It’s a mutual decision to keep it a secret from everyone, just so that they can focus on themselves and their new relationship. Yes, Seulgi’s dated before, but it’s never been like this. She’s never had to work this hard, and maybe that’s why it means so much more to her. But also, it most probably means so much more because it’s Joohyun. Joohyun who is beautiful, on the inside and out, who loves her family, her friends, who is as brilliant and dazzling as sunshine. Joohyun who is gentle and caring, while also being one of the most playful and fun loving people Seulgi’s met, the woman who laughs so loudly one would need to do a double take the first time they hear it, but with the laugh that warms Seulgi’s every being. 

That was the plan. To keep it a secret.

But Mrs. Park ends up finding out a mere 3 hours later. 

As they talk under the stars, shy blushes and small kisses shared between them, the new couple ends up falling asleep in each other’s arms. They don’t mean to, but the exhaustion of the day and the excitement of what’s to come for them drains them of all energy, and it’s so comfortable, with Joohyun’s head on Seulgi’s chest and Seulgi pulling her close. Joohyun wakes up to her mom’s voice, gently shaking her awake. Joohyun blinks, once, twice, before she yelps, “Mom!” and slaps Seulgi on the arm with the words, “Get up, get up, get up!!”

Seulgi wishes the ground would swallow her whole right at that very instant. 

“S-sorry, Mrs. Park!” Seulgi stutters out, as her sleepiness dissolves completely and she’s faced with her new girlfriend’s mother.Mrs. Park isn’t mad, not at all, in fact, she’s grinning and it sends shivers down Seulgi’s spine as it reminds Seulgi of Joy and Yeri just when they’re about to cause chaos. “Don’t worry about it, Seulgi dear!” 

“Sorry, mom, we lost track of time and-” 

“It’s fine, Joohyun, I just figured you might be more comfortable sleeping inside where it’s warmer. Then again Seulgi’s arms-” 

“MOM!” 

Yeah, Seulgi would like to disappear right about now. 

Mrs. Park raises her hands up in defense, “What? I’m just saying you two looked pretty comfy. Anyway, Seulgi, why don’t you sleep on the couch? It’s barely 3am, it’s too late for you to go home-” 

“N-no, it’s okay. I should go. My mom will worry-” 

“Nonsense, I’ve already told her you’re staying over.” 

“WHAT?!” Both teenagers exclaim. 

Mrs. Park shrugs, “She was worried because you weren’t home yet and weren’t answering your phone, so she called your friend Momo? I think that was her name. Then she called Seungwan who called Joohyun, who wasn’t answering either, so Seungwan called the house. So I told Seungwan that I found you two and she told-” 

“Ok, mom, thanks. We get it.” 

“Now, go on, go back to sleep.”

The two teenagers simply nod, allowing themselves to be ushered inside, where the matriarch has already set up a pillow and blanket on the couch. “Thank you, Mrs. Park. Sorry, again.” 

“It’s no problem at all, Seulgi. I’ll be leaving for my shift in a couple of hours, I can wake you up then, if you’d like.” 

“Oh, uh, yes please.” 

“By the way, Joohyun, I was thinking of taking the weekend off and taking Joy and Yeri to the zoo this coming Saturday.” 

Joohyun nods, “That’s great, mom! We’ll all have fun-”

“You’re not invited.” 

“Huh? What do you mean?” 

Mrs. Park looks at the young couple, and her teasing grin turns soft, “Joohyun, you know I’m so grateful for how you take care of your sisters. And I’m sorry that your father and I are always so busy-” 

“Mom, you know it’s fine with me. You’ve got lives to save and all that.” 

“I know, but just take some time for yourself okay? Do it for the both of you.”

“Okay, mom. Thanks.” 

“Now, I’m off to bed, and you two should do the same. Good night!” Mrs. Park says as she walks away. Then, she calls out from the hallway, “Joohyun, you better sleep in your own room tonight!” 

Seulgi groans, her face as red as a tomato, “Oh my god, I want to die. I can’t believe your mom caught us. I mean, at least we weren’t kissing, that would have been so much worse but oh my god.” 

Joohyun laughs, wrapping her arms around Seulgi’s waist, and burying her face into the crook of Seulgi’s neck. “Well, so much for keeping it a secret.” 

