The first thing that Sunny noticed as soon as she woke up that morning was the absence of the tiny flashing red light from the camera across her bed. She was so used to having every single thing she does in this house being recorded that she immediately managed to pick up the easily overlooked fact that the camera in front of her wasn’t moving in to zoom in on her unglamorous morning face.

The absence of the red light only meant one thing: She wasn’t being recorded at the moment.

A small sigh of relief escaped Sunny. At least she didn’t have to worry too much about her appearance today. This must be one those off days that was sometimes afforded to them whenever there weren’t that many people in the house to film.

The SNSD member stretched her limbs before slowly and carefully getting up from her bed with the grace of somebody 50 years older than her. Her group’s practices had been taking it’s toll on her body, especially since they had to adjust all of their choreography to cover the gap left by Jessica’s departure. She rarely had the opportunity to sleep in, but a small gap in her schedule allowed her to have one of the best sleeps she’s had in a while. A quick glance to her phone on the nightstand told her that the current time was slightly past noon. Sighing, she grabbed her phone and headed towards the washroom to freshen up.

It felt like a lazy day for Sunny so she didn’t even bother taking a shower. She brushed her teeth with one hand, while the other was busily replying her girlfriend’s text messages, expertly multitasking and dividing her attention between the two activities.

Message from Hyomin: So what do you have planned today sleepyhead?

Message Sent: I’m not sure yet. I don’t think we have anything on, since the cameras are not filming. Might just lie down on a couch and think about life and stuff. You know, things people who are bored usually do.

Message from Hyomin: By life do you mean me? :P

Message Sent: I’m always thinking about you babe! You and your little apple. ;D (By little apple I mean your ). How’s China treating you?

Message from Hyomin: ! China’s treating us better than home at least. We actually don’t get booed here, which is a really nice change! Little Apple is a fun song too. Can’t complain. We’re having a blast!

Message Sent: If you have such a huge disdain for this place, does that mean that it’ll be awhile till I see you? I miss my girlfriend. :(

Message from Hyomin: I didn’t say that! I love Korea! I love it even more because my girlfriend is there! She’s my favourite part about the whole country!

Sunny smiled at that text. She knew that her girlfriend didn’t exactly have an easy time promoting in the country due to past scandals and rumours. Sunny was happy that T-ara has a huge following in China, because frankly the group has way too much talent to be thrown under the rug based on some groundless rumours.

Message Sent: You’re too sweet, although you wouldn’t want any Koreans hearing you say that. Hahahaha Stay safe over there alright?

Message from Hyomin: I will! I have to go now. My phone’s battery is drained. See you soon Bunny!

Message Sent: Alright, take care babe. Love you! Btw, just want you to know that I’m sooo proud of you.

Sunny finished up in the washroom and headed to her vanity mirror to brush away some stray curls in her hair, fully not expecting her girlfriend to reply her text because Hyomin’s phone must have been dead by now. She was about to head out of her room when she felt a vibration in her pocket. Sunny reached in and pulled out her phone, smiling at the text on the screen.

Message from Jiyeon: I love you too sweetie! And I know that you are, and I’m so thankful for that. :)  P/S This is your girlfriend. Not Jiyeon. Although I’m sure you know that already, unless you’re used to receiving “I love you” texts from her. In that case, we have some talking to do.

It’s been about a month since she had asked/told Hyomin to be her girlfriend, and ever since then things had been going nowhere but north in her life. Finally everything felt a little bit more stable, and the tiny little discrepancies that life seemed to throw at her seemed to add up better in her head. Being with Hyomin made everything else make sense.

“Omo! She finally woke up from her coma! Quick, somebody call Sunny’s parents and inform them!” Sunny heard Gook Ju’s voice greeting her as soon as she entered the living room, where everyone was currently gathered to watch TV. Sunny mentally kicked herself for sleeping in and missing out on the family bonding time.

“How are you feeling? You’ve been out for such a long time! We were worried you wouldn’t wake up!” Seho started, piggybacking on Gook Ju’s joke. Sunny decided that she would play along.

“Wow. Is that why everyone looks so much older now? How long was I out?!”

