Small Visits

Dahyun was trying to concentrate on her work. She was trying, she really was. But she couldn’t get the feeling of Nayeon’s lips off her mind since their date.

And their date ended perfectly. Their first kiss felt like it was straight from a movie, the way they held hands the whole time while walking through the streets, Nayeon telling her stories about herself and her childhood, and how she carefully listened to Dahyun when it was her turn to talk.

The day ended with Dahyun driving Nayeon back to her apartment, despite feeling out of place because Dahyun was nowhere near the word extravagant, but Nayeon’s apartment looked like a five star hotel. But all of those worries washed away in an instant when Nayeon held onto her again and they kissed each other goodbye.

Her lips were soft, something she had never felt before. They merged with hers perfectly, feeling themselves mold into each other; like Nayeon was the missing piece in her life, or the other way around.

It was a feeling she never imagined. Maybe it was the lack of intimate contact or the fact that she never really thought there would be a day she could go this far with a beauty like Im Nayeon.

There were moments where Dahyun felt like she wasn’t worthy of it. Granted that they only knew each other for a couple of days, closing to a week. There was still more chances for them to find out more about themselves. But there was still a part of her that feels like she didn’t fit in Nayeon’s life.

She shook her head. She couldn’t possibly think that already when they just started dating. Nayeon still had time to discover more before she actually decided on leaving.

“She may say these things now, but sooner or later she’ll probably get tired of what I am and then decide to leave.”

Another thought came to her head.

“Wait, are we dating?”

Dahyun violently shook her head this time. She was getting way ahead of herself again.

“You okay?” Jihyo’s voice came from above the counter. “You’ve been shaking your head like a crazy person since earlier.”

Dahyun blinked, not realizing her friend was also at the space today. “Oh! Sorry. Just trying to get my mind off of things.”

Jihyo tilted her head and smiled. “You’re thinking about her.”

She let out a nervous chuckle, already feeling her palms get all sweaty from the overthinking she was doing. The inexperience was really making things worse for her. “Maybe?” Was the only thing she could mutter to Jihyo.

Her friend then walked behind the counter to sit next to her, holding her hand and giving her a comforting look. “You wanna talk about it?”

Dahyun pursed her lips, trying to find the right words to say for something she wasn’t even sure what was happening. “We kissed. Like twice,” she said and Jihyo was listening to her carefully. “And we’ve been texting since then. But I don’t know if we’re dating.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just—” Dahyun took a deep breath. “I haven’t really dated in a while. And most of the dates I’ve have only ever lasted on the first one. I’m sure Jeong has told stories about how women don’t really like me on the first meeting, and they never call me after.”

Jihyo nodded her head. “I recall.” Then she gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “I know it’s hard but listen to me when I say this, okay?

Dahyun hesitated at first but eventually she nodded.

“You’re a real catch, Dahyun,” Jihyo said with a smile. “There are probably several reasons why your dates failed, and you’re definitely used to the same scenario over and over again. But that doesn’t mean that you’ll immediately think it’s gonna happen again with the next one.”

She furrowed her brows. “Okay?”

“I’m sure you’re expecting Nayeon to just leave you because you’re weird and you probably think she’s dating you out of pity,” Jihyo said quickly, which definitely hit her square on the nail. She could see Jihyo’s lips curl into a smirk and she shrugs. “I had a feeling you’d think that way. Because it’s kinda hard to believe, right?”

Dahyun nodded. “Right.”

Her friend glanced up and then back down to Dahyun, patting her hands and then standing up from her spot. “Well, you better believe it.” Then Jihyo pointed to the exit and Dahyun whipped her head, feeling her whole body go rigid at the sight of Nayeon standing by the entrance and waving at her.

She was still in her office attire, a big plastic bag on one hand and her handbag on the other. Dahyun shot up from her seat and immediately jogged her way to Nayeon, grabbing the plastic bag from her.

“What are you doing here?” Dahyun couldn’t register what was happening, but she felt so happy to see her.

