kim minju, as told from kang hyewon's perspective; or where the food lover likes a certain kim but insecurities plague her from telling the truth - but what happens when said girl actually reciprocated her feelings back?

•

how would you feel? - ed sheeran

•

"ah wow... minju is seriously good at dancing while singing." hyewon mutters to herself, watching minju's latest fancam of panorama.

she practically owns the living room at the moment since everyone else are already asleep; to be fair, it's already three-thirty in the morning yet some voice was telling her to binge watch something on youtube earlier so here she is, watching one of her sleeping member's fancam so late in the morning.

hyewon's not sure when it started, it probably started way back in 2018 when they were just starting to perform on the survival show. the stylists really opened her eyes on the beauty of a certain kim minju.

I did shout "kim minju pretty" at one point...

it's not like she's only realized that minju can pass off as having the prettiest face in the world, no - everyone with a pair of perfectly normal, functioning eyes can see that clearly, more so if you actually see kim minju in a day to day basis. 

something is obviously different with minju, hyewon thinks, she's not just a pretty face obviously. she, sakura, hyewon herself were at the lower ends of the spectrum in terms of dancing back when they first debuted but now, it's an entirely different topic.

"ah, I'm seriously proud of this girl." the visual smiles to herself while watching minju's videos on her phone.

it keeps going on like that, hyewon watching every recommended video of the younger girl that pops up in the suggested videos on the right side of her screen. she doesn't realize it until her alarm's ringtone echoes out from her speakers to the outside world.

"unnie, what are you watching?" a voice asks from her right ear, hyewon turns around and sees minju sipping a cup of coffee; something about the younger visual doing a normal thing makes hyewon's head go slightly clouded.

silence falls upon them as the older turns off her alarm finally and minju's fancam resume playing, the only sound playing into their ears is their song. it feels stiffling, at least for hyewon, minju's eyes are switching from the other girl's phone screen and herself.

"ahh, unnie! are you seriously watching my fancams this early in the morning?" minju half-whines and half-laughs, eyes crinkling into playful crescents.

hyewon chuckles at the sight of minju being sulky and ruffles the girl's hair. she pats the spot beside from where she's sitting and beckons minju to occupy it, the said girl does as she's told after she finishes her coffee and takes it to the kitchen to be cleaned at the sink.

as smooth as one could ever be, the older visual encircles her arm on to minju's shoulders and pulls her closer, other hand holding the phone for the both of them to see.

minju lets out a small yelp as she was pulled close by her unnie but is quickly able to recover and is soon leaning her head on her shoulder. pleasure coursed through the younger girl's body as hyewon's hand moved from her shoulder to her head, fingers gently massaging the aching scalp.

"minju, I was just watching your fancams." she tells the girl resting on her shoulder.

"mhmm..." the latter hums weakly, her senses being over ridden by the power of hyewon's skilled fingers.

she was about to tell minju about her two cents regarding the other visual's skills in the dancing and singing department but a peaceful sight greeted her as the rapper turned to look at the sleeping girl, the action causing minju to instinctively lean further unto hyewon's warmth. she lays like that, occasionally letting out little snores as hyewon continued watching videos on her smartphone while continuing to run her delicate fingers through minju's soft locks. 

"this girl really..." hyewon trails off, marveling how minju looks so... beautiful. 

it's confusing yet all the while being simple, minju she means. the girl can act so silly sometimes - when she's feeling it, but other times, minju is like an angel judging from her ethereal appearance; it's as if she has been crafted by the hands of a skilled craftsman, the magnum opus of a virtuoso.  though all the members have caught up on this weird phenomenon, most especially the second oldest korean, it still amazes them to some extent. hyewon could only muster a soft smile as she studies minju's features quietly; most of the time, the girl is almost always tired due to her overzealous tendencies of becoming better. the hard work certainly paid off, with how she's getting much more lines and center time during their songs, it's only very fitting for her as she pushed herself to the limits; but hyewon just wants to tie the girl up and force her to take a whole day's worth of rest because she sees the exhaustedness that very oftenly paints minju when she overworks herself, the urge to scold her always threatening to break out. well, hyewon supposes she shouldn't forbid the girl from doing what she wants, it's not like she needs hyewon right?

you were the best ever since our beginning.

