Little Big Attention

There are a lot of things Jimin loves about Aeri.

Her honesty. Her cool swag factor that Ningie swears is unrivaled. Her no-nonsense attitude when it comes to hard work. The way she laughs whenever Minjeong and Ningie argue about a song, or what they should have for dinner, or who’s gonna win in a Pokemon versus Digimon battle. Heck, even her dolphin shriek, God bless Jimin’s eardrums.

She loves the way Aeri’s eyes soften whenever she opens her arms and mumbles the request for her quota of Daily Wholesome Hug. How she always gets that bewildered look on her face, all awkward and bashful, whenever a senior remembers her name and praises her. How she tells her mom whenever the lady calls to send four packs, mom, because you’ve got more daughters to spoil now. How her confidence grows, sure feet along with a surer heart, Jimin’s brave big baby. She even loves the way Aeri always brushes against her hand first, part unnecessarily hesitating and part asking, before gently clasping her hand in hers.

In short, there’s little she doesn’t love about Aeri.

Not even hair sticking out in all direction, three-size too big a t-shirt, and pants decaying at the hem can stop Jimin’s heart from swelling when she finds Aeri at 3 AM in the kitchen.

“Ho hey, Cap,” Aeri greets as she notices Jimin’s presence.

Why are you still up at this hour, Jimin wants to ask. Instead, she says, “Tea?” She takes a seat on one of the stool facing the kitchen bar, waiting for Aeri to turn off the stove and turn around.

Aeri didn’t have a late schedule yesterday, Jimin knows. It’s her and Minjeong who have practice sessions for their performance unit, which lasts until 1:30 AM. That’s w