Imagine you and ChaeRyeong are makeup gurus who decide to collaborate. As you watch her get ready, you feel intensely attracted to her and lean in for a kiss just as she opens her eyes.
chaeryeong is sweet girl with no ill intentions but you're both unsure what to do anymore once you've crossed the line of friends and dating.
warning/s: mentions of drinking, suggestive, friends with benefits
words: 2.1k
what’s it like to keep falling after being caught time and time again?
there she stood in the middle of the dance floor as you held both your drinks as your friends and hers celebrated the night before valentine’s day at a club. why did you even agree to this?
chaeryeong had to persuade you into coming, considering it was your friend group that decided to merge and go out together. oh right… partially it’s because of her.
you’ve lost count on how many shots you’ve done or how many glasses of gin and tonic is in your system. mouth sealed as people try to flirt with her and fortunately for you, she’s breaking their hearts left and right. one last attempt to celebrate valentine’s with someone.
“dude, she’s gonna melt if you keep looking at her like that.” minjeong nudges you to shake you up and not possibly start a fight in the club just because someone is flirting with chaeryeong.
“i want her to look at me. her drink is so fucking diluted now.” the cocktail she got is mostly water at this point while you’re getting another shot being offered to you.
“she’s looking at you after she rejects those losers. seriously, i thought your whole whatever the fuck is going on between you two would be settled.” you thought so as well, how did this thing even happen? you weren’t like this months ago and here you are thinking back on how the hell does she have you on a chokehold.
it was one of those nights that chaeryeong wanted to sleep over at your place, knowing that you don’t share your room with anyone or how you don’t mind her being there as you work on whatever homework you have. she’s quiet in your bed as she’s reading for her class and you’re on the verge of calling it a night. chaeryeong has been keeping track of your movement, making her lose focus when she could have been studying but she’s looking at you and averting them is she thinks you’re gonna look at her or face her way.
her face is buried in her book as you continue what you’re doing, taking quick glances at chaeryeong before you walk out of the room to get yourself something to relieve the stress. coming back holding a bottle of soju and a glass and noticing the way chaeryeong’s nose scrunches if she doesn’t understand a term or how focused she is at reading.
“do you want a drink?” chaeryeong doesn’t know how you got that bottle of soju when you were just studying a few minutes ago on your desk that was close to where she was. she lost track of you for a bit.
“on a school night, really?” you rolled your eyes as you took a glass and poured yourself some and placed it back on your desk. sitting next to her as you wait for some sort of reaction or confirmation that she wants to. her hand reaches out asking for your glass, she’s not one to finish a drink alone, knowing that she gets drunk easily.
“if you finish my glass, i swear to god, lee chaeryeong-” pouring another shot of soju, thinking if you should get a can of beer and mix it.
“you and i both know i’m going to drink whatever you have.” she’s thinking the same thing as she stands up and makes her way to the kitchen like she owns the place.
“then you complain how strong it tastes.” you follow her, holding the glass and the bottle of soju and setting it in the living room where she pours the beer onto the one glass you’ve been sharing.
“stop getting strong drinks then.” she takes the glass and chugs it as she gently places it back on the table with a smug look.
“work on your tolerance first.” pouring yourself a drink as her smug look is wiped out of her face.
chaeryeong is a lightweight, you know this as she finishes another glass and is already laughing at whatever you two are talking about but who are you to complain. getting quite touchy and leaning on you as she reaches for your glass but you stop her and finish the drink. even if you’re a bit tipsy and she’s close to being blackout drunk, your priority is to stop her from going past her limit.
she’s looking at you with a pout as you keep the glass away from her, reaching out and leaning herself onto you, faces inches away from each other, and you’re looking at her lips while she’s looking at yours. halfway through the bantering of her being a lightweight and trying to prove herself to you, now on the verge of either kissing each other or stopping entirely and calling it a night.
whatever it was, chaeryeong made the first move, kissing you with such gentleness at first as you let the shock die down and kiss her back. in the back of your mind, you’re brushing this off as you’re both intoxicated, not in the right mind and it’s just the mood of your place. there’s also the other part of you that doesn’t care about what happens.
that wasn’t the case when you woke up the following day, seeing how you’re both holding each other close with a small headache. this is normal between you and chaeryeong who sleep next to each other when she comes over but a part of you is aware it isn’t. noticing how your clothes are scattered everywhere on the floor, and her neck is covered in lovebites. even double checking under the blanket to make sure you weren’t dreaming.
part of you was panicking because this is your friend who you’ve grown to care so much for. the same girl that you met freshman year of college who you believe is such a sweetheart and wouldn’t do such a thing if she were intoxicated let alone be the one to initiate all of this.
chaeryeong feels you moving in her embrace and tries her best to stop you while you’re in the middle of having a mental crisis. it didn’t help that she kisses you in the lips that you’ve fully stopped your thought process and look at her who is just smiling as if she doesn’t have the worst headache of her life.
“the fuck, chaer?”
“don’t act like you hate it.”
that’s how it started, sneaking around and kissing each other in private, acting like a couple and lying to your friends that chaeryeong is nothing but a friend. well- that was it, a friends with benefits scenario with her and a part of you is slowly dying as this keeps on going. if it weren’t for minjeong walking in on you two kissing at a party, she wouldn’t have known this entire thing.
within the 3 months this situation you have with chaeryeong has been going on, you know you’ve grown to like the girl more than you’d like to admit. the first rule of the deal was no strings attached, no feelings, because this started because you’re both lonely, right?
a part of you thinks it’s more than just being lonely, hoping that chaeryeong has grown to like you but won’t admit it. delusional, but how could anyone explain the possessiveness when some girl flirts with you, or how she’s stuck by your side and talks about the future and telling you that you’re a part of it in some way. you’re tired of the push and pull and want her to be full on honest but how could that happen when you’re so close to each other yet it feels like she’s miles away.
you keep your gaze on chaeryeong dancing as you’re left with minjeong a bit intoxicated and having the need to go out and think things through. valentine’s was a few hours away and here you are at a club holding a diluted drink and an empty glass. placing the glass on the table, letting minjeong know you’re heading out first to get some fresh air but in reality you plan on heading home and not wallow much in the pain that is in the shape of lee chaeryeong.
she’s dancing with her friends but her gaze never left yours as she watches you take your stuff and leave your friend on the table. you’re not looking at her as the bouncer lets you out - she stops and looks at minjeong, panicking and signalling to her friends that she’s gonna head out for a bit. she hopes you haven’t walked that far or taken a bus back to your place but she’s running to you with your head low and kicking a random pebble.
“Y/N!” turning around, you see chaeryeong running at you and into your arms holding you close while you’re a bit concerned as she chased after you without a coat in the middle of winter. taking yours off and letting it drape on her shoulders as she holds you closer.
“you should head back in there.” you feel she shaking her head as you hold her close, letting the snowflakes drop as you try to find a way to make her go back and continue talking to whoever was flirting with her.
“we’re going home together. you can’t just leave me having fun there-”
“chaer, it’s fine - not like we’re dating..,” a bit of a low blow but it’s the truth. why would she chase after you if she was the only one having fun while you’re in pain. how could you tell her that you need some sort of answer or label to whatever this is because you’re sure this isn’t just a friends with benefits when you’re acting like a couple in private without much of the benefits.
“just go back… ask ryujin to drive you home.”
“i said, we’re going home together. that’s final.”
you’re tired of the push and pull. whatever this is. because how come she’s reacting like this when there’s no strings attached.
“i wanna end this.” chaeryeong is taken aback, weren’t you happy before you left for the party? kissing her before stepping out and all of a sudden you want to stop. you also weren’t the best - chaeryeong has been nothing but confused because of you as you act clingy to her in private and ignore her in public. playing the push and pull, but that was expected because she made the rules.
no feelings. no public display of affection, and no one has to know (aside from minjeong).
“fine.”
“the fuck yo- hold on. you’re fine with us ending things?”
she nods and let’s go of you, there’s some space in between but not like those where the other person runs for it and you just hear nothing from them but she’s close. looking at you straight and holding you by the chin to make sure you’re looking directly at her.
“under one condition.” you raise your eyebrow, letting her continue as you can’t really think much when there’s alcohol running in your system and all you wanna do is kiss her.
“tell me that you love me. even if you don’t - just tell me that you love me.”
everything that involves lee chaeryeong leaves you confused and asking for some sort of clarity but it’s part of her charm and hearing that absurd request - it would be easy because you do love her.
“i love you.”
she let’s you go, moving back a bit with a sad smile on her face as she turns around and starts to walk away. you’re left in the cold as she slowly leaves you alone as if time stopped, contemplating on to pour your entire heart out or go home. this could be your last time seeing her if you don’t let her know your true feelings and how much you’re dying to tell her that you've fallen for her.
”i love you - to the point you take my breath away and i’m left here suffocating when you’re far away as if you’re oxygen that my body needs. it’s killing me seeing you in public and stopping myself from running towards you and just kiss you to stop them from flirting with you and - i wanted to end this because- “ you pause, taking a deep breath as chaeryeong is facing you with glossy eyes, holding your coat close to her small figure.
“i want to date you, not like this - the push and pull is killing me, chaer. please-”
“shut up and kiss me.”
she ran towards you throwing your coat on the ground and kissing you like the same way when it started. a kiss that’s so gentle but she’s pouring her heart out for you to reciprocate.
chaeryeong knows that you’re already hers, she just needed you to say it.
Video(Please watch before reading if you haven't already)
"Everything I Do Is For You"
"Just walk up to her and ask her, it's not that hard. She's your best friend, you can do this." You cleared your throat after your little self- pep talk and walked up to Chaeryeong, "Hey pinky, do you have a minute..?"
"Hmm" Chaeryeong turned away from her locker to face you, "Of course, is there something you need..?"
"Well, I was just wondering, well actually everyone was wondering but mostly um Ye- oh.." You paused when you saw someone walk up to your best friend, trying to get her attention. "Ahh never mind, looks like someone is coming over to talk to you... I'll catch you later pinky.." You turned from her and tried to move away from her as fast as you could.
"Wait, what were you trying to say..?" Chaeryeong called out as you retreated down the hallway and her attention was soon taken over by the person that was calling for her.
_
"Hey, where's Chaeryeong..?"
"Hmm, what did you say..?" You looked up from the sink where you were washing your hands.
"I was just asking where Chaeryeong is.. are you okay, you look pale."
"Yes Ryujin, I'm okay.." You moved her hand off of your forehead.
"Hmm... I'm not gonna pry any further since it seems like you don't want to talk about it. But like I was asking earlier, where's Chaeryeong..?" Ryujin walked away from you so she could dry her hands off.
"Oh, uh she was talking to someone last time I saw her." You answered as you also dried your hands off.
"Oh okay, well have you talked to her about the dance..? Yeji still wants us all to go as a group, especially since she's bringing her one friend that goes to that private academy across town."
"No, I was going to ask her earlier but then she got busy talking to someone else." You walked to the bathroom door, and pulled it open, letting Ryujin walk out first.
"Okay well just try and let her know as soon as possible, or else Yeji is going to throw a fit." Ryujin sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"I'll try.." You looked down as you followed Ryujin through the hallways.
Ryujin was right, something was wrong with you, but were you going to admit it..? Did you want to tell anyone why you were in such a slump..? No, because telling someone else would just confirm the fact that you've been trying to hide. The fact that you had fallen for your best friend. As cliché as it seemed, you never thought that you'd be one of those bozos who ended up falling for their childhood best friend. It wouldn't have been such a big issue if your best friend wasn't the gorgeous woman she had grown into, it was hard keeping your crush on the low when you were in middle school, but now as you were nearing your last few months in high school, her beauty just seemed to get even more breathtaking. Your feelings for your best friend had grown to the extent that it was hard just for you to be around her these past few weeks.
You had been slowly distancing yourself from her for the last three or so days since you could never seem to get your heartbeat to calm down anytime she was around. Chaeryeong wasn't the only one that had noticed your change in attitude around her, your other close friends did as well. None of them had connected the dots that your change in attitude was related to the feelings you were hiding from her. Well, Ryujin had joked around about it once but that was it. No one knew, and you didn't want them to.
_
It was the end of the day and you were putting everything up in your locker when someone suddenly walked up behind you.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment, in private please..?"
"Oh, you scared me.." You jumped up in surprise at the sudden sound of your best friend's voice in your ear. You turned around to face her, immediately dropping eye contact the second her eyes met yours, "Uh, yeah sure. What's up..?"
Chaeryeong sighed before reaching around you to close your locker, she then proceeded to grab your hand, dragging you down the hall with her.
"Oh what are we doing here..?" Chaeryeong had brought you to the school's gym, it was empty since there was no practice for any of the indoor teams this late in the year.
"I need to talk to you," Chaeryeong answered as she pulled you to sit down on the stands. She stood in front of you as you sat down on the bottom row.
"Why couldn't we just talk out there..? Am I in trouble..?" You tried once again to make eye contact with her but you just couldn't. The look in her eyes was too much for your heart to handle.
Chaeryeong sighed before kneeling down, she reached out to tilt your chin so you were at the same face level with her. "I just have something I want to talk to you about." Her voice was calm, but once again that's what drove you insane. Everything about her was just so perfect, every little single thing she did made your heart race.
"About..?" Your voice was quiet as you had to look her in the eyes, there was no way you could look away.
"Why have you been avoiding me..? Did I do something to you..?" Chaeryeong's voice shook as she spoke to you. "I've been trying to tell you something all week but every time I try you avoid me like the plague. Why..?"
You felt like such a terrible person when you noticed her eyes began to water. "What..? No pinky, you didn't do anything. I promise. I've just been busy with something.." Your eyes shifted as you could see in her eyes that she didn't believe you, "I mean I've been dealing with something personal and I didn't want my mood to affect your own. I know you've been busy practicing your dance after school every day so I just wanted to give you your space."
Chaeryeong let go of your chin and grabbed your hand, "But I'm your best friend, you should know that anytime you go through something I want to be there to help you." A tear rolled down her cheek and that absolutely broke your heart, "It just feels like you want nothing to do with me and that really hurts. You know that I've always been there for anything and everything you've gone through but just now you're trying to go through something on your own..? After thirteen years of us sharing everything with each other, you suddenly want to shut me out..? I don't care about my dance practices if you're not doing well." Her grip on your hand tightened as every word she spoke was draped with the deepest sincerity you'd ever seen from her.
You were stunned, you felt like there was nothing you could say. All you wanted to do was pull her in for a hug and hold her tight. "Chaeryeong.." You mumbled as you reached out to wipe her tears.
Her eyes instantly shot up, making eye contact with you, you never called her by her name unless it was something serious.
