“Her aura was unique to herself only. Confident, strong, like no one would dare mess with her. But when she graced one with her gorgeous smile, they would feel like their entire world was bliss.” 

“Are you drawing something?” 

Heejin looked up from her maths textbook to find Chaewon peeking at her sketch with the small caption. Everyone else was leaving the classroom. She didn’t even notice the bell ringing. 

“It’s just a sketch.” Heejin looked down at it again. 

Chaewon pulled her chair to the side of her table and smirked at her. “Is that Hyunjin?” 

“W-What? No.” 

“Long hair, a smile with long canines, even the cuts on her eyebrow?” Chaewon pointed at her drawing. 

“Don’t forget you showed me their channel and her Instagram.” Chaewon smirked.

“She’s a vampire, and those are scars! And more like you made me find her Instagram so you could see her.” 

“Well, you’re welcome then.” 

Heejin glared at her, but deep down, yes, she was glad. Hyunjin didn’t have many posts on her Instagram, but a couple selfies and videos of her playing the guitar was enough to leave Heejin’s cheeks flaring. Especially that one video where Hyunjin is playing the acoustic guitar and holding the guitar pick between her teeth instead of actually using it to play... “Alright, I might have thought about her while I did this.” 

“Predictable.” Chaewon laughed. “I still regret not going that night. I would give anything to see your face on stage when she signed your arm.” 

Heejin rolled her eyes. Chaewon had been saying that all week. 

“Have you texted her?” 

“Not you too! Ryujin asks me that like three times a day... No, I haven’t.” 

“It’s not working, so we have to be persistent.” 

“She didn’t text me either, why should I? Ryujin said she hasn’t been to classes anyway, so, I guess she’s not interested.” 

“What about Jungeun?” 

“What about her?” Heejin avoided Chaewon’s judgmental look, closing her book. 

“Well, she is interested in you, or was, for the matter. Why don’t you give it a shot?” 

It was a fact that Hyunjin was on her mind for too much time since that night, but Heejin couldn’t deny Jungeun did pop up every now and then.  

“I don’t even have her number.” 

“You also found her Instagram, stop making up excuses.” 

“You made me show you all their Instagrams, I didn’t go stalk any of them!” Heejin huffed in frustration. 

“Hey, what are you guys doing?” Ryujin’s voice echoed from the door. “We’re starving!” 

“, I forgot it was lunch time.” Heejin stood up, checking her phone. There was a notification from Jiwoo. “But in my defense, Chaewon was keeping me inside.”  

Heejin walked outside, waiting for Chaewon’s comment or remark, but there was nothing. She peeked at her and found her staring at something, her eyes widening for a second. Heejin followed her line of sight- 

“Hyejoo’s coming with us!” Ryujin beamed, resting an arm around her. 

“Because Yerim is busy,” Hyejoo said, but still let a small smile be visible. 

“We gotta start somewhere.” 

Heejin chuckled and followed behind them with Chaewon, who kept her head down. “You okay?” 

“Y-Yes!” Chaewon glanced at her, and it was enough for Heejin to notice the red painting her cheeks. 

And Heejin was the predictable one. But she decided to not about Hyejoo and remembered to check the text from Jiwoo. 

[Jiwoo] 
Come to our house today after classes, Haseul and Jungeun miss you ;-; 

Heat crawled under Heejin’s cheeks. She had never been to Jiwoo’s shared house, but now she knew everyone that lived with her.  

[Heejin] 
Alright, I’ll text you when I’m done with classes ^^ 

--- 

“Jungeun was so nervous she could barely hold her bass,” Sooyoung said, not bothering to hold her laugh. 

Jiwoo and Haseul burst out laughing with her, and Jungeun whined. “I wasn’t that nervous! And come on, it was the first time we performed, ever!” 

“Yes, you were,” Haseul said. “But it was cute, don’t worry.” 

