Minjeong ended up spending the night at Jimin’s, at the request of the older. But they didn’t do anything, Minjeong slept in Jimin’s bed while the owner slept in Aeri’s. It was the dead of the night when they stopped talking, Jimin would hate herself more if she let Minjeong go home distraught alone and something happened to her. Even these little things that Jimin pays attention to flatters Minjeong. 

Tossing and turning in bed, Minjeong lies awake until the sun rises. Minjeong hates how the left side of the bed is stone cold, on the contrary of the nights before where warmth radiates from there with a swing of a hand resting on her waist. She hates how the Jimin sitting slouch with a beer in hand earlier looked and sounded very differently from how she usually is, the dorky and witty Jimin she’s so used to. She hates how low Jimin thinks of herself, as if she’s so unaware of the fact that spending time with Jimin is the best part of her days. She hates how she couldn’t open and convince Jimin that she’s enough, that her flaws are the very things that make her human and alive and just so characteristically herself.

However, despite the heartwrenching ultimatum Jimin gave her earlier, she will never be able to hate Jimin. The one surprise in her life she longs for, and she longs for her to join her lonely self in bed and spoons her from behind like she always does. But she doesn’t, and when Minjeong finally catches a two-hour sleep after crying too much, she wakes up to a plate of slightly burnt pancakes on the coffee table and no signs of Jimin. Maybe she went to work. But who is she kidding? It’s a matter of counting the days before the new year, all schools are closed for the holiday season. Maybe she went to avoid her.

She sees Jimin’s car keys still in the key bowl though. Maybe she left the car for her again, so she can go home safely. Minjeong sobs at the thought.

Minjeong eats the breakfast made for her, then she does the dishes after. She gathers her things–but not her spare clothes in Jimin’s wardrobe, it would have made reality too unbearable–, then leaves the apartment with tears streaming down her face. Jimin is expendable, she said last night. Little did Jimin know, Minjeong holds her irreplaceable in every inch of her skin. The marks she left all these nights, that’s how Minjeong is keeping Jimin so close and unmatched to her.

If Jimin is expendable, then Minjeong’s love is meaningless. How could there be love when the one person who deserves it the most won’t be there to receive its utmost attention and care? How could Minjeong love anyone else now that she loves Jimin?

 Jimin isn’t doing any better at work. Or rather, at Aeri’s mom’s home. 

She’s currently sitting cross legged in Aeri’s living room, laptop and papers all over the coffee table. She is in the middle of marking grades for a class’ math paper test, and she loses focus on every other equation. She blames the Spotify playlist she plays on her laptop, the music is too jumpy for her to keep her concentration. Lies, the volume on her Airpods Max is at the lowest of settings, it wouldn’t have affected her a bit. 

Maybe it’s because of a certain girl that’s been in her mind all morning. How is she feeling after last night’s conversation? Does she hate her? Or does she thank her for finally getting the chance to back out of their thing going on? Has she eaten the pancakes she almost sacrificed her kitchen for her yet? 

So many questions and alternative outcomes spiraling in her brain it develops a migraine. She’s been getting a lot of migraines these days. The blaring wallpaper of her laptop that says ‘FINISH YOUR GODDAMN THESIS REVISION YU JIMIN!!!’ does not help in the slightest too.

She’s in the middle of chasing a deadline. According to her calendar, she was supposed to have finished marking the tests by Christmas, which was just days ago. Everybody but her thought it was absurd of course, because what fool works on Christmas? But Yu Jimin does not associate herself with the phrase ‘time off’. Even if it’s doomsday tomorrow, she would still teach algebra and plow snow like any other winter day. 

She didn’t finish marking the papers by Christmas though, pestered by her family to come home to celebrate the holidays together. And to be fair, Jimin did come home for breakfast, gift swapping, and lunch. But a little before dinner time, she scurried as fast as she could to her own place just because Minjeong sent her a tantalizing picture wearing a Mrs. Claus costume with a caption, ‘unwrap me?’. 

Jimin is a simple woman, so she runs (literally, she left her car at her mom’s. Jeongyeon’s wife had to drop off her car the day after) as fast as she could that evening. When she got to her place, she mustered a lame excuse to Jeongyeon on the phone, of how she forgot to put Jimmy and Gil back in the tank after cleaning its filter, all the while Minjeong was forging hickeys all over her neck, sitting snug on her lap at that goddamn loveseat. Her family believed it anyway, so no problem there. At least Jimin was with her family for a good couple of hours, and she got to unwrap her favorite Christmas present at the end of the day. All was well. 

Jimin is a little stressed that she didn’t finish her task by Christmas though, only for her to be screamed in the ear by Aeri saying, “The deadline isn’t until the second week of January, you overzealous moron!”

Jimin, indeed being the overzealous moron she is, threw a fit at Aeri regarding how self punctuality is vital at this time of hustle culture climate. Whatever the that means, Aeri grumbled that time. To which the Japanese asked her why she hadn’t finished marking by Christmas if that was so important, and Jimin went mute as if she was a woodpecker with her beak stuck in a tree after incessant pecking. 

