“Go Ryohei!!” Sunny yelled from her seat on the side of the court.

Spurned on by the cheers, Ryohei leaped into the air and brought his hand crashing down onto the ball to spike it right between the opposing players.

Ryohei was on his way out of the house this morning when he was suddenly stopped by his roommate Joon, wanting to know where he was going dressed up in sports attire. Upon finding out that the Japanese actor was on his way to a Volleyball game, Joon told him that he wanted to play as well. Coincidentally Nana was passing by at that moment and excitedly said that she wanted to go with them but was worried that she would get bored when the two men went off to play.

So that’s how Sunny found herself cheering Ryohei and Joon on from the stands, without even fully knowing what the rules of Volleyball are.

“This…was not as fun as I thought it would be.” Sunny heard Nana say beside her.

“What were you expecting Nana? Of course it’s boring just watching from the stands.” Sunny turned to look at the beauty next to her sitting down with her chin resting on the back of the seat in front of her, eyes glazing over as she looked at the court.

“They’re violent and I don’t want to cramp their style. I thought there would be some cute boys at least…” Nana whined cutely.

Sunny glanced to the side and looked past Nana to see a gaggle of boys blushing and practically drooling as they checked out the model sitting next to her who was wearing a tight pair of yoga pants and a loose-fitting jersey. If there were cute boys on the court, Nana definitely had their attention regardless.

“I bought Afterschool’s Dress to Kill album by the way. I was in Japan and saw it in Tower Records. It’s really, really good.” Sunny figured that Nana would enjoy that little bit of info, and based on how Nana lifted her head up to stare wide-eyed at her, she assumed correct.

“Y-you did?! Wow Sunny. I’m really surprised by that! Thank you so much!” Nana moved in to capture Sunny in a hug out of gratitude. Sunny noticed the boys that were staring earlier start to get a little too excited about the innocent hug, so Sunny whispered to Nana that they were being watched.

Nana reluctantly let go and had a scowl on her face. “Urgh go figure. It’s like I can get the attention of any guy except the one that matters.”

This peaked Sunny’s interest. A guy who wasn’t interested in Nana? It sounded ridiculous. Sunny was a girl and she had to admit even she couldn’t help but check out the model sometimes, granted Sunny was about as straight as a wet noodle.

“Why, I wonder who is this ‘one that matters’ that you speak of, Nana-ssi.”

“ He’s just a friend.” Nana sighed and she had a distant faraway look in her eyes as she continued.

“Just a friend, who got casted on a show and now has a fake wife that I suspect has not-so-fake feelings for him. Feelings that I’m sure he shares as well. And by ‘I’m sure’ I really mean ‘I know’ because he tells me these things. That’s what friends do. We listen to each other talk about our annoying love lives. We’re just friends.” Nana ended with frustration and defeat in her voice, and Sunny wasn’t quite sure what to say because she had never seen Nana this way before.

For a moment no words were exchanged between the pair. It wasn’t really an awkward silence, it was more of Sunny not knowing how to react because Nana was always the cheerful bubbly one that would skip around the house seemingly without a care in the world. Sunny also thought that Nana and Dong Wook had a thing going on between them, and she was surprised that she was wrong.

“Do yourself a favour Sunny. If you love someone, don’t hide it. Just tell them exactly how you feel before it’s too late.” Nana broke the silence to deliver that piece of advice, and Sunny nodded in agreement.

“Maybe I should.”

“Oh? I was just throwing that out there. I wasn’t aware that you actually had someone in mind! Tell me! Who’s the lucky guy?”

Sunny hesitated to answer, because she’s almost never revealed her ual orientation to anybody outside of her group. Something about Nana makes it seem as if the Afterschool visual would be accepting of her preferences though.

“It’s not a guy.” Sunny answered, and observed Nana’s face to gage her reactions.

“Oh.” Nana simply said and brought her attention back to the court before her eyes grew wide and she did a double-take, followed up with another softer “Oh….” as she understood the implications of what Sunny was hinting at.

“Yeah.” Sunny confirmed Nana’s suspicions.

“Well, that’s totally okay. Every group has one right? Still came as a shock to us when Kaeun came out.” Nana winked at Sunny, who in return was relieved that Nana accepted her so easily.

“So who’s the lucky girl?” Nana reiterated her question.

“Hyomin. T-Ara’s Hyomin.” Sunny answered with a slight blush on her cheeks, but was taken aback by Nana’s sudden triumphant fist pump.

“Aha! Told Gook Ju unnie that you liked the shy, awkward type! She insisted you liked the tall, handsome, Taecyeon type which gets totally shut down cause you don’t even like guys! BAM! She owes me lunch!”

