“Don’t go.”

The rustles of stuffs meticulously arranged inside an open luggage abruptly stop. Chaewon doesn’t look up from the leather jacket she’s currently helping to fold, even though the weight of Hitomi’s gaze is prickling from her side.

“Unnie?”

Sometimes Hitomi asks her to repeat things. Mostly when Chaewon blurts out compliments she’d like to hear again for the second time, or when she hears Chaewon saying a word or a phrase she’s hearing for the first time.

And then there are times like this, where Hitomi doesn’t ask her to repeat what she says because one, she’s heard her; and two, if she asked, Chaewon would shake her head and say it’s nothing, actually. Don’t mind it.

Instead, Hitomi pulls away from the luggage entirely, looking over at her with a small smile riddled with bemusement,

“What’s on your mind?”

For a moment, Chaewon considers laughing it off.

(“It’s a valid response,” Yena insisted, a moment after the male lead in the kdrama they were watching did it. Wonyoung huffed loudly while Nako shook her head,

“It benefits no one,” Nako argued. “He’s just being stupid.”

Yuri groaned, “Can we please just watch the episode?”

“What do you think, Hii-chan?” Nako said, turning to face the couch Chaewon and Hitomi were using—only to blink and scoff fondly, “Oh, what the Hell, why am I surprised? Of course she’d fall asleep.”

Chaewon smiled, carefully shifting a little from her place with right shoulder entrapped under the weight of Hitomi’s head. “She’s tired,” she said quietly, gaze flickering to the sleeping girl leaning against her.

“I know. Are you going to bring her back to her room, Chaewon-unnie?”

She looked at the screen, the kdrama chosen for the night thankfully not too dramatic nor scary enough to cause them to make loud noises every few seconds. Before she could finish debating with herself, Wonyoung looked over, at first seeming to want to say something to Nako, but her eyes widened when she caught the sight of the neighbouring couch.

“Omo,” Wonyoung said.

Nako nodded, as though she understood perfectly all the unspoken words Wonyoung hid beneath the single word omo. “I was just asking unnie if she’d bring Hii-chan back to her room.”

“Why?” Wonyoung smiled at Chaewon’s confused look, “I mean, she looks comfortable.”

“Her neck is going to hurt later,” Chaewon softly said.

“But her heart will be at peace.” Wonyoung beamed even as Nako rolled her eyes. Chaewon personally thought that their maknae had watched too much kdrama, and perhaps it’s time to stop—

“Or, well, just stay a little longer, unnie. Unless you feel uncomfortable? Is your shoulder cramping?”

Chaewon blinked, digesting the question.

Uncomfortable?

That’s a word she nearly never felt around Hitomi, and—having her sleeping on her shoulder like this was hardly a bother. In fact, if she were to be honest—

No.

She shook her head, putting a premature stop to that train of thought and tucking the fluttering feeling away in the corner of her heart.

“Right,” she voiced, pulling off a small smile, “we’ll stay a bit longer. I think.”

“Nice,” Wonyoung nodded, shooting a finger gun, and Nako just smirked before turning back to the screen, like she knew something Chaewon didn’t—)

“—you with me? Chaewon-unnie? Hello?”

Chaewon blinks, the memories of the past dispersing from her mind. She turns to face Hitomi’s concerned frown, one hand waving gently in front of her to get her attention. Letting out a breath, she smiles and grasps the waving hand, gently bringing it down.

“Sorry. I got distracted.” She squeezes the hand in her hold, “What was the question?”

Hitomi purses her lips. “You were saying something that sounded like—” Chaewon looks on, not filling in the brief pause with an answer, and Hitomi sighs.

“You said don’t go. So I asked if you had something on your mind.”

Chaewon sets aside the leather jacket she’s finished folding, tilting her head slightly as she considers the question one more time.

Laughing it off sounds like an easy way out.

But this thing they have—the bond she’s built with Hitomi up until now, clumsily and sometimes recklessly but never without a lot of care—it tells her to stop looking for an easy. They’ve never settled for an easy the moment they decided to thread into this relationship together, and she shouldn’t start now, shouldn’t revert back into the cowardice that held her back from loving Hitomi the way she’s wanted for months.

So she takes a deep breath,

“Just that—I’ll miss you. A lot.”

