"Whose idea was this, anyway?"

"Yours, noona." The youngest and newest Solarsido staffer earned a death glare from Yongsun. 

"You should have stopped me."

"Nah - it's a good idea! Plus, you were live when you promised you would do the challenge with most likes, how on earth was I supposed to stop you?"

"Hey!" Yongsun punched the young man's arm playfully. "Be respectful to your superiors."

"You hired me because I was the only one at the interview that had the guts to tell you that your channel was becoming boring. Respect is not in my contract," Dohyun remarked cheekily, the peach fuzz on his chin. "As the only resident Gen Z on this lame team, I can tell you this is gonna be great for your engagement."

"Fine," Yongsun sighed. "They could've picked a nicer challenge, though."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Do me a favor, boy," Yongun ignored her coworker's provocation and stood up to put heels back on her feet. "My ride to go film tonight's show should be downstairs already. Call Byulyi, remind her to pick up dog food on her way home later and tell her not to wait up. Oh - and tell her that we're gonna film this challenge tomorrow, so she's not caught off guard. It'll be fun if she starts clowning around to get my attention, whatcha think? Come up with some funny antics she could do and let her know." Yongsun was speaking at the speed of light, gathering her things before rushing to the elevator.

Dohyun nodded. "Copy that, boss."

"Call Wheein and Hyejin and tell them, too! " Yongsun yelled the last bit of instructions as the elevator doors were about to close in front of her. "Don't work late! And if you do, get something nutritious for dinner and put it on the company card!"

Dohyun grinned.

He had the best boss ever. 

He couldn't believe his current circumstances. Not only he got hired right out of school by an idol running a major Youtube channel - his opinion was held in high regard, his perspective was unique in the team, and Yongsun noona trusted him. All of his friends who majored in communications alongside him were still unemployed. Dohyun felt proud of himself and of everything he had achieved - and he owed it all to himself, to his own social media savyness.

He wished he could go back in time to six years ago, when he was in middle school and his mom scolded him everyday for skipping cram school and watching prank video after prank video on Youtube instead. "Look at me now, mom," he would say to her. "All that time on the Internet wasn't so useless after all, huh?" 

And, he could still rise through the ranks. Easy peasy. He only needed to keep having brilliant ideas. Speaking of which... he knew how to upgrade the Solarsido challenge they were going to film tomorrow. Authenticity was what the public rewarded, he reasoned. Especially Yongsun's fans - they wanted the easy chemistry that always flew between his boss and her members when there wasn't anything scripted. 

Also, no script meant less work for him. Dohyun put his feet up on Yongsun's desk and started scrolling through a takeout app until he had selected a good option. Then, he looked for Moon Byulyi's number in his contact list and started composing a text.

Hello noona, it's Dohyun from the Solarsido team. Yongsun noona asked me to let you know that she'll be late today so you shouldn't wait up. Also to please remember to pick up the dog food. Have a good night!

.

The Solarsido cameraman started filming the rehearsal as usual, like he had filmed many regular Mamamoo rehearsals for Solarsido before. No one paid him any attention and he liked it that way. He was thought that they were supposed to film a challenge today, but maybe he had misheard and it was a regular rehearsal instead? He had received instructions to film all day long. It didn't matter anyway - he got to enjoy the singing and dancing as he filmed the girls, so he couldn't complain. 

.

"Break!" Yongsun called, and Byulyi lied down on the floor dramatically before the last notes of their upcoming song even finished playing, conserving her energy for the long day of rehearsals ahead. Wheein glanced at her and rolled her eyes, unable to surpress a laugh. 

Byulyi giggled back and braced for what she knew was coming - Yongsun could never resist an occasion to sit beside her and tickle her exposed belly, and that would lead to a playful fight that had the maknaes cringing and encouraging them to "get a room!". 

But this time, Yongsun didn't come. Byulyi propped herself up on her elbows, her girlfriend right in front of her but scrolling on her phone instead.

Byulyi made a show of standing up, exaggerating her movements to pretend she was exhausted, to playfully attract Yongsun's attention. 

