Chaewon stood outside the door, eyes stuck to the tips of her toes, quietly waiting for the door to open. Her hands are fumbling over the hem of her slightly oversized blue hoodie and her toes were relaying over the top of one another. She bites her lip as she hears padded footsteps near the door and she let’s out a small smile when she hears the door unlatching. Her curved lips stretch when she sees the opposing party; eyes peering out from behind the door shyly and nervously.

“Hi, unnie” the small girls squeaks before pulling the door open wider, eyes flickering about almost as if she was unsure of the situation.

Seeing the girl fumble over herself, Chaewon let’s out a small giggle; she wonders how the girl could be so cute unknowingly.

“Is it alright if I come in?” she queries, lips pressed together as she holds back a hearty chuckle when she sees the younger jump.

“Ah, sorry! Of course, please come in”

“What are you so tense for, Hii-chan? It’s just me.” Chaewon pushes through, quietly slipping off her slippers by the door before making her way to the couch, plopping herself down on the soft, white cushions.

Hitomi doesn’t reply and simply watches as the older girl begin to make herself comfortable on the couch, legs stretched out over the padded cushions, her arms spread as far as possible over what now looked like a tiny couch compared to Chaewon’s long limbs.

The older notices and moves to make space for the Japanese girl before patting the space beside her, eyes curved to shape a crescent moon and her lips tugged to show a shy smile.

“Come here. You said you couldn’t sleep right? Let me help.”

Hitomi wordlessly makes her way to the couch, laying herself down beside the older girl awkwardly before being pulled into an embrace by the taller girl who simply giggles when she hears Hitomi retort rather adorably; letting out a small, surprised yelp before feeling her face and ears burn a bright crimson.

“Unnie” the girl complains, more so because of the sudden surprise rather than the actual action. She let’s out small smile and buries deeper into the crook of Chaewon’s neck; the older girl breathing out a content sigh.

“When was the last time we cuddled like this?” Chaewon absentmindedly wonders, softly yet quickly murmuring the words out.

“During our shoot for the reality show” Hitomi quietly answers, surprising the older of the two.

“How did you catch on to what I said?”

“I’ve been brushing up on my Korean” the younger huffs, satisfied.

Chaewon quivers from the feeling of the younger’s hot breath wafting over her collarbone. A tingle climbs up her spine, prompting the redhead to shiver. She hopes the younger hadn’t noticed though that proved to be unattainable when she hears the younger huff out a tired giggle.

“You know I have a sensitive neck” Chaewon scolds, a false irritation colouring her tone of voice.

“Sorry, but that was just really cute” the older can hear the fatigue in the younger’s voice. Chaewon slightly loosens her hold on the smaller girl, cradling her head with one hand and bringing it closer to her whilst her other hand pulled her waist closer so she wouldn’t fall of the tiny couch the two had decided to share.

“Look who’s talking” the redhead huffs out quietly, her gaze softening as she watches the girl in her embraces slowly lull herself to sleep, her breathing stabilising into soft, even exhales.

Before the smaller girl could completely fly off to dreamland, the older of the two prompts a question.

“Will it be okay for the others to find us like this tomorrow morning?” Chaewon nuzzles her nose to the crown of the younger’s head, taking in the smell of a soft, creamy peach.

“Don’t worry, you know I always wake up before any of the others do.” The smaller girl manages to mumble out, her eyes half lidded.

Chaewon hums lowly; as long as the younger girl was okay with it, it should be fine. After all, it was Hitomi who had asked to keep their relationship a secret; not from fear of being judged or chased away by their members, not for the fear of being out casted, not at all that. But so they could grow closer and bloom throughout the start of their relationship without going through the pressure of what other may see or want from them. Hitomi had wanted to grow closer to Chaewon at their own pace, comfortable and lax. She didn’t want them to grow close because they feared that maybe others would not see them as anything more than friends, unconsciously pushing them to forcefully become something they didn’t completely identify with.

In short, Hitomi didn’t want them to grow closer because they were pressured to; she wanted to cherish the blooming relationship she had with Chaewon without the need to feel like she had to act.

“Good night, Hii-chan.” Chaewon places a chaste kiss at the crown of the brunette’s head, the arms wrapped around the younger girl growing tighter.

