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It’s a peaceful Friday afternoon until Jimin receives a text from the student council president, also her best friend, Aeri, notifying her of Minjeong’s detention. She replies with a ‘??’ and figures that maybe Minjeong got into a fight again. That was confirmed when Aeri replies to Jimin’s message saying, ‘she got into a fight for you.’
For me? Jimin thinks. This isn’t the first time Minjeong has gotten into a fight with someone because of Jimin and truth to be told, Jimin does not like that this is happening. Obviously, she hates seeing Minjeong hurt, covered in bruises and scratches, like how dare they lay a hand on her and scar her!
Jimin waits for Minjeong outside the detention classroom and when the younger walks out to see Jimin waiting for her, her eyes widen and her mouth parts with a small gasp falling out from it. She takes a step back slightly, afraid of what Jimin will say about her for getting into a fight again.
However, Jimin doesn’t say anything. Instead, she just pats Minjeong’s head and holds her hand. Then, she walks Minjeong back home. Minjeong fully expected Jimin to leave right after sending her to her doorstep but what she didn’t expect was for Jimin to follow her into her house like it’s her own.
Jimin has been to Minjeong’s house countless times before that she knows the place inside out. She heads to the bathroom to get the first aid kit out to clean Minjeong’s wounds.
“Ouch! It hurts.” Minjeong flinches and pouts, pushing Jimin’s hands away from her knee gently.
“Who told you to punch a guy that’s literally four heads taller than you and twice your size?” Jimin scoffs.
“He was talking shit about you! Was I supposed to just stand there and let him call you a slut ?!” Minjeong huffs, feeling her blood boil again just by recalling the incident.
“I heard that Yu Jimin slept with Lee Jeno at the party last night. She’s a slut.”
Minjeong damn near broke her neck with how fast she whipped her head around the moment she heard Jimin’s name falling out of someone’s mouth.
When she notices it’s none other than the school’s jock, also the captain of the basketball team, Jung Jaehyun, she stomps over and punches him squarely on his face.
“Who gave you the right to let her name fall out of your mouth?!”
Needless to say, the both of them got sent for detention that day.
“You can’t stop people from talking about me, Minjeong.” Jimin sighs, it’s not that she isn’t grateful for Minjeong standing up for her, she just doesn’t like to see Minjeong getting hurt, especially if it’s because of her.
“I can! Even if I can’t, I will find a way to do it.” Minjeong says it with so much passion as if protecting Jimin is her only priority.
“Okay, okay.” Jimin chuckles softly then she pastes a plaster on the cut across Minjeong’s cheeks and her scraped knees. “You know, I really appreciate you doing all these for me, but I don’t want you getting hurt because of me, alright?”
“I don’t care if I get hurt because of you.”
“I know. But, please, for me, just stop getting into fights.” Jimin practically pleads.
Minjeong pouts then she lowers her head before nodding slowly, like a child getting scolded. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Thank you for looking out for me.” Jimin smiles then she cups Minjeong’s face with both her hands to lift her head up.
Jimin gives Minjeong a reassuring smile and a gentle kiss on her forehead, right above her wound. When she pulls away, she pats Minjeong’s head and the way the younger looks at her resembles that of a puppy that seems content and satisfied with the pats from its owners.
Minjeong and Jimin have some kind of unlabelled relationship, meaning they are not just friends, but they aren’t lovers either. It’s definitely something more than friends, just slightly less than a situationship, or maybe it is a situationship. They haven’t really talked about it.
They met at the convenience store late at night when Jimin just wanted to get a snack because she got hungry during her late night gaming session while Minjeong on the other hand, wanted to get more snacks for the mini party hosted at her best friend, Sunwoo’s, house.
As per Sunwoo’s and the other people at the party’s request to get more alcohol, Minjeong stands in front of the alcohol section and blinks, overwhelmed by the different alcohol selections to choose from.
She spots Jimin who she assumes is older than her just because she’s taller, going through the snacks section. She timidly approaches her and taps her shoulder. Jimin flinches slightly and turns to look at the shorter girl.
“Hi?” Jimin raises an eyebrow.
“Hi. Hello. Um… I was just wondering if you could help pick out some.. alcohol for me and my friends? They asked me to get some and I’m not very sure what kind to get.” Minjeong shifts uncomfortably and asks with an awkward smile.
Jimin finds herself trying to contain her laughter when this small girl that looks too young to be drinking, asks her for help on picking out alcohol.
“If you don’t mind, how old are you?”
“Oh, I just turned eighteen!” Minjeong beams proudly. “I’m legal!”
