Chapter Text
hyunjin has never sprinted faster. heejin's shouts of her name get louder as she approaches, and she witnesses what the other girl is seeing.
"heejin!" she calls out, terrified.
a fucking dementor.
it's clear heejin doesn't stand a chance against the creature if she doesn't move soon. her cries of "stupefy!" get increasingly muffled, and hyunjin rushes to her side to pull her away before the creature can get close enough to suck away her soul. they run. heejin, as much as she tries, just isn't as athletic as her, and she stumbles over an overgrown tree root, bringing hyunjin down to the ground with her.
the slytherin stands up fast enough, placing herself between heejin and the dementor like a protective shield. heejin pulls herself up and tries to drag her away, but hyunjin doesn't budge when the ghost-like, black projection gets closer and closer.
"hyunjin! hyunjin, let's go, please," heejin cries.
breathe, think of your happiest memory, and then shout "expecto patronum".
but nothing comes to mind. she's stuck.
fuck.
"shit, i'm really sorry i have to do this now," she breathes, turning and swooping to kiss heejin on the lips, leaving the girl shell-shocked as the dementor comes within striking range.
tearing her eyes away from heejin, she turns back with renewed confidence.
"expecto patronum!"
silver and white light shoots out of her wand, and the rabbit projection— as cute and tiny as it is— turns out to be a powerful force against the dementor.
the black figure retreats, and takes off deep into the forest. she feels heejin squeeze her hand tightly from behind her.
"lumos," hyunjin commands, illuminating the dark forest and checking for more dementors in the area. they hear some rustling, but it's probably just the leaves of the massive willow trees.
when she announces that it's all clear, heejin hits her on the back multiple times, even using her fists, but not inflicting too much damage. it's just enough to get hyunjin's attention, and for her to flash an awkward smile.
"i can't believe you took my first kiss in front of a dementor! i can't believe you, ugh! and seriously, lying to me about your patronus? is that what it was about? oh my god, we could have avoided this all along if you just told me about this whole situation."
"i didn't know how to," hyunjin replies, a hand scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "look, i didn't want to freak you out or anything. i asked professor minatozaki, and she says it might never change again because switching is so rare in the first place. so i'm like, bonded to you for the rest of my life... or something."
"i am freaking out," heejin laughs, tugging on hyunjin's hand and making a move to leave the eerie forest. "but if you ignore me for weeks on end again i will personally cut your head off myself. and if it helps, i'm pretty sure from the looks of my incomplete patronus that it's a cat."
"i can't believe you made me cry so much over your stupid patronus, oh my god, you're an actual idiot," heejin continues. "i know it's a big deal to you, but you have to tell me these things. i even thought you were trying to turn yourself heterosexual again, like fuck, it was bad."
hyunjin winces, and apologises again.
"i'll forgive you if you teach me how to make my patronus look how it's supposed to be?"
"okay," hyunjin replies with a smile. when they are finally out of the woods and the illuminated gryffindor tower comes into view, she asks heejin to try conjuring her patronus.
"i might need some help with that," heejin says breathily, shifting her gaze downwards.
oh. short-circuiting again.
she doesn't wait for heejin to tip-toe, before taking things into her own hands. heejin's hands come up to cup her face ever so gently as they kiss, this time slightly longer than what would be considered an innocent peck; there's probably no better feeling in the world than this, hyunjin thinks.
she's proven wrong again, because when heejin manages to cast the spell right, and she sees they patronuses dance around each other in the snow; her heart is cluttered with pride, love, happiness, relief, and excitement all at once, while her mind is filled with heejin, heejin, i'm so sorry for everything, heejin, heejin, i love you, sweet, beautiful heejin, the love of my life.
and there's no better feeling than that.
/
hyunjin only realises how familiar she has become with the gryffindor prefects' bathroom when yeojin comes up to her one day to ask where it is.
"down the hallway to the right, take a left at the second corridor you see and then go all the way to the end. it's a red and gold door, you can't miss it."
"uh, do i want to know how you know that so well?"
"nope, bye!" hyunjin sprints off, only realising yeojin too late isn't a prefect and worse, is a hufflepuff.
heejin comes up to her fuming a few minutes after, having been caught in what is now deemed "the green slime calamity" by the school newspaper. hyunjin was probably the reason why she got caught in the middle of yeojin's revenge plot (jungeun had sent her a howler that read out her diary entries in the middle of the great hall, to get back at her for the whole quidditch finals fiasco, hence why yeojin decided to flood the entire prefects' bathroom with slime, even though jungeun had conveniently left a minute earlier than heejin did), and she revokes hyunjin's kissing privileges for two weeks.
they barely make it through three days before heejin caves, though. you can't blame her when hyunjin was looking that fine after quidditch practice, you just can't!
and honestly? thank merlin for the captains-only bathroom.
/
winter break is a wonderful, and much needed break from all the studying and drama.
over letters, heejin insists that hyunjin has to counter-bring her on a "date", referring to the time hyunjin had followed heejin around seoul without her wand for two days. this time a magical date, in the most literal and figurative sense.
(jungeun voluntarily uninvites herself, without an excuse this time. heejin had proudly proclaimed that "it's a date for us two!")
hyunjin is highly concerned about heejin's use of the word "date" because they haven't exactly established themselves as anything other than friends who make out now and then, and hyunjin is constantly puzzled with where heejin stands on them being girlfriends or whatever, but forget that for now. she has to plan a day out with heejin! send help! empty of ideas, she sends jungeun a howler— because it's a goddamn emergency— and asks her to recommend places to visit.
jungeun sends her a single piece of parchment back with "diagon alley" and "fuck you, this howler came when i was eating with my grandmother" written on it. she returns with another howler that screams "thank you it's perfect".
it is a perfect spot for them. there were joke shops, broom shops, bookshops— anything and everything.
when she meets heejin exactly a week after winter break starts, it's at myeongdong, a street away from the famed alley. this time, the girl is dressed more witch-like, in a long pale blue trench coat that dons deep pockets for her to keep her wand in. hyunjin opts for her casual black robe, and thinks that she would never look as good in comparison to heejin, simply because muggle fashion evolves way too fast for the wizarding world to ever catch on.
(or, maybe it's just because it's heejin and her ability to make anything look good. we'll never know.)
she can't stop smiling, despite not being able to sleep well in anticipation for this "date" or whatever. while she's dragging heejin deep into the familiar, seemingly abandoned alleyway, the girl being dragged suddenly speaks up.
