Chapter Text
With the shadows longer to me
than a light-year
Moving so slow,
I could die here
Say you could her me say
Will you halt this eclipse in me?
They met in high school, Kim Minjeong was sixteen years old. Yu Jimin was a year older. She knew her from the hallways and for the talking, everyone had something to say about Jimin. Mostly it was good things, she was known to be the kindest senior around school, the one that was always walking her ways to help anyone out for whatever reason. She was always in the middle of the most famous students of school, but she circled other groups as well, she was never one to be seen alone hiding in the corner of the stairs to the second floor like Minjeong was used to. She was also one of the finest looking girls around, everyone wanted her attention, she received countless love letters through the year and, of course, mostly on valentines day.
Minjeong notices from afar, she can’t pass by and not look at her. She was like the sunlight for a winged insect like herself, and Minjeong was helplessly drawn to it. Sometimes it felt like her own foot would drag itself without her following will towards her direction, but she was able to take whatever turn she could find and sprint down the other side if she ever got too close. And that’s all about the closeness she could ever have with Jimin. A pretty face and probably a kind girl like everyone says, that’s what she knows about her. And that she was pretty enough for her to be drawn to it. Some say she’s average on her grades and is around a lot of school groups, but Minjeong can’t tell if it is true or not.
About herself, Minjeong doesn’t know what to say. She has good grades, noted by her teachers and colleagues, one of the best of her class but she doesn’t like to be called a nerd so sometimes she doesn’t put much effort on it. She likes to be hidden in between, not really that good and not enough to be bad as well. So, this way, no one would notice her that much. She knows that if she ever could give a little try and effort, maybe she’d be more acknowledged, but that could lead to failure as well. She was too anxious for these kinds of feelings, because if she puts her all into it and doesn’t get her expected results she’d only get frustrated in the end.
She was already frustrated in all other things regarding her life, at sixteen she didn’t really know how to love or handle herself. Usual for a teenager, she knows, but she couldn’t escape the feeling of being a complete disaster for her family and friends. Her father is military, very strict in everything, her mother is gentle and understanding, a retired pianist who wanted her to follow the same steps. Pleasing them wasn’t an easy task, mostly when it came to her father, so she was way more inclined to her mother’s side. Music ran deep within her veins because of her, but the piano wasn’t really her thing, then around eleven she finally found the guitar.
When she was fourteen, she and a few friends decided they would start a band. It started out like a joke, of course, one of them said they’d have a garage they could use. So, they planned to make some noise. All of them loved rock to their bones, so it was fitting. It was the way Minjeong found to speak for herself, because apart from music she was very much on the quiet side. Ever since they’ve started it she decided to seriously learn more about the guitar, not only the basics. One of her friends was a drummer and the other was on the bass.
They were missing a vocalist badly, after their last one changed schools last year. At this time, they’ve made some sort of a name for themselves around school, they weren’t exactly popular, at least not her, but they used to present in the school’s events between the k-pop related dance and cover groups. Needless to say that they were the only rock band around there, hence the reason they were at least attending all the events by school’s own invitation. Also, Ryujin and Yeji were somewhat popular by themselves. Ryujin is their drummer and also leader so far, the one that had the idea for the band. She was from the same year of Minjeong, but she was from the 1st-B while she was in the 1st-A. Yeji was an year older and was at the 2nd-A class. They were all attending high school at the time, of course, full of wants and dreams as if the world was in their hands.
Later on, she knows, this feeling would probably vanish. And maybe too soon for her liking.
“Why wouldn’t you?” Yeji asked, she was sitting across the garage, watchful eyes looking as Minjeong was trying out a few cords on her new guitar. “Your voice is beautiful.”
“What? Me? The vocalist?” Minjeong asked back. “If I could I’d be at the back like Ryujin playing the drums, so no one could see me.”
“You need to stop being so shy, you have the voice.” Ryujin spoke, playing with her drumsticks and trying a few new tricks that weren’t actually working, she let them fall more times than she could count on it already.
“Yeah, right, speak for yourself.”
“We’ve been auditioning for three months and we can’t find anyone.” Ryujin spoke again, after she collected her drumsticks off the floor. “Losing Heejin is the worst, to be honest, she fits our concept so well. Why did she have to change schools?”
“It’s a shame, yes, but I think we’d rather ask for the council to put up a few folders around school again and try to find someone that matches our vibe like she did.”
“The problem is, no one seems fit enough for you Minjeong.” Yeji said, eyes firing up at her, Minjeong wasn’t easily scared so she kept on trying out her chords.
“We’ve discussed this, it has to be someone that everyone’s agreed on.”
“Choerry and Hyejoo were good, and they’re from our year.” Ryujin retorted, sitting behind her drums so they could start out their session soon. Or they’d be yet another afternoon just bickering about their lack of skills at finding another vocalist. They were always fighting at that age.
“Hyejoo vocals weren’t that solid and Choerry is more inclined to be a pop star.”
“I might know someone, actually.” Yeji said, her bass on hands. “I’ll have to ask Yuna and Sullyoon though.”
“What about them?”
“They’ve told me they presented at some company audition with a second year from here, like a trio presentation or something. I’m not sure if it's a classmate of mine, I’ll see it with them. She seems very good, they’ve said, energetic and kind.”
“We don’t need kind, we need strong vocals. Raw and deep. Vocals. A vocalist.”
“You dismissed Yuqi!” Both Ryujin and Yeji said at the same time, they pointed at each other and laughed for a split second, before staring at Minjeong again.
“She’s amazing, but she’s a 3rd year student, she’ll be off by the end of the year and we’ll have no vocalist again. We can’t build proper chemistry for this to work out if we keep changing vocalists every year or so.”
Minjeong was right, completely right, and she knew. And her friends also knew, at sixteen she loved to be right about something. There was no better feeling than that, she considered, it would take her years until she learned that sometimes you rather forget about being right and just keep yourself at peace. Ryujin and Yeji wouldn’t be able to come back from that, and still she waited, a smug smile drawing on her face.
“You know what? You’ll be handling the folders alone this time around.” Ryujin said, before initiating some try outs at her drums. “And you’ll sing that demo from my friend’s producer.”
“And you’ll be the one talking with the girl from Yuna and Sullyoon’s trio.” Yeji added, she was trying to tune in her bass, Minjeong’s ears were hurting by her lack of skill for doing so.
