Chapter Eight

Sweet Like Honey

A month passed easily and similarly, Joohyun continuing to give Seungwan rides to and from work. There was never mention of the accidental hand touching in Joohyun’s car that bitter cold October afternoon, and Seungwan preferred it that way. Seungwan loved her job and she did not want anything to mess it up for her, especially since now she was living more comfortably and had even begun writing music again in her free time. She had not picked up her guitar since she had been fired from the record shop, and it felt wonderful to have her inspiration for music back again. She and Yeri saw a lot of each other on weekends, usually going to get coffee or lunch. During the week, Seungwan saw a lot of Joohyun, who seemed to be staying at work less and looked less tired as of late. She felt that was in part due to the fact Joohyun had to leave the office promptly at five to drive Seungwan home, and she was glad some good was coming out of the ride ordeal. Thanksgiving was approaching with celerity, and it was made apparent to Seungwan everyday she went into the office that it was looming over them like a ticking time bomb. She hated the holidays meant to be spent with family, as she had not spoken to her family in nearly ten years. The holidays made her horribly sad, and she usually ignored them altogether when they rolled around.

 

    The day before Thanksgiving at the office, which was the last day in this particular work week since the employees were given Thursday and Friday off for the holiday, Seungwan heard everyone talking about their plans for the holiday as they were all preparing to leave. Yeri had bid everyone in the office a Happy Thanksgiving before going home early to help her mother start preparing the dinner for the next day. At five o’clock on the dot, Seulgi and Sooyoung both came from their offices and went to Joohyun’s as was their custom, so they could say goodbye.

 

    “Goodbye, Hyun.” Seulgi said brightly. “Have a good Thanksgiving!” Joohyun said nothing as far as Seungwan could hear from her desk, but she must have made some response as Seulgi continued, “What about your mom?” There was silence, though Seungwan figured Joohyun was murmuring a reply.

 

    “You can always come and celebrate with us, Joohyun unnie. We’d love to have you.” Sooyoung chimed in.

 

    Loud enough for Seungwan to hear, Joohyun said, “No, no, you two enjoy yourselves. I’ll be fine.” Sooyoung sighed, though Seulgi stayed silent.

 

    “Alright, well call us if you need us.” Seulgi finally said, sounding reluctant.

 

    “I’ll be fine.” Joohyun reiterated. Sooyoung and Seulgi both gave her quick hugs and then departed, wishing Seungwan well on their way out. Seungwan gave a soft sigh, watching the door fall shut and then beginning to pack up her things. She slung her bag over her shoulder and then slid on the black coat from Joohyun, which now felt familiar to her. She went to Joohyun’s office door, rapping her knuckles on it though it was open.

 

    “Are you ready to leave, Miss Bae?” Seungwan asked. This was their usual routine; Seungwan would go to Joohyun’s office, make sure she was ready to leave, which she always was. Today, though, she still sat peering over a document, round framed reading glasses perched on her nose.

 

    “Oh, yes, I’m sorry.” She said hurriedly, closing the file and sliding her glasses off. “Time slipped away from me.”

 

    “It’s okay.” Seungwan assured. “Gotta finish work before Thanksgiving break.” Joohyun gave her a half hearted smile as she slipped her own coat on.

 

    “I’ll still be working, just not here at the office.” She said.

 

    “You’re not celebrating Thanksgiving?” Seungwan asked, curious to know after hearing her boss’s conversation with Seulgi and Sooyoung.

 

    “I don’t have much family, so no I don’t really celebrate.” Joohyun answered, though it felt as if she was omitting some sort of truth. Seungwan did not press her further. “What will you be doing for Thanksgiving, Seungwan?”

 

They began walking towards the door as Seungwan answered, “I don’t talk to my family, so I’m not really celebrating either.”

 

“I’m sorry you don’t talk to them.” Joohyun’s voice was sincere. “That must be extremely difficult.”

 

“It was, at first.” Seungwan admitted quietly as they began descending the staircase. They stepped outside into the flurry of snowflakes as she continued, “It’s easier now that it’s been nearly ten years.” This was only half true; sometimes it was easy, other times Seungwan was terribly sad over the fact she had not spoken to or seen her family in so long.

 

They said nothing more on the topic until they were well on their way to Seungwan’s home. Joohyun murmured, “You’re so young to have nobody.”

 

“I don’t entirely have nobody.” Seungwan amended softly. “I have Yerim, and Miss Park and Miss Kang.” She paused for a moment. “And I have you.” Joohyun pulled into her normal parking spot in front of Seungwan’s apartment building.

 

“That you do.” She agreed, looking over at the younger woman. “Seungwan-ah?” She captured her attention. “Would you like to celebrate Thanksgiving together, since otherwise we’d both be alone?” Seungwan had not expected that, and it made her heart thrum nervously in her chest as she scoured her brain for a response.

