Bora wakes up with the first rays of sunshines that were falling on her face. She opens her eyes and tries to listen to the surrounding barely audible noises which are mostly, she figures out, sounds coming from the streets outside.

 

Bora frowns: she can’t hear quiet sleeping noises of her roommate from above her. This unusual lack of presence urges her to get up from bed and climb halfway to the top bunk to check on Yoohyeon. 

 

As she thought, there wasn’t any sign of her roommate on the bunk bed. The confused frown deepens. 

 

Bora leaves her room and gets welcomed by the silence in the living room as other members probably were still sleeping. At the back of her head there was an alarming thought about the possibility of Yoohyeon not getting to their dorm yesterday due to some trouble on the way. But Bora dismisses this idea and internally scolds herself for worrying for no reason. 

 

On the way to the kitchen, she finally finds Yoohyeon sleeping peacefully on the couch. When Bora spots her sleeping frame, she feels some kind of relief. As if a heavy weight disappeared from her shoulders. 

 

She comes closer and notices that the girl is trembling a little, probably due to the chill temperature in the dorm. 

 

“You can get sick like that, pabo-ya.” Bora quietly but with an annoyance scolds her in whisper and sighs at the sight. She goes into her room and a moment later comes back with a blanket in her hands. She covers with it the sleeping girl, making sure to fold her feet so that she wouldn’t catch a cold. After she was done, she stands there taking a moment to look at peacefully sleeping face. She wonders why Yoohyeon decided to sleep on this uncomfortable couch instead of her own bed. 

 

Realising that she stared for too long, Bora continues her way to the kitchen to further do her routine. While preparing breakfast for the group members, she was enjoying the atmosphere in the room. Despite being a quite energetic and loud person in general, Bora on regular basis needed some sort of solitude in a calming silence too.

 

After an hour everyone wakes up and some members enter the kitchen with morning greeting. Bora greets them back and starts talking about the yesterday’s topic about the upcoming concert. While talking she doesn’t catch the moment when the tall girl enters the room too. 

 

“What’s up with your gloomy face?” Siyeon asks Yoohyeon who sat beside her and notably had dark circles under her eyes.

 

“Ah, nothing much. It’s just yesterday I stayed up late in the company,” Yoohyeon responds with a smile. Then she refers the next words to the oldest. “Minji unnie, thanks for giving me blanket on the way.”

 

“It wasn’t me.” The leader answers with a chuckle.

 

“Really?” Yoohyeon involuntarily raises her eyebrows, and before getting to eat her breakfast, adds. “Well, then thanks to whoever covered me with a blanket on a way here!”

 

Bora quirks her ear at that but decides not to respond as she was a bit offended by the fact that Yoohyeon assumed it was other member than her. But then Bora somehow thinks it’s pretty justified as she rarely shows her that kind of soft affection. Maybe she should show it more...

 

 

 

 

 

 

A week passes during which Yoohyeon didn’t sleep in her bank bed even once. In the middle of the night Bora started getting up to check on Yoohyeon who, for unknown reasons, slept either on the couch or either on the floor in Yubin’s room. 

 

Bora started thinking maybe Yoohyeon is upset at her but she didn’t know for what. She started recalling the times when Yoohyeon would complain as usual about her teasings but other than that she didn’t remember anything strange. 

 

As Yoohyeon started avoiding spending nights in the same room as Bora, she also stopped showing any reaction to Bora’s attempts at annoying her. She’s always on her phone with pensive expression which every time made Bora puzzled when she wanted to .

 

“Is everything alright?” Once she asked her. 

 

Only this time Yoohyeon looks up and smiles apologetically. Bora noticed her smile contained some mysterious shades to it.

 

“Sorry, I’m just a bit busy.”

 

“Okay.”

 

After that she tried to not bother her so much. As a result, Yoohyeon didn’t even notice. And in the end Bora came to impulsive yet most likely conclusion with a strange sting in her heart: Yoohyeon is tired of her and wants to change her room. It’s pretty obvious from Yoohyeon’s suddenly aloof attitude towards only her among members. 

