She’s been attempting to type down some more lines for her sociology essay due before midnight, it was probably her fault for procrastinating too much. But working under pressure has always been what she is used to.

She can’t help but to feel like a pair of eyes has been staring at her this whole time though. After a few minutes, Jimin finally finds the courage to dart her eyes back at the mystery person across the room. The girl blinks a few times, taken aback by her boldness before directing her gaze down to her bagel.

Jimin lets out a sigh of relief. She thinks she can feel at peace now, she takes one more sip of the cup of tea that’s been resting beside her laptop before her fingers find themselves gliding around the keyboard once again. It is currently 9:00 pm, it’s a good thing the café isn’t closing anytime soon.

She could never focus working at home. This is also already her third cup of the day. She’ll be lucky if she can sleep when she goes back to the apartment.

“Hi?”

Fingers come to an abrupt halt at the unexpected voice. Great, just when I was in the zone. The dark-haired girl is ready to give the best glare she could muster up, because everybody knows to not disrupt her when she is concentrated. But the narrowed eyes soon soften at the sight of the girl who was observing her from before now standing in front of her up close.

Soft features stare down at the girl sitting apprehensively as she fiddles with the hem of her plaid shirt. Jimin lets out an amused chuckle, “I’ll charge you money for every second you keep staring at me.”

A loud yelp suddenly erupts from the other girl’s mouth, and she quickly covers her face because other customers (mostly other stressed college students), are sending her threatening scowls. She apologizes and bows her head ashamedly a handful of times before she is finally seated in front of Jimin.

Jimin thinks she’s quite the eyecatcher, and if a cute girl is going to make her submit this paper late then so be it. Maybe she will just email the professor and come up with some lame excuse, so she won’t get any marks deducted.

“I’m sorry for that… I can be quite the klutz sometimes you know?” No, Jimin does not know. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen her around the campus before. “I actually have been staring at you this whole time because I need your help.”

She ponders momentarily, it is very unlike her nature to help a stranger she’s never met before. Jimin has always been closed off and weary of people who want to befriend her, they could always have ulterior motives.

Fingernails click onto the wooden table, and it takes everything in Jimin to not hold that hand back. This habit of the other girl already makes her not want to agree.

“I don’t even know your name, why would I want to help you?”

The fingernails stop clicking, Jimin thinks she can finally breathe but two hands are suddenly clasped onto her own and a frantic voice follows, “I’m Kim Minjeong, you have to remember that because I’ll be your cousin-in-law— wait does that exist? Never mind, anyways you have to help me!”

Whoever this Minjeong is has got to be the most bizarre person she has met thus far. Jimin is secretly impressed with how many words she could fit in just mere seconds. That could explain why she can’t seem to understand what she’s trying to say.

“I don’t think I understand where you are getting at…” her voice drags towards at the end, hinting her uncertainty.

Minjeong leans back onto her chair, slowly feeling more at ease with the situation. “You’re cousins with Haechan right?”

Hearing that name already makes Jimin want to let out a groan. If she could choose, she would not be related to him. She never had much of an opinion of him before, they were never that close either.

But ever since she’s been in college with him, she’s been dubbed as “the cousin,” as if there isn’t much substance to her. During group projects, instead of working with her groupmates trying to solve the problem, they would ask her trivial questions such as how does he like his eggs cooked? And they would tell her unnecessary things like he just has the cutest nose ever!

Her neck wants to fall off any minute now thinking about just how cringey his so called fans are.

She eyes Minjeong wearily because she doesn’t like where this conversation is going. “Yes,” she responds quietly. Her hands are now back on the keyboard, trying to block the other girl out as she continues to type.

“Perfect!”

Gripping onto the table doesn’t seem to help at the sudden force she feels when Minjeong is now seated beside her, pressing onto her side firmly. It makes Jimin feel lightheaded, but she swears it’s because of how hot the tea is that her cheeks are starting to heat up.

