As soon as Haseul clocked in for work and entered the main hall of the restaurant, she was cornered by Heejin and Hyunjin. 

"Did you see Vivi yesterday?" Hyunjin asked. 

"Can I not even get a good morning? How are you? Did you have a nice day off?" 

"Finding out if you saw Vivi will answer all of those questions for us." 

Haseul rolled her eyes but smiled secretly; she did kinda want to brag about yesterday. 

"So...Yeojin and I went to the beach-" 

"Ooo!" Heejin said, high pitched. 

"And Vivi was there-" 

"Ah?" 

"And then we walked Vivi home and got ice cream together-" 

"Oh?" Now Hyunjin joined in. 

"And then...then she confronted me about the kiss so I just, like, had to do something so I told her how I felt, and...she said she feels the same way." 

"Eeeee!" Heejin screamed immediately, loud enough for the other customers to stare. Both girls gave her the biggest of hugs and Hyunjin pulled away with a smirk, her arms crossed. 

"Say it." 

"What?" 

"Say it." 

"Say what?" 

"That we were right. About Vivi liking you back." 

Haseul gave the most dramatic sigh possible. "Fine! You guys were right." 

"And Yeojin!" Heejin added. 

"And Yeojin. You guys were right the whole time." 

"Told you so," Hyunjin mumbled. 

"It's not like I wanted to be right!" Haseul cried. 

"Wait, was that all?" Heejin asked. 

"Kinda?" Heejin and Hyunjin immediately leaned in closer. "Well...she told me...she was cool with waiting until I was ready to kiss her. But she still wanted to, really a lot, but she'd wait for my signal." 

"Ugh, why is she so cool?" Heejin interrupted. 

"Oh! And we held hands," Haseul said proudly. 

"Ugh," Hyunjin groaned, very loudly and for a very long time. "Finally. It only took you two like, what. A month and a half? Two months?" 

"Come on, this is real progress. I know we were both a little worried nothing would ever happen," Heejin answered. 

"And I really believed nothing would ever happen. She's just...I am so lucky." 

"And so is she," Hyunjin said quietly. 

Haseul paused. "R-really?" 

Heejin laughed. "Duh. You two are absolute angels. She's perfect for you." 

"Two pretty, smart, kinda shy but really nice gay girls. Literally the dream," Hyunjin added. 

"Vivi?" Heejin ing squeaked suddenly, pulling Haseul out of her words and turning towards the door. 

"H-Hi," the girl in question answered back, quiet and a little flushed (definitely from Hyunjin and Heejin staring at her with a look in their eyes). 

"Go! Go get your girl!" Hyunjin whispered encouragingly in her ear. Haseul took a deep breath, in and out, and followed her advice. 

She walked over to the doorway and gave Vivi her most confident smile. "It's good to see you again." 

Vivi looked quickly down at the floor. "Me too. I...I couldn't wait." 

Now it was Haseul's turn to flush, stutters prepared to leave her lips, but she was ready to fight that awkward urge in any way she could. "Go take a seat. I'll be back in ten." 

"What?" 

"Trust me, okay?" 

Vivi paused for just a second. "Always." 

Haseul gave her a last nod and practically skipped away, confidence rushing through her veins like a drug. It was almost weird to be like this, but there was no way Haseul was going to let it go to waste. 

Surreptitiously she slipped some cash into the machine, giving Vivi the quickest of glances. She somehow got more and more pretty every time she saw her: wearing shorts and an oversized men's blue button up (clearly a dress shirt of her father's), tendrils of her peachy poppy hair framing her face, and a god damn beret. 

"Yeah. I get it," Heejin mumbled quietly to Haseul. Caught staring she looked away quickly, but then rushed on as she continued her task. 

"I'm gonna need the biggest basket of fries you can make, stat," Haseul said to Allison as she stepped into the back. 

Allison just answered with a look, the sort of look that meant she knew Vivi was in the restaurant. But she smiled too and went to go grab the sliced potatoes. Meanwhile Haseul got to work on the milkshake, putting more effort into it than probably most other things she had ever done in her entire life. And soon enough, it was all ready. 

