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The idea came to Jaeyi as she was brushing her teeth. In the mirror, Jaeyi watches herself as a toe-curling smile spreads her lips open, her eyes alight with excitement and mischief.
Waiting for class to start was torture, but the soft, timid steps of Woo Seulgi’s approach fills her with a simple joy she has grown to relish and savor.
“Jaeyi-ah, can I sit here?”
Jaeyi takes a deep breath, drinking in her daily fill of Woo Seulgi’s pretty eyes and pretty lips. She hasn't thought she could get any hotter, but the way her new uniform hugs all her curves just right fills Jaeyi’s belly with butterflies.
Seulgi’s adorable face frowns with impatience at her silence, and what else is Jaeyi supposed to do but smile?
“Of course. This has always been your seat.”
Jaeyi’s well aware of the eyes on them, but she only has hers on the little smile pinching Seulgi’s lips. Incapable of holding herself back, Jaeyi smooths her palm along the line of Seulgi’s bicep, a curling heat burning in her chest at the feel of defined muscles beneath the fabric.
“You look good.”
Understatement of the century, but Jaeyi knows there's not a language in the world that can capture Seulgi’s beauty.
At least this one is enough to earn Jaeyi another shy smile and a soft “Thanks.”
Jaeyi would do anything to be smiled at like that every day.
“Did you get a chance to take a look at today’s chapter? I was having trouble with number 7, I was wondering if you could help me work it out.”
Elated that Seulgi asked for her help, Jaeyi immediately goes into detail about the answer to question number 7. Even as her mouth spews numbers and logic, Jaeyi can't stop herself from staring at a fully concentrated Seulgi, whose lips make the smallest pout as she ponders over the equation.
When Seulgi timidly asks if the answer is B, it takes Jaeyi an absurdly long time to realize she should say something back.
“That's right.” And if her voice sounds a little breathless, then it's Jaeyi’s business and Jaeyi’s alone.
Class goes on as per usual, with Jaeyi biding and waiting for her time.
When Mrs. Yu finally brings up the topic of class president, it takes all of Jaeyi’s willpower to not start vibrating in excitement.
Instead, she simply raises her hand. “Excuse me, miss. I have someone I would like to recommend as class president.”
“Oh? Who is it?”
Jaeyi turns around, and her voice is practically dripping with glee. “My partner, Woo Seulgi.”
The ensuing silence across the classroom is deafening, but Jaeyi won’t give up yet. Not when Seulgi is looking at her with those big, confused puppy eyes.
“Woo Seulgi?” Mrs. Yu asks again, looking from Jaeyi to Seulgi. “Have you thought about being class president before?”
Seulgi clearly wants to refuse, but Jaeyi stops her just in time. “Of course. If Seulgi’s president, I’ll help her out as much as I can.”
More than the eyes boring into her, it’s Seulgi’s hand in hers that almost distracts Jaeyi from the game. Still, she forces herself to focus, eyes never once looking away from Mrs. Yu.
Who eventually sighs as she steps up to the board. “Very well then. Everyone get out a piece of paper so you can vote.”
Waiting for Jo Ara to count the votes also feels like torture, but this one more delicious than the last. Seulgi looks downright befuddled every time a vote is revealed to be her name, and Jaeyi is helpless aside from sending her the occasional reassuring smile.
Poor thing looks like a deer in headlights. Jaeyi wants to put her in her pocket and eats her for a snack.
“Choi Kyung. Woo Seulgi. Blank vote.” At the last vote, Jo Ara pauses. Like she’s having second thoughts. Jaeyi grinds her teeth, but ultimately cheers at the name leaving her mouth. “Woo Seulgi.”
Around them, the class erupts into polite applause. Jaeyi makes sure hers is louder than all of them, but the point is moot as her plan quickly rolls into stage 2.
“Hey, Jo Ara. Are you sure you counted all the votes right?” Choi Kyung seethes loudly, leaping from her chair and running up to the podium with a desperation felt by everyone in the room. “Let me check it myself.”
Jaeyi snickers, how pathetic.
The class graciously entertains Kyung’s display of childish tantrum, and while Jaeyi loves watching her embarrass herself more and more, this is becoming unbearably cringe.
“Hey, Choi Kyung?”
The girl pays her no mind, and continues to harass their classmates for the sheet of paper they used. Rustling echoes from beside her, Jaeyi feeling rather than seeing Seulgi standing up.
“Is there a problem?”
Kyung scoffs. “Are you playing dumb? Even you have to admit there’s something fishy about you being voted for class president.”
Jaeyi opens her mouth, a retort on the tip of her tongue, but Seulgi is already leaving. Jaeyi watches her as she goes, eyes once or twice darting downwards before forcing herself to focus.
There will be time to be a horn dog later. Her game is just getting good.
“So what?”
