Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In a diner located in Jeju, named Paradise Diner, there is a diner waitress who keeps sighing at her watch that's wrapped around her wrist, telling her it's already 1:10 in the afternoon. 

She waits with a meal on a tray in front of her, the same meal she's been preparing for two months straight already and the same meal she's been eating and/or giving it out to customers for free who isn't rude to her. 

Heavily sighing again, she glances at her watch, 1:12PM, one more minute… She looks up to the entrance doors of their diner with anticipation, waiting for one specific person to appear at the right time. A few more seconds before the person arrives or not, a few more seconds before the diner waitress becomes the happiest person in the world or not. 

“Yooh!” Someone calls for her and she mentally curses them out for breaking her moment. She looks to her side with the diner owner looking at her with sympathy. 

“Yooh, is she still not here?” Shaking her head no, the so called diner waitress Yooh is close to burying herself deep down in the ground as she sees her watch tick to 1:13PM. Heaving another sigh, she grabs a fistful of fries from the tray and into her mouth it goes, annoyingly and disappointingly munching on it as if someone had just made her mad at the moment. 

She hates it that she's always still so excited to anticipate on the arrival of her so called crush, a pretty pink-haired lady that she met a few–no, a lot of times already about a few months ago who always dined in their peaceful diner at exactly 1:13 in the afternoon, all while ordering the same meal every single damn time. She had memorized the meal and even made it everyday by herself despite the diner owner/main chef’s disapproval. The meal consists of a bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries and mayo as its dipping, a large strawberry milkshake, and a caesar salad with extra small bacon strips on top. 

It's been two months since she last saw that pretty pink-haired lady and since then, she's been preparing the same meal everyday even if there’s always a possibility that she won't show up. Yooh just wants to be prepared for her anticipated arrival and not mess up this time, as she truly regrets not making her move when she was still here. And so, with her regrets, she gets reminded of such when the diner owner’s girlfriend, or, the diner’s small cashier lady approaches her side to grab a bite of the burger on the tray in front of her. 

“You’ll get sick if you continue to eat the same meal everyday, Yoohyeon, why don't you just give up already?” After taking a bite on the burger, the diner’s small cashier lady takes a sip on the strawberry milkshake beside it. 

“Bora, of all the time in the world, why must you remind me that I’m so miserable?”  

“You? Miserable? When did I say that? Well, not that I don't agree though…” 

Yoohyeon grabs the soda from Bora’s hold, places it back on the tray, and moves it to her other side so she could eat it in peace after making the small cashier lady leave. “Bora, please, just leave me be for a few minutes? I’m still so upset about this… Everything about this just feels stupid and I’d like to sort it out on my own.”

“Alright, fine, just let me know if you're done moping around and go back to tending the customers once you're ready.” With that, Bora leaves her side to go back to her station and do her job. Yoohyeon is left feeling dejected as she disappointingly munches on the food she prepared herself, taking her time to eat it so she could try to at least make herself feel better with food. 

It's frustrating, how such a pretty lady like her can make her like this, feeling giddy everyday as she anticipates her arrival and gets sad when her day comes to disappointment once again. It's not like she even knows the pretty pink-haired lady’s name, she just knows of her hair color (which is pink, obviously) and that pretty face of hers that always had her glasses almost falling off her nose when she's too focused on her laptop after she finished her meal. 

It makes her wonder how such a crush can make her act like this, like she's in elementary school doing her best to make her crush notice her even if she does the stupidest thing in the world. 

She wishes that she at least knew her name so she could stalk her on social media but with her luck, she doesn't know anything about her besides her being a college student who’s working on a thesis because of how thick her books were when she stays a bit longer after finishing her meal to work on her thesis. 

Yoohyeon knows that she should've at least asked for her name, or her number if she was brave enough, but due to her being the allegedly shyest person in the world, she didn't even try to ask her name nor even tried to make a conversation with her. It was always about their diner’s food which happened rarely because she would always order the same exact meal at the same exact time of the day. The pretty pink-haired lady would only talk to her for a few seconds asking for a few drinks and snacks so she could have some while working on something. 

She hates that she was so shy back then and now all she wants to do is to turn back time to when she was last seen in their diner so she could at least ask for her name. She hates that she settled with just admiring her from afar while she serves every customer that comes after her and she's just there, either enjoying her meal or working on her thesis. If she just knew that there would come a time where she would stop coming, she would've grabbed every chance that she could've gotten back then to at least share a little conversation with her. 

Heaving a sigh, another day, another disappointment. She finishes off the meal and leaves the plates on the sink in the kitchen before she gets back to work with Bora grinning at her in an attempt to make her feel better. 

After a lot of taking of orders and serving food like what a usual waiter does, Yoohyeon is now headed back into the locker room so she could prepare her leave as it is already six in the evening which is the time where the diner will start closing. It’s odd that their diner closes just before the dinner time of most people but with the weird and unpredictable personalities of both the diner owner and the diner cashier lady, who were girlfriends, it's quite understandable why they close up earlier than most restaurants in the area. 

(It's so Bora and Siyeon could have more time together in the evening with no work in between, to which Yoohyeon scoffed at them when she heard their reasoning one day a few years back.)

Now done with changing into her casual clothing, Yoohyeon makes her way back into the diner and exchanges farewells with both Bora and Siyeon who just nodded at her to acknowledge her farewell. The diner waitress now heads outside of the diner to rethink her life decisions and so, after thinking for just a few seconds, she decides to go to her apartment roommate’s PC bang which was nearby, as she's too lazy to go home yet. 

Once she arrives, she gets greeted with Yubin, her roommate and the PC bang’s owner, who immediately grabs her wrist to show her the new game she had in store. 

“Yubs, didn't you let me try this game a few days ago?” Yoohyeon asks as she moves her character through the level of the game, feeling deja vu all over because she swears that she's played this before. Yubin scoffs at her before showing her the case of the console, looking all prideful at possessing such a game. 

“I have the limited edition of it and only 500 copies were sold all over the world. Guess how I got it? It's Gahyeonie’s doing!” 

Yubin was beaming with happiness and Yoohyeon smiled at her for being happy, it was such a rare sight outside of the PC bang and without Gahyeon (who is Yubin’s crush). The diner waitress decides to play along with her roommate as she has nothing better to do than to mope around when she gets home, this is much better than to think about that certain pretty pink-haired lady. 

Yubin decided to join Yoohyeon in her world in the game, letting some of the part-timers in the PC bang take care of their business for a while so she could take a break and play with her roommate. 

“Hey, Yooh,” The PC bang owner calls out, making Yoohyeon almost let her character die if it wasn't for the fast response of Yubin who comes to her aid immediately. “I heard you're still not over that little crush of yours.” She could hear the teasing smirk in Yubin’s voice if that was possible, so she makes her character in the game hide somewhere far from the enemies to see if Yubin really has the teasing smirk on her face–indeed she does. 

“You're teasing me with my crush as if you're not as miserable as me!” Yoohyeon puffs out an annoyed breath and she proceeds to cross her arms, trying to show Yubin that she's half-heartedly annoyed. 

“At least I can still see my crush everyday! I even know her name and a lot more things about her and you, the only thing you know about that lady is her food preference and hair color.”

“That's still something, Yubs!” Yoohyeon heaves a sigh, slowly admitting her defeat in silence and her body is deflating on her seat at the same time. 

She thought she could get through this night without thinking about that lady, the pretty pink-haired lady that she miserably has a crush on. She wants to curse Yubin at least in her head but she knows of all people that her roommate is just trying her best to cheer her up despite the circumstances she currently has. 

“I’ve been looking for her on the internet for you, y’know?” Yubin says as she turns off her game and scrolls through her phone instead before offering it for Yoohyeon to take. “Bora asked me to do so because she wants to help you to at least know her name. I feel the same way, that's why I’ve been trying to look for her for days now.”

“Yubs, I’ll let you put everything you order on my tab for a month if you do this one thing for me.” 

“What is it, Bora? Don't tell me you're asking me to do something illegal for you.”

“What?! No! Just look for pretty pink-haired ladies on the internet that live in our city and show it to Yoohyeon.”

“That’s it? I just need to hunt down pretty pink-haired ladies?”

“Yeah, that's all. The kid misses the lady. I trust you’ll find her for Yooh!”

Yoohyeon scrolls through the social media accounts that Yubin had compiled. Most of the ladies were pink-haired, of course, but none of them seemed to look like the specific pretty pink-haired lady she has a crush on. She slowly deflates further in her seat, knowing that of all accounts compiled, none of them were owned by her crush. 

“Is she not there?” Yubin asks and Yoohyeon shakes her head before placing the phone on the desk and sighing in defeat. Looks like even on the internet, that pretty pink-haired lady disappeared without any trace left behind. 

“And to think that I looked everywhere… Instagram, Facebook, Twitter… even Snapchat that no one even uses anymore.” Yubin grabs her phone and attempts to look for more accounts once more, hopefully she could find her right now so her roommate could finally get to know at least her name. Yoohyeon, on the other hand, just stares up the ceiling of nothingness, feeling once again ashamed of her own feelings for an unknown lady becoming like this.

Heaving a sigh before putting her phone down on the desk, Yubin pats Yoohyeon on her shoulder. “Don't worry Yooh, I’ll still try to look for her. Who knows, maybe she'll come to the diner again tomorrow! Put your chin up bud, let's play again for now and watch movies when we get home, yeah?” 

From there, Yoohyeon gains back her joy and spends all night playing and watching movies with her best friend slash roommate. 

When she prepares herself for bed, the tall waitress is smiling, she's excited for tomorrow like usual. No one knows when that pretty pink-haired lady will come back so Yoohyeon always looks forward to tomorrow even though she's bound to disappoint herself at 1:13 in the afternoon on her shifts at the diner. 

It's fine, she says to herself, everything will all be fine once she meets that pretty pink-haired lady again….

Everything’s not fine. 

It's another day without her showing up to the diner at 1:13PM and Yoohyeon is left yet again disappointed with an untouched meal in front of her. Thank goodness that the diner isn't as packed today and she can have time to mope around without Bora bothering her because of the countless orders they receive. She decides to pack the untouched meal so she could have it for later. 

It never changed, how she thinks this is stupid, for doing all of this for a lady that she doesn't even know the name of. She could've tried to look for other pretty ladies in the area, she's sure of finding another one since Jeju always has a lot of tourists and their diner is located at the heart of Jeju but of course, due to her shyness, she can't do so. Because of this, she's stuck in an endless tunnel where she keeps running to find the exit, an exit for this one-sided crush with that pretty pink-haired lady. 

“Yooh!” Distracted with her thoughts, she gets pulled back to reality when she hears Bora’s loud voice calling for her. She watches the small diner cashier lady make her way to her side with her phone. “Look who texted me!” 

Yoohyeon wasn't sure if she should trust Bora. She's familiar with her antics and usually, she ends up being pranked by her. 

“Trust me on this Yooh!” 

The tall waitress sighs and decides to play with Bora’s antics for this time around. When she opens it, a conversation between the cashier and another person appears. Yoohyeon’s lips grew into a grin, her eyes started to get teary almost immediately. 

“Handong’s coming back home from the city! How come she told you first before me?” Bora lets go of Yoohyeon and her smirk is annoying to look at (Yoohyeon says) while she crosses her arms before saying, “Of course! College buddies privilege. We were a year ahead of you.”

Handong was a mutual friend to all three of them with Bora and Siyeon being in the same year as her in college and Yoohyeon became friends with her because she was a senior in her department. They all became the bestest of friends almost immediately but because something happened back then, Handong needed to leave for Seoul and to also continue her studies there. 

“Yeah yeah, stop it with that smirk of yours. I’ll text Handong to confirm this, I’m not sure if I can really trust you.”

“Hey!” Bora tackles Yoohyeon in a hug and ruffles her hair, “She even told me she's going back with a girl! Looks like our Dongie has a girlfriend~” 

“That's nice to hear. How about we plan a surprise for them?” Yoohyeon thinks of a great idea and Bora screams in joy.

And now that news of Handong was coming back to Jeju after years of not being able to because of her busy life in Seoul, all Yoohyeon wants is to give the best possible welcome for Handong who had been her bestest friend years ago. This is also a good chance for her to forget about her silly crush even if it's only going to be a few days. 

“Let's do that! I’m excited! Let's talk about it with Siyeon when she comes back.”

“Talk about what?”

“Singnie!” Bora lets go of Yoohyeon and jumps to Siyeon who just appeared and loses her balance (good thing she’s tall and is used to this) when her girlfriend literally jumps onto her. She smiles, presses a kiss on Bora’s shoulder and snuggles into the hug. 

“We were just talking about Dongie’s girlfriend slash friend. We don't know who it is but we thought of planning a surprise for them!”

“Do you have any ideas already for this?”

“Nothing yet, we literally just thought of it a few seconds before you came.” Yoohyeon answers in Bora’s stead, who was busy smothering Siyeon with kisses as if they haven't seen each other for years. 

The tall waitress heaves a sigh, she will never get used to seeing these two being so lovey dovey. They've been together for 7 years now and Yoohyeon has been with them for 5. She's thankful for them for taking her in as if she was their love child (gross but Yoohyeon still loves them either way) but she will never get used to moments like this. 

“Maybe we could close up the diner and prepare her favorite meals? Oh! That reminds me, I was trying to whip up a new sauce addition to our menu, we could have them try it out before we officially add it!” Siyeon gives her suggestions and Bora, as always, agrees to whatever her girlfriend says to which Yoohyeon scoffs at them (again). 

“When’s Dongie arriving, hun?” 

“She said next week! No specific date yet though. Yooh, how about you ask her?” 

“Sure, I have nothing better to do anyways. Continue being lovey-dovey there, I’ll just get some fresh air.” Yoohyeon says and walks away with her phone, tapping on it to look for Handong’s number. When she finds it, she suddenly hesitates. She remembered something she shouldn't. 

“Yoohyeon, I like you.”

She sits down outside on the pavement of the sidewalk to try to forget about that moment.

“I told you this because I want to forget about you when I leave for the city.” 

Yoohyeon tries to distract her thoughts by scrolling through another app but immediately closes it when she sees Handong’s new post on Instagram. 

“Please don't mind me, I have no plans on courting you or whatsoever. I just wanted to let this out of me so that I can stop liking you.”

She looks up at the sky, she now remembers why Handong probably didn't contact her first when she's planning to go back here. Maybe it's not a good idea to contact her first considering the last moment they had together a few years back. Even if they were the bestest of friends years ago, this moment was the one that broke their unbreakable friendship. She already forgot about this but because of how her mind is in shambles with her emotions, this moment suddenly appeared again in her mind even if it was unwanted. 

“I'm sorry.”

She decides to go back inside the diner, grabs Bora’s phone without her seeing because Siyeon was still hugging her so tight and she opens the app where Bora and Handong had their conversation.

“Maybe it's better to ask through Bora’s phone so that it won't affect me that much.” 

Yoohyeon heaves a sigh and types out the question Bora wanted her to ask Handong. She tries her best to word it out like how Bora does it, full of punctuation marks and emojis. 

DONGIE!!!! You said next week right????? Tell me the specific date so we can close up the diner that day!!!! Let me know okay????? Love you, I'm excited to see you again 🥰🥰🥰😘😘😘😍😍❤️❤️❤️❤️

“That’s good to go, I guess. Hopefully.” She looked up once more at the sky, contemplating her actions. This is for the better, right?

“Yooh! Give me back my phone!” 

And from there, they ran around the diner for at least 20 minutes with Siyeon just laughing her ass at them. Really, it was a good thing that the diner wasn't as packed and only a few customers were there, eating their meals while being oblivious to the chaos happening. It was so chaotic that they didn't see Handong’s reply. 

I’ll be there in two days, the flight was rescheduled. My friend will be there tomorrow. Be sure to treat her well!

Until the closing time, the diner wasn't as packed and Yoohyeon is thankful for that because she's allowed to leave earlier and nobody would complain. After finishing cleaning up, she immediately grabs her stuff from her locker and makes her way outside the diner, not minding how Bora and Siyeon looked at her teasingly. 

