Study Room : Lovers? [Part 3]
Title: Study Room : Lovers?
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama
Warning: LONG!! 10 000+
Warning: All the SHINee members are GIRLS, if you don't like the idea, don't read!! ^_^
Pairing: Eunsook/Gwiboon (Onew/Key) and Minjung/Taeyeon (2min)
Summary: "But, it's still not desperate!" Junghee smiled down at her friend. "Ask for help and you might be able to pass the finals,"
**Note: I wrote half of this part when I was sick, so it might be a bit weird, but oh well...I loved writing it again~ I hope it'll take less time to write the 4th part...
Hope you will enjoy it!!
Eunsook was absent from their meetings for the rest of the week, communicating her messages through Jungee who passed them on to Gwiboon. Eunsook was always daydreaming in class, which didn't go unnoticed by her teachers who asked her many times what was wrong and often kept her after class to talk about whatever was bothering their student.
Each time, she would lie to them saying that everything was fine. Well, she didn't exactly feel bad, or sad, just confused. Thoughts of Gwiboon were flashing in her mind continuously and it was making it hard for her to concentrate on something else, that was the only reason why she couldn't listen in class. She couldn't possibly tell the truth to a teacher...especially when all of them had such a bad opinion on the younger girl.
She wondered if Gwiboon was playing with her emotions. Just fooling around because she was bored. Eunsook always thought she could at least trust her dongsaeng, but now she could barely believe Gwiboon actually had...this kind of feelings for her.
She was so confused it was starting to get hard to sleep at night. And each time her phone rang, she prayed it wouldn't be Gwiboon as she read the caller ID. When Gwiboon's name appeared on the small screen, Eunsook would back away as if her phone could bite. Then she would try to think about something else than the unceasing ringing. It could take up to 10 minutes before Gwiboon would give up, each minute being a painful experience for Eunsook. Usually, half an hour later, the same guilty feelings would come back with another call from Gwiboon.
She couldn't hate Gwiboon for that, because really Eunsook was the one being undecisive and awkward. Eunsook couldn't say if being so confused was supposed to mean something or not. She didn't know if it meant she was also in love, only being awkward or simply annoyed by the fact that a girl had fell for her. If everything Gwiboon had said was genuine that is.
But she wondered, how could someone fall in love so quickly? They knew each other for only about 3 months afterall. It had to be some kind of joke. Maybe she was taking it too seriously and Gwiboon was trying to call her because she wanted to apologize for such a lame joke. Maybe Eunsook should call Junghee...she was the one who knew Gwiboon the most afterall...
However, she wouldn't call any now, she didn't want to bother Junghee...
Meanwhile, Gwiboon didn't care about bothering Junghee on the phone. Because whenever Eunsook wasn't answering her phone, she was calling Junghee instead, asking her questions that really wasn't worth to be answered. Things like 'Why doesn't she pick up her phone?' or 'Why did she cancel?!'.
Gwiboon was moody all the time, even screaming at her friends who immediatly backed away, not willing to confront such an angry girl. Junghee was the only one who could approach her without the fear of being harmed in any way. The older girl knew Gwiboon had a hard time now that she was maybe being turned down by someone for the first time.
When Eunsook started calling Junghee, shyly at first and opening up as the time passed by, Junghee really felt like she was taking care of two quarreling kids. She sometimes felt like forcing them to kiss and go out together. Unfortunatly, she didn't know how she could do it, they were so slow at realisation afterall. While Eunsook was too innocent and awkward to make a move or even realise that she was also slowly -very slowly in fact- falling for her annoying, popular dongsaeng, Gwiboon was just trying to convince herself that Eunsook would run to her in a oh-so-romantic way, desperatly asking for a kiss scene...
Gwiboon's love knowledge was obviously coming from movies...
However, one morning, Junghee's mood brighten up when she heard a bright news as she checked her texts on her cellphone. She turned to Gwiboon right away, who was busy sulking over the lack of Eunsook in her life.
"Gwiboon! Have you heard?! Taeyeon is going to come over next weekend! And Minjung will be there too!"
Gwiboon blinked once. Twice. And a smile appeared on her face. It was nice to see something other than anger in her usual features.
"Taeyeonie!? Really?!" Gwiboon exclaimed, suddenly very interested in Junghee's words.
"Yes! And I plan to hang out with them downtown on Saturday!" She grinned, so wide it was almost suspicious. "Wanna come along?"
Gwiboon smiled and nodded. "Of course! It's been so long since I've seen Taeyeonie, I hope she's doing good!"
Junghee was proud that she had finally find a way to put out the gloomy expression on Gwiboon face and bright it up with that smile. That was definitely victory for her.
"Don't forget Minjung," Junghee added, knowing that Gwiboon was not talking about her on purpose.
"Yeah, yeah, of course I didn't forget about her."
It was always like that. But this was a bit weirder considering the fact that Gwiboon had actually fallen in love with a girl and was still so upset about the fact that Taeyeon really liked Minjung. Junghee couldn't tell if Taeyeon and Minjung were in love or not, because they never said it and never done anything more than smiling and caring about one another. All she knew was that it wouldn't be surprising if she caught them doing something more than what simple friends usually do.
Gwiboon was upset because Taeyeon was young, and Taeyeon was hers, in the same way a mother would protect her daughter. In fact, Gwiboon liked Minjung before, she was calm and smart, didn't talk much but wasn't considered as 'eyesore' by Gwiboon. That is, until she knew about how Taeyeon liked her so much. At first Junghee only thought that Gwiboon was being homophobic, but then after thinking about it over and over again, it became clear she just wasn't accepting the fact that her cute dongsaeng could be protected by someone else. Gwiboon was just thinking that, Taeyeon couldn't decide what was good for her by herself, she could only refer to her unni, only to Gwiboon.
Of course, it wasn't true and Gwiboon ended up blaming it on Minjung, who was suddenly so much closer to Taeyeon than their unni was.
"Okay, we'll all meet up tomorrow at 5pm, alright?"
"Yes!" Gwiboon answered, shocked at herself since she had used the exact same tone of voice Eunsook used whenever she answered that way.
With that, her thoughts drifted to Eunsook and she became agitated once again. Junghee sighed and texted Taeyeon where and when they could meet up whist listening to Gwiboon's neverending mournings. Then, as Junghee listened to her dongsaeng's words of agony, she got an idea. She secretely took out her cellphone again and began to type.
---
On Saturday after noon Gwiboon woke up after a good sleep. Oh, the week had been long and it was a pleasure for her to finally be able to stop thinking about the girl of her dreams and start being happy about meeting Taeyeon face to face again. She got dresed quickly, quite casually. Well casual in Gwiboon's point of you, because it really looked like her school uniform's skirt, red instead of blue and obviously; shorter. She wore a tight black T-shirt, which she considered the dullest cloth in her wardrobe.
When it was nearly 5pm, She hastily got to where they were supposed to meet. However, when she got there, no one was waiting for her. She figured out she was earlier than expected and waited, sitting on a bench near the spot. Her eyes searching for any forms ressembling to Taeyeon's, Junghee's or even Minjung's. But she certainly didn't expect to see Eunsook looking a bit lost in the small crowd of people walking down the streets.
Gwiboon got up and rubbed her eyes, maybe this was just an hallucination. Maybe Eunsook was so much in her thoughts and she had become so obsessed with Eunsook that her mind started to play trick on her.
Their gazes met and Eunsook seemed to be puzzled, wondering if this was just a cruel coincidence. However, the older gil still walked up to her dongsaeng only to feel nervousness take control of her whole body, especially when she felt Gwiboon's eyes study her clothes throughoutly.
They didn't have time to react at each other's presence that Junghee ran to them, babblering an apologize. The three girls waited, Junghee talking to both of them about things they barely cared at the moment. Eunsook's and Gwiboon's questions were threatening to come out of their mouths, but they were both scared of the other's reaction if they'd talk right now.
Soon, a girl with bobbed-hair presented herself in front of them, clasping the hand of a tall girl, looking a bit emotionless and almost scary in some way.
Gwiboon's eyes sparkled and she squealed as she ran to Taeyeon, manifestly ignoring Minjung who just stepped aside, letting go the youngest's hand.
"Oh my God, Taeyeon, I missed you so much!" Gwiboon said.
The other's reply was muffled and shaky because Gwiboon was hugging her tighter than ever and pressing Taeyeon's head in her shoulder. They could make out the words 'I missed you too' though.
"Junghee, how are you?" Said Minjung whose words were softer than Eunsook expected they would be.
"Fine, fine. And you? Are you doing well?"
"Yes," Minjung said with a nod and turned her eyes to Eunsook who hadn't move a muscle for what seemed long minutes now. "And who are you?" She asked with a smile.
"Ah!" Junghee exclaimed and pointed at Eunsook who felt like some kind of animal being observed by strangers in a zoo. "This is Eunsook, you know the girl I talked to you about?"
"Oh!" Minjung's smile grew larger, unfeigned. "Nice to meet you, I'm Choi Minjung, I'm Junghee's friend,"
"Nice to-Nice to meet you Minjung," Eunsook bowed politely, feeling small in front of such a tall girl.
"Oh Eunsook!" Junghee took her arm and pulled her nearer to the two others that had just broken their hug. "This is Taeyeon," She said simply.
"Hi Taeyeon," Eunsook said shyly and Gwiboon really couldn't help but think about how cute she was, blushing that way. "I'm Lee Eunsook, nice to meet you,"
"Likewise," Taeyeon bowed slightly and eyed her a bit before breaking into a childish smile.
