She really doesn’t know what’s been going on with herself these days. Maybe it’s because she’s on break and gone back to her hometown, where she conveniently grew up with a built-in best friend, which is Minjeong, who grew up a couple of houses down from hers. 

 

Minjeong and Jimin didn’t go to the same primary school since Jimin went to an all-girl's Catholic elementary school, but her little brother, Wonbin, went to the same school as Minjeong and they became friends. However, they met during high school, where they both collided with each other because Minjeong was running track and Jimin was chasing down a runway soccer ball. Long story short, for the next handful of days, Jimin felt so bad that Minjeong sprained her ankle, so she took it upon herself to help Minjeong with everything, especially because Minjeong was one year her junior. Everything included buying her lunch, holding her bag and books to class, taking the bus with her and even walking her home alongside Wonbin, who found his sister’s behaviour strange.

 

Minjeong was adamant on being fine alone, but Jimin was too persistent and her constant puppy eyes that always looked like they were going to burst into tears any moment Minjeong looked into them made her yield and let Jimin have her way. When she took the moon boot off and no longer needed crutches, she thought that was the last time Jimin was going to hang around her. Maybe she was a bit saddened by the thought, already used to the way Jimin would chat her ear off and smile so brightly. However, that wasn’t the case when Jimin showed up for the rest of her freshman year, sophomore year, junior year and all the way to senior year just until Jimin graduated.

 

After she graduated, Jimin still made time to follow Minjeong around, even picking her up from school when she had time and visiting quite often. Then Minjeong got the inkling that Jimin was going to stay around for a while.

 

Minjeong became Jimin’s best friend and maybe she was very persistent, but Jimin knew Minjeong enjoyed her company enough to let her stick around. 

 

Minjeong even applied to the same college as Jimin, but that was because Wonbin and she had already planned to go together. Jimin likes to think Minjeong applied because she loved her so much, and then they were lucky enough to share the same dorm. Sharing the same form made going home for holidays much more convenient, as they went home together.

 

But enough of their backstory and back to Jimin’s dilemma of wanting to bite Minjeong. Jimin had asked (well, more like forced) Minjeong to come hang out with her at her house and Minjeong obliged (left her on read and showed up in half an hour).

 

Jimin complained about Minjeong taking so long, saying she might’ve just fallen asleep and not opened the door for Minjeong. 

“ Your family members could’ve opened the door for me.” Minjeong had deadpanned and Jimin pouted before pulling her into the house and into her childhood room.

 

Minjeong had brought over a Lego set she received from her grandpa for her birthday because she wanted to get it done before she forgot about it. Jimin complained about that too, but didn’t mind lying on her stomach at the bottom of her bed, watching over Minjeong’s shoulder as she put pieces together quietly and quickly.

 

Jimin smiles softly when she sees the necklace she gifted to Minjeong peeking out from the collar of her shirt. She had saved up money from her lab assistant job and purchased a dainty silver necklace with a snowflake as the charm because Minjeong always reminded her of winter, so she thought it was fitting to get it. When she gifted it to Minjeong, she received an expression somewhat similar to an angry puppy, paired with red cheeks and a punch to her shoulder because it looked a bit pricey, but Jimin wouldn’t tell.

 

“Quit looking down my shirt, .” Minjeong says, still focused on her electric guitar Lego build without looking back at Jimin.

“I wasn’t! Yah!” Jimin pulls back, a bright blush coating her cheeks. "How... how did you even see me?”

“I can see you from your mirror.”

 

Jimin looks up and there she is, ratted out by her own full-length standing mirror, showing her on her bed leaning over Minjeong’s shoulder and she sees an annoying smirk on Minjeong’s face.

 

“I wasn’t looking down into your shirt, .” Jimin grumbles. “It’s nice to know you wear my necklace.”

“I never take it off.” Minjeong says it nonchalantly.

“Really?” Jimin blinks, laying back down to look over Minjeong’s shoulder. This time, she turns to Minjeong and blinks at her.

