** I’m somewhat back from the dead and I’d like to sincerely apologize for the glacial speed of this chapter. Seriously, I commend you all for the enormous patience you seem to have with me. Thank you. You’re all saints and if you’re still here, I really do hope you enjoy ;) **

 

 

 

 

“You know, I am quite excited! I’ve been meaning to come back here for some time now”, Seungwan says with a wide smile.

 

Actually, the complete truth is that she has had ample time and opportunities to visit again before today but it’s been a while since she has truly enjoyed and allowed herself to be a real tourist in her own city —the inexplicable, stupid embarrassment be damned. Especially in the last year she has come to realize that it is surprisingly easy to slip into and get stuck in the mindset of the city just being a place to work and take up residence. Over time finding herself doing the same things over and over again and forgetting to actively go out to enjoy the plethora of other, new and enriching things it has to offer.

 

Just a couple months ago she was asked to go here for a first date, taken completely by surprise when the question suddenly came along with her usual morning coffee order. But, at the risk of sounding harsh, she just didn’t want to go with them. It wasn’t necessarily only them why she declined apologetically but the idea of going here with a literal stranger somehow immediately didn’t feel right.

 

Usually she likes visiting museums alone best, completely free to go at her own leisure pace and take everything in to her satisfaction. But she does acknowledge and appreciate that in theory they can also be a wonderful place to get to know someone. With beautiful distractions galore and great ways to find topics of conversation to aid in things going smoothly. More so, perhaps, than stiffly sitting across from someone completely new over dinner and possibly having unavoidable moments of (too) intense eye contact. Compared to that it’s regarded as pretty non-intimidating and more relaxed by some people.

 

Personally though, she can only do something like this with someone she already knows and most importantly, who she can and doesn’t mind sharing longer stretches of silence with. Who doesn’t make her worry and inadvertently feel like she has to fill all the inevitable silences when she can’t bear it any longer and with whom she’s not afraid to linger for any amount of time to figure out what is happening in a particular painting or sculpture, or share her deeper thoughts with for the ones that get a reaction out of her or that somehow move her.

 

It can be a very personal thing and can be a lot. Too much in her opinion and certainly too intimate to divulge to someone she doesn’t know at all and is figuring out for the very first time if she actually would want to, beyond just friendly conversation. Other than that it’s also very easy for conversation to fall flat quickly if they are just a mismatch or have polarising opinions and then she is left grasping for anything from her arsenal of anecdotes and stories, trying to find literally anything that will make it even a tad bit less awkward and uncomfortable.

 

Equally, it sounds like a recipe for potential disaster if you ask her.

 

The whole thing reminds her a little bit of the kind of moments of deep, honest thoughts about insights, wishes, futures and insecurities that she has shared with other new people before, only to ask herself why she let herself open up so much again not long afterwards. Not necessarily regretting it —it’s a part of her personality and she likes that about herself— but also thinking she maybe shouldn’t always do so as readily with everyone, to protect herself a bit more.

 

But when the thought of going here with Joohyun bounced around in her head it was unsurprisingly the complete opposite and brought the thrill right back, uncontrollably and to new heights. No apprehension or doubt whatsoever. Only a lot of excitement. In fact, she couldn’t stop thinking about it once she started, already smiling, and she has let her thoughts run wild since. Mostly unsupervised.

 

With Joohyun, well… obviously the huge difference is that they already know they actually get along and work together. Incredibly well in a way that she previously didn’t realize was really possible. It feels effortless and super easy. Easier every time even. She has never had this type of instant connection with someone romantically and she can’t imagine ever not wanting to know Joohyun her opinion on literally every little thing possible. From A to Z, her every thought and to find out all the little peculiar things that she likes and enjoys and doesn’t, what appeals to her and intrigues her and to discover more about how she looks at the world around her, what catches her attention and what keeps it. She has never quite wanted to learn and understand everything about a person the way she does with Joohyun. This intensely. And she likes to think that she has gotten to know her rather well over the last couple weeks already —from the start they have been very open and honest with each other; both entirely uninterested in any sort of games— but it is not nearly enough. May never be enough.

 

The way Joohyun her mind works is just nothing short of fascinating to her and now going exactly here seemed like the absolute perfect choice, thinking the quiet and stoic environment would be, if anything, more likely to be an even more intimate experience for the two of them. To grow even closer while having fun together as always. Combined with the prospect of simply getting to enjoy her lovely company again, uninterrupted and comfortable, knowing it will undoubtably be completely free of any trace of stifling assumptions or accompanying expectations and instead more thoughtful musings shared with the continued palpable, great chemistry between them too, she suddenly couldn’t think of anything else she’d rather do at the moment.

 

It is exceptionally hard, if not entirely impossible, to think of things that wouldn’t be more fun with Joohyun there.

 

And surely it goes without saying that she likes that there are no expectations. Definitely no demands. There is plenty of hoping and imagining (definitely from her side) but absolutely nothing is expected.

 

Just thinking about it already made her feel electric.

 

Now, at Seungwan her admission Joohyun turns around again quickly, smiling softly as she comes to face her again after briefly having busied herself to try to find out how many people are still in front of them in the line that snakes from the entrance of the museum building and zigzags out onto the narrow sidewalk. The younger woman is standing right next to her, like right there. Certainly closer than strictly necessary and close enough to make Joohyun her whole body shudder and brain amazingly fuzzy which made counting just slightly more difficult to focus on than normal. But you won’t hear her complaining. The warmth radiating from the other her body and the bright, content smile she’s met with very effectively chase away a bit of the cold that has seeped into her bones with the current cold air biting their faces, their skin having colored within minutes of exposure and fleeting clouds of their breaths visible in the air as they exhale.

 

They have been standing in line for the better part of 20 minutes already, comfortably talking about anything and everything as usual and there has only been some progress. It is surprisingly busy today—presumably the majority of the people currently here with the intention to catch up to their new year’s resolution at the last minute— and they’ve watched the cute young couple directly in front of them huddle together closely with amusement and lightly chuckled under their breaths at the way they immediately shuffle forward every centimeter as space becomes available instead of waiting a moment to actually take a real proper step. Understandably, everyone is very eager to find themselves inside the museum, away from the frigid weather.

 

Seungwan, cheerful as ever, doesn’t appear to be bothered by the cold in the slightest though. Seemingly immune, her posture is actually in stark contrast to Joohyun her own freezing body. Clearly, though she was aware of this already, spending an extended amount of time outside in this weather is not as unappealing to Seungwan as it is to her. With her hands casually tucked into her back pockets and coat not even zipped up all the way, the younger woman shifts her weight from one foot to the other whilst she calmly takes in the gigantic banners advertising the newest temporary exhibitions that are hanging above them. She has been hyperaware of Seungwan gradually moving closer and closer to her and by now she is lightly bumping their shoulders in a back-and-forth game every few seconds, which is accompanied by the subtlest attractive cheeky smile that’s becoming less coy by the second and causes goosebumps to erupt on Joohyun her skin even through the thick layer of her heavily padded coat as she fights hard to suppress a smile of her own. It’s a ridiculously charming, youthful —almost boyish— look on Seungwan that has the back of her neck tingling rather pleasantly every time. She is thoroughly convinced that she can brave the cold weather a little longer with Seungwan like this next to her. The memories of their date out in the cold the other week are also still very fresh in her mind and significantly adding to that feeling.

 

Winter has never quite felt this warm.

 

Joohyun hugs herself a little tighter, ducking her head and nodding into her scarf to warm the icy tip of her nose. “Yeah, me too”, she agrees shakily through another shiver. “It’s been a while since I’ve been here too, actually. The last time I was here was in the summer with Sooyoung and Yerim for a scavenger hunt.”

 

“Oh really, here? A scavenger hunt? I didn’t realize they participated in those.”

 

“Uh-huh, they cleverly appealed to my competitive side to get me to join”, she explains matter-of-factly, recalling the memory rather fondly with a light chuckle. “We had to run all over the city, during a heat wave no less, and this was like our third stop if I remember correctly. The whole day was pretty exhausting and hectic but honestly it was a lot of fun too, even if we didn’t exactly have time to see much of the art here.” After a short pause she adds a critical detail, almost within the same breath. “But anyway, we won”, she says with a light shrug, a self-satisfied smirk curling at her lips and a glint in her eyes.

 

Seungwan chuckles quietly at that, clearly amused to see her competitive side shining through again. “Well, it certainly sounds like you had a good time. And it works out because now we can see all the amazing art they have here together.”

 

Joohyun hums thoughtfully, her smile slowly growing into a softer, half smirk, matching the other woman. “That’s a bonus”, she mumbles as she meets the younger her gaze again and she watches as a truly magnificent color floods her round squishy cheeks a second later. Seungwan tries, and fails she notes a little wonderstruck, to suppress a beautiful wide smile when she looks away a little flustered a split second later, shyly nodding in careful and restrained, but obvious, agreement.

 

It’s true though. She would be utterly lying if she said that seeing Seungwan again isn’t her absolute main interest. If not the only one, honestly. And amazingly —though surely not that surprising by now— it seems the other woman is of the exact same idea. It’s incredibly nice and reassuring to know that Seungwan makes her a priority whenever she’s with her, too. Like nothing can disturb them and it doesn’t matter in the slightest what they decide to do together.

 

Once again she is so, so glad and happy that neither of them feel like holding back or pretending that this between them isn’t unbelievably good and the steadily growing feelings aren’t mutual. As if there is any part of them that isn’t 120 percent in. That there could even be such a possibility as the two of them not being on the same page seems wholly out of the question. Or that this could be downplayed or contained, trusted not to show on their faces or understood from the way they look at each other and interact. Everything. It’s undeniable really, how they both want so much more.

 

It can be difficult, Joohyun thinks before she looks over at Seungwan slowly, tenderly, until it isn’t. This with her is impressively uncomplicated and effortless.

 

The thing is, they laugh and flirt and they both know their feelings are growing, they’re honest about it. Wholeheartedly embrace it even. At least Joohyun knows they are for her but she also feels pretty confident that Seungwan isn’t much different. If it were any differently she is sure she would quite literally go out of her mind. She doesn’t think she would deal with that particularly well because she genuinely didn’t know it could feel like this before. And now she can’t get enough of it.

