Lost And Found
Holding The Light (Oneshot collections)
Pairing: Hyoyeon/Sooyoung
Genre: Romance, some angst, post-disbandment
Summary: It has been 8 eight years since the fall of SNSD. They've traveled their seperate ways since then, but Sooyoung is determined to see her secret love once again.
Deafening screams and cheers echoed all around the interior of the huge stadium, that it could almost bring the roof down. Thousands of diehard fans waved their brightly coloured light-sticks wildly, passionately chanting the names of their favourite idols until their throats burned out. Supporters from all walks of life congregated together in the city of love just to see their beloved groups of SM Entertainment performing in front of their very eyes.
The moment all nine girls stepped foot on the grand stage, with the very familiar song that started the hacky-sack dance playing in the background, they were suddenly bombarded with the sounds of the fans’ love rushing into their ears. The distinct pink glow-sticks shined ever so brightly in the midst of all the other groups’ fan clubs when they finally start performing their very first gig in a European country. As usual, the girls put in their very best to give the audience an unforgettable show.
The dancing queen was the first to notice something very different about this concert than all the other ones she had been in.
It might just be her vivid imagination playing tricks on her, but then again, it seemed all too real.
‘Nah, it’s gotta be my imagination.’
But boy was she wrong.
After performing ‘Genie’ and ‘Run Devil Run’, it was time for the girls to introduce themselves, even though pretty much the whole stadium knew them already. Beginning with Taeyeon, the introduction went down the row, inching more and more to Hyoyeon as time ticked by. Nervously twiddling with the microphone in her hands and her hair, the blonde looked around at the people in front of her, rehearsing her lines over and over again in her head. When it was finally her turn, she took in a quick, deep breath and put on a confident smile.
‘Well, here goes nothing.’
“Bonjour-“
The entire stadium erupted in a frenzy of wails and roars, which interrupted her intro.
Hyoyeon was absolutely stunned.
Never in her whole career had she ever gotten an ovation THIS loud before.
Tears were starting to well up in the corners of her eyes.
It really wasn’t her imagination after all.
She became completely jubilant after knowing that fact.
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“I want to live here in Paris.”
The tallest member of the group turned around, after changing her stage costume, to face a dreamy Hyoyeon.
“I see that someone really enjoyed their time out there, huh?” Sooyoung smiled all-knowingly at her. Seeing her beloved dancing queen getting the recognition she deserved was indeed a proud moment to witness. It disappointed Sooyoung to know that Hyoyeon was one of the most under-appreciated members back in their homeland. Even though she worked her off to show her amazing dancing skills to everyone, only a fraction of the public truly recognises and appreciates her talent. And now, discovering her popularity in France of all places really did wonders for her. Sooyoung had never seen Hyoyeon in cloud nine before in her whole life.
“Someday, I’ll buy a house and live with my future husband here,” Hyoyeon gleefully exclaimed. “Great people, great food, and wonderful sights to behold…What more could you want?” She sighed, lost in her own daydream.
Sooyoung kept smiling, but something inside of her sank when the dancer mentioned ‘future husband’. She knew that her members would probably find someone to love after their activities as Girls’ Generation comes to an end, get married, and have kids. She herself had already said that she wanted to marry at a young age, and spend her whole life with that special someone.
And that ‘special someone’, Sooyoung finally realised, was this beautiful dancing queen right here.
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8 years later
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The snoring woman in the window seat jolted awake when the loud voice of the pilot buzzed out of the intercom.
“This is your pilot speaking. In a few minutes time, we will be landing at the Charles de Gaulle airport. All passengers please stay seated in your respective seats and fasten your seatbelts.”
Sooyoung broke out from her reverie, and quickly did as she was told. After the plane had landed safely, she slung her bag pack on and exited the jet in an orderly manner with the rest of the passengers.
It had been a long time since she came back to this country again. A sense of nostalgia and all of the memories she had here were suddenly flooding back in her mind. Her members being all hyper when they touched down here, the group of fans welcoming them when they emerged from the arrival gate, the gifts they all gratefully received from them as they walked towards their bus…Good times. But now, she was here for an entirely different reason and not for a scheduled event, with the added fact that she was going there alone.
After Sooyoung had grabbed her luggage from the conveyor belt and placed them in a trolley, she made her way to the arrival gate where she will finally reunite with a person from her past. Searching amidst all of the people holding placards in front of her, one of them definitely caught her attention. The sign was way bigger than all the others, and it even had a splash of rainbows that coloured the letters of her name drawn in a bold font. Ironically, the person who was holding it over her head was blocked by the other towering people in the crowd. Sooyoung did not waste any more time. She pushed through the crowd, and there she was. The person she longingly wanted to meet again.
“Hyoyeon!” she gleefully cried out, engulfing the petite woman in a great big hug. Oh, how she missed this feeling so much.
“Sooyoungie~ long time no see!” Equally as happy as her lanky giant, Hyoyeon wilfully returned the hug.
The taller one pushed Hyoyeon off a bit to take a good long look at her. Still the same ol’ gorgeous Hyoyeon she knew, but now sporting a new hairdo.
“Your hair’s different.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah, it suits you,” she complimented, while affectionately the latter’s straight blonde hair.
“Thanks. Now stop playing with it and let’s get going! We have A LOT of catching up to do.”
Letting the blonde push her luggage while she carried the huge placard, Sooyoung followed her friend to the parking lot where her car was in.
