𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱
𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝟸𝟾𝚝𝚑, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟾
{𝐊𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐧}
"Ahh you're so stupid, Jung Haerim."
The girl was seated in her car by herself, banging her head against the steering wheel.
"Curse you and your cute smile."
Finally coming to the end of her rambling by resting her head against the middle of the steering wheel which caused the car to honk loudly, echoing across the full carpark. Elly had just dropped Soeun off at Fave Entertainment discreetly, after the two went out to have breakfast together earlier that morning. Her head was still rested against the steering wheel when two firetrucks entered the carpark at an oddly high speed with their sirens blasting at an even higher volume than the sound Elly's car was making a few seconds ago. Her phone that was placed in the cup holster went off, the similar ringtone repeating over again until she slid the bar to answer.
"Sei what's with the fire-"
"Unnie where are you?!"
The panicky voice of the younger filled the phone with a bunch of muffled voices flooding the background which Elly assumed was the other members.
"I'm in the carpark. Why are there firetrucks?"
The elder questioned.
"Our dorm caught on fire. We're all at Fantagio."
Elly's eyes widened upon hearing what Sei said.
She instantly drove to where the Fantagio entertainment building was and leapt out of her car, racing up the stairwell as the lift was taking far too long. Once seeing Yoojung and basically everyone else in their pyjamas, she simply glared at all of them.
A few days earlier, Yoojung met up with the composer to write her rap lyrics for the new title track 'Crush' yet some lyrics were still labelled with a question mark beside them, meaning that they were still up for change and negotiation.
"I was gone for what? 30 minutes? And you burn the dorm down?!"
Elly questioned the 7 ashamed members sitting on the practice room floor huddled together at 6:14 am.
"Ok... but how was your date?"
Lua asked, getting onto her knees and capturing the attention of the other 6 members beside her.
Elly sighed and sat down in front of the members that were insanely curious about her 'date' with Soeun.
"It's not a date."
Everyone had managed to recover a few items from the fire earlier that day and were now off to do different activities. Whether it be Doyeon filming for her web series, or Sei, Lua, Lucy and Rina going shopping for new things. Leaving the three eldest members with nothing much to do. They were scheduled to have another comeback soon, although it wasn't announced to the public yet. They figured they would get started on some of the projects. The title track beat was already made by their composer and although they didn't normally participate in lyric writing or composition they decided to brain storm ideas. Yoojung continued writing her rap in the spinning chair in the recording studio. Suyeon was seated on the chair beside Yoojung and Elly was inside the actual room with the microphone hovering over her face.
"Unnie, what do you want me to do?"
Elly asked, speaking into the microphone as it was her first time actually participating in writing one of Weki Meki's songs.
"Read some of the lyrics already written on the page, but do it at your own pace following the beat of the song."
Elly nodded at Suyeon's words and began to listening to the song playing from the main chorus. Reading over the first line of the pre-chorus Elly stopped singing.
"Instead of 'you got me spinning around.' What about, 'it's not like me to keep circling around you.' because it's longer and fits more with the less cliché aspect."
Noticing the quietness from the other side of the window, she turned away and coughed to laugh it off.
"You know just a sugges-"
Suyeon smiled and clapped once really loudly.
"That's good! You're a natural."
Elly watched the visible smirk plastered on Yoojung's face as she paused writing her rap.
"What?"
"Nothing.. just feel like these somewhat meaningful lyrics are coming from somewhere... someone given you inspiration maybe?"
Elly eyed the girl on the other side of the window, "That's a lot of talk coming from someone who wrote, '하루 종일 몇 번이고 들었다 놨다 하고, 밤새 잠 못 들어 문제잖아' don't you think?"
{'𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚘 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚙, 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚎'}
"Touché."
...
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}
"If.. If you are certain. 100% sure that you like this person, then show them that you feel that way about them. There's nothing worse than regretting to do something just because you're afraid. Especially if it's rejection."
Elly turned to face the girl that was staring up at the rearview mirror as if she were thinking through her actions carefully. She finally closed her eyes and turned her head to face Elly who still had one arm rested on the steering wheel. Elly noticed the twinkle in Soeun's eyes and she couldn't help but smile through the stab wound in her heart. As long as she was happy and always smiling that irresistible smile that she has, then Elly was truly happy for her. It stung to know that person who was making Soeun's heart burst and her eyes twinkle in joy wasn't her, but someone else.
"No regrets."
Soeun spoke, more to herself than the only other person in the car. Elly heard the sound of Soeun's seatbelt unbuckling and assumed that the girl was leaving the car. Soeun had her hand pressed up against the door handle, pulling on it to open the door. Her feet shifted to the side of the exit.
"Soeun-ah."
The younger girl looked back to see Elly smiling back at her.
"Fighting."
The older girl said lifting her hand that was in a fist as she saw Soeun leaving the car. When she heard the door close behind her, it was then where she looked to the front to the car opposite her. Her jaw clenched but her bottom lip in between her teeth, she was gripping onto her steering wheel so tight that her knuckles were going white.
