Chapter Text
The city of Seoul seemed more beautiful than usual for a Monday night.
The streets were full of decorations, and you didn’t need to pay much attention to see hearts everywhere. Some couples walked hand in hand, silently gazing at each other, expressing all their love without uttering a single word. Others, a bit bolder, exchanged caresses and vows of love on that popular day. No matter where they looked, the city was emanating love that day. Love didn’t have a specific scent, but with a bit of imagination, one could perceive a slightly citrusy aroma.
Some people walked alone through the streets; not all seemed downcast, some just appeared indifferent. Others seemed irritated, tired of the constant advertising of the day, and of the smell of chocolate that lingered in the air. But no matter where they looked, there was no escaping Valentine’s Day.
Suzy and Rosé were together that day, and they definitely didn’t expect this to happen about 72 hours ago. Saying that destiny had united them was cliché and somewhat untrue—though the more romantic might believe it. But in truth, they were together—due to nothing more or less than an app algorithm that had matched them.
"Can I confess something?" It was Rosé who decided to break the silence.
"A confession just after noon? I can't miss this."
Suzy chuckled.
"You were the first person I matched with, I think I rejected about three women before." Roseanne admitted with a sly smile and a mischievous tone.
Suzy smiled almost instantly; it hadn't been much different for her. Rosé had also been her first match on the app, as she had spent more time choosing photos than actually looking for someone.
There was no need to search; Rosé was just there. It was her. It could only be her. And this thought was confirmed with every minute they spent together.
"You were my first match too. Literally the first person to appear. I was like 'wow' when I saw your photo." Suzy confessed. She adjusted herself on the bench, feeling the atmosphere become more comfortable.
"I didn't think you'd match back."
"What? Why?"
Suzy seemed incredulous, the idea was so silly and distant that she couldn't understand how the blonde had even considered it.
"Not that I don't have self-love, but you're really very beautiful. So I thought, 'okay, I'm pretty, but maybe not as pretty as her.'" The blonde was embarrassed; it seemed so ridiculous to say it out loud, but she felt so good sharing it.
"Well, know that you're beautiful and more than enough." The brunette joked.
Rosé had a silly smile on her lips, unsure if she should continue the conversation or remain silent amidst what seemed like a storm of thoughts.
But Suzy decided to speak this time.
"Why did you match with me? Besides the fact that I'm really pretty, of course. That I know."
Rosé laughed; anyone else saying that might have sounded presumptuous and very egotistical, but when Suzy said it, it just seemed… right.
"I saw your photo with the little squirrels and thought, 'My God, she's so cute.' I strongly believe that the vibe of people around animals reveals a lot about their personality. I liked that you seemed like a person who, besides being pretty, had a good personality." Roseanne explained, relaxing her shoulders. The car had just gone over a speed bump, making her bounce slightly. "Oops!"
Suzy laughed and adjusted her seatbelt. She didn't know if the taxi driver was paying attention to their conversation, as there was a partition to respect their privacy. But if he was, he would already know by now that the two were on a date.
"I loved your photo with your little dog, he looks just like you, you know?" said the older woman. Rosé smiled shyly, not showing her teeth.
She had heard that before. When she went to adopt him with Jennie a long time ago, Jennie had said the same thing. This made Rosé reflect for a second—Jennie and Suzy were very similar. Maybe that’s why the date was going so well. Jennie was—and probably would be—the platonic love of Rosé’s life until her last day on earth.
After a few minutes of that comfortable silence, without saying another word—because it wasn't necessary—Rosé and Suzy had arrived at their destination. The taxi driver stopped the car; the ride had already been paid for earlier with a credit card.
“Wow, this place is so beautiful,” Rosé said in awe, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling as she took in the view, like a child who had just walked into a toy store.
Suzy couldn’t help it, and a smile escaped her lips. Her heart was beating pleasantly.
“It really is,” she commented while watching Rosé gaze through the glass at the fish. Her jawline was so perfect, and her profile seemed perfectly symmetrical.
