“Heol, daebak!” Sakura let out a heavy sigh as she tried to take in Minjoo’s story. About half an hour ago, she just arrived home from her tutoring job to find Minjoo already in her room, sitting on her bed with a very bright smile on her face. Her cheeks are rosy red from excitement and Sakura could feel like her best friend’s heart is beating twice as fast as normal when she hugged her tightly once she opened the door to her room. It was clear that Minjoo was high on endorphin and she learned the reason why an hour later after the brunette finished her story. It has been such a long time since the Japanese girl seeing her best friend this happy.

“I’m so happy for you Minjoo-ah!” Sakura hugged her best friend again. She could still hear Minjoo’s heart beating fast and how hot Minjoo felt right now. Her whole body must be warming up from excitement. Now that she pulled her hug, Sakura could see that her best friend still smiling ear to ear. In fact, she never actually stopped smiling, probably from the moment she barged into Sakura’s room.

“Minjoo-ah, I know you’re beyond happy right now, but your cheekbones are going to be sore the next morning if you kept on smiling like that,” Sakura decided to make a comment on it.

The brunette immediately cupped her face, she could feel that her cheeks are very warm. She got a glimpse of her face on Sakura’s mirror. She really thought that she wasn’t smiling anymore, but her reflection in the mirror told her the otherwise.

“Ah right, mom just told me that the guys are going fishing,” Sakura said. “So you two are going to spend your first night being alone,” she continued teasingly.

“That’s not true,” Minjoo countered. “I-I mean there was that time when dad was going to that workshop,”

“Yeah, but it was when you two were nothing, now that you two are officially going out, it’s very likely that you’ll end up..” Sakura paused for a moment. “In a physical-“

“Unnie, why do you have to be such a ert?” Minjoo cut her best friend off, being completely aware of where Sakura was going.

“I’m just saying,” Sakura shrugged her shoulders.

“Beside, I’m going to sleep here tonight,” Minjoo added. “I mean, it’s a bit awkward since Yujin just- you know- ,” she added, her face turned even redder as her mind automatically brought her back to what happened two hours ago.

Sakura smirked. “Now you’re being a ert,”

--

It was already past midnight, Minjoo and Sakura were lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. They had done their sleepover routine, which is basically snacking and talk about anything. Gossiping, basically. Well, they had a specific topic to talk about that night, which was without no doubt, Yujin.

“Minjoo-ah,” Sakura called, testing if Minjoo was still awake or not.

“Hm?” Minjoo responded.

Sakura paused for a moment, she was still not sure if she should bring up the topic that she really wanted to talk about since earlier. “I think we ate too much chips,” she finally said, decided to divert the topic.

Minjoo chuckled in response. “Yes, I think we did,”

“Must be nice to be you, you’re forever skinny. I have to run laps to burn all these chips tomorrow morning, darn it!”

The brunette chuckled again.

And silence.

“Minjoo-ah,” Sakura called out again.

“What is it unnie?” Minjoo asked, she had a strong feeling that Sakura wanted to talk about something but she kept on delaying it. “What is it that you want to ask me?”

“I didn’t want to bring this up earlier since I don’t want to make you feel uneasy,” she said and paused for a moment. “You know that your relationship with Yujin is not that common right? Especially in Korea,”

The brunette just kept her silence.

“Are you going to be okay with having a relationship with a girl in this kind of society?” Sakura asked again.

“What do you mean?” Minjoo asked

“Minjoo-ah, as far as I concern, we have a pretty conservative society here in Korea,” The Japanese girl made her sentence very carefully.

Again, the brunette didn’t respond to her best friend.

“But sure, there are also people who are open to diversity, so you don’t have to worry,” Sakura added, fearing that she might have put something unnecessary to her best friend’s head.

“Minjoo-ah?” Sakura called out, feeling weird that Minjoo hadn’t spoken a word. “Are you asleep already?”

“Ah, no I’m listening to you,” Minjoo answered.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to butcher your happy day” Sakura regretted bringing up the topic since she could hear Minjoo’s tone had completely changed.

“No Unnie, don’t be sorry,” The brunette replied. “It’s just that I’ve never thought of that at all. I was just too focused on liking her”.

Sakura turned her body to the right so she could face her best friend. “It’s good! Keep that attitude up because that is how a relationship should be. You too just really have to focus on yourselves, not what people think of you.” She said with a smile on her face. “How do you feel?”

Minjoo also turned her body to face her best friend. “Yujin is the first person that I actually like. I was never bothered of the fact that we’re both girls,” she answered. “Is that weird?”

“No, that only made you even cooler!” The Japanese girl answered with no doubt.

“Do you think Yujin is bothered by it?” The brunette asked.

Sakura scoffed upon hearing the question. “Are you kidding me? Yujin is a lot gayer than you.”

Minjoo chuckled. “How do you know?”

Sakura got up from the bed and sat with her legs crossed. “Okay, first, she always wears a plaid shirt and dull blue jeans or a plain t-shirt. There’s nothing girly about her, Yujin kind of gay is a lot easier to spot.”

