It was truly deja vu. The dark wood chairs and tables and the lasting stench of cigarette smoke remained in the buffet of the Grand Sierra Hotel. The smell of disgustingly delicious buffet food mixed together and filled her nostrils, overwhelming her senses with memories of those days and nights almost fifteen years ago. 

"Jinsoul?" Sooyoung spoke, waving a hand in front of her face. Jinsoul shook her head, pulling herself out of her thoughts and watching the way Sooyoung's suit fit perfectly on her body. Jinsoul’s eyes flashed with jealousy; she would never look as natural in a business settings as her colleagues, Jiwoo and Sooyoung.

"I'm sorry," Jinsoul responded, "What were you saying?"

Sooyoung sighed. "The Reno development plans are set to be at the foot of the mountains."

"Right over there," Jiwoo added, pointing off into the distance. 

Right next to the schools, Jinsoul thought, the expensive fabric of her collar rubbing her neck uncomfortably as she looked in the direction Jiwoo pointed.

"We'll have to make a contract with the current owners for the land," Sooyoung explained.

"The company will be pleased; it appears to be a large tract," Jiwoo said.

"We'll be building condos, right?" Jinsoul asked. 

Jiwoo nodded. "We're just here for negotiations."

"So Jinsoul, what made you pick this hotel for our business trip?" Sooyoung asked. 

"I spent a couple weeks here in my teenage years. It brings back...fond memories," she explained.

"Including this buffet?" Jiwoo asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Not so snappy service," Sooyoung mumbled.

"Especially this buffet." The pair fell silent and played with their napkins.

After many moments of awkward silence, Jinsoul felt the presence of someone standing in front of their table, presumably the waitress. Jinsoul looked up.

Jungeun.

It had been years since they’d had contact. Jinsoul got a new phone soon after she moved to Vallejo with her mom and lost all of Jungeun’s contact information; number and address included. And years of desperately trying to find her social media accounts had turned up with nothing. But that didn’t mean Jinsoul didn’t think about her at least once a week, even all these years later.

gaped stupidly at the woman she had fallen in love with all of those years ago. Jungeun’s hair was black now and her eyes looked tired and maybe she'd grown a bit taller than before but in Jinsoul's eyes, she looked just as beautiful as the day they'd first met.

Jungeun stared back with the same expression, not flinching at all for a few unbearable moments. 

"Um..." Sooyoung said, trying to get the waitress's attention. She was ignored.

"Jinsoul?" Jungeun said, as if she couldn't believe it to be true. Jinsoul nodded in response, and Jungeun dropped her notebook. 

"E-excuse me," Jungeun said, picking it up and finally collecting herself. "I'm very sorry ladies, may I take your drink orders?"

Jinsoul couldn’t even listen while Jiwoo and Sooyoung placed their orders, her mind running all over the place. Why is she still here? Are the others here? Does she have another chance to spend her life with Jungeun? Would Jungeun even want her?

"Jinsoul!" Sooyoung yelled to try and get her attention. 

"What would you like to drink?" Jungeun said in the soft, comforting voice she always used to use just for Jinsoul.

"Uh...I-uh,” Jinsoul started, unable to formulate sentences.

"I'll get you a raspberry iced tea, alright?" Jungeun said. Jinsoul nodded and softly smiled. "I'll be back with those soon." The waitress looked down and quickly walked away from the table.

Jinsoul took three breaths and stood up. 

"Please excuse me," she said to Jiwoo and Sooyoung, standing up and rushing after the waitress. 

She caught her by the wrist a couple of seconds later. Jungeun turned around and they locked eyes for a moment before staring at the ground.

"Jungeun?" Jinsoul said. Jungeun shook her head, her trembling hands pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket and writing something down on it. 

"I finish at around 8:30. Please call me," she said, handing the slip to Jinsoul. She gripped the paper tightly in her fingers and nodded. 

"I promise." She let the hand still wrapped around Jungeun's wrist trail down to touch her fingers, then hang by her side. Jungeun nodded and rubbed the other's shoulder, rushing back off to work.

Jinsoul made her way back to her table.

"Shall we get food?" Sooyoung asked, picking up her plate. Jiwoo and Jinsoul did the same and followed her to the buffet tables. 

"How do you know her?" Jiwoo asked in a mocking tone. Jinsoul physically growled, and the group fell silent.

