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2021-07-30
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8:45

Summary:

Sooyoung likes the quiet mornings… and, particularly, 8:45.

Notes:

Another college AU? Booo! [tomatoes thrown at author]

Anyway, if you like a quick, lighthearted read with cliché elements... hi there.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

These days, Sooyoung wakes without an alarm. Her change of lifestyle has been so drastic – from overworked college student to self-employed tattoo artist – that her habits have also changed. Well, some of them at least.

At any rate, it’s worth getting up when the reward is mornings like these.

Mornings like that one Hanson song – that one happy song that sounds like candy-coated pop confection with a catchy chorus one hears in every radio and children’s show in the '90s. The one that goes mmmbop, ba duba dop, ba duba dop, yeah yeah.  

She rolls off her futon, stretches, and pads downstairs in her underwear to make coffee. While it brews, she’ll feed her cat, take a quick shower, and dress for the day in whatever’s both stylish and clean. 

Her shop’s a suntrap, and she sees no reason to keep her workspace and living space separate. She unlocks early, pulls up the blinds, and sits back to watch the city come to life. If someone really wants a tattoo at eight in the morning, she’ll just put down her coffee.

She’s living in a pleasant sort of limbo, and it can be easy to feel separate from the world, but she realizes now that it’s the start of a new semester.

Her shop is out of the way, but a fair few students choose to park nearby and walk several blocks to the campus, rather than negotiate the busier streets.

Sooyoung spots a few familiar faces already. She’s given them all names, these random students – though the chances that that guy is really called Mint (because he wore a mint-colored shirt the first time she saw him) are probably fairly slim.

Then, she spots an unfamiliar face. And she’s sure about that, because Sooyoung would have remembered. Doing the same walk down the length of the street, heading towards the campus, is a woman with shiny navy blue hair. She’s wearing a black hoodie paired with baggy pants, and she’s somehow making it look good. 

Sooyoung perks up a little – not all of her habits have changed.

When the woman comes up alongside the shop, she notices Sooyoung in the doorway. Sooyoung offers a silent, smiling nod.

The woman nods back with uncertainty – as though casual, friendly acknowledgment from strangers is a foreign language that she hopes she’s getting right.

Sooyoung is immediately charmed, and amused. 

She checks the time, 8:45. 



It becomes a bit of a habit. A harmless amusement to help the morning go by.

Sooyoung will be there, outside her shop or in the doorway, and at 8:45 without fail, the blue-haired girl will come down the street. Sooyoung already has a favourite hoodie, the light blue one with Squirtle’s face on it. 

And as days pass, there are subtle changes. The woman smiles back, now. Sheepishly, but nonetheless, a smile.

She already liked these mornings, but 8:45 is quickly becoming Sooyoung’s favourite time of the day.



It’s 8:55, and there’s no sign. There’s Mint and Moomin and the girl who always wears pigtails, but the blue-haired hoodie girl is nowhere to be seen. (Sooyoung hasn’t made her up a name – she wants to know her real one.)

Trying not to notice how disproportionately disappointed she’s feeling, Sooyoung stumps back inside to rinse out her coffee mug. 

But it’s a gorgeous day out and there’s not much else to do, and besides, somehow she’s still a tiny bit hopeful, so she steps back out onto the street – only to be nearly bowled over by cotton fleece and blue hair.

A collision is only just averted – Sooyoung steadies her with a hand at the elbow.

“Woah, there.”

The blue-haired girl gasps, one hand flying to her heart, and they both take a second to recover and untangle themselves.

Sooyoung can’t quite help herself.

“We have to stop meeting like this.”

“What?”

The girl looks bewildered, which only amuses Sooyoung further. 

She changes tack. “You’re late.”

Ten minutes late to be exact.

“...Uh, I know?”

And more bewildered still. She’s too cute.

“Better get on your way, then,” Sooyoung chuckles. “It was lovely to talk to you, however briefly. Have a nice day…?”