Gentle hands circle its way around her arm and innocent eyes look at her, “You’ll help me date him, right?”

Minjeong is not the first girl to ask her this. There are way too many girls to go through so Jimin can only think of one particular instance that stands out the most. When it was first-year, a certain Park Sieun asked her how to impress Haechan. Jimin had to rush over to the train station after class for a concert, and this girl was about to make her miss it.

So, she tried to push past through her, only to be pulled right back. To finish it quickly, that Sieun ended up boarding the train with her bombarding her with questions throughout the entire ride. Jimin couldn’t marvel the sight of her precious Taeyeon without that annoying voice creeping the back of her mind peacefully thanks to her.

Normally, this is the part where Jimin would flat out say no, the other girl would look annoyed and mumble under her breath how much of a brat she is, and they would never converse again.

Jimin is more than just a cousin. She is more than just some wing woman to be used and then thrown away once she’s done her duty. She has an essay to do, she shouldn’t be wasting her time like this. She should do what she always does and say no.

“I’ll help you.”

But who is she to say no to a pretty girl? Pretty girls have always been her weakness.

-

“So let me get this straight—” her roommate dramatically pauses and her hands are both up, frozen in the air, “wait, I don’t think I can,” one hand is now placed by her chest and she lets out an excessively slow deep breath. “There’s nothing straight about you,” she deadpans.

Jimin thinks throwing the remote control to shut her up would be a good idea.

Aeri follows her eyes as she tries to search around the room for an object, “Hey now don’t do anything weird,” she manages to take the remote control and hides it behind her back before Jimin lands her eyes on it, “I mean helping a girl out to date your cousin because you think she’s cute?”

She is only met with a shrug and Aeri wants to roll her eyes at how dense she is, “There’s only one answer,” Jimin now has her full attention on her as she listens to her every word obediently, “You know those stupid pop-up ads you see? It’s like those ‘Doctors are shocked by this pill! A never before seen—’”

Okay maybe this isn’t going anywhere. “Will you just say it already?” Jimin grumbles.

“Whipped. You’re whipped for a girl you barely know.”

A harsh shove is placed on Aeri’s shoulder, she should have known it was useless to get advice from her roommate.

-

Click. Click. Those damn fingernails are clicking on the table again, it’s enough to make Jimin want to pull her hair out and take back what she said last week about helping.

A part of her feels bad for the employees at this café, it seems like this will be their meeting spot for Minjeong-Successfully-Gets-That-Hunk-Haechanie Plan, definitely her words, not Jimin’s.

She can’t help but to study the way Minjeong is biting the cap of the pen however, as she tries to scribble down more ideas.

“Ugh this is going nowhere!” startled by the sudden scream Jimin diverts her eyes away. God, she hopes Minjeong didn’t notice.

Times like this, Jimin wishes she was blessed to have been born as her cousin instead. She could only dream for a pretty girl like Minjeong to devote so much time in trying to impress her. That man sure is lucky…

But she is not Haechan, so she snaps back to reality and offers, “Why don’t you just be yourself?”

Minjeong stares back at Jimin as if she just said the most inappropriate thing ever. “Seriously? I’ve been myself around him for years and he still doesn’t even know I exist.”

She takes a small sip of her tea as she tries to form some comforting words, “I like you just fine the way you are actually.”

Wait that’s not what she wanted to say. So, she clears and quickly corrects herself, “I mean he will like you for who you are. You just haven’t had the chance to properly speak to him.”

“You think so?” Jimin doesn’t miss the way a small smile starts to timidly form on Minjeong’s lips, “But how will I get a chance to talk to him when girls from left and right are always throwing themselves at him?”

Jimin shouldn’t, she hasn’t gone to one of those stupid gatherings in months because she hates talking to her nosy aunts and uncles. She would rather endure Aeri’s endless teasing.

She throws away that voice inside of her head that’s listing off all the cons, “We have a family gathering this weekend, I know he always comes.”

