14 days until SolsticeFest. Not that Sooyoung’s keeping count.

Her? Excited for an overrated event where blue-clad throngs of her university’s best and brightest take to campus in a ritual of ultimate summer closers, beer, and school spirit? No way.

Sooyoung remains adamant about her too-cool-for-the-fair attitude and can’t be bothered to pay attention to anything related to it, but she no longer minds lending Jiwoo an ear whenever she raves about it.

Maybe because it’s the easiest way to get Jiwoo grinning from ear to ear.

But lately, she’s been trying other tactics. Keen on keeping Jiwoo in high spirits, Sooyoung has made it a goal to make her smile more often. Operation Jiwoobilation, as she calls it, OJ for short. Get it? A portmanteau of ‘Jiwoo’ and ‘jubilation’? Wow, so clever, Sooyoung.

(Okay, maybe she spent thirty minutes clicking around an English dictionary website for J words until she wounded up with ‘jubilation’, but nevertheless, Sooyoung thinks she’s an absolute genius sometimes, gifted with ingenious wit…)

Moving on, Sooyoung’s tackling an elaborately brainstormed course of action (for once, she tames her impulsivity) that begins with a trip to the aquarium because who doesn’t like colourful fishies?

Jiwoo’s billion-kilowatt smile shines brighter than the flash that comes from Sooyoung’s phone as she snaps her photo.

So far, so good.

She pets the penguin on top of its head and it waddles happily like it’s been touched by a golden palm. Goodness, even animals love Jiwoo. She’s basically a Disney princess. Can this girl do no wrong?

Sooyoung hasn’t stopped smiling all afternoon. A happy Jiwoo means a happy Sooyoung. In this sense, OJ’s a win-win for everyone. The entire day, she’s felt like she’s been soaring through the sky.

The aquarium date was ongoing under the guise of a totally-chill-and-platonic-hangout/fake-dating-practice.

(Sooyoung imagined getting rebuffed in the most roundabout, most humiliating, most disappointing way: "would you like to go to the aquarium?" to which Jiwoo would go, "you mean like...with everyone...?" No, Jiwoo, just us two- "The others said they wanted to go too. Uh, let's go with everyone.")

Just her and Jiwoo, alone, enjoying each other’s company. It also meant that whatever they did wasn’t done for an audience to see; Sooyoung freely looped their arms, tucked a strand behind Jiwoo’s ear, brushed her hand, and looked at her like she hung the moon – and not because Jungeun’s watching, or Chaewon dared her to.

Genuine actions, no ulterior motives besides making Jiwoo happy!

Okay, maybe ‘I’m Doing This Because I Also Want You To Understand That I Like You Very, Very Much Without Me Having To Say It Out Loud’ is an ulterior motive.

But hey, it comes from the heart.

With Jungeun really being the only person they need to keep up the act for, they don’t have much incentive to keep acting like a couple without her around. Except they’re so used to it, it’s become second nature, much to Sooyoung’s delight, of course.

“This was fun!” Jiwoo exclaims, “I’m really glad you took me here today.”

Sooyoung lights up. “Really?”

“I’ve never been here before,” Jiwoo says with a nod, “but I’ve always wanted to.”

“Well, I’m glad I fulfilled your wish. You got any left? I’ll make all of them come true.”

Jiwoo giggles as she narrows her eyes. “Please, you can’t possibly fulfill all of them.”

“I would try.” And Sooyoung holds back from telling her that she would seriously bend over backwards to pull it off. OJ requires 100% commitment after all. 

Suddenly, Jiwoo’s grin softens into a smaller smile and she looks at Sooyoung with that curious innocence of hers, absent of any guile, those eyes that resemble twinkling stars. It’s the same look that just turns Sooyoung into jelly, melting insides and swirling thoughts.

“Why?”

Sooyoung raises a brow at her sudden question.

“You’d do that for me?” Jiwoo prods.

“Sure,” Sooyoung says with a shrug, everything inside her reminding her to act chill, “why wouldn’t I?”

“I think the better question is why would you,” Jiwoo counters, the soft smile still playing on her lips.

“Because I want to.”

Maybe Jiwoo doesn’t believe it, but she can be (she is) someone worth going to the ends of the earth for. Sooyoung believes it wholeheartedly and she almost wants to grab Jiwoo’s shoulders, shake her and yell at her how worthy she is.