"Please don't cry, I promise you've never done anything wrong. I just... it's just.. hmm.." You shook your head as you tried to find the right words. "This is just something I can't go to you about. I... I can't tell you... I'm so sorry.." You felt terrible not being able to tell her why you've been avoiding her, but it's not like you can just tell her that you have strong feelings for her. I mean you could.. but you couldn't.
You were caught off guard by her sudden question and your face showed it, "What..? Does she know what..?"
"What you're going through, does Yeji know but I don't..?"
You couldn't read the look in your best friend's eyes as you shook your head, "No pinky, no one knows. It's a very personal thing."
Chaeryeong's expression softened, as did her voice, "Okay, okay. I won't try to force you to tell me, but please don't ever do that again." Another tear rolled down her cheek, "Don't ever avoid me like you were doing, I don't think I could ever handle that again." Once again another tear rolled down her face, "I was so scared, I thought you hated me." This time it was a sniffle.
"What..?" Your eyes widened in surprise, "No pinky, I could never." You leaned forward to pull her towards you. "You know I could never hate you." You wrapped your arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. This was your moment, having the most beautiful person you knew in your arms instantly put all your fears at ease. "Please don't cry because of me, I'm so sorry, I didn't know it would hurt you like this." Your hands shook as you rubbed her back. You were a terrible person, because of your own personal feelings you had hurt the person closest to you.
Chaeryeong sniffled a few more times as she just lost herself in your arms. "Promise me you'll never do that again." Another sniffle, "Please..?" Her voice was so soft it felt like another dagger to your heart.
"I promise Pinky, I don't ever want to see you cry because of me. I'm so sorry.." Your arms tightened around her. "I promise."
Chaeryeong let out a small breath before pulling away from your embrace, "Do you really..?" She asked with a pouty tear-stained face.
"Of course pinky... I promise." You held your pinky finger out towards her, "I'll never do anything to see you cry again because of me."
After another small hiccup of her trying to catch her breath, she wrapped her pinky around yours, "Promise..?"
"I promise," You smiled softly at her, even in this state she managed to take your breath away.
"You have to kiss it, if you break this promise I'll never forgive you.."
"Okay, I promise forever and ever that I'll never do anything to break your heart." You kissed your thumb as did Chaeryeong, and you both pressed your thumbs together, sealing the promise in both of your hearts.
You both placed your hands down after looking each other in the eyes. Chaeryeong moved to sit next to you, eyes still red from her crying.
You wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her closer to your side, her head leaning over to rest on your shoulder. You gently rubbed small circles on her back as the two of you sat in silence, the only noise coming from her small sniffles as she tried to calm her breathing down. You were grateful for her small noises since you hoped that they would cover up the sound of your heart beating faster than it's ever had before. But it didn't, Chaeryeong could hear every beat, and the smile on her face was hidden from your eyes. You were her comfort place.
"Chaeryeong.." You smiled as you said her name, you just loved everything about her.
Chaeryeong scrunched her nose, "That's weird.."
"What..? You don't like me calling you by your name..?" You asked with a small smile, already knowing the answer.
"No.. it's pinky to you." You felt her slightly shake her head against your shoulder.
You let out a small laugh before sighing, "I know, I just wanted to see what you would say."
Chaeryeong's eyes closed as she found herself getting more comfortable with you.
After a few more minutes of the two of you sitting in silence, you decided it wouldn't hurt to tell Chaeryeong some of the truth, not the whole truth but a small part of it.
"Hey, pinky.." Your voice was low as you made sure you didn't want to harshly break the silence that washed over the two of you.
"Hmm.." Chaeryeong lifted her head to look at you, "What is it..?"
Your hand rested, just sitting on Chaeryeong's back, "I want to tell you something."
Chaeryeong studied your eyes for a second before shaking her head, "Wait, I want to tell you something first."
"Oh.." You were caught off guard by her reply but you just nodded at her so she could continue. "Go ahead."
"So you know how I told you that I was trying to get a time slot at the school dance to put on a performance with some of the girls that go to my dance academy..?" Chaeryeong leaned her head against your shoulder again.
"Yeah, I remember you talking about that, that's why you've been so busy lately." At the mention of Chaeryeong's recently busy schedule, you didn't even notice your hand on her pulling her closer to you.
Chaeryeong had noticed how you pulled her closer and that made her smile. "Well, I was told on Monday that my performance had gotten approved..."
"What?" You turned to look at her, "Chaeryeong, that's amazing, I'm so happy for you. You honestly deserve it." The smile on your face showed her that you meant every single word, you were so happy for your best friend.
"Yeah, that's what I've been trying to tell you all week.." Once again her voice got quiet as she thought about you purposely avoiding her.
"Oh Pinky, I'm sorry. I wish I didn't make you feel like you couldn't come to me with this amazing news, but I actually want to talk to you about why I was acting the way I was." The tone in your voice softened as you thought about how you were going to tell your best friend, the one person who had known you better than anyone else, that you liked her. Well, maybe you wouldn't tell her all that, just a small snippet of what you've been hiding about your personal life. Unfortunately, before you could continue, Chaeryeong stopped you before you could say another word.
"No, don't force yourself to tell me anything right now. I don't want you to think that you have to tell me anything since I cried. It's just that my heart really was broken thinking that you didn't want to be around me anymore." Chaeryeong sniffled again before letting out a small breath. "I want you to tell me whatever it is when you are ready to. Not because I made you feel like you have to share."
You let out a small sigh, slowly nodding your head in defeat, "Okay, I won't tell you then." Internally you felt super relieved that your secret would be safe even just for a small while longer.
Chaeryeong grabbed the hand you had on her back and she held it in her lap, intertwining her fingers with yours, "You know I will never judge you, right..?" Her sudden statement and her soft tone completely threw you off guard.
"Hmm..?" You looked at her in confusion, but she didn't look back at you, her eyes were focused on your interlocked fingers in her lap. "What do you mean..? Of course, I know that."
Chaeryeong glanced over at you, "Okay, I just wanted to make sure."
There was something off about how she was talking to you, you knew there was something she was trying to say without saying it. You knew her better than she thought you did. Her little mannerisms like this were just one of the things about her that you had gotten used to over the years of knowing each other. "No, tell me what you really meant. There's something you're not telling me, what is it..?"
After looking down in silence Chaeryeong let out a small sigh. "It's just... I think I know what it is that you're afraid to tell me." Chaeryeong looked up at you, the look in her eyes showing that she was serious.
Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Wait, what..? I.. first you say you don't want me to tell you what it is and now you're telling me you know what it is..? I don't understand what you're trying to tell me, Chaeryeong. You're being really confusing right now."
Chaeryeong's heart felt a small ping when she heard you say her name again, "I'm just trying to let you know that I'll always be here for you and that I would never judge you. We've been best friends for thirteen years now, I wouldn't let this affect our friendship." Chaeryeong tried to read the look in your eyes but she couldn't.
Your face started to heat up, and your heart was beating rapidly, "Chaeryeong what are you talking about? Just say it." You raised your voice and called her by her first name again, this just got very serious and Chaeryeong knew it.
"All I'm trying to say is that I know and that it's okay. There's nothing wrong with it." Chaeryeong kept tip-toeing around the subject and it had started to make you worry even more.
"Know what, Chaeryeong..? What is it that you know.." Your eyes darkened and your hands started to shake.
"I know that.. well, I know that you," Chaeryeong's head tilted to the left as she tried to find the right words, "Well I know that you like g-"
You panicked and your hand instantly pulled away from hers, you covered her mouth to stop her from saying anything else. "Chaeryeong, please stop."
The panicked look in your eyes and the sweat beads building up on your forehead made Chaeryeong worry.
"I, I promise it's something I'll work on getting over, I, trust me I know it puts you in an uncomfortable spot and I don't want that for you. I'm so sorry, I promise I'll never do anything or act upon those feelings... I'm seriously so sorry." You pulled your hand away from her face in a manner that had made it seem that you had touched an open flame. "I'm sorry.." The way you stumbled over your words and the way your breathing turned erratic made Chaeryeong worry.
"Wai-" Chaeryeong tried to do something to calm you down but you didn't even give her the chance.
"No, don't say anything, I.. I.." And without another word you took off in a sprint away from her and out the gym doors.
Chaeryeong sat still for a moment just staring at the door you left out of. "What did she mean when she was talking about not acting on her feelings.." Chaeryeong asked herself once she got over the initial shock of you running from her.
_
"Where are you headed at this hour..?" Your mom asked when she saw you putting your shoes on.
"I have to go see Chaeryeong, if that's okay with you of course. It will be quick I promise." You looked up at her once you had your shoes on.
"Of course that's fine, just be careful and give her my greetings."
"Thanks mom, I'm always careful, bye." You waved at your mom before stepping out of your front door to head down to the dance academy Chaeryeong was enrolled in. She was there everyday after school until late into the night.
The whole walk there you tried to figure out what you were going to say to her when you saw her. A part of you hoped that she wasn't even there and that she had left early, but knowing Chaeryeong she wouldn't let anything get in the way of her practice. While walking down the busy sidewalk you continued to rack your brain with questions. Why did you run from her without any sort of explanation? Right after making that promise with her you just up and left her alone. So here you were, trying to find the right words to explain everything to your best friend, you didn't want to feel more awkward around her when this could all easily be explained. Well as easy as coming out and telling someone you like them could go...
The closer you got to arriving at her dance academy you started to walk at a slower pace but as you reached the building your eyes instantly landed on her, she was outside talking to someone, your heart immediately began to race. Even though you couldn't see her face, just seeing her from behind made you go crazy. You truly did have the most beautiful friend.
"Yeah I'll catch you later Chaer, be careful on the way home." The girl that was talking to Chaeryeong walked away after giving her a small wave.
Chaeryeong let out a small sigh before walking over to the front of the building, she pulled her phone out and leaned against the brick wall. After clicking through whatever it was on her phone, she moved to hold it up against her ear.
A few seconds later you felt your phone begin to vibrate in your pocket. You smiled as you put it up to your ear, "Hello..?" Your voice was calm, unlike your heart that felt like it would leap out of your chest at any moment.
"Hey, I'm sorry to call you just randomly like this but I was just wanting to check on you because of what happened earlier. Are you okay..?" Chaeryeong was looking at the ground as she played with a random rock.
"No, don't apologize, I like it when you call me randomly." You couldn't see the shade of red that made its way onto Chaeryeong's face since you were behind her. "I'm okay now, I'm sorry for running out on you like that. I should've stayed and talked to you more about it, instead I ran away." You cleared your throat as you slowly walked up behind her, "So that's actually why.." You hung up and hugged her from behind. "I came to see you in person." Your voice was low as you whispered in her ear.
Chaeryeong jumped up in surprise, "Oh you scared me." Chaeryeong smiled as she turned in your embrace, hugging you back.
"Surprise.." You smiled sheepishly as you tried to pull away from the hug.
"Wait.." Chaeryeong held your arms in place, "You feel warm."
"Are you cold..?" You smiled when she nodded, "Okay." You pulled her closer to you. "You didn't bring a jacket..?"
"No, I forgot to put it in my bag this morning." You felt her body relax as she rested her weight against you.
"Even after stealing most of mine you forget to pack one in your bag..? Wow pinky, your mom would be so disappointed." You laughed at her, "Ow.. what was that for..?" She nudged her elbow into your stomach.
"Don't pick on me, I had a million things going on in my head this morning." Chaeryeong had a small pout on her face as she thought about her morning.
"Hmm..? Really, why..?"
"Well, some mean idiot was ignoring me all week so I was busy thinking about what I did wrong." Chaeryeong picked her head up so she could look at you. "So technically it's your fault I don't have a jacket with me."
You let out an exaggerated sigh as you pulled away from the hug, "Fine." You pulled your hoodie off and handed it to her, "Here put it on."
Chaeryeong's eyes lit up in joy as she took the article of clothing from you. "Thank you very much."
"Well I guess I can kiss that hoodie goodbye since I'll never see it again." You rolled your eyes at your best friend.
Chaeryeong had a small satisfied grin on her face once she put your hoodie on, but that grin was short lived and her expression soon turned serious. "So what was, I mean why did you come all the way out here..?" She struggled at first to find the correct words.
"I wanted to talk to you.. about earlier I mean. I don't want us going to bed when there's unspoken words that need to be unveiled between us." You dropped eye contact with her, "I mean I just wanted to get this heavy weight off my chest, there's nothing you did wrong it's just all me. Like always.." You whispered the last part to yourself but Chaeryeong still heard it.
Chaeryeong's expression softened and she reached out to hold your hand, "Let me run inside to get my bag and you can come over and we'll talk about this in my room. Hmm..? How does that sound..?"
"No.." You shook your head, "I.. I think it would be better to talk outside." You didn't exactly know how to tell her that being alone with her in her room would cause your heart to leap out of your chest.
Chaeryeong hummed as she squeezed your hand, "Okay, if that's what you want then that's what we'll do. I'll just go get my bag. Wait out here for me." Chaeryeong planted a small kiss on your cheek before running inside.
Now that was a normal thing in your friendship so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Chaeryeong always had her ways of showing affection and before now they never seemed to bother you, but now you stood outside with flushed cheeks. You placed your hand flat across your chest to feel your heartbeat.
"Just as I thought, she's going to be my cause of death." You shook your head as you walked in small circles as you waited for her. "Oh my gosh, why is she so beautiful??? Just why did it have to be her..? Why couldn't I have liked anyone else, hmm..? Why heart, why does it have to be Chaeryeong..? Why does it have to be my Pinky..?" You paused as you stared at the ground. "I know Chaeryeong is the most beautiful person to walk this earth, but she's also my best friend. Why do you have to go crazy over her..?" You sighed as you stopped moving. "I just have to be truthful with her, I'm sure she already knows how beautiful she is but it won't hurt to tell her."
"Boo!" Chaeryeong jumped on your back with happy giggles. "Did I scare you..?"
"Ah! oh my gosh you did!" You sarcastically joked with her as you spun in small circles with her on your back.
"I knew it!" She let loud laughs out this time as her arms tightened around you. "Ahh you're going too fast."
You laughed as well while slowing down, "Oh I'm getting too old for this, I'm dizzy." You stopped spinning and hunched down a bit so Chaeryeong could get off carefully.
Chaeryeong hopped off your back and you spun around to face her. You instantly smiled when you saw how happy she looked.
"So cute." You reached out to squeeze her cheek.
"Hmm..?" Chaeryeong's eyebrows went up in surprise at what you said.
"I said you look cute. I like it when you smile like this, it makes me happy to see you have fun." You pulled your hand away from her cheek.