"uh, hyunjin? what are we doing in an alley?” heejin asks, incredulous. a stray cat meows as if to emphasise her point. the smile she had been holding back broadens on her face, and heejin looks almost nervous.
"this is the entrance to diagon-"
"if you're actually going to kiss me here i will kill you, i swear. i will not let our first kiss in public be in a dingy alley that smells like urine!"
they stare at each other for a moment. hyunjin's grin impossibly widens as heejin holds her mortified face with both her hands.
"oh. diagon alley. i see," heejin mumbles, as hyunjin peels her hands from her face and holds them instead. "okay look i thought- you know the movies i always watch? the stupid romantic comedies? like, somehow the lead actors end up in some strange alleyway or corner and end up like... nevermind. forget i said like, anything, oh my god."
"i wasn't going to kiss you until after the date," hyunjin replies with a laugh. "i had it all planned out already. but now that you've mentioned it, i might as well..."
hyunjin leans forward abruptly, her hands now on heejin's shoulders to stop her from retreating. she sees heejin's eyes flutter close out of habit, her lips ghosting over heejin's own.
but it never happens, because hyunjin kisses her cheek instead, and runs away to the sounds of heejin's whines of "kim hyunjin!"
/
diagon alley is fun. heejin is fun. they hold hands and have a good time. everything is going according to plan, and everything is going great!
then, things take an interesting turn. they enter the massive three-storey tall joke shop called wonnie's wizard wheezes, and hyunjin almost falls to the ground at the sight of park chaewon manning the cashier.
"you're THE wonnie? what the heck, park chaewon!" hyunjin lets heejin go, and rushes to wrap chaewon in a tight hug.
"no way! kim hyunjin, shit. i thought i'd never see you again," wonnie— no, chaewon— melts into the hug, much like what heejin does all the time.
(heejin tells her later that she did in fact, feel everything from confusion, to jealousy, to anger at the fact that hyunjin had the nerve to let go of her hand to run into the arms of another woman.)
hyunjin isn't oblivious to the eyes boring holes into her head from behind her. she turns sheepishly to take heejin's hand to introduce her to chaewon.
"heejin, meet chaewon, my childhood friend who used to be a squib loser but now actually owns the biggest joke shop in all of diagon alley. chaewon, meet heejin, my uh-" she pauses, panicking.
my what! your what, hyunjin? your what!
"girlfriend," heejin says it for her, extending her hand with a bright smile. hyunjin has to blink hard twice, do a double take, and receive a hard nudge into her ribs from heejin before recovering.
girlfriend. she bites the inside of her mouth to keep herself from smiling too widely.
(heejin also pretends her heart isn't doing flips at the sound of that word.)
the squib loser chaewon, as heejin finds out, has known hyunjin since birth. she had moved to seoul a few years before hyunjin's family did, effectively ending their friendship since chaewon couldn't attend hogwarts, being a non-wizard and all. but her neighbour of fifteen years is here now, doing well for herself, and hyunjin couldn't be happier for her.
"so, a girlfriend? the last time we spoke, you were still dating other hyunjin, like boy-hyunjin."
"i found out a few things about myself," hyunjin says with a laugh, looking at heejin who is on the second level, picking out their favourite brand of fart bombs. the girl turns and waves the nasty plastic packets in the air excitedly, earning herself a grin from hyunjin.
"well if they like my stuff then they're automatically allowed to date you," chaewon replies. "she looks precious. bet there are people who will break your leg if you hurt her."
hyunjin nods, thinking of jungeun and how scary protective the girl can be over heejin and herself. she wouldn't stand a chance.
"i want one too," chaewon sighs.
"what, a g-girlfriend?" hyunjin stumbles over the word. it is her first time using it after all.
"not a guh guh guh girlfriend," chaewon mocks, and hyunjin has to slap her on the arm to get her to stop doing that. "i want a heejin. you really got lucky there, dude."
"well too bad, she's mine," hyunjin says under her breath as an energetic heejin approaches them with a basket full of interesting things— moving chocolate eyeballs, poker cards that verbally insult you based on your skill level in poker, voice-changing pills and more.
chaewon coughs to hide her amusement as hyunjin takes the basket from her, and pretends like she didn't just claim heejin, a whole person, as hers. they leave soon enough, but not before chaewon insists that heejin give her her number so they could go out together someday, all three of them.
(heejin pretends not to notice chaewon grabbing her girlfriend by the collar on their way out and threatening her to "treat heejin well or else", and the girl complaining, "you're my friend, shouldn't you be threatening her instead?!")
the alley seems almost never-ending. they pass by exactly three broom shops (and only enter one, because hyunjin geeks out over the newest broomsticks and has to get threatened to have her kissing privileges revoked again), five book stores (they buy each other a book), and a candy store (also known as: time to stock up on chocolate frogs). as the day winds down, they seem to walk closer together, interlocking their free hands. at some point, hyunjin puts their joint hands into her jacket pocket for added warmth.
(hyunjin silently sends her thanks to the person who invented the 'endless' bag. anything that she puts inside the bag is directly teleported to the chest in her house, and saves them the trouble of having to hold it themselves. that's one more free hand, and one more excuse to touch heejin's face. or hold her waist. or brush away the baby hairs from her eyes. or poke her cheek. or tie her shoelaces for her. or hug her from the back. or pick up pretty dried leaves from the floor to gift her. or adjust her cute scarf. or... you get the idea.)
when night falls, snow does too. the white flakes that dot heejin's hair and the look of wonder of her face literally take her breath away, and she really, really, really tries not to kiss her right then and there; heejin's a stupid romantic, and as much as she hates to admit it, she is too. she wants to take her to the ferris wheel, wait for them to get to the top, and proclaim her love for the girl to the heavens. then, they will inevitably lean in and then-
and then, she's broken out of her daydream.
heejin spins her around to kiss her herself, all inhibitions gone, all ideas of the 'perfect' kiss out of the window. just two girls, the moonlight, the falling snow, and a couple of bystanders who couldn't care less what they were doing. heejin's hands reach up again out of habit, and hyunjin pulls her closer by the waist.
short. circuiting.
when they pull apart and press their foreheads together, there's no grand proclamation of their love, no fireworks, no words needed, just silly grins and a bunch of giggling.
they already know anyway.
/
they return to school in a few weeks, but as an official couple this time. hyunjin receives a few embarrassing hollers and whistles from her quidditch teammates, and a particularly hard pat on the back by sooyoung during her charms class.
she manages the get sooyoung back when she realises the older girl has it bad for the head girl. hyunjin painfully elbows her in the ribs every time jiwoo does anything.
jiwoo raises her hand to ask a question. nudge. jiwoo drops her wand and picks it up. nudge. jiwoo smiles and nods at the professor's words. hard nudge. jiwoo does anything. nudge.
