Part II
Extra! Extra! Kim Jiyeon is in love!
When the idea of dating two people at the same time first popped up in Jiyeon's mind, the single reaction she could offer to it was dreadful doubt even if "dread" and "doubt" weren't terms her vocabulary met often.
It was, of course, only normal for her to laugh it off and pretend that wasn't exactly what could solve the dilemma that kept her up for countless nights when calling a bumpy start what she had with Hyunjung and Juyeon sounded, and was, like a unrealistic understatement none of them could stand by - that period was a nightmare of sorts despite the good outcomes she cherished with her life, and when she faltered, it wasn't like she had the strength not to.
Still, things found their place, eventually. Like she found her own place within wires and the names of what she had with Hyunjung and Juyeon, as well as what they had with her. And if the chaos of what they had yet to resolve had somehow coerced her to trust that being with them was too dangerous to be worth the try, she was glad that her stubbornness refused to listen and that daring had brought her so far.
Sure enough, that wasn't to say that their path was filled solely with rainbows or that ignoring the aftertaste of everything that happened and the things they did was even an option: they were still human and tripping on obstacles and challenges was as natural as how they came together and drifted apart. Still, to issues and eventual mishaps they reserved patience, the respect they built for and with each other, and although Jiyeon saved the bragging for the idle hours, so far she considered them to be doing pretty damn good.
Which she was happy for, given how difficult it was to get here.
And perhaps, Jiyeon thought, that was one of the most precious perks of knowing each other for this long, this well.
They were too aware of each other's strengths and flaws, weaknesses and habits, to shoot to kill without thinking twice. They were too in sync to pretend they didn't understand what every tone of silence intended to communicate and being so used to what each other was like in their good and bad days, their great and their worst, their lowest and their prime, figuring stuff out in a blink was nothing big - though it didn't mean it was any easier to take the punch in the gut.
Yet, and even then, Jiyeon couldn't help but catch herself astonished at just how... Easy it was to be with them.
It sure was complicated to fit three bodies in small spaces, finding gaps in their personal schedules for dates was quite the battle, and managing everything else that lived outside their apartment and their best intentions was far, really far, from not being draining, but all that withered to dust when their late nights were spent between laughter and kisses that reminded Jiyeon why she worked so hard and the hours they had to waste on each other resembled bliss in its greatest facet.
It was priceless happiness that she had with them. Simple, gratifying, sacred, happiness that she had in the hands that shielded her and the hearts that swore loyalty to her until the last bit. And out of the predictions and warnings she received before deciding that there was no better place for her to be than in Juyeon and Hyunjung's embrace, no one bothered to tell her that as doomed as she could be, this was possibly the greatest bet she could have poured her all into.
Because even after all these years and all the walls they had to shatter down, the roses in her chest still bowed to Hyunjung and searched for her face to caress when the loudness of the world got too much.
