It was the third to last day of spring break when Jimin got back from her trip to New York with her mom and Charles. She'd had a lot of fun, which was slightly surprising because she thought it would bring up too many bad memories to go back. The last time she'd been in New York was with her dad, about three years earlier.
Charles was great, though. Jimin was glad that her mom was dating him, because he cared a lot about Jimin, and he cared a lot about Tiffany as well. Plus, her mom was getting a lot better in general and was even talking to Jimin about art school. It was incredible.
She'd missed Minjeong terribly while she was gone, though. She wasn't used to being apart from her girlfriend for more than a handful of days, if at all, and it was painful to be away for nearly a whole week. It was Friday now, though, and she was back from her trip and ready to surprise Minjeong at her house.
She was tired, though, from the trip back, so she decided to go grab coffee for herself. Even though she didn't think Minjeong would particularly need it, she decided to get some for her girlfriend as well. She went to the normal coffee place that she usually went to the one that was about halfway between Minjeong and Jimin's houses, and near to the school. It was probably the most perfectly located coffee shop in the area.
She found herself waiting in a line for coffee, which she supposed was unsurprising, since it was a Friday afternoon, and people were probably leaving work and in desperate need of a caffeine boost in order to survive the rest of the night.
Jimin leaned back on her heels a bit, glancing around the shop carelessly as she waited impatiently to get to the front of the line. Finally, she did, and she placed her order before stepping aside to wait for it.
The girl who had been in front of her looked at her with a hazel gaze as Jimin approached the area where people typically waited for their drinks. "I forgot how busy this coffee shop was," the girl said.
Jimin took a moment to realize that the girl was speaking to her, and she tried not to roll her eyes internally. "Yeah, it is."
"I used to live here," the girl commented, though the statement was already obvious based on her previous comment. "Cool," Jimin said, trying not to sound impatient, though she still was.
"I had a lacrosse tournament over my school's spring break this week. We're leaving tomorrow morning. It's cool to be back, though. Brings back a lot of memories," the girl mused, her voice distant. "This was probably the most interesting place I ever lived. The people were what made it interesting. Would you say there are a lot of interesting people here?"
Jimin shrugged her shoulders, though the girl next to her was starting to draw her suspicions. "I guess."
"Well you ordered two coffees, so surely you're buying for a friend, boyfriend, girlfriend? That must mean some people here are interesting to you," the girl assumed. "Sometimes I miss the people here. I had such a good time with the people I met here. Don't talk to them anymore, though."
"Why not?" Jimin asked, unable to help herself. There was something off about the girl next to her.
The girl smiled, the opposite expression of what one would expect from someone talking about her lack of communication with her old friends. She ran her hand through her sandy-colored hair. "People don't miss me when I leave. They'd rather forget about me. There was a girl. I know she didn't forget about me."
Jimin felt her heart freeze in her chest. "Why's that?"
"She couldn't," the girl answered. "I was her everything. It was so sweet, being that to someone. But I had to leave, you know? Can't help that my dad changes work sites all the time. Not to mention, things like that don't last forever, anyway. It was all good fun."
"Can't imagine why," Jimin muttered sarcastically, because this was without a doubt who she thought it was.
"You okay there?" the girl asked, smirking at Jimin.
Jimin bit down on her tongue to keep from speaking about Minjeong. Sara didn't deserve to know anything about Minjeong anymore. Minjeong was not Sara's plaything, or anyone's plaything for that matter. "Fine."
A drink order was called out, and the girl with hazel eyes and sandy hair grabbed her drink from the barista. "Thank you," she said to him with a wink, drawing a blush out of the guy who was probably about her age. She turned back to Jimin, her drink in hand. "It was nice talking to you, stranger."
The girl tucked some of her hair behind her ear and then began out of the coffee shop.
Jimin bit down on her tongue because she shouldn't say anything.
"Hey, wait," Jimin called, aware that her tone was hostile. The girl froze and then turned around to face her, a perfectly drawn-on eyebrow raised high. Her expression had gone from sweet to threatening in half a second, but Jimin was hardly intimidated. "You better not come back here again. You've inadvertently made a lot of enemies."
The girl seemed to realize suddenly that Jimin had some connection to Minjeong, and her threatening expression wavered slightly as hints of fear showed through instead. She sized up the dark-haired girl in front of her, and then turned around, continuing her path out of the coffee shop.
Jimin didn't want to tell Minjeong who she'd seen at the coffee shop that day, because it was their first day back together, and they had far more important things to do, like talk, and kiss, and cuddle, and some other stuff as well.
But it was bothering her to the point that she was physically nervous, and Minjeong noticed easily, questioning her.
When Jimin told Minjeong, she had half expected her girlfriend to have a panic attack, and half expected her to just close up entirely.
Instead, Minjeong took in a breath that was only slightly strained, and then said, "Well... fuck her." Jimin had still been worried that Minjeong would be really upset, until the copper-haired girl also added, "And she's right. Things like that don't last forever. Things like this, however..." Minjeong straddled Jimin on her bed suddenly, leaning down and stealing a deep kiss from the girl, before whispering against her lips, "Things like this do last forever."
