Wherein Minju often feels cold and Chaeyeon is the sweet cup of coffee that warms her up.

-50%-

"A date?" Minju repeats, feeling her ears getting warmer.

Chaeyeon nods excitedly, looking at Minju with sparkling eyes in anticipation of her answer.

Minju wasn't expecting this - she even told herself that she wouldn't be asking Chaeyeon out on a date, just to be her muse, but Chaeyeon's here, asking her out on a date. The world must be ending.

Minju takes in a breath, "a friendly date?" she asks.

Chaeyeon hums, "a whatever-you-want-it-to-be date."

Minju's smile grows wider, nodding.

Of course it wouldn't take much for her to agree - first, she needed a subject for the assignment, and second, she really liked Chaeyeon (though a part of her argues that Chaeyeon is the more influential reason). The past days with her had been some of Minju's favorites, and she had grown to love the feeling of looking forward to visiting the cafe after her classes. Chaeyeon has been a wonderful addition to her life and Minju wants to keep it that way for much, much longer - she brought so much sweetness to her days and Minju finds it fascinating that someone could do that to her life within such a short amount of time. Chaeyeon has made her really happy and Minju would like to thank whatever gods were responsible for letting her meet the older girl.

"That's great," Chaeyeon grins, patting Minju's head affectionately. "Now let's clean up again."

They share the coffee that Minju brewed, Chaeyeon joking about not wanting to be the only one who'd be unable to sleep when they get home. Minju offers to clean it up and Chaeyeon looks around the cafe while she does, checking for the nth time if everything was put back in place. When both Chaeyeon and Minju are done, they leave the cafe and lock it up, walking beside each other like they have been for the past few days, albeit with an admittedly lighter, happier air around them.

"I still can't believe it," Minju whispers, more to herself. Chaeyeon hums, as if to ask what and why, and Minju smiles.

That you asked me out on a date, she thinks, but she just shakes her head. Chaeyeon reaches out to hold Minju's hand instead and it's another flurry of butterflies in Minju's stomach, her heart feeling as if she'd just finished running a marathon (and won 1st place, at that). Minju easily intertwines their fingers together and starts swinging with a skip in her steps and the largest grin on her face so far.

The walk together feels a lot quicker for the both of them, blaming it on the happy air between them. Minju complains, sulking, "The world never lets happy people be happy for long," and Chaeyeon laughs at this. Just when Minju was about to pull away from their hands, Chaeyeon says something that makes Minju hold on even tighter.

"I could walk you home, if you want."

Minju almost faints at that, looking at Chaeyeon who was smiling shyly. It was dark and there weren't much stars, but Chaeyeon's smile and presence alone seemed to illuminate everything around them at that moment. The same shy smile appears on Minju's face, her answer becoming predictable.

"I'd love that, but what about you?" Minju frowns in worry, she didn't want the older girl to be walking back home alone, especially since she felt that her own house was still quite far. Chaeyeon shakes her head as if to tell her not to worry and starts walking Minju's path, the younger girl feeling all warm and fuzzy.

"Thank you," Minju mumbles along the way, the overload of emotions she was feeling making it hard for her to speak properly. Chaeyeon responds with a squeeze of her hand, smiling.

When Minju notices that they were getting close, she purposefully takes the longer way and tries slowing her steps, just to spend that much more time with Chaeyeon like this - she takes a peek at Chaeyeon from the corner of her eye, her heart filling up with even more warmth than she thought was even possible.

(Chaeyeon made her feel that way, all warm and fuzzy and like a warm cup of coffee on a rainy day. Minju's smile never leaves her the whole way to her house.)

"We're here," Minju says, a little sad that they had to part ways now. Chaeyeon reluctantly lets go of her hand and stuffs her own into her pockets, looking at Minju fondly. "I guess I'll get going now."

Minju nods slowly, really not wanting for Chaeyeon to leave. She stands there awkwardly before she remembers something, snapping her fingers and surprising Chaeyeon.

"I haven't talked to you about how I was planning to do the assignment yet."

Chaeyeon's mouth forms an 'o', nodding. "Maybe we could talk about it over text? Or social media if you like that better." she chuckles.