 

Because of this realisation, she felt guilty of the things she’s done before. She thought every her playful friendly gesture towards the younger girl now contained bully sense to them and maybe Yoohyeon is just sick of them.

 

She really didn’t mean anything by teasing her, but now she’d reserve herself more from it if Yoohyeon doesn’t like them. Bora just wishes the best to every member in the group...

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Guys, do you know what’s up with Bora?” Minji asks Siyeon and Yoohyeon when she joins them at the table in the kitchen. 

 

Two friends were eating late night snacks and Minji thoughts that it’d a good opportunity to figure out one particular issue.

 

“Yeah, I noticed it too,” Siyeon nods in response while chewing on sea weed. “She’s suddenly so... sulky, sad? I don’t know, it’s weird for her.

 

“Yeah,” Minji agrees with concerned expression and looks at Yoohyeon who’s seemingly clueless. “Did you notice anything strange in your room?”

 

“What? No,” To say Yoohyeon was confused was understatement. “Lately I didn’t have a chance to sleep properly in my room, so maybe because of that I haven’t seen anything out of ordinary with unnie.”

 

“Why are you avoiding to sleep in that room?” Siyeon asks.

 

Yoohyeon frowns at the way the question was formed by the older girl.

 

“I’m not avoiding to sleep there,” She presses on the last word and then corrects it. “For the past week I have a lot of work in the company so I come back late to dorm. And you two know that Bora unnie is a light sleeper and my bed squeaks really loud when I climb to the top bunk. So not to wake her up I sleep on the couch or in Yubin’s room. I’m not avoiding her.”

 

After she was finished, the uneasy silence settles in the room between the three. Siyeon and Minji exchange the knowing look and nod mutually agreeing on something.

 

“Yoohyeon-ah,” Minji starts off and leans closer so that the younger girl would listen to her attentively. “I suppose that Bora perceived your care in other context. Earlier this day she was complaining that the rearrangement of the roommates in our dorm should be held. I think she’s sulky at you for thinking you avoid her and want to change rooms.”

 

Yoohyeon wants to retort but then stops as she realises it is something that Bora can do. She sighs and shakes her head.

 

“Okay, I got what you meant. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.” While saying those words, Yoohyeon realises that it’s been a long time since she really talked with Bora.

 

 

 

 

 

 

During scheduled day Yoohyeon has been contemplating on what time she should approach the older girl. She didn’t have the chance to do that until late evening after their regular practice of the choreography as a group.

 

While going through the day, Yoohyeon indeed noticed changes in Bora’s behaviour. Her roommate didn’t approach her or even once. Yoohyeon kind of felt like missing those playful comments from the older girl. 

 

After their regular training of choreography any member had the right to leave earlier if they were tired. Almost all of them left to the dorm except Bora who’d always stay until the end of the training. Yoohyeon guessed it was Bora’s habit as a responsible main dancer of the group. 

 

Yoohyeon thought this will be a good opportunity to talk in private as she’s planning to stay for longer just like Bora. 

 

When Minji was done with her training and was now gathering her belongings, Yoohyeon guessed it’d the perfect timing for talk after the leader will leave the practice room. 

 

Before exiting the room Minji passed by Yoohyeon and inaudibly mouthed words of support which the younger girl returned with nod and a grateful smile. They were lucky to have Minji as a leader in their group.

 

Bora wished good night to Minji and continued practicing, totally ignoring the presence of Yoohyeon.

 

“Unnie,” Yoohyeon calls her after she was done with one song while younger girl was watching her the whole time. Bora turns to her with raised expectant eyebrows. “Can we talk?”

 

“About what?” 

 

“Are you mad at me?” Yoohyeon gets right to the point. “Did I do something wrong?”

 

“No, absolutely not.” Bora says with a little surprise but a moment later asks. “Why are you though?”

 

That’s it. Now Yoohyeon should take a moment to settle everything in places and solve this misunderstanding. It should be easy, right?

