Work Text:
#1
When the couple dance is announced, all Jihyo could possibly ask for is that none of her partners would be Nayeon and Jeongyeon. And also maybe those sweaty teenage boys on the other end of the company would stay away from her.
It would be easy, Jihyo thinks, just not any of those three options.
“Jihyo,” the dance instructor calls her attention, and Jihyo straightens her posture, attentive. “Hmm. I think I’ll pair you with a new girl. You two can learn from each other.”
New girl. Jihyo had been too busy to be acquainted with them, but she’d always made sure to say hello and make friends. It was nice to be thought of as the reliable one by everyone, especially the new ones at the company— little sunbaenim , everyone had called her, and Jihyo always preens at the nickname.
“This is Myoi Mina,” the instructor tells her, and from behind the woman comes a pretty girl with long hair and a round face. Jihyo hadn’t had the chance to bump into her like most new trainees, but maybe it was for good reason because Jihyo’s hands start sweating thinking about how close she’ll have to be to the pretty girl, and the kind of moves she’ll have to make with the pretty girl, and—
Perhaps Nayeon and Jeongyeon would have been better. She wouldn’t push the sweaty boy trainees, but Nayeon and Jeongyeon would definitely not have her nervous like this.
Why was she nervous? This was just a pretty girl.
“She’s trained in classical ballet, but she also does hiphop,” the instructor drones on, and Jihyo can’t focus on anything that’s not sweating all her foundation off when they haven’t even warmed up yet. “Go on, Myoi-san. Don’t be shy. Jihyo bites sometimes, but you’ll be okay.”
“Hey!” Jihyo pouts, but she laughs as the instructor does, who leaves them to be acquainted, and Jihyo exhales a bit before turning to Mina, who looks at her expectantly. “Um, h-hi. Nice to meet you Myoi-san.”
Mina looks up at her and Jihyo knows she’s done for. “Mina is fine.”
Mina. How could saying your own name be so attractive? Surely that wasn’t legal in fifty countries.
Jihyo tries for cool, and thinks she does it, when she tilts her head towards the vacant practice rooms as if her cheeks weren’t burning. “Okay, Mina, we’ve got a dance to practice for. Let’s go.”
“Ha! You were sweating like a sinner in church, I wish I had it on camera,” Nayeon barks out into the chilly air outside the building. Jihyo punches her arm and it’s enough to make her shut up, shrinking into herself and pretending to be in pain.
“Rub some dirt on it, you deserved that,” Jeongyeon tells her, handing them their vending machine hot chocolate. “But really, Hyo. So uncool. The poor new girl, stuck with a sweaty sunbae. Oh, what would our managers even say!”
It’s Jeongyeon’s turn to be kicked in the shin. She takes it like a champ. “In my defense since neither of you would defend me in the first place, we did really well. We’re coming for your sorry asses at the evaluation.”
“Sure, sure,” Nayeon rolls her eyes goodnaturedly. “We’ll wait for that.”
“We have to be, um, a little closer,” Jihyo says, out of breath. Because of the dance, Jihyo thinks , let’s go with that. “Could you—”
“Oh, okay, let me just—”
It happens faster than she’d like to admit. One moment she’s helping Mina with a pose, then another moment she’s on the ground supporting an armful of Mina, who smells like baby powder and blossoms.
All the dramas she consumes must be getting to her, it’s the only explanation as to why time slows, why all the air in her lungs have been pushed out of her in one fell swoop. All of these along with the devastating realization that Mina is ridiculously prettier up close, with six moles decorating her face, and intelligent, light brown eyes.
“Are you okay?” Mina exclaims, as much as Mina possibly can, and after the moment has passed she crawls off Jihyo’s body to help her up. “I’m so sorry, if I hadn’t—”
Jihyo takes the hand Mina offers her. Her hands aren’t soft, but they spoke of the hard work she puts in her dance. “I’m fine,” her voice breaks in the middle. Jihyo wishes to be swallowed whole by the ground. “I’m fine.”
