She didn’t need to wait long.

The very next day, Jimin sent her a message. Just a simple message asking how her day had been. But even that had been enough to make her smile like she had just won the lottery. She was working in the convenience store, her phone tucked into her apron as she refilled the shelves, the grin still on her face, despite the late hour. “What’s got you so happy?” her friend, Jaebum, asked her as he brought out another box. “Nothing.” She said with a grin as she opened the box and continued filling the shelves.

He hummed at her. “Something good must have happened. You’ve been grinning away to yourself since you got here.” He said as he helped her fill the higher shelves. She didn’t say anything. Jaebum was super observant and would definitely work out something was going on, but she didn’t want to give him any clues. “I’m just happy today, that’s all.” She said as she picked up her empty box and folded it. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her, “I’ll figure it out!” he called after her as she headed to the back to throw away the box.

The rest of her shift passed quickly, she managed to spare a few minutes to send a few messages back and forth with Jimin, both of them busy with their own schedules. Part of her still couldn’t believe that she was actually texting the idol that she’d had a crush on for ages. She knew not to expect too much, but that didn’t stop her from smiling every time her phone beeped with a message from him. Jaebum had tried to catch glimpses of her phone, but she hid it from him, not wanting to tell anyone about texting Jimin.

This routine carried on over the following weeks. His schedules and her jobs keeping the two of them busy, but they messaged each other whenever they had the chance. Jimin often visited the restaurant to see her, Mr Kim letting him hide in the kitchen if there were other customers so that he wouldn’t be recognised. Her awe at him being Park Jimin from BTS quickly wore away, and he became just Jimin to her. It didn’t matter that he was an idol in one of the biggest groups in Korea. To her, he had become a really good friend, and she had become the same to him. Jungkook had even begun to call her sister in law after a while, much to Jimin's embarrassment.

A few months after they had exchanged numbers, Jimin was hanging out in the kitchen of the restaurant while she cleaned. He had offered to help, but she had insisted that she was fine, and that she didn’t want him to mess up his hands by cleaning. He sat on one of the counters while she washed some dishes. “I feel guilty just watching you.” He said noting the large pile of dishes still to be done. She smiled at him, “I’m getting paid to do it.” She reminded him. He frowned and jumped down from the counter, grabbing a dish towel and starting to dry the dishes. “Jimin, it’s fine.”

“Just let me help.” He said, flashing her a big smile. She felt the familiar flurry of butterflies in her stomach as she turned back to the soapy water in front of her. “You know; we’re going abroad in a couple of days.” He said quietly. She nodded, “Yeah, I remember. You have some concerts in America, right?” she said as she rinsed the bowls in her hand. He nodded as they continued to work side by side. They were silent for a minute before Jimin cleared his throat. “I’m gonna miss you.” He said quietly. The plate that she had been cleaning slipped through her fingers, luckily just splashing back into the water. She bit her lip as she tried to hold back her smile. “I’ll miss you too.” She said, quickly glancing at him.

“How long will you be away for?” she asked, handing him some dishes to dry. “About a week I think. We’re going to have a couple of days without a schedule.” He said, excitement clearly showing in his voice at the prospect of being able to relax. “I’m so jealous. I'd love to go to America. You have to take lots of photos and show them to me, ok?” she said. Jimin wanted to tell her that he wanted her to go with them, or that the two of them could go together sometime. But he kept his thoughts and feelings to himself. “Ok. I’ll even buy you a present.” He promised.

For the week that he was away, Jimin tried his best to keep in contact with Ye Jin, but thanks to a packed schedule, time differences and jet lag, they weren’t able to talk much. On their last day in America, the boys were allowed to go out alone to explore. Taehyung, Jungkook, and Jimin had ended up in a large mall after spending the morning at a fair. They went through each shop, excitedly buying gifts for their families back home. Jimin was waiting for Taehyung to purchase something in a shop when a phone case caught his attention. The design was quite simple, but he thought that Ye Jin would like it. He found one to match her phone, then after a bit of thought, picked up a matching one for his phone. He quickly bought them before either Jungkook or Taehyung noticed. He stuffed them into his backpack and went to meet up with the other two boys.