She doesn't want to go home yet like yesterday but because she doesn't want to go to Yubin’s PC bang for two days straight (she doesn't want to be perceived as a gamer girl who always plays whenever she gets the chance, that's all), she decides to head to another place instead–the park. In Jeju, there are a lot of other places she could visit if ever she wants to but because she's a shy person and she likes being in quiet places at times, she's gotten used to going to the park as a second option because it is peaceful and not many people stay here for a long time unlike her. 

It's a perfect place for someone like her so again, she uses this chance to go there. To get some fresh air and to have time for herself to think about everything that's been bothering her for the last few months. 

“I’m such a freak for being this sad about her. I don't even know who she is! It's been two months since I last saw her, maybe it's time to let her go.” Yoohyeon kicks the small rock in front of her to release her frustrations. It's starting to get tiring for longing for a lady she doesn't even know the name of. She who has pretty pink hair will remain unknown to her. 

She decides to sit on the bench near her and grabs the leftovers she had from earlier. It was the meal she made for that lady, the same meal she's been making for two months. As soon as she takes a bite from her burger, tears suddenly start to flow down her cheeks. 

“And now I'm crying? Such a pathetic loser you are, Kim Yoohyeon.” She continues to take huge bites on the burger as she tries to calm herself down.

She really wants to get over this silly crush of hers but she doesn't know how to. If only she was brave enough like Bora, who literally shoved herself into Siyeon’s life one day in college, she wouldn't be like this–a pathetic lady who’s in her 20’s moping around over some stupid crush. She's had her share of girlfriends and boyfriends (gross but it wasn't her fault) in college but all of them were the first ones that approached her. Due to her being shy as fuck, she felt too bad to reject anyone that confessed to her, that's why she has experience in having relationships. 

One thing she doesn't have is the experience of being like this, this is the very first time she's developed a crush by herself and she doesn't even know her name. She's not sure why but she's starting to forget her pretty face that always had those silly glasses seated on top of her nose that would always fall because she's too focused on either her food or thesis. 

If only she was brave enough truly when that pretty pink-haired lady was still around, she would've been feeling a lot better if at least she knew her name, possibly her number too. 

Her tears continue to fall but it's fine, it's much better to let all of this out instead of keeping it to herself for a long time. She admits this is silly but she also admits that this is fine, that having such a crush is fine. Admiring someone isn't something you could pick with ease, your heart and mind decides for you and you can't stop it no matter what you do. 

Harsh wind suddenly blew in her direction and her hair flew to the other side, making her distracted from her thoughts and her hands making their way to fix her hair from the mess. While doing so, she suddenly feels a warm cup of coffee near her and she looks up, the prettiest, no–one could never equal her crush's prettiness. A kind pretty black-haired lady looks at her with sincerity as she offers her the cup of coffee in her hand. 

“Take it,” Yoohyeon swears the lady’s voice was music to her ears despite hearing her only speak a few words. The diner waitress hesitantly takes the cup from the lady’s hand and watches her as she takes a seat on the other side of the bench. 

She puts down the cup of coffee on the bench and immediately wipes her tears away so she could at least look decent to the pretty lady beside her. Despite not knowing each other, Yoohyeon feels comforted with her presence. 

“Thank you,” Yoohyeon manages to say without stuttering before taking the coffee in her hands again, taking a sip a few seconds after, and humming in delight as she loved the taste and warmth of the coffee. Silence engulfed the both of them as Yoohyeon continued to take small sips on her coffee while she tried to calm herself down. The silence wasn't suffocating, surprisingly, and she's thankful for the lady for being such a kind soul for helping her despite not knowing each other. 

They stayed there for a few–no, a lot more minutes in silence before Yoohyeon decided to break it by asking, “What's your name?” 

The lady averts her attention from the sky to her and Yoohyeon is mesmerized with the lady’s beauty being reflected by the moonlight and the streetlights around them. It felt as if time had stopped and all she could see was the lady’s beautiful figure in front of her. 

“I’m Minji,” The lady responds with a chuckle, maybe because Yoohyeon’s mouth was slightly agape and she looked silly at this moment. Yoohyeon clears her throat before taking another sip on her coffee, diverting her gaze away so she could try to hide the growing blush on her cheeks. “How about you, what's your name?” 

“Yoohyeon, Kim Yoohyeon…” 

“What a pretty name,” 

By this time, Yoohyeon is unable to hide her blush as Minji seemingly felt like she was closer than ever, felt like the distance between them in the bench was dissipating and that they were already truly sitting beside each other. Yoohyeon takes a peek at her side and almost gasps loudly when she sees how Minji was truly next to her, smiling softly with her eyes reflecting her. 

It was such an endearing sight, how she feels like all Minji could see was her and her only. It was true though, as people had seemingly agreed upon on not to go to the park at 7 in the evening, leaving the two of them alone in one bench in the middle of the park with no distance between them and a growing tension that Yoohyeon is dying to end as soon as possible because her poor shy heart can't handle pretty ladies in front of her. 

“How are you feeling?” Minji asks softly, making sure to look as patient as possible as Yoohyeon observes her while she thinks of an appropriate answer. She's too shy to admit that she feels bad for having a silly crush over someone that she doesn't know the name of so she just settles with something like, “I’m feeling better now, thanks to you.”

“I’m glad,” Yoohyeon knows how much her face is burning right now and she also knows that it's visible for Minji to see but it doesn't matter now because her presence made her forget about her silly crush, even if it was only for a few minutes. 

She really wants to get over this silly crush of hers but she thinks with this encounter, she could possibly get over it if Minji is willing–with her look right now, she looks like someone that would be willing to do whatever she says. And indeed she is, after learning it with her next question. 

“Would you like to visit my diner tomorrow?” Yoohyeon was hesitant with her question but hearing Minji chuckle before nodding, it comforts her that someone like her, a stranger that she just met a few minutes ago just because she was crying on her own, is willing to meet her again after this encounter. 

“That would be great, Yoohyeon, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Minji’s smile is contagious and Yoohyeon finds herself smiling as well despite having dried tears on her face that possibly made her look a little silly. She hums and nods in response as she watches Minji move to stand up. 

“It's that diner right at the corner of the street, Paradise Diner if you're not familiar with it. Just look for me there when you arrive,” Yoohyeon points to the direction of their diner and Minji’s gaze follows her hand. After nodding, Minji looks back to Yoohyeon and offers her hand for a handshake to which the diner waitress accepts gratefully. 

“Everything will be alright as long as you believe you can do it. I believe in you, Yoohyeon, I will be here for you.” 

Despite not knowing what she's going through, Minji tries her best to comfort her this time with words and indeed Yoohyeon is comforted with that. Even if they were sitting in silence earlier, Yoohyeon was already comforted with that even if her reason for crying was so silly. She hopes Minji wouldn't laugh at her if she comes to know her reason but she feels like she wouldn't because she looks like not the type to pry into people’s lives without permission. 

As Minji slowly lets go of her hand, she already misses the warmth of her hand in hers but now that she knows her name unlike her crush, she could use this chance to finally move on from that silly crush of hers and let herself forget about her because of this pretty black-haired lady in front of her. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Minji repeats and smiles once more before starting to walk away, proud that she's able to help out someone today. 

Yoohyeon is left alone with a now cold cup of coffee in her hand and her other hand is longing for the warmth of the pretty black-haired lady’s hand already. She's so weak for pretty ladies but this is fine, at least she finally has the chance to forget about this silly problem of hers for the meantime. 

Right now, her problem is how she will get home without blushing too much. She's sure Yubin will tease the hell out of her if ever she sees her like this. Her other problem is how she will act normally tomorrow when she meets Minji again. 

Heaving a sigh, she grabs her phone from her pocket and immediately types a message for Yubin so she could beat her to it. 

Yooh: Yubs I just met the prettiest. lady. ever.

Yubs: Did you finally meet the pretty pink-haired lady?

Yooh: No I didn't. Let's forget about her. Right now, I only like Kim Minji and no other.

Yubs: Stupid gay ass… Whatever floats your boat I guess…

Yooh: I swear she's really pretty! I’ll even meet her again tomorrow!

Yubs: Yeah sure… Go ahead and be delulu once more, you probably just assumed she’ll meet with you again…

Yooh: Hey!!! She really did say she's meeting me again!!! Yubs, why won't you let me live?

Yubs: This is why you're single……

Chapter Text

As always, Yoohyeon prepares the same meal for today like any other day but this time, she felt different–a lot happier if you were to see her right now. 

Dancing to the tune in her headphones with Bonvoyage by Dreamcatcher playing, she finishes the meal perfectly as usual but she adds something a little different this time around, a piece of macaron that Gahyeon gave her earlier this morning when she stopped by the café nearby. (Yes, Gahyeon is the owner of said café and is her roommate’s crush.)

After the song in her headphones comes to its end, Yoohyeon now makes her way outside of the kitchen and into her station just a few meters away from Bora. The small diner cashier lady immediately notices the change in aura with their diner waitress and in an instant, she's now right beside her. 

“Did something happen last night?” Bora asks, completely unaware of what Yoohyeon had experienced last night as she hasn't had the chance to tell her and the diner owner about it because their diner was packed early in the morning and just started to calm down now that it’s 1 in the afternoon. Weird but pretty normal for their diner. 

“I guess so? It's not much though.” Yoohyeon responds and proceeds to look away from Bora to the main doors of their diner, anticipating the arrival of her crush even if she feels at the back of her mind that she still won't come in today. 

Bora isn't the type to give up without knowing everything that she's unaware of so she puts down the tray with the meal on the counter and makes Yoohyeon sit on a chair, trapping her there with her arms placed on the backrest of the chair. 

“Not much? How come you're different today?” Bora asks as she leans closer to Yoohyeon with her eyes burning with passion to know everything the younger is hiding. Yoohyeon fakes a laugh and pushes Bora lightly away from her. 

“Well, I went to the park after leaving the diner and my emotions got the best of me so… I kinda cried?”

“You? Crying? Why didn't you tell us?” 

Siyeon appears before them out of nowhere and pulls Bora completely away from Yoohyeon to her side so her girlfriend could stop pressuring their love child. The diner wasn't as packed with only a few customers inside and no new orders were meant to be prepared so she used this opportunity to check up on them. 

“It wasn't that serious… Just rethinking some thoughts and how stupid I am for having a crush on someone I don't know the name of,” Yoohyeon heaves a sigh before checking her watch, 1:12PM, “I’ll tell you two more about it in a few minutes. Let me just, I don't know, wait for her to arrive.” The diner waitress stands up from the chair and makes her way back to her station as she anticipates the arrival of her certain someone that hasn't been here since two months ago. 

She really hopes that she comes to the diner today because she’s having a good day today. Starting with a new hope with Minji if ever she does come to the diner today, next were the free macarons that Gahyeon gave her this morning and now, her guts is telling her that the pretty pink-haired lady will come today. 

It's weird how she's anticipating two ladies’ arrival but who would blame her? Both ladies are pretty and mesmerizing and such girls are too hard to resist. 

No, do not blame her for two-timing two ladies, it's not as if she’d like to date both of them… right..?

Shaking her head to get rid of her stupid thoughts, she suddenly hears the bell to the main doors of their diner chime and in goes a lady. She peeks at her watch in an instant, 1:13PM , someone arrived at exactly 1:13PM in their diner and it's a matter of time until Yoohyeon becomes the happiest person in the world once she fully recognizes the face of the lady that just came in or she becomes the same as the yesterdays before, filled with all of the disappointment she could feel in the world. 

She smiles her best smile as she watches the lady walk closer, the sunlight behind her slowly fading away as she becomes closer and closer and her body is now blocking the said sunlight that was blocking Yoohyeon’s view a few seconds ago. The lady’s face now comes into her sight and she immediately recognizes it. 

Finally…

Her smile widened, a toothy smile was all for the lady to see as she smiled at Yoohyeon as well before taking her seat. The diner waitress immediately makes her way to the lady’s table and with her reflexes, she grabs her small notebook and ballpen from her pocket, ready to take the lady’s order happily. 

“Welcome to Paradise Diner, Ma’am, may I take your order today?” Yoohyeon greets and asks the lady for her order with her toothy smile as she watches her scan the menu before closing it abruptly, looking up to Yoohyeon soon after with a seemingly mischievous smile. 

“A key to your heart, please,” The lady responds nonchalantly which made Yoohyeon unable to process it, unconsciously writing it on her small notebook as if it was a normal order. It takes only a few seconds though before Yoohyeon realized what the order was because as soon as she finished writing it, her face flushed red in an instant, which gained her loud chuckles from the lady that was music to her ears. 

“M-Minji, we don't have something like that on the menu…” Yoohyeon curses herself in her mind for stuttering but it looks like Minji doesn't mind at all as she keeps chuckling to herself happily. 

At least one of her anticipated ladies arrived today and her guts didn't tell her otherwise. Alas, trusting her guts seems to work every single damn time whenever she trusts it. 

“I’m sorry, your reaction just looked so funny, but I was serious! I’d like a key to your heart, a bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries and mayo as its dipping, a large strawberry milkshake, and a caesar salad with extra small bacon strips on top.” 

“Huh?” Yoohyeon says without thinking twice, how come Minji ordered the same exact meal like the pretty pink-haired lady? How come Minji arrived at exactly 1:13PM like the pretty pink-haired lady?

“Oh– Uhm, my apologies, it's just I have prepared the same exact meal for someone a few minutes ago and I'm sure they won't arrive anytime soon so… would you like to receive it instead?” The diner waitress manages to speak to Minji without stuttering after making her flustered earlier. 

“That would be perfect, Yoohyeon, I’ll wait for it then!” Yoohyeon mentally heaves a sigh, smiling a big grin at Minji before shuffling her way back to her station to grab the meal tray she prepared a few minutes ago to serve it to the pretty lady until she feels a hand on her wrist. 

“Yah, who is that? Why does she look familiar?” Bora asks and Yoohyeon was tempted to just leave her be and let her get curious for a while as she serves the meal to Minji, but the stern look on Bora’s stare on Minji was quite scary–it's as if the small diner cashier lady is trying her best to use all of the gears in her head to pinpoint where she saw the pretty lady and why she's familiar. 

“How is she familiar? I just met her last night and I was supposed to tell you and Siyeon about it but yeah, things happened, bye!” Yoohyeon immediately rushes out of Bora’s grasp and now she shuffles her way back to Minji with a grin, placing the meal tray on her table soon after. 

“Here's your order, enjoy your meal!” Yoohyeon bows to Minji and had planned to go back to Bora’s side so she could tell all about what she missed from last night since there weren't a lot of customers but another hand is holding onto her wrist, this time a bit looser than Bora’s grasp. 

The diner waitress looks back and she regrets doing so, as Minji’s lips fall into a frown, so close to pouting and it's everything that Yoohyeon is weak for. Damn her weakness for pretty girls, why is she so miserable?

“Eat with me?” Yoohyeon could feel the intense stare from behind her that probably came from Bora as she slowly pulled out the seat beside Minji. Before she could even process her actions, she suddenly feels a straw to her lips, her face flushes in an instant as she realizes that Minji brought the strawberry milkshake to her without thinking twice; not even taking a sip first on her own milkshake. 

“What? You're probably tired from working and haven't eaten lunch yet,” Minji nudges Yoohyeon again and there she goes, letting herself be treated like a child as she gets fed with food that she made herself for that pretty pink-haired lady that never came back again. 

It feels nice and warm, which was surprising, because never did Yoohyeon feel like this if she's not with her friends, which weren't a lot. It feels as if she's known Minji for a long time already and as if they didn't meet just last night. As she continues to munch on the fries that Minji had brought to her mouth like a baby that isn't able to do the simplest of things in life, she thinks that this moment is very special. 

She doesn't know anything about Minji but it feels as if she knows everything about her. It's comfortable, as if all waves in her that were present last night because of her thinking that she's stupid for having a crush on someone she doesn't know the name of are now calm, there were no signs of making her feel uncomfortable anytime soon. 

“Oh my god,” Minji suddenly says as she slowly moves away from Yoohyeon, which makes the diner waitress look at her confusedly. “I’m sorry! You might've been uncomfortable, are you alright?” Not sure what to respond with, Yoohyeon just grabs some fries from the tray and in it goes into her mouth, a silent response to Minji’s curiosity. What she doesn't know that even though she felt warm on the inside, her face was just neutral, as if she looked the most uncomfortable person in the world. 

