An unexpected bonus chapter!

Solar was trying to read.

     Admittedly her attempt had not gone well, given that she had just gotten comfortable on the sofa and opened the front cover of her book, only to have a certain someone all but throw themselves onto the same piece of furniture with their head landing in her lap. 

She had huffed, readjusted the pair of them until they were both comfortable, and tried to focus on the first page… but was quickly distracted by the grunts of frustrations and whoops of joy coming from her lap.

Alongside the playful sound effects coming from whatever game Byul was into lately.

And to be honest… Solar wouldn’t have exchanged this moment for the world.

Instead a small indulgent smile appeared despite herself, and she started running her fingers through silky dark locks until her (cute handsome) girlfriend settled, tapping and swiping at her phone speedily but more quietly as she focused in on her task. 

Byul deserved some downtime after all.

     It had been a whirlwind 6 months or so since Solar’s messy confession but their relationship had been the one constant in the rush of it all (like in the eye of a storm, Solar supposed) and the pair had both been pleasantly surprised and grateful for it. 

(It had been scarily easy to transition from “best friends” to “girlfriends” and it did make her wonder how the hell she had never noticed how loved up they had been before.)

     And while all of Mamamoo had been busy individually, Byul really hadn’t given herself a chance to rest… from the second season of Studio Moon Night to her solo comeback, then from Mamamoo + to Second World and now a group comeback leading to their world tour.

And as unbelievably proud as Solar was, it worried her how hard and how much the younger girl was working - even when she was given one of those devastating lazy smirks and a husky, “But I enjoy it, unnie”.

It wasn’t that long ago that the same girl had really burnt out.

But she was just grateful that Byul had at least stepped back from the radio show and eventually Kick A Goal too, even if she did silently admit to herself that she would miss how hot her girlfriend looked playing in a football match.

(No-one had to know that Solar had saved and often re-watched the Golden Maknae’s highlights, grinning like a fool every time she saw Byul score in one of her last matches with Top Girl.)

“Yong, what do you think?”

Solar was startled out of her thoughts by a phone being shoved under her nose, indicating that Byul had switched from playing games to Googling whatever had caught her curiosity.

“Both our ummas really liked that premium natto we got for them last time, and they sell it at this department store.” She explained at the older girl’s slightly confused expression, “It’s not too far from here by train.”

Moonbyulyi’s capacity to think of and care for her loved ones never ceased to surprise Solar.

     Even now, the pair having stayed behind in Japan after a gruelling schedule of fanmeets and concerts with the intention to (mostly) rest, Byul was thinking about their parents and what gifts they could ferry back to their respective families. 

And although they hadn’t yet told anyone about their blossoming relationship, there were knowing looks from close friends and family alike when they had announced that they would be delaying their return to Korea by a few days and would be sending the kids plus the rest of the staff back first.

Especially from the kids… and Byul’s mum, for some reason.

(So a few thoughtful gifts to both sets of parents from the both of them wouldn’t hurt.)

“Okay, sounds good.” Solar managed to finally reply and added, “I think that department store is close to the eatery I wanted to try.” 

     She rummaged through her clothes looking for her phone to review the notes she had ( thoroughly quickly) made when planning their short trip, but gave up for two reasons: firstly, she remembered that she had left it on the bedside table; and secondly, she was distracted by her new favourite lip-gloss-and-balm combo that she found in one of her pockets.

And whilst racking her brain to try and recall the exact name of the eatery, she unscrewed the top off to apply some to her lips.

Solar didn’t realise that she had an audience until she closed the lid and was pressing her lips together to get good coverage.

“What?”

“You’ve been using that a lot lately.” Byul commented casually, eyeing the cylindrical tube in her girlfriend’s hand.

“Well, I like it.” 

“I can see that.”

“Big Yong got it for me.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“Aishi~”

Their bickering quickly ended with Solar’s faux frustration but she was startled once more when Byul suddenly sat up.

“I want to try it too.” 

And Solar supposed she could hand it over like a responsible adult.

But there was something about Byul that always drew out the mischievous child inside of her, and she decided to act accordingly instead.

“No.”

The bickering recommenced.

“Why not?”

“It’s mine!”

“And?”

“And I said that Big Yong got it for me.”

“So?”

