« Do you want to get lunch with us….well, a late lunch » Gahyeon looked at the time on her watch with a raise of her eyebrows. 

Yoohyeon had joined them after Gahyeon had interrupted Handong and Yubin’s charged conversation. A growl of a stomach made them realize how much time had passed and the girls decided to get something to fill the empty pit in their stomachs. 

Yubin looked around the arcade for a moment, at that time of day the employees could surely handle it on their own « Sure, why not » She shrugged, and Yoohyeon smiled happily. Handong exchanged a little glance with the owner that maybe signified that it wasn’t the end of the seduction. They left Reality Catchers and now had to decide which restaurant in the mall would be their choice « I recommend the Chinese restaurant. The food is divine » Yubin offered. 

« Like me » Handong said in Chinese and Yubin’s eyes widened. 

« You…you’re Chinese? » 

Handong nodded with a smirk « I’m full of surprises » She winked at her and added in Chinese to , also sure that the other two wouldn’t understand « You like Chinese food, it was destiny that we met » 

« I’m not really sure that liking a type of food is enough to be destiny » Yoohyeon answered in perfect Chinese. The three women turned toward her with shocked faces, making Yoohyeon surprise as to why the attention was on her. 

« You speak Chinese? » Handong squealed.   

« What? » Yoohyeon frowned, not understanding « No, I speak Korean » 

« You just spoke Chinese » Gahyeon stated. 

« No…I…..Did I? » Yoohyeon started to freak out. Did she really? Now that they told her, she replayed it inside her head, and…..she…did. 

« Yeah, and a perfect Chinese » Handong said impressed « You didn’t tell me you spoke Chinese » 

Yoohyeon chuckled nervously, trying her best to come up with an explanation « Well, I…..There wasn’t much to do on my island since we didn’t have…much technology…but we had languages books » She forced an innocent smile on her face to smooth her rather bumpy explanation. The girls stared at her for an excruciatingly long time before Gahyeon’s stomach growled and Yoohyeon thanked all the gods out there for it. 

« We should get food before Gahyeon becomes whiny » Handong cut the tension. 

« I’m not whiny when I’m hungry! » Gahyeon pouted, crossing her arms over her chest in denial. 

« Points were made » Yubin snorted at her behavior that proved Handong right. 

Gahyeon rolled her eyes and followed them as they continued their way toward their now fixed destination « Let’s get this Chinese food before I cause a massacre » 

They laughed happily at her antic and Handong turned back to Yoohyeon « You should invite Minji. Maybe she still didn’t eat lunch yet » 

Yoohyeon’s heart flipped at the thought of seeing her « Yeah, I….. » The proposition was nice and she must admit that even if she saw Minji that morning, she was kinda already missing her « You guys should take a table at the restaurant. I’m gonna get her and we’ll join you there » 

« Good idea » Yubin gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. 

They parted ways and Yoohyeon walked toward Minji’s store alone with her thoughts. She was a little nervous but not because she would see Minji. No, she was actually very happy about it. There was nothing strong enough to diminish that. But she was nonetheless nervous…..about her feelings. She didn’t have time to properly sat calmly with her thoughts and sort them out after the little….well, a rather big revelation she had in the morning. She liked Minji, more than anything she had experienced so far. Minji was…..home. That was the first word that came to her mind. She was warm and made her feel all kinds of good. And maybe it was love, romantic love. But she never experienced that before. She truly never experienced anything before. But one thing was clear in her mind. The way she liked Yubin, Handong, or Gahyeon wasn’t like the way she liked Minji. Of course, she had known them for a less amount of time, but…..She just felt that it was different. She knew deep down it was different. 

She lifted her eyes, looking through the display window and a smile unconsciously spread on her lips as she was met with the sight of her. She was smiling charmingly at a client that was taking their purchase from her. But that smile quickly left her face, returning to the sad expression that Yoohyeon so desperately wanted to suppress by any means. She saw her sigh before her eyes averted into her direction, they widened due to the surprise of her presence and she genuinely grinned at her. Yoohyeon smiled back with a tingling feeling inside her chest that had become somewhat familiar. She entered the shop as Minji made her way up the front to meet her. 

« Hey, I didn’t know you would come so early » Minji said a little shyly, an attitude that she couldn’t get over when she was in the presence of the silver-haired. 