Heejin chuckled, observing as Jungeun glared sideways at Haseul, but showed a small, shy smile. She was sitting next to Jungeun, and didn’t feel as awkward or nervous as she thought she would. Heejin believed it was because Jungeun wasn’t being flirty as she had been on that night. Maybe she wasn’t even interested in her anymore, and she honestly didn’t know how she felt about that. Had she lost a possible opportunity? Or was Jungeun not being too pushy, but still interested? 

“Heejin!” Jiwoo called, “Do you wanna play something?” 

All eyes were on her. Had she been calling her for long? 

“Y-Yes! Like what?” 

“We have board games in the garage, wanna go there and bring something you like?” 

“Yeah, sure!”  

“Thank you so much! It’s that door, just go down the stairs.” Jiwoo pointed at the door by the corner of the living room. 

Heejin nodded and stood up. They had a nice house, not too big, but enough for the four of them. Sooyoung shared one of the rooms with Jiwoo, while Jungeun and Haseul shared the other. They even had a garage, though none of them had a car, which was the perfect place for them to rehearse. But considering the fact they’d sent her to get board games, she wondered just how much of a messy place she was getting into, and what other junk would be there. 

She opened the door and her whole being froze. 

Music played, Crush’s Wooah, was it?, and Heejin didn’t even know where it came from, but her eyes were focused on the last thing she would ever expected to find there. 

Hyunjin sat, hair caught in a ponytail and a towel around her neck. The tight sports top showed her stomach and arms, her right bicep flexing as she lifted weights, and Heejin could now understand what kpop stans on twitter meant with ‘I want my bias to punch me’.  

She shook her thoughts, gulped, and exhaled. Even with the music in the background, it caught Hyunjin’s attention. Their eyes widened and Hyunjin stood up so fast she threw the bench down.  

“H-Heejin,” she babbled, lifting the bench and setting the weight on the floor beside it. “What...?” 

“I’m so sorry, I had no idea! J-Jiwoo told me to come down to grab some board games, but I guess she forgot to tell me y-you were... here.” 

The air around Heejin felt too hot. She tried to avoid looking at Hyunjin, at her broad shoulders, or her bulky arms, or else she feared her face would combust with how hot it was becoming by the second. She looked around, observing a drum set and keyboard by the left side, then a couple shelves at the opposite wall. 

“Alexa, stop,” Hyunjin said, and the music stopped. “It’s okay, I think even they forget I’m here sometimes.”   

Heejin looked at her. Hyunjin took large sips on her water bottle as she cleaned her neck with the towel. Did Heejin have to prepare herself every time she would peek at her? 

“W-Why are you here?” Heejin asked, glancing around the garage.  

“I live here.” 

“You what?” 

Hyunjin moved aside and pointed at the right corner, secured by two room dividers that were now closed. Heejin stepped closer to find a bed, well, a mattress on the ground, close to the wall, with galaxy sheets and a couple fluffy pillows. A small, portable desk with her laptop and her small Alexa laid beside it, followed by a drawer with a lamp and a few books on top. At the feet of her bed sat her yellow guitar with an amplifier. Fairy lights hanged on the walls, decorating and illuminating the space, and it all seemed taken out of one of those trendy Instagram bedrooms. 

“Welcome to my crib,” Hyunjin said with a proud smile, opening her arms like she was showing Heejin the most beautiful and expensive house ever. 

Heejin couldn’t hold a chuckle. “It’s actually really cute. But... why are you living here?” 

“Wanna sit?” Hyunjin walked further into her little corner, inviting Heejin to join her. She was sure by now that this was Jiwoo’s intention, and that asking Heejin to get board games was an excuse for her to go down there and inevitably find Hyunjin. “Unless they’re waiting for you to go back with the board games.” 

“Oh, no, I’m sure they’re busy with something else.” Heejin followed her, as Hyunjin sat on her bed, legs crossed. Was she supposed to sit with her? When Hyunjin patted the mattress next to her, she knew she was. 

