“Jjoyul, I’m heading out!” Yena shouts as she makes her way towards the their hotel room door.

Yuri is sitting on her bed, using her iPad. She looks up from the device and smiles at Yena, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Okay, stay safe.”

IZ*ONE are back in Japan once again in order to properly prepare for their Japanese debut. Nerves are high, and their schedules are hectic, but from time to time, the company allows them have a day  or two off to de-stress and relax. 

The girls are grateful as on top of being able to enjoy themselves and do whatever they want, they’ve also got the opportunity to meet up with friends they’ve dearly missed from their time in Produce 48. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us? I’m sure Miru-unnie and Juri-unnie won’t mind and- and Hyewon and Yujin will be there too.” Yena pouts, sitting at the foot of the younger girl’s bed.

“I’m fine here, unnie. Go have fun.” Yuri forces a chuckle, urging the girl to leave. “Yujin and Hyewon-unnie are already waiting for you at the lobby.” 

The older girl pouts even more, letting out a sigh of defeat a few moments later. “... Okay, fine.” she stands up, facing Yuri. “Go and see if the other girls are in their rooms, alright? I don’t want you to be alone in here...” 

The younger girl mumbles an ‘Okay’ as Yena locks her in a tight embrace and messes up her hair with a teasing chuckle. Yuri lets out a sound of protest and glares at the older girl, though she’s not anywhere near annoyed. It’s her Yena-unnie after all. 

“Hehe, I’ll see you later, Yul.” Yena pecks her on the cheek quickly, and leaves the room with a small wave.

Yuri is left alone. 

She collapses back onto her bed, and looks up at the ceiling. Her hand reaches up to the cheek that Yena kissed, and closes her eyes with a sigh. 

“Unnie, really... What are you doing to me?”

——

“Yena! What took you so long?” Yujin exclaims as she sees her unnie step out of the elevator and walk towards them.

“Watch your mouth, puppy. That’s unnie to you.” Yena glares, but in a joking way. She knows Yujin loves to rile her unnies up, and one of her most common tactics is dropping formalities. 

Yujin sticks her tongue out, but then, asks seriously. “But really, unnie. Hyewon-unnie and I have been waiting here for like, 20 minutes. Were you constipated or something?”

Hyewon suddenly steps up and hits the back of the maknae’s head. “Don’t mention constipation while I’m eating, stupid.” she says in a monotone voice, taking a bite of her chocolate cookie. She then turns towards Yena, waiting for a response. “So?” 

“Oh, uh... I tried to convince Yuri to join us. She didn’t want to though.” Yena shrugs, pouting out her duck lips once again. “I don’t understand why... We’re all friends! Plus, Yuri was in Short Hair with Juri-unnie back then too...“

Yujin and Hyewon are quiet for a while, catching each other’s eye.

Was Yena really that dense? 

The maknae then looks at her sulking unnie, before letting out a sudden laugh. “Of course, she wouldn’t want to! Ah, unnie, you’re so clueless...” 

Hyewon nods and hums in agreement, before checking her wristwatch. “Oh, we’re gonna be late! We better go.” she leads the way to the hotel’s exit, with Yujin following her footsteps.

Yena is confused. “Wha- Hey! What do you mean? Hey, wait for me!”

——

“Wow, Yena really doesn’t know?” Sakura leans back on her swivel chair and looks towards her visitor. 

“Yeah, I thought I’ve been really obvious...” Yuri pouts, with her back laid back on the bed’s headboard.

Sakura and Yuri may seem like they don’t have much common, but they’ve really bonded a lot because they were both introverts who’d rather stay at the dorms than go out with their friends.

“She’s really confusing too... Like does she? Does she not? She tells me she doesn’t want me to be alone... but she goes out on dates with Juri-unnie though...” she whispers the last bit, grabbing the pillow next to her and buries her face into it in frustration, collapsing down onto the bed with a groan.

Sakura could only smile at the young girl. She stands up and sits by Yuri, taking the pillow off of her gently and chuckles seeing how disheveled she looks. “Come. Sit up.” 

The younger girl obeys and sits up silently, allowing Sakura to fix her hair. “You know Yucchan, it’ll be really stupid of Yena not to like you back.” the older girl says as she tucks a lock of hair behind Yuri’s ear. 