“It's just, I’m used to making a lot of friends and I just assumed you wanted to be my friend, or anything, without asking you beforehand,” Yoohyeon just blankly stares at Minji who was muttering a lot of words at the same time which makes it hard to process, “Well, uhm, I’m sorry if I dragged you to eat with me while you were working. Wait, you work here right?” Seeing Yoohyeon nod, she continues, “I don't know, it's just you're really pretty and I’m gay? No, wait, why am I asking you? Uhm, aha this is awkward… I’m.. sorry?” 

Yoohyeon breaks into a fit of laughter, probably she was able to process everything Minji had just said even if said lady just bombarded her with a lot of words. It was the pretty lady’s turn to stare at the diner waitress blankly, unable to understand her reaction. 

“I didn't expect you to be… silly, Minji, it's fine with me, uhm, well to be your friend? Or I don't know, are you still interested with the key to my heart? Will you be alright to look for it for me?” She doesn't know where she got the sudden boost of confidence, it's as if she was asking Minji out indirectly when the same lady directly asked her out earlier already. 

“Of course I’m still interested! I mean, who wouldn't if you look like an angel that fell from the skies above?” Yoohyeon thinks that this pickup line is overused but knowing Minji meant it for her, her face burns in embarrassment, her shyness is back biting her ass again. 

“I’m sorry, was it too much?” 

“No, no! I’m just, not used to getting compliments like these…” Yoohyeon shyly admits which was partially true since it's been a while since she heard someone compliment her in a romantic way. Bora is a very honest person and she would always compliment her in every way she can, that's why she said in her mind that it was partially true. 

“Oh! Well, you definitely deserve to be complimented in everything! Will you let me the one to compliment you in everything, then?” Minji softly asks, her stature anticipating on her response patiently. Yoohyeon gives it her all not to melt at the sight, she knows that either way, she will be giving in to whatever Minji decides for them both. She's really that weak for pretty girls, even if they're practically both strangers to each other. 

“Sure…” Yoohyeon manages to say, unable to process any other decent answer as this is the first time in years that she's been asked out to date, directly or indirectly. It may not be the first time that someone’s asking her out but this is different, this is also a chance for her to move on from that pretty pink-haired lady from two months ago. 

It might be strange for others but it's perfectly fine with Yoohyeon, as Minji looks so innocent that she wants to do everything in her power to make her the happiest person possible in the world once they start to get to know more about each other. 

“That's good to hear,” Minji says as she finishes off her milkshake, placing the cup back down on her tray before putting out her phone to offer it to Yoohyeon. “Can I get your number? So I could, you know, text you?” Yoohyeon chuckles at the sudden shyness that Minji is showing but types in her number as requested despite the growing frown on the latter’s face. 

“I’ll see you soon?” Yoohyeon furrows her eyebrows at the question, her eyes darting to the meal tray on the table–everything was empty. Minji looked like she had places to go to so she smiles at her before slowly moving to stand up so she could walk her outside the diner. 

As they walked outside and with Yoohyeon holding the door for the both of them, making their way at the side of the diner. Minji carefully took the diner waitress's free hand to her lips, softly pressing a kiss on the back of her hand before saying, “A seal to keep my promise of seeing you again. I tend to forget a lot of things but I will remember this. I’ll see you soon, Yoohyeon. I’m looking forward to knowing more about you.” 

With that, Minji takes her leave and Yoohyeon is left standing outside of their diner like some kind of creep whose face is red like a tomato. The softness of Minji’s hand is now long gone but she seems to be longing for it already, just like how it was the night before, only the circumstances were different from one another. 

Last night, it was cold and depressing, as fading memories of the pretty pink-haired lady came back to her to remind her of how miserable she is for the things she should've done when she was still around. 

Today, it was warm and comforting, as memories of the pretty pink-haired lady is starting to get replaced by Minji, known as a pretty black-haired lady, who asked for a key to her heart that has been locked shut since two months ago. The key is nowhere to be found yet as of the moment but with this new profound feeling, she's confident that Minji will be able to uncover the location of that certain hidden key to her heart. 

Only now that she had realized that Minji didn't pay for her meal but she shrugs it off, as she was mostly the one that ate her own creation since Minji was more focused on making her eat her lunch rather than to fill her own stomach with her own order. Seems like the quest for the search of the key to Yoohyeon’s heart was much more interesting to her. 

She will now redirect her focus now, as she will do all things she wasn't able to with the pretty pink-haired lady with Minji. Enough of longing for someone who she doesn't even know the name of, it's time for her to like someone who she knows the name of: Minji for example. 

Besides, Minji already has an advantage from that pretty pink-haired lady. Minji knows her number and that was all Yoohyeon wanted to get from the pretty pink-haired lady when she was still around which she wasn't able to. At least now she has progress, a brighter future is ahead of her and she's excited for what's to come. She just hopes Minji wouldn't leave abruptly just like the pretty pink-haired lady. No, enough talking about the pretty pink-haired lady, it should all be about Minji starting from now on. It’ll be much better to think about one person only. 

As soon as she comes back in the diner, she gets pulled in by someone which she probably assumes was Bora since she's the only person capable of doing so, and she's now sat again on the chair where she was interrogated about an hour ago. 

“You've got a lot to tell us, huh?” Bora raises her eyebrows and all Yoohyeon wants to do is get away from the small cashier lady's wrath, she knows of all people not to mess with Bora or hide any stuff that is imporant for one's well being.

"Ahaha, yeah, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner! She's just too pretty to resist, Bora, you also did this to me when you met Siyeon for the first time!" Thank goodness that she found a weakness from Bora because everything about the couple's first encounter was nothing but a gag show, something that Bora wants to bury deep in the ground, somewhere that she'll be unable to remember it ever again.

"You!!! I told you not to mention that again! Ugh, fine! Tell me her name then I'll be going, I have other business to attend to," By other business means cuddle time with Siyeon, which made Yoohyeon scoff, not at them using their precious lunch break for eating something different.

"Her name's Minji, I met her last night while I was at the park. I know, I'm stupid at crying over someone I don't even know the name of but I couldn't help not to shed tears, it was kind of overwhelming last night considering that the park was empty at an odd time. Well, Minji approached me with a cup of coffee and I don't know how things escalated but I asked her to come to the diner today? That's it, we're friends now and that's all you need to know. Send my regards to Siyeon, I'll take cover of the whole diner while you guys enjoy your lunch break!"

Yoohyeon pushes Bora to the back rooms and heaves a big sigh of relief now that the interrogation is done and she has nothing to worry about for now. She makes her way back to Bora’s station and there she goes, serving the new customers happily. 

Her time today in the diner was peaceful, as she was able to get rid of the heaviness of her heart from her unrequited crush. The diner wasn't as packed as it usually is as well so she was also grateful for that since she's not very much tired with everything. Her mind and body feels light, all heaviness and tiredness disappearing as her day today is going so well. 

One step at a time, she says, as she will slowly let herself move on from that pretty pink-haired lady. Oh, that reminds her, she probably needs to tell Yubin about this so the poor PC bang owner can finally stop looking for pink-haired girls in the area just so they could find who they're looking for. 

As she was closing up the diner after cleaning the tables, she receives a text from an unknown number and immediately, she grins widely as she reads the content of the text. 

Hi Yoohyeon! This is Minji~ I’ll be coming to the diner tomorrow again with a friend, I just wanted to order in advance if that's possible! Same time, same order from earlier and for my friend, the same one as well but a chocolate milkshake! Oh! And also, may I take you out on a date after your shift? Only if you're comfortable~ Let me know! 🩷

“What are you smiling at?” Hearing the sudden voice from behind, Yoohyeon jumps at the surprise, almost losing her grip on her phone if it wasn't for the fast reflexes of the other person.

“Siyeon! You scared me!” Yoohyeon grabs her phone back from Siyeon and locks it, putting it back in her pocket as the diner owner chuckles behind her before leaning her back on the table nearby. 

“So? Who were you talking to? Was it the new girl my Bora’s been excited about?” 

“Yeah, it was Minji, she texted me to let me know that she’ll be coming here with a friend tomorrow.” 

“Really? So what was the heart at the end of the text?”

“Siyeon!!!” 

Yoohyeon blushes in embarrassment while Siyeon just chuckles at her. “Have a great date with this Minji girl or whatsoever, I only heard great things about her!” 

“What??!?! A date?!” Another voice appears, this time, much louder from before. The new addition to their conversation jumps onto Siyeon who catches her carefully before staring sternly at Yoohyeon. The diner waitress just heaves a sigh, not another interrogation…

“Our lovely child here is going on a date tomorrow with Minji! Oh how I love how she's growing up so well~” With that, Bora jumps out of Siyeon’s arms and goes to tackle Yoohyeon in a hug. 

“Really? Tomorrow? She's going to pick you up tomorrow here?” 

“Well, she's going to eat here first with a friend. I haven't agreed to the date yet but I probably should, I have nothing better to do anyways…”

“You really should so your depressed ass becomes more lively from now on! Oh my gosh, that reminds me, Handong’s coming tomorrow too! Did I not tell you about it?”

“What? It's tomorrow?” Yoohyeon pushes herself out of Bora’s grasp to grab her phone to type a reply to Minji who probably is feeling bad for being left on read. Not that she had intended to leave it like that, it's just that her friends got the best out of her before she could even process the text she had received. 

“Oh no no, I gotta tell her that the diner's closed tomorrow then! We have to prepare the surprise for Handong now!” 

“You really shouldn't, Yooh, we could arrange the surprise before midnight! I can tell Handong not to go here early, she probably needs to rest too after spending an hour in the air.” Siyeon says and Bora agrees as usual, grinning at Yoohyeon widely. 

“Yeah!!! Midnight surprise sounds perfect, we can go drinking too! Go ahead and enjoy your date with Minji, you deserve it~” Bora held her thumbs up for Yoohyeon and Siyeon just nodded to assure the diner waitress that everything is fine as long as she enjoys her time tomorrow with Minji. 

“Really? It's really okay with you both?” 

“Of course, Yoohyeonie! Why would we not be okay with it? We support you in everything you do! Just not the illegal stuff–”

“Hey! When did I do illegal stuff?!”

“That one time in college when you–”

“Okay stop, alright! I’ll go with Minji tomorrow then.”

“That's perfect! Make sure you enjoy, alright? I’ll text you when we need you back at the diner! Go home now and see you tomorrow!” Bora pushes Yoohyeon out of the diner and Siyeon just waves her a goodbye. The diner waitress now proceeds to walk back to her apartment while she types out a proper reply to Minji this time.

Alright, I’ll have your meals ready on time tomorrow. Yes, a date is fine with me as long as you don’t ditch me or whatsoever. Not that I don't trust you or anything haha but yeah, I’ll only be available until 10 in the evening tomorrow so make sure to make my time with you worth spending. I’m looking forward to meeting you again, Minji, see you tomorrow! 

With the cold breeze of the winter night as she treks down the road to her apartment, Yoohyeon smiles sheepishly, unable to keep her giddiness to herself. This is her first date in years and she's excited for it because it's with Minji, someone who looks and feels like spring that brings warmth and comfort in her locked up heart. 

Chapter Text

From the moment Yoohyeon had opened her eyes from her slumber, she’s been smiling like a crazy person due to her excitement for her plans today. Meeting Minji again with a promised date and a surprise for Handong sounds perfect on a day like this, the sun shining so bright up in the sky, as if telling her that today will be one of her best days ever. 

As she makes her breakfast before she comes to the diner for her shift, her roommate, Yubin, slides right next to her with a raised brow. “What's gotten into you?”

Oh right. Yoohyeon curses herself mentally for forgetting. 

“I’m going on a date with Minji later after my shift,” She starts to explain as she stirs her coffee before taking a sip, letting out a sigh of relief as the warmth from it settles inside of her. “Handong’s also arriving today so we'll be planning a surprise for her after my date with Minji.” 

“Oh, the new pretty lady you met the other night? Well, I wish you luck then. Hopefully she'll be great to you. Send my regards to Dongie as well!” Yubin skips her way out of the kitchen afterwards, leaving the tall diner waitress tending to her own breakfast. Yoohyeon scoffs, remembering how Yubin is always like this whenever she teases her: leaving her afterwards as if nothing had happened. 

Once she finishes breakfast, she gets ready for work and off she goes after she finishes as well. She walks her way to the diner with a huge grin plastered on her face, too excited to be able to contain her happiness for what's planned today, and not minding the obvious stares from the people she passes by. The diner is just a few minutes away from her apartment so she arrives there faster than usual because of her mood right now. 

Immediately after she gets inside the diner, she gets pulled in by someone who she's sure is Bora, and they go inside the locker room. Yoohyeon could only snicker at the diner cashier who’s grinning widely at her at the moment. 

“You have a date today!” Bora states the obvious and Yoohyeon rolls her eyes at her. Siyeon appears from the kitchen and pulls Bora away from their poor diner waitress who’s being held hostage by her own girlfriend. 

“She knows, babe, no need to get more excited than her…” Siyeon smiles softly at Yoohyeon to which she assumes was a silent apology so she nods slightly to acknowledge her. Meanwhile, Bora was trying to escape her girlfriend’s grasp by biting her arms and hands like a crazy animal that had been caught. 

“Bora! If you're not stopping this act in an instant, I will make you sleep on the couch tonight.” Immediately after hearing Siyeon, Bora deflates in her girlfriend's grasp, almost falling if Siyeon hadn't sat on a chair at the same time. 

“Sorry sorry, I got too excited for our Yoohyeonie! Not only will she have a date today, we’ll also meet Handong again after years of not seeing her in person! I wonder if she's changed too much… What if she doesn't remember us at all?”

Yoohyeon could only shake her head, Bora is truly unpredictable, “You're a menace, really, why would you even get a text from her if she doesn't remember you?”

Bora puts a finger to her chin, probably thinking about stuff unknown to both the diner owner and waitress, but screams in delight a few seconds after her silence. “She's bringing a girl, right? Oh my god, I’m so excited to meet them already!” 

Siyeon decides to calm Bora down with a kiss on the back of her head before snuggling her own head by her girlfriend's nape. Yoohyeon coos at the sight, the love they have for each other is so heartwarming, making her wonder if she’ll have her own kind of love like this. Maybe, or maybe not: it depends on how her date with Minji will go today, which reminds her to get ready for it mentally and physically, making her jump in joy before she makes her way out of the locker room and diner to buy fresh ingredients for Minji and her friend’s meal for later. 

Bora chuckles and her hands make their way to hold Siyeon's, who were hugging her from behind, “I hope it’ll all go well with her date later, I feel like Minji is the one.”

“Even if she is or not, I just hope Yoohyeonie will be happy. Let's cheer for her like we usually do, alright?” Siyeon presses her lips again on Bora, this time on her cheek, which makes her girlfriend blush red despite her receiving such kisses everyday. They continue giggling and kissing each other, too much love oozing out from both of them, their love for each other never ending. 

Meanwhile Yoohyeon on the other hand, is on her way to the nearest market to grab fresh ingredients for the promised meal for later after lunch for Minji, when she feels her phone vibrate from her pocket which makes her stop in her tracks to check the notification. Immediately after learning what the notification was, Yoohyeon grins widely, completely happy at what she received. 

[Minji 🩷]: Hi Yoohyeon~ Good morning! I’m so excited to meet you again, I can't wait for my meal later! I hope you're as excited as me because I would be saddened if you're not… Haha, kidding! Have a nice shift at the diner and see you later! 🩷

[Minji 🩷]: Sent a photo. 

Yoohyeon feels her face burning at the photo staring right at her, Minji had sent a photo along with that message of her laying on her bed with her free hand forming a half heart on her cheek, her sheepish smile makes the diner waitress flustered at the sudden photo. To keep herself from weird stares from the people that are passing by, she puts up her phone to her face as she types her response to Minji’s text, posing for a photo as soon after she sent her reply. 

