I know I  I tagged this as light hearted but forgive me for just this one chapter
I also apologise for the title pun, I couldn't come up with other words that started with 'fourth'
Anyways, I hope you enjoy

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“Hey, are you sure she’s okay?” Mashiro whispered to Dayeon. 

Dayeon didn’t know what to say. She just raised her shoulders, equally confused. Ever since the party a few days ago, Xiaoting had been acting weird. The girl had been spacing out a lot. Whenever they asked if something was bothering her, she would say that everything was fine or not to worry about it. That answer only made the two of them more worried. Another concern was that Xiaoting had been avoiding Yujin or was it Yujin who was avoiding Xiaoting. Either way, their friends hadn’t seen the two together for some time. Something definitely happened the night of the party. They could only hope the eldest two would sort out whatever was going on between them, the sooner the better. 

Xiaoting wasn’t her usual self these past few days. She wasn’t focused. Her mind kept drifting off to what the Japanese girl at the party said, to what she saw Cai Bing did, to Yujin and what she did that night. Her mind kept replaying that night. 

When Yurina leaned into her ear, Xiaoting locked eyes with Yujin. At that moment, the only thing she could see was Yujin under the dim lights. She couldn’t hear what Yurina said, everything was muted. Time seemed to slow down. She could only stare as Yujin made her way towards her. She couldn’t take her eyes away. Yujin’s gaze was fixed on her and Xiaoting was weak. It was always those brown orbs. Yujin could make her do anything. Damn those beautiful eyes. 

Xiaoting didn’t even realise how close Yujin was until Yujin held her hand. Time seemed to flow again. Xiaoting immediately relaxed now that Yujin was here. She didn’t realise how uncomfortable she had gotten in the short time they were apart. She couldn’t help but smile, glad to have the girl close to her again. She let Yujin drag her out of the party. She didn’t mind going anywhere as long as it was with Yujin. 

They wandered around aimlessly hand-in-hand for a while. No one was saying anything but the silence wasn’t unwelcomed. Xiaoting saw the girl next to her shiber under the cool night air. She wordlessly took off her jacket and draped it over the older girl. They continued walking together until they reached Yujin’s house. They said good night to each other. Yujin turned to enter her house and Xiaoting went to head back to the dorm. But Xiaoting felt a weight pulling on her arm. Something soft and warm touched her cheek. She turned her head and saw Yujin’s face inches away from her. Xiaoting’s eyes dropped down to the girl’s lips and then back up to her eyes. 

Yujin said good night one last time and disappeared into her house. Xiaoting was going home in just her tee but she didn’t feel cold at all. In fact she felt warm. She started walking but her pace kept getting faster and faster until she was running back to her dorm. Was she grinning or laughing, she didn’t know. Xiaoting just felt giddy, energised and alive. She just couldn’t keep her excitement that night. 

It was the next morning that Xiaoting realised something was wrong. Something had changed between her and Yujin. Neither could look each other in the eye. The comfort she got whenever Yujin was nearby was now replaced with nervousness and jitters. The two of them would flinch whenever their hands brushed each other’s. Whenever they were apart or in class, Xiaoting would find herself staring at the girl. Yujin would catch her staring and look away only to do it all over again. 

Xiaoting didn’t understand what was going on between them. It’s not that she hated Yujin. Not since she knew how beautiful she looked when she was concentrating, how adorable she looked when she was teased and how terribly charming she was when she talked about her dreams. She could never hate Yujin but is it the same for her? 

The two never talked about the darker side of their lives. The one they kept hidden from their friends. A path that only the two of them walked on. It was not an easy path. Danger was always lurking. If you aren't tough and resourceful, you’ll end up dead sooner than later. Xiaoting was thankful her father pulled all the stops to protect her and let her live her life as normal as possible. But he never shielded her from the truth of their family. Keeping her in the dark only made her a target. So he trained her hard. Her father made sure that Xiaoting would be able to survive anything thrown at her, even if he was gone. 

Xiaoting flinched in her seat. She turned to her friends. “Does Yujin unnie hate me?”

That would make perfect sense. She acted similarly to when they first met. But instead of provoking and mocking her, Yujin chose to avoid her. Maybe Yujin had realised that their friendship was impossible after all. After all, two daughters of the biggest mafia gang in Seoul being each other’s bff was surely unheard of. Or maybe Yujin was just uninterested in her. The girl had many friends and Xiaoting wasn’t always a ball of sunshine. Maybe she was the only one who loved spending time with each other. 

The more Xiaoting thought about it the more disappointed she got. Her friends saw how her face fell. Dayeon and Mashiro looked at each other. Both nudged one another to answer. 

Mashiro spoke up first. “Wait, what made you think Yujin unnie hates you?”

“Well, she’s been avoiding me since the party. She barely looks at me and she won’t even talk to me”. Xiaoting brushed her hand through her hair. 

Dayeon shook her head, “I don’t think she hates you. That’s impossible. Did something happen at the party after we left?”

Xiaoting ran them through from seeing Yujin with Cai Bing, Yurina and what happened in front Yujin’s house. 

