The device is providing the only source of light of the room. Her roommate already being fast asleep, Siyeon has no choice but to strain her eyes on the small screen.

At first, she tries to tell herself that the move is part of the choreography, so be it. There’s nothing she can’t do against that, and if she’s really honest, find the part really fitting to the song, dramatic and delicate, a flicker of hope amidst chaos. On stage, it’s also one of the moment they can all hear clearly how loud the fanchants are getting. She just wishes she’d be that one to share the part with Sua, not Jiu.

The way the choreo is designed, she can’t even actually see what’s happening while she’s laying on the floor though it’s right in front of her, adding to her helplessness. So every night, coming back to the dorm, fighting the urge to fall in deep slumber in the comfort of her bed, she catches up with their broadcasts of the day.

If the original sequence was already devastating enough to her, Jiu had to add fuel to the fire with her extra fanservice. 

And of course, being the dedicated performer that she is, Sua doesn’t let anything show and follows along as if it were completely normal. No, Siyeon can’t blame the woman. How could she? She is always a little biased when it comes to Sua. Just slightly.

But Jiu.

Right.

Oh, Siyeon was fuming now. She sits up in one swift motion, tiredness all gone and makes her way to the kitchen where the leader is unwinding with the warmth a cup of tea.

“Unnie.” Siyeon’s tone is firm.

The latter looks up upon hearing the call, an innocent smile drawing on her face. “Yes?” Siyeon knows better, though. She mustn’t get deceived, nor burst off. She knows there’s nothing she actually needs to be worried about other than Jiu pushing her buttons too far, and much to Siyeon’s dismay, it is working.

“We need to talk about the performances.”

“What have I done this time?” She asks, shrugging without her smile faltering. That’s exactly what Siyeon was talking about. She’s clearly messing with her, but she needs to get her point across.

"I'm sure you're aware of it."

Jiu’s hands leave the cup she was holding to come rest under her chin, elbows propped up on the table, leaning forward to indicate a full listening position. “Enlighten me.”

"Could you stick to the choreo?" There’s a flash of understanding in Jiu’s eyes and Siyeon knows she got it.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. Stop changing the bridge." The leader raises an eyebrow but keeps silent. Despite what she told herself minutes ago, Siyeon wants to burst out but it's late and wants to (try to) deal with this like an adult, though it seems the person in front of her won't let her. She deliberately prevents herself from talking without thinking, then breathes in. "Stop flirting with Sua-unnie like that, it's too much," she manages to put diplomatically.

"So that's what it's about?" Jiu suddenly turns dramatic, her tone almost accusing, making Siyeon a bit confused at the turn of the conversation. "I don't know, Siyeon. I really don't know." She pauses. "Have you thought about what I feel?"

"What? You're in love with Sua-unnie?"

"What? No, that's not what I me-"

"Who's in love with me?"

"Siyeon." Jiu's reply is immediate, the woman sipping on her tea, unbothered. Sua has visibly just finished showering and was on her way back to her room when she caught her name being thrown in an agitated conversation.

"Sua..." Siyeon's expression softens as she turns around to look at her girlfriend. It takes her a second to realize her slip up and can practically feel Jiu's smirk at the lack of honorifics. "...unnie," she stills adds yet unconvincingly, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. Sua herself asked her to drop honorifics a while ago but it is something they kept for when they were just the both of them and to this day, Siyeon still feels a bit embarrassed about it and has apparent issues transitioning flawlessly from one setting to another.

“Great timing! Siyeon was telling me about my little modification of the choreo, I think she doesn’t really like it.”

She jerks her head back to scowl at Jiu. “‘Not at all’ would be a better fit.”

“Really?” Sua sounds half surprised, half smitten, something along the line of ‘I didn’t expect that but my heart swells from hearing it’ and it does something to Siyeon’s heart as well if she’s being honest.

Now, as far as Jiu’s concerned, Siyeon is glad to talk back sarcasm and all, but she’s not in a playful mood enough to mess with Sua. She opts for the second realistic option in this situation, embarrassment. She turns to face her girlfriend and manages a nod.

“Oh, my Siyeonie is so cute being jealous right now!” Sua almost squeals, but retains herself from doing so out of courtesy to the sleeping residents. Or rather, she’s aware of the power her voice holds and remembers how her dongsaengs avoided her for a whole week straight last time she woke them up inadvertently.

“...”

“... I am,” Siyeon simply admits, groaning. “Jealous, not cute.” She mumbles after a pause.

Sua takes big steps forward, bringing her hands up to Siyeon’s face to squeeze her cheeks between her palms. “No, both,” she says, satisfied with the result. The burst of affection Sua feels in this moment results in Siyeon being hugged to death, a confusingly very pleasant experience.

“If you say so.”

They hear someone cough and remember Jiu is still sipping on her tea less than a meter away. “Should I leave or should I grab some popcorn instead?”