“Oh! Jinsol. Jung Jinsol. Who is definitely going to be late to class. Um, bye!”

And she’s off, long navy blue hair bouncing on her cotton-clad shoulders. Sooyoung grins after her.



Something is wrong with Sooyoung’s coffee this morning. It’s possible that the machine is on the fritz.

She’s frowning down into its murky depths when a man’s voice draws her attention.

“Well actually, you may think it’s more efficient to park this side of the campus, but when you take into consideration…”

Sooyoung’s face is already failing to hide her disgust at this preening mansplainer – and that’s before she realizes that the poor girl being pulled along in his wake is blue-haired and hoodie girl Jung Jinsol.

Whoever this jerk is, he’s given her his arm but he’s walking so fast that she’s struggling to keep up, and he doesn’t seem to notice or care. He’s not even looking at her, and she’s done her hair extra pretty today. Loose strands neatly fastened with small butterfly hair clips. Probably for him.

When they pass the shop, Jinsol gives Sooyoung a quick glance and a smile that isn’t really a smile. And then they’re gone.

Sooyoung pours the rest of her coffee down the drain.



It’s evening, and Sooyoung is closing up the shop – a little early, really. She’s had a reasonable day’s custom, but she can’t bring herself to care.

It’s been weeks since Jung Jinsol has walked past her shop – and that shouldn’t matter, but her moods seem to indicate that it does.

She doesn’t really hide the disappointment she feels at 8:45 in the morning.

Probably that asshole has talked her into parking somewhere more “efficient”.

Sooyoung’s flicking listlessly through a folder of designs, hoping against hope for inspiration, when there’s a knock on the open door. She looks up, and almost drops the folder.

Jung Jinsol is standing in the doorway, but there’s no cotton hoodie in sight. She’s all dolled up in a little dark blue dress that matches her wavy hair and her eye makeup is just a little smudged and all in all the effect is… well, stunning.

“Are you still open?”

Sooyoung blinks. “Uh, yes. Yeah.”

“I would like to get a tattoo.”

It dawns on Sooyoung that Jinsol is leaning in the doorway like that not because it’s attractive (although, who is she kidding, it definitely is), but because she’s a fair way from sober.

Jinsol is drunk and she has come here. To get a tattoo, apparently.

“Oh, you would…? Well, uh, we could book a consultation to talk over designs, et cetera, but I don’t have any spaces free until early next week.”

Jinsol scrunches up her face in protest and it’s too cute that Sooyoung almost gives in.

“Mm, I don’t need a consultation, I know what I want. Just words, nothing… nothing fancy. Just the words ‘Men are stupid’.”

Sooyoung gapes, but Jinsol doesn’t notice, instead seeming to consider for a moment and then adding, “Actually, no, ‘All men are annoyingly stupid’. I need all the emphasis I can get.”

This shouldn’t be knocking Sooyoung sideways so much. As a tattoo artist in a student area, she’s very used to people coming in on dares, people coming in drunk… and she has a policy on that.

She’ll always try to dissuade them. Offer them a booking at a later date. 

It’s just that the impulsive, intoxicated potential-customer isn’t usually a very attractive lady Sooyoung’s been crushing on for weeks.

Jinsol draws the correct conclusion from her silence.

“You think I’m drunk. I’m not drunk.”

She takes a few steps forward, and with the way she’s walking, it really doesn’t help her case. Sooyoung takes her by the elbow and guides her to sit.

“It’s Jinsol, isn’t it?” Sooyoung begins (as though she’s even slightly unsure and as if she doesn’t recite the name inside her head every waking hour of the day).

Jinsol nods.

“We haven’t really met properly, have we? I’m Sooyoung. I usually introduce myself as Yves to strangers but I can make an exception.”

She’s apparently incapable of introducing herself to a pretty girl without flirting just a little – even under these circumstances – and Jinsol smiles back.

