Chapter Text
Summer couldn’t get any better than this.
Sitting behind the counter of an ice cream parlor while playing games on her phone was truly the summer experience Minjeong yearned for.
Plenty of people came and went as the day grew hotter, but since it was cooling down a little, Minjeong could finally find time to rest.
“Minjeong, Get off the floor.”
Or not.
Minjeong groaned as she turned away from her phone to glare at Aeri, her friend and coworker. As much as Minjeong loved her friend, she was a bit of a hard ass, especially when it came to work.
“Why should I?” she cutely whined to her friend, face instantly souring the second those words left her mouth.
Aeri looked at her in disbelief. “Okay first of all, never do that again.”
“Yeah, that was cringe,” she quickly agreed.
“Anyway!” Aeri shakes her head. “We’re still on the clock so you shouldn’t just be sitting around playing Clash of Clans on your phone!”
“Aeri, this is an ice cream store,” Minjeong deadpans. “No one cares. Plus it’s hot in here and there’s like no one here,” she gestured to the empty store. It’s true. No one was inside.
Her friend opens her mouth and Minjeong, sensing a scolding, takes that as a sign to tune her out.
Minjeong was a semi-broke college student. Not completely broke. But semi-broke. As in she could probably buy a few games off Steam during sales, but probably could not buy more than two apples, a Snickers bar, and maybe a carton of half-and-half milk during grocery runs.
Sure she had a small little gig going on at school where they kinda sometimes pay her for doing admission stuff or whatever—basically boring school stuff—but since it was summer break, Minjeong has since been unemployed.
So she got the bright idea of applying to an ice cream parlor at the beach.
According to Aeri, it was probably the most “big brain” idea she’s thought of in a while (which honestly, Minjeong herself can’t help but also kinda agree with). Like there were going to be plenty of people at the beach, school would be out meaning kids are going to be all over the place. And with that, they’d probably want something cold to combat the heat, meaning business for the frozen dessert department.
And scooping ice cream has got to be one of the easiest things Minjeong has ever done in her life. If the pay was better, Minjeong could do this for life, but of course, scooping ice cream for people at a beach was just barely above minimum wage. And that was not going to pay her tuition.
Aeri also applied with her, mostly because one of her favorite K-pop groups was having a concert or something and Aeri needed tickets, despite her family’s pockets being enough to snatch her some pretty good tickets right up next to the stage.
(“It’s to build good character!” she tries explaining.)
But honestly, Minjeong just thinks that the girl was scared of getting bored while Minjeong was out working.
Either way, the two friends were decked out in a goofy beige, brownish shirt with a white apron and stupid sailor hat on their heads, looking mighty ready to scoop some ice cream.
“Are you even listening to me?” the blonde hears from her friend the second she decides to tune in.
Minjeong hummed in response. “Mm-hm.”
Aeri rolled her eyes, knowing that she didn’t hear a word she said. “Whatever, nevermind.”
With that, Minjeong goes back to her game. She brings a hand up to run through her hair absentmindedly, the softish hair feeling nice against her fingers.
Once the weather started heating up, Minjeong knew that keeping her longish black hair would do more damage to her than a healthy splash of bleach would, so despite having fried hair for probably the third time in her life, at least her head won’t feel like it’s burning from the sun!
And of course, having long hair during a time like this when the weather was hot enough to cook an egg using solely the sun’s cancerous rays was just asking to be tortured. The second she felt her neck get a little too warm from the summer heat was when she immediately scheduled a haircut.
Now her hair just barely touched her shoulders. It was practically a bob—which Minjeong was pretty familiar with thanks to past hair experiments that she willingly took part in.
(Never ever let Aeri within a five-meter radius of a pair of scissors. Ever.)
Yunjin walked out from the back and raised a brow at the peculiar sight of Minjeong sitting on the floor and Aeri looking at her, annoyed. “Okay… what happened?”
“Nothing,” the two of them say at the same time.
Yunjin was another worker at the ice cream parlor. She was Minjeong’s age—in fact, younger by ten months—yet constantly joked that Minjeong was a child who didn’t know anything about the world. Minjeong, despite hating the jokes, somehow became good friends with the woman.
The orange-haired woman just blinked before walking over and curiously glancing at Minjeong’s screen, face scrunching up with judgment. “That game will not get you any pussy.”
“Yunjin!” the other two gasped. Well, for different reasons.
“I’m not wrong!”
Well, someone thinks otherwise. Minjeong frowns before mustering up the courage to declare. “I can get pussy… just fine!”
Though, she was lacking a bit in the confidence department.
Yunjin stares at her weirdly. “Okay… freak.”
The blonde suddenly gets up from the floor. “I am not a freak!”
Aeri laughs at the sight. “How do you have like half the school thirsting over you when you’re like this?” She vaguely motions at Minjeong.
