Round 8: You're wasting time with the chitchat (TEAM FUTURE)
Title: you’re wasting time with the chitchat
Team: Future
Rating: PG
Fandom: SNSD/SUJU Het
Pairing: Sooyoung/Sungmin
Summary: Two years after SNSD disbanded, Sooyoung’s living the college life. Then Sunny moves in with her and her roommates and drags Sungmin back into Sooyoung’s life and Sooyoung reverts to being a teenage girl waiting for true loves first kiss without really meaning too.
Prompt Used: F(x)- CHU
It starts when she’s twenty-four, SNSD already two years in the past. She’s gone back to school, left the entertainment world as best she can, though it’s hard to turn down all the modeling jobs, and sometimes she still makes a few variety show appearances, and once in a while, she still gets on the stage with eight other girls and sings.
Sooyoung doesn’t miss it much. She keeps in touch with them all, phone calls and emails and text messages sent between classes and rehearsals and radio gigs and filming. They all get together at least twice a year on their own too, throw parties for their anniversary, and their half-anniversary, and at least one of them is always present for someone’s birthday.
Life’s different in a lot of ways, quieter in some, but it’s not empty. She’s got a nice, spacious apartment with four other girls, normal ones she met in college, and they are loud, vibrant and hilarious. Jinmi is brilliant, studying to be a chemist. She’s up for long hours every night, spends her free time learning English from old Sex and the City episodes, and laughs loud without holding back. Sunhi‘s the quiet type, thoughtful and sweet, but she still gets into fights with Hana at least once a week over trivial things. Hana picks most of them out of boredom when her best friend Ellie, the last of Sooyoung’s roommates, is off running around Seoul, exploring the city now that she’s finally back in Korea after seven years away.
She’s had boyfriends, relationships, too. She’s been kissed, she’s had sex, she’s gotten her heart broken and she’s thought maybe some of those guys could have been something. There’s never been any real magic though, no foot popping, dizzy with the fireworks, breathless just by looking into his eyes kind of feelings. There’s no classic Disney fairytale magic with any of them, if she’s honest, no Cinderella or Jasmine or Anne Hathaway who’s actually a princess much to her surprise. Maybe that proves how young she still is, the way she still hopes for a fairytale. Either way, she’s had relationships; they’ve come and gone, never sticking only because they’ve never felt quite right, never felt special.
Sooyoung doesn’t mind too much though, doesn’t bother thinking about past loves and the ones that got away very often. She’s got her roommates to keep her amused, and her best friends to cheer on from the sidelines. She’s got work, and school and that’s enough to keep her busy, keep her happy.
But then Sunhi‘s moving out, getting married. She’s always wanted that, more than anything, the family and the house and the ring and the children. Her boyfriend is spectacular, treats her like a princess, and they have fun planning her wedding, planning sessions turned late night slumber parties like they’re still sixteen and never been kissed.
They need a new roommate though, and it turns out Sunny needs a place to stay, tired of her crappy one bedroom apartment on the other side of town. She’s still in the business, filming for variety shows near constantly, but the other girl’s don’t mind. They’ve all always liked Sunny and they need the roommate, so they’re all agreeing to it before Sooyoung even realizes what’s really happening.
Sunny moves in on a Thursday, the same tiny bundle of energy that’s never changed, carrying boxes twice her size. With her, comes Lee Sungmin stumbling back into Sooyoung’s life though, and that’s where it all begins.
(Alternately, it starts when she’s eighteen young and loud and earnest. On their third show together, Sungmin messes up her hair during a song and it dissolves into a pinching battle. When they’re back on air, they’re both breathless with laughter, and Sooyoung has trouble getting the words out right, around the sudden welling of something warm in her chest.
Sungmin smiles at her for the rest of the night, openly fond, and teases her mercilessly even as he acts like just as big a dork.
Years later, it’s a hard job, trying to convince anyone she hadn’t been mostly in love since the beginning.)
“Jesus, how much do you own?” Sungmin asks, coming through the door. It’s hot out, and he’s sweating through his shirt already. Sooyoung chokes in surprise, nearly dropping the bag she took from Sunny. She can’t help but stare.
“Oppa~.” Sunny pouts, her cute act going full force and Sooyoung watches, halfway to dumbfounded as Sungmin just laughs it off, used to Sunny’s antics after all these years. She still hasn’t gotten past Sungmin standing in her living room.
He sets the box down, turning to her.
“Hey Sooyoung,” he says, grin bright, just like she remembers it. She’s glad to see that hasn’t changed. He has, in other, small ways. He’s a little harder around the edges, a little more obvious in his strength, after his years in the military. It’s something most would hardly notice, but Sooyoung’s been watching Sungmin for years. “Long time no see.”
“Yeah,” she says, but it comes out nearly breathless and she inwardly grimaces. Sunny’s grinning like mad from the other side of the room. She clears her throat, tries again.
“It has,” she says and this time her voice is steady so she smiles. She ducks away when he moves to pat her head, holding up her arms in defense. “Don’t mess with the hair.”
“S’not like it would matter. You’d still be ugly,” he says while laughing, the bastard, but the insult is as familiar as ever so she can’t quite keep her lips from twitching up into a grin. Still she’s uncomfortably aware of her ratty sweats and old t-shirt, her already messy hair. She sticks her tongue out in retaliation, even if it just makes him laugh harder. “I see you haven’t gone and become a lady since I last saw you.”
“Just waiting for Prince Charming to come sweep me off my feet and make an honest woman out of me,” she retaliates and pinches him in the side. He pulls her into a headlock before she can get away.
“Hate to break it to you, but no one’s going to want to take you to the ball, Cinderella. Time to grow up,” he says, tickling her, and Sooyoung struggles to get away, muting her shrieks as best she can. She pinches him again on the thigh, and he finally lets her go.
“Gross, you’re all sweaty,” she says when she’s three large steps away. They’re both grinning like idiots at each other. On the other side of the room, Sunny clears her throat and they both almost jump in surprise. For half a minute, she had forgotten Sunny was even there.
“Right, okay, going to get another box,” Sungmin says, shaking his head with a smile. He punches Sooyoung on the arm just before he disappears out the door, almost hard enough to bruise. Sooyoung kicks back, but he’s already gone, leaving her with just Sunny in the room. She turns slowly, inwardly grimacing.
Of course, Sunny’s giving her that look, lips twisted in a smug little smirk like she knows the best secret ever and won’t tell. It’s a look that has never once failed to get under Sooyoung’s skin in all the years she’s known Sunny.
“What?” she says, and internally winces when she comes out sounding a touch defensive. Sunny’s smirk gets impossibly wide.
“I see you’re still flirting with Sungmin any and every chance you get,” she says, eyes all wide like she’s just making an innocent observation. Sooyoung narrows hers.
“We aren’t flirting,” she says, clear and steady like Sunny might actually believe her if she says it with enough conviction. “And I’m not in denial,” she adds, when Sunny opens her mouth. Sunny lets her act drop then to laugh, bright and amused.
“Oh please, you’ve had a crush on that boy for forever.” She rolls her eyes at Sooyoung and Sooyoung sneers. “You should do something about it this time,” she calls over her shoulder as she practically flounces out of the room.
Sooyoung glares after her, at the open door.
“He treats me like I’m his kid sister,” she tells the room, frowning, before sighing and giving up, following them out to Sungmin’s truck.
Outside, Sungmin smiles at her and the sun is warm on her skin. She lets go of the disappointment for now.
It takes two whole hours to move Sunny in, a constant stream of boxes and bags, all shapes and sizes and colors and weights. They all collapse in the living room once they’re done, Sooyoung’s arms shaking so bad she can barely hold up her water bottle without spilling it everywhere.
“I feel like I just got out of dance practice,” she says, moaning. Beside her, Sungmin groans with feeling.
“Why do you own so much, seriously?” He says, voice nearly a whine and that gets them all to laugh, even if they’re exhausted.
