Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You alone?”

Jimin is leaning against the bar, hand pressed against her cheek as her elbow digs into the wood of the bar. The blond in front of her is taking a sip of some unknown cocktail, something sweet from the color and smell, and it takes all of Jimin’s willpower to stop from leaning over and taking that straw in between her own lips for a taste of the sugary sweet drink.

The blond, understandably apprehensive, narrows her eyes and shoots Jimin a look; it’s not particularly threatening, but not exactly friendly. But it gives Jimin enough leeway to hop onto the barstool next to her.

“Well?”

Finally putting her drink down, the blond mirrors Jimin’s easygoing position, mimicking the casual lean against the bar. Her hand presses down, pushing her palm against her cheek so that the left corner of her lip is forced into an upward tilt.

It’s cute – and, more importantly, it gives Jimin an excuse to glance down at her lips.

“I’m by myself, yes.”

“Great, me too,” Jimin beams, turning that casual grin into her usual charming smile. She slides out a hand, letting it dangle in the space between their two bodies. “I’m Yoo Jimin.”

“Minjeong… Kim Minjeong.”

Minjeong’s hand is soft – dainty, and smaller than Jimin expected. Their fingers wrap around one another for a brief moment. Jimin notes the way that Minjeong’s fingertips lingers against hers, how Minjeong’s cheeks flush a little pink when Jimin grazes her nails against the other’s palm when their hands separate. It emboldens her to lean a little closer, to wrap the bend of her ankle and foot around Minjeong’s barstool and pull her a couple centimeters closer until their knees are touching.

“So, what are you doing here alone?” Jimin asks casually; her hands play with her own drink, a gin and tonic, and remain innocently on the bar table as her legs casually invade Minjeong’s space.

Minjeong stutters and stops, glancing down at their entangled limbs once – twice. Her face is flushed, probably from a mix of alcohol and befuddlement, and it makes Jimin’s head spin. Eventually, she does end up spitting out an answer, though the previous defensiveness is now replaced by a shy mumble.

“I was just people watching…”

“Oh,” Jimin chuckles, “What a coincidence. I was doing the same.”

It’s not a complete lie. She had been in the middle of a conversation with Aeri, saw Minjeong sitting by her lonesome at the bar, and promptly abandoned their less than thrilling conversation about how much they hate their company manager in favor of accompanying Minjeong. Some (Aeri) may beg to differ that it was less “people watching” and more “picking a target,” but Jimin likes to think her reasons for approaching Minjeong are pure of heart. Minjeong looked bored! And Jimin is nothing if not entertaining.

Minjeong narrows her eyes again, though this time it’s less defensive and more amused. “Sure you were.”

“Ouch!” Placing both hands over her heart, Jimin leans backwards with her eyes closed as though she had been shot point-blank. “Now what did I do to deserve that?”

Minjeong doesn’t respond. Jimin cracks a single eye open, grinning with delight when she notices the exasperated smile on the other’s face. She sits back up, kind of like Dracula rising from slumber, until she’s back in her original position of her cheek pressed against the palm of her hand, elbow resting on the wood of the bar. She leans forward, slowly, giving Minjeong ample time to push away if she desires.

“Let me prove it to you.”

“How?”

Jimin points to two girls sitting at the opposite end of the bar. The two are laughing about sometime, more polite than anything meaningfully funny. “They’re on a first date.”

Minjeong turns, turning only her torso so that she’s able to see where Jimin is pointing without having to leave the warmth of Jimin’s legs pressed against her own. “How do you know that?”

“See how awkward they are? That girl,” she points to the one on the left, “Is definitely more interested than the other.”

Minjeong narrows her eyes, trying to catch the details that are just so obvious to Jimin. “Oh yeah, the other girl is definitely texting under the table.”

“Yep,” Jimin says with a chuckle. “Plus I heard them talk about their MBTI personalities on my way over here, and no one talks about that unless it's a first date. Reminds me, what is your MBTI?”

Minjeong snorts, “ISTP. You?”

“Oof, ENFP.”

“Not a great match.”

Jimin laughs, “Never heard of the phrase opposites attract?”

“Hasn’t personally happened.”

“Yet.”

Minjeong laughs, softly. “Okay, sure. Yet.”

“Anyways,” Jimin waves a hand in the air, directing Minjeong’s attraction to Aeri who’s tripping over her own feet trying to talk to Yizhuo. Yizhuo, on the other hand, is calmly nodding her head. “That’s my best friend trying and failing to talk to Yizhuo, and the whole reason why I’m here to begin with.”

“Ah,” Minjeong says. “And the other girl is her girlfriend?”

“Oh no way,” Jimin rolls her eyes. “Yizhuo thinks she’s a total loser.”

“Really? Because it looks like Yizhuo is interested.”

Jimin blinks. She narrows her eyes, shoulders hunched forward as though that would help her visualize whatever Minjeong is seeing. “No way, she’s just being nice.”

“You’re not as good as you claim to be,” Minjeong says with a chuckle. She points this time, leading Jimin’s eyes. “You can see their fingers are touching there. If she wasn’t interested in your friend, I doubt she’d keep her hand there.”

“Oh,” Jimin frowns, somewhat grossed out by the idea that anyone could be attracted to her friend – especially someone as hot as Yizhuo. “Gross.”

“You’re so childish,” Minjeong laughs, lightly hitting Jimin’s shoulder in response.