“It’s why she’s bitchless,” Yunjin adds. “People see her as a hot sex god on stage, but in reality she’s a nerdy loser boyfail.”
Minjeong was appalled at the words leaving her friend’s mouth. How dare she!
Aeri just keeps adding on. “Minjeongie, I can’t lie. You’re a complete catch, but at the same time, you’re also a complete loser.”
Minjeong frowns. She was not enjoying this clowning session. “That’s not true!”
“Girl, look at yourself,” Yunjin gestures to Minjeong, who looks down at herself. Okay, that was a little loserish of her to do. “You’re working in an ice cream parlor, the stupid hat makes you look like a little sailor boy, and your face is super cute like a little puppy,” she blinks for a second. “No homo tho.”
“None taken,” the blonde grumbles unhappily, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Yeah, you do look like an angry puppy,” Aeri agrees. “But it’s your charm!”
She points to her two friends, eyes furrowing. “You guys work here too! You guys also wear the ‘stupid hat’ that you said makes me look like a little loser sailor boy!”
Aeri chuckles. “Heh. Say ‘little loser sailor boy’ three times into the mirror to summon—”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” Minjeong deadpans.
Yunjin continues. “Okay, but I look hot in this get-up and Aeri looks lowkey futch, so it works for us,” she flips her hair dramatically, receiving a look of disgust from the blonde girl.
“Whatever. I bet I can get a girl’s number today!” Minjeong proclaims. “I will prove you guys wrong!”
“Bet?” Yunjin looked intrigued. “If you actually do, I’ll pick you up and drop you off for the rest of the month.”
“And I’ll pay extra for rent,” Aeri chuckles.
“But! If you fail by the end of our shift,” Yunjin had a devilish smile on her lips. “You’ll have to pick us up, drop us off, and pay extra rent AND!” Minjeong flinched at the sudden rise of volume. “You’re gonna have to go to the aespa concert with us.”
No fucking way. Minjeong’s jaw drops. “Are you serious?!”
She couldn’t believe it! How could her beloved friends give her such harsh punishments! She was going to lose so much money! Not only will she have to pay an astronomical amount of money for gas (though, it wasn’t as bad as other places in the world…) she was also going to have to pay even more for rent! Aeri’s family was already rich! This was unfair!
And don’t even get her started on the last part, they’re gonna make her go to a K-pop concert?! At that point, she won’t even have money to buy tickets! And plus, she doesn’t even like K-pop!
This was unfair! She cried once more in her head.
Yunjin had a proud smile. “Yup. So… good luck! We’re gonna go sell some ice cream outside and meet some fellow patrons!” She turns to go to the back. “Good luck on picking up the ladies!” Minjeong hears her say.
Aeri gave an apologetic-not-so-apologetic smile. “Good luck, pup.”
Minjeong just stared in disbelief as her friends disappeared to the back. She can’t believe them. How could they betray her this bad?!
Well. She sighed. Let the games begin, I guess.
————
The sun shines down on her, the brightness nearly blinding.
Karina holds the Pocari Sweat bottle, unbottling it and bringing it to her lips. She lifts the bottle as she downs the sweet drink.
After a few sips, she stops and turns to the camera, sending a blinding smile that rivals the sun.
“Pocari Sweat.”
One…
Two…
Three…
“And… cut! Okay, we’ll be taking thirty,” the director announced. The staff cheered as they rushed to put away the cameras and gear. Jimin let out a sigh of relief as she took a sip of bottled water.
The weather was just amazing today. Jimin was so glad to be doing a CF during the summer. Though spring was her favorite season, summer was a close second. She just loved being out and about and feeling the sun’s rays on her skin—of course, protectively. With sunscreen.
She grabs the white shirt-sleeved button up that the crew provided for her and puts it on. The CF had her wearing a deep blue bikini top and some shorts, so she’d rather cover up if she could.
“Karina,” one of her managers called to her. “Would you like to walk around the beach to pass time?”
Jimin beamed as she nodded. She loved beaches. “Yes, of course!”
Usually Jimin was not allowed to go wandering on her own for safety reasons and because well, she’s an idol—a public figure—and she couldn’t just stroll around in public uncovered, so a moment like this was rare for her. And she was going to seize it, of course!
“Okay, we’ll get going!” the manager announced to the crew. “We’re gonna walk around the beach.”
This manager was always so nice to her. Jimin appreciated her so much for constantly backing up Jimin during whatever it may be. She’s what they’d call a real one.
“Here, you’ll need to wear a mask,” her manager hands her a white mask. Jimin frowns as she takes it and puts it over her face. Despite wearing it, her identity was still pretty obvious, but she figured some form of cover was better than none.
“Where would you like to go?” she asked Jimin once she got the green light from the director. And boy, did Jimin have places she wanted to go to.
She ended up dragging her manager all over the place. She was like a little excited puppy as she ran to all sorts of locations, going to a bunch of different stands and trying so many different types of food, of course, with the help of her manager since she was still on dietary restrictions, but one little bite doesn’t hurt anyone!