“Now, I was just about to close up shop, and I meant what I said – I really don’t have any spaces until next week,” Sooyoung says and she swallows when she sees Jinsol pout up, “Okay, alright, but just for now, I could do you a temporary version real quick, to see if you like it. You know, a temporary tattoo.”

“I’m not six, you know.”

She’s adorably belligerent, and Sooyoung’s trying hard not to smile.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. But lots of people, including big grizzled bikers, like to test out design and placement before committing anything to ink.”

That’s sort of a lie Sooyoung has just come up at that moment, but she's kind of sure Miss Hoodie here won’t know any better.

Jinsol’s shoulders slump a little. “Alright, I guess. But just so you know, I am not drunk.”

Sooyoung turns away, smiling, to find the temporary tattoo kit she keeps on hand to entertain her friends’ younger siblings.

“Really, I’m not. I can prove it. If I were drunk, I wouldn’t remember all the lyrics to the Elements Song.”

“By Tom Lehrer?”

Jinsol’s eyes widen comically. “You know Tom Lehrer? No one knows Tom Lehrer! Except for my fellow Chemistry majors. We’re actually required to know that song, by law."

Sooyoung chokes back a laugh.

“Is that so? Well, I was forced to learn it too.”

“Wow, really? I didn’t really expect–” Jinsol backtracks a bit. “I mean, I’m sorry but I don’t normally expect tattoo artists I just met to know a nerdy song about the periodic table of elements from 1960.”

Sooyoung doesn’t tell her that she was a fourth year Engineering major with Chemistry courses before she dropped out of college.

“Well, thanks, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Sooyoung smiles down at the special adhesive paper, and prepares to write ‘All men are annoyingly stupid’ in her very best cursive. It’s a worthy phrase, if ever there was one.

“So is that your party trick? The Elements Song?”

Jinsol frowns. “It’s supposed to be. But I don’t seem to get invited to many parties.”

Sooyoung looks at her briefly and gives her a small smile. “It’s their loss, anyway.”

“Thank you. You’re nice. Have I said that?” Jinsol rambles. “Anyway, since I’m sober, I can sing the whole song. Shall I sing it? I’ll sing it.”

She sits up a little straighter, smoothing down her dress.

There’s antimony, arsenic, aluminium, selenium, and hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium, and nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium, and iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium…”

Sooyoung can’t help it; she knows she’s practically looking at Jinsol with heart-eyes right now. But really, she’s not sure she’s ever seen anything more adorable than this girl, tipsily reeling off the song with such determination, and nodding her head on every beat. She doesn’t stumble over any of the words, either.

These are the only ones of which the news has come to Harvard. And there may be many others but they haven’t been disc-arvard!

She finishes with finger guns, and then starts giggling.

Sooyoung laughs and applauds, and Jinsol looks very pleased with herself. 

Looking down at the tattoo she’s designed, Sooyoung takes a moment to underline ‘All men are annoyingly stupid’ – just to emphasize her own complete agreement with the sentiment. Because what kind of lowly species would hurt a girl like this?

“That was… very impressive, I must say,” Sooyoung says, “So, what do you think of this?” 

She holds up the adhesive paper and Jinsol inspects the design.

“Oh, yes, that’s perfect! You have a very nice handwriting.”

“Thanks, it’s kind of my job. Now, where were you wanting this?”

Jinsol is silent for a moment, and then Sooyoung realizes the girl is blushing and anxiously twiddling her thumbs. 

“Well, I was thinking sort of…”

She runs her fingers over the material of her dress, just above her hip bone.

Sooyoung swallows.

“But then I should’ve come here in pants or something, so you could just,” she babbles. “... I’m sorry I didn’t really think this through.”

Sooyoung finds herself all too eager to rid her client of this misconception.

“Oh, well, that’s not a problem. I’m a professional. I’ve, uh, seen a lot of underwear in my time, believe me.”

My God, what are you saying? Stop.

“Oh. Well,” Jinsol considers. “And it’s temporary, so it’ll be really quick, right?”