"I'm always like this whenever you're around, so as long as you don't leave me I'll always be happy.." Chaeryeong walked up next to you so she could wrap herself around your arm.
You let out a small laugh as you nodded, "Okay, I'll keep that in mind then."
Chaeryeong leaned her head on your shoulder, "Where did you want to go to talk..?"
"Hmm..? Oh right, Um I'm not sure." You had completely forgotten what you had originally come down here for once you and her got to your usual antics. "Oh I know, we can go to that park near your house."
"The turtle park..?" Chaeryeong pulled her arms away from you so she could hold your hand.
"Yeah that one, let's go.." You smiled at her as you led the way.
The both of you walked in a calm silence, you looked over and saw that her hair was damp, so you decided that you could use that as a discussion topic.
"So, did you have a busy practice today..? Are you tired..?" It took you a little bit to finally speak, but once you did you were glad your voice came out normal.
"No, it wasn't anything particularly too hard. We were just running through the choreo for the dance I'm performing at school." Chaeryeong always had this look in her eyes whenever it came to talking about dancing and it was one of the things you'd adored the most from her.
"Oh really? You're not thirsty or anything? We can stop by and get you something to drink." The concern in your voice was evident and Chaeryeong appreciated it.
"No I'm fine, Bell bought drinks for everyone today. How about you..? How was your day?" Chaeryeong looked at the side of your face as you guided her down the walkways.
"It was okay, I got home, did my homework then helped my mom with dinner. Oh right, she told me to tell you that she said hi."
Chaeryeong smiled and squeezed your hand in excitement, "Oh I haven't seen your mom in a while... Hmm? When was the last time I'd seen her..?" Chaeryeong's head tilted to the side as she was deep in thought, "Oh right the last time I saw her was when I spent the night a few weeks ago."
"Ah yeah, that's right. You haven't been over in a while." You stopped walking when you arrived at the park.
"Once the dance is over I'll have some more free time, I can come over more often, Oh we're here." Chaeryeong's eyes widened when she saw the playground set in front.
"Here come this way." You tugged on her hand so she could follow you. "Here, sit down."
"Hmm? Here?" Chaeryeong pointed at the swing.
"Mhm, I'll sit in this one." You gestured to the swing right next to the one she pointed at.
"Okay." She sat down first then you moved to sit in the swing next to her.
The both of you rocked back and forth for a little bit in silence before you finally spoke up.
"Pinky, do you mind if I ask what it was that you were going to say back at the gym earlier today..?" Both of your hands rested on the icy chains, and your eyes were focused on your swinging legs.
"Are you really going to be okay if I say it..?" Chaeryeong looked over at you, her eyes taking in all your features.
"Mhm, just say it. I'll be okay," You looked up at her and locked eyes, "As long as you don't leave me after you say it." You quoted her from earlier.
"Okay.." Chaeryeong spoke up after much thought. She stopped swinging and she sat still as she tried finding the right words to use. "What I was trying to say was that I think that I know that you." She paused again, her eyes were darting around until she settled on looking at her shoes. "That I know that you like... Girls." Chaeryeong looked up at you, her eyes locking onto yours, "And there's nothing wrong with that, but I shouldn't have said anything until you were ready to tell me. I just hated the thought of you avoiding me because of that since there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I would never think of you any different just because of that, it's a part of who you are and that's fine, because you're my best friend and I love you. Everything about you and that will never change, no matter what."
Chaeryeong tried to read your expression but it was difficult. She couldn't tell what you were thinking, hell you didn't even know what to think.
"Are you okay..?" Her voice was gentle and she hopped off her swing to stand in front of you. "If you don't want to talk about this right now, I completely understand. We can revisit this in the future."
You hummed and shook your head, "It's okay, I'm fine." You gave her a small smile, "You're right though, I do like girls. I think they're pretty, they always smell amazing, they have the best smiles and personalities. And luckily for me the most beautiful one is right here in front of me." You didn't mean for the last part to slip out but it was too late to take it back.
Chaeryeong's whole face flushed red at your compliment, "What? What do you mean? Me?"
"Mhm," You nodded as you decided that now was the time to give her all the compliments you always say when she's not around, to her face. "I think you're beautiful Chaeryeong. You're the prettiest girl in my eyes. You have the most amazing smile and your laugh is the best music to my ears. You have the kindest personality out of everyone that I have ever met. And I guess there's no better time to say it than now, but... I like you. Not just as friends, but as something more. I've felt like this for a while now and I don't expect you to return those feelings for me, but I also don't want you to hate me for them either." You tilted your head down and stared at your lap, "You drive me insane, Chaeryeong. Even just your name is beautiful to me. Every moment I'm around you my heart goes absolutely insane." You looked up at her, "That's why I've been avoiding you at school. My feelings for you took over every aspect of my life and it was hard to concentrate on anything else whenever you were around."
"Do you really mean that..?" Chaeryeong's eyes were watery and she was on the brink of tears.
"Yes Chaeryeong, I meant everything I just said. Even right now I just want to scream because of how beautiful you are. You drive me insane." You hopped off your swing and the two of you were standing in front of each other. "Here this will prove it." You grabbed her hand and placed it over your heart so she could feel how rapidly it was beating. "I'm crazy over you but I don't want to ruin our friendship. I cherish our friendship over everything else." You moved her hand away and let it drop at her side.
"Wow, I didn't know you felt like that about me, and you really think I'm beautiful..?" A tear slipped down her cheek.
"Oh no, looks like I broke my promise." You wiped her tear off her face, "And yes I do. I think you're cute, pretty, beautiful, stunning and gorgeous." You cupped her cheeks in your hands and looked her in the eyes, "You are beautiful Chaeryeong." You pulled your hands away from her face and shook them in the air, "Sheesh you're hot.." You smiled at your lame joke.
Chaeryeong smiled as she lightly punched you in the arm, "You're so lame. And no, you didn't break your promise. This is a different type of crying, I'm not sad " She wrapped her arms around you and pulled you into a hug. "Thank you." Her voice was muffled against your chest.
"For what..?" You returned her hug, and you moved one hand up to run your fingers through her hair.
"For being so nice to me, I don't deserve your compliments." Her arms tightened around you.
"No, those aren't compliments. They're my true feelings. Everything I said came straight from my heart, I meant every single word."
Chaeryeong pulled away so she could look you in the eyes, " I don't really know what to say.."
"Hey, it's okay.." You moved to hold her face in your hands, "I don't expect you to have any feelings for me. I honestly don't even know what I'd do if you did, but I just want us to be friends. I want everything to be normal again. I'll try to get over these feelings I have for you but at the same time I don't want you to avoid me or for you to feel awkward around me, because before everything else, you're my best friend. Our friendship is the most important thing to me and I don't want to be the reason why our friendship gets ruined." You smiled at her, "Hmm, how does that sound..?"
Chaeryeong nodded as she placed her hands on top of yours, "Okay, I'll never treat you any different, and I want you to know that I will work on trying to figure out my own feelings for you. I've never thought of you in that light, but I guess I never needed to since I always thought that you would always be there for me. I couldn't imagine my future without you in it."
After just staring at each other in silence you thought it would probably be best to just leave this conversation right here. "Come on, let's get you home. We can talk about all this more later on." You let go of her face, "Are you okay..?" You asked her when she seemed to be zoning out.
"Hmm..?" Chaeryeong blinked for a few more seconds before snapping back into reality, "Oh yeah, I'm okay." Her beautiful smile took over her features.
"Good, now come on." You grabbed her hand to lead her away from the swings.
"Where are we going..?" She asked as she walked with you.
You let out a laugh. "I'm taking you home, Did you not hear me say that..?"
"No I didn't, sorry.." She looked embarrassed as she answered you.
"It's okay, don't apologize. I know you, this happens often." You let out a small laugh before shaking your head.
"What? What's so funny?" Chaeryeong eyed you in suspicion.
"Nothing, it's nothing. I promise." You raised your hands in a sign of defeat to show her you meant no harm.
"I don't believe you." Chaeryeong narrowed her eyes to glare at you.
"Wow you don't believe your best friend..? How could you, that hurts my feelings." You placed a hand over your heart.
"Stop being dramatic and just tell me what's so funny. You know I don't like it when you make fun of me.." Chaeryeong's voice showed that she genuinely wanted to know what was going on inside your brain.
"Oh.." When you realized she was being serious you stopped joking around, "It's just that even when you zone out like that all the time you still look so cute to me. It wasn't anything funny, I just found it so cute."
Chaeryeong turned away from you and she covered her face as it started to warm up, "Stop calling me cute.." She whined as she shook her head.
You couldn't help but smile as you moved to stand in front of her. "Why..? I'm just stating the facts here."
Chaeryeong moved her fingers apart so she could look at you from in between them, "I can't deal with it.."
"Hmm..? What do you mean..?" You took a step towards her, "Is it making your heart race..?" You tilted your head to the side as you teased her, "Are you blushing..? Oh my god Chaeryeong do you have a crush on me?? Gross." You scrunch your nose as you place your hands over hers. You then move to pull her hands away from her face. "Adorable.."
Chaeryeong groaned as she pouted, "Stop doing that.. you're so annoying."
"Huh? Doing what..?" You leaned your face towards her to examine her expression.
This time it was Chaeryeong who pulled her hands away from you and she took off running away from you. "STOPPP ITTT!"
You laughed before running after her, "Pinky slow down, you're going to trip."
"Only if you promise to stop doing that!" She hollered as she kept running.
"Doing what? What are you talking about?" You caught up behind her and reached for her arm to stop her.
"You.." She took a deep breath as she stopped running, "You know exactly what you're doing."
You laughed again and shook your head, "No, I really don't."
"Ugghhh stop smiling like that. I hate you so much." Chaeryeong punched you on the shoulder.
You couldn't help the laughter that erupted from you, "Ow, ouch Pinky what the heck. I'm not even doing anything haha, why are you bullying me." You pretended to fold over in pain as you put your hand over the spot where she had hit you.
“Oh..” Her eyes widened as she watched you, “Did it hurt..?” Her mouth was agape as she stared at you in shock.
You sucked air in through your teeth and nodded, “Ow yes it hurt, why would you hit me…?” You made your voice sound weak as you pretended to stumble into her.
“Oh my god I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to hit you hard, I just can’t handle it when you look at me like that.” She blurted out the last part as she tried to pull your hand away from your shoulder where she had hit you.
You let out a little laugh before looking up at her with a warm smile, “I’m just joking pinky, it didn’t hurt. I just wanted to hear you admit that you get butterflies around me.”
Once again Chaeryeong was staring at you in shock, “What? So I didn’t hurt you?”
You laughed again as you reached up in the air with both hands, “Nope, perfectly fine, see.” You shook your hands in the air.
“Well now you’re going to be in pain..” The look in her eyes darkened as she fixed her stare on you.
“Huh? What? Wait, whoa whoa, calm down Pinky.” Your voice sounded panicked as you started to walk backwards, “Pinky chill, I’m sorry. Please don’t attack me.”
“Sorry isn’t going to work right now you buttface.” Chaeryeong braced herself before starting to chase after you.
“Pinky, wait, stop!!” You yelled after you turned around to start running away from her. “Pinky you know I’m faster than you, stop chasing me you’re going to wear yourself out.” You kept a steady pace in front of her, occasionally turning around to peek at how far you were from your best friend.
“I don’t care, you asked for this. This is karma,” She took a big huff of air before continuing, “It’s not fair that you’re the one who confessed your feelings but,” Another big huff from her, “I’m the one feeling butterflies.” She slowed down a bit before continuing on, “It’s not fair I just got out of practice, you have way more stamina than me.”
“Wait,” You stopped running when you heard what she said, “Pause…. You just said it, you said the word.”
Chaeryeong stopped running when she reached you, she bent over a bit and placed her hands on her knees, “Huh? What word? Stamina?” She spoke every word with a deep breath in between.
“Butterflies, you just said that you’re feeling butterflies because of me.” You turned away from her to throw your hands up in the air as a sign of celebration, “I won, I did it. I want to thank everybody in the world. I have won the best award anyone on this planet could ever get.” You spoke to no one but the wind as you continued to cheer, “I was able to give pinky butterflies.”
After catching her breath for a few more seconds she walked up to you, “What are you doing, who are you talking to..?” Her face showed just how puzzled she was by your actions.
“Hmm, oh.” You turned to face her when you noticed she was next to you, “I was just thanking the universe for this amazing moment in my life.” You had the cheesiest grin on your face when you saw Chaeryeong cringe from your antics. “Why are you making that face..?” You asked as a small laugh escaped your lips at the look on her face.
“Because you’re so weird, are you okay..?” Her head tilted to the side as she tried to examine your face.
“Oh I'm more than okay, I’m feeling amazing right now. Want to know why..?”
“Of course I want to know, only then will I find out what’s turned you into a crazy person.”
“Haha oh pinky, you humor me.” You cleared your throat before you explained to her what had made you so thrilled, “Well since I will never have the chance to date you, giving you butterflies is the next best thing I could ever achieve in this life.”
When all she did was look at you with the most confused stare ever you tilted your head in confusion before speaking to her again. “Uh, hello..? Pinky, you there..?” You waved your hand in front of her eyes. “Is everything alright in there..?” You balled your hand up into a fist and lightly knocked on the side of her head.
“When did I say that..?” Her face still looked like she was blanking out but her tone was serious.
“Hmm? When did you say what..?” You moved over to stand where she was just blankly staring.
“When did I say that I would never date you, I never said that did I..?” And with that question her eyes seemed to come back to life as they looked at you directly in your own.
Now it was your turn to look confused, “Uh what..?” You let out an awkward laugh before diverting your eyes from her now intense ones. “No you never did haha, but I just figured since you said you never saw me in that light um yeah haha… woo is it really warm out here, where did the wind go..” Your voice was quiet as you spoke to yourself at the end there, and you used your hands to fan some air towards your face.
“So I never said that, but you just assumed..?”
“Oh well when you put it that way I guess I did just assume.” You scratched the side of your head in confusion, “Are you mad at me..?”
Chaeryeong hummed in response, shaking her head. “No I’m not, but I want you to stop doing that.”
“Stop doing what..?” You still couldn’t look her in the eyes so you just settled on looking at one of the trees in the park.
“I want you to stop assuming answers from me. Wasn’t that the whole reason you were avoiding me all week, because you were afraid to tell me about your feelings and how I would respond, yet I said nothing negative about them. And now you’re assuming things about me that I haven’t even figured out myself.” She paused to let out a small sigh before continuing, “Please let me figure myself out before you make assumptions about what my conclusions will lead to.”
