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Chapter Text

Ha Sooyoung isn't the most gifted when it comes to chemistry. She doesn't get the formulas and weird math that goes into it all. She's not dumb, she just keeps mixing up the equations and things like that. Now if you were taking about having chemistry with people, yeah, that's what she's good at.

She was good at reading people. Hell, she even studied people. More specifically people and living organisms as a whole, since biology is what she's majoring in.

People say biology and chemistry are related, but she just doesn't see it.

“What do you mean you don't see it?” Kim Jungeun, Sooyoung’s lab partner, sighed for the umpteenth time that week. “Biology literally needs chemistry to work! The interactions with atoms, molecules, and compounds are exactly what-”

“Jungeun,” Sooyoung interrupted, “One: don’t care. Two: this is the 10th time you've told me this and it's only the third week of class.” The chemistry lab was also only held twice a week. The amount of times Sooyoung had heard the other girl complaining about the same thing was excessive.

Jungeun crossed her arms with a huff. “That's because you didn't understand it the other nine times I've told you.”

She might have tried to mumble it but Sooyoung heard her loud and clear. “I don't need to understand why, I just need to pass this class.”

“But aren't you going to take-”

“I'll worry about it when the time comes.”

“That's not very responsible-”

“Neither is letting the mixture boil over when it's supposed to be simmering.” A new voice entered the conversation startling Sooyoung and Jungeun. They stopped their bickering and faced their instructor.

“Sorry, Dr. Jeong.” “Sorry, Professor Jeong.”

Professor Jeong turned off burner.

“I expect more out of you, Jungeun.”

Jungeun glared at Sooyoung, who shrugged and stared at her nails. It wasn't her fault Jungeun turned the burner on high. The instructions said to keep a low flame. Maybe if Jungeun would let her help it wouldn't have gotten messed up. So what if she was bad at the equation side of things, she could at least follow simple instructions to do the experiment.

Whatever, Sooyoung didn't care she just needed to pass.

C's get degrees after all.

“I have office hours at 5pm. I expect to see both of you here to redo your experiment.”

That got Sooyoung's attention. Thursday nights were date nights. They used to be Friday or Saturdays, but her girlfriend Jinsol (whose dancing was one of the few to rival her own) taught evening classes through the weekend at the local dance studio, while Sooyoung volunteered at the local animal shelter during the day.

“Dr. Jeong-”

“We'll be there.” Jungeun cut the older girl off. Then it was Sooyoung's turn to glare.

Sooyoung quickly covered the look and smiled at the professor. “Thanks for giving us another chance, Dr. Jeong. ”

“Anything for you, Sooyoung.” He smiled back. “You both can go ahead and clean this up. I'll see you this evening.”

The professor had barely made it two steps away before Sooyoung's lab partner turned to her. “Ew, did you really just flirt with the Prof? Gross. Also, you know you don't have to call him Doc, right? Jaden Jeong does not have his PhD.”

“I know that. I just feel sorry for him because he's the only one in the department without it. Also, I wasn't flirting, I'm just trying to stay on his good side.”

“Riiight.”

Sooyoung rolled her eyes and ignored the girl’s statement. She just continued to pack up her bag and left. Sooyoung couldn't stand the other girl. Just because she was a supposed “science prodigy” didn't mean she was all that.

She really hated that Kim Jungeun girl.

Jungeun chuckled to herself as she watched her lab partner leave the classroom. She was glad she riled her up after making her look bad on front of her advisor.

Then she realized that the other girl had left her to clean up the materials and she let out a frustrated groan.

She really hated that Ha Sooyoung girl.

-

When Jungeun made it to the classroom at 5, there was no sign of the professor, but the materials for the experiment were already laid out on the table. Sooyoung was sat at the table carefully measuring out liquids from various containers.

“The lab isn't worth that much if you're going for extra credit.”

“Look, can you cut it out?” Sooyoung put breaker down aggressively, a bit of liquid sloshed on the table. “I'm already in a relationship and I'm gonna be missing date night to do this experiment with you.”

“Well I'm soooorry you don't have time to smooch with your boyfriend since we have to do this lab over.”

“I don't need your assumptions, blondie. My girlfriend only has tonight off and we've had to cancel our plans 3 times in the past 2 weeks so I've barely seen her since the start of the semester.”

“Oh...”

Sooyoung turned away and busied herself with measuring the rest of the ingredients (it was the easy part). She paused to point to page in the workbook. “Solve that.”

Jungeun hesitated for a moment before pulling out her notebook and a pencil to work on the problem. Sooyoung noticed she didn't pull out a calculator, but didn't let that concern her. She finished up her measuring and lined it up nicely while she prepared to wait.

Prepared being the keyword, because when she looked up, Jungeun was watching her with a bored look on her face.

“Aren't you going to solve it?”

“Already did.”

Sooyoung looked surprised but quickly wiped it away, because of course the prodigy would solve the problem in less than a minute. The problem would've taken Sooyoung at least 5 minutes to solve, and had it been anyone other than Jungeun, she would've asked them to prove how they got the answer they did, but she knew the other girl would get it right. She would never say it aloud, but she envied Jungeun's ability to do chemistry so easily.

“Alright, let's get started then.” Sooyoung said, and began picking up the chemicals she measured out for the experiment. Just as she was about to pour the first chemical into a beaker, Jungeun spoke.

“Did you measure everything properly?”

“Of course I did, or do you need to check my work, Ms. Prodigy?”

“No, I believe you, I was just asking. It's my grade too, y'know.”

Sooyoung nodded. “Sorry, I'm just trying to get this done and you've been treating me like I'm incompetent since we started this course.”

“Look, I'm not trying to be an ass. I just love science and I'm very passionate about it. I'm sorry we started off on the wrong foot, how about we start over?” Jungeun finished her own apology with an outstretched hand and a hesitant smile.

Sooyoung waited a moment to gauge whether the other girl was being genuine. She decided she was and gave the proffered hand a firm shake.

“Deal. I'm Ha Sooyoung, 21-year-old bio major. I love to dance and I don't understand chemistry.”

Jungeun laughed. “I'm Kim Jungeun, 20-year-old chemistry major. Dancing is fun, but I prefer singing.” She paused before adding. “And I'd love to help you understand chemistry... if you want?”

“I do, but not right now. The only thing I want right now is to finish this up so I can go smooch with my girlfriend.” Sooyoung teased.

Jungeun groaned and put her head in her hands. “I'm sorry about that! I shouldn't have assumed.”

“You know what happens when you assume...”

“No?”

“You make an ass out of u and me.”

“That was terrible.” Jungeun said but laughed anyway.

“But true. Anyways, it doesn't matter anymore. We started over, remember?” Sooyoung smiled and continued with the experiment.

Jungeun smiled in return. Maybe Ha Sooyoung wasn't so bad.

They were halfway through the experiment when Sooyoung made a comment.

“You would think Prof. Jeong would be here. With the ingredients we have, something could easily go wrong.”

“But I'm here.” Jungeun gave a smug smile as she poured a chemical into the solution on the burner.

“Wait, isn't that-”

Jungeun froze at the panicked look on Sooyoung’s face. She watched as a drop from the tube in her hand landed in the beaker. She screwed her eyes shut waiting for the impending reaction, but nothing happened.

“Just kidding.”

“What the hell!” Jungeun screamed hitting Sooyoung in the arm. “I almost had a heart attack!”

“You're fine. If you would've poured the one next to it then it would've been bad.”

“I take it back. You're terrible.”

“Aw, Jungeunnie!” Sooyoung grabbed Jungeun and pulled her into a hug. “Don't be like that!”

“Ack!” Jungeun yelped and struggled in Sooyoung’s hold. “We're barely even friends.” Sooyoung laughed and hugged Jungeun tighter as she tried to get away.

“What are you doing?!” Jungeun quickly tried to push away just as Sooyoung was releasing her. Thus, causing Jungeun to bump the table. Sooyoung's laughing immediately ceased as she watched the beaker that was on the bunsen burner tip into the chemical she was just talking about.

“Jungeun, look out!”

“I’m not falling for that agai-”

Sooyoung ignored her and pulled the other girl back to her, just as the two solutions touched.

-

It wasn't an explosion, but it was something like it.

Sooyoung opened her eyes. All she could see was white. She was confused, but then she noticed she was on the floor. She groaned and sat up. It wasn't just because she was on the floor, the lab looked like it was engulfed in a thick white fog.

“Jungeun?”

A groan.

“Are you okay?” Sooyoung tried to crawl through the thick smoke to the pained groans coming from the other girl.

When she reached her, she screamed.

Jungeun quickly sat up at the noise. But then she immediately put her head between her knees as she felt a wave of nausea come through her. Sooyoung’s screaming didn't help the headache she was currently sporting, but the panic coming from the other girl scared her too.

“What's wrong??”

“I'm dead!”

“No, you're not.”

