I’m So Weak For This Ahhhhh 🫠

Wheein 🥰

WHEEIN illella (221022)

Thank you for the tag :D

I really feel like the Buttercup reflects my mood this morning and I don’t even bake XD

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tagging:@leaderwon @ynsvnte @jaeyunluvr @glitterjay @okwonyos @okwonyo @fakeuwus +anyone who wants to join! 🫶🏻

This made me cry so much, please tell me there’s a sequel 😭😭

i saw a ghost! with MC kkura : m. sakura

synopsis: miyawaki sakura didn't believe in ghosts. but she did believe in friendship—that was why she was sneaking into her old highschool with her friends. but then she gets ditched by the two in the "haunted" unused art room, meeting the resident ghost: you.

# : pairing ! nonidol!miyawaki sakura x ghost!reader

# : tags ! fem!reader, sakura's a second year in college, the other two are freshmen, crack, angst, fluff, contains an uncanny amount of video game mentions, red velvet seulgi cameo, i will personally make it my mission to enforce the luvie sakura agenda in every fic she's mentioned, switches between 2nd and 3rd person sometimes

# : wordcount ! 9.5k

# : warnings ! mentions of suicide, mentions of blood, there's a satanic ritual at the end(?), explores some themes of grief, do not try this at home i made it all up

sakura was a firm non-believer of ghosts.

she thought people who claimed to have seen one were stupid, and were just looking for attention or views or whatever. no, yujin, you did not see a ghost in the corner of your room, because you just came back from the last day of your soccer tournament and you were playing for all three games. obviously your fatigue-clouded, sleep-deprived ass would hallucinate.

"i swear i saw it," her friends would say.

"and i swear you had three exams to study for on that same night," sakura would reply. "ghosts aren't real."

that was precisely what she had told yunjin and chaewon. nevertheless, the two idiots dragged her to the highschool that sakura thought she wouldn't ever have to see again.

she was pushed by yunjin, towards the gate that acted as the first obstacle they'd have to overcome in order to even reach the supposedly haunted room. "unnie, you go first!"

sakura whined, shoving the taller girl in front of her. she didn't believe in ghosts, but the school was still creepy at 3am on the weekend. "we have to jump the gate, you're taller so you should go first!"

yunjin was always the more athletic of the three, followed by chaewon and then sakura. it was times like these where sakura wished she spent a little more time out of her room, and not playing league or overwatch. loser games, as chaewon called them. she only said that because she was bad at them, though.

"but you're the oldest," chaewon added.

sakura was, once again, pushed towards the intimidating black-barred gate. who even used these kinds of gates anyway? it's like, 2024, everyone's went to ring alarm systems and upgraded security systems.

the japanese sighed. she could've been doing anything other than sneaking into a highschool after midnight, like finishing her third playthrough of resident evil 2 or getting her five star island rating in animal crossing. "yunjin, help me out here. you're the tallest, so you should give me and chae a boost, at least."

without warning, she was lifted into the air by the american, causing her to let out a yelp. "damn it, yunjin! i said give me a boost, not give me a death hug!"

"just hurry up and climb the gate!"

sakura grumbled, but obliged. the iron bars were sharp at the ends, so she tried to avoid touching them in fear of stabbing her hands, opting to hold onto the middle parts of the bars and relying on boosting herself up with her feet on the bars placed horizontally. after a few deep breaths, she was able to swing herself over and land on the other side of the gate.

okay. that was kind of sick. sakura felt like she was in mirror's edge or something, envisioning the gate as a tall building and finally feeling good about herself. except that moment was ruined when the two idiots behind her started playing around while trying to get chaewon over. just before she was going to turn around and smack them, they took their places beside her, yunjin and chaewon on her left and right respectively.

and so, they began their mission: find a ghost in the unoccupied art room.

if sakura thought just being outside on campus was creepy enough, being inside the school itself was way creepier. it was dark, too dark inside, and the trio's sole source of light was this dusty old lantern that they had found in chaewon's garage. it flickered on and off half the time. sakura hated it. but yunjin said it added to the "spooky vibe" and despite chaewon's initial protest, she ultimately agreed to use it. damn it, you down bad girl.

"it's so ominous in here," the shorter girl remarked, holding onto the japanese's arm for dear life. yunjin tried to put on a brave face, but her whole body was shaking as she gripped the older girl's sleeve.

"don't worry! i'll p-protect you, chaewonnie."

"you know, you'd sound a little..." sakura grimaced as she heard a cracking noise somewhere in the vicinity, "...more convincing, if you weren't shaking in your boots right now."

eventually, they made it to the supposed art room, and stood in front of the door, waiting. why were they waiting?

"you... you should go in first!"

"yeah, you go in! you've b-been so... undeterred today, unnie!"

"wha—"

thus, she was pushed towards the door, once again. she tried to glare back at the pair, but they looked too scared to even move, so she begrudgingly slid the door open. a cloud of dust puffed up in her face, and she coughed.

"see, was that so ha—what the hell." upon turning back around, yunjin and chaewon were nowhere to be found. she was left in the dust. what great friends! that's fine, sakura's grown. ghosts aren't real. they aren't!

"such friends they are," a cooling whisper tickled her neck. sakura was inclined to agree, before realizing, 'what the fuck. who. is that.'

she snapped her head back so fast it could've given her whiplash, to see a pale face right in front of her.

"jesus fuck!"

the face moved back, giving her room to breathe (not that she could feel anything by its presence besides a ghastly chill) and allowing her to see that the face belonged to a floating figure. actually, it was quite pretty. wait a minute.

"who!?"

ghosts aren't real. they can't be. so why could she see one floating right in front of her? cocking its head to the side with an irritatingly curious expression? there's no way it's a ghost. sakura must've been hallucinating. that's right, yeah! she's definitely hallucinating.

"who are you?"

okay, fuck, it talks. sakura literally can't find anything in her head to try to alleviate the situation. so she does the obvious(?) and humors it. she repeated her intended sentences in her head, praying she doesn't piss it off and die. 'my name is sakura. do you have a name? my name is sakura. do you have a name? my name is-'

...but what comes out, is: "my sakura is name. do you name a have?"

"huh?"

what the hell.

"fuck. fuck, okay. my- um. my name is," she cleared her throat, averting her gaze to the ground. she clutched onto the handle of the flashlight. "my name's sakura... do you, um. do you have a name?"

it floated up, and sakura braced herself. this was not on her 2024 bingo sheet. but then it approached her with a smile. unsettling? more pretty than unsettling. since when were ghosts—or whatever it was—so attractive?

it inched closer to her, and sakura could feel another chilling sensation on her skin. "name? i'm y/n. nice to meet you, sakura. what are you doing here? i haven't seen anyone in ages besides the students during the day, but no one's ever visited me at night."

the way it... no, the way you talked was... refreshing? she expected demands in favor of any of the seven sins, in exchange for her body or whatever, yet your tone was the opposite of that. you sounded... friendly, even.

"um..." should she be honest? sakura never thought she would make it this far unscathed, so... YOLO? "we—me and my friends i mean—heard there was a ghost here. so we came to check it out."

she was still standing at the entrance, unmoving. there was a literal ghost(?) in front of her, after all. "i guess its you...?"

you pretended to think for a moment, resting your chin against your palm. "yeah, that checks out."

a beat of silence followed. you and sakura were just staring at each other, neither of you daring to move a muscle. well, at least sakura dared not to move a muscle. you were freely moving around her, scrutinizing her with your gaze.

"do you want to stay for a bit? i won't hurt you. i mean, i literally can't touch you, so..."

you had a point. but it took sakura more than a few moments to un-freeze herself and take a seat on one of the desk chairs. it was freezing cold in the room, probably due to how long you'd been in here, but it made the shorter girl zip up her hoodie.

sakura averted her gaze to the ground, not wanting to make eye contact. "can i, um... ask you questions?"

unfortunately for her, you appeared inside of the desk, your head popping out so you could forcefully make the japanese look at you. in turn, she yelped.

"ahaha, sorry, sorry. it's just a bit rude to talk to someone without looking at them, no?"

she rubbed at her sleeve. she needed to get out of here, and go home to her endless mountain of stuffed animals on her bed. and maybe cry to wendy's album on repeat.

"sorry," she mumbled. today was not her day.

you nodded and hummed, moving back to "sit" on the desk in front of sakura. "go ahead, then. ask away!"

okay. okay! you can do this, kkura. you were just a ghost. you couldn't do anything to her.

"how long have you been here?"

"three years."

"were you a student here?"

"yeah, i died in the year i was supposed to graduate, which was three years ago." so you were a year older.

"why the art room? did you like drawing?"

you pursed your lips and crossed your legs. sakura felt the cold air pulse in front of her, where you were.

"not really... my best friend did, though!"

"best friend?"

"yeah!" you made to lower yourself from the top of the desk to the chair below. "her name is seulgi. i don't think she's dead yet? maybe you can find her online, or something."

"seulgi... i've heard that name before."

you phased yourself through the back of the chair and in front of sakura again. "you have!? how is she, is she well? i didn't talk to her that much in my last year so i don't know. and i can't really access the internet in this form, so..."

she gulped. "um..."

you gazed at her so expectantly. sakura almost felt bad, she should at least answer your questions.

"i think she's an artist. she recently had an exhibition near my university, it was part of an alumni event," she answered slowly. her skin must've been burning red from the way she was rubbing her sleeve.

you moved back again, now with a serene expression of your face. did that satisfy you?

"i see. thank you."

"..."

you suddenly put on a cheerful smile. it was off putting, but then again, everything about this interaction had been off putting, so sakura wasn't all that surprised anymore. "it's my turn to ask questions, sakura!"

straight to talking informally, huh.

"how old are you?"

the question was unexpected. it made her choke on her spit, and made you scramble around to look for water.

she took a deep breath after regaining her composure, and you settled back down onto the desk. "i'm about to enter my... third year of college."

"so that makes you...?"

"uh, i'm turning 21."

"so you're 20."

"yeah..."

you had an unreadable expression on your face. sakura braced herself. she wasn't lying, though.

"okay! you're sakura..."

"miyawaki."

"you're japanese?"

"mhm."

"cool! miyawaki sakura, 20 years old."

sakura and you stared at each other once more.

"no more questions?"

"nope! did you want me to ask more?"

she stood up from her seat, keeping eye contact. you didn't seem very scary anymore. but more... cute. cute was a fitting word.

"no..."

just in time, her phone buzzed. she fished the device out of her pocket to see hundreds of missed calls and unread messages from yunjin and chaewon. it was also well-past four am.

you floated in front of her, pouting. "you have to go?"

sakura nodded. you escorted her to the door. "visit me soon, 'kay? you're fun to talk to. and super pretty."

that shouldn't have made her blush. although, at least the sentiment was mutual.

"o-okay."

instead of listening to soothing songs that night, sakura found herself listening to wendy's collection of love songs.

fuck, did she have a crush on a ghost?

as per your request, sakura returned to the school the next night. the empty hallways didn't seem so desolate as it did before (the dark combined with flashlights made it seem abandoned, though the school was still running like normal in the day) and she was slowly starting to get used to your... presence.

so she visited the night after that, too. and the night after, and also the night after the last night. and then it became a routine. she'd finish up any work she had to do in the afternoon, which wasn't much since she was on summer break, hang out with yunjin and chaewon (sometimes yujin and wonyoung, too, and on a rare occasion, chaeyeon), and kill some time by playing games before she set out for the school.

if you told sakura she would be sneaking into a school to visit a very pretty scary? ghost, she wouldn't believe you... but here we are now. after hanging out with you for a while, she'd compiled a list of things about you in her mind:

you remembered bits of your life, like things were important to you, sakura couldn't tell if you were lying about not remembering the other things though.

you died three years ago (you were 1 year above her)

you and seulgi were really close (seulgi is two years older than her and one year older than you)

you like listening and watching her play games, even going as far as to add in your own commentary (it makes her blush)

today she was going to bring her switch. she'd been meaning to work on her island in animal crossing, but lately she had been caught up in progressing through persona 3 reload, a game she finally caught on sale and had been waiting for, for ages. (she fucking hated tartar sauce. tart harass. tartarus. whatever.)

she carefully slid the classroom door open, being greeted with a yelp and an excited wave. sakura smiled shyly and switched on the fairy lights she'd brought in a couple of days ago, and walked over to one of the desks to set her bag down.

"hi, sakura!" you floated next to her, briefly hugging her. she shivered due to your chilliness, but patted you on the back. as best as she could, at least.

over the days you worked together to decorate the art room, transforming it into a comfy nook where one could relax and have a light snack. at first sakura felt bad that you had to watch her do all these things, but you insisted that watching and listening to her eat and play games helped you live vicariously through her.

sakura opened the closet in the back to get a bag of honey butter chips. you had mentioned that it was one of your favorite snacks prior to your... untimely death, so she took it upon herself to buy a bunch of them early in the morning.

she popped one in her mouth, closing her eyes at the taste and crunch.

you blinked at her intently, grinning toothily at the college student. "how is it?"

"mmh. very honey buttery," she teased, making you scoff and pout.

"you're not funny, sakura."

said girl gasped in offense, "i think i'm exceptionally funny, thank you!"

"not. funny," you stuck out your tongue. did you think this was a game?

it was fun teasing you, but you always shot back tenfold... it didn't stop her from doing it, though.

"are you playing persona again today?" you asked once she settled down into her regular seat in the back of the classroom. whenever she brought her switch she would be working on her 100% save of persona 5 royal, since she could only play her newly acquired game of the same series, on her computer at home.

sakura took out the device and inserted the animal crossing cartridge, although it was taking a bit to load into the title screen.

she glanced at you from the side. you were sitting on the chair adjacent to hers. (it was an early adjustment, pushing two desks together so you could sit next to each other. something that you suggested, seemed like you were tired of sitting on top of her desk.)

shaking her head, sakura pointed at the screen. "animal crossing. i need to sell my tarantulas to flick today."

you shivered. you hated insects and arachnids, that was another thing that sakura found out about you through a very frightening encounter with a daddy long-legs when she initially opened the dusty closet.

your reaction didn't go unnoticed by the younger girl. her shoulders shook with mirth, laughing at the absurdity of your predicament. you were a ghost. and you were afraid of spiders. and ants, and beetles and bees, when they couldn't see or even touch you.

"don't laugh! any type of spiders or bugs are the bane of my existence, i swear!"

"y/n, the tarantulas are in the game!" sakura wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye. she just couldn't believe your fear went this far. hell, she hated them too, but she was safe from the demons in game.

the cold intensified. it seemed to do that whenever you felt a particularly strong emotion. "they're still creepy in game."

"whatever you say, y/n."

she reached for and felt around the inside her bag, looking for nothing in particular, until her hand bumped into a familiar casing. that's right, the camera!

if sakura didn't know any better, she'd have thought it was an ordinary vintage camcorder. but this, this was a special camcorder. she'd been through hell and back to buy it off this random dude she'd found on her college forum.

"a camera?" you leaned in closer, curiosity piqued. sakura felt an icy blow of wind on her cheek from your presence, yet it made her blush. she was afraid the "crush" had turned into a crush.

"not just any camera," she smugly proclaimed. "it's supposed to capture," she made air-quotes, "'ghostly encounters.' or whatever that guy sunoo said."

"i'm not..." you laughed. normally she would've laughed too, but she was dead set on this financial decision. seeing the pure determination on her face, your laughter ceased. "oh, you're serious."

"well, okay. let's test it out, shall we?"

she fumbled with the camera, taking it out of the flap case with caution and flipping the screen open.

this would totally serve as real proof to her friends.

"i literally don't see anything, unnie." yunjin pouted.

yunjin and chaewon sat unamused on sakura's bed. sakura was showing them the footage she had taken a few days ago of a conversation between you and her.

"weren't you the one saying ghosts aren't real all the time? now all of a sudden you're claiming you've even befriended one. we should really stop you from going back, unnie," chaewon deadpanned.

she was right. sakura was saying all that stuff. keyword: was. but she was a changed woman! now that she'd seen it with her own eyes, there had to be a way for her to prove herself. all of a sudden she felt bad for calling out yujin's delusions a few months back. she apologized to yujin in her head.

in her defense, she hadn't checked the footage she had taken at all until now. and not once did it come up in her mind that ghosts... didn't show up on camera. because they were ghosts.

the footage consisted of her making simple conversation with you, asking about your interests and introducing you to the viewers. it then escalated into a shoving contest, and sakura whining about how it wasn't fair that you could have even a slight effect on her (your eerie icy air) while she could just "phase" through your figure. that was what she saw, anyway.

to the two confuddled girls taking up all the space on her neat bed, it was just the girl talking to the air. and fighting the air. and blushing at air.

it was safe to say (to them at least) that miyawaki sakura had officially gone insane from too many nights stayed up this summer. the initial visit to the school at night was only a test of courage to start off the break, but it seemed that abandoning her and therefore failing said test of courage had a bigger effect on the older girl.

sakura huffed.