“Oh, Chaeryeong I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize I did that so much. And I’m sorry to not have realized how bothersome that could be to you..” You let out a small breath of air before clearing your throat, “Um well let’s go get you home before it’s too late..”
Chaeryeong didn’t move, instead she continued to stand where she was, “And this too, can you stop doing that..?”
You were frozen in shock, you didn’t realize your best friend felt so strongly about the things you did and how you were unintentionally bothering her, “Huh, uh what..?”
“This..” She moved her hands to gesture at the both of you, “You try to leave from serious conversations without letting me finish what I want to say, or you just don’t offer anymore dialogue to help sort things out. When anything becomes just slightly too much for you to handle you just run away. You don’t even think about how that makes the other person feel and how it can hurt them.” Chaeryeong had felt so strongly about what she was saying that her eyes began to water, “And you did it again,” She let out a small sniffle, “you called me by my name again.”
You felt frozen in place, what did you do..? You never realized you did these things but to find out that they were bothering the person you cared about the most this much was a lot to handle. It took everything in you to stay standing as suddenly the air around you felt the heaviest it’s ever been, you found breathing to be nearly impossible as you just couldn’t move. You knew you needed to comfort her but you just could not physically move from your spot.
Chaeryeong wiped her eyes, “I told you I don’t like it when you call me that yet you keep doing it.” She let out a small hiccup as she grabbed your arm, “Are you not going to say anything?”
“Sorry,” Your voice was rough but you were finally able to speak after being frozen in place. “Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-i just, I. I’m sorry.” You couldn’t bear to look at her so you managed to pull your arm away from her grip before turning your head to look away from her. You took in a deep breath as you realized what you were going to do next. You hated it but you just couldn’t bear being here with her any longer, you shook your head before covering your ears so you wouldn’t be able to hear what she would say next. “You’re going to hate me but I have to do this. I’m sorry Chaeryeong.” You finally managed to move yourself, but it wasn’t towards your best friend, In Fact it was in the opposite direction. You were doing just the thing she said she didn’t like. You didn’t want to do this but you just could not physically handle the situation you were in.
You couldn’t hear anything so you figured she went in her own direction as you continued on your path to no destination. The only thing in your mind was getting as far away from her as possible.
With only that thought in mind what happened next was not what you were ready for. Out of nowhere you felt something wrap around your waist and you felt an oddly familiar warmth embrace your body. You froze for a few seconds before looking down and seeing the sleeves of the hoodie you had on moments prior.
You slowly lowered your hands from the sides of your head as realization about your current situation hit you.
“Don’t leave me again. At least walk me home.”
Hearing her voice be as shaky as it was made your heart break into a million pieces. “Please don’t do this, I can’t right now. I’m sorry.” Your own voice wasn’t much better than hers but it was able to carry all the confusing emotions you were feeling.
You felt the grip she had around your body tighten as she spoke her next words carefully, “I don’t want to ask for a lot from you right now but can you just walk me home. I won’t ask you to talk to me, I just want you next to me. Please..?”
You looked down at the ground as a bunch of emotions you didn't know how to control flooded over you. You felt your own eyes begin to water and your vision became shaky, "Chaeryeong I'm… I can't do this right now. I don't know what's wrong with me, why do I feel so defeated. I don't want you to hate me but I can't stand feeling things that I don't know how to control. Why do I feel so broken..?" Your voice was shaky and Chaeryeong could hear just how terrible you felt in your voice alone. "I just didn't know you had so many issues pent up because of the things that I do. I never want to be an inconvenience to you but it seems like a nuisance is all I've been to you. I'm so sorry."
“Stop… Okay just stop talking already.” Chaeryeong moved around so she could see your face, “Stop talking down on yourself, this isn’t what I want.” She reached out to place her hands on either side of your face, “Look at me.” Her voice was calm and mature, much different than the way you were feeling inside. You had given her a small nod before looking into her eyes, “Breathe.”
You did as she instructed you to do so. You took several deep breaths, your eyes never leaving her now calm ones. “I’m sorry…” You sounded defeated but you just wanted her to know how bad you felt.
“Shh, don't talk right now, just breathe with me. In,” She took in a deep breath with you following along, “And out.” She exhaled and you followed suit. “Just a few more, come on.” She proceeded to help you take a few more deep breaths. “There, don’t you feel better now.”
“Mhm..” You hummed before finally looking away from her. “Thank you.”
“How do you feel..?” She ran her thumb across your cheek, cleaning the remnants of your breakdown.
“I feel,” You took in another deep breath as you closed your eyes, “Like poop.” You opened your eyes to look into her own, “A big piece too.” You were able to offer her a small smile.
Chaeryeong let out a soft giggle before shaking her head at you, “You’re making jokes again so at least I know you’re feeling better.”
You stared at her for a few a little while longer before speaking up again. “How do you feel..? I didn’t know you had so much pent up anger in you. I’m sorry.”
“No stop apologizing, it’s fine. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that all at once. I should’ve just waited for the right moment to talk to you about it like a civilized person. I’m the one who’s sorry, I guess I just didn’t realize how much it bothered me.” Chaeryeong shook her head as she thought to herself.
“No I’m glad you told me all that, now I can at least try working on it. I don't think you understand, I don't want to be a burden to you. So please pinky, tell me when I’m doing anything wrong that makes you feel uncomfortable. Please.”
“Okay,” She gave you a small smile as she agreed to what you said, “I will make sure to do that, because I don’t want this to ever happen again.”
“Promise..?” You raised your eyebrows in surprise as you waited for her to answer.
“Mhm, I promise.”
Before you could say anything you felt the wind around the two of you begin to pick up. You sucked some air in between your teeth as you rubbed your exposed arms.
“Oh are you cold..? Do you want your jacket back..?” Chaeryeong took a step back from you so she could start to remove the article of clothing.
“No! Pinky keep it, please. I don’t need you getting sick.” You placed your hands over hers to stop her from pulling the jacket off.
“But what about you..? You could get sick.” Her lips were in a small pout as she talked to you.
“Don’t worry about me,” You offered her a reassuring smile as another gust of wind swept between the two of you, “You have something important coming up, keeping you from getting sick is more important than me getting sick. I’ll be fine as long as you’re fine.”
“Are you sure..? My house isn’t far, you have a longer walk home.” She looked at you with the most concerned eyes.
“Yes pinky, I’m sure.” You still had your hands covering hers, “Oh, sorry.” You quickly retracted your hands away.
“No, don’t apologize,” She started to squirm before covering her face in frustration.
“Hmm, what’s wrong..? What did I do wrong..? I’m sorry.” You began to panic as you tried thinking back to the few moments before, trying to gauge where you went wrong.
“Don’t get scared of touching me.” She moved her hands away from her face to look you in the eyes.
“Huh..? What do you mean..?” You tilted your head to the side as you tried to understand what she meant.
“What I mean is we’ve been best friends for thirteen years now, you’ve never had a problem with holding my hands but now you act like I’ve burned you.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just because now you know that I have romantic feelings for you. I don't want you to think I'm a creep by trying to touch you or anything. I-i, it’s just hard to explain but I don’t want you to be disgusted by me.” You scratched the back of your neck as you explained your actions.
“Well I don’t think that. I just want you to treat me the way you always have, okay..? All those negative things you keep thinking are going to happen. I’m not going to act differently around you, and I’m most definitely not going to be disgusted by you. That’s crazy.” She stuck her hand out towards you, “So hold my hand and walk me home.”
“Huh..?” You were surprised by how assertive she was being so you immediately complied, “Oh okay. Sure.” You slipped your hand into her soft ones and you couldn’t help the smile on your face as she interlaced her own fingers with yours.
“Now walk me home like you said you were going to.” She moved next to you and gestured with her free hand for you to lead the way.
“Yes ma’am.” You joked with her before leading the way to her building.
The two of you walked in a comfortable silence up until the elevator ride to her apartment's floor.
“Is your mom home..?” Your voice was quiet as you asked her.
It took her a few seconds to snap out of her inner thoughts, “Hmm..? Oh no, she had to take Chaeyeon somewhere this weekend so they’ll both be gone. It's just me and Chaemin today. Oh wait, no she's staying at a friend’s house tonight.”
“Oh, is your dad still away for his conference..? I thought he was getting back this week.”
“He was originally supposed to be back tonight but something happened so they extended his stay until next week.” Chaeryeong shrugged before realizing what all that meant, “Oh so that means it’s just me home today…”
“Huh, you’re going to be the only one home..?” You looked to the side as you thought back to the conversation the two of you had when you showed up earlier. “Oh, since it’s been a while, did you want to come over to my house for a sleepover..?” When she didn’t answer you at first you shook your head, “Ah but if you already have plans for tomorrow don’t worry about it, I forgot it’s the weekend tomorrow haha..” You stepped out of the elevator when it had arrived at your designated floor. “Are you coming out..?” You asked with a chuckle when your best friend just stared at you from inside the elevator.
“Oh yeah, sorry.” She shook her head in a manner that seemed like she was trying to snap out of something.
You were the first one to make it to her door, you entered the passcode you memorized as a kid and the door unlocked. It had been a while since you had been over at her apartment but the entire walk here from the park felt so familiar to you it was jarring. It seemed like just yesterday the two of you were playing in the same park as snot-nosed kids.
_
It was currently the early afternoon right after school let out for most elementary schools so there was a group of kids gathered at the park playing the age old game of Tag.
“Tag! You’re It.” A little boy had tapped a young girl who was bent down messing with one of her shoes before sprinting away.
“Hey, that's not fair! I was tying my shoes.” The young girl yelled as she fell over when the boy lightly tapped her shoulder, throwing her off of her balance.
“I don’t care, it still counts.” The little boy yelled back at the young girl before completely disappearing into the playground equipment in front of them.
“But my shoes.” The young girls’ eyes watered up as she messed with her loose shoelaces.
“Hey, you can tag me, finish tying your shoes.”
“Huh..?” The young girl looked up to see a young you staring at her with the most pitiful eyes.
“Here, tap my hand, I can be ‘It’. My mom says it’s not okay to run around with your shoes not tied.” You were standing in front of her with your hand extended out towards her. “It’s okay, it’s not cheating. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
“Oh are you sure..?” The young girl stared up at you from the ground.
“I’m sure, I already said I promise.”
“But do you pinky promise..?” The young girl sniffled as she wiped her nose.
“Do I pinky promise..? What’s that..?” You had moved to sit on the ground next to the young girl.
“It’s when you say, ‘I pinky promise,’ and then you do this.” The young girl grabbed your hand to move it in a certain way, “See and then once our pinkies are tied together we press our thumbs together, and then my dad says you kiss the back of your thumb to seal the promise for forever.”
“Oh wow, that’s so cool…” Your little brain was completely blown away from the concept the young girl was showing you. “Haha pinky promise is a funny name.”
“Is it..?” The young girl smiled at your laugh, completely forgetting about the tears she almost shed over her untied shoes.
“Uh-huh,” You nodded as another giggle escaped from you, “Pinky haha that’s funny.” Looking back now you didn’t understand why your small elementary brain thought that that word was the funniest thing in the world.
“Haha I guess it is funny, but do you pinky promise that you won’t tell anyone that you let me tag you..?” The young girl asked you as she gestured to your hands that had your pinkies interlocked already.
“Mhm, I pinky promise.” You went through with the little motions she taught you earlier. “Boom, I did it.” You cheered when you completed the little ceremonious promise seal.
“Okay well now it’s sealed, you can’t tell anyone.” The little girl let out a giggle, “So now, tag!” She poked you in the arm. “You’re It now.”
“Yes, I’ll go get that boy back for you. Oh but first.” You looked over at her still untied shoe. “Here I can do it for you.” You moved your small hands to tie her shoelaces, “and then the rabbit goes through the hole and..” You were mumbling quietly to yourself as you remembered the lesson your dad gave you on tying knots. “Done! I did it!” You had the proudest look on your face. “Okay now I’ll go! Bye!!”
“Oh, thank you,” The girl got up to try and chase after you but just as you had showed up out of nowhere, you were gone into thin air just as fast.
_
“No really, don’t think you have to come over now just because I invited you.” You watched as your best friend packed up a bag with her clothes.
“I promise, I don’t have any plans for this weekend. Plus like I said earlier, it’s been a long time since I’ve slept over.” She had just finished zipping up her bag but then she walked back over to her closet. She pulled something off of one of her hangers before walking over to you and placing it in your arms.
“Okay but I don’t want you to feel like I’m forcing you to come over, I just don’t want you to be home all by yourself.” You looked down at what she placed in your arms. “Oh my old hoodie…? I thought I had lost it, you had it this whole time..?”
“You left it here a while ago, and I already said I want to come over so come on.” Chaeryeong walked out of her room with you following right behind her. “Put the hoodie on, it’s cold outside.”
“Yes ma’am…” You grumbled as you slid your old favorite hoodie over your head. “Oh my mom said she can come pick us up if you don’t want to walk, it’s up to you.” You pulled your phone out of your pocket once you had the hoodie on all the way, and you showed her the messages.
“Oh no it’s okay, we can just walk.” Chaeryeong walked to the front door of her apartment after making sure all the lights inside were off.
“Are you sure..? I don’t live as close as I used to when we were five. It’s a little bit of a longer walk now.” You walked out of the front door that she held open for you.
“I’m sure, tell your mom not to worry.”
“Hmm, okay then.” You messaged your mom back as you walked with Chaeryeong to the elevator. “You better not complain about your feet hurting later.”
“I won’t. I promise that I’m okay with walking.” She pressed the button for the ground floor.
“Ha you promise..? But do you pinky promise..?” You giggled to yourself, shaking your head at your own lame joke.
_
“Mom, we're home.” Both you and Chaeryeong had just walked through the front door of your house.
“Oh my, is it really you Chaeryeong, it’s been ages since you’ve last been here. Look at how much you’ve grown, wow.” Your mom walked to the door to greet the both of you home, well by the both of you you mostly meant Chaeryeong.
“Mom, calm down. It hasn’t even been that long since you’ve seen her, she still looks the same.” You finished taking your shoes off before grabbing the bag that Chaeryeong had on her back, “I’ll take this to my room, feel free to catch up with your bestie here.”
Chaeryeong let out a small giggle as she let you slide the bag off of her shoulders. “Okay, thanks.” She turned to face your mom so she could politely introduce herself. “Haha it has been a while since I’ve been over here, I’m sorry for not making any time to come visit.”
While you were getting everything settled in your room, chaeryeong walked with your mom to the kitchen.
“Oh no that’s nonsense, we don’t live as close to you as we used to haha. Plus your mom has told me about how busy both you and Chaeyeon have been. I guess it’s no surprise that the two of you are the pride and joy of that dance academy that you both go to.” Your mom gestured for Chaeryeong to take a seat at one of the barstools in your kitchen as she began to dig through the refrigerator.
