Jimin stares at nothing.

 

The dating scheme was released today. As expected, it was all over the news and the internet. She is ought to stay at home for the rest of the week to avoid getting swarmed as per instruction by her manager and of course, their Chief Director. She was also told to turn off her phone and not to check any forums, sites, anything.

 

As if she would.

 

She can be reckless sometimes, yes. But Jimin is not the one who will deliberately put herself in a position that she knows would mess up with her head. She’d been in the system for half of her life. She has learned (the hard way) not to expose herself to haters and non-thinkers whose words cut deeper than a knife.

 

But of course, she’s Jimin. She is not the one to be bossed around.

 

So she didn’t turn off her phone as instructed.

 

But to her defense, it’s more about Kim Minjeong than being defiant.

 

She wanted to give the girl a call the moment she learned about the release of the news. She knew it would spread like a wildfire and knowing she has a Ning Yizhuo by her side, for certain, Minjeong would have known about it by now.

 

But it’s only the afternoon and Minjeong is in class. Jimin doesn’t want to disturb her for something as...grave as this information.

 

So Jimin has no choice but to lounge in her living room and stare into nothing as she waits for the right time to call Minjeong. It might take her the whole day but it’s alright.

 

Jimin is willing to wait.

 

She likes to think she had been good at it for the past week.

 

She was told to lay low; to think things through. Irene said that keeping out of the public’s radar is the best thing to do while they sort out everything which basically included her nightly visit at the diner.

 

At first, Jimin resisted. Of course she did. She isn’t Jimin if she wouldn’t put up a fight.

 

But a few words about Minjeong and her privacy will be at risk Jimin, do you really want that and Jimin felt the spirit of resistance immediately leaving her body. It was both unfair and mindblowing because one mention of Minjeong’s name and Jimin found herself submitting to the commands she wouldn’t usually subject herself to.

 

You created this mess Jimin. The least you could do for the people around you, especially Kim Minjeong, is to lay low.

 

That’s what she was told. That’s what they made her believe. Jimin would be lying if she said it didn’t bother her because it did.

 

A lot.

 

It was as if a full bucket of ice was poured in her seething desire to be with the girl and Jimin stood frozen, taken aback at the seriousness of it all. It would be the first time she would realize the gravity of the situation.

 

She then remembered Minjeong’s resistance before. The girl didn’t like her like that. Jimin was so sure she was the one who insisted on herself even though the girl didn’t want anything to do with her.

 

Minjeong didn’t want this kind of attention. She is an extraordinary girl who wants to live an ordinary and discreet life. She values privacy and independence. Being with Jimin would take away every bit of normalcy she is used to live with.

 

And Jimin hated herself for that.

 

Hated herself for being selfish. Hated herself for wanting to be happy.

 

Minjeong didn’t sign up for the chaos that came along with being with her. The girl was living her life turmoil free before meeting Jimin. Now, with everything that is happening, Minjeong is right on the verge of losing that peace of mind all because of her association with a superstar she never even liked in the first place.

 

So Jimin took a step back. Think things through.

 

Maybe by doing that, everything will be back to how it used to be. Maybe by doing that, Minjeong will be spared from the mess of being involved with Karina Yoo.

 

Maybe by doing that, Minjeong will be alright.

 

Jimin would later on realize that was utterly wrong.

 

Despite the lack of correspondence on her part, Jimin tortured herself and stared at her phone every night, stared at Kim Maltese in her Inbox and would always see three dots indicating that the other girl was typing. There would be no message sent in the end and Jimin would be left wondering what Kim Minjeong would have said.

 

She imagined the girl’s angry pout and creased forehead, her very poor attempt of being intimidating. She imagined Minjeong huffing and glaring at her phone too, poor device taking the brunt of the girl’s thinning patience.

 

That was enough to put a smile in Jimin’s face every night, calm her worried heart for a bit and ignite a spark of hope in her that maybe Minjeong wanted this just as much as Jimin does.

 

So when she was told by her manager that the news outlets would be releasing the dating news soon, Jimin knew she needed to do something. She doesn’t exactly know what but something.

 

That’s why she sneaked out of her place without her manager and ended up at the diner that night.  Though Jimin didn’t show herself.

 

She didn’t and decided to just take cover behind the dimly lit alley because she saw Minjeong outside the restaurant, glaring at her phone just like she imagined and giving every passerby the stinky eye when they would so much dare glance at her direction.

 

An angry maltese, Jimin thought. A very cute, really huggable, angry maltese.

 

“Yah Yoo Jimin..”

 

Jimin remembers the panic that surged through her body when Minjeong hissed, thinking that she was seen by the girl.

 

But when she double checked, the girl turns out to be talking to her smartphone she held in her face. Jimin found herself physically torn between stifling her laughter and controlling herself not to run towards Minjeong who looked so adorable arguing with her device.

 

“Still radio silent huh? Did you finally grow a brain and realized that you are such a pain in the to me? Yes you are! You are an annoying, insufferable, brat!”

 

Jimin remembers muffling her laugh because good gods Kim Minjeong only say weird things.

 

“You are so demanding and so full of yourself! You really think because you’re beautiful and talented and sweet and beautiful that you can get away with everything! Did I say beautiful?!”

 

But the moment was fleeting because the next thing Jimin knew, she was swallowing a lump in and pursing her trembling lips when Minjeong ended her rage with a very sad, “..where are you, stupid? I didn’t mean it when I said stop bothering me.. I like it when you bother me. I like it a lot okay.. Please come back..”