Suzy didn’t know if she was staring too much. But she kept getting lost and wandering in her mind whenever her eyes met Rosé’s, as if she was being transported to another world, so enchanted was she.
“Are you afraid of sharks?” Rosé asked curiously, noticing that Suzy didn’t seem to be looking at the aquariums but only at her.
The reason wasn’t fear, obviously, but Park hadn’t thought about that at the time.
“Isn’t everyone afraid of sharks?” she joked, trying to hide her nervousness. “But no, I’m not.”
A small laugh escaped Rosé’s lips. Suzy had such a serious and confident demeanor, it was funny to see how she could be shy when it came to other topics. Of course, this was just a supposition, considering she had just met her.
She was enjoying getting to know this side of her.
“I like sharks,” Park began to speak. Suzy turned her head calmly, paying attention to the words of the blonde-haired woman. “My sister, Alice, she usually swims with sharks. I really like the sea, but I wouldn’t have her courage.”
Suzy was thoughtful for a few moments. Not that anything was bothering her, but she liked watching how Rosé talked enthusiastically about the things she liked. She was also surprised that she mentioned her sister, even though this could be a rather private piece of information.
Rosé only realized this afterward but didn’t dwell on it. It seemed so trivial.
“I prefer penguins,” Suzy commented, and a soft laugh followed. Rosé nodded in agreement. It made sense. Suzy seemed like the type of person who liked penguins. “There are penguins here, you know?”
“Really?”
Rosé’s eyebrows arched, her forehead furrowed in surprise.
“Yes, come here.”
Bae gently placed her hand around Rosé’s wrist, carefully guiding her. She didn’t want to hurt her in any way.
With a wide smile on her face, Rosé allowed herself to be led by Suzy. The place was connected by several corridors full of aquariums with different animals. Roseanne remembered some of them from biology classes at school; others she had no idea what species they were. They walked a bit further, passing by an aquarium with crabs until they reached the area where the penguins were.
There weren’t many in the aquarium that could be seen. Rosé observed each one, thinking about how magnificent they were. The view was breathtaking.
Suzy pointed to a corner where one of the penguins was more hidden from the others, caring for a chick nearby.
“He’s so cute protecting the chick,” Rosé commented, glancing at Suzy. She was still fascinated by watching the animals.
“He really is.” By this point, Suzy wasn’t even paying attention anymore—her focus was entirely on Rosé herself.
She had been doing this since she arrived, but it seemed increasingly difficult to make her gaze focus on anything other than the woman in front of her. It felt like a more challenging task than getting a perfect score in algebra back in high school. And that was Suzy's nightmare during her school days. She felt hypnotized every time she looked at the woman beside her.
"Suzy?" Rosé’s soft voice—unintentionally—pulled Suzy out of her reverie.
"Yes?"
Rosé smiled, seeing how she had responded to her call in just a matter of seconds.
"Can you take a picture of me?" Rosé asked. Suzy looked at her for a moment, a hesitant look in her eyes. She was almost a hundred percent sure that it was against the rules.
Of course, no one was going to show up to stop them. But as long as it was with their own phones, it really wasn’t a problem.
"Are you sure?" Bae asked, looking at Park once more, just to be sure that’s really what she wanted.
"Yes, look. Use my phone, obviously." Roseanne said with a sly smile, handing her phone over to Suzy. The tips of her fingers brushed against Suzy’s as well.
The contact sent small shivers through both of them, causing the older woman with brown hair to look away for a few seconds. She was embarrassed. Her cheeks turned a bit redder for a moment.
Rosé found it cute.
"Okay, look over here," Suzy replied, the phone already unlocked in her hands. So all she did was open the camera and use her photography skills, of which Rosé had no idea in her mind.
But Rosé knew—actually, she had her suspicions. As someone who had been photographed a zillion times, it was hard not to notice when someone seemed as analytical as a photographer. She just wasn’t sure if Suzy was a professional or simply did it as a hobby.
