𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 - 𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐬

(FORTY-ONE)

Jiwoo kissed Sooyoung quickly and giggled, making the older girl smile. She loved Jiwoo's laugh more than anything, and she was grateful to be able to say that she was the lucky girl Jiwoo had chosen.

Sooyoung picked Jiwoo up and carried her across the room, gently setting her down on the bed. Jiwoo smiled up at the girl hovering over her. She'd never felt so safe with another person.

Sooyoung leaned down to capture Jiwoo's lips with her own, and Jiwoo tangled her hands in Sooyoung's hair. When they pulled away for air, Sooyoung gently trailed kisses down Jiwoo's neck, making the girl laugh and squirm. She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and pulled her down. They lay there together comfortably, simply enjoying each other's presence.

After a while, Sooyoung rolled to the side and propped herself up on her elbow to look at Jiwoo. Of course Jiwoo noticed and felt a bit uneasy at her gaze. She raised an eyebrow.

"No, don't worry," Sooyoung whispered, "I just think you're really beautiful." She brushed Jiwoo's hair away from her face to kiss her on the cheek. "You're perfect."

Jiwoo shifted so that she was propped on her elbow as well, facing her girlfriend. "I'm not beautiful and I'm definitely not perfect," she argued, "I'm far from it. I've made a lot of mistakes, things I'll probably always regret. I was stupid. I got into bad situations – I mean, you can see the scars on my face. They're ugly. You're too good to me, Sooyoung. I'm not exactly shiny and new and exciting."

"I don't want 'shiny and new and exciting'," Sooyoung countered, "I want you. I want to make you see yourself the way I see you. You're beautiful with your scars..." She softly kissed the scars on Jiwoo's cheek. "You're beautiful with your regrets..." Then the scars littering her knuckles from fights. "You're beautiful with your mistakes..." Finally, she placed a chaste kiss on Jiwoo's hip where she knew the deeper scars were.

Jiwoo began to cry, and instantly Sooyoung had scooped the girl into her arms. "I'm sorry, baby, did I—"

"I love you, Sooyoung."

Sooyoung froze for a moment. Once she'd processed the situation, she pulled Jiwoo closer. "I love you too, peach. So much."

With a sniffle, Jiwoo sat up and faced Sooyoung. "Thank you," she whimpered, "You've been so kind and so patient. Really, thank you so much."

"You don't need to thank me," Sooyoung said, "I just try to treat you the way everyone should've treated you. You're sweet and genuine and you deserve to be loved. You deserve someone who will wait for you."

Jiwoo placed a lingering kiss on Sooyoung's lips.

"I never got to thank you for what you said at the coffee shop," she whispered. Sooyoung looked confused. "When Songhee told you about the girl... I asked if you were disgusted by her, if you thought she was a slut." Sooyoung nodded, remembering the early days of their relationship. "You didn't know who she was and you defended her. I really respect that." Jiwoo winked and added, "Plus, it kind of made me start to like you. I was so scared you'd hate me."

Sooyoung cupped Jiwoo's cheeks with her hands and cooed. "I could never hate you, Chuu! You're my favourite person. Your past doesn't define you."

"Shit," Jiwoo breathed, "Every day you give me more and more reasons to love you."

The older girl smirked. "Oh? What's today's reason, then?"

After another quick kiss, Jiwoo answered, "Today I love you because you're you, and that's more than enough."

a/n:
edit- 1 week after publishing
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