Stephanie's glad she has a tight grip on Changmin because she's sure he would've flung her away at the sound of Lina's voice. As it is, an extremely pleasant kiss is cut short. She gives him one more peck, just...because, and turns to Lina.
"I was testing it to see if it works. Wouldn't want mistletoe malfunction at a critical moment."
Lina blinks at her, then grins, dimples flashing. "Good idea. Shall we repeat the experiment?"
Changmin's relaxed again, but he's easing away and misses Lina telegraphing her intention to Stephanie. They move with perfect choreography, Lina renewing Stephanie's grip on Changmin's hoodie to pull him back under the mistletoe.
Lina's being pushy, Stephanie knows that tilt of her head. But after the initial shock wears off, Changmin holds his ground. He doesn't quite push back, not from what Stephanie can see, but Lina has to work for what she wants. Lina pulls away first--fingers at her lips, smiling eyes, and blush-pink cheeks.
"Yeah, it works," she says, dropping her hand from her mouth to wrap fingers in Stephanie's waistband. The kiss is very quick and simple compared to the more recent ones under this sprig of green, but it holds more promises.
"You're still second," she says to Changmin as she eases away from Lina.
"Dimples have an unfair advantage," he says, winking at her.
Stephanie nods her agreement, then ducks back into the practice room, grabbing a grocery bag from under the chair. "This should do," she says with Lina tucked under her arm, laughing, as they walk toward the exit.
"Can I have this one?" Changmin calls.
"Knock yourself out, baby boy," Stephanie yells back in English. That phrase should give him an excuse to go looking for another set of dimples.