However, after about fifteen minutes in, her manager looked like she was dying from the heat. Jimin felt a bit bad for dragging her around, but there were always so many things to see at the beach! And it was such a nice day! She couldn’t pass up this opportunity. Who knows the next time she’ll be here?
“K-Karina,” her manager huffed, catching her breath. “Wouldn’t it be nice to take a bit of a break…? Sit somewhere and um… admire the beach?”
It was obvious she was asking more for herself than for Jimin’s sake, but she’ll take a little break for her dear manager.
“Okay… fine,” she said with faux disappointment. She could hear her manager breathe a sigh of relief. They walked for a bit more before stopping in front of a shaded area with seats in front. Her manager slumps down on one of the chairs as Jimin sits and continues drinking the small order of mango juice she got from a drinks stand. It wasn’t too bad, at least it was refreshing.
Jimin took a look around to see where they were. There were plenty of stores lined up and the place they were at had a pretty good view of the beach. She looked up and realized they were sitting in front of an ice cream parlor.
Hm, she could go for some ice cream.
Just one scoop shouldn’t hurt anyone, right?
She turns to her manager, placing the drink down and pulling up her mask. “Manager! I want ice cream!”
The manager’s eyes grow wide, moving to get up. “Karina—”
“Wait out here, I’m getting ice cream!” She quickly left to go inside before she could hear her manager’s protests.
The manager shook her head before slumping back into her seat, unable to do anything about the idol. “This girl…”
————
Minjeong was not having any luck.
She’s spent the past two hours making a fool out of herself in front of very attractive women.
But there were just too many women who were either straight, or taken, or had a child with them—not that Minjeong wouldn’t be one to “step-up,” but it’s just she doesn’t know their familial situation! It would be foolish of her to hit on a woman who was in a happy marriage—had a happy family—plus, how awkward would that be to explain to a child!
Minjeong groaned as the customer she was just serving left the parlor, leaving her alone in the place. She plopped her head into her arms, already dreading the bet and losing hope. It already felt like her wallet was growing lighter and lighter with each failed attempt to get a girl’s number.
Though she can’t lie, she was close a few times! Until… their boyfriends or husbands walk in and give Minjeong a passive-aggressive smile before slipping their arms around the women’s waists, whisking them away from Minjeong. Or when a girl seemed interested in flirting with Minjeong, but never giving her number…
Yeah, Minjeong was cooked.
Maybe it’s true… she begins thinking. Maybe I really can’t get pussy…
She didn’t want to prove Aeri or Yunjin (especially Yunjin!) right. They wouldn’t let her hear the end of it until the day she dies.
Aeri’s playlist continues playing the Korean pop music that she’s been constantly trying to get Minjeong into. The blonde was half tempted to go to the back and try breaking into Aeri’s phone to change the playlist, but she can’t risk leaving the parlor unsupervised even for a second. What if people come in and steal the tubs of ice cream?! She can’t have that!
Instead, Minjeong just stares at a cardboard cut out from outside the window with a (probably) K-pop idol holding a soju bottle with a wide smile. Wish that was me right now…
Yeah, Minjeong would totally go to the convenience store two doors down and grab herself a bottle or two of soju to forget her impending doom. Wait, that would make her even more broke.
She just can’t win!
The door chimes as footsteps grow closer. Minjeong muttered one last, “good luck, Minjeongie” to herself before pushing up off her arms and back onto her feet.
Her breath immediately hitches.
In comes a girl who looked about her age, wearing a white mask and a white shirt over her bikini top. Her dark hair flowing over her shoulders like a waterfall—wow, what was Minjeong even thinking right now?
Minjeong was tempted to cover her eyes just out of pure respect for the girl because she can’t help but notice her abs. Minjeong was already shaking in her boots. It was a blessing and curse that Minjeong couldn’t see her whole face because just seeing her eyes had the worker trembling.
“H-Hi, welcome in,” Minjeong manages out, immediately face-palming at the stutter.
A small laugh escaped the customer’s lips and Minjeong was already heaven-sent.
“Are you a fan?” she asks, stopping in front of the counter.
Wow, this girl just had crazy confidence. “U-Um…” Minjeong slaps her forehead, trying to snap herself out of it. “I-I’m an ice cream worker?”
Another laugh comes out of her and Minjeong doesn’t even know what to feel anymore. She clears her throat and composes herself.
“What would you like today?” Minjeong asks, remembering she had a job to do. The panic from earlier was slowly fizzling out. She needed to stay cool, calm, and collected to get this to work. It was just one phone number! She can do this! She’s Kim Minjeong!
“Um… two scoops of mint choco, please,” she answers. Minjeong beamed at that.
“Do you want that in a waffle cone or cup?” Minjeong asks as she opens the container, trying to stop the slight shaking in her arm.