“Well I wouldn’t go as far as to say that we’re the pride and joy of the academy but they do keep us pretty busy. That's actually why Chaeyeon and my mom aren’t home this weekend, they have her going to a seminar out of town to meet a choreographer from overseas for a special project.” Chaeryeong sat on the barstool, keeping her eyes on what your mom was doing.
“Oh a special project, that sounds exciting.” Your mom pulled a few containers out of the refrigerator. “But what about you, do you have any special projects coming up..?”
“Well I just got approved this week to put on a dance performance with some of the girls from my academy during the school dance.”
“Oh my, really? That’s so awesome! How much longer do you have till the dance..? Someone here hasn’t even mentioned your school dance.” Your mom gestured to the direction of your room. “She gets weirdly moody everytime I bring it up for some reason.”
“Ah so she’s been moody around you too haha. But um the dance is in two weeks so it’s a little nerve wracking but I’m excited.” Chaeryeong watched as your mom began to place some food on a plate.
“What do you mean ‘too’? Has she been acting weird around you as well..?” Your mom walked over to where Chaeryeong was sitting and she placed the plate of food down in front of her.
“Ah yeah, just a bit. But it’s okay, we’re okay now.” Chaeryeong grabbed the utensils your mom handed her.
“You’re okay now..? Did the two of you get in a fight..?” Your mom took a seat next to Chaeryeong and she gestured for her to start eating.
“Well not necessarily a fight haha, just some small misunderstandings is all. But I promise we’re okay now.” Chaeryeong thanked your mom for the food before beginning to eat.
“Okay well I’m glad you’re okay now, just during this period in both of your lives don't take anything she does to the heart. It’s just puberty haha. The two of you have always been super close since you two first met. I still remember the day she introduced me to you as the ‘pinky promise’ girl.” Your mom let out a small laugh, “The first day she met you she kept making random pinky promises with me and her dad. She told us she wanted to be cool like her new friend.”
“Mom, you better not be embarrassing me.” You walked into the kitchen when you heard your mom laughing, just knowing she was probably telling Chaeryeong something that you would rather her not know.
“Oh please, you do that enough. I’m just telling Chaeryeong about how happy you were to have met her. Remember..? When we came home you kept wanting to make pinky promises with me and your dad..?”
You huffed and rolled your eyes, “No, I don’t remember that.” You took a small piece of food off of Chaeryeong’s plate and tossed it in your mouth. “Anyways, I’m going to go take a shower, my room is ready for you whenever. Also don’t believe anything she says, she’s just trying to embarrass me.” You made a face at your mom before running away to your bathroom.
“That girl, I swear…” Your mom mumbled before smiling at Chaeryeong, “When you’re finished with your food, just place the plate in the sink, I’ll clean it up. If you’re still hungry feel free to grab some more. I’m going to go fold some clothes.”
“Okay, thank you so much.” Chaeryeong smiled at your mom before going back to eating.
“Of course sweetie.”
_
“Hey are you on your way yet..? We’re supposed to be meeting Yeji’s friend across the street before we head in.”
“Yeah sorry just give me like five minutes, Yuna spilled something on her dress.”
“Okay, well I’ll tell Yeji then, I can’t stay for too long because I have to go see Chaeryeong before her performance.”
“Alright alright, we’ll be there soon, just go ahead and meet her friend.”
“Okay, well I’ll see you later then.” You hung up before looking around in confusion.
It was the night of your school dance, and as much as you wanted to skip it, you showed up just to support Chaeryeong. The past two weeks went by with this weird sort of tension between the two of you that neither one of you wanted to speak on so you just didn’t. After she had spent the night at your place the two of you went back to talking like normal, but due to her practices you really hadn’t had much time to spend with each other outside of school. Today was the first time since the sleepover that you would be seeing her outside of classes.
“Is this the right place..?” You looked at the building in front of you before stepping in.
“Oh hey you’re here, where’s the two shins..?” Yeji walked up to you with a big smile as another girl followed behind her.
“Oh Ryujin said that she was helping Yuna get a stain or something out of her dress because she spilled something on it.” You shrugged your shoulders. “But she said they would be here in like five minutes. I just don’t think I can stay for much longer since I have to go visit Chaeryeong in a bit.”
“Ah okay, well here, first introduce yourself. This is Lia, we go to the same cram school.” Yeji gestured to the girl that was standing behind her.
“Oh, hi. It’s nice to meet you Lia.” You smiled as you stuck your hand out towards the pretty girl.
“It’s nice to meet you as well. I’ve heard a lot about you from Yeji.” She shook your hand, returning a friendly smile.
“Oh really..? Did she say good things about me..?” She looked over at Yeji before looking back at Lia.
“Mmm, mostly.” Lia looked up and to the side as if she was deep in thought.
“Wait, mostly..? What did she say..?” You just kept your eyes on yeji as you waited for Lia to explain what she meant.
“Well she’s said that you’re very nice but that you tend to bully her.” Lia was just joking because Yeji had put her up to it.
“Huh? Me bully her..? Yeji is the one who is always calling me kid and patting my head even though Yuna is younger than me. She’s the kid, not me.” You crossed your arms as you just glared at your friend. “That’s ridiculous, when have I ever bullied you? I can’t believe my ears, just wait till Ryujin hears of these ludicrous accusations.”
“Haha I’m just joking, I promise. Yeji put me up to this but I can’t keep up the act. She has never said that.” Lia got your attention, “Yeji was just trying to ruffle your feathers.”
“Hmm, well ruffled they are. Anyways I’m going to go see Chaeryeong now, I can’t deal with you.” You rolled your eyes at Yeji.
“Sure sure, go visit your girlfriend, and tell her we say hi.” Yeji waved her hand at you.
“She’s not my girlfriend you idiot.” You yelled back as you had already started to walk away.
“Ha, keep telling yourself that.” Yeji called out as you walked out the door.
“Awe, are they actually girlfriends..? That’s so cute.” Lia asked Yeji with a bright smile.
“Hmm well not officially or anything but they pretty much act like a married couple.” Yeji shrugged before smiling when she saw the next two girls that walked in arguing.
“No I’m telling you, you nudged my arm and that made me tip it over. So technically I don’t owe you anything for you having to help me clean it.” The youngest one argued with the friend she walked in with.
“See now you’re just making up stories, I did no such thing. I move with elegance and grace, there’s no way I would’ve bumped into you.” The older one argued back.
“Ha! Elegance and grace..? Is that what you call it when you sit with your legs spread wide open..?”
“It’s not my fault that that’s just more comfortable to me.”
“Girls! Hey! Girls…” Yeji raised her voice to get the attention of the two younger girls in front of her. When they both looked at her she clapped her hands together, “Please introduce yourselves to my friend. Her name is Lia and I hope that the two of you can give her a good first impression.” Yeji gestured to her friend behind her. “And Lia, this is Ryujin.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The girl spoke when Yeji gestured towards her.
“And this little one is Yuna.” Yeji gestured to the youngest.
“Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you Lia.” Yuna smiled before looking over at Ryujin and sending her a death glare.
“Haha it’s nice to meet the two of you as well.” Lia politely bowed her head a bit before looking over at Yeji. “You sure do have an interesting friend group.”
“Ha, they are interesting, until you have to deal with them for what feels like twenty four hours a day.” Yeji rolled her eyes.
“Okay before you start insulting us, where’s thing two..?” Ryujin asked when she noticed you weren’t there.
“Oh she left right before you two walked in, she went to go see Chaeryeong.”
“Dang she already left to see thing one.” Ryujin ran a hand through her hair, “She asked me to give these to her but I guess I’ll just have to go take them to her.” She showed Yeji the white knee pads she had in her hands.
“When did you get those..?” Yeji looked at Ryujin in confusion.
“Oh Chaeryeong had left them in class by accident and she asked me to grab them for her.” Ryujin explained as she put the knee pads back in her back pocket.
“Oh, I’m surprised she asked you to get them and not that dummy.” Yeji raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“It’s because she left early and so by the time Chaeryeong had noticed she had left them I was the only one who could grab them for her.” Ryujin looked around before shrugging her shoulders, “I guess I should head over there as well, her performance starts in about an hour.”
“Okay well we can walk over with you, we want to get good spots to watch her.” Yeji looked over at Lia, “Does that sound good to you..?”
“Yeah that sounds great to me, I don’t mind. I’m really excited for this performance, our school would never approve anything like this.” Lia answered back with a bright smile.
“Okay then, let’s start heading that way.”
_
“Knock knock.” You spoke out loud while knocking on the girls locker room door.
“Oh hey come in.” Chaeryeong called out to you from behind the door.
“Okay, coming in.” You opened the door then walked in. “Oh,” When you didn’t see her as soon as you walked in, you moved further into the locker room. “Pinky…?” You mumbled as you walked around the corner. “Oh wow…” Your jaw had practically dropped to the ground when you saw her in front of you. “Oh great heavens…” You didn’t even know where you got that expression from but all you knew was that the way your best friend looked in that moment had made you almost pass out from shock. She was in the middle of getting her hair done by someone you had never met. “Wow..”
“Okay you’re all good now, just remember not to touch your eyes or you’ll smear your makeup.” The lady that was doing her hair smiled at you before dismissing herself from the room.
“Uh, are you okay..? Do I look that weird with makeup on..?” Chaeryeong stood up to walk over to you.
“No, wait.” You stuck your hand out to stop her from walking closer to you.
The Chaeryeong in front of you looked so much different than what she normally did. She had black hair this morning but right now it was a dark shade of red and styled. Her makeup was simple but it accented her eyes so well it made her look even more stunning than she normally did.
"Hmm, are you okay..?" Chaeryeong asked with genuine concern at your strange reaction.
"Pinky, you are so beautiful…" You had never spoken truer words in your life.
"What..?" Chaeryeong asked with a soft chuckle as she thought you were joking with her.
"You look insanely gorgeous right now, it's unfair…" You just couldn't tear your eyes away from her. "Damn…"
"D-damn..? Huh?" She had confusion written all over her face as she tried to figure out what that expression on your face was for.
You finally took a moment to look at the rest of her and you were instantly blown away by her beauty. The white outfit she had on nearly gave you a nosebleed. You reached up to pat around your nose to check, just in case.
"Are you okay..? What's wrong with your nose..?" Chaeryeong asked as she watched the way you touched around your nose.
"I'm just making sure my nose isn't bleeding..." You finally snapped out of deep concentration. "Wow." You shook your head and then turned around.
"Haha what are you doing now..?" Chaeryeong stepped around you so she was facing you again.
"I needed a break, you're a little too much to handle right now." You waved your hand in front of your face to help cool you down. "Well I mean you always are but right now you're just a little too too much to handle."
Chaeryeong smiled before shaking her head, "You play around too much, can you just tell me if I look okay..? I'm so nervous..?" She ran her hands along her outfit to flatten the material against her body.
You closed your eyes before slapping your hands over your eyes, "Don't do that in front of me."
"Huh? Do what??" Chaeryeong jumped in sudden surprise at your reaction.
"That," You moved one hand away from your face to gesture to her, "What you just did with your hands. Don't do that in front of me unless you want me to pass out."
"What? But all I was doing was adjusting my clothes…"
"I know, I know… But you're just too beautiful right now, I'm going to pass out." You moved your other hand away from your face so you could look at her. "And no I'm not just saying this because I like you, anyone with eyes would be blown away with how beautiful you are right now Chaeryeong." You puffed your cheeks up as you exhaled, "I mean you're always beautiful to me but right now I am going to be so jealous of everyone else being able to see you like this." You smiled as you shook your head. "Now I'm going to have some competition in the crush category haha."
"Okay see now I know you're lying. Plus you would never have to worry about anyone else, there is no competition for you." Chaeryeong walked around you so she could look at herself in the mirror.
“Wait, what do you mean by that..?” You walked up behind her as she messed with her hair.
“What do I mean by what..?” Chaeryeong looked you in the eyes through the mirror.
“You said there is no competition for me, so does that mean… uh, hmm…” Your head tilted to the side as you tried to think about what you were trying to say. Your brain felt like it had a million thoughts running through it but trying to grab just one felt impossible.
You went to take a step forward so you could stand in front of her but at the same time she had turned around so she could face you. So now the two of you were standing too close as she had nowhere to go but against the mirror behind her. All those thoughts you had racing through your mind were now gone as all you could do was stare at your best friend with an empty mind.
“Does that mean what..?” Chaeryeong asked quietly when she saw the position the both of you were in.
“Does that mean I have a chance..?” Your eyes had never left hers as you asked your question.
“A chance..? With what..? Me?” Chaeryeong asked in confusion, her eyes focusing everywhere else but your own.
“Yes, with you.”
“Uhm, like how..?” She let out a nervous giggle at the end of her question.
“Like in having you be my girlfriend, you haven’t mentioned anything to me about our whole situation after I told you I have feelings for you, so I just-” Before you could finish what you were trying to say there was a knock on the door followed by a few giggles.
“Yo yo, Chaeryeong you in there!?”
You quickly backed away from your best friend when you heard the door open and the footsteps of four other girls walk in.
“Wow, what did we walk in on..?” Ryujin asked when she saw how red Chaeryeong’s face was and how you were avoiding looking at everyone in the room.
“Huh? Oh no, nothing, I was just asking her how my uh makeup looked.” Chaeryeong answered as she turned to look in the mirror so she could only look at herself and avoid everyone else’s eyes.
“Hmm well you’re asking the wrong person for their opinion if you want an honest answer because she’s only going to tell you about how beautiful you are.” Ryujin said as she walked up to Chaeryeong to hand her the knee pads she had in her pocket.
“Ryujin shut up.” You rolled your eyes at her as you walked past everyone to head to the door.
“What it’s the truth..? Am I wrong..?” Ryujin laughed, “So what did she tell you then Chaeryeong..?”
“Oh uh, she said it looked good.” Chaeryeong took the knee pads that Ryujin had brought her.
“Just good..? Hmm, suspicious…” Ryujin mumbled.
“Okay Ryujin, leave them alone now.” Yeji walked up to Chaeryeong with Lia following behind her.
“Oh, Yeji, you’re here too. Hi.” Chaeryeong smiled at her.
“Hi, this is my friend Lia.” Yeji smiled back at her before moving to the side to introduce her friend.
“Oh,” Chaeryeong looked at Yeji in surprise before looking over at her friend, “Hi, I’m Chaeryeong, it’s nice to meet you.” Chaeryeong smiled at her.