;

at nine in the morning, hyewon's eyes already began feeling tired - only now feeling the aftermath of watching random videos in the internet for a straight five and a half hour marathon. she yawns audibly as minju stirs in her sleep, hyewon adjusts her weight in a way that the girl on her shoulder can sleep easily but to no avail, minju flutters her eyes open and distractedly stares at the older's own.

"good morning minju." hyewon greets, missing the faint traces of scarlet on the other korean's face.

the subjected girl smiles at the greeting she's met, squishing her cheeks on the girl's skin, feeling giddly all of a sudden.

"good morning to you too, hyewon-unnie." she says timidly.

hyewon nods as a response and continues scrolling on her smartphone. minju glances at the screen of her unnie's phone, it's mostly all about games but it still amazes her how she can balance playing games while also living as an idol.

silence falls on to them like a veil, giving them a sense of privacy beneath the quiet atmosphere. minju can almost feel herself falling asleep again but a low whistle disrupted their ambience. she pops one eye open and sees yujin looking at them eyebrows raises and a smug aura coating her.

"hogging kwangbae so early in the morning? really minju-unnie?" yujin asks in a teasing tone.

hyewon looks at them both and raises her eyebrows at yujin ever so slightly. she sees minju being practically frozen in her seat, though still emitting the warmth around her.

"teasing minju so early in the morning? really puppy?" she diverts her attention to the tall girl, using her own words earlier against her.

yujin pouts at that and gives her the commonly used technique that she always uses: puppy eyes.

the older girl sighs at that and gestures her to take a spot on the opposite side of hyewon, yujin happily skips her way towards the couch; she does the same as minju and lays her head on hyewon's other shoulder.

"I thought you were replacing me with that frog-unnie, kwangbae." yujin playfully glares at the girl in the center then the girl on her other end. 

hyewon sighs at that, albeit in a concealed exasperation while minju rolls her eyes at the statement and pokes her tongue at the younger girl.

"both of you act like children really..." the oldest of the trio on the couch remarks with a chuckle.

minju and yujin stops bickering and looks at each other before saying in unison, "that's the sequence~"

feeling a vein pop in her head, hyewon stands up and looks at them both (minju's body only or anywhere that isn't minju's eyes). she uses both of her hands to squish the life out of yujin's cheeks.

"you should thank god, the heavens, and all other supernatural entities that you're my baby here in the group because I would've choked you already if it wasn't," hyewon threatens without malice, yujin gulping and nodding her head rapidly, afraid of the wrath of her unnie.

the rapper then turns around and leans dangerously close to minju, her left arm caging the girl's sides while her other is caressing the cheeks before her ever so gently.

"you, thank the gods that you're very pretty because I don't hurt pretty girls." hyewon mutters lowly, causing minju to shiver as she feels the older's gaze melting her.

she retreats back to her room after threatening the infamously known "jinjoo" couple and leaving them stunned at her antics. it wasn't until she closed her door that she hears a piercing scream reverbing throughout the whole place.

•

at noon, she re-emerges out of the confines of her cozy place aka her room as the old kang hyewon, the one that's mysteriously quiet and doesn't give kim minju a heart attack from flirtatious advances. no, she's never ever pulling that stunt again. mot until the day she gets buried six feet under.

hyewon goes straight to the kitchen and opens the fridge, she lets out a relieved sigh after seeing her can of root beer still in the fridge, god knows what she'll do to her friends if one of them actually touched hyewon's comfort drink.

opening the can and sipping it, she feels the sweet taste of the liquid running down ; she can be contented being able to drink this forever but that isn't possible in this plane of reality.

the yangsan-born idol glances at her side after she sees someone staring at her in her peripheral vision. she sees minju staring at her in an odd fashion, odd in a way that she suddenly feels so conscious of her entire being.

after finishing what's left of her precious root beer, she disposes it immediately and made her way towards the living room; hyewon discreetly glanced at minju and sees her talking to the newly arrived sakura. good, at least she won't feel so conscious passing the said girl.

hyewon sees chaewon watching some film documentary about dolphines and she supposes it'll be better than having her thoughts stray towards kim minju again. the older girl treads her way on to the couch and plops herself at the right side of chaewon.

it was silent at first, both of them fixated on the show on the television as a video of a dolphin currently doing bow-diving with its crew. few more minutes passed before chaewon beckoned hyewon to move closer to her.