[Yoohyeon]: Good morning! I’m as excited as you are, Minji, I’ll meet you again later and that's all I can ask for. I’ll use your photo as your contact photo on my phone, here's one for you to use as well. Make sure to have breakfast :)

[Yoohyeon]: Sent a photo. 

Quickly, she locks her phone and puts it back inside her pocket to prevent herself getting distracted at the task at hand. Once she has her full attention to the aisle of the market, she notices the usual vendor she buys from smiling at her cheekily, making her feel hot in embarrassment. 

“Halmeoni! What are you smiling for?” Yoohyeon asks as soon as sprints over to the vendor, opening a plastic bag for the ingredients she's about to buy. 

“Yoohyeon-ah, are you finally seeing someone right now?” She hates that she's easily read because she really can't hide her blush anymore, the rising burn from her cheeks now making its way all over her face. 

“I guess so? I just met her the other night! I’m going to prepare her meal for later, that's why I’d like to buy fresh ingredients today.” 

The older woman chuckles before placing cabbages, strawberrys, and even bacon that Yoohyeon is curious where the old woman got it because she knows her store is for fruits and vegetables only. The older woman just shrugs and tells her that it's a treat since it's the first time Yoohyeon is this giddy for someone after a long time. 

“It's not the pretty pink-haired lady you've been waiting for?” The older woman asks as she ties the plastic bag Yoohyeon had brought with her. The diner waitress shakes her head a no, smiling softly as she's reminded how she would always go here every week to buy the ingredients for the pretty pink-haired lady’s meal but since she didn't come here on her usual days lately, which was on Mondays, the older woman probably thought something happened with her to break her routine. 

“I've decided not to wait for her anymore, Halmeoni, it was tiring waiting for a false hope. Hopefully though, this one, her name is Minji by the way, will be nice to me.”

“What matters is your happiness, Yoohyeon-ah, I’m happy that you've realized how much of a waste of time waiting for that lady to come back is. I wish you well with this new lady, Minji, isn't it? If you click with her, come by here and I’ll prepare some hot and tasty soup for both of you, alright?”

Yoohyeon smiles fondly at the older woman, she's so happy that other than her friends, Bora, Siyeon, Yubin, heck, even Gahyeon, she has Halmeoni supporting her in every decision she makes in her life. 

“Thank you, Halmeoni, I’ll make sure to do so! Here's the payment for my ingredients, take all of it! Bye!” 

And off she goes, a wide grin plastered on her face as she makes her way back to the diner with the fresh ingredients in her hold. Once she arrives, she places the plastic bag on the kitchen’s countertop, not forgetting to tell Siyeon that it's for Minji and she shouldn't use it for other customers, all before she prepares to open the diner for the day. 

As soon as the diner opens, customers come swarming inside, making all of them busy. Despite the busyness, Bora still managed to tease Yoohyeon again with her date because of how giddy the diner waitress was. The jam-packed diner almost makes Yoohyeon forget about her task for the day, if it wasn't for the text Minji had sent again to tell her that she's preparing already to see her and that she's really excited for today. Not having enough time to type a reply, she immediately goes inside the kitchen, without forgetting to tell Bora, “Unnie! I’ll make it up to you with ice cream later tonight! Take over my spot for the meantime!”

“Yah! How many times do I have to do this?!”

Yoohyeon just sends a flying kiss to Bora who’s rolling her eyes but was smirking so she wouldn't have to worry about that, ice cream works every time with her. 

She gets greeted by Siyeon who was busy preparing a large order with Gahyeon, because apparently she wanted to help out all of a sudden. Waving back at them, Yoohyeon grabs the fresh ingredients she had bought earlier and she starts her work at a quick pace, making sure she's getting all the correct details for the meal despite being rushed because of the little time left before Minji and her friend arrives. 

It's now 1:11PM, her watch says, and she's almost done with the meals. A few more finishing touches, like making sure to spread the dressing of the caesar salad looking like a smiley face, using the extra small bacon strips as its eyebrows, just for Minji’s salad. After that, she places everything on their respective trays, bringing them both to her fingertips as she walks to the kitchen doors, pushing it with her foot and there she goes by her station to wait for their arrival. 

She feels her heart picking up its pace, not from the rush of being pressured to make the meals on time, but from her nervousness to see Minji again. This time, it's not just a friendly meeting, the pretty black-haired lady has intentions now and it's making her nervous, as it has been a long time since she's had someone like this. 1:13PM should be in around a few seconds, her palms are starting to sweat but she ignores it, focusing on balancing the trays on her hands as she waits for the main doors to open. 

Oh, and Minji said she's bringing a friend, what if that friend doesn't like her and pulls Minji out of the diner just because she's unlikable. Wait, why is she thinking about this already? 

Her thoughts get cut short when she hears the bells chimes at the main doors of the diner. She clears her throat and squints her eyes for a bit, staring at the two silhouettes by the door since the sun is shining directly in their direction. Once she sees Minji walk up to her, she smiles widely and chuckles softly to herself when she winks at her. 

“Hey,” Minji greets her shyly, her hands tucked behind her back and her head looking down. Yoohyeon could only smile widely, the sight in front of her was too adorable and irresistible. “This is my friend, Handong,” Only then Yoohyeon directs her gaze to the person beside Minji and her smile falters at the realization. 

Wait. Handong? Her girlfriend is Minji?

“Handong?”

“Yoohyeon! It's so nice to meet you again!” 

Huh?

Yoohyeon puts down the food trays on the counter, too stunned at her realizations. Upon hearing the familiar voice, Bora immediately goes to their side and pulls Handong in a tight hug. Yoohyeon could see Minji smiling widely at them but she can't seem to do the same because she's too confused. 

Minji said she's a friend… Handong said she's a friend too… When did Handong say that she has a girlfriend?

Bora… 

Everything becomes muted and blurred to her, everything is confusing. Why did Bora say that Handong will be bringing her girlfriend over when she had just said that she’ll bring a friend? Why is Handong here now instead of the agreed time later at 10 in the evening? How is Minji and Handong related? Is Minji a college student as well, since, well, Handong is one too and is currently taking the last year of her second degree? Seoul is a big place, how did they meet and become friends there, possibly as girlfriends if it's really true? If it's true, why has Minji been flirting with her ever since they first met?

Yoohyeon feels something cold on her cheek and she comes back to reality. She gets startled at Minji’s sudden closeness to her while holding the strawberry milkshake to her cheek. They meet in the eyes, Minji smiles before taking a sip on her milkshake. 

“Yooh! Why are you just standing there? Handong is here! I’ll call Siyeon out here and close the diner for a bit. Go and lead them to their tables!” And from there Bora disappears out of their sight, Yoohyeon is left more stunned and confused about this current situation. She clears her throat again before shaking her head, she should do her job first instead of assuming things. 

“Come follow me,” She says before guiding them to their seats, shaking her head again to get rid of her thoughts. Once they're seated, she flashes a soft smile to Minji who was smiling widely at her, because despite her current confusion, she still wanted this day to have fun with her and she would like to keep that promise just for today. Besides, who can resist such a kind of smile that's seemingly only like that when she smiles at her? She makes her way to grab the food trays from her station and she serves it both to Minji and Handong, earning a ‘thank you’ from them.

“I’ll leave you to enjoy your meals then!” Yoohyeon says before bowing, sighing in relief as she can finally gather her confusing thoughts after the shock from earlier. 

“Yoohyeon,” Just before she could turn her back to them, she takes back her sigh in relief as she tries her best to show off her kindest smile to them. Handong was the one who called her and was offering her milkshake, to which Yoohyeon politely declined by saying, “It's fine, Handong, I’ve had my lunch already.”

Lies. You just want to get away from this and be a shitty person to both Minji and Handong. 

“Oh? I already had mine too, I wanted to share my meal with you again like yesterday.” This time, it was Minji who offered, and it was really tempting, because of those doe eyes of hers that are looking straight into hers, as if she's casting a spell on her to only look at her. 

Instead, there were no spells: she was just gay and insufferable. So without a doubt, she pulls the seat across Minji and she sits there, not minding how Handong is giggling her ass at the side. 

Yoohyeon is trying her best to keep sane, as she doesn't understand her current actions and she feels her blood rushing to her face at the embarrassment she's in right now. She turns her head somewhere else to hide her flustered face but she instantly regrets it, as she sees Bora trying her best not to laugh out loud at her station by the cashier. To her luck, Bora is now making her way to their table, taking a seat beside her and greeting both Handong and Minji with a delighted smile. 

“Handong! You should've told us you're coming earlier! We were planning a surprise for you–” She gets a smack from the back of her head. “Unnie! Why would you tell her that?!” Yoohyeon furrows her eyebrows at her, now wanting to bury herself deep down in the ground because of how confused and embarrassed she is at the same time. 

“Oh! Sorry, sorry!”

“Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be taking over my station too?” 

“Are you blind, Yoohyeon-ah? I’ve fended off the customers because of an emergency! And that emergency being Handong. Hehe.” 

“Are you crazy?! Siyeon is going to get mad at you!”

“Who? Me?” 

As if on cue, Siyeon comes over to their table and grabs a seat from another table to sit beside her girlfriend. Yoohyeon peeks at Minji for any sign of uneasiness, but she doesn't see any, so she wonders if she's truly okay with the sudden appearances and rowdiness of Siyeon and Bora. 

“Bora here had told me Handong is here early so I told her to close the diner. Don't care about the losses we’ll lose today, Handong is more important!” Siyeon explains and raises her hand for a high five, to which Bora responds immediately. Yoohyeon shakes her head, she's too embarrassed to be in the same room as them right now. 

“Anyways, hi to you too, Minji! I didn't know you were Handong’s friend!” Siyeon says and offers her hand for Minji to shake, which was gladly accepted with that smile of hers that makes Yoohyeon swoon hard. 

Wait. 

Siyeon knows who Minji is?

“You two know each other?” Yoohyeon asks, her head starting to hurt because of all of the confusion she's currently experiencing right now.

Handong is Minji’s friend. 

Minji is Handong’s friend/girlfriend. 

And apparently, Minji is Siyeon’s friend too?

Huh?

“Yeah! They were in the same classes a while back, one of the reasons why me and Siyeonie got together, right babe?” Bora wiggles her eyebrows at her girlfriend, something only the two of them will understand. Yoohyeon heaves a sigh, everything is really confusing and she just wants all the answers now. 

“So… Handong is Minji’s friend. Minji is Siyeon and Bora’s friend. Minji is Handong’s friend.. or girlfriend?”

“Fiancée.”

“Fiancée?!”

“Handong! Why did you not tell us you were engaged all this time?!”

Huh?

What?

Everything becomes muted and blurred once more but this time, her heart is starting to feel heavy at the weight of the realizations. Minji’s cold milkshake can't do the trick any more so Yoohyeon stands up from her seat, tries her best to at least whisper, “I– I need.. I’m going to get fresh air.” And there she goes, running towards the main doors of the diner and she runs, somewhere far away from there so she could get her thoughts and emotions in the right direction. 

She somehow manages to go to the nearby park, the same park where she met Minji the other night, and she sits down on the same bench she sat down on before. 

The giddiness and excitement she felt for the past two days were starting to feel opposite, as everything seems to have planned to make her expectations go downhill, because she was truly starting to let Minji in her life. Her heart feels heavy, her breathing is unstable, and the weather is not helping her at all. It's cold out and she didn't grab her hoodie before going outside. Maybe she just will die because of hypothermia. Well, maybe that's a good idea? 

Apparently, no, it was not a good idea, because as her mind was thinking about this, a part of her mind was also still processing everything she had learned today. It's so confusing, the part where Minji is flirting with her despite having a fiancée– her friend Handong at that. Of all people in Korea, or even the world, Minji had chosen Handong as her fiancée and flirted with her while she was away. 

It feels like betraying herself and Handong, since this completely feels like cheating. Even if they've known each other just for two days, barely knowing their backgrounds and only knowing each other's names, it still feels like something illegal now that she thinks about it because… Minji is engaged . To her friend . To her friend that once had a crush on her. 

How did she get in between this mess?

Ugh, she wouldn't have gotten into this mess if she was just brave enough back then when the pretty pink-haired lady was still around. She might've been trying her best to set her aside as she's starting to move on from her but the regret is still there, her mind full of what ifs: what could've happened, what could've been done, what could've been her name, and many more.

As she was too busy with her thoughts, she didn't notice the person that made their way to sit by the other end of the bench, a hot cup of coffee in between them. 

Yoohyeon heaves a sigh, her life is such a mess. 

“Hey,” Yoohyeon gets startled by the sudden voice, almost jumping from where she was sitting. She contains her breathing before facing the owner of the voice. Minji. The one who started all of this. “Coffee?”

Her gaze falls onto the present coffee cup placed on the middle of the bench and she feels this scene is all too familiar for her. Still, her voice was music to her ears, and she grabbed the cup to try to warm herself up from the harsh winter breeze. 

After taking a sip, she heaves a sigh again, this time in relief, as she feels her body relaxing despite her mind still not doing so. She has a lot of questions to ask Minji but she feels like she shouldn't be asking when it's the obvious, as her confusion always shows on her face. 

And, well, Minji reads her well unexpectedly, as she breaks the silence with an apology, “I'm sorry,” Yoohyeon looks far away into the distance to distract herself from the growing blush to her cheeks. “I'm sure you're confused with everything, judging from how you ran away, but…” 

Yoohyeon felt a warm hand on top of hers, Minji had moved closer to her as she spoke, not knowing her own hand was even on top of the bench in the first place. “Handong wanted to surprise you too, Bora and Siyeon as well. I had told her about what had happened while she was away, how I met you, and how happy she was with me meeting you. She told me that she wants to make the three of you happy with her presence after years of not being able to come home to Jeju.”

The harsh wind blows against them, making Yoohyeon shiver all throughout her body and Minji feels it, removing her hand from Yoohyeon’s hand to take off her coat as she had a jacket under it. She places it over Yoohyeon’s shoulder before continuing, “About the fiancée thing, it's all for show. It's all for our families’ businesses. We're not romantically involved with each other, and had agreed to let each other date while in this arrangement, explaining why I tried to flirt with you.”

Yoohyeon still feels shivers all throughout her body but it isn't from the cold anymore but the goosebumps. Everything she had in mind was being countered, all assumptions getting debunked at the truth that's being relayed to her right now. 

“I hope you're not mad… Well, I do think you are… but I’m really sorry. I had not expected things to escalate like this.” 

It's hard for Yoohyeon to look at Minji, she's now too embarrassed to assume things but who can blame her, it all bombarded her the moment she was too excited for her date– one will truly assume things if it all escalated like this. 

Silence overtakes them, warmth blooming inside Yoohyeon’s chest and she's not sure if it's from the coffee or the fact that Minji still had her hand on top of hers as she patiently waits for her to process things. Yoohyeon could only stay silently still, trying to accept and fight off the thoughts that are countering with the truth. 

It takes a while before any of them move or talk, it was Minji who first breaks the silence with a, “Want to go for a walk?” and that is when Yoohyeon finally faces her, the side of her lips curving up slightly, silently saying yes to her suggestion. 

Minji stands up, still not letting go of Yoohyeon’s hand and she pulls her up with her, intertwining their fingers together as they start walking down the pavement of the park. It was nice, the cold breeze being toned down with the warmth blooming from both of them. 

Yoohyeon wonders why Minji hadn't spoken again yet about the stuff that had happened but she figured that she was respecting and understanding her frustration. She looks down to their intertwined hands and she can't help but smile at how they perfectly fit with each other. With that smile plastered on her face, she unknowingly lifts up her head and she's greeted by Minji’s own smile: radiant, lighting up her entire face with warmth and joy.

“Why are you smiling?” Yoohyeon asks. 

“Why are you smiling?” Minji asks back, her smile now comes with a chuckle that makes Yoohyeon feel warmer at how pleasing the sound is. 

The diner waitress seems to have not noticed that they have stopped walking, her legs automatically stopped when she lifted her head up to see Minji smiling back at her.

“You know, Bora told me yesterday that you were familiar,” Yoohyeon starts, Minji patiently waiting for her to continue, “I thought she was kidding, turns out she was serious about it. How come I didn't see you back then?” 

