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[x. (7, 6)]
“Okay, class. For this next activity, I need everyone to find a partner.”
Minjeong stood alone, awkwardly, as kids rushed to find their friends around her. She was new to the school, as her family had only moved to Seoul this summer. She wasn’t an outgoing person and felt a sinking feeling in her chest as everyone around her appeared to have a partner.
She was dreading having to approach a group and ask to join them, when suddenly she felt a light tap on her shoulder from behind. Surprised, she turned around to find a girl beaming at her. She was slightly taller than Minjeong, had long jet-black hair, and an adorable mole under the side of her lip.
“Wanna be partners?”
Awestruck by the girl’s beauty, Minjeong managed to nod. She was impressed by the taller girl’s ability to stroll up to a stranger and start a conversation this easily.
The girl introduced herself as Jimin, right before the teacher started talking again and they had to fall silent.
It turned out Jimin was new this year, same as Minjeong, but her outgoing, friendly personality had worked well for her, winning her many friends. They were barely a week into the year, but Jimin was already friends with most of the grade.
Luckily for Minjeong, her new friend was loyal. Ever since they had worked together on that first day, they had become fast friends, spending as much time as they could together.
During snack time, gaggles of girls crowded around Jimin, clamoring to talk to her. The center of attention, Jimin responded easily, hopping from one conversation to the other, easily engaging with everyone at the same time. Minjeong envied her social skills, but she didn’t once feel excluded, as Jimin had made sure her quiet friend was always by her side.
[ix. (8, 7)]
“Jimin unnie….”
“Minjeong-ah, where’s your lunch?”
“I forgot to bring it…”
Jimin sighed motherly. “Do you have money to buy something to eat?”
“Unnie, third graders aren’t allowed to buy food from there…”
Jimin paused, thinking, then held up her sandwich. “We can share this.”
“But unnie, that’s your lunch,” Minjeong objected meekly.
“What kind of best friend would I be if I let you go hungry?” Jimin retorted. “Come on.” She held the sandwich in front of Minjeong’s mouth until she took a bite.
They alternated bites until the sandwich was gone, then shared Jimin’s juice box.
“Thank you, unnie,” Minjeong told the taller girl, as the bell rang to signify the end of lunch.
“Don’t worry about it, Minjeongie.”
[viii. (9, 8)]
“Guess what, Minjeong?“
“What? What?”
“My mom read me a book last night. It was about two best friends, just like us!”
“Cool!!!” Minjeong bounced where she was sitting and accidentally hit her head on the roof of the play house. “Ow!”
“Stay still, Minjeongie, I haven’t finished telling you,” Jimin said as she massaged the sore spot on Minjeong’s head. “The two best friends in the story did this ritual. And then they were best friends forever!”
“Forever?“ Minjeong was awestruck, forgetting about her sore head.
“Yeah! I asked Eomma and she said it was true.”
“What was the ritual they did? We need to do it!” Minjeong proclaimed eagerly.
“That’s just what I was thinking! First, you link your left pinky…” They reached out and intertwined their pinkies.
Next, Jimin pressed her right palm to Minjeong’s, then slowly laced their fingers together.
“Now what?” Minjeong’s head was hurting again, but both her hands were held by Jimin, so she kept still.
“They promised to stay best friends forever, and that promise can never be broken.”
[vii. (10, 9)]
It was lunchtime. Jimin wasn’t in their usual meeting spot.
Minjeong waited for ten minutes; when Jimin still didn’t show up, she decided to eat her lunch there, instead of going to the cafeteria, where they usually spent their lunch hour.
She sat down with her back against the wall and opened her lunchbox.
She never really noticed how lonely school life was without Jimin. She was used to spending every moment with her best friend. Without counting the ever-present handful of girls always hanging around Jimin, the girl by herself was amazing company. They just clicked. When they were together, time seemed to fly by, and Minjeong was never bored with her.
She took a bite of her sandwich, zoning out and staring at the kids playing on the jungle gym across the playground.
A foot kicked at her lunchbox on the ground, sending it flying. The apple and juice box inside it skidded away.
Minjeong looked up, startled. A gang of boys were towering over her. She recognized one of them from her class, but the rest were older and looked much more intimidating.
She reached out silently to retrieve her lunchbox, not wanting to cause trouble, but the gang had formed a semicircle around her, trapping her against the wall.
“Hey, is this the girl you were talking about?” she heard one of the boys say.
“Yeah, it’s her. Jeongwon says she has a cute face, but I think she just looks like a bitch.”
Minjeong lowered her head, praying they would leave her alone. She didn’t dare to speak up.
“I agree. Look at her. She’s just a friendless bitch, sitting here all alone. What a loser,” another boy added, and they all laughed.
Minjeong felt tears pricking her eyelids. She kept her head down, staring at the concrete. She counted the pairs of shoes around her. There was no way she’d get out of this.
