i really love your style of writing! could you do one where either byul or yong generally has trouble sleeping and tends to work their way through their stress to the point of complete exhaustion and the other notices one day so they try to take care of them? thanks so much!
Hi anonnie! I’m so sorry this was in my drafts for ages :( I hope this is okay. Note that I wrote this in the middle of a chronic pain flare so the editing may be shitty lmao 😅
CW: insomnia, allusion to nudity but in a non sexual context
"Byul-ah, how did that look?" Yongsun was breathing heavily as she asked her girlfriend, glancing at Hyojung beside her.
Byulyi just gave them both a thumbs up and a cheeky smile, "Looking just a good as the last two run throughs, Yong."
Yongsun and Hyojung had been perfecting their choreography for "Yummy" for hours by then. Yongsun was adamant that something wasn't right and she wanted to fix it, though she wasn't sure what she was fixing. Byulyi insisted they looked great but Yongsun wasn't inclined to believe that unless she saw it herself.
"Yongsun-ah," Byulyi sighed when she recognized the look on her girlfriend's face, "Come here."
Hyojung had retreated to where her purse was, sipping at her water bottle as she scrolled through her phone. Yongsun pouted at Byulyi but still made her way over, searching her girlfriend's face for any indication that she wasn't being truthful about her thoughts on the dance.
Byulyi handed her a bottle of water and tugged her closer, reaching behind Yongsun's head to gently pull her hair from its messy knot. She smoothed down her girlfriend's hair as she kept the scrunchie on her own wrist, looking at her for another moment before speaking.
"You are doing so well," Byulyi promised, "And the choreography has looked great the every time you've done it today. Please stop worrying so much, Ddun."
Yongsun grumbled under her breath before replying, "It's missing something."
"Babe," Byulyi huffed, "It's perfect. It's almost 2 AM, can we please call it a night? You don't want to keep Hyojung awake all night, do you?"
Glancing at the clock across the room to confirm her girlfriend's words, the blonde pouted again, "But-"
"You look exhausted. Pushing yourself too hard for a video is something you promised wouldn't happen."
"Byulyi, I'm fine," Yongsun insisted, giving her girlfriend a pouty look that usually won her over. Byulyi wouldn't budge this time though, ignoring her puppy eyes to call over to the other dancer.
"Hyojung, do you want to call it a night? It's getting late and we'd hate to keep you up."
The other woman looked up from her phone and smiled in their direction, "If you're ready to, Yongsun. We could meet after your schedule on Wednesday and film?"
Yongsun sighed in defeat and glared lightly at Byulyi, "That sounds good. Thank you for staying so late with us."
"No problem! I had fun, you're a really good dancer, Yongsun-ah."
She started packing up her things, stopping to shut off the sound system for them. Byulyi gave Yongsun an apologetic smile and motioned for her to grab her stuff too. The older obeyed, albeit all while grumbling quietly to herself.
"Bye, Byulyi! Bye, Yongsun!" Hyojung called cheerfully as she left the practice room, "See you later."
The couple echoed her goodbyes, almost done gathering up their own things. Yongsun looked at her girlfriend pointedly as she grabbed Byulyi's fluffy black jacket and put it on herself.
"You act like I'm going to complain about that," Byulyi teased, "I like it when you wear my clothes, Ddun."
"Shush," Yongsun grumbled, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She was clearly exhausted and her endorphins from dancing all day were beginning to crash. Her eyes drooped sleepily and she was having trouble maintaining her grumpy attitude due to that.
"Yong," Byulyi sighed, "Don't be mad at me. I'm just worried about you, you work so hard and I adore your determination but you need to slow down sometimes."
"I know you are," she wrapped an arm around Yongsun's waist, "But you're also human and you need rest. Stressing yourself out about Solarsido is not a good idea. It's supposed to be fun for you and if the company thinks it's affecting your other work they'll want you to stop or cut time working on videos."
Yongsun huffed but didn't pull away, instead she mumbled a reply, "I hate it when you're right."
