“You forgot the steak?!”


“I’m sorry Fany, it must’ve slipped my mind”, Taeyeon said apologetically. It really did. Her rendezvous in addition to Yoona’s flirtatious antics distracted her from completing her “shopping” list.


“Don’t worry, I’ll get some now”, Taeyeon says, taking the keys off the counter again.


“Aigoo, your memory is starting to fail, Taengoo”, Tiffany nagged, slight irritation apparent.


Noticing this, Seohyun takes the keys from her mother Taeyeon and says, “It’s ok mom, I’ll get it”


It successfully diverted their attention as her parents now looked at her in disbelief. 


“You can drive now?”, TaeNy exclaimed in unison. They knew of their daughter's fear of driving and the revelation stunned them into silence.


“Yes, I just need to have Yoona with me. Yoong, can you come?”, Seohyun beckoned her girlfriend over with a slight nod of the head.


“Yeah, sure!”



-------------------------------------------





Taeny

TaeNy Residence





As soon as the two left, TaeNy began to prepare dinner in the kitchen.


Taeyeon decided not to tell her wife or Seohyun about Yoona’s ersion as she didn’t want to worry them. That was her job after all.


“Taengoo, can I cook this time?”, Tiffany said as she joined her in the kitchen.


Taeyeon laughed nervously as she mentally recalled the image of their badly burned kitchen from the last time she let Tiffany cook.


“Fany~ Let me take care of it”


“What am I supposed to do then~?”


“You can cut up these vegetables”


Tiffany looked displeased but she complied and began cutting the leafy foods anyway.


The married couple did their own business in comfortable silence until Tiffany broke it in a panic.


“OMG TAENGOO, I’m so sorry!”, Tiffany suddenly screams, effectively freaking out her day dreaming wife to the point of dropping her spatula on the floor.


“WHAT?”


“I accidentally cut you!”


“You did!? Where!?!”, Taeyeon panicked as she frantically looked down on her body, half-expecting to see a knife sticking out of her chest.


“On your arm!”, Tiffany squealed at the sight of blood on Taeyeon’s arm.


“Oh… 


that’s from the little accident earlier. That’s not your fault, hun”, she eased her panicking wife by wiping the blood off with a wet napkin.


“Oh… well…that explains why Yoona gave me that”, Tiffany said before drying her hands then peeling herself away from the kitchen momentarily. 


“Gave you what?”


Tiffany came back with a bottle of something and motioned her wife over.


“Come sit here”


Taeyeon did as she was told, sitting beside her wife who rolled up her sleeve to expose the large yet shallow cut.


“So what happened?”, Tiffany questioned as she opened it and poured some of its contents on her fingertips.


“It’s nothing. I just grazed my arm on something after I steered off the road to avoid hitti---ahhh!”, Taeyeon said in nonchalance before wincing when she felt the sudden sting as Tiffany gently dabbed the cream on her wound.


“Hmm prescription. How did Yoona get this?”, Tiffany wondered aloud when she spotted the RX label.


“Normally you’d have to be a doctor to get this kind of strong medication but she was probably granted the access to get this”


“Or she lied and pretended to be a doctor to get it”, Taeyeon distastefully added a pretty accurate guess.


"And she got it just for you", Tiffany pointed out.


"Do the ends really justify the means, Fany?"


"In this case, I think so. It's not like she robbed the store, Taeyeon~", Tiffany tried to stifle a giggle at her wife's over serious demeanor.


Sensing Taeyeon's reluctance to waver her stance, Tiffany continued.


“Tae…I don’t know what you saw that made you not like her…but I’m sure we’ve misunderstood her one way or another"





"Give her chance"


"Over time you might find that Yoona isn’t so bad"


Sensing her wife’s reluctance, Tiffany pressed on while Taeyeon unconsciously started mentally deducting Yoona's negative approval points with every reasoning Tiffany presented.