“ So … no.”

“You’re so petty.”

“What did you say?!”

     During their verbal jousting, Byul leaned further and further forward whilst Solar leaned further and further back, keeping her arm outstretched so that the former couldn’t reach the lip-gloss/balm in question.

Then all of a sudden, a tense silence descended upon them.

And Solar recognised that glint in Byul’s eyes.

“Moonbyul-ssi… remember that we’re in a rented- kyaaa~ !”

Her warning was futile as it was drowned out by her own squeals and high-pitched dolphin-squeaks as her devious girlfriend started tickling her mercilessly.

She barely put up a fight, knowing full well that the lean girl was stronger than her even on a good day, before finally admitting her defeat in between helpless laughs.

     Byul collapsed on top of her, the both of them breathless and still giggling like little schoolgirls. It took a good few minutes for them to calm down enough to catch their breath and eventually, the younger girl was able to prop herself up on her elbows and look down at her girlfriend.

And frankly, Kim Yongsun was utterly stunning.

Even in her oversized jumper and comfortable sweatpants, with barely any makeup on and mussed up hair from their playfight.

     The thing was, Solar could feel the devotion and awe from the intense inspection, and she found herself looking back surprisingly shyly at the woman who clearly loved her so much and apparently had done so for years. 

She felt so damned lucky that she was the one that Moonbyulyi ended up falling in love with.

Feeling the need to express the emotions threatening to burst out of her, the introverted woman grabbed Byul by the collar and yanked her down to press their lips together. 

     Solar loved the feeling of their lips together; she had become addicted to how soft and supple they felt when they moved against each other, and she couldn’t help but and nip Byul’s lips until the latter parted them for her, so that they could deepen the kiss. She slid her hands up from her collar and tangled them into dark silky locks as a reward, knowing full well it drove Byul crazy when she raked her fingers through her hair like this, and she tugged and pulled until the rapper was grinding her hips down against her heated core. 

A moan slipped out before she could stop it, rumbling into Byul’s mouth as her tongue explored familiar territory.

     A long heady moment later, Solar pressed hot kisses along a sharp jawline before nosing her way up to a surprisingly sensitive ear and murmured into it, “You wanted to try the lip-gloss so I thought I’d share it.”

And then she pulled back to admire her work.

The normally cheeky yet chic Moonbyulyi looked utterly wrecked .

     Solar smirked as she used the soft pad of her thumb to wipe off some of the excess gloss from just under Byul’s lower lip, from where their passion had caused her to be a little… inaccurate. 

It was rather flattering to see that her kisses could leave someone so dazed and wanting.

But then a tiny voice in the back of her mind faintly wondered just how long this would last; how long Byul’s adoring looks would last, how long their laughter would last, how long their love would last.

They were probably still in the ‘honeymoon-phase’ of their relationship after all.

     Suddenly overwhelmed by an eerie sense of insecurity, she cupped Byul’s small face in her hands and pleaded with a sort of quiet urgency that made the younger girl blink herself out of her stupor and listen with rapt attention.

“Please don’t ever get bored of me, Byul-ah…”

Solar looked up earnestly into a pair of eyes that seemed to study her for a long breathless moment before they gentled into a tender loving gaze that made her melt and ache at the same time.

"I've known you for over a decade and one thing you are not … is predictable." Byul replied with a soft lopsided smile as she pointed to her now glossy lips before brushing some stray hairs away from her girlfriend’s beautiful face. “So I’ll never be bored of you, Ddun.”

And Solar felt immediately comforted.

She realised that preferred Byul’s response more than anything she could have thought of to say to herself. 

She gently pulled Byul back down for another deep kiss, trying to convey her gratitude and her love all in one go.

Because Byul would always know how to comfort her more than anyone else, even herself, and she wanted to always do the same for Byul.

(And over the years to come, Byul would tell her that she always had.)

Author's Notes:

I know, I know...

I was supposed to be writing the last few chapters for "The Operator" but Moonsun have been getting really soft lately and this little chapter popped out after I was inspired by the above pictures...

Hope you enjoyed and please leave a upvotes +/- comments! I always love hearing your thoughts :D
And for "The Bodyguard" series readers, I ask for your patience once more... I promise I will be back to finish "The Operator"!