The Pictures
Despite Seulgi’s pleading, Yeri did not agree to delete the picture. And Seulgi, for all the groaning, complaining, whining and pouting she did over the situation, felt even lighter when she finally stood up, blushing so hard she felt feverish, and announced she was heading for a shower, feeling an urge to flip Yeri and Kyung off when their only reaction was even more laughter. She felt a smile make its way on her face instead.
With the room now void of the local disaster, Yeri leaned in conspiratorially towards Jaeyi, a sly grin still on her face, laughter making her pretty eyes wrinkle in the corners.
“Soooo…” she drawled, ignoring Jaeyi’s neutral expression. “Do you want to see the picture? It’s so, so cute.”
Jaeyi pretended to think for a moment, determined to keep her cool despite knowing exactly what her answer would be.
“Sure, why not?” she settled for as an answer with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. She raised an eyebrow at Yeri’s delighted chuckle, watching her scroll through the gallery, before sliding the phone towards Jaeyi. Kyung walked up to them, eager to see the reaction as well.
Jaeyi immediately understood why and felt the corner of her lips twitch up. She kept her composure.
“It’s cute,” she said, looking at herself and Seulgi laying on their sides, Seulgi’s forehead pressed to her shoulder, her own arm slung around Seulgi’s waist. They looked peaceful.
“Oh, that’s just how you started out,” the bright mood seemed to get even Kyung. “But then…” she scrolled to the next picture. Jaeyi didn’t even know there was another one.
Jaeyi felt her composure break and swore she heard her heart beating in the quiet room.
She knew how they woke up, of course. Remembered Seulgi’s face pressing into her neck, her body fully on top of her, their legs tangled, her pyjama top twisted in Seulgi’s hand. If she closed her eyes and really focused, she could probably imagine the feel of Seulgi breathing on top of her, warm and unguarded in the peaceful slumber. She just… didn’t expect them to look like this.
Jaeyi was sure she never saw either herself, or Seulgi, look this soft and lovely. The closer angle of the picture let her see their expressions more clearly. She zoomed in without a word, Kyung and Yeri letting her have her quiet moment. She saw herself fully relaxed, mouth parted slightly, leaning towards Seulgi’s head.
And then her heart burst out of her chest when she realised Seulgi, with her face in her neck, was smiling. It was barely there, mostly hidden due to their position, but the curl of pink lips was unmistakable. It was so heavily intimate, she had to blink to come back to reality. A soft, awed “oh” fell from her mouth before she could even realise it was happening.
Kyung and Yeri still haven’t said a word, not even when Jaeyi’s thumb moved over the screen as if to caress the photo, burn it into her memory and heart until it was the only thing there. Finally, she broke the silence that had set in the room.
“Send them to me?” she framed it as a request, but knew she would not accept any answer that didn’t include a yes. Yeri let her previously sly grin soften up, lowering Jaeyi’s guard just a little.
“You like them that much, huh? You got it.”
With just a few taps on her phone, the girls heard Jaeyi’s phone ding on the table.
“There. I told you they were lovely.”
“Hey, Jaeyi-ah,” Kyung began, hoping to ease the tension in the room and reassure her friend, who looked like her world had collapsed and was brought back together in the span of a few seconds. “You did very well yesterday, you know? Looks like all the cramming paid off,” she finished with an awkward wink, making Jaeyi huff out an amused laugh and Yeri throw her head back with a loud cackle.
“What did you cram for, Jaeyi-ah? We didn’t have any tests yesterday.”
Seulgi’s comment was met with a startled yelp from Kyung, Jaeyi clutching at her chest for a short moment, and Yeri’s loud “JESUS!”. Seulgi’s face showed her shock straight away.
“Sorry?” she tried, only to be met with three overlapping voices, each complaining about the unexpected arrival in their own ways. She raised her hands in surrender, an amused expression replacing the shock and didn’t interrupt.
They quieted down after a while, so Seulgi let herself settle back at the table, towel-drying her hair.
“I was talking about the study and planning sessions we had this week to figure out how to approach you. Clearly, “Kyung gestured to Seulgi, now fresh from the shower, hair still wet, eyebags smaller and less tinted, “it paid off.”
Seulgi’s head snapped to the side, gaze locking onto Jaeyi, who fought a blush rising up her neck when she saw the raised eyebrows and a playful expression aimed at her with full force.
“Did you actually study to comfort me, Jaeyi-ah?” was blurted out, surprisingly teasingly. Seulgi blinked at her own tone of voice, but didn’t back down. It seemed Yeri was in an especially playful mood this morning, as she answered before Jaeyi could even think to speak.
“Oh yeah, it was almost like midterms all over again. Notes, sources, citations, the whole thing. There was talk about making some slides, but we figured we didn’t have the time for that. We substituted with a mind map.”
“There was no mind map!” Jaeyi hurried to defend herself, a desperate edge in her voice.
“Maybe not, but your brand new psychology textbooks are still on your bedside table.” Kyung came in with the final blow, smirking.
