Seungwan dragged her legs down the stairs to the subway platform, looking forward with longing to the moment when she’d finally reach home, step into her comfy pyjamas and slip right into bed. She sighed with relief at the thought that the work week was finally over and that the only thing standing between her and Saturday was a good night’s sleep.

The platform was relatively empty, which made sense considering the rush hour had come and gone. At least there was some benefit to working late on a Friday. She swept her gaze up and down the platform, wondering if she should bother sitting down, when she noticed a small figure sitting alone on a bench. Her head was down, hair obscuring her face, and Seungwan wondered if the woman had fallen asleep until she noticed the slight shake in her shoulders. She instinctively walked closer to check if she was okay.

As she approached, she realized the woman’s brown hair was slightly familiar. She looked down at the backpack near her feet and recognized it immediately. So how was she supposed to react to Yerim crying alone on a subway platform?

She didn’t doubt that Yerim wouldn’t want her help. Despite having hung out together on a few more occasions, they really hadn’t become any closer. Seungwan had apparently been dismissed as any kind of threat to Joohyun, but now the younger girl amused herself by teasing her relentlessly about her supposed crush – actual crush, but she wouldn’t admit that to the little devil -, taking particular pleasure in doing it in front of Joohyun.

But she was crying alone on a subway platform. Seungwan had to do something, right?

She sat down besides Yerim, who immediately looked up in confusion. She narrowed her eyes when she recognized Seungwan, then turned away and started wiping off her tears with her jacket sleeve. “What are you doing?” she asked in a rough voice that gave her away just as much as puffy eyes.

“Waiting for the subway,” Seungwan replied simply, settling down more comfortably with her bag in her lap.

Yerim huffed, keeping her face forward and away from Seungwan. “There are empty seats everywhere.”

“I know, kind of scary, right?” Seungwan hugged herself, taking a look around the nearly empty platform. “Feels safer sitting together.” Yerim’s face was hiding under her hair, but Seungwan aimed a smile at her anyway.

“Scaredy cat,” Yerim mumbled, then sniffled. Seungwan rummaged in her bag for a moment to hand her a pack of tissues. She took one and blew her nose, then turned to Seungwan suspiciously. “I have allergies.”

That excuse only worked when you weren’t still crying, Seungwan thought to herself, but absolutely did not say out loud. She only shrugged and turned towards the tracks, to give Yerim some privacy.

They remained in silence, occasionally broken by Yerim’s sniffles, which at least seemed to be getting more spaced out.

“So…” Seungwan started cautiously, trying to keep her voice casual. “How’s school?”

“It’s fine, same as always,” Yerim replied in a disinterested tone, not bothering to elaborate.

“And your family?” she continued. Yerim turned to her suspiciously.

“Fine,” she drawled out slowly and cautiously. “Why are you talking like a distant aunt I meet once a year?” she added, though her face seemed to indicate that she expected nothing less from awkward Seungwan.

“Oh, you know, we never really talk,” she explained lightly. “Just thought we could bond a little.” She knew she sounded ridiculous, but for once it was somewhat on purpose. It wasn’t like she was trying to completely hide her intentions.

“I’m good,” Yerim mumbled gruffly. Seungwan waited for a moment, but the younger girl didn’t elaborate, so she settled for studying her, though Seungwan didn’t need much scrutiny to know what was wrong. If Yerim wasn’t crying over school or family stuff, there was really only one thing left. Still, she looked over the young girl, noticing how she was uncharacteristically well-dressed. And her makeup, although it was now completely ruined, did seem to have once been particularly meticulous.

“Did you come from a party?” she probed, not needing much confirmation. Yerim sniffled at her words and quickly raised her sleeve to her eyes again.

“Yeah, obviously. It’s Friday night and I have a life,” she retorted. That jab was clearly aimed at Seungwan, but it was fair enough, so she just shrugged.

“So, did you confess at the party or did you just see them kissing someone else?” Seungwan asked casually. Yerim’s head whipped towards her in surprise. A new torrent of tears built up in her eyes and as she blinked two broke free and streamed down her face. Seungwan wasn’t sure if she should reach out to her or not, so she settled for a small poke at her side. Yerim leaned into it and she wrapped her arm more fully around her to let her wipe her tears on her shirt.

They only sat like that for a second before Yerim was pulling away, clearly embarrassed. She wiped at her eyes fiercely and looked away. “It’s whatever,” she croaked unsteadily, and Seungwan suppressed the urge to smile. “She doesn’t like me, big deal, life goes on. But now Joohyun’s going to be all worried when I show up and she’ll want to talk about it forever. Say I’m great and I deserve better or whatever.” She huffed in disagreement with Joohyun’s predicted sentiment.