They exchange numbers and social media accounts that way, Chaeyeon immediately checking out Minju's instagram account. A flustered Minju tried to stop her from scrolling, but Chaeyeon had already liked several of her posts and was laughing loudly, calling the girl really cute.

Minju's feed was a mix of the photos she took herself and the photos of herself and her friends, all matching a certain theme that went on for exactly 9 photos before changing to a new theme. Chaeyeon commends the girl for having such an aesthetic and organized feed, her eyes suddenly growing wide when she saw a photo that caught her attention.

It was of Minju and her friends - they were at a beach, smiling widely with their eyes closed because the sun was too bright. What caught Chaeyeon's attention wasn't the picture itself though, but the person beside Minju.

"Jo Yuri?" she asks out loud, both surprised and confused. She knew Yuri because of Yena, the older girl never failing to talk about her and what they did whenever they went out on dates. Chaeyeon turns to look at Minju.

Minju's eyes widen. Right, Chaeyeon probably didn't know that they went to the same university yet.

"Ah! Y-yeah, she's my friend. I haven't mentioned it but we're from the same uni," Minju chuckles nervously, holding her hand out. "Hi, sunbaenim."

Chaeyeon stares at her for a few seconds before bursting in laughter, shaking the hand that Minju held out. "You're so cute."

Chaeyeon sighs, smiling. "I can't believe I didn't find out earlier. I always thought Yena was talking about Jeon Minju or something."

Minju laughs, her nervousness and awkwardness all gone. They fall into another comfortable silence, Chaeyeon still holding onto Minju's hand, swinging it from left to right lightly.

"I guess I should get going. It's pretty late." Chaeyeon mutters, looking at the time on her phone. Minju nods and gives her a short hug, sending her off. "Be careful on your way back!"

Chaeyeon shows her a thumbs up and Minju can't help but squeal internally, Chaeyeon was like a little kid sometimes and it's honestly the cutest thing Minju's ever seen. Chaeyeon stops in her tracks suddenly, walking back to Minju. Minju looks at her confusedly when she sticks out her pinky, wiggling it in front of Minju's face.

"Promise me you'll text me." Chaeyeon smiles.

Minju internally squeals (again) because oh my god how is she older than I am. She sticks out her own pinky and intertwines it with Chaeyeon's, watching the girl light up even more (if that was even possible). They finish their pinky promise and Chaeyeon goes off again, waving at Minju the whole time she was walking away until she could no longer be seen.

Minju stands in front of her house, staring at her pinky. She shakes her head and grins, a yawn slowly taking over her.

"Lee Chaeyeon sunbaenim," she mutters.

"Why are you so cute?"

-65%-

It's 11:37PM when Chaeyeon receives a message from a certain 'Minguri'. She chuckles at the contact name that the girl set for herself and opens the message, immediately greeted by another one.

11:37PM 19/02/07
Sender: Minguri

chaeyeon sunbaenim ㅇㅅㅇ it's me!! are you still awake 😅

11:37PM 19/02/07
Sender: Minguri

did you get home safe 👀 heh

Chaeyeon smiles at the girl's messages, quickly typing her own.

11:38PM 19/02/07
To: Minguri

Yup!! Safe and sound :DD

Minju smiles, relieved. She texts Chaeyeon that she just has to finish the details for the assignment and then they can start discussing it, and starts fixing her camera equipment. She had taken a short nap before waking up and immediately texting Chaeyeon, remembering their pinky promise. She exported the mock shots she had taken days before onto her computer, choosing the best shots and layering them over each other to create a montage.

12:04AM 19/02/08
Sender: cute unnie

You still there? ㅇㅍㅇ

Minju furrows her brows, noticing that the text she had meant to send earlier failed to send. She hurriedly texted a reply, feeling embarrassed.

12:06AM 19/02/08
To: cute unnie

omg i'm so sorry, my message failed to send ㅠㅠ i was working on the details of the assignment so i could send them to you :<

Chaeyeon grins, sending a cute sticker that had 'it's okay!' written on it. She lets out a little yawn, rubbing her eyes. It was really tiring to attend university and work at the cafe all day, and Chaeyeon barely gets sleep nowadays. She's happy she met Minju though, because the girl has made it that little bit easier to get through everything - she had started to look forward to seeing her seated at the little table to the right, sipping at her coffee and looking around with her camera in hand. Chaeyeon found her really endearing, almost as if she was in her own world whenever she held her camera.

