Chapter Text
Chapter 5: Kiss and make up
“NAYEON HAVE I NOT WARNED YOU A THOUSAND TIMES?? YOU CAN LAY YOUR HANDS ON ANYTHING. LITERALLY ANYTHING BUT MY PRECIOUS LEGO COLLECTION FOR GOD'S SAKE!!” Jeongyeon cries out in despair as she looks down at her Thanos lego figure in ruins. She’d literally spent a week of blood and sweat carefully piecing it together. Only to be destroyed by the carelessness of Im Nayeon.
Jeongyeon kneels on the floor, cupping the shattered pieces like she’s trying to save a broken heart. Only it’s pointless because her efforts have all gone down the drain now. She snaps her head up at a guilt-ridden Nayeon, piercing her with a cold glare.
Nayeon doesn't say anything. Is afraid to. She knows how sensitive Jeongyeon is when it comes to her most treasured hobby - assembling lego figurines. Nayeon should have known better than to want to satiate that curiosity of hers. All this time they’ve been together, Nayeon has never bothered about the many delicate lego pieces sitting on Jeongyeon's glass shelf. She doesn’t understand what went through her mind tonight to want to lift the prized Thanos figurine against the light to take a better look at it. And her hands had all but slipped and now the result is a broken mess on the floor. And an angry Jeongyeon staring up at her, a fire slowly forming in her eyes. Nayeon shivers. With each tick of the clock hanging on Jeongyeon's room wall, Nayeon's heartbeat gets heavier and heavier. She's even having difficulty breathing just imagining how she's going to deal with Jeongyeon giving her the cold shoulder. Jeongyeon rarely gets angry with Nayeon, but when she does, it's never a good thing. Nayeon chides herself internally for having itchy fingers (again) and wishes the ground would swallow her up right now so she doesn't have to deal with Jeongyeon's wrath and whatever is about to come next.
Jeongyeon finally breaks eye contact with Nayeon and starts sweeping at the remaining pieces of lego on the floor with her hands. She scoops them all up, dropping them into an empty box on her table. Then she turns to Nayeon and heads for the door. Their shoulders bump but Jeongyeon doesn't even turn to look. She’s ignoring Nayeon. Nayeon is at an utter loss as she continues standing there, hands limp by her side. She balls her hands into fists and grips tightly at the hem of her t-shirt until her knuckles turn white.
-flashback-
Nayeon is reminded of a similar accident that happened when she was a kid. It was a Sunday evening. She was gleefully swinging her pink stuffed bunny around the house, but the ears of the bunny had somehow caught on the base of the flower vase on the coffee table. A loud shattering sound echoed throughout the living room and Nayeon’s mom had come running out from her room to see shattered glass all over the floor and table. She immediately pulled Nayeon aside by her arm, spanking her on the butt as she yelled at her. Nayeon remembered being in tears as she cried and screamed at her mom to stop while tightly hugging the stuffed bunny. Nayeon's sister had to come in to defuse the situation as she desperately tugged at her mom's arm, pulling her away from a sobbing Nayeon. The sisters watched in silence as their mom angrily cleaned up the broken glass after that.
-end of flashback-
After that incident, despite how careful Nayeon tried to be, she still found herself in one too many similar accidents. Nayeon had never really been known to be a careful person. In fact, her mother had always labelled her as a fairly clumsy person. Well, what a great time to claim the title now.
Although Nayeon is used to her mom's constant scolding and nagging by now, she can't say the same about Jeongyeon. Nayeon doesn't really know how to deal with an "angry Jeongyeon". That's probably one of the "top 10 most difficult tasks to accomplish" on her list. And great, because she's messed up big time in front of Jeongyeon tonight. As she snaps back from her less-than-pleasant memories of the past, she racks her brain on how to appease Jeongyeon right now. The entire house is silent, not a sound to be heard from outside. Only Nayeon and her nervous breathing in Jeongyeon's room. After a while, she hears soft mumbling voices, presumably coming from the TV outside. Jeongyeon has decided to distract herself by watching TV.
Nayeon cautiously creeps out of the room to the living room where Jeongyeon is slumped on the couch. Jeongyeon has probably noticed Nayeon's presence by now but chooses to ignore it anyway. Nayeon stands there for a few seconds just watching Jeongyeon. Trying to decipher whatever expression it is on her face. Nothing. She can't figure anything out. Instead she makes a quick escape to the kitchen, the invisible tension that’s slowly bubbling in the living room getting the better of her. Jeongyeon grabs a cushion beside her and hugs it tightly, eyes focusing on the TV screen.
