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“She’s sooo pretty!”
“I know right!”
“I’m saving up for this album. I really can’t let this pass.” Yuna gushes as her eyes skimmed over the small crowd they had; there are three students taking up one corner of the booth, one was scribbling furiously in her notebook while the other two were typing in their laptops. The three of them had their earphones plugged in. There’s a middle-aged woman who was sipping her coffee silently at the other corner. It’s a slow day. So it wouldn’t hurt to spare a small time watch this, right?
“Me too!” Chaeryeong, who was polishing the glasses, pipes up beside her. Unlike Yuna, the girl at least had the decency to pretend she was doing something. Yes. Pretend. Yuna knows this girl well enough not to fall for the facade. Plus her constant glances from the screen on Yuna’s phone would beg to differ, “The whole album’s so good. Even the b-sides are such a bop!”
“What are you guys talking about?”
Yuna jumps, immediately pocketing her device as she faces the source of the voice. There, standing in her light blue button up and dark jeans was her manager. Yu Jimin. An amused smile donning her lips as she crossed her arms. Maybe Yuna should’ve considered polishing those glasses too.
“I—I’m so sorry, Ma’m. We were just watching Winter’s new music video.”
Yuna wasn’t entirely sure. But she had a pretty good hunch that their manager was a huge fan too. The speaker that they installed in the dining area would always blast Kim Winter’s songs. Well, not really blast in the literal sense because it wouldn’t be possible as Winter’s songs are always so, so… sad. Now don’t get her wrong. Yuna was the epitome of a sunshine personification. There’s just something about Kim Winter’s songs that would pull you into so much longing. She guess that’s what people usually loves about her. The emotions she could pull through in just a few lyrics even if you’re not actually going through something. Maybe that’s why their manager is so fond of her music too.
Their manager’s eyes widened before the smile on her face dropped, “Wait, that’s today?”
Yuna exchanged glances with Chaeryeong upon seeing the woman’s slightly disheveled state. They watch her fumble with the phone in her grip, typing out something before facing them again.
“Relax, Yuna. I’m not mad. It’s a slow day, anyway. And what did I tell you about calling me Ma’m?”
Yuna breathes a little easier at that.
The woman’s brows were furrowed as she turned away, her eyes dropping back to the phone in her grip but before she could fully step out of the conversation, Yuna called out.
“Ma’m?” Yuna starts but immediately clamps her mouth shut upon seeing her manager’s raised eyebrow, “J-Jimin unnie.”
Jimin smiled, apparently satisfied as she nods her head. Yuna took that as a sign to continue.
“Is it true that you went to the same school as Kim Winter?” She subtly felt Chaeryeong nudging her but Yuna was not deterred, she’s been holding out on this information for so long since Yizhuo told her, “Yizhuo told me but I couldn’t believe her.”
They knew Yizhuo was their manager’s bestfriend. She would frequent the café with her long time girlfriend Aeri. They were both nice. Yuna liked them. Especially Yizhuo since she could match her energy. Aeri was on the softer, calmer side though. Yuna often wondered how someone so different could gravitate towards each other like that. They just work so well.
Jimin’s features softened, “Yes.”
Yuna mirrored her own grin, “Did you guys know each other?”
Jimin seemed to think about it before nodding, “I was ahead of year from her. We were not in the same classes but she knew Yizhuo first.”
“What was she like?”
Jimin’s smile turned secretive, as if a distant memory was flashing in front of her like a film reel, “I thought she was crazy.”
Yuna leaned forward. Even Chaeryeong seemed into it too.
Jimin was about to open her mouth but her phone started buzzing again. This time, it didn’t stop. Jimin’s gaze darted to the device before her lips twitched, “Sorry, I have to take this.”
Yuna nods and doesn’t try to stop the woman this time.
“I can’t believe you asked that.” Chaeryeong hisses beside her.
“At least she got distracted.” Yuna shrugs and goes back to actually polishing the glasses.
(Jimin was late. When she woke up earlier and realized that she forgot to set up her alarm, she immediately cursed her calculus teacher for giving an assignment the last minute she almost had to pull an all nighter just to have it done.
So here she was, running on four hours of sleep without breakfast. This day is already climbing in the ranks of Jimin’s Top Five Unluckiest Days Ever (no one would beat her number one though, the day she was late because she avoided the pigeons loitering the front gates of their school. So she’s afraid of birds, what about it?)
She sees another girl in the hallway. Probably in the same situation as her but the only difference is it doesn’t seem like she’s in a hurry like Jimin. And it looks like she’s ambling towards the exit. The brunette caught her gaze for a fleeting second, Jimin doesn’t recognize her but she’s pretty sure she’s from the lower year judging by the color of her necktie.
Jimin bowed her head slightly out of courtesy but the brunette stopped walking altogether to stare at her. Had it been in any other circumstances, she would’ve probably ask why. But she’s very late and Jimin had her priorities straight so she gave her one last smile before hoisting her backpack as she power-walks into the hallway.
“Hey, you have a car right?”
Jimin stops at the voice. She looks around the deserted hallway before returning her gaze towards the brunette who’s still raking her gaze over Jimin. She points to herself dumbly.
“Me?”
The girl smiled before nodding her head frantically, “I sometimes see you driving Ningning to school.”
Ningning? Is she close with Yizhuo?
“Yes?” Technically, it’s her old man’s pick up. But he lets Jimin use it from time to time. Jimin chances a glance on her wrist watch.
“Do you have a license?”
“I do? But it’s just a student.”
Why are they having this conversation right now? She really needs to get to class.
“Perfect. Can you drive me to Seoul right now?”
What.
Jimin blinks. Once. Twice. Did she hear that right?
“What?”
“I said can you drive me to Seoul?”
Jimin still couldn’t comprehend it. The drive from Busan to Seoul will approximately take three hours. Four at max if they encountered traffic and—, “We have classes.”
“I know.” The girl gave her a meaningful look.
“You’re cutting.” Jimin deadpans.
“Technically,” The woman stepped forward, an impish grin tugging the edge of her lips, “I wouldn’t call it cutting. I haven’t gone to class yet. You’re late. So if we leave now, it’s not cutting and we might make it in time.”
Make it in time?
“Why are you going to Seoul?”
The woman’s lips stretched into a genuine smile and it’s just so pretty that Jimin forgot she should be questioning this girl’s motives, “What else? To become a superstar.”
Jimin would’ve burst out laughing at the absurdity of it all but the sincerity in the girl’s tone made her stop.
“I’m going to audition, silly!” The girl exclaims when Jimin’s lips remained shut, exasperation coloring her tone but the glint in her eyes was still there and okay Jimin’s pretty sure this girl’s just crazy, “SM Entertainment is holding auditions and I’m going.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t.” Jimin shakes her head, already backing away, “Just take the subway or call your parents or whatever. But uh—I really hope you make it.”
The girl’s smile dropped for a moment, pouting and it almost made Jimin reconsider her life decisions. Almost. “I won’t be able to make it in time if I walk to the station.”
Jimin chuckled to herself and with every ounce of sincerity she could muster, she says, “Goodluck.”
Then she turns away. Doesn’t even look back.
Jimin tried not to think about it for the rest of the day. She barely made it in time for her first period so she busied herself with her coursework but when lunch time rolled around and she still finds her mind being plagued by a five foot tall brunette she doesn’t even know the name of, she decides to seek out Yizhuo.
She’s not guilty, she’s just curious.
Okay.
Maybe she is a little guilty.
“Hey, Ning. Do you know someone about this tall,” Jimin flattened a palm in the air, just barely past her ear, demonstrating the girl from earlier, “Brown hair. I think she’s a sophomore and wants to become a superstar.” She adds the last part as an afterthought when she realizes that her description of the girl was very generic and close to nothing specific. She couldn’t really tell Yizhuo how she finds her eyes pretty. Or the subtle dimple that would appear on her cheek when she smiled a little too widely.
“Oh.” Yizhuo doesn’t miss a beat, “You’re talking about Minjeong.”
Minjeong. Jimin ingrained the name in her brain, “You know her?”
“Yes. But we’re not from the same class. I just know of her. We’re in different sections.” Yizhuo explains, “She’s pretty popular within us sophomores though. I’m guessing you’ve gotten the experience first hand on why.”
“Yeah.” Jimin puts the straw in her carton orange juice, “She asked me to drive her to Seoul earlier.”
Yizhuo laughs, “She did what?”
Jimin nods, “She said she wants to audition for some agency.”
“What did you tell her?”
Jimin shrugs, “I told her to take the subway.”
“I bet she really did just that.”
“What, take the subway?”
“Yeah. There’s no stopping that girl in getting what she wants.”
Jimin nods mostly to herself, “I’ll bet.”
“But like, she’s really good at singing. We were trying out for the music club at the same time. It was crazy. The whole room got eerily silent and then everyone cried.”
Okay. Maybe Jimin was a tad interested. “Really?”
“Yeah. I really hope she gets in. I heard she’s been trying for years now but her parents aren’t really supportive of it.”
“Oh.” Jimin frowned, a sudden wave of protectiveness rushing in, “Why’s that?”
“Her mom is this big shot lawyer in the firm. Everyone thinks they want Minjeong to pursue that instead.”
“How do you know all this?”
Yizhuo rolled her eyes as she theatrically threw a lock of hair over her shoulder, “People talk. I listen.”)
Minjeong sighs to the empty stillness of her hotel room. She couldn’t sleep. She’d been tossing and turning for three hours already but the drowsiness that she’d been craving for hours wouldn’t hit her.
She grabs her phone from the bedside table and goes back to the last message from her manager, Jisu. She insists on being called with her Korean name despite having an English name as Lia since they were based here in L.A. Jisu was reminding her of their scheduled flight. She thumbs on the screen for a few seconds, mindlessly scrolling through stacks of ‘have fun on your vacation’ and ‘we’ll miss you’ messages before opening up a recent contact and typing out a message of her own.
‘Knock knock.’
The reply comes not more than a second later.
‘why are you still awake?’
Minjeong bit her lip before typing out a response.
‘I could say the same to you.’
‘minjeong.’
Minjeong momentarily shuts her eyes upon seeing the lone message. It’s almost like she’s back from seven years ago and she could actually hear the deep timbre of her tone upon uttering that name in the flesh. Her phone buzzes again.
‘it’s literally just 10am here in korea. it’s 2am there in L.A. do you see the difference??’
Minjeong sighs.
‘Are you busy?’
‘you have a flight in five hours!! and no i just got off a company meeting stop trying to change the subject’
‘I can’t sleep :(‘
‘close your eyes and count the jumping sheep’
‘I’m not a kid…’
‘oh. but you’re so small……’
Minjeong rolled her eyes but there was a smile threatening to split her lips.
‘I’m two seconds away from punching you rn. Just wait until I get home.’
‘sorry, what was that? i can’t hear you from up here’
‘Asshole!!!’
‘You’re still picking me up?’
Minjeong watches the three dots appear on her screen.
‘wouldn’t miss it for the world :)’
Minjeong smiled at the words. She fell asleep while clutching the phone against her heart. She can’t wait to come home.
(Jimin doesn’t see Minjeong the next day. She tries, very casually, asking Yizhuo about it. And the younger girl only gave her a raised eyebrow before telling her that Minjeong missed their club activities that morning so she was most likely absent. Apparently, Minjeong never missed a session.
It honestly made her a little worried. Okay, maybe not so much as worried but rather, guilty. She sat on that feeling all throughout the night. That maybe she could’ve handled the situation a lot better. Maybe she could’ve agreed to give her a lift after their classes. But was it possible to re-schedule?