“I was mostly busy with studying, wasn't really interested in other stuff but I got into Bora and Siyeon’s mess all of a sudden but got cut short when I needed to move to Seoul for my family’s business.”

Minji explained and Yoohyeon was attentively listening, her confusing thoughts slowly being calmed down, as Minji explains every detail carefully, careful not to miss anything and confuse her poor brain any more. They continue walking, as Yoohyeon continues to process everything as well. 

“Family business… Like huge companies?”

“Yeah, very huge companies. Doesn't mean I like being connected with it, mostly I’m just doing it because I have nothing better to do.”

Yoohyeon looks at her confusedly and Minji chuckles, “I’m finishing my second degree, this time it's my own preference. Juggling it with work is exhausting but thankfully, I got time off and I got to meet you.” 

The diner waitress looks down on the now empty coffee cup in her hand, trying her best not to become flustered with Minji’s flirting but she fails, miserably, as she was too late to contain her chuckle. She looked up to Minji, smiling so widely and the pretty black-haired lady was reflecting her own smile, “Is this the date you have promised me, Minji?”

“Yes– I mean, no! No, this isn't what I have promised you.” The radiant smile from Minji’s lips falters into a pout, making Yoohyeon chuckle again. “Would you even be in the mood to go on a date with me after all that happened?” 

“Maybe, maybe not. What did you plan anyways? Maybe my mood will change once you tell me.” 

“It's a secret!” Minji laughs loudly, and Yoohyeon. swears she wouldn't get tired of hearing the same laugh every single day. It's such an endearing sight, how Minji’s smile is wide ear to ear, how Minji’s nose would scrunch up when her laugh comes out of her lips, how Minji’s face is starting to become red, probably because of how the warmth basking around them despite the harsh coldness of the winter. It makes her heart beat faster, because of how pretty Minji is right now and how she wants this moment to last long. 

“There you two are!” Her daze is broken by the sudden voice next to them, it was Bora who was panting so hard and it looks like she has been looking for them all this time. “Your food has gone cold already, Minji, but I've reheated and packed it for you in case you two decide to go on the date after what has happened. Yoohyeonie did a lot of effort to prepare this for you and I wanted to not let her efforts go to waste.”

Yoohyeon didn't even notice the paper bag and the milkshake in Bora’s hands if it wasn't for Minji who was already grabbing it from her, the warmth of the hand she was holding was gone and she can feel its absence already. “Thank you, Bora. Sorry for leaving all of the sudden, Yoohyeon here had to get some fresh air.” 

“No biggie, Yoohyeon does that sometimes and I understand. Anyways, bye! Text or call me if you two decide to come back to the diner!” And there goes Bora running off, leaving the two of them behind. They were quiet but it was comfortable, as they decided to continue walking through the park. 

“I actually didn't have anything planned for today,” Minji starts and confesses, Yoohyeon looks up to her before looking down, her hand itching to hold Minji’s hand again. “I just wanted to spend time with you, talk about random stuff, learn more about you, but I don't know… This sucks because maybe you were expecting me to plan something fancy or anything… Sad to say I’m such a disappointment with things like this.” 

As Minji finishes rambling, Yoohyeon takes this chance to grab her free hand and intertwine it with hers, all while with a huge grin plastered on her face. 

“It's alright, I’d much prefer such spontaneous outings rather than those planned. It feels more genuine because there's no money involved.” 

“Really?”

“Yes, really, so don't worry, because I just wanted to talk and learn more about you too.” 

Minji lets out a sigh in relief, her tensed body starting to relax at Yoohyeon’s reassurance. Them walking side by side, hand in hand together, all while smiling at each other is nice, very comforting even. 

“Was that all?” Yoohyeon asks, Minji faces her confusedly. “Was that all you were hiding from me? Well, I know it's not my place to force you into spilling your secrets, considering we only just met… But for me, I wouldn't like it if someone was hiding something important that could be a possible factor for my heart being broken in the future.” 

Minji nods, acknowledging Yoohyeon's concern for herself because this is her trying her best to protect herself from getting hurt. She may not know Yoohyeon’s past but she figures something happened that made her all this protective of herself. “Would you be mad if I said yes, I still have one more thing that I’m hiding?” 

“If the reason is understandable for hiding it then I would accept your decision for not telling me sooner. If not, well, maybe I will try my best to understand why you had to hide it.” 

Minji nods again, feeling herself getting emotional at Yoohyeon’s sincerity. She decides to pull her into a hug, deciding that this may be better than everything else in her mind. 

“I’m sorry… for not telling you about my arrangement with Handong yesterday, I was too caught up on knowing you rather than to let you know about my situation.” Minji apologizes but Yoohyeon’s steady arms wrap around her carefully, letting her head fall onto her shoulder comfortably. “I promise to let you know about what I’m still hiding when I’m ready. You will be fine with that, right?”

“Mhm, totally,” Yoohyeon is still doubtful but Minji’s genuineness is getting to her, so she just agrees without thinking twice. “This is nice, you feel so warm.” She lets out a sigh, she just hopes everything will be for the best and that there will be no more bad surprises that will mess up with her mind once more. 

Their first date as people with genuine intentions for each other was filled with laughter and joy. They settled down by the river and they ate Minji’s reheated meal happily, sharing one thing or two about each other. It was relaxing after a few hours of complete confusion and embarrassment. Yoohyeon’s excitement for their date is back, her heavy heart is slowly starting to feel light, and gosh… the sound of Minji’s laughter is something that Yoohyeon would want to hear every single day and she wants every laugh of hers would only be because of her. 

She's so beautiful, Minji is so ethereal that Yoohyeon is thinking how she got lucky to meet her after her disappointment with that pretty pink-haired lady from before. She wouldn't mind if all of their dates will be like this, just them walking around and talking about anything in general and it's just so fun and Yoohyeon is very thankful for this opportunity because she has been deprived of it ever since her last crush. 

She prays to every God in the world that Minji will be here to stay, and that there will be no more confusion in between them, as she really feels like she is the one for her now. She's really determined to make this last long, and that she hopes Minji will find the key to her heart soon. 

Chapter Text

If there was something Yoohyeon loved other than dedicating her life to being the sole diner waitress of Jeju’s one and only Paradise Diner, it was the spontaneous dates she has with Minji every end of her shift. 

After their first simple date, it had become a normal thing for them to go on spontaneous walks or drives, even trips to another island nearby if Yoohyeon agreed (which happened, all the damn time– only during the weekends though). She has been already getting complaints from Yubin, who was her roommate, because she would always disappear out of nowhere and does not come back by midnight or after a few days. Yoohyeon would always say sorry, bribing Yubin with new gaming consoles for her to try out while she was gone, and her roommate would forgive her every single damn time as well. 

Meanwhile with Bora and Siyeon, they have been both supportive of her as always, moreso that they're even friends with Minji so they're much more relieved because she wasn't together with a stranger. Bora would always give Minji a free strawberry milkshake or whatever she wanted whenever she waited for Yoohyeon to finish her shift and Siyeon would give out any extra food that she cooked that were never picked up by the deliveries (sometimes she just cooks meals for Minji because she's in a good mood).

And Handong… Poor Handong suffered a few days, or weeks, of not being able to properly talk with Yoohyeon because the diner waitress was still getting used to this arrangement. After the not so surprise party that day after their date, Yoohyeon had been trying her best to at least exchange greetings with Handong but it was hard, since it was so awkward being in the middle of something. Handong was Minji’s fiancée and she was Minji’s fling. Is she even considered as a fling? A lover? A girlfriend?

“Minji, what am I to you?” Yoohyeon asks as Minji settles down beside her after grabbing some drinks for them from the convenience store nearby where they currently are. Offering her a soda and opening it for her, Minji responds with, “You're my… You're my crush? You're my friend? I don't know, would you like to have a label on what we are and have right now?” 

Yoohyeon takes a gulp from her soda before putting it down beside her so she could grab Minji’s free hand and hold it with both of her hands. “Maybe, maybe not, I’m just curious, that's all, of what you see of me. Doesn't matter though, I like what we are and have right now.” 

Not noticing Minji’s pleased smile as she was looking far away to the stars above them that were shining so brightly, she feels a head nuzzling by her shoulder and she pulls her closer by her waist, completely comfortable with what they have right now. 

“I see you as someone I admire a lot, someone I wish to spend my life together with, someone I will come to love when the time comes.” Minji plays with Yoohyeon’s hands, pinching and caressing it from time to time as she spoke, a habit she's been doing when she's nervous about something and Yoohyeon knows all about it. 

“Are you proposing to me after being with me for just like almost a month?” Yoohyeon chuckles at her own joke, Minji’s pinching becomes a hard hit on her hand and she pretends to wince at the pain. 

“I'm already engaged, Yoohyeon!” Minji banters back, suddenly realizing that it was a wrong move, as Yoohyeon’s smile falters. She immediately comes to hold her cheeks in her hands, trying her best to pull those face muscles back into a smile. “Sorry, I’m just.. It's true that I’m engaged and I know it's not something I’m supposed to joke with but… yeah, no more excuses, I’m sorry.” 

With Minji literally pulling her lips into a smile, she can't help but smile for real this time as her heart feels so warm and light. Minji’s constant apologies and assurances makes her feel light, that she feels like everything in her head will be okay once Minji tells them otherwise. “I’m sorry too, engagement is something we really shouldn't joke about since you're currently in an arrangement like that, even if it's just for business purposes only.” 

Minji decides to let go of her face to place her arms around her neck to pull her into a hug. The warmth seeping through them despite the harsh wind of the winter is comforting. Yoohyeon closes her eyes as she hugs her back with the same energy, her arms wrapping around Minji’s waist tightly but loose enough not to hurt her. 

“It still feels so unreal that I am in the middle of this kind of arrangement that only happens on TV, not that I doubt you or Handong for having feelings for each other that you completely debunked the moment I learned about what's happening… It's just that, I don't know, it feels like there's something holding me back from advancing my feelings for you.”

Yoohyeon heaves a sigh before pulling away from the hug so she could hold Minji’s hands in hers and to see her face while she speaks. “I don't know what it is and I want to stop it from holding me back. I want you, I want to share my life with you, I want to be someone that will come to love you in the future as well.” 

Minji smiles and nods in understanding, kind of taken aback at Yoohyeon’s confession, not knowing that she was having these things in her mind because all she knows is that she's awkward with Handong because of what happened in the past that she once mentioned before in one of their spontaneous dates. 

“Perhaps it might be because there is a chance for me to marry Handong in the future and although we've agreed not to meddle with each other’s romantic lives, it will still become something that will hinder you from being able to have a life together with me.” 

“Yes… I think that's it…”

“You don't have to worry about that, Yoohyeonie,” Minji brings one of her hands to cup Yoohyeon’s cheek and to caress it carefully as she smiles at her reassuringly. “Handong and I had agreed upon a new settlement, breaking off our engagement once one of us wishes to have a romantic relationship with another person.” 

“What? Really? How about your families’ businesses?”

“It will be fine, we had just agreed on this arrangement because it was beneficial to our businesses last year. It's not so relevant now, as the public may have already forgotten about our engagement, making it easier to break off whatever we have. I’ve talked to my parents about it and they're fine with it as well, they trust me enough to do whatever I want as long as it does not interfere with the company’s image.”

Yoohyeon feels so comfortable at Minji’s touch, she leans into it as she continues to caress her cheek. She brings her hand to hold it, her fondness for the lady in front of her completely showing in everything that she is. “When did you arrange all of these, Minji? What… Did you do all of this for me?” She suddenly feels tears prickling in her eyes, too overwhelmed at how much sincerity there is in Minji’s eyes, and she feels her heart swell at it because she's not used to feeling like this. 

“I did, for you and me, since I will be staying here for good once I finish my second degree. It's alright for them because I will be the one leading the headquarters here which isn't that difficult than it was in Seoul, so I will have all the time to spend it with you, learn more about you, learn how to love you dearly, and learn how to live my life here again.”

“You… Minji…” Yoohyeon tries to say something but she fails, unable to make words for her feelings right now as she's too overwhelmed with everything. She just pulls Minji in a hug and she lets her tears fall, because that's all she can do right now, her feelings for Minji will just get deeper and stronger from now on with this assurance of being catched and being as precious as she is with her.

Minji lets her cry, patting and caressing her back from time to time, whispering more reassuring phrases that only made Yoohyeon cry more which was endearing, because even if they haven't had been seeing each other for a long time, they already understood each other completely: no judgemental words or looks are shared upon one another because everything is worthy to be understood. 

It takes a while for Yoohyeon to calm down, Minji just waits for her patiently despite feeling herself getting emotional with what's happening right now. Even though they have been together for just almost a month or so, she had already thought about having a future with Yoohyeon, that's why she arranged everything to be ready once they've decided to date officially, possibly marry in the future if the latter is willing. She knows this is too reckless of her, deciding on something that hasn't been proven to last long but she trusts her own feelings and believes that she will come to love Yoohyeon soon. She thought that she would still need to deal with all of this in the future, that's why she decided earlier than most people would do normally. 

“This is too much for me… I… I’m not used to this, sorry, I never thought someone would be willing to go through such lengths just to be with me and… it's just so hard to believe that..” Yoohyeon finally manages to express herself, her tears and breathing slowly calming down as she tries to make up words in her mind while looking directly at Minji's eyes that were teary as well after she had pulled back from the hug. 

“I did say I will try to look for the key to your heart, didn't I? This is me doing my best, doing everything I can just to be with you, and to make you and me the happiest people in the world.” 

Minji smiles at her, showing off her genuineness and sincerity in that smile all for Yoohyeon to see, all for Yoohyeon to make her realize that there is no need to be insecure of herself and her feelings– every part of her is perfect and just right for Minji. Just like how puzzle pieces fit together perfectly despite it taking time to be finished. This is how Yoohyeon’s puzzle piece is being completed, with Minji’s whole heart and soul, slowly but surely. 

“Would.. would you be… my girlfriend, Minji?” 

She finally manages to put out that question in words, her hands starting to sweat due to her nervousness. Even if they've talked about their relationship a lot just now, there is still a possibility that Minji would reject her, because of the reasons that this might be so fast or her feelings for her aren't too strong enough to guarantee her an assurance. 

She feels her sweaty hands being held by steady hands, feeling Minji getting closer and closer until she can feel her breaths brushing by her lips. The silence was making her more nervous than ever, because if Minji will kiss her right now, she's worried that she might not be the best kisser out there. She might've had a share of kisses with her exes from back then but that was too long ago, her skills and knowledge about kissing might've all faded away. 

She looks at Minji’s eyes that were staring at her, so much that she feels overwhelmed with her closeness and the urge to just pull her so she could feel how her lips would feel on hers. But when she sees Minji closing her eyes and feels herself being pulled closer, she closes her eyes as well, not minding how noisy her head is right now and she focuses on her heart instead: on how its beats are this fast when she's with Minji, on how its beats are comforting, feeling as if its rhythm is the same as Minji’s own. Her thoughts be damned, she likes her and Minji likes her back. That's all that matters. 

Minji’s lips are so close to hers and she felt like she was just waiting for her answer even if she was the one who asked a question. She takes in a deep breath before diving in, her hands automatically moving away from Minji’s own hands and they wrap themselves around the lady’s waist. Their lips dance together in a slow rhythm, silent answers to Yoohyeon’s question and to Minji’s worries. 

Gosh… Minji’s lips feels so soft and never did Yoohyeon ever kiss someone else like this. It feels perfect, how their lips are perfectly fitting with each other, and how Yoohyeon feels so warm and relaxed at how Minji’s kissing her lips with the same passion and energy. 

It's addicting, how Minji is now pressing herself onto her, feeling arms now being wrapped around her own neck, the sweet and gentle strawberry scent of either Minji’s shampoo or perfume prickling her nose, and how Minji’s breaths are tickling her lips that she's tempted to pull away just so she could breathe. But if she pulls away, she wouldn't know what to do afterwards, would she just breathe or pull Minji in for another kiss? And, like just a few seconds or minutes ago, her thoughts and worries are damned as she decides to pull Minji impossibly closer, letting her straddle her lap as they continue kissing. 