It felt like a century before the dinner meeting was finally over, Jinsoul rushing up to her room and checking her phone as soon as she could get away. 

"Seven o'clock. Damn it," she thought. Suddenly, she looked up and around the room. It hit her: she was in the same room that she'd stayed in almost fifteen years ago. She checked the room key again to make sure, and it matched up: she was in 1542. 

None of the decorations or room arrangements had been changed since the last time she'd visited. In fact, the room looked exactly the same: the bed, the shower off in the corner, Chaewon and Hyejoo's armchair, and the kitchenette. She checked the time again in shock. 

"7:02. Damn it." She sighed and flopped onto the bed, taking out a candy bar and throwing her briefcase across the room. She flipped on the TV and scrolled through the channels before settling on Sister Wives. 

"Why the is this show still on the air?" she spoke loudly in the privacy of her own room, munching on the snickers bar. A couple of episodes passed, and Jinsoul finally shut it off to get ready. 

She showered and changed from her suit to a pair of jeans and a button up shirt, brushing her teeth and hair before checking the time again.

"8:27. God damn it."

She stood in front of the mirror, staring directly into her own eyes.

"You’ve got this Jinsoul. You're almost thirty, come on. Get some confidence," she spoke out loud. She checked her phone again.

"8:30. ing finally."

She slowly typed Jungeun's number into her phone, pausing for a moment then hitting the call button. She panicked for a moment but finally put the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?" Jungeun spoke in her gruff voice.

"Hey!...Uh...It's Jinsoul."

"Wow, hey!" The excitement was evident in her voice. 

"How are you?" 

"I'm....good. Very good. But what a coincidence!"

"I know! I...thought I'd never see you again," Jinsoul responded, her tone dropping.

Jungeun sighed and ignored her statement. "Where are you? I want to talk in person."

"I'm actually still at the Grand Sierra since I'm staying there."

"Oh good! There's this kind of not crappy bar down on the ground floor, wanna meet me there?" 

Jinsoul smiled wide even though Jungeun couldn't see. "Definitely; I'll be down in five minutes." 

"Yup, see you then!" Jungeun said and hung up. Jinsoul hung up as well and smiled, quickly shoving all of her things into her pockets and rushing down to the ground floor. She quickly found the bar and grabbed a seat at the counter, waiting excitedly for woman she had missed so much to arrive. 

A couple of seconds later she felt a tap on the shoulder, turning around to see Jungeun looking down at her with a big smile.

"Hey!" She sat down casually at the bar next to Jinsoul. Jinsoul resisted the urge to hug her tight and quickly turned to the bartender.

"I'll have a margarita," Jinsoul said.

"Just a Heineken for me," Jungeun added. The bartender nodded and brought out Jungeun's drink, starting to make Jinsoul's margarita.

Jungeun turned to look at Jinsoul. "You look...so beautiful tonight." Jinsoul fought off a blush and smiled, biting her lip.

"You too, Jungeun."

"What have you been doing? You first." 

"Well....nothing much, really. I went to law school and now I'm a negotiator for an architectural firm. It's all pretty boring. What about you? Are the others still in town?" 

Jungeun sighed. "Nah. Vivi and Haseul eloped after high school and moved to Portland, and Chaewon and Hyejoo pretty much run Hot Topic now. Yerim is still here though; she works down in the cafe arcade. As for me, I'm just a waitress at the buffet.” She shrugged and Jinsoul frowned.

"What about..."

"College? I've been saving up for a while, to get out of here and go to college, but waitressing just doesn't pull in the cash. My grandparents really only had enough saved for one of us to go, and of course I had to make sure Hyejoo went. At least when they passed away they gave me their house," Jungeun explained.

"I'm sorry.." Jinsoul said.

"Don't be," Jungeun responded, caressing Jinsoul's shoulder. She looked up at the other and smiled, her touch still incredibly comforting. "Have you heard from Heejin or Hyunjin lately? I've been trying to find them for years but I haven't got a clue."

"Actually, a couple of years ago they sent me a very cryptic letter. Apparently when they were sixteen or so their parents found out about their relationship and threw them out. Now they're trying to get them in trouble with the law for charges? Even though they're just step siblings? I dunno, but apparently they've eloped and been on the run since then. They couldn't do more than send a letter since they're in hiding," Jinsoul explained. 