“Then how can I see me!”

“What are you talking about?” Jungeun lifted her head and looked at herself. Wait, how can I-?

Jungeun screamed.

“Stop screaming!”

“You were screaming first!”

“That's cuz I'm dead!”

“You're not dead!”

“How come I can see me then?!”

Jungeun stopped her yelling for a second to regard the other girl.

“Wait, you can see you too-I mean, you can see yourself too? ”

“Yeah, can you?”

“Yeah.”

A beat.

“Why are you in my body?!”

“Why are you in my body?!”

“This is all your fault!”

“You're the one who knocked over the experiment!”

“You're the one who was being all weird!”

Ding Ding. 

That was Sooyoung’s text notification and she reached into her back pocket. It wasn't in the right pocket so she checked the left.

“See! You’re being weird. Stop feeling on my ass!”

“What ass? Anyways, I'm trying to find my phone!”

“Oh, I've got it.” Jungeun sheepishly replied and took the phone out of her pocket. “Here.”

Sooyoung quickly checked the message then her face went pale.

“What's wrong?”

“That was my girlfriend. She's coming here to pick me up for our date since she got tired of waiting for me.”

Jungeun sighed.

“Then go. We already finished the experiment.” Jungeun looked around. The thick white cloud had disappeared and the classroom didn't look odd at all. The only thing left was the remainder of the experiment and a knocked over stool. “I'll put up the supplies, it's fine.”

Jungeun stood, righting the stool on her way up, and began to clean up their experiment.

“Jung, look at me.”

Jungeun paused and gave her a look, as if to say 'so what?' Sooyoung rolled her eyes in response.

“I mean... look at me.”

A few seconds pass, then:

“Ohhhh, right.”

Chapter Text

Jungeun goes on the date with Jinsol after some convincing from Sooyoung – “I can’t miss another date, she’ll break up with me! Please, just pretend to be me.” 

They keep it a secret.

--

“It’s just a date. No big deal.”

“No big deal, right.” Jungeun said to psych herself up as she walked towards the beautiful blonde she’d never met. She didn’t think this was a good idea, but she was stuck in the situation with Sooyoung and they had agreed to keep it a secret from everyone until they got it under control. Still, she can’t believe that Sooyoung had somehow managed to convince her to go along with the plan.

-

Sooyoung stared at the girl in front of her. Jungeun had been quiet for the past couple of minutes. It was as if everything that could possibly go wrong kept going wrong. The situation they were already in was one that couldn’t be described.

How does one go about telling someone they’ve swapped bodies? No one would believe them. The first place they’d go is either a hospital or a therapist to be pumped full of meds, the next a mental asylum. They had to keep this to themselves and get it under control.

“Jungeun, say something,” Sooyoung pleaded. She had been waiting for so long, she thought the silence would make her go insane, if the situation didn’t catch up to her first. “Jungeun, say something!” Sooyoung repeated and punctuated the statement with a slap to the other girl’s face.

“What the fuck?”

“You weren’t responding.”

Jungeun rubbed her cheek and looked towards the lab table, which had been cleaned of their science experiment. She took a moment before looking back at Sooyoung.

“This is crazy.” Jungeun whispered, the situation having settled in.

“I know, but it’s the only way.”

“The only way? What if we ask-” Sooyoung interrupted Jungeun before she could continue.

“You know we can’t tell anyone.” Sooyoung spoke and locked eyes with the other girl and they were matched in an intense stare before Jungeun looked away.

“You’re right, but I’m not sure about this.”

“Please, Jungeun! I can’t miss another date, she’ll break up with me. Just pretend to be me.” Sooyoung sounded desperate for the younger girl to agree to her plan.

“Pretend to be you?” Jungeun scoffed. “I don’t even know you!”

Sooyoung waved a hand as if she were waving the other girl’s response away. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You like singing, right? Just talk about music and dancing.” Sooyoung nodded, it was a simple: Jungeun would pretend to be her, and Jinsol wouldn’t break up with her. It was the perfect plan.

Jungeun wasn’t convinced, she tried for another argument. “What if she notices?”

“If she gets suspicious, just cover it up. We only started during the summer and we haven’t had many chances to meet up.” Sooyoung was lying, of course, but Jungeun didn’t know that, so she nodded, thinking that the other girl made sense. Then Sooyoung continued. “It’s probably fine.”

“Probably? What do you mean probably?”

“I mean, that it’s a perfect plan and you’ll do just fine.” Sooyoung nodded, a wide, confident smile planted on her face. “I believe in you.” She gave Jungeun a pat on her back.

Sooyoung’s confidence somehow had Jungeun nodding back. “Yeah, I am pretty smart. I bet can think of something.”

“Exactly!”

“I got this.”

“You got this!”

“Alright!”

“Alright!”

And so Sooyoung handed Jungeun her phone. “My passcode is 1020—Don’t look at the pictures!—Jinsol said she’ll be outside in 10 minutes, let’s go.”

“Right, let’s go.” Jungeun took the phone and put it in her pocket. She couldn’t help but feel like she got tricked, but Sooyoung looked too innocent to do something like that, so she followed the older girl.

Sooyoung had given Jungeun a quick rundown of her girlfriend as they made their way out of the science building and towards the courtyard that she knew Jinsol to be waiting at.

“Her name is Jung Jinsol, age 21, and she’s in my year. Umm, she’s majoring marine biology and minoring in dance, her specialty is modern dance—she’s been doing that for over 10 years—but she’s good at all types of dance. She likes the Harry Potter series and cries when she’s stressed so don’t freak out. She also has these amazing eyebrows, I’ve literally never seen anyone do expressions like her. Oh, and…”

Sooyoung continued to ramble details about her girlfriend. Jungeun smiled at the happy look on her own face. It was clear that Sooyoung cared for this other girl, so Jungeun listened closely and committed it all to memory, or she tried her best—Sooyoung was unexpectedly being quite the talker.

Jungeun tried not to think of everything that could go wrong, but she couldn’t help but think that literally anything could go wrong. However, Sooyoung did convince her it was a good idea and they were stuck in the situation together, so she really had no choice but to go along. She would try if only to keep her new friend happy.

As they walked towards the courtyard, Sooyoung saw a girl sitting on a bench under one of the trees that lined the pathway. Sooyoung pulled Jungeun to a stop and placed her hands on the shorter girl’s shoulders.

“Okay, Jinsol is waiting under that tree.” Sooyoung nodded her head in the direction her girlfriend was sitting. “You just gotta pretend to be me and everything will be fine. I’ll give you a call later.”

Jungeun turned to look at Sooyoung’s girlfriend—at Jinsol, she corrected herself—and immediately turned back towards the other girl.

“What the hell! You never said your girlfriend was beautiful!”

“I didn’t think I had to!” Sooyoung laughed. “Have you seen me? Do you think I deserve anything less?”

Jungeun huffed.

“I’m kidding.” Sooyoung said after Jungeun looked like she was suddenly nervous. “But she’s more than just looks. And she won’t bite. Go get ‘er tiger.” Sooyoung gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

Jungeun resisted. “I don’t know…”

Sooyoung sighed. “It’s just a date. No big deal.” Then she gently pushed her in the direction of the waiting girl.

-

Jungeun waved when she got closer the girl sitting under the tree but was ignored. When she was standing next to her not-girlfriend she noticed that Jinsol had airpods in her ears. She couldn’t hear her.

She didn’t know what got into her, but she decided it would be a great idea to scare Jinsol. With her shadow hidden by the those of the tree above, she circled around the girl looking at her phone and quickly shook her shoulders.

“Kya!” Jinsol turned and threw the object in her hand, meaning Jungeun, who was slightly bent over, got hit in the face by the smartphone.

Jungeun quickly realized that today was not her day, and that scaring Jung Jinsol was not at all a great idea like she thought.

“Sooyoung, I’m so sorry!”

“S’okay.” Jungeun picked up the other girl’s phone and brushed off the grass. “I’m just glad your phone is okay.” She sheepishly muttered, while holding her smarting nose.

“You know I always throw what’s in my hand and you usually dodge it, are you okay?” Jinsol took Jungeun’s hand off her face to inspect the damage, but Jungeun could tell she wasn’t just referring to her nose.

“I’m just having an off day is all.” Jungeun smiled and took Jinsol’s hand in her own. She was getting flushed from the close look the other girl was giving her and wanted to take the attention away from herself. “Enough about me. What about our date?”

Jinsol looked like she wanted to press but accepted the subject change. She released Jungeun’s hand and stood, then started walking towards the campus exit. Jungeun quickly caught up to walk beside the other girl.

“Well it’s been awhile since it’s been just the two of us, so I thought we could stay the night in. I wanted to make you dinner for repayment on cancelling our last few dates.”

“Wait, you canceled them? I thought-” Jungeun quickly shut her mouth, having realized she was speaking aloud.