“Electoral fraud.” Kyung answers haughtily, her condescending attitude visible all the way in space. “Clearly someone switched out the votes.”
Jaeyi snickers again. So close, yet so far.
“You see these papers? These are written by the same person who voted for you, Woo Seulgi. Twice. This is obviously a ploy.”
Seulgi hums. “So what you’re saying, someone who can’t possibly be unanimously endorsed by everyone in this room somehow has the ability to manipulate them into committing fraud?”
Everything about Woo Seulgi right now is so damn attractive. Jaeyi doesn’t even bother holding back her proud smile.
“It’s not something you can pull off, that’s for sure.” Kyung sneers, her face morphed into an ugly grimace.
“Are you saying someone has my back?”
Jaeyi sees the moment it all clicks for Kyung, and her poorly concealed, boiling anger makes this whole thing incredibly worth it.
To Jaeyi’s surprise, Seulgi steps into Kyung’s sight. Her heart flutters, did Seulgi do that to protect her?
“Choi Kyung, stop. I know the girls didn’t vote for me because they liked me. Even if I’m a nobody from the countryside, I know that well enough.”
Jaeyi’s lips split open in a wide grin, almost drooling at the delicious sight and at Seulgi’s broad back standing firm and strong. Heat pools in her stomach at the reference to last night’s events, and forgive Jaeyi if she starts beaming like an idiot.
But before she can spiral into her oh-so pleasant daydream, their homeroom teacher is intervening.
“Let’s stop this here, Kyung. Seulgi’s our president, you’ll be vice president. Let’s try to save you some dignity.”
Dignity? Not on Jaeyi’s watch.
“Shouldn’t Choi Kyung apologize too, miss?”
The priceless looks of shock scattered all over the classroom makes Jaeyi want to cackle. Surely they didn't expect she’d let things die down so quickly.
“Apologize for what?” Kyung snaps, looking like a rabid dog.
Jaeyi stands up too, unwilling to be looked down upon.
“Just because you weren't satisfied with the results, you insulted not just Seulgi but also everyone in this room. I think that calls for an apology.” Her smile serene and her eyes bloodlust, Jaeyi looks over at Seulgi. “Isn't that right, class president?”
Seulgi’s eyes shine something she can't read, but it's gone as quickly as it comes. Jaeyi almost feels upset about it, even more so when she realizes Seulgi is looking at Kyung.
“I would kindly request that you do so.”
The amount of time it took for Kyung to stretch out her last dramatic antics is more than enough for Jaeyi, if only because she spends most of it exchanging glances with Seulgi.
When an apology finally leaves Kyung’s mouth, Jaeyi feels a sense of pride and accomplishment.
This is only the beginning.
—
If there's one thing everyone should know about Yoo Jaeyi, it's that she loves being fashionably late.
Maybe it's all part of growing up with a narcissistic dad, but Jaeyi’s gotten used to having people wait on her.
Housekeepers. Chauffeurs. Doctors. Nurses. Teachers. Peers. Yoo Jaeyi has never had to learn patience her entire life, and she relishes in the fact that she can dangle that over everyone’s head at any given moment, drilling into their subconscious that their time is hers and no one else’s.
It’s even more delicious when it’s someone she knows will wait for her forever.
When Jo Ara asked Jaeyi if she truly was interested in Woo Seulgi, it took Jaeyi all of her mental willpower to not burst out laughing.
Because interest is not the word Jaeyi would use to describe what she feels about the new transferred student. It’s a downright insult to the electrifying shivers running down Jaeyi’s spine whenever their eyes meet, a borderline oversimplification of what Jaeyi is willing to do and how far Jaeyi is willing to go to make Woo Seulgi hers.
But Jo Ara doesn’t know that, and Jaeyi would like to keep it that way.
So instead of an answer, Jaeyi merely smirks. Adding a pretty little huff to convey her displeasure.
Jaeyi looks out the window, if only to avoid meeting whatever expression of doe-eyed but altogether insufferable curiosity on Ara’s face. What she finds is ten times more appealing.
Jaeyi knows she’s mentioned it before, even said it directly to Seulgi herself, but the new uniform truly works wonders for her.
How it hugs the curve of her chest, highlighting her broad shoulders and even broader back. Her dark eyes complimented by the dark shade of green and her beautiful face framed by two side bangs, Woo Seulgi looks like a fairy.
An endeared smile uncurls from the fold of Jaeyi’s lips, watching Woo Seulgi’s darling face glance around looking for Jaeyi, before flinching at the first drop of rain falling on her. It's almost too adorable, almost too much.
Of course, there is nothing too much about Woo Seulgi. If Jaeyi were to be honest, she thinks that Woo Seulgi is the closest thing to God’s greatest masterpiece. She also happens to think that Woo Seulgi was made for her, and Jaeyi is a lot of things, but dismissive of God’s gifts isn't one of them.
