After dropping off the extra pillows and blankets, and teasing Wheein a bit more, her parents finally left. But, it did not register that they had actually left. Wheein was currently trying to hide and escape this mortal plane by burying herself into the nearest object. In this case, Hyejin’s chest. 

Hyejin stood stock still. Her world froze and the only thing she could feel was Wheein trying to bury herself into her bosom. While she was frozen, her mind went mad. A million different thoughts flew in her mind. Ranging from wanting to embrace Wheein to borderline on main thoughts. But, as soon it was clear that her thoughts were steering into the raging hormonal lane, Hyejin took action. In times of stress, humour is the greatest solution.

“I know my s are comfortable, but you do need to breathe.” Hyejin chuckled, but only to hide her internal screaming. She just wanted to give Wheein a hug. She was cute when she was embarrassed and it was too much. It was so cute that Hyejin could feel an aggressiveness rearing its ugly head. 

Wheein only stiffened. She had a choice to make. And both required the acknowledgement that she was practically smothering herself with Hyejin’s chest. Only one thing to do.

With one big breath, Wheein pushed herself off of Hyejin, and immediately went to occupy herself with trying to find a good location to spread out the haphazard mix of pillow and blankets. All the while, she kept her back to Hyejin. Not once acknowledging the fact that she was actively burying her face into Hyejin’s chest. Nor acknowledging that Hyejin’s chest was, in fact, very comfortable and she wanted to fall asleep on them. Maybe--

No, no. Only pure thoughts allowed here. Get yourself together Wheein. 

Seeing Wheein’s back towards her,  a Cheshire grin slowly made its way across her face. She knows she shouldn’t, but it.

With soft, determined footsteps Hyejin made her way to Wheein and stood behind her. All the while, Wheein was hellbent on making sure that the blankets were as straight as possible. Unlike her. It was futile, with every straight patch she fixed, another patch became wrinkled. This was just obviously busy work she was doing in order to hide her red face from Hyejin. And busy work in order to avoid a confrontation. Surely by the time the blankets are set properly, then it would be time for bed. 

Hyejin enjoyed the view a bit more before finally wrapping her arms around Wheein to give a back hug. She had to admit, as much as she enjoyed having Wheein on her chest, she missed Wheein’s warmth more. She wanted more. But what she didn’t expect was the sudden yelling.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Hyejin let go of Wheein and jumped back a little bit.

“What the fu--” Hyejin’s face meet the pillow. A pillow that was swung with such a force that Hyejin went backwards onto the bed. 

The sudden hug from Hyejin activated Wheein’s fight or flight response. Which, being the daughter of a boxing champion, meant the fight response was activated. Without even thinking, using the pillow that she was fluffing up, she swung. Another thing about being the daughter of a boxing champion, Wheein knows how to torque. Unfortunately, the fight response made her blind. It was only after the fact did Wheein realise she basically launched Hyejin onto her bed. 

“, I’m sorry!” Wheein dropped the pillow she was holding and went over to Hyejin.

Hyejin remained on the bed. Eyes looking towards the ceiling, arms splayed out as if splattered. She didn’t move. She only continued to stare at the ceiling as if contemplating the universe and all its secrets. 

“Hyejin?” Wheein shuffled closer, eventually leaning over Hyejin.

Hyejin blinked, “Ah, an angel has descended upon me at the hour of my death. Pray tell,” Hyejin reached up to caress Wheein’s face. “Was I a good girl?”

Hyejin’s touch would’ve made her blush more. In fact, it did make her breath hitch a little. It's just that the words themselves snapped Wheein out of it and she regained control of her emotions.

“Nope. You keep getting into fights, and keep almost failing every class.” Wheein responded with a deadpan expression.

Hyejin dropped her hand from Wheein’s face with a hurt gasp. Her words struck Hyejin’s soul to its very core and called her out.  “Wh- I haven’t gotten into a fight since….Uhm, like last week?”

Wheein continued to stare with a frighteningly dead expression. 

“Thursday. You got into a fight Thursday.”

“Ah, but that was justified! Bastard had it coming.” Hyejin huffed. 

Wheein observed how close Hyejin was close to being brazen. And having a brazen Hyejin in your room would most likely not end well. While the fight may have been justified, it still doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do. Well, according to the eyes of the law and rules that govern society. But that’s another gripe for another day. 