Eunsook smiled back the same way.
Then after some other words from Junghee, they all walked to the restaurant they had previously agreed on through phone calls. Junghee was careful to leave Eunsook and Gwiboon alone together behind all the others, even though it was hard to keep Gwiboon away from Taeyeon.
When finally they reached the restaurant, they were told to wait until the waiters could find a table with enough places for 5 persons. Junghee took Minjung and Taeyeon as far from the two others as possible. She explained everything, even though they pretty much knew the whole situation already. She told them about Gwiboon's confession in details, how it was the first time she had seen her best friend so nervous and unsure. Then she told them about how Eunsook seemed to feel extremely awkward about it, but just seemed to be unwilling to let her real feelings take over.
To Junghee, it was clear that both Eunsook and Gwiboon liked each other. Luckily, Gwiboon had been able to find out for herself, but Eunsook still seemed a bit reluctant at admiting her feelings. She just wanted to help them, because Gwiboon was her best friend. And Eunsook could only have good influence on her. But she also wanted to stop them from being so unconsciously lovey-dovey with each other, it was really starting to get on her nerves.
While the three girls were whispering near the door, the two others were waiting down the stairs that were leading to the front door of the restaurant. Gwiboon was frustrated to be with Eunsook after she had confessed. She still didn't know how the older girl had taken it. She had pretty much felt ignored and that was definitely something Gwiboon didn't like.
"Why didn't you answer my calls?" She suddenly asked quite sharply, not meaning to be so straight-forward.
Eunsook bit her lips and tried her best to look away from the other's eyes, or any part of her body for that matter. She obviously wanted to join the others who were waiting a few steps away, but she didn't dare to run away from Gwiboon.
"Oh come on," The younger girl complained. "I went through all the trouble telling you and you don't even make the slight effort understanding my feelings!" She said angrily, freeing her mind from everything she had kept to herself in the past days.
"Are you sure about them?" Eunsook tried timidly. "I mean, are you sure about your feelings?"
Gwiboon scowled. "Yes, I'm sure!" She put her hands on her hips. "Of course I'm sure,"
"Really?"
"Unni, stop trying to make me doubt,"
Eunsook pouted and decided that saying the truth would be the best thing in that kind of situation. If Gwiboon had to be angry, might as well be angry at the right thing.
"You can't develop any...you can't- In only 3 months-" The oldest sighed. "You accept things too quickly!" She said as loud as her voice could get.
"But I love you!"
The way Gwiboon's words were so blunt and without hesitation that it made Eunsook blush furiously, even more than she already was. Even Gwiboon herself had been surprised by her own words, but she didn't look like it. In fact she kept the same confident expression on her face, just so she wouldn't look like she doubted her own feelings.
"I don't- I don't know..." Eunsook stuttered, cheeks bright red.
"I know I do,"
As a silence was slowly threatening to fall on the two young girls, a man dressed in black and white came out of the restaurant and told them the table was ready. They all followed him inside and gazed in awe at the expensive dishes, beautiful lamps and elegant ornaments. They weren't used to go in high-class retaurant. Well...as high-class as they could get with their pocket money that is.
They sat at the golden table the man showed them. Junghee sat beside Gwiboon, who was beside Eunsook. They were facing their two dongsaengs and there was a vacant space in front of Eunsook.
"I like the candle, don't you Minjung?" Taeyeon said sweetly as she observed the small light carefully placed in the middle of the surface, between the plates, ustensils and flowers.
"Yes, it's pretty," Minjung replied calmly and Taeyeon smiled happily.
With that, they all reached out for the menus and stared at the weird italian words all over the pages. Eunsook frowned, she couldn't decode the names of the meals and it was quite annoying since she surely didn't like everything that was on the dishes' list.
"What is Fiorentina Lasagna ?" She asked quietly to Gwiboon, breaking the promise about not talking to her she had secretly made with herself earlier.
"I have absolutely no idea," The younger girl answered, giggling.
"What are you going to order?" Eunsook asked curiously, planning to say 'the same for me!'.
"I think I'm going to ask for something that has a nice name and I'm going to deal with it," Gwiboon said, earning a pout from the older girl. Talking about food was definitely less embarassing than about their feelings.
When the waitress asked for their choices. Junghee and Minjung asked for something that had an image beside its name, so they could at least see what it looked like. Taeyeon ordered something simple she already knew. Then it was Gwiboon's turn to order.
"Bistecca Toscane, please," She said politely with a terrible accent. The woman wrote it down in the little notebook she was carrying and turned to the oldest girl.
"Hmm," Eunsook glanced in the menu and quickly spotted a nice name. "Liguine...Delizioso," She said, with the same horrible accent Gwiboon had previously used. It had 'delizioso' which looked like 'delicious', it wasn't supposed to be bad, right?
The woman said it would be ready soon and went back to where she came from. Meanwhile, Gwiboon was doing her best to keep herself from staring intently at Eunsook who looked awfully cute with her pink shirt and small white headband. Instead of once again succombing to her unni's cuteness, she focused on Taeyeon who was clumsily trying to tell a story about herself, a rock and her face against the sidewalk.
"...Then, I was about to fall down again because my left foot really hurt! But luckily, Minjung helped me to get back to my feet without too much pain..." She said, gesturing with her hands as she was adding more and more useless details to the already complicated story.
"...And that's why I had to go see the doctor and Minjung joined me, she was nice with me all the time, she took care of everything from telling my parents to fill up all the papers..."
Eunsook was smiling and nodding at the right moments, but was thinking about everything but what the magnae was saying. She noted how Gwiboon's head tended to turn to her and seemed to observe Eunsook with soft yet fierce eyes.
"...I wouldn't have done it, but Minjung convinced me and I'm really grateful now, or else I wouldn't be able to run for a while, but that doctor really did the right thing. It's all thanks to Minjung really. She also helped me with my Maths test the other day, I was going to fail it, I was so sure I was going to fail, but she cheered me up and explained some things I didn't understand..."
Eunsook briefly wondered if Taeyeon would ever stop talking and let some of them place a word. However, each time her speech seemed to end, it was starting on a new topic all over again. The oldest girl noticed how every stories seemed to have Minjung has the heroine. She thought they should be very close because from Taeyeon's saying they were practically always with each other.
"...And that's why we ended up coming over here for the week-end. Thank's to Junghee we have a place to stay."
It was the end now...was it?
It fell silent just as she stopped talking. Eunsook secretely wished Taeyeon would have another story to tell and would fill up the awkward silence, but it didn't seem like she did so it stayed this way for some minutes.
They were awkwardly looking at each other until their plates arrived. It was a rather quick service, because it took no more than 15 minutes before the waitress had come back with all of their plates. The woman asked if they wanted cheese, salt or anything to go with their dish.
They shook their heads in unison and she walked away. Eunsook stared at her plates. Pastas were in the middle of the plate and she thought that there weren't enough to satisfy her stomach. Sauce had been carefully poured on and nice-looking herbs were placed on it. She felt a little bad to ruin all the pretty presentation, but she was hungry so she dug into it mercilessly.
"Is it good?" Gwiboon asked, smiling down at the girl eating happily.
Eunsook grinned between two mouthfuls and nodded. Gwiboon giggled, temporarily forgetting everything about her awkwardness with Eunsook. She just knew she liked her unni like this, happily enjoying her food, even though some people threw her weird look since she ate so fast.
She obviously finished before everyone. Taeyeon giggled at her rapidity, Minjung and Junghee seemed to ignored her or just didn't care much and Gwiboon kept her sweet smile as she ate her own meal.
When everyone was talking about this and that, Eunsook's hands started trembling when the younger girl threw somewhat shy yet worried looks at her. Eunsook felt dizzy and couldn't even concentrate on any of the pretty simple conversations the four other girls were having. Eunsook decided to subtly go to the washroom, because being so close to Gwiboon made her feel strange.
When she found the door to the ladies' restrooms, she checked to be sure she was alone. Fortunately, she was. She sighed and looked at herself in the mirror, studying her lightly reddened complexion wondering what Gwiboon saw in it to fall for her so suddenly. She touched her cheeks with her fingers, watching as her reflect did the same. Eunsook pouted. Gwiboon was so much prettier than she was, why did she fall for this ordinary face?
Eunsook bit her lips and let out another sad sigh. Maybe she was taking things too seriously. Maybe she shouldn't question Gwiboon's honesty so much. She should focus only on her own feelings and wonder if she was herself falling for her dongsaeng, no matter how bitter she could be at times. Her hands started to comb her already flawless hair, making them become a little messy.
"What are you doing?"
Eunsook jumped and turned around to see Taeyeon next to her, a gentle smile in her lips.
"Oh, nothing. I was about to go back," Eunsook said, forcing a smile onto her face. However, she didn't move, her body was telling her not to go back so soon, because she hadn't entirely calmed down.
Taeyeon tilted her head and walked closer to her. "Are you okay?" She asked nervously.
"Yes, I just...I was just feeling a bit...dizzy," Eunsook giggled nervously. "I guess I ate too fast again," She joked and the other joined her giggling.
"You don't seem to be like Gwiboon's other friends," Taeyeon said which made Eunsook stiffen and blush lightly.
"Oh..." Was all she managed to say.
"Don't be mad, but I thought you'd be a little bit...different,"
Eunsook's face saddened and seeing that, Taeyeon flailed her arms around while stuttering random words of apology.