 

When she really starts thinking about it in detail, she’s more than a little impressed and wonders if she has always had this much time on her hands, which is now all of a sudden both too much and too little at the same time. Too much time that passes agonizingly slow and feels interminably long when she has to wait to see Seungwan again or look forward to her next message, and much too little that passes far too quickly when she’s actually spending time or talking with her. But somehow, weirdly, the passing of time simultaneously also seems to stop abruptly when they are together and lock eyes, everything around them largely forgotten almost instantly. Time escapes her and it’s like she’s suspended in time with only Seungwan. In those moments nothing else really matters.

 

Though, in the in-between moments she has also found a surprising abundance of time to even just think about her, the thing her stomach does never becoming any less wonderful. She’s positive she would actively go out of her way to accommodate her if it wasn’t the case already naturally. By now it’s an unquestioned daily occurrence —a multiple-times-a-day thing actually— and a very pleasurable way to spend any amount of (available) time in her opinion. Whenever possible her mind wanders wherever it pleases. To memories and daydreams of conversations, lingering glances and careful, brief touches that set her heart pounding and leave her wishing. Besides the usual things that keep her busy in her day-to-day life, Seungwan has quickly found a way into her sort of routine in an effortless, harmonious way that she really likes and elevates her whole day. And she doesn’t remember randomly smiling this much.

 

Her own (loud) thoughts and memories, however, can never in a million years measure up to the real person and the reality of being near her so she is extremely thrilled and grateful to find herself once again in the intoxicating presence of the brown-eyed vision of a woman so soon, only just a little over 48 hours after last seeing each other.

 

In all honesty, she is certain she could see Seungwan every single day and still think it’s not nearly enough, which is very telling.

 

Seungwan had texted her earlier today, her patience perhaps (also) wearing thinner. Their easy continuous and progressively more flirty messages likely having fueled her excitement and slightly brazen ‘I really can’t wait to see you later’, revealing her eagerness. Wholly unassuming as she was quickly grabbing a few groceries on her way home after finishing her workout, Joohyun her heart instantly started thumping in an unsteady but by now somewhat familiar way and her usually calm and collected persona was a little shaken in a way she doesn’t mind at all when it’s Seungwan who does that to her. Though the grocery store checkout is maybe not the most convenient place for that.

 

It’s as close to a kind of ‘I miss you’ as she herself imagined she would’ve dared sent, though it is very true. She can’t deny that, even if it feels a little silly.

 

Naturally she agreed a short moment later, happily blushing and smirking softly though her mind still a little hazy, with an equally daring ‘Then why do we wait?’, her fingers clutching her phone tight as she hit send. It’s ridiculous to think that mere hours would truly make any difference but she had to admit that she also really, really wanted to see her sooner.

 

And as they are standing in line now in comfortable silence, the irresistible, devastating combination of Seungwan with her head adorably slanted and a dimpled, warm smile reaching her eyes has her stomach flip-flopping again. She looks sideways fondly to take in Seungwan her beautiful profile once more and finds herself questioning how much the current, by now hopefully a little less alarming and less telling, flushed color of their cheeks can —with at least somewhat reasonable credibility— be attributed to the actual cold versus their blushing. The lingering blush to be exact.

 

But she is quite confident she knows the answer to that already. Because despite the cold her face feels a bit toasty still and the light chills going up and down her spine have absolutely nothing to do with the weather when Seungwan bumps her arm again and she thinks back on their greeting when they found each other earlier, which had quite literally thrown both of them slightly off.

 

She had found the younger already waiting in line, having updated her about her slight delay after opting to get here by metro considering that finding a parking space in this area is nothing short of a terrible experience. At the same time that Seungwan went in for a sweet quick hug Joohyun herself had a different idea, because —again— it felt inexplicably right to do, like everything does with Seungwan. It was too tempting and she couldn’t fight the feeling. And why would she? Upon seeing her she decided, a little impulsively she has to admit, to greet her with a kiss on her cheek and squeeze to her arm, the kind you give someone because you feel like you might go mad if you have to wait even a single moment longer. But her lips incidentally landed much closer to Seungwan’s than originally intended due to the other woman’s movements forward at the same time, to both of their (pleasant) surprise. Nevertheless, she automatically closed her eyes as she did and her heart practically jumped out of at the contact. And she felt both deliriously happy and also a sense of accomplishment afterwards as she slowly extricated herself from Seungwan her arms and took in the way the younger looked a little astonished, her breath stuttering after releasing a soft gasp —something that was clearly visible due to the cold— and swallowed a lump that had formed in .

 

Admittedly, her own softly uttered ‘hi, it’s good to see you’ was also bit shyer than she expected.

 

Being the one caught off guard the most out of the two of them Seungwan had to blink to get rid of the haze she found herself in and immediately concluded that her brain is simply not behaving as it is meant to. At all. Nothing could have prepared her for this, for her, and it had the swirling in her stomach intensifying again and heart racing, complicating getting her composure back. Especially with Joohyun looking at her with those piercing eyes and flashing that dazzling, lazy quirked grin. She was all too aware of herself blushing even more under the other’s intent gaze, her skin practically burning.

 

It’s safe to say that the spark was instantly ignited and intensely felt again between them —as if it ever diminished— and the knowledge that that happened has been impossible to completely forget (even if she would have wanted to) and contributes to their current state but also kindly helps to combat the cold wanting to take a hold of all exposed skin.

 

Joohyun is certainly not complaining. Wouldn’t dare.

 

After waiting outside a little while longer and falling back into conversation, both of their cheeks now the loveliest pink bordering slightly more on the red side from the unrelenting wind, they finally arrive at the front of the line and can make their way inside to do the last of the waiting in there and get their tickets.

 

The line collectively moves again and before Joohyun can even do anything Seungwan already quickly steps forward and, trying to be chivalrous, keeps the door open for her, motioning for her to step inside with a soft tilt of her head and the tiniest smile at the corner of her lips. At first Joohyun doesn’t fully realize what’s happening when she passes by so when Seungwan her hand slides up the small of her back in a gesture so casual and mindless and smooth she freezes for a split second. Her mind desperately trying to catch up to the present, before she shivers and all but melts into the touch, a powerful jolt passing through her. Her heart skips a beat.

 

Oh

 

Well… Okay, she did not know there were quite so many nerve endings on the small of her back and that they could be this receptive to touch. To Seungwan her touch to be specific, even through her coat. Or maybe it’s just that all her senses are heightened when it comes to her. A tad bit dazed she lets herself be guided, the gentlest touch of the other her palm still positively burning through all the layers right into her skin in the most intense and pleasant of ways. Enough to make her feel extremely warm in an instant. Before she can fully realize it or stop herself, she may have leaned into the touch just a bit more.

 

She looks up slowly to meet the younger her eyes over her shoulder as she passes and smiles shyly, teeth lightly digging into her lower lip, the butterflies letting their presence known again as they start floating wildly in her stomach.

 

With her heart beating hard against her ribs, fist clenched in a desperate bid to calm herself down she releases a shaky breath trying not to focus too much on the slight upturn of the corner of Seungwan her perfect lips as she happily continues talking again, taking her spot next to her again, as if nothing happened at all. Looking way too smug and incredibly attractive.

 

She can’t help but feel that today is going to be a particularly great, illuminating day. Her cheeks are already hurting in the best way just thinking about it. Imagining all the possibilities. Limitless, though she definitely has some hopeful thoughts.

 

Once they are both inside everything goes surprisingly quickly and before long they have their tickets in hand and Joohyun leads them to the downstairs area with the lockers to store their coats and Seungwan’s huge bag, which looks like it will give her an injury if she holds on to it any longer than necessary. She laughs lightly to herself as Seungwan waves her ticket around beside her and exclaims “Ha! I am so going to tell Yeri about this!” rather delightedly. Perhaps a little too excited after having been offered a student discount before the cashier realised they are actually not of that student age anymore. It’s a nice enough, flattering compliment though.

 

Still smiling at Seungwan’s goofy expression and contagious energy, Joohyun comes to a stop in front of a long row of lockers and gets some change out of her wallet to pay for one, quickly scanning and deciding on an available one that seems pretty clean and dry and isn’t too high up or low for either of them to get everything out later again without too much effort. She takes off her coat and hat and folds them neatly, only taking out her ticket, phone and card holder from her pockets to keep on her person before putting the rest in the back to leave room for whatever Seungwan wants to store away. Should, honestly.

 

“Do you want to put your bag in here as well? It looks quite heavy and they also don’t allow you to carry such big bags when we really get inside”, she starts asking, turning to face Seungwan who is watching her unabashedly, almost softly, whilst leaning against the wall a few steps away from her. Presumably waiting for her to finish.

 

The question falls on deaf ears.

 

Only partially realizing she’s staring, Seungwan shakes her head absentmindedly. “Hmm? Sorry, what did you say?”

 

“Your bag”, she says again with an amused smile tugging at her lips, shaking her head lightly and pointing to the large brown bag hanging off Seungwan her right shoulder while she stands up fully again. “Come, put that in here.”

 

Embarrassingly, almost all of what the older woman is saying goes right over Seungwan her head. She blinks slowly, attempting to pull herself out of the heavy daze she found herself in as she watched Joohyun and her little magnificent smile. She can’t help but get distracted and could easily stare at her all day. Doing literally anything or even if all they would do is sit in complete silence. It’s just something about Joohyun in front of her right now. She’s an arresting sight every time but there’s a certain air about her now, all other-worldly charming, irresistibly cute and positively wind-flushed that’s wildly attractive and captivating. It suits her almost a little too well. How she looks soft and (extra) fresh-faced, radiant with her bemused eyes crinkling on the sides as she smiles widely now, easy-going and happy, her lips just a little devoid of color but smile so bright she could have easily cracked her lips if she weren’t currently carefully applying lip balm to them. Not that she pays any particular attention to that…

 

But if it was only that she would be able to handle that. Perhaps. Better at least. But not when it’s also her calm, magnetically dark eyes contrasting her skin finding hers so easily and drawing her in exactly like they did that first faithful evening, impossibly mesmerizing her every time. She’s more wonderful than she ever could have calculated. While watching her she also noticed the curve of her shoulders beneath a simple long-sleeved shirt, her corduroy pants that the tactile, recklessly wild part of her brain (that clearly shouldn't be in charge right now) irresponsibly just wants to feel and battered vans sneakers. Her ear that was adorably sticking out from under her hat earlier is glowing bright red and now that she has taken her hat off her hair is also a little bit static, her baby-hairs comically sticking out in every single direction.

