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Jiyeong had some kind of weird obsession with Saebyeok, Saebyeok thought.
Every time she'd shrug at Jiyeong's mention of some band, or mention in passing how she’d never actually been to the pool before, or eaten corndogs or done any sort of activity that, for Jiyeong, was apparently the top priority in the world, the shorter girl would borderline jump out of her seat to do it with her.
It’s not like she didn’t like it; it was nice, after so many years of being basically a blank page, just trying to keep herself alive, to do some things she might enjoy. There were also some things she didn’t, but as long as Jiyeong was there, that didn’t really matter.
She especially liked those rare moments when Jiyeong would say she didn’t actually try something, either. That’s what happened when Saebyeok said she’d never been to the zoo before, or when Jiyeong mentioned, while petting a cat they found on the street, that she’d never been to an animal shelter.
Saebyeok liked the idea of them discovering something new together. Though she’d never admit that to her best friend, she sometimes felt kind of embarrassing when doing something for the first time with Jiyeong observing. But, when Jiyeong was dragging her towards the elephants, cracking jokes about how she looks like one of the giraffes or grinning over a cage with some newborn kitten siblings, Saebyeok had more of a chance to look at her, herself.
Still, she never understood why. She was never particularly interesting, had little to talk about. Jiyeong seemed like she had an endless supply of topics and even more opinions, some of which Saebyeok found ridiculously pointless ( i feel like princess Anneliese should’ve ended up with Erika. don’t you?)
She didn’t have time to think about it more, because at exactly 5 in the afternoon, Jiyeong knocked on her door.
“Hi,” she said, throwing her arms around Saebyeok. That was another thing she had to think about later - why does she do that, and why has she never seen her do that to anyone else? “I brought us some fried chicken. Karaoke can be really tiring, so we really have to eat up,” she smiled.
Saebyeok closed the door behind her and when she entered the bedroom again, Jiyeong was already laying on her bed with her phone in her hand. Some take-out boxes were on the floor.
“You can take anything,” she said, “there’s this cool new movie coming out this Friday, you wanna go and see it with me?” She asked, looking up at Saebyeok and before she chooses to ask what it’s about, she nods. It doesn’t matter.
“Yay!”
Saebyeok smiled.
Jiyeong left her some space on the bed, so she got in. She wasn’t sure why they were going to karaoke or when she’s mentioned she’s never been to a place like that, and during all the months of being friends with her she knew better than to let herself wonder.
“When did I say I’ve never been to a karaoke place?”
“Well, you remember that party we went to like a month ago?” Saebyeok nodded, “When we were walking back, you looked at a neon sign of a building. It said karaoke and you said ‘ka-rah-ooo-kee? What is that?’ and you were drunk as fuck, but, I guessed you’ve never been anyway, ‘cause, well, you’re not the type,” she laughed.
Saebyeok furrowed her eyebrows, but she had a smile on her face, “What do you mean ‘not the type’?”
“Well, are you?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never been!”
“So, proves me right,” Jiyeong smirked.
About an hour of eating chicken and watching some YouTube video Jiyeong wanted to show her later, they started getting ready.
Saebyeok didn’t even have to ask what she should wear, because Jiyeong already managed to go through her whole wardrobe, commenting on why each piece was unfit for this one in a lifetime experience. She always did that before going out with her.
“Are we going to karaoke or a fashion show?” Saebyeok asked from the bed.
“If a blue top and long, black pants is what you’d wear to a fashion show, I guess we have to put that on our to-do list next,” Jiyeong responded, throwing the clothes next to her place on the bed, “when we can afford it.”
Saebyeok put the clothes on and only then did she notice that Jiyeong chose clothes that matched her own outfit, which was the same colors, only the shirt fell longer and looser. Another thing she had to think about later.
“Let’s go!” Jiyeong yelled and they left.
The weather was nice, and though they could feel summer slipping away and slowly getting more windy and rainy, the air was still fresh and warm. The karaoke place wasn’t that far from her apartment, twenty minutes or less and by the time they reached their destination she kind of wished it’d be a bit longer.
She watched as Jiyeong talked to the owner and placed some money on the counter. She mentioned earlier that this was a small place, not surprising considering the area they lived in, but that was only better for Saebyeok. Before she knew Jiyeong she was already closed off, and after spending so much time going to events with her, she accepted that she just didn’t like crowds, or people that much.
Soon after, they entered the room which was nicely lit with some pink neon sign written in English.
“Time to party,” she heard Jiyeong say, “that’s what it says.”
She should probably learn English, she thought. Maybe she’d impress Jiyeong for once, instead of it being the other way around.
She turned to her and saw her scrolling through a bright section of songs in different languages, all getting a bit more obscure down the line.
“There it is!” she said after a moment, one of the blue stripes on the screen shining a bit lighter than the others. Saebyeok read it - the title of her favorite song.
She was very close to asking at this point.
Why are you like this? Why do you care so much?
But this time she chose not to. It was becoming a bit annoying, suffocating, keeping the question in, but she feared if Jiyeong’s response wasn’t in favor of Saebyeok’s little spark of hope, she’d never get herself together.
So, after Jiyeong’s… emotional performance, that’s what Saebyeok would call it, she managed to talk her into singing a duet of some song she only knew because of those parties she’d been to with her. Another one after that, and another Jiyeong solo, but this time in English. Maybe it was Saebyeok’s adrenaline after singing her heart out for almost four minutes, or the feelings that would quickly spill out if she didn’t pull herself together, but that one did something to her stomach. Especially the way she’d roll her ‘r’s, which probably wasn’t perfect but Saebyeok still enjoyed the sound.
Almost an hour passed when Jiyeong sat next to Saebyeok on the slightly uncomfortable couch, her cheeks pink from singing and a smile so wide her eyes were almost closed. She threw her head on Saebyeok’s shoulder, breathing heavily.
“I didn’t expect you to sing even once!” she said, “That’s a success on my side - name me another girl who can brag about an achievement like that!”
Saebyeok rolled her eyes and smiled, patting her on the head (something she also picked up from her).
“If there is ever another soul who will hear me singing like that, it must mean I got a dog,” she said and they both laughed.
Jiyeong raised her head from Saebyeok’s shoulder and looked straight into her eyes. “So? What’s the vibe? Are we liking this or no?”
This time Saebyeok couldn’t hold it in. Jiyeong always asked this after doing something new and each and every time it would wake something in her heart, something she was too scared too address. Especially when Jiyeong looked at her like that, eyes not hoping she’d say she liked it, but waiting for an honest opinion, like she cared. Wholeheartedly, no matter what.
“Why are you like this?”
Jiyeong raised her eyebrows.
“Well, not the response I expected.”
“I don’t know why you continue to care about my opinion, look at me like that when I’m embarrassing myself and choose my favorite song out of a billion choices when I’ve mentioned it maybe once,” Jiyeong face softened, smile only growing wider, “and it’s like…” Saebyeok stopped, suddenly her mouth going dry. It felt like this was going somewhere she didn’t know she could come back from.
Luckily, Jiyeong was always better with words.
“Saebyeok, I love talking to you and spending time with you,” she said, both of her hands hugging Saebyeok’s face, “I like you .”
“Oh,” was all she managed to say.
Before she could come up with something else, Jiyeong’s lips were on hers. Saebyeok deepened the kiss with a small smile, which didn’t feel embarrassing at all. The couch was uncomfortable, but it was the most loved Saebyeok felt in years.