"Y/n, wake up!"
Y/n could hear Haerin and Danielle's voices in the distance. They knocked the door full of excitement, before barging into her room, the energy they brought made Y/n overwhelmed.
Haerin kept saying wake up, and Y/n was so sure that there was a hint of playfulness in it as she sat on the edge of Y/n's bed. While Dani stood at the foot of the bed, arms crossed.
"Y/n, you got to bed faster than anyone last night, and yet you're still the most tired?" Dani teased, clearly confused by the paradox.
Y/n groaned, burying her face deeper into the pillow, but it didn't stop her friends from prying. Haerin leaned closer, brushing Y/n's hair out of her face. "Were you up late thinking about the mission?" she asked softly.
Y/n blinked a few times, her brain was slow to process. "The mission... yeah, sure, let's go with that," she mumbled, half-heartedly. But the truth was, the mission wasn't even the problem anymore. The memory of the night before, dancing with Minji, had taken up every corner of her mind. It was like no matter what she did, Minji's face kept floating into her thoughts. Minji's smile, her everything... the way she led Y/n through the dance, how effortlessly beautiful she looked under the moonlight. Y/n groaned once again, searching for a way to forget it.
"Really? Because you look like someone who didn't sleep at all." Haerin narrowed her eyes, clearly sensing that something wasn't right. "
"Yeah, I mean... you're usually up earlier than any of us," Dani added, now sitting on the other side of the bed. "What happened?"
"I just... had trouble sleeping," she muttered, dodging their curious glances.
Haerin and Dani exchanged a look, knowing there was more to it than Y/n was letting on. Dani leaned in, nudging Y/n playfully. "Come on, spill. You're hiding something."
Y/n, still in her sleeping position, pulling the cover closer. "It's the mission, I'm telling you." She resisted telling the truth.
"Uh-huh, the mission," Haerin echoed playfully, her grin widening. "You're not fooling anyone, Y/n. What's really going on?"
Dani sensed that Y/n wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. So, she climbed onto the bed with Haerin following close behind. They both threw themselves on top of Y/n, shaking her shoulders, pulling at her blanket, and making exaggerated complaints about her not waking up.
"Come on, wake up already!" Dani laughed, tugging at the covers while Haerin poked her in the side.
Y/n groaned, helpless under their playful attack. "Stop it! Give me 2 hours!" she protested, her voice muffled by the pillow.
"Nooooo, wake up and play with us." Haerin teased. "You know what? If you don't wake up, we're going to get someone else to help."
Before Y/n could protest further, Haerin and Dani exchanged mischievous glances. "Hanni unnie!" Dani called loudly.
A loud and clear reply from Hanni could be heard, "What's going on?"
Before Dani and Haerin could scream for the second time explaining about Y/n, Minji suddenly got into the room, curious of what happened, "What's wrong, girls?"
Y/n froze. It was Minji.
The moment she heard Minji's voice, her heart exploded, and without a second thought, she threw off her blanket with surprising speed, almost knocking Haerin and Dani off the bed in the process.
"I'm up! I'm up!" Y/n stammered as she scrambled to her feet, her mind racing. She didn't even glance in Minji's direction, too flustered to make eye contact. Instead, she kept her head down, focused only on the floor.
"Oh, so now you're awake," Dani said.
"Guess it really was about the mission, huh?" Haerin added, exchanging looks with Dani, still not putting the pieces together.
Y/n hurriedly made her way to the bathroom, eyes glued to the floor, her face burning with embarrassment. She could feel Minji's presence in the room, but she avoided her gaze like it was the plague. She just needed to get out of there before she did or said something completely ridiculous.
The rest of the girls, including Minji, didn't seem to notice anything odd about her behavior. In fact, they found it funny. Dani laughed. "Wow, Minji, you've got some magic power! Y/n was practically a corpse until you showed up."
Minji laughed softly, still unaware of the inner chaos Y/n was going through.
As Y/n finally reached the bathroom, she leaned against the door, her heart pounding in her chest. "Great... just great," she whispered to herself.
-
After a quick cold shower, Y/n got dressed and made her way to the kitchen. She could hear the girls laughing and chatting from the dining room, and it made her realize, what was coming for her.