“Sounds lame,” Seungwan offered. Yerim snorted.

“Not as lame as you.” Okay, yeah, that was expected.

The train finally arrived and they got on, sitting back down inside. They rode in silence, Yerim attempting to seem nonchalant about her tear-stained face and her previous outburst.

Seungwan was about to do something that was either really brave or really dumb.

“When I was in high school,” she started casually, keeping her eyes forward because she really couldn’t do this if she caught Yerim’s eye. “This guy started dating me because I had Evangelion on DVD. He dumped me when he was done watching it.”

“You have Evangelion on DVD?” Yerim asked incredulously, a hint of excitement in her voice.

“Not anymore, he never returned it.” Yerim snorted at her answer.

They rode in silence for a little longer.

“Once, in college,” Seungwan continued bravely, still staring straight ahead. “A guy pretended to be gay to get out of a second date with me. Then he started dating my roommate, like a week later.”

Yerim’s sniffles had stopped. She looked at Seungwan curiously, clearly waiting for more. Lucky for her, there was certainly more.

“One time I was dating this girl who started questioning her biuality, she thought she might be straight after all. I met her recently and she’s definitely bi, turns out she just felt no attraction for me specifically.”

Yerim snorted out something that sounded suspiciously like “relatable”. Seungwan pursed her lips. It was really hard to empathize with that devil.

“Are all your past relationships just a string of you getting dumped?” Yerim asked amusedly. At least the cheering up was working. If there was one thing Seungwan knew how to do, it was making people feel better at her expense.

She hummed as she thought of Yerim’s question. “No, one time I found out a guy was only dating me to get to my friend. I had to break up with him because he wanted us to keep going anyway, he thought it might still work.”

Yerim laughed openly, jabbing at Seungwan’s arm playfully. “Okay, enough, now you’re just making me feel sad for you.” The subway was almost at their stop, now. Seungwan gathered her things and prepared to get up. “I still don’t like you or whatever,” Yerim added after a too-long pause. Seungwan smiled inwardly.

As they stepped out of the train and up the stairs, Seungwan remembered what Joohyun had told her. She still had to make it up to Yerim. So she slowed down, waiting for Yerim to follow her lead, and cleared .

“Listen, uh, earlier, when I called you a kid,” she started.

“A child. And it’s fine, I don’t care, I don’t even remember,” Yerim interrupted quickly, then fell back into silence. She brushed at something invisible on her sleeve.

“Right, well, it reminded me of when I was younger and everybody kept saying I was a kid like it meant I didn’t know what I was doing. Like it didn’t matter what I thought or how I felt.” She fiddled with the ends of her sleeves, thinking of those frustrating times in her adolescence, when people insisted that everything was just a phase. That she couldn’t be sure yet. “I ended up feeling really insecure, and maybe I got into a lot of situations that I would have left until later if it didn’t feel like I had to do it to prove I was an adult. If I wasn’t trying so hard to be taken seriously. Not that you’d do that, you’re probably way smarter than I was,” she hastily added, chuckling awkwardly. “I just… realized that stuff like that, calling someone a child, has a lot of baggage that you stop thinking about when it stops happening to you. So, you know. Sorry. For saying you were a child.”

They were almost at her building. She grabbed her keys from her bag while she waited for Yerim to say something in response. A few seconds of silence passed. They reached the door, which she opened. Yerim stood waiting while she checked the mail.

When she turned back, there was an inscrutable expression on Yerim’s face. She was clearly spending too much time with Joohyun. Then it was replaced by the usual petulant look that preceded her jabs. “I’ll forgive you if you don’t tell Joohyun I cried.”

“I’d rather be forgiven because of my apology, but I’ll take it,” she replied in relief. “Although, with your face like that, I think even Joohyun will notice,” she added, grinning as Yerim grimaced in realization. “You can wash your face in my apartment, come on.”

They were already in the hallway and Seungwan directed Yerim to her own door. Thankfully, Sooyoung had the music blaring at Joohyun’s and they weren’t heard coming in.

“Thanks,” Yerim offered shyly, entering Seungwan’s apartment. “And thanks for cheering me up, I guess. It’s easier to talk to you than Joohyun.”

Seungwan smiled proudly, glad she’d made the effort and hopefully reached a turning point in her turbulent relationship with Yerim. “Why? Because the is smaller?”