"i swear to salazar slytherin if you do not keep your fucking elbow to yourself i am going to make sure you and heejin never get to see your firstborn child."
"you're so fucking dramatic, sooyoung. has anyone told you that you need to loosen up? have some fun! be more like... jiwoo," hyunjin adds with an amused smile, as they both turn to look at jiwoo, now executing a happy dance for being the only one (other than hyunjin and sooyoung, again) to execute a nonverbal water-making spell. hyunjin just had to laugh when sooyoung lets out "what the fuuuck i'm fucked fucked fucked!" and a guttural groan.
(and of course, she finally gains the confidence to perform the patronus charm perfectly, like the professor wanted. professor yoo had shaken her head in what looked like admiration and disbelief, and asked if she wanted to join her research team next year. hyunjin didn't even know charms research was a thing, but still said yes anyway.
the prospect of working with the professor seemed even better after heejin had given her a congratulatory kiss on the cheek for that. being talented sure does have additional... perks.)
/
she manages to organise the slytherin team tryouts without much of a problem. jinsoul is a great help, and sooyoung is too, but only to a morally-obligated extent.
the second and third year children stream onto the field, and hyunjin gets flashbacks to when she was in their position, waiting anxiously for a chance to prove herself worthy.
funny how so many things have changed since then.
for starters, vivi isn't attending school with her anymore. she hears rumours about the woman training with the hong kong hornets— her hometown quidditch team— while working for a newspaper as a freelance writer, and wishes for a chance to properly thank her for everything she's done for her. she hears more often from haseul, weirdly enough, because the woman works in gringott's seoul branch as a banker. she doesn't dare ask what their relationship has come of, but hyunjin figures if anyone could withstand the pain of a long-distance relationship, it's vivi and haseul.
and now, she has jungeun in the stands, jinsoul to back her up; and heck, even sooyoung and jiwoo supporting her.
of course, heejin as well. but there's not much else to say about the girlfriend that nobody doesn't know already.
things go well, until she makes the mistake of letting jinsoul play keeper against a bunch of rookies. the girl gets this odd fire in her eyes whenever jungeun is in the stands. hyunjin should have known.
holding her breath, she watches a sweet-looking second year named wonyoung try to throw the quaffle past the best keeper in the school. her cute looks can't make up for the fact that it's a weak throw, and hyunjin winces in anticipation.
"take that!" and there goes their fifth potential chaser, running off while crying. the team is running low on chasers as it is, and the deficit will become more apparent once she steps down next season.
she ignores the sad thought of graduating from the team, and makes their seeker hyejoo play as keeper instead. at least that will level the playing field, somewhat.
(jinsoul only agrees to ditch the broomstick when hyunjin tells her that she had left the captains-only bathroom door unlocked, and that she's free to use it for "whatever the hell you want to do with jungeun, just clean up after, please." )
heejin waits for her outside the stadium for when she's done packing up her stuff. the bathroom seems locked when hyunjin tries to access it, so she decides to take the shower she desperately needs back at the dungeons instead.
besides, heejin probably thinks she looks kinda hot in her jersey. her suspicions are confirmed when heejin gets a coughing fit just from seeing her emerge from the gates. the rosiness on her cheeks speak for themselves.
"can you please warn me next time if you're not going to shower?" heejin takes her hand, and they head off for the dungeons.
"it's the jersey, isn't it? you're secretly liking this," hyunjin laughs, gesturing up and down at herself.
heejin's eyes widen at the insinuation. "no, no, no, no no no no no. no. no! oh my god," heejin flicks her on the arm when she guffaws. the gryffindor's cheek reddens to the bright shade of her house colour. "quit messing with me! it's because you stink and, stop laughing! i'm going to take your privileges a-"
hyunjin steps in front of her abruptly, and heejin just loses track of whatever the hell she was saying. because look at her, shit! the athlete raises her eyebrows, as if to challenge her.
(okay, maybe hyunjin did make some points there.)
"not today, sweetie. i'm taking away your kissing privileges until you admit that i'm," hyunjin adds, pausing for emphasis and gesturing to herself again like a fool, "a full course meal in this."
"you don't- that's my line and hey, i can't run as fast as you, asshole!"
when heejin finally catches up to her at the entrance to the main tower, they forget all their childish threats, and heejin admits that yes, hyunjin does look really really good in her jersey. she smiles so widely that it physically hurts, and heejin has to quite literally kiss the smile off her face.
/
quidditch season rolls around faster than expected. hyunjin feels an inexplicable sense of loss and nostalgia.
sure, she will get to help out and still play some quidditch next year, like jinsoul and sooyoung do. it's just not the same. next year, she'll be sitting in the stands instead of where she currently is, waiting to walk onto the field with her broom in hand.
"um, hyunjin?" she turns around at the sound of her name. the timid voice belongs to wonyoung, already towering over her even though she's four years younger.
(hyunjin had ran after the second year jinsoul scared off to get her to try other positions. the girl turned out to be a pretty decent keeper herself, and hyunjin took her into the team without hesitation.)
"i don't think i should play today, my hands are really sweaty and i'm really nervous and i hurled out my lunch just now... like what if i cost everyone the game because i can't keep the rest of my lunch in later? oh my god, i'm going to hurl again, oh my god."
wonyoung paces around in front of her, and hyunjin laughs at the nervous energy the girl exudes. hyunjin grabs her by the shoulders, and sits her down by one of the benches. following hyunjin's advice, wonyoung takes a few deep breaths.
and then she starts rambling again.
hyunjin stops her rant by interrupting her. "hey you wanna know what heejin said about you?"
"h-heejin?! like your girlfriend?"
"yeah, that one," hyunjin flashes a wide smile. "she said i did the right thing calling you back to try out as keeper, because you're amazing. perhaps in a few years you'll be even better than jinsoul, but don't tell her we said that."
"really? you really mean that?" wonyoung looks more hopeful, and less dizzy.
hyunjin nods. she digs around the box of equipment beside her, fishing out a bag of chalk.
"now dry your hands. we're going to destroy hufflepuff!"
they do indeed, destroy hufflepuff. but somehow, seeing wonyoung excel made her more happy than the win itself.
hyunjin can't help but feel like she's a real captain now.
/
"do you want kids?"
heejin spits out the water she's drinking, and hyunjin gets some flashbacks to jungeun doing the exact same thing. seriously, what is with her and bad timing?
heejin coughs out the rest of the water from the lungs, sputtering, "hyunjin, we're barely eighteen."
