Lipstick

Nayeon had only come to the store for a new concealer—one quick errand before heading home. But somehow, she ended up in the lipstick aisle, staring at a display of flavored lipsticks.

Strawberry. Vanilla. Mint. Chocolate. Even peach.

She popped the cap off a tester, taking a whiff. "Wow," she murmured. "That actually smells good."

Naturally, the next thought that entered her brain was: I should try these.

The problem? She had no one to kiss.

Jihyo was taken (Sana had practically glued herself to her), and Tzuyu… well, Tzuyu would 100% judge her for even bringing it up. "You're pathetic," she could already hear the younger girl saying.

With a sigh, Nayeon placed the lipstick back. Just as she turned to leave, someone else stepped into the aisle.

A girl.

Not just any girl. A very cute girl, looking at the same lipstick display.

She had short, blonde hair tucked under a beanie, an oversized hoodie, and a slightly furrowed brow as she studied the lipsticks like she was considering an important life decision.

Would it be weird if I just walked up to her and said, ‘Hey, wanna make out?’

Nayeon actually paused to think about it.

On one hand, it was a completely ridiculous idea. Who just walks up to a stranger and asks to test out flavored lipstick on them? That was weird. That was something a desperate person would do.

…But on the other hand.

The girl was still staring at the lipsticks, tilting her head slightly as if debating between flavors. Nayeon squinted, trying to gauge what kind of person she was. Was she the type to be weirded out? Or was she the type who would laugh and actually go along with it?

As if sensing eyes on her, the girl suddenly glanced up.

Crap.

Nayeon panicked and did the first thing her brain supplied—she reached for a lipstick and pretended to be very invested in it.

"Are you seriously going to buy that?"

Nayeon nearly dropped the tube. She looked up again, blinking. "Excuse me?"

The girl—who had a surprisingly low, slightly teasing voice—nodded toward the lipstick in Nayeon’s hand. "That shade wouldn’t suit you," she said. "Unless you’re going for the ‘I just ate a popsicle’ look."

Nayeon scowled before even realizing it. "Maybe I am going for that look."

The girl snorted. "Sure."

Okay. This was fine. This was banter. This was flirting territory.

Nayeon could work with this.

"So," she said, shifting her weight onto one leg, "since you’re apparently a lipstick expert, which one would you recommend?"

The girl hummed, tapping a finger against the display thoughtfully. "Hmm. For you?" She finally reached for one and held it up. "Peach."

Nayeon raised an eyebrow. "Why peach?"

The girl shrugged. "I feel like you’d taste sweet."

Nayeon’s brain short-circuited.

Was she flirting back? Or was she just naturally like this?

Nayeon opened her mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again, only to realize she had no idea what to say.

Because what did you say to a stranger who just casually implied you’d taste sweet?

A normal person would probably laugh it off. Maybe say, Oh, that’s funny! or Good one! and move on.

But Nayeon had never been a normal person.

So instead, she blurted out, "Do you wanna find out?"

The second the words left her mouth, she wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

Oh my god. Oh my god. OH MY GOD.

The girl’s eyebrows shot up. Clearly, she hadn’t expected that.

For a long, horrible second, there was silence.

Then—she smirked.

Not a shy smile, not an awkward chuckle. A smirk.

Nayeon’s stomach did a backflip.

"Well," the girl said, slipping her hands into the pocket of her hoodie. "That depends. Are you always this bold, or am I just special?"

Nayeon barely managed to stop herself from squeaking. "Uhhh-" She scrambled to recover. "You might be special."

The girl hummed, looking way too pleased with herself. "Good answer."

Nayeon cleared her throat, gripping the tube of peach lipstick in her hand like it was a lifeline. "S-So," she said, trying to shift the conversation before her heart gave out, "do you always flirt with strangers in the lipstick aisle, or am I just special?"

The girl let out a laugh—a really nice laugh, deep and a little raspy. "Touché." She then tilted her head slightly. "I’m Jeongyeon, by the way."

Jeongyeon.

It suited her.

Nayeon felt herself grinning despite how absolutely ridiculous this situation was. "Nayeon."

Jeongyeon gave a small nod, like she was committing the name to memory. Then, her eyes flickered down to the lipstick still in Nayeon’s grip.

"You know," she said, "if you really wanna know how it tastes, you could just try it on yourself."

Nayeon, who had absolutely not thought of that, immediately went, "Oh. Right. Yeah. That makes sense."

Jeongyeon chuckled. "But-" she said, leaning in slightly, "if you still need a second opinion…"

She left the sentence hanging.

And Nayeon… was going to die right here in this store.

Jihyo would absolutely kill Nayeon if she found out she was bringing a stranger back to their apartment.