 

Jimin would have showed herself. She would have run towards Minjeong and scooped her up and held her tight and never let go.

 

But Yizhuo suddenly appeared, obviously weirded out and “I’m so convinced you’ve gone crazy now. I am so sure unnie.”

 

It was enough for Jimin to stay where she was hidden and just watch the two girls interact. When Yizhuo mentioned that we should be going unnie we’re gonna be late, Jimin found herself following them.

 

At the back of her mind, a voice of reason screamed that what she was doing was risky. She would probably never hear the end of it if her manager, or god forbid, Irene, found out that she was out during that wee hours, deliberately going against their instructions again.

 

But everything seemed to blur and the voice of reason was eventually tuned out with the loud desire to be close to Kim Minjeong.

 

Not even her career or the thought of paparazzis probably following her bothered Jimin. At that instant, nothing mattered more to her than Kim Minjeong. Every thoughts and doubts clouding her mind for the past few days vanished and Jimin zooms in on Kim Minjeong and Kim Minjeong only.

 

(It was stupid and reckless but Jimin thinks she is young and probably in love so can you really blame her?)

 

They ended up in a bar and Jimin remembered her stomach dropping, so convinced that Minjeong would be spending her night drinking and getting wasted. Jimin chewed on her lips worriedly as she looked around the place, searching for the best corner where she can take cover and still look out for Minjeong.

 

Fortunately for her, she found the perfect place to hide with the best lighting (or the lack thereof) and the best angle to watch Minjeong from afar. She found the girl on stage, a guitar hanging across her body and she looks so damn attractive Jimin found her heart beating so fast at the sight of the girl tweaking the instrument like a true rockstar.

 

That was when she recalled a conversation she had with Minjeong about her playing for a band.

 

 

(“I won’t be able to see you for the next three days. I have a schedule in Jeju.”

 

“Oh? Okay. I’ll just join Yizhuo for their sessions while you’re away to occupy my night.”

 

“Sessions? What sessions?”

 

“Oh right, I haven’t told you yet. Yizhuo is part of a band with our friends and sometimes they do gigs in pubs. Sometimes I would join them when I’m free or whenever Yizhuo would be busy and they need a vocalist.”

 

“Ahh. So you’re a student by the day, a part of the working force at night and an occasional rockstar too? Gosh, what can you not do Kim Minjeong?”

 

“Get rid of you, apparently.”

 

“What—”

 

“What.”)

 

 

Jimin had no time to dwell on the memory because the band started playing and Jimin’s senses was filled with what could have been the most beautiful voice she has ever heard in her lifetime.

 

Minjeong was doing a duet with a man Jimin doesn’t recognize but she paid him no mind. Her attention was solely focused on Minjeong’s honey-glazed voice, focuses on the rasps and riffs that Minjeong was emitting, focuses on everything Minjeong.

 

And because she was too absorbed with the performance, Jimin didn’t miss the slight quiver in the girl’s voice or the sad lilt in the way she sang. It didn’t help that the lyrics were too..sad for her liking and Jimin felt her heart clenching.

 

It was as if Minjeong was talking to her, longing for her, singing for her, that Jimin found herself biting back tears in the dimly lit corner of the pub looking like a complete loser.

 

When she saw Minjeong excuse herself from the stage, Jimin’s eyes followed her. For a moment she felt like a total creep for hiding behind the dark corner of the bar with her eyes solely fixed on the girl. But she disregarded the thought and focused on the sensation in the middle of her chest brought about by the performance.

 

She felt it. The yearning in Minjeong’s voice. The pain. A part of her says it was just the lyrics and vibe of the song and it had nothing to do with what Minjeong felt.

 

But when she heard a deep sigh from the girl when she later on emerged from the comfort room, Jimin knows. She knows that she needed to feel Minjeong right then and there or she will go crazy.

 

So she pulled her in.

 

She remembered the resistance, remembered the weak protest of the girl in her arms. Then she introduced herself and Jimin remembered how Minjeong’s body immediately relaxed against her.

 

That was probably one the most foolish things Jimin ever did in her short lifespan but it was also the most rewarding.

 

Minjeong’s responses, both verbal and physical, quenched every bit of doubt that plagued Jimin’s mind ever since she was made to believe that she created this mess and Minjeong doesn’t deserve to be dragged into it.

 

I missed you.

 

Minjeong has said so.

 

I need you, Jimin.

 

Minjeong has categorically told her so.

 

The amount of emotional and physical confirmation she gained after that spontaneous act was enough to put Jimin’s doubts to rest.

 

Minjeong wants this.

 

She wants Jimin just as much.  

 

And when she asked Minjeong if she could trust her and the girl, without hesitation, responded with I already do, Jimin… so much without even asking what she needs to trust Jimin for, Jimin was set free.

 

Set free from the strings of doubts that had been pulling her down for the past week. Minjeong’s firm answer was the last nail that sealed the coffin of her qualms and fears. That would be the last time she will second guess about Minjeong’s feelings for her.

 

Jimin decides that she can also go through any form of punishment from her management if they find out about her little rebellion that night.

 

Let them seethe, she thinks.

 

Minjeong is with her in this mess. Minjeong trusts her.

 

Nothing, not even the damn dating scheme that they meticulously planned for her, can make her feel less invincible.

 

As long as Minjeong is on her side, nothing else matters.

