As weeks pass by, Minji stayed at the shop helping her mother and attending other appointments. Her sister’s business is growing, after the news of Bom’s wedding. The number of clients visited the shop each day, asking for the service. Of course their location is an advantage as well, as the establishment operates at the heart of Seoul City District. If the business continues to be like this up until the next school season, the family’s next plan is to hire a florist to take over Minji while she returns to college.

It was one Sunday morning when she received an unexpected visitor. She woke up too early and couldn’t sleep, she decided to open head to the shop. While she was busy putting up display in front of the shop when someone called her from across the street.  She looked behind.

“Bommie unnie.”

Bom walked towards her, smiling. “Wow, you really are fond of your flowers. It’s early to open your shop.”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I drove down here to spend my morning breathing these lovely fragrances.”, she replied. She then cut a stem of Forsythia  from one of the displays and handed to her friend. “Good morning, unnie.” As Bom receives her little gift their eyes locked into each other, causing silence. Somehow both felt the world stopped at that very moment.

Minji was the first to look away. “Would you like some coffee?”, she offered. Trying to ignore what happened, the latter followed her inside the shop.

“Anyway unnie, what can I do for you? Why did you come early?”, Minji asked as she was preparing the coffee.  “I just wanted to check your famous shop”, Bom replied while looking around the displays. “Oh, and to tell you, our vacation would be this Saturday. Dara strictly told me that I make sure you can come.”

“Ha ha. But unnie, I  already told you before, I will join. School’s a month away so I have plenty of time to go on vacation.”

“But… since your flower business is booming, you might have another reason not to come with us.”

Minji smiled. “Yah unnie, this time I will go with you. Besides, it’s been quite a while since I went on a getaway.  Do you unnies have any place in mind where we can go?”

Bom handed her a pamphlet. “That’s the place”, she said. The young woman opened it and her eyes began to brighten up.

“Waaa, Bali!”, she exclaimed. Bom couldn’t help but giggle at her friend’s reaction. Ah, how she missed her child-like actions even though she’s already 22. “Dara and Chaerin already booked and paid the tickets,  I already made reservations at one of the hotels. There’s no reason for you not to go now.”, she said.

“Unnie, this is Bali. I’ve been wanting to see this place ever since, you know that. Of course I will definitely join!”, the latter answered. Unknown to her, her unnies purposely chose Bali as their destination since they know how she would want to visit the place and enjoy the beach.

“So… TOP oppa gave you permission to go, right?”

“Well, he can’t disagree. I’ve already told him about it so many times even before the wedding. I want to be with you girls again.”, Bom answered. They were at the table by the door  with flowers surrounding them.  “How was your first days of being Mrs. TOP then?”

“It’s nice. It’s actually good. Marrying the man I love was the greatest thing ever happened in my life. You may not know the feeling yet, but you’ll get to experience it in the future.” The young woman smiled. Their conversation went on- catched up on things, talked about their 2NE1 days, until her mother arrived. “Good morning, Mrs. Gong.”, greeted Bom. Mrs. Gong was surprised to see her. “Oh, Bom! You’re here! Oh, congratulations on your wedding! Did you liked the arrangements? Oh, how do you find Minji’s flower arranging skills?”, she asked.

“Omma…”

She gets embarrassed every time her mother talks about her in front of other people, mostly her unnies. This made Bom smile especially after seeing maknae’s face turn red. “Oh, it was absolutely amazing, Madam. Indeed Mingkki discovered another talent!”

“You’re right”, the older woman answered. “This has been her hobby for the past couple of years. When Minyoung decided to put up this shop, she was very excited and volunteered to be the manager. Now she loves this shop more than her usual hobbies, like knitting and drawing though I can still see her sketch sometimes. Yah, Minji, I always see you draw your Bom unnie, why don’t you show some of your works?”

“Omma!” This time her face really turned even more red.

“Really, Minji? Maybe you should show them to me next time. Well, I should be going now, Madam. It’s nice seeing you again. I will make sure to visit you every day while I’m here in Korea.” After a few minutes, Bom left with a bouquet of fresh flowers given by Mrs. Gong as her “late wedding gift”.

