Minjeong woke up earlier than intended. Her head felt as if someone had hit her with a brick, but she was the one who had thrown it.

Yerim still slept beside her. Minjeong kissed her forehead gently so she wouldn’t wake her up, and sat on the bed, feet on the floor.

Shame was all Minjeong could feel when she stepped into the living room. Glass shards all over, the bottle of vodka laying on the floor with a pool of liquid around. As she picked up the pieces, she reflected on the night before. How Yerim must have felt when she found her in that state, completely out of herself. And no one was to blame but herself.

Minjeong had reminded Yerim of him. But she was not like him and would never be. And for that, she promised herself she would never sink so deep again.

—

Now, she needed to apologize to Jimin for having acted like a . Maybe she had valid reasons to be wary of the secrecy, but the memories that Jimin triggered were not her responsibility and that’s what had made her go overboard.

Her lunch time approached. Minjeong grabbed her phone and stared at the screen, gathering enough courage to press the call button. Minjeong thought for a second Jimin wouldn’t take the call.

“Yes?” Jimin answered.

“J-Jimin.” Minjeong breathed out in relief.

“Minjeong.”

“Uhm, can we… meet or something? I wanna talk to you. You know, about yesterday.”

Jimin remained silent for a few seconds, making Minjeong's anxiety shoot up.

“Sure. When and where?”

Even though Jimin didn’t sound that excited, Minjeong was glad she accepted.

“Lunch? I promise I won’t leave like that again.”

Jimin remained silent once more. “Okay. But I’ll choose the place this time.”

“Fair enough.” Minjeong smiled, feeling her shoulders relax only just a bit.

She was at least willing to hear her out, but that didn’t guarantee she would forgive her and it didn’t make having to talk to her any less unnerving.

—

As Minjeong parked outside the place Jimin chose, she found her white Mustang. She gulped, but managed to not have the same reaction as the day before. It was only a car, after all. That meant Jimin had already arrived. And there she was, standing by the entrance, sunglasses on, wearing a long, burgundy coat, and black heels.

Minjeong found herself grinning as she walked towards her, with her stomach twisting at the same time.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting. Traffic.” Minjeong scratched her neck.

Jimin took off her glasses, meeting Minjeong’s eyes.

“That’s okay. Shall we go?”

Minjeong nodded, gulping. Jimin was different. She seemed cold, and her beautiful, heart-melting smile was nowhere to be seen. Not surprising. She only hoped things could go back to what they were before she messed up.

After sitting and placing their order, Jimin looked straight at Minjeong.

“I called you because I want to apologize in person,” Minjeong blurted. “I’m really, really sorry for yesterday. I know what I did was stupid and childish. I judged you, assumed things, and didn’t even give you an opportunity to speak. I was having a bad day, but it wasn’t your fault and you didn’t deserve that I took it out on you.”

Minjeong feared her chest would burst at any second if Jimin kept silent, staring at her with her unreadable expression.

“I’m not gonna lie, Minjeong. I was really hurt, and I honestly..." Jimin paused to take in a deep breath. "I hate it when people jump to conclusions about me. I understand everyone has bad days, I have them too, but as you said, that's no reason to treat other people like that. And I already knew that you don't want my money. If you did, you wouldn't have tried to reject the money I left you that first morning."

“Yes... I know. You're one hundred percent in the right, Jimin.” Minjeong looked down at her hands.

“I forgive you, Minjeong, but I want you to promise me you won't do that again. I still want to know you better and be with you, but I am not willing to be your punching bag when you have bad days.”

Minjeong looked up at her eyes. Before she could answer, Jimin grabbed her hands.

“But know that I’m here if you need someone to talk. If you’re having a bad day, or if there’s something troubling you, talk to me. Or we can do something to take your mind off of things. That’s the best I can do to help you."

A sudden warmth pressed on Minjeong's eyes, but she blinked it away. “Thank you, Jimin, for giving me another chance when I don’t deserve it.”

“Everyone deserves a second chance.”

“Well, this was kind of a third chance…”

“Some people are worth more chances.”

“Maybe I wasn't even worth the second.”

“You’re worth more than you think.” Jimin smiled, and did Minjeong miss it... “Since you already apologized, it’s my turn now to explain,” Jimin went on. “I was also sad and worried because you might have seen some... bad things about me on the internet. And I don’t want you to have a bad impression of me. You also made a good point about me having a public image and the fact you could get involved in it, and for that, I’m sorry too. I should have at least told you about that a little bit earlier."

“Don’t worry. I’m not actually too concerned about that part, I just... my brain tends to overthink and make up things that can be a bit incoherent compared with the actual truth,” Minjeong explained. “And about bad impressions, I don't think I saw anything like, bad about you.”

“Really? Nothing at all?"