"I know you do, baby," Byulyi laughed a little. She kept her arm around Yongsun's waist as they made their way out to the parking lot. Sure there were cameras all over the company building but skinship was to be expected between them; besides it was 2:00 AM and Byulyi just wanted to comfort her grumpy girlfriend.
Once they reached Byulyi's car, she opened the passenger door for Yongsun. The older woman thanked her quietly, climbing into the seat and shutting the door behind her. Byulyi got into the driver's side and buckled up before glancing at Yongsun.
"Mine or yours?" She asked softly, "Unless you want to be alone tonight. Whatever you want, Yong."
"Yours," Yongsun replied without a thought, "Your bed is comfy and bigger."
The younger laughed and nodded, "Alright." She started the car and reversed out of the parking space, absentmindedly passing Yongsun the AUX cord so she could plug her phone in. Her girlfriend took it and fussed around with her phone for a bit before deciding on a song. Byulyi smiled shyly at her when she realized it was her own solo, the soft melody of In My Room playing through the car's speakers.
"This is probably my favourite song of yours," Yongsun murmured, "Your voice suits this kind of vibe."
Byulyi hummed, still a little shy about her vocal ability, "Thank you, baby. I'm quite fond of this one too."
Her girlfriend gave her a sleepy half-smile before resting her head against the car window. Byulyi saw her slouch a little in her peripheral and watched as she closed her eyes, sighing a little.
"Don't fall asleep if you don't wanna be carried, Yong," she teased, knowing how much the older hated being picked up.
"I'm awake," Yongsun's words were so heavy with fatigue that they contradicted their meaning. Her girlfriend just laughed, turning the music down to a more comfortable volume and continuing to drive home.
Not much later, Byulyi pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex, parking in her usual spot. She glanced over at Yongsun as she unbuckled, finding her girlfriend had indeed dozed off. She shook her head fondly as she got out of the car, collecting her bag and Yongsun's and swinging them over her shoulder.
Coming around to the passenger side, the younger opened the door and caught her girlfriend's head before she fell forward. Yongsun grumbled at the movement and Byulyi shushed her gently, brushing her hair out of her face as she spoke.
"Ddunnie, I told you not to fall asleep."
Byulyi laughed and poked her soft cheek, "Then open your eyes and let's go home."
"Mm," Yongsun's eyes fluttered open and she looked at her girlfriend with a tired smile, "I like when you say that like it's our home."
Byulyi shrugged, "My home is whenever you are, love."
She laughed at the older's annoyed retort, reaching around her to unbuckle Yongsun's seatbelt. Her girlfriend wiggled out of the seat, half leaning against Byulyi the whole time. The younger just chuckled at her clinginess, knowing this came with her exhaustion, and half carried her girlfriend towards the building entrance after locking her car.
They took the elevator up to Byulyi's floor, Yongsun having let go of her but still kept a light grip on her hand. Byulyi glanced down at her, noticing the way her eyes drooped and her brow was furrowed. That was the face of a tired yet worried Yongsun, her mind clearly full of thoughts that wouldn't allow her to relax. She would have to fix that, Byulyi concluded, because a stressed out girlfriend was never a good sight.
After Byulyi unlocked the door, Yongsun wandered into the living room and promptly flopped onto the couch. Her girlfriend laughed a bit at the sight, setting their bags down and hanging up Yongsun's coat.
"Don't tell me you're going to fall asleep right there," she teased as she came over to the couch, "You'll make your back hurt, baby."
Byulyi had crouched down to untied her running shoes, gently tugging them off Yongsun's feet. She set them down by the couch, planning on putting them away later.
"I know you're tired, Ddun. Why don't I run you a bath first, aching muscles are the last thing you need right now."
Yongsun hummed noncommittally, hiding her face in the sleeve of Byulyi's coat. Her girlfriend sighed and patted her thigh gently, getting to her feet and heading towards the bathroom.
