Kind Cruelty
Jeongyeon X Mina One Shot

The reckless wind blows through the windowpane. Dim lights flicker as the air blown by the electric fan keeping the room’s cool temperature. A little too dark if someone asks but it didn’t matter for the two people minding their business in the middle of the storm.

Bodies close to each other, almost inseparable, their breathing synchronizes into one. The dim lights lighting up the room are from their mobile phones. Nothing more, nothing less. “Three-fifteen, love,” Mina breaks the silence. Jeongyeon leaning her back against Mina’s front while the latter leans on the wall of their bed.

“No need to shout! I panic, remember!” Jeongyeon hisses. Mina merely chuckles and plays with her girlfriend’s hair. “Minaaaa, stop distracting me!” she groans.

Ever so sly, Mina rests her lips on the crook of Jeongyeon’s neck, planting soft feathery kisses on it, completely distracting Jeongyeon. “I missed you,” Mina whispers.

“,” Jeongyeon throws her phone to the pillow, her character dying. She frowns and turns to Mina, “You really distract me when I need to focus the most, Mina-ya.”

A soft chuckle escapes Mina’s lips, making Jeongyeon’s spine shiver in excitement and delight. “You look the cutest when you play, it makes me love you more so I can’t help but get a hold,” Mina explains, “Maybe steal a kiss, touch a soft spot.. I don’t know, make others jealous of how lucky I am?”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Myoui,” Jeongyeon chuckles as well as she sinks deeper into Mina’s warmth. “The red days just began.”

Mina laughs out loud, Jeongyeon’s heart starts to race. “It’s not always about , my love. I just want people to know that they can always stare,” the Japanese girl kisses her bare shoulder and hums, “But only I can get to touch, love, and spoil.”

“Too full of yourself as always, Mina,” Jeongyeon hides her blushing cheeks. She sighs and leans her cheek towards Mina’s head. “We’ll stay like this always, right?”

“Today, tomorrow, next week, until we grow old,” Mina assures her. The older hums and stops her tears from falling, her heart swelling with the overflowing love she feels for Mina. For such a long time, Jeongyeon’s been in the depths of darkness. And when Mina came, it’s like she’s given a new meaning in life. All she wants to do is to make sure she makes Mina the happiest, give her the love she deserves, and just be with Mina for as long as she breathes.

Mina notices Jeongyeon’s quiet mood. She doesn’t say a word about it and just rubs her thumb on Jeongyeon’s shoulder, “I love you, you know?” she hums as a response. “Really, I just love you so much, Mina.”

The Japanese girl smiles down at Jeongyeon, “I know, love.” She kisses Jeongyeon’s lips softly, like she’ll break Jeongyeon if she ever puts a little more force. “And I love just as much, maybe more.”

“I just want to make sure you knew,” the older chuckles, “You know, just in case we fight or what. Know that I may hurt you unintentionally but my choice to love you? It’s purely intentional and with the purest intentions.” Jeongyeon sits up and sits across Mina, “Mina-ya, before you came, I was just existing. Surviving every single day just to try and survive the next one. I met you in the most unexpected scenarios. We were in our own commitments, not minding each other’s lives, just occasionally interacting every now and then but nonetheless, not more than acquaintances. And then we meet again, this time both free of our own chains, afraid to give love another chance,” Jeongyeon puts Mina’s palm on her cheek, tears streaming down.

“Jeong..? Is everything okay, love?” Mina asks, quiet terrified to see Jeongyeon’s tears. If there is one thing Mina hates the most, it’s when Jeongyeon cries.

She nods, “Of course. I just… I just love you. It’s corny, I know but after realizing I love you, after risking it all and just saying yes to this, to us, I can’t give up now. Not now, not ever. Especially not on you.”

For some reason, Mina finds herself in tears. For the longest time, she was shoved to the corner, left feeling unwanted with nothing but pain, longing, accepting the love she thinks she deserves, not knowing she deserves more. Now, Jeongyeon’s here and she’s giving all this love Mina’s not used to receiving. All the love she feels like she doesn’t deserve. But the thing is, Jeongyeon knows that Mina deserves nothing but the best. And she’s far from it so she wants to be the best version of herself just so she can say that she’s worthy to be with Mina.

“Thank you,” Mina whispers, their foreheads against each other.

“For what?”

