N/A: I promised to one of my Marks readers that my next work would be fluffy, so here it is :)

Kyungwon nuzzled her nose into the crook of the girl’s neck, hugging her tight against her chest. Pansy scent invaded Minky’s senses, making her feel like home. Her heart rate went up, contrasting with the fact that she felt like she could melt against the younger girl judging by how relaxed and safe she felt in her arms. Minkyung trembled when she felt a warm breath against the sensitive skin of her neck, soft lips touching the skin only slightly and a little too briefly for her liking. She closed her eyes and took a long breath, intoxicating herself with Kang’s presence. “Kyungwon.”

“Minkyungie! I was looking for you.” The energetic reply didn’t match her gentle actions and it almost throw Minkyung off of her high on the hug, but she did her best to concentrate in the pleasant feelings. Her best friend and girlfriend, the dork that would always show up whenever she needed the most, was there and it was enough to make her feel better. “What happened?”

The taller brunette already expected such question, and although she would rather to not talk about it, she knew that keep things all for herself wasn’t a good idea. “I failed the audition. Too commercial or something.” She motioned her face with a hand in a gesture that was too casual too match her real feelings. It wasn’t like her to mop around such small things, but it was hard to not get upset when things go wrong and possibly ruin her plans.

She felt Kyungwon nodding against her shoulder. “I thought this modeling thing was only for fun? That you didn’t care much about it.” Her tone was free of judgement, instead there was a glint of concern in it as if she was trying to see behind Minkyung’s words.

“I don’t, but…Money is money and I could use it right now.” She shrugged, finally admitting the reason for her disappointment. Kim was counting on that extra money for something she had planned for quite a while, but saving money was no easy task for a college student with limited budget.

“You know I can borrow you some. I’ve been making some fancy tips!” As expected, Kyungwon didn’t hesitated in offer. From all the people she ever met, Kang was still one of, if not the most, selfless and caring person.

“I want to make things on my own.” With a short and firm nod, Minkyung refused. “Besides, what kind of tip can you get? You literally work at a stationery shop.” She replied in a lighter tone, turning her head slightly to face the other girl.

Kyungwon’s beautiful dark chocolate eyes were playful when she met her brown ones. “You would be surprised by how kind people obsessed with glitter sharpies can be.” Her goofy smile was there, what never failed on making the taller woman to smile as well.

“Yeah, right. If you say so.” Minky giggled, forgetting momentarily about her worries. She was running out of time, but being on Kyungwon’s company had always a calm effect over her.

“I meant it. I have enough saved and if you ever need it, just tell me, okay?” The playfulness was gone, Kang’s gaze overcast by a layer of uncharacteristic seriousness. Her reliable and serious side taking over, a rare event truly. “You can pay me later just like a bank or whatever. Don’t act like you don’t have other possibilities.”

Minkyung could’ve kissed her for being so sweet – and also because it was one of her favorite things to do, but she simply declined the offer with another nod. “I just need a part time job or something. If only that pizza place right outside campus was still hiring…I should have applied when I had the chance.” Not that she really wanted to be a waitress and have to deal with annoying consumers and stay on her feet for long hours, however any job seem like a good one now.

Kyungwon didn’t reply right away, her expression becoming thoughtful. Kim didn’t need to read minds to know the brown haired girl was probably trying to think about a way of helping her now, so she just stayed quiet, waiting for the girl come up with one of her very unconventional ideas.

It took less five minutes for it to happen.

“Nunu! Yes, I knew I had heard something!” Kang spoke, more to herself than to Minkyung, before giving her a big gummy smile. “Jung Eunwoo is part timing at this store and she said they would be hiring special help for Halloween. Is perfect for you!” Kyungwon’s excitement was so big, that it made it look like Kim had already got the job instead of only the vague possibility. “I’ll text her now and she can set you up!”

Minkyung furrowed her eyebrows. Yes, she did remember that Eunwoo got a nice job at a candy store and said they would hire, however, anything that involved Kyungwon and Eunwoo could never be as simple as it looked. She loved both girls, but they had put her in a fair share of trouble through all their years of friendship for her to know that much.

