Ryujin woke up in an unfamiliar bed. It was dim but her body clock never fails to wake her up at 8AM so she had to double take and think who the softer bed and the smell of vanilla on her pillow belonged to.
When she sat up, she finally realized where she was and felt her stomach drop. When she turned to her side, she saw the cat-eyed girl sleeping peacefully while hugging a small plushie to her chest.
Her eyes grew wide when she realized that she's not wearing anything. It took everything in her not to trace the end of the blanket that drapes perfectly on her smooth shoulder.
She sighed.
She still couldn't believe last night happened. Her first sexual encounter and it's with the girl she actually likes.
When she asked Yeji out, she had no intention of bringing it further than a normal stroll while eating snacks in Naksan Park. She knew she was setting herself up for heartbreak when she decided to confess the obvious feelings she has for the girl, but she figured she has to get everything out of her chest before she goes insane.
What she didn't expect was the way Yeji comfortably wrapped her arms around her waist on their ride home.
She was sure that the other girl isn't new to motorcycles with the way she was so eased up to hop on the bike, and the way she found the back handle immediately, but she didn't think she'd actually get some physical contact that night. Her attraction grew wilder as Yeji seductively told her to calm down - with a raspy voice that made the hair on her neck stand.
By the time she removed her own helmet, she was pretty much lost in the thought of kissing Yeji. So when she saw an opportunity, she took it.
Everything after the kiss was pretty much drunk Ryujin.
Thinking back, she couldn't help but to facepalm herself because of all the things she said out of desperation. Not that she regretted anything that happened afterwards. She's just scared of what Yeji would say.
Will she regret it and not talk to her anymore?
Should she still be here when she wakes up?
Will she tell Chaeryeong and Professor Park?
Oh gosh.
She was so lost in thoughts that she didn't notice the girl in question was already awake, and was watching her.
"Ahem", Yeji cleared her throat and the voice startled her.
"Good morning", the cat-eyed girl greeted as she got up to pick up her clothes.
Ryujin's mouth formed an O shape as Yeji exposes her bare back, now remembering how her hands and mouth are on those curves the night before. She had to look away before her whole body turned red.
"You might want to get dressed, too. Chaeryeong usually comes over on Saturdays for breakfast."
Yeji looked back and smirked at her before she left the room.
Ryujin hurriedly got dressed and gathered her things.
Unfortunately, Chaeryeong was already sitting on the dining table with Yeji when she came out of the room. She was about to retreat back rapidly when the red head called her name.
"Ryujin?"
She slowly turned around, waved awkwardly and walked towards the door.
"Hey, Chaer."
The other girl looked back and forth from Ryujin, to her best friend, and back to Ryujin with a very confused look on her face.
Yeji just shrugged as Ryujin spoke up to say her goodbye.
"I was just leaving." She shot a quick glance towards Yeji and the cat-eyed girl was already looking at her with an expression that says we'll talk about this later.
She took a mental note to text her once she got home.
Slept with Yeji. Hurry back home.
The moment Lia read the text, Ryujin knew she'd be scrambling to get home.
Bitch, WTF??? was her only response and sure enough, she's home not even an hour after the read receipt.
Ryujin and Lia spent the next two hours recalling what happened the day before, including all the possible scenarios that might happen now that they already had sex.
"So were you actually able to shake her out of your system? Or it got worse?"
Ryujin had to sit down before admitting it. She's even more screwed now that she got a taste of how it would be like being with Yeji. She could tell that the other girl was holding back and not sharing a lot when they were in the park but when she did, her face got so animated with emotions that it was impossible to look away. She was very attentive too, when Ryujin was telling her stories. Not to mention the physical encounter that happened, which made the brunette yearn for the cat-eyed girl even more.
Lia stood up and took Ryujin back to consciousness.
"I know that look. You're definitely screwed. You better figure this out and find a way to avoid getting hurt. And find a way not to get kicked out of your job."
That's right. Professor Park warned her, too, and she threw everything out the window the moment her lips touched Yeji's.
Way to go, Ryujin. Way to go.
She spent the rest of the day holed up in her bedroom - ironically wishing a message from the cat-eyed girl would light her phone up.
*
"So are you guys friends with benefits now?" They have been eating brunch for a couple of hours now and Chaeryeong wouldn't let it go. She's still so baffled how it happened and why she found her dance classmate sneakily leaving her best friend's bed at 9AM on a Saturday.
"I told you, Yeongie, I don't know yet. We haven't talked about it. Everything happened so fast and I woke up with you already here."
"But the secret meetings... and the park date... and-"
"It's not a date. And we can't-", Yeji was quick to cut her off. "Look. How about this, I'll text her right now."
She pulled out her phone and typed up a message.
"That we could meet on Thursday after class to talk. And then I'll tell you all about it at dinner. There. Sent."
The redhead still has lots of questions in her head but figured she should grant Yeji the time.
"Alright. But this is so not you, Yeji-ah. You don't jump into anything without setting ground rules. And besides, I saw Minju's car in front last night. I thought you'd be with her."
Shit. I forgot about Minju. She thought. Fridays are their day.
Yeji started to clean up. She needs to sort a lot of things out.
She isn't lying when she says she wasn't planning for any of this to happen. Yeji knew that Ryujin was looking for something else and she should've stayed away from her from the get go. That was the beginning of her slip up. Not to mention that she's a TA and what they did was highly unethical. All the more reason for them to leave each other alone.
Yeji spent the next several days focused on school and had minimal interaction with anyone except Chaeryeong. She also agreed to meet with Minju outside for a decent chat by the end of the week.
When Thursday came, she was surprised to see a familiar car waiting for her outside her apartment building.
Sure enough, she saw her Mom's personal assistant coming out of the passenger seat while she was walking towards it.
"Miss Hwang." The assistant greeted.
"Oh for the nth time, I told you to call me Yeji. What's up?" The cat-eyed girl looked around to see if her Mom was inside the car but the vehicle seemed empty.
"I came here out of whim and Madam doesn't know I'm here."
Yeji shot her a baffled look.
"Someone sent an anonymous message on Mrs. Hwang's business page. We were quick to filter it out but we thought you should know."
"Wait. Who's we? And why am I being involved in this? I thought I made it clear that I don't want to be associate with any business-"
The assistant was quick to cut her off.
"It's a photo of you and... another woman kissing at a bar."
Yeji's mouth hung open with the information.
She has been very careful when it comes to her personal life, barely made any new friends or genuine connections to avoid exposing her family background. Since she also lives in an apartment and doesn't dress up as fancy or act as wealthy as she really is, people were quick to assume that it's just a coincidence that her last name was the same as the family who dominates the automotive industry in Korea.
She also has almost zero social media visibility and does not include any personal information on her dating app profile apart from her age and her height. The ones she's been with know nothing about her except her name; apart from Minju who knows where she lives and where she studies. But even she doesn't know anything about Yeji's family.
It terrifies her a little that someone actually knows who her family is and even tried to tell them she's gay.
The Ryujin and Minju thing, and now this? What the fuck is going on?!
She was brought back to consciousness by the assistant.
"I apologize Ms. Hwang, but I have to go. Giselle might be in contact with you soon."
Giselle is her Mom's head social media manager and Yeji gets along with her well. It's a little comforting knowing that she has someone from her Mom's business who's on her side.
They bid their goodbye and Yeji drove absentmindedly to school.