If there was one thing Suzy knew how to do, it was take photos, since she worked in a modeling agency—her own agency, actually. One of the most respected in Seoul. She had a degree in photography and could do a great photo shoot of Rosé with just a cellphone if the blonde agreed. However, she set these thoughts aside, at least for now.
Rosé struck a few different poses while looking at the phone’s camera, sometimes making small funny faces. She naturally knew what to do, didn’t even need instructions because she was very familiar with this. Bae smiled, unable to believe how Rosé was both extremely charismatic and beautiful at the same time. She was a natural talent.
"All done." Suzy said, carefully handing the phone back to Rosé. Their hands touched once again.
The two stood facing each other, looking at one another with a bit of nervousness. Mentally, they both wondered who would speak first.
“Wow, the photos turned out beautiful.” Rosé was impressed and confirming all her theories—Suzy definitely had a talent for this. She had no doubt. “You’re great at this.”
“You’re beautiful; it doesn’t take much effort to make the photos look good,” Bae said as her hand carefully reached for the blonde’s cheek and then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. That hair kept falling over her face—not that it was really bothering her, but on impulse, Suzy decided to put it in its place.
Rosé felt her cheeks flush at the compliment. The truth was that she knew she was very photogenic—her main job was the modeling gigs she did sometimes. She wasn’t a super famous model, but she had an agent and always had what it took to be a model.
She wasn’t the most famous, much less the best, but she managed to make good money with campaigns and occasionally got lucky enough to appear in a magazine or two, though she’d never been on a cover.
“What can I say? I’ve got a talent for this. I think you noticed.” She joked, and Suzy let out a little nasal laugh, but there was some truth to it. Rosé’s hands went into her pants pockets. She did that every time she was feeling shy.
”I agree, ” she replied, running her tongue over her lips, moistening them.
Rosé felt her heart race every time Suzy got too close; it wasn't fear but rather anxiety, a good kind of anxiety. The constant physical contact with Suzy was leaving her increasingly stunned. She wasn't used to any of this.
Her mind kept wandering to a specific place, the thought of how much she wanted to kiss Suzy. It seemed simply very appropriate, and at the same time a terrible idea. If it were a normal first date, she would dismiss the idea since she doesn’t like kissing — much less having sex — on the first date. But this was different; this was the only date they would have.
Roseanne wasn’t naturally bold; in fact, she was naturally awkward and, despite being quite introverted with her best friend, she really had no idea how to act most of the time. Everything was a box of surprises. Rosé was 24 years old, but sometimes she seemed eleven.
In a matter of seconds, it seemed like everything between them ended in good flirting; Rosé definitely wasn’t used to this.
”Can I take a picture of you? ” Rosé asked, biting her own lip. Okay, she had really thrown the rules out the window, and this seemed more fun than it probably should have been.
Suzy’s intense gaze on her didn’t stop for a second. It was making her uncomfortable.
”On one condition." Suzy raised her index finger, as if she was about to make a demand.
She had something in mind, and it was bold, maybe even too much. She didn’t know how Rosé would react to that request, but she had to take the risk. The atmosphere seemed just right to say it out loud; she just needed the courage and to use all her possible charm. The worst that could happen was her saying no. Right?
"Tell me."
Park was curious about what the brunette would ask for in exchange for the picture. If it was what she had been thinking earlier, there was no way she could say no.
"A kiss."
Suzy said, surprising the blonde. Bae's sweet voice made Rosé’s legs go weak for a moment; she almost lost her balance completely. She wasn’t surprised by the request itself, but by the fact that she had the courage to ask for it before she did. It took a lot of boldness, a boldness that Rosé hadn’t yet acquired.
She fell silent. This worried Suzy, who began to wonder if she should have kept that thought to herself a little longer. Maybe with luck, if she revealed it at the end of the date, she would get a farewell kiss. That seemed appropriate.
"A-A kiss?" Rosé’s voice came out so low and full of nerves that Suzy almost didn’t hear her speak.
