Chapter Text
This was meant to be a standard ‘meet the family’ type of vacation, all Yu Jimin needed to do was introduce the baker to her family, fend off the barrage of questions that she’d worried if the younger woman would be overwhelmed by-
And maybe hide her baby pictures somewhere her parents wouldn’t be able to find.
That’s all this had to be.
But, much like the first day she’d met the cute baker she now calls her lover, she can only sigh as she thinks to herself one important thought in mind.
I shouldn’t have listened to Joohyun unnie about going to a tarot reader…
Because now…now there are other thoughts to be had.
Very important thoughts.
VERY VERY IMPORTANT THOUGHTS
Right, exactly.
Thoughts about what?
Well…
“I guess we’re destined to be together then, unnie?”
THOUGHTS ABOUT MARRIAGE. BEING MARRIED.
ABOUT US BEING A MARRIED COUPLE.
Exactly the tarot reader’s words.
Well, save for the internalized heteronormalizing that caused the middle aged woman to say they simply were meant to be ‘like’ a married couple.
“If you look at this card, you see how they are each holding a cup evenly on the picture? It means that there is a mutual exchange, a positive one that might suggest a new partnership; You said it hasn’t been too long since you two met? It must have felt easy, since both of you have something to offer, you work together, join forces, you respect each other and it feels easy to be with each other?”
“This next one; the ten of pentacles, means having material success, abundance, and long term stability. Meaning the two of you will experience a very stable relationship where you bring good to each other; it can mean you earn more, abundance can be happiness, meaning you bring happiness to each other, laughter, things like that.”
“Now, the next ones are the cards you guys chose without the other, okay? Now let’s see, and you tell me what you think it means in relation to the both of you okay?”
With a flick of her wrist, the woman unveiled the card Karina had chosen.
“Oh.” There’s the subtle sound of surprise on the tarot reader’s voice.
“This is…the four of wands. Now, Jimin-nim, what do you think it means?”
“It looks like a festival shared between two people? The poles and the flowers…maybe it’s a flower festival? We’re going to walk a flowery road?”
“Mmm…Close, but before I explain, let’s open Minjeong-nim’s card too.”
Another flick.
“The lovers.” There's a look that flashes on the tarot reader's face.
“What do we think this one is?” The reader brings the card closer to herself, adjusting it’s position to rest in the middle of their little triangle.
“A fateful meeting that’s planned by God? There’s an angel looking over the two and takes up most of the art so…”
“When we see the lovers, we think of love right?” She tilts her head slightly, nodding, almost as if reassuring the two that it wasn’t bad to think of it that way.
“But actually it means more of a major choice.”
“It’s upright, which means it’s now; now is the right time to make that choice, it seems like you’re between two very viable options about the two of you, and right now is the timing to make that choice.”
“But actually…we should go back to the four of wands… it means a ceremony, a harmony, and it can mean a happy milestone, an achievement.” She places her fingers on the four of wands once more, bringing it to the spotlight once again.
“Have you recently moved?” Jimin’s eyes widened.
“A-ah, yeah! We moved in…together.”
“This card is talking about that; a sense of peace built through past efforts, a secure home or project of the sorts.”
“ And if we look at the bigger picture…the two of you…” The middle aged woman suddenly smiles, laughing slightly as she continues.
“A married couple.”
“The two of you are meant to be like a married couple.” Freeze.
The couple freeze right as the words leave the tarot reader’s lips.
A married couple.
“Your relationship is a secure home, offered most likely by Minjeong-nim? Who is now contemplating a decision that has to do with the two of you perhaps in relation to this new home.”
“ A happy relationship that is like a marriage that works well together, where both of you are putting in the effort, and the two of you gain a lot out of this arrangement, money, laughter, the two of you have a really good compatibility, you’re good for each other.”
“...Really like a happily married couple.”
The room falls silent, almost as if a period of time for the two to fully understand the tarot reader’s words.
“Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”
First of all, great.