 

Nothing else.

 

 

 

***

 

 

Jimin jolts awake to the sound of her ringtone.

 

The first thing that came to mind was Minjeong and Jimin almost dropped the phone she haphazardly reached on the center table. Her half-awake self didn’t mind looking who the caller could be and blindly blurted out the name of the girl that had been in her mind since forever.

 

“Minjeong?”

 

The person on the line chuckled, “Sadly, I’m Aeri,” and Jimin didn’t even hide the disappointed sigh that escaped her lips, “Wow, you couldn’t even act pleased to hear from me.”

 

“That’s because you’re not the person I want to hear from, Aeri.”

 

“Okay, one: ouch,” Aeri comments with another chuckle, “And two: I’ve been calling for like twenty minutes or so. Where are you?”

 

“Where else do you think I could be after that dating news?” Jimin blames her sleep-induced system (and also the entire universe) for the bite in her tone, “I’m at my house. Why does it concern you?”

 

“Roarrr. You’re so chilly for someone who is dating NCT Dream’s Na Jaemin. Hot sauce gipi dip that, eh?”

 

Jimin ended the call.

 

She suddenly felt her head throb in all the wrong angles all thanks to Kim Aeri’s antics.

 

Much to her annoyance, her phone immediately rang right after she hang up and Jimin would have thrown it outside and let it fall from the 33-storey building if not for the great necessity of the device.

 

“One more word about that or I’m blocking you, Kim Aeri,” she threatens when she answered the girl’s call for the second time.

 

“You’re so fun to tease I swear to god,” Aeri’s annoying giggles filled her ear once again, “But seriously, you’re at your penthouse right now?”

 

“Did you not hear me the first time?” Jimin rolls her eyes even though Aeri can’t see her.

 

“Geez, just making sure okay. You know it’s kinda hard to get a parking space infront of your building and I don’t want to drive around.”

 

“What?”

 

“Aaannnd I got one just now. Seems like the universe is in your favor, Jimin. Come on down.”

 

Jimin is utterly confused, “Again, what?”

 

“Did you not hear me the first time?” The girl mocks with a laugh, “I said come on down. I’m on a hazard I can’t take up this space for a long time, Jimin.”

 

“What are you…” Jimin could only sigh exasperatedly when she realized what the girl is doing, “I’m not allowed to go out, Aeri.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because of the dating news.”

 

“Says who?”

 

“..management.”

 

Aeri barks out laugh, “Since when did Karina Yoo ever listen to them? Is it really you? Am I talking to the same Jimin?”

 

Now that she thinks about it, Jimin actually never did. Rarely ever listens and only when it involves her music production and official concert preparations (or those times her Wendy unnie would give her the look so she would begrudgingly follow through even if it was against her will because it’s her Wendy unnie, the only adult she listens to).

 

“I-I just..” she sighs, feels a small tug of her lips upwards, “Gosh, you’re a menace. What are you up to, Kim Aeri?”

 

“Nothing much.” Says the producer, “Just saving my girl from misery and get her to her happy pill so they can live happily ever after.”

 

The small tug on Jimin’s lips had grown into a bigger smile now, the annoyance she felt towards the girl on the line dissipating and completely turning into heartfelt amusement.

 

“This isn’t the Disney movie you think it is, Uchinaga.”

 

“Maybe it is? But with a sprinkle of gayness and rainbows of course, unlike those hetero Disney clichés,” Aeri supplies and Jimin can hear the mirth leaking through her cackles. “So come on down right at this moment Jiminnie. I’m your fairy gaymother tonight and I’m going to drive you to your happy ending.”

 

Something swells in the middle of Jimin’s chest. Something pleasant and moving and it spreads throughout her body Jimin soon finds her eyes blurring with happy tears.

 

“Why are you doing this?” she whispers, pursing her lips and hoping that the girl on the line will not notice the slight tremble in her voice, “You won’t get anything out of this.”

 

“Oh I will, hun.” Aeri answers, easy and light, “I’d get to see your beautiful smile if I do this. And this may sound so gay but whenever I see you happy, Jimin, I’m happy too. Seriously. You’re like my happy virus and I won’t let anyone take away your happiness just because of some stupid, societal standards that shouldn’t even exist in the first place. So come on. It’s time to deliver you back to the person you properly belong with.”

 

Jimin snorted and there escaped a lone tear that freely rolled down her cheek. But she immediately wipes it away and sniffs back the rest of her emotions to the pit of her stomach.

 

It’s not time to cry.

 

Aeri’s right.

 

It’s time deliver her back to the person she properly belonged with.

 

“Alright, Aeri gaymother. I’ll be down in five.”

 

It’s time to get her girl.

 

 

 

***

 

 

(“You cried when I gave you my little gay speech didn’t you?”

 

“I didn’t.”

 

“Really? Because those puffy eyes tell me otherwise.”

 

“It’s the mascara. I accidentally pierced my eyes with it.”

 

“You’re telling me that you stabbed both of your eyes with mascara?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Oohh. That mascara is so stupid, no? Gosh.”

 

“Ughhh. Just drive Aeri.”)

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop moving?!”

 

“I’m trying!”

 

“Well then try harder!”

 

Minjeong flinches both at the stinging sensation on her lower lip and the loud yell of Yizhuo that resonated all throughout her small apartment space.

 

In her peripheral vision, she saw how Myong and Myang jumped at the booming sound and scrambled to hide somewhere along the house.