At Jaeyi’s pained groan, Seulgi couldn’t keep it in anymore. She laughed, loud and clear, completely delighted. At the moment, all the doubt and fear and guilt stayed quiet, faced with the overwhelming joy coursing through her veins at the sight of Yoo Jaeyi fully flustered because of something she did for her.
“I knew something was up. This whole thing went way too smoothly for all of you. Way too much of a shift to be subtle. Studying, Jesus,” she spoke, still giggling, flushed and happy and warm. “A+ for your little project. Well, for Jaeyi. You two,” she gestured to Kyung and Yeri. “A- for the dramatics.”
And with the two girls protesting their “grade”, Kyung much more fiercely than Yeri (“I wasn’t the one taking the pictures!”, “You tucked them in, that’s worse!”), Seulgi let herself smile widely at Jaeyi, who couldn’t resist a smile back.
—
When the laughter died down for the final time, Jaeyi stood up and stretched, face still a tad warm.
“I’m going to take a shower, I’ll be back in a bit.”
Her tone was casual, but she made sure to make eye contact with Seulgi, checking in silently. Seulgi smiled and nodded slightly, recognising the gesture as making sure she was okay being left with Yeri and Kyung without Jaeyi’s presence there. Her heart was already full, but the care still made it warm. Jaeyi left without another word.
After a moment of not-quite-awkward, but not-quite-comfortable silence, Kyung suddenly stood up as well, clapping her hands once, all-business. “Right. Study-time. You two coming?” she quirked a brow, already moving towards the living room.
Seulgi’s hand shot out under the table and made contact with Yeri’s wrist. Only a tap, but clearly enough, judging by Yeri’s single, confused blink.
“We’ll join you in a minute, alright? I just have a question for Yeri,” Seulgi explained, offering a tight smile. Kyung shrugged, already only focused on the material she was going to revise. “Sure, I’ll grab your stuff for you.”
Seulgi made sure she was out of earshot before turning to Yeri, slightly tensing up when she saw the curious expression on the girl’s face. Yeri must’ve noticed, because she immediately switched to an easy smile.
“What’s up?” she asked, voice bright and sweet, putting Seulgi more at ease.
“I was thinking…” Seulgi trailed off and bit her lip. Her fingers started tracing small patterns on the wooden table. She focused on Yeri’s warm smile, gentle but casual in a way that felt intentional. She took care of me yesterday, too. She gave me water. She studied to help me. She was nice this morning as well. Everything’s okay. With a deep breath, she continued, the next words leaving her at lightning speed. “Could you please not post the picture anywhere? You said it’s cute, but still. It can stay between the four of us, that’s fine, just… nobody else, please.” Her voice got meek towards the end, and she avoided Yeri’s gaze.
Seulgi’s words hung in the air for a moment. A brief flash of hurt went over Yeri’s face before she leaned in a bit closer, masking it with a smile. I can’t exactly blame her for thinking that.
“I wasn’t going to post it, Seulgi. I promise. It’s just a little memory I wanted to capture. I know we’re not exactly close, not yet. But trust me on that, okay? It’s just for us,” she finished, smiling again when Seulgi met her eyes with a hesitant one of her own.
“Then… can I see it?” Seulgi asked hopefully. Yeri’s face immediately brightened, and she scrolled through her phone while answering.
“Of course! Did you know I took three? Here, this is how we found you. Sweet, right?”
Seulgi looked at the photo, curious. She smiled at the simple face-to-face cuddle on the screen. Well, face-to-shoulder was a bit more accurate.
“Yeah. Three?” she wondered, humming slightly. “What’s the next one?”
“The next one is my sole reason for living at the moment,” Yeri teased, pleased with a small laugh she earned. Eager to see the reaction, she swiped to the next picture, and watched in satisfaction as Seulgi’s face grew more and more red. Still, she never looked away, and her dimple popped out, making Yeri “aww” quietly.
Seulgi’s eyes snapped to her and narrowed a bit. “Really?”
Yeri giggled, not ashamed or intimidated in the slightest. “You’re so cute right now, come on. Let me enjoy it. I didn’t even know you have a dimple,” she continued teasing lightly, keeping her tone warm and friendly. Seulgi grumbled under her breath, but reached out to swipe at her phone to see the last picture, the blush slowly receding, but the smile stubbornly staying put.
They were quiet for just a moment, the final picture with Jaeyi and Seulgi under the covers disappearing from the phone after a few seconds when the screen turned off.
Next time, just admit you were comfy.
Well, it wasn’t exactly that, but the principle stayed the same, right?
“I like them,” Seulgi decided, voice warm if a bit quiet.
“I’m glad. Would you like to have them?” Yeri asked sincerely, abandoning the teasing for now.
Seulgi blinked, surprised. Was it that easy? No questions, no hesitation? Just like that? She swallowed heavily, but let herself lower her guard fully.
“Yeah. Could you send them to me, please, Yeri-ah?” the affectionate name slipped out so naturally, and Seulgi, in her heart, found that she meant it. Yeri didn’t answer, simply sent the photos and stood up from the table, before extending a hand to Seulgi to help her up as well.
“Yours now. Come on, let’s go study with Kyung. You know how intense she is about it,” Yeri finished, rolling her eyes a bit.