At least she knows she’s not going to all of a sudden come home to a guy with rainbow coloured hearts on his chest and scratch marks on his back, or maybe that will still happen but either way at least this time she wouldn’t be regretting not getting a tarot reading done.
And besides, finding out their relationship is going to be full of positive things is great too! But she didn’t exactly need the entire tarot reading for that, she’s living the abundance of laughter that was mentioned, living the ease of effort of exchanged cups that she had an inkling the deck would provide them two and-
Honestly?
Be it truly about marriage, or simply the building of a secure home…That was something that she’s pretty sure should’ve been left for the future.
Plus, with both the four of wands meaning marriage, and the lovers apparently telling Minjeong it was the right time to make a major decision?
She’s seriously…seriously…fretting over nothing.
It’s not nothing!
Not nothing, but not something for the her of now to worry about.
If Karina had just looked past the worry for just a moment, she would realise a simple truth that would put her fully at ease, at least when it comes to the topic of marriage when they haven’t even had their first year anniversary for dating.
Well- tell me so I can- you know… enjoy my date???
Winter is a green flag, in every sense of the word, that’s something Karina Yu herself has said time and time again.
Attentive, gentle, someone who knows where to step and where not to thread.
So how could Winter’s big decision she’s making be about marriage? That’s overbearing, and Kim Minjeong would never do that to her, and even if it really was about marriage, after seeing the way she hesitated and froze?
Kim Minjeong would never propose after seeing such a reaction.
“Unnie.”
“H-Huh!?” She flinches, snapping out of her thoughts.
Fuck- we were talking…
“S-sorry, what were we talking about?” Winter smiles softly, cheeks lifting slowly, as her eyes gently formed crescents.
The younger woman’s cold hands wrap around the artist’s warm sweating ones.
“Your hands smell like potatoes, unnie.”
“Is it because of the sweat?! Let me dr-“ Minjeong quickly unfolds her fingers before running her handkerchief across the older woman’s skin.
Of course she carries a handkerchief around, why wouldn’t she?
“Don’t worry, Jimin unnie.”
“Whatever it is you’re worrying about, I won’t do anything that makes you unhappy, don’t you trust me?” Kim Minjeong takes her time wiping at every crevice, every wrinkle on her hands.
Gentle, the single word that fits Kim Minjeong best in this situation.
“I know that…” A purse of her lips as she looks away from the sight of the younger woman looking up at her for an answer.
“Pfft- why aren’t you looking at me??”
“You were being weirdly cute.”
“If I let go of your hand and stop distracting you from your mind, will you go back to drowning in your thoughts?”
“Probably.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Will me telling you what the big decision is, save you from the thoughts and allow you to finally pay attention to me?”
A slow nod, an unsure one, Minjeong laughs at the sight of Yu Jimin struggling to decide if the truth really would save her from the sea of thoughts.
“Moving.”
Houses?
“Why?”
“Recently I got curious and searched online, you’ve drawn a surprising number of comics, right? So the thought is… if we move, we could have another room to turn into a sort of library where I could collect the comics you’ve drawn.” The younger woman is all of a sudden unable to meet her eyes, looking away, biting on her bottom lip, shy.
“And…since you’re more often than not already sleeping in my bed, we could use the extra room as a workplace so your back doesn’t have to hurt hunched over the coffee table drawing.” It’s almost as if Kim Minjeong is trying to dig a hole and hide.
Almost as if she treats her having thought so much about all this as something to be embarrassed about.
“Apparently artists have some sort of pc set up for their work most of the time? You already have your tablet, but since you’re just using your iPad as the display you always have it too close to your face…” Even though it isn't.
“What do you think? Of course, it comes with the extra benefit of… having your name on the house too, just like I said I would have done if I didn’t already have my own place.”
Truth is, Yu Jimin had been thinking of moving too.
But more in the sense of moving out of her current room and maybe buying a slightly bigger bed so that when it wasn’t cuddle season they could at least still lay down together in the summer.
But this idea?
It incorporates her work, her quality of life, and the love of her life.
How could she say no?
“A three room flat?”
“Well technically 4, the living room counts as a-“ The raven quickly shakes her head, dismissing her previous question.