("can i bring my friends back?"

"huh? uh, sure. video didn't work?"

"no."

"then i'm not sure you think they'd see me if they didn't in the—"

"shut up.)

"why are we back here again," chaewon whined, clutching onto sakura's arm for dear life. they, once again, had brought the huge lantern from chaewon's family garage, even if the older girl had reassured them that their phone lights would be enough. sakura was getting tired of the lingering afterimages.

yunjin made a face as a spider was made visible from their powerhouse of a light source. "sakura-unnie, i swear i believe there's a ghost. even if we didn't see anything... now can we please go back home?"

"sure. i'll keep going and you two can run back. i won't believe that you believe me unless you see her with your own eyes."

finally, that shut them up. with much trouble, (mostly the two college freshmen clinging to sakura's arms) they traversed through the creepy hallway until they reached the art room at the end. sakura could hear some faint humming in the tune of gee by girls' generation, and she smiled to herself. it wasn't your favorite song, but it was the one that got stuck in your head the most.

she turned to the two cowering girls behind her (who had clutched onto each other the moment she broke away from their terrified grasps) and slid open the door.

"hey, sakura!" you waved from a desk in the corner. the girl waved and turned to her friends again, raising an eyebrow.

"do you hear her?"

"h-hear what," chaewon squeaked.

'are you serious.'

sakura stepped into the room, chaewon and yunjin hesitantly trailing behind her.

the american shivered. "is—is it just me or is it way too cold in here."

"that's the ghost!" the japanese desperately exclaimed, shaking the girls back and forth. "she's right there, look, please!"

chaewon looked back at her with an equal amount of desperation in her eyes, though for a completely different reason. "unnie... there's no one there..."

"what!?"

cool air whispered near sakura's ear, making her shudder. "yeah, sakura... there's no one here?" you giggled. she flushed red and turned around to shove you, but her arms went straight through. damn it, why were you a ghost?

"i don't know what happened when we left you, but i just know we should've dragged you back with us!" the tall girl cried out, genuinely worried for her friend. until chaewon started giggling at the sight of sakura fighting the air with her own eyes and they both started giggling together.

eventually, they both calmed down and sat at the desks, though they picked the ones right next to the door just in case they really saw something. chaewon and yunjin explained they couldn't see or hear anything, but it was exceptionally cold in the classroom, more than outside. and when y/n lingered closer to them, the iciness intensified.

unfortunately sakura couldn't stay this time, since the pair's calmness started to wear off and they started getting paranoid again. the older girl's interactions with the "ghost" seemed less entertaining and more... get her a therapist, ASAP.

you took notice of this and convinced sakura to take them home, and that you wouldn't mind.

sakura left with a final grumble, dragging the two by their collars and complaining about them, to them. she was going to get to the bottom of this.

"i just don't understand why they can't see you, why can i see you but not them?"

sakura was sitting at her usual spot, having returned the next night to visit you again. instead of you occupying the seat adjacent to her, however, you decided to sit crisscrossed on top of the desk in front of her.

you pursed your lips, then blew out an icy breath into her face. she frowned. "maybe it has to do with my last wish."

"uh, what last wish?"

"i mean," you sighed. "it's the whole reason i'm stuck here. the dead that remain on earth typically have a last wish that ties them down here, and only someone who meets specific requirements can help them go on to the afterlife. usually the reapers meet those prerequisites, so they help the spirits."

"my requirements would probably be... i don't know, someone who went to school with me, or maybe someone who came looking for specifically me? again, i'm not sure. maybe mine would be easier if i died in a more natural way."

this sparked a tinge of curiosity in sakura. you never really talked about how you died, always managing to avoid the topic and discuss something unrelated. "how did you die?"

"mmh, i jumped off the roof. and splat! i died."

"wha..."

why did you talk about it so casually? were you okay? why did you... what the fuck? maybe... maybe there was a reason you never talked about it? and this was just your way of coping, sakura didn't know. sakura wanted to know, and also know more about you. every bit of information about you that she uncovered stuck to her like glue. her infatuation with you not only as a ghost but also as a person was growing, and she wondered what would've happened if she never agreed to the initial test of courage. she wanted so badly to ask you, but the empathy in her told her not to pry further.

anyway...? reapers? other spirits? there were still ghosts on earth other than you? suddenly sakura didn't seem so ashamed that she spent all day, everyday in her room. but that's besides the point!

"so what's your last wish?"

you tapped your finger against your chin, furrowing your eyebrows. "hmm... i don't remember!"

"huh!?"

"but if i try hard enough, i'm sure it'll come up!"

"y/n..."

now, over the next few days you and sakura pretended like nothing happened. no last wishes, no death talk, just continuing on like before.

sakura, being the nerd tech-wizard she was, managed to get the projector working so she could have a bigger screen than the tiny one on the switch, and also watch films through her laptop, on the netflix account that yunjin didn't know she still had access to.

you figured out how to turn some of the lights in the corridors on, which let you and sakura venture out into the school and have a change of environment. sure, the artroom was cozy now, but sometimes getting out of there was refreshing for you.

"you're so warm, kkura," you murmured, making it appear as if you were laying on her lap where she was sitting at the end of the hallway. the lights flickered every so often, and the raven-haired girl's phone was about to die. they were a tad far from the art room, so when the battery finally ran out they would have to make do with the flickering lights.

she giggled, tapping the cold air where your nose would be. you scrunched up your face in response. "don't lie. can ghosts even feel warmth?"

"no... but i can feel your warmth, promise," you pouted. you were her weakness, really. she wished everyone else could see you but well, was it selfish of her that she was glad she was the only one who could?

sakura looked to the right, where the rest of your body was. huh, your legs weren't visible from this angle.

...wait a minute.

"where are your legs?"

your pout morphed into a frown of confusion, raising an eyebrow at the japanese girl. "huh?"

you then looked down, expecting to prove her wrong and that your legs were as intact as a ghost's legs could be... only to see that the lower half of your body was indeed gone, from the knees down. the rest of your body seemed to fade into nothing.

"huh. my legs are gone," you affirmed. "oh my god! my legs are gone!"

your gaze switched between sakura's equally as afraid face, and your missing legs. then it all became dark. the lights had gone out.

"y/n? y/n! the lights, the lights are... are you there still?"

"yes... the lights went out, so i can't see anything. does your phone still turn on?"

"don't ghosts have some sort of night vision? why can't you—agh..." she tried holding the power button on her phone, but what showed on the screen was the dead battery icon. "fuck."

the lights flickered, and both of your faces lit up in hope, until they went out again. then, the lights ahead flickered, and the pattern repeated. this was like in those dramatic scenes when the lights would turn on whenever you moved the character towards them, except they turned on by themselves. oh shit. she'd have to run quick if she wanted light.

luckily, you thought the same. "kkura, let's run."

and through the ceiling lights that flickered on and off in succession, sakura ran. she could only see you for seconds at a time, when the lights would make you visible, but you were smiling as you lead her through the corridors.

when you finally made it to the (thankfully) still-lit art room, you disappeared. "y/n? where'd you go?"

in fear, she spun around frantically, trying to see if you were anywhere near the classroom. did your last wish get granted and you just disappeared? no, she couldn't live with that. there's no way running through the hallway as if you were in an indie horror game was your last wish. where were you? what if—

"boo."

"jesus—jesus fuck!"

there you were, your knee-less form doubling over in laughter. "y/n, i thought you were gone for real! oh my god!"

"oh my—you should've seen the look on your face! you look like you've seen a ghost!"

"you're laughing. i almost suffered a heart attack from you and you're laughing."

you floated back up to her at eye-level, flashing a crooked grin. "sorry, kkura. but wasn't that fun?"

and, like many other occasions, sakura found herself failing to say no to you.

"i guess."

you were fading away.

it was the thing that happened when ghosts' last wish were granted naturally, not instantaneously like with a reaper. most wished for anyone but a reaper, so they could savor their true last moments left on earth, to fade away into the air and move on peacefully. not to be forcefully flown up to the afterlife, watching their surroundings become smaller as they got further up. it even made some of them queasy. unfortunately for them, only a certain amount of people found peace without the help of a reaper.

similar to when you revealed the truth of your death, you and sakura both chose to ignore how you were fading.

it had gotten significantly less colder than when sakura had first met you. only half your ghost form was visible; your hips down were gone now. sakura tried her best to ignore the gnawing feelings burning in her chest whenever she looked at you.

to alleviate her inner turmoil, she looked into some strategies to destress. this case was at 2 am, on some crappy wikihow articles with silly little illustrations. many suggested reading to relax the mind and body, but that was more of a yunjin thing. so she researched other calming hobbies.

crocheting had become a recent hobby of hers, something to kill time with in the daytime when she wasn't out. it quickly started to become an obsession—she would use every bit of her free time, whether it was during a cutscene in baldur's gate 3, before and after she took a nap, or whenever she wasn't out with friends.

"when'd you learn to crochet?"

sakura looked up to see you staring curiously at her hand movements, fascinated at the way she maneuvered the metal hook like it was second nature. "just last week. it's all i do nowadays."

she focused back to her project, stitching the beige yarn with her hook and occasionally glancing at the pattern on her phone screen. it was true, crocheting was all she did nowadays, added to her routine of gaming and being dragged to hangouts. she brought her crocheting tools everywhere with her, to everyone's complaint.

("pay attention to us unnie!" sakura recalled yujin whining, with wonyoung holding her back with a look of worry. chaewon and the couple had come over to the older girl's apartment, only to be met with her rotting away in her bed with her hook and yarn. it took 20 minutes of begging (yujin and chaewon) and coaxing (wonyoung) for them to finally play wii party.)

"i'm making a hat," she continued, meeting your gaze.

you smiled, resting your elbows on top of the wooden desk and leaning your chin against your palms. "is it for someone special?"

'fuck. how'd you know?' your question automatically led to the bright blush that had settled on her face, burning her cheeks so much that she had to break from your stare.

"i knew it! tell me, tell me!"

well, sakura didn't want to out herself. but then again, she knew you wouldn't give up that easily.

"...it's for you. i thought maybe, you could take it with you, when you... yeah."

"..."

the silence that followed scared the girl. it was the first time your disappearance had been mentioned ever since it was discovered. she hesitantly looked back up, biting her lip.

you blew a gust of cold-ish air at sakura, flashing a toothy grin. she had gotten used to your intense cold, but now it didn't feel any worse than the broken aircon.

"thanks, kkura."

there was something different about the school today. maybe it was because sakura decided to stop by a little earlier than usual, just before midnight. there was a full moon tonight, revealing thousands of stars that were truly a sight to behold. the japanese girl wanted to share the view with you.

the resounding echoes of her footsteps were eerily loud. sakura felt her heart beat in her throat, her palms getting clammy. that wouldn't do, she had to keep the cat-eared beanie in pristine condition—she stayed up countless nights to finish it for you.

it had been three weeks since the initial meeting, but in those three weeks, sakura found herself falling for a ghost. she couldn't get enough of you—at first it was a reaction to your beautiful appearance. in all of the games or movies she had seen and played, ghosts were more... ghastly. you, however, you appeared as a regular human; if your very presence wasn't chilling to the bone, or if you didn't float, she might as well have assumed you were another person looking for the infamous ghost.

and you, the art room ghost, were a spectacle. it was a crime that sakura didn't know about you sooner. maybe if you had met in school all those years ago, this situation would have been incredibly different. you went to the same school, only a year above her, yet you'd left no trace behind.

there were probably rumors floating around about your suicide, yes, but she'd returned to japan for more than six months, starting from the middle of her second year, to the middle of the summer before her third, in which she'd be graduating. it was no wonder she never heard about it. you'd done it a week before you would've graduated, and sakura was gone by then.

you were so bright, curious, relaxed, and frankly, unserious. it contrasted so strongly against the stereotypical, moody ghost, that it also intrigued sakura a copious amount.

sakura found solace in you. simple as that—she couldn't see herself without you now. and she wouldn't know what to do with herself when you would eventually disappear. you were lovely.

as she approached the door of the art room, she felt a sudden chill, before it dissipated into warmth, like a fire lit inside of her gut, burning everything in its way and leaving it in ruins. for the first time, she hesitated, afraid to slide open the door and see you.

the classroom was bathed in the soft, pale light of the moon streaming through the dusty windows, setting a peaceful atmosphere. through sakura's fear-stricken eyes, she could see you, your form reduced to one that she could barely notice if not for her seeking gaze.

"you came," you turned around, a smile on your face. for some reason, your full body was back, but it was more faint than ever. she stepped closer to you, into the light that shined onto the desks. from the front of the room where you were standing, sakura could see all the memories the two of you had made, from the fairy lights to the fixed projector.

she set the beanie onto the wooden surface and bit her lip. "i'm here."

you grinned at the object, tilting your head at the student. "for me?"

a nod.

her eyes gradually filled with tears, threatening to burst out like a dam. "i don't want you to go."

"i know."

the tears burned a trail down sakura's cheeks. she couldn't afford to blink, what if you disappeared in a split second?

you reached out with your hand to cup her cheek, returning her gaze of anguish with a remorseful stare of your own. "thank you for granting my peace. do you want to know what my wish was?"

"what?" the japanese girl choked out. your face was a blurry mess due to the tears that blocked her vision. she wiped them furiously with trembling hands, but to no avail—they just kept coming.

in a slowly timed manner, you cupped her other cheek with your hand and leaned in, planting a cold kiss to her lips that lingered even after you pulled away.

"i finally made another friend."

a pang in the chest. sakura couldn't even respond, too caught up in the moment and feeling every emotion she had ever felt in her twenty years of life, into one jumbled up pile. you were fading; your body becoming more transparent by the second.

"if only... in better circumstances, you know?" you whispered. she swore she could see tears rolling down your cheeks. "we could've been more than that."

the last sakura saw of you that night was your bittersweet smile, fading away into nothingness. the beanie lay untouched on the desk, the fairy lights where she last left it, and the projector ready to play hollow knight on her switch.

she was alone in the art room.

eat. sleep. crochet. repeat. sakura hadn't left the vicinity of her room in two days. living off of shitty top ramen packets and cans of redbull, she didn't even know what she was crocheting. she hadn't logged onto any games either.

miyawaki sakura was lost.

without you, she didn't know what to do. there was nothing waiting for her in the unholy hours after midnight. no one to watch her play games on a school projector. no one to look forward to seeing.

her friends came knocking on her door, letting themselves in but giving up as soon as they saw how far gone she was. she wouldn't budge, only answering with a half-assed "mhm..." or "right..." as she stitched the beige yarn with almost mechanical movements.

the yarn had been continuously weaved into a long, stretching piece, pooling around her as she worked at a depressing yet strenuous pace.

"sakura-unnie..." chaewon tugged at the mourning girl's sleeve. "this isn't healthy..."

"mhm..."

yunjin frowned, almost tearing up at the older girl's pitiful state. "what could've happened to her? she's never done this before."

"maybe it's the ghost?" chaewon turned to look at the blonde, who was sitting on the edge of the black gaming chair. "doesn't look like she's been back there for a while."

sakura tensed. a stray tear made it out the corner of her eye.

"y/n," she murmured, then going back to crocheting.

"is there something we can do, unnie?"

"it's not like we can bring her back, yunjin."

bring you back? bring you back... summoning the dead... would it count if you'd already ascended? no, never mind that. summoning circles... demons... you weren't a demon, you were obviously an angel. occult...

sakura did recall a section dedicated to the occult at the campus library.

she dropped her hook and yarn, getting out of bed and pushing past the two girls, who were clearly bewildered at her actions. she had to go get books.

but that would take forever, wouldn't it?

she strided back into her room, taking hold of the girls' wrists.

"we're going to the library."

"for what!?" chaewon yelped. sakura had a killer grip, unexpected coming from a gamer who was a shut-in most of the time.

"i'm going to bring y/n back."

"you're kidding, right!? that's something in the movies! i—you're not listening..." chaewon groaned.

yunjin wrinkled her nose. "could you at least take a shower first? no offense, unnie, but you smell... it's at least not as bad as passing by the boys' locker room though."

oh shit. she hadn't left her room in two days.

"we're going to the library after."

"witch's handbook... herbs and hexes..."

sakura, having freshly showered and changed into some suitable clothes that weren't just sweats and an old pokémon hoodie, skimmed through a variety of books in the supernatural section of the library. yunjin was surrounded by piles of books on a nearby table, sitting with her face smushed into the wooden surface.

chaewon had been trying as diligently she could to aid the older girl in her search, but most of the books were fiction or sounded... not very promising.

she glanced worriedly to her friend, who was in a manic state. "kkura-unnie, i really don't think—"

"necromancer's manual," the japanese gasped out. she tugged the dusty book out of its placw between two other 'magic' books, and rushed over to where yunjin was dozing off.

the slam of the book echoed throughout the library, which was mostly empty save for librarian who glared over at their general direction. the noise and vibrations it sent through the table woke up the blonde, making her jump to her feet and salute.