Jimin chuckles softly at the girl’s enthusiasm and she walks towards the alcohol section with Minjeong following behind her.
“So, what have you tried?”
“Um.. I think soju, a couple of beers here and there and some hard liquor. I’m not too sure.”
When Jimin looks at Minjeong while she’s talking, she notices the apparent red tint on Minjeong’s cheeks and the way she slightly slurs her words when she talks, she supposes the girl had a couple of drinks before this.
“Your friends sent you out here alone to get drinks and snacks? It’s already 11.30pm.” Jimin frowns.
“It’s alright. I’m not drunk anyway.” Minjeong replies, “Told them that I’m gonna be okay alone and I’m a big girl now! I’m already eighteen!”
“Your friend lives close by?”
Minjeong hums in response, “Just a few blocks down.”
“Alright.” Jimin shakes her head in disbelief.
Jimin ended up picking out a few more bottles of soju, one of each flavor, and a couple more bottles of beer, for Minjeong.
“Did your friends give you any money to pay for these? It’s a lot.”
Minjeong shakes her head. “They said they’ll pay me back later.”
Jimin decided to pay for her snacks together with Minjeong’s snacks and drinks. She feels bad for the younger because firstly, no one accompanied her to get the snacks and drinks and secondly, no one gave her money to pay for all these.
“You really didn’t have to pay for me.” Minjeong whines.
“It’s alright.” Jimin smiles.
She offers to help Minjeong carry the bags to her friend’s house as the drinks were quite heavy and it was already late. Even though her initial plan was to get home quickly after getting her snacks and continue her grind on her ranked game on Valorant, she couldn’t just let Minjeong walk back alone at this hour, especially when she’s so small and not to mention, really pretty.
“Hey, I didn’t get your name.”
“Jimin. Yu Jimin.”
Minjeong nods. “Jimin.”
“I’m nineteen.”
“Jimin-unnie.”
“And what’s your name?” Jimin smiles warmly.
“Minjeong. Kim Minjeong.”
“Kim Minjeong.” Jimin repeats. “Okay, Kim Minjeong. When you get back to your friend’s house, make sure that they pay you back for all these okay?”
Minjeong frowns, “I didn’t pay for these, though. You did.”
“Yeah. It’s okay, just make sure that they pay you.”
“And then I’ll transfer the money to you!” Minjeong proposes, “You can give me your number.”
Jimin raises an eyebrow as she chuckles softly, “Minjeong-ah. If you wanted my number, you could’ve just said so.”
“Ugh. Shut up, it’s to pay you back!”
Jimin teases Minjeong for a little while more before she relents eventually and gives her number to her. Minjeong doesn’t know why but she felt the need to hug Jimin to thank her for paying, for carrying the bags and even walking her back. Perhaps it’s because she’s tipsy and it’s the alcohol courage that’s pushing her to do it.
Jimin freezes when she feels the smaller girl pulling her into a hug. She lifts her hand up to pat the back of Minjeong’s head awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
When Minjeong pulls away from the hug, Jimin immediately tells her, “Stay safe and don’t get too drunk, okay? You can text me anytime.”
Minjeong nods with a bright smile plastered on her face, “Thank you, unnie! I hope to see you again sometime soon!”
——-
Sometime soon came really soon. She was walking around her school campus when she saw a familiar face getting cornered by a group of boys.
She rushes over and reaches her hand out to pull Minjeong away from those boys. “What do you think you guys are doing?”
“Oh. Jimin. We were just talking to the new girl!” Jeno says with a smug smile.
“Just talking my ass. Do not harass her, you got it?” Jimin rolls her eyes and scoffs.
Jeno rolls his eyes and walks away with his boys following him.
Jimin immediately attends to Minjeong. She checks her arms for bruises and she roams her eyes around her face to check for any scratches just in case the guys touched her.
“Unnie.” Minjeong giggles, “I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?”
Minjeong nods her head in response.
Jimin found out later on that Minjeong had just joined the school and that she’s in her first year, studying psychology. From that day onwards, they started to text everyday and Jimin would often pick Minjeong up from her house and they would go to school together. Jimin would also wait for Minjeong to finish her classes or vice versa, and would send Minjeong home first before she goes home, despite being the one that lives nearer to their school.
Sometimes, Jimin catches herself smiling a little too much when she texts Minjeong and she realizes that she treats Minjeong differently from her other friends. She doesn’t feel the need to take care of her other friends as much as she does for Minjeong.
At first, she brushed it off by telling herself it’s just because Minjeong’s younger so she treats her like a little sister. But soon, she finds herself waiting for Minjeong’s texts and she gets excited whenever the younger texts her about random things that happened in a day. She finds herself thinking about Minjeong and she finds herself giving Minjeong the affection that she doesn’t normally give to anyone else.
