Ryujin awoke to the sight of Yeji carrying a coffee to her bedside, fully dressed and apparently showered, her damp hair falling around her in soft curls.
Ryujin's eyes widened when she glanced at the clock beside her side of the bed.
"Eleven thirty?" She gasped, and Yeji smirked.
"You were very tired. In fact, I had to check for a pulse."
"Shut up." Ryujin rolled her eyes. She immediately clutched her head, ignoring the dull pain that was reminiscent of her alcohol imbibing college days. "Ow. How did I even get to bed? I don't remember."
"You don't?" Yeji's smirk only grew as she sat on the edge of the bed with a look of pure amusement.
"No, I don't." Ryujin retorted, squeezing Yeji's hand as a thank you, as she accepted the coffee.
"I help carried you." Yeji grinned. "You made fun of me for not being able to hold my liquor, but you, dork, are something else entirely. Slept face first on the table."
"Shut up." Ryujin gaped. "I-never-that's never happened before."
"Apparently my arm made the sweetest pillow." Yeji smirked. "I'm quite flattered, if not offended because I spend hours at the gym trying to tone them."
"I've noticed." Ryujin blurted out quickly, and as soon as Yeji looked up in surprise, she sipped the coffee a little too quickly, wincing as she did so. "Shit!"
Yeji chuckled and looked away, hardly moving when Ryujin gave her a light kick.
"Well, did you at least get in your run?" Ryujin asked softly.
"And then some." Yeji nodded. "I came back, half expecting you to yell at me for taking my sweet time, but you didn't. That's when I checked your pulse."
Ryujin stuck her tongue out at her childishly, in lieu of a comeback.
"You were very peaceful." Yeji commented in a soft tone, and Ryujin forgot about anything in the world except for Yeji's lips.
"So, today's our break day. Because tonight, the group's party." Ryujin grinned.
"You sure you can handle that?" Yeji fired, clearly enjoying her little victory over Ryujin.
Ryujin had to struggle not to think of Yeji's tone arms carrying her to bed just hours ago. She wished she'd been awake to remember that glorious moment.
"Look, smartass Yeji is back. Good. I was getting worried." Ryujin spoke wryly as she rose to stretch, noticing her bra was still on, but she was in her underwear and a loose t-shirt. She quirked a brow. "Did we have sex?"
Yeji sputtered, shaking her head, cheeks red. "What? Oh, god, Ryujin, no, I-"
"Relax, nerd." Ryujin smirked, leaning forward to kiss Yeji's forehead. "It's called a joke."
Yeji heaved a sigh of relief, and Ryujin knew Yeji never would have taken advantage of her like that. But of course, it was fun to see the usually reserved and stoic brunette trip over her own words every once in a while.
"I think I'll go shower." Ryujin murmured. "Thank you for the coffee, Yeddeong."
"Of course." Yeji dipped her head. "I'll give Yuna a call, see how she's faring without her new best friend."
"Tell her Ryujin says Hi!" Ryujin threw over her shoulder cheekily as she shut the bathroom door, leaving Yeji to sink into the bed with a sigh.
Ryujin's kiss still burned her forehead.
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"Ryujin?" Yeji called as she ambled into the bedroom, having finished her emotional skype call with Yuna.
Ryujin was now dressed and showered, sitting in the corner of the room where the single desk was, smiling up at Yeji.
"Hey Yeddeong." She murmured, rising from the chair, sketchpad and pencils in hand.
"Oh, please, don't let me interrupt." Yeji smiled. "I can go-"
"No need." Ryujin grinned. "I figured out how we're going to pass the time."
"How's that?" Yeji cocked her head to the side, ever curious.
Ryujin tried not to melt too much on the inside at Yeji's adorable idiosyncrasies, like her favorite, Yeji's curious head tilt.
"Drawing." Ryujin offered with a knowing smile, tugging Yeji into the living area of their hotel room, plopping onto the floor beside her, backed up against the couch.
"Ryujin, the fundamental issue with this plan is that I never have been able to draw." Yeji pointed out, sitting with her back absolutely erect, not a dent in her posture.
"Have you ever been best friends with an artist before?" Ryujin fired back teasingly.
"My list of best friends isn't exactly long, Ryujin. I didn't have any growing up." Yeji admitted, her voice suddenly soft.
