"Here you are finally!" an eager Jihyo exclaimed as soon as she opened the door and saw her best friend on the other side, bag in one hand and a grin that could make the sun envious.

"I'm just two minutes late, Hyo," an amused chuckle escaped from Mina's lips; the girl didn't waste any time and entered the house that had easily become a second home to her. "Didn't think you'd keep track of the time, to be honest."

A faint tint of red made its way upon Jihyo's cheeks.

"I wasn't!"

Although it was clear that she was lying, Mina was too occupied making her way towards the older's room to realise it.

After comfortably settling down on the spare bed Jihyo had purposely prepared for the occasion, she looked up to see her best friend staring at her from the doorway. 

"Won't you come in?" Mina asked her, trying to hide her shyness. "It's your room, after all."

Suddenly awaken from her daydream, Jihyo became a blushing mess under her best friend's stare and hurriedly sat down next to her, trying to regain her composure in vain.

"Uh, so, what do you want to do?"

She was looking everywhere but at her in shame, and Mina, understanding so, placed one of her hands on hers, showing her that gummy smile which the girl loved so much.

"First of all, I want to thank you," she started timidly and, when she saw the way Jihyo suddenly furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, she had to restrain herself from giggling. "I know you say it's not a problem, but I still want to make sure that you're okay with me staying over the whole week."

The first time Mina had gone over to Jihyo's house, she was only seven years old. Her family had just moved from Kobe, Japan, to Seoul, and Mina had yet to get used to the new, still unfamiliar place, as well as the foreign language whom she couldn't seem to grasp that well.

Her parents often had to leave for business-related trips for days, if not weeks. Usually, when they still lived in Japan, Mr. and Mrs. Myoui would leave their young daughter at one of their relatives' house.

However, as they had just settled in South Korea, they didn't have any relatives there to leave Mina with; so, they had believed that the wisest choice would be to let her spend a week at their neighbours' house who had talked to them only once.

The mere thought of having to survive a whole week in a house full of strangers, without her parents or anyone she could easily speak with, made her dread her parents' leaving.

Nevertheless, during her stay at the yellow house on the corner of the street, Mina was glad to find out that her neighbours had a daughter who was the same age as her. 

At first, she had been way too shy to start a conversation with the other girl seeing as her Korean still needed improvement; yet, she soon realized that Jihyo, her neighbours' daughter, was the sweetest person she had ever met which meant the girl was not going to judge her in any way and Mina could trust her.

This way, with Mina always going over to Jihyo's house when her parents would leave for work, the two girls became almost inseparable, growing up together and confiding in one another.

That's how Jihyo became Mina's safe place, someone, she could always rely on and that she was glad she could call her best friend, even though sometimes she wished they could be something more than just friends.

"Mina, you know it's not a problem for us," Jihyo replied with a reassuring smile, holding Mina's hand tighter to let her understand that she meant what she had just said. "Plus, my parents love having you over. Sometimes I think they'd prefer having you as their daughter rather than me."

The sarcastic tone in which Jihyo had just spoken brought an amused smile to Mina's lips and the girl softly laid her head on Jihyo's right shoulder.

"You know that's not true," Mina stated calmly, starting to play with Jihyo's fingers while the latter's face suddenly became of a darker shade of red. "You're perfect, literally, and your parents treasure you more than anything else."

Jihyo could easily recognise the pain in Mina's voice. Since she had met her when they were only seven, she had known that Mina suffered because of her parents' constant absence. At first, she had thought that it would fade away as they grew up, but that did not happen. 

Instead, it only got worse and, although Jihyo tried her best to cheer Mina up, she knew there was very little she could do to make her feel better when her parents kept treating her like she meant nothing to them.

"Why don't we watch a film?" Jihyo tried to change the topic; she didn't think she could stand the sight of a distressed Mina, especially since she had just arrived and they still had the whole night to themselves. "I may or may not have downloaded your favourite Marvel film on my laptop."

As she had already predicted, when Mina's mind registered her words, the girl suddenly stood up to look at her with shining eyes, mouth agape.

"Did you? Really?"

The joy in Mina's voice made Jihyo sigh in relief and, as she got up to open her laptop, the title of the movie appeared on her screen and Mina let out a squeal as soon as she read the words "Doctor Strange."

Jumping on the bed like an extremely excited kid, Mina hugged Jihyo from behind, making the girl hold her breath at the sudden, but pleasing touch.

