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It's Haerin's fault, really, for being a foodie.
Coming to the Olympics, Minji had one goal, which obviously, was to win. That meant training. Focus. Drive. Other motivational words her coach texts her daily.
It wasn't that she wasn't excited for the other stuff that came with the Olympics, like the camaraderie and spirit. It's just stuff she can wait for after she wins a medal.
But, of course, Haerin heard that the chocolate muffins at the dining hall were supposed to be even better than those at the last games, which is how Minji ends up camping the dining hall, waiting for a new tray of muffins to arrive. She's supposed to be keeping an eye on the kitchen staff, but she finds her gaze drifting around the communal space. She’s driven, she’s an athlete, she’s capable of focusing on more than one thing. Besides, Haerin is right next to her, and really why is this a two person job anyway.
The dining hall is the emptiest Minji has ever seen it, apparently because Haerin identified the optimal time between the different practices and events to swipe an entire tray of muffins. It's usually bustling, but right now it's quiet enough that she can hear the members of the Italian delegation talking as they line up for food at another station. Even so, there's a whole palette of colors from the different countries.
The table next to theirs is barely half-full, the green and gold clad Australian athletes chatting amongst themselves in English. But it’s one woman in particular that catches Minji’s eye. She’s pretty, with soft brown eyes and a wide smile when the guy next to her says something and elbows her in the side. She's Minji's type, to be honest, and if she weren't competing on the world stage next week she would consider actually doing something about it.
Minji's still staring when the woman looks up, and their eyes meet for half a second before they both look away. Minji's cheeks burn and she feigns nonchalance before looking back again.
She'll settle for appreciating from afar. And with words.
“She’s cute,” Minji says, not bothering to speak quietly, and she sees the athlete in question (“Hanni Pham, she’s a snowboarder. Halfpipe I think,” Hyein will helpfully tell her later) choke on her water.
Haerin doesn't even turn to look at her, apparently locked in on her muffin mission. “Who?”
“The short one. At the table next to us.”
Haerin’s eyes flick to the Aussie table, where the woman has now ducked her head after recovering from coughing. Her cheeks are slightly flushed, but she clears her throat and turns to her teammate to assure him she's alright.
“Hm,” is all Haerin says.
“What?”
“You're so predictable.”
Minji makes a sound of protest. “What do you mean?”
“Shh,” Haerin snaps, “I'm focusing.”
A worker moves toward the muffin station, but they exchange the tray of croissants instead. Haerin sags, disappointed, before quickly snapping to attention again. Minji rolls her eyes, sneaking a glance at the woman again.
“I want to bite her nose,” Minji says. She really can't help it.
The woman chokes mid-sip again, and the guy next to her smacks her on the back to help her.
Haerin just scoffs. “You're a freak.”
“What? I'm just saying.”
“If anyone overheard what you were saying they'd agree.”
“Yeah they'd agree that she's hot.”
The woman's friend must be poking fun at her or something because her cheeks are red and flushed. Minji really likes the way it looks on her, and she allows herself one more glance before a thought strikes her.
“You don't think she's Korean, do you?”
Haerin shoots her a look full of judgement. “How am I supposed to know?” she asks.
Minji shrugs, and goes to pull out her phone to do a quick Naver search when she’s interrupted by Haerin roughly elbowing her in the side, pointing towards the new, freshly baked tray of muffins.
“That's it! Go!” Haerin says with more enthusiasm Minji's ever heard her with. And with that, Haerin beelines towards the muffins at a speed Minji thought was reserved for the speed skating rink.
Minji sighs with a fond smile as she pockets her phone, allows herself one more look back, and follows.
–
“She’s just so pretty,” Minji tells Haerin, who groans, her breath puffing in the air.
The cold outside isn't quite biting, but Minji zips up the collar of her jacket as they linger by the coffee truck, cups of coffee in hand. Honestly, one of the biggest perks of the Olympic Village have been the beverages, Minji muses as she finishes her drink. Well, the beverages and the people, she amends as she admires Hanni, who seems to be typing something on her phone as she waits in line for coffee.
