Archive of Our Own

Minjeong has the same routine everyday.

She wakes up in the morning, contemplating her life as she rubs her eyes and groans loud enough to probably wake up her roommate in the other room. There’s not enough hours in the day to satisfy her request of a lengthy sleep. And that goes to say without coffee. There’s constant reminders in her head that tells her it’ll be worth it at the end of the day.

Waving Yizhuo a goodbye, barely making it out of the dorm in one piece as she nearly goes flying while attempting to tug her shoes on. Funnily enough, Yizhuo and Aeri are usually on the couch, laughing at her because she has class much earlier than they did on certain days. It just had to be that the class the brunette needed only had a 9am and 11am session available.

The only reason why she continues to fly out the door nearly everyday is because she needs to make it out early enough to snatch the good food at the dining hall before everyone else. Her school is a decent size, and it’s usually first come, first serve. Minjeong likes to eat a good portion of food each meal, not denying that the dining hall food supplies edible food that happens to be delicious.

She skateboards to the dining hall, greeting some of her friends across the campus with a simple wave. In little to no time, Minjeong kicks up her board into her hands before opening the door to the dining hall. The hall is quiet , perfect for reviewing her notes before she heads to class a little later. Sometimes, she wonders if it’s worth the struggle of waking up so early just to secured proper food and a table to herself.

It doesn’t take long for her to brush through the short line, taking what she wants to eat for the day. Her plate is decently full when she sets it down before going back to grab a few extra things. Maybe it’s because she’s always hungry or the need to waste some time before heading to her lecture swirled in her head.

But when she does get back to her table, (That was definitely empty before.) there’s a girl sitting right across from her seat. Minjeong simply blinks in confusion, as she looks across the hall to see that there’s hundreds of other tables completely empty. Her plate and stuff is obviously still there, so why would the girl want to sit at her table out of all tables?

Her stubborn legs, in due course, walks her body back to her seat, Minjeong clearing her throat as she sits down. The girl in front of her looks up in response, her full face coming into light.

Then and there, the brunette visibly freezes, feeling her heart thump so harshly, she thinks all the abilities she has to breathe suddenly disappears. They lock eyes, sharp feline eyes boring into her own to no end. They stare at eachother until Minjeong forces a breath out, sitting straight before looking down in embarrassment.

She has to grab her chest and take a much more deeper breath, subtly, so the unbelievably beautiful girl in front of her doesn’t think she’s suddenly having an asthma attack.

The voice of the girl in front of her is the first to speak, bringing her out of her state of embarrassment. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think anyone was sitting here. I wasn’t paying attention to see that there was already a plate on the table.” She nervously chuckles and Minjeong thinks a piece of her dies inside.

The redhead finds the willpower to finally look up, and meet the girl’s gaze again. “It’s okay, you’re allowed to sit wherever you want. I was just surprised.” Minjeong shifts her plate closer to her, praying not to embarrass herself.

A wave of silence takes over them after Minjeong’s response, the redhead deciding to keep her mouth shut before she blurted out something stupid.

If anything, she decides to enjoy this moment, knowing that she might never see the stunning raven again.

-

She knew this was a trick.

Minjeong had agreed to swap dorms with Aeri so she could be with Yizhuo and she could be alone. But trusting Aeri is such a losing game. Why she continues falling for her and her nonsense? That is a question for another day.

Luckily for her, the dorm she used to live in is just across the hall, so it doesn’t take long to haul her things into the other dorm. It must have been her mistake to just leave her things in the middle of the living room because as she’s lifting a box, she hears the sound of the door creaking.

In her head, a few things go through her mind.

One, why is someone in a supposedly empty dorm?

Two, she’s wearing a simple tank top and jeans and her hair is slightly messy. She is no where prepared to be perceived.

And three, what has she gotten herself into?

Minjeong wants to beg that she was just hearing things, that the door just seemed to creak open itself. She rather have the dorm be haunted than find out that she has a roommate. Aeri promised her that she wouldn’t, which the redhead was really set on having her own space.

Funnily enough, a girl with black hair walks past her to enter the kitchen, not even sparing Minjeong a glance. It takes a slight tilt to her glasses for her to make sure that she isn’t seeing a really pretty ghost.

“Are you going to continue staring at me or are you going to finish moving in?” The girl asks as she closes the fridge and turns around to face Minjeong completely.

So, not a ghost, because ghosts can’t talk.

Clearing her throat, Minjeong mutters an apology, realizes that it’s the same girl from the dining hall. She lifts her body and takes the box along with her to another room in embarrassment. Placing the box down to the side, she’s come to a conclusion. Maybe she’ll act like her roommate doesn’t exist.

By the time she makes it into the living room again, the mysterious raven isn’t present, the sound of the door shutting firm startling Minjeong a bit. She’ll take it as a home welcoming.

For the next few hours, the redhead irritatedly finishes moving boxes around and begins decorating her new room. Her room is bigger than her last one, since Aeri convinced the school to grant her the larger dorms since her parents are known alumni. How Minjeong managed to score the room in the dorm, as many students have been begging for more space, she doesn’t know.

Now that she has the space, she spends time diligently decorating her room to fit some personality in. Taking advantage of the large room is a must on her list.

In the middle of fixing her room up, Minjeong hears a knock on her closed door. Eventually, it opens and there comes in that little scoundrel named Aeri. It takes everything in her not to jump the older girl.

Aeri is grinning, with a look the redhead knows too well. “So, looks like you’ve met Jimin? Don’t worry, she’ll warm up to you eventually. I just told her I was moving out last minute so she’s still upset about that.” Her grin turns sheepish, Minjeong throwing a pillow at her.

She’s still upset her best friend didn’t give her any warnings about her having a roommate. “Do you know how awkward it was? I can’t believe I trusted you.” Her reflex are enough to catch the pillow thrown back at her.

They both flop onto the edge of her newly made bed, Minjeong letting out a sigh of exhaustion as her head hits the soft cushion. Staying in the quiet room for a moment, she forgets about being mad at Aeri due to her tiredness.

“This bed is really comfortable, did you put your own cushion mattress under?” Aeri jerks her head toward the redhead, who is on the verge of falling asleep. A nudge to her arm briefly knocks her awake again.

If it wasn’t for their friendship, Minjeong probably would’ve sent her flying for waking her up. She barely manages to nod in response, attempting to rub sleep out of her body. Her friend is right, the mattress sends them engulfed by the soft cushion, molding to their body.

Still, on the verge of wanting to fight Aeri and fainting from exhaustion, Minjeong wonders what the girl next door is doing. They had such an unfortunate first meeting. If they’re going to be roommates, they should atleast know eachother’s name.

Springing to her feet, the redhead pulls her friend up as well. “Come on, introduce me properly to my new roommate.” Minjeong is now wide awake, a hopeful look in her face.

Her best friend begins walking toward the door, opening it to exit the room. Minjeong follows along, her heart thumping with nervousness. She remembers only catching a subtle glance of the raven when the girl spoke her first few words to her in the living room.

Aeri surprisingly makes way toward Jimin’s room, knocking gently and waiting a moment. They hear a soft ‘come in’, revealing Jimin’s room. It’s much different than what she expected, plushies organized on her bed, Shim Chan characters and dinosaur decorations all over the place. Minjeong has to pretend to fix her glasses to prevent herself from giggling.

Jimin climbs back into her bed, looking up at the two. “Do you guys need something?” Her eyes are glazed with curiosity, a slight tilt to her head.

Their mutual friend points to Minjeong first. “Kim Minjeong, 1st year IT major,” Aeri then points to the raven. “Yu Jimin, 2nd year statistic major. You two will be roommates now, please don’t kill eachother.”

Then the redhead feels eyes on her, causing her to swallow nervously. For someone who likes Shim Chan and dinos, Jimin was extremely intimidating. She felt like she didn’t deserve to be here. Even more when the older girl gives her a tight lip smile before nodding in understanding.

Being the respectful person she is, Minjeong bows before dashing back to her room. One more second in there, she would’ve combusted at the awkward, stern air. She’s sure Aeri and Jimin will enjoy their time together more than she would’ve.

