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Namsoon loves laundry days. In late spring, before the sticky heat arrives, she likes to hang the bedsheets on the line crossing their shared rooftop. Wind snaps the sheets out, fills them with the gentle bite of rosemary from one of the garden boxes in the corner. The sound the billowing sheets make lodges comfort deep and warm into her core.Here, on the roof under a clear sky with a textbook balanced on her knees, glass of iced green tea tucked in the shade cast by a garden box, up here her brain can slow. The wind rustling through the laundry mingles with the muted din of traffic, the sound of the pages flipping. It's a harmonious cacophony, and Namsoon drifts for a while as the swinging sun heats the crown of her head.The timer on her phone fires off and she stirs, textbook sliding off her legs. It gets shoved next to the garden box and she grabs a sip of the chilled tea before ambling inside to grab the next load. It's her day off from classes and she's on top of all her coursework; she takes pleasure in wandering through their apartment in bare feet and loose shirt with no particular haste. Yoonji won't be home for an hour yet and Taehyeon is working late, so it's just her feet sliding over the floorboards, her humming an old IU song as she carries the next load of wash up to the roof. Towels and sheets and Taehyeon's missing pink sock, turned up at last, dancing on the line.She settles again, pulls the book onto her lap, and doesn't open it. She leans back against the garden box and closes her eyes, smelling the earth that Taehyeon and Jimin had worked last Saturday, the young tomato plant shy Jeongsuk had brought over and planted with the two others' help. Namsoon smiles a little; she likes Jeongsuk. Seojin has unofficially claimed the youngest and newest member of their circle, and the growing friendship between the duo makes Namsoon feel more settled. Like her heart has had more pieces added to its puzzle, and they fit in ways she never expected.The roof door squeaks open and she cracks her eyes open a slit, expecting the auntie who lives on the top floor. She grows dahlias and marigolds on the other side of the rooftop space and Hosook fawns over them whenever she can.It's Yoonji, squinting in the sunshine as she comes out of the poorly lit stairwell, peering through the billowing sheets. Holly squirms in her arms, extra fluffy from the visit to the dog groomer."Unnie," she calls, grinning when Yoonji ducks her head between two violet towels in search of Namsoon. Her face breaks into a smile and she sets the toy poodle down, weaving through the drying laundry as the small dog races ahead. Namsoon buries her fingers in Holly's curly brown coat, kissing his nose and receiving a lick on both cheeks in return. "You're back early."Yoonji squats beside her, dropping a kiss on her temple and rubbing the dog's head. "There was a cancellation and they started on him early." She takes a sip of the iced green tea Namsoon offers, wrinkling her nose at the taste. "Noticed you were out of the Cantata lattes so I got a pack on the way home.""You are the best," declares Namsoon, smacking a noisy kiss on Yoonji's cheek. Holly whines and she gives him another kiss as well, letting him claim her lap with the textbook abandoned off to the side. She gives Yoonji an almost sheepish grin. "I was going to try grabbing some on my way to class tomorrow."Yoonji snorts and sits beside her, back to the garden box. Her black hair brushes her shoulders as she squints up at the blue sky. "You take too long to get ready; I know you."It's the little things, the simple ways Yoonji reaffirms that she's a part of Namsoon's life, that make Namsoon's throat close up. Her mind forgets every word it's ever learned, even if only for a few beating seconds. She ruffles Holly's floppy ears and smiles down at him, holding the warmth close to her heart. "After six years I'd say you do know me."A thin shoulder leans on her arm. Yoonji directs her soft look to the dog eating up Namsoon's pats. "It takes time to know a person." She glances up, meets Namsoon's eyes. "And you know that I love you and will also never drink that tea for you; put it down."Namsoon laughs and sets the iced tea by the textbook. "Ah, but then it would be a waste, unnie," she teases. The other woman snorts."Go get your coffee already, Soon-ah.""If I could, I would." She sticks out her lower lip, pouting at Yoonji. "Unfortunately, your dog has me trapped."Yoonji chuckles, shoving herself upright. "He's your dog, too."Namsoon hums, accepting the peck Yoonji leaves on her hair. "Yes, but he's your son." Yoonji flicks the side of her head and laughs when Namsoon