 

“I—“ Something gets stuck in when she wanted to start. Instead of saying what she was planning all day, she lets out a shaky sigh feeling how she’s suddenly on a verge of tears. “I’m sorry you misunderstood everything in the wrong way. I just wanted not to disturb you because you know when I climb to my bed you always get woken up by that.”

 

“Hey, hey, hey,” At this sight Bora freaks out and hastily crosses the room towards the trembling girl on a bench. She squats down before her and takes her hands in hers, trying to catch her eyes. “I should be sorry here. I perceived it all the wrong way. You actually cared for me and I’m... I’m just so stupid.”

 

“Don’t say it,” Yoohyeon chuckles and looks up at her with teary eyes. With one hand she quickly wipes them off feeling a blush on her cheeks because of the embarrassment. “In your place I’d be sulky too. Should’ve inform you on that.”

 

“You did nothing wrong, Yoohyeon-ah,” Bora answers with guilty tone. For the past days she’s been thinking about their friendship since their first debut. She barely showed her a normal affection or support through physical touch. It always was with some roughness but still with love. Now, Bora has a epiphany that she feels so much love towards the person in front of her and she wanted to comfort her in a way she’d show a gratitude to have her in life. So she smiles and takes her hand to peck the outer side of it. After that she guides it to her own cheek and leans on the touch while giving her warm smile. At this moment Bora feels that Yoohyeon is special for her. She doesn’t get in what way exactly but she just knows there’s something special about the girl before her. “Do you want me to stop bothering you?”

 

“How do you even bother me?” Yoohyeon asks while caressing her cheek and feeling weird yet exciting feeling within herself.

 

“Oh, you know how I annoy you. Do you want me to stop it?” Bora asks again.

 

“Why would I? I know you do it to express affection in your own way. It’s kinda fun,” Yoohyeon giggles eliciting the contagious short laugh from Bora. Yoohyeon is so used to the sound of it, she can’t imagine a normal day without it. Before asking the next question, she hesitates a bit because rejection is more likely. “Can I sleep today in your bed with you?”

 

Even though two of them were close enough to sleepovers like this, Bora always kept a particular distance between them. Like she doesn’t let them to sleep together in one bed like other girls in group or doesn’t let younger girl to address her without honorific. 

 

But now Bora had a feeling she had to break those boundaries. At least to some extent. She didn’t know why she’s always so apprehensive with Yoohyeon in things like that. Right at this moment she didn’t see any reason to reject a girl. Simple cuddles in one bed until falling asleep wouldn’t harm anyone. 

 

“Yeah, sure,” Bora says with a soft smile. At this moment Yoohyeon thinks that’s the most gorgeous smile she has ever seen. “Now, let’s go. It’s getting late.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Unnie?” Yoohyeon calls out when they were already in bed. It was a little uncomfortable due to the small size of the bottom bunk, but warm as their bodies were pressed close. As previously she wanted, Yoohyeon was a big spoon here.

 

“What?” Bora responds with already sleepy voice. 

 

“I know it’s random but I wonder what we’ll be like in ten years.” Yoohyeon says with pensive tone. She sometimes had that kind of moments when she falls into thinking about the future. Tonight wasn’t an exception and she just can’t help it. She involuntarily snuggles to the smaller girl. “And it scares me somehow...”

 

“Why?”

 

“In ten years I fear we won’t be together like this. And other members too...” At the last words she trails off.

 

After hearing this, Bora takes a few minutes to process the said words and carefully choose wise words to calm Yoohyeon’s worry. In reality, she felt the same, but she didn’t show it:

 

“Yoohyeon, don’t worry that much about it. We will be still together even after like twenty years. And,” Bora yawns. “Even though I’m not sure about other things but I’m sure about us.”

 

“Okay.” Yoohyeon says, feeling how she’s falling asleep too.

 

“Now sleep. Tomorrow we have to wake up early...”

 

While Bora wasn’t sure about her feelings towards the girl she’s being hugged by, Yoohyeon at this moment already started realising them. At this she just smiles and buries her face in the Bora’s soft black locks, sensing pleasant sweet scent coming from them.