Home Is With You

Let's Just Pretend

Nayeon awoke the next morning to the usual sounds of Ryujin crying for her bottle. She roused herself from bed and made her way across the hall to the nursery.

"Hi my sweet girl," Nayeon said gently. Ryujin calmed somewhat at the sound of her mother's voice. Nayeon reached down and picked the little girl up from her crib.

"Did you sleep okay? Did you have some sweet dreams?"

Nayeon kept her voice soft and gentle, soothing her daughter as they made their way to the kitchen. "Don't worry, eomma will get your bottle fixed. I know you're hungry. Just wait a bit okay?"

She patted the little girl's back. Ryujin's cries had softened now that she was in her mother's arms. Nayeon got the bottle ready, mixing together the warm water and formula with one hand while holding her daughter with the other with practiced ease.

Moms had a special talent for things like that. Nayeon had been amazed at the things she was able to do once she had become a mother. Fixing a bottle one handed was just one of the many tasks she had mastered.

"Here you go baby," Nayeon said. She put the bottle near Ryujin and the little girl eagerly sucked at the nipple as if she hadn't been fed in days.

Nayeon smiled happily. "Aigoo, you were starving weren't you? Poor baby, does eomma not feed you enough?" Ryujin just stared back at her while continuing to suck on the bottle.

"Good morning."

A voice greeted Nayeon from behind her and she felt her heart race. For a brief moment, she had forgotten that Jeongyeon was here. She had gotten right out of bed to tend to Ryujin, not remembering that Jeongyeon had slept next to her last night.

She had even momentarily forgotten about the kiss.

Nayeon turned around slowly, panicking just a little. "G-good morning Jeongyeon." She internally cringed at herself for stuttering like a fool.

The other woman was still wearing her oversized shirt and baggy shorts from yesterday and her short, black hair was slightly tangled, poking up at odd angles. Nayeon suppressed the urge to go and run her fingers through it.

"Did you sleep okay?" Jeongyeon asked and Nayeon was surprised by the completely normal question.

"Yeah. I did," she said. They soon fell into an awkward silence that neither was willing to break.

Jeongyeon seemed to be thinking hard about something, and Nayeon didn't have to guess to figure out what it might be. She had her own jumbled thoughts running through her head.

"Nayeon, about last night...." Jeongyeon paused, shifting nervously from one foot to the other.

"What- what about it?" Nayeon wanted to run from the room to escape this awkward air that had descended upon them.

"The, you know.... I mean, umm, what we uh-" Jeongyeon exhaled sharply and ran a hand through her hair.

"When we kissed?" Nayeon finished for her. Her face burned and she was finding it hard to look at her best friend.

"Right. That."

They lapsed into another awkward silence that didn't seem to have an end any time soon. Ryujin broke some of the tension with how noisily she was taking her bottle.

"Jeongyeon I think-"

"Let's just forget it."

Both women had rushed to say what they were thinking and ended up talking over each other. Nayeon blinked in surprise when she realized what Jeongyeon had said.