 

“Gosh, Yizhuo. Can you keep it down?” she hissed, sending a half-hearted glare at the younger one who was dabbing something on her lip, “Look, you scared Myong and Myong. Now I can’t see them anymore~”

 

“Do I look like I give a , Kim Minjeong?”

 

Minjeong’s eyes comically widened at what she heard, “Oh my god watch your language Ning Yizhuo! Since when did you even learn how to cuss??”

 

“Since when did you even become violent and attack people out of nowhere?” came Yizhuo’s snark response and Minjeong was tongue tied for a moment.

 

Until she remembered what happened that afternoon and she was letting out the most humorless scoff she could muster.

 

“It wasn’t out of nowhere okay,” Minjeong reasons, a dark tone in her voice that even she herself could clearly hear, “You heard what they said about her. They were disgusting, Ning.”

 

They were. Really.  

 

Minjeong thinks it was probably the most sickening thing she ever heard from a person’s mouth, from a literal stranger no less, who doesn’t even know half of the amazing person that Jimin is.

 

Perhaps that was what sent her on edge. The fact that those people doesn’t know who they were bad-mouthing yet they had the audacity to call Jimin names right infront of Minjeong’s salad… chaos was bound to happen.

 

No one in their sensible mind would just sit around and do nothing unless they don’t care.

 

(And Minjeong cares. A lot.)

 

“I know, unnie.” Yizhuo calmly responds this time. “I was there too. I perfectly heard them.”

 

“Then you understand why I reacted that way,” Minjeong retorts, “I can’t let them speak ill about her. I can’t do that Yizhuo.”

 

“Trust me, I know that. I’m her number one fan remember? Heaven knows how much I also wanted to give those twats a hard slap in their faces they will forget what year it is,” Yizhuo heaves a sigh and Minjeong looks up to see the girl giving her a pointed look, “But they’re haters, unnie. Nothing good would come out if you argue, much more fight, with them. Their perspective is fixed and narrow. You cannot change their views about Karina unnie with a few blows.”

 

“What did you expect me to do?” Minjeong finds her voice raising a decibel, getting a little bit frustrated that her friend doesn’t seem to see where she is coming from. “Sit around and listen to them malign the girl I really care about?”

 

Yizhuo simply stared back.

 

“I didn’t say that.” She answers, “What I expected was for you to be the bigger person. I thought you will deal with it like the matured person that you are. But no. You woke up today and chose violence. Literally. Now look at you, all beaten up and bruised because you forgot to get your emotions checked. Do not get me started on how you thinly missed a suspension all thanks to your excellent grades.”

 

Minjeong remembered the Dean of their college berating, not her, but the girls who were speaking ill about Jimin. They turned out to be under the same department as Minjeong and had been flunking subjects here and there, something that their Dean totally condemns.

 

Apparently, their bad academic record was a pity compared to Minjeong’s colossal brain and clean reputation that instead of Minjeong getting the blame, the Regina George wannabes got a month’s worth of punishment at their university cafeteria instead.  

 

“Unnie, I’ve never seen you that worked up,” Yizhuo added after a moment, “You’re always grumpy, yes. But never physically angry. Until today.”

 

To be fair, Minjeong is not the type to easily lose her cool. She has always dealt with things in the most rational and level-headed way. Her employment in a diner with a clientele from all walks of life and different dispositions would attest to the degree of tolerance she has.

 

Until that moment.

 

She remembered how the last statements of the woman resonated in her senses and how vexed Minjeong was that it almost felt like a personal attack.

 

She can put up with annoying people and their hypocritical stances in life. She can drone out an obnoxious achiever who loves to lift their own chair and swing it her way.

 

But Minjeong can never tolerate a person who dares to bring up a name of someone so dear and easily use it as a drag, let alone a tool, to hate on someone.

 

It was downright disrespectful and Minjeong doesn’t feel any ounce of regret when she gave the woman a solid blow on her jaw.

 

(Nevermind if she broke some of her metacarpals.)

 

“I’m sorry I—” Minjeong hangs her head low with a heavy sigh, “I don’t know what has gotten into me, Ning. I’m not entirely sure if it was the words I heard or the dating news I read.. I-I don’t know..”

 

Minjeong must have sounded so conflicted and so lost because Yizhuo placed the first aid kit back on the table and has pulled her in for a reassuring side hug.

 

“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have shouted at you,” Yizhuo says back, sounding just as apologetic, “It was just shocking to see you that aggravated because you’re always the sane one between the two of us.”

 

Minjeong lets out a small scoff but smiled nonetheless.

 

“I’m a bad person, aren’t I?” she mumbles against her friend’s shoulder after a moment.

 

“Absolutely not,” comes Yizhuo’s firm response, giving Minjeong’s shoulder a firm but gentle squeeze, “You may have reacted differently from what you usually do but it doesn’t make you a bad person, okay? We all have our limits. It so happened that you reached that limit today.”

 

“I just miss her, Ning,” Minjeong finds herself admitting completely out of nowhere, “I just wish she will be here to tell me what the heck is going on because I might just lose my mind thinking what this is all about.”

 

“She’ll come around,” Yizhuo says, “And I told you, that was probably just media play by her company after that post in TheQoo. You have to trust her, unnie.”

 

“I do trust her,” Minjeong squeaks, “I don’t trust me. I’ve never been this… this emotionally charged Ning. It’s so strange and weird. What’s happening to me?”