When the older woman didn't raise her eyes from her screen, Byulyi approached her and tickled her girlfriend's armpit with a smile, placing a soft kiss on her shoulder. "Hey you," she whispered against Yongsun's skin. "Good dancing. Hot."

But Yongsun didn't show signs of having heard her, seen her or felt her - she simply turned sideways and walked to where Wheein and Hyejin were stretching, finally putting her phone down and joining them. 

Byulyi was perplexed. Maybe Yongsun was reading something important on her phone? She was so cute when she concentrated like that, Byulyi smiled to herself. 

.

"Wheein-ah, stop touching your hair while you dance. How's the audience supposed to appreciate the choreo if you keep doing that?" Yongsun gently admonished her member. 

"Ah, you're right unnie - sorry. It's a reflex. I'll try to do better." 

Yongsun smiled at Wheein and nodded before turning her attention to Hyejin. "Jinnie, keep those knees straight during the second verse. I know you're tired, but you know it'll get easier."

Hyejin immediately stopped slouching, straightened her spine and her knees upon hearing her leader's correction. "Yes, unnie. I'll work hard." 

Yongsun rewarded her too with a kind smile, her eyes darting to Byulyi for a moment. Everyone thought she was going to deliver some correction to Byulyi too - but, uncharacteristically, Yongsun stayed silent instead and went back to her mark on the wooden floor. 

"Hey - what about me?" Byulyi interjected when she realized Yongsun was about to hit play and start from the top.

Yongsun didn't turn around to look at her nor met her eyes in the wall mirror. "You're good," she commented offhandedly.

"Good?" Byulyi repeated with an incredulous smile. She knew she had gotten at least two steps wrong the last time they had tried the choreography. Why wasn't Yongsun correcting her too? She chuckled. What was her crazy girlfriend up to?

"Yeah, you're good," Yongsun didn't even give Byulyi the time of day as the song started again.

Whatever game she's playing, Byulyi thought, amused, I want to play too. 

The song played and Byulyi started inventing steps instead of executing the choreography. Some of the steps she made up were quite... creative, and involved picking her nose in time with the music, scratching her chin like a monkey, swishing her and pretending to shoo a bee away from it. They only got halfway through the song - it was impossible to keep dancing with Byulyi acting out this comical repertoire - before Wheein and Hyejin doubled down with laughter. Even the Solarsido cameraman and their manager unnie, the other two people present in the room, joined in on the general amusement.

"What did this unnie eat this morning before coming here?" asked Wheein as soon as she was able to breathe again. "Who spiked her coffee?"

Byulyi laughed along. "So," she addressed Yongsun, "was that good?"

"Mmh," a poker faced Yongsun replied, picking up her phone again, not even the faintest trace of laughter on her lips.

Byulyi raised an eyebrow. Maybe Yongsun was too worried about their comeback to indulge her in these silly games. She lowered her head, a little bit ashamed.

.

"Yong."

Byulyi pulled one of Yongsun's ears, gently. Nothing.

"Yong."

She pulled the other one. Nothing.

"Yong."

She took Yongsun's chubby cheeks in her hands and squished them. Nothing.

"Yong."

She lowered herself on her knees and squatted, to be able to rest her nose against Yongsun's chin. Nothing.

"Yong!"

Byulyi grabbed what little fat she could grab on Yongsun's tummy and squished that too. Nothing.

"YONG!"

When Byulyi's face got close to hers and she felt her nose being , Yongsun stood up suddenly and exited the room, waiting until she was in the hall and out of sight of the Solarsido camera to let out the laugh she had been suppressing. Granted, when she had told Dohyun to come up with some antics for Byulyi to perform to try and catch her attention, she expected something a bit more sophisticated - but, whatever Dohyun and Byulyi had agreed on, what was going on was very realistic for the rapper's standards and captured their dynamic perfectly.

She's such a menace, Yongsun smiled fondly to herself. My Byulyi. She got back to the practice room, prepared to ignore Byulyi for the rest of the day. 