“I know,” Haerin says, sounding almost tortured. “You've told me many times.”
“Well it's true.”
Haerin tilts her head towards the line. “You could just go say hi. She seems nice.”
Minji bites at the inside of her lip. Her English is good enough after a few winters spent at Whistler and traveling for competitions. She's been told it's slightly Canadian accented, sure, and she gets by.
But–“What if I offend her or something?”
“I don't think she'll be offended by your English skills.” Haerin rolls her eyes before she delivers her kill shot with a smirk. “If anything she'll be offended by what you actually say.”
“I can't believe you're the one saying that to me.”
Haerin just shrugs, taking a sip of her coffee. “I don't know why you're having this problem. Didn't you talk to that American skier?"
“Yeah but Yunjin is… Yunjin. And American.”
“Eh, true,” Haerin admits, and Minji sighs as she turns back towards the line.
Hanni's gotten her two cups of coffee and hands one to a new arrival, another woman wearing a team Australia jacket. The new woman can only be described as doe-like, with willowy limbs and curly brown hair, and she gracefully accepts the coffee from Hanni before she notices Haerin and her whole demeanor seems to brighten.
“Hi!” the woman says in heavily Australian accented English, waving as she marches up to them (“Oh! Danielle Marsh! Figure skating.” “What are you? Some kind of Olympic athlete wiki?”). She’s dragging Hanni along, who seems to be looking everywhere but at them.
“It's good to see you again!” the woman says to Haerin, and Haerin doesn't acknowledge Minji's raised eyebrow as she waves shyly at the woman. Not-Hanni sticks her hand out. “We just wanted to come over and say hi! I’m Danielle Marsh.”
Minji can’t help the smile that tugs at her lips even as she sneaks a glance at Hanni. “Hi. Minji,” Minji says, shaking Danielle’s hand.
Danielle smiles brightly before she elbows Hanni in the side. “That's Haerin! The one I was telling you about.”
Hanni can't seem to look at Minji, and her cheeks are slightly reddened as she offers a small smile to Haerin.
“Nice to meet you. Hanni,” she says, and finally meets Minji's eyes.
“Hi,” Minji says.
Hanni flushes harder. “Hi.”
There’s a sufficiently awkward moment where no one seems to know what to say and they all stare at each other. But Danielle smiles quickly and she clears her throat and scuffs her shoe against the pavement as she looks up through her lashes at Haerin.
“Well, there’s supposed to be this lounge thing and we were gonna go check it out. You guys wanna come with?”
More time spent together means more time for Minji to metaphorically stick her foot in her mouth. She goes to decline the invite and spare herself from future embarrassment.
“Uh-”
“Okay,” Haerin says, and it takes everything Minji has to not turn and look at her in shock.
Danielle squeals with happiness and attaches herself to Haerin to drag her away, which leaves Hanni and Minji together to follow them. For a moment all they can do is look at each other in disbelief, before they both huff out a laugh and follow behind Danielle and Haerin across the courtyard.
They walk in silence for long enough that Minji feels the urge to fidget, and she wills herself to not fuck this up.
“Um,” she swallows. “Do you want to trade pins?”
That's a safe bet. Good opener. Who doesn't like pins?
“Huh?” Hanni looks a little bit like a deer in headlights, with wide eyes and a faint blush, before Minji’s question seems to register and she fumbles at her lanyard to get a pin off. “Oh! Yeah, sure.”
Their fingers brush as they exchange pins, which doesn't help Minji's heart rate. But she manages to pin her new pin (with a kangaroo on it!) on her lanyard without stabbing herself so she'll consider it a win.
“So,” Hanni says, sufficiently less awkward now, “what event are you here for?”
“Ah, ski cross.”
“Oh gnarly. Racing right?”
“Yeah, racing. You?”
“Snowboarding halfpipe,” Hanni says, a little bit of pride leaking into her voice.