 

It’s all of it…. She is just very, very cute. Actually, cute doesn’t cover it. It barely scratches the surface even.

 

She has already complimented her today but any number of pretty words couldn’t do her justice. Seungwan has given up on wondering if there’s even a way for this woman not to look utterly stunning in every possible way of the word. And she is utterly smitten.

 

The older just walks around like this all the time. Effortlessly? Yeah, she didn’t stand a chance.

 

Then it’s the small, slowly growing crooked smirk pulling at the older her lips and her smiling eyes that say I see you that remind her she hasn’t moved yet or actually responded to Joohyun her question and that she must have been less than subtle about her taking in the sight of the older woman. Again, completely entranced. Not that Joohyun seems bothered by that, quite the opposite really.

 

is a little dry and she clears discreetly, walking up to her with a fuzzy feeling in her stomach and a light blush crawling up the back of her neck. “Yeah right, o-okay. I’m just glad you decided to take me up on my suggestion not to take a chance on freezing to death”, she says teasingly, referring to her coat that was much more appropriate in protecting her from the current weather than the one she wore before.

 

Joohyun just rolls her eyes half-heartedly, a tilted soft smile taking over her whole face. Because Seungwan doesn’t know just how impossible that is when it feels like her insides are literally melting and on fire with her around.

 

She runs appraising eyes over the woman for a second. “What do you even have in there anyway? It looks incredibly heavy.”

 

Seungwan shrugs as she comes to a halt in front of her. “It’s alright, I’ve gotten used to it. You never know what you might need.”

 

“It seems like you’re prepared for almost everything”, she says curiously, lightly amused.

 

The other snickers, because it’s not that far off. “Pretty much”, Seungwan admits almost proudly when she takes a quick look inside her bag, like she’s taking inventory. “Let’s see, I’ve got… scissors, a water bottle, a couple of band-aids, a pair of gloves, a sudoku, a pen and notebook, headphones, mask, ah-… a charger for my phone and a power bank, some mints, another bag…— Actually, you name it and I will most probably have it in here somewhere.”

 

Joohyun just nods along, getting more amused with every new item she lists and by the end she can’t help but chuckle openly.

 

“Wow, then do you by chance have some hand lotion or cream hidden in there? That would be amazing.”

 

Before she can even finish asking, Seungwan her fingers are already digging deep into her bag and before long she hands her a small tube with a little proud shimmer in her eyes. She takes it from her gratefully and squeezes out a generous amount before giving it back and the younger goes about stowing away her things.

 

Too generous as it turns out because a couple seconds later, when Joohyun looks at her hands in contemplation, a thought suddenly comes to mind and she bites her lip to stop herself from grinning gently, a playful, teasing glint forming in her eyes.

 

She looks up and smirks innocently as their eyes meet again, a loud thundering in her veins.

 

“Here”, she says simply as she takes Seungwan her now empty hands in hers and then takes her sweet, sweet time to slowly wipe the excess of the hand cream on them, never breaking eye contact. “You have very nice hands. I wouldn’t want them to dry out.”

 

The younger blinks slowly and breathes in shakily through her teeth. A small triumphant smile pulls at the edges of Joohyun her lips as she basks in the way blood clearly surges to Seungwan her cheeks, who can only think of her suddenly incredibly clammy hands carefully held and tended to by Joohyun being all lovely and caring and irresistibly cheeky. She’s using every ounce of willpower she has left not to sigh at the contact. She swallows thickly instead. Her heart feels like it’s going to beat right out of her chest.

 

Then Seungwan her lips curve upwards slightly as she tries to bite back a smile of her own at the mischievous, achieved look on the older her face, her knees made weak and unsteady by the little crinkles around her eyes, and makes quick work of taking off her coat and fitting it in the locker to distract herself from the fact that such a simple playful thing by the older affects her this much.

 

Because if Joohyun is going to continue being like this today she’s going to drive her insane. Well, she already hasn’t been the same since that first dinner —which marked her brain’s steady descent into the wonderful Joohyun-induced chaos— so maybe today will push her over the edge completely. She finds herself impossibly charmed by that open, playful expression on the older her face and struggling with the concept of self-control a lot more that she’d like to admit out loud, turning into a hopeless mess in Joohyun’s hands at the slightest brush of skin already or even just a look.

 

But everything is still under control.

 

Totally.

 

For how much longer she can’t guarantee.

 

 

 

 

 

……..

 

 

 

 

 

Out of the two most common ways to enjoy a museum they seem to wordlessly have settled somewhere in the middle of the two. Between the slow perusers —made up of serious, sometimes critical, art-loving people mostly; the truly committed ones with arms held behind their backs who form deep emotional connections with each individual piece— and the brisk walkers who gaze at paintings and (relatively) quickly scan the information on the plaque and decide whether they like it or not. And also somewhere between silently moving along and occasionally discussing quietly and talking with each other.

 

After deciding to go by the recommended order of exhibits as indicated on the map they picked up at the reception earlier they enter the big central hall first, roam around briefly to orient themselves and then start moving towards the first adjacent hall housing a collection of mostly artefacts, oil-paintings, sculptures, ceramics and some calligraphy dating back to before the 19th century.

 

It’s almost quiet, yet somehow strangely soothing in the stoic atmosphere that museums tend to have. The hushed voices, shuffle of feet, a shrill squeak of someone’s shoes and a muted chorus of completive hums and poorly hidden gasps of admiration briefly bounce high and clear from the imposing ceilings and endless marble floors before they get swallowed up by the sheer space around them as everyone goes about their own way of quietly exploring.

 

There’s a small group of pensioners just ahead of them that look like they do this sort of thing regularly. Listening to their personal audio-guides, they leisurely stroll about the space so terribly slowly that it will likely take them an eternity to see everything. It’s almost as if they are attempting to experience the different centuries in real time and intent on seeing the paint dry. It’s an unhurried affair and something about them tells Joohyun that they obviously have a well-used museum card and that they wouldn’t hesitate for a second to come back for a couple days in a row to take their time to explore every wing by itself without a rush, which she thinks is actually very sweet.

 

On the opposite side of the large room there’s also a somewhat glum-looking little boy relegated to a bench, sitting next to one rather friendly looking security guard. One who doesn’t really look all that intimidating and like he is ready to directly yell at you or have a strong word with anybody the moment their face gets a little too close to the artworks. As they eventually walk past them a little later Joohyun picks up on part of their conversation and it turns out the boy has resorted to asking the man about his uniform enthusiastically and is kindly indulged in abandoning any interest he may have had in the museum in the first place in favor of getting to know his newest friend better.

 

Meanwhile, Seungwan and Joohyun naturally walk side by side in perfect harmony, completely lost in their own little bubble as they slowly continue to move on to explore the more modern and contemporary parts of the museum, moving about the space with light footsteps so as not to disturb the other visitors. Like they are waltzing together. Seemingly floating over the wooden floor whilst they take everything in around them curiously, both of them periodically read off particularly interesting facts, share insights, anecdotes and little observations without being pretentious.

 

And Seungwan occasionally tries to put into words what they’re (supposedly) looking at, explaining it without really doing so which Joohyun finds so unreasonably endearing and cute that she can’t stop a giddy giggle from escaping her lips every now and then. Other times she is surprised by the younger her intimate knowledge of certain pieces, the history behind them or the particular techniques used. When asked about it, Seungwan says it has rubbed off from Seulgi her genius-ness over the years but she is impressed nonetheless and thinks she’s selling herself incredibly short by saying she isn’t all that knowledgeable.

 

Luckily, Joohyun did not exactly come here today with the expectation that she could completely focus on the displayed artworks like she would if she were here alone in the first place because it really doesn’t take her very long to realize that there is no canvas wide enough to keep her attention away from the painfully gorgeous woman besides her. She tries incredibly hard to focus at least a little bit on their surroundings but it’s not easy and she feels her attention drifting to Seungwan every time she doesn’t have her eyes consciously fixed on something else.

 

Truthfully, she only really manages to tear her eyes away just long enough to seriously take in the art. The museum’s art that is. She doesn’t feel guilty about it in the slightest.

 

Seungwan never fully moves out of her peripheral vision. She does not allow that to happen. She likes it way too much the way it is right now. All she wants is another look, willing every detail to memory. It’s almost like a palate cleanser or a frame of reference for lack of a better description. A reminder -or a confirmation- that yes, Seungwan is still without a doubt the most amazingly enticing and captivating, beautifully distracting thing in the room by a long shot as far as she is concerned.

 

She is beyond beautiful and Joohyun finds indescribable, endless satisfaction in watching her. Just everything about her is interesting and very distracting. Maybe even more so because the younger seems to be disarmingly unaware of her own prettiness and how utterly amazing she is. She’s compelled to look, eyes flitting over and craning her neck to take a (another) look at her face. It’s an impossible task not to look if you ask her. Especially when the younger exudes the exact, specific kind of easy, steady warmth that she finds herself gravitating towards without hesitation. Infinitely closer, hopelessly drawn to her like a moth to the brightest flame and melting like ice cream in the sun when she slowly breaks out into the prettiest smile and her eyes light up a bit more. It’s almost like a little bit of golden sunshine is woven into the very fabric of her. And there’s that familiar comforting feeling that practically rolls off of her as easily as those smiles as they leisurely absorb each other’s space, giving and taking in equal pace. That easy balance each brings to the other.

 

And while museums aren’t generally one of the first places she might think of when she considers eye contact, somehow they do find each other’s eyes often. She could have predicted that this would happen given how they have literally been unable to keep their eyes off each other throughout every previous meeting before but it still delights her. The eye contact is simply not chaste between them. Neither can deny that. Won’t even try to because it is incredibly clear. Their chemistry is so undeniably present and heavy in the air around them that at this point it’s noticeable to anyone with a pair of eyes she imagines.