A huge nervousness set in; Park felt her stomach churn in response. Her stomach wouldn’t stay still for a second.
She felt like a teenager about to have her first kiss.
"Hey, calm down. I was kidding; you don’t have to kiss me if you don’t want to."
"That’s not it; it’s just that… I was thinking the same thing. " Rosé admitted out loud, about to make a revelation. "But I don’t want to do it now; I was planning to kiss you on the Ferris wheel. It’s much more romantic in my opinion."
"Wow. " That was all Suzy could say. In response, she brought one of her hands to her face as if checking that she had really heard that.
"What’s up, silly?" Rosé smiled slightly. Suzy let out a low giggle. This was really a side of Rosé she didn’t know.
That comment had sent Suzy over the moon; it wasn’t a kiss, but it was just as good. It was confirmation that Rosé wanted to kiss her and that it would happen later. She just needed to be patient. This thought made her yearn even more for more moments with Rosé since she also had a daring side.
Silence fell, and Suzy had a goofy smile on her lips. She didn’t know it, but people around them were watching the two of them. Some of the looks weren’t so positive. But she was so immersed, her heart pounding so loudly, that at that moment, only the two of them mattered. She was going to be kissed later, and by the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life
"Nothing." Suzy shrugged and then signaled for Rosé to take her phone from her hand. A look of confusion appeared. "Take the photo."
She hadn't gotten the kiss, but the comment was enough to grant a photo to Rosé. In truth, she would have done it for much less, but she wasn’t going to admit that, no matter how much she wanted to. Suzy knew how to flirt; she was a great seductress. However, she managed to get surprisingly flustered when it came to Rosé. As bold as she was, inside, everything was bubbling nonstop. Her body didn’t know how to handle it after so much time without showing interest in someone. It was as if all the signals were being released at once.
Her eyes, her hands, her mouth, her arms—her entire body was fixated on Rosé and nothing else. She didn’t want this day to end because the truth was, thinking about how the next day would be without hearing any news from her made her heart ache. She didn’t expect to feel this way and knew she shouldn’t feel this way.
This brought her back to the question she had asked herself days ago when she signed up for the app. The worst part wasn’t even dealing with psychopaths, but rather the fact that Seoul was so big and full of life that she would probably never see Roseanne again.
“Isn’t this against the rules?” Rosé asked, looking Suzy up and down, still processing that she had mustered the courage to admit she wanted to kiss her.
Suzy snapped out of her thoughts. She had to enjoy the moment and leave everything else aside, or else she would feel sad. And she couldn’t be sad in front of Rosé.
The truth was, they shared the same thought. Rosé also didn’t want to think about how tomorrow would be, where she would never see Suzy again. In her thoughts, she blamed Jennie for making her join the app and wondered what romantic movie she would be watching at home at that very moment.
"I’ve heard all my life that rules were made to be broken," Suzy responded with a mischievous smile on her lips. Rosé laughed but opened the phone’s camera to take a picture of her.
The real saying was that there was an exact reason why we shouldn’t break rules. They had consequences, which were sometimes too difficult to handle.
After a few photos, Rosé handed the phone back to the brunette; that had been the agreement. Just like her, she wanted a keepsake photo but knew she couldn’t do that. Too many rules had already been broken. Suzy smiled and took her Valentine’s Day date’s hand.
It felt so good to hold her hand—it was soft and warm, and at the same time, so comforting. She wanted to feel that touch for as long as she could. Rosé wasn’t going to stop her from that.
They spent a long time looking at what they hadn’t seen yet in the aquarium, until they got tired of it.
“What do you think about getting some ice cream?” Rosé suggested, practically reading Suzy’s thoughts.
“Let’s go!” she replied excitedly. There was still a long time before the day would end. Thank God, she thought.
______________
The ice cream shop was close to where they were, so after taking a few steps outside the aquarium, they were in line to order their ice creams. Rosé had never been to that ice cream shop before, but it seemed expensive.