Ryujin's face fell in time with her heart, and she turned to face Yeji, smiling brightly at her like the sunlight that flitted in through the windows. "While I have an incredibly difficult time believing that, Yeji, I'm here now. I'm an artist, and I'm most certainly your best friend."
"That you are." Yeji murmured, and Ryujin felt herself getting lost in Yeji's intense gaze.
"Right," Ryujin cleared her throat. "So, let's sketch something easy, huh? How about your bracelet?"
Yeji blinked, looking suddenly uncomfortable. "I've never taken it off." She admitted softly.
Ryujin grinned reassuringly. "Neither have I. You can use my hand for a model."
Yeji couldn't help the grin that graced her full lips as she took Ryujin's hand up to the light, inspecting it carefully as she narrowed her eyes in focus.
"Alright." Ryujin smirked. "Let's see if you're actually good at everything you set your mind to, Hwang Yeji."
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Ryujin had ordered room service, the girls ate a late lunch, Yeji had caught up on all her business calls, and the drawing was finally complete.
"Well, fuck, Yeji." Ryujin huffed in amazement, "Are you actually bad at anything? Are you a robot?"
Yeji smirked in response, cheekily holding her sketch of Ryujin's hand, so in detail that it looked realistic, like an old photograph.
"I couldn't draw circles an hour ago. I'm not sure what happened." She admitted.
She knew exactly what it was, however well she lied. She'd wanted to impress Ryujin so badly that she'd meticulously went over every line again and again, giving it her all.
Apparently, she'd succeeded.
"You know what, nerd?" Ryujin shook her head, pressing a kiss to Yeji's cheek as she stood up. "You disgust me."
Yeji just grinned back up at her, accepting her extended hand. "I try."
"So, you ready to wear skimpy dresses and rub up on strange guys?" Ryujin teased, eyeing the clock.
Yeji made a face at that.
"Strange girls?" Ryujin altered her earlier statement.
Yeji still made a face.
"Fine, fine, we'll rub up on each other." Ryujin amended finally. "We have that-fake relationship to preserve, and all that."
Yeji nodded slowly, swallowing the doubt. "They-ah-your friends, they'd probably expect a lot of drunken PDA tonight."
"Right." Ryujin tossed over her shoulder, reaching into her pile of clothing for her dress. "We can't stop now."
"I suppose not." Yeji murmured, going for the one dress she'd brought but hidden from Ryujin until she absolutely needed it.
Now was that time.
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Ryujin had been leaning over the counter, texting Chaeryeong, trying to get a hold of her since that morning, and fruitlessly so.
While the erratic thumping had stopped, Ryujin had no doubt that she and Jisu were still at it.
They'd probably received several noise complaints.
Ryujin wouldn't have blamed anyone. She and Yeji were tempted to place the call in themselves.
Ryujin got a whiff of exotic, almost spicy scented perfume. It was her favorite scent in the whole world. It was just a little tantalizing, a little dangerous, yet sweet enough to lure her in.
It was Yeji.
Glancing up, Ryujin's eyes widened and her jaw actually dropped.
Yeji was wearing a tight, form-fitting black dress, short with slits on the side, complimenting every curve of her incredibly delectable figure.
Ryujin licked her lips, trying to come up with a compliment, or to breathe, at the very least.
Yeji wore a shy smile, as if to ask Ryujin, "What do you think?" Without uttering anything at all.
Ryujin took in a breath. "Yeddeong-I-wow, okay Jesus, that's... You're so beautiful Yeji, I can't believe-"
Yeji froze, eyes widening, clearly stunned by her flattery. "Oh. Thank you, Ryujin. You always look radiant."
Ryujin shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. "You know, you're very smooth for a nerd."
Yeji smirked. "Perhaps you labeled me a bit too soon."
Ryujin rolled her eyes. "The 'fine stud' bracelets were all sold out, sorry." She teased.
Yeji grinned at her, offering her hand to Ryujin. "Ready to brave the world of drunken idiocy together?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Ryujin laughed, accepting Yeji's hand as the two ventured out of the confines of their own little safe-haven.
*
"This is awkward, Yeji." Ryujin whined.
"It's not awkward, Ryujin. They slept together. It happens."
Ryujin froze, turning on Yeji with wide eyes, the distant sound of the hotel bar and club's music ringing in her ears. "You're saying you don't feel awkward seeing Jisu and Chaeryeong right now?"
"Oh, who am I kidding, of course I am." Yeji clicked her tongue. "But, we'll do it together."