“Omma, you really embarrassed me in front of unnie!”, Minji exclaimed as soon as Bom left the shop. It was the first time she felt that way. Or, the first time after 2 years. “Why, it’s true! Your sketch pad is full of Park Bom’s drawings and they are very nice. You should show it to her.”, her mother replied. “Yah Minji, how was it seeing her again?”

“Good.”,  she answered. There was a silence after. Her mom patted her shoulder, then hugged her from behind. “I hope you are okay, my daughter. Come here.” She turned around, the older woman faced her hands on her face. “Don’t worry, I am sure you will find someone who will make you happy. You’re beautiful, Gong Minji just like your omma.” Her mom started holding her nose and eyes. “See, one day these eyes and this nose and this face will make someone’s heart flutter!”

“Take care of yourself”, Seunghyun whispered to his wife as she and the girls are getting ready to board their plane to Bali. He won’t be with Bom for  2 weeks so he gave her a tight hug.

“I will honey, I love you.”,  she replied back.  She’s happy and excited to be with her friends on a vacation, as this will be the first getaway after 2 years. Dara and CL on the other hand were excited too and immediately arranged the booking and tickets for their flight date. Minji, their maknae didn’t need to worry about the expenses as well. As the flower business is growing, she promised her unnies she will treat them a good meal once they arrive at their destination.

“Take care girls, enjoy your get together”, Seunghyun said to the girls. “And Minji-yah, take care of your unnies, especially Bom, alright?”

“You can count on me, oppa.”, the young girl answered with a big smile plastered on her face. After a few more goodbyes and hugs and kisses, the four women entered the plane. Just like before, their usual seating arrangement, CL got to sit beside Dara’s, while Bom got her seat beside Minji’s.

“You sit near the window”, she told the maknae. Minji looked at her. “That’s okay, I can sit near the aisle.”

“No, you go by the window. I know you can’t sleep when you’re at the aisle seat. It’s going to be quite a long trip, so you get some rest.” Minji followed her unnie’s instructions. To be honest, she’s happy that Bom hadn’t forgotten about it. Before they used to argue about who is going to get the window seat. Since she made last minute work on the flower shop before their flight, it took not long enough for her to fall asleep which surprised the three women.

“The plane’s still in Seoul but looks like Mingkki’s already in the sky”, said CL.

As their plane lifted up, Dara and CL started to get some rest. Except for Bom, who was ecstatic about the trip. She looked at her friends and started to reminisce their days as an idol group. Back in the days where their schedules were so packed the only rest they get is when they’re on a plane. They’re always go to other countries but all of them are work-related. This is one of the few moments  they got to ride on a plane for a vacation.

She looked at the young woman sleeping peacefully beside her. “Minzy”, she whispered. She smiled as she remembered the days when maknae used to talk in her sleep while on the plane that waked other passengers. Now she’s staring at a more matured Minzy , grown into a pretty woman. 

All of a sudden, Bom gently put her hands on the maknae’s soft and supple face. The action gave her a different feeling and made her heart beat fast, the same feeling she felt weeks ago, on her wedding day.

You’ve become prettier…

She continued caressing Minji’s face, her fingers traced her cheeks, her nose… her lips. Her lips were soft, innocent. The type of lips that no one hadn’t tasted yet. lips. Bom closed her eyes as soon as her fingers touched them. A rush of electricity ran through her body.

I hadn’t noticed even before , you’re really beautiful…

“Yah, we’re here!”, Dara shouted as soon as their plane touched down Bali. The three of them were excited to explore the place, except for Bom who spent the whole trip staring at Minji, admiring her beautiful friend. Good thing, their seat was far from the other two, or else they would have noticed her. The fact that she has this weird feeling towards their maknae made her feel uncomfortable.

Their hotel arrangements made it even worse. It was their usual accommodation when she made the reservation- CL and Dara in one room, then them on another. Somehow she had regret requesting this specific arrangement. Upon arriving at their rooms, the girls immediately dropped their bags and lay down on the bed. While the 2 girls instantly fell asleep, Minji was the opposite. She was eager to go to the beach and play with the water.

“Unnie, let’s go outside and explore!”, she nagged Bom.