Sooyoung should just say it how it is: 'I’d do anything for you'

(…in fact, I made it my mission to maintain your happiness. It’s called Operatioon Jiwoobilation, OJ for short, as in your pretty name and the English word ‘jubilation’ put toge-)

“I want to grant your wishes too,” Jiwoo says after a short contemplative moment.

Sooyoung gives her a light chuckle in response. “Yeah? Should we just be each other’s genie?”

“Yes,” Jiwoo says resolutely, “I’m being serious!”

“And why would you do that for me?”

“You’ve done so much for me, I want to repay you.”

“Dummy, you already pay me for everything I do,” Sooyoung says.

She refrains from telling Jiwoo that she hasn’t been spending much of the money she's gotten for this whole ‘fake girlfriend’ service, except to help pay the bills. She started feeling bad about taking money from the girl, considering she’d clear her schedule and spend an entire day with Jiwoo for free.

Somewhere along the way, probably when her feelings were no longer pretend, Sooyoung stopped seeing it as salary; she began tucking it into a piggy bank with full intentions of giving it back to Jiwoo one day. Preferably after one of them confesses to each other and they’re living a happy dating life, far off enough that Jiwoo can take it back without guilt for using her time.

That’s mostly just Sooyoung being idealistic though.

But she’ll give all of it back, relationship or not.

“You don’t have to grant any of my wishes,” Sooyoung tells her honestly. Jiwoo being here with her already fulfills so many of them, but she keeps that to herself. “Especially if it’s only because you think you need to.” 

Jiwoo’s eyebrows knit subtlely. “No, not that. I want to.”

“No, you don’t.” Sooyoung narrows her eyes suspiciously as amusement tugs at her lips.

Jiwoo suddenly reaches for her hand. “I totally do! If someone like me should get their wishes granted, then someone like you should too.”

Alright, that doesn’t even make sense to Sooyoung.

Jiwoo’s wishes should be granted because her smile is a cure-all for any affliction, contagious enough to completely eradicate anyone’s gloom at the first appearance of her pearly whites. They should be granted because anyone as bright and kindhearted as her deserves every good thing the world could offer them. She's 'a love worth dying for' , or something painfully cheesy like that.  

Sooyoung, on the other hand…Sooyoung’s just Sooyoung. Sure, she’s got an inflated ego and believes she’s perfectly capable of achieving anything, but that’s why Sooyoung thinks she can grant her own wishes. She doesn’t feel deserving of someone else granting them for her, though. She may be narcissistic, but she isn't entitled.

Her reservations must’ve accidentally flashed on her face because Jiwoo notices it. “Stop that,” she suddenly warns.  

Sooyoung blinks. “Stop what?”

“Stop whatever you’re thinking.”

“…I’m not thinking anything.”

Jiwoo purses her lips. “You don’t believe me when I say I want to grant your wishes.”

Curse Jiwoo and her friends and their damn intuition. Is this what they do at their sleepovers? Hone their sixth sense? Is Chaewon teaching them the art of telepathy?

“Alright, maybe, not really,” Sooyoung fesses up. Might as well admit it since these freshmen always see right through her.

“Can’t you have a little faith in me sometimes?” Jiwoo asks and when Sooyoung senses the hint of disappointment in her tone, she immediately feels like taking back everything she has said in the past thirty seconds.

“It’s not that!” Sooyoung hurriedly retorts, “it’s just- would you really?”

…do anything for me?  would follow, if Sooyoung had the guts to say the rest of it. And it’s a genuine question, not bait to fish for something she wants to hear, something idealistic.

“Of course I would.” Jiwoo’s bottom lip juts out in a subtle pout.

“Serenade me with a romantic, acoustic rendition of ‘Genie’ by Girls’ Generation to prove it…?” Sooyoung quips with a cheeky smirk, though it flies over Jiwoo’s head. (But this isn’t a joke either; she wants Jiwoo to sing for her one day.)

The girl in front of her huffs. “…You’re surprisingly cynical.”

“Well, it’s only natural for someone who’s motivated purely by self-interest to think that everyone else is too,” Sooyoung jokes. Half-jokes. Kind of.

And then she immediately resents herself for saying that because it is totally uncool and not smooth to divulge her worst vices to the girl she likes. Like who does that? Hey! I like you, here are ten things that you wouldn’t like about me.