"I mean, Seohyun dropped her guard…that must mean something? You know how overcautious Seohyun is…"


Yoona: -149


"And the girl even taught Seohyun how to drive! We didn’t even teach her how to do that. She wouldn't even get near the driver's side of the car last time we saw her!"


Yoona: -99


"She's caring--both of Seohyun and her family. She went far to get this for you...and she didn't even do it for the credit since she gave it to me instead of you..."


Yoona: -49




"So I'm asking you, not as your wife, but as the mother of your child, to give this girl a chance"


Yoona: 0



-------------------------------------------------------




YoonHyun

SM Drugstore: 7-Eleven




“See, you’re getting better at driving”, Yoona said as she turned to the side to unlatch her seatbelt.


“You managed to get us from point A to point B…alive!”


Seohyun turned to glare at Yoona but was suddenly attacked with a quick peck on the cheek.


Shocked by the unexpected kiss, she stuttered, “Y-yah! What was that for?!”


“My fare payment. Why? Was that not enough?”, Yoona asked. Not waiting for an answer, she then proceeded to lean over closer, pressing her palms on Seohyun’s now reddened cheeks.


“Seohyunnie~ Did you want a kiss on the lips too?~” Yoona playfully cooed, inching even closer until their noses touched; too close for Seohyun.


“I-it’s fine!” She panicked, withdrawing a little as she pried Yoona’s hands off her face before making a fast escape out of the car.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------




“This looks about right”, Seohyun thought out loud as she inspected the piece of meat carefully before handing it to Yoona.


“Yum~ Steak…”, Yoong (also known as Shikshin #2 in the YulSic household) said hungrily as she fought the instinctive urge to drool.


“Your omma is cooking dinner tonight, right?”, Yoona asked excitedly.


Seohyun smiled bashfully, guiltily looking away as she was embarrassed to reveal one of her family’s secret, “She can’t really cook…”


“Appa usually does the cooking around the house”, Seohyun added as she put another piece of steak in the cart Yoona was pushing.


Yoona tried to ease her worries by sharing a family secret of her own, “Sounds like my own mom”, 


“So what does your mom do exactly? Your appa was a florist right? What about your mom?”


“My mother came from a wealthy family in America. She’s never really worked since she’s been well off all her life.”, Seohyun says as she continued to scan for more meat.


“But it’s not like she doesn’t do anything. She still maintains the wealth by investing in stocks with the help of appa. They own some stores, hospitals, and some firms around the area. “ Seohyun continued.


“Wow…That’s good. So they're like rich business people?”


“Well they still try to live modestly. That’s why they don’t hire maids and butlers and still do their own shopping and cooking. Plus they like their privacy seeing that they spend most of their time at home”


Yoona thought about what her own parents do at home…when they’re alone. That god awful cowboy hat time she had the dishonor of witnessing one high school night...


Yoona grimaced at the sudden unwanted mental image, trying hard not to barf that very moment.


Needless to say, Yoona was glad Seohyun grew up to be a diligent person despite having an unlimited amount of wealth at her disposal.


“Honestly, I’m surprised you’re not a spoiled brat”, Yoona stated as the two made their way to the check out counter.


“I have their complimenting parenting styles to thank for that”, Seohyun said.


“Appa had to work her way up to my mom—both courtship-wise and financially. The two came from different worlds...Or so my aunt tells me. My parents don’t tell me much about their history. Either way, my appa knows hardship so she tries to protect us from it. If anything, my mom is actually stricter than my appa”


“Mommy Fany? Really?! But your appa seems so overprotective...”


“Strict and overprotective aren’t the same thing. Appa is overprotective but she spoils us. Mom, on the other hand, just lets us be, slightly guiding us along the way. She lets us do whatever we want but leaves us to deal with the consequences of our actions… unlike appa who bails us out at the first signs of trouble regardless”


Well that makes sense. Seohyun exuded the ambiance of a sheltered child; for her age, she was pretty pure.


"When unnie and I were little, she’d take advantage of this: She would usually go to appa when she ran out of allowance money from mom", Seohyun says with a light chuckle, reminiscing about her notorious sister.


