“Ah, glasses!”

Yuri had pointed out with a gleeful grin, first thing when Hayoung had popped the door open and slipped into the passenger seat.

The younger girl merely gave a sheepish smile and a quick nod in greeting, cheeks flaming up with the faintest shade of pink under the dim glow of the streetlights as she busied herself with the buckling of her seatbelt

“I know. I look like a geek.”

“A beautiful geek,” corrected Yuri, eyes twinkling brightly and lips curling widely into a grin.

Hayoung giggled— an adorable sound that Yuri decided she quite liked hearing—, albeit still blushing and turned towards her expectantly, smiling. “So where are we off to, Unnie?”

“The Han River,” answered Yuri, steering the car right into the main street. “Where else do you think we could go at an hour like this?”

Hayoung hummed musingly, languidly taking her time to ponder.

“That dukbokki place from the other time?”

Yuri chuckled; eyes, filled with amusement, briefly flickered over to the younger girl as they came to a standstill at a traffic junction.

“You really do like that place very much, don’t you?”

 “Yep!”

Hayoung nodded fervently, eyes positively glowing as they crinkled into a toothy little grin, holding the same innocence of a child

It was those tiny little quirks to her that reminded Yuri that she was still very much a high-schooler despite her rather mature appearance.

But nonetheless, it was what made her all the more charming and Yuri thought it to be absolutely adorable as she found the ends of her lips tugging into a large grin.

“Maybe next time then,”

A comfortable silence soon fell in between them as they drove on, further into the night, with the radio playing on in the background.

Hayoung began tapping her fingers to the beat of the music, humming softly under her breath alongside Yuri beside her, giggling as their gazes crossed every now and then.

And it made Yuri wonder to how long were they able to keep this up before her inner kkab decides to take over and unleash an off-tune hell of awful singing on them.

That was until a familiar tune came on.

 Hayoung gasped, turning to Yuri with excitement b in her eyes.

“APink, APink!” Yuri chanted spiritedly, spotting a huge smile on her face and she knew she couldn’t hold back no longer.

‘Rub dub rub dub, I tremble

Whenever I think of you, I tremble

What to do with myself, oh oh

I seem like a fool,

I’m embarrassed for myself

But I want to have the courage and tell you’

With Yuri belting her heart out along to the song and Hayoung wriggling about in the passenger seat, trying her best to follow after the choreograph of the song, they were simply having the time of their lives.

It was exhilarating. Letting everything loose and behaving like the gigantic dorks they were, while they threw a private little concert in the car as they head-banged and goofed around without a single care in the world.

‘Little by little, on your lips, BuBiBu

You are my everything, BuBiBu

Just by looking at you, I feel good

Just by hearing your name, just by hearing your voice makes me feel good

I like you so much, I like you so much, what do I do?’

“Ah, I seriously can’t hit the high notes.” Yuri pouted as the song gradually faded away to its end and they came back down from their high.

“It’s okay, I can’t either,” shrugged Hayoung, smiling brazenly and they both shared a look.

The car stilled at yet another red light.

Lips twitching into a grin, Yuri broke into a hearty laugh, then, reached over to give the younger girl a high-five.

“Daebak!”

“But Unnie…” Hayoung started musingly, a slight smile hanging off the edges of her lips. “I’m actually surprised that you even knew the lyrics to our song.”

“I said that I’d listen to you guys well, didn’t I?”

Hayoung’s eyes practically glittered at that, disappearing into a grin that was probably the largest Yuri had ever seen, and it lit up her entire face with an unmistakable beatific glow.

Yuri felt something stir deep within her.

Hands neatly folded before her, Hayoung gave a stiffly deep bow in what appeared to be mock politeness, albeit still grinning away.

“Yes, thank you very much for doing so, Sunbaenim.”

“Aish, you’re actually a playful one, aren’t you?” Yuri snorted, lightly punching the younger girl on the shoulder before maneuvering up higher to ruffle her hair, all the while still (thankfully) keeping her other fixed onto the steering wheel.

“Unnie, please, eyes on the road. I still kinda’ value my life.”

“What are you…” Yuri murmured, wrinkling her nose and pursing her lips together into a small pout. “Are you saying that I don’t drive well?”

When she was met with nothing but a guilty silence, she threw the younger girl a quick side-glance.

Hayoung only shot Yuri a cheeky grin from the side.

“Ah, seriously…” The Black Pearl huffed in feigned annoyance, shaking her head. “I’m never driving you around anymore. Next time we’re hanging out, we’re taking the subway.”

The younger girl burst into laughter.

“I’m just kidding. You drive well, Unnie. Really.” Hayoung said, biting back a giggle.

“Tsk, you’re only saying that ‘cause you don’t want to take the subway.”

There was a short contemplative pause.

“Maybe…”

“Yah!”

“Ah, Unnie, you’re going to miss your turn,”

“Oh crap,” muttering a single curse under her breath, Yuri did a sharp turn. “Gee, thanks a lot for distracting me.” She said, rolling her eyes sarcastically as she pulled up at a lot and unbuckled her safety belt.

“You’re welcome,” sing-songed Hayoung, beaming all-too cheerily as they both got out of the car, their destination merely a couple steps ahead of them.

The Han River was notably empty that night.

Probably because of the weather, that was only beginning to get colder. Even so, there were a good handful of couples hiding out in the darker corners, whispering sweet nothings, making out and doing god knows what to each other.

Either way, they were much too preoccupied with their significant other to even notice the presence of both Hayoung and herself. Which was a good thing, Yuri supposed. The last thing she wanted was for either of them to be on the front page of the tabloid news.