“Did Jessica’s taste of cars rubbed on you or something?” She sarcastically said, as she eyed the polished BMW, shining in all its glory.
“Are you still -hurt about her not letting you ride in her car?” Hyoyeon replied back, busily putting the heavy bags into the back of the vehicle. “She was a horrible driver, Sooyoung. She didn’t want any of us to get hurt, or witness her fail driving skills. How she manages to pass her driver’s test in the end, I still don’t know. Maybe she threatened her examiner with that icy glare of hers.”
Sooyoung laughed whole-heartedly at that comment. The blonde still had her funny bone intact after all these years. The charms that made Sooyoung fall for her were still there, just like her undeniable feelings for her.
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Both of them decided to have lunch at a nearby cafe before heading back to Hyoyeon’s apartment. It was more of Sooyoung’s idea anyway to satisfy her never-ending hunger for food.
“Still the ever so hungry shikshin I know.” Grinning at the glutton who was monstrously devouring all of the French delicacies on the table, Hyoyeon couldn’t help but to stare at the lanky giant she knew very well. Sooyoung still kept her chestnut-brown hair in a short and neat style instead of growing it out, even though it was now starting to curl along the curves of her shoulder blades. Her facial features had become sharper, giving off a more mature vibe but her youthful glow was still radiating around her. Height-wise, the giant’s reputation as ‘the longest legs’ did not dwindle as time went by, but it seems that her growth spurt had stopped working, judging by how Hyoyeon could already reach up to Sooyoung’s chin now without getting any help from her insoles. Hyoyeon rejoiced at that fact, while Sooyoung pretended that she didn’t hear anything. Even though there were slight differences regarding her physical stature, Sooyoung’s personality was still the same as ever.
“Yah, the in-flight meal wouldn’t let me have extra servings, so I had to endure several hours of pure torture in that plane, empty stomach and all!” she complained, while wolfing down a whole baguette with one hand and a mocha coffee in another, attracting some bemused stares from the other patrons sitting near them.
“Poor little Sooyoungie…” Hyoyeon teased the hungry woman. “But you might want to slow down on that before you-“
Sooyoung suddenly stopped chewing and started coughing profusely, before gulping down the whole mug of coffee.
“…choke on it.”
“Thanks for the warning, Hyo,” she said, deadpanned.
“Don’t mention it.”
The skinny glutton continued to chow down, albeit more slowly so that she won’t accidentally kill herself.
“So,” Hyoyeon continued,” how are the others lately?”
Sooyoung halted her chewing. Her friend was anticipating the answer, but something about her expression was off. Sooyoung knew why.
Guilt.
Hyoyeon felt guilty for not keeping in contact more often with her ex-members. Of course, she does keep in touch with them through the wonders of social networking sites, but only occasionally when she has the time. Even this week long visit was only planned when the both of them freed up some time in their busy lives, and that alone was a troublesome task. After disbanding, one would think that the members of SNSD were finally free from their exhausting yet worthy activities, and they could enjoy their freedom from the shackles of a mere contract. But no, because it was only after their disbandment that things kept piling up in their lives. Now going solo, all of them were focusing on their individual goals. The bond was still there of course; all of them still had that red string of fate connected to each other. But lack of communication and contact were the main problems which could end any relationships, no matter how close it is. And Hyoyeon…was scared of that happening.
“They’re doing great,” Sooyoung puts on a reassuring smile. “Taeyeon is composing a new single right now which is gonna be released later this year. I haven’t really heard the song, but seeing as how all her other releases topped the charts in the past, I’m sure this one’s not gonna be an exception. Jessica and Tiffany went back to the States to spend some time with their families there. Since they both had finished their roles in their musical, they decided to check up on their families after that. Soonkyu and Yuri are still helping her uncle with the company by mentoring some of the new trainees there. I heard there’s gonna be a new girl group that’s about to debut. And guess what? There’s gonna be nine members.”
“What, we have a junior So Nyuh Shi Dae in our midst?” Hyoyeon cracked a joke, while quirking one of her eyebrows.
“We may never know what SM is gonna do these days without us.”
“Well, I’m looking forward to our junior self when they finally face the spotlights. Hmm, I wonder if there’s another Hyoyeon-in-the-making amongst them.”
Sooyoung let out a snort. “Hah, you wish!”
“Okay, maybe that was a little too out of this world. Hey, what about our cute little maknaes? You haven’t told me about them!”
“Hold your horses! I’m getting to them,” After finishing off the last of her baguette, Sooyoung wiped her crumbs-covered mouth with a handkerchief before continuing from where she left off, “Well, Yoona is filming another drama right now. She might get a role in a movie if she keeps up like this. And as for Juhyun…Well, don’t be surprised if you hear news about her becoming the first female prime minister of Korea. Man, that girl wasn’t kidding when she said she wanted to take up politics in the future.”
“Aigoo, our babies are all grown up!” Hyoyeon exclaimed, wiping an imaginary tear off her face and faking a sniff. “It seemed like it was just yesterday when we did our group activities together.”
“Yeah… It does, right?”
“Time sure files real fast, huh?”
“Yup. Those times we’ve been together were the most unforgettable. It’s a shame that our contracts ended a little earlier than expected…but it was fun while it lasts.”
Hyoyeon’s lips curved into a bittersweet smile as she listened to Sooyoung’s statement. She missed the good old days; their devoted fan screaming at the top of their lungs, the grand stage whenever they performed, a spot in the limelight, the feeling of achieving their goals every time the crowd did their special fanchant, the awards, everything.
