girl's talk | michaeng

xxxix. age of youth

chaeyoung straightened her shirt as she stood outside of mina's apartment. she took a deep breath before ringing the door bell. chaeyoung heard the sounds of someone falling and running towards the door. a disheveled mina opened the door with a smile.

chaeyoung rushed forward for a hug. "hey, mina," she said as she wrapped her around mina's waist.

"hi, chae," mina said and reciprocated the hug.

they separated from each other and laughed. "well, come on in!" mina said while stepping out of the way and gesturing to her apartment.

chaeyoung walked in and took in her surroundings. "it hasn't changed a bit, mina," she said with a polite smile.

"yeah?" mina asked while titling her head in a way that made chaeyoung's stomach churn. "well, i'm not exactly swimming in cash. i don't have a lot of decorations nor have i really upgraded anything."

"same," chaeyoung responded and start walking towards the living room.

mina followed and plopped down onto her couch. "so, i figured we could watch some movies or binge watch a series on netflix? i just bought some face masks and fingernail polish too."

"yes!" chaeyoung said and slammed her hand in the space between them. "this is going to be the best night ever."

"well, that certainly puts a lot of pressure on me," mina replied with a laugh.

the girl's spent the rest of the evening on the couch while watching various movies and series on netflix. they eventually ordered a pizza for dinner. it didn't even last ten minutes in the apartment. by the end of the night, the coffee table in front of the couch was littered with empty face mask packages, various drinks, and remants of their pizza.

images of age of youth lit up mina's living room as she painted chaeyoung's nails. chaeyoung avoided looking at mina and kept her gaze on the floor. mina tried to stay focused on chaeyoung's nails but glanced at the other girl often. chaeyoung's eyes shifted to the t.v. and watched the events unfold.

"mina," chaeyoung said to get the other girl's attention. mina hummed in response. "who's your favorite character?"

mina turned her head towards the t.v and narrowed her eyes. "hm," she said. "i don't know. maybe yeji? i can kind of relate to her."

chaeyoung turned to mina. "really? how so?" chaeyoung asked with furrowed brows.

"i don't know," mina said quietly while looking down. "i know yeji liked eun, but eun didn't like her back. i know what that's like."

"well, you have junhui now," chaeyoung sighed.

mina froze and held the nail polish brush just barely above chaeyoung's nail. "right."

a heavy silence fell upon the two before mina started blushing. "i'm sorry. that sounded so awkward," mina said and laughed in embarrassment.

chaeyoung shook her head. "don't worry about it," she replied with a small smile.

"i'm happy with junhui. i am," mina continued then sighed. "kind of. i guess."

"you could always talk to him about this. dahyun and i did it, and we're fine now," chaeyoung said and cringed internally at her obvious lie.

another silence passed before mina spoke. "i kind of want to break up with him."

chaeyoung's eyes widened. she briefly felt joy, then guilt hit her like a ton of bricks. "oh, okay," she said, searching for the appropriate response. "why?"

"it's just not working for me."

mina knew she wasn't telling the whole truth. but how could she? mina felt nauseous just thinking about explaining why she even got into a relationship in the first place. mina wanted to change the subject. she wanted to go back to talking about skin care routines and celebrity news she never bothered to keep up with. mina knew they couldn't. they had delved too deep.

"i'm terrible at giving advice," chaeyoung stated, "but if you're not happy, you have to do something about it. you can't just leave it alone and hope it fixes itself."

"i know," mina replied. "believe me. i know."

mina finished painting chaeyoung's last nail before either of them spoke up. "thanks, minari."

mina blushed at the nickname before placing the nail polish on the coffee table and putting her hands in her lap. "chaeyoung," she sighed, "there's something i'm leaving out."

"well, whatever the reason, i'm not one to judge, mina. you know that."

mina nodded. "i do," she replied. "i know you wouldn't. it's just kind of scary for me to say this."

mina felt her stomach knot up as she second guessed herself. "i need to admit something, and i've never told anyone this. i've been denying it for a awhile, but i just need to rip the band-aid off.

i'm gay, chaeyoung."

chaeyoung was visibly taken aback. "oh," was all she could muster.

mina looked down as a her eyes filled with tears. "i know i kept saying i wasn't, but i was lying to everyone, including myself."

chaeyoung put a hand on mina's shoulder. "mina, it's okay. you're going to be okay," she said with concern. "i'll do anything and everything it takes to make sure you get the happiness you deserve."

mina leaned forward and hugged chaeyoung. she thought about what chaeyoung wouldn't be able to do and buried her head in the other's chest. mina wanted something more with chaeyoung. she wanted what dahyun has.

chaeyoung kept silent and put her head on top of mina's. eventually, mina pulled back. she quietly thanked chaeyoung as she sniffed. mina calmed herself down and took a few deep breaths. she smoothened her skirt and pushed her hair behind her ears.

"well, now what?" mina joked with a gummy smile.

"have you ever been with a girl?" chaeyoung asked suddenly.

"no, i've only ever dated boys," mina replied after she recovered from the shock chaeyoung gave her.

chaeyoung laughed. "sorry, i justーi was curious."

"it's fine," mina reassured chaeyoung. "you can ask me anything, but i'm going to actually pay attention to the t.v. now."

chaeyoung tried to watch the show but found herself glancing back at mina. dahyun was absent from her mind. only thoughts of what could possibly be with mina filled her head. she had settled for dahyun, and that was fine. but everything she ever wanted was sitting in front of her. chaeyoung found herself calling mina's name. the said girl turned to chaeyoung with a smile.

do it, chaeyoung, she thought to herself. this is your chance with mina.

chaeyoung inched forward, her eyes flickering downward. mina's smile disappeared slowly and questioned if it was really worth it. it was. she closed her eyes when chaeyoung closed the distance between them. butterflies filled mina's stomach when chaeyoung cupped her cheek.

when they pulled away, they became giddy with joy and grinned at each other. their staring session ended as chaeyoung's phone started buzzing. she flipped it over and read the caller id.

dahyun is calling...

a/n:
AHHHHHHH MICHAENG KISSED AHHHHHH

i told yall it was about to get spicy.

thanks so much for 13k views! i'm glad you're all enjoying this. as a present for me being gone for so long and hitting 13k, i'll be double updating today!

(also this chapter is currently unedited, apologies for any typos)