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Panting, and a lot of it. Well, it’s to be expected. After all, when running back into a convertible on a late night, it’s absolute insanity to expect everything to be sweet and peachy. Anyway, where were they? Ah, yes. The sound of the manager’s van slamming, its sound ricocheting into the ground and out to the almost silent city. Chaewon and Yunjin were drenched in their own sweat, their chests rising and falling hastily. Their mouths were wide agape, though unable to speak. Yunjin, with a lack of words, ran her finger in the air with a circular motion, signaling the manager to start. Chaewon eyed Yunjin in her peripherals and inaudibly nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Good…job…” the leader mouthed, her mind finally catching up to her heart rate.
Yunjin bubbled out laughter before placing her free hand atop Chaewon’s, rubbing her fingers with warm intent. Chaewon felt herself smiling, and when the manager didn't stop to correct her, she continued on. She loved that however negligible Yunjin’s movements are, they aren’t excused from brightening any and every aspect of her day. It doesn’t take much for the two girls’ vision to start hazing, their bodies and mind involuntarily succumbing to the idea of sleep. Their bodies sunk into the soft, leather seats, their mouths releasing one final sigh. Their sweat gradually lessened as each droplet trickled down their jawlines. Their skin thawed from the cold, almost piercing air conditioning, their eyes heavy and close to shutting. Yunjin, habitually leans her head on the leader, dozing off immediately after. Chaewon feels the younger girl’s head on her shoulder and taps the driver’s seat.
“Manager-nim, do you have a jacket with you?” Chaewon whispered, keeping as still as a statue. She has to be absolutely inanimate, just so Yunjin could continue catnapping. “Or better yet, lower the temperature? Oh! And put on some music, music helps her sleep.”
She bit on her own tongue so she doesn’t continue rambling on about her. She just can’t help herself. If someone as great as Yunjin was by her side, why wouldn’t she? Huh Yunjin is a great- no- amazing girl. Though introverted, she does all in her power to start conversations, help others, and generally be the greatest samaritan to anyone who walks her path. She’s a social butterfly, which completely masks the introvert she supposedly is. Not to mention, she’s stunning . Like, absolutely gorgeous. On stage, her charisma was admired by all who saw her. The way her hair flows majestically along with her beguiling dance, anything and everything about her took her breath away. When she’s off stage, she has a smile that encapsulates the purest and happiest of dreams, her doe eyes have the brightest gleam in them. She would do anything to cup her cheeks and tell her she loved her, albeit her deepest wishes were buried by the thought of her management team.
After he handed a puffy jacket over, Chaewon muttered her thanks and returned her focus to Yunjin. She enveloped her torso with it, ensuring her warmth. With every passing day, especially after Produce 48, Chaewon had always missed her, oh so much. When they had announced the twelve members- and the lack of Yunjin’s name-, a part of the Kim felt.. infuriated . She made it in, of course, but a part of her wanted to just tug on Yunjin’s sleeve and pull her onto the stage. And now that they’ve debuted together, Chaewon continuously thanks whatever is above, her palms pressed together, frankly thankful that fate brought them together.
All of a sudden, she enfolded Yunjin in her arms, out of some strange urge. She shared the shortest glance to find the younger girl grinning from ear to ear, which she reciprocated with a weaker grin. She whispered a few sweet nothings into Yunjin’s ear as she attempted to stay awake, staring out into the distance, the dark void of the sky flowing like deep waves in the ocean. It’s absurd; Yunjin’s right next to her, by her side and all, but she still misses her. She hummed along to the music that’s playing, soon tearing up to the lyrics.
“'Cause all of the small things that you do
Are what remind me why I fell for you
And when we're apart, and I'm missing you
She teared up because she relates them to Yunjin. Yunjin’s generosity, her generally selfless demeanour, that’s what she fell for. Every night they were apart, Chaewon would bury her head into her pillows and scream her name. Huh Yunjin. She loves her, with everything he has. To further her case, Chaewon began to reminisce about all the times Yunjin stole her heart; the most memorable one being Kazuha’s birthday, when she lowered her seat so that she could lean her head against her shoulder. It’s so minimal, so mundane, such a normal occurrence. Heck, a naturally affectionate girl like Yunjin could’ve thought of it as second nature. But to Kim Chaewon, she fell head over heels for her. She wasn’t treated like garbage, god forbid that’ll happen; albeit for some reason, it felt different with Yunjin. She doesn’t know what it is, why she feels that way. She doesn’t want to find out though, she’d much prefer living in oblivion. If oblivion meant loving Yunjin, even if her love was bottled up, she’d choose that over any other universe.
“Chaewon unnie, are you… crying?” Yunjin’s eyes met with Chaewon’s, one pair was fresh and awake, while the other was puffy, almost pink.
“I’m not, don’t worry about me. It’s just cold, haha,” she choked out some awkward laughter as she cocked her head towards the window. “Go back to sleep, okay? It’ll be a long journey until we return back to our dorm.”
Other than her cordiality, Yunjin was also a little stubborn. It was by no means a con, it just made her more cuter than she already was. Yunjin fumbled out of the puffy jacket, her hand gently latching onto Chaewon’s chin. The younger girl sat upright and flicked her head towards hers, their faces a hair’s breadth away. Her hand traveled up from her chin and to her cheeks, her thumb wiping the cold tears away as it spread warmth around her face.
“You’re lying to me, aren’t you? What’s wrong, Chaewon-ah~?” Yunjin giggled ever so softly.