"yeah, i know. but i feel like a mum with all my kids every quidditch practice," hyunjin continues. heejin sits back down beside her, sneaking an arm behind her waist and snuggling into her. "the younger ones always come to me for advice, wonyoung especially. and it got me thinking if i would be a good mother."
"wonyoung loves you. i'm sure your real kids will too," heejin shifts in her place to rest her head on hyunjin's shoulder. the sofa can fit five people, but they occupy less than a quarter of it. "you don't have to worry about anything, if that's what this is about. you're protective, you're strong, you're already a good mentor to your quidditch kids. you'll be great."
hyunjin’s throat goes dry as she figures out a reply, her heart racing in her chest as she shifts her gaze onto the girl in her arms. “you really think that?”
“i know that,” heejin assures her.
"well if you think so then it's true... thank you," hyunjin says, pressing a kiss onto heejin's forehead as she softly adds, "they're going to be your kids too, you know."
"they better be."
/
slytherin beats out gryffindor way too easily, for which jungeun flicks her on the forehead twice for not even giving their house a chance. heejin hits her on the arm too, but only after jungeun threatens to report her for "treasonous behaviour".
jinsoul smartly keeps her mouth shut during the entire exchange, and only hi-fives hyunjin with a pleased smile after their girlfriends had walked ahead of them.
they meet ravenclaw in the finals, as expected. their roster looks almost the same as last year's, but the team has gotten exponentially better. for the first time this season, the game's result is in question for them.
and for the first time since fourth year, heejin won't be in the stands cheering for her.
jiwoo had found out about her sneaking out on that one prefects' meeting to meet hyunjin, after jinsoul had accidentally let slip of the fact that she had seen them two together that day. as a punishment, she has to patrol the outside of the stadium and make sure no one was going to be setting off dungbombs during the game. not a very fun job at all. the head girl refused to let her off and said it was meant to be an "example" for the rest of the prefects.
hyunjin would have also attacked her as an "example", but heejin stopped her before jiwoo can take any points away from slytherin. jiwoo will pay for it in the next charms lesson, provided sooyoung isn't there to lay her life down to protect the girl.
couple that with an entire team looking to her for assurance? hyunjin is Stressed, with a capital S.
a runner tells them it's half an hour before play starts, which means pep talk time. she remembers sooyoung's riveting speech from last year, but knows she isn't charismatic enough to pull that off. jinsoul had adviced her to smile and be positive, but she isn't good at that either. jungeun told her to be honest, but she might crack and reveal how nervous she actually is. none of the options were great.
"hey hyejoo, where's hyunjin?"
her head snaps up at the familiar voice.
"pacing around over there," hyejoo informs.
it's heejin, a face that brings relief, bliss and confusion all at once.
"jiwoo gave me a pass after i begged to never do it again. i think she kind of knew i was going to sneak off during the game anyway," heejin whispers into her ear as they hug. hyunjin leans in, but she deftly dodges the kiss, adding, "not in front of your kids!"
indeed, hyunjin looks up and makes eye contact with wonyoung who looks like a deer caught in headlights. she turns quickly, making for a pretty comical sight. they both awkwardly clear their throats at the same time.
hyunjin takes them to a more secluded corner. "alright, so why are you really here? please say it's the jersey-"
"it's not the jersey, oh my god," heejin replies in annoyance. hyunjin covers her mouth to laugh at this. "i thought i'd come in and watch on proudly by the side as you give your pep talk."
"ah, about that... i have no idea how i'm going to do that."
"a pep talk? you're their captain. just talk to them," heejin says it like it is the easiest thing in the world, and hyunjin feels tempted to believe her. "okay, tell me what you want from this game."
"i want to win" is a programmed response of hers, but somehow she feels she wouldn't believe herself if she said it aloud.
"i just want us to play a good game, the kind where everyone feels good about themselves afterwards. i don't even care if we lose. i would hate to see them cry, especially the younger ones. that's... that's not very slytherin of me, is it?"
"well it isn't," heejin says, her tone laced with what can only be pride. "but it is very hyunjin of you to do that. you should tell them that, captain."
with a few more words of assurance, a pat on the back and a kiss for good luck, hyunjin is ready.
not for the game, for the pep talk.
/
"i'm not sure how i'm supposed to do this, but i'll try my best alright? firstly, let me thank all of you guys for being such wonderful teammates, thank you for listening to me and trusting me, and thank you for destroying gryffindor and hufflepuff with me. we've been pretty impressive, i must say." that earns her a few laughs.
she sees donghyuck soar through the air, the quaffle in his hands, and he gives her a nod in the direction he wants her to go. calling for the other chasers, they form some kind of flying huddle, and the quaffle gets passed to hyunjin in the midst of it all.
ravenclaw gets confused, and hardly notice the switch. the three chasers in green jerseys diverge from their formation, and five blue streaks go after donghyuck.
that's when hyunjin scores.
"TEN POINTS TO SLYTHERIN!"
"it has been a long journey for me. but it hasn't been very easy either. i didn't have many friends and quidditch was my sole outlet and much of my self-worth was placed in how well i did in this sport, you know? i really wanted to win, and i did. but i thought i was happy, but i wasn't truly happy."
hyunjin scans the field as her house erupts in cheers. the ravenclaw chasers and beater receive an earful from their captain, a beater himself. he's distracted for a moment and ironically gets a bludger sent his way by one of slytherin's beaters. the captain gets knocked off his broomstick, tumbling a few feet.
hyejoo is in a distance, roaming around. she hasn't spotted the snitch, but it's too early into the game anyway.
and then there's renjun, a ravenclaw chaser, coming straight at her with the quaffle tucked into his abdomen with his left hand. it's too late to do anything, and she prepares for the impact.
renjun sends her flying straight into the arena wall, but not hard enough to injure her. it does mildly annoy her though, beyond the slight dizziness from the impact.
(she can already picture jungeun jumping in her seat calling for a foul.)
he scores, but she gets him back the next play with an assist of her own. changbin throws the quaffle in perfectly, and they are back ahead by ten points.