After starting the bath, Byulyi rummaged around in the cupboard in search of a particular thing. She quickly found the lavender Epsom salts she was looking for, knowing they would both ease Yongsun's overworked muscles and calm her mind a bit. She dumped a fair amount into the water, steam rising in the bathroom and fogging up the mirror. She added a sweet, floral scented bath bomb that Yonghee had gifted to her around Christmas time, figuring Yongsun would enjoy the scent as well.
Leaving the water to run a bit longer, she wandered back out into the living room. To her surprise, Yongsun was sitting up, phone in hand and the concerned furrow back in her brow.
"Yongsun," Byulyi sighed, "No more work tonight."
"I need to talk to editor unnie, Byulyi," Yongsun muttered, "I need this solarsido edited as soon as possible and she needs to know what I want done."
"Baby, please," Byulyi sat down beside her, "You're tired and it's late. I promise unnie knows how to edit, she's been doing it for years. Let yourself relax, just for tonight."
"Ddun, I love you and your determination is very admirable. I know you love to work but you need to slow down sometimes too. Can you please just come take a bath and relax for a few minutes?"
Yongsun pouted, "I just want things to be ready for tomorrow."
"Fine," Yongsun huffed at her girlfriend's no-nonsense tone, "But only if you join me."
Byulyi would have liked to say it took a lot more persuasion to get her into the bathtub as well, but that would clearly be a lie. One pouty look from her girlfriend had the younger melting and she agreed immediately. So there she was, up to her neck in floral bath water, with Yongsun snugly in her arms.
Her bathtub did have enough room for them to sit across from each other comfortably, but Yongsun always preferred to sit in between Byulyi's legs and be in her embrace. Byulyi certainly never complained, enjoying this unadulterated, private closeness that they didn't often get to have. Schedules had been busy since before Christmas, even despite the quarantine and all, so they hadn't had much quite time to spend alone in the last while.
Yongsun was finally letting herself relax, her eyes falling closed as she leaned against her girlfriend's solid body. The warm water was a nice escape from the cold winter outside, especially since she had been dancing and moving all day. She hated to admit it, but Byulyi had been right; she needed to slow down and rest like this.
"Are you falling asleep on me again?" Byulyi murmured against Yongsun's neck, lips ghosting gentle kisses along her pulse point. Yongsun hummed at the contact and shook her head, not bothering to give a verbal reply.
"You wanna talk about what's got you so stressed?"
The blonde just sighed, slouching further into Byulyi's arms and tilting her head back to meet her eyes. She didn't want to talk about it, she wanted to continue to relax in the comfort silence they'd created in the warmth of the bathroom. She knew she couldn't escape it though, Byulyi wanted to know why she was pushing herself so far.
"I just don't want to let Moomoos down," Yongsun mumbled, "I want them to be proud of me... I want you to be proud of me."
"Baby," Byulyi's voice was soft but not condescending, "You know I'm always proud of you. You know Moomoos will support you in whatever you do. None of us want to see you suffer because you pushed yourself too hard. We just want to see you happy."
"I just want to do so much," Yongsun sighed, closing her eyes to collect herself. Byulyi has begun rubbing her shoulders and neck gently, knowing that's where she held the majority of her tension, and the older melted against her touch. She couldn't be upset with her girlfriend for caring about her like this, she was really grateful for it, but she didn't want to talk about why she hadn't been sleeping lately.
"I know you do," Byulyi hummed, "You and that brilliant brain of yours have so many ideas. Time isn't going to run out, you know that? You have so much time in the future to do whatever video or music concepts you please, don't push yourself so much now."
"It feels like there's never enough time. I want to make our fans happy and give them content even when things are so uncertain right now. Even if we're not promoting I want to be there for them, you know?"
Her girlfriend nodded, pressing a kiss to Yongsun's cheek, "I understand, Yong. I agree, I want to always be there for moomoos. Interacting with them makes me just as happy, but they won't be happy to know you're sacrificing yourself for content."
"That's a bit dramatic, Byul," Yongsun scoffed, "I can stay up past 2 AM without dying or something."
