In a rosy pink sundress dotted with pale yellow petals, Soojung feels like Sulli. She sees Sehun waiting by the fountain, a neat button-up tucked into dark shorts, and physically feels as if her brain has magically entered Sulli’s body. 

But by the reflection of the bluish fountain, the dark hair falling over dark brown eyes is her own face, and she’s really standing beside Oh Sehun. 

“Why did we agree to this again?” 

She doesn’t even look up at Sehun as she speaks. She focuses on the creamy buttons of his shirt, that somehow match the petals of her dress, as if they’d planned it.

“Because we’re young, and if we don’t do what our hyungs and noonas tell us to do, then bad things will happen.” 

Soojung can’t help but flinch back when Sehun sticks out a large palm at her. Ultimately, she ends up taking it. He takes the lead, and they start walking, her thoughts trailing behind them. 

“What kind of bad things, exactly…”

Now she feels as if she’s just mumbling to herself, almost as if Sehun isn’t as blatantly uncomfortable about this whole ordeal as she. But that can’t be, can it?

“Let’s not try to guess. Besides, we only let this happen to us because we lost, fair and square.” 

Sehun’s hand isn’t much different from Jongin’s, Soojung realizes belatedly. It’s about as large, a warm temperature, with possibly fingers just slightly skinnier than Kim Jongin’s tan, round fingers. And she goes on wondering, if her hand feels fairly like Sulli’s. 

They wind through crowds of passerby’s, entering a shaved ice shop with a view of the flourishing magnolia trees lining the park. Sehun orders and pays for one for the two to share, and Soojung doesn’t say it but thinks she would have preferred if he’d bought two separate, smaller ones. 

Under normal circumstances, Soojung would have thought nothing of Sehun’s politeness; he was always the smiling quiet doer of all of the little things around their friends. But the spoon handed gently into her hands, the napkin placed right at her reach, the simple “Enjoy”, all trigger her with a sense of dishevelment. 

“Sehun… are you okay with this?” 

She’s caught him in the middle of a spoonful of red beans and ice. He looks at her quizzically, mouth puffing to accommodate the cold against his gums. He finally swallows, difficultly. 

“Sulli and I decided that it might be good for us to try after all. We’ve been dating so long, we might have forgotten about the little things that were so precious in the beginning, you know? I’d say you and Jongin are floating in a similar boat.”

Soojung nods absently, for once holding the gaze in Sehun’s calm, focussed eyes. In truth, Sehun and Sulli has never been absolutely wrong about relationship advice, especially when Soojung and Jongin were in need of it. 

To return the favor of Sehun trying so hard to make the day pleasant, Soojung follows his lead as much as she can, supporting herself with her arm hooked to his. The tips of her nails itch to reach for her phone and text Jongin. But the rules keep her from relieving that unending itch; one of probably a thousand rules the older sunbaes had set for this cruel, last place punishment. As an extra measure of precaution, their sunbaes had confiscated Jongin’s phone and Sehun’s phone, leaving the two couples with just one phone each. Only to be used for emergencies and proof shots, the rules say. 

Sooner than later all of the painted flowers in the gallery begin to look one in the same. Whether its a patch of sunflowers, a vase of colorful geraniums, or swirly, thickly painted crown-of-thorns, every framed art piece blurs by Soojung’s vision in a haze of mild interest. But she’s comfortable, and rather enjoying the peaceful walk through the gallery. She and Sehun talk about their classes, grades, friends, and make fun of Jongin and Sulli. 

At the end of the gallery, where a metallic sculpture of three giant flowers leads back out to the magnolia tree path, Sehun snaps them to reality again.

“Guess this should be where we talk out proof shot, right?” 

Soojung sighs, pulling out her phone.

This is where the disgruntled blame for all of her devious sundaes, including her beloved sister, takes over, as Soojung bares notice to how too tall Sehun is again. Sulli is taller than she is, which was obviously why she was Sehun’s girlfriend and not Soojung, among other smaller reasons (like she would have lazy, dog-mom, dark skinned dark haired thick lipped Kim Jongin over flowery, too tall, goofy smiling Oh Sehun any day).