“Good night, Unnie.”

***

 Chaeyeon hadn’t expected to wake up at 3AM in sudden need of water, neither had she expected to find two figured curled up against each other on the couch.

 The grey haired girl couldn’t help but coo at the sight; the two girls had shifted positions. Hitomi had her arms tucked between her and Chaewon’s pressed bodies whilst the taller of the two had her arm protectively wrapped around the girl. Their legs were entangled together, lightly shivering, Chaeyeon noticed.

 The grey haired girl scurried to her room to grab a blanket for the two and her phone so she could take a picture of the scene in front of her and ask (read: interrogate) the two later on that morning.

 After quietly covering the two in a blanket, taking a few (because using one of them for her phone wallpaper might not be a bad idea) pictures and grabbing her desired glass of water, Chaeyeon retired to her room, a growing smile spreading over her face as she passes by the two girls cuddling on the couch (their noses were touching at this point).

***

 “Chaewon-ah, can you come here please?” Eunbi calls from the kitchen, decked in her purple apron.

 The girls had finally gotten a day off from their exciting yet tiring activities. Though most of them had decided to go out (dragged out by the resident duck and overly hyperactive puppy, to be more specific) a few of the girls had decided to stay back. A few meaning General Rabbit, Chaewon and Hyewon.

 “What’s up, Unnie?” Chaewon scuffles over to the kitchen, her steps light and energetic; feeling grateful that they finally have a free day.

 “Well aren’t you energetic today?” the eldest giggles as she stirs the pot with her cooking chopsticks. “Do you want any ramyeon? Better yet, do you want to help?”

 Relishing the good mood she’s in, Chaewon simply nods and skips over to beside her fellow Woollim labelmate.

 It’s become a sort of tradition for the two to cook together on free days. Since their trainee days, Eunbi had always played the “Mother” role for all of the Woollim trainees and Chaewon had always been grateful. The girl somehow always knew when one of them were uneasy or felt troubled and she was always there to help each of them out, especially Chaewon. The red head admits she’s never been one of the top trainees; not at Woollim and definitely not during their Produce 48 days, and despite the troubles Eunbi had been put through, she’s somehow always there for her fellow trainees. Chaewon remembers the days where their company would let them off the hook for training because of the upcoming holidays and she’d spend her days at the dorm with Eunbi, either playing silly games or cooking together. So this especially hits home for her.

 The two cook rather peacefully, both cherishing the air of familiarity and reminiscing their predebut, pre-Produce 48 days. That is, until Eunbi strikes a question that almost shook Chaewon to the core.

 “Chaewon-ah, is there anything going on between you and Hitomi?” Eunbi’s voice is light and slightly conniving.

 “Uhm, well, we’re close I guess?” The red head almost curses at herself when her voice falters, showing too much of how nervous she truly is.

 “Close enough to be cuddling, you’d say?” Eunbi has a mischievous smirk painted all over her face, lips tugging up wider when she sees how stunned Chaewon had become.

 “I—, I mean we— Uhm I didn’t—” the younger panics, hands stiff and back suddenly straightened. Her ears burned a bright crimson as she continued to stutter out unintelligible gibberish.

 Eunbi let’s out a hearty chuckle before turning off the stove and pulling the girl aside and onto the dining room chairs. The red head had essentially become a statue.

 “Hey, it’s okay. I’m just asking.”

 “When... When did you find out?” The younger stutters out, her long bangs covering her eyes.

 “I had a few suspicions beforehand but nothing was really proven until Chaeyeon showed me a certain picture.” Eunbi tried to hold back a chuckle.

 “Are you mad?”

 “Mad? Not so much. I’m more surprised than anything else. I’m sure you would’ve told me if you could so I assume you and Hitomi made a little promise?” The rabbit tried to keep the conversation as light-hearted and as casual as possible, already understanding how scared the younger was. “So, when did it all start?”

 “Well, I’m not exactly sure either. It all came so naturally I don’t think either of us really noticed it until , y’know...”

 Eunbi can see the struggle in Chaewon’s eyes. The girl usually isn’t this fidgety; her thumbs were constantly moving and her eyes were darting all around the room.

