” I looked at her in alarm. “Byul, we can't be here, we can't afford this.” I gestured at the huge villa standing before us, which had a beautiful garden and a cute porch at the front of the house.

“Yong, trust me,” she said, her eyes seeking mine, “I've got this.”

“Where did you get the money?” I demanded. Was this the same girl who would've eaten a week's worth of expire cup noodles if I hadn't stopped her?

“Well...I've been working on a little project lately and it earned me quite a bit of money,” she said hesitantly, knowing I wouldn't stop prodding until I knew what I wanted to know.

“C'mon Yonggg,” she whined, “I'll tell you everything in time, let's just enjoy this now, hm?”

I begrudgingly agreed, before I allowed her to whisk me into the house to unload our luggage.

When we had finished unloading our luggage, I turned around and found Byul sprawled across the king sized bed, her exhaustion taking over her, luring her into a deep sleep.

I smiled and crawled towards her, planting a small kiss on her smooth forehead. “Thank you for everything,” I whispered, “I love you.”

I fell into a dreamless sleep.