Archive of Our Own ^beta

The morning breeze doesn't do much in taking away Yoohyeon's sleepiness. She's been up for more than two hours already but her bed calls her name, asking her to lie down and enjoy the rest of the morning, and not to ruin it by deciding on taking a long walk towards the mountain. If it wasn't for someone, she would have been snoring the day away.

The phone on her study table began to vibrate and she sighs, having a clue on whoever is up early enough to dial her number and talk to her at 7 am in the morning. She grabbed to answer and was greeted immediately by no other than Yoobin. She scratches her head before speaking against the microphone of her phone.

"You seem tired, Yoohyeon."

Yoohyeon rolls her eyes playfully. She pulls herself up, wrapping her fingers around the medium that will count how many steps she has taken before clipping it onto the strap of her backpack. Another rub against her eyelids before stretching her arms outward.

“You think so?” Yoohyeon answers against the microphone of her phone.

“I could see you across the street.” The tall woman heard the voice from the speaker and she immediately darts her gaze towards the woman with her cap on looking at her across the road. “Get your ass over here then we could start.”

Yoohyeon drags both her feet, safely looking from left to right before facing her friend. She immediately receives two palms against her cheeks, squeezing them together making it difficult for her to talk. “Whaw auw yo doeing?”

“Making sure you are the real Yoohyeon because my bestfriend needs a glass of water poured onto her face just to wake up early in the morning.” Yoobin answers, she shifts Yoohyeon’s face upwards, downwards then to each side, lowering her eyebrows into a quizzical frown for a solid minute before nodding. “You seem to be Yoohyeon. Let’s start our hike now.”

Yoobin didn’t notice the dead eyes of Yoohyeon after she turned her back to her. Yoohyeon is Yoohyeon even if she is sleepy as hell. She slightly hops to feel the weight of her bag before following her friend.

“Ah, hold on.” Yoobin walks to her, so close that Yoohyeon could smell the shampoo she used this morning. She felt a slight twitch on one of her backpack straps and realized that Yoobin started the step counter. “This is our go signal. Time to move, Yoo.”

They just started twenty minutes ago but Yoohyeon is already feeling dehydrated. Every now and then, she will ask Yoobin to stop for a minute and buy some ice cream for them but Yoobin will just stare at her and ignore her, pulling Yoohyeon to her side so that she will never stray away. “I told you to bring some water with you, didn’t I?”

“I did but water is tasteless.” Yoohyeon spits the words from her mouth and Yoobin being herself, ignores her remarks. Yoobin stops walking, even though they’re already at the bottom of the mountain. “Oh, did you give up already?”

Yoobin zips her bag open and pulls a huge water bottle with some plastic cups on it. She pours a glass and offers it to Yoohyeon. “Drink. The real thing is just starting.”

“Sometimes I want to un-friend you.” Despite Yoohyeon’s statement earlier, she still drank the ‘tasteless’ water before wiping her mouth. “Let’s go so I can chill on top of the mountain and get some sleep.” Yoobin sighs at her words.

“There’s just no way, no way in this world that you are not exhausted from all those hiking, Yoobin.” Yoohyeon, with her hands on her knees, stated in between taking breaths.

When Yoohyeon looked up, what she saw was Yoobin wiping her sweat away before opening her bottle in the most attractive way she could ever laid her eyes on. She’s chugging down the water like it was the tastiest liquid in the universe and some drop of it dripping from her lips. Okay, maybe that was hot, Yoohyeon thought.

“We only have hundreds of steps then we will reach the top.” Yoobin squints her eyes, mentally calculating the effort they still need to reach their goal. “Don’t pressure yourself, sit down for a while.”

Yoobin finds a huge rock where Yoohyeon can sit on. She asks for her bag so she could relax a bit without a weight pulling her down. Yoohyeon finds it sweet and she wants to curse herself for thinking of it.

“Your shoe’s untied.” Yoobin reports after giving her a whole-body scan. Yoohyeon raised her brows, lowering her head so that Yoobin wouldn’t see her flustered face and she bends down to tie her shoe to hide but her friend kneels in front of her. “I’ll do it, just catch your breath.”

