--

Another weekday afternoon. Lazing around the dorm, recovering from the mental impact of exams and too-soon-after assignments. Lilac curtains distorted shadows of the bustling evening campus. Besides any uninteresting noises from outside, the room maintained a comfortable quiet.

Yoona needed this rest time. She looked forward to it every day as she battled drooping eyelids during lectures and daydreamed through overachieving classmates’ hour-long presentations. School .

But not this. The calm after all the hackneyed academia.

There had to be more to college than papers and grades, right? Her elder family members would disagree.

Im Family Wish List:

 1. Graduate university with honors.

 2. Acquire a high-paying job.

 3. Find a man.

 4. Get married.

 5. Squirt out offspring.

 6. Raise said children to keep the cycle going.

A deep growl simmered at the back of . Menopause or sappy movies--something infested her aunt’s mind into pushing step three to the top of the list. Side-stepping relentless “Have you met a nice young man?” questions persuaded Yoona to avoid ringing her grandparents as of late. Even her father brought up grandchildren on their occasional lunch dates.

She couldn’t fully blame them. High school classmates had been on the baby-making train recently. Social network feeds endlessly showcased chinless blobs of child. ‘Twas only natural for the Ims to start praying for Yoona-faced toddlers running amok through their houses.

Gross. Not to mention boring.

A warm sensation tightening at her hand brought the calm back. Eased the fretting.

Yoona lifted her other arm to stretch and gave a blissful, uninhibited yawn. The skinny fingers entwined in her own rearranged their positions, bending her wrist a little with fatigue. Her eyes focused on their hands. They traveled up the other person’s arm. Over a smooth shoulder. To a delicate profile.

Her lips spread into a smirk. Chill time was never complete without her roommate.

Jessica’s eyebrows knit in concentration, resting the iPad upon her chest. Yoona appreciated the curvy sight before blinking away. Her mind had been taking her to some questionable places lately. Soft, bouncy--inappropriate--places, specifically.

“Back to studying?”

Lengthy auburn bangs spilled over her friend’s face as she turned to reply. Yoona reached over to tuck the hair back around her ear. They exchanged faint giggles.

“French is kicking my ,” Jessica sighed, voice soft and even.

“You should have taken German with me.”

“We share three courses already. You’ll get sick of me.”

“Impossible.”

Jessica’s teeth peeked out in her grin. A sly smile to match the soft-spoken girl.

Yoona found her beautiful. That became clear on their first meeting. The initially standoffish personality and whisper-like voice added a subtlety to her allure. Yoona couldn’t quite place the appeal, yet it made tense in peculiar ways.

“Seriously,” Yoona insisted, giving her hand a squeeze. “German’s fun. Our professor is ridiculous. He sits on a stool and reads literature in the thickest accent he can muster. Afterwards, he points to the class and makes one of us translate a random segment.”

“Sounds terrible.”

“It’s a fun challenge.”

“That’s because you’re doing well in his class.”

“My pronunciation is awful.”

Jessica shrugged. “I know.”

Yoona pushed herself up to play-swat the brunette in the mouth. Jessica lowered her tablet, covering her face with her free hand. A few firm pokes on the forehead sufficed as proper punishment and Yoona blushed at the girl’s clear laugh ringing into her ears.

Hearing loud noises coming from Jessica was such a rare delight that she tickled her in the side and stomach. The girl wriggled into an upright position to fight off her intrusive hands. They traded a few more flimsy slaps before Jessica grabbed her other hand to interlock those fingers as well. Yoona’s laughter caught in . That peculiar feeling returned.

“Yoona--you okay?”

She shook her head, forcing out a stiff giggle. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re…” Jessica swung their hands in thought. “Nevermind.”

“That’s not fair! You can’t start a sentence and trail off like that.”

Jessica tossed her head to remove the brown strands stuck to her eyelashes. Yoona felt the urge to get it for her, but her hands were occupied.

“It’s a weird question. I don’t want to offend you.”

“Is it about my ish accent?”

Jessica smirked only for it to dissolve into a tight-lipped frown. “I wish.”

“Tell me.”

“You won’t get angry?”

“Should I prepare to be angry?”

“I don’t know.”

She continued to swing their hands for the next stretch of minutes while Yoona struggled to read her expression. Whatever it was, it had tightening up all the same. With an uneasy sigh, Jessica reclaimed her space on the bed and brought Yoona down to lie face-to-face.

“Yoona…” Jessica wet her lips.

“I promise I won’t be upset.”

She leaned closer, voice hushed and hesitant. “Um…”

Yoona leaned in, too. Everything about her body felt numb--almost frozen. Jessica’s cool breath against her face had the opposite effect.

“Yoona, are we lesbians?”

In the back (and front) of her mind, Yoona knew something like this would be asked eventually. Didn’t stop her from coughing out a scoff. “That’s absurd. Why would you--”

“I’m not joking.” Jessica nodded down to their laced fingers where Yoona’s thumb grazed along the back of her palm. Yoona retracted that hand.

“No.”

“How can you tell?”

“We can’t be. I...you’re straight.”

Jessica shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe. I don’t know. Are you?”

The way Jessica’s hyperaware eyes scanned her face made Yoona look in another direction. Anywhere but Jessica’s penetrating gaze. “Yes.”

“Okay. I won’t bring it up again.” Unsmiling, she propped the iPad into its previous position.

Yoona’s busy fingers anxiously plucked at the comforter. “You seem like the offended one.”

“Whatever. If you’re straight, you’re straight.”

“Right.”

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