 

So she’s certainly not alone in her side-long glances and wandering eyes. There’s a low humming in her stomach and her pulse quickens at the way Seungwan catches her gaze without fail and she stares right back at her with that tender, kind light in her eyes. With the subtlest tiny smile that’s all too telling curling at the corner of her lips.

 

As they move through the different exhibitions, they find more and more small excuses to touch, body language and attraction clear as day. They keep almost colliding as they walk even though there’s more than enough room in most spaces for them to walk freely. At first it is just their shoulders bumping and fingers loosely dangling between them that brush occasionally, though never quite committing to a hold, making Joohyun her heart lurch and electrify her with tingles shooting up her arm. Sometimes it’s a flustered light smack on a shoulder when Seungwan makes a bad joke to make her laugh and it echoes a little too loudly in the open-wide space. Then she stifles her laugh behind one hand and the other hand lingers a little longer as warmth spreads over her cheeks.

 

Then gradually, as they move from piece to piece, Seungwan starts, at first, (un)intentionally leaning into her at times and angles her body more towards her to whisper something in her ear about one of the many priceless artefacts and Joohyun almost chokes on air the first time she does it and needs to even out her breathing in fear of having to cut this date short on the basis of oxygen deprivation. Still, with her head completely devoid of any real cohesive thought, she leans forward instinctively, curving into her space and touch, their heads bent to each other and shoulders brushing. Both trying to hear the other more clearly over the din of bodies around them in the busier parts of the museum, eyes dropping to lips — which doesn’t really aid in her ability to comprehend what she’s saying—, and also simply desperate to be closer.

 

And she does the exact same some time later, pressing almost flush against Seungwan and gently laying a hand on the younger her arm in a light caress to draw her attention to something or wrapping loose fingers briefly around her upper arm to urge her closer to get a better look as she comments on a particular detail of a piece of artwork.

 

Seungwan her heart is steadily beating against her ribcage and is buzzing all over as the older keeps it up turning to her with mesmerized eyes to say things quietly in a low, soothing voice, which she would be able to focus on if Joohyun’s closeness and breath on the side of her face and hypnotizing dark eyes looking at her so beautifully questioningly weren’t causing an uncontrollable jump in her stomach and driving her to astronomical distraction. Because Joohyun is distracting and so close. Too distractingly close and she can smell her light perfume which seems to go straight to her head. It makes it nearly impossible to look away. She almost feels high on the constant closeness of the older woman. Breathless, her skin is burning with the way her hand slides down her arm featherlight and at the flash of a dashing smile from Joohyun her body is flooding with warmth and it sends a delightful shiver up her spine that has her biting her bottom lip hard to hold her composure.

 

It’s ridiculous how exhilarating it is but neither can stop.

 

Joohyun doesn’t need to understand what it all is that’s going on inside her. Only really knows for certain that she simply wants to be near her. Nearer. Especially when the lovely smile dancing on Seungwan her lips matches hers and electricity fills the whole room, like it’s the most natural thing that’s ever happened.

 

Now, as she’s captivated by the concentrated look on Seungwan her face and tries to ignore the erratic beating of her heart, she glances away before she gets too lost in the curl of Seungwan her slightly parted lips. She swallows hard.

 

“What do you think of this one?”

 

Seungwan her brows are knitted together in thought as she stays silent for a moment. Or in genuine confusion. She’s not entirely sure which one it is.

 

“Truly riveting”, Seungwan says at last, voice flat and eyes still glued to the almost floor-to-ceiling painting. Looking even more intently.

 

“Personally, first impression is that it’s very big.”

 

She looks back and forth. From Seungwan, now sporting an even more quizzical look, her eyes a little squinted and head tilted to the side to see if approaching it from a different angle will change anything, to the object in question and back. The younger woman blinks a few times as if that could somehow change what she’s looking at. Joohyun can practically see the gears turning in her head. Before she knows it she almost reaches out to smooth out her cute frown but she catches herself at the last moment.

 

“No, I mean, I don’t think I really get it?” Seungwan looks back at her, unaware of Joohyun’s thoughts, eyes bright and kind as she scans her face, gauging her opinion, before settling on steadily meeting her gaze again.

 

She raises her eyebrow in silent question.

 

“I’m a little confused”, Seungwan admits softly, adorably tilting her head.

 

Joohyun grins gently as she runs her fingers through her own hair. “It’s not a Rorschach test, Seungwan.”

 

The expression on the older her face, voice tinged with a hint of familiar playfulness and that unrestrained teasing smile pulling at her lips, is impossible to resist and is out to blind Seungwan for everything she adores. She can’t help but be amused, though the dry sort of humour catches her off guard a little so she just snorts and rolls her eyes.

 

She breaks out into a faint smile as she looks back at the painting, once again trying hard to see anything else than what really does seem to be a massive monochrome teal-colored canvas.

 

Joohyun smiles wider besides her, eyes scrunched, satisfied.

 

“I suppose you’re right.” Seungwan sighs lightly after a moment. “But don’t tell me you’ve never seen things in the clouds?”

 

“Oh of course I have. Hasn’t everyone, though?”

 

“Probably. I just figured you’d have more experience with how you like to look at the sky.”

 

She smiles softly. She can’t exactly argue with that logic. “Yeah, maybe. But I think I usually just zone out after a while.”

 

The slightly troubled expression on Seungwan her face after she nods quietly prompts Joohyun to reassure her. “It’s okay, you know. You really don’t have to like or love every single thing they have here. Different people simply like different things”, she says facing the younger again, more fully this time, wanting to make her feel a little better because she can see that Seungwan is trying very hard to understand what this piece is about.

 

Well…, the thing is, Seungwan does know that. Everyone likes different things and nobody can like everything to the same extent. But it’s not necessarily that she doesn’t like this one. She’s confused, yes, and it’s just that with recently having developed a quite a strong fondness and newfound appreciation and admiration for a very particular captivating mix of warm brown she can’t help but think that if it were that color instead it would be infinitely more appealing to her. She can easily imagine spending hours in pleasurable contemplation. A specific, elusive shade that she can’t quite pinpoint —though certainly not for a lack of trying— that exists in the magnetic eyes of the woman next to her who hasn’t really left her mind at all the last days. Weeks. All of her has, in fact, been ghosting around the corners of her mind continuously as of late.

 

She should perhaps be used to the color of them by now but absolutely isn’t.

 

Joohyun keeps curiously staring at the younger woman when her naturally pink lips stretch into a lazy half-smile, a dimple becoming visible on her cheek.

 

“I know. Just,— Maybe if it were another color I would’ve had a stronger connection to it?”

 

“Ah, okay, let me take a guess. Something more towards blue, I presume?” Joohyun teases lightly, tongue poking out between her teeth in unconfined amusement.

 

“Not a bad guess but actually,” Seungwan begins, giving her a sideways glance and she smirks, lifting her shoulder in a light shrug. “I was thinking of brown.”

 

“Oh brown, why is that?” she asks, a little surprised, eyebrow quirking up in reflex. She thought she made an educated guess, with blue being Seungwan her favorite color and all.

 

An innocent yet mysterious grin flashes across the younger her features before she elaborates. “You have really pretty eyes.”

 

“You too”, Joohyun replies sincerely, smiling a little, without missing a beat. Her heart does that instead.

 

“I told you that already, right? Like really…” Seungwan pauses intentionally, turns her body more towards her and Joohyun can feel the blush coming up the back of her neck and the pleasant buzz overtaking her when she keeps looking at her intently. Attention unwavering and brazen. ”Stunning”, she whispers quietly, eyes briefly trailing down to look at her lips.

 

Joohyun blinks and breathes in rather sharply. Eyes still keenly locked on Seungwan’s sparkly ones and a steady fluttering rising in her chest, she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear almost shyly.

 

Yeah, and she has definitely been thinking about it since those words came out of .

 

As if she hasn’t been reminded of that compliment every time she catches a glimpse of her own eyes in a reflection recently. It might seriously be her favorite compliment she has received.

 

And Seungwan, now grinning from ear to ear, is immensely enjoying the tiny, tilted smile and extremely beautiful pink cheeks she gets out of Joohyun and tries to ignore the chants of ‘pretty’ her brain uselessly provides when the older mutters a shy ‘Thank you’ just loud enough for her to hear.

 

They leave it at that and continue walking around slowly, catching each other’s gaze with the faintest knowing and matching smiles pulling at both their lips. Silently smiling until their cheeks hurt.

 

 

 

 

 

……..

 

 

 

 

 

When they are nearly two-thirds of the way through the whole museum Joohyun relishes in Seungwan her beautifully stunned face as they come to a halt in front of a rather evocative painting that doesn’t necessarily leave much for the imagination.

 

“Oh, wow. That’s uh-” Seungwan swallows hard, a blush quickly rising on her cheeks and eyes slightly wider as they lock eyes again.

 

“Tongue-tied?” she asks, suppressing a smirk and voice tinged with amusement.

 

Seungwan smiles a little, embarrassed almost. She clears . “A bit.”

 

“Well, if it’s any consolation, it’s less shocking the second time. I can tell from experience.”

 

Seungwan almost snorts out laugh, a truly lively sound that settles underneath Joohyun her skin and makes warmth crawl up her spine and to the back of her neck.

 

“To be honest, it reminds me a little of this piece I’ve seen a long time ago. I haven’t been able to completely forget it even after all these years.”

 

Joohyun waits patiently, her amused smirk softening as she leaves room for Seungwan to elaborate if she wants to. Hoping very much that she will.

 

“Okay, so we went on this family trip to Paris when I was little and…” Seungwan pauses to sigh lightly as she thinks about the memory.

 

Joohyun flashes her a gentle teasing grin, wide and playful as she bumps her shoulder lightly and quips, “That doesn’t exactly narrow down the timeline. You’re still little.”

 

While shaking her head lightly Seungwan laughs before rolling her eyes good-naturedly.