Yoona could only smile back as Seohyun openly shared her memories. Indeed, they have come a long way. There was a point in time when she had been reluctant to tell Yoona even the slightest information about herself.


"So where is your sister? I thought you were meeting her here at your parents?"


"At Nichkhun’s parents’. They’re all coming down tomorrow so you’ll get to meet her fiancé and family"


Fiance…


Yoona couldn’t help but feel jealous.





The two approached the register to pay for their shopping.


“Seohyun? Is that you?!”, came an unexpected greeting.


Seohyun looks up at the cashier, not entirely surprised to see a familiar face in her hometown. Regardless, it was pleasant to run into old friends—or in this case, a former one-sided love interest although Seohyun was and still is, unaware of the fact.


“Oh hello Jaejin. How are you?”, Seohyun greeted, reverting back to her formal speech although Yoona could tell there was some familiarity between the two.


Yoona peeked over at the sound of the name. To her horror, she finds the cashier she was flirting with earlier standing just in front of Seohyun, happily conversing.


“I see your back in town. It’s been awhile!” he excitedly says to Seohyun as Yoona tried to hide her face by searching for a magazine nearby. This time, she would make sure she didn’t grab an inappropriate one by quickly scanning the front cover. However, she could find no such face-shielding literature nearby.


Yoona settled with burying her face behind Seohyun’s hair, hugging her from behind to mask her real intent.


“W-what are you doing?”, Seohyun panicked, wary of her sudden public display of affection. She glanced back nervously at Yoona but the latter only further hid her face.


“Yoong, stop that~!”, she hissed.


“eh? Yonghwa’s behind you?”, Jaejin said when he heard the familiar nickname as he curiously tried to take a look at the person behind Seohyun.


At the sound of Seohyun’s ex’s name, Yoona immediately stepped out from behind Seohyun.


“yah, I am NOT Yonghwa…_{whoever the hell that is}”, Yoona muttered the last part to herself.


At the sight of the ‘princess’ from earlier, Jaejin suddenly straightens up to improve his posture. 


'Hmm why hello there...you are definitely not Yonghwa', he thought seductively as he scanned Yoona from head to toe


Tall girls were always his type…can’t have them looking taller than him now.


“Seohyun! You never told me you took this pretty friend along with you~”


“You two know each other?”, Seohyun questioned, wholly surprised.


“Yeah, she bought th---“


Yoona urgently put a finger to her lips from behind Seohyun, in a desperate attempt to covertly signal him to shut the hell up as she intended to surprise ALL Kim-Hwangs with the gloriously expensive champagne.


“Oh…no…but I’d like to get to know her…”, he said bashfully as he tried to hit two birds with one stone: covering for her while attempting to hit on her. How could she say no especially after helping her out?


“I’m Jaejin. Childhood friend of Seohyun’s”, he took Yoona’s hand and shook it, lingering longer than what was socially acceptable of strangers, much to Seohyun's silent distaste.


“I’m Yoona”, Yoona said, awkwardly trying to pry her hands off politely.


A subconscious glare could be seen on Seohyun for about a nanosecond but she quickly recovered before anybody noticed. Unlike Yoona, Seohyun was good at hiding her emotions although jealousy was a foreign feeling for her. She’s a lawyer after all; it was her job to stay detached and in most cases, hide her emotions. Her profession was much like poker, as was flirting. And she knew the two were playing some kind of game...with Jaejin on the winning end.


“Yes, she’s staying at my parents with me”, Seohyun replies; tone: completely normal.


“I see…well, you should bring her down more often. I’d love to show you around”, he tells Seohyung before turning to Yoona to give her that killer smile that had lured every girl but Seohyun in.


Yoona was about to gracefully decline him when Seohyun beat her to it.


“Thank you for your concern but she already has me to show her around”, Seohyun replied with a detached tone. Had Yoona not known Seohyun at all, she would’ve mistaken it as indifference rather than jealousy. Either way, it was refreshing to see Seohyun possessive albeit subtly.