But what choice she had? It was worth the try.

Definitely nothing that involves Kang Kyungwon and Jung Eunwoo ideas can be anything normal. She was the living proof of such statement now.

It was the night before Halloween and while people were out picking out costumes, she was in front of the candy store doing her best pumpkin imitation.

Honestly, it was more exhausting than exams season – and she hated exams.

Minkyung had, luckily, got the job at the store Eunwoo’s was part timing. However, she was told that her job would consist on promoting the store for their special Halloween event. They only forgot to mention the little detail that this job would involve wearing a full body pumpkin suit that included an extra heavy pumpkin head, and staying out all evening handing out fliers and candies to rude kids that would always try robbing her basket – not only kids.

 “Can I have some candy?” A voice asked, for what sounded like the ninth time in the last hour. She had to say, that girl was really persistent.

“I already told you, it’s only for kids.” She repeated, bored of going back and forth with that stubborn being.

“I’m still in school, so technically I’m a kid!” Park Siyeon, and her always ridiculous logic, replied showing off the blazer yellow blazer of her school uniform.

Minkyung sighed, rolling her eyes. Why all her friends are so weird?

“It’s for smaller kids.” She corrected.

The raven haired, seventeen year old kid, gave her a dirty look. “You give me some or I’ll stay here all night, orange head!”

Minkyung would have facepalmed, but her huge pumpkin head would take a feel more hands to be covered. That cheap candy wasn’t worth the fight. “This time and only this time. Get it, Park Siyeon?”

The younger girl’s expression turned from feisty to sweet in a second, her hands spread and ready to receive the recompense for her efforts. “Yes, ma’am. My pleasure negotiating with you!”

Although the girl couldn’t see it, Kim still rolled her eyes in annoyance before handing out the candy to Siyeon. “Now go. I’m working.” And she really couldn’t lose this job, no matter how dumb and annoying it was.

“On my way!” Park said, mouth full of sweeties already. “Good luck. Call me if you need help getting rid of all this candy!”

Minky only waved goodbye, not wasting her time replying. Siyeon wasn’t the first, neither the second person to tell her something like that. Eunwoo and Kyungwon were very much willing to do her this ‘favor’, and she had firmly reject the offers.

She rang the bell once more (why she had a bell even? Weren’t bells a Christmas stuff?), trying to get the attention of any passerby – there weren’t that many anymore, nor they looked very interested in the weird looking pumpkin-human hybrid.

Her boss, an easygoing middle age man, passed on the way to the inside of the store, signalizing for her to cheer up and keep up her good work. Minkyung refrained from sighing, focusing her energy in jumping around with her matching pumpkin basket. It would be a very long night.

Her feet were in pain and her shoulder probably would be feeling the weight of that pumpkin head for the rest of the week, but it was finally over. She had returned the costume to the owner of the store and he had paid her a little more than previously agreed, for what she was more than glad. Minky had thanked the man profusely, before saying her goodbyes and head out to the exit.

“You did so well! It was my first time seeing a dancing pumpkin!” She wasn’t surprised to see Kyungwon’s bright smile greeting her, a steam hot coffee being pushed into her hand as the slightly shorter girl leaned in for a quick kiss. Kang probably had just got off her work as well and she wouldn’t waste the chance of trying to spot Minkyung in all her pumpkin glory. “I was watching from the cafe over there.” She motioned the store on the other side of the street, her smile turning into a mischievous grin. “Did you get any spare candy?”

Her friends and her girlfriend were really all the same when it comes down to sweeties.

“I handed it back to its rightful owner. Why is everyone so obsessed with candy today?”

Kyungwon made a face, clearly unhappy with the chance of getting free food going down the drain. “Well, who doesn’t like chocolate?” She shrugged, taking Minkyung’s bag and putting it over her own shoulder, like she would always do, so they could link their arms as they walked slowly back to their apartment.