Trying not to show too much on her body language how nervous she was, she sat down. She took another look around Hyunjin’s corner, until her eyes landed on her again. She was barefaced, her features looking so much cuter than when she had seen her with all that fierce makeup. But even so, she looked so damn pretty. But there was something missing. 

“Didn’t you have a ring on your lip?” Heejin asked. 

“It’s fake. I use it for the shows, you know, to look cool.”  

Heejin nodded. She did like the ring on her lip, but when Hyunjin removed the towel from around her neck and threw it forward, landing on the bench she sat before, that thought didn’t matter anymore. Heejin approached to take a better look at Hyunjin’s nape tattoo and awed. But when Hyunjin turned her head and Heejin realized how little inches their faces stood apart, she backed away, almost feeling dizzy by how hard her heart thumped. 

“I-I’m sorry.” Heejin cleared .  

Without a word, Hyunjin turned her back at Heejin and pushed her ponytail away. Heejin let her chin drop as she took in the beauty of her moon phase tattoo. It started with a new moon near the roots of her hair, with the other phases running down her nape, with the full moon in the center.  

“It’s beautiful.” Heejin breathed out, her hand moving on its own to touch it, but she stopped herself. “C-Can I touch it?” 

“Yeah.” 

Heejin gulped, and let her fingertips run across her nape, feeling the relief of the ink underneath her skin.  

“Not many people get to see that one. Well, it’s quite recent as well. I got it two months ago.”  

“Why did you show it to me then?” 

Hyunjin let go of her hair and turned again. “You had already seen it.” 

“But you didn’t have to show it.”  

There was silence, save for Heejin’s heart still hammering her chest. She knew Hyunjin made her feel things other girls didn’t. It was more than obvious that Heejin had crushed hard on her, but it didn’t make it any easier to deal with all the emotions she caused. 

“You still have two more I haven’t seen.” 

Hyunjin stared at her for a few seconds. Then, she uncrossed her right leg, extending it, and let Heejin find the tattoo of a cat face on her ankle, as she tried her hardest to ignore how toned her legs also were. 

“Are you laughing?” Hyunjin asked. 

"No! It's really cute, I just wasn't expecting it." 

"Why?" 

"Well, because, you know..." 

Hyunjin blinked. "I know?" 

"You have this cool aura, b-but it's really cute! Is this your cat?" 

"Was."  

Heejin's heart clenched watching as Hyunjin showed a small, sad smile, still staring at her tattoo. 

"Her name was Artemis. She was a white furball, with a few darker spots near her ears," Hyunjin said, and Heejin noticed those same darker spots on her tattoo. "Whenever I arrived home, she would come to me and rub her head on my ankle, meowing and purring a lot." 

"That’s why you got the tattoo there.” 

Hyunjin nodded and sat cross-legged again. 

“I'm sorry," Heejin mumbled. 

"It's okay. I still miss her, but I got over it." 

"I never had pets, so I don't know what it's like.” 

"It's like having a friend that's always there, no matter what. A friend who listens to you and doesn’t judge you." 

Heejin stared at her, at her smile that was sad but warm at the same time. “Why does it have a new moon on the forehead?” 

“Do you promise you won’t laugh?” 

“Why would I?” 

“Did you watch Sailor Moon?” 

Heejin smiled. “You called her Artemis because of the white cat.” 

Hyunjin’s eyebrows rose. “Yes. So, I decided to include that in my tattoo.” 

“It’s looks really pretty and cute. What about the moon phase one? What does it mean?”  

“Well, I love the moon. I look at it every night.” 

“You really love everything related to the space and planets and such, don’t you?” 

“I do, ever since I was a little kid.” 

“That’s really cute. Is your last one related to that as well?” 

“Who knows.” 

“Can I see it?” 

“No one ever saw it. Well, aside from Jinsol, of course, she drew it on me.” 