Because when she said don’t go, she doesn’t mean that Hitomi shouldn’t go. Hitomi’s visit to her home is a right long overdue, and damned if Chaewon dared to ever think of robbing that much needed break from Hitomi and her family. God knows how much time she’s spent feeling devastated on behalf of their Japanese members, for not being able to be as close to their family in this hellish time of their careers.

She knows that Hitomi should go. She’d never dream of making Hitomi stay just so she could selfishly always have her near. It’s just that, it’s just—

Gentle fingers caress her cheek, and then a pair of lips warmly steals her breath. It’s only a chaste kiss, meant to distract the distressed lines off her face, and when Hitomi pulls away with a soft smile tugging , Chaewon feels a little less horrible about the ache within her chest.

“I’ll miss you too,” the younger murmurs, “I’ve gotten so used to you dropping by almost every other day, I’m sure I’m going to look over every time the door opens. Even knowing that you’re not in Japan.”

Chaewon forms a smile. “You don’t know that. I might decide to it and fly there to chase after your plane.”

Hitomi pushes the open luggage away, scooting closer until her warmth could seep through the fabric of Chaewon’s clothes, to then rest her head on Chaewon’s shoulder. My favourite place, she’s said one night, soft and adorably precious. It’s a miracle Chaewon hasn’t had a serious heart problem after the extended exposure to Hitomi’s affections.

“Hitomi.” She swallows, fingers slowly playing with Hitomi’s slender ones, “Do you think I’m… selfish?”

Hitomi hums. “Not really,” she says, “I’ve never really associated that word with you, even back during our Produce 48 days.”

“But I think I am.”

“Why?”

“Because,” she looks down at their hands, pondering over how to best put it in words. She trusts that Hitomi won’t assume the worst of her, unlike the vicious people out there who’d take any chance to dissect her statement and spin it on its head to paint a wrong narrative—but she also wants to say it right, to express herself properly so Hitomi could fully understand.

“Because I wish you could take me wherever you go,” she finally murmurs, gaze flickering to the side for a moment, glimpsing the softening of Hitomi’s curious expression. She looks away and coughs, then, feeling warm under her clothes,

“I don’t want to hold you back from going anywhere. I just wish I could always follow you.”

Hitomi pulls away from her shoulder, and when she looks over, the younger is already so close—close enough that Hitomi manages to kiss her faster than she can take a breath.

Unlike the first, this kiss is—less innocent. Hitomi doesn’t pull back when Chaewon nibbles on her lower lip, slightly parting to let Chaewon kiss her deeper, palms reaching up to rest on Chaewon’s shoulders.

Hitomi tastes sweet. This time it might be the strawberry jam she’s had for her sandwich earlier, but even without it, she always tastes sweet. She always does, the cavern of hot and intoxicating, the slow flick of her tongue always a siren melody asking Chaewon to come back over and over again. Hitomi is sweet, in her gestures and words and kisses, and it drives Chaewon crazy when she sighs into , head tilting and a subtle smile pressing teasingly against her lips.

It feels nearly like a daze when she finally pulls away, forehead resting against Hitomi’s warmer one, hot breaths mixing together in the small gap between them. Hitomi smiles and nuzzles against her, arms somehow already coiling around Chaewon’s neck somewhere in the middle of their making out.

“What was that for?” Chaewon breathes out, looking into the younger’s eyes.

“Because you’re cute,” Hitomi easily replies, giggling when Chaewon scoffs and kisses her. It’s a little thing she has taken to do, to kiss Hitomi whenever she isn’t answering seriously, and it used to fluster the younger enough to get her to blurt out the honest reply.

(Until Hitomi discovered that Chaewon would flush along, just as hot and bothered as she is whenever it happens, and then it doesn’t have quite the same effect anymore.)

Chaewon pulls away with a fond smile, one Hitomi notices because she smiles, too, one arm uncoiling so she can tap the tip of Chaewon’s nose with a finger.

Explaining,

“I don’t mind that kind of selfishness, Unnie.” She looks at Chaewon and Chaewon feels seen, like every word she isn’t brave enough to convey is still heard anyway, “I’m selfish like that about you, too.”

Chaewon softens, feeling her heart expand.

“Really?”

Hitomi nods, and she closes her eyes when Chaewon leans in to kiss her again, hands finding their way to settle over Hitomi’s hips, wordlessly pulling her into her lap, lips locking in a sweet slow dance all throughout. Hitomi, sweet beautiful Hitomi, who pulls away a little only to kiss her with a little more fierceness, causing her heartbeat to stutter and stumble clumsily inside her chest. She might have let out a small noise of surprise, but she regains her balance and kisses Hitomi just as fiercely, gripping her hips and pulling her closer.