“Yah! No fair playing the age card!” Joon Hyung whined from his position on the sofa, where he was currently seated with Jackson, Young Ji and Dong Wook. It looked like everyone was there in the living room except for Kangjoon, Ryohei, Nana and Sunny’s roommate, Jong Ok.

“Did you guys ever find out the reason I was in a coma in the first place?” Sunny jokingly asked the room and she nearly broke character and burst out laughing as she saw all of them in thought, each trying to come up with a reason. She could practically hear the gears in their heads turning. Jackson was the first to finish crafting his reasoning.

“You found out that Hyomin was pregnant!”

Sunny couldn’t help but break character that time as she burst out laughing at Jackson’s ridiculous scenario. Well, she had to admit that if her lesbian girlfriend suddenly came up to her and told her she was pregnant, there would be a strong possibility that her mental health would be in danger.

The rest of the room seemed to agree as they broke out into laughter as well. Joon Hyung even gave Jackson a thumbs up right before hitting the Got7 member upside the head for the ridiculous reason he came up with.

“Do we have anything planned for today, or are we just watching TV?” Sunny asked, rarely having an off day where she had nothing to do.

“Well there is no camera crew since all of them went off to film some Running Man episode, so we’re on our own. It’s pretty rare for this many of us to be home though, so we should make the most of it and spend time together.” Dongwook suggested, and he was greeted with a chorus of people agreeing with him.

“Problem is, what is there to do? It’s freezing outside.” Min Woo asked.

The door to the girl’s room swung open at that moment bringing everyone’s attention towards it. Sunny almost wished she hadn’t turned her head to look. Standing in front of the door was Nana with her hair soaking wet, wearing absolutely nothing except for a towel wrapped around her ample chest that barely covered her thighs. Her long, toned legs were on display for everyone to see, and Sunny hated to admit it but her eyes followed the entire length of Nana’s legs from her toes to the hem of the towel, a part of her wishing that she could see more but an even larger part of her was mentally berating herself for checking out another girl.

“Nana put on some clothes for heaven’s sake you’re gonna give these boys and Sunny a heart attack!” Gook Ju screamed as the men tried their best to look away despite themselves while Sunny continued to stare at the model in front of her as if she was brain dead. Sure they were comfortable with each other and were almost family, but despite their relationship with each other Nana was still one of the most beautiful women in the world. It took a lot of restraint for the men to look away. Some needed additional help, in the case of Young Ji hastily covering Jackson’s eyes with the latter whining and trying to claw the Kara singer’s hands off his face.

“Oppa! I thought you fixed the water heater! It’s ice cold! I can’t take a shower with cold water when it’s winter outside! I’ll freeze!” Nana whined and stomped her foot. Her only barrier to protect her modesty was threatening to come undone, and she hurriedly fixed it. Sunny decided that it was best to look away as well. She had a girlfriend. Bad Sunny. Bad, bad Sunny.

“It worked fine earlier didn’t it? Did it break again?” Dongwook answered, pretending to be watching the TV but there was a hint of red on his cheeks.

“I practically had ice cubes raining on me from my shower head earlier! This won’t do. Can we go to a public bathhouse? I really need to shower.” Nana whined.

“Well, that answers the problem of needing something to do. How bout it? I’m game. I could use a relaxing hot dip myself.” Min Woo agreed with Nana’s suggestion, stretching his arms to show how weary his joints were.

“There’s a Jjimjilbang nearby isn’t there? Lets go.” Sunny suggested, remembering passing by it on the way to the house everyday.

Nana’s face lit up as everyone agreed with her, and that was that. Even if there was anyone that didn’t feel like going to the Jjimjilbang there was no way they could have said no to Nana as she bounced up and down in excitement. Everyone laughed at the Orange Caramel/ Afterschool member because of how adorable she looked as she thanked the room and the lord above for finally granting her with hot water to bathe in. Well, that was until her bouncing caused her towel to unravel and fall onto the living room floor.

“UNNIE FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE!!” Young Ji yelled as she once again tackled Jackson to block his line of sight.

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

“Aahh this feels so good!” Nana exclaimed as she stretched her arms out over her head, a large contented smile stretching across her model-esque face.

