“Oh my . Shut the hell up already.”

Minjung had been intently playing this same game for the better part of two hours now, focusing wholly on channeling her frustration of the evening’s events into some impatient button-smashing (in a game that should have required more thinking than just that, but when there was too much talking and not enough fighting happening, it was easy to let oneself go) and a generous amount of swearing at the npc’s for things that didn’t even necessarily warrant it.

Gwiboon was busy pouting in their bedroom in that same moment, undoubtedly waiting for Minjung to come and apologize for something that also didn’t warrant it. She was a difficult girl, to say the least, and Minjung was nothing if not equally stubborn. In these situations, their combined inflated prides clashed mercilessly, head-on, driving them to opposite sides of the house and would have them facing away from each other in their bed at night until either Gwiboon got desperate enough in the morning for someone to pet her hair or Minjung’s guilt (whether it was actually her fault that they were arguing or not) got the best of her.

But as it was, their terms had been made official when Gwiboon pushed Minjung out of their bedroom and closed the door in her face. Minjung hadn’t even bothered to protest, wanting to get away from her girlfriend before things blew up even more, before one of them said things they didn’t mean and what was just a temporary fit of mishandled emotions turned into something else entirely. It was so much easier to swear at video game characters, anyway, she thought. They didn’t even know she was smacking them in the face with crude words, they just smiled and greeted her character as usual because, in game, her character was respectable… unlike the childishness she was playing at on her side of the television screen.

Four side quests later and not quite halfway through the main storyline, just as she was facing the first of what she assumed was to be a series of important mini boss battles, Minjung heard a faint shuffling off in the distance.

As much as she wanted to pretend she didn’t care what was going on, she definitely did. Her ears perked up, though her eyes were still glued to the screen, unseeing of the chunky dialogue boxes her nerves had her abusing the A button to get through more quickly than she ought to, ears not hearing anything but socked feet coming closer to where she sat. The boss’s intro was lost on her, the whole purpose behind it and the bit of relevant plot set-up never making it into her mind space for consideration. Soon enough she ran out of text boxes to skip and there was a hulking mass throwing boulders at her character, one very nearly ending the battle right then, but she miraculously managed a dodging roll despite the fact that another, much slimmer silhouette had captured her attention from merely existing in her peripheries.

Minjung didn’t have to physically see Gwiboon to know that her arms were crossed, folded neatly and tightly under her s and there was probably a displeased look upon her features, whether it be from the way Minjung was ignoring her for something seemingly so insignificant as a video game or just lingering feelings from what transpired two hours ago.

The girl’s character was inching closer to her foe without a single thought on the matter, her head much more empty than her player’s, for Minjung’s mind was quickly becoming a merry-go-round of anxiety that she didn’t want to admit to having possession of. Gwiboon’s presence had always been so difficult for her to ignore. Why was it so hard to just tune back into the fight she’d wanted so much before this?

“Pause the game,” came a voice that had been used to cry pitifully not that long ago, it sounded like. Yet it still tried desperately to hold on to some commandment, to not sound as weak as Gwiboon probably felt.

That was plenty enough to have those twinges of guilt prick and fuss inside her stomach, her heart, and anywhere else they had settled without her consent. Damnit, Minjung hated that. It wasn’t even her fault that Gwiboon came home from work pissy again and decided it’d be cool to take her aggravation out on her girlfriend with sarcastic remarks. It doubly was her fault when the older of the pair didn’t like it when Minjung spoke up against the act...probably. Maybe.

The younger of the girls huffed in clear annoyance, brows creasing.

“I’m in the middl--”

“Just for a second… please?”

Another huff ensued, one that took on a side of confusion as well. Still, Minjung had pressed the start button and turned her head just in time to see Gwiboon rushing to her, straddling her thighs and wasting no time in burying her face into the previously vacant space between the girl’s neck and shoulder. Minjung’s body tightened as a whole, nerves already on edge, but her arms came around the elder’s waist reflexively, controller still heavy in one hand as they both came back together to rest at the small of Gwiboon’s back, all without a sound. She wasn’t sure whether she should wait for an explanation, if they were going to talk it out right then, or if she was expected to go back to her gaming session and pretend nothing was abnormal about this. A small voice answered her with a muffled “okay,” that she took as the green light to get back to failing this match between her and whoever this boss was. She didn’t even know anymore.

All that crossed her mind was that this wasn’t the first time she’d cradled Gwiboon like this while she played. Frequently when Gwiboon was feeling mischievous, she’d sidle up on the couch and worm her way into the taller’s lap after a period where she was eyed suspiciously every so often. She’d kiss at the other’s neck, her shoulders, and her ears--all the hot spots that made Minjung’s voice go an octave higher while she was pleading the brunette to please wait just one more minute, just wait until she was able to save because she didn’t want to leave her character vulnerable all out in the open like that, but that’s where she always ended up. She’d stand obliviously idle, serene music playing in the background up until the point where some wandering creature would spot her in the distance. Infallibly, the elf’s cries of agony at the damage she was forced to take after that would go completely unheard, drowned out by the wet sounds of kissing and those pretty little knowing whines Gwiboon would make when slender fingers slid up under her .

This time was no different, it seemed, despite the frustrated tension that both of them had allowed to seep into their muscles. While the elf cried at being hit this time around, pink lips were dragging over tanned skin, subtly at first and then very conspicuously not long after. There were already fingers playing with the stray hairs that hadn’t quite made it into the messy bun the younger had pulled her hair up into as she was stomping down the hallway earlier. The protagonist stood idle for the millionth time this file, much more sinister music accompanying her right off the bat, no gentle crescendo, no easing into it like before. The threat had been evident, though it stood not a single chance against such persuasive lips.

Minjung wanted to stop her. They should be talking, after all. Logic dictated that when things like this happened, that people use their words, however Gwiboon seemed eager to let her lips do a different kind of talking that made Minjung’s eyes fall closed and the game controller to come to a rest at their side, now untouched upon the couch cushion in favor of the younger girl getting a firmer grip on her girlfriend’s hips.

“I’m sorry,” the elder mumbled between alternating swipes of her tongue and nips of her teeth. “I’m dumb sometimes.”

“N-not dumb. Just talk to me next time, okay?”

A subsequent hum of agreement saw both of them forgiven for their petty crimes and Gwiboon’s head came back up so that they could properly kiss, yet another peace treaty successfully sealed by their joined lips. Simple as that.

In contrast, another dramatic death played out on the screen no one was watching. Poor thing, thought Minjung distantly. It was just so hard to press buttons when Gwiboon was so busy pressing hers at every turn.