"i had a really tough time last year, and my life was a mess. i skipped classes, went to the headmaster's office so often i can now call headmaster park my friend, and just had a really tough time in general. i had nothing going for me, except quidditch, and a few other things." she looks up, and locks eyes with heejin. the girl flashes a knowing smile.
twenty minutes pass, and the game has been tight throughout. ravenclaw is starting to use the tactics that hyunjin specifically warned her team not to reciprocate.
a chaser in blue flies too close to hyunjin when she receives the quaffle from changbin. the girl sneers at her, and she only hears the word 'dyke' come out of her mouth before hyunjin takes off and leaves her in the dust, vehemently ignoring any anger bubbling in her chest.
the keeper blocks her shot, giving a shout of joy that seemed more aimed at her than anything else. the throw was weak.
she shakes her head, hoping to clear out the feelings of frustration and injustice. that's when she spots the red and gold, amidst the green and silver.
an eagerness to do her friends and her girlfriend proud replaces the negativity instantly. it is that easy.
(but just for the record, she did get that ravenclaw bitch back. she does it legally, of course, by asking jisung and eunbin to send the bludger her way.)
"quidditch kept me out of trouble, i'm sure most of you remember sooyoung's worst trainings. i literally couldn't get up sometimes to cause the trouble i wanted to cause." some of her teammates groan at the memory, one even shouting "yours were hell too!", to which all of them nodded in unison. hyunjin just laughs. "you guys are strong, quit complaining!"
the burning in her thighs starts as it always does: with an ache. she can even feel a growing bruise in her right shoulder, and an inexplainable pain in her temple from when renjun collided into her again on purpose. from the grimaces of their opponents, it seems like the fatigue is getting to them as well. but her team, dare she say, is hanging on better than ravenclaw is.
when renjun and the same girl try to intentionally knock into her again, it's way more clumsy, and she only needs to pull her broom up suddenly for the two chasers to collide into each other.
("THAT'S THE STUFF! TAKE THAT RAVENCLAW!" sooyoung's voice rings through the stadium. how fitting was it that she was the one that taught hyunjin that neat little trick?
"SOOYOUNG GET OUT OF HERE I'M THE ANNOUNCER!")
"anyways, that's when i found out how much joy this sport brought me. it's not just the game, it's experiencing your entire house cheering for you, your friends in the stands waving at you, the wind on your face as you soar through the air. it's screaming so loudly that your own ears hurt when you see that hyejoo has the golden snitch." the seeker dips her head in embarrassment as the rest of the team pats her on the back.
the game slows down slightly, and she has time to throw wonyoung a thumbs-up to ask if she's alright. the keeper shoots her a smile and enthusiastically nods instead of throwing a thumbs-up back, and it does make her smile too.
hyejoo, however, is out of sight. and so is the other team's seeker.
she ignores the possibility of the game ending soon, and cheers with her house as donghyuck scores through the legs of the faltering keeper.
"it's also walking out of the stadium and into the arms of your supporters, your friends, your loved ones." hyunjin shifts her gaze off of hyejoo and onto the person leaning against the lockers in the corner.
"hey, you! ask your goonies to stop aiming the bludger at my face."
hyunjin speeds up, passing the quaffle in her hand to changbin. he executes a fake pass back to hyunjin, causing the ravenclaw girl taunting her to flinch for some reason.
"did you hear me? i said ask your damn goonies to stop!"
"i'm sorry, what? i can't hear you over your raging homophobia."
the girl— hyunjin doesn't even know her name— looks like she's about to explode. she again, steers too closely to hyunjin. this time, she makes sure to grab hyunjin by the collar, and yank her hard.
hyunjin only has time to stare in shock before she's falling.
"today i want us to play the game the right way. we'll honour the sport. no tricks, no foul play, no taunting. ravenclaw will get into our heads, and we won't let it get to us."
her hands reach desperately for her broom. she's never fallen off her broom in game before, not from this height anyway. she can see the stands, and the crowd, all seemingly paused in time. a collective gasp rings out the arena.
this is how i die, oh my god, i'll never see heejin again. or mum. or grandpa and grandma, motherfuck-
a pair of arms grab her mid-air, and she hears a grunt before realising she's saved.
she only manages a quick sigh of relief before her broom falls right into her arms, and she mounts it quickly enough. the breath the entire arena was holding is replaced by a celebratory cheer.
"captain! i'm sorry i left the goal open!"
in that instance, ravenclaw scores. it's the bitch, whooping for joy. then, jeers erupt from the stands.
both houses are booing the ravenclaw chaser.
"no, you did good wonyoung! you did good. you saved my life. thank you!"
"i've learnt that it's more than just winning, and i want you guys to know that too. so today, no matter the result, i don't want any tears to be shed. only smiles, got it?"
if this was any other team, the girl would have just set herself up for a public execution. bludgers would be sent her way instantly and relentlessly. she would be shoved and roughed up consistently for showing such blatant disrespect. seekers may stop their chase for the golden snitch just to get at her. someone from the stands might even secretly set her broomstick on fire for it.
but this is hyunjin's team. and hyunjin's house.
she flashes a smile instead, and waves to her home crowd. the rest of her team raise a thumbs-up at her show of amicability, and the jeering stops.
"A HUNDRED AND TWENTY TO A HUNDRED, RAVENCLAW LEADS! CHANGBIN GETS THE QUAFFLE FROM THE KEEPER, AND PASSES IT OVER ALL THREE RAVENCLAW CHASERS! AND THERE THE QUAFFLE GOES... RIGHT INTO HYUNJIN'S OUTSTRETCHED HAND!"
her eyes zero in on her target, and she starts another race to the goalpost.
"but of course, we'll still try our best to win. we wouldn't be slytherin if we don't, would we?"
but before her quaffle manages to make it through the goal, the final whistle blows.
the snitch has been caught.
/
ravenclaw supporters stream onto the field, and it is instantly chaotic. hyunjin groans and presses the side of her temple that's still buzzing with a pain she can't explain. it doesn't work, and her head still hurts. at least no one is trying to challenge the outcome of the game. not yet, anyway. that would be even more of a headache.
slytherin won, fair and square. no thanks to hyejoo again. hyunjin ruffles her hair and calls her a "beast", to which the girl only gives a small, embarrased smile. the team doesn't lift her up as they did last year, because things look like they could be escalating. ravenclaw looks murderous, and while the players haven't technically challenged the outcome of the game, their belligerent behaviour and hard glares tell hyunjin that they haven't fully accepted it either.
she still gives everyone on her team a pat on the back (and a hug for wonyoung, her life saviour), and tells them it was a job well done. when headmaster park approaches to congratulate them, it isn't all about their superior quidditch skills either: it was their collectedness, maturity and utmost showing of sportsmanship and teamwork; it was their attitude in the face of a sore-losing opponent; it was also a redemption arc for hyunjin, the angry teenager turned respected captain. the headmaster gives her a fist bump for that one.
as they await the official prize presentation of the game, hyunjin tries to look out for her friends. most of slytherin is still clearing out from the stands, so it wasn't weird that they were so slow to make it down to the field.
when they do though, they make sure to make a scene.
heejin is fuming, if her long strides and balled up fists are any indication. jungeun has to run to catch up to the hot-headed girl. jinsoul trails even further behind them, holding three wands, presumably heejin's, jungeun's and her own so that they wouldn't do anything stupid to get themselves in to trouble.
her girlfriend doesn't even spare a glance at her as she storms straight towards the bitch that made her fall off her broom.
oh. that's not ideal. the pain in her head resurfaces, probably presaging what was to come.