"Of course you can. But working for fourteen plus hours a day and not resting near enough? That's not good for anyone, Yongsun. I'm just worried, you work so hard but even you need breaks."
With a large sigh, Yongsun turned a bit to look directly at the younger, "You're not gonna let it go, are you?"
Byulyi smiled at her annoyance, "Humour me, dear."
"I hate it when you're right," Yongsun pouted, "You get so smug about it."
"Oh hush," Byulyi absentmindedly ran her hand up Yongsun's arm to make sure she wasn't getting cold, "I just want to make sure you take care of yourself."
"Only because I love you," Byulyi said, pouting a little at Yongsun's dismissive attitude. She never liked when her girlfriend was upset, even if it wasn't exactly directed at her. She was afraid to push her too far; not wanting to coddle her or be too overbearing but worrying about her wellbeing too much to stay silent.
Sensing the hint of anxiety in Byulyi's tone, Yongsun took a hold of her hand and laced their fingers together. She made a point of relaxing further into her body, showing she wasn't actually mad, "I love you too, Byulyi. I know you mean well, I don't mean to sound so ungrateful. Thank you for caring so much."
"All I ask is that you take care of yourself," Byulyi replied softly, "Or let me do it for you."
Yongsun smiled, "You seem to be pretty good at it. You're sweet, you know that?"
They lapsed back into comfortable silence for a few more minutes, enjoying the quiet closeness together. Byulyi's arms rested lightly around Yongsun's waist, holding her close but for once never wandering. Yongsun was tracing shapes over the back of Byulyi's hand, feather light touches spelling out "I love you" on her skin.
"I love you too," Byulyi nuzzled into her neck after realizing what she was doing, "You're my world, Yongsun."
Yongsun squeaked a little at that, surprised at the sincerity in her tone, "Yah, don't get all mushy on me. You'll make me cry."
Byulyi laughed a little at that, feeling her wiggle in her arms out of shyness. She didn't reply, just kissed her shoulder to punctuate her earlier point. Eventually Yongsun settled down again, bonking her head lightly against Byulyi's shoulder and sighing contently.
"Time for bed? The water's getting cold."
Yongsun nodded at the preposition, shimmying out of her girlfriend's arms to stand up. She climbed out of the bathtub and grabbed a towel off the rack nearby, wrapping the soft blue fabric loosely around her body. She grabbed another one for Byulyi, holding out her hand to help her out of the water as well.
"Such the gentlewoman," Byulyi teased as she stood on the bathmat, letting Yongsun wrap the towel around her. Her girlfriend just smiled, leaning closer to drop a kiss to her exposed collarbone before heading in the direction of Byulyi's bedroom without a word.
Byulyi watched her go, amused, before turning to open the drain in the tub. She watched the pink tinted water empty for a moment before leaving the bathroom as well, shutting off the light behind her.
She found Yongsun in her room, clad only in her underwear with the towel draped precariously over her shoulders. She was rummaging through Byulyi's dresser, no doubt looking for pyjamas she had left on one of the other countless nights she stayed over.
Byulyi came over silently to grab her own pyjamas, reaching around Yongsun's body to take a shirt from the top of the drawer. Yongsun jumped a little, pouting up at her girlfriend.
"You scared me," she whined, still passing a pair of pyjama shorts to the younger.
"Maybe you shouldn't be so jumpy, Yong."
Byulyi frowned, leaning down to kiss her lightly, "Me? Mean? How dare you make such an accusation, Miss Kim."
Yongsun rolled her eyes at the theatrics but still stood on her toes to kiss her again, "You're annoying."
"I know," Byulyi hummed as she moved away to get dressed, "But you love me anyway."
By the time Byulyi had pulled on her pyjamas, which were decorated with tiny corgi decals, Yongsun had already plopped herself onto her bed. Her girlfriend turned to find her sprawled out on top of the blankets, wearing one of Byulyi's long t-shirts with her hair tumbling from its haphazard bun.
