First chapter

Hanbok
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I want to clarify a second and last time that English is not my native language. Those of you who do have it as your mother tongue, I apologize for any grammatical or syntax errors, or some mistake in the pronouns. Without further ado, I hope you like this story 😊.

 

 

Shin Yuna woke up shortly before the alarm clock marked the time it would start ringing. She usually woke up with the alarm, but there were days when she woke up earlier. Those days were usually work days, which made her a little nervous.

She stared at the ceiling for a few moments, before turning and glancing at her roommate's bed. Choi Jisu was still asleep. Though not for long, Yuna thought.

She turned over again, and stared at the ceiling of the room. Yuna decided that she would lie there until the alarm clock rang. She felt dulled by the vestiges of sleep.

Her mind began to wander. That day she and the rest of the ITZY members would record another version of the Not Shy choreography, but she didn't know which concept had won the fan poll a couple of days ago. Would the concept she proposed have won? She would find out once she was in the practice room. Oh, and if her mind didn't fail her, they would also record content for some behind. It was going to be a busy day, but also a fun one, especially if....

The alarm interrupted her train of thoughts, causing her to flinch a little. She had become engrossed, and heard Jisu complain as she woke up. Yuna smiled, amused, listening to the older girl.

“Good morning, unnie!”

 

---

 

Shin Ryujin left her room to go to the place where they would record Not Shy version whatever-MIDZY-chose. If the idea she had proposed turned out to be the winner, she would be quite amused. She had made a bet with her roommate Yeji: if either one's concept won, the loser would have to record a video doing aegyo for 30 seconds. Yeji knew how much Ryujin hated doing aegyo, so she had proposed that punishment, and Ryujin, being the good competitive spirit that she was, didn't back down.

"I hope I don't regret this," Ryujin thought as she turned right at an intersection.

She kept walking for a while, leaving corridors and more corridors behind her, with doors on either side. The JYP building was gigantic, and more than once she had gotten lost in its bowels when she was a trainee.

Yeji came out about 10 minutes before her from the room, so Ryujin wasn't surprised to find her already in the practice room. Chaeryeong was there too, talking to Yeji.

“Good morning, Chaeryeongie,” greeted Ryujin with a smile.

“Oh, good morning, Ryujin-unnie," Chaeryeong said in her soft voice, a small smile on her face.

Before Ryujin could say anything else, Yeji spoke up:

“And my good morning, Ryujinie?,” she asked, with a pout on her lips.

Ryujin gave her a meaningful look.

“Yejinie,” she began, her voice toneless, “we slept in the same room,” which meant that she was clearly the first person Ryujin almost always greeted in the mornings.

Yeji opened her catlike eyes and formed an "o" with her lips, in an expression of mock surprise.

“Oh, that's right.”

Ryujin, for all response, put a big fake smile on her face. Yeji loved to , and why lie, Ryujin did the same with her many times. Ryujin turned to Chaeryeong, whose smile had widened thanks to the little interaction between her friends.

“Tell me, Chaeryeong, do you know what concept won in the end?”

A few minutes later, Yuna and Jisu arrived. The maknae's jovial attitude always lifted the group's spirits. A couple of hours later, with the five ITZY members together, the staff gathered them together to reveal the results of the voting. Ryujin was quite surprised when she saw on the screen that her proposal had come in last. For a moment she feared she would have to make that aegyo video for real, but her fear disappeared when her eyes noticed that Yeji's proposal had come in second.

“That was close,” Ryujin thought. She didn't win the bet, but Yeji didn't either, so Ryujin considered it a victory. Yeji made a sour face as she realized she wouldn't see Ryujin suffer doing aegyo. Ryujin stuck her tongue out at her in mockery and Yeji rolled her eyes and shook her head, though a smile surfaced on her lips.

 

Chaeryeong let out a squeak and began to clap her hands softly as she noticed that her hanbok proposal had won, while Jisu and Yuna had protested in unison to subsequently laugh at the same time for reacting in the same way.

“Gee!,” Yeji exclaimed. “I wanted to have a few laughs while recording that video.”

-Not today, Yeji," said Ryujin. “Not today.”

Moments later, the five of them headed to the locker room to change into their hanboks. Already dressed and made up, they came out and headed for a narrow, elongated hallway, which had gray lockers attached to its ends. A staff member followed Ryujin as he carried a camera, filming her at all times. It was her fourth return as ITZY, and she already knew that some of this footage would go to some behind-the-scenes video, so Ryujin's mind was already working on constant improvisations and jokes that might amuse MIDZY, her group's fandom. It was something she didn't find tedious to do, as hearing MIDZY's reactions and knowing that it provided them with joy made her feel good.

Ryujin and Yuna were practicing the choreography, specifically the final part, where they were pretending to pull a rope. Dancing with the red skirt falling from her waist to her feet would be a bit tricky, but Ryujin liked a challenge. The hanbok suited her well. Besides, if there was a repeat of a scene similar to Jisu in a strawberry outfit from that version of Wannabe, it would be totally worth it. Watching that version of Wannabe, as well as the fan-edited videos, never failed to make Ryujin laugh.

“I like the way this skirt feels,” Ryujin said, pointing to her red skirt, so long that it even touched the floor. She looked at Yuna's skirt, red too. “Hey, why doesn't yours touch the floor?”

Yuna was gesturing to the camera, but stopped at Ryujin's question.

“Because I'm taller than you,” she said. “Oh no," she exclaimed, taking a few steps toward Ryujin. “You can even see my shoes.”

Ryujin noticed that yes, she could see her shoes. That reminded her of how short she was in comparison.