"No! I mean-It's not- I don't mean in a bad way- I just thought...I just thought you'd be a little bit more into...make-up and stuff...I mean...more superficial and talkative...But it's alright really, it's alright this way, I like quiet people! Minjung's quiet too and shy and absolutely not superficial and I like her a lot-" She froze and blushed. "I mean, she's my best friend and I like her- It's not like Gwiboon and you-" Taeyeon gasped and her hands flew to her mouth, not believing all the things she had said to an almost complete stranger.
Eunsook blinked, this was too much informations for her brain in so little words. She had understood the part about her not being as superficial as Gwiboon's other friends, but the rest took her some seconds before she fully understood what the younger girl was talking about.
Her face felt terribly hot and when her eyes darted back to the mirror, she noticed how red her cheeks had gotten. She gulped, Taeyeon already knew about Gwiboon's feelings for her? Nothing surprising, they were close friends afterall.
"I-I'm sorry, It's not my business. I know it's not, I just- no I mean, I'm sorry...I am really. I have no idea what exactly is going on between you two and-and it wasn't wise of me to bring it up, I'm sorry," Taeyeon looked flustered and was obviously feeling bad enough, so Eunsook gave her an understanding smile, but stayed quiet.
"I'm sorry," Taeyeon said again. "I'll make it up to you, since I know something so personal about you, I'll tell you one of my secret alright?"
"It-It's okay, you don't have to-"
"No, no I feel bad, I'll tell you okay? Just-just keep it to yourself please, though I can't blame you if you spread it out,"
"I, You don't-" Eunsook stopped talking seeing Taeyeon's irresistible pleading eyes. "Fine..."
Taeyeon looked around to be sure no one could hear her. Then her eyes came back to Eunsook. "I-I don't know you much, but I trust you alright? If Gwiboon-unni trusts you, I'll do too, okay?"
Eunsook nodded lightly, a bit confused at why Taeyeon insisted to tell her when she obviously looked so awkward.
"I-I think I like my best friend." Taeyeon finally said, seeing Eunsook's perplex expression, she added; "I love Minjung, a lot," Then she blushed madly.
Eunsook smiled as a mother would do when her child got a good grade. She walked toward her and patted her head softly. The youngest certainly didn't expect her nice gesture because she stiffened and backed away a little.
"It's okay," Eunsook stroke her hair clumsily. "I think it's okay,"
Now she understood why the other looked so willing yet so reluctant to tell her secret. Taeyeon probably needed comfort, someone to tell her it was alright to like Minjung the way she did. Maybe she couldn't tell anyone else, Eunsook though. Maybe she was like her and didn't have anyone to comfort her and tell her everything was okay. Taeyeon smiled sadly, relieved that her secret didn't cause too much reaction from Eunsook.
Taeyeon nodded her head, because she already knew it was okay. She just needed confimation from someone else and Eunsook had given her just what she needed, even though her clumsy pats on Taeyeon's hair would have made someone laugh.
"We should go back or else Gwiboon will call 911," Taeyeon joked and they both laughed lightly.
As Eunsook made her way through the many tables and people standing to the table, Taeyeon followed her like a little girl would follow her parent in a crowd. The oldest wondered if Taeyeon had come to the washroom only to talk to her, but soon shrugged it off, since it didn't matter much.
"Took you long enough," Gwiboon pointed out when they were about to sat down.
"Sorry, we chatted and forgot about the time," Taeyeon smiled and Minjung narrowed her eyes in some kind of confusion.
"Since everyone is finished eating, I think it's best to leave the place to someone else," Junghee said and everyone agreed.
They paid, Gwiboon almost crying as she saw it costed about twice the price of her own shirt, which was already expensive. Eunsook supressed a laughter when she noticed Gwiboon's pout.
"Where are we going now?" She asked absently, her mind still on Gwiboon as they walked out of the restaurant.
"Shopping," Junghee answered.
"I think I'm going to pass," Minjung said and Gwiboon glared at her. Not only did she replace her as Taeyeon's protector, but she also didn't like shopping. This was unacceptable!
"I think...I think I'm going to follow Minjung," Eunsook added.
Maybe not liking shopping isn't such a big deal afterall...Gwiboon thought as she furrowed her eyebrows at Eunsook.
"Do you want to go get some cake?" Minjung asked, she was still hungry and she guessed Eunsook was as well.
"Yes!" The older girl squealed at the mention of dessert.
"Okay! So Gwiboon, Taeyeon and I will go shopping and we'll meet up with you at...8? Is it okay?"
Minjung looked at her watch and saw it was already 7pm. It left them only an hour to shop, though Gwiboon needed less than minutes to try and buy everything in a small shop.
"See you at 8," The tall girl said, smiling lightly.
Taeyeon walked to her, got to her toes and kissed her on the lips. A light touch, very very light, something that could have been exchanged between sisters, but it still got everyone shocked. Expect Minjung who just stood there. This was usual for her.
A blush made its way to Eunsook's face before she instinctively turned her head to Gwiboon who was frozen in utter shock. The oldest shorty wondered if it would be weird to kiss Gwiboon the way Taeyeon had kissed Minjung, but she was brought back to reality by Taeyeon who waved at her cutely as she was being pulled, along with Gwiboon, by Junghee.
Eunsook grinned and waved, cheeks still red. When Gwiboon's eyes laid on her, she quickly looked away and asked Minjung about where they going.
"There's this café not too far away. Their cheesecake is really good,"
Eunsook nodded, uneasy with Minjung's cold attitude. It felt much better and natural to talk with Taeyeon. Not that Minjung didn't seem to be a good person, just...not the way Eunsook was used to. They walked until there was a colorful little coffeehouse in front of them. The light blue walls and little windows reminded Eunsook of a doll house she had when she was younger.
"It's here?"
It surely didn't seem like a place that fitted Minjung's looks. She looked more like someone who spent most of her time in a library or a place far from everyone, not somewhere colorful and full of children.
"Yes,"
They entered and were greeted by a boy wearing an apron. They each choose their favourite cake, Minjung ordered a piece of cheesecake while Eunsook odered a simple double chocolate cake. When they got them, they sat down near a window, looking at the people passing by. It was silent until Minjung decided to speak up, making Eunsook jump.
"You were surprised huh?"
"By what?"
"Taeyeon's kiss,"
"I...huh..." Eunsook fidgeted with her fingers as Minjung kept an intense stare on her. "I...yes,"
"It's okay, Everyone would be,"
And that's all she said. Eunsook couldn't help, but wonder why Minjung brought this up so suddenly if she had so little to say about it. She tried to ignore it as she and Minjung emptied their plates and they silently watched children running around, the boy who had served them warning the kids to not break anything.
"Where do you know Gwiboon from?" Eunsook asked, surprising herself with her sudden bluntness.
Minjung eyed her and seemed to think before answering.
"From Taeyeon,"
Eunsook waited, but the other didn't seem to be willing to say anything more. "And...how did she know her?"
Once again, Minjung took her time before responding.
"They were neighbours when they were younger."
"Okay...so you became friends with her when Taeyeon moved?"
Minjung stayed silent, absorbed into her own empty plate. "Friends?"
"You're not friends?"
"I'm Junghee's and Taeyeon's friend," She simpered. "Gwiboon doesn't seem to consider me as a friend,"
Eunsook's head snapped up. "Why?"
"I don't know,"
Eunsook didn't feel like talking and interrogating anymore, since the other didn't seem too happy about the questions she asked. But instead of staying silent again, Minjung looked at her and spoke up again.
"You're the one Gwiboon loves right?"
Eunsook's eyes opened widely, taken aback by Minjung's forthright question. The tallest didn't give her the time to answer, she was already talking.
"I must say, I was shocked when Taeyeon told me about Gwiboon liking a girl,"
Eunsook held in her breath, because this conversation couldn't really be happening. Nobody had ever talked about this so directly before!
"Honestly, I always thought Gwiboon would marry some kind of football player, like the bitchy cheeleaders in american teenagers movies."
The oldest relaxed and smirked at the thought. Yes, she always thought that too before knowing Gwiboon.
"I'm glad she found someone like you. From Junghee's saying, you're a pretty nice girl,"
Eunsook blushed. Minjung's sentences made much more sense than Taeyeon's. At least she was able to express what she was thinking clearly, without stuttering. But her bluntness was a bit too much for Eunsook who was used to say things subtly, yet honestly.
"Please don't be too harsh with Gwiboon. I know she doesn't like me, but she's still Taeyeon's favourite unni, so I wish her happiness,"
Eunsook smiled sweetly. She understood the feeling since she never really wished anything bad for anyone, even for people who disliked her. With that thought, she decided that Minjung was a nice and caring person, although terribly straightforward.
"You're close with Taeyeon?" Eunsook asked and for the fist time, Minjung actually showed awkwardness. She cleared her throat and bit her lips before looking at Eunsook.
"Yes, very close,"
Eunsook smiled, satisfied with the response. "It shows, you two seem to get along very well,"
She added.
Minjung remained silent and so did Eunsook. The older girl was busy pondering about her feelings that Minjung had helped become much clearer with her blunt and simple conversation. Eunsook was now sure, the only thing that kept her from admiting her own love for Eunsook was her fear of being decieved by her dongsaeng. However, knowing that even Minjung and Taeyeon , who seemed sensed and quite smart individuals, trusted Gwiboon wholeheartedly, Eunsook was certain she could trust Gwiboon without worrying too much about her intentions.