Minji's eyebrows raise as she holds the door to the lounge tent open for Hanni. It's not what she would've guessed, but now that she knows, the sport seems to fit Hanni's slightly crooked smile.
“That's cool,” Minji says honestly.
“Yeah,” Hanni wrings her hands together. “It's coming up soon.”
“Nervous?” Minji asks.
The lounge is honestly comfy looking, with low couches and tables and a bar area, and Hanni looks around before she turns back to Minji with a dry look.
“Aren't you?”
Minji laughs. “Yeah, a little.”
“It'll be fine. It's just the Olympics. No biggie,” Hanni says faux casually, and Minji laughs harder.
Danielle waves them over to an air hockey table before she leaves to go hunt down the puck and discs. When Hanni crouches down to turn the table on, Haerin shoots Minji what could only be classified as a look.
“Are you being normal?” Haerin asks, her eyes flicking towards Hanni.
“So normal,” Minji grits out, and Haerin just looks skeptical.
Hanni makes a weird wheezing sound from under the table. Minji’s about to ask if she’s okay when the table whirs to life and Danielle returns victorious, puck and discs in hand.
“Found them! The real competition begins now guys.”
It’s honestly nice to unwind and do something that’s not related to skiing. Even though she’s slightly on edge, Minji finds herself having a good time in the mini bracket tournament Danielle sets up, and she even beats Haerin, who pouts when Minji doesn’t let her win. She's about to square up against Hanni, looking forward to the challenge.
But then her watch beeps and Minji glances at it before she curses under her breath. She quickly responds to her teammates asking if she’s heading to practice and swears again. The time somehow just slipped away from her.
“I have to go, but it was nice to meet you,” she says, and Danielle pouts before she quickly brightens and waves.
Haerin responds to Minji by sticking her tongue out at her. Minji chooses to ignore that and turns to Hanni.
“I'll see you around?” she asks the group but mostly to Hanni. Tentatively. Hopefully. So casually and normally.
Hanni looks surprised, but that surprise quickly morphs into a pleased look.
“Oh! Yeah, definitely,” she says, and it absolutely does not brighten Minji’s entire day.
And maybe practice goes really well later. Well enough that her coach asks her what she did. It’s a coincidence. Surely.
–
Okay, maybe Minji stops to watch the Women’s halfpipe event later that week, but she’s already at the park for practice and she has access and what are the Olympics for but to watch other sports?
She drags Hyein with her since she's also there for training, and so Minji doesn't have to go alone. As a slopeside skier Hyein knows the tricks better than Minji does anyway, providing her own commentary as they watch the event.
It seems to defy the laws of physics, the way the snowboarders throw themselves into the air, making several rotations before they plummet back to the ground only to do it all over again on the other side. The halfpipe is larger in person, dizzyingly tall, its blue marked walls imposing against the landscape. She's sure that if she stood at the top it'd be a similar feeling to standing at the ski cross race gate, waiting to drop in. Her heart beats quicker just thinking about it.
They watch a few runs, watching a heartbreaking wipeout, and a solid contender from a New Zealand snowboarder before Hanni's name is announced.
Hanni looks tiny at the top of the pipe in her green and gold jacket, her competition bib slung only over one shoulder, but the announcers call her a “gold medal contender” and even though she looks small, her stance is loose and confident. She adjusts her bindings one more time before she's off with a hop, sending herself towards the massive halfpipe.
She drops in, and even though Minji is familiar with the scrape of snow and rush of wind that comes with a jump she can’t help but bite nervously at her lip. Hanni launches over the edge, catching huge air over the lip as she grabs her board before she's flying back down and into another trick on the other side of the pipe.
With each massive trick Minji's holding her breath, praying that Hanni sticks the landing. As it turns out, she doesn't need to pray because Hanni stomps one landing after another, the roars of the audience growing with each one.
It's over in less than a minute and Hanni yells out in excitement as she lands her last trick, the crowd matching her energy.