"Holy . And they're married too..." Jungeun mumbled. 

"Are you married?" Jinsoul asked, her voice laced with worry. Jungeun snorted and shook her head.

"Nope. You?" 

Jinsoul shook her head as well. "No, I'm very single." She could see Jungeun try to hide her smile.

"How long are you in town?" Jungeun asked.

"Three weeks. The company wants to build condos next to your old school." Jungeun nodded as Jinsoul's margarita came. 

"Cheers," Jungeun said, holding up her beer bottle. Jinsoul lifted up her own glass.

"To what?"

"To us, obviously," Jungeun responded, clinking their glasses and both taking a sip. 

"You'll never guess what room I'm staying in..."

"What?"

"The room I stayed in back when we were teenagers."

"No way! How different is it?" Jungeun asked.

"It's literally exactly the same."

"Wow, I thought they changed up the decor every five or ten years here."

Jinsoul shrugged and chuckled. "I guess not."

The pair soon fell into easy conversation, laughing and talking the night away. When the bartender finally announced closing time, Jinsoul looked down at her watch.

", it's two in the morning! I have to get up at five tomorrow for negotiations."

"I'm sorry I kept you here so long," Jungeun spoke, quickly gathering her things. Jinsoul shook her head and touched Jungeun's chest.

"I had a really great time tonight. Let's do this again tomorrow."

Jungeun smiled back excitedly. "Definitely. I'll call you.” She gently trailing her hand from Jinsoul's neck to her waist.

"I-I’ll see you later," Jinsoul stuttered. Jungeun pulled away and turned to go to the parking lot, Jinsoul waving at her back. As soon as she was out of eyesight Jinsoul rushed back upstairs, flopping onto her bed and groaning. She knew she wouldn't sleep that night.

And there was one person she just had to talk to about it. 

Quickly, Jinsoul dialed the number she'd memorized years ago, ringing only twice before it picked up. 

"You'll never guess what's just happened," she spoke. 

"What, can I not even get a hello?" Yeojin cried back into the speaker. Jinsoul chuckled, that girl would always been the same little nine year old in her heart. 

Yeojin was the only girl she'd managed to keep contact with. Even then there had been a few years of no talking, until they reunited when Yeojin was eighteen. Yeojin ended up going to college at the same school where Jinsoul was getting her graduate degree in business. Yeojin had been undeclared at the time, taking a bunch of random classes, one of which was an intro to business class Jinsoul was helping out with. They immediately recognized each other and started meeting up frequently. Quickly, Yeojin entered the business world too, and Jinsoul declared herself Yeojin's mentor. 

But now, she was the one who needed Yeojin's advice. 

"Hi, sorry, but this is a big deal. You know how I'm doing that business deal back in Reno and I decided to stay at the casino we met in?" 

"Of course. How could I forget you freaking out about the trip for days before hand, wondering if you were going to see Jungeun or something?" 

"Well...you'll never guess who I did see." 

"....oh my god." 

And Jinsoul told the whole story of their meeting and their date, Yeojin listening closely the whole time. 

"Okay, I have to study for a final. But girl...it's fate! It's literally fate! You have to date her now! Keep me updated, alright?" 

