Chapter 1
Chaewon decided that maybe this whole "let Eunchae do what she wants" thing was a mistake. She told her little sister that since their parents were gone on business that she could do whatever she wanted within moderation, she didn't expect her sister, 18 years old, still in high school, to throw an absolute rager of a party with little to no warning. How Eunchae found this many people to come is beyond her.
The living room was overflowing with teenagers, too many to count honestly. The thought of having to clean whatever mess was left in the morning made Chaewon sick to her stomach. The thing is, Chaewon had never been one to enjoy large crowds. Sure, she enjoyed a small get together here and there. 25-35 people max, not whatever this is. Music blasting from various speakers around the house set the pace for the night. Loud, upbeat, and far too many curse words. This entire scene unraveling in front of Chaewon was a mess. The smell of alcohol and sweat mixed with the smell of cheap cologne and perfume.
Chaewon was never one to enjoy the company of strangers, sure, meeting new people occured from time to time, but this? This wasn't something Chaewon could enjoy. Their modest sized house, 6 bedrooms, and a fairly large back yard was swarmed with kids. Bottles of alcohol lined the kitchen counter. The island in the kitchen was sticky with sweat and spilled juice. Eunchae would be hearing all about this tomorrow morning, regardless of how hung over she would be.
Chaewon decided her only means of escape would be the basement. She walked down the hallway from her room, walls lined with unreasonably drunk teenagers. Making her way down the stairs into the living room Chaewon had bumped into about 30 more people then she would've liked to. The entire house felt like a can of sardines. Humid, wet. Chaewon pushed through the crowd forcefully, albeit a little too forceful. Making her way to the door in the kitchen. The least Chaewon could do was escape with a drink and watch movies or something while pretending that there wasn't a whole herd of teenagers just above her.
Making her was down to the basement, Chaewon had a bottle of cheap vodka and some juice in hand. She curled up on the couch downstairs, covering herself with a throw blanket before grabbing the remote and finding something to watch, deciding on an anime she had saved for later on her ever-growing list of shows to watch when she gets free time. The basement was their dads "work" office. Recording equipment and sound proofing lined the walls. Their dad was a fairly well-known voice actor for kids shows and other animated projects. He dabbled in music from time to time too. Chaewon knew Eunchae was smart enough to label this as off limits to those who entered the house. If anything happened to the equipment down here, they would both surely be sentenced to death via burning at the stake.
The best part about the basement was nothing could be heard from down here. The music, footsteps, and chatter was nothing but a dull hum that was barely noticeable. The tv drowned out the remaining sound. It felt like a blip in the universe, away from all distraction. Chaewon tried to focus on the show but the constant reminder of the chaos going on upstairs was too much to disregard. Chaewon turned the tv off, made herself a drink that was far too strong, but it had to be strong to keep her mind off of everything going on inside their home.
She grabbed a guitar and sat down in front of the microphone by her father's recording table. Deciding on what to sing she lazily strummed a melody on the guitar. Pressing record on the computer and angling a microphone closer to the instrument in her hand. She began singing, half-heartedly at first, but the more alcohol she drank the more in her head she became. The words spilled from her mouth like she was put on this earth to say them. They sounded so right. Her soft somber voice echoed through the room.
A small creak sounded, Chaewon too preoccupied failed to notice it. A tall figure slowly crept down the stairs. Firey orange hair a tousled mess from dancing. The figure stood at the bottom of the stairs staring at Chaewon as she sang. The melody coming from her pricking tears into the singer's eyes. The guitar faded out as Chaewon sniffled.
Huh Yunjin, Eunchae's proclaimed best friend of the week stood there, in complete silence. Unable to move, too busy staring at the girl in front of her, eyes still closed. She felt like she had invaded a personal moment. Something too personal for other eyes and ears. She thought about how she could apologize, what she should say when she inevitably noticed by the drop dead gorgeous girl in front of her. She could've turned around and left before she was noticed. Pretended like she hadn't seen or heard a thing, but she didn't. She stood there until honey colored eyes met hers. Slightly red from crying. A look of shock plastering the washed-out pink haired girls face. Yunjin almost turned around to leave only stopping when she felt the weighing need to apologize for her intrusion.
"I- I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. Eunchae told me I could come down here to calm down after I got into a fight with some guy upstairs. I didn't mean to interrupt you Chaewon Unnie. I'm really sorry." The orange haired girl blirted out, words overlapping themselves. The girl looked positively mortified. Frozen in place.
"And you are? Why do you know my name? I highly doubt Euchae would tell anyone to come down here. She knows this is off limits to guests." The pink haired girl sounded far snarkier than she had intended to. Her face softened as she looked at the look on the taller girls face. A look of pure horror painted her features. She had tried to stutter something out, trying to justify her reason for coming down here.
"It's okay I'm just fucking with you. How do you know my sister?" Chaewon asked, tone playful unlike before. The orange haired girls shoulders fell, no longer tensed in fear.
