Act 3 Part 7

Much ado about nothing

“What should we tell them?” Joohyun asked from where she stood in the middle of the living room. Seungwan gazed up at her from the sofa, not sure whether she should get up and join her. Why had Joohyun even gotten up in the first place?

“Well, I was thinking something along the lines of ‘Hey, we’re dating now,’” she offered gently. Joohyun’s eyes bore into hers with exasperated confusion.

“I’m serious.” Joohyun’s voice was tense and Seungwan resisted the stupid impulse to cringe at the reaction. Joohyun was just nervous, it didn’t have anything to do with her.

“So am I,” she opted to say. She got up to approach Joohyun, who didn’t shy away, and wrapped her in a side-hug, letting her chin rest on Joohyun’s shoulder. “They’re our friends, it’ll be fine. We don’t have to prepare a speech,” she added with a grin.

Joohyun didn’t respond, only holding onto the arm around her waist as she pressed her lips into a thin line. After a moment where they simply melted into each other, some of the tension seeming to seep from Joohyun’s frame, she opened again. “Do you think they’ll be shocked?”

“Only in the sense that it’s you, dating me,” Seungwan replied jokingly. She pulled back to kiss Joohyun’s cheek as her girlfriend frowned at the comment.

“What do you mean?” she asked with genuine confusion.

“Nothing, I was just kidding.” She pressed her lips to Joohyun’s cheek again for good measure, then turned her around so they were facing each other. “They already knew we had feelings for each other, right? At most they’ll be surprised that we actually got together, but I think they’ll just be happy for us.”

Joohyun looked away, a self-conscious smile on her face. “I suppose you’re right,” she agreed hesitantly. “That would be nice. I want us all to be happy,” she added, still avoiding Seungwan’s gaze as she swung their hands between them.

“Well, I’m happy,” Seungwan volunteered, immediately rewarded by the dazzling smile that took over Joohyun’s face.

“You are?” she asked shyly.

“Of course. Who wouldn’t be with a girlfriend like you?”

Joohyun’s smile grew even wider and Seungwan’s own lips quirked up in an instinctive response.

“I’m happy as well,” Joohyun admitted, finally looking into Seungwan’s eyes again. She took a step forward and guided Seungwan’s hands to rest on her waist. Just as she thought she was going to be kissed, Joohyun’s head ducked down to nestle into her neck as she pulled her into a tight hug.

“Is it very silly that I’m nervous about this?” Joohyun asked, her voice muffled against Seungwan’s neck. She rubbed her nose against it softly as she awaited Seungwan’s answer.

The feeling of Joohyun’s breath hitting her skin made it a little difficult for Seungwan to focus, but she rallied as best as she could to dispel her girlfriend’s concerns. “It’s not silly at all. This is a big deal, it’s normal to worry,” she breathed out in a voice that was only slightly unsteady.

“You’re not worried,” Joohyun countered, lips brushing against Seungwan’s neck as she spoke. Her voice was lower, down to a shy whisper.

“Yeah, but, uh,” Seungwan began, struggling to find words. After an awkward pause where her brain absolutely refused to cooperate, she brought up her arms to grab Joohyun by the shoulders. “Sorry, it’s a little hard to focus when you’re doing that.”

 Joohyun ignored Seungwan’s hands and their silent suggestion. “Oh,” she said softly, but she didn’t sound nearly as nervous. Her face burrowed even deeper into Seungwan as she kissed the skin where her neck met her shoulder. “What am I doing?”

“You’re, uh… distracting things.”

Joohyun hummed, kissed her again. Seungwan’s hands, still on her shoulders, gripped a little harder as she tried to function despite the distracting sensation.

“Shall I stop?” Joohyun offered, showing no intention of doing so. Her kisses grew less innocent, lips parting to press wetly against Seungwan’s increasingly flushed skin.

Seungwan’s own mouth opened to let out a sound much breathier than the noncommittal hum she’d been aiming for. Joohyun’s kisses stopped abruptly, seeming to freeze in place as Seungwan fought down the sudden urge to run off in mortification.

“Sorry about that,” Joohyun finally said, breaking what felt like a centuries-long silence where neither of them moved. “I seem to have become a little distracted myself.” Her fingers tapped out an irregular beat against Seungwan’s back, the motion unusually jittery for Joohyun.

