--

“The hell you’re doing here?”

Minju, with her tear-stained face, looked up and saw a girl with a medium length hair staring down at her. Her blue colored hair looked so soft as it was moving song by the winds. Judging by her tall physique, she might be older. But this is a kids playground.

“Who are you?” Minju asked back. She wiped her tears and ignored the other girls, but she can feel a piercing gaze directed to her.

“I don’t know who you are, but get the h*ll out of there. That’s my place.”

Minju blinked her eyes. She just wanted to be alone and cried her heart out. But obviously this big dog kept barking like she marked the place. Minju looked up and glared.

“Last time I checked, no one owned this… slide. And please, leave me alone.”

Minju heard the other girl clicked her tongue and left quietly. Minju sighed and buried her face back to her laps. She could feel tears racing down her cheeks for the tenth time now. She was drowning in her own tears when she heard something being dragged. Fears overtook her emotion as she immediately wiped her tears and clutching her heart. She was afraid for her life. What if the girl was a serial killer and she was here to… hide a body. And if Minju stays here, of course she might get questioned. And that was the last thing she wanted to do.

Minju hurriedly crawled on the slide, trying to see what’s going on before fled until she saw the other girl dragging some kind of wooden board that she found somewhere out there and planted it beside the slide. Minju flinched when their eyes met. She saw the girl pointed at the wooden board.

“I owned this slide. Get the hell out of there.”

That was the most childish thing someone ever did in front of Minju. Minju looked at the girl dumbfoundedly as she was actually and seriously waiting for Minju to come down and leave her slide. Minju grunted before she snatched her bag and jumped from the slide. Minju walked over to the girl, who was staring down at her and left the park without saying anything. Minju can’t help but look over her shoulder to see what the tall girl is up to in the slide, but she couldn’t see anything.

“Well, at least I don’t see any bodies.”

…

“Yah, Kim Minju! Where did you go?! You don’t even answer my calls!”

Minju rolled her eyes the moment she opened the apartment door. Her housemate / best friend, Yuri just bombarded her the moment she stepped into the house. Minju then heard a door open, revealing her other best friend, Hitomi.

“Kim Minju, seriously. You make us worried!” Minju just grimaced at the nags and walked over the sofa. She threw her bag and slumped her body onto the sofa before she put her hand over her eyes.

“Go away, I need to be alone.”

But of course instead of leaving her alone, her two best friends surrounded her.

“What’s going on? Is it Chaewon unnie again?”

“Did you two fight?”

Minju sighed as she sat up, looking down to her laps as she fiddled with her fingers. The mention of her childhood friend slash crush makes her teared up, again. Yuri sighs and walks over to her best friend before pulling her head to her stomach.

Hitomi, on the other hand, stares at her best friend in a wary way. This is not the first time, though. As Hitomi rather looks awkward everytime her friends show their excessive emotions. She’d rather wait near the door and wait until her friends calmed down. “What happened this time?” Surprisingly, Hitomi was the first one who opened . Minju sniffed and tried to wipe her tears.

“Just… stuff. Usual stuff. I’m too stupid to cry over this anyway. Where’s Nako?”

Hitomi and Yuri could only stare at each other and sigh. They knew Minju wouldn't talk about this and quietly asked them to drop it. “She had a class until later. You go and rest, I’ll ask Nako to buy dinner for us.” Minju nodded her head and stood up, leaving her best friends and went to her room. Both of them watched Minju silently.

“I swear, this needs to be stopped.” Hitomi nodded her head, agreeing with Yuri. “I just don’t understand what is stopping her. We all know how whipped Minju is when it comes to Chaewon unnie. Minju needed to step up her game before Chaewon unnie ended up with someone else.” Yuri massaged her head, suddenly feeling dizzy. She then fished out her phone and texted her other friend.

“I just hope she stops getting hurt. It's starting to become unhealthy for her.”

--

“Are you stalking me?”

Minju looked up from her book, only to find the tall girl from the other day glaring down at her. She was wearing the same leather jacket like before. She could only roll her eyes and ignored the other girl before she continued reading her book. Minju heard a grunt from the other girl, and quietly looked up from her book. She saw the taller girl walking back and forth in front of her, grumbling. It starts bothering her as the other girl won’t stop growling. Minju slams her book closed.