Minkyung sipped on her coffee, feeling the warm sensation slowly spread through her body, saving her from the cold wind of the night. The temperature had dropped quite a lot as the evening went by. She pulled Kyungwon closer, using the excuse of warming herself to do so. “Thank you. For the coffee and for helping me getting this job.”

“It was all Nunu and you. I only have a good memory, different of certain someone,” She gave Minky a look. “And sent the text.”

Minkyung ignored the teasing, she had made the mistake of saying the wrong date when Nayoung, Kyungwon’s colleague at the stationery shop, asked about her birthday and ever since the Kang wouldn’t let her live. She wasn’t good with dates, that’s why she had her reliable cell phone notifications to rely on.

Kim offered her coffee as a peace offering, and Kyungwon’s didn’t hesitate before accepting it.

Their place wasn’t very far, only a couple of blocks away, located inside campus.

Therefore, they didn’t have to rush, keeping their feet in synk as they walked in a comfortable pace. The night, although cold, was still pleasant with all the little Halloween decorations in the houses and kids running around with costumes that weren’t fully done yet. The next day the neighborhood would be in full activity, the kids trying to snatch as much candy as they could and the parents trying to control them, while the younger adults would try to find parties to go show off their lazily done costumes.

She had enough with that orange suit for a whole years, therefore she would be more than glad to stay inside.

“So, what do you needed the money for?” Kyungwon finally broke the silence, only after Minkyung claimed her cup back before the brunette could end it all in one go.

The taller girl fixed her gaze on the cup that was now stained by Kyungwon’s orange-red lipstick. “Just some stuff for a project. I had this idea, but I don’t want to bother my parents any more than I already do.”

“Hm.” Was all she received as a reply, what wasn’t very common when it comes down to her loud and talkative girlfriend. She wondered if her lies were too obvious, but talking anything more would only make even more clear that she wasn’t being honest. She decided to switch topics instead.

“Are you going somewhere tomorrow?”

The brown haired girl shook her head. “Nope. Need to finish a project for my economy class…Can you believe the teacher is making us do this kind of stuff during Halloween week? I was planning on going trick or treat.”

Minkyung muffled a laugh. “Let me guess, you were going with Eunwoo and Siyeon?”

Kyungwon stopped on her tracks, looking in amazement to her overly clever girlfriend. “How do you know?”

Kim laughed, pulling the girl by the arm so they could start walking again. “You three have been bothering me for candy the whole day, so I figured you would try to do the same to other people.”

The younger woman puffed her cheeks, still upset over her failed attempt at getting free candy from strangers at the tender age of twenty. “At least can we buy some chocolate? Please!”

She wouldn’t be lying if she said it wasn’t amusing to see Kang acting like a child, but she managed to not laugh. “Sure thing. Let’s get some in the convenience store, so you can work fully charged tomorrow.”

However, she couldn’t refrain from laughing with the excited exclamation Kyungwon left out.

 “How much did you make today?” The brunette asked already prompting Minkyung to walk faster.

Kim laughed again, shaking her head in a negative. “I’m not spending all my money on food!”

But she still spent some of it, because Kyungwon’s puppy eyes were too hard to ignore and Minky herself couldn’t resist the temptation of ice cream – what both of them regretted as soon as they stepped outside of the store and had to sprint back to their apartment before they developed early symptoms of hypothermia.

They ended up spending the whole week, including Halloween, at home, busy with college assignments. It was a bit regretful, since the Kang left on the weekend to visit her family back in Gwangju, but Minkyung couldn’t follow this time – Her official excuse was that she would have a big test on Monday and her parents would come over to visit as well.

Being alone in the apartment, she indeed studied for her upcoming test – that would be on Thursday, not Monday. But instead of her parents coming over, she met them at her grandma’s house on the other side of the town where they had a nice family time together and nothing out of ordinary happened.

However, the most important she did on that weekend, was to visit certain instruments store on Saturday. The money she made as a pumpkin hybrid, with some of the money she already had, were enough to buy what she needed.

