MIMI.

Jiho threw the tennis ball, with just the right amount of force as it bounces back when it hit the wall of Mimi's room. "So.. how many days has it been?" She asks Mimi as she threw the ball, only to catch it again. 

"2 weeks" Mimi answers quietly, busy doing her project on her study table while there was Jiho, her visitor, who just barged in, bugging her while she's busy.

"Ah... weeks." The girl hasn't texted Mimi for weeks or even met the girl. Mimi was sure they're still together though, but Shiah isn't replying to her.

She's also busy with her plates so she couldn't find time to be with Shiah. The last time they talked, Shiah told her she'll be staying with her parents for a week because there are some things she'll be taking care of with her family. Mimi wanted to ask why or what would it cause them but now she realizes that once Shiah says she's staying with her family, it also meant she wouldn't be talking to Mimi. They could meet at the university, Mimi would sometimes wait at the doorway of Shiah's class. Shiah would join them at lunch. Mimi would wait for Shiah to finish reading at the library even though she also has a pile of school works to do. Shiah would ask her to rest or just do her work in her room because she knows that's where Mimi feels comfortable when working but Mimi would insist and they would fight. Only to end up with Shiah going home, her dad's assistant would fetch her. And Mimi will go back to her room with a heavy heart. 

"Don't think about provoking me to annoy her and do something to get her attention, I won't, okay? I'll just wait for her." Mimi says as she massaged her temple. She heard Jiho chuckling. The truth is, Jiho came here because Mimi opened up to her last night that Shiah wasn't replying to her. Jiho knew this happened a lot back then when Mimi was courting Shiah but they were in the courting stage so they thought it would change once they're finally dating but it didn't. It even got worse.

"Okay fine! I should have just went to Arin instead, you're boring." Jiho stood up, placing a coffee-on-can beside Mimi's chair. "I bought that earlier, you can have it. Don't stress yourself too much." Jiho says as she picked up another tennis ball on the floor, the one she couldn't pick up earlier.

"If you really want to spend time with her alone, go to the rooftop, it's always free.. because Shiah and I don't go there anymore." Mimi says plainly, opening the can of coffee. 

"Ugh thanks, we already use it a lot, don't be dramatic" Jiho says, patting Mimi's back before leaving the room, only to peek by the door again, "And please stop being too fanatic over spiderman, your spiderman pajamas are very cringy." Her friend added before leaving for real.

Alone in the room now, Mimi starts diving into thoughts about herself and her relationship with Shiah, completely ignoring Jiho. She expected this, she saw this coming. She knew something would happen but she didn't realize that it would affect her this bad. Is this supposed to be normal? It's been a month since the trip, and after they went home, Shiah had to talk to her parents. The next days, Shiah still got time to hang out with them but Mimi can feel that the girl is worried about something. It's like she was only physically with Mimi. She knew Shiah had been stressed out, maybe because of the pressure? Most likely. Mimi wants to do something to make her girlfriend feel better but how? Shiah was always guarded by the thought of her parents and Mimi doesn't know where was her place. Shiah told her that it'll only be a week but hey, it's more than a week now and their setup is still bothering Mimi. And on top of everything, Mimi has a lot of school requirements to do too.

So today, she decided to focus on her school activities and think about her girlfriend later. She doesn't even know if Shiah still remembers that she has a girlfriend. Mimi looked at the mini calendar on her table, tomorrow is supposed to be their first month together, but Mimi felt like it isn't special because she couldn't even talk to her.

Ah.. This won't do. Annoyed, Mimi took off her reading glasses. I thought you won't think of her, why won't you stop thinking about her? She scolded herself. 

Mimi stared at her pen for a moment, until her phone buzzed. She hurriedly opened it to check, but it was from Kei, asking her if she could borrow her notes on one of their majors. She sighed in disappointment, but still replied to her former classmate; saying she would just meet Kei later to lend her the notes. There was another notification, from their group chat, it was Arin sending photos of her and Jiho together. Mimi guesses that Jiho was the one who sent those. After the trip, they really added Arin to the group chat but the girl is quiet and only sends stickers sometimes. 