"I just checked an article that said you had made another great investment. I didn't look much further."

Jimin breathed, her shoulders relaxing. "Okay. It's just that..." she paused again, as if thinking about what to actually say. "It's because I have my own company, I'm my own boss, and I don’t want any business partners, so the potential partners I've rejected over time like to take it out on me and create unnecessary rumors and drama.”

“Gosh... I’m so sorry, Jimin.” Minjeong squeezed her hands.

“You apologize too much.”

“Oh, I-I’m sor-”

“If you say it one more time, Kim Minjeong, I swear I’ll..."

“You’ll what, Yoo Jimin?” Minjeong leaned with her elbows on the table.

Jimin smirked and leaned too, leaving just an inch between their lips.

“I’ll decide some other time.”

“Oh, really? Then...” Minjeong smirked back. “I am so, so, so, soooo sorry,” she whispered, her eyes narrowing with the sultry look she intended to trap Jimin in.

The expression of shock on Jimin’s face was amusing, to say the least. “I like bold Minjeong.”

If she did, there shouldn't be a problem if Minjeong leaned forward just enough to peck Jimin's lips. But Minjeong had to straighten herself and clear , as the waitress arrived with their food.

"So... we're good?" Minjeong asked before starting eating.

"We're good."

Minjeong breathed out in relief.

—

“Thank you for taking your time to come talk to me,” Minjeong said, as they walked out the restaurant.

“Thank you for calling me to talk things out. The fact that you took responsibility and took action to make things right says a lot about your character. I like it.”

Before Minjeong could find an appropriate way to react, the alarm she had set on her phone to remind her of the end of her lunch break rang.

“, I have an order to deliver soon. I’m sorry, I need to go.”

“That’s okay, I need to go back to the office too. Have a good day at work, Minjeong.”

“You too, Jimin.”

Minjeong smiled and turned. Her body yanked back as Jimin grasped her hand, her body turning and her lips meeting hers.

“Are you free later?”

Minjeong blinked. “Y-Yes, after work.”

“Let’s go downtown. I’m craving ice cream.”

Jimin’s request felt more like a command, but Minjeong didn’t mind. “Of course.”

“Call me when you finish your shift.” Jimin winked at her and turned.

—

Minjeong never wished so hard for her shift to be over. Of course, most days she just wanted to get it over with, but this time she had a lot to look forward to after work. She couldn’t deny that the shame from last night and what she had done to Jimin, Yerim, and herself occasionally made its way through, but with the excitement, she was able to shrug it off.

“Did you win the lottery or something?” Hyunjin asked, as Minjeong did the last delivery of the day at S&S.

“Today’s a good day,” Minjeong answered as Jimin’s smile lingered in her mind.

“Today’s a day with Jimin, am I right?” Hyunjin crossed her arms with a smirk.

“Yes, you’re totally right.”

“Wow.” Hyunjin faked a gasp. “You're not fighting back?”

“Why would I lie? Yes, I’m happy with how things are going, even though there’s been... a disagreement already, but everything’s okay. Now if you'll excuse me, my shift is over and I’m going to eat ice cream with Jimin.” Minjeong flipped her hair, and Hyunjin could only laugh.

—

“Which one do you like best?” Minjeong asked as she scanned the ice cream flavors.

“Strawberry and yogurt,” Jimin answered.

“You’re a regular customer, aren’t you?”

“Yes, how do you know?”

“You barely let me finish my question before answering and you didn’t even look at the menu.”

Jimin stared at Minjeong for a few seconds, her lips apart. “Attentive.”

“I'm detail-oriented.” Minjeong snickered.

“Is that why you overthink things?” Jimin asked, fetching her wallet from her bag.

“My treat.” Minjeong stepped ahead, money in her hand.

Jimin didn’t have time to fight back, as Minjeong paid for their ice cream and handed her the strawberry and yogurt she asked for.

“And now that you said it, yes, maybe that’s why I overthink things,” Minjeong answered her previous question before biting on her mint-choco cone. “Speaking about it, I remembered something I wanted to ask you. Yesterday when we were leaving the hotel, why did the receptionist address you as Miss Yoo?”

Jimin giggled. “I’m a major shareholder there. That’s why I spend some nights there, when I feel like drinking and dancing.”

“Like the night we first met,” Minjeong stated, and Jimin nodded with a smile.

“Whenever you feel like going out at night, just tell me.” Jimin smirked. “Even though we don’t really need to stay at the hotel, we can just go to my house.”

Minjeong bit her lip. “I would love to spend lots of nights with you, Jimin, but that’s only gonna be possible if I’m working the late shift.”

“I know. But whenever you can make it, tell me.”

As they ate their ice cream, they walked together, their bodies close to each other, talking about whatever came up.

Then, Minjeong’s phone started ringing, interrupting them.