“I know, I know, you keep telling me that it’s not my fault that we had the dance recital, but I still can’t help but feel bad.”

Jungeun was glad that Jinsol was the one who covered up her slip up without noticing. But she also realized that Sooyoung wasn’t entirely truthful on the situation, since she made it seem like she was the one who had skipped out on the past few dates.

“Exactly, so I don’t want to hear you blaming yourself anymore…” Jungeun paused, she wasn’t sure what Sooyoung had called the other girl. She’d have to ask Sooyoung later, for now she just decided to stick with “Jinsol.”

The other girl gave her a soft smile and mumbled her thanks. Even though Jungeun remembered Sooyoung saying that Jinsol was loud in social situations, but she tended to be quiet when they were alone, she didn’t expect her to be like this. Jungeun had to look away because the other girl was acting too cute and she didn’t know what to do with herself.

They continued the walk Jinsol’s apartment. The walk itself was mainly in a comfortable silence, but Jungeun noticed that Jinsol’s hand kept brushing against her own. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to hold it, so she kept asking Jinsol questions about her day and gesticulating so that their hands wouldn’t touch.

Eventually Jinsol seemed to get the hint that Sooyoung (Jungeun) wasn’t going to hold her hand, so she took a step further away from the other girl. She couldn’t help but feel like there was something wrong with Sooyoung since the other girl was usually so affectionate. She was acting so distant. Normally Sooyoung would’ve hugged her, held her hand, or even given her a kiss by now, but it seemed like maybe she was upset about Jinsol missing their date nights despite saying she wasn’t.

Jinsol shook it off, she would make it up to her tonight. She would show Sooyoung how sorry she was and how much she really missed her.

Jungeun followed Jinsol into a 5-story building that she guessed was Jinsol’s apartment. They went into the elevator and Jungeun watched as Jinsol pressed the button labeled 4. The elevator took them to the fourth floor and Jungeun followed Jinsol to the end of the hall where she stopped in front of room number 420. While Jinsol took the time to grab the keys out of her bag, Jungeun took in her surroundings. Jinsol’s door was located next to the emergency exit and stairway that lead to the roof, if the label on the door was to be believed. Jinsol opened her apartment and Jungeun watched as the older girl took her shoes off and placed them on the shoe rack next to the door. She followed Jinsol’s lead after entering the apartment.

The one-bedroom apartment was modest and minimally decorated, not in a way that looked sparse, but more orderly and held mainly the essentials. There was a laptop sitting on the small coffee table in the center of the living room. Across the table was a couch that lined the wall facing the large window with a desk and chair underneath it, the only other thing in the room was a bookcase filled with a mixture of books, photos, and movies.

Jungeun walked further into the apartment and her curious nature led her to the checking out the two rooms with closed doors. One was room was a bathroom with light blue walls and curtains and rugs to match. ‘That must mean this other room is Jinsol’s bedroom.’ Jungeun opened the door to look inside but was grabbed by the waist and pulled into a back hug. She startled and let out a yelp, pulling the door shut in the process.

Jinsol laughed at her girlfriend, thinking that Sooyoung was usually not so easy to scare. She took a step back and released the other girl, so she could turn around. “I’m about to finish up dinner, do you want anything to drink?”

Jungeun put her hand on her chest and as she tried to calm her racing heart. “Maybe some water, please?”

Jinsol nodded and went to the kitchen. She returned shortly with a glass of ice water. She motioned to the couch as she handed the other girl the water. “I downloaded that show you like to watch, I know you’ve been talking about how you missed it and haven’t gotten to see it.” She pushed Jungeun onto the couch and handed her the laptop from the table. “You remember my password, right?”

Jungeun obviously didn’t remember, but she tried to cover it up. “You know how bad my memory is, why are you teasing me,” she whined.

“I know, I know, but it’s funny that you always forget it,” Jinsol laughed. “You’d probably forget your own phone password if it wasn’t a V-shape.”

Jungeun crossed her arms and gave a fake glare, because it seemed like something Sooyoung would do. Also, because she felt like she was being teased and she started to get flushed.

“I’ll tell you again, maybe you’ll remember this time,” Jinsol teased. “It’s –”

Just then, her (Sooyoung’s) phone vibrated in her pocket. She noticed the call she was receiving was from her own phone. Jungeun gave Jinsol an apologetic smile and waved her phone, “Sorry, I have to take this, it’s important.”

Jinsol smiled back at Jungeun. “That’s fine, I have to get back to making dinner.” She logged into the laptop and went into the kitchen. Jungeun watched her until she disappeared into the kitchen before answering the call.

“Hello?”

“Jungie!” Jungeun heard her own voice sound through the phone.

“Ew, don’t call me that, it sounds weird coming from my own voice.”

“Sorry, sorry. Anyways, I just called to ask how the date’s going. What are you guys doing?”

“Oh, she took me back to her place—”

“Oh, really?” Sooyoung interrupted, and Jungeun could somehow hear her smirking over the line.

“She said you guys haven’t spent a lot of time together so she’s making us dinner.”

“Ahh! She’s such a great cook. You’re so lucky!” Sooyoung gushed. “What’s she making?”

Jungeun wasn’t sure so she walked to the kitchen to check. She tried to peek from the corner of the wall, but she couldn’t see anything and walked up behind the other girl. She gently tapped Jinsol’s shoulder so as to not scare the other girl who was stirring food in a large pot. Jinsol still jumped a little, but she didn’t throw the spoon she was holding, so Jungeun considered that a success.

Jungeun covered the phone and asked what Jinsol was making. Jinsol smiled shyly and muttered, “Tteokbokki.”

“Hell yes!” A small, tinny voice exclaimed.

Jungeun rolled her eyes but smiled at Jinsol. The other girl giggled in response. She raised the phone in her hand and pointed to the living room. Jinsol nodded and resumed her cooking as Jungeun left to continue talking to Sooyoung.

“I’m sure you heard, but she’s making tteokbokki.”

“I knowww! This is why I like Jindori so much. She must’ve been planning this, since she knows it’s my favorite.”

Jungeun caught the nickname and also realized why Jinsol seemed so shy earlier, she had planned all this out for Sooyoung and was probably nervous about making her favorite food. ‘What a shame,’ Jungeun thought, the girl wouldn’t even be experiencing it.

There was some rustling on the other end. “I’m coming over.”

“You can’t!” Jungeun quickly shut down the other girl.

It was silent on the other and Jungeun could just tell that Sooyoung was sulking.

“Okay, fine, but you better tell her that you have a starving friend and you need to take them food after. Say that you owe them or something.”

“Sure, sure.” Jungeun acquiesced.

“I actually called for another reason.”

Jungeun waited for Sooyoung to continue.

“Well I went back to the lab to make sure it was clean and to give Professor Jeong our results—we got 100% by the way—but now I’m not sure what to do and it’s getting late.”

Oh.

Jungeun hadn’t thought about that before. “Go home, maybe?”

“I can’t just go back to my place; my roomie will think it’s weird.” Sooyoung laughed. “For someone so smart, you’re pretty clueless.”

“I meant my place.”

“Oh right, well where do you live?”

“Shit, I forgot!”

“It’s not a big deal. When you remember, just text me your address. I’ll text you mine, so you can head there after the date.” The last bit sounded weird to Jungeun, a lot less like a suggestion and more like an order despite the words she said; it was like Sooyoung was trying to say something. Jungeun didn’t get it, so she brushed it off.

“It’s not that, it’s my roommate.”

“That’s fine, I’ll just pretend to be you.”

“Okay, well it’s not just that… she’s my girlfriend.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah…”

Silence.

“How do you just forget to mention you have a girlfriend? You just let me think that you were presumptuous, not-entirely-straight asshole.”

“Look with everything going on I forgot—wait, what do you mean not entirely straight?”

“Well, one: I saw the way you looked at me the first day of class-” Jungeun sputtered and Sooyoung continued, not letting the other girl respond. “Two: you’re going along with the plan to date my girlfriend.”

“Okay, good point, but I think I didn’t really have a choice-”

“And you freaked out when you saw Jinsol.”

“Okay, look anyone would freak out she’s-”

“I know! But don’t change the subject. You have a girlfriend!” Sooyoung sounded almost as excited as she was when she heard that Jinsol was making tteokbokki. “Is she hot?”

“This is not the time.” Jungeun face-palmed.

“Look, I’m just trying to prepare myself. I don’t want to get scared like you did.”

“Umm, well,” Jungeun stopped and looked toward the kitchen, suddenly aware that she was talking about her actual girlfriend while her not-girlfriend was practically next to her. She decided that it wasn’t the safest bet to continue talking about this in the apartment and shouted to Jinsol that she would be right back.

“Hold on,” Jungeun said into the phone. She put on her shoes and stepped outside to take the short trip to the roof where she would have more privacy.