Ryujin bit her lip, continuing her path to the bar. "What do we even say? Congrats on the sex?"
"Has it occurred to you that we don't have to say anything?" Yeji offered, ever the sage one of the two.
"Um, Yeji, they were fucking against our shared wall." Ryujin pointed out. "They know we heard."
Yeji wasn't sure why hearing Ryujin talk like that sent a thrill through her. She bit her lip, trying to regain her composure. "Ryujin, we're adults. If they bring it up, congratulate them for getting together, and just order a drink."
Ryujin nodded, squeezing Yeji's hand as she weaved in and out of people, the dimmed lights of the club making it more difficult for Yeji to read her facial expressions.
Ryujin led her to the table towards the back, where Karina and Jefri were already sitting on one side, Felix and Changbin on the other, Chan at the end in the middle.
"Okay, so they're not here. Didn't see that coming." Ryujin mumbled.
Yeji mouthed "What?" Over the sound of the raucous of the bass.
Ryujin just shook her head and led her to the relative safety of the table, away from the main source of the booming cacophony of music and the already hammered, sweaty bodies that danced on the relatively small dancefloor.
"Hey Ryujin." Karina nodded as the two approached the table hand in hand. "Yeji. Wow, you look amazing."
Yeji humbly thanked her, but not before Changbin and Chan voiced their agreement.
Ryujin narrowed her eyes, her arm snaking its way around Yeji's waist, tugging her closer. Yeji didn't seem to protest.
"Save me a dance, huh?" Changbin winked at Yeji.
"Ha. Dream on." Ryujin spoke wryly, and Yeji snorted at her refusal to even acknowledge the idea. To be Shin Ryujin's date was to be treated like royalty. Yeji had to admit, she was enjoying it.
"Have you guys seen Chaeryeong? Or Jisu?" Ryujin asked, straining her voice a little.
Felix nodded. "Bar." He motioned with his finger. He even offered a smile to Yeji, who reciprocated it in kind. Oh, how quickly the tables had turned.
"Right." Ryujin nodded, leaning down to Karina. "Did they seem... weird, at all?"
Karina frowned. "No, but you seem weird. Everything okay, Shin?"
"Huh? Me?" Ryujin scoffed. "Nah. We're perfect. Where are Ri-ki and Sunoo?"
"The Bar." Karina copied her brother, waving her shot around with a smirk.
"Is that Ri-ki's beer?"
"Yep."
"But how did they-"
"Leave it to them, Ryujin." Karina smirked. "Go on and get some. We'll be here."
Ryujin nodded turning to Yeji. "I'll be right back." She promised, whipping around for the bar.
Yeji seemed comfortable enough in the capable hands of Jefri and Karina, who weren't quote drunk enough to scare her off, and Ryujin found her eyes settling on Chaeryeong and Jisu as she made her way over, Ri-ki and Sunoo also sitting at the bar beside them.
Ryujin blinked in surprise. Everything seemed.. good.
Chaeryeong was the first to see Ryujin, releasing Jisu's hand to put her arm around Ryujin.
"Party girl Ryu!" She smirked. "Ri-ki, Sunoo, hook it up!"
"Hey Ryujin!" They called offhandedly, sliding several clear, harmless looking drinks down the length of the bar.
"Hey..." Ryujin mumbled, barely audible over the music.
"Everything okay, Ryujin?" Chaeryeong asked, smile falling when she noticed Ryujin's expression.
"Hmm?" Ryujin glanced up. "Yeah, I just-I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Me?" Chaeryeong cocked a brow. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Ryujin glanced at the clear liquid, tossing back a sip before acknowledging Chaeryeong's look of surprise.
Time for liquid courage.
"Well... you almost bore a hole in our shared wall having sex with Jisu last night." Ryujin replied, willing the liquid to burn her insides.
Chaeryeong's mouth pulled into a proud smirk.
Ryujin was so lucky Jisu was occupied with inspecting the beer to notice.
"It finally happened, Shin." Chaeryeong pressed on, drink in hand.
"I could hear as much." Ryujin concurred. "I just-are you happy?"
Chaeryeong leaned close, her lips grazing Ryujin's ear. "So much." She whispered.
At that, Ryujin smiled, taking her step back. "That's all I care about, Ryeong."
Chaeryeong tapped Jisu on the shoulder and the smaller girl turned on her bar stool, blinking in surprise when Chaeryeong greeted her with an open kiss.