“Oh so this is the girlfriend..?” Lia whispered to Yeji before smiling at Chaeryeong, “Hi, it’s nice to meet you as well. I can’t wait for your performance.”
“Huh,” Chaeryeong was confused as to if she had correctly heard what Lia first said. “Oh thank you.” She snapped out of deep thought when she realized what Lia had said next.
“Hey wait where are you going??” Yeji was the next one to speak up when she saw you opening the door to head out.
“Um, I’m just going to go find a spot before the gym fills up.” You looked over at Chaeryeong one last time before walking out of the locker room.
“What’s up with her, did you two fight..?” Ryujin asked Chaeryeong.
“Fight..? Us two..? No we didn’t fight. Why..?” Chaeryeong answered as she moved to sit down on one of the benches in the locker room so she could kick her shoes off and slip the knee pads on.
“The two of you have just been acting weird around each other for a while now.” Ryujin shrugged before being the next one to walk to the door. “Well not my business but I’m going to follow her so we also have a spot to stand. Come on Yuna.” Ryujin grabbed the youngest’s arm and led her out the door.
“Oh uh okay…” Chaeryeong was still adjusting her knee pads when Yeji moved to stand in front of her.
“How do you feel..? Are you nervous..?”
Chaeryeong shook her head before looking up at Yeji, “No, I’m not nervous. I’m just excited today is finally here. I’ve been practicing like crazy and I can’t wait for everyone to see my performance.”
“Hmm, are you having anyone record this performance..?” Yeji moved to sit down next to her on the bench. Lia just moved to stand behind Yeji.
“Oh actually my dance academy has a small team that usually records our public performances and they said that they’re going to come and set up soon to record.” Chaeryeong started to slip her shoes back on once she had both knee pads on.
And so the three girls sat in the locker room together talking about everything and nothing until four other girls walked in to ask Chaeryeong if she was ready to stretch with them.
_
“Hmm, this does look like it would be a good spot, oh wow, she has a whole camera crew..?” Ryujin rocked on her feet as she stared at the people setting up camera equipment. “Looks like your girlfriend is going to be a star soon.” Ryujin put her arm around your shoulder.
You huffed in annoyance before pushing her arm off of you, “Why do you guys keep calling her my girlfriend, we’re not dating.”
“Haha sorry it’s just so funny seeing how annoyed you get. You take it too seriously, we’re just joking. We seriously don’t think you like her. We just think it’s funny because it’d be so cliche if you did actually like her. But we all know how Chaeryeong is, you could tell her a million times that you like her yet she still wouldn’t believe you.” Ryujin nudged your arm lightly.
It was at that moment when your entire friend group’s jokes flashed through your head, you had forgotten you never actually told them about your feelings for your best friend so the fact that you let their dumb jokes get under your skin might have seemed suspicious. You had to find a way to play it off so that your secret could stay hidden, plus considering the fact that if they found out that she rejected you they would tease you relentlessly. You honestly didn’t know how you would be able to survive their torment.
You closed your eyes for a second as you tried to put on a different persona to throw Ryujin off of your trail. “Ha no that would be silly, it’s just that if she hears all these jokes I don’t want her to start believing them. I don’t want her to feel awkward in our relationship because of the jokes you all make haha.” You scratched the skin behind your right ear as you avoided looking at both Ryujin and Yuna.
“Hmm,” Yuna finally spoke up after being silent for the entirety of the time you’d seen her that night. “That seems a little suspicious but we will buy that excuse for now.” Yuna pulled on Ryujin’s sleeve so she could get her attention then she pointed at your face.
“Very suspicious indeed.”
You cleared your throat before looking around at the gym that began to fill up with the various other students that attended your school. “When do you think this will start..?” You asked both Ryujin and Yuna as you attempted to change the subject.
“I’m not sure, but hopefully soon. They need to hurry it up with the food.” Ryujin mumbled as she scanned the room for where the food was being set up.
Before you could say anything in response you felt someone lightly tap on your shoulder.
“Oh who’s that..?” Yuna whispered to Ryujin at the mystery girl tapping on your shoulder. Ryujin just shrugged in response as they watched the two of you.
You turned around and you were greeted with very familiar eyes, “Oh, Chaeyeon, what are you doing here..?” You greeted your best friend's older sister with a friendly hug which she quickly reciprocated.
“I’m here to watch Chaeryeong’s performance of course.” She told you once you finished hugging.
“Oh that’s awesome, she’s going to be so excited to know you’re here. Oh but you’ve seen the dance already haven’t you..? She told me that you helped her practice some parts at home.”
“Haha, of course I’ve seen the whole dance already, but no matter how many times you see the dance in practice an actual performance will blow it out of the water.” Chaeyeon laughed as she shook her head, “Trust me this is a performance that I do not want to miss.”
“Ah okay okay, I understand now. Well luckily for you I think I picked out the best spot to watch from.” You gestured to the empty space in front of you that was blocked off with some cones someone had grabbed from the gym’s utility closet. “Her performance is going to take place up there.”
“Nice well I hope you don’t mind me joining along to watch from here.” Chaeyeon said as she gestured to the other two girls behind you.
“Oh,” You had completely forgotten that both Ryujin and Yuna were just standing there, “I don’t think they’ll mind. I certainly don’t.” You looked behind at the two girls, “You guys don’t mind if Chaeryeong’s older sister stands here with us to watch the performance, do you..?”
“Wait, her older sister..?” Ryujin stepped up to get a better look at Chaeyeon. “Wow why has she never introduced you to us.”
“Wow, she’s pretty.” Yuna said as she walked around Chaeyeon.
“Hmm well I know what she was doing keeping her away from you..” You mumbled quietly as you talked about Ryujin, “But yes this is Chaeyeon, Chaeryeong’s older sister. And Chaeyeon, this is Ryujin,” You gestured to Ryujin, “And this is Yuna.” You pointed to the youngest.
“Hi, it’s nice to meet the two of you. Sorry I haven’t met either of you before, I rarely have time in between my studies at university and my work at the same dance studio that Chaeryeong attends, to meet people.”
“Wow wait, you work there..? That’s awesome, how is it..? Chaeryeong doesn’t ever talk about her studio since Yeji and I both attend ASP Studios across town haha.” Ryujin had moved to stand in between you so she could talk to Chaeyeon now that her interest was piqued.
“Oh well I started there as a student at the same time as Chaeryeong, but once I entered university I was thinking about dropping out because of the time restraints but then they offered me a position there so they wouldn’t lose me. It’s really fun, I get to work on my own thing while also helping out with the younger children in my free time.”
While the two of them got carried away in their own conversation your eyes began to wander around the now crowded gym. At the sight of all the faces in the crowd, you began to feel nervous for your best friend. You knew she would do fine and that there was really nothing to worry about but you just couldn’t help yourself.
“Oh there’s Yeji and her friend.” Yuna tugged on your sleeve as she pointed at your other friend making her way through the crowd to where you were positioned.
“Finally, we found you.” Yeji said with a small huff. “There are way more people in here than it might look like.”
“Wow there’s even a DJ here..? I’m so jealous of your school.” Lia said as her eyes were drawn to the DJ booth in the corner. The DJ your school had hired was still in the process of setting up so the gym was only filled with the sounds of everyone’s conversations.
“Oh, who is this..?” Yeji asked you when she noticed Chaeyeon talking to Ryujin.
“Oh Yeji, this is Chaeyeon, she’s Chaeryeong’s older sister. And Chaeyeon, this is Yeji, another one of our friends.” You introduced the two of them and RYujin quickly caught Yeji up with Chaeyeon’s employment status.
“Wow, that’s so cool that they hired you there. I’m sure Ryujin already told you but the both of us attend the same studio so Chaeryeong doesn’t ever tell us anything about what is going on at her’s. So this performance of hers is a complete surprise to all of us.” Yeji told Chaeyeon.
“Ah yeah well that’s not entirely her fault, our studio likes to keep everything quiet until it becomes a public performance. They say it is to build suspense haha.”
“Blah blah blah, enough dancing talk.” Yuna interrupted as she leaned on Yeji. “Let’s talk about something else now, you are all boring me.”
“Talk about something else..? Well what do you want us to talk about..?” Yeji asked the youngest. Music began to play throughout the gym but by the looks of everything, set up was still taking place.
“Oh what’s that..?” Lia asked when a few people walked in rolling something in the spot that they had blocked off.
“I have no idea, it's huge.” Yeji said as you all watched the crew of people begin to set up whatever it was they had.
“Oh it’s a collapsible stage. Our studio had these custom made so that they can support the dances we do. It helps the people in the back to see what's going on as well. Hmm seeing as they brought this they should also be bringing- oh well there it is.” Chaeyeon pointed to the second crew of people setting up what looked like a projectable screen.
“Wow, your studio is taking this performance really seriously.” Ryujin said as she stared at all the equipment in awe.
“Haha well we take every performance very seriously but this is mainly a big deal because this is going to be used for Chaeryeong’s dance portfolio.” Chaeyeon answered.
It was your turn to ask Chaeyeon a question. “Dance portfolio, what’s that..? Chaeryeong has never mentioned that to me before.”
“It’s just where we gather all of her performances to market her as the talented dancer she is in hopes of getting her a few jobs as a backup dancer for some big names in the industry.” Chaeyeon answered you with a smile. “And the reason she probably hasn’t brought it up to you was because she didn’t want you to worry over this performance any more than you already would.”
“Oh, okay I think I understand what you mean.” You looked back over to where the crew of people were setting up the stage and you were amazed at how quickly they’d finished up.
A voice suddenly started to speak from the speakers that were set up all around the gym.
“Good Evening and thank you for inviting me to your school dance. I was told to inform you all that the special performance being put on by one of your fellow classmates will begin in just five short minutes. So please standby as we finish getting everything set up. Thank you.” The music resumed playing and you watched in awe as a few people dressed in black with the studio’s logo on their shirts walked past you with cameras that looked more expensive than anything else you’d seen in your life.
This is when it hit you, your best friend wasn’t just perfect in your eyes, there were a lot more people out there that were in awe of her many amazing qualities and that only made you happy. Not only was she your best friend, but you were hers. That was the one thing you had that all these other people didn’t.
“Ah five more minutes, ooh do you think I have enough time to use the restroom real quick..?” Ryujin asked which resulted in groans from the group of girls you were with. “Ouch, I was just joking I promise.” She smiled her infamous smile as she apologized.
“Oh there she is..” Yeji whispered when she saw Chaeryeong walking to the stage with four other girls. “Wait why am I whispering.” Yeji giggled at herself.
“Wow she looks like a superstar…” Yuna said as everyone else agreed.
Chaeryeong stood out compared to the four other girls thanks not only to her white outfit contrasting their black ones, but her now fiery hair.
“Awe her hair looks better than I thought it would.” Chaeyeon said with a proud smile.
“Oh speaking of that, when did she get that done..? I swear her hair was normal this morning.” You asked Chaeyeon.
“Ah well it’s just a temporary hair dye so we had to do it as soon as she was released from school today or else it wouldn't have been as vibrant. I think our mom would’ve killed the both of us if we actually dyed her hair for real.” Chaeyeon answered you with a smile.
There was a chorus of understanding Oh’s coming from you and the group of girls you were with.
As the other girls got to talking amongst each other you couldn’t help but just stare at your best friend from where you were. Yuna’s words echoing in your head. A superstar. Your best friend was already special enough to you, but the fact that other people may now view her as a superstar made your heart swell for her.
Chaeryeong walked onto the stage with the four other dancers and they looked around the room in front of them. They were all talking to each other except for Chaeryeong, she looked around the room very intently as if she was searching for someone.
When her wandering eyes finally found your still ones, she smiled almost instantly. When she saw you it had almost looked like she was instantly relieved of a stress you didn’t know was bothering her then she began waving her hand at you. She mouthed something and it took you a few moments before you realized what she was saying.
“Thank you for being here.”
You gave her a small nod before answering, “Of course, I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”
“Oh she sees us!” Yuna yelled when she saw Chaeryeong looking in your direction.
“Woo!! Chaeryeong!!!” All the girls started yelling for her as they jumped up and down for her attention.
She let out a giggle as she shook her head at your friend group’s antics.
“Yeah that’s my friend up there, I know her!!!” Ryujin yelled out to the random people around her.
Your friends finally calmed down when Chaeryeong sent you all one last happy wave before her smile disappeared and it looked like she was getting into her starting position. The four other dancers were already frozen in place with their eyes closed. The music that had been playing quietly faded out and the crowd went silent. The people you saw with cameras earlier quickly spread out in front of the stage as they began to roll film.
A guitar rift started to play through the speakers in the gym as the lights began to dim and the lighting equipment they set up earlier began to shine on your best friend. You didn’t notice when but the projected screen began to show live feed from the first camera they had set up when you first walked into the gym.
People started to react when a woman began humming through the speakers. Then it began, the look in your best friend's eyes was like something you had never seen before. The way she moved along with the rhythm of the song was something you would never forget. The fluidity in her moves and the concentration in her eyes was something you wanted to remember for as long as you could. Yuna was right, your best friend was a born superstar, and this performance only further proved that.
The synchronization between her and her dancers had everyone in awe. The entire crowd was silent as everyone had their eyes locked on her. The five dancers on stage had taken everyone by surprise. Not only was their dancing absolutely breathtaking but it was like they were telling a story through their moves and the song. Then it came for the moment where the other dancers had stepped away for a moment and Chaeryeong was in the forefront of the stage dancing by herself for a moment. Your eyes never left her as she danced. It wasn’t only you who couldn’t tear your eyes from her, everyone in the crowd was entranced with the way she moved. Her solo part only proved that it wasn’t just her contrasting outfit that stole everyone’s attention, but it was the way she moved. The way she followed the rhythm and the way she partially lip sang to the lyrics playing through the speakers. Then the other dancers showed back up and the dance moved to the floor. Everyone in the crowd gasped at the absolute fluidity that she rolled around on the ground with. She made her movements look so graceful and easy but everyone knew that if they were to even try to mimic that move it would be everything but graceful.
This dance was unlike anything you had seen before but the charisma that oozed out of Chaeryeong’s eyes was incredible. She knew she had everyone's attention on her and she reveled in that. She was putting on a show that she knew would be hard for anyone to top. She was in her element and she was breathtaking. But even with everyone's eyes on her, there was only person she was looking at.
The way she and the dancers transitioned from the ground back to being upright was incredible. This wasn’t just a dance, it was an art form and your best friend was the best artist you knew.
For this next portion they were all in sync except for parts where it looked like she was leading them into the next steps and seeing that in person was absolutely incredible. Then all of a sudden one of the camera men got onto stage as the other four dancers moved away. He held the camera up to Chaeryeong’s eye level as she began to walk away following the winding down of the song. She hit her last pose as the song finished.
