What’s your dream?

“I’m gonna miss you, though!” Danielle pouted, grabbing Hanni’s hands.

Hanni chuckled. “We’re literally, like, two minutes away.”

“I know, but!” Danielle stomped her feet in tiny. “Thank you for these past months, Hanni. I couldn’t ask for a better roommate.”

“Yes, you could. Haerin.”

“No!”

Hanni laughed even harder, pulling her into a hug. “I couldn’t either, Dani. Thank you. You’re free to come hang out whenever!”

“Oh, I will! And I’ll bring Haerin, too. We should do a movie marathon or something!”

“Minji said that too! We totally should.”

“Deal!” Danielle squeezed her hands and sighed. “Okay, then, imma take the last box and settle in the other room.”

“Do you need help with that?”

“No, no! And Minji should be coming back anytime soon.”

Hanni nodded. “Also, Dani… I managed to finish some lyrics the other day, I would like your opinion. Not now, just, somewhere next week or something.”

“Oh! Really? Whenever you want to, I’ll gladly read them! Are they gonna be our next big hit?” Danielle wiggled her eyebrows.

“Who knows.” Hanni shrugged with a small smile. “I think they’re still weak, so I’ll take a look at them first, try and perfect them, and then show you.”

“I’ll be waiting!”

There was a knock on the door. Hanni rushed to open it, and Minji let herself in with her last box and her backpack.

“Got everything?” Danielle asked.

“Yep!” Minji set the box on the floor and heaved a content sigh, hands on her waist. “Just need to swap our room cards.”

“Right!” Danielle reached for her back pocket, and Minji did the same. “Have fun with Hanni!”

“Always. And you have fun with Haerin.”

“Always.” Danielle winked, box in hands. “See you later for dinner!”

Danielle skipped away and Minji closed the door. She turned and stood in front of Hanni. “So… Hello, new roommate.”

Hanni giggled, taking a step closer and hugging her around her waist. “Hello, there. I hope we can get along well.”

“Me too. I wish someone had told me my roommate would be this cute.”

“And mine this pretty. How will I live around someone like her?”

Minji shrugged. “I wonder too.”

They couldn’t keep it for much longer and chuckled together. Minji kissed the top of her head and brought her to bed, sitting down and pulling Hanni in front of her.

“I’m so happy,” Minji mumbled, looking up at her. “Now I can always be here.”

“Me too.” Hanni her hair.

“And hug you, and snuggle and cuddle, and kiss you.” Minji pulled her closer even, arms around her tiny waist and head on her chest. “And sleep with you. You bet I won’t use the other bed.”

“I didn’t want you to, anyway.”

“Good.”

Seconds, minutes went by. None said a thing. Words weren’t needed, though. Hanni just wanted to have Minji close like that. But Minji pulled away. Looked up, pecked her lips, and laid down, patting the mattress next to her. Hanni followed, lying next to her. Minji cupped her cheek, held her gaze. Then scooted closer and kissed her lips. Slow and tender, again and again.

Pulling away, Minji smiled, caressing her cheek.

“Was Hyein alright? How did it go?” Hanni asked.

“She was sad to leave. I still can’t believe she traveled here to be with me on her birthday.”

“She loves you, Minji. You’re her big sister, and she looks up to you. Of course she would want to be with you on her birthday. And we got to perform right on that day! How cool was that?”

“It was amazing. She said it was the best birthday gift she could get.”

“She’s so precious. And… how are you feeling after seeing your brother?”

Minji rested her hand on Hanni’s neck, thinking. “Good. Actually, really nice. You know, he told me he had never seen me play so well. Not like… my skills itself. And I agree with him.”

“How so?”