 

“Alright, when I was young-er”, she emphasizes with a slow smirk and a pointed, amused look her way, “I was probably 15 or something, we went to Musée d’Orsay which is in this really impressive building that used to be an old railway station and it’s wonderful. Anyways, they have paintings from Monet and van Gogh and beautiful sculptures and it’s all very nice but there is this one painting in particular— right when you turn a corner you see it and ….- Ehh well, I feel like scarred me juuuust a tiny bit for a while.” Seungwan grimaces slightly, pinching her fingers together for emphasis and then chuckles at the memory. “I think I was a little too young, or too naive maybe. But I definitely didn’t expect anything like it to just be right there, and neither did my parents or sister. I wouldn’t be completely surprised if it caused quite the stir in mid 19th century France, too.”

 

Extremely curious and intrigued as to what exactly got a young, innocent Seungwan seemingly so appalled she smiles along softly, encouraging without pushing. “What kind of painting was it?” she asks.

 

And after clearing awkwardly and a moment of serious contemplation Seungwan tells her about the piece in question, in quite some detail, growing redder the longer she talks but determined to explain what happened as well as she can remember because she asked her.

 

“Oh my god. That’s uhh-”, Joohyun mumbles softly, fumbling for words, slightly shocked and with wide eyes, after Seungwan finishes her thorough description. She turns her body and looks back at the painting in front of them that all of a sudden doesn’t seem so bad in comparison.

 

“Uh-huh,” Seungwan nods fervently while chuckling a little awkwardly, eyebrows raised. “You are telling me! I’d say viewers discretion is definitely advised. The unassuming visitor might otherwise be in for a shock. Like me.”

 

Both of them are silent for a few moments. Joohyun silently processing the new information and Seungwan feeling a little lighter after having shared that particular memory for the first time with anyone other than her family or Seulgi. Also relishing in the feeling of the older understanding her reaction even from just a description.

 

“I guess he found his muse at least”, Joohyun tries reasoning eventually, catching the younger off-guard.

 

There’s a loud snort from Seungwan at that and her hand quickly flies to to suppress a hearty laugh, her eyes crinkling cutely and shining in amusement as she looks at the people around them in apology before she meets her gaze. The older said it in that wonderfully whacky, unintentionally funny way of hers that she enjoys so much and it makes it much harder to suppress her own amusement.

 

Seungwan nods thoughtfully. “Yeah, well, I suppose you’re right in some way. This piece was just not really my style. Like at all”, she says a moment later, voice still tinged with laughter.

 

Joohyun looks back at the painting with a closed-mouthed, wide grin and a scrunch of her nose, extremely pleased to have made Seungwan belly-laugh like that. “Tell me, what is your style then?”

 

And the continuous happiness or weightlessness Seungwan feels around Joohyun must have gotten to her head —that’s the only sort of reasonable explanation she can come up with— because almost instantly an as of yet untitled unbidden image, startlingly clear, starts forming in her mind already. Needless to say it’s with the older front and center.

 

In a perfect world she would be able to make it exactly like she pictures it now. A piece focused on capturing her the way she sees her, all of her, beyond her very pretty face. Including her humor and wit and kindness which are just as worthy of admiration. And from her little ways of doing things to just how attractive her soul is. No matter how hard she would try though, there’s an inner beauty that doesn’t let itself be captured completely, ever. Regardless of the medium used. She’s more than sure of that.

 

It’s a little bit like not being able to really capture a sunset on your phone or a starry night sky. That sort of poetic beauty.

 

Still, despite knowing all that, she imagines something like a simple portrait in neat, elegant pitch-black lines on a canvas that’s starkly contrasted by the soft yet vibrant tones and curved nature of watercolors flowing in an unpredictable, uncontainable way. Spilling over to permeate everything in a mix of different colors that somehow capture her outrageously attractive warm personality. Complex lighter and darker tones carefully blending into each other, making it every little bit as dreamy, elegant and whimsical as she is.

 

After all, for Seungwan herself capturing beauty never really included showing skin. It is possible of course, —evident by the gratuitous male and female portrayed in galleries around the world that showcase societal standards of beauty over many centuries— but also entirely unnecessary at the same time. She believes that beauty simply comes in a dazzling, underrated variety. Often unexpectedly wherever one allows themselves to take the time to really look, with an open mind, open heart and unquenchable wonder and curiosity. There’s much more than meets the eye in so many things around. It’d be regrettable to go through life not making an effort to find a little time every once in a while to remind yourself of that.

 

After what feels like a few too many seconds of zoning out Seungwan clears , trying to appear nonchalant as her cheeks most definitely feel a lot warmer than a short moment ago. She quickly tries to push that train of thought and image to the back of her mind. “I like many different things”, she says vaguely instead.

 

Their eyes meet and hold firm then as they share a warm smile before Joohyun wordlessly steps back and goes to sit on the bench right behind them. She pats the spot next to her lightly, looking up at Seungwan through her lashes and smiling softly in that way that makes the younger her chest grow impossibly tight. Seungwan walks over to sit down next to her for a minute. Thrillingly, the older does not scoot over to make room and she finds herself with her thigh pressed firmly to the other and her skin buzzing and burning up, promptly feeling just a little light headed and it sends her heart pounding.

 

Joohyun tilts her head slightly and slowly turns towards her, just far enough to lock eyes again and sends Seungwan a soft smile. “That’s nice. It’s good to be open-minded. I have taken different art classes in the past, as a hobby. Take my mind off other things and to learn how to draw and paint, finding my style you know? But I’m not anything like these artists…”, she says while looking around in awe, gesturing at a few random paintings hanging in their immediate vicinity with her hand before turning back to Seungwan, a bit more vulnerable and sighing almost unnoticeably. “I’m just me.”

 

Seungwan her gaze doesn’t waver but softens, looking back at her with a certain affection and a reassuring warm smile. With as much gentle conviction as she can put into it she tells her, ”You are not just. anything.”

 

The younger also has no doubt that whatever Joohyun does or puts her mind to, she gives it her all and that in itself is already worth admiring. It’s an attitude that shouldn’t be overlooked.

 

Joohyun takes a shaky breath and sends her a grateful tiny smile before averting her eyes shyly because she might completely melt under the attention if she doesn’t. With how the younger comes seemingly out of nowhere and says something touching and lovely, making her feel (even more) things she’s never felt so easily and fast. “I think I still have a lot to learn.”

 

“Hmm, well there’s tons of artists that never get the credit or attention they deserve and are never completely satisfied with their own work. But if you ask me, I think you’re pretty good already”, Seungwan whispers softly after a long second, smiling as she’s nudging her shoulder and pressing her thigh a little bit into hers to get her attention.

 

Slowly Joohyun quirks an eyebrow, the corners of her lips also curling up into a genuine smile with a mind of their own. “Oh, you’ll be in for a big surprise then. I’m afraid you have to temper your expectations a little bit. I’m not saying I am completely terrible, but I’m not, like, amazing either. I’d just like to become better, for myself.”

 

Seungwan just shakes her head, lips stretching into a wide grin as she sends her a knowing look out of the corner of her eye. “Nope. I will politely disagree with you on that.”

 

She laughs as that silly little dizzying smile from Seungwan that she can only describe as exceptionally nice, especially in combination with that unmistakable glint in her kind, bright eyes, makes the back of her neck tingle and her heart do a happy-dance. “Are we getting back to the biased thing again?” she teases easily, thinking back fondly on the memory of their first date which weirdly feels so long ago already.

 

“Not at all, I have actually seen your creative abilities, remember?”

 

Within a second heat rises to Joohyun her cheeks as it all of a sudden clicks into place and she quickly turns to face Seungwan fully, her big expressive eyes meeting the others smiling ones. All confident playfulness is immediately gone from her own expression. She temporarily forgot about that little note she left for Seungwan. Also, to be fair, she didn’t think she would find it so quickly or expect to be called out on that like this.

 

“Oh, that- well that was- that’s just— uhh”

 

“—Very cute” Seungwan supplies with a smug smile that lights up her entire face, blinding Joohyun for all she is dear and causing the rest of her vocabulary to evaporate into thin air.

 

Temporarily speechless, she silently opens and closes repeatedly, slightly embarrassed and trying to come up with a witty response. She lowers her head the tiniest bit, not quite knowing what to say in the end. Or how to properly explain why she did it.

 

“Maybe I’ll frame it”, Seungwan continues with light, gentle amusement. She has kept it —of course!— and it’s now safely stuck on her fridge with a magnet that may or may not be her favorite. She has seen it every morning and evening and all of the other times she has been in her kitchen or walked by since finding it and it has brought a smile to her face every single time. It is special to her.

 

Joohyun chuckles, only slightly less embarrassed now, and stands up, Seungwan following her as they continue their walking. “Please don’t.”

 

“But seriously, I really like it. It’s very good.”

 

She rolls her eyes and breaks out into a grin. “You’re just easily impressed.”

 

Seungwan shrugs. “That might just be because it’s you”, she says softly and she watches as a subtle smirk curls at the edges of the older her lips, something that gets her every time. They exchange a glance, open and sincere smiles growing on both their faces, glimmering eyes full of not so hidden meanings. Unambiguous. A silent exchange that only two people who have an unmistakable, deep connection can have.

 

With her insides jumping, Joohyun swallows hard. She looks away for a second, in desperate need of a solid distraction to not kiss that incredibly breathtaking smile off Seungwan her face right here, right now.

 

Honestly, it might just take one more sidelong glance. But there are far too many prying eyes for her liking and her remaining logic is barely enough to keep herself together as it is.

 

“Well, it’s definitely an original, I’ll give you that. You want an autograph too?” She shoots her a grin after a moment. But before Seungwan can even answer her she changes her mind. “Actually, no. Forget that. I will do a much better one for you.”

 

The younger her eyebrows shoot up, adorably surprised. “Really?”

 

She nods resolutely, coming to a halt in front of the next painting while biting back a smile. “Yes, sometimes I don’t know what to draw but I’ll make sure to find something special for you.” Her mind is already running wild with things that Seungwan has mentioned and other things that make her think of her, of which there are a lot.

