"I'd marry you if I could," Bomi had said to an unnie on a show, purely as a compliment to the woman's cooking skills. 

Still, the bold statement couldn't hide the shyness in her soft voice. Someone might think she was being serious. 

Marriage.

Was it weird to be throwing around words for "marriage" now? It had really become a thing on her mind since the scars of her former lover. Bomi had been shaken by what happened, feeling a grudge against it, and now spoke about it almost meaninglessly. 

To get married...

Bomi couldn't help but yearn a little.

It was something to think about when getting into a relationship. Seeing a future with the person. 

Not just having a girlfriend, but maybe someday having a wife, a life-long partner.

Someone who's there through ups and downs, and looks past the money and fame. Someone you can count on to be there when everything else is lost and has fallen apart. Someone who knows you better than anyone else that it surprises you, and it takes your breath away. Someone who loves you for you. A real love. True love.

Bomi was a bit of a hopeless romantic at heart.

She had always been one for older women. She was an unnie pabo in that sense.

Someone who would look after her like a mother and love her as an equal. It would be even better if they could cook and clean... Not that Bomi wanted a maid, but she found such qualities attractive and sure to steal her heart. 

Wifey material was kind of her type. 

Bomi was just as guilty of that dream of waking up to a lover, in a home they can call their own, preparing sweet wafting aromas of breakfast together. It was that tranquil image of love, that feeling of contentment in even the littlest of things that you'd want to last forever. 

It was likely that special someone would be her opposite in terms of personality; someone to balance her out. Hmm, Bomi had a fondness for aegyo too. Someone who wouldn't be shy to act like a baby around her—that cuteness would get her attention. And Bomi wanted the kind of partner she could always learn from and make her strive to be a better person every day. 

However, most of all, Bomi wanted to marry a woman. It was just like her to spill the thought out loud back in the day.

But... that couldn't happen. Not in this country. Not in her shoes.

Not now... Not yet.

Only the future will tell. 

——

Around Bomi, Chorong would sometimes forget she was the leader. It was like her responsibilities were let go and her childish side would come out to play. The two turned into kindergarteners, sword fighting with their servings of chicken feet. 

The unnies had a strange way of playing. 

They also had no concept of personal space. Leaning in to each other, holding on to one another, sleeping together like two peas in a pod. 

One time, an impromptu staring contest started and they would try to get the other to lose by pulling funny faces and getting up close and personal. Their captured moments in public had nothing on this.

"Unnie, I'm going to win!"

"Just lose already, Bbom-ah."

Their noses were inches away from each other as they comically stared into each other's big eyes. It had never stopped them before.

"Ah the unnies are being weird again."

Chorong couldn't hold it anymore and she burst out laughing with her head tilted back, hand over . 

"I win!" Bomi cheered, shutting her eyes tightly to recover from their little competition.  

Faces were flushed like they had been drinking alcohol, but they were having a fun time together. That was all that mattered.

Oh, and don't forget those kisses! That was a game dominated by Bomi. The younger girl would never leave Chorong without a few every once in a while. The giddiness of it was like recharging her batteries.

Chu~ came Bomi's lips on Chorong's soft cheek. 

"Yah."

Chu~ There it was again as Chorong grumbled from her nap. 

"Yahh."

Chu~ Chu~

Bomi's lips moved higher up the girl's cheek before leaning in to kiss the tip of the leader's nose daringly, and Chorong's heart almost jumped out of her chest. 

"YAH!" Chorong found herself exploding in a first mode of defence. "Did I say you could do that??"

Bomi giggled watching her pink-faced leader rub her nose furiously. Chorong felt an irritable urge to get back at the younger girl for embarrassing her.

Yeah, that's what this feeling was. Embarrassment.

Before either of them knew it, Chorong had Bomi trapped against the wall like a cliché move in a drama. 

"...Whoa," Bomi exhaled.

Chorong instinctively swallowed at the sight of Bomi breathless in front of her.

"Unnie, that's so manly," the girl teased after getting over the initial shock of being pushed against the wall.

Chorong grunted, annoyed. Her cheeks burned like she was being humiliated, while her stomach flipped at the thought of what she was doing. The leader pecked Bomi's nose and subsequently left the room, trying to pretend she wasn't at all affected. She couldn't let Bomi have that satisfaction.