Seungwan’s brain slowly disentangled the meaning of Joohyun’s words and she nearly choked on her own spit. Thankfully, her girlfriend didn’t seem to need reassuring, sounding more flustered than embarrassed when she spoke next. “I find it very hard to keep focus when you make…” She paused, took a fluttery breath. “Sounds. Like this.”

Seungwan’s legs grew a little weak. Maybe they should have this conversation with a little bit of distance between them.

Just as this thought occurred to her, Joohyun pulled her in a little closer, and perhaps she had a point. If Seungwan could see Joohyun’s face as she said things like this she might pass out on the spot.

“When I gave you that massage on your birthday, and you…” Joohyun continued to Seungwan’s surprise, pausing mid-sentence to clear rather than elaborating on what Seungwan had done exactly. She was a little glad the word wasn’t actually spoken out loud. “I thought I was going to die,” she admitted with a sharp exhale. Seungwan thought she would pass away at this very moment, as Joohyun confessed how deeply she’d been affected by Seungwan’s .

She finally pushed away from Joohyun, gripped by a slightly more innocent thought. “Wait, so you already liked me by then?” Joohyun nodded, a little taken aback at the unexpected eye contact.

The shy moment of absurd pride at the information was quickly cut off by the realization that Joohyun had been attracted to her when she’d given her that massage. The touches that had already seemed maddening by themselves suddenly took on a whole new meaning and her entire body heated up at the notion that Joohyun’s hands had run over her while thoughts very much like Seungwan’s ran through her mind.

And she’d unclasped her bra.

“Seungwan?” Joohyun asked with some concern. She could only imagine how red her face had grown by this point.

“You… My bra,” she blurted out inarticulately. Joohyun’s eyes widened.

“That was really only for the massage,” she rushed to explain, taking a step backwards. “And I turned around when you were getting dressed and undressed and I really tried not to think anything inappropriate or-“

“But you did when I moaned,” Seungwan pointed out eagerly, temporarily emboldened by her discovery.

Joohyun narrowed her eyes at Seungwan as she realized that there was no need to apologize or explain herself. “So did you,” she replied, her competitive side emerging at the challenge.

“Oh, I don’t know if I’d say that,” Seungwan lied transparently, a smug smile on her face as she teased Joohyun.

“You don’t?” Joohyun questioned, matching her playful tone. She closed the short distance that had formed between them, hands wrapping loosely around Seungwan’s collar to guide her to the sofa. “Oh well, I suppose it has been a while.” She pushed Seungwan down to a sitting position and settled on her lap, taking a moment to gaze at her face, which Seungwan could only assume was frozen in an expression of flustered surprise and lust.

“Perhaps a repeat would jog your memory,” Joohyun leaned in to whisper in Seungwan’s ear, bringing a shiver down her spine. Before she could question what exactly Joohyun intended to repeat, her neck was being attacked anew, this time with kisses that involved teeth and tongue and oh my, Joohyun really hadn’t exaggerated because Seungwan truly felt like she was going to die.

She didn’t die, of course. But every single moan she choked out under Joohyun’s expert caresses played over in the movie reel of her mind for hours after her girlfriend had stepped off of her lap and settled by her side.

And now that it was about time for their friends to arrive, she really wished that the memories would fade enough for her to not introduce her new relationship looking as red as a tomato.

Some of Joohyun’s nerves had returned, but Seungwan managed to keep her from pacing around the living room by tapping out a soothing rhythm on the palm of her hand. “It’s going to be fine,” she repeated gently, letting their fingers entangle for a moment before she resumed her tapping. “And if it doesn’t, we can always make out to cheer up.”,she added jokingly.

“I don’t think making out could help with that,” Joohyun replied in a soft but strained voice. Right, she probably shouldn’t have made that dumb comment. “But we should definitely try. Just in case,” she continued with a crooked smile.

It was impressive how Joohyun managed to stay in control of her worries, snapping out of them so easily to return Seungwan’s flirty banter. Was she really that much braver than Seungwan or were her fears simply easier to manage? Either possibility seemed enviable. She wondered, not for the first time, how and why Joohyun had ever fallen for her.

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door that startled Joohyun nearly out of her seat. Seungwan offered her a reassuring smile and watched in awe as she composed herself and walked to the door with confident steps, swinging it wide open with the same easy smile she always wore on their weekend hangouts.