 

Seungwan observes her quietly for a long moment, mirroring her contagious smile and heart fluttering at how Joohyun has been taking in all things with the utmost interest.

 

“Maybe you could find your own muse then”, she suggests innocently.

 

Meeting her warm gaze, Joohyun hums in agreement and bites her bottom lip. She looks deeply into the younger her enticing eyes, then looks her up and down, carefully smirking before they keenly lock eyes again, brown meeting brown.

 

“I’m pretty sure I have found one already. I’ve got my eye on her”, she whispers softly, only for her to hear, flirtatious and with a blinding glint in her eyes. There’s a flirtatious dare in the lilt of her voice and she can feel herself flush slightly as Seungwan her breath hitches and her eyes briefly trail down to her lips.

 

Seungwan her heartbeat speeds up instantly and she tries to stop her blush from spreading further by focusing hard on breathing steadily, the somersaults in her stomach intensifying. She bites her bottom lip softly, trying to stop the wide smile from taking over her face. And, maintaining eye contact with Joohyun, it’s out before she even realizes she’s said it, rather boldly and surprising herself with the ease with which she says, “In that case, I could pose for you some time, if you want.”

 

Whatever Joohyun was expecting Seungwan to say in response, if anything, it definitely was not this. If she really did say what she thinks she just heard… Volunteering to pose for her? Oh my… instantly dries up and she flushes red as she averts her gaze, ears going hot at the numerous thoughts that come to her mind. The proposition certainly makes her blood flow just thinking about it. It’s rushing through her, spreading tingles up and down her spine and sends a warm, fuzzy feeling to her stomach.

 

“Not to brag but some people say that I have great expressions. It’s part of my charm”, Seungwan elaborates confidently, a stupidly attractive slow and cheeky grin taking over her whole face in that way Joohyun has come to adore already as she looks at her out of the corner of her eye and swallows thickly.

 

Trust Joohyun when she says that she’s all too aware of the incredible charm she exudes.

 

She has a really hard time imagining that there could be anyone that’s immune to it. Especially when confidence looks this incredible on her.

 

A lazy smile takes over Joohyun’s face as a thought comes to mind, the stuttering in her chest becoming even more insistent. “Hmmm, actually on second thought I-I don’t think that would help me”, Joohyun says a little shakily, her blush subsiding a little bit. Her eyes flick to her feet briefly before finding Seungwan’s again and she shuffles closer just slightly, her gaze heavy on Seungwan. “I will be very distracted”, she mumbles. It’s an indisputable fact.

 

“By me?” Seungwan exclaims, putting a hand over her heart as a killer smile slowly grows on her face. Beautifully faux innocent.

 

Somehow she still sounds the tiniest bit surprised and that just won’t do for Joohyun. She takes another small step closer, needing Seungwan to understand just how honest she is when she leans in slightly and says, “Yes. Who else but you?”

 

She doesn’t even know the half of it. It really is that simple.

 

Seungwan tries not to linger too long on the specific way Joohyun said those words, as if it’s the only, absolute truth. Because that is a mind-blowing thought. She swallows the lump in and chuckles lightly, eyes crinkling cutely. “Well, I don’t think you’re one to talk”, she counters playfully.

 

Their eyes meet again and Joohyun shrugs innocently, a devious little smile tugging the corners of her lips upwards and eyebrow characteristically twitching.

 

“So, I guess we’ll just be distracted and distracting together then”, Seungwan reasons simply, her eyes shimmering in delight.

 

Joohyun lets out a contemplative hum, which is followed by a strong somersault of her stomach, and pokes her tongue out to wet her lips. She doesn’t fail to notice Seungwan following her movement intently, her eyes trailing to her lips, her cheeks turning slightly pink in response. It makes her heart jump uncontrollably. “What was it again, Seungwan?” she starts slowly, her tone a tinge amused.

 

The younger raises her eyebrows, marveling at the other’s disarming smirk and the way her voice curls around her name and makes her insides melt and stomach roll uncontrollably. She narrows her eyes and tilts her head in silent question, already smiling a little despite herself.

 

Joohyun pretends to think about it for moment longer, immensely enjoying Seungwan her curious expression from up close. “Something about the allure of my smile…?” She gloats with it.

 

Her light teasing is marked by a wide, lopsided smirk, her nose simultaneously crinkling in delight and she looks at Seungwan through squinted eyes. It might be the best thing Seungwan has ever seen. It’s a new favourite to add to the ever-growing list of things she likes about her.

 

“Y-yeah”, Seungwan says weakly, heart alarmingly stuttering in her chest as she flushes a light pink. And Joohyun’s eyes sparkle even more brilliantly now. She might honestly faint in all its loveliness. “Something like that.”

 

Her agreement draws out a mysteriously slow, toothy grin from Joohyun that almost feels like it’s one of her greatest accomplishments.

 

“It will probably take a while”, Joohyun then informs the younger woman, her expression growing a little more serious. She takes her in one more time, eyes roaming over her face, shamelessly admiring every detail as if she hasn’t been doing the exact same thing at every previous opportunity, getting stuck looking at her lips a little too long before she finally finds the willpower to tear her gaze away and bites the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling. Though the determined glint in her eyes is infinitely harder, if not impossible, to conceal. She locks eyes with the other again, smirking gently, flirtatious. “Multiple sessions, at least.”

 

A glorious smile takes over Seungwan her face, eyes turning into crescents. “Oh~, is that so?” she asks approvingly, cheekily quirking an eyebrow.

 

“Absolutely”, she says with an amused curl on her lips as she nods. A proud twinkle in her eyes.

 

“You certainly won’t hear me complaining.” Seungwan winks at her, heart pounding heavy in her chest. “I’m all yours.”

 

And with that Joohyun her heart soars and the wound-up butterflies in her stomach start going absolutely rampant.

 

She carries the high of it all the way to the next room with a massive grin plastered on her face, warm cheeks and an uncontrollable buzzing in her veins.

 

 

 

 

 

…..

 

 

 

 

 

Some time later, in the restroom, Seungwan can’t at all fault the middle-aged lady next to her for shamelessly staring at her through the mirror. She partly looks at her with a motherly gaze like she knows exactly what’s going on with her —her specific ‘situation’— and simultaneously partly wary. Probably the woman is also equal parts judging her and slightly concerned about how Seungwan her face seems to have malfunctioned and gotten stuck in a constant expression of elation, which she has to agree with is a little out of place in their current environment.

 

Frankly speaking though, she is very relieved that not more people have been looking at her like that. Or, without a shadow of doubt the most —only— plausible explanation for her inability to recall if others have been looking at her similarly throughout their visit, she has just been too preoccupied out there with Joohyun to really notice anything or anyone else.

 

She fully brought this upon herself she supposes, given that it literally feels like she has been smiling with her entire body the whole time they’ve been here and her smile almost feels too big for her face. Her cheeks feel perpetually warm and are aching just a little bit by now. They were sure to receive some looks and draw attention. Even now as her mind easily drifts to Joohyun again her cheeks turn a faint shade of pink she’s positive the older woman is more than familiar with by now and her stomach flips pleasantly. She feels giddier about today and how it’s going than she most likely has ever been. There’s a continuous, pleasant thundering in her veins and warmth in her chest that she’s unable to shake. And honestly, she can’t think of anything better. It’s written all over her face, for everyone to see. But especially Joohyun.

 

After sending the lady an awkward but polite, tight-lipped smile she quickly averts her gaze and she goes back to washing her hands and inspecting her own reflection. Briefly, she contemplates throwing some cold water on her face to get her head a little straighter —pun intended— and stop herself from grinning too wide. In an attempt collect herself. Even if she knows the wonderful jumbled mess her brain turns into around and because of Joohyun is not something she wants to get rid of.

 

On the contrary, she is amazingly eager to learn how to live with that actually.

 

In any case it’s not worth it, she decides. Her mascara and hair came out too nice if she says so herself. And Joohyun would agree if she were standing next to her right now, she thinks, fondly recalling the infinite looks the older woman has been giving her. Standing under the harsh white light, she looks at herself in the mirror a few seconds longer. Her eyes are drawn from her hair to her own lips and she becomes (once again) painfully aware of the absence of any heavy lipstick or gloss today. She has tried to convince herself it’s a decision she hasn’t pondered over too much. Claiming she didn’t think about it at all would be far too much of a stretch.

 

Seungwan sighs lightly and shakes her head, a soft quirk forming on her lips as she moves to the side to dry her hands and she takes a calming, steadying breath, closing her eyes just briefly to compose herself before she subsequently steps back out into the museum hall.

 

Now she just has to find Joohyun again, who told her she would be waiting for her somewhere around here. She looks around eagerly but does not find her directly.

 

Ideally, she doesn’t want to have to call her name out loud to locate her or walk around like a lost person but since she was here last just a few short minutes ago a significantly larger number of people seems to have decided to congregate exactly in this hall. Making either of those situations all the more probable.

 

She walks out a little further and it’s almost embarrassing how her breath hitches in and her entire body tingles to life the exact second she rounds a corner and Joohyun reappears in her field of vision. Light goosebumps trail up her arm at the mere presence of the other woman in the same space and she basks in it. The momentary steadying of her heartbeat is at once undone as it picks up its slightly erratic pace again seeing her sitting on the massive marble stairs, which by the way are much larger than they look in the pictures she registers vaguely in the back of her mind. Though currently it merely serves as a beautiful backdrop as Joohyun, seated with her elbows resting on her knees, looks around curiously. The older seems very relaxed as she calmly observes other people going around with that tiny, gorgeous smile plastered on her face. The one she has sometimes when she notices things she likes and that make her smile. That quiet smile at other people’s enjoyment that’s occasionally followed by her worrying her lip between her teeth or twisting her lips as she thinks about something in more detail. It drives her a little crazy.

 

She is about to approach her to continue their exploration when on second thought she thinks better of it and lingers back a bit. An appreciative smile slips across her lips as she looks on, watching from afar and getting distracted by her for the millionth time. This time by the way her hair shines in the flattering golden museum light and falls in her face and just… her.

