Jungeun was bored. There wasn’t any other possible explanation as for why she was sitting here, getting drunk on some weird strawberry drink  Jiwoo had prepared instead of being at home sleeping as she normally would be at such late hour.

The party that started many hours ago, had slowly died down and now, after kicking out all the drunkards and overly attached couples, there was only her and the usual group of friends left – not that 12 loud girls were exactly a small group. The girls were sitting in a misshaped circle, most of them too drunk to do anything other than laugh for no particular reason and play random games to fight the sleep.

Jungeun would have called it a night if it wasn’t the fact that she didn’t want to go back to her cramped college dorm and have to face all the papers waiting to be finished – she really hated being the overly responsible type sometimes. Besides, deep down, she had to admit that watching her friends struggle to stay awake as they tried to keep going with some silly game they made up was quite fun – And of course, there was a tiny reason sitting between these said friends, who never failed to keep her attention.

The game consisted of answering questions about the other members of the group, things that varied from their favorite foods to who they would like to date. It was supposed to be something simple, but Hyejoo’s strong sense of competitiveness added to a pretty tipsy Jiwoo that tried to answer every single question in the weirdest way possible, and the eventual participation of the other equally drunk and clumsy girls, was making the game a whole mess.

That’s why she was still there, sipping on her drink as she watched the girls purposely embarrassing Chaewon by randomly asking Hyejoo all sort of weird – yet harmless – questions about the blonde’s preferences. The raven had just guessed right yet another question, prompting the blonde to blush and sport an adorable grin, as Jiwoo pushed Hye out of the way demanding a new set of questions. Sooyoung, the resident prankster of the group and today’s party host, didn’t waste time choosing about who the next question would be. “Let me see… Kim Jungeun!” She called, bringing attention to the brunette who had successfully avoided being a target so far. Ha gave one of her usual smirks, raising the questions cards, demanding the younger woman to pick one.

Jungeun rolled her eyes, picking a card as the other girls watched her. She had to refrain from grimacing at the question. She really had to pick the most embarrassing one? Glancing at the girls her gaze naturally fell over Haseul that had a playful smile on her face, making her look so adorable that it was hard to not stare. Repressing her own smile, she turned around to write down her answer on the card before Sooyoung announced the question to the rest of the group.

“Listen up! With who Jungeun wants to go on a date and make out with?” Jungeun frowned at the unexpected addition to the question she had given to the girl, not that it was so surprisingly considering how mischievous Sooyoung could be. “Only one name per person!” As soon as Sooyoung spoke, chaos ensured as the girls started to randomly shouting names. “I said only one name per person! And you have to obey the order!” Ha reprimanded, pointing out the little bell they had placed in the middle of the circle. Jungeun wondered where Yerim had found that, but it was indeed useful.

Jiwoo was the first in line, but Jungeun shot her a warning look that even her drunk self couldn’t ignore. “Sooyoungie, she is threatening me!”

“Mark!” Yeojin’s loud voice was heard, she had taken Jiwoo’s place without hesitating – although she clearly didn’t have a clue of the answer.

“Who is Mark?” Jungeun asked, dumbfounded by the girl‘s answer.

Yeojin shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, it was the first name I could think of.”

“Wrong! Go away!” Sooyoung made her move, giving place to Yerim that gave an equally inaccurate answer – but at least she picked a guy Jungeun knew existed, so it was slightly better. A bunch of nonsense suggestions followed, so many random names being thrown that Jungeun was a little offended by how low her standards seem to be for them – actually she was just too reticent about her feelings, making it hard for anyone to guess.

 “That girl who works at the cafeteria…What? They have good bread there!” Hyunjin tried, winning only a collective facepalm in return.

“No one is going to get it right. Just give them all the punishment.” Kim chirped in with a smirk. She knew since the beginning the chances of any of them getting it right was low, served them right for trying to embarrass her.

But of course Sooyoung wouldn’t let her go off so easily. “What about a tip?”

Jungeun narrowed her eyes, thinking hard of a way to not making it obvious – she tried her best to not look at Jo’s direction as well. However, it was pointless. The said brunette had already taken a step closer to the center, hitting the bell with an enthusiastic smile. “Haseul!”