(hyunjin's not going to lie, heejin being mad on her behalf is kind of hot. but still, however attractive it is, heejin doesn't need to engage the homophobe and warrant getting punched, or worse, end up with a smear on her near-perfect track record.)
before heejin can even raise her hand to tap the girl's shoulder, hyunjin steps in front of her, and drags her away by the hand.
"let go of me! that asshole needs to be taught a-"
"YOU BITCH!"
they both turn to see jungeun pointing an accusatory finger at the now-offended girl, who's gaping at her.
jinsoul restrains her from the back as jungeun lifts up a fist, seemingly about to throw a punch. hyunjin has to sprint over to drag her other friend away by the hand, with jinsoul's help. heejin rushes over as well, to avoid standing around alone in a crowd of energetic ravenclaw students, if anything else.
hyunjin manages a glance back at the girl, who examines them with a sneer.
"fucking dykes," she repeats. hyunjin has to swallow back a curse. she turns away without so much as a lingering stare, afraid that she wouldn't be able to control her anger if she looked at her sickening face any longer. "a pureblood dating a mudblood, how interesting. they'll let anyone do anything they want these days-"
everything happens in a flash. she sees a streak of black fly across her eyes, hears the sound of bone hitting flesh, and barely registers the screams before she's turning around. there's a piercing pain in her temple that is amplified in that instant.
the scene that greets her is one she'll probably never forget: heejin with a bloodied fist, and that ravenclaw chaser writhing on the floor, everyone seemingly pasued in time out of shock-- before she blacks out herself, her world spinning away into a calm darkness as she falls face first to the ground.
/
(heejin hasn't left hyunjin's bedside since she got sent to the infirmary.
okay so maybe punching the girl wasn't a good idea after all— though she did explain her reasons for inciting such violence and got away with added patrol duty as punishment. mdm im did manage to fix the girl's broken nose to some extent, as she did heejin's fractured knuckles. the girl hadn't so much as looked in heejin's direction since, scrambling out of the infirmary once the healer was done with her. heejin thinks getting extra patrol duty for inflicting pain on that mother bleeper was— dare she say— pretty worth it.
except now her girlfriend's in her fifteenth straight hour of passing out, and having already spent one sleepless night in the gryffindor towers per mdm im's instructions, twisting and turning and cursing whenever she so much as touched her injured hand, heejin doesn't dare think it was worth it at all.
in the morning, mdm im had told her that hyunjin's fainting spell was not so much of a cause, but a symptom of a concussion she suffered during the game from the constant collisions. her guilt dissipates, replaced by a familiar fiery hot rage. her fist was three bad thoughts away from having a chat with renjun's face for that one, but she decides to forgive him after he turns up by hyunjin's bedside to apologise for his aggression.
heejin does put a little jinx on him though— renjun will be walking around for days with a tail trailing behind him. slightly gross, but also worth it. all in the name of retribution for her beloved.
still, the satisfaction that comes with getting back at them is overshadowed by the worry she has for hyunjin. jungeun brings her food so she doesn't go hungry, but she can't stomach more than a few bites of whatever lunch was. she prodes hyunjin here and there, even massaging her probably-aching thighs, singing their fabourite songs, all to no avail. hyunjin's eyes are glued shut.
before night falls again, mdm im tells her hyunjin will probably be awake soon, perhaps by the next morning. she'll be fine, just tired if and when she wakes up. she heaves a huge sigh of relief, hugging a visiting jiwoo tightly after receiving the good news.
at the twenty-eighth hour, jiwoo leaves with sooyoung, and she finally caves, wishing for a good dream while she sleeps with only her head resting on the bed, and hyunjin's hand in her non-bandaged one. )
(it's near midnight as heejin drifts into a wonder-filled slumber. jinsoul visits the infirmary, more to check up on heejin than hyunjin. as expected, the girl is dressed in her same sweater over a shirt and her tie off, her attire just way too flimsy to effectively withstand the cold. heejin is hunched over in her chair, head resting by hyunjin's side, legs trembling invoulntarily from the cold. she places a blanket around the girl's shoulders, and another on her freezing legs, careful not to wake her younger friend up. per jungeun's request she also makes sure that hyunjin is tucked in properly, safe from the chilly winter cold. as she makes a move to finally leave she observes the first snow falling from the windows, and smiles to herself.
hyunjin will be alright, and so will heejin.
when she reaches the dungeons, jungeun's already in her bed waiting for her, her open arms and wide smile a clear invitation for a warm and cuddly night ahead.)
jinsoul's right, and hyunjin recovers in no time. so does heejin's hand, with the help of (heejin swears by this) hyunjin's kisses to her knuckles.
life resumes as per normal. the trio share herbology class, hang out with jinsoul and even jiwoo on occasion; hyunjin teases sooyoung relentlessly in charms, and plays pick-up quidditch when she has free time; heejin's constantly surprising hyunjin with her vast collection of muggle romcoms in her smuggled laptop (she may be a prefect but she's not jungeun); jungeun and jinsoul are spending more time than ever with each other.
and just like that, year six draws to a close. slytherin wins the house cup to nobody's surprise, and jungeun promises to dock points from slytherin the first thing next year out of pure spite.
it's june already. they've taken their inconsequential finals exams, aced them, and all been promoted to seventh year. right before they leave for break, heejin makes a request. just the three of them hanging out, like old times.
"you do know that jungeun and i never agreed to be part of this trio we have going on right?" hyunjin laughs as heejin pulls them into hogsmeades' finest restaurant, three broomsticks.
"and what do you mean by 'like old times'? our friendship is barely three years old," jungeun adds. heejin doesn't even flinch.
"you guys act like i'm the only one holding the three of us together," heejin sighs, a hint of a smile showing. they get seated down by a window that overlooks hogsmeade, decorated by spring. hyunjin and heejin side by side, and jungeun opposite them, as always. "and yet you both secretly asked me what the other wanted for their birthdays. it's cute that you guys are still trying to convince me that you hate each other."