They ignore their friends for the rest of the weekend even if their joint group chat has been blowing up ever since Seungwan found out that they had fallen asleep together. It’s not like they even mean to. It’s just that as soon as Seulgi gets home, she’s lectured for a good fifteen minutes, and her mom is about to ground her for two weeks before Seulgi panics and says, “Mom, no, I’ve got a date with Joohyun on Saturday!” Her mom completely switches gears after that. 

“Ah! You’re so lucky, she seems like a great girl. Pretty and smart, very respectful too. You better treat her right, Seulgi!” 

“Ma, I’m your daughter.” 

“Yes, but I want her as my daughter-in-law so don’t mess this up and bring her over soon, okay?”

Though, as punishment, Seulgi spends the rest of the day cleaning out the garage. By the time she’s done and clean, the sun has already set, and the only thing she has energy for is to talk to Joohyun on the phone. 

“There was so much stuff, it’s insane. I even found my brother’s bike from when he was Joy’s age! I’m just glad a live animal didn’t come out and attack me.” Seulgi sighs dramatically. “So, what do you want to do on Saturday? It’s gonna be just us.” 

Joohyun hums on the other end, “Can I be the one to plan it?” 

“But I’ve been wanting to go out on a date with you for so long!” 

“But this is my first date ever so-” 

“Exactly! Let me make it perfect!” 

“Please?” Joohyun asks, her pout definitely honed by experience because Seulgi can see it perfectly in her head, even if she can’t see the other woman. “You’ve done so much for me already, let me be the one this time. Then you can do the next one.” 

“Fine, but now you have to ask me properly.” Seulgi teases.

“Okay, okay.” Joohyun clears , and her voice is so gentle and warm, Seulgi finds herself swooning, her heart beating rapidly even though she’s the one that asked for this. “Will you, Kang Seulgi, go out on a date with me, Park Joohyun? No kids, just us. And maybe some kisses in between. Or a lot. Who knows?” 

Seulgi’s brain short circuits, and it’s clear Joohyun can tell because she starts laughing. “I’m 99% sure you’re already blushing like crazy.” 

“N-no, I’m not!” Seulgi chokes out. 

“Mhmm. Sure. So, what’ll it be? Go out with me?” 

“Of course.” Seulgi replies, her cheeks painful from smiling. 

The call ends shortly after that, Joy and Yerim suddenly bursting into Joohyun’s room, clearly on a sugar high. Joohyun even forgets to end the call properly, she whispers a rushed goodbye followed by the sound of her grunting as one (or both) of them jump onto her. Seulgi hears Joy’s voice on the other end, “Was that Seungwan unnie?? I wanna say hi!” followed by her girlfriend’s reply of, “No, Joy, it was Seulgi unnie.” Joy doesn’t say anything to that, which kind of stings, but Yerim chirps, “Seu unnie!! I wanna say hi!” and Seulgi’s glad that she’s at least one step closer.

“Wow, so this is it how it begins.” Seungwan says with mock hurt, pretending to wipe away a tear as Joohyun and Seulgi meet her at the entrance of their school. “First, you don’t reply to my messages the whole day yesterday, and now, I’ve been set aside and must walk to school alone?!” 

The guilt washes over Seulgi instantly. She didn’t mean to make Seungwan feel left out, especially because Seungwan’s helped her so much it’s just that she wanted to walk with Joohyun and Joohyun didn’t mention anything and-

“Oh shut up. You’re the one that said you had to go to school early today.” Joohyun says, with a roll of her eyes. 

Seungwan grins, “Aww, why’d you spoil the fun? Seulgi looked like she was about to cry out of guilt!” 

“I was really worried, okay!” Seulgi says, slapping Seungwan on the arm. 

“You’re so easy. Maybe that’s why Joy doesn’t stop pulling pranks on you.” Seungwan hums, before linking arms with Joohyun. “But for now, let me steal my best friend. She’s gotta tell me everything .” 

Seulgi doesn’t complain, still feeling a bit guilty even if Seungwan said she was joking but there’s no need to dwell on it too much when Momo and Byulyi practically tackle her when they see her, demanding to know what happened. She tells them everything (not about Joohyun’s mom though because they’d relentlessly for that) and Seulgi’s not even surprised when Byulyi hands Momo all the contents of her wallet. (“I was giving it at least another month!” Byulyi complains.)

