Chapter Text
Jimin is in love with love. From as young as she could remember, her favourite genre of movies or books would always be romance - her eyes would sparkle whenever she watched the female lead get wooed and chased, and she would squeal in delight whenever the guy gets the girl, leading them to their happily ever after. She also grew up in a happy household, with parents who dote on each other like they’re still each other’s high school crushes and a loving sister, who has a long-term boyfriend that treats Jimin like a younger sister he’s never had. Pure unconditional and genuine love has surrounded her for the longest time that it only makes sense for her to eagerly anticipate her own love of her life.
She’d always dream of white dresses and a big house filled with mini versions of herself and her partner running around. Growing old together and taking care of each other. Watching their kids learn and age alongside themselves. Jimin has always looked forward to her own love story that she thought the only way to find it was to share all her love with everyone around her.
“Was that the fifth one this month?”
“Ryu, c’mon be realistic, that’s the sixth one.”
“Oh my god, you guys are so annoying,” Jimin groans.
Sua raises an eyebrow and drawls another question, “So which one of us is right?”
Jimin continues to flick through the Netflix options and answers, “Neither!”
Ryujin and Sua look at each other behind Jimin’s back with Sua whispering loudly, “That means it was higher.”
“No, it wasn’t!” Jimin exclaims and plops back to her seat with the bowl of popcorn in her hands.
The raven haired girl nestles onto the cushion and pops a popcorn into her mouth, mumbling in defeat, “it was the fourth one.”
Ryujin sighs and pats her friend’s slumped shoulder, “I’m sorry to hear that, Jimin-ah.”
“What’s the problem with unlucky number four this time?” Sua asks.
Jimin frowns and recounts to her friends, “She kept trying to get me into bed even though I told her multiple times that I was waiting until marriage. At first, she backed off but after the fifth-sixth time, she just started yelling at me and said that I was lying to her. That I was making ‘excuses’ because I didn’t find her attractive enough and that I definitely slept around before because why wouldn’t I.”
The girl munches on another kernel of popcorn and sighs, “I mean, I definitely stopped thinking she was hot when she started throwing accusations at me for literally doing nothing.”
“Well, that girl definitely had it coming to her,” Sua shakes her head and says, “whoever doesn’t respect your boundaries like that isn’t worth any more of your time, Jimin.”
“Yeah, and if you ever need us to key her car or unleash a horde of spiders to her purse, you know we got your back,” Ryujin supplements.
Jimin’s eyes begin to water and she sniffles, “Thanks, guys. I’m so glad I have you guys.”
“What did Minjeong do when you told her?” Ryujin asks the older girl.
Jimin’s eyes soften as she thinks about her best friend of nine years, “She started going on a long rant about the importance of trust and respect, and how ‘that skank’ doesn’t deserve that from me from the way she treated me,” she laughs, “then she did that cute little pout of hers, started looking through her bag and gave me a pack of those Dubai chewy cookies to cheer me up.”
The raven haired girl’s lips quirks up inwardly as she tells the two girls, “Though I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I wasn’t a big fan of the cookies ‘cause I didn’t wanna hurt her feelings.
“Oh! She also said that I had a free ‘Ask Minjeong for anything’ voucher so I am fully utilising that to take her out clubbing this weekend, and you guys can’t say no to joining too!”
Ryujin pats her friend’s shoulder in response, “Sure, just let us know when and where.”
♡♡♡
Upon entering the apartment, Jimin starts taking off her coat to hold across her arms as her eyes automatically wander around the threshold.
“Minjeong’s not here yet,” Ryujin pipes up from her perch on the couch.
“Oh okay,” Jimin replies as she sits down next to her friend, “I’m guessing Sua’s still getting ready?”
“Yep,” Ryujin confirms while continuing to play the game on her phone.
“What are you playing?”
“Some fighting game Chaeryoung recommended. Said it helps to let loose some steam.”
Jimin hums and gets up from the couch, calling out, “I’m going to the bathroom.”