Jimin trudges down the hallway the next morning with dark circles under her eyes. She can’t believe she’s losing sleep over something so stupid. Over someone that she doesn’t even know and had never interacted with the whole school year until like two days ago.
So Jimin proposes some rules to herself. One, she wouldn’t think of that encounter again. Two, she would stop looking for the girl except—except when her gaze landed outside the school grounds, she saw Minjeong.
She’s sitting by the bleachers that’s overlooking the school field. Jimin halts her steps. For a moment, she just allowed herself to look. It was a little far but there’s no mistaking that mop of brunette hair and before Jimin knew it, her footsteps are already taking her towards the gravitational pull that is Minjeong.
When she’s near enough, Jimin notices two things. Minjeong wasn’t aware of her presence yet as she’s scribbling something on her notebook while silently mouthing the words to herself. Also, there was a pack of opened gummy bears laying beside her. She was suddenly reminded of her missed breakfast this morning.
Jimin cleared her throat, “Minjeong?”
She was prepared to be ignored. Or at least to be given a cold shoulder. So when the woman looked up with a small confused frown on her face that soon melts into a full blown grin upon recognizing Jimin, the taller girl was at loss of what to do. She was ready for anything but that.
“Yes?” Minjeong tells her. She stops scribbling on her notes long enough to give Jimin her full attention.
Jimin blinks, “Oh. I was just.” She gave a vague flourish of her hand as her voice trailed off. She didn’t really prepare for this.
Minjeong’s eyes followed her gestures as she pointed the pen she was holding towards it, her tone full of mirth, “I’m sorry, was that supposed to mean something?”
“No. Sorry.” Jimin fiddles with her necktie before loosening it. Why is it so warm? Summer’s still months away, “May I sit?”
“So polite.” Minjeong teases before patting the empty space beside her.
Jimin takes it but she made sure to give a considerable space between them. Her movements were stilted, and awkward. If Minjeong noticed, she mercifully didn’t show it.
“Sooo.” Minjeong drawls when the silence stretched on, “What’s up?”
“I’m here to apologize.”
“For what?” Minjeong whips her head to face Jimin and she seemed genuinely confuse that Jimin had to second guess herself.
“For last time. When you asked for a ride. I was a bit rude.”
Silence. And then she heard Minjeong’s giggles tearing through the air.
“You’re apologizing for that? Look, you did the right thing. I didn’t know what I was thinking that time. I could’ve gotten you in trouble. I should be the one apologizing. Were you late?”
Jimin shook her head no, “Did you make it in time for the auditions?”
Minjeong heaves a long sigh, “Yeah. I got home super late though and I got in trouble with my mom.”
Jimin was suddenly reminded of her conversation with Yizhuo last time. But Jimin got the sense that Minjeong wasn’t keen on clarifying so she doesn’t push and decides to steer the conversation into a much lighter territory, “So, did you get in?”
Minjeong rolled her eyes, “Ugh, I don’t think so. Someone did their original song. Which honestly, wow, but also what the hell how come I never thought of that before?”
Jimin tries to hold back a smile as she subtly eyed the page on Minjeong’s lap, “Ah. Is that what this is?”
“I’m trying.”
“Need help?”
Minjeong snaps the notebook close, “Unless you have an alter ego that’s a genius lyricist, I don’t think so.”
Jimin was slightly offended as she protests weakly, “Hey, I won the poem making contest last year.”
“Oh my god, shh! She’s here!” Minjeong suddenly shushed her.
Jimin clamps her mouth shut, eyebrows knitting together as she followed Minjeong’s line of sight. A foot away from them, the bushes started shaking. If this was a horror movie, Jimin was pretty sure that the next thing would pop out of that is going to be some jump-scare inducing moment. So she held her breath. One. Two. A dark gray kitten emerges out of it instead. Minjeong stands up from her seat, completely ignoring Jimin as she kneeled beside the cat, not even caring the slightest that the dusty ground is ruining her skirt.
“Hi, baby. What took you so long?” Minjeong coos softly. Jimin watches as the kitten nuzzled her finger, “Hey, can you pass me my bag?”
Jimin blinks before snapping into action. She grabs the backpack before kneeling beside Minjeong. The brunette starts unzipping it without taking it from Jimin’s hand so the taller girl was stuck watching the scene unfold upon her while holding the bag open for Minjeong as she rummages in it.
“You have… cat food in your bag?” Jimin eyes the object in Minjeong’s hand warily.
“Yes.” Minjeong tells her without missing a beat.
“Do you have cats in your home?”
Minjeong shook her head.
“So… you just carry those around?”
“Yes.” Minjeong starts feeding the cat, apparently still too distracted to notice Jimin’s incredulous look, “I’ve always wanted one but my mom’s allergic so my dad wouldn’t allow it. What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you have pets?”
“I don’t. But I think crocodiles and sharks would make for a cool pet.”
This time, it was Minjeong’s turn to throw her an odd look.
Jimin just shrugs, “You really just carry those anywhere?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing.” Jimin purses her lips, she can’t really tell Minjeong that she finds the notion adorable.
Minjeong narrows her eyes into slits, “Yeah, keep judging don’t come at me crying when you’d have to carry raw fresh meat in your bag Ms. I think Crocodiles And Sharks Would Make For A Cool Pet.”
“I didn’t say anything!” Jimin broke out into a grin, “What’s her name?”
“I didn’t name her but she’s Jimin from now on.” Minjeong says casually but the way she side eyed Jimin as she bit her lip to suppress a smile tells her otherwise.
“How do you know my name?”
“How do you know my name?” Minjeong fires back just as haughtily.
Jimin flushes and remembers her slip up earlier, “U-uhm. From Yizhuo.”
Minjeong laughs, carefree, in the open space of the field as she knocks Jimin’s shoulders playfully, “Can you get that gummy bears too?”
Jimin’s frown deepens but she obliges nonetheless, “You're gonna feed this to the cat too?”
“No.” Minjeong shakes her head, the grin on her lips growing impish, “That’s for you. You’ve been eyeing it since the moment you got here.”
Jimin stares for a moment longer than necessary. And then she’s laughing, and just like that, Minjeong had wormed her way into Jimin’s life.)
“Are you sure you don’t need me to have you driven there?”
“Yes, Jisu. I’m fine. Someone’s picking me up.”
This is the fourth time Jisu had asked her since they landed. And honestly, Minjeong couldn’t really blame her. She knows her manager’s just worried. She almost hopped in a car that once claimed to be her driver. Says he was new and Minjeong was too tired to argue and question it. She was about to get in when her phone rang, and at the other end of the line was Jisu in panic mode claiming that her driver got stuck in the middle of traffic with a flat tire so he was going to be later than usual. Turns out the guy was a stalker. Nothing bad really happened. Aside from the fact that it haunted Minjeong’s dreams for the next three months.
This time though, Minjeong was pretty confident that they had nothing to worry about. They knew security was tight and they made sure no information was leaked about her flight details. It’s times like these Minjeong was very glad that she had an attentive and never-half-ass-her-work-manger like Jisu. No one was even passing them second glances.
They were both waiting for their luggages when she felt the phone in her grip buzz. She pulls the facemask up her face, “She’s already here.”
“Who’s picking you up?”
Minjeong was very vague about it when Jisu had first asked her before and she doesn’t really feel the need to elaborate, “A girl friend.”
“A what?” Jisu shrieked which earned a few odd looks from the people passing by.
“I meant,” Minjeong rubs her ears upon the sudden shrill, “As in a girl that is a friend. With the space in the middle. A woman friend.”
Jisu gave her an incredulous look as her face contorted into an amused one. She even had the gall to act out some air connotations, “Is this the friend?”
Minjeong rolled her eyes, exasperated, “Why do you say it like that?”
“I’m not saying it like anything, that’s all you. I’m just asking.”
Minjeong threw her a dark look, “Yes. It’s her.”
Jisu doesn’t say anything after that but the barely there noticeable smirk on her lips did not go unnoticed so Minjeong grasps at something to alleviate the attention, “You staying over at Yeji’s?”
Jisu’s face brightened upon the mention of the girl, “Yeah and she’s picking me up too. As my girlfriend. You know. No spaces and oxford commas.”
“Seriously? You’re fired.”
“I’m just kidding.” Jisu laughs before her face turned solemn, “You okay with staying over at your parent’s house?”
“They offered and my mom was very persistent.”
“You know my door’s always open if you ever felt the urge to get out of there. Yeji wouldn’t mind. Just give me a ring.”
And this is why she will always keep Jisu. She’s not just some colleague. She’s also a close friend who kept Minjeong sane for all those years.
“I know. Thank you.”
“This is me.” Jisu stops, gives her a tight hug before winking as she says, “Have fun with your girl space friend!”
Minjeong rolled her eyes and doesn’t dignify that with an answer because if there’s one thing she knows about Jisu, is she’ll stop at nothing once you give her something. Like a shark hounding on its prey. She hastens her steps, trying to crane her neck when brown orbs finally found what she was looking for.
Minjeong stops walking, the grip in her luggages loosening as she allowed herself to bask in her bestfriend she hadn’t seen for years. The woman’s back was facing her but there was no mistaking that tall figure; she would be able to pick her out over thousands and thousands of crowds. It’s like Minjeong had this camera lenses zoomed in perspective that’s specifically made only for one Yu Jimin.
Jimin was scrolling through her phone while her other free hand was tucked into the pockets of her faded jean shorts. She’s wearing a simple black tee over a loose pink cardigan. Her long dark hair was tucked into a black Yankees ballcap, and she’s wearing doc martens to top the look off. Minjeong was suddenly reminded with the amount of times she’d joke about linking her to a modeling agency which would always earn her a disapproving glare from the girl.
Minjeong starts walking towards her. Jimin’s eyes were still glued to her phone. She feels her phone buzzing in her pockets. One step. Buzz. Two steps. Buzz. When she’s near enough—
Minjeong punches her arm. Hard.
Jimin fumbles with the phone in her grip, annoyance clearly evident on her face but as soon as she realized who was the culprit, her face broke into the biggest smile and Minjeong’s pretty sure she might’ve died a little inside. It’s been too long.
She opens her mouth, about to say just that when she feels strong arms being wrapped around her waist, and suddenly she’s being lifted up and oh, Jimin’s still using the same damn perfume and nuzzling her neck as she whispered the words, “I missed you. You’re still so small. Have you been eating well? You’re so light.”
Minjeong couldn’t really do anything as she allowed herself to melt into the warmth that is Jimin. She wounds her arms around the girl’s neck and hugs back just as tight, “I missed you too. You’re still so tall, are you sure you don’t want to be a model? My offer still stands.” Minjeong teased.
Jimin pulled back, rolling her eyes before playfully pinching her sides. She grabs the luggage from Minjeong’s hand, “You dyed your hair black. You were blonde in your recent music video.”
Minjeong raises an eyebrow as she fell into step beside her, “You mean the music video you forgot was dropping on the said date?”
Jimin at least had the decency to look guilty, “I’m sorry. I’ve been really busy with the café.”
“Oh! Can we go there?”
Jimin snorts, “Sure. If you’re up for a spontaneous fansign event.”
“What do you mean?”
“My two employees are big fans. Yuna and Chaeryeong, I think I’ve mentioned them before. They wouldn’t shut up about you.”
“Then all the more reason for me to go there.”
“Sure. But not right now. I’m taking you home first and you’re going to rest.” Jimin gave her a pointed look, “I know someone’s been awake when she should be resting for her thirteen hour flight.”
Minjeong juts her bottom lip, “What? It’s okay. I’m not that tired.”
