Inspired by Minnie ruffling Yuqi's hair at 5:21, before Yuqi went on the survival show. 

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They almost had her. Minnie sobbed for breath as she threw herself headlong into the grove of pine trees. The boughs swayed ominously overhead, patterning the ground with their eerie shadows. Even though the whistling wind buffeted her ears, it couldn’t mask the stampede of footsteps following in her wake. Minnie risked a peek behind her. They were nearly on her. The foremost man reached out a talon-like hand. She felt it snag on her hair and the man bodily yanked her backwards off her feet.

“NOOOO!!!!”

Minnie’s eyes flew open and she burst out of bed. The thick sheets twisted around her body, tangling her arms and legs, but she fought free and tumbled onto the floor. Fumbling against the wall, her fingers found the light switch and she smashed her fist against the smooth panel. The light flicked on and bathed her room in its sharp yellow glow. Her heart pounded fiercely against her chest as she pressed her back flat against her bedroom door. But the black masked men who were chasing her earlier were nowhere to be found.

Gradually, her heartbeat slowed.

You’re fine, you’re safe, it was a nightmare, you’re okay, she repeated over and over to herself as she slid down the wall and onto the floor. She carefully let her eyes wander over every dark corner of her room. What if it wasn’t a dream? What if people were waiting to kidnap her even now? She shuddered and shrank against the cold door, wrapping her arms around her knees and trying to make herself as small as possible. Maybe if she disappeared, no one could hurt her.

They were getting worse, the dreams. When she first came to Korea and it was just her and Soyeon, they happened occasionally. Sometimes after a long day of practice, she’d fall asleep, only to wake up in a cold sweat and to the afterimages of people chasing her. They were always the same. She’d be in the middle of a crowd in some foreign place, a mall, a playground, a school. One by one, the people in the crowd would turn to look at her. She’d see their frowns, the moment of recognition once they realized who she was. And then they’d start to close in. She used to let them just smother her until she couldn’t breathe anymore. She knew she had to wake up eventually.

What’s the point of fighting, she had thought. You can’t win.

Until one day, a brazen trainee from Beijing hurtled through her life like a hurricane.

The first night the new girl spent at the dorm, Minnie had her worst dream yet. She woke up screaming bloody murder. At the time, Soyeon was filming something for her solo debut, so she wasn’t home. The company didn’t put another bunk bed in their bedroom yet, so Minnie knew the new Chinese trainee was sleeping on the pullout bed in the living room. Minnie bit down on her pillow to muffle her screams, hoping that she wouldn’t wake the new trainee. She knew they needed all the rest they could get.

Therefore, the loud rap on her door was wholly unexpected.

“Hello?”

Minnie unblocked and sat up, narrowly avoiding banging her head on the wooden slats above. She moistened her lips with her tongue before calling out a soft, “come in.”

The door banged open and Minnie heard the girl mumble something low in Mandarin. It sounded like a curse. She swaggered in. It was almost comical, her in a large shirt that fell to her knees. Yet on her feet were two gigantic Corgi slippers. Despite herself, Minnie giggled. The girl saw her take in her shoes, and she lifted one foot and wagged it in Minnie’s face. Minnie guffawed and the girl grinned at her before cheekily plopping herself down next to Minnie.

“English?” the girl asked.

“Yeah, a little,” Minnie replied. “What’s your name again?”

“I am Yuqi. Nice to meet you, Minnie! I am from China! Beijing is the capital of China!”
Yuqi sounded like she learned her English from a practice book and simply memorized the lines. But Minnie wasn’t complaining. Korean was still new to her and it was nice speaking in a language she had a greater degree of command over.

“You speak good English. I speak some Mandarin too,” retorted Minnie, cockily slipping into Yuqi’s mother tongue.

The look on Yuqi’s face was worth a thousand words. dropped and she gaped at Minnie for a second before excitedly shouting, “you speak Mandarin? That’s wonderful! Where did you learn? Are you Chinese? Where are you from? Do you know any good restaurants around here—”

“Wait! Wait! My Mandarin isn’t that good!” Minnie fought against the onslaught of questions. Yuqi obediently shut and Minnie gave her an appreciative smile. “Do you speak any Korean?” she followed up as she unconsciously leaned a little closer to Yuqi. Even from a distance, Minnie could feel the warmth Yuqi exuded. It was like Yuqi was wrapped in a bright yellow aura, and all Minnie wanted to let some of that shine on her.

Yuqi shook her head sadly at Minnie’s question, not seeming to notice how close Minnie had gotten. “I only know ‘hello.’” Suddenly, her face brightened and for a second, Minnie thought the sun came out. She blinked rapidly as Yuqi eagerly faced her, entirely oblivious to Minnie’s thudding heart. “Oh! And I know how to say,” Yuqi cleared with a hacking cough, “‘where is the restroom?’”

Minnie couldn’t help it. She let out a chortle which turned into a full bellied laugh. “I’m sorry!” Minnie gasped between snorts, “but your accent—sorry what did you say?” Yuqi grimaced at her but it just made her look more adorable. Minnie really had to resist the urge to gather Yuqi up in her arms and squeeze her into oblivion.

After a few seconds, Yuqi also started laughing. She wiped her eyes and chuckled, “okay, I thought I learned it from a drama, but I probably learned it wrong. How do you say it?”

Minnie pulled her phone out from under her pillow and opened the translator app. Finally she was the one teaching someone else Korean! And a pretty girl at that. Yuqi bent over the screen, and that was how they stayed up until dawn, trading phrases in English, Mandarin, Korean, and Thai. It was wonderful, actually. Minnie felt the night terror gradually slipping away. Something about Yuqi, maybe the way how her eyes smiled first or her naturally effusive demeanor, set Minnie completely at ease.

When the sun rose and illuminated Minnie’s room with its