The rooftop was empty and cleaner than Jungeun expected. It contained a few exhaust vents and a couple of lawn chairs that looked slightly weathered, but still in good shape. She sat down on one and looked at the town. The view was beautiful, and she could see the university from here, as well as her own apartment a few blocks away, which was interesting to note.

“Okay,” Jungeun finally spoke.

“Sounds a little windy, where are you?”

“Sorry, I went to the roof. Is it that bad?”

“No, no. It’s better now. I could just tell you went outside.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I guess I should tell you about Jiwoo.”

“Yes, you should.”

“Okay, so Kim Jiwoo. She’s 20 and is majoring in Physical Therapy. We’ve known each other for years, but I moved away in high school and we met up again in college. And unlike you—cuz I know you were lying—Jiwoo and I have only been dating for a month.”

Sooyoung sounded a little apologetic when she said, “Okay, it’s been 3 and a half months.” Jungeun made a noise signaling she heard, but didn’t respond to the statement, instead she continued to describe her girlfriend.

“She likes to sing, that’s how we became friends actually, we had a karaoke contest—I won but she doesn’t remember it right so I just pretend like she did. She can play the piano, and she’s a really eccentric person—she does these cute noises and expressions—anyways, I think you’d like her. She doesn’t like horror movies cuz she always gets scared, but she always wants to watch them—I think it’s an excuse to cuddle.” Jungeun paused to laugh. “She’s a little taller than me, and oh! She had this really funny walk when we were younger, it was kinda like a waddle, so we called her Penguin growing up.” Jungeun described her girlfriend, not able to keep from adding short asides to almost every statement.

“Mm, I see.” Sooyoung said, and took a second to take it all in. “I do have one question though.”

“Shoot.”

“Is she hot though?”

Jungeun let out a loud groan.

 “What? It’s literally the only thing I’ve asked you and you still haven’t answered! I just want to know. I mean it’s not like you’re not attractive or anything.”

“Sooyoung, please.”

“Okay, fine.”

A beat.

“But is she at least pretty?”

“Yes! Okay, she’s pretty. Are you happy now?”

“Thank you.”

“Alright, I’ll text you my address, but I should head back down. I’ve been gone for awhile and this date seems really important to Jinsol.”

“Okay! Give Jinsol a kiss for me.”

Jungeun laughed.

“No, I’m serious.”

“Wait, what?”

“I’m a really affectionate person and Jinsol might think something is off if you don’t.”

“But she’s your girlfriend.”

“And you’re me, so that means she’s your girlfriend too.”

Jungeun hesitated, it wasn’t that Jungeun wasn’t into skinship, she just got nervous or embarrassed to initiate the contact. But it seemed like Jungeun would have to get over that quickly.

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

“Great, I’ll talk to you later. Text me how the rest of the date goes. Good luck!”

Jungeun gave a weak sound in response and Sooyoung hung up. She had a strange feeling like she was just tricked by the older girl, it was a something she was starting to feel more often as the day went on. She let out a deep breath and patted her cheeks to psych herself up before she made her way back to Jinsol’s apartment.

“It’s just a date. No big deal.”

Chapter Text

Jungeun is acting different, Jiwoo isn’t sure what’s going on, but she thinks she might like it.

It’s still a secret.

--

The sun was beginning to set when Sooyoung started to make her way to Jungeun’s apartment. She was glad the school was not located near any questionable areas and that the crime rate in the city was at all all-time low, because even though she’s not necessarily afraid of the dark, she has heard of horror stories of things going on near their rival school YGU.

Sooyoung put Jungeun’s address into the phone she had been given. She’s glad the other girl’s passcode was in the shape of a 2, as it made it really easy to remember. She snooped around in her phone because if the other girl had something to hide she would have said something. It was pretty boring, there were only a few apps, so Sooyoung decided to check the gallery. The pictures that Jungeun had were more artsy than anything, but that didn't mean that there wasn’t anything to look at. There were several pictures of Jungeun with another girl who had long red hair and pale skin.

Sooyoung isn’t blind, she knows Jungeun is attractive, but the other girl she was with was something else. Sooyoung shook her head, she had been standing in the middle of the sidewalk looking at pictures of the girl she could only assume was Jungeun’s girlfriend for nearly 10 minutes. She closed the gallery, opened the GPS again, and followed the directions to Jungeun’s apartment. As she walked, she noticed the area she was in was actually only a few blocks away from Jinsol's apartment.

I can't believe she lives this close. I better get some tteokbokki tonight.

The building Jungeun lived in was owned by the university and was one of the few off-campus dorms they had. All the university dorms had keycards to get access into the building, but Sooyoung had no clue where Jungeun kept her key so she walked into the building and knocked on the glass window that led to what seemed to be a small access room next to the entrance. A girl with headphones on was studying in the room and she looked up when she heard the knock. Once the girl recognized Sooyoung, she unlocked the door to the lobby.

Their university offered a work-study program where students could be paid to work at various university locations with a light workload that allowed them to do their studies. Sooyoung had tried it her freshman year, she did exactly what the girl was doing, which was sit at the entrance of the university dorms, manage the access to the building and ensure there were no afterhours visitors. The job was cake, and it was how she ended up meeting Jinsol, because for someone so responsible, she often lost her keycard and would need to be let into the building.

“Hey, Jungeun,” the girl said, nodding at Sooyoung as she made her way inside. Sooyoung smiled back.

“Hey, Hyunjin,” Sooyoung said after looking discreetly at the nametag the other girl was wearing.

Sooyoung was sure the building had seen better days. While the outside looked pristine, the lobby had a weird stale smell, like microwaved food mixed with someone’s body spray as if they tried to use that to cover up the scent. Sooyoung scrunched her nose at the odor and looked around.

It looked like the university made an attempt at the upkeep of the building, because the walls were white and off-white—like they wanted to make the room look nice for visitors, but they didn’t care enough to either find the same color that was previously there or repaint the entire wall the new color.  The lobby led to an elevator, a stairwell, and a room separated by glass, which Sooyoung guessed was the common room based on the couches, tables, and TV located inside. She passed a bunch of mailboxes on the wall that seemed to be in good condition and opted to take the stairs, since Jungeun’s room was on the second floor of the 10-story building.

Room 209.

Sooyoung reached the room listed in Jungeun’s text and searched the pockets of the other girl’s backpack for her keys. She found the keyring with two keys attached to a small wallet, which contained Jung’s building keycard, some cash, and school ID. She felt a little dumb for not looking for the building keycard earlier when it had been so easy to find just now, she shrugged it off and tried the larger of the two keys on the door, guessing that the smaller one was a mail key.

The dorm was small and offered little privacy besides the shared bathroom in the corner of the room. The rest of the dorm was open and barely had enough room for two sets of twin sized beds separated by two desks, one bookcase, a mini fridge, and a microwave.  

There were, however, two people in the room looking awfully cozy crouched over a book together. They didn’t even seem to notice her come in.

Sooyoung closed the door behind her. It slammed—accidentally and definitely not on purpose—startling the two girls on the bed who looked toward the noise.

Sooyoung suddenly felt embarrassed. “Umm, hey?”

“Oh, hey! I didn’t know you were going to be back so soon,” one the of the two girls on the bed said. She had a wide smile on her face and Sooyoung recognized the girl from Jungeun’s pictures. This must be Jiwoo, Jungeun’s girlfriend. “You said that you had to redo a lab and it might take a while.”

Jiwoo looked excited to see her and Sooyoung couldn’t help but smile back. It took a few seconds for her to realize that she was just smiling at the other girl instead of responding like a normal person would. She’s not gonna lie, she’s glad that she saw the pictures, because this girl was beautiful, and it would be bad if she made a fool of herself in front of who was supposed to be her own girlfriend.

Pictures did not do her justice, Sooyoung thought, but outwardly replied with, “Yeah, I had a great partner, so we finished pretty quick.”

Jiwoo put a finger on her chin in thought, “Was it that Somin girl? I thought you said-”

“No, I mean yes. I mean it was Somin, I mean,” Sooyoung paused and took a breath. She wasn’t even upset that Jiwoo had said the wrong name, she was flustered because the girl had looked extra cute and it jumbled her thoughts for a second. “Her name is Sooyoung, but we just got off on the wrong foot. She’s actually pretty amazing. I wish I would’ve gotten to know her sooner.”

Sooyoung watched as Jiwoo tilted her head to the side at her statement, but the girl didn’t respond so she continued. “So, who’s...?” She made a vague gesture at the room’s other occupant.

“Oh!” Jiwoo jumped and turned to girl sitting really close to her. “This is Heejin. She’s in my anatomy class. We have our first test coming up and we’re trying to study.”

Well you look a little cozy. Sooyoung isn’t sure why she’s getting upset at the two girls’ closeness. They’re just close cuz they’re sharing a book; it would be harder to see if they were further apart. She nodded to herself and looked around. Wait, why are they sharing a book when there’s another one open on the other bed??