They earn the highest score for the couple dance, and as soon as it’s announced, Mina leaps into Jihyo’s arms. She’s been getting an armful of Mina recently, and Jihyo isn’t complaining even if her cheeks threaten to set themselves on fire each time.
“Hey,” Jihyo nudges Mina’s side as they’re packing their stuff to leave. “When I said I was gonna treat you to chicken, I meant it. Come join me and the two other idiots tonight.”
Mina looks surprised, though she smiles. She’s so pretty sometimes Jihyo doesn’t know what to do. The other girl purses her lips, pretending to think for a moment, and then nods.
(The teasing was thorough that night, and Jihyo swears on her very life that she will get back at Jeongyeon and Nayeon when they get together. It’s only a matter of time.)
-
#2
Skinship with Mina is easier in recent history, considering that it’s been literal years since they’ve met and a few months after they’ve gone through the hell that was SIXTEEN together.
Well—it should be easier. Though judging by the way her hands clam up as she takes it in hers tells Jihyo that while progress is progress, she is approximately seven meters from square one.
Still, she’d done it to make Mina comfortable, less afraid of the rides, even if she’s a bit terrified herself.
“Just hold on to me, okay?” Jihyo tells her, as they navigate the murky waters of Everland together. “I’ll be by your side.”
Mina nods, gripping Jihyo’s hand as if it were her lifeline.
The sun has gone by the time the cameras stop rolling, but Mina hasn’t let go of her hand through all of it.
Jihyo certainly isn’t complaining, despite the fact that Jeongyeon and Nayeon elbow each other at the sight of their still-linked hands.
Mina turns to her, gummy-smile-silver-tooth and all, clutching Jihyo’s hand in both of hers. “My knight in shining armor,” she says, mirth dancing in her eyes.
Jihyo swears her heart stops in its tracks, that any time they should be calling for an ambulance. Then Mina envelops her in a hug, starting her traitorous heart back to life.
“I-it’s no big deal,” is all Jihyo manages to say. What else can she even begin to tell her? That she may pass away at an early age at the start of her dream career just because some pretty girl (who is also her friend) is ruining her life by being beautiful?
“It is to me,” Mina says with finality, leaving no room to argue, then Sana steals her away before Jihyo can do anything stupid like tell Mina she’s liked her forever, or tell Mina to stop whatever this is for the sake of her physical, emotional, spiritual health.
She stares at her hands, a little clammy and a little warm, missing Mina’s skin already.
-
#3
The tray makes a small, almost inaudible thud when Jihyo sets it down on the side table, near the framed picture of Ray and an cat-shaped alarm clock Jihyo had given Mina years ago.
Mina makes no move to acknowledge her, possibly still asleep, so she surprises Jihyo by turning under her blankets when Jihyo sits at the side to shake her awake.
“Minari,” Jihyo whispers, feeling how warm Mina is already. She’s been burning up with a fever for hours and Jihyo can’t stop fretting about like a worried mother hen. “It’s time for your meds.”
Mina stretches, but the movement is small. “Oh, already? I’ve been asleep for hours then.”
She takes the glass and the antipyretic, opening it for Mina and handing the items to her. Mina sits up to drink, with a little help from Jihyo, and then lies back down right after.
“Don’t worry about sleeping too much, just take all the time you need,” Jihyo manages a smile. “Really. I’ll handle management if they try anything smart.”
Laughing, Mina holds her hand. It’s burning and clammy, and Jihyo knows the feeling even if it’s caused by something else entirely. “You’re always taking care of me,” she murmurs, and Jihyo isn’t prepared for Mina bringing up their joined hands to her lips, pressing against the back of Jihyo’s hand. “Will you still do it even if I’m old and grey?”
Jihyo may also be developing a fever of her own. She’s sure of it, of the heat that crawls up her neck and in her cheeks.
Surely there’s no way that Mina doesn’t know she’s acting like this. Even fever-ridden Mina looks too satisfied having flustered Jihyo—knowing Jihyo can't get up and run because Mina needs her.