Nayeon paces around the kitchen, trying to find something to distract herself. She opens Jeongyeon's fridge, eyes scanning the rows of shelves for something to snack on. Her eyes land on an apple right at the bottom shelf. That will do. She grabs it and walks towards the sink. As Nayeon is about to cut up the apple, she realizes her hands are trembling. She's more nervous than she thinks. About trying to make up with Jeongyeon over her silly mistake. As she picks up the knife and slices downwards, her hands slip on the knife handle and she cuts right down on the tip of her index finger. "OW OW OW OW!" She clutches her bleeding finger, yelping repeatedly. She mentally curses herself. Blood is gushing out of her wound and the clean white chopping board is starting to turn a crimson red colour. She immediately turns on the tap, placing her finger under the running water to rinse the blood away. She then does the same for the chopping board, quickly scrubbing at the blood stain, lest Jeongyeon finds another thing to be angry with Nayeon about. The apple sits miserably on the countertop, an inch of its skin grazed by the knife blunder from a minute ago.
As Nayeon is staring at her finger wondering what to do with it, a shadow appears behind her.
"Let me see."
She turns around and it's Jeongyeon. There's a look of concern in her dark eyes as she stares at Nayeon's bloodied finger. Her eyebrows are furrowed, and her lips are pursed tightly together. Nayeon takes a step back, afraid of what Jeongyeon is about to say, or do. Instead, Jeongyeon just grabs a clean cloth from her cabinet, and presses it against Nayeon's finger to stop the bleeding. Then she's pulling her by the wrist, out of the kitchen into the living room. She sits Nayeon down on the couch and searches a nearby cupboard. She pulls out a clear box filled with some first-aid items. Plasters, alcohol swabs, cotton buds, ointment, bandages, you name it.
Nayeon stares silently as Jeongyeon takes a cotton bud and dips it into some ointment. She gently holds up Nayeon's hand and starts applying the ointment on Nayeon's wound. The sharp pain causes Nayeon to wince and pull back her hand. But Jeongyeon pulls it back towards herself, eyes focused on Nayeon's wound. After she applies a generous amount of ointment on Nayeon's finger, she gently blows on it so it can dry off quickly. Nayeon squirms every few seconds, much to Jeongyeon's annoyance. They sit there in awkward silence for a minute until Nayeon decides to speak up. Her eyes are cast down and her head hangs low, the remorse from earlier still evident in her shaky voice.
"Hey J-Jeong, I'm really sorry. About what happened earlier… it’s all my fault. I’m sorry for being such a clumsy person. I promise I’ll try to be more careful next time..." Nayeon’s voice is trembling as she blurts out an apology, praying hard that Jeongyeon can feel the sincerity in her words. She braces herself for a harsh scolding.
Meanwhile, Jeongyeon continues to dress Nayeon’s wound. She wraps a small yellow plaster with cute frog designs around Nayeon's finger, pressing lightly on the edges to make sure it's properly sealed. Cradling Nayeon's hand in her own, Jeongyeon brings it up to her lips and places a chaste kiss on Nayeon's plastered finger. Nayeon looks up at Jeongyeon in surprise.
"No... I'm sorry for getting unreasonably angry with you. It was just a figurine, and I know you didn't do it on purpose...I was wrong to have blown up at you too." Jeongyeon’s voice is forgiving yet apologetic at the same time. Nayeon feels her eyes start to water.
Jeongyeon continues, "and please be more careful baby… it breaks my heart to see you get hurt..." She holds up Nayeon's finger, kissing it once more, as she maintains eye contact with Nayeon, a soft warm smile plastered on her face.
Nayeon feels like melting because of just how sweet Jeongyeon is being. What did she ever do to deserve such an amazing person in her life? She bursts into tears at the sudden outburst of emotions she’s feeling.
Jeongyeon is taken aback as Nayeon weeps loudly in front of her. She tries to calm her down, "Hey hey why are you crying? Does it hurt? Where? Show me!" Nayeon weeps even louder, throwing her arms around Jeongyeon's neck and sobbing loudly into her T-shirt. Jeongyeon quickly wraps her arms around Nayeon, and gently pats Nayeon's back to soothe her.
Jeongyeon thinks to herself, “Nayeon crying like a baby in my arms is so precious and fragile, all I want to do is to protect and cuddle her like this forever.” Jeongyeon is extremely grateful that Nayeon is hers. They stay in this position for a few more minutes as Nayeon slowly calms down. Nayeon then looks up at Jeongyeon, eyes glistening, and asks, "Can you kiss me if you've really forgiven me?"
"Eh..." Jeongyeon gets a little flustered by Nayeon's sudden request. She sits there looking a little dazed, and Nayeon lips slowly turn down into a sad pout.
