To say that Sunny was distracted at the current moment would be a huge understatement. She just sat rooted to her chair, anxiously twiddling her thumbs and for the first time hoping that no attention was brought to her throughout the remainder of the shoot because she wasn’t in the right state of mind to be answering questions. She wanted her phone. She wanted to call her girlfriend. She needed an immediate explanation from Hyomin as to how she got onto this show in the first place.

It was one of those things that Sunny had problems believing. Maybe she was just jumping to conclusions. Maybe Hyomin had nothing to do with how Sunny got the part. There was a possibility that Hyomin not passing the audition for this show and Sunny miraculously being offered the role from the directors themselves was a coincidence. A mere coincidence. The world works in strange ways doesn’t it?

Who was she kidding?

Sunny had to know why though. Why keep it a secret? Well, Sunny kind of knew the answer to that as well. She was actually stuck in this awkward predicament where if she were to confront her girlfriend, she would only be asking Hyomin questions that she knew the answers to herself, just because she knew Hyomin so well. She knew how that amazingly beautiful but ditzy brain worked. But still, she had to go to her girlfriend and hear it directly from . Guessing games and assumptions weren’t enough.

“Sunny? Did you hear me? We’re going in.”

Sunny was snapped out of her head when Hara gently shook her shoulder, gesturing towards the house. A quick glance of the backyard and she realized that most of the filming crew and cameras were already packed and they were shifting locations into the house. It was a wonder how the bunny didn’t notice what was happening around her.

“Sunny I don’t even know why I’m apologizing, but I’m sorry I spilled the beans. I honestly thought you knew Hyomin auditioned for this show. I mean, it honestly doesn’t even seem like such a big deal. People fail auditions all the time. It’s just a of fate you passed yours while she didn’t.” Hara said while shrugging her shoulders as they walked back towards the house.

“I didn’t though.” Sunny responded, barely above a whisper but Hara caught it.

“You didn’t what? Pass? Well how did you get here then?” Hara laughed as she gestured towards the large bungalow they were currently walking towards.

“I didn’t audition. I was invited.” Sunny said with the same volume as she did before, stopping in her tracks to look at Hara in the eye. She wanted to know what her friend’s reaction to that info would be. An incredulous look flashed across Hara’s face but was immediately replaced with an understanding one.

“Aah. The SNSD card eh? Well, that’s nothing new I guess. I’ve used the Kara name myself to get certain privileges more than once in my life. Still, I’m surprised they invited you onto the show and they didn’t pass Hyomin when I know for a fact they had so few slots left.” Hara paused mid speech when she realized how weird the situation sounded now that it was being explained out of her own mouth. The shorter girl scratched her head in confusion.

“Why would the producers even let Hyomin audition if they knew they were going to just invite you anyway? What a bunch of jerks! Unless they only decided to invite you after they auditioned Minnie. If that’s the case, kinda makes you wonder where they got the idea for that, no offence.” Hara almost started to laugh at the shade she caught herself throwing at Sunny but the laughter got caught in as the thought hit her as well.

“Oh my. It was Hyomin wasn’t it?!” Hara asked out loud, her face a mixture of wonderment, disbelief and pure unadulterated shock. Hara is a smart girl. She knew how the industry worked. She has been in this business almost as long as Sunny has, and the fact that she came to the same conclusion that Sunny did only further enforced the theory.

“She owes me an explanation.” Sunny breathed out, glad that she could talk to Hara about it. She needed another person’s perspective at the moment, because she was a jumble of emotions and she didn’t know which one she should be feeling exactly. Maybe Hara could point her in the right direction.

“I don’t think she owes you anything if it’s true! I know how much Young Ji is earning from this show. If anything I think you owe her dinner. A LOT of dinners. And maybe a new car too.” Hara responded. Of course she had to be cheeky. But she had a point.

“I don’t get paid that much Hara. Besides, how am I going to top what she’s driving right now anyway?” Images of Hyomin’s white Porsche 911 flashed through her mind and with it came the memories associated with the vehicle, such as purposely taking the long way around to their destination, fingers intertwined with each other while Sunny had to constantly remind her ditzy girlfriend to pay attention to the road.