"i-"
"okay-"
heejin breaks into a giggle as her two best friends look away from each other, rolling their eyes.
"let's just-" jungeun clears her throat, grabbing a flying menu from the air.
hyunjin snorts. "yeah, let's just order."
/
"no, i swear to albus dumbledore that it won't work! disarming charms are meant to disarm, you're just gonna get proven wrong," hyunjin asserts. jungeun raises her eyebrows and wraps her other hand around her wand this time, muttering a "do it".
their leftover food turns cold because of the stupid challenge, and heejin sips the last of her butterbeer, amused at the situation. right before hyunjin casts the spell though, she wraps her own hands tightly around jungeun's wand, but not without sighing and making a comment about how foolish they were being.
as usual, hyunjin and jungeun just don't care. hyunjin flicks her wand with a soft "expelliarmus!".
the wand rips through the air from their hands despite their best efforts to hold it down. the wand clatters noisily as it lands on the floor a few feet away from them. hyunjin gives a holler in celebration, while jungeun dips her head, producing a galleon from her pocket and shoving it into hyunjin's outstretched hand.
heejin looks around for the wand, and watches a stranger pick it up.
"hey, is this any of yours?" a familiar voice asks.
hyunjin reaches for jungeun's wand, eyes flitting to the owner of the voice, and barely hears her own voice when she says, "oh yeah, thanks... hyunjin."
(heejin audibly gasps. she'd never seen the mysterious hwang hyunjin that her girlfriend used to date, and has only ever heard his name in passing. he was a slytherin too, but hyunjin's preference for heejin's room and the gryffindor towers meant heejin never really got to see the rest of the slytherin cohort, including this guy. hyunjin's first kiss. she doesn't know what to make of him, not yet anyway, not when hyunjin epitomises "kiss-and-not-tell" as personality trait.)
hyunjin assumes she looks terrified to have come across her ex while she was with heejin, an occurrence that strangely hasn't had the chance to unfold yet, until now. she is terrified. her eyes dart involuntarily between heejin (who's staring at boy-hyunjin) and hyunjin (who's staring at her).
well, it's been years, but it's still awkward.
she's still searching for words to say when hyunjin finally cracks a smile at her. the tension seems to diffuse, and she laughs softly as well. she still remembers the last conversation they had with each other. there were no hard feelings, but they didn't manage to remain friends either.
"hey, i'm the ex-boyfriend that got her to realise she liked girls," hyunjin sticks out a hand to heejin with a wide smile. no hard feelings. "you must be the one that has her smiling like a fool all the time. it's nice to finally put a face to the name."
"you must be hyunjin, then. likewise," heejin replies, taking his hand with a little smile. jungeun just nods at him, and hyunjin seems satisfied with just that.
hyunjin asks heejin and jungeun about the subjects they're taking, which honestly isn't too bad of a conversation starter. but if she could, hyunjin would much rather be in curled up in a hole underground. she'd never thought they would cross paths like this. hyunjin and heejin being friendly though, was a pleasant surprise, but it wasn't like hwang hyunjin ever had trouble being likeable anyway. he tells a joke that she misses, and heejin actually laughs along with him.
cool.
a hufflepuff boy walks by their table, stopping to ruffle hyunjin's hair, to his annoyance. in between whispers, it seemed like he was trying to tell him that the rest of his group of friends were leaving already.
"alright, alright i'll go soon, just wait a little while," hyunjin says, shooing the cheery hufflepuff away. hyunjin notices that his stare lingers a little longer than necessary on the boy before he turns his attention back on the girls. interesting. "guess i'll see you guys around? maybe stop trying to avoid me whenever you're with heejin so i can say hi."
"oh my god, i... okay, yeah, of course. i'll see you around, hyunjin," she replies. he finally leaves, and she lets out the groan she's been holding back. hyunjin nearly cracks her skull open from how hard she drops her head on the table.
"be careful! you just recovered from a concussion," heejin reminds her, slightly worried.
"she's fine. also, she recovered three months ago! stop being such a worrywart. anyways, back to what i was going to say," jungeun adds. "he's nice! and also very into woojin."
"you know that hufflepuff guy he was totally googly eyes for?” heejin asks.
"yeah, he's jinsoul's partner for their research project on thestrals. woojin and jinsoul are friends because they're both giant softies for the weirdiest creatures. woojin's gay too by the way, so they are like each other's gay best friend of the opposite sex or something. but yeah, hyunjin was totally into him. the eyes say it all."
"oh my god, i saw it too," hyunjin chimes in with her head still on the table, still reeling in the aftermath of whatever the hell that decent, amiable, perfectly socially acceptable interaction with her ex was.
and hyunjin's gay too? okay. cool. heejin caresses her head softly from across the table, smoothing out her now messy hair.
"oh but what are the chances both people once in a straight relationship end up both being gay? were you really that bad for each other or..."
"jungeun, just shut up, please."
/
"okay, truth time. don't lie to us," heejin asks just as jungeun takes a sip of her butterbeer. "why are you and jinsoul spending so much time together?"
jungeun chokes, and hyunjin holds up her hands before she can spit it all out onto her, again. she doesn't thankfully, and holds it down enough to swallow before answering.
"fuck, we're dating, heejin."
"yeah duh, but it's sooooo excessive. and you're clingy. you're hardly ever clingy," heejin continues. hyunjin nods along with her. "i saw you hug your pillow to sleep because she slept on it the other day."
"i hug my pillow every day! i'm a normal person!"
hyunjin snickers, shaking her head. "sounds clingy to me... also it's truth time! speak the truth, jungeun, or die."
"fuck, i hate that you two automatically outnumber me," jungeun groans. “fine. she's graduating. when we come back in september she won't be here anymore. you guys ever thought of that?"
"well, we always thought she'll come back to be an understudy to professor kim anyway... doesn't she want to be a magizoologist?" heejin asks, verbalising hyunjin's exact thoughts.
"she does," jungeun sighs. "she got an offer to start work at scamander zoo, and her job starts in november. her professor recommended her for the job, and they liked her so much they bypassed the understudy thing. did you guys know she got 'outstanding' grades for every subject?"
"and she's on a research team? wow, shit. i knew she was smart but i didn't know she was smart smart," hyunjin replies sympathetically when she hits a realisation. “ah, scamander zoo is pretty far away..."
"you think? it's half the country away." now, it's jungeun who has her head on the table. "probably a day on the nimbus 5000 or two."