Okay. That’s a lie. Minjeong was very tired and very jetlagged but she really wanted to spend the day with Jimin.
Jimin gave her a once over. And well. She could never really lie to Jimin. It’s like Jimin had this sixth sense when it comes to her, “It’s okay. We have plenty of time.”
Minjeong sulks even further, her voice going quiet as her gaze remained downcast, “I’m only here for a week.”
She heard Jimin’s soft laughter, “That’s more than enough for me.”
Minjeong wants to tell her that it isn’t for her. But she kept her mouth shut as they stepped outside.
Here’s one thing that she missed about Korea. The weather. Back in L.A., it’s almost like the city had its default weather as rainy or very, very rainy. So when they stepped outside, Minjeong had to blink, and squint her eyes to adjust. She brought her hand just above her forehead, serving as a makeshift shade to block the sunlight when she saw Jimin removing her own ballcap in her peripheral vision before gently fixing it on Minjeong’s head instead.
“Better?” Jimin asks her with the softest smile on her face.
Minjeong pulls the visor further down her face before nodding, not quite trusting her voice yet.
If she were a little braver, she would’ve told Jimin that nothing’s better than having her back around.
(“Jimin!”
Jimin almost chokes on the orange juice halfway down her windpipe at the sudden voice yelling her name. It’s lunchtime and she’s eating in their classroom while trying to catch up on their reading materials when the door to their room slid open, revealing none other than Kim Minjeong.
The past few days had actually been a whirlwind for Jimin. Quite literally because Minjeong took it upon herself to carve a Minjeong shaped hole into Jimin’s life. When she thinks about it, it’s actually kind of interesting. Her life’s pretty bland. She likes things organized. She doesn’t do spontaneous, trust her to always have the plan from A to Z if needed. Jimin likes pacing herself.
But Minjeong, oh Minjeong’s always running at full speed no pit stops. Not that Jimin’s complaining. Quite the opposite because despite everything, Jimin’s really enjoying the younger girl’s company. It’s like Minjeong’s this sudden beam of excitable puppy after a long day at work. Something to look forward to.
A few students gave them a passing glance but soon turned back to whatever they were doing when they realized it’s just Minjeong. That’s kind of new too. Jimin was still getting used to being associated with the girl. A few times, people had stopped Jimin on the hallways to ask for the other girl’s whereabouts. The first time it happened, Jimin had to blink a few times before fully registering the question.
Had they really become that inseparable?
Minjeong pulls a chair beside her as she drops herself on it, “Sorry.” She mumbles sheepishly, patting Jimin’s back.
Jimin coughs in her palm, “What are you doing here?”
“I was looking for you at the cafeteria but you weren’t there!”
“Oh. Yeah, I was catching up on some readings. Did you need something?”
Minjeong smiled. And it’s that smile that would deepen the dimples on her cheeks. It took every ounce of her willpower not to reach out and poke it. Thankfully, Minjeong chose that moment to pull out her phone and show it to Jimin.
Jimin’s squints her eyes, trying to read the message and when she realized the contents of it, she couldn’t help mirroring Minjeong’s smile, “For real?”
Minjeong nodded her head frantically, barely stops herself from squealing in glee, “Deadass. They want me to come back for second screening. It’s not that serious yet, but it’s the first time I got this far!”
“Minjeong, that’s crazy. I’m really happy for you.”
“Thank you, it’s this Saturday. Are you free that day?”
Jimin thinks about it. She doesn’t really have much anything to do in the weekends. Well, aside from helping in her parents’ mini bakery. But maybe she could ask her mom to spare her just this once. So she nods her head. Minjeong’s face brightened.
“Great. Can you come with me?”
This time, Jimin doesn’t hesitate, “Of course. I’ll come pick you up.”
Minjeong beams, “I’ll text you my address.”
When weekend finally came, Jimin found herself driving in a neighbourhood with tall houses and cars lining up their garages that would put her old pick up truck to shame.
There’s just no other way to say it. The area just looks expensive as heck and Jimin had to double check Minjeong’s text if she was right.
It didn’t even occur to her that Minjeong was rich rich. Come to think of it, Yizhuo did mention to her once that Minjeong’s mom was this big shot in the firm but Minjeong never really talked about her parents in detail. Jimin was well aware of Minjeong’s barely there fondness over them. And Jimin wasn’t one to pry, she’s not that type of person so she lets it go.
Her thoughts were halted soon enough when Minjeong emerges from one of the two-storey houses lining up the sidewalks. Jimin watches with bated breath as Minjeong raises her hand to wave at her, her other free hand hoisting the huge guitar case on her back.
It’s actually the first time she saw Minjeong in casual clothes and Jimin was suddenly reminded of how small Minjeong really is. She was almost being weighed down by the guitar on her back. It also doesn’t help the fact that she was wearing a loose band tee over a cream colored flannel with sleeves that hangs past her fingers. She completed the look with ripped dark shorts and ankle boots.
“Hi.” Minjeong tells her when she’s near but she doesn’t come in right away. She leaned forward, placing her hands in the windowsill of the car, “Is it okay if I put this in the back?”
Jimin nods as her eyes track Minjeong’s movements through the rearview mirror, she places the guitar at the backseat, following her until she hops in shotgun. Puts her hair up in a haphazardly thrown bun and fixes the air condition on her, “God, it’s so hot today.”
Jimin blinks, averting her eyes immediately once she realized she’d been staring for a little too long, “Yeah. Sorry. This car’s old so the AC’s not functioning properly.”
“It’s okay. I love your car. Do you want to get bingsu after?”
Jimin chuckles, it doesn’t surprise her that Minjeong’s thinking about that instead of her actual performance, “Are you not nervous at all?”
“Why would I be?” Minjeong raises an eyebrow, a playful grin on her lips, “If anything, they should be nervous of me.”
Jimin shakes her head, she puts the car on reverse, taking one last look at Minjeong’s huge house before driving off, “I didn’t know you play guitar.”
“Oh, yeah. It’s actually secondhand. The owner was nice enough to hold it for me until I could save up money for it. Pretty cool, right?”
“Did you take lessons?”
“If you consider endlessly watching Youtube tutorial videos a lesson, then yes.” Minjeong seems to hesitate at first, she catches her fiddling with the hem of her plaid sleeves from her peripheral vision, “I wanted to, though. But uhm. My parent’s wouldn’t allow it.”
Oh. This is a first. Jimin chose her words carefully, “May I ask why?”
“Always so polite.” Minjeong gave her a side long glance, amusement tinging her tone before her voice turned serious as she heaves a long sigh, “They just want me to be them so bad. And I’m just—I’m not them, you know? Sometimes, it just gets really stifling.”
Jimin doesn’t really know how to respond to that. It was the first time Minjeong was openly talking about her parents without the pretense of nonchalance so Jimin gets the sense that she had to choose her words carefully. But Jimin was never really good with words. She keeps a diary. And she likes writing her thoughts into paper but when it comes to voicing those actual thoughts, it becomes this jumbled word-vomit. So she tries to make up for it by having some sort of physical contact with the person. Oftentimes, she wouldn’t hesitate to give them a hug if they needed it. Or reach for their hand to give it a comforting squeeze.
But well—she’s driving and she’s a little occupied. She’s not sure if she should pull to the side of the road just to reach for… what exactly? Minjeong’s hand? Wouldn’t that be a little too weird? Too sudden? So Jimin could do nothing but pass furtive glances between the younger girl beside her and the road ahead of her. On her third attempt at trying to steal a glance, she sees Minjeong’s lips stretching into a smile all the while her gaze remained upfront.
“Eyes on the road, Jimin. I plan to arrive in our destination fully intact.”
Jimin feels the heat creeping up her ears, “Sorry.”
She hears Minjeong chuckling as she fiddles with the radio knobs. Minjeong plays with it for a good minute or two before finally settling into a station. The car ride was mostly spent in a comfortable silence until Minjeong started humming to the song that Jimin vaguely recognizes as one of IU’s songs. And then suddenly, she’s singing to it softly, almost as if she’s mumbling the words to herself and Jimin was struck with how beautiful she sounds.
And oh, Jimin kind of understands now. Suddenly, she can’t see Minjeong without the stage, the spotlights and her guitar upon a huge crowd. It’s like Minjeong was made for this.
They made it in time for Minjeong’s turn. Minjeong insists on bringing Jimin with her, says that there’s a waiting area inside the lobby but Jimin takes one look at the throng of people milling around the area and decides she’d stay in the car instead.
“Minjeong?” Jimin calls out, the apprehension clear in her tone.
Minjeong whips her head to face Jimin, “Hm?”
“Goodluck.” Jimin swallows hard before adding, “You’re meant to be here. If anyone ever tells you otherwise, you show them that.”
The smile that broke out of Minjeong’s face was something she was going to remember forever.)
“You’re taking a detour?”
“I’m taking a shortcut.”
“Somehow, I doubt that.” Minjeong notices Jimin’s smile growing by each passing second as the recognition in her eyes settled in. She sat up a little straighter, “Is this…?”
“Yeah, they renovated this area. Looks real good now, right?” Jimin’s voice dropped into a playful stage whisper, “I promise I’m not lost this time and there are no Demogorgons waiting to eat us.”
“Shut up.” Minjeong threw her a weak glare as she lets out a soft breath when she takes in the road. A solid pavement that used to be a pure sand and rocks. There are flowers lining up the sides too, “I haven’t noticed. It’s so pretty.”
“Yeah, you were gone for a long time.” Jimin’s voice was soft. Her tone wasn’t accusatory, just plain nostalgic. And when Minjeong snaps her gaze towards the girl, she had this small quirk of her lips.
“I have, haven’t I?” Seven years. She couldn’t come home for seven years. When she left for L.A, she and Jimin kept in touch but their busy schedules wouldn’t align and they didn’t really have the luxury of time for catching up, “I’m sorry.”
Jimin’s face turned sour, then she pouted, “Why are you apologizing? It’s not your fault.”
“I wanted to come home. I should’ve tried harder. But they—“
Jimin pulls the car to a sudden halt, effectively silencing Minjeong. She turns the blinker on before facing her, “Hey, look at me.”
Minjeong did just that. Jimin’s gaze was unwavering. And Minjeong had to remind herself to breathe. Somehow, it doesn’t surprise her that Jimin still had this effect on her.
“You’re here now.” Jimin reaches for her hand, intertwines it together like she used to all those years ago and Minjeong’s heart beats a little faster against her chest, “That’s all that matters.”
Somehow, despite all the years, it doesn’t surprise her that maybe she’s still a little bit in love with Yu Jimin.
(“I swear this is the start of every horror movie, Jimin. We’ll get lost. Our car’s going to break down. The next thing you know, we’re going to get mauled and eaten by a Demogorgon.”
Jimin snorts out a laugh, “Demogorgons don’t actually eat you. They just make your body their host.”
“Was that supposed to make me feel better?”
Jimin bursts into a fit of giggles, “I’m just saying. Relax. This what my GPS is telling me. This is the right way. Here. I’ll drive, you navigate.” She hands Minjeong her phone mostly just to distract her.
Because okay. Maybe they were lost. It’s already past six. The sun was beginning to set already. Minjeong needs to be home by seven because she tells Jimin it’s her mom’s curfew. The GPS directed her to this area for shortcut and Jimin was pretty sure that was the same damn tree they drove by thirty minutes ago. And the hour before that. But Minjeong didn’t need to know that. Yet. She’s going to find the way soon.
After another thirty minutes of going around in circles and seeing that stupid damn tree again, Jimin finally breaks.
“Uh, I think we’re lost.”
Minjeong gave her an unimpressed look, “No shit, sherlock.”