But all good things do not last forever.
That was a fact.
“So, are you gonna take me on a tour now or what?”
Sooyoung’s abrupt question broke Hyoyeon from her reverie. She looked down on the table and saw that all of the plates were all devoid of anything edible, not even a single breadcrumb in sight.
“Jeez, aren’t you even suffering from the jet-lag just now?” Hyoyeon asked, looking at the person in front of her like she was some kind of alien.
“Food cures everything for me. Even the dreaded jet-lag,” Sooyoung proudly said while standing up from her seat and tugging the blonde’s hand. “C’mon, let’s get a move on!”
“Alright, alright, just let me pay for that meal you had. That reminds me, you’ve never treated me out for dinner. Not even once!”
“Well… that’s because…I don’t have the money?”
The dancer rolled her eyes, knowing the fact that Sooyoung came from a ridiculously rich family and that she couldn’t even pay for a nice meal for once. The only time that the glutton had ever paid for her own food was when she was absolutely starving, went off to a BBQ house and ate two huge servings of beef all by herself. Well, it ain’t my fault that you guys weren’t available when I actually, for once in my life, invited all of you to go out for dinner. MY TREAT. But then, every single one of you rejected my kind offer because you’re all tired after your schedules. Don’t blame me for missing out on having the greatest meal of your life, Sooyoung had nonchalantly said after the other girls found out about her hungry escapade all by herself in the middle of the night. She handled the interrogation quite skilfully and was not at all fazed by the eight pairs of eyes glaring daggers at her as she sat innocently on the living room couch. But Sooyoung’s stoicism crumbled when everyone else agreed that she should just eat outside instead of joining in whenever they ate at the dinner table. Taeyeon even mentioned that she would throw out the snacks that were in Sooyoung’s stash. That was more than enough of a reason for Sooyoung to panic all at once.
Once Hyoyeon had paid for the food, she let herself be dragged off by the tall woman clutching her arm towards her car.
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“Man, I’m all worn out!” Sooyoung exclaimed, crashing onto the L-shaped living room couch face first. “We sure took a lot of pictures today.”
“Sure, make yourself at home while I do all the work by carrying all of your bags inside…” Hyoyeon said sarcastically.
“Sorry, Hyo,” Sooyoung jolted up from her position to the front door where Hyoyeon was pathetically carrying a couple of her friend’s luggage inside.” Lemme get that for you.”
After both of them had finally placed all of Sooyoung’s luggage inside the guest bedroom, the lanky brunette sat on the well-made queen-sized bed, admiring the effort that Hyoyeon put in to her very own apartment. The apartment, consisting of a living room/kitchen, two bedrooms, and a mini dance studio, had a bright and warm atmosphere to it with its shades of yellow and mixture of earthy kinds of colours. Which is odd since Sooyoung could have sworn that Hyoyeon would definitely paint it green because that was the dancing queen’s favourite colour. Or maybe she’d changed to a new one? Hyoyeon did have a terrible habit of changing what she originally liked once in a while.
‘Would she even change her opinion of me if I told her about my feelings for her?’ That lone, disturbing thought crept into Sooyoung’s mind. She felt a stab in her heart when an image of Hyoyeon looking at her with a disgusted expression suddenly appeared in her head.
“How do you find my humble abode?”
Sooyoung looked beside her to find the person whose been tugging at her heartstrings unknowingly. Those chocolate-brown orbs staring right at her, waiting for an answer. If Sooyoung was an ice cube right now, she would have melted into a puddle.
“Oh, w-well…” she stuttered. “I actually expected your house to be a lot greener than usual.”
The blonde let out a hearty chuckle after hearing that comment.
“I just redecorated it to suit the season, you know? I painted it green when it was spring, but then painted it yellow once summer is here!”
“But summer already ended a week ago. Does that mean that you’re gonna paint the house orange or something like that to suit autumn?”
“Yeah, I’m going to do that soon. But, I want to put off the whole makeover for a while longer.”
“Why’s that?”
A soft, delicate hand gently landed on top of Sooyoung’s own.
“Because Summer is still here.”
“…H-huh?”
Hyoyeon furrowed her brows and pouted.
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your own name. The name Sica gave you, that is.”
The warmth that tainted Sooyoung’s cheeks died down when her brain recalled the familiar word.
“It’s been a long time since I heard anyone calling me by that. It feels kinda weird now.” Sooyoung said, while scratching an imaginary itch on her head.
“Even if it sounds weird, you’re still the Summer that I know and been with for twenty years and counting. I’m putting off redecorating my house a different colour as long as Summer is here with me right now. “
Sooyoung was speechless. She felt her cheeks getting hot again.
“Or would you prefer for me to keep calling you Sooyoungie instead?” Hyoyeon gave her a charming smile.
‘Any name is fine, as long as I can hear it from your sweet voice.’
Good things do not last forever.
She just wished that was not true.
If only she could stay here forever with this wonderful person.
But alas, this was just a week-long visit.
After seven days, both of them have to get back to their busy, working lives.
Not as idols. Not as a group. Not as Girls’ Generation.
Just solo.
Sooyoung wanted to make the best out of this period of time.
Who knows when she’ll get an opportunity like this again?
To confess all of these undying emotions for her.