But Bomi was already smiling.

And her face was just as pink, if not more.

——

"Why aren't you dating Changsub oppa?"

"Mm?" came Chorong's curious response. "Because he's my friend. I don't like him like that." 

Bomi could only nod dumbly, being genuinely curious.

Chorong particularly had guy friends around her; the reason being because she grew up doing sports with a lot of guys, and that made her more comfortable making friends with guys than girls.

Changsub had been close with Chorong since their training years and, just like with Bomi, they also fit together very well. They were the kind of friends who couldn't meet often but would catch up like no time had passed when they did.

Bomi had many guy friends too, and too late did she realise it might be a stupid question, but the girl found an urge to ask the question anyway. 

"I don't really see him as a man," Chorong answered quite simply. Maybe more like a brother.

She then fired a question at Bomi cheekily. "And you? Why aren't you dating that guy? The one that confessed to you. He seemed really nice about it too."

Bomi looked at the older girl incredulously, like she was saying, Are you being serious right now?

Without the need to exchange any words, Chorong didn't bother to wipe the lazy grin that sprung on her face. 

"You like Jo In-sung~" she pointed out Bomi's one and only exception.

"Well, that's different!" 

"But if someone like him stepped into your life, would you consider it?"

Chorong snorted at Bomi's mixed expression, like the younger girl was actually contemplating it. "And what about those idol friends you have? Nana? Lizzy?" she added. 

"Eyy," Bomi's eyes narrowed, catching the teasing atmosphere. "You know it's difficult to know who I could possibly date. It's always been harder for me." 

Chorong nodded for her to go on, eyebrows going up in interest. 

Bomi's shoulders came up in a shrug, the action causing a little squeak of the desk chair she was sitting on. "Like, I can't throw myself into dating! When it comes to connecting with new people, I can't tell who likes girls, who's gay and who's not. Honestly, I think it's safer that I just stay here..." Bomi chuckled sheepishly. "And idols are difficult too. It would be easier to connect with the people already close to you..."

A smile came over Chorong despite herself, admiring how Bomi has clearly thought this through. She found it cool how mature the girl seemed sometimes, like when it came to relationships. Chorong was timid with meeting people and actually thought the same way.

With their deep conversations always feeling quite comfortable, Chorong was grateful that this heartfelt topic didn't seem to be any different. She fell back on the bed with a relaxed sigh.

"Bbom-ah, how was it like for you? Having someone, a girlfriend..." 

"O-Oh, I guess... uh.." Bomi cleared at the shift in topic. What was it like for her when she was dating? Well...

"I just... felt really happy and safe when I was with her. And that's all I needed. I thought she understood me and that felt enough," Bomi said, surprisingly honest with herself. "I would think about her.. at every other time of the day.. and it felt like something was missing when we were apart."

When she saw the leader looking at her with big eyes, Bomi released a chuckle. I was a girl in love. What can you do?

Revealing her mushy, sentimental side had Bomi feeling emotionally exposed. Her heartbeat thrummed in her ears. Thankfully, the older girl didn't seem to take notice of the anxious behaviour and warmly hummed in acknowledgement. 

Bomi could only thank the music they were listening to for making this feel less awkward for herself. After a pause, she mustered up some courage in front of her, watching Chorong doing leg warm-ups on the bed. 

"What about you, unnie?" she asked innocently. 

"I've been in relationships before—"

"No, I mean, love," Bomi spluttered all of a sudden, getting right to the point. "Have you ever been in love?"

She realised she'd never asked about it, since Chorong had always been goal-focused and occupied with the group. Chorong never really talked about dating unless it concerned the girls, but Bomi was growing more curious of it and she couldn't explain why. 

"Love?" the leader mumbled. "I guess... Being in love alone... I've only known love that was one-sided, whether it was me, or the guy—"

"You? One-sided?" Bomi frowned immediately, her words already spilling in defence before her mind could catch up. "How could someone not want to be with you? Unnie, you're the most amazing person I know... Any guy would be lucky to have you."

The leader was really blushing at the unexpected compliments.