Suddenly, a new pair of shoes arrived on the scene, barging through the semicircle. Minjeong blinked in surprise as she recognized the dirty white sneakers.
“Hey,” Jimin snapped as she pulled Minjeong up into a standing position, “what did you just say about my best friend?”
The boys immediately backed down, not wanting to argue with a girl they all probably had a crush on. Even though Jimin was only a fifth grader, practically everyone knew her, even those in the upper grades.
“We were just joking around,” one of the boys protested feebly.
“Didn’t sound like a joke to me,” Jimin retorted as she swung the hand still holding Minjeong’s, somehow even making that simple gesture seem intimidating.
As Jimin berated the boys for bullying a smaller kid, Minjeong noticed how warm Jimin’s hand was, and was silently grateful that Jimin had shown up at this exact moment.
“Find something better to do with your time. Got that?” Jimin tossed at the boys, and they all nodded obediently and scattered in fear.
“Are you okay?” Jimin turned her attention to her shivering best friend, her scary demeanor replaced by a concerned expression.
A small nod. “I’m okay… thanks to you.”
[vi. (11, 10)]
“Hold out your hand, Minjeong.”
She obeyed, confused, as Jimin placed her own hand above hers, palm down.
“Wait no, face your palm upwards.” She corrected Minjeong’s stance.
“Now push my hand like this.” She demonstrated lightly.
“I don’t get it,” Minjeong protested, but she pushed upward. The next thing she knew, Jimin’s hand had whipped past her head and slapped her on the butt.
“Hey!” She faux-glared at her best friend, laughing at her own cleverness beside her.
“It hurts…” she complained, even though it hadn’t really.
“I’ll blow on it for you,” replied Jimin readily, as if it was nothing.
[v. (12, 11)]
“Minjeong, I want you to meet Aeri and Yizhuo.”
Minjeong looked up from her lunch. Next to Jimin stood two girls, both probably taller than herself but slightly shorter than her best friend. When they introduced themselves, Minjeong learned Aeri was Japanese and Yizhuo had moved here from China.
She didn’t object to eating lunch with them, as Jimin looked so happy with them. In elementary school, they had always eaten lunch as a twosome, with the occasional friend of Jimin’s joining them to talk about something like homework. She had gotten used to having lunch with only Jimin every day, but she didn’t say a word as the newcomers slid into the bench seat across from them.
She finished her sandwich quietly as she listened to Yizhuo talk animatedly about some singer called A$AP Rocky.
When the bell finally rang and they got up to go their separate ways, Jimin held Minjeong back.
“You didn’t say much during that entire lunch period. That’s unlike you. Are you okay with Aeri and Yizhuo joining us?”
Minjeong nodded, she didn’t want Jimin to feel suffocated by only spending time with her. “I’m okay with them. I’m sure we’ll get along well together.”
She didn’t mention the tiny spark of jealousy deep inside when Jimin laughed at Aeri’s joke, or when she patiently explained a math equation to Yizhuo.
[iv. (13, 12)]
“Eomma, I’m home!” Jimin called out the minute she opened the door.
“Did you have fun at school?” Mrs Yu asked her daughter, bustling out from the kitchen. “Oh hi Minjeong,” she added, “I didn’t know you were coming over?”
Minjeong bowed. “Hi, Mrs Yu. Jimin invited me over to work on a project for school.”
“Oh, that’s fine. Just make sure your mother knows you’re here.” Mrs Yu nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen.
“Come on, Minjeongie, we need to finish this project by tonight.” Jimin dropped her backpack by the couch as she talked. “Go wait for me in my room, I’ll get snacks.”
Minjeong made her way to Jimin’s room, the place she had spent countless hours in over the years. She deposited her bag by the door and flopped face-first onto the bed, tired from the long school day.
Jimin laughed at her when she appeared with the snacks. “You’re just a tired puppy.”
She sat up immediately. “I’m not a puppy,” she objected, feigning anger, although she really didn’t mind Jimin calling her by that nickname.
“Come here, puppy, we need to get to work,” Jimin ignored her protest, and Minjeong played along, moving obediently to Jimin’s side and placing her chin on her best friend’s outstretched palm.
A warm feeling spread through her as Jimin rewarded her with a tap under the chin.
[iii. (14, 13)]
A note landed on the corner of Minjeong’s desk.
She quickly hid it under her notebook. When she was sure the teacher wasn’t looking, she slid it out onto her lap and unfolded it.
“I’m bored,” it said in small, neat handwriting.
She looked up and stuck her tongue out at Jimin, who was looking at her from across the aisle, waiting for her response.
“Focus on your math problems,” she wrote back and flipped the note onto Jimin’s desk.
She almost laughed out loud at the grimace on Jimin’s face when she read that.
