Chapter 7
Yoohyeon held out on talking to Gahyeon and Dami about Minji. She would come to their apartment, instead of forcing Siyeon out, and they would have study dates. Sometimes in the living room, sometimes in Siyeon’s room, nothing screamed toxic.
She had no reason to believe that Minji was this horrible person. At least not anymore.
“So… I know it may be too soon to talk about…” Dong mumbled.
It was one of their late stargazing dates. Sometimes they talked, other times they snacked on various things Yoohyeon brought. Sometimes they sat in silence and just enjoyed each other’s company.
“But what happened with your ex? If it’s okay to ask… I don’t want to pry…” Dong whispered.
Yoohyeon let out a sigh, looking at the camera set up in front of her.
“I just can’t… get out of my head how you reacted with Siyeon a few weeks ago…” Dong frowned.
“It’s okay, just… it was the longest relationship I had. I know in high school they barely count. So it was my first real relationship on top of it. And I didn’t want to mess any of it up,” Yoohyeon frowned. “And things were great. And… one day I came home… grabbed some snacks and went to her place for our planned stay inside date…” She frowned, almost spacing out as she thought about the past.
She hated herself for being so naïve back then.
“She forgot and was dry-humping some guy on her couch,” Yoohyeon frowned. “I just left the extra keys there and went right back home.” She finally looked back at Dong, seeing the pained expression on her face.
“That’s why you wanted to take things slow?” Dong asked.
“Because of that, wounds being a little healed, and because I don’t want to mess anything up. I don’t want to jump into a relationship and it doesn’t last… I like what we have right now… Just… Feels good…” She explained.
“How recent was it?” Dong frowned.
“Six months ago,” she answered. “What about you? Since we’re trauma bonding and all,” She nervously chuckled.
Dong let out a sigh, shaking her head. She didn’t want to relive the past just yet. She wasn’t even sure if she was healed from it all since she still saw Minji on a daily basis.
“I think I need more time to process it all…” Dong frowned. “But I do agree, I like what we have now. It feels good.” She gave the taller woman a smile, happy that she at least felt the same way. “Now… Tell me what we’re looking for tonight.”
Siyeon was rambling. Five minutes and pointing out everything in her little build, happy to share it with Minji. Only when she looked up, Minji was engrossed in whatever was on her phone.
“Minji..?” Siyeon cautiously whispered.
“Hm?” The older woman finally looked up, seeing the plain expression on her face. “What?” She asked, her voice quiet.
“I… was telling you about my little robot…” Siyeon mumbled.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Tell me again. I was responding to one of the girls.” Minji set her phone down, giving Siyeon her full attention again.
“It’s okay,” Siyeon dismissed it, turning back to her build.
“No, I wasn’t paying attention…” Minji pouted before scooting closer to the woman. “Tell me, I want to know. I’ll end up rambling about rocks to you and that will be boring,” She chuckled.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about rocks… I’m always talking about my robots and video games… Tell me about your rocks,” Siyeon set her tools down, turning to face the older woman.
Minji was slightly taken aback. Not even Bora cared enough to listen to her ramble about rocks. Not even Dong when they were together.
“Well… To put it extremely simply, there are different types of rocks… Everyone learns the three basic classifications, Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic…” Minji started.
Siyeon listened to her ramble, watching as her entire face lit up at just the explanation of so many different rocks. Of course, it was her field of study, but she had seen people go into certain things, only to hate it. Only there because it paid well.
“What is your favorite rock?” Siyeon blurted out.
“Geodes,” Minji smiled.
“And… what… what kind of rock is that?” She asked, scooting closer to her from her desk.
“Well, a geode is a secondary formation of sedimentary and volcanic,” Minji explained. “But I love them so much… They’re so unassuming at first. Just these dull rocks… And no one knows until they break it open by force. And then they admire the insides. Making it extremely valuable then.” She let out a sigh, pulling out her phone to show Siyeon some pictures.
“Wow… That’s so cool…” Siyeon whispered. “So it just happens?” She asked, handing her phone back.
“So when they’re forming, they’re formed near volcanoes. When the lava cools around air bubbles, allowing groundwater to seep in and leave behind minerals that create the crystallization during evaporation,” She explained. “You know the science experiment with the salt water right?”
“No…” Siyeon shook her head.
“So you take a dish of sorts. Fill it with a little salt water and let it sit in the sun. Once it evaporates it leaves behind a layer of salt, but it’ll leave it in a crystallized form,” She smiled.
“Do you need special salt water to do that?” Siyeon asked.
“No,” Minji scoffed.
She watched as Siyeon bolted out of the bedroom, a little surprised at her movements. It wasn’t until she followed her out, watching her dig in her cabinets and then pull out a small dish.
“Will this work?” Siyeon asked.
“Not white, something that’ll show you the salt,” Minji chuckled.
Within fifteen minutes Siyeon had a small plastic dish on her dresser next to the window with a post-it note attached to it.
“Do you not believe me?” Minji chuckled.
“No, I do. I just want to do it,” Siyeon smiled at her.