“True. That car is such a turn on.” Sunny gave her friend a spiteful side-glance at the Kara member’s words. Was this shorty trying to into her daydream? The car was a two-seater only. No room for a third-wheeler. Hara should get her own car to fantasize over.

“Yah. She’s taken.” Sunny reminded.

“You can have her, I just want that Porsche. Besides, I’m straight in case you forgot. Gee, I never pegged you as the jealous type Sunny.” Hara laughed and poked Sunny’s side before skipping towards the house, happily repeating “Sunny is jealous~” all the way in a sing-song voice.

“I’m not the jealous type. I’m not.” Sunny mumbled as she too headed into the house to escape the cold, knowing that she was fooling nobody.

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

“Sunny you have something on your face.” Jong Ok kindly told the SNSD member who was staring off into space on the couch while a few of the family members were watching TV.

“What? What is it?! Is it food? Or a bug? It’s a bug isn’t it?? Is it big?! Get it off me unnie!” Sunny sputtered with the eloquence of a rapper, her body instantly becoming rigid as she dared not move.

“It’s something worse than a bug.” Jong Ok continued with concern on her face, not surprised at all by her roommate’s over reaction. She had grown accustomed to this girl and her many idiosyncrasies.

“Oh my gosh! What is it??” Sunny winced as she asked.

“It’s…a frown. There’s a frown on your face. Is something wrong?” The eldest family member asked, and Sunny breathed a sigh of relief which almost immediately grew into a frustrated growl. She started to playfully hit her unnie’s shoulder as a form of meek retaliation for scaring her.

Sunny explained her situation to the family members that were present, and they attentively listened. They even went as far as to mute the television once they realized how serious the expression on Sunny’s face was.

“Well, that doesn’t seem like a completely bad thing at all!” Jackson concluded after the explanation. Sunny’s girlfriend gave her a role on a high-paying tv show that was going to be aired on the prime Sunday night timeslot. The young Got7 member had no idea why she looked so troubled.

“Yeah. If you want to know why she did what she did, then just ask her. Face to face, straight up.” Joon Hyung suggested almost as if the SNSD member hadn’t been thinking of doing so all this while.

“Well I can’t just leave right now can I?” They were in the middle of filming and Sunny always felt guilty whenever she had to trouble their staff members. Her body didn’t want to be seated on that couch at the moment but it was her job and if Sunny could pride herself on one thing, it would be her work ethic. Well, it would be a toss-up between that and her voracious appetite but that wasn’t the point.

“Why not? You live here, you can come and go whenever you please.” Joon Hyung continued, trying to persuade the girl to go to where her mind and heart currently is.

“Oppa, we’re still filming. I can’t just leave in the middle of work.” Sunny stated, not even denying that she wanted to leave at that point.

“Then just take a camera out with you! It doesn’t have to be complicated.” Dong Wook butted into the conversation, and a few people laughed at his straightforward suggestion.

“She doesn’t have to, there’re already cameras installed in the car.” Gook Ju chimed in as well.

“I’ll drive you to Hyomin’s place Sunny. It’s been awhile since I got behind the wheel.” Ryohei offered suddenly, excitement evident on his face. It looked like he had been waiting for this kind of opportunity for awhile.

“You say that and you expect me to trust you driving at night? I’m coming along!” Joon Hyung said to his roommate, and Sunny noted the slight disappointed look on the Japanese man’s face.

“Ooh me too! Me too!” Nana jumped up in excitement and the next thing Sunny knew they were all seated inside one of the Mini Cooper’s the producers had given them to use throughout their stay in the house.

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

The car ride was quiet, partly because Sunny was so lost in her own head. To be honest, the other three occupants of the car didn’t even know why Sunny was reacting the way she was. It was an amazing and almost unbelievable gesture that Hyomin did for her friend. Something that you almost never hear about in the dog-eat-dog world of idols, but Sunny didn’t really seem thankful, relieved or even the slightest bit happy about the news. The girl looked restless, and they assumed that she had her own reasons.

