fake it till you make it | purinz

0.6

Chaewon can't decide what's worse: Yunjin's enduring silence and bare minimum participation, or Sakura and Kazuha's excessive physical contact and lovey-dove-isms. As things stand, this is the fifth consecutive time Kazuha has insisted that she needs Sakura to show her how to swing a club and Sakura has happily obliged.

Chaewon looks to her partner in crime to wallow in their shared misery, but Yunjin merely glances her way briefly and then looks away, twirling the club in her hand.

When it is Yunjin's turn once again, she does exactly as she's been doing all night long: a reckless swing of her club, the barest acknowledgment of which way the ball's heading, and a shrug regardless. This time, however, the swing is a little too aggressive and her ball goes flying. It lands with a series of quick bounces, heading straight towards a nearby pond, and maybe Chaewon's just desperate to get out of here or maybe she's itching for Yunjin's attention, but either way before she knows it she's bolting after it.

"Wait!" Yunjin calls, and it's like a car crash in slow motion. She reaches for Chaewon's wrist and Chaewon downright flinches at the brush of her fingers, unintentionally dodging away like a frightened animal. Yunjin's eyes darken, the set of her mouth pinching into a grimace. What Chaewon managed to get away with in Japan has made a repeat appearance, and this time Chaewon knows the outcome won't be the same.

She watches with a heavy gaze while Yunjin excuses herself to the restroom.

-

She follows after her, of course. It takes about ten seconds for her body to catch up to her brain, and then she, too, is mumbling an excuse and heading towards the restroom.

She finds Yunjin in the secluded hallway, and when she calls her name, the taller girl stops in her tracks. Though she turns around eventually, her face is a carefully concealed mask.

Chaewon launches herself at her anyways, burying her face in Yunjin's collarbone and breathing in the familiar, comforting scent as she gathers her courage.

When she pulls away, Yunjin's gaze is still steely. "I'm not really in the mood for the whole dirty little secret bathroom make-out thing right now, if you don't mind."

The vitriol behind her words catches Chaewon off guard. She stumbles backwards and scans Yunjin's mask for any cracks, wondering if she can trust the flash of hurt she thinks she sees when Yunjin clenches her jaw.

"That's not why I followed you," Chaewon explains truthfully. She knows she's pouting and her brows have scrunched together, and she can't help it if she looks pleading.

Yunjin bites at her cheek. "Why did you, then?" she challenges. Chaewon thinks maybe she looks a bit pleading as well.

"I-I hate just leaving it when you're upset with me, and I," she breathes, clutching her fists into Yunjin's jacket, feeling both frantic and heartfelt, "I've missed you tonight."

A loud exhale sounds out from Yunjin's nostrils, and then her posture is collapsing in on Chaewon. Their foreheads meet as Yunjin's palms splay on Chaewon's hips.

"You know you're really hard to stay mad at?" she grumps.

Chaewon kisses the consternation off her face, kisses both her cheeks, and gazes up at her in a way she knows is transparently adoring and relieved. It makes Yunjin study her, makes the strangest mixture of emotions blink across her face. She looks like she has something to say, like the weight of it has filled up her body and is shining out through her eyes, but then she simply squeezes them shut and kisses Chaewon meaningfully.

Chaewon wishes she could understand, but she doesn't have it in her to push it tonight.