She sighs and cups Jeongyeon’s face, “For loving me.”

Jeongyeon’s breathy chuckle almost takes her breath away, “You deserve this. More than this.”

“I don’t but still, thank you,” she insists.

The older smiles and leans her cheek closer to Mina’s palm, “Now that I think about it, maybe the reason why we got hurt so much before is for us to appreciate what is to come.”

Mina tilts her head, “And that is?”

Jeongyeon smiles, she holds both of Mina’s hands and kisses it gently. She holds Mina’s gaze and tucks her hair behind her ear, “The best.”

For that whole time, the world just became quiet. All that matters is Mina and Jeongyeon, their synchronized heartbeats, their content smiles, and most of all, their clasped hands.

~

The scorching heat burns through Mina’s porcelain skin. Shoots were never meant to be this difficult but earning money is never easy. Sure, she’s born from a rich family that can practically build a modeling agency for her but what’s the point in that? Her goal is to become a known model through skills and through her surname.

“Miss Myoui, a delivery for you,” her EA says. She asks for a short break and heads off to the entrance of the beach. They rented the whole resort so they can shoot their ad for a luxury brand beach clothes.

A man wearing a jacket with a known delivery company logo beams at her. “Miss Mina?” she nods, “Oh, delivery for you. It’s ramen.”

Confused, she shakes her head, “I don’t believe I ordered any.”

“Oh don’t worry, it’s already paid by Miss Yoo,” the driver asks for her signature and leaves Mina in a daze.

Upon her return to the tent, she sits and opens her phone, calling Jeongyeon. “Hello?” her girlfriend’s voice never fails to relieves her stress.

“Jeongyeon, care to explain why a certain ramen was delivered to me?” she hides a smile and pretends to be annoyed.

Jeongyeon knows better and says, “Stop pretending like you’re not smiling right now, love. I know you’ve been craving for ramen so there, I ordered for you.”

She shakes her head, “You’re unbelievable.”

The girl on the other line laughs, “I try to impress.”

“No need to impress me. I’m already chained,” she responds as she starts eating the ramen she received,

“Well, it’s not bad to spoil my girl every once in a while, is it?” Mina blushes and bites her lip.

My girl… huh… I can get used to that.

“Congratulations, you just earned a date night during the weekends,” a soft yet squeezed sigh escapes through Jeongyeon’s lips.

“See? Worth it,” they laugh in unison followed by silence. “I miss you,” Jeongyeon confesses.

“I miss you too,” Mina answers. Jeongyeon’s heart races and her tears start to form.

“I just need a hug. No need for a grand date or anything expensive, Mina. It’s just that...” Mina hears her girlfriend sob.

“What’s wrong, love?” she asks, worried for Jeongyeon.

The Korean girl chuckles, “Work’s being hard. The demand for freshly baked bread is higher with lesser time to prepare so I’m worn out. I have burns all over my fingers and arms. I just need to recharge. I need physical reason to survive work.”

Mina’s heart clenches. She wants to wrap Jeongyeon in a hug and tell her that everything will be okay. It’s not easy but it will be okay. “I’ll see you on Friday, love, okay?” she hears Jeongyeon’s soft hum.

“I love you, Mina,” the simple yet softly delivered words makes her heart leap in joy.

She closes her eyes and imagines Jeongyeon’s smiling face in front of her, “I love you too, Jeongyeon.”

~

Busy. If there is one thing to describe Mina, it’s that word. She barely has time for her own, let alone for Jeongyeon. The other girl’s been understanding but people knew better. Jeongyeon’s holding it in. Her rock is Mina. She doesn’’t go insane because Mina’s there. But now that Mina’s busy as a bee, Jeongyeon’s been having some moments again. Moments where she can’t control her anger and just burst. There are times when she stays up until three in the morning doing nothing but stare at the ceiling, thinking of Mina and how they used to just spend their time cuddling and talking. Texting, even. But now, things are changing. They’re out of their honeymoon phase and Jeongyeon knows that. She doesn’t want to bother Mina so she keeps quiet. Mina is scary when she’s mad so she’d rather keep it in and just wait for Mina to spare her some time, if possible.

Jeongyeon looks at her phone, reading the message she has yet to answer.

[8:20PM] How are you?
[8:21PM] Are you busy, Jeong?
[8:21PM] Jeongyeon.