Finally, Mimi smiled when she saw Seunghee and Yubin teasing the two. These days, the girls are the only stress-reliever of Mimi. 

After a while, the group chat went quiet again, maybe their classes started already. Just when Mimi was about to turn off her phone, she saw Shiah typing. Oh? But after seconds, it stopped and only left the group chat on seen. 

Mimi then checked her inbox, hoping Shiah would send her a message but there wasn't. Yeah.. why am I even expecting. 

The blond girl sighed as she sat on her couch, remembering how Shiah told her before that the couch is her place in Mimi's room. "What am I going to do about this?" 

She sighed once again. The room was silent but after a few minutes, she heard a few clicks on her door lock. The buttons made it possible for Mimi to hear whether someone tries to open her door. But whoever was in front of her room right now clearly knows her password because moments after, Mimi's door flew open. Her mind suddenly went blank, her thoughts escaping from her mind, her heart thumped as soon as she saw Shiah walking into her room. It's only a few days since she last saw her and here she is, wearing a coat with simple jeans and a black shirt under which made her look chic while holding a box of cake. 

That coat, the one her mom gave her. Her girlfriend is wearing the coat she lent her months ago, and it somehow gave her chills to Mimi. She couldn't say anything, she can't find the words she wanted to say. Shiah didn't stay in the doorway for long, she closed the door behind her and placed the box of cake on the table before walking straight to Mimi. 

Mimi sets her phone next to her as she watches her girlfriend who automatically straddled her, cuddling against her. She immediately hugged the girl back, feeling Shiah's face on her neck, her girlfriend was rubbing her nose against her skin. Mimi closed her eyes for a moment, absorbing the fact that Shah is in her room now with her, the girl who actually stressed her out for weeks. 

"I missed you.. sorry" The girl murmured against her neck. Mimi sighed in relief after hearing those words.  homework, I miss my girlfriend. 

Shiah pulled away soon, cupping Mimi's face. "Are you mad?" Mimi immediately said no, shaking her head.

"I missed you too, and I understand. Don't worry." She answers, a smile curved on Shiah's lips which made Mimi smile as well. 

"I love you." Mimi spoke, it was what she felt in that moment and she just wanted to say it so she did. 

"I love you too," Shiah gave her a soft kiss on her lips before standing up, pulling Mimi with her on the table. "Let's eat, I bought a cake for us." 

Mimi followed, compiling her notebooks in one place so they could eat. She sits on the chair where she sat earlier while Shiah opened the box of cake. Mimi watched as Shiah lit the cake's candles, there were letters M and S on it. Mimi chuckles as Shiah started singing congratulations. Is this for their first month? Yes it is. Mimi sang along with Shiah, the lovers stared at each other for a moment after the song and closed their eyes, silently wishing for a stronger relationship. 

Please don't change your heart, whatever happens. The two opened their eyes, giggling at each other as they blew the candles.

The two talked as they eat. Shiah asked her how she's doing. Mimi informed the girl about the new requirements given to them and that she's currently working on those. 

"How about you? Are you going back to your apartment?" Mimi asks, that felt distant. But they have to catch up on each other. They couldn't talk like this when they're with the group. 

"Yes, I just came back earlier, I immediately went here to surprise you," Shiah says as she takes another spoonful of the cake. Staring at her girlfriend eating across her right now makes Mimi feel contented for a moment but there were worries. Will they keep being like this? Won't Shiah tell her why she can't respond to Mimi's messages whenever she goes home?

Shiah may have read Mimi's mind as she starts explaining. 

"I.. might have to do this every month, or I don't know, my dad became more strict, I wanna tell you everything but.. it's hard to explain" Mimi leaned a little as she tucked Shiah's hair behind her ear, Mimi really doesn't feel good about what she's seeing on her relationship with Shiah but she really likes the girl. 

