Characters:  Shin Hyejeong, Kwon Mina

Genre:  Fluff, Friendship

Word count:  1609

Level 1 - friendly greetings and copying homework everyday :

"Hi, Hyejeongie!!!" Mina greeted her new best friend as she entered the not-so-crowded classroom.

Hyejeong looked up and smiled, "Hi! Did you do yesterday's homework?" she asked and continued to focus on her paperwork.

"Come to think of it. We're best friends, why not copy each other's?" she said as a sheepish grinned formed on her face.

The shorter sat beside Hyejeong and copied whatever her answer is. She knows Hyejeong is one of the intelligent student in the building, and Hyejeong guaranteed her for that.

However, the result may not turn out well. Hyejeong got some answers wrong, or sometimes, ALL of the answers are wrong. MIna would just give 'that' look to her best friend but then, they're used to this, so why not?

Level 2 - weird nicknames:

"Damn Hyejeong, you look like a chicken today." Mina 'complimented'.

Hyejeong flipped her hair in the younger's face, "Thanks for the compliment, chicken-lover. I know you love chicken so I look like a chicken now." she grinned.

Mina chuckled, "Let's go, my chicken."

"Alright, my little chicken." she said as both of them held hands, going to random places around the school.

As you see, 'chicken' is their nickname for each other. They would've add some more adjectives to the name. Like tall chicken, short chicken, idiot chicken, dumb chicken, dorky chicken - even more. It's countless.

Level 3 - sleepovers:

"Hi, ma'am! I'm Mina's best friend, Shin Hyejeong. May I have the permission to have a sleepover with Mina here?" Hyejeong bowed and introduced herself politely infront of Mina's mom who was opening the front door for her.

"Oh, hello! Yes, you may, but Mina's not at home now, you can wait inside! I have snacks for you." she said before Hyejeong could even say anything. She entered the cozy, small home and saw portraits of the Kwon family - her mom, her late father, her older sister and Mina herself. Hyejeong smiled at how cute baby Kwon Mina was.

Hyejeong sat on the nearby couch, eyes are still on the portraits. The Kwon family are all so beautiful, even Mina's late father was good-looking back then. Mina's mom is preparing some snacks for her guest.

"Ma'am? I'm sorry but do you live alone with Mina here?" she asked Mina's mom.

"No, dear. Mina's sister also lives here but she's currently in an overseas study trip from her college." she answered with the friendliest smile Hyejeong ever see. Damn, she's so kind.

The lady walked towards her and put a bowl of chips and some lemon butter dip on the table. "Eat, dear. I know you're hungry!" she smiled again as she walked off to do some more work in the kitchen. "Thank you, ma'am. You're really kind." Hyejeong thanked. Indeed, she could feel her stomach growling since she only ate a bit of lunch.

"My pleasure!"

Hyejeong was finishing half of the bowl in a quiet short time. She startled as a pair of palms covered her eyes.

"Awww, my chicken is hungry." a voice said, giggling.

The older girl smirked, "Mina-yaa!!!"

Mina let go of her palms and sat beside a giggling Hyejeong. "Mom! I'm back!" she exclaimed to her mom in the kitchen. "I know, dear!!! You entered through the backdoor and I saw you running in the backyard through the window."

Both of the girls laughed and Mina helped Hyejeong finished the chips, being a good eater.

Mina put the bowl in the sink and helped her mom wash it before going to her room with Hyejeong. The two did stupid things until the night got darker.

Level 4 - fried chicken date:

"Rock, paper, scissors!!!" the two girls exclaimed infront of a fried chicken counter.

"HAHA! I WON!" Mina jumped, putting her 'scissor fingers' in the air.

Hyejeong gave the 'wtf' look to the younger as she continued jumping around. "Kwon Mina, rock beats scissors."

The younger paused. She took a glance at Hyejeong's hand, doing a fist. Then she chuckled annoyingly, realizing her mistake. "I'm sorry, haha. Fine, I'll pay!" she took out her wallet with lots of cartoon pictures on it. She paid for their 2 portions of a huge bucket of fried chicken.

-

"This one looks like you, haha." Mina showed the largest piece of chicken before taking the biggest bite on it.

Hyejeong chuckled, "This one looks like you." she showed a crumb of the chicken, before dumping it to .

"Woah. This one is juicy. Like you." Mina looked at Hyejeong with her 'dirty-eyes' before laughing hard.

"Yaaaahhh!! You're so dirty-minded!! Have you even tasted me before???" the older girl said, playfully hitting the laughing girl's head. They keep on doing 'this-chicken-looks-like-you' jokes until they completed the meal with a can of cola.

