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Yu Jimin abso-fucking-lutely sucked at saying no.
It was a terrible habit, really. Her girlfriend, Minjeong, had been telling her that for years, but Jimin liked to think of it less as a 'habit' and more as her being a good person.
As a kid, she had always been the one sprinting to open doors or offering to carry things bigger than her tiny human body. She liked remembering which snacks her friends preferred, so she could always bring them during their playdates. And sometimes, she'd even pack an extra umbrella and lug it around all day, in case someone else needed it.
In high school, she'd walk her friends all the way home despite living twenty minutes in the opposite direction, just to make sure they got home safely. If someone was hungry, she'd offer them half of whatever she was eating.
And when she started courting Minjeong, things only got worse.
Jimin always considered herself some kind of gentlewoman, but Minjeong had unlocked a side of her that was almost too embarrassing to acknowledge. After their first date, she memorized Minjeong's coffee order and learned to pull an espresso shot herself so her girlfriend could have a fresh cup before class every morning.
Then, she was suddenly volunteering at the nonprofit where her girlfriend worked (even with a packed schedule), lugging heavy textbooks across campus, and learning quick TikTok recipes for Minjeong to eat between classes.
Whenever Minjeong suggested something, she would say 'yes' without waiting to hear the rest of her sentence.
Sure, her parents often scolded her for her habits—claiming that someone was bound to take advantage of her kindness. But Jimin couldn't care less about that. Most of the time, she didn't even think twice about what she did. Helping others came to her as naturally as breathing.
She liked being useful. Liked knowing that she was always doing her best to help lessen the stress on her loved ones. Hell, if she could move heaven and earth for everyone around her, she would.
That was just the kind of person she was. Sue her.
As her relationship with Minjeong progressed, her girlfriend made one thing very clear: Jimin needed to learn to say no. At first, it was a joke, but after Giselle called her in the middle of the night about a flat tire almost an hour away, she realized Jimin had a serious problem.
"You know," Minjeong's eyes briefly flickered over to her. "Giselle's dad pays for her to have roadside assistance, right?"
Jimin was underneath the kitchen sink, tightening the pipe with a wrench. "Really? That's nice of him."
Minjeong sighed cutely. "It is. But you’re barely sleeping as is and she woke you up when she could've called Triple A."
"She was scared. I get it." Jimin said, sliding out and standing back up. She noticed the pout on her girlfriend's face and leaned across the kitchen counter to peck her lips. "It's okay, baby. I didn’t mind. Seriously."
"Yeah, well, I do…" Minjeong grumbled under her breath, watching Jimin walk away to change out of her dirty shirt.
After that, Minjeong started pointing it out every time it happened. Whenever Jimin agreed to cover her coworker's shift, even though she was nearing forty hours for the week already, Minjeong would give her a look. Whenever she volunteered to be the designated driver to their friends who lived all over town, she'd get another look.
It wasn't as if Jimin was completely incapable of saying no.
She said no all the time! She said no whenever Minjeong tried to steal food off her plate, although it usually ended with her giving Minjeong the food, anyway. She said no when someone suggested a movie she didn't want to watch, only after everyone else agreed with her. And she had even said no when Ningning asked to borrow one of her favorite jackets.
Did she eventually offer Ningning another one of her favorite jackets? Yes, but that wasn't the point. She was beyond capable of saying no. She just preferred saying yes.
Minjeong, on the other hand, insisted that there was a big difference between being kind and stretching herself thin for anyone who happened to ask. One time, she joked that Jimin would help a fucking squirrel on the street if the squirrel could speak.
Truth be told, saying no to someone she knew she could help made her uneasy. What if they really needed her? What if they had no one else? If there was one thing she knew about herself, it was that she never wanted to live with the guilt of knowing she could've been there for someone and chose not to.
Eventually, her girlfriend's teasing turned into stern talks. Minjeong was always quick to remind her that it was okay for her to be selfish—to put herself first and that being able to help someone didn't automatically make it her responsibility to do so.
Of course, Jimin listened to her. Or, at least she tried to. But they had just spent the past three hours helping one of their friends move into their new apartment and Minjeong could still feel the subtle ache in her arms.
She collapsed onto the couch and sighed, slinging one arm over her eyes. She could feel the couch dipping on the other end and resisted the urge to scold her girlfriend for once again being so kind.
After a long week of classes, she had plans to go splurge on junk food, then lock herself in their apartment until Monday rolled around again. Except Jimin just couldn't fucking say no. To anyone or anything.
"Are you upset?" Jimin asked quietly.
"No. I'm just tired."
She winced at Minjeong's tone. "You sound like you're upset."
"I'm not upset with you."
"That usually means you are, though."
Minjeong lifted her arm just enough to peek at her. She could feel her stomach churning when she noticed Jimin already looking at her with a guilty expression. Her eyebrows were knitted together and the worry lines on her forehead quickly found themselves a permanent home.