Not even a second into silence the crowd went wild. Everyone was cheering like crazy, but no one could top your friend group in cheering. They were all jumping up and down waving their hands in the air as they cheered her on. Chaeryeong’s super serious expression was soon taken over by her lovable smile when she saw the way you were all cheering for her.
The other dancers quickly joined her back on stage so they could all bow to the crowd. You didn’t see who exactly it was, but one of the dancers handed Chaeryeong a microphone.
“Oh!” Her sound of surprise carried it’s way through the microphone as she wasn’t expecting to talk after her performance. The crowd had all let out a laugh at the way she fumbled in surprise when she heard her voice through the speakers.
Her fellow dancers directed her to stand at the front of the stage so she could give a little speech.
Before she began to talk she took a moment to bow to the crowd again. Her eyes looked around at everyone in the crowd before she brought the microphone up to her lips. “Hi, uh I’m Chaeryeong. Thank you for giving me your time and attention for this performance that my dance studio helped me put on. Uhm…” She looked around nervously as she didn’t know what else to say, “Oh I have been working on this dance for around seven weeks now so I hope you all enjoyed it.” Once again she smiled her absolutely sweetest smile to the crowd and everybody was in awe once again. “So yeah, thank you for having me.” She bowed once again before waving at the crowd. Everyone cheered as she and the other dancers walked off stage. She handed the microphone off to someone before rushing over to where you and your friends were standing.
Everyone instantly started speaking at once, congratulating her on her performance and gushing over how incredible she was.
“Thank you all for being here, I was so nervous but seeing you all in the crowd helped out so much.” Chaeryeong’s eyes locked onto yours for a second longer than everyone else's.
“Of course are you kidding me?? Who in their right mind would have missed this?” Ryujin said.
“Yeah that was incredible Chaeryeong, you killed it.” Yeji added on with a proud smile.
“And you too Chaeyeon, thank you for making it.” Chaeryeong hugged her older sister.
“Awe.” Your friends marveled at the display of family love in front of them.
“Of course, I wouldn’t have missed this. But I do have to go soon, we have a meeting in a bit once everything gets packed back in the vans.” Chaeyeon told her younger sister.
“Okay, well then I’ll see you back home tonight.” Chaeryeong told her before moving in front of you so she could talk to you.
“Oh it’s time for us to move out, let them have their moment…” Ryujin joked around and everyone else laughed.
You sent them all a death glare but that didn’t stop them from all walking away after congratulating Chaeryeong one last time.
“So how was it..?” Chaeryeong finally asked you when everyone else had already walked away and it was just the two of you.
“How was it..? Are you joking..? I don’t even think you need to ask that Pinky. You were incredible. That was better than any concert I’ve been to.” You smiled at her, “You looked so at home up on that stage. That’s where you belong.”
Chaeryeong’s cheeks flushed red at the sound of your compliments. “T-thank you.”
“Haha of course. Oh,” When you saw the way she was still glistening with sweat you smiled softly at her, “Did you want to go sit somewhere so you could cool down..? Do you need some water..?”
Chaeryeong looked around before nodding her head at you, “Sure, uh my water bottle is in the locker room I can go grab it real quick.”
“Oh then we can go get it together, I don’t really even want to be here anyways haha.”
“Huh..? You don’t want to be here..?” Chaeryeong asked in confusion.
“Yeah I mean the dance. The only reason I really even showed up was to watch your performance. And it was well worth it too haha. But you know me, I’m just not a fan of being around a bunch of strangers lol.”
“Ah okay, well then we can go get my water together.” She smiled at you before helping lead you out of the crowded gym into the hallway.
You both made your way into the empty locker room and Chaeryeong went straight to her bag. She reached in it and grabbed her bottle. “Okay I got it.” She turned around with a smile and her water bottle in her hand.
“Okay well take a drink then we can find somewhere to sit down.” You walked towards the sink to grab a hand towel then you walked back over to Chaeryeong. “Here, don’t move.” You used the hand towel to wipe away the sweat that built up on her face around her hairline.
Chaeryeong stood there with a bright red face as all she could focus on was how close you were to her.
“There we go, all better.” You smiled at her before walking to put the hand towel away.
Chaeryeong took another drink of water before puffing her cheeks out as she exhaled. You might have been oblivious to it but something inside of her snapped while she performed her dance in front of you. There was something about the way you had watched her from the crowd that had changed the way she felt around you.
“You ready..?” You waved your hand in front of her face when you saw that she was zoned out again.
“Hmm,” She hummed before blinking a few times, “Oh yeah,” She smiled at you, “We can head out.”
The both of you walked out of the locker room and then through a set of double doors that led to the outside of your school. You walked down the pathway for a bit before finding a bench to sit on. You were accompanied by the calm cool breeze of the night all the way to your destination.
You gestured to Chaeryeong to sit down first which she promptly did. You smiled as you kneeled down in front of her.
“Hmm..?” Chaeryeong looked at you, eyes filled with confusion as she didn’t know what you were doing.
“Hold on, don’t move.” You placed both of your hands on her legs right above her ankles, “Your shoe is untied.” You looked up at her with a smile before looking back down at her shoe to tie it.
“Oh, thank you. I didn’t notice.” Chaeryeong looked at the way your hair flowed down your head as you tied her shoe.
“I could tell, you seem to be really out of it. Did the dance tire you out that much..?” You looked back up at her when you finished with the last knot.
“Uh yeah, something like that.” Chaeryeong looked to the side to avoid eye contact with you, “I think it was mostly my nerves or something.”
You moved to sit next to her, not noticing how she was avoiding eye contact. “You were nervous..? Wow I couldn’t even tell. I was nervous for you haha, but when I saw how cool you looked up there I figured that if you didn’t look nervous then I didn’t have a reason to be either.”
“I looked cool..?” Chaeryeong smiled to herself when she heard that.
“Yeah you did, and I don’t think I’m the only one who thought so haha.”
“Hmm, well what was your favorite part..?” Chaeryeong looked over at you.
“Oh uh I think my favorite move was the one where you had your hands behind you and you spun in a circle while hopping. It was towards the end of the performance, here look.” You stood up to show her your artistic rendition of the move. You couldn’t help the smile on your face when you heard her laugh. “Boom, I think I nailed it.” You sat back down with the goofiest smile on your face. (2:48 of the performance)
“Haha you totally nailed it. You should join me at the academy haha.” Chaeryeong laughed a little louder.
“Nah, I’m too good for a dance studio. I don’t want to show you all up.” You let out another giggle.
“Oh yeah, totally.” Chaeryeong blinked a few times before fanning her face, “Ah that was funny.” She cleared her throat, “Why was that your favorite part.”
“Haha well the reason is kind of dumb but it’s because it reminds me of when you were younger and you’d have a little tantrum. Feet stomping around the same way. It was cute.”
Chaeryeong frowned before rolling her eyes, “Okay now I know you’re joking, what was actually your favorite part..?”
“I’m really not joking, that’s what it reminded me of. But fine if you don’t believe me I’ll tell you my other favorite part. It was at the beginning when the girls were kneeling down and you were standing in the middle of them moving your arms like you were controlling them. You looked so cool and in charge. It was nice seeing that side of you.” (0:27 of the performance video)
“Huh? That side of me..? What do you mean..?” Chaeryeong looked to the side in confusion before looking back at you.
“You just look so cool and confident when you’re performing, it's so different from how shy you normally are. It was nice to see the dominant side of you even for a moment. It’s nice to know that dancing brings that out in you.” You looked her in the eyes as you explained what you meant.
“Dominant side..?” Chaeryeong looked at you, eyes filled with question marks. “What does that mean..? Isn’t that like a weird thing..?”
“Huh?? What are you talking about? Hey wait a minute, where is your brain going??” You joked with her since you knew she’d get easily embarrassed.
“My brain..? But you said it, I was just asking for clarification on what you meant by that word.” Chaeryeong looked around in surprise to make sure no one was around to hear your conversation.
“Okay well what I meant by that word was that I liked how it looked like you knew how to take charge. Like you were on top of the world and you weren’t scared of anything because you owned the world for even just a minute.” You narrowed your eyes at her as you eyed her in suspicion. “Hmm, were you thinking lewd thoughts..? I’m going to tell your mom.”
“What?? You’re the one who used that word, you could have just said I looked cool but you said the word dominant. People usually only use that word when they’re thinking lewd thoughts.” Chaeryeong tried to defend herself yet she just kept digging herself into a deeper hole.
“Okay but why would you think I was using it in that context..? Did you think I was having lewd thoughts..?” You gasped as you placed your hand over your heart, “That is preposterous, just because I like you doesn’t mean I would disrespect you like that. Just wait till everyone hears about this miss ma’am.”
You moved to get up in a joking move that showed you were ready to run around to holler. But as you were moving to get up Chaeryeong reached out to grab your shoulders to pull you back down. Somewhere in between those two motions your foot got stuck and you ended up falling onto the bench on your back, bringing Chaeryeong down with you.
“Ouch, now you’re trying to kill me..?” You joked after you let out a small groan from the sudden motion of being thrown under your best friend's body weight. “Uh, hello..?” You looked up at your friend who still had her hands on your shoulders. Her hair had fallen down like a curtain around the two of you and the rest of the world. “Are you okay..? Did you get hurt..? I thought I took most of the impact…” You mumbled the last sentence before moving both of your hands to rest on both of her arms.
Chaeryeong was startled by you touching her arms so as she slightly jumped in surprise, she caused one of her arms to buckle which caused her to fall even further towards you, putting all of her strength into her left hand now she removed it from your shoulder to the bench so she would keep the weight off of you.
“S-sorry…” Her voice was barely above a whisper as all she could do was stare at your face.
“No, don’t apologize. Did you get hurt..?” You looked at the compromising position the two of you were in so you tried to move a bit but then you realized you were pinned in between both of her legs.
“Stop doing that…” Chaeryeong mumbled before closing her eyes for a second.
“Hmm, sorry did I hurt you..? I was just trying to move so we would be in such an awkward position.” You let out a stiff laugh as you tried to figure out what was going on in your best friend's head.
“No, you’re worrying about me when you’re the one who fell down. Are you okay..? Did you hurt your back..?” Since all of her weight was resting on her left arm she used her right hand to run her thumb down your face.
“Woah,” You reached up with your hand to stop hers, “Don’t do that, that gave me shivers.” Your eyes showed just how panicked that made you feel.
Chaeryeong didn’t know why but she couldn’t help the smile that gave her, “Did it..?”
“Uh…” You looked up in shock as you didn’t know what took over your best friend. “Wow…” Your eyes widened as you saw that her eyes looked completely different than they did just moments ago. Her eyes looked like they did when she was on stage earlier. Confident and filled with authority.
Chaeryeong hummed to herself as she examined every feature on your face as you laid there underneath her.
“Uhm, pinky..? Uh I don’t want someone to walk out here and get the wrong picture if they see us like this.” You once again tried to move but you soon found your efforts to be in vain as you couldn’t.
“And what picture would that be..?” She asked you with a smile as she studied your eyes when you answered.
“Well I don’t want them to think we’re like making out or something haha,” You laughed nervously as you tried to look away from her. You realized that you couldn’t see anything else around you because of the way that her hair had fallen around you.
“Look at me…” Chaeryeong’s voice was just above a whisper but you could hear her smiling through her words.
“Uhm, okay…” You whispered back expecting her to tell you a secret or something.
When you finally looked her in the eyes again she smiled even wider, “Can I ask you something..?”
“Oh uh, this atmosphere seems a little too intense for just a question but yeah go ahead.” Once you thought your best friend was just joking around you relaxed a bit.
“What did you think when you saw me dancing..?” Chaeryeong asked with a curious glint in her eyes.
“Hmm..? What do you mean..?” Your eyes showed that you genuinely did not understand what she was trying to ask.
“Your eyes earlier, the way you were watching me was unlike any way you’ve ever looked at me before. What were you thinking then..?”
“Huh..? Chaeryeong you already know I’ve had a crush on you since middle school, I’m sure you can figure out exactly what I was thinking.” You rolled your eyes at her question.
“But I want to hear you say it.”
“Say what..?”
“I want you to say what was going through your mind when you saw me dance.”
“No, that's weird and embarrassing. Seriously Chaeryeong, just because you know I like you doesn’t mean you can tease me like this for no reason.” You weren't going to lie, you were starting to get irritated as you couldn’t tell what it was that your best friend wanted.
“I’m not teasing you. I promise. I’m just genuinely curious. Because if me just doing this,” She reached up with her right hand again to run her thumb down your cheek before resting her hand on the side of your neck, causing you to close your eyes and let out a deep breath, “Causes you to react like that, then I want to know how my dancing made you feel. Now tell me or I won’t move.”
You looked up in surprise as you couldn’t tell what was going on in your best friends head. “Fine, fine. You win. Uhm let me think.” You let out a defeated sigh as you thought back to your friends performance. “Okay so at first I thought you looked pretty in your outfit when you walked on stage, uh then I thought you seriously looked really cool at the beginning, uhm oh and then when you were dancing on the floor uh,” You looked away from her, “I thought you looked really hot.” You closed your eyes, “There that’s all, I seriously was just inner fangirling over how good you looked up there.”
You heard her giggle again so you opened your eyes to find her just staring at you, “Do you want to know what my favorite part of performing tonight was..?”
“Uh sure, I mean it’s not like I can go anywhere right now…” You mumbled the second part of that sentence to yourself.
“My favorite part tonight was feeling everyone’s eyes on me as all I could do was keep my eyes on you.”
“Huh..? What do you mean..?”
“What I mean is that I like you, dummy.”
“What? Wait, what..? You like me? Like as in like the way I like you..?” Your eyes widened in shock as you stared at your best friend. “Not in the oh my god your my best friend I like you haha, but as in the romantic way..?”
Chaeryeong let out a little giggle as she enjoyed the way her words rocked you. “Yes dummy, in the romantic way. I told you I just needed some time to figure out my feelings but tonight really confirmed what I thought I had felt.”
“Tonight..? What did I do tonight to confirm your feelings..?”
Chaeryeong hummed as she tried to figure out how to word her thoughts, “Hmm, well when I saw the way you were looking at me I couldn’t help but think about how I’d feel if I ever saw you look at someone else like that and I didn’t like that. I couldn’t figure out why I wouldn’t have liked it but then I realized that it’s because I like you and so I only want you to look at me like that.”
Your stared at her with your mouth agape in shock, “Um, well..” You froze when you felt her move her hand again. “I promise to only look at you, if…”
“Hmm, if what..?” Chaeryeong traced her thumb over your eyebrow as she studied your eyes.
