𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 - 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐬

(TWENTY-SEVEN)

Jiwoo woke up with a smile still on her face. She was still in Sooyoung's comforting embrace, and she had never felt better.

She looked up when she felt Sooyoung calmly threading her fingers through the younger girl's messy hair. Jiwoo gasped. "Shit, did I wake you up?" She tried to pull away, but Sooyoung wrapped her arms around Jiwoo's waist and pulled her close again.

"Can we just stay like this for a bit?" She asked. "You didn't wake me up, but I'm very comfortable and you're very warm. Don't leave me." She whined the last part like a little kid, earning a chuckle from Jiwoo as she once again buried her face in Sooyoung's shoulder. They both fell asleep again.

"It's noon, bitch, get up!" Hyunjin shouted as she knocked on her sister's door with both hands. Both girls woke with a start. That's when it hit them both that they had wasted half the day cuddling. Sooyoung was the first to get up, and she had to literally lift Jiwoo out of bed and carry her downstairs.

She set Jiwoo on the kitchen counter and cupped her face with both hands. "Sleepy little baby," she cooed, "How does cupcakes for breakfast sound?"

Jiwoo was definitely awake now. She placed her hands on top of Sooyoung's and squashed her own face with a tiny giggle. "Can we decorate them together?"

"Of course. Now come help me find ingredients."

They ransacked the kitchen to find what they needed and got started on the cupcakes. Well, Sooyoung got started on the cupcakes. Jiwoo stood on her toes behind her, resting her chin on the elder's shoulder and occasionally stealing strawberries from the counter.

"You know," Sooyoung teased, "You won't be able to put any strawberries on the cupcakes if you eat all of them before they're even cooked."

Jiwoo pouted. "Make it even, then," she demanded, holding a strawberry in front of Sooyoung's face. Though she had been joking, Sooyoung took the fruit anyway and laughed when Jiwoo squeaked and jumped back in surprise. Sooyoung turned around, still laughing, and offered Jiwoo a strawberry in the exact same way. The younger girl panicked. "I think it's time to put the cupcakes in the oven." She rushed past Sooyoung and tossed the pan into the oven.

Sooyoung remained in the same spot, strawberry still in hand. Jiwoo pretended she was going to walk right past her, but turned on her heel and bit into the strawberry, giggling the whole time. Her giggle fit resulted in her tripping over her own feet and crashing into Sooyoung, pushing the girl against the counter as she nearly fell. Fortunately, Sooyoung had caught her first. But now they were just... staring at each other. Sooyoung kept both hands on Jiwoo's arms, still unmoving from when she first caught the girl.

"Whoa, am I interrupting something?" Sooyoung and Jiwoo jumped away from each other and gawked at Hyunjin, wide-eyed and embarrassed. "I just came down here because I smelled something burning..."

"Oh no!" Sooyoung grabbed an oven mitt and opened the oven to reveal dry, crispy cupcakes. "Well," she said, "I guess we're not chefs." She chuckled nervously.

But one thought rang through Sooyoung's mind as well as Jiwoo's: Did I seriously stare at her for that long?