Sooyoung walked over to the unoccupied bed and picked up the book, “Oh, here’s another book. I bet it’s pretty cramped trying to share one like that.” She gave wide smile to Jiwoo and a pointed look to Heejin.

“It’s fine.” Heejin smiled and nudged Jiwoo’s shoulder playfully. “It’s not that bad next to Jiwoonie.” Jiwoo smiled in return and sheepishly looked away.

Sooyoung just blinked in response. Heejin literally just flirted with Jiwoo in front of her. Were they not open with their relationship? Did Jiwoo not care?

She started to get upset again.

It’s because I’m in Jungeun’s body.

That’s why.

It’s just like that math thing—it’s the associative property of Jungeun’s girlfriend. I’m just feeling this way since I’m in her body.

Because Jiwoo is Jungeun’s girlfriend, and I’m Jungeun, therefore Jiwoo is my girlfriend.

She didn’t know what to say and she probably looked dumb holding the book up when it apparently wasn’t needed, so she brought it with her as she joined the two girls on the bed. Heejin looked surprised, and Sooyoung figured it was the best time to stop making a fool of herself and show Heejin that Jiwoo was off-limits.

It was cramped but Sooyoung had managed to lie down on the bed and put her head in Jiwoo’s lap. The other girl made a face but didn’t push her off, instead she started running her fingers through Sooyoung’s hair.

“You okay?” Jiwoo asked softly.

“Just tired.”

Jiwoo hummed in response and smiled down at her girlfriend. Heejin let out a small huff and Sooyoung looked up toward the other girl. She seemed to be upset at being ignored and Sooyoung couldn’t help the snicker she let out. Jiwoo looked at her questioningly before turning her attention to Heejin who had started using aegyo to get the other girl’s attention.

Sooyoung rolled her eyes and turned to bury her head in Jiwoo’s tummy after Heejin started to get annoying. She began to feel tired since Jiwoo had continued to play with her hair, and that had always been something that put her to sleep since she was a child. Just as she was about to fall asleep, the fingers running through her hair stopped, and she couldn’t help the whine that came out her mouth.

Sooyoung could hear Jiwoo giggling above her. “What’s going on?”

“Why’d you stop?” Sooyoung mumbled into Jiwoo’s stomach.

“I was studying.”

A whine.

“I need to study.”

Sooyoung groaned.

She could hear Heejin laughing so she sat up to give the girl a look.

Heejin smirked, then purposefully leaned against Jiwoo to study. Jiwoo likes skinship so she doesn’t think anything of it, especially since Jungeun never seemed to want to give her a lot of it, so she’d take what she could get.

But of course, Sooyoung wasn’t aware of this, so she huffed.

She was jealous by nature, but more so when she could see what was going on, which probably explained why she wasn’t too upset at the idea that Jungeun was gonna be making moves on Jinsol. But that was a topic for another time, she’d probably get upset thinking about it now, and she had to do something about Heejin.

Sooyoung got up to get a water bottle out of the fridge. She took a sip as she thought about her plan. After a couple of minutes of contemplating and letting the two girls study, she returned to the bed.

“Scoot forward.” Jiwoo did so automatically and continued to study. She sat closer to the center of the bed, no longer resting on the wall with Heejin leaning against her. Heejin grumbled and got ready to adjust her position after Jiwoo moved, but she stopped when she saw Sooyoung getting on the bed and moving behind Jiwoo.

Sooyoung gave the other girl a smirk and weaseled her leg between Heejin and Jiwoo so she could be comfortable. Heejin scooted away so they weren’t pressed up against each other. Jiwoo paused her studying when she noticed what was going on and looked behind her.

Sooyoung gave her an innocent smile. “I just miss you?”

“Okay.” Jiwoo smiled, excited that Jungeun initiated contact for once, and let Sooyoung press against her back. She tried to resume studying but Heejin was too far to see the book.

Sooyoung could tell the other girl was far, so she enacted the next part in her plan. She found the other book she had grabbed earlier and handed it to Heejin. The girl looked at the book and a Cheshire grin appeared on her face. She pushed the book away and opted to just lean against Sooyoung and Jiwoo, so they could continue sharing the same book.

Sooyoung could hear Heejin contributing to their studies so she didn’t push the other girl away, but she did turn her head to the side, so she was no longer having a face full of Heejin’s hair. Not that she would ever admit it, but Heejin’s hair did smell really nice so it’s not like it would’ve been a problem, but she couldn’t let herself enjoy it on principle. Instead, she let herself enjoy having her girlfriend in her arms. Sooyoung wrapped her arms around Jiwoo’s small waist and squeezed lightly. She started to get bored listening to the studying and rubbed her thumbs back and forth for a bit before she started to feel Jiwoo move around.

Jiwoo grabbed Sooyoung’s hands and turned away from Heejin to whisper, “You’re distracting me.” Sooyoung moved her hands to Jiwoo’s hips and gave her a quick squeeze to show she heard and kept still. Jiwoo went back into her studies and Sooyoung adjusted her hand’s position on Jiwoo’s hips as she tried to get comfortable—her thumbs ended up just under Jiwoo’s shirt.

Sooyoung couldn’t help but start to rub small circles when her fingers met skin. It was like she needed to test how soft Jiwoo’s skin was. That being said, she couldn’t really tell how soft the other girl’s skin was with just her thumbs, and as if they had a mind of their own, her hands started to creep a little further under Jiwoo’s shirt.

Jiwoo froze.

The small circles, while slightly distracting, were quite soothing and Jiwoo had been able to continue studying with Heejin, but when she felt her girlfriend’s hands move under her shirt she could no longer concentrate.

“Jung,” Jiwoo whispered. Sooyoung didn’t stop the motion of her hands. She was too absorbed with the soft feeling of skin under her fingertips.

“Jungeun,” Jiwoo hissed, she was blushing so intensely she could feel it all the way down her neck. Heejin was right there. What had come over her usually shy girlfriend?

“Jungeun!”

Sooyoung finally realized she was being called, still not fully used to the name for the body she was in and paused.

“I’m trying to study.” Jiwoo didn’t exactly tell her to stop but she couldn’t focus with the other girl’s hands on her. She leaned forward, no longer resting against her girlfriend, but she didn’t move from between the other girl’s legs. She could hear giggling, so she turned to Heejin who had a smirk on her face.

“Aw, Jiwoonie is blushing.” Heejin teased with a squeeze to Jiwoo’s cheeks. “So cute. Let’s keep studying. We’re almost done with this chapter.” Then she wrapped arm around the other girl before looking over her shoulder to wink at Sooyoung.

Sooyoung frowned.

Jiwoo remained in a weird position between the two girls but she didn’t move away from either. She loved skinship and didn’t see anything wrong with it. Sooyoung, however, was confused. Jiwoo was either oblivious to Heejin’s flirting or she was encouraging it. Sooyoung didn’t think it was the latter, but it didn’t make her any less jealous, especially with the way Heejin would look at her smugly whenever she did anything flirtatious to Jiwoo.

Sooyoung was bored and annoyed. She was leaning against the wall watching Heejin with an arm around her girlfriend—Jungeun’s girlfriend—while they studied, and she couldn’t even touch Jiwoo anymore! Her roaming hands got caught a third time and Jiwoo had seemingly had enough and placed them on the bed beside her with a firm, “Not now, I’m studying.” So it wasn’t anyone’s fault but her own, but still, it wasn’t fair that Heejin could still touch her.

Sooyoung pulled out her phone and texted Jungeun.

Sooyoung left Jungeun on read and silenced the phone after the vibrations became obnoxious. At least she had one answer to the question that had been plaguing her mind about Jiwoo encouraging Heejin. The younger girl just wanted some affection and since she realized this, she decided she would help Jiwoo and Jungeun out.

She was so lost in thought, she didn’t notice the unwanted company packing her bag and getting ready to leave until Jiwoo left the space between her legs.

“Thanks for helping me study,” Jiwoo said as she walked Heejin to the door.

“Anytime, it was my pleasure.” Heejin winked.

She fucking winked. Sooyoung was suddenly heated again. She quickly got up and made her way to the door. She stood behind her girlfriend and stuck her arm out as Heejin tried to hug Jiwoo to keep her at a distance. The girl only smirked in response.

“See you around, Jongin.”

“It’s Jungeun.” Sooyoung growled out.

“Sure.” Heejin shrugged and made her way out. Throwing a wave over her shoulder. Jiwoo waved back and Sooyoung pulled her inside and slammed the door.

“What was that-” Sooyoung started, but was interrupted when Jiwoo pressed up against her and silenced her with a kiss. It only lasted a few seconds, but when she pulled away, Sooyoung felt like she was in a daze. “Huh?”

“You’re so cute when you’re jealous.”

“I’m not jealous.” Sooyoung pouted. She wasn’t, she just didn’t know why Heejin had to act like that in front of her.

