Archive of Our Own

“I literally don’t see why I have to do this.”

Seungkwan sighs, keeping her focused eyes on the road and not on her daughter who is currently shooting daggers into the side of her head. She knew there would be pushback, but Seungkwan had always loved playing volleyball as a kid, and knows it will be good for Soomin too.

“It’ll be fun! If you really hate it after the first practice, then we can figure something else out. But you have to do something outside of school.”

Soomin groans in the way preteens do when they’re forced to do something by their well-meaning mom, slumping down further in her seat. Seungkwan turns the radio up and smiles when she hears Soomin grumble-singing under her breath. She really, really hopes this ends up working. Soomin has had some difficulty with making connections in school, and it’s generally difficult to be a kid at her current age. Trust her, Seungkwan knows. But joining a club team helped her a lot. Besides, Seungkwan knows Soomin enjoys the activity, at least to some extent. It’s not entirely out of nowhere. They’d played on vacations to the beach, with Seungkwan dramatically diving into the sand and purposefully missing, and Soomin bursting into giggles. She hopes Soomin can find that sort of joy in it again.

Soomin lets out a drawn-out sigh as they pull into a parking spot, loud enough to be heard over the shifting gears. Seungkwan pretends she doesn’t hear it as she puts the car in park. With the dufflebag slung over Seungkwan’s shoulder and a sloshing water jug being swung back and forth in Soomin’s hand, the two of them make their way toward the sport facility. 

“Are you here for the club volleyball meeting?”

Seungkwan keeps walking, not realizing someone is talking to her until Soomin hits her arm with the back of her hand. A woman with long bleached-blonde hair pushed out of her face by the sunglasses perched on top of her head is looking at her patiently. Her daughter is bouncing on her toes next to her. 

“Oh, yeah! Do you know where it is?”

The woman holds the door open and gestures inside. “After you.”

Seungkwan is relieved to already be meeting kind people here. She could definitely use more mom friends. “I’m Seungkwan, and this is my daughter Soomin.” 

Soomin offers a curt nod in acknowledgement. 

The woman’s smile is the kind of knowing that comes with motherhood. “I’m Jeonghan, and— Hana! Don’t be rude. Come introduce yourself.”

Jeonghan’s daughter had been skipping down the hall ahead of them, her tight ponytail swishing side to side. She only slows slightly, turning around but continuing down the hall. “Hi!” She finally halts, holding out a hand to Soomin. “I’m Hana.”

Soomin stares at the hand before hesitantly shaking it. “Soomin.”

Hana starts talking Soomin’s ear off, and Soomin doesn’t look entirely irritated, which Seungkwan takes as a win. Soomin can be shy and often appears aloof, but Seungkwan already sees her shell cracking. She’s taking faster steps than she normally would to keep up with Hana’s pace.

“She’s got a lot of energy,” Jeonghan says, like it needed explanation. “That’s part of why she plays. Wears her out a bit.”

Seungkwan leans closer to Jeonghan so there’s no chance Soomin won’t hear their conversation, despite her already following Hana through two propped open double doors. “I take it you’re not new here? How is the coach?” She knows that regardless of if Soomin enjoys the activity, a bad coach will be a dealbreaker.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve known the coach for a long time. We go way back,” Jeonghan says, waving a hand. “Seungcheol is great at what she does. She’s the one that got my kid interested in volleyball.”

The sigh of relief that leaves Seungkwan earns a laugh out of Jeonghan. “Sorry, it’s just been hard for us. For her.”

“I hear you,” Jeonghan says. “I think Seungcheollie is the best coach for that.”  

When they make it into the gym, Soomin and Hana are already talking to a woman with a dark, high ponytail. She’s wearing a flatteringly tight half-zip jacket and dark gray sweats, a whistle hanging around her neck.

She’s gorgeous. 

And she’s making Soomin smile. 

Soomin is already beaming up at this woman. All of Seungkwan’s fears flow out of her instantly. She could almost cry. 

“Cheollie!” Jeonghan shouts, voice echoing against the polished hardwood.

Seungcheol doesn’t even flinch. She looks over to greet her friend and her eyes catch on Seungkwan. 

It’s almost comical, the way the woman’s eyes widen, her smiling mouth slowing around her words as she sees Seungkwan approach. It should be flattering how distracted she gets just looking at her. While she had dressed up a little nicer for the sake of first impressions—a gingham peplum top, nice dark-wash jeans, and fake glasses that she’d stolen from Jisoo—she hadn’t tried hard enough to get this sort of reaction.

It should be flattering… Okay, it is flattering. But it’s also not something Seungkwan will read into. She can’t. Maybe in any other situation, but not with her daughter’s new volleyball coach.

“Coach Choi?”

Seungcheol nods in response to basically nothing, her eyes still on Seungkwan, who is getting increasingly more nervous considering Soomin is watching the entire thing. She thinks she hears Jeonghan snicker beside her.

“Auntie Cheol!”

Seungcheol only shakes out of her stupor when Hana waves a hand in front of the woman’s face. Her face immediately pinkens, the tips of her ears red, and it’s all, unfortunately, ridiculously cute. 

“Hana, no yelling. Mind your manners,” Jeonghan murmurs, though there’s absolutely no sternness behind it.

“Sorry, I… You must be Soomin’s mother?” Seungcheol says, holding out her hand. “I’m Coach Choi, but feel free to call me Seungcheol.”

“Boo Seungkwan.” Seungkwan bows her head slightly when their hands link to ignore the zap that goes through her at the contact. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve already heard nothing but good things,” she says, gesturing to Jeonghan.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Seungcheol replies, though she sounds doubtful as her eyes dart over to Jeonghan and back. “Soomin was just telling me how she’s looking forward to joining us!”

“Is that right?” When Seungkwan looks at Soomin, she sees the first sparks of embarrassment in her face and pulls herself back. “I’m happy to hear that.”

Seungcheol sees something over Seungkwan’s shoulder, and her smile turns sheepish. “I gotta go greet some of the other parents. Hana, if you could introduce Soomin to the others?” When Hana gives her a salute in response, she turns to Seungkwan. “And I’ll talk to you later?”

Seungkwan hums, but it probably goes unheard as Seungcheol jogs off. Seungkwan watches her go and definitely does not check her out in any way, shape, or form, regardless of how well her sweats fit her. When she turns back around, Jeonghan is smirking at her. 

“What?” Seungkwan asks, a little too snappy for a complete stranger. 

Luckily, Jeonghan just giggles, an impish sound. “Nothing. Let’s go sit down.”

It certainly isn’t nothing. Jeonghan reminds Seungkwan immediately of Jisoo: the same mischievous demeanor with an unassuming face. She knows better than to overlook it, but shakes it off anyway. She’s here for her kid first and foremost. 

Her kid, who is still smiling. Not as bright as when talking to Seungcheol, but she’s not frowning at Hana as she talks, and even greets another girl as she approaches. 

Seungkwan sneaks a glance at Seungcheol, who is talking animatedly to a father and his kid. She’s excited, clearly passionate, which puts Seungkwan further at ease. 

“I told you. She’s great. Single, by the way.”

Seungkwan glares at Jeonghan, who shrugs and says nothing more. Mental note: avoid letting Jeonghan and Jisoo be in the same room at the same time. 

The remaining parents and kids filter in over the next few minutes. To Seungkwan’s pleasant surprise, Soomin stays over with the other girls rather than drifting back to her side. Seungkwan and Jeonghan make the kind of conversation two strangers have while waiting for something to start. What do you do, where does your kid go to school, etcetera. It’s nice. Jeonghan is easy to talk to. 

Eventually, Seungcheol claps her hands. Hana plops herself down on the floor, and all the other girls follow suit. 

“Hello, everyone! If we haven’t met, I’m Coach Choi. I see a lot of familiar faces, though!” Seungcheol’s smile remains unwaveringly bright as she talks. “I know I sent out an email covering most of the info for the guardians in the room, but if you have any questions you can come ask me.” She redirects her attention to the kids. “Today we’re going to be doing a few get-to-know-you exercises. I know, I know,” she says when a few of them, including Soomin, groan. “But it’ll be fun, I promise. Then we’ll learn and practice some drills, and I’ll send you on your way. Sound good?”

The girls stand up and follow Seungcheol to the center of the court. She starts giving instructions for the activity, and Seungkwan watches Soomin’s reaction carefully. If the coach's introduction had gone differently, Soomin would be glaring, or staring at Seungkwan pleadingly. But her eyes are locked on Seungcheol, even if her smile has faded into a neutral straight line.

“So, is there anyone else in the picture?” Jeonghan asks suddenly. “Husband? Wife? Partner?”

The question is randomly invasive for a near stranger, but Seungkwan doesn’t care that much. She’s used to it. “Nope. Single mother from day one. I chose it, though. I chose her.” She can’t help but smile thinking about her daughter. “You?”

“That’s lovely,” Jeonghan says genuinely. “I have a partner at home. We adopted Hana when she was a baby. Seungcheol is basically her godmother. Or aunt. Whatever.” 

Seungcheol, who is laughing at something one of the girls said and encouraging the group on. Ugh, seriously. Why does the coach have to be hot?

Seungkwan takes to introducing herself to some of the other parents to distract herself. There’s Wonwoo, a kind man who admits that he knows nothing about volleyball but encourages his daughter’s passion nonetheless. There’s Ryujin and Chaeryeong, who are just looking after a friend’s kid for the day but will probably still come around occasionally. Yewon and Seungkwan bond the quickest, and it smooths out the remainder of Seungkwan’s nerves.