Ryujin kept her head down all the time, looking at her and Yuna's skirt. So when she raised her head, she was surprised to see the maknae so close to her. Yuna's face fluttered close to hers for a moment, getting closer and closer. Ryujin looked directly into Yuna's black eyes, and seeing the malice in them, coupled with the closeness of her face, caused her to freeze, like a deer staring at the ever-increasingly larger and larger lights of a car.

Yuna came so close that she rubbed her nose against Ryujin's. The older girl's heart fluttered in her chest, then beat harder and faster. She raised her hand to push Yuna away, but Yuna had already pulled away and her face reflected a big smile, which indicated amusement and something else that Ryujin couldn't decipher.

Ryujin, who had been leaning against the wall during the conversation, suddenly straightened up and looked at the camera, which had captured the scene, and began to involuntarily fidget with her hands, as a choked noise came from , a mixture of nervous laughter and a cry of disbelief. The white makeup that had been applied concealed her potent blush, so others wouldn't notice, but she could feel her cheeks burning like hell.

“Did you see that?,” Ryujin asked with a breath and a shaky smile, surprised. “She touched my nose!”

Ryujin turned her head to look at Yuna, who was slowly swaying back and forth while clutching her skirt with her hands. She was looking at Ryujin with a remnant of the big smile she had a few seconds ago.

“Did it feel good?,” Yuna asked.

Ryujin forgot even where she was and what she was doing, but suddenly remembering, she regained her composure in a second.

“It's very cold,” Ryujin replied, a smile blooming on her lips.

“That's why I asked if it felt good.”

“It should feel good because it's cold?”

“Yes!” Yuna said. “Imagine if it were warm. It would be odd.”

“I think you're right,” Ryujin replied, playing along, as if in a trance.

Ryujin leaned back against the locker behind her, and they both fell silent. Yuna was still swaying back and forth.

“But seriously,” Ryujin said after a while, “this skirt is too long.”

 

---

 

The rest of the day passed normally. They recorded a short introduction for the future video, then filmed the hanbok dance as such to, as a conclusion, write some poems that would surely go into the behind-the-scenes. Ryujin did everything efficiently, as she always did, although she felt disconnected from what was going on. The morning scene was the cause of her haziness.

Shin Ryujin was in love with Yuna. She had never acknowledged it out loud, let alone told anyone, but she knew it. Ryujin could tell in how her heart would race when Yuna smiled at her, or how happy Ryujin was to spend time with her, whether it was a casual outing or recording a live stream for the fans. Time flowed like the water of a river being with Yuna, and Ryujni lamented when it was time to say goodbye.

In Ryujin's opinion, she had done a good job of hiding the issue. No one had ever said anything related to it, everyone was ignorant of the situation.

Everyone except Ryujin.

At first, Ryujin thought it was simply a very strong affection she felt for the maknae. They had known each other when they were JYP trainees and had supported each other through the hardest days of the apprenticeship. They exchanged words of encouragement, and celebrated together when they were informed that they would continue in the program for another month. She thought it was a bond like the one she forged with Yeji, with Jisu, with Chaeryeong.

However, after her debut as part of ITZY, she had begun to doubt. Ryujin caught herself thinking about Yuna during the times when the five of them had vacations and could go visit their families. She missed her, and when she called her or Yuna did the same, she felt happy. A few months after the debut, her feelings and thoughts told her what they assumed was obvious.

“I'm in love with Yuna.”

Guilt nipped at her heels like a hungry dog. She shouldn't harbor such feelings for a coworker. Yes, they were close, but this could interfere with her life as an idol. And she couldn't vent to anyone. Ryujin just wanted those feelings to evaporate like water on the streets during a sunny day.

Or so she wished until that morning. What Yuna did might have been simply for playfulness. One of those flirtations that fans love. There were cameras rolling, so Yuna may have decided to do that to make it the highlight of the video. That was what the logical part of Ryujin's mind told itself.

But logic matters little in the face of love, and Ryujin knew well how falling in love made people idiots. The voice of logic was drowned out by thoughts that suggested something else to Ryujin. What if Yuna had rubbed her nose with her because she wanted to? What if the maknae was hiding something? But the doubt that drilled Ryujin's head all the rest of her day was: what if she feels something else for me?

 

“Aah, what a day,” Yeji said, entering the bedroom. “I'm exhausted.”

Night had fallen over Seoul a couple of hours ago, like a curtain over the stage, when the recordings ended. She and Yeji had said goodbye to Jisu, Yuna and Chaeryeong, and headed to the dormitory together. They chatted about trivial things on the way, and both agreed on the desire to shower and rest until tomorrow.

“Yes indeed,” Ryujin replied to Yeji's comment. “I want to take a shower now.”

“I know, Ryujinie,” Yeji said, sitting down on her bed. “But I'll go first

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Setfiretoawolf #1
Chapter 24: This reminds me of the recent ITZY video of them during practice
143qdy #2
the recent Itzy? Itzy! vid in the practice room reminded me of your fic <3 so much 2shin moments..i still can't get over it. hope you can write for 2shin again soon <3
Ash-LaoSiow #3
Chapter 23: Thank you for this ethereal masterpiece author-nim!
Setfiretoawolf #4
Chapter 23: By far the best 2shin fanfic ever
Setfiretoawolf #5
Chapter 21: YAAAAAAAAASSE
Setfiretoawolf #6
Chapter 20: Y’all need to get married already
Setfiretoawolf #7
Chapter 19: Lia wtf 😭
Qrijess #8
Chapter 18: Finished?????
Winter_rose #9
Chapter 18: Thye don't need to make it official they are already married
Setfiretoawolf #10
Chapter 18: They already married