The announcers seem to be losing their minds, some of which registers with Minji, but really she’s only paying attention to Hanni as she comes in toe-side and skids to a stop at the bottom of the pipe. Hanni's beaming as she undoes her bindings with a practiced motion, her shoulders heaving with each breath.
“Oh my god,” Minji hears Hanni say before laughing, almost in disbelief.
It's tense for a moment while her score is being deliberated, but the moment it's announced the crowd claps and cheers, Hanni smiling and looking up at the sky with relief. She's beautiful, with the strands of hair that poke out of her helmet windblown, buff still tucked over her chin. When she looks back down, their eyes meet.
Hanni smiles, almost shyly, and after pats on the back and high fives from people lining the walkway, she makes her way over to the barrier that Minji stands behind.
“You saw?” she asks, still slightly out of breath. She looks so open as she asks, like she cares about what Minji thinks.
“Yes, very nice.” Minji gives two thumbs up and dies internally.
Hanni still grins brightly, and something in Minji's chest tightens.
“Thanks,” Hanni says, before someone calls her name and she shouts a response before smiling again at Minji, “Oh, I gotta go, but thanks for coming!”
“Good luck!” Hyein yells from next to her, startling Minji who had honestly forgotten she was there.
But as soon as Hanni turns away, Minji turns towards Hyein.
“Honestly, that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” Minji says.
Out of the corner of her eye she sees Hanni stumble a little in the snow, her boot apparently catching an edge somewhere. Hyein just groans and tugs her beanie over her eyes and ears.
“I really, really don't need to hear this,” she says, but she doesn't get it, Minji thinks.
“No, seriously.”
“If I have to hear some derivative of 'she's so hot or pretty or amazing or talented’ one more time I'm actually going to lose it.” Hyein mimics her pretty well, enough that Minji’s conflicted over whether she should take offense or not.
She settles for not offended. “Well you said it not me.”
“You're hopeless.”
“No, I’m just honest.”
“I've changed my mind. You're hopeless and delusional.”
“Can't I just appreciate a fellow athlete?”
Hyein looks upward, as if pleading for patience, and Minji laughs, elbowing her in the ribs. The competition continues, and Minji finds herself invested, wincing when Hanni falls on her second run.
But she cheers louder than anyone in the crowd when Hanni wins gold with a massive final run, and she swears Hanni winks at her on the way to the podium.
–
Minji’s heading to the coffee truck that is quickly becoming her favorite after a grueling morning training session when she spots Hyein and Danielle, their heads tilted together as they talk on a nearby bench. Hyein spots her first and waves her over.
“I was telling Danielle that Haerin is actually funnier than you'd think,” Hyein says as Minji approaches, and Minji can’t help the laugh she huffs out before she adjusts the bag on her shoulders and sits down next to them.
“What, like a sleeper comedy build?”
Danielle laughs, really laughs, at that, and Minji smiles before she's suddenly struck by realization.
“Wait, you know Korean?”
“I'm Korean-Australian,” Danielle says, seemingly humored. “But I live in au‘gaylia.”
“I thought it was called ‘straya.” Minji frowns, and Danielle just shrugs.
“You didn’t know?” Hyein asks Minji before turning to Danielle. “I'm surprised you haven't heard Minji's godawful pining.” And back to Minji. “If only Hanni could understand what you were saying,” Hyein tsks. “She'd know just how down bad you are.”
Minji rolls her eyes and takes a breath to defend herself (and live by her principles of deny, deny, deny), but before she can get a word out, Danielle makes a confused sound.
“Huh?” Danielle blinks, “but she speaks Korean.”
Minji’s world stops. She turns towards Danielle.
“What.”
Danielle's eyebrows are raised in confusion, but she nods. “Yeah, Hanni. She's like, fluent.”
“Like, how fluent?” Hyein asks a little too eagerly.
“We talk in Korean sometimes. She knows a lot of memes.”
