Hanni stirred, eyes barely opening with the morning sun directed at her. She faced the wall. Weird, she didn’t fall asleep like that. Minji was on her chest, and now her arm pulled Hanni’s stomach tightly against Minji’s front. Minji’s breathing warmed the back of her neck.

How did they… how did Hanni end up being the little spoon, really?

Weirdly enough, she didn’t panic. She smiled instead. How great that felt. How comfortable, warm, safe she felt in Minji’s arms.

Oh, that blooming warmth in her chest. Hanni was getting used to it, but was it rightful so?

She closed her eyes, resting her hand on top of Minji’s, and eventually went back to sleep.

When she woke up again, there was no warmth against her back. No hand on her stomach. Now, she did panic. Oh god, was it all a dream? A weird one, at that? She shuffled on the bed, bolting up and looking around.

“Oh, hey.” Minji leaned against the kitchenette counter, mug in hand. “Good morning. Hope you don’t mind me stealing a mug and coffee. There’s some for you, too.”

Oh. Hm. It wasn’t a dream.

Hanni blinked, scratching the heaviness from her eyes, and looked again. Minji smiled at her.

“Your hair.” Minji giggled. “Looks like the hair of my lucky bear. All up.”

Nop. Still very much reality.

Hanni groaned, letting her body fall to the bed again. How could Minji look so pretty already?

A weight pressed on her bed, a hand careful on her shoulder.

“Coffee in the morning, you and the sun,” Minji said, half singing, a different mug in hand.

Hanni peeked over her shoulder. “Isn’t it too early for ‘Bad’ lyrics?”

Minji shrugged. “I think every hour is good for some ‘Bad’ lyrics.”

No. No hour was good for ‘Bad’ lyrics. It made Hanni’s heart race whenever Minji quoted them.

Hanni sat, trying to fix her hair before accepting the coffee. “Thanks.”

“No milk, no sugar. I have no idea how you like your coffee.”

She stopped midway. “Good thing you said that. I like it with milk and sugar.”

Minji chuckled, shaking her head. Stealing her mug, she walked over to the kitchen again. Hanni got up from the bed, but before joining her, she rushed to the bathroom. No morning breath allowed.

“I totally forgot yesterday,” Hanni said, returning to the room. Minji stared at her as she went through her bag and took a specific box. “Here.”

Minji irked an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“Breakfast, hopefully. If they’re good enough.”

Minji held the box and widened her eyes. “Wait, don’t tell me.”

“Go on, eat it and tell me what you think.”

Opening it, Minji gasped. “Cream bread?!”

Hanni picked one. At least they looked pretty. Taking a bite, she chewed, humming. “They turned out nice. I’m glad.”

Minji grabbed one and took a bite half the size. Her eyebrows drew together as if she was angry, the sign that the food was delicious, and groaning, she dropped to the nearest chair. “I’ll never want to eat the store ones again. Only yours.”

Hanni chuckled, sitting down as well with her mug of upgraded coffee. “Are they that good?”

Taking the other half in another bite, Minji nodded with an even deeper frown. “Can I eat another one?”

“Of course. But we can also save a few to take to the beach.”

“Right, we’re going to the beach.”

“You don’t want to?”

“I do! The weather is nice. Even if it’s not hot enough to go into the water, we can take a walk, and get some sun. I need to stop by my room, though.”

“Dani knows that’s your room. I think it’s safe for you to go.”

Minji sipped on her coffee. “We should really switch roommates, though. Wouldn’t they prefer to share the same room?”

Hanni drank hers. “I don’t know. We would have to ask them. But, would you… like to be my roommate?”

“Yeah. I told you before. Would you like to?”

“Uh, sure, why not.”

Minji squinted her eyes. “Not convincing. It’s okay, I’ll stay with Haerin, listening to her babbling about Dani, and you stay with Dani, listening to her babbling about Haerin.”

Hanni stared at her, slowly shaking her head. “Wow, it’s been a while since I saw sulky baby Minji.”

“I’m not.” She looked away, taking a small bite of her second cream bread.

“I really like to room with Dani, but of course I would… love you to be my roommate as well. So, we can ask them, and if they prefer to room with each other, we can just switch. It’s not like we have much stuff to move around, anyway.”