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Everyone around the woman blurted out, their minds not being able to process properly the things that had just been said from .
“Yes. I’m moving. Paris, to be exact.”
A flurry of ‘what, why, when,’ came lashing out at her as expected. She darted her eyes sheepishly from the dumbstruck, questioning looks she was getting from them. All of a sudden, she doesn’t know how in the world she was supposed to explain this to them. It was like the words suddenly vanished from the tips of her tongue. She couldn’t have announced it at a better time. Just when they had already started to cool down and soak in the fact of their early disbandment, another shocking twist of events appears right at their doorstep. What a bearer of bad news she was. It was a lot easier breaking the news to her family. They accepted it and respected her decisions. They knew that she could handle anything. And then, her all-knowing little brother just had to ask her the question she dreaded to answer.
“How are you going to tell this to your members, sis?”
Oh, that brat. He just had to ruin everything.
She already recited the lines that she was going to say out over and over again. First, tell them that you’re moving away. Wait for explosive reactions. After reactions, answer their lightning bolt questions. If you don’t know how to answer them, smile. When in doubt, just smile. That’s Tiffany’s motto, after all. But then, that only works for Tiffany. Not herself.
When?
“In a month from now.”
Why?
“I want to start a brand new life, I guess.”
A simple and good reason to her, but not a good enough reason for them.
Everything that makes you happy is right here in front of you, isn’t it?
Yes.
Then why are you leaving?
Didn’t I tell you the reason just now?
But why are you leaving the people you care for and love the most?
Even she herself doesn’t know the answer to that.
“Alone?” someone said.
A hand tugged at her arm.
She looked up at the towering person doing that.
“Yeah…”
Silence.
“…If you really want to go with this, then promise us one thing.”
They all gathered close around her.
“Keep in touch with us, Hyo.”
She nodded.
“I promise.”
With that said, she felt herself being engulfed by the comforting warmth of her dearest members hugging her. Their sobbing and tears broke her. And it made her wonder…
Why in the world was she leaving them?
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Hyoyeon woke up to the aroma of freshly cooked eggs and French toast. Well, that and the dream she had made her wide awake. Or was that a flashback? Whatever it was, it sure didn’t bring her up in the best of moods. Trying to shake away the figments of last night’s dream, Hyoyeon grudgingly dragged herself out of her queen-sized bed. The strong smell of breakfast smacked her right in the face when she swung open the bedroom door and entered the living room. From where she was, Hyoyeon discovered who was diligently preparing the soon-to-be sumptuous meal.
‘Sooyoung’s cooking? Well, this is a first.’
The tall and lean woman was more focused on flipping the sizzling eggs with a spatula to notice the presence of her friend sneaking up behind her. Inching closer and closer to her oblivious guest and spotting on an evil grin on her face, Hyoyeon did what she had always done best. Well, second best after dancing of course.
“AHHHH!”
Sooyoung released an ear-piercing scream and almost dropped the spatula into the frying pan, after a certain someone unexpectedly grabbed the sides of her waist. Good thing the walls weren’t thin, or else the neighbours would’ve been knocking at the front door by now.
“Yah, don’t scare me like that!” Sooyoung whined angrily at the prankster who was busy having a laughing fit. Hyoyeon bended over and clutched her stomach after witnessing that priceless reaction from her victim.
“Hahaha! Man that never gets old!” the blonde managed to say through her undying laughter.
“Aren’t you supposed to act your age?! You’re like, already in your thirties!”
Her complaint fell on deaf ears as Hyoyeon was showing no signs of stopping. Sooyoung sighed and turned to face the stove again before her breakfast ends up in flames.
“This choding…” she mumbled out.
Hyoyeon eventually calmed herself down before it gets too out of hand. And besides, her stomach couldn’t really handle that much exercise anyways. That was the most humour she had ever gotten in a long while. She had almost forgotten how it feels to have someone she was comfortable enough to tease around with. Rubbing away some of the tears that came out from guffawing way too much, Hyoyeon straightened back up and went over to the fuming woman.
“Oh c’mon, I’m just poking a little fun at you that’s all,” she cooed and endearingly rubbed Sooyoung’s thin arms. “Is Sooyoungie mad at me?”
Another deep sigh was exhaled before the short-haired brunette answered. “No, I’m not mad. I can’t ever be angry at you. Even if you are pretty annoying at times.”
“I could have said the same things myself.”
“You find me annoying?” Sooyoung faced the blonde behind her, faking a hurt expression.
“Don’t be giving me that look,” Hyoyeon rebutted. “You, of all people, should know how overly blunt you are when it comes to certain people’s heights.”
“So basically, you find me annoying when I brag about my long legs of glory and towering over all you little midgets,” the giant proudly said with an all-knowing smirk aimed at her dwarf. Sooyoung always liked picking on her vertically-challenged members whenever she had the chance.
“Exactly. Now what is a glutton like you doing in the kitchen other than eating?” the blonde said whilst resting her head on Sooyoung’s shoulders to look at the concoction that she was preparing.
“Is it a crime for me to cook now and then?”
“No, but it is rare to see you ever making something edible without doing a taste test on it first. I’m surprised that the eggs are still there in the pan.”
“Hey, I’m doing a huge favour for you guys by testing them to see if the food is poisoned or not. Geez, not even a single word of thanks to me,” Sooyoung pouted.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you glutton.”