Sunny didn’t know whether to laugh at the random usage of Joon’s catchphrase or the fact that her two female housemates had made a bet on her ideal type. She responded by lightly shoving Nana on the shoulder, who immediately acted out a scene from a drama where she doubled over and clutched her shoulder in mock pain.

“Well, go for it Sunny! What have you got to lose?”

“I don’t know. I’m scared I guess, or just nervous. We’ve been friends for so long that I’m kind of scared to move past that stage. I’m pretty sure she feels the same way as me though, but we’ve never actually said it out loud.”

“You know she feels the same way, so you have no excuse not to go through with it Sunny. Don’t keep her waiting. She might interpret it as you not being interested and end up on a virtual marriage program and fall in love there instead.” Nana said with a tone of regret.

“She’s already done one of those before. Granted the guy she partnered up with was Chinese so she barely understood what he was saying half the time.” Sunny jokingly responded, but took a moment to consider Nana’s words of advice.

“You know, there’s no pressure for you to be in a relationship Sunny.” A voice spoke from the row behind them suddenly, making the pair jump out of their seats in shock.

“Oppa! You scared me!” Nana yelled at Joon while slapping his knee and clutching her heart. “How long have you been sitting there my gosh!”

“About the time Sunny came out as a lesbian. You were just so engrossed you didn’t notice me take a seat. Don’t worry Sunnz I’m totally cool with that. Whatever makes people happy y’know?” Joon turned to Sunny and gave her a reassuring grin, who could only reply with a dumbstruck expression because of how insanely casually the American-raised Joon took the news.

“Continuing where I left off, there’s really no pressure for you to be in a relationship. Coming from a guy that is currently in one however, I can tell you that nothing beats that sense of security and stability that comes from being in a relationship with a close friend. 10 out of 10, I highly recommend it.”Joon said while stretching out his fingers to reinforce his point.

Sunny let his words sink in. She was always planning on telling Hyomin, but she always needed that extra push to actually get the job done.

“I’m having dinner with her tonight. If the mood is right, I’ll confess then.” Sunny finally said with a smile, laughing at how ecstatic Nana was to the news.

“Yes! Be sure to tell me all about it!” Nana said as she high fived the SNSD member.

********************************

Sunny stood frozen outside of Hyomin’s door. She must’ve knocked the wooden surface thousands of times in the past, but for some reason she couldn’t bring her knuckles to make contact with it tonight. She had one arm wrapped around a bag of groceries and the other suspended in mid-knock. Finding the situation ridiculous and the weight of the groceries was beginning to be too much for her to bear with one arm, Sunny took a deep breath and finally knocked on the door.

“I’m coming!”

Sunny heard Hyomin’s voice from somewhere inside the house through the door, followed by the metallic clunking of what she assumed were cutleries. A few moments later the door in front of her swung open inwards to reveal the smiling face of Hyomin.

“You’re early Sunny!” Hyomin excitedly exclaimed and reached out to take the bag of groceries from the shorter girl, failing to notice the blush on Sunny’s cheeks.

“Y-yeah. I finished my schedules early today.” Sunny walked into the familiar apartment and inwardly slapped herself for acting like a giddy schoolgirl. She was never this easily affected by Hyomin, but tonight she felt hypersensitive to every little action the girl in front of her did. She suspects that it was probably due to her plan to confess tonight, so she shook her head and cleared her thoughts.

‘Enjoy tonight Sunny. Don’t be a weirdo. Just relax and be natural about it.’

“So what are we making for dinner? You seriously came prepared.” Hyomin said with her back to Sunny as she emptied the contents of the grocery bag onto the kitchen counter.

“Well I was feeling like having roast chicken tonight. You up for it?” Sunny asked as she slowly snuck up behind Hyomin to wrap her arms around the taller girl’s waist.

“You mean you can cook something other than ramyun?” Hyomin giggled and raised an incredulous eyebrow at Sunny over her shoulder.

“Who says I’ll be the one cooking it?” Sunny grumbled back and buried her nose into Hyomin’s neck, trying to aegyo her way into getting Hyomin to agree to cook for her while simultaneously tightening the embrace and breathing in her best friend’s scent. Tangerines. Hyomin smelled like tangerines. Sunny loves tangerines.

“Mmm you smell like the soap I use to wash my dishes.” Sunny said with an appreciative moan, taking an exaggeratingly long whiff before being unceremoniously pushed away by a flushed Hyomin.

“Y-yah. Can you not? That’s insulting. I paid good money for my soap and shampoo!” Hyomin complained while whipping out her phone to search for roast chicken recipes.

“Are you implying that SNSD uses some cheap brand of dishwashing soap? Because I’ll have you know our plates are always clean!”