She glanced off towards the younger, slightly shorter girl beside her and noted down her pursed lips, downcast eyes, the awkward scuffling of feet and the hint of a pink blush despite her attempt of hiding it beneath her red muffler.

Yuri smirked, unable to hold back her amusement. “Is this your first time here at such an hour?”

“Not really, I’ve been here often with the rest of my Unnies.” Hayoung replied.

Though, Yuri was absolutely sure that there was an underlying ‘but’ hiding somewhere.

The younger girl shifted her weight from foot to foot and the strap of her bag-pack nervously.

The Black Pearl gave a knowing smile.

She’ll let her off easy without all the merciless teasing this round.

“Well then, shall we take a stroll before we find a place to settle down?”

With a soft hum of assent and a tiny nod of her head, Hayoung then wordlessly fell in step beside her.

Walking under the dim lampposts with the moon hanging bright above them, Yuri counted her steps as they went; listening to the sounds of their footsteps scraping against concrete and the distant chirps of crickets resonating in the darkness of the night.

It was especially quiet.

And people actually passed them without even giving them a second look, which was nice for once.

Peaceful.

Yuri halted abruptly as Hayoung stumbled to catch her footing.

She flickered a glance to her side, taking her time to admire the scenic view of the Han River for a good minute or two. The waters were still that night, with the colorful lights of the city bouncing off the inky dark waters under the night sky.

It was strangely calming to the soul; just standing there and watching the beautiful lights dance and skitter all over the surface of the river, creating some form of an abstract art piece. She could be here all day if she could.

But for some reason, she always got all sentimental and nostalgic whenever she was here.

‘Yuri-yah,’ crooned a voice, softly beside her as they sat, facing the renowned Han River on a stone bench.

It was currently twilight and the sun was going down.

Yuri made a questioning hum, blinked, gazing and smiling sleepily down at the fairer brunette, whom she had been leaning onto for quite some time now.

Jessica shifted, slightly, although making sure to still keep the sides of their thighs closely lined and their fingers entwined. She inclined her face up at her, smiling broadly in the most endearing way that made her eyes sparkle so very brightly.

Then, she leaned in ever so slightly, capturing her lips in a chaste kiss that made Yuri’s head spin and stomach flip.

At that point in time, she made her life complete.

All those sweet memories…

It was the sole reason to why this place had always been so dear to her.

But ever since their breakup, she had only ever returned to vent— to reminisce.

That sense of serenity she had once before, was long lost amongst the ocean of tears and heartache.

“I used to drop by here often in the past to scream all my worries away.” Yuri murmured faintly, smiling ever so wistfully. “Because I thought the river would carry all my frustrations away…”

She swung a step forward towards the metal railing— towards the rippling waters— and braced herself against the icy pre-wintry breeze, shoving her hands further into her jacket’s pockets. Releasing a shaky breath, she allowed her eyes to rove, taking her time to marvel over the vastness of the river before her.

“Is that why you brought me here tonight? Because you’re bothered by something?”

Although Hayoung’s voice was soft and tentative, it had sounded so very crisp, like an arrow slicing through its target, and loud to Yuri that it nearly made her flinch— striking a chord that was far too close to home for Yuri than she would have liked.

An image of Jessica flashed through her mind.

Soft lips.

A burning touch.

Eyes, dark with lust and desire.

But all that faded away when she gazed back into the particular pair of warm brown eyes before her.

It was like a sudden epiphany for Yuri.

Like someone had doused her in ice cold water and woken her up from an endless dream. 

Because in that moment, Yuri realized one thing.

She desperately needed to move forward.

Because all this time, she had only been going backwards— wishing and hoping that things could go back to how it was before. But no. Things were never going back and she had to face it and accept it for once and for all.

Move on.

Move onwards.

Forward.

And somehow, looking into those eyes that were staring back at her earnestly, she saw hope.

She found strength.

“Not when you’re here, I’m not.” Yuri breathed, smiling, voice only barely above a whisper.

And it was then did she notice the way the younger girl was holding herself together, arms tucked and chin buried deep in her muffler, shoulders quivering. 

She pursed her lips.

“Then again, maybe I should have brought you to that dukbokki place from before.” Peeling off her jacket, Yuri handed it over to the shivering girl with a grin. “Put this on, we’re heading back to the car. Your Unnies would have my head if you returned back to them with a cold.”

“But, Unnie…” Hayoung hesitated, looking conflicted.

Chuckling, Yuri fanned out her jacket and gingerly slung it over the younger girl’s shoulders despite being met with some protests.

“It’s okay, I’m warm. See?” She reached down, grasping for Hayoung’s freezing hands as she cupped them together, giving them a gentle squeeze.

Immediately, she felt the girl go slack in her grip and glanced up to find her blushing furiously behind her muffler. Yuri grinned, then, swopped in to tousle her hair fondly, further intensifying the younger girl’s blush.

“Come on, Hayoungie, let’s get going,”

Tugging at their currently linked hands, Yuri began lugging said-girl off to the direction of the car, pretending she didn’t see the girl trip over her toes. Or hear the sudden hitch in her breath. Feel her fingers curling, squeezing her hand back meekly and the light, pleasant warmth that engulfed her entire being that came with that simple act.

Forward.

--

A/N: Omg, thank you so much for all the comments, upvotes and subscription to this story. 250 subbies and 5k views? You guys are friggin' awesome.  Though, I would have to apologize for the break in updates, I've been busy with school lately, so yeah. To make things up, here's a slightly longer chapter. :) Hmm, and so here's a fluffy YulYoung chapter for you guys, the next one would be YulSic-focused. Aaand, I'll see you guys soon. :)