After spending a few minutes on the toilet seat and in the midst of washing her hands, Jimin hears an influx of sudden noise and familiar voices through the bathroom door.
The raven haired girl opens the door and her eyes immediately light up at the sight of the blonde girl awkwardly tucking back her hair behind her eyes at the front door. Minjeong is shyly bowing her head to Sua, who appeared to have opened the door for her. They are in the midst of a conversation when Jimin interrupts with a loud cry of “Minjeongie!”
This is immediately followed by the older girl barreling her way to the smaller girl with arms wide open to catch the latter in a bear hug. Minjeong lets out a yelp at the impromptu contact as she struggles to maintain her weight against the taller girl, who suddenly decided to physically treat her like a giant stuffed animal - and if Minjeong had to guess, probably a life sized version of her favourite dinosaur plushie considering the tight grip Jimin had over her body.
“Jimin unnie,” the blonde girl says as she strokes her best friend’s head in response, “how are you today?”
There was a muffled sound against Minjeong’s head until the younger girl asks her to repeat again - Jimin’s voice sounds small as she mumbles, “better now that you’re here.”
“Okay, break it up, lovebirds,” Ryujin calls out.
”It’s time to get a move on now that everyone’s here,” the girl with the wolf cut continues as she takes the car keys from the bowl of trinkets by the front door.
It takes a few minutes for Minjeong to untangle herself from Jimin’s hold. The older girl continues to cling to her arm as they make their way out of the apartment door.
On the way to the nightclub, Jimin, seated at the backseat with Minjeong, couldn’t stop unleashing surprise tickle attacks against her best friend. The blonde squeals in response as she tries to fight off the older girl’s advances. Due to the limited distance between the two girls, there wasn’t much room for the younger girl to escape as she is forced to lean her body against the car door.
The smaller girl scowls at Jimin in a threatening way, which somehow ends up as a cross between a pout and an almost puppy-like growl. Jimin scrunches her nose at the cute expression, feeling even more encouraged, as she continues to poke and prod the other girl.
As the backseat of the car fill with squeals, bickering and fits of laughter, the two girls at the front exchange a look. Sua smirks and wiggles her eyebrows, as Ryujin shakes her head in response - a smile adorning her face - while she continues to steer the car.
♡
“Do you guys want anything to drink?”
“Yes please, could you get me a beer?” Ryujin answers.
Jimin looks to her other two friends - Minjeong shakes her head and Sua adds a cocktail to the order.
The raven haired girl makes her way through the crowd of dancing bodies to the bar and tries to get the attention of the bartender, who is in the midst of mixing what seems to be a very convoluted drink order. After successfully catching the bartender’s eye, Jimin recites her order of the three drinks along with a glass of water. The bartender nods and takes down her order, leaving the tall girl to tap her fingers against the counter while she waits.
As she nods along to the nightclub’s music, a voice suddenly calls out from behind her, “Jimin-ah, is that you!?”
Jimin visibly startles at the sound and looks to her right. Her eyes widen as she exclaims, “Giselle! My gym buddy!”
A tall brunette sidles up along the bar counter next to Jimin and flashes the latter a smile, “Almost didn’t recognise you without the workout clothes.”
The older girl laughs, “I could say the same for you. Didn’t think you were the type to go to these places.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right,” Giselle sighs, “I’m only here because I had a meeting with a client upstairs. Networking and all that. Finally managed to escape it and thought I deserved a bit of a drink before heading back home.”
Jimin gasps, “you’re going home so soon? But the night is still young!”
“The night sure is, but I certainly don’t feel like it,” the brunette responds as she manages to flag the bartender’s attention to add her drink order.
“C’mon, it’s such a shame for you to leave now. It’s a Friday night.”
Jimin’s eyes suddenly brighten as she adds, “Why don’t you join us for a bit? I’m just with a few of my friends. You could relax some more before you have to go.”
Giselle helps her friend hold the tray of drinks presented by the bartender, while Jimin is busy taking out her credit card to pay the bill.