Thank goodness it was already nighttime and they were somewhere a bit far from other people's view. She wouldn't have to feel judged, wouldn't have to feel nervous at being caught, because kissing Minji feels like she's really an angel that fell from the sky and was given a blessing in the form of Minji, who will grant every wish she has– one of them being comforted and engulfed in warmth like this. 

Much to her disappointment, it was Minji who first pulls away, and she almost chuckles at how messy her face looks like because she was trying her best to breathe normally and her eye pupils were so dilated but she realized that she might've looked the same, so she just looked, stared, at Minji who was now smiling widely at her. 

“Yes, I’d love to be your girlfriend, Yoohyeon,” She almost gasps at Minji’s speed, suddenly lips are kissing hers again and she couldn't help but kiss back despite the surprise, because this is Minji’s answer to her question: Minji is now her girlfriend and she is now Minji’s girlfriend. Everything is perfect, everything is in place, as her heart is slowly opening up for Minji, a little bit closer to finding the key to her heart so she could open it wide for Minji who is willingly to catch and take it as her own. 

Kissing Minji felt like coming home. Every kiss she's experienced so far never felt this way, all just felt like something she should do that can prove that she is truly in a relationship with that person. It's not like that now, with Minji, and it makes her feel a lot of things. It makes her feel like she's the luckiest person ever in this damned world for being the one that can kiss Minji like this because really, it's so addicting, that she would be willing to make out with her for 24 hours straight if Minji’s willing too. Well, maybe Minji would be willing to, because her grip now on Yoohyeon’s shirt collar is so strong that it feels like she has no plan of letting go, only planning to pull Yoohyeon closer and closer until their bodies become one. 

All of a sudden, Yoohyeon’s stomach rumbles and she pulls away in an instant, leaving Minji having her mouth agape as she processes what had just happened for her girlfriend to pull away like this. “Why?”

“You didn't hear it?” Yoohyeon asks and as if on cue, her stomach rumbles again. She hides her face by hugging Minji and leaning on her shoulder, too embarrassed at interrupting their moment just because she's hungry. 

Despite being so embarrassed, she feels Minji trying to lift up her head so she obliges, looking up to her with a pout. Minji chuckles lightly before pressing a peck on her lips, Yoohyeon chasing after Minji’s lips when she pulls back but is stopped by a finger to her lips. “We can continue this later, hm? Let's eat first.” Minji said as she got off Yoohyeon’s lap, the diner waitress immediately missed their closeness. 

If this is how her everyday will be now that they're girlfriends, she wants to live a long life just so she could experience being this happy with Minji. It's so exciting and thrilling, because thinking now of a future with her makes her feel giddy. She's sure the more they spend more time together and learn more about each other, she will come to love Minji wholeheartedly, letting her once locked up heart become one with Minji’s own. 

Now on their way to find whatever store is open for the night, they walk hand in hand, all smiley and giggling at the new phase of their relationship: being girlfriends. 

“Hey girlfriend,” Minji calls out for her as she stops in her tracks, getting taken aback at Yoohyeon’s radiant smile that was reflecting hers. She doesn't show how flustered she was because she presses a peck on Yoohyeon’s lips and immediately pulls away, the smile now being a pout once more. “You look so beautiful.” Minji says and tucks some parts of Yoohyeon’s hair that was on the way from letting her see how attractive her girlfriend is. 

“Yeah, I know, that's why you wanted me to be your girlfriend.” Yoohyeon teases back half heartedly as she chuckles, pressing a peck on Minji’s lips as well that the pretty black-haired fails her mantra of not letting Yoohyeon see how flustered she is, because of how red is flushing her cheeks right now. 

“Isn't it the other way around? From what just happened like a few minutes ago, you were the one who asked me out.” Minji says as she crosses her arms with a pout. Yoohyeon, instead of trying to uncross her arms, pulls her in a hug instead, letting Minji feel how genuine and sincere she is with her feelings. 

“Mhm, but I did ask you out because I felt I should do so. Since, well, you've done so much just to be with me.. And I thank you for that.” Yoohyeon’s voice is relaxing and this makes Minji wrap her arms as well around her girlfriend, leaning her head against her shoulder afterwards. 

Yoohyeon decides to press a soft kiss on Minji’s shoulder, Minji feeling goosebumps all over her at the action but she likes it. If being Yoohyeon’s girlfriend is having small things like this that makes her feel so much happiness, she would love to spend the rest of her life being her girlfriend so she could always be like this. 

“Want to go to my place to eat there instead?” Minji asks and Yoohyeon immediately pulls away from the hug. Her eyes wide open with her mouth agape she says, “What? You want to eat there?”

Realizing what she might've implied, Minji becomes so red that she looks like a tomato that's going to burst anytime soon. Yoohyeon laughs loudly, teasing her girlfriend further by poking her on her sides where it tickles. Minji tries her best to push her away but her body is the one giving in to whatever Yoohyeon is doing so she just lets her, giggling and chuckling with her as they continue tickling– well, until Yoohyeon’s stomach rumbles again. 

“Hyeon, stop it! Your poor stomach will rip out of you soon if you don't fill it up. Let's go!” Not letting Yoohyeon answer, Minji intertwines their hands together and pulls her girlfriend with her as they skip down the sidewalk on their way to Minji’s place for the very first time together. 

Despite having spontaneous dates all the damn time, they would always choose to go outside instead of staying indoors because that's just how they prefer their dates go. Not that they're embarrassed about their places (which Yoohyeon thinks Minji’s place is much bigger than hers considering her wealth) but Minji had reassured once before that their difference should not be a problem to them, it should be something they can be proud of instead. 

And wow, even if Yoohyeon expected Minji to have a bigger place than hers, never did she imagine that Minji is staying in a penthouse all by herself. They stand in front of the gates, Yoohyeon too shocked at the huge place staring right back at her, her hunger long forgotten because she never would've thought that she’ll be able to come inside a place like this– let alone this place will be possibly her second home because she doubts that she'll let herself get separated from Minji now that they're dating. 

“Too mesmerized? Well, that's not even all of it. Wait ‘til we get inside.” Minji opens the gates for both of them and closes it behind them before pulling Yoohyeon with her to the main doors. 

Yoohyeon doesn't have any say when she gets inside, everything is so well decorated and so… Minji. If that makes any sense. It feels like Minji’s own and it really is her own but it feels different, it feels like this is a living proof of the reassuring words from her girlfriend earlier: that she's staying here for good after finishing her second degree and that she'll be here for her.  

She’s now settled on a seat in what she thinks is the dining room. Her mind can't comprehend anything that she just saw on the way here because she was too overwhelmed. Minji leaves her to grab whatever she had in the fridge and prepare some ice cubes for their sodas from earlier (thank goodness Minji remembered that she had bought some earlier or else they would've been fined for littering). 

Once there's enough food on the table, which was really so much, Minji finally settles on a seat beside Yoohyeon and immediately wraps her hands around the diner waitress’s arm. “I don't really know how to cook, which explains why that's all I have in the fridge,” They both stare at the amount of ingredients for a salad, Yoohyeon wondering why she had brought all of this onto the table when she knows they both prefer the same stuff on their salads. 

And yeah, Minji explained to her one day back then that she grew up being fond of salads, that's why she always ordered it when they first met, burgers being only an additional because she wants something new in her diet whenever she would dine at their diner. 

Yoohyeon didn't really understand how Minji lived her whole life having that diet but she never bothered to ask, even now, because she's so hungry that she feels like she can finish whatever stuff that's currently right in front of them. 

As she prepares salads for the both of them on their own plates, Minji was just there, talking about random stuff about her second degree which was something about music that Yoohyeon didn't seem to quite understand but she still nods, acting like she understands everything when she's a literature major herself. Once she finishes mixing both of their salads, she pushes Minji’s plate closer to her and she feels a kiss being pressed onto her cheek. Pouting, she faces her girlfriend and points to her lips before saying, “You missed, you should only kiss me here.”

Furrowing her eyebrows further when Minji kisses her again but on her forehead instead, she lets out a puff of annoyance (half heartedly). “Hey! I said here!” Yoohyeon grabs Minji’s hand to point to her lips with her girlfriend’s finger. 

She hears Minji chuckle softly to herself as she moves to grab a bite on her salad. Humming in delight as she gulps down the bite, she turns around again to her girlfriend's direction and sees her still acting annoyed at her. “This is how you sulk? What a cutie, I should do this more often.” Minji says and continues to tease by pressing another kiss on her nose and Yoohyeon could only scoff before taking her bite as well. 

They continued to eat as Minji teases her with Yoohyeon acting annoyed but she's really not annoyed even by a bit. She's just having so much fun playing with Minji like this, it feels warm and light, and makes her feel like something like this is something she would want to experience every single day with her girlfriend. Wow , calling Minji her girlfriend still feels surreal, feels like something she thought would only happen in her dreams. 

After finishing their meals, Minji leads them to her music room which was also huge (perhaps even bigger than her whole shared apartment with Yubin), and they settled themselves on the long piano stool. Minji grabs her notebook on top of the piano and shows her a bit of her scribbled lyrics for a new song she's been writing lately, feeling a bit nervous at Yoohyeon being quiet as she reads them. 

As Yoohyeon finishes reading she faces Minji with a smile and her eyes prickling with tears. Without hesitation, Yoohyeon pulls her into a heartwarming kiss, both of them pouring all of their raw emotions for one another as they share this moment that would forever be engraved in their mind. Minji cups her cheeks with her own hands, only pulling back from the kiss so she could wipe the cheeks of her now crying girlfriend. 

It's not a surprise that Yoohyeon is a very emotional person, because they first met when she was crying over something Minji does not know about and does not plan on knowing if Yoohyeon doesn't tell her about it on her own will. “The song is so beautiful and well written,” Yoohyeon says before pressing her lips again on Minji’s own, feeling and savoring her taste as she shows all of her emotions for her. She will never get tired of kissing her like this because she feels everything all at once: happiness, contentment, affection, vulnerability, warmth, reassurance, and many, many more that she's unable to express in words. 

“I'm so glad I’m able to call you my girlfriend from now on, Minji,” Yoohyeon says after she slowly pulls away from the kiss, their foreheads still connected, and their eyes staring at each other intently. “It's been a long time since I had a relationship with someone, and it just feels so right that you're the one with me right now and for the future to come.” Yoohyeon presses a peck on Minji’s lips before leaning her on her girlfriend's shoulder, her own arms slipping around the lady’s waist and she thinks this moment is so healing, heartwarming. 

More kisses were shared on that long piano stool, more stories and emotions are shared with one another. The two of them chatted about topics such as how much happier she is than ever and how much it meant to her to have found Minji because it made her happy as well. They spoke about how appreciative and impressed she is of Minji's kindness, compassion, patience, and understanding toward her as well as how glad she is for her.

“You know.. I want to tell you something, but please promise me you won't laugh at me for being stupid.” Minji raises her eyebrows at that but chuckles before nodding, reassuring Yoohyeon with a kiss to her cheek. 

“Of course, Hyeon, tell me all about it when you're ready.” Yoohyeon smiles widely at that and takes in a deep breath, calming her nerves down as Minji holds her dearly and carefully, feeling warmth and security in such steady arms. 

“Uhm… I want to tell you the reason why I was crying the first time we met. It was because of a lady,” Yoohyeon starts and Minji looks at her as if she keeps the stars up in the sky. “She had pink hair, never knew her name, and she was… she was a regular at the diner.” 

Yoohyeon looks down on the intertwined hands, feeling her face getting hot out of embarrassment at the story she's going to share with her girlfriend. She thinks her having a crush on that lady was stupid, thinks waiting for her everyday like a crazy woman was stupid, and thinks that only prolonging her story is stupid. “She comes to the diner to eat the same exact meal at the same exact time of every single day for about two months. Never had the courage to ask for her number nor even her name.”

“I think waiting for her to come back after breaking her routine is stupid. I think preparing the same meal every single day even if I wasn't sure she’ll come because I wanted to make sure I had the meal prepared if she decides to come back is stupid. I think everything I experienced with that lady before you is stupid. And everything came falling down on me that day, and I’m too embarrassed to think that that was our first meeting. But now that I think about it, maybe it was the universe’s way of telling me that that lady wasn't the one for me and there is someone, which is you, that will come to try to open up my locked heart in the near future…”

Minji moves her hands to hold Yoohyeon’s warmed up face, presses a soft kiss on the middle of the furrow of her eyebrows, before saying, “It's not stupid, Yooh, I think it's very adorable that you made efforts for this lady even if she will never know all about it. I think… it's so… Yoohyeon of you to do such things. I don’t know how to explain it but if I were that lady, I would appreciate every single effort you did for me.”

Yoohyeon looks up and yet again she has tears trying to escape from her eyes but Minji kisses each of her eyes softly, smiling widely at her when she pulls back, “I told you I was still hiding something from you, right? Will you be fine if I told you about it now?”

“I think it's fine with me,” Yoohyeon says and nods, encouraging Minji to tell her all about it now that they're both in a state of vulnerability. 

“I want to start with a sorry, I’m sorry if I didn't tell you about it the first time we met that night. I didn't know you had developed a crush on me too but at that time, two months ago, or three, I think, I was only so into my studies that I didn't really notice everything. I have come to like you since then, but I had my priorities that time. That's why I left abruptly, so I can talk to my parents about coming back here, because I’m much happier here than in Seoul.” 

Yoohyeon looks at her confusedly, “I’m afraid I don't understand, Minji, what do you mean that you left abruptly? Are you… were you that pretty pink-haired lady?”

Minji nods and Yoohyeon slowly moves away from the shock and realizations. How come I didn't notice their similarities? The diner waitress stands up, feeling her body wanting to get away from Minji so she could not say any bad stuff to her because she's scared of her own thoughts. She shakes her head when she sees Minji standing up to follow her, her own feet moving away from her girlfriend because she wants to run away, just like how she ran away from her just two days after they first met– or should she say, the first time they met after months of not seeing each other?

Her head is starting to hurt, her back apparently hit the door and now her hand is on the door knob. She's so close to getting away, so close to running away from Minji but her girlfriend was just slowly moving closer to her. Even if she was trying to push her away, Minji is still the ever considerate person that respects her yet wants to help in every way she can. 

She closes her eyes instead, lets her body slowly fall down to the floor and she gets catched by steady arms that are quick to engulf her in a warm hug. She doesn't know what to do with this realization, she knew at first that their usual meals at the diner were the same but why didn't it click in her mind? What if Bora and Siyeon knew about it already and she was the only one who didn't? She thinks that she's really stupid, stupid for not realizing that Minji and that pretty pink-haired lady were the same, stupid for not understanding why Minji had to hide it from her, stupid for not making sure that she can really handle grasping the truth even if Minji had told her before that she was still hiding something such big of a factor that can cause problems for her future relationship with her. 

“I’m sorry…” Minji’s voice was too much of a blur to her but she feels so warm that she was tempted to just hug her back and tell her that it's fine, that she forgives her for hiding this, that her suffering from the loss from before is nothing to her now– she doesn't let that temptation get to her. She just buries her face in her hands, stopping herself from saying anything because she might hurt Minji, and that is the thing she wouldn't want to do to her, not even once in this life. 

“I knew you would react like this…” She hears Minji say before feeling the absence of her girlfriend’s warmth. Did Minji just leave her to tend to her own? Wow… She looks up and looks around the room to find Minji somewhere here because she knows she wouldn't have been able to come outside because she’s literally sprawled all over the door. She finds her looking through her notebook, seated on the piano stool that they once shared earlier, and Yoohyeon wonders why she’s there instead of trying to comfort her. 

She kept wondering, a few minutes passed before she heard a soft melody coming from the piano, which she didn't notice Minji had already opened, and she watched her press her fingers on the keys elegantly, professionally, and Minji’s singing voice made her swoon for her further. Once she recognized the lyrics, she felt her heart beat faster at hearing the song live that she cried on earlier after reading its lyrics. Minji’s raw and pure emotion being expressed through the song, her sincerity in her feelings, her apologies, her reassurances, her everything. 

Yoohyeon can't help but fall deeper for Minji, can't help her heart almost being open if it isn't for the lock that's holding her back, can't help but feel guilty for not understanding Minji’s hindrance for this truth because she didn't want what they have to end abruptly like how it did a few months back. 