“Jaeyi?”
Jaeyi doesn’t let her annoyance at being interrupted show, only turns her attention back to the conversation.
“Can you make anything else besides cranes?”
Ara perks up, already reaching for her origami. “Something else? Is there anything in particular you want?”
Eyes darting outside the window once more, Jaeyi finally smiles.
For all of her secret sleuthing, not once has Jaeyi come across the information that Seulgi can sing. She needs to rectify that immediately.
“Yes, there is.”
By the time they get out of the karaoke bar, Jaeyi feels like she has the world in the palm of her hand. Her whole world is kissed dearly by the Moon Goddess above, her intense gaze boring into the side of Jaeyi’s head.
Suddenly shy, Jaeyi can’t quite seem to meet her eyes. That is, until Seulgi finally breaks the silence.
“Kyung seemed very disappointed.” Jaeyi thinks she spots guilt in her voice, which is absurd. “I’m not putting in even more of a dredge between the two of you, am I?”
Jaeyi suppresses a sigh, not really up to thinking about the sour topic that is her and Choi Kyung’s friendship. If one can even call it that at this point.
“Don’t pay it too much attention. We don’t really get along, you know that as well as I do.” Eager to change the subject, Jaeyi spins on her heels to face Seulgi again. “Ah, but the whole thing with C-Med is going to be more difficult than I thought. Choi Kyung will definitely be against you joining now.”
She doesn’t like seeing Seulgi’s resigned pout, so Jaeyi turns back to face the vast open night sky.
“I love how refreshing nighttime is. Thank God it’s stopped raining.”
“I didn’t think you’d come.”
The words are so startling that Jaeyi can’t help but panic. “Why? Are you angry that I was so late?”
“No,” Seulgi smiles, and Jaeyi relaxes. She wouldn’t lie to her. “It’s just, people tend to easily forget about me. So I’m not used to doing the waiting. I don’t really like doing so.”
Sometimes Jaeyi forgets just how much Seulgi went through before they met. And yet, here Woo Seulgi is, carrying a fire as fierce as if no one has ever tried to stomp it out by force.
Unlike her. Who has every power in the world to keep hers burning, but ultimately failed to do so. That is, until she found something, someone, worth fighting for.
“I don’t know about other people, but I always keep my promises. So you always have to wait for me, okay?” Then, because of a little pinprick of guilt, Jaeyi adds with a sheepish smile. “Of course, I’ll be late sometimes. But I promise I’ll make it.”
Deeming the conversation finished, Jaeyi goes to break eye contact. But the hand seizing her wrist stops her dead in her tracks.
“Is that really fair, Jaeyi?”
Jaeyi could pull away from Seulgi’s strong grip if she wanted to, but she wouldn’t. She would never.
“What do you mean?”
Seulgi’s chuckle is low, its timbre a burning husk against the side of Jaeyi’s neck. Goosebumps erupt along the lines of her arms, thankfully hidden underneath the sleeves of her blazer. Judging by Seulgi’s smirk, she knows damn well the reaction she is eliciting in Jaeyi anyway.
Her Seulgi is just smart like that.
A warm body pushes up against her chest, and Jaeyi can’t help but gasp. Oh how delightful, for once she gets to be hunted instead of the hunter.
“If you’re going to make me wait around for you, then I should be rewarded, no? To make it worth my time.”
It should be impossible, but Woo Seulgi looks even more beautiful like this. Jaeyi allows herself a grin, her arms snaked around Seulgi’s neck and steadied by those strong shoulders.
“Oh? Am I not good enough for you?”
The hands on her waist squeeze tight, Seulgi’s raspy voice striking lightning all the way down to her core. “Don’t twist my words, Yoo Jaeyi.”
And there goes all the oxygen in Jaeyi’s lungs.
That doesn’t mean she’s ready to stop the fun yet. On the contrary, she’s excited to drag this out a little bit more.
Humming softly, Jaeyi cards her fingers through Seulgi’s lustrous hair. Her nails scratching gently, Jaeyi salivates in Seulgi’s protruding neck vein as she leans into her touch. The thought of running her tongue along that well-sculpted jaw makes something inside her throb, but Jaeyi reins herself in, bidding them more time.
After all, Seulgi loves roleplaying like she’s in charge. It’s the least Jaeyi could do after today’s stunt, even if she doesn’t regret it one bit and would relive it as many times as possible.
What can she say? Jaeyi loves girls with fire.
“What sort of prize do you have in mind?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Even in the spare moonlight, Seulgi’s cheeks are tinted red. “You know what I want.”
“Oh but I like hearing you tell me.” Jaeyi’s fingers give an abrupt tug, Seulgi’s resulting strangled whimper would have made anyone blush. But Yoo Jaeyi isn’t just anyone. “You have such a sweet voice, you should put it to good use.”
