i;;

Wheein has always been a heavy drinker because, despite her size, her tolerance is higher than most people. That's why it comes as a surprise that she finds herself absolutely hammered at the farewell party hosted by their manager, who looks more downtrodden for herself than for the girls she was supposed to look after.

Half a year of training and a lifetime of dreams all going down the drain because the CEO couldn't take a risk. Wheein had known going in that it was a danger to signing with a small and relatively unknown company, but she hadn't thought it would hurt this much.

She downs another shot of soju. It's maybe her third or fifth bottle; she isn't quite sure.

"Wheein-ah."

Wheein doesn't turn her head towards the owner of the voice even though she wants nothing more than to see her leader's chubby cheeks. Ex-leader. Whatever people call failures like them.

Bile rises up in Wheein's throat. The rejection hurts, but she knows none of them are blaming themselves as hard as Byulyi. Their eldest and the assigned leader had done nothing but watch over her members from the start. She doesn't deserve to beat herself up over a stupid decision made by a bunch of old codgers.

"I'm sorry," she hears Byulyi whisper for the umpteenth time that day. Wheein lost count after the seventh.

"It's my fault. It's because I'm fat and not cute at all. You guys shouldn't have to-"

Wheein feels anger pulse beneath her veins, fuelled by the alcohol in her system. She hates hearing that self-deprecating spiel come out of the leader she had admired so much. She wants nothing more than to kiss away the frown on those plump lips.

So she does.

The apology dies on Byulyi's throat at the short contact. Wheein pulls back just enough so she can lock eyes with the older girl. "You're pretty." Her tone brooks no arguments and any to come from Byulyi would have just fallen on deaf ears as the group's maknae falls asleep on her shoulder.

-*-*-

ii;;

Wheein thinks the creation of Mamamoo is fate. Sometimes, she even muses that the premature disbandment of her previous group had simply been a cog in the clockwork that led to the four of them gathering together in a somewhat spacious karaoke room, various drinks and snacks laid out on the table.

Really, being accepted in the same agency with her best friend since middle school had already been a dream come true. Solar, the weird unnie who never failed to make her laugh, added to that dream.
Then, there's Byulyi.

Wheein remembers how her eyes widened at the sight of the now lanky-looking girl enter the dance studio nearly half an hour late. Byulyi's smile had grown at seeing her and after the introductions were made, she ruffled Wheein's hair and commented they were no longer the LeMak.

Wheein doesn't think that changes much. Byulyi still acts like a leader sometimes, guiding Yongsun when she fumbles in the new role, and she still adores Wheein.

There's also something new. Byulyi was assigned as a rapper instead of the vocalist she had auditioned for. Wheein had initially pouted at the decision, knowing how breathtaking Byulyi's deep voice was, but she was hooked the monent she heard the taller girl rap.

"Byul-ah!" Yongsun calls out, pointing finger guns at said girl as she finishes her part of the song. Wheein can't focus enough to determine which song it is; she lost track of their queue after their drunken operatic rendition of Gee.

Byulyi stands, grabbing the offered microphone before spitting out rhymes like she was born to exude pure girl crush energy. Wheein is transfixed and the buzz clouding her mind inspires her to loudly cheer. Byulyi shoots her a sloppy wink as she ends her part.

Byulyi sits back down beside her as Hyejin and Yongsun take front stage to belt out the rest of the song. Byulyi cheers them on but falls silent when Wheein tugs her close and presses a soft kiss on her lips.

"I love your raps, unnie," Wheein admits with a drunken gighle before stealing the microphone in the older girl's hands and joining the song's finale.

-*-*-

iii;; 

There's simply something intoxicating about being recognised for your hard work, Wheein concludes. Once the tears had subsided, she felt a surge of what she can only describe as ecstasy fill her body. She and her members had worked hard to produce the album and their first win makes her want to celebrate for at least a week.

Her members seem to have the same idea. With the blessing of their proud CEO, the girls made their way to a favourite bar - one known for providing the privacy that idols needed while still offering an enjoyable experience - all while singing their congratulations to each other. 