“Either way, yes.” It wasn’t like it mattered.
Because to her, be it two rooms, a single room, or a mansion…
She’ll be happy as long as Kim Minjeong were to remain by her side.
“If you want to move, I’ll follow you into the suburbs, the countryside or the heart of the city.”
“You want to move here? To Seoul? I might not have enough saved up for that though…” It’s evident once more when Kim Minjeong is seen seriously thinking about how to make her wish come true, as if they would somehow find the finances to buy a villa in the rich people’s districts as long as she were to think hard enough.
She walks closer, holding the younger woman’s cheek in her palm, guiding the younger woman to look at her.
“No, I think I’ve fallen for Busan.”
“Because of the dialect.” She supposes she deserves that, considering she’s constantly making Minjeong repeat sentences and phrases from her favorite dramas just to hear what it would sound like with the younger woman’s cute accent.
“Its a part of it, sure…but mostly because I discovered the love of my life there.”
“And there’s an aquarium I can go to anytime for free too.” She raises her thumb and index finger, then her middle finger, and tries continuing.
“And a cute baker, who’s also the love of my-“
“Ok enough.” Just to be stopped.
Not like anything could ever really stop her from telling Minjeong all the reasons she likes her.
“Who brings home donuts for me everyday.” The baker can only huff in defeat, sighing as she shook her head at the older woman.
“One day you’ll get sick of donuts.”
But she continues, five fingers raised this time.
“And who uses me as her test subject for new pastries.” Only for Winter to pout away from her, turning her body fully away, feigning anger.
“It’s not a test subject! I just want you to be the first to try them!!” Karina Yu finds even this sight of an almost immature Winter cute and endearing.
Perhaps that’s why this was the direction their relationship was taking.
Call it the honeymoon phase, call it her eyes leading her heart.
If Kim Minjeong’s cuteness can invade her senses just once more; she’ll give up every moral stand of hers to negate a quarrel with the younger woman again and again.
She stretches over, holding Winter’s arms in her hands before turning the younger woman back to face her.
“Busan is the place my favorite era of my life started.” She bends down, just slightly, just enough for Kim Minjeong and her to see eye to eye.
“Because now everything else pales in comparison.” There’s a smirk on her lips as she says it all.
“For Yu Jimin, me…there is a ‘before Kim Minjeong’.” Because even in this soft moment, there is forever an effort at seduction.
A kiss on the lips.
“And a ‘I found Kim Minjeong’.” Afterall, she wants to renew these feelings of theirs as much as they can, as often as she can.
“Isn’t it after me?”
“No, I don’t want it to ever be after you, that can mean that you’d left or that we’re done.” Her brows furrow, almost as if she was offended at the thought of there even being an after the younger woman.
Never.
She doesn’t want to see that, ever.
“It’s a ‘during’.”
“The happiest era of my life is during Kim Minjeong.”
Grabbing the air into her fist, Winter quickly throws a playful glare at the older woman.
“Zip.”
“Zipped.”
The two quickly settle into a silence.
And considering they were still just standing around outside the tarot reader’s shop, that meant they were doing absolutely nothing.
No waiting for a cab, no plans for where they’ll go.
“So uh- do we just- go back?” An itch spawns on her temple, she’s left scratching her skin as she looks away from the younger woman, feeling awkward all of a sudden.
“Do we have anything else to do?”
“…we could get donuts? There’s a Krispy Kreme near here-“ She doesn’t even spot the discrepancy in her own words, focused more on remembering just how far away the donut spot was from where they were.
“Wow…cheating when we haven’t even had our 7 month anniversary?” Then, she doesn’t even notice the fact the baker had called the getting of donuts from another shop cheating.
All she notices.
The way there’s a specific number in the younger woman’s words.
“Wait- you’re counting? Were we supposed to be celebrating every month?? Did you want it to be every month?” Then, she feels guilt wash over her.
“ Does this mean I missed out five months..?” She supposes she should’ve asked, this wasn’t something easy to communicate for girls after all.