.

Byulyi observed Yongsun with interest, waiting to see what she would do with their snakcs. Yongsun had grabbed strawberries from the fruit bar - Byulyi's favorites - and now she was polishing them with her thumb, picking the crown off one by one. 

Byulyi's stomach grumbled. When Yongsun glanced at her in response, Byulyi smiled at her and opened , like a baby bird expecting to be fed, waiting for Yongsun to bite off half a strawberry and pop the other half into , like she always did. 

But Byulyi's mouth was left empty - she watched with astonishment as Yongsun offered a strawberry to Hyejin, and even Hyejin looked at them weird before accepting. Byulyi could practically hear the wheels spinning in the maknae's head as Hyejin's eyes went from her to Yongsun and back. Did they fight? 

Did we fight? Byulyi didn't think so - but Yongsun's behavior was starting to feel off. She quickly thought about everything that might have gone wrong since she had last seen Yongusn before this rehearsal, the morning before. Maybe she wanted me to stay up and wait for her yesterday night? 

Her stomach grumbled again. "Unnie, can I have a strawberry?" she asked again, open comically in the effort of making Yongsun laugh and getting her to feed her the fruit as their usual comfortable routine demanded.

Yongsun pushed the plate towards Byulyi, and turned her head to talk to manager unnie at the other side of the table. 

Byulyi's stomach twisted with anxiety. Maybe Yongsun truly was angry at her for something. What could it be?, Byulyi asked herself, starting to feel a little sick with worry. Is it because she's worried about the comeback and I have been playing around instead of giving it my 200%?

.

"Break!" Yongsun called again, moans of relief immediately coming from Wheein and Hyejin. 

Byulyi, however, walked towards the sound system in the practice room and hit play on the track again, lowering the volume so that she could have a mini private practice session without disturbing the others.

"Unnie, what are you doing?" Wheein called from her spot on the floor. "Come rest."

"Later," Byulyi panted. "I need to work harder, I don't like the way I practiced today."

"What are you talking about?" asked Hyejin. "You worked your off just like the rest of us. We're getting there, unnie. Come rest," she added, echoing Wheein.

"Later," Byulyi repeated, the anxiety in her voice so clearly audible to the three people in the room that knew her best.

Yongsun's heart constricted a bit. She's too anxious about this comeback. Her pretty head is always so full of worries. She made a mental note to give Byulyi a pep talk when they got home, later - for now, she thought, let's get through this practice and this Solarsido challenge so we can call it a day. Do we have enough material for a decent lenght video by now or should I keep filming in the car?

.

"Bye, unnies! See you tomorrow!" Wheein got into the car where her driver was waiting for her. Hyejin blew her a kiss before approaching her own ride home.

"Whatever you two had going on today, kiss and make up, okay? It made practice drag. Idol life's already hard enough. Think about the kids," she said through the car window, with a wry smile and characteristical honesty. 

Byulyi glanced at Yongsun sideways, anxiety pooling at the bottom of her stomach. Her girlfriend didn't acknowledge her, but took out her phone from her pocket instead, and started filming herself and Byulyi walking through the parking lot towards Byulyi's car.

"Hello Yongwangnims! Today's practice is finally over. You are only going to see this video after our song is out, no spoilers for you... so I can tell you that the second verse was the hardest part in the choreo! It's hard to go back to dancing complicated choreos after the pandemic, I think Hip was more difficult than this one but i was several years younger," Yongsun giggled at the camera as they approached the car.

Byulyi took the time to walk to the passenger side and opened Yongsun's door for her, looking at her girlfriend with puppy eyes, silently begging for an acknowledgement. None came. She waited for Yongsun to be seated comfortably, closed the passenger side door after her and walked to the driver's side.

Byulyi leaned against the car, taking a minute to inhale and exhale, the anxiety in her stomach ever growing. She could feel a panic attack starting. She was hungry, tired, unsatisfied with herself. All of her muscles were sore and Yongsun had ignored her all day.

