When Minjeong sees Jimin staring at her laptop with a downcast expression, she can already guess what Jimin’s looking at.

Minjeong reaches across her and shuts Jimin’s laptop decisively. “You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a masochist.”

Jimin blinks. “What?”

“You shouldn’t read those comments,” Minjeong says chidingly.

Jimin’s mouth turns down at the corners. “Even if I don’t read them, I know they’re out there.”

“Well, you know what? Screw them,” Minjeong says, and it startles Jimin into a laugh.

“You have such a temper sometimes. They should have called you Summer.”

“Doesn’t Aeri say that my temper runs cold?”

“…Are we really going to go by Aeri’s sayings now?”

“Good point,” Minjeong concedes, and Jimin grins. “If you want to read comments, why not read the ones our fans leave? There are countless ones fawning over your beauty.”

“Hm. I’d rather read the ones fawning over yours.”

Minjeong blushes. “There aren’t that many.”

“You’d be surprised,” Jimin says. “Or well, you shouldn’t be. I’m not.”

“Don’t tell me you left some of those,” Minjeong says with a teasing smile.

Jimin pretends to zip her lips shut. “I can’t give away my secrets.”

Minjeong laughs and runs a finger across as if undoing the zipper. “Jimin,” she says, serious now. “There are always going to be haters. Some are even more dedicated than fans and they’ll be around for a long time. Remember Yizhuo told us that Victoria sunbae had an anti-fan forum for ten years?”

“That really takes a special kind of dedication,” Jimin says, and then sighs. “I probably have one against me already, if not multiple.”

“Well, if you do, I’m not sure I have the dedication to pretend to be an anti for ten years until I can ascend to moderator and delete all the messages.”

Jimin laughs again. When she gets into one of her funks, Minjeong can always make her laugh, even if her heart feels so heavy she thinks she’s forgotten how to.

“You won’t even do that for me?” Jimin pretends to look sad. “I’m so hurt.”

“You’ll get over it,” Minjeong tells her with a cheeky smile.

Brat, Jimin thinks fondly, but she can’t help the way turns up at the corners.

“Minjeong,” she says quietly. “Thank you.”

“There’ll always be hate,” Minjeong says, and her voice is quieter too, subdued. “But you’re not facing it alone. You’re not alone.”

Jimin swallows. I’d rather face it alone than have it touch the three of you, she thinks, but she merely smiles. “I know.”

“Don’t let it swallow you up,” Minjeong says with a wide-eyed, earnest look that makes Jimin narrow her eyes on instinct. And sure enough, when she realizes Minjeong has just gone there, she makes a sound between a snort and a laugh.

“What will you do, slice up the haters with your sword skills?”

Minjeong grins. “You know it,” she says, mimicking a slash with her imaginary katana. “Or blast them with my gun skills.”

“Winter unnie is so talented,” Jimin gushes with a simpering expression, and Minjeong makes a face like she’s going to gag.

“Ew, please never say that again. Or make that face again.”

“Come on, Winter un—” But Jimin can’t even finish the sentence without bursting into laughter. And even though Minjeong rolls her eyes so forcefully that Aeri would be proud, she slips into a smile.

Jimin reaches over to poke Minjeong’s dimple, making that smile turn wider.

A/N: If you haven't seen the Victoria anti forum thing.