“For what it’s worth Sunny, I’m really glad Hyomin did what she did.” Nana suddenly spoke up, the heavy silence finally getting to her.

“Why do you say that Nana?” Sunny asked, slightly out of it.

“Because otherwise I’d never have gotten this close to you. You’re like my sister now. Who would’ve thought? We’ve passed by each other on shows and dressing rooms so many times in the past but we’ve barely ever talked. I’m glad this show gave me Lee Soonkyu. Or more like, I’m glad Hyomin gave us Lee Soonkyu.”

“I’m thankful too. I’m so glad I got to meet all of you and spend all this time with you guys, but I’m torn.” Sunny admitted slightly.

“I think we’re all confused as to why you don’t seem happy at this news Sunny, or at least flattered. Hyomin made a big sacrifice for you, and it’s weird how you just look sad in return.” Joon Hyung addressed the elephant in the room, the question that they were all thinking but not sure if they wanted to ask.

“I frankly don’t even know why we’re even driving all the way to Hyomin’s. Do you really need to confront her right now, if you even need to confront her at all? It’s 2 in the morning! And you’re kinda making it seem like she did something wrong.” Nana picked up after Joon Hyung, glad that the elder member of the family got the ball rolling.

“I…just have questions to ask, and I’m tired of questions and wondering about things. I just want them answered as soon as possible, because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight anyways.” Sunny confessed, suddenly painfully aware that her impulse decision had dragged 3 people along with her.

“Thanks for doing this for me.” Sunny said out loud, flashing all three of her family members a warm smile that was powered straight from her heart. Where else would you find people who are willing to drive you across town in the wee hours of the morning so that you could satisfy a whim that they did not understand?

“Hey, I just like driving. Hyung never lets me drive.” Ryohei gleefully said while ruffling Sunny’s hair with his right hand, his left still tightly gripping the steering wheel.

“It’s because I don’t trust your driving.” Joon countered nonchalantly from the backseat, arms folded across his chest.

“My driving is FINE!” Ryohei shouted back in indignation.

“You take corners LIKE A MADMAN!”

“I’m Japanese! We MAKE cars! Driving is in my blood!”

“You wrecked a naval ship in your movie!”

“Why that’s—that’s a SHIP not a CAR!”

“Well you still wrecked it!”

“You were Yamcha in that Dragonball movie. That whole MOVIE was a wreck!”

“It was a pretty bad movie oppa.” Nana softly agreed, and Joon grumbled because he couldn’t fight back against that fact.

“…. Touché.” The elder said with a pout as they entered the compound of Hyomin’s condo.

*********

Sunny watched as her Roommates drove off into the night in the borrowed Mini Cooper, before stepping through the glass doors of the condo’s entrance. She’s been here hundreds of times before, but each step seemed a bit more unfamiliar to her today. The wait for the elevator seemed a bit longer than usual, and the ding the elevator made as she stepped out onto Hyomin’s floor was a lot more muted than usual, as if it was coming from a faraway place.

Maybe Sunny was in a faraway place now. She didn’t trust her feet to lead her to the unit, so she had one hand pressed against the wall for support. It only took a few steps from the elevator to lead her in front of her girlfriend’s door, but once she was there she seemed lost. She wasn’t sure what the next step was, and she racked her brain for an instruction manual.

She contemplated knocking, but her hand paused within inches of rapping on the door, hovering just slightly away from the wooden surface. Sunny decided that she didn’t want to wake Hyomin up, so she opted to use her spare key to get passed the door. It was ridiculous, since her whole purpose for going there was to talk to Hyomin in the first place and she very well couldn’t do that with the other girl asleep.

Sunny wasn’t thinking straight.

“Of course you’re not thinking ‘straight’, you’re gay!” Sooyoung’s voice echoed in her head suddenly along with her friend’s raucous laughter at her own joke. Sunny had to take a deep breath to get her thoughts together before stepping through the door.