"i'm up, ma'am!"

"hey, who are you calling... nevermind."

sakura began reading the faded text printed on the first pages of the book. "the path of a necromancer is one of darkness and... ugh, don't care... approach these teachings with respect, for the dead may not forgive, and the power to summon them is as much a curse as it is a gift."

yunjin and chaewon stood behind her, though not reading the book but crossing their fingers hoping that the older girl gave up and would go back to being the sakura that they know and love. this whole trip to the library she was off in her own world, going on and on about how she was going to get this y/n back. she didn't even tell yunjin to step on the brakes way before she actually had to.

it took them one look at sakura: her widened eyes, the frown that was etched onto her face. she was about to do something crazy. something that might kill her if it succeeded. but they're not sure if she was even thinking about such things; sakura was clouded with a mix of emotions so strong that she seemed like a whole new person.

it was almost as if she were reborn.

step one: gather your materials. to summon the dead is a perilous task, and to do as such is a path filled with trouble. fret not, for you have made it this far, and backing out is always viable if need be.

below is a list of materials that will aid you. note that these are suggestions, and if you are to rekindle specifics, these may not apply.

chalk, to draw the main summoning grounds in the form of a standard pentagram

five palm wax candles

sea salt, to be sprinkled around the circle

parchment and a quill or other utensil, for the person's name to be written on and burned as the finalization of the ritual

one white lily

an object dear to the person

of course, there were extra measures needed to be taken for sakura to fully do this. the amount of shady wikihow tutorials she pulled up was alarming. it wasn't her fault though. what if she messed up while drawing the pentagram? and where the hell would she get palm wax candles? ordering online would take too long. so... she called up her good friend and little sister of chaewon: eunchae.

eunchae had many connections. all it took was a few texts and the younger girl had showed up to her apartment, kyujin in tow, with a box of premium palm wax candles. they looked to be very expensive, but with whatever witchery eunchae did, she only had to pay a whopping... nothing at all, actually. thank god for eunchae.

sea salt, chalk, and the white lily were easy to obtain. she had sea salt from her kitchen, chalk that she never gave back to yunjin, and went to go buy a single white lily from the florist next to the local bookstore which was famous for housing four cats.

the parchment was slightly harder to find, but she managed it by stopping by some antique store that was dustier than chaewon's garage. as for the quill... well, a fountain pen was close enough, right? whatever. sakura didn't have much time left, the only thing left was to get something that meant a lot to you... but what could it be? you didn't talk much about your own life in general, at least the important bits. but you did talk about your best friend sometimes.

best friend...

kang seulgi, the prodigy. admired by many, though some thought her as enigmatic. she had an impeccable fashion sense, was incredibly selfless, and was absolutely stunning.

but out of all people, she chose to spend most of her time with not only an underclassman but quite frankly the quietest one. the girl, y/n, chose to work alone in every group project—no one knew why the teachers let her get away with it. whenever she did talk to someone, they could barely hear her. so when one of the most popular students in school approached her, everyone was shocked.

they were quick friends. eventually they were seen everywhere together, especially in the art room. seulgi would paint or draw, and y/n would watch. sometimes the younger would be the model, and sometimes she would lounge around on her phone while eating honey butter chips.

seulgi and y/n talked about anything and everything. from the interesting topics of the day like the substitute teacher in the second years' history class, to the most mundane things like a slight change to the lunch menu. they were glued by the hip; one would never be seen without the other.

of course, this changed when seulgi graduated. y/n became as isolated as ever, always having a sullen look on her face. she spent her last year with minimal interactions with others, disappeared during lunch breaks, and rarely attended school events.

and... eventually she couldn't take it anymore. during lunch, she went up to the rooftop, slipped off her shoes, and started freefalling.

sakura did not know of this information. but she did know one thing: seulgi probably held her best friend's most precious item. or at least knowledge of it. she was going to revive that stupid idiot no matter what it took.

from: mperskr@ijbol.org to: ksgom@hotmail.com hello ms. kang seulgi, i would like to schedule a meeting with you. it is not for a commission, but something very personal. i know we have not yet met, but i need you to consider my request. i need to ask you a question about someone you were very close with in your high school years. someone by the name of y/n. best regards, miyawaki sakura

"good morning."

"...good morning," seulgi hesitantly greeted, taking a seat across sakura in a rather quiet coffeeshop. "so, you need to ask me about y/n?"

the japanese raised her eyebrows. she was straight to the point, but it saved her some time. "yes. look, you may not believe me, but i met her as a ghost some time ago, but i was the only one who saw her. and long story short, she disappeared into thin air and i need to bring her back."

to no one's surprise, seulgi was narrowing her eyes at her. "um, you mean to tell me that the girl that i heard killed herself, came back as a ghost that only you could see, suddenly disappeared again?"

"yeah."

"ms. miyawaki, was it?"

"that's me."

"...have you been to therapy?"

well, fuck. how was she supposed to explain herself?

she started by explaining how she met the ghost. the haunted school rumor, the first conversation, the daily meetups, and the like. it was a lengthy explanation, one that had the artist furrow her eyebrows at every passing second. but sakura was willing to do whatever it takes, even if it cost her dignity.

surely seulgi held the key.

seulgi frowned, drumming the pads of her fingers against the table. "what does this have to do with me?"

"i'm going to attempt a summoning. y/n has meant too much to me in such a short time, and it will cost my entire being if i can't see her again," sakura stated, a raging mania storming her eyes. she crossed her legs and clasped her fingers together. "i need something that was important to her. and i believe you, kang seulgi, are in possession of whatever it is."

"and what if i do have it? interfering with the dead is ridiculous, even if you told your story," a flash of hurt passed, her face remaining solemn yet sorrowful. "is this what y/n... would've wanted?"

sakura's eyes widened. would you want her to do this? no, never mind that. "we can't ask. y/n died without accomplishing what she wanted most. don't you want her to achieve her dreams?"

the drumming paused. "...and if i don't have it?"

"then i swear on my life that i will get that item no matter what."

"i couldn't back then, but... will you take care of her?"

"one hundred percent."

"..."

"thank you," sakura collected the envelope and stood up from the chair, the metal legs screeching against the floor. "and i'm sorry. i love her. and i know you did too."

seulgi stayed in her seat, reflecting on actions that she couldn't reverse. ones that could not be reversed because they were never done in the first place.

if she had reached out, would this turn out differently? was she right to trust this stranger who claimed to know your name?

she stood from the metal chair with shaky legs, and walked out.

dear seulgi,

it's me. i just want to say that i'm sorry. i should've kept contact with you before it was too late. i know you're going to say it was never going to be too late, but i can't take it anymore.

every second passes by and everyone looks at me with such a look of pity. at first they asked me where you were, before realizing you graduated and laughed it off. i can't laugh it off, you were my other half. my best friend. it was always y/n and seulgi, seulgi and y/n.

nowadays i spend all of my spare time in the art room or somewhere outside. they don't use the art room anymore, you know? said they ran out of budget to support the art department, and shut it down. i buy whatever's left at the school store and eat in there.

i'm tired. i can't wait another year or whatever just so i can see you again. we haven't talked. i miss you.

i'm graduating next week.

i think i'm going to die before then.

- y/n

the candles were set up. she had to pull up the wikihow article for the pentagram, but regardless, it was done. the sea salt was sprinkled and the parchment was prepared. she set the letter in the center, along with the white lily.

eyes devoid of emotion, she took a deep breath, and let the parchment burn. the crackling sounds were crisp to her ear, reminding her that it was too late to turn back.

"and with this offering..."

she's reminded of the memories you made together. the gaming sessions, conversations, and your departure. the you that she met was so different from the one in the letter.

"i seek to reforge a bond with thee."

the explorations after turning the lights on, and how the last one was the introduction of something that would take you away.

"within these sacrificial flames, i humbly ask thee to appear before mine eyes."

bow down. once, twice. she felt the heat of the candles on her cheeks. they were emitting the only source of light in the classroom.

and now, you were to appear before her. or so she thought. instead, she was faced with nothing. not a sound—the windows were shut along with the curtains and the door was closed.

sakura remained bowed down. squeezing her eyes shut and denying that all of this was fake. denying that it was, indeed, all for naught. denying that her friends were right and seulgi was right and everyone was right and she wasn't.

blinded by her guilt and grief, for someone who was peacefully resting now. she would return to her apartment and go back to her normal life, whether she liked it or not. the pool of yarn was still sitting on her bed, the beanie on her desk.

she would also have to apologize to everyone she knew. yunjin and chaewon, who were only concerned for her well being but were dragged into the preparations.

seulgi, who she hunted down and persuaded to give up what could've been the last she had of you.

a wet substance dripped down her cheek and onto the creaky, wooden floor. and another drop joined the first, and then it came in a steady flow.

you wouldn't have wanted this.

you would've wanted her to move on. and be happy that the short relationship even happened.

you wouldn't have wanted her to drown in grief, then be consumed by mania in an attempt to desecrate the laws of the world.

you would've wanted her to remember you. not bring you back.

sakura ruined whatever trust you had in her. disrespected your death, and your disappearance. she didn't know how she was going to atone for the dents she made in other lives.

her sleeves were now soaked in tears. her nails broke the skin of her palm and she bled. indents of the wrinkles of her pants were left on her knees.

sakura pushed herself off the ground, only to be flung by an inexplicably powerful gust of wind. it sent her crashing into the desks, her head spinning and unable to begin to comprehend what was happening. the curtains were forcefully ripped off from the impact of the wind, allowing the late night brightness seep into the classroom.

a trail of blood slid down from her forehead. a headache pounded into her temple. she closed her eyes for a split second and saw her late grandpa.

her mind was clear as mud, even as the door slid open. she slowly turned her head to the entrance, mouth falling agape.

someone very, very familiar.

sakura's mouth opened and closed, unable to form any words.

the girl furrowed her brow and adjusted her uniform skirt, looking around at the mess in the art room. her gaze eventually landed on sakura, who was crumpled on the floor, leaning against the desks which were scattered from her fall. she was bleeding from her head, which added to her confusion.

she tilted her head, her nametag glinting in the moonlight. slowly stepping forward and towards the bleeding girl and poking her unbloodied cheek. "who are you?"

the familiar girl's touch was warm. sakura's throat became dry, a fresh batch of tears flowing down her cheeks.

"y-y/n..."

a/n : hello!!! so sorry for the wait :) this was longer than i thought, and much deeper than i originally intended but oh well. thank you for reading until the end 😁

A goddess

[240508] katarinabluu: sailor moon 💫🌙

Meet GirlGroupNetwork: ↳ Juli's favorite comeback(s) Twice - Scientist

So many emotions reading this but damn was it good, 100% recommendation to any Jeonghyo shipper

push and pull | jeongyeon x jihyo

[request 1] [request 2] pairing: jeongyeon x jihyo genre: plot with smut and a bit of angst warnings: nsfw (+18), minors dni, men dni tags: ceo!jeongyeon, ceo!jihyo, service top!jeongyeon, rival relationship, enemies to lovers (kinda?), betrayal, happy ending, other twice members w/c: 18.4 k a/n: first time writing smut, i'm nervous!! i'm also nervous bc i made jeongyeon a woman in stem and i'm not so i just used big words randomly. i tried to turn those requests into this and i hope i made justice to what you had in mind even though it took me longer way than i expected. feel free to leave any comments, feedback or suggestions 🖤

"You could have sent me a message" is the first thing Jeongyeon says to the woman who just entered her office bowing ninety degrees with a serious face. "This better be important, Mina-ssi, no one should see you enter this building" she says, warning the young woman.

She just nods as she looks for the right words thinking about the dialogue she has been practicing in her head since she decided to address this issue face to face without intermediaries. At first she hesitates, but decides to be clear instead of beating around the bush.

"Excuse me Jeongyeon-nim, but I think this will interest you" she finally speaks and the other waves her hand inviting her to sit across the table of her huge office, making her take a seat immediately before continuing. "ZoneTech is starting to work on video games."

As soon as those words leave her mouth, the Signal Systems CEO's face changes and her body takes on a different posture, her jaw tightens and her fists clench tightly. On the other side of the big desk Mina, analyzing her every move, notices her obvious frustration. For a few seconds she remains silent waiting for any question or comment from the other woman, but this one, who is somewhere between surprise and anger, does not utter a single sound beyond a breath that deepens and accelerates as the rage invades her. This is a personal attack. It’s not the first time something like this has happened; after all, this whole war has been going on for more than half a century.

In 1942, friends and partners in business, Yoo Byungho and Park Youngho, opened a home furnishings store. At that time, the country was going through difficult times with the Japanese occupation and the subsequent Korean War that led to so many years of political instability, but thanks to Yoo's creativity and Park's sales skills, the business not only survived but grew from a humble store to a small and promising company. In the early 1960s, a new era of prosperity would come for the country and for these entrepreneurs as well when they expanded the business importing and selling  household appliances, founding Zone Systems. Unfortunately, due to constant disagreements between Yoo Byungho and Park Youngho, this pioneering company would not reach its fifth anniversary, as the partners broke their alliance and created Signal Systems and ZoneTech, respectively. Against all odds, taking different paths was the key to success for both.

Today, Signal Systems and ZoneTech have established themselves as the most important companies in the country, having a great influence on economic, political and cultural development. Despite the impressive achievements of each of them individually, it is impossible to talk about one without mentioning the other, the reason for this is not the shared origins but the numbers, data and rankings always place one behind the other with slight difference, if one year the market has been dominated by ZoneTech, it is most likely that the following year those numbers will be surpassed by Signal Systems. If you ask any technology expert, economic expert or ordinary consumer which brand is better, the answer will never be unanimous.

And it is a really complex answer since both cover the same businesses such as consumer electronics, technology, finance and, in recent years, have incorporated entertainment. The only thing that makes them different is that SignalSystems is known for creating and using the most advanced technology always wrapped in the most sophisticated designs, while ZoneTech stands out for making that technology accessible to the general public with more affordable prices and more practical designs.

This is how a disagreement between partners has now become a war between the largest South Korean business groups, a battle that has been going on for six decades and in which four generations of the Yoo and Park families have already participated. A dispute that is now at its peak since the great-granddaughters of the two businessmen, Yoo Jeongyeon and Park Jihyo, took over as CEO, and, like their ancestors, they were friends before they were rivals.

"How do you know?" is the first thing she asks.

"Well, as you know I am a programmer. This last month they have been doing individual interviews to workers from each of the departments telling us that they are looking for new ways to organize the work teams according to our interests, aptitudes and skills, since they want to release different products next year and they need the highest efficiency" she begins to explain confusing Jeongyeon, who doesn't quite understand what Mina is trying to say with all of this. Still she listens to her carefully trying to get answers.

"At first they were normal questions about our work interests and whether we had hobbies related to our work, but when I mentioned my liking for video games they seemed interested. The questions started out generic... what kind of video games I play and so on, but then they asked me if I think the company would have the capacity to create their own games and if I would be interested in working on that hypothetical project" she seems to conclude.

The CEO, with an increasing anger, gets up from the desk without knowing what to do with her hands and tries to calm down her nerves before speaking "I want information, I want data and I want documents that prove what you tell me, that's what I pay you for, not for you to come to me with assumptions''. At no time she raises her voice, but her tone is stern and threatening, although not enough for the programmer to lose her signature serene demeanor.

"I know, that's why I didn’t come until now" she replies "I was handed this morning" she says as she takes a folder out of her briefcase and puts it on the table.

Seeing that it is a folder with the orange logo of the rival company neatly printed and partially covered by a red and black stamp warning that it is confidential information, she returns to her chair and takes the papers in her hands. A quick read is all it takes for Jeongyeon to come to the same conclusion as her informant "ZoneTech is going to create a video game" she mutters to herself. As she reads her jaw tightens again and her fists clench the pages until she stands up and begins to scan each page. When she has a copy of the thirty pages that make up the document, she places them back in the folder and returns it to its owner.

"You may leave, Mina-ssi" is the last thing her boss says and she does what she is told, taking the folder and her briefcase, not without bowing before walking through the door.

Once she is alone in her office, she goes through the papers again, this time more carefully and without losing detail. Unlike Park Jihyo, she does get involved in the development process of many products, as both her hobbies and her studies have always leaned towards engineering and programming and not on business and economics like her rival. In fact, the ten video games that have been released in the last three years under the Signal Games brand were Yoo Jeongyeon's own idea and creation, who saw an opportunity in this market in which the company never dared to venture before. Perhaps this is why she gets the best of her for the first time and grabs the phone.