“Fine! I’ll go! Geez.”

As Minju was about to stand up and leave the slide, she could hear someone calling a name from the other side of the playground.

“Yujin unnie!”

Before Minju could process anything, she felt herself being pushed inside the slide with the other girl, who she assumed called Yujin. She felt Yujin covered , probably trying to hide from whoever it was calling her.

“Unnie! Urgh, I’ll be super dead.”

Instead of trying to break free, Minju found herself studying the other girl. This tall girl, Yujin, had a pair of sparkling big doe eyes. Her hair was blue, and she wonders how old she is to be able to dye her hair like this. Her physique is quite bigger than herself, as she was taller too. Minju was so busy looking at the other girl that she didn’t realize the pursuer was gone. She felt Yujin’s hand leave , and before she could speak another word, she felt herself being pushed away by Yujin.

“Yah!”

Instead of feeling apologetic, Yujin just stared at her boringly.

“This is mine. You can’t stay here.”

Feeling frustrated over the other girl, Minju gathered her stuff and glared down at the girl.

“I’m gonna tell that girl you’re here.”

Minju thought she would be scared, but Yujin just shrugged her shoulders and minded her own business. This, of course, made her frustrated. She felt a vibration from her back pocket. It was Chaewon. Minju glaring down at her.

“We’re not done.”

…

We’re going out for dinner. Nako’s paying.

Better not home crying, okay? - Yuri

Minju bit her lips as she stared at the chat from Yuri. She was already outside the cafe, where she and Chaewon were about to meet. She took a glance at the older girl who was waiting for her, taking a sip of whatever she ordered. She looks extremely adorable. Minju decided to dismiss the message and went inside the cafe.

“Unnie.”

Chaewon glanced back at her before she smiled radiantly. She was sitting at the table on the window, where they could watch people passing by. Chaewon loves that spot, always the romantic one.

“I saw you standing outside. Is everything alright?”

Minju nodded and put her book on the table before she smiled at the untouched drink. She could see from the corner of her eyes that Chaewon is smiling, or more to smirking. “I ordered you Americano, if that’s alright.” Minju scoffed playfully before she took a sip and let the bitterness of the coffee beans burst through . Minju tried to not minding Chaewon’s gaze on her, although it did make her heart flips.

“What is it?”

Chaewon smile softly before she reached out her hand and tuck Minju’s hair behind her ears. This gesture was something that Chaewon always did, ever since they were little girls. But of course the older one doesn’t have a single clue that what she did makes Minju’s heart about to explode.

“I got in.”

Minju blinked her eyes, slowly working her brain with that little information that has escaped from Chaewon’s lips. Minju slowly turned her head, staring at her childhood friend/crush.

“Get in...where?”

Chaewon chuckled softly and ruffled Minju’s hair, knowing full well how Minju disliked it.

“Remember when I said I was aiming to get an internship in that one psychiatric hospital in Daejeon? I got accepted.” Chaewon said as she helped Minju fix her hair. Minju beamed a huge smile and lunged forward, engulfing her crush into a big bear hug.

“Oh my god, unnie!! Congratulations!!”

Chaewon copied her gesture and hugged her tight. Minju knew how much Chaewon wanted to be a psychiatrist since God knows how long, and she always wanted to work in that one hospital that is famous. Minju pushed Chaewon away from her softly as she still had some questions to ask.

“Unnie! You are one step away from your dream! When will you start? Have you told your family?!” Chaewon giggled as she took another sip of her drink.

“Next week. And no, I want you to be the first who knows. You’re not gonna stop with the whining if you knew from my mom.”

It was supposed to be a teasing for her, but Minju couldn’t hear anything except she became the first one who knew about this. She knew Chaewon only said that for the sake of their friendship, but she couldn’t help feeling giddier.

“And... she’ll be there too.” Minju’s smile dropped immediately, and she could hear her heart beating so loud. Too loud that she thought everyone in the cafe could hear it. Minju tried to compose herself by clearing and tried to smile.

“She… who?”

Chaewon rolled her eyes and pushed Minju lightly on her shoulder, suddenly feeling shy. Chaewon pouted with her cheeks burning.

