Chapter Text
*Part 3*
By the time they made it back to the living room, the documentary had ended.
Neither of them had been paying attention anyway.
Some movie had automatically started in its place, soft music drifting through the speakers as the opening credits rolled.
Jimin couldn't have told anyone the title.
She doubted Minjeong could either.
Not when Minjeong's priorities were...
Well.
Entirely different.
Jimin set both mugs on the coffee table before disappearing for exactly three seconds.
When she came back, she had the blanket from the armchair draped over one arm.
Minjeong looked up from where she'd settled into her usual corner of the couch.
"...What's that for?"
"It's cold."
"I'm already under a blanket."
"I know."
Jimin unfolded the second one dramatically.
"So now we'll both be under a blanket."
"...You're making a blanket fort?"
"I'm making sure you don't steal mine halfway through the movie."
"I have never—"
"You absolutely have."
"One time."
"Seven."
"...You counted?"
"I live with you."
"...Fair."
Jimin laughed quietly, shaking the blanket out before settling beside her again.
This time...
She didn't bother leaving any space between them.
Apparently neither did Minjeong.
The moment Jimin sat down, Minjeong instinctively leaned against her side as naturally as breathing.
No hesitation.
No asking.
Just...
Home.
Jimin tucked the blanket over both of their legs.
The warmth settled around them almost instantly.
Outside, rain had begun tapping softly against the windows.
Inside...
The dorm felt impossibly cozy.
The kind of evening people wished they could bottle up forever.
---
Minjeong reached for her mug.
She blew gently across the surface before taking the tiniest sip imaginable.
A second later...
A quiet sound escaped her.
"...Mmm."
Jimin smiled without looking away from the television.
"Good?"
"Mhm."
Another sip.
Another tiny content hum.
Then another.
Jimin couldn't help glancing sideways.
"You know..."
"Hm?"
"You make little noises whenever you eat something you like."
"I do not."
"You absolutely do."
"I don't."
"You just did."
"I was appreciating."
"You sounded like a happy hamster."
Minjeong gasped.
"I have never been so insulted."
"I said happy."
"You compared me to a rodent."
"A very cute rodent."
"...I accept your apology."
"I didn't apologize."
"You meant to."
Jimin laughed, nudging her gently with her shoulder.
Minjeong nudged her back.
Neither of them noticed they were smiling.
---
The movie played on.
Or at least...
It tried to.
Jimin had managed to follow approximately four minutes of it before something shifted beside her.
She already knew.
Without looking.
Minjeong had that look.
The one she always got whenever she was thinking very hard about something completely ridiculous.
Jimin waited.
Three...
Two...
One...
Without a word...
Minjeong carefully set her mug on the table.
Then, with all the confidence in the world, she turned toward Jimin.
One knee landed on the couch.
Then the other.
Jimin blinked.
"...Baby?"
No response.
Minjeong continued her very important mission.
She shifted closer.
One hand lightly resting on Jimin's shoulder for balance.
Then...
Quite casually...
She climbed directly into Jimin's lap.
As though this was the most ordinary thing anyone had ever done.
Jimin stared.
"...Minjeong."
"Hm?"
"What are you doing?"
"I moved."
"...I noticed."
"It's more comfortable."
"...In my lap?"
"Mhm."
"...Why?"
Minjeong considered the question for a moment, as though the answer required deep philosophical thought.
Finally...
"I wanted a better angle."
"...A better angle."
"For cuddling."
"..."
She said it so matter-of-factly.
As though that explained absolutely everything.
Which...
To be fair...
It kind of did.
Jimin couldn't stop herself from smiling.
"...Is there a problem?"
Minjeong asked, tilting her head just enough that a few strands of messy hair fell into her eyes.
Jimin reached up automatically and brushed them aside.
"No."
"There you go."
Satisfied, Minjeong shifted until she was completely comfortable.
One arm slipped lazily around Jimin's waist.
Her cheek rested against Jimin's shoulder.
Her knees tucked neatly against Jimin's sides.
Like she'd done this a thousand times before.
Maybe she had.
Jimin honestly couldn't remember anymore.
It had simply become...
Normal.
And she loved that.
More than she probably should.
---
For a while...
Neither of them spoke.
The rain outside grew a little heavier.
The movie continued to exist somewhere in the background.
Minjeong's breathing slowed as she relaxed further into Jimin's embrace.
Her nose brushed lightly against the side of Jimin's neck.
Soft.
Warm.
Accidental.
Jimin's heartbeat instantly betrayed her.
She prayed Minjeong couldn't hear it.
She probably could.
