to a heart without shape,

simple enough. kou had taken two painkillers, his headache from the evening only getting worse with each sound that yulhee made. it's not as though he dislikes this ( sleeping with her ) – but his ears feel a little sensitive and truth be told, yulhee feels a lot louder than the average person he's ever been with. or the average person, period.

he hadn't really been in the mood either, so it's not too much of a kill either way. he takes a seat on the couch, and what was supposed to be simply five minutes of rest had turned into fifteen, and kou was now lying down, head resting on a pillow as he stared at the ceiling.

his migraine was subsiding now, the loud thumping in his head almost gone. maybe he could get some sleep after this. what about dinner? kou didn't usually like to skip dinner... but it felt as though he needed to. maybe some soup? and chicken? oh that sounded good. his mind wanders off, thinking about what to eat as he relaxes into the couch – that is of course until he hears a familiar voice.

oh right. sex.

he asks, lying there shirtless, head resting against a pillow as though he’s just cozying up for a nap. no, not as though - he is about to take a nap. while she’s there. in his room. waiting on him.

“...was i waiting on you?...”, she starts off, voice low and fists curled up tight. wow. how can that much audacity be contained in one human being? “what the fuck do you think!? did you assume i was just casually taking a nap over there, in a stranger’s bed, with my panties halfway down my thighs? are you out of your mind?!”

her voice raises with each word; she takes firm steps towards the couch until she is towering over kou, her whole body shaking with anger. she's been used and betrayed by many people in her life, but this is a new low that she is not sure she can simply work through. at least, not without a lot more shouting first.

she's suddenly decided on making sure to give him a good reason for his migraine.

"is this how you treat every woman you bring back here? do you use them and discard them as you please? do you always treat them like toys that you can just leave behind when you're tired of playing with them? you're the worst! the actual worst!"

there are tears welling up in her eyes now. yulhee has never been above crying in front of others - and if she's being completely honest with herself, there's a part of her that wants kou to see just how much he's hurt her. maybe he'll apologize and try to make it better... would she accept it? she wants to say no, because that would be pathetic.

yes, of course she would accept it.

"i can't believe this... i thought you were a good guy..." she lets her words trail off. the tears are running down her cheeks now, and she shakes her head before suddenly storming off to the bedroom.

of course yulhee is full of only the best ideas. it's why yinuo adores going to these sorts of events with her; they play off of each others' energy well. a little sexy and a lot of fun. "oh, wait, you're brilliant," she scans around for the water balloons, trying to plan out their next path after getting something to drink. "do you think i'm hot enough to go viral? oh, i should ask about luck instead. i know i'm hot." she grins, and it's their turn in line. yinuo steps up to order herself a citrus cider before turning to yulhee for her order. "my treat," she assures the other.

she bumps her peachy drink against the other’s and laughs again. she can’t really argue with yinuo’s logic. “ah~ i know what you mean~ this place is full of temptations~ and they’re all wearing short shorts and getting wet, how is it even allowed!?” there’s been a few that caught her attention the most, though in true yulhee fashion she gets too excited about spending time with her friends to really focus on hunting. 

“hmm. okay but wait, i have an idea.” her drink stops halfway to her mouth and suddenly she’s almost jumping in place, buzzing with the prospect of having a little fun with yinuo again. “how about a bet? we’ll record each other doing the challenge, and whoever catches the most attention wins! or something like... the first one to get asked for her number... or something... ah, do you see where i’m going?” she’s almost talking over herself by this point as she gestures frantically with her hands. 

@yulbe

it is the perfect day for waterbomb. yinuo had only spent about two hours on her outfit only to end up wearing pretty much what every other girl was wearing; swimsuit top, shorts, and a light coverup for when the confidence just wasn't hitting right. it doesn't stop her from absolutely gushing over her friend's outfit though, even if yulhee didn't exactly break the status quo either. "you're so hot!" yinuo squeals, pure excitement lighting up her face. "your tits look so good in that top, i'm not even kidding."