“Sunny, this is entirely your fault. Go order take-out,” Sooyoung commands, not willing to move an inch. Sunny doesn’t argue, too tired to bother, and twenty minutes later food and Ellie are coming through the door.
“There better be some for me in there,” she says, stumbling out of her shoes. She greets Sunny without looking up, too busy trying to get out of her shoes without falling. Sooyoung can see the exact moment she realizes Sungmin is there too. Ellie’s smile goes brighter, a touch flirtier. Inwardly, Sooyoung is crying. No good can come from Sungmin and Ellie being friends, she’s pretty sure. She sighs and introduces them anyway.
“Sungmin, Ellie. Ellie, Sungmin from Super Junior,” she says, suddenly feeling ten times more tired; Ellie’s grinning like it’s her birthday, Christmas, and maybe Halloween in America all at once.
“Hi, I’m one of their roommates, Ellie. You were always my favorite,” she says, sticking out her hand. It’s a hard habit for her to break, but Sungmin just laughs and goes along with it. It sets Ellie off. Sooyoung goes to grab plates and utensils three minutes in to Ellie’s life story, and she talks for practically the rest of the night. Sungmin, of course, is preening and showing off under the attention and laughs in all the right places. Sooyoung tries hard not to glare.
She doesn’t examine the impulse that makes her share all of Sungmin’s embarrassing stories very closely either.
Sooyoung’s at work, a little half-bookstore, half-coffee shop a few blocks from campus, when she sees Sungmin again.
“Sunny told me where you worked,” he says as way of greeting. It’s only been three days, and Sooyoung still can’t help the impulse to stare.
It still feels weird, having Sungmin in front of her. She’s kept up with the news over the years, has always had a vague sense of what he’s been doing with his life, but it’s been two, maybe three years since she’s seen him in person and it’s different. He’s more real, suddenly concrete, like she could reach out and touch. He’s more than just the distant stories and gossip that had slowly made its way down to her. It’s just odd.
“Why were you looking for me?” She says, tilting her head to the side, before going back to wiping down the counter. No one else is in line yet, so she thinks maybe it’s okay if they talk for a moment.
“I’ve got a proposal for you. When’s your break?” he says. She frowns at him.
“In about fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll wait,” he says, and then he’s heading off to go find a book or something, Sooyoung’s not really sure, just watches him disappear into the stacks, so she gets back to work. Fifteen minutes later, she’s approaching Sungmin with coffee and pastries, not really sure she wants to hear his proposal.
“So out with it,” she says, plopping down into the chair across from him, pushing one of the cups towards him. He takes it with a smile and she takes a long sip of her own coffee, relaxing for a moment.
“So, I’m out of the military now, yeah?” He starts and then doesn’t say anything for a long moment. She nods slowly, hoping maybe that will prompt him to continue. It doesn’t.
“And…?”
“Er, well, you see, I’ve got a job now. You know, now that I’m out of the military. I’m hosting a radio show again.” He pauses again, and now it’s obvious he’s stalling. She really, really doesn’t want to hear this proposal, she realizes.
“Congratulations,” she says though, because she still has her manners- some of them at least.
“Yeah, uh thanks.” He blinks at her, rubbing at the back of his neck. She stares back. He coughs a bit awkwardly, and she nearly laughs. “Right so, I need a co-host.”
There’s another long pause, Sungmin using the time to take slow sips of his coffee. Sooyoung thinks, quite frankly, his stalling is getting kind of ridiculous. She waits. Sungmin stares at her expectantly, and she raises her eyebrow at him in confusion. He grimaces and oh. Oh.
“Oh,” she says. “You’re kidding right?”
“No, please, c’mon,” he says quickly.
“You want me to host a radio show with you?” Sooyoung asks, blinking. She’s half-convinced she’s read him wrong, and he’s really not asking her to do this. He just grins winningly at her though, and she knows she’s not wrong.
“Yeah, it’ll be like old times, you know,” he says and he’s still grinning. She grimaces.
“How do you even get to decide who you work with?”
“Er, well, I don’t exactly,” he says, and at least he’s got the decency to look a bit sheepish. “I’m just kind of hoping to pass the suggestion along.”
Sooyoung stares.
“So, you’re possibly trying to get me excited for something I may not even get the chance to do?” she says slowly, and Sungmin winces, just a tiny tiny bit. She sighs. “You know I’m trying to stay out of the business as much as possible, right?”
“It’s only radio,” he says quickly, raising his hands up like he’s trying to convince her he comes in peace. “It’s not that big of a deal,” he adds. “Besides, I like working with you.”
And how the hell is she supposed to say no to that? She glares at her coffee.
“I’ll think about it,” she says finally, but she’s pretty sure they both know she’s going to say yes. Sungmin grins happily into his coffee and doesn’t look too smug when she gets up at the end of her break.
He’s still grinning when he buys another coffee and pastry on the way out. Sooyoung rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling a little bit too.
“Sunny,” she yells, the moment she gets back from work. The rest of her roommates are still in class, but Sunny’s filming wasn’t for a few more hours, Sooyoung’s sure.
There’s a distant shuffling, doors opening and closing, before Sunny’s head appears. Sooyoung glares.
“I see you talked to Sungmin then,” Sunny says, and drags herself the rest of the way into the room, collapsing onto a chair. She looks like she just woke up, and Sooyoung winces a little.
“I hate you,” she says, but the panic and fury is suddenly gone, and she flops down on the other side of the table. She feels exhausted.
Sunny pats her on the shoulder.
“You’ll thank me later,” she says, and then she disappears back into her room, and presumably into bed.
Sooyoung decides that a nap seems like a good idea right now.
Of course, the entertainment industry always moves slowly when you’re anticipating something, and way too fast when you just need a break. Sungmin pops in a few times over the next couple of weeks to say hi, but he never has any news to report when it comes to the radio show, so eventually Sooyoung learns to ignore the humming in her blood. She’s excited at the idea of getting back into radio, as much as she wants to stay out of the industry. The idea of her and Sungmin hanging out together in a small room for one hour a week is too tempting not to be excited for. But still, she doesn’t know if she’ll even get the job, and she’s still got school and real life to attend to, so she does her best to focus on that.
It’s three weeks after Sungmin showed up at her work for the first time (he’s come in three other times since then) when she meets Chunghee. She’s seen him a couple of times before in one of her lectures, but she doesn’t actually talk to him until he runs into her, quite literally, outside of her work. She’s holding a cup of coffee in her hand, and even though she doesn’t quite spill all of it, he insists on making it up to her and buying her a new cup.
“It’s fine, really,” she insists, smiling just a little. “Besides, I work here. I could probably just go get another cup for free.”
“Oh,” he says, frowning a little, and rubbing the back of his neck like he’s sheepish. He’s kind of cute, hair like an idol and a nice enough face. But Sooyoung’s grown up around idols, and good-looks, as much as she appreciates them, don’t impress her much anymore. Still he has a nice smile, and she finds herself speaking without really thinking about it.
“You could possibly make it up to me at another place though,” she says, and he glances up at her, looking a little hopeful. It’s enough to make her heart beat a little faster, and she can’t help her grin. He grins back.
“Yeah, okay,” he says, and gives his head a little shake. It’s cute. “Are you free now?”
She glances at her phone, mentally catalogues all she needs to get done before tomorrow. She’s got a lot of reading for homework.
“Yeah, I’m free,” she says, and the late night will be totally worth it for his grin.
“Where were you?” Sunny says the moment she gets home. Sooyoung jumps in surprise, clutching at her heart.
“Jesus, I didn’t see you. Why are you sitting in the dark?” she asks, coming to plop down next to Sunny on the couch.
“Sungmin came by earlier- he wanted to talk to you,” she says instead of answer. Sooyoung frowns.
“Oh, I had a date. I guess I’ll call him tomorrow?”
“You were on a date?” Sunny asks, raising one eyebrow. Sooyoung really doesn’t appreciate the mix of skepticism and annoyance in her tone.