She got up to help her out, Minjeong was known for having an almost perfect pitch. Not only their guitarist, she was the closest they’ve had of a musician really. She was the one to guide their tunes and compose most of the harmonies, when they weren’t just covering famous bands of the likes of Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Evanescence and whatever else was going on around that time. They were really into occidental rock music, because Korea didn’t have much of it really, nothing so attractive for them at least. Sometimes they’d try a few japanese bands, mostly from openings of animes Minjeong was watching. She swears she’s not an otaku, her brother forces her to watch it.
“That’s not gonna happen, no way, Ryujin’s the leader. She’ll do it. Both the demo and the search.”
“If it was it for me we would have around three vocalists already, so no way you’re putting me to it. I don’t care if you’re shy or just socially awkward, that’s on you.”
Minjeong didn’t answer, just started on her guitar after plugging it in, Ryujin and Yeji following her cue. The only way to avoid more discussion was to start playing, at least there, because when she went back home her whole afternoon rock session was a debate topic among her family once again. Her father was against it, he would rather have her doing anything else, she could become a k-pop idol if she wanted. But a rockstar? A guitarist even? That wasn’t something for a girl to be doing it.
Usually, she’d come back home before he arrived so he wouldn’t have noticed her coming with her guitar in hands. But they kept arguing for the whole rehearsal, when she looked at the time she was already screwed. She knew she couldn’t face her father though, it was like a quiet arrangement with her mother. It didn’t matter what he’d say, she’d always low down her head and agree about it. Ask him sorry and go back to her room silently, this wasn’t any different of a day. She kept it all to herself, all her questioning on why a man could play a guitar and she couldn’t, why her brother could and she did not. She also kept asking herself why she was like this, why she couldn’t just like things that girls usually do. She could be an idol herself, she liked to dance and sing, but nothing felt like when she was playing her guitar.
Nothing was better than to silence her mind when she needed it the most. When social anxiety crept from her stomach to her neck, as if it was trying to strangle her, nothing was better than her rock songs to make it all go back to its place. Why couldn’t he understand it? Why did he have anything to say about her life choices? She needed to live her life for herself, not for her parents, she didn’t want to. She wanted her own way and if her brother could have it without being a discussion topic every night, she needed the same treatment.
But no, it wasn’t like that. And she had to accept it, not knowing for how long she could keep just listening to his rants. Her mother went to her room after getting the dishes done, saying she shouldn’t be worrying because she’d talk to her father. If she liked to play the guitar, she could do it, just had to keep being more careful from now on so her father wouldn’t see her coming back from practice. She’d cover up for her until he accepted, she didn’t need to cry, she spoke as she hugged her. And Minjeong thought she didn’t deserve such a good mother that had her as a daughter.
She was a disgrace. Playing the guitar wasn’t even the worse about her, but she couldn’t actually tell all the running thoughts inside her mind to her mother, she wondered if she’d ever have the guts to do it, to show her how much of a failure she was and how her mother should’ve kept only paying attention and helping her brother to become the doctor he wanted to be. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have much of a future for herself.
(...)
Next morning she bites first and clean after, which means she’s more eager for her breakfast than anything else. When she woke up her mother was halfway through it, so she could put on her uniform before going on her way. Her father had already left and her older brother was waiting for her at the table. They say their good mornings and take their coffees, hers with milk, one toast, an egg and a few fruits her mother has already cut for her. Outside of her usual bicker with her brother, she only has to eat fast so she won’t be late for her first period.
Her face is puffier than it should be, probably because she cried herself to sleep the night before after her father’s words. She could tell her brother noticed, but he was kind enough not to mention it and she used a little more make up so she could hide the dark spots under her eyes. The way to her school wasn’t that far, she usually likes going walking with her earphones so she could listen to a few more songs than she could if she’d taken the bus. Lately, she had been listening a lot to Paramore so she could get some inspiration out of it and Hayley Williams was too pretty to be ignored.
She doesn’t have her friends by her side, both Ryujin and Yeji live by the northwest side of their school while she lives in the southwest. They are mostly her only friends, apart from one elementary school friend that doesn’t go to the same school now, and if she was to be honest they weren’t even that close. Of course, they’ve had a band together and that made them bond but sometimes she felt like she was the only one that took it seriously. They didn't even understand how important it was to find the perfect vocalist.
A vocalist is the entire soul of a band, it doesn’t matter who created the band or not or how good any of them playing the instruments were. The vocalist would carry not only the sole voice of the entire band, but also its image. She’d be the one appearing in front of everything, it would be the face of the group. Maybe that’s why it was even harder to find a vocalist after losing Heejin, she was there with them from the beginning. They knew what to expect from her, knew her every mannerism when leading their presentations and she was extremely good looking. Maybe it was because she was a libra? Her older friend Jiwoo was also a libra and even prettier than Heejin herself. It was unfortunate to have them both trading schools.
Only a few minutes into her walk she glanced over past her cellphone, after changing to yet another song and saving in her need to cover playlist. Yu Jimin was walking a few meters in front of her, by the other side of the street, headphones on and still with casual clothes not her uniform. She was holding a huge side bag that probably had her uniform inside of it, as she walked slowly around the street. Minjeong replayed the same scene in her head for the whole remaining path to the school, all the other days of the week that she went to school walking like this.
She doesn’t remember ever seeing Jimin around and she doesn’t like to be surprised. Did the girl live across her street and she has never seen her before? There was no way. Had she just moved in? Her family would’ve let her know if they had new neighbors. But still, Jimin was walking in her view and she had a face that looked so on point even before 7 a.m. somehow. She could tell even by the other side of the street. Minjeong was also wondering what could possibly be playing on her headphones, because her right hand was almost punching her side bag in a fast and fearless rhythm.
Her mind started wandering and making up scenarios, trying to discover Jimin's tastes. She came to the realization that she’d probably be blasting to one of those big boygroups that were trending, she looked a lot like a boy group fan kind of girl. Was she one of those obsessive ones? That followed them around whenever she had spare time? Was she around her neighborhood because of that? Probably not, no, that didn’t make sense. She didn’t live by a street that had anyone famous as far as she knew. It was a healthy district, but not enough for that she thinks.
They were two blocks away from school when she watched Jimin stopping by, terrified of something. But in front of them, a few meters mostly in front of her side of the sidewalk, there were a few pigeons eating some leftover crumbs. Minjeong laughed, that tall and obnoxiously pretty girl couldn’t possibly be afraid of little birds. But she was. And Minjeong laughed before walking over in front of her and clapping so the birds would scatter around. Jimin left out a hitched scream once they'd set in the air, but then she realised how Minjeong actually helped her out.