But that was a future-Nayeon problem.

Present-Nayeon was too busy trying not to combust as she and Jeongyeon walked side by side down the street, a small shopping bag swinging from Nayeon’s hand—the peach lipstick tucked safely inside.

This was insane. She was insane. Who just picks up a cute stranger in a makeup aisle and invites them over like it’s nothing?

Apparently, Nayeon.

Though, to be fair, it wasn’t like she had outright asked Jeongyeon to come home with her. That would be weird. Instead, she had very smoothly (in her opinion) mentioned that she had just bought some snacks on her way home and that she just so happened to live a few blocks away.

And Jeongyeon, after giving her another one of those infuriatingly attractive smirks, had said, "Well, I am kind of hungry."

So. Here they were.

"So," Jeongyeon said as they approached the apartment building, "you live alone?"

Nayeon really wished she could say yes.

"Uh. No. I have roommates," she admitted. "But they’re, um. Busy."

Busy.

Jihyo, most likely lounging on the couch, scrolling through her phone? Busy.

Momo, raiding the fridge for snacks? Busy.

Chaeyoung and Dahyun, probably trying to build a tower out of soda cans? Busy.

Jeongyeon raised an eyebrow. "Busy, huh?"

"Yep. Super busy," Nayeon said, leading her up the stairs. "Too busy to notice anything."

She prayed to every higher power that Jihyo was not in a particularly observant mood today.

When they reached the door, Nayeon hesitated for half a second before opening it—bracing herself.

The second she stepped inside, she heard it.

"NAYEON, IF YOU LEFT YOUR LAUNDRY IN THE-"

Jihyo’s voice cut off.

Nayeon winced. Slowly—so slowly—she turned her head.

Jihyo stood in the hallway, arms crossed, looking exactly like a mom catching her teenage daughter sneaking in past curfew. Her eyes flickered to Jeongyeon, taking in the beanie, the hoodie, the vaguely amused expression.

Then, very, very slowly, she looked back at Nayeon.

"Really?"

Nayeon cleared her throat. "Uh. Hi, Jihyo."

Jihyo pinched the bridge of her nose. "You brought a stranger to our apartment?"

"She’s not a stranger," Nayeon argued. "She’s-" She glanced at Jeongyeon, realizing she actually knew very little about her beyond the fact that she was cute, confident, and had excellent taste in lipstick.

Jeongyeon helpfully stepped in. "Jeongyeon."

Jihyo sighed deeply. "And how long have you known Jeongyeon?"

Nayeon hesitated. "Um."

Jeongyeon, to her credit, did not hesitate at all. "About twenty minutes."

Jihyo closed her eyes.

Nayeon swore she could see the exact moment her soul left her body.

Meanwhile, Jeongyeon—absolutely no shame whatsoever—looked between them, then gestured toward the living room. "Sooo, snacks?"

Nayeon bit back a laugh. Oh, she liked this girl.

Jihyo, muttering something under her breath about killing Nayeon later, simply waved them off. "Whatever. Just don’t make out on the couch."

Nayeon scoffed, dragging Jeongyeon toward the kitchen. "We weren’t going to!"

Jeongyeon leaned in slightly as they walked. "I mean… we could."

Nayeon choked on air.

This was going to be a problem.

A really attractive, smug, and ridiculously charming problem.

Nayeon practically yanked Jeongyeon into the kitchen before Jihyo could lecture her into an early grave. She let out a dramatic sigh, dropping her shopping bag onto the counter. "Well. That could’ve gone worse."

Jeongyeon leaned casually against the counter, arms crossed. "Could it have?"

Nayeon shot her a look. "Yes! Jihyo could’ve thrown me out. Or you out. Or both of us out. Or worse, she could’ve given me one of her long, disappointed lectures, which is way more painful than just getting kicked out."

Jeongyeon snorted. "Sounds like she has to do this a lot."

"…That’s not the point."

Jeongyeon just grinned. "So, where’s this snack you promised?"

Right. Snacks. That was the whole reason Jeongyeon was here. Totally. Not because Nayeon had a moment of insanity and invited a cute girl she just met to her apartment. Nope. Snacks.

Trying to act normal (which was very hard, considering Jeongyeon was standing there looking effortlessly hot), Nayeon turned and opened the fridge. "Okay, we’ve got…" She scanned the shelves. "Yogurt, leftover takeout, uh—oh! We have ice cream!"

Jeongyeon perked up. "What flavor?"

Nayeon pulled out the tub and checked. "…Peach."

There was a beat of silence.

Then, Jeongyeon laughed. That same deep, slightly raspy laugh that was probably going to haunt Nayeon’s dreams in the best way.