"Are you still mad at m-" but before Nayeon can complete her sentence, Jeongyeon uses her thumb and index finger to press Nayeon's upper and lower lip together. Nayeon looks like a duck with her lips sticking out.
"No baby how can I be mad at you? You're too cute to be mad at." She laughs and leans in, pressing her lips hard against Nayeon's. Nayeon feels her breath being sucked out of her as Jeongyeon eagerly kisses her. Nayeon kisses back just as hard and tilts her neck slightly, making it more comfortable for them.
Jeongyeon takes Nayeon's plump bottom lip between her teeth and sucks on it. Nayeon lets out a soft moan. She quickly pushes Jeongyeon down on the couch, climbing on top of Jeongyeon. Jeongyeon responds, holding on to Nayeon's waist and pressing Nayeon’s body down on her. As the kiss deepens, Jeongyeon's tongue begs for entrance, licking at the tip of Nayeon's lips. Nayeon willingly opens her mouth to allow Jeongyeon's tongue in. Their tongues engage in a heated battle, loud slurping noises filling the living room as they kiss and make up. Nayeon soon finds herself out of breath. But she’s in love with this feeling. This whole feeling of being with Jeongyeon, kissing Jeongyeon, making out on the couch with Jeongyeon. Being in love with Jeongyeon. She wouldn't exchange anything in the world for this.
She pulls away from the heated kiss, only because she's fully run out of breath. "Wow." She gasps. "I’ve probably kissed you a thousand times now, but you're such a great kisser Jeong."
"I just feel like I have to let you know." Nayeon is genuinely impressed. She licks her lips, relishing the taste of their kiss from a second ago.
Jeongyeon sheepishly scratches her cheek as she lets Nayeon's compliment sink in. She sits up on the couch and drags Nayeon along with her. "Let's go to my room."
"What are we gonna do?" Nayeon asks with nervous anticipation.
Jeongyeon eyes the box containing the pieces of lego and looks back at Nayeon. They exchange a few more glances before Jeongyeon excitedly exclaims "we're gonna rebuild this together!"
Nayeon lets out a defeated sigh. "Really now Jeongyeon...?"
"Yes. We're not sleeping until we finish this." Jeongyeon gives Nayeon the widest grin.
"Dammit, Yoo Jeongyeon. I knew I wasn't completely forgiven." Nayeon grumbles under her breath.
"What did you say?" Jeongyeon raises an eyebrow in Nayeon's direction.
"Oh nothing. I said you're the best girlfriend. God-given!"
Jeongyeon chuckles. "Oh really?"
They start working on the Thanos figurine from scratch. They divide the pieces according to colour first before starting to build it. Jeongyeon is so engrossed in putting the correct pieces together she doesn’t notice that Nayeon has slipped away from the floor. Onto Jeongyeon’s bed. Jeongyeon is halfway through completing the figure when she calls for Nayeon's help again.
"Nayeon can you pass me the purple piece from earlier?" Jeongyeon says without turning her head. No answer.
"Nayeon I sa-" Jeongyeon turns around to see Nayeon sprawled out on her bed. Her limbs are half hanging off the bed and she's snoring softly. Nayeon mutters something inaudible and turns to her side, grabbing hold of Jeongyeon's pillow. She curls up against Jeongyeon’s pillow, hugging it close to her face and continues sleeping. Jeongyeon shakes her head and smiles to herself. "What a cutie."
Jeongyeon decides to finish up the Thanos figurine the next day and tidies the mess on the floor before joining Nayeon on the bed. She adjusts the covers, pulling it up to Nayeon's chest. Nayeon instinctively snuggles up to Jeongyeon, nuzzling her face in Jeongyeon's chest. She slings her arms lazily around Jeongyeon's waist, shuffling even closer so their bodies are pressed up against each other. Drowsily, she mutters, "Jeongyeon-mmm I love you, I'm really sorry about your lego..."
"It's okay Nabongs~" Jeongyeon hums, stroking Nayeon's head and lulling her into dreamland.
"You're my clumsy baby after all." Jeongyeon teases. "But I still love you, my clumsy Nayeonie~"
Nayeon is too tired to fully get back at Jeongyeon for saying that, so she just makes a weak attempt at headbutting Jeongyeon in the chest. Jeongyeon laughs it off and grabs Nayeon, pulling her into a big bear hug. Moments later, Jeongyeon and Nayeon drift off into their slumber snuggled up in each other's arms.
Sometimes the comfort of home is not found in a place, but in a person's arms. And that is what Nayeon and Jeongyeon mean to each other. They're each other's homes.