"I swear I wouldn't function without alarms. I need to go pick up Yerim from her dance club at school. I’m sorry, Jimin, I wish I could stay with you for longer.”

“Well, you can. If you don’t mind, I can go with you, and, you know... meet Yerim.”

Minjeong stared at Jimin. “You wanna meet Yerim?”

“I-I mean, if that’s okay, of course! I understand if you don’t want to.”

“I do. I’m sure she’ll like you. Not to brag, but she's a really nice girl.” Minjeong grabbed Jimin’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Just like earlier, Jimin’s smile shined so bright it could light up a night sky. Minjeong was starting to notice it always appeared when she complied with her requests, and she didn’t mind accepting them all just to see that smile.

—

Minjeong stood outside with Jimin, waiting for Yerim to appear at the school gates. Just as she did, Minjeong approached to give her a hug and a kiss.

“Yerim, I brought someone with me today. I hope it’s okay.” Minjeong grabbed her hand and walked back towards Jimin.

Yerim looked up and met her eyes.

“Yerim, this is Jimin, she’s...”

Right, what was Jimin?

“Hi, Yerim.” Jimin squatted slightly to be at Yerim's eye level. “I’m a friend of your mom. Nice to meet you.” She extended her hand, giving her a gentle smile.

“Hi, Jimin.” Yerim accepted her handshake.

“Your mother told me you were nice, but not that you were this cute.” Jimin patted Yerim’s head. "Are you hungry?"

Yerim nodded.

"Then how about we go eat dinner?" Jimin suggested.

"Y-Yeah, I was thinking we could, you know, have dinner in m-my house."

"Oh. That's a great idea, actually. How about we buy some take-away?"

"Can we eat pizza, Mom?" Yerim asked, giving her the puppy eyed look.

Minjeong chuckled. "For today, we can."

"It's on me," Jimin said.

"Oh, no, no way, we can't accept it-" Minjeong started.

"You bought ice cream, now I'm buying pizza. It's only fair."

—

"Mom, how do you know Jimin?" Yerim turned to Minjeong as she sat after making sure everything was set to start their meal.

Minjeong gulped. She looked at Jimin, mentally asking her for help, but she only hid her laugh behind her hand.

"You never talked about her. And how long have you been friends?" Yerim asked before taking a big bite of her pizza.

"I... W-We met recently," Minjeong said.

"How?"

"Let's say your mom saved me from a bad guy," Jimin said, earning a wide-eyed look from Minjeong.

"A bad guy?"

"Yes. You know when the prince appears at the right time to save the princess from the villain? It happened just like that." Jimin smiled, watching Minjeong shaking her head by the corner of her eyes.

Yerim turned to Minjeong as she stopped and looked down at her food.

"Yeah, my mom’s kind of a superhero.”

“She was my hero, yes.”

Minjeong felt her face burning. She was used to that kind of compliments from Yerim, but she could tell Jimin was doing it on purpose to embarrass her.

Instead of joining the conversation about Yerim’s dance club, that they were practicing a Twice choreography to present at the next school festival, Minjeong spent most of the dinner watching them. It was incredible how well they got along. Minjeong couldn't explain why, but her heart felt so warm seeing Yerim and Jimin talking and laughing together. Yerim was an outgoing kid, but somehow Jimin seemed to have this special skill to interact with kids, so much so that it looked like they’d known each other for years.

When they finished their food, Jimin rushed to clean up the table, but Minjeong stopped her.

"You're a guest, so I forbid you from doing anything."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Jimin," Yerim called, making both women look at her. "Wanna play Mario Kart with me? Mom's no longer a challenge, she's just too bad." She giggled at Jimin, looking for validation to mom. Jimin couldn't help letting out a chuckle.

"Oh yeah? What about the last 50 times I won, huh?" Minjeong grabbed the pizza boxes, walking towards the sink. "When I'm done, I'll go and show Jimin who's really the best at Mario Kart."

Jimin shook her head, but Minjeong could still see the smile on her lips.

As soon as Minjeong finished cleaning everything, she walked to the living room, but what she witnessed couldn't be interrupted. Minjeong leaned on the wall and crossed her arms with a smile creeping on her lips. Jimin and Yerim's laughs were louder than the sound coming from Mario Kart.

"No, not the blue shell!" Yerim yelled as she leaned towards Jimin.

"It wasn't me, I’m right behind you!"

Minjeong couldn't help but giggle along, as the race was over and Yerim threw her arms in the air.

"Mom, Jimin won! She's good at this, way better than you!"

Minjeong cocked an eyebrow and walked towards the couch, sitting beside Yerim.

"Is that so? Remember I promised to show her who's the best," Minjeong said, and Yerim handed her the controller. "Let's see if she can beat me. And then you're on, Yerim."