“Sorry.” Jimin mumbles, the skies had turned dark. Their only source of light now were Jimin’s headlights.
“Hey, it’s okay. This is actually not a bad way to go.” Minjeong’s tone was light to let Jimin know she wasn’t really mad.
Jimin scoffs as she puts the car on idle, “We’re not dying here. Give me my phone.”
Jimin calls the towing services and pins her location. Minjeong wanted to call the cops at first but Jimin argued that a couple of minors driving past the supposed boundary states of her student license would get them both in trouble. So they agreed to just call the towing services.
They both apologised profusely for the inconvenience they caused once the old man came and realized they didn’t really need his help aside from leading them to the right direction. Minjeong wants to pay him extra cash but the older man waved her off, insisting that they should just get home safe and never trust the GPS as he goes on about the importance of maps and actual compass back in his days.
And because Minjeong was just a little too nice for her own good, she indulges him with the conversation for another ten minutes.
It was already past eight when she sees the familiar two storey house towering in the distance. Minjeong’s phone hadn’t stopped buzzing since but the younger girl took one look at the caller ID, scoffs, then mindlessly stashes it in her pockets.
“Are you going to get in trouble with your mom again?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Minjeong smiles as she prepares to unbuckle her seatbelt. She bit her lip, seems to hesitate at first, “Hey, Jimin?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for coming with me. I’m really glad you were there.” Minjeong was looking at her with so much intensity that Jimin had to avert her gaze. Because if she didn’t, she might’ve said something stupid like how Minjeong’s eyes are so pretty right now. Tired but with so much brightness it almost feels like the stars in the skies itself.
Jimin gulps as she tries to mask the tremble in her voice, “You think I’m doing this for free? You’re going to buy my lunch tomorrow.”
Minjeong giggles then reaches out to gently squeeze Jimin’s forearm, a simple touch that sends her mind slightly reeling, “It’s a date.” Minjeong tells her before she’s slipping out to get her guitar from the back seat. She gave Jimin one last wave, walking backwards before finally jogging up to the steps of her home.)
“Yizhuo’s really excited to see you.”
Minjeong hums, can’t help but feel a smile tugging her lips upon hearing Yizhuo’s name, “She texted me earlier when we landed. I heard she’s seeing someone.”
The only two people she kept in touch with from her hometown are Yizhuo and Jimin.
“Yeah. Her name’s Aeri. They met in college.”
“Are we going to see them tomorrow?”
“No.” Jimin scoffs as if Minjeong just said the most ridiculous thing ever, “They can wait their turn. Tomorrow is just Jimin and Minjeong day.”
Minjeong hikes a brow, “You have a plan in mind?”
“I want you to meet someone.”
Minjeong freezes at that. The first thing that comes to mind is oh, no. Jimin’s going to introduce her long time boyfriend. Because why the hell would she bring that up in the middle of talking about Yizhuo’s girlfriend?
“Oh?” Minjeong instills nonchalance in her tone, “Who?”
“It’s a secret.” Jimin gave her a sidelong glance, her lips pulling up a smirk, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow then we’ll drop by my place.”
Double oh no. Jimin’s going to introduce her long time, live-in, boyfriend. She never really kept track who Jimin has been hanging out with. Or dating, for that matter. If she wanted to, she would’ve asked. But she didn’t because Minjeong doesn’t fee like setting herself up for another emotional turmoil. Being away from Jimin took its toll on her way more than it should. But being away from Jimin while simultaneously being in love with her and having the knowledge that Jimin’s dating someone who isn’t her, is just going to be pure unadulterated torture.
And it’s stupid, she shouldn’t be feeling that way. She’s the one who left. Chose this path. And Jimin was allowed to date whoever she wants to.
“Very mysterious, but okaaay.” Minjeong drawls, tries to keep the apprehension slipping through the cracks.
Jimin helps her with her luggage as she walks her up the steps of her home, “You gonna be okay?”
“Yes.” Minjeong senses the untold question beneath the words, “My mom she’s… actually mellowed out, believe it or not.”
Jimin nods, buries her hands in her pockets as she sports that disarming lopsided grin on her face, “I bet she’s really proud of who you’ve become. I know I am.”
Here’s one thing she noticed about Jimin the moment she came back. Jimin had grown more confident with herself. Minjeong was so used to the awkwardly charming bestfriend back in high school. She was used to being the bolder one between them. There are times when fishing Jimin for compliments felt like finding a needle in a haystack. Sometimes, she would have to tease it out of Jimin as the taller girl would blush furiously. And it’s actually a good thing for Jimin.
But not so much for Minjeong because she barely survived stupidly attractive fumbling with her words high school Jimin. How would she ever survive still stupidly attractive but oozing with confidence manager Jimin?
“Yeah, okay, no need to butter me up with your sweet words, Jimin. I’ll give you my autograph.” Minjeong makes a show of checking her nails haughtily before breaking the act with a wide smile when she hears Jimin laughing, “But uhm, yeah, I can see that she’s really trying this time.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Minjeong bit her lip, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Jimin nods, walking backwards, “Be ready at 10, superstar!”
Minjeong’s smile fell from her face once Jimin’s out of sight. Right. She still has to mentally prepare herself to meet Jimin’s potential boyfriend. But first, her parents.
(“I hate her so much.”
“Uh-oh. Who are we fighting?”
“My mom.”
“Ah. Sorry. You’re on your own there.”
Minjeong sniped Jimin a weak glare as she puts her phone face down on the cafeteria table. She shoots it a dirty look, as if the device had personally offended her.
“What happened?”
“You know how I don’t want to go to the school dance?”
Jimin slides her a sandwich and a bottled tomato juice. Minjeong actually mentioned to her once that she never really liked tomato but she saw on the internet that tomato juice is a good way to avoid sore throats so ever since then, Jimin makes it a point to buy Minjeong the drink during the lunch times they could eat together, “Yeah. I thought you’re gonna skip it?”
“Thanks.” Minjeong takes the offered food, momentarily flashing Jimin a grateful smile before continuing sulking, “Well, apparently not anymore. My mom just texted that she scheduled me for a dress fitting this afternoon and I would come whether I like it or not or she’s cutting off my allowance.”
“Will she really do that?”
“You have no idea.” Minjeong huffs before scrunching her nose as she cranes her neck, “Where’s Ning?”
As if being summoned solely by Minjeong’s words, Yizhuo sidles up beside Jimin with a tray in hand, “I’m here. What’s up?”
“We were just talking about the upcoming dance.”
Yizhuo sighs dreamily, “Are you guys going?”
“Hopefully not.” Minjeong mumbles in her drink.
Jimin lifts a shoulder, “Kind of have to be there. They put me in technical committee.”
“You and your inability to say no.” Yizhuo clucks her tongue, “Have fun. Take lots of pictures for me.”
Jimin frowns at that, “You’re not going?”
Yizhuo drops her gaze, her cheeks pinking, “It’s not that I don’t want to. I just don’t have anything to wear. I can’t really ask my parents for anything right now. We’ve been on a tight budget since we moved here.”
Minjeong’s eyes twinkle at that and oh, Jimin knows where this is going, “Ning, are you busy this afternoon?”
Yizhuo looks at her warily before taking a huge bite out of her own sandwich, “Not really. Why?”
Minjeong’s smile grew, “I might need you to accompany me somewhere.”
So that’s how Jimin found herself sitting on a rather luxurious sofa as soon as their classes were dismissed with a certain brunette who’s brimming with excitement. They were waiting for Yizhuo, who’s still in the fitting room and Jimin was tempted to put a hand over Minjeong’s knee just to make her stop. The girl was buzzing.
“Won’t you get in trouble for this? What if your mom changes her mind and checks on you here?”
“Trust me. She won’t. I already sent her a picture earlier that I’m here and once she sees daughter little Minjeong had been obedient, she’ll stop hounding.”
“If you say so.” Jimin sighs, not really trying to fight it anymore. If there’s one thing you should know about Minjeong, is she’ll move mountains to get what she want.
“What about you? What are you wearing?” Minjeong brought a finger to her chin, making a show of passing Jimin a once over, “You would look sooo good in a suit.“
Jimin fought a blush at the scrutinizing stare, “I don’t know? A shirt and pants? Something comfortable so I can move around comfortably.”
Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say because Minjeong looks like she’d just been shot, “Jimin, no.”
Jimin rolled her eyes, “Minjeong, I’ll be there as a helping committee. I’m not trying to win prom queen.”
“Still!”
And just like that, Minjeong was darting off her seat. God, this girl was the human personification of a hurricane. She can’t keep up with it, and dare she try, she won’t come out unscathed.
“Jimin, come on! You want something comfortable right?”
Jimin drags her feet towards where the brunette was rummaging through hanged garments. She stops just a foot away from her and watches Minjeong’s brows knitting together, the tip of her tongue sticking out of her lips as she concentrates. Jimin can’t help but let out a chortle at the sight, “I thought you hated your mom’s pageant schemes?”
“Mm-hm, but it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate watching my friends get all dolled up for it.”
Jimin juts her chin up to avoid getting poked with the hanger’s handle when Minjeong appraises the clothes on the length of Jimin’s body. Jimin absently reaches over to flip a tag causing her eyes to widen, “Minjeong, I can’t afford for this!”
“Please don’t worry about that.” Minjeong waved her off, seemingly distracted, “Can you try this on?”
Jimin stops at that. Oh no. She was not going to let Minjeong do this. She crosses her arms indignantly, “Minjeong, I can’t let you pay for this.”
“It’s okay, Jimin. Just think of it as a thank you gift for driving me last time.”
“You already did that. You said ‘thank you’ when I dropped you off. That’s more than enough for me.” Jimin says, tone flat.
Minjeong sighs, runs a palm across her hair as she chews on her bottom lip and oh, Jimin knows what’s coming next. Minjeong had pulled this move on her multiple times. And she swears it’s not going to work this time. She’s going to put her foot down on this one.
Minjeong juts her bottom lip, “Please?”
Jimin takes one look at that and finds her shoulders automatically slumping. The stiffness of her stance immediately softening. It’s like Jimin had this metaphorical switch made only for Minjeong. Press here if you want to activate putty Jimin.
This is so not fair.
“All’s fair in love and war.” She hears Minjeong say, an ounce of amusement tinging her tone and it dawns on Jimin with sudden mortification that she just said that out loud.
Jimin ends up trying the pantsuit, anyway. She stands with Yizhuo outside the fitting room, walks a little awkwardly at first and Minjeong teases her about it, says she looks like a walking baby giraffe.
Yizhuo twirls in her dress and Minjeong gushes over it.
The three of them end up going to the dance later that week. Minjeong cooks up this elaborate plan so they get ready at Jimin’s place instead. Minjeong sends her mom selfies of them getting ready while doing each other’s make up and hair so as to not raise suspicions. Yizhuo ends up wearing the pretty dress. Jimin wears the pantsuit Minjeong got for her and Minjeong wears her favorite flannel and beat up converse. It’s all sorts of ridiculous. Everyone kept giving them weird glances.
But Jimin finds herself focusing on Minjeong amidst the crowd instead, her features exuberant in contrast to the dimness of the yellow artificial light in the auditorium.
Yeah. Jimin thinks. Maybe it was worth it.)
“You could’ve told me it was a cat, jerk.”
“Why? Were you thinking of something else?” Jimin asks, smiling, and it’s that smile she would usually wear whenever she already knows the answer to her question. She’s just doing it to tease Minjeong.
Minjeong psyched herself up for nothing. She was mentally giving herself the pep talk all the way to Jimin’s flat, up until to her front door only for the taller girl to nudge her inside and introduce her to Mindoongie with a sly grin on her face upon seeing Minjeong’s stunned reaction.