As it so happens when someone plays with fire, they get burned.
Luckily for her, Jaeyi knows what she’s getting into, even if the mere ghost of Seulgi’s cupid lips on her neck already makes her want to scream. The hands on her hips twitch something fierce, as if their owner knows very well what goes on inside her head and is regretful their little ploy didn’t work.
Seulgi is going to have to try harder than that.
“Do you really think you’re in a position to make demands?”
See? It’s so easy for her to turn Jaeyi’s knees into jelly. “Be honest, do you just want to hear me beg?”
There's a stutter by her ear, an almost hitch in Seulgi’s breath. Jaeyi grins, knowing the upper hand is hers, and finally pushes Seulgi’s head forward.
A moan echoes softly in the wide open space, Jaeyi in heaven having Seulgi’s lips on her skin. Gentle, always so gentle at first, Seulgi contentedly peppers kisses along the side of her neck, alternating between sucking and nibbling at every new sound Jaeyi makes above.
What a good pup.
There's no one else but them on this bridge, but already Jaeyi can feel the heat of Seulgi’s ears against her temple. Chuckling, Jaeyi tucks a hand under Seulgi’s chin and pulls her away.
Her hair a mess, her eyes dilated, and her mouth apart. Yet she still looks like the most beautiful girl in the world to her.
“Come back to my place?”
Seulgi blinks, her big Bambi Eyes like stars in the night sky. “Like, right now?”
Jaeyi nods, excited once more. “Yep. We can have dinner together, you can sleep over, and I can take you to school tomorrow. How’s that?” Expecting a smile, Jaeyi’s world almost collapses at the sight of Seulgi’s frown. Her Seulgi should always be smiling. “What’s wrong? Is it your step-mom?”
Seulgi shakes her head, hard enough to convey her sincerity, but not enough to dislodge the hand Jaeyi is using to cup her cheek.
“No. No, she doesn’t care when I come and go. I just…”
Jaeyi waits a beat, then another, and another. When Seulgi just can’t seem to find the words, Jaeyi does it for her.
“Come on. We can pick this up in my room.”
—
The topic is forgotten before they even set foot inside Jaeyi’s bedroom.
For once, it's not Jaeyi’s fault.
They had been caught in a drizzle while walking home, barely making it past the security gate before it started raining cats and dogs outside.
Jaeyi remembers Seulgi laughing, making a remark about how she must look like a soggy wet cat, in a tone that clearly indicates how ugly she thinks she looks. No matter that the rain droplets on her eyelashes are glimmering in the moonlight and there's the smallest sheen of transparent skin through her white shirt that makes Jaeyi’s mouth go dry.
Because Jaeyi won't accept any Woo Seulgi slander, even if from Woo Seulgi herself, she said something along the lines of—
“You’re cuter when you’re wet.”
Maybe Jaeyi booped her nose, giggling at the scrunch she earns back. But it’s not her fault, Seulgi’s nose was just too boopable. And maybe Jaeyi was having a little bit too much fun at Seulgi’s expense, teasing her about her red face and her indecent thoughts.
Jaeyi knows the game is over once she puts her thumb on Seulgi’s lips. Mesmerized by its softness and fullness, Jaeyi doesn’t see Seulgi reaching with her hands. By the time her tie is snatched fiercely, Jaeyi is being pulled down by both gravity and Woo Seulgi into a passionate kiss.
If it wasn’t for her fast reflex, they would have tumbled straight into the koi pond.
Thankfully Jaeyi manages to make up for both their body weights, slamming her palms into the nearby concrete wall and successfully saving them from an accident that would require an explanation she would rather never give as long as she lives.
The new position has an unexpected, but fully welcomed advantage, for it’s Jaeyi now pressing Seulgi up against the wall. Jaeyi’s height forces her to lean down in order to kiss Seulgi properly, but the girl seizing her tie and practically mauling her lips has no trouble tippy-toeing to get them on equal footing.
How delicious Seulgi tastes when she's desperate for Jaeyi.
Still, they're just edging out into the open. It wouldn't do either of them good if Jaeyi’s father comes home and catches them like this.
A fearsome protectiveness surges inside Jaeyi’s chest, furious at the thought of Seulgi having to interact with him. It punctures the bubble of lust they have quickly cultivated for themselves, and for once, Jaeyi has to be the one with rational thinking.
“Seulgi,” Jaeyi barely gets out, for once actually overwhelmed by the senseless attack on her lips. “Seulgi, we should—”
“No.”
In a whirlwind, Jaeyi abruptly finds herself with her back to the wall. There are hands touching, soft, gentle, but hands that know exactly what they want, and by god Jaeyi wants her.
But this isn't the place.