tilts a lazy scowl up at her. "You signed the adoption papers with me." Namsoon blows a raspberry and she grimaces impishly in response before ambling to the door. "Yah, don't give that tea to Holly," she says over her shoulder, pulling open the squeaky roof door. "Only Tannie can handle the caffeine."They made that discovery entirely by accident. Yeontan's disdainful lack of reaction raised some inquiries, yet Taehyeon was equally baffled by her dog. As different as the two are, Holly has been missing Yeontan while he spends the week with Taehyeon's parents out at the sea. Namsoon, Yoonji, Taehyeon, and honestly everyone who circulates through the apartment have taken a little more time to lavish affection on Holly. A bonus of giving Holly all the belly rubs he could possibly want is Yoonji smiling every time, big and gummy and happy for her dog.Holly licks the underside of Namsoon's chin and she blinks down at him, slow smile pressing itself on her lips. "Ears or belly rubs?" she asks, humming in playful thought as Holly yips happily inside the ring of her crossed legs.The sun is warm on her shoulders, the back of her head, on Holly's curly hair beneath her fingers. The breeze picks up again, filling out the sheets and snapping them loudly like flags. It smells like rosemary and freshly turned earth, green tomato vines and the berry shampoo used on Holly's coat. In the two-bedroom apartment downstairs Yoonji is grabbing a can of Namsoon's favourite study coffee, picked up solely because she saw Namsoon had run out.Namsoon smiles to herself, dropping her chin until her hair falls forward over her face and hides the pleasant blush stealing over her cheeks. Some days she can't believe that this is the reality she gets to live in. Seojin joins them for dinner, fresh from her day's shoot. Hosook arrives while Seojin is cooing a greeting to Holly and nearly trips over them both. Seojin catches Hosook clumsily and nearly falls herself, and it's comedic enough for Yoonji to cackle from where she's stirring a pot of noodles. Namsoon sets down the vegetable knife so she can laugh freely at their matching mock-annoyed expressions. Hosook takes over chopping vegetables and Namsoon joins Seojin in front of the bathroom mirror, watching as their eldest friend removed layers of makeup."Ah, unnie, there you are!" teases Namsoon, offering a washcloth. "Thought we'd lost you under all that."Seojin snorts, scrubbing her cheeks until they're red. "I had a speaking part today. Closer to the camera, so they had to apply much more makeup than if I was an unspeaking extra. Makes me look pretty on camera.""You had lines? Unnie, that's great!" She puts a soft handtowel in Seojin's grasping hand and waits until she's resurfaced, face mostly dry and cleared of makeup, then says fiercely, "I would talk to the stylists, though; you're incredibly beautiful already.""Yah!" Seojin flicks the towel at her."Our stunning Seojinie-unnie," croons Namsoon, dodging the towel, holding both hands in front of her. "Soon to be our lofty-yet-humble actor ajumma.""You-- Get back here! I'd be an ajumeoni, you disrespectful little-"Namsoon takes refuge in the kitchen and, as expected, Yoonji corrals Seojin into helping prep the rest of the meal. Taehyeon blasts through the front door while the table is being set, singing a hello to her roommates and friends as she races through washing up. No one gets to sit at Yoonji's table with dirty hands.Holly snoozes as close to Yoonji as he can get, an unperturbed fluffy brown ball until someone—usually Yoonji—sneaks him a piece of food. His pleading eyes, whenever they're visible, always make Namsoon giggle. Taehyeon plies Seojinie with questions, blushing when the others cheer her interest in moving from modeling to acting. Hosook complains about her office job working her to starvation as she shovels Yoonji's glass noodles into her mouth, rolling her eyes when Tae pokes fondly at her chipmunk cheeks. Someone asks about Yeontan and Taehyeon scrambles for her phone and the photos her parents sent that afternoon; it appears Tannie was accidentally soaked in a tidal pool and was displeased with the sea not respecting him as the ruler of the universe.Namsoon leans into Yoonji as the loud chatter breaks over her in waves, a gentle surf of good-natured banter. Jeongsuk’s at a night class and Jimin has a project she is elbows-deep in, yet neither feel absent from the scene; repeatedly brought up in the flowing conversation, the friends are never far removed from each other. Tae had time for coffee with Jiminie the day before and updates everyone on the project, while Seojin whines to general amusement about her favourite dongsaeng working too hard for them to