Girls are always called high maintenance, she wonders if Minjeong feared the thought of being thought of that way.
“No. I’m just better with numbers than you are.”
Her worries are squashed like a young fly unable to move, stuck in a flytrap they had been born in.
“Besides… celebrating every month seems tiresome, making plans themselves takes me weeks you know?” But, seeing the way Minjeong still called it tiresome, it sounds wrong.
Because nothing about the life they shared together could even be remotely called tiresome.
Something like having a special day a month where they did slightly more than usual wouldn’t push them over the edge and make the relationship tiring or bothersome either.
She wonders if Minjeong truly did just dislike the idea of monthly anniversaries.
Or if she disliked the idea of being seen as bothersome more.
“ We could do it simply? Date night movie marathon, getting flowers for the other, getting a small puzzle to solve together…more donuts…” She hopes it's the former.
“I’m really starting to think you’re dating me for the donuts access.” Because if it’s the latter, it’s a failure on her part.
That she could allow such a thought to crowd the younger woman’s mind, that she could even allow the younger woman to have the slightest worry that she could ever see her as bothersome.
That would be a failure.
“We could go to the aquarium too!”
“Might as well start working there with my sister.”
“Either way! You get my point!” But hasn’t the narrator been talking too much, you think?
Too many thoughts for such an easy going relationship.
Too many words for a love that didn’t need translating nor explaining.
“Yes, I do. But darling aren’t you forgetting something?” Minjeong finally relaxes into a more teasing smile.
“Hm?”
“Getting flowers when I come home early from work, getting home and seeing blankets and popcorn waiting for me by the sofa, waiting with breakfast on the table and a new lego set on the coffee table…”
“Donuts; they’re all part of your daily life.”
“Our daily life together.” A flick on her forehead, then she continues, looking away slightly as she starts worrying.
“What did your ex do if stuff like getting flowers seemed good enough for an anniversary..?”
“Don’t talk about him.” The mention of the man immediately sours the older woman’s mood, so immediate in fact, it almost gives Kim MInjeong whiplash just by the older woman’s reaction.
“Touchy subject?”
“More like I cannot believe I ever liked him; he must’ve thought of me as a kind person who would get into a lavender marriage with him, apparently he was still texting my parents like a good future son in law! That’s why they were so surprised to see you!” Jimin’s frustration boils over and she finds herself whining to the younger woman.
“It’s shit…It’s so shit…why would he do that…”
“So that’s the reason for the entire looking at you like you’re a cheater thing during dinner?”
“Yes.”
“That’s kinda funny…”
“No it’s not, mom even asked me if I was leading you on and brought you home because you asked…she told me to at least tell them first before bringing side girls over, and asked if me and him quarrelled…and then asked if I liked you more…then told me they liked you more and treated me like a scumbag who was using you during my argument with him…”
“Hey, at least they like me more?”
“Glad you see the silver lining in my parents being disappointed in me for the entirety of yesterday.”
“ Well, did you explain it to them?” A sigh, Jimin looks away before closing her eyes; tired of the topic in a way it resembled physical fatigue.
“I tried to but they weren’t listening to me at all.” A hum in response from the younger woman.
“Then let’s go back to your parent’s place and explain.”
“If it’s weighing on your mind, you won’t be able to enjoy this vacation; and to be fair to me as a retail worker, vacation days really don’t come by all that often…”
“So for the sake of us.” A pinch of the raven’s cheek.
“Let’s make sure there’s no fog clouding this relationship.”
And so that’s exactly what they did.
They’d called the older woman’s parents out to join them for dinner at a chicken restaurant Jimin had particularly missed, her favourite restaurant from her childhood and even into her adulthood; evident by the way the couple at the entrance had greeted the raven as if she was their very own daughter.
And much like Kim Minjeong had been experiencing throughout this vacation, the couple had asked Jimin if she was a friend, and asked about the whereabouts of her ex lover.
Now, Kim Minjeong is patient, to a degree it was almost concerning how patient she actually was.
