come down

it’s suggested in a casual tone, despite the fact that taking such an initiative has always been more of chaerin’s thing in their friendship whereas kerry just stands by or agrees in her own, flustered way. with the tables turning, she half-expects the other to urge her — in some capacity — to repeat herself. “ clearly we wanna do something coupley… so why not be a couple for the night ? we can do one or two things that we both want to instead of pout all night and eat our weight in sugar. ” ( … even if she’d enjoy binging sweets ) of course, this is within the context of friendship, as engaging too heavily with that sort of approach might be considered crossing the line, but she’s DELIGHTED when the other comes to agree; she says as much before taking her hand and tugging gently, urging the older girl to get up so they can get ready.

an outfit change each and a drive into the city later, the girls are well on their way to their last minute adventures. kerry knows they can’t wine and dine like the excitable bachelorettes they are when the more upscale restaurants across the city are booked solid, but they can always go for burgers or pad thai after some time at the skating rink ! the brunette’s equipped with her skates this time and is a vision of fanciful comfort in her cute grey turtleneck and black skinny jeans under her warm winter coat — she would’ve donned those neglected fabrics in her storage bins or in the back of her closet if not for the constant chill she’d be subjected to — with a bright grin adorning her lips.

she’s by no means skilled in the sport, merely able to maintain enough balance NOT to wipe out too often alongside a sunny disposition, so she makes certain that rin won’t stray too far amid the few couples and kids already on the ice; ker interlocks their cold hands on this specific lap, laughter ringing out as a slight, uncontrollable tug of war occurs and has her wobbling a little.

an eventual branching out sees kerry trying her hand at an amateurish leg lift — no more than a couple of inches off of the ice — and wiping out no more than ten seconds later, giggling as she brings herself up to sit and wait for chaerin’s helping hand; regardless of the ice that has formed a semi-opaque dust along the back of her jeans, she’s ready to climb back up and subject her best friend to another half hour of watching her fall on her ass.

their excursion later takes them to a nice — and not particularly exclusive — restaurant for a meal, kerry savouring her salmon dish and dark chocolate mousse as her and rin spend the better part of an hour and a half talking about their night out so far, what else they should do and revisiting the goings-on of their lives; no amount of lip service regarding seul’s annual anti-valentine’s outings or what the single boys men in their friend group are doing in comparison could ever bore the girls. business is booming for the establishment from start to finish, squeezing their way out as a new wave of couples and friend groups infiltrate the space.

with their adventurous motivations somehow unsated, they take to walking a few blocks away from where they’ve parked and working off their delicious feast. the conversation continues from where they left off at the restaurant, still rather light in nature until the topic shifts to whatever romantic inclinations they’ve staved off for some time now. kerry eventually muses about her DREAM date on this special day; “ it’d be nice to just… spend time together, you know ? dinner and flowers would be nice, a bit of ambient lighting, and talking for hours about anything… it just sucks that i’d have to be in a very serious relationship for that to happen, because it surely won’t happen until i’m like, twenty-seven. ” she ends her little spiel with a light laugh, one that’s tinged in yearning and an inkling of self-pity with no awareness that she’s effectively opened pandora’s box until they both delve deeper into their desires and arrive at a statement from chaerin that stops ker dead in her tracks. aside from them turning around to walk back to the car. it takes her a few seconds to respond as the picture paints itself in her mind.

“ i want that too, ” is murmured as she stares off, mulling over that very vision. perhaps part of her eagerness to enter a relationship, to have the very experience she had tonight with a significant other, is her bountiful desire to have that idealistic romance for life, wanting companionship that would give her the love, affection and attention she yearns for but cannot possibly ask for from her friends. sure, she cuddles them all — save for cas and jun — gives a peck here and there, but it’s all from a purely platonic place… though jeremy would be an exception ( and she’d be lying if she lumped rin with the rest ). she just wants MORE, to experience it at the very least, and sooner rather than later; whether it’s long-term or not, kerry merely wishes to have something happen without hesitation before college is out — only dating after these sociable years, she fears, could leave her feeling awkward and inexperienced rather than certain and confident.