 

Here she realizes rather suddenly that a lot of her (and likely many other people’s) previous experience with museums boils down to the simple, completely non-intellectual fact that she likes looking at beautiful things. Indeed, she has been enraptured many times by collections displayed in various museums and art galleries she has visited around the world. And there’s absolutely no denying that this place also has no shortage of beauty at all. However, she finds that in reality, in this exact moment in time, nearly everything pales in comparison to Joohyun. In all honesty, in her humble opinion, the attention of everyone here is entirely misplaced when Joohyun is right there walking around fully deserving of her own exhibition.

 

She recognizes and will admit that she might be slightly biased, but she doesn’t care.

 

Despite her best efforts she still can’t fully wrap her head around what a beautiful, intriguing person she is. Always understanding and warm but ready to come back with a witty, teasing remark at any time. She’s also the most incredible, tender, intelligent person she has ever met and she can’t believe her luck to have Joohyun like her too. Sometimes she still feels like she needs to pinch herself to make sure that this is all real.

 

To her own relief she now forgets to be very nervous around the older woman for the most part. She only really feels it bubbling up fast again when those striking, piercing big eyes are trained on her. Unwaveringly. Which also unleashes all kinds of other wonderful reactions and emotions within her. She has already come to terms with her current reality, where Joohyun makes her body react strangely. In unimaginable, magical ways Seungwan doesn’t understand. It continues to be an awe-inspiring revelation.

 

Under the circumstances, she is actually quite proud of herself for maintaining any ability to banter and flirt, to occasionally say something half intelligent and generally just function like a normal human being around her. She can’t say she is familiar with this sensation or has any experience navigating something of the depth of her growing feelings but she knows she is ready to jump head-first into this uncharted territory so badly.

 

Perhaps, before really realizing it happened, she is already mid-jump.

 

Seungwan continues watching her and now the older is sporting that insanely attractive trademark, immaculate grin that she wants to take a mental picture of and keep forev…—Oh she’s looking right at me, she realizes a long, slow moment later. .

 

It’s as if she felt her gaze.

 

Joohyun her shy grin widens, soft but all teeth. It’s a spectacular sight, one that easily makes Seungwan her knees buckle and it has got her mind reeling as she holds her breath and instantly her cheeks flush slightly. She snaps out of her staring and waves, unconsciously mirroring her beaming smile as she catches the older her brown eyes determinedly.

 

She shudders as she feels rather than sees the way something shifts in her gaze a moment later and Joohyun’s eyes rake the length of her in a manner that’s very unsubtle. Her heavy, heated gaze pouring over her like she has incredible difficulty taking her eyes off her. Like she cannot help herself. Or won’t. Seungwan her head starts spinning and she feels her heart starting to flutter in a way that’s the complete opposite of light at the action and she can’t even pretend to be in control. Not with her heart beating this fast.

 

The older keeps her eyes stubbornly on her and Seungwan easily, extremely willingly gives in to the strong tugging feeling in her stomach that propels her forward. She marvels at the way Joohyun’s smile grows little by little, curling softly at the edges the closer she gets, her brightly smiling eyes following her intently the whole way.

 

It’s the exact same smile that Seungwan knows for certain will kill her one day.

 

“Hey, welcome back”, Joohyun grins sweetly, looking up at her through her long lashes. “You mind helping me up?”

 

Seungwan smiles and wordlessly reaches for her stuck-out hand to tug her up gently. Joohyun her grip is warm and strong and she has to try incredibly hard to ignore the instant jump in her chest and electric currents that spread over her arm and down her spine at the contact.

 

Joohyun, coming to stand almost chest to chest with the younger at the foot of the stairs, involuntarily holds her breath. For a very short second she goes a little cross-eyed and can’t resist blatantly staring at the other her face, her cheeks, her cute freckles, her eyebrows, and then her gaze lowers slightly to her eyes and mouth so incredibly, dangerously close in front of her. She soaks up all the little details before she fully realizes she’s doing it and then quickly tries to refocus, taking a small step backwards as she swallows hard and blinks her daze away. She has to do that before she loses herself completely in the curve of the younger her inviting, naturally rosy lips, and the impossibly mesmerizing depths and that glimmer of her deep brown eyes. The physical contact and proximity send a powerful surge of warmth rippling through her body, her mind nearly completely blanking.

 

If there was palpable tension before then now it’s almost electrifying. She’s fairly sure it is strong enough to power at least a good part of the city if necessary. The air around and between them has been amazingly charged, fizzling the entire time, not just today, and every time they touch, no matter how brief or light or innocent the contact, Joohyun shivers and her skin heats up instantly, her heart fluttering in her chest in excitement and anticipation as tingles drift across her skin featherlight. For a moment it has her seriously questioning if she has been severely touch starved up till now.

 

Seungwan her touch causes an almost frantic spark in her veins and it’s incredibly exhilarating so she can’t help but feel a little disappointed when Seungwan slowly, hesitantly lets her hand slide away as she lowers their arms politely.

 

Because she really, really wishes she hadn’t let go.

 

She tries to school her expression to the best of her current ability to not let it show too much but her fingers are already twitching to reach out again, chasing after the lost touch. They itch with the memory of the younger her smooth skin beneath her fingers and the desire to feel that again. It’s astonishing how addictive it is. It is novel to her but so good. And it is only the beginning.

 

Her mind is running wild and she is more than a little bit frustrated with herself because she knows and has been telling herself that she is overthinking this. But she can’t help it. Even such a simple thing like holding her hand somehow feels enormous with a profound connection like theirs. She can’t explain why, except that she can feel in every fiber of her being that there will be absolutely no going back once she really touches her for longer than a couple seconds.

 

Prior to their short bathroom break just now her multitasking skills were already put to the test when she tried to keep up a conversation and some light banter with Seungwan whilst also trying to not betray how she has been silently, steadily losing her mind over every little thing that has to do with that same captivating woman walking besides her.

 

Throughout their time together today she has been thoroughly thrilled, her insides indescribably jittery, and has marveled at the wonderful feeling of the perfect amount of weight against her side, pressed very close at certain times. And she has been hyperaware of both of them deliberately moving impossibly closer into each other’s personal space over time. An unstoppable pull so strong she cannot even begin to comprehend, like gravity itself is pushing them together. It comes automatic.

 

But Joohyun would let Seungwan obliterate it all in an instant.

 

Truth is, she has come to realize with increasing desperation that she wants the complete opposite of space when it comes to her.

 

With every returned look, shared smile and flirtatious exchange it gets impossibly harder to resist. It’s due to that gentle lull of easy, equal giving and taking they have established, stretched out over hours and hours in a little perfect cocoon of their own where they exist and come together. All those unforgettable moments, one after the other, and literal hours of building up to something. Joohyun can practically feel it growing by the minute. And they are equally to blame for it —or thank. By now their tension is heavy and thick with that promise of something more. In fact, it is so present that she can barely focus on anything else. She’s completely consumed by the thought. Heat rises to her cheeks and her ears are ringing and there’s nothing else she really wants right now than to hold her hand.

 

Right, who is she kidding? Almost nothing else then… but first things first.

 

That’s not to say that she believes the feeling of Seungwan her skin beneath her fingers would do anything to ease her mind. Because that is definitely not the case.

 

She can feel it building fast within herself too, like she’s about to explode at any moment if she doesn’t do something about this feeling, all her nerves on edge. Previously she has heard people talk about their experiences and how they felt like a ticking time bomb, that they got so overwhelmed with feelings and thoughts and just all of it that their heads were spinning. And honestly for the uninitiated like herself it was nothing more than a strange concept. She didn’t think much of it other than that they were probably exaggerating to make the story of how they met and fell in love with their significant other more sensational. But now the younger her featherlight caress, bright smile and magnetic molten chocolate eyes make her heart swell and the reminder that Seungwan and her own palm and fingers slide together so perfectly has her swallowing her words as she experiences that feeling first hand. Now she knows just what the feeling is and it’s not an exaggeration at all.

 

Joohyun her chest is growing tighter, her self-control is stretched dangerously thin, her heart is beating loudly in her ears and her ribs must surely be bruised by now from the continuous strong beating they are receiving. Seungwan is definitely the biggest challenge to her self-control she has ever come across.

 

Realistically she knows she has lost that battle hours, no days ago.

 

Everything adds up and altogether it makes Joohyun feel a little wild and dizzy now. She lets the blush spread on her cheeks as she thinks about how this is one of the easiest, most natural and effortless things to happen to her. It’s indescribably wonderful and exciting and her feeling this way should certainly not be confused with impatience. No. She loves it. Loves that it is precisely because of the way they got to this point, the way they have taken their time and moved without any sort of urgency, that made it happen. Makes her feel like this.

 

This, everything, with Seungwan has felt a million times more right from the beginning already compared to any other date, which now, in hindsight, makes previous experiences seem not right at all. She’s convinced that with her there’s no wrong way to do it. No wrong way to do anything, really. It feels like they have all the time in the world, to let it naturally evolve. She has been enjoying and cherishing every second and she would be completely fine with any pace they go at, whatever Seungwan wants or needs, just as long as they keep going.

 

All her interactions and never-ending conversations with Seungwan have been a process of steady, expansive exploration and breathtaking realization of all the different ways they fit together seamlessly. Connecting with each other on so many levels and coming up with surprisingly few little things they do not agree on or share. In no time Seungwan had her enamored.

 

It reminds her again that good things rarely let themselves be rushed. Great things never do.

 

And it is with that knowledge and the overwhelming, inexplicable feeling of inevitability —which honestly has been floating around in the corners of her mind scarily soon after meeting her— that she finds herself capable of waiting for that moment and to trust the process. Because she just knows she will never be like this with someone else. Doesn’t want to be.

 

There’s a deeply rooted belief within her that they will get there no matter how long they draw this out. That it will be 1000% right.

 

But simultaneously that patience doesn’t seem to have been communicated with her autonomic nervous system. Better yet, it is outright rejected. Her body is long past the point of trying to hide or stop anything.

 

Joohyun has to admit though that she wasn’t at all aware of all the wanting that would come with meeting someone like Seungwan. Every nerve seems to fire with desperation and without hesitation she has given into this easy, unquestioning acceptance of wanting. Wanting this. Wanting more. With Seungwan. Above all else, wanting Seungwan.