Instead, she continues to fix up her room, ignoring calls from Aeri across the hallway. Already being a reserved and quiet person—an introvert, the redhead finds peace in being by herself. There’s an understanding that she and Jimin will be better off staying out of eachother’s path.

Exhausted from the long day of moving, Minjeong finishes up for the day before deciding to shower and settle down for the day.

In the shower, she figures her roommate isn’t all that bad.

-

The way they first meet each day leaves a memorable feeling in Minjeong.

Just entering the middle of the day, Minjeong shrugs off her coat and hangs her keys before fully entering the dorm. She looks around the room and figures that her roommate is either in her room or out somewhere. As she walks, a strong perfume scent clouding her nose gives her the answer that she’s looking for.

In the middle of rummaging into her bag on the counter, the redhead raises her head to see Jimin peaking her head out of her room. They stare at eachother for a moment, causing Minjeong to pause in her activity. A mere moment turns long, until the younger girl breaks eye contact, slowly returning back to her bag. Obviously, the raven has nothing to say to her.

Soon, Jimin walks into the kitchen, opening the pantry to grab a snack of some sort. The redhead curtly watches her go until she spots the raven’s wrist. Not thinking, Minjeong drops her bag and approaches the older girl and carefully reaches for her wrist.

“What happened?” Minjeong inspects what looks like long cut across the bend of Jimin’s wrist.

Quietness engulfs them before the redhead lifts her head to see the raven watching her closely. When Minjeong accidentally brushes against the cut, the older girl winces.

Mumbling an apology, the redhead prompts Jimin to sit on the couch and to wait for her. Minjeong takes it as a chance to look for the first aid kit she saw earlier in the raven’s room. A few minutes pass to find it but she eventually finds the kit and brings it with her to the couch, sitting beside the raven who is surprisingly hadn’t left.

Minjeong takes out a pad of disinfectant, looking up at Jimin to get the sign from her that it was okay. When the raven doesn’t respond, she carefully wipes the cut. Jimin whines lowly but doesn’t move, and tries to stay still. The redhead apologizes multiple times throughout the whole procedure, moving on to put ointment on the cut. She blows on it for a few seconds to ensure it’s dry.

Of course, in the kit, are dinosaur bandages. “I don’t know what happened and you don’t have to tell me. But, you should be more careful.” Minjeong tears the plastic of the bandage before sticking it perfectly on the straight line of a cut.

She presses gently on the bandage and around the skin before letting go of the older’s wrist. She doesn’t miss the way Jimin seems to gaze at the work. Nevertheless, the redhead stands to her feet to put the kit back, although, before she can, a hand curls around her wrist.

Jimin is hesitantly looking at her, almost like she wants to say something. “I was running out of the bathroom and the edge of the counter must have me cut me on the way. I didn’t notice until you did.” The raven breathes out, letting go of Minjeong’s hand.

With shoulders slumping, Jimin stands to her feet, taking her snack with her. She’s leveled with Minjeong, and her strong dark brown eyes pierce through her hazel brown with intention.

Seeing that the raven has nothing more to say, Minjeong presses her lips together before lifting the kit up. “Next time, make sure you disinfect it. It could’ve gotten infected.” The redhead pushes her glasses up her nose, humming when Jimin slowly grabs the kit.

It isn't hard to walk away with a new found curiosity.

For the past few days, they haven’t said much to eachother, which is understandable. Minjeong did say it would be better if they didn’t cross pays, however, the interaction settled something in the redhead. As she throws her bag somewhere, and grabs her laptop, she wonders if Jimin’s always been so reserved.

A sense of familiarity runs through her body at the personality type. Since she’s so used to having someone screaming at the top of their lungs somewhere in between, being met with utter silence—yet a silence that can kill, forces Minjeong to believe something isn’t right. She can’t believe it because Jimin’s unforeseeable silence doesn’t pierce through her heart in the wrong ways.

Jimin’s silence is one that settles right with her, finally. The redhead doesn’t have to chase after it, because it seems to linger wherever she goes.

Sighing, Minjeong opens her laptop, knowing her head will start to hurt if she does any type of dissecting on the newly (hopefully) branched relationship.

Hours of homework engulfs Minjeong in the darkness of nighttime, prompting her to wind down for the day. She takes a shower, soothing into her nightwear before giving herself a pep talk just in case her roommate decides to introduce herself to the world of food again.

She’s already picked up on Jimin’s favorite snacks. Really, she seems to eat about everything but with her, is always a box of Bebe cookies and a small can of pink pringles. Minjeong keeps it as a reminder to add to her groceries list whenever she might need to go.

The pep talk barely work, the redhead’s heart beating in anticipation as soon as she opens the door. A few steps forward and Minjeong’s stomach grumbles at the delicious smell circulating the air.

In the kitchen, Jimin is preparing something. If the raven is secretly a talented chef, she’ll no longer have to complain about her brother’s food making skills ever again.

She’s standing in the middle of the living room when the raven lifts her head. Minjeong shakes her head while apologizing. “Don’t mind me, I’ll wait for you to finish so I can make myself dinner.” The brunette reassures.

Chuckling, Jimin quickly washes her hands, wiping them on her pants before placing a bunch of bowls with multiple dishes. “Come have dinner with me, Minjeong.” She walks over to the other side and sits down on a stool. There’s already utensils prepared for the both of them.

Not knowing what to say, Minjeong simply follows the older’s direction, sitting down beside her and scooting up to the counter. She watches as Jimin begins placing food onto her plate, decorating it fully.

Silence seems to be their haven, the redhead gratefully taking whatever Jimin offers. They begin eating, the raven waiting for the younger to try her food in anticipation before eating her own food. Minjeong lifts the spoon of soup into her mouth, an explosion of flavor in her mouth.

Finally, a soup that isn't salty.

Jimin raises her eyebrow in question, which the redhead chuckles lightly at. “It’s really good. I haven’t tasted soup so delicious in a while.” Minjeong tells her before taking another spoon and moving on to the other dishes.

A breath of relief is released, which also seems to lighten the tense air. One way or another, Minjeong knows she’ll have to try a bit harder if she wants to fully open the pandora box that is Yu Jimin.

Something in her body was curious about the 2nd year raven, how everything seemed to radiate mysterious. From her sharp eyes, to her luscious dark hair, and to her approaching personality. The redhead hasn’t solved it all yet, within a short time, and even if she made a note to leave the raven alone, the little interactions they have cracks open the box a centimeter.

No way is it enough. Patience is a virtue though. Minjeong just happens to be really good at being patient.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet.” Jimin begins, picking at her food.

It makes the younger girl fix her glasses and tilt her head in confusion. She doesn’t understand what Jimin means. “I don’t get it? Why are you apologizing? You’re not obligated to to interact with me or anything like that. I’m the same too. I rather keep to myself.” Another quick scoop to her month elicits a soft hum of content.

The raven only places more food on Minjeong’s plate, ushering for her to eat more while gathering her words.

“I’m sorry, it’s just my friends are more louder than me, always wanting to get me to go out and meet some new people. Aeri’s set me up on more blind dates and dragged me to more parties than I can count.” They both burst out laughing at their mutual friend and her antics.

From there, Jimin talks a bit more and Minjeong finds her laugh replicates the beautiful sound of music. Surprisingly, she finds out that the older girl is afraid of pigeons yet her favorite animal is a crocodile. Jimin even shows her a picture of her holding a baby crocodile and Minjeong thinks it makes sense.

When they notice the time, the redhead tells Jimin to go back to her room and that she’ll clean up since the older cooked dinner. Jimin refutes for a moment, however, mutters a quiet thank you where she figures out the younger won’t back down.

The silence engulfs Minjeong differently than the moment when they both left to go to their rooms after she cleaned up. She can say that she doesn’t feel so tense about living with her new roommate anymore.

Not wanting to be optimistic, the redhead doesn't
get her hopes up.

-

She didn’t really want to revisit that part of life again. Although, life is unpredictable.

She managed to land a job at a simple cafe, the atmosphere being something the redhead adored. Usually, other college students and people coming from work visit the cafe so it’s mostly quiet and productive.