When lunch time rolls around, Seulgi picks Joohyun up from her classroom, and the shorter girl has to hold Seulgi’s hand to stop it from shaking, nerves already getting the best of her as they prepare to tell the rest of Joohyun’s friends. Similar to Seungwan, they all sort of knew each other, so she wasn’t sure how they’d react. But, they take it really well, as if they were already expecting it and they even end up giving Seulgi advice and bonding over stories about the little girls. 

“Listen, anyone who deals with Joy and Yerim and still loves them is okay in our book.” Jihyo says. “Sure, they’re crazy but they’re really lovable.” 

Sana nods excitedly, “I remember this one time, when we all came over, they made us play pirates. We spent the whole day making cardboard swords and flags and everything and I forgot what happened but Dahyun’s character died-” 

“-Joy fed me to a shark, she threw her shark pillow at me.”

“Right, and Joy and Yerim absolutely love it when you play along. So Dahyun was lying on the grass, wailing and pretending to be in pain, you even said you loved Seungwan as your dying words right?” Sana turns to Dahyun, and suddenly both Dahyun and Seungwan are very interested in their own food, while the tips of their ears turn pink. “Anyway, she eventually stops moving, with her tongue sticking out for full dramatic ‘I’m totally dead’ effect. Then, out of nowhere, Yerim starts crying, she runs up to Dahyun and starts slamming the shark pillow on the ground, calling it a bad shark.” 

“Oh, oh! That was also the same day Mina accidentally hit Tzuyu’s forehead with her sword!” Seungwan says, “Joy kept insisting to kiss Tzuyu’s forehead to make the pain go away.” 

“Yeah, but that was after she cackled like a madwoman.” Tzuyu adds. “Which, now that I think about it, is very similar to Joohyun’s.” 

“HEY!”

“Don’t worry, Hyun. It’s cute.” Seulgi says, quickly kissing Joohyun on the cheek. 

Seungwan lobs a fry at Seulgi’s head, “Joy isn’t here to copy me!” she says in defense as soon as Joohyun glares at her. “And what did I tell you guys? They’re going to be even cheesier than Yong and Byul.” 

“Cheesier than me? I take that as a challenge.” Byulyi pipes up, as she appears by their table with Momo behind her. 

“Babe, no.”

Byulyi kisses Yongsun on the cheek and then lifts her hand up to her lips as well, “Fine, only because you’re my queen and I respect your every whim.” 

The whole table gags at that and Joohyun looks Seulgi dead in the eye, “If you’re ever like that I may break up with you.” 

Seulgi nods, “And I’d understand completely.” 

As Byulyi and Momo join them, the aura of the table suddenly shifts, and the air turns icy as Momo gives a small wave to Mina. Dahyun, Tzuyu, and Sana eye her from head to toe, a glare that looks very much like Joy’s on their faces, while Jihyo just laughs at Momo’s panicked face and Mina swats them, telling them to behave and be nice. 

“It’s like she has three Joy’s.” Seulgi whispers as Momo squirms under the gaze of their friends.

Joohyun giggles, “Trust me though, those three are a lot easier to bribe than Joy.”

Even though they’ve told everyone else, they still decide to keep it a secret from Joy and Yerim. Yerim because Joohyun is sure the kid won’t be able to keep a secret. And from Joy because Joohyun wants Joy to get used to having Seulgi around even after exams and Seulgi doesn’t want to pressure the little girl too much. 

They continue to hold hands when they pick up Yerim from daycare, only pulling apart when the toddler launches herself into her sister’s arms. She lets Seulgi pinch her cheeks when she says hi, and she grabs both their hands as they walk, trying her best to tell them about her day. But as soon as they step in front of Joy’s extra class, Seulgi drops Yerim’s hand and stands a few steps back, careful not to have a repeat of last time. Joy runs out and stops as soon as she sees Seulgi there, but instead of a scowl, she refuses to even look Seulgi in the eye, it’s not in a I-hate-your-presence kind of way, but in a way Seulgi can’t describe. The walk to their home is awkward, the six-year-old uncharacteristically quiet as she holds Joohyun’s hand, leaving Yerim to fill the silence. 