By the time the group is done, Soomin is sweaty but looks satisfied. She seems to still be buzzing with energy when they get in the car.

“So,” Seungkwan drawls. “How was it? How’d you like Coach Choi?”

Soomin stares down at her phone as she answers. “It was alright. She’s cool, I guess.” It’s spoken borderline monotone but Seungkwan can hear the hint of a grin in it, and that’s enough to keep her heart warm for the rest of the night.

—

Seungkwan doesn’t need to go to the other practices. Or, at least, she doesn’t need to stay there during them. She could go grab a drink with Jeonghan at the pub nearby, or go work out somewhere else in the gym building. But she goes to support her child and get to know Jeonghan and the other parents. 

She isn’t going just to see Seungcheol.

It just so happens that Seungcheol, as the coach, does have to be at all the practices. That’s not Seungkwan’s fault.

It really is nice seeing Soomin enjoying it so much. Seungkwan resolutely doesn’t say any ‘I told you so’s because she’s a grown adult and doesn’t want to ruin Soomin’s enthusiasm, but she does think it. Soomin and Hana have already gotten close, inseparable unless they’re forced to be. And Soomin loves Seungcheol. She has started to sing high praises of how cool she is, how nice she is, and most importantly, how patient she is. That’s a big one for Seungkwan. It’s unfortunately rare for adults to remain patient with kids who are struggling, but it seems to come naturally to Seungcheol. Anything Soomin doesn’t understand or can’t get the hang of comes easy to her after Seungcheol helps her out. 

“I haven’t seen Soomin so enthusiastic in a while,” Seungkwan says over the squeak of shoes and thwack of missed shots against the hardwood. “She didn’t even want to come originally.”

“I could tell,” Jeonghan laughs. She gestures toward Seungcheol, who is tossing a ball in the air and catching it as she watches a short volley. “I told you, she’s the best. She’s very caring. An eligible bachelorette.”

Seungkwan gives Jeonghan a sharp glare. This isn’t the first casual comment Jeonghan has made like this. Sure, Seungcheol is attractive. And sure, the gentleness she exhibits with Soomin and the fact that Soomin likes her makes her even more attractive…

Seungcheol looks over like she knows she’s being talked about. She meets Seungkwan’s eye as she tosses the ball, which goes higher than it had previously before coming down to hit Seungcheol on the top of the head. It starts rolling, fatedly, toward where Seungkwan and Jeonghan are seated. The girls all burst into giggles, and Seungcheol’s face turns a little pink under the bright LEDs. She claps her hands and tells everyone to keep practicing the drills before starting a slow shuffle over to get the ball.

“I think she likes you,” Jeonghan whispers, dragging out the vowels.

“I think you’re meddling.”

Jeonghan’s smile grows. “In order to meddle, there has to be something to meddle in. You’re admitting that there is something between you.”

“Something you’re making up!” Seungkwan hisses. “I barely know her!”

“Yah, Yoon Jeonghan. What are you saying about me?” 

Jeonghan shrugs. “Why are you assuming we’re talking about you?” she says sweetly. “How’s your head feeling?”

Seungcheol rubs her head with a pout that is certainly not cute at all. “Aching. I got distracted.”

“By what?” Seungkwan asks before she can really think better of it. 

Jeonghan snorts. 

Seungkwan finds she doesn’t regret speaking before thinking when she sees how Seungcheol bites her cheek as she looks at Seungkwan. She stares back despite the way her heartbeat is picking up and the warmth is rising up her neck.

“Just lost in thought,” she finally says, tucking the ball between her arm and the dip of her waist. “Soomin is doing fantastic, by the way. She’s already seeming like an ace.”

“Well, it helps that she has such a great coach.” 

What is she saying? It sounds flirty when it leaves her lips, and it lands that way if the way Seungcheol visibly stiffens says anything. Unfortunately, Seungkwan likes getting reactions out of people, especially beautiful women, so it comes naturally to her. 

She needs to get it under control.

“Coach Choi!” a girl yells, saving Seungkwan from continued humiliation.

“I’m just gonna,” Seungcheol juts a thumb backward and starts an awkward backwards jog before turning around.

“I’m sorry about her,” Jeonghan says before Seungkwan can groan about how embarrassing that was.

“I didn’t mean for it to sound like that.”

Jeonghan scoffs. “You did nothing wrong. She’s just… well. She’s very hot, and very smart, but still very much a loser. Especially around people she thinks are cute. I say keep up the good work.”

Seungkwan wants to argue how inappropriate that is, her flirting with her daughter’s volleyball coach during practice, but knows it’ll go in one ear and out the other. She wonders if Jeonghan does this with Seungcheol, too. What if Seungcheol brings it up to Jeonghan? What if Jeonghan is playing wingwoman right now?

She shakes the thought out of her mind. She doesn’t want to put her kid in any sort of position by pursuing Seungcheol. She can be normal about the stupidly hot, slightly pathetic, very kind volleyball coach. Really, she can. 

—

“Could you do me a huge favor?”

Soonyoung hums, the sound scratchy through Seungkwan’s phone speakers. “Perhaps. Is it for you or for Soomin?”

Seungkwan rolls her eyes. “For Soomin.”

“Then of course!”

“I’m going to be working late at the office tonight,” Seungkwan sighs, rubbing her forehead as she glares at the unread emails clogging up her inbox like she could make them magically disappear. “Soomin has club ball at five. Can you take her?”

“It’d be an honor,” Soonyoung says sincerely. 

Soonyoung and Seokmin have always been a huge help with Soomin, ever since she was a baby and the two were still trying to ignore the fact that they were deeply in love with each other. They’re basically her godparents. It warms her heart knowing that they’ll usually drop whatever they’re doing for Soomin, and that Soomin loves them just as much as they adore her.

“Thank you so much. I already texted Soomin about it so she’ll be ready.”

Soonyoung scoffs. “Presumptuous.”

“For good reason.” Seungkwan pauses, genuine gratitude washing over her. “I owe you one.”

“Don’t even worry about it.”

It doesn’t cross Seungkwan’s mind that Soonyoung meeting Jeonghan and Seungcheol might result in added drama. Maybe drama isn’t the right word for it, since it literally only affects Seungkwan. She doesn’t think about it until she checks her phone on the way out of the office. 

Soonyoung has sent Seungkwan a selfie with Jeonghan, who looks amused and a little endeared. Soonyoung has a shit-eating grin on their face that Seungkwan immediately associates with mischief. I love this lady!, the text under the photo reads. Seungkwan stops in her tracks, eyes widening at the implications of this. Of Soonyoung talking to Jeonghan. Of Jeonghan and Soonyoung gossiping about her. Seungkwan may or may not have mentioned the hot volleyball coach once or twice when they went out for happy hour last week. Fuck. She smacks her forehead, immediately stressed at her oversight.

Please tell me you didn’t do or say anything incriminating, Seungkwan texts back as she continues her walk to her car.

Of course not! Soonyoung replies. The typing bubble appears and vanishes a few times before another message comes through. But if I diiiid happen to mention the biweekly volleyball games to Jeonghan who happened to say she and Seungcheol would love to come next time and then proceeded to tell her the time day and location and that they’re invited, would that be an issue?

Seungkwan and her friend group meet up to play a few games for fun. It’s a scheduled hangout, because adult friends are hard to all get in one place at the same time. It’s rare that anyone misses them. Sometimes people bring plus-ones—that’s how they met Mingyu, who is a close friend now—but there’s never been something like this. Where someone Seungkwan has an inappropriate crush on would be coming. She leaves the message unanswered. She’ll deal with it when she gets home, and try her best not to think about it the entire drive.

Soomin is half-asleep on the couch when Seungkwan gets back, hair damp from a shower and undoubtedly soaking into the fabric under her. Her face is illuminated by the blue light of her phone, which she looks completely bored by.

“How was practice?” Seungkwan asks as she opens the freezer to find something easy to whip up for dinner. She knows Soonyoung probably grabbed Soomin food on the way home, but just in case.

“Good.” Soomin clicks her phone off and flips onto her stomach, crossing her arms on the armrest and propping her chin on them. “Coach Choi asked about you.”

Seungkwan freezes. She hears something in Soomin’s voice that isn’t common, but is still recognizable. She’s her kid, after all. It’s the kind of amusement that comes at Seungkwan’s expense. “Is that right?”

“Mhm. She asked if you were okay.” Soomin grins. “I think she missed you.”

“I think she was curious why a random person was bringing you to practice without any heads up.”

“I dunnoooo,” Soomin drawls, resting her cheek on her forearm. “She seemed really bummed out.”

Seungkwan pinches the bridge of her nose. Her daughter is nothing if not intuitive, just like Seungkwan. A trait she’s usually glad she’d passed on, up until it’s used against her. She has to be very careful how she responds. 

“I really like Coach Choi,” Soomin continues before Seungkwan can say anything. “She’s really cool.”

“She is cool,” Seungkwan agrees simply.

“I’m sure you think so.” 

Seungkwan can’t reply to that. She is relieved when the oven beeps so she can busy herself with sliding the frozen pizza onto the rack. She takes her time with it, as if there aren't a maximum of four steps involved. Soomin doesn’t say anything else about Seungcheol, which is almost worse than if she had because it means she thinks she’s discovered something. This won’t be the last Seungkwan hears of it, she’s sure. She listens intently as Soomin starts recounting funny things that happened at practice.

When Seungkwan checks her phone again later that night, another text from Soonyoung is there. Remember that ‘I owe you one’? This can be that.