“I literally thought you were going to introduce me to your husband or something.”
Jimin stared at her, mortified, before she’s clutching the side of her stomach as she barks out a laugh, “You didn’t.”
“You made it sound like that!” Minjeong drops on her knees, the cat nuzzles against her lap, one of its eyes was screwed shut, she gently grazes a finger over it, “What happened to you, baby?”
Jimin sat beside her on the floor, leaning back on her hands as she stared at Minjeong with a soft smile on her lips. She had her long dark hair tied up in a ponytail and Minjeong tried not to let her eyes stray for too long across the pale column of her neck, “The animal shelter told me they found her like that. Missing an eye. And she’s been in the shelter for a year already. No one wanted her, and I think she’s perfect so I didn’t hesitate to get her. She also reminds me of you.”
Minjeong raised an eyebrow, “Elaborate.”
“She’s stubborn and she’s a very picky eater.”
Minjeong rolled her eyes as she redirected her gaze towards the purring kitten in her lap, “You heard that, Mindoongie? Your mom’s so mean.”
The gray furball yawns and Minjeong can’t stop the smile threatening to split her lips.
She feels Jimin’s chin dropping on her shoulder. Her other hand bracketing the other side of Minjeong’s hips, and suddenly, all her senses were hyperaware. She feels Jimin’s warm puffs of breath tickling her ear. That goddamn lavender scented perfume that seems to stick with her since high school. The strong, sturdy frame against her back.
And Minjeong was never a religious person but right now, she prays to every deity that Jimin wasn’t hearing the rumbling thunder against her chest.
Despite the swirling emotions clouding every nerve in her system, Minjeong finds herself leaning into the body behind her. She missed this. She missed Jimin so much. There’s an ache in her that had never really been quite soothed since the day she’d last seen those soft brown hues.
“Can we just stay in for today?” Minjeong’s voice was soft, afraid that if she says it a little too loud, it would somehow ruin this little moment.
“You don’t want to go out?” Jimin whispers back just as softly. The deep timbre of her voice sending a jolt against Minjeong’s spine.
“Yeah. I wanna hang out with Mindoongie.” Minjeong pointedly eyed the stacks of papers haphazardly thrown around the coffee table, the cardigan hanging around the couch and the piling dishes in the sink, “And maybe clean this place a bit.”
Jimin groaned, “Sorry, if I had known we were staying I would have cleaned and work has been eating me up. Which reminds me, I’m going back from my two days leave tomorrow and Yizhuo’s asking for dinner. She wants you to meet Aeri.”
Minjeong hums absently, her fingers still carding through the furball in her lap, “Can I bring Jisu too?”
“Your manager? Sure. It’s time I thank her for putting up with a brat like you.”
“Yah.” Minjeong lifted a shoulder to jostle Jimin’s perched chin.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Shh. Don’t move. You’re waking Mindoongie up.”
(“Did I ever tell you that my grandmother used to be a singer?”
Minjeong tells her one afternoon they were lazing around Jimin’s room, catching up on homework. Well, mostly Jimin because as soon as Minjeong stepped in her room, she zeroed in on Jimin’s ukulele perched on the side of her bed. She doesn’t really use it much. She just bought that on a whim for a class presentation and that was that. She even forgot she had it. If it weren’t for Minjeong’s inability to keep her curiosity in check and the dramatic gasp she emitted upon pulling it out of Jimin’s dusty box labeled as ‘randoms’ under her bed one afternoon, it would’ve been completely pushed back to the depths of her mind.
Jimin’s pen halts against the parchment of her paper, fully facing Minjeong who’s now sprawled on her bed, “Really?”
Minjeong nods, lips thinning into a soft smile, “She’s not something big. She used to sing at pubs. But she was really good at it.”
Jimin found herself listening intently.
“Growing up, I was never really close with my parents. My mom’s always busy with a case. My dad’s almost always never home because his job demands to be constantly overseas. So I was left with my grandmother. I was an only child and the house… it was always so, so quiet. And a part of me hated that. I was eight. I was scared. I felt so alone. So one night, I was crying because my mom got called in for a case so she had to rush to the firm. My dad wasn’t home that time. But then my grandma sat me upon her lap and she just starts humming this tune. I can’t really recall the exact song but I do remember shutting the hell up to listen.” Minjeong smiles fondly at the memory.
“Then one day she showed me her vinyl collection. We would always go to her room and I would just… listen. Get lost in the songs. For hours and hours. I remember one time she had to forcefully carry me to my own room because it’s already way past my bed time.”
Jimin’s lips quirk at that, she can fully picture stubborn baby Minjeong.
“It’s just that… music had always been there for me. And ever since then, I knew in myself that I would want to create something like that too. I would want to inflict that feeling to someone too. Like maybe some kid out there is feeling alone, scared but they would take one listen to my music and hopefully it would make them feel the way I felt all those nights before… that maybe they’re not so alone in this, you know? I guess it’s a really huge dream. But I don’t think it’s impossible, do you think it’s impossible, Jimin?”
“I think everything’s possible with you.” Jimin finally says after a moment of silence as she gathered her thoughts succinctly, “And if someone ever tells you that you can’t, I think you’d just show them that you can actually do it ten times better than they can imagine. You’re like this unstoppable force, Minjeong.”
Minjeong tilts her head to the side, a small frown encasing her features, “What, like in Star Wars?”
Trust Minjeong to completely flip a conversation from 0 to downright 100% scratching head confusing.
“Where did that come from?”
“You said like the force? Isn’t that like from Star Wars? They have this tag line too.”
“Oh. You mean may the force be with you? I guess?” Jimin frowns, trying to think how she could best explain to Minjeong, “But in this case, you’re the force. This unstoppable force who’ll stop at nothing to get what she want but not at the cost of hurting the people those are important to you. And I think it’s a really admirable trait, it’s one of the things I like most about y—“
Jimin clamps her mouth shut upon seeing the growing smirk on Minjeong’s face, “You were just fishing for compliments.
“I was not. But keep them coming, jagi. Don’t leave a girl hanging.”
That’s new. The pet names. And Jimin’s still trying to get used to it. She wasn’t sure where it actually stemmed from, but Jimin was willing to bet it was that one time Yizhuo made an offhanded comment about them acting like an old married couple when Jimin wouldn’t stop nagging Minjeong to eat her veggies.
It tastes like I’m eating artificial grass, Jimin! Minjeong had said. Grass that are good for your health! And how do you even know how artificial grass tastes like? Have you tried one? Jimin retorted back. Then Yizhuo was slamming her palms against the table to shut them up. You two are the worst old married couple I have ever seen!
Jimin’s attention flits towards the ukulele in Minjeong’s grip when she strummed it idly, “Minjeong, would you like to keep that?”
“For real?” Minjeong was looking at her like Jimin just offered her first newborn. Jimin had to bite her lip to keep herself from breaking out into a grin. Minjeong just looked so adorable.
“Yeah.” Jimin shrugs, “I don’t really use it that much.”
“A crime. Honestly.” Minjeong rolled her eyes playfully, “Thanks. And not just for this, but also for always being my force.” Minjeong adds, a teasing glint in her tone.
“What?”
“May the force be with you. You’re always with me. So you’re my force.”
“Minjeong, that doesn’t even make sense.”
“Hey, maybe the force will be our always.” Minjeong says through a fit of giggles.
“You did not just reference a John Green book.”
Minjeong just laughs a little louder and this time, Jimin couldn’t stop herself from smiling.)
Jimin, Minjeong realizes, was not kidding when she told her Yuna and Chaeryeong were big fans. She was wearing a bucket hat over her dark hair. A face mask and reading glasses. And well, she didn’t even bother dressing up for it too. She just threw on the first sweater she saw in her closet and jean shorts. She was fully planning on blending with the crowd. She was in her full on disguise mode. Today, she’s aiming for a college hippie girl who’s catching up on her reading materials at uni. She even brought three books (just for good measure) for until Jimin finishes her shift so the both of them could go together for Yizhuo’s dinner. It was working quite well too because no one’s even batting her a second glance.
Or so that’s what she thought until she walked up to the counter.
“Oh my god.” Yuna’s eyes were side as saucers, “Chaeryeong pinch me.”
Chaeryeong, the redhead, gasps as she brought a palm to her mouth, “Holy shit.”
“Are you?…” Yuna trails off, her head tilting to the side and honestly, Minjeong’s just glad no one’s in the line behind her and the café wasn’t that crowded.
Minjeong bows her head slightly in acknowledgement, “Hi. Nice to meet you.”
Yuna barely stops herself from squealing. The girl was literally bouncing on her heels, “Oh my god! Oh my god! I’m so sorry you must be here for Jimin unnie but we’re such big fans!”
“I’ve heard a lot about you two through Jimin. Thank you for supporting me.” Minjeong was kind of endeared as she nods her head, subtly sweeping a glance around if they were attracting enough attention that would warrant her having to go before she was recognized. And she doesn’t want that. She hadn’t even seen Jimin yet! Thankfully though, no one was looking aside from the man who momentarily pulled his focus from his laptop but immediately went back to it. Phew.
“Oops. Sorry.” Yuna mimes zipping her mouth shut at Minjeong’s expression, “Chaer, call Jimin unnie!”
“What? Why me? You do it, I’ll keep her company!”
Yuna, the taller one, rolled her eyes, “Come on, Chaer!”
“No!”
“I’ll do bathroom duties for a week.”
“Two weeks.”
“One and a half?”
“Actually.” Minjeong interrupted, clearly amused with the situation as she pulls out her phone, “I think I’ll just call her myself.”
“No, no!” Yuna intercepted, “I’ll do it! Sorry. Just keep yourself comfortable, and whatever you order, it’s on the house!”
Yuna stuck her tongue out towards Chaeryoung before disappearing into what she assumes is the backroom.
Yuna comes back not more than a minute later with a confused Jimin trailing behind. It was the first time she’d seen Jimin in her work clothes. 420p video calls doesn’t count. Plus, it doesn’t do her justice. Trust Jimin to make a generic mundane work clothes such as button up, slacks, and heels look like she literally just came from strutting the fashion runway. Minjeong watches her scan the area before finally landing on Minjeong. Her mouth forming a silent ‘O’ upon seeing the younger girl. The confusion etched on her face dissipating, being replaced with a blinding smile instead.
“Hey, you’re here?
Minjeong offers a little wiggle of her fingers, “Hi.”
“I didn’t realize you were coming.”
“Sorry, I should’ve texted.” Minjeong says, sounding a little sheepish.
“It’s okay. Come with me?” Jimin waved her over.
Minjeong obliges as she shuffles closer to where Jimin was standing.
“You guys will be okay?” Jimin redirected her attention towards her two employees who are still staring at them in awe, “Oh. I think you broke them.”
Minjeong gave the both of them a slight bow to which Yuna answered with a dopey thumbs up and Chaeryeong nodding her head furiously.
Jimin chuckled, wounding an arm around Minjeong’s shoulder as they entered the back room. The simple touch sending a slight burn to her skin.
“It’s pretty cramp back here. I was doing inventory.” Jimin explains as she absently kicks a box of plastic cups on their way, “But it’s better than risking you getting mobbed out there.”
Minjeong nods, not quite trusting her voice yet as she hoisted the books in her grip. God, these things are sure heavy for her noodle arms. She should really consider renewing her gym subscription. She filed a mental note to mention this to Jisu.
As if reading her thoughts, Jimin snatches the hefty books from her hold, “What are these?”
“Oh. Those are uhm. Props.”