"Oh, okay, wow." Ryujin nodded, grabbing her drink as well as Yeji's. "You two have a great evening and keep it down." She rolled her eyes at Chaeryeong's smirk and wink as she scurried back to the safety of the table, and more importantly, Yeji.
It seemed that liquid courage would be the theme of the evening.
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"Cheers!" Karina called as everyone back at the table raised their glasses of questionable liquid in the air, grins plentiful in the early evening. "To our really messed up family."
"To family!" They all echoed, downing their drinks like tap water.
Ryujin paused, her drink in the air, glancing at Yeji, who'd been enjoying the toast until she remembered she had to drink the mystery concoction at the end. She gazed at it as if it Ryujin had told her it was made in a toilet.
Although, for homemade beer, that was typically the way it went. Either that or a bathtub.
"I promise it's healthy." Ryujin whispered in her ear, over the sound of their table chatter and the music.
Yeji shot her a glare.
"Okay, fine, I promise it won't kill you." Ryujin amended, grinning as Yeji sighed, clinked their glasses together, and took a strong gulp.
Ryujin nearly doubled over in laughter when Yeji bit back her obvious need to choke, eyes watering at the strength.
"That's it, babe." Ryujin cooed, clapping Yeji on the back. "You'll thank me later, and hate me tomorrow morning."
"I think I hate you now." Yeji coughed slightly once she'd swallowed it down, watching as Ryujin went in for her next sip.
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They were rounds and rounds in, too deep to count and too far to look back.
Yeji had never felt so alive and utterly numb at the same time.
Yeji was convinced that the so called "homemade beer" was laced with ecstasy. Not that she knew what ecstasy was like, but dancing with Shin Ryujin felt pretty damn close.
Yeji never considered herself to be particularly sexual.
But Shin Ryujin, especially when drunk, simply oozed sexuality. She'd mussed her hair, and her lipstick was beautifully vibrant under the dark lighting. She'd laughed and giggled and coaxed Yeji onto the dance floor, and Yeji could do nothing but obey, utterly the property of Shin Ryujin.
Ryujin never even had to ask.
Where Yeji had never been one for dancing, never even attending a school dance in all her years, Ryujin's body was nearly liquid. It flowed so effortlessly and naturally, and the way she threw up her hands and tossed her hair while she swayed her hips to the beat was a sight Yeji was content to die watching.
But Ryujin was so much more than beautiful. She was caring, intuitive, loving. She'd noticed Yeji's hesitation, her stiff reluctance, her inability to "just let go, baby" as Ryujin had put it.
The alcohol was there; her mind was swimming in it. She knew she could forget her inhibitions if someone gave her the gentle push over the edge.
Ryujin sent her plummeting off.
"Hey." She whispered, turning so that her lips were against Yeji's ear. She smelled sweet like her perfume, and Yeji couldn't get enough.
Yeji swallowed the lump in her throat. Ryujin was the most beautiful person alive, she was sure of it.
"I want you to listen to me, Yeddeong." Ryujin breathed temptingly. "Can you do that?"
Yeji nodded slowly, her mind numb and shut off to anything and everything that was not Shin Ryujin.
"I want you to relax, first of all. You're beautiful." Ryujin assured.
Yeji wasn't entirely sure what that had to do with dancing but the compliment sent her heart soaring. She patiently awaited Ryujin's instruction, so eager to please. So much so that she didn't notice Chaeryeong and Jisu getting entirely too physical on the dance floor, just bodies away.
"Put your hands on my hips." Ryujin instructed. "And sway your body in time with mine. Let me handle the rest, Yeddeong, I'll take care of you."
Yeji nodded once more, instantly regretting the distance Ryujin put between them as she turned around, guiding Yeji's hands around her hips.
She completely missed Karina's murmuring to Jefri, "Look at how gentle she is. God, Jef, they're so cute."
Of course, they were practically miles away, back by the table.
Yeji's hands found Ryujin's hips, and Ryujin delivered on her earlier promise, moving to the beat without question.
Yeji found that, like everything else, it was effortless with Ryujin.
She could barely handle the sight of Ryujin, breathless, sweating ever so slightly, fringe parted, and then- Oh. Shin Ryujin was grinding onto her.
Yeji felt the rush of her heart rate, juxtaposed by the calm of the alcohol, and she felt like she needed more.
Not that she ever thought she'd get this far anyway.