“Yes,” Jihyo grumbles, sticking a fever gel patch onto Mina’s head. Flushed red from the heat inside her body, Mina still manages to look like the cat that got the cream.
Jihyo is in the middle of writing lyrics for the upcoming album when her phone pings with a text from Mina.
Left you something in your room, Mina had written. Hope you like it xx
By the time Jihyo’s done with work, she couldn’t get home fast enough. Everyone’s still out for their schedules, so she’s alone when she unwraps the gift Mina left on her bed.
It’s the gaming headset she’s been eyeing forever.
For my knight in shining armor, the note on the box says—Mina’s neat and loopy handwriting sends a lance through Jihyo’s chest. Because you always take care of me well.
-
#4
Jihyo isn’t sure how it happens, but it becomes routine that on holidays where Mina doesn’t get to go home to Japan, she spends it with Jihyo’s family, and it’s ridiculous how much they love her.
From then on, Mina becomes a fixture in the Park home during holidays, which they spend watching movies, playing games, or taking trips with her parents.
Seeing Mina in her pajamas, lying on her childhood bed playing Animal Crossing on a 3DS she bought off eBay does nothing to quell the feelings that never truly went away.
(In her defense, they were always there, but it’s moments like this that makes Jihyo remember—if the way her heart just soars at the thought of being able to see Mina so relaxed and so happy in a place that has a lot of good memories.)
As if the sight of her isn’t enough for Jihyo’s life-ending heart rate, Mina looks up at her and smiles, bare-faced and gorgeous after her nightly routine of skin care. Jihyo moves to settle into bed beside her, charging her phone and her own 3DS which Mina and Jeongyeon convinced her to buy just to keep herself busy, trying not to look too much like a loser around Mina.
“Hey,” Mina says, pausing her game. “Your parents came in asking me when my family can fly in so we could all go to Jeju together. They were very excited.”
Ugh. Her parents have been too eager to meet Mina’s parents, and so eager to make a good impression.
(“Jihyo-yah, make sure they love you or else!”
Jihyo ignores them, though she has always felt the need to impress the girls’ parents, to show them their children are cared for. It has always come easy but she still tries her best.)
“Ignore them,” Jihyo replies, but she hums as she slides under the covers. “Though I think we should plan something. Like, all of us. It would be fun or a complete disaster.”
That pulls a laugh out of Mina, who puts down her 3DS between them to turn to Jihyo, her hand tucked under her cheek. With Jihyo’s paper lamp being the only light in the room, it casts an ethereal, romantic glow on Mina’s face. She’s so beautiful that Jihyo doesn’t know what to do. “I think it would be a disaster, but a good one.”
“You’ll only sit back and watch everyone make a mess.”
Mina grins, then purses her lips, pleased that Jihyo knows her too well. “Maybe.” She sighs, then checks her phone for a minute before putting it away. “My parents have been asking about you, too. How’s their precious Hyo-chan, they’ve been asking.”
Jihyo can’t help but smile. The few times she’d met Mina’s parents, they’ve been nothing short but sweet and kind, very much like her daughter. “Oh? Hope you told them good things.”
Sweet and kind, most of the time.
“Hmm, I told them you’ve been snoring and waking me up and ruining my beauty sleep,” Mina teases lightly, and Jihyo nudges her leg in retaliation. “Told them you’re always looking out for all of us, and that I always feel cared for when I’m with you.”
As if someone had taken her heart in an iron grip and shaken it, Jihyo feels the admission between her ribs. Heat crawls up her neck, and suddenly the chilly room feels as if the temperature had been turned up significantly. This woman…
“You can’t just say that,” Jihyo grumbles, looking away and crossing her arms. “Teasing me one moment and… and saying that, on the second! You’re a menace.”
Usually, Mina would laugh and shrug, and then the thickness in the air would dissipate. But this time, she doesn’t—she moves closer, placing a hand on Jihyo’s shoulder to gently nudge her closer.
