Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dahyun’s lonely on the first night she ventured into Myoui’s Mart. 

To be honest, feeling lonely wasn’t something that felt abnormal in her life, it was always there, but something akin to a light whisper on most days. She usually chose to drown it out with noise– her family, her friends, music. Anything. However, it felt overbearing that evening. The void felt heavier. 

Maybe she did it to herself? 

She couldn’t help that Jeongyeon wanted to move in with Nayeon. They were a couple. Hell, it was far beyond time for them to hunker down in an apartment and really start their lives together in her opinion. Truthfully, it was astonishing that they waited so long to do it. Dahyun was on borrowed time from the moment Jeongyeon wandered home starstruck, talking about how she was put into a group with a girl from a different class for a project and she’d never met someone so incredibly frustrating yet insanely alluring. 

Exactly Jeongyeon’s type.

She couldn’t help that it was time to take the leap into the next chapter of her life. Dahyun was more than capable of providing for herself. After only their second year living together fresh out of high school she didn’t need Jeongyeon as a roommate, but it was nice to have her. Comfortable. Her presence alone quelled the loneliness beneath her surface. Just having someone to come home to was nice. 

She missed it. Things were so quiet now. 

She couldn’t help that she wanted to fill the emptiness with her own special person. Dahyun had never had that before. It almost felt like at that point, it wasn’t in the cards for her. Was there someone for her out there? It seemed like a fairytale at that point. Mid twenties and not one romantic prospect under her belt. 

It was lonely– seeing everyone fall in and out of love while she sat idly by, an audience to it all. Never participating, only watching. She had had crushes, don’t get her wrong, but she couldn’t help that they were never reciprocated. Not an ounce of interest in her. Sometimes it was a blow to her self esteem, but she was always avidly trying to represent herself. She had faith that someday, someone out there might see her and fall for the quirks that others might think of as weird. Some days it was just easier to believe than others. 

Now she couldn’t help all of that, however, she could help putting on a romantic drama to bask in her loneliness and make matters worse. In fact, putting on a TV show where two equally hot people were willing to burn the entire world and compete with each other just for a shot at the protagonist's heart stung more than she was willing to admit. 

She couldn’t even get a single person and here this girl was, in a love triangle with multiple people. Men or not. She’d place bets that if the lead went off script and began showing interest in the side characters, including women, they too would fall victim to her charm. 

Should she talk to someone about being jealous of fictional people? Maybe, but in her book, that could just be considered another quirk for her impending love interest to swoop in and find endearing. 

To be fair, on a normal day the show probably wouldn’t have made her so sad, but it had been two weeks since moving into her new apartment and the freshness of it all had dwindled. She missed Jeongyeon– missed having someone to occupy the silence. Where Jeongyeon’s loud snores, obnoxious jokes, and playful banter used to occupy the air, quietness now settled. She even missed Nayeon’s annoying sleepwalking spells from when the girl had practically moved in with them towards the end.

Don’t get her wrong, she loved silence in general. She was the quietest of her friend group and appreciated a peaceful afternoon, but Dahyun realized long ago that she preferred company in the silence. Someone's presence. Just knowing she wasn’t alone was enough. It helped calm her mind as well.

All she had left now was the ticking of her clock and the rustling of air caused by a circulating fan. 

Before, she at least had someone's presence constantly around her, but now, she needed some type of ‘pick me up’ to hide that she only got that in irregular drop ins by her friends. They still came by, texted, and called of course, but she couldn’t expect them to always cater to her. That was unrealistic, they had lives too and she wasn’t their special person so why would she be at the center of theirs?

With a slight self deprecating sigh, she rose from her seat for the first time since her last bathroom break three and a half hours ago. She somehow managed to pack an entire season into the time between when Chaeyoung left her apartment around two to the current time, which was– Dahyun’s eyes flickered to the clock.

11:23 p.m.

Fantastic. Not only did she basically waste the entire day away, but she also managed to make herself feel even worse by the end of it. She really needed something to feel better. An enchanting love interest that she could dote on and that would dote on her was preferable, but she supposed a chocolate bar would work as a stand in when one was unavailable. 

Could she marry a chocolate bar? She might start picketing their government office to consider it with the way things were going.

Either way, she’d yet to try out the small shop that was two buildings away from where her apartment stood. Apparently tonight would be the night considering they were open late. 

After using the restroom and staring at her reflection for a whopping ten seconds, she deemed herself good enough for the trip. It wasn’t like she had anyone to impress after all. Truth be told, even if she did, she’d still be wearing the same outfit she was currently sporting anyway. That was one of her downfalls if she was being completely honest. What was her pride and joy often wasn’t most girl’s cup of tea. Puns and dumb joke shirts were never the first choice in a partner's wardrobe, but it fit Dahyun’s personality to a T.

The oddly vibrant colored or patterned pants certainly didn’t help matters much either.

Though tonight her black and bright red plaid pants had nothing on her white T-shirt that displayed a cartoon chocolate bar and carton of milk that were shaking hands, above them the words ‘chocolate milk shake’ were written and in Dahyun’s opinion, it was actually the completely perfect attire for a chocolate bar run. She was repping what she stood for and that was delicious treats that could cause her to go broke if not monitored carefully. 

With her hair in a messy bun, glasses perched on her nose, and dressed in her cozy clothes, she made her way to the door to slip on some shoes then walked the sidewalk for all of one minute. The bell chimed upon entry and she briefly made eye contact with the cashier that raised her eyes from her phone to inspect the new arrival. After flashing her a quick, but friendly smile, Dahyun made her way to the candy section, entranced by all the options and seriously considering buying a couple instead of just one to drown her sorrows. 

The store was a smaller one and at that moment it wasn’t very busy, but she suspected that that ceased to be the case when the bar from a block away let out. She was pretty sure that was why they were open so late in the first place, they must’ve made quite a bit off of the late night goers. Sparing a glance at the cashier that was back to reading her screen, Dahyun had the fleeting thought that maybe it wasn’t a smart decision having such a pretty girl up front when drunk men were terrible at behaving, but then again, it wasn’t really her place to tell the owner how to run things. 

Her eyes returned to the shelf. 

The girl was probably better at handling them than Dahyun would be. She was never a huge fan of being around drunk people. Her friends were okay, but other than that, she preferred not to bother with it. 

Skimming the options, Dahyun had her work cut out for her. There were too many good picks to choose from– really, was there any chocolate that wasn’t good? Even the most mediocre of bars were still invited into her household. 

It took some time, but after weeding out the best ones, she was left with two of her regulars that she always seemed to come back to and decided to go for them both. However, on the walk to the front, fate intervened and steered her to an interesting looking section with letters that she couldn’t read. Examining it, she deduced that all the items were Japanese and now she was met with an entirely new chocolate bar that her stomach had yet to befriend. 