"c'mon, let's get something to drink. i'm dying out here and i'm not nearly wet enough to cool off," she grabs onto the other girl's arm excitedly, taking the lead despite having no idea where she's going. yinuo isn't exactly the best navigator to begin with and she certainly didn't memorize the map or anything beforehand. how hard can it be anyway? she manages to find a stand with sodas on display and gets in line before anyone else can sneak in before them. "would it be a waste if i bought a bottle of water just to dump it on my head?" she asks her friend with a grin. she won't actually do that. probably.

this time she’s with yinuo, and it proves to be an entirely new experience. whereas before she was the one tugging her friends along and reminding everyone they’re supposed to be looking wet and hot at the same time, now she feels as though she has a partner in crime that can truly enjoy all that the festival has to offer with her. “i know, right~? i waited all summer to wear this, and it’s soooo worth the wait. but hey, look at you in those shorts, who knew you were packing so much, huh~?” yulhee turns her friend around by the waist lightly, and laughs as a nearby water gun sprinkles them with water at the right time. it’s what they’re there for, anyway. 

but it’s not enough, she can agree with yinuo on that. she’s too hyped up about the crowd to really pay attention to landmarks or anything of the short, though, so she just lets the other girl guide her to what seems to be a soda vendor. “yah, if that’s what you want i can just get a water balloon over there and pop it over your head. oh, maybe we can record that in slow motion~ it would be a fun reels for sure~ and you’d get soooo wet from it, isn’t that what you want, naughty girl~?”, she winks. 

when she does find yulhee, there's the butterflies raging in her stomach from her hug, the quirk of intrigue that rises at their quick, slightly too friendly peck , and sooyoung worries that maybe her hands are going to be a little clammy as yulhee's finds hers to drag her along with her too. it's normal, and that in itself is more comfortable than anything.

the friends that yulhee introduces seem fun enough, and she misses nearly everyone's name as she fumbles under yulhee's gaze, keenly aware of the warmth it stirs. "oh yul nooooo i-" sooyoung starts to protest at mention that she's not 'wet enough', before remembering that this is yulhee, and yulhee always gets her way when it's between the two of them, and she sighs, raising her hands in surrender as yulhee demands the dance challenge.

she also doesn’t miss the sudden rosy tint flaring up on sooyoung’s cheeks, and yulhee has to hold herself back from kissing her some more - if only because they do need to figure out what they’re doing next. the makeout session can wait until they have their plans aligned. still, she leans in a little too into her when the other pulls her hand up to her chest, and stares a little too intently at sooyoung’s lips from so up close. “i can help with that. open up~”, she raises her free hand that is still holding the water gun and raises her eyebrows suggestively. 

he's trying to be kind to himself, though, and he's trying to enjoy things being better now, too. in some ways, they're better than ever, really. hopefully, next time he's in a rut, he can use this all as an example of the temporal nature of suffering. sure, happiness is temporary too, but - that's a train of thought for another day.

the fact that yulhee sent a whole ass driver for him is a lot, because he can drive his normal car that is very sufficient, but he knows better by now than to try to argue with yulhee over things that are ultimately inconsequential.

instead, he tries to enjoy the solitude, knowing that it will very soon be anything but quiet.

and yet somehow witnessing yulhee's exuberance in person catches him off guard. she hugs him, and he wraps his arms around her in turn. "hi," he chuckles, then just blinks at the bombardment of questions. "everything was good," he says simply. hopefully that suffices. he'd much rather talk about other things.

and the next subject of discussion is why he's been ignoring her. of course it is. at least she doesn't look legitimately mad, even as she goes on and on...he feels a little bad. "i was ignoring everyone," he tries to assure her, but figures that's actually...not reassuring. it's the truth, though. "i was...going through some things. i'm sorry." he wishes he could say it won't happen again, he hates to make promises he isn't sure he can keep.