Sooyoung and Yerim stepped in, the youngest immediately heading to the kitchen after a quick round of hugs. Sooyoung sat down next to Seungwan on the sofa while Joohyun hovered in Yerim’s proximity, listing the snacks available.

“Nervous?” Sooyoung asked casually. Seungwan shrugged and Sooyoung looked up from where she’d been fiddling with her phone, showing a face that was uncommonly tinged with affection. She really did care about Seungwan, about both of them. Knowing how they both felt must have made the situation even more frustrating for her.

“Not really, it’s actually kind of a relief.”

Sooyoung seemed surprised, which was fair enough. Nervous was Seungwan’s default reaction to most situations.

“Now I don’t have to feel guilty about it anymore. You know, not telling Joohyun how I felt for so long. You guys must have been getting pretty tired of me,” she joked about the very real yet admittedly unreasonable concern.

“I could hold out a little longer,” Sooyoung said lightly, playing along. “I’d be pretty mad if you never said anything and I lost my bet with Yerim, though.”

Seungwan chuckled, well aware that it was just a joke but still struck by a little jab of guilt over a situation that didn’t even matter anymore. Anyway, she’d managed it in the end, so all she should be feeling was pride. Even if she’d been ready to run out of the room and avoid Joohyun forever. Even if Joohyun had had to physically trap her in place to get the truth out of her.

“And what are you two talking about?” Joohyun asked fondly. Seungwan’s head whipped around to face her girlfriend, mind completely blank of excuses.

“How nice Yerim was to bring us chips,” Sooyoung cut in effortlessly. She reached out her arms to the youngest, who immediately clutched her bag of snacks to her chest, glaring at her.

“These are mine, get your own,” she spat out. Sooyoung got to her feet and sprang on her, tugging at the bag until it popped free from Yerim’s protective embrace. She smirked as she held it up, out of the shorter girl’s reach.

“Looks like I just did,” Sooyoung said smugly, waving the bag from side to side and snorting every time Yerim jumped up to recover it.

“That is so,” a jump, “kindergartener with a crush.” Another jump. Yerim huffed, crossed her arms, seeming to give up the direct approach for now. “Should Saeron be worried?” she asked mischievously.

“She chose to date you, she should be worried about many things,” Sooyoung riposted at once, letting her arm relax a little. “Her eyesight, her mental state, her ability to make logical decisions…” She looked nowhere near finished when Joohyun suddenly came up from behind her and snatched the bag out of her hands with a well-timed jump that was admittedly adorable.

“You girls behave or neither of you gets snacks,” she declared with finality, cutting the argument short. Sooyoung seemed mostly amused at the turn of events, but Yerim immediately looked offended at the suggestion.

“I didn’t even do anything,” she argued in a high-pitched voice that had even Seungwan suppressing a smile.

“You refused to share with your bestest friend,” Sooyoung pointed out with a pout. “You call that nothing?”

Yerim seemed ready to contest Sooyoung’s status as her “bestest friend”, but Joohyun only glared at both of them.

“Girls, really.” She opened the bag and looked between the two troublemakers before sighing and handing it to Seungwan, who wasn’t entirely happy with her sudden role as mediator.

Surprisingly, both women accepted the decision and simply sat on either side of her, taking turns to reach into the bag and munching the chips in silence. Joohyun returned to the kitchen to prepare their drinks and the three of them sat in comfortable peace for a few moments before their final guest arrived.

Seulgi walked into the apartment with a wide smile, beaming brightly at everyone in the room. She seemed happy simply to see her friends. Seungwan shared the feeling, realizing how long it had been since she’d spent quality time with Seulgi. She’d been more or less avoiding her, but hopefully that would all be over now.

“Seulgi!” Yerim called out dramatically, leaping out of the sofa to hug her. Sooyoung rolled her eyes at the exaggerated display of affection, but didn’t protest when Seulgi opened her arms in her direction, quickly getting up to accept her greeting.

Leaving the two youngest to shortly bicker by the entrance, Seulgi sat down next to Seungwan.

“Hey Wannie,” she said simply, and suddenly Seungwan really was nervous. She felt bad for not telling Seulgi right away and she began to worry about how she’d react to the news that Seungwan had lied to her, or at least concealed the truth for almost a week.

“Hey Seul,” she greeted awkwardly. She studied her hands, not sure how to act casually or what to say, then settled for tilting the bag of chips in Seulgi’s direction. “Chips?”