Chaewon laughed along while the moonlight burst through the car window, as if a flashlight shines on Yunjin’s face, it was like the moon was interrogating her. The distant and soft lighting dazzled her face; seeing her pure beauty right then and there, it’s marvellous. With Yunjin’s half-closed eyes, Chaewon took the chance. She collided her lips with Yunjin’s. She heard Yunjin’s heart pound ever so violently in her chest, feeling her body tingling and warming up. The smell and taste of her was hypnotic beyond any sort of reason. The way their fingers curled around each other, Yunjin couldn’t help but fall victim to Chaewon’s scheme of love. It was so brief, yet it felt like it lasted for ages. As they parted to take gasps of air, panting as if they had been running once before, the driver knocked his head against the dashboard, not waking up. It wasn’t a light tap, it was a full thud. No bleeding, yet, but Chaewon knew things were only going to get worse from there.
“AHH! Is he okay? Wait, no- Are we going to crash, Chaewon-ah? I don’t want to die yet, there’s still LE SSERAFIM, there’s still FEARNOT-“ Yunjin shrieked, unable to process what happened.
“Hey…” Chaewon replied calmly, using her free hand to play with Yunjin’s hair between each shaky breath; to shake off any sort of stress. “I love you, okay?”
Before a response could leak from her mouth, the car screeched deafeningly. The last thing Yunjin could see was Chaewon falling into her arms, feeling her touch one last time. For a split second, Yunjin felt glad. If she was going to die, she was utmost thankful that she got to die with Chaewon in her arms.
Yunjin’s vision was like television static, unable to perceive the general scenery. Red and blue lights, sirens blaring from all directions, it was too blurry. She unwillingly received a taste of her own blood, probably from the accident. There was no way she wasn’t dreaming. She shut her eyes then opened them again, turning to look at Chaewon, who seemed to be unconscious. Yunjin felt her body aching with excruciating pain, yet she still managed to drag her body towards her beloved leader.
“Chaewon-ah? Chaewon-ah!” Yunjin’s booming voice quivered as she shook her bruised body. Even her shrill cries for help couldn’t wake her. “Kim Chaewon! Are you okay?”
The older girl’s eyes squinted open a little, looking carefully and with enough focus, lovingly. She could barely mutter anything before she shut her eyes once again. Yunjin continued to scream for help, so much so that she was even exhausting herself. Desperation seared her sensibility; she needed to rest, though she still felt the need to help Chaewon. As she felt all her energy drain away, she finally fell limp onto the older girl’s torso.
When she woke up again, she found herself in the hospital. She was practically bandaged up, albeit still in copious amounts of pain. Her head turned gradually as she winced audibly, her eyes examining the room for Chaewon.
“Yunjin-ah~” Chaewon’s voice w as weak, yet it still pierced through Yunjin’s soul, just like how her stunning personality pierced straight through her heart. “Missed me?”
“Chaewon-ah!” Tears streamed down Yunjin’s face as she admired the presence of the older girl. She wanted to jolt up and squeeze her so tight that she couldn’t ever let go. She couldn’t ever bear to lose her Kim Chaewon. “Are you okay? Is that rhetoric? I mean, I don’t think you’re okay, unless you are-“
“Chaewon, Yunjin,” a mature, calm voice called out. Her silhouette reigned over them, a silhouette so familiar. It was their oldest member.
“Sakura?” the two girls whipped their heads towards her.
Behind her stood the other members of LE SSERAFIM, Kazuha and Eunchae. All three of them had flushed skin, presumably from the rivers of tears they’d cried. With no hesitation, they brought each other into what felt like a haven of serenity for a few minutes, mumbling their worries towards Yunjin and Chaewon. They wanted to stay there forever, but they couldn’t. Once they let go, Kazuha and Eunchae fixated on Sakura, as if she was the bearer of bad news.
“The doctors told us that it’s nothing too serious, just muscle aching and bruises. I think you two will be alright, just stay here in the meantime, okay?” Sakura commented, pointing at their bandages.
“But- what about FEARNOT? Wouldn’t they be upset that our schedules would be cancelled?” Yunjin mused, panic stricken.
“Hey, Yunjin-ah,” Chaewon took a quick breath, entwining her fingers with Yunjin’s. “We’ll handle it together, we always do.”
“We’ll give you two a moment,” Sakura’s hands land atop Kazuha and Eunchae’s shoulders, guiding them outside after they bade goodbye. “Get well soon, the both of you.”
Yunjin used whatever strength left within her to beam, both at Chaewon and at her fellow members. She looked back at the older girl and hoisted her bed, just so she could see her at a better angle. With eyes of admiration, Yunjin rested her chin on the palm of her hand, taking in Chaewon’s beauty. Even if she was hurt, in Yunjin’s perspective, she was pretty and always will be.
“You know, I was screaming for my life before the ambulance picked us up,” Yunjin chuckled, feeling amused at her own comment. “I was just- scared of losing you, Chaewon-ah.”
“Of course you were,” she swallowed the lump in her throat. “And that’s what I love about you.”
Yunjin sat upright and quirked her head towards the leader, befuddled. “Excuse me?”
“Do you want me to say that again, Yunjin? I love it when you care about others, sometimes more than yourself. You’re just so affectionate and loveable. It’s like you were born to love, to care… for me. I love every single second of your generosity,” Chaewon’s thoughts finally rolled off her tongue. She’s filled to the brim with pride, as genuine as the definition of authenticity.
“No, you don’t. You love me ,” Yunjin cracked a joke in a sarcastic voice. She doesn’t expect much of a reaction from a somewhat-snarky comment, it’s just the way she lightened the mood.
“You know what? Yeah. I love you, Yunjin-ah. ”
“I love you just as much, my beloved Chaewon.”