Once breakfast was finally ready, both of the women sat opposite each other at the bar table which separated the living room and the kitchen. Chowing down on the surprisingly good yet simple meal, as complimented by Hyoyeon (much to Sooyoung’s delight), the two best buddies chatted like they usually did back in the old days when they were still living together in their dorm. Even though it had been such long time since they last met, the amount of time not spent together did not damage this special bond they had. It wasn’t awkward at all. It felt normal and right. Everything was going along fine until Hyoyeon asked about something that she was dying to tell.
“Sooyoung, would I make a good wife?”
The brunette almost spat out her water after hearing that question.
“Haven’t we gone through this before?” Sooyoung quirked her brows at Hyoyeon who was bashfully playing around with her food. “Of course you would make a good spouse! Heck, if I were a guy, I would totally choose you as my lawfully-wedded w-“ she stopped herself from speaking any further after realising what she had almost blurted out.
“Aww, that’s so sweet of you,” the blonde did not hesitate to lean over the table to grab the other’s hand. “Thank you. I mean it.” Hyoyeon could always count on Sooyoung to be 100% honest with her, even if the statement just now was a bit too flattering. Being Sooyoung’s wife? Even though the giant was obviously female, Hyoyeon couldn’t help but to find her handsome whenever she wears men’s clothes. Her personality too wasn’t all that bad.
She wouldn’t mind dating her.
The touch sent sparks up the length of Sooyoung’s arm, but it did not do much to calm herself down from her almost confession. She did not know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that the woman of her dreams was practically clueless about her love for her. Well, romantic love that is. Putting all that aside, the lanky woman wanted to know the real reason behind this odd question in the middle of a wonderful breakfast.
“What’s this all of a sudden, Hyo?” Sooyoung interrogated her, firmly holding onto the delicate hand that was on her own.
“It’s nothing.”
“Lying is a sin, Hyo.”
“So is gluttony, but I won’t force you out of doing something you love the most.”
“Hyoyeon…”
“Alright, alright,” the dancing queen took a deep breath before going to explain herself. “You know how I’d always go on and on about dating, getting married and having kids right?”
“Yeah, not forgetting about wanting to have NINE kids.”
“Scratch that, I don’t have the physical and mental state to take care of all of them altogether,” Hyoyeon awkwardly chuckled before finally getting down to business. “Well, the thing about it is that…I still haven’t been able to find ‘the right one’.”
“You can’t be serious right? You’re staying in the land of the Hyoyeon worshippers! The people that screamed for you back when we performed here could have blown off the roof of the stadium! Your popularity around the world even outnumbers the other members’ combined! Don’t tell me there isn’t a single person out there that’s willing to spend their whole lifetime with you...” She wanted to add in that the ideal person Hyoyeon was searching for was right in front of her, but decided to leave that one out.
The dancing queen only curved her lips into a bittersweet smile after hearing that. There was no point trying to explain the reason of her still being single, even though she was already free to do whatever she want without the eyes of the public and her ex-company watching her every moves. Hyoyeon herself didn’t even know what the problem was.
Was it because she wasn’t girlfriend material or something?
Was it her reputation of being an ex-idol?
Was she not trying hard enough?
Was it because she was not…pretty?
Flashbacks of Hyoyeon browsing through online polls and always seeing her name at the bottom, hearing that men always preferred and chose the other members instead of her. Usually, a reason as superficial as that wouldn’t even cross Hyoyeon’s mind at first, but now…what was she supposed to think after never finding the right one throughout these years?
“I just…I…never mind. Forget what I said…it’s not that important to me anyways.” Hyoyeon waved it off, stood up and went to the sink to wash their already empty plates, trying to hide the hurt in her chocolate-brown orbs from her roommate.
‘Who am I kidding? This IS important to me.’
As Hyoyeon fought hard to clear her troubled mind by cleaning, a pair of worried eyes stared at her from behind, thinking of ways to make Hyoyeon live happily ever after.
“Preferably with me,” Sooyoung muttered in a soft voice.
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Five days had already passed since Sooyoung arrived in Paris, and three days since she had the serious talk with Hyoyeon. The latter then dropped it before it gets too much for her to handle. Being serious wasn’t Hyoyeon’s style. Sooyoung had known that weakness of hers since the beginning that their friendship blossomed into a beautiful flower. Hyoyeon would turn into an awkward turtle whenever she tried to have a serious conversation with anyone, or if someone asked her about a sensitive topic. It was cute at first, seeing the fun-loving woman being all nervous and missing her tongue, but then Sooyoung noticed how difficult it was for Hyoyeon to get through what other people thought was easy. Both of them did not say a single thing about their conversation during breakfast after that, but the question Hyoyeon asked still bothered the brunette.
Throughout the week, Hyoyeon had been taking Sooyoung out to show her the sights and famous landmarks around the city. Funny to think that several years ago, they’ve toured around the same, exact city with as much curiosity and excitement as they had now but this time, the blonde was the guide while the brunette was the tourist. Sooyoung was pleasantly surprised that Hyoyeon had adapted so well to her new environment. She took her to a lot of different places in which Sooyoung had never been to before. She could even speak proper French, judging by how fluently she spoke it and that the residents could understand her. Last Sooyoung remembered when they were still in SNSD was that Hyoyeon couldn’t even pronounce ‘Bonjour’ correctly without sounding like some kind of retard.
