It wasn’t even noon yet, but Minnie was already exhausted. And sore. And a little sweaty.

But Minnie hadn’t planned to meet with anyone today, so it was fine. It was a quiet Sunday, and she went to the company building early for dance instruction while the other girls were sleeping in. Their teacher had told Minnie earlier in the week that she needs to work more on her steps after her high note, and she took her advice seriously. Her teacher had even joined her for the first half-hour before leaving Minnie to practice on her own for the rest of the morning.

Now, two hours after that, she was sprawled on the wooden floor, water bottle in one hand and scrolling through social media in the other. She pulled up the bottom of her cropped hoody to wipe the sweat from her temples and took a large drink of cold water. She was starving, but she wasn’t ready to stand up yet. Whenever she got tired and hungry, she got grumpy as well, so she was going to be lazy on the floor for as long as she could before her body forced her to get up.

Just as she started watching a video that her friend had sent her earlier that morning, Minnie heard the jingle of the practice room door unlocking. She hoped she hadn’t accidentally taken over the practice room when one of the other groups in the company needed it, and was prepared to apologize to the boys or the junior girls if they had been waiting long for her to leave. Minnie was just about to stand up and apologize when she heard a familiar voice call out her name.

“Minnie! I found you!”

She turned her head to the door, where Miyeon had slipped into the room and was making her way over to Minnie with pep in her step and a bright smile on her face.

Since they lived in separate dorms, Minnie usually didn’t see or talk to Miyeon in the morning since the other girl was known for being the world’s heaviest sleeper, so she was surprised to see Miyeon so energetic before noon.

“What are you doing here?” Minnie asked curtly, trying to seem indifferent as Miyeon came to sit down next to her on the wooden floor. There was something that always made her put up a front when Miyeon was near, and she didn’t know why. Something about the other girl’s presence always made Minnie feel frustrated and recently, she found herself getting more and more brusque with Miyeon whenever she was around.

Miyeon’s bright smile faltered for a moment as she took in Minnie’s irritable mood. “I just wanted to say hello before I had to go to my schedule… but I can leave if you want me to…”

The pout on her face made Minnie feel bad right away, like usual. She was weak for Miyeon’s sad eyes, even when the other girl was annoying her.

“It’s… it’s fine. I’m just tired,” Minnie said awkwardly, trying her best to apologize without actually apologizing.

Miyeon’s expression shifted to a look of understanding when she took in Minnie’s current state. Her loose bun was messy, a drip of water had lingered in the corner of , and there was still sweat shining on her face.

In contrast, Miyeon was dressed up in nice clothes with a full face of makeup for her schedule, so Minnie felt underdressed in her work-out clothes and bare face. But to be honest, Minnie was always slightly intimidated by Miyeon’s beauty, even when she was in sweatpants and had just woken up from a nap. It was unfair to look so pretty even when her face was swollen or her eyes were dark from lack of sleep. Even when Miyeon fell asleep in the van between schedules with hanging open and her snores disturbing Minnie’s peace, she looked pretty. It was just another thing about Miyeon that frustrated her to no end.

“Were you practicing for a long time?” Miyeon asked, smoothly accepting Minnie’s subtle olive branch.

Minnie nodded sullenly. “I’ve been here for almost three hours now.”

“You’re really working hard,” Miyeon said in admiration, and Minnie hoped that Miyeon thought the redness on her cheeks was from her exercising. Minnie was always bad at taking compliments, but it was even harder when Miyeon said them. She was always so genuine and candid, and it made Minnie feel overwhelmed and embarrassed. It was easier when Miyeon was mad at her, so she could avoid that fluttering feeling in her stomach every time the girl looked at her with that tender expression.

“I—I just don’t want to hold the team back on stage,” Minnie managed to mumble out, turning away from Miyeon’s wide-eyed gaze as she felt herself becoming more and more self-conscious. This was the reason why she didn’t like being alone with Miyeon.

“You’ve never held us back, Minnie,” Miyeon said sweetly. “I honestly think you’re the most well-rounded out of all of us.”

Minnie wasn’t sure how to respond. Her brain was already exhausted from the exercise, and Miyeon’s words were like bullets piercing her weak heart.

“Uh… thank you…”

Minnie felt awkward so she took a moment to wipe the sweat away from her forehead again with her crop top, hoping Miyeon wasn’t grossed out by how sweaty she was. And that’s when she noticed it.

It was subtle, and she didn’t know if she was just imagining it, but Miyeon’s eyes kept drifting downward as she looked at Minnie, lingering on her bare midriff that was revealed by her crop top.

Oh.

For a moment, Minnie was worried that she had something on her stomach, like a stain of dust or a piece of hair that fell from her bun. But it was completely clear when she looked down again.

Instead, it was just covered in loose beads of sweat that moved every time she flexed her muscles. She was sitting with her arms propped up behind her and her legs spread out in front of her on the floor, causing her abs to flex more than usual. And it looked like Miyeon might have noticed. The other girl was biting her lip, but Minnie couldn’t read the expression on her face.