“That’s not true, and you’re not like that either,” Jiwoo says, tightening her grip. Only then Sooyoung remembers that they’re still holding hands. She suddenly feels shy.

“Sorry…” is the only thing she manages to say. Though she’s not really sure what she’s sorry for. Making Jiwoo pout? Probably. That’s a slip-up to note on the OJ files for later.

Jiwoo sighs. “Okay, genie, I have another wish for you to grant,” she says, “I wish Ha Sooyoung would have more faith in me.”

Sooyoung’s cheekbones jut out as her lips curve into a wide smile. “Wish granted. Sooyoung now believes Jiwoo will do anything for her.”

Oop, there she goes. Being bold with her idealism. Was this a genie service or the Monkey’s Paw?

This time, though, Jiwoo lives up to Sooyoung’s wishful thinking.

“Yes!” she giggles and Sooyoung’s heart melts, “I could get used to this genie stuff.”

Sooyoung chuckles. “Well, good, because I’m not done granting wishes just yet. I have a surprise for you.”

On to the next course of action of Operation Jiwoobilation.

Jiwoo’s eyes light up curiously. “A surprise?”

“First, since you want to be my genie so bad, grant me my wish of coming back to campus with me?”

A hand flies up to Jiwoo’s temple in a prompt salute as she suddenly straightens her posture. “Of course! Your wish is my command.”

A dopey schoolgirl. Yup. That’s what Sooyoung has felt like all day.

And the feeling has only amplified as she excitedly leads Jiwoo by the hand through the halls of the performing arts building, deserted at 8pm on a Friday.

She’s almost jogging across the corridor, but Jiwoo doesn’t point it out, letting herself be shephered as she keeps pace with the older girl. In the car, Sooyoung had dodged every one of Jiwoo’s attempts to get her to hint at what the surprise was.

Sooyoung takes her straight to a practice room. The practice room. The one they cleaned up together, the one they kissed in. Kissed kissed. It’s the same day of the week. Same time, even.

Sooyoung knows all this because that night is practically seared into her mind.

Because of that episode, the practice room has taken on a special sort of meaning to her; before, it was just an ordinary studio, one of many in the dance wing, but now it’s so much more than that.

She spends more time in this room than anyone and always, the feeling of that night – the butterflies in her stomach, the frenzy of her thoughts, Jiwoo’s soft lips against hers – rushes back into her memory like some all-amazing-delightful-tsunami-of-bliss. Never once does the feeling fade, no matter how long she spends in the room, how often she’s in it, or how engrossed she is in her dancing.

It’s almost embarrassing. It makes her lose focus. And Sooyoung is not one to get distracted when she’s working hard in the practice room.

It’s amusing how easily Jiwoo can seize her thoughts like this.

And so, since only good things should happen in this room, especially on Friday nights, Sooyoung thought it’d be the perfect place to reveal her surprise.

The ideal setting for the thrilling final phase of today’s OJ mission.

Sooyoung ushers Jiwoo to the centre of the room, the same spot they stood in when they kissed. Yes, she even remembers that, and she doesn’t really want to admit the reasoning behind doing this, but maybe, just maybe, they’d both be overcome with the same feeling and courage that took over them that day.

And maybe, just maybe, Sooyoung would get an encore performance of that night.

If her hunch is correct and Jiwoo feels the same way about the kiss as she did, then an encore would be the perfect conclusion to their day.

God, she really wants to kiss Jiwoo again. And again, and again.

(See how much Sooyoung has thought things through? Look at her go. From impulsive jobless hot girl to OJ’s hot mastermind - less dangerously impulsive and not desperately jobless. Changing for the better! Is this a testament of Jiwoo’s impact?)

Jiwoo’s still looking at her with that same curious look in her eyes. Sooyoung’s eager to know if Jiwoo’s reminded of that night too, but she doesn’t have the resolve to ask her about it.

Even though she spends every minute of her life thinking about it, talking about it feels like uncharted territory. Neither of them have brought it up since; a silent agreement to keep hush, almost as if it never happened. If Sooyoung dreamed that entire thing, it would be a hell of a plot twist. 

But no, don’t worry, she didn’t. She has to remind herself of that too. It happened, no matter how much it feels like a dream.