"Dahyun-ssi, I need the usual apology basket for Miss Im, but this time write ‘thank you’ on the card" she asks her secretary.

Just a few meters away from the door of her office, Kim Dahyun tries to hide her surprise and takes note of the instructions given by her boss "Okay, you will have the basket ready in an hour. Should I also add the usual bouquet with flowers that mean friendship, or would you rather I also exchange them for thank yous?"?"

"Mhm… good point, Dahyun-ssi, I hadn't thought of that. Use both of them and add some blue if possible, I trust you. When it's ready, send everything to her home and also free up my schedule for the rest of the day. Thank you very much."

Of course, the favor she asks to her longtime best friend, Nayeon, costs her more than a basket of her favorite foreign snacks, three packages of the best meat on the continent and of course the latest model of the Signal System cell phone. ₩ 10 billion for his next movie is exactly what it costs her. That is the price of Jihyo's personal phone number. For anyone else it would be crazy, but for the CEO, who was putting her friend in such a compromising situation after the latter had for years stayed out of the fights between them, the price seems more than reasonable.

The negotiation was not easy, but as soon as Nayeon had the basket on her doors and the first payment for the financing for her next film project, Jeongyeon received a message with the phone number. Minutes later, at the other end of the Central Business District, Park Jihyo smiles with satisfaction when her phone lights up with the name: Yoo Jeongyeon.

"I was waiting for your call, Jeongyeon-ssi" is what Jeongyeon hears after a single tone.

"Then I'll save the explanations, I have an offer. It will have to be face to face and just the two of us. As soon as possible. I want neither intermediaries nor interveners."

"Where will we meet? You know perfectly well that if we are seen in the same building the effect on the stock market would be immediate, but if we do it in secret and the press catches us it will be all over the news making all kinds of assumptions and spreading all kinds of rumors. And I don't think your father would like that, would he?" she says with a sarcastic and mocking tone.

"Jihyo-sunbaenim, I'm not for your stupid games right now" she says with a tone that denotes that her patience at the moment is at its limit. "I'll take care of the place, it will be neutral, casual and public enough so as not to raise more suspicion than is necessary. Try to keep it discreet and of course don't wear or bring anything that would imply that this is a business related meeting" she makes clear with a serious tone that only provokes Jihyo more to keep pushing Jeongyeon's buttons.

"And why would you and I be in one place if not for work?" she says with obvious sarcasm in her tone that doesn't go unnoticed by the other one. 

"We can just be some old friends getting together to catch up" as soon as she says that a loud and snarky laugh is heard but no words precede it, so she keeps talking. "I'll send you the address, see you there" she declares.

"Wait!" she says before she can cut the call "Did you have my contact saved or did your spy give it to you?" she adds but before she gets an answer she hears a few beeps indicating that the call has ended.

That’s how the first private conversation the two have had in four years ends, a conversation that leaves both of them with such a strange feeling. It's not as if they haven't spoken during all this time, they have actually crossed some words on more than one occasion during all kinds of events acting as complete strangers with empty words without any purpose beyond showing a cordial and polite relationship in front of colleagues, business partners, politicians and the press. Now, although the conversation was brief and straight to the point it felt personal somehow with the warnings, the sarcasm and the challenging undertones of the conversation that is never present or at least not so obvious in the formal and aseptic talks they usually have in front of others.

It was almost like going back to that usual bickering between the two that used to annoy Nayeon during their high school years when the three of them were inseparable friends. However, the difference was that this time it did not come from playfulness but from the current hostility that exists between the two businesswomen.

There was a time when things were different. It had always been Jeongyeon and Nayeon until the first week of their senior year when they were approached by a short girl with big bright eyes that introduced herself to Jeongyeon even though they both perfectly knew well who the other was and with determination told her that she would be as good or better then her. From that day their friendship but also a friendly competition between the three of them began. By the middle of the school year, Jihyo had already surpassed the highest grades and top scores in all the clubs and sports that up to then belonged to his unnies Nayeon and Jeongyeon.

This situation, far from distancing or confronting them, made them get closer and become great friends. Despite the rivalry that had marked the relationship between their families, Jeongyeon did not mind because she expected the new students to beat records and records just as she had done since she arrived. On the other hand, Nayeon enjoyed having someone as competitive as her while Jihyo did not really care as she considered Jeongyeon her greatest competition and example to follow because, like her, she would inherit a big company and had to be as good as her. This was not the case with Nayeon, who, although she had an impressive academic record like the other two, she was the daughter of an actor and a writer, so outside of school their competition was a simple game with no major meaning for both of them.

Needless to say, many things have changed over the years and nothing is the same now. Nayeon has been there for both of them as a friend, confidant partner in crime and sometimes even as a wingwoman, but they are no longer '3mix' as they used to call their small squad. Now they are just Nayeon and Jeongyeon on one side and Nayeon and Jihyo on the other.

Two days after the call, the two find themselves staring defiantly at each other in one of the best restaurants in the city. The older one arrived early and was already seated in a more distant and private corner of the establishment when Jihyo arrived led by some waiter. As soon as he left, they exchanged a cordial greeting and the first words.

"So a restaurant," is the first thing Jihyo says with a provocative smile as she takes a seat.

"Can you think of anything better? I thought you usually like my ideas quite a bit" she replies immediately without thinking much and as soon as those words leave her mouth she regrets it, she has come here to look for solutions not to make the whole situation worse.

"It's not a complaint, but don't think that by inviting me to dinner I'll take you up on your offer" she replies in the same defensive tone.

Jeongyeon rolls her eyes at Jihyo's unassertive attitude, although she understands that she herself has not been very welcoming so far. They haven't even ordered yet, so there's still time to change the course of the conversation and the dinner, so she intends to do her best to leave this restaurant with a closed deal and not a fight that will make the problem grow even bigger. And she knows for a fact that falling for Jihyo's games will only make things worse.

As if the waiter had heard her thoughts, he appears with the menu giving them a chance to make a fresh start and forget the little run-in they had just a few seconds ago. They both take it, thanking the waiter and strat going through the expensive and exclusive dishes, looking up from time to time to stare at each other, as if making sure that they are really at the same table about to share a dinner, just the two of them with no one else around. The last time they did something like this was so long ago that it seems like a dream, as if those memories are not theirs. Jeongyeon looks at her trying to read her, long ago a single grin, frown or sneer was enough to guess her mood or if something was on her mind, but now it almost feels like the person in front of her is a complete stranger.

Jihyo is no longer the enthusiastic, competitive, playful but insecure and innocent teenager who used to call her unnie with those big bright eyes, those cheeks that made you want to pinch them and her characteristic long brown hair. Now she has an ambitious and confident woman in front of her, still with reminiscences of her playful personality, it is obvious that she still likes to play games, but they are not innocent anymore.

She knows what she wants and does whatever it takes to get it, that is something she has made that clear to Jeongyeon these past years with her mind games, strategies and foul play. The sparkle in her eyes has disappeared and they are no longer so expressive, the gaze is cold and she feels like she is analyzing each and every one of her moves. Her appearance seems to have changed according to her personality, it is obvious that she looks much more mature, she is now a 26 year old woman, but it is not only the passing of time, her look is also a statement.

Her hair is shoulder-length, a little longer than hers, and dyed black. Her features are more defined and her jaw is sharp, her characteristic cheeks have disappeared with age, but her mole is still on the tip of her nose. Actually, her whole body is much more defined even though the black blazer style dress she wears covers her arms, Jeongyeon got a glimpse of her toned and tanned legs before she sat down.

"You look great, Jihyo-sunbaenim" she compliments her to break the ice and tries to show that she didn’t come here looking for a challenge or a fight.

This catches the younger one off guard, surprising her, none of the thousand scenarios of the encounter she has been creating in her head these days had prepared her to receive a kind comment from Jeongyeon that seemed sincere. She has always been a person with a cold and distant attitude, saying nice words, giving or receiving displays of affection is not her thing, or at least it wasn't. Maybe she has changed too, Jihyo thinks to herself.

"You too, you look good, Jeongyeon-ssi" she replies with a small smile without showing her teeth and takes the liberty to tease. "I see your style has been refined, I hope your dad didn't have to burn your sweatshirts like she used to promise."

The comment makes them both relax and the tension dissipates slightly with their soft laughter, for a moment they seem to know each other and it’s like nothing has happened between them just for a few seconds.

When they were teenagers and were forced to attend all types of social and business related events, it was common to see Jeongyeon wearing a sweatshirt among the elegant women's dresses and the boring men's suits. That always annoyed her father, but also the young Jihyo who would always lectured her about the importance of etiquette and reminded her that in the future she would be the heiress of an important company, so she should dress like one.

Now Jeongyeon is in front of her and still keeps a somewhat more casual style than expected from the CEO of one of the biggest South Korean companies with her blonde highlights in some parts of her hair and her characteristic tomboy style, now much more sophisticated. Black pants, a beige shirt with a brown turtleneck sweater underneath. Comfortable and discreet, but it really suits her.

Jihyo shakes those thoughts out of her head when the taller one asks if she would like to have the same wine as her. Usually, Jihyo would order a beer, but in a restaurant like this it's more suitable if she orders wine, especially when Jeongyeon points out the wine she chose would go very well with her meat. It kind of hurts her pride but she knows she is right.

After the waiter takes their order they continue a conversation so superficial that they will surely forget it before dessert, however they do not take their eyes off each other analyzing and memorizing every movement, no matter how subtle it may be. It is not until they drink their second glass of wine that Jihyo dares to talk about the reason that has brought them here, or rather to ask what it is.

"I’m guessing you didn't invite me to dinner to talk about wine," Jihyo says with a slightly sarcastic tone. "What's that offer you mentioned? It must be very interesting for you to have dared to call me and even put Nayeon-unnie in the middle of it."

At this Jeongyeon nods "Always straight to the point, some things never change" she says receiving a shrug in response. "Well let's get down to business then...". She takes a a long sip and says "Forget about video games and in return Signal Entertainment will disappear from the industry with the only condition that the group becomes part of your company, with no cost, those girls have worked hard and are succeeding, it wouldn't be fair to them" she states in the shortest and most concise way possible.

For the first time since they sat down, Jeongyeon can read Jihyo's expression, the surprise on her face is more than obvious, but it soon changes to one of satisfaction. Her strategy was working like a charm, even much better than she expected.

"I knew the video game thing would get you to react right away, but I have to admit I'm getting more than I intended" she says amused "Actually some things never change, you're still the same nerd you were in high school" she laughs.

"Do we have a deal then?" she asks, ignoring her remark.

"Not so fast. If I remember correctly your Itzy girls debuted a year after ZoneMusic debuted StrayKids...if we brought our own video games to market we'd be balancing the scales don't you think?" she says, unable to help grinning. "Why would I turn down the chance to beat you on your own ground?" she adds defiantly.

"I didn't want to get to this part of the deal, but if you don't accept it I will file a lawsuit against ZoneTech for plagiarizing our technology and using it in your products on more than one occasion."

"I didn't know you were capable of taking risks, it seems that there are also things that change" she says completely carefree and even amused, for her this is a game, but for Jeongyeon it is not.

"I promise you I don't want to do it, but if necessary I will go all the way because it's a won case."

"You seem very confident, you know the best law firms would fight over the case and it wouldn't stay in court. It would be all over the media and it would end up becoming a public trial."

"I know, and that's why I want to avoid it. The evidence is more than obvious, without getting too technical, your products have always come out later and I have proof that you have spies in my company."

At this last statement, Jihyo lets out a wry laugh "You say that as if you don't have your own spies lurking around my company, in fact we are here because of one of them, aren't we?"

"I don't know, can you prove it?" challenges Jeongyeon. "Because I have recordings and audios that prove that discarded programs, software and designs have been stolen from me and then used by your company" as she says this, thebCEO can see her rival's face change even though she tries to hide it as best she can. "I have more than enough with the information, I don't need my... informants to steal and if they did I would like to think they would do it better than this girl, I don't know if you are familiar with the name Son Chaeyoung, short, dyed black her and plenty of tattoos."

Of course she knows who the girl she is talking about is, the same way she knows that Myoui Mina is the one who gave her the video game information, but there is no way to prove it since that information was shared with fifty other workers. Fortunately for Chaeyoung, Jeongyeon has better plans for her if Jihyo accepts her offer, her work as a designer is so good that she intends to come to an agreement with her before she ends up working for ZoneTech, but unfortunately for Park Jihyo, the tattooed girl is not so good when it comes to computer science, espionage and keeping secrets. Chaeyoung was recently caught on the servers floor trying – unsuccessfully – to steal a software program, and who caught her was none other than Minatozaki Sana, ZoneTech's receptionist, but a computer scientist and shadow informant for Signal Systems.

According to the Japanese woman, despite her boss Yoo's request not to go into details, she only needed to unbutton a couple of buttons on her shirt and a couple of innuendos for the short girl to end up on her bed showing her all her tattoos and confessing to her what a designer was doing with a laptop and a bunch of cables on the server floor in an attempt to impress her.

This same story, although omitting quite a few details, is what Jeongyeon tells Jihyo to show her that she is not playing a game and that she is totally being serious, but Park is stubborn and the conversation continues until dessert arrives. The older one assures her that any judge would eventually be on her side, she even invites her to check with her own lawyers before giving her an answer. She also assures her that she would not like to have to solve it in court because it would be a long and tedious process for both of them regardless of who wins. She reminds her of the fuss that would be caused and that the legal process itself would be nothing compared to having the media on their backs for months digging up dirt of the company, their family and even personal issues that may or may not be a lie would come into play. And in this sense, they both know that it would only be enough for their personal interests to be exposed for their public image and status to be seriously damaged.

Jihyo is confident that she could get some good lawyers and the possibility of a billion won lawsuit does not worry her; however, the damage it could cause to the company's image and her family's legacy and especially the work her father did, worries her and is what makes her consider Jeongyeon's words. If the theft of information and espionage were to come to public knowledge, she should prepare herself for the worst.

"Think about it, Jihyo-ah," Jeongyeon says, dropping the formalities, once again rendering the other speechless, she just takes a sip of her wine instead. "I know I have no right to ask you to trust me, but we were once friends and I wouldn't want this senseless family war to continue for another sixty years."

"And your way of ending it is to sue me?" she says in disbelief.

"It's not like that, I've offered you a deal that you know would benefit both of us. You've always loved music as much as I love video games, we both win".

All of this is not enough to convince her when she does not trust the person in front of her, there is something that makes her distrustful, it seems all too simple to end four years of hatred between them. Why now? Why all of a sudden? Is this all about stupid video games or are they just a way to build bridges between companies? Is this all a strategy? Is this all a strategy? are some of the questions that go through her mind.

"How do I know I can trust you?".

"First of all, Nayeon-unnie would finish me off if I tried to hurt you, carrying out the lawsuit would mean ending a friendship of over 20 years. But if that's not enough to convince you, I can show you all the evidence I could present against you, so you can see that I'm serious about this. Obviously it would be stupid to give them to you since I would be helping you prepare a good defense, but if you come to my place I will show everything to you. Even the security videos and recordings of Son Chaeyoung. You just have to set a day for me."

"I want to see them now," she replies resolutely.

This time it is Jeongyeon who is caught by surprise, she did not expect to receive such an immediate response. It is rushed but true to her word, Jeongyeon pays for the luxurious dinner and they both leave the restaurant catching some curious glances and hearing some murmurs in the background.

"I guess you didn't come driving in those heels" says Jeongyeon as she looks up and down her perfectly sculpted legs "I can give you a ride and then I'll have someone drive you back to your house". 

She takes some time to actually give her an answer. Under normal circumstances, Jihyo wouldn't accept the favor as she prefers to do things her own way, but under normal circumstances she wouldn't be going to her former friend's house on a Friday night either, so she agrees and they both leave in the same car after Jihyo gives her driver and bodyguard the night off.

The drive to Jeongyeon's house is longer than expected but they barely exchange a few words and just stare at the road while listening to music. The music is soft, perfect for driving at night. The volume is loud enough so that they don't have to engage in conversation, but none of them are able to pay attention to it when all they are able to hear are their own thoughts. They have met again, they have talked after a long time, the deal, the lawsuit… but also the compliments, the teasing and the bickering. There are so many things to think about and so many feelings to process, they don't even know how they feel about what's going on. 

At last they arrive, Jeongyeon's house, unlike hers, is on the outskirts of the city, in one of the most expensive districts of the capital, although her own luxurious duplex apartment in the city center probably cost the same as this huge, modern house. It really suits her, Jihyo thinks as she gets inside, led by the taller one. She's never been much of a sociable person, but she doesn't like to be isolated either, and though she may boast a simple lifestyle, she wouldn’t give up the comforts that her family's money and status have brought her. After all, that is how they both grew up and it is all they know. It is in an area away from the hustle and bustle of the city but not far away you can see luxurious homes and the occasional mansion. The interior as well as the exterior has a modern and contemporary design with the newest and most advanced technology in every corner from the living room to the kitchen where they are now.