Just then, the teacher called on Minjeong, so she wasn’t able to receive Jimin’s note back. Fortunately, Minjeong was good at math, and she managed to answer the teacher’s question correctly.
She sat back down and refocused on her notebook.
The scrap of paper dropped on Minjeong’s desk again, this time right on top of question four.
She pulled it onto her lap and unfolded it.
“What do you think of Jisung?”
She turned and made a vomit face at Jimin, then wrote her response and passed it. “Gross”
Jimin scrunched up her face at her.
“I think he’s cute though”
Minjeong stared incredulously at her best friend. There was no way she liked Jisung, who, in her honest opinion, was a prick.
Jimin was writing furiously, probably another note to argue her point, when the teacher interrupted. “Jimin.”
Minjeong watched her best friend freeze, then slowly look up and answer shakily, “Yes, Teacher?”
“Can you tell me the answer to question six?”
“Um.” Jimin looked around, stalling. Behind the teacher’s back, Minjeong mouthed “eleven” when their eyes met.
“Eleven?”
“Correct.”
Jimin breathed a sigh of relief as she sat back down and smiled gratefully at Minjeong, causing the latter’s heart to skip a beat.
*
“Where’s Jimin today?” Yizhuo asked Minjeong, taking a bite of apple.
“I have no idea. She was in math earlier. Maybe’s she’s talking to a teacher?”
“I’m sure she’ll turn up soon,” Aeri cut in. “What did you guys think of that chemistry test? It was craaaaaaazy hard for me.”
“I know right? I still don’t get that question on water of crystallization!”
“You idiot! That was the easiest question!” Aeri gave Yizhuo a shove.
“For me, the last question was the hardest…” Minjeong started, but trailed off. Jimin was making her way towards their table. But she wasn’t alone; there was a boy walking along beside her. Minjeong’s jaw dropped, alerting the bickering Yizhuo and Aeri, and they both turned and gasped as one.
“No. Freaking. Way. Is that Jisung??” Yizhuo hissed.
“It is. And he’s coming over to us! With our Jimin!” Aeri’s voice was a barely suppressed squeal.
Minjeong was still shell-shocked as Jimin stopped at their table with the boy in tow.
“Guys, guess what? You all know Jisung, right?”
Aeri and Yizhuo nodded fanatically, practically drooling.
“He asked me out after biology just now! And I asked him to come eat lunch with us. That’s okay, right?” Jimin was practically glowing with excitement.
Aeri and Yizhuo nodded eagerly, just as smitten. Minjeong said nothing, still trying to process the fact that her best friend, Jimin, had a boyfriend, who was Jisung, the prick.
Jimin slid into her usual spot next to Minjeong, while Jisung sat on her other side. The bench seat was only made for two, so they ended up pretty squished together. Minjeong sat silently, taking tiny bites of her lunch, while Aeri and Yizhuo gushed over Jimin’s luck and how handsome Jisung was.
Jimin suddenly nudged her side, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Minjeong and I are gonna go to the bathroom, guys.”
Jimin pulled her out of her seat and dragged her across the cafeteria into the bathroom.
“Minjeong-ah, what’s wrong? You were like this when Aeri and Yizhuo joined us last year. Don’t you like Jisung?”
Minjeong stared at their reflections in the scratched mirror. She didn’t quite know what to tell Jimin, who was clearly over the moon with her new relationship status. While Minjeong, on the other hand, saw absolutely nothing in Jisung, and was still wondering why her best friend would even think of liking a boy like him.
“Minjeong?? You there?”
“Sorry. I… don’t like him, Jimin-ah.”
“You don’t?” Jimin scrunched her nose, thinking. “But don’t you think he’s so handsome?”
Minjeong shook her head slowly. “He’s just not my type, I guess.”
“It’s okay, Minjeong-ah. You’re only thirteen, so you still have plenty of time for a first crush. You’re so cute, you’ll find a boyfriend in no time!“
She nodded quietly, but her mind was fixated on the fact that Jimin called her cute.
[ii. (15, 14)]
“Jimin’s late again.”
“Maybe she found another Jisung,” Minjeong joked, and they all laughed. Jimin’s relationship with Jisung was short-lived, lasting only a month. Minjeong was relieved until some other boy asked Jimin out, who accepted (to Minjeong’s disbelief). Currently she was with a boy in the grade above, who was supposedly some dreamboat that all the older girls had a crush on. Personally, Minjeong saw nothing in him, or any of the other boys that asked Jimin out.
“Do you guys really think Jisung is handsome, though? You’re not just saying that?” Minjeong asked Aeri and Yizhuo.
“No, for real. I used to think he was handsome last year, but then everyone did. But I think Wonsoo is even more handsome. You know, the class president of the other class?”
“Oh yeah, Wonsoo is pretty cool, but I like Donghae more. Don’t you think he looks really badass?”