She gets on her feet and slowly walks to Minji who is still so focused on singing her song that Yoohyeon is so amazed at how talented her girlfriend is. Her hesitancy for forgiving her long forgotten, she lets that temptation get to her. She hugs her from behind and tells her that it's fine, that she forgives her for hiding this, that her suffering from the loss from before is nothing to her now, and that she is willing to understand everything that is Minji. 

Minji finishes her song perfectly, spins herself so she could pull Yoohyeon into a soft, quick, and gentle kiss yet everything was there for Yoohyeon to understand. “I’ll wait for you to understand everything, Hyeon, I will be here with you all throughout: easing your worries, making sure you feel that your feelings are being requited, and letting you know how hard it is not to fall in love with you.” Another kiss is pressed onto Yoohyeon’s lips and the diner waitress just stares at her girlfriend’s eyes so she could see the sincerity in her eyes that she's coming to love. 

“I’ll do my best to understand, I’ll do everything to make it up to your efforts, I’ll do my part in loving you back. Soon, Minji, soon.”

And there they go, Yoohyeon finally reaching her dreams of being together with that pretty pink-haired lady she had a crush on from months ago. Who would've thought that it was Minji all along? She must be a different kind of stupid because now that she thinks about it, the similarities are too obvious, but she was much more focused on moving on from that lady and learning to love Minji at the same time. 

Not only does Yoohyeon have the pretty pink-haired lady’s name, she even has her number, but nothing would compare to having her heart that she's learning to love. There are no more regrets, she has everything that she has dreamed of ever since the pretty pink-haired lady left abruptly. Yubin won't be able to tease her anymore because she got her girl and she still doesn't have hers (she's making small progress with Gahyeon, though), Bora and Siyeon won't be tired at watching her be miserable by making the same meal everyday anymore, and Handong won't be uncomfortable with her because everything is resolved now. 

Even if things didn't go smoothly, Yoohyeon is proud of herself for both getting the pretty pink-haired lady and Minji’s heart and attention, looks like her charm hasn't worn off yet. Even if things didn't go the way she would prefer, she would still choose to go through this journey again if it means that she would get to learn how to love with the same lady, or ladies. Even if things will be starting to get rough now that a new relationship with Minji is blooming, she will do her best to be strong and understanding, just so she could live to see the tomorrow of being in love with Minji. 

It's endearing, how Minji is so close to opening her locked up heart, and that she already has the key to it but is waiting for the right time to give it to her, waiting for the right feeling of being in love with her which is in the near future, and Yoohyeon is rest assured that it will be really soon. 

Soon… The key to Yoohyeon’s locked up heart will be finding its original place, all thanks to Minji who is like an angel that fell from the skies above to give her this form of blessing. 

Chapter Text

If there was something Yoohyeon loved more than being Minji’s girlfriend, it was having the privilege of calling her as her own despite her friends’ complaints of her being too mushy and too lovesick for Minji. 

Yoohyeon can't deny that, she's already in love with Minji after spending a lot more time together, even if her girlfriend had to leave for a few months because she had to finish the last semester of her last year on her second degree. Despite the long distance, Yoohyeon never failed to feel the sincerity in Minji’s feelings, because even if she was busy with her studies, she did her best to make time for her girlfriend, even if it was a few hours of video calling before heading to sleep. Sometimes they would leave the call on as they sleep, and they would be all chuckling and blushing as they're each other’s first thing they would see after waking up. 

Now getting off the plane to surprise Minji at her graduation, she's feeling too giddy at surprising her girlfriend with something new, something they've promised each other, and that is professing their love for one another. She had prepared a long ass speech to which she doubts she would be able to say it outloud, but at least she made an effort to prepare such a thing. Pretty sure Minji would appreciate anything that she would do, perks of having a girlfriend that is as whipped as her for one another. 

As she settles down on a seat inside the graduation venue, which she knew about thanks to Handong who is also graduating but on a different day since she had a different degree than Minji, she thinks about how her girlfriend would react once she sees her here. Minji might cry, or Minji might kiss her passionately, or Minji might just hug her for a long time. Minji can do anything and she'll let her, as she feels like she would do any of this stuff because she missed her girlfriend so bad, she deserves to have her close to her today, especially now that it was a day where their relationship would stop being long distance.  

Her and Handong, by the way, have been on good terms since Minji and her started being girlfriends. They've settled on leaving the past behind them, blaming it on the teenage hormones of Handong because she really wonders why she had a crush on Yoohyeon back then but Yoohyeon just shrugs one day, saying that she was too pretty to resist (Minji agrees with that wholeheartedly, Handong on the other hand, does not). Besides, Handong have mentioned that it was her that convinced Minji to come back to her after leaving so abruptly, knowing that Minji is hesitant because of their engagement. 

“Kim Yoohyeon-ssi?” Yoohyeon almost jumps at the sudden voice next to her, she looks up to see who called her but she immediately bows down to greet them, recognizing them as soon as they meet in the eyes. It was Minji’s parents, her girlfriend had shown too many family pictures for her not to recognize them in person. 

“Mrs. Kim, Mr. Kim, it’s a pleasure to finally meet both of you.” Yoohyeon greets them after she looks up, bowing again almost immediately but she hears chuckles from them that Yoohyeon is all too familiar with because it's similar to her girlfriend’s. 

“Yoohyeon-ssi, you don't need to be so formal, Minji wouldn't like it if we're too strict on you.”

“Oh no no, it's totally fine with me, it's really such a pleasure to meet with big names as I am just an ordinary diner waitress.” Yoohyeon shakes her head and scratches her head lightly after, feeling a little nervous and flustered at Minji’s parents’ behavior. Surely she did not expect their encounter to be like this, but surely she did not expect to see her girlfriend making her way towards her with that gorgeous grin plastered on her face.

“Hyeon!” Minji jumps onto Yoohyeon who almost stumbles at the sudden action but luckily finds her balance immediately as she catches her which was surprising, and she wraps her arms around Minji’s waist before burying her face onto her girlfriend’s nape, breathing in her scent as she’s finally able to hug her girlfriend after months of not being able to do so. 

“I missed you so much, how come you didn't tell me you were coming?” Minji asks as she pulls back from the hug to place a peck on her girlfriend’s lips, Yoohyeon getting conscious of how Minji’s parents are still beside them. 

Minji cradles her face with both of her hands, her eyes staring at hers as she nods reassuringly, which makes Yoohyeon relax a little bit. “Why would I tell you about my surprise? I wanted to make it up to you, didn't I? This is me doing it for you.” 

Her girlfriend grins sheepishly and lets her go so she could intertwine her hand with her as they face her parents that were already seated a few seats away from them. 

“Mom, Dad, this is Yoohyeon, the one I’ve been talking about. She's my girlfriend.” Minji holds up their intertwined hands with pride, showing it off to her parents who were smiling at her softly. 

“The reason why you wanted to settle in Jeju? Well, I do think you've chosen the right one, a lady this pretty can become our ambassador in our headquarters there if she agrees. What do you say, Yoohyeon-ssi?” Minji’s mother chuckles as she directs her question to Yoohyeon who is frozen at the compliment, truly not expecting the warm treatment of her parents. 

“It’d be an honor–”

“That would be nice and big opportunity for my Yoohyeonie here but I’d much prefer to keep her to myself, it would make me feel better if we're able to live our lives privately as I offer my service to the company at the same time.” Minji answers for her, the hand she's holding caressing her hand lightly to calm her down, and it indeed helps, as she smiles at her girlfriend's parents to acknowledge what Minji had just said. 

“I knew you were going to say that, Minji. And we will respect your decision. But we will instead invest in their diner, Paradise Diner, was it? You told me it was one of Jeju’s most famous restaurants?” Minji’s father was the one to talk now and Yoohyeon feels a bit overwhelmed at how deep her voice was in contrast to Minji and her mother. Perhaps that was where Minji had gotten her seductive voice when they–

Shaking her head lightly to get rid of her thoughts, she faces Minji who was nodding and offering her other hand to shake with her father, something Yoohyeon assumed that they do when they reach an agreement. 

“Yes, it's probably the best restaurant in Jeju if I’m being honest, but maybe this is me having favorites because I would always dine there, even before when I met Yoohyeon and travelled there to finish my thesis.” 

“Alright, I’ll be in talks with their owner soon when we have time. I’m sure I can trust you to handle it once they agree, Minji?”

“Of course, father, you can trust me with everything. I’ll be more happy to handle it especially since Yoohyeon works there and my college friends from before own it.”

Once the conversation ended, Minji excuses themselves so they could properly catch up before the ceremony. By means of catching up was really just kissing in a bathroom stall, their long distance relationship for months made them this vulnerable and desiring for each other's closeness even if they were out in public (not necessarily in public, this bathroom was kind of hidden from the main venue which Minji made sure both of them are safe). 

Yoohyeon only pulls away from the kiss when she felt Minji lightly nipping on her bottom lip, which she wasn't supposed to, because they still have a graduation ceremony to attend to and having a new bruise or wound on her lip would only embarrass her in front of her parents. “Ji, you should control yourself, hm? We can continue this after we get home.” 

“And where do you plan to go home to? Jeju? Or my apartment here so we could at least spend time here before we come home to Jeju?”

Yoohyeon pulls her into a kiss, too bothered at the heat of their closeness to make up an answer as Minji’s too lovable that she just wants to express her feelings in every way possible, this kiss being one of them that contains everything in her mind: the hidden ‘I love you’, the hidden 'congratulations’, the hidden ‘I want to live with you in Jeju’, and many, many more. Bruises and wounds on her lips be damned, she could just wear a mask during the ceremony, but she could never resist Minji’s addictive lips and nips on her lips, their tongues fighting for dominance at the desire to express how they missed each other so badly. 

“Anywhere would be fine, as long as I have you,” Yoohyeon says as she pulls away from the kiss, her lips curved into a cheesy grin as Minji chuckles before booping their noses. Yoohyeon brings up a hand to her lips, feeling the developing bruise that she now needs to hide, and Minji was just there smiling big and proud of her doing. “You're going to kill me, Kim Minji, what have you done to me?”

“I’m only existing, Yooh, you were the first one to fall for me because of my existence.” Minji says with that proud smile of hers still plastered on her face. Yoohyeon can't help but smile and presses a peck to her smiling lips, before urging Minji to get off her lap so they could come back to the venue and finish the event as soon as possible so they could continue where they've left off. 

Of course, before coming out of the stall, Minji does her best to conceal the developing bruise on Yoohyeon’s bottom lip with her lipstick. Damn, it was hard because it was starting to become purple already, it looked like someone had punched her girlfriend so hard but in reality it was just her that nipped too hard on her lip because she missed her girlfriend so bad. Chuckling again as she continues to put on more layers of the lipstick to make it look more natural, Minji thinks she should've nipped on Yoohyeon’s collarbone instead, as Yoohyeon was wearing a turtleneck shirt and could be easily hidden without any concealer. Alas she found her girlfriend's lips as her only target today, because she had missed her so much that she wanted to just kiss her until they fell asleep in each other's arms at night. 

Yoohyeon, as she had planned, suggested that she should wear a face mask instead but Minji told her not to because it would be a waste of masks and people wouldn't be able to see how gorgeous she looked. Minji took pride in her girlfriend's visuals, bragged about it when she came back for her last semester to her colleagues and they told her that she had great taste, that's why she wanted everyone to see how much prettier Yoohyeon is in person, and that she is her girlfriend and that they are both in a great relationship with each other despite being long distance for most of their time together. 

Once Minji told Yoohyeon that the bruise was practically gone and would only be seen if anyone was super close to her (as if Minji would allow anyone to get close to her girlfriend anyways), they started walking back hand in hand to the venue with all smiles. Minji lets Yoohyeon sit beside her mother which made Yoohyeon feel nervous because Minji’s mother stared at her for a few seconds before whispering something to Minji’s father. Yoohyeon pulled her girlfriend close to her and whispered as well, “Is it obvious?” 

Minji whispers a no back, pressing a soft and quick kiss on her lips before moving back to sit properly on her chair. The ceremony is about to start and Minji is holding Yoohyeon’s hand tightly with both of hers because she is nervous if she is included in the honors list or not. She knew she gave her best for her last year in her preferred degree, even did better because she had a very strong support from the other end of South Korea which was in Jeju, in the form of her precious girlfriend, Kim Yoohyeon. 

It takes about half an hour before Minji’s name gets called out, because even if she didn't have a lot of colleagues in her major, there were a lot of Kims, that's why it took a while for her to be called. When Minji stands up, she pulls Yoohyeon up with her and the younger one is confused why she's going to be the one to join Minji up on the stage when her parents are literally there beside them. Minji shakes her head and tugs on her hand as she starts to walk toward the stage, Yoohyeon muttering a ‘sorry’ to both Minji’s parents as she looks back at them for a few seconds. 

Once they're both standing on the stage, Yoohyeon gets offered a medal to put it on Minji which she proudly does so, as she noticed it was gold unlike the others’ own that were either silver and bronze. Minji looks up to her and smiles, before pressing a soft kiss to her lips which garnered shouts and applause from the people inside the venue. Yoohyeon scratches the back of her neck, feeling so shy at the unexpected attention Minji brought onto them but she can't help but feel the pride from her girlfriend and she kisses her as well, only on her forehead, yet it all feels the same as they both feel so special at this moment. Minji shares her short speech, proud of herself and her colleagues for finishing their degree with pride and honor, and Yoohyeon just smiles at her proudly as she watches her from behind because her girlfriend is standing on the podium meant for people who are the highest among their majors. 

After Minji finishes her speech and both of them getting photographed by the official photographer of the event, they went down the stage hand in hand and they were greeted by Minji’s parents who were each holding a huge bouquet and a small box. Minji smiles and lets go of Yoohyeon to pull both of her parents into a heartwarming hug. What Yoohyeon didn't expect was that her mother would smile at her too and invited her to join the hug. Wow… This is what it would feel like to have a family, Minji is so lucky to have a loving and supportive family. The hug lasted for a few minutes, not one of them wanting to let go from this endearing moment. 

Once apart from the hug, Minji gladly accepts her parents’ gifts to her, loudly gasps as she opens the small box that she was so curious about what it contains. Inside was a car key, not just a simple car key but a key to a Jeep Wrangler which was Minji’s dream car that she was saving up with her own hard earned money. Tears prickle her eyes and Yoohyeon holds her carefully before leading her and her parents out of the venue so they could have a private moment together without any other seeing them. 

“Mom… Dad… this is…”

“No, don't try to tell us otherwise because you deserve this, Minji. We love you and we're thankful how you are always willing to support our company despite not wanting to at first. This degree means so much to you and after you talked to us a few months ago about breaking off the engagement with Handong, we've realized how many opportunities we've deprived you of, and now that we have the chance to give back, we're willing to give everything to you too.” Minji’s mother tells her as she hugs her tightly. Yoohyeon and Minji’s father could only stand there watching the mother and daughter cry together. 

“You take good care of my daughter, Kim Yoohyeon, I trust that you will fulfill your role as her partner willingly and sincerely.” Minji’s father says as he puts out an envelope which Yoohyeon assumes was cash so she politely declines. 

“I will make sure not to disappoint you, Sir.”

“Call me Dad, same goes to my wife, call her Mom. I heard from Minji you're an orphan, and you deserve to have someone to call as your parents too.” With that, Yoohyeon nods and bows in respect to her newly found parents. She never thought that she would be able to call anyone as her parents, as she lived all her life being by herself if not for Bora and Siyeon who had basically adopted her as their own back in college. She stops her tears from flowing down, this is not the right time to cry in front of Minji’s family. Today is Minji’s day and she should not ruin it by being selfish, Minji deserves all the love she is receiving from her own family and from her, too. 

Once Minji and her mother have calmed down, Yoohyeon helps her girlfriend to stand steadily by holding her securely by her waist. Minji’s parents invited them to go have dinner with them and there was no other choice but to agree so they went inside the limousine. Driven by Minji’s dad’s secretary, they made their way out of the venue and onto a nice restaurant that's nearby.