“Cup, please.”
“You got it!” she smiled, probably sounding a little too enthusiastic.
But it’s okay! Minjeong’s got it all together. There’s a pretty girl in front of her (who likes mint choco by the way!) who kinda seems like she’s feeling Minjeong, but that’s okay. She’s got this in bag.
Aeri, Yunjin. I’ll show you guys.
————
Oh, this fan was adorable! Jimin thinks.
She wasn’t expecting this much when she walked in, but literally the second the worker’s eyes met her, she was already mumbling and stumbling on her words. It was just too cute! And boy, was Jimin feeling lucky when she saw the girl’s face too!
So of course, Jimin had to play along. It wasn’t like her manager was here to tell her off anyway. And plus this girl had a boyish puppyish charm to her that just pulled Jimin right in. She did say that her type was girls with shorter hair and puppy-like features.
And this girl was the perfect example!
“Two scoops of mint choco for the pretty lady,” the worker beams, placing the cup on the counter for Jimin to grab. She moves to the POS system and Jimin prepares her card to pay, but the girl doesn’t say anything, tapping away at the screen.
Jimin squinted at the screen, which showed that the ice cream was already paid for. “Hey, wait—”
The girl behind the counter waves her off. “It’s nothing.”
Jimin couldn’t believe it, what a gentlewoman. But she couldn’t help but feel bad. She had the money! “No, let me pay—”
“Too late! Transaction already went through, thank you!” The girl had a wide smile on her face. Oh, Jimin just couldn’t believe her luck.
“Well, thank you…” her eyes travel down to the nametag on the girl’s shirt. “Minjeong.”
Her eyes grow wide for a moment in shock before looking down at her shirt. “Oh, yes! My name is Minjeong. Haha… Kim Minjeong, in fact.”
Jimin could see her scrunch up her face the second that left her lips, disgusted with herself for saying such things. Jimin’s heart couldn't take it. Why was this girl so cute?!
“What’s your name?” Minjeong ends up asking her, composing herself.
Jimin blinks. “You don’t know my name?” She figured with the hair and her eyes it would be obvious to tell who she was.
Minjeong does the little head tilt and Jimin just damn near faints. “I- Um… are you going to say a silly joke like ‘my girlfriend’ or something…?”
Oh my God. Jimin couldn’t believe it. Not gonna lie, that could’ve been really smooth of her to do. But no! There’s no way this fan wouldn’t know what her name was, right?!
“Mm…” she thinks for a second, glancing back to check if her manager was watching her. Once she confirmed that the manager was lost in her phone and that there doesn’t seem to be anyone coming in, Jimin does the one thing she shouldn’t be doing.
She grabs the strings of her mask and pulls, revealing her face.
Minjeong’s eyes grow wide. Maybe she knows now?
“Wow, you’re beautiful!” Minjeong exclaims.
Jimin fights a blush at the compliment. Not the time! Does this girl really not know me?! “Don’t you recognize me?”
Minjeong stops for a moment before frowning. “I’m sorry… I don’t think I do… d-do you go to the same school as me?”
Jimin felt like a whole bucket of ice water just got dropped on her.
Well, if this girl was pretending not to be a fan, she’s doing an amazing job because wow, she can keep her cool.
Jimin was used to the typical fan antics of freaking out when seeing her. And she wasn’t trying to shove it down this girl’s face that she’s an idol so sorry if she’s a bit shocked there’s someone that doesn’t know who she was.
Maybe this might work in her favor.
Well, the girl is pretty… cute… if she doesn’t know who Jimin was…
Okay, Jimin is about to make some really stupid decisions.
She gives a small smile before shaking her head. “I don’t think I do, but my name is Jimin!”
Minjeong cracks a smile at that. “Wow, beautiful name!”
“Thank you… your name is quite beautiful as well,” Jimin compliments. It was true. She grabs the cup of ice cream before glancing back at Minjeong.
“Though, you look quite… boyish for a feminine name,” she adds on. “It’s quite charming.”
Oh my God what the hell am I doing. Jimin thinks to herself. She was flirting with someone who doesn’t even know who she is! Okay well, that’s normal when you’re meeting someone new—WHATEVER!
Minjeong’s pale face immediately breaks out into red again and the girl is stuttering over her words. “T-Th-Thank you!”
The sight makes Jimin forget all her thoughts and instead break out into a smile. She grabs a spoon and starts eating the mint chocolate ice cream. At least the ice cream is delicious!
“I also like mint chocolate,” Minjeong bashfully says, making a small “meep” face that has Jimin nearly squealing from cuteness. Is it obvious that she likes cute things?
“Really? I guess we match well,” and Jimin laughs upon hearing the guttural noise that comes out of Minjeong.
And as if the gods were playing into her favor, their most recent song, Spicy, started playing.
Guess it’s time (for like, the third time) for Jimin to see if this girl really didn’t know who they were.