Sunny allowed the door to close slightly louder than she needed to, just to notify the occupant of the house that someone had just entered her home. Sure enough, Hyomin’s voice called out from further into the house after the sound.

“Is somebody there? Sunny is that you?” Sunny heard her name dance through the air accompanied by that familiar silky voice and she was almost swept away with it. She had to remind herself that she was here on a mission, and she was glad that her girlfriend didn’t seem to be asleep yet. She herself wasn’t quite sure what the mission was though. Was this a confrontation? What was she even confronting?

“Yeah it’s me. Can you come out here for a sec?”

“What are you doing here so late at night sweetie? Who dropped you off?” Hyomin’s voice grew louder as she approached the living room and Sunny momentarily forgot what she was there for as her girlfriend came into view wearing a pair of baby blue shorts that stopped midway through her thighs, a pair of glasses, and pretty much nothing else.

“H-Hyomin what…where’s your top?!” Sunny sputtered as her eyes stayed fixed onto her girlfriend’s bare chest, the bunny necklace that she had previously given her girlfriend nestled in the comforts of Hyomin’s cleavage, gleaming in the dim lighting as if teasing the human bunny. Sunny felt her lips go dry at the sight and nearly keeled over when Hyomin giggled, her assets bouncing slightly in response.

”I just got out of the shower Sunny. What’s with that expression? It’s not like you’ve never seen these before.” Hyomin laughed as she pointed to her own bare s, and Sunny inwardly wished her girlfriend would stop. Yes this wasn’t her first time seeing her girlfriend in the , but she’ll be damned if she ever gets tired of the sight.

Suddenly remembering why she was there, she forced her eyes away in an almost comical fashion and took deep breaths to calm her hormones. No! Answers first Sunny. s later.

“Hyomin, you’ve been a bad girl.” Sunny found herself saying and even she had to admit that she didn’t sound as resolute as she needed to be. It’s THOSE damn distractions.

“Umm…okay…? Err yes! Yes I have Miss Lee! I’ve been very naughty, and I deserve to be spanked.” Hyomin uttered looking perplexed, before bending over the sofa to give Sunny an equally distracting view of her girlfriend’s derriere.

“Wait what?” It was Sunny’s turn to be confused. Was this girl trying to drive her crazy?

“I don’t know, I thought we were roleplaying. I’m already half for it.” Hyomin just shrugged.

“Oh Lord above, why have I fallen in love with a girl who is an absolute dingus…? Put on your clothes! We need to have a talk.” Sunny almost shouted, her patience in all it’s forms being tested to the limit.

“This sounds intense. Should I forego my pajama top and wear a dress shirt instead?” Hyomin responded with a cheeky smile which served to further exasperate her poor girlfriend.

“Dammit Park SunYoung. Be serious with me right now please.” Sunny whined/pleaded, and immediately Hyomin’s expression changed. It wasn’t often that Sunny used her real name, but when she did it usually meant business.

Hyomin just ducked into her room and came back out wearing a loose grey tshirt. Sunny silently approved of the garment as she didn’t feel quite as distracted as before and already she could feel herself think clearer.

“Okay. Okay no more jokes. What’s up?” Hyomin asked, taking a seat on the couch while Sunny remained standing opposite her.

“Why didn’t you tell me you auditioned for Roommate?”

Silence.

Sunny saw the surprise and fear flicker in her girlfriend’s eyes before they dimmed out like a candle in a typhoon. Hyomin sighed and rubbed the back of her neck as she seemed to be mentally grasping for words.

“Did you find out from Hara?” Finally Hyomin asked. Her eyes were looking straight into Sunny’s.

“That’s the problem. Why did I have to find out from Hara? You’re my girlfriend!”

“I didn’t get the part. It’s no big deal, so I didn’t feel like making it a big deal.” Hyomin just shrugged, but Sunny knew a rehearsed answer when she heard one. That response seemed preplanned, as if her girlfriend already had that answer on standby.