Nayeon was trying to catch her breath but still smiled, bunny teeth greeting her again and it made Dahyun’s heart beat so hard through her chest. “I know you’re closing at midnight and I’m not sure if you have dinner, so I decided to have dinner with you.” Then she paused. “If you don’t have any dinner plans.” Nayeon then saw Jihyo by her table and waved at her.

Dahyun felt her ears and face burn. She had never experienced this before, and she didn’t expect Nayeon to do this for her either. “I-I don’t have dinner plans.”

Nayeon tilted her head to the side. “Can I have dinner with you then?”

“Of course!” Dahyun said almost too eagerly. Then she shook her head again to contain herself. “I’d be dumb to say no to you.” She masked her embarrassment with her usual chuckle, making Nayeon smile.

God, why was she so beautiful? Why was this person taking time off her busy schedules, probably tired to the bone from working all day just to see someone as simple and close to nothing?

There were several questions and doubts running through Dahyun’s head. But for some reason, most of them were already overpowered by the gentle touch from Nayeon’s hand, her soft smile and the melodious sound of her voice enveloping her ears.

Nayeon was perfect for her. Maybe too perfect. Because there was no way someone remembered that Dahyun liked stir fry from the local Chinese restaurant down by the street from the coworking space and that she liked her dim sum steamed and not fried. Or that Dahyun enjoyed tea instead of coffee. She didn’t have anyone wipe the side of her lip when she ate messily like a child, but Nayeon did that for her.

“You’re adorable, Dahyun,” Nayeon said with a cheeky smile and then leaned in to give her a small peck on the cheek.

Dahyun blinked again, cheeks blushing furiously at that. Without thinking, Dahyun leaned in and caught Nayeon’s lips in time before she turned away. The two sank into the small and yet simple kiss, feeling like time stopped and all that was left was them.

Okay, Dahyun thought to herself as the magical feeling of Nayeon’s lips on hers was flooding her senses. It really was perfect.

Phones were ringing left and right, the blatant, consistent sounds were starting to give her a headache. Nayeon pushed past the hall where everyone was trying their best to catch up with an article that was due that same day for revisions and as much as she hated it, she had to rush everyone.

“Can someone please answer that phone?” Nayeon asked out loud as she was skimming through drafts and photos that were swiftly handed to her as she made her way to her office.

The moment the door closed and most of the noise outside was muffled by her soundproof walls, she let out a sigh of relief and then dropped herself on her chair and immediately opened her computer to send another email.

She hated being late. She hated submitting requirements late. She just hated the sheer idea of being late. So it was no excuse for her to slack off since they only had a couple of hours until the editors could finally do their jobs, everyone else just had to submit their part so that they could get next month's issue published already.

Time passed and the email she was trying to compose was starting to not make sense and it was making her even annoyed. She was so engrossed with what she was doing that she didn’t notice the door to her office opened. Nayeon simply ignored the person coming in, walking towards her table and plopping themselves on the seat in front of her.

“I’m busy.” Nayeon tried to sound friendly, despite typing on the keyboard at break-neck speed.

“I know.” Jennie shrugged as she crossed her legs on her seat and smiled at her friend. “Can’t I visit you?”

Nayeon couldn’t help but roll her eyes and once she finally sent the email, she looked up at the woman in front of her. “Can we reschedule? I promise to take you out for coffee once all of this is done.” Her expression softened when she realized how long it had been since she actually indulged herself with friends. It made her miss her girls all of a sudden. But she steeled herself and kept her stern expression. “I’m assuming you’re busy yourself.”

Jennie pursed her lips, picking on something that was on her slacks and then shrugged. “I don’t think you’ve noticed but it’s already seven. I’m done with work and everyone else. Your team is the only one that’s still working right now.”

She closed her eyes to keep in her anger because for most times, she had to have a calm facade. Being in the position she was in, she couldn’t afford to act out of her emotions. She always had to be professional. Plus, Jennie was her best friend here at her work, it was easy to go off the rails when the short woman was around.

But Nayeon simply let out a breath and opened her eyes to look at the cat-eyed woman again, raising her brow. “Your point?”

“I talked to Minho, who talked to Taeyeon, who talked to her uncle, who talked to the CEO—“