“Yeah! What a great idea Nana! It’s almost as if all my stress is pouring out of me into the water.” Gook Ju said to the beauty in front of her, who flashed a cheeky grin and a thumbs up to the comedienne in return.

“I aim to please! It’s a shame Jong Ok unnie couldn’t join us or else we’d have a complete girls day out in the bathhouse. Sunny are you ok?” Nana asked the SNSD singer who hadn’t said a word since they entered the water. The model could only prod the top of Sunny’s head, as the Energizer Bunny was submerged in the water up to her nose level.

As a matter of fact, Sunny was NOT okay at the moment. She was the exact opposite of okay. Whatever the antonym of ‘okay’ was in the dictionary, that is currently the word that best describes Sunny’s current mental state. It might be the vapors and steam getting to Sunny but something about sitting half-submerged in a relatively small pool of water in between a completely Nana and Young Ji was messing with her completely.

“Yeah Sunny your face is flushed. Is it too hot for you?” Gook Ju winked at her from across the water and Sunny shot a glare at the comedienne, causing Gook Ju to laugh out loud. Oh she knew. Gook Ju knew about the current war breaking out inside Sunny’s little head and Sunny suspected that her unnie wasn’t going to let this go.

“Oh no unnie are you not feeling well?” Young Ji moved closer to Sunny to presumably place her hand on the bunny’s forehead to check her temperature, concern etched all over the maknae’s features.

‘Oh hellll naww!” Sunny thought and immediately moved away. She couldn’t handle Young Ji at the moment. How can someone so adorable have such a killer body? It took Sunny completely by surprise. It made about as much sense as a family car packing a Lamborghini engine underneath the hood.

“I’m fine!. Just…y’know. Enjoying all the stress being relieved out of me and stuff. Yay relaxation!” Sunny did an awkward fistpump to support her assurance, and Gook Ju just burst out laughing again. Well, Sunny was glad that someone was enjoying this situation. She knew that she shouldn’t be checking out other girls because she already has an amazing girlfriend that she was madly in love with, but even the tiny Hyomin in her head gave Nana a wolf-whistle and two thumbs up as the goddess stripped out of her clothes earlier.

“Hey Young Ji, what’s up with you and Jackson hmm? I notice you two are getting chummier lately.” Gook Ju wiggled her eyebrows at the maknae who immediately turned red as well. Sunny silently thanked Gook Ju for having mercy on her and getting her out of that situation.

“Hey yeah! I noticed it too! Could it be…? Did all the teasing become reality?!” Nana deducted with wide eyes, clapping her hands in front of her in excitement and inadvertently splashed water over the maknae.

“Nooo…all of you have it wrong! We’re just friends. Close friends.” Young Ji tried her best to deny the accusations, but all of them could see that they was something in the way Young Ji said those words that made it seem like it was directed more towards herself than to the other three girls in front of her.

“I’m friends with Seho, but do I watch sappy romance dramas with him while holding his hand? Yah! You two are tiny and the couch is made to fit 4 people! You don’t have to sit that close to each other!” Gook Ju said, cupping some water in her hands and splashing it towards the Kara member.

“No…no…I mean we…he….” Young Ji stammered out trying to conjure up another excuse but it was obvious the redhead was grasping at straws at this point. Nana moved in closer to Young Ji and placed her arm around the maknae in what Sunny assumed Nana thought was a supportive gesture.

“C’mere kiddo. Let it all out. Nana unnie is here to listen to all complaints.” Nana invited with a cheeky grin. Sunny could see Young Ji contemplate the offer, inhale and close her eyes. The maknae was quiet for a moment until…

“He is SUCH an IDIOT!” Young Ji suddenly screamed out, kicking the water with her feet and alarming everyone. Luckily they were alone in the bathhouse or else they would most definitely be causing a scene.

“First he told me that he liked me. It came totally out of the blue! He blurted it out while I was on the phone with Seungyeon unnie! How the hell does he expect me to reply to that? And then he confronts me and asks me to tell him how I feel. Like, duh of course I like him. He just ruined the moment so I didn’t feel like confessing at that point but he kept insisting. And just when I was about to, the idiot goes ahead and interrupts me by kissing me! On the lips! So of course I couldn’t tell him while he was kissing me! And Princess Jackson got all sulky after that because he thought it was a one sided thing. URGHH!!!” Young Ji ended her rant with a final kick into the water, drenching Sunny from all the way across the pool.