So far, she’s been getting complimented and tipped all day, which puts her in a good mood. The customers appreciate her help, and seemingly, they tell her that she appeared gentle, giving customers no reason to be afraid to ask for assistance.

Then her boss calls her over to meet the new employee. Like a falling chandelier, everything shatters apart when she finds out her first love will be working at the cafe as well.

Awkwardly, Minjeong bows, seeing Chaeyoung’s bright smile gleam like it always has. Frankly, it breaks the redhead’s heart all over again seeing her.

“Minjeong! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” The girl offers her a hand, the redhead having no choice but to shake her hand. She’s being nice. (She tells herself.)

They’re both a bit older now, grown up with actual responsibilities. High school is a reminder of a fever dream, where they didn’t have to worry about anything else but studying. Yes, she might miss the fun she had in highschool, (but not the heartbreak she endured from loving Chaeyoung.)

Her heart was a little more fragile back then. She was vulnerable and her friends told her that she was too kind for her own good. So when she fell in too deep for her best friend, many thoughts about whether or not the girl would reciprocate her feeling, her little fantasy came to an abrupt end.

Finding Chaeyoung kissing another girl was more than painful. She remembers so vividly running as fast as she could through the rain and kicking over the flowers she had prepared to give the girl when confessing.

(The next day, Chaeyoung approached her best friend and walked away in confusion when their other friends shook her head at her while consoling Minjeong.)

Minjeong still thinks she doesn’t have to apologize for exiting Chaeyoung’s life without any regrets. Knowing herself, their friendship would’ve never been anywhere near the same. That’s how much the redhead loved her.

Now that she’s much older, opening up her heart is difficult. Her body’s system knows better, protecting her by making her more reserved than she ever has been. It’s only a continuous of her personality from her childhood, her teenage years, which she’s grateful for.

So she sighs, pressing her lips into a thin line as she tries to ignore the harsh reminders of the past they used to have.

Her hurt isn’t a reason to treat the girl rudely, standing by her rules of treating everyone with kindness even if they utterly don’t deserve it. She found out it makes her life more easier—bearable even.

For the rest of her shift, her smile wears thin, begging to finally go home to escape her misery. Maybe childishness happens to be the reason why her mood turns slightly sour, but for once, the redhead allows herself to be upset. Instead of holding in those emotions, letting out little by little through other things and not spitting her anger out at customers or her colleagues deems to be much preferable.

By the end of it, when the sun is barely peaking out and Minjeong is slipping on her coat and backpack, Chaeyoung asks if her number is still the same.

Lying could’ve been avoidable. Unfortunately, being too kind, she says yes and wonders if the girl has ever had the thought in randomly texting her number. She knows she never has, deciding that moving on completely would be the best decision for her.

They walk out together to wait for the bus as Minjeong was too lazy to take her car. There’s a gap between them, one that can unlock the potential to rekindling the broken friendship that’s in multiple strands. Chaeyoung keeps smiling and it nearly drives the redhead mad.

She needs a distraction.

Nevertheless, they’re waving eachother goodbye, the breath Minjeong has been holding for some time finally being released as she enters the bus. While leaning against the window, memories flood in, making her wonder about the what ifs. She nearly flows into a state of dreamland until her phone rings, knocking her awake.

Jimin.

Not knowing why, Minjeong sheepishly smiles while lifting the phone to her ear. “Yes?” She quietly answers.

On the other side, a sigh is heard. “Where are you? You’ve been gone all day.” There’s a worried voice amusing the redhead.

The bus bounces slightly approaching a speed bump. Minjeong holding onto her phone carefully. “I had work. I’ll be home soon, don’t wait up for me.” She manages to say, soon cringing when she remembers the raven probably won’t care about her coming late.

Humming, Jimin doesn’t hang up like everyone usually would. “No, it’s okay. I’ll wait. I want to continue to talking to you, anyways.” Her voice is soft, seems to remind Minjeong of glowing flowers. She isn’t in the verge of falling asleep.

They’re about 15 minutes from the dorms. “Why? Is everything okay?” Sitting up, the redhead fixes her glasses and properly listens to whatever she might say.

There’s quiet ruffling, Minjeong assuming she’s on her bed. “Everything is fine, I just need someone to talk to. Can’t seem to sleep.” Jimin tells her.

Looking outside, the redhead feels the total opposite, can feel sleepiness tempting to take over her. However, at the older’s words, she fights off the yawn, carefully covering her mouth so Jimin doesn’t hear it.

Jimin proceeds to keep her awake by telling her about her day, how her classes went and how she met up with some friends. Then, when the bus ride hits the 10 minute mark, the raven brightens up telling her facts about all types of dinosaurs. Minjeong understands that the girl likes dinosaurs, but truthfully, she would never be able to tell that she did.

Finding out all these new things about Jimin makes her heart bloom, as the first day they ever met, Minjeong was coming up with all types of ways to stay out of the raven’s path. Now, she giggles to herself now that she knows that the raven is afraid of pigeons.

“I’m going to hang up now, I’m almost home. You should go to sleep.” Minjeong begins to pack her things, the bus approaching her stop.

Jimin only whines, something about wanting to make sure she’s safe. When Minjeong hangs up on her, she tries to call back. It’s not until the redhead makes it to their complex and she can see the lights of their dorm on.

She tiredly struggles with putting in the key before she can get the door to open. Like always, her shoes and coat comes off, neatly placed by the door and hung. The lights were off when she came and she keeps it that way, trying to navigate in the dark without bumping into anything.

It’s so dark that when she feels a body bump into her front and arms wrap around her waist, she nearly freaks. But eventually, she recognizes the familiar perfume scent and relaxes in realization.

Jimin hugging her is a little unfamiliar, surprising. The redhead has not a single clue in her head why the raven sprung out of her bed and located her in pitch darkness just to hug her. Like seeing Chaeyoung for the first time in a long time, Minjeong can’t seem to make sense of anything. As if her mind has gone blank.

They stay pressed against eachother in the dark, hesitant hands not knowing what to do. She truly wants to hug the older back, even with the boundaries they’ve unintentionally set.

Jimin only buries her head into her neck, fingers gripping onto the material of her shirt. There—is a sign that maybe the raven just needs to be held. For a little peace of mind.

Carefully, Minjeong breathes out while slowly lifting her arms to wrap them around Jimin. Her body fits so perfectly in the redhead’s embrace. It’s a moment so entirely pieced together that Minjeong finds some type of strength to whisper sweet nothings beside Jimin’s head as she rocks them side to side.

After a long while, Jimin eventually pulls away, all the warmth that kept Minjeong sane fading away by the second. She doesn’t miss the way the older girl sniffles quietly and wipes at her eyes. Curiosity floods through her for a quick moment, wanting to ask if the raven was okay. On the other hand, she doesn’t want to intrude.

Standing in front of eachother no longer feels awkward. For some reason, the younger girl navigates through a sense of lost, utter confusion when Jimin’s no longer in her arms.

She settles for a gentle shoulder squeeze, pressing her lips together while out of words due to exhaustion.

“I’m going to go take a shower and then I’ll be in my room if you need anything, okay?” The redhead tells her before moving around the raven to head back to her room after a nod from the girl.

The shower she takes is everything pulsing. She stares at the wall for long periods of time, her mind flickering between her first love and her roommate. With the warm drops of water hitting her back, all she can see is Jimin’s face.

Slipping into her pjs and heading back to her room, the time of the day reads late. The sleep that had nearly overcome her earlier knocks on her door all over again, yet contradicts because she wants to be there for Jimin if need be. There’s a little tint of hope that her roommate will knock on her door-

She’s getting ahead of herself.

A firm shake of her head reminds Minjeong to finally seek rest.

-

“Where are you going?” Minjeong asks the raven walking past her. She’s in the middle of finishing up a project, snacks on the table and the tv on.

Jimin clears her throat, motioning to her short black dress. She’s a little too stunning, that the redhead feels throat dry. No matter what the raven does catches her attention, like her roommate doesn’t even have to try with anything she does.

“Aeri’s set me up on another date. Some sophomore named Jaemin. I’ve met him before and he’s pretty nice.” The raven nods slowly, twiddling with the hem of her dress. Jimin hesitates to reach her eyes, Minjeong notices.

