Minji was locking the store when the silver-haired arrived back from her eventful day, the other woman immediately snapped her eyes in her direction and an instant smile spread on her face. Yoohyeon reciprocated, closing the distance between them shyly, holding her bags tightly. 

« I… » Minji was about to express her worries about not having seen her during the rest of the day. The anxiety had crept in when dusk fell on Seoul and when complete darkness had settled, these little intrusive voices invaded her head to tell her without any legitimacy that something bad might have happened. Now, with her eyes set on her, she knew her dark depressive side had played her again. She closed , not wanting to guilt trip Yoohyeon about having a good day while she worried so she decided to keep these concerns to herself « Did you have a good day? » 

Yoohyeon nodded fervently and showed her the bags « I brought some things like you told me » She smiled all teeth out which, in a millisecond, reminded Minji of how whipped she was for the silver-haired girl. 

« That’s good » She smiled « Tell me more while we go to the car » She took the bags from her and carried them while they walked to the parking garage. Yoohyeon blushed at her gentle manners and decided to link their arms. Minji absolutely freaked out inside but tried to remain composed, she calmly listened to Yoohyeon telling her about her day while her heart pounded. Once they got inside the car, Yoohyeon had told her a good part of it in great detail, to the point that Minji knew exactly what was inside the bags she had put on to the backseat, as well as what she had ordered at the Red Sun fast food. 

« And then… » Yoohyeon squealed, excited to tell her what happened next « I made a friend » 

Minji turned her head toward her with raised eyebrows « You did? » She asked surprised and a little nervous. It wasn’t that didn’t want Yoohyeon to make friends, no, she was a human being with social skills and needs after all, it was just that she was scared about the possibility of them finding out that Yoohyeon had been a mannequin and doing something bad to her. 

Yoohyeon didn’t seem to share the same concerns however « There’s this PC room/ Arcade place » 

« Reality Catchers? » Minji frowned, picturing exactly the place that Yoohyeon might have hinted at. 

« Yes » The silver-haired confirmed « It’s so cool there. I actually really love playing video games » She watched in front of her as Minji drove her car in the busy nightly streets of Seoul and pointed ahead « I played a driving game just like this » She imitated holding a steering wheel, turning it virtually which made Minji chuckle « I wasn’t really good at that one though » She pouted, looking back at Minji who was grinning at how cute she was. 

« It was your first time there though. We can’t always be good at everything immediately. We learn, we try, we progress » She told her. 

« That’s what Yubin said » Yoohyeon replied. 

« Yubin? » Minji raised an eyebrow, a pinch of jealousy growing inside even if she hated being that person. 

« Lee Yubin » Yoohyeon smiled « She’s my new friend. She’s the owner and she’s really nice. She let me play games for free » 

« That’s very nice of her » Minji muttered, a bit frightened by the Yubin girl getting close to Yoohyeon. She was the type to over-think everything and sadly she was spiraling again, a million thoughts swirling into her mind « She has tattoos and a slit eyebrow, right? » She remembered the owner of Reality Catchers from the meetings the people working at the mall sometimes had. Usually, it was Mrs. Shin who participated because apparently ‘Minji wasn’t good at communicating’ but Minji had to take her place one time when she was sick and she had met Yubin. The girl sure did look really cool. Too cool for Minji to dare to befriend. 

« Yeah, she does. I didn’t see all of it though » Yoohyeon said « You know her? » 

« I met her at a meeting once » 

« Maybe she can be your friend too? » Yoohyeon thought. Minji tensed up a bit which caught her eyes and she observed her face, seeing how nervous she was « She’s really nice and patient, I’m sure she would like you very much » She assured her « You’re worth having friends you know » She whispered.

MInji was glad she had just parked because she would have slammed the breaks at those words. Her heart flipped, emotions rising inside her frail body. She blinked repetitively, trying to suppress the tears that were building in her eyes. She was gripping the steering wheel, her knuckles turning white, even though the car was stopped by that point. Hearing someone tell her that she was allowed to be happy was something she had never known she needed to hear. It hurt her heart so bad that she was in physical pain. Was she really worth that much? Maybe Yoohyeon was too biased because she was born with her by her side? Maybe it was why she had been given life in the first place?  So many maybes and such few answers. So much incertitude and so little self-esteem. Yoohyeon’s hand put itself over hers gently, rubbing her thumb on the back of her hand. She swallowed heavily, relaxing slowly under the tender touch. She opened trembling « Th…thank you » She simply whispered. 

« I don’t know what is going on in your head but I don’t want you to feel bad anymore » She said meeting her eyes as she turned her head. 

« I’ll try to do that » She assured her « And I want you to be careful as well. I don’t think we should let people know about… » She hesitated but Yoohyeon knew where she was going. 

« I won’t tell them I was a mannequin I promise » She sent her a soft smile that Minji reciprocated « Maybe I can tell them I lived on a remote island or something » She proposed « Like on TV » 

Minji snorted softly, finding it way too cute « We’ll find something » She nodded « Let’s get to the apartment first » She took the bags from the backseat and exited the vehicle. They walked inside the building, up to their now shared apartment. As soon as they stepped inside, Yoohyeon kicked her shoes away and took the bags from Minji, allowing her to take hers off. She unpacked them under Minji’s curious gaze. 

« Look » She presented her the puppy pajamas that she had brought that looked just like she had described to Minji earlier when they left the mall « You have one with bunnies and I have one with puppies » She smiled proudly and Minji thought that it was indeed very fitting for the puppy-like human. 

She showed her what she got as if she hadn’t talked about it in detail earlier but Minji didn’t care. She let her speak passionately, absorbing her words with fascination, her head cocked to the side. A gesture she realized she always did when looking intensively at Yoohyeon. 

Once every item was exposed on the low table, Yoohyeon sighed contently and looked up at Minji with eyes that made Minji’s heart skip a beat « I…uh…. » She gulped, trying not to look like a weirdo gay-panicking « We’ll find a place in the drawer for these » She said and Yoohyeon nodded happily but stayed quiet. MInji broke the silence, changing topics « Do…do you remember I told you we would go out tonight? » 

Yoohyeon’s eyes widened and a little frown formed on her face « But aren’t you tired? » 

Minji shook her head immediately « I’m not. Not at all » She said truthfully « I really like this restaurant two blocks from here that I’m sure will blow your mind. We could walk there. Have a good time » She proposed nervously with a shrug. 

Yoohyeon was very touched by the proposal, Minji had worked all day and yet, she still wanted to go out with her. She grinned at the woman who couldn’t meet her eyes « I would be delighted » She spoked softly making Minji raise her head finally meeting her gaze with a glint of excitement in her eyes « Let’s go » Yoohyeon walked up to her, linking their arms together. Unsuspicious of how much she affected the woman next to her. 

___________________________________________________________

Hey, guys! 

Hope you enjoyed? 

See you next week ;) 

-J