Chapter 9 – Lost Puppy

“Jagiya, I want this, this, and that!”

Jimin shakes her head at her demanding friend pointing to every food stall at the festival, as poor Jinhee quickly runs over to the mentioned stalls obediently. She sees Jeongmin following suit with a knowing smile directed at her.

“Go easy on him alright, how much can you actually eat?”

“I haven’t had those dumplings for a while alright. Give me a break.”

She hears her friend complain loudly, a full bowl of rice cakes in her hands as they wait for the two boys to come back.

“Anyways, Jimin, I will be going on a boat ride with Jinhee later. Just the two of us.”

“Wait, what?”

“I will give you the signal, alright? Come on, Jinhee and I need some time alone as well.”

Jimin rolls her eyes at her friend. Jiwoo grins widely as the two boys came back with a few bowls of food.

“About time, boys!”

∞∞∞

Minjeong fidgets nervously with the chopsticks in her hand as the cringey couple left them to their own devices. She sees Jimin looking at the half empty bowls of food in front of them and realizes that they haven’t gotten any drinks yet. She stands up abruptly, surprising Jimin and even herself.

“Sunbae, you must be thirsty, I’ll go get some drinks.”

Jimin merely nods, her mind seems to be drifting off. Minjeong sees the girl looking at the lake in front of them and decides to take a chance.

“Do you perhaps want to go on a boat ride as well, sunbae?”

She sees the girl looks up with a surprised expression, not answering her. Noting that that was not what she wanted, Minjeong tries again.

“Or we can just sit in front of the lake and enjoy the view.”

Jimin smiles at that and Minjeong lets out a knowing smile in return.

 ∞∞∞

They settled on a space just in front of the lake and sat there comfortably, watching their friends struggling on the boat ride. Minjeong hears Jimin laughs out loud and finds herself smiling at the sight before her.

“She really can’t give Jinhee a break now, can she?”

Minjeong nods in agreement and watches as the leaves from the tree beside them begin to fall on them. One landed on her head and before she can reach out to remove it, Jimin’s fingers got to them first. She suddenly realizes how close they are, what with Jimin leaning her body towards her and their faces only centimeters apart.

She sees Jimin looking at her intensely, face moving closer towards her. Naturally, Minjeong closes her eyes and leans in, hoping for their lips to touch. When she feels nothing, she opens her eyes to see Jimin’s eyes filled with guilt as the taller girl retreats her body quickly. Dejected yet still feeling very persistent, Minjeong tries her luck, yet again.

“Sunbae, I’m not sure if I have been obvious enough but I like you.”

What she meant to say was, I love you.

I love you so much that I decided to disguise myself as a man and leave my palace, risking everything, just to go enroll in your school to court you.

To go on a date like this with you, like a regular couple.

To be here with you, without my mask on.

She sees Jimin turn to look at her with a hesitant face and feels her heart fall. Jimin lets out a deep sigh before turning back to look at the lake in front of her, now void of anyone. It was empty.

“Thank you for liking me. You are cute. You really are.”

Minjeong holds her breath in anticipation, hoping for the best but when she sees Jimin forcing out a smile, she knew exactly what Jimin was going to say.

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