The brunette bites her lip as she questions uncertainly, “Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”
“I’m sure! And now you can’t say ‘no’ cause hah! I just paid for your drink too,” Jimin replies cheekily.
The brunette laughs, “Okay, I guess you’re really holding me hostage here now,” she then gestures with her drink to the other girl, “please lead the way.’
“Happily!”
The two girls maneuver their way through the crowd - with Jimin trying and failing to remember which booth she left her group of friends. On the verge of taking out her phone to call her friends after her third time of stumbling into the wrong booth, her eyes suddenly brighten upon recognising a familiar blonde bob within her vicinity.
“There they are!” Jimin calls out as she pulls Giselle along behind her.
“I’m so sorry I took so long, guys. I got lost trying to find my way back to you guys,” Jimin pants once she reaches the table.
“We figured. We were this close to sending a rescue party for you,” Ryujin teases.
“Yeah, we were already taking bets—”
“Minjeongie?”
Minjeong’s eyes widen when she sees the other girl beside Jimin. She gasps, “Aeri unnie?”
Jimin’s eyes dart between her best friend and her gym partner as they stare at each other. The raven haired girl feels a crease forming between her eyebrows as she tries to form the connection between the two women. The name ‘Aeri’ brings an unpleasant taste to her throat but she can’t recall why.
She watches her best friend immediately perk up from her seat to run over and hug the brunette in greeting. Giselle - or is it Aeri? - engulfs the smaller girl in her arms so tightly it looks like she almost doesn’t want to let her go. Minjeong’s smile is wide when she finally pulls back after a few long seconds into the hug to take in the other girl’s features. The two girls look at each other - the taller girl with fondness dripping in her eyes and the latter with almost like wonder in her gaze. That sour taste in Jimin’s mouth only became stronger.
“Um, are we interrupting something?” Sua coughs, breaking the moment.
Giselle, who still has her arm around Minjeong’s waist, looks apologetic as she introduces herself, “Sorry, my name is Giselle.”
“She was my friend from summer camp a few years ago,” Minjeong looks flushed as she explains, “I only saw her during the summer then ‘cause she was based in Japan. We actually haven’t seen each other since then.”
Jimin’s eyes widens as she connects the dots. This was Minjeong’s summer camp ‘friend’ - the one that she wouldn’t stop talking about for months even after autumn and then subsequently winter was over. When Jimin first met Minjeong at seventeen and sixteen years old respectively, the younger girl was already distraught over the loss of her first love. From Minjeong’s reaction then, Jimin initially thought that her first love passed away until she was corrected that she simply lived too far away.
This is the girl that Minjeong swore had the most beautiful eyes, who waxed words on a daily basis like it was poetry and apparently gave her the most memorable summer camp experience she’d ever had. Jimin remembers listening to Minjeong’s bashful retelling of their last night in camp as she confessed to the former about the fireworks and butterflies she felt when she shared her first kiss with the Japanese girl. How heartbroken she was that she wouldn’t see her anymore, and how they promised that they wouldn’t exchange contact details in fear that it would make the long distance hurt worse.
Jimin remembers Aeri all too well.
It was the moment Jimin vowed that she would never make Minjeong cry. That she would spend the rest of her life to keep her safe and warm for as long as she possibly could.
“Nice meeting you, Giselle. I’m Ryujin,” Ryujin says.
Sua looks puzzled as she asks, “I thought Minjeong called you by another name though?”
“Oh, that’s my birth name. But I usually go by Giselle.”
Jimin’s eyes linger to where Giselle’s thumb was gently stroking Minjeong’s waist.
‘She doesn’t want anyone else to call her by her birth name except for Minjeong.’
The girls scoot down the booth to make room for the other three girls - Jimin, Minjeong and Giselle in that order.
“So… ‘friend’, huh?” Giselle smirks.
The blonde blushes as she slaps the brunette’s shoulder in retaliation and she whispers back, “What other word is there?”
Giselle hums as she taps her finger on her chin, “Definitely something else,” her grin and voice softening as she gazes down at the shorter girl, “But I’ll tell you what I think another time in private.”
