Chapter 1: Dress it Up

"Ahhh….I'm so torn," lamented the petite, vermillion-haired girl rather loudly. She kept looking back and forth between the two outfits hanging over her closet doors. On the left hung the classic Little Black Dress with a twist - shape-hugging stretch velvet, sleeveless with a deep V neckline. The hem of the skirt hit just above the knee, with a 2-inch slit above that. It was something that you'd see on the runways or donned by the femme fatale in a spy film. On the right was the wild card - a drapey, midi-length frock of deep amethyst accentuated with gold. The kind of dress you pin 1000 times but, unless you're a wood nymph, have no idea where you'd actually wear it. "Which one should I pick, Lili?" She asked, flipping her phone screen back around to see the video chat.

"Hmmm. They're both fashionable, appropriate for the occasion and flattering", the girl in the video tilted her head, hand pressed to her cheek. "I don't think you can go wrong either way, Yona."

"That's the most helpful yet unhelpful thing you could say!" Yona huffed at her friend, tossing the phone onto her bed. Lili winced.

"Sorry. What does Hak think?" She redirected, her only view now Yona's ceiling.

Hands on hips, Yona turned on her heel to face the room's other occupant. Arms folded behind his head and eyes closed, Hak was sprawled out on a small, plush couch, soaking up the warm sun streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"The Great Thunder Beast appears to be taking his afternoon nap," Yona muttered, taking a few steps toward him. She peered down at Hak. His long bangs were strewn across his forehead haphazardly and one leg was hanging completely off the tiny piece of furniture.

"You look more like a cat than anything," she mused, absentmindedly brushing the hair off his face. The places her fingers brushed felt warm from the sunlight.

She saw the corner of his mouth twitch too late. Before she could pull away, Hak's eyes fluttered open and he caught her wrist in his large hand. Yona squealed in surprise.

"Are you trying to get me to purr for you, Princess?" He grinned up at her, the light catching the flecks of cobalt in his eyes.

"Haak!" Yona groaned, pulling away. He readily let go of her, pushing himself up to a sitting position. She glared at him for a solid 10 seconds before the sound of Lili's voice snapped her out of it.

"Hello? Helloooo? Yona? Hak? What's going on!? I can't see anything!"

Yona stomped over to the bed, picking up the phone laying in the middle of the duvet.

"Sorry, Lili. I'll text you later." Yona said into the device. Lili raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, you will," she replied. Yona made a face and disconnected the call, tossing the phone back onto the bed. Hak chuckled.

"You're the worst," Yona shot him a withering look before sighing dramatically and flopping backwards onto the mattress, red curls splayed out every which way around her head.

A few moments later, she felt the bed dip down next to her.

"If it's stressing you out so much, why not just flip a coin?" Hak suggested, settling on the edge of the bed.

Yona pushed herself up on her elbows, a look of incredulity on her face. "Seriously?"

"What, why not?" Hak shrugged.

"I know I shouldn't be surprised considering you basically wear the same outfit in a slightly different color every day," Yona fumed, "but even you have to realize that the outfit I wear to my 18th birthday party is kind of a big deal, right?" She sat up all the way. "It's literally my social debut. This is my chance to show everyone that I'm not a kid anymore. I'm a…a woman now, and I want everyone to see that."

She was expecting him to snicker, but Hak didn't say anything. Yona braced herself for however he was going to make fun of her.

"You mean you want Soo-won to see," Hak stated. It wasn't a question.

"No…well, yes. I mean, Soo-won will be there, but so will other important people!" She stammered defensively.

"Oh?" Hak looked back at her, a glint in his eye.

"Y-yes." Awkward silence hung in the air.

"Like who? I'll wait." Hak smirked.

"Like…," Yona swallowed, "Father's business partners. The company heads and their families will be there."

"Yeah, Mundok's going since he's one of the department heads," Hak said. "Although be careful calling the old man "important", it'll go to his head," Hak replied. Yona giggled.

"You know what I mean... And you'll be there too, Hak, right?" Yona tipped her head and gazed at him expectantly. Hak didn't miss a beat, despite feeling his blood pumping a bit faster than it had been a moment ago.

"What kind of shitty best friend would I be if I missed your birthday?" He tousled her hair, grinning.

She stuck her tongue out at him, smoothing her hair.

"Speaking of your birthday, I better go figure out what I'm getting you as a gift," Hak said, standing up and heading for the door.

"Ooo…," Yona clapped her hands before realizing. "Wait, my birthday's tomorrow and you haven't gotten my present yet?" She pouted, but he was already halfway across the room.

"Go with the purple one. It matches your eyes," He said, slipping out the door with a wave.

—

Thanks for reading! Couple things I want to say: I'm aging everyone by 2 years. This is definitely going to turn into smut and I just get heebie jeebies thinking about writing that stuff with the canon age for Yona. I also have to say I am definitely being influenced by other fanfiction, as I have literally *devoured* anything HakxYona over the past couple weeks. I have another fic I started first that's not AU, but this idea wanted out of my head so I'll be hopefully working on both.