There was something about it. It looked enticing. She didn’t know what it said, she didn’t know what kind it was– all she knew was that it looked like milk chocolate on the cover and maybe some type of cookie or crunchy part on the inside? Dahyun wasn’t sure, but she knew that in that moment she would figure it out. 

Returning to the other aisle with the standard Korean chocolate bar selection that she was accustomed to, she dropped off her safety bars and took a leap into the Japanese section to try one of theirs. They actually had quite a few other items ranging from chips to a couple frozen desserts too. It was interesting. Maybe when she got paid she might consider coming back to check out a few more things.

With the unfamiliar yellow, black, and red bar in hand, Dahyun landed in front of the cashier, waiting until she stood from her chair to hand over the bar to be scanned. The girl that looked to be somewhere around her age let her eyes skip from Dahyun’s face to the candy bar, then to her shirt. 

“Dressed for the occasion?” was all the girl said as she rang it up, but it wasn’t said with any bite. In fact, the cashier was pretty soft spoken. “I’m somewhat of a connoisseur,” Dahyun joked, taking out her card to pay then giving a polite parting smile when she received the sweet treat. The cashier reciprocated it and not long after, Dahyun was at home, her face stuffed with what might’ve been the only chocolate bar that she actually would consider marrying. 

What did they put in that thing?

Whatever it was, it had Dahyun already planning a trip back to Myoui’s Mart.

There goes the extra money she had planned to hold on to…

===

The next day she returned after work and bought two. She skipped a day to act like she had any form of self restraint and then made her way back right after midnight the next day to get another after convincing herself that she deserved a treat before bed. 

A thought occurred to her when she went the day after that and there were only two left on the shelf. She took note of a few items that had rotated out in the section and felt her heart sink.

She played with the wrappers of the last two bars while she walked to the front, opening her mouth the second she came face to face with the mole spotted cashier. “Do you know if these are always available? They were the last ones on the shelf and I noticed some of the other things got switched out over there,” Dahyun’s eyes shifted to the Japanese section. They flew back pleadingly to the girl not a moment later. “Please tell me they’ll be back in stock soon, I love them.”

This time when the bars were handed over, they didn’t get scanned right away. They spun between the girl’s hands as she inspected them and Dahyun just so happened to catch that there was actually a name tag on her green shirt. She wasn’t sure how she missed it before. Hoping for pity, she clasped her hands together and went on. “Mina, I’m begging you. Don’t give me any bad news. I cry easily.” 

Cracking an apologetic smile as she dragged the candy over the scanner, Mina replied. “Normally the inventory in that section rotates. Sometimes if the demand is high we’ll bring back popular items and they become permanent, but my parents like to alternate so customers have the option to try new things, that way it gives them a reason to keep coming back.” Dahyun’s brows rose over the fact that she was apparently speaking to the owner's daughter, quickly throwing together that apparently this was a family owned establishment. 

“From the sounds of it, it’s not on the ‘permanent’ list?” 

“As of right now it isn’t.”

A man cleared his throat from behind Dahyun and she defeatedly slid her card to pay.

“Can I put in a request or something? It’s high demand to me, I’ll buy them. I’ll come in every day to get one, I promise,” she took the chocolate, her gaze hopeful. 

“I’ll talk to my parents about it, but it could be a week, two, or more before the chocolate comes back in stock if they do because they would have to put in the order and get everything sorted with the distributor.”

Moving out of the grumpy man’s way, Dahyun bobbed her head in understanding. 

“I’ll be back tomorrow!”

===

Saying you’re going to do something is one thing, actually doing it is another. Dahyun wanted to become a trusted, loyal customer so they understood that she was serious about coming in to buy the chocolate. She’d only just started shopping at the establishment after all, what if they thought there was a chance that they’d order it and she wouldn’t stick to her word?

Actions speak louder than words, so around midnight Dahyun slipped on her shoes. Her hair was down, but her glasses were still on since she took her contacts out earlier. Clinging to her body this time around was a shirt with a cat that had a stash under its nose and said ‘I mustache you a question’. One neon pink pants leg was up and one was down for the sake of being uniquely herself when she walked into Myoui’s Mart.

Browsing the selection, Dahyun picked up a tin box that looked to be filled with a few different types of cookies and found Mina, forking it over to her. On that trip, no words were exchanged. She checked out like normal.

The next day went basically the same except she was at the counter with a bag of chips.

On the third day, when she was checking out what she assumed to be rice crackers, Mina asked her a question. “Did you like the Calbee?” The rustling of the bag made the only other sound in the otherwise vacant store if you weren’t including the machines buzzing with the background music.

Dahyun’s hand came up to scratch her cheek, head tilting. “The…what?”

“The chips from yesterday.”

The shorter girl lit up with realization. “Oh, that’s what those are called? I didn’t check, I just kinda bought them for the potato mascot guy wearing a sash on the front and got surprised when I bit into one and it was hot. It tasted pretty good though.”

A hint of an amused smile played on Mina’s lips. “Not as good as the Black Thunder bars though?” When Dahyun pinched her brows together in confusion, she answered. “That's what the name of the chocolate bar you like translates to. They’re supposed to be back on the fourteenth, so about eleven days.”

The whites of Dahyun’s teeth shined as she accepted the rice cakes. “Really?! They’re coming back? Thank you! That’s awesome, I can’t wait– ok, ok ‘Black Thunder’ I have to remember that name.” She mumbled the last portion to herself, backing away from the counter. 

“You’re welcome.”

Handing out an ecstatic parting wave, Dahyun was through the door and walking back to the apartment with pep in her step. 

===

That night unintentionally had a domino effect. 

Building up to the day her chocolates came back into stock, Dahyun would now choose a random item and ask Mina what it was called out of curiosity. The day after she tried the item, Mina would ask how she liked it.

They got into a comfortable rhythm of this. The conversation never escalated to anything other than Dahyun occasionally asking Mina if she liked the item as well, but that only happened on nights that there weren’t any customers in line behind her and it stopped there. 

The two shared a short, polite wave at Dahyun’s departure. 

Every once in a while, Dahyun would come across an older man that took the night shift when Mina was taking her days off and they would skip a day or two between conversations. The man was kind, but Dahyun found that she much preferred Mina’s company over his. It probably had something to do with the fact that she was closer in age to the girl.

===

The eleventh day struck and Dahyun went to the store after work rather than waiting until midnight. Honestly, she preferred going of a night much more than she did of an evening. It was less crowded, more calm, and she didn’t feel as rushed or like she was in anyone's way for the most part. It was nice. 