Yoobin didn’t give her even a single glance, thankfully, since Yoohyeon is bothered about something. She knows that this person in front of her is one of the sweetest people she has ever met and tying her shoelaces together is just a normal thing for friends to do but a part of her wishes that it’s something else.

“How do you walk that you untied your laces from doing so?” Yoobin suddenly looked up, giving her a teasing smile before clapping her hands together and standing up. “We can continue whenever you’re ready.” Yoobin pours another cup for her. “Drink some.”

Yoohyeon doesn’t want to look at her. She doesn’t want to show anything as she blindly grabs the cup from her hand.

“Are you okay? We can call it off if you’re feeling dizzy.” Yoohyeon clearly hears the concern from Yoobin’s voice, and her palm warming her shoulder is so soothing that it gave her the energy to continue.

Yoohyeon erases her thoughts, finishing the cup and standing up with her hand raised high. “I’m fine! Let’s finish this!”

Yoobin laughs, carefully giving her back her bag before grabbing one of her hands. Flustered Yoohyeon is back. “Do you need to hold my hand?”

“I just want to make sure that you won’t stumble down alone. This way, if you fall, then I will fall with you.” Yoobin gives her the brightest smile before turning her attention back to the mountain steps again. Yoohyeon hated herself for feeling all giddy inside. A mansion of butterflies standing upright inside her stomach causing her to almost burst in joy. She tries her hardest to suppress all these emotions by gripping tighter before realizing she’s holding Yoobin’s hand. She wanted to pull her hand back, but Yoobin did the same. Yoobin held her hand tighter, not letting her go and Yoohyeon just wanted to dig a hole under her feet just to hide her blushing face.

“Yoohyeon, do you want to go out this weekend?” Yoobin whispered, her book still blocking her face. The library is crowded and even a slight conversation might cause an uproar from the librarian.

“W-What?” Yoohyeon pulls her book closer to her face. She probably heard it wrong, right? Yoobin, her friend, more importantly her crush asking her to go out this weekend? That must have been her imagination. After all, she’s studying for two hours straight already, maybe it was her mind distracting her stress away.

“Want to go hiking with me this Saturday?” Yoobin puts her book down, carefully not to disturb anyone around them. She wraps her slim fingers around the pages of Yoohyeon’s book and pulls them down.

It sure is her imagination since nobody would ask someone on a hiking date, right? Yoohyeon rolls her eyes. “Hiking means I have to wake up early in the morning to prepare my things and get ready. Which equals to less sleep when the weekends are for resting. According to some study, I have to continue sleeping until 11 in the morning so I could do all the routine laid out for me by the universe.”

“Source?”

“Myself.” Yoohyeon brings her book in front of her face again, ignoring Yoobin who’s pouting in front of her. She really didn’t want to ignore her, she just wanted her off her sight because cute Yoobin might give her a heart attack.

“It’ll be fun, trust me.” Yoobin stood up then leans over so she could see Yoohyeon’s face. “I’ll bring all the food and tents, you can bring anything else.”

Yoohyeon glares at her but Yoobin seems unfazed. She’s even smiling at her. Bold of Yoobin to assume that Yoohyeon will agree to her plan just because she’s smiling that bright.

“Fine.” Yoohyeon spoke in a much louder voice. The librarian shushed her up and both of them mouthed ‘Sorry’. “But you promise to bring the food.”

“Yes, but you have to bring one bottled water with you.”

“I will, I won’t die from dehydration.”

 “Here we are!” Yoobin happily stated.

“No, we’re not there yet, I still have to take one more step.”

“Let me help you.” Yoobin asked for Yoohyeon’s bag and even though she didn’t want to give it, her legs are already giving up on her. “Come on.”

The view on top of the mountain is too beautiful. Even if Yoohyeon is barely walking, she could still feel the amount of art her eyes are receiving just from looking around. The breeze damping against her skin is perfect. It isn’t sunny, the sky is blue and it gives the right amount of light and heat. She could see Yoobin preparing the tent for them on her peripheral vision. After catching her breath, she walks towards her and began helping her.

“What food did you bring? I’m hungry.” Yoohyeon sits down on the blanket Yoobin also prepared. Yoobin didn’t answer, instead she neatly unpacked a portable stove and began heating some water that she also brought. “You had these in that bag of yours?” Yoobin only nodded. “Is that ramen? Are we having some ramen?”