Yoona watched as she proceeded to quickly scan their items in an attempt to get out of the store as soon as possible.


Jaejin looked surprised at Seohyun's unwillingness to help him. He leans close to her ear to whisper: “Cmon Seo. Help a friend out~I haven’t been on a date for a long time” which Yoona didn't fail to hear. Had there been a 3rd party eavesdropping, they would've laughed at the boy who was unknowingly asking Seohyun to be set up with her own girlfriend.



Yoona couldn’t help but smile at him innocently and apologetically. She felt guilty for not stopping him from further embarrassing himself in addition to leading him on earlier. It’s not his fault after all.


Seohyun looked up briefly to lock eyes with the boy.


Taken aback by the sudden intense eye contact from the “shy” girl he was so accustomed to, he stayed quiet.


“Stop flirting with her. She’s not interested”, Seohyun bluntly snapped although her tone stayed devoid of emotion. Her angelic features were completely serious—as usual. But something about her eyes irked him: it was threatening in contrast to the introverted ones he was used to. In the years that he’d known Seohyun, he’s never seen her so intimidating…


Stunned, he opted for submission. 


He laughed nervously before sending them off.


“Well, in any case, it was great seeing you Seohyun. Nice meeting you too!” he waved goodbye to them as Seohyun finished packing and walked out with Yoona trailing right beside.


“Goodbye”



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------



“What? I wasn’t flirting with him”, Yoona defended. Well…technically not at that moment but earlier is a different case…


Noticing some form of lie in Yoona’s reply, Seohyun fired back, “Sure you weren’t”, her every word dripping with sarcasm.


Sarcasm? From Seohyun? Well that’s new…


Realizing her own immaturity, Seohyun tried to recover.


“Never mind. It’s getting dark. Let’s just go”, she said and walked over to the parking lot, only to notice that Yoona wasn’t following her.


“Yoong?”


When she turned around, Yoona was already running towards the miniature playground she used to play in when she was little.


‘OMG, this choding!’, Seohyun thought in disbelief as she tried to catch up to her girlfriend.


“Wow…it’s been awhile since I’ve been in a playground”, Yoona exclaimed excitedly, proudly standing in front of the playground as if she had just ventured into Atlantis.


“I hope so…you’re a little too old to be playing in one…”, Seohyun says, a little breathless after catching up to her.


“You’re never too old to do anything you want. Growing old may be mandatory, but growing up is optional”


“How true…”


Yoona chose not to answer with a snappy comeback but instead, climbs up a rather small (at least for her size) ladder-like obstacle leading up to the “big” slide.


“Yoong, what are you doing?”


Yoona sat on the slide above Seohyun and began to slide, only to stop midway when her rear suddenly got stuck on the slim path.


“Eh? What the…”, Yoona tried to pry her off the miniature slide but failed.


“Yah, Hyunnie~I’m stuck!”, she whined.


Un-amused, Seohyun sighs. Seohyun saw it coming. 


"Well what did you think was going to happen?", she said distastefully. ‘Now I have to go up there and get her…’, she groaned mentally.



Seohyun dropped their groceries on nearby monkey bars and began her rescue, climbing up the same path Yoona took to get to the top, making sure to let out sounds of disapproval as she did so.


“I can’t believe you”, Seohyun mutters when she takes Yoona’s hands to help pry her off the slide.


Surprisingly, it took no effort. Yoona’s mischievous smirk let Seohyun know that the former faked the whole thing to get her to come up.


“Wait! Where are you going?!” Yoona panicked when she saw Seohyun leaving her.


“Home. With or without you”, Seohyun said flatly as she tried to climb back down again.


“But this way is easier”, Yoona reasoned, motioning her head to the slide as she feigned ignorance of her girlfriend’s irritation.


Seohyun looked down at the steps versus the slide. Logically speaking, Yoona was right. It would take more effort to come back down this way...


“You’re so childish, you know that?”, Seohyun nagged, finally giving in.