"Baby, you'd sleep better under the covers," Byulyi laughed and nudged her leg a little. Yongsun just grumbled, shimmying up the bed to lay on one of the pillows and allow her girlfriend to pull the blankets back.
"So grumpy," the dark haired woman said as she got into the bed as well. Yongsun just rolled towards her, wiggling until she had effectively squished Byulyi's thin body almost completely under her own.
Byulyi grunted a little at the sudden weight but just shifted until she could get comfy under her girlfriend. Yongsun hummed appreciatively at her compliance, snuggling as close as possible to the younger.
"My grumpy Ddun," Byulyi's voice was amused but not mocking, "Do you feel better now?"
Yongsun nodded, "Sleepy."
"I know, baby," Byulyi replied, "Have you been sleeping well lately?"
Yongsun gave a half shrug, "Mm, not really."
That made her frown, "Why not?"
"Dunno," the blonde leaned into her touch when Byulyi started playing with her hair, gently pulling it from the elastic and smoothing it down her back.
"That's not an answer, love."
Yongsun sighed and looked up at her, "Stressed. It's always because of stress, Byulyi. I just have a lot on my plate and I'm too preoccupied to sleep."
Byulyi gave her an apologetic look and hugged her a bit closer, "I'm sorry, Yongsun. You know I only ask because I care."
"It's okay to slow down for a bit," Byulyi reminded her softly, "You don't need to constantly be running around and doing so much."
"I know you do, baby. That's not logical though, if you stress yourself out with YouTube and work stuff you won't enjoy doing it anymore."
Yongsun sighed in defeat, once again knowing her girlfriend had a point, "I just want to make them proud..."
"You do," Byulyi replied immediately, "Moomoos, the girls and I, the staff, your family; we're all so proud of you. Never have we had a reason not to be, you're so wonderful, Yongsun."
The other woman sighed at that accusation, "Maybe I am but that just means I've seen how wonderful you truly are. I wouldn't lie to you, Yong."
"I love you, baby," Byulyi placed a hand on her cheek to look her in the eye, "I'm so proud of you and everything you've created."
Yongsun was silent for a moment, "God, I love you. What are you so sweet for?"
"Just telling the truth, sunshine."
"I'll try to slow down I just... I like being occupied."
Byulyi smiled, "All I ask is that you try. Don't stress too much, you'll do amazing with whatever you decide to do and you don't have to do everything at once."
Yongsun nodded, shifting a bit in Byulyi's arms to lean up and kiss her, "Thank you."
"For being so patient with me," she replied, "For always being here for me and believing in me. You don't know just how helpful that is."
"I do it because I love you," Byulyi shrugged, "And it's my job as your best friend and your girlfriend. Besides, you do the same for me, Yong."
Yongsun pouted a little, snuggling closer so she could hide her face in the crook of Byulyi's neck. The younger laughed a little and rubbed her back gently, holding to calm her down enough so she could sleep.
"Ready to sleep, Yongsun?"
The blonde hummed from her hiding place, "Yeah, tired."
"I know," Byulyi echoed her earlier reply, "You worked hard today, you deserve the rest."
"Can we sleep in tomorrow?" Her question was muffled and her tone was soft, as if she was already falling asleep.
Byulyi was a bit surprised, Yongsun didn't often ask for more rest time, "Of course we can, if you want, baby."
"Mm, good," the blonde answered, "I wan' cuddle with you."
"You're cuddling with me right now, silly," Byulyi hugged her a little closer, feeling her girlfriend's body relax against her own.
"Well, we can stay in bed for as long as you want, Ddunnie," Byulyi concluded, "You deserve all the rest and cuddles of course."
"You're the best," Yongsun lifted her head a little to look at Byulyi, "Gimme kiss, please."
The dark haired woman laughed at that, of course leaning closer to kiss her girlfriend soundly. Yongsun smiled sleepily against her lips, clearly content having gotten what she wanted.
"Thank you," she hummed, "I love you."
"I love you too, my Yongsun," Byulyi replied as she settled down again, "Let yourself rest now, you've earned it."