Because Eunsook knew her feelings for Gwiboon for a while, but never really gave them much thought. They were just there to make her feel good whenever Gwiboon would be nice to her. Never once did she thought they could be more than just friends. But now that she was given the chance, she might not find it a bad idea. In fact, she just wished they could become something more.
Eunsook and Minjung thought on their own, not even glancing at each other until their watches showed 8 o'clock. And that was when they had agreed to go meet up with the others, like Junghee had previously said. Luckily, they all remembered the place they had left each others.
As soon as Gwiboon saw Eunsook, she let out a noise that sounded pretty much like a fearful squeal. Junghee was grinning and Eunsook concluded that the two facts were linked in some ways. Taeyeon was the first to walk up to them and greet both of her unnis with a big cheery smile. Junghee was about to follow her, but stopped when she saw that Gwiboon wasn't looking about to move from were she was standing. She sighed and forcefully tugged at Gwiboon's hand so she was also walking along with her to join the others.
"You two should've come with us! I bought clothes" Gwiboon happily said, even if her awkwardness was still visible.
"As if it was something new," Junghee whispered, loud enough for Gwiboon to hear and cause a staring battle.
"Anyway, we should get going now," Junghee asked, breaking eye contact with her best friends.
"Yes, or else it'll be very late when we'll get to your house," Taeyeon added. "Right Minjung?"
The tall girl nodded and turned to Eunsook.
"It was nice to meet you Eunsook-sshi," She said politely.
"Ah you can call me Eunsook. Yes, it was nice meeting you too Minjung,"
Taeyeon nodded her head in aggreement with both of her unni and turned to Gwiboon who sulked a few steps away from everyone.
"We'll see each other soon, right unni?" The magnae smiled and Gwiboon couldn't keep her own lips from curving upwards.
"Yes,"
"Good luck!" Taeyeon added as she waved and soon disapeared into the crowd that had suddenly become much bigger than the last time they looked.
"So, I guess we'll have to go our own way now," Eunsook spoke nervously, trying to come up with something that would make sense and not end up sounding like a dog whining for a treat.
"Who says we have to?" Gwiboon turned to her, eyes fixated on her. "I won't let you go back on your own,"
The oldest blinked. "You won't?"
"Nuh-huh, way too dangerous." Gwiboon shook her head lightly. "There are creeps that just wait for harmless pretty girls to pass by,"
"Wha-What?"
"Just let me go with you," The younger girl said, promptly taking her unni's hand in hers and pulling her to the nearest bus stop.
Eunsook shivered at the contect of their skin. The other times they had held hands, it was merely a friendly way to follow each other, now it meant much more. A blush crept to her cheeks and she wanted to pull her hand out of Gwiboon's grip, but then again...this wasn't so bad.
All embarassment and fear put aside, holding Gwiboon's warm hand when a cool breeze blew on them was something she could get used to. She sighed and relaxed, letting her dongsaeng lead her into the bus and pay for both them before taking a seat in the back.
Eunsook sat beside Gwiboon who was just waiting for her to do so. The bus moved and the street began to move fast in the window until it changed for another urban scenery. Eunsook stared at the houses and building, occasinally glimpsing at Gwiboon who was rummag through her shopping bags. Eunsook was looking when the other got a small bag out of one of the many large-sized bag.
"Actually, I have a present for you," Gwiboon held the small bag on her laps.
"A present?" Eunsook stared at the brown-haired girl and then dow at the small bag before her eyes went back to Gwiboon's face.
"I would have bought you this cute yellow t-shirt but I didn't know your size so...Junghee told me to pick this instead," Gwiboon said, but didn't give the gift to Eunsook just yet. "I know you probably don't want anything from me now, well I guess. But this is just crazy and, and I want you to have something from me, even if- I mean even if..." Gwiboon trailed off and Eunsook understood even with the lack of words.
"So please just take it and don't ask any question, I just thought you would like it. And Junghee and Taeyeon almost forced me to buy it for you, they said that you'd like it and I really can't resist that happy smile of yours, so please..." Gwiboon sighed and dropped the bag on Eunsook's laps.
The older smiled softly, thinking about how Gwiboon looked a bit like Taeyeon with her awkward sentences, but still a bit like Minjung for her bluntness. She opened the bag, the noise of plastic shuffling joining in the sounds of the bus.
She took out a small book. The image of rice and beef on the top was enough to tell everything about it. Eunsook glanced through the pages, which were full of recipes, images and charts, slowly before her head head moved to face Gwiboon.
"It's for when I'm not there to cook you healthy meals. The recipes are easy to follow," Gwiboon's cheeks were a light shade of red, but she was still looking intently at Eunsook.
The other smiled and put the book back in its bag. "Thank you, but...you didn't have to buy me something,"
"I know. I just wanted to." Gwiboon sharply said.
"Yes, thank you," Eunsook looked around them to see that the few passengers that were there minutes ago were now gone. They were alone with the driver glancing at them every few minutes to check if there were okay.
They quietly sat still, both of them stealing quick looks at one another from time to time. Eunsook smiling each time she felt the plastic bag still on her lap between her fingers. She had never been so happy, but she blamed it all on the tiredness she had accumulated during the previous week and not on Gwiboon's attention that touched her.
Gwiboon cleared her throat when they were finally on Eunsook's street. The bus stopped and they both got out of it, Gwiboon's hand had once found Eunsook's. The oldest didn't protest and actually let herself enjoy the moment. She felt Gwiboon's hold in her left hand and her right was still clutching the present she got.
They walked on the sidewalk, the sky had darkened and stars were probably going to cover it very soon. Gwiboon walked unnaturally slowly, just so she could stay with her unni a little bit longer, just so she could only once imagine what it would be like to be dating her unni.
Unfortunatly, even with her efforts to delay this moment, they still arrived to the aimed house pretty quickly. When they got to the porch and detached their hands, Eunsook turned to Gwiboon, feeling like the protagonist of a romantic-comedy movie.
"Thank you," She said and smiled. "For the present and tonight, it was really fun. Taeyeon and Minjung were really nice with me,"
"Of course Taeyeon was!"
Eunsook giggled at Gwiboon's proud face and thought she needed nothing more to be happy. She knew that girl could bring her all the happiness and protection she had lacked from her parents. Even though she still wasn't that sure if it meant love or not, she was now willing to let herself being loved. Because it was Gwiboon that loved her. Gwiboon and no one else.
"Gwiboon..." The oldest looked at her feet, finding some kind of comfort in them.
The other just blankly stared, all the pride fading. She was already pretty sure that tonight she would get turned down by the nicest girl in the school. Oh, the irony....
"I-I" She started, but ended up sighed to regain a confident composture. "I..."
Gwiboon smiled sadly and waited until Eunsook was ready to speak up normally.
"Gwiboon, I-" She pouted, unable to get enough courage by looking intently to the ground. She slowly looked up to meet Gwiboon's eyes which were full of anticipation, yet so much fear could be seen in her dark orbs.
"I think..." She started again, hoping that saying it differently would help her. "I know..." Eunsook mentally whacked herself. How could she hesitate so much when it was so simple?
"I like you too!!" She finally said...well more like; yelled uncontrollably. She blushed at her loud voice and wished her parents were absent from the house. "I like you too," She whispered softly as though of an apology for making Gwiboon's heart skip a beat.
The younger girl blinked. She wasn't sure if she had heard right. She looked perplex, not sure of what to do, how to react. Should she just wait until Eunsook's next words? Or maybe there wouldn't be next words...
Great, now Gwiboon wanted to run away.
But run away from what? Eunsook's love?
Why would she run away now? Now that Eunsook seemed willing to understand and return her feelings. With that thought, Gwiboon realised they still hadn't moved and Eunsook was looking at her with wide hopeful eyes...Eunsook looked like a puppy dog who waited for a treat...
Gwiboon thought about leaning in to plant a kiss somewhere on Eunsook's face (she didn't really know where exactly,) and her head responded to her thoughts. Before Eunsook could notice the other's gesture, she spoke up and broke her dongsaeng's trance.
"I think you should go back home now, it's getting very late,"
"It's only 9," Gwiboon narrowed her eyes at her.
"Still..." Eunsook moved her fingers nervously. "I think it's dangerous for you to go back home alone, maybe you should st-"
"No, I can take care of myself, I'm alright! Don't worry!" Gwiboon cut in, the only thought of praising her confident self enough to make her voice come out before she knew it.
"Alright, but be careful, okay?"
"Yes," She answered simply, acting like a robot obeying to its creator. She turned around and walked down to the sidewalk and made her way back to the bus stop. Gwiboon wanted to run to Eunsook and kiss her with everything she got so badly, but something kept her from doing so. Fear...or maybe shock. It was a rather shocking news for her that Eunsook actually liked her.
She had made up her mind to still love Eunsook even after she would have refused to go out with her. But, this meant she still stood a chance in dating her unni, or maybe they were already and her brain was too busy celebrating the fact that Eunsook liked her to notice it.
Gwiboon waited for a bus to pass by, when it did, she got in, barely looking at the driver as she paid. She took a seat and thought about calling Junghee to tell her about Eunsook's words. However, knowing that Taeyeon would probably be there, she didn't want to wake her up or disturb her. As the bus stopped in front of her, Gwiboon though that she only needed a good night of sleep.
------------
Hope you enjoyed!!