“Right.”

Without further ado – presumably emboldened by the alcohol still coursing through her veins – Jinsol sits herself up on the padded table, raises her hips, and hitches up her dress. Sooyoung takes a long, steadying breath.

I am a professional, I am a professional, I am a profess… Oh God, fucking hell.

She’s wearing black lacy underwear that Sooyoung can only imagine is part of a set. And wow, those legs. Sooyoung’s seen a lot of legs in her profession, but God damn

Don’t be a creep, Sooyoung. Jesus.

“Um, right, I’ll just need to dampen this,” Sooyoung swallows the lump in her throat before continuing, “And then… uh, which hip?”

“Left, please, Sooyoung,” Jinsol giggles, as if she’s testing how the name rolls off her tongue. “Sooyoung, that’s a funny name. A nice one, I mean. Sorry, I’m an idiot.”

“I don’t think they accept idiots at the university. With the exception of that man who presumably hurt you, of course.”

Jinsol snorts and Sooyoung is very pleased with herself. She presses the damp paper against the skin just above the black lacy waistband, trying not to wonder how that might feel without paper in the way.

“Right, so if you could just hold that there for me – just press it down – for about thirty seconds or so? That ought to do it.”

Sooyoung turns and busies herself with tidying away the tattoo kit. The longer she can keep her eyes averted, the better.

“What do I owe you for this?”

“Oh,” Sooyoung is surprised, and looks back over her shoulder before she can stop herself, “don’t – don’t worry about that. This is on me. I’ll charge you if you come back to get the real thing done.”

Jinsol pouts. “That doesn’t seem fair. But okay.”

Sooyoung smiles, biting her lip. God, she’s such an adorable drunk. Who would’ve known, from those baggy jeans and hoodies?

“Right, that should be ready now. Let’s just peel it off slowly…”

It’s come out very well, clear and legible. Sooyoung holds up a little mirror, and Jinsol starts to laugh.

“That’s perfect. Thank you so much!”

She slips off the table and her dress falls to her knees again and Sooyoung scolds herself for being disappointed.

“Well, that’s that,” Sooyoung scratches the back of her head. “I, uh, I’ll give you my card, just in case you do wanna book an appointment.”

Thinking ahead to the Jung Jinsol that will be waking up horribly hungover the next morning, Sooyoung surreptitiously scrawls a note on the back. 

 

‘Just in case you’ve forgotten – the tattoo on your hip is only temporary.

It was a pleasure doing business with you.

- The one with the funny name, Sooyoung’

 

She hands Jinsol the card, face upwards so she can’t see the note for tomorrow.

Jinsol pockets it and gives Sooyoung a disarmingly sweet smile.

“This was… exactly what I needed. Thanks for putting up with me.”

“Hey, it wasn’t exactly a stretch. You’re, um, pretty neat.”

‘Pretty neat’, Sooyoung? Really?

She’s still internally berating herself when Jinsol suddenly kisses the corner of her mouth. Probably she was aiming for her cheek, but still… Sooyoung can feel her eyes going wide. Jinsol giggles at her stunned expression and steps away, much steadier on her feet than she was before.

“Good night, Sooyoung.”

“Good night, Jinsol. Get home safe.”

She waves over her shoulder as she walks away.



The next day’s a Saturday, so Sooyoung doesn’t get out of bed in any rush. Still, eventually, the urge for coffee overpowers the desire to stay between the sheets, so she gets up and heads downstairs. While the coffee brews, her thoughts stray to Jinsol.

It’s 8:43 and she should be here soon.

Sooyoung is leaning in the doorway, sipping her coffee, and watching some kids drawing chalk-art on the sidewalk, when she turns her head. She recognizes Jinsol immediately, but even so, she has barely a few moments to prepare herself.

Jinsol looks… well, like she had a rough night. But she’s still pretty as hell, especially back in her casual weekend clothes. 