‘Weird,’ Jimin thinks when she feels her throat clog up at the strong sour taste in her mouth, ‘I haven’t even taken a sip of my drink yet.’
♡
They’re dancing in the middle of the nightclub - the music pulsing and thrumming throughout the dark crowded space. A remix of a well known k-pop song and an early 2000s R&B song is playing loudly from the DJ’s speakers. The smell of sweat, heavy perfume and alcohol linger in the air.
During one of her twirls at the song, Minjeong finds herself straying away from the group. She’s surrounded by unfamiliar figures, couples grinding against each other and people bumping into her left and right. For a moment in her panic-filled daze, Minjeong accidentally locks eyes with a man watching her across the room. Before she could feel alarm at the man’s potential misinterpretation, the blonde spots Aeri dancing her way to her at the corner of her eye at the same time that she feels a sudden tug on her arm.
It’s Jimin pulling her back. And Aeri following suit on her other side. They both hold her close and Minjeong is guided back to the group again.
“Stay close to us,” Jimin leans down to say in Minjeong’s ear.
“Sorry,” Minjeong mouths back and has to lean up to the taller girl’s ear to be heard, “I think I got carried away. Literally.”
The smaller girl laughs at her pun. Jimin’s eyes softens as she pats the blonde’s head.
The five women continue dancing through the songs - at some point, Sua calls out to do a body wave and they find themselves laughing and struggling to form a circle to continue the chain. There are fits of laughter as the women continue to jump together to the beat of the song.
In the middle of one of the jumps, Jimin turns to face Minjeong. Before the older girl could pull the blonde by the waist, Minjeong holds onto her arms and swiftly switches places with her. The blonde misinterpreted the taller girl’s glance as her wanting to dance closer to her other two friends - Ryujin and Sua, who was fumbling against each other on the other side of Minjeong.
This brings Minjeong closer to Giselle, who grins wider at the sight of the shorter girl and, in turn, pulls her nearer.
Jimin’s eyes narrow as she half-heartedly dances with Ryujin and Sua. She watches as Minjeong and Giselle sway their bodies against each other to the song’s rhythm - Giselle holding close to Minjeong’s waist the whole time. Clearing her throat, the raven haired girl discretely moves her body nearer to her best friend and wraps her arm around her shoulder. Minjeong startles at the contact, but quickly relaxes upon seeing Jimin’s familiar grin.
Giselle quirks an eyebrow at Jimin’s presence and is forced to let go of one of her arms around Minjeong. They dance like that throughout the next two songs - Minjeong nestled close between the two girls; Giselle’s arm securely fastened on her waist and Jimin’s grounding presence on her shoulders.
♡♡♡
It’s been a few weeks since Minjeong’s reunion with her summer camp ‘friend’. Sometimes, Jimin forgets about the event when she sees the brunette lawyer at the gym - where they continue their usual routine of working out together, comparing each other’s biceps and whooping in encouragement every time the other successfully lifts a heavier weight. Other times, Jimin has to wash down the unpleasant taste in her throat with her bottled water whenever she sees Giselle take a break in between sets to type on her phone with a giddy smile on her face.
Jimin is wiping off her sweat with a towel when she notices a familiar bob at the doorway of the gym. Automatically, a grin splits on her face as she moves to the unsuspecting blonde waiting at the entrance. She pokes the shorter girl’s side at the same time another finger teases the other side of Minjeong’s waist.
Minjeong yelps at the sudden contact and instantly turns around to see the culprits - Jimin and Giselle are pointing fingers at each other with unconvincing innocent expressions on their faces. The younger girl’s eyes narrows as she threatens to retaliate with her fist shaking towards them.
Giselle laughs as she takes in the shorter girl’s expression. Jimin, wanting to escape her best friend’s fists of fury, quickly moves to the receptionist counter to sign herself out of the gym.
When the raven haired girl turns back, she sees Giselle whispering closely with Minjeong - the shorter girl holding onto the taller girl’s arm to steady herself. Jimin uses the cap of her bottle to poke against Giselle’s bottom, which earns her a surprised shriek from the brunette and an equally startled Minjeong to move away at the unexpected sound. Jimin smirks in triumph.