Mina's next words were enough to make Jihyo's heart pound like crazy in her chest.

"If I could, I'd marry you."

And, even if Jihyo would never admit it, scared of ruining their friendship, she would love for that to happen one day. 

- 

As the end credits showed up on the small screen of Jihyo's old laptop, Mina let out a small yawn out of tiredness, soon followed by Jihyo.

"God; I can't believe I'm so tired when it's only eleven o' clock," Jihyo mumbled drowsily, fighting a second yawn to escape from her lips. "Aren't you?"

Mina didn't answer verbally; she just nodded her head weakly, nuzzling her face onto her best friend's shoulder as if it was the most normal thing ever.

Indeed, it was.

As soon as the two started getting closer, Jihyo learned that when Mina was tired, she would often nuzzle her face onto whatever soft surface she was able to find; in most cases, that was her shoulder or the crook of her neck which appeared to be Mina's favourite spots.

When they were still young, Jihyo didn't mind it that much; sure, she was a bit taken aback by Mina's sudden need of human contact, which the girl never looked fond of, but she got used to it anyways. 

However, growing up her feelings towards her supposed "best friend" started changing and that very same habit that once seemed natural to Jihyo, made her feel like a bunch of butterflies had just taken control over her stomach, making her feel like she was on cloud nine with just a simple touch. 

Trying to take her mind off the alluring pleasure of having Mina so close to her, Jihyo asked the girl if she wanted something to eat or drink. When Mina answered with a faint "Yes, please.", Jihyo broke into a grin and was fast on her feet, ready to go to the kitchen to grab something to eat for her.

After about ten minutes, Jihyo came back to her room with a tray full of chips, a small bottle of ketchup which she knew Mina would die for, and two cans of iced lemon tea for the both of them.

She was going to apologize to Mina for taking so much time, making her wait all alone, when her eyes landed on her best friend's sleeping figure. 

A loving smile spread spontaneously on her lips and, laying the tray on her desk, she went to tuck her in and left a quick kiss on her forehead, wishing her sweet dreams.

Realising that Mina had unconsciously fallen asleep on her bed, Jihyo wondered whether it was cool for her to sleep next to Mina in the same bed or if it would be better for her to use the spare one she had made that afternoon.

Opting for the latter, knowing well that Mina liked to have her own spaces, she got to the other bed, turning off the light and forgetting about the little snack she had prepared before.

She fell asleep sooner than she usually did and was having a good sleep until a sudden noise woke her up out of nowhere.

Sitting fastly on her bed in utter shock, Jihyo was suddenly blinded by the light in her room and looked around herself in confusion, until she spotted a slim figure sitting at her desk with a surprised face.

"What happened?" she babbled, still too sleepy to understand what was going on. "Are you okay?"

Mina nodded her head slowly; the mere gesture was enough to make Jihyo sigh in relief, knowing that Mina was alright.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to break your lamp," Mina admitted after a short moment of silence. Only then, Jihyo's eyes scrutinised her desk, noticing the absence of the said object.

Nevertheless, Jihyo's unspoken question shortly found an answer when Mina picked up the crushed lamp from the ground, which did not function any longer.

Seeing Mina wearing a worried expression prompted Jihyo to swiftly stand up and tell her that it didn't matter and that she needed to change that lamp anyways.

It was pretty evident that she was lying; still, Mina appreciated her efforts and softly smiled at her gratefully. 

Sometimes, Mina wondered how Jihyo could be such a nice person; to her, she was an angel descended from heaven to help her figure out her messy and chaotic life. 

"But I gotta admit, I'm a bit offended," Jihyo exclaimed once she sat next to Mina at the desk. The girl looked at her with a perplexed expression, furrowing her eyebrows which made Jihyo laugh a little. "You were eating these chips all by yourself and didn't even think about waking me up to share them! How selfish of you, Mina."

The Japanese girl's laugh resonated loudly in the room, spreading a laughing virus that affected Jihyo as well. After their laughter died down, the two looked at each other grinning cheerfully. 

If Jihyo could, she would register that exact moment in her mind and relive it forever, knowing that she would never get tired of seeing Mina's bright smile, hearing her laughing so carelessly, feeling her eyes looking at her fondly.

Her next words, however, were what made Jihyo's heart stop in her chest to then start beating like crazy.

"I wanted to wake you up actually, but you looked so adorable while sleeping, it would have been a shame if I did."