Aeri and her little shenanigans, she’s such an interesting individual.

Thinking for a moment, Minjeong ignores the unsettling feeling her chest. Before she can tell her mind to tell herself to shut up, her mouth is already speaking.

“Do you want to go? I mean, with him?” The redhead genuinely asks, waiting for the older’s response. She’s just a little curious of Jimin’s response.

Failing to speak for a beat, quietness engulfs them. As Jimin tries to find words, Minjeong nearly begs her to say no. She just wants to be selfish for once, maybe wants to know if Jimin will choose herself and her mental sanity to tell Jaemin and Aeri no.

The older girl looks at her phone before reaching to take off her heels. “Well, I just happened to get ready 2 hours before, that’s enough time to cancel, isn’t it?” Jimin smiles gently.

She walks over to sit next to the redhead, not nearly a gap between them. Minjeong reaches for a chip and lifts it into Jimin’s mouth. The raven’s legs rest over the younger’s lap comfortably.

Minjeong likes them like this, hanging out and being so comfortable with eachother, it hasn’t been odd to always find them together. Even their other friends have found it a bit suspicious of how closer they always are. (They haven’t told them that they’re perhaps roommates.)

She prefers it that way, would rather string together her how much Jimin means to her. (The world already, actually.)

“Want to order pizza?”

-

Minjeong hangs out with her friends during the evening.

She’s dragged to a little semester party to her dismay, leaving messages to Jimin and Aeri just in case they wonder where she is.

Chaeyoung is surprisingly invited, and of course sits in her table along with a few of her friends. To put it one way, Minjeong doesn’t know what to think of it. The girl is so confusion and the redhead doesn’t know what had gone on in her life, she doesn’t care to anyways. Entering Minjeong’s life without warning feels like betrayal, up mostly when there’s no right for her to feel this way. Although, she’s been trying so hard to close that chapter of her life, yet here goes Chaeyoung smiling at her, shoving her playfully and wanting to engage in conversation whenever prompted the chance.

A few drinks in, her cheeks are hued red. She can hold herself well, even with the impulses to do stupid things. Luckily for her, her friends take one good drink and contribute to taking care of her because they’ve noticed her off putting move.

Declining the party costed more money than to just go. It’s the way the world works, not being able to fluctuate the things that occur. Working faster than the mind can comprehend has always been what Minjeong groaned upon.

She really wants to go home and sleep.

The last straw is Hotaek bringing up highschool drama. “Minjeong, I heard you and Chaeyoung are working at the same place. How does it feel knowing everything that happened between you two?” He asks, earning gasps from the rest of the department.

Like a ticking bomb, Minjeong finally explodes in frustration. She begins to grab her stuff while half tipsy and half sober. The people around her wonder what the commotion is about, looking toward her figure. Her and Chaeyoung’s eyes meet, an unsettling feeling as the girl’s orbs fill with confusion and slight hurt.

The redhead scoffs, pushing in her chair before making her way toward the exit. She didn’t want to come to this stupid party anyway.

Hotaek suddenly moves in front of her to block her off. “Minjeong, look, I didn’t mean anything bad. I was just curious. You don’t have to answer the question if you don’t want to.” His expression is sincerely apologetic.

Too bad she doesn’t care.

Exhaling and inhaling, she gives him a sharp look before shoving past him and leaving. Immediately, the cold pounds, prompting the redhead to put on her jacket.

Why is this happening to her?

“Minjeong!” Two voices call out of for her at the same time.

In front of her on the sidewalk, is Jimin covered in warm clothes. She notices that raven is wearing one of her coats. Behind her, is Chaeyoung running after her with concern painting her face.

They eventually both reach her, the raven being the first to pull Minjeong closer to her. The redhead looks down in embarrassment, not wanting to meet Chaeyoung’s gaze. She has nothing to be ashamed of, but she can feel daggers cutting through between the two girls.

Funnily enough, Jimin slips her small hand into Minjeong’s large one without hesitation. “Who are you?” The raven looks Chaeyoung up and down blankly.

Chaeyoung clears her throat, pointing to the resturant behind her. “I’m Chaeyoung, Minjeong’s friend and colleague….. What about you?” She eyes the two’s interlocked hands.

Jimin looks up at Minjeong, slightly smiling. “I’m her roommate. I have to get this one home before she collapses on me. It was nice meeting you, Chaeyoung.” The raven bows before tugging Minjeong one direction.

The redhead’s heart may have skipped a beat.

When they’re far enough, Jimin pauses their steps. “She likes you. She kept staring at our hands.” At the reminder, Minjeong removes her hand from the older’s, loudly coughing.

That is an interesting observation.

She’s more curious what the raven was doing around the resturant, walking alone. Her intoxicated system and pounding head says not to even thinking. Wanting to go home, she simply begins walking, her head hurting too much to feed into Jimin’s delusions.

“Hey! Wait up!” She hears loud footsteps and stops. A loud thud is heard and when she turns around, the raven is rubbing her head. “Ow….Why do you have so broad shoulders…”

Minjeong simply sighs, stretched out between wanting to cry and throw up in the middle of the sidewalk. She knows the raven is only trying to help, the redhead knowing she rather try her hardest not to scream out on impulse than say something she doesn’t mean.

Quiet sniffles are heard, in the back of her head, she thinks Jimin’s hand in her’s made everything seem a lot better.

What seems like an outstretch away, snows falls onto them and the only thing that keeps Minjeomg warm is the feeling of the raven’s hand slipping into her’s. Jimin prevents her from tipping over, placing an arm around her shoulders occasionally.

The redhead shakes her head, gently squeezing the latter’s hand. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Let’s- let’s just go home.”

They walk home in silence, with a blooming warmth arising in her chest. She isn’t sure what is for or why it occurs. (It’s not the first time it happens to occur around Jimin.) She just loves ignoring it.

Both of them yawn entering the dorm, the heater doing wonders for them both. There’s no collective memory of Minjeong ever being so grateful for someone dragging her home. Being on the edge of the couch with a hand to her forehead, the redhead begs for her stomach to let her be as she absolutely hates puking. It’s never fun which is why she avoids any type of downing alcohol. She always prefer to be sober and not worry about saying stupid stuff.

Jimin brings her some water and hands her a bottle of painkillers to take in the morning. The raven laughs when Minjeong begins to whine about already feeling sick to her dismay. Embarrassment courses through her body, falling backwards onto the couch to give herself a break.

Unfortunately, her leg catches the older girl’s ankle, pulling Jimin along with her. A low ‘umph’ is heard, along with a weight already pressing against her legs onto her. Minjeong widens her eyes watching the raven fall away from the couch. She reacts quickly, throwing herself sideways and reaches to pull the older girl toward her chest to protect her head.

They both land sideways, Minjeong’s arm cushioning Jimin’s head. Her own head, already pounding, only hits the ground slightly but it’s enough to send ringing through her ears. She winces, pulling Jimin closer and laughing out into the air.

Her eyes squint at the ceiling to catch her breath before turning to face the girl beside her. “Are you okay? Did you hit your head?” Frantically, she begins brushing back dark locks in attempt to inspect the raven’s head.

The moment radiates a cliche teenage novel, brown orbs staring into her own with a gaze Minjeong can’t comprehend. All she knows that it’s something that sends shivers all over her body and slows the world around her.

However, before she can indulge in it, bile burns in her throat. Carefully, she lifts them up before running toward her bathroom. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

The last thing she remembers is a hand patting her back and another holding her hair up.

-

Unfortunately for her, Minjeong just happens to remember everything.

She remembers Hotaek embarrassing her in front of everyone, remembers Chaeyoung looking confused and remembers Jimin taking care of her.

They swirl in her head and pounce at her all at once. Bad, bad, really bad- she needs to call Aeri.

Jimin left earlier in the morning to check up on her and tell her that she had classes until mid afternoon. It gives her time to think.

Groaning at how awfully bright the sun is, she quickly swallows the painkillers with water, begging for her head to stop ringing. Afterwards, she stumbles out of bed, gets a quick shower in and dashes across the hallway to knock on Aeri’s door.