“Oh…..kay. Yeah, sounds pretty idiotlike.” Nana uttered after a few seconds of stunned silence. She got the full brunt of the complaint straight into her right ear as she still had her arm around the seething maknae. “Wow. You guys kissed? I mean we were only teasing you two but my gosh I think I just won my bet with Dongwook oppa.”

“It doesn’t count if the first kiss was stolen.” Young Ji huffed, arms folded across her chest.

“Jackson is like a puppy Young Ji. You have to always pay attention to him and praise him for doing a good job. What that means is, I think he wanted you to be the one to tell him first. Maybe that’s why he sulked.” Gook Ju voiced out.

“I wanted to, but I wasn’t really sure about his feelings for me. He sure chose a bad time to show it though. Seungyeon unnie won’t let me live it down.” Young Ji sadly whined, and Nana soothingly petted her younger sibling’s hair.

“We should come up with a plan for revenge. Like, something that would put you in charge of the situation Ji. That way he can’t just act out based on his whims and you get to confess to the idiot with no interruptions.” Nana suggested, and Young Ji’s eyes lit up at what she heard.

“Yes! That would be awesome! I’m so tired of following him around. I can be assertive too! But how do we go about it though?”

“Sunny you’ve been awfully quiet over there. Our youngest sister needs our help! Wake up already!” Gook Ju sent a palmfull of water towards the SNSD member and considering the size of Gook Ju’s palm, Sunny was glad she didn’t drown.

“Well, I’m not sure I can condone this. As your sunbae it’s my job to take care of you and your image. Hara even entrusted me with taking care of you in the house! Both of you are waaay too early into your career to be taking risks by dating each other. It’s too soon. Being someone who has been in this crazy industry for more than half her life, I know how vicious the backlash can be so as an industry sunbae I’m strongly against this relationship.” Sunny said, and she watched as her words seemed to kill the fire that was within the young Kara singer that Sunny had taken in as her younger sister. It looked like Young Ji was on the verge of tears, and Nana was sending a glare to Sunny that actually made her tremble in fear. The facts had to be said however, and Young Ji had to be clear as to how thin the ice she was currently threading on was.

“Wow, okay. Moodkiller Lee over here.” Nana said while rolling her eyes at Sunny.

“You didn’t let me finish though. I can’t condone the relationship as a sunbae, but as a friend and older sister, I’d suggest to lock him up in a room with you and corner him. Jackson is so used to having you do what he wants, so show some initiative! Pin him up against a wall and ‘THWACK!’” Sunny made the sound effect while pretending to slam her palm against an invisible wall in front of her.

“What?” Sunny asked as she realized the other three occupants of the bathhouse was staring at her as if she had sprouted an extra head.

“From sunbae to sister. You change roles so fast you’re giving us whiplash.” Gook Joo joked, and Sunny sheepishly laughed while rubbing the back of her neck.

“Well…I was signed onto this show to take care of the rookies and the people who are new to filming variety shows, or so I heard. I feel guilty whenever I give the usual ‘Follow your heart’ advice because that’s not what they signed me up for.” Sunny laughed awkwardly and Nana’s expression softened, while Young Ji started laughing a soft, melodic laughter that travelled through the humid air of the bathhouse.

“I love having a sister who is also a sunbae. Which advice should I follow now though? The one where I ignore my feelings for the most adorable idiot I know for the sake of my career, or the one where I do something stupid and….’Thwack’?” Young Ji mimicked Sunny’s earlier pantomime of pinning an invisible Jackson against a wall.

“Sometimes Young Ji….sometimes the heart wins.” Sunny gave a reassuring smile, and Young Ji practically leapt out of the water and Nana’s arms to swim towards the SNSD member.

“Thanks unnie. I wub you to death.” Young Ji cooed as she embraced the embarrassed bunny, oblivious to how she was throwing Sunny’s brain into a state of chaos.

“Yay! Group hug!” Nana ran through the water and threw her arms around the pair. “You join in too unnie!” Nana motioned to Gook Ju.