Minji puts her head in her hands. Maybe they'll let her find a hole somewhere to die in. Or let her dig one herself.
“Oh no.”
“Why?” Danielle asks, still confused. “What did you do?”
“I need to leave the country. Do you think it’s too late to book a flight?”
“You compete this weekend,” Hyein points out unhelpfully.
Minji reconsiders. “How hard do you think it is to get mildly hit by a car.”
“No, don't get hit by a car!” Danielle says, seemingly genuinely concerned, and she pats Minji on the back as Minji fights the urge to scream.
“I'm so screwed,” she says, and the lack of response she gets only confirms this statement.
“Hey,” Danielle says after a second, “if anything she probably thought it was charming.”
A sliver of hope.
“You really think so?”
Danielle's mouth opens. Closes. “Uh. Yeah! Or endearing, at least.”
Minji closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She's going to join a nunnery. She's going to take a vow of silence and never speak again.
“I wish you would never speak again,” Hyein mutters, before she looks Minji up and down and shakes her head, “but I don't think you're capable.”
“I really don’t need you to insult me right now. I’m already pretty low.”
“Well it could always be worse!”
“Literally how,” Minji whines.
Hyein taps a finger against her chin before she perks up. “Ah! You could have said that thing about letting her walk you like a dog in front of her. Or that other thing about leaving marks like a vampire.”
“Did you really say that?” Danielle asks, almost scandalized, but she looks far too entertained by what might actually be the worst day of Minji’s life.
“Yeah,” Minji says and resists putting her head in her hands again, “I think that was also in front of her.”
Hyein winces.
“Oh, well then yeah. You really are screwed.”
“Well Hanni's pretty understanding. I'm sure that if you just explained yourself (“Explained how horrendously down bad you mean,” Hyein interjects) she would understand,” Danielle says.
Minji just groans and hangs her head.
–
Minji's taking a moment to lounge and relax and not hide no matter what Hyein accuses her of, when she gets a message from Haerin that just says ‘I let her in :) hope you're dressed’ and hears a knock on the door to the room she shares with Hyein.
It wouldn't be the first time she's gotten a cryptic message from Haerin, and not the first time Hyein’s accidentally locked herself out, so Minji doesn't think before opening the door. She instantly regrets it as her mind flashes through her current outfit (a Team ROK issued t-shirt and sweatpants) and current state of the room (which looks like it's been vomited on by a red, white, and blue monster that also happens to love the flag of Korea), but that's only partly the reason she winces.
Hanni looks back at her from the doorway, arms crossed, unimpressed.
“Hey,” Minji says.
“Hey.”
Might as well get right to it. “So, how much did you hear?”
“She’s cute. The short one,” Hanni quotes in Korean with a raised eyebrow. “And then all the other stuff too.”
“I am so sorry.”
Hanni laughs, and some tension bleeds out from her stance. “You don't have to apologize. It was flattering. And you were doing it so openly.”
“I thought you didn't know what I was saying,” Minji says sheepishly.
“Clearly,” Hanni says with a huff. Then she tilts her head and looks at Minji. “So?” she asks.
Minji’s brow furrows. “So?” she echoes, confused.
“You gonna actually make a move or were you just talking earlier?”
A stuttered breath. Minji blinks. Her mouth parts.
“Eh? Oh! Oh you mean,” Minji says, stumbling over her words, and Hanni just looks at her with raised eyebrows and an expectant look.
Minji gapes at her, her breath still caught somewhere in her lungs. Her heart beats loudly, noticeably, and shock and giddiness mingle in her chest along with it.
When Minji doesn’t move, Hanni pulls at the collar of Minji's shirt, fingers twisting in the fabric as she uses her grip as leverage to walk Minji back until they’re fully in the room. The door swings shut behind her.
“Not so talkative now, huh,” Hanni says, way too smug.
Minji answers by surging forward, pinning Hanni against the door. She feels Hanni gasp just before their mouths meet, feels the way Hanni pulls her closer by her shirt collar almost desperate in the way that her nails scrape against the skin of Minji’s neck, before her fingers find purchase against Minji’s nape, threading through her hair.