“Yes, a date,” she says, maybe a little too defensive. Sunny just scoffs, shaking her head like Sooyoung is a particularly pathetic puppy. Sooyoung doesn’t appreciate that either.
“Right, I’m going to bed. Call Sungmin tomorrow,” she says, dragging herself up off the couch. Sooyoung watches her go.
“He was really cute,” she yells belatedly. From farther in the apartment Jinmi yells as her to hush. Sooyoung frowns to herself, but cracks open her books anyway. It’s too late to try to understand Sunny and she’s got reading to do.
“I’m not going to wait around for him, you know,” Sooyoung says two days later. She fiddles with the crown on her frog plushy sitting in her lap, and watches Sunny reading magazines on her bed out of the corner of her eye. Sunny’s barely said anything to her in the last couple of days, just sent her slanted glances like she was disappointed. It had taken Sooyoung a few days to figure it out.
Sunny doesn’t look up right away, finishes whichever article she’s reading instead, before she very carefully sets the magazine aside. She looks up at Sooyoung expectantly, saying why the hell not with just her eyes and Sooyoung sighs.
“Seriously, I’ve known him for so long and he’s never made a move and I’m just, I’m not going to wait on him. Not anymore,” she says, looking down. Sometimes, she feels old, even though she knows she’s far from it.
Sunny sighs at her, like she’s making a mistake, but she doesn’t argue.
“Look, maybe some other guy can be my Prince Charming and I’m not going to miss out on it by waiting for someone else,” Sooyoung says finally, and Sunny looks away.
“Are you going to do the radio show though?” she asks.
“Yeah, yeah I’m going to do the radio show,” Sooyoung says.
“Okay,” Sunny says, and picks up the magazine again.
Sooyoung doesn’t know what to do with her hands, so she picks up her little frog and holds on.
It’s not hard, getting used to working on radio again. Sooyoung goes in on her first day wearing a comfortable pair of sweats and a cute t-shirt and Sungmin smiles and she remembers she has a boyfriend and it’s easy. They introduce her on air, and she makes Sungmin laugh and when Sungmin puts on Girl’s Generation for old time’s sake they both dance until they are breathless with laughter.
“Oh god, I can’t feel my abs,” Sungmin wheezes, resting his head on the table. Sooyoung’s still choking on her laughter.
“Ow ow ow,” she says, crying just a little bit. Sungmin starts laughing again, and doesn’t stop till the end of the commercial break.
Fifteen minutes later, when they call commercial break again, Sooyoung finally feels like she’s catching her breath. She leans back in her chair, tilting her head back and closes her eyes. She can feel Sungmin watching her, and she grins.
“You glad you said yes?” he says after a minute and when Sooyoung opens her eyes to look at him, he’s smiling a little, eyes fixed on the desk.
“I don’t know,” she says slowly, and waits for him to look up at her, eyes wide with surprise, before she continues. “It’s a little embarrassing saying I’m the new co-DJ of something called KISS CHU Radio.”
By the time she’s done, he’s snickering, and when she starts laughing, neither of them stop till a good minute after commercial break. And just like that, it’s like nothing has changed and the years just sort of melt away. It’s good, real good.
Sunhi hadn’t wanted a bachelorette party, but Ellie had insisted, so they had found a happy medium in between. That’s why Sooyoung comes home from radio a month in, exhausted and feeling like her face is frozen in an idiotic grin, to find her living room covered with pillows and blankets, the lights down low, with bowls of candy and pretzels and popcorn scattered everywhere.
“You weren’t kidding with the fairy princess movie night thing were you?” she says, making her way carefully across the room to flop down across the couch. Jinmi makes a muffled squeak of a protest from beneath her.
“It’s not my fault Sunhi wouldn’t let me throw her a real bachelorette party,” Ellie says from the floor, still pouting a little over it. Sunhi rolls her eyes.
“Yeah, but who’s idea was princess movies?” she says, pinching Ellie in the side.
“It was Hana’s,” she says, tackling Sunhi into a pile of pillows. Sooyoung reaches over and rescues the M&M’s before they knock over the bowl.
“Exactly. You and Hana share the same brain, therefore you share the blame,” she says, popping a few of the candies into her mouth. Ellie takes a moment to pause tickling Sunhi to whack Sooyoung in the leg. Sooyoung just laughs.
“So what are we starting with anyway?” she says, finally scooting off of Jinmi’s lap.
“Cinderella, of course,” Hana says, walking through the door. Sunny is a step behind her, carrying a paper bag.
“We brought the alcohol,” she says, brandishing a bottle and grinning like a maniac. Sooyoung takes a moment to inwardly cry. Ellie makes grabby hands at the bottle and Sunny pulls out a second. Beside her, Jinmi rolls her eyes, but she accepts a cup from Hana all the same.
“What’s after Cinderella?” Sunhi asks.
“Uh, Snow White? And maybe Sleeping Beauty?” Ellie says, settling back into her bed of pillows and flipping through the stack of DVD’s next to her. She tosses Sooyoung her froggy. “We can sit and rate kisses or something.”
“Seriously?” Sunhi asks, laughing. “You guys are so lame.”
“You’re the one who didn’t want the bachelorette party,” Hana reminds her, plopping down on her other side. Sunny drops down onto the couch between Jinmi and Sooyoung, topping off Jinmi’s glass and glaring at Sooyoung when she refuses a glass of her own.
“Are we also going to paint each other’s nails and braid each other’s hair and talk about boys,” she says, taking a sip of her drink and stealing a few M&M’s.
“Shush you,” Hana says, swatting at Sunny’s foot and grabbing the remote. “This is going to be awesome.”
Sooyoung lasts five minutes into Cinderella before breaking.
“Oh god, we are so lame,” she says. “I need more alcohol.”
Sunhi laughs and hands her a glass, and when the prince kisses Cinderella at the very end, Sooyoung’s drunk enough to cheer along with the rest of them, minus Ellie who’s too busy throwing popcorn at the screen and critiquing the Prince’s technique.
“So how was Princess Movie Night,” Sungmin says, during their first commercial break. It’s the first time they’ve had a chance to talk in the past week. Usually, Sungmin would stop by the house or the bookstore at least once a week, just to say hi or to pester Sunny about something, but he had spent half the last week in Thailand, and the other half sleeping. Sooyoung’s a little surprised by how much she’s missed him.
“Surprisingly fun, actually. We watched like ten movies and ate our weight in candy and popcorn. It was kind of disgusting. Also, Sunny bought us alcohol.” Sungmin laughs.
“Did you decide which Princesses you all were too? Were you Sleeping Beauty?” he teases, and Sooyoung sticks out her tongue.
“Maybe,” she says. “You going to kiss me to wake me up then?” she says, and he gives her an odd look, laughing.
“In your dreams,” he says, and ends commercial break.
Chunghee breaks up with her after three months. Sooyoung isn’t really surprised and she isn’t really sad. He was nice, and he was funny but it wasn’t like she was in love.
It’s a little anti-climatic actually. She looks up at him smiling, half-way through their date and he just sighs.
“I think we should break up,” he says, and Sooyoung agrees without even thinking about it. They talk a little, work it all out with sheepish smiles and then they part ways, smiling and waving and saying I’ll see you in class.
Then Sooyoung goes to work.
“How was the date,” Sungmin asks when she gets in. Sooyoung shrugs.
“We broke up,” she says and ducks underneath the desk to set her bag down, careful of all the cords. When she looks back up, Sungmin is looking at her, wide-eyed and a bit worried.
“Are you okay?” he asks. “You don’t seem too torn up over it?”
Sooyoung just shrugs again.
“It was mutual. We’re still friends,” she says, and then it’s time for prep and they don’t talk about Chunghee again.
Sungmin’s asked her out lots of times. They’ve hung out after radio, and they’ve gotten dinner before radio, and they’ve gotten dinner after radio. She’s used to hanging out with Sungmin on Wednesdays, even more so, now that she’s single again. But there’s a difference between hanging out with Sungmin on Wednesdays and hanging out with him on any other day of the week.