Seulgi’s hand immediately dove into the bag, the previous bright smile still on her face. At least Seungwan could count on her to be a little oblivious.

Still, her best friend could be surprisingly observant when given the opportunity, so Seungwan hurried to drop the bag in Seulgi’s lap, instructing her to keep it from the demon children before heading to the kitchen, where Joohyun had returned after opening the door for Seulgi.

The tea was ready and a few glasses of soda sat on the counter, yet Joohyun still milled around the kitchen aimlessly. As Seungwan walked in, she opened the cutlery drawer and stood gazing at the spoons without making any move to pick one up.

Seungwan reached out, letting her arm brush against Joohyun as she took a spoon and dropped it in the tea mug, then gently closed the drawer. She couldn’t hug Joohyun with those three right outside the kitchen, so she chose to lean against the counter by her girlfriend’s side.

“It’s going to be fine,” she said in her best effort to sound convincing. Joohyun looked up to meet her gaze. “No reason to be nervous, really. If anything, it’s exciting. It’s good news.” Her fingers began tapping out a rapid beat and Joohyun’s hand landed lightly over them, muffling the sound.

“You’re worried,” Joohyun whispered, sounding almost relieved.

“Maybe the tiniest bit,” she admitted in an equally low voice, somewhat confused by Joohyun’s reaction.

“That helps a little.” Joohyun wrapped her fingers around Seungwan’s with a small smile. “I don’t quite know what I’m doing, sometimes I worry that I might… You’ll tell me if I’m being very ridiculous, won’t you?”

“Oh, uh, of course, but it’s not… You’ve been fine so far. Or, I mean, not fine. Better than fine,” Seungwan rambled on in her haste to reassure Joohyun.

“Good?” Joohyun suggested, slightly amused by Seungwan’s difficulties with vocabulary.

“The best.” A smile grew on her face as Joohyun looked away, shaking her head at the dramatic words while she fought off her own smile. “Anyway, we should get back to the living room before the tea gets cold. Uh, do you want to tell them? Or should I?”

Joohyun’s smile was replaced by a more serious expression. “I don’t know, what would you prefer?” she asked, looking like a deer in the headlights.

“Whatever makes it easier for you.”

Joohyun didn’t seem certain of what that might be, as she only studied Seungwan in silence.

“I’ll do it. It might come out a little awkward, because that’s how I do pretty much everything, but it doesn’t really matter how we say it, right? Right.”

She barged out of the kitchen with the drinks before Joohyun could protest and joined the other three, who barely paused their conversation as they accepted the soda and tea.

“So, now that we’re all here, with our drinks and our snacks and everything,” she began, slowly capturing their attention as they fixed her with equally confused looks. Sooyoung was a really good actress, her fake confusion as convincing as the very real one showing on Seulgi and Yerim’s faces.

Joohyun stood somewhere behind her, close enough that Seungwan could smell her flowery fabric softener. She could do this. There was bravery, somewhere deep inside of her. There had to be, because she’d managed to approach her crush, befriend her, even kiss her. Because she’d faced down Sooyoung and Yerim, no matter how reluctantly, and now they were actually her friends. She could do this.

“Joohyun and I are dating,” she blurted out, words stumbling out so quickly that they were barely intelligible. Still, they must have been clear enough, because everyone in the room reacted at once.

Joohyun gasped, possibly affronted at the graceless way Seungwan had dropped the news. Seulgi’s eyes widened more than Seungwan had ever thought possible as a smile began to grow on her face, almost in slow motion. Sooyoung’s mouth popped open and she blinked a couple of times before letting out a demanding “What?” that had Seungwan wondering, just for a second, if maybe she hadn’t told her after all and just imagined the whole thing.

Yerim choked on the mouthful of soda she’d just drunk and almost coughed it out all over Sooyoung, which distracted her enough from the news to push Yerim away with a look of disgust.

“Yeah, what she said,” Yerim wheezed out after a few raspy breaths, pointing vaguely in Sooyoung’s direction. Seulgi still smiled in elated silence.

Joohyun finally stepped forward and into Seungwan’s field of vision, fingers wrapping themselves around Seungwan’s in a tight grip.

“We’re dating,” Joohyun echoed, just as Seulgi’s smile grew so wide that it must surely be painful by now.