“H-huh?” Minjeong pulls away subtly. “Of course I do. The clasp is too small for me to unclasp.”

“And here I thought you loved me enough to keep wearing my necklace.” Jimin pouts and Minjeong side-eyes her. “Don’t you think about me when it’s hanging around your neck?”

“Shut up.” Minjeong pushes her face away with a hand. “And it’s not your necklace; it’s mine.”

“Nuh-uh, I got it for you. It was mine and is still mine, except you’re wearing it now.” Jimin grins. “Kind of like a collar, because you’re my puppy.”

“Don’t make it weird, Yu Jimin.” Minjeong grumbles, feeling her cheeks heat up.

“It wasn’t weird! You’re just thinking weird, Kim Mindoong.” Jimin frowns disapprovingly. “You must be reading strange things in the webtoons you always read.”

“I-I’m not.” Minjeong frowns.

“Sure, puppy.” Jimin giggles and Minjeong sighs deeply.

 

Jimin turns on the TV, catches up with a kdrama she had put on pause and lets Minjeong do her Legos in peace for a short fragment of time before she disrupts it again. 

 

“Kim Minjeong.”

“What?”

“I noticed you don’t call me unnie anymore. Why?”

“Why?” Minjeong blinks. “I thought we agreed on speaking casually.”

"Yeah, I know that , but it still doesn’t hurt to call me unnie, does it?” Jimin pouts. “You used to call me Unnie all the time.”

“It'll be weird now…” Minjeong blushes. “I haven’t called you unnie in so long.”

“So do it. For me, please?” Jimin pleads.

“If I say it, can you stop bothering me and watch your kdrama quietly?” Minjeong grumbles.

“Maybe.” Jimin grins cheekily.

“Jimin.”

“No, call me unnie .”

“ Unnie , please leave me alone and watch your TV.” Minjeong huffs.

 

Jimin falls back on her bed and squeals, rolling around as Minjeong inhales deeply.

 

She’s so cute, I could bite her!

 

Jimin does get back to her TV after that, although she gets distracted and more interested in Minjeong and her Legos. She watches from her mirror and she knows Minjeong is trying her best not to look, or she may just be very focused on building the guitar.

 

Her tongue pokes out between her lips and a crease forms between her brows as she focuses on the paper instructions for the Lego bricks. That focused expression was the same one Jimin saw often during high school and college too, because Minjeong was very studious and smart. Jimin was too, although she fidgeted a lot and got distracted often. Minjeong was always there to pull her back and get her on track again, though.

 

Jimin smiles softly, enamoured by the way Minjeong stays so still and builds her legos, but a strange itch creeps into Jimin’s body. 

 

She kind of wants to... bite (?) Minjeong. 

 

Jimin thinks it’s the way Minjeong looks so much like a teddy bear, drowned in a blue sweater that vaguely resembles one she owned a long time ago. Or maybe it’s because of the way Minjeong’s cheeks are so round and fluffy-looking when she’s craning her neck down and looking at her legos. It also could be because Minjeong dyed her hair back to her natural root colour after having it red for so long. Now she really looks pretty and soft, and she vividly reminds Jimin of high school. Minjeong looks exactly like she did in high school, with her unkempt short brown hair, except now it’s a little neater with pink Hello Kitty clips that Jimin bought her, holding her hair back.

 

She really looks just like her high school self and Jimin thought Minjeong was really cute, small and cuddly back then.

 

The itch grows tenfold, and she badly wants to tackle Minjeong in a tight hug, bite her, or kiss— wait, what?

 

Jimin blinks out of her reverie.

 

“Minjeong.” Jimin lays on her stomach again and peers over Minjeong’s shoulder, prodding her cheek with a finger.

“Hm?” Minjeong hums.

“Would it totally be weird if I asked to bite you?” Jimin asks and Minjeong pauses.

“Right—right now?” Minjeong turns and blinks.