I’ll miss you, the unspoken words, exchanged with every breaths they spend entangled, for they wouldn’t get to recreate this moment for a long while, distance standing between them with oceans and islands filling in what used to be only a short trip between dorms.

Dorms, it might be the word Hitomi suddenly remembers in-between their passionate kisses, because she pulls away after a long moment, lips swollen and breaths ragged—

“Unnie, is the door locked?”

“Mmm,” Chaewon nods, dropping her head to the younger’s neck, grazing her lips over the fair skin warm with life. She’s chosen to lock the room because Nako wouldn’t stop innocently walking in to then gasp and pretend she’s just witnessed something scandalous when all they did was just packing Hitomi’s things up. Best decision ever.

Chaewon bites down on the slant of Hitomi’s neck and the younger breathes in sharply, fingers tugging on Chaewon’s hair. “My outfit tomorrow,” is all she says, but Chaewon knows what she means, a flicker of disappointment dimly prickling her touches. She tilts her head up a little to kiss the younger's ear, huffing out a chuckle when Hitomi flinches a little at the ticklish jolt it causes,

“Not even a little?”

“Let's not take a risk, Unnie, do you want the managers to scold me—”

“Won’t you have that fluffy jacket with you?”

“Yes, but—” Chaewon sneaks her fingers under the younger’s shirt and Hitomi pauses, shuddering at her touch. “I’m not planning to always wear it. It would be too hot.”

“You’re too hot,” Chaewon whispers, regretfully pulling away. Hitomi loosens her hold around her neck, allowing them to look at each other properly, and—she’s laughing a little at Chaewon’s lame comeback, and Chaewon is just so enraptured and in love.

So much so that her voice trembles a little when she says,

“Take care, alright? I won’t be there to accompany you.”

“I know,” Hitomi says, smiling down. She threads her fingers through Chaewon’s hair, gentle and comforting, “Don’t worry too much.”

Except she will, and they both know that. Hitomi must’ve seen the answer written all over her face because she then cradles Chaewon’s cheeks, pulling her down slightly to press a kiss on her forehead,

“Just remember that it’s still to you that I'll be back to, Unnie.”

And Chaewon wants to memorize it. She wants to absorb the words where they come from, which is why she surges forward to claim the younger’s lips in hers again, the open luggage and folded clothes laid forgotten near them. She Hitomi’s back under her shirt, kisses slow and deep, revelling in the hot whimper the younger produces into , and tomorrow will come soon, sooner than the both of them would have liked--

but they have tonight to spend with each other, and Chaewon has plans in mind and on the untouched bottom bed several meters from them.

(“Bed,” Hitomi hoarsely whispers when Chaewon pulls away to breathe in some air, and she laughs airily at the permission given without her having to ask, scrambling to get up with her heart on her sleeves and desire scorching her insides.)

*

[chaewon > hitomi]

chaewon: wonyoung said that it’s solar eclipse today

chaewon: did you know?

chaewon: people say it’s a scientific phenomenon but get this

chaewon: what if

chaewon: the sun is going into hiding because you’re going out

chaewon: it might not handle having competitors well

chaewon: especially one as bright as you

chaewon: …i know, i’m rambling

chaewon: i just miss you so much already

chaewon: you must be in the plane right now, huh?

chaewon: please have a safe flight

chaewon: i love you

chaewon: you know that, right?

chaewon: text me when you've arrived :]

hitomi: yes I’m already inside the plane

hitomi: and yes, nako asked me earlier if i'd get to catch the eclipse during my flight

hitomi: and yes, I know, you showed me just how much last night

chaewon: .

hitomi: :>

chaewon: HITOMI-

hitomi: don’t worry about me, wiz*ones treasure us so much and airports are a familiar place ^^

chaewon: DON’T CHANGE THE TOPIC YET

hitomi: I’ll text you when I land, see you later, Unnie, I love you more! <3

chaewon: YOUNG LADY COME BACK HERE

chaewon: MINJOO WAS NEXT TO ME READING ALONG HSDHJKSFJHF

chaewon: DON’T LEAVE ME TO EXPLAIN TO HER MYSELF

chaewon: HITOMI PLEASE

chaewon: OH MY GOD

END.