Her best friend opens the door, jumping at the sight of her. “You’re never up this early unless you have a lecture, which you don’t.” Aeri narrows her eyes in suspiciousness.

Pushing past her to enter the dorm, she waves to Yizhuo who is typing away on her laptop while watching Netflix. “Look, I feel terrible and yesterday was also terrible. But I think we have a problem.” Minjeong plops herself next to Yizhuo, whining in frustration.

She explains her situation to the two and gets two different types of responses. A mix of pissed and concern. They were with her when she fell in love with Chaeyoung so to say that they were angry would’ve been an understatement.

She leaves out what happened with Jimin last night. (That is a secret for herself to keep.)

Minjeong is sometimes oblivious. At the same time, she chooses to ignore things, act like she can’t piece together scenarios when she had done it ages before. In life, running into a work of a puzzle is a continuous cycle. She’s solved so many puzzles that her head works on autopilot when doing so.

Shifting in her seat, Yizhuo hums. “Maybe you should talk to her. I know you left it behind in high school but you need to set boundaries so she won’t stop acting confused. Then again, you completely cut her off without telling her the reason why. In her eyes, she’s done nothing wrong.” The blonde gently squeezes her shoulder, making Minjeong realize she’s right.

A deep exhale.

For goodness sake, peace is so much needed.

She ends up replacing Yizhuo’s computer in her lap with her head, Aeri sits beside her legs. “Maybe I’ll do that after getting some sleep.” Minjeong half yawns.

In her eyelids, there’s more flashes of Yu Jimin than Chaeyoung. (She realizes that she’s beginning to think about her roommate more than she should.)

-

The afternoon sun cast mixed hues upon the basketball court, making it glow with an inviting warmth in the cold. Minjeong decided to divert their attentions from their finals by taking them to the court. She admits that she really just wants to spend a little more time with the raven.

She couldn’t help but steal glances at Jimin, her heart fluttering like a clumsy butterfly in her chest. She has been longing for this moment, to spend more time with the enigmatic beauty.

As they stepped onto the court, Minjeong feels a thrill of excitement course through her veins. She grabs a basketball and passes it to the raven, watching as Jimin catches it. “Ready for a game of ball, Jimin?”

Jimin giggles, her dark jet black hair cascading around her like a veil of secrets. “Oh, you’re in for a surprise, Minjeong. I might have some hidden talents up my sleeve.” She begins dribbling the ball with grace, her moves a dance of fluidity.

For the next hour, they laugh and tease each other, the basketball forgotten somewhere in their fun-filled banter. The redhead realizes she’s beginning to find herself falling more and more in love with every teasing remark and every radiant smile from Jimin. She fails to resist adding another habit to her growing list of the raven’s endearing traits.

Finally, they both collapse onto the concrete, exhausted from their playful antics. Jimin’s fixes her eyes on the night blue sky above, as she approaches full night time. Minjeong, unable tear her gaze away from the raven-haired beauty, she follows along and lays down next to the raven , propping her head on her arms.

“The sky looks so pretty,” Jimin murmurs, her voice filling with gratitude. “I’m so lucky to be able to gaze at it.”

At that moment, Minjeong’s heart happens to swell with adoration. She hums in agreement, but her attention remains solely focused on the beautiful girl next to her. Cherishing the way Jimin’s lips form each word, The redhead doesn’t fail to notice the way the older’s eyes sparkled with a genuine passion for the sky.

Suddenly, Jimin’s turns her body to face Minjeong, her expression curious. She props her head on her hand and asks, “What about you, Minjeong? What do you like about the sky?”

Unable to contain her overflowing affection, Minjeong only grins at Jimin, her eyes roaming her face. “I think you should be asking what I like about you instead.” A wave of confidence takes over the redhead.

The raven blinks in surprise, her eyes fixed on Minjeong. “Have you even been listening to me at all, or have you just been staring at me the whole time?” She narrows her eyes at the younger girl.

Tilting her head side to side, Minjeong tried to recall something from Jimin’s little ramble. After a whole, the redhead bats her eyes nervously. “Well, ok, maybe I wasn’t listening entir- Ow!” The older girl hits her arm, causing her to groan out in pain.

Rolling her eyes, the raven looks up at the sky. “I thought you still liked Chaeyoung. When Aeri explained to me what she had done to you, I was a bit upset. I hated that you were still so caught up on her.” She sighs lowly, taking a moment before speaking again.

Minjeong listens, feels like walls are crushing every little chance for her to breathe. “What do you mean, Jimin? I’m not- I’m going to talk to her so I can finally close that chapter for good.”

The raven shakes her head, reaching over to caress Minjeong’s cheek. Her hand is warm compared to the slightly cold air around them. “I’m not saying that you do or don’t. I just don’t want you to get hurt…..confused. I want you to truly dig into your heart and find out what you truly want.” Her thumb carefully strokes the redhead’s skin, eyes brimming with tears.

It isn’t fair.

Pressing their foreheads together, Minjeong can feel both of their hearts shattering as she looks into Jimin’s teary eyed. Their eye contact—is kept by the raven.

“I’ll be right here in the end.” Jimin whispers.

-

“She’s avoiding me.” Minjeong starts, the unsettling feeling that has been sitting in her stomach only growing.

It was of anxiousness, due to the lack of conversation with Jimin and the fact that the raven’s been somewhat ignoring her.

Beomgyu runs his fingers through his hair in habit, jotting something into his notebook. Her twin brother unfortunately just happens to have similar habits. (A little copy cat.)

The boy lifts his head, sporting a certain expression. “We’ve gone over this for the past few days not. You just love hearing it, don’t you?” He rolls his eyes, diverting his attention back to his notebook.

Yes, they have gone over this a thousand times because if Minjeong was to tell Aeri and Yizhuo, it would’ve probably blown out of proportion. So she did what she knows she does best—bother her brother.

Her brother always tells her the truth. Straight up to her, whether it hurt or not. He was the first one to tell her that he should’ve never left Chaeyoung in the dust as what happened was never her fault. He’s reasonable at the least, and understands her since they’re twins.

“Okay, but I can’t just go based on that. What if I’m reading all this wrong?” The redhead stares at her brother for an answer.

Having enough, Beomgyu turns his body to grab onto her shoulder. “You’re not reading this wrong, okay? I can tell that you two genuinely like eachother a lot, but maybe Jimin is just scared of her feelings. Remember how scared you were when you found out you liked Chaeyoung. It’s just like that.” He explains to his sister thoroughly.

Blinking and taking in her brother’s words, the redhead attempts to relax. She nods at Beomgyu in understanding, as her body begins to finally calm down.

The boy in front of her taps her cheek gently, soon smiling. “You guys will figure this out. I know you will, so worry a little less. I doubt Jimin would act recklessly, you told me she’s a very calm and collective person.”

Minjeong reaches to wipe at her eye, quietly sniffling. “She is. It’s just been hard. I think I’m in love with her, Gyu.” She looks him in the eye and only begins tearing up when her brother laughs.

Beomgyu wipes her tears before pulling her in a hug. “So I’ve noticed.” He jokes, laughing even more when his sister starts sobbing.

For the rest of her time in her brother’s room, the redhead cries off and on in her brother’s arms. It proves to be very useful because at the end of it all, she’s less antsy, her mind finding his words from earlier spinning the gears. She’s glad she has him, as he’s prevented her from spiraling whenever she didn’t know what to do.

She trusts Jimin. Minjeong knows she’d never intentionally hurt her.

And space is probably what the older needs the most.

-

Jimin continues to avoid her even longer.

Minjeong figures they need time apart just to gather their thoughts. But for her, it’s proving to be rather more difficult than she thought, because all her thoughts just happen to be about the raven. It’s driving her mad because she’s unable to reach Jimin.

She doesn’t think it’s fair that Jimin’s assumed stuff and assumed what she wants. That’s for her to decide, not Jimin.

At the same time, she can’t blame the older either. She wants to know what goes on in that beautiful head of her’s, what has been bothering her and leading her to think a certain way.

When she comes home, always a bit later than her roommate, Jimin briskly greets her before heading to her room. There’s no hugs or wide smiles. All Minjeomg receives is a part of her heart chipping away. There’s no need to go this far, for Jimin to act like she doesn’t exist and she’s not a full human.