 

“You’re catching the love bug that’s what’s happening.”

 

In any normal days, Minjeong would have denied it. Heck, if this was her months ago and Yizhuo tells her that she is falling for Karina Yoo, Minjeong would have already been foaming in the mouth.

 

But today is probably not a normal day and Minjeong is not the same person that she was months ago because instead of dissenting, Minjeong simply sighs; a deep, thoughtful sigh that has no trace of resistance in them.

 

“You really think I am?”

 

“What, that you’re catching the love bug?”

 

“Hmmm.”

 

Yizhuo pulls away and Minjeong had no choice but to part ways with her comfortable position and look at her friend who is staring at her as if she had grown another head.

 

“Girl, you’ve been sulking for the past week coz you haven’t seen and talked with Karina unnie. And may I remind you that you’ve beaten the living out of those three, not to mention taller and bigger women, in the school grounds because you heard them say nasty things about your girl. If that’s not telling enough that you’ve caught some feelings, I don’t know what will.”

 

Minjeong would have defended that she was not sulky and it was just the time of the month. But before she could even get the words out of , the doorbell rings, pulling her and Yizhuo out of their conversation.

 

“Are you expecting someone?” Yizhuo raised a confused brow.

 

“It’s probably the neighbor,” Minjeong huffs, “You’ve been too loud they probably heard you screaming at me,” and was about to stand up to get to the door but Yizhuo stops her.

 

“No wait let me get it,” Yizhuo pushes her back down to the couch, “You look like you waged war with an entire Spartan army and didn’t leave anyone alive. Sit back we don’t want to scare your neighbor and get you kicked out.”

 

With a roll of her eyes, Minjeong sits back down and watches as the girl saunters towards the door. She silently wishes that Yizhuo wouldn’t say something bizarre to the neighbor for the unearthly shrieked they heard from her flat.

 

Suddenly, Myong and Myang revealed themselves from the kitchen. The cats probably took refuge under the kitchen table when Yizhuo almost burned the entire place down with her loud voice. Minjeong was about to call them out when the fur babies went past her and ran towards the direction of the door.

 

She immediately froze when she saw a familiar pair of Olaf socks to which Myong and Myang had started to rub their faces against.

 

It was painfully familiar that Minjeong can feel her heart suddenly beating so fast against her ribcage. She slowly raised her eyes from the socks to the seemingly endless length of legs.

 

Then she sees the all-too familiar quail egg face and Minjeong felt the air being knocked out of her lungs, eyes trained on the girl who caused all the phenomenon in her life as of late.

 

“J-Jimin..”

 

Jimin was clad in her usual get up, a hood and a mask. But Minjeong can clearly see the way the girl’s eyes widened when she saw her face. The same eyes flitted towards the table filled with the clutters of Yizhuo’s first aid kit then back to her in an instant.

 

Minjeong suddenly felt so conscious and bare under Jimin’s scrutinizing gaze.

 

“What happened?” came Jimin’s calm question.

 

The girl’s voice was low and deep Minjeong finds an unsolicited heat spread across her face upon hearing it.

 

Phew. Why is the room suddenly so hot? Did her AC malfunction again?

 

“There’s this group of girls at school today that said something, uh, mean about you unnie.” Yizhuo answers with slight hesitation, “And Kim Minjeong here thought that punching them on the face would be the best idea to shut them up.”

 

“What?” Jimin spat and Minjeong pursed her lips at the hint of anger in her tone, “Is this true?”

 

“O-of course not!” Minjeong struggles to answer.

 

She saw Yizhuo raise her perfectly-penciled brow at her and Jimin looked like she was expecting some better response. Even Aeri who was standing behind Jimin doesn’t look convince. Minjeong could only groan in defeat.

 

“Okay maybe it was kind of true..”

 

Yizhuo scoffs at this, “Girl, it is true. Why are you lying?”

 

“I want you to zip your mouth, Ning Yizhuo,” Minjeong grits, baring her teeth at the very annoying girl who snitched on her. So much for being friends for life!

 

“Can I talk to Minjeong alone?” Jimin suddenly says, her big, round eyes never leaving Kim Minjeong.

 

There was a sudden drop of temperature and Minjeong gulps. It was so hot awhile ago now it’s suddenly so cold??

 

(She mentally noted to get both her heater and AC checked when the weekend comes since she can do whatever she wants.)

 

“Sure unnie. She’s all yours,” Yizhuo sing-songs, sending a wink to Minjeong’s direction as well as the face that the girl usually does when she’s mocking Minjeong.

 

Poor Minjeong could only seethe in quiet as the girl happily waves her goodbye, hoping that the daggers she was sending through her eyes would be enough to scare the girl. She will be disowning one Ning Yizhuo by the end of the night, she thinks.

 

“Call me when you’re done, okay?” says Aeri this time, squeezing Jimin’s shoulder which was answered with a nod.

 

The girl also sent Minjeong a knowing smile, but not as annoying as Yizhuo’s. It was more of smirk that screamed ‘good luck’ before Aeri completely exits the door and joined the other girl outside.

 

Gawd. Minjeong could only pray to anyone supreme that she can get through the night unscathed and alive, hoping that she can thaw the icy glares Jimin was throwing her way.

 

 

***

 

 

(“Do you think they’ll take long?”

 

“I don’t know. Maybe? They both look like they could use a long and serious conversation right now.”

 

“Right? The tension was real between those two.”

 

“Tell me about it..”