There’s no way she was gonna tell Aeri the real reason now, was it? So she came up with the same lame excuse she mustered to her family, how she forgot to put Jimmy and Gil back in the tank. 

Jimin expected Aeri would throw something at her, a book or a hairdryer, because—it wasn’t real of course, Jimin is a responsible co-parent of those two lovable Kois—the excuse made it seem like Jimin was negligent to her pets. But no, Aeri just looked at her with squinted eyes and muttered an odd ‘sure’. Maybe Aeri saw a glimpse of Jimin’s reddening cheeks as she stuttered the answer. 

Jimin got it bad. Too bad.

That’s all she is gonna get though, nodding at the fact that last night probably marks the end of their arrangement. Jimin thinks it’s for the best. Minjeong can finally get her happily ever after with Jaeyun, and Jimin… Well, she’s happy if Minjeong is happy. She feels content enough knowing that Minjeong is in the arms of the best person for her.

She can’t help but think about her all the time, though. From her walk to Aeri’s house that takes around 45 minutes, she thinks about Minjeong every second of it. Even now, she almost write Minjeong’s name on a number of her students’ papers instead of their scores. She got it very bad.

She’s about to rip the scalp of her head when she hears keys jingling. Aeri’s back from her breakfast shopping. In all her glory, mouth still full with the half mini croissant her hand holds, taking off her Crocs and coat in one swift move. She throws the pack of mini croissants to Jimin, to which her best friend effortlessly catches without looking where it went, those basketball skills are of use at times like this.

Aeri joins her on the floor, passing a cup of Americano to her best friend, “You really need to stop working one of these days.”

Jimin opts to stay silent, side eyeing Aeri a little bit before continuing marking her students’ papers while her free hand takes a bite into a mini croissant. She is a dedicated teacher–albeit only a substitute–like her mother. She looks up to her mother a lot when teaching, using innovative techniques to keep the students intrigued on such a boring subject. She takes her job very seriously, maybe too seriously.

“It’s the holidays, Jimin,” Aeri snatches another mini croissant from the pack, “Schools won’t be open in three weeks.”

Jimin rolls her eyes as she takes a sip into her beautifully delicious hot Americano, releasing a content sigh as she finally gets her daily intake of caffeine. Truly one of the best moments of hers every morning. Besides eating burnt breakfast with Minjeong, of course. She really needs to stop thinking about her if she wants to finish marking grades.

Just as she was about to pick up her red pen to continue marking, Aeri asks nonchalantly, “lovers quarrel with Minjeong?”

Pen drops. She chokes on her coffee with powerful coughs, slapping her chest multiple times to bring back the air she was so abruptly knocked out of. 

Half chewed croissant drops from (Aeri curses, “Jimin what the ?! That’s so gross!”). 

She almost drops her cup of coffee too if it weren’t for Aeri’s lightning fast moves to grab it before it tips off the table and splashes all over the place (“Oh no, not ing today Jimin! For God’s sake, my carpet is white!!”).

Jimin’s world felt like crashing down. All of her five senses shut down and reboots by themselves. Jimin feels like a little child caught doing something nasty by their parents, how could she not? Two years of fooling around discreetly finally got busted? She will never hear the end of this if she tells Minjeong. Good thing that they aren’t on speaking terms at the moment, or is that a bad thing on her part right now? She can’t really tell, her mind is blank ever since Aeri asks that stupid silly question.

How does Aeri know? How much does she know? Does everyone know? Did everyone just play along to their tomfoolery? How long has she known? How long has everybody known??? How–

“Okay, calm down with the questions, Road Runner. I’ll answer them one by one if you don’t mind,” Aeri taps Jimin’s head a little, bringing her back to reality after a swirl of stupefaction. Jimin is so dumbfounded, she doesn’t even realize she’s saying all the questions in her head out loud to her best friend.

“Of course I would know, ,” Aeri calmly takes a sip out of Jimin’s cup of coffee. She figures her friend is too shocked to do anything, so her stealing sips out of her Americano wouldn’t hurt as much as it would on usual days, “First of all, I’m your roommate and best friend. As oblivious as I am, I would know that you’re hooking up with someone.”

“How??” Jimin says before she properly registers that stupid question in her brain as she prods relentlessly at Aeri’s arm so she’d answer quicker. 

“I teach physics for teenagers Jimin, I’m not an idiot,” Aeri says as she smacks Jimin’s shoulder. She would’ve munched on another mini croissant, but Jimin keeps prodding at her arm annoyingly to gauge a more detailed answer, so Aeri goes on, “I can recognize the clothes scattered all over our place, you dumb .”

Jimin’s jaw hit the floor wide open at the revelation, and Aeri sees this as a cue to continue, “Seriously, you guys have been ing for around two years now and you expect me not to know?”

That feels like another jab in the gut for Jimin, she exclaims, “you know it’s been two years too??”

Aeri facepalms, God bless Jimin and her gullible soul. 

plow me mommy (4)

Aer(i)head

can u guys come over

Chae1

why

Night fury

yeah why

Aer(i)head

our lil bozo is acting up

Night fury

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