“No, because you’re a human disaster and it’s easier to admit my failings to you,” Yerim replied casually, her back to Seungwan as she took off her shoes.

Seungwan cooed in response. “Aww, you’re trying to push me away because you’re embarrassed that I saw your vulnerable side.”

“No, I’m trying to push you away because you ,” Yerim retorted sharply.

Seungwan smiled. “Cute.” She reached to pinch Yerim’s cheek, but the younger girl stepped out of her reach.

“This is really bringing down the value of your apology,” Yerim grumbled, only succeeding in looking cuter in a half-pout and crossed arms.

“I thought my apology didn’t matter and you were just forgiving me so I don’t tell Joohyun you were crying,” Seungwan pointed out gloatingly. They were still standing by the apartment door, so she headed to the bathroom, gesturing for Yerim to follow.

“I like you better when we’re around Joohyun and you get all stuttery and awkward,” she complained.

“I-I do not! I’m fine around her!”

Yerim’s lips curved at Seungwan’s flustered reply. “Cute,” she said with a grin. Then she stepped into the bathroom.

Seungwan sat on the sofa, debating whether to watch TV or go straight to bed once she was free of Yerim. She was sold on the latter option by the time the younger girl appeared, make-up freshly reapplied, so she quickly walked her to the door and towards Joohyun’s apartment. Just as she was going to make her escape, the door opened to reveal Joohyun herself.

“Oh, Yerim, there you are!” she exclaimed cheerfully. “And Seungwan, hello!” she added, turning to face her.

“Yeah, we ran into each other on the subway,” Seungwan hastily explained. She considered saying something else, then weighed the probability of that something being ridiculous and giving away her lie. Better keep it vague.

“And now here we are,” Yerim cut in, clearly worried about the same thing. “Okay, bye now!” She made to push Joohyun back into the apartment, but her effort was resisted.

“Seungwan, why don’t you join us? There’s no work tonight, I promise. Just fun.” Joohyun gave her a disarming smile and Seungwan felt all her self-control fade. It was only polite to do as the lady requested.

Yerim sent her a warning look, but she should have known who would win out. “Uh, yeah, sure,” Seungwan replied immediately, locking the door behind herself to join them in Joohyun’s apartment.

It was already late by the time they joined the other two, so it wasn’t long until all four of them were sitting down on the sofa, silenced under a blanket of sleepiness. Yerim tried unsuccessfully to hide a sequence of yawns, probably tired out from the evening’s emotions. As soon as she noticed, Joohyun marched her to her bedroom, throwing Sooyoung in there with her quickly against her protests.

In the meantime, Seungwan had gotten up to put on her jacket, as it seemed about time to leave. She was shrugging it into place when she felt a tight grip on her arm. She turned to see Joohyun’s eyes on her, strangely animated with a slightly terrifying fire. Scratch that, very terrifying.

She was half-dragged to the kitchen, where Joohyun suddenly stopped dangerously close to her. “What did you do to Yerim?” she hissed out. Suddenly, Seungwan wished they hadn’t just entered the room where knives were kept.

“I-I didn’t do anything. What are you talking about?” she asked defensively, knowing that she sounded suspicious. Her free hand gesticulated wildly like it would help reassure Joohyun of her innocence.

“Her make-up was fresh and her eyes were red. So what did you do to make her cry?” Joohyun insisted, stepping closer. Unfortunately, Seungwan was too distracted by fear to get lost in her beauty. Also by pain. She tried to prise Joohyun’s fingers open and relieve the pressure on her arm. Noticing her discomfort, Joohyun weakened her grip slightly.

“Wait, you’ve just been sitting on that all night?” Seungwan let slip before her brain caught up to . Joohyun’s eyes narrowed. “Fine, she was crying,” she relented with a sigh before her neighbour remembered the knives. “But it wasn’t me!”

The pressure on her arm weakened, but Joohyun’s hand remained in place. She narrowed her eyes, clearly waiting for further explanations.

“I found her crying on the subway. She was upset about some girl she likes, she asked me not to tell you because she’s embarrassed,” Seungwan explained. The hardness in Joohyun’s eyes faded away at her words, replaced by warmth. “I also said I was sorry about the child thing, hopefully she hates me less now,” Seungwan added, looking away in embarrassment. Now that the fear was gone, she was overwhelmed by their proximity in the empty apartment.