“Oh hey, Sooyoung, do you want to get dinner with me on Friday?” Sungmin says after the shows done, right as she’s about to leave.
“Yeah, sure,” she says, and it isn’t till she gets home that she realizes Sungmin might have just asked her out on a date. Her car isn’t the best place for a mini-freak-out though, so she goes and wakes Sunny up instead, even though she has filming early tomorrow.
“What time is it?” Sunny says, rubbing at her eyes in confusion. She looks at the clock and groans. “Is the apartment on fire?”
Sooyoung ignores her, too busy internally freaking out to really care.
“I think Sungmin just asked me out,” she says in one great big rush, maybe waving her hands a bit spastically too. Sunny stares at her for a long moment without blinking.
“Right. Congratulations. Finally. I’m going back to sleep now,” she says, and rolls over, burying her face in her pillow.
“But, I-“ she starts, waving her hands around a little harder now. Then she pauses for a long moment, just staring down at Sunny. “Yeah, sleep. Sleep is good,” she finishes, crawls into Sunny’s bed and promptly passes out.
“So Sungmin asked you out?” Sooyoung blinks, staring up at Sunny blearily. Sunshine filters through the room, and she groans.
“What time is it?” she asks. Sunny is sitting on the edge of the bed, fully-dressed, watching her expectantly.
“Noon,” she says promptly and Sooyoung grimaces, sitting up. “I just got back from filming.”
“Crap, I missed my class,” Sooyoung says, and it’s only then that she remembers she’s in Sunny’s room. Sunny waves her hand dismissively.
“But Sungmin asked you out,” Sunny says again, insistent, and this time Sooyoung is listening. She frowns.
“What?” she says, and then she pauses, thinking back to last night and oh. “Oh. Uh, yeah, I think?”
“No, he did,” she says, finally looking away from Sooyoung to grab her cell phone.
“How do you know?” Sooyoung asks, raising an eyebrow, because as far as she’s concerned, the word date never actually came up. This could easily be another hanging out sort of deal they’ve always done.
“I asked him,” she says without looking at Sooyoung, rapidly sending off a text. Sooyoung chokes.
“You what?” Sooyoung says weakly around a cough. She resists the urge to bury her face in her arms and cry in embarrassment.
“Asked him. Don’t worry, he’s spazzing out like a dork just like you,” Sunny says, rolling her eyes. Sooyoung splutters. Sunny looks longsuffering.
“Seriously, you guys are such idiots; you were made for each other. How did it take this long for you to get together?”
“Uh?” Sooyoung says, because there isn’t really a proper way to respond to something like that. Sunny just rolls her eyes again.
“Right, because you are both so stupid when it comes to each other,” she says, answering her own question. She pats Sooyoung on her head, giving her the you are a pathetic puppy look she has perfected since she moved in. Sooyoung just blinks uselessly at her, brain too fried to glare.
Ellie laughs as she passes by, and Sooyoung rubs a tired hand across her face.
“I’m going back to bed,” she finally says, and drags herself across the hall to her own room. She can hear Sunny laughing even after she swings her door shut.
“I have no idea what I’m going to wear,” she says at dinner, when it finally hits her that oh my god she has a date with Sungmin tomorrow night. Ellie grins through a mouthful of noodles and Sunny laughs.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered,” Hana says, and even Jinmi looks excited. Sooyoung thinks it’s totally reasonable to be worried.
When she gets home from classes the next day, Sooyoung thinks she definitely had good reasons to worry. It looks like a mini clothing bomb went off in their apartment.
“Guys, what are you doing?” she yells out, stepping carefully over the piles of clothing scattered everywhere. Ellie pops her head out of one of the rooms.
“Make-over?” she says, rolling her eyes. She disappears before Sooyoung has time to protest. Two hours worth of pokes, prods and here, try this instead’s, later, Sooyoung really wishes she had.
“So what do you think?” Sunny says, stepping back so that she’s no longer blocking the mirror. Hana rests her heads on her shoulder, biting into a bright green apple. Sooyoung wrinkles her nose, but doesn’t stop staring at her reflection.
“Uh…” she says, gingerly taking a step forward. The make-up isn’t all the bad, more subtle than much of the make-up she used to wear for award shows, and the dress isn’t all that bad either, even if it’s a little bit fancier than what she normally wears. Really, it’s the shoes that are bothering her. She tells them that.
“What’s wrong with the shoes?” Ellie says, frowning. She pokes Sooyoung in the side, before stealing a bite from Hana’s apple. “Also, do we still have that cake in the fridge?”
“I’ll go get it,” Jinmi says, rolling her eyes and disappearing into the kitchen. Sooyoung frowns at her reflection some more.
“So what’s wrong with the shoes?” Hana asks.
“Well, for one, they’re heels,” Sooyoung says. The three girls left in the room frown.
“You wore heels all the time when we preformed,” Sunny says and Sooyoung shrugs.
“Yeah, but I don’t wear them much anymore. I’d rather just wear my sneakers.” They all frown harder.
“With a dress?” Jinmi says from the doorway, holding the cake and a few forks. Sooyoung shrugs again.
“Why not? I mean, we aren’t going to a really nice restaurant. I don’t have to dress up all fancy and I just, I’d rather be myself. I don’t want to act girly or grow up just to impress a boy,” she says, frowning back. “Besides, Sungmin’s seen me at my worst, and it’s not like I was planning to go in sweats.”
“So you’re really not going to wear the heels?” Hana asks and Sooyoung grins. She leans down and takes them off, dropping them to the side with a laugh.
“Nah, I’m not going to wear the heels,” she confirms, and disappears into her bedroom before they can protest.
Going on a date with Sungmin, isn’t all that different from hanging out with him, she finds. They eat dinner and poke at each other and she laughs at him when he ends up snorting wine out of his nose. He still calls her ugly, never fails to make fun of her every chance he gets, and she hits him every time for it. They trade stories and laughter and she steals bites of his dinner when he’s not looking, and he pretends he doesn’t see it anyway whenever he catches her at it.
The only real difference comes when he drops her off. He doesn’t just wave as she gets out and heads to her apartment; this time he parks, gets out of his car, and walks her straight to the door. She sees Sunny peaking through the curtains and inwardly grimaces. Outwardly, she glares. Next to her, Sungmin laughs.
“All your roommates are totally watching us right now, aren’t they?” he says with a grin. Ellie and Hana giggle on the other side of the door.
“They’re totally going to ambush me the moment I walk through the door,” she says, groaning. Without looking she bangs on the door. The muted, surprised shrieks on the other side make her laugh.
“Evil,” Sungmin says and without thinking, she says,
“But you love it.” She’s smirking before her brain catches up with what she said, and then she blushes just a bit. Sungmin’s smiling at her though, all stupidly fond, just like he always looks at her.
“Yeah, something like that,” he says and then he leans in and kisses her, no ceremony or warning. On the other side of the door, someone’s cheering, and Sooyoung kicks it again. Sungmin pulls away with a grin and a cocked eyebrow. She has a feeling she’s grinning like an idiot too.
“See you tomorrow,” she says, and then she reaches up, tugs at his neck a little and kisses him again.
“So, fairytale princess perfect?” Ellie says the moment the door shuts behind her a minute later. Jinmi grins and grabs her before she can get away.
“Did he use tongue?” Sunny says and Sooyoung smacks her, trying to pull her wrist from Jinmi’s grip.
“As good as Sleeping Beauty’s?” Hana asks and Sooyoung finally stops struggling to get away. She pauses a little, grinning to herself and looking down.
“Better,” she finally says, and when she looks up her four roommates pounce on her squealing.
On the other side of the door, Sungmin’s laughing. She hits it once, but she’s too happy to be embarrassed by it at all, and she laughs a little too.
“Took you both long enough,” Sunny yells, and on both sides, they both just laugh harder.