Sooyoung’s heart sinks, though, to see the bunch of flowers in her hands. Has that guy made some grand apology and got her back?

“Um, Sooyoung? Hi,” she shyly waves. “Good morning.”

She’s so adorably awkward, Sooyoung feels her heart clench.

“Jinsol, hi. How’s the morning treating you?” Jinsol grimaces, and Sooyoung can’t help but chuckle. “I thought that might be the way.”

Jinsol looks down at the flowers in her hands.

“I… I just wanted to apologize, for whatever I put you through last night. I don’t normally get… like that… and I’m really sorry you were the one to see it.”

She looks mortified and Sooyoung’s heart goes out to her.

“Hey, please don’t worry. It wasn’t my worst Friday night,” Sooyoung winks and Jinsol flusters.

“Well, I just wanted to give you these,” Jinsol thrusts the flowers forward – purple Ericas artfully wrapped in brown paper. Sooyoung blinks. “And, I don’t know, maybe to make it up to you, I could… buy you a drink sometime? Or, dinner, or… something?”

She’s blushing. She is totally blushing and Sooyoung is entranced.

She’s thrilled and astounded, but nonetheless still manages to tease.

“Will you sing me the Elements Song again?”

“I did that?” Jinsol’s expression goes straight from blind horror to cringing remembrance. “Oh God, I did that…”

Sooyoung only grins. “It was cute.”

“Well, I have to go and die now, so…”

Sooyoung laughs in warm empathy and grabs her hand. “Call me? My number’s on that card I gave you. Maybe tomorrow, when you’ve caught up on some sleep, we could go for brunch...”

Jinsol looks down at their hands, and then smiles up at her as though other feelings might be overcoming her embarrassment.

“That sounds… great, actually. Alright, well, yeah, I’d better go.”

Sooyoung let’s go of her hand, hoping it’s not obvious quite how pleased she is with this turn of events. (It probably is, though, with the way she’s smiling from ear to ear.)

“See you, Jinsol.”

As she’s walking away, the blue-haired girl turns to smile over her shoulder.

“Oh, and Sooyoung? I love the tattoo.”



Sooyoung is trying to be cool about all this. Really, she is. It’s just that this thing with Jinsol has started off so sweetly that she’s already quite… invested in it. Ever since Jinsol walked off leaving Sooyoung with a stupid grin and her hands full of flowers, she’s kind of been walking on air.

And sure, she’s a college drop-out who had to scramble to find a vase for the aforementioned flowers… but still, the prospect of dating Jinsol doesn’t seem like the most ludicrous of ideas. Right? Sooyoung wasn’t the one to do the asking, after all. 

And surely you can’t get to know a person via such sweetly ridiculous circumstances and then have nothing come of it. That just… wouldn’t be fair.



Brunch, Sooyoung thinks it’s safe to say, was a definite success. She had picked the place and got there early, and Jinsol had turned up looking like the definition of the perfect brunch date.

(Yes, Sooyoung has finally settled to call this a date.)

She’s been wearing this baby blue sweater that was soft and casual and so far from her usual hoodies, but still recognizably… Jinsol.

And they had talked, about their pancakes, and about the city, and before too long, about Sooyoung’s background in academia.

Jinsol’s fork had clattered a little on her plate when Sooyoung mentioned that she’s supposed to graduate with high honors in mechanical engineering. It was pretty cute, actually, the way Jinsol was suddenly a little flustered. And Sooyoung had found out that she didn’t mind talking about it – about her mental health and financial issues and her need to take a break. Jinsol just listened – she didn’t judge.

“Oh, seriously, every other week there’s like a new article about stress in university,” Jinsol had assured Sooyoung, earnestly. “My friend Jungeun is actually curating them all on some blog. And really, college can be the worst. Good on you for looking after yourself. Do you… do you think you’ll go back to it, at some stage?”

“Hmm, maybe? I mean, things have been going pretty well for me at the moment…”

She had smiled meaningfully then, and Jinsol’s cheeks had gone a little pink.