“My crush, Min. Did you forget about that one senior that I’ve told you?”

Minju can only hear her shattered in pieces.

…

Drrrt…. Drrrt….

A sound of vibration could be heard, but the owner of the phone could care less. Minju just walked to wherever her feet brought her. Her mind was somewhere else, probably trying to pick up pieces of her heart.

After Chaewon’s revelation that she had a crush, Minju had closed her ears for anything else. Her body went to automatic mode, which means just smile and wave, and just walk aimlessly. The dinner plan with her friends has been forgotten.

She doesn’t even know where she is right now.

“You again?”

A strangely familiar voice could be heard, and enough to wake her up from her broken state. She had no idea why she was here, and why the blue hair girl is here again. But Minju doesn’t have any energy to have a fight with her. Instead of going to the slide and picking up a fight with the other girl, Minju chose to sit on the bench near it. Her action made the other girl staring at her weirdly.

“Not going here?” Minju could hear confusion in her voice, but she doesn’t care. She was just hoping the other girl would leave her alone.

Apparently, she’s not.

Instead of minding her own business, Yujin, if she recalls correctly, walked up to Minju. Minju could feel her presence right in front of her. As Minju was about to ignore the taller girl in front of her, she felt a warm hand on her cheek.

“Why are you crying?”

Minju was startled, as she herself didn’t realize she was crying until this annoying stranger wiped her tears. She tried to push Yujin's hand away from her, but the taller one refused to go away, making Minju slightly pissed.

“What is your problem?! Go away!”

Yujin crouched down in front of her, still holding her hands. This is weird, not gonna lie. But Minju also finds comfort in her hands.

“You were crying, means you were sad or upset. Being upset is not a great feeling. No one leaves me alone when I’m upset. And you’re upset. So I won’t leave.”

It took her tons of energy to hold herself back from yelling to the other girl who was rambling, and that made herself tired. They just sat there in complete silence, with Yujin still crouching while holding her hands. Minju could feel herself calming down.

“Look up.”

Was all Yujin said before Minju gaze following Yujin’s finger. Minju was welcomed by countless stars, constellations and the moon dancing above them. It was magnificent and colorful, and Minju was awestruck. The sight before her was not something that she could see quite often, as she was living in the city.

“It’s beautiful…” Minju whispers. Yujin nodded her head, eyes still planted on Minju instead of the night sky. “It is.”

Minju looked down at their intertwined hands, finally realizing how Yujin held her hands this entire time.

“Are you feeling okay now?”

Minju nodded her head slowly.

“Thank-”

Before she could finish her words, Yujin already swatted her hands away. Minju was flabbergasted with her action, and feeling a little hurt. Yujin has already stood up and dusted her pants. She stared down at Minju who was still in daze by her action.

“You’re okay right? No need for me to hold your hand.”

Minju’s jaw dropped as Yujin walked to the slide, as if nothing happened. Minju is pissed. Really pissed right now.

“That’s not a nice thing to do to someone you know.”

Yujin looks over her shoulder, but ignores Minju. She took her bag that she put inside the slide before she sling her bag to her shoulder. “I hope this is the last time you’ll be here.”

Minju watched Yujin walk away from the park. She left, just like that. Minju thought she was at least a decent human being after she held her hand when she was feeling upset but no, she proved her wrong. She was the worst human she’d ever seen. Another vibration coming from her phone.

“Urgh, stupid tall giant!!!!”

--

Minju stared at the ceiling of her room, with her last chat opened beside her. It was from Chaewon, telling her about her first day working.

Hey, no ‘fighting unnie’ for me? - Chaewon unnie

Minju sighed and turned her body, tearing her gaze from the ceiling to her phone. She was considering responding to Chaewon's message, but the chat that came discouraged her to do so.

Anyway, my senior is gonna be my mentor. Opportunity won’t come twice :p - Chaewon unnie

How Minju wanted to laugh as she got so many opportunities to confess or at least let her childhood friend know her feelings, but she always thinks she’ll have another time.

Jokes on her for being a coward.

“Urgh, whatever. I’m going out.”

Minju sat up and walked over to her dresser to change her clothes. Her eyes caught a photo frame of her and Chaewon when they were kids. How she wished to turn back time and confessed.