"Eunchae and I went to school together a couple years ago. I'm not in high school anymore, I go to university in Seoul, but she asked me to come visit this weekend and then told me she was having a party. I'm not one to pass up on free alcohol either so I was happy to attend." The taller girl rambled. Chaewon nodded to herself, acknowledging the girl.
"When did you graduate?"
"About 2 years ago. I was a senior when Eunchae was a sophmore. I'm 21."
"You aren't much younger than me actually. I thought you were around the age of the rest of the kids here." Chaewon laughed to herself, noting the expression on the other girls face.
"I'm Yunjin by the way, Huh Yunjin. I major in sports medicine." The girl, now Chaewon knows is Yunjin, says with her chest puffed a little.
"I'm Chaewon, but you already know that. I major in musical history, and minor in song writing and composition. It's nice to meet you and all, but how much of what happened before did you see?" The shorter girl asked suspiciously.
"Not a lot Unnie, I promise. I was only there for a few seconds before you finished I swear. It was beautiful though. What song was that?"
"That's not important. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but would you mind leaving? I don't want anyone down here, especially because this equipment is expensive." Her voice came out more worried than anything.
"Oh yeah that's no problem at all. Sorry again Chaewon Unnie. I didn't mean to interrupt you. I'll leave you to it then. Have a good night." A short farewell before the girl retreated up the stairs.
Chaewon downed the rest of her drink, pouring another right after and downing that one as well. The longer she sat down here the more in her head became, at least when Yunjin was there it was a distraction from the looming feelings in her chest. The feeling of possible failure. Having so much she wants to share but never being confident enough to actually put it in to words.
Chaewon grabbed her phone from the desk, texting Kkura.
-Kkura Unnie, what are you up to? Manchae decided to throw a party, and I'm stuck in the basement. SOS.
-- Me and Zuha are on the way. We'd never miss an Eunchae party.
Chaewon shook her head. That wasn't what she meant in the slightest. The girl moved back onto the couch downing more alcohol before her phone pinged. Kkura letting her know they are there. Chaewon decided to join the party. At least with Sakura there she wouldn't be totally miserable.
When she made it back into the kitchen Sakura and Kazuha were hugging Eunchae, the youngest girl smiling like a maniac. Chaewon grabbed another drink and made her way over to the small group, noticing Yunjin standing a few steps away looking at the girls. Eunchae grabbed Chaewons arm and smiled.
"Are you having fun Chaewon Unnie? Kkura Unnie told me you texted her and told her to come because my party was awesome." Chaewon shot the oldest girl a glare.
"Yeah, I know Kkura Unnie and Kazuha aren't ones to skip parties so I thought you wouldn't mind me inviting them." Chaewon made a mental note to beat Sakura's ass the next time they see each other.
"Unnies, let's go dance. I'll play music you guys like too." Eunchae grabbed Chaewon and Yunjins hands, leading them toward the living room. Suddenly, Catellena by Orange Carmel started playing. Chaewon shot a dirty look towards Eunchae, knowing that Chaewon performed this song at a talent show when she was in grade schools. The younger girl just smiled at her, a shit eating grin plastered across her face.
Sakura started dancing, soon after Yunjin and Kazuha joined. Eunchae followed them, nudging Chaewon to join them too. The girl gave in, allowing herself to have fun despite the embarassment. After that the night went by a little faster. Before they realized it the time was 2am. People started slowly leaving the party, by about 3am the party was only really the five of them left. A few extra people looking around for their friends or waiting for a ride back home.
"So, Unnies, since it's just us how about we play some more games in the gaming room? I don't want to see you guys leave yet." Eunchae begged, giving the girls puppy dog eyes.
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The five of them, laid across large bean bags, cursed at one another loudly. Yunjin sat between Chaewon and Eunchae, Sakura and Kazuha insisted on sharing a bean bag. Eunchae's game of choice was Mario Kart. Chaewon believes that Eunchae is evil because the girl knows how worked up she gets about games this competitive. Kazuha declined joining, preferring to watch as Yunjin threw a red shell at Chaewon who was in second place, nearly passing Eunchae, causing the girl to stop allowing Yunjin to overtake her. Chaewon cursed. Eunchae giggled as she threw a red shell backwards, hitting Yunjin making the girls cart spin out and nearly fall off the edge of the race track.
The continued on, Chaewon ended up finishing the race in 8th place because of the other girls pelting her with red shells. Angry about losing, Chaewon decided to cross her arms and sulk in the corner, emphasizing how she was bullied by everyone she had trusted. Yunjin patted her shoulder, apologizing in a mocking tone which only fueled Chaewon more. The shorter girl turned to the side, tackling the taller girl down to the floor. Legs pinning her to the ground.
"Apologize again Yunjin, I dare you." Mock anger plastered across Chaewon's seemingly sweet face.
"I'm so so so sorry that you're so terrible at Mario Kart Chaewon Unnie." The taller girl laughed.
Chaewon balled up her fist, pretending to hit the girl beneath her. Yunjin caught her hand, grabbed her other arm and flipped Chaewon onto her back. Now hovering over the 'angry' Chaewon. She dropped the act, surprise covered her face at the sudden change of position. Her face burned red at how close Yunjin's face was to hers.