And eventually, the redhead becomes sick of it.

The next time she comes home, before Jimin can even try to leave to go back to her room, she walks toward the raven and reaches for her wrist.

“Jimin.” She calls out, trying to pull her closer. “Just listen to me.” Her voice laces with plead.

The older girl sighs, trying to remove her hand from Minjeong’s grasp. “Let go of me.” Jimin says sternly. Obviously, Minjeong is met face to face with the raven’s walls of protection.

Frankly, she never reckoned the raven to act this way. She thought Jimin would act more mature about this. Maybe she guessed wrong.

She takes a deep breath in, finally letting go of the older’s wrist. It’s a bit difficult not to cry because the person she’s consider important wants nothing to do with her. It’s not the first time that it’s happened, though this time around, the pain is 100 times worse.

“Why are you acting this way? What have I done wrong, Jimin?” Minjeong scrunched handfuls of her jeans, trying to prevent herself crying.

The girl in front of her only shakes her head. “Nothing, okay? It’s not that big of a deal, I’ve just been tired and I have a lot of stuff on my plate. I don’t want to accidentally say something I don’t mean just because I’m stressed.” She crosses her arms, thinks that the redhead can’t see right through her.

Minjeong steps forward, closing the gap between them a little more and looks Jimin in the eye. “I know you wouldn’t hurt me. I trust you. I know you, Jimin and I don’t think secluding yourself away from me is going to help anything.”

Shaking her head again, Jimin is breathing a little harder. “You don’t know that.” She shakily replies.

Silence takes over them again and the redhead thinks this is the longest she’s seen the older in a while. Her own roommate.

Over the years, she’s learned about many things. Being with Jimin, she’s learned to be confident in the things she does. However, Jimin herself, makes her so nervous that all the confidence Minjeong realizes she had just happens to wash away within a 5 meter radius.

Courage is what she’s looking for.

Minjeong steps into Jimin’s space, so close that they’re merely a breath away, and can feel the older’s heartbeat speeding 100 miles an hour against her chest. Her eyes flicker to the raven’s lips and she can see Jimin do the same. So badly, does she want to touch her, reassure that it’s all okay.

The raven allows her to near, letting out a whimper as Minjeong slides her hand over waist and noses at Jimin’s skin softly to nearly bring their lips together. Her other hand reaches to cup the older’s jaw, brushing ever so gently over her cheek with her thumb, while she tries hard to understand everything Jimin is thinking about—has been thinking about.

Jimin is scared. She knows the space between her’s and Minjeong’s worlds. The redhead is trying as hard as she can to bring them together.

As they inch closer and closer, the redhead feels the yearning surge through her body, from all the time apart. And just as Jimin begins leaning in, the redhead feeling her shirt being tugged, the raven suddenly backs away and lowers her head. As she swallows, Minjeong watches as the older girl rests her head on her shoulder. The breath she was holding is released, the weight she felt in the air dissipating in a blink.

Struggling to hold in her tears, the redhead hugs Jimin close, grateful that she can atleast have her for now.

If anything, she wishes she could take Jimin’s pain away.

“I’m so sorry, Minjeong.”

-

Minjeong falls into a pattern, one she’s not fond of.

Ignoring Chaeyoung at work isn’t easy—at all. They seem to bump into eachother every second which Minjeong is getting sick of. At the end of their shift, she asks the girl if they can talk.

The girl quickly wipes her hands, folds her apron before grabbing her things to follow the redhead.

The weather outside is cold enough to keep a layer on, suitable enough to walk through with a scarf around their necks. It isn’t like Minjeong’s shaking in her shoes at the thought of telling Chaeyoung the truth. (Definitely not.)

Chaeyoung is close, only a gap in between them. It’s dangerous and uncomfortable, gives the redhead a reason to realize that closing the chapter for good will work best. Closure—she doesn’t need it.

Taking a deep breath in and out, she doesn’t force herself to face Chaeyoung. “Listen, the party from a while ago? Let’s just forget about it, Hotaek was talking crazy.” Minjeong’s laughter hurts her throat, scratches at the inside with a non-soothing approach.

Chaeyoung shakes her head, reaching for the redhead’s wrist. “I still don’t understand what he meant. I still don’t know why you ghosted me those two last years of high school. You keep leaving me clueless, Minjeong, and it’s not fair because I don’t even know what I’ve done.” Her shoulders slouch in disappointment.

She doesn’t want to go back there. She really doesn’t want to. But maybe, it’ll be better to clear things up.

“One night, I was planning to confess to you. I had prepared flowers, chocolate and wrote you a letter. Really, it could’ve been a friendly gesture. But then I saw you kissing another girl and I couldn’t take it. So I left, acted like I never knew you because it hurt so bad. Maybe I was being childish, or maybe I was stupid for thinking you’d even like me back.” Her fingertips are starting to freeze over. She pulls her hand from a stunned Chaeyoung’s grasp.

Chaeyoung blinks, wiping at her eyes. “All this time, you liked me back as well? I think this has been a misunderstanding….. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’ll admit I did kiss that girl, but that was because I thought there was no way you liked me the same way I liked you. I’m so sorry, Minjeong. I should’ve asked or told you myself instead of assuming.” She sniffles lowly, her chest rising at the speed of her exhale.

This isn't how it was supposed to go.

She wasn’t supposed to be pulling Chaeyoung into a hug or feeling her heart beat thump so quickly from surprise at her proximity. She was just supposed to tell the girl the truth and hopefully move on.

After a while, Chaeyoung separates from the redhead, pressing her lips together. “I’m really sorry, Minjeong. For all those years I left you hurt. I truly didn’t mean to.”

Minjeong stuffs her hands into her pockets. “It’s okay. I’m sorry too, for leaving you in the dust. I hope you can forgive me.” She plays with the rock near her foot.

They’re soon engulfed in silence, awkward energy between them. Chaeyoung steps closer to her, pressing her lips together. “I forgave you a long time ago….. Is there a chance that- those feelings are still there? I know mine haven’t changed.” Her eyes pierce with soft questioning.

Biting the inside of her cheek, the redhead swallows nervously. She looks down again, the spark that was present when she was a teenager finally blowing out completely.

“I’m sorry, Chaeyoung.” She apologizes, the other girl nodding slowly in understanding.

It isn’t until Minjeong’s phone rings that the silence threatening them that it’s sliced through. The redhead apologizes, reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone.

She places to her ear at the recognizable contact. “Yes? What? Right now? I’m with Chaeyoung though?” A quick glance at Chaeyoung piques her attention.

Rubbing at her eyebrow, she takes a deep breath. “Fine, okay. We’ll be there in a bit.” Minjeong replies before hanging up.

Pausing for a bit, she faces the girl behind her.

“Would you still like to get some dinner?”

-

For some reason, an unsettling feeling sits in her stomach. She’s not sure about Jimin and Chaeyoung meeting again. Last time, she felt daggers being exchanged—through her.

When they first enter the resturant, Minjeong sees Jimin wave her hand to grab their attention. Warmly smiling, in attempt to not scare the older away, the redhead goes straight to her seat. Although, she sports a look of surprised when Jimin instead moves to hug her tightly.

Since their almost kiss, Minjeong’s given her all the space she needed, fighting the longing she’s been holding in. She cares for the raven, would rather leave her alone than continue to make Jimin uncomfortable.

The raven has slowly been letting Minjeong back in, apologized for the small section of avoidance that she conducted again. While the redhead assured her that she forgave Jimin a long time ago, the older girl still tells her that how she treated her was nowhere reasonable.

When she pulls back, the redhead blinks blankly at warm hands patting her cheek. “How long have you been outside? You’re freezing.” Jimin tilts her head worriedly, leaving the younger girl to sheepishly grin.

Shaking her head, she lets the redhead sit, scooting her chair closer. Not that it’s a bad thing, but across the table, it looks like Chaeyoung has been left out. But Jimin already has her arms entangled with her own and Minjeong can’t find it in her to move—not when her body is so warm and comfortable.