Unfortunately, Hyoyeon was unable to get a few more days of rest though, as she still needed to teach her class at a dance school she worked in. Sooyoung didn’t mind of course, but she persuaded the dancing queen to at least let her follow along and watch how she works there. Cringing at the ridiculously cute pout that Sooyoung was giving her, Hyoyeon immediately obliged before she goes and gets a wooden stick to beat her with.
"Is it fun working as a dance teacher?” Sooyoung asked as both of them got inside Hyoyeon’s car.
“Duh, of course it is! This is like the second best job I’ve ever dreamed of next to being a performer.” After finally getting her car to work, Hyoyeon revved it up from the parking lot and drove towards their destination. Twenty minutes later, they’ve reached the entrance of the prestigious-looking school filled with young students either bustling into the building or chilling around the courtyard as they waited for their friends to go inside with. Right after parking, they made their way through the crowded hallways of the huge campus towards the dance studio where Hyoyeon’s class was waiting for her. Along the way, quite a number of the school’s occupants waved and greeted Hyoyeon in which she answered back with as much sincerity. Some even high-fived enthusiastically with her.
“See, I knew your popularity didn’t die down,” Sooyoung proudly exclaimed and swung an arm around the blonde’s neck.
“Okay, okay, I do have some fans here from way back. Also, I’ve built up quite a reputation by being a good and well-known teacher here. Guess I’m not totally forgotten, right?”
“You’ll never be forgotten, Hyo. Don’t underestimate yourself so much.” The lanky woman gave a slight squeeze to reassure the dancing queen. “Now, does anyone here remember me then?” Sooyoung grinned.
Hyoyeon smiled all-knowingly back at her. “Nobody seems to give a second glance at you though.”
“Ah phooey…” Her large grin turned into a pout yet again. The giant slouched against the shorty from behind as they continued walking.
“Could you stop doing that before I do something I will regret so much?”
“Like what?” Sooyoung continued pouting at her.
“Like this.” And with that said, Hyoyeon did not waste any more time to pinch the giant’s nose.
“Oww!”
A simple action like that was enough to get rid of the hungry monster clinging onto her.
“Sorry, Soo. Class is waiting, and you’re holding me up from getting there any earlier!”
The blonde released an evil chuckle then ran off before a certain giant with a red nose stomps after her.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Sooyoung watched and observed intently at the scene happening before her as she sat down on a bench at the back of the dance studio. A group of energetic young adults in their early twenties were diligently following the movements of the blonde choreographer in front of them. Heavy bass and beats pumped out from the boom box nearby, the catchy hip-hop music echoing all around the huge, wide room. Their quick feet moved to the rhythms of the music, the squeaking of sneakers too accompanying the sounds all around. Sooyoung fought the urge to join in with them. Even though she doesn’t know the steps they’re doing, it won’t matter since she just wanted to groove along with them.
Nostalgia crept into Sooyoung’s mind. How long has it been since she danced though? With her modelling career always taking up most of her precious time, she never really had the spare time to do any of that.
“Ok, guys, take five!” Hyoyeon’s loud voice appeared out of nowhere, breaking Sooyoung’s train of thoughts. Someone lowered down the music, and immediately the students scattered over to their bags or left the studio.
Sooyoung looked up to see the dance instructor taking a seat beside her.
“You did great.” Sooyoung smiled at her and handed over a water bottle she brought along.
“Thanks,” Hyoyeon panted out before quenching her thirst. After regaining back some of her energy, the blonde placed the bottle down and decided to stir up another conversation with Sooyoung. “You were watching me and my class with such an odd expression just now. I noticed it through the mirror in front of me. Something on your mind?”
The giant shrugged her shoulders. “I was just reminded of the time we had dance practices back then, you know.”
Hyoyeon nodded her head, understanding where she was coming from. “This arts academy I’m working in is pretty cool actually. It’s much more laidback than what we get back in Korea, but most of the kids here are just as hardworking as us when we were still in training. To tell you the truth, whenever I see my students practicing so hard just to get the dance steps correct and spending so much time on their practice routine, it reminds me of us you know. All of us spending so much time and effort just to get everything perfect down to the last second. Nowadays, I don’t even remember how much my feet were killing me after a whole night of practicing and rehearsing. ”
“How I missed those days we had. It just doesn’t feel the same with all of us separated like this.”
“We spent way too much time together, didn’t we?”
“Yup, that’s for sure.”
“We spent way too much time together till I kinda get sick of you guys sometimes.”
A pause.
“…Is that the real reason you wanted to move out of the blue back then?”
Hyoyeon’s eyes widened the moment her beloved friend’s voice turned serious. And did she hear a hint of sadness in it?
“What? No! Of course not! That was meant as a joke!” Hyoyeon desperately explained in a hushed tone, so that it won’t gain the attention of her students nearby, “What makes you think I wanted to move away because of that? You guys are like my second family. I won’t ever-“
“Hey, teach! Break’s already over,” one of Hyoyeon’s students called out to her in French.
Slightly annoyed by that interruption, the dance teacher replied an “Alright, I’m coming!” back without taking her eyes off of an under-the-weather Sooyoung. “We’ll continue this later at home, okay? But first, I want to be absolutely clear about this. I did NOT leave because of you guys. It was of my own free will and that’s it. Just that. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Hyoyeon stood up and left Sooyoung alone with her thoughts without another word.