“Sure, you weren’t.”

“I just-I didn’t like how she was all over you.”

“Jung, you don’t have anything to worry about. Heejin has been my best friend since high school.”

Sooyoung knew that Jiwoo was trying to help, but the fact that Heejin had known Jiwoo for years somehow made it worse.

“Are you hungry?”

Sooyoung was surprised by the quick change of topic and shook her head. Only to be betrayed by the sound of her stomach growling. “Maybe a little..?”

Jiwoo giggled. “I feel like my brain has been fried from all that studying. Let’s go grab a bite since I know you probably haven’t eaten since breakfast.” She grabbed her wallet and pulled the shorter girl out the room behind her.  

They reached the lobby and Sooyoung saw a familiar head of hair next to the entrance. It looked like Heejin was still in the building and making a habit of ruining people’s lives. The girl was leaning into the window of the entry manager room, talking to Hyunjin and probably annoying the hell out of her, based on the way the girl gave biggest eye roll Sooyoung had ever seen. Then she did something unexpected, Hyunjin pulled Heejin in by the collar of her shirt and planted a quick kiss on the other girl’s lips before pushing her away.

“Now go away, I’m working.”

Heejin had the goofiest smile on her face and let herself get pushed towards the exit.

“See you later, Sweetheart.” Just as she was leaving she noticed that they had an audience and blushed. When she saw who it was she grinned and waved before leaving the building.

Sooyoung hadn’t realized that they had stopped to watch the scene, but she did notice that Jiwoo was now smirking at her. She didn’t say anything, but Sooyoung knew what the look meant.

Hyunjin regarded the couple as they approached, “Sorry you had to see that, Heejin has been extra clingy since I’ve been out sick the past few days,” She paused to look at Jiwoo, “You know how she gets.” Though Hyunjin pretended to act unaffected, the slight blush and small smile on her face said otherwise.

Jiwoo nodded, having been victim to Heejin’s clinginess many times over the years. “It’s fine, but it’s good you’re here today. Jungeun looked like she was gonna have a fit if Heejin gave me another hug. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this jeal-”

“I wasn’t jealous!”

Hyunjin just looked at her. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Sooyoung threw her hands up and stormed out the building. She couldn’t believe those two were ganging up on her. She realized Jiwoo hadn’t followed her out and turned back a moment later to grab her girlfriend’s hand and pull her out the building, Hyunjin’s laugh following them out the door.

“Are you still upset?”

Sooyoung ignored her.

“Darling,” Jiwoo said, voice full of aegyo and her eyes in the shape of crescents.

“I’m not talking to you.” Sooyoung looked away and mumbled into her food.

“Darling. Darling. Daaaarling.” Jiwoo kept repeating the word and tried to catch Sooyoung’s gaze, but the other girl kept trying to avoid her. It was like a game and Sooyoung knew she would not be the winner.

She was panicking inside and it was taking everything inside her to keep strong. Jiwoo had looked so cute and it made Sooyoung want to kiss her.

So she did.

She honestly didn’t think there was any problem with it. Jungeun and Jiwoo were dating, and they’ve clearly kissed based on what happened earlier. Sooyoung liked skinship, Jiwoo liked skinship, it was fine. She was just missing one point, the fact that she forgot Jungeun wasn’t the biggest on skinship or initiating affection.

“I’m not mad.” Sooyoung said once she pulled away from the short lip lock. She resumed eating and didn’t notice the look she was getting from the girl sitting beside her.

Jiwoo raised her hand to get the attention of their server.

Sooyoung looked at the other girl who had suddenly gone quiet. She was confused about why they were getting to-go boxes and the check when they hadn’t been at the restaurant for long. She tried to catch her gaze, but Jiwoo didn’t seem to be in the mood. Sooyoung couldn’t help but think she messed up. She was trying to help Jungeun’s relationship, but she might’ve just ruined it. She followed the small redhead out the restaurant and let her pull her to their dorm.

Jiwoo didn’t even speak to Hyunjin when they got to the dorm. Sooyoung tried to say something to the younger girl but was quickly pulled away from her and up the stairs. She almost dropped the bag she was holding due to the speed Jiwoo started to walk at once they reached the second story and the path to their room. The other girl didn’t even reach for her keys since they had forgotten to lock the door when they left, she just threw the door open and pulled Sooyoung inside.

They went into the room and Jiwoo released Sooyoung’s hand. Sooyoung set the food down on one of the desks and turned to Jiwoo. She couldn’t tell what was going on in the other girl’s head, but she could see that she was practically shaking.

Ah, I made her mad. I better apologize now before I mess anything else up.

“Jiwoo, I-”

“Shut up.”

Sooyoung saw Jiwoo taking deliberate steps towards her and she took steps backward in response until she felt the back of her legs hit her bed. She was trapped and Jiwoo continued to make her approach.

“I’m sor-”

“I said,” Jiwoo interrupted, and pushed Sooyoung backwards, who flailed her arms as she lost balance and fell onto the bed behind her. “Shut,” she continued, climbing onto the frozen girl’s lap.

“Up,” she finished, taking her girlfriend’s lips with her own.

And so she did.

Chapter Text

Jungeun sat at the Café hidden away at the edge of their campus waiting for Sooyoung. She had never been there before and had almost gotten lost looking for the place.

She was glad Sooyoung had picked the Café though. Not only was it quiet, it was discreet and had a real chill vibe to it. 

But more importantly, there was caffeine and she needed it after the lack of sleep gone through.

--

Jungeun had woken up in a panic, feeling strangely constricted in a cocoon of warmth. It wasn’t so much the inability to move that scared her but more so the unfamiliar surroundings she found herself in.

She was in someone else’s room and as she tried to turn her head to look around, she found herself with a face full of fresh-scented blonde hair, which confused her more since it wasn’t her own and Jiwoo’s wasn’t this light—oh.

That’s right, she was in Jinsol’s room, and she was in Sooyoung’s body.

Jungeun used the arm that wasn’t wrapped around the other girl’s waist to brush some of the hair off her face. With her vision no longer obstructed, she turned to see a light from a clock on the bedside table. She squinted a bit to see the numbers after she realized she couldn’t see them that well. 

4:37

Jungeun had barely been asleep for an hour and a half after texting Sooyoung. No wonder she felt so disoriented. 

Despite the bed being the most comfortable one she’s ever slept in; she knew she wouldn’t be falling back asleep anytime soon. She was in an almost stranger’s house and wrapped in their arms. The issue wasn’t even that she was uncomfortable, it was more that she was too comfortable that was the problem. 

She wasn’t big on skinship, even though Jiwoo was, and she could count the amount of times they slept in each other’s arms on one hand. Jiwoo loved it, but Jungeun tended to get hot or feel awkward and would need to move away. But here, in Jinsol’s arms, it felt right. She attested it to being in Sooyoung’s body. 

Sooyoung loves skinship and she’s probably slept like this a million times. Her body is used to it. That’s all. 

She took a deep breath to steel herself and felt Jinsol sink into her a bit more, the other girl had turned her head, so she was nestled into Jungeun’s neck and let out a puff of air once she settled. 

Jungeun felt herself relaxing again. 

That has to be it. 

Jungeun fought the urge to fall asleep by thinking of ground rules for the meeting she’d be having with Sooyoung in a few hours. 

Rule 1: don’t tell anyone

After about an hour and much brainstorming, she had narrowed the list down. Once that was settled, she stopped forcing herself to stay awake and soon succumbed to her dreams. 

--

“Hey,” she was startled from her memory by a hand on her shoulder and almost spilled the coffee in her grasp. 

Jungeun composed herself and looked at the other girl in front of her. She didn’t know if she’d be able to get over seeing her own body in front of herself. Hell, it was hard enough getting ready that morning, not only because she had to shower—she had been embarrassed since she was in a foreign body and might have stared a little… it wasn’t her fault, Sooyoung was hot!—but because she had to borrow some of Jinsol’s clothes since she had stayed the night. 

Sooyoung seemed to have noticed by the way her smile slightly faltered. She covered it up with a cough as she took her seat. 

“Glad you found it.” 

“Your directions were surprisingly on point. My favorite part was when you said to stop by the third tree after the fountain to pet Kiki the calico cat.”

“How is she? I came from the other side of the library, so I didn’t get to see her.” Sooyoung pouted.

“I was actually really scared at first! She ran right out to me!”

“Yeah, she does that.” Sooyoung laughed. 

“Well, they usually run away from me.” Jungeun pouted. 

“Did you forget who you are right now?” Sooyoung raised an eyebrow. “Everything and everyone loves me.”

Jungeun rolled her eyes so hard and scoffed. Sooyoung was seriously so full of herself. So she made sure to tell her. 

“It’s confidence, more than cockiness.”

“Same thing.” 

Sooyoung smirked then jerked a thumb over towards the counter. “I’m getting a drink; do you want anything?”