While Wheein observed, Hyejin marvelled. She marvelled at the person Wheein is. Being able to flawlessly dodge an obvious flirt like it was nothing. That was something Hyejin wasn’t used to and it was a breath of fresh air. She was used to everyone giving in to her flirtatious advances but not Wheein. Or maybe because Hyejin wasn’t using her normal flirtatious tactics. She had to admit, it felt wrong even thinking about flirting with Wheein the way she does to anyone else. No, as much as she liked Wheein, she can’t do that to her. Her regular advances were more vulgar and rough, and she knows that isn’t Wheein’s cup of tea. So, time for different tactics.

Even though she has no idea what she is doing.

“You need help?” Wheein asked while holding a hand out.

Hyejin paused and looked at Wheein’s hand. Just because she has no idea what she is doing, doesn’t mean she’s going to let that stop her. 

Wheein just barely caught the mischievous grin that flashed across Hyejin’s face. She barely saw it but she failed to react in time. Thus, her hand became ensnared in a lion's paw, and said lion pulled her down. 

With a small yelp, Wheein was soon on top of Hyejin while the latter laughed. Luckily for Wheein, the angle at which she fell on top of Hyejin meant that her face wasn’t in view. So, her ever growing red face was hidden from Hyejin’s eyes. Especially since she found herself, once again, on Hyejin’s chest.

“Wow, I know ya have cute puppy qualities, but I didn’t know that extended to cute puppy noises.” Hyejin chuckled. 

Wheein could feel the rumble of laughter through Hyejin’s chest. Despite how intimate it was, Wheein had to admit, it was comforting. The rumble of laughter, the steady heartbeat, and the warmth from Hyejin’s body all  combined together made Wheein feel at ease. As if all her burdens were gone and all her worries vanished. It felt like a place where Wheein belonged. And, it was a place where Wheein never wanted to leave.

But she had to. 

Wheein tried to get off of Hyejin but strong arms found their way around her. Wheein found herself in a loving embrace that would not let her go.

“Nuh-uh-uh. Ya not goin’ anywhere till ya apologise.” Hyejin stated.
Wheein stopped squirming. One, to comprehend what Hyejin just said. Two, avoid making their positions more compromising than it already was. And three, to look at Hyejin without putting too much strain on her neck. 

Wheein’s eyes met the lion’s gaze and her breath hitched. The lion's eyes held an entire universe. Dark and alluring, Wheein couldn’t help but feel drawn in. But she had enough composure to recognize the smirk on Hyejin’s face and the subsequent look of mischief, again.

“Apologise? For what?”

Hyejin scoffed, “For multiple reasons! One, hurting my head earlier. Two, decking me with a damn pillow so hard that I felt my soul leave my body. Three, accusing me, of all people, of breaking into your house!”

Wheein pouted, but if it meant she can get up, then she’ll have to do it. 

“Fine. I’m sorry.” 

Wheein tried again, but the arms held her steadfast. She looked at Hyejin with confusion written all over her face.

Hyejin still had a smirk on her face, “Nah, there’s gonna be some, terms and conditions, ya know?”

Wheein groaned in defeat, “Fine, I guess that’s fair.”

A big smile made its way across Hyejin’s face. Of course it was fair. Wheein’s answer to her question earlier came with terms and conditions, so it was only natural for Hyejin to have her own terms & conditions.

“Good. Now, for the headbutt and pillow hitting, how bout a kiss on the forehead and a hug for the accusing?” 

Hyejin looked at Wheein, gauging the type of reaction she’ll have. She saw Wheein go through many different emotions. From shock to confusion, Hyejin expected those. There was only one expression she was looking for. An expression that flickered on Wheein’s face, if only briefly. But it was long enough for Hyejin to mental curse herself. 

The look of being uncomfortable. The look of being asked to do something that you don’t want to do.

Making a quick mental note to never ask such a stupid question again, or any along those lines, Hyejin opened to suggest an alternative. But, Wheein stopped her. Stopped her dead.

Wheein kissed Hyejin on the forehead so tenderly that time stopped for the briefest of moments. Hyejin froze and held her breath. She savored the moment as much as she could. The warmth and pressure of Wheein’s body on top of hers and the soft scent of magnolias surrounded her and embraced her very being. She never felt as one with the universe until this very moment. It was as if everything fell into place. That life, whatever it may bring, was going to be alright. That life, and whatever path she takes, was going to be filled with amazing memories and moments.

It was as if she found her purpose.