As Aeri and Yizhuo bickered about who was more handsome, Minjeong stared off into the distance, thinking. She had a vague picture of Wonsoo, who was tall with floppy black hair. She remembered him being extremely good at math, but that was the only detail she knew about him. Donghae was the boy with the crew cut, supposedly the star of the soccer team. Minjeong had no interest in soccer, and consequently no interest in any of its players. She mentally went through all the boys she knew, realizing with a jolt that she couldn’t care less about every last one of them.
She jumped when someone tapped her shoulder. “Jimin?” The name came out reflexively.
She heard a laugh. “Nah, I’m not Jimin. I could never be as pretty as her.”
You got that right, Minjeong thought as she turned to see the mystery newcomer.
At that moment, said Jimin appeared on her other side. “Hey, Yeji, did you just call me pretty?”
The girl, Yeji, grinned at Jimin. “Yeah.”
Jimin giggled and gave Yeji a playful slap. Aeri and Yizhuo noticed them and stopped arguing about boys.
“Hey, Yeji. Are you eating with us today?” Yizhuo asked her.
Minjeong stared, dumbfounded, because since when was this Yeji girl everyone’s friend? She didn’t even know the girl existed until a minute ago.
Aeri noticed her confusion and snickered. “Minjeong-ah, maybe you need to, y’know, get out, socialize more?” she teased, but not unkindly.
Everyone on the table chuckled, overhearing the joke. Minjeong felt her cheeks burning, although she knew Aeri was only messing around.
“Hey, come on now.” Jimin came to her defense, plopping down on the bench beside her and sliding an arm around her shoulders. “We’re such good friends, why would she need to find other people to hang with?”
Minjeong leaned quietly into Jimin, silently thanking her for the support.
“Anyway, guys, I’ve got biiiiiig news!”
“What’s the biiiiiig news?” Yizhuo answered, mimicking Jimin’s excited tone.
“This is Yeji,” Jimin began.
“We know,” Yizhuo started to interject, but Jimin kept talking.
“She’s my girlfriend.”
Minjeong went rigid. It felt like the entire cafeteria had been put on pause, although in reality everything was still going on as normal.
Everything zoomed back into perspective when Aeri let out an earsplitting squeal. “No WAY!”
“This isn’t a prank, right? It’s legit?” Yizhuo was frantically asking Jimin.
“It’s true,” Yeji cut in, smiling winningly. “I asked her out.”
Minjeong wanted to get up, to run away, to put distance between her and this lunch table, but her muscles seemed to be frozen in place.
“I’m so happy for you both!” She heard Aeri gush distinctly, through the roaring in her ears.
“Hey, Minjeong! Earth to Minjeong.” She blinked furiously and made out Jimin waving her hand in front of her face.
“Are you good?”
“I… Yes. I’m h-happy for you,” she got out. The words sounded fake to her, empty and plastic, but Jimin didn’t even seem to notice the insincerity.
“Jimin, I didn’t know you liked girls,” Yizhuo pointed out, blunt as usual.
“Neither did I,” Jimin responded cheerfully. “But Yeji… She’s just it for me. I’ve admired her for a long time as a friend, and now… She’s become something more!” Hearing Jimin’s explanation, Yeji nodded complacently.
Minjeong felt like her heart was being sliced to pieces.
Jimin had liked Yeji for a long time?
What have I been doing wrong this entire time?
Then she scoffed mentally at herself. What had she done wrong? The question was more like, what had she done right? Yeji was tall, pretty, outgoing, and cute. What was she? Nothing, compared to that. No wonder Jimin had no interest in her even after being with her for nine years.
I’m worthless.
She snapped out of her thoughts again when the lunch bell rang, cutting the animated conversation short.
They look good together, Minjeong thought ruefully as she stood up and gathered her stuff. They were even about the same height—Jimin just a smidge taller, though. She caught the word “Yejimin” from Yizhuo’s chatter and felt even more crushed. They even had a ship name already.
She tossed her trash, half-wanting to crawl into the garbage and hide with it, and followed slowly behind everyone else.
[i. (16, 15)]
“Minjeong, do you want to sleep over tonight after we finish our project?”
The words hit Minjeong like a train. Finally, Jimin was asking to do something with her.
She nodded, almost tripping over her words in her haste. “I’d love to.”
It was late that night by the time everything had been finalized. They had washed up and gotten into bed quickly, Jimin in her own bed with Minjeong in her usual sleeping bag.
Maybe it was the fatigue, or maybe the dark made her overconfident, but Minjeong decided to do something stupid.
She covered her face with the blanket, and said, “Jimin?”
“Mmm?” came the response from Jimin’s bed.
She took a breath. “How do you kiss?”
There was an awkward silence, and Minjeong immediately regretted her words.
“S-sorry—“ she started to apologize, but Jimin cut her off. “It’s okay. I’m just trying… to think of how to describe it.”