Breakfast was always a time for them to gather "together", but right now, Y/n wasn't in the mood for closeness. Not with Minji's presence practically radiating from the room.
The moment Y/n entered, she scanned the seating arrangement. Sure enough, Minji was already seated with the others. Without wasting a second, Y/n made a beeline for the seat next to Hyein, the farthest spot from Minji, her eyes barely glancing around as she took her place at the table.
"Morning, Y/n!" Hanni greeted, her voice bright and cheerful.
"Morning," Y/n mumbled, already stuffing food into her mouth like it was a race against time.
The others exchanged glances, slightly confused by Y/n's frantic pace but deciding to let it slide, at least for now. Minji, on the other hand, seemed to notice Y/n's odd behavior but didn't comment.
Hyein watched Y/n shovel her food with alarming speed and raised an eyebrow. "Are you... okay?" she asked, not sure if she should be concerned or impressed.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Y/n blurted out, as she pushed the last bit of toast into her mouth. "Just... got a lot to do today. Busy day. Gotta water the garden!" She stood up abruptly, barely giving herself time to chew.
"Water the garden? We already watered it yesterday," Dani pointed out with a laugh.
"Well, it's looking really thirsty today," Y/n replied hastily, grabbing her plate and backing away from the table. "I'll just... get going then. I will make them super hydrated."
Before anyone could say anything else, Y/n was out the door, leaving the girls sitting there with puzzled expressions.
Hanni leaned back in her chair, couldn't contain a grin across her face. "So... she's really in a rush to water the garden, huh?"
"Yeah, right," Haerin snickered, leaning forward. "Who bets it's something else entirely?"
"I don't know," Hyein chimed in, "But something's up."
Minji stayed silent, watching Y/n's retreating figure. She could sense there was something Y/n wasn't saying.
-
Y/n managed to get away once again. Watering the garden was a good idea since no one would show up usually. She could be alone for some time, then went straight to her bedroom, by saying that she's tired of watering the garden. Nice plan, Y/n just had to spend some time.
Y/n started diligently watering the garden, focusing a little too intently on the task to avoid thinking about anything.
The moment felt peaceful, everything went according to her plan... until she heard footsteps approaching behind her.
"Need some help?" Minji's voice broke the silence, startling Y/n.
Y/n clutched the watering can a little tighter. She didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. Her heart raced, but she quickly tried to compose herself, forcing a smile before glancing over her shoulder. "Oh, uh, no, I've got it," she said, her voice coming out a bit too fast. "Actually, I was just about to finish here and go, uh... practice!"
"Practice?" Minji raised an eyebrow, "I'll join you then."
Y/n's brain went into full panic mode. That was not the response she was hoping for. "Oh, uh, wait!" she stammered. "Actually, I forgot! I was thinking of baking some bread after this. You know, for breakfast tomorrow. I should head inside and get started."
She barely had time to move toward the house before Minji's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Y/n," Minji said gently, "Are you... avoiding me?"
Y/n's breath hitched, she could feel a nuclear was exploding in her brain, but her back still turned toward Minji. She stood frozen, feeling the watering can got heavier in her hand. This was it.
"You've been acting strange all morning," Minji continued, "Did I... do something wrong? If I did, I'd like to know so I can fix it."
Y/n's mind scrambled for an explanation, but nothing coherent formed. Her thoughts were tangled, and she felt trapped between wanting to tell the truth and not knowing how to explain the mess inside her head.
"No, no... You didn't do anything," Y/n finally managed to say, "It's not you."
"Then what is it?" Minji pressed, stepping closer, her eyes searching Y/n's face for answers. "Because it feels like you've been avoiding me since last night. If something's wrong, I'd rather talk about it."
Y/n was unable to face Minji. How could she possibly explain what she was feeling? The dancing, the realization, the way her heart had betrayed her the moment she'd stared into Minji's eyes under the moonlight. It wasn't something she could put into words, at least not yet.
"I..." Y/n hesitated, her hands tightening around the watering can. She wanted to say something, anything, but the words got stuck in her throat.
Minji waited patiently. She took a step forward and gently placed a hand on Y/n's shoulder. "Yes?" she said, her voice low.