Winning, Wheein thinks, feels very much like a drug. Her entire body feels like it's on fire and she's hypersensitive about everything. Every noise is magnified and every touch feels like a caress. She knows her members can feel this too. Yongsun is louder than normal and Hyejin is putting even more of a sway in her hips as she walks. And Byulyi... Byulyi can't keep her hands to herself.

One moment she has an arm slung over Yongsun's shoulder and the next she's hugging Hyejin, nose muscles working overtime all the while. She gets worse once the alcohol is in her system and Wheein may whine when she feels weight settle on her, but her arms still snake around the older girl's thin body to keep her close. Their other members just laugh along with their antics, already gotten used to the skinship that's now synonymous with the greasy hamster.

Wheein takes another shot of soju before joining her members in a loud congratulatory cheer. Byulyi gets off her so the four of them can hug as their song finishes playing in the club. Yongsun cries again and Hyejin bites back tears. Byulyi chuckles at them and wipes a tear from Yongsun's cheek before turning to Wheein as if to say, 'these idiots are crying again.'

She's met with soft lips in a kiss that ends too soon for Byulyi to even register what's happened. Wheein smiles innocently as if she's done nothing out of the ordinary. "Congratulations, unnie," she mouths out before ruffling the hair of the two crybabies still hugging them.

-*-*-

iv;;

One of the first things that had become evident about their group had been how they were almost always separated into pairs. It had come subconsciously for the girls and this ease and comfort they had around each other inevitably resulted in the creation of popular couplings among the fans. The management knows this and had quickly decided to use this to their advantage.

Moonsun soon became one of their biggest draws. Developing the dynamic had been easy. Byulyi and Yongsun would be the duo that constantly teases each other while Wheein and Hyejin alternated with being disgusted by how sappy they are and dropping small hints to fuel the fans' imagination. It was nothing new in the industry and the concept isn't at all far from what they do ordinarily, so Wheein doesn't understand the anger she feels every time she sees it happening.

Wheein sits opposite Hyejin on the floor of the dance studio, several bottles of assorted alcohol spread out before them. The building is quiet, with most staff already gone due to the late hour. Their manager had decided to take a nap while the girls took a break from their constant practising. Hyejin and Wheein were tasked with sneaking in alcohol from home while Byulyi and Yongsun went out to buy snacks.

Somehow the thought of the two together yet again irks Wheein enough for even Hyejin to notice. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I-" Wheein pauses, catching the look in Hyejin's eyes. She knows better than to lie to her best friend, who probably has a better idea of what exactly is wrong than she does. "I don't know why I'm getting bothered by it. It's stupid." Wheein sighs and opens a beer can as she thinks of the proper words to say next. The bitter fluid flowing down is a welcome taste. At least she understands alcohol.

"I know it isn't real and it's just for the fans, but I get really bothered by it," she continues. "I know it's stupid."

Hyejin shoots her a look she can't quite understand despite their years of friendship. "Maybe it's because you were supposed to be paired with Byul-unnie before," Hyejin suggests and the reminder of their failed group still tugs at Wheein's heart.

Before she can reply, the unnies walk in bearing the fruits of their labour. Hyejin immediately retrieves the two plastic bags full of delicious snacks and digs into her favourite chips. Yongsun follows suit, grabbing her favourite with the intent of savouring it with a cold drink, but Byulyi has other ideas. She snatches the snack from Yongsun's hands, sparking another back and forth between the two older girls that would have been prime MMMTV material had the camera been on them.

Wheein finishes her can as Hyejin pulls Yongsun away to begin setting up their drinking playlist. Byulyi moves to grab her own drink, but Wheein takes her by the collar of her shirt and sinks into her as if the're the only ones in the room. The kiss is all teeth and tongue, nothing like the butterfly touches they had shared before, and Byulyi feels the breath rush out of her. 

Wheein pulls back after what seems like forever, just in time for the other girls to turn back to them. Wheein's eyes go everywhere but at Byulyi even when she hears Yongsun ask Byulyi why she looks so flushed already.

If Hyejin notices Wheein sit a little closer to their resident rapper for the rest of the night, she doesn't say anything.