Luckily, her two friends get along just fine, and in the end, it looks like Minjeong is the one being left out. They’re both smiley and all which sends Minjeong into a spiral.

She asks herself something. Does she still like Chaeyoung? A question she’s been constantly asking herself, the one that needed to be dug up from the ends of her earth.

The other question has been twirling in her head much longer than the latter, so she admits that they’re no where comparable. She has an answer to the other question with a firm belief about it.

She stares at Chaeyoung laughing at something Jimin said. For a moment, she tries her best to focus. Then she realized that her heart doesn’t pace fast like it used to do.

Minjeong then faces Jimin. And then all at once, it hits. She takes in the raven’s gleaming smile, her perfectly shaped eyebrows, her perfectly curved nose, her plump lips, her crinkled eyes, and the mole near her mouth.

She notices all of the raven’s habits like she does each and everytime, like Jimin constantly tucking strands behind her ears or brushing her hair back. The raven often scratched near her jaw while paying attention. She also takes mind of how Jimin likes fiddling with her fingers, or playing with the skin of her forearm. It’s like a super power how Minjeong takes notice of all these things.

At one point, she admits that Jimin is special—no, means the world to her. It’s a little crazy how comfortable she’s always been with the raven, how she can trust Jimin with nearly anything.

It’s also unbelievable how Minjeong hasn’t paid attention to how her roommate has slowly, carefully been opening up her heart.

A hand startles her, her heart thumping in her chest when Jimin looks at her with shiny orbs. “Are you okay? You’ve been out of it and quiet for a bit.” The raven rubs her arm, her eyebrows knitting with concern.

And gosh, Minjeong's world spins.

She tells her body to somehow force out a breath, and only nods, because if she tries to do anything as little as utter a syllable, she’ll embarrass herself so badly.

Not believing her, the older girl only ushers her to eat more before continuing to rub her arm and facing Chaeyoung. She’s so lucky there’s a table in front of her because Jimin’s constant rubbing on her arm makes her want to melt into much right there.

Outside, the sky is painted with a blue hue, reminder that it’s getting dark. While it was nice to eat with Chaeyoung, there’s something else she rather do to finish her day.

Her leg bounces, constantly eyeing the clock. When Chaeyoung stands up, she relaxes, because finally.

“It was nice hanging out with you two. Thank you for the dinner but I have to head out now.” She waves them goodbye, leaving the two other girls at the table.

Minjeong nudges Jimin, in attempt to catch her attention. “Hey, do you want to go somewhere with me?” She asks brightly, perking Jimin’s interest.

Not waiting for the raven to answer, Minjeong pulls out a few bills, shoving it in between the check holder. They leave, not without saying their goodbyes to the grandmother who owns the resturant. A cold breeze introduces them to the world outside, as they begin to run toward a certain direction.

A few months ago, the redhead stumbled across a park. She has been wanting to visit it for a while but never had a chance but now she does, and it’s a perfect chance to take someone special.

After a few minutes of walking, they reach an open park, Minjeong leading the older girl to the playground. “Come on, when is the last time you swung on the swings?” She plops herself onto a swing, watching the raven do the same.

Adjusting to the swing, Jimin lets out a breathy chuckle. “I guess It’s been a long while, I can tell you that.” The raven pushes off her feet, gaining momentum to meet a rhythm of swinging.

As the sun is setting, Jimin and Minjeong swing side by side, conversing about their day and any other nagging deadlines they have to meet. Talking to the raven proves to be more easier than Minjeong thought, as she usually never speaks more than a few words with anyone else other than her friends.

Whenever she decided to talk, Jimin would pay her full attention to her, nodding her head to remind the redhead that she’s listening. Having attention on her like this causes a fluttery feeling in her stomach for the umpteenth time. She notices that only the raven has made her feel this way over the past few months with their subtle fleeting moments together. The simple things Jimin does always leaves a memorable feeling—makes Minjeong wonder if she happens to do the same.

Even with Chaeyoung, she wasn’t afraid of rejection. Now, as she thinks of it, the thought of acting upon her new emotions and reaching out to Jimin about absolutely terrifies her. Her head proclaims that someone so perfect and magical like Yu Jimin deserves nothing less—deserves maybe more than the world.

Swinging in nearly high 10 degree Celsius weather points out something, that falling in love comes in so suddenly, barely giving you time to catch your breath. It can come in the terms of beautifully or tragically, it can come at the right time, or too late.

Swinging next to Jimin happens to be at the right time, the second time she finds her world slowing down and spinning at the same time all over again.

Falling in love with Chaeyoung also happened to be something that occurred over time. They were best friends, and Minjeong figured out that she liked spending time with her. However, while pausing to kick at the dirt under her, now that she’s much older, the redhead discovers love another way. Maturity falls along which adds to the mind blowing approach of her new found discovery.

“Minjeong? Why do you always space out? Seriously, are you okay?” Jimin calls out her name, her voice deep and raspy, but so ethereal. She thinks she’s maybe going a little crazy. (No, she’s definitely going crazy.) Even with her blurry vision of reality around her, the redhead sees that the raven has stopped swinging.

Jimin’s voice sounds so clear in her head, in the midst of the rushing sound crashing waves drowning in her ears. In Jimin, she finds the one air pocket of oxygen just to force air into her lungs. She needed to breathe in Jimin.

Minjeong kisses her.

Had she been able to breathe in the cold air instead of Jimin any longer, she would’ve gone mad.

She’s going to be truthful, her head has probably consisted of only Jimin for the past few months. No, it’s never a bad thing, ever. It won’t ever be a bad thing, not to Minjeong.

There’s limits. Even when she’s a little afraid of what the raven’s response will be when she pulls back, there’s a limit. The limit is Jimin’s brown orbs searching her own with all types of emotions she can’t quite read. Her body has never been so overwhelmed before.

Fortunately, it’s the good type of overwhelming, the type that has her melting as Jimin cups her cheek, bringing their lips together passionately. The raven’s other hand is already digging into her locks and pulling her closer, like the only air available is in Minjeong.

The crashing waves slow, turning from a storm to violence, to sunshines and steadily calm waves.

Ever since they’ve become roommates, there’s a dynamic in the two. They’re so different but so similar at the same time. Minjeong’s been drawn to the older ever since the awkward first time they met at the dining hall or as newly made roommates. They tiptoe around certain things, take care of eachother, and understand eachother.

There is only so much she can take.

After what seems like forever, Jimin is the first to pull away, her chest rising and falling as she heaves. She stares at the redhead’s lips, brushing her thumb over swollen lips.

Laughter fills the air, and the raven lifting her eyes to meet Minjeong’s. Jimin’s fluttering with beauty, inside and out. She’s breathless, breathtaking and perfect in the redhead’s eyes. She thinks she’s never experienced this before, having to wonder whether or not she was dreaming.

“Well, you seem to have it all figured out.” The raven jokes, causing the younger to release a humorous breath of relief.

Nodding, Minjeong hugs her closer, an arm latching onto Jimin’s waist. “I don’t want her. I know- no. I’m sure of who I want and it’s you. I want you, and only you. I hope you understand now.” Everything is makes sense, with her vision clear.

The raven only plants a confident kiss to her lips, humming lowly before grinning. “Good, because I’ve been going crazy thinking it was wrong to fall in love with you because I thought you were still in love with Chaeyoung. I didn’t want to come in between that.” Jimin backs away, kicking the sand under her feet.

Jimin has a heart of gold. Minjeong just wants to protect it.

Reaching over, the younger girl grabs Jimin’s hand, lifting it up to press her lips to her knuckles. “It’s okay to be selfish, Jimin. I know you care about me but if anything, it’s up to me who I choose. I decided to choose you because you make me feel like the only girl in the world. What I feel for you is more than I’ll ever know.” Their eyes meet, and she hopes the universe agrees that Jimin is the right person at the right time.

When the older girl’s eyes crinkle as she smiles, the redhead takes it as sign that she might have finally opened up her heart.

No star shines and twinkles as bright as the stars in Jimin’s eyes. There’s a need to dive deep into the black night of stars in what are the raven’s orbs.