Y/n swallowed hard, feeling a lump form in her throat. Y/n stood there, her eyes darting everywhere except at Minji, desperately trying to find a way out of the situation. "It's just... you know... whenever... like, things... and then there's this... feeling. But not like, well, maybe like that, but also not like that. You get what I mean, right?"
Minji blinked, clearly confused. "Hmm... no?"
Y/n's face turned red as she stumbled over her words again. "It's just... every time I... I mean, when you're there, and then I... well, I can't..." She scratched the back of her neck, looking around as if the flowers in the garden could somehow bail her out of this mess.
Minji tilted her head, still not following. "Wait, is this about yesterday? You're mad because I forced you to eat ice cream even when you're full? Did I tease you too much or something?"
Y/n waved her hands frantically. "No! No, it's not that. It's... it's... something else. Like, when you... and I... Ugh!" Y/n groaned, burying her face in her hands. She took a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts.
Minji's brows furrowed as she tried to piece together Y/n's jumbled words. "So... you're saying there's... something? Between us?"
Y/n peeked through her fingers, nodding slowly but still unable to fully explain. "Yeah, something. Something that makes it... hard to look at you. And it's not bad, it's just...ugh!"
"Every time I look at you, Minji, I feel... something. And I don't know what it means or how to deal with it," Y/n's voice cracked with vulnerability, her heart pounding in her chest. "I wasn't avoiding you because I was upset or anything. I was avoiding you because... because I'm scared. Scared of how I feel when I'm around you."
Minji's eyes widened slightly, "Wait... Y/n, are you... trying to say you like me?"
Y/n froze, her face turning an even deeper shade of red. She let out a nervous laugh. "I mean... yeah? I think? Does it sound like a hate speech?"
Minji's confused expression slowly softened into a knowing smile. "No, I mean, you could've just said that from the start, you know?"
"So... you're not mad?"
Minji stepped closer, "Mad? No. I'm glad, actually... because you're not the only one." Minji said quietly. "I like you too, more than I've been able to say. More than I realized at first."
"You do?" Y/n was stunned by Minji's statement.
"Yeah," Minji replied, her smile growing wider. "I thought you'd never say it!"
"Me?! Say it?! You're the one who's always so... so... you!" Y/n spluttered, gesturing helplessly. "I didn't want to ruin our friendship or something!"
Minji chuckled, "You know, most people just say 'I like you' and don't make it a dramatic scene in a garden."
"Hey!" Y/n protested in reflex, crossing her arms defensively. "It's hard to just say it when... when I don't even know what it is I'm feeling! It's confusing! I thought maybe I just really like your cooking!"
"Or the way I throw punches?" Minji teased.
"Yeah! You punch really well! And maybe you can slap well too" Y/n exclaimed, her panic turning into laughter. "I thought I was just infatuated with your combat skills! Or maybe I just have a fetish with women good in suit!"
"Combat fangirl?" Minji laughed. "That's a new one, but jokes aside, I think I prefer the sound of you just liking me more." She's getting flustered, but she was trying to hide it.
"So, this doesn't change anything, right? We're still us?" Y/n confirmed.
Minji replied "Of course, it doesn't, but we'll figure it out together about what we want us to be, okay?"
Y/n finally let out a sigh of relief. "Oh... well, that makes things... easier. I think?"
"You're hopeless."Â Minji shook her head in disbelief.
"Yeah," Y/n agreed, smiling at last. "But I guess I'm your hopeless." Y/n couldn't stop with her grin, "Well, now that we've cleared that up... maybe I should practice my fighting skills with you. You know, to really show you how much I like you."
"Is that your way of saying you want to spar?" Minji asked.
"Yeah, that's absolutely right!" Y/n replied. "But... I might need you to go easy on me, you know, since I'm still figuring this whole 'like you' thing out."
"Oh, I'll go easy on you, alright. But only because you asked so sweetly," Minji said, a smirk playing on her lips. "Just don't blame me when I still end up beating you."
"Challenge accepted!"
-
Too bad, Y/n here is hopeless at confession
Loser Y/n (¬â¿Â¬) â¡( â¡â¿â¡ )