“Thanks for helping me,” Chaeyoung whispered as she closed the door to her room. The air was tense, but unlike the uncountable times it had happened before, she was sure nothing bad could happen now. She was safe. 

As long as she was with Mina, she was safe.

They hadn’t talked, or at least they hadn’t had the talk yet. Mina’s attention had been on the cake the whole time and Chaeyoung was too scared to speak in case it wasn’t something her roommate wanted. The anxiety was starting to take over her entire body; the proof of this was her shaky fingers and dry mouth.

“Chaeyoung,” Mina called as she took her shoes off. She was smiling widely, a soft glimmer in her eyes. Chaeyoung felt herself go even redder than usual, “Are you okay? I mean- With what happened today, you know?"

"Yea, yeah!” The younger girl rushed to respond. Her voice sounded high-pitched and forced, causing her friend to laugh. She hated when people thought she was nervous. She wasn’t nervous. There wasn’t any reason to be nervous about anything, right? Except that maybe she really was.

Mina sat down on her bed, “You look cute when your face gets all flushed like this,” She said with a smirk Chaeyoung could hear through her tone. It only made her flush even more.

“I’m not cute,” She mumbled under her breath but it still came out loud enough for Mina to catch. The younger sat down on the floor by her desk, her back leaning against the bedpost. She turned around and looked up at Mina, her eyebrows scrunched together. This situation was so awkward, and Mina didn't seem to notice. If she did, she was very ing good at hiding it. 

The taller girl chuckled, “What? Did you say something? I couldn’t hear you.” She teased, trying her hardest not to smile.

The younger girl sighed and buried her head in her hands. She didn’t want to have this conversation, she didn’t want to talk about what happened today, and she most definitely did not want to admit to how embarrassed she felt over Mina’s words. “Nothing,” She mumbled again, hoping that would be enough to stop her.

Mina leaned forward and grabbed one of her hands, which startled Chaeyoung slightly. Before the brunette had a chance to pull away, the older girl had already taken her other hand. “It’s totally okay if something happened between us, at least on my part.” She continued with a gentle expression.

Chaeyoung tried to ignore the fluttering feeling in her stomach. It was hard to do so with Mina holding her hands so tightly as if she were afraid Chaeyoung was going to leave if she let go.

“I... I think I like you. Like, in that way.” She didn’t think she liked her, the younger had never been more sure of something in her life, but Mina didn’t need to know that. Chaeyoung finally confessed.  The words came out in a rush, leaving her breathless. She glanced up at Mina and noticed the wide grin that spread across her face.

“I figured that much,” Mina giggled, “But, what do you mean ‘like in that way’?” She asked, evidently teasing the younger. 

“Like, romantically, I guess?” She clarified, her eyes darting to the gray-colored carpet to avoid making eye contact. The answer seemed to satisfy the taller girl. She released her grip on Chaeyoung and stood up, sitting in front of the younger girl on the floor. 

Chaeyoung was hyper-aware of everything that was happening: they were alone together in her room, there was an open magazine laying on the floor that didn’t belong to her, and there was music playing in the background that she would’ve been able to recognize wasn’t her heart beating faster than a jackhammer. Mina was sitting close enough that their knees were almost touching and both girls were staring at each other intensely, neither daring to break eye contact.

“Can we kiss?” Mina whispered. It was barely louder than a whisper, but Chaeyoung heard every word. Her cheeks heated up once more, but this time, Mina didn’t laugh at her.

"What?" Chaeyoung asked, confused about whether she had heard her roommate correctly.

The older girl just smiled and repeated herself. Her hand reached out and Chaeyoung’s cheek, sending shivers down her spine. “Kiss me, Chae.” She ordered with a soft voice.

If she was dreaming, she never wanted to wake up. There was no hesitance in Chaeyoung’s mind. She closed her eyes and slowly leaned in until their lips met. 

Mina tasted sweet like strawberries mixed with honey, and the feeling of the girl in front of her was so intoxicating it should be considered dangerous. Her arms s around the older girl’s waist, bringing her impossibly closer and using her body weight to push Mina until her back reached the carpeted floor. 

They pulled apart, gasping for air. Chaeyoung noticed the light blush dusting Mina’s cheeks and the way her breathing was slightly erratic. They stayed in silence for a few moments longer before Mina broke it, “This is new.”

Chaeyoung nodded in agreement. Her lips tingled where they had touched Mina’s, and she was having trouble concentrating. “What?” She muttered.

The taller girl smiled playfully, “You literally pushed me."

"Oh," Chaeyoung gasped quietly, realizing she did push Mina onto the ground and straddle her legs. She wasn’t sure exactly why she did it, she just knew she wanted the older as close as possible. Mina giggled quietly at the younger girl's reaction and pulled Chaeyoung into another kiss. This time, Chaeyoung responded immediately.

They kissed slowly, savoring the moment. Both girls enjoyed each other's lips as they tangled their tongues together in a dance neither of them knew the rules to. Chaeyoung felt her heartbeat picking up pace and her breath becoming shorter than normal. She was completely aware of Mina's hands caressing her back and pulling her closer. 

Chaeyoung felt her heart beating rapidly against her chest as she broke the kiss for some air. Mina pouted lightly at the loss of contact but smiled brightly when the younger leaned forward to connect their lips again. 

"Wait- Wait-" Mina interrupted just before their mouths touched, "Should we… talk about this? Or…" Mina began, trailing off unsurely as she looked to the side. She was clearly uncomfortable, and Chaeyoung understood.

She moved off of Mina slowly and sat on the floor next to her. It felt weird to sit down without the presence of a warm body pressed against hers. "I don’t- I mean we should talk about it,” The younger nodded unsurely.

“Yeah,” Mina moved and leaned back, supporting her head on the edge of Chaeyoung’s bed. “I don’t even know what to say.” There was only one question, burning inside : ‘what does this make us?’, but maybe it was too soon.

Chaeyoung smiled in an attempt to ease the tension in the room. Maybe she needed space, right? In the younger’s head, that was the only explanation that made sense. “I- I’m gonna shower because I really nee