Minjeong waited, her head pounding. The blanket was stuffy.
Suddenly Jimin spoke again, but it wasn’t about that. “Minjeong, what’re you doing under there? Come out, you’re gonna suffocate.”
Minjeong reluctantly emerged from the blanket, cheeks scarlet from the heat and the embarrassment, but luckily it was too dark for Jimin to see that.
A few more seconds passed. “It’s like… it’s amazing. It’s the best feeling ever. It’s just—“ She broke off. “Wait, I guess it’s different for every person, you know?”
Minjeong nodded awkwardly, because she didn’t know.
“Hey, I have an idea,” she heard Jimin say. “You can practice on me.”
What?! Minjeong thought, but the words wouldn’t come out from her mouth.
Jimin looked closely at her in the dark. Her cheeks were even redder now. “Minjeong, come on; you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”
Minjeong shook her head frantically. “N-no. If it’s okay, I mean… I want to do it.” What am I saying!?!??!
“Except… I have no idea how to, uh. Do it.” Her voice got quieter and quieter until she was barely saying the last words.
“No problem. I’ll give you like an outline, I guess, and you can try it out.” Jimin said confidently. “Come on up here.”
Minjeong didn’t understand how she was so casual about it. Especially when she was taken—and then the unpleasant thought of Yeji finally popped into her head.
“W-wait! How about… Yeji?”
Jimin paused. “Oh. It’s fine. This is platonic anyway.” Like it was no big deal she was going to be ‘platonically’ kissing her best friend while she was taken.
Minjeong sat up in the sleeping bag, and saw Jimin had already moved to one side on the bed, leaving Minjeong space. She looked at the bed and felt her cheeks burn in a renewed wave of embarrassment.
She got up and moved to the bed to sit down, feeling oddly light, as if she was moving underwater.
She drew her legs up to face Jimin, and then it hit her how close they were, and her senses went into overdrive. She felt practically physically assaulted by Jimin’s warm scent, not to mention Jimin’s dark gaze boring into her. As if she could see right through her walls, to that big secret she held inside.
She fisted the sheets under her, squeezing hard until it really hurt.
“…and that’s basically it.” She was brought back to reality by Jimin’s voice. Apparently, she had been talking this entire time.
“Got that? Are you ready?”
“Uh. Y-yes,” she lied, even though she had heard nothing.
Jimin’s eyes flicked down, as if she was checking her out, and Minjeong’s heart revved up into a whole new level of speed.
Jimin had noticed Minjeong’s fists in her sheets. “Don’t be nervous, Minjeong-ah,” she whispered, her voice impossibly gentle, and Minjeong tensed up even more, because how did she not see what she was doing to her?!
Then Jimin was leaning in, her dark gaze soft and yet determined at the same time, and Minjeong instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.
The first brush of their lips was so soft Minjeong almost missed it. Then came another touch, and Jimin’s warm breath on her lips, and something snapped inside Minjeong. She was so heightened from the tension, she just couldn’t hold on to her self control anymore.
Her hands snaked behind Jimin’s neck and pulled her down, tangling in her long hair. Jimin gasped into her mouth, and Minjeong took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. She licked along Jimin’s lower lip, barely conscious of her own actions, just wanting Jimin to give in to her.
But then she felt Jimin’s warmth leave her lips, and her eyes snapped open. She was under Jimin, who was propping herself up on her hands, staring down at her. Her cheeks heated up yet again as she registered their position.
Jimin’s dark pupils were wide, dilated, and just for a second Minjeong thought she looked… satisfied?
Then she blinked and moved off her, and Minjeong struggled to a normal sitting position as well.
“…Wow.” Jimin said, not really looking at her. “Minjeong, you have nothing to be worried about. You’re a natural.”
Minjeong shifted on the bed, a little embarrassed but still wanting to hear the praise.
“I thought you only knew the basics. You’re… so good.”
“I’m sorry if I went too far,” Minjeong blurted out.
“No, it’s fine. I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”
Their eyes met again for a second, a little awkward, and Minjeong’s blush was back. She barely noticed that Jimin seemed uneasy too, biting her lip.
“Anyway,” the older girl cut in, shifting her gaze away, “we should probably go to sleep.”
“Y-yeah… Thanks.” she added, as she got off Jimin’s bed.
“No problem.” Jimin’s voice was muffled as she slid beneath her sheets, turning to face the wall.
Minjeong got back in her sleeping bag, feeling a little lightheaded, and tried to go to sleep, but couldn’t help staring wide-eyed into the dimness, listening to Jimin’s breathing, and replaying what she had done over and over.
[present. (17, 16)]
2am. Minjeong was becoming an insomniac.
She just couldn’t manage to get to sleep these days. Her mind was full of thoughts that kept her up.