“Mhm.” Jimin blushes but she doesn’t back down. “If you love me, let me bite you?”

“Y-yah, are you having weird thoughts?” Minjeong recoils with a bright blush. “Don’t include me in them!”

“I’m not!” Jimin whines. “I just—you look really cute and I want to bite you!”

“I—I look cute?” Minjeong blinks.

“You always do, just a little more today.” Jimin blushes before she groans. “Forget about it! Ignore me; I never said anything. Go back to your legos.”

 

Jimin lies back down in her bed and covers herself with her comforter, sulking slightly.

 

“Jimin.” Minjeong abandons her legos.

 

Jimin doesn’t respond, clutching tightly onto the covers to hide her embarrassment because of her sudden intrusive thoughts about her best friend. Jimin thinks about how they’ve been best friends for a long time and she’s sure Minjeong thinks of her as a close friend. They've seen the worst of each other, like when Minjeong cut her bangs too short and when Jimin burned her forehead with a curling iron—having to wear a Shin Chan Crayon plaster, courtesy of Minjeong’s first aid kit for Jimin built into her bag because she’s witnessed Jimin all through high school and the girl is a clutz.

 

So if they’re that close, wouldn't Minjeong just say yes without asking questions? Even though the request was very strange, Jimin is regretting it now.

 

A weight presses down on her bed and Jimin freezes.

 

“Jimin.” Minjeong sighs softly. “ Unnie.” 

“W-why aren’t you building your legos?” Jimin stutters.

“I can’t hear you properly from under there,” Minjeong says, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Can you come out to talk to me instead of sulking?”

“I’m not sulking. I’m cold.” Jimin lies.

“You’re not cold. If you were, you would’ve complained about it earlier.” Minjeong says and Jimin can’t see her, but she knows she’s smirking.

“Shut up!” Jimin whines.

“ Unnie, come on,” Minjeong prods her this time.
“Go away!”

 

Minjeong smiles softly before moving. This time, Jimin really stiffens and grips tightly to her sheets and comforter. Minjeong crawls over and swings a leg over Jimin’s shaped silhouette from the comforter before pressing down with her weight. She grabs onto the comforter and attempts to wrestle it out of Jimin’s hold.

 

“H-hey!”

“Just come out and talk to me!”

“No!”
“The more you stay in there, the weirder you’re being!”

“Get off!” Jimin groans.

 

The weight of Minjeong being on her and her limited oxygen under the covers catch up to Jimin and she finally lets go of the comforter. Minjeong almost falls back, but stabilises herself with a quick reflexed arm.

 

“Woah,” Minjeong sits back up and she’s welcomed by the sight of Jimin’s messy hair and red cheeks. She grins. “See? Wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Can you please get off me and go back to your house?" Jimin turns her head, not looking at Minjeong. “I’m regretting my life right now.”

“You’re the one who asked me to come over. Begged, actually.” Minjeong retorts.

“But that was before I—” Jimin blushes furiously. “I…I…”
“You asked to bite me?” Minjeong completes it for her.

“I was being impulsive; please don’t repeat it.” Jimin covers her face with her hands and Minjeong sighs.

“Unnie.” Minjeong calls for her and Jimin shakes her head. 

 

Minjeong rolls her eyes before taking Jimin’s hands away and holding her wrists tightly to restrain her but not hard enough to hurt her.

 

"I... I don’t mind.” Minjeong blurts and her pale cheeks dust lightly with pink. “I mean, I’ve never had anyone bite me before, I think. And you’ve done weirder things, okay? Like playing scissors, paper, rock with my foot.”

“You agreed to that…” Jimin blushes.

“I agree to a lot of things you propose, Jimin.” Minjeong says it monotonously. 

 

Jimin finally turns to her with a soft smile and Minjeong freezes for a moment, dazzled by the gentle expression on Jimin’s face. Her train of thought is interrupted when she’s tackled down onto the bed and a squeal almost bursts her eardrum.

