Description: Even in the darkest of the nights, their love still kept her warm.

A/N: This is a direct sequel to story #11 “Mirage”. Both fics are named after Song Jieun’s songs.

Minjoo was sitting by the table at the kitchen, her hands holding onto a half-empty cup of lukewarm hot chocolate, her mind lost in convoluted thoughts – so many ‘what if’s, so many possibilities, so many things that scared her and made it hard to sleep at night…This old house was everything she always knew, the one place she used to feel safe in, but now it would disappear just like her mother eventually did.

What would become of her? Of her little sister that was barely old enough to walk on her own? The roof over her head was resistant, yet it felt like it could collapse on top of her at any minute – considering how tired and hopeless she felt, part of her wondered if it wouldn’t be a blessing in disguise.

The insistent knocks at the back door took her out of her thoughts, pushing away the despair to give place to a more tangible fear. It was a little past midnight, and she lived in a small town, no one would simply knock at the kitchen’s door for no reason at this hour…But what kind of thief even knocks? Of course, someone who is not there to steal anything to begin with.

Instead of checking the door first, she grabbed her cellphone and saw the notification that was able to make all fear vanish, the said notification also put a small smile on her face as she finally stood up to open the door and see a very familiar face barely covered by a green scarf. Black hair precariously put in a ponytail, dark jeans and a black bomber jacket that made her face look even smaller and paler – it was Chaewon, the only one able to make her smile even in nights like this.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, allowing the girl to enter the house, albeit she already knew the answer – it was of Chaewon they were talking about, and if anything in her life was constant, it was Chaewon’s presence.

“What do you think?” Chaewon gave her a smug smile as she showed the box of cake she had brought, red cheeks and nose showing her tenacity in picking it up at Hitomi’s place regardless of the snowy weather. The older Kim entered the house, carefully closing the door behind herself as she placed the cake by the counter and faced the house owner. “Did you think I would miss your birthday?”

Shaking her head, Minjoo returned her smile, feeling her chest slowly grow warm and light now that Chae was there. Thinking about her eighteen birthday made her uneasy instead of happy, but with her girlfriend there, suddenly it didn’t seem so bad. “No, of course not.”

Involving Chaewon’s neck with both of her arms, she brought her in for the tight hug that she needed so much. Chae hugged her back, almost losing her balance because of how tight Minjoo’s embrace was, yet she didn’t complain just returning the gesture as her hands held onto her waist. Even if only for today, for this tiny stolen moment, Min wished for everything to disappear and only the two of them matter. She wished that this feeling now would last for a lifelong.

Chaewon pulled away just enough to face her, eyes fond and loving, arms hugging her dearly as she whispered softly. “Happy birthday, Kim Minjoo. Thank you for being born and thank you for allowing me to be here with you. I love you.” Her words that were so similar to the ones Minjoo once told her, brought a new feeling to the younger girl – the warmth that was born from inside her heart and no cold could ever make it disappear.

Their future was uncertain, this moment could be one of their last ones, yet when Chaewon gently pulled her in for a kiss, even if only for a moment it felt like their love was larger than life.

Minjoo rested her forehead on Chaewon’s after they broke the kiss, breaths shallow and hot, bodies connected like their souls were right now. Chestnut and silver was all she could see – the sparkles in Chaewon’s eyes, like her own little universe, the infinite stars that only she could see.

Chae’s lips met hers once more, light kisses as she reached her cheeks and jaw before pulling away to get something from inside her jacket’s pocket.

Minjoo expected for a little gift, maybe a cute animal keyring or even a piece of jewelry. But instead, she received a bankbook – the small notebook where a bunch of numbers could be seen inside, making her have to reread a few times to understand what it meant. Her breath was caught in , overwhelmed – that was something Chaewon kept for years. "What does it mean, Chae? Why are you giving me your money?" She didn’t want to reject a gift, but this wasn’t something she could simply accept.

Chaewon didn’t seem to mind her reaction.

"It’s not that much, but it’s ours. Why else would I even work so much at my dad’s office?” Chaewon corrected with a resolute tone, eyes sharp with an unusual serious glint to them. She was being honest and Minjoo just knew she had planned it for a long time, maybe for as long as she kept the money in the bank. “It is our future. At least the start of it."

Closing her eyes, Minjoo shook her head strongly before trying to give the bankbook back to Chaewon. Money was something that she really needed now, yet, not like this. "You know I can't accept that."

Needless to say, the older girl refused to accept the bankbook, pulling Minjoo into a hug instead. "Yes, you can! Think about it as the way for us to start anew. Together." She whispered the last word on Minjoo’s ear and the younger Kim felt her heart shrink inside her chest – it was tempting, oh so tempting, to leave everything behind and pursue a better life with the only person she ever loved.