Kim Minjeong seemed as if she would gladly sit through a certain game where she would just have to stare at the wall, watching paint dry.
But- blame it on her feeling a little jealous with the way everyone seems to expect that Yu Jimin would have come back home to Seoul with him in tow, or blame it on the way she’s slowly getting irritated by the fact that the moment the older woman explains they’d broken up…
Everyone seems to react as if Yu Jimin had just lost the love of her life.
Of course, she’s heard all about it during the days of the raven’s moving on, how close they were, how long the relationship had lasted.
But frankly?
Even if she understands, her patient was wearing thin.
“So what did the two of you fight about that made you guys break up? Is it a finalized decision?” That’s the sentence that she’s greeted with when she gets back from the restroom.
Blame it on the fact the couple who owned the restaurant had asked the same exact question without knowing she was Yu Jimin’s current lover.
Blame it on the fact she had to turn a blind eye to that, but now here the older woman’s parents were saying that.
Despite knowing what the nature of their relationship was.
She freezes in place behind the older woman’s parents.
She watches as Yu Jimin’s eyes raise up to meet hers, her jaw falling slack, it didn’t take more than a glance at Kim Minjeong’s expression to know that the younger woman had heard what was said.
Especially considering she hasn’t seen Kim Minjeong cry, or even shed a tear these past 7 months other than a particularly scary movie they’d watched that had influenced her to prank the younger woman by pretending to be a ghost.
Either way.
Kim Minjeong has never shed a tear because of her sadness.
Yet here they were.
Yu Jimin was faced with her parents, looking behind both their heads, watching Kim Minjeong grit her teeth and wipe away the tear that was falling.
She doesn’t even bother to correct her parents or just- say anything.
All she does is drop her phone onto the table as she rises up to her feet.
And runs over, wrapping her arms around the younger woman’s shoulders.
Her hand soothes away at the younger woman’s stray hairs, patting the top of her head gently, comforting her.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let you hear that, I’m sorry, Minjeong ah.” Kim Minjeong was standing in the corner of the slowly crowding restaurant, crying, wishing she could stop her tears because here she was, making a fool of herself.
Luckily for her, it didn’t matter, at least not right now.
Because Yu Jimin separates their heads for just a moment before leaning back in, leaving a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.
“Your tears are salty…the chicken is already well seasoned, but if we need more salt, should I cry together with you?”
It’s barely even funny, and honestly it was more confusing if the remark was meant to be a joke than it is even endearing.
But Kim Minjeong has a high bar for laughter.
The joke would have to be 168cm tall, have long raven hair, a breathtaking smile, and showstopping beauty.
And it had to be named Yu Jimin.
Because that is her bar for laughter.
Karina Yu.
“You’re not funny at all…”
“I see you smiling, so clearly it’s at the very least working.”
“You’re a fool.”
“A fool for you…so can I wipe your tears and sit you back down so my parents don’t have to stay silent watching me comfort you?”
“...Mh.” It’s an almost silent noise, but it is approval enough for Yu Jimin to feel comfortable enough to make her way back to the table with Kim Minjeong’s hand behind her back, for her to slide her way back into her seat and pat the seat next to her clean before allowing her current lover to sit back down.
“So…as you can see, I’m not getting back together with him.”
“That’s point number one, point number two, he has a lover already, I arrived to busan to see him cheating on me; but since I didn’t want to come crawling back to the two of you crying about being cheated on and being left homeless because of it…I sort of just- went to a bakery and cried while eating donuts.” She holds Minjeong’s hand in hers, interlacing their fingers.
“That’s when I met this one, who offered for me to live in her spare room.” Then she places it on the table with a gentle thud.
“And then because of how cute she was, and how easy living with her is, and how thoughtful, caring, considerate, and of course because of how very very easy on the eyes she is, I fell for her; head to toe, it was as if I was dipped into an ink that claimed me as hers even before I’d known I had fallen.”
“So point number three is there’s no need to worry about how I was, getting over him, I had a very good distraction that was honestly more so a redirection.” She squeezes slightly, in her mind, comforting the younger woman.