To her, Minjeong is just special.
---
“Minjeong-ah!” Jimin calls out sweetly from the kitchen.
Minjeong, who was lazing on the sofa, drifting in and out from her sleep, jumps awake immediately and runs to the kitchen in a hurry, almost stumbling over. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Jimin startles at Minjeong’s sudden concern over nothing. She wraps an arm around Minjeong’s waist to keep her from falling and fixes her messy hair, pushing away the hair that was covering her face and tucking it behind her ear, then she chuckles softly, “I’m okay, why are you panicking?”
“Oh. I thought something happened to you because you called my name.” Minjeong let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Sorry, I’m so sleepy, I think I misheard the tone.”
“Who told you to wake up when I did? You can sleep in!”
“No. I don’t wanna sleep in without you beside me when you’re sleeping over.” Minjeong shakes her head with a pout.
Jimin pats Minjeong’s head and the younger giggles like a high school girl in love. That is one thing she can admit now though, it’s that she doesn’t just have a crush on Jimin, she’s in love with her, and she thinks Jimin feels the same.
Jimin tells Minjeong to take a seat at the dining table to wait for her and Minjeong obliges immediately. She’s just down horrendous, she’d do whatever Jimin asks her to.
When Jimin’s done plating the food, she brings both plates out and leaves a gentle kiss on Minjeong’s forehead before sitting on the opposite of her.
“Unnie.”
Jimin hums in response, looking up at Minjeong while chewing her eggs.
“I’m going to Sunwoo’s later in the evening.”
Jimin frowns. “What for?”
“Just a small party with our friend group again.” Minjeong shrugs, not letting the way Jimin’s expression changes go unnoticed.
“You’re gonna be drinking again?” Jimin asks, her tone getting sterner.
Minjeong nods slowly, putting a piece of bacon into her mouth. “Yup!”
Jimin just nods in response. She feels jealousy form in the pit of her stomach and suddenly she doesn’t have the appetite to eat anymore. At the same time, she feels like she doesn’t have the right to be jealous because Minjeong isn’t hers anyway. They’re not dating or anything.
“You can still stay..” Minjeong trails, “Wait for me to come back?”
Jimin chuckles. She has nothing to be jealous about anyway. Minjeong will always come back home to her. “Okay.”
———
“No. That’s too short.”
“Unnie! It’s the fifth piece of shirt I’m picking out!” Minjeong whines.
“Minjeong, baby. You’re not going to the club, you’re going to a mini friend gathering. Why are you even wearing a crop top?”
“C’mon, It’s cute!”
“You’re cute.” Jimin smiles.
“It’s not the time for compliments!” Minjeong blushes and looks away.
Jimin pushes Minjeong away from her closet gently and starts picking out a decent shirt to wear. She ends up taking out the shirt that she let Minjeong borrow once and never got it back. She tosses that oversized graphic tee to Minjeong and asks her to wear it.
“Oh! It’s yours! I have been looking for it for so long.” Minjeong exclaims with a smile that shines brighter than the sun and the moon.
“It is.” Jimin chuckles lowly with a nod.
After Minjeong is done preparing, she walks out to the living room and stands in front of Jimin. “How do I look?”
“Gorgeous.” Jimin rasps, “Especially in my shirt.”
Minjeong blushes again and hides her face in her hands. “Don’t say things like that!”
“Like what?” Jimin teases, removing Minjeong’s hands from her face and interlacing them.
Minjeong groans and buries her face into Jimin’s chest. Jimin laughs and wraps her arms around Minjeong’s waist loosely. “Alright, I’ll stop teasing you.”
Jimin accompanies Minjeong to Sunwoo’s house and before Minjeong heads in, she pulls her back gently and hugs her. When she pulls away, she kisses Minjeong’s forehead. It has been a habit to kiss Minjeong’s forehead ever since the first time she did it when Minjeong cried to her over a failed test. Minjeong loves it, though she wouldn’t admit it. It makes her feel protected in some way. Just a simple kiss on the forehead and it makes her feel like she’s dancing on the clouds.
“Don’t drink too much, okay?”
“Yes, unnie.” Minjeong smiles.
Even after the conversation ended, Jimin still hasn’t let go of Minjeong and they’re just staring at each other.
“Hey Minjeong!” Sunwoo opens the door and sees the two girls just standing there, staring at each other. “Oh. Hi Jimin!”
