When did it all begin, again? When did she get tangled in this bundle of unexplainable love? 

Interesting how a moment could change a life, or in this case, two lives. 

Hyejin would protest her saying about "a moment" since she had been crazy about the Moon for longer than that, but to Byulyi, it was legitimately a turning point for their relationship. And that point came in the form of a fever. 

Before the younger girl got consumed by summer heat (she had said summer was no good, but of course, who was she to make Hyejin listen?), they had already had a history of push and pull on and off stage. An infatuation, that was what they both told themselves. Tried to get the upper hand with a worthy opponent. It was all fun and game, all fun and game,

until the maknae trailed her fingers on Byulyi's thigh, left scratches whenever she wanted to, 

and it wasn't fun anymore. 

-

Moonbyul, at moments when she thought she was ready to faint right in front of audiences, really wanted to punch her drunken self.

["Wait, why did all our, open quotation turning point close quotation, start when we were wasted?"

"I don't know, maybe only the drunken Byul is the Byul that's honest to me?", Hyejin lets out a smirk, amused at her wife's blushing cheeks.

"Hey!" the rapper groans, sulkily buries her face into Hyejin's fluffy sweater. "I was honest with my vow too!"

"Please, I know Yongsun-unnie slipped you a champagne right before the ceremony."

Byul can't backtalk that, of course. She continues, purposefully brushes the topic off the table.

"Anyway..."]

On the last night of their hiatus, all members gather around a small feast they threw for themselves. After moving out of the previous dorm, emptiness came just as quick as happiness. The disappearance of bugs and cockroaches also meant that of their friends. So this "party", whatever Wheein decided to call it, was all a disguise for their yearning for each other.

"I've seen many call you two out, Rare Line.", Yongsun said, out of the blue. "Don't you think it's time to change our dynamic a bit?"

"If that's just another suggestion for promotion, I'm out, unnie."

Oh? Byulyi raised her eyebrow amusingly. Hyejin was never the one to back out of any chance for skinship, proved by all the time her hand wandering around Wheein's waist or Yongsun's peace, so what was going on here?

Always in the mood for teasing and never knew how to control , Byulyi voiced out. "Or you are just scared that I will top your stage presence level, Hyejinie? Scared that you'll lose our little game?"

And, blessed her, even in the haze of alcohol, she swore the younger's eyes were burning bright. Too bright for her to simply think it was just amusement.

Hyejin vaguely replied. "Just you wait, Byulie-unnie."

-

Hyejin was determined to make her statement known, started by the choreography where she just brushed Moonbyul's thigh out of nowhere. The rapper couldn't say she wasn't flustered at some first tries, especially with the leader who just intriguingly watching them from the corner of the practice room.

"Come on, don't be such an old lady, unnie~ It will be fun!", the maknae said, mischievously.

"I agree, I'd love it if I was a fan", Wheein encouraged, and Byul wondered how much gopchang did Hyejin buy to bribe her best friend.

So there they were, going stage to stage for months with pats on the head for '1cm Pride', and after being lovey-dovey, Hyejin would go her way and touch reaaaalllyyyy close to where Byul burning all over.

Hyejin just winked at her after every. freaking. performance, and swayed her way to their manager as if nothing had happened. 

"Don't sulk, you bastard", Yongsun rolled her eyes one Friday night on the ride home, after her other half Kong stuttered her frustration for 15 minutes nonstop. "You asked for it, you made your bed, now lie on it."

Even with the air-conditioner turned to the max level, Byulyi didn't get any less hot. "Hah, it sure sounds better than it feels. You're not the one who stands face to face whenever the kid makes fatal expression."

"Look, just accept that your choreography strategy . Now you get to see Wheein's dazzling smiles and I just got a peck from Hyejin last week. If I didn't know better, I would come to the conclusion that you're trying to set me up with Hyejin."

"It was NOT intentional, I didn't know she would be in the front with the hand... the hand!!!", Byul groaned, slumping back to her seat. She helplessly looked at the older woman. "Trust me, Yong, I'm no less impotent than you are."

Yongsun sighed, reached out to Byulyi to rub her head when their drive came to a halt. "Fine. I'll keep the MoonSun PDA on until you get the girl. Please be quick, I swear she shot me a death glare when you pushed your nose to my chin. I'm worried about my life, I still have to live to marry Wheein."

That got a chuckle out of the moping hamster. The heat would still be lit whenever Rapper Line was in a room together, but now, in the peaceful night with a comforting Yongsun, Byulyi was ready to spend a night in a cool state. No more fiery infatuation (not infatuation at all), no more thigh-grabbing, at least until Monday.

-

Saturday welcomed MAMAMOO with a short hiatus from the stage for the new album's preparation and Thursday evening greeted Moonbyul with not a fierce lioness in the recording booth but a weeping kitten on the sofa, curling upon herself, sweating all over the blanket wrapped around her.

Woosang, the producer, raised an eyebrow at Byul's frozen figure at the doorframe, eyes glued on Hyejin. "Won't you come in? Your verses are ready for recording."

"What