so she understands very well chaerin’s desires, takes them too far for a twenty-one year old with so much else going for her, and this sees her shuffling closer to the other as the distance to the car grows shorter. “ but it’ll happen soon enough, i’m sure of it. ” she sends a soft, sincere smile in rin’s direction, the warmth it radiates growing at the sight of her cute, rosy cheeks in the winter breeze. they all deserved something and someone good when each of her friends’ times came, but ker would twist fate to her liking just so chaerin could have it all ( and more ) when she yearns for it most — because her best friend deserves better than wishful thinking.

they make up for the lack of alcohol consumption when they return to the girls’ house, plopped unceremoniously beside each other on the couch with a couple of bottles of wine and a glass each before them on the table. having started in on the second just moments prior, kerry can feel the effects of intoxication gradually hitting her and assumes the same can be said for chaerin; they’re turned to each other as they talk, the show playing on the television being background noise and a momentary distraction when something of interest catches either’s ear, though it’s brief as they soon return to the conversation. it all began with a whine, one from the younger woman that she had fun, but was still hung up on the romanticism of the day — not particularly surprising as there were affectionate couples at every turn of their journey, though it didn’t faze her much in the moment and still doesn’t quite affect her… though her pout would have said otherwise.

rather than the heavier discussion they’d had on the walk back to the car, it’s filled with giggles and gentle touches, with ker twirling one of rin’s tresses absentmindedly as she keeps her gaze locked on the other’s face. the fashion major doesn’t fully see where it’s heading, the teasing quietly setting the tone for curiosity and impulse to take over; it finally comes together as they discuss their hookups — big and small — that both are aware of, ranging from dared kisses to sex before what could be considered the elephant in the room is addressed and soon becomes a point of contention on chaerin’s part.

“ ‘s an odd thing to bet, ” she grins, slipping to a sideways position as an arm supports the back of the couch, “ besides… ‘m not sure you are. ” she faintly recalls their new year’s eve kiss from over a year ago, where it was less like the light peck kerry would don on any of her willing friends, thus less friendly in the eyes of any possible observers; it’s hazy in the mind of the inebriated woman, though she did enjoy it — the extent to which would differ depending on who she’d talk about it with, if given the chance to — and could tell that the flush to her cheeks wasn’t just due to the cold after they’d parted. but with the details being lost on her, she winds up teasing the older of the pair, giggling as a result of her own retort. a whine follows, initiating a round of excitable bickering between them while their glasses remain untouched for several minutes, when kerry leans forward and extends her arm to fetch her own; her fingertips graze the cool glass before she grips it, shifting back to a more upward position as her gaze returns to chaerin. “ so, how would we figure it out, hm ? ” she has half of a mind to suggest a third party, a part of her unsure if it’s entirely a joke or if it’s a little more serious, so she dares not to voice it aloud as a result. however, it wouldn’t be as out of line to insert herself more than she already is. “ i’d vouch for you, but that was a long time ago. ”

the light giggle her own suggestion elicits trails off when it’s countered with the idea of them being each other’s test subjects, her lips still turned upward as she lets it settles in her mind. well, it’s counterproductive in her intoxicated mind, but she’s far from ruling it out as she doubts that anyone would be home for sometime to voluntarily be their guinea pig in chaerin’s proposal. ultimately, she shrugs at the particular test, “ we’ll probably be alone for a while, so we wouldn’t have to wait on an answer… ” glassy eyes display something of a go-ahead, a willingness which soon sees the pair leaving no space between and — kerry, specifically — waiting with bated breath for a mere second before they take up the challenge.

it doesn’t take long for it to be decisive, with the younger of the two perhaps the most RELAXED she’s been since taking things a little further than her standard quick pecks with her best friend and one of her housemates — thank you, alcohol — and letting chae take the lead.

“ you’re the better kisser, ” ker declares quickly, the brief separation all but forgotten about as her lips return to rin’s pink, plush pair — she can feel the slight rise and tightening of them, indicative of the other’s smile at the forfeiting of the debate — and a hand rests gently upon the elder’s shoulder. the fashion major can taste the wine and the remnants of rin’s lip balm now, the fruity flavours sweet on her tongue while the quiet sounds of their actions reach her ears and effectively drown out the noise of the television before them.