“Woo Seulgi, stop.”
The onslaught of kisses ceases at once, but Seulgi doesn't pull away. If anything, her grip on Jaeyi’s neck, her throat, tightens like a warning, like a threat.
Jaeyi’s never felt more turned on.
“Be a good girl and take me to my bed.”
The look of pure desire on Seulgi’s face, Jaeyi will remember for the rest of her life.
With that being said, Seulgi has also never been inside Jaeyi’s house. So instead of pulling Jaeyi by the hand, Seulgi is allowing the absolute embarrassment of having Jaeyi escort her up.
Of course, Jaeyi doesn't just let it slide. Frustrated as she is, Jaeyi would never give up an opportunity to rile up her Seulgi, to see the little pinch of her eyebrows and her mouth forming the most adorable pout, which means taking meaningless detours and showcasing rooms she knows Seulgi has zero interest in.
Credit to whoever at the orphanage that instilled in her such good manners, Seulgi endures most of the tour with a tight-lipped smile and a tight grip on Jaeyi’s hand. Albeit distracted, Jaeyi’s insides turn a little mushy at the sight of their hands intertwined, looking so perfect and so right.
The sheep’s clothing is shed almost as soon as Jaeyi opens her bedroom door.
“Yoo Jaeyi,”
Jaeyi chuckles. It seems her Seulgi is at her limit.
Spinning on her heels and draping her arms over Seulgi’s shoulders, Jaeyi forfeits.
“Do whatever you want with me.”
Immediately her back meets her bed with a loud thud, but Jaeyi is too busy being kissed within an inch of her life to care. A solid and comfortable weight on top of her, Seulgi deftly smashes their mouths together, her hands a gentle hold on Jaeyi’s cheeks.
While Jaeyi’s favorite style of kissing is hard and fast, Seulgi likes to take her time and savor every inch of Jaeyi’s mouth, a little nibble here and a light pull there. She’s come a long way with so much practice, they both have, but sometimes Seulgi still kisses her like she's unsure, like she is doing something wrong, like she doesn't know that with every kiss, Jaeyi is sacrificing a life to earn.
Yoo Jaeyi will happily go to purgatory as long as she gets to kiss Woo Seulgi on the way down.
“Easy, baby,” Jaeyi rasps out, a sweet husky chuckle squeezing in between them, in place of Seulgi who is drained of oxygen and is now back to mauling Jaeyi’s neck. She has a thing for it, it seems. “Not too high.”
Seulgi grunts. “You have a lot of makeup.”
Jaeyi laughs, trailing off into a contented moan when Seulgi takes her ear in between her teeth. Her hands comfortably stroke the firm line of Seulgi’s back, finally fulfilling her dream of touching the glorious muscles she’s been admiring all day long.
“Has my Seulgi been thinking about kissing me?”
Another grunt. Jaeyi would fear for her life if her pup wasn't as scary as a… well.
“You’re in a talking mood tonight,” Seulgi says, pressing her smile into Jaeyi’s cheek. “What gives?”
Jaeyi turns her head, making them meet in another kiss. She takes charge this time, plunging her tongue into Seulgi’s mouth and letting the moan from the back of Seulgi’s throat ripple the ocean wall above their heads.
“I can't talk to my girlfriend while we make out?”
The title earns Jaeyi another moan, one a little helpless and so much endeared. The hands on her face gradually move down her throat, where they sit idly at Jaeyi’s tie.
Hovering. Waiting. Asking for permission.
Kissing languidly, Jaeyi debates torturing her girl just a little longer.
“Jaeyi, please…”
Well. Debate done.
Quicker than a flash, Jaeyi winds her arms around Seulgi’s waist and flips them over. The walls echo with the sound of Seulgi’s surprised yelp, then a moan as she looks up into Jaeyi’s undoubtedly darkened eyes and swollen mouth.
Jaeyi’s silky black hair is a curtain, a shield that hides and protects them against the world. Just for a second, they're alone where no one can touch. Just for a second, they're each other’s shamelessly and without fear.
The thought admittedly makes Jaeyi’s eyes sting, but now’s not the time to be sappy. Not when Seulgi looks about as close to combust as one biologically can.
Not before leaving a kiss on her adorable, adorable, nose, Jaeyi finds her favorite spot on Seulgi’s lap. Her every wiggle as she tries to find a position makes Seulgi visibly squirm, never once making it subtle how attractive she finds Jaeyi taking charge, especially in the bedroom.
Having found the perfect spot to straddle her, Jaeyi gently takes Seulgi’s hands and places them on her waist. They no longer shake or sweat like they used to, but Jaeyi can feel the fire pouring out from Seulgi’s palms, and know they’re hers to keep and hers to bathe in their heat.
“You wanted a reward?” Jaeyi smirks, watching Seulgi’s eyes track the hand she is trailing across her own chest. “I’ll give it to you.”