                                                Hi, love!! :D [8:22PM]
                                      I miss you already! [8:22PM]

She waits for a reply after hitting the send button. Her boss, the owner of the restaurant calls her for a short meeting. During the meeting, Jeongyeon’s mind’s been flying to a particular girl who holds her heart. She immediately says yes to her tasks and goes back to the back of the kitchen, grabbing her phone. She notices that it’s been an hour. Her smile fades when she sees that no reply has been sent to her. She shakes her head and flashes a smile just in time for a co-worker to approach her.

After teaching a new employee the basic rules inside her kitchen, Jeongyeon goes back to the locker room and fishes out her phone again. She smiles as she sees Mina’s name on the notifications tab.

[10:43PM] Jeongyeon
[10:43PM] I miss you too
[10:45PM] Hello?
[10:49PM] I guess you’re busy.
[10:50PM] Okay,

                                                Minaaa~ [10:51PM]
                 Sorryyy. Was in a meeting~ [10:51PM]
 

Anxious, she waits for a reply. After two hours, Mina replies again. But Jeongyeon goes inside the kitchen to pull out the bread she placed inside the oven earlier.

[12:11PM] Just tell me if you’re busy
[12:11PM] Or if you don’t want to talk to me
[12:11PM] I don’t know what I did

                        Huh? I was just getting some bread [12:16PM]
                                What’s wrong? You sound off [12:16PM]

[12:42PM] Nothing. I just feel like you don’t like talking to me
[12:43PM] You reply a little late.

                                                Sorry :(  [12:44PM]
                                 Was a little busy  [12:44PM]
                                    I’m here now!   [12:44PM]

Mina explains to her how she’s been replying in short sentences. Jeongyeon bites her lip and stops herself from crying. Talking to Mina’s the best part of her day, how can Mina say that she doesn’t want to talk? It’s just that she’s been trying to do all jobs and finish fast so she can have more time to talk to Mina. Because even if she denies it so much, Jeongyeon’s a clingy girlfriend. She loves talking to Mina, laughing at the smallest things, teasing the younger girl so she can make those cute expressions Jeongyeon loves to see. So those words hurt. Saying that Jeongyeon, of all people, doesn’t want to talk to her.

Although she can’t blame Mina. The girl’s been beaten down emotionally to settle for the scrap of attention thrown her way. Jeongyeon’s doing her best to change that… and it looks like she’s failing because she’s making Mina feel like she’s not worthy of any attention. Jeongyeon excuses herself from some people at her work and goes to the comfort room. As soon as she locks the door, her tears fall. She clenches her chest and bites her lip, stopping herself from sobbing. She grabs a handful of tissue and gently wipes her eyes. Her subordinates can’t see her like that. She needs to be a good example.

Although a little hurt, Jeongyeon forces a smile and continues with work.

~

Weekend comes and the promised date is awaiting to commence. Jeongyeon’s wearing her best casual clothes and currently waiting for Mina to arrive. As soon as she sees the younger girl, she sighs and smiles widely.

“Hi,” she greets, hugging her girlfriend who still manages to take her breath away.

“Hi,” Mina smiles, feeling the same.

They continue with their usual date the only problem is, Mina’s been glued to her phone. Jeongyeon’s feeling itchy about it but she shrugs it off.

“Mina-ya, are you listening?” Jeongyeon calls her out.

Mina looks away from her phone and smiles at Jeongyeon, “Sorry. What was that?”

“Nothing,” Jeongyeon smiles and shakes her head.

“Sorry. That was work. Something about the next shoot or something,” Mina explains. The older girl nods and continues to eat, something that helps her hide her true feelings. If there is one thing Jeongyeon learned from her previous failures in the love side of life, it’s to mask her sad emotions with the happy ones. Something she’s become quite an expert in doing.

Mina’s phone rings and she grabs it before looking at Jeongyeon, “Go. It’s work.” She smiles and goes out of the restaurant. Since the reception , she crosses the road, near the metal tower to attract all the signal she can get. As soon as she says the word ‘hello’, a huge explosion attacks her ears. She turns around and drops her phone, her lips part and her whole body begins to shake.

“JEONGYEON!” she yells, running towards the now burning restaurant. Fire trucks immediately respond. A civilian stops Mina from reentering the burning building, “Please! My girlfriend! JEONGYEON IS INSIDE. LET ME IN!”