Minji lets her hands wander from Hanni’s shoulders up to cup her cheeks, and Hanni tilts her head slightly into the contact. She burns at every point of contact–hips, chests, hands–and deepens the kiss, craving more. Hanni kisses her back hard enough to leave her lips tingling, and Minji whines when Hanni takes her bottom lip between her teeth, quickly soothing it with a swipe of her tongue.
Her heart pounds in the same way it does when she’s hurtling down the slope, like she’s in freefall, on the precipice of the race gates. Something molten burns in the pit of her stomach, pushing her forward with a feverish kind of hunger.
They finally break apart to catch their breath, foreheads pressed together, breath mingling between them. A laugh escapes Minji’s lips. She feels almost dazed, her head spinning.
“I’ve wanted to do that since I met you,” she admits, and Hanni laughs too.
“Yeah?”
“Mhm,” Minji hums, and her lips find Hanni’s neck only for a second before Hanni’s pushing her back with a light press at her shoulder, walking them back until the back of Minji’s knees find the edge of the bed.
“What else?”
“Eh?”
“What else did you want to do?” Hanni asks.
“Uh–” Minji’s cheeks burn. Hanni knows exactly what she’s said, exactly what she wants, but she only looks at Minji with an expectant look.
“What was it you said?” Hanni tilts her head playfully, and Minji resists the flush that’s still rising in her cheeks and neck. She’s said so many things, but can’t bring herself to regret any of it. “Something about leaving marks?”
“I can’t believe you heard that,” Minji groans, “We don’t have to–”
“You can leave marks,” Hanni says, looping around Minji’s neck to pull her close again.
But her words make Minji freeze, her eyes widening. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Hanni shrugs, “I have a neck gaiter. And foundation.”
Minji chokes down her whine, but her excitement must show because Hanni looks amused as she pushes Minji down so she’s sitting.
“See what happens when you use your words?” Hanni asks, and they fall onto the bed laughing.
–
Later, when Hanni's curled into her side on the bed, Minji turns towards her and pauses in running her fingers through her hair. Hanni looks good in Minji's oversized ROK hoodie, and she turns to meet Minji's eyes and unasked question.
“How did you learn Korean anyway?” Minji asks.
“Lots of studying and Duolingo,” Hanni says sagely, and Minji huffs out a laugh, feeling more so than hearing Hanni's laughter. “I studied abroad for a bit,” Hanni says, “For a while I wanted to be a kpop idol.”
Minji smiles with a shrug. “Who doesn't?”
“Right? But I've been snowboarding since forever, loved it, started going to competitions. Realized hey, I’m pretty good. And here I am.”
“Humble, for a gold medalist.”
Hanni just grins.
“What about you?” she asks, lacing their fingers together.
“Well I was born in Korea so I speak Korean,” Minji says cheekily, and Hanni rolls her eyes, flicking at Minji's arm. “Ah, I studied in Canada and went skiing there. It just clicked so I went after it.”
“I get that,” Hanni says, and Minji has no doubt that she does.
“Mhm.”
Minji returns to running her fingers through Hanni’s hair. A pleasant, content feeling settles in her chest, and it’s peaceful as they languish in the feeling.
“And there’s no talking involved in skiing,” Hanni says after a moment, poking fun at her, and Minji barks out a laugh.
“Yeah and that.”
Hanni settles back under Minji’s arm, tucking her head under her chin. “Well I appreciated the comments. Even though I was caught off guard the first couple of times.”
Minji groans good naturedly, blushing again. “I won’t do it anymore.”
“Well I didn’t say you had to stop,” Hanni says, pushing slightly so Minji’s on her back, their legs tangled together under the sheets. “And I think you’re cute too.”
“Yeah?”
“Say whatever you want.”
Minji can’t help the almost goofy smile she has. “Okay,” she says, and leans in to kiss Hanni again.