I-I think these shorts are too small for me...
“Eeeeennnooopppeeee. This is a Spencer’s honey, not Marshall’s.” The pink haired woman popped the bubble of her bubblegum, leaning against a wall and snickering seconds later as the self-conscious Keeper kept eyeing herself in the mirror. She was wearing a mini denim skirt and an almost see-through tank top.
“I feel like I’m going to rip these t-tights, a-and I don’t really like sweaters that don’t cover my belly, w-what if I get bloated or––”
“Whaaaat? Can’t hear ya, music’s too loud!” Kore yelled, challenging Papa Roach’s ‘Last Resort’ blasting in the Spencer’s they were in, despite them being in the back in the fitting rooms.
Yoon grumbled to herself. But then she eyed the cost of the cropped jacket she wore. 65 dollars?! How could something with such little fabric cost that much? “O-Okay, I don’t think I can get it, b-besides I still need to buy Yasha some stuff… that’s what we came for, remember?” Yoon brought up, wanting to surprise her lover when she would wake from her month-long slumber. She knew she had no clothes after her return from China besides that robe she always wore.
“Oh please,” Kore stuck her head past the curtains, infiltrating Yoon’s fitting room. “Money’s not a problem when you’re with me, babes.” It was clear she didn’t care about money considering the dozens of bags from other stores they had already bought.
“––GAH! K-Kore! Privacy please––” She pushed Kore out her room with flushed cheeks. She would eventually come back in.
“Keep the outfit on, I’m paying for it. Ya look sexy, you should really abandon the whole big hoodie and sweats thing––it’s not the vibe. Makes you look like a homeless Adam Sandler. Besides, there’s nothing more powerful that screams confidence than a fat girl rocking a cool outfit.”
Yoon cringed at Kore’s backhanded compliment. Her shoulders sank a little bit, gripping onto the excess skin near her thighs. She knew Kore was joking, or at least thought she was, but she couldn’t help to feel that she was nowhere close to losing weight. She couldn’t help but compare Kore’s thin waist with her own in the mirror. Yoon always felt like Kore’s D.U.F.F., or her designated ugly fat friend, whenever they were in public with all eyes on the pink-haired woman. It almost encouraged her to want to get the outfit to also stand out. Almost.
At the sight of Yoon frowning, Kore rolled her eyes. She massaged Yoon’s shoulders with her cold hands, eyeing her in the mirror now. “Listen, the sooner you learn to embrace your curves, the less you’ll give a fuck. It’s trendy to be fat nowadays, I guess you can say you’ve Americanized, that should earn ya a green card––ahaahaha!” Yoon, however, didn’t laugh. She just retrieved her half-finished Thai Milk Tea boba from the floor, taking in another sip for comfort. Kore proceeded to nudge her. “I’m jooookinggg, obviousllyyyy.”
Yoon sometimes wondered why she even hung out with Kore. But at the pure thought of this, she felt guilty for judging her friend. She wasn’t sure if Kore liked her as much as she did, but her presence helped fill the void that Abel and Yasha once occupied. And so all she could do was turn around and fake a smile. “I know…” She was silent, cringing some at the loud music the store was playing. “I-I saw a cat sweater I really liked, I think I-I’m gonna get that for her. E-Either that or maybe this dress I saw, but I can’t really buy both, s-so I feel like the cat has more sentimental v-value to it…”
Ugh. Kore rolled her eyes when Yasha was brought up again. But she also foreshadowed the look of jealousy on the pohji’s face when she found out Yoon had spent all week with her going on small shopping trips and restaurants, especially purchasing intimate items. The reaction almost made her smirk.
“Whatever ya want, Yoogie-Bear.” She teased. “Still down for that tattoo we talked about the other day?”
“H-Huh? Whaa––today?? In the mall???”
“Nah, back at my place.”
“You… You can tattoo stuff?”
“Well duhhh, I used to be a tattoo artist before I moved here.” She lied, which was easily believed by Yoon’s gullible ears.
“I… I don’t know, I know I-I told you I-I’ve always wanted one b-but… m-my mom’s going to kill me if she finds out...” However, there was a small rebellious part of her ever since she met Kore that did encourage her to do things behind her back.
“That’s why it’ll be our little secret.” Kore whispered, leaning down abnormally fast towards Yoon to expand a devious grin on her face. Yoon recoiled a little bit, giving the idea some thought.
“B-But it needs to be small, a-and hidden––” Yoon specified.
“Hmm… How boutch’er ears? Never see ‘em with that bobcut of yours. A good place to hide it.”
“Y-You can tattoo your ears???” Yoon blinked in awe. “I-Isn’t that… I-Isn’t that going to hurt?”
“Only if you want it to hurt.” Kore smirked. “Do you want it to hurt, Yoon?”
“W-Whaa—of course not!” The Keeper squeaked.
“Then it won’t.”
“.....w-what should it be of? Ooohh I should’ve thought about this more… H-How about a heart, o-or a cat paw print? I-I can dedicate that to Yasha,” She giggled.
“I’m actually going to throw up.” Kore thought of the cliche tattoo. “Don’t you dare say an infinity sign either.”
“Hmmm… I-I don’t know, then…”
“What’s your favorite flower? Those are pretty typical first tattoos people get.”
“Ummm… favorite flower?” Yoon repeated quizzically. “I-I don’t know, some people don’t consider these a real flower, b-but I just like the looks of Lotus flowers, the c-concept of how they grow are p-pretty cool.”
Kore rolled her eyes when she heard yet another cliche tattoo. But she would settle for it, knowing she would easily be able to incorporate the flower into a kanji. She would imprint herself onto Yoon with her full permission and have access to her and her mind at any point in time. The pink-haired woman curled her lips mischievously in her grinch-like grin. “Perfect.”