"Beer right?" she asks, earning a confused look from Jihyo, when they were friends she wasn't old enough to drink and lately they hadn't shared any context casual enough for her to know about her fondness for beer. Jeongyeon seems to read her mind and while opening the fridge she simply says "The cans that Nayeon-unnie keeps in her fridge" she clarifies, of course that was it, although the two pretend the other doesn't exist on a daily basis, when they are spending time with their friend sometimes it is inevitable that she briefly mentions the other or or remember her existence, especially when there is a space in Nayeon's fridge reserved exclusively for the beers and soju she usually drinks with Jihyo.

Despite cutting off any personal relationship between them, they have never stopped being present in each other's lives either for work or for their best friend. A fact that makes Jeongyeon's decision decisive, this situation must end no matter what, we can't go on fighting all our lives.

She offers her the beer and instructs her to follow her to her office, once there she asks her to turn around to open the strongbox where she has all the evidence she would use in case the lawsuit goes through. When she is able to look again she finds before her a series of folders stacked one on top of the other rising about 20 centimeters above the table, several hard drives and also CDs. Jihyo assumes that they are actually the same contents in different formats, knowing the cautious nature of the woman next to her, it is an assumption but also a wish. In front of her is what could bring her career, her company, her family and her legacy to an end. It is at this exact moment and without yet diving into the documents that she becomes fully aware of the gravity of the situation.

She could try to defend herself against every attack and will do so if necessary, but she is not so arrogant as to think she would come out unscathed. She knows full well that the damage it would cause would be fatal even if she could strike back with every blow, and that would mean the end for ZoneTech and for Signal Systems as well.

"Go ahead, take a seat" Jeongyeon invites her knowing that she is in full control of the situation right now.

"Can I see everything?" she says looking directly at Jeongyeon and from the expression on her face, Jeongyeon doesn't know if she is genuinely asking her permission or if she is testing her to see if this is not some trick.

"If you're going to go through all the documents, I guess we'd better get comfortable. Let's go to the living room."

So that is what they do. After reaching an agreement for Jihyo to leave their cell phones away from her, they both get comfortable in the living room, each one with a beer in one hand and several folders in the other. Although the tension is not the same as it was at the beginning of the evening, neither one of them trusts the other, the tension is in the air. Jeongyeon, in addition to making Jihyo leave her cell phones in another room, doesn't take her eyes off her and the latter can't help but look over the documents to see what the other is doing.

From time to time Jihyo, not being well versed in the subject, asks Jeongyeon some questions and she has no problem in resolving her doubts. Soon they open the second beer and between the questions and the occasional accusation of plagiarizing each other's products and marketing strategies on both sides, they also start to mention some anecdotes from the past and on occasion they share things about their current life without going into details.

It's getting later and later, but the activity, conversation and beers keep them going for the time being. Jeongyeon is actually taken by surprise by Jihyo's determination, she is really willing to read every single document, she is already on the fourth folder and still has three more to go plus videos, recordings and images. The older one could leave the other one going through everything alone while she does something other than look at her while attentively reading documents with a frown on her face, making the same expression that appears on her face when she tastes food she likes, just like she did sometime during dinner and a few hours ago with the first sip of beer.

She could give her space, but at the end of the day, it's not as awkward as she'd hoped but she also knows she has to be cautious because any misstep could ruin everything. And, although she'd never admit it, she'd rather be talking and catching up by pretending for a moment that their friendship never broke up, rather than explaining stuff about technology on a Friday night after two glasses of wine and a few cans of beer.

"Are you really planning to read the whole thing? Aren't you tired?" she asks with honest concern.

"If you want me to leave, just say so," she says, finishing the can of beer in one gulp. "But I need to know what I'd have to deal with. I don't think you'd be thinking about sleeping either if you were in my situation."

"That's not what I mean, I mean if you're not tired of all this – aren't you tired of trying to outdo me at everything?"

At this unexpected question Jihyo just bursts out laughing "Oh my god, I didn't have you down as someone this self-centered. Do you really think this whole situation is about me trying to prove I'm better than you?"

"Well I think it's pretty obvious, in fact, if memory serves me correctly, the first thing you told us after saying your name to us is that you would be as good as us in everything. Soon after that I remember you had the highest grades in high school and beat our records in soccer, archery and athletics" as Jeongyeon recalls, on the other side of the couch, Jihyo looks at her in disbelief frowning and holding the bridge of her nose while listening to her. "I know that was like a game, it was our thing and you outdid me in everything, but we are adults now, we can't be playing games or fooling around. I think it's time to accept that this isn't getting anywhere, no one is winning here."

"Are you drunk already or are you still just as dense?" is what comes out of Jihyo's mouth almost unconsciously and she instantly regrets it and takes a breath before starting over. "Sorry that came out harsher than I intended. What I mean is that you haven't really changed, have you? You've always understood numbers, computers, video games and all that like no one else, but when it comes to people..."

"What do you mean?"

"This has never been about me trying to be better than you or beating you, well now it is but it's not about you, it's about doing my job and keeping my company at the top" she states and adds “and certainly the fact that it's you makes it all the more entertaining”.

Jeongyeon ust rolls her eyes at that last remark.

"You should know better after what happened" she says without going any deeper into the subject because it's not necessary for the other to understand what she's referring to. "It's really frustrating that you don't realize the things you have right in front of your eyes, I've never known if you're really unaware or if you're faking it" she sighs. "Knowing that I would be in the same high school as the heiress of the rival company and my family's enemies, needless to say I wanted to be better than you, but you didn't treat me as such so before I knew it we became friends and we were getting closer each day.  I only saw you as my rival the first week, it didn't take you long to become my role model".

"Role model?" is surprised Jeongyeon as she approaches Jihyo, feeling curious to know the younger girl's side of the story and to know what she means when she says she doesn't realize things.

"Think about it, your future and mine were going to be quite similar. Heiress to one of the biggest companies in the country, the first woman to be in charge and you were older than me. You had the best grades, records in most sports, captain of the soccer team and participated in dozens of clubs. I looked up to you and wanted to follow in your footsteps because I knew they were the right ones, I didn't want to beat you, I aspired to be as good as you".

Jihyo's heart is racing as her story progresses because even though nothing new is going to come to light. There are things that are still unresolved, conversations that were never had and wounds that remain unhealed that she doesn't want to think about. Her heart doesn't race much faster than Jeongyeon who knows as much as she does what she's about to hear.

"But we both know it was more than just admiration, I loved you and just wanted to be good enough for you. I-"

Right when Jihyo is in the middle of her confession, a wave of feelings hits Jeongyeon throwing her to the lips of the woman in front of her looking at her with those big and expressive brown eyes. It takes a few seconds for Jihyo to realize what is happening but when she does she doesn't move away, instead she lets herself go and closes her eyes ignoring all the alarms going off in her mind. It's a timid kiss, their lips don't even move until Jeongyeon takes the lead. At first her kisses, like her movements, are delicate and tentative giving Jihyo room to stop her at any moment, but this doesn't happen.  They both know that the sensible thing to do would be to stop, but they don't know how to do it, they can't do it. It seems that tonight the two of them are letting each other break through all the walls and for a moment they forget about the world and their problems. It feels too right to be a mistake.

Their lips feel so familiar it makes their hearts ache. Their mouths taste like beer, memories and regrets. The taste of the past on their lips is so strong that it makes them pause.  For a few seconds they exchange glances, catch their breaths and look for any sign that makes them stop or a gesture that invites them to continue. Jihyo is the first to speak after coming to her senses.

"What the fuck Jeongyeon?" she wonders out loud.

All that confidence she had when she threw herself at the younger one's lips vanishes right after hearing her words. 

"I'm sorry!" she exclaims with hesitant and nervous gestures. "I thought... I shouldn't have-"

This time it is Jihyo who interrupts her, but not with a kiss but with a statement that surprises her even more. 

"I thought you hated me," she admits. 

"What? I have never hated you, Jihyo" she replies somewhat more relaxed and looking into her eyes with honesty. 

"I have...sometimes I still do" she confesses leaving Jeongyeon stunned. 

"In that case it's better to stop here and forget about what happened. I'll take you home" she says, trying to brush it off and getting up from the couch, obviously trying to show indifference to Jihyo's words but she can see a slight pain in her eyes.

When she is about to get her car keys she feels a hand around her wrist and then turns around and sees Jihyo looking up at her with an amused smile "You didn't let me finish, I know we shouldn't do this, the last time we kissed things didn't end well" she says more as a reminder to herself than to Jeongyeon "that's what makes me want to hate you, no matter what you do you're always going to drive me crazy. I hate that you still have this effect on me." 

Hearing her words Jeongyeon's whole body heats up and she can feel her cheeks burning as she hears the low tone of Jihyo's voice, she doesn't know what to reply and the other one isn't sure if she wants to hear what she has to say. Before she can give her an answer she pulls her arm pushing her towards the couch right next to her. 

Are you sure?" asks Jeonyeon "We can stop if you want, at any time and we can forget about everything that has happened since you walked in the door."

"Unnie..." she replies lowering her tone and leaving Jeongyeon speechless, she no longer remembered how the word sounded coming from Jihyo's mouth. "Let's forget everything that happened before we walked through that door, just don't hurt me this time" she pleads with a sigh, letting herself look vulnerable like she never did before. 

In front of her is no longer the successful and intimidating CEO who occasionally makes her job impossible. Gone is his cold, distant and inaccessible image. It is simply Jihyo, who asks her to guard her heart, to tear down her walls to let her pass and remind her that she is the woman who never fails to make her heart race, who takes her breath away, who makes her head spin and gives her butterflies in her stomach.  

She knows perfectly well why all she is asking her not to hurt her, she doesn't need to explain it to Jeongyeon to understand what she means. But before she can give her an answer as reassurance, other than nodding her head, it is Jihyo who makes the first move.

This time it is not so sudden, the movements are smoother, they take their time to place themselves in a more comfortable position, still keeping a safe distance between them. She doesn't know what time it is or how far she is willing to go, but she doesn't want this to come to an end, she wants to savor every moment without rushing. She touches Jeongyeon as if she wants to check that she is really there, that she is not a memory and that she is not going to vanish from one moment to the next as she has done so many times before. She doesn't know what time it is or how far she is willing to go, but she doesn't want it to end. She touches Jeongyeon slowly as if she is memorizing every fold of her clothes with her hands, as if she is afraid that it is really a dream that could vanish at any moment. The taller one lets herself be touched without putting up any resistance, she lets Jihyo take the lead, she knows she needs control right now and is willing to give it to her – for now – .

The younger one gently caresses her cheek, tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and moves her hand down to her collarbones. Her fingers slowly snake around his neck and when she squeezes lightly at last Jeongyeon reacts by letting out a soft whimper. As she maintains her grip, his eyes travel from his own hand to the lips of the woman whose neck she grips as delicately as she does precisely and then to her eyes, where he sees something she hadn't seen before. Immediately the grip on her neck tightens a little more and Jihyo moves until she ends up on her thighs, straddling her. 

"If you hurt me it's over" this time it doesn't sound like a plea at all but more like a threat and Jeongyeon has a feeling it won't be the first one she'll hear tonight. 

"Yes ma'am" Jeongyeon whispers, unable to help but smile, far from being uncomfortable in the position she is in.

As soon as these words leave her mouth, Jihyo releases her neck to grab her shirt and crush their lips together in a hungry kiss. This time it's deeper and more passionate, but full of emotions like the first one of the night. Their lips explore each other again with kisses that are increasingly impatient, heated and wet creating sounds that fill the silent room.

Shortly their tongues start to get involved exploring every inch of their mouths moving in perfect synchrony. As they devour each other it is not their tongues fighting for dominance, but them fighting for control until Jihyo caresses the roof of her mouth with the tip of tongue leaving Jeongyeon at her mercy making her forget all about her little power game as the first moan escapes from her lips. Hearing the sound echoing against her mouth, Jihyo's hands clinging to his shirt pulling her closer and feels the heat coming off her skin as she wraps her arms around her neck. 

They kiss for what feels like hours pausing only to catch their breath or let out soft moans against each other's mouths. But their hands have barely explored each other's skin and not a single button or zipper has been undone yet. When eager kisses are not enough Jeongyeon's lips move from her mouth to her jaw and down to Jihyo's neck as she caresses the naked caramel skin of her exposed thighs.

When Jeongyeon starts tracing kisses all over her neck, Jihyo can no longer ignore the growing wetness between her legs especially when the kisses are accompanied by soft bites and licks that go all the way down to her chest, driving her crazy. 

"Take off my dress" she commands with a whisper against her ear before nibbling it, sending a shiver down Jeongyeon's spine. 

Then Jeongyeon without taking her mouth off her neck undoes the buttons of her black blazer style dress which fortunately stays closed with only two of them. This is the only moment when they stop kissing to help Jihyo undo her dress and throw it on the other side of the couch. This time they lock their eyes instead of their mouths, as they do so, they can't help but smile seeing each other's red and swollen lips. In Jeongyeon's case the image of Jihyo on top of her makes her mouth dry. The path her gaze follows begins at the hungry eyes and is followed by her glossy, wet lips, her neck painted with red marks that will soon begin to darken to purple and her body solely covered by a set of lacy black that leaves her breathless. It is the first time they have seen each other like this and Jeongyeon needs a few seconds to process this view.

She has Jihyo sitting on her thighs dressed only in her underwear which, despite being black, doesn't quite hide the wet spot between Jihyo's legs. Knowing that she is the reason for that wet spot makes Jeongyeon feel her own and squeeze her thighs in seeking some relief, this action doesn't go unnoticed by the woman on top of her who doesn't take long to tease her about it. 

"Do you like what you see? Tell me what you want" .

Jeongyeon just nods and stares without missing a single detail of her defined muscles, of how her chest rises in sync with her breathing and how her abs tighten as she continues stroking her thighs. It's impossible to have Jihyo in front of you like this and not want everything with her. 

"I-I want you" she stutters against his mouth.

It's not the response Jihyo expected to receive, but it satisfies her enough to return to kissing Jeongyeon impatiently, her kisses are accompanied by the subtle grind of her hips against her thighs. His hands run through her hair and grab it to guide his mouth to her chest but before working on her chest Jeongyeon is quick to unclasp her bra finally releasing her mouth-watering breasts to capture them with her mouth eagerly. The moan that escapes her as she feels the warmth of his tongue brushing against her nipple hardened by both the cold and the growing pleasure invites Jeongyeon to continue her ministrations and give attention to the other breast with one of her hands brushing her finger softly over the nub just to end up trapping it between two fingers, pinching it with a little pressure.

Her other hand, which just seconds ago was caressing her thighs, moves to her lower back keeping Jihyo in place but also testing new limits by sliding her hand inside her underwear. A touch that gives Jihyo goosebumps in anticipation for what is to come.   

Bodies exploring each other, blood rushing through their veins and breaths racing. The sound of wet kisses, labored breaths and muffled moans from each other's mouths is all they hear, but all their senses are getting the attention they need to push them further into each other.

Jeongyeon has her mouth busy playing, teasing, licking, sucking and nibbling on Jihyo's breasts as her hands grab and caress her by sinking their fingers into each other's bare skin. Most of the time her eyes are closed, unable to keep them open as the sounds coming from her mouth cause her mind to cloud and her core to throb. It's an overwhelming sensation, just like the desire that drives Jihyo to move her hips seeking more pleasure as she rubs her center against Jeongyeon's body, bringing herself to the brink. She notices the beads of sweat running down her chest and being caught by Jeongyeon's tongue, taking her to new places making her feel things she's never felt before, she's doing wonders with her mouth but right now she needs her somewhere else as she notices the building sensation in her stomach. She doesn't want it to end yet and like this, she needs more, she needs her.

Using the grip she has on the older girl's hair she pulls her away delighted by the image of Jeongyeon's wet mouth attached by a string of saliva to her nipple "Fuck..." she murmurs as she shifts her posture getting off her lap. At the loss of contact Jeongyeon whines and looks at her with pleading eyes making Jihyo grin "I would never have guessed you were this needy" she says as she moves her hand to Jeongyeon's face and grabs her by the jaw to devour her mouth before whispering "Get on your knees''. The words that come out of her mouth are halfway between command and plea as she sits back down on the couch, leaving a space between her slightly spread legs for Jeongyeon to position herself.