“I have a question for you. What’s two weekends away?” Sooyoung asks her

“SolsticeFest.” Jiwoo’s answer comes without hesitation. “Why? …Wait.”

And then her features morph like slow motion, from a curious tilt of her head to widened eyes as the realisation comes to her.

Sooyoung’s smile turns into a lopsided grin as she lets go of Jiwoo’s hand to dig through her bag. She pulls out the two tickets. 

It only takes Jiwoo a second to process what’s in her hand and in the next moment, she’s letting out a loud, high-pitched dolphin squeal, jumping up and down in pure, unrestrained joy.

A whole bunch of things happens in like a time lapse; Jiwoo goes from jumping circles around her, to grabbing Sooyoung’s wrist and giving it a violent shake (her poor joints…), to planting a big kiss on her cheek, and lastly to pouncing on her and enveloping her in the tightest hug Sooyoung has ever experienced.

“Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh,” Jiwoo screams, hopping up and down. Sooyoung, still in her arms, doesn’t really have a choice but to hop up and down with her as she laughs loudly. “How?! They’ve been sold out for more than a week!!”

“Divine intervention,” Sooyoung answers jokingly. (Though it might be true because maybe Chaewon is God.)

“Holy , Sooyoung!” Jiwoo squeals, impossibly tightening her hold around the other girl. “I don’t know what to say! You’re amazing, you’re amazing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!”

Sooyoung manages to disentangle herself from Jiwoo’s iron grip to give her the tickets.

“Can you grant me another wish in return?” she asks with a smile and Jiwoo gives her an overly enthusiastic nod. “These tickets are for you, do what you want with them,” Sooyoung says, “but I wish you’ll take me. As your supposed girlfriend and all.”

Jiwoo flashes her a grin wide enough to get a page in OJ's special files. “Are you kidding? Of course I’ll take you! Who else would I choose over you?!”

The last line makes Sooyoung’s heart leap right out of her chest. She knows Jiwoo’s talking about the carnival, but still, it’s a profound thing to hear from the light of her life.

When Jiwoo wraps her arms around her neck to pull her in for a hug, Sooyoung’s arms naturally wrap around her waist. Their laughter bounces off the walls and their smiles light up the room brighter than the fluorescents on the ceiling.  

Even amidst the happiness surging through her entire body, Sooyoung examines the situation closely. Should she kiss Jiwoo? Can she? Would it be appropriate? Is the timing right? Would it even make sense? How would she justify it?

She had a reason last time. She doesn’t really have one this time around.

Sooyoung doesn’t want to fall back into old habits and do it out of the blue, running the risk of ruining the nearly perfect day they’ve been having. Not to mention it’s only going so smoothly because of her devotion to OJ; for once, Sooyoung planned their day out carefully. Why risk messing it up now with her old pal impulsivity?

She pulls away from Jiwoo, not enough to let her go, but just enough to look at her in the face.

Both of their grins mellow to softer smiles the moment they lock eye contact.

Sooyoung’s careful not to let her gaze wander to Jiwoo’s lips. Luckily for her, it’s not very hard when there’s a guileless sort of twinkle behind Jiwoo’s eyes that makes it difficult to look away from.

“Seriously. Thank you, Sooyoung,” Jiwoo says and there’s a gentle timbre to her voice that makes her sincerity ring out clearer than crystal, “today’s been the happiest I’ve felt in a long time.”

Sooyoung’s heart rate spikes. Her thoughts go haywire, evident in how remains agape, but no reply comes out, the words held back in .

Jiwoo’s words were something Sooyoung never knew she needed to hear. Seeing Jiwoo smile had always been enough.

Up until now, what she’s wanted to hear from Jiwoo have been simple things. ‘You’re pretty’…‘let’s spend the day together’…‘I like you, too’…

But ‘today’s been the happiest I’ve felt in a long time’? That one blows all of those out of the water because it’s a confirmation of exactly what Sooyoung wants to be in Jiwoo’s life: a constant, dependable source of happiness.

Any wish for a kiss immediately dissipates in Sooyoung’s thoughts; this is the best conclusion to OJ. Hell, it’s the whole point of it.

“…Really?” is the only thing Sooyoung can muster to say, still taken aback from Jiwoo’s confession.

