Thread by @irenelysian

seulrene au ;

and what if joohyun is actually dating seulgi off stage?

au in which joohyun and seulgi are dating, but they have to keep it a secret for redvelvet's success

it started when they were trainees.

longing touches, burning gazes, whispered words in each other's ears that often leave themselves hanging. the way seulgi's eyes look at joohyun with so much love back then was an enough seal as a proclamation of her love, smitten.

when the night is quiet, and seoul's noise had died down, joohyun would climb onto seulgi's bunk, bringing stories with her lips as they kiss.

it doesn't matter if it's dark, or when they are both tired and exhausted from practice, a kiss is a must, like a petition, almost.

seulgi's kisses are like drugs to joohyun's system, an addicting fluid flowing through her bloodstream everytime their lips meet. there's no spark, just promises behind every kiss, and entwined fingers every breath.

it doesn't end, joohyun knows, it will never end

their love runs like a vintage vinyl, hard to spot, incredibly astonishing as a love song plays from them.

hiding was an easy thing, they are both girls anyway, hand holding and cuddling looked perfectly platonical in everyone's eyes, but the burn in them remains unknown

joohyun didn't knew when she first fell in love, but the way seulgi holds her carefully every night is always a beautiful reminder of a flourishing bloom of their own sanctuary, trapped in each other's arms, even as the world seem to sharpen, unblurring the pages of their book

they are quiet.

in fact, talking is almost an option. their love doesn't hang on the lyrics of a love song, but the hidden melody behind them, lulling themselves back to paradise of each other's presence.

it doesn't die.

their love continues to bloom, breaking rules

hiding in a way that seemed to be truly unknown. it was easier that way, when the spotlights are pointed to someone else and joohyun and seulgi just remain at the quiet corner of their worlds, until they break and form their own.

it was easier before redvelvet was formed.

they have to hide more carefully this time, but still, remain tucked in the covers of their love, when the world stopped calling out.

their love don't die.

it flourishes with the dreams of three other girls.

but remember, love is selfish, and they can't be selfish.

CHAPTER ONE : REDVELVET

it's different, now.

kissing had become a little bit more breathless than before, now often laced with tiredness from practice and slumped shoulders due to overworking. but even so, seulgi would still hold joohyun at night.

"are you happy?" seulgi breathes on joohyun's ear, once the older girl is tucked soundly under her chin and is laying comfortably, her heartbeat mirroring seulgi's just like how soulmates would, "that we're going to debut?"

joohyun presses her lips together, "of course, but—"

"but?" the younger girl shifts, and joohyun sighs at seulgi's neck, closing her eyes as the fatigue starts to slowly take over.

"what about us?"

"there will always be us," seulgi's words bloom like flowers in joohyun's space, leaving her breathless, "and i will always love you,

of course.

joohyun will always love seulgi, too, more than anything that existed in this world, and beyond.

they meet sooyoung and seungwan the following day, with giant, welcoming smiles on their faces that made joohyun feel at home, home, but not quite as seulgi's arms. they get along surprisingly well, sharing stories from their pasts, some heartbreaks, and they all clicked

like puzzle paintings, just like her and seulgi, except, their love is a different masterpiece, and their friendship with seungwan and sooyoung is another, too. they all fit each other's gear correctly, with their laughs and smiles filling every gap.

joohyun loves them, too.

the first performance was nerve wracking, she had dyed the tips of her hair with pink, they all did, but of different colours. the sea of people watching them perform made joohyun'd eyes widened, but she smiled at them, anyway.

from then, she introduced herself as "irene from redvelvet," with a smile on her face everytime someone cheers them on, they would bow, hand clasped together, following dreams one by one.

irene from red velvet and seulgi's bae joohyun are different. on stage, irene is charismatic, taking hearts with her every line, professional and confident, while off stage, joohyun is shy whenever seulgi is near. the tips of her ear flushing in bright red every kiss,

she's vulnerable in seulgi's arms, and seulgi is like her kryptonite, but also her strength.

they still work out, even after they debuted. there are still kisses, and snuggles, a few dates and kiss marks on their necks and collarbones, but they are more quiet this time

selfish

joohyun has never been this selfish in her entire life, loving someone behind the doors, making love when the sun has set and everyone is done.

they kept everything in shape.

they're not supposed to, they're not alone anymore, there's seungwan, and sooyoung and yeri, too

it's harder for joohyun to make decisions, it's not just their dreams on line, but there are yerim, sooyoung and seungwan's, too.

still, she comes to seulgi's room, taking her hand and placing it above her heart. "can you hear it?"