“Oh, thank you for that.” She said, in her deep toned voice.
Minjeong had heard her voice before, but never this close or clear out of the school's noises, it was only natural that she’d been taken aback by such a very deep well rounded sound coming out of a beautiful girl’s beautifully sculpted lips. She felt like Amy Lee herself was talking to her, only if her voice was slightly deeper and she was born in Korea. Which, it wasn’t the case. She could see Jimin’s voice playing her parts in Bring Me To Life, though Minjeong would be glad to sing Paul’s Maccoy parts of it in a duet. And all this rant inside her head had nothing to do with her liking girls, it couldn’t be, or it could. Blame on her parents for getting her to study in an all girls school, and blame Jimin for having such a deep beautiful voice and face that looked like she was God’s favorite sculpted nymph.
She realised, by how Jimin’s eyes were both curiously and carefully watching her, that she took a little way too long to reply. Maybe she does live too much inside her head, her brother always tells her.
“Don’t mention it.” It was all Minjeong could reply in one short breath, without stuttering.
It was weird, to finally see Jimin this upclose, she was used to seeing her around the school but not like this. Not only a few meters apart outside from walking pass her on one of the corridors, sure, not literally stopping by and seeing how Jimin blushed and held a laugh by biting on her lips. She put her headphones back on and passed by a wonderstruck Minjeong, thanking her again, pressing her hands together and bowing as she passed by her. She watched as the wind caught up to them and how it effortlessly carried Jimin’s hair to the side in such a beautiful motion. Like a scene out of a romance movie. Minjeong, who was used to seeing life in the cords of her guitar, for the first time watched as lyrics.
She never thought she had it in her, to write a song herself, never even once it ran to her mind. For her, it was like she was too silent to ever find words within herself to write. Even when she was alone, she’d often drift apart in maybe making up scenarios, but never one to be speaking too much in her mind. But she got her cellphone notes app and wrote down a few sentences as she watched Jimin drifting away in front of her. Before she was too delayed, though, she closed the app and went back on her way to school.
“Minjeong?” A familiar face came to her encounter, when she was by her locker room trying to gather the books she needed for her first period.
“Hello Rina, good morning.” She said, closing it up her locker after gathering her materials. Rina was from her class, a shy one like herself, usually lurking on the sides with her to avoid any unwanted attention, pretty more like her. And a libra. “Oh, I was thinking about you libras today.”
“We? What do you mean?” Rina asked and went on walking by Minjeong’s side once she started walking towards their class on the second floor, trying to avoid being hit by the upcoming amounts of girls making their way to their respective classrooms pretty much like them.
“Remember Heejin and Jiwoo? And you, of course, you’re all good looking. It’s like a libra thing to look effortlessly pretty.”
“Oh, thank you for that. I was in need of a morning boost of confidence, I don’t feel pretty though.” Minjeong was on the verge to argue, but they both stopped to a halt once a very known student was coming at their direction. “That’s what I call pretty.” She pointed out, both watching as Jimin passed by them with a few friends by her side. By now she was fully dressed in her school attire and with a high ponytail. Again, it was like a movie scene when she passed by, like Minjeong was back at watching one of those early 2000’s romance movies where the popular girl passed by the corridors of school laughing and looking like she owned the entire place.
“Yeah…” Minjeong was watching her carefully, passing by them, no shame whatsoever because the whole corridor had hatched their steps once Jimin decided to walk around her direction in the middle of it.
She was almost passing by them, when she stopped, Minjeong didn't expect that. Any of that really. A girl like Jimin doesn’t usually learn about her presence anywhere, maybe only at class to steal her notes or ask for an exam response when the teacher isn’t watching. But, still, Jimin almost passed by them and went back. A hand slipped by Minjeong’s waist as she did, as if to help her to stop herself from passing entirely by them. Minjeong shivered at the touch, but Jimin only smiled tenderly at her.
“Minjeong, right?” Jimin asked, eyes two brown orbs so brightly looking at her. Her friends at her side halted too, but they weren’t as inviting. Minjeong nodded, Rina held her arm and pinched it as if she was silently telling her The Yu Jimin is talking to you. “Thank you again for earlier, you were really kind.”
“I- it was nothing, really.” It was all Minjeong could find to say, before Jimin went back to her way passing by them. She left a final wave of her hand in their direction, as Minjeong bowed again, the most she could go without hitting the floor or something. “Oh, shit… Jimin knows my name?” Minjeong asked, looking back at Rina and it was as if every other girl in the corridor was looking from Jimin to her.
She wanted to run past everyone and hide herself in the bathroom, or the backyard past the soccer block by the east side of the school. It was the perfect hiding spot, really, barely anyone knew her favorite tree there and the lawn was softer. She’s used to sleeping there when she has the time, either on free periods or when she’s not hungry on the break.
“How does she-... wait, what did you help her out with?”
“I-” She was about to say about the whole pigeon thing, then she realised it might be something embarrassing for Jimin, like a secret for her to keep so it wouldn’t come over her cool girl vibe. “Nothing really. Come on, let’s go, I don’t want to miss the first period because we’re too stunned by her beauty.”
“Sure… Have you watched the latest Bleach episodes? Can we talk about it?” Rina asked her, with a cute and full of curiosity tone in her voice.
“I haven’t, no, but I can guess Ichigo has another bankai already or something.” She replied, of course that was the only reasoning she could think of.
“Did your brother tell you about it?” They stepped on the stairs to the second floor, as Rina asked her, her mind was still thinking about Jimin’s deep voice thanking her again. She almost fell at the second step, miscalculating the distance between one step to another.
“As much as he is inclined to shove me all the possible spoilers he can, he didn’t this time. Just guessed. Ichigo is too much of a pokemon.”
Minjeong was actually still too absorbed trying to figure out how Jimin possibly knew her name, to be able to fully focus on the anime talking. Rina kept giving her the details of Ichigo’s new bankai at the new arch that was going around, after so many years of the anime being unfinished it was finally back on. But it wasn’t her favorite, really, she was watching Naruto nowadays, thanks to her brother, and Pain’s arch was really taking a toll on her. He finally arrived at Konoha and literally destroyed everything saying the fateful sentence Shinra Tensei and Minjeong found pretty cool.