The two girls sat frozen for a second, something in the air made it nearly impossible for either of them to look away. The only thing that broke the staring contest between the two was a soft snore coming from just behind them. In sync both girls looked over at a now sleeping Eunchae, curled up in a ball on the bean bag. A calm look painted the girls face.
Yunjin was the first to move, standing up carefully and walking over to Eunchae. Picking the younger girl up and carrying her out of the gaming room. Chaewon followed close by, showing Yunjin the way to Eunchae's room. Together the two girls put Eunchae to bed, Chaewon leaving a gentle kiss on her sister's forehead before pulling the covers up to her shoulders.
A lingering silence settled over the two, a little too awkward for Chaewon's liking. Yunjin scratched the back of her neck. Trying to figure out what to say.
"Do you want to stay over-"
"I better get going-" The two said at the same time. A small laugh escaped both of them.
"Would you like to stay over? It's late and you drank, it's not safe for you to go out alone, plus Sakura and Kazuha are sleeping in the guest room." Chaewon asked nervously.
"I think I better, I didn't realize it was almost 4am. Plus, I didn't say goodbye to Eunchae and she would be so mad if I left without a proper goodbye." Yunjin smiled. Chaewon genuinely liked the girl, she cared for Eunchae like she was her own sister, she was charming in a dorky awkward way.
"You can stay in my room, I'll take the basement couch since Eunchae's other friends are spread throughout the various guest rooms and the living room." Chaewon offered.
"No no I couldn't kick you out of your own room, that's not right."
"Please, I insist. You took care of Eunchae, it's only fair."
"How about this, we share your bed, easy right? You don't have to give up your room, and you don't have to feel bad about where I sleep. I can feel better knowing you aren't hurting your back while sleeping on a couch, it's a win-win." The taller girl said matter-of-fact-ly. It made Chaewon chuckle to herself.
"Fine, but only because I really don't want to sleep on the couch." Yunjin had a smile of victory painted on her face, a part of it annoyed Chaewon like no other.
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The two girls settled into Chaewon's bed. It was a lot smaller feeling now that there was an extra body that was about six inches taller than her in it as well. The space between the two was limited, Yunjin laid on her side, facing Chaewons window, while Chaewon laid facing her door. It really wasn't ideal, but Chaewon didn't want to stop being around Yunjin. Her dorky deminer and stupid dry humor made her presence addicting in a way.
Both girls laid awake for a while longer, silence covering them like a thick woolen blanket. It wasn't uncomfortable, but there was something thinker lingering in the air. Both girls could feel it. It was awkward, felt as if there was something unsaid, something that needed to be spoken into existence. As time passed the silence became deafening.
Yunjin stared at the wall trying to muster up whatever courage she had inside her to say something, anything at the very least. Chaewon blinked away her thoughts as fast as they appeared. Both girls stayed completely still the only movement was Chaewon playing with the thin silver band on her right middle finger.
In one fluid motion, both girls flipped over. Now face to face Yunjin looked into Chaewons eyes. Looking for something. Alcohol was still very present in both of their systems. Maybe that was why when Yunjin leaned a little closer to Chaewon, the other girl closed the gap. Their lips met for a moment, almost unmoving, until Yunjin moved her hand from under the soft comforter, lightly placing it on the back of Chaewon's head. Chaewon lifted her head slightly, letting Yunjin move her closer. The kiss was soft at first, sweet. Then Yunjin tilted her head to the side, deepening it ever so slightly.
Chaewon's face flushed at the strong arm pulling her closer. The kiss was soft, innocent at first. Yunjin was the first to break contact, pulling away for air. Chaewons eyes stayed closed for a moment longer. Yunjin looked at her, eyes casting a soft gaze at the older girl. Chaewon's hand reached up to her lips, trying to remember the feeling of Yunjin against her. Her eyes opened, meeting with Yunjin's soft gaze.
Chaewon came to a conclusion in that moment, if the world was crumbling around them and everything was doomed to end, she would spend her last moments before everything came to an end fighting to feel Yunjin's lips against her own, even if it was just for a moment.
Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the fact that since her eyes locked with honey colored eyes that night, Chaewon couldn't get the girl off her mind, but regardless of the reason, Chaewon sat up. Yunjin followed close behind, pulling Chaewon to her lap. Her eyes locked with the orange haired girls before she threaded her hands through Yunjin's hair, pulling the taller girl closer. This time the kiss wasn't soft; it wasn't gentle or patient. This time the kiss was rushed, it was rough, lip bruisingly rough.
She felt hot, her body felt like it was burning. It was like Chaewon had poured oil over her body and Yunjin held a lit match, setting her body ablaze. In a frenzy to feel more, Yunjin lifted Chaewons shirt over her head discarding it to the side, removing her own shirt in a hurry. Chaewon couldn't tear her eyes away from the girl beneath her. Her mind was on fire and every touch from Yunjin on her bare skin felt like hot coals being pressed into her.
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