"yes,"

"can you heart it beating for you?"

CHAPTER TWO : LAMENT

so, where do broken hearts go?

joohyun and seulgi fight, like normal couples would, small disagreements will turn into holes of their worlds, and small cracks that mark their globe.

when joohyun and seulgi fight, it wouldn't be heard.

their fights are just like their best days, quiet, still. but instead of a peaceful paradise it is a sullen flowerfield in a storming rain. it's no battlefield, but an abandoned sanctuary. no words would be exchanged for the rest of the night, and joohyun will sleep on her bunk

joohyun's broken heart will remain thumping on her chest, as if glowing in a bright blue color that screams sadness and anguish. in another way, joohyun would've crawled back to seulgi's arms and mumble a sorry.

but her heart has been broken, slightly, but broken, still

broken hearts don't go anywhere.

it remains infatuated with the one you love the most, at least that's what joohyun knows, that her small, bandaged heart still cries out seulgi's name on every single lonely second they are apart, singing a melody that lulls joohyun back,

over and over again as if a fool for love.

in the end, before the night ends, joohyun would sigh and slip out of her world, trudge her way towards seulgi's own, and mumble, "i'm sorry,"

and as always, seulgi will kiss her forehead, softly, "don't be,"

the world mends together, again. the cracks can never be erased, they did mark, but as joohyun and seulgi's love flourishes, the marks are soon covered by promising tattoos of their hearts, making once a dull world their own, and seulgi will still kiss joohyun's lips goodnight

where do broken hearts go?

joohyun will laugh at that question, crinkle her eyes and turn her head, "it doesn't go away," she will say, with a small smile of her own, "it stays, it heals itself, you just have to keep holding on to what you love the most,"

CHAPTER 3 : BLISS

WARNING : unspecified mature content

making love is a ritual joohyun and seulgi does after a raging thuderstorm, or a black out. after every fight and concerts, breathless kisses and burning touches that marks both of their skin.

when they make love, they still remain quiet and isolated, often clouded in their own worlds, but still cautious enough of their actions. in a flurry of kisses, there's still a story untold, in a quiet exhales and sighs, there's a brick.

brick by brick and story by story, giant walls erupt, closing them in as if a way of protecting. making love is not a hobby, or an addiction, making love between joohyun and seulgi is a crystal that draws them further together, away from the judging eyes of the world

it has never been once that making love was not magical and pure to them. when they hide behind those walls, the kisses and touches remains loving, caring, gentle. safe and sound.

lust have never been the reason why they mend together like puzzle pieces. it's sometimes, the doubt, or the holes on their worlds, sometimes it's the loving smiles that they both treasure.

they remain quiet and unknown, isolated like a hidden art behind tall, unbreakable wall.

joohyun and seulgi never did try to violate each other's safe zone, they are not reckless, they make love, but they don't have just sex. sex is pointless, a fling diguised in the eyes of lust and greed. making love is different, it's not agressive and greedy.

the next day joohyun wakes up after making love, she will smile widely, decide that the woman laying infront of her is much more beautiful than the crystal walls.

"i love you," she whispers in seulgi's ear.

with a light chuckle, seulgi responds, "ans i love you, too."

CHAPTER 4 : SMITTEN

twas long ago when joohyun realised she's in love with kang seulgi.

it was a regular day, they practice. they are tired and sore, and joohyun was absolutely drooping, craving for the warmth only her bed could provide.

the sun has set, and the stars became visible, the warmth from the sunlight was replaced by coldness of it's absence

joohyun was simply sitting on their practice room, alone with her head rested on her arms tiredly, breathing heavily as music floods the room. her mind wanders elsewhere, following the melody of the song, her attention travels

from then, she thought about alot of things. how long can she hang onto her dream? will she ever debut? she's growing older, will it still be okay?

questions fly across her heads like stones, but particularly one stone remained on the ground. "do i like girls?"

the question remains untouched. joohyun sinks further in the floor, "maybe i do," she whispered, her heart aches as she try to shake off the fact that she is, in fact, infatuated with a fellow trainee, kang seulgi, to be specific.

she doesn't speak as the song ends, she stopped thumping her feet to the rhythm when the door opens. the girl slips in, reaching over to the speaker to turn it off, then kneeling over in front of joohyun with a smile, "i'll take you home?"