 

“I...I would love to.” She said, tight.

 

Joohyun smiled warmly, her crooked smile that made Seungwan want to smile back. “Good. I’ll pick you up tomorrow, around five? Is that alright?”

 

“Yeah, that’s perfect.” Seungwan said, feeling almost dazed, like there was no way this could be real.

 

“Alright, well I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Joohyun affirmed. Seungwan nodded, opening her car door and slipping out carefully.

 

“See you tomorrow, Miss Bae. Drive safe.” She said, shutting the door and waving as Joohyun drove away.

 

~

 

    The following morning, Seungwan rushed to the store and bought ingredients to make pumpkin cake, which was an old family recipe she had kept when she moved away. She wanted to bring something to the dinner with Joohyun, as turning up empty handed would feel rude. She’d spent all morning preparing it and then spent the afternoon getting ready, putting on her nicest dress, which was a muted royal blue and fell just above her knees. She loosely curled her golden hair and arranged it so it fell evenly over her shoulders. Everything was prepared by four o’clock, and she spent the hour of downtime until Joohyun arrived pacing her apartment. Seungwan was incredibly nervous about this whole affair. She tried to remind herself it was just Joohyun, whom she saw everyday and spoke to quite regularly, but something about the prospect of entering the older woman’s home made this situation different.

 

    Joohyun’s silver car arrived in it’s normal spot right at five, and Seungwan took a deep breath before leaving her apartment. She locked the door, fixed her hair, and walked as calmly as possible down the steps while still being quick. The front door to her apartment complex was heavy, and it took all the strength in the arm not holding the tray of cake to manage to open it. Flurries of snow fell down around her, sticking to her hair, yet melting as soon as they hit the ground. Joohyun was sitting patiently in her car, and Seungwan smiled to herself at the sight. She went and opened the passenger side door, and settled into her seat, setting the foil covered plate of cake gently on her lap. Joohyun pulled back onto the road immediately and sped away, towards the main road into center city. Seungwan looked to her left, studying Joohyun closely. She wore a long black skirt and a pale, cream colored  sweater, her hair as it normally was, gleaming and long, falling over her shoulders messily. Seungwan thought she looked wonderful.

 

    “Happy Thanksgiving.” Joohyun said with a grin, looking cheerful.

 

    “Happy Thanksgiving!” Seungwan said back brightly, genuinely feeling happier than she had been on Thanksgiving in a long time. The snow began to come down in heavier torrents, making the city look as though it was moving into winter. The snow settled on the branches of trees and the tops of buildings, and Seungwan thought it looked almost like powdered sugar. She loved the snow, had ever since she was a child. Sledding, ice skating, and skiing were her favorite parts of childhood. It had been a long time since she had participated in any winter sports.

 

Seungwan was drawn from her musings as Joohyun to a residential road in center city unfamiliar to Seungwan. It was filled with duplex apartments, larger than the apartment buildings in Seungwan’s neighborhood. Each building was split into two apartments, each with its own garage. A ways down the road, Joohyun pulled into one of the driveways, pressing a button on her car control panel and the leftmost garage opened up. She pulled her car in carefully and pressed the button again so the door would shut behind them. “Well here we are.” Joohyun gave Seungwan a small smile. “The door leading into the house should be unlocked, go ahead in.”

 

They both got out of the car and Seungwan lingered by the door, feeling awkward going in before Joohyun. Joohyun pushed the door open and went in, Seungwan following, peering around at her boss’s apartment. It was neat and orderly, as Seungwan had expected it to be. The door from the garage led into the kitchen, which was open to the living room; both were comfortably sized without being too small. There were many bookshelves in the living room, which were filled totally, and pictures hung on the walls. There was a wooden staircase a few steps into the living room, which Seungwan assumed led to the bedrooms and bathroom. The kitchen was warmly lit and the table set off to the side already had napkins and cutlery on it.

 

“Your apartment is really nice.” Seungwan commented, wanting to retain every detail she could get her eyes on.

 

“Thank you, Seungwan-ah.” Joohyun said, going and hanging her purse on the coat rack by the front door. “Come on in, you can sit anywhere you like.” She herself went into the living room and flicked a lamp on. “I got a very small, pre sliced turkey from the store and it’s still in the oven, so we have a bit of time.” Her eyes landed on the plate in Seungwan’s hands and they widened, as though she hadn’t noticed it before. “Oh, you brought something? You’re a sweetheart.” Seungwan’s cheeks heated at the comment. Joohyun went back over to her and continued, “Do I need to refrigerate it?”

 

“Probably.” Seungwan said with a soft laugh. Joohyun took it from her hands and went and put it in the fridge. “It’s pumpkin cake, an old family recipe. We had it every year for Thanksgiving when I was a kid.”