Right. The IOU Soonyoung had said not to worry about. Now Seungkwan’s worrying, but she gives the message a thumbs up before turning her phone off and starting her nighttime routine.

—

When Seungkwan gets to the outdoor volleyball court their group frequents at a quarter past noon, Seungcheol is already there.

Seungkwan not usually one to run late, but Jeonghan, rather than join them, offered to have Soomin over to hang out with Hana, and Soomin had taken her sweet time getting ready to go. Seungkwan had spent the entire drive squeezing her pink plush steering wheel cover, uncharacteristically nervous. She’s never seen Seungcheol outside of club practices, and vice versa. Will Seungcheol like this side of her? Will Seungkwan be able to leave today feeling the same as she does right now, which is that Seungcheol is undoubtedly off-limits? Maybe Seungkwan will get lucky and discover Seungcheol is actually completely different outside of practices. Maybe she’s uncharismatic! Maybe she’ll be rude to her friends and they’ll give her a reason to uninvite her! Maybe…

She knows the thoughts are crazy, all things considered. But there has to be something that can protect Seungkwan’s heart.

Soonyoung and Seokmin are in their own little world, deeply focused on volleying the ball between the two of them. Seungcheol is chatting with Mingyu and Jisoo on one of the benches, which is a bit dangerous for Seungkwan. Especially when the conversation stops abruptly upon Jisoo noticing her.

When Seungcheol sees her, Seungkwan could swear that her eyes light up. At the very least, Seungcheol smiles. Seungkwan can’t help but mirror it. 

“Sorry I’m late.” Seungkwan works on pulling her above-the-shoulder-length hair into a tiny ponytail as she crosses the court to them. “You know how Soomin can be.”

“No worries!” Mingyu says brightly, holding her hand above her eyes to shield the sun. “We were just giving Seungcheol the rundown of everything.”

“It’s really cool that you guys set aside time to do this.” A small, almost sheepish smile appears on Seungcheol’s lips. “I don’t play much myself anymore. I got injured a while back. ACL.”

The three of them all wince. Seungkwan grabs at her own knee like she could feel the pain herself. “I’m so sorry, that’s such a rough one.”

“Thanks, it’s okay. I bounced back really well. Plus, it led me to coaching, which I love. But,” her smile turns teasing, “if I suck today, you can’t laugh at me.”

“Not even a little bit?” Seungkwan pouts as she stretches her arms above her head. 

Seungcheol giggles, and Seungkwan decides that she needs to make that happen more often. Especially with Seungcheol looking up at her like this, squinting a bit in the sunlight. “Maybe once. Only if it’s deserved.”

“I’m sure it will be,” Seungkwan goads. It feels easy to banter with Seungcheol. Almost too easy. 

Seungcheol’s eyes sparkle at the challenge, and it only makes Seungkwan more excited. Her reservations about Seungcheol joining them have completely vanished. Maybe it wouldn’t be so terrible, letting herself indulge in a little crush, just for today. It doesn’t need to be acted upon. 

“Okay!” Jisoo exclaims, clapping her hands together. Seungkwan had forgotten her and Mingyu were next to them and had witnessed that entire exchange. “Everyone stretch a little bit and we can figure out teams.”

Soonyoung struggles with hooking their phone up to the portable speaker and inevitably hands it off to Mingyu—props to them for trying, at least!—so they can play some energetic music to stretch to. Seungkwan really struggles to not stare at Seungcheol while she’s stretching. But god, her arms, and in that muscle top… She could easily lift Seungkwan up. And those volleyball shorts are extremely flattering. Like… wow. She must never skip leg day. Those thighs—

Seungkwan ends up locking eyes with Jisoo, who smirks at her and raises her eyebrows. Seungkwan narrows her eyes, bares her teeth, and juts her chin out in a way that she hopes effectively communicates ‘shut the fuck up.’ Jisoo just shrugs, which signals that this won’t be the end of the discussion but that she’ll hold back for now.

“Rock paper scissors to pick teams?” Seokmin suggests, holding up a fist. 

It takes about five seconds to determine that Jisoo and Soonyoung will be picking teams, with Jisoo having the chance to pick first. She easily picks Seungkwan. Soonyoung gives Mingyu a half-apologetic look as they use their finger to signal Seokmin over, and they instantly burst into the taunting song they always sing against the opposing team. Jisoo purses her lips and taps them with her finger, glancing at Seungkwan with a barely suppressed smirk, and Seungkwan knows what is about to happen before the woman even speaks.

“Seungcheol. Let’s see what you got.”

The way Seungcheol’s eyes light up makes up for the annoyance Seungkwan is feeling toward Jisoo.

“Why am I last?” Mingyu whines, but is placated when Soonyoung yells out a ‘Gyu!’ that is somehow louder than the speaker. 

“We couldn’t have the newcomer be last, that’d be rude.” Seungkwan nudges Seungcheol with her shoulder. Both of their arms are bare from their sleeveless sports tops and the brush of her skin shakes Seungkwan a little bit, despite being the one who initiated it. 

“I’m glad I’m not against you,” Seungcheol confesses. “Soomin says you’re really good.”

Seungkwan heart swells at the idea of her daughter singing her praises when she’s not there to hear them. “Really?”

“Mhm. We’ll have to see if she was just being nice, though.”

Seungkwan scoffs, bumping their arms together with a little more force this time. Seungcheol just laughs and pushes her back. 

Too easy.

“She would never do that. You are lucky we’re not on different teams, though,” Seungkwan says. “You seem like you’d be a sore loser.”

Seungcheol squints at her, sucking her teeth. “I feel like that's a classic pot-kettle situation.”

“Okay guys, let’s focus up,” Jisoo interrupts, giving Seungkwan an all-too-knowing look. 

“I’ll serve!” Soonyoung calls out. 

It only takes a couple rallies for it to be obvious that Seungcheol was being extremely humble about her playing. This fact irritates Seungkwan a little bit, actually, despite them being on the same team.

“You seriously acted like that when you’re actually—”

“Hey, I wasn’t lying when I said it’s been a while!” Seungcheol talks over her with a laugh, swatting at Seungkwan’s ponytail. 

Seungkwan raises a fist like she’s going to swing at her, but Seungcheol doesn’t even flinch. Her smile only grows.

After Seungcheol scores that set’s winning point, the three of them cheer and join in the middle for high fives. Seungcheol pats Seungkwan’s back encouragingly and annoyingly, Seungkwan preens because of it. The other team starts complaining about the teams being uneven. It might’ve gone better for them had Seokmin and Soonyoung not kissed every time they got a point, which led to Mingyu staring over at Jisoo longingly and Jisoo pretending she didn’t see it. Seungcheol volunteers to switch with Mingyu after Seokmin and Soonyoung refuse to be separated. Seungkwan is partially grateful to be further from her, but now she has the visible distraction on the other side of the net, which is its own problem. She just has to avoid looking at Seungcheol’s arms. Or thighs. Or face.

Seungcheol lifts the hem of her tank to wipe at the sweat on her forehead and it puts her stomach and the band of her Calvin Klein sports bra on display and what the fuck. Seungkwan spins on her heel to face the other way as if she’d suddenly stripped naked. Her stomach twists because it’s getting harder and harder to deny how attracted she is to Seungcheol. She’d already admitted it to herself, but as soon as she thinks she’s gotten to the bottom of it, the ground drops out from under her and she falls further and further. 

“Dude,” Jisoo mutters, shaking her head. “Zero game.”

“Big talk coming from you,” Seungkwan grits out through her teeth, just quiet enough so Mingyu wouldn’t hear. 

Jisoo doesn't say anything after that.

On the next rally, Seungkwan serves. After a few back-and-forths, Seungcheol misses a ball that is just barely within bounds. 

“C’mon, Coach Choi. I thought you were better than that,” Seungkwan goads. 

Seungcheol’s eyes turn sharp, determined. It makes Seungkwan feel warmer, or maybe that’s just the sun getting to her. 

From then on, Seungcheol is somehow better than before. It leads to a lot of cheers from the other side of the net, and the game is certainly close. But Seungkwan’s side pulls through on the second set, giving them the win on the best-of-three.

“You guys are fun to play with!” Seungcheol exclaims as they high five each other. “Thank you for inviting me.”

“You’re welcome anytime!” Jisoo chirps before Seungkwan can voice the same sentiment.

“I’m glad you came,” Seungkwan says earnestly. “You’re a worthy opponent.”

The redness in Seungcheol’s cheeks is from exertion, Seungkwan is sure. “Same to you.”

“How was playing with Coach Choi?” is the first thing Soomin asks when Seungkwan picks her up from Jeonghan’s house.

Seungkwan doesn’t even bother asking how she knows about that. Soonyoung probably talked to Seungcheol about it right in front of her. “She’s really good. You got lucky with your coach.”

“I’m not the only one.”

“Boo Soomin.”

Soomin shrugs and looks out the window, but Seungkwan can tell that she’s smirking. Ugh. At least Soomin is smiling. Seungkwan wants to ask her about school, but doesn’t want to kill the mood. A happy Soomin is a happy Seungkwan.

“What’d you and Hana get up to?”

“Just played video games. Ms. Yoon played too, but she kinda sucked.”

Seungkwan should scold her for how she talks about Jeonghan but finds herself giggling instead. “Did you guys get anything to eat?”

“Ms. Yoon’s partner cooked for us! I don’t know what it was, but it was good. They’re really cool. They’re coming to the game next week, too. They said they want to meet you.”

Seungkwan is going to have to treat the couple to drinks. 

