It’s been two hours.

Chaewon’s plans of laying on her bed after her morning class was ruined when she received series of messages from her friends asking her if she’s still coming. She actually has no plans on reading all of them since she has already told Yuri earlier that she’s not coming.

Until she saw a glimpse of a familiar name at the bottom of her chatbox.

Minju.

Her heart stubbornly skipped a beat and her face started to heat up just seeing Minju’s name and small display photo.

‘Don’t look at me! Don’t smile at me!’

Chaewon cursed herself for letting those feelings she has tried to suppress resurface again. She tossed and her bed trying to get rid of whatever those butterflies were doing in her stomach.

‘Holy Crap. Damn that smile. It’s just a freaking photo Chaewon, how can you face her later without panicking?!’

Her internal struggle continued until Chaewon finally decided to open the message. Her palms, who were starting to sweat, struggled to type a reply.

Minju: Hey Chae! Are you coming to the reunion later?

Minju: See you!!

‘ moving on.’

That was the reason why she has been stuck in front of the mirror for two hours. Chaewon has finished preparing herself but she has yet to calm her nerves on meeting her friends especially her, in person after a long time.

A car honk interrupted her thoughts.

‘It must be Yena.’

And Chaewon was right.

She was greeted by Yena and Yuri which were teasingly waving at her. She just shook her head from the couples’ antics.

“I thought you’re not coming? What changed your mind, Chaewon?” Yuri asked, twisting her back to face Chaewon. A sly smile sporting her remark.

“More like WHO changed your mind.” Yena butted in while holding her laughter, meeting Chaewon’s glares on the rear mirror.

“You two shut up. The deadline of our project proposal, which was supposed to be passed at 11:59 pm today, was moved next week that’s why I decided to come.” Chaewon lied. She has already finished her task after Yuri messaged her last Sunday.

“No one’s buying that bull when that ears of yours are redder than your shirt.” Yena spitted and Yuri broke into a fit of laughter. Chaewon just bit her lip and covered her ears with her hair in embarrassment.

The couples’ conversation continued as background noise to Chaewon who chose to appreciate the scenery. It’s almost a year since she has locked herself up in her room doing online class stuff so it’s refreshing and healing to see the outside, and the new normal—how things like the DIY plastic dividers in public transportations, one-meter distance in public areas, and the way how people should always wear mask have become part of everyone’s lives.

Chaewon was so lost in her trance that she did not notice that the car stopped moving. The door on her opposite side suddenly opened and a sweet scent of jasmine filled her lungs. Her breath hitched when she met the pair of eyes she thought she’s only gonna have a chance to see in pictures.

‘Damn.’

Time momentarily slowed down as Chaewon saw how Minju gracefully went inside the car beside her. The younger lass was wearing a casual black crop top with long sleeves and denim jeans that gave justice to Minju’s goddess-like proportions. Chaewon got mesmerized even more as Minju swiped her raven hair back to remove some strands covering her face. Minju was only wearing a light natural makeup that captivated Chaewon even more.

‘Holy .’

Minju lightly chuckled as she noticed Chaewon’s jaw slightly hanging. She gave her a smile that reached her eyes and greeted the older after she has shut the door close and completely settled inside.

“Hi Chae.”

Chaewon tried so hard to hold back the creeping redness of her cheeks throwing a restrained smile at Minju and quickly nodding in her direction to acknowledge the younger. Chaewon did not dare to open in fear of becoming a stuttering mess in front of Minju and so she decided to face the window beside her.

Minju then exchanged pleasantries with the couple in front and eventually, engaged in catching up with her best friend Yuri while Yena injected herself in the convo at times. Chaewon, on the other hand, tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach knowing she’s just inches away from Minju.

“I heard from Yuri that Ryujin is not coming?” Yena suddenly asked which piqued Chaewon’s interest. She did not know Minju’s girlfriend is not coming. She’s still not ready to face her yet anyway, after all that happened.

“Yeah, her parents are strict on her on going out since we’re on a quarantine.” Minju nonchalantly replied.

After that, Chaewon did not follow the flow of their conversation. She put her earphones on and played her playlist on shuffle while watching the scenery passing by.

Chaewon eventually relaxed and forgot about her internal struggles when a tap on her shoulder interrupted her.

‘Oh… Minju...’

Chaewon watched Minju open , the latter was saying something but since she was still wearing her earphones she could not understand a single thing.

“I’m sorry, come again?” Chaewon removed one of her earphones.

“I said I forgot my earphones, do you mind sharing one of yours?”

Chaewon remained calm and tried processing the words that came out from Minju without showing too much reaction. On her peripheral vision, she can see Yena and Yuri giggling at her stupidity but she feigned ignorance and chanted a mantra in her head.

‘Relax, Chaewon. It’s just Minju. She’s just asking for your earphone.’

And so Chaewon gave the earphone that she was still holding to the younger. Minju muttered a small ‘’thanks” which did not fail to reach Chaewon’s hearing. The older was flustered when Minju suddenly scooted closer to her. Chaewon followed the line of the cord of her earphones only to find it on the farther ear of the younger, sealing the both of them inside. Chaewon’s face heat up at her realization, she was contemplating whether to adjust her earphone on her other ear, however, her thoughts were halted when Minju suddenly spoke.

“This feels nice.”

Minju softly whispered as if she meant it for just the two of them to hear. Chaewon glanced at the girl beside her only to find her already smiling back at her. Chaewon can’t help but smile too, a genuine one.

And as if on cue, Put Your Head On My Shoulder played on shuffle and so Minju did just that.