After what they had… done... that night in Jimin’s bed, during that one sleepover, Jimin had been different. She wasn’t as clingy towards Minjeong, and they didn’t hang out as much anymore. In contrast, she seemed to be even pushing herself towards Yeji. To Minjeong, it seemed that her best friend was overcompensating for what they had done that night. As if she was guilty.
And Minjeong supposed she should feel guilty too, for initiating the whole thing, but secretly she wasn’t. She was proud (internally) of what she’d done. And she wanted… more.
But there was a tinge of regret, too. She believed if that sleepover hadn’t happened, their relationship wouldn’t be as rocky as it was now. No matter how much Jimin had tried to pass it off as platonic and casual, there was an awkwardness to their friendship now, and Minjeong hated it.
She flashed back to a conversation from a few days ago.
“Jimin… Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Yeah, you guys go ahead, we’ll catch up,” Jimin had said, then turned expectantly to her.
“I…” She didn’t know how to say it gently. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with Yeji lately.”
To her surprise, there’d been a spark of defiance in Jimin’s eyes, and her voice had hardened. “Minjeong, she’s my girlfriend. Of course she’s going to come first.”
Minjeong hadn’t been able to hide her hurt, and her eyes had filled with unexpected tears.
Jimin had quickly backtracked, hugging the smaller Minjeong tightly. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so harsh. It’s just that… Minjeong, we’re really happy together.”
“I know.” Minjeong had said, face muffled in Jimin’s shoulder. “I just… I miss you.”
“I know we haven’t been hanging out as much lately,” Jimin had said, stroking Minjeong’s hair. “But you’ll always be my best friend. I’ll always be here for you.”
She kicked off her covers and rolled over onto her stomach, unlocking her phone.
Her thumb moved of its own accord and tapped into her messages app, then Jimin’s number.
She stared at the keyboard.
“I miss you, Jimin. Come back to me.”
She sighed and backspaced everything, feeling the familiar wetness well up in her eyes.
As she watched a silent teardrop dot her pillow, she imagined having the courage to say it out loud.
Her eyes widened in shock as the screen suddenly filled with an incoming call. Jimin.
She swiped automatically, and the sound of blasting music came across the line.
“…Jimin? What’s going on?”
There was no reply, although she could hear a slightly incoherent voice from the other end that sounded like her best friend.
“Jimin?? Are you drunk? Do you need me to pick you up?”
The call abruptly ended, confirming Minjeong’s suspicions. She immediately dialed again.
“Where’s Jimin right now? Do you know?” She blurted as soon as the call connected.
Aeri’s voice was husky, as if Minjeong’s call had woken her up. “She went off to this club earlier by herself. She’s—“
“What club?” Minjeong interrupted.
Aeri rattled off the address.
“Thanks. Call you later,” she said hurriedly as she threw a hoodie on over her pajamas.
“Minjeong, wait—“
But she’d already ended the call, rushing to find her car keys.
After sneaking out the back door, she headed directly for her car.
Minjeong hated driving. Being sixteen, she’d only just gotten her license a few months ago. She was still shaky whenever she got behind the wheel. But it was necessary right now, and she had no other options.
The short drive to the club was a stress-inducing combination of driving as fast as possible while trying to remember the rules of the road.
She parked on a double yellow line and hopped out onto the pavement, in front of a bar with flashing neon lights and a handful of guys loitering outside.
As she stepped up to the door, a bouncer appeared. “Hey, you’re too young to be here. Scat.”
Minjeong ignored him, ducking under his arm and squeezing into the crowd.
The bouncer’s “Hey!” was quickly drowned out by the music and general clamor in the club.
“Jimin!” She called, pushing as best as she could through the throngs. A creepy old man leered at her and she recoiled, accidentally colliding with someone behind her.
“S-sorry— Jimin???”
By chance, there was Jimin standing in front of her. Swaying was more like it. Jimin looked heavily intoxicated, her eyes dilated unnaturally and smelling of sweat and cheap alcohol.
“Come on. We’re getting out of here.” Minjeong wasted no time in grabbing Jimin’s hand and towing her towards the entrance.
Jimin resisted, still surprisingly strong despite her drunkenness, and Minjeong strained ineffectually. “Jimin-ah, you can’t stay here. We’re both underage. What’s gotten into you?”
Out of nowhere, Jimin pulled her roughly, causing her to lose her balance. Then before she knew it, Jimin’s lips were on hers.
She impulsively kissed Jimin back, trails of goosebumps exploding all over her skin at the gratification. Flashbacks of that night engulfed her thoughts. She could feel her self control being stretched taut, close to snapping completely. Then there’d be no going back for sure.
Jimin nipped at her lower lip, and she couldn’t suppress her gasp. Then Jimin’s tongue was there, swirling, licking, soothing the burn, and it felt so good, Minjeong felt like she was ascending right out of her body.