Jimin raises an amused eyebrow, “For what?”
“For my disguise, what else?”
“And what are you supposed to be?”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Jimin just stares blankly.
Minjeong groans, exasperated as she stomps her foot like a petulant child, “I’m a college student.”
“You look anything but.” Jimin deadpans, “In fact, you look like a middle schooler throwing a fit right now.”
Minjeong huffs, shrugging off Jimin’s arm across her shoulders as she crosses her arms.
Jimin’s face broke into a grin, “Hey, hey. Easy. I’m kidding.”
Okay, fine. So maybe she had gone a little too overboard. But it wasn’t her fault Yuna immediately recognized her. She was doing fine until! She lowers her gaze, hates that she feels berated “Well, sorry. I just wanted to see you.”
She feels Jimin gently flicking her forehead, “Dummy. I wanted to see you too. I was going to ask you to grab a quick lunch with me.”
Minjeong’s eyes lit up, “Yeah?”
Jimin nods, her face collapsing into an apologetic smile, “But I got swamped with work. There’s this new project the company’s working on.”
“Are you busy? I could go?”
“Minjeong, what part of I wanted to see you too do you not understand?”
Minjeong’s words got stuck on the roof of her mouth. Could only bite her lower lip as she tries to fight the blush threatening so spill her cheeks.
“Just stay in my office, read your books and be a college girl in there for a little while, I’m almost done so we can do lunch.”
“Can I help?”
“Just sit there and look pretty for me, jagi.” Jimin teases, a smirk toying the edges of her lips as she pats her non-existent bicep rather cheekily, “I got this.”
Minjeong mock gasps, placing a hand dramatically over her chest as she played along, “How dare you? I refuse to be a trophy wife, Jimin!”
Minjeong did try helping. Emphasis on the try. On the third time she’d had to move a box to its rightful container but ends up almost dropping it, Jimin had to call it quits.
Minjeong slumped, rather grumpily, on the seat until Yuna came in with a frappe in hand, offering it to Minjeong with a proud smile on her face as she exclaims it’s one of the café’s special. Minjeong’s heart warmed at the thought, catches Jimin’s gaze smiling at them fondly from afar, and Minjeong felt, for the first time, that she was truly where she’s supposed to be.
(Unsurprisingly enough, Minjeong got called in for the third time. And a fourth time. Until one night she’s breaking the news to Jimin that she’s going to start her training soon.
It doesn’t really come as a surprise to Jimin. She knows, in her heart, that Minjeong would make it. It was never really a matter of if, just a matter of when. She’s just not really used to not seeing Minjeong in her usual bubbly self at lunch. Jimin was not blind. She knows juggling trainings and school was not a walk in the park. She’d heard from Yizhuo that some trainees doesn’t even bother attending their classes. And well, Jimin was worried. How Minjeong could pull that off. She knows Minjeong has her trainings in the afternoons, says the agency was nice enough to adjust to her schedule but the dark circles under her eyes and the dimming of her usual glow was saying a lot. It’s taking a toll on Minjeong’s body.
They were sitting at the bleachers. Minjeong had an open book on her lap but Jimin noticed she’d long stopped reading the moment they sat. Something was clearly bothering the girl and Jimin’s just waiting for her to say what.
“I—I think I’m going to drop out of school.”
Ah. Jimin hums, “Okay.”
“It’s just that, I don’t think I could pull this off any longer. I’m always home late. And I think it would be better if I just focus on my training.”
“Okay, Minjeong. You don’t have to explain to me. I understand.” Jimin says simply because well, she really does and if it meant the younger girl could focus on taking care of her health again, then so be it.
“Y—you’re not mad? You’re not going to lecture me about how school is really important and I shouldn’t be chasing some wild farfetched dream?” Minjeong finally faces her, puzzlement clear in her voice.
Jimin threw her an incredulous look, “No, why would I do that? I mean, yeah, school is important but you’re clearly having a hard time and besides… I know how much this means to you.”
Minjeong just stared at her with this open wonderment in her eyes for a long while, “You do know that you’re incredibly charming and one of the most important people to me, right?”
Jimin fought a blush. She would never really get used to the random bouts of compliments Minjeong seems to endlessly spill when it comes to Jimin.
She cleared her throat and tries to mask the blush with a roll of her eyes, “Shut up.”
“No, I’m serious. I’m going to gatekeep you forever. You’re stuck with me.” Minjeong jokes, which earned a light smack from Jimin.
“Does your parents know?”
“I’ve actually talked to my dad about it. And he was… pretty okay? I guess. He wasn’t mad but I can sense he was a little disappointed.” Minjeong offers a tight lipped smile, “My mom, well, I don’t know. I’ll tell her later. I think I might stay in the dorms they’re offering.”
“You’re moving to Seoul?” Jimin raised an eyebrow, she had heard of this but she knew Minjeong refused the idea first.
“I’d still come home in my day offs. We’d still hang out, right? You, me and Yizhuo.”
Oh. Jimin couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment with that. Sure, they’re just three hours away and she could very well drive there if she wants to see Minjeong. But still. It doesn’t change the fact that she’s going to sorely miss the younger girl’s presence.
“Of course.”
“Good.“
“Yeah.”
Minjeong shuffles closer, linking her arms through Jimin and for a moment, the glint in her face was back, “What would I do without you?”
Jimin snorts, “Probably lying in a ditch somewhere.”
Minjeong laughs, and oh she haven’t heard that in a while, “Probably.”)
Minjeong tries not to let it irk her. She really did. They were just coming home from their dinner with Yizhuo, Aeri, Jisu and Yeji. And it was actually really fun. Despite Yizhuo spending half the time trading embarrassing stories of her with Jisu. She doesn’t really mind being the subject of their entertainment until the words left Aeri’s mouth when her gaze landed on a woman walking up to a bar.
But Aeri’s words are still grating on her ears, as if mocking her—and it’s not fair to Aeri because Minjeong actually thinks Aeri’s a nice person, means well and she just made that offhanded comment without really meaning anything about it. Jimin for her part remained patient. She just switches the radio on after her third attempt at conversation only to be met with an unenthusiastic hmm from Minjeong and doesn’t bother her for the rest of the drive.
But as they were walking up the steps of Minjeong’s home, Minjeong finally breaks.
“Are you dating anyone?”
Here’s the thing. Minjeong couldn’t hide shit to save herself. And Jimin was a very perceptive person. More so when it comes to Minjeong. It actually has its pros and cons.
“Were you stewing on that all night? Is that why you’ve been ignoring me the whole drive home?” Jimin snorts, an amused expression on her face.
That being the con.
Minjeong rolled her eyes, “It’s a yes or no question, Jimin.”
Jimin chuckles, shaking her head, “No, Minjeong. I’m not dating anyone.”
“Oh? Then Ryujin?” Minjeong trails off.
“Is a good friend and will remain that way.” Jimin matches her step beside her, “They asked me out. I never agreed to anyone. There’s a difference.”
“Never?” Minjeong challenges.
Jimin draws a cross against her chest, her tone teasing, “Hope to die.”
“Oh. Uhm. Okay.” Minjeong just feels kind of embarrassed now. She was not even allowed to be upset about that. What was she thinking?
Jimin laughs as she puts her palms inside the pockets of her jeans before gently nudging their shoulders together, “See what happens when you actually talk to me instead of just ignoring me? Communication is sexy, jagi.”
Minjeong scoffs, but there was a smile on her face now, “Whatever. But uhm, me too.”
“What?”
Minjeong’s not sure what possessed her to share that piece of information to Jimin. Just. You know. For science.
“I’m not dating. I never dated anyone.”
Minjeong didn’t need to turn her head to know that Jimin has a teasing smile on her face, “Never?”
“Yeah. I mean, they wanted me to have those fake dating thing for publicity back when I was still starting. But I refused. It’s like, my number two rule in the contract.”
Jimin just looks amused now as she crosses her arms, “Why?”
Minjeong met her gaze head on, slightly titling her chin. She raises an eyebrow, clearly not backing down from the challenge, “Same reason as yours, I guess.”
Jimin bit her lip, trying to tame her smile, “What’s number one?”
Minjeong’s nose scrunched at the sudden steer of topic, “Huh?”
“You said that was rule number two. What’s rule number one?”
“Oh.” Minjeong averted her eyes, the momentary pang of longing creeping in as she casts her gaze to nothing in particular, “To let me come home here at least once a year. Which I clearly broke.”
When she returns her gaze, Jimin was looking at her with so much fondness Minjeong had to mentally remind herself to breathe. Because ugh, that’s just not fair, isn’t it?
“I’m glad you’re home.”
Minjeong swallowed past a lump in her throat, but her heart felt a lot lighter, “Me too.”
(“Do you wanna go home?”
It was Minjeong’s day off and they were having those mandatory weekend Jiminjeong time (Minjeong’s words, not hers) because it’s the only available day the younger girl could squeeze in her schedule. The past few weeks, Minjeong had gone crazy busy. She still sent Jimin a few texts here and there but it was always rushed in betweens, they couldn’t even hold out a proper conversation. And Jimin was not complaining. She understood the demand of Minjeong’s work. She’s just supremely worried because it was the third time she caught Minjeong nodding off on her food.
Minjeong straightens up at that, her eyes suddenly opening wide, “Sorry, what?”
“I said,” Jimin licks her lips, quite endeared at the display, “Do you want to go home?”
Minjeong immediately frowns, “Is that your way of telling me that I’m being such a bad company right now?”
Jimin chuckles, shaking her head, “No, I meant go home with me. To my house. And I don’t know,” Jimin shrugs, “Maybe we could just sleep in the rest of the day before I drop you off the subway.”
Minjeong blinks. She slumps her shoulders and for a moment, Jimin was afraid because the girl looked like she might actually start crying in the middle of the restaurant, “Is.. is that okay?”
Jimin’s eyes flashes with concern, “Hey, are you okay?”
Minjeong’s shoulder slumped heavily at that. Any pretense from earlier falling along with it.
“Our monthly evaluation is coming up so they’ve been training us real extensive than usual but I’m fine.” Minjeong immediately waves her off upon seeing the alarm on Jimin’s face, “I just haven’t gotten enough sleep this week. Next week, our schedules will be back to normal.”
Jimin sighs, she keeps her voice light, “You should’ve told me. I would understand if you couldn’t come today, Minjeong.”
“Jimin, it’s okay. I really wanted to see you. I missed you.” Minjeong pouted, lowering her gaze, her newly dyed blonde hair falling onto her face perfectly like dominoes.
Something warm spreads at Jimin’s chest. She doesn’t know what came over her, maybe it’s because of how soft Minjeong looks right now, bathed with sunlight as her eyes struggled to keep awake. But before she can stop herself, she’s reaching over to gently tuck Minjeong’s soft locks behind her ear. What’s more surprising though is Minjeong just lets her. Doesn’t tease her about it being too cheesy. Doesn’t even flinch as she allowed her eyes to fall shut, leaning into Jimin’s touch, “Finish your food, then we can go home, hm?”
Minjeong hums, offering Jimin one last blissful smile before going back to her food.
You know how in every single romantic comedy films the protagonist will always have that ‘oh, I’m in love with this person moment’? It would usually happen in slow motion and it’s always in their most candid moments. The camera would pan towards them while their laughing. Sometimes, it’s in passing glances between the two. Like the person would be doing the most mundane things then the protagonist would just stop and stare then go ‘oh’ as the realization would dawn on them.
Jimin thinks this is her ‘oh’ moment.
There’s no slow motion. No slow panning cameras. It’s just silence and darkness in her room as she held Minjeong in her arms while she slept.