"or you could take the damn train like the rest of us do," heejin chimes in. "busan is a few hours away by ktx..."
"oh." the two pure-bloods stare at each other for a while.
"oh," hyunjin cheers. "yay muggle technology!"
"ugh, anyway, i'll think about my about-to-be long-distance relationship later," jungeun checks the time on the clock hanging across the restaurant. "i have to go. i'm meeting jinsoul before we get to see each other only over facetime."
"facetime? you know how to use facetime now?" heejin laughs at her the prospect of her pure-blooded friend fumbling and bumbling her way through a smartphone. jungeun just narrows her eyes at her, though she does look slightly embarrassed.
the girl takes her leave, giving the couple some time together. hyunjin mutters "finally" a little too loudly to be considered subtle. jungeun flicks her on the head before heading for the door though, and they both laugh.
(heejin kisses the spot on her forehead subjected to all the abuse, for the record.)
dusk approaches quickly, and they bide some time with the sunlight, wading through the growing plots of lavender and tulips on their way back to hogwarts.
when they arrive, the sky is completely darkened. stars take their place in the night sky, and they take a moment to stare up in wonderment, still hand-in-hand.
heejin suggests they go to the astronomy tower, because "why not?". it is the last day of school after all. hyunjin doesn't argue with that, and lets herself get tugged along, the tunes of their giggling carried away by the breeze.
walking the entire stairway up is kind of a chore, and even hyunjin has a hard time catching her breath. she puts on a steely demeanour for heejin still, heaving and dragging both their weights up the highest tower in hogwarts.
the place is just as they remember it to be in fifth year astronomy classes: a parapet with a stunning a view in every direction, and an open roof with access to a stunning piece of starry sky. it takes their breath away momentarily.
instinctively, their legs take them to the balcony. the star-ridden sky stretches on infinitely, blanketing the hills and rivers, giving them a sort of shimmer. it is stunning. heejin places her arms on the handrails, stretching her body forward in an attempt to take in more of the landscape. like clockwork, hyunjin wraps her arms around heejin's waist from behind.
they stay like this for a while, enjoying the beauty the night has to offer. hyunjin doesn't dare to move, afraid she'll ruin the perfect harmony they created. still, she's not fearful enough to resist pressing a kiss on the top of heejin's head out of pure instinct.
"so we're still going to see sooyoung next year right? teacher intern and stuff. but jinsoul? i'll miss her so much," heejin starts. it's a thought laced with melancholy, now that hyunjin processes it. she's known the keeper for years now, and it feels awfully like the time vivi graduated.
"we'll all miss her. but it'll just be a year," hyunjin tries not to sound too sad. "and then we'll graduate too, and we can go see her anytime we want. oh, and the animals she'll be taking care of as well!"
silence hangs in the air momentarily. hyunjin can tell heejin is thinking.
"you know we've haven't really talked about this... but will we be okay? you're going to be so busy as an auror and i... i'll probably have to stay in st. mungo's for my first year of residency."
hyunjin furrows her eyebrows at the thought of them separating. "we'll get an apartment then. just for us. we could live near the hospital, and then i'll use the floo network to go to the ministry. sound good?"
"yeah, sounds good," heejin sighs contently. "but where are we going to get the money?"
"baby, we're not even close to leaving hogwarts yet. can we figure that out when we get there?"
heejin laughs at that. "yeah, okay."
/
later into the night, heejin pulls out a box from her pocket. she opens it with shaky hands, asking hyunjin to look away while she does it. the girl cheekily refuses to do so, and heejin has to clamp a hand over her eyes, and fumble around the tiny box with the other.
"are you going to kiss me sierra burgess style? i'm not too fond of catfishes, just so you know and i really don’t want to kiss anybody but you-“
“shut up,” heejin scolds, though hyunjin can picture the smile on her face. finally, after a little shuffling around, hyunjin feels a piece of cool metal pressing into her palm.
heejin lets her hand fall from hyunjin’s face, watching on excitedly. hyunjin blinks hard at the plain silver band on her palm as she realises what heejin has just given her.
a ring.
“i do,” hyunjin blurts out before heejin even says anything.
“i-i haven’t even said anything! you’re supposed to listen to my speech about how these are promise rings and they were pretty cheap but i’m promising you that when we get older we’ll get nicer rings and you don’t have to wear it now but i was going to just give it to you so that you know that i’m in it… for real.”
there’s a slight pause before they’re both grinning at each other. the soft moonlight illuminates heejin’s face, and there are literal stars in her eyes. hyunjin brushes the stray hairs away from heejin’s face, resting her hand on her cheek. the girl leans into it. “i wanted to be the one to do that, but i guess what’s done is done now… i’m in it for real too. so, are you going to put this on my finger or what?”
“but we haven’t said our vows!” heejin whines, holding her own ring up to eye-level. “i solemnly swear that i will be there for you, all the time, whenever you need me.”
“even when i’m concussed?” hyunjin raises her eyebrows, dropping her hand from heejin’s face to hold her hand instead.
“especially when you’re concussed.” heejin swiftly puts the ring onto the index finger on hyunjin’s left hand.
“alright, then i promise that i’ll get us that apartment, and i promise to never hide anything from you again, and i promise my patronus will never change again.”
while putting the ring on for heejin, she quickly adds, “also, i promise to eventually put that ring on your ring finger.”
heejin’s eyes soften momentarily, shyly replying, “okay, you’re gonna have to stop doing that for this relationship to work.”
“doing what?” hyunjin asks incredulously with a laugh.
“out-romancing me!”
hyunjin laughs even more, pulling heejin forward slightly as she replies earnestly, “that is not a thing. also, i’m not the one who pulled out promise rings at the top of the astronomy tower.”
“just shut up,” heejin groans, letting herself fall into hyunjin’s ready arms and burying her face onto her shoulder. “i love you.”
hyunjin hugs her tighter to herself, wondering how she ever got this lucky.
“i love you too.”
/
“you ready?”
“i don’t think i’ll ever be more ready,” heejin replies, hands still shaking. hyunjin takes her left hand, willing her gryffindor girlfriend to have courage. she feels the ring on heejin’s finger, and grins to herself.
“don’t worry, he’ll love you,” hyunjin says softly. heejin nods, still visibly nervous as they enter the cemetary. she lets her instincts take over, and they make their way to a particular gravestone.
“hey dad,” hyunjin smiles, bending over to brush away the fallen leaves that have gathered since the last time she visited. she sets down the fresh flowers, and returns to heejin’s side, intertwining their hands.
“i want you to meet heejin…”