Jungeun opened her mouth to reply and Sooyoung continued. “It’s on you.” She pulled out Jungeun’s wallet with a grin. 

“Fine, get me a chocolate croissant.” She’s lucky her scholarship included a hefty food stipend that could be used at any of the locations on campus. 

Sooyoung came back a few moments later. She took her seat and slid a plate with two croissants to the center of the table before taking a long sip of her mocha frappuccino. 

Jungeun waited for Sooyoung to finish swallowing before talking. 

“So, you made out with Jiwoo.”

Which was a good idea because Sooyoung had begun to choke on air. 

“On accident!”

“For hours?” 

“Well-” Sooyoung floundered for a response then she remembered Jungeun’s clothes. “Well you kissed Jinsol!”

“After you told me to!” 

“Yeah, okay you got me there, but I didn’t tell you to stay the night.” She held up a hand when Jungeun tried to explain herself in order to continue. “Anyways, your-” she stopped herself from saying your girlfriend, “Jiwoo is good at kissing.”

“I know… so is Jinsol.”

“I know.”

Sooyoung sighed. “Okay, I’m not as upset as I thought I was gonna be. But I think it’s cuz I told you to do it so you can keep Jinsol happy.”

Jungeun nodded. It seemed like a valid reason. 

And she definitely kissed Jinsol. A lot. 

Sooyoung didn’t mention the fact that she was more upset at the Sana thing from last night. She figured that could wait for another time. There were more important things at hand. 

“Speaking of making Jinsol happy, shouldn’t we go over the rules?”

“Good idea.”

“Then you can tell me all about the date and explain why you’re in Jinsol’s clothes.” Sooyoung had a smarmy grin on her face and Jungeun rolled her eyes before pulling out her phone to show the list she had made. 

1. No ruining the each other’s life
2. No ruining each other’s relationship
3. Stay in character 
4. Can’t get jealous of the other (see rules 1-3)
5. Let the other know when they’re being stupid /irrational
6. Go to school & maintain grades
7. Keep the secret a secret
8. No secrets between us

 “You have eight rules? That’s so many!”

“It’s a good amount,” Jungeun huffed before looking at Sooyoung’s phone and the list the girl made. 

1. Skinship is a must
2. Keep the gf happy (whatever it takes but tell me anything that happens!) 
3. No telling anyone the secret

“Why do you only have three? Did you think of them on the way here?” 

Sooyoung shuffled in her seat. “No! Look, I just picked the important things and I didn’t want it to be so restrictive.”

What she said made sense, but Jungeun had the feeling she actually did come up with the list on her way to the Café. “Okay, fine then.”

“Glad that’s over with.” Sooyoung stood up with a stretch. “I’m getting water. You want some?”

Jungeun nodded and Sooyoung left once more to get their drinks. She returned shortly after since the Café wasn’t busy. It seemed like not too many people knew about the place, which Jungeun was glad for once again. 

“Oh, before I forget.” Jungeun reached down to grab something from her backpack and placed it on the table. “Jinsol said thanks for helping clean up so we could have our date.”

“Is this..?” 

“Yes.”

“I love you!”

“Uh-” Jungeun cut herself off when she noticed where the other girl was looking. Sooyoung wasn’t even talking to her at this point. She had picked up the container of tteokbokki and was looking at it in wonder. 

“I can’t wait to get you alone.”

Jungeun felt her face flush. It was weird hearing her voice say things like that in a certain tone. 

“Alright!” Jungeun placed her hands on the table to interrupt whatever was happening in front of her with the other girl and the food container. 

Sooyoung set the container down and looked forlornly at it before giving her attention to Jungeun. She raised an eyebrow as if wondering why she was interrupted. 

“You wanted to know about the date?”

“Oh yeah.” 

--

Jungeun made her way through the fire escape and back to the apartment. She stood outside of the door to psyche herself up once more. 

When she got inside Jinsol was still cooking so she sat on the couch to watch the show Jinsol had set up for her while she thought of a good plan. After 10 minutes of contemplating and nothing to show for it, Jungeun figured the best way to go about it was to try to go with the flow. 

She got off the couch and walked to the kitchen with the intent to be as natural as possible. Operation: Skinship would be a success if it was the last thing she did. 

Jinsol’s back was turned to her, so she decided to take a page from the other girl’s book and gave her a back hug. Jinsol relaxed into the hold and turned to kiss Jungeun’s cheek. 

“I’m glad you’re not upset. I wasn’t sure if I did something wrong—you were acting kinda weird.”

Jungeun gave her a quick squeeze. “Sorry, I was a bit preoccupied earlier.”

Jinsol laughed softly before responding. “Yeah, I know how you get with bio. Buuut,” she paused to turn in Jungeun’s arms. “That’s why I’m gonna help you unwind.” 

Jungeun then felt herself being pushed backwards. It wasn’t rough, but it was definitely deliberate, and it didn’t stop until her back was against the counter behind her. 

“Umm.” Jungeun let out a nervous laugh that was literally a hehehe. She could see Jinsol’s face getting closer and looked around her to the stove. “What about the food?”

“It’s done, I was just letting it simmer.”

“Oh,” Jungeun said softly and closed her eyes when she felt the other girl’s breath on her face. She felt her head being tilted up slightly and-

RING RING. 

Jinsol let out a frustrated sigh and turned away, releasing the hold she had on Jungeun. 

“Sorry, Sooyoung.” Jinsol gave her an apologetic smile. “Can you stir that real quick while I take this? It’s probably from the studio.”

Jungeun nodded and Jinsol smiled once more before walking away. 

As soon as the other girl was out of view, Jungeun sagged against the counter and released the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Her heart felt like it was trying to beat its way out of her chest. If someone checked her pulse right now, it would feel just like a sledgehammer.

Shit, does Sooyoung usually have problems like this? Because this feeling could kill someone. 

Jungeun rubbed at her chest with one hand in hopes to calm her racing heart and used the other to stir the food. She turned the stove off after a bit since Jinsol had said it was done earlier, then went to the couch to finish the show. 

Jungeun heard Jinsol’s bedroom door open a few minutes later and she felt the other girl before she saw her since Jinsol touched the top of her head as she reached the couch. Jungeun leant into the caress when Jinsol stroked down her cheek and looked up at the woman smiling down at her. She acted before she could think anything of it and tried to be as natural as possible. 

Jungeun grabbed the hand still touching her cheek and placed a soft kiss on Jinsol’s palm. She could see a bit of pink appearing on Jinsol’s cheeks despite the other girl being the one to back her into the counter earlier. 

Jinsol on the other hand didn’t know what to think. Sooyoung was usually affectionate but she had been unusually soft today. Jinsol isn’t used to her not being as… forward. Sooyoung was still showing her skinship, albeit more hesitantly, but the crazy thing was the light touches were making Jinsol’s heart flutter more than the sure ones she’s used to. 

She’s not sure what brought on the change but it’s definitely not a bad one. 

At that moment Jungeun’s stomach decided to growl and she gave a sheepish grin to the girl still standing beside the couch. “Umm, dinner?”

They sat at the table to eat the tteokbokki Jinsol made and Jungeun couldn’t hold back the moan that left her mouth when she tasted the food. It’s probably the best she’s ever eaten. 

Oh, that reminds me, I gotta take some to Sooyoung. 

“Wow, Jindori! You really outdid yourself. I’m so glad… um, Jungeun helped clean up so we could have this date.”

Jinsol looked down at her plate in embarrassment and mumbled her thanks. 

“Yeah, she was so jealous when I told her you were making it. It’s one of her favorites.”

“Is it really? We still have a lot left over and I can make a container for you to give to her.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I can’t ask you to do th-”

“You’re not asking, I’m offering.” Jinsol interrupted. 

“Well, if you insist.” Jungeun hurried to accept the offer before it was taken back. She reached across the table to grab Jinsol’s hand and kissed the other girl’s knuckles. “You’re the best.”

Jinsol blushed. 

Jungeun isn’t sure what kinda affection Sooyoung normally gives but these are kisses right? They should count… maybe. 

Or not. 

After dinner, Jinsol shooed Jungeun to the couch to pick a movie for them to watch while she cleaned up. She picked a horror movie to give them an excuse to cuddle and not have her feel awkward about initiating skinship. 

They hadn’t even gotten to any of the scary parts when she felt the pressure of the girl who had been leaning against her settle on her shoulder. Jungeun looked down, and sure enough, Jinsol had fallen asleep. 

She’s probably tired from today. 

Despite it being her day off from work, Jinsol had assisted with a lesson at the studio after her classes since one of the other instructors was sick, and still took the time to make Sooyoung’s favorite dish. Jungeun let her rest for a while before taking her cue to leave, after all, Sooyoung had told her to go home. 