 

It’s evident that Seungwan feels it too and it definitely helps her feel slightly less insane. It makes her heart find a little more peace.

 

It is ridiculous how she has been contemplating this and hyping herself up because it is Seungwan, who is soft, extraordinarily warm and kind and equally patient and who’s beautiful steady hands are now flexing by her side. As if she doesn’t quite know what to do with them.

 

And so a final decision is made before she really fully realizes, her subconscious seemingly unbothered about how keen she may look. Honestly, she really likes this slightly bolder, uninhibited version of herself that the younger brings out in her. That extra spark of courage brought on by the shine of Seungwan her smile.

 

She draws in a grounding breath and catches Seungwan her calm eyes, her own smile curling at the edges with the knowledge of her intentions. Her heart speeds up as she ducks her head a little and gently places her hand in the crook of the younger her elbow. She lets it slide down past her sleeve slowly to press into hers, painfully smooth. Electricity shoots up her arm and the back of her neck tingles, her heart kicking into overdrive like it never has before.

 

Seungwan doesn’t gasp but Joohyun can see the way she stops breathing for a short moment as she looks at her from the corner of her eye, slightly tentative still. The younger her eyes flick down to their now entwined hands, surprised but clearly happy about the development, and then back up and they lock eyes as she sends her a shy, flushed half-smile. Seungwan feels the thundering in her chest and she suppresses the shiver that just ran up and down her spine with much, much effort.

 

“Don’t want to lose you in here”, Joohyun mumbles almost inaudibly in explanation before she lightly shivers as she feels Seungwan softly squeeze her hand a short moment later, reassuring, in acknowledgement or as a relieved thank you. Or all three.

 

Joohyun does not make a habit of making excuses for herself and it shows.

 

For reasons unknown even to herself she whispered it, voice pitched low. Perhaps because it’s a very poor, frankly borderline pathetic, empty excuse that violently shakes at the edges. It is not a complete lie; however, her reasoning would crack under even the slightest of scrutiny. All it would take is a single glance around the room they just stepped into for that excuse to shatter into a million little pieces, razor-sharp and armed with the actual truth, when the absence of essentially anyone else besides them is glaringly obvious.

 

Seungwan only nods, not breaking eye contact as an unbridled, lazy smile plays at her lips and her eyes light up with something Joohyun can’t immediately decipher. She flexes her fingers to make room and slides her fingers between them while she says, “You can never be too sure.” Then she smiles at her, lopsided and knowing. Seeing right through her with her twinkling eyes.

 

At that a closed-mouthed, pleased smile curls at the edges of Joohyun , lighting up her whole face in triumph. Her heart soars, relief flooding every part of her system. She feels particularly proud of herself. Saying she feels deliriously happy is an understatement and the long, heated look that passes between them as they keep looking at each other, eyes locked firmly, doesn’t need any explanation.

 

Neither have any intention of letting go anytime soon, that much is clear.

 

Joohyun doesn’t know exactly why she felt like she had to justify her action when she can see it in the younger her eyes and instantly knows from the pure enthusiasm and mind-blowing ease with which Seungwan holds her hand now, which she has never experienced before, that she doesn’t need any reason at all.

 

A light blush rises on both their cheeks and they slowly grin, mirroring each other as they struggle to close their lips over their teeth to look less exultant at their new situation. They both fail horribly but the way Seungwan beams at her, eyes crinkling and sparkling, has her feeling over the moon and too pleased to care. The younger her lips are now drawn into a wide, sly smile and it is so insanely pretty it gives Joohyun goosebumps.

 

If feeling her skin and quickened pulse under her fingers wasn’t enough then this was also surely more than worth it.

 

For a little while they move through the remaining rooms and exhibitions like that in content (stunned) silence. Joohyun gently cradles Seungwan’s hand safely tucked into hers and unconsciously swings their hands in the small space between them lightly. Loose but so incredibly certain. And Seungwan has quickly migrated to holding her hand shamelessly, matching her confidence, like she is someone who is not at all concerned about anyone else. Defiant to all the looks they may or may not be on the receiving end of.

 

Not that Joohyun would notice if that was the case in the first place. She is far too engrossed in the bubbly warm feeling currently lighting her up from the inside and the soft slide of their fingers. The way their palms are pressed together intimately and how Seungwan her lithe fingers are laced together with her own in a reassuring gentle grip has her mind, a little embarrassingly, completely occupied and distracted. So, if there was even a sliver of doubt earlier then it’s now set in stone, her strong suspicion that she won’t take in much from the museum itself confirmed.

 

They pick up conversation again after a few minutes of marveling at the overwhelming, all-consuming feeling and trying to get their heartbeats to return to a more normal tempo, also finally managing to subdue the rosy color of their cheeks.

 

But Joohyun has Seungwan struggling to make complete, logical sentences as she talks because her stomach tumbles over on itself when she feels the older her thumb softly brush over her knuckles or the absentmindedly flex of her hand to squeeze lightly as if to make sure she is still there. Heat rises to her cheeks and she swallows, her voice trailing off towards the end of her response to Joohyun her question as she tunes out of her own story for a second, her words as well as her breath stuck in , before continuing her sentence where she left off. At least where she thinks she did….

 

The older her calm, smiling eyes and the ghost of a smile playing at her lips are also not helping in getting her train of thought back onto the original topic, away from thoughts about the how astonishingly attracted she is to her or just how incredibly nice all of this is.

 

It strikes her again that she has maybe never quite met someone so willing to listen to her. Apart from her friends that is, but they are basically obligated to listen to her at this point. But Joohyun looks so unbelievably content to listen, even when her mind drifts and she starts rambling every so often. Up till now she has seemingly always been beyond ready to hear and memorize anything she’s willing to share. It’s an intoxicating, phenomenal feeling that makes her head spin and the back of her neck tingle.

 

And it’s certainly not like she doesn’t let Joohyun talk enough or anything like that. Joohyun simply uses fewer words in most cases. She’s more succinct in that way. She knows that, but still the thought prompts her to talk to her about something she’s been thinking about a little bit and wants to double-check with the older woman. Just in case she has interpreted her wrong.

 

“Uhm, Joohyun?”

 

Joohyun turns to her. “Yes?”

 

“I was thinking, if I talk too much you can tell me…”, Seungwan says hesitantly, voicing her thoughts carefully as confused brown eyes lock with hers.

 

“What do you mean?” Joohyun tilts her head in question, quizzically.

 

Seungwan looks down briefly and a smile tugs at the corner of her lips seeing their locked hands. “Well, I know that sometimes I just keep talking.”

 

Joohyun holds her hand a little tighter, reassuring, and her expression softens. “It’s nice”, she says when they their eyes meet again. “I lo-“, her heartbeat instantly speeds up and she swallows thickly, quickly correcting herself. Seungwan doesn’t seem to have caught her almost-slip up, or if she did she is kind and understanding enough not to pay too much attention to it. “I really like hearing your opinion on things.” She can feel a light blush blossoming on her face.

 

It is no secret that she likes the sound of Seungwan her voice a lot. Her vocal colors and intonation and pitch… Everything. The lively, somewhat bouncy, slightly faster version that comes out when she talks in that wonderful, explicitly Seungwan-way, all animated and enthusiastic with much gesticulation. Or how she speaks all smooth and soft with that warm, melodious tone, and don’t even get her started on how she can barely suppress a shudder when her unfairly attractive voice occasionally dips deeper and becomes slightly huskier. She can practically feel the vibrations just thinking about it and it makes her stomach do that funny swooping thing again and sends delightful tingles up and down her spine.

 

She loves listening to her talk about anything. And she has learned that Seungwan can sometimes be quite talkative, which is incredibly cute and something she has a bit of a soft spot for. It’s fascinating to watch her come to life with excitement about so many different things. But it doesn’t feel like it is borne out of a need to fill the (comfortable) silences between them but rather the simple urge and want to share. Like she will never tire of telling her things. No matter how small, she instinctively she wants to share the information with her. It’s thoughtless and wonderful and makes Joohyun her heart flutter, affection bubbling up fast.

 

Seungwan nods, smiling gently at her reassurance, grateful for the confirmation that Joohyun doesn’t mind her talking her ears off at times. “Okay then, good”, she sighs, relieved.

 

Joohyun returns her warm smile but can feel it slowly morph into a tiny smirk as she quickly begins to realize the irresistible opportunity that is right in front of her. Already softly grinning to herself and with a playful shine in her eyes she sticks her tongue out to wet her lips.

 

She lifts her gaze to Seungwan her beautiful brown eyes, praising herself for only letting her eyes linger on her lips briefly.

 

“You should know that you can tell me…”

 

Their eyes meet, stupidly flirtatious. Her pulse quickens.

 

“—Everything I like?”, Seungwan finishes in a smug tone she cannot ignore, stealing the words right from . She quirks an eyebrow and with that mischievous twinkle in her eyes she looks dangerously irresistible and it makes her mind go haywire for a second.

 

Tingles immediately spread up Joohyun her spine and she fights off a matching smirk by biting her bottom lip hard. Her satisfaction is immeasurable with Seungwan knowing exactly the moment in conversation she was going to refer to, as if it that moment has been replaying in the younger her head too.

 

Her lips curl into an alluring smirk with a mind of their own as she raises one shoulder in a half-shrug. Pleased beyond words. “I knew you would be a fast learner.”

 

Seungwan grins, silly and light, eyes twinkling in amusement and perhaps a little bit of pride. “You might regret saying that, maybe I won’t ever shut up”, she says eventually, a teasing warning. The older holds her gaze even more intently when she says it, and it makes her heart jump in her chest.

 

The look in itself leaves no room for discussion. That shimmer in her eyes puts an immediate end to any debate she may still be having.

 

Joohyun shrugs, an engaging, sly smile taking over. Decided and not at all concerned. “I guess time will tell, no?”

 

It does nothing to lessen the butterflies dancing around in Seungwan her stomach and chest.

 

She smiles. “I guess it will.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

** To be continued in the next chapter, which I am (slowly) working on already. No spoilers but I am very excited about it.
Hope to see you then~ ;) **