Jimin pouts a little.

“Then what about you?”

Minjeong blinks. “What about me?”

Jimin places her hand lightly on Minjeong’s knee, smiling innocently at the other. “Do you not mind?”

It’s a brazen move, something only an alcohol-emboldened Jimin would be able to do. Minjeong sputters again, unable to respond and it only encourages Jimin to press further. She leans her head closer, quietly invading Minjeong’s space until the tips of their noses are close enough to touch.

They linger, silent.

Jimin bites her lower lip, trying hard to suppress the smile that threatens to overtake her face. She catches how Minjeong’s eyes lower, glancing at Jimin’s lips before fluttering elsewhere to a spot behind her.

They’re close enough now that she can feel the soft exhale that leaves between Minjeong – can basically feel the twitch of the other’s lips.

“At least take me to dinner first,” Minjeong grumbles, more embarrassed than snappy.

“Can I?” Jimin leans back an appropriate amount – back into a comfortable position, and Minjeong lets out a held-in breath in response.

Minjeong hands her phone over from her bag, and Jimin happily trades her cell in response.

“Are you free tomorrow?”

Minjeong lets out a breathless chuckle, “You’re impatient.”

“Can’t let an opportunity like this go to waste,” Jimin sends a message her way, making sure the notification lights up properly on Minjeong’s phone.

“I was planning on watching a movie…” Minjeong glances down at her phone, fingers dancing on the keyboard. “But there’s an open seat next to me in the theater, if you’re interested.”

Jimin’s phone rumbles as a notification pops up. Minjeong had sent her a sticker in response to her original message – a shy cartoon dog popping its head from behind a wall.

She hearts the message immediately.

“I’ll buy the popcorn.”

“Deal.”

Jimin pockets her phone again, ignoring the countless notifications from Aeri who had definitely seen this whole exchange from across the bar.

“And what are you doing for the rest of tonight?”

Minjeong laughs, exasperated once more. Jimin knows she’s pushing her luck, but it’s such a beautiful night out and they’ve only had a couple of drinks (probably). It’s a bit of a waste to go back now, is what Jimin would argue.

And apparently Minjeong thinks the same because she leans forward this time, enveloping the hand Jimin still has placed on top of her knee.

“Depends. What do you have in mind?”

Chapter Text

“I love you.”

It happens in a blink of an eye, in a moment so mundane that Jimin accidentally responds with a soft grunt of her own. It’s only when Minjeong snorts, lips unfolding into the start of a smile that Jimin realizes what she’s done.

Jimin whips back from where the frying pan she’s currently stooped over. The oil crackles and pops, the egg sizzling as the translucent white sets into a more solid state. Minjeong, on the other hand, remains unmoved, face buried in one of Jimin’s many comic books that she has lying around her apartment.

“What did you say?”

Minjeong flips a page, a little too nonchalant about the whole thing.

“That I love you.”

There isn’t a bit of hesitation despite the repetition – rather, Minjeong’s voice, still a little scratchy from having just woken up, is steadfast and warm.

“Oh. I love you too.”

“Good.”

Jimin stares, slack-mouthed. Her brain whirs, the processing a bit slow from the sleep that stubbornly clings to her. Minjeong, on the other hand, looks fully unaffected – well, she would if it weren’t for the dust of pink that now decorated her cheeks.

“The eggs are burning.”

“Oh– shit– ugh.”

What had been perfectly cooked sunny side eggs had now blackened at the edges. A waft of smoke hits her nose, and Jimin quickly turns off the induction stove as she shoves the frying pan onto a cold burner to cool off.

Soft plodding footsteps sound next to her as Minjeong gets up, gently placing her cheek against Jimin’s shoulder as she looks to assess the damage.

“Burnt two eggs,” Jimin grumbles, pushing her own cheek against the blond mess that is Minjeong’s bed hair.

“Sad. Eggs are expensive these days,” Minjeong says in response. “Want me to make coffee?”

“Iced, please.”

“Milk or no?”

“Black.”

“Got it.”

Jimin watches as Minjeong shuffles her way to the opposite end of her small studio kitchen. The oversized shirt she has on is sliding off one of her shoulders and hangs low enough that it completely hides the pair of shorts that Minjeong has on; the shorts and shirt are both Jimin’s, but Minjeong quickly claimed ownership when she announced they were her favorite pajamas. Giving up on her attempts to salvage the burnt eggs, Jimin follows Minjeong over to the coffee machine, resting her chin on Minjeong’s shoulder as she bends slightly so her arms can loop around the other’s waist.

“Want to move in with me?”

Minjeong snorts good-naturedly, “Impatient as always.”

“Some things never change,” Jimin says with a grin. “What did I say when we first met? Can’t let an–”

“–Opportunity like this go to waste.” Minjeong echoes just as the coffee finishes pouring. Gently prying Jimin’s arms from her torso, Minjeong grabs another mug from the cupboard as she waves Jimin away to sit at the table.

Jimin settles into one of two chairs. She pulls at the extra chair with the crook of her foot right as Minjeong sits, closing the distance instantly so their legs are intertwined, knees touching.

“Well?”

Minjeong places the two coffee mugs down. She laughs, placing her own hand on top of Jimin’s as her thumb rubs small circles into the skin.

“At least make me breakfast first.”

Jimin too laughs – really laughs. “I’ll make the toast if you make the eggs this time?”

“Deal.”