Jiwoo nods, smile still as soft as ever. “Really.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“…Because of me?”

“Because of you.”

The tip of Sooyoung’s mouth quirks. “…Really? Me?”

She swears the warmth blossoming in her chest can melt all the snow in Antarctica. Somewhere past the wall, a panel of commentators in a living room simultaneously melt at her reaction and chide her for sounding like an idiot who forgot to talk. 

“Yes, you. Ha Sooyoung,” Jiwoo confirms. Bare Minimum Sooyoung makes a reappearance; the sound of her name in Jiwoo’s voice is pure honey to her ears. “How many times do I have to say it?”

“I just wanted to hear it again,” Sooyoung murmurs and oh my god, she giggles. Like an utterly lovesick puppy dog, her front teeth peeking from behind her lips as her finger absentmindedly draws soft circles on the small of Jiwoo’s back.

Jiwoo rolls her eyes playfully.  

And then she does the unthinkable: she leans and kisses Sooyoung, out of the blue and without notice.

A soft, fleeting touch of their lips.

This is such a Sooyoung thing to do, not a Jiwoo thing, which is why it knocks the wind out of Sooyoung as quickly as it’s over.

The world stays spinning even after they part.

Jiwoo must’ve gotten embarrassed at seeing her taken-aback reaction because her cheeks immediately flare up. “I-I’m sorry.”

There it is, an automatic apology after an automatic kiss.

Sooyoung gathers her cool and re-organizes her inner workings, exhaling a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Did that just really happen?

She swallows. “Tell me you just did that not because you felt like repaying me, but because you wanted to.”

Jiwoo doesn’t answer immediately. In fact, it seems to take her a second or two to process the words. Sooyoung doesn’t know whether the hesitation is a good thing or a bad thing, but Jiwoo unexpectedly gives her the answer she’s looking for:

“I wanted to.”

Sooyoung blinks in awe. “…Really?”

Jiwoo smiles a bit, amused, before her head bobbles in a little nod. “Really.”

And Sooyoung, still too scared to ruin the moment, refrains from asking her why. Instead, she asks for something else:

“Then do it again.”

Much to her relief, Jiwoo lets her save her question for another day because she doesn’t let the silence drag on any longer, leaning in again to catch Sooyoung’s lips with hers.

Sooyoung closes her eyes.

Just like that night, she doesn’t get to dwell too long on entertaining the million possible answers because her thoughts malfunction with Jiwoo’s ministrations; soft fingers playing with the hairs at the back of her neck, palms curved protectively around her neck, lips moving against hers with unexpected certainty. Sooyoung can no longer tell up from down.

They’re going at an unhurried, almost sluggish, pace, like there’s 120 seconds in a minute instead of 60; slow-going and every bit deliberate. Neither of them want it to end, Sooyoung would like to think.

She wants this as much as I do.

Jiwoo’s a remarkable kisser, so, so pleasantly gentle with her, or maybe Sooyoung only enjoys it so much because it’s Jiwoo.

Per her expectations and wishes, only good things happen in The Practice Room.

And maybe, when the time comes and she has perfected what she’s going to say, this practice room will be where Sooyoung tells Jiwoo how she really feels about her too. No pretend feelings, no pretense.  

Same day, same hour, same feelings.

She can only hope it’ll make Jiwoo as happy as she is about the time they’ve spent together today.

13 days until SolsticeFest. Sooyoung keeps sneaking peeks at her calendar.

to: spookytown's saving grace
thinking things through is a good idea
why'd it take me so long to try it?

from: spookytown's saving grace
told u so!
i only ever give out good advice

to: spookytown's saving grace
0 kids locked in the washroom too

from: spookytown's saving grace
i'm so proud of u :')

7 days until SolsticeFest. Maybe Sooyoung is keeping count.

Today, Jiwoo’s invite has Sooyoung idealistically wondering if the girl’s got her own secret Operation Sooyoung..bilation (doesn’t flow as smoothly, huh…) because it seems like she’s been making a special effort to make her happy too.

Movie night and sleepover at Jiwoo’s house, as Sooyoung has learned, is a biannual tradition reserved for her closest friends, tracing back to her childhood years. Even though Jiwoo has cycled through many friend groups in her life, the tradition sticks, so much so that the extra room in her family’s place has been completely decked out and turned into her little, personal home theater for this very custom.