Curse Minjeong’s cute face, and her over affectionately actions. The other girl is by her side again as she clings onto her. “Thank you! Thank you!”

Jimin ignores how much she likes being close to the other girl. The other girl seems to like her cousin a lot to be this happy for her simple suggestion.

She pushes Minjeong away back to her seat, but she can’t seem to push away how flustered she feels when those eyes look at her with such admiration. Jimin thinks she’s doomed.

-

The overpowering scent of vanilla has been clogging up her nose for the last hour. Jimin thinks her legs are starting to feel sleepy from how long she’s been standing.

“Last outfit I promise!” a voice calls out and Jimin could hear the fast footsteps, “What about this?” Minjeong appears from the door, and to say Jimin is stunned would be an understatement.

The white satin dress hugs the younger girl perfectly and Jimin is probably blatantly gawking at her now as Minjeong slowly twirls in a circle for her.

She doesn’t fail to see her exposed back, and that’s enough for her to shake her head furiously. “No, just no!”

A whine is let out from Minjeong, and it takes everything in Jimin to not kiss that pout away. Wait, now that’s not what she meant. She meant to wipe that pout away.

“Why?” Minjeong cries out, “I think this shows off my figure well don’t you think?”

Hands are pressed onto her shoulders and she is suddenly being pushed back into the bathroom. “This is a family party, not some wedding,” there’s no way she’s going to allow her cousin to see Minjeong like this, “Wear the most casual clothes you have. And be quick we have to drive there soon!”

Jimin ignores the groans from the girl behind the door as she rummages through her closet for what could be deemed casual. She settles for some black jeans and the first top she could see.

Haechan doesn’t even know Minjeong exists yet, he doesn’t need to see her like this. Jimin would rather he never gets to see her dressed like that. And deep down she is still feeling shy from the sight before.

After a few knocks on the door, Minjeong opens up to see the hand holding her clothes displayed in front of her. “Isn’t this too simple? It doesn’t really scream out a ‘I want to date you’ kind of look, you know?”

Minjeong continues to eye her hand wearily, and Jimin needs to think fast now.

“Plus, my friend Yizhou said to make sure I dress a little risky for—”

“She doesn’t know what she’s saying,” Jimin interrupts.

Minjeong looks at her skeptically, “You don’t even know her that well though?”

The clothes that were wrinkled in her hand is thrown through the door, “Haechan likes simple girls,” now she does not even know what she’s saying anymore, “So you have to wear this.”

The younger girl holds eye contact with her for a second before shrugging her shoulders, “Whatever you say cousin-in-law,” and she closes the door to get dressed.

Cousin-in-law, it echoes throughout her head as she plays around with her car keys. That’s right, that’s all she’ll ever think of me as.

-

If Jimin didn’t regret it earlier, she sure regrets it now. Too many aunts and uncles have approached her so far throughout the evening with their pointless questions.

“You’re still an English literature major? That gets you no job!”

“Jimin is that a tattoo I see? Not very ladylike of you,” her uncle shakes his head disapprovingly. She wants to scoff at the tattoo of Willy Wonka that’s proudly etched on his arm. It’s no match to hers.

“When are you going to get a boyfriend already?”

Not this again…

She’s glad her mother was there to shoo them away eventually; she could only handle so much.

What’s making her feel uneasy though is how she hasn’t seen Minjeong around the house. It seems like the younger girl just disappeared after she said she was going to go find a drink.

Jimin makes another lap around the hallways looking into the empty rooms, but still no sight of the younger girl.

“Hey ‘cuz!”

She turns around to look at the owner of the voice, “Dahyun!” She is quick to greet the older girl with a hug. It’s been quite a while since she last saw her, she is one of the few cousins Jimin could tolerate, “How are you?”

For all her life, she has idolized her older cousin. Dahyun managed to move out of the city and got herself a stable job to mo