It doesn’t really surprise her. It’s always been there, buzzing in the background like some strange white noise. She just chose not to acknowledged it but now she is. She drops a featherlight kiss against the girl’s hair before pulling Minjeong a little closer.)
“What would you do if I told you I’m not coming back with you to L.A. because I’ve decided to just continue living my life here and become a domesticated cat lady?” Minjeong lets out in a rush, clutching the phone in her grip tightly.
“I would say shut the hell up but also, understandable.” Jisu says flatly from the other end of the line.
“I think I’m in love with Jimin.” Minjeong suddenly blurts out. There. She said it. Ripping off the band aid. It’s been bugging her since last night and quite frankly, she’s getting tired of herself from trying to avoid the topic.
“You think?” She could practically hear Jisu’s smile as she stressed that word, “Well, newsflash, sweetie. You’ve been in love with Jimin for the longest time.”
Minjeong lets her eyes fall shut as she breathes in a lungful of air before adding, “And I think she might potentially feel the same.”
Jisu doesn’t even miss a beat, “You’re kidding.”
“What?”
“Minjeong, I met Jimin once and I could probably wax poetic about the way she looks at you in ten different ways. Even Yeji caught on. I didn’t mention anything to her that night and you know the first thing she asks me when we got home? How long have you two been together and was Jimin the reason why you never dated anyone in the past seven years. The point is, Jimin’s in love with you too. The only difference between you is she’s not hiding it.”
Minjeong’s breath hitches at that. Deep down, she was cognitively aware that Jimin might’ve felt the same as her back then. For the longest time, she had this huge crush on Ningning’s friend. Jimin still hadn’t known her, but Minjeong already knew the taller girl. Jimin was not your popular star pupil kid you see in the movies where she’s in every school organization or a student council president. She was more of like that quiet kid in the class yet her presence would still demand to be seen if such thing ever exists. Jimin was charming. She was that person who would give you a smile when you’re passing each other at the hallways even if she doesn’t know you. That person who will rush up to you without hesitation if she sees you’re struggling with carrying something. She was also that person who would sit with the least popular and quiet crowds if it meant the school bullies would stay away from them.
And Minjeong’s crush was inevitable. It’s like she’s watching this slow car crash, just waiting for it to inevitably hit the solid wall. And then it did. She got to know Jimin, got closer to who the girl really is. Her ticks, what annoys her, odd quirks.
And Minjeong fell harder. The most interesting part is, Jimin starts reciprocating. It’s not outright saying it. It’s subtle. She starts touching Minjeong a little longer than necessary. Sometimes, when she’s unaware, she would catch Jimin staring at her and she’d see nothing but pure adoration in her eyes.
It’s crazy. Minjeong thought she was going crazy that time.
But Minjeong, for the life of her, couldn’t figure out why. This was Jimin they were talking about. And she was just Minjeong. Chaotic and unpredictable Minjeong. She couldn’t believe how someone like Jimin would turn to someone like her. So she writes it off as wishful thinking and leaves it at that. Closed the book and never dared opening the possibility again.
And there’s one thing still bugging her up until this day. Jimin never asked her to stay. And Minjeong knew in herself, that she would very well drop everything if Jimin had asked her to that time. She could, would continue her training in Korea just for Jimin. But they were so young. And her own feelings honestly scared the crap out of her. Was it really possible to feel this strongly for someone you met in just a span of few months? Was it a mistake that she never admitted to those feelings? Never been honest with Jimin? Those questions are what had haunted her for the few years that would come.
But still… it doesn’t change the fact that—
“I left her.” Minjeong breathes out.
“No, Minjeong. You were following your dreams. And I’m sure Jimin understood that. You told me this story a bajillion times when you’ve had a little too much wine. Which by the way, do you know that you’re such a weepy drunk? You have no idea how many times I’ve had to put you to bed while crying Jimin’s name.” Jisu tells her, the amusement in her tone was palpable.
“I did not do that!”
“The two minute clip in my camera roll would beg to differ.”
“What the hell? Delete that!”
“Not a chance.” Jisu snorts, “Anyway, she was there through it all, Minjeong. She saw your hardships. Your determination. How much you’ve wanted this. And she understood that. So she did what she had to do. The question right now is, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. I love her. But I also love performing, how could I ever reconcile those two?”
She hears Jisu sighing at the other end, her voice had gone soft, “Why won’t you allow yourself to have both?”
“I can’t. I can’t ask that of her. I’m always away, Jisu. What if I tell her, then we try, but she ends up hating it and she breaks up with me then she’ll end up hating me too? I can’t lose Jimin. Not her.”
“Minjeong, for the past seven years that you were gone did she ever treat you differently?”
Minjeong thinks about it for a moment. The answer is a clear resounding no. Because Jimin had always been… Jimin. Her tall, lanky and at times awkwardly charming bestfriend. “No.”
“There’s your answer. Minjeong, just tell her. This is like the worst thing you can keep from her.”
When she remained silent, Jisu adds, “Do you want me to extend our trip for a week? Maybe you could have more time?”
“N—no. I’m going to talk to her tomorrow. This has been going on for too long.” Minjeong nods to herself resolutely.
She hears Jisu sighing at the other end, “That’s my girl.”
(It was pouring when Minjeong asked to meet her on a Wednesday. It was so sudden that Jimin didn’t have the time to second guess why they were meeting on a weekday instead of their usual routine on weekends. She rushed as soon as classes ended.
Jimin held up a palm, a universal sign to wait, when she comes in and sees Minjeong weakly waving her over at the far corner of the café. She folds the dripping umbrella she was holding before placing it in the rack provided on the side. Jimin knows something was off when the usual smile of the the girl hadn’t greeted her. Her shoulders were slumped. There were dark circles under her eyes and her hair’s slightly unkempt, as if she’s spent the last few minutes anxiously running her hands through it.
“Are you okay?” Was the first thing out of Jimin’s mouth when she sat across Minjeong.
“I look that bad, huh?” Minjeong tries to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.
Something aches within Jimin’s chest. You’re beautiful. Jimin automatically thinks. You look a little ruined, but still beautiful.
If she was in an alternate universe wherein she’s a little braver, Jimin would’ve said just that. But she’s not. And Minjeong still looked so, so sad so she pleads instead, “What’s wrong, Minjeong-ah?”
“Jimin, they offered to debut me overseas.”
Minjeong looks actually torn when she said that. And oh, Jimin kind of understands now.
“Really?” Jimin reaches forward to clasp at Minjeong’s fiddling fingers, “This is good right?”
Minjeong pulled her hand back weakly, avoiding Jimin’s gaze, “I—I don’t know? They told me to think about it. We were just having this usual monthly evaluation when they sprung the idea to me. Says it doesn’t happen often and I should really consider it. They’re going to continue my training there. But I won’t probably take it. I don’t even think I could do it. I flunked my English tests multiple times. And I heard the weather’s really bad there in L.A.“
And it sounds so wrong hearing that from her, like Minjeong’s just making this half baked excuses for herself. It’s kind of breaking Jimin’s heart a little. Hearing the Minjeong sound so defeated like this.
“Hey.” Jimin offered a soft smile, she reaches for Minjeong’s hand again, subtly grazing the tips of her fingers to get Minjeong’s attention, “What’s wrong? Nothing’s ever stopped you before.”
Minjeong heaves a frustrated sigh at that.
“Jimin, I’m going to leave.” The you goes unsaid between them. But it’s there. Lingering in the air like bad perfume. And Minjeong looks on the verge of crying. Like maybe this is crushing her more than Jimin. Maybe it is. Because she finds out with startling realization that Minjeong, oh so lovely fearless Minjeong, is having second thoughts for the first time because of her.
And god forbid, Jimin’s so in love with this girl.
Minjeong buries her face in her hands, slumping on the table as she echoes to herself, “What am I going to do?”
Jimin’s heart ached at that. So she stands up from her seat, and slides beside Minjeong instead. She doesn’t really know what to say to that. Hopes her presence is more than enough, “Here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m going to order your favorite ice cream in a minute and you’re going to eat it. After that, I’m going to drop you off the subway and when you get to your dorm, you’re going to tell your agency that you will accept the offer.”
“Jimin…” Minjeong drops her hands from her face as she angled her body to look at Jimin, eyes glassy, and slightly pleading.
Jimin shakes her head, “We can text everday. Video calls. E-mails. I can even write you a letter. I have a lot of stationary papers at home. You name it.”
Minjeong’s lips quirk at that, and Jimin counts that as a little victory, “Everyday?”
“Yeah. You won’t even miss me.”
Minjeong’s features morphed into a frown as she leans her head on Jimin’s shoulder, “Impossible. I miss you even if we’re just three hours away, what more if there’s a whole continent separating us?”
“That sounds like it would be good lyrics.” Jimin leans her cheeks on Minjeong’s head.
“Jimin.” She hears Minjeong’s voice, a slight whine coloring her tone.
“I’m kidding.” Jimin chuckles breathlessly, “What did your parents say?”
She feels Minjeong shaking her head, “I haven’t told them yet. You’re the first one to know.”
“You told me first? Way to make a girl feel special.” Jimin chuckles, trying to brighten up the mood.
But Minjeong doesn’t laugh along, just heaves a long wistful sigh, “You kind of are.”)
(On the day of Minjeong’s flight to L.A. her mother didn’t come, but her father did. He stood there, impassive, but still a sad look in his eyes as he hugged Minjeong. Jimin and Yizhuo were there too. Somewhere in the middle of Minjeong’s flight being called, Yizhuo starts crying.
Minjeong slaps at Yizhuo’s arm as she starts crying too.
She’s crying so much that Jimin almost asked her to stay.
But she didn’t. Instead, she hugs her, tight, and watches Minjeong go. The words on the tip of her tongue failing to come out, collapsing with all of the unspoken truths she wanted to let Minjeong know.
I love you.)
(Later on, when Jimin’s off to college, she takes interest in Business Administration.
Yizhuo went with Fine Arts. They went to different universities so the amount of times they could hang out was also lessened.
And Minjeong, well, she kept her promise. She texts, calls, although not everday, when she can. Sometimes, she would send her selfies. And those are Jimin’s favorite.
In rare moments of solitary, Jimin would often find herself wondering if she’s made the right decision. It would usually happen when she’s missing Minjeong just a little too much. Wants to be selfish for a little while.
But she would take one look at the tiny screen in her phone, Kim Winter’s name lighting up the headlines, looking like the brightest star in cosmos.
And Jimin would know the answer.)
(It was raining on the day of Jimin’s college graduation so she wasn’t really planning on doing anything special aside from the scheduled dinner with her parents. And apparently, Yizhuo who invited herself for a sleep over to Jimin’s flat. To celebrate, she would say, but later on would proceed to ask if she could bring Aeri to join them too. The girl Yizhuo’s been crushing on for months now.
Jimin learns that Yizhuo met her at one of the university parties they threw for the freshmen. She thinks Aeri’s nice. And she’s pretty sure Aeri’s head over heels for Yizhuo too. The three of them had been hanging out quite regularly when their schedules would align. It’s kind of odd at first, to be honest. She and Yizhuo had been transitioning to this state of life wherein they couldn’t just ask Minjeong to join them for lunch. Or the Yizhuo and Minjeong tandem that would relentlessly nag Jimin to ditch whatever homework she was doing just to play Mario Kart with them.
She and Yizhuo was not, never really adjusted to the gaping hole Minjeong clearly left and then suddenly, Aeri’s there. And she also doesn’t mean it in that strange, bad way where they feel like Minjeong’s being replaced. Opposite of that, actually. Somehow, Aeri just feels like another missing puzzle piece in their life and they just clicked.