“True.”

They drank their coffees in silence then. Having Minji as her roommate…

“When do you wanna leave for the beach?” Minji asked.

Hanni checked the time on her phone. Barely eleven. “Noon?”

“Sounds good. Then, I’ll head to my room. I’ll be here at noon.”

Hanni walked her to the door. “Thanks for the coffee. It was nice once you added the milk and the sugar.”

Minji smiled. “I’m glad. Thank you for the cream bread. Make sure to pack the remaining ones.”

“I will.”

Minji opened the door and faced her again. Her hand moved to pat her head, lightly scratching Hanni’s nape. “I’ll see you soon, then.”

The door closed and Hanni stood there for a good full minute. She had an hour to get ready. It should be fine to lie down again for at least ten minutes. To get her head wrapped around everything that happened in the last twelve hours or so.

What... in the world.

—

The sea breeze welcomed them as they stepped out of the bus. It wasn’t as warm as the day of Danielle’s birthday, but still super nice to be outside.

“Did you see anything weird when you got to your room?” Hanni asked as they walked into the sand.

“I sent Haerin a message first. She opened the door for me. Dani was cooking something, so I don’t think I interrupted anything. They were super happy, though. Like… smiling like crazy. Freaking cute, those two.”

“For real.”

“Wanna walk further away? There’s no one up there.” Minji pointed to the left, where the sand extended.

They walked around for five more minutes in the warm sun, and indeed, no one was around. The sun was high, the sea calm. Hanni laid her towel and sat down, removing her t-shirt.

“So freaking nice, man,” she mumbled, looking ahead at the horizon.

“Indeed.”

Hanni looked to the side, at Minji taking her t-shirt out. Hanni flared her nostrils and looked elsewhere. She wasn’t strong enough.

“Should I play some music?” Minji asked.

“Sure.”

Wave to Earth’s ‘Light’ started playing. Hanni chuckled. “Do you listen to anything else these days?”

“Yeah, but I’ve wanted to listen to this song while looking at the ocean. Isn’t it a perfect fit?”

Hanni smiled, blinded by the sun. Still, she looked ahead. “Totally.”

“And I get to be with you. So, even better.”

Hanni didn’t answer. She agreed, though. She didn’t know she wanted that moment until she got it.

Well, Minji loved to hear Hanni sing, right? Without looking at her, Hanni let her voice follow the lyrics.

I’ve seen a wonderful sight
With a bright glow
You are my sun, you are my sunshine
The star, the moon
There is a light, not far away from us, from us
The light will shine with the clouds
We’re gonna fly up into the blue sky, so slowly
And we held the moon in our arms
You always had me
And you’re always shining

Hanni let the remaining instrumental play until she finally faced Minji. Her eyes were already on her, glowing their beautiful brown in the sun, her lips a thin line.

“I wanna cover this song now,” Minji said.

“We’re already gonna do ‘Bad’!”

“I know. But after. Honestly… any song that you wanna cover, I do too. I just wanna hear you sing.”

“We don’t need to make full covers for that. I told you, I’ll sing for you. Just ask me.”

“Sing for me.”

Minji’s tone was so deep. So serious. In her defense, Hanni just said she only had to ask. But now she was shy. Too shy to sing.

“I just did,” Hanni stared at the ocean. “I wanna go try the water.”

She stood up and went ahead, the shallow waves touching her bare feet.

“Don’t splash me!” Hanni turned, hearing Minji’s steps behind her. “It’s colder today. I don’t wanna get wet.”

“You know what, I actually should splash you.” Minji crossed her arms. “You said I could ask, but then you didn’t sing when I did.”

“Pouting? Sulky baby again?”

“Stop.”

Hanni smirked and walked over to her. “Or else what?”

Minji irked an eyebrow, looking down at her. “Don’t try me.”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so scared!”

“Pham Hanni.”

“Yes, Kim Minji?”

Minji dashed forward, shoulder to Hanni’s stomach so she could raise her like a potato sack, holding onto her legs. Hanni yelped, the world upside down.

“Put me down!” Hanni shrieked. “Kim Minji!”