Soojung manages to smile next to Sehun’s odd way of opening his eyes wider than natural and curving his thin lips for their first selca. They actually sort of look nice, with a row of flower paintings in the background. 

The next one is much, much more problematic. Sehun is ready, in his ever complacent stature from the orders of his almighty sunbaes like the pretty-eyed Luhan oppa he seems to adore so much. But Soojung is the one who has to do the greater evil, not him, and it gets on her nerves. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t smile, Sehun.”

“What, you want me to frown or something? Doesn’t that just make you look weirder?” 

“Well… I don’t freaking know. Whatever. Do what you want.”

Sehun complies, doing that same selca expression of his again. Soojung stares at the pale skin in front of her nose that does not belong to Kim Jongin, takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and goes for it. 

The camera snaps, signaling that the last of her tortures are over, and Soojung pulls her outstretched lips back to her face, rubbing them together. There’s a tiny smudge of pink on the spot on Sehun’s cheek, and Soojung can’t help but laugh a little. 

“Look, it came out pretty good.” 

Sehun shows her the pictures. One of them feigning a couple, the other of her forcefully pushing her lips onto Sehun’s cheekbone. 

Soojung doesn't respond, settling for just wiping the lipstain off of Sehun's cheek with her palm. He goes on and sends the pictures to the group Kakao message. They don’t have to stand there long before reactions begin to blow up Soojung’s phone. Her sister, of course, is the worst about it. 

“I’m so glad that’s done with. Let’s go.” 

Sehun nods and leads her out to the park. Soojung takes a couple of really big breaths, swearing never to lose so big in one of those huge, no-turning-back games her friends and sunbaes like to play. 

“Oh, almost forgot. Sulli wanted to just meet up and have dinner? Are you and Jongin up for it?” 

“Uhh… let me think about it.” 

Just when they get off the bus, Soojung's phone rings with Jongin and Sulli’s proof shots. They’re adorable, Soojung admits, because those two are always adorable. 

“Why does Sulli look so happy?”

Soojung smiles, because Sehun just won’t stop looking at those pictures, analyzing every bit of Sulli’s bright face. 

Jongin and Sulli finally show up in front of the seafood restaurant. As soon as she sees him, her dark skinned boy, Soojung’s muscles seem to relax like smooth syrup. Sulli runs up and hugs Sehun, and Soojung is left to wander over to Jongin idly, feeling unnecessarily awkward. He doesn’t say anything, just smirks and wraps his hand in hers, and Soojung’s universe is finally, finally back to normal again. 

“You guys up for dinner? I wanna hear what you did with Sehun, Soojung!” 

Soojung exchanges a look with Jongin, and shakes her head. 

“You guys go ahead. We’re just gonna go home.” 

Sehun raises his eyebrows accusingly.

“Whose home? Yours, or my apartment?” 

Jongin’s already turning away from them, taking Soojung with him. 

“It’s not your apartment, Oh Sehun. It’s ours. And yes, we’re going there, so don’t come back soon.” 

Sulli rolls her eyes, but disappears into the restaurant with Sehun. 

All of a sudden, Jongin’s rushing her to the bus stop, and as soon as they get there, under the dirty glass roof, his lips find hers in a gentle swarm. 

Soojung just looks back at him with surprise, tingling, her chest thumping in complete opposite from her earlier day with Sehun. 

“I’ve been waiting for that all day.” 

“Honestly… me too.” 

And they share a secretive smirk, sitting together on the bench, attached as if they’re glued. Soojung bites her lower lip, a rush of frustration shaking her. 

“Don’t you ever, ever let us lose like that again, Kim Jongin. I am done trading boyfriends for the rest of my life.” 

Jongin grins, sheepishly, trying an outlandish puppy face in some form of apology. Soojung gives him her scariest glare, which just makes him laugh. 

“Anyways… when do you think they’ll let me have my phone back?”