Thankfully, Jihyo had gotten used to feeling her cheeks on fire a long time ago thanks to her best friend's flattering words. She still wondered how Mina hadn't caught up on her crush when every time she would compliment her, Jihyo became a blushing mess.

"Were you staring at me?" she said after regaining her confidence, wanting to be the one to for once. 

Still, she wasn't able to get the reaction she hoped for as Mina only looked at her quietly in the eyes for some seconds, before answering like it was the most normal thing to say to your best friend: "Yes, I was."

Jihyo swore at that moment her heart skipped one, two, three beats that soon became a thousand ones and her breath suddenly got caught in making it hard for her to breath. 

"Should we go to bed now?" Mina asked looking at the time on her phone; her question caught Jihyo's attention, making the girl momentarily forget about what had just happened. "It's three in the morning; I don't want to wake your parents."

Jihyo nodded her head; the mention of the time surprised her. She suddenly felt all the sleepiness come back to her and a yawn escaped instantly from her lips.

Mina smiled sweetly at the scene, before making her way back to Jihyo's bed and under its covers. As for Jihyo, after stealing some chips from the tray on her desk and turning off the light, she got back to the spare bed she had slept in before. 

She laid down on the bed to find a comfortable position which would not cause her any unwanted pain once she woke up in the morning.

She closed her eyes, preparing herself before getting absorbed in a world of unreachable dreams and hopes when she heard Mina's muffled voice calling out her name.

She turned around to look at the girl, even though the darkness of the room made it difficult to make out any shapes. 

"Is there something wrong?"

There was no answer which made Jihyo naturally start to worry. She called Mina's names, but she didn't get an answer either. That made her even more uneasy.

In the midst of her panicking, she didn't hear Mina's steps; however, she realised what was happening the moment she felt her bed shift and a body lying next to hers. 

"Can I sleep with you?"

Feeling Mina's face close to hers, Jihyo placed her forehead against Mina's to let the girl know she was there for her, at any moment.

As soon as Jihyo had woken up and saw that Mina was awake, she knew the girl was having troubles sleeping. It was something that often happened when Mina felt down because she missed her parents. 

She would have nightmares and then stay up all night since she was afraid of falling asleep again. 

The first time it had happened, they were only nine years old; Mina had been staying at her house for more than a week as her parents had gone to New York for a series of conventions that was going to keep them busy in the city for about three weeks. 

Back then, Jihyo had no idea of what was happening, especially since Mina didn't show any desire of disclosing any information about why she was awake crying her eyes out non-stop. Still, she fought the sleepiness off and stayed up all night trying to comfort the girl.

Unfortunately, that was only the first of many nights Jihyo and Mina spent awake inside the former's bedroom. As they grew up, Jihyo managed to understand the best ways to comfort Mina and make her fall asleep again.

That led to her making a list of romantic movies to put up on her laptop at the latest hours so that Mina would finally get to sleep. Then, Jihyo would spend the rest of the night embracing the girl who slept peacefully in her arms, whispering to her that she would never leave her.

Now, Jihyo knew that it was happening again; she knew that Mina was once again having negative thoughts about her parents, making her feel like she was alone.

Hence, why she didn't waste any time before answering: "Of course you can, Minari."

Mina finally relaxed and turned around in the bed, looking the other way. Jihyo was left staring at the girl's back through the blackness of the room.

She spent some minutes like that; she couldn't quite tell how much time had passed since Mina had lain next to her in bed. However, she knew the girl had yet to fall asleep.

She was keeping track of her irregular breath which told Jihyo the girl was still wide awake, probably overthinking about her relationship with her parents.

 Still, she didn't say anything; she knew Mina was aware that Jihyo was waiting for her to sleep before doing so herself, but she kept quiet nonetheless.

It was like an unspoken agreement between the two of them; they both knew they weren't able to get some rest, but neither of them was willing to talk about it.

That was until Mina decided it was time to break the said agreement by softly whispering: "I'm so tired, Hyo."

Despite the surprise of hearing Mina's gentle voice after what felt like an eternity filled with an unbearable silence, Jihyo was quick to reply to the girl.

"I know."

A beat of silence followed their short exchange of words; Jihyo heard Mina sigh before the girl turned to look at her and spoke once again.

"Can you hold me? Just for tonight, please." 