The door of the car clicked open again. Maybe she forgot something. Elly thought and quickly loosened her grip on the steering wheel and put on a smile again.
The words she was going to say, tangled up in her mind as the car filled with the sweet scent. She found herself being unable to process anything at just the sight of ... her. The sweet smell that was filling the car was intoxicating and in that moment Elly wasn't able to do anything. She was in the control of her. Her back being pressed against the door frame, the hands she had on the steering wheel were now grasping at the fabric that was close to her; with practically all of Soeun's weight shifting onto Elly as she kept pulling her closer and closer. In the moment, she didn't care whether it was wrong or whether she was leading the two of them into a huge mess.
It just felt right.
Soeun had one arm laid flat on Elly's chest near her collar bone and the other on her neck just behind the ear to support Elly's head.
"Bro my chest hurts."
Elly said, looking down at Soeun's hand placement. Soeun feeling the rush of embarrassment, lifted her hand and tried to push herself off Elly, so she could leave straight away without having to deal with whatever it is that just happened.
"Sorry."
"Jokes."
Elly shot the embarrassed girl a devilish smirk. She traced her hand up Soeun's jaw and gently pressed her thumb against Soeun's cheekbone.
"So, it was me. That person you liked."
"Hold on. Did you just call me bro?"
Soeun attempted to change the subject by tilting her head forward to have her face dangerously close to Elly's.
"I see what you're doing, Park Soeun. Answer the question."
She leaned forward and lowered her eyes, with Elly doing the same thing until their foreheads were touching. Elly grabbed for the door handle, the door swinging open due to both of their weights piling onto it. Elly began to fall back until Soeun grabbed onto her arm, leaving her hanging out of the car with only a few centimetres from her head touching the concrete carpark floor.
"Are you stupid? What did you do that for?"
Soeun held onto Elly's arm tightly and pulled her up making her see the time on her phone pop up for a glimpse when she received a message on the Weki Meki group-chat.
"Cmon, you have practice tomorrow. Go take a shower and sleep."
Elly spoke softly to the girl who was still grabbing onto her desperately. Soeun slowly went back to the other seat, making sure to be extremely careful when getting off of Elly. She used the door on the other side to get out of the car, and closing it behind her. Once they were infront of the lift that Soeun was about to take, Elly waved at Soeun.
"Unnie. It was you."
"Yeah I sort of figured that out myself."
Elly responded bluntly which made Soeun knit her eyebrows together and pout.
"Can I stay with you tonight?"
The younger girl asked Elly.
"Random. You have practice and won't your manager check?"
Soeun shook her head in response.
"Manager's don't check on rest day, and if they do. They normally call beforehand."
Elly heaves a sigh.
"Very well. Pack your stuff and I'll meet you here in 10mins."
"Oh. You don't seem excited."
Soeun snarked.
"Ya just hurry up. GO GO. I'm timing you. If you're not down by 8:23pm I am leaving."
...
Within only 7 minutes, Elly could see the girl with a large backpack racing over to her car after stumbling out of the lift as soon as the door opened. She hopped into the car, while Elly started the engine.
"Did you tell the others where you're going?"
Elly asked the very excited girl who was visiting her dorm for the first time and meeting Elly's other members apart from Lua who she met for ramen and Yoojung who she didn't really meet but saw briefly on the roof where she saw Elly for the first time.
"Yeah I told Jimin and Jaehee."
Soeun said.
The two drove to Elly's new dorm, entering the parking lot. Elly took her duffle bag out of the trunk of her car and Soeun put on her backpack. The two went up the elevator in a comfortable silence.
Elly noticed Soeun playing with her fingers and instead took the younger girl's hand in hers as she unlocked the door of her dorm that she shared with all the members but were separated in 3 rooms. Elly being with the two maknaes Rina and Lucy.
As soon as the door opened and Elly slipped her shoes off, she could hear the nearby sound of someone racing to the door from her bedroom.
"Elly unnie!?"
The maknae of Weki Meki sprinted out of her room and saw that someone behind Elly was crouched over with a large backpack, trying to untie their shoes.
"Aigoo Hyojung-ah."
The girl who had just returned to her dorm, shook her head at Lucy and chuckled at how cute the maknae was. Soeun looked up from untying her shoes and stood up to be almost a head taller than Elly which shocked Lucy who gasped.
"Oh my god. You must be Soeun!"
Lucy jumped past Elly and stood infront of Soeun who was about the same height as her.
Soeun bowed at Lucy, earning a light slap on the shoulder from the Weki member stood infront of her.
"Ya-Park Soeun. We're the same age."
Lucy laughed.
In the other room, another curious girl lifted her head up from her phone upon hearing the commotion outside.
"Ya Lee Sei get out of my face."
The smallest member jumped out of her bottom bunk and bolted out of her room to the front door.
"Ahh OMG OMG. Park Soeun."