Minjeong always seemed to notice everything.
"...You smell nice."
The words came out half-muffled against Jimin's hoodie.
Jimin smiled.
"I showered."
"I know."
"You watched me walk out of the bathroom."
"I know."
"You've been attached to me ever since."
"I know."
"...So why are you complimenting my smell?"
"'Cause it changed."
"It changed?"
"Mhm."
"You smell like shampoo now."
"...That's generally how showers work."
"I like it."
Jimin laughed softly.
"Good."
Another moment passed.
Then—
"I missed you."
Jimin looked down.
"...Baby."
"Mhm?"
"It had been..."
She glanced toward the kitchen.
"...Five minutes."
"The longest five minutes ever."
Jimin felt something inside her chest quietly dissolve.
How was she supposed to survive conversations like this?
How?
There was no defense against Kim Minjeong being effortlessly sincere.
Jimin leaned down.
Pressed one gentle kiss against the top of Minjeong's head.
Soft.
Lingering.
A silent answer.
The effect was immediate.
Minjeong visibly melted.
Every bit of tension left her shoulders.
She let out the tiniest, happiest sigh.
The kind that sounded almost like a sleepy cat purring.
"...Again."
Jimin blinked.
"What?"
"Kiss."
"You want another one?"
"Mhm."
There wasn't even a second of hesitation.
Jimin smiled.
Leaning down once more, she kissed Minjeong's forehead this time.
Just above her brows.
Warm lips against warm skin.
When she pulled away...
Minjeong's eyes had already drifted closed.
"...Again."
Jimin laughed.
"You're impossible."
"Please?"
That tiny voice.
Absolutely unfair.
Jimin had never once won against that voice.
She kissed the tip of Minjeong's nose.
A tiny wrinkle appeared immediately.
Minjeong giggled.
Actually giggled.
Jimin felt her heart perform a complete somersault.
"There it is."
"What?"
"Your nose wrinkle."
"...I don't wrinkle."
"You absolutely wrinkle."
"I have dignity."
"You lost that when you climbed into my lap without asking."
"...Technicality."
Jimin kissed her left cheek.
Then the right.
Then the top of her head again.
Each kiss earned another smile.
Another tiny laugh.
Another impossibly soft expression that Jimin wanted to memorize forever.
Finally...
Minjeong opened one eye.
"...I win."
Jimin frowned.
"...What competition?"
"I got six kisses."
Jimin blinked.
"...You counted?"
"I always count."
"...Excuse me?"
"I keep statistics."
There was exactly one second of silence.
Then Jimin burst into laughter.
"No, you don't."
"I do."
"No."
"Mhm."
"You're making that up."
"I'm not."
Minjeong looked so genuinely offended that Jimin had the audacity to doubt her.
"I have categories."
"...Categories."
"Mhm."
Jimin already knew this conversation was going somewhere ridiculous.
She loved it.
"...Go on then."
Minjeong sat up slightly, still perfectly comfortable in Jimin's lap.
She held up one finger.
"Forehead kisses."
Another.
"Hair kisses."
Another.
"Cheek kisses."
Another.
"Nose kisses."
Another.
"Temple kisses."
Another.
"And..."
She smiled mischievously.
"...Emergency comfort kisses."
Jimin snorted.
"...Emergency comfort kisses?"
"Mhm."
"The ones you give me when I'm overwhelmed."
Jimin's smile faltered.
Just a little.
Because...
She did do that.
She'd never consciously realized it before.
But whenever Minjeong had a difficult day...
Whenever rehearsals became exhausting...
Whenever she looked like the weight of the world was pressing down on her shoulders...
Jimin would quietly pull her close and press a kiss somewhere into her hair.
Not to fix anything.
Just...
To remind her she wasn't carrying it alone.
"...You noticed."
"I notice everything."
Jimin believed her.
She absolutely believed her.
Because Minjeong had always been observant in the quietest ways.
She remembered things no one else did.
The exact way Jimin liked her tea.
Which side of the bed she naturally slept on.
Which songs she hummed absentmindedly while cooking.
Apparently...
Even the language behind her kisses.
"...There's more."
Jimin sighed dramatically.
"Of course there is."
"You kiss me differently depending on your mood."
"I do not."
"You absolutely do."
"I absolutely don't."
"You absolutely absolutely do."
Jimin folded her arms.
"Prove it."
Minjeong grinned.
"Oh, gladly."
She gently tapped her own forehead.
"'I'm proud of you.'"
Then the top of her head.
"'You're safe.'"
Her temple.
"'I'm worried about you.'"
The bridge of her nose.