Or she could just be imagining it.

“Have you been working out a lot recently?” Miyeon suddenly asked, never one to filter the words that came out of before she spoke them. It shocked Minnie out of her reverie, and she couldn’t believe Miyeon had said that out loud. Maybe she really wasn’t imagining the lingering stares.

“I­—Oh, I think I have?” Minnie managed to say. “I was having trouble sleeping recently, so I started working out before bed and it has helped a lot…”

That was all true, and she was surprised at how much the exercise had been helping with her insomnia. She had been sleeping better, which meant she was eating better as well, and her overall mood was brightening. It was one of the first times in years that her insomnia hadn’t been making her days extra hard.

But unfortunately, one of the main roots of her insomnia was currently staring at her with a strange expression in her eyes.

Miyeon was always the type of person to touch before thinking, like when she saw something delicious at a bakery or she wanted a specific outfit from the stylist’s closet. This case wasn’t any different, and before Minnie even realized it, cold hands were pressed against her stomach, and Miyeon was fully leaning into her personal space.

“Wow,” Miyeon said, rubbing her thumbs against Minnie’s abs as her hands grasped her sides. Minnie must have a look like a fool at that moment, because no words could come out of as she sat in shock while Miyeon mindlessly touched her.

Miyeon was so close that Minnie could count each of her eyelashes and see the faint sparkle in her rose-coloured lip stick. She smelled like fresh perfume, and her perfectly manicured nails scratched lightly against Minnie’s sensitive skin.

“I—Uh… Miyeon?”

Miyeon ignored her stuttering and continued admiring Minnie’s nervously flexing muscles.

“I wish my abs would look like yours.”

Miyeon had touched her a lot over the years, always the first one to initiate handholding or hugs or even fixing Minnie’s make up for her. But this was the first time the girl had touched her this intimately. And even though Minnie was in the middle of an internal breakdown from her words and touch, Miyeon didn’t look bothered at all.

Miyeon’s gaze didn’t falter once as she admired Minnie. “Your body is really nice.”

Even after taking a moment to process what the older girl had said, Minnie still had no idea how to respond to that.

“You—yours too?”

Unfortunately, Minnie knew Miyeon had a nice body. And a nice face. And a nice personality. And it kept her up at night more often than she wanted. But this had been the first time she had ever told Miyeon that, and she felt humiliated.

Miyeon’s wandering hands moved up, feeling the muscles directly under Minnie’s crop top. Minnie was terrified she was going to move her hands higher, but luckily she kept them within the safe zone as she brushed her thumbs against the bottom of Minnie’s crop top, where the band of her pink sports bra peeked out under her clothing.

“You’ll have to show me your workout routine one of these days,” Miyeon said as she traced Minnie’s muscles with her fingertips. A shiver went through Minnie against her will, and she hoped Miyeon hadn’t noticed. Miyeon wanted to… watch her workout? That was way too much pressure for her to handle right now.

Minnie finally forced herself to look at Miyeon’s face again, but the other girl wasn’t meeting her gaze. Instead, Miyeon eyes were locked on the bead of sweat that had been making its way down Minnie’s stomach to her waistband. Without even thinking, Miyeon moved one of her hands to swipe away the sweat, rubbing against Minnie’s waistband in the process. She kept her hand there, resting right above the neat bow Minnie had tied on the drawstring of her sweatpants. Her hands had been cold before, but now they were burning.

Miyeon’s eyes looked desirous, and Minnie wasn’t sure she was going to make it out of this room in one piece. Miyeon’s fingers played with the drawstring, pulling on it slightly with a focused look on her face. While Miyeon toyed with her, Minnie felt her whole body heat up, bringing even more sweat to her heated skin.

Just as Miyeon’s fingers playfully tugged on drawstring again, a sudden ringing came out from Miyeon’s pocket, breaking the tense silence of the practice room like shattered glass.

Miyeon drew her hands away from Minnie’s stomach as she reached into her pocket, quickly answering the phone call before it could ring again. Minnie’s brain had been completely overwhelmed by what was happening between them, and she didn’t even realize Miyeon had already hung up until she felt a soft tap on her knee.

“Sorry, that was one of the managers. I have to go to my schedule, but I’ll see you later, ok?” Miyeon said with an innocent smile, and Minnie could only nod her head. Miyeon looked unbothered as she exited the room with a skip and a jump, like she hadn’t just completely killed Minnie with a few wandering touches

“Have a good day!” Miyeon called out once last time before the door closed. As soon as it clicked shut, Minnie fell back against the wood floor, her trembling arms finally giving out.

Minnie was left sweating in the practice room alone again, but this time, it wasn’t because of dance practice. She had a feeling her insomnia would haunt her tonight as well, and no amount of exercise could help her.

This is why she couldn’t stand Miyeon.