Poll Round 8: You're wasting time with the chitchat (TEAM FUTURE)
Team: Future
Rating: PG
Fandom: SNSD/SUJU Het
Pairing: Sooyoung/Sungmin
Summary: Two years after SNSD disbanded, Sooyoung’s living the college life. Then Sunny moves in with her and her roommates and drags Sungmin back into Sooyoung’s life and Sooyoung reverts to being a teenage girl waiting for true loves first kiss without really meaning too.
Prompt Used: F(x)- CHU
It starts when she’s twenty-four, SNSD already two years in the past. She’s gone back to school, left the entertainment world as best she can, though it’s hard to turn down all the modeling jobs, and sometimes she still makes a few variety show appearances, and once in a while, she still gets on the stage with eight other girls and sings.
Sooyoung doesn’t miss it much. She keeps in touch with them all, phone calls and emails and text messages sent between classes and rehearsals and radio gigs and filming. They all get together at least twice a year on their own too, throw parties for their anniversary, and their half-anniversary, and at least one of them is always present for someone’s birthday.
Life’s different in a lot of ways, quieter in some, but it’s not empty. She’s got a nice, spacious apartment with four other girls, normal ones she met in college, and they are loud, vibrant and hilarious. Jinmi is brilliant, studying to be a chemist. She’s up for long hours every night, spends her free time learning English from old Sex and the City episodes, and laughs loud without holding back. Sunhi‘s the quiet type, thoughtful and sweet, but she still gets into fights with Hana at least once a week over trivial things. Hana picks most of them out of boredom when her best friend Ellie, the last of Sooyoung’s roommates, is off running around Seoul, exploring the city now that she’s finally back in Korea after seven years away.
She’s had boyfriends, relationships, too. She’s been kissed, she’s had sex, she’s gotten her heart broken and she’s thought maybe some of those guys could have been something. There’s never been any real magic though, no foot popping, dizzy with the fireworks, breathless just by looking into his eyes kind of feelings. There’s no classic Disney fairytale magic with any of them, if she’s honest, no Cinderella or Jasmine or Anne Hathaway who’s actually a princess much to her surprise. Maybe that proves how young she still is, the way she still hopes for a fairytale. Either way, she’s had relationships; they’ve come and gone, never sticking only because they’ve never felt quite right, never felt special.
Sooyoung doesn’t mind too much though, doesn’t bother thinking about past loves and the ones that got away very often. She’s got her roommates to keep her amused, and her best friends to cheer on from the sidelines. She’s got work, and school and that’s enough to keep her busy, keep her happy.
But then Sunhi‘s moving out, getting married. She’s always wanted that, more than anything, the family and the house and the ring and the children. Her boyfriend is spectacular, treats her like a princess, and they have fun planning her wedding, planning sessions turned late night slumber parties like they’re still sixteen and never been kissed.
They need a new roommate though, and it turns out Sunny needs a place to stay, tired of her crappy one bedroom apartment on the other side of town. She’s still in the business, filming for variety shows near constantly, but the other girl’s don’t mind. They’ve all always liked Sunny and they need the roommate, so they’re all agreeing to it before Sooyoung even realizes what’s really happening.
Sunny moves in on a Thursday, the same tiny bundle of energy that’s never changed, carrying boxes twice her size. With her, comes Lee Sungmin stumbling back into Sooyoung’s life though, and that’s where it all begins.
(Alternately, it starts when she’s eighteen young and loud and earnest. On their third show together, Sungmin messes up her hair during a song and it dissolves into a pinching battle. When they’re back on air, they’re both breathless with laughter, and Sooyoung has trouble getting the words out right, around the sudden welling of something warm in her chest.
Sungmin smiles at her for the rest of the night, openly fond, and teases her mercilessly even as he acts like just as big a dork.
Years later, it’s a hard job, trying to convince anyone she hadn’t been mostly in love since the beginning.)
“Jesus, how much do you own?” Sungmin asks, coming through the door. It’s hot out, and he’s sweating through his shirt already. Sooyoung chokes in surprise, nearly dropping the bag she took from Sunny. She can’t help but stare.
“Oppa~.” Sunny pouts, her cute act going full force and Sooyoung watches, halfway to dumbfounded as Sungmin just laughs it off, used to Sunny’s antics after all these years. She still hasn’t gotten past Sungmin standing in her living room.
He sets the box down, turning to her.
“Hey Sooyoung,” he says, grin bright, just like she remembers it. She’s glad to see that hasn’t changed. He has, in other, small ways. He’s a little harder around the edges, a little more obvious in his strength, after his years in the military. It’s something most would hardly notice, but Sooyoung’s been watching Sungmin for years. “Long time no see.”
“Yeah,” she says, but it comes out nearly breathless and she inwardly grimaces. Sunny’s grinning like mad from the other side of the room. She clears her throat, tries again.
“It has,” she says and this time her voice is steady so she smiles. She ducks away when he moves to pat her head, holding up her arms in defense. “Don’t mess with the hair.”
“S’not like it would matter. You’d still be ugly,” he says while laughing, the bastard, but the insult is as familiar as ever so she can’t quite keep her lips from twitching up into a grin. Still she’s uncomfortably aware of her ratty sweats and old t-shirt, her already messy hair. She sticks her tongue out in retaliation, even if it just makes him laugh harder. “I see you haven’t gone and become a lady since I last saw you.”
“Just waiting for Prince Charming to come sweep me off my feet and make an honest woman out of me,” she retaliates and pinches him in the side. He pulls her into a headlock before she can get away.
“Hate to break it to you, but no one’s going to want to take you to the ball, Cinderella. Time to grow up,” he says, tickling her, and Sooyoung struggles to get away, muting her shrieks as best she can. She pinches him again on the thigh, and he finally lets her go.
“Gross, you’re all sweaty,” she says when she’s three large steps away. They’re both grinning like idiots at each other. On the other side of the room, Sunny clears her throat and they both almost jump in surprise. For half a minute, she had forgotten Sunny was even there.
“Right, okay, going to get another box,” Sungmin says, shaking his head with a smile. He punches Sooyoung on the arm just before he disappears out the door, almost hard enough to bruise. Sooyoung kicks back, but he’s already gone, leaving her with just Sunny in the room. She turns slowly, inwardly grimacing.
Of course, Sunny’s giving her that look, lips twisted in a smug little smirk like she knows the best secret ever and won’t tell. It’s a look that has never once failed to get under Sooyoung’s skin in all the years she’s known Sunny.
“What?” she says, and internally winces when she comes out sounding a touch defensive. Sunny’s smirk gets impossibly wide.
“I see you’re still flirting with Sungmin any and every chance you get,” she says, eyes all wide like she’s just making an innocent observation. Sooyoung narrows hers.
“We aren’t flirting,” she says, clear and steady like Sunny might actually believe her if she says it with enough conviction. “And I’m not in denial,” she adds, when Sunny opens her mouth. Sunny lets her act drop then to laugh, bright and amused.
“Oh please, you’ve had a crush on that boy for forever.” She rolls her eyes at Sooyoung and Sooyoung sneers. “You should do something about it this time,” she calls over her shoulder as she practically flounces out of the room.
Sooyoung glares after her, at the open door.
“He treats me like I’m his kid sister,” she tells the room, frowning, before sighing and giving up, following them out to Sungmin’s truck.
Outside, Sungmin smiles at her and the sun is warm on her skin. She lets go of the disappointment for now.
It takes two whole hours to move Sunny in, a constant stream of boxes and bags, all shapes and sizes and colors and weights. They all collapse in the living room once they’re done, Sooyoung’s arms shaking so bad she can barely hold up her water bottle without spilling it everywhere.
“I feel like I just got out of dance practice,” she says, moaning. Beside her, Sungmin groans with feeling.
“Why do you own so much, seriously?” He says, voice nearly a whine and that gets them all to laugh, even if they’re exhausted.