As soon as the soft kiss came, Wheein quickly buried her head into Hyejin’s neck and wrapped her arms  around Hyejin’s body. Hyejin remained completely still. Her mind racing with various thoughts of varying levels of appropriateness. Most of them were just her internally screaming.

But Hyejin was about to learn a very important lesson today. Whenever Wheein is embarrassed, she physically explodes.  

In Hyejin’s stupor, she relaxed her grip on Wheein. A move that she would soon regret. For while Wheein was hugging her, her embarrassment peaked and so did her explosion. 

Wheein let out a yell of embarrassment as she turned over. Which would have just switched their positions, with Wheein on the bottom and Hyejin on the top. Except there was one small detail. A small detail called Wheein letting go of Hyejin, midroll, and effectively flinging the poor girl off the bed. 

This time it was Hyejin’s turn to yell as she was flung onto the floor. Luckily, she landed in the pile of blankets and pillows that Wheein tried to fix earlier. So, she didn’t get hurt. The only thing that did hurt was no longer having the warmth of Wheein on top of her.

A brief silence hung in the air as both girls tried to comprehend what just happened. Eventually Wheein peaked over the bed to find Hyejin and to ask her if she was alright. She was expecting to find Hyejin, but instead, a pillow found her. Found her face to be exact. 

Wheein let out another yelp of surprise as her ears were met with the sound of Hyejin’s laughter. 

“Hah! Now, we’re even.” Hyejin sat up with a prideful smile and a pillow in her hand.

Wheein could only stare before regaining her composure. “Excuse you, that was my face!”

Hyejin only shrugged, “Yea, now ya know how it feels.”

“Oh? Do I hit that softly?”

Hyejin’s eyebrow twitched. 

Wheein knew, she ed up.

“Wheein-ah,” Hyejin stated in a voice so nonchalant, Wheein could feel that doom was once again iminent. 

She saw Hyejin stand up, slowly, methodically, and began to approach her. With each step towards her, Wheein scooted back. Eventually her back hit the wall, and Hyejin stood before her.

“Did you just imply that I hit softly?” 

“I just meant---” Before Wheein could even finish her sentence, Hyejin striked. 

She bonked Wheein on the head with the pillow. It was a soft hit, a childish hit. 

Wheein scrunched up her face in confusion, “Hyeji--”

Hyejin bonked her on the head again. Like a bratty child throwing small punches. 

“Are you--”

Hyejin bonked her multiple times. Like a game of whack-a-mole.

At first, Wheein was confused, but now, she was getting irritated. She just wants to complete a sentence without being---

Hyejin continued to bonk Wheein, softly, on the top of her head. 

Wheein snapped.

Grabbing her own pillow, she finally retaliated. And soon enough, the two young girls found themselves in an intense pillow fighting match. Wheein, who has been trained under a boxing champion, versus Hyejin, who has had minimal training but more actual fighting experience.

An interesting matchup.

Which it was, until both of them gave into their childish urges and just swung the pillows at each other without rhyme nor reason. And that was how their night went. Full of minor screaming and yelling as they both tried to best each other. Until exhausting finally caught up with them. 

They both collapsed onto the bed, panting for breath. Each trying to remember the last time they’ve had this much fun with another person. But, they knew it was time to get some sleep. They both faced each other in an attempt to finally admit that maybe it was time to go to sleep but the moment they looked at each other, they both fell into a fit of laughter. Afterall, it was that time of night where everything was funny. They understood each other nonetheless. So, they made their attempt to go to bed even in the midst of their deranged, tired laughter. 

Hyejin went and turned off the light and went back to the little nest of blankets and pillows by Wheein’s bed. But, just as she was about to lay in them,  Wheein stopped her.

“You can sleep up here, you know.” Wheein’s voice drawled. It sounded like she could fall asleep at any moment. “Just leave the middle open so Ggomo can have a place to sleep too.”

Poor Ggomo was laying on the windowsill the whole time. Actively ignoring the nonsense. 

Feeling too tired to argue, Hyejin gave in. Picking up an extra blanket and a pillow, Hyejin made herself comfortable on the other side of the bed. But before she could go to sleep, there was one last thing to do.

“Goodnight, Wheein.”

A few moments passed with no response. Hyejin assumed Wheein fell asleep and decided to do the same. However, just as she was about to enter the sweet embrace of sleep, she heard something. A faint mumble.

“Goodnight, Hyejin.”