Want the end of part 3? : Lovers?
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy/Romance/Drama
Warning: LONG!! 10 000+
Warning: All the SHINee members are GIRLS, if you don't like the idea, don't read!! ^_^
Pairing: Eunsook/Gwiboon (Onew/Key) and Minjung/Taeyeon (2min)
Summary: "But, it's still not desperate!" Junghee smiled down at her friend. "Ask for help and you might be able to pass the finals,"
**Note: I wrote half of this part when I was sick, so it might be a bit weird, but oh well...I loved writing it again~ I hope it'll take less time to write the 4th part...
Hope you will enjoy it!!
Eunsook was absent from their meetings for the rest of the week, communicating her messages through Jungee who passed them on to Gwiboon. Eunsook was always daydreaming in class, which didn't go unnoticed by her teachers who asked her many times what was wrong and often kept her after class to talk about whatever was bothering their student.
Each time, she would lie to them saying that everything was fine. Well, she didn't exactly feel bad, or sad, just confused. Thoughts of Gwiboon were flashing in her mind continuously and it was making it hard for her to concentrate on something else, that was the only reason why she couldn't listen in class. She couldn't possibly tell the truth to a teacher...especially when all of them had such a bad opinion on the younger girl.
She wondered if Gwiboon was playing with her emotions. Just fooling around because she was bored. Eunsook always thought she could at least trust her dongsaeng, but now she could barely believe Gwiboon actually had...this kind of feelings for her.
She was so confused it was starting to get hard to sleep at night. And each time her phone rang, she prayed it wouldn't be Gwiboon as she read the caller ID. When Gwiboon's name appeared on the small screen, Eunsook would back away as if her phone could bite. Then she would try to think about something else than the unceasing ringing. It could take up to 10 minutes before Gwiboon would give up, each minute being a painful experience for Eunsook. Usually, half an hour later, the same guilty feelings would come back with another call from Gwiboon.
She couldn't hate Gwiboon for that, because really Eunsook was the one being undecisive and awkward. Eunsook couldn't say if being so confused was supposed to mean something or not. She didn't know if it meant she was also in love, only being awkward or simply annoyed by the fact that a girl had fell for her. If everything Gwiboon had said was genuine that is.
But she wondered, how could someone fall in love so quickly? They knew each other for only about 3 months afterall. It had to be some kind of joke. Maybe she was taking it too seriously and Gwiboon was trying to call her because she wanted to apologize for such a lame joke. Maybe Eunsook should call Junghee...she was the one who knew Gwiboon the most afterall...
However, she wouldn't call any now, she didn't want to bother Junghee...
Meanwhile, Gwiboon didn't care about bothering Junghee on the phone. Because whenever Eunsook wasn't answering her phone, she was calling Junghee instead, asking her questions that really wasn't worth to be answered. Things like 'Why doesn't she pick up her phone?' or 'Why did she cancel?!'.
Gwiboon was moody all the time, even screaming at her friends who immediatly backed away, not willing to confront such an angry girl. Junghee was the only one who could approach her without the fear of being harmed in any way. The older girl knew Gwiboon had a hard time now that she was maybe being turned down by someone for the first time.
When Eunsook started calling Junghee, shyly at first and opening up as the time passed by, Junghee really felt like she was taking care of two quarreling kids. She sometimes felt like forcing them to kiss and go out together. Unfortunatly, she didn't know how she could do it, they were so slow at realisation afterall. While Eunsook was too innocent and awkward to make a move or even realise that she was also slowly -very slowly in fact- falling for her annoying, popular dongsaeng, Gwiboon was just trying to convince herself that Eunsook would run to her in a oh-so-romantic way, desperatly asking for a kiss scene...
Gwiboon's love knowledge was obviously coming from movies...
However, one morning, Junghee's mood brighten up when she heard a bright news as she checked her texts on her cellphone. She turned to Gwiboon right away, who was busy sulking over the lack of Eunsook in her life.
"Gwiboon! Have you heard?! Taeyeon is going to come over next weekend! And Minjung will be there too!"
Gwiboon blinked once. Twice. And a smile appeared on her face. It was nice to see something other than anger in her usual features.
"Taeyeonie!? Really?!" Gwiboon exclaimed, suddenly very interested in Junghee's words.
"Yes! And I plan to hang out with them downtown on Saturday!" She grinned, so wide it was almost suspicious. "Wanna come along?"
Gwiboon smiled and nodded. "Of course! It's been so long since I've seen Taeyeonie, I hope she's doing good!"
Junghee was proud that she had finally find a way to put out the gloomy expression on Gwiboon face and bright it up with that smile. That was definitely victory for her.
"Don't forget Minjung," Junghee added, knowing that Gwiboon was not talking about her on purpose.
"Yeah, yeah, of course I didn't forget about her."
It was always like that. But this was a bit weirder considering the fact that Gwiboon had actually fallen in love with a girl and was still so upset about the fact that Taeyeon really liked Minjung. Junghee couldn't tell if Taeyeon and Minjung were in love or not, because they never said it and never done anything more than smiling and caring about one another. All she knew was that it wouldn't be surprising if she caught them doing something more than what simple friends usually do.
Gwiboon was upset because Taeyeon was young, and Taeyeon was hers, in the same way a mother would protect her daughter. In fact, Gwiboon liked Minjung before, she was calm and smart, didn't talk much but wasn't considered as 'eyesore' by Gwiboon. That is, until she knew about how Taeyeon liked her so much. At first Junghee only thought that Gwiboon was being homophobic, but then after thinking about it over and over again, it became clear she just wasn't accepting the fact that her cute dongsaeng could be protected by someone else. Gwiboon was just thinking that, Taeyeon couldn't decide what was good for her by herself, she could only refer to her unni, only to Gwiboon.
Of course, it wasn't true and Gwiboon ended up blaming it on Minjung, who was suddenly so much closer to Taeyeon than their unni was.
"Okay, we'll all meet up tomorrow at 5pm, alright?"
"Yes!" Gwiboon answered, shocked at herself since she had used the exact same tone of voice Eunsook used whenever she answered that way.
With that, her thoughts drifted to Eunsook and she became agitated once again. Junghee sighed and texted Taeyeon where and when they could meet up whist listening to Gwiboon's neverending mournings. Then, as Junghee listened to her dongsaeng's words of agony, she got an idea. She secretely took out her cellphone again and began to type.
---
On Saturday after noon Gwiboon woke up after a good sleep. Oh, the week had been long and it was a pleasure for her to finally be able to stop thinking about the girl of her dreams and start being happy about meeting Taeyeon face to face again. She got dresed quickly, quite casually. Well casual in Gwiboon's point of you, because it really looked like her school uniform's skirt, red instead of blue and obviously; shorter. She wore a tight black T-shirt, which she considered the dullest cloth in her wardrobe.
When it was nearly 5pm, She hastily got to where they were supposed to meet. However, when she got there, no one was waiting for her. She figured out she was earlier than expected and waited, sitting on a bench near the spot. Her eyes searching for any forms ressembling to Taeyeon's, Junghee's or even Minjung's. But she certainly didn't expect to see Eunsook looking a bit lost in the small crowd of people walking down the streets.
Gwiboon got up and rubbed her eyes, maybe this was just an hallucination. Maybe Eunsook was so much in her thoughts and she had become so obsessed with Eunsook that her mind started to play trick on her.
Their gazes met and Eunsook seemed to be puzzled, wondering if this was just a cruel coincidence. However, the older gil still walked up to her dongsaeng only to feel nervousness take control of her whole body, especially when she felt Gwiboon's eyes study her clothes throughoutly.
They didn't have time to react at each other's presence that Junghee ran to them, babblering an apologize. The three girls waited, Junghee talking to both of them about things they barely cared at the moment. Eunsook's and Gwiboon's questions were threatening to come out of their mouths, but they were both scared of the other's reaction if they'd talk right now.
Soon, a girl with bobbed-hair presented herself in front of them, clasping the hand of a tall girl, looking a bit emotionless and almost scary in some way.
Gwiboon's eyes sparkled and she squealed as she ran to Taeyeon, manifestly ignoring Minjung who just stepped aside, letting go the youngest's hand.
"Oh my God, Taeyeon, I missed you so much!" Gwiboon said.
The other's reply was muffled and shaky because Gwiboon was hugging her tighter than ever and pressing Taeyeon's head in her shoulder. They could make out the words 'I missed you too' though.
"Junghee, how are you?" Said Minjung whose words were softer than Eunsook expected they would be.
"Fine, fine. And you? Are you doing well?"
"Yes," Minjung said with a nod and turned her eyes to Eunsook who hadn't move a muscle for what seemed long minutes now. "And who are you?" She asked with a smile.
"Ah!" Junghee exclaimed and pointed at Eunsook who felt like some kind of animal being observed by strangers in a zoo. "This is Eunsook, you know the girl I talked to you about?"
"Oh!" Minjung's smile grew larger, unfeigned. "Nice to meet you, I'm Choi Minjung, I'm Junghee's friend,"
"Nice to-Nice to meet you Minjung," Eunsook bowed politely, feeling small in front of such a tall girl.
"Oh Eunsook!" Junghee took her arm and pulled her nearer to the two others that had just broken their hug. "This is Taeyeon," She said simply.
"Hi Taeyeon," Eunsook said shyly and Gwiboon really couldn't help but think about how cute she was, blushing that way. "I'm Lee Eunsook, nice to meet you,"
"Likewise," Taeyeon bowed slightly and eyed her a bit before breaking into a childish smile.