She got up and sighed upon seeing her best friend was already in her deep slumber. She could see that Minjoo was still smiling in her sleep. The Japanese girl shook her head and smiled, as she leaned back to her bed.

“Right, maybe we can talk about this a little bit later,” Sakura said to herself as she closed her eyes, getting ready to sleep. It still amazes her at how fast Minjoo can fall asleep.

--

"Did you wake up?"

Minjoo couldn't control her smile once she saw the notification from Yujin. Even a simple text message from the tall girl successfully sent butterflies to her stomach. Is this what people call the prime dating period?

"Good morning, I just woke up!" The brunette pressed send. It was 5.30 AM. She woke up exactly around her usual wake-up time even when she slept past midnight the night before.

Having just woken up five minutes ago, Minjoo walked to Sakura's drawer to get some cookies while her eyes still on her phone. She smiled again as soon as she saw another notification from Yujin. Her smile grew even bigger once she saw the message.

"Want to grab breakfast together?"

Without any delay, Minjoo finished her cookies and texted back as fast as she could, fearing Yujin might change her mind when the case is very unlikely.

"Sure!" she tapped send and quickly grabbed her cardigan from Sakura's couch. It was then when Minjoo realized that her best friend was nowhere to be seen in the room. Just like her, Sakura has always been a morning person. And she was right. Minjoo bumped into Sakura once she was about to walk out of the room.

"What's the rush? Something happened?" Sakura asked the brunette as she brushed her messy hair with her hand.

"I'm going to grab breakfast with Yujin, see you later, unnie! " Minjoo answered, completely couldn't hide her smile as she walked away.

Sakura just smiled as she saw her best friend's back disappearing through the door.

----

The sky was bright blue and the sun shone like it never shines before. 7.30 AM was rather peaceful in Seoul since it was Sunday morning. No traffic and no cars honking at each other. A rather rare atmosphere in the huge metropolitan city.

Minjoo looked out the window as the bus started to go over the stranded area of Seoul. It was just her, Yujin who sat next to her, and some other middle-aged woman sitting in the front seats. She had asked Yujin where they were going to get breakfast but the chef refused to tell because she wanted to surprise her. Minjoo then shifted away from the window view to look at Yujin who sat calmly next to her, wondering what the chef was doing while she was busy looking out the peaceful Seoul morning. It appeared that the taller girl has been staring at her this whole time. Usually, in a situation like this, the one who gets caught staring would become all flustered and threw the smile somewhere else but it was not the case with Yujin. She kept her stare and even smiled a little when Minjoo smiled as she blushed. Minjoo believed that she will never recover from getting all blushy when being stared by Yujin.

"Seriously, where are we going? We're getting farther and farther away from home. Are you trying to kidnap me?" Minjoo asked playfully.

"Can I do that?" Yujin asked nonchalantly as she looked front.

"What?"

"This is our stop, let's go," Yujin said without answering as she led the way to get off the bus.

Once they were out of the bus, Minjoo looked around the area. She rarely came to this area even though she was born and raised in Seoul. The city was just too big anyway.

After a moment, Minjoo just realized that there was beautiful scenery of the mountain on her right side and a vibrant peaceful traditional market on the other side of the road. She never realized that whenever she passed the area.

"Let's go," Yujin said, waking up the brunette from her short zooming out.

"I didn't know that there's a market in this neighborhood," Minjoo said as she walked next to Yujin, still studying her surrounding.

"Pretty, right? I often came here on my day off to have breakfast" Yujin said. Now they were about to cross the road. She looked at the pretty brunette next to her who was still busy looking around the neighborhood. She let out a sigh.

"Kim Minjoo," Yujin called out.

"Hmm?" The brunette finally paid attention to the taller girl.

"Be cautious on the street, it's dangerous," Yujin stared at the brunette sternly. "Let's go," she led the way to cross the road.

"Arasseo," Minjoo replied as they were now on the other side of the road. She had to admit it that she could be very clumsy. Her attention is also easily shifted.

The couple was now walking side by side, entering the market. Minjoo could smell the freshly stirred korean pancakes and other side dishes. Unlike the market near home, this market was not packed with people. She liked the atmosphere and the fact that it was her first date with Yujin made it even more special.

Minjoo was about to ask where they were going to eat, when Yujin already led the way to a small shop in the corner. The shop reminded her of the ones her grandparents used to take her when she was a kid. Now that they have both passed away, Minjoo missed those times even more.

"Welco- oh? Yujin-ah! Long time no see! Have a seat!" the owner who is an ahjumma greeted them when they made their way in. So Yujin really is a regular. Minjoo thought to herself.

"You got company now? A very beautiful agasshi at that!" The ahjumma said, smiling as she set the table. "What can I get you two?"

"Just the usual, but make it two serving, please," Yujin answered.

"Okay, coming right up!" the cheerful ahjumma left after throwing the couple another smile.