“Do you like this song?” Jimin asked, scooping another spoonful to her mouth.
Minjeong scrunches her nose for a bit before shrugging. “I think it’s okay… I’m honestly kinda getting sick of it because we play it so much.”
It felt like a whole train just crashed into Jimin. She nearly drops the spoon from shock.
“...Really?”
Minjeong nods. “I mean, I just don’t listen to a lot of Korean music in general anyway, I’m more of a fan of Western artists,” the girl admits.
Ah, that’s understandable. Jimin thinks, only to grow confused. But has she not seen us at all?
The blonde then looks at Jimin doing that little head tilt thing—and Jimin feels like she’s been shot right in the heart once again. “Why, do you like this song?”
“Hm…” she thinks for a little bit. It was honestly one of their better tracks, and one that was especially fitting for summer. “Yeah, I do. I don’t know if it’s my favorite song by them, but y’know.”
“That’s fair,” Minjeong nods. “I don’t even know what group this is.”
Oh, Minjeong just had to be joking now.
“Really…” Jimin raised a brow.
“Do you know who they are?” Minjeong ends up asking.
Okay, now what the hell.
If you told Jimin that when she walks into this really nice and cute ice cream parlor that she’d be pretending to be a fan of her own group she’d look at you crazy and laugh in your face.
Oh, how foolish she feels at this moment.
“T-They’re a duo called… aespa,” she answers, mentally cursing herself for stuttering. Jimin intakes another spoonful to hopefully hide her embarrassment.
Minjeong looked surprised at that. “Oh my friends are fans of them!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t know they were a duo, though. Those aren’t common in K-pop right?”
Oh, so this girl’s friends are fans, but not her? Jimin thinks.
“Not really, but we—they make it work, and I think it’s really cool they’re a duo instead of a group,” the idol’s eyes shut for a moment as she mentally slaps herself for slipping up.
“Who are the members?” Minjeong asks, full of genuine curiosity. Now Jimin was starting to feel a little bad for lying to this girl.
But what fun is it to just… tell her she’s aespa? None! Exactly, and Jimin was trying to get this girl’s number.
“There’s Karina and Ningning. Karina is a rapper and Ningning is the vocalist, but honestly, positions don’t really matter since it’s just the two of them,” Jimin explained, pretending as if she isn’t literally one of the members.
Minjeong nods along to the information, looking awed. “That’s cool. Maybe I should look into them more, especially if you like them,” she flashes a smile.
“Oh? You’d get into them for me?” Jimin smiles. She’s so… charming.
“I mean, I would do anything for you,” Minjeong declares with a smug smile. And honestly, to Jimin, that look suits the girl a little too well.
“Don’t tempt me, Minjeong, you might get me into a scandal.”
What the fuck. Jimin immediately thinks to herself.
ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION—
The worker stops for a moment. “Oh my God, wait why—wait, are you a model or something? Oh my God! I mean, makes sense—you’re so beau—I mean I’m so sorry wait—I don’t want to—”
“I-I’m kidding!” she interrupts the blabbering girl, getting just as flustered as her. Phew, okay she’s not on to me. Time to keep flirting. “You’re really cute.”
“T-Thanks…” Minjeong mutters, her face growing redder by the seconds.
FLIRT BEAM WORKED! INFORMATION… STORED!
“And what was that about I’m so… what?” Jimin teased the girl.
“Hey…” Minjeong pouted. Jimin swears that if this girl had puppy ears she could clearly see them drooping down in sadness.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” Jimin waves it off, saving the girl from even more embarrassment.
“Anyway, in exchange for the ice cream…” Jimin trails off, finding Minjeong’s anticipated expression just adorable. Was she really gonna ask this? Was this really a bad idea? Yes, absolutely, but… a part of Jimin believes this will work out in the end.
“Let me take you out on a date.”
Welp, cat’s out the bag now.
Shock fills Minjeong’s face. “Wh- R-Really?” she blinked a few times, staring at Jimin with wide eyes.
“I owe you, no?” Jimin smiles, stepping closer to Minjeong, feeling an insane rush of confidence. Where was this even coming from?! She puts her free hand out. “Your phone.”
Without asking any questions, Minjeong scrambles to fish her phone out her pocket, handing it right to Jimin.
“Such an obedient puppy,” she jokes, mentally cringing at herself for saying that, but all the while loving the blush that quickly adorns Minjeong’s face.
What was happening to her?! Where did all of this come from?! She’s not usually like this!
Ignoring her thoughts, she goes straight to the contacts app and types in her own number, putting her contact name as “jiminie 💙” before texting herself a message.
hi ur cute!
A satisfied smile meets her lips once she hears her phone buzz in her own pocket, she hands the phone back to Minjeong, who is still staring at her with a wide expression. The blonde’s eyes darted down to the message and her once shocked face broke into a wide smile.