When they finally reached their class and the first period started, Minjeong was too distracted to pay attention to whatever math nonsense the teacher was talking about. She kept doodling on her notebook for most of the class, waiting here and there only to copy what the teacher put up on the blackboard. Only at the school's break, on their way to the cafeteria, was when she met with both Ryujin and Yeji.
“Did you talk with the council yet?” Ryujin asked when they'd found a table to put their trails on so they could eat.
“I’m not giving out folders or putting out any posters, no way.” Minjeong answered as she was opening her strawberry milk.
“Come on Minjeong, we need to find our vocalist. There’s an event next month and if you’re not singing we need to find someone that will.”
“Look, I’ll go there with you. But you do the talking.”
“No way.” Ryujin said, eyebrows rising up dramatically.
They kept bickering over who would talk or not to the council, meanwhile Yeji was too focused on her cellphone to pay much attention to them. And as their argument kept rising up, they started tossing some of their food at each other, only when she got a kimchi lettuce thrown at her and she whined about it staining her uniform, that she noticed Jimin again. She was sitting on the table in front of them, this time she was silently taking a notebook from the top of her legs and putting it on top of the table by her food trail. She got a pencil from one of her friends, if she was not mistaken that was Kim Hyunjin, and started to make a few annotations on it.
She looked so ethereal, that maybe Minjeong realised that most of her doodles from first periods must’ve been of her eyes. Those two brown orbs that looked so cat-like it was almost ridiculous. Her food was barely being touched, as she kept glancing at her, watching as a stubborn strand kept on falling to her face as she buried her head almost inside her notebook. Only when she stopped writing whatsoever and looked at her front, basically Minjeong’s direction, did the girl look anywhere else but her.
“Did you even listen to me?” Yeji asked her. “Also, eat your food.”
“I didn’t, no. That’s how boring you are to me.” She joked, Ryujin’s eyes went wide by the way she teased their friend. Yeji only scoffed after getting up. “And tell that to Ryujin also.”
“Don’t put me in the middle of this.”
“Listen, Yuna gave me the number of the girl that performed with them and she’ll be at our practice next week.”
“And who is she?” Minjeong asked, finally eating something before the break ended. She’s always like this, keeps playing with her food until she has to swallow it all by the five or six last minutes of their break time.
“I’m not telling either of you, I want to see your raw reaction when she appears in front of us.”
“Come on!” Both Ryujin and she protested at the same time.
(...)
Minjeong’s overthinking tendencies quickened when she was pretty young, it has come naturally to her as she was curious about many things but too shy to ask. Her mind was fertile, full of imagination about scenarios and answers about the weird questions she comes within herself. It started with childish things really, normal to her parents, like the questioning about what clouds are made of. At seven, the obvious choice was cotton-candy and often she imagined herself surfing through clouds and eating them for how long she's pleased. At sixteen she knew that it wasn’t it, she knows now they are made of water droplets, or ice crystals or a mixture of both and how it was condensed onto tiny airborne particles to become all the white-greyish figures they see in the sky.
Sometimes, she still imagines herself flying around eating dinosaurs or bunnies or anything she can spot looking at the clouds really. But that’s not the point or her overthinking of the day.
When Yeji tells her a week prior that she has a new vocalist set for them, of course her mind would wander around and she’d play detective. It’s her nature. Sherlock Holmes was one of her favorite book series. Rina wouldn’t be, she was more of a guitarist like her and still a first year of her own class. She remembers when Yeji told her about it, supposedly their meant to be the vocalist belonged to her year, maybe even to her class.
First, she thought about Lia. She was close to Ryujin and Yeji. It was good thinking, her favorite even, but she didn’t think Yeji would be able to hold herself from saying it if it was a close friend. It would be expected, and they’ve been searching for months now, Lia surely would’ve come out to an audition already if she was interested from the beginning. She was sure that it wouldn’t be Gowon, the girl was friends with Hyejoo and Choerry, she would’ve come with them for the audition.
Then, her next best guess was either Shuhua or Chaewon. They were both very famous around school, and she heard Shuhua singing in one of the school shows. Her tone could be really fitting, she thought, even though it was more low and husky than powerful. Chaewon, on the other hand, was more on the cuter side. But she hasn’t seen any presentation of hers, even though the talk around school was that she had a really angelic voice.
The thing is, she narrowed in her mind that these were the two only options at the table. And around the week she kept on making notes on which of them Yeji talked the most. Chaewon was from her class, so she seemed closer, but she’s seen Yeji talking with Shuhua more than once. And there was only one other thing bugging her, she called it the Jimin event.
For her it wasn’t a small thing that Jimin noted about her existence once, but for her it should’ve been an one time event really. Only it wasn’t. One day she felt a hand to her shoulder, on a firm grip, not enough to hurt her but enough to startle her and make her take off one of her earbuds.
“Hey Minjeong, you alright?” Jimin's voice reached her ears, before her eyes were able to find her.
“Huh? Oh, Hello Jimin. Yes. Why?” She blurted everything out too fast and too stunned to form a proper sentence.
“Sorry if I startled you, just saw you there and wanted to say hi.” And that was it, Jimin really barely said it and left her there.
Next day it all happened again, they were on their bickering ways at the cafeteria again. This time the discussion was about who was stronger, either Goku or Naruto. Minjeong was team Goku, even Gohan was stronger for her. Rina was inclined to her side also, but Ryujin went lengths to tell them that Naruto was way stronger than any other character she had ever seen, maybe even Monkey D. Luffy was better than Goku himself. Yeji didn’t have much of an opinion formed, she didn’t like action anime that much. But they kept on arguing until a figure reached their table and asked if she could join in their conversation as she left her trail by Minjeong’s right arm side.
“Can I join you guys?” Jimin asked, a soft smile on her sculpted lips. Minjeong looked very briefly at her, too surprised by her presence, and back at Rina to her left side.
“Only if you’re team Naruto.” Ryujin said, after taking a bite of her apple. Yeji sighed, loudly so, and Minjeong was still processing her presence and only nodded in response as if she was still answering her Can I join you guys? question.
“Naruto against who?” She teased, crossing her arms on top of her trail and looking over Ryujin first and then Minjeong, muttering a very small hi towards her direction.
“Anyone really.” Ryujin said.
“Yeah, no, I’m sorry. I think even Gohan is stronger than him.” Minjeong laughed at Ryujin and hit the table with too much excitement, asking sorry for startling Jimin by her side in a scared motion.
“See! That’s what I was telling you, even Gohan can beat him up.” She answered, Yeji rolled her eyes and Jimin looked over them with her curious eyes.