« I wasn’t supposed to but Handong came by when Gahyeon was still at the apartment and….we ended up at Reality Catchers after Gahyeon said she liked games and I told them about the place » 

« Aaahhh! » Minji nodded in understanding. A hint of jealousy at the thought of Yoohyeon with Yubin emerged inside her. She didn’t know why she felt so frightened by the woman. Maybe because she seemed so cool. Nonetheless, Minji tried to keep her dark thoughts deep inside her and not let them get into the way. 

« We are going to eat at the Chinese restaurant here and we….I thought that…..you could join » Yoohyeon stared at her expectantly. Minji bit her lower lip, looking around the store for a bit « If you can of course » Yoohyeon added, not wanting to pressure her. 

Minji looked back at her and let out an embarrassed laugh « No, I…..I want to. I just need to tell Mrs. Shin that I’m taking my break » She smiled at her, blushing lightly « For once I do it, she can’t complain » Yoohyeon chuckled « Stay here, I’m coming back » Minji said, taking a few steps back while still looking at her. She was reluctant to divert her gaze away, as if, like usual, she wouldn’t be there once she’ll look back. She eventually did and disappeared into the back room where she reappeared not even 30 seconds later « Let’s go » She presented to Yoohyeon her arm that the silver-haired happily held « So, your morning have been eventful? » Minji honestly wondered about it. 

« Indeed » Yoohyeon chuckled « Gahyeon took a nap on the couch and Handong came by to ask if we could keep her cat for the night since she got work to attend. I said yes by the way. I know I should have asked you but I didn’t have the heart to refuse » 

« Hey, don’t worry » Minji put her hand over hers « I would have said yes as well » 

Yoohyeon nodded thankfully, looking at her hand that stayed over hers with a content heart. Minji encouraged her to continue while they made their way to the restaurant and so she went on « Handong knew Gahyeon so I let her in and we talked until we somehow decided to come here. As I said, Gahyeon loves games. Handong not really but she wanted to accompany us and….I think she likes Yubin » She cocked her head to the side in thoughts. 

Minji raised an intrigued eyebrow « She….like like her? Like uhm….in a loving way or in a friendly way? » 

« Gahyeon said she flirted with her and from afar it did seem like it but I’m still new at that so I can’t really identify all of it yet. Handong said in Chinese that if Yubin liked Chinese food it was a step closer to loving her so… » 

« Wow, she’s smooth » Minji snorted before frowning and stopping Yoohyeon « How did you know what she said if she spoke Chinese? » 

« Oh yeah, about that… » Yoohyeon approached closer, checking briefly around to make sure no one would hear her « I can understand and speak Chinese » 

« What? » Minji almost choked on her saliva. 

« I know, it’s crazy. I didn’t know about it. But don’t worry, I told them I learned it because we had a lot of books on my island and since we didn’t have technology I had to pass time somehow » 

« Good thinking » Minji accorded her, still shocked by the new fact. She suddenly gave Yoohyeon a once-over with squinted eyes, making the silver-haired feel under her gaze « Were you made in China? » She asked very seriously. 

« I….No, I don’t think so. I think I was born in a warehouse near Seoul. Maybe the material did come from there though » She looked at her very much human hands intrigued. 

« That could be an explanation…..or….what’s 423x86? » Minji burst all of a sudden and Yoohyeon panicked, unable to find an answer. 

« I….I don’t know » 

« So, you don’t have inherent knowledge » Minji concluded her little experiment with squinted eyes. Yoohyeon sighed, a bit down and Minji felt a bit guilty to have pushed her like this. She interlocked their arms again and made them walk again « We’ll find out together, don’t worry » She smiled compassionately at her.

Yoohyeon nodded. Sadness about her unknown past had briefly invaded her but the warmth of Minji’s thumb running across the back of her hand made her feel at peace. The expression ‘butterflies in your stomach’ came to her mind. If she had to describe it, she would say it was what she felt at that moment. She glanced discreetly at MInji whose beauty amplified the sensation. The girls were right, she was in love. Because this was love. It couldn’t be anything else. She was in love with Kim Minji and she had been from the moment she came to life by her side. 

_______________________________________________

Hey, guys! 

Hope you enjoyed? 

Because of college I will have to take a break from writing. I’m sorry :( 

I’ll be gone for at least two weeks but I know I can’t stay away from these stories for long, so worst case scenario is no new chapters until mid-June. I hope you understand <3 Take care of yourselves and see you soon <3

-J