This wouldn’t be the first time they’ve been this close, not only physically, but more on the edge of something new built on something familiar that neither of them were brave enough to move forward with.
But now, in Jihyo’s childhood home and years into their career…
“Can I?” Mina asks, quiet and solemn but Jihyo hears her loud and clear— can we do something about this, can we try our luck, can you take my hand and take the leap?
Jihyo finds it hard to say no to this woman. She nods, and Mina kisses her dressed in one of Jihyo’s sleep shirts and lounge pants, beautiful from the dim light of her lamp and from the screen of her game which plays softly in the background.
It’s perfect, just the kind of kiss Jihyo thinks Mina deserves, and she doesn’t know how long she’s lived without Mina’s kisses and she doesn’t want to find out. So when Mina pulls away to laugh, bright like chimes, Jihyo pulls her in for more.
-
#5
“I didn’t know you were so flustered by those shorts,” Mina says, laughing until her cheeks are red. Truly, maybe Jihyo shouldn’t have disclosed that on national television, but she needed somewhere to air the frustration. “I thought you were joking! You’re so grumpy all the time.”
Jihyo knows she’s giving Mina a full-blown pouting situation, which works like magic each time. Mina is at her side, pressing kisses to her cheek. “As if you’d ever listen to me,” she grumbles, but she enjoys the attention anyway. “I will let women wear what they want at the cost of my physical and psychosocial health.”
The shorts are… Jihyo tries not to think about them too much, otherwise risk being teased by Mina for turning redder than she should. Or doing something drastic like sleep on the couch and sulk because Mina is too much and she needs to rest.
“Baby, we’ve been dating for a little over a year,” Mina says as she nuzzles her cheek. “You can handle seeing me in little shorts. Nothing that you haven’t seen before.”
Mina sidles up to her, throwing her very long legs over Jihyo’s. She’s wearing that cursed piece of clothing under the covers. This woman is the devil and no one would ever believe Jihyo when she languishes about it.
The devil incarnate, Jihyo thinks, when Mina pulls her earlobe between her teeth and murmurs: “if you have a problem with them, why don’t you take them off yourself?”
Jihyo is a simple woman. Myoi Mina asks her to do something and she will do it.
-
+1
After a lively dinner, Mina’s treat, they head back to their own dorms, and Jihyo tries not to vibrate from how excited she is to have Mina to herself for her favorite birthday gift for the night.
“You’re shaking like a small dog,” Mina comments, but she laughs as they toe off their shoes at the entrance. “More surprises? You spoil me.”
Jihyo shrugs, says nothing, and leads Mina to their room, unlocking the door to find an envelope on her bed. Mina takes it, frowning and unsure what it could be, and Jihyo laughs as she holds it against the light to see what it could be. “Just open it, jeez!” Jihyo laughs, pinching Mina’s side, pulling up her camera to catch her reaction.
Her girlfriend laughs, then uses her nail to unseal the envelope, and Jihyo is so happy to have this recorded—
“Oh, baby,” Jihyo says when Mina turns red and bursts into tears seeing the plane tickets she can use any time to fly back to Japan and return whenever she wants. “I’ll take that you like my little birthday gift. You can use it if ever you feel like going home and management promised me they’ll let you.”
Mina holds onto her until her quiet sobs turn into little hiccups, and Jihyo combs her hand through Mina’s hair through it all.
She’d been missing home more often these days, and Jihyo was determined to do something about it.
“I hope you didn’t threaten anyone just to make me happy,” Mina laughs, wiping at her eyes. She’s still so pretty even then. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I mean it.”
Jihyo shrugs. “Perks of having a girlfriend who might as well be on the board of directors. And you deserve to go home. I know how much you miss it.”
Mina looks up at her shyly, wrapping her arms around Jihyo and pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Would… would you want to come with me? See my family, my childhood home. That would be fun.”
Jihyo would cross the world’s oceans seven times if Mina asked her to.
“Of course,” she kisses Mina. “I’d love that.”