“Gohan may even be the strongest out of Dragon Ball to be honest, Akira Toriyama said it was his plan to do it, didn't he? And Naruto, I don’t know, half his powers come out of the Nine Tails.” Jimin said.
“He is my favorite character, really.” Minjeong's words came out almost too low for anyone to catch it, so Jimin barely caught it. But she did, she was paying a lot of attention to her it seemed.
“He and Trunks are mine. I like the GT saga so much, even if it isn’t canon.” Jimin spoke, taking a sip of her grape juice.
“Really? I like it too.” Minjeong was about to add to that, but Ryujin was first to interrupt her.
“I didn’t even know you liked anime, of course you don’t know much about it. Naruto is stronger not only because of the Nine Tails.” She said, fixing her hair to one side and then another.
“Sorry to disappoint you then, because I’m a huge anime fan. Fullmetal Alchemist, the brotherhood version of course, it’s my all time favorite. I’ve been watching Witch Hat Atelier now, though, and I’m so anxious I had to read the manga but the next volume will come only next month. I'm dying.”
Jimin being a huge anime fan wasn’t something that Minjeong ever considered, that was probably one of or the most famous girls around school. And she liked anime pretty much like Minjeong, her favorite character from Dragon Ball even. Not that Gohan was low on popularity, or anything, but she really couldn’t tell by looking at Jimin. Rina, at her other side, kept on elbowing her when no one was paying attention. It was like they were in a conversation of their own, with her silently asking Minjeong Why the hell is Jimin with us losers? To which Minjeong barely replied with a shrug coming from her shoulders, in a very motioned I don’t know.
A few days later it happened again, three times could really be a charm, Minjeong was thinking. She was leaving her books back inside her lockers and saying her goodbyes to both Ryujin and Yeji, when Jimin reached her side. At first, she really didn’t see her standing there by the locker next to her, she only realised when she closed hers and Jimin was looking at her. Her back was to the lockers, holding a few notebooks in front of her chest as she looked over Minjeong.
“Oh, you scared me Jimin-unnie.” Minjeong said, walking over to the school’s exit, Jimin followed her.
“Sorry, I was thinking about that day we met on the streets? Do you live around there?”
“Yeah, huh, that’s my neighborhood. I’ve never seen you there before, are you from there as well?”
“No. My grandma lives around, sometimes when I argue with my parents I go to sleep at her house.” Jimin said, waving goodbye to a few friends going in different directions. It didn’t go unnoticed to Minjeong that she kept on following her through the street.
“Seriously? Are you going there right now?” She asked looking over Jimin and the street, wondering if she should just keep going and Jimin would go on her ways to the other side or if she’d stay on her tracks.
“Exactly, do you mind if I walk with you? I’m afraid that a gang of pigeons can find me again.”
Minjeong laughed, it couldn’t be down to her that Jimin was afraid of birds. She was such a tall and even frightening figure, to be afraid of such small animals like pigeons. It really made no sense at all, that girl looked like she couldn’t be scared of anything, the total opposite of Minjeong that was afraid to even put her feet on the streets without the company of her earbuds and some very lousy rock music to make her disassociate from the world around her.
“Are you really afraid of birds?” Minjeong asked, feeling her neck tensing up because she was really talking to Yu Jimin. And all the scattered students from the school seemed to be looking at them with curious eyes, or at least she thought in her head, because honestly no one was paying much attention to them. It was only her anxious mind playing tricks on her.
“Have you seen their eyes?” Minjeong answered a no with her head. “They’re red Minjeong! What creature has red eyes? Only demons, I’m sure. Of course I’m afraid of birds, mostly pigeons, they’re my arch enemies.”
“O-okay, that was unexpected. You don’t look like someone that 's easily scared of anything.” Minjeong said, they were both slowly walking their way back to their houses.
“I’m scared of a lot of things, actually, birds and heights are amongst the worst I can remember. Also, I’m scared of dying early and never properly enjoying my twenties. And I’m afraid to end up fighting with my mom for real because I’m too hot-headed as she says.” Jimin kept on talking, almost too fast for Minjeong to follow.
She touched her earbuds inside the pockets of her hoodie, too aware that she was around people without it. It scared her, but Jimin company was easing her out somehow. And she couldn’t just put some music and ignore her presence at her side at all, it would’ve been too rude if she’d done that. Not only she didn’t want to be rude, she also wanted to know more about her.
“You?”
“I’m an aries, very explosive when I have to hold onto my beliefs. My mom always says that I never listen to her and we get into a lot of arguments because of that.” Jimin explained.
“Oh, I see. I think Ryujin’s an aries too. She’s very stubborn, as you could see that day when she was holding that Naruto was stronger than Goku.” She said, fidgeting with the hem of the fabric of her hoodie, her eyes either locked down on the street or in front of them. “You guys should go along well, right?”
“We’ve known each other for a while, actually, I think we can’t strike a conversation without starting an argument shortly after. We’re both passionate about things, I think.” Jimin said, one of her hands went down to hold Minjeong’s left wrist. She looked at it, then back to Jimin and encountered a soft smile in her direction. “What is yours?”
“My zodiac?” Jimin only nodded, hand still on her like it didn’t mean a thing. Minjeong thought about saying it, that she wasn’t too fond of touching and stuff like this, but she couldn’t. It actually didn’t bother her as much as she thought it would, it felt like Jimin wanted her attention, touched her to make her eyes find hers. She found it hard to keep looking at her face though, it was too distracting. “I’m on the calmier side? I’m a capricorn. I don’t even think I have that much fire type on my chart.”
“That must be great, actually, sometimes I get stressed because I can’t just hold on and keep my feelings to myself. It’s like I’ll die if I don’t say what’s in my head.” She said, finally releasing her grip, Minjeong almost missed the warmth of her skin on hers.
“And I’m too quiet.” Minjeong muttered.
“I think you look cute, actually.” Jimin said and halted. Minjeong blushed, hard, eyes glued to the floor hoping that would open a crack that would swallow her whole. “I’ll take that direction now.” She said pointing to the street to her right. “Thank you for walking me over, I mean, I know it’s your way but the company made me feel safer.”
“Don’t worry, personal pigeon scarer at your disposal.” Minjeong joked and went in her own direction waving back at Jimin.