—

Seungkwan is more excited for the first official club game than Soomin is, but that’s not entirely surprising. To Seungkwan, this is her daughter following in her footsteps and enjoying doing it. To Soomin, this is a game that she’s practiced hard for. It’s her first real chance at exhibiting the skills she’s cultivated over the past weeks. She’s been quieter than usual on the drive, and while Seungkwan does want to ask how she’s feeling, she knows Soomin will talk if she wants to and it’s better not to push her.

Soomin drums her fingers on the sides of her water bottle to the words of the song on the radio, a muted metallic sound. “Do you think we’re going to do well?” 

“What? Of course you will!” Seungkwan glances over at Soomin to find her with her bottom lip pulled between her teeth, eyes downcast. “You’ve been practicing like crazy. I’d even say you’re the team ace.”

That gets a titter out of Soomin. “You just have to say that ‘cause you’re my mom.”

“Not true! You know full well that I’m up front and honest with you.”

“Not about Coach Choi…” Soomin’s voice trails off, as if she hadn’t meant to say it. 

Seungkwan sighs, grip tightening on the steering wheel as she turns into the gym parking lot. She debates whether or not to reply to this, but opts against it. Soomin clearly knows better than to push the topic right now. It probably came out due to her defensiveness, another trait passed down from Seungkwan. The two of them are quiet as they walk up, and Seungkwan finds herself diving deep in the back of her mind for what her parents had said to her before games to calm her jittering nerves. 

“You know I’m proud of you no matter what, right?” she tries, nudging Soomin’s arm with her own. “You tried something new even though you weren’t sure about it and are now excelling. I know you’re going to do well today.”

Soomin looks up at her, barely fighting a smile. “I guess I’m kinda glad you forced me to do it.”

“Can I say I told you so now?”

“No.”

When they get inside Soomin heads off to the locker room while Seungkwan finds Jeonghan in the bleachers. A person with shaggy light-brown hair is seated next to her, and Seungkwan immediately knows it’s Minghao. Their fingers are tangled together, hands resting on Jeonghan’s thigh. 

“Seungkwannie!” Jeonghan shouts, waving her down. “Ahh, I finally get to introduce you guys.”

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about you,” Minghao says with a fond smile. “From Jeonghan and your daughter. Soomin is lovely, by the way. Very polite. You’ve raised her well.”

Seungkwan beams at the mention of Soomin. Ugh. Her heart might explode today with how much love is in it. “I really appreciate that. It’s nice to meet you. How is Hana feeling?”

“Reasonably nervous, but she’s ready. Jeonghan has been practicing with her and getting her ass kicked.”

“Yah!” Jeonghan swats at Minghao’s arm. “I’m good at volleyball!”

“You are, but I still think our daughter is outranking you.”

Seungkwan can’t help but smile watching the couple bicker. They make a perfect pair. 

Wonwoo introduces his husband, Junhui, who makes up for his tendency to be a bit more reserved in conversations. Junhui is one of the funniest people Seungkwan has talked to in a while, even after only talking for a few minutes.

Eventually the girls start trickling out from the locker room toward the benches. Soomin is talking animatedly with Hana and a few other girls. Seungcheol trails behind the group with her hands in her pockets. Somehow, she immediately finds Seungkwan in the crowd. She gives her a bright smile and nods in acknowledgement. Seungkwan waves, ignoring the way her heart skips and how good Seungcheol looks in her slacks that are tight in all the right places and her equally fitted polo. 

“I told you,” Seungkwan hears Jeonghan mutter to Minghao. The volume of her almost-whisper is intentional, judging by the way Jeonghan feigns innocence when Seungkwan glares at her. Minghao looks equally unrepentant, just curious. Seungkwan can’t let Jisoo be in a room with either of them. 

Seungcheol gathers all the girls up for a huddle by the bench. Seungkwan can only imagine she’s giving a stern but encouraging pep talk. 

“How do you think this’ll go?” Seungkwan asks Minghao, who shrugs.

“Hard to say. A lot of club games are a toss-up, everyone’s about the same level.”

“Which is to say, our girls are going to crush it,” Jeonghan chimes in.

Soomin looks a little unsteady as she walks onto the court. Her nerves become more evident when she misses an objectively easy point and instantly deflates. Seungkwan bites her lip, tightening her fists around the fabric of her long skirt and willing away the motherly urge to run down and encourage her daughter. 

Another rally, another point to the opposing team, a bigger droop in Soomin’s posture.

Seungcheol asks for a brief pause and gestures for another girl to come swap with Soomin. It surprises Seungkwan so much that she instinctively gets angry. She refuses to be the mom that starts yelling at people doing their job, but she suddenly understands their motivation. She’s only calmed by the hand Jeonghan places on her shoulder. She shakes her head slightly at Seungkwan, as if to say ‘give her a chance.’

Soomin sulks over to Seungcheol, who is smiling softly as she leans closer to talk to Soomin. Obviously Seungkwan can’t hear what’s being said, no matter how badly she wants to. Soomin is sensitive, and the wrong thing could make her feel so much worse, even if it’s said with good intentions. She does, however, hear her heartbeat in her ears as she watches Soomin’s face, which goes from completely shuttered to understanding to determined. She nods sharply at Seungcheol, who pats her on the back and sends her back to the court, clapping her hands in encouragement. 

Whatever Seungcheol had said had lit a fire under Soomin that turned all her anxiety to ashes. She’s digging shots that Seungkwan thinks she herself would’ve missed. The whole team seems to gain energy from Soomin. Every point scored causes them all to meet in the middle and cheer, high fiving each other. The first set goes in their favor. So does the second. The third and fourth go to the opposite side, but the girls don’t seem to lose their stride. That makes it one more set. Fifteen points to a winner. Winner takes all. 

It’s a close game. The determination on both sides is multiplied by the knowledge that it’s all or nothing here. On the match point, Hana sets up a spike.

Soomin hits it. It lands with a loud smack against the wood.

Seungkwan is on her feet before she can even fully process what happened, cheering her lungs out and clapping. Jeonghan grabs her arm and shakes it as if to say, those are our girls! Seungkwan grabs her back and they end up in the type of weird half-hug that could only happen out of excitement.

The entire team has run out onto the court, yelling and hugging each other and giving the girls who were on the court for the last rally special attention, especially Soomin. Soomin is beaming, her eyes sparkling under the gym lights. But then she’s looking around, and for a moment Seungkwan thinks she’s looking for her. 

She realizes it when Soomin’s eyes end up on Seungcheol and suddenly she’s running over, slamming against her and hugging her tight. It must shock Seungcheol as much as it shocks Seungkwan, which is a lot. This is completely unprecedented. Seungcheol’s eyes go comically wide before she breaks into a smile, looking down at Soomin, and patting her back, and that’s when the last bit of restraint in Seungkwan snaps.

She can’t deny it anymore. She can’t deny how much she likes Seungcheol. She’s forced it down so far, insisting to herself that it was for Soomin, but even Soomin adores Seungcheol in a way she’s never looked up to another adult before. Seungcheol is kind and patient and funny and gorgeous and everything that Seungkwan’s heart is weak to, and on top of that, her daughter looks up to her. On top of that, Seungcheol cares about Soomin. It doesn’t mean Seungkwan should act on it, but she can at least call it what it is. 

Seungkwan makes her way down to the court with Jeonghan and Minghao, and sees Seungcheol whisper something to Soomin, who then looks over at her. She lights up even brighter, running over to Seungkwan and into her arms.

“You were incredible, honey,” Seungkwan murmurs as she squeezes Soomin so tight that she lifts her off the ground, blinking back the tears in her eyes. She makes eye contact with Seungcheol, who is watching them with a proud smile. Seungkwan mouths to her, ‘thank you.’

Deep dimples appear on Seungcheol’s cheeks with the wideness of her smile.

“Did you see how I hit that?” Soomin exclaims, pulling back from Seungkwan and pretending to do the move again. “I don’t even remember doing it. I think I blacked out. Did you possess me?”

“I think you’re better than me, at this point,” Seungkwan replies. “That was all you.”

“You’re lying,” Soomin replies, but she’s bouncing on her toes in excitement nonetheless.

“Soominnie! Come with us to get ice cream!” Hana calls out from across the court.

Soomin looks up at Seungkwan, who nods immediately. Soomin hugs her again and runs off to where the girls are all huddled together.

Seungcheol is busy talking to the coach of the other team good-naturedly, so Seungkwan doesn’t bother her. She joins the parents in walking the girls over to the ice cream spot across the street and revels in the feeling of happiness radiating off her daughter.

—

“Dude. Come on.”

Seungkwan glares at Seokmin from across the table. The woman innocently averts her eyes and takes a sip from her pint, as if she hadn’t said anything. 

Unfortunately for Seungkwan, Seungcheol has become a recurring topic at their trio happy hours. ‘BooSeokSoon hour,’ as Soonyoung has taken to calling it. And yeah, maybe it is partially Seungkwan’s fault for bringing her up first. But at the same time, she’s talking about her daughter’s volleyball coach! She loves talking about her daughter! It’s not her fault that Seungcheol has become someone Soomin looks up to. 

It might be her fault that she feels some sort of way about Seungcheol, though. It just makes things more difficult for her. 

“It’s okay to have a crush on Seungcheol, you know,” Soonyoung says as they run their finger through the condensation on the sides of the beer glass. “And it’d be okay to act on it.”

“It would not. You guys are being bad influences.” Seungkwan sighs, lowering her head and staring at one of the knots in the surface of the wood table that she’s been tracing with her nail.