However, she was too excited to wait for that.

Bursting through the door, she glanced at Mina, finding her busy with a customer, so she beelined it to the Japanese snack area and found the candy bar. If she were living in a television, a heavenly light would’ve shone down on it as a choir sang in the background. 

She nearly tripped over her own feet trying to make it back to the cashier line in excitement, but paused before she could line up behind two teenagers to wait. 

Trying out random snack items was kind of fun and talking to Mina about them afterwards made it even better. It felt like they made a ritual of sorts. It was kind of like how Jeongyeon still comes to give her a slice of dessert when she gets in the baking mood and whips up some wonderful creations in the kitchen or how Chaeyoung always brings over her finished paintings to get a second opinion on them before she varnishes in case Dahyun sees any issue that she would’ve otherwise missed. 

The way Nayeon occasionally bursts into her apartment when she’s annoyed and starts randomly braiding her hair as a stress reliever, all the while griping about how Jeongyeon’s hair was too short for her to do that with, but in the same breath mumbling that her girlfriend should get a haircut again soon because it looks good on her. 

Her tradition with Jihyo was spontaneously joining her on shopping trips and stealing her wallet so she couldn’t buy seventeen different colors of the same pair of leggings. It was kind of fun bossing Jihyo around for a change if she was being honest and she was free to do it, her friend understanding that she took things too far sometimes, but finding it hard to make herself stop.

For some reason, Mina’s kind smile and soft tone was refreshing. A calm to the chaos of her insane friends. Mina’s disposition felt sort of similar to Dahyun’s. It made her feel relaxed in her presence– the familiarity of it all. With that in mind, she backtracked and wound up browsing the other items so when she came back tomorrow, they had something to talk about again.

“Came prepared?” Mina flashed a gummy smile, gesturing downwards when Dahyun was across from her, vibrating with happiness. The shorter of the two grinned brightly, her eyes sparkling as she glanced down. Her ‘chocolate milk shake’ shirt had made a reappearance. It was only right to include a chocolate pun on the occasion that her new favorite bars were coming back into stock. 

“I wanted to celebrate the occasion.”

“It’s a big day,” Mina agreed, running the packaging over the red light. The beep was music to Dahyun’s ears. “Is chocolate always your first choice?” she asked curiously, picking up the pack of ramen Dahyun planned on eating for dinner. “This is Sunaoshi miso ramen by the way.”

“Sunaoshi,” Dahyun repeated as she paid, nodding once to herself when it came out alright. There wasn’t much of a reason for her to, but it was fun trying to see what words tripped her up or not. She’s only had about two slight struggles thus far that had Mina obviously suppressing some laughter over the fact that she was butchering the pronunciation. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I could live off chocolate. I mean, I might look kinda…” she sucked some air through her teeth, her eyes squinting over the image she conjured up in her brain. “Worse for wear?” Mina supplied kindly. Dahyun nodded. “Definitely a bit sickly and I might need a few hundred gallons of toothpaste, but I think it could still be worth it in the end.”

“We have some tubes in the personal care section in the back to get you started.”

The shorter girl chuckled.

“I’ll keep that in mind in case I go off the deep end. Thanks again for ordering these,” Dahyun waved the bar excitedly, taking a side step to the door. Hearing a ‘no problem’, she skipped the remaining distance before spinning around. “The melon soda was way better than the peach one by the way, you were right,” she called out before exiting.

===

A pleased moan slipped from between Dahyun’s lips after taking the first bite of the Black Thunder bar.

It was definitely worth the wait.

From then on, her new normal was walking to Myoui’s Mart every night to get both a random item and a chocolate bar before bed.

Good thing she had been working on her budgeting skills.

===

While her sweet tooth had now been catered to and her nights were filled with a chocolatey embrace, her days weren’t exactly amazing. She supposed they could be worse, but she was basically in the same spot as she had been since Jeongyeon moved out. Alone and hit with a sad spell every so often when her mind decided to be cruel. 

Apparently, the sad spell unintentionally called attention to herself when she was quieter than usual while smack dab in the middle of a get-together with her friends. Dahyun didn’t exactly mean for it to happen, but Jihyo was off talking about the fourth phone number she got that week. Then there was Chaeyoung swooning about this girl from her painting class that she’d made plans to go out with for the third time while Jeongyeon and Nayeon teased her about it, the latter of which had her arm thrown over her girlfriend’s shoulder.

It felt like everyone had something going for them, but her. She was beginning to rethink a few things.

Slowly, Dahyun’s eyes fell to where her hands rested on her lap. Her head was somewhere else and it took a minute, but eventually they noticed that there was a lack of horribly cheesy jokes. Chaeyoung bumped her thigh against Dahyun’s when the girl didn’t reply after Nayeon called out her name. 

The act brought Dahyun out of her daze. She blinked a few times to come back to the conversation only to realize no one was talking. Lifting her head, her shoulders jumped slightly, startled by everyone's eyes trained on her. “W-what?”

“Look what you did, you bored her to death,” Nayeon slapped Jeongyeon’s shoulder. “You were the last one to say anything, that’s all on you,” Jeongyeon claimed.

Embarrassed, Dahyun scratched the back of her neck. “Oh, uh sorry, guess I kinda zoned out. What’d you say?” 

“You okay?” Jihyo wondered. 

“Yeah. I’m fine, just zoned out.”

“Fuck you, you’re tapping your foot. What’s wrong?” Jeongyeon pointed, drawing everyone’s eyes to Dahyun’s feet. Instantly, the girl halted all motion, cursing under her breath. 

“Just because I’m tapping my foot doesn’t mean I’m lying.”

“It’s your tell. Spill. What’s up?”

“I hate that we lived together for so long,” Dahyun sighed, her gaze falling to the floor. Everyone remained silent, waiting for her to speak. When she finally did, it was quiet and sort of muddled together. “Do you–” Dahyun hesitated, her eyes shifting to Jihyo because sometimes it felt like she was the wisest of the bunch.

“Do you think I could borrow something from your closet?”

The group glanced around at each other in bewilderment. “Huh?”

“I was thinking about trying something new,” her eyes flickered to the ground, avoiding their gaze.

“One of your favorite things to do is dig through racks of old shirts at the thrift store to find pun shirts,” Chaeyoung reminded as if the girl was unaware. “You’ve been doing it since middle school.”

“I know, I was just wondering what it might feel like to, you know, change things up. I just wanna see if I like it.”