Duty called.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
The journey back to Hyoyeon’s apartment was anything but lively. The car was filled with an uncomfortable silence between the two close females. This kind of silence would be more understandable if the ones involved were complete strangers, but that wasn’t the case right now. Sometimes during the ride, the blonde made an effort to pry Sooyoung out from her shell by cracking some jokes or basically anything to make a word come out from her lips. Nothing worked and that made Hyoyeon even more worried, to the point that she was sweating bullets inside the air-conditioned car. Hyoyeon hated it whenever one of the girls was down in the dumps. She hated it more when the cause of their behaviour was because of her. Then it just so happens that she was reminded of her announcement of her departure to her dear members. Boy, did it took a whole lot of willpower just for her to pry herself away from their tight group hug during that time, and also when she was about to leave for her plane at the airport.
‘They mean a whole lot to me. Every single one of them. Why would Sooyoung think of something like that? Did she misinterpret what I said?’
Both of their minds were full of clouding thoughts as they finally reached back home. It was already in the evening by then, and the moon was shining brightly among the few stars that managed to give out as much light to be seen amidst the lights of the city. They quietly climbed upstairs to the apartment, the heavy thuds of their boots against the carpeted steps were the only sounds there was. Fishing out the keys from her pocket, Hyoyeon unlocked the front door with no difficulty and stepped aside to let her dejected friend in. Sooyoung avoided eye contact with her as she passed through.
“Sooyoung, I-“
“I’m going to sleep.”
“But, don’t you wanna have dinner first?”
“Not hungry…”
Sooyoung rejecting food was equivalent to the pits of hell freezing over.
She removed her footwear, hung her coat onto the hanger near the entrance, and then went into her room in a heartbeat. Never looking back at Hyoyeon as she did all that.
Hyoyeon ate a dinner for two alone, feeling as if she reverted back to her singularity life in this country, even though there was someone else in the apartment with her. Someone whom she cared for dearly in her heart. Someone who was going to leave her very soon and did not know when she’ll ever see again.
So close yet so far.
There were some leftovers that the blonde didn’t manage to finish. After washing up her plate half-heartedly, she wrapped the food with a plastic foil and put it inside the fridge. It was getting late. Hyoyeon heaved a heavy sigh as she stared at the door leading to where her giant was probably already fast asleep. She too should get some shut-eye. It was going to be a long day for both of them tomorrow.
If Hyoyeon had gone into her bedroom a little later, she didn’t have to miss the emergence of a certain someone with a grumbling, empty stomach, coming out from her den and searching through the treasure trove for all things edible.
A curve formed on her lips when she opened the refrigerator and discovered something waiting for her arrival, with a yellow post-it pasted on top of it.
Please don’t starve yourself and feel free to eat this, ok?
Love, Hyo ♥
Everything that frustrated the brunette regarding what Hyoyeon said was completely forgotten when Sooyoung took the food out and enjoying every single bite of it.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Hyoyeon mindlessly stirred the mixture of egg yolks, chopped spring onions and chillies, with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and then poured it into the heated-up pan. Half of her mind focused on the task at hand while the other half wandered off about her roommate. It troubled her; how she was going to handle Sooyoung once she wakes up from her slumber. But there was a bit of certainty that the giant won’t still be down in the dumps. The vanishing of the leftover dinner from the night before told all that Hyoyeon needed to know.
‘I’ll have to straighten things out with her sooner rather than later.’
She sighed at the fact that Sooyoung couldn’t stay here forever. If only they weren’t so busy these days.
Flipping the perfectly-shaped golden omelette onto the other side, the blonde was oblivious of the figure approaching behind her. Hyoyeon tensed up when she felt a pair of skinny arms wrapped tightly around her waist, but then relaxed herself in this comforting back hug. Maybe it won’t be so hard after all.
“Are you hungry?” Hyoyeon asked.
A nod on her left shoulder answered the question.
“It’ll be done in a minute. You can handle one minute, can’t you?” she teased.
“As long as it doesn’t exceed a minute, then I’m fine with that,” Sooyoung reluctantly released Hyoyeon to stand beside her and examine what she was doing. “I’ve never gotten around asking you this but…are you happy? Living here, I mean.” Sooyoung leaned against the kitchen counter to take a peek at the cook’s face. She seemed to be contemplating about how to answer that. Thinking that she had just dropped the bomb on her, the short-haired brunette wanted to take back those words, but Hyoyeon spoke first.
“Of course I’m happy.”
Sooyoung watched as Hyoyeon brought the huge omelette onto a plate. There was something melancholic about the way she said those words. There wasn’t a bounce in her step when she went to place their breakfast onto the table. And from those few actions, Sooyoung could finally prove her theory.
“But…it does get a bit lonesome here.”
A bit was a huge understatement.
Hyoyeon was alone here. Terribly alone.
This was all it took for the tall brunette to stride over to the blonde and engulfed her in a tight embrace which felt like all eight of them were there with Hyoyeon. They shared a rare quiet moment, enjoying each other’s comforting warmth.
“You moved here to find someone to love, didn’t you?” Sooyoung’s whisper broke the silence between them.
“Guess I’m busted right now, huh?” Hyoyeon guiltily admitted. “You still remembered what I told you after that concert in Paris?”
“In the back of my mind, yes,” the taller of the two pulled away first and spotted on a smirk. “You’re so gonna get a beating when I tell the others the REAL reason why you packed up and left to somewhere a billion miles away without a second thought.”