"'You're adorable.'"
One cheek.
"'I missed you.'"
Then...
She leaned closer.
Close enough that their noses almost touched.
She pointed just beside her lips.
"...And these tiny little kisses."
Jimin froze.
"The ones right here."
Minjeong's smile turned impossibly smug.
"When you're trying really, really hard not to kiss me on the mouth because we're in the living room."
Jimin's brain stopped functioning.
Completely.
"..."
"..."
"...How long have you known?"
Minjeong tilted her head thoughtfully.
"...Since February?"
"February?!"
"You make this face."
"I do not make a face."
"You do."
"What face?"
Without missing a beat...
Minjeong copied her perfectly.
Soft eyes.
Pressed lips.
Looking literally everywhere except Minjeong's mouth.
Jimin stared.
"...That's terrifying."
"I practiced."
"...You practiced?"
"I like looking at you."
Jimin covered her face with one hand.
"I can't believe this."
"I've also counted."
"Oh no."
"You've kissed me..."
She looked thoughtfully toward the ceiling.
"...Four hundred and twelve times."
Jimin laughed so hard she almost dropped both of them off the couch.
"Absolutely not."
"Absolutely yes."
"There is no way."
"Would you like the spreadsheet?"
"...There's a spreadsheet?"
"In my head."
"Kim Minjeong."
"Mhm?"
"You are the biggest dork I've ever met."
"So I've been told."
"And I love you very much."
Minjeong's smile softened instantly.
"...I know."
Jimin cupped her face gently.
"So..."
"So?"
She kissed Minjeong's forehead.
"Four hundred thirteen."
Then her nose.
"Four hundred fourteen."
Left cheek.
"Four hundred fifteen."
Right cheek.
"Four hundred sixteen."
Minjeong was already laughing.
"You are absolutely doing this on purpose."
"I might be."
Another kiss.
Her hair.
"Four hundred seventeen."
Another.
The tip of her chin.
"Four hundred eighteen."
"You'll ruin my count!"
"I thought you liked accuracy."
"I do!"
"Then keep up."
"Oh no."
"Oh yes."
Jimin attacked.
Kiss after kiss landed across Minjeong's forehead.
Her cheeks.
Her jaw.
Her nose.
Everywhere except the one place Minjeong secretly kept glancing toward.
"Four hundred nineteen!"
Kiss.
"Four hundred twenty!"
Kiss.
"Four hundred twenty-one!"
"Ji—"
Kiss.
"Four hundred twenty-two!"
She dissolved into laughter.
The uncontrollable kind.
Her shoulders shook.
Her glasses slipped crooked again.
She tried to keep counting anyway.
"W-Wait—"
"No."
"I can't count this fast!"
"Skill issue."
"You're evil!"
"I learned from the best."
Another kiss.
Another.
Another.
By the time Jimin finally relented...
Minjeong was flushed bright pink.
Her hair looked like she'd survived a small tornado.
Her glasses sat halfway down her nose.
She was laughing so hard tears had gathered at the corners of her eyes.
Jimin reached up, gently straightening her glasses.
"...How many?"
Minjeong frowned in deep concentration.
"...Four hundred..."
A pause.
"...Thirty-four."
Jimin blinked.
"You still counted?"
"I only lost track once."
"...You're terrifying."
"I'm efficient."
Jimin smiled so hard her cheeks hurt.
"You know what your problem is?"
"What?"
"You're entirely too cute."
Minjeong shrugged.
"...Not my fault."
"No."
Jimin brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"It really isn't."
Silence settled over them once more.
Comfortable.
Warm.
The kind of silence that didn't need filling.
The movie had ended.
The credits rolled quietly across the television.
Neither of them had noticed.
Minjeong yawned.
A tiny, sleepy sound.
She shifted closer until she was tucked against Jimin exactly the way she always was.
As though she'd been built to fit there.
Within minutes...
Her breathing slowed.
Evened out.
She was asleep.
Again.
Jimin smiled down at the girl curled securely against her chest.
"...The longest five minutes ever, huh?"
No response.
Just the steady rhythm of sleepy breaths.
Then...
Almost unconsciously...
Minjeong's fingers found the strings of Jimin's hoodie.
She wrapped them carefully around two sleepy fingers.
Holding on.
Even in her dreams.
A tiny smile appeared on her sleeping face.
Jimin felt her heart surrender all over again.
She leaned down one last time.
Pressed the gentlest kiss against Minjeong's forehead.
"...Four hundred and thirty-five."
This time...
There was no one awake to count.
Except Jimin.
And somehow...
She thought she'd remember that one forever.