Kang’s favorite, and only, electronic keyboard had permanently died during summer. Albeit, it wasn’t something extremely necessary in her life, Minky knew that playing the piano was one of the things that Kyungwon enjoyed the most. Hence why she didn’t have a doubt that it was the right gift for the girl. But picking the perfect gift wasn’t an easy task. Not only because she didn’t know much about instruments brands, but also because she was afraid of buying something that wouldn’t be useful or comfortable for Kyungwon.

Fortunately, Sungyeon, a fellow student at her college and part timer at the music store, was able to give her some tips about what could be the best option within her budget. By the end of the day she had a satisfied smile on her face and a pretty big gift to carry around – and a very low bank balance, but she didn’t want to think about it.

Kyungwon would only be back by Sunday evening, giving her plenty of time to wrap the electronic keyboard and think about a cool way of giving it to her. The girls would probably want to congratulate Kang as well, what meant their room would become a mess with party decorations and all the birthday food they could get. She would probably have to keep the keyboard somewhere hidden and give to the girl only at the end of the night after the clock marked officially the beginning of Kang’s birthday. Or at least she thought so.

It was night when she arrived home and she placed the keyboard protected by its case on Kyungwon’s empty bed. Their place wasn’t very big, but it was homey and she liked it. Kang, although a bit messy, was good at keeping her things in place and once in a while, Minkyung would recruit her help to clean up and make sure the apartment was always presentable.

The girls were living together ever since they started college, nearly three years ago, and she would never admit, but the day she discovered they would be roommates was probably one of the happiest of her life. Being friends for years and girlfriends for a couple of months, it was a big step. But things worked out surprisingly well.

Both girls had rather contrasting personalities and ways of dealing with things. However, it seemed like they completed each other well, Kyungwon was a bit more easygoing and loud, while Minkyung was perfectionist and tended to get lost in her own thoughts. They respected each other’s space and habits, never hesitating in offering help or advice whenever something came up. Of course it wasn’t perfect, occasionally they would fight over small things or get mad for dumb reasons, but it never affected their relationship much.

With time they only grew closer, being able to understand each other better, to the point where even with a simple look they could tell how the other was feeling – hence why it was so hard for Kim to tell lies to her girlfriend.

Taking off her jacket, she placed it back in the closet and went to the bathroom to take a much needed hot shower. The hot water hitting her body was very effective, both to relax her and also to prevent her from listening to the sound of someone unlocking the room’s door and entering the place.

Minkyung left the bathroom fifteen minutes later, only on her comfortable sweatpants and old One Piece t-shirt. She had a towel in hand, drying her hair as she stepped out of the bathroom and into the dark room, regretting to not having turned the lights on.

The room was illuminated only by the dim light of the moon coming through the window, turning the soft white and green tones into blue and making it hard for Minkyung to distinguish anything. Kim was so focused on her task that it took her a moment to notice a shadow on the other side of the room. She immediately stopped, holding onto tighter to the towel, wishing she had a better emergency weapon than that.

The hooded figure was wearing dark clothes, sitting on Kyungwon’s bed, examining the keyboard box with apparent interest. She couldn’t see the person’s face, nor tell whether it was a male or female. No one other than her and Kyungwon had the key;, well, except for the college administration, but she highly doubt anyone would drop by for a room inspection in the middle of the night.

Holding her breath, she took a step back, praying she could escape before being noticed. But it was useless. Although she was sure she hadn’t make any noise, the figure seem to notice her presence and turned to face her right away.

Minkyung left out a high-pitched scream, uselessly throwing the towel in the direction of the intruder. Perhaps she should have followed Kyungwon’s suggestion and get a baseball bat for emergencies.

“Minkyung, it’s me!” The intruder, who wasn’t a intruder at all, said with a laugher avoiding the hostile piece of fabric. Kyungwon stood up, pushing the hood back to reveal her smiley face. “What is this even?” She pointed out the keyboard, apparently unaware of the fact that she had nearly give her girlfriend a heart attack.