She tried to convince herself to not overthink about their whole convo and how Jimin told her she was cute. Because she wasn’t, she didn’t deem herself to be cute, or at least she didn’t want to be perceived as that. Or she didn’t want to be noticed at all. Even though Jimin’s presence was very enjoyable, she also feared that having her by her side would end up gathering too much unwanted attention. Minjeong lived like that, she wanted to be known for her band, and wanted people to acknowledge their skills and enjoy their music. But she wasn't looking for some individual attention. She’d rather stay anonymous if she could help it.
For the rest of the week she tried, again, to focus on who would be auditioning for their vocalist role. She kept on working harder to write something for them, after her first encounter with Jimin was like something opened for her, she never knew she could actually write songs. But she was liking the lines that were coming over. Maybe she could have a full song to be written by the end of the month, she studied harder on how to write both a chorus and a bridge, the soul of every music for her and she kept on sending snippets for both Ryujin and Yeji mostly on their group chat.
Jimin kept hanging around them, they didn’t meet again after class to head home together, but she was always lurking around by the entrance and lunch time. Minjeong wasn’t very proud of it, but more than once she avoided her and her friends so she wouldn’t get too overexposed and surrounded by people. And it was just like she had said it, she and Ryujin looked like they were always fighting over something. But Minjeong couldn’t deny saying that they looked good together, almost like a couple in constant bickering. Whenever she made those types of scenarios in her mind, she’d scold herself but she would imagine them being cozy with each other because they looked like they had the chemistry.
Not because they were two beautiful girls, but even less because Minjeong likes girls herself. At that age, she couldn’t accept it. But it was starting to get a toll on her, how she had no interest in boys whatsoever. She’d seen her friends going out with boys from the other school a lot, it was that age to start dating and have their first kiss, first love even. Minjeong would rather just stay in her corner, find yet another hide spot, one that Jimin wouldn't find this time because the girl spotted her behind the stairs more than once already. She also found her tree by the end of the soccer field once, so she had to find another place to lay on the grass lately.
For her, there was no way that Jimin was being meticulously interested in getting acquainted with her. She was like this, a very extroverted person that happened to cross her path more than once, not someone that was exclusively pursuing to reach for her. No, Jimin had way too many people around her, Minjeong was sure that anyone would be more interesting than her. She was boring, really, they had one weird thing in common that was watching anime and that’s all. Jimin would be someone that she could only watch from afar, not get close to it.
She never meant to be like Icarus, to reach the sun up close and end up being burnt by its light anyway.
So, when it came the day of their next practice, she got her guitar at home and went walking to Ryujin’s garage. It was a whole forty-five walking, with the heavy guitar latched at her back. She was sure Shuhua would be waiting there already, so she got a little late to find something a little nicer than usual for her to wear. When she crossed the street and heard the loud laughter and ranting, she almost stopped, Shuhua’s voice was very low. Maybe someone else had come with her, so she resumed her walking. Minjeong was excited, anxious even, but tired of the school morning. They had a match exam earlier in the day, so she was a little drained out when she went inside to find them. Jimin being there with both Ryujin and Yeji was a common occurrence, almost, she thought.
“Oh, hello there, you’re late Minjeong.” Jimin spoke, a deep voice reaching her ears almost like a symphony.
“I’m tired today, yeah.” She said and waved towards both Ryujin and Yeji, leaving her guitar by the closest wall she found. “So, when is she arriving?”
“She who?” Ryujin asked, a hand reaching Jimin’s waist didn’t go past unnoticed by her. They were still laughing about something that they were talking about before she arrived.
“Our meant to be next vocalist.” Minjeong said as she yawned, sitting by the floor to reach for her cellphone and take another look at the music she was writing. She still didn’t have a name for it, she thought that it would come for her eventually.
“I’ve told you guys she had no clue.” Yeji spoke pointing out between Ryujin and Jimin.
“No clue about what?” She tossed herself fully to the floor, it wasn’t that dirty hopefully, Minjeong was just too tired to mind it.
“I’ve told you guys we should tell her.” Jimin said and then looked back at Minjeong. “I’m here for it.”
“For what exactly?” Minjeong blinked a few times, still not realizing, then moved her body up a little. Back at sitting on the floor, eyes glued to Jimin’s. If her face was symbols, it went from interrogation point to full exclamation in seconds.
“Oh, my God Minjeong!” Ryujin took her off her mind. “Jimin’s here to be our vocalist.”
“Jimin what? I’m sorry… hello?” She looked over at Yeji, trying to get some Ryujin’s just joking around as a sort of reaction again, but this time she only raised her eyebrows like That’s right. And Jimin, by her side, has her forehead a bit scrunched up. “I mean, nothing against it. You- you listen to rock? You know we’re a rock band, right?”
“God, it looks like I was your last possible option for the place.” Jimin said, half joking around, half in completely torn apart sort of disbelief.
“You weren’t an option at all, to be honest.” Minjeong muttered out, way too fast for her to control it.
Now Jimin must’ve thought she was being too rude, maybe even a bully, Jimin must’ve been considering that was the sole reason she didn’t have that many friends. Not because she was an anxious introvert, but because she was plainly rude and had either no common-sense or social awareness whatsoever. Apart from the rude part, the whole rest should be the truth.
“Why is she so cute for?” Jimin asked, both Ryujin and Yeji just shrugged. “Linkin Park is my favorite band ever. So, yeah, I listen to rock. They’ve told me you’re hard to please, but can I give it a try at least?”
Minjeong was still too dumbfounded to react, Jimin was really there among them. Not because she had gotten even closer to Ryujin recently. Not because Yeji was from her same year, maybe the same class Minjeong can’t ever remember exactly. And not because Minjeong suddenly turned out to be her protector against the dark lords of the winds, mostly known as pigeons. She was there for the audition, she wanted to be part of it, their weird little rock band. Yu Jimin, probably the queen bee of the whole school, wanted to participate in the loser’s band.
“Come on Minjeong…” Yeji said. “Give us the cue, let’s start. You’ll see what Jimin can do.”
“Yeah… huh, sorry.” Minjeong said, getting her guitar and going to plug it in. Ryujing took her place on the drums and Yeji was already with her bass on hands.
Jimin went over the center of the garage, when Minjeong was usually staying lately at the microphone pedestal. She tested it for a few instants as the others were fixing themselves into position. Minjeong tried to tune in her electric guitar, it took her a few minutes to figure it out and finally look up again and over Jimin.
“Do you guys play Paramore? Can we go for I Caught Myself?” Jimin asked, Minjeong was ready to reply that it was her favorite of the band, but Ryujin was faster.
“Of course, I love that one.”