 

“Anyway, I’m Ning Yizhuo in China. Ning Yizhuo in Korea. They call me Ningning or Yizhuo. Depends on the day. You can call me anything.”

 

“O-oh. Uh, I’m Kim Aeri. In Korea. I-I mean, I’m Kim Aeri in Korea. Aeri Uchinaga in Japan. Y-you can also call me anything.”

 

“Omo wait, you’re THE Kim Aeri?? A.K.A the big brain behind Karina unnie’s hit songs?”

 

“Uh, I guess so?”

 

“Omgggggg I’m a big fan!! Can I get your autograph?? Aaaccckk!!”

 

“O-okay..sure..”)

 

 

***

 

 

The silence was defeaning when the doors closed. Only the buzzing of the AC can be heard and the occasional purring of Myong and Myang against Jimin’s legs.

 

The celebrity gave the kittens a curt and a gentle scratch in their ears when she realized that they’re rubbing themselves on her, unconsciously painting a small smile on Minjeong’s lips. It was almost bewitching to see Jimin in her place with the backdrop of her white walls and Myong and Myong in her arms. Minjeong doesn’t really know how she survived the past weeks without this aesthetic sight gracing her.

 

Then the moment was over and Jimin was marching towards the couch where Minjeong is. The younger takes a deep breath when Jimin settled herself beside her, lowkey enjoying the scent of the girl’s usual cologne that she never expected she would miss.

 

Jimin seems angry and Minjeong has this gut feeling that she could get her angrier if she will not be careful with her words.

 

Dear gods, help her.

 

“Let me see your face,” Jimin instructs and her neutral tone is not helping Minjeong’s nerves. The younger girl hesitantly turned her head until she is completely facing Jimin.

 

The celebrity still has her masked on so it was a bit of a challenge for Minjeong to truly make out of the girl’s mood. Thankfully, Jimin’s eyes were expressive enough.

 

“Jimin..”

 

“How many were they?”

 

Minjeong thinks she heard the slight waver in Jimin’s voice, “Um, just three.. They were a bit taller than me but I was stronger.”

 

Jimin scoffs at her expense, “What a lie,” making Minjeong frown.

 

“But it’s true!” she defends, feels the crease in her forehead when Jimin only but gawks at her, “You should have seen how I’ve beaten their mean faces up with my bare hands.”

 

Jimin looks away, “I don’t even want to imagine it, Minjeong,” and turns to the table filled with medical kits. She pulled up a gauze swab and turns back to face the smaller girl, “What made you think it’s a good idea to fight those people when you were clearly outnumbered?”

 

Minjeong shrugs, “They were talking bad about you. I can’t let them do that.”

 

Jimin just stared at her. She stared and stared and stared Minjeong was starting to get conscious with how piercing Jimin’s stare is.

 

Then the girl suddenly dabbed her lower lip with the gauze without a warning and , it stings!

 

“Owww!” she yelps in pain.

 

“That’s for being stupid,” Jimin simply says.

 

“Owww!! Jimin!” Minjeong yelps in pain once again, this time because Jimin wiped something on her cheekbone.

 

“That’s still for being stupid.”

 

“Owww!! Yoo Jimin!”

 

“Stop moving! I’m trying to clean your cuts!”

 

“Well can you at least be more gentle?! It stings!”

 

“Of course it will sting because it is a cut, !” Jimin was yelling a lot louder now. “A cut that wouldn’t have been there in the first place if only you weren’t stupid enough to get into a brawl!”

 

“I fought them because they were being mean to you!” Minjeong finds herself screaming back, “I defended your name for ’s sake, now I’m the stupid one?!”

 

“Who the said I wanted to be defended?!”

 

Minjeong had a smart retort dangling off her tongue. She was ready to bite and fight back.

 

But the whimper she heard made her swallow her words down and Minjeong was left frozen in her spot.

 

“ing hell Minjeong, those people were nothing to me! Whatever they say or do will not ing affect me! But you??” Jimin sobs and Minjeong thinks watching Jimin crumble down right infront of her hurts a gazillion times more than the cuts on her faces, “God, you mean the world to me. It’s you that matters. And right now you’re hurt and bruised and I’m hurting ten times more knowing that I’m the reason you got yourself in trouble.”

 

Jimin hangs her head low and her barely suppressed whimpers squeezes the life out Minjeong’s heart.

 

“This is all my fault,” Jimin hisses. “, Jimin this is all your fault..”

 

“Hey,” Minjeong doesn’t really know why her hands were shaking but she reached out for the girl’s face nonetheless, cradling the quail egg in her hands, “It’s not your fault.”

 

“It is.”

 

“It’s not,” Minjeong insists, “Jimin, look at me. Look at me.”

 

With a sniff, Jimin looks up. Minjeong’s heart almost shattered when she saw her tear-filled eyes.

 

“Can I get this mask off? I wanna see your face.”

 

Jimin meekly nodded.

 

When the cloth was completely out of her way, Minjeong was welcomed with what was probably the most precious sight she ever laid her eyes upon.

 

Jimin with her big round eyes filled with tears and her rosy lips unconsciously turned in a small pout, slightly trembling as Jimin continues to shed stubborn tears.

 

God, Minjeong. How the did you get so lucky with this woman?

 

“You are so beautiful..” Minjeong blurted out. She had no time to process what she said because Jimin was letting out a scoff, more tears flowing down her cheeks.