“You’re both grown adults. She’s not, like, a school teacher, or anything. Besides,” Seokmin grins, tapping Seungkwan’s calf with her foot under the table, “if you’re avoiding it on Soomin’s behalf, I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

“That’s what I have to worry most about. You guys don’t get it. You don’t—”

“Soomin totally ships you guys,” Soonyoung interrupts, leaning back in their chair and crossing their arms. “Seungcheol cares a lot about Soomin, and even we have seen the way she looks at you. Jeonghan tells us things too.”

“What— What does Jeonghan tell you?!” Seungkwan sputters, twisting her fingers in her lap. She hadn’t known they’d been talking.

The couple shrugs in sync, which is extra irritating because of how sensitive Seungkwan feels. 

“Only good things,” Seokmin says. “Things that suggest that you should just take the leap. Seungcheol is probably feeling the same thing you are, but is thinking it’d be worse if she made the first move. You know what I mean? As the coach.”

Seungkwan presses her lips together as she picks at her chipped blue nail polish. It’s not a bad point. Or maybe it’s just the beer getting to her head. “You guys really think it’s a good idea?”

“We’re your best friends. We wouldn’t encourage you to do this if we thought it was a bad idea,” Soonyoung says earnestly.

There are past instances that would say otherwise, but Seungkwan doesn’t point that out. They just want her to be happy. 

‘Soomin totally ships you guys.’ The words repeat in her head as she lays in bed that night. All she wants is for Soomin to be happy.

Maybe taking the next step would be good for both of them. At the very least, she can keep an open mind to it.

—

Seungkwan should’ve been suspicious from the moment Jisoo bought her a new shirt as a gift, “just because.”

It was smart of them to send the item with Jisoo, though. She is known to bring around little gifts for her friends, but they’re usually handmade: friendship bracelets, bag charms, etcetera. She’s even made her friends personalized perfumes before. The most ‘store-bought’ thing Seungkwan can remember from her is when she took Soomin to Build-A-Bear. 

But Seungkwan is nice and trusting and, apparently, gullible. 

“What… is this?” Seungkwan asks delicately as she holds the shirt out in front of her. It’s navy blue—a color that is flattering on Seungkwan, which is another reason she didn’t think too much about it—with two yellow stripes on each shoulder and sections of black on the sides to accentuate the wearer’s figure. Some athleticwear logo Seungkwan doesn’t recognize is on the front, but maybe she doesn’t recognize it due to the fact that the fabric laces up in the front, fracturing the letters. Almost like shoe laces, with the ends at the very bottom. 

“It’s a shirt,” Jisoo supplies helpfully. 

Seungkwan huffs, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly to make sure Jisoo sees it. “I know it’s a shirt.”

“It’s your color, and the fabric looks like it’d be perfect for volleyball. Breatheable.”

“I’m sure it is, with the holes in the front of it.”

Jisoo sighs. “Mingyu really thought you’d like it.”

Damn it. Damn Kim Mingyu and her good intentions. 

“I’ll try it.”

“She’d really like it if you wore it for the group game. You know how she gets about showing off stuff like that.” Jisoo smiles, patting Seungkwan’s shoulder. “Send her a ‘thank you’ text when you see how good it looks on you, okay?”

To both Mingyu and Jisoo’s credits, it does look great on her. It fits her perfectly, hugging her chest and the dip of her waist. When she moves the laced section at the front shifts and shows her stomach, but she doesn’t hate it as much as she’d thought she would.  

She sends the couple a thank you text and—at Mingyu’s request—a picture that earns a spam of heart emojis in return. She throws it in the laundry with a mental note to wear it next week. 

—

Seungkwan is the first one to arrive at the park, which isn’t unheard of. Soonyoung had asked her to bring a speaker so she gets it set up and hits shuffle on her playlist, her spirits lifting higher than they’d been before when an old TWICE title track comes on. 

She starts her normal stretch routine, but starts getting distracted by the music more and more as time goes on without anyone else showing up. It evolves from singing under her breath to vaguely doing the moves to almost all-out dancing. She gets so lost in it that she doesn’t hear her name get called out the first time. Or the second.

She only realizes someone else has arrived when they enter her field of vision, and if it’d been literally anyone else, it would’ve been fine. 

But of course, it’s Seungcheol. Seungkwan startles before straightening herself out with a nervous laugh.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I didn’t want to scare you,” Seungcheol says, the corners of her mouth tugging upward. “I didn’t know you danced.”

“I don’t,” Seungkwan says defensively, scuffling over to the speaker to turn it down. “I just like girl groups.”

“Riiight,” Seungcheol drawls, her amusement unwavering. She rotates the volleyball in her hands as she looks around. “Where’s everyone else?”

“That’s a great question.” Sometimes people run late, but it’s never all of them. Something in Seungkwan’s gut starts to twist as she thinks about it, and she has to hurry over to her phone to check. 

Her stomach drops when she reads the group chat texts on her home screen.

From Soonyoung: hey, Seokmin and I are feeling sick and aren’t going to make it today :( we’ll make it up to you!

From Mingyu: You must’ve given me whatever you have! I woke up with a horrible stomachache. Jisoo insisted on staying home and taking care of me.

Then, a separate message from just Jisoo: Have fun ;)

Seungkwan squeezes her eyes shut, her grip on the phone tightening. How had she not seen this coming? Maybe because the biweekly volleyball games are supposed to be sacred. They’re not supposed to be used for… whatever this is. She wonders how much it took to talk Mingyu into this, because she takes it more seriously than Seungkwan does. This is really fucked up.

Then again… she’s never really spent time one-on-one with Seungcheol. Maybe it’s not such a terrible thing, regardless of how much she dislikes her friends meddling. Maybe she should let herself enjoy this.

“Everything okay?” Seungcheol asks with genuine concern in her voice. Seungkwan feels bad for her. She’ll actually sympathize with Seungkwan’s evil friends who are all out to get her.

“Apparently, everyone is sick. Everyone.”

Seungcheol’s lips part in surprise. “Oh no! I hope they’re okay!”

Seungkwan bites her lip to hold back a snarky comment toward her friends. She gestures at the ball in Seungcheol’s hands. “Well, do you still want to play?”

The grin that appears on Seungcheol’s face is brighter than the sun above them. She tosses the ball to Seungkwan. “Just let me get stretched a bit.”

Seungkwan sits on the bench, sips at her water, and tries her best to not ogle the woman in front of her, especially when her boxy t-shirt lifts up as she stretches her arms above her head. Her stomach is basically directly in Seungkwan’s line of vision. It’s really sick and twisted.

“I like your shirt, by the way.”

Seungkwan blinks, having to look down to remember that she’s wearing the shirt from Jisoo and Mingyu. The one Jisoo had insisted she wear today. The one that shows off a bit of her stomach and fits her nicely in the chest and waist. She wants to be angry, but the compliment makes her feel warm. She lets herself smile and accept the compliment, rather than brush it off like she might’ve before.

“Oh, thank you. It’s not really my style, but Mingyu bought it for me, so…”

Maybe Seungkwan’s losing it, maybe her friends have gotten in her head, but she could swear Seungcheol’s eyes linger when she looks back down at the shirt. “It fits you well. Suits you well. Well, both.”

Seungcheol is blushing. This is so doomed. 

“You flatter me,” Seungkwan says in an attempt to brush it off. She stands and grabs the ball to toss around while she waits for Seungcheol to warm up. 

It only takes a few minutes before they’re on opposite sides of the net, a quick rock-paper-scissors determining that Seungkwan will serve first. She bounces the ball a few times and weighs it in her hands.

“Don’t go easy on me,” Seungkwan says.

Seungcheol laughs. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

Seungkwan takes a breath, tosses the ball up, jumps, and smacks it across the court. Seungcheol hits it back, and it only takes a flash of Seungcheol’s stomach for Seungkwan to get distracted and miss an easy hit. 

“I was just warming up!” Seungkwan shouts when Seungcheol laughs with a hand covering her mouth. She rolls her eyes and jogs to get the ball that had rolled off into the grass. She tosses it to Seungcheol to serve.

Seungcheol serves the ball almost like Seungkwan does, but she doesn’t jump. It’s casual, almost annoyingly so, the way she tosses it up and hits it Seungkwan’s way. Losing the first point has ignited a fire under Seungkwan that burns so hot that after a few back-and-forths she ends up landing a spike. Seungcheol lets out a sound of disbelief, but she’s still smiling.

“And you were worried about me going easy on you?”

“Flattery would usually get you everywhere, but not here.”

Seungcheol sticks her tongue out. Seungkwan mirrors it. 

They play until they’re sweaty and panting. And yes, Seungkwan is normal about the sight of Seungcheol sweaty and panting. They end on a tie, which ruffles Seungkwan a little bit, but Seungcheol seems pleased with it and shakes her hand good-naturedly. Their hands stay connected for a beat too long with Seungcheol just looking at her, lip pulled between her teeth.

If she hadn’t been so tired and frazzled by the feeling of their hands touching, Seungkwan would’ve teased Seungcheol. As it stands, all she can manage is, “What?”

Seungcheol shakes her head like she’s coming out of some reverie. She takes her hand back and cracks her knuckles. “Ah, nothing. Sorry. You’re really fun to play with.” 

Seungkwan bumps their shoulders together. “Ditto.” She would never thank any of her friends for this—regardless of if she enjoyed it, them all ditching her was betrayal, and she will be getting revenge—but she is glad she’d had this opportunity to spend time with Seungcheol. Some of her coach persona is still there, but she’s more playful without the kids around. She laughs and points at Seungkwan’s fumbles, but also encourages her to press on. She doesn’t treat Seungkwan’s tendency to get frustrated during the game like it’s a landmine. She seems okay with walking right over it like it’s not even there, and almost enjoying it when it goes off.