"Of course." 

~~~~~~~~~~

After negotiations the next day, Jinsoul called Jungeun. The waitress had the day off and invited her to come down to the arcade to visit Yerim. She quickly agreed, changing as fast as he could out of her suit and into something more casual to see her old friend.

The arcade looked completely different: it was still just as bright, but with different colors. He couldn't find any coin machines anywhere, and the place was completely packed. He soon walked into the cafe area to find Jungeun and Yerim talking behind the counter.

"Hey!" Jungeun said, pulling Jinsoul in for a casual hug. She felt her whole body go warm as she was enveloped in the woman's arms, smiling uncontrollably.

"How did you sleep?" Jinsoul asked.

"I didn't." 

"Oh no, why not?" Jinsoul frowned with worry.

"Because she's still in lo-" Yerim began before getting a pointed look from Jungeun. Jinsoul turned and smiled at Yerim.

"It's been so long! How are you?" she asked happily. Yerim shrugged.

"I'm alright! And you?"

"I'm pretty alright myself."

"Do you guys want anything? It's on the house," Yerim said.

"Chicken nuggets sound pretty good..." Jungeun spoke up.

"I'll have chicken nuggets too," Jinsoul added.

"Go have some romance time while I make these for you." Yerim winked at the pair and went to the back. The pair looked at each other and smiled slightly while going to sit down at the brightly colored seats.

"Do you remember the first day we met?" Jungeun asked. Jinsoul nodded.

"It was here. I ordered chicken nuggets and you randomly decided to talk to me. Your sister and Chaewon were glaring at everyone and Haseul was staring at Vivi forlornly."

"What was your first impression of me?" Jungeun asked.

"Gorgeous," Jinsoul replied without a second thought. Jungeun smirked and raised her eyebrows.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Well, I thought the same of you."

"Do you still feel that way now?" Jinsoul asked with a sudden surge of confidence.

Jungeun paused to look Jinsoul directly in the eyes, leaning in slightly closer. "Of course." Jinsoul in a sharp breath, looking back at her and biting her lip.

"Chicken nuggets!" Yerim yelled, breaking up their moment.

"I'll go get them," Jungeun said, standing up and taking a moment to run her hand over Jinsoul's shoulder. She arrived back with the chicken nuggets a few seconds later with Yerim trailing behind. 

"I'm on my fifteen," she explained, stealing one of Jungeun's chicken nuggets. Jinsoul bit into her and groaned.

"Holy , I forgot how good these were." Jinsoul spoke. 

"How could you ever forget the arcade chicken nuggets?" Jungeun chuckled, and she shared a long look with Jinsoul while laughing a little too much. Yerim chuckled knowingly and stole another nugget from Jungeun. 

The three women reminisced about their old times together, laughing and talking loudly while parents stared on in confusion. Jungeun and Jinsoul left after Yerim went back to work, not wanting to seem like creeps.

"We should split up now," Jungeun said once they were at the lobby, "You probably didn't get that much sleep last night and you need your energy for negotiations." 

Jinsoul nodded sadly and frowned. "You're right...but we'll see each other again tomorrow, right?"

"Of course." Jungeun answered.

And so, it began. The pair saw each other again the next day, and the day after that, and each day until two weeks had passed. It almost felt like they were two teenagers again, together with nothing to lose.

"You wanna grab dinner?" Jinsoul asked. 

"I'd love to! Where should we go?" Jungeun responded. Jinsoul suddenly looked down at her clothing and groaned. She was still in her pajamas, and she'd just changed out of her suit. She couldn't possibly get changed now.

"Are you okay with just coming up to my room and getting take out?" she suggested. She didn't realize what she'd implied until she heard Jungeun inhale nervously.

"Y-yeah, I'd love to," she responded after a few moments, and Jinsoul smiled. 

"Great, I'll see you soon! Bye!" she said, hanging up and getting ready.

She quickly read Yeojin's insistent "good luck and get in her pants" text before she made her bed and tossed out all of the used candy wrappers from the vending machines. Jinsoul finally looked in the mirror for a moment, debating about whether or not to change out of her pajamas before deciding against it. She called the place and ordered the food, and just as she hung up, she heard a knock on the door. She looked through the peephole to make sure it was Jungeun before letting her in.

"Wow, it really is the same," Jungeun said before turning to Jinsoul and pulling her into a tight hug. 

“Hi!” Jinsoul said excitedly in the crook of her shoulder.

"Hello," Jungeun softly answered in her ear. Throughout the days, Jungeun had been getting more and more touchy-feely (not that Jinsoul minded at all). Jinsoul hugged her back and smiled.

"I just called the place; they should be here any minute now," he said. Jungeun nodded and pulled a bottle of Jack Daniel's out of her jacket.

"I brought this," she said casually. 

Jinsoul smiled and looked up at her. "Perfect." She took the bottle out of Jungeun's hands and poured a little bit into glasses, flopping onto the bed. After a few moments, Jungeun hesitantly sat down next to her.

"How were negotiations today?" 

Jinsoul shrugged. "They were negotiations. How was the buffet?"

"It was...buffet-y. You know, I can't stand eating there anymore." Jungeun chuckled and Jinsoul nodded.

"That's understandable." Their conversation carried on for a few more minutes before the food came. They both quickly devoured the food, exhausted from their jobs, and finished their glasses.

"More?" Jinsoul asked, standing up to get the Jack Daniel's.

"Of course," Jungeun responded, holding out her glass for Jinsoul to pour into. They each shared a bit more and talked loudly, the alcohol and friendly atmosphere making everything more comfortable.

Suddenly Jinsoul put her glass onto the bedside table, moving closer to Jungeun.

"So this is what you invited me here for," Jungeun said, leaning in close to Jinsoul. The business woman shook her head.

"I wasn't thinking that when I called...but I'm not opposed to it."

"So this whole time you haven't just been trying to get into my pants?" Jungeun asked quietly.

"It's more than that, Jungeun. Trust me," Jinsoul said, caressing the short hairs on the back of Jungeun's neck.

"Okay," Jungeun mumbled, moving her face impossibly closer, "Okay." And their lips finally touched.

It felt like a dam had just been broken; a wave of emotions so strong crashing throughout her entire body and mind that she couldn't help but press her lips against the other, trying to show her just how much she was feeling at that moment. Jungeun kissed back just as fervently, wrapping her big strong arms around Jinsoul's little waist and pressing her closer.

And close they stayed for the rest of the night.