“Sunny, this is entirely your fault. Go order take-out,” Sooyoung commands, not willing to move an inch. Sunny doesn’t argue, too tired to bother, and twenty minutes later food and Ellie are coming through the door.
“There better be some for me in there,” she says, stumbling out of her shoes. She greets Sunny without looking up, too busy trying to get out of her shoes without falling. Sooyoung can see the exact moment she realizes Sungmin is there too. Ellie’s smile goes brighter, a touch flirtier. Inwardly, Sooyoung is crying. No good can come from Sungmin and Ellie being friends, she’s pretty sure. She sighs and introduces them anyway.
“Sungmin, Ellie. Ellie, Sungmin from Super Junior,” she says, suddenly feeling ten times more tired; Ellie’s grinning like it’s her birthday, Christmas, and maybe Halloween in America all at once.
“Hi, I’m one of their roommates, Ellie. You were always my favorite,” she says, sticking out her hand. It’s a hard habit for her to break, but Sungmin just laughs and goes along with it. It sets Ellie off. Sooyoung goes to grab plates and utensils three minutes in to Ellie’s life story, and she talks for practically the rest of the night. Sungmin, of course, is preening and showing off under the attention and laughs in all the right places. Sooyoung tries hard not to glare.
She doesn’t examine the impulse that makes her share all of Sungmin’s embarrassing stories very closely either.
Sooyoung’s at work, a little half-bookstore, half-coffee shop a few blocks from campus, when she sees Sungmin again.
“Sunny told me where you worked,” he says as way of greeting. It’s only been three days, and Sooyoung still can’t help the impulse to stare.
It still feels weird, having Sungmin in front of her. She’s kept up with the news over the years, has always had a vague sense of what he’s been doing with his life, but it’s been two, maybe three years since she’s seen him in person and it’s different. He’s more real, suddenly concrete, like she could reach out and touch. He’s more than just the distant stories and gossip that had slowly made its way down to her. It’s just odd.
“Why were you looking for me?” She says, tilting her head to the side, before going back to wiping down the counter. No one else is in line yet, so she thinks maybe it’s okay if they talk for a moment.
“I’ve got a proposal for you. When’s your break?” he says. She frowns at him.
“In about fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll wait,” he says, and then he’s heading off to go find a book or something, Sooyoung’s not really sure, just watches him disappear into the stacks, so she gets back to work. Fifteen minutes later, she’s approaching Sungmin with coffee and pastries, not really sure she wants to hear his proposal.
“So out with it,” she says, plopping down into the chair across from him, pushing one of the cups towards him. He takes it with a smile and she takes a long sip of her own coffee, relaxing for a moment.
“So, I’m out of the military now, yeah?” He starts and then doesn’t say anything for a long moment. She nods slowly, hoping maybe that will prompt him to continue. It doesn’t.
“And…?”
“Er, well, you see, I’ve got a job now. You know, now that I’m out of the military. I’m hosting a radio show again.” He pauses again, and now it’s obvious he’s stalling. She really, really doesn’t want to hear this proposal, she realizes.
“Congratulations,” she says though, because she still has her manners- some of them at least.
“Yeah, uh thanks.” He blinks at her, rubbing at the back of his neck. She stares back. He coughs a bit awkwardly, and she nearly laughs. “Right so, I need a co-host.”
There’s another long pause, Sungmin using the time to take slow sips of his coffee. Sooyoung thinks, quite frankly, his stalling is getting kind of ridiculous. She waits. Sungmin stares at her expectantly, and she raises her eyebrow at him in confusion. He grimaces and oh. Oh.
“Oh,” she says. “You’re kidding right?”
“No, please, c’mon,” he says quickly.
“You want me to host a radio show with you?” Sooyoung asks, blinking. She’s half-convinced she’s read him wrong, and he’s really not asking her to do this. He just grins winningly at her though, and she knows she’s not wrong.
“Yeah, it’ll be like old times, you know,” he says and he’s still grinning. She grimaces.
“How do you even get to decide who you work with?”
“Er, well, I don’t exactly,” he says, and at least he’s got the decency to look a bit sheepish. “I’m just kind of hoping to pass the suggestion along.”
Sooyoung stares.
“So, you’re possibly trying to get me excited for something I may not even get the chance to do?” she says slowly, and Sungmin winces, just a tiny tiny bit. She sighs. “You know I’m trying to stay out of the business as much as possible, right?”
“It’s only radio,” he says quickly, raising his hands up like he’s trying to convince her he comes in peace. “It’s not that big of a deal,” he adds. “Besides, I like working with you.”
And how the hell is she supposed to say no to that? She glares at her coffee.
“I’ll think about it,” she says finally, but she’s pretty sure they both know she’s going to say yes. Sungmin grins happily into his coffee and doesn’t look too smug when she gets up at the end of her break.
He’s still grinning when he buys another coffee and pastry on the way out. Sooyoung rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling a little bit too.
“Sunny,” she yells, the moment she gets back from work. The rest of her roommates are still in class, but Sunny’s filming wasn’t for a few more hours, Sooyoung’s sure.
There’s a distant shuffling, doors opening and closing, before Sunny’s head appears. Sooyoung glares.
“I see you talked to Sungmin then,” Sunny says, and drags herself the rest of the way into the room, collapsing onto a chair. She looks like she just woke up, and Sooyoung winces a little.
“I hate you,” she says, but the panic and fury is suddenly gone, and she flops down on the other side of the table. She feels exhausted.
Sunny pats her on the shoulder.
“You’ll thank me later,” she says, and then she disappears back into her room, and presumably into bed.
Sooyoung decides that a nap seems like a good idea right now.
Of course, the entertainment industry always moves slowly when you’re anticipating something, and way too fast when you just need a break. Sungmin pops in a few times over the next couple of weeks to say hi, but he never has any news to report when it comes to the radio show, so eventually Sooyoung learns to ignore the humming in her blood. She’s excited at the idea of getting back into radio, as much as she wants to stay out of the industry. The idea of her and Sungmin hanging out together in a small room for one hour a week is too tempting not to be excited for. But still, she doesn’t know if she’ll even get the job, and she’s still got school and real life to attend to, so she does her best to focus on that.
It’s three weeks after Sungmin showed up at her work for the first time (he’s come in three other times since then) when she meets Chunghee. She’s seen him a couple of times before in one of her lectures, but she doesn’t actually talk to him until he runs into her, quite literally, outside of her work. She’s holding a cup of coffee in her hand, and even though she doesn’t quite spill all of it, he insists on making it up to her and buying her a new cup.
“It’s fine, really,” she insists, smiling just a little. “Besides, I work here. I could probably just go get another cup for free.”
“Oh,” he says, frowning a little, and rubbing the back of his neck like he’s sheepish. He’s kind of cute, hair like an idol and a nice enough face. But Sooyoung’s grown up around idols, and good-looks, as much as she appreciates them, don’t impress her much anymore. Still he has a nice smile, and she finds herself speaking without really thinking about it.
“You could possibly make it up to me at another place though,” she says, and he glances up at her, looking a little hopeful. It’s enough to make her heart beat a little faster, and she can’t help her grin. He grins back.
“Yeah, okay,” he says, and gives his head a little shake. It’s cute. “Are you free now?”
She glances at her phone, mentally catalogues all she needs to get done before tomorrow. She’s got a lot of reading for homework.
“Yeah, I’m free,” she says, and the late night will be totally worth it for his grin.
“Where were you?” Sunny says the moment she gets home. Sooyoung jumps in surprise, clutching at her heart.
“Jesus, I didn’t see you. Why are you sitting in the dark?” she asks, coming to plop down next to Sunny on the couch.
“Sungmin came by earlier- he wanted to talk to you,” she says instead of answer. Sooyoung frowns.
“Oh, I had a date. I guess I’ll call him tomorrow?”
“You were on a date?” Sunny asks, raising one eyebrow. Sooyoung really doesn’t appreciate the mix of skepticism and annoyance in her tone.