“My first movie night at Jiwoo’s house. Truly honoured,” Sooyoung says, watching as Jiwoo struggles to reach for something on a higher cupboard.

Taking advantage of her meager five-centimetres-taller height difference, Sooyoung reaches above her, chin purposely brushing against Jiwoo’s head, to grab the popcorn bowl for her.

“Thanks,” Jiwoo says, “you totally should be. Movie night at Jiwoo’s house is an exclusive event, you know.”

Sooyoung leans on the counter and crosses her arms. “So, whose idea was it to invite me? Heejin’s?” A dampened thud comes from the movie room (suspiciously sounding like a pillow hitting an unsuspecting victim) followed by a shriek and a shrill ‘Hyunjin!’ (suspiciously sounding like Chaewon). “Chaewon’s? Or maybe even…Jungeun’s?”

Jiwoo narrows her eyes as she reaches across Sooyoung to open a drawer, her arm brushing against the older girl’s stomach. Sooyoung’s surprised at her own momentary flinch, an instinctive reaction at their close distance. She hopes Jiwoo didn’t notice.

They keep doing this lately - brushing against each other on purpose with touches that are uncalled for. It's silly, akin to a pair of shy, inexperienced middle schoolers playing footsie beneath the table; bold enough to add kindling to their fire, but still too timid to fan their flames into something bigger. Maybe someone should serve them up a plate of spectacularly mediocre omelettes with 'cowards' written in ketchup on top. 

Sooyoung doesn’t know who started the subtle touches, but it makes her heart race.

“No, actually, it was my idea, believe it or not,” Jiwoo counters.   

Sooyoung lets out an exaggerated gasp. “Seriously? Wow, Kim Jiwoo, you’re a new woman.”

Jiwoo scrunches her nose. “What are you talking about…”

“It was the tickets, wasn’t it? Hmm, I see. I had to buy your love and attention.” Sooyoung tsks with a shake of her head. Nevermind she didn’t actually buy anything (though Sooyoung does want Chaewon to fess up the cost of the tickets one day so she can pay her back).

“No, actually,” Jiwoo protests again, lips pursed pointedly, “I knew Jungeun was coming and it’d be suspicious if you weren’t here. You are supposed to be my girlfriend, after all.” She wiggles her eyebrows.

Jiwoo shuffles over to another part of the kitchen, a foot brushing against Sooyoung’s when she passes.

Sooyoung gives her a slow clap. “Wow, Kim Jiwoo, I’m very impressed with your newfound initiative.”

Despite the sarcasm in her words, she’s genuinely impressed.

Jiwoo rolls her eyes, throwing popcorn into .

“Do you think this is buttery enough?” she asks, holding out the popcorn. Sooyoung obediently opens and Jiwoo pops one in, fingers brushing Sooyoung’s lips when she retracts her hand.

“Mhm,” Sooyoung hums, nodding her head as she briefly runs her tongue across the part Jiwoo had touched, “this is the perfect level of buttery.”

“Okay, cool.”

“...Thanks for inviting Jungeun, by the way.”

Jiwoo raises an eyebrow at her. “Really?”

“Well, if you didn’t, I wouldn’t have been invited,” Sooyoung says with a shrug. Oh, what a painful reality to think about: Sooyoung’s only here because Jungeun’s here.

She figured it wouldn’t hurt as much if she just admitted it herself out loud.

Much to Sooyoung’s chagrin, it still kind of stings. 

Jiwoo just hums, stuffing more popcorn into Sooyoung’s mouth. Spinning on her heels, she heads for the hallway.

“No, actually,” Sooyoung hears Jiwoo say on the way out, “I wanted you here and I would’ve invited you anyway.”

Oh. Well, maybe reality isn’t so painful after all.

Smiling to herself, Sooyoung pushes herself off the counter and follows Jiwoo to rejoin their friends.

'Operation Sooyoungbilation' is a thing Jiwoo has been fulfilling dutifully since they met, even if neither of them realise it.

Much to Sooyoung’s joy, Jiwoo had taken the liberty of plopping herself right next to her on the floor. They lie on their stomachs, shoulders pressed as she they share a blanket draped over them.

Nearby, Heejin and Hyunjin have impolitely hid under a blanket of their own, doing god knows what. Sooyoung doesn’t hear anything though, so they must be sleeping. Hopefully.