Jimin blinks and shifts her gaze to Sunwoo before giving him a nod and a smile in acknowledgment. Sunwoo leaves the both girls alone and leaves the door open so that Minjeong can just walk in anytime.
“You should go in.”
“Okay.” Minjeong nods. “Text me when you get back to my house!”
“I will!” Jimin smiles and she waits till Minjeong closes the front door then she walks back to Minjeong’s house with a bright smile on her face.
Jimin lazes around on Minjeong’s bed while waiting for the time to pass. Her eyes flit between TikTok and the clock on her phone ever so often, hoping time passes faster for Minjeong to get home. Then, she receives a call from Aeri.
“Hey!”
“Hey, Aeri.” Jimin greets.
“Hop onto Valorant, please. Let’s grind our rank.”
“I’m at Minjeong’s house though.”
“Again?” Aeri exasperates. Whenever she calls Jimin, the older is always either out with Minjeong, or she’s at Minjeong’s house. She’s just always in Minjeong’s vicinity.
“Yeah..” Jimin chuckles awkwardly.
“Hop on using her computer then!”
“Um. Alright, I’ll ask for her permission first.” Jimin says and before she gets a reply from Aeri, she ends the call.
She goes to Minjeong’s chat and messages her, hoping that the girl is still sober enough to reply to her.
jimin: hey
puppy <3: yeah?
jimin: can i hop onto valorant on your computer?
jimin: aeri asked me to
puppy <3: yeah? you can do whatever you want 😂
jimin: okay! thanks minjeongie!
puppy <3: password’s ur birthday
jimin: awww okay
Jimin logs into her account and joins Aeri’s party. At least this can help her to kill time. Time seems to pass by quicker now that she’s playing games and when she checks the time again after another game ended, it’s already 11:30pm. She notices a message from Minjeong and she taps in to receive a picture of Minjeong with her face flushed red, and her cute little smile. Not to mention, her cheeks look extra squishy with the angle the picture was taken from. Minjeong sent the photo along with another message that read, unnie, i miss u :( .
Jimin swears she almost broke down right then and there at how cute Minjeong is. She feels her cuteness aggression for Minjeong raging the more she stares at the photo. She coos internally at the picture Minjeong sent and she gushes all about it to Aeri on call. Then, she replies to Minjeong’s message with a, i miss you too, minjeongie’.
After gushing all about it to Aeri, who is already tired with how much Jimin talks about the younger, she starts another game. She’s currently Ascendant 3 and she’s so so close to ranking up to Immortal.
Halfway through her rank-up game, Jimin receives a call from Minjeong. She immediately goes AFK in the game to pick up the call. When she picks it up, she hears Minjeong’s best friend, Yizhuo’s, voice along with Minjeong’s whines at the back.
“Hi! Jimin-unnie! Can you pick Minjeong up, please?”
“Is she drunk?”
“Uh, yes. She’s drunk.” Yizhuo replies and Jimin hears a faint, “I’m not!” coming from Minjeong’s whiny voice.
“Alright, I’ll be on my way.”
“Thanks, unnie!” Yizhuo cheers, then she ends the call.
Jimin stares at the time, 12:30am. It’s late, she has to get Minjeong home as soon as possible.
“Uh, Aeri. I gotta go pick Minjeong up, she’s drunk.”
“What?!” Aeri yells through her mic. “This is our rank-up game! We’re so close to ranking up to Immortal!”
“I know. But, Minjeong is more important. I’m gonna leave the game.”
“Alright, lover girl~” Aeri sings. “Go pick up your girl.”
“I’m sorry, bye!” Jimin says and she leaves the game immediately.
Before she met Minjeong, her phone was always on do not disturb mode whenever she played Valorant. She never picked up anyone’s calls and never answered anyone’s text. Hell, she wouldn’t even go AFK in a game for someone.
She took her rank so seriously that it literally pains her to de-rank. Everything changed when she met the younger girl and now, she left her rank up game just to pick Minjeong up. Ohh, she’s so downbad.
When she arrives at Sunwoo’s place, she sees Minjeong sitting on the porch, dozing off with Yizhuo beside her, patting her back. She must’ve vomited. She approaches the two girls quietly so as to not startle them in this quiet night.
“Hey..” Jimin calls out softly.
Yizhuo's head snaps up immediately and she uses her free hand to push her hair back. “Hi, Jimin-unnie.”
“Is she asleep?” Jimin asks, pointing to Minjeong.
Yizhuo nods in response.
Jimin decides to carry Minjeong on her back to walk them home. It’s not that far of a walk anyway. “Thank you, Ning.” Jimin smiles at Yizhuo and tells her to take care before walking back to the direction she came from.