Does that even make sense? Probably not. Seungkwan doesn’t know what to think. All she knows for sure is that she’s never felt like this before.

Seungcheol tucks the ball under her arm and takes a long swig from her water bottle before facing Seungkwan again. “So… Are you hungry? We could go grab a bite to eat, if you want.”

Oh, Seungkwan wants. But she also feels how warm and gross she is in this stupid top and cringes. “I’d need to go home and change first.”

Seungcheol waves a hand. “I think you’ll be fine. Who are you trying to impress?”

You, Seungkwan thinks miserably. But she hears what’s lingering under the surface of her words: Seungcheol actually wants to spend more time with her. It’s not an ask out of obligation.

Maybe… testing the waters isn’t a horrible idea. Or maybe it’s selfish. But Seungkwan believes what her friends had told her about Soomin “shipping” the two of them, so maybe it wouldn’t be that selfish after all.

“I have a couple of changes of clothes in my car, if you’d want one?” Seungcheol continues, tossing the ball back and forth in her hands. “Just some old volleyball t-shirts and sweats.”

“You really want me to go, huh?” Seungkwan says with a small smile.

It lands the way she’d wanted it to. Seungcheol’s eyes widen and she drops the volleyball. Seungkwan stops it with her foot before it can roll too far away and punts it back toward Seungcheol. 

“A change of clothes would be great,” Seungkwan says to save Seungcheol from fumbling for an answer. 

Visibly relieved, Seungcheol picks up the ball and goes to her car. She pulls out a t-shirt and black sweats that had been rolled up to avoid getting too wrinkled. “They might be a little big on you.”

“That’s alright.” That’s more than alright. “Thank you. Where do you want to go?”

They decide on a hole-in-the-wall restaurant nearby and part ways. Seungkwan changes quickly in her car. The shirt doesn’t smell like Seungcheol: it smells like a shirt that has been left in the car for too long. But Seungkwan doesn’t mind, because it’s comfy and it’s Seungcheol’s and she has perfume in her purse anyway. She pulls the sweats over her tight shorts because they’re big enough for it. They’re soft and cozy and she might end up stealing them. 

Seungcheol is already there when Seungkwan pulls in, in a fresh t-shirt and with her hair down. Seungkwan realizes then that she’s never seen Seungcheol with her hair down. It’s long and wavy, the pitch black color stark against her white tee. There’s a slight dent in it from being up in a ponytail for so long but Seungcheol manages to make it look like a style choice. 

She voices the revelation to Seungcheol when she walks up to her. 

“Oh, yeah. Sometimes having it up too long gives me a headache.” She twirls some of her hair with her fingers. “Does it look alright?”

“It’s pretty.” You’re always pretty. 

Seungcheol grins, tilting her head toward the doors. “C’mon, let’s get out of the sun.”

They’re led to a table in the back corner of the restaurant. It feels like they’re tucked away from the rest of the world. Well, apart from the waiter, but they don’t linger longer than they need to. While they’re quietly looking over the menus, it dawns on Seungkwan that maybe this isn’t more than what it looks like: two friends—they are friends, right?—dining together. Despite knowing not to make assumptions, the seed of doubt takes root in Seungkwan’s mind. She at least knows how to combat it. 

“So… Do you do this with all the moms?” 

Seungcheol coughs, sputtering as she chokes on her drink. She sets it down and grabs a napkin to cover her mouth before asking, “What?”

Seungkwan waves a hand around the room. “This. Grabbing food. Hanging out.”

“Um… No. Just you.” Seungcheol’s face is an unfortunately really cute shade of red. “Well, unless you count Jeonghan and Minghao! And I’m pretty close with Wonwoo and Junhui too, but I don’t—”

“Hey, it’s fine.” Seungkwan reaches across the table and pats Seungcheol’s hand. “It’s not a bad thing. I’m happy to be here with you.”

It seems to do the trick, because Seungcheol’s posture straightens out and her near-pout disappears. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Seungkwan taps her fingers on the table. Between her own revelations, her friends' involvement, and the slow but sure push by Jeonghan, she feels like she’s on the edge of something. She might as well dive all the way in. “I’ve been meaning to thank you, you know.”

Seungcheol tilts her head. “For what?”

Seungkwan scoffs. Seungcheol really can’t think of one singular thing that Seungkwan might be grateful for? “For everything you’ve done with Soomin. I don’t know what you said to her at the game, but the fact that she turned it around like that…” Seungkwan shakes her head, staring at her water glass, tracing her finger along the rim of it. “She’s had hard times in the past, with other kids and authority figures, but she really likes you. I’ve never seen her this excited for anything, and it’s all thanks to you.”

Seungcheol doesn’t reply. She doesn’t even shift in her seat. Seungkwan looks up nervously, afraid she’s somehow said the wrong thing, and finds Seungcheol with wide, shiny eyes. 

“Oh my god, please don’t cry. I’m an empath, and it’ll be a bad look for both of us.”

A wet laugh escapes Seungcheol as she presses the heels of her hands to her eyes. “Ah, I’m sorry. That just means a lot to me. Reminds me why I do this.”

“It helps that you’re good at it,” Seungkwan says, nudging her foot against Seungcheol’s under the table. 

Seungcheol taps her back. “Thank you. Can I just say that you’re a great mom, too? You can’t give me all the credit. Soomin is a wonderful kid, and the other girls love being around her. She lights up the room.” She keeps her eyes locked on Seungkwan’s as she adds, “I can see where she gets it from.”

God. It’s like Seungcheol knows exactly what to say to get to her. Seungkwan has to look away with a disbelieving huff of a laugh so she doesn’t make it obvious how that made her chest feel funny. 

“I’m serious. I’m… actually really glad this happened today. Even if it was kind of obvious your friends did something to make this happen.” 

Seungkwan groans, putting her head in her hands. Seungcheol reaches out and loops her fingers around Seungkwan’s arm, gently guiding her hands down. She prays to whoever can hear her that her face isn’t as red as it feels. “I’m sorry about them. They’re meddlers.”

“I’ve been best friends with Jeonghan for ages; trust me, I get it. Like I said, I’m glad we’re doing this.” Seungcheol glances down at where her hand is still on Seungkwan’s arm on the table. The expression when she looks back at Seungkwan asks, Is this okay?

Is it? Seungkwan asks herself. This already feels irreversible. She hears what Seungcheol isn’t outright saying. She feels it in the small circles the woman’s thumb is drawing on her forearm. She thinks about her life, how she’d been fine by herself, with just her and Soomin. But Seungcheol has snuck herself into Seungkwan’s head and heart and she finds she doesn’t mind the idea of potentially sharing a bit of her life with this woman who is passionate and caring and strong, and who her daughter looks up to. 

Seungkwan slides her arm down so their palms press together. She can hear Seungcheol’s soft, relieved puff of air over the din of the restaurant. 

“You’re infuriatingly difficult to ignore. I’ve tried. It’s really annoying,” Seungkwan grumbles, taking her hand back and grabbing her drink. She takes such an aggressive sip that she ends up getting a brain freeze but plays it off the best she can. 

Seungcheol is giving her this ridiculously huge, almost dopey smile. She props her elbow up on the table, her cheek resting in her palm.  “You like me.”

“You’re pushing it,” Seungkwan snaps, with no real malice behind it. 

The waiter interrupts them to take their orders. They’re clearly hiding a smile, as if they’d heard the entire exchange. Could this possibly get any more embarrassing?

After the waiter leaves, Seungcheol steeples her fingers and stares at Seungkwan. “Tell me something interesting about you.”

“What?”

“A fun fact. Something that happened to you once. Anything.” Seungcheol tilts her head. “I want to know more about you.”

Seungkwan finds that once she starts talking, it’s hard to stop. She talks about her family in Jeju, the tangerine trees and the coastline and the recipes her grandmother passed onto her. She talks about her childhood dream of being a singer that she ended up keeping locked up within the walls of the karaoke rooms once she got older because she knew she wanted to be a mother.

“I knew I didn’t want a husband, but I also knew I was meant to be a parent. I was meant to be Soomin’s parent. I don’t know. Sometimes, I worry it sounds like I’m subconsciously fulfilling some patriarchal expectation, or am being like those parents who treat their kids like they’re accessories. But in my heart of hearts, I know who I am. I love being Soomin’s mother. I don’t mind working in a boring office building if it means I get to give her the life she deserves.”

Seungcheol’s eyebrows pinch together, and a few seconds pass before she finally replies. “I don’t think it sounds like a ‘patriarchal expectation’ or anything. Like I said, you’re a great mom. Soomin’s a great kid. You two make a beautiful family.”

Oh.

Something about that makes Seungkwan’s eyes start to burn. Obviously they’re a family: Seungkwan doesn’t need anyone to tell her that. But outsiders do tend to have a harder time understanding them. A single mom and her child—not to mention her two loud lesbian godmothers—don’t fit most people’s definition of a ‘family.’ Seungcheol understands. Seungcheol sees them. Seungcheol sees Seungkwan. 

The food comes, snapping Seungkwan out of her trance. “Ah, I’ve been talking for so long,” Seungkwan says, her words coming out a bit choked. Luckily, Seungcheol is kind enough to pretend she doesn’t hear it. “It’s your turn.”