A moment of silence fell over the group before the girls irrupted in protests and laughs, making fun of Haseul for her silly answer, meanwhile Sooyoung only checked the answer on the card before giving Jungeun another smirk. It took the players a moment to realize that Ha didn’t disqualify Haseul’s answer, and another moment for the Jo to understand what was happening. The group suddenly became quiet, paying full attention to Jungeun who could already feel her cheeks becoming warmer – note to self, never be honest if your crush is in the game and drunk behind common sense to not expose herself.

“Haseul?” Jo repeated, turning to look at Jungeun for confirmation. Kim only shrugged avoiding her gaze, too embarrassed to express herself with words. Haseul was another victim of Jiwoo’s mysterious strawberry punch and she was clearly tipsy, her usual smart eyes seem smaller than normal, closing in half-moons as she smiled at the girl. She was beaming with a newly gained confidence. “Haseul!”

Sooyoung raised her arm, flapping the card with the right answer above Jo’s head to signalized she had won the point for this round. The room once more irrupted in a wave of loud voices, some celebrating Haseul’s ‘double win’, some complaining for not getting it right – Jiwoo was in a corner still protesting for not being allowed to answer when she knew it all along –, and some just genuinely confused or just too sleepy to care. Hyejoo, the ever competitive creature, couldn’t take breaking her winning streak and was annoying Sooyoung about the game’s rules –  Jungeun was grateful for it, using the opportunity to sneak out before the girls could remember they were supposed to be clowning her right now instead of fighting over game points.

She had barely sat a foot outside the room when she felt a familiar warm pair of arms back hugging her. Jungeun turned to face the brown eyes that sparkled with affection, albeit still glossed by the alcohol.  The girl rested her face against Jungeun’s shoulder, sleepiness written all over her face.

Kim rolled her eyes in fake annoyance – she had always been weak for Haseul, drunk clingy Haseul was even harder to resist. “Go back. The game isn’t over and Hyejoo won’t be happy until she gets her winning streak back.” She tried to shrug the brunette off, ready to head to one of the rooms for a nap.

Jo, however, didn’t even budge. Instead, she gave Jungeun a puppy look that didn’t quite match her. “I’m sorry, Jungie. I didn’t think you’d write my name for real.” Haseul tone was sincere, her hug becoming a little tighter as her face rested on the crook of Jungeun’s neck. “I’m glad though.” Her warm breath, just like the way she was nuzzling her nose against the sensitive skin of the younger woman’s neck, was enough to send a pleasant shiver through Kim’s body.

Jungeun closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of having Haseul so close after a whole night pretending they were just platonic friends – serves her right, considering she was the one that decided to keep their blossoming relationship a secret. Perhaps, in the beginning she was just afraid things wouldn’t work out between them and she didn’t want it to affect their longtime friendship and the rest of the group. Not labeling things seemed like the right choice at the moment, but after nearly six months sneaking into each other’s rooms and having secret dates all over town, it seemed a little silly they couldn’t display how much they cared about each other whenever they felt like it.

How ironic that Kim Jungeun, someone who always deemed public demonstrations of affection as ‘annoying and unnecessary’, was really missing it now.

“Of course I wrote your name. Who else could it be?” She admitted with a sigh, she was more annoyed at herself than at the girl for exposing her – she couldn’t say anyone besides Sooyoung, that pretty devil, would remember it tomorrow, but still.

Haseul cracked a smile, the same dorky smile that showed how adorably happy and filled with confidence she was, that she had shown earlier when she had got the answer right. “Mark from the cafeteria?” The brunette tried, squinting her eyes as she tried to recall some of the names the other girls had suggested.

This time, Jungeun’s sigh was indeed annoyed. “I don’t even know who this dude is and I already hate him.” Haseul laughed at her annoyance and the taller brunette moved in her arms, turning to face her girlfriend – because that what Haseul really was to her and just because they never had said it out loud, it didn’t make it any less important. Shaking her head slightly, she rested her arms around Haseul’s neck, getting a good view of the face she had grown so fond of. “You knew it was you. Why did you answer?”

Haseul, who was probably too tipsy to be subtle, couldn’t hold her honesty. “Because I like the feeling of knowing you love me back.” Her tone was quiet, but it still had confidence on it – after all, she was never able to fool Haseul. “I also like the idea of not having to hide it from our friends.”

