THE FIRST TIME

“Do you believe in forever?”
 
 

“I’m in love with you.”

 
Kim Minju choked on the water that she was drinking and turned to the person sitting next to her in disbelief.
 
 

“I’m sorry?” Minju was not sure if she had heard correctly, so she decided to try again.
 
 

Ahn Yujin took a deep breath and repeated in a soft voice. “I’m in love with you.”
 
 

“Oh,” Minju replied as she put the cap back on her water bottle, and set the bottle on the table.
 
 

She blinked her eyes a few times, hoping that her problem would magically disappear. Unfortunately for her, Yujin was still sitting there, expecting a response from her.
 
 

“Um…” Minju was not sure how she felt or what she should be feeling, so she decided that ignorance would be the best course of action to take at the moment.
 
 

“I’m going to pretend that I didn’t hear anything.” Minju said as she stood up. “And I think that Chaewon-unnie is probably looking for me, so I’m going to go.”
 
 

Minju grabbed her water bottle and left the room in a hurry.
 
 

Yujin watched as the door closed with a bang, leaving her alone in the common room. She sighed before banging her head softly against the table.
 
 

“The first time that I said I love you, my hands were shaking and I felt like I couldn’t breathe...”
 
 

Yujin sat on the bed of the Minju’s dorm room and watched as the story unfolded on the television screen. Minju sat next to her with a box of Kleenex on her lap, which she continuously used to wipe the tears from her face.

 
After classes had finished that night, Minju had grabbed Yujin and insisted that they watched a tragic romance movie in her room. At first, Yujin did not know why, but right before she went to Minju’s room, she was informed by their friend Kim Chaewon that Minju had just broken up with her girlfriend.
 
 

To say that Yujin was surprised was an understatement, as she did not even know that Minju was dating someone. She felt like such a fool for confessing to Minju. Yujin was just glad that Minju was not mad at her for confessing, and she was still treating Yujin like she did before.
 
 

Yujin sighed as she looked over at Minju and realized that the older girl had fallen asleep. Minju had probably tired herself out from crying.
 
 

Yujin turned off the television and carefully adjusted Minju’s body so that she was sleeping in the center of the bed. She pulled the covers over Minju and stood quietly on the side of the bed. She observed Minju’s sleeping face for a few minutes before reaching over and pressed her lips lightly against Minju’s cheek. She pulled back and brushed the hair off Minju’s forehead. She turned off the lights and left the room quietly.
 
 

“When I kissed you for the first time, my heart was beating so fast that I thought it would jump out of my chest...”
 
 

Yujin yawned as she walked towards the train station. She had just finished a long day of classes off campus and she was exhausted.

 
“You know, if you didn’t party so much, you wouldn’t be tired all the time.”
 

 
Yujin yawned again as she turned to look at Minju, who was walking beside her. “I don’t party all the time.”
 
 

“Oh yeah? Did you go out last night then?” Minju challenged.
 
 

“Yes, but I…” Yujin tried to explain but was cut off by Minju.
 
 

“See, you party way too much.”
 
 

“But last night was different. It was my high school reunion.”
 
 

“You