“It sounds even weirder when she’s the one saying it,” Yerim whispered loudly at Sooyoung, who swatted her arm impatiently.

“I’m so happy for you!” Seulgi exploded, leaping into a hug that captured both Joohyun and Seungwan. She squeezed them tightly as Seungwan raised her free arm to awkwardly return the embrace.

“Oh, Wannie, I’m so happy! This is wonderful news,” she squealed in excitement. Ironically, Seungwan felt a weight lift from her chest despite the crushing pressure currently being applied to it by her best friend.

“I’m happy for myself,” Yerim muttered from her corner of the sofa. “Now I don’t have to deal with you two idiots being oblivious all over each other.”

“Yerim, you can’t call them idiots,” Sooyoung exclaimed with feigned shock. “Those are our moms!”

“Oh, ew!”

Seungwan was actually a bit relieved at how easily those two could get off topic, although she suspected Sooyoung was encouraging these distractions for her benefit. As she considered this, Seulgi released them from her suffocating hug and sat back down, looking a little embarrassed.

“Are you guys mad?” she asked apprehensively. “That we knew about you and we didn’t…”

“No, not mad,” Seungwan quickly answered, eager to calm her best friend’s fears. “But kind of confused? You knew how much trouble I was having with this, why didn’t you say anything?”

Joohyun didn’t intervene, apparently leaving the conflict to be settled between the two friends, despite the fact that all five of them were involved.

“Well, think about it a little, Wannie. If I told you about Joohyun, would you believe me?”

Oh. “I guess I wouldn’t,” she admitted reluctantly. She’d barely believed it when Joohyun herself had confessed it. She barely believed it now. She felt Joohyun’s eyes on her, studying her curiously, but she avoided the gaze, only looking at Seulgi.

“And if I told Joohyun about you…” Seulgi paused, looking between the couple a little hesitantly. Seungwan could imagine why. If Joohyun had known and confronted her, she would have panicked. She might have ruined everything.

“It wouldn’t have been right,” Sooyoung cut in. “You guys had to figure things out by yourselves. And look, it worked out perfectly. Here you are,” she added, probably just flattering them to change the subject, which wasn’t really a problem for Seungwan. She’d love to move on to another topic, one which wouldn’t expose her failings to Joohyun so early in the relationship.

The conversation moved to the typical questions of how and when, both of which were answered a bit ambiguously as Seungwan wasn’t too fond of letting people know how she’d broken down crying in front of Joohyun over essentially nothing and especially how that had progressed into making out. Then Sooyoung and Seulgi kept asking questions about anything and everything, their inner hopeless romantics coming out in full force.

Somehow, Seungwan found herself sitting by Yerim’s side as they watched the other three excitedly discuss the details of the newfound relationship. The bag of chips sat on the coffee table, nearly empty, and Seungwan reached in for one of the few remaining chips.

“I still can’t believe you did it,” Yerim suddenly said in a low, casual voice. Seungwan glanced at her, but her eyes were focused on her phone.

“I know,” she replied simply, trying not to let her surprise show. Was she really having a moment with Yerim?

“You made me lose a bet and everything.”

“I know,” she repeated with a chuckle.

“And I almost got soda on my jeans.”

Seungwan laughed at that, careful to keep her voice quiet. She was sure that, like a wild animal in a rare moment of proximity to a lone human, if Yerim attracted the attention of anyone else she would scurry off back to the woods. Or, in this case, to her phone and her mask of indifference.

“I know,” she said again, and reached for another chip. She chewed it slowly, let her eyes wander off to the side to study Joohyun’s profile. She was beautiful and somehow dating her and the thought still made her heart beat at double speed.

“Anyway, if you ever hurt her I’ll come into your house and beat you up, I don’t care if you have a giant scary cat,” Yerim suddenly added, and there was a fire burning underneath the casual tone with which she conveyed the threat.

Seungwan fought back her fear of a child who was nearly as short as her and seemed to live on a diet of chips, cookies and pizza. “Please, how could I ever do that?” she questioned with a snort.

“Well, not on purpose, obviously. You’re Seungwan, all you do is try to make people happy,” Yerim said in a strange tone that left Seungwan feeling she’d missed something. She stirred uneasily, not sure she liked where this conversation was going. “But sometimes, through a string of decisions calculated to make everyone as happy as possible, you end up in a worse place than if you’d just been a little selfish.”