"I promise I'm not," Minjeong said, shaking her head. "I just wish you had asked me first before telling Yunjin something. I wasn't really looking forward to carrying a fucking couch up three flights of stairs on the first day I have free this week."
"Technically, I carried the couch."
"Okay, fuck you," Minjeong rolled her eyes, sitting upright.
Jimin laughed, the husky sound making Minjeong's heart race. "I'm joking!" She pulled her girlfriend into her lap. "You know I am. But you're right. I should've asked you. I figured you'd want to help her, anyway, because you guys are so close. I'm sorry, baby."
"'s fine," Minjeong grumbled. "Can we get ice cream, at least?"
Immediately, Jimin's face lit up. "Of course. From—"
"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about," Minjeong said, putting one finger over her girlfriend's lips to interrupt her.
"What?"
"You," she emphasized the word.
Jimin frowned. "Me?"
"Yes, you," she dropped her hand. "You need to learn how to say no. Your stomach has been hurting all day, and if you ate ice cream right now, you might actually spend the entire night crying."
"But you want ice cream."
"Then I can get it myself. Like the functioning adult I am."
"Baby," Jimin whined. "Come on. Don't do this to me."
"No, Jimin. I'm serious. It's okay to say no."
"I do say no."
"No, you don't."
"I do!"
Minjeong scoffed. "Okay, when?"
"I…" She trailed off, wincing. She ran through a billion interactions in her head, searching for one to use as an example when a lightbulb went off. "I told you no when you asked for a sip of my smoothie last week."
"Because you ended up giving all of it to me, anyway."
Jimin let out a heavy sigh. "Because you looked so sad. I wanted you to have a smoothie too, jagiya…"
At how genuine Jimin sounded, Minjeong couldn't help the smile that snuck its way onto her face. How was she ever supposed to stay mad at her girlfriend? All it took was a few words and she was suddenly a puddle of mush.
She just wanted her girlfriend to understand that being kind didn't always have to equate to accessibility. Sure, it sometimes pissed her off whenever she saw people take advantage of it, but it was impossible to blame her girlfriend for caring too much. She had fallen in love with Jimin because of her kind heart and willingness to help others.
Still, she had a point to prove.
"Okay, we're going to practice," she announced. "You're going to say no to me."
Jimin had a weary look on her face. "I know how to say no."
"Let's see, then," Minjeong blushed once she felt her girlfriend's arms wrap around her waist. "Can I have twenty bucks?"
She rolled her tongue against the inside of her cheek before muttering, "No."
"Can you do the dishes tonight?"
"No." Jimin tried to put on her stern voice.
At how responsive her girlfriend was being, Minjeong smiled. "You're doing great, baby."
"Really?" Jimin perked up like an adorable puppy.
"Mhm," she hummed in response. "Can I borrow your hoodie?"
The thought of Minjeong wearing her clothes nearly made her jump off the walls with joy.
"Ye—"
"No!" Minjeong cut her off. "The answer is no."
"Right. Sorry." Jimin cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter. "No."
“See how easy it is?” She lulled her head to the side, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she leaned in closer. "Can I kiss you?"
Jimin swallowed thickly, her hands tightening on her girlfriend's waist. She tried to calm the thundering in her chest, but miserably failed when she felt their noses brush against each other.
This was torture for her. How was she supposed to deny Minjeong anything, especially a kiss? If her girlfriend wanted her to sprint to the top of Mount Everest and shout to the world how much she loved her, she'd gladly do it. If she asked for the clothes off her back, she'd probably be halfway undressed before Minjeong could finish the question.
There wasn't a single thing Jimin could think of that she wouldn't willingly give her. And now she was being forced to say no to kissing her hot, intelligent girlfriend. Death would be a kinder fate than this.
Minjeong sensed her hesitance and lightly dragged her nails against the nape of Jimin's neck. "Say it."
After what felt like an eternity, she opened her mouth to speak.
"N-No," she stuttered. Her face was burning brighter than a million suns and she was certain Minjeong could feel how hot her cheeks were. "No, you can't kiss me."
She raised an eyebrow in surprise before leaning in to kiss her. Almost immediately, Jimin felt her brain short-circuiting once her girlfriend's soft lips met hers. She tightened her hands on Minjeong's waist and groaned into her mouth, pressing their chests together when Minjeong suddenly pulled away with a pleased smile on her face.
She gave her head an affectionate pat. "Good job! But there are bad people in the world, sweetie. Like me."
Jimin whimpered and watched as her girlfriend carefully got off her lap and headed toward the kitchen. She could vaguely hear Minjeong asking what she wanted for dinner, but she was too busy trying to calm the tent in her pants down to answer.
Besides, she wouldn't be able to say no to any of her girlfriend's suggestions, anyway.