"c'mere hyewon-unnie," chaewon spreads her arms, effectively caging the older girl with her hug.

"mhmm, what's got you watching animal documentary all of a sudden." hyewon asks, hints of sleepiness scattered all over the words.

"my ever so precious unnie, I'd like to ask as to why would you care?" chaewon replies, playful sarcasm edging out between the words.

"hmm..." the older hums halfheartedly.

she feels pretty sleepy now, not having an ounce of sleep yet since three in the morning. hyewon hoped that the root beer that she finished earlier would help keep her systems awake but this wasn't the case in this scenario, maybe she should try energy drinks next time.

"hyewon-unnie?"

chaewon calls her name but gets no response, she turns to look at the older girl that she's currently engulfed in a hug and notices the eyebags that formed beneath the eyes of the visual. she wonders what time did the girl sleep for her to look like she's been alive for over a century already.

"aish~~ unnie, have you slept at all?" chaewon inquires, getting a shake of the head as a reply.

hyewon feels her consciousness losing bit by bit as each second passes, the scolding voice of her younger member deafening out to a small whispers - her ears unable to register the worried voice of another person.

•

they didn't have a schedule the next day, so the members were off to their own individual plans for the day; for hyewon, the day is not a day to be slacking off so she dresses up in a plain white oversized shirt coupled with a gray sweatpants, running shoes, and an oversized hoodie as well and she heads over their shared practice room then blasts her group's song on the stereos.

hyewon lost track of the time as she focused entirely on getting the moves down precisely with intensity, it wasn't until a couple of hours later and the sun has already been replaced by the moon that she collapsed on the pristine flooring of the room, unable to move her arms and leg with ease as she feels the numbness spread through the entire region of her body.

the rapper groans loudly at her miserable state but she can't just rest, not until she's sure within herself that wouldn't make a mistake when they perform the song; her only job was to be able to keep up with her better, more talented members and hell be damned if she fails in doing that.

she rests for a couple of minutes before standing up, albeit a little too quickly because she feels nauseous all of a sudden and her world's spinning. hyewon stumbles to get her posture properly and she's trying to balance herself to no effect. preparing for impact, hyewon closes her eyes as falls face first on the ground.

feeling sharp pain cutting through her skull, the girl puts her hand on to it and her eyes widens when she feels thick liquid on the spot. hyewon looks at her fingers and sees red, shooting her anxiety levels through the roof; she looks for a towel to wipe the blood off but sees none so she settles for her hoodie, using it to remove the liquid but it still has evidences of blood all over her fingers.

"ah, ." she curses underneath her short breaths. 

her senses are in a haze right now but all she's thinking about is how she's going to take the earful of their leader once she shows up in the dorm with blood-stained hands and clothes. hyewon seats adjacent to the wall and rests her back to it, her face craddled by her two hands as she passes time.

hurried footsteps broke hyewon out of her reverie but she pays no attention to her intruder, she's going to get scolded anyways so might as well save herself the explanation.

"unnie..." the girl trails off.

hyewon feels the other person kneel in front of her. she continues to let her head be carried by her hands, feeling the exhaustion, the sharp pain, and the numbness all together. amidst all of this, she feels the person gently cup her face; she looks at minju's obviously distressed yet still stunning face.

"sorry minju-ah, unnie is a bit clumsy today." she flashes a smile, hoping to difuse the tense atmosphere. 

minju however, still has that face of hers - obvious unrest in her perfect features. she stands up suddenl