A few days after they returned to Korea, Jimin finally found the chance to meet Ye Jin at the restaurant. The restaurant was already quiet thanks to the late hour. Mr Kim had offered to cook something for him, but he declined, telling him that he had already ate. “Are you sure? I can whip you up something in no time.” he offered. Jimin shook his head. “It’s really ok, Mr Kim.” Mr Kim nodded and called for Ye Jin. “Get yourself out of here.” He said. “But uncle, there's still cleaning to be done.” She said pointing back at the kitchen. “There’s not much to be done, I can finish up here. Go. Let this young man you back home. It’s not safe for you to be out by yourself this late at night.” Ye Jin blanched at his words. “Uncle! I can get home fine by myself!” she protested, not wanting to bother Jimin. “I don’t mind.” Jimin said. Mr Kim nodded in approval.

“See? Now go and get your things.” Mr Kim said as he ushered her off to the small staff room. She quickly changed out of her apron, taking a few minutes to straighten her clothes and fix her hair before meeting up with Jimin at the entrance to the restaurant, his hat pulled down low over his face. “Remember to lock the back door, oh and I’ve already put all the recyclables in the right place for pick up tomorrow. Oh and- “

“Go already.” Mr Kim said with a chuckle, shooing the two of them towards the door. Jimin opened the door and led Ye Jin down the street. They walked slowly, happy to be together after their short separation. “So, you had a good time?” she asked. He nodded, “Yeah. We were really busy but we still had some time to explore and sightsee. It was nice.” She smiled, “The photos you sent me were amazing. But I think my favourite was of Namjoon sleeping on the plane.” They both burst out laughing at the embarrassing photo Jimin had snapped of the BTS leader. “He’ll kill me if he ever finds out I took it.” He said with a laugh.

They slowly walked to her apartment, filling each other in on the things that had happened while he had been away. “Thanks for walking me back.” She said, grateful for their time together, even if it was short. Jimin nervously took off his backpack. “I have something for you. A gift.” He said. “You didn’t need to do that! I thought you were joking before!” she said as he pulled out a small, thin box from his bag. “Here.” He said, handing her the box. She opened it, her face lighting up when she saw the phone case inside. “Jimin, it’s really pretty!” she said as she took it out of the box and slipped it onto her phone. “It looks amazing! Thank you!” she said as she gave him a brief hug.

“Ye Jin, I want to ask you something.” He said, taking a deep breath. “Sure, what is it?” she asked, slipping her phone back into her pocket. “Well… I wanted to ask, and don’t feel pressured to answer right away… we’ve known each other for a while now, and I think we’ve gotten pretty close.” He started, his hands clenching and unclenching by his side. “I know that I’m always really busy and that it would need to be a secret but… I was wondering… I mean…” he let out a nervous chuckle as he looked at her slightly confused expression. “Do you want to date? I mean, would be you be interested in dating me?” he said, suddenly a million times more nervous now that the words were out of his mouth.

She looked back at him, slightly open from shock. “You mean… you like me?” she asked as she tried to process what he had just said. He nodded. “Yeah, I’ve liked you for a while, but I wanted to get to know you more. The more I find out about you, the more I like you.” He admitted, his heart thundering in his chest as he waited for her to either accept him or reject him. “Woah… I can’t believe this…” she said, running her hand through her hair. Jimin felt disappointment wash through him as the feeling of an impending rejection flooded over him. “If you don’t feel the same way then it’s totally ok!” he said quickly, hoping that he hadn’t just ruined their friendship.

Her head snapped round to face him. “How could I not feel the same?” she said with a small laugh like he had just said something ridiculous, which in her opinion, he had. “I’ve had feelings for you for longer than I’ll ever admit Park Jimin. I just never thought that someone as amazing as you would ever like someone so plain like me.”

“Plain? Ye Jin, there’s nothing plain about you. You are an amazing person.” He said taking a step closer to her so that he was right in front of her. He hesitantly raised his hand to cup her cheek. “Never think of yourself as plain. You’re beautiful and amazing.” He said, a loving smile on his face. She smiled back at him. “You still haven’t answered my question.” He said with a nervous laugh. She chuckled back at him. “Yes. Of course!” she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He grinned as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. He pulled back slightly and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

“You should go inside.” He said. “It’s already pretty late.” She nodded, still in his embrace. “The guys will be wondering where you are.” She said. He pressed another kiss to her forehead. “Message me when you get back to the dorm, ok? Just so I know that you’re safe.” He nodded, “Ok.” He agreed as she reluctantly stepped out of his embrace. He watched her until she was safely in her building before he headed back to the dorm, a massive smile on his face.