Jungeun gently shook Jinsol awake, she didn’t want to leave the other girl without saying goodbye—it just didn’t seem right. Jinsol slowly stretched her arms and looked up at Jungeun with a curious look on her face. 

Jungeun was barely able to restrain the noise that was about to leave her lips when she saw Jinsol’s expressive eyebrows crease. She was seriously too cute at that moment and Jungeun just knew that the reaction had to have come from Sooyoung’s body because the urge to kiss the barely noticeable scar between the Jinsol’s eyebrows was so sudden and overwhelming.  

“Sorry about that. I guess I was more tired than I thought.” Jinsol started. She stroked Jungeun’s cheek and stood from the couch, reaching a hand down to her girlfriend. “Time for bed?”

“Yeah, about that.” She took Jinsol’s hand and stood. “I thought I’d head home and give you time to relax by yourself.”

Jinsol didn’t say anything. She just stood there pouting.

“Um, I mean, but I can stay… a bit longer?” Jungeun released Jinsol’s hand and scratched her cheek sheepishly.

“I’d like that.” Jinsol smiled widely and turned to walk towards her bedroom. “I really have missed you these past few days, but I know I’ve only got myself to blame for that.”

“No, don’t say that! I know you’ve been busy, and I really don’t mind. But I’d love to stay. For a while, I mean. Not all night but for a bit… because I missed you too.” Jungeun ran a hand down her face, she was glad that Jinsol had her back turned to her since Jungeun was clearly making a fool out of herself trying to just speak.

Jungeun walked into the room and sat on the edge of Jinsol’s bed. She didn’t get a glimpse of it earlier, but it was simple and minimalistic, just like the rest of her apartment. The bed was large—either a king or a queen, Jungeun couldn’t tell, her own was a twin-size—and had a soft mint colored blanket with pastel blue sheet spread. There was a desk in the corner under a window, with a couple of books lined up across the top of it, and a dresser along the wall next to the closet. A polaroid camera was sitting on the dresser next to two large, expertly-built gundam figures. The only additional thing was the cork board littered with polaroid pictures of Jinsol with her friends and family. Jungeun moved to stand and get a closer look.

“Do you want to shower?”

Jungeun jumped at Jinsol’s voice and stopped her room glancing to face the other girl. Jinsol was standing next to the closet with a small bundle of clothes in her hands.

“Wha?”

Jinsol nodded towards her bathroom and repeated her statement. “Do you want to shower?”

“Uh, you mean with you?”

Jinsol gave a slow nod then tilted her head to the side. “Are you okay?”

“Yes! Wait, I mean no! I mean, I don’t want to shower with you-I mean right now. Showering with you would be amazing but I’m okay. That’s what I meant.”

“Okay, Sooyoung.” Jinsol chuckled. “I’ll be right back then, don’t go anywhere!” She playfully pointed at Jungeun and headed out the room to get ready for bed.

Jungeun decided to listen to Jinsol’s order and stayed put. She pulled out her phone and went to scroll through Instagram for a few minutes. She realized that she was logged into Sooyoung’s account since it was the other girl’s phone and sent herself a follow request because her own account was private. Then she went to check Sooyoung’s page to see if she could possibly get some more insight into who Jinsol was. She had scrolled a bit to see a few pictures of Jinsol and Sooyoung together on dates and then stumbled upon what looked like one of Jinsol’s performances. Her hand hovered over the video and just as she was about to play it, the door to Jinsol’s room shut, causing her to look up from her phone.

Jinsol was standing by the door in a long tee and some boy shorts. 

Jungeun gulped as the other girl fixed her with a certain look. The phone slipped from her fingers onto the carpeted floor to be forgotten as Jinsol began a sultry walk towards her. If Jungeun thought that Jinsol was just going to go to bed after her shower, she was very mistaken. 

Jinsol placed one hand on Jungeun’s shoulder as she moved to straddle Jungeun’s lap.

“Oh, this is happening.”

“Mhm,” Jinsol made a noise of agreement. “Now shush.”

Jungeun didn’t even have a chance to respond as Jinsol leaned down to kiss her.

It started off slow, but quickly began to build up. Jinsol’s free hand moved to Jungeun’s hair as she deepened the kiss and Jungeun could do nothing but go along, after all, Sooyoung had told her to kiss Jinsol. 

But in the back of her head even she knew that she probably wouldn’t have been able to stop regardless.

At first, Jungeun’s hands were awkwardly hover-handing since she didn’t know what to do with them. But as the kiss deepened, she reflexively placed them on Jinsol’s hips which seemed to encourage the girl on her lap even more. Jinsol, used to that motion, took this as a signal to go further and grinded down into Jungeun’s lap. 

Jungeun groaned into the kiss, her hands tightening on Jinsol’s waist and bringing her closer to her body. The responding moan Jinsol released almost broke Jungeun’s resolve. 

Things were heating up too fast and Jungeun needed to slow them down before she lost control. She held Jinsol in place as she brought the kiss to a more leisurely pace and used one hand to rub softly up and down Jinsol’s back in hopes to calm her down.

It seemed to work, and Jinsol shivered when Jungeun gave one last lingering peck to her lips.

“I think I should go now.”

Jinsol was in a daze and looked into her girlfriend’s eyes confusedly. Sooyoung was usually more enthusiastic to go further. Were they really going to stop there? Did she do something wrong? She had to ask-

“Nothing is wrong, I’m just a bit tired. But I had a great night.” Jungeun kissed Jinsol’s forehead to try to rid the crease there. “Thanks, baby..?” She hesitated on the pet name, but the smile reappearing on Jinsol’s face eased her worries.

“Good, I’m glad.”

Jungeun moved to get up, but fortunately or unfortunately, Jinsol was still in her lap. “Um, baby, I can’t leave if you’re in my lap.”

“I know, I want you to stay.” Jinsol pouted.

If Jungeun thought that Sooyoung pouting was bad, Jinsol was 1000 times worse! There was no way she’d be able to say no to this girl, she’s sure Sooyoung would understand.

“Okay, maybe just a bit longer…”

“Lay with me then.” Jinsol said as she climbed off Jungeun’s lap to get under the covers. When Jungeun followed, she continued. "Aren’t you gonna take off your pants?”

“What?”

“You always complain about sleeping in jeans. I’ve got some clothes you can borrow in the bottom drawer.”

Jungeun let out a breath of relief. The thought of any skin to skin contact with the other girl was too much to bear. She quickly changed into a pair of grey sweats she found in the dresser and made her way back to the bed.

Jinsol patted the space next to her and Jungeun slid under the covers. The bed was large, so she was able to leave a lot of room between them. Jungeun was lying stiff as a board even though bed felt like clouds and was probably the most comfortable one she’d ever lied on, for some reason, she just couldn’t relax knowing Jinsol was so close.

Jinsol on the other hand couldn’t figure out why Sooyoung was so far and rolled over onto her girlfriend in order to cuddle. She placed her head onto Sooyoung’s chest to hear her heartbeat—the steady thump was comforting. After a moment, Jinsol ran her hands across Sooyoung’s stomach, and even through the shirt she could feel the lines of her abs despite the other girl not flexing. It was something she was used to doing and something she knew Sooyoung liked, but Jungeun wasn’t Sooyoung, so instead of the expected outcome where Sooyoung remained unaffected, but enjoyed Jinsol’s ministrations, she was once again thrown for a loop. Sooyoung’s heart began to speed up and beat rapidly beneath her head.

Jungeun grabbed Jinsol’s wandering hand and placed a kiss to the back of it—what Jinsol was doing tickled, but it felt really good. Maybe a little too good, which is why she needed for it to stop. Then Jungeun reached down to softly kiss Jinsol. 

There was no rush. 

It was just slow, soft, and sweet. 

Jungeun pulled away after a moment and rested her head on the pillow. The arm that was around Jinsol’s waist stroked lightly up and down Jinsol’s back in a soothing manner. She was the picture of calm despite the swift beating of her heart.

And Jinsol… Jinsol buried her face deeper into Sooyoung’s chest to hide the sudden blush that appeared on her cheeks. She could not understand why, but she was somehow more breathless from this kiss than the more heated one she initiated earlier.

--

“Then I’m not really sure what happened but I played with her hair and I guess she fell asleep?” Jungeun paused to try to see if she was missing any details, but decided she wasn’t. “I know I was on the verge of falling until you texted me. And before you say anything, I was gonna leave but she looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake her up.”

“Wow…”

Jungeun looked away, she was feeling more apologetic now that Sooyoung couldn’t find the words to say. “I know, I’m sorry. I should’ve done it anyway.” 

“No, I mean, wow I can’t believe you guys didn’t f-”

DING

The door to the Café announced new visitors. In walked Jiwoo and Jinsol. 

“Please tell me I’m seeing things.”

“You’re seeing things.”

“Tell me that isn’t Jiwoo and Jinsol.”

“That isn’t Jiwoo and Jinsol.”

“Sooyoung!”