“But yes, I think at some stage I’d like to.”

“I mean, obviously do what works for you, Sooyoung… but it just sounds like you’d be such an asset to the university.”

Sooyoung didn’t generally consider herself the blushing type, but at that table, she’d definitely been close.

And afterwards – when they’d finished their pancakes and their coffee and they were starting to feel a little guilty for still being there, taking up space in this cafe close to the campus – they’d agreed that they should do it again. Perhaps dinner.



So now Sooyoung is waiting – not un-nervously – for six o’clock to hurry up and get here. She’s already dressed, and she thinks her particular brand of debonair should be okay for where they’re going. She actually shined her shoes up for the occasion, and with her shirtsleeves rolled up this way, she’s possibly approaching suave.

Eventually, she figures she’ll leave a little early and just walk slow. It’s calming in a way, to be part of the city’s bustle, and by the time she arrives at the restaurant, she’s feeling pretty good.

It’s a little Italian place, kind of cozy, and Sooyoung has only been seated a few minutes when Jinsol arrives.

She has seen Jinsol all dolled up before – leaning tipsily in her doorway in a little dark blue dress.  But it turns out that it’s something quite different to see Jinsol dressed up for her. For their date (allegedly). Sooyoung swallows hard.

As she approaches the table, she shoots Sooyoung a goofy, nervous smile that’s somehow more attractive than total confidence.

“Hi.”

“Hi, Jinsol. You look amazing.”

It’s clichéd, but Sooyoung honestly can’t help it. And Jinsol glows.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Jinsol teases.

There’s maybe a few moments’ awkwardness as they settle into their seats – because this is dinner, not brunch, and the stakes are correspondingly higher. The date-ness, the… possible romance of this whole situation hangs in the air between them. They cover it by looking down the menu.

“Um, do you want to order some wine? Don’t worry,” Jinsol adds quickly, with a self-deprecatory laugh, “I won’t become like I did the other night.”

“That’s a shame,” Sooyoung teases. “I’m still waiting on that Elements Song encore, you know.”

“Too bad that is not happening. Definitely not tonight.”

The implication that there will be other nights is lost on neither of them, and Sooyoung has to try hard to keep her grin in check.

After that, it’s kind of easy. Sooyoung is still acutely aware of her own posture, and she may be having some sort of short circuit in her brain to the cut of Jinsol’s dress…  but, hey, she’s only human. They peruse the menu, and Jinsol – who’s familiar with the restaurant – recommends her favourite dishes.

“And the bolognese here is really good, by the way. It’s on an entirely different plane from the stuff Jungeun and I used to call bolognese, back when we were roommates.”

Sooyoung grins. “Adventures in student cooking, huh? I bet your stories have nothing on mine.”

“Try me.”

To be fair, Jinsol does have some pretty excellent stories – this Jungeun person she keeps on mentioning sounds like a riot – but Sooyoung wins out in the end. And Jinsol is captivating when she laughs like this, regarding Sooyoung over the rim of her wine glass.

“All I’m saying is, under dire enough circumstances, you can build a pasta machine out of pretty much anything.”

“Only when you’re a genius engineer,” Jinsol qualifies the statement, still alight with laughter. The compliment is not lost on Sooyoung, who grins. 

She’s trying not to let all this go to her head. She knows she's nowhere near genius nor an engineer, she’s a college dropout for Christ’s sake, but if Jung Jinsol says she’s a genius engineer, then she is a genius engineer.

But there is the undeniable fact that she’s here, on what is definitely a date, with a girl that until last week she’d only admired from afar. And that’s not how things go in Sooyoung’s life. Not generally. She doesn’t just… get what she wants.

The wine is good, taking the edge off her nerves, and the food is delicious. Around the time they start to consider the possibility of dessert, Sooyoung realizes she’s in a kind of quandary.