joohyun's heart pound against her ribcage, but she took seulgi's hand nevertheless. "home?" she questions, "we live in dorms, seulgi,"

"that's not what i meant," seulgi hums, "i meant me, unnie, i'm your home, and you're mine too,"

there's no slowmotion effect, or flowers, but there's a giant smile and quiet laughter. "yes," joohyun replies, entwining their fingers together once they're walking side by side. "of course,"

joohyun didn't fell in love with seulgi just like how movies would define. it was like she was walking, running, and suddenly a cliff instantly shows infront of her, she doesn't stop, she kept running, and once she fell down, a girl caught her and would definitely be seulgi.

CHAPTER 5 : FLY

"tell me we'll be okay,"

seulgi murmurs in joohyun's hair, with the older girl softly humming an old songs quietly, caressing seulgi's face ever so gently.

"we'll be okay, we'll always be okay," joohyun laughs.

she knows.

they just have to keep being selfish.

it was that day joohyun knew they fucked up, that they made the biggest mistake.

they're quiet, as usual, blending in with the world perfectly, hiding all the sharp edges of their pieces to look completely in place, filling gaps with more lies and smiles.

it was then, when the sun has set and all members were tired and retreated to bed.

seulgi and joohyun remain tucked together in the living room, their heartbeats and the television's noise keeping them company in the silent night

it could've been a normal day, which seulgi kisses joohyun every single night to lull her to sleep, it could've been a normal day wherein they go back to their paradise after a day of lying low.

they could've retreated back to joohyun's room.

it was just a soft, sweet kiss, the quiet one to fill all the dark places. it could be one of their best days.

but still, yeri's door opens, the lady frozen in her tracks as she witness the fireworks of seulgi and joohyun's love.

"unnie..?"

yeri was the first one to find out.

ON HOLD.

AU WILL BE BACK IN JUNE 29TH

CHAPTER 6 : BREATHE

joohyun feels the air from her lungs disappear the moment yeri opened the door, eyes wide in surprise as seulgi pulls away in a hurry.

"unnie..?" the youngest murmurs, standing still in shock, the door closing behind her softly.

the television runs, still, joohyun suddenly forgot how to breathe, but then there's seulgi.

there has always been kang seulgi.

"it's what it looked like," seulgi explains, she didn't flinch, the fire in her eyes burn the same way like when she kissed joohyun the first time

"we're together," she laces their fingers together, joohyun closes her eyes and lets the steady sound of the television fade into a white noise. they blurred, and then, they let yeri enter their forbidden scenery.

"yes," the oldest confirms, breathlessly, "we're.. together,"

yeri's eyes glint with tears, but then she ran to her older sisters, arms wide and looped onto the both of them.

"i'm happy for you," came her quiet whisper, and joohyun runs her finger through yeri's hair, just like what she does before yeri goes to school, "i really am,"

in a heartbeat, yeri smiles, widely, joohyun feels the air circle again, and their paradise widened, just a little, their tall, giant walls, opening for the girl they took care of before they started dating.

"seul," yeri hums, and the said girl shifts.

"yes?"

"please take care of joohyun-unnie," yeri leans onto the oldest, and joohyun returns the smile, caressing the girl with soft waves of her love, the sea she and seulgi painted together.

"i will,"

"what if they find out?"

yeri's scared, much more than joohyun is.

"about us?"

the girl nods, stuffing her head onto joohyun's shoulder.

"i don't want them to take your happiness away, unnie," then, they fell quiet, the what ifs floating freely around their heads. what if sm finds out? what if they break them apart?

"i'm scared,"

joohyun opens her eyes, hugging both seulgi and yeri tighter, protecting their sanctuary once again. "my happiness exists in a person, yeri, they may break us apart, but seulgi will always be my happiness, even if she's away, she took my heart, and i don't want it back,"

CHAPTER 7 : ENDURE

they know.

they found them.

joohyun feels her blood run cold when their ceo calls them to his office, this deep frown on his face and this unextinguishable fire in his eyes. "joohyun," he calls, dropping a single flashdrive on the woman's hand, "what are you doing?"

she feels suffocated, her eyes are wide from surprise. her lips trembled, as her fingers curl around the flashdrive carefully. "w-what do you mean, mr. lee?"

lee soo man gave her a disapproving look, "i know what you're doing," she flinches, but the man kept his gaze, "stop."