Closest to the screen lies Chaewon, head turned away from the others. She had spent a few minutes ranting about her brother eating her premium imported wagyu beef without her permission, so she was already tired before the movie even started.

Just a few feet away from Jiwoo is Jungeun, also on her stomach. She was uncharacteristically quiet at times, but sharing much of their humour, she seemed to have a lot of fun with Jiwoo's friends too. Sooyoung thinks she could seamlessly blend in to their posse, if not for the whole post-breakup-emotional-baggage-and-going-to-school-on-the-other-side-of-the-country thing. 

Sooyoung’s eyes feel heavy, but she’s doing her best to fight sleep.

They’re around halfway (Sooyoung guesses) through their second movie of the night, but it seems like most of them had already tapped out, overcome with sudden drowsiness.

Jiwoo, though, is still very alert. Her wide eyes are glued to the screen, completely engrossed in whatever was happening in the movie.

Sooyoung had turned away from the screen a long time ago, opting to lay her head on its side and look up at Jiwoo’s amusingly concentrated face.

“Oh my gosh, he’s going to get killed,” Jiwoo harshly whispers. Sooyoung lets out a tired chuckle, prompting Jiwoo to turn and look at her.

“How are you still wide awake?” Sooyoung asks quietly.

Confusion flashes across Jiwoo’s face before she looks around the room. A quiet ‘oh’ slips from when she realises that they must be the only ones still awake.

Eyeing the blonde hear, Jiwoo whispers, “I don’t think Chaewon is asleep…” 

Sooyoung glances over.

“Hey! Park Chaewon!" she whisper-shouts, "the ‘wow! signal’ is fake!"

(See, normally, if Park Chaewon was wide awake, such a statement would trigger her into a confusing tirade full of advanced terminology; for a random first-year social science undergrad, Chaewon had a suspicious amount of physics and astronomy knowledge.)

The blonde head doesn’t move an inch. Sooyoung nods. “Yup, she’s totally knocked out. Probably got bored of the film.”

Jiwoo chuckles. “This movie is really good,” she says, a hint of defensiveness in her tone.

“I bet. You’re super into it.”

“Are you tired?”

“Very sleepy,” Sooyoung hums. 

“You can sleep, you know.”

Sooyoung gives the slightest shake of her head. “Then you’ll be watching by yourself.”

Jiwoo purses her lips. “You’re not even paying attention to the movie.”

Oh, does Jiwoo know Sooyoung’s just been staring at her this entire time?

She shrugs. “I just want to keep you company.”

“Okay,” Jiwoo says, lowering her head to rest on her crossed arms as she glances over at Sooyoung’s tired eyes. “You know…this movie is really good…”

The laugh that escapes from Sooyoung is a breathy one. “You already said that.”

“I know. That’s why you should be watching the movie instead of watching me. You’re missing out.”

Oh, so she did know.

“Your expressions are more entertaining,” Sooyoung says, thankful for the way the darkness of the room hides her blushing cheeks.

“That sounds like an insult.”

“It’s not,” Sooyoung whines, “you’re just cute.”

At that, Jiwoo hums and Sooyoung sees her bury her face deeper into her arms. Reaching up to brush Jiwoo’s bangs out of her eyes, the younger girl blinks at the contact.

“Your hand is warm,” Jiwoo murmurs. It's an offhand comment, one Sooyoung doesn't dwell on, but when she goes to retracts her hand, Jiwoo grabs it in time and timidly laces their fingers together.

Sooyoung’s heartbeats quicken exponentially.

, act cool.

“…Did you have a good day?” Sooyoung asks.

It’s a random, sudden question, but an honest one, spurred by a natural curiosity. She just wants to hear about Jiwoo’s day, realising the small, trivial happiness she’d feel whenever Jiwoo would go on about nice it was.

“I had a good day,” Jiwoo replies softly, “my mom cooked rolled omelette for breakfast. I stopped by campus to help an upperclassman with something and she took me to a tteokbokki shop afterwards to treat me.”

“Yum. How was it?”

“Really good, we should go there one day, the ahjumma was super nice too…”

Sooyoung listens intently as Jiwoo continues, occasionally asking a question whenever Jiwoo pauses too long or doesn’t know what to say, just so Sooyoung can listen to her talk more. They speak quietly, careful not to wake up the others, but such little distance between the two warrants a volume no louder than whispers anyway.