She blinked at nothing in particular. Was it rude that she was surprised at Yerim saying something like this? After all, she was a lit major. There had to be deep thoughts somewhere in that head. She was just more used to jokes of varying meanness and bickering.

But Yerim was familiar with issues of sacrifice and egoism and making people happy, wasn’t she? That was how she’d ended up studying literature and not engineering. By being selfish. And Seungwan couldn’t disagree, there was certainly a value to it. She just didn’t see how the advice applied to her. Being with Joohyun made her happy. If anything, dating her was the selfish thing to do, not the opposite. Dating Joohyun, who could do so much better and had chosen Seungwan of all people to be with.

She didn’t have the time to come up with a response, because suddenly Joohyun was calling out to her. “Seungwan, were you really that worried about my Christmas present?” she asked from her place on the other end of the sofa.

“She asked everyone,” Yerim cut in with a smirk, all traces of the previous seriousness gone.

“Why would you tell her that?” Seungwan nearly shouted in mortified shock, barely resisting the instinct to smack Yerim’s arm. She felt that, close as they might be, that wouldn’t be the wisest course of action.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Joohyun said sweetly, getting up to move closer to Seungwan and then sitting on her lap. “I think it’s cute. And I liked it very much,” she reassured with a crooked smile as her hands move to rest on her shoulders.

Seungwan lost the ability to speak, enraptured by the vision in front of her, the warm and comforting weight settled against her. All she managed was some nervous chuckling as her hands lay limply on the sofa.

“You two better not kiss in front of me. I have an airhorn in my bag and I’m not afraid to use it,” Yerim said much louder than was necessary, like she wanted to make sure that her voice would penetrate the lovers’ dreamy haze.

Seungwan shook her head in confusion, then turned to Yerim, partly to challenge the statement but mostly to avoid losing herself entirely in Joohyun’s eyes and becoming unaware of everything else. “Why do you have an airhorn in your bag?”

“I don’t know, why do you ask stupid questions?” Yerim’s smug face contorted into affront as Joohyun reached out to smack her arm in Seungwan’s stead.

“Hey, be nice to my girlfriend,” she scolded with a voice that was too light to carry any real sternness. The giggles that sounded from behind them, where Sooyoung and Seulgi sat, were probably more of a punishment to Yerim anyway.

After a few more rounds of embarrassing Seungwan and a blessed interval where they talked about something other than the new couple, the two youngest left together, followed after a brief time by Seulgi. Joohyun busied herself in the kitchen to give the two friends time to say their goodbyes in private.

“Wannie, I really am happy for you. I’m glad everything worked out for the best,” Seulgi said with a smile. Then it faded as she studied Seungwan seriously. “Are you sure you’re not mad at me? It’s fine if you are, we can talk about it.”

Seungwan smiled sincerely, trying to dispel her concern. “I promise it’s fine. I’m happy. And you’re right, everything worked out just fine. Nothing to be mad about,” she assured as she grasped Seulgi’s hands for emphasis.

“Good. Great. But, you know, we can talk anyway. Call me or something, okay? We haven’t hung out in a while.” She leaned forward, lowered her voice as she started down a path Seungwan had really hoped she wouldn’t. “I really think things are going to be different this time. Joohyun’s really great. Just… Try not to, uh… Don’t just…” She seemed to be having trouble getting the words out so Seungwan provided them for her.

“I know, I know. I won’t spend all my time with her. I won’t forget my best friend,” she said lightly, trying to pull them away from the topic.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Wan-Wan. You just- you isolate yourself. And you’ve been avoiding me for a while now,” Seulgi said in an almost sad voice. She grabbed Seungwan’s hands a little tighter.

“That’s different,” she immediately argued back, lowering her voice as she worried that Joohyun would overhear somehow. “I was just feeling guilty about lying to you and covering things up. But it’s all settled now, so no more avoiding. I’ll call you and we’ll hang out, just the two of us. I promise.”

Seulgi’s face cleared as she seemed to accept Seungwan’s promise. “Great! And Wannie, I think you’re going to do great. She really likes you and I know you like her.” She paused, took a deep breath that did nothing to calm her down as she only carried on. “I’m so excited. I’m so happy for you. I’m just…” She finally caught herself and slowed down a bit.

