When someone knocks on the door right before Minjeong was about to leave for school, she certainly did not expect to open it to her brother whom she hasn’t seen or heard from in over a year. 

A huge contrast from the grin on Jonghyun’s face, Minjeong looked at him with no emotion, although her heart had descended to her stomach. 

“What are you doing here?” Minjeong steps out of the house, locking it behind her as she starts walking the usual path to school. 

Jonghyun catches up with her, “don’t be like that, pup.” 

“Don’t call me that.” 

She clutches onto her bag strap, keeping firm on the attempt to not beat the living crap out of her brother for leaving her. Yeah, she understood his reasons, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt anyway. 

“Minho told me you were staying at his place while he’s in Japan.” Jonghyun slings his arm around her shoulders like he always did when they were younger. Minjeong let him, but still paid him no mind. 

“Are you heading to school?” Jonghyun asks when Minjeong doesn’t respond to him. 

“What do you think?” 

Jonghyun scoffs, “damn, pup.” 

Minjeong shrugs his arm off of her shoulders, stopping in her tracks. “Jonghyun, leave, please. I need to get to school.” 

“Can I chill at Minho’s house till you get back from school?” 

Minjeong eyes him, “unless Minho tells me that he gives you permission to enter his house, it’s a no from me.” 

“Aw, come on, pup. I won’t do anything bad.” Jonghyun pleads with a pout. 

Shaking her head in disbelief, Minjeong starts to walk away. She didn’t even want to know why he was here anymore. It couldn’t have been for good reason. Not after he had just up and left so easily without looking back. 

Minjeong walked into school with a jumbled mind, suppressing the urge to not cry and throw a raging fit. She walked with purpose, trying to make it to her first class without letting her emotions consume her and completely break her in half. 

“Kim Minjeong!” 

It’s in one ear, and out the other. 

“Minjeong?” 

Suddenly, a body steps in front of her, causing Minjeong to completely collide into them, and break her out of her troubled thoughts. She blinks and looks up at a worried Yu Jimin. 

“What’s wrong?” The older woman asked, eyebrows furrowed and frown deep. 

Minjeong eyes her, before maneuvering past her. “Nothing.” She mutters softly. 

Jimin’s frown deepens, quickly turning and following after her. “That’s not nothing. You’re upset.” 

Sighing, Minjeong shakes her head. “Listen, Jimin. Not today, okay? I’m not in the mood.” 

“Mood for what?” 

Minjeong comes to a sudden stop, before motioning between them. “This. Whatever this is. Okay? No flirting, no love notes. Keep your strawberry milk. I don’t even like strawberry flavored things.” She heaves another heavy sigh, not looking at Jimin because she knows she wouldn’t be able to handle the way her face falls sullenly. 

“I don’t date.” Minjeong whispers, before walking away in the direction her first class was. 

_

“What’s up with you?” 

Jimin looks up at Irene, frown still on her face. “What?” Her least favorite time of the week is her check ups, but recently, Jimin hadn’t been able to focus her energy on completely being upset about having to go through this whole process because of her stupid heart. 

And that was all because of Kim Minjeong. 

But Minjeong was upset. 

At her? 

No… Was it the strawberry milk? 

Why didn’t Minjeong just tell her she didn’t like strawberry milk? She could’ve changed the flavor. And if she didn’t like it, why did Minjeong keep taking it? When she asked Ning Ning about it, she said Minjeong always drank it. 

No, it couldn’t have been that then. 

Jimin’s pout grows as she’s completely distracted with pondering about why Minjeong could have possibly been upset. 

“Hello?” Irene snaps her fingers in front of Jimin, “earth to Jimin? Anyone in there?” She knocks on Jimin’s head lightly, earning a whine from the younger girl. 

“Hey!” Jimin pushes Irene’s hand away, and her doctor grins at her. “There’s my Yu Jimin.” 