Her voice was small and weak; Jihyo knew she had been debating whether it was safe for her to show her best friend her vulnerable side or stay awake instead, hoping that the night would bring her good counsel.

She believed that Mina must have been tired of struggling with her thoughts if at the end she had chosen the first option.

And Jihyo didn't even need to answer that question; she swiftly repositioned herself closer to Mina and put her arms around her fragile body, embracing the girl.

Finally, Mina let herself loosen in her arms like she ultimately found the peace she had been looking for throughout the night. After easing her mind from all her worries, she buried her face into the crook of Jihyo's neck and closed her eyes, slowly falling asleep to the rhythm of Jihyo's heartbeats.

Jihyo, on the other hand, kept caressing her hair gently for some minutes; only when she was sure Mina was sleeping peacefully, she smiled delightedly and let herself fall asleep as well.

-

The next morning, when Jihyo woke up, she found the space next to her empty. 

Feeling the absence of Mina's warm body against hers made the girl sigh in defeat, while she closed her eyes and turned around to bury her face into the pillow. 

She kept still for some moments until she felt something poke her hip, slightly tickling her, which made the girl whip her head around instantly. 

Right then, she found herself looking at a very amused Mina who couldn't seem to stop giggling. 

"What? Do I have something on my face?" she asked grumpily, her voice coming out rather harsh, more than she had intended to at least.

Mina shook her head, a wide grin still plastered on her face while Jihyo kept staring at her interrogatively. 

"Sorry; I just forgot how cute you look when you wake up."

As soon as Mina's words left her lips, Jihyo buried her face in the pillow for the second time that morning in order to hide her now red cheeks. At that point, she started asking herself whether Mina took pleasure in trapping her into these kinds of situations where she could do nothing but try her best to hide how much even a single compliment from the girl could pretty much make her go crazy.

"Anyways, I prepared breakfast for you; so, you'd better hurry up before your milk gets cold and you'll start complaining about it."

Hearing that, Jihyo quickly stood up; Mina was right, she hated when her milk got too cold.

"I see no cereals." Jihyo noticed as soon as she sat down next to Mina at her desk and took the cup of milk in her hands to analyse it.

"That's because you're supposed to pour the milk first and only then put the cereals in," Mina replied, offering Jihyo the package of chocolate cereals which the girl adored so much.

"That's not true; and you know that," the other girl declared; she put down the cup of milk and turned her whole body towards Mina. "First the cereals and then the milk."

Mina kept shaking her head at Jihyo's words with an entertained smile and, before the girl had time to realise what she was about to do, she poured the cereals in the cup full of milk, gaining a dramatic squeal of horror coming from Jihyo.

"Tell me you didn't just do that and I'm having a nightmare right now," she exclaimed in utter shock while Mina slapped her thigh lightly. "Why did you do that? I can't drink it anymore!"

"Stop being so overdramatic," Mina stated ironically; she rolled her eyes as Jihyo kept up her overly surprised expression. "Just drink it and be grateful that I woke up earlier to make it for you."

Hearing that was enough to make Jihyo drop her dramatic act and look at Mina with soft eyes before actually start her breakfast. 

"You didn't have to do this, you know?"

Mina just shrugged, keeping a neutral face; Jihyo started wondering what the girl was hiding from her, knowing too well that there was something she wasn't telling her.

It wasn't that she didn't believe the girl capable of doing something sweet for others just because she wanted to; Jihyo knew Mina had a kind heart, meaning that she would do everything to see a smile on her friend's faces.

Nevertheless, she was aware that Mina always had more than a reason to act in a certain way and that she would often keep those reasons a secret for only herself to know.

"If it's because of what happened tonight, there was no need to thank me like this. I did it out of love, not because I felt obliged to do it."

Too bad Jihyo had learned how to read through her a long time ago; so, there was no way Mina would be able to keep something from her.

Sometimes, Mina would feel weird knowing that there was nothing she could keep from the older girl because eventually, she would figure it out on her own; however, on the other hand, it was also nice to know that even when she didn't have the courage to tell Jihyo the truth about her feelings, she would know anyways.

It was comforting and intimidating at the same time; Jihyo knew Mina so well that sometimes she would understand what the girl was going through before Mina herself did.

"I know, but I still felt like doing it," Mina confessed shyly, moving a strand of hair from her face behind her ear. "Is it okay?"

"Of course it is, Mina." Jihyo smiled softly, putting one of her hands on Mina's, squeezing it tenderly.