What if they were going to fight when they got home? Byulyi didn't even know what the fight would be about, and she felt helpless in her inability to mentally prepare. Would Yongsun tell her that she had at rehearsals today? She hoped not. She already knew. She felt silent tears coming down her cheeks. 

Byulyi had a sudden new thought and contemplated it in horror. What if they didn't fight? What if Yongsun kept giving her the silent treatment instead? No, that woud be way worse. That would be unbearable. She felt herself choking on tears, breathing right was even more difficult now, and she tried to repress a sob, because Yongsun was still filming and she didn't want to be heard and...

"Why is she taking so long?", Byulyi heard Yongsun ask the camera as she got out of the car and walked towards her. "Byul-ah, come on, get in, I want to go h-" 

Yongsun stopped in her tracks at the sight of her girlfriend leaning against the car in tears, her face red and puffy, her breathing rapid and shallow. "Byulyi?" she placed a questioning hand on Byulyi's shoulder. "Jagiya?" 

The touch and the term of endearment were too much for Byulyi after being starved for affection all day. She broke down, loud sobs resonating through the parking lot. Her shoulders were shaking so much that it was almost difficult for Yongsun to put her arms around Byulyi. She placed her phone on the roof of the car as she finally managed to engulf Byulyi in a tight hug. She didn't care if she was still recording - she could delete the footage later. 

"You're okay," Yongsun murmured against her girlfriend's hair. "I'm here. I know you're tired and worried, baby, but I'm here. You're okay. It will be okay."

They stayed like that for a long time in the empty parking lot, Byulyi's sobs slowly quieting down as she relaxed more and more into Yongsun's body. Byulyi still didn't know why Yongsun had been weird all day. But right now, their bodies were touching, and Byulyi's senses, more than her brain, got the message that Yongsun was right there, and that she didn't hate her, and that things were okay between them. 

It was almost funny how Yongsun had always been able to take the edge off Byulyi's worries just by touching her. Byulyi wondered if Yongsun knew. She wondered if her girlfriend knew that her pep talks helped, for sure, but the main reason why Byulyi always felt better afterwards weren't the pep talks themselves, but the fact that more often than not, she was in Yongsun's arms as she delivered them. 

Byulyi had always thought that Yongsun understood this about her. But if she did - then why didn't she offer even the smallest comfort today? Especially at the end of the day, when it was clear to everybody that Byulyi's mood had shifted and that she wasn't doing well? Maybe she was being entitled. What gives me the right to feel I deserve anything from Yongsun just because I want it? But... but... she's my girlfriend.  

"Yong?" Byulyi called quietly when her sobs had almost completely subsided.

"Yeah?" Yongsun answered, still her girlfriend's hair. 

"Why are you so upset about this comeback? Do you think we're not gonna do well?" she asked, sniffling.

Yongsun moved her face away from her girlfriend's to look at her in the eyes, taken aback. "I'm not upset, sweetheart," she replied, her eyes wide. "I think we're gonna do great. Why are you so upset about it? I know the line distribution this time around too, but your rap is amazing. Everyone's gonna go crazy over you, as usual," she smiled encouragingly.

But her words did not have the desired effect. In fact, more quiet tears sprang from Byulyi's bloodshot eyes. 

"If you're not upset about the comeback," Byulyi whimpered, a note of frustration recognizable in her voice, "then why were you upset with me today?"

A flash of realization went through Yongsun's eyes. "I'm gonna kill him," she muttered, and kissed Byulyi's hair again, this time almost aggressively. "I wasn't upset with you, jagiya. I'm gonna kill him." 

"Yong?" Byulyi pleaded, her tone layered with exhaustion and confusion. "Please explain?"

"This was a stupid Solarsido challenge, Byulah," Yongsun sighed. "I asked Yongwangnims to submit ideas for challenges and promised that I'd do the one with most likes. And they chose 'ignore Byulyi for a whole day to see how she reacts'." 

Byulyi was listening with wide eyes, hurt appearing on her face as soon as she heard Yongsun repeat the prompt for the Solarsido challenge. 