 “Do you love her?” Eunbi sat surprised that the words had passed her lips without her realising but what had shocked her more was that the girl in front of her had no reaction other than a slight quirk of her lips.

 “I do.” Chaewon replies confidently, eyes b with a sense of pride Eunbi has never seen in the younger.

 “Good because you’ll have a legion of fan boys to deal with if anything happens to that little squirt.” The older tries to play it off as if she had intended to ask the question.

 “Hey, one more question,” Hyewon had decided to miraculously appear from thin air (most likely due to the smell that’s coming from the ramyeon). The thin girl carefully makes her away to Eunbi’s seat, leaning her arm against the back rest. “You two had your first kiss yet?”

 “UNNIE” Chaewon can merely exclaim as her face begins turn into a tomato.

 “What? You’re legal, Hii-chan’s only like a year away— and I’m pretty sure there aren’t any age restrictions on kissing?”

 The red head turns to the oldest out of desperation only to be met with a daring smile.

 Feeling defeated, Chaewon finally answers.

 “We... We haven’t.”

 “Well, you should get on that.”

 “Ah, but— I don’t— how— I’m just—” Chaewon breaks down from the mere thought.

 “We’ll help devise a plan.”

***

“THAT. WAS. AWESOME!!” the girls had finally arrived back at their apartments, all looking quite worn with the exception of Yena and Yujin, of course.

“Shut it, dumb and dumber. We’re tired and we don’t need you to make it worse.” Minjoo groans as she rubs her temples, hoping to soothe the thumping of her head.

Chaewon felt a nudge to her side, a sharp elbow almost piercing her lower rib. She turns to find Eunbi and Hyewon giving her a thumbs up before smirking in such a manner that had sent chills down the red head’s spine.

She nods to the two before turning back to the rowdy group of girls walking in, eyes scanning for a certain bread loving girl. Her gaze softens when her eye finally land on the girl, appreciating how small and cute the girl looked in her winter coat.

“I can’t believe you made us do that.” Sakura groans in her thick, accented Korean as she side eyes Yena, the said brunette already ready to sprint out of the building on command.

As the group bicker and try (really try) not to murder a certain duck-like brunette, Chaewon swiftly moves past her members, grasping onto the thin wrist of the bread loving Japanese girl and makes her way to her shared room.

She pulls the girl through before quickly, yet quietly clicking the door shut. For extra privacy, the red head locks the door before she turns around and leans her back against the wooden barrier. She huffs out a sigh before opening her eyes to look at the girl in front of her. Hitomi had a shy smile stretched over her face; fingers fiddling with each other.

“Hey,” Chaewon smiles, eyes turning to crescent moons.

“Hi,” Hitomi replies, her rabbit teeth showing.

The two awkwardly take a step towards the other, eyes darting from side to side. Before they knew it, they were already toe to toe. They both looked up, crooked smiles on their faces.

“I missed you.” Chaewon stammers out awkwardly, trying to avoid the younger’s gaze but proved to be nearly impossible when she felt a pair of hands cup her cheeks. The red head melted when she felt the intensity of the younger’s stare.

 Her eyes clamped shut when she felt a pair of lips press against her own. Chaewon instinctively wrapped her arms around the younger’s waist before relaxing her tense shoulders and let herself melt into the kiss. But of course, it had ended as quickly as it had started.

The two pulled apart, foreheads pressed together, breathes colliding and uneven, gazes still locked on the other’s lips.

“I guess they gave you the same talk?” the red head murmurs, eyes trailing from the smaller girl’s lips to her eyes.

“Maybe?” Hitomi giggles, her gaze finally moving to meet Chaewon’s. The two merely stared at each other for a few moments before breaking out into a fit of giggles; though their arms were still wrapped around the other.

“Are you ready to tell them?” Chaewon breathes after calming herself down from the laughter.

“I think they already know.”

“Well, we can always tell them officially now.”

“Hmm... I’d like that.” Hitomi says, lips pressing together, her cheeks gathering up. “But Unnie, before that,” Hitomi showers the older girl in a few more kisses before releasing her tight hold and heading for the door. “Alright, let’s go!”

Chaewon stares at her in disbelief before feeling a smile spread across her cheeks.

“Yeah, let’s go.”