FLOWER | Winrina

Chapter 8

Jimin woke up to a still dark room - the only light emanating from a dimmed TV screen, as though it had fallen asleep from lack of use. Jimin heard the soft breathing of the three girls in the room and judged that they had all fallen asleep. Jimin inhaled quietly as she judged her position.

She was no longer lying on Minjeong's lap because the copper-haired girl had shifted to be leaning on the arm of the couch, so she was behind the dark-haired, who was dangerously close to the edge of the couch.

Slowly pulling herself up, Jimin bent her neck and it cracked quietly. Letting out a sigh, she pulled out her phone to check the time.

Seeing that it was nearing one in the morning, she sent a courtesy text to her mom to tell her that she would be back in the morning. Her mom was probably still working and likely wouldn't have noticed Jimin's absence, but in case she did. Since their conversation earlier in the week, her mother had been back to working way too much. Jimin couldn't care less, though.

Jimin carefully untangled herself from the blanket around her and then made her way into the kitchen, wanting a glass of water. By the time she finally found the glasses, she heard someone else entering the room as well. She glanced over her shoulder as she retrieved a glass, her eyes falling on the recently familiar Minjeong.

"Did I wake you up?" Jimin wondered, keeping her voice quiet.

Minjeong shook her head. "I wasn't very deeply asleep," she answered. "What woke you up?"

Jimin answered by putting her glass under the water dispenser on Ning's fridge and nodding toward it. "Do you all normally end up having sleepovers on movie nights?"

"Usually," Minjeong answered. "Sorry, probably should have let you know that ahead of time."

"It's not a big deal," Jimin insisted. "I texted my mom, but she probably wouldn't even have noticed that I was gone. She's working really late tonight. Probably still at the hospital."

"Oh," Minjeong said, not pushing the subject. "Did you sleep okay? I hope you weren't uncomfortable when I fell asleep."

"No, it was fine," Jimin promised, not sure what to say.

Minjeong stood silently, leaning against the counter in the dimly lit room, as Jimin drank some of her water. Jimin's brown eyes were lingering on the girl. It looked like Minjeong wanted to say something, but like she wasn't sure whether or not to say it.

Finally, Minjeong took in a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry. About earlier when I ignored you because I didn't want to talk about what Aeri was talking about and then when we watched a whole movie sitting so far apart and uncomfortably. I don't know why there's so much palpable tension between us. And if it was because of earlier on the bleachers... like if it was because of the kiss, you can tell me, Jimin. I won't be offended."

Something about Minjeong's eyes told Jimin otherwise, though. "It's not," Jimin insisted, but then she thought about her words more carefully before speaking again. "I mean... yes, it is because of the kiss. But it's not awful. I just... I don't know how to be around you now. It's easy sometimes, but really hard other times. It's harder when other people are around because you're a lot different when it's just you and me than when it's the whole group. You know?"

Minjeong nodded slowly, and then she sighed. "I'm sorry. I guess that makes it a little bit my fault then."

"And a little bit of mine," Jimin reminded the copper-haired. "Maybe we should just talk about it. Get things out in the open... you know?"

"Alright," Minjeong agreed, straightening herself a little. "I like you, Jimin. I enjoyed the kiss that we shared."

The forwardness of Minjeong's statement actually pushed Jimin's confidence up. She wasn't sure as to why it seemed to be a trend that Minjeong's straightforward nature was so appealing to her. "I like you too, Minjeong. And so did I. I'm just a little scared. I don't know where you stand, but I've never had feelings for a girl before. And I'm not ashamed or anything, I just don't know that I'm ready to be openly interested in a girl. That makes it hard for me to know how to act around you and other people. It's only hard when we're alone because I get nervous."