She emerged from the kitchen carrying the shake and fries, setting them down on the table and sliding into the seat across from Vivi. She looked up at Haseul with the cutest and most surprised look that made Haseul's heart just feel squishy. 

"Oh my god! How much do I owe you?" 

"Not a dime," Haseul answered, shaking out some ketchup and stealing a fry. Vivi giggled and took a sip of her shake. 

"Thank you." 

"My pleasure." 

Haseul swore she heard Heejin and Hyunjin cooing at them at the other side of the restaurant, but she would dutifully ignore it. Somehow, she had confidence! She was sure of herself! And nothing would get in the way of that. 

Even her most wild cheesy fantasies would come true today, as long as Vivi would allow her to. 

"Can I do something absolutely ridiculous?"

Vivi gave her a small, curious, mischevious smile. "Do it." 

So Haseul picked up a fry, coated the end in ketchup, and held it in front of Vivi's mouth. She immediately burst out laughing. Haseul giggled along but still held the fry, watching with her heart floating as Vivi threw her head back in laughter. And yet, when she calmed down, she still took a bite. Haseul's heart fluttered and she could still hear the coos from across the room (although quieter now; only Heejin was awwing over them now. Hyunjin just gagged). Things were more than okay. Things were going to be so much more than okay. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Haseul felt like she had been watching the clock for hours when it finally hit time over for her shift. 

"Thank god!" She groaned, throwing Vivi a big grin. She had moved from her seat across from Vivi to standing, wiping down tables and chairs around her to at least seem like she was working. 

"Finally!" Vivi answered, leaping up and walking over to her. 

"Wait, wait, I gotta clock out and everything!" 

Vivi made a pouty noise and flopped back down into the seat. "Be fast." 

"Will do!" 

A smile on her lips, Haseul practically skipped to the back. It was just so lovely to be so comfortable with Vivi, for them to banter easily and flirt. 

And clearly Heejin and Hyunjin noticed, because once she reached the clock out machine the couple were both giving her that look. 

"You two are so..." Hyunjin said and wiggled her eyebrows.

"Cute!" Heejin finished. 

Haseul blushed a little and finished clocking out, gathering her things as Heejin and Hyunjin got ready to leave too. 

"Thanks guys..." 

"Are you two going out on a date now?" Hyunjin asked. 

"I was honestly just going to walk her home but..." 

"Do it! Do it!" Heejin cheered. 

Haseul giggled. "Alright, alright. Now I gotta go! Vivi's waiting for me!" 

Heejin and Hyunjin made teasing noises at Haseul but she just smiled, going back to the front. 

"Ready?" Vivi asked, grabbing Haseul's hand subconsciously. Haseul froze for a moment; clearly this was a thing they did now, but Haseul was still not quite used to it. It was a good kind of surprise though, filling her heart with butterflies, but she managed to find the courage to squeeze Vivi's hand back after a short pause. 

"Yup. Let's go." 

The girls walked out the restaurant and down the middle of the empty street, swinging their arms. Their chatting came so nicely, so easily. Haseul just felt more and more like Vivi was her safety. 

And slowly but surely, Haseul was starting to see it in Vivi too. How Vivi looked at her, noticed her, waited for her. Heejin and Hyunjin and Yeojin's ideas did not seem so ridiculous anymore. She could believe Vivi liked her. She did believe Vivi liked her. And it was just as amazing as Haseul had hoped it would be. 

Haseul squeezed Vivi's hand and Vivi looked at her with a bright grin. 

"What is it?" 

"I like this. I feel so happy." 

Vivi laughed quietly at that and rested her head for a moment on Haseul's shoulder. 

"Me too." 

The girls locked gazes from the corners of their eyes and shared another laugh. It was all just so warm and safe and easy. 

And they started chatting again, about their days and the other girls and stupid things that didn't matter, but it was fine because talking about the silly things in life or the deep stuff, it was all okay. 