 

“I knew you loved me as much as I loved you!” Jimin giggles, rolling around with Minjeong in her arms.

“I should’ve let you suffer.” Minjeong resigns, accepting her fate.

“Nuh-uh! Kim Mindoong is really my best friend!” Jimin hugs her tightly and even though Minjeong’s slightly winded, she doesn’t fight against the embrace. “I’m never going to let you go!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Minjeong says, rolling her eyes even though she feels her heart beat abnormally fast.

 

Minjeong doesn’t get a warning for it, and maybe she should've expected it from Jimin’s strange words, but she’d at least thought Jimin would forget about it due to embarrassment, but sure enough, there’s a set of teeth sinking into her cheek and Minjeong blinks at the sudden sensation. It’s not hard enough to break skin but it’d sure leave a temporary mark.

 

“Did it!” Jimin grins brightly and then Minjeong really freezes up when a kiss is pressed to the bite mark. “Love you, Kim Mindoong!”

 

She hiccups and she doesn’t live it down.

 

Nothing relatively changes after, except for Jimin’s burst of energy and bright mood. She’s watching the kdrama in peace for once, except her feet move back and forth on the bed and she hugs a shark plush Minjeong gave her a couple years ago for her birthday.

 

Minjeong’s resumed her spot on the floor, finishing up the electric guitar but things don’t go as smoothly as before. She’s placed bricks in the wrong place and skipped too many instructions and she can still feel the bite on her cheek, even though she wiped Jimin’s saliva away with her sleeve and took notice that the mark faded in the mirror.

 

She just doesn’t know why she can’t stop thinking about it or why her heart won’t go back to normal. The bigger question yet is: when did she start feeling differently about Jimin?

 

Sure, she accepted being best friends with Jimin, not because she was Wonbin’s older sister, but maybe during junior year when she figured Jimin wouldn’t actually leave her alone. The best friend acceptance continued on when Jimin kept pestering her after graduation and Minjeong had always had a bad habit of giving in to Jimin.

 

She thinks it took a long time for her mind to accept that Jimin was going to be someone in her life for a long time, but she knows her heart accepted Jimin the moment the girl carried her all the way to the infirmary in tears.

 

“Are you hungry?” 

“H-huh?” Minjeong blinks, now noticing that Jimin’s squatting in front of her and that she’s done with the Legos.

“Mum called us for dinner. I asked if you were hungry.” Jimin repeats. “Wonbin just came back from soccer too.”

“Oh, uh, sure.” Minjeong nods and Jimin smiles at her. “...What?”

“Nothing, nothing at all.” Jimin grins. “You’re just cute. Now come on!”

 

Jimin pulls her up and then they’re trotting downstairs, where a warm aroma is swarming around the kitchen.

 

“Jeong, hey, when did you get here?” Wonbin greets her with a grin. 

“Hi!” Minjeong beams, moving over to hug him. “A little while ago.”
“I’m still sweaty; I was going to shower first.” Wonbin chuckles.

“It’s okay, you don’t stink.” Minjeong snorts.

 

Jimin watches them—stinky-eyed.

 

Minjeong has always been close with Wonbin, since they went to the same primary school together and were in the same year for high school. They shared some of the same high school classes too. Wonbin was almost polar opposite in comparison to Jimin—Minjeong thinks, despite their uncanny appearance. Wonbin had always been the quieter and calmer sibling, although he did have his moments, which would always amuse Minjeong. Wonbin cared for Minjeong a lot, but not in the way that boys had childish crushes on girls, but in the way that they were both gay and could only communicate with each other comfortably.

 

They both came out to each other in junior year and that definitely solidified their friendship forever. Minjeong didn’t properly become friends with Jimin until after her junior year and she was wary at first, but Wonbin assured her that Jimin wasn't some snobby top girl but instead a very loud, sweet and caring older sister. 

 

When they’re having dinner, Minjeong is comfortable and welcomed into the family since she’s been a constant presence over the years and the Yu’s have grown very fond of her since she isn’t boisterous and is very polite. 