After getting ready to go out, she walked out of the room and saw her busiest friend that she hadn't met for awhile. She ditched their dinner plan last week and wasn’t in the mood for chatting the whole week. Minju bit her lips as she watched Nako reading her book in silence.

“Hey..”

Nako finally looks up from her book and stares at Minju. A blank stare never a good sign.

“We were worried, Kim.” Nako watched Minju lower her head. She knew more or less from Yuri and Hitomi, but she needed to know it directly from Minju. Out of the three, Nako was the closest one with Minju and Chaewon, as she moved to the same area as Minju and Chaewon back in middle school. She instantly became their friends, due to Minju’s kind nature and she went to the same choir club as Chaewon. She was also the one who knew how long Minju had a thing with Chaewon. Nako sighed as Minju was still standing near her door, not planning to get close with Nako.

“Going out?” Minju nodded timidly. Nako stood up and walked over to Minju and stared at her. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on again between you and Chaewon unnie but…” Nako looked down at her feet before she shook her head. “Be careful on your way out.”

Minju watched Nako take her book and disappear into her room, leaving Minju alone. Minju sighed as she knew this is not the first time Nako saw her crying or feeling frustrated over Chaewon. Deciding not to stress herself out, Minju walked out of the shared house.

Cold was the night, as it was right in the middle of fall season. Minju was glad at least she remembered wearing a sweater, but still cold anyway. She was strolling around the neighborhood, totally avoiding that park where she met a certain tall girl.

But of course God (or author) loves playing tricks on her.

There she was leaning against her big motorcycle in front of the mart. She was seen drinking chocolate milk. Minju cursed inwardly and tried to escape but Yujin saw here.

“You.”

A groan escaped from as she stopped. Minju turned her head and glared at the tall girl.

“What.”

Yujin whistled. “Feisty. I like it.”

Minju couldn’t help but blinked her eyes repeatedly. Definitely not a response she expected from this girl. “W-What do you want? I’m busy.”

Yujin pushed herself away from her bike and threw her empty milk and walked toward Minju. She leaned over, making sure she was face to face with Minju. Yujin frowned.

“Still upset? It’s been a week.”

Minju was surprised she was keeping a tab, but she won’t let her know. Instead, she walked away. Leaving Yujin watching her from behind. Minju thought Yujin would finally leave her alone, but the moment she heard the sound of the bike roared, she knew she ed up.

“Hop in.”

Taking a quick glance at the taller girl who looks extremely...fitting with the bike, Minju ignored her and continued walking away. But Yujin is not someone who gives up easily, apparently.

“Come on, I won’t kidnap you I promise.”

Minju finally stopped and turned her body, facing Yujin.

“Will you stop if I agree to hop on?”

Yujin grinned and shoved her smaller helmet. With a grunt, Minju took the helmet and put it on. With the help of Yujin, she climbed into the back of the bike and placed her hands on her shoulders. She felt Yujin took her hands and wrapped it on her waist.

“It’s safer this way.”

Without giving Minju a chance to protest, Yujin starts the bike and speeds up into the night. Minju couldn’t help but grip Yujin’s shirt and tightened her arms around Yujin’s stomach.

“Aahhh!! Slow down!!!”

Instead of slowing down, Yujin accelerates the speed of her bike. She couldn’t help but smirked behind her helmet when she felt Minju’s hug tightened. She brought her bike across the city, and slowly left it and went somewhere high. It was high enough to see the city from above. But of course, a certain someone still couldn’t see where she was going as her eyes were clamped shut. Yujin had to tug her arm to get Minju’s attention. Once she lifted her head from behind, Yujin pointed at the view. Minju’s mouth dropped in awe.

“Get down.”

Minju hurriedly, and clumsily, took off her helmet as her eyes still glued at the sight in front of her. Her feet unconsciously brought her closely to the railing, getting closer to the night view of the city. Yujin parked her bike right below the tree and walked to Minju’s side.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?”

Minju nodded her head wordlessly, the landscape was too breathtaking. Both of them stood beside each other, with their hands gripped into the railing. The only sound they could hear was the soft wind and subtle noise of the night bugs around the terrace. It was therapeutic, at least for Minju. She finally remembered that she wasn’t alone here. Minju turned her head and stared at Yujin, who had a serene face as her eyes stared blankly at the sight. Maybe that’s her way to appreciate the view.