 

Joohyun smiled warmly. “I’m excited to try some.” Seungwan smiled back easily. “Come on into the living room, we can sit there and wait for the turkey.” Seungwan obliged, following Joohyun to the couch. They sat on the same couch, a fair distance between them. Seungwan’s eyes drifted over the living room again, seeing many pictures of the same young girls together, though she wasn’t sure who the girls were.

 

“Who are all your pictures of?” Seungwan asked.

 

“Seulgi and myself, when we were children.” Joohyun answered. Seungwan’s expression must have given away her shock, because Joohyun chuckled as she continued on. “We’ve been friends since first grade, we basically grew up like siblings.”

 

“Wow, that’s really cool.” Seungwan said. She had no friends left from her life before college, and though it may be for the better the idea of counting on the same person for so long sounded appealing to her. “When did you guys meet Miss Park?”

 

“In law school.” Joohyun said, her voice more relaxed than Seungwan had ever heard it. “She graduated a few years after Seulgi and I did, and we told her our idea of starting a firm together. She was totally on board to work for us and told us she would always support us, she was a big reason we even decided to follow through with the idea.” She had a fond look in her eye at the memories of starting their firm.

 

“That’s really amazing, how close you all are.” Seungwan commented, looking again to the pictures of Joohyun and Seulgi as young children. It was easy now to identify which one was Joohyun, her smile crooked even at six years old. “Are Miss Kang and Miss Park spending Thanksgiving together?” She asked.

 

“Yes, they do every year.” Joohyun told her.

 

“Why only the two of them and not you as well?” Seungwan went on. Joohyun laughed a little and Seungwan furrowed her brow, confused.

 

“I thought you- You don’t know, do you?” Joohyun kept giggling softly, hiding the sound behind her hand, amused at something unbeknownst to Seungwan. “The two of them are dating, so I would feel odd intruding on their holiday together.”

 

“Wait, Miss Kang and Miss Park are like...together?” Seungwan asked incredulously. She could hardly believe it, though now she knew things made much more sense, like how they always seemed to arrive and depart at the same time.

 

“You don’t...have a problem with that, do you?” Joohyun’s voice suddenly sounded meek and timid, like she was afraid of the answer.

 

“Oh, oh god no.” Seungwan hurried to explain. “I’m just shocked is all.” She let out a nervous breath. “I’m gay myself, so I definitely don’t have an issue with it.” The words came out without much thought, and Seungwan regretted it. Joohyun looked at her suddenly and she felt odd under her boss’s gaze. She hadn’t been planning on bringing the gay thing up to Joohyun, since it didn’t seem to matter and she’d never found the right time, but the words had bubbled out without Seungwan’s permission. She did not fear being fired, as Joohyun was obviously okay with it, though she could not understand why Joohyun was looking at her so oddly after the admission.

 

“I didn’t know that about you, but I’m glad you trust me enough to tell me.” Joohyun said finally. “You’ll have to tell Seulgi and Sooyoung, they’ll be overjoyed there’s another gay person in the office.” Seungwan laughed at that, which pulled a smile from Joohyun.

 

“Is Yeri gay too?” Seungwan asked, almost joking, but Joohyun nodded. “Damn, that’s a lot of gay people in one place.”

 

Joohyun chuckled, shaking her head a little. “Sooyoung always jokes that I’m outnumbered.”

 

“Hold on, you work with entirely gay people and you’re straight?” Seungwan said, disbelief evident in her voice. “I don’t buy that.”  

 

“You sound like Sooyoung.” Joohyun commented, though she sounded a bit off, different than she had before. Seungwan felt her heart sink, wondering if something she had said was what upset Joohyun. The oven beeped loudly from the kitchen and Joohyun jumped up, going to the kitchen without another word. Seungwan followed her, confused by her sudden change in demeanor. Joohyun didn’t speak as she took the turkey from the oven, setting it on the counter and going to the fridge and pulling out two pans to slide in the oven to reheat the food inside them. “Thank you for coming tonight, Seungwan-ah. I’d be terribly lonely if you weren’t here.”

 

“Thank you for having me, Miss Bae.” Seungwan said, moving closer to the other woman’s side, wanting to be near her. The whole apartment smelled faintly of the same lavender scent Joohyun’s black coat that Seungwan had taken had originally smelled like. Seungwan had found herself missing the smell, the delicate lavender scent had comforted her when it was bitterly cold and dreary outside, and it had reminded her of Joohyun even when she was not with the woman.

 

“You don’t have to be so formal tonight.” The older woman amended as she set the tray of turkey on the table as it had cooled slightly. “You can just call me Joohyun.”

 

“Alright, Joohyun it is then.” Seungwan said, trying out the woman’s name with a smile playing on her lips.