If Kim indeed had a baseball bat, she would probably spend the rest of the night in the emergency room for accidentally hitting her stealthy girlfriend who seem to think it was funny to prank her.

The taller girl pressed her back to the wall, switching the lights on and breathing in to calm her erratic heart. Now she could see clearly Kang’s seatbelt backpack on the floor and the brown haired girl dressed with a completely not intimidating Scooby-Doo green hoodie. She couldn’t believe she had mistaken that dork of a roommate for a threat.

“Gods, Kang Kyungwon! Why didn’t you turn the lights on?” Minkyung left out a relieved sigh, a hand of her chest as if it could help to easy her heartbeat. Kyungwon only gave shoulders, muffling a laugh.

However, her relief was short lived. Soon her brain registered the fact Kyungwon was already all over the keyboard and she was about to open it at any moment.

“I-I thought you wouldn’t be here until tomorrow.” She managed to say, flustered. She had to snatch the case out of Kyungwon’s hands before her surprise was ruined.

“I took the last train. I had to make sure you wouldn’t forget again.” Kyungwon replied, sparing her a playful look.

In any other time she would have rolled her eyes at Kang’s teasing, but instead she rushing to the girl’s side, grabbing the box and taking out of her reach. “Well, it’s not even your birthday yet, so I can’t possibly have forgotten!” She replied in the same tone, and proceed to hug her, hoping it would be enough to distract the girl.

“It will be in twenty four hours and five minutes!” The younger woman said, pointing out the time on Minkyung’s alarm clock. “And I already know you didn’t.” Her smile grew bigger as she hugged Kim back, even tighter. Kyungwon might like teasing Minky’s bad memory, but she knew the girl was actually very thoughtful and she would never purposely ignore an important date, hence the reason she decided to come home early. Her luck wasn’t that great and her birthday was on a Monday, therefore they wouldn’t have time to properly celebrate it, so she thought that an early celebration would be the best – finding her gift was a very nice reward for the effort of taking the long train trip.

“How can you be so sure it’s for you? You didn’t look inside, did you?” Minkyung pulled away, only enough to face the girl. Despite her laidback attitude most of the time, Kyungwon was still the type who would always follow the rules and it wasn’t like her to snoop around other people’s stuff – and technically the keyboard was still Minkyung’s.

Kyungwon shook her head. “If I had, I wouldn’t ask what it was. Would I?” With a giggle, she broke the embrace to reach out for the case and bring it closer to them.

“But it is kind of really obvious, you know.” The case format let very little to doubt – Minkyung knew she should’ve asked for Sungyeon to wrap it as a gift. “Let me guess, you noticed I miss playing?”

With a sigh, the slightly older woman accept her defeat. Okay, maybe her surprise plan wasn’t so surprising, but at least Kyungwon seem to like it…Hopefully. “I figured you would like a new one.” Minky touched the keyboard case with careful fingers, looking for the lock, so she could open it up.

Kyungwon covered her hands with her own, stopping her actions and giving her a small smile. “I won’t lie, I kind of really want to see it, but I can wait until the right moment.” She pushed the case away gently, keeping her hold of Minkyung’s hands and raising her look to meet the girl’s brown eyes. “So that college project you needed money for?”

She averted her gaze, feeling her cheeks turning a light hue of pink. Kyungwon could see right through her lies. “Don’t look so smug, I just wanted to give you something nice.”

“You are indeed the sweetest pumpkin I’ve met.” Kang giggled, intertwining their fingers and bringing it to closer to her face so she could kiss their joint hands. Her gaze became softer, her smile more sincere. “But you didn’t have to. I don’t want to be corny, but I feel like having you in my life is a better gift than anything I could’ve asked for.”

Minkyung would have covered her face to hide her embarrassment with the sweet confession, but – luckily – Kyungwon still had their hands tight together. It was amazing how her girlfriend could go from mischievous to loving in a blink of an eyes, but it was perhaps one of the things Minkyung liked the most about her.