Seungcheol has a “daughter” of her own: a fluffy white dog named Kkuma who she dresses up in cute little bows and barrettes. She plays a video game called League of Legends with her close friends every Tuesday night. She usually plays mid and bottom lane. Seungkwan has no idea what that means, but she nods enthusiastically anyway. She’s the youngest in her family and has one older sibling, which makes so much sense. She’s a Leo, which also makes so much sense. Seungkwan doesn’t say that out loud, though. 

When the check comes, they argue for a few minutes, but eventually Seungcheol gives in and lets Seungkwan pay for her half of the check. She does vow, though, that she’ll be taking Seungkwan out to a nicer dinner that she will pay for in its entirety. 

“If you would be okay with that,” Seungcheol tacks on quickly. “If not, that’s totally okay, I’ll respect that.”

“I’d like that a lot.” It takes a lot to make Seungkwan feel truly shy, but something about this is hitting her in a weak spot, an Achilles’ heel that Seungcheol has already managed to find. So it feels all the more embarrassing when she has to ask Seungcheol as they walk to their cars. “So, like… Are we…?”

Seungcheol hums, tone turning up in a question. “Are we?”

“We’re not, like, dating. Yet. Obviously. But you actually like me?” It sounds ridiculously juvenile, and Seungkwan has to fight back a wince from how cringey it feels. 

If Seungcheol thinks it sounds weird, she doesn’t say anything about it. Instead, she nods. “Mhm. I’d like to get to know you more. Maybe romance you a bit.”

“Oh, god,” Seungkwan groans. “You’re corny, too.” 

(Seungkwan has never been truly romanced. It’s been a sort of distant idea, something for other people to experience. The idea of it, especially coming from Seungcheol, makes her feel like she’s going to explode a little bit. She loves corny.)

“You should respect your elders,” Seungcheol says, as if she’s ancient and not just a few years older, leaning back against the side of her Subaru to avoid Seungkwan’s threatened swing at her. “But I really do want to take it easy, y’know. Don’t want to rush into anything, especially when it could affect Soomin.”

It’s like Seungcheol is in her head. A little terrifying, considering they still have so much to learn about one another. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”

Seungcheol waves a hand. “I just really want to do this right—”

The moment is shattered by the special ringtone Seungkwan has set for Soomin—her daughter’s favorite Wonder Girls song, because she inherited Seungkwan’s impeccable taste—blaring out from her purse. She grimaces, her many keychains clacking together as she digs through the bag to quiet the repeated lyrics of Hyerim’s love being sweet sweet sweet and easy. She gives Seungcheol an apologetic and strained smile that is returned to her softened and understanding. 

“Hello? Soomin? Is everything okay?”

“Yup!” Soomin replies, popping the ‘P.’ “Ms. Xu just said I needed to call you to see if we could go get dessert. Please say yes. Please?”

“Yes. Yeah, of course. Make sure you tell them thank you.”

“Of course,” Soomin says. “Hope you’re having fun.”

“Boo Soomin—”

“Love you bye!”

The call ends before Seungkwan can say anything else. She needs to have a serious conversation with Soonyoung and Seokmin about gossiping with her child. 

“Anyway,” Seungkwan says airily, sliding her phone into the pocket of her— Seungcheol’s sweats that she’d forgotten she was wearing. “Oh, do you want these back?”

Seungcheol shrugs, shoving her hands into her pockets. “I’m sure I’ll get them back from you another time.”

“I don’t know, I think I might keep them.” She plucks at the fabric, watching Seungcheol carefully. “They look good on me, right?”

She can’t help but do these little sorts of tests just to get a reaction. When her question makes Seungcheol blush, she knows she’s doomed. Seungcheol is the same as she has always been: stupidly hot and a little pathetic.

“Yeah, they do.” Seungcheol clears her throat, ridding of the raspiness that had made Seungkwan’s stomach twist. “Get home safe, okay? Text me when you get back. And maybe we can plan another date.”

“Was this a date?” Seungkwan asks. “I don’t remember you asking me on a date.”

Seungcheol sputters, worsening when Seungkwan laughs at her. “I mean— You know what I meant! A date. I want to plan a date.” She straightens herself out, clearing her throat again and meeting Seungkwan’s eyes with a new assuredness. “I’m preemptively asking you on a date.”

“And I’m preemptively saying yes.” 

This is the time where they’re supposed to bid farewell, but it feels like something is missing. After a moment of deliberation Seungkwan falls into Seungcheol, wrapping her arms around her. Seungcheol doesn’t hesitate in reciprocating, her palms flat against Seungkwan’s back. Seungkwan’s chin rests on Seungcheol’s shoulder and she’s so warm that she has the urge to stay there forever. She knows she can’t. 

Maybe in the future, she’ll be able to.

—

Seungkwan and Seungcheol start seeing each other outside of volleyball. On days that Soomin goes to Seokmin and Soonyoungs’ place, or hangs out with Hana at Jeonghan and Minghaos’. It’s not that they’re sneaking around. It’s that neither of them trust their friends enough to not spill the beans immediately to each other and the kids, and they want to keep control of that whole possibility. So, they act normal. 

As normal as they can act. Seungcheol would say it’s Seungkwan’s fault that she looks so good sitting in the stands and smiles at Seungcheol whenever they meet eyes. Seungkwan would insist that maybe Seungcheol should focus on her job instead of on staring at Seungkwan. 

“I am focused!” Seungcheol argues. “Sometimes you just look at me and you are so pretty that I get distracted. Stop being so pretty and maybe it’ll be fine.”

Seungkwan is, infuriatingly, endeared and flustered by that. 

She’s pretty certain Jeonghan knows something. She hasn’t actually said anything, but that’s precisely why Seungkwan thinks she knows. It’s been far too long since Jeonghan made some off-hand comment about Seungcheol or her love life or how “dependable” she is. Seungkwan, obviously, doesn’t give it much mind, lest she give herself away. 

What’s worse is that sometimes she notices the girls on the court whispering, looking in her direction, then toward Seungcheol, and inevitably bursting into giggles. She has no idea what they might be saying, but Seungcheol usually breaks it up by blowing her whistle, with red cheeks and obvious determination to not look at Seungkwan.

She’s almost ruined when one night Soomin, not looking up from her homework, says “You seem different.”

“How so?”

“Dunno. Just like…” Soomin gestures vaguely in Seungkwan’s direction. “Your aura.”

“Is that a good thing?” Seungkwan asks, coming up behind Soomin where she’s sitting at the kitchen table. 

“You seem happier, so yeah,” she replies, like it’s obvious. Like hearing that from her daughter wouldn’t make Seungkwan want to cry. 

She wonders how Soomin would react if she knew it was because of her volleyball coach. She holds in her sigh, taking a long drink from her water glass. 

“Some of my friends think Coach likes you.”

The water goes down the wrong pipe, causing Seungkwan to cough and sputter. Soomin sucks her teeth and shakes her head.

“I certainly hope,” Seungkwan says, her voice strained as she tries not to cough again, “that you’re not spreading rumors, Boo Soomin.”

“I’m not!” Soomin exclaims in the immediately-too-emotional way she always gets when wrongfully accused, a mirrored image of Seungkwan. “I think it was Hana. Coach does look at you a lot, y’know.”

“No, I don’t know.” She knows. She knows too well and it makes her feel crazy. “Don’t encourage this, honey. Gossiping and spreading rumors is unkind.”

“Auntie Soonyoung says gossiping is okay as long as it isn’t hurtful or based in malice,” Soomin says, matter-of-factly. 

Of course. “Aunt Soonyoung is wrong.”

“Fine. Do you know how to do geometry?”

Seungkwan can certainly figure it out if it means changing the conversation topic. 

—

Seungcheol comes over to Seungkwan’s for dinner on a sleepover night. She’d obviously set it up with the intention of cooking, but she messes up the food within minutes of starting the recipe in such a way that it was unsalvageable, and she’d only brought so many ingredients.

“This is so embarrassing,” Seungcheol whines, hiding her face in her hands.

Seungkwan coos, grabbing Seungcheol’s forearms and pulling them away from her face. “It’s okay, baby. It’s the thought that counts.” 

Seungkwan has been testing out pet names here and there, just to see what gets a rise out of Seungcheol. They’re—unsurprisingly—all effective, but ‘baby’ seems to be the winner of them all. Somehow, it gets Seungcheol worse each time. This time, she huffs and shoves at Seungkwan’s hands, turning away to hide her blush. 

“We can just order in,” Seungkwan reassures, pulling up a food delivery app on her phone and handing it to Seungcheol. “Pick whatever you want.”

Seungcheol shakes her head, pushing Seungkwan’s phone away. “You are absolutely not paying for this.”

“Try and stop me.”

It works as Seungkwan had wanted it to. For whatever reason, a simple ‘make me’ also flusters Seungcheol whenever Seungkwan says it. 

“You can’t stop me from sending you money.”

“I’ll send it back.”

“I’ll send it back again. You’ll run out of patience for it sooner than I will.”

“You’re so annoying,” Seungkwan mutters with a smile. 

“You like it, obviously.” Seungcheol moves behind Seungkwan and wraps her arms around her, resting her chin on her shoulder. “I’m okay with anything, as long as it’s—”

“Not too spicy,” Seungkwan finishes.

Seungcheol hums, shifting them back and forth as Seungkwan puts their order in. “You know me so well.”

She’s starting to feel like she does. It scares her sometimes. 

They break out a pack of cards while they’re waiting for their food. They start with a game of Speed, but the fast-pace of it mixed with both of their high competitiveness leads them to switching to what they think will be a much calmer game of Gin Rummy.

“You’re cheating!” Seungkwan exclaims when Seungcheol wins the third game in a row.