She knew this was wrong; Jimin was taken and not to mention drunk. But she just couldn’t control her own body’s reactions.
With a tremendous amount of willpower, she tore herself away from Jimin’s hungry movements and held her best friend at arm’s length. “Jimin! We can’t do this. Stop it!”
Jimin took no notice, overpowering Minjeong easily and pulling her closer again. She still hadn’t said a word—maybe she was too drunk—but her actions were frantic and radiated desperation, somehow.
Minjeong decided to change her tactics. She allowed Jimin to cling to her, pressing sloppy kisses all over her neck, while slowly shuffling them both through the crowds towards the entrance.
The door was in sight when Minjeong suddenly felt Jimin grinding on her thigh. She stopped dead and grabbed Jimin’s wrist, shaking it roughly. “Jimin! For the last time, quit it!” The combination of arousal from Jimin’s actions plus her own conscience was driving her insane.
She grabbed Jimin’s shoulders to look her in the eyes. Her best friend’s dark gaze was a mixture of lust and insobriety. “I’m not Yeji! Go home and do it with her!” A tiny bud of jealousy bloomed in her chest at those words, but she smothered it determinedly and it thankfully retreated.
Her words finally seemed to get through to Jimin. The taller girl subsided, slumping against Minjeong and finally stopping her advances.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she quickly steered Jimin through the crowd and pulled her outside, heading for her car.
She had no idea if Jimin had her house keys with her, and guessed Mrs Yu wouldn’t take kindly to her bringing Jimin back completely drunk—in the middle of the night, too—so she decided to take Jimin back to her own house.
The drive back was uneventful, although Jimin was fitful, whimpering in her drunken sleep in the backseat.
She unlocked her back door slowly to minimize the noise, paused to listen for her parents—everything was silent, thankfully—and quickly but quietly pulled the half-conscious Jimin down the hall and into her room, where she immediately locked her door.
She deposited Jimin on her bed, then debated whether to just leave her there in that state. She decided it was the only option, since her friend was already out cold.
After covering Jimin with a blanket, she flopped down on her beanbag and fished out her phone.
“Yo. Aeri.”
“Minjeong? Did you find her?”
She heaved a tired sigh. “Yeah.”
She heard an identical sigh of relief over the line.
“But hey, where the hell is Yeji? How could she just let Jimin run off and get so drunk?”
“Minjeong… You don’t know?”
“What? What don’t I know?” She felt the beginnings of a headache coming on.
“Minjeong, they broke up. Then Jimin went off to get drunk.”
“What?! Why? How? When?”
“I don’t know! Yizhuo only told me, like, this evening! Can we talk about this tomorrow? I’m really tired.” This was punctuated by a huge yawn.
“Fine.” Minjeong hung up.
She put down her phone and stared across the room to Jimin, fully clothed, sprawled on her bed and messily covered with a blanket. Deep in sleep, she was breathing deeply, snuffling every so often.
Minjeong was used to seeing her sleep—over the years they’d had many sleepovers together—but somehow, this felt different. And not because Jimin was drunk this time.
She sighed again, slumping back against the wall. What do I do now?
*
The next morning, she’s awakened by Jimin groaning. “Nghh. My head.”
She realizes she’d fallen asleep on the beanbag. Jimin is stirring on her bed. The early-morning sunlight is streaming in through the windows.
She stretches each limb in turn, wincing at the stiffness, when Jimin opens her eyes and takes in her surroundings.
“Minjeong?? How did I… get here?”
“You drunk-dialed me last night. I picked you up,” Minjeong tells her.
“That wasn’t a dream?” Jimin rubs her eyes. “I’m sorry for waking you up at… I don’t even remember what time that was.”
“It’s okay. It’s what best friends are for, right?”
“You slept on the floor?” Jimin stands up from the bed and sways. “I’m still really dizzy.” She shades her eyes with one hand. “And it’s so bright.”
Minjeong leaps from her position on the floor to support her best friend. “Take it easy. You were drunk out of your mind last night.” She pushes Jimin gently back down onto the bed, and closes the curtains with a free hand, so that the room is lit in a pale golden glow.
“Nothing happened, right?” Jimin looks down at herself.
Minjeong feels herself blush, although nothing had happened—unless you counted drunk Jimin pushing herself on Minjeong in the club. “How much do you remember?”
Jimin shakes her head. “Not that much. I went to that club to drink. The bouncer let me in because I let him check me out. Then—“
“Jimin!” She breaks off to see Minjeong glaring at her. “Yeji’s gonna be so mad.”
“Oh.” Jimin stops. “Right. Yeji.”
Then it hits Minjeong too. “Hold up! Last night… Aeri said… You and Yeji, what happened?! She broke up with you?”
“No.” Jimin says flatly. “I broke up with her.”
That isn’t what Minjeong was expecting. She thought Yeji had broken Jimin’s heart, and that’s why she went off to get drunk. “What? Why?”