“But no pressure, okay? You’re the one who knows if you’re happy. And you can talk to me about anything. And, uh… Don’t push yourself. It’s okay if it takes time to get over stuff. I’m sure Joohyun will feel the same. You’re worth it,” she concluded with a wide smile.

They were nice words, but Seungwan wasn’t sure she believed any of it. Still, she offered Seulgi what she hoped was a reassuring smile as their hands separated and they said their goodbyes.

As soon as Seulgi was out the door, Joohyun was behind her, enveloping her in a back hug so that her head rested on Seungwan’s shoulder.

“That went well,” she said with a voice that was overflowing with happiness. It was impossible not to smile at the sound and all of Seungwan’s thoughts faded away as she melted into the embrace.

“I think so too. I just hope Seulgi and Sooyoung didn’t share too much embarrassing information about me.”

“There’s nothing embarrassing about you liking me,” Joohyun replied easily. “It’s sweet. And it makes me happy to hear it.”

Seungwan tried to turn her head away, suddenly shy, but her girlfriend was quick to pull her in with one hand while the other remained wrapped around her. Then she leaned in until their noses were touching. “I missed kissing you,” she sighed out, her breath hitting Seungwan’s lips.

“Did you?” Seungwan asked in a faltering voice, mouth so close to Joohyun’s that she could almost taste it.

Joohyun hummed in confirmation. “I almost braved the airhorn,” she added with a seriousness that hardly matched such a silly statement. Seungwan couldn’t help but ruin the moment, bursting into loud laughter at the words. She doubled over and Joohyun wisely stepped back before a stray elbow could strike her by accident.

She sobered up when a hand gently reached for hers, pulling her to the sofa. They sat side by side, Joohyun’s legs draped over Seungwan’s lap and her arms around Seungwan’s neck. Then they did kiss, for a very long time, until Joohyun repositioned herself to sit more fully on Seungwan’s lap and her hands drifted to her waist, then up under her shirt, roaming over the sensitive skin of Seungwan’s stomach.

She felt self-conscious, not really confident in that region of her body. She was far from having toned abs and she was sure that Joohyun’s hands could feel every inch of the soft, yielding skin. She held her breath, not quite able to focus on the pleasant sensation of Joohyun's fingers brushing across her stomach.

Joohyun broke their kiss to lean close to her ear. “I could kiss you forever,” she whispered, then pressed her lips to the skin beneath Seungwan’s ear. She shivered almost convulsively at the touch and Joohyun reacted with a satisfied hum, digging her fingers into Seungwan's stomach. “I could touch you forever,” she added in a breathy voice. Seungwan no longer had the brainpower to be self-conscious as the caresses continued.

Her hands found their way to Joohyun's thighs and she squeezed them almost without noticing as Joohyun’s mouth returned to hers. As they continued to kiss, a soft, pleasant fuzziness settled deeper into her brain until she could barely register anything aside from the places where Joohyun's hands rested, her lips brushing against Joohyun's, her lower lip being gently tugged by Joohyun's teeth. Every part of her body that pressed against Joohyun's.

She felt a familiar tingling sensation travelling slowly down her body to settle at the pit of her stomach. Joohyun's nails raked across her skin. The tingling sensation travelled lower.

Her hands flew off Joohyun's thighs to grab her girlfriend’s wrists and freeze her in place. She chuckled nervously as she thought of a way to defuse the situation, but her treacherous brain offered nothing except a vague suggestion to maybe just keep going and see what happened.

Joohyun pulled back, slowly breaking the kiss. She opened dazed, almost impossibly dark eyes, which she blinked a few times before they seemed capable of focusing on anything at all.

“Hi,” she said in a husky voice. Seungwan's fingers, still wrapped around Joohyun's wrists, clenched a little tighter before she remembered she was holding them and slowly lowered them to her waist.

“Hi,” she replied, because she couldn't think of a single other word, even though she knew that they must surely exist. The urge to push Joohyun's hands back up her stomach and pick up where they'd left off was taking much longer to fade than she’d hoped.

“That was…” Joohyun said slowly, then paused as she seemed to search for what to say. She appeared just as affected as Seungwan, although to be fair she had managed twice as many words so far.

“You’re very distracting,” she concluded with a chuckle. She brought her hands away from Seungwan’s waist to carefully tuck her top back into place, smoothing the wrinkles she’d left on the fabric with light fingers.