“Wait wait hold on. Yujin unnie kissed you!?”. The surprised look on Dayeon would have been hilarious if they weren’t talking seriously. 

“Yeah, it was on the cheek”. Xiaoting didn’t understand why her friends were so hung up on this. They all knew how affectionate the eldest was. It wasn’t rare to see Yujin smothering the other girls with kisses on the cheek. Xiaoting was never the recipient though. That night was the first time she got a kiss from the girl. It felt nice. She wouldn’t mind getting more from time to time

Somehow what Xiaoting told them didn’t make sense to Mashiro. It felt like something was missing from the story. “Ting, did you try talking to her after that?”

Xiaoting was about to answer but the words got stuck in . She hadn’t talked to Yujin at all. It was usually Yujin who started the small talk and Xiaoting would join in. Xiaoting was so busy trying to read the girl that she actually forgot to use words. The realisation of her mistake dawned upon her.  Xiaoting buried her head in her arms and groaned out a ‘no’.

“I don’t know if I should ask this but… how do you feel about Yujin unnie?”. Mashiro knew what she asked was between Xiaoting and Yujin but with the way things were, maybe they needed a little push.. 

Xiaoting brought her head back up and looked at them with furrowed brows. She didn’t understand why they were asking her this kind of question. 

Dayeon saw her friend’s confusion and decided to just come out with it, “Do you like her or not?”

“Of course, I like her. We all do right? That’s why we hang out with each other”

Dayeon groaned in frustration. She was exasperated and impressed by her friend’s denseness. “Not that kind of like. I mean, do you like her romantically?”

“I don’t know…”. As far as she knows, Xiaoting never liked anyone. She wouldn’t know what that felt like. 

“Dayeon, how did you know you liked Chaehyun?” Mashiro figured a live example would help Xiaoting understand her feelings better. 

“What why me?”

“Just answer the answer the question”

Dayeon took a deep breath, “Well, at first I was just drawn to her, you know? I kept spotting her everywhere and if I don’t I look for her. Whatever she wore that day looked extra good on her. She was always pretty and I wanted to get to know her. The more I got to know her, the more I admired her and wanted to stay by her side. I also miss her whenever she’s far away. Her texts are-“

“Okay that’s enough gushing about your girlfriend”

“Hey, you’re the one who asked!”

The two started to bicker and Xiaoting tuned out their argument. She thought about what Dayeon said. 

Was she drawn to Yujin? Of course, who wouldn’t be? Yujin was such a radiant girl

Does Yujin look good in her eyes? Yes, everyday. The girl was just breathtakingly beautiful.

Does she admire and want to stay close to Yujin? A solid double yes. 

Does she miss Yujin? Yes, she did. In fact Xiaoting misses her now more than ever. 

“Ah, I like her”. Xiaoting said nonchalantly while staring into space.  

As seconds tick by, the more it dawned on Xiaoting what her words meant. She felt heat rushing into her cheeks. Her heart started beating faster. She liked Yujin. Judging by how fuzzy and jittery she’s feeling, she liked Yujin a lot. 

Dayeon and Mashiro stopped their bickering and looked over to their friend as she came to terms with her new found feelings. Hopefully the ship will sail soon. 

 

 

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Meanwhile, Yujin was on her way home. Her house wasn’t that far from campus so she decided to walk home. Usually, a certain someone would accompany her. But the girl was nowhere to be seen. Yujin sighed and trudged home alone. The space next to her never felt so empty before. Xiaoting had been acting differently these past few days and it was all Yujin’s fault.  

Yujin knew she liked Xiaoting. She has liked the girl for quite some time now. She was in class at the time, letting her mind wander a little. She found herself thinking about Xiaoting.The realisation hit her like a lightning strike, making her drop her pencil in hand and panicking internally in class.

There wasn’t a particular moment that dramatically changed the way she looked at Xiaoting. But it was from the everyday little things Xiaoting does for her. She was always so sweet and attentive to Yujin. Xiaoting would buy Yujin a cup of coffee whenever she had to pull an all-nighter. She would wait for Yujin and walk her home whenever Yujin had to stay late. She would hold Yujin’s hand and ask her what’s wrong whenever Yujin felt down or struggling with something. Yujin’s personal favourite was that Xiaoting always made sure she was warm. Xiaoting wasn’t afraid to show that she cared and that she cherished Yujin. How could she not fall for someone like that.

Yujin was usually good at keeping her feelings and expression in check. Shadowing her father’s work for years gave her enough time and practice. But everything went out the window that night at Cai Bing’s party. Yujin couldn’t believe how good Xiaoting looked in those ripped jeans, leather jacket and tee. The sight got her heart pounding throughout the night. 

The highlight of that night was after they left the party, in front of Yujin’s house. Yujin didn’t know what possessed her to kiss Xiaoting that night. Yujin nearly pressed their lips together when she saw Xiaoting glance down at her lips. Thankfully, she managed to stop herself and retreat back to her house.The moment she entered her room, she slumped down to the floor and felt her face flush. As much as she wanted to kiss Xiaoting that night, consent was still important. They weren’t even dating yet and Yujin still wanted to steal a kiss. Yujin cursed herself. She had it bad. 