It’s a relaxing sort of atmosphere, with Jiwoo’s soft voice narrating her day as Sooyoung nods along. Even with the other girls around them, in the darkness of the room and holding hands beneath their blanket, Sooyoung feels like they’re in their own little distant and secret world. The movie stays playing on the screen, long forgotten, and the voices coming from it sound nothing more than a faint, indistinct hum.

Content. This is what content feels like. And Sooyoung never wants it to end.

She wonders if this is more fulfilling for her than it is for Jiwoo, but OJ lingers in the back of her head and Sooyoung can only hope she’s doing her little mission justice.

A hope that this happiness is mutual.

“Thanks for staying up with me,” Jiwoo murmurs, voice slightly muffled by the pillow under her head. She sounds sleepier; chatting with Sooyoung seems to have subdued whatever energy she had left.

“Anytime,” Sooyoung replies, sounding equally faint.

Hair falls over Jiwoo's face when she adjusts her position, easing slightly closer without much subtlety. Sooyoung takes the liberty of moving it out of her eyes.

And instead of retracting her hand, she keeps it there this time, resting gently over the shell of Jiwoo’s ear. She lets her fingers lazily thread through the wisps of hair there.

Sooyoung isn’t really sure how it happened, but somewhere along the way, they had inched even closer to one another. Closer and closer, naturally, until their faces were a mere hair breadth’s away from each other and Sooyoung could feel Jiwoo’s soft exhales across her lips.

The one who leans in to close the gap between them is Sooyoung.

She briefly catches Jiwoo her lips just before Sooyoung presses them together.

Much like their previous kiss, it’s gentle, delicate, almost trance-like. The warmth of Jiwoo’s lips rivals the heat emanating off her cheeks. 

Sooyoung pulls the blanket over their heads, hiding away as if the walls had eyes and the actors could see them through the screen. Somewhere in the room, there’s a faint noise of someone moving, probably shifting positions, maybe checking out what they’re up to.

Sooyoung isn’t sure who, maybe it came from Jiwoo’s side, but she’s too preoccupied to care.

It's warm.

Probably the stuffiness of being under the blanket in such close proximity, but Sooyoung finds it pleasant; it's the type of warmth that hugs her and keeps her close. Feeling protected, she finds further refuge in Jiwoo’s presence.

Underneath the blanket, it feels even more like their own little bubble. Completely dark without the light from the screen, private and sequestered, like a hidden cove on a shrouded island, not a single soul around except Sooyoung and Jiwoo.

Jiwoo tastes subtly of butter.

She’s got a hand beneath Sooyoung’s jaw, fingertips lightly grazing the underside as if she was handling fine china. Her other hand had found its way to Sooyoung’s waist, fiddling with the hem of the shirt riding up her stomach.

Sooyoung’s senses heighten enough to drive her mad. All she can feel is Jiwoo’s touches on her.

Jiwoo is so gentle with her, she always is.

She wonders for a moment if Jiwoo knows that she has such an effect on her. Sooyoung can only hope she’s got the same effect on Jiwoo.

After they break apart, Jiwoo only waits a deafeningly loud heartbeat before speaking over the silence.  

“Why are you kissing me?” she asks, somehow sounding both sure and unsure. Her voice is so quiet, Sooyoung almost missed it.

It’s a funny question, considering Jiwoo’s reciprocating without hesitation, but a valid one.

Except Sooyoung doesn’t really know any answer besides ‘because it feels right, like we should’ and she can’t quite bring herself to utter those words out loud.

So she simply hums that automatic apology, thumb softly grazing the tip of Jiwoo’s lips, before muttering, “you don’t want me to?”

Jiwoo inches closer with eyes trained on her, flitting all around her face.

“…I don’t mind,” Jiwoo murmurs, “don’t be sorry.”

She nestles her head into the crook of Sooyoung’s neck. At such proximity, Sooyoung becomes hyperaware of the wild thumping against her ribcage, a small beating heart desperate to wriggle out of the tissue holding it in place.   

She wonders if Jiwoo can hear, or feel, her heart about to beat right out of her chest.

Because Sooyoung can feel Jiwoo’s.

And it’s loud, beating in unison with hers.