“Really?” the brunette murmurs, looking down and playing with her fingers.

“You’re so cute, and your voice is so pretty... I think you have nothing to worry about.” Sakura grins, and takes her dongsaeng’s hands in hers. “So stop worrying, okay?”

“... Okay.” Yuri smiles back and squeezes her unnie’s hands. “Thank you, Sacchan.”

“But if Yena makes you cry...” Sakura, unable to express how she feels in Korean, forms a fist with her right hand and punches her left palm. “Happy Yucchan is the best Yucchan so... Yena should only make you happy.”

Yuri just laughs. 

She really didn’t want to wake up one day and hear that Sakura’s beaten up Yena.

——

“Yena, are you okay? You’ve been spacing out all day...” Juri asks worriedly. Yena’s been quiet - which is very unusual. 

“... Oh, I’m okay, I’m okay.” Yena chuckles, scratching the back of her head. “Sorry, it’s just... I’ve been thinking about a lot of things.”

“Is it Yuri? You haven’t talked about her much today. You usually can’t shut up about her.” Juri teases, raising her eyebrows at her friend and poking her side.

A blush creeps up Yena’s cheeks, and she sputters in defense. “Wh-what are you talking about? Unnie!” she whines with a pout, crossing her arms.

“Ah, Yena... So cute.” The Japanese girl giggles, shaking her head.

“Now, tell me. When are you planning on telling Yuri you’ve liked her all this time?”

——

It‘s late.

Yena got bit carried away, telling Juri all about Yuri and what they’re doing and her feelings and how they were, that she didn’t even realise what time it was.

Hyewon and Yujin had gone home earlier, and Miru had an evening arrangement she had to leave for, so it was just Juri and Yena for the rest of that night.

Yena takes a deep breath and walks through the hallway, towards their hotel room.

She scans the card key and opens the door.

Yuri wasn’t there.

So she did spend the day with another member. Good. Yena closes the door again, proceeds to knock on the other members’ doors, in an attempt to find her roommate. 

She wasn’t in Minju and Chaewon’s room.

Not in Eunbi and Nako’s too.

Yena was positive she’ll be in Wonyoung and Hiichan’s room.

But she wasn’t there too.

She then finally knocks on Chaeyeon and Sakura’s door, and as Chaeyeon opens it, she catches a glimpse of Yuri, fast asleep and tucked into one of the beds.

“So this is where she went...” Yena murmurs to herself.

“Yeah, I’ve been out the whole day too. Kkura-chan’s been with her.” Chaeyeon then excuses herself, saying that she needed to head out and get something from the convenience store and that Sakura’s inside the room.

As if on queue, Sakura appears and smiles as she sees Yena. 

“Oh, you’re back! Yuri fell asleep waiting for you.” She gestures towards the younger girl on the bed behind her. “Hyewon and Yujin got back before dinner time. Where did you go?”

“Ah, sorry... I just lost track of time catching up with Juri-unnie.” Yena scratches the back of her neck. Sakura gaze hardens as she hears this, her smile dropping slightly.

Yena feels a slight chill. Why was there a sudden change in atmosphere?

“Had fun?” Sakura asks shortly.

Yena, for the nth time that day, is confused. Just a moment ago, the older girl was smiling at her, and now, she’s suddenly being short and cold to her. Strange.

“Uh, yeah. It was great seeing Juri-unnie and Miru-unnie again.” she nods slowly, looking carefully at Sakura.

“... Yena-unnie?” They hear a husky, just-woke-up voice coming from the bed.

Yena grins widely as she sees Yuri wake up. She’s so cute. “Hey, Yul.”

Yuri sits up, looks right into her favorite unnie’s eyes and yawns with a small smile. “Welcome back.” 

Yena feels like her heart is going to burst out of her chest. Too cute.

“Sorry, we woke you up, Yucchan.” Sakura smiles apologetically.

“No, no. It’s okay. About time I go back to our room anyway.” Yuri stands up and makes her way towards the door. She takes Sakura’s hands in hers and pulls her in for a hug. “Thank you for today, Sacchan.”