Minjeong bit her lips and her dark hair fell down to her shoulders when she looked over to her guitar chords. She fixed her fingers into position, took a deeper breath than she needed and moved a few steps back so she wouldn’t be that close to Jimin. Because she was really one feet apart from her before and being too close to her was a little suffocating, somehow. She looked over Yeji, the bass started the song, she followed closer to her. And Jimin held the microphone and looked over at them, a beautiful smile plastered on her lips.
When the drums came along, Jimin was moving with the beat reminding her so much of Hayley Williams herself. A version of her without colored hair, of course, but a full rockstar just like her. As soon as she opened her mouth to sing there was no hesitation, no second thought, no overthinking. Minjeong's heart skipped the beat, the whole beat, she felt sick to her stomach, their vocalist was right there with them. They’ve found it. Jimin matched their energy on the spot, even if Ryujin was a little out of the beat (it was usual).
She had to hold herself from laughing out loud and breaking their moment, because Jimin’s deep tone but also mesmerizing voice did some numbers to her. Jimin wasn’t trying to sing it like Hayley, she had her own way that was so endearing for Minjeong, that she also messed up a few chords because she was distracted looking over at her. It feels like the last puzzle piece of an enormous puzzle set has finally been put in place, or when you’re finally able to place a huge lego set together without any mistakes. It was so ridiculous, none of it made any sense. Yu Jimin didn’t belong there with them losers, but she was somehow the perfect placement. A second year of the likes of Yejin, a voice deep enough for her liking, a tone that was sugary when she wanted to, when she dragged a sentence for longer than she should’ve been.
It was easy to follow her, it was easy to find how she could be on top of a sold out stadium stage singing her heart out so effortlessly. Even if her veins were popping out her neck, she reached the notes with no more effort than she needed to, and I Caught Myself wasn’t a song exactly easy to reach the notes for. Minjeong knew because she tried a couple times, maybe she just wasn’t good enough for singing it. Jimin was. She stopped them mid second chorus, it was enough.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ve warmed up enough.” Jimin said.
Minjeong was speechless. What was she even being sorry for? She was amazing. Perfect even. Heejin wasn’t even a match for her.
“Hm, no… you’re fine. I mean-” Minjeong tried but got lost mid-sentence, eyes searching for both Ryujin and Yeji to see if they would help her out on her words.
“She’s trying to say that you were perfect, completely amazing, that we have our new vocalist right here in front of us.” Yeji was the one to save her, thankfully.
“It was… yeah, something.” Ryujin also said, playing with her drumsticks, her eyes wouldn’t leave Jimin for nothing in the world. She let her drumsticks fall to the floor at least three times, Minjeong counted herself.
“Are you sure you want to be in a loser rock band? You actually have a good reputation around school.” Minjeong said.
“What? Me? I always watched you guys playing in the school events, you look so cool. I thought Heejin had left the school, but not the band. If I knew beforehand you were looking for a replacement I would’ve come sooner.” Jimin said and she looked so honest, Minjeong almost couldn’t believe it. “And you Minjeong… you look so different when you’re playing the guitar. I mean, you are really pretty and extremely cute, but you also look so cool on the guitar. Like, seriously.”
Pretty. Jimin called her pretty. Without any warning whatsoever. Minjeong felt her cheeks burning on the spot and also felt Ryujin’s glare like a laser towards her. She didn’t know what to reply, so she barely said thank you before trying to look busy playing a few shy chords on her guitar. She was trying the ones she got mistaken for when she was too distracted looking over Jimin.
“You haven’t seen her sing a few lines.” Yeji said, pointing at her with her bass. “She’s amazing, I think we can get really famous with both of you in charge.”
“Come on, I’m way cooler.” Ryujin tried out, punching one of her drum plates to call their attention back to her.
“You need to train harder, you were off-beat for most of it.” Jimin scolded her, Minjeong laughed and looked to the floor so her hair would get in the way and Ryujin wouldn’t notice. “Do you guys write lyrics and stuff? I have so many ideas, I keep a journal with all my thoughts on a lot of things, like books I’ve read, movies, daily experiences and stuff like that.”
“Minjeong composes and she’s been writing some stuff, right? She’s good at anything really.” Yeji praised her once again. “She has perfect pitch too.”
“I’m not anywhere good, no, and no I don’t have perfect pitch.” Minjeong said, exhaling from her nose. A hand came to her shoulder, firm grip and curious eyes on hers.
“You’re crazy good.” Jimin said and the hand grip on her shoulder went further, her hand passing by her shoulder and neck towards her back and what was that really?
Jimin was hugging her? Minjeong wasn’t a touchy type of person, not that she was exactly against any kind of affection demonstration like that. She just wasn’t used to it, it was usually awkward even when her mother tried to approach her to give her any kind of affection either hugs or kisses. She’d always flinch to anyone’s touch. When Jimin embraced her, though, she only felt the warmth of her body against her. She felt how her cheeks probably turned reddish and how calming it felt. Her mind wouldn’t ever shut up, but somehow it did. It was strange, mostly, that she could feel so at ease with someone else’s body smashed up on hers like that.
She was soon to understand that this was Jimin’s effect, not only on her but on everyone around her. Her presence in any ambient was enough to brighten it, like she was the sun herself.
“Yeah, huh, this is cool and all but we’re still here.” Jimin released her on the spot once Ryujin spoke.
“I’m sorry, Minjeong’s looked so soft I had to hug her.” She said looking over them, then looked back at Minjeong. “You don’t mind it, right?”
“No, it’s okay.” Minjeong replied. If she could, she had just run out of the garage to never be seen by any living creature again.
“Funny thing, Minjeong doesn’t usually like any kind of skinship. She's untouchable.” Ryujin again, it was like she was planning to make her life miserable at this point.
“Oh, shut up. I said it was fine. Jimin unnie is cool, she can.” Minjeong held Jimin’s hands for only a split second, just so she could reassure her that she was okay with it. More than okay, even.
“So, are we all in agreement that Jimin is our vocalist? Because if yes, I think we have the whole afternoon to get something done. And now that we have a vocalist we can work on that demo Minjeong refused to sing it alone.” Yeji spoke.
“Isn’t it too soon to think about that? It’s my first time with you, will it sound all right?” Jimin asked herself, looking over all of them, eyes lingering last over Minjeong.
“We can give it a try, it won’t hurt.” Minjeong was the one to speak first, Ryujin only stared at her looking defeated this time around.
(...)