“How did you know this place?”

Yujin finally tore her gaze from the city night to Minju. Her smile spreads warmth, including to Minju’s heart. Suddenly, she doesn’t feel like Yujin is a bad stranger.

“You can say this is my hideout. When I’m feeling troubled, I’m always here.” She then moved her eyes back to the city. “You look… upset, again. Like last week. And this is the only place in mind when I’m sad. So I took you here.”

Minju still had her eyes to the taller girl beside her. “How did you know I was... upset?”

Yujin’s expression changed swiftly. From her serene expression, it quickly turned into an anxious one. Or worried. Minju doesn’t even know. All she knew was it changed, as quickly as that.

“Your… face. Is someone… bothering you?”

Minju scoffed softly, finally returning her gaze to the city. Now the situation has turned. It was Yujin who watched Minju worriedly from the side. Minju rested her chin to the rail, her eyes suddenly lost its color.

“I… I have this childhood friend. She’s a year older. You can say we’re quite inseparable ever since we were kids. And I uh… developed a feeling for her since middle school. I like- no, I love her, but I keep saying to myself that I had a time. I had all the time in this world to confess, but she told me that she liked someone else.” Minju chuckled as she felt tears pooling at the corner of her eyes. “I’m pathetic, didn’t I.”

Again, Minju felt that warm hand on her cheek. Just like last week, Yujin wiped her tears away.

“I don’t think you’re pathetic, at all.” Yujin gives Minju a small smile before she looks down to her feet. Minju sniffed and set her eyes to Yujin. “Why is that?”

Yujin lifted her head and smiled. “Nothing pathetic when you’re falling in love. I think it’s beautiful. Though, I would say there are some people who are incapable of falling in love.” Yujin’s statement makes Minju frown. She never heard someone unable to feel love. Yujin smiled.

“There are. But before you pointed your finger at me, it’s not me.” Minju couldn't help but sigh in relief.

“I don’t think you’re pathetic...” Yujin said, as she lifted her head and stared at the night sky. “Falling in love is a beautiful feeling.” Yujin sighed before she looked down and smiled. “You can’t force your feelings for falling in love with someone. But sometimes, the one you fall for is not ready for you.”

Minju took a deep breath and sigh. It’s true how she couldn’t force her own feelings to Chaewon if she’s not even doing more. And she can’t just shove her feelings without considering Chaewon’s feelings. Heck, she doesn’t even dare to talk about her feelings and here she was, crying over how Chaewon loved someone else. Someone that is not her. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Enjoy the feeling of falling in love. At least that shows how you still have feelings.”

Minju didn’t even know how to respond as Yujin’s smile looked like it was forced. But she wasn’t even sure as Yujin was cheering her up now. She tried to smile, at least feeling a little bit better. She felt a pat on her back.

“Anyway, what’s your name?”

--

Ever since that night, Minju always finds herself hanging out with Yujin, mostly at night. They mostly met at night, since Minju had classes up until afternoon. Weirdly enough, Minju didn’t know what the younger girl did all day. She was secretive enough but Minju tried her best not to push it. There are some times where Yujin ended up exploding and left because Minju kept pushing about asking her age. Minju got her answer, eventually. But she doesn’t like it when Yujin shouts at her.

Being with Yujin also introduced her to some new places in the city. To be fair, Yujin had a motorbike to take her anywhere while Minju had to rely on buses or taxis.

Just like right now, Minju was seated securely behind Yujin. Yujin promised to take her to her favorite topokki place that was located outside Seoul. If Yujin never loved anyone, that probably because all her love already poured to topokki. It was such an interesting thing about Yujin that she found out when they were walking around Minju’s neighborhood. Minju almost burst out laughing when Yujin salivated at Topokki stall. That was a cute sight.

Yujin finally stopped at one stall. It looks quite old, but has a warm vibe around it. Since it’s almost winter, most food stalls served warm food. And Minju will do anything to drink a warm base soup from Odeng.

“Welcome! Oh, Yujin-ah you’re here!”

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