hole-and-corner

Chapter 12. Weekend Rendezvous

Kim Yoohyeon stepped out of her car and nervously stood in front of a bungalow house painted in white with brown accents. It was a cozy-looking home with a well-kept lawn and rows of flowerbeds around. She took out her phone and sent a text message saying, "I'm here". Her heart was already pounding so hard right now and with her shaky hands, she straightened her warm-toned blazer so as to try and compose herself a bit.

In a span of few minutes, she saw the girl walk out of the house. She waved at Yoohyeon after making sure that she closed and locked her door. Quickly strolling along the pathway, she was all smiles, excitedly approaching the girl. As the other was walking, Yoohyeon's heartbeat seems to get faster as she gets closer.

"Hi there!", said Minji as she stood in front of Yoohyeon who was staring hard at her. She was wearing a cream-coloured turtleneck underneath a light brown blazer which complemented perfectly with her long pants. She was a bit wary at first when Yoohyeon insisted to pick her up for their planned date. It has never happened before. It was usually her who takes the lead and having someone do it for her is quite unusually amusing.

Yoohyeon, on the other hand, was speechless. Her mind has gone blank and she was extremely nervous.

"Are you sure you can drive?" asked Minji all of a sudden.

It brought the younger girl back to reality and quickly nodded her head, still cannot utter a word or two.

"I thought you were just going to stare at me the whole day." Minji said jokingly as Yoohyeon opened the car door for her. She quickly hopped into it and Yoohyeon did the same.

For one last time, Yoohyeon took a deep breath and diverted her attention to Minji as she held the steering wheel tight. "Sorry, you look so good that I was out for a minute."

"You don't know how beautiful you are looking too right now. But I'm glad I caught your eyes... I honestly prepared it for today." Minji, who was unusually feeling bashful right now, diverted her eyes towards the front. It was making her feel kind of shy all of a sudden.

The younger girl smiled as she realized that she was feeling a bit more relaxed now. "Now, let's get going... shall we?"

Yoohyeon started driving. Aside from the faint sound of the song playing out of the radio, the two of them weren't talking at all. Both were unsure of how to start the conversation...

"So... what do you usually do during the weekends?" It was Minji who broke the silence between them. Being the older one, she knew she had to do it. Plus, she also wants to take this chance to get to know Yoohyeon better.

"Well, I'm usually just staying at home, doing random stuff... I've always been interested in learning languages, so recently... I'm kind of doing some self-study, learning a bit of Spanish." Yoohyeon answered shyly. She doesn't want Minji to think of her as some kind of nerd or anything like that.

"That's pretty cool! How many languages are you speaking? Are you planning to travel to Spain soon?" asked Minji, taking a huge interest in that tiny bit of information.

"Well, Korean, English and a bit of Chinese... I guess you could count that as 2 and a half, something like that." Yoohyeon said shyly before turning around a corner, pausing with her answer. "And, yes, I want to travel to Spain sometime soon."

"That's impressive! I'm still working on my English. You should teach me." Minji responded with a chuckle.

"My pay is high though?" Replied Yoohyeon before laughing. "Just kidding! Sure, just hit me up whenever you want!"

There was a momentary silence again but this time it was Yoohyeon who asked a question. "So, how about you? I hope you aren't spending your weekends still working..."

"Well, that can't be helped." replied Minji, caught red-handed. "There are the usual work-related stuff but I do occasionally enjoy my weekends at peace. I like visiting art museums when I do have some time off. Though most of my free days I spend doing general cleaning of the house and some gardening..."

"No wonder your lawn looks so well-kept." Yoohyeon responded with a smile.

"Yes, I have some time off after our project with your company." commented Minji. "By the way, I hope you don't mind me asking, you're acquainted with Kwon Chaemin?"

Yoohyeon glanced at Minji quickly before answering. "Yes, do you know her? I mean, personally."

"I don't know if your boss has mentioned this to you before but we're clubmates during the time we were in the university. Chaemin, too. And, Chaemin was my classmate as well." explained Minji.

She knew it was the first time Yoohyeon has heard of this as her eyes grew wide and she looked like she never expected to hear it.

"Oh, what a small world! I never knew you know Miss Lee since way back. We never talked about our personal lives that much, unless necessary." Yoohyeon said with her eyes fixed on the road. "As for me, I met Chaemin back when I was still studying in the US. I was a student intern that time for a clothing company and she was a rookie model. We met during a photoshoot and got close right away since we're both foreigners. You know, it kind of feels reassuring when you know you aren't the only one 'different' in the group."

"I'm glad she made a friend there. When she told me before that she's going to the US, I was a bit concerned since she was really not the friendly type and it took us quite some time to get close. She could be stubborn at times." replied Minji.

Minji kept on keenly listening and Yoohyeon just continued talking about Chaemin. "At first, she had that intimidating aura but when I got to know her, she's funny and very expressive. She didn't tell me a lot about herself until one day when she told me to pick her up from her condo. It was a really stressful day for her and she told me about her problems which I sworn to her that I wouldn't tell anyone..."