As soon as they arrive in the Park residence, Joy and Yerim run ahead inside and Joohyun takes the chance to squeeze Seulgi’s hand. “Are you okay?” 

“Does she hate me even more?” 

Joohyun shakes her head and leads Seulgi to the couch, “No, trust me, she doesn’t. And I promise, it’ll be okay.” 

“But it’s weird right? She didn’t even look at me. I’d honestly prefer her glare over whatever that was.” 

“It is weird but right now… I guess she’s just like me. She’s a little too hard on herself.” 

“What do you mean?” 

As if on cue, Joy reappears, and wordlessly hands Seulgi two green bandaids, and points at Seulgi’s elbow, before sitting on her sister’s lap. Seulgi steals a glance at the little girl who’s watching her intently, and she can see that there’s still worry and guilt for what happened the other day. It slightly amuses Seulgi how Joy already apologized after it happened, but like her older sister, continues to do so to get the point across that is truly sorry for what happened. 

Seulgi slowly unwraps the bandaids, and places one on her palm, and one on her elbow. Then, she smiles as she shows them both to the little girl. “Thanks, Joy. And hey, don’t worry about it anymore, okay? It doesn’t hurt, I promise.” 

Joohyun pulls the little girl into a hug, and kisses the top of her head. “You’re welcome,” Joy mumbles, before shuffling off her sister’s lap and thankfully, starts smiling and talking again.

When Joohyun said she wanted to take care of their date, she really meant it. She doesn’t give Seulgi any hints, she doesn’t even bring it up unless Seulgi does, and the only thing she’s willing to say is, “Just dress comfortably. You look good in anything, anyway.” So, Seulgi complies and dresses up simply, a white button down shirt, jeans, and a leather jacket to deal with the spring weather. She does not, however, expect Joohyun’s outfit. hangs open as she meets Joohyun outside her home, and Seulgi swears by all the stars in the sky that Joohyun is walking in slow motion towards her, allowing Seulgi’s brain process her blue off-shoulder top and denim mini skirt, her hair loose and flowing in the wind with a cardigan hanging from her arm. 

“Is it okay? Is it too much?” Joohyun asks, tugging at her sleeves.

“You look… you look…” 

“It’s too much, isn’t it?” 

“No!” Seulgi yelps, “You have nice shoulders! And collarbone and hair!” 

Joohyun laughs, “What’s next, my ear?” 

“Well, your ear is cute too!” Seulgi says, wishing her brain would just relax and be normal for once.

“Thank you. You look great too, by the way.” Joohyun says. “And you’re sure this isn’t too much? I rarely get to wear stuff like this cause it’s hard to run after Joy and Yeri… so… it’s nice to be able to.” 

Seulgi takes a deep breath. “Sorry, I lost my cool for a second. But trust me, you look amazing, Hyun.” Then she pulls Joohyun in for a kiss, and smiles as a blush creeps up her girlfriend’s cheeks. “There. Better. So, where are we off to today?” 

“Promise not to laugh, okay?” Joohyun says, “I… I honestly wasn’t sure what to do today. This was my first date ever, after all. So I did my research-” 

“You what?”

“I said no laughing!” 

“I’m not! It’s cute, Hyun.” 

Joohyun rolls her eyes and continues, “I was looking for first date ideas but nothing really fit. Bowling? Pass. Movies? Not really. Theme park? We did that already. Then, I got to thinking, you’ve only seen me with Joy and Yeri, or with Seungwan, Yongsun and my other friends. But there’s so much more to me than who I am with them… and I want you to see that side of me too. I want to show you my favorite place to go to when I want to be alone. Is that okay?”

“Of course it’s okay. I’d love to learn more about my girlfriend.” 

“And don’t worry, I have something I’m sure you’d enjoy too.”

Seulgi holds both of Joohyun’s hands up to her lips, “Hyun, I’m not worried. Trust me. We can do anything today and it’ll be fine because it’s with you. Now, lead the way.” 

Joohyun holds Seulgi’s hand the entire time, as they walk to the train station, as they weave through the weekend crowd, and Seulgi is honestly too focused on the smile on Joohyun’s face to even care if they actually do bump into people. They pass by the main road where a spring festival market is in full swing, couples and families enjoying the nicer weather. 

T