“What were you guys whispering about?”
“Oh, we were just talking about where to go for our dinner,” Minjeong explains.
“Perfect, I’m starved,” Jimin says as she moves in between the two girls to wrap her arms around both their shoulders, “lead the way!”
Minjeong winces at her best friend’s sudden self-invitation as she shares an apologetic look to Giselle. Giselle chuckles and shrugs with a defeated sigh in response - the girl in the middle continuing to confidently walk them out the gym doors while pretending to ignore their exchange.
At the restaurant, Minjeong and Giselle grab ahold of the chair by the window at the same time. Minjeong looks up flustered, “Oh, sorry. You can sit here, Aeri unnie.”
“No, it’s okay. That’s for you, Minjeongie.”
“You can just sit on her lap, Minjeongie,” Jimin mumbles as she takes her seat by the aisle.
Minjeong’s cheeks redden further as Giselle lets her take the seat. The brunette smiles and moves to the other side of the table to sit across from the blonde.
During dinner, after placing their orders and retrieving their drinks from the waiter, the three women discuss their upcoming holiday plans.
“I wish I had enough money to travel now,” Minjeong sighs.
“Where would you want to go?” Giselle asks as she pours more water into Minjeong’s empty cup.
Minjeong ponders on the question, “If money wasn’t an issue?”
Jimin pauses in thought as she tries to recall if her best friend has ever mentioned this before.
“Oh wait, let me guess,” Giselle taps her nails against the table before her eyes light up, “Switzerland?”
“Yes!” Minjeong looks delighted at Giselle’s guess.
“Wow, if you guess another one of Minjeongie’s thoughts, you might as well get married,” Jimin jokes while downing another glass of water to clear up her suddenly dry throat.
Minjeong blushes at the thought while Giselle only lets out a proud smirk in response.
“Well, since we can’t go traveling so far out to Switzerland now, what would your ideal perfect day look like here?” Giselle asks the blonde.
Minjeong hums as her eyebrows furrow in thought, “I haven’t really thought about that.”
“Her perfect day would probably consist of spending an entire day at an amusement park followed by a long walk in the park or by the river at the end of the day,” Jimin supplies as she nods her thanks to the waiter for serving their food on the table.
“Really?” Giselle raises an eyebrow in challenge, making room in front of her for her dish to be placed, as she counters, “I don’t think Minjeong is the type to waste her day in one place like that. She’s a planner so she would probably spend her time wisely by doing something productive like going for pilates early in the morning before doing anything else.”
Minjeong chuckles nervously, “Both sound like really good ideas. I guess I would do a bit of everything. What’s important is having some time to rest and to also spend it with the people I care about.”
Giselle pouts at failing to get the correct guess. Although disappointed as well, Jimin continues digging into her meal with a small smile on her face.
♡♡♡
After their dinner conversation, the three women end up making plans to fulfil one of Minjeong’s ideal days and decide to go the amusement park the next available weekend. Jimin and Minjeong disembark from the same car and meets Giselle, who is already waving the park tickets to the two best friends, at the entrance of the park.
“I really like your outfit today, Minjeong,” Giselle compliments Minjeong’s overall look - an oversized white button down shirt and washed up jeans, complementing well with her now shoulder-length blonde hair.
With her hands fisted in her jacket, Jimin watches their interaction with close scrutiny. The blonde blushes prettily at Giselle’s compliment and, trying to play it off as if she was unaffected, replies with a shy ‘thanks’.
The raven haired girl is pulled from her thoughts when she hears Minjeong’s exclamation, “I can’t wait to ride all the rollercoasters today!”