“So you’re wanting to try athletic wear?” Jeongyeon asked with some confusion. “Well,” she began, finally raising her eyes and letting them hop around to make contact with each person. “I was kinda hoping for some help from everyone, not just Jihyo, but yeah, I guess. Like you said…” she landed on Chaeyoung. “I’ve worn the same thing since middle school. I don’t really know if I like anything else because I’ve never tried.”

“You’re going emo?” Jeongyeon suddenly asked, brows lifted.

“I’m not emo,” Chaeyoung stated grumpily, repeating the same words she’s said a million times over. 

“Emo stands for emotional, it’s close enough…how do you pick things to add to your wardrobe?”

“B…” Chaeyoung crossed her arms, mumbling her next words with her pupils flying up to the ceiling in annoyance. “Based on how I’m feeling that day- but emo’s different!” her voice got higher and louder at the end.

Jeongyeon shrugged casually, unfazed by the younger girl's claim, believing it to be false to her very core. “So some days you're basically a goth and others you’re a hippie and then you’re a fairy princess.”

“I have a lot of feelings,” she grumbled.

“You’re gonna try Nayeon’s stuff?” Jihyo disregarded the other two, a little bit of shock sprinkled on her face.

“Yeah,” Dahyun confirmed with a hint of insecurity in her voice.

“You’re gonna love it,” Nayeon grinned.

===

That day felt draining. The thought of changing her appearance kind of saddened Dahyun if she was being honest with herself. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world and hopefully it would be worth it in the end, but she was a fan of her normal attire and she knew she’d miss it. Her feet were draggling slightly as she walked through the store for her nightly run. 

Her gaze skipped between multiple options, taking longer than normal.

When a hand reached out from behind her as she browsed, Dahyun’s pulse shot up since she thought the establishment was empty. Turns out it was, which was why Mina was able to move from behind the register. The girl paid no attention to the surprise on her face. “If you can’t decide, you should try these. They’re one of my favorites,” she handed the small package to Dahyun, watching as the shorter girl examined it. “Kasugai, they’re grape gummies,” Mina supplied. 

“Kasugai,” Dahyun repeated, earning a nod of approval from the cashier. “I’ll try it. Thanks. Can’t believe I haven’t asked what your favorite candy is actually–” Dahyun returned her gaze back to the shelves. “What’s your other favorites?”

“This one, this one, and that one,” Mina pointed to each accordingly. “I ask my mom to bring them back every so often so I can have them.”

“After the peach soda incident, I trust your taste. I’ll check them out soon. Just one question,” their eyes met. “Is the Black Thunder bar up on your list? You can’t tell me it’s not.” Mina let out a small giggle, finding that everything always came back to that candy bar. “I’ve never actually tried it, but I’ve been meaning to since you keep coming back for more. It made me curious.”

Dahyun’s eyes bulged, her lips slightly parted in shock. “Wait, you’ve never tried it?” She reached out and grabbed an extra one, taking the lead to the cashier station, urging Mina to follow. “Never, but I’m sure I will soon.” To say Mina was beyond puzzled when Dahyun all but shoved the snacks at her was an understatement. Had she not known how polite the girl was from the previous visits, she might’ve taken her for a rude customer, especially when the girl was hastily waving her hands to have Mina scan the items like there was a fire somewhere in the store. 

All was forgiven after she saw Dahyun tear the corner of a wrapper once she was finished, holding one of the chocolate bars directly to her. “Try it, try it! I wanna see if you like it. I can’t believe you’ve never tried them, they’re amazing.”

Mina’s lips curled upwards. “You know I get these for free? You didn’t need to buy one for me to try. I can refund you–” “Don’t refund me. I’m in the business of supporting your business. I want you guys open for as long as possible, now you gotta try before I explode.”

After a brief pause filled with Mina studying her curiously, the girl peeled back the plastic and took a bite. 

Drumming for dramatic effect, Dahyun stared at her with anticipation. 

“It’s good,” Mina agreed, taking another bite not long after the first because she wasn’t playing it up for her, it was actually a pretty decent candy bar. “Yes!” the girl cheered with a fist pumping the air, her woeful afternoon turning into a joyous one. 

===

Nayeon’s style could be summed up in one word. 

Feminine.

Ok, maybe a couple more words too. 

A smidge revealing.

Now she could’ve gone with ‘girly’, but Nayeon wasn’t all bows and frill, it was just that most things complimented her curves and accentuated areas that Dahyun usually hid. For instance, the lower collar to her shirt that dipped down to show cleavage. 

Dahyun didn’t particularly feel like she had much to offer in that department, but what she did have sort of felt uncomfortable to display. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but this territory was unknown and she found herself tugging the middle part up before she stepped out of the bathroom.

“Woah. You look good, but it’s so weird to see you dressed like me,” Nayeon gasped, speeding forward to straighten out some wrinkles, readjust her shirt, and pull down the top to show Dahyun’s chest better simply because that was how it was supposed to be worn. “I…feel kinda naked,” Dahyun admitted, awkwardly shifting from side to side. 

Nayeon waved her off. “Don’t worry about that, it’s just ‘cause you’re used to your old stuff. You’ll get used to this the longer you wear it…unless you want something else. I might have some more modest stuff somewhere if you want to try that instead? Maybe in a box or something?” she offered.

Dahyun was very close to taking her up on the offer, but stopped herself.

“You have to take some risks when you try out new stuff I guess.”

===

At the end of the first day, Dahyun found comfort in her old clothes. Even if she was attempting to make the transition away from them, they were still cozy clothes to wear at home. After all, the only place she’d be going was Myoui’s Mart and it wasn’t like the establishment was super busy around the time she stopped by. And it wasn’t like Mina hadn’t already seen her pun shirts and crazy pants. She was just doing her job, Dahyun was positive she didn’t care what the customers wore as long as they were clothed so there wasn’t any need to try to dress up.

Taking off her lower cut shirt felt like taking off heels after a long day…not that she would know too much about that, but she had worn some to a wedding once and they certainly didn’t feel great. Switching clothes made her feel like her again, the missing puzzle piece falling back into place.

She simply tugged on her black long sleeve shirt that had a few clothing hangers on it, all animated with cute facial expressions, the words above them reading ‘just hanging out’, feeling better already. Her purple pants were something along the lines of what she would refer to as ‘parachute pants’ because they were far too wide on the sides, but cuffed around her ankles, making it so she could slide her hands into her pockets and stretch the fabric to over twice its size. Her orange beanie was the last thing she added, dressing partially for warmth since it was a bit of a cold breezy night. 

People worry too much about color coordination when it’s way more fun to make interesting combinations.

Her gaze dropped to her shoes, finding the thought to be kind of hypocritical on her part now that she was trying to bend to what was socially acceptable attire instead of choosing what she preferred. 

