there were six bookmarks in minjeong's journal.

it's something she cherishes a lot—the journal and the bookmarks and the thoughts written on it. 

it's a journal covered with flowers given by her—because she said that's her way of giving flowers. 

the bookmarks are two inches wide, five inches long strip of scented paper handcrafted with dried leaves with minjeong's name neatly scribbled on it, and if she's being honest, it's the sweetest thing someone had given her. 

minjeong's journal was filled out to the last page—yet the six bookmarks are there, teasing her, taunting her, a heavy reminder of six points in her life she's not sure she wants to re-live or forget. 

//

first bookmark: january 1

yi zhuo drags minjeong to a red velvet concert during new year's eve.

it's her birthday, but she loves red velvet and she loves yi zhuo too, so she lets herself get dragged in the sea of people pressing their bodies against each other in an attempt to have a glance at their favorite girl group.

yi zhuo tells minjeong they're meeting "a friend".

if you get a time machine and get minjeong to stand in front of it, she'll not be able to tell you if she wants to go back to this day and change anything. 

because that's the first time she met her.

there was something familiar about her—you know that feeling you get when you look at someone and wonder why you feel like you've known them for all your life, yet never really meeting them before, ever?

minjeong felt exactly like that.

and if minjeong wants to blame someone, she'll definitely blame yi zhuo for not introducing them to each other. 

which she can't really, if she's being honest.

yi zhuo's friend is aeri—and aeri is friends with her, and because of red velvet, they never had to deal with an awkward first greeting. 

minjeong finds out her name is jimin—and not because of her best friend yi zhuo.

she hears it from aeri as she calls her with a loud "jimin, are you having a good time?" to which she replies with "of course, i've waited for this all my life!"

minjeong is pretty sure jimin knows her name—well, with yi zhuo's constant shrieking of "kim minjeong, kim minjeong that's wendy oh my god she's the best vocalist kim minjeong are you listening you little—"

so yeah, minjeong is pretty sure jimin knows her full name by now.

an hour into the concert and minjeong is hypnotized.

as the soft melody of candy plays in the background with the voices of their favorite group, minjeong realized she can't take her eyes off of her.

jimin has captivated her in ways she can't explain, opting for her to steal glances at the girl's face a little too often than what's normal. 

a little too often than what people who never met each other previously should do.

she's attracted—it could have been the right word, it could have been not, but all she thinks about is jimin, jimin, jimin.

as soon as the clock strikes midnight on new years eve—exactly on minjeong's birthday, all she thinks about is jimin, jimin, jimin.

minjeong thinks she could have been braver and should have asked for jimin's number before parting ways with her, but minjeong is not one to act on her feelings. 

still, jimin entertained her that night, enchanting her, pulling her out of her introverted shell. 

it was the first time they met each other and yet jimin had already told her stories about how she was late to school one time because of some scary pigeons, and minjeong already knows how jimin prefers crocodiles and snakes over flying creatures. 

minjeong still thinks she could have been braver and should have asked yi zhuo or aeri for jimin's number, but minjeong is not one to act on her feelings. 

jimin beats her into it—receiving a message from her a few days after the concert. 

it's an unkown sender, but minjeong knows enough to realize it's jimin. 

if you get a time machine and get minjeong to stand in front of it, she'll not be able to tell you if she wants to go back to this day and change anything. 

because starting that day, jimin changed her life.

//

jimin crept into minjeong's life like droplets of sweet nectar trickling down a daffodil center. 

she's the first person minjeong talks to as soon as she wakes up, the last person she talks to before succumbing to a good night's rest. 

she's the first person minjeong thinks about as soon as she opens her eyes, and the last image to flash in her mind before closing her eyes at night.

//

second bookmark: january 11

they decided to meet each other again and minjeong was honestly scared that the buzz and hype and adrenaline of the first day has already died down.

minjeong thinks about how easy it is to trick one's heart and brain. 

to associate the thrill of their first meeting to the euphoria of the concert was the greatest hoax of all time.

still, minjeong lets her mind and body and her heart trick her because—who cares?

she's meeting jimin for a nice lunch and it's okay if her mind is just deceiving her because—who cares?

they met each other and spent good three hours of just minjeong rambling about things and jimin telling her stories about her life. 

jimin tells her about everything and anything, and minjeong was enchanted.

minjeong is seeing everything in rose-tinted glasses, and she lets her eyes trick her because—who cares?

jimin gives her something packaged neatly in parchment paper—fancy, special.

jimin begs her not to open it yet.

minjeong opens it as soon as she gets home, opening the package carefully, afraid to even crumple the parchment even though it's just the cover. 

she finds a notebook—no, a journal—with flowers on the cover, six bookmarks included with it, designed with dried leaves and with pretty kim minjeong written in perfect calligraphy.

she opens the journal to find a small card with neat handwriting.

to kim minjeong;

i wanted to give you flowers, but there's not much you can do with them if they die.

so i'm giving you this instead of flowers, and hope it stays with you longer than a flower would dry.

yu jimin

//

minjeong started feeling things she didn't want to name.

naming something makes it more real. and she's not sure whether she wants it that way.

they talked a lot on the phone, and minjeong found herself anticipating every single picture jimin sends her.

minjeong will never tell anyone how loud she shrieks in her room, how she spins like crazy in happiness whenever jimin sends her something that tickles her heart.

yi zhuo asks her about jimin, and minjeong tells her—yes, i like jimin.

she'll never tell yi zhuo how it's not true, how it should have been—yes, i'm in love with jimin.

minjeong started feeling things she couldn't even name.

minjeong never even told yi zhuo—her best friend since childhood—that she's always talking to jimin.

jimin is minjeong's little secret.

minjeong wanted to talk about her so bad, she knows if she starts, she won't be able to stop.

minjeong wanted to flaunt her, let everyone know she's hers—but is she actually?

jimin is minjeong's little secret.

and it's getting harder and harder for minjeong not to spill it out.

//

third bookmark: march 11

minjeong travels to jeju for work. 

she comes back with tons of souvenirs she bought with jimin in mind.

jimin was ecstatic and wanted to see her, but jimin had plans set up with some friends she can't ca