“Really?” she raises an amused brow at Jimin.
“I mean… am I wrong?” the idol tilts her head, copying Minjeong from earlier.
Minjeong lets out a small laugh. “...No.”
“Great!” Jimin smiles.
A knock on the window got the two girls turning to look. It was Jimin’s manager pointing at her phone.
Okay, part of me wants to be grateful, but I was just getting to know her! Jimin complains in her head.
“Oh, sorry, that’s my friend,” Jimin apologizes, slightly wincing at how easily the lie slipped out of her mouth. “I have to go.”
Minjeong frowns, but quickly nods in understanding. “Alright, but it was fun meeting you, Jimin!” her face changes into a hopeful smile. “Maybe, I can see you soon?”
Jimin smiles as she turns to the door. “Yeah, of course.”
————
Aeri and Yunjin were having a blast.
Well, for the most part.
While it was nice being outside standing with a little cart full of ice cream, it wasn’t fun having to stay in the same ice cream parlor uniform while it was hot as hell outside.
“Why are we doing this again?” Aeri asked as she fanned herself with a mini hand-held fan. Yunjin shrugged.
“Boss thought it was a good business idea,” she simply answers.
“I mean, yeah, but ugh, making us keep our stupid uniforms?” Aeri complained, motioning to their outfits.
“Um… to show that we’re employees and not some randos?” Yunjin reasons. Aeri lets out another groan. “Look, we’re only here for like,” she stops to check her watch. “Literally ten more minutes.”
“Well, ten more minutes should be zero!”
Yunjin sighs, exasperated.
There haven't been people coming up to them for a bit now. The only people that have came up to them were some weird dudes trying to get their numbers and occasionally some actual customers. Thankfully, they weren’t out for much longer, or else Yunjin wouldn’t hear the end of Aeri’s complaining.
“Oh, damn, look at that,” Aeri points. Yunjin follows her finger and sees a huge group of people with cameras and other things of the sort walking to the parking lot. It looked like they were filming something at the beach. Yunjin didn’t hear anything about it.
“Huh, wonder what they were doing,” she thinks aloud. She turns to Aeri. “Think they got us on camera?”
Aeri scoffs. “I wish. I hope someone sees my awesome and gorgeous face and decides to cast me into SM’s next girl group.”
Yunjin laughs. “As if! They’d be on your ass if they saw the anime fanfiction you wrote.”
Aeri stops, fear entering her face. “Oh my god, you’re right.”
The rest of their time was spent unbothered. Soon enough, the two girls were hauling the ice cream cart back to the parlor. The cool air of the ice cream parlor immediately relieved the girls. Aeri let out a sigh of satisfaction as she tossed the hand-held fan on the table.
Yunjin walked out to the main area and froze upon seeing a very satisfied smile on Minjeong’s face.
“Minjeong?” Yunjin raised a brow.
The blonde quickly brings her hand up, showing her phone screen. “I got a girl’s number!”
Yunjin’s jaw dropped, and Aeri immediately rushed out. “You what?!”
“...And it wasn’t some old lady trying to get it on before she hit the pit? Permanently?” Yunjin asked with uncertainty.
“Hey!” Minjeong frowned.
“Okay, well… what’s her name?” Aeri asks, trying to alleviate the teasing on their friend.
Minjeong smiles blissfully. “She said her name is Jimin.”
“Jimin… not a bad name,” Yunjin hums. “Definitely sounds like a name an old hag would have, though.”
“Hey!”
Aeri hit Yunijn and muttered at her to stop. She turned back to Minjeong. “She say anything else? Age, job, anything?”
“I mean we didn’t talk for long but—ugh, oh my God, she was soooo pretty, like she can be a model or something,” Minjeong rambles, it almost looks like her eyes were turning into hearts. The two friends couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
Aeri nodded along slowly. “And she was around our age?”
“Oh, absolutely. I mean if not then she looks amazing for her age—”
“Okay, buster that’s enough out of you,” Yunjin interrupts with a shake of her head. Minjeong beams.
“But anyway, yeah! I got a girl’s number, now you guys can’t say I don’t have any game,” Minjeong proudly says.
Yunjin sighed, shaking her head, pretending to be disappointed. “Okay, okay, maybe you have some game.”
“And I won the bet!” Minjeong continued on. “You guys better stick to it!”
“Yes, yes, we will,” Aeri waved her hand dismissively, then cracking into a teasing smile. “But you’re still a loser.”
“Hey!”
“Okay, okay, not too much on our baby,” Yunjin teasingly cooed at Minjeong as she started patting her hair.
Minjeong flinches back away from the touch, pouting. “You’re the main offender!”
Yunjin shushes her as she moves to pat her hair again. “Wow, such a fussy child.”
Aeri shakes her head, the display in front of being a familiar sight. “Anything else about your dear Jimin?”