Yoojung pushed her maknae out of the way and shook the confused guest's hand. Soeun could see that Yoojung was talking to her but she couldn't hear a thing. All she could see was Elly walking away from her to go to the kitchen, after throwing her duffle bag onto the couch in the living room.
"Yoojung-ah, leave the kid alone. She looks like she wants to run away."
Another two Weki Meki members one with a questionable fashion sense and one that had cute bangs walked out of the same bedroom Yoojung was in. Yoojung looked up to the tall guest who was the same age as Lucy, and noticed that she was staring ahead to the kitchen where Elly was washing her hands currently. A smirk crept onto the main rapper's face as she moved out of the way after apologising to Soeun.
Soeun noticing Yoojung's presence disappearing, she looked to see another two members that had appeared.
"Hello."
She bowed to the two of them.
Suyeon and Sei both waved.
"We'll get to know you later during dinner, go get comfortable and wash up before then."
Suyeon told the guest who nodded.
As Soeun walked over to the kitchen where Elly was, she stood near the kitchen counter to see Elly laying out all sorts of vegetables on the counter.
Elly turned around to see Soeun just observing her.
"Oh. Sorry! Come with me."
Elly said, and took Soeun's hand in hers again. Soeun feeling the familiar butterflies in her stomach again whenever Elly touched her.
Elly led Soeun into her shared bedroom with Lucy and Rina and told Soeun to put her backpack on the floor beside her singles bed.
"How do you want to do this? Do you want to sleep here with me or I can bunk with another member? Up to you."
Elly asked, plopping onto her bed and patting the spot beside her for Soeun to sit down.
"With you. Obviously, unnie."
Soeun rolled her eyes playfully at Elly.
Elly nodded, placing her hand on one side of Soeun's face and the other on Soeun's knee.
"You like me that much?"
"Ahh Unnie!"
Soeun pushed Elly away from her, the both of them laughing.
"Why are you like this?"
Elly stood up from the bed.
"Just to tease you."
For once, Soeun was looking up to Elly and Elly was looking down at her. The older girl leaned towards the girl that was sitting on her bed. She delicately brushed under the younger girl's chin and lifted it up so their eyes connected. Soeun was the first to close her eyes, awaiting the impact of their two lips touching one another. Seconds and it never came. She opened her eyes only to see Elly smirking at her.
"You're mean."
Soeun glanced to the side, avoiding eye contact with Elly.
When Elly grasped at her chin and pressed their lips together perfectly, even though it was only for a brief few seconds. Elly pulled away first and began to walk out the door when Soeun grabbed her wrist.
"I'll help you make dinner."
"What? You think I'm crazy enough to make dinner for 9 people?"
Elly asked, her mouth agape at just the thought of prepping a meal that large.
"You're not? Then what was all the vegetables laid out on the counter?"
Soeun questioned.
"That's just groceries that someone bought before and just left them out on the counter like a bunch of lazy sloths."
"Then where are you going? Why not just stay with me?"
Soeun pleaded the older girl and gently pulled her back onto the bed.
Elly was laying on the bed with Soeun resting her head on her chest, while they scrolled through Soeun's phone. Soon after the two of them were called for dinner by Lua who had just seemed to come home with Rina holding takeaway food. Soeun went to the bathroom to go wash up before dinner, when she got a notification on her phone. Not meaning to snoop but Elly tapped on the notif from an anonymous number that had just sent Soeun a message.
The images began to flood the phone screen making Elly's face turn pale. There was no content to it. No message after either, just photos of her and Soeun in the car only a few hours before. She heard Soeun coming out of the bathroom and quickly blocked the number on her phone, and deleted the messages, before switching it off. It was no doubt a threat. What sick person was threatening a child like this?
Soeun went over to the bed and grabbed her phone and pulled Elly onto her feet so the two of them could walk out together. Lua noticed Soeun holding onto Elly's hand and standing behind her.
"Hi Soeun-ah. Nice to see you again."
The girl with whisker dimples waved and ushered the two girls dramatically to the table infront of them. As the group of girls were eating and asking Soeun a lot of questions, one person seated beside her was more quiet then ever.
"Haerim unnie. Are you ok?"
Rina nudged her elder's shoulder. Elly nodded and continued to eat the food that was brought home.
After they all went their separate ways, Lucy, Rina, Lua and Doyeon watching a movie outside in the living room so Soeun and Elly had the room to themselves. The two of them were sitting on Elly's bed facing one another on the top bunk.
"Are you sure you're ok?"
The younger girl asked, only to get the same answer that Rina got.
....
𝙽𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟻𝚝𝚑, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟾
It wasn't long. It hadn't been that long but it felt like an eternity. Soeun hadn't come by the dorm since that time when Elly invited her over for the first time. The members just assumed that maybe Soeun was busy and couldn't come over but what Elly kept private was something completely different.
Soeun watched her from behind all the screens. Maybe she shouldn't, maybe she should stop. Elly was making her feel as if she was obsessing over her.
Probably because she was.