She doesn't need to repeat it a second time as it barely takes her time to position herself on the floor on her knees and between his legs. Due to the difference in height between them their faces are almost at the same height, but that doesn't matter when it is more than evident that Jihyo is in charge, even though she is the one in a more vulnerable position as she is the one who is almost naked and with her legs spread wide open exposing herself completely. Jeongyeon looks at her wanting to learn by heart every detail of her body, but behind her gaze there is more than just lust, there is admiration and adoration. She just watches without saying or doing anything, waiting for Jihyo's next command as she feels her whole body burning and a tingling sensation in her stomach as a result of the urge to please Jihyo in this way.

Not once does her hand loosen its hold on his jaw, only loosening it as Jeongyeon positions herself and once she is on her knees under her attentive and hungry gaze she uses her thumb to ghost over her lips, a motion that Jeongyeon immediately responds to by trapping the finger between her lips sucking it and stroking it with her tongue giving her a taste of what is to come. The warm, wet sensation of her mouth trapping his finger catches her breath and the ache between her thighs grows at the image and the contact of his fingers with the walls of her mouth. 

"I need you" she breathes as she slides her finger out of her mouth to take them into her own tasting Jeongyeon's mouth.

In her eyes, as in her words, what she senses is desire, hunger and lust. She wants this as much as she does and is willing to give it to her. Without looking away she caresses her legs from her ankles to the edge of her lacy panties, taking her time and switching between soft kisses and the occasional playful nibble. When he brings his mouth to her inner thigh to deposit a kiss he inhales Jihyo's scent, makes her light-headed and sends a shiver down to her own throbbing center.

She's dying to taste it, but she is not done with the teasing until she slides a finger along her clothed core, drawing a louder moan from her throat than before. It's embarrassing how sensitive and pent up she is to make sounds like that with a single touch. From that moment on she knows it won't last long as her whole body jerks from the light touch that has allowed her to feel her wetness despite the piece of cloth that still separates her from her target. 

That's when she finally decides to completely undress Jihyo and she, feeling the cold air against her uncomfortable and growing dampness, lets out a breathy whimper. Jeongyeon shoves a hand between her legs to spread them more in order to gain better access and to take a few seconds to revel in the image in front of her. Just inches from her eyes, nose and mouth is Jihyo's glistening sex that leaves her stunned. Intoxicated by what she sees, the smell of Jihyo's pleasure and the sensation of her own pleasure she finally reacts and looks her back up into Jihyo's eyes.  

"Can I?" she says, asking for permission.

"Please" she tries to say in a neutral tone that fails to hide the desperation to receive the attention she so strongly craves.

That's all it takes for Jeongyeon to bury her head between Jihyo's tanned legs.

She starts where she left off, with kisses and nibbles on her inner thighs slowly until her whimpers sound too needy to continue ignoring them and to prolong her torture. They seem to have come to an agreement because at that very moment she notices her hands grabbing her hair again to guide her to where she needs her the most. 

The first contact is a tentative lick with his flat tongue from bottom to top that stops before reaching her clit, that's enough for a moan to escape from her half-opened mouth. He repeats the action a couple more times at a slow pace, sliding his tongue between her folds and her slit and even teasing her hole but never reaching her bundle of nerves testing her limits once again, enjoying her every reaction and tasting her wetness. His hands do the same, sliding up and down caressing and grabbing her thighs, her hips, her torso, her chest and her ass without stopping anywhere, leaving caresses with his fingertips and sometimes gentle scratches.

Despite the pleasurable but torturous ministrations, Jihyo is loving every second, every lick and every rub, her moans getting louder and louder as the pleasure washes over her and the embarrassment of sounding desperate fades away. The sounds coming out of Jihyo and the wet sounds of which she herself is to blame motivate her to go one step further, sucking on her clit. As she does so she looks up so as not to miss a single detail of Jihyo's reaction. His act catches her by surprise, but her body is quicker to react than she is and it takes seconds for Jeongyeon to notice how the grip on her hair is tighter and how Jihyo's thighs now press the sides of her head covering her ears, even then she doesn't stop hearing Jihyo's moans. 

"Oh fuck right there, stop teasing" she sighs between moans guiding Jeongyeon's head between her legs. 

She continues licking, sucking and nibbling gently making her juices drip down her spit onto the couch and onto Jeonyeon's chin who notices how her own arousal becomes uncomfortable every time she makes a move however small and feels the seams of her pants rubbing against her hardening clit making her moan against her center.

For a first time together there is no awkwardness and Jeongyeon manages to hit all the right places swirling her tongue around her clit, lapping on her juices and dipping her tongue inside her only to remove it seconds later making her pussy clench around nothing. When she doesn't like something Jihyo lets you know right away and guides you with her words or by pulling your hair, she is also not shy when letting you know she is doing the right move in the perfect place by being much more vocal and also doesn't hesitate to praise her when she deserves it.

"Yes baby! just like that!" she moans loudly as Jeongyeon draws shapes onto her clit while she easily slides two fingers inside her. 

Jihyo feels herself getting closer and closer to her high and grinds her hips against her mouth as she pulls her as close as physically possible. Jeongyeon's fingers move faster and deeper reaching new places as she curls her fingers. This has Jihyo squirming under his touch making her feel light-headed and too close to the edge even if she is still fully dressed and untouched.

Making Jihyo feel so good, hearing her praises in between her loud moans as she begs for more, feeling her warm and wet insides, seeing how she is unable to maintain eye contact because she can't help but close her eyes and arch her body has her so dizzy and overwhelmed with her own sensations. When she hears her call her "baby" she can't help but slide her free hand between her legs and apply a little pressure teasing herself and focusing on her own heat instead of her aching knees. 

The mere hint of her fingers stroking over the fabric makes her jerk and gasps, sending vibrations to Jihyo's throbbing cunt. Totally intoxicated by her choking breaths and the scent of the woman trapping her between her legs, she doesn't even realize how his eyes are piercing her until she hears "Don't you dare." That makes her gulp pull her hand away immediately, but at no point do her fingers stop darting in and out of Jihyo who looks at her with a mischievous smile. 

"Sorry" she apologizes before going down on her again.

"Now be good and make me cum please" she says a little breathless and bites her lip when she feels his tongue again. "I will make you feel so good and you will cum when I give you permission baby." 

She swears that every time she hears that pet name come out of Jihyo's mouth she is about to cum, just like she is about to do thanks to her good work. Since Jeongyeon is back to accompanying the fingering with her tongue all over her thighs, folds and clit, Jihyo is soon back to being close to her release. 

"B-baby I'm so... close. Don't stop!" she cries out what is meant to be a warning, but she can't help it when she shatters as she reaches her orgasm.

All it takes for Jeongyeon to bring her to climax is suck on her swollen nub at the same time she curves her fingers deep inside her hitting her sweet spot. Her whole body arches completely tense just before she starts to jerk as she tugs Jeongyeon's hair with one hand and puts her other hand to her mouth in a futile attempt to silence the obscene scream she just let out, she doesn't say the name of the woman responsible for her screams but "baby". 

That doesn't stop Jeongyeon who continues her movements slowing down when she notices his legs squeezing her head and that's when she moves her mouth away just a few centimeters, she can still feel his breath against her middle as she allows her some time to come down from her high and doesn't take long to fill her thighs with kisses as she cleans her up a gesture that melts Jihyo's heart who sees for the first time this loving and sweet side of her unnie. 

At that moment she realizes where her hand is and finally lets go of Jeongyeon's hair who starts to feel a slight discomfort from all the tugging "I'm sorry" she whispers before pulling the collar of her shirt to kiss her again tasting herself first in her mouth and then on her cum covered fingers looking at Jeongyeon with hungry and lustful eyes that make her press her thighs against each other.

"Stop" Jihyo reminds her "You’ve been very good to me, let me make you feel good now. Where’s your room, unnie?" she asks her in a way that makes Jeongyeon feel some embarrassment for being treated this way by someone younger than her, making her blush because she is enjoying it more than she deems appropriate.

The second round is on the bed and barely lasts a few minutes. After Jihyo practically rips off Jeongyeon's clothes and gets on top of her making herself comfortable between her legs, Jihyo takes control and starts rubbing their slick centers while their mouths devour each other in an animalistic way. She is still sensitive from her first orgasm and Jeongyeon is already on the verge of cumming just by eating her out, so they cum in no time. In any other situation or with someone else it would have been almost embarrassing, but between them the situation far from feeling awkward feels right, safe and they even joke about it but not for long.

They go fast and they go slow, sometimes gentle and sometimes rougher trying different things, discovering each other's bodies, learning what the other likes as if they were trying to make up for all that lost time and those first times they didn't have together in one night. It doesn't take them long to recover from the earth shattering orgasm they've shared either, so the second round turns into a third and a fourth until they lose count of the kisses, caresses and orgasms they've given each other. As the night progresses they become more vocal and when they go for the last round they whisper sweet nothings to each other between kisses that are no longer about pleasure but about feeling each other. When their bodies are exhausted and their eyelids begin to close involuntarily the first rays of sun are rising through the trees and mountains. 

"Don't go" she blurts out without thinking and in an attempt to regain her composure adds "Get some sleep, you're too tired to go home, it's dangerous, you could cause an accident". 

"You say that like I'm going to drive" she giggles. "Just say you want me to stay" she pushes. 

"Why would I want that?" she says it trying to sound annoyed by the accusation, but she's too tired for it.

Jihyo shakes her head and smiles getting too close to her and her lips causing Jeongyeon to close her eyes in anticipation but instead of noticing a kiss she notices Jihyo's breath against her lips saying "You're such a tsundere... it's very charming honey."

Jeongyeon almost chokes when she hears the pet name, it's not the first one of the night, but it's the first one she doesn't say to her between moans. Maybe because she knows there is some truth in her words she doesn't talk back and just says "Just stay, we'll talk about this tomorrow" she says in a soothing voice as her eyes struggle to stay open at least until she hears Jihyo's answer, but she lies on her side turning her back to her as she doesn't feel ready to look her in the eyes in case he rejects her offer. 

"I'm staying, I missed you" he whispers as he hugs her from behind, spooning her.  Once again it is Jihyo who proves that she is the brave one between the two by daring to name what she feels and say it out loud exposing herself once again and being vulnerable in front of Jeongyeon even though she has promised herself a thousand times during this time that she would never do like this again, that she would protect her heart like she hadn't done in the past.

When she wakes up she notices a warm body on her body and she doesn't need to open her eyes to know who it is, Jihyo is still there and this time she is the one in his arms. Nor does she need to remember what has happened as the mixture of smells from the room and the sheets hits her invading her nostrils. She would swear she can feel Jihyo's taste on her tongue, his fingers ghosting over the skin of her back and even his fingers running through her hair sending a shiver up her back as she recreates moments from the night before in her head. The memories cut her breath away, but her mind soon travels elsewhere and the memories of the night are replaced by a compelling need to shower and change the sheets. Some habits never die, not even when Jihyo is naked in her bed. 

On any other occasion Jeongyeon would already be throwing the sheets in the washing machine, preparing breakfast and cleaning up the mess in the living room where the paperwork is piled up among some beer cans. However,the uncertainty and the thought that this was a slip-up or an unforgettable accident that would never happen again keeps her pinned to the bed more firmly than the grip of Jihyo's arms or the leg that is currently wrapped around her waist.

The woman above her keeping her warm and all her senses alert doesn't take much longer than her to wake up, but those minutes are enough for Jeongyeon to overthink about every possible scenario and about all the paths this can take from now on making the warmth she felt in her chest when she smelled Jihyo's hair before she opened her eyes turn into an unpleasant pressure in her chest caused by the growing anxiety she tries to manage as best she can. 

"Morning, Jeong" she hears Jihyo say in a husky voice.

Looking at her she can't help but smile at the sight of the traces of makeup, this is another thing she wouldn't have allowed under normal circumstances, but the truth is that she usually didn't end up collapsing on her bed as the first rays of sunshine come out. Seeing Jihyo with her eyes slightly closed, makeup messed up, lips still swollen and some marks spread across her neck and chest makes her light-headed. 

"Good morning, Ji."

That way of calling her draws an immediate smile on Jihyo's face, she's used to being called that, Nayeon calls her that often, but on Jeongyeon's lips it just sounds different, she doesn't remember the last time she called her that way. To think that just a few hours ago he was referring to her as Jihyo-sunbaenim makes her head spin.

Jihyo dares once again to try her luck and gives her a peck on the lips, getting an unexpected response. 

"We should take a shower."

The two have different plans, but the two have their way and before getting into the shower they share a heated make out session that ends with Jeongyeon panting against her mouth as she reaches orgasm riding Jihyo's thigh.  

After sharing a shower in which they exchange kisses again and which becomes the perfect opportunity for Jeongyeon to return the favor, they both end up wrapped in the comfortable clothes of the owner of the house who prepares coffee and a delicious and abundant breakfast for both of them, while Jihyo watches her feeling her heart pounding in her chest.

Their relationship had never gone this far, neither when they were secretly in love with each other nor after Jihyo's first confession years ago. Certainly the furthest they got in their relationship beyond friendship was with that same confession with a bouquet of flowers that ended in a kiss. This is all new to both of them, but it feels dangerously familiar as if they have done it all their lives, something that frightens both of them. Neither can rationally explain that something that shouldn't have happened in the first place feels so natural to both of them as if the years, the distance and the enmity that has lasted almost five years never happened. And this time not even Jihyo is able to say out loud how normal this situation feels, fearing that it's all in her head and going too far risking being wrong and ending it all in one fell swoop, just like it happened the other time.

They talk, the conversation is not as deep as it should be given the circumstances, but it doesn't stay superficial either and they touch almost all the important points. They talk about Jeongyeon's offer or threat – depending on who you ask – and come to the conclusion that they shouldn't be mixing personal matters with work, so it still stands and Jihyo will have some time to think about it and consult with her own legal team if she considers so. On what happened last night they both agree that they got carried away without giving much thought to the possible consequences. Jihyo described it as a "moment of weakness" while Jeongyeon called it an "impulsive and irresponsible act," but neither dared to pretend it was a mistake. 

After a heated conversation that was interrupted several times by some insults, cursing, accusations and kisses they came to the conclusion that it had been a good time that both had enjoyed, but if repeated they should have a conversation beforehand that they don't know if they are ready for. And of course, Nayeon can't know anything about this, at least while they figure out what will happen between them from now on. They talk about everything and nothing, their friendship, their estrangement and the open war between them, which seems to have finally reached a point of truce. But always leaving out the taboo subject that always comes up but they don't dare to talk about, they just tiptoe around it. 

Before the situation becomes too domestic, Jihyo decides she should leave. "Can your driver take me or should I call mine to come?" she asks.

"I don't plan to go out and he lives nearby, if you want to go now it's better if he takes you home" she offers ignoring the slight but obvious awkwardness that has settled between them.

Jihyo nods and in a few minutes she is ready to go, Jeongyeon is even kind enough to give her something more comfortable than her clothes from last night and offers her a pair of sneakers that are too small for her, so she doesn't have to wear heels.

"Thank you."

"They're just sneakers, I don't even wear them" she shrugs without noticing Jihyo's sudden and unusual shyness.

"It’s not about the sneakers…” she stutters. “Just- thank you for everything."

"Don't thank me at all, I-I really enjoyed it Jihyo-ah" smiles Jeongyeon with a slight blush painting her cheeks and the tips of her ears.

"Me too unnie" she says, staying awfully close as her gaze drifts down to her lips, but she does nothing.

They both giggle nervously not really knowing how to act around each other after everything that has happened in the last few hours. Now it's awkward, they have no regrets but that's not how things were supposed to have ended, they had arranged to meet to talk business. And they had done that but they also got drunk on each other's lips, sank between each other's legs, spent the night with their limbs intertwined and now they were struggling to quiet the butterflies in their stomachs. 

It doesn't take Jihyo much longer to get into the car to leave, Jeongyeon opens her door for her and before closing it she says "Think about what I showed you last night, take as much time as you need." She then closes her door, last night she had taught her many things and she knows exactly what she means but her mind can't help but go to other places, feeling her skin bristle and her stomach tighten as she remembers the image of jeongyeon emerging from between her legs and looking at her with those puppy eyes and swollen red lips covered in a layer of both saliva and her own juices. The memory is so vivid it's as if she's standing in front of her right now and she bites down on her finger to make sure she doesn't let out a moan right then and there as her thighs rub together involuntarily seeking to feel something.

When she gets home she doesn't receive any message or call, the next day neither and when the weekend is coming to an end neither. She knows that Jeongyeon sometimes needs to take some distance and be left alone with her thoughts to process things. If she herself was anxious and a bit scared about what would happen from now on it is natural to think that the other would be the same, maybe a bit more so given her reserved personality. 

Days go by and she still receives nothing making her anxiety increase. 