If no one ever saw it, it must be in a very hidden place. Heejin blinked, stopping her mind from trying to imagine where it could be. 

“Y-You work out a lot,” she said, praying Hyunjin wouldn’t notice the red painting her cheeks, but she only nodded in response. “No only really messes with you, uh?” 

“Exactly.” Hyunjin flexed her arm, making her bicep pop up. “I feel sorry for the ones that try, though.” 

Heejin flared her nostrils, trying not to stare too much, but too late. She didn’t know if Hyunjin was showing off, or waiting for her to feel her muscles, but Heejin gave it a shot and poked her arm with her finger, widening her eyes as she did. “Indeed.” 

Hyunjin chuckled.  

“You guys rehearse here, right?” Heejin asked, not allowing the awkward silence to win. 

“Yeah, we do.” 

“How do you choose which songs to play?” 

“We discuss what songs we would like to cover and perform, then we learn and practice them.” 

“I didn’t expect you to listen to Crush.” 

Hyunjin raised her eyebrows. “Do you know the song I was listening to?” 

Heejin nodded. “I thought you would listen to rock and such.” 

“I do, but I listen to a bit of everything. It’s fun to play lots of genres.” 

“When did you start learning how to play the guitar?” 

“I was twelve.” 

Heejin wowed. “No wonder you’re so good. Why the guitar?” 

“My older brother plays, and the first time I watched his band perform, I fell in love. Then I asked him to teach me the basics, and from there, I started playing it every day, whenever I could.” 

Heejin smiled. She could see the passion in Hyunjin’s eyes whenever the talk was about the guitar or their band or music. It was somehow enviable. 

“What about you?” Hyunjin asked. 

“Me? I actually learned how to play the guitar when I was a kid, but I stopped.” 

“Really?!” Hyunjin’s voice was louder than before, startling Heejin.  

“Y-Yeah, but it was just for fun, I don’t even remember anything-” 

“Do you wanna try playing on mine?” 

“Oh, no, it’s okay.” 

But Hyunjin still stood up to grab her guitar and brought it back, stuffing it on Heejin’s lap.  

“I-I never even tried playing on an electric guitar.” 

“Just try it.” 

How could Heejin say no when Hyunjin looked at her with such gleam on her eyes, eager to hear even if a strum? 

Heejin looked down as she tried to remember a simple chord. She pressed on the strings, then strummed. The sound coming from the amplifier was powerful and loud. She looked up at Hyunjin to find that smile she loved. The one that allowed her canine to peek. 

“Cool, right? Try it like this.” 

Hyunjin approached and placed Heejin’s fingers in a different position over the chords. Just like that night on stage, the contrast between how tenderly Hyunjin held her and the roughness of her fingertips sent a chill down Heejin’s neck. She told her hands to stop trembling and strummed again as she had been told, twice now, then smiled as she looked up.  

She still hadn’t learned how to deal with everything Hyunjin made her feel, especially not when she was so close. 

Too close. 

“Heejin!”  

They jerked their heads to Jiwoo’s voice coming from the door. 

“Y-Yes!” Heejin shoved the guitar into Hyunjin’s chest and jumped. 

“Oh, Hyunjin, didn’t know you were home.”  

“Where would I be?” Hyunjin stood up as well and placed her guitar on the stand. 

“Join us for the board games! You were taking a while, so I thought I should check on you, Heejin. Have you found them?”  

“No, sorry.” 

Jiwoo’s smirk was too obvious, just like the wink she gave Heejin as she moved to the shelves. 

---

A/N: I'm so happy to finally be able to update with the special surprise I prepared for this fic. Since Heejin got inspiration for a character, I thought it would be a good idea to actually draw it, like it's Heejin's drawings hehe you can expect more in the future!

You're probably wondering why Hyunjin is living in someone else's garage, but don't worry, you'll know in due time ^-^ 

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!