-*-*-

v;;

Wheein is not dumb or naive, only a little bit oblivious. She realises soon enough that maybe she's been harbouring a not so tiny crush on a certain Moon Byulyi ever since they first met each other. It feels liberating to finally have her feelings named, but it also fills her with embarassment when she thinks about all the times she'd stolen a kiss from the woman she looks up to.

Wheein wants to confess her feelings, but she's crippled by doubts. Their situation as a girl group makes things complicated and she has no intention of messing their dynamic any more than she already has.

Hyejin tells her that this is stupid and she should just tell their unnie how she feels already. Wheein tells her to go home and let her handle things on her own, which turns out to be a bad thing because now she's alone in the bar nursing her fifth bottle and regretting every decision she's made that led her to this point.

Wheein's never had much trouble with people she's liked before. When she confesses, it turns out they already had a crush on her in the first place. But Byulyi is nothing like the people she's dated in the past. Byulyi sees her as nothing more than a sister and would probably marry Yongsun first before even considering Wheein as a candidate.

Wheein reaches for a sixth bottle, but a hand immediately moves it out of the way. She groans and hides her face in her hands, not needing to look up to know that it's Byulyi who's come to check on her.

"Hyejin told me you were here," Byulyi explains as her eyes wander over the bottle littering the area around Wheein. She frowns and brushes back Wheein's hair to look at her clearly. "You shouldn't drink this much, Wheein-ah."

Wheein wants to fire a quick retort - like she doesn't want to hear that coming from another heavy drinker - but she knows Byulyi has a point and the way her eyes soften makes Wheein feel like there are butterflies fluttering madly in her stomach.
She holds out her hands and Byulyi takes that as a cue to carry her. Instead, Wheein pulls her in a hug as she gets close and rests her head on the nook of Byulyi's neck.

"Wheein-ah?" Byulyi asks, frozen and too afraid to move.

Wheein presses a soft kiss on the skin in front of her and tries to ignore the shiver that shakes Byulyi's body at the touch. "I love you, unnie," she whispers, eyes slipping shut at the confession. Her grip on Byulyi tightens as she awaits a response, but it never comes. Instead, Byulyi shifts the way she carries Wheein and takes her home after paying the bartender and thanking him for watching over Wheein.

She falls asleep in Byulyi's car, a lone tear staining her cheek on the ride home.

-*-*-

bonus;;

Wheein wakes up to the smell of fried rice and the stinging pain of a hangover. She's still in last night's clothes, but tucked underneath a comfortable blanket that Byulyi had stolen from her back when they were still living together. It makes her almost not want to leave the bed, but she knows she's just using it as an excuse to postpone a talk with Byulyi for as long as she can. The rejection from the night before still stings even though the thought that Byulyi had taken care of her acted like a salve.
Wheein isn't given enough time to prepare herself as the door opens and Byulyi comes in carrying a tray of food, water and some painkillers. She sets it aside and ruffles Wheein's hair, gently as to not agitate her headache. "'Morning, Wheepup."

Wheein in a breath. "Unnie, about yesterday-" Soft, plump lips silence the words coming out of and Wheein's eyes slip shut. She feels Byulyi smile against her before she deepens the kiss, making sure nothing in Wheein was left to doubt what had just happened between them. The kiss leaves both of them breathless and Wheein feels like her heart's about to burst from the way Byulyi tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

Byulyi grins like she hadn't just made Wheein want to melt into a puddle. The smile turns mischievous as she pokes Wheein's dimple. "I don't need to be drunk to kiss a pretty girl like you."

Wheein slaps her shoulder, eliciting a laugh from the taller girl. The pout forming on her lips falters as Byulyi pulls her in for another kiss and another and another. "I love you too, Wheein," is whispered against her lips.

Wheein wants to laugh and cry and scream her thanks to the heavens. She settles for kissing Byulyi, sober for the first of many times.

-*-*-END-*-*-

A/N: I do not promote or condone alcoholism.
Sorry if the format is a bit wonky. Wrote this on a new app and I can't edit this on a PC right now because I'm about to pass out from exhaustion. I'll be updating "lacuna" soon, hopefully.
If no one comments/upvotes this, I'm just going to assume the concert has killed all of you xD