She could still feel Joohyun’s eyes on her face, her fingers around her arm. Suddenly, she was moving even closer, impossibly close, and Seungwan felt slim arms envelop her in a hug. Joohyun’s hair tickled her face, filling her nose with a familiar flowery scent. The warmth of Joohyun’s body against hers felt impossibly comforting, and she hesitatingly raised her arms to Joohyun’s waist, vaguely aware that the hug should probably be returned.

Joohyun’s mouth moved against her hair. She felt her voice buzz against her ear. “Thank you for taking care of my Yerim,” she whispered softly. “And I apologize for accusing you falsely,” she added. Then she rushed away from Seungwan, leaving her stumbling for support. “Oh, I didn’t even ask if it was alright to hug you,” she exclaimed with wide eyes, shocked at her own faux-pas.

“It’s fine,” Seungwan returned, urging her lungs to start working normally again. She could still smell the lingering scent of Joohyun’s shampoo. Joohyun smiled at Seungwan’s words, then the warmth in her eyes grew again.

“Thank you again. I’m glad that Yerim felt she could open up to you. I know that sometimes I can be a little too… Motherly with her, and she might feel uncomfortable discussing certain topics.” She smiled sheepishly and Seungwan’s heart swelled just a little in her chest. “To be honest… Yerim might seem carefree around us, but she’s very independent, almost to a fault. She insists on dealing with everything on her own.”

Joohyun glanced at the bedroom door, ensuring that no noises could be heard from inside. Then she continued in a low voice. “I mentioned that her parents asked me to take care of her. The truth is that they wanted me to encourage her to study engineering, like I had. But when I met her, it became clear that she would never be happy in that career. So, instead, I told her to follow her passion.” She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts. Seungwan watched her in fascination, drinking in her words. “As the eldest daughter, she was under significant pressure to follow her parents’ wishes and pursue a safe career. Her choice to study literature strained their relationship and put a great toll on her. But she insists on dealing with it alone. Sometimes I wish she’d let me help her.”

Seungwan felt a stupid urge to kiss Joohyun. In the solitude of the dim apartment, under the stark kitchen lights, Joohyun’s bright eyes seemed to shine their way right into her heart. There was something ethereal about her, Seungwan had always known that much, but she was growing to realize that it wasn’t just present in the perfect proportions of her face or her neck. It was her, all of her. Beautiful inside and out.

Joohyun reached for her hands, startling her out of dangerous thoughts, and held them in her own as she swung their arms excitedly. “I’m so glad we’re all friends now,” she said cheerfully.

Seungwan attempted to hide her surprise at the statement. Instead, she smiled in response. “I’m glad too.” They slowly let their arms fall, hands slipping apart to drop at their sides. This felt nice, comfortable. It might be the first time in her romantic life that she didn’t feel embarrassed.

Oh. Right. Her romantic life.

She raised her arm to scratch at the back at her head. That lack of embarrassment had definitely been short-lived. “Listen, uh… I told Yerim a few unflattering stories about me when I was trying to cheer her up,” she began. Joohyun smiled encouragingly, pleased at the initiative. “And, well, they were obviously a little exaggerated for comedic effect.” They absolutely were not. “But, just, I know that the girls like to make fun of me behind my back, so… Just a heads-up. Please don’t judge me for them.”

Joohyun smiled enigmatically. “I don’t think Yerim will be sharing those stories. She’s very protective of the people she cares about.”

Seungwan smiled stupidly. She knew she was smiling stupidly, she just couldn’t help it. She didn’t know what else to do in this situation, when Joohyun and her friends were clearly welcoming her into their lives with open arms. Maybe Seulgi was right and they really did like her. Not just Joohyun, but Sooyoung too. Even Yerim.

Joohyun yawned, catching both of them by surprise. Seungwan chuckled, shaking the haze from her head. “I should go home, huh?” she asked with a smile. She turned to leave, followed by Joohyun, who walked her to the door. “So, see you later.” She wanted to say goodnight, but suddenly felt too shy to force out the words.

Joohyun smiled sleepily at her. “Come by any time,” she said in lieu of goodbye, keeping the door open while Seungwan walked to her own apartment. Inside her mind, Joohyun’s last words ran on repeat like a mantra. She smiled to herself, thinking back to Sooyoung’s advice. Joohyun meant what she said.

(…)

Seungwan felt like she was walking on clouds. She knew the feeling might be a bit premature, but she justified herself with the thought that it was perfectly legitimate to be excited over a new friendship. So that was probably it. She was just super happy over her friendship with Joohyun. And Sooyoung and Yerim, those two as well. Super happy about all of it.