"Calm down. You can tell me everything when you're ready." She says, smiling at the other girl although her heart was really heavy. 

"You won't get tired-" Mimi took Shiah's hand, I won't get tired, please stop saying those words. 

"I won't. I'll be patient, Shiah."

Soon, the two finished eating, they literally finished the cake - Shiah says it's better if they finish it all. They decided to cuddle on Mimi's bed while they continued their talk. 

"I should buy pajamas for you too so you can use them whenever you want to sleep here." Mimi says while grinning after Shiah with her pajamas. 

"Who says I'm sleeping here?" Shiah glared at her, flicking Mimi's forehead. 

"Stay here, I missed you." Mimi softly says, hugging her girlfriend's waist.

"Fine.. if you show me how much you do." Shiah says as she stares down at Mimi's lips, tracing them using her fingers.

There was something in Shiah's stare.. and that something caused their first. 

--

"Care to explain why you were so guilty earlier to the point that you pinched me this HARD?" Jiho asks with sarcasm, Seunghee chuckles and poked Jiho's swollen cheek which made the girl whine. Mimi crossed her arms, laughing along with Seunghee, resting her feet on the chair across her. 

"Hey Mimi, she's right though, you should've punched her instead. That's better than getting a swollen cheek from pinching." Seunghee added, teasing Jiho more. 

"I only mentioned the word 'protection' and she's like that!" Jiho pouts, refilling the ice pack that Arin gave her. "Be thankful, Arin told me she'll kill you if she sees you." Jiho added, bluffing. She's all about Arin these days. 

"Sorry, you caught me." Mimi shortly answers, not wanting to elaborate more but Seunghee hurriedly ran towards her, hands aggresively laid on the desk of Mimi's chair which startled Mimi. She looked at Jiho, just chuckling on the side. Maybe it's because Jiho and I were too comfortable with each other that we can just easily know what each other thinks? And Seunghee isn't, or maybe Seunghee is still a baby.

"You... what..." Seunghee's eyes widened as she looks at Mimi, as if trying to find answers in her eyes. 

"Oh my god! You did it with her-" Mimi shushed her, Seunghee's voice was so loud. Mimi thought it was okay to tell Jiho and Seunghee about it, these two are like her bestfriends. Only that Jiho knew her longer but Mimi really thinks of Seunghee as her bestfriend too. 

"Calm down, Seunghee. They're so into each other, it's alright. We can just send them to the church soon." Jiho says, lightly patting her cheek with the ice pack.

"Shut up." Mimi threw a crumpled paper on Jiho which the latter caught instinctively. 

"Make sure you're serious with Yooa. For real, I'll kick your ." Seunghee says, pinching Mimi's right cheek; Mimi swore she felt karma screaming from her cheek. Jiho laughed hard, the two are now both with a swollen cheek. 

Mimi just chuckled as she massages her cheek. She knows Seunghee was just worried about their friendship. She can see how much Seunghee values their relationship and Mimi understands why she was this shocked. This.. what happened to Mimi and Shiah really pushed off all of Mimi's worries. When her girlfriend asked her to own her, she realized that Shiah really loves her. I just hope so. 

--

The next few months pass by just like how their first month together. Shiah will just randomly get a call from her parents and Mimi will be left alone, without any update about Shiah. She doesn't get to hang out with her girlfriend unlike before when Shiah still joins them at lunch. They both got busier. Mimi had her priorities too, she's slowly learning to get used to this set up; getting too stressed about Shiah makes her feel tired so she focused on studying and just.. getting a chance to be with Shiah when the girl is free or when Shiah feels like it. Mimi doesn't know, the girl still hasn't explained everything yet. She even had her finals without talking to her since Shiah was also really busy. She understands. Mimi understood that Shiah has priorities and she now understands why Shiah didn't want to date. Maybe because of this. Because being a girlfriend is not in her priorities and it's okay for Mimi. It's just the fact that all human beings can overthink and it really hits Mimi frequently now that she's being more conscious with her relationship with Shiah.