The whole neighborhood was upscale, which made the blonde wonder if Suzy lived in an extremely expensive place. She tried to picture what her house or apartment would look like, but nothing seemed good enough.
“What do you want?”
Bae asked while looking at Rosé. They had been in line for about two minutes.
“Chocolate chip.”
Rosé responded with a small, close-lipped smile, remembering that it was both hers and Jennie’s favorite flavor.
“Alright. I’ll get vanilla,” Suzy announced, reaching for her credit card.
“Wait, I’ll pay for my ice cream,” Rosé explained, taking out her wallet.
“Let me pay,” Suzy said, looking at the girl. She wasn’t sure how far Rosé’s stubbornness would go.
“No, no. You already took me to that aquarium, and judging by the number of people inside, I suppose it was extremely expensive. We were practically alone in a place like that,” Rosé commented, having noticed this. For something that was in its debut, there was very little activity. “Let me at least pay for our ice creams.”
Suzy shrugged, willing to give in. Rosé was right about the number of people; she had indeed made sure there wouldn’t be many. She had her contacts, and she liked to use them for something now and then.
“Alright,” Suzy said, nodding. “I’ll be waiting for you; I’ll sit over there.”
Rosé nodded silently and stayed in line for a few more minutes. After paying for the chocolate chip and vanilla ice creams, she sat next to Bae. This time, beside her, unlike at the restaurant.
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted any toppings, but I added chocolate,” Rosé said, carefully handing the ice cream to Suzy.
“That’s fine; I like chocolate topping,” Suzy smiled. She used the small spoon to take a bite of the ice cream. “I really like this ice cream shop.”
“I’ve never been here before. It’s a bit far from where I live,” Rosé commented. Suzy was curious for a moment, wanting to ask which part of the city Rosé lived in but knew she couldn’t.
“Even though it’s far from where I live, I have a friend who works nearby,” Suzy said. Rosé’s eyebrow raised, curious about this new information.
It was useful information; maybe she could use it.
“This part of the city is prettier,” Rosé commented, thinking she might start visiting this area more often after the date.
“Yes, very beautiful,” Bae said while analyzing Rosé eating her chocolate chip ice cream.
“What is it?” Park noticed she was being watched, and a playful laugh escaped her lips. Curious about what Suzy would say.
“Nothing, you just have a little ice cream at the corner of your mouth,” Suzy commented, pointing to the corner of Rosé’s mouth.
Rosé bit her lip, embarrassed, feeling worse than a child at that moment. She grabbed a napkin and brought it to the corner of her mouth in an attempt to clean where it was dirty.
“And now?” Rosé asked, anxious.
“It’s still dirty,” Suzy replied, looking at her. Rosé tried to clean the spot again. Suzy shook her head and then moved closer, placing one of her hands on Rosé’s chin, lifting her face to make her look up at her.
With her other hand, she brought her finger to the corner of Rosé’s mouth, feeling the softness of Park’s lips once again. Rosé’s breath faltered with the sudden contact.
Her eyes closed, expecting Suzy’s lips to collide with hers at any moment. She was longing for that move from the brunette.
Bae smiled at the sight of this, then bit her lip and kissed the corner of Rosé’s mouth, precisely where it was dirty. Rosé opened her eyes and smiled, staring at the ground.
“There. Now it’s clean,” Suzy said playfully.
Rosé ran her tongue over her lower lip as if still savoring the kiss.
A shy smile appeared on Rosé’s lips; she was loving the day, and there was still much more for them to do.
“Our next destination is the amusement park,” Suzy said excitedly.
“We’ll help you overcome your fear of Ferris wheels,” Rosé said, reminding her of the conversation from earlier. Suzy smiled gently.
Oh, but she was going to ride that Ferris wheel no matter what. She was going to get a kiss, and that was enough to overcome any fear.
“As long as you’re with me, I think I can handle it,” Bae said, getting up from the chair and extending her hand to Rosé. “Shall we?”
“Let’s go,” Rosé replied, taking the woman’s hand, ready for their next adventure.
What did fate have in store for them?
_________