Hyoyeon immediately went into attack mode and locked her hands with Sooyoung’s in an all-out gratuitous wrestling match. “YAH! I did think through about this a million times before I decided, thank you very much! You make it sound like I just up and left!” The blonde argued back, laughing at the thought at how ridiculous they looked if someone barged into them, two fully-grown adult women, behaving like this.
“In which you did!” Sooyoung’s loud blurting caused several droplets of her saliva to land on Hyoyeon’s gorgeous face. This, in turn, raised the dancing queen’s power level to above maximum, leaving Sooyoung helpless when she felt herself being pushed towards the couch in the living room. Sooyoung squealed as she backed up and landed on the soft, large couch with the blonde on top of her.
Oh, what a compromising position they were in.
And when that wasn’t enough, Hyoyeon took their energetic, little (non-violent) fight a step further by tickling the pinned-down lanky giant. A series of giggles and non-stop laughter echoed around the spacious room.
“Have mercy on me!” Sooyoung begged and tried to shimmy her way out of the blonde’s clutches, but to no avail. Fresh, salty tears were verging at the corner of Sooyoung’s eyes. “Yah, at this rate I’m gonna die from laughter soon! My stomach can’t take it anymore!” Much to Sooyoung’s relieve (or displeasure?), Hyoyeon finally heeded to her request and stopped. The blonde’s attempt to get off from the person below her was interrupted when Sooyoung’s hands reached up to her shoulders and held her in place. Hyoyeon gave her a puzzled look as the lanky giant sat up from her lying position. Was she up for another round?
“Hyo, there’s something I need to tell you,”Hyoyeon could not help but to stiffen up at the tone of Sooyoung’s unsure voice and the way those brown orbs were staring into her soul. It was serious…but with a hint of fear. “It’s really important.”
“What is it, Sooyoungie?”
“I-I…” she stuttered. “I love you, Kim Hyoyeon.”
Finally, the confession.
Sooyoung feared for the worst, and hoped for the best.
A pause.
The blonde blinked.
And then blinked again.
“I know that.”
“No, Hyo. I don’t think you understand. I. Love. You.”
Another dreadful pause. Sooyoung felt it was more like an eternity.
‘I think I’ve just ruined everything I had with her. I’m such an idiot…’
The lanky woman released her hold on the person she had an undying love for. There was nothing else she could think of to do at that moment but to bend down her head in shame, not daring to look up at the said person before her.
“I guess this is the right time for me to go, right?”
No answer.
Sooyoung gulped down the heavy lump in her dry throat. The happy tears from before were dangerously close to becoming ones of sadness and rejection.
“I…won’t bother you from now on, okay?” Saying those words out stabbed deep into the very depths of her heart more so than the feeling of rejection itself.
Time to pack up her bags.
Sooyoung made an effort to move as far away from the silent woman as possible, but delicate hands firmly gripped her forearms. Sooyoung didn’t have time to decipher the situation before she was pulled in and soft lips claimed hers.
Hyoyeon was kissing her.
Kim Hyoyeon, the woman she had fallen so deeply for, was kissing her.
Although it was too short for all her years of waiting, it was worth it.
The blonde’s lips lingered near the other’s mouth and her eyes fluttered open after sharing that unexpected but wonderful moment. They stared into each other’s eyes. All of Sooyoung’s pain a while ago vanished in an instant. However, there was still some confusion nudging in her very being.
“You’re not …” Sooyoung muttered out, “…disgusted with me? About a female having romantic feelings for you?”
“Nope,” Hyoyeon said matter-of-factly. “I did tell you just now that I knew, didn’t I? Besides, I’m not so narrow-minded to just shun you away for something like that.” She then proceeded to push some strands of Sooyoung’s hair to the back of her ears and cupped her gorgeous complexion. “To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure if you were definitely having those kinds of feelings for me, but then you were giving off these vibes whenever we’re together. And then I left for France. That’s when I knew that you had fallen for me. The way you hugged me and cried when it was time for me to go, how happy and wide your smile was when we reunited again, the small yet meaningful touches filled with love, all of them were clues. And now, your confession finally proved my suspicions.”
Sooyoung’s eyes glistened with hope and slowly brought her arms around the dancing queen’s waist. “Does that mean that you feel the same way as I do?”
“Right now?”
“Yes. I want- no, I need to know.”
“Well, as of this very moment, my feelings right now are steadily growing every second thanks to you. And with my unlucky attempts at having someone to hook up with, I might as well just take what I get. Even if it is an annoying shikshin whom I’ve been with for twenty years and counting.”
That statement earned a good whack to the side of her head. Hyoyeon faked a pained expression and rubbed the spot where she was hit. She didn’t have to keep up the act though, as she was shortly pulled into another embrace by her newly-found girlfriend.
Girlfriend.
She grinned at the thought of that word. Maybe she won’t mind hearing the word ‘wife’ later on in the near future.
“Hyo,” she heard Sooyoung whispered into her ear. “Since you’ve founded someone already, would it be too much trouble for you to come back?”
“I’ll have to think about that first.”
“I can wait.”
She tightened her hold around Sooyoung.
“Can I have that kiss again? You’re a pretty good kisser,” Hyoyeon couldn’t help but tease to lighten up the mood.
“You’re the one that started it in the first place.”
Sooyoung didn’t complain though. She leaned in, and shared a longer and passionate kiss with the dancing queen.
Her objective now completed.
END
A/N: Someone wanted a Hyo pairing story right? Well, it's a good thing that I already written this before-hand :D
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