12:10AM 19/02/08
To: Minguri

It's okay ㅋㅋ You can send it to me and I'll look through it in the morning, would that be fine? I'm kinda sleepy ㅎㅎ u should sleep soon too

When Minju receives the message, she can't help but feel guilty - she was part of the reason why Chaeyeon got home later than usual, and she knew that attending classes and working a part-time job was tiring enough. She sighs and turns on her bed, thinking about how she can make it up to Chaeyeon someday.

12:11AM 19/02/08
To: cute unnie

i'm sorry :<<<< you must have been tired but you even had to walk me home ;-; i'll sleep after i finish it, and then i'll send it!! promise!! good night and sleep well, sunbaenim ✨🌙 candy dreams!

Chaeyeon's eyes were already fluttering closed when she felt her phone vibrate, waking her lightly. She smiles sleepily, unlocking her phone and typing out her reply (still heavily under the influence of sleepiness).

12:12AM 19/02/08
To: Minguri

it's okayy. goodnifht and you speep well too!

Having sent the message successfully, Chaeyeon lets her eyes close, her steady breathing soon following.

Needless to say, Chaeyeon's dream that night was one of the sweetest she'd ever had.

-70%-

"Don't forget about your assignment due next week. Class dismissed."

Minju sighs in relief, putting her things in her bag. She beats Chaewon to the door of the lecture room, waiting outside for her friend; it's been one week since the assignment was announced, meaning there was only one other week left to do it. Minju ponders over the many things that have happened in the past week as she smiles unconsciously, earning a weird look from Chaewon who was now in front of her.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Chaewon asks, already pulling Minju towards the canteen. They sit at their usual table, finding it strange that Yuri wasn't there with them yet.

"Just thinking." Minju says shortly, not wanting to prolong the conversation. Chaewon loved teasing her and she was sure that Chaewon would never let her live it down if she knew about Minju's (now serious) crush on Chaeyeon. Chaewon narrows her eyes at Minju, pointing two fingers at her and doing the universal gesture for 'I'm watching you'.

Chaewon looks up from her food, lazily staring at the people who came and went. She sees Yuri walking quickly to their table, seemingly not alone. She spots two other familiar faces, namely of Choi Yena and Lee Chaeyeon trailing behind her, chatting animatedly about something.

"Sorry I'm late," Yuri smiles sheepishly, stopping beside Minju. Minju just hums and doesn't look up from her notebook, scanning her notes to recall what they discussed a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, Chaewon is smiling sneakily.

"Yuri, would you like to introduce these sunbaes?"

"Ah! Right," Yuri says, now looking at the two older girls. She gestures to Yena, "This is Yena unnie, she's a...close friend of mine. And that's Lee Chaeyeon, Yena unnie's best friend."

Minju's head turns sharply at the mention of Chaeyeon, looking blankly at the girl who was there, waving cutely with an innocent smile on her face. Minju is surprised because although they've met and gotten a lot closer, they've never really met at school, not even once; Minju blames that fact for her slowly reddening cheeks, clearing silently.

"And that's Kim Chaewon," Chaewon points to herself, "and Kim Minju." Minju smiles crookedly. Yuri settles beside Chaewon and Yena beside Yuri, leaving only the space beside Minju for Chaeyeon. Chaeyeon was having the same thoughts as Minju - they had never really seen each other or interacted outside of the cafe (save for their walks home), so Chaeyeon didn't know how to act at all.

Chaewon notices Minju stealing glances at Chaeyeon, obviously thinking about whether she should say something or not. She snickers, the slightly awkward air around them feeling a little stuffy. Only Yena and Yuri were talking anyway, so Chaewon decides to speak.

"So, sunbaenims," she starts, smiling, "what brings you here with our JoYul?"

Yena raises her hand, as if she was about to recite in class. "We're here to proceed with operation ChaeMin.