"I didn't like it either," Yongsun admitted, "but I had already promised - plus, Dohyun thought it was a great idea to spark engagement on the channel."

Byulyi's eyes darkened further. She couldn't help but feel betrayed that Yongsun had chosen to play with her emotions just to get more views on Solarsido.

"But, Byul-ah" Yongsun rushed to continue her explanation, "you were supposed to know in advance!"

"I was?" Byulyi asked, uncertain - but the trust she had in her girlfriend lead her to instinctly believe Yongsun's words.

"Of course," Yongsun replied, her tone not leaving space for any doubts. "Dohyun was supposed to tell you and come up with funny stuff you could do to attract my attention on camera. That's what I assumed was going on this morning, when you started teasing me and doing all those funny steps and all that," Yognsun smiled, playing with a strand of Byulyi's hair and finally slipping it behind her ear. "And then I thought you were worried about our comeback. God, Byul-ah, I'm gonna kill him. He probably thought he would set up a real, better prank by not telling you or something. I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I thought you knew. I never meant to hurt you."

"Okay," Byulyi took a deep, relieved breath, speaking to herself more than to Yongsun. "Okay."

"Okay?" Yongsun asked, concerned. "I love you. I'm sorry I made you so upset."

"It's not your fault," Byulyi mumbled, suddenly even more exhausted after being relieved of her worries and with all the tension leaving her body.

"I know, but I still feel guilty. It was a bad idea in the first place. What about I give you a bubble bath and a massage when we get home? To make up for today," Yongsun asked, placing soft kisses on her girlfriend's cheek.

"You don't have to," Byulyi replied, moving her face so she could capture Yongsun's lips in a tired, chaste kiss.

"I want to," Yongsun said when their lips separated. "I missed you today." 

Byulyi gave her a worn out smile. "Let's go home."

"You up for driving?"

Byulyi yawned and dangled the car keys in front of her girlfriend's face. "You drive us today."

"You got it." Yongsun grabbed the keys from Byulyi's hand, and walked her girlfriend to the other side of the car, kissing Byulyi's lips before opening the door for her. "One for the road," the older girl smiled.

.

"Please don't kill Dohyun, unnie," Byulyi laughed while they were stuck in traffic.

"Oh, I'm not gonna kill him, I'm gonna do something worse for a young man his age," Yongsun replied knowingly.

"Huh?" Byulyi asked, her eyes wide. "You don't want to fire him, do you? Your team needs him. What he did was in bad taste, but there was no harm done really, Yong."

"You were upset all day and ended up crying your heart out in the parking lot and you call that no harm done?" Yongsun raised her eyebrows. "I'm gonna kill him."

"Come on," Byulyi laughed again. "What's worse than being killed for a young man his age?"

"I'm gonna sign him up for therapy. On Solarsido's dime, of course. Make it a part of his job requirements."

"Ooh, he won't be happy about that," Byulyi said, delighted by Yongsun's idea.

"Next time he'll think twice before putting stupid Youtube pranks before people's feelings, when he comes up with content for me."

"Fair enough."

"Actually, hand me my phone - I'll call him to break the news to him and have him apologize to you."

"Noooo," Byulyi moaned. "I don't want to be apologized to! Too embarassing. And, unnie, I don't have your phone."

"!" Yongsun hit the brakes suddenly, outstretching her arm to protect Byulyi from being jostled forward too hard. Byulyi smiled at the gesture. "I left my phone on the roof of the car!"

"Oh, unnie. Is it still recording?"

"Well, it should be, if it's still there!" Yongsun said franctically, unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car. She slipped back inside after a few seconds, her phone in her hand. She relaxed against the seat and sighed deeply.

"The Seoul night sky, and one star having a nervous breakdown," Byulyi chuckled. "Excellent content for Solarsido."

Author's note: Thank you to moonbyulyissolar for the prompt. Your thoughtful comments always make my day <3 I was so happy to write this prompt for you. I hope you liked the story!