~~~~~~~~~~

When Jinsoul awoke, Jungeun wasn't in the bed next to her. She furrowed her eyebrows and sat up quickly to find Jungeun rushing to get dressed.

"J-Jungeun?" Jinsoul asked, worried and tired. Jungeun turned back to her with a slightly panicked look in her eyes.

"Um...hey," she responded, pulling up her pants.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm...leaving." Jungeun zipped up her jeans and did the button.

"Will I see you again later?" Jinsoul asked softly. 

Jungeun shook her head, looking around the room for her socks. "I don't think so."

"What? Why? What's going on?" Jinsoul demanded, leaping out of bed and standing in front of her.

"This....isn't going to work."

"Why not? Do you have someone else?"

"Of course not! It's just..." Jungeun sighed again. "I really, really like you Jinsoul."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Jinsoul...I have absolutely nothing. You're filthy rich. You have, like, ten armani suits in the closet right now. You want to pay for everything and clearly can do it. I want to be in a relationship with you, but it would never be equal.”

Jinsoul paused for a moment, then spoke. "That's the issue? You don't want to be with me because of something as stupid as money?"

"I want to be with you!" Jungeun yelled back. "But I don't even have a college degree and I have barely any money. Anyways, what's going to happen when you leave this hotel?" Jinsoul sighed.

"I can't imagine not being with you now." Jungeun sighed back. "Anyways, you made a promise to me. You promised me you would marry me one day," Jinsoul said sadly. Jungeun bit her lip, holding back her tears.

"I'm sorry I can't keep that promise."

"But you have to! I think it's pretty clear that we're meant to be together. We can't let money stop us."

"Then what will we do?" Jungeun asked desperately.

"Sell your grandparents house. Move in with me; my house is definitely big enough for both of us. The money from your old house will help you pay for college, and I'll support the rest. Jungeun...I don't care that you're not filthy rich. If anyone gives you for it I will personally beat them up myself. And trust me, none of my friends will care," Jinsoul said. "But please, don't waste this opportunity. If you leave now, that's it. Fate gave us another chance, despite everything. I'm sure we'd never see each other again." 

Jungeun looked down at the floor. ", Jinsoul, you're right. You're so right. You always are," she said, finally looking back up at the other. "I'm sorry for being so insecure."

"You don't have to be, Jungeun. I'm sure everything will work out just fine."

~~~~~~~~~~

And it did. Once Jinsoul was done with negotiations, she brought herself and Jungeun back to her home in San Francisco, California. Jungeun sold the house for a good price, and she was able to easily put herself through college with the money. Jinsoul and Jungeun got married two years later, adopted a little girl, and lived out the rest of their lives happily with each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: and.....that's it!!! i low key cant believe it's over already...
well, i hope you all enjoyed! thank you so much for all of your upvotes, subscribes, reads, and especially comments. PLEASE leave me a comment to let me know what you thought. it really means a lot to me and motivates me as a writer.
if you like my writing, you can find tons more stories here on my aff or on ao3 (same username). i have a couple other loona stories, as well as a few exo and many nct. 
what's next? my next loona fic is going to be a 1/3 and viseul centric summer au where haseul goes to live in a small seaside town! it's going to be called Our Beach and  you can find the title page here. i'll post the first chapter in a few days. 
again, thank you all so much! i wish all of you the best
love, RainbowDonkeys