 

Soon after that the other trays of food, which held mashed potatoes and green bean casserole, joined the turkey on the table. Joohyun also went to get a bottle of red wine and proceeded to pour both of them a glass. They sat opposite each other and began their meal easily, keeping up simple conversation. Seungwan loved talking to Joohyun, loved learning more about her, loved hearing her warm, quiet voice that seemed to make Seungwan’s stomach do somersaults.

 

“So tell me,” Joohyun started, holding the stem of her wine glass between her fingers delicately. “What made you move to such a big city?”

 

“Well, my parents had disowned me.” Seungwan started, knowing she would usually feel ashamed of this story, but when it was Joohyun things were different. She knew Joohyun would never judge her or think poorly of her. She trusted Joohyun implicitly. “So I moved as far away as I possibly could. I haven’t been back to my hometown since I left.”

 

“Do you miss it?” Joohyun inquired in her gentle manner.

 

“Sometimes.” Seungwan was honest. “But now that I have good friends and a good job in the city I miss it less.”

 

“That’s good.” Joohyun said softly, sipping her wine. They continued their meal in silence for a few moments, and then Joohyun’s phone rang from its place at the end of the table. The caller ID read Mother and Joohyun reached over and hit Decline. The phone rang again a moment later and she hit Decline in a more forceful way than before, as though that finalized it.

 

“You can take that, Joohyun.” Seungwan murmured, the less formal name feeling foreign on her tongue. “I don’t mind.” She liked using her boss’s first name, liked feeling more like friends than employee and employer. Joohyun’s name suited her in a way Seungwan couldn’t totally describe.

 

“No, it would be rude of me when I have a guest over.” Joohyun said. “And I much prefer talking to you.” Seungwan smiled in a shy way, her cheeks rosy.

 

“Why didn’t you spend Thanksgiving with your mom?” Seungwan took a chance asking such a personal question.

 

“We get along much better at a distance.” Joohyun explained. “She doesn’t agree with my professional decision to start my own firm, or with my choice in friends.” Seungwan raised her eyebrows, asking a silent question that Joohyun answered with, “She doesn’t like that Sooyoung and Seulgi are romantically involved.”

 

“Oh.” Was all Seungwan replied with, a sour taste in . She had a million questions swirling in her mind about Joohyun’s family life that she knew would be inappropriate to ask but still burned a hole in her mind.

 

“Anyways.” Joohyun steered the conversation elsewhere. “Let’s talk about something more cheerful. What are you thankful for this year, Seungwan-ah?”

 

“My job.” Seungwan answered truthfully. “Yeri, Miss Park and Miss Kang.” A soft glance was exchanged between them, Seungwan memorizing the exact color of Joohyun’s eyes in the warm light of the kitchen. “You.” She finished quietly. Joohyun gave a gentle, almost hesitant smile. “If you weren’t so kind to me I would have things much harder.”

 

“You deserve all the kindness in the world.” Joohyun murmured, her eyes still resting on Seungwan’s face, making her feel warm all over. Seungwan thought for half a second about what it might be like to kiss Joohyun, to know what her gentle, sweet looking lips would feel like, but she dismissed the thought quickly. Must just be the wine. She thought to herself as they continued talking into the night.

 

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
WluvsBaetokki #1
Chapter 25: Idk how many times I've reread this but it still gives me the tingles... I LOVE iT!
shadowhunter1640 #2
Chapter 2: Something definitely happened in that record shop.
And the mystery of J's family???
shadowhunter1640 #3
Chapter 1: Chapter 1: If i have this kind of boss, i'll never take a leave ever. Buuut. The biggest question could be seen in bold letters. J must be having something for S.

I love it, i'm so intrigued from the moment I introduced S to everyone, much more when she offered her coffee!?!

I want to read this in one go but my time's tight with work so i'll definitely savor each chapter. Thank you author for making this story. I'm sure it'll be a great one. I saw this link in one of my fav apps and i'm glad i did.
hiyerimie
27 streak #4
Chapter 6: I just read this story and have a little theory. Is it possible that Joohyun has known Seungwan for a long time?
Hyuntokki_
#5
Chapter 25: I've finished this story in one sitting...and I've never felt some electric bolt rushing to me as I go through every chapter huhu! It's too wholesome that even I, at least want what Joohyun and Seungwan's have. It's been a rollercoaster ride for me these days, but thanks to this story. My day have never been felt any better :)) thank you for this story author! You made my day :)

(Even though I'm late reading it)
Wenrenesoyaaa #6
Chapter 1: I love the tension ig? The smooth touchs my fav im having good feeling about this fic and it’s totally my type thanks in advance
EzraSeige
#7
🥰❤💙
Raz_99
#8
Chapter 25: This is Beautiful 😍😍😍
Mina_De_Light93
#9
Chapter 1: Oh man! I'm getting started to feel this WenRene hot session. WenRene fanfic is totally hot and not to mention hardcore which makes my fangirl aura go lesbian.
Vicheca
#10
Chapter 25: Read this again. Beautiful