“And you’re an ajumma”, Yoona said playfully.


“Here, go in front of me”, she patted the slide in front of her, making room for Seohyun before firmly wrapping her arms around her waist when her girlfriend took the spot.


“Ready?”, she asked her girlfriend as she rested her chin on her shoulders.


“Yeah”, Seohyun replied, glad her back was on Yoona as she didn’t want her girlfriend to see the smile that unexpectedly crept itself on her face. 


They slid down cheerily, with Yoona holding her close until the very end.


It was always a refreshing sight to see Yoona so excited over such trivial things as it was rare for people to take the time and enjoy what life has to offer outside their busy careers. But that’s what she loved about Yoona; she appreciated the tiny things in life, no matter how seemingly mundane.


However, Seohyun was unaware that Yoona’s excitement was, for the most part, because it gave her the excuse hold her girlfriend close without much protest. After all, this wasn’t technically PDA…she was merely helping her girlfriend get down.


Reaching the end, Seohyun attempts to get up only to be held back by Yoona’s still firm embrace. Her touch lingered for a couple more seconds until she finally let go, smiling up at Seohyun who stuck a hand out to help her.


“Let’s go home”, Seohyun says with a hint of smile, now in a lightened mood. They walked over to the monkey bars to grab the grocery bags when Seohyun stopped to look at her old nemesis.


It remained mostly unchanged, with only a hint of aging visible as the paint was chipping off in some areas. However, the fact still remains the same: she has yet to conquer it.


As if reading her mind, Yoona asks, “You want to try it?”, motioning to the monkey bars.


“No”


“Besides, it’s too high,” Seohyun added without thinking, repeating her appa’s words as if it was hard-wired into her brain.


Yoona raised a brow, “Are you serious? You’re taller than the monkey bars…”


“It’s getting dark. Let’s go”


“What the…where are my keys Yoona?”, She patted her coat pockets to feel for the keys.


“Cmon try it first”, Yoona said.


The sound of jingling keys could be heard when Yoona jumped up and down in excitement, letting Seohyun know that Yoona hid it in her usual “hiding” spot. 


Seohyun narrowed her eyes at something protruding from the inside of Yoona's shirt: car keys.


“And they call me the ert. Why are you staring intently at my chest like that?”, Yoona said defensively, playfully pulling her coat tighter over her chest as if Seohyun had x-ray vision.


“My mother’s keys, Yoona. Give it to me”, Seohyun said in that warning tone of hers.


“Here just watch me” Yoona went to the monkey bars and effortlessly swung across, gracefully landing on both feet as she jumped off. Seohyun watched in mindless awe, completely disregarding the fact that it was grown woman swinging on the bars like a little child.


Admiration gripped her; the feeling was similar to when her sister made it across all those years ago and she didn’t. And how could she? She was never allowed to try.


Sensing Seohyun's wavering stance, Yoona offered an incentive, “Let’s make a bet”





“If you make it, I’ll give you one wish and I’ll grant it to the best of my abilities”


“But...” 






“If you don’t make it, you’ll have to do the same”


Seo raised a brow, searching for any hints foul play, “What’s the catch? You’re not going to ask anything erted of me right?”. If there was anything she knew of the prankster, it was that she was devilishly clever.


Yoona looked surprised. “W-what do you take me for!?”, Yoona defensively said.


“A ert”, Seohyun answered bluntly.


“Pft~ So what if I did? You’d still have to do it. So you better make it across. Or else…ahehehehe”, Yoona smirked, her lips curving up in the form of the infamous YoonYul creeper smile 


Seohyun would’ve abandoned the challenge had her pride and over competitive nature not suddenly kicked in. She was also curious if she could do.


“Fine, I’ll do it”, Seohyun gives in.


She stood before the bars, ready to reach out before a sudden feeling stopped her: uncertainty.


“Aren’t’ you going to help me?”, Seohyun says hesitantly. She’s never done it—or anything, for that matter--alone.


