Mina

“She looks like a Thea to me.” Chaeyoung declared as he held up the small plant.

She smiled, “I agree.”

“Then this one’s settled!”

They were currently in the greenhouse together, potting some plants that Chaeyoung had bought. It had started off slowly with Chaeyoung returning with one plant for her, but things quickly moved out of control and the empty greenhouse was now filled to the brim with all the plants her roommate had bought.

She had learned in the weeks of living with Chaeyoung that he had this type of sweet and earnest personality that got carried away. The plants were one thing but if she mentioned liking something or craving a certain food, the next day it would appear in front of her. After mainly taking care of herself due to living in a strict arts boarding school since she was in middle school, she wasn’t used to someone caring for her but it felt natural coming from Chaeyoung.

Speaking of her roommate, he was happily using markers to write down the name of another plant on a small wood sign. He had insisted as they repotted that it was good luck to name each plant.

“I feel bad that I haven’t used this space a lot.” Chaeyoung commented.

She watched as he stuck a wood sign into the flower pot.

“What do you mean?”

“When I was younger my grandma filled this greenhouse up with a ton of stuff. She would work on the plants and I’d be drawing something in that corner. Sometimes I’d help and make a mess though.”

She giggled at the imagery of a mini Chaeyoung helping, if he was anything like he was now she could imagine the mess he would make. They had only been working for a short while but while she was clean with her gardening gloves and apron. Chaeyoung looked like a mess with dirt staining his already wrinkled t-shirt and his hands were covered in marker stains.

“Well we’re starting to use it now, so I wouldn’t feel too bad.” she said.

He nodded, “That’s true.”

As they worked next to each other, time passed quickly and soon the setting sun indicated that they should wrap up for the day.

“Why don’t we finish this up tomorrow.” she suggested.

“Sounds good to me.”

They cleaned up the space and headed downstairs together but as they were walking, Dallae happily rushed towards her on the stairs and the sudden action caused her to lose her footing. She shut her eyes, ready to feel the impact of the fall on the stairs but strong arms caught her.

When she opened her eyes, she realized Chaeyoung had caught her with ease and was giving her a worried look.

“Are you alright?”

She nodded, “Yes, it was just small trip.”

Chaeyoung let go of her and picked up his mischievous cat. Absentmindedly, she couldn’t help thinking that Chaeyoung was just as warm as she remembered and the way his expressive eyes always gave away his thoughts was rather cute.

“Dallae, don’t go scaring Mina like that, she almost got hurt.” he scolded.

Dallae meowed softly in response and snuggled into her owner.

She patted the cat and continued downstairs, “It’s alright, I forgive you Dallae.”

“You’re too easy on her.” he complained but the twinkle in his eyes gave him away.

“I know.”

They shared a smile and walked side by side together. She couldn’t help thinking that it all felt so natural.

Chaeyoung

“So how’s living with your girlfriend?” Yeri asked.

He sighed, “She’s just my roommate.”

“Sure.”

He was currently walking with Yeri to a nearby restaurant to grab lunch with Jeongyeon. They hadn’t seen each other in a bit and decided to meet up. After working hard the past couple of days on a particularly difficult sculpture he was in need of a break anyway.

“She’s too good for me anyway.” he joked. “I’m a negative 10 compared to her 20.”

Yeri nodded, “True but if you actually tried to look good even a little bit you would jump out of the negative range. And you know, it’s not good to hide forever Chaeyoung. It’d be good if you gained some confidence and got out there more.”

He wasn’t hiding from anything…..just it wasn’t in his nature to want to show his face or any part of himself.

“Look, Mina will end up probably dating some rich pretty boy and I’ll be happy to help her move out when that happens.”

He sure would miss the company though. Despite a rocky start they got along well. When he was around Mina, they could easily talk about random things as much as they could live in comfortable silence. There was never any pressure to act a certain way.

His friend gave him a look, “You might regret it, don’t want her to end up like your first love.”

“First love? Can you call it that if I barely had the courage to talk to her?” he asked.

“Yes, because even if you were a it still counts.”

They walked into the restaurant together and waved at Jeongyeon who was already waiting at a table. Their Armani suit wearing CEO friend looked out of place in the snack restaurant filled with college students but the goofy grin gave him away. No matter where he ended up in life, Jeongyeon was one of the nicest most down to earth people.

“Hey, I just ordered so you guys have great timing.” Jeongyeon said.

Yeri replied, “Good, I’m hungry. And Jeong do you remember Chaeng’s first love?”

“Other Chaeyoung? Yeah I remember her she was a nice girl.”

He interrupted, “Well she goes by Rose now.”

“How do you know that?” Yeri asked.

He blushed, “I mean we still kinda talk.”

If you call years of sending each other rolls of film and the occasional post card counts as talking.

“No wonder you’re a hermit, you can’t let go of your first love and she’s been gone what almost six years?” Yeri tsked.

It was hard to let go when he never had the chance for closure.

He changed the subject when the food arrived, “Wow, this place is just like I remember it.”

“Yeah, I remember we always ditched our club activities to come grab a bit. All the upperclassmen hated us but they couldn’t say anything cause Yeri would tear them apart.” Jeongyeon grinned.

Yeri looked proud of herself, “You can say that my penchant for violence is a gift.”

“Sure, let’s go with that.” he snickered.

Jeongyeon commented, “But time sure does fly, feels like it wasn’t that long ago that we were eating her every day in college and high school doesn’t seem far off either.”

“We’re only getting older, and you two are definitely only getting more boring.” Yeri nodded.

He shook his head and continued to eat. His friends might be getting sappy but he knew that at the end of the day, things weren’t that different.

Suddenly his pocket buzzed and he saw it was a text from Mina.

From: Mina

Could I borrow a sketchbook?

To: Mina

Sure, take whatever you need from my studio. Btw I’ve got a new shipment in so I’ll be messing around at my sculpture studio for a while, text me if you need anything.

From: Mina

Alright, thanks Chaeyoung. And don’t push yourself too hard!

He couldn’t help smiling at the cute pouty emoji Mina had added to the end of her last text. Well, things might be a little different but he didn’t mind.

Mina

She looked at the intimidating space with a shake of her head and as if reading her thoughts, Dallae meowed in agreement next to her. While relaxing for a few weeks had been nice, she had quickly gotten bored. Before, she had trained endlessly and if she wasn’t at a practice she was thinking about practice. Now, in a new city and a blank slate, not doing anything just felt wrong.

So maybe it was the space or her roommate effecting her but she had found herself wanting to create things. Living downtown gave her the advantage of always seeing the latest fashions and styles at every age group. Even through a quick gr