“It’s a big deal because—“ Sunny started and paused as she choked up.

“I need to know.” Sunny finished finally, and she knew Hyomin noticed her choking up.

“Okay, I’ll be sure to tell you every single time I fail an audition now. I’m sorry sweetie okay? Just be prepared to get a phone call from me about it at least twice a week from now on.” Hyomin tried to laugh it off with a joke, but Sunny knew Hyomin was aware as to what she was referring to.

“No, I need to know. Was it you? Did you give up your part for me?”

Another round of heavy silence, before Hyomin seemed to visibly steel herself for her own answer.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

That was it. That was the question Sunny needed to ask. The reason she was here. She didn’t want to be the reason why Hyomin was held back. She didn’t want Hyomin’s pity. She needed to know why Hyomin, who wasn’t even her girlfriend at the time, would do such a thing.

She needed to know how Hyomin knew exactly what was needed to fix her when the people around her didn’t even notice she was broken.

Hyomin stood up slowly, and took light steps towards Sunny as she started to explain.

“My best friend couldn’t stay at home. She couldn’t sleep, she couldn’t relax, she couldn’t find a place to rest her head without being smothered by guilt and stress. My best friend broke down into pieces crying in front of me, clinging on to me for dear hope and life and used up an entire box of tissues when I’ve never seen her shed a single tear for anything. My best friend, the girl I was madly in love with, needed me. What would you do Sunny?” Hyomin challenged her, and Sunny wasn’t up for taking that challenge because she knew she would have done the same thing for Hyomin.

“The show could have brought you to fame! Look at what it did for Seho! For Jackson, Gook Ju, Young Ji and Nana! You could have brought T-ara back to their glory days! How am I supposed to accept this?” Sunny nearly cried as she listed off the people who have experienced a significance boost in their career thanks to the show.

This was the injustice of it all. If Sunny knew, this would have been the very reason why she would have refused the show for Hyomin’s sake. Her girlfriend’s group desperately needed to regain the popularity that they once had. Hyomin needed to completely shake off the rumours that she was a bully. What better way to do so than to put her in a house with a plethora of different people and cameras that rolled 24/7?

“Well, you’re going to have to accept it because it’s happened Sunny. Besides, it all worked out in the end. My agency’s Plan B worked. We managed to make it big in China instead. I just… I love you. I don’t want any tears to ever stain these cheeks.” Hyomin was now standing right in front of Sunny, and she lightly brushed her thumb against Sunny’s cheek, caressing Sunny’s trembling face as the shorter girl in front of her slowly started to unravel.

“I feel so guilty. So undeserving.” Sunny said as she looked down, unable to meet her girlfriend’s gaze. Ironically, a few tears started to spill from Sunny’s eyes but as if keeping through to her words, Hyomin was there to brush them away before they trailed further down to her cheeks.

“You deserve everything good and beautiful and amazing in this world Bunny. What are you even on about right now?” Hyomin breathed out, her warm breath caressing Sunny’s skin and caused the shorter girl to look up and she was stunned as she did.

It always blew Sunny away how beautiful her girlfriend was, and she knew she would never, ever get used to seeing that bright smile on her girlfriend’s features because she swears that smile can take her places. Safe places. A place where she knew she would be alright, and that only happiness was awaiting her.

“I-I was so lost.” Sunny managed in between hiccups and sobs, trying her best to stifle them before continuing.

“I was on the verge of quitting Girls’ Generation and leaving behind my career and all that stress. I had practically written my letter of resignation, I just left my ‘t’s uncrossed and ‘i’s undotted. Then you came along and gave up your chance to turn your life around for….me. You gave me a second family, you gave me a home to come back to that didn’t involve screaming and shouting and crying.”

Sunny paused to catch her breath, and Hyomin just patiently waited for her. Soft hands slowly Sunny’s back, assuring her that she would never hurt alone ever again.