Yet, life wasn’t so simple.

"Chae...I can't leave Wonyoung behind." The toddler who was her only family left, the little sister that depended on her and the one her mother made her promise to look after. Living under the fear of her relatives taking the kid away was awful, but she couldn’t just give up. “I just cannot.”

“I would never ask you to leave your sister behind.” Chaewon was quick to reply, her confidence never wavering as she spoke – it wasn’t an impulse, it wasn’t an act of mischief or an attempt to rebel; it was the honest wish of her heart. "I will graduate in a few days and when it's time, we will go and find a new place. A better place for us, all of us."

"Your parents would never allow it.” Minjoo reminded, the hard reality hitting her like a punch. Chaewon’s parents would never allow them to live together, they wouldn’t even allow their daughter to date a girl and if they ever found out…They had been hiding for so many years that Minjoo just understood that it was the only way they could be together. “I can't allow it. You need to go to college and follow your dreams and-"

“You are my dream.” The brunette cut her off, eyes darker as she refused to let go of her girlfriend and their future. "Min, I can't let them take Wonyo away. I can't let them take your house and make you live off of crumbs." Her voice almost cracked, nervousness and fear evident – the same fear that tainted Minjoo’s life for the past few weeks since her mother passed away and her relatives suddenly appeared to fight over the little possession they still had, pushing the girls from side to side like an unwanted burden. The fear of being at mercy of others, at mercy of a fate that had never been kind to her. "I meant it, being with you is what I want."

Minjoo felt closing, heavy tears making it hard to breathe as she gave up fighting and just rested against Chaewon’s warmth, feeling the tears slowly make its way down her face as she grabbed onto the girl’s jacket tighter – as if Chae would disappear if she didn’t. The ‘what if’s were there again, haunting her, planting the seed of fear and confusion inside her mind, however, Chaewon’s presence pushed them away.

Thinking about the worst is always easy, painful and natural, but right now she needed hope and Chae was there to bring it. Therefore, she tried her best to deaf her ears to the whispers of doubt and embrace this moment, embrace Chaewon’s love and security, just like the girl hugged her tight. "I would rather have a simple life with you, wherever it may be, than risking to never see you again.”

Minjoo could feel Chaewon’s relieved smile as she kissed her cheek for a moment too long, and with every kiss she could feel her love. “I am not going anywhere without you, you should know that.”

"I know, because it’s you and you’ve always been there for me.” Ever since the first glance, the first time Minjoo felt her heart beat a little quicker and the first time they kissed – every step of the way, Chaewon had been right there with her. In a world where love could be such a dangerous, daunting thing, where they had to keep their secret safe and live off of stolen moments, Chaewon was still there and she had never allowed her to feel anything but loved. Minjoo just knew it would never change. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me." She cupped Chaewon’s face with a hand, watching as the sharp chestnut slowly became softer as love inundated her girl’s eyes.

Without any more words, Minjoo kissed her lips, long and sweetly – like so many times before, Chaewon’s lips just seem to match her so perfectly and her heart skipped happily inside her chest with each second, light and secure in the hands of the person who she loved ever since she was a kid.

She smiled, heart and mind content, as she gently sank into Chae’s embrace again. "You have such a special way to say happy birthday."

Chaewon chuckled lightly, resting her head on top of Minjoo’s, "I thought chocolate and flowers were too cliche, so I had to step up my game and just snatch you forever." Min didn’t need to look to know there was a playful smile on her face, one that mirrored hers. "But I also brought some cake just in case."

With a chuckle of her own, Minjoo nuzzled into her neck, peppering it with kisses. “It’s my favorite way. And you don’t even need the cake.”

She interrupted Chaewon’s laugh with new kisses, kisses that didn’t end any time soon, leaving the cake to wait as the couple got lost in each other’s warmth and love. That night would be another one of their precious stolen moments, but it gave her hope that someday they would no longer need to hide and every night would be just like this one.

Much later that night, when they finally ate the cake and Minjoo made a wish as she blew the single candle on top of it, she only wished for their happiness – a wish that would eventually come true, if not by the universe’s wish, but by their own tenacity.

A/N: Just a short thing for Min’s birthday. Those two pieces, this one and Mirage, were supposed to be part of the introduction to a bigger story called Faithfully, that I clearly never wrote. Anyway, you guys can imagine it from now on ;)

Happy birthday MinMin!

P.S.: The song that inspired this piece is named ‘Bloom’, by Song Ji Eun, my favorite soloist. You can listen to it here.