From there, it was a flurry of excited squeals, pulling and skipping as they make their way into the amusement park. Jimin and Giselle let themselves be led by the younger girl, who was sharing her plan on which rides to target first by prioritising the more popular rides. Thankfully, they bought fast passes to efficiently spend their day at the park without spending too long in the queues. Despite both Jimin’s and Giselle’s fear of heights, they didn’t have the heart to reject Minjeong whenever she had her eyes sighted on the tallest and fastest rides. Both women were grateful that they didn’t have a heavy breakfast beforehand in anticipation (or in nervous anxiety?) of the day.
After their fourth rollercoaster ride, Jimin takes a seat at a nearby bench to catch her breath. At the same time, Giselle, who was looking a bit squeamish a few minutes ago, hasn’t returned from her bathroom break.
“I feel so guilty,” Minjeong looks worried at the state of her friends, “I didn’t realise you guys weren’t feeling well from all the rides.”
“Don’t worry about us, Minjeongie,” Jimin reassures her, “what matters is that you’re having fun. I’m sorry I can’t join you anymore now but please do continue ride-hunting. I need the break anyways.”
“Are you sure?”
“More than sure,” the older girl pushes the blonde away, “please go and enjoy. I’ll be right here.”
Minjeong bites her lip in worry but after much pushing from the taller girl, she relents and slowly walks away while calling back, “I’ll be right back! I won’t be too long, unnie!”
Jimin nods as she fondly watches her best friend disappear through the crowd. Pulling out her phone to open up her mobile games, she glances up after a few minutes and finds Minjeong waving at her from a queue at a nearby rollercoaster ride. The raven haired girl raises her phone, zooms in, and takes photos of her best friend’s excited grin. When she sees Minjeong get seated on the ride, she stands up and walks nearer to catch the blonde with her camera. The phone camera captures Minjeong’s giddy smile as she is pulled along the ride. Jimin’s heart warms when she hears the younger girl’s squeal and loud laughter throughout the ride - happiness sounds so good on her.
One hour later - consisting of two more rollercoaster rides for Minjeong and a few bathroom trips for the other two - the three women reunite once again when their collective hunger demanded a heavy meal. After sharing two pizzas and soft drinks amongst themselves, they decide to venture out to look for dessert.
At the ice cream stall, Giselle eyes a chocolate popsicle and asks the nearest person to her, Jimin, “would you want to share one with me?”
The raven haired girl playfully shakes her head, “Nope, I want my own piece.”
“I can share with you, Aeri unnie,” Minjeong pipes up.
Giselle beams in delight at the younger girl’s offer. Jimin, feeling somewhat slighted, adds, “I was just joking, by the way. I can still share if you want.”
Despite Jimin’s remark, Giselle happily unwraps her popsicle and splits it in half with Minjeong.
Once they finish filling up their tummies with carbs and sugar, the three women stumble upon a photo booth. They squeeze themselves into the small space - Minjeong somehow finding herself in between the two older girls.
They take their time familiarising themselves with the buttons and settings for the photo-strips. Upon choosing a cute park themed design for the photo strips, the three women settle down in their seats to take the photos.
The first photo has Giselle putting on a kissy face to Minjeong’s cheek while Jimin holds onto her waist with a dimpled smile. For the next photo, Jimin turns to Minjeong’s other cheek and subsequently repeats the same pose of kissing against the air beside the blonde. Minjeong, realising a theme, pouts her lips in a similar pose for the last photo as both her hands hold out peace signs in front of her. Giselle playfully bites onto one of her fingers while Jimin takes ahold of the other finger within the grip of her hand.
When they stumble out of the photo booth, each of them pockets their own copy of the photo-strip. Minjeong smiles warmly at the sight of two of her favourite people together in one photo - she smoothes down the photo-strip and reverently places it within the folds of her wallet.
“Hi, are you alone here?”
Minjeong, puzzled at hearing the unfamiliar voice, looks up to see well-kept man looking at her direction with a shy grin and hands within his pockets.
“I just wanted to let you know that you’re beautiful,” the man clears his throat and asks, “can I get your number?”
“You can’t,” Giselle interrupts - her face immediately losing the smile she had upon hearing the man’s question.