 

"Minjeong, dear, are you sure you don’t want seconds?” Mrs. Yu asks.

“Oh, no, thank you. I’m good,” Minjeong nods. “If I finish this plate and want more, I’ll tell you, eomoni.”

“Alright dear. Always so polite." She chuckles heartily and Minjeong blushes.

 

Minjeong flinches slightly and looks up at Jimin, who’s eating her dinner nonchalantly. Minjeong frowns and nudges her foot away.

 

“What are you doing?” Minjeong mouths.

“My feet are cold,” Jimin pouts.

 

Minjeong rolls her eyes and just tries to ignore the way Jimin’s cold feet are reaching into her sweatpants.

 

When dinner is finished and Minjeong’s laying down on the couch, Jimin drapes herself over Minjeong and snuggles into her.

 

“I’m so full I could die,” Jimin moans.

“Maybe die not on me because I can’t breathe.” Minjeong winces.

“No.” Jimin grins.

“Alright.” Minjeong sighs.

 

Minjeong threads her fingers through Jimin’s short hair. She’s been making a habit of this ever since Jimin’s hair was cut short after having it bleached blonde—now dyed back to black. The sight is unfamiliar to her, usually accustomed to Jimin’s long, luscious locks of hair—now reduced to a wolf cut.

 

“If you keep doing that, I might die on you and then you won’t be able to move." Jimin sighs softly.

“I’ll just sleep over, then.” Minjeong says.

“Really?” Jimin lifts her head up with a curious gaze.

“Don’t make me take it back,” Minjeong groans and Jimin giggles.

“Sorry, don’t take it back. I love you.” Jimin says, leaning back down to hug Minjeong.

“Yeah, yeah," she says again instead of responding back to Jimin. She’s not sure she can say it back now, knowing she means it differently.

 

They get up shortly after and Jimin drags Minjeong back upstairs to wash up, but Wonbin catches her by the arm with a strange look.

 

“I need Minjeong," Wonbin says.

“What? Why?” Jimin is quick to ask. 

“Because.” Wonbin shrugs, pulling Minjeong towards him.

“But Minjeong’s mine today!” Jimin whines and Wonbin blinks at how childish his older sister can be sometimes. “I invited her over so she’s mine.”
“She was my friend first,” Wonbin retorts, feeling childish too.

“Then you should've called her over,” Jimin scowls.

“I was playing soccer; how could I have—”
“Okay, t-that’s enough!” Minjeong blushes at how both siblings want her time. Gee, she must’ve done something great in her past life to be treated this way. “Jimin, I’ll come back to you after, okay? I’ll just be with Wonbin for a little bit.”
“But—”
“ Unnie.” Minjeong sighs and Jimin pouts.

“Don’t take too long.” Jimin says and Minjeong nods before the older girl heads to her room.

 

Wonbin pulls Minjeong into his room and Minjeong closes the door.

 

He chortles. “She seemed a bit more pacified, and you’re being nicer than usual to her.”

“What?” Minjeong blinks. “N-no I’m not.”
"Relax; I just noticed. Why are you getting defensive?” Wonbin smirks. “Are you finally going to admit you like—”
“Shut up!” Minjeong punches him in the stomach and he groans. “I don’t!”

“Okay, okay—sorry,” he chuckles, pushing Minjeong’s fist away.

“Hurry and speak.” Minjeong grumbles. “The two of you are getting on my nerves.”
“You know we just love you, right?” Wonbin chuckles. “But anyway, I have an update on my crush.”

 

“Jung Sungchan?” Minjeong’s eyes widen with mirth. 

“Yup.” Wonbin nods proudly, even though he’s blushing.

“Seriously? I’m so proud of you! What happened?” Minjeong asks, tapping him on the shoulder with excitement.

“Well, we were just talking in the band group chat like normal,” Wonbin says and Minjeong nods, recalling th