Jaeyi starts slow, unbuttoning her vest. A glorious smile threatens to escape when she takes off the piece of clothing and finds Seulgi’s big eyes blowing wide like her family’s second favorite set of China. She feels so empowered, so sexy, so flattered by the obvious affection and desire reflected back at her, only a tad hidden by the calming blue of the waves around them.
Without breaking eye contact, Jaeyi goes to take off her shirt. Not even one button done and Seulgi is squirming, is tucking her lower lip into her mouth, is flexing her hands like it physically pains her not being able to rip the whole thing off of Jaeyi’s torso.
She’s almost there. Jaeyi’s just in her skirt and her bra now.
Jaeyi still remembers when Seulgi used to look away, her eyes glowing and her cheeks burning. It’s incredible how far they’ve come together, and Jaeyi is going to make sure Seulgi knows how much she appreciates her tonight.
“Come on, gorgeous.” Squeezing in one last wiggle and delighting in the strangled groan from the body in between her legs, Jaeyi smiles haughtily. “Your turn.”
Yoo Jaeyi is very smart. She’s been told that her whole life, by people whom she met and whom she will never meet.
Taunting her girlfriend into enduring a strip tease and promptly leaving the entire floor open to her afterwards, knowing the power she has over Jaeyi, knowing she has Yoo Jaeyi wrapped around her tiny, they’re very tiny, fingers, is perhaps not the wisest idea she had tonight.
Jaeyi’s heart, treacherous little thing, kick starts itself into overdrive at the sight of Seulgi smirking. Jaeyi’s always known Seulgi has a dimple on her left cheek, has made a point to worship it every chance she gets, but the indent is so deep in this light, so beautiful, that Seulgi just completely, irrevocably, metaphorically and literally, takes Jaeyi’s breath away.
Seulgi doesn’t even need to say anything. She just tilts her head, shoots Jaeyi a challenging smile, before ripping off her own tie and throwing it across the room.
And Jaeyi breaks.
Clothes start flying. Mouths start exploring. Hands move here, move there, and they never, never stop.
When they finally crash into shore, they do it together.
Outside, the moon shines bright.
It’s a rather beautiful sight.
—
When all is set and done, their desires sated and their bodies exhausted in the best way possible, Jaeyi is reaching for the topmost drawer of her nightstand. She’s not even all the way off the bed yet when Seulgi makes a low whine, so ruthlessly deprived of warmth and affection.
Jaeyi rolls her eyes, mostly to herself, because why did that just make her fall even harder for Woo Seulgi, when usually she would hate any type of clinginess from any girl she spent the night with. The many ways love can change people, she supposes.
Jaeyi will never stop being amazed by it. Amazed by her.
“Jaeyi! Why are you so far away?”
Her laughter is real now, Jaeyi quickly swiping what she needs from the drawer before shutting it closed. Then, because at her core she is a brat who doesn’t like listening to other people, Jaeyi stands haughtily at the side of the bed.
Wearing nothing but Seulgi’s checkered flannel. A detail that Seulgi wholeheartedly appreciates, judging by her roaming eyes and bitten bottom lip.
Jaeyi shuts down the fire in her belly, too tired for more strenuous activities tonight. Instead, she raises an eyebrow, and somehow that’s enough to gain Seulgi’s attention.
Oh how Jaeyi loves having power over someone so powerful.
“You can’t even be patient for 5 seconds?”
“I’m cold.” Seulgi pouts, gesturing to her naked self burrowing in Jaeyi’s thickest blanket. Unlike Jaeyi who runs cold, Seulgi’s body is like a space heater, which works out incredibly well for the both of them. “Cuddle?”
Jaeyi laughs again, this time bubbly and bright. Seulgi’s nose wrinkles in a similar smile, her grabby hands only further plunging Jaeyi’s heart into the pit of her affection.
What bliss, to fall into the arms you know will hold you tenderly.
While allowing Seulgi to pull her into her embrace, so as to not distract her from her mission, Jaeyi immediately goes to put a hand on Seulgi’s bare chest. The bewildered blink she earns is no less shy than it is adorable, even more so than the blush rising high on her cheeks.
“Oh. Did you…”
Jaeyi swats her on the same chest, silly girl, and gestures to the mark Seulgi’s subconsciously already hidden underneath the blanket.
Seulgi hasn’t exactly told her who put a burning cigarette onto the soft surface of her skin, no matter how much Jaeyi had begged. You would hurt them, like that’s not the entire point.
It’s fine. Jaeyi just won’t tell her she already tracked them down and will be paying them a visit once midterms are over. Seulgi probably won’t mind, might even give Jaeyi a big kiss when she gets back.
Maybe. Possibly.
Either way, it’s a problem for Future Yoo Jaeyi.