“Seungwan?” Joohyun asked as she finished adjusting the shirt. She still looked at the fabric held between her hands, a small furrow between her brows. “Why wouldn’t you have believed Seulgi if she’d told you I had feelings for you?”

Seungwan wished her brain had recovered a little more before the question was posed. As it was, she found it hard to find a way to nicely phrase the truth. A way that didn’t sound too off-putting.

“Well, you’re… You’re really out of my league,” she finally said, trying to sound playful but not too playful. Just the right amount of self-deprecating humour.

Joohyun blinked a few times as she processed the information. Her brow furrowed further. “What do you mean?” She sounded truly confused, like this was a foreign concept to her. Did she really not know how much better than Seungwan she was?

“Well, you’re you. You’re amazing. And I’m… me.”

Joohyun nodded in agreement. “And you’re amazing,” she added, still confused by Seungwan’s explanation. “More than amazing. You’re beautiful and funny and smart and kind and caring and selfless and sweet…” she slowly enumerated, pausing between each adjective to drop a kiss somewhere on Seungwan’s face.

She pressed her lips to each cheek, her forehead, the tip of her nose, her chin and each of her eyelids. “And you’re very good at baking,” she added with a grin, leaning forward for a chaste kiss on Seungwan’s lips.

Seungwan stretched her lips into a fake smile, pouring as much honesty into it as she possibly could while clawing at the edge of panic. This was bad. Joohyun thought she was all these good things and she was completely wrong and eventually she would begin to realize her mistake and grow more and more disappointed until one day she’d wake up and look at Seungwan and see her for who she really was.

How had she possibly fooled Joohyun into thinking that this was what she was? Sure, she’d tried to conceal her bad side, but she never thought she’d succeed to such an absurd degree. Then again, why else would Joohyun have fallen for her?

“I, uh, I have to go to the bathroom now,” she blurted out, weakly pushing Joohyun off her lap and getting up from the sofa as naturally as she could. She just needed to hide for a couple of minutes while she calmed down a little.

“Why don’t you think about dinner? What should we eat?” she threw behind her back while she walked away and into the protective solitude of the bathroom.

There was nothing to be done about it now. She’d accidentally tricked her girlfriend into thinking she was some great person who deserved her. Now she’d just have to play along, try to let her down easily.

She sighed, leaned against the cold tiles. She should have known the whole thing was too good to be true. She was an idiot.

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!
Numot94
300 upvotes! I'm running out of ways to say thank you, but I can't complain ahah Seriously, thanks to each and every person who upvoted and also to everyone who takes the time to comment, you're the best and you make my days brighter ^^

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
Riscark 1296 streak #1
Reread this again cause I miss your work in wenreneland authornim hehe
Hanbin_shon
#2
Chapter 1: Ini sangat lucu
Hanbin_shon
#3
Oke agak penasaran dengan ceritanya
thequietone
16 streak #4
Chapter 39: Rereading this makes me soo happy just made my day :')) and I just reread all my previous comments and it's always on point haha I mean my emotions all throughout each chapters is convey well by the old me haha

I love how the way you wrote the character's personalities and their everyday routine life it felt kinda real.

I would like to say its such a slowburn fic but It felt perfect to have this kind of pacing especially with our two characters I love them so much their so precious plus imagine them as your parents with how soft and lovable they are.

I love the antics of Joyri altho at times it felt that they are over the line of being a tease and being a bully but I know thats how they show their love for Seungwan. Seulgi is the best bestfriend ever she's such a constant and steady support and just full of warmness for Wannie I love everything about this especially the confession part I laughed when Wannie kissed Joohyun and Joohyun's like no no no you cant get away after doing that.

Love it this so much. Still the best! Thank you! It was such a fun and enjoyable reread!
1609Andrea
2037 streak #5
Chapter 1: Awwwe
WendyyBaee
#6
Chapter 19: Ya persahabatan mereka terlalu berharga
WendyyBaee
#7
Chapter 18: Uhhhh kapan mereka akan bersama
WendyyBaee
#8
Chapter 17: Ini terlalu lambat untuk mereka bersama
WendyyBaee
#9
Chapter 16: Irene benar-benar tidak peka SEUNGWAN yang tidak memiliki keberanian
WendyyBaee
#10
Chapter 15: Apakah itu mimpi atau beneran