her shoe is back to tapping against the floor, cheerfully this time. “lots of muses? tch, you’re such a player. still, i’ll bet i’m the cutest. and to prove that, you should write me another song. or! let me sing one of your songs. like, professionally or whatever. i can pull off some rock music!” she can’t. she really, really can’t. though it would be hilarious to see.

she has the decency to drop the act quickly though, and instead she takes a long look at the menu, fighting off the urge to just order three desserts for dinner. she then sighs dramatically as she picks up the conversation again. “hmm, but isn’t that lonely?” and there it is. those rare moments of insight that make her friendship actually worthwhile. well, that and all the free dinners. ”to go through stuff alone? you know you don’t have to. i’m more than just a pretty face, jung joomi.” she flips her hair and giggles, then shifts gears to a more serious tone again, staring at him in what she hopes is a comforting manner - as though she can see him truly, through all the barries he puts up. or something to that effect. “you can count on me to help you out no matter what. especially now that i moved back here. you’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

kou is no stranger to casual hook-ups, though he isn't exactly the type to do it often. still, when he finds someone attractive, someone interesting, he does allow himself to be pulled in by their energy. it's exactly how he's found himself in this situation.

yulhee is nice, if anything she's sweet as well ( though she does talk quite a bit, something that kou himself doesn't practice. he's used to being the listener instead. a man of very little words ). and it helps that she's really pretty. pretty enough to have kou interested in a casual night together.

oddly enough, it felt like a blur—but that’s consistent with most of how yuwol spends his days, lately. he doesn’t really know what waterbomb is, nor was he actually interested to find out. but somehow, he’s here anyway, in what feels like minimal clothing than what he’s used to. after all, he’s much more comfortable with wearing several layers, especially when he’s wandering about outside. it’s summer though, and there’s no way he could get away with his usual attire to this festival. he’d probably suffer from heatstroke.

still, the biggest reason why he’s here is because of @yulbe, who was very convincing in her attempt to drag yuwol out of… what was essentially jail. it isn’t as hard now, mostly because he had been steadily sticking to the curfew that was set out for him and attending every demanding lesson. sure, his eyebags are darker and he doesn’t even know what rest means now, at least it’s getting relatively better.

“this is so strange…” he comments aloud, but he doesn’t mean to be judgmental. “sorry, i’ve just never really been to such a high energy… festival. not to this degree, anyway.” he hums, scanning the area slowly, simply studying his surroundings. what else can he do? join in on the fun?

(not that she needs it, though).

“this is your opportunity to let loose, han yuwol! to forget all about family issues and rejections, and to have fun. when was the last time you had fun, anyway?” while she isn’t privy to the exact details, she’s aware enough to pick up from context clues that yuwol’s relationship with his family is difficult. it was hard enough to convince him to leave the house, and the vague comments about not being able to stay out until night time made her worried. the concept of being restricted at home is entirely foreign to her, and perhaps this is why it’s so easy for her to say just have fun. she’s never had a reason not to, truly.

“i’m not letting you out of my sight, unless it’s because you’re too busy with someone else.” another comment that would be inconceivable for many people, but not for kim yulhee. “i didn’t go through all this trouble only to have you bail on me while i’m distracted with prizm.”

@yulbe

yejun's not quite sure how he keeps ending up out with yulhee. she's a nice girl and all (if he's using the term generously at least) but their personalities are such a dramatic clash. yejun is quiet and reserved, he thinks before he speaks, and he's careful with his words and actions. yulhee is the opposite in every way: loud, outgoing, brash, impulsive... when he thinks about it like that, maybe she's not that nice of a girl after all.

she was yapping away about something that yejun was only half-pretending to pay attention to when he feels that tell-tale ache begind behind his right eye, crawling up his forehead until it takes root there and begins to bore its way in. he knows what will come next; the pulsing, the sensitivity to light and sound, the overwhelming urge to go home and crawl under his blankets and try to block out the world until the headache has passed. it's just his luck that he's out and about with possibly the worst person for him in this state.