Current Yoo Jaeyi has a vulnerable-looking girlfriend she needs to tend to. “May I?”
With her hand, Jaeyi holds up a jar of ointment. The box is red with black letters, a language only Jaeyi knows how to read between the two of them. That’s probably why it takes Seulgi an extra second to understand what Jaeyi is trying to get at, and Jaeyi can physically see the moment she does, as a little bit of the wall she’s been trying so hard to tear down surges back up again.
“You don't have to. It's a really old scar.”
Jaeyi nods, to show her understanding. It’s for show, of course. She won’t accept no for an answer.
“But you don’t like it, and this will help. It’s a special treatment tiger balm I got from someone I know. He got caught in a fire when he was a kid and was diagnosed with third-degree burns around his eye. If it weren’t for this, he would have lost it.”
“So it… erases scars?”
Seulgi sounds so timid, so hopeful, Jaeyi is rethinking her entire plan and mentally books a car to Seulgi’s hometown tomorrow. She forces herself to focus, knowing her girlfriend needs her more than her anger at the moment.
“Yes.”
Jaeyi waits a beat, and another, and another, and another. Until finally Seulgi’s eyes clear of her memories, and gives Jaeyi a wordless nod.
Gentle, always gentle, Jaeyi uncaps the jar and scoops a bit of oil on her finger. Just to clear the air a bit, she exaggeratedly waggles her eyebrows, smiling when the corners of Seulgi’s lips pinch just a centimeter upwards.
Next, Jaeyi uses her other hand to pull down the blanket, keeping eye contact at all times to give Seulgi room to deny her if she needed. Thankfully she doesn’t, and soon enough, Jaeyi is applying her oily fingers onto the old wound.
It feels rough under her skin, the soft surface forever damaged by the sting of a burning cigarette butt. Something stings terribly in Jaeyi’s eyes and Jaeyi’s heart, knowing the one person who she fights so hard every day to keep safe used to go through hardships like this, and without even a shoulder to cry on.
Jaeyi doesn’t realize she’s going on automatic, her medicine knowledge ingrained deeply into her veins, until Seulgi is prying the jar from her hand and putting it away. Silently, Jaeyi allows herself to be pulled down and her head laid snuggly into Seulgi’s chest, her most favorite place in the world as of late.
“Thank you.” Seulgi croaks, her two words containing more than just gratitude.
“Anytime.” Jaeyi kisses the skin under her lips, smiling when the hand carding through her hair jokingly tugs. “You doing okay?”
Seulgi hums. “Your silk sheets feel incredible on my back.”
Jaeyi giggles, squeezing Seulgi in her arms a little tighter. “More reasons for you to consider moving in with me?”
The groan she gets back is equally exasperated as it is fond. “Jaeyi, we’re not moving in together after dating for only a few months.”
Indignant, Jaeyi immediately goes to lift herself up by the forearm.
“It's been 6 months!”
“Since we met.” And? “Oh, don't pout.”
“I’m not pouting.” Jaeyi denies, while pouting. Seulgi’s dimple is peeking out again, damn her, she knows Jaeyi is weak for it. “And I don’t mean now, obviously. After we’re done with high school and get into Hanguk.”
Seulgi’s chuckle is lighter, dimple still out and being incredibly distracting. Even more than the hand stroking her hair and the other creeping up under her shirt looking for her abs.
“Do you really believe I can get into Hanguk?”
The question is so surprising that it takes Jaeyi a bit to process. “What? Of course I do. Don’t you want to?”
“I do. I do, I just…” Seulgi sighs, then looks away. Jaeyi hurriedly lies back down, if only for the hope of getting Seulgi to look at her again. “Sorry. I've been in my head all day.”
Jaeyi mentally replays the events of today, an inkling of understanding dawning on her when she connects two seemingly relevant dots.
“Because of the class president situation?”
Seulgi nods, then turns into a faux glare. “Thanks for that, by the way.”
Jaeyi shrugs. “I was being completely honest. Out of everyone in class, you’re the most capable of being president.”
“And this isn't because you wanted to get back at Kyung for yesterday?”
Choi Kyung. Yesterday. Jaeyi suppresses an angry growl, remembering the brief flash of hurt in Seulgi’s eyes at having her tragic past talked about like it's a weekend sitcom before it's shoved away behind her mask.
Instead of saying all the curses she wants to say, Jaeyi finds one of Seulgi’s hands and presses it against her cheek. Her warmth almost immediately zaps all the tension out of her body, Seulgi chuckling goodnaturedly before pressing a kiss onto Jaeyi’s crown.
Jaeyi arches her back just a bit and tilts her head up for more, and Seulgi grants her another kiss.
Her Seulgi, always so kind.
“You really didn't have to. They didn't say anything that wasn't true, and you know full well I’m not ashamed of my past.”