Of course she could write or call her at any time, at this point it is more than obvious that Jihyo is not afraid to take the lead and make the first move. But this time is different, she needs Jeongyeon to take the initiative for the first time for more than just preparing a lawsuit that threatens the future of her company, her life as she knows it and her family's legacy. 

It's a matter of pride, she knows. She refuses to pursue someone who wouldn't do the same for her but also out of fear of being rejected once again and getting her heart broken. She thought that after all she has been through and with her age she is more than ready to face rejection, but the truth is that if Jeongyeon rejects her again when there are no more external reasons to do so, it is likely that this time the pain will be much worse. 

By the time a week has passed Jihyo's uncertainty has turned into disappointment, she even comes to think that being directly rejected after receiving her first kiss was less cruel than whatever Jeongyeon is doing now. But in fact, it could be much worse.

After spending the weekend turning down invitations to meet friends because lying in bed staring at her phone with the screen off while listening to the most heartbreaking ballads is what she needs right now, Jihyo gets the news on Monday morning.

"Jihyo-nim, Hirai Momo is coming, it seems to be some kind of emergency"  her secretary Lily announces over the phone. When this happens nothing good happens, problems with products that are about to be released, system failures that were not foreseen and hundreds of other problems that Jihyo doesn't understand but which she knows mean that something is not working as it should. 

Hirai Momo, one of the software developers at the head of the department enters nervously and hurriedly with her fringe hairs sticking to her forehead from sweat, her shirt sleeves rolled up and her tie unbuttoned. She is out of breath and her glasses are covered in a layer of mist indicating the urgency of the situation as Momo seems to have come running into the office. All the signs alert Jihyo and prepare her for the worst, she is ready to hear that their new line of cell phones that are about to be shipped to every store in the country will have to be recalled due to some glitch, like that time they discovered that their new long lasting batteries exploded. She was prepared to listen to anything except for what Momo says as soon as she catches her breath without even leaning in. 

"We've been hacked." 

The initial shock leaves Jihyo frozen in place within moments but it doesn't take her long to react as she puts the pieces together, of course it's Horai Momo who's breaking the news to her that they've suffered an attack. It only takes her a few seconds to get up with fire in her eyes and stand in front of Momo making the employee swallow hard. 

"It has been stopped, but we don't know yet who has done it or what information they have stolen or altered" she says before Jihyo unleashes her anger at her, but this is not enough. 

"You better fix this as soon as possible or I will fire you and make sure you have to go back to Japan because you are not going to be hired anywhere in this country, not even to clean toilets" Jihyo threatens pointing her finger and staring straight into the face of the woman in front of her who is not able to look her back in the eyes because if she does she knows she will end up crying.

"Yes, Jihyo-nim. I'll fix it" she says bowing a bunch of times while stuttering a few apologies before walking away. 

I should have figured it out, now she feels completely stupid for falling for it. It's kind of evil and sick even for their fucked up relationship, Jihyo thinks. 

Without thinking twice she grabs her bag and leaves the office asking Lily to cancel all meetings until further notice, seeing the obvious anger of her boss she doesn't even dare to open her mouth and just nods vigorously. She has seen Jihyo angry a million times, but never like this, so she imagines that the news Hirai gave her must be very serious. 

As she is about to leave the building she catches a glimpse of Minatozaki Sana at her reception desk and unable to control her anger she heads to her desk. Sana's usual smiling expression disappears as soon as she sees her boss's gaze and she freezes in place, from the look on her face only one thing can have happened, she knows it. 

"I'll tell you the same thing I told your friend Hirai. If I find out that you are involved in this you can start packing your bags to go back to Japan because I will personally make your life a living hell" she threatens her with a stern tone, but low enough to only reach the receptionist's ears. As quickly as he arrived, she disappears from her side and exits the building where a car is waiting for her.

From the very first minute Sana got into all this she knew it was risky and she is not worried about the consequences because she knows that just as Jeongyeon promised them, she has nothing to worry about. Still there is something bothering Sana because she doesn't really know what the CEO is referring to, so she decides to immediately look for Mina and Momo to get answers. 

Meanwhile, Jihyo, who feels that she has more than enough information, gives her driver the address of Signal Systems' main building at the other end of the Central Business District. There he is greeted by a wide-eyed receptionist, Chou Tzuyu, who can't hide her puzzled face when the CEO of the rival company she works for as an informant is in front of her. However, her job at Signal Systems is to receive those who have an appointment with Yoo Jeongyeon and let her or her secretary know that they have arrived. Obviously, the name Park Jihyo is not among today's meeting list and has never been before, so the astonishment among the workers and visitors who have recognized her is generalized. Tzuyu can only fear the worst and her suspicions are not misguided when she leans on the counter asking for Jeongyeon's floor number, the way to the elevators and orders her not to warn that she is here. The receptionist who is smart enough and appreciates her life does as she tells her and also gives her a guest access card without asking any questions. 

That's how Park Jihyo gets to the top floor of the Signal Systems building where the office of its CEO, Yoo Jeongyeon, is located, nothing more than that. But for Jihyo, right now she is nothing more than her rival, one who uses disgusting tactics even for her usual game which includes espionage among other things of questionable ethics. Between the elevator and their destination is the desk of Dahyun, Joengyeon's trusted secretary and Jihyo's informant. 

"Good morning, Dahyun" she greets her with a smile that sends a shiver through Dahyun's body, who seeing the fire in Jihyo's eyes doesn't know if she should fear for her job or her life. "I come to see your dear boss, I guess she's in her office."

The secretary nods and when she opens her mouth to continue, Jihyo makes a gesture with her hand telling her to shut up and then walks with firm steps towards the office. She storms in, but what she sees leaves her as shocked as those in the room. 

"Jihyo?!" Jeongyeon's voice sounds surprised and confused. 

"JIHYO?!"  the woman with her back facing the door exclaims even more surprised and confused. 

"Nayeon?" she is so astonished that for a moment she forgets why she has come here. 

They look at each other, shocked by the situation they are in, they stare at each other without saying anything for a few seconds until Jeongyeon decides to take control of the situation as she feels her heart hammering in her chest. It's been a week since she saw Jihyo and since then she hadn't contacted her, so the last thing she expected was for her to suddenly walk into her office just on the same day and at the same time that Nayeon does. 

"What are you doing here?" she asks, trying to control the trembling in her voice. 

"Stop pretending, I'm not falling for your game. You know what I'm doing here" she says harshly, very different since the last time he talked to her.

"Well... I guess" she says, looking at Nayeon with concern. The older woman looks at one and then the other like she's watching a tennis match. "But I mean, you could have texted or called me," she says, turning her gaze to Nyeon again to see if Jihyo gets the message. 

"Yeah right, the only way with you the only way things can be done is face to face or did you want to have more proof to add to your fucking folders?" says Jihyo starting to lose her composure as she feels like she is being treated like a complete idiot once again. 

"I think this is a conversation you two should have between the two of you" Nayeon says stepping in for the first time. "And I know maybe this is my fault because I was the one who asked not to know about your stupid corporate war, but I think I deserve an explanation. I thought you two didn't talk and all of a sudden you show up unannounced talking about proofs and folders."

"You're right unnie" she says, directing her gaze towards Nayeon and then Jeongyeon, looking at the latter in a way so cold and full of rage that it makes her stomach turn. "Why don't you explain it to her? Tell her. Tell how you invited me to dinner to make me a deal and how it was actually a threat. I give in to what you ask or you ruin my life, my family and the work we've done for decades." 

Her gestures are exaggerated and she doesn't take her eyes off Jeongyeon who looks at her dumbfounded not knowing what Jihyo is getting at, at first she thought she was being theatrical, she can be very passionate sometimes. It's not until she sees her eyes that she realizes she's totally serious, there's no sparkle in those big beautiful eyes anymore. Then she sees it, she has the same look as that one time, but this time she doesn't understand why.

Neither of the older girls knows quite what to answer, but they don't need to because Jihyo continues "Come on! tell her what happened later" she insists. She sounds really hurt, almost desperate, worrying both of them who have never seen Jihyo this distraught.  

"Jihyo, calm down" Jeongyeon says in a soft tone as she approaches her. "I don't know what happened, but I do know that you don't want to tell Nayeon like this. Calm down and we'll talk."

"Don't even fucking think about telling me to calm down Jeongyeon. In fact I would really like my friend to know the kind of person she has next to her. Someone capable of doing what you have done to me" at this point she starts to raise her voice.

"I'm going to need one of you to explain to me what's going on, but I understand this is something you two need to work out between yourselves" she says still in her seat as she gestures for Jihyo to come closer and when she does she grabs her hand and caresses it trying to calm her down.  "Breath" she whispers to the younger girl who is breathing fast, then looks at Jeongyeon threateningly and says "If you did something to her, this time I'm going to pick a side Yoo Jeongyeon" Nayeon warns Jeongyeon pointing her finger at her. "I'm going to leave, please don't do anything stupid, I'm serious."

Nayeon over the years has learned to stay out of her friends' fight because after trying to intervene numerous times over the years she knows that all they need is to have a conversation that they have never been willing to have. She has heard both sides of the story and knows the motives that have driven each to do what they have done and, while she has not always agreed, she understands why each has done things the way they have and would be unable to judge them for it. She also knows about spies, informants, infiltrators... or whatever they call it.  She is the first to know that they do not always act according to the image of impeccable businesswomen they portray to the world. At the end of the day they are her friends despite the feud that exists – or existed – but if Jeongyeon has harmed Jihyo in some way that has gone beyond their professional rivalry, she wants to know about it even if she has to wait for them to sort things out on their own first.

They both watch Nayeon leave the office and look at each other. Jihyo has her clenched fists and tight jaw, she is still breathing heavily and can see her veins bulging in her neck and arms. From the obvious tension all over her body she can tell that she is indeed holding back and trying not to lose control. Jeongyeon is at a safe distance and is doing her best to try to maintain eye contact and to keep her trembling hands busy and out of Jihyo's sight, adjusting her clothes and hides them from time to time in the sleeves of her blazer, a gesture she had managed to shed but which is inevitable to return at times like this.  Her calmness had left with Nayeon. She still doesn't know what's going on and is afraid of making a mistake with Jihyo that will take her back to square one or much worse. She's willing to do everything in her power to avoid it, but it's definitely a possibility considering she's never seen Jihyo like this. 

"Ji I swear- ".

"Don't even think of calling me that" she raises her tone. "Stop lying, cut the act, Nayeon is not here."

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" the other tries again. "I know you're completely confident that I know but maybe it's good to talk things out for once."

"Oh this will be a good conversation because I would really like to know why you are a backstabbing bitch who is capable of betraying me again."

Maybe it's not in the best of circumstances, but Jihyo finally says it. The time has finally come to talk about the subject that both of them have been purposely ignoring. They never talked about it when it happened and neither did they talk about it at the restaurant, in Jeongyeon's living room, in her bed or the next day while having breakfast. They talked about many other things and talked about the past but this was a badly healed wound that no one dared to touch. 

"Finally you say it, I knew you haven't let it go, are you still angry about it?"

"I'm not, but even if I were you would have no right to judge me. Tell me what kind of friend would take advantage of the moment I was going through for her own benefit."

"That's not what happened, there's a reason."

"Jeongyeon..." he spits out her name while getting as close as the table between the two of them allows her. "This isn't about having different opinions, it's about facts and the facts speak for themselves. My father died, you stood by me through the entire funeral, you hugged me and promised to be there for whatever I needed" she says as angry tears build up in her eyes. "Overnight you cut off all contact with me and a month later ZoneTech released an announcement informing that Yoo Jeongyeon was taking over as CEO of the company." 

Our brains have a tendency to forget the bad times so that we can move on, but for Jihyo it was impossible to forget everything that happened during one of the darkest chapters of her life. She was only 22 years old, studying abroad about to graduate from a prestigious foreign university. One day while studying in the library for the first exams of the term she got a call from her mother crying inconsolably telling her that her father had suffered a heart attack. She still remembers the cry of pain her mother let out when she asked if he was okay, if he was in the hospital. Her father had died on the spot and there was nothing they could do. She left everything immediately and thanks to a family friend she was able to go on a private flight back to Korea a few hours after the call. 

During those days she did not shed a tear, but she knew that if at any time tears came to her eyes Nayeon and even Jeongyeon would be there to offer her a shoulder to cry on. It had been a while since the relationship between her and Jeongyeon had changed and they were becoming more and more distant, but she was the first to let her know that she was there for whatever he needed and she proved it by not leaving his side during the funeral and even during the opening of the will in which only the closest family members were allowed to be there.

No one expects to have to read the will of someone as young as Jihyo's father, not even Jihyo herself. When he named Jihyo as the sole heir and manager of the company and the family estate, he believed that when the time came for them to open her will, she would already have a successful career within the company and maybe even a family to take care of. However, that was not the case, so his daughter was forced to leave her new life as a student abroad with all her new friends and aspirations to return home and take the reins of a technology empire and one of the largest fortunes in the country while maintaining her excellent academic record as a model student in a new university.

Needless to say, it was difficult and she even paid for it with her health at times as she did not eat properly, she was overworked and under-rested. Despite having people who could do a lot of things for her, she needed to keep her mind busy because on top of her father's death there was the uproar with the press and media when some of the details of the will came to light. A few days later her friend and unconditional support during this hard process, Jeongyeon had started to avoid her and Nayeon from one day to another without giving any explanation.

The reason was discovered soon after through Signal Systems' statement, after that it was Jihyo who decided not to talk to Jeongyeon ever again unless there were cameras, potential partners or important clients in front of them. 

Jeongyeon sighs because despite having good reasons that back up her decisions, she didn't act wisely and now she knows it, but that still doesn't explain why Jihyo has suddenly stormed into her office accusing her of betraying her. Before sharing her side of the story and asking for explanations she steps out from behind her desk to continue the conversation on the couch she has for more informal meetings. When she puts her hand on Jihyo's arm inviting her to make herself comfortable, she moves her arm away and mumbles, "Don't touch me". She is hurt, maybe even more hurt than angry. 

Being aware of the younger girl's hostility, Jeongyeon believes it is a must to calm the situation down if she wants Jihyo to listen to her instead of looking for the perfect opportunity to elevate the conflict to another level, fearing that everything will end up exploding hurting the two of them and by extension Nayeon.

She takes the first step by offering her a tissue with her still shaking hands to wipe away her tears and offers her a smile. Jihyo immediately notices the shaking hands and all the alarms go off in her head, she had forgotten that sometimes in stressful situations Jeongyeon suffers anxiety attacks if she wasn't starting to have one already. Even if she feels absolute disgust towards her right now, she would hate herself if she triggered an anxiety or panic attack.

"I'm fine," Jeongyeon assures her, noticing the panic in her eyes, "but we both need to calm down and since it's too early for a beer I'll ask my secretary to make us some tea," she concludes.

Reluctantly Jihyo agrees and in a few minutes they are seated drinking tea in silence, thinking about how they got to this point. They have always had problems with communication, and although it has been between yelling, this is the first time they have been so honest with each other. Not keeping up appearances, not ignoring each other's problems, and not bottling up their feelings. They haven't done it in the most healthy or civilized way, but it's a start. 

After several sips Jeongyeon's hands stop shaking, but Jihyo shifts on her seat impatiently. 

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you what I did to make you like this" the older one breaks the ice "as you pointed out I can be quite dense" she says shyly. "If this is all about the deal I offered and the lawsuit, I-"

"Stop! Do you really think I'm worried about a lawsuit right now when you just fucking hacked me?" she asks, losing her temper again, but she doesn't mind, it hurts so much that she couldn't care less if Jeongyeon sees her like this or if everyone in this building could hear her. "You sleep with me, and once again you suddenly disappear. Today when I got to work they hacked ZoneTech and when I got here there's Nayeon. You had it all planned" she accuses her directly as tears start to fall from her eyes. "I just asked you not to hurt me and you ruined me" she says trying to hold back the tears. 

It takes Jeongyeon a moment to process and react to all the information Jihyo has given her between screams and tears. She doesn't understand anything that has happened, but it breaks her heart to see Jihyo. Not even during her father's funeral did she cry or when he first broke her heart and now she has her in front of her telling her that she has ruined his life. It hurts her that Jihyo might actually think she would do something like that, but seeing her sobbing with her mascara smeared and her eyes bloodshot from anger and crying makes her chest hurt.

Despite her fear of how she might react, she wraps her arms around her and finally speaks “Ji, trust me one more time and believe me when I tell you that I had nothing to do with this and I know deep down you know that I wouldn't be able to do something like this. I would never hurt you" she whispers softly in her ear trying to soothe her, but Jihyo's crying only increases soaking her shirt on the part of her chest where her head is resting. 

The sobs get louder and she begins to hear Jihyo cursing at her and telling her that she hates her, but she can't blame her. It's been some unfortunate coincidences and no wonder Jihyo has thought the worst. 

