it’s not anything out of the blue when chaewon starts leaving lip gloss, lip tint and then lipstick on the food they share. par for the course actually.

they shared everything from the very beginning, in that faraway once upon a time where they didn’t always start out wearing make up. when they were just chaewon and yujin with their head in the clouds and their eyes full of stars, and the worst they were leaving on each others things was fingerprints and dropped hair on shared clothing.

so when yena says “ah, lipstick,” in that tired, exasperated tone, yujin doesn’t think it’s all that big of a deal. she offers up her own burger, pretends she can’t finish all of it, if only to stop chaewon from making that kicked puppy look.

(they’ll bring it up again, years later on a talk show, and yujin will still think it’s still not that big of a deal, but she acts contrite for the sake of the camera.)

–

“hey,” chaewon starts.

“hmm?” the light turns green. yujin releases the brakes and eases them off the quiet road. it’s raining, and late, but a drive seemed like a good idea at the time.

“you.” she stops. yujin glances at her.

“you really don’t mind when i leave lipstick on your food, right?” the small unsure voice is what has yujin blindly reaching across the gearstick for chaewon’s hand, slotting her fingers home into the spaces between chaewon’s own.

she’s had a lifetime to get used to lipstick on her food, why would she start?

“i don’t mind in the least,” she assures, and she doesn’t have to look to know that chaewon’s smiling again when she starts playing with her fingers.

–

they’re in the car on the way to individual schedules when wonyoung first asks. “yujin unnie.”

“hmm?”

“what colour are you wearing today, it’s really pretty?”

yujin looks down at herself, in a black and white combination of loose shirt and shorts, then back at wonyoung with a raised eyebrow. “what are you talking about?”

wonyoung laughs, tapping her lips with a grin. “lipstick, unnie. you don’t usually put any on?”

yujin’s eyebrows knit. “I’m not wearing any?”

it’s wonyoung’s turn to raise her eyebrows. “you’re not?”

yujin pulls out her compact to check. “i’m really no-“

except she is. sort of. courtesy of one chaewon kim and the box of lipsticks she’d given her for her birthday. goddammit, she should have bought ones that didn’t transfer.

yujin quickly wipes it off. chaewon starts laughing from the back seat. wonyoung narrows her eyes. “unnie.”

“drop it wonnie.”

wonyoung looks at yujin, then back at the giggling chaewon before it dawns on her.

“…unnie,” wonyoung says again, grinning this time.

“shhhhhhh,” yujin says, pulling a blanket over her head and turning towards the window. “im not here, shhhhh.”

“i guess chaewon unnie is really making good use of your gift huh?”

yujin groans as chaewon bursts into loud laughter.

–

she’s doing their laundry when she finds something that makes her laugh. at the waist of her white shorts are lipstick stains in the shade of a really deep red.

she lays the pair of shorts out on the washing machine and takes a picture to send to chaewon.

excited, were we?

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