But what else was there to do? It felt like she needed to at least try something…things hadn’t boated well for her thus far. Everyone preferred partners with style and Dahyun had nothing that anyone would classify as that. 

It being about ten minutes before midnight, Dahyun found the place to yet again be lacking in customers when she arrived, so she went to Mina before fetching her snacks, a hint of a frown on her lips. “Why do you offer one person a piece of gum and fifty come running?”

It was obviously rhetorical and in reference to the blueberry gum she bought from the day before, but Mina answered playfully, her head resting on a closed fist that was propped up on the counter. “Everyone you know has bad breath?”

Releasing a chuckle at the unexpected joke, Dahyun replied. “As long as I don’t, I guess that’s all that matters.” For comedic effect, she cupped her hand over her mouth, breathing outward then sniffing like she was double checking. “All good, but now I gotta get some more because I only got to try one piece.”

She left then returned with two items, cracking open a fresh pack to hand Mina one of the pieces after paying. The cashier lifted a brow at the offering. Dahyun’s eyebrows pinched together, wondering if maybe she wasn’t in the mood for gum. “Not a fan of blueberries?”

“Just desperately hoping you’re not saying I have bad breath right now because that means I went the whole day like this.”

Mouth opening to form an ‘O’ shape, Dahyun quickly shook her head. “Wait sorry, I was just trying to be nice.”

Mina let out a little laugh, a kind smile on her face as she took the piece. “I know, thank you…” she trailed off, like something was missing from the end of her sentence. Unwrapping the gum, her eyes flickered back up, as if Dahyun could finish it for her. 

She watched as the slightly shorter girl's eyes swelled to boulders in realization. “Wait. Oh my god, I’ve been coming in all this time and never told you my name. That’s crazy, sorry, I never even thought about that.”

Mina gave a small shake of the head, the blueberry flavor coating her mouth instantly on the first chew. “It’s okay, I’ve been calling you chocolate bar girl in my head.”

Dahyun hummed, her head bouncing lightly in approval. “Honestly, not bad. I’ll take it. It’s better than what my friends call me. I get compared to tofu a lot since I’m so pale.”

Curiously, Mina laid her arm flat on the counter, eyes jumping from her skin to the shorter girls to compare. “Wow. I’m actually tanner than someone for once,” she noted. “My friends always make fun of me because I’m a homebody and get no sun. They’d never believe me if I told them.”

Dahyun placed her arm at a better angle, lining it up flat on the table. It was close to Mina’s, but there was still some space between, so she wasn’t breaking into the girl’s bubble. “I have a friend that tans regularly. When we stand next to each other, I look like a potato and she looks like an extra crispy french fry. It’s really sad.”

“Look on the bright side, mashed potatoes are nice. Some people prefer them to french fries,” the taller girl pointed out, no doubt trying to make the best out of Dahyun’s white potato status.

“Anything to boost my confidence.” She only examined the arm that Mina had laying out for another second before coming to a conclusion and tipping her head at it. “You really are pretty close though. You need to start going outside before it’s too late. I’m already Dubu, next thing you know, everyone will be calling you Mubu too. Trust me, the name never goes away once you get it.”

“Dubu?” the cashier lifted a brow.

“Oh wow, I did it again.” Dahyun slapped a hand over her face. She let it drop. “I’m Dahyun.”

Obviously there was no need for Mina to introduce herself, so she instead kept their previous topic alive with the added knowledge of where Dubu came from. “You should probably just start calling me Mubu. I don’t think I’ll be able to go outside anytime soon. I’m an addict. Video games are my life.” She lifted her bag to show a keychain with a circular object hanging off it. “I even carry around a Tamagotchi. I’m destined to be indoors with a controller.”

“Woah,” Dahyun leaned a little over the counter to inspect the device. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen one of those. I had one when I was a little kid, but the keychain broke off somewhere and I lost mine. I cried for like two weeks when I realized it was gone.”

“You had a Tamagotchi?” Mina asked, surprised. 

Dahyun leaned back to her original spot, bobbing her head. “Yeah, I got it from my brother, but to be honest, I’m not really sure where he got it from. Maybe a gift from a friend?” She scratched her cheek. “I don’t know, he just had one, but never used it so I started playing with it one day and ended up taking it.”

“I couldn’t imagine having one and never playing it. This one’s only about a year old, but I still have all of mine from my childhood. I couldn’t give them away. It feels like losing a friend…” A slight blush crept onto Mina’s cheeks and Dahyun recognized the look in her eyes all too well. She’s had first hand experience with feeling embarrassed over things she likes.

“Well, um, I mean not like a-”

“It does,” Dahyun agreed, cutting her off before she backtracked. “You get attached because you spend so much free time taking care of them. Real or not, the time you spent building them up would be enough to be sad seeing them go. I would’ve kept mine too if I hadn’t lost it.”

A soft smile bloomed on Mina’s face. “Yeah, the time you spend on it’s real.”

The sound of the door being pulled open drew the girl's eyes away from each other for a brief moment. When they returned, Dahyun popped open the packet of gum to get a piece out. Blueberry flavoring enveloped her taste buds not much later.

“I guess that’s my cue to stop bugging you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I don’t mind talking,” she heard Mina say as she made a move to leave. Dahyun grinned when their eyes connected again. “I live, like, right next door. Now I’m gonna come bug you even more than I already do,” she jested.

That earned her a light laugh while exiting.

===

“Pssst,” Dahyun leaned towards Nayeon, her voice quiet. They were in a store that sold collectables, graphic novels, regular novels, music, and more. The store was decently populated, causing the group to have to work around other customers to get to sections that they wanted to look at. Dahyun was checking out a book when something caught her eye.

“Do I have food on my face or something?” Craning her head to inspect, Nayeon denied the possibility. “All clear, why?” 

“That guy over there keeps giving me weird looks. He pointed to me and then his face. Then his friends laughed. I thought he was trying to point out that something was on it and they were laughing about it.” Nayeon followed Dahyun’s subtle nod of the head, Jeongyeon too, their eyes landing on a group of teenage boys.

Nayeon bumped her girlfriend, both stifling a laugh. Especially when Dahyun glanced between them, face contorted in confusion. 

“His friends are teasing him. He’s trying to hit on you and they’re laughing because you’re not going for him.”

“What? He can’t be older than seventeen,” Dahyun crinkled her nose up, suddenly uncomfortable. She awkwardly tugged up her shirt, arms hugging her chest afterwards. Her shirt wasn’t incredibly revealing in the slightest. It was completely appropriate to wear out, but considering she was showing more than usual, it felt magnified all of a sudden.