"Thank you for the fried chicken date, Mina-ya. I'll pay you next time!" Hyejeong winked at Mina infront of her house. "Sure! But you must buy us 3 buckets next time!" Mina joked.

But then somehow the two stayed silent, staring at each other's eyes.

"What? Why is it so quiet?" Hyejeong chuckled. "No, haha. It's just...." Mina chuckled too, but then continued staring at Hyejeong. Mina tip-toed and supported her arms on Hyejeong's shoulders before giving a quick peck on her cheek. Mina had the widest smile formed on her face.

"See you tomorrow, my chicken." she bid goodbye with the brightest eye smile ever.

The older girl was left frozen, staring at Mina's back. She's walking so cheerfully, geez, she must be so happy.

Level 5 - Shin Hyejeong playing the role of a dad:

It's raining heavily all day. It doesb't even show signs of stopping, and that really bores an active, hyper Kwon Mina.

"Aaaahh..when will the rain stop??" Mina complained, rolling on the porcelain floor.

"I don't know, but hey, are you hungry?" her best friend Shin Hyejeong joined in as she rolls closer to Mina. She's having a sleepover at Mina's house, again. Both girls are so bored, they literally have nothing to do. Although the room is messy, both of them wouldn't mind.

"Always. Always hungry." she breathe out a light sigh. "Do you want some gum?"

"Yes!!"

"I don't have any." the younger joked, causing the two to break into light laughter.

-

Around 2 minutes later, the two ended up sleeping. Because Hyejeong is still half-alseep, she woke up and placed a futon on the floor. She easily carried Mina's petite body and gently placing her, trying to not to wake the girl up. Hyejeong smiled lightly after tucking her in bed, Mina is fast asleep. Then, she tried to have a short nap.

"Hyejeongie." the younger called out so suddenly, it literally made Hyejeong startle.

"Yes??"

"You remind me of my dad."

"Mmm?? Why?? How?" Hyejeong turned over to face the other girl.

"I don't know. There's just that thing about you that reminds me of my dad." Mina started to get teary-eyed.

Hyejeong moved closer. Closer. She put an arm around Mina and pulled her into a tight, warm hug. A light smile formed on her face as she feel the shorter girl grabbed her sleeves tightly and cried on her shoulder.

"It's okay. You remind me of my future daughter too." Hyejeong said, Mina's hair gently.

Mina sniffled, "I h-honestly don't know if you didn't come to my life. N-No one would treat me as a best friend as good as you."

Hyejeong couldn't help but get teary-eyed too. Mina pulled off from their hug and sat on the futon. "I like to sleep on the floor, so when my Dad came in and saw me, he would set up this futon like you did." she carressed the fluffy, broken white futon.

The other girl got up and sat beside her. "So that's how I remind you of your dad?"

"Actually there's more, but there's too much." she smiled weakly. "Unfortunately he's not in this world anymore." fresher tears flow.

"Don't worry! I know losing a parent is such a big loss. But at least, you still have your best friend. Reliable. You can tell everything to me and vice versa. I'll always support you, Kwon Mina."

Mina looked at Hyejeong with a weak smile. "Thanks so much, Hyejeongie. I'm so lucky to have you here." she said before pulling the taller girl into a long hug.

Level 6 - Hyejeong's dinner with Mrs.Kwon:

"Hi, ma'am!!" Hyejeong greeted a 40-something-year-old woman cheerfully, trying to make a brighter atmosphere.

The woman turned her head, "Oh, hi, sweetie! Where's Mina?"

Hyejeong sighed, "Ahh.. that kid took so much time showering so I decided to leave her alone." she smiled.

Mrs.Kwon chuckled, "Oh, and I already ordered some food here. Let's eat up!" she grabbed her chopsticks and digged in.

"Aren't you going to wait for Mina??" Hyejeong raised a brow.

"Ahh, you know how fast Mina finishes her food, especially when it's her favorite. Don't worry! The kid will arrive soon!" she said before Hyejeong smiled and had a nice meal together with her.

For like the next 15 minutes, Mina came in running with a semi-dry hair also some comfy sweater and some shorts, "Hi, Mom!!" she greeted before sitting and eat right away. Indeed, she finished her meal in like 3 minutes.

Then, the 3 ladies chit-chatted. Hyejeong wasn't feeling awkward anymore because Mrs.Kwon is just similar to her mother. Only different surnames. And by that time, Hyejeong and Mina have gotten to a whole new kind of friendship, and they love it, also proud to have each other.