"sorry to interrupt," he says, though he isn't really all that sorry. "do you have any aspirin on you? headache."

yulhee finds herself smiling as they walk together. he’s not her type, and she’s fairly certain she’s not his type either (which is wild to her, truthfully), but he’s still a very good looking young man that she’s more than happy to hang out with. he’s on the quieter side, which bothers her some, though on the other hand it makes for a great listener. 

she happily goes on and on about another one of her stories from her time as a trainee - since that is basically a huge part of her personality at this point -, making sure to include all possible details on people yejun has never even heard of. her ego aside, it’s a way for yulhee to keep those memories alive, too; and a promise to herself that one day she’ll have new stories to tell rather than just live in the past.

it’s in the middle of one such story that she is interrupted, and at first she thinks nothing of it;  it’s only when yejun feels the need to clarify the request that yulhee actually gets suspicious. “not because of me, huh? right, that’s totally convincing.” she eyes him up and down with one eyebrow raised, her lips suddenly pursed together.

— send me a "✏️" and i will shuffle my music library and write an AU drabble for our muses based on what comes up !

maybe his mind does wander a little bit. maybe he gets caught up in window shopping, absently raking his eyes over various bits and bobs in the displays they walk by. maybe that's how yulhee pulls ahead without him noticing until he realizes that the world is a little quieter than it was a moment ago. it's only for a moment though; yulhee is back in a flash, pulling on his arm and chastising him for leaving her (even if he hadn't even truly been out of eyesight, just not glued to her side like she probably wanted).

"we're the same age," he reminds her, perhaps a little uncomfortable with being called 'oppa' when there's really no reason for her to be speaking to him that way. he supposes that some men probably find it cute. yejun just finds it awkward.

he's at the mercy of yulhee's whims when suddenly they're accosted by two men and a camera. at first, yejun braces himself for some dumb tiktok prankster or something equally miserable. but it's not that, it's some sort of interview, and while he's never heard of nemo's dream before in his life, yulhee seems familiar with it. it's not often that he feels like he can trust her, but he'll give it a shot this once.

she clings to yejun’s arm unashamedly. “thank you, thank you, oppa!”, she chirps as she readies herself for their questions. it’s as though she’s lived her entire life just for this moment.

yulhee takes the lead for most of the part, as one would expect out of her. her answers are vague enough that the interviewer is satisfied, probably due to how intensely she emphasizes what are the correct ways to court a lady in her opinion, and there’s very little room for yejun to intervene. it isn’t until the very last question that she is left speechless. 

“you seem like you know exactly what you want - he had to follow your instruction manual to get you to date him, huh? tell us, young man, how was it like?”

it just doesn’t feel like his place to be, even more so with all the couples walking around because of the interview topic. was it for a youtube channel? yuwol doesn’t know the details, wasn’t even trying to find out either. but it’s something along those lines, and yuwol doesn’t think his views of romance in general is conventional enough to be heard by the masses. nor does he have good experience to share.

he’s eager to stride towards the end of the street, avoid the camera crew so he doesn’t have to talk and show his face to a larger audience again. especially after the events of next gen, which his parents never approved of. he finds himself obstructed by another figure standing before him though, and he blinks, until his brain matches a name to a face. and also because he usually remembers people with a louder personality like yulhee’s.

“i didn’t really get anything this time,” he answers her questions one-by-one. patiently. “ah… i haven’t actually considered getting anyone a proper gift from here. there’s no special occasion for that.” but there doesn’t need to be, so his answer is null. “is that what you’re doing here?”

yulhee’s smile widens as he accepts her invitation. the prospect of getting sugar in her blood system makes her giddy, and she nearly skips along with him as they stroll down the street towards the ice cream shop. “huh, i can imagine. you guys all have very different schedules, right? but i’m sure it’ll be much easier now that next gen is over~ how are you feeling about that, by the way? if you want to share, of course - but i watched every episode and i was really, really rooting for you!” she was cheering on other people more than yuwol, but of course he doesn’t need to know that. “i’ve missed out on a bunch of contract opportunities, too, but that’s okay. our time will come!