And well, Jimin doesn’t really mind the company plus seeing those two dancing around each other is quite entertaining.
Minjeong was busy with her usual schedules and tells her, rather grumpily, that she couldn’t contact Jimin until tonight. But she sent her a voice message this morning singing her congratulations in the tune of happy birthday.
So you could just imagine her shock when she got home from her dinner with parents and her landlord’s waiting for her outside the door. The old lady seemed annoyed at first but she takes one look at the graduation cap in her grip that she had yet to return from school, and her features collapses into a smile, “Oh. Your graduation? That explains that. Congratulations.”
And then she’s shooing Jimin off towards the direction of her room.
Jimin’s audible gasp could be heard along the quiet hallway.
Later on when Yizhuo excuses herself to the bathroom, Aeri would ask her, awed, “Are these really from your long-distance sugar mommy?”
Jimin snorts out a laugh, “Did Yizhuo tell you that?”
“Yes. I mean. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I was just surprised at first but hey, you do you, right?”
“I appreciate the sentiment but no. She’s our friend from high-school.”
“Where is she now?”
“Taking L.A. by storm. Might’ve heard of her as Kim Winter.”
Aeri lets out a low whistle, “I’ve seen her on a couple of magazines! And isn’t she the new face of Givenchy?”
Jimin feels weirdly proud in that moment and it might have shown on her face because she caught Aeri’s curious gaze, “The one and only.”
“I thought Yizhuo was just messing with me when she told me she’s friends with a celebrity.”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t even blame you.” Jimin shakes her head, a fond smile painting her lips, “You should try listening to her debut single. If she finds out you’ve only heard of her as the new face of Givenchy, she’ll throw a fit. Music is what she’s really doing this for.”
Aeri nods before blurting out, “Are you guys dating?”
And this, Jimin thinks, is one of the traits she admires most about the girl. Aeri would never beat around the bush. She’s just unapologetically honest. Jimin often wondered how this is the same person who kept on dallying about her feelings towards Yizhuo.
“No.”
“But you’re in love with her.” Aeri says it as a statement. Not an ounce of hesitancy in the words.
Jimin doesn’t sound surprised as she smiles and just says, “What gave it away?”
Aeri snaps her fingers as she tries to recall a word, “You know that thing they call wistful almost? The couple people take one glance at and think, oh, it’s like that. They’re in love, and everyone can see it except for them. I think you guys are that couple.”
“You’re kind of implying she might feel the same.”
“Sweetie, look around you.” Aeri made a sweeping grand gesture with her arms stretched wide, bouquets of roses painting her living room red. All of them from Minjeong littered with notes indicating how proud she is of Jimin, “They’re what love should look like if it ever existed at all.”)
“They need me to fly back in LA tomorrow.” Minjeong blurts out, tries to gauge her reaction. They were currently seated at Jimin's living room, watching re-runs of a Kdrama Yizhuo kept on raving about.
Jimin just nods, her face impassive as she pulls out her phone to probably check on her schedule, “Okay. I’m going to drive you.”
“You know, it’s fine. I could probably just take a cab to the airport.”
Jimin shrugs, already pocketing her phone, “I already asked the shifting manager to watch over the café for a bit.”
Minjeong heaves another long sigh. She’s tired. She’s so, so tired. And it’s with that thought that finally made her ask quietly, “Jimin, how come you never asked me to stay?”
And oh. There’s that moment of relapse she’d been looking for. It’s subtle, one who doesn’t know Jimin well enough wouldn’t even notice it. The way she purses her lips and the slight twitch in her eye. But it was gone as soon as it had come. In a flash of emotions, Jimin looked up, a small smile playing on the corner of her lips, “Honest?”
“Honest.”
“Because I know you would, dummy.” Jimin’s voice was soft but stern. As if the words that came out of her mouth wasn’t even supposed to be heard but also something that she truly believed in, “And I couldn’t ask that of you. You’re still meant to shine out there.”
Minjeong feels the prickle of heat behind her eyelids at every words.
“You still got places to be, Minjeong.” Jimin’s palm reaches forward, trails a thumb against her cheek and oh she’s crying. Why the heck is she crying?
“I can’t ask you to wait.” Minjeong gently grasps the taller girl’s wrist, leaning into the touch.
“Who says I am?” Jimin says, raising an eyebrow, “I’m just gearing to catch up with you.”
“What do you mean?” Minjeong tilts her head as she wipes at her face. The confusion was evident in her tone.
“Well, I wasn’t supposed to tell you until I got the confirmation. Our company’s opening a branch in California. San Diego to be exact and they’re having talks regarding who should be the opening team manager. So I was pitching my case to them since last month, and earlier they gave me the confirmation through my email. They were pretty convinced so uhm,” Jimin rubs her lips together absently, an unconscious tick that Minjeong had associated with the taller girl since high school, “They’re sending me to San Diego in a few months. The company will provide housing until I could get settled with my own apartment. And uhm, I know it’s like a two hour drive away to L.A. so maybe we could like, see each other? If that’s cool with you.”
“Are you serious?” Minjeong sniffs, suddenly feeling the weight of the world being lifted from her shoulders.
“Would you—“ Jimin nods as she swipes at Minjeong’s tears with her thumb, tries to make Minjeong face her to gauge her reaction, “Would you like that?”
“Stop. I would love that. Did you know that I called Jisu yesterday to tell her that I’m not coming back with her to L.A?”
Jimin snorts, “You didn’t.”
“I did. It’s just— I was so frustrated. I know I have a deadline. And the past few days have been the most perfect. With you. It’s just not the same without you, Jimin.” Minjeong wipes furiously at her tears. Jimin was smiling from ear to ear. She can’t believe this is amusing to Jimin. She’s literally pouring her heart out here.
“Come here.” Jimin was chuckling as she pulled Minjeong into her arms. She’s pretty sure she’s getting Jimin’s sweater wet and running her mascara down but she couldn’t even bring herself to care as she buried her face into the crook of the taller girl’s neck, “So, what does this mean for us?”
“I don’t know, I love you. Do you want to try?” Minjeong mumbles against her shirt.
She feels Jimin’s body going still for a second, and then she’s hugging Minjeong a little tighter, “Baby, you give me whiplash.” A quick kiss on Minjeong’s hair, “I thought you’d never ask.”
On the day of Minjeong’s flight back to L.A, both of her parents were there. Yizhuo and Aeri were there too.
Minjeong interlaces her fingers with Jimin and tells her quietly, “You’re going to be there soon, right?”
Jimin nods, “I just need to finalize some papers here.”
“Okay.” Minjeong wounds her arms around Jimin’s body, pulling her close as she ingrained in her brain the feeling of the taller girl’s body molding against her own.
“Aw, shucks.” Jimin’s voice was light as she hugs her back just as tightly, burying her face in Minjeong’s hair, “You smell nice. Do you really have to go?”
“Do not even test me right now, Jimin. We both know I’m willing to ditch this temporary bouts of fame just to finally have a lifetime with you.” Minjeong warns, playing along.
Jimin laughs, the notion causing a vibrating sound that Minjeong would feel against her own, “Soon, baby.”
Minjeong sighs, reluctantly pulling away from the warmth that is Jimin before finally facing Jisu who was looking at her with a proud smile.
“Hey.” Jimin pulls her back gently. She tucks Minjeong’s hair and whispers softly, “I love you.”
And okay. Fuck everything. She surges up, stands on her tallest tiptoes and kisses Jimin long and hard. She doesn’t even care that maybe this is being photographed right this instant. That she would most probably going to get berated by her agency for being this careless. Not when she feels Jimin’s lips curving into a smile against the kiss.
She thinks she might’ve heard Yizhuo wolf-whistling.
Let them come. Minjeong thinks. Because she had been waiting too long for this, and she’s not going to waste any more time.
It’s been exactly a month since that incident in the airport happened. Well, she wouldn’t really call it an incident. More like just an inevitable thing waiting to happen. Since then, her and Jimin constantly did video calls. But videocalls doesn’t do it justice. She missed her girlfriend so much. Minjeong couldn't stop the smile stretching her lips at the thought. She can’t believe she gets to call Jimin that. She knows their relationship was relatively new but it honestly doesn’t feel like that.
It’s like she and Jimin had actually been going out for a lot longer than that.
But back to missing Jimin. She knows her girlfriend will be finally, finally flying to San Diego next week. And they promised that Minjeong will be picking her up this time. So she was left with literally nothing to do but to wait for that day.
She kept low. She didn’t really have any activities, her agency advised her to lie low until the news had died down.
So here she was, wasting away in her L.A apartment. Bored out of her mind because she didn’t have any schedules and Jimin’s probably sleeping already because the last message she got from her was Jimin telling her how much she misses her and she’s about to head to bed before going radio silence.
It was also why she was confused when suddenly that afternoon as she poured over a music sheet that the lock to her apartment clicked open.
It was so unexpected that she picked up the hefty book near her and got ready to throw it at whoever was foolish enough to try to break into her apartment. She was winding up to throw it when a welcome sight came into view around the door.
Jimin blinks as she balanced the duffel bug on her shoulder, “You gonna throw that at me?”
“Ah…” Minjeong drops the book she was holding before walking slowly up to meet Jimin, afraid that if she hastens her steps, the apparition would magically wither away because why the heck is her girlfriend here?, “Oh my god, I’m not hallucinating, am I?”
“Minjeong.” Jimin just stands there, face morphing into a soft smile, “Baby.” She says instead and that got Minjeong rushing up to her girlfriend before engulfing her into a hug.
“Oh my god. Why are you here? I mean not that I’m complaining because holy crap I missed you so much I just thought your flight’s not until next week?” Minjeong says this all in a rush, still couldn’t quite believe that Jimin was standing here in front of her. In the flesh. Smelling like lavender and looking so soft in her gray sweater and beanie.
Jimin wounds her arms loosely around her waist, and Minjeong allowed herself to be pulled closer, “I wanted to surprise you. Jisu helped me.”
“Ha. I knew she was up to something! She was being really sneaky. You’re staying here, right?”
Jimin hums, nosing under her jaw, “Well, yes that’s initially the plan. My work doesn’t officially start until next week so I’m thinking maybe you could show me around. Y’know. See what’s so special about this place and why it’s been keeping you away from me.”
Minjeong melts at that, chewing on her bottom lip as she pushes the words that’s been gnawing at the back of her mind, “Will you—will you stay with me?”
Jimin pulls back, planting a quick kiss on her temple, “I just said yes, baby.”
“No, like. Move in. Here. With me. I know it’s like a two hour drive away from your work but I have a car and you can use it. And when you’re too tired to drive, I can make time to pick you up—“
Jimin cuts her off with a soft kiss before pulling back, “Okay.”
Minjeong licks her lips, eyes still dazed, “Okay?”
“Yes.” Then Jimin was pouting and she looks immensely upset that Minjeong was suddenly alarmed, “Does your unit allow animals? I had to leave Mindoongie with Yizhuo temporarily because I flew here in a rush. But I’m planning to get her too.”
Minjeong visibly relaxes at that, “Oh. Yeah.” Minjeong stops, thinks about it for a second, “Actually. I’m not sure. But they will allow it because Kim Winter is asking.”
“Oohh, I shouldn’t find a power-trip play hot but with you, there’s always an exception.” Jimin teases, bursting into a fit of giggles.
“Shut up. You love me.”
“Hmm. I really do.”
Minjeong kisses her, full on the lips, and realizes that home is not the hometown she left. It’s not the fancy, luxury apartment she got the first time she got her big break here in L.A. It’s this.