 

“I’m sure I look like a ing mess right now Kim Minjeong stop lying.”

 

“I’m not lying,” she says, cupping back the girl’s small face with both her hands, “You’re the most beautiful woman ever, even when there’s a snot running down your nose.”

 

“There is?”

 

Jimin panics and was about to wipe it away when Minjeong, with a chuckle, says, “Nah, I’m just messing with you.”

 

This earned her a scowling Jimin and a stinging pinch on her side.

 

“Owww! That hurts!”

 

“I don’t care. You’re an !”

 

“Correction. An who will defend your name from the meanies.”

 

With that, the scowl in Jimin’s face disappears and was replaced with a more serious look.

 

“Promise me you will never do that again,” she says, sniffing the remnants of her outbursts awhile ago, “Promise me that you will never fight that kind of people and try to defend me again.”

 

“But Jimin—”

 

“Minjeong,” Jimin gives her a pointed look. Even with tears in her eyes, the girl still holds so much authority in her voice that Minjeong had no choice but to shut up, “Those kinds of people are the hardest to persuade. They will not listen to you because they have this fixed view about me that they have in their heads. And mind you, there a lot of their breed scattered everywhere. You cannot go around punching all these people in their faces just because they don’t like me.”

 

Minjeong juts her lower lip at how Jimin actually made sense. But she’s too stubborn to admit that.

 

“But—”

 

“Promise me.” Jimin repeats, now with a pleading look that Minjeong cannot take her eyes off, “Please? I don’t want to see you hurt ever again because of me, Minjeong. Their nonsense, them, every thing that led to you being hurt is not worth it. Promise me you’ll never do that again. Please Minjeong?”

 

And so Minjeong had no choice but to nod her head in resignation, sighing in defeat because how can she say no when Jimin looks at her like that?

 

“Okay I promise,” she says, wiping away Jimin’s tear-stricken face with her thumbs, “Just stop crying, you big baby.”

 

Jimin scoffs but doesn’t pull away. She lets Minjeong wipe her tears away all the while studying the girl with her eyes.

 

“Look at you,” Jimin murmurs, reaches out and gently presses her index finger against Minjeong’s busted lip, “They ruined your pretty face.”

 

“This is not even half of the things I did to them,” Minjeong chuckles, a hint of pride in her tone, “These are merely scratches.”

 

“How dare they lay a finger on you,” Jimin growls and Minjeong may or may not have gulped at how attractive that sounded, “Tell me their names. I want to destroy them.”

 

Minjeong couldn’t help but snort, “I already did, Jimin. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“But Kim Minjeong!”

 

The said girl could only stare back at the celebrity with a pointed look, “I thought you said no to violence? Why are you suddenly all ready to ruin people?”

 

“No to violence for you but yes for me,” Jimin declares, a determined look on her face, “I want to let them know that no one should lay a finger on my girl.”

 

Minjeong raised a brow at this because, “Your girl, huh? I thought you’re dating Na Jaemin?”

 

Of course she was just clowning, having fully understood the situation even before Jimin could spell it out for her. But the celebrity looked so funny when she suddenly went rigid that Minjeong couldn’t help but stifle a laugh and let the girl go off.

 

“It’s not like that Minjeong, I swear,” Jimin yaps with passion, “It’s a fake dating scheme. It’s a strategy by the company to divert the public’s attention away from the rumors that are going around. Jaemin just helped me out in this. He’s only a dear friend to me. I swear there is nothing going on—”

 

Minjeong presses a finger against Jimin’s lips, effectively cutting her out of her rambling, “I know.”

 

She immediately saw the girl visibly relaxing, “Y-you do?” to which Minjeong responded with a brisk nod.

 

“I saw the deleted post in TheQoo about us and then some other rumors about your hospitalization,” she says, wiping away the remnants of Jimin’s tear-stricken face, “Then you went to the pub the other day and asked me to trust you. I didn’t really get it that time. But then they released the news this morning and Yizhuo told me that this might be some stupid plot that is apparently a thing in your industry. So I connected the dots from there.”

 

Jimin’s eyes started to get teary again after her explanation and Minjeong started to panic too.

 

“W-why are you crying? Did I say something wrong?”

 

But Jimin just shook her head, “No, you didn’t,” sniffing back her tears with a smile as she holds Minjeong’s hands cradling her face, “I’m just glad because you really mean it when you said you trust me. I was worried that you might have taken the news the wrong way and I have ruined the one good thing in my life right now.”

 

Minjeong’s heart may or may not have melted for the umpteenth time that night.

 

“You’re so stupid,” she whispers, staring straight through the girl’s eyes to convey what she truly feels, “If you think a half-assed dating news and a good-looking guy with a charming smile will make me doubt you, you’re wrong. You’re completely wrong, Jimin. You know why?”

 

“Why?”

 

Minjeong gingerly takes one of Jimin’s hand and presses it against her chest. She hopes that Jimin knows that the rabid thumping she could feel against her fingertips is especially for her.

 

“Because you’re here,” Minjeong breathes, making sure Jimin can see the candor in her eyes and feel the sincerity in her words, “And I’ve never let anyone in here unless I am so sure of them, Jimin. Unless it’s you who’s going to willingly breakfree and severe the link that’s tethering you here, nothing else is going to ruin you for me. If it’s not you who’s gonna give me the reason to doubt you, it’s not gonna be anyone.”

