Story title: First Love's Bliss
Pairing: Chuulip

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Jungeun doesn’t recall when it started. When the days have gone brighter, and warmer, and full of life. When the sun seems to rise for her in the mornings, and the moon and the stars light up so much more beautifully at night. It’s just that one day of all the many days she’s spent doing the same thing, she realizes how she has somehow begun a habit to window shop for stationery.

 

“I didn’t know you were into this kind of stuff, Jungie.” Jinsoul says. In her hand, a set of purple animal stickers Jungeun momentarily forgot to set aside while in a rush to head to the bathroom as soon as she got back to the dorm. The shorter blonde attempts to play it cool, dismissing the sudden racing of her heartbeat and covering herself up by running her hand through her hair and pretending to be preoccupied by the pile of socks lying on the floor beside Yerim’s bed whilst she replies. “Ah, it’s Jiwoo’s birthday soon. Couldn’t decide what to buy for her, so I thought I’d just pile stuff into a bundle of things she’d like.” Smooth. Real Smooth Jungeun.

 

“Ah. How cute.” Jinsoul then comments, her face glowing with her million-watt smile, which Jungeun doesn’t miss to catch. She watches the older one from across the room in slight awe. Sometimes, she forgets how she now shared a home with eleven doll-looking girls. Probably, if she wasn’t so absorbed in one person, she wouldn’t. “You guys are really cute.”

 

“Hm?” The remark catches her off-guard, her voice coming out a pitch higher than normal. Only a second later then, she realizes how she may have taken that a bit differently than what it was meant to mean. So, she clears , forcing her smile to shape into what she deems to be normal. Jinsoul doesn’t miss the little play pretend though, having been roommates with the other for a while now. Of course, she was bound to notice the change in behavior. She wasn’t granted the title of being one of the most caring unnies for nothing.

 

“And they say I’m the dumb blonde.” Jinsoul says with a chuckle dripped with endearment before her eyes shift back to the set of purple stickers in her hands, the tips of her fingers seemingly attracted to the penguin one that had a banner that says, “I love you”.

 

 

Jungeun really doesn’t recall how it started. When warmth explodes in her chest when she’s faced with a particular pair of brown eyes. When her gaze lingers just a bit longer, unable to tear away when they look back at her.

 

“Thank you, Jungeun.” Jiwoo says, in the middle of the shared silence between the two. The room was lit only by a small candle rested on top of a fairly sized cupcake, and Jungeun has a fleeting thought about how the yellow cast manages to magnify the beauty of her best friend. ‘When did she get so pretty?’ Jungeun inwardly asks as her eyes focuses on the other girl. There’s a nagging response in her head that talks about how Jiwoo has always been pretty since young. But she wonders if it was because of how she looked at her so differently these days.

 

Jungeun gets trapped into her own world without realizing, feeling and thinking of everything while being into everything that was Jiwoo. And the girl wonders from across her what had gotten her so quiet. Her best friend hasn’t been herself lately, though she can’t necessarily categorize it as a bad thing. Just, the Jungeun who’s been with her recently has gone sweeter. A puddle of mush with a sprinkle of a jittery mess. She’s also stripped a bit of her tsundere tendencies and has been more open to her transparency. Jiwoo thought it was cute, and though however obvious the implications are, she lets them sit at the tip of her tongue, never letting them in further yet. For how she wishes for every second to equal a year when it’s just the two of them.

 

For what seems to be half a minute already, Jungeun still doesn’t quite snap from her reverie. So, Jiwoo leans in, sneaking a quick peck to the blonde’s cheek.

 

“Wh-,” Much to no one’s surprise, it worked. But before Jungeun could even continue to react, her now conscious self is faced with a Jiwoo who already had her eyes closed to make her birthday wish. At this, the slightly older one chuckles, her gaze full of affection as she watches Jiwoo; Jiwoo, who despite had her eyes closed, couldn’t even fake an unaffected expression because ever since she stepped into the room to have their yearly ritual of celebrating birthdays with just the two of them, Jungeun has yet to vanquish the b warmth in her brown pools. Not that she was against it or anything, it was just that having subject to it sent her reeling and unable to focus into anything.

 

She almost forgets to actually make a wish, opting to close her eyes early just so to tease the other girl across her. But then, she feels a pair of lips brush and linger on her left cheek. She pauses. She completely failed to gauge what that would do to her in case it happened, for whatever it was that leaped in her chest after must have completely reflected on her face because she hears a small giggle before her. At this, Jiwoo, no matter how hard she tried to not sway from her meditation, opens her eyes once more and faces Jungeun. There, she makes her silent wish.

 

 

For the person I love to be always as happy, if not more, as today.

 

 

Jiwoo spots a sign of what might be Jungeun confessing to her, but words seemed to have caught in like the other day when she’d given her a set of purple animal stickers. So, instead, she just smiles whilst looking at her. And then, she blows out the light.

 

 

“I love you, Jiwoo.”

 

 

 

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A/N: "Chuulip nation rise!" I say as Chuuves watches me from a corner with a pickaxe. Anyway, thank you for reading up to this point! 'Til next time. Have a great day/night! —jiwoobit