young & wild | chaeyu

twenty-seven ; adorable

 A loud ring interrupted Chaeyoung's aimlessly wandering thoughts as she doodled in a notebook on top of her unmade bed. She looked up in vague, bored surprise, reaching for her cell phone, loudly and obnoxiously her ringtone.

To her immense surprise, it was Tzuyu. Tzuyu hadn't ever called her before. Neither had Chaeyoung. At times she had wanted to, but she'd always refrained, reminding herself that they saw each other almost every day.

Needless to say, Chaeyoung picked up as soon as she shook of her brief moment of bewilderment. "Tzuyu?" she asked cautiously.

"Chaeyoung, Chaeyoung," Tzuyu said quickly, her voice wavering and accent thick as she said her name. "I just got out of practice."

"Are you okay, angel?" Worry filled Chaeyoung. She couldn't help but feel concerned for Tzuyu. If someone hurt her in any way... It'd be on sight. Chaeyoung felt an overwhelming wave of protectiveness overcome her.

Tzuyu laughed shakily from the other end. "I'm o-okay, thanks Chae. I'm just s-so shocked and happy."

Chaeyoung felt stupid as she connected the dots, drawing the conclusion that Tzuyu was one of trainees that their managers had picked. "Were you picked?" she asked, already sure of the answer.

"Yes! I was!" she said, her voice completely full of excitement. "I-I'm having so m-much trouble r-remembering the right words right now."

"That's okay," Chaeyoung reassured her, smiling uncontrollably. "Do you want to come over?" she blurted out. She wasn't sure where she got the courage to ask-- maybe it was the way Tzuyu sounded so adorable as she rambled, or how she sounded apologetic for having difficulty speaking Korean.

"Y-you don't have to," mumbled Tzuyu from the other end. Chaeyoung heard talking in the background and the sound of clothing brushing against itself.

"I want you to tell me all about what happened today," Chaeyoung told her. "I want to hear about what they've picked you to do. I want to congratulate you and celebrate with you. I want to see you Tzuyu. I don't have to, but I want to."

Quiet sniffling. And then: "O-okay. But it's not really a b-big deal."

"It matter to you, and that's all I care about," Chaeyoung told her. She felt like she was going overboard with the cheesiness, but she couldn't help it. Tzuyu made her feel so soft and happy, it was like cuteness was radiating out of her.

Chaeyoung heard Tzuyu mumble something foreign on the other end of the call.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Just something in my language." Her voice was soft enough that Chayeoung had to strain to hear it just right.

Chaeyoung bit her lip slowly, feeling unsettled. "What was it?"

"I said thank you," Tzuyu told her. But inside of the younger's mind, she was thinking "I think I might love you," wondering how it was that Chaeyoung was so kind to her.

"You're welcome, baby," Chaeyoung told her. Not for the first time, Chaeyoung reprimanded herself, reminding herself she didn't need to make things awkward between the two by getting too attached and calling the younger unnecessary pet names. "Are you close to my apartment?" she asked quickly, wanting to cover up the fact that she'd just called Tzuyu baby... again.

"Yeah," said Tzuyu softly. "I'll be there in a couple minutes."

"Okay," Chaeyoung said. They were silent for a moment, Chaeyoung standing up and leaving her bedroom, going downstairs to the small kitchen and living room. Tzuyu picked up her walking pace slightly, wishing she could just walk faster. Thankfully, her legs weren't very tired. She hadn't done as much dancing as most days, because she needed to practice for her chance to record in the studio. She hadn't stayed as late either-- Jeongyeon had firmly told her to get plenty of rest the next few days so she sounded her best come the day to record for Jihyo's song.