“Only if you go out with me. I want you to be my girlfriend Chaeryeong. I don’t ever want to be confused about how you feel about me in the future and I dont want a situationship. I want to date you, no matter what ups and downs we may go through, I want to be able to call you my girlfriend.” You had to let out a little chuckle at the position you found yourself in, you’d thought about this moment for ages but to finally ask her out as shes on top of you was super unexpected.
Charyeongs playful look in her eyes disappeared as she thought about something, “I’ve never dated anyone before so I don’t know how this is supposed to work.” She rested her hand to sit on your cheek as she stared at you.
“It’s okay, I haven’t either but we can figure this out together. I promise. I would never make you do anything you wouldn’t want to so if you ever want to call it quits just tell me.”
“So are we dating now..?” Chaeryeong asked with a shy smile.
“I mean I’m just waiting on a response from you.” You reached up to wipe a smudge of her makeup off of her face.
“Well then yes, we’re dating now.” Chaeryeong smiled happily as she leaned into your touch.
You looked up at her with the most sincerity in your eyes, “I don’t think you understand how happy I am right now. My heart is going to leap out of my chest.”
“So since we’re dating now, it’s okay for me to do this right..?”
“Hmm do what..?”
Before your brain could register what was happening Chaeryeong had leaned all the way down breaking the small distance you had between each other as she placed her lips onto yours.
It caught you by surprise but you had thought of this moment for ages, so thanks to your many hours of preparation for just this single moment you were able to lead what had started off as an awkward first kiss into something that neither of you would ever forget.
Chaeryeong had caught on fairly quickly to what you were doing and soon the two of you were moving as one.
Chaeryeong had finally pulled away so she could look you in the eyes again, “Wow, are you lying to me..? Have you dated someone before..?”
You couldn’t help the smile as you cupped her face in your hands, “I’m not lying to you, there’s only one person out there for me and she’s currently staring at me with the warmest cheeks I’ve ever felt in my life.”
This time it was you who closed the distance between the two of you as you initiated the second kiss.
Chaeryeong had only been dating you for five minutes now but she could not wait to see where your relationship would go from here. You had always made her feel like the most special girl in the world but now she was just your special girl.
idk how to request things but can i get uhhhhh 1 chaeryeong fluff with some hurt/comfort and some extra cuddles on top? thanks~
i should send you random asks more often cause that sounds fun
hi lennie babieee~~~
I didnt do much in terms of hurt but something soft and sweet. I was very encouraged for this one lol
And please send me more random asks, i love seeing u in my ask box
Also gn neutral reader whoop whoop
Wc: 576
The alarm was going to ring whether you liked it or not. Staring at the wall wasn’t going to make time slow down. Wringing your hands wasn’t going to make the seconds cease. You felt stuck.
Time would still move whether you liked it or not. Whether you were ready for morning to come or not.
But the clock changed. The seconds continued to count. And suddenly it was 9 AM and your alarm was blaring and you needed to get out of here.
The figure beside you groaned at the noise, reaching out to smack your arm.
You flinched as Chaeryeong sat up from the comfy bed and continued pushing you gently but whining enough that you knew she meant it.
“Why? Why am I being attacked?”
“Turn off your alarm!” She whined before falling into your lap. A puddle of her hair covered your legs and half her body. Quickly grabbing your phone as she continued to whine about your cruelty, you turned the noisy alarm off. At that second she got comfortable with her head in your lap, her whines turning into gentle hums.
“You’re thinking too hard, what’s wrong?” Chaeryeong’s voice was low but clear. You shrugged. Who even knows? You just woke up from your sleep with a jittery feeling under your skin. It was terrible.
You shrugged as she grabbed one of your hands and laid it onto her scalp. You took it as a sign to start scratching her head. Her hums continued, almost like a purr.
“Did you dream?” She asked after a couple moments of silence. It wasn’t too heavy. It was peaceful and one that settled over you too like a warm blanket.
“I don’t think so.”
“Do you have anything to do today?”
You thought about it for a moment. “I don’t think so.”
“Have you done all your personal errands and chores?”
You shrugged, trying to think of something, “I could always deep clean something, I guess.”
Chaeryeong shook her head, “Nope. No you won’t.”
“I won’t?”
“Nope!” She popped the p and it made you giggle, “My baby has an off day so I treat them to whatever. Let’s go to that restaurant you like and watch tv all day!”
You sighed, “Didn’t you have to-“
“I can cancel it for once. I want to spend today with you. I can afford that luxury, can’t I?”
It wasn’t too long after she spoke that you were pressing her back into the bed and wrapping your arms around her. She hugged you back just as fiercely, maybe even more so, humming happily into your skin.
You shoved your face into her neck, the sweet smell of her shampoo and body wash floating up and into your nose. A smell so familiar, feeling like home the longer you spent wrapped together.
Maybe there was less need to take things so seriously at 9 AM. Life was still moving. Your skin still felt jittery until soft hands rubbed circles down your back, calming that anxious itch and making you feel safe.
Time still moved regardless of how the sun beamed in through the window, making her hair look like a crown. Time still moved even as Chaeryeong allowed you to cry in her arms. To just let yourself relax in her arms. Time still moved as she kept you warm and safe.
Time still moved, but at least your time moved with her.
i think you should def write a part 2 to the chaeyeong suggestive scenario ! It was good, cute, and with consent (which i feel is often absent in written work on here) !!
thank you so much for this!! so here's the pt 2 <3
smut. chaeryeong x f!reader
minors & men dni!
since your encounter with chaeryeong that you couldn't get her out of your mind. her touch was impregnated in your skin and it was driving you insane, now even when you took a shower all you could think of was her.
the way it was the first time she ever touched your body but it felt like she knew how to make you melt or that's how it felt for the little time you had. maybe you were waiting for it since you two met but never thought it could happen, you even told your friends you might be delusional about the way she looked at you because maybe she just wanted to be friendly.
now that you confirmed she wanted you too, you were panicking waiting for her to arrive to your house. any new sound on the streets and you were looking at the window if it was her, viewing yourself one more time in the mirror and readjusting whatever could've changed in your appereance that you attentively took care of, when a notification appeared in your screen.
hot instructor 💗💗:
"there in 5mins! cant wait to see u, pretty girl"
09:50 pm
and in a blink of an eye, she was knocking your door. you let her in and you took on her looks, because of how insanely hot and pretty she looked. she always had this soft aura around her, making her seem even prettier but now she was confident and alluring too. you felt your heart drop to your stomach and didn't realise you let it out a low gasp.
"i'm happy to get that reaction darling, you look stunning too" she got closer to you, kissing your cheek to greet you and you could feel your face burn.
you invited her to sit on the couch as you searched for two wine glasses since she brought a bottle, asking you if you needed some help but you refused, bringing the charcuterie board too.
"you know what? next time i'm making sure you let me cook for you" she said as she poured the licour without spilling a drop.
"already thinking of a next time? how self-absorbed of you" you let out a little giggle, sitting next to her.
"well, your body language says otherwise baby, am i wrong?" she lifted your chin, wiping with her fingers the corner of your lips "can't go to waste a single drop" she maintened eye contact with you as she licked them clean.
you could feel the tension between you two, it was so thick you were almost gasping for air, so that was all you needed to crash your lips against hers as she hummed. it was so intense but it didn't feel rushed at all since both of you took your sweet time tasting each other, as if you were craving her pretty lips on yours for days, which you did.
then her hands started wandering around your shoulders and your torso, feeling the need to touch you, to keep you closer, as you did the same to her body. after that, she broke the kiss breathing heavily and pressed your foreheads together.
"can i?" she whispered, playing with the straps of your dress.
"please do, chaeryeongie"
she smiled at you and kissed the tip of your nose, making you laugh as she let them fall off from your shoulders, giving access to your bare chest.
"fuck" she gave you a slow peck, as she caressed your sides and proceded to grope your tits, making you gasp "been waiting for me, pretty girl?"
you nodded, biting your bottom lip as her mouth got closer to your sensitive nipples, feeling her hot breath tickling you.
"for so long, oh my-" you moaned when she took one of your nipples into her mouth, pinching and twisting the other.
"uhm, good to know baby" she pushed them together with her firm hands, licking your buds as she moved her head sideways, finally sucking the other one and letting it go with a pop.
"god, i want to taste you sa bad, to make you beg for me" she whispered in your ear, making you shudder as her hands grabbed your thighs. you took one of them and placed into your panties, to make her feel how wet you were getting.
"i need you, please. please touch me"
"i will darling, but first" she helped you to remove completely your dress off your body "sit on my lap sweetheart" and you desperately did as she told you to press your back against her front "so now we're good at following instructions, uhm?"
"of course i'll do anything for you to fuck me" you faced her to ghost your lips over hers as you rolled your hips in her lap, eliciting some whines from her, but your newfound confidence vanished away when she rubbed your clit in a harsh way over your panties, the fabric doing wanders to you but at the same time you needed her more.
she licked and kissed your neck, making you melt and tilt your head back to give her more access. she was fully clothed and you were just in your thin panties shaking into her embrace, because the hold she had on you was so strong you felt lightheaded. you couldn't stop moaning even when she was just rubbing you through your underwear, but the thing that took you off guard was when she grabbed the edges of it and pulled up to rub with your clit, playing with your folds too to tease you even more as a wet patch bloomed on the fabric. she was growing desperate too so she decided to rip off your last piece of clothing, kissing you deeply once again before finally touching you skin to skin.
"gonna fill your pretty cunt so much everytime you think about me you wish my fingers were deep inside you" she groaned when she slipped one finger into you, not needing much by how badly you were dripping it was getting into her thighs.
"more please, i know i can take two"
she kissed your temple before inserting one more finger, loving the stretch of her fingers as her other hand cupped one of your breasts.
"you're so hot baby" she captured your lips once again as she started pumping them harder, going as deep as she could "how does it feel pretty girl?"
"s-so good. it feels so good, please keep going" she pushes your legs wider to give her more space and you swear you can feel her better.
"of course darling, told you i wanted to take care of you properly"
she pinned your hips down, feeling her fingers sinking even deeper than before as she fingered you, making you feel every stroke. you started to buck against her as she quickened her pace, pressing her thumb into your clit. the only thing you could hear in that dizzy state of mind was her pumping in and out of you, wet noises and both of your ragged breaths. telling her you were about to cum with your eyes closed, she increased her hard thrusts and pinched your nipples as you came so hard for her, not stopping her moves to ride your high.
she pulled out and smeared your cum over your lips before kissing you softly once again, her tongue swirling over them before pulling away.
"i was right, you taste so good i think i need a better taste"
chaeryeong has been driving me crazy lately and i know she got even hotter because she took swimming classes, so here's this little mess of chaeryeong as a swimming instructor
chaeryeong x f! reader. suggestive/smut at the end in a public place. maybe i'll write a second part but i'm not sure.
btw i was @queeryujin but moved to this account !!! and once again, didn't proofread so there will be mistakes (i guess) men & minors dni!
you weren't an athletic person to be honest, but this year you wanted to try swimming. indeed you knew the basics and you could swim, but you decided to take a class this summer to spend your free time and because of the hot weather.
the thing is that you didn't expect to get a hot trainer though. she was extremely dedicated and hardworking, as you could tell by her muscular and built body. you were clearly in trouble. she was so nice and gentle to you, that it was your excuse for wanting to spend more time with her.
you were in a group with nine people and the two of you always flirted before the rest came to the class, after that you kept on sharing some glances and the only thing in your mind once the clase began, it was her. it felt ridiculous to be underwater and instead of concentrating in your technique, your thoughts were full of lee chaeryeong.
since it was a class for beginners, you were just learning different swimming styles. this time you had to learn breastroke, first getting into the leg movement.
she repeated herself a lot of times showing all of you the movement, but since you were already in the water with your swimming cap, it was hard to understand her or once again, that was your excuse because of your wandering eyes since your classmates did get the movement right.
you panicked a little bit when it was your turn, trying your best to watch how the rest of the class did it so you could copy them but this movement was weird as fuck. they looked like some little frogs, so you pretented you were one and started to swim.
since you clearly didn't listen to her instructions because you were paying attention to how her chest was hugged by her tight crop top and how her teaching you the move made them bounce, she noticed you weren't doing it right and told you how to do it again. in reality, she waited for the class to end to really teach you again when everyone else went to the changing rooms.
"y/n! come here, i'll teach you how you should be doing it" she called you and then she pointed at the bench "lay on your stomach"
you followed her instructions and it would be a lie to say that didn't turn you on. you needed to calm down a little bit.
your boobs already were squished by your swimsuit, but now they were totally crashed by your weight. you looked up at her since she was in front of you, but you kind of regret it later.
her eyes were full of lust and desire as she said "good girl" and touched your chin. you were already feeling dizzy but it got even worse when she got to slightly touch your body, because even if you just came off of the water, you felt heat all over your body and between your legs too.
"first of all, you have to bend your knees..." she said as she guided one of your leg to do the movement, forcing you to arch your back a little bit as she caressed your inner thigh, which made squirm your hips and you were hardly breathing. she noticed it and as you made eye contact with her, she got even closer to where you needed her the most.
"uhm, can't believe how wet you're getting just by this since you already were to begin with"
"shut up and fuck me" you kissed her in a messy way when she got closer to you but it didn't last long by how desperate both of you were.
"then look at me" she moved your swimsuit to the side and looked at your glistening pussy after spreading your legs "you've been waiting for this, haven't you princess?" she hummed gently as she looked you over when she rubbed your clit with the pad of her fingers just to see how quickly it gets hard.
you were trying to silence your whines the best you could but it was so hard by her actions, she was just too good.
"don't pretend as i if didn't caught you staring at me instead of paying attention, that's what got you so worked up baby"
you closed your eyes when she slided a finger down your slit, teasing you and spreading your wetness through your lips as you gasped.
"but we got no time and i want to care of you properly" she adjusted your bathing suit making it hit you and you shuddered "so let's meet tonight, you already got my number" she whispered in your ear and put her fingers into your mouth to make you clean them. just in time to leave you behind as some of your classmates got out of the dressing rooms.
imagine sending chaeryeong a video of you masturbating to her pc or pic while she's at work. at first she's too flustered to say anything, leaving you on read for a few minutes. but once she got over it she'd send you texts of how you're such a slut for her that even a pic of her can get you humping desperately on a pillow or how she'd punish you for making a mess and dirtying her photocard. and she'd send you pictures of her in stage outfits while posing provocatively just to fuel your thoughts even more. and in return you'd send her a pic of a soaked photocard next to a ruined pair of panties.