“I told you not to try me! Did you forget how tiny you are?”

“I swear to god, if you drop me!”

“What will you do?” Minji spun around, making Hanni scream louder.

“I’ll ing kill you!”

Minji's laughs echoed in the surroundings. “Maybe if you ask nicely I’ll put you down.”

Hanni groaned, flailing her legs and punching Minji’s lower back. “ you!”

“I’ll drop you!”

“No! Okay, can you please put me down? I’m getting dizzy!”

Minji halted. Squatting, she let Hanni on the shallow water, her legs almost giving in. Minji held her arms, keeping her on her feet.

“Do not do that again.” Hanni gripped Minji’s forearms for dear life. “For real.”

“Sorry. Got a bit carried away. I mean, you got carried. Tiny angry cute bunny.”

Once again that freaking smirk plastered on Minji’s face. Hanni slapped her arms, and Minji jumped away. She tried again, but Minji ran. Oh, another race? Hanni’s legs were still weak and wobbly, but she dashed after Minji, laughing along with her.

“I said I would get you next time!” Hanni shouted.

“Come on then!”

Minji was not only fast, but agile, changing directions and even teasing Hanni along the way. But Hanni was stubborn, and she would catch her.

Taking a U-turn, Minji slipped for a second. Hanni took the opportunity and sprinted, jumping onto Minji’s back. Maybe she didn’t measure her speed or strength, or maybe Minji was tired, because she tumbled down, Hanni falling on top of her. They rolled around in the sand until Minji stopped with a strong hand on the sand, trapping Hanni under her.

The laughter died. Their legs tangled, and their heavy, fast breaths synched. The wind blew, the waves crashed against the sand.

Hanni held Minji’s gaze, their faces close, so close. Too close. Hanni’s eyes darted down, staring at Minji’s parted lips for a couple of seconds, unconsciously swiping her tongue across her own dry lips with a loud gulp.

Minji bent down, agonizingly slow. Hanni stopped breathing and the buzz blocked her ears. She silently screamed for Minji to just go for it, but her body acted on its own, quickly removing her from that situation. She pushed Minji away and sat up, hands clasped on her lap.

A few moments went by in silence, Hanni in complete fight flight or freeze state.

“I’m so, so tired.” Minji exhaled. “Why… why do you keep giving me mixed signals?”

Hanni’s eyes went huge, her chest so tight she could barely breathe.

“I’ve been through this drama before,” Minji said.

Hanni finally moved. She snapped around, finding Minji sitting close, head down and fists balled.

“W-What?” Hanni managed to mumble.

“I know… I know there’s something else here, Hanni.” Minji’s voice wavered near the end. “Am I wrong? Am I…” Minji took in a raspy, shaky breath. “Is it just me? Are you gonna tell me I was the only one crushing this hard? No, I mean.” Minji scoffed, biting on her lower lip. “the only one completely falling in love. Was I the only one?”

Minji met her eyes with tearing ones and Hanni wanted to die.

Everything blurred. Her mind was a fog, so thick her thoughts were static. She just wanted to say something, anything at all. Even a goddamn single sound. But the more she tried, the more her mind spiraled away.

“I see.” Minji got up on her feet, quickly wiping her eyes. “At least tell me things the way they are.”

Hanni’s focus was ahead at the horizon. By the corner of her eyes, she could make Minji’s figure go back, grab her bag and towel, and walk away.

Seconds went by. Minutes. An hour, maybe. Several thoughts crossed Hanni’s mind. Walking towards the water and swimming. Going back to the dorm. Burying a hole in the sand, lie down, and cover herself for eternity.

Her dissociative state was so severe she couldn’t even cry. Or laugh, or curse at the wind. In fact, she was trying to convince herself of what just happened.

That Minji told Hanni she liked her.

Nah. No, what? That was not possible. Hanni chuckled. She had heard it wrong, could only be.

Tears welled in her eyes, so sudden she choked on a sob.

Yes, Minji had just confessed. And Hanni couldn’t even answer. What was she supposed to say, anyway?

Minji knew there was something there. Hanni knew it too.

She just couldn’t still name it.

---

A/N - ... *runs*

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