“You gave me what I needed; a break. You gave me a chance to clear my head and gain some semblance of sanity. You fixed the sun and brought it back and kept it a secret so I didn’t know it was you. You, Hyomin. You saved me. I’m so guilty because there is nothing I can ever do to repay you. So undeserving because there is a literal angel that has been watching over me all this while when I could only afford to give sweet words and simple kisses in return.”

As if on cue, Hyomin cut Sunny off by pressing her lips ever so softly against the other’s. It was almost feather light, but it was there. It was reassuring, it was loving, it was…Hyomin. Sunny’s eyes fluttered closed and she couldn’t help but shed a few more tears as she felt Hyomin’s sincerity and how beautiful this kiss was.

“Sometimes simple kisses are the best kind of kisses, don’t you think? And are you done with the speech? I think I’ve thought up a much better use for your mouth right now.” Hyomin chuckled as she brought her thumb to lightly trace the edges of Sunny’s lips, eyes slowly kindling a flame that Sunny was all too familiar with.

“Hyomin I’m serious. I owe you so much, how can I ever repay you? I’m so thankful that I think I have to create a new word to describe how thankful I am.”

Sunny didn’t want to detract from the moment because she knew this topic wouldn’t be something that would be so easily brought up again in the future so she tried her best to stave off her girlfriend’s approach.

“That’s funny, because I’m constantly trying to create new words to verbalize how beautiful you are.”

“Hyomin—“

“Sunny. Sweetie. You don’t need to repay me. That was me repaying you. All those years you took care of me, you taking me under your wing on Invincible Youth and teaching me how to act on variety shows, you buying 60 copies of my solo album when nobody would buy them because they were a huge flop just to support me. You’ve always been there for me. I’d say now we’re even.”

“Actually it was 67 copies but nobody’s counting.”

“My agency definitely is. They want to thank their number one supporter.”

“MBK can shove it. I’m just doing it for this beautiful girl in front of me with the most adorable I’ve ever seen.

“That’s not nice. MBK pays the bills that the owner of this has to live with.”

“So we’re even now huh?”

“I’d say we’re just about.”

“Good, because if I were to be at a disadvantageous situation I would definitely think twice about pulling you closer and kissing the life out of you right now.

“Mmm sounds like a good way to die.”

And being true to her word, Sunny reached out and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s waist, leaning in and giggling slightly as she locked eyes with her beautiful girlfriend because even after all this time she could not believe that this amazing work of nature was hers, and hers to kiss whenever she wanted. And she wanted to do so very much right now. As they tilted their heads, noses being the first point of contact and their lips would have followed suit if it wasn’t for the fact that Sunny’s phone chose that exact moment to ring and ruin the moment.

An obscene curse word escaped Sunny’s lips and was thrown into the air as she reached into her pocket to retrieve the offending piece of technology. Hyomin observed as the anger on Sunny’s face dissipated almost immediately, and the call ended after a series of “yups” and “I won’ts” from the shorter girl.

“I hate your phone. You know that don’t you Sunny? Absolutely despise it.” Hyomin said, hands on her hips trying to feign annoyance.

“That was Hara, asking me to be gentle on you.” Sunny explained, and smiled as she found the pose her girlfriend was in nothing short of adorable.

“That’s nice of her, but I don’t mind if you were a little rough.”

And they were back to where they were 2 minutes ago, with Sunny’s arms wrapped almost possessively around her girlfriend’s waist and leaning in to complete the first kiss that was left midway through. Unfortunately, Sunny’s phone chose to ruin the moment one more time and this time it was Hyomin who was cursing. Never before had she hated a T-ara song as much as in this moment.

Sunny apologetically reached into her pocket again and withdrew the mobile device, frowning slightly as she saw her manager’s name on the screen.

“Wow. Looks like the whole world wants your attention tonight.” Hyomin whined with a huff.

Making a decision that took almost zero difficulty to make Sunny decided to reject the call and switch her phone off, much to the surprise of Hyomin.

“I’m looking at my whole world right now, and tonight she’s definitely going to be getting my full, undivided attention.” Sunny said with a smile as she grabbed her girlfriend’s wrist and lead the both of them into the bedroom.