She glanced back, watching the kid start to roll up his sleeves to show his biceps. His friends egged him on by slapping his shoulder and back. Abruptly, she turned around and started walking in the other direction. 

“I feel violated and like I violated someone's innocence all at once.”

Jeongyeon and Nayeon wheezed, following after their friend as she sped down the aisle. “Look at the cougar go,” Jeongyeon narrated, receiving an elbow from Dahyun instantly. “Shut up! Now I feel gross or something, give me your jacket.” 

She grabbed at Jeongyeon's treasured leather jacket and the girl pushed her off immediately. “You really want the chick magnet? You aren’t ready for her yet, young grass hopper.” Dahyun whined, looking to Nayeon for help.

The older girl simply looped her arm around Dahyun, pulling her into her side, an entertained grin stamped on her face. “You look fine. I know it’s weird, but you get attention from people you want and people you don’t. It’s okay, it goes with the new outfit change. We just ignore them and keep walking.”

“First person to hit on me and it’s a teenage boy.” Dahyun covered her face in shame. “They just saw you first, no big deal. Next time you’ll get a hot girl's phone number.”

“And you gotta play it off cool when you do,” Jeongyeon popped the top of her jacket. “Tell them you’ve got a lot of numbers in your phone. Maybe you’ll call them…maybe you won't." Her friend gave a nonchalant shrug right before Nayeon’s palm smacked her forehead. 

“Ow. What was that for?” She rubbed the area.

“You asked me to marry you on our first date.”

“I was just kidding!” 

“You put a Cheerio on my pinky, you committed to it way too hard, got down on one knee and everything. Quit acting like you’re a player.”

Jeongyeon huffed, readjusting her jacket while muttering, “I could be. You don’t know me.”

“Hit her again.”

“With pleasure.”

Another blow.

“Dahyun!”

===

After that, Dahyun became much more aware of the stares. The next day, it suddenly felt like all eyes were on her. They weren’t, just some– but still it felt like it.

She had never gotten any stares before…well, other than the ones where she was judged for her wardrobe, but she had learned to tune those out over the years. This was different though, they were looking at her in a different way, one she wasn’t accustomed to in the slightest.

She brushed past a man at the grocery store and it suddenly felt like she had a sixth sense. Casually, she turned to pick up a loaf of bread and sure enough, out of her peripherals, she could tell that his eyes were trained on her. 

Quickly, she threw it into her cart and continued on.

It all felt foreign. She wasn’t sure if she liked it or not. It was probably too soon to tell. 

But what wasn’t too soon to tell was that she was absolutely dying to take off the short skirt she had on. Today she was free from the low cut shirts, finding one that was more on the modest side in Nayeon’s closet (it took a while), but the older girl insisted that since she was ditching that, she should check out some skirts instead. Idiotically she agreed for the sake of saying she tried and now she was terrified to pick up anything that fell on the ground.

How did Nayeon live like this? One second away from flashing people made her far more anxious than she already was and that was really saying something.

===

After three more days, she was hoping she would’ve gotten more used to it, but it was no use. Skirts were impossible to navigate. Especially when they ended before they even met the lower part of her thighs. Why did Nayeon always prefer tiny ones?

After work and errands were done for the day, it was way later than usual. She decided to go to Myoui’s Mart on the way home so she could eat a chocolate bar and die on her bed immediately. 

She felt drained and cranky. She was ready for the day to end. The compliments were amping up and she just couldn’t understand. What was everyone seeing in her that wasn’t there before? 

Her skirt was white, her top was yellow with some tied strings in the front, her long straight hair cascaded down her shoulders, and a bit of makeup was plastered on her face. She understood that now she fit the ‘acceptable’ mold, but everything felt so off when she looked at herself in the mirror.

The bell chimed and Mina was busy filling out a paper on the counter. There were two customers searching for some snacks on the shelves, so she could’ve greeted her, but chose to grab her items first, not wanting to interrupt Mina’s work. 

The cashier happened to spare a glance at the new arrival, to at the very least say she checked that someone wasn’t robbing the place and did a double take when she noticed the girls side profile fly by.

“Dahyun?” Mina’s brows connected in the middle, she set her pen down.

Dahyun paused, spinning on her heels to give her an awkward half smile in greeting. “Uh hi,” she waved, then adjusted her skirt with the other hand— something she had been doing constantly.

“You look so different, new outfit?”

“Yeah,” her eyes skipped down her body.

“You look sort of…uncomfortable?” Mina said cautiously, not wanting her to take it as an insult, but it was welcomed in Dahyun’s book. She’d been getting compliments from everywhere she frequented. Her shirt, her skirt, her new look. It was what she wanted right? But instead of making her happy, it was making her sad.

She exhaled heavily, shoulders slumped. “Finally someone who doesn’t say I look pretty, I feel like I’m going insane.”

“Uh…sorry, did you want…me…to?” Mina was very confused.

“Nope, you’re doing perfect.”

Mina blinked a couple times, not understanding what was going on. “You look weird?” she asked more than stated, unsure if that’s what Dahyun was searching for. Apparently, that was the correct thing to say. “Thank you!” Dahyun threw her hands up, like words finally made sense to her for the first time in her life and that was good…because they weren’t making sense to Mina. 

The girl walked away when someone their age strolled towards them, hoping to check out. Mina rang her up with eyebrows pinched together the entire time. Dahyun was…much different than anyone she had met before. In more ways than one.

“Do you wear skirts a lot?” the girl asked when she returned with sweets in hand. Shaking her head, Mina took them. “I don’t like them very much.”

“Yes, thank you! Why are they like this? I can’t bend down and when I walk, they ride up. Guys keep looking at my butt and I’m afraid to sit down, but then the shirts…oh the shirts! I can’t bend down in those either, why is everything Nayeon wears one step away from flashing everybody?”

Dahyun took the candies and fled when the other person lined up behind her. Mina watched her go, wondering what was happening and who Nayeon was.

===

“So, I thought over our conversation from yesterday and realized that I sounded like a crazy person. I apologize.”

Mina covered her mouth to catch a giggle, gazing at the girl that was shrinking into herself. “You think?”

Stuffing her hands into her pockets, the shorter girl looked away, embarrassed. “I was irritated,” her hands came up quickly. “Not at you, just a bunch of different stuff.”

“I figured, your face got red while you insulted the clothes you were wearing.”

“I spent all day in that outfit and it was late, I was really tired and uncomfortable.” Meekly, Dahyun excused her outburst. “Why did you spend all day in it if you didn’t like it?”

“I’m doing this new thing where I try out some different styles…I don’t think that was the one I was looking for.”

“In your defense, I agree with the stuff you said about skirts. If they're short, it does make them hard to work with sometimes.”