She danced nearly half the time away with Ryujin, running her hands down Ryujin's sides, swaying with her, leaning forward to eventually press a kiss to the base of Ryujin's neck.
That was when Ryujin froze.
Yeji felt her heart drop. She'd done too much, hadn't she? She'd gone and wrecked a perfectly good evening with Ryujin because she'd misread the signals, she'd somehow messed it up with her alcohol addled thoughts and-
Ryujin turned, eyes meeting hers, gaze intense.
"Ryujin." Yeji breathed, hoping Ryujin could hear her. "I am so, so sorry I thought-"
Ryujin attacked her lips with an unprecedented intensity, throwing her arms around Yeji's neck as she begged for Yeji's lips between her own.
Yeji didn't even have to think before she stumbled back in surprise, maintaining contact as she wrapped her arms around Ryujin's waist, pressing them flush against each other.
Kissing Yeji was akin to a heavenly experience. Yeji's lips were soft and full, and Ryujin loved kissing them even more than she enjoyed looking at them, which said a lot.
She was entirely too needy and desperate but nothing had felt more right.
This was her Yeji, her love. She tasted like her lip balm and alcohol, but Ryujin hardly noticed the specifics at all. She was too busy teasing Yeji with her tongue, moaning heavily into her mouth.
Yeji took a page out of her book and bit down softly, dragging Ryujin's bottom lip between her own. She couldn't help her smirk as she heard Ryujin gasp in pleasure, and she knew she wanted to hear that sound over and over again.
She was breathless, heaving, a light sheen of sweat over her body.
Ryujin was faring no better.
She couldn't help her little whine when Ryujin pulled apart.
Yeji was ready for the litany of apologies from both parties. Surprisingly, they never came.
The two were merely breathing heavily, gazes locked on one another, dead to the rest of the world.
And then Ryujin was taking her by the wrist leading her outside of the side exit, out into the quiet of the hall leading to the elevators.
Yeji, of course, followed without protest.
They didn't make it half as far as Ryujin had intended as she pushed Yeji against the wall lightly, pinning her there as her lips found Yeji's neck, causing the brunette to moan aloud, cheeks flushed, feeling a certain need overwhelmingly pool in her stomach.
"Ryujin..." She panted.
"Mmm, baby?" Ryujin's response was more of a statement, as she hummed against Yeji's neck, glancing up for a split second.
"There's no one here," Yeji mumbled, trying to regain at least some of her composure. "We don't have to-"
It dawned on Ryujin that Yeji was still under the impression that this was all for show. She bit her lip, sucking in a breath. She was already so intoxicated, the alcohol and her attraction for Yeji combining to give her a sort of dizzying rush of endorphins.
"Yeji." Ryujin breathed.
"'S'okay." Yeji mumbled, the dejection deeply seated in her tone, unmistakable. "We can go back-"
Ryujin interrupted her, because she simply had no more patience for games. They could have their talk later, but she needed to impart a very sensitive piece of information to Yeji right at that very moment, else she'd die, she just knew.
"Yeji, I am incredibly attracted to you," Ryujin's voice was husky and breathy and it drove Yeji insane. "And I really, really like you." She mumbled, finding it hard to gaze into Yeji's feline eyes. Or to focus on one point at all.
Yeji's eyes widened and if Ryujin's head had been against her chest, she would've heard the way Yeji's heart skipped a beat or two entirely.
"Ryujin, I-I feel the same way." Yeji whimpered, her bottom lip wobbling slightly.
Ryujin took her trembling lip into her own, reassuring it with what was, in retrospect, a messy but caring kiss.
Quickly, however, the kiss heated, and Yeji found herself lifted by Ryujin, who somehow in her drunken haze, managed to lift Yeji as she leaned against the wall for support.
Yeji thanked her lucky stars that no one ended up barging in on them, as her dress was hiked, though Ryujin showed no signs of being too forward, hands merely holding Yeji close as they deepened their kisses, breathing growing heavy once more.
Ryujin laced her hands in Yeji's hair, leaning forward to suck gently on Yeji's neck, then peppering it with kisses as she marked her slightly, making her way back to Yeji's mouth.
The elevator lights flashed, and dinged, warning them that someone was coming down. Immediately, breathlessly they separated, both entirely too intoxicated to care about anything else at that moment.
It was the sloppy result of liquid courage and mutual pining.
It wasn't everything, but it was something.