"Wow," Jeongyeon said, shaking her head. "The universe is really going all-in on this peach thing, huh?"

Nayeon groaned, slamming the fridge shut. "I swear I did not plan this."

"Sure you didn’t."

Nayeon grabbed two spoons and shoved one into Jeongyeon’s hand. "Shut up and eat."

Jeongyeon chuckled but took the spoon anyway, plopping down at the small kitchen table. Nayeon followed, cracking open the ice cream tub between them.

They ate in comfortable silence for a few moments, the only sounds being the clink of spoons and the distant murmur of the TV from the living room.

Then—

"So." Jeongyeon licked a bit of ice cream off her spoon. "Are we ever actually testing that lipstick, or did you just want an excuse to get me alone?"

Nayeon very nearly choked on her spoon.

She barely managed to swallow the ice cream before fixing Jeongyeon with a look. "Excuse me?"

Jeongyeon raised an eyebrow, smirking around her spoon like she knew exactly what she was doing. "The lipstick," she repeated, tapping the tub of ice cream with her finger. "You dragged me all the way here for snacks, but I distinctly remember you being curious about how it tastes."

Nayeon folded her arms, leaning back in her chair. "And you just happened to tag along because you were hungry?"

Jeongyeon grinned. "Maybe I was curious, too."

Oh.

Oh, this girl was dangerous.

Nayeon felt warmth creeping up her neck, and it wasn’t from the ice cream. She was usually the one who teased, who flirted first—but Jeongyeon was good. Too good.

"Fine," Nayeon said, trying to sound unaffected. She reached for the small shopping bag on the counter, pulled out the tube of lipstick, and twisted it open. "I’ll test it."

Jeongyeon nodded, watching with amusement. "Go ahead."

Nayeon raised the lipstick to her lips—then paused.

A thought struck her. A thought that was absolutely stupid but also absolutely something she would do.

She lowered the lipstick slightly, peeking at Jeongyeon. "Actually…"

Jeongyeon tilted her head. "What?"

Nayeon licked her lips, feigning deep thought. "I mean, if you’re so curious, wouldn’t it be more accurate if you put it on me?"

The moment she said it, she could see Jeongyeon processing. The way her smirk faltered slightly, like she hadn’t expected Nayeon to turn the tables.

Nayeon grinned. Gotcha.

But Jeongyeon recovered fast.

"Oh?" she mused, tapping a finger against her cheek. "You trust me that much?"

Nayeon lifted her chin. "I’m just making sure you’re really committed to this test."

Jeongyeon chuckled, shaking her head. "You’re trouble."

"And yet, here you are," Nayeon shot back, handing her the lipstick.

Jeongyeon sighed in amusement but took the tube. Then, with almost infuriating confidence, she reached out, steadying Nayeon’s chin with her free hand.

The moment Jeongyeon’s fingers touched her, Nayeon’s brain short-circuited.

Oh, this was a mistake. A terrible, terrible mistake.

Because Jeongyeon was close now. Close enough that Nayeon could see the way her eyes flickered over her lips, the slight curve of her smile, the way she smelled faintly of something fresh—like citrus and fabric softener.

"Stay still," Jeongyeon murmured.

As if Nayeon could move right now.

Jeongyeon twisted up the lipstick and, with an infuriating amount of focus, slowly swiped it over Nayeon’s bottom lip. Then her top lip.

The only sound in the kitchen was Nayeon’s heartbeat pounding in her ears.

Jeongyeon leaned back slightly, tilting her head. "Hmm."

Nayeon blinked. "What?"

Jeongyeon tapped her chin. "Not sure yet."

"What do you mean ‘not sure yet’?" Nayeon huffed. "It’s peach-flavored! How hard is it to tell-"

And then—

Jeongyeon leaned in.

Nayeon froze.

She barely had time to register what was happening before Jeongyeon’s lips brushed lightly against hers—a teasing press, so quick and soft that it left Nayeon reeling.

When Jeongyeon pulled back, she was grinning.

"Yeah," she said, licking her lips. "Definitely peach."

Nayeon, meanwhile, sat there in complete silence.

Her brain had officially left this world.

Jeongyeon laughed, patting her cheek lightly before standing. "Thanks for the ice cream, Nayeon. See you around."

And with that, she grabbed her hoodie, tossed a lazy wave over her shoulder, and walked straight out of the apartment.

Nayeon sat there.

Blinking. Processing. Trying to comprehend what had just happened.

From the hallway, Jihyo’s voice rang out.

"DID THAT GIRL JUST SMOOTHLY WALK IN HERE, FLIRT WITH YOU, KISS YOU, AND LEAVE?!"

Nayeon, still dazed, barely managed to whisper—

"…I think I’m in love."