An inhale and exhale prepared Minjeong for Jimin’s words. “Is that another way to say that you’re in love with me, because I think I might have fallen a little harder.” Grinning widely, Jimin lets go of the younger girl and stands up to her feet.

Jimin begins walking away, the redhead watching her curiously as she does. Minjeong’s left a little amazed.

It’s only a second later that Minjeong realizes that she’s supposed to be following her. Jumping out of the swing, she runs after the raven, nearly bumping into her. Jimin shoves her playfully with her shoulder, and Minjeong just happens to do the same.

Walking home together feels different. Jimin’s pinky subtly links with her’s before the redhead intentionally interlaces their fingers together, palms pressed sincerely.

And if they weren’t close enough before, they definitely are now. (She doesn’t mind.)

-

For the first time in a while, Kim Minjeong’s absolutely disoriented.

She spent the whole day jumping from her lectures to work and didn’t get off until late.

But being in love with her roommate wasn’t quite something she saw in her yearly resolution. She can admit that it’s been such an excellent surprise. Coming home—comes with excitement she specializes as precious. Whenever she comes home later than Jimin, the raven would jump on top of her, greeting her with a long kiss that made Minjeong all dizzy.

Jimin’s become so much brighter, finally opening up to the redhead and so has she, so she can say that they help eachother.

As she’s in the middle of her lovely slumber, she hears light shuffling. At first, she figures it’s coming from outside, so she yawns and turns around, pulling the covers up. However, she then feels a weight take up the left side of her bed, warmth blooming the front of her body.

Squinting her eyes open, Minjeong sees that it’s Jimin, trying to slip under her covers. With time, she notices that the redhead is awake, the older girl stares fondly at her.

Not saying a word, the younger girl sleepily and gently tugs on Jimin’s waist, pulling her to her chest with her bicep under the raven’s head. The raven adjusts herself closer, finding a spot for her head to nestle into, while her arm slips under Minjeong’s shirt to wrap around her waist. They fit into eachother like missing puzzle pieces finally finding way to eachother.

She thinks that maybe, just maybe, Jimin is meant to be in her arms.

Rubbing Jimin’s back, she soon lifts her hand brush the raven’s messy hair. “Is everything alright?” She opens her eyes fully to look at the latter.

The other girl nods, their legs tangling under the sheets. “Yeah, I just felt cold and I couldn’t sleep. I figured I’d sleep better if I was held?” Jimin sighs at the fingers digging into her scalp.

The moment is lovely, rain pouring with a purpose, and putting them into a sense of comfort while together. She finds it adorable that the raven decided to slip into her bed, made it known that she just wanted to be held.

There’s a need to giggle, remembering how she used to be a bit intimidated by the older yet finds something new about her that just makes her want to blossom Jimin with love pecks all over her face due to her adorableness. This new found discovery makes her wonder what it’ll be like to experience it forever. She’s been enjoying embracing eachother too much.

“You’re cute, babe, do you know that?” Minjeong’s voice is draped with tiredness as closes her eyes for a beat and reminisces in the raven’s scent.

Jimin groans, which prompts the redhead to peck her forehead and laugh lowly. “I think you should go back to sleep.” The older girl pokes the redhead’s head playfully. Just a quickly, she brushes the messy red strands of Minjeong’s hair back.

She needs a reminder that it's not a dream.

“Will you be there when I wake up?” The younger girl asks, barely a whisper.

A gleaming sleepy smile puts Minjeong’s fears to rest.

“Of course, my love.”

-

Minjeong has an obsession with her girlfriend’s lips. Jimin always reminds her that it’s not a bad thing, that she happens to suffer with the same obsession. Yet, in her head, she can’t believe she’s drawn to someone like this.

In public, the urge to kiss her and let the world know that Jimin is her girlfriend grows tenfolds. They’ve had to keep their relationship a secret from their friends which the redhead doesn’t mind because she’s grown to love the subtle glances the raven gives her and the smiles Jimin gives her that she knows are reserved for her.

She loves acting like they aren’t holding hands under the table. It’s interesting watching people flirt with her girlfriend or having the raven watch as people flirt with her and to know that they can only look but not touch.

She absolutely loves the way Jimin pushes her against their dorm door to kiss her senseless after a long day of not being able to see or touch eachother. And Minjeong especially loves the surprised gasps she elicits from the older whenever she flips them and finds Jimin’s fingers to intertwine with her own beside her head. She loves it all.

They help eachother with their homework or projects the best they can, whether or not it be sitting down and trying to help solve a problem or a little distraction to prevent the other from stressing out.

The wide smile she’s greeted with whenever she brings back home Jimin’s favorite takeout sends her heart soaring over the moon.

The little things remind the redhead just how in love she is with her roommate—how she can’t ask for anything more. She isn’t afraid to fall deeper because she knows the raven will catch her and she will too. They have much trust for eachother, built over the length of time and developed to eventually becoming something more.

That big step to transition into that is Jimin inviting her to visit her family soon.

Minjeong is a little terrified because everyone knows meeting your significant other’s family is a big deal.

Jimin straddles her lap on the couch, cupping her girlfriend’s cheeks. “Babe, I assure you they’ll love you. All you need to do is be yourself and everything will be fine. You’re the most caring and kindest person I know.” The raven encourages her, slightly calming Minjeong’s nerves.

Still, in the redhead’s mind, she wonders if she’s enough for Jimin, if her parents will think she’s good enough to hold their precious Yu’s heart.

Turning her face away, Minjeong looks down, fiddling with the older girl’s shirt. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better. I mean, what if they think I’m not the one right for you, Jimin? I can’t-” Her face squeezes with anxiousness, feels her body begin to work itself up.

However, the love of her life just happens to be so good at reading through her. What is still a fascinating thing that she’s experienced multiple time still blows her away everytime.

Minjeong feels hands raise her face again, barely has a moment to comprehend what’s going on before the raven connects their lips together. At the touch of the older girl, the redhead melts, enwrapping her arms around Jimin’s waist and pulling her closer. The younger nearly forgets what she was even worried about in the first place.

Separating their lips, Jimin lets her eyes roam her face. “Listen to me. You have nothing to worry about. I’m not going to let my parents police me about who to love. You’ve showed me more love than I could ever know. We don’t have to prove anything, okay?” The raven leans closer, tracing Minjeong’s skin with her finger.

After a long beat, the younger nods, taking in Jimin’s words. Soon, her dimples pop up due the grateful smile approaching her mouth.

“Thank you.” The redhead breathes out, watching as the older girl nods. Smiling even wider. Minjeong steals a kiss, soon humming when Jimin doesn’t let go of her, and deepening the kiss.

However, Minjeong separates them to quickly take off her glasses and sets them on the coffee table before letting her hands roam the bare skin of Jimin’s back under her shirt and reconnecting their lips once more. The raven pulls her closer, arms slipping around her neck and fingers tugging at the red curls of her hair.

And gosh, having Jimin kiss her so passionately always makes her nearly lose her senses, have it replaced with what’s in front of her.

Jimin’s scent of strong perfume.

Jimin’s warm body pressed against her’s.

The low sound of breathing in the room.

The raven’s lifting her head slightly, tilting to maybe kiss Minjeong better. It’s magical, dizzying and majestic that the younger falls into what is the world of the raven. In the redhead’s mind, she wants to show her form of gratitude.

Slowly pulling away, the redhead chuckles at how swollen Jimin’s lips are from the little nips and tugs. The older girl is breathing hard, an inch and second away from brushing their lips together again. Moments like these are so intimate, stuck in a world of their own behind closed doors. With simple gazes, Minjeong and Jimin fully understand eachother.

A thankful smile makes way onto Minjeong’s lips, so in love with the girl in front of her. “Ugh, I love you so much.” She presses their foreheads together, steals one kiss after another until the raven begins giggling. The beautiful noises brings the redhead to state of content, falling in love with Jimin all over again.

They’ve come a long way, have grown accustomed to eachother’s habits.

Jimin nods knowingly, her gentle smile sending a fluttery feeling in the redhead’s stomach. “I know, baby. I love you even more.” Her nose playfully bumps into Minjeong’s before planting another long kiss against her mouth.

Oh, does it sends the redhead over the moon.