get up to proper shenanigans. Namsoon laughs into Yoonji's shoulder while her hand steals into her lap, their fingers hooking together quietly. Yoonji nabs the last piece of chicken before Tae can reach it and offers it to Namsoon. Under the table, she squeezes Namsoon's hand, her smile as soft as the look in her eyes.Both turn crimson when the others coo at them. After the dishes are cleaned and drying, Taehyeon and Hosook cart more beers up to the roof while Yoonji helps Namsoon take down the last of the dried laundry. Tae pokes at the garden beds, makes Seojin sniff the tomato plant's fragrant leaves as Sookie plops down atop the small table and stares up at the purpling evening sky with a can of beer in hand.Yoonji's fingers brush Namsoon's as they fold a bedsheet, making her blink back to awareness. She'd been lost for a moment, savouring the bubble of good company, the laughter, the cheery warmth filling her from the inside until it spills out in the smile she turns on Yoonji. Her girlfriend hums in understanding, fond creases at the corners of her feline eyes. Half-folded sheet still held between them, Namsoon wants to kiss her, touch those spots of happiness shining on her face.So she does, leans over to press light kisses at the points of Yoonji's eyes, resting her forehead for a moment against Yoonji's. Breathes in the wind and rosemary-scented sheets, the strawberry lip gloss she'd used earlier, the faint rose-coloured aroma that she swears is Yoonji herself. Rests there, feeling Yoonji's fingers press over hers with the bedsheet a soft barrier. The buzz of conversation continues, punctuated by Seojinie's squeaky laughter and Sookie's shrill complaints. Yoonji hasn't stopped humming, a melody Namsoon finds somewhat familiar. Namsoon straightens, looks down at the tiny smile on Yoonji's face. Maybe thinks I love this person, maybe breathes it out like a distant song. Yoonji's smile grows and her thumb rubs a little circle over Namsoon's knuckles. I do, too, she maybe whispers back, or maybe it's simply spoken through her quiet eyes.She doesn't quite stand on her toes, but Yoonji rocks up and drops a butterfly-light kiss to Namsoon's nose. "You're so sentimental," she murmurs, a chuckle dancing low in her voice, taking the sheet and folding it the rest of the way."I learned from you," she retorts, moving down the line to a fluffy bath towel.Yoonji lifts an eyebrow, placing the folded sheet in the old laundry basket. It's pink, held together in places by duct tape, and crackles when Yoonji kicks it closer to Namsoon. "That's hardly true, Soon-ah."From the table, Hosook grins, "You're both sappy. Always confessing to each other with the slightest provocation?" Dramatically she shudders, expression teasing. "I don't know how you stand it, sweetie." Holly doesn't bother to respond to Hosook, flicking one ear from where he's sprawled near her swinging feet.Namsoon raises both eyebrows at Hosook, and then quickly plants a loud kiss on Yoonji's cheek. Sookie hoots with delight while Yoonji smacks Namsoon's arm, grabbing another sheet to hide her pinking cheeks. Seojin and Taehyeon amble over to retrieve beers from the assortment spread on the bench, Tae cheerfully toasting Namsoon and Yoonji before dropping beside Hosook and making the older woman squawk when she's bumped.It's comfortable there on the rooftop, with her girlfriend blushing behind bedsheets hung on the line, with friends that fill the picture to completion. Yoonji takes precedence, but they all fit together like Namsoon's limbs, as vital a part of her life as breathing or eating. They found each other, Namsoon and Yoonji bound in the middle of their friends, and that's a barrier she hopes never breaks. She can't imagine anything else, a different path in life that doesn't involve the seven of them and their laughter, their interwoven hearts and linked hands. With an early call, Taehyeon turns in shortly and Seojin admits that she needs to prepare for an audition the next morning. Hosook leaves as well, a lingering glance at Taehyeon's closed door before she blows noisy kisses to Namsoon and Yoonji. The door clicks softly behind her. Holly walking over the floorboards is suddenly the loudest sound in the apartment. Namsoon looks almost sheepishly at Yoonji.She chuckles, a soft "haha" below her breath. "I put your textbook on the sofa."Yoonji opens a bottle of red wine, glasses on the small coffee table before them. Namsoon sits at one end of the sofa, Yoonji at the opposite end. Holly claims the narrow space between their outstretched legs as his own, resting his chin on Namsoon's shin. She pets him whenever she surfaces from the textbook opened over the pillow in her lap, grabs an