A police officer pulls her away, “Ma’am, we can’t let you inside. The fire fighters are already doing a rescue operation but please, stay here and let us do our jobs.”

Weak, Mina slumps down on the ground and pulls her hair, “Jeongyeon-ah.. please.”

After around fifteen minutes, a fire fighter emerges from the subsiding flames carrying a woman with mid length hair, wearing dark colored jeans and a black shirt. Mina stands right away and approaches the man.

“Jeong?” before she can even take a look, medics beat her to the man and takes the woman.

Mina never felt so much regret before.

~

Beep. Beep. Beep.

“I thought you said she’ll wake up?” Mina asks quite loudly.

“We said she might wake up. The chances are slim since the gas explosion that happened inside the kitchen is right behind her, only separated by a thin wall. Three gas tanks exploded, Miss Myoui. The damage done to her back and to the back of her skull were far too much, not to mention the third degree burns she got,” the doctor explains calmly. “All we can do now is pray,” the doctor leaves and Mina stares at Jeongyeon’s bandaged head. Only her lips and her eyes can be seen.

She feels guilty. She’s been so caught up with work that she forgot about the reason why she works in the first place. Jeongyeon never complained, neither did she feel any hate from the girl. But now that she’s looking at her, she notices the dark circles under her eyes, the dry lips that used to be so plump and moist. She feels like crap. It’s like a wake up all, without Jeongyeon waking up. Mina wonders, what could have happened if she didn’t answer the call? Will she be with Jeong? But then again, Jeongyeon was finished eating. They were about to go home.

It’s been three days since Jeongyeon slipped into coma. Mina’s been there twentyfour-seven. Every abnormal beating of the machine monitoring Jeongyeon’s heart, she calls the nurse and hopes her love wakes up. But to no luck. Jeongyeon’s never the quiet type so she feels a ton more awful that there’s a possibility that Jeongyeon will not be loud again.

She feels a grasp from Jeongyeon’s hand. She lifts her head and meets the eyes of the person she loves the most. “Jeong! Wait, I’ll call the doctor!” Mina tries to go but Jeongyeon stops her.

“M-Mina-ya,” Jeongyeon manages to choke out. Even with all the bandages, Jeongyeon is still the most beautiful girl Mina has ever laid her eyes upon. “I missed you,” she adds.

“Jeong,” Mina breaks into tears. “I’m sorry. Please, don’t ever leave again.”

Jeongyeon lifts her hand, Mina leans to the touch automatically, as if by default. “Mina-ya, hajima.”

Her tears fall harder.

“R-remember weeks ago,” Jeongyeon coughs, alarming Mina. She tries to call the nurse but Jeongyeon continues, “I-I said that maybe we get hurt because the best is yet to come?”

“Yes. Love, can we please skip the reminiscing first so I can call the nurse?” Jeongyeon shakes her head. Mina continues to cry.

“You-You are my best,” Jeongyeon smiles, her eyes turning into crescents. And even with minimal opening due to the bandage around her head and face, Mina can see that Jeongyeon’s crying.

“Jeong, don’t..”

The beeping of the machine gets erratic. Mina reaches for the emergency call button because Jeongyeon won’t let go.

“M-Maybe I’m not your best,” the Korean says.

“No! You’re the best! And I didn’t see that. I took you for granted. Jeongyeon-ah! No!” she yells.

“Mina.. what are you afraid of?” Jeongyeon coughs and blood comes out.

The nurses come so Mina answers, “Losing you.”

Jeongyeon smiles, tears evident now. Pain completely gone from her eyes. Purely happiness and love can be seen, “Mina…” she lifts her hand, reaching for Mina.

The younger girl entwines their fingers together, “Jeongyeon, please. Stop. Don’t leave me.”

She puts Jeongyeon’s hand on her cheek, feeling her tears. She meets the eyes of Jeong’s once again, “Face your fears, my love.”

Mina’s world crashes. It’s like everything turned slow motion. The way Jeongyeon’s chest rises for her final breath, how it falls. How Jeongyeon’s hand falls motionless and without strength, Mina holds it and keeps it in place, “Jeongyeon-ah!” she shouts. “Jeongyeon-ah, please…”

One nurse gently puts her in a chair. A doctor stands by Jeongyeon’s bed, “Time of death, 2:31PM.”