Halfway through the walk, she feels Minjeong lift her head up from the crook of her neck. She turns her head slightly to look at Minjeong and realizes that she was just getting comfortable. Something heavy settles in her heart, but in a comforting way. She exhales heavily, feeling her heart rise to her throat, ready to burst and to pour her emotions into the night.
The night is quiet and peaceful. Everything feels just right. She’s so in love with Minjeong.
---
When they arrived back at Minjeong’s house. Jimin carefully sets Minjeong down onto her bed and then she goes to the closet to get a fresh pair of pajamas for Minjeong to change into. Since Minjeong is drunk and asleep, she helps Minjeong change into her pajamas, it’s not the first time she did it anyway.
Minjeong is a lightweight and yet she still drinks a little too much than what she can even handle, and Jimin’s always there to pick Minjeong up and help her change into her pajamas so that the younger wouldn’t feel dirty and uncomfortable when she sleeps. She knows Minjeong hates wearing her “outside” clothes when she’s on her bed.
After she changes into a new set of clothes that she took from Minjeong’s closet and brushes her teeth, she gets into bed beside Minjeong. The younger groans at the movements and she turns her body. Now, half her body is on top of Jimin with her hand slung right over Jimin’s chest and her legs tangled with Jimin’s.
Jimin reaches an arm out to rest on Minjeong’s back then she softly caresses Minjeong’s head and back. She pats Minjeong’s back to a slow rhythm and watches as Minjeong sleeps comfortably, snuggled up in the crook of her neck.
When she hears a sound coming from Minjeong, she thinks that she’s hallucinating. She continues to pat Minjeong’s back as she whispers, “Did you say something?”
The reply comes out faint and soft, “I’m in love with you, unnie.”
Her heart skips a beat and her hand stops patting Minjeong’s back. It’s only when she hears the soft snores coming from Minjeong then she resumes the patting and falls asleep with a smile on her face.
---
The next day, Minjeong wakes up with a pounding headache and her throat as dry as the sahara desert. She groans when she tries to get up and notices that she’s cuddling with Jimin. She wonders just how drunk she was.
Jimin stirs awake when she feels Minjeong moving and the moment she opens her eyes and her vision clears, she sees Minjeong right in front of her face. She flinches slightly and memories from last night came flooding back into her mind.
“I’m in love with you, unnie.”
Jimin blushes when she hears Minjeong’s voice in her head repeating that confession. Minjeong stares at Jimin with a confused tilt of her head and an eyebrow raised skeptically.
“What are you blushing about early in the morning?” Minjeong asks.
Jimin shakes her head, “Nothing.”
“Whatever, I have no energy to press on. I feel like I’m dying.” Minjeong groans, flopping back onto the bed.
“Who told you to drink so much yesterday?” Jimin chastised, earning another groan from the younger.
When Jimin was about to leave the bed to go to the kitchen to get some water for the younger, Minjeong pulls her back and hugs her tightly, “No! Don’t leave me!”
Jimin chuckles at Minjeong’s childish whines and caresses the back of her head gently. “I’m just going to the kitchen to get you some water, silly.”
“Don’t leaveee!”
Eventually, Jimin managed to get up to get Minjeong a cup of warm water along with aspirin for her headache, despite Minjeong’s whines and attempts to keep her close.
“Did I say anything funny yesterday?” Minjeong asks after swallowing the pill.
Jimin’s breath hitches, her mind drifting back to Minjeong’s confession.
“I’m in love with you, Unnie.”
She ponders for a moment whether she should tell Minjeong about it or not. In the end, she decides to shake her head with a reassuring smile that she hopes it doesn’t look forced. “Don’t worry, you didn’t.”
“Okay. That’s good.” Minjeong sighs in relief.
After lazing in bed for another 30 minutes, Jimin got up to brush her teeth before going to cook breakfast for the both of them. She makes some pancakes, bacon and eggs, along with a cup of orange juice — Minjeong’s favorite things to have for breakfast. She makes sure to put some blueberries on top of the pancakes and drizzles the maple syrup evenly across the pancakes, just enough for each bite Minjeong takes, the way she likes it.
She sets the plates nicely on the table and goes back to the room to call for Minjeong. When she opens the door, she sees Minjeong walking out of the toilet, freshened up. She smiles at the cute sight of the still sleepy Minjeong even though she’s already washed up.
Jimin thinks, no, Jimin knows that Minjeong is the cutest person to ever walk on earth. Minjeong with her cute round eyes that resembles a puppy, Minjeong with her playful antics that never fails to put a smile on Jimin's face, Minjeong who only whines to Jimin just because she knows the older has a soft spot for her.