Yena watches on. When did Sakura and Yuri get this close? And why is Sakura glaring at her as she hugs Yuri?

She’s confused. Again.

“Let’s go, unnie.” Yuri pulls away from Sakura and grabs Yena’s hand. “Good night!” 

Sakura smiles wide, and waves them goodbye. She closes the door and sighs deeply. 

Yena‘s really lucky Yuri suddenly woke up.

——

“So, what did you do today?” Yuri asks as they enter their hotel room.

“The unnies showed us around. It was fun.”

“Hyewon-unnie and Yujin were back in time for dinner. Where did you go?” Yuri pouts, sitting back down on the side of her bed, facing her unnie.

Yena doesn’t know why she’s so hesitant to respond to Yuri’s question. It’s not like she did anything wrong - why does she feel like she did?

“Ah, Juri-unnie... We caught up a bit more.” Yena replies truthfully, sitting on the side of her own bed too, facing Yuri as well. She tries her best not to notice the younger girl physically deflate at her response.

“... Oh.” Yuri tries her best to smile. “I hope you had fun. It’s been a while.” 

“Yeah, it has been a while...” Yena nods, biting her bottom lip. 

Then, there was silence.

Uncomfortable, awkward, deafening silence.

Yena doesn’t like it at all. She’s never awkward with Yuri. In fact, she’s gotten along the most with her.

“Uh, unnie.” Yuri suddenly calls out. 

“Yeah?”

“It’s... it’s getting late... We should go to sleep.” she avoids eye contact with Yena, and turns her back to the girl, moving to slip into her own bed.

‘Stupid, stupid...’ Yena thinks to herself, watching as Yuri reaches out from beneath her sheets and turns off the lamp on her side of the room.

She sighs in defeat, and slips into her own bed, turning off the lamp on her side of the room as well.

‘Tomorrow,’ she thinks. ‘I’ll talk to her tomorrow.’

——-

Yena can’t tell how long she’s been looking at the ceiling. She couldn’t sleep at all.

It’s probably around 2am in the morning, and she just can’t get what happened last night out of her head.

Why did Yuri react like that when she found out she’d stayed longer with Juri? Why was there a sudden shift in mood?

She couldn’t take it anymore. She knew things has to be resolved before she could get any proper sleep. They had nonstop schedules the following day too. On top of giving her mind and her heart a peace of mind, she needed rest as well.

Yena’s liked Yuri since Produce 48. Intrigued from the moment the younger girl sang ‘Chewing Gum’ during the company evaluations. It’s the reason why Yuri’s the one she chose to approach first among all the other girls during their practise for the Nekkoya evaluation. 

Yena couldn’t get her out of her head, and it remains that way until present. She just... she can’t tell if she feels the same way, and it frightens her, knowing herself and how fragile her heart is. 

What happened the night before gave her a bit of hope though. Yuri wouldn’t react like that if she wasn’t affected with the fact that Yena spent the evening with Juri. 

She knows she needs to take a risk, because it really is a long time coming already. 

“... Jjoyul? Are you awake?” Yena calls out, carefully slipping out of her bed and moving to sit on the side of Yuri’s bed.

Fortunately, she’s fast asleep.

Yena thinks ‘fortunately’ because then, she could admire the girl she’s liked for so long in her sleep. She’s cuter and looks even more like a puppy, and Yena’s afraid her heart might burst out of her chest again.

She reaches down and tucks a lock of hair behind Yuri’s ear. “Yuri-ya...“ she whispers softly, gently rubbing her thumb along her cheek, coaxing her to awake. “Yuri, wake up... I think we need to talk...” 

Yuri opens her eyes a few moments later, and looks up, surprised to see Yena sitting by her. “Yena-unnie?” she murmurs, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she moves to sit up. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Sort of? Kind of?” Yena chuckles, urging the girl to move over so she can slip into the bed next to her. “I couldn’t sleep.” she says finally, looking over towards the younger girl.

“Why?” Yuri questions. She’s still avoiding Yena’s eyes, and there’s quite a bit of space between her and the older girl.

Yena’s noticed, of course.

And so, she puts her arm around the younger girl and pulls her down towards her on the bed.