“Yes, a date,” she says, maybe a little too defensive. Sunny just scoffs, shaking her head like Sooyoung is a particularly pathetic puppy. Sooyoung doesn’t appreciate that either.
“Right, I’m going to bed. Call Sungmin tomorrow,” she says, dragging herself up off the couch. Sooyoung watches her go.
“He was really cute,” she yells belatedly. From farther in the apartment Jinmi yells as her to hush. Sooyoung frowns to herself, but cracks open her books anyway. It’s too late to try to understand Sunny and she’s got reading to do.
“I’m not going to wait around for him, you know,” Sooyoung says two days later. She fiddles with the crown on her frog plushy sitting in her lap, and watches Sunny reading magazines on her bed out of the corner of her eye. Sunny’s barely said anything to her in the last couple of days, just sent her slanted glances like she was disappointed. It had taken Sooyoung a few days to figure it out.
Sunny doesn’t look up right away, finishes whichever article she’s reading instead, before she very carefully sets the magazine aside. She looks up at Sooyoung expectantly, saying why the hell not with just her eyes and Sooyoung sighs.
“Seriously, I’ve known him for so long and he’s never made a move and I’m just, I’m not going to wait on him. Not anymore,” she says, looking down. Sometimes, she feels old, even though she knows she’s far from it.
Sunny sighs at her, like she’s making a mistake, but she doesn’t argue.
“Look, maybe some other guy can be my Prince Charming and I’m not going to miss out on it by waiting for someone else,” Sooyoung says finally, and Sunny looks away.
“Are you going to do the radio show though?” she asks.
“Yeah, yeah I’m going to do the radio show,” Sooyoung says.
“Okay,” Sunny says, and picks up the magazine again.
Sooyoung doesn’t know what to do with her hands, so she picks up her little frog and holds on.
It’s not hard, getting used to working on radio again. Sooyoung goes in on her first day wearing a comfortable pair of sweats and a cute t-shirt and Sungmin smiles and she remembers she has a boyfriend and it’s easy. They introduce her on air, and she makes Sungmin laugh and when Sungmin puts on Girl’s Generation for old time’s sake they both dance until they are breathless with laughter.
“Oh god, I can’t feel my abs,” Sungmin wheezes, resting his head on the table. Sooyoung’s still choking on her laughter.
“Ow ow ow,” she says, crying just a little bit. Sungmin starts laughing again, and doesn’t stop till the end of the commercial break.
Fifteen minutes later, when they call commercial break again, Sooyoung finally feels like she’s catching her breath. She leans back in her chair, tilting her head back and closes her eyes. She can feel Sungmin watching her, and she grins.
“You glad you said yes?” he says after a minute and when Sooyoung opens her eyes to look at him, he’s smiling a little, eyes fixed on the desk.
“I don’t know,” she says slowly, and waits for him to look up at her, eyes wide with surprise, before she continues. “It’s a little embarrassing saying I’m the new co-DJ of something called KISS CHU Radio.”
By the time she’s done, he’s snickering, and when she starts laughing, neither of them stop till a good minute after commercial break. And just like that, it’s like nothing has changed and the years just sort of melt away. It’s good, real good.
Sunhi hadn’t wanted a bachelorette party, but Ellie had insisted, so they had found a happy medium in between. That’s why Sooyoung comes home from radio a month in, exhausted and feeling like her face is frozen in an idiotic grin, to find her living room covered with pillows and blankets, the lights down low, with bowls of candy and pretzels and popcorn scattered everywhere.
“You weren’t kidding with the fairy princess movie night thing were you?” she says, making her way carefully across the room to flop down across the couch. Jinmi makes a muffled squeak of a protest from beneath her.
“It’s not my fault Sunhi wouldn’t let me throw her a real bachelorette party,” Ellie says from the floor, still pouting a little over it. Sunhi rolls her eyes.
“Yeah, but who’s idea was princess movies?” she says, pinching Ellie in the side.
“It was Hana’s,” she says, tackling Sunhi into a pile of pillows. Sooyoung reaches over and rescues the M&M’s before they knock over the bowl.
“Exactly. You and Hana share the same brain, therefore you share the blame,” she says, popping a few of the candies into her mouth. Ellie takes a moment to pause tickling Sunhi to whack Sooyoung in the leg. Sooyoung just laughs.
“So what are we starting with anyway?” she says, finally scooting off of Jinmi’s lap.
“Cinderella, of course,” Hana says, walking through the door. Sunny is a step behind her, carrying a paper bag.
“We brought the alcohol,” she says, brandishing a bottle and grinning like a maniac. Sooyoung takes a moment to inwardly cry. Ellie makes grabby hands at the bottle and Sunny pulls out a second. Beside her, Jinmi rolls her eyes, but she accepts a cup from Hana all the same.
“What’s after Cinderella?” Sunhi asks.
“Uh, Snow White? And maybe Sleeping Beauty?” Ellie says, settling back into her bed of pillows and flipping through the stack of DVD’s next to her. She tosses Sooyoung her froggy. “We can sit and rate kisses or something.”
“Seriously?” Sunhi asks, laughing. “You guys are so lame.”
“You’re the one who didn’t want the bachelorette party,” Hana reminds her, plopping down on her other side. Sunny drops down onto the couch between Jinmi and Sooyoung, topping off Jinmi’s glass and glaring at Sooyoung when she refuses a glass of her own.
“Are we also going to paint each other’s nails and braid each other’s hair and talk about boys,” she says, taking a sip of her drink and stealing a few M&M’s.
“Shush you,” Hana says, swatting at Sunny’s foot and grabbing the remote. “This is going to be awesome.”
Sooyoung lasts five minutes into Cinderella before breaking.
“Oh god, we are so lame,” she says. “I need more alcohol.”
Sunhi laughs and hands her a glass, and when the prince kisses Cinderella at the very end, Sooyoung’s drunk enough to cheer along with the rest of them, minus Ellie who’s too busy throwing popcorn at the screen and critiquing the Prince’s technique.
“So how was Princess Movie Night,” Sungmin says, during their first commercial break. It’s the first time they’ve had a chance to talk in the past week. Usually, Sungmin would stop by the house or the bookstore at least once a week, just to say hi or to pester Sunny about something, but he had spent half the last week in Thailand, and the other half sleeping. Sooyoung’s a little surprised by how much she’s missed him.
“Surprisingly fun, actually. We watched like ten movies and ate our weight in candy and popcorn. It was kind of disgusting. Also, Sunny bought us alcohol.” Sungmin laughs.
“Did you decide which Princesses you all were too? Were you Sleeping Beauty?” he teases, and Sooyoung sticks out her tongue.
“Maybe,” she says. “You going to kiss me to wake me up then?” she says, and he gives her an odd look, laughing.
“In your dreams,” he says, and ends commercial break.
Chunghee breaks up with her after three months. Sooyoung isn’t really surprised and she isn’t really sad. He was nice, and he was funny but it wasn’t like she was in love.
It’s a little anti-climatic actually. She looks up at him smiling, half-way through their date and he just sighs.
“I think we should break up,” he says, and Sooyoung agrees without even thinking about it. They talk a little, work it all out with sheepish smiles and then they part ways, smiling and waving and saying I’ll see you in class.
Then Sooyoung goes to work.
“How was the date,” Sungmin asks when she gets in. Sooyoung shrugs.
“We broke up,” she says and ducks underneath the desk to set her bag down, careful of all the cords. When she looks back up, Sungmin is looking at her, wide-eyed and a bit worried.
“Are you okay?” he asks. “You don’t seem too torn up over it?”
Sooyoung just shrugs again.
“It was mutual. We’re still friends,” she says, and then it’s time for prep and they don’t talk about Chunghee again.
Sungmin’s asked her out lots of times. They’ve hung out after radio, and they’ve gotten dinner before radio, and they’ve gotten dinner after radio. She’s used to hanging out with Sungmin on Wednesdays, even more so, now that she’s single again. But there’s a difference between hanging out with Sungmin on Wednesdays and hanging out with him on any other day of the week.
