Chapter Text
Minjeong wears her heart on her sleeve. Despite being shy and quiet when you first meet her, she is brave and not afraid to speak her mind when it matters the most. That’s why confessions of any sort have been second nature to her. By the time she finds herself falling for her roommate, Yoo Jimin, she has confessed to three girls. As a freshman, she confessed to Kim Taeyeon, the straight sunbae of two years that she looked up to. As a sophomore, she confessed to her same-aged chingu, Shin Ryujin, one of the few out lesbians she knew of (and also often ranted to about various topics). As a junior, she confessed to a girl she met online, Giselle. Giselle was actually the only one who reciprocated her feelings, but unfortunately long distance online relationships have a slim chance of working out so you know how that ended.
Near the end of her third year, Minjeong breaks it off with Giselle and wishes her the best. She doesn’t give her false hope of meeting again in the future to rekindle what could have been, but rather hopes for full closure. Feeling drained from seven months of her first commitment to a human being with emotional and mental investment, Minjeong decides that focusing on herself might not be a terrible idea. She thinks she’s got it all figured out until she starts the second half of her third year and meets Yoo Jimin, her new roommate.
She usually would’ve roomed with her best friend, Yizhuo, but the latter is studying abroad this year. She knows Jimin. She knows her as her chemistry laboratory partner from two years ago and the girl who approached her at the student organization fair to represent the Manga Book Club. From their one-sided encounters with the pursuer of communication being obviously Jimin, one would assume Jimin’s image to be the complete opposite as shy Minjeong. However, just as Minjeong has her two sides as the shy, yet brave confessor, Jimin also has her share of two sides as an outgoing yet private leader. Minjeong realizes this as they live together.
Being a leader, Jimin invests all of her energy into certain obligations — her Manga Book Club organization, academics, and herself, she has barely any energy left to truly connect with friends. That’s why her routine and as a matter of fact, living situation at the dormitory has been secluded and what people would describe as isolating. Minjeong on the other hand gives everything to people until she has nothing left for herself. She’s the friend you run to first when you’re seeking a reliable listener or the friend who will always return your call even if she’s had a terrible day and just wants to sleep for the rest of the evening. She’s the friend who could never resent you and if she does, that means you’ve fucked up bad.
So imagine Jimin’s culture shock when she gets a text from Minjeong that isn’t chemistry-related from 2019.
1.20.21 9:29 PM
“Hey sorry to bother you so late in the night, but I heard you live in a single unit. I’m looking for a roommate and couldn’t think of anyone else.”
Jimin stares at her phone for what seemed like an eternity. First, she doesn’t even know Minjeong that well except for the fact that she’s kind of clumsy and had a trembling hand every single time she was instructed to hold the glass beaker in place. To say that Minjeong was a complete stranger to Jimin is not accurate at all. To Jimin, Minjeong was a friend who initiated most of their conversations. To Jimin, anyone who approaches her first is a friend. Despite her hard-to-approach attitude and her lack of reaching out to others, Jimin tends to trust and like people easily.
So she doesn’t contact anyone else before she sends a courteous reply back.
1.20.21 9:35 PM
“Sure. No problem, Minjeong-ssi.”
Minjeong gapes at her phone and sits up in a jolt, hitting the top of her head on the bunk above hers.
“Ah, shit.”
“You good over there?” A voice from above causes a stutter in her heart because now she has to tell her best friend about this fantastic news.
“Yes, Yizhou. Also, why are you still awake?”
“Just can’t fall asleep because I have a flight that I have to be awake for at 5:20 AM??” She blurts out like it’s the most obvious reason, “... The real question is, why are you still awake?”
Minjeong brings her attention from empty space back to her phone radiating the only light in the room.
“I… I got a text from my new roommate.”
“Omo! That’s good, isn’t it?! Isn’t the deadline this Friday?”
“Mhm.”
“You sound super enthusiastic.” Yizhou snorts in sarcasm, “But then again, I can’t blame you. I am the best roommate so I get your disappointment.”
Minjeong rolls her eyes at her best friend’s narcissism, “Yes, if that makes you sleep at night.”
“Okay, but…” Yizhou adjusts her position on her bed to have some view of her friend’s facial expression, “...Really, I can’t read you. You don’t seem upset or mad, and those are the only moods you express. SO this is weird, you seem spaced out and in deep thought which is so unlike you.”
Minjeong gives her the side-eye, “You make me sound like a war freak with anger issues. I have emotions too.” As soon as the last sentence leaves her mouth, a wave of regret comes over her and she does not anticipate what Yizhou has to say to tease her further.