"Oh, it's okay, it's okay. I respect the privacy and I know it isn't something I would want to know unless Chaemin decides to tell me." she remarked.

"Yes. I'm glad I could meet her back here in Korea. It's been a while since I came back but we kept in touch from time to time." Yoohyeon smiled at Minji after she successfully parked the car. "We're here."

The two got off the car and entered the park going into the public aquarium. The weather was windy yet cloudy. It isn't too hot nor it is chilly. They got their tickets and went inside the venue.

It was a weekend but there weren't too many people as they would've expected and of course it was a good thing.

It was a large hall-like venue with dimmed lighting, accentuating the blueness of the water behind the thick glass walls. It displayed a variety of fish and aquatic plants and they walked throughout the long hall, amazed by that underwater beauty.

They were also looking at the cue cards all over the venue, stopping from time to time to observe the fish and their conversation revolved around bizarre topics.

"You know I've been wondering. Do fish sleep? Do they pee? Is it possible for a fish to drown?" Yoohyeon asked suddenly with a serious face. Minji couldn't help but to smile as she could see the genuine curiosity behind her words. It was just so cute, looking at her asking all these questions she doesn't have any idea about nor she even wondered about. "Sorry for the random stuff I'm saying-"

"Now that you mentioned it... it made me think too." Minji said with a smile. "Well, we could look it up later and do a little research."

Their conversation halted for a bit as they quietly walked along the hallway. Minji suddenly stopped and said, "You know... you kinda look like a fish."

"Huh?" Yoohyeon didn't totally grasp what Minji just said.

"You resemble some kind of a fish." repeated the older girl.

Yoohyeon chuckled and responded, "This is the first time someone said I resemble some fish. I usually hear that I look like a dog! It suddenly made me curious... which fish is it?"

Yoohyeon diverted her eyes back to the display and looked for the variety of fish swimming around. She was looking for something that looks like her.

On the other hand, Minji was trying not laugh before finally saying the answer to Yoohyeon's question. "You look like a fish- someone s-fish-cial (special) to me!"

Minji bursted out laughing as soon as she said it. Yoohyeon was extremely shocked as she never expected her to say that lame dad joke all of a sudden. She didn't even think that Minji would say such a thing! But it was not a bad thing, as soon as she saw Minji laughing heartily at her own joke, it made her let out a chuckle. It wasn't that funny but she felt happy about the meaning behind the joke.

"Someone special, huh?" She whispered with a smile as she teased Minji, trying not to show how she was feeling flustered all of a sudden.

Minji blushed too, and felt bashful suddenly. "It was a bad joke, eh?", asked Minji, kind of regretting saying the dad joke.

Yoohyeon responded, full of confidence and with a smirk. "Yes! 'Cause it's true, right?"

Minji's face, all of a sudden, brightened up. Her cheeks flushed bright red. She flashed a bright smile to Yoohyeon and nodded with enthusiasm.

"I think this is yours..."

Lee Gahyeon could still remember that interaction with the CEO as if it has happened yesterday. She was doing the laundry when she came across the handkerchief that was the cause of that interaction. Her lips curled into a smile as she remembered the lovely image of her boss smiling at her.

Humming as she did the chores, Gahyeon felt a little bit happier. Whenever Minji comes across her mind, which happens quite often, she couldn't help but to smile. It was as if Kim Minji was her sunshine, the light that brightens up her usual, gloomy days...

She continued doing the chores with a light heart. Feeling the need to go out for grocery, she took a quick shower before heading out. She was wearing a comfortable hoodie and baggy pants as she strolled downtown. The sky is clear but it was windy, a pleasant day to go out and relax.

Her apartment was near the establishments and that was the reason why she picked that place in the first place. She could just walk a few blocks away and do her shopping. It will take less time and less money.

Gahyeon arrived at the grocery and did a quick shopping for her weekly essentials. After that, she thought it would be nice to go grab some iced coffee on the way home to quench her thirst from all the walking and from the heat of the afternoon as well. Walking down the paved road, and as if seeing a mirage in front of her... she caught a glimpse of a person who seems to look a lot like Minji. She blinked twice, still feeling as if she were in a dream, and tried to stare focused on the person. It was really Minji! She hopped out of an unfamiliar car and soon enough, another girl headed out too.

The pair entered the coffee shop Gahyeon was supposed to drop off to. Gahyeon had a mix of emotions. Her heart was trembling from both the excitement of seeing Minji out of the blue and being curious of who she is with and why the two are together. The purple-haired girl's curiosity was over the roof and wanted to observe a bit more so she headed over to the coffee shop right across the street and got a seat beside the glass window. Such a nice seat! Though she felt like she was a bit like a stalker but curiosity kills the cat...

Her focus was diverted when the waitress approached her and asked for her order. Gahyeon ordered iced americano and went back to business.

Her eyes were focused on Minji. The sight of her made her heart race. Out of all the places, out of all the time, out of the blue -- Minji appears in front of her as if like an answered prayer. She did not even