“Hey relax, we have two weeks to spend. Besides, you need to get some rest for tonight.”

“Unnie, I already slept on the plane. Let’s leave the other unnies then come back later on. Please?” Her begging look made her unnie laugh.

“You’re still the same hyper Mingkki”, Bom said earning, making the maknae flash her eye smile.

What the hell, Minji. Don’t do that…

They went out of their hotel and strolled around the beach. It was a gloomy afternoon so they took the chance to walk by the beach. As Minji took photos, Bom called her husband.

“How was your flight?”, TOP asked. She was happy to hear his voice. “We had a great one. Oh, I’m walking at the beach with Mingkki. She was too excited she couldn’t wait for tomorrow to go around the island. I miss you.”

“How are they?”, Jiyong asked as TOP ended the call. They’ve been busy working on one of their artist’s new single that will soon be released.

“They’re already having fun.”, he answered. It was just a few hours since she saw his wife but he already missed her. If only he can follow them in Bali, but he promised that this trip will be for the four of them.

“Sounds good”, the other one said while checking on the arrangements. Jiyong, also wanted to go to Bali to be with the girls- to be with Minji. After their dance showdown, his thoughts of the young woman didn’t avoid him. He might be the playboy, but this time it’s different. And he promised that he won’t be bothering her for a month.  “Ah, I guess we’re stuck in here bro. Let’s just relax. If they’re having the time of their life, let’s have ours too! Drink later?”

“You’re right, man.”

Later on that night, as the two men went on for a drink, four women were having the time of their lives miles away from Seoul. Minji, the youngest of them, took her unnies to a special dinner. Everyone were happy- and though they’ve disbanded, their fans easily recognized them, some requested for pictures as well. After the dinner, they decided to hit one of the popular bars by the beach for some cocktail. There boys also gathered around them, mostly on the  maknae, asking for her to dance with them.

“Woo Mingkki, these boys really like you!”, CL said as soon as another batch of young men left their table. They began to and started to pair her with almost all of the boys in the bar, but Minji just shrugged. “They’re good-looking but not good enough for me”, she joked, making her unnies more.

 “Minji-yah, you haven’t told us anything about your college life.”

“It’s tiring, but fun. You know how I love dancing unnies”, she said. “That’s the fun part. The tiring part is you don’t just learn hip-hop, but you got to learn other dance, like traditional dances.”

“I’m sure you do well. Dancing runs in your family.”, Dara replied. “But no, no. That is the boring part. Let’s talk about the other part college life- the love part.”

“Yeah, right. Well- said, unnie.” Bom chuckled at her reaction.

“But seriously, we’re not youngsters now. You’re a very charming  woman and I’m sure lots of college boys already asked you out, right?”, CL added.

Bom smiled while listening to them. Indeed, their maknae has bloomed to a charismatic and lovely lady. Charismatic she thought, it seems the younger’s charisma is getting into her.

“Aish, unnies I already told you. So many handsome men out there, NOT good enough for me”, Minji said as she flashed a NO sign. “Besides I’m too young. I will let you unnies get married first before I worry about my lovelife.”

“Aigoo, Mingkki is thoughtful and smart. That’s right Mingkki! You let us find boyfriends first- maybe you can help me and CL-roo get one, in your school maybe?”, said Dara. Her reaction made her friends laugh.

Their first night ended well. They were all drunk and tipsy, but managed to return to their hotel. Minji, the one who looked drunk the most, jumped into their bed and was asleep after a few minutes. On the other hand, Bom still managed to do her nightly rituals. As she was about to get to bed, she noticed Minji’s camera by the table.  Curious of the photos the maknae took, she opened the gadget and surprised at what she saw- photos of the beach, perfectly shot even on a gloomy weather. The angles and lighting perfectly blended on the water and the sand, making the pictures looked like some professional photographer took them.

Then the next batch of pictures made her smile even more. Her pictures Minji took while she was on the phone earlier talking to TOP. Most of them are close up photos, and as usual the angles and lighting made them look fabulous as if it was a photo shoot. 

Her expressions during the call were perfectly captured by the camera. Looking at them made Bom feel more proud of her friend. But looking at her while she’s sleeping, made her want to touch her, and kiss her.