Imperfectly Perfect 2

14 : Next to Each Other

—— At the condominium unit ——

"TZU!"

Tzuyu springs from the couch right at the moment she is awakened by a loud voice. She blinks a couple of times before her eyes slowly widen, realizing who just called her name. She practically ran into the unit's bedroom.

"What? What happened? What's wrong?" She immediately asks nervously right after entering the room where Sana is. She stopped right at the door's entrance and rapidly scanned the entire place.

"Why am I in the bedroom alone?" Sana asks in annoyance. She is already sitting on the side of the bed with her feet on the floor.

"Wha— what do you mean?"

"Where were you?"

"In the living room." Tzuyu nonchalantly answers. "Sleeping on the couch."

"You were what?" Sana's voice obviously upped a notch this time.

"I— I was sleeping in the—"

"UGH!" Sana facepalms herself and starts to whine. "Tzuyuuuu."

"Why? What's wrong, Sana?" Tzuyu quickly treads to the older girl's side. "Are you hurt? Did you have a bad dream?"

Sana pops her head up and squints at the girl in front of her. "Chou Tzuyu."

"Hmm?"

"I thought you were gone." Sana is now acting like a child, visibly pouting.

"No. I wouldn't leave you here alone." Tzuyu quickly hugs her.

Sana immediately clings on to the younger girl like her life depends on the body in front of her. "Don't do that again!"

"Okay." The younger cheer captain softly smiles. This is how they usually ended up when they were kids. The older one acts like a baby while she has to console her. Most of the time, Tzuyu looks like she is actually the Unnie in between the two of them. "I won't. I promise, I won't."

"Tzuyuuuu." Sana looks up to the girl hugging her, standing by the bedside.

The young cheer captain faintly chuckles, finding the other girl oddly adorable. "Yes, Sana?"

"I think I'm badly attached to you. Like sooooo..." Sana closes her eyes to stress the word she is currently uttering. "Sooooo attached!"

Tyuzu flashes a wide smile, her dimples in full display. "And why would you say that?"

"We didn't even do anything like a one night stand—"

"One— one night stand?" The younger girl slowly widens her eyes at Sana's choice of words.

"Yeah. We didn't even do anything like that." Sana innocently continues while pouting. "And yet, I was so afraid when I woke up and you're not here by my side. I thought you'd leave me after I kissed you like that."

"I'm sorry." Tzuyu slowly explains like she is talking to a kid. "I just didn't think it's right to sleep beside you without your permission. I didn't want to wake you up either just to check if you're okay with that. And that is why I chose to sleep on the couch."

Sana breaks the hug and glares at Tzuyu. "But we've always been sleeping together when we were kids! You also slept beside me back at the year end party at the cabin!"

"Okay, okay. That's why I'm sorry, okay?" Tzuyu smiles knowingly at the whining girl in front of her. "From now on, I'll always sleep beside you whenever I have the chance."

The older cheer captain finally smiles, obviously satisfied with the younger girl's response. She softly tugged her to slowly lay down on the bed with her.

Sana immediately cuddled to Tzuyu's side in a giggle. They both closed their eyes and went back to sleep again short after.

—— At the hospital ——

After what seemed to be a good night's sleep, Nayeon wakes up again in the hospital. She slowly flutters her eyes scanning a now darkened room with the lamp on her bedside table as the only source of light. Shortly after, she abruptly looked to her side. A smile automatically forms on her face as she sees the girl she was longing for.

The council treasurer is now sleeping with her head placed on the space beside the soccer manager. She is still holding onto her girlfriend's hand and sitting on the chair right beside the bed.

Nayeon slowly removes her hand from Jeongyeon's grip. She then softly taps her girlfriend's shoulder to which the latter shifts a bit before finally popping head up.

"Oh, you're up? Why? Is there something wrong? Are you feeling nauseous?"

"No." The soccer manager smiles. "It's just— you should've slept here beside me. The bed is big enough to accommodate the two of us. Won't your neck feel sore because of this?"

"It's fine. I didn't want to wake you earlier by doing that."

"But—"

"Don't worry much about it. The soreness would be worth it after— OH!" Jeongyeon points to the IV bag connected to her girlfriend. "All the fluid's gone! Should I call the nurse on duty?"

"Yeah. I think you should. What time is it already, by the way?"

"Hmm... just a little past five in the morning." The council treasurer turns to her girlfriend from glancing at her wrist watch. "I will go to the nurse's desk and inform them. I believe I also have some release papers to sign."

Jeongyeon stands up and goes to the small table situated beside the window. She rummages through a bag for a shirt, jeans, and a pair of underwear. Then, she walks back to the side of the bed, putting the clothes to the side of her girlfriend. "Here. Change into these, okay? Your friend, Jihyo dropped these for you last night. I will be stepping out for a bit to go inform the nurse's desk, okay?"

Nayeon simply nods and smiles in response as Jeongyeon quickly steps out of the room.

Soon after, a nurse comes in to check on the soccer manager. The medical practitioner removed the needle connected to the soccer manager for the IV drop and made one last more assessment of the patient before finally stepping out of the room.

After another couple of minutes, Jeongyeon enters the room again. She halts her movements as soon as she gets a glimpse of Nayeon, who is already sitting on the side of the bed.

The soccer manager is now fully dressed in the casual clothes her girlfriend handed her earlier, looking ready to get up and leave the hospital anytime. She sincerely smiles at the girl who is simply standing on the door frame. "Let's go?"

The council treasurer was just staring at her with eyes that are slightly watering. She did not speak but started to briskly walk towards the frail looking girl at the side of the bed. When she was near enough her girlfriend, she quickly pulled her into her arms in an embrace.

"Je— Jeong? Why? Is something—"

"Thank goodness you're really okay now." Jeongyeon's voice cracked a bit. The tears from maybe fear and anxiousness she was trying to bottle in since yesterday started to finally fall because of the sudden weight removed from her shoulders when she saw the soccer manager up on that hospital bed again.

Nayeon flashes an affectionate smile. She slowly pats her girlfriend's back to calm the faint sobs she is hearing. Her eyes also start to water. "I'm so sorry for bringing a lot of pain and worry to you, Jeong. I hope you will still give me a chance to make it up to you in the near future."