At the moment, she was happily on the way to her friend’s apartment – conveniently, right across the hallway from hers – to cook dinner for her, as a way of thanking her for hosting all their weekend gatherings. Not that they could be held anywhere else, since Joohyun, and apparently also Yerim, were terrified of Mr. Fluffers. The poor little spoiled baby would never stand to spend an evening locked in Seungwan’s bedroom, so her home was usually off the table. Of course, Sooyoung still dropped by every once in a while. Not only because of Seungwan’s Netflix, but also because she’d somehow found her gaming consoles when she’d finally decided to snoop around and now regularly stopped by after her classes to shoot people over the internet. She said it was very therapeutic.

Seungwan knocked on Joohyun’s door, one hand holding the few utensils she hadn’t trusted Joohyun to own. The door opened promptly, revealing her smiling neighbour. She let Seungwan in, then enveloped her in a quick hug. Seungwan still hadn’t gotten used to their new form of greeting and used her full hands as justification for completely forgetting to return the hug. It was just really hard to focus when she was surrounded by Joohyun’s presence and scent like that.

Attempting to ignore the fluttering in her chest, Seungwan moved her equipment to the kitchen, where she set about trying to figure out where everything was. This would be a lot easier if she could just cook in her own apartment. She was suddenly taken by the thought of Joohyun in her apartment, sitting on her sofa. Preparing tea in her kitchen. Settling down on her bed.

She nearly dropped an entire drawer of cutlery on the floor. Thankfully, Joohyun was standing right beside her and reached out a hand to steady it. Seungwan took a deep breath. She needed to focus or she’d burn her hand off soon enough.

“Sorry, I…” Joohyun was looking at her inquisitively but her mind was drawing a blank. “Got distracted,” she finished slowly. Might as well go with the truth. “Listen, you can go relax in the sofa or something, I’ve got this,” she offered with a smile.

Joohyun’s face fell. Seungwan immediately panicked. “I won’t be treating you to dinner if I make you cook it, will I?” she explained quickly. Joohyun seemed to accept this excuse and moved away with some reluctance. She settled down on the sofa and reached for her book.

“Please don’t burn yourself,” she requested from her seat when she heard Seungwan light the stove. “Don’t cut yourself either,” she added after a pause. Seungwan assented with a nod which she knew Joohyun could see from the sofa. Truthfully, her extremities were a lot safer now that Joohyun was far enough to be less distracting. Now if only she could get her mind away from Joohyun as easily as she’d gotten Joohyun away from the kitchen.

She managed to get through the preparation without hacking off any fingers, probably aided by enough practice to do most things on auto-pilot. She’d settled for a simple recipe of creamy pasta, since she didn’t want to keep Joohyun waiting for too long. Soon enough, she was joining Joohyun on the sofa, their plates in front of them on the coffee table.

They ate side by side in their usual silence, which Seungwan had more or less gotten used to, broken only by Joohyun’s occasional praise over the meal. She felt pleased that she’d managed to show off in one of the few areas where she was confident.

About halfway through her pasta, she started to notice Joohyun stealing glances her way, then quickly looking away when she turned towards her. She was also twisting her food around the plate more than eating it. Seungwan started to feel nervous herself, wondering what Joohyun could be mulling over.

“So, have you gone on that date yet?” Joohyun suddenly asked. Seungwan choked on a mouthful of pasta. She was almost thankful, as the coughing fit it elicited gave her a few moments to gather her thoughts.

“I, uh, what date now?” she asked in a raspy voice, wiping her teary eyes.

“You said you wanted to ask a girl out, when we spoke before. When I offered you a slice of pizza,” Joohyun provided helpfully, like Seungwan might not recall the only conversation about her love life she’d ever had with Joohyun. “Did you… do that?”

Seungwan abandoned her meal to study Joohyun, trying to get a grasp on their conversation, but her face was frustratingly neutral. Oh well, there they went then. She’d made her bed and now she’d lie in it. By talking about Joohyun in front of her in a way that wouldn’t make her realize it was her. The whole thing almost gave her a headache.

“Um, no, not yet,” she replied simply. She probably shouldn’t elaborate.

Joohyun hummed in response. “Will you?” she prodded further.

“Maybe?” she stabbed a piece of pasta with her fork, but she’d more or less lost her appetite. “Depends, I guess.”

Joohyun didn’t respond. Had she already learnt the effect long pauses had on Seungwan’s brain? That didn’t spell out good things for Seungwan’s future. This time, though, she was determined to remain silent. There was too much at stake.