"Stop treating me like an idiot, you already did it once" she manages to say between sobs. 

Jeongyeon sighs as she continues to hug her and caress her back "I think it's time to explain everything that happened" she says as she pulls away from Jihyo to look at her face and grabs her hands so as not to lose contact with her skin. She looks away, unable to look at her because of the pain, anger and embarrassment she feels.

"I told you the other day and I will tell you as many times as necessary until you believe it. I don't hate you and I have never hated you, nor have I ever wanted to hurt you. I love you, I always have and I'm so afraid of what you make me feel that all this time I thought that by pushing you away I was protecting both myself and you as well" she sighs. "Our lives are so complicated and I thought that someday these feelings would go away" she looks at her anxiously looking for a reaction in Jihyo, who still won't look at her, but at least the crying is more controlled. "I thought what I felt for you was a high school crush that could ruin everything for me, but it's not like that and running away from you and everything you make me feel almost ruined my happiness." 

Until now Jeongyeon had never been clear with her feelings, but that's not all. "I thought that by running away from me I was doing you a favor and that if you hated me everything would be easier. That's why I never gave you the reasons or explanations you deserve and now I know it was a huge mistake, but after everything that has happened I wouldn't forgive myself for pushing you away from me again, because I know that this time it would be the final one. If you are willing to listen to me, I will tell you everything, but I promise you that I have nothing to do with this hacker attack you have suffered."

Jihyo is not sure, experience, all the times she ended up calling Nayeon crying, all the times she ended up in bed with strangers and the times she got drunk looking for some relief tell her to be smarter, that this time she should be the one to end it all instead of staying to suffer another disappointment. However, the more irrational part of her, the part that still thinks there is a possibility of a future together, begs her to stay and listen to her.

She looks down at her hands between Jeongyeon and when he manages to calm her breathing she looks up at her not quite sure of what to do or what to say even though she has already made up her mind. 

"You look awful" Jeongyeon tells her in a pointless attempt to tease that almost bring Jihyo to tears again "Fuck- sorry I was trying to joke, Ji" she says nervously repeating the affectionate nickname once more. With one of her hands she tries to fix the mess of her makeup and with all the gentleness in the world she reaches over and kisses the tears still left on her cheeks. "There's a restroom over there, take your time" and Jihyo just nods, too defeated to refuse.

Just as he told her, she takes her time and manages her best to clean her face, fix her hair and clothes trying to pull herself together. After Jeongyeon has seen her like this, she feels pathetic. Until her breathing returns to normal she doesn't come out of the restroom, though her red and puffy eyes give her away. 

"About the hacking let me take care of it, we'll find the culprits and I'll do my best to fix it and prove to you that it wasn't me."

"I believe you" Jihyo finally speaks and the relief is so great that Jeongyeon can't help but let out the breath she has been holding. "This morning when Hirai Momo came to my office I assumed it was your doing, the attack has been stopped, but when I left they didn't know what its origin was or what exactly they did."

"I will talk to Momo, it will be solved today" she assures her while holding her hand. 

Before continuing with their unfinished conversation, Jeongyeon calls Hirai Momo and makes her look for Myoui Mina and also Minatozaki Sana who, to Jihyo's surprise, is also some computer expert. After listening to too many technical words, Jihyo was finally able to participate in the conversation and they ended up making a deal: if they managed to find out who was responsible in 24 hours, they can keep working in the company and they will not have to go back to Japan as she had warned Momo and Sana hours before. Jeongyeon, in her efforts to show Jihyo that things would be different from now on if she trusted her, encouraged them with the promise of inviting them to dinner at the best restaurant in the country.

Once she hangs up the phone she directs her gaze towards Jihyo "What do you say? Let's get out of here, grab some food and I'll take you wherever you tell me so I can explain everything to you. I'll even burn paper by paper all the evidence of the lawsuit if I have to because I don't plan to lose you and take the risk of Nayeon killing me."

This time Jihyo smiles and nods, taking her hand "Come on, but if you give me reason to be suspicious I'm telling Nayeon" she jokingly warns her.

So that's what they did, Jeongyeon told Dahyun to cancel everything on her schedule for the rest of the day and hoping to get lucky, she also told her to let her know if they have to cancel their meetings the next day. Of course Kim Dahyun did that and rearranged his schedule but not before opening the group chat with Chayeoung and Tzuyu to tell them everything she had overheard, especially the mention of Minatozaki Sana, Chaeyoung's situationship.

They end up at Jeongyeon's house as well, although the purpose is quite different this time. Jeongyeon explains to her the reason behind each time she broke his heart. She explains how her father did everything he could to keep her away from Jihyo, even forcing her to study abroad. She tells her that that kiss she gave her after receiving her bouquet of flowers and her confession on her graduation day was sincere, but knowing that she would be away for so many years at a university thousands of miles away she didn't want to take away her opportunity to have a first high school love and maybe to find someone who was really good for her, someone who wasn't afraid to love her. She reveals to her each of the events that led her to accept the CEO position after finding out that her father would do everything in his power to end ZoneTech by taking advantage of the instability he thought Mr. Park’s death would bring. She did that in an attempt to protect her but it didn't last long since she was forced to respond to the constant attacks that Jihyo initiated once she settled into the position. And of course she makes it clear to her that this last week of silence had been an attempt to give her space when the truth is that she was dying to talk to her, to listen to her, to see her and to feel her in her arms again.

When the conversation ends, it's already dark and Jihyo goes back to sleep in Jeongyeon's bed, but tonight they just share kisses, secrets, apologies and the promise of a future together. Before sleep overcomes them Jeongyeon whispers in her ear "Don't go to work tomorrow, let me take you on a date to make up for my mistakes and to start making up for time we wasted".

Wifey 🥰🥰

BUT I SOLAR (2024)

Ningning 🥺

TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME AGAIN.

SYNOPSIS. you unintentionally became close to ning yizhuo as trainees. she made it into aespa, you didn’t. after you left sm and debuted with le sserafim, the desire to reconnect is heavy, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.

FEATURING. ningning x le sserafim 6th member reader

WARNINGS. none, maybe a little angsty tho idk

AUTHORS NOTE. first fic hello!! inspired by this song

WORD COUNT. 2.4k

you came to sm entertainment with the sole purpose of becoming an idol. it’s all you’ve ever wanted since you were eight years old. it wasn’t to make friends or build relationships; you wanted to work.

you kept to yourself during your trainee period, never really getting close to anyone. the trainee system was a twisted game and one small mistake could get you sent home. you’ve seen it happen with other trainees who were friends. one would be let go and the other left without their other half. you didn’t want any of that to get in the way of your goal.

ning yizhuo joined the company a year after you did. she was young, only a year younger than you. you remember the first time you officially met her in the practice room, which was completely by accident by the way.

as you walked through the company halls, going to your reserved practice time, you could faintly hear music playing from the practice room, which you found odd. you decided to slowly crack the door open to peek through and saw the younger girl practicing the choreography to into the new world. you know that she was new, maybe two weeks in? it makes sense that she wouldn’t know about your routine. you debated on just leaving and finding a different room, but decide against it.

as soon and you fully entered the practice room she seemed to take notice, jumping in surprise and instantly turning to greet you. you watched as she rushed to turn the music off, it was a little comedic. she hesitantly walked towards you, not really knowing what to say. you could sense the confusion on her face.

“this is my usual rehearsal time here,” you begin, and before yizhuo can spew out apologies, you continue, “it’s okay, you didn’t know.”

“i’m sorry, i can leave,” she managed, looking down at the floor. you feel a little bad, figuring she was probably embarrassed. you sigh, “no, it’s okay,”

‘what the fuck are you doing?’

“you’re practicing into the new world, right?”

she nods.

“we can practice together.” you decide. her face lights up, eyes gleaming, but you instantly regret you words. normally, you prefer practicing alone and being the only person to see the process of fixing your flaws and improving. but going by her reaction she probably wouldn’t think to judge you on anything.

“really?” she asks and you nod, walking towards the speaker to turn the music back on. “come on.”

you and yizhuo spend the next few hours practicing (more like you spend most of the time practicing while she stands there watching, admiring your movements). you were a dancer long before you joined sm, so you ended up helping her with the choreography after seeing her struggle, giving her tips and pointers to help her improve. you thought it was cute how intensely she took in your every word, mentally taking note of every detail you told her.

since that day she insisted on sticking with you. as much as you internally protested, you didn’t do much to keep her away. how could you? she was, what, barely 14? and she was new to the industry. even though you were only a year older than her, you didn’t have the heart to leave her on her own.

the two of you grew close unexpectedly fast, practicing together whenever you didn’t have individual lessons, spending hours in the practice room sometimes not even doing anything, just sitting against the mirrors and having random conversations that ended with both of you in tears from laughing so hard. as time went on, it became relatively known around the company that the two of you were a duo, not one left without the other.

as much as you like yizhuo, or ningning as she would be called after being introduced as an sm rookie, you always curse yourself thinking back to your previous views on building relationships as a trainee. you still have that opinion, but even as the two of you grew up you can’t bring yourself to stay away from her. you don’t want to.

after about four years together, the time came for sm’s newest girl group to be officially formed. for the last few months the company played with lineup, adding and removing girls almost every few weeks. you and ningning were apart of the group of girls considered for the final lineup, along with yu jimin and kim minjeong.

after what felt like an eternity of uncertainty, the company finally announced who would be in the final lineup. many were sure that you would be included, being an sm rookie who ranked highly at monthly evaluations. you were confident too.

however, while you all were practicing, a staff member brought in another girl and asked you to come out. you recognized her as uchinaga aeri, who only joined the company a few months ago. you looked around skeptically, but followed the staff member out of the room and into the hallway.

honestly, you can’t really recall everything that was said to you. all you remember is something along the lines of your removal and the world falling silent. everything stopped in that moment and you wondered if you were dreaming. you didn’t want to believe it but the somber look on the staff’s face solidified it for you.

you didn’t make it.

that day, you left practice early. yizhuo, along with jimin, minjeong, and aeri had to stay later to practice for their debut. before you left, you stopped to give yizhuo a hug, reassuring and congratulating her. you could tell that she was having mixed emotions. she was happy to debut but she wanted to do it with you. though her face was buried into your shoulder, you heard her mutter a ‘i’ll see you later,’ before letting go.

she didn’t expect to see your side of the room empty when she came back to the dorms that night. all of your belongings; polaroids on the wall, your comforter that she preferred sleeping on more than her own, everything you had was gone. and you didn’t even tell her.

you joined source music about two years later, being added to their debut team almost instantly along with two former iz*one members, sakura and chaewon, and huh yunjin, who you recognized from produce 48 and swore you’ve seen around the sm building a few times. kazuha and eunchae joined not too long after you did, and at first you were a bit threatened by their addition. you feared that they were your replacements and that it’d only be a matter of time before you’d be cut from the group.

however, the six of you worked amazingly together, and after getting over the initial doubt, got along great. you all had that balance of being genuine friends and colleagues. you finally felt like things were going your way.

the success of le sserafim’s debut was massive, some mixed reviews about the title track, but the album sold well and you guys got a few music show wins, which you never would’ve imagined for your debut.

as time went on, your career only went up. you attended award shows, held concerts, had fans. you were living your dream, and although you never expected it to be with these girls, you were happy nonetheless.

you thought about ningning a lot. it was hard not to, now that you were an idol. le sserafim and aespa were always in the same conversation when it came to top 4th generation girl groups. you felt indifferent about it. you wanted to move on from the past, but you were also glad that both of you were able to achieve your dreams, even if it wasn’t together.

you don’t get many days off being in the prime of your career, which you’ve always expected. today though, as comeback promotions for unforgiven came to an end, you hoped to spend today laying in bed and watching netflix, allowing your body to reset from such a hectic schedule.

keyword: hoped.

the sound of your phone ringing makes you dramatically groan. silently hoping it wasn’t anyone important you glance at your phone to see an unsaved phone number. normally, you’re told not to answer calls from unknown numbers, the main reason being that it’ll most likely be a sasaeng. but you recognize this number, even though it isn’t saved in your phone.

“hello?”

“unnie.”

you’ve played a thousand different scenarios in your head, thinking of what to say in any situation where you would see yizhuo again. yet when that time finally came, all of your hypotheticals went completely out the window. you didn’t think her calling you would be that first interaction in three years.

“how’d you get my number?” is what you decide to say. you changed your number after leaving sm, but you still remembered hers.

“minjeong unnie gave it to me,” she answered. you internally curse, figuring she got your number from chaewon. it’s not like you’re mad or upset that she called, you just weren’t expecting it nor were you prepared for it.

“can you come over to the dorms? i wanna talk to you.” yizhuo asks.

“we’re talking right now,” you play dumb. again, you’re not prepared for this.

“i mean in person, unnie.”

you think about giving her the excuse of being busy, you should give her that excuse. but you don’t know when you’ll both be free to talk again. you want to take that opportunity.

“okay,” you decide.

your arrival to aespa’s dorm surprises all of the members. jimin, who answers the door, instantly wraps you in a hug and aeri and minjeong, who were sitting on the couch jump up to do the same the moment they see you.

you tell them that yizhuo invited you over and jimin lets you know that she’s in their room. you thank her and head over, giving the cracked door two light knocks before fully opening it.

you’ve seen her around and on tv this past year so it wasn’t like you really haven’t seen her in three years, but your breath still hitches when you lay eyes on her. when she sees you, she smiles widely. it reminds you of when you two were trainees.

“you came!”

you snorted, “did you think i wasn’t?” you gently close the door behind you before crossing your arms and slowly walking towards her bed where she was sitting.

“you could’ve,” she shrugs. “considering you left without telling me, you could’ve not come and not told me.”

you sigh and sit down next to her. “i’m sorry.”

that day, and the many days following, hurt. it hurt you to feel like you spent so much time working hard just to fail. you didn’t think it would hurt yizhuo nearly as much. you didn’t think about how much she missed you or how long she spent crying after realizing you had left.

the room falls silent, both of you unsure of what else to say to each other. there’s a million things you two could talk about but neither of you do, afraid of rehashing more bad memories. instead you make yourself comfortable and lie back, resting you hand on your stomach. yizhuo does the same and the silence becomes comfortable, both of you cherishing this moment; being together again.

“i was in love with you, you know.” you decide to casually let out, hiding the nervousness in your voice. you’re scared of how she’ll respond. she could laugh in your face, or just straight up reject you, even though you weren’t exactly confessing, and make things awkward again.

but yizhuo does the opposite of what you were expecting.

“you were?” she suddenly sits up and locks eyes with you. you think she looks like a doll with her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape. you take a moment to admire her while she takes that moment to fully comprehend what you said. her mouth closes and her eyes furrow at her realization. “was,” she repeats, tilting her head. “you’re not anymore?” her voice goes quiet, as if she’s scared to ask. maybe she was, but why?

“not really,” you glance at her before looking back towards the ceiling. you don’t want to see her reaction, though you can feel her entire body deject into the bed and hear her mumble a small ‘oh’.

“why not?”

“hm?”

“why don’t you love me anymore?”

“i don’t know if you noticed, yizhuo, but i’ve been avoiding you since you debuted. kinda hard to keep feelings for someone you don’t see anymore.” it seems harsh but you hope your light hearted tone doesn’t make it sound that way.

“you didn’t have to avoid me. i would still been your friend─”

“it wasn’t about you,” you interrupt, sighing before finally sitting up to fully face her. “i was pissed and jealous and seeing you on tv would’ve only made me hate you. i don’t want to hate you.”

even after you debuted in le sserafim you tried to avoid her, and all of aespa for that matter. it was nothing against the girls but you couldn’t help the bitterness that filled you when you thought about the fact that you didn’t make the lineup.

you figured she’d have more to say after you revealed the truth, but nothing came out of her mouth. you could only read the disappointment on her face.

“what, were you expecting something different?” you ask after a long period of uncomfortable silence.

“i was hoping you’d say that you still love me,” she reveals, opting to look at her hands placed in her lap rather than at you.

“why?” you already know the answer. you just want to hear her say it.

“because i loved you,” she pauses, “and i never stopped.”

oh.

you should’ve known that something like this would happen, and maybe you did. maybe there was a rational part of your brain screaming at you not to go see her and you just didn’t listen. maybe deep down you still loved her, but the fear of losing again repressed that love. yizhuo or your career? you don’t know. the idol industry is a twisted game where one small mistake could cost you your entire career and if you have to lose one, you figure that losing the chance of loving her is better than losing the career you both worked years for.

“i’m sorry, yizhuo.” you whisper. it’s all you can muster up to say. you tell yourself that it’s better this way. sure, she’s hurt now but she’ll get over it. just like you did, or at least pretended to.

MOMO Hello | 4th World Tour in Seoul