“Hm…” Minjeong thinks, then immediately answers. “Jimin also mentioned liking aespa, she even told me about the members.”
Aeri’s face brightens up at that. “Oh my God, yessss let me meet her,” she pleaded.
“Wow, at least you can pull someone with taste,” Yunjin jokes. “Unlike yourself.”
“Hey!”
“Maybe this is a sign for you to finally get into them, like we’ve been telling you,” Aeri adds.
Minjeong groaned. “K-pop isn’t my thing!”
“It can be now!” Aeri starts, then wiggling her eyebrows. “For your Jimin.”
“Shut up!”
————
Ning Yizhuo prides herself on being quite the observant individual.
She’s been with Jimin for years. They trained together, lived together, and even sometimes took showers together (okay, not like that.), it was impossible not to notice the little things about her duo when they spent so much time with one another.
So when Jimin walked into their dorms with a smile that seemed a little too bright to just be from filming a CF at the beach, she knew something was up.
Once the door closed, she didn’t wait to ask. “What’s with you?”
“Ning…” Jimin starts, plopping down on the couch. “I just met the cutest girl today.”
Yizhuo’s eyes go wide in interest. “Oh? Do tell.”
Jimin’s sexuality wasn’t a surprise to Yizhuo at all. Honestly, she kinda figured it out like a few months after they first met when she saw Jimin’s music taste and thought, “wow my gay cousin listens to that.” And then realized what that meant.
But outside of Yizhuo just knowing things and figuring things out without people telling her, Jimin did eventually tell her and confirm her suspicions.
“She works at this ice cream parlor and like ugh! She was just so cute!” Jimin starts rambling. “She had shortish blonde hair—not full pixie, just a little bob—and oh my God! I love bobs on girls… or like… girls in general. Oh my god, and also she had such a puppyish face and she was just so silly and also handsome and boyish at the same time? I had to admit, I was watching her arms extra close when she was scooping ice cream—”
“Damn—d-damn! Jesus Christ!” Yizhuo interrupts, shocked by the sudden load of information. She’s never heard Jimin ramble that much before, unless it was about the country’s strange economic crisis or like… Crayon Shin-chan. “That bad?”
“Yes, Yizhuo! I want her so bad!” Jimin buries her head into her hands, then she drops them, staring at her friend. “But like, ugh! I tried flirting with her but I don’t think I did a great job.”
“Wait—”
“And like now I’m like, scared because what if she thinks I’m like that all the time? But I’m not! I’m like,” she vaguely gestures to the area around her. “This!”
“You tried to—”
Jimin just keeps going. “I’ve never seen someone so attractive until I saw her? Like, she’s totally my type.”
Yizhuo couldn’t believe how down bad her friend got for a girl that she just met. She shook her head. “Girl… you just met her today. And you also tried flirting with her.”
“Yeah, and I even gave her my number!” Jimin exclaims, hands flailing around.
Yizhuo was taken aback. “Girl—WHAT?” she exclaimed. “You’re an idol, Jimin! You can’t be doing shit like that!”
Yizhuo could see it all. The multiple articles that’ll be written about Jimin, about herself, about their group—duo. It’s almost like she was watching the world crumble right before her eyes, unable to do a single thing. She shivers.
But Jimin wasn’t done. “That’s the thing, though! She doesn’t know who I am!”
That makes Yizhuo stop.
She blinks. Once. Twice.
What.
The.
Fuck.
The woman blinks a few times, analyzing her friend’s expression to find any sign of this being a joke hidden somewhere. There’s no way, right? They were like, the top K-pop duo. In fact, the only duo. How the hell does someone not know who they are? Did this ice cream girl live under a rock or something? Was she foreign? Well, Jimin did mention she was blonde maybe—
Okay, that’s enough.
When she realizes there’s complete truth in her friend’s statement, she can't believe it.
“Oh my God, bitch, you’re serious,” Yizhuo gasps, covering her mouth with her hand. Jimin nods frantically.
“Yeah, I know right?” Jimin looked just as shocked. “I even showed her my face and all she said was that I was pretty, she didn’t even mention anything about Karina or aespa.”
Yizhuo just couldn’t believe it. “I’m sorry, is she foreign?”
Her friend shakes her head. “No! I mean, I don’t think so! Her name is Minjeong and her hair is blonde but definitely dyed. I saw black roots growing there and her face is definitely Korean, or at least just Asian.”
A Korean person, not knowing a big name Korean group—or duo, whatever.
Definitely unheard of.
“And you’re sure she doesn’t know who you are?” Yizhuo asks once more, wanting to confirm the information.
“Yes!” Jimin nods. “She didn't even know Spicy was our song!”
“What?!” Yizhuo gasped. Everyone in Korea knows Spicy, it’s a summer hit! Dare she say, the song of the summer! “Oh, now she’s pissing me off.”