Eunsook smiled back the same way.
Then after some other words from Junghee, they all walked to the restaurant they had previously agreed on through phone calls. Junghee was careful to leave Eunsook and Gwiboon alone together behind all the others, even though it was hard to keep Gwiboon away from Taeyeon.
When finally they reached the restaurant, they were told to wait until the waiters could find a table with enough places for 5 persons. Junghee took Minjung and Taeyeon as far from the two others as possible. She explained everything, even though they pretty much knew the whole situation already. She told them about Gwiboon's confession in details, how it was the first time she had seen her best friend so nervous and unsure. Then she told them about how Eunsook seemed to feel extremely awkward about it, but just seemed to be unwilling to let her real feelings take over.
To Junghee, it was clear that both Eunsook and Gwiboon liked each other. Luckily, Gwiboon had been able to find out for herself, but Eunsook still seemed a bit reluctant at admiting her feelings. She just wanted to help them, because Gwiboon was her best friend. And Eunsook could only have good influence on her. But she also wanted to stop them from being so unconsciously lovey-dovey with each other, it was really starting to get on her nerves.
While the three girls were whispering near the door, the two others were waiting down the stairs that were leading to the front door of the restaurant. Gwiboon was frustrated to be with Eunsook after she had confessed. She still didn't know how the older girl had taken it. She had pretty much felt ignored and that was definitely something Gwiboon didn't like.
"Why didn't you answer my calls?" She suddenly asked quite sharply, not meaning to be so straight-forward.
Eunsook bit her lips and tried her best to look away from the other's eyes, or any part of her body for that matter. She obviously wanted to join the others who were waiting a few steps away, but she didn't dare to run away from Gwiboon.
"Oh come on," The younger girl complained. "I went through all the trouble telling you and you don't even make the slight effort understanding my feelings!" She said angrily, freeing her mind from everything she had kept to herself in the past days.
"Are you sure about them?" Eunsook tried timidly. "I mean, are you sure about your feelings?"
Gwiboon scowled. "Yes, I'm sure!" She put her hands on her hips. "Of course I'm sure,"
"Really?"
"Unni, stop trying to make me doubt,"
Eunsook pouted and decided that saying the truth would be the best thing in that kind of situation. If Gwiboon had to be angry, might as well be angry at the right thing.
"You can't develop any...you can't- In only 3 months-" The oldest sighed. "You accept things too quickly!" She said as loud as her voice could get.
"But I love you!"
The way Gwiboon's words were so blunt and without hesitation that it made Eunsook blush furiously, even more than she already was. Even Gwiboon herself had been surprised by her own words, but she didn't look like it. In fact she kept the same confident expression on her face, just so she wouldn't look like she doubted her own feelings.
"I don't- I don't know..." Eunsook stuttered, cheeks bright red.
"I know I do,"
As a silence was slowly threatening to fall on the two young girls, a man dressed in black and white came out of the restaurant and told them the table was ready. They all followed him inside and gazed in awe at the expensive dishes, beautiful lamps and elegant ornaments. They weren't used to go in high-class retaurant. Well...as high-class as they could get with their pocket money that is.
They sat at the golden table the man showed them. Junghee sat beside Gwiboon, who was beside Eunsook. They were facing their two dongsaengs and there was a vacant space in front of Eunsook.
"I like the candle, don't you Minjung?" Taeyeon said sweetly as she observed the small light carefully placed in the middle of the surface, between the plates, ustensils and flowers.
"Yes, it's pretty," Minjung replied calmly and Taeyeon smiled happily.
With that, they all reached out for the menus and stared at the weird italian words all over the pages. Eunsook frowned, she couldn't decode the names of the meals and it was quite annoying since she surely didn't like everything that was on the dishes' list.
"What is Fiorentina Lasagna ?" She asked quietly to Gwiboon, breaking the promise about not talking to her she had secretly made with herself earlier.
"I have absolutely no idea," The younger girl answered, giggling.
"What are you going to order?" Eunsook asked curiously, planning to say 'the same for me!'.
"I think I'm going to ask for something that has a nice name and I'm going to deal with it," Gwiboon said, earning a pout from the older girl. Talking about food was definitely less embarassing than about their feelings.
When the waitress asked for their choices. Junghee and Minjung asked for something that had an image beside its name, so they could at least see what it looked like. Taeyeon ordered something simple she already knew. Then it was Gwiboon's turn to order.
"Bistecca Toscane, please," She said politely with a terrible accent. The woman wrote it down in the little notebook she was carrying and turned to the oldest girl.
"Hmm," Eunsook glanced in the menu and quickly spotted a nice name. "Liguine...Delizioso," She said, with the same horrible accent Gwiboon had previously used. It had 'delizioso' which looked like 'delicious', it wasn't supposed to be bad, right?
The woman said it would be ready soon and went back to where she came from. Meanwhile, Gwiboon was doing her best to keep herself from staring intently at Eunsook who looked awfully cute with her pink shirt and small white headband. Instead of once again succombing to her unni's cuteness, she focused on Taeyeon who was clumsily trying to tell a story about herself, a rock and her face against the sidewalk.
"...Then, I was about to fall down again because my left foot really hurt! But luckily, Minjung helped me to get back to my feet without too much pain..." She said, gesturing with her hands as she was adding more and more useless details to the already complicated story.
"...And that's why I had to go see the doctor and Minjung joined me, she was nice with me all the time, she took care of everything from telling my parents to fill up all the papers..."
Eunsook was smiling and nodding at the right moments, but was thinking about everything but what the magnae was saying. She noted how Gwiboon's head tended to turn to her and seemed to observe Eunsook with soft yet fierce eyes.
"...I wouldn't have done it, but Minjung convinced me and I'm really grateful now, or else I wouldn't be able to run for a while, but that doctor really did the right thing. It's all thanks to Minjung really. She also helped me with my Maths test the other day, I was going to fail it, I was so sure I was going to fail, but she cheered me up and explained some things I didn't understand..."
Eunsook briefly wondered if Taeyeon would ever stop talking and let some of them place a word. However, each time her speech seemed to end, it was starting on a new topic all over again. The oldest girl noticed how every stories seemed to have Minjung has the heroine. She thought they should be very close because from Taeyeon's saying they were practically always with each other.
"...And that's why we ended up coming over here for the week-end. Thank's to Junghee we have a place to stay."
It was the end now...was it?
It fell silent just as she stopped talking. Eunsook secretely wished Taeyeon would have another story to tell and would fill up the awkward silence, but it didn't seem like she did so it stayed this way for some minutes.
They were awkwardly looking at each other until their plates arrived. It was a rather quick service, because it took no more than 15 minutes before the waitress had come back with all of their plates. The woman asked if they wanted cheese, salt or anything to go with their dish.
They shook their heads in unison and she walked away. Eunsook stared at her plates. Pastas were in the middle of the plate and she thought that there weren't enough to satisfy her stomach. Sauce had been carefully poured on and nice-looking herbs were placed on it. She felt a little bad to ruin all the pretty presentation, but she was hungry so she dug into it mercilessly.
"Is it good?" Gwiboon asked, smiling down at the girl eating happily.
Eunsook grinned between two mouthfuls and nodded. Gwiboon giggled, temporarily forgetting everything about her awkwardness with Eunsook. She just knew she liked her unni like this, happily enjoying her food, even though some people threw her weird look since she ate so fast.
She obviously finished before everyone. Taeyeon giggled at her rapidity, Minjung and Junghee seemed to ignored her or just didn't care much and Gwiboon kept her sweet smile as she ate her own meal.
When everyone was talking about this and that, Eunsook's hands started trembling when the younger girl threw somewhat shy yet worried looks at her. Eunsook felt dizzy and couldn't even concentrate on any of the pretty simple conversations the four other girls were having. Eunsook decided to subtly go to the washroom, because being so close to Gwiboon made her feel strange.
When she found the door to the ladies' restrooms, she checked to be sure she was alone. Fortunately, she was. She sighed and looked at herself in the mirror, studying her lightly reddened complexion wondering what Gwiboon saw in it to fall for her so suddenly. She touched her cheeks with her fingers, watching as her reflect did the same. Eunsook pouted. Gwiboon was so much prettier than she was, why did she fall for this ordinary face?
Eunsook bit her lips and let out another sad sigh. Maybe she was taking things too seriously. Maybe she shouldn't question Gwiboon's honesty so much. She should focus only on her own feelings and wonder if she was herself falling for her dongsaeng, no matter how bitter she could be at times. Her hands started to comb her already flawless hair, making them become a little messy.
"What are you doing?"
Eunsook jumped and turned around to see Taeyeon next to her, a gentle smile in her lips.
"Oh, nothing. I was about to go back," Eunsook said, forcing a smile onto her face. However, she didn't move, her body was telling her not to go back so soon, because she hadn't entirely calmed down.
Taeyeon tilted her head and walked closer to her. "Are you okay?" She asked nervously.
"Yes, I just...I was just feeling a bit...dizzy," Eunsook giggled nervously. "I guess I ate too fast again," She joked and the other joined her giggling.
"You don't seem to be like Gwiboon's other friends," Taeyeon said which made Eunsook stiffen and blush lightly.
"Oh..." Was all she managed to say.
"Don't be mad, but I thought you'd be a little bit...different,"
Eunsook's face saddened and seeing that, Taeyeon flailed her arms around while stuttering random words of apology.