“Yes SNSD has the cleanest plates. Now please excuse me while I prepare this chicken.” Hyomin said and carefully removed the plastic wrapping from the whole chicken.

“Are you ignoring me for a chicken right now Park Hyomin?”

“Yes. But just to be clear, you’re the one who bought the chicken in the first place. If you would just settle for Ramyun like usual I wouldn’t need to concentrate as much.”

“You’re blaming this on me now? That’s just fowl.” Sunny said and chuckled at her own pun.

“Yah. Don’t make dumb jokes while I’m holding a knife.” Hyomin warned, but Sunny saw the edges of her lips curve up into a smile anyways.

“Is there anything I can do to help then?”

“Not burn down my kitchen?” Hyomin playfully grinned and burst out into laughter at the expression of hurt on Sunny’s face, looking similar to a kid who was just told that the art project she spent hours making was ugly.

“Hyominnie is a meanie!” Sunny made another attempt at aegyo and this time it was met with a more positive response. Hyomin carefully placed her knife onto the counter and hugged Sunny, apologizing for being mean and trying to cheer her up similar to how a mother calms down her kid.

“Now lets focus on this dish if we want to eat by tonight.” Hyomin suggested and Sunny nodded, finally taking the cooking seriously.

************************

The pair of them sat down across from each other at Hyomin’s dining table, exchanging updates on each of their lives and enjoying the roast chicken that was primarily made by the owner of the apartment.

Sunny grew exceedingly nervous the further the night went on, worried that she wouldn’t get a moment to tell Hyomin how she feels. Sunny wasn’t daft. She knew that the perfect moment wouldn’t just drop into her lap out of the sky, and that she would probably have to work to get it, but the question that was wracking Sunny’s brain right now was…how?

“Are you done with that?” Sunny heard Hyomin’s sugary sweet voice cut through her distressed thoughts from surprisingly closer than she was a second ago.

Hyomin stood beside Sunny with one hand on her now empty plate, waiting for an answer.

“No no I’ll do the dishes. You already cooked.” Sunny made to get up but was lightly pushed back onto the chair.

“Shush. You just stay there. What kind of host do you think I am, making the guest clean up?” Hyomin winked and deftly swooped her hand down to scoop up Sunny’s plate before the shorter girl could say anything and went on to the sink to clean up.

Sunny immediately felt uncomfortable in the familiar surroundings of Hyomin’s apartment. She couldn’t sit still and fidgeted in her seat in anxious anticipation. Unable to take anymore, she got up and headed towards the counter to retrieve a bottle of wine that she had brought with her, hoping to obtain some form of liquid courage.

Hyomin finished washing the dishes and turned around to see her best friend standing there holding up two glasses of wine and a soft smile on her face. Hyomin’s eyes darted to the glasses in Sunny’s hands and shot a slightly quizzical look at her, wondering what the occasion was.

“Lets go outside. I need a little fresh air.” Hyomin was still confused, but nonetheless nodded at Sunny’s suggestion and walked towards the glass sliding door in her living room, opening it up to reveal access to the tiny balcony she had.

The pair sat on to the two wooden chairs that Hyomin had set up on her balcony and allowed the chilly night air to caress them.

Sunny took slow sips of her wine, hoping to loosen her tongue slightly without losing all inhibition. She noticed out of the corner of her eye Hyomin gazing inquisitively at her. The T-ara member was probably wondering what the whole occasion of the night was. A fancy dinner and wine normally got the point across though.

“It’s a beautiful night.” Hyomin said, staring up at the stars in the sky, and it took Sunny’s breath away as she caught a glance of her friend. The way the moonlight and dimly lit surroundings accentuated every curve of her feature from the arch of her nose to the angle of her jaw, she looked angelic and radiant being washed underneath the light of the night.

“That’s also a BEAST song.” Hyomin continued, making Sunny burst out into laughter at how she ruined the moment.

No, actually she didn’t. This IS the moment. With Hyomin being awkward and making horrible jokes, Sunny realised that this was Hyomin, and this was what attracted her to the girl in front of her so much.

“What’s on your mind Sunny?”

Sunny took a deep breath, but she wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol in her veins or the close proximity to the object of her affection but she wasn’t as nervous anymore.

“You.”

Sunny looked to the right to make eye contact with Hyomin. Her intense and determined gaze meeting with Hyomin’s puzzled one.

“Me?”

“Well, I have a lot of things running through my mind right now, but tonight I just want to focus on you. On us.”

Sunny watched a small smile make it’s way across Hyomin’s features as the taller girl leaned towards Sunny, one arm supporting her chin as it rested on the arm rest, making her intoxicatingly close to Sunny.

“Oh? What about us?”