"Is that a challenge, Kim Minjeong?"

"Yup."

Yerim grinned, her eyes jumping between them as she tapped her hands on her knees.

Silence reigned over, with the three of them focused on the screen. Minjeong had always been a good player, but why was she having such a hard time against Jimin?

"Well, Minjeong." Jimin smirked. "Looks like I won."

Yerim laughed in a loud, evil cackle at her mom, tickling her and teasing her about her downfall.

"Good job, Mom, you did show Jimin who’s the best. It’s her and not you!"

Minjeong tickled Yerim to fight back her teasing. "How are you so good at Mario Kart?" She turned to Jimin.

"My friends play it all the time. I couldn't help but join them, and now they can't beat me."

"I'm going to practice a lot and I'll beat you!" Yerim stared at her.

Jimin laughed and messed up her hair. "Okay, I'll be waiting."

"You know the rules. You can't practice before you do your homework. Have you done all of it today?" Minjeong asked, and Yerim shook her head. "Then go, and if you finish it before bedtime, we can play some more."

Yerim jumped from the couch and ran to her room.

"Yerim is such a sweet kid. You raised her well." Jimin shifted closer to Minjeong.

"She is. I did my best."

Jimin stayed quiet, her eyes glued on Minjeong.

"W-What?"

"Nothing. I was just analyzing your face."

"What do you mean, analyzing my face?" Minjeong looked away.

“You’re so, so beautiful,” Jimin whispered, delicate fingers touching Minjeong's chin, making her look back at her. Jimin leaned closer and kissed her, until Minjeong pulled away.

"Yerim can pop out of her room at any moment.”

"I'm sorry, couldn't resist." Jimin rested her head on Minjeong's shoulder.

Minjeong smiled and rested hers on Jimin's. The fatigue of the day started weighing on her eyes, and as she felt Jimin's hand holding hers, she let her eyes close.

"Mom." Yerim's voice woke Minjeong up, making her retreat her hand when she noticed Yerim standing right in front of them. "I finished my homework."

"Good job, Yerimie." Minjeong straightened herself, gently shaking Jimin, who also fell asleep.

"Can we still play?" Yerim asked with a pout.

"Sure, but I'm sleepy, so you'll probably win."

After a few more races, Yerim was also getting sleepy.

"I better get going, it's getting late," Jimin said, checking the time on her wristwatch.

"R-Right." The fact that Jimin was going home hit Minjeong. Was she expecting her to stay?

“It was great meeting you, Yerim. I hope we can hang out and talk more.” Jimin patted Yerim's head then lowered her voice and winked at the girl. "And show your mom we're better than her at Mario Kart."

Minjeong shook her head, fighting back a grin.

“When can we meet again?” Yerim asked.

“Whenever you want to, just ask your mom to call me. How about we go for ice cream the next time? It’s a promise.” Jimin extended her pinky finger.

Yerim smiled and circled her own around Jimin’s, sealing their thumbs next.

“Well, good night, then.” Jimin stood up.

“I-I'll walk you to the door.” Minjeong stood up abruptly, making Jimin giggle. "Text me when you get home.”

“Okay, will do."

Minjeong opened the door and fought the urge to kiss her one last time.

"Thank you for having me." Jimin leaned to kiss her cheek.

"Y-You can come here whenever you wanna."

"Oh. I'll keep that in mind, then. Good night Minjeong. Sleep well, and dream about me." Jimin winked.

"Every night," Minjeong blurted.

"Is that so?" Jimin smirked. "I'm flattered."

"Mom? Did you forget to buy milk?" Yerim called from the kitchen.

"I bought some the other day, I’ll be there in a second!"

"Okay okay, I'm sorry, I'll get going. Bye, Minjeong."

"Bye Jimin, good night. Dream about me too."

"Every night." Jimin smiled before turning and leaving.

Minjeong closed the door and leaned against it. She couldn’t stop thinking about how nice it would be if Jimin could stay and lay down with her on her bed. Maybe it’s too early for that, so Minjeong would leave it for the right time.

—

Minjeong got in her car after finishing the last delivery before lunch, when she noticed she had five missed calls and three messages from Yizhuo. She frowned and called her back, feeling her heart beating faster in anticipation.

"Minjeong, finally! What the hell were you doing?!" Yizhuo yelled over the line.

"W-Working? What happened?"

"I need to meet you asap. Are you free now?"

"Yes, I was going to have lunch."

"Okay, meet me at my office."

"Can you at least tell me what's going on?"

After a long sigh, Yizhuo answered. "Irene, Sooyoung’s lawyer, called me. They want to reopen the case and run a new investigation."

Minjeong's throat blocked as she lost strength in her hand, letting her phone drop to her lap.

---

A/N: now now... what is this about? :))

new characters next chapter!!! 

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