—
The following day, Aeri dragged their whole group out to the arcade during the middle part of the day. Their group had grown significantly throughout the last couple of months. Yuuto had incorporated his new girlfriend, Emily. Jaemin had brought in his new girlfriend, Lena. Ning had gotten Dan to join their outings on occasion, though his age difference made it slightly harder for him to group the same way. Lincoln was obviously included now, as well as a couple of his friends. Seulgi had added her girlfriend Irene, as well. During their giant outing to the arcade, Joy made a comment to Jimin about being the last one single, and she just laughed and told her that she would find her person, because obviously, she would.
Jimin had been wondering why Aeri had planned an early outing, up until it ended and Minjeong announced that she had a surprise for Jimin.
Nearer to the center city, there were plenty of nice places to go out on dates. Minjeong brought Jimin to one of those places - a nice restaurant that was nearly an hour into the city. It was there that Minjeong told Jimin that she was thinking about getting a job at her old dance studio over the summer and throughout senior year, and then after Jimin got excited for her, she thanked the girl, though Jimin wasn't sure what for.
After their dinner, Minjeong drove Jimin to a different area of the city, leaving her clueless until they pulled up in front of a hotel. It looked kind of big and expensive, and Jimin didn't know whether to question its cost or not.
She ended up choosing not to because she knew that Minjeong's family had money. She would be all pokey about it the following day, but she couldn't interrupt this night.
The hotel room that Minjeong brought her to had already been checked into, and Minjeong had definitely gone to some work to prepare it. The lights were dimmed in the room, made more dramatic by the darkening sky outside. There was champagne sitting on the table between the beds, and Jimin couldn't even question how Minjeong had obtained it. She didn't really care, as long as her girlfriend didn't get arrested.
Possibly what was most spectacular about it were the flowers - scattered across the room in little pots or even just sitting freely. They were white, some slightly yellow in the middle, and small. They smelled amazing, and she felt like she'd seen them somewhere before, but she made no significant connection and ended up brushing it off.
They spent their night talking, about their future, about their pasts, about any and everything that came to their minds. They talked for hours and then fell asleep for a while, and woke up at the unfamiliar sounds of the city outside the hotel.
When they were awake again, neither of them fell back asleep.
Instead, Jimin whispered quietly, "I thought you'd be more upset about Sara yesterday." She only brought it up because it had been pecking at her thoughts since the previous day.
"I don't know what I was supposed to feel," Minjeong admitted. "I've already felt pain and sadness from her. All I feel toward her now is anger, but even then, how can I be very angry? She's out of my life, and I have you. You are so much more important than she ever was, or ever will be."
Jimin cuddled further into her girlfriend. "Do you really think we'll last forever?"
"I'd like to have you forever," Minjeong answered quietly. "Why? You don't think so?"
"No, I do think we can," Jimin agreed. "I love you so much, you know?"
"I did know, actually," Minjeong teased softly, and Jimin smiled as she inhaled the familiar scent of her girlfriend. "Wanna know something cool?" Jimin nodded. "You know the flowers all over the room? They're Jasmine flowers. I got them at this little flower shop, and they had this Chinese lullaby... or... poem thing attached to them. It was in Chinese, but I Googled it. It translated basically into..."
"Oh, how beautiful the Jasmine Flower, fragrant flowers filled the air, beautiful blossoms everywhere. Choose a blossom white and pure, give to the one that you adore."
She let out a light breath and then paused, to indicate that the poem was over. "And well... I adore you, so," Minjeong finished cheekily.
Jimin let out a light laugh. "You're so cute, Minjeong."
"The flower is supposed to represent love and sensuality, too," Minjeong continued, though Jimin was sure that her cheeks were slightly pink from the compliment. They always were. "Also, their scent is supposed to be really nice for sleeping."
"They smell really good," Jimin agreed, giggling at how adorable her girlfriend was.
"What's even funnier about it is that in Chinese, the flower is called Molihua. Which, as I recalled later, is the name of that one song I told you about a long time ago," Minjeong explained. "That song used to get me through really bad nights because it was just so soft and sweet sounding. It helps me sleep, kinda like the flower is supposed to." Jimin pulled slightly away from her girlfriend so that she could make eye contact with her girlfriend, who smiled softly.
"I think it's a sign."
"Oh yeah?" Jimin asked, smiling lightly.
Minjeong nodded. "When I read the lullaby's translation in English, I thought of you. When I listen to the song, I feel peace. When I see the flower, I think of you and feel happy, and kind of sleepy - and you always kind of feel sleepy, so that reminds me of you too."
"You're actually such a dork," Jimin murmured, grinning at the copper-haired girl laying next to her. "And I love you so much."
"I just wanted you to know that I love you... and that you make me happy and peaceful... and nothing else matters when I'm with you, because everything is okay when you're here."
"Same," Jimin said quietly, but if she had wanted to say anything else, she wouldn't have been able to, because her lips were joined with Minjeong's.
A song of a flower of love and peace and sleep in their thoughts, they were soon lulled into sleep alongside one another. All of the struggle and the pain and the stress of the past was gone, and questioning of the future was unnecessary, because they were together and everything was perfect in that moment, and that was all that mattered.
Fin.
—
We have reached the end.
Thank you to everyone who has followed as I've updated every day, and to future readers for reading.
I also want to thank the original writer for creating this story to begin with. @/brittzandtana
I wasn't sure if I wanted to do an adaptation of this book at first but it's been really fun and so I don't regret devoting time to this, and I surely hope you don't regret reading either.
I'll let you go now so you can enjoy your lovely day ahead of you, thank you!