Jimin depletes against the chair she was sitting in. Irene chuckles, before taking her stethoscope and doing her usual weekly assessment. She presses the diaphragm of her stethoscope on Jimin’s heart, auscultating in all five spots. 

“I asked why you’re frowning.” Irene says, putting her stethoscope back around her neck. “You’ve been nothing less of a love struck teenager the past few weeks.” Irene suddenly gasped at realization, hand to dramatically, “did something happen? Tell me the gossip.” 

Jimin rolls her eyes, “please. You’re too old to be hearing about teenage gossip.” 

Irene snorts, “I didn’t miss grumpy Jimin at all.” 

Huffing, Jimin pauses and ponders, before wearing her heart on her sleeve for her Aunt Irene and not Dr. Bae. “Take off the white coat.” She reaches to tug on the white piece of clothing that drew a line in their relationship. 

Irene smiles, before taking the white coat off and hanging it on her chair. “Okay, now I’m Aunt Irene. Tell me what’s wrong.” 

“Minjeong’s upset.” Jimin says with a pout. “I don’t know what about, but she ignored me all day. I thought she was starting to open up to me, but then whatever made her upset today just… it ruined everything.” 

Irene hums, “was it something you did?” 

Jimin’s eyes widened, “I don’t think so? She did tell me she didn’t like strawberry flavored things, and I’ve been giving her strawberry milk every morning for the past couple of weeks.” 

Laughing, Irene shakes her head. “Why would you give her strawberry milk if she hates it?” 

“In my defense! Her friend told me that was her favorite drink!” Jimin retorts. 

“And you didn’t think to clarify?” 

“Hey! She drank every single one.” Jimin crossed her arms with a pout. 

Irene smirks, “she did?” Clicking and typing on the computer, the older woman shakes her head, smirk growing with a knowing smile. “Seems like she likes you too, if she still drank her least favorite drink just because you gave it to her.” 

Jimin perks up, “you think so?” 

Irene shrugs, “maybe it’s not something you did. Just ask her, Jimin. Comfort her. Give her a shoulder to lean on.” 

Jimin slumps back into her chair, “I’d give her both shoulders if she’d let me. I’d give her my arms to keep her warm, and my clothes that can soak up all her tears. I can be her punching bag too if she needed to let out some anger—,” 

Irene snorts, “okay, lover girl. Easy on the cheese, yeah? Geez, how much has Wendy taught you?” 

Jimin ignores her teasing, “Minjeong is a closed book. She told me that a lot of people have disappointed her in her life, and that’s why she doesn’t date.” 

“Then why are you chasing after her?” 

Pondering, Jimin relaxes into a smile as her mind drifts to Minjeong. “With her, it doesn’t feel like I’m chasing after something,” her hand comes up to tap her chin in thought, “with Minjeong, it’s like taking a stroll under the night sky filled with thousands of blinking stars.” 

Irene pouts in awe, “Yu Jimin, you sap. That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. Beats anything Wendy’s ever said to me.” 

Jimin grins, “I really like Kim Minjeong.” 

“Just be careful.” Irene pokes above Jimin’s heart, “of this. Be gentle with your heart. I don’t want you heartbroken.” 

Jimin looks down where Irene had poked, before patting her heart. “This? My heart’s already damaged. If anything, won’t love repair it?” 

Irene scoffs, “seriously. Enough with the cheesiness.” 

“Am I free to go back to school?” 

“Yes, you are. But first, look here.” Irene says, before turning the computer screen towards Jimin. “Now you’re twenty-third on the transplant list.” 

Jimin just blinks, no reaction. 

Irene rolls her eyes, “not even a smile? Any excitement?” 

Jimin shrugs. 

“You just wanna go back to Minjeong?”

Jimin nods. 

Clicking her tongue, Irene shooed at her. “Okay, leave, brat.” 

_

During her free period, Minjeong usually hangs out at the quad. She sits on the highest point of the bleachers with her camera next to her, and a book on her lap. When