The man is surprised at the interruption and opens his mouth to question it but stops when he notices another taller woman glaring daggers on the other side of the blonde. He gulps, nods and bows his head in apology in quick succession before dashing away.
The two other girls move closer to Minjeong in response. Minjeong shakes her head, a fond smile forming on her face, at their antics.
“Come on, we better go on the ferris wheel before it closes down.”
♡♡♡
After recounting her fifth failed date that month to her friends, Jimin remain slumped on the couch as she grabs another glazed donut from the Krispy Kreme box.
“Is there something wrong with me?” Jimin wails.
She continues her tirade, “Am I cursed or something? Will I just never find ‘the one’?”
Ryujin pats her friend’s head as she looks over at Sua for guidance. Sua, sighing, responds, “Of course not, honey. You’re more than loveable. Anyone who doesn’t see that isn’t worth even an ounce of your time talking about them.”
“Yeah, exactly what Sua said,” Ryujin nods encouragingly.
Sua joins Ryujin in stroking the back of their friend’s head in quiet comfort. Sua poses the next question tentatively, “do you think it’s maybe time to take a break from dating?”
“Maybe take some time to regroup and figure out your priorities,” Sua continues, “I don’t know, maybe you could even spend some more time with the people around you. You never know if the person that you’re looking for could be right in front of you all along and you don’t even know it.”
Jimin stills at the sudden thought.
“Guys, don’t tell me…”
The other two girls lean forward to hear their friend better.
“… that one of you is in love with me?”
Twin smacks resound against the back of Jimin’s head.
“Ow!” Jimin flinches and rubs her head to soothe the resulting pain, “what was that for!?”
“Of course, I’m not referring to us!” Sua sounds exasperated as she explains, “I meant another best friend of yours - Minjeong for example?”
“Oh,” Jimin says, sounding distant, “I doubt it.”
“Why not?” Ryujin gently inquires.
“She’s been busy spending her time with Giselle lately,” the taller girl grumbles, “sometimes they invite me to their hangouts but lately it just seems like Giselle wants to hog her attention to herself. I’m pretty sure I know where Minjeong’s heart lies.”
“What happens if they get together, guys?” Jimin’s eyes widen at the thought, “What does Giselle have that I don’t? How is she able to get the girl but I can’t even get a decent relationship after so many tries? Is it ‘cause my job? I’m just some nobody dance teacher and she’s a hot shot lawyer? How can I compete when there’s someone like that out in the market?”
“Jimin…” Ryujin attempts to calm down the other girl, her next words sounding slow and careful, “you may think you know where Minjeong’s heart lies, but what about yours?”
“What do you mean?”
“She means,” Sua quips, “do you ever wonder why you can’t seem to hold a relationship longer than two months? And if that reason perhaps came in the form of a certain puppy-like blonde best friend of yours?”
Jimin’s heart thuds loudly against her chest at the thought. Her hands start feeling clammy as she chuckles nervously, “Are you saying that I’ve been lowkey sabotaging my relationships because of Minjeong?”
“I don’t think you’re doing it intentionally, Jimin-ah. I just think that you’ve been spending so long trying to find ‘the one’ to spend the rest of your life with… that maybe the reason why you think you haven’t found that person yet is because you already have,” Sua cautiously speaks, “But you just haven’t realise it yet.”
Ryujin quickly adds, “Please don’t think that we’re ambushing you or trying to push ideas into your head. These are just our thoughts, so if you do think or feel any differently, we won’t say anymore.”
Jimin stays quiet. She doesn’t understand why her mind freezes, unable to comprehend the words her friends conveyed to her.
The raven haired girl fidgets with the rings on her fingers, her lips bitten between her teeth almost painfully, and worries. For the first time that night, she has no words. Her body temperature warms as she struggles to re-arrange the multitude of thoughts swirling around her previously blissfully blank mind.
♡♡♡
Weeks lapse since Jimin’s heart-to-heart with her two friends. Now every time she interacts with her blonde best friend, their words involuntarily echo at the back of her mind.
She watches Minjeong laugh as the blonde recounts a story from work, and only hears ‘the person you’re looking for is right in front of you.’