Mimi focused on studying but it was hard since she was always stressed. Things changed in her self and she didn't notice how bad this Shiah thing was affecting her. 

"When are you coming home? We miss you." Her mom says one time when she facetimed them. She was missing home too, she totally forgot how home used to comfort her.

"I'm okay, been eating well, mom." She replies with a smile, she saw her father and brother, Minhyuk passing behind her mom, then walking to check Mimi on the screen.

"Hey! You look gross." Mimi's father smacked her sibling who tried teasing her. 

"Mihyun, come visit here when you're done with your exams. And don't mind your brother, I'll make sure he's married once you finished college so you'll get two rooms by yourself." Her father says, Mimi chuckles. 

"No one would marry him, he ." She teases back and heard her brother whining on the other line. At least, her family made her smile that night.

--

"She's still texting you?" Shiah asks as Mimi got on her car. They just met again and Mimi went out to buy some food from the convenient store. Mimi furrowed her eyebrows while placing the drinks on the cup holder of the car. 

"Who?" She asks, really having no idea. She closes the door behind her as she buckled her seatbelt. 

Shiah opened Mimi's phone and showed the screen to her. Kei, again. Apparently, the girl continues to text her, It's been months..? Almost six months since Shiah and Mimi started dating. Mimi recalls the last encounter of Shiah and Kei's texts; Shiah really sulked back then. 

"Uh.. She just asks me about the subjects and the lessons?" She answers honestly. That was true, there's nothing else because Mimi only replies when Kei asks about school stuff.

"You talk throughout the whole midnight? Haha, wow." Shiah places Mimi's phone on her lap and drinks from the can of soda. Mimi sighed. They just met again today, after Shiah's three weeks of being busy, it's even almost one month already since they last hang out together and talk and now she's like this. This is their set-up, meeting anytime Shiah calls her so Mimi always had her car or her room ready for Shiah. For today, it's her car. 

Mimi knew Shiah had always been enraged when it comes to seeing Kei following Mimi around. But Mimi doesn't really have any interest on the other girl. All she does everytime Shiah ignores her texts was study and wait for Shiah to come back to her. 

"She's just a friend to me." Mimi says quietly as she starts driving.

"We have six friends already, are they not enough?" Shiah says calmly, but Mimi could sense annoyance in her. 

"Fine, I won't reply to her.. okay? Don't get mad now. We just got together again.." Mimi's voice was sad, she really felt disappointed at how Shiah is getting riled up with Kei. 

The rest of the ride was silent. Thankfully, Shiah didn't bring up the topic again when they got to the park where they planned to spend the day at. They planned to have a picnic because Shiah wanted to get some fresh air. 

"Do you want to meet my parents?" Mimi asks while Shiah is busy eating and also feeding her. The girl hummed, "Ofcourse, are they coming here because you didn't go home last vacation?" Mimi nodded. She didn't come home for summer classes, but Shiah didn't know she took summer classes. She didn't want to stress out the girl. Fortunately, her parents didn't get mad and just told her to cheer up, her parents were also busy with their business. 

"Yeah but you're stressing yourself out instead and even failed one of your subjects." That's what Jiho told her when her friend found out about it. Meanwhile, Seunghee supported her decision of not telling Shiah about it. 

"Tell me when you're free and I'll set that day for us." Mimi says and her girlfriend hummed, feeding her again. 

The rest of the day went by with just them catching up on each other again. 

--

The next month went smooth for Mimi, Shiah started hanging out with the group again. Maybe because the subjects she's taking isn't too hassle for her yet. Weirdly, Kei stopped texting her too, maybe she finds the subjects easy already. Shiah didn't ask Mimi about Kei again. Which is okay, Mimi thinks it's better this way; Shiah should trust her because Mimi trusts Shiah so much. 