“Err…no thanks. You might…wanna let Sunny go though.” Gook Ju struggled to get out the words as she was too busy suppressing the laughter bubbling in .

“OMO! Sunny! Are you okay?!” Nana yelped as she just noticed Sunny lying unconscious in her bosom.

“Unnie! Unnie what’s wrong?! Why is your nose bleeding??”

“Sunny wake up! What’s with that dumb smile on your face?! Unnie stop laughing and help me get her out of the water or she’ll drown!”

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

“Young Ji why won’t this door open?” Jackson warily asked the redhead in front of him as she slowly moved in closer, backing him up against the wall. This was ridiculous. Who taught this girl how to be so…seductive? Was seductive even the word to describe this change of events? Jackson wasn’t sure but he was definitely certain that he was being seduced right now. If he was made even the teensiest bit more flammable he would have been set ablaze by the smoldering look Young Ji was now giving him.

“You think you can just confess to me at a random time, and sulk right after when you didn’t even give me a chance to speak for myself Wang Jackson?” Young Ji asked in a low voice. She wasn’t good at doing this, and she was pretty sure she sounded pretty comical. Jackson seemed to be shrinking away into the corner though, so maybe the impromptu acting lessons she had with Nana and Gook ju earlier helped after all.

“I-I didn’t….I mean no!” Jackson stammered. Good gosh Young Ji smelled good. He was feeling so exposed and vulnerable at the moment, and he did not like this one bit.

“Why did you turn away right after you kissed me? How can you act like nothing happened right after that? Did you regret what you said?” Young Ji asked again, this time she had to compose herself because there was a hint of hurt in her voice.

“No! I didn’t regret it at all!” Jackson’s answer came out clearly this time.

“Then why…? What was with that ‘stop avoiding the subject, and stop avoiding me’ crap when you’re the one avoiding me now??”

“I…I don’t like to feel this exposed. I’m embarrassed. I’m supposed to be a man but then it took all of my courage to even say those words in front of you. I was scared to hear your reply.” Jackson admitted, not looking into Young Ji’s eyes. They were now merely inches apart, and Young Ji leaned in to him.

“But how can that be, when you’re the only person that I see as a man?” Young Ji softly asked. The words left her lips and went straight to his heart. Was he blushing! How ridiculous. s would be laughing at him. This was ridiculous. She was ridiculous. He was ridiculous…ridiculously in love with her.

THWACK!!

Jackson flinched as Young Ji slammed her hand against the door, effectively pinning him against it. She leaned in to whisper in his right ear, her hot breath tickling it.

“Say it to me again, so that I can give you my reply Jackson. I promise I won’t avoid it if you don’t.”

Jackson’s eyes flew wide open and he could feel sweat forming in his clenched fists. This was a man’s job. What was he doing being pinned to a door by this midget in front of him?

Jackson grabbed Young Ji’s arm that was resting against the wooden door by his face and placed the other one firmly around her waist. In one deft motion he had spun them around and now their roles were reversed, with her now pinned against the door looking up at him with wide-eyed adoration.

“Listen up Young Ji. You don’t get to boss me around. You don’t get to choose when and where I confess.” He growled, and Young Ji’s insides tumbled around like a washing machine.

“So listen up. I’m not going to kiss you after this, and I’m not going to walk away until I hear an answer.” Jackson said, trying to set Young Ji ablaze through the windows of her soul judging by the intense way he was looking into her eyes.

“I love you Heo Young Ji. Will you be my girlfriend?”

Young Ji was mum for a second, before she moved in and in the blink of an eye she had delivered a soft peck on Jackson’s lips. A blush spread on both their cheeks as she looked up at him with sparkling eyes that nearly made his legs give way.

“I love you too Wang Jackson, and yes. I’d like that.”

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

“Omo those kids!” Gook Ju squealed as she removed her ears from the door and smiled excitedly at the rest of the family members.

“My boy’s a man! He’s such a man! Great work on keeping that door locked Ryohei! What a good idea.” Joon cheered, patting the back of the Japanese man beside him.

“Who knew that jamming a chair under a door handle would really prevent it from being opened? I thought that only worked in the movies.” Dong Wook wondered aloud with an astonished voice, one ear still eavesdropping on the conversation on the other side of the door. Ryohei looked just as baffled as he was beside him, eventhough the whole ‘jamming a chair’ thing was his idea.