Because on one hand, she wants to sit there and watch Jinsol laugh for just as long as possible… but on the other hand, the sooner they get to the good nights, the sooner she might (might) have the opportunity to kiss her.

They stay a little longer, however, and order affogatos. Sooyoung regales Jinsol with stories of the most ridiculous things she’s ever been asked to tattoo onto someone’s body. Jinsol seems charmed, and also relieved that her request was by no means the absolute worst.

“So, the sense I’m getting is that, by comparison, what I asked for was pretty run-of-the-mill?”

“Yeah, that was nothing! Well, not nothing, I mean I – it was –”

She takes a gulp of wine to prevent herself from saying anything stupid, and Jinsol’s eyes glitter with warm amusement.

Sooyoung is still swinging between confidence and self-doubt by the time they get up to leave. Because this evening has gone so well, but Jinsol is Jinsol – smart with a great future, not to mention, drop-dead gorgeous – and she is, well, she’s Sooyoung.

And now they’re into that delicate unspoken dance of when and how shall we say good night? Sooyoung has never felt quite so invested in the answer before.

They decide to share a cab, and while holding up her end of a light conversation, Sooyoung is silently calculating how far her place is from Jinsol’s, and whether she could feasibly send the cab away and walk home from Jinsol’s front door. It would be worth it, not to have to rush saying good night.

In the moment, her nerves push her into bravery, and she pays the driver, saying “I’ll walk from here – it’s just a couple blocks or seven.”

Jinsol’s lips curve in a little smile, and though something in her demeanor is suddenly more tightly wound, Sooyoung can tell she’s not overstepping. (Thank God.)

“So, this is me,” Jinsol announces when they arrive at her apartment building.

“Nice place,” Sooyoung simply says.

“Thanks. And, well… thank you for tonight, Sooyoung. I had a lovely time.”

“Me too,” Sooyoung replies, honestly and automatically, with the part of her that isn’t desperately trying to get a read on the situation. “We should do it again, maybe.”

“I’d like that,” is Jinsol’s smiling response and Sooyoung can’t help a small but let out an audible sigh of relief.

She wants to kiss her – she really, really wants to kiss her. But you don’t just throw yourself at someone you just practically met a week ago, even if they do look incredibly kissable – and Sooyoung really doesn’t want to screw this up.

So she just raises Jinsol’s hand to her lips, and this display of gallantry makes the other woman’s cheeks flush. In fact, the way her eyes dart shyly from their joined hands to Sooyoung’s face and back again, she looks… she looks like maybe she wants to be kissed.

Oh, to hell with it.

Her body reacts the second she’s made the decision, thrilling at the prospect as she steps closer. Jinsol’s eyes fall shut.

Maybe it’s just because she’d been wanting it so badly but it’s a particularly breathtaking kiss. Jinsol’s lips are soft and pliant and Sooyoung immediately wants more. Her pulse and her breathing and the rising ache in her stomach leave her in no doubt of the fact. 

She holds herself in check, however, pulling gently away.

Jinsol is gorgeous and blushing, and right now, Sooyoung tries to think of something to say – and though she’s trying for charming and casual, when she speaks her voice comes out breathy.

“I’ve been wanting to do that.”

Jinsol’s eyes dart down and then up again. “Me too.”

Sooyoung smiles because everything about this night makes her lightheaded. She’d stay if she can but she realizes she still has to feed her cat back at her place and take care of other responsibilities she’s pushed aside for this evening. 

“This was nice, Jinsol, but I should go.”

Jinsol’s signature pout makes an appearance once again but she eventually relents and nods in understanding. “Okay, but can I ask for one more kiss?”

Sooyoung glances at her watch briefly and she can only chuckle because it’s 8:45 in the evening and wow, that’s kind of a freaky coincidence, so she moves in for another kiss and it’s even better than their first one, and Sooyoung knows she’s going to love doing this again and again. 

Notes:

Just thought this tag needed more fluff. :) Kudos and comments greatly appreciated.