“No. How are you going to learn if I help you?”


So Seohyun doubtfully started. At first, it went smoothly, until her arms started to give out midway.


“Yah, no cheating! Your feet can’t touch the ground”, Yoona said, distracting her girlfriend and ultimately causing her to fall on her rear with a dull thud.


Seohyun rubbed a sore rear, an unintentional pout on her face. 


She lost.





‘Oh my God, what did she get herself into? Yoona will definitely take advantage of her…just what kind of things will she ma---‘


“Keep going”, Yoona interjected her thoughts.


“What? But I already lost...”, Seo stated, surprised.


“Keep trying. That was just practice”


Dusting herself up, she tried again.


“Keep your elbows straight until you reach for the next bar”, Yoona coached as Seohyun attempted a second time.


This one went much better than the first and with much effort, Seohyun finally reached the last bar.


‘One. More…’


But her arms weakened. She wasn’t going to make it...until she heard Yoona.


“One more Seo!”


“I’ll give you gogumas!” Yoona continued to cheer her from the sidelines.


The cheers gave her just enough of an energy boost to reach the last bar. 


YES, she made it!


And it wasn’t the thought of goguma’s that made her so happy; it was Yoona’s proud expression along with the feeling self-accomplishment. Needless to say, Seohyun was surprised that such a silly feat would fill her with so much satisfaction.


Seohyun jumped, now confident of her new-found skills. But she still hadn’t properly mastered the last jump seeing that she’s never made it that far: she slipped.


She braced herself for the hard fall. But instead of landing on the hard ground a second time, she felt something soft cushion her fall.


“Ow~”, Seohyun heard Yoona whine beneath her. She opened her eyes to find herself sitting comfortably on Yoona’s lap with the latter’s arms around her protectively since Yoona had caught her right before she hit the ground. 


“Thanks…”, Seohyun muttered.


“You’re welcome. Now get off me. You’re heavy”, Yoona said breathlessly, feigning extreme discomfort as she dramatically put the back of her hand on her forehead like a damsel in distress.


Seohyun got off Yoona’s lap, but instead of standing up, she kneeled in front of Yoona so they were now slightly leveled. She gently swept Yoona’s hand away from her forehead, intertwining them just as she brushed Yoona’s disheveled bangs away from her face with the other.


Yoona’s heart skipped a beat at the unexpected action. It was her turn to be bashful.


“Seohyun…?”





“Thanks…for catching me”. Seohyun smiled down on her.


Yoona could only smile back.





“Don’t be scared anymore. I’ll always be there to catch you”


Taking her outstretched hand, Yoona held onto Seohyun’s hand. To her surprise, Seohyun didn’t let go either until they reached the car. 



------------------------------------------------------------------------------




“Now, what did you want?” Seohyun broke the comfortable silence as they drove home.


“I want a nice piece of steak.”, Yoona replied hungrily. Her stomach growled at the very mention of food.


“That’s your wish for winning?”


“Huh? I didn’t win”


“You won since I fell on my first attempt. Sowoneul malhaebwa [Tell me your wish]”, Seohyun said. 


“You made it across. I never specified how many tries, so technically, you won”, Yoona said nonchalantly as she rested her chin on her hands, looking out at the window to mindlessly take in the scenery.


Seohyun was surprised her normally aggressive girlfriend would just give up like that.


“What would you have wished for anyway?”, Seohyun curiously asked.





“You”, Yoona replied honestly.





“Well, that’s a very illogical wish…”


Yoona couldn’t help but look hurt at the sudden insult but softened them a couple seconds later.






“I don’t understand why you would wish for something you already have”




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




‘D-did I just see that!?’ Jaejin freaked out as he witnessed his past and present object of affections kiss each other as if they were a couple.


‘OMG. Seohyun and that girl are together…!!!??’


He took his phone out and urgently dialed a number.


It rang a couple of times before someone picked up.


‘Hello? Jaejin?’





“Yonghwa, you wouldn’t believe who and what I just saw…”