“You’re my best friend Hyomin. Nobody knows me as well as you, and we’ve been through so much together. I know it sounds cheesy, but I feel like I can literally take on the whole world when you’re with me. Somewhere down the line however, I think I found myself wanting to be…more than friends.”

“More than friends? How much more can we be? What are you trying to say Sunny Bunny?” A cheeky grin was now plastered on Hyomin’s face, and Sunny knew the taller girl must be relishing this moment. It wasn’t all the time that Hyomin sees Sunny act this flustered.

“Well I—Stop smiling! You’re distracting me! I’m trying to get something across here!”

“I thought you loved my smile?” Hyomin asked as she leaned in further until all Sunny could breathe was the scent of her shampoo.

“Your smile makes me forget how to breathe, so my brain stops working. Its like you make me stupid for a moment.”

Hyomin’s eyebrows furrowed. “Is that a…good thing?”

“It is, because I’d rather be stuck on stupid then be stuck without you.”

“You say the silliest things sometimes Sunny. But I hope your brain doesn’t care much for oxygen, because I can’t stop smiling when I’m with you.”

Hyomin was dangerously close now, and Sunny found herself leaning in closer as well, their noses nearly bumping into each other due to their close proximity.

“I’m sure I can find alternate means to get oxygen.” Sunny suggestively whispered.

“I’ll be happy to share some of mine with you if you’re having difficulty.” Hyomin whispered back, eyes half-lidded.

“You’re always so kind to me Minnie.”  Sunny could feel Hyomin’s breath on her lips, and it drove the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end.

“I love you Sunny.”

“And I lov—“ Sunny’s words were cut off by Hyomin’s lips being pressed onto hers. It was the lightest of pressures, but it felt so amazing that Sunny could cry. Her lips were soft, and Sunny wondered how did she ever live her life without feeling Hyomin’s lips on hers before this because she was sure that now that she’s had a sample of what heaven was like, she can’t imagine living the rest of her life without it. Hyomin’s lips was barely pressed against hers, but it felt like Sunny was given a glass of ice cold water after a day spent in the desert.

Sunny snuck her hand around the back of Hyomin’s neck and pulled her in closer, wanting to deepen the kiss. She felt herself slowly melting into the softness of Hyomin’s lips and she felt Hyomin’s tongue inquisitively prod at her lower lip, requesting access and Sunny was about to grant it when—“BZZZT!”

The sudden buzzing sound and vibration surprised both of them enough for them to separate from each other. Sunny saw her phone on the table in front of them and noticed that her manager was calling.

Feeling pissed at her manager for ruining the moment, Sunny rejected the call and placed her phone back into her pocket. Resting her hand on Hyomin’s cheek to pull the T-ara member back into another kiss when her phone started buzzing again. Sunny outwardly cursed this time and pulled her phone out to reject the call once more, but noticed that it was Yoona this time.

Sensing something wrong for both her manager and her groupmate to call her within seconds of each other, Sunny smiled apologetically at Hyomin and picked up the call.

“Yeah Yoona? What’s up?” Sunny tried to erase any signs of annoyance from her voice, but was taken aback by the noise coming from the other end of the receiver.

“Unnie?? Unnie where are you??” Yoona’s voice sounded hoarse, as if she had just been crying. Actually, if the sobbing was any indication, Yoona was probably still crying as she spoke.

“I’m at Hyomin’s place. What’s the matter Yoong? Is everything alright?”

“Unnie! It’s Jessica! They…they actually…”

“They WHAT Yoong? Who’s they? What’s wrong?!”

“The M-management! They kicked her out unnie! They kicked Jessica out!”

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Finally, some actual Sunbyung. Although the chapter didn't end on a happy note, this was by far my favourite chapter to write. I love writing sappy and cheesy lines. :B  Damn Sunny's phone always gets in the way of her Hyomin time.

The next few chapters will be angsty, and to be honest I'm having problems writing them properly. I'm currently stuck on writing chapter 15, and I've erased and rewritten it about 3 times. It currently has about 5000 words in it, and I dont see myself ever being satisfied with it, so I decided to release this chapter ahead of time first while I figure out how to fix that mess of a chapter. Thank goodness I decided to write ahead.

The overall theme of this chapter is inspired by Chris Brown's Stuck On Stupid, or more specifically Brian Puspos' dance cover of it. This song just gives me so many feels. If you haven't seen Puspos' cover of it, you can watch it here. 

Thank you so much to all the new subscribers! 

P/S: Guys! Guys! SNSD is finally back! Like, BACK back. I really wasn't happy with Mr Mr but Catch Me If You Can is brilliant! I've always preferred their Jap stuff over their Korean releases, so them making a Korean version of their Japanese song is PERFECT!