“Depends?” Joohyun eventually questioned, apparently having decided that enough time had passed. Seungwan nodded silently. “On what?”

For once, Seungwan wished that Joohyun wasn’t so oblivious to polite cues. Like her cue that they should stop talking about this. She set down her fork and leaned back. “Well, she’s my friend. So it depends on whether I get any sign that she might like me back.”

“What kind of sign would that be?” Joohyun asked, sounding curious. Right, she didn’t have a lot of experience to draw from, so her curiosity was natural.

Seungwan frowned, lost in thought. She wasn’t quite sure herself. “I’ll know it when I see it?” she offered in a dubious tone, shrugging along with her answer. “I don’t really have a list or anything.”

Joohyun furrowed her brow, looking confused at Seungwan’s logic. It was probably because there was none. But she wouldn’t hear that from Seungwan. “Then how do you know if she hasn’t already given you a sign and you missed it?”

“I hope not,” Seungwan chuckled in response. “So, are you done with your food?” she asked quickly, trying to change the subject. She got up from the sofa and picked up the plates at Joohyun’s nod, but the older woman stopped her with a hand on her wrist.

“Please, you cooked, I’ll take care of the dishes,” she said, looking into Seungwan’s eyes. She got up and took them to the kitchen, leaving them to soak in the sink. “So, regarding this girl,” she started again, bringing Seungwan one step closer to a premature heart attack.

“Um, Joohyun, can we maybe talk about something else?” she spoke up, before Joohyun could continue her questioning. “I just don’t want to think about my inability to ask a girl out right now.”

“Oh, alright,” Joohyun replied in an uncertain tone. “I’m sorry if I bothered you, I’m not used to talking about these things.” She came back from the kitchen and stood awkwardly by Seungwan’s side, holding her hands together. “I just thought…”

Seungwan reached for her hands to separate them, then gently pulled her back down to sit beside her. She noticed with fascination that Joohyun didn’t bother to take her hand back, and their joined hands now sat between them on the sofa.

She bumped her shoulder into Joohyun’s softly, encouraging her to finish her sentence. “Well, I mentioned that girl to Sooyoung and she said that I should help you with that,” Joohyun concluded weakly.

There was an uncomfortable sensation in Seungwan’s chest and she realized with an unpleasant shock that it was disappointment. Apparently, her dumb brain had decided to entertain the possibility that Joohyun was so uncharacteristically interested in this hypothetical girl because she might have her own personal investment in Seungwan’s love life. That really was the only explanation for why Seungwan hadn’t immediately suspected the intervention of one of the younger women.

While her brain and her heart caught up with each other, decided to respond on auto-pilot, latching on to the obvious piece of information in Joohyun’s confession. “You told Sooyoung about that,” she stated more than asked. Joohyun studied her uncertainly. “That’s cool, I mean it’s not- Why wouldn’t I want them to know?” she continued in a cheery tone, masking her displeasure for Joohyun’s sake. “I assume she told Yerim.”

“Yes, she called her right away,” Joohyun replied helpfully.

Seungwan suppressed a groan. Amazing. Spending time with them had just become. So much more fun.

Her hand that still held Joohyun’s must have clenched involuntarily, because Joohyun squeezed back, then started to rub her thumb on Seungwan’s wrist soothingly. “Are you sure it’s alright?” she asked with a worried look.

“Yeah, I’m just thinking about my embarrassing crush. Really makes me cringe sometimes,” she explained lamely.

“I’m sorry I brought it up,” Joohyun said in a low voice. Her thumb continued its rhythmic motion left and right on Seungwan’s sensitive skin. She suppressed a shiver, trying to focus on the soothing intention rather than the nerve-fraying effect. After a while, she realized she hadn’t responded to Joohyun’s apology and scrambled out a quick “it’s fine”, which seemed to reassure her despite its delay.

They sat in silence for a bit longer, then Joohyun shuffled closer and let her head rest on Seungwan’s shoulder. Seungwan tapped against it softly with her own head, communicating acknowledgment and approval. She felt Joohyun’s warmth envelop her, bringing with it a sleepy haze that softened the chaos of sensations assaulting her brain. Joohyun’s thumb on her wrist, her shampoo, her hair so close that Seungwan could just turn her head and press her lips against it, all seemed to fade gently into the background.

“I hope things go better with your crush soon,” Joohyun mumbled against Seungwan’s shoulder. Her thumb stopped its motion and she pulled both their hands into her lap so she could shift closer.

“Yeah, me too,” Seungwan hummed in response. “She’s really nice.”