“I’m not! You can’t even cheat at this game!” Seungcheol argues, gathering up all the cards and shuffling them.

Seungkwan effectively gets distracted by Seungcheol’s fingers working quickly with shuffling the card deck, which Seungcheol has noticed as their games have gone on and has started using against her. It’s all really sick and twisted and evil. It’s hardly Seungkwan’s fault Seungcheol wears more rings when she’s not coaching or playing ball. 

Seungkwan sticks her tongue out as payback, because she knows it’ll make Seungcheol look at her lips and distract her just as much. They haven’t kissed—Seungcheol really is insistent on the whole romancing thing—but it’s clear they’re both thinking about it.

There’s a knock at the door, and Seungcheol is setting the cards down and standing up before Seungkwan can even move. “I’ll get it, you stay there.”

Seungkwan doesn’t get the chance to say she’d need to get up to go get plates and such for them anyway before Seungcheol is gliding down the hall. She shouldn’t let herself get used to the sort of princess treatment Seungcheol gives her but… it’s not like she’s given a choice when Seungcheol moves so fast like that.

Seungkwan also doesn’t get the chance to remember that she had specified to leave the food outside the door instead of knocking. 

“Coach Choi?!”

Fuck. 

Seungkwan rushes around the corner and finds Soomin, Hana, and Jeonghan at the door. Soomin and Hanas’ expressions are the same: jaws dropped, but the corners of their mouths turned upward. Jeonghan looks entirely unsurprised and almost bored, her hands shoved in her pockets and keys dangling from her belt loop. Seungcheol is opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water.

“Is everything alright?” Seungkwan asks through an almost gritted-teeth smile. 

Soomin nods solemnly. “I forgot something really important for the sleepover, so Ms. Yoon brought me over to grab it.”

“I texted. You must’ve not gotten it,” Jeonghan says with a shrug, trying for impassivity. The glint of amusement in her eye gives her away. 

“Go grab what you need, honey,” Seungkwan says, waving Soomin and Hana in. “Don’t leave Ms. Yoon waiting, since she drove you all this way.”

The girls kick off their shoes and rush past them. Seungkwan can’t even get herself to scold them for running in the house. 

“So,” Jeonghan drawls, crossing her arms and looking between the two. 

Seungcheol looks like a guilty puppy. Seungkwan can almost see her tail tucked. “We can talk about it later?”

“Oh, we will talk about it later.” Jeonghan looks at her nails, like this is the most boring revelation of all time. “But for the record, I knew it. Jisoo owes me seventy-five thousand won.”

God dammit, they did end up conspiring. When did they even meet?!

“You are so—”

“Got it!” Soomin shouts, reappearing with a bag that looks suspiciously light swinging from her shoulder and Hana skipping behind her.

“Wonderful.” Jeonghan smiles sweetly at the pair, then at Seungcheol and Seungkwan, but it turns slightly menacing. “So sorry that we interrupted.”

“That’s okay,” Seungkwan assures quickly, desperate to get them out of the house. “Soomin, make sure you say thank you to Ms. Yoon.”

“Thank you, Ms. Yoon!” Soomin chirps, high-pitched and saccharine sweet. She comes over to Seungkwan and hugs her. “Love you, mom!

“Love you, sweetheart,” Seungkwan murmurs as she squeezes Soomin back. It almost feels like a silent communication of this is okay, this is what I wanted to see when I helped organize this scheme to invade your personal business because I had a sneaking suspicion. 

“Bye Ms. Boo! Bye Coach!” Hana waves at them as the three head out.

Once the door is closed Seungkwan slumps against it with a sigh. The pair stare at each other, and all it takes is a slight wavering in Seungcheol’s lips for them to burst into laughter. 

“Oh my god, I’m so getting back at Jeonghan after that. What the fuck?” Seungcheol manages between laughs. 

They should be freaking out, probably. But Seungkwan felt the reassurance from her daughter, and she’s sure Seungcheol saw it, too.

Seungkwan holds her stomach, bending over as she giggles. “It’s so over!”

“Maybe not,” Seungcheol says as she catches her breath. “Jeonghan won’t spill secrets; she’s just nosy. I doubt she’ll tell anyone except Minghao, but…”

There’s the silent acknowledgement of Soomin and Hana, and how the entire team has likely already been informed.

“Did Jeonghan actually text you?” Seungkwan asks as she checks her own phone, only seeing a notification from a few minutes ago that their delivery driver is on the way.

“Of course not!” 

Their food arrives shortly after they finally stop giggling. They set themselves up so they’re sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, backs against the couch. Apparently, sudden confrontations from your loved ones are really hunger inducing, because they absolutely destroy the entire meal in record time. 

“That was delicious,” Seungcheol says with a pleased sigh, resting against the couch and tilting her head back onto the cushion. 

Seungkwan beams at the sight of Seungcheol, fed and happy. “That’s our favorite place to order from.” 

“I can see why.” Seungcheol’s head lolls to the side until it rests on Seungkwan’s shoulder. “Thank you. Sorry I messed up the cooking.”

“Don’t worry about it. It was cute.”

Seungcheol hums. She flips her hand over where it’s resting on her knee. Seungkwan puts hers on top of it. Their fingers lace together. 

“Can I say something crazy?”

“You’ve never asked before doing it before— ow!”

Seungkwan pinches the skin on Seungcheol’s hand in retaliation. “Be nice to me! I'm trying to be vulnerable.”

“Fine, I’m sorry.” Seungcheol squeezes her hand. “Of course you can.”

Seungkwan feels more nervous than she should be. It’s ridiculous, the way Seungcheol always makes her feel like a kid with a crush. “Now that we know that we won’t be interrupted again… I really want to kiss you.” 

Seungcheol’s head lifts, turning to look at Seungkwan. Her eyes are comically wide in a way that would make Seungkwan laugh in any other situation. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Seungkwan murmurs, bringing her hand to Seungcheol’s cheek. “Have for a while.”

“Well, I guess that means you should.”

Seungkwan doesn’t waste any time before leaning in. 

Seungcheol’s lips are soft and gentle against hers, following Seungkwan’s lead. Seungkwan isn’t known to be all that patient, though, so it doesn’t take long for her to deepen it, parting her lips to coax Seungcheol along with her. She shifts so she can sit in Seungcheol’s lap, careful to avoid her bad knee but not letting their lips part. Seungcheol hums as her hands immediately come to Seungkwan’s waist and squeeze. 

They only part when Seungkwan feels a bit dizzy and needs to breathe. Seungcheol has a dopey smile on her kiss-swollen lips. The sight makes Seungkwan laugh and pet Seungcheol’s hair before ruffling it. 

“Cute,” she murmurs, mostly to herself. Seungcheol still hears it and her smile only grows.

They end up sitting on the couch, Seungcheol’s arm around Seungkwan’s shoulders as some random movie plays on the TV, her fingertips tapping the soundtrack’s rhythm on her arm. Seungkwan is fidgeting with Seungcheol’s other hand. 

“When do we tell them?” Seungcheol asks, words slurred together like she’d been holding back the question for a while. 

Seungkwan sits up and stares at Seungcheol. “I know that’s not your way of asking me to be your girlfriend,” she deadpans, despite her heart now skipping in her chest and the overwhelming urge to say yes! to a question that wasn’t asked. 

“‘m sorry,” Seungcheol murmurs, adjusting their hands so she can lace their fingers together. She then brings them up to her lips, kissing the top of Seungkwan’s hand. “Boo Seungkwan, would you do me the honor of—”

Seungkwan kisses her with no hesitation. 

—

Everyone’s reaction to the news is a variation of ‘about time.’ Jisoo tries to manipulate Seungkwan into helping her pay the money she now owes Jeonghan. She'd bet that it was going to take longer and accuses Seungkwan of helping Jeonghan cheat. Seungkwan gives her a firm no and tells her how audacious it is to ask for money after losing a bet regarding her love life. Jisoo just shrugs and goes to ask Mingyu, who folds immediately. 

They plan a day to sit Soomin down and tell her. Seungcheol is pacing the apartment.

“You’re stressing me out,” Seungkwan whines, standing up from the couch and catching Seungcheol in her arms. The woman melts into Seungkwan, burying her face in the nape of her neck. “It’ll be okay. Soomin probably won’t be surprised. She’s been teasing me about you since the beginning.”

Seungcheol pulls away with wide eyes, her hands sliding down to Seungkwan’s waist. “You never told me that!”

“Because it’s embarrassing! My twelve-year-old daughter knew I had a crush on you before I could accept it myself.”

“Awe, you have a crush,” Seungcheol coos, as if she isn’t her literal girlfriend. Seungkwan scowls and shoves Seungcheol’s hands away, causing her to whine and chase after her. “Nooo I’m sorry, come back.”

Before Seungkwan can say anything, the sound of the front door’s keypad beeping sounds out. Seungcheol’s teasing expression instantly vanishes. 

“It’ll be okay,” Seungkwan murmurs, squeezing Seungcheol’s arm. 

“I’m home!” Soomin calls out, the door slamming behind her.

“I’ve told you about slamming the door!” Seungkwan scolds.

“It does that on its own!” Soomin argues as she turns the corner and enters the kitchen. She stops at the sight of Seungcheol. 

Seungkwan sees Seungcheol fidgeting out of the corner of her eye, so she grabs her hand and holds it tight. Soomin tracks the movement and looks between them for a beat before laughing—laughing!—and adjusting her grip on her backpack that’s slung over one shoulder. 

“Ugh. Gross. But finally.” She walks to the kitchen table and sets her bag on top of it. “What’s for dinner?”