Yuri is flustered. She can’t move. Yena is hugging her. She is literally on top of the older girl, with Yena’s arms around her neck. Yuri’s eyes are slightly widened, a blush on her cheeks. “U-unnie”?

On the other hand, Yena is equally as flustered. She can’t believe she’s got Yuri in her arms, and she can’t believe she pulled such a confident act without having that level of confidence at all.

Yuri’s not pulling away though, so that’s a good sign. “You... you wouldn’t look at me last night so... “ Yena sighs, burying her face in Yuri’s hair in slight embarrassment.

Yuri stays quiet at this, remembering the events of the day before. 

“I’m sorry, I haven’t really thought through what I’m gonna say...” Yena laughs nervously. “But I really don’t like it when things are weird and awkward between us, Yul...” she murmurs softly.

“... Me too.” Yuri agrees. 

“Yuri... I-I think you need to know that...” Yena starts, not knowing how to confess at all.

Yuri feels like she knows what Yena’s going to tell her.

“You need to know that...” Yena continues, but she then feels a slight wetness on her neck, and hears a little sob escaping the younger girl’s lips. “W-wah, Yul? Yuri! Why are you crying?” 

Yena panics. She didn’t imagine something like this would happened.

“J-just say it...” Yuri whispers, burying her face further into the crook of Yena’s neck. “Just say it so I can move on...”

“Yuri... Yuri, what are you talking about?” Yena pulls back, confused, her heartbreaking at the sight of her love’s tear-streaked face. She brushes her tears away with her thumb.

“Y-you’re dating Juri-unnie, right?” Yuri looks down, and plays with her fingers. “You’re always going out with her whenever we’re in Japan and-and I watched Produce too and you two were inseparable...” 

Yena looks at Yuri like she’s crazy for a while, before letting out a chuckle. 

“Ah, Jjoyul... You’re so cute...” Yena cups Yuri’s cheeks and brushes the stray tears away as the other girl reasons this and that as to why she thinks Juri and Yena are dating.

“Yuri...” she finally interrupts the girl. “I’m not dating Juri-unnie. What are you talking about?”

Yuri is baffled. They weren’t dating?

“I...” Yena starts, tucking a lock of hair behind the younger girl’s ear, looking into her eyes. “like someone else. Like, a lot, a lot.”

“... Oh.” Yuri lets out a breath. So she was wrong? “Who?” she asks, embarrassed, trying to avoid the older girl’s eyes, but couldn’t because she keeps following her gaze.

“I wonder...” Yena smiles, cupping Yuri’s cheek. “... why you’d need to move on.”

Yuri blushes. She did say that, didn’t she?

“What if I ask you not to? Is that okay?” Yena murmurs softly, not taking her eyes off of the other girl.

“... Unnie, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying exactly what you think I’m saying.”

“What-“

“Yul, I like you.” 

That shuts Yuri up. She blindly reaches out to open the lamp on her side of the room. She needs to see Yena clearly.

Suddenly, there is light. Yuri sees Yena’s nervous yet expectant face clearer.

She laughs.

Yena is confused. She was being sincere, and she laughs?

“Unnie, you don’t have to look so nervous...” Yuri smiles, sitting up and pulling the girl along with her.

Oh, but she is. Yena’s nerves are on a high at that particular moment, Yuri’s hands are on her arms and she’s distracted.

“Say it again.” Yuri says, now that they’re sitting across from each other with the lights.

“Jo Yuri, you have no idea how much I like you.” Yena replies without a beat. She’s got nothing to be afraid of now.

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Yuri sighs out, looking into Yena’s eyes.

“Me too.” the older girl chuckles, reaching for the younger’s hands. “Do you like me, Yul?”

“... I thought I was being obvious.” 

“But do you like me?”

“I do... like you.” Yuri confesses, shyly.

Yena grins in satisfaction, moving to wrap her arms around the younger girl, who accepts the hug happily.

——

And as Yuri and Yena lay in their respective beds that night, they they know that tomorrow would be a new start for both of them now that both parties are aware that their feelings were mutual.

Nothing would be able to hold them back.

Except maybe, that overprotective Japanese older sister sleeping soundly a few doors down.