But inside, Haseul was trembling. It felt like something was building up inside of her, something she was unused to: courage. Vivi was here, sweet and soft and beautiful beside her, and she wanted her. Vivi wanted her too, so she had the ultimate freedom to take. 

Haseul was absolutely not let this moment of bravery go to waste; she wanted what she had been wanting ever since their last date: that kiss. But was hard for her to say any of this, fearing losing this momentum she was building. Should she say it? She didn't know if she could. 

But Vivi had said it was okay to spring it on her. Vivi wanted her. Haseul was okay with that. She could do that. 

"V-Vivi," she stuttered despite her confidence. It was more the adrenaline running through her veins that made her stumble on her words, standing still when they were almost at their homes.

"Yeah?" Vivi asked, totally innocent. 

"Come with me." Haseul grabbed Vivi's wrist and, almost running, led her to the big tree by Vivi's yard. She backed Vivi up against the big tree in front of her home, looking at Vivi's curious grin for half a moment before pressing her lips to Vivi's. 

Vivi kissed back instantaneosly. God, , her lips felt like magic and yes this was Haseul first kiss but she couldn't possibly imagine a kiss better than this one. Haseul tilted her head, feeling Vivi's orange hair tickling her cheeks, hoping she was actually good at this but finding herself not caring as much as she normally would. It felt good on her end, at least. It felt right. 

Vivi's slight arms wrapped around her, one hand on the back of her neck and another thrown over Haseul's shoulder, hand on her back, pressing her closer. And as Haseul got more and more comfortable with this she held Vivi back, wrapping both arms around her slim waist, holding her. 

Oh my god it felt so good. 

Haseul kissed her for as long as she could without losing her breath but eventually she had to pull away. 

It was stupidly cheesy but for a moment there she was lost, just utterly lost in Vivi's wide eyes and pretty face. 

But then, the worry came back. 

Vivi said it was okay to spring it on her, right? Was this okay? Was she any good? Did Vivi like it?

"Vivi, was I-" Haseul started. 

But there was no end to her sentence because Vivi's lips were back on hers. 

That told Haseul everything she needed to know. That Vivi liked this and that even if Haseul wasn't so good she wanted to keep it going. 

And so they kissed, against that tree, holding onto each other and this moment. 

Vivi slowly pulled away. "Finally," she breathed out. 

Haseul giggled and it was embarrassing but she couldn't stop smiling. 

"Finally," she repeated. 

Vivi tilted her head, looking at Haseul. It was obvious neither of them wanted this moment to end. "Do you wanna...just go to the beach with me now?" 

Slowly, Haseul smiled. "I'd love to." 

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

A/N: P L E A S E R E A D 

First of all sorry for the incredibly long wait. Things have been rough for me these days but I promise promise promise I will not be abandoning this fic. 

Secondly...

So I've been writing kpop fanfiction for 6 years now (!!!) and recently I got plagiarized for the first time! 

No, it wasn't this fic that was stolen. It was an nct fic I wrote in 2018 titled Sparks Fly, and it got posted onto wattpad by someone who wasn't me. 

By the time I realized (a very kind reader notified me but i didnt see it for two days) the plagiarizer had taken all the stolen fics (I wasn't the online one) down and had apologized, luckily. I also think they were very young (~14) so I'm not too salty at them. 

Honestly, I always wondered if this would ever happen to me. I always thought I'd be flattered that anyone would like my fic enough to steal it. 

But now that it happened I feel really sad and anxious. What makes it worse is that Sparks Fly is probably in the top 5 stories that I worked the hardest on; it's approximately 90,000 words long (I think about 350 pages printed). I'm not saying this to brag just that...yeah I worked rlly hard on it. 

So what's the point of all this rambling?

A. PLEASE DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Fic authors are literally giving you FREE STORIES, if you like their stories that much please respect the person who wrote it. 

B. Does anyone know how to prevent plagiarism on ao3? AFF wont let you copy and paste stuff but does ao3 have any protections like that? it would make me feel a lot more comfortable. 

Sorry for this ramble and if I overreacted especially since they deleted it now and were so young. 

Anyways, 

Love, 

RainbowDonkeys