absent sip of wine in between scribbled notations. Yoonji drinks a bit more wine, stabs the notebook with her pencil while she bobs her head, half-hummed lyrics slipping from her lips. Her deadline isn't until next week, but she likes to get the lyrics down early so she has more time to tweak and rearrange.They haven't closed the windows and eventually Namsoon realizes that she's trying to burrow inside the sofa to escape the cool finger of wind tickling her bare arms. She squirms, prompting a disapproving look from Holly as she cranes toward the middle. The throw blanket she snags drops fully onto the dog and Yoonji is surprised into a quick shriek of laughter, Holly's annoyance somehow crystal clear even though he's nothing more than a lump between their legs."Poor Holly," she croons, uncovering his head and flicking the blanket toward Namsoon, "my poor Min Holly."Namsoon shakes her head with a small grin, pulling the blanket around her shoulders. "He's the one who decided to lay there."Yoonji blows a raspberry, digs her toes into Namsoon's thigh. She bends over like she's going to kiss Yoonji's foot and Yoonji shrieks, shoving her toes under Namsoon's legs. She spills neither her wine, the spread notebook, or Holly himself. Namsoon giggles as she settles again behind the textbook, eyes twinkling at her scowling girlfriend.Six years of being friends, of slowly orbiting into something more and yet just the same, just as strong. Teenage Namsoon didn't know why the girl at her train stop decided to trust her, think that tall, awkward Namsoon wearing track pants under her school uniform was the right person to vent at, that she was a safe audience. She'd listened to the older girl loose her frustrations with her male classmates, watched with wide eyes as she'd mimed strangling one of the more persistent boys. They didn't go to the same school, the other girl's uniform indicating she went to a really nice one while Namsoon went to one that her mother could afford."I've never seen you here before," Namsoon had offered during a break in the diatribe.She'd wrinkled her little nose. "Held after class. The boys told teacher I had threatened them with a gun for being too annoying."Namsoon had gaped more than a little, unsure if she should try to sidle away. "Did-- Did you really have a gun?"She rolled her eyes, vicious yet somehow including Namsoon in the joke. "What do you think?"Namsoon giggled a little, tucking her braid behind her ear again. "I think they had it coming, no matter what.""Yeah, boys are pretty dumb."They had laughed together, shoulder to shoulder on the platform. Shoulder to shoulder on the train, on the sidewalk, in boba cafés, in the theme park. Shoulder to shoulder as they shook hands with the pet adoption manager, with the real estate agent holding their new keys, as their friends looped around them on their own dancing pathways.The blanket smells like fresh spring air and rosemary from when Namsoon had hung it on the roof this afternoon. Yoonji wiggles her toes absently as she erases and writes again and again in her battered notebook; Namsoon's fingers brush over her ankle. Holly’s nose twitches as he dreams within the sprawling corral of the women's legs. She smiles at the bent crown of Yoonji's head, shining dark under the lamp stood behind her, and acknowledges the powerful warmth pressing up against her breastbone. It's what she feels whenever she takes the time to really look at Yoonji.Like she's home, like she's the dearest companion Namsoon could ever imagine. Like she deserves more than Namsoon feels she can ever give, and knowing that Yoonji feels the same in return. Awe and love and contentment sunk so deep into her bones she knows she'll never be able to wake up without Yoonji's name weighing down her tongue, couched within her heart like a song captured from the stars."You're staring again." Yoonji doesn't look up, pencil tapping thoughtfully on the page.Namsoon is too fond, too buried in the sea of affection she always carries for the other woman, to look abashed. "I love you," she says simply. Wills Yoonji to hear, to comprehend everything she means inside the short statement.She pauses, pencil stilling on the page. Dark eyes, as familiar as Namsoon's own, look up at her. Yoonji takes a drawn-out moment, emotions unfurling over her face. "I love you, too."They hold one another's gazes for a second, for several. Long enough for Namsoon to feel the sincerity and pull it to her like another blanket. She pats Yoonji's ankle and returns to her textbook, sated. The pencil resumes, scratching out Yoonji's darting lyrics. Holly snores quietly, drooling a little on Namsoon's shin. It's an ordinary night.And Namsoon treasures it.