Jimin shrugs. “I… wasn’t feeling it anymore. I don’t want to talk about it,” she mutters.
Minjeong is still gaping, unable to believe it. “I thought you guys were really happy together. Soulmates, you said.”
“I thought so too,” Jimin says mournfully. “But then… it just felt wrong, all of a sudden… I couldn’t keep doing it anymore.”
Minjeong reaches out to pull Jimin into a hug, but freezes when Jimin, unexpectedly, flinches away from her touch.
“Jimin?”
“Sorry. Sorry. I’m just… a little lightheaded, still.” They speak at the same time.
That doesn’t sound true to Minjeong at all, but she says nothing as Jimin slowly leans against her. “I’m sorry,” she apologizes again.
“It’s okay. I’m here if you want to talk about it,” she responds as she slowly wraps an arm around Jimin’s waist.
Jimin is silent for a moment. Minjeong can feel her trembling slightly against her.
Then she speaks, in a strange, unreadable tone. “Minjeong, do you like anyone?”
The question is so unexpected, Minjeong chokes. “Huh?”
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” Jimin continues, still in that weird tone.
“Um… Yes. I do like someone,” she says cautiously. “Why?”
Jimin sighs heavily. “Minjeong, I need someone to talk to. Aeri and Yizhuo wouldn’t understand. Don’t judge me?”
“Of course,” Minjeong replies automatically. “You can always talk to me.”
“The thing is… I like someone. Not Yeji. I did something I shouldn’t have, one time, and I can’t stop thinking about her. Yeji just feels wrong to me now. But she doesn't like me back, Minjeong, what can I do?”
Minjeong can’t believe her ears. Jimin’s situation sounds painfully familiar. “Is that why you broke up with Yeji?”
Jimin nods, eyes fixed on the golden curtains.
“What did you guys do? If you don’t mind sharing,” she quickly adds.
Jimin hesitates. “I kissed her,” she finally whispers. “I thought Yeji had made me feel everything I could. But she… she made everything seem pale in comparison.”
Minjeong doesn’t quite know what to say. Something is bothering her. “Did she consent? How do you know she doesn’t like you back?”
“She said she wanted to,” Jimin says, voice broken. “She kissed me back like she really liked me. But afterwards… she acted like she regretted it.”
She takes a breath and continues. “I can’t look at her the same way anymore. She’s the one for me, I know it. I’m such an idiot for missing it all these years. But she doesn’t feel the same way.”
She raises her head to look Minjeong in the eyes, and Minjeong inhales sharply when she realizes Jimin’s about to cry, her dark eyes glossy with tears.
“Maybe you misinterpreted it,” she offers. Jimin blinks, and twin tears drop, gliding down her cheeks. Minjeong reaches out to brush them away with her thumb. “Don’t cry, Jimin-ah,” she adds. “You should tell her. Maybe this is all just a case of miscommunication.”
“You think I should tell her, then?”
Minjeong nods firmly. “The worse that could happen is an outright rejection. And at least you’ll know how she feels for sure, instead of speculating about her feelings.” Not that I could take my own advice, she thinks ruefully to herself. But at least Jimin will get a happy ending.
Jimin sniffs and brushes a hand over her wet cheeks. “Okay.”
“Good luck,” Minjeong starts to say, but Jimin talks over her.
“Minjeong, I’m in love with you, but I know you don’t like me back, so can you just say it so I can try to move on? Please.”
Minjeong stops, her mouth still open, as she tries to process those words. She’s not saying…?!
“Please, Minjeong, I can’t do this anymore. Just reject me, please.”
“Why would I reject you?” She hears herself say.
She hears Jimin start to protest, but silences her with a kiss.
She meant it to be quick, just to shut Jimin up, but she gets carried away.
They end up in the same position as that night, on the sleepover, but with Jimin on the bottom, before they realize what they’re doing.
Minjeong props herself up, same way Jimin did that night, and continues. “I thought you didn’t like me back. I was going crazy all this time, thinking I was insane for having a crush on you, when you were doing the same thing.”
“Wait,” Jimin cuts in. “’All this time’? How long have you…”
Minjeong thinks for a second. “I have no idea. Honestly, I’ve thought you were pretty since that day we met in class, when you asked to be my partner. I guess it just escalated from then.”
Jimin blushes. “Either you hid it really well, or I’m a blind idiot.”
“Maybe both,” Minjeong quips, and they laugh.
“I feel bad now. It took me a kiss to realize my soulmate was in front of me. For ten years.” Jimin says.
“That’s in the past. What matters now is… are we…” Minjeong’s still too shy to finish her sentence.
Jimin gazes up at her, eyes radiant. “Minjeong, will you be my girlfriend?”
She drops down beside her and nuzzles her nose into her neck. “Yes.”