Growing up, Minjeong has always been the girl who doesn’t socialize much, and doesn’t have many friends. She prefers to stay by herself and she prefers the silence over the noise. She takes a long time to warm up to people and that’s why her only close friends are Yizhuo, Heejin, Sunwoo and Beomgyu.
That was until Jimin came along. Before she went up to ask Jimin for help with choosing alcohol, she gave herself a pep talk. Perhaps, it was also the alcohol in her system that gave her the courage to speak to a stranger, a really fucking gorgeous one even.
She warmed up to Jimin so fast that even her friends were confused about it. When her friends asked her about Jimin, she just shrugged and laughed it off casually, not knowing what her relationship with Jimin was. She’s aware that they definitely do not act like how normal friends do but there wasn’t a label either.
It didn’t come off as a surprise when she acknowledges her growing crush on the older. At first, she thought that it’ll just be a passing crush, one that will be gone maybe maximum a week later, just like her past crushes. But soon, she found herself falling more and more into Jimin’s sweet actions and she couldn’t help but to fall in love with her entirely.
To Minjeong, Jimin is like sunshine in a storm. Through every challenge and downfall in her life, Jimin has always been there to lift her back up. She’s the sun Minjeong seeks during every storm, hoping for the rain to pass and the warmth to dry the earth — just as she runs to Jimin when she needs to cry, knowing Jimin will be there to wipe her tears away.
Minjeong is too deeply in love with Jimin and she doesn’t know how to get out of it. Though, she doesn’t have any plans on getting out of it either. Her heart will continue beating for Jimin for as long as she’s by her side.
---
It’s been at least a week since Minjeong and Jimin last talked. No, they did not have a fight, they aren’t mad at each other either. Jimin’s just so busy with all the upcoming project deadlines and exams that she barely has time for anything.
Jimin still tries her best to text Minjeong a ‘good morning’ and ‘good night’ message everyday, but life updates, small talk throughout the day, and late night conversations have become practically non-existent.
Minjeong doesn’t know if she’s being clingy but she misses the older so damn much that she swears she’s about to combust if she doesn’t talk to Jimin for more than one minute in the next two days.
She has been complaining to Yizhuo, and she’s sure that Yizhuo is already tired of hearing her complain over and over again.
“I miss Jimin-unnie.” Minjeong pouts.
“I know, but just two more days and she’s gonna be done with her projects and exams!” Yizhuo tries to comfort, “Think positively!”
“I miss herrrrr!” Minjeong whines and she pouts even harder. Her bottom lip starts to tremble and tears start to well up in her eyes, threatening to fall.
“Aww Minjeongie, don’t cry!” Yizhuo immediately pulls Minjeong into a hug and the younger let her tears fall freely.
“I’m so clingy, aren’t I?” Minjeong sobs.
“Yeah, but it’s okay. It’s cute.” Yizhuo laughs.
“Cute?!” Minjeong pushes Yizhuo away and slaps her arm.
“You’re so clingy with Jimin-unnie and it’s so cute.”
“Shut up.” Minjeong huffs, wiping her tears away.
After crying, she laughs at the stupidity of it all. She finds it so stupid and funny how she’s crying over missing someone that she’s not even together with, and they didn’t even have a fight, it’s just because the older girl is so busy. She shouldn’t be crying over such things. Two days will pass quickly and she can have all the time in the world with Jimin already.
---
Two days pass by before Minjeong knows it and she’s right back into Jimin’s arms.
When Jimin walks out of the class after her last paper, she sees Minjeong leaning against the wall, probably scrolling through TikTok with how focused she looks. “Minjeong?”
Minjeong looks up from her phone at the familiar voice calling out for her and her heart skips a beat when she makes eye contact with the older.
“Unnie!” She exclaims excitedly and runs towards Jimin, throwing herself onto the older into a tight embrace.
“Woah!” Jimin chuckles, holding Minjeong steady by the waist as she pulls her closer to hug her tighter. “You waited?”
“Yeah! I just really wanted to see you.” Minjeong smiles up at Jimin and the older’s heart melts a little bit more.
She’s just a little too in love with Kim Minjeong.
“Missed me?” Jimin asks softly.
“Very.” Minjeong nods, clinging onto Jimin tightly.
“I miss you too.” Jimin kisses Minjeong’s forehead softly and oh how Minjeong misses that. They went out for hotpot at lunch, and Jimin cooked everything for Minjeong, even peeling the prawns for her. Jimin usually avoids peeling prawns because of the lingering smell and the mess it leaves on her hands, but for Minjeong, she’ll do it.