 

Minjeong doesn’t exactly know how it happened. But somewhere along the drawn-out, teary stares, she and Jimin found their lips entangled with each other.

 

Minjeong doesn’t even know who initiated it. But it doesn’t matter.

 

What matters is how soft Jimin’s plump lips are against her own; how Jimin tasted like a perfect combination of mint and fruity with a hint of sweetness that reminds Minjeong of her favorite ice cream flavor; how good it actually feels to have Jimin close like this, intense like this.  

 

Soon enough, she felt Jimin’s hands snaking around her waist and instinctively, Minjeong tangles her own with Jimin’s hair, pulling her closer.

 

Maybe it’s the way Jimin’s hand squeezes her sides or the way Jimin’s ample upper chest was basically grinding against her torso, but Minjeong finds herself opening and angling her neck, giving Jimin more access, giving Jimin more of her.

 

It was intense and hot and Minjeong would probably faint at the end of this because she was getting light-headed by the second. It was all too much but it was all too less at the same time.

 

Minjeong thinks she was going crazy.

 

Then she felt a sudden sting on her lower lip and Minjeong whimpers in pain.

 

“Oww..”

 

It was loud enough to halt Jimin from her ministrations and she hastily pulled away from the kiss.

 

“What happened?” she pants against Minjeong’s lips, “Did something hurt?”

 

Jimin’s lips looks so full and so inviting Minjeong just wants to dive back in. But then she remembers the stinging sensation she felt and she wanted to groan in annoyance because, “My lower lip. The one with the cut. It kinda hurts..”

 

It took a few pants and a confused moment before Jimin finally grasps the situation and she ended up bursting out a boisterous laughter.

 

Minjeong could only frown.

 

“It’s not funny,” she scolds, pouting at how Jimin seems to enjoy her predicament.

 

“Oh come on babe, it’s kinda funny.” Jimin says, stifling her laughter for Minjeong’s sake.

 

Seeing as Jimin could barely keep her laughter in, Minjeong’s resolve crumbled down and joins the other girl in her laughing fit.

 

“Okay, maybe it was kinda funny.”

 

“See? I told you it was funny!”

 

It wasn’t really that funny but Jimin looks like she was having the time of her life so Minjeong just goes along with her. Minjeong thinks Jimin can throw the lamest Dad joke to ever exist and she would still find it funny for Jimin’s sake.

 

Only Jimin can make her endure such ordeal. Only Jimin.

 

 

***

 

 

(“Gosh, I can’t believe I ruined our first kiss with my busted lips.”

 

“No you didn’t.”

 

“I did. We were getting to the best part.”

 

“We were getting to the best part, yes. But you didn’t ruin it baby. I swear.”

 

“You’re only saying that to make me feel better.”

 

“Well, do you feel better?”

 

“No.”

 

“What will make you feel better?”

 

“Your lips.”

 

“Where?”

 

“On my lips of course. Where else do yo—mmpphh”

 

 

***

 

 

(“I think they will really take long, huh?”

 

“I guess so. We’ve been in your car for almost an hour now.”

 

“Yeah. That has got to be some intense conversation they’re having.”

 

“Probably. Gosh, I’m starving. Haven’t really eaten anything since it was around lunchtime that Minjeong unnie went she-Hulk and we’ve been all over the place after that.”

 

“Aww. Do you want to grab something to eat while we wait for them? I just remembered that I haven’t eaten yet as well.”

 

“Omgggg sureee! I know just the perfect place.”

 

“Okiee~ just tell me the directions and I’ll drive you there Ning.”

 

“Anywhere?”

 

“Yeah..anywhere.”)

 

 

__________

 

A/N:

 

Hi!

 

I hope this was fluff enough. Hehe. I’m sorry if I kinda bombarded you with emotions on the last updates; but it needed to be done so we could get into this juncture of the story. And now they even kissed! (After 84 years good lord)

 

(Tbh I honestly felt a little uneasy on the mean comments part last chap because we all know how our precious Jimin and the rest of aespa actually experienced it during their earlier days. But it’s my own little way of saying that words can move mountains and affect people’s lives even though they’re intangible. So I hope we can always be careful with whatever we say, may it be on the internet or in real life.)  

 

Anywayyyy, things are starting to get real busy on my end of the stick. I’m gonna be having another mock exam (it’s a monthly thing) by the end of July so it means I’m gonna be focusing on that again. I thought I could give you at least three updates this month but turns out it’s impossible due to my insanely packed schedule so I’m really really sorry. And in August I’m gonna be having two mock bars for two different subjects (and it’s gonna be SNSD and RV months too gosh it’s a busy month) so, phew, we’ll see. But rest assured that I’m gonna try my best to give you the next chapter as soon as I can. Thank you so much for the patience guys T_T

 

Oh and I saw a lovely comment asking if I have twitter account? Yes, sweets. I am in that godforsaken app. I think some of you have already found me there (hello gorgeous people). The handle is the same as my pseudonym @sleepylashes for those curious. But I do not recommend you to follow that account because 1) I rarely post about my works there coz um...I’m kinda shy hehe (yes, I won’t last a day in Itzy I know) and 2) it’s more of a ranting/crying space about my daily life struggle and ofc my favorite kpop girls so there’s really nothing that will interest you. So there’s that.

 

Yikes. That was a long note. But if you made it this far, here’s a virtual hug! [gives virtual bear hug]

 

Take care of yourselves and keep supporting our lovely aespa babies. See you on the next one! :)

 

- sj