"So what kind of food does this restaurant serve?" Minjoo asked as she couldn't get what the specialized menu of the restaurant is. In fact, there were no menu at all.

"A simple breakfast meal," Yujin replied as she fixed them both chopsticks and spoon.

"This place is warm," The brunette smiled as the fuzzy feeling hit her again because the nuance just reminded her of those good old times when she visits her dad's hometown in Jeonju. "This place reminds me of the small shop my grandpa used to take me to when I was a kid,"

"But since both my grandparents passed away and my dad is an only child, we rarely go there anymore," Minjoo said. "I miss them,"

"Should we go to Jeonju sometimes? I've never been there," Yujin said, which made the brunette widened her eyes in excitement.

"Great idea! Food in Jeonju is ten times better than food in Seoul!"

"Agasshi, I'm sure the food here is as good as what they have in Jeonju," the owner ahjumma suddenly came out of the kitchen bringing a tray of side dishes.

"Omo, did I talk that loud?" Minjoo said as she covered . "Woah, from the look of it I already know that the food here is as good as in Jeonju!" the brunette continued as she stared at the beautiful side dishes on their table. She gulped hard.

"Enjoy your meal," the ahjumma smiled at the compliment and once again left the two by themselves.

"Thank you for the meal," Minjoo exclaimed as she immediately grabbed her chopsticks, not wanting to waste any more time. She took a bite of one of the side dishes and couldn't help to once again widened her eyes in happiness. The food is that good. She then took a bite of another side dish before shoving a big spoon of rice into .

Yujin let out a smile upon seeing how good Minjoo was eating. "Eat slowly,"

"Woah, these are all so good," Minjoo said, stuffing herself with another bite of her breakfast. "It's been a long time since I had Korean breakfast," she added. Indeed, they usually just eat some bread or whatever they were preparing in the morning to open the restaurant.

"Ah right," Minjoo suddenly dropped her chopsticks and took her phone out. "I bought this!" she showed Yujin her screen, showing a cute tiny bunny doll. "Cute, right?"

"This is for your new puppy," Minjoo added. "I've been wanting to buy cute stuff for dogs but I don't have one. Since you got one now, I'll treat myself and your puppy," she continued and smiled cheerfully.

"Yourself?"

"Hmm," The brunette nodded

"I'm satisfied since I can be a real puppy mom now," she answered, successfully sending a smile to Yujin's face.

"Good job," Yujin replied.

"What about you?" Minjoo asked.

Yujin looked up from her soup, staring at Minjoo.

"What are you doing for yourself?" the brunette elaborate. "I mean, I'm treating myself with buying cute toys for puppies, what are you treating yourself with?"

Yujin didn't answer for a moment and just kept staring at Minjoo. The brunette on the other hand couldn't help but stare back. Just when she was about to blush from being stared at that way and ask Yujin to stop staring, the chef finally opened .

"Eating with you," Yujin answered. "Working in the restaurant with you, taking a bus ride with you, just spending time with you. That's how I treat myself," she said and continued eating her breakfast, not knowing that Minjoo's face was already redder than the cherry tomato they grew in their little garden.

----

Yujin and Minjoo just got off their bus ride and were now walking side by side to the restaurant. They've had their peaceful breakfast and decided to go straight home since Yujin had to meet with a construction worker in her new house. She's moving in the next two weeks so she had been quite busy making sure that there's no problem.

It only took 15 minutes to walk from the bus stop so the couple just walked at their own pace. Which was a huge problem. Superfast walker Yujin ended up walking way ahead while slow walker Minjoo was struggling to match Yujin's pace.

"Yujin-ah, wait!" Minjoo called out after once again missed Yujin's pace. "Why are you walking so fast? Are you in a hurry?" she asked as she was now standing next to the chef, still panting.

"This is my normal walk," the chef answered for the third time since they've been missing each other's pace three times already. "I can't stand to walk slowly, you need to cut on looking around too much and focus on the road. It's dangerous." the chef nagged with stern eyes. She felt like Minjoo was walking, even more, slower than her usual pace. Yujin really is very concerned about how Minjoo is very easily distracted while walking. Adding to the fact that the brunette is a natural-born slow walker. She's also very clumsy so she tripped way more often.

Minjoo just pouted in response. "Well, it looks like there's only one way to resolve this" she sighed, ignoring Yujin's nag.

Yujin just kept her silence, signaling the brunette to continue.

"Yujin-ah," Minjoo called out, demanding the chef to answer.

"What?" Yujin finally opened .

"You know that my hands are very unoccupied, right?" Minjoo put out her left hand and waved it in front of Yujin.

The chef just stared at Minjoo for a moment and let out a smirk when she was finally getting what the brunette was implying. So she grabbed Minjoo's hand and continued walking, with her hand holding the latter's hand.

Minjoo couldn't control her smile as they began to walk again in silence. It was not her first time holding hands with Yujin, but since they're now official, it felt different. She just doesn't want to ever let go of Yujin's hand and it's reciprocal.

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