Chapter 4
Miyeon decided to take the long way home from the library, hugging two large textbooks which wouldn't fit in her backpack close to her chest. It was a Saturday night, and Miyeon had been in the library all day, studying for her midterms. Her brain felt absolutely fried, but the early spring air was sweet and soothing, and there was a pleasant evening breeze that tickled her hair. She had been only five or six minutes away from home when across the street, she spotted a girl that looked an awful lot like her.
The last time she'd seen Minnie, the brown-haired girl had been running out of her bedroom, shirtless (and what a sight that had been). For a second, Miyeon was sure she was seeing things, but then she heard the other girl's light, airy laughter and she knew it really was her; she'd recognize that sound anywhere. Minnie was walking with some guy that was staring at her like a dog drooling at a piece of meat. Probably some random boy she picked up god-knows-where, Miyeon thought to herself and rolled her eyes.
She walked faster, hoping they'd turn at the next corner, and deciding that she would in case they didn't. But to her alarm, she noticed in her peripheral vision that the two were actually crossing the street and coming over to her side. There was no way they could avoid each other now. Shit, Miyeon thought, maybe I'll just pretend I don't recognize her?
Evidently Minnie was not thinking the same thing because:
"Whoa, Miyeon?!"
Well fuck. Okay then.
"Miyeon!"
She turned around.
"....uh, hi Minnie."
She looked exactly the same as Miyeon had remembered. Even her perfume is still the same, Miyeon realized as the other girl came closer, though she also smelled a little like alcohol and cigarette smoke. The guy waved at Miyeon too, smiling too wide to be entirely sober, and Miyeon awkwardly waved back. He had an arm around Minnie and she wasn't doing anything about it. Miyeon's curiosity got the better of her and she wasn't able to bite her tongue fast enough to stop herself from asking (in her best fake-nonchalant voice though):
"Your friend?"
Minnie laughed loud enough to possibly pass as drunk (though Miyeon had figured out by now that Minnie probably actually never got drunk).
"No I just met him," she had a strange expression on her face and she started walking closer to Miyeon, "but you're way prettier." She made a giggling noise, "wanna hook up again? I can just lose him."
Miyeon made her best what-the-fuck face at Minnie, not even knowing if she was supposed to say anything back. Minnie's male companion, on the other hand, was not having it at all.
"The fuck? you're gay??" He half-shouted, "Ew, what the fuck!?"
More cuss words spewed out of his mouth as he immediately tore himself away from Minnie and started sauntering off down the street, leaving the two girls to stare after him. Minnie just laughed; she looked entirely unbothered, maybe even like she was enjoying herself.
"He was kinda annoying anyway," Minnie