“Noooo,” Jimin whines, shaking her head. “Don’t blame her…”
“You like a girl who doesn’t keep up with Korean pop culture!” Yizhuo exclaims, exasperated. “What are you going to do when she finds out?”
“Finds out what?”
Yizhuo narrows her eyes. “Your identity, dummy.”
Jimin dejectedly shrugs. Seems like she’s finally realizing what she’s done. “I don’t know, I was just gonna admit to it and—”
“Jimin,” Yizhuo interrupts, sighing. God, she loved her friend, but damn was she a little stupid! “It’s already risky with you giving a stranger your number, but dropping the bomb on her that you’re an idol when she doesn’t know is even worse.”
“I know, I know,” Jimin frowns, nodding in shame. “But I don’t want to lie to her! I already felt bad just talking to her and pretending that I was a fan of aespa.”
“Wait, you—” Yizhuo snickers. “You pretended to be a fan of… yourself?”
“Ning…” Jimin frowned. “I had to do what I had to do! It felt awkward! And I wasn’t just gonna tell her right then and there!”
“Man—Jimin, what were you thinking!” Yizhuo threw her arms up, and flopping back against the couch. Her friend was really frustrating sometimes.
“I’m sorry! I just really wanted to get to know her,” Jimin sounded sad and regretful. Okay, now Yizhuo feels a little bad. “She seems really nice and I don’t know, it feels like she was interested in me rather than Karina, you know?”
Yizhuo can’t lie, that does seem a little sweet.
It wasn’t like Jimin was committing a crime. The girl just wanted to be happy and be with someone that she was interested in. And it wasn’t like there was anything in the contract about dating—at least, not really. Honestly, Yizhuo did not read through that part thoroughly enough, but… who cares.
However, she just can’t ignore how reckless Jimin acted!
“Can’t you just… help me out, Ning?” Jimin pleaded, doing the little puppy eyes that the older knew would get her. “I just… want to get to know her more.”
Yizhuo sighs and nods. “Yes, I’ll… help you with whatever you need,” she agrees, but before Jimin can celebrate she stops her. “But! Never pull that shit again. Who knows what would’ve happened if it was a fan or anti—”
“Yes, yes, I won’t,” Jimin promises, bringing out a hand and sticking out her pinky. “I pinky promise.”
Yizhuo smiles at the silly action as she also sticks out her pinky, connecting it. “Okay, pinky promise.”
“Thank you so much, Ning,” Jimin hugs the younger girl, who immediately returns it.
“Of course, of course,” she smiles. They pull away. “I’m always here to help you, we’re friends, right? So… I support your happiness, even if it’s with a girl that’s kinda pissing me off.”
Jimin laughs. “Okay, I’m glad.”
Yizhuo then scoots closer, a teasing smile on her face. “Now… do you have any pictures of this girl?”
————
Minjeong was living her best life.
She kept texting Jimin back and forth while she was being driven home by Yunjin, who thankfully offered up since Minjeong and Aeri did originally get to the beach via public transit. In a way, this bet benefited everyone involved!
And she learned more about Jimin. She found out the girl was a year older than her (wow, heh. Older women, am I right?), she liked dinosaurs (how stupidly adorable.), her birthday was in April (Aries girl…), she liked dancing (and so did Minjeong!), and her closest friend was Chinese. The last fact was a bit random, but Minjeong appreciated it nonetheless! She was able to reply back with a “my roommate is half japanese! we’re kinda twinning!”
Minjeong was finally laying in bed with a towel wrapped around her drying hair after she finished her shower. Aeri has already retreated to her room for the night, leaving with a quick goodnight before shutting her door. Apparently, standing outside in the sun trying to sell ice cream takes more out of a person than Minjeong thought.
She scrolled mindlessly on her phone, wondering what Jimin could be up to. The girl never said much about what she was doing at the beach, or what she does as a job at all, but Minjeong is okay with that! Even if she was secretly a serial killer, Minjeong could live with that!
Her phone buzzes with a notification, it’s from Jimin!
jiminie 💙
hey! what’s ur insta?
Minjeong smiles as she immediately types out her response: kminjeong :)
The older girl reacts to the message with a thumbs up and doesn’t say anything after that. Well, that’s that, she guesses.
Oh, right! That group she liked!
Minjeong never bothered checking out aespa because of how much her friends talked about it. Honestly, she just tuned out whenever she heard the name and just prayed she was able to keep her peace.
Time to look into this K-pop group—or duo.
aespa…
Hm, Minjeong wondered what their name could’ve meant. Maybe like… ae… spa? Like a sauna? Maybe they’re hot like the sauna? Wait, are spas in saunas? Or are saunas in spas…? Wait, what would “ae” even mean? Is that like, tech stuff…?
Minjeong shakes her head. Okay, that’s enough.
She typed in the name “aespa” and the second she clicked “search” she was instantly met with a sight she never thought she’d see.
Oh. Oh what the hell.