The next day, Yujin wanted to talk to Xiaoting about what happened last night. But she was only met with disappointment. Xiaoting wouldn’t look at Yujin in the eye. She would flinch whenever Yujin reached for her hand. Yujin realised then that she had made a mistake. Worst part was that their friends were starting to notice. Xiaoting, ever so kind, assured them that everything was alright. So, Yujin decided to give the girl some space. Maybe they’ll  forget what happened that night and go back to how they used to be. Yujin hoped that they could. She didn't want to lose Xiaoting.

A ding from her phone caught her attention. It was her father.

Come to my office

Her father rarely uses this kind of tone with Yujin. Something must have happened. Yujin made her way to her father’s office and knocked on the door.

“Come in”

Yujin opened the door and entered the room. It was just the two of them. Yujin took a seat in front of her father. “Is there something wrong, father?”

“Do you know Shen Xiaoting?” Her father looked at her curiously.

Yujin felt her heart drop. “Yes, we go to the same university”

“Are you two close?”

Yujin couldn’t figure out what her father wanted. Was he asking her to check on the competition or did he know that his daughter was spending the weekends with his rival’s daughter. She had to choose her words carefully. “We’re not close but I can say we’re at least friends”

Yujin’s father hummed and started rummaging through his desk. He pulled out a black box the size of his palm. He slid the box to Yujin. “Ask her to give this to her father”

Yujin’s eyes widened. She looked back between the box and her father who was smirking.

“Don’t worry. It shouldn’t go off at school. It’s GPS activated”, he continued.

That was even more worrying. Her father was asking her to hand over a bomb to Xiaoting. Yujin stopped herself from thinking about the ‘what if’s. She nodded and walked out of his office. The object in her hand felt heavier than lead. She shut herself in her room and put the box on her desk. Yujin tried to think of a plan. She wasn’t about to let Xiaoting get hurt, not on her watch. She definitely needed Xiaoting’s cooperation to pull anything off. She needed to talk to Xiaoting. 

 

 

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The door chimed when Xiaoting entered the store. She glanced around trying to find the figure of someone she had been missing so much these past few days. Her face lit up when she found Yujin staring out the window. Yujin didn’t notice her presence until Xiaoting sat down in front of her.

“Ting-”

“Unnie-”

They started at the same time. Yujin flashed Xiaoting a smile and she couldn’t help but smile back. It was nice to see Yujin’s smile again. She had really missed Yujin.

“You can go first unnie”. Xiaoting guessed that Yujin brought them here to talk about the past few days. She reminded herself to apologise about leaving the girl hanging.

Yujin brought out a black box from her bag. Xiaoting felt bad. She didn’t prepare anything for the girl but her words of apology. She should get Yujin something nice later.

“It’s a bomb”

Xiaoting’s eyes widened in shock. Her jaw went slack. She glanced around, worried that someone had overheard their conversation. It wasn’t everyday that you hear someone was carrying an armed bomb in public. Thankfully, they were okay. Xiaoting looked back at the girl across from her. She leaned in and whispered, “Are you serious?”

Yujin nodded. She explained that it was an order from her father, to hand over a GPS activated bomb to their rival. Yujin tried to disable the bomb. But she couldn’t even open the lid of the box no matter how hard she tried. She couldn’t just dispose of it. Her father would definitely be waiting for a report. Yujin’s only bet was to warn Xiaoting before it goes off. Yujin couldn’t look at Xiaoting in the eye. She never felt so helpless.

Xiaoting listened to every word that left Yujin’s mouth. She relaxed at little when she heard the bomb was GPS activated. It wouldn’t go off anytime soon. It was probably set to explode somewhere in the Shen territory or perhaps her own house. On another note, Xiaoting was touched that Yujin was worried about her safety. The girl was even willing to go against her own father. Judging by the dark circles under her eyes, Yujin had been up all night tampering with the box in her hands. Xiaoting’s heart hurt to see Yujin so defeated. It wasn’t like her. Xiaoting took the box from Yujin. Yujin had done all she could. It was her turn now.

“Thank you for telling me. I’ll handle it from here”. Xiaoting grabbed Yujin’s hand and gave it a little squeeze. It looks like they have to save the talk about their relationship for another time. Xiaoting got up from her seat but Yujin held her arm.

“Please, be careful”. Yujin begged. She would never forgive herself if Xiaoting got hurt because of her. 

Xiaoting smiled. She stepped in close and patted Yujin’s head. If this was any other day, she would get yelled at for treating the older girl like this. But Xiaoting didn’t care. She just wanted to reassure the girl in front of her. She leaned in and let her lips linger on Yujin’s forehead. “I will. See you tomorrow”

With that Xiaoting was gone, leaving Yujin alone with a mixture of emotions. She prayed that she could see Xiaoting safe and sound at school tomorrow.