After they finish eating, Minjeong heads to the washroom, giving Jimin the perfect chance to rush to the flower shop in the mall to buy Minjeong’s favorite flowers—baby’s breath.
When Minjeong returns, she’s met with the small bouquet, and her heart skips a beat as a soft gasp escapes her lips.
“For you.” Jimin smiles bashfully.
“Why?”
“Just because.” Jimin says softly, pushing the bouquet into Minjeong’s hands gently.
Minjeong's heart flutters at that.
---
“So, are you and Jimin unnie together yet?”
Minjeong lifts her head up from the table and stares blankly at Yizhuo before lying back down on the table, mumbling a small, “No.”
“Why?”
“How would I know!” Minjeong sighs. “Maybe she just isn’t in love with me like I am.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me, Kim Minjeong.” Yizhuo says, baffled. “She gave you just because flowers, she kisses your forehead everyday, she picks you up everyday, talks to you everyday, takes care of you and looks at you like you’re the only one in this world, and you’re telling me that she’s not in love with you?”
“You’re delusional.” Minjeong rolls her eyes.
“No. You’re delusional.” Yizhuo snaps. “You’re delusional for thinking she doesn’t feel the same.
Minjeong grumbles, covering her ears with her hands and grumbles, “Let’s just drop this. It’s giving me a headache.”
“ You’re giving me a headache. But, alright.”
When class is finally over, she walks out to see Jimin waiting for her, just like she always does. Even though it’s only been a week since Jimin picked her up, she still misses this way too much.
“Hi, baby.” Jimin greets with a smile and reaches her hand out to pull Minjeong into a hug.
“Hi.” Minjeong replies, feeling shy at the affection she’s getting from the older.
“How was class?” Jimin asks, slipping her hand down Minjeong’s arm to hold her hand. She leads Minjeong to the gate and walks her home while Minjeong talks about her day.
“Oh right, unnie.” Minjeong says.
“Yeah?”
“There’s this guy in my class…” Minjeong begins, her voice trailing off as she feels Jimin’s grip on her hands tighten. “He asked me out on a date.”
A silence follows. Jimin doesn’t respond, so Minjeong turns to look at her. She notices the prominent frown on Jimin’s face and the slight pout on her lips. For some reason, it makes Minjeong feel smug. Is Jimin jealous? That’s definitely an ego boost!
“What did you reply, then?” Jimin spoke after a brief moment.
“I turned him down, obviously.” Minjeong replies like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“Why?” Jimin subtly sighs in relief that doesn’t go unnoticed by the younger.
“Because I don’t like him.” Minjeong says and she sees the pout turn into a smile and the frown on her face disappears.
“Uh-huh..” Jimin turns to Minjeong with a grin. “Who do you like, then?”
“I don’t know. Take a guess.” Minjeong teases.
“You like me, don’t you?” Jimin smirks cockily, and Minjeong feels an urge to punch her in the face because she’s so damn annoying. But she likes Jimin too much to resort to violence, so she just lets it go with a nonchalant shrug.
“C’mon, tell me! Who do you like?” Jimin whines.
“I like you, unnie. Have I not been obvious enough?” Minjeong huffs.
“That’s it, baby. I just wanted to hear that come out from your mouth.” Jimin smiles. “I like you too, by the way.”
Minjeong rolls her eyes, letting go of Jimin’s hands and grabbing onto her backpack strap, walking ahead of Jimin with a huff, “You’re so damn infuriating.”
Jimin giggles and catches up with Minjeong. She swings an arm over her shoulders and pulls her close. “But, you like me~” Jimin sing-songs.
“Shut up.” Minjeong puffs her cheeks out in annoyance and Jimin pokes her cheeks, even squishing it in the process.
“So, are you my girlfriend now?” Jimin asks.
“I don’t know. You didn’t ask me to be your girlfriend.”
“Then, can I be your girlfriend?”
“Can I say no?”
“No, you can’t.” Jimin shakes her head, “The only answer is yes.”
Minjeong rolls her eyes but when she looks at Jimin who has that expectant look on her face and that stupid bright smile that never fails to melt her heart, her gaze softens and she lets out a low chuckle, “Then, yes.”
Jimin doesn’t say anything and she just pulls Minjeong closer to her with a smile that reaches her ears plastered on her face.
When they’re finally at Minjeong’s doorstep, Jimin hugs Minjeong before preparing to leave. When she’s about to pull away, Minjeong holds her tighter and pulls her back. She smiles and caresses the back of Minjeong’s head.
“What’s wrong?” Jimin chuckles fondly.