Sua releases Siyeon from her hold, nonetheless maintaining contact by linking their arms. “Don’t bother Jiu, we’re going out.”

“We’re what? At this time?” Siyeon’s not sure she follows Sua’s intentions. “It’s already late, unnie. Let’s just rest, it doesn’t matter.”

“But it does matter to you, and so it matters to me as well,” Sua explains, visibly concerned as her eyebrows slightly come closer to a frown. “Our schedules are in the afternoon anyway, it’s fine, come.” Sua argues, letting her hands fall to reach for Siyeon’s and drag her to the entrance.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” Sua is quick to book a taxi with her phone, and it isn’t long before Siyeon recognizes the company building.

“Let’s practice,” Sua simply says, as if practicing at 2am during promotion was the most normal thing in the world, which, to Siyeon’s standards, was complete nonsense.

Even if she appreciates sharing a moment alone with her girlfriend, she’s still out of it and would rather cuddle her to sleep. “I’m really not in the mood though…”

“I’ll make it fun, trust me,” Sua retorts, adding a wink for good measure before plugging her phone to the speakers. Well, 'fun' isn't the word Siyeon would have immediately chosen for their predicament, because as much as she trusts her girlfriend, the whole situation terribly looks like a legit practice. The piano arpeggios start echoing in the room while Sua takes position. She doesn't dance right away though, preferring warming up lazily as the music slowly builds up, then sharpens her moves, effortlessly going through the first half of the song.

Siyeon stands at the entrance still for two reasons, the first being that she's too lazy to practice at this time without a good reason her girlfriend has yet to provide, the second reason being that she enjoys Sua's dancing a lot so she's fine with just watching, even though the other woman's repetitive calls for the past minute makes her want to reconsider. Nicer than having Sua dance in front of her only would be Sua dancing for her only, and nicer than that would be dancing with Sua only. Or singing. At those times she feels a deeper connection to her lover, by sharing what they both love the most apart from each other. Call her smitten, she doesn't care. In her thoughts, Siyeon has every right to be as cringy as she desires.

But now the song is reaching the second chorus which means that damn bridge comes after and she'd really like to move on from this issue for the day. Which means, go home and maybe plot her revenge against their bunny of a leader.

"Come on Siyeon! Stop checking me out and dance with me."

"Don't wanna!"

"Oh my god, stop being a child and bring your lazy over here!" Sua halts all movement to look at Siyeon right in the eye, and the latter unconsciously gulps at the change of atmosphere when the other woman's tone drops. "Dance Jiu's part. I'll show you something."

Siyeon yields with a sigh and walks up to take the spot behind her girlfriend. Even though she's normally unable to see this part of the choreography, she's watched way too many performances to not know their leader's part by heart.

She slowly lets her hand down Sua's body and it leaves a burning sensation on her skin, making her briefly wonder if Sua can feel it too. She fights the urge to just hug the woman to keep going. She turns her head to the left, when she feels a hand on her left jaw that brings her to lock eyes with Sua, who maintains her hold on her by moving her hand down to her neck and Siyeon would probably forget how to breathe if not for Sua's uneven breathing on her face. Time stops from the unsettling proximity then resumes as Sua closes in, bringing the both of them in a kiss, to which she closes her eyes to appreciate the sensation. When Siyeon tries to tighten her hug around the other woman though, she feels her already moving and when she opens her eyes, Sua is distancing herself, follows the choreo without losing Siyeon from her line of focus and finally crouches down with a smile.

"That's the difference between you and Jiu, love."

Their second fansign comes soon after, and judging at how equally loud the fangirls are getting during the bridge compared to Jiu’s solo parts, the leader didn’t hear her complaint. Of course the woman wouldn’t listen, she loves her fangirls too much. Just loves girls too much, actually, and Sua is too playful to refuse the attention as well. Siyeon is annoyed for a second catching both of them smiling, but the thought is quickly forgotten as she needs to focus on the performance.

The song is nearing its end when it’s time for Siyeon to bend in front of Sua, who doesn’t miss an opportunity to , groping her fast as lightning.

Siyeon automatically slaps back when it’s her turn to be behind Sua just seconds later. The latter is so surprised that she erupts in laughter and Siyeon can’t help but crack up as well seeing the other woman can’t even stand properly. They both finish the choreography laughing.

“Sua keeps on touching my … Seriously...” Jiu explains to Somnias, debriefing on the performance.

“I got hit too. I got hit hard by Siyeon.” Sua retorts in her usual loud self, insisting a lot on the word hard. She’s looking at Jiu right in the eyes, but Siyeon feels like the words are meant towards her, letting her know that Sua will always put her first.

Later that night, Siyeon received a KaTalk chat from Jiu.

'I'll stop if you stop hugging Yoohyeon every chance you get >:('