"No! I mean-It's not- I don't mean in a bad way- I just thought...I just thought you'd be a little bit more into...make-up and stuff...I mean...more superficial and talkative...But it's alright really, it's alright this way, I like quiet people! Minjung's quiet too and shy and absolutely not superficial and I like her a lot-" She froze and blushed. "I mean, she's my best friend and I like her- It's not like Gwiboon and you-" Taeyeon gasped and her hands flew to her mouth, not believing all the things she had said to an almost complete stranger.
Eunsook blinked, this was too much informations for her brain in so little words. She had understood the part about her not being as superficial as Gwiboon's other friends, but the rest took her some seconds before she fully understood what the younger girl was talking about.
Her face felt terribly hot and when her eyes darted back to the mirror, she noticed how red her cheeks had gotten. She gulped, Taeyeon already knew about Gwiboon's feelings for her? Nothing surprising, they were close friends afterall.
"I-I'm sorry, It's not my business. I know it's not, I just- no I mean, I'm sorry...I am really. I have no idea what exactly is going on between you two and-and it wasn't wise of me to bring it up, I'm sorry," Taeyeon looked flustered and was obviously feeling bad enough, so Eunsook gave her an understanding smile, but stayed quiet.
"I'm sorry," Taeyeon said again. "I'll make it up to you, since I know something so personal about you, I'll tell you one of my secret alright?"
"It-It's okay, you don't have to-"
"No, no I feel bad, I'll tell you okay? Just-just keep it to yourself please, though I can't blame you if you spread it out,"
"I, You don't-" Eunsook stopped talking seeing Taeyeon's irresistible pleading eyes. "Fine..."
Taeyeon looked around to be sure no one could hear her. Then her eyes came back to Eunsook. "I-I don't know you much, but I trust you alright? If Gwiboon-unni trusts you, I'll do too, okay?"
Eunsook nodded lightly, a bit confused at why Taeyeon insisted to tell her when she obviously looked so awkward.
"I-I think I like my best friend." Taeyeon finally said, seeing Eunsook's perplex expression, she added; "I love Minjung, a lot," Then she blushed madly.
Eunsook smiled as a mother would do when her child got a good grade. She walked toward her and patted her head softly. The youngest certainly didn't expect her nice gesture because she stiffened and backed away a little.
"It's okay," Eunsook stroke her hair clumsily. "I think it's okay,"
Now she understood why the other looked so willing yet so reluctant to tell her secret. Taeyeon probably needed comfort, someone to tell her it was alright to like Minjung the way she did. Maybe she couldn't tell anyone else, Eunsook though. Maybe she was like her and didn't have anyone to comfort her and tell her everything was okay. Taeyeon smiled sadly, relieved that her secret didn't cause too much reaction from Eunsook.
Taeyeon nodded her head, because she already knew it was okay. She just needed confimation from someone else and Eunsook had given her just what she needed, even though her clumsy pats on Taeyeon's hair would have made someone laugh.
"We should go back or else Gwiboon will call 911," Taeyeon joked and they both laughed lightly.
As Eunsook made her way through the many tables and people standing to the table, Taeyeon followed her like a little girl would follow her parent in a crowd. The oldest wondered if Taeyeon had come to the washroom only to talk to her, but soon shrugged it off, since it didn't matter much.
"Took you long enough," Gwiboon pointed out when they were about to sat down.
"Sorry, we chatted and forgot about the time," Taeyeon smiled and Minjung narrowed her eyes in some kind of confusion.
"Since everyone is finished eating, I think it's best to leave the place to someone else," Junghee said and everyone agreed.
They paid, Gwiboon almost crying as she saw it costed about twice the price of her own shirt, which was already expensive. Eunsook supressed a laughter when she noticed Gwiboon's pout.
"Where are we going now?" She asked absently, her mind still on Gwiboon as they walked out of the restaurant.
"Shopping," Junghee answered.
"I think I'm going to pass," Minjung said and Gwiboon glared at her. Not only did she replace her as Taeyeon's protector, but she also didn't like shopping. This was unacceptable!
"I think...I think I'm going to follow Minjung," Eunsook added.
Maybe not liking shopping isn't such a big deal afterall...Gwiboon thought as she furrowed her eyebrows at Eunsook.
"Do you want to go get some cake?" Minjung asked, she was still hungry and she guessed Eunsook was as well.
"Yes!" The older girl squealed at the mention of dessert.
"Okay! So Gwiboon, Taeyeon and I will go shopping and we'll meet up with you at...8? Is it okay?"
Minjung looked at her watch and saw it was already 7pm. It left them only an hour to shop, though Gwiboon needed less than minutes to try and buy everything in a small shop.
"See you at 8," The tall girl said, smiling lightly.
Taeyeon walked to her, got to her toes and kissed her on the lips. A light touch, very very light, something that could have been exchanged between sisters, but it still got everyone shocked. Expect Minjung who just stood there. This was usual for her.
A blush made its way to Eunsook's face before she instinctively turned her head to Gwiboon who was frozen in utter shock. The oldest shorty wondered if it would be weird to kiss Gwiboon the way Taeyeon had kissed Minjung, but she was brought back to reality by Taeyeon who waved at her cutely as she was being pulled, along with Gwiboon, by Junghee.
Eunsook grinned and waved, cheeks still red. When Gwiboon's eyes laid on her, she quickly looked away and asked Minjung about where they going.
"There's this café not too far away. Their cheesecake is really good,"
Eunsook nodded, uneasy with Minjung's cold attitude. It felt much better and natural to talk with Taeyeon. Not that Minjung didn't seem to be a good person, just...not the way Eunsook was used to. They walked until there was a colorful little coffeehouse in front of them. The light blue walls and little windows reminded Eunsook of a doll house she had when she was younger.
"It's here?"
It surely didn't seem like a place that fitted Minjung's looks. She looked more like someone who spent most of her time in a library or a place far from everyone, not somewhere colorful and full of children.
"Yes,"
They entered and were greeted by a boy wearing an apron. They each choose their favourite cake, Minjung ordered a piece of cheesecake while Eunsook odered a simple double chocolate cake. When they got them, they sat down near a window, looking at the people passing by. It was silent until Minjung decided to speak up, making Eunsook jump.
"You were surprised huh?"
"By what?"
"Taeyeon's kiss,"
"I...huh..." Eunsook fidgeted with her fingers as Minjung kept an intense stare on her. "I...yes,"
"It's okay, Everyone would be,"
And that's all she said. Eunsook couldn't help, but wonder why Minjung brought this up so suddenly if she had so little to say about it. She tried to ignore it as she and Minjung emptied their plates and they silently watched children running around, the boy who had served them warning the kids to not break anything.
"Where do you know Gwiboon from?" Eunsook asked, surprising herself with her sudden bluntness.
Minjung eyed her and seemed to think before answering.
"From Taeyeon,"
Eunsook waited, but the other didn't seem to be willing to say anything more. "And...how did she know her?"
Once again, Minjung took her time before responding.
"They were neighbours when they were younger."
"Okay...so you became friends with her when Taeyeon moved?"
Minjung stayed silent, absorbed into her own empty plate. "Friends?"
"You're not friends?"
"I'm Junghee's and Taeyeon's friend," She simpered. "Gwiboon doesn't seem to consider me as a friend,"
Eunsook's head snapped up. "Why?"
"I don't know,"
Eunsook didn't feel like talking and interrogating anymore, since the other didn't seem too happy about the questions she asked. But instead of staying silent again, Minjung looked at her and spoke up again.
"You're the one Gwiboon loves right?"
Eunsook's eyes opened widely, taken aback by Minjung's forthright question. The tallest didn't give her the time to answer, she was already talking.
"I must say, I was shocked when Taeyeon told me about Gwiboon liking a girl,"
Eunsook held in her breath, because this conversation couldn't really be happening. Nobody had ever talked about this so directly before!
"Honestly, I always thought Gwiboon would marry some kind of football player, like the bitchy cheeleaders in american teenagers movies."
The oldest relaxed and smirked at the thought. Yes, she always thought that too before knowing Gwiboon.
"I'm glad she found someone like you. From Junghee's saying, you're a pretty nice girl,"
Eunsook blushed. Minjung's sentences made much more sense than Taeyeon's. At least she was able to express what she was thinking clearly, without stuttering. But her bluntness was a bit too much for Eunsook who was used to say things subtly, yet honestly.
"Please don't be too harsh with Gwiboon. I know she doesn't like me, but she's still Taeyeon's favourite unni, so I wish her happiness,"
Eunsook smiled sweetly. She understood the feeling since she never really wished anything bad for anyone, even for people who disliked her. With that thought, she decided that Minjung was a nice and caring person, although terribly straightforward.
"You're close with Taeyeon?" Eunsook asked and for the fist time, Minjung actually showed awkwardness. She cleared her throat and bit her lips before looking at Eunsook.
"Yes, very close,"
Eunsook smiled, satisfied with the response. "It shows, you two seem to get along very well,"
She added.
Minjung remained silent and so did Eunsook. The older girl was busy pondering about her feelings that Minjung had helped become much clearer with her blunt and simple conversation. Eunsook was now sure, the only thing that kept her from admiting her own love for Eunsook was her fear of being decieved by her dongsaeng. However, knowing that even Minjung and Taeyeon , who seemed sensed and quite smart individuals, trusted Gwiboon wholeheartedly, Eunsook was certain she could trust Gwiboon without worrying too much about her intentions.