A whole year in the making, Minjeong’s first year in high school and Jimin becomes her best friend somehow. They’re polar opposites, Jimin is the sun while she is the moon. She is what everyone craves for, Minjeong watches her for the whole year and understands why everyone around looks so in love with her.
Jimin is kind, she makes everyone around feel important and seen. She understands a lot of things, she’s the best at comforting everyone either with words or just simply embracing someone in a tight hug enough to scatter anyone's mind really. Even hers sometimes. And she looks the best in Ryujin’s garage, even when she is at the back in the dim lights, taking her pencil out of her ear to take a few notes, make some arrangements and coming back running to Minjeong in order to tell her to resume it.
She is often crashing out in her house, Minjeong helps her out in her studies even if she doesn’t need to, even if she’s a second year while she is still at her first. They have sleepovers, Jimin owns the right side of her bed because she can face the wall, she feels safer like that. Always afraid of moving too much and falling over to the floor. Minjeong often sleeps looking at the ceiling, it’s suffocating to have Jimin at arms lengths. Even more so when she wakes up in the middle of the night to grab her arms and pass them by her body, Jimin sometimes mutters: you’re too far away, I’m cold.
And goes back to sleep instantly, like a kid.
Minjeong learns her smell, passionfruit and something else on the citric side. It calms her nerves, but usually she’s too close to her neck when she can really smell it. She lets her chin by the top of her shoulders whenever she can, it helps her to stop overthinking all of this friendship coming out of nowhere. She also learns how Jimin is used to stumbling over things, physical or not, words or steps, she fidgets with her fingers when it's on the emotional side. When it’s heavy, even if Jimin is more of a light-hearted and kind person, she has her dense side.
Also, she is the most curious and passionate person to ever exist. Minjeong has gotten used to her questions over the years, either about the latest anime episode or if she thought about where they were going after death. But one day, close to winter break, she finally got a question Minjeong never expected.
They were half past a physics explanation Jimin asked for, but was too bored to learn the answer. Something about inertia and how an object in movement tends to keep itself in movement, or how something stalled also tends to remain like that. But Jimin wasn’t paying any attention, not at her explanation, she had her eyes fixed on Minjeong’s face. Mostly, fixed on her lips, she remembers. She wouldn’t ever forget, maybe only if she ever ends up being a victimn of alzheimer or something.
“Have you ever kissed anyone, Minjeong?” She asked like all her previous questions through the year, blurted out like it was nothing, like it was weightless. But she was fidgeting, tongue passing over her own mouth trying to moisture it. Minjeong found her own lips to be too dry as well.
“What? Huh? No. Why?” She blinks, way too many times, way too fast to count it, body falls to the mattress. She looks to the ceiling, it’s still white, still safe, no curious eyes hovering at her mouth over there.
Jimin elbows fall to the mattress as well, hands holding her small face as she gets closer, the ceiling image being replaced by her face on top of Minjeong’s own.
“It’s just like…” Jimin stopped, taking her sweet time trying to reach whatever she was implying, reaching Minjeon’s small notebook and tossing her class book to the side. “You’re writing all these love songs, like you’re a pro at dating. And you never talk about anyone really. So I was wondering.” Jimin said, going over the pages, watching Minjeong’s scribbles among her own notes.
Jimin is the only one that can write on her lyrics notebook, she always has good remarks and ideas of her own that matches hers well. Yeji had no intention to write and Ryujin, when she tried, it was way too embarassing.
“I-… I know how I want it to feel like, love I mean. I don’t really know how it actually feels.” Minjeong says and she tries to reach her notebook back, but Jimin won’t let her.
Their faces became too close in the meantime, she could feel Jimin’s breath barely reaching to her skin.
“I never kissed anyone as well.” Jimin said, her beautiful face still towering over Minjeong. She wanted to move, really, but it was like she was glued to her spot. “Don’t you think-” Jimin halted, biting her lips, Minjeong eyebrows raised up, motioning her to continue. “Don’t you think it would be nice to… if it is with- Like-” Jimin was blushing, the real blush when she gets too emotionally tangled in embarrassment that even her ears get a few red spots on top of it.
Minjung chuckled and shoved one of her shoulders.
“Come on… did you forget how to speak?”
“Stop it!” Jimin shoved her back. “Like, don’t you think it would be cool if it were with a friend? Without the pressure of- just get done with it, you know? I think- I think I’d feel safer if like, my first kiss would be with you.”
Minjeong had many things to say, from it’s wrong if it’s two girls doing it to why would you even want to kiss me? She had all the reasons crossed on her mind, on why Jimin wouldn’t want to kiss her, she had it like tasks she’d marked as done. She did it every day they interacted ever since Jimin joined them in their band.
But when she looked over at Jimin, her words were caught up in her throat, there was no talking back. They never argued about anything, Jimin was too stunning, not only physically, for her to ever talk back. She usually just listens, she likes hearing her voice and how it lingers deep within her veins. So, she couldn’t say a thing, couldn’t react, could only feel one vein by her neck pulping her blood erratically and how it didn’t matter how much effort she was trying to put into her breathing, it was like she couldn’t find any air to enter her lungs.
“Do you feel the same?” Jimin’s voice was barely an octave lower, if Minjeong could even measure. Leaving her in full trance, maybe Jimin was a little closer as well, without her even noticing, and a small hand met her cheeks.
“I-” Minjeong took a breath, longer than she should’ve, like she was getting ready to step on a way without coming back. “I think so.”
She really didn’t think so, if she could say it. She couldn’t think about anything really. She couldn’t think. An overthinking out of any thinking at all, how did she even become that? No opinions formed, no scenarios running through her head.
Nothing.
Jimin's soft smile is what she remembers of it, and soft plumpy lips coming down to meet hers. Her mind hovered forward, afraid of how her mother could go over to take a look at them, ask if they needed anything, telling them dinner was ready or anything really. She couldn’t move, she just felt Jimin’s pressure on top of her lips and learned she had to do something when she felt Jimin’s lip departing from one another and catching her bottom lip.
Minjeong learned it was for the best if she closed her eyes and tilted her face slightly to the left, and that her own parted lips could just follow as Jimin found the right flow between them. And she also found out that Jimin looked good on a daily basis, but she looked even better panting after a kiss.
Even if it was a short one, an innocent and gentle first kiss that she expected to have with anyone. Anyone really. But her first year of high school crush. Her best friend even. Her newest bandmate that she wrote all the stupid love songs about, for almost an entire year.