Mimi was planning to introduce her girlfriend to her parents next week. That one Sunday, Shiah told Mimi that she'll have to stay at her parents again for the weekend, which is okay since the meeting with Mimi's parents will be on Wednesday. Jiho, Hyojung and Seunghee came over Mimi's place that Sunday night, just because they want to. And the group had a plan to gather at Hyejin's again this coming Friday. 

"So is your girlfriend busy again for exams or what?" Hyojung asks when they were playing jenga. Mimi shook her head, it's already a usual question from their friends; 'is Yooa busy again'. Although it's already obvious that she is. 

"I saw Yooa unnie earlier at the mall with a guy though." Jiho says casually, Mimi stopped from playing and looked at Jiho.

"Guy..?" What guy? Who? 

Jiho said she doesn't know who was the guy but he seemed close to Yooa, even teasing Mimi that the guy looked like a boyfriend to Yooa.

That night, when Mimi was alone again, she called Shiah, hoping she'll answer this time. She couldn't stop overthinking. Shiah was always busy and now the sudden mention of a guy? And at the mall? I thought you were with your family. After a few rings, Shiah miraculously answered. 

"Hello? Mihyun?" Shiah's voice was sleepy, Mimi knows that tone, she's sure Shiah just happened to wake up.

"Hey."

"You're still awake.." Mimi started, she heard Shiah humming. Listening to the silence and to her girlfriend's hum suddenly made her tear up, she just can't figure out why but her heart really feels heavy.

"Jiho said you were with a guy earlier." Mimi's voice almost cracked, she doesn't like what she's feeling at that very moment. 

"Mimi.. let's talk about that next time, let me rest." She expected this already, this is what often happens everytime she tries to call Shiah when she's at home. She'd say she's sleepy, or that she's doing something. But I feel so lonely tonight Shiah. 

Mimi ended the call, she doesn't know what to say anymore. She felt broken, not just her heart but her own personality. She wasn't like this. She used to be too happy about every single thing she gets everyday but as she observes herself now. This is so far from how she used to be. 

She waited the next day for Shiah's message but the girl didn't send her anything or even called her. Am I even important to you? Mimi waited for the whole day but there was nothing. Nothing at all. Wednesday is coming in two days. She should talk to Shiah before that day comes.

That night, Mimi called her brother, since her parents weren't picking up.

"Dude I'm having my beauty sleep. We'll have some business matters to handle tomorrow why are you calling" Her brother says as soon as he picks up the call. Mihyun chuckled, she asked her brother about her situation. Because Jiho and Seunghee would only keep teasing her, at least her brother has something different to say.

"Tell me, do you trust her?" That question caught Mimi off-guard. She was too emotional she never thought of that. She became doubtful.

"She didn't panic or whatever when you mentioned the guy, if you trust her, you'll talk to her instead of just waiting for her. I thought you top her, that's so not you." Mimi chuckles at her brother, he's just as dork as Mimi used to be.

"Thanks. I'm hanging up." She says shortly, really thankful because she somehow felt better.

"Introduce her to me some time, I want to know who changed my sister." Mimi hung up, cutting his brother off. How can he be dumb 24/7 but can still give me a good advice.

Mimi slept it off, then waking up with the thought that she trusts Shiah. They should talk about this. They must. So Mimi got herself ready, she attended her classes that day first, planning to go to Shiah's house after. Fortunately, Yubin knows where Shiah's house is.

She already texted Shiah that she'll go to her house. It's almost 6 PM. The girl replied to her saying she'll come home at 6:30. 30 minutes more, she's sure Shiah was on her way back home already. Mimi reached the location that Yubin gave her. The house was huge, it was almost like hers back in the province. She surely is a princess. 