“I think it’s because before, I was always trying so hard. Way too hard. I wanted to prove myself, to prove to others that I was good and that I wasn’t just my brother’s sister, right? I realized I got so attached to that mindset that I completely forgot why I was even playing the drums in the first place.” Minji her back, facing the ceiling. “But when I played with you guys, I wasn’t trying hard. I was giving my best, of course, but I wasn’t focused on showing off my drummer skills and trying to be the best. I was truly enjoying myself, enjoying the songs we played, and not just playing rock and metal songs I didn’t even like that much, just for the sake of proving how good I can play.” Minji paused. “I couldn’t stop smiling, listening to you and Dani sing, Haerin playing so effortlessly she sometimes closed her eyes. When I played with her and Beomgyu at the other concert, it felt nice, mainly because you acknowledged me. But I was still focused on showing my skills, and yeah sure, I did so, but in the end, I wasn’t still fully satisfied. I couldn’t understand what was missing.”

Hanni listened, her chest warm. “And do you understand now?”

“Yes.” Minji turned her neck, facing her again. “I wanna have fun playing the drums, not doing it to prove anyone of anything. What if I’m not the best? What if my brother is better than me? That’s not why I started playing. But I got so ing lost in that mentality that…” Minji’s eyes gleamed all of a sudden. “I had forgotten how cool and fun and amazing it is to play with the people I love.”

Hanni threw herself into Minji’s arms, snuggling in her neck. “Awn, baby…”

“And that’s exactly what my brother told me. He could see how I was having a ing blast. He told me like, ‘You were playing without that frown between your eyebrows from how hard you used to try.’ And indeed, I wasn’t. Ah, man.” Minji squeezed Hanni between her arms. “Thank you, Pham Pham.”

“What for?”

“Never leaving my side. Inviting me to play with you guys.”

“You have to thank Dani. She was the starting point. And Haerin, too. When I told her I was nervous about the concert, she reassured me and told me to don’t forget to have fun. We work so well together. I couldn’t ask for better bandmates. And friends, of course. And girlfriend.” Hanni smiled, but Minji fell silent. Hanni looked up at her, at the little pout. “What is it?”

“What…” Minji gulped. “What will be of us?”

Hanni frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I really, really love our band. But… you know I’m here just for this year, right? I need to go back to Korea after the next semester.”

“Oh.” Hanni’s face fell. “Right. I… haven’t thought of that, actually.”

“But I don’t want any of this to end! Not the band, not… us.” Minji’s lower lip trembled, and Hanni snuggled closer again. “I love you, Hanni. I really do. I don’t want to be far from you.”

“Hey, hey.” Hanni supported herself on her elbow, looking down at Minji. At the little diamonds shining in the corner of her eyes, the sun from the window reflecting on the brown hue. “I love you too, Minji. We’ll figure it out, okay?”

“You’re coming here next year, right?”

“Yeah. And for the third, too.”

Minji nodded, sniffing. “I’ll look into it. See if I can come back next year.”

“Do you want to?”

“Of course. Hanni, of course I do.”

“But you’ll be… far from Hyein and your family again.”

Minji sat up, crossed legs, and held Hanni’s hands. Her face was serious, the little dimple between her eyebrows there. “I know. But… I wouldn’t be doing it just for you or the band. I’m loving it here, and I’m learning a lot. This is about my future, too. Sure, I’ll always worry for Hyein, and she’ll forever be my baby sis, but… seeing her now after just a few months made me see how much she’s growing up all of a sudden. Or maybe it was because I was apart from her for the first time ever. She would hate it if I stopped myself from coming back because of her. And I know she wants to be able to fend for herself, too.”

Hanni squeezed her hands. “See, that’s why she looks up to you. You’re also setting a good example, showing courage and dedication.”

“I guess. I’ll get all the info I can right on Monday, in case I need to submit forms or whatever bureaucracy they need. And until the end of the year, I’ll work hard to get the best grades I can.”

Hanni pulled her into her embrace. “You’re so amazing, Minji. I’m so proud of you.”

Minji shook her head against her shoulder. “I couldn’t have done it without you all. I’m really thankful. Also, can I… have more private tutoring classes for next semester?”

Hanni chuckle. “Of course. We’re roommates now, we have all the time.”

“Oh my god, they were roommates.” Minji chuckled, tickling Hanni’s sides.

“Kim Minji!” Hanni smacked Minji’s back. “Stop, you know I’ll hit you!”

“You already are!” Minji laughed louder. She stopped tickling her and faced her with a serious face again. Cupping her cheeks, she kissed her lips. “What about you?”