“You are so sappy sometimes.” She nagged, however her tone and the redness of her face made it clear how much she liked it. “You gave me such a nice birthday gift, I just wanted to do the same for you.”

Kyungie clicked her tongue. “I just bought you manga, and I didn’t even have to dress up to be able to do it.”

“Still. It made me very happy you took so much time looking for it and doing your best to get it, even though you don’t even like this kind of stuff.” Kim reaffirmed, remembering how the younger girl had diligently spent a whole month looking all over the town for the volumes Minkyung’s collection was still missing.

“I just wanted to impress you. Those girls on your marketing classes were very persistent, I had to make sure you wouldn’t be swayed by all their healthy cupcakes and bubble tea!” Kyungwon grimaced, tormented by the memory of the freshman that wouldn’t leave Minkyung alone the whole semester – and for her absolute despair, they didn’t even have classes together for her to act like an overprotective girlfriend and scare off any competition.

Minky left out an airy laugh, pulling Kyungwon closer by their jointed hands and kissing her softly on the lips, leaning her forehead against hers. Like this, she could see the deep dark brown in her lovely eyes, reflecting her own, both filled with the sweet glint. “As if I could ever exchange your ramen and morning cuddles for anything.” She hugged the girl, nuzzling into her neck. This time there was no second motivations other than to feel Kyungwon’s presence and love, let her heart grow with overflowing love.

She had forgotten about a very important thing: their relationship wasn’t made out of big demonstrations of affection or elaborated speeches. It was made out of the small things that would bring a smile to her face, and keep her heart and mind light throughout the whole day, the small moments that would become everlasting memories because they were filled with sincerity and care.

It didn’t matter if she didn’t have a planned event, or if her plans hadn’t gone as expected, they were still here together and it should be all that matters.

“I love you, Kang Kyungwon. Thank you for being born.”

Minkyung left a long, loving kiss on the girl’s neck making her tremble right away, and proceeding to do the same for all the extension of her jaw and cheeks, before kissing her properly on the lips. Kyungwon seemed surprised at first, but Minky could feel her smile against her lips as she returned the kiss.  Her hands soon found their way to the other woman’s back and Minkyung’s arms were fast to claim her neck, pulling her close in.

And for a while, the birthday gift was forgotten and only their breaths and giggles could be heard.

 As they slowly separated, sharing small kisses, Kyungwon gave her a tooth grin. “I love you, too, Miss dancing pumpkin.” Minkyung would have protested – she was starting to think that if she didn’t do anything soon, the pumpkin jokes would never end. However, Kyungwon kissed her again, blocking any complaints with short soft kisses that tasted like chocolate. Kyungwon kissed the tip of her nose, giving her a final peck in the lips, but still keeping a loose grip onto the taller girl. It made Minkyung feel like they were back to school stealing kisses whenever they had a chance, the thought made her lips curve into an involuntary smile.

 “So, since we are having an early celebration of my birthday, can I see my gift properly now?” Kang asked combing her fingers through Minkyung’s damp hair, giving her a suggestive look. Minkyung raised an eyebrow, returning her gaze with a suspicious one – not that the suggestion really bothered her, but she liked to play hard to get. “I meant the keyboard, but if you have anything else in mind…” Kyungwon’s completed, with a fake innocent smile.

Minkyung rolled her eyes. “I thought you said you would wait.”

“Well, then can I see my other gift-”

“You are helpless!” Minkyung cut her off, before pulling Kyungwon closer and shutting her up with a kiss that the girl accepted gladly.

N/A: First of all, thank you a lot  if you managed to read it all! I’m actually working on a very heavy angst story, but I figured this fandom needs some fluff right now and I wanted to do something to commemorate Kyungwon’s upcoming birthday, and what better than Pumpkin Minkyung? Lol.

I’m sorry for any mistakes and again, thank you for reading!

P.S: Just for curiosity, you guys have anything ideas you would want to see done? Would you rather multi-chaptered stories or one shots like this one?