“And pockets are nice,” Dahyun added with a curve of the lips, tugging at hers for emphasis. She was back in her usual attire, sporting a comfy assortment of mix-matched items. Brown beanie, red shirt with an apple and pen that were getting married, the words 'apple-pen or pen-apple?’ under them, and mustard yellow pants. Oh and of course her crocs at the bottom.

“You can fit so many chocolate bars into them,” Mina reasoned.

“You speak my language.”

“I don’t know about that, yesterday…I was kind of lost.”

“You almost speak my language. You’re almost there.”

“What’s the name of the language?”

“Dubuese,” Dahyun said with practiced ease, both hands holding the edge of the counter as she pushed and pulled against it idly. 

“So, my language is Mubuese?”

“I’m afraid it might be, you’ve gotten paler since we last saw each other.”

Mina snapped her fingers together like she was out of luck. “Dang it. It’s because I downloaded a mod for Stardew Valley. I had no choice, but to stay in and play.” 

“Oh, don’t you become a farmer in that or something? I think I saw a gameplay once.”

“Yeah, you do.”

Dahyun gave a teasing smirk. “You don’t see the irony at all?” Slowly, Mina’s eyelids pulled together so she could look at her through slits, a small smile still tugging at her lips that completely undermined the glare. “I don’t know what you’re implying.”

“Make sure to put on virtual SPF50, wouldn’t want a sunburn with all that virtual sun you’re gett–”

“Excuse me, can I go?” the lady behind Dahyun huffed loudly, flashing her items for both of them to see.

When’d she get there?

The cashier looked just as surprised as she did, so apparently they both missed her.

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, sorry,” Dahyun stepped aside, bidding Mina adieu with her eyes. She took two steps, realizing they never got to talk about her random item from yesterday. With her palm on the handle, she randomly called out. “Raspberry rain soda tastes like perfume,” then exited, preferring that the lady thought of her as a weirdo rather than letting her think Mina was rude for continuing their conversation even while ringing up a customer.

===

Nayeon’s clothes were a man attractor, that much was becoming increasingly obvious.

She had an undeniable uptick in male attention as of late and…it wasn’t incredibly fun, how did Nayeon do this? It wasn’t just the one teenager from their shopping trip, it was waiters being more flirtatious, a comment here or there mumbled under their breath, guys offering to hold the door open for her or staring a little too much, even one being handsy on the train once.

Dahyun sank into her seat, her legs outstretched off the couch and her back lying where one's butt would normally sit. “How did you know Nayeon was into girls when you first met?” Jeongyeon sat in the spot beside her, sinking to her level for no apparent reason except probably to tease her.

“She looked me dead in the eyes and said it was too bad Mrs. Ji-eun was our teacher, she would’ve already asked her out if not. She asked me if Mrs. Ji-eun was my type too.”

“That was her way of letting you know she was into girls?”

“Yeah, it was for the best. I wasn’t sure right off the bat.”

“Was it the clothes?”

Jeongyeon snickered, understanding instantly. “So you’re having fun with her outfits, huh?” The older girl felt a shove to her shoulder. 

“Does this mean I have to walk around telling every girl I’m gay or they’ll just automatically assume I’m straight?”

“Yep. Time to buy a megaphone and announce it every time you enter a room.”

Dahyun groaned, reaching for the small pillow beside her to cover her face. “At least my old outfits left things up for interpretation. I’m not outspoken enough to walk up to random pretty girls and start dropping hints that I’m gay like Nayeon.”

“So you go for men instead,” Jeongyeon wiggled her eyebrows when Dahyun took off the pillow and rotated her head, cheesing brightly as the shorter girl shot daggers at her. “How about I go for Nayeon instead?” Dahyun retorted.

“Shaking in my boots little Dubu,” reaching out, Jeongyeon ruffled Dahyun’s hair. She stopped when it gained her another groan, feeling accomplished. “You know though, when you asked about trying out new outfits, you made it seem like you were doing it for you…so, why do you care about what types of people you’re attracting?”

“I don’t,” Dahyun’s voice came out high pitched, like she was fighting off an accusation even though it was a simple question. Jeongyeon’s expression shifted to one of curiosity and Dahyun cleared her throat, bringing her tone back to normal. She faced the ceiling. “I don't. It would just be an added bonus if girls liked it, but it deducts a point if men start following me.”

A sudden crack of laughter came out of her friend and she was glad she was able to turn it around so quickly. “Yeah, yeah. That honestly subtracts like five points actually.”

“Maybe even more,” the younger girl agreed.

===

Dahyun just happened to catch the time out of the corner of her eye, surprised to see that over twenty minutes had passed since she began talking to Mina. They seemed to have seamlessly slid from topic to topic so casually that she couldn’t even backtrack to find where they started from. Hadn’t it begun with them chatting about their joint love for cinnamon flavored sweets…how did it trickle into both of them griping about their hatred for swinging scooters as children?

“I was so excited when it was fixed too. It was like I was in an abusive relationship. It kept hitting my ankles every time I tried to do a cool trick and I still kept coming back for more. They were so sore every day.”

In understanding, Dahyun nodded. “And then you put on your shoes and have to participate in gym and the back of it rubs the spot constantly, but you have to act like you didn’t do it to yourself.”

“Exactly, my mom kept giving me the ‘I told you so’ look and I felt like I had to brave it out for my pride.”

“And did you?” Dahyun wondered.

Mina shook her head. “Of course not, my mom’s always right. I ended up crying to her and she suggested that I switch to a bike like she wanted in the first place. I caved and we gave the scooter away.”

“I did the honorable thing and played it off like I was nobly giving my cousin a nice scooter for her birthday, but really my parents said they wouldn’t get me a skateboard until I did that. They said I could only have one or the other.”

“I don’t feel like the skateboard would’ve helped things,” Mina mused.

“See, but in my head it felt like it would fix everything. I could still do cool tricks, but I wouldn’t have to worry about bruised ankles…if only I had considered knee bruises,” she cringed, rubbing over her knee caps at the painful memory. “Those ones suck a lot too because you’re always bending. I was constantly sore, I fell like thirty times a day.”

“That’s admirable.”

Dahyun tilted her head, puzzled on how anything she just said could possibly come close to being described as admirable. “Most people compete to see who can do the best tricks, but you try to break the hard records…like how many times can one person fall in a single day.”

Proudly, Dahyun reached up to tip an invisible hat on her head, her eyes closing as she dunked down while pretending to do the motion. “Why thank you. I’m an overachiever.” An eye peaked open. “It’s actually crazy that you say that because I really did try for the word record at something.”