Reassuring her that she wasn’t simply a distraction.
That she never will be.
“Which leads me to point number four.” The raven’s tone shifted, just slightly, still gentle, but her words sounded as if an ultimatum.
“Apologize to her.”
“Even if it was because you didn’t know what happened these past 9 months, even if it was because you were more used to seeing the version of me that was head over heels for him…” Her eyes didn’t leave her parent’s, she took her stand and held it.
She picks her side and stays with it
“You made her cry, so the two of you should apologize to your future daughter in law, alright?” Because from now on, she’ll forever be in Kim Minjeong’s corner.
Even if it’s against her parents.
“You guys said you liked her, don’t chase her away and make her run from me, if in the past I said he was everything I wanted in life, right now I’m telling you; she is not just want, not just need, she is my saviour from every storm in life; an umbrella, a shade, a cold breeze, or a layered fleece.”
“I would say she is like a shelter, or a resting place, but she isn’t temporary.”
“So instead…she’s home.” Her voice softens once more.
“Because the building might change, but I have her to return to; I have her arms to fall asleep in, and her hands to stir me awake.”
“So home can be said to be where she is, because I’ve not felt more at ease this life of mine than simply with her laid by my side as the sun rises.” A pause, just long enough for her words to sink in once more.
Then, she continues.
“Omma, appa.”
“From here on out, I will live with her in Busan; we’re planning to move, but it’ll still be within the area… but that’s the direction my life is taking.”
“So don’t worry, because there is nothing easier…”
A look to her right, their interlaced fingers on the table grow tighter as Yu Jimin raises her free hand to wipe away at the baker’s once more flowing tears.
Despite her words seeming as if they were directed to her parents, it’s clear from the look in her eyes, clear in the shift of the tone of her voice, it’s clear in the way she smiles towards Kim Minjeong.
That the next words are because of her, for her, and directed at her.
“Than a daily life with you.”
“Minjeong!! I FORGOT THE HEATER!!!” The scream that travels from the bathroom is so shaky Minjeong figures that the older woman had been right under the shower head right before finding out firsthand that she had forgotten the heater to the shower.
“Unnie, can you go get a bottle of oyster sauce? We ran out and I have to watch the fire for the soup..” A glance at her iPad, a glance at the younger woman.
“Sure, what brand do we usually use? Send me a pic, I’ll just get changed.”
“Thanks! Love you!”
“Love you too.” A peck left on each other’s cheeks, a smile that blooms easily.
“Should we go on a date on your next day off?”
“I kind of just want to- sleep in for a day, I’ve been feeling more tired as of late.”
“Then why are you staying up watching a movie with me right now, Kim Minjeong?”
“I want to spend time with you, and you've been wanting to watch this for a while.”
A pause of the movie, Jimin places the remote back down after saving the timestamp and shutting the screen off.
“We can spend time falling asleep together, and there’s no harm in waiting a little longer. I downloaded it and…there’s no end to the amount of days I’ll have to watch it with you.”
“Your health comes first, baby.”
“Sprinkle donut?” A sight uncommon now that they’d settled into a rhythm of powdered and glazed donuts.
“It’s our anniversary tomorrow, so I thought to surprise you with it in the morning; but right now works too.”
“ Kim Minjeong.”
“Hm?”
“Did you spend your time at work picking out only the blue sprinkles??”
“It’s a Monday, business was slow anyway.”
“Still! There’s a lot on here, it clearly took a while!”
“But are you happy to see an entirely blue sprinkle donut made specially for you by the girl you love?”
“Well- of course.”
“Then my hard work and effort was all worth it.”
“…must you be so cute?”
“You like me when I’m cute right? Then I must be, because I want to keep you next to me; for as long as possible.”
“You don’t have to work this hard for me to want to stay next to you…”
“Babe, all I did was use tweezers and spend twenty minutes picking out blue sprinkles, I didn’t invent a new way to cure cancer.”
“It's a cute effort either way… just shut up and let me appreciate you.”
“While you eat the blue donut?”
“While I eat the blue donut.”
“Of course.”