Minji was informed that her Jeep Wrangler was in the company building and was suggested to pick it up tomorrow instead of today so she could fully enjoy her day celebrating her victory: being her major’s highest honor. 

Yoohyeon got nervous a bit at the fanciness of the restaurant as it was her first time dining in such an expensive place. Minji holds her hand and squeezes it softly to ease her nerves, and indeed it works, as she also presses a light kiss to her cheek and grins at her cheekily to reassure her that she's here with her all throughout. They settle on their seats soon after and meals are served almost immediately, which makes Yoohyeon wonder how things work around in this restaurant because this is different compared to where she works at. 

“Yoohyeon, dear, if we decide to come by Jeju for about a few weeks next month, would you be able to tour us in the city?” Minji’s mother asks as she places her hand on top of Yoohyeon’s hand that was settled on the table. 

“It would be my pleasure, ma’am– oh, sorry, I'm still not used to it… Uh, mom, I would gladly take a few days off from work so I could tour you around,” Yoohyeon faces Minji with a face that screams for help but her girlfriend just smiles and chuckles at her, nodding to get her to continue what she's saying comfortably. “Ahaha, yeah, I could show you a lot of places me and Minji have been to since we like to go on spontaneous dates. And, well, maybe if I can convince the owners of the diner to treat you both to meals during your stay, that would be better.” 

“You're a great kid, Yoohyeon, our Minji here has picked a great partner for herself and we're proud of both of you for finding each other.” Minji’s father says and offers to pour the young couple a glass of wine for each of them. Minji and Yoohyeon accept it gladly and take a sip from their own glasses, humming in delight at the fine and rich taste of the wine. 

Dinner goes really well, Minji’s parents are getting comfortable with Yoohyeon and likewise for the diner waitress as well. Never did she think that she would be liked, moreso even get their interest in her line of work by Minji’s parents who are well known in the business industry. Getting an investment for Paradise Diner is one thing she’s excited to tell Bora and Siyeon once she gets back to Jeju, another is that when she comes home, she can finally proudly say that she is in love with the one and only Kim Minji, the one who owns the key to her heart. 

After separating with Minji’s parents, Yoohyeon decided to push back her confession to Minji tomorrow morning, as she’d like to proceed with the plan she has in mind to give and show everything Minji deserves. For tonight, she surrenders herself to her girlfriend, gives all of her passion and love through kisses and other stuff they do in private. Silently letting Minji know that she is already in love with her, no doubt Minji feels the same way too as her actions show more than hers. 

Coming to terms that she is in love with Minji wasn't that hard, as it was bound to happen and she had expected it to come, since her feelings for her only grew and grew stronger as time passed by that they are together as girlfriends. Long distance be damned, she is so happy for Minji that she is able to study what she loves to do and that she is an inspiration for her. Knowing that you inspire someone that is so dear to you is comforting, moreso that someone is your girlfriend, it makes you feel things, makes you feel proud of yourself too because you have that effect on them. 

Her relationship with Minji is by far the best one she has ever had, and she hopes that this will last long until her last breath because she is sure that she won't be able to love someone as much as she loves Minji right now and in the future to come. She can see Minji in her future, in the long run of her life she sees Minji right beside her as they enjoy all the time they both have together. With the assurance of her girlfriend settling down in Jeju because of her and her work, she is sure that her life will only get better and happier from now. 

No more regrets, no more griefs, no more pain, just love from both her and her Minji, just happiness and peace for the both of them which they deserve after all the time they spent being separated from one another. 

“Why are you smiling, my dear?” Minji softly asks as she looks up from snuggling close to her neck, pressing a quick peck on her smiling lips which makes her smile as well. 

“You, it's because of you, my Minji,” Pressing a kiss as well onto Minji’s lips, Yoohyeon chuckles at how deep she is for her girlfriend and how smitten she is for the one and only Kim Minji. “I’m just excited to share my life with you when we get home in Jeju, my mind is already picturing some scenarios we can do there and just by having you by my side is so exciting. I can't wait to be with you every single day for the rest of my life.”

Yoohyeon pulls Minji in her hug impossibly closer, their bodies now almost becoming one, moreso that they are not wearing anything in between and that they can feel all of each other through this hug. 

“I’m just as excited as you, Hyeon, because even if we haven't been together for so long, I am sure that these feelings I have for you will be with me ‘til my last breath. You are such a big blessing to me, your efforts for me even when I was gone before we properly introduced ourselves was so amazing to me and I appreciate everything you do and everything that is you. I'm sorry again for not telling you about it when we started dating but please be assured that I did it because I was scared to lose you, that you may think of me differently when you learn of the truth..”

“Ji…” Yoohyeon caresses Minji’s cheek softly with her thumb, “I forgave you already for that, and I understand your fear of losing me but I told you I was going to take my time to understand you, right? I get you now and it won't be a problem anymore. Besides, you breaking off your engagement with Handong and telling me that you’ll move to Jeju to be with me was everything to me. How could I not forgive you despite seeing your efforts to be with me so clearly? You may have made a mistake of not telling me sooner but it did not linger in my mind for a long time, I was and am actually thankful that it's you who I longed for all along. So, thank you, thank you for coming into my life again just when I decided I was going to move on from you. It changed my life in an instant, from being gloomy all the time to being the typical smiley waitress that diners have. You are a blessing to me too, Minji, and I’m going to make sure to prove it to you everyday.”

Minji pulls her into a passionate kiss, sharing all of her feelings for Yoohyeon in this kiss. They may have kissed a thousand times already by now, maybe even more than that, but every kiss has a different meaning and a different experience. This kiss is where Minji silently confesses her love for Yoohyeon and where she also accepts the requited love from her one and only girlfriend. 

They soon fall asleep in each other's arms, thankful that they are able to sleep together now after months of not having the chance to do so, and that this will be their everyday life once they fully decide that they will live together on one roof. The comfort and warmth they both offer each other is worth millions, possibly more, and nothing could ever compare and equal to such feeling when it's only given by both of them for one another. Yoohyeon smiles in her sleep whereas Minji grins cheekily in her sleep as well, both of them dreaming of each other in their slumber, and they are happy that even in their dreams they are together, and that they are living a life in the dream world where there is so much love to offer which will soon become a reality. 

Morning comes and Yoohyeon is the first to wake up. She presses a soft kiss to Minji’s cheek before moving to stand up, ready to prepare herself for today where she is planning to profess her love to her girlfriend. First thing she thought of doing was to get Minji’s new car in their company building which was only a few streets away as they are currently in Minji’s apartment. She actually didn't have a plan on what to do to show why her girlfriend deserves everything, she's just going to do what comes to her mind first, as long as it makes Minji the happiest person in the whole wide damn world. 

Leaving a note by Minji’s phone on the bedside table, Yoohyeon makes her way to do her first plan today. She had the keys in her pocket, too scared of holding it or placing it anywhere in her bag because she might lose it. Once she gets to the building, she's suddenly reminded of how she is unfamiliar with this place and that she doesn't know where and who to ask because she feels like she's out of place. Despite knowing that she is probably the most shy person ever that has walked this planet, she shrugs off her shoulders and walks inside the building and tapped onto a guard’s shoulder to get their attention. 

“Excuse me, I’m very sorry for interrupting your job but I wanted to ask where the CEO’s office is?” Yoohyeon asks as she scratches on the back of her neck, hoping that she wouldn't be assumed as someone that has bad blood with the CEO which was Minji’s father, as they had built a great relationship as father and daughter yesterday. 

“Oh, are you perhaps, Miss Kim Yoohyeon? If so, may I see an ID of yours to confirm your identity?”

Yoohyeon panics, suddenly getting reminded that she didn't bring any ID, because she thought it would be unnecessary and her small purse wouldn't be able to handle it inside anymore. Silly her, why did she come here unprepared yet so prepared to make Minji the happiest person in the world?

“I’m sorry again… but I forgot to bring my ID… well, I could call Minji now but she's still asleep… and I don't have the CEO’s number nor his wife’s number either…”

“My apologies, ma’am, but I can't let you inside if you can't confirm your identity–”

“Yoohyeon-ah!”

Both her and the guard search for the owner of the voice, Yoohyeon sighs in relief when Handong comes into sight. “Dong-ah, I don't know how I was able to come here with the only intention to pick up Minji’s new car but didn't plan far ahead how to actually pick it up… I only have the keys here..” 

Handong chuckles before slinging her arm with Yoohyeon and nodding at the guard who lets them inside the building without any more word. 

“You still haven't changed, huh? Good thing I came to visit today, my parents told me to go and send my regards to Minji’s parents for their daughter’s success. I’ll show you where the car is parked, I’m the one who was tasked to buy it for her a few weeks ago.” 

And there they walk together arm in arm as Handong gives a brief tour of the building on the way to the parking lot. Yoohyeon shares that she was planning to profess her love to Minji, and Handong gasps audibly as she stops in her tracks and moves to face her. 

“What? I thought you were together because you two love each other? What were those months we saw, an illusion?”

Yoohyeon watches as Handong recalls the months of her and Minji being together, and wonders if they were truly not in love with each other that time. The diner waitress chuckles at the obvious confusion in her friend's face. 

“We like each other, yes, but we talked about taking our time to fall in love with each other,” Handong hums in understanding, “And now after accepting that I love her with all of my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life together with her, I want to plan her the best date possible today to profess my love but I got nothing in mind, picking up her car was the only thing that I could think of.”

Handong links her arms with Yoohyeon again and tugs on her to get them to start walking again. “Minji’s spontaneous personality must've rubbed off on you, Yooh, I remember you couldn't go a single day without planning the whole day ahead back in college..” 

“Yeah, I can't believe I’m actually like this now, not that I’m complaining though. Minji is such a precious soul, and picking up on her habits is an endearing thing for me.”

“That's true– Oh! There it is, Minji’s new car! You know how to drive, right?”

Yoohyeon looks at her with judging eyes as she unlinks her arms with her to grab the keys from her pocket. Pointing the key to the car’s direction, she presses on the button to unlock it, smiling as it works and she skips her way to the car, ignoring Handong’s scoff at not answering her question. 

“She's too whipped for my ex-fiancée..” She shakes her head before moving to follow Yoohyeon to the new car, watching her as she happily jumps inside the driver seat, turning the engine on as soon as she settles inside. 

“Of course I know how to drive, Dongie! I’ve been driving since college, how come you never noticed?” 

“Maybe I was either too busy or you learned to drive when I left for Seoul,” Handong says as she walks to the other side of the car, getting inside the passenger seat at the back. “Now, show me how good you are so I could fully entrust Minji and this car to you.” 

Yoohyeon could only shake her head as she puts on her seatbelt, urging Handong to the same before she starts to drive outside the building and onto the main road of Seoul. 

“I’m just planning to park the car at Minji’s apartment, get ready for another spontaneous date with Minji, and I don't know, maybe come back home to Jeju tonight?” Yoohyeon says as she turns the car to another street, a few more streets left before she arrives at her destination. She looks at Handong through the head mirror, “Where will I drop you off? Don't tell me you're planning to join us on our date?” 

“What? No, of course not! Just drop me off by the end of this street, I’ll just walk my way back to where we came from.” 

Shaking her head, “Weirdo.” Yoohyeon says. 

Once Handong compliments her driving skills despite experiencing it only for a few minutes, she gets off the car, not forgetting to tease Yoohyeon about her being so lovesick with her ex-fiancée. 

It's times like these where Yoohyeon is most thankful for Handong, because despite having a bump in their relationship since one of them had feelings for the other, Yoohyeon wouldn't have met Minji again if it weren't for their business relationship. Although Minji would find her again after leaving abruptly back then, Handong was the one who made Minji come back at the right time. Without her, Yoohyeon would still not be over the pretty pink-haired lady from before and would be more miserable than she was months ago. 

After parking the car in the apartment’s building, Yoohyeon locks the car before walking towards the elevator, pressing the highest button because Minji is renting the apartment at the highest floor of this building. (She does not know how rich Minji and her family actually is, but according to what she's seen as of late, she thinks that her salary in Paradise Diner if she worked her ass off for thirty more years wouldn’t even equal half of Minji and her family's income.)

As the elevator door opens, she audibly gasps as she bumps into someone, ready to mutter apologies but freezes when she feels the familiar weight clinging onto her. It's none other than her girlfriend, Kim Minji herself.

“Ji?” Yoohyeon watches as Minji properly stands up and pulls her to the hallway of the floor. She gets engulfed in a tight hug but loose enough to let her breathe, feeling her shirt sleeve getting damped which makes her pull her girlfriend slightly from the hug. “Why are you crying?”

“I… I thought you left, I was out of my mind when I woke up not having you beside me, not anywhere inside my apartment, and I just rushed out of there to look for you… Thank goodness you're here, Hyeon..” Yoohyeon smiles softly as she caresses both Minji’s cheeks with her hands, slowly wiping the tears away before pressing the most comforting kiss ever on her girlfriend's lips. 

“I wanted to surprise you, Ji, and I didn't think ahead that you would look for me worriedly. I just thought of picking up your car to surprise you, thought of driving all around Seoul for today to make you feel that you are the most special person in the whole wide world to me–” She wasn't able to finish her rambling when she felt the all too familiar pair of lips slotted against her own, feeling her body heating up immediately as Minji pulls her impossibly closer. 

She genuinely wanted to pull away so she could finally profess all of her love for Minji, her plans of having a drive with her and bringing her home to Jeju being damned because of how Minji is kissing like her life depends on it, like she's also telling her that she loves her as much as she does. And indeed Minji does love her as much as she does, possibly even more, as Minji proceeds to pull away from the kiss like how she wanted to and says, “I love you, Kim Yoohyeon, no words could describe how much, I just love so dearly that it hurts me not being able to say how much I love you.” 

“Minji… I…” The words get caught in her throat, the long ass speech she prepared beforehand now long forgotten, so she just proceeds to show her love for her girlfriend through actions– by deciding to carry Minji bridal style, rushing to bring her back inside the apartment so she could kiss her deeply and endearingly on the couch, all while letting her straddle her lap and letting her hands find their way all over her body. They both silently agree not to let this progress to something they do only at night, both agreeing that kissing is a much more effective way in letting each other feel how much love they have for another. 

It's endearing, how such a relationship like theirs has progressed like this, a simple yet beautiful love that others would die for. 

Some would say that Yoohyeon doesn't deserve Minji, that Minji is only for those who are in her level who were the ones so high in the business like her. Some would say Minji doesn't deserve Yoohyeon, that Yoohyeon is only for people who are living low lives working their asses off just to have another day to live. 

But for Minji and Yoohyeon? They both think that they deserve each other, that they are meant to be despite being so lost after being separated from each other back then when they were still oblivious of one another's feelings. Their love and feelings for each other are their pride, something they want to show off to others because they are meant for each other, that there will be nothing that can stop them from pursuing one another. 

“I love you too, my Kim Minji, more than you could ever know, and I will spend the rest of my life showing you how such a precious soul of yours has made my life worth living for.”   

It may be too early for some that they are already promising a lot of stuff to each other but the time is just right for them, they are both mature and ready enough to take on to a future with one another side by side. 

Months will soon turn into years, and their future is filled with excitement and anticipation for whatever's to come their way. Fights and boring days will be inevitable, something that is very normal in relationships, Minji and Yoohyeon will live through it together, and that is what makes life a bit better because they will be spending those days with one another. 

“I’ve had it for a while now, but I’ve thought this would be the right time to give it back to its owner.” Minji says as she places her hand over Yoohyeon’s chest, just right above where her heart is located. “Have what, my love?”

“The key to your heart, my dear, the one I ordered a few months back.” Yoohyeon brings her hand to hold Minji’s hand that was placed on her chest, intertwining their hands slowly before bringing it up to her lips to press the softest kiss on Minji’s hand. She smiles so big and proud, her other hand coming up to hold their intertwined hands, “I'm glad you ordered something I’m willing to give you, Minji, because even if you weren't that pretty pink-haired lady, I would've loved you the same way I fell in love with you. Doesn't make sense but I just love any version of you, uniquely Minji, my Kim Minji.” 

“I love you more, my Kim Yoohyeon.”

“I love you the most, my dearest Kim Minji.”