“Oh hey, Sooyoung, do you want to get dinner with me on Friday?” Sungmin says after the shows done, right as she’s about to leave.
“Yeah, sure,” she says, and it isn’t till she gets home that she realizes Sungmin might have just asked her out on a date. Her car isn’t the best place for a mini-freak-out though, so she goes and wakes Sunny up instead, even though she has filming early tomorrow.
“What time is it?” Sunny says, rubbing at her eyes in confusion. She looks at the clock and groans. “Is the apartment on fire?”
Sooyoung ignores her, too busy internally freaking out to really care.
“I think Sungmin just asked me out,” she says in one great big rush, maybe waving her hands a bit spastically too. Sunny stares at her for a long moment without blinking.
“Right. Congratulations. Finally. I’m going back to sleep now,” she says, and rolls over, burying her face in her pillow.
“But, I-“ she starts, waving her hands around a little harder now. Then she pauses for a long moment, just staring down at Sunny. “Yeah, sleep. Sleep is good,” she finishes, crawls into Sunny’s bed and promptly passes out.
“So Sungmin asked you out?” Sooyoung blinks, staring up at Sunny blearily. Sunshine filters through the room, and she groans.
“What time is it?” she asks. Sunny is sitting on the edge of the bed, fully-dressed, watching her expectantly.
“Noon,” she says promptly and Sooyoung grimaces, sitting up. “I just got back from filming.”
“Crap, I missed my class,” Sooyoung says, and it’s only then that she remembers she’s in Sunny’s room. Sunny waves her hand dismissively.
“But Sungmin asked you out,” Sunny says again, insistent, and this time Sooyoung is listening. She frowns.
“What?” she says, and then she pauses, thinking back to last night and oh. “Oh. Uh, yeah, I think?”
“No, he did,” she says, finally looking away from Sooyoung to grab her cell phone.
“How do you know?” Sooyoung asks, raising an eyebrow, because as far as she’s concerned, the word date never actually came up. This could easily be another hanging out sort of deal they’ve always done.
“I asked him,” she says without looking at Sooyoung, rapidly sending off a text. Sooyoung chokes.
“You what?” Sooyoung says weakly around a cough. She resists the urge to bury her face in her arms and cry in embarrassment.
“Asked him. Don’t worry, he’s spazzing out like a dork just like you,” Sunny says, rolling her eyes. Sooyoung splutters. Sunny looks longsuffering.
“Seriously, you guys are such idiots; you were made for each other. How did it take this long for you to get together?”
“Uh?” Sooyoung says, because there isn’t really a proper way to respond to something like that. Sunny just rolls her eyes again.
“Right, because you are both so stupid when it comes to each other,” she says, answering her own question. She pats Sooyoung on her head, giving her the you are a pathetic puppy look she has perfected since she moved in. Sooyoung just blinks uselessly at her, brain too fried to glare.
Ellie laughs as she passes by, and Sooyoung rubs a tired hand across her face.
“I’m going back to bed,” she finally says, and drags herself across the hall to her own room. She can hear Sunny laughing even after she swings her door shut.
“I have no idea what I’m going to wear,” she says at dinner, when it finally hits her that oh my god she has a date with Sungmin tomorrow night. Ellie grins through a mouthful of noodles and Sunny laughs.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered,” Hana says, and even Jinmi looks excited. Sooyoung thinks it’s totally reasonable to be worried.
When she gets home from classes the next day, Sooyoung thinks she definitely had good reasons to worry. It looks like a mini clothing bomb went off in their apartment.
“Guys, what are you doing?” she yells out, stepping carefully over the piles of clothing scattered everywhere. Ellie pops her head out of one of the rooms.
“Make-over?” she says, rolling her eyes. She disappears before Sooyoung has time to protest. Two hours worth of pokes, prods and here, try this instead’s, later, Sooyoung really wishes she had.
“So what do you think?” Sunny says, stepping back so that she’s no longer blocking the mirror. Hana rests her heads on her shoulder, biting into a bright green apple. Sooyoung wrinkles her nose, but doesn’t stop staring at her reflection.
“Uh…” she says, gingerly taking a step forward. The make-up isn’t all the bad, more subtle than much of the make-up she used to wear for award shows, and the dress isn’t all that bad either, even if it’s a little bit fancier than what she normally wears. Really, it’s the shoes that are bothering her. She tells them that.
“What’s wrong with the shoes?” Ellie says, frowning. She pokes Sooyoung in the side, before stealing a bite from Hana’s apple. “Also, do we still have that cake in the fridge?”
“I’ll go get it,” Jinmi says, rolling her eyes and disappearing into the kitchen. Sooyoung frowns at her reflection some more.
“So what’s wrong with the shoes?” Hana asks.
“Well, for one, they’re heels,” Sooyoung says. The three girls left in the room frown.
“You wore heels all the time when we preformed,” Sunny says and Sooyoung shrugs.
“Yeah, but I don’t wear them much anymore. I’d rather just wear my sneakers.” They all frown harder.
“With a dress?” Jinmi says from the doorway, holding the cake and a few forks. Sooyoung shrugs again.
“Why not? I mean, we aren’t going to a really nice restaurant. I don’t have to dress up all fancy and I just, I’d rather be myself. I don’t want to act girly or grow up just to impress a boy,” she says, frowning back. “Besides, Sungmin’s seen me at my worst, and it’s not like I was planning to go in sweats.”
“So you’re really not going to wear the heels?” Hana asks and Sooyoung grins. She leans down and takes them off, dropping them to the side with a laugh.
“Nah, I’m not going to wear the heels,” she confirms, and disappears into her bedroom before they can protest.
Going on a date with Sungmin, isn’t all that different from hanging out with him, she finds. They eat dinner and poke at each other and she laughs at him when he ends up snorting wine out of his nose. He still calls her ugly, never fails to make fun of her every chance he gets, and she hits him every time for it. They trade stories and laughter and she steals bites of his dinner when he’s not looking, and he pretends he doesn’t see it anyway whenever he catches her at it.
The only real difference comes when he drops her off. He doesn’t just wave as she gets out and heads to her apartment; this time he parks, gets out of his car, and walks her straight to the door. She sees Sunny peaking through the curtains and inwardly grimaces. Outwardly, she glares. Next to her, Sungmin laughs.
“All your roommates are totally watching us right now, aren’t they?” he says with a grin. Ellie and Hana giggle on the other side of the door.
“They’re totally going to ambush me the moment I walk through the door,” she says, groaning. Without looking she bangs on the door. The muted, surprised shrieks on the other side make her laugh.
“Evil,” Sungmin says and without thinking, she says,
“But you love it.” She’s smirking before her brain catches up with what she said, and then she blushes just a bit. Sungmin’s smiling at her though, all stupidly fond, just like he always looks at her.
“Yeah, something like that,” he says and then he leans in and kisses her, no ceremony or warning. On the other side of the door, someone’s cheering, and Sooyoung kicks it again. Sungmin pulls away with a grin and a cocked eyebrow. She has a feeling she’s grinning like an idiot too.
“See you tomorrow,” she says, and then she reaches up, tugs at his neck a little and kisses him again.
“So, fairytale princess perfect?” Ellie says the moment the door shuts behind her a minute later. Jinmi grins and grabs her before she can get away.
“Did he use tongue?” Sunny says and Sooyoung smacks her, trying to pull her wrist from Jinmi’s grip.
“As good as Sleeping Beauty’s?” Hana asks and Sooyoung finally stops struggling to get away. She pauses a little, grinning to herself and looking down.
“Better,” she finally says, and when she looks up her four roommates pounce on her squealing.
On the other side of the door, Sungmin’s laughing. She hits it once, but she’s too happy to be embarrassed by it at all, and she laughs a little too.
“Took you both long enough,” Sunny yells, and on both sides, they both just laugh harder.
Poll Round 8: You're wasting time with the chitchat (TEAM FUTURE)