“Are you not coming in?” Minjeong asks, burying her face into the crook of Jimin’s neck.
“I can’t, baby. I have homework to do.” Jimin replies, planting a kiss onto the smaller girl’s head.
Minjeong whines and when she pulls away from the hug, she pouts. “You can do it in my room!”
“I’ll get distracted.”
“I won’t distract you.”
“Even if you don’t, I’ll still get distracted.”
“That sounds like a you problem, then.” Minjeong grumbles.
“Exactly why I said I have to go home.” Jimin chuckles at Minjeong’s childishness.
“But, I don’t want you to leave.” She whines.
Jimin ponders for a moment before sighing, “Alright, I’ll stay. You’re lucky you’re cute.”
Minjeong giggles happily and leads Jimin to her room like she has done countless times before.
---
“So, are you and Jimin-unnie finally together?” Yizhuo asks the moment Minjeong plops down into her seat beside her.
“…Yes.”
“Pay up.” Yizhuo grins cockily.
Minjeong groans, shoving 20 bucks into Yizhuo's hands. “It’s like I’m paying to get into a relationship.”
“Stop complaining, you’re the one who wanted to bet because you didn’t believe me when I told you she feels the same.” Yizhuo pats Minjeong on the back. “Thanks for the 20 bucks, buddy.”
She complains about it to Jimin after school when they are hanging out at Jimin’s house and the older couldn’t help but to laugh at the two younger girls’ childishness.
“Why did you want to bet on this then?” Jimin laughs, “Isn’t that your fault? You brought this upon yourself, baby.”
“You’re supposed to be on my side!” Minjeong huffs before slapping Jimin’s arm.
“I am on your side!” Jimin laughs.
“You’re not! You’re on Ning’s side!”
“I’m not!” The older feigns offense, though the teasing smile never leaves her face.
“Whatever, you’re so annoying.” Minjeong rolls her eyes and Jimin doubles over with laughter.
She stares at Minjeong’s angry face that resembles an angry puppy. Her cheeks puffed out which makes her look even cuter even when she’s angry. Jimin pokes Minjeong’s cheeks and pinches it before leaving a kiss on her cheek to console her sulking girlfriend.
“Don’t be mad, baby.”
“I’m not talking to you.” Minjeong groans, pushing Jimin’s hands away from her face.
Jimin wraps her arms around Minjeong’s waist and pulls her closer. She kisses Minjeong’s forehead and her nose before ghosting her lips against Minjeong’s. She gazes up to her eyes and notices the younger’s eyes darting down to her lips then back up.
“Can I kiss you?” Jimin asks.
Minjeong’s heart melts at Jimin’s thoughtfulness to ask for her consent. She nods her head and that’s all it takes for Jimin to lean in and capture her lips in a sweet and gentle kiss.
It was exactly how she pictured her first kiss with Jimin to be like. Sweet and gentle just like the person Jimin is. She kisses back with passion and when Jimin pulls away, Minjeong pulls her back in for another.
They stay in bed the entire afternoon, leaving kisses on every part of each other’s face every now and then. Minjeong bathes in the extra affection given to her now that they’re officially together.
“I love you, Minjeong-ah.” Jimin says as they lie side by side, facing each other with their legs tangled together. They’re so close to each other that it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
“I love you, Jiminie.” Minjeong giggles like a lovesick girl.
“Not ‘I love you, too’?” Jimin tilts her head in confusion.
“No. Because that will mean that I’m obligated to love you too just because you love me and that’s not what I want to say ‘I love you’ for. I want to say it because I just love you.” Minjeong says and Jimin falls in love even more, if that’s even possible. She melts physically into Minjeong’s embrace and kisses her forehead.
“I love you, so so much.” Jimin whispers.
“Will you stay by my side forever?” Minjeong asks lowly, barely above a whisper.
“I will.”
“You promise?”
“I promise, baby.” Jimin promises earnestly.
“Good. I love you.” Minjeong replies. “I promise to stay by your side forever too.”
And she seals the promise with a kiss.
Minjeong wears her heart on her sleeves, and every emotion she feels becomes a part of this new chapter of her life, visible to only Jimin. She wears her heart on her sleeve, offering it to Jimin to hold, cherish and protect as if it was the most valuable thing in the world.
Some things change and some things don’t. The only thing that changed is their relationship status but the amount of love and affection that Jimin gives doesn’t change except that she gives Minjeong more now.
Jimin is all Minjeong ever needs in her life and Minjeong is all Jimin ever needs in her life.
---
( “Jiminie, you are such a loser.”
“Damn, you’re dating a loser.”
“You’re my loser.”
“Of course I am.” )