“Oooooh, what emotions? WAIT — Who did you even reach out to? You have no friends aside from me!” She brutally points out.
That’s the last straw because Minjeong leaps from her position and Yizhou corners into the wall in fear. Minjeong climbs up, but instead of doing whatever the younger girl expected, she lets her shoulders sink in a hopeless manner. She grabs Yizhou’s small strawberry plush and holds it close to her chest, a habit she does when she needs emotional support but doesn’t want to cuddle with any human being.
“Her name’s Jimin, she’s the only person I’ve had a real connection with in my classes.”
“W-Wait, Jimin as in the Yoo Jimin???”
“How the hell do you even know her?” Minjeong scoffs.
Yizhou scoffs back, “How the hell do you not? She’s like in every club - okay maybe not every club, but she’s like the model student. Like the ace, the jack of all trades. But people say they’ve never spoken more than three words to her because she’s hard to approach and read.”
Minjeong nods, “Sounds like her… but then how, how was it so easy to get her to agree to be my roommate?”
Yizhou snatches Minjeong’s phone before the older girl could think of resisting. Jimin has such a weird effect on her, one that makes her vulnerable to anything.
“Wow, you’re right. This seems like something she would do though.”
“Like agree that quickly? She doesn’t even know me beyond the classroom. I could be the messiest person alive and blasts EDM nightcore at 3 AM when she’s trying to sleep—”
“But you’re not. I mean, just looking at you, there’s no way you could be that type of person. Also, you did mention that you got an A in chemistry so I assume you did pretty well in those labs. A messy and disorganized person can only dream of passing chemistry. You have to be real careful to do well in labs.”
Minjeong waits for her brain to come up with a comeback, but to no avail. She hates her friend for being so persuasive and positive that she feels like she has to be the total opposite and be self-loathing 24/7. However, for once she decides to let Yizhou have the last word.
“I guess.”
Minjeong stops questioning her fate and lets Yizhou have a good sleep before her flight. 5 AM comes closer than she wants and as she walks Yizhou to the door, helping her with her luggage and duffle bag, she hugs her for a long, long time. It’ll be the last hug for the next six months. The thought makes her want to cry, but she doesn’t. She keeps her tears in because that’s how she is. Yizhou takes no offense even as her eyes get glossy.
“Why’d you have to leave during my last year…” Minjeong wipes her best friend’s tears, getting a playful punch back to her collarbone area. Yizhou doesn’t bother answering because she knows there’s no way to answer that question without slapping Minjeong in the face with the truth: Yizhou puts traveling first. Yizhou, being an international student from China has always put traveling first. It’s not the first time she’s made a loved one cry because she wishes to explore the world.
With a promise of keeping in contact, Yizhou spares her last glance to Minjeong and lets the taxi take her away.
…
Minjeong thinks that the first day without Yizhou will be a quiet one. She realizes how wrong she was when she gets a text from the person she least expects it from.
“Hey! Can we video call today or tomorrow to fill out the roommate agreement application?”
Wow, she’s so forward. Straight to the point… I… like it.
What?
Minjeong’s heart skips a beat and her fingers hover over the screen impatiently. She wants to respond because every minute she leaves her on read induces anxiety.
“Sure! What time?” is what she eventually decides to send.
Minjeong doesn’t understand why she’s so nervous. She’s not meeting Jimin for the first time, but it has been a while since their shared chemistry course ended — awhile, as in two years. A lot can happen in two years, Minjeong reasons her anxious state and the many adjustments she is making to her hair. She wishes she had showered, but it’s five minutes before their scheduled time and she’s staring at her face on the Zoom screen of her laptop.
Jimin “arrives” and as soon as their eyes meet through the screen, Minjeong is hit with the stark reality.
She is uselessly, hopelessly, inexplicably, attracted to Yoo Jimin.
Jimin’s slick damp hair tells her that she just got out of the shower and furthermore, is wearing a white V-neck tee which is, beyond Yizhou’s comprehension, Minjeong’s kryptonite. The cherry on top is the blinding smile that Jimin flashes to her after a beat of their staring contest.
“Hi-”
“Woah-”
“Woah?” Jimin’s smile fades into a confused expression. Minjeong blushes beet red and shakes her head, letting a small smile form on her lips, “oh, nothing. Hi, nice to see you again.”
I’m going to have to see her like this every time she finishes taking a shower? Lord have mercy on me. Minjeong attempts telepathy with Yizhou who’s probably still on the plane to Japan to pray for her poor gay soul.
“Well then, shall we get started?”