“I figured that this will help in recovering our energy.”

“I like your thinking.”

Yoobin just laughed at her antics and Yoohyeon just adored the sound of her laughter. Has it always been like this? Has it always been her finding beauty in any part of Yoobin? Is it just her who’s deeply falling for a friend? It’s not like her thoughts are going to answer themselves and there is no way she will voice those out, not in front of Yoobin.

“So did you like it?” Yoobin blows to cool the food before taking a sip. They’re both seated next to each other, with the view of the clouds just almost in front of them. Yoobin snaps her head towards her bestfriend, watching her busily munching on some noodles. It took a while before Yoohyeon responded.

“You’re asking me if I like waking up before sunrise to walk almost a thousand steps up to the top the mountain?” Yoohyeon with her eyes focused on the other’s answered with a question. Yoobin didn’t say anything. “No, but I love that you’re with me.”

Even though those words escaped her mouth without precaution, it’s a relief that it did because Yoobin responded with another smile that looks so precious and warm to the eyes. That fuzzy feeling that even though it’s not touching you physically, it touched your soul. Yoohyeon is in deep, and she hopes she won’t drown in her overflowing emotions.

“Hey, Yoohyeon, can I ask you something?” Yoobin’s tone is serious that Yoohyeon accidentally gulped the noodles and she almost choked on it, and the other’s reflex made her give out tissue to her. “Careful, I wouldn’t want people thinking I exerted effort to murder you with ramen on top of a mountain.”

Yoohyeon wipes her mouth, but her concern is whatever Yoobin is about to talk about with her. “What do you want to talk about? You’re scaring me.”

It is indeed scary for Yoohyeon. Yoobin always teases her and she rarely starts a very serious conversation, apart from mocking Yoohyeon’s long legs. Yoobin shifts in her seat, putting the half empty bowl on the foldable table she also brought. Yoohyeon doesn’t even want to think about how strong Yoobin is so she ignored the facts that she had all these things in those bags of hers.

“How am I as a friend?” Yoobin is staring at her bowl, not sparing a glance.

“I think you are pretty. Pretty smart, helpful yet annoying especially in the morning.” Yoohyeon answers, with all honesty, including the part that she thinks Yoobin is pretty. “Kidding aside, you’re one of my treasures.”

Yoobin turns her head and looks at her. “Treasure, huh?”

“Yeah, if someone will hunt and take you away from me, I won’t let them.” Yoohyeon, following Yoobin, puts down her bowl. “Selfish of me to do so, don’t you think? But you’re my bestfriend. They can grab anyone else but you.”

Yoobin raises her eyebrows, shocked expression visible on her face. “That’s the first time you called me your ‘bestfriend’, Yoohyeon.” 

Yoohyeon stares at her. Really? Has she never called her even once? After years of tolerating each other? After nonstop sleepovers together by themselves? Yoohyeon suddenly feels bad. Yoobin probably think she’s just a casual friend that’s why she asked but how is she going to tell her that she’s more than that? No, Yoobin, you’re the love of my life, Yoohyeon wanted to say but she didn’t.

“Such a big revelation.” Yoohyeon covers her mouth jokingly. “No, really, you are my bestfriend. You accept all my flaws and lacking. You are always here for whenever I need somebody. You’re here with me whenever I’m happy, whenever I’m sad, you’re a huge part of my life.”

“And you’re mine too.” Yoobin speaks with sparkles in her eyes. Yoohyeon hopes that it holds a different meaning. A heavier weight defining their relationship but Yoohyeon could only smile back.

“I’m sorry for not saying anything about it. Now I want you to put is as a nametag, that you’re Yoohyeon’s bestfriend.” Yoohyeon laughs at her idea and the other just nodded.

“Maybe I will.” Yoobin responded. “Can we make a promise?”

“A promise?”

“That we will tell each other whatever. May it be something important or just nonsense. I want to be able to be there for you whenever you need me and when it comes to anything, I will always tell you first.”

Yoohyeon gulps. Of course, they’re bestfriends. Whatever they’re going through, a rough path of not, they will always be with each other. But how is this going to work if Yoohyeon is already hiding something from her.

Yoohyeon gives her a smile. A smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Of course. After all, you’re my bestfriend, Yoobin.”