Impressed, Mina leaned back, arms folding. “Really? What for?”

“Promise not to let the disappointment show on your face when I tell you?” 

“Or I can guess considering how bad it seems?” the cashier offered.

Waving inwards, Dahyun accepted and let the girl give it her best shot. “The floor is yours. What dumb thing do you think I tried for?”

A thoughtful frown appeared on Mina, her eyes flickering around the immediate area, looking for inspiration. Off to the side, there was a spoon stuck in a container of pudding that she had been snacking on when Dahyun first entered. She reached out to pluck it from its plastic holding cell, slipping it into her mouth to remove the chocolate remnants before presenting it to the shorter girl then hovering it over the tip of her nose.

“You balanced a spoon on your nose for a hundred hours straight. You slept sitting up to maintain the streak.”

Dahyun scoffed. “How average do you think I am? Peep my amazing outfit and give me some credit.” The older girl found herself biting her lip to stop a smile from erupting at the sight of her customer’s clothes. She had on her outlandish, vibrant colored pants and funny shirt that clashed, but somehow fit her perfectly. 

A red and white striped shirt that said ‘Would you believe me if I said I wasn’t a candy cane?’ fell over her top half and her bottom half held onto a pair of orange and green pants that mixed the two colors in swirls. Her hair was up in a ponytail that was green and Mina thought she looked really comfy. It reminded her of lazy days off where she was lounging around in whatever her hands could find first inside her dresser. 

“Is it oddly specific?”

“No hints. Only stupid guesses, go!”

“Heaviest train pulled with a beard.”

Dahyun blinked.

Mina blinked.

Slowly, Dahyun’s eyes dropped. Purposefully, she pushed her chin forward. “I don’t know if my beard is long enough for that. I only grow it in winter when I’m trying to impersonate Santa. Did I forget to shave it this morning?”

“...I might’ve panicked,” Mina confessed and Dahyun couldn’t hold back her giggles any longer. “You think?” 

“I’m bad under pressure. I was fine until you made me think quickly,” a small whine came from the girl and it only made Dahyun laugh harder. “There was a world record book in a waiting room and I read it one day. I think that record was on the second page, it was the first thing I thought of.”

“I’m happy that it wasn’t my beard that made you guess that.”

“Okay, okay. Let me try again. To be fair, that could've been a disappointing one.”

Mouth dropping open, Dahyun disagreed with that statement. “What, were you mad I only moved a train with my hypothetical beard? Were you expecting me to move a plane or something? Jeez, your standards are high.”

“It would’ve been disappointing that you shaved that strong of a beard off. I could’ve asked you to help me move inventory with it.”

Sighing suddenly, Dahyun’s shoulders slumped gloomily. “Everyone only loves me for my train pulling beard, never my assembly skills.”

Mina lit up. “You gave me a hint.”

“I had to after that sad, sad guess.” The cashier released her own chuckle. “So, something to do with assembly. Assembly…” she repeated, humming as the wheels turned in her head. “Fastest time assembling a bike– wait, that doesn't work with the scooter/skateboard thing.” Dahyun’s expression remained neutral when she glanced at her so she tried something else, thinking assembling a skateboard was out too. “Uhhh, L-Legos?”

Pursing her lips together, the shorter girl bobbed her head in approval. “Ooh, wrong thing, but you’re kind of on the right track.”

“Like something fun? Games or toys?” Mina guessed based on her sentence. “Yeah.”

“Something to do with Minecraft?”

“No video games.”

“Fastest time building a Transformer.”

“Wait, that's basically it. I thought this would take a while, even after the hint. I tried for the fastest time assembling Mr. Potato head, but get this,” she drummed on the cool counter, making the only noise that didn’t come from the air conditioner, refrigerators, or light music playing overhead. “I did it blindfolded.”

“Okay, nothing makes sense again.”

Dahyun’s drumming tapered off. “How come?”

“First, I guessed Transformers and that was wrong– why’d you count it?”

“Because potatoes transform into fries, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, and more. Next question.” She picked up her suspenseful drumming when Mina smiled at her reasoning, an amused eyeroll coming from her. 

“Second, you said I would be disappointed, but you’re literally trying to set records blindfolded.”

“It was my internalized hatred for Mr. Potato head talking. I’m still holding onto a massive grudge because my friend Chaeyoung and I played rock-paper-scissors to see who could have Mrs. Potato head and she beat me. I’ve never recovered from that day.”

“It’s your villain origin story,” Mina deduced. 

“Exactly. I, Tofu woman, have a plan–” she had to pause to keep a straight face when Mina covered her mouth to hide her little chuckle. “-to rid this world of potatoes once and for all.”

“After all of those years of assembling Mr. Potato head, you’ve given up on trying to create and only destroy,” Mina completed her origin story and Dahyun was pleased she was so easy going, happy to follow along with her random jokes. 

“Why do our conversations keep circling back to potatoes and tofu?” Dahyun wondered after a moment.

“That’s easy,” Mina claimed, reaching over to tap on the chocolate bar that Dahyun had laying in front of her. “Your body is telling you to feed it something other than chocolate.”

Dahyun gasped, hands falling to overlap on her stomach. “My body would never do such a thing.”

“It’d be amazing if your stomach growled right about now for the plot.”

“I’d feel betrayed.”

They quieted down, both following the bit and locking their eyes on the shorter girl’s stomach as if they were waiting for it to either take Mina or Dahyun’s side. It never spoke up so Dahyun opened her own mouth to say that it was confirmation that it was totally on board with all the chocolate she put into it when a chime came from the door.

They both shot into the air, not expecting the sudden noise from the side. It was kind of funny because, why wouldn’t they expect a customer to come through the door? They were in a shop after all, but they just hadn’t been prepared for it at that very moment when all was nearly silent and their ears were concentrating on something else.

A girl glanced at them, then immediately turned to the chip aisle. 

“I guess I should let you work, thanks for playing the guessing game. I’d give you a prize, but I think you just insulted my love for chocolate so it cancels out.”

“You insulted my not-at-all-rushed guess so we can just call it even,” Mina compromised, holding a hand out between them. Dahyun grinned, placing her palm against the cashiers soft one and giving it a good shake. “Fair enough.”

She turned to leave and went to detach her hand, but felt a small tug, urging her to meet the cashier's eyes again. “Wait, I didn’t get a chance to ask you how the suckers were from yesterday.” Dahyun’s cheeks lifted, it was nice to know that Mina liked the routine they had going enough to ask about it when they got side tracked. 

“My favorite one so far is the mystery flavor. It was kinda like a tropical punch I think? I really liked it.”

Offering a shy smile, Mina let her go. “That’s one of my favorites too.”