She could’ve talked back, made fun of Haseul’s sappy choice of words and play it cool, but they were over this stage in their relationship. Six months ago, in that one night they drunk a little too much, talked a little too much and acted without thinking, perhaps it wasn’t more than just mutual attraction. However, it wasn’t the same now. Attraction wouldn’t make her want to cuddle with Haseul whenever she felt sad, but also when she was feeling happy. Attraction wouldn’t make her want to hold Jo’s hand so badly that she would make up a lie and pretend she was cold so the girl would notice it and intertwine their fingers. Attraction wouldn’t make her feel annoyed at her friends for not knowing Haseul was the only person she wanted to be with since it seemed so obvious – at least to herself.

“Couldn’t you be just a clueless drunk like Jiwoo or a giggling mess like Heejin?” As usual, her words didn’t match the warmth of her smile, nor the affection on her face. Haseul giggled, she knew how much Jungeun liked her despite how annoyingly reasonable she was even drunk.

Giving up her cool – not so much – façade, Kim leaned in to capture Haseul’s lips in a sweet kiss that tasted like strawberry punch. “I hate to admit, but you’re right.” She said, her voice small as to not harm her ego. Haseul wasn’t as sensitive and laughed whole hearted, bringing her closer for another kiss, a long one this time. Jungeun didn’t resist, she wanted to kiss her girl and run her fingers through her soft, short dark hair ever since she arrived at that party, and finally she was getting the opportunity to do so.

Jo was a good kisser, no doubt, but it was the gentle way she caressed her back and smiled through the kiss that made Jungeun’s heart swell with love. Haseul was always like this: caring and loving, different from her, she didn’t mind showing how much she loved to be close or thought too much before letting out a cheesy romantic comment. The girls wouldn’t let her live once they figured about them, but being able to always be like this with Haseul might as well be worth the embarrassment.

Breaking the kiss, she leaned her forehead on Haseul’s, her nose touching ever so slightly the girl’s straight one, as she smiled. “I love you.” Jungeun mouthed, pecking the brunette’s lips one more time. She was about to suggest for them to go to Haseul’s house, but a sudden light and the characteristic sound of a camera made her jump on her place, grabbing Jo’s shoulders.

“Busted!” Kahei, the one person that interrupted them and made sure to capture it with her phone’s camera, said with a large grin on her face. “Now, can you two please get a room instead of tainting my innocent kitchen? Thank you!” Wong didn’t wait for a reply, getting out of the room, probably off to plan on how she would reveal the picture to the rest of the group in the most embarrassing way possible. Another note to self – never make out at Vivi’s house.

Jungeun sighed, resting her forehead on Haseul’s shoulder as the older girl muffled a laugh. “She will show it to everyone and they will never let it die.”

“She wouldn’t if she really thought we don’t want it out. But we do.” Haseul replied, combing her fingers through Jungeun’s hair. “At least I do. I don’t want Mark, from the pizza place or whatever, thinking he has a shot with you.”

Kim lifted her head to meet Haseul’s eyes, spotting the playful glint on them. “You told her about us, didn’t you?” Not that it was that big of a surprise, she had told her best friend about them, it was only normal that Haseul did the same.

“Oh…Oh, my head! Jungie, I’m feeling a little dizzy. Can we go home now?” Jo’s terrible acting wasn’t fooling anyone, and she was pretty sure the girl knew it, however she didn’t push her away when Haseul tried to prompt her to walk towards the house’s exit.

“You are definitely the most annoying drunk person I’ve met.” This time her annoyance was a little more sincere, considering she could already picture every single one of their friends blowing up their group chat with messages clowning her – maybe she should silent it before it was too late, but then she didn’t want to risk waking up to Hyunjin and Yeojin at her doorstep to search for Haseul in her closet.

“But you still love me and wants cuddle with me to sleep, don’t you?” Jungeun scoffed, shoving her lightly, although she didn’t let go of her hand. “I love you too, Jungeun!”

Denying was useless – and would be a total lie – so she just made her steps a little faster, dragging Haseul along with her. Yes, she really needed some cuddling and a good night of sleep with her girlfriend, before facing her friends and having to deal with their jokes for the rest of the year.

A/N: Hey guys, this is just a little thing I did because lipseul was too cute in that video. I’ll probably regret it and delete it after, but for now is here lol  I’ve a much longer and better developed lipseul story that is coming up soon.

I apologize for any mistakes and If your read ‘till here, thank you! See you next time!

EDIT: I still don't think this is my greatest work, but I'm not deleting it, calm down xD