Mimi was patiently waiting by the gate of the house when a car came. The car was familiar to Mimi. Is it Shiah? She tried peeking inside, but the car was tinted. It stopped in front of the gate and when someone opened the car, Mimi realized why the car looked familiar. It was their family car. Minhyuk, her brother went out from the driver's seat, fixing his suit. Mimi was confused, why is he here? Her parents soon came out from the car. How did they know that I'm here?

"Mihyun?" 

--

"We're here for the business matters I'm talking about last night!" Minhyuk hugged her, smiling. Her parents also followed after. 

Mimi, still confused, pointed at the house behind them. "Yoo..?" Her father nodded. 

"They're our new business partner." Mimi realized that their families' are in the same industry. . This is a good thing, Mimi suddenly felt excited. 

But that sudden excitement was replaced by a sudden break down as her parents discussed partnership they have with Shiah's family.

Mimi clenched her fist. "But, I'm dating Shiah. How could you agree to such thing?" She finally says, she felt frustrated that she couldn't even look at her family. 

There was silence. Her mom was sighing, her father was patted her shoulder, her brother was sorry.

"Mihyun, I think it's better if you break up with Mr. Yoo's daughter. You can find someone else, just.. not her." Her mom says, holding both of her shoulders as if telling her to obey them. Mimi shook her head instantly, saying no. What kind of nonsense is this. 

"Dad.. Arranging marriages isn't a thing anymore. Please stop this. She's my girlfriend." Mimi begged, she wants to cry, she feels so mad about this situation. She didn't know it would get this worse. 

"I didn't know she was the girl you were talking about. Get some rest, Mihyun.. We'll talk about this tomorrow." Her father kissed her forehead, the couple went inside the Yoo's residence. While Minhyuk asked her to come with him in the car to talk.

For the first time, everything went back to Mimi. How she started college, how she used to be fine with everything she got. She had everything she wanted but she met Shiah. The girl who made her feel empty but filled her up when they fell in love with each other. Her parents who always had her back, supporting her with everything she wants to do; now wants her to break up with the girl she wants. She even courted Shiah for months, only to break up with her? For what reason? Shiah's parents already planned for Shiah's future.. and it was with her brother. Damn. His father was serious with the marriage thing. 

Mimi still can't believe it, they have always been connected. Their parents knew each other. But for damn's sake, Shiah isn't even done with college. Does Shiah know about this? Mimi felt like her heart is being stabbed repeatedly as thoughts flow in her head and tears fell from her eyes. She used to have everything.. why is it so hard to have Shiah?

"I'm sorry, hyun. I just got dragged here. You know how our parents always think that I'm that dumb kid and they only wanted fix my future for me." It was Mimi's brother, the only person who calls her Hyun, and he was Hyuk. Mimi chuckles bitterly, her heart felt so exasperated. 

"I won't marry her, you know I don't like your types. Calm down now?" Her brother tries to comfort her, patting her back. That's not it. 

"If you tell them that you don't want it. Will they let you?" Mimi asks, wiping off the tears on her face. She feels so upset. This must be the reason why Shiah had always been busy at home. Her family's business was the reason. 

"I met them a few times, mom asked me to meet her father before. I can just tell them to break off the partnership. I know mom and dad would be fine with it.. but you will have to face her father. You know the consequences in business decisions, right?" Her brother calmly explained. He's right. A problem after a problem. Mimi doesn't know what to do, will she be a brat and ask her family to break off that ty partnership? And if she does, what would happen to her and Shiah? 

What would Shiah say about this? After a few minutes, another car arrived.

And there she is... Shiah. Shiah even looked around. Were you looking for me? Mimi wanted to get out of the car and hug her girlfriend. But something stopped her.. the only thing she could do is watch her. A man hopped off the car just after her, then pulled Shiah inside the house. 

Mimi sighed. She clenched her fists out of anger. She's angry and frustrated with the world. She wants to cry. I want to cry. Only when Minhyuk pulled her in his arms when Mimi bursted out all the heavy weight in her heart.