“You owe me lunch now oppa. I told you they’d get together!” Nana cheerfully poked Dong Wook in the ribs, making him grunt in pain and grumble at the prospect of losing a bet, but anyone could see that he was smiling.

“Great job on convincing Young Ji to go for it Sunny. I thought those two would never confess to each other, what with Jackson being too embarrassed after his first confession ended up flopping.” Min Woo said, removing himself from the front of the girls’ bedroom where they had planted themselves.

“Well, I know a thing or two about love.” Sunny brushed off with a smile. Her phone chose to ring at that moment, and she quickly answered it to prevent from alerting the new couple on the other side of the door. “Speaking of love…”

“Hey babe! Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Sunny asked Hyomin as she walked towards her bedroom to get more privacy.

“Mmm. Was a tiring day, but I can’t fall asleep. Was listening to a song, and it reminded me of you.” Hyomin replied, but she could hear the fatigue coming in from the other end of the receiver.

“Oh? What song is that?”

“That song by IU. Peach. Do you know it?”

“Aigoo. What’s my girlfriend doing listening to sappy love songs? I love that song by the way. I miss you.”

“I miss you too bunny. What did you end up doing today?”

“Well, I’ll have you know that me and the girls went to a bathhouse earlier. I saw Nana and Young Ji . Full . Birthday suit.” Sunny said with a cheeky grin, eager to hear her girlfriend’s reaction.

“That’s nice. Was Jong Ok unnie there too?”

“No she wasn’t, she’s busy shooting a drama today. But wait what? That’s it? You just found out your girlfriend spent a whole clothes-free day with the most adorable member of Kara and one of the most beautiful women in the world and you’re totally okay with it?” Sunny asked with an eyebrow raised. That wasn’t the reaction she was expecting.

“I think Seungyeon would battle Young Ji for that title. And what do I have to worry about, when I know you’re so madly in love with me?” Hyomin answered back, and Sunny smiled as she could practically hear the self-satisfactory smile on her girlfriends face.

“You rascal.” Sunny replied, plopping herself onto her own bed. She realized she just lost the battle.

“You don’t have to be worried though Sunny, it’s perfectly understandable. I’m irresistible! But there’s one thing though…”

“And what is that Hyomin?” Sunny closed her eyes, her girlfriend’s weary voice making her feel drowsy as well.

“I’m even more madly in love with you.”

Sunny took awhile to regain her breath as her girlfriend managed to steal it away from her all the way from another country. The SNSD member smiled into the receiver and let out a soft chuckle.

“Yah. Like that is even possible.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Update took forever, and I don't really have an excuse. I have to apologize, because this wasn't even the chapter that I was supposed to update with. I wrote it because a lot of people were wondering what happened between JackJi. At first I just wrote that little JackJi scene in Chapter 17 because I needed a reason for Sunbyung to leave the house, and wasn't going to expand on the relationship. There was a lot of demand however, and since this fic is ending I figured might as well tie loose ends. So sorry if this chapter was boring! This is literally the result of writing an update without proper planning prior to it. Also, never been to a Jjimjilbang in my life. Had no idea what I was writing about. Forgive me. heheh

I actually don't really like JackJi as a couple. I think it's best that they're best friends, or even siblings. However, a few people I talked to were huge JackJi supporters so I decided to do them a favour. It was fun writing this though, and I got sidetracked a lot while writing it. I spent 3 days writing the scene where Nana came out in just a towel because I was wondering if it was even necessary to the story. I left it in in the end because I just wanted to put Sunny in that uncomfortable position. :P I also just wanted to expand more on the relationship the Roommate family has with each other. I keep saying that they are close, but I never really established how tight-knit they are. 

The next chapter is also one that I wrote because of demand, so yeah. That's the reason why I haven't updated in a long time. I'm so sorry! This chapter is 5200 words, and I'm really thankful if you managed to get through it all entirely!

BIIIG shoutout to zcookies and evylrss for the upvotes! Despite me not updating as frequently I still get subs and upvotes and comments I thank you so much for it! I really appreciate it and words fail me. I'm sooo, sooo grateful.