A BUTTERFLY PARALLEL

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏.

...
Soeun was skipping happily down the hallway to the practice room, assuming that no one had arrived yet because Elly had purposely dropped her off a little bit early to avoid her being seen by others. She was currently living her dream life. She was set to debut in a few months as 'Fave Girls' which she worked so hard for, and she had her..

That older girl that confused her.
Soeun knew she liked Elly from the beginning, but she was beginning to question herself in what way after Jimin had brought up all those times where Elly would treat the maknaes out for dinner or lunch discreetly and Soeun would be a blushing mess. Of course, Jimin was joking and just trying to mess with Soeun after all that's what friends did to each other.
Was it admiration, sibling love or something with more depth to it..?

The member of Fave Girls that was in mixnine with Soeun watched as her long time friend pranced around the empty hallway, waving her hands in the air thinking no one was here to see her. She chuckled to herself before -
"BOO."
Soojin jumped out from behind the vending machine, watching the younger girl flail her hands and cover her mouth to not make a sound.
"Someone's happy."
The older girl clearly observed Soeun's still red tinted ears.

...
Later that night when Elly and the rest of Weki Meki were taking a break from practicing their comeback, she heard a notif go off on her phone. Followed by the childish voice of Yoojung cooing.
"Ooo, I wonder who? Park Soeun."
Elly didn't respond and instead remained silent, but by the smile curving onto her face, they all knew Yoojung was right.
As Elly was typing away at her phone, Doyeon and Sei were peeking over her elders head to read the messages out loud to the rest of the group. Doyeon reading out Elly's part and Sei reading Soeun's.

Soeun: We finalised our line-up today. I'm Lead Dancer !

Elly: REALLY? Congrats-

Lua who was listening to her two members reading Elly's text message wailed and shook her arms around like a child.
"Why do they text so boring?"
She whined, which finally caused Elly to glance up from her phone and look up to see Doyeon and Sei towering over her like massive oak trees. She glanced back down to her phone and held it closely to her chest.
"You guys weren't reading my texts ... right?"
The second oldest questioned, scanning her members expressions.
"Is she deaf... that she couldn't hear-"
Lucy began before Rina hit her on the thigh to get her to be quiet and play innocent.

...
The days leading up to Weki Meki's comeback was quite exhilarating. Weki Meki was excited and so was the maknae line of Fave Girls that fangirled over the girl group. Elly was especially nervous to perform their title-track 'Crush' for the first time as she had composed some of the lyrics that were secretly written for Soeun. All the promotions were going smoothly, and both girls were extremely happy, until a day came when Elly began to notice Soeun shifting uncomfortably beside her in the passenger side of the car. It was like their almost daily routine where Elly would drop Soeun off at her apartment complex where the Fave Girl's dorms are. Also known as her old dorm before her group set it on fire.

"Hey.. what's the matter?"
Elly stopped the engine after parking the car, and unbuckled her seatbelt to look over at the girl sitting in the passenger seat.

Soeun didn't budge.

"Hey.. you can tell me, Soeun-ah. What's bothering you?"
Elly examined the younger girl's face and placed her hands on top of Soeun's hand that was resting on her knees, only to have Soeun retract her hand away.
"Unnie."
The girl began to speak, her voice slightly shaking and her eyes looking to Elly as if she were seeking help.

"What do I do- If I think I like someone?"

That was the last thing Elly expected to hear. The sudden feeling of her heart dropping as she looked at the young girl that liked someone who wasn't her.
Her eyes flickered down to the pout on Soeun's lips, and back to her eyes. Elly sealed her lips and slowly moved back to her side of the car, resting her arms on the brim of the steering wheel. Her stern gaze looked directly to the car infront. From the windshield of the opposing car could she then see herself. She could see herself seething with jealousy as she tapped on the steering wheel repetitively. It was for the best.. probably. Even if Soeun was to like her, Elly wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Soeun was only 17 and she was 21. {𝚔𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚐𝚎}