Sejeong almost tripped and fell, staggering after her fuming girlfriend. It was after school hours but it was midweek, and the school was still crowded with students and teachers who had after school activities to attend.

She forced a smile as they passed other curious students in the hallways and waved dismissively with her free hand to the teachers that threw her concerned glances. She looked at her wrist that the girl held in crushing grip, but didn’t dare to protest. The last thing she wanted was to upset her even more.

After much struggle of holding back the pain from her wrist, and trying not to fall on her face, she found them alone in the middle of the deserted school’s garden.

With her wrist finally released, Sejeong sighed quietly in relief, noticing the redness and rubbed it lightly, hoping it wouldn’t bruise; Chaeyeon would never forgive herself if she realized she had accidentally hurt her. It wasn’t at all like Chaeyeon to get this upset. Sejeong wasn’t sure she should approach her at this point.

“Chaeyeon?” Sejeong decided to call out cautiously, after a minute of just staring at her girlfriend’s back. The latter had been standing there, unmoving, staring at god knows what, and probably overthinking everything she had seen earlier.

Sejeong had...admirers, if she could give them a name. They came with the package of winning their high school’s singing competition a year ago. Sure, they were in an all-girls high school, but apparently that didn’t deter her from having a decent amount of fan girls. Her admirers grew even more when someone had videotaped and posted the video of her singing online, basically everyone in school saw it, even if they didn’t attend the said event. Well, everyone in school and the neighboring ones at least.

She had received letters, some gifts, and sometimes, they could get a little touchy. Usually, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Just a handshake, or friendly hugs, even. She had always been pretty sociable, and none of them had ever made her feel particularly uncomfortable before, so she never had the heart nor reason to ask them to give her a little more personal space. They would usually just compliment her, and often encouraged her to pursue singing as a career.


Most of them really were harmless, but it just had to happen, and she really should have expected it. The one time someone went overboard and gave her a kiss on the cheek, her beautiful girlfriend was just standing there, at the door of the otherwise empty classroom. It happened too fast. One moment, she was politely listening to yet another girl’s gushing, the next she felt a kiss on her cheek, which was closely followed by her eyes meeting Chaeyeon’s unreadable ones from across the room.

It couldn’t have looked good, she had to hastily excuse herself just as Chaeyeon stormed in and pulled her out of the classroom, looking absolutely livid. It couldn’t have looked good at all: the empty classroom, how close she was standing to that other girl, and the kiss she received. She couldn’t blame Chaeyeon for getting mad, if the roles were reversed, she’d probably thrown a possibly even bigger fit.

So there they were, Chaeyeon was still facing away, not answering her, Sejeong was still rubbing her sore wrist, and there was still that lingering suffocating tension in the air.

It wasn’t until Chaeyeon looked down, her breaths hitching and her shoulders shaking from silent sobs that Sejeong grew alarmed.

Closing the distance, she turned Chaeyeon around and tried to look at the crying girl who was covering her face with her hands.

“Chaeyeon? Wha-- why are you crying?” she coaxed softly, brushing Chaeyeon's hair from her face as she tried to hold her hands to see her properly. “Hey, come on. Look at me.”

When Chaeyeon refused to look up, Sejeong frowned, feeling her whole heart drop. This wasn’t at all what she had expected. She expected anger, mostly. A little yelling, maybe even a tantrum with a few harmless hits to her shoulder, but she didn’t expect Chaeyeon to get so upset that she could cry.

Chaeyeon was the sweetest girl Sejeong had ever had the joy of knowing. She had honestly never met anyone as patient and understanding, no one that kind and sweet, no one as selfless as her. They had been together for half a year, friends for even longer than that, and she had never seen Chaeyeon get angry at her, let alone cry from getting upset with her. It hurt her too, seeing the girl try to quieten her cries. Trying not to panic, she blamed herself for making her cry, even if it wasn’t intentional.

Not really knowing what to do, she managed to take hold of Chaeyeon’s hands and pulled her into her arms, letting the crying girl bury her face against her neck.

She hummed a little song, hoping it’d calm her girlfriend down. It took another good whole minute or two before the sobbing ceased, but it felt like an eternity to her.

“I hate you,” she heard the girl whisper between her hiccups, calming down.

Sejeong had to smile a little at that, knowing better. "I know."

“You made me cry,” Chaeyeon said in the cutest tone ever, “I don’t like you.”

She laughed softly, turning her head slightly to kiss the side of her head. She knew the girl didn’t mean it from the grip on her shirt and how the latter snuggled even more, if at all possible, in her arms.

“I love you,” Sejeong told her, anyway. She paused and decided to just clear the air, even if Chaeyeon didn't seem like she would acknowledge it. “It wasn’t anything, I was caught off guard. I won’t let anything like that happen again, okay? I’ll make sure to— I don’t know— always make sure there’s a desk or table between me and any of them.”

When Chaeyeon replied, Sejeong never thought the girl ever felt that way before.

“Don’t leave me.”

She sighed. Maybe Chaeyeon was more than a little jealous. She just never thought Chaeyeon could ever feel threatened by the fan girls she didn’t even give a second look to. No offence to them, she appreciated their support, but Chaeyeon was on a whole other level. She still wondered how she got that lucky. Bless Ms Jea and that project she paired them together for.

“Okay, listen,” she started, pulling away just enough to look at her. “You’re smart, kind and absolutely gorgeous— basically, so completely out of my league— but here we are, and you love me too. I must be out of my goddamned mind if I let you go.”

That elicited a chuckle from the girl in her arms. Chaeyeon let out a soft sigh and finally pulled away completely, trying to wipe her tear stained face with the back of her hand. Sejeong had to smile, helping her clean up, wiping her cheeks with her fingers and fixed her hair.

“Sorry, I overreacted, didn’t I?” Chaeyeon asked, smiling bashfully and looking embarrassed.

Sejeong grinned, kissing her cheek. “Maybe just a tiny bit, but it’s okay. Sorry, I made you cry.”

Chaeyeon tilted her head, with a soft smile still on her face. The wind blew in just the right way, her hair fluttering behind her, her cheeks still a little red from the crying, and Sejeong felt her world slow down. She might be the luckiest girl in the world.

She wasn’t sure how she looked like at that moment but she was pretty darn proud of herself when Chaeyeon seemed a little surprised, before her smile grew into a full grin, her eyes sparkling.

Butterflies broke free in her tummy,and her heart warmed. They were still in their youth, and probably had so many things to learn, in school, in life, each other, but she was sure what they had was love. It had to be because Chaeyeon was everything she never knew she needed. She was more than just someone she dated. Chaeyeon was the bestfriend she found in a lover, a source of strength she discovered unexpectedly, a dream she didn't think she would have.

Sejeong was giving Chaeyeon her youth, and a lot more than that for as long as she was sure they shared the same feelings.

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