“I know that.” And she admires her so much for it. “That doesn't mean I’m going to sit by and let them say shit they don't know anything about. They can say whatever they want about me, but I draw the line at you.”
A puff of warm wind blows at her crown, a gentle finger tucking under her chin, a careful hand cradling the back as she looks up.
And meets supernovas in the flesh.
“Sweetheart,”
It's just a word. Sweetheart. Jagi.
Seulgi once joked it sounds like their names combined, JayGi. Jaeyi was too busy laughing at her self-confessed fangirl days and fandom culture knowledge that she accidentally glossed over the whole thing.
It's the first time Jaeyi’s heard it again ever since, and if there truly is a god, Jaeyi prays he will let them be together for as long as they can.
—
“We should go to bed. We got school tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“...Jaeyi?”
“Wanna see a video I took today?”
“Uh. Sure. You’re in the bathroom? Is that Kim Nari? What are you…”
“You like it?”
“Set 10 alarms. We’re going to be up a little late.”
Score.
—
If there's another thing everyone should know about Yoo Jaeyi, it's that she is not a morning person.
Sure, she is prim and proper and the figure of a perfect heiress by the time she comes down for breakfast. But before she set foot outside of her bedroom, she can be considered somewhat of a monster.
Which is why she’s trying so hard to bite off the hand trying to stir her awake.
“Jaeyi, wake up. I have to leave now, I need you to sneak me out.”
Jaeyi pops open one eye, stubbornly holding onto her still deliciously naked teddy bear. Anyone who walks in here with the intention of removing Seulgi, they’re dead.
“I let you have your way with me and now you’re just going to leave?”
Seulgi’s laugh is a little helpless and a lot amused. Jaeyi only frowns harder, not seeing the humor in her tragic situation.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. My step-mom called.”
Suddenly tense, Jaeyi sits up a little straighter. She’s still not letting Seulgi go though.
“Is everything alright?”
“Yes, everything is fine. She just wants me home, I think we’re finally going to talk about the lawsuit.”
Oh. Well fuck. Now she really can't make her stay, this is important for Seulgi’s relationship with her step-mom as well as their entire investigation into Jaeyi’s dad.
With a heavy sigh, Jaeyi makes a pitiful flop and practically speaks into the crook of Seulgi’s neck. “5 more minutes?”
When Seulgi says nothing, Jaeyi knows the point is moot.
“Alright, alright.” Jaeyi makes sure her sulk is loud and proud as she drags herself out of bed, grabbing a robe from her hanger lest a maid sees her walking around in only her girlfriend’s shirt. “We’ll sneak through the trophy room, there's a shortcut leading to the back door. You can take the 47th bus from here straight home. We should leave now before my dad asks me to bring you down for breakfast.”
Focused on her objective, Jaeyi gets the shock of her life when Seulgi roughly snatches her wrist. Her back meeting her door with a thud, Jaeyi is served an early breakfast in the form of Woo Seulgi looking downright murderous and protective.
“If he dares touch a hair on your head, I’ll kill him.”
I love you.
I know you don't feel the same, not yet, but I love you.
I hope one day I’ll get to tell you.
“You have my permission.” If Jaeyi’s voice shakes a little, then neither of them mentions it. Instead unanimously leaning in for a brief, but altogether deep kiss, determined to start off their morning as well as possible, and what better way than with each other. “Come on, pup.”
Enduring Seulgi’s mini rant about how she’s not a puppy serves as a salve to the wound that is Jaeyi missing out on morning cuddles with her girlfriend. Jaeyi’s mind is spinning, however, at what sort of plan she can come up with that will persuade Seulgi into moving in with her.
Growing up poor, Seulgi won't want to live somewhere too luxurious. But Jaeyi also doesn't want to live in a place so rundown, the only good thing about it is the cheap rent and full Internet, Hydro, and Heat package.
Maybe somewhere near Hanguk University, Jaeyi has a family friend who works as a real estate agent in the area. One of the apartment buildings there was recently renovated, and its proximity to Seulgi’s favorite coffee shop is a great plus also.
Yes. That could work.
Jaeyi will get to researching immediately.
“Kiss me goodbye?”
Pulled out of her thoughts just in time, Jaeyi leans down and tugs Seulgi in for a passionate kiss. Jaeyi may be a little heavy-handed with the tie, twisting and pulling and stroking, but she wants Seulgi to have something to remember her by.
Judging by the dazed look, the blushing cheeks, and the love-filled eyes staring up at her after they break apart, Jaeyi will say it's a mission success.
“Wait for me, princess.”
Lust seeping out and making room for unadulterated affection, Seulgi sears herself into the walls of Jaeyi’s heart.
“I would wait a day and a thousand more for you, my prince.”
And the pain is exquisite.