When Minjeong bumps her knee against the corner of the tabletop and Jimin instinctively rushes to steady her, the older girl only thinks ‘you may think you know where Minjeong’s heart lies, but what about yours’.
‘Maybe you already found 'the one'’ repeats through Jimin’s head as she takes the side closer to the road while walking Minjeong back home. The older girl stays close to her best friend as she attentively listens to Minjeong’s thoughts of the day - the blonde getting more animated the more hand gestures she use.
As Jimin taste tests Minjeong’s soup and memorises the way the shorter girl’s eyebrows crinkle in thought, she wonders ‘but I haven’t realised it yet.’
While Jimin is busy studying Minjeong, she also jots down her own reactions.
The way Minjeong makes her hands sweat every time she cuddles closer during movie nights. How easily a smile forms on Jimin’s lips whenever she catches the shorter girl hum a random tune in the middle of washing up the dishes. How warm she feels when she listens to Minjeong’s voice as she passionately describes her new favourite snack of the week. How Jimin’s already taking note to buy the same treat when she goes grocery shopping tomorrow.
She thinks about how Minjeong remembers to always wish her ‘good luck’ before every dance recital she holds for her students. How her ears feel warm to touch when the blonde gets close enough to fix her hair. How anxious she feels if she doesn’t see or hear from the other girl for longer than a few hours. How Minjeong swears to remember all her past flings so the blonde knows to blacklist them if she ever comes across them. How she feels like she can jump off the the tallest building as long as Minjeong is waiting to catch her at the bottom.
She always thought the heavy feeling in her chest from hearing Minjeong talk about Giselle was because she was afraid of losing her position as the blonde’s best friend. That she would be disregarded in favour of the first love. That she was jealous of the two because she wanted what they have - a mutual first love, with the intention of continuing it longer for the rest of their lives.
Jimin never thought that the unwelcome green emotion could stem from the fact that she wanted to be in Giselle’s place instead. That she wants to be the one that makes Minjeong blush and giggle whenever she texts excitedly on her phone. She wants to be the one that makes Minjeong nervously go through four outfit changes before they meet up. She wants to be the one Minjeong thinks about when she picks out her perfume. She wants to be the one sharing all of Minjeong’s firsts - and most importantly, her lasts. She wants to want Minjeong.
Without realising it, Jimin finds herself unable to stop her heart from racing as it tries to catch up with Minjeong.
A race she didn’t even know she was running in for almost a decade.
‘What if I’m too late?’
♡♡♡
“Aeri unnie asked me to be her girlfriend.”
‘I’m too late.’
“Oh,” Jimin says, unable to look up to Minjeong’s eyes, as she continues to chop the vegetables.
Curiosity and masochism fighting its way through her throat and to the top of Jimin’s ears, she tries to ask nonchalantly, “What did you say?”
“I told her I’d think about it.”
There’s a long pause. The kitchen fill with the sounds of the knife slowly cutting across the wooden board, and the tap water pouring down against the ingredients in a bowl.
Jimin and Minjeong methodically work across the kitchen counters like a well-worn dance to their favourite tune. The blonde pulls out a large pot and lights a fire against the stove, before setting down another set of raw meat and vegetables beside Jimin.
Minjeong leans against the counter and observes the way Jimin focuses intensely on her task, her knife cutting through the carrots unevenly.
“What do you think?”
‘I think they were right.’
‘I think you’re the most beautiful person I know.’
‘I think I’m the dumbest person alive to not have realised it sooner.’
‘I think you make my world brighter by just existing.’
‘I think you don’t know half of the effect you have on everyone around you.’
‘I think I’m so lucky you’ve kept me in your life for so long.’
‘I think I’m in love with you.’
Jimin looks up and sees Minjeong’s doe brown eyes staring back at her - her entire life looking back at her.
‘But you’re not in love with me.’
“I think you should do whatever makes you happy.”
Jimin swallows the heavy lump in her throat.
“If she makes you happy, then I’m happy.”