Because Eunsook knew her feelings for Gwiboon for a while, but never really gave them much thought. They were just there to make her feel good whenever Gwiboon would be nice to her. Never once did she thought they could be more than just friends. But now that she was given the chance, she might not find it a bad idea. In fact, she just wished they could become something more.
Eunsook and Minjung thought on their own, not even glancing at each other until their watches showed 8 o'clock. And that was when they had agreed to go meet up with the others, like Junghee had previously said. Luckily, they all remembered the place they had left each others.
As soon as Gwiboon saw Eunsook, she let out a noise that sounded pretty much like a fearful squeal. Junghee was grinning and Eunsook concluded that the two facts were linked in some ways. Taeyeon was the first to walk up to them and greet both of her unnis with a big cheery smile. Junghee was about to follow her, but stopped when she saw that Gwiboon wasn't looking about to move from were she was standing. She sighed and forcefully tugged at Gwiboon's hand so she was also walking along with her to join the others.
"You two should've come with us! I bought clothes" Gwiboon happily said, even if her awkwardness was still visible.
"As if it was something new," Junghee whispered, loud enough for Gwiboon to hear and cause a staring battle.
"Anyway, we should get going now," Junghee asked, breaking eye contact with her best friends.
"Yes, or else it'll be very late when we'll get to your house," Taeyeon added. "Right Minjung?"
The tall girl nodded and turned to Eunsook.
"It was nice to meet you Eunsook-sshi," She said politely.
"Ah you can call me Eunsook. Yes, it was nice meeting you too Minjung,"
Taeyeon nodded her head in aggreement with both of her unni and turned to Gwiboon who sulked a few steps away from everyone.
"We'll see each other soon, right unni?" The magnae smiled and Gwiboon couldn't keep her own lips from curving upwards.
"Yes,"
"Good luck!" Taeyeon added as she waved and soon disapeared into the crowd that had suddenly become much bigger than the last time they looked.
"So, I guess we'll have to go our own way now," Eunsook spoke nervously, trying to come up with something that would make sense and not end up sounding like a dog whining for a treat.
"Who says we have to?" Gwiboon turned to her, eyes fixated on her. "I won't let you go back on your own,"
The oldest blinked. "You won't?"
"Nuh-huh, way too dangerous." Gwiboon shook her head lightly. "There are creeps that just wait for harmless pretty girls to pass by,"
"Wha-What?"
"Just let me go with you," The younger girl said, promptly taking her unni's hand in hers and pulling her to the nearest bus stop.
Eunsook shivered at the contect of their skin. The other times they had held hands, it was merely a friendly way to follow each other, now it meant much more. A blush crept to her cheeks and she wanted to pull her hand out of Gwiboon's grip, but then again...this wasn't so bad.
All embarassment and fear put aside, holding Gwiboon's warm hand when a cool breeze blew on them was something she could get used to. She sighed and relaxed, letting her dongsaeng lead her into the bus and pay for both them before taking a seat in the back.
Eunsook sat beside Gwiboon who was just waiting for her to do so. The bus moved and the street began to move fast in the window until it changed for another urban scenery. Eunsook stared at the houses and building, occasinally glimpsing at Gwiboon who was rummag through her shopping bags. Eunsook was looking when the other got a small bag out of one of the many large-sized bag.
"Actually, I have a present for you," Gwiboon held the small bag on her laps.
"A present?" Eunsook stared at the brown-haired girl and then dow at the small bag before her eyes went back to Gwiboon's face.
"I would have bought you this cute yellow t-shirt but I didn't know your size so...Junghee told me to pick this instead," Gwiboon said, but didn't give the gift to Eunsook just yet. "I know you probably don't want anything from me now, well I guess. But this is just crazy and, and I want you to have something from me, even if- I mean even if..." Gwiboon trailed off and Eunsook understood even with the lack of words.
"So please just take it and don't ask any question, I just thought you would like it. And Junghee and Taeyeon almost forced me to buy it for you, they said that you'd like it and I really can't resist that happy smile of yours, so please..." Gwiboon sighed and dropped the bag on Eunsook's laps.
The older smiled softly, thinking about how Gwiboon looked a bit like Taeyeon with her awkward sentences, but still a bit like Minjung for her bluntness. She opened the bag, the noise of plastic shuffling joining in the sounds of the bus.
She took out a small book. The image of rice and beef on the top was enough to tell everything about it. Eunsook glanced through the pages, which were full of recipes, images and charts, slowly before her head head moved to face Gwiboon.
"It's for when I'm not there to cook you healthy meals. The recipes are easy to follow," Gwiboon's cheeks were a light shade of red, but she was still looking intently at Eunsook.
The other smiled and put the book back in its bag. "Thank you, but...you didn't have to buy me something,"
"I know. I just wanted to." Gwiboon sharply said.
"Yes, thank you," Eunsook looked around them to see that the few passengers that were there minutes ago were now gone. They were alone with the driver glancing at them every few minutes to check if there were okay.
They quietly sat still, both of them stealing quick looks at one another from time to time. Eunsook smiling each time she felt the plastic bag still on her lap between her fingers. She had never been so happy, but she blamed it all on the tiredness she had accumulated during the previous week and not on Gwiboon's attention that touched her.
Gwiboon cleared her throat when they were finally on Eunsook's street. The bus stopped and they both got out of it, Gwiboon's hand had once found Eunsook's. The oldest didn't protest and actually let herself enjoy the moment. She felt Gwiboon's hold in her left hand and her right was still clutching the present she got.
They walked on the sidewalk, the sky had darkened and stars were probably going to cover it very soon. Gwiboon walked unnaturally slowly, just so she could stay with her unni a little bit longer, just so she could only once imagine what it would be like to be dating her unni.
Unfortunatly, even with her efforts to delay this moment, they still arrived to the aimed house pretty quickly. When they got to the porch and detached their hands, Eunsook turned to Gwiboon, feeling like the protagonist of a romantic-comedy movie.
"Thank you," She said and smiled. "For the present and tonight, it was really fun. Taeyeon and Minjung were really nice with me,"
"Of course Taeyeon was!"
Eunsook giggled at Gwiboon's proud face and thought she needed nothing more to be happy. She knew that girl could bring her all the happiness and protection she had lacked from her parents. Even though she still wasn't that sure if it meant love or not, she was now willing to let herself being loved. Because it was Gwiboon that loved her. Gwiboon and no one else.
"Gwiboon..." The oldest looked at her feet, finding some kind of comfort in them.
The other just blankly stared, all the pride fading. She was already pretty sure that tonight she would get turned down by the nicest girl in the school. Oh, the irony....
"I-I" She started, but ended up sighed to regain a confident composture. "I..."
Gwiboon smiled sadly and waited until Eunsook was ready to speak up normally.
"Gwiboon, I-" She pouted, unable to get enough courage by looking intently to the ground. She slowly looked up to meet Gwiboon's eyes which were full of anticipation, yet so much fear could be seen in her dark orbs.
"I think..." She started again, hoping that saying it differently would help her. "I know..." Eunsook mentally whacked herself. How could she hesitate so much when it was so simple?
"I like you too!!" She finally said...well more like; yelled uncontrollably. She blushed at her loud voice and wished her parents were absent from the house. "I like you too," She whispered softly as though of an apology for making Gwiboon's heart skip a beat.
The younger girl blinked. She wasn't sure if she had heard right. She looked perplex, not sure of what to do, how to react. Should she just wait until Eunsook's next words? Or maybe there wouldn't be next words...
Great, now Gwiboon wanted to run away.
But run away from what? Eunsook's love?
Why would she run away now? Now that Eunsook seemed willing to understand and return her feelings. With that thought, Gwiboon realised they still hadn't moved and Eunsook was looking at her with wide hopeful eyes...Eunsook looked like a puppy dog who waited for a treat...
Gwiboon thought about leaning in to plant a kiss somewhere on Eunsook's face (she didn't really know where exactly,) and her head responded to her thoughts. Before Eunsook could notice the other's gesture, she spoke up and broke her dongsaeng's trance.
"I think you should go back home now, it's getting very late,"
"It's only 9," Gwiboon narrowed her eyes at her.
"Still..." Eunsook moved her fingers nervously. "I think it's dangerous for you to go back home alone, maybe you should st-"
"No, I can take care of myself, I'm alright! Don't worry!" Gwiboon cut in, the only thought of praising her confident self enough to make her voice come out before she knew it.
"Alright, but be careful, okay?"
"Yes," She answered simply, acting like a robot obeying to its creator. She turned around and walked down to the sidewalk and made her way back to the bus stop. Gwiboon wanted to run to Eunsook and kiss her with everything she got so badly, but something kept her from doing so. Fear...or maybe shock. It was a rather shocking news for her that Eunsook actually liked her.
She had made up her mind to still love Eunsook even after she would have refused to go out with her. But, this meant she still stood a chance in dating her unni, or maybe they were already and her brain was too busy celebrating the fact that Eunsook liked her to notice it.
Gwiboon waited for a bus to pass by, when it did, she got in, barely looking at the driver as she paid. She took a seat and thought about calling Junghee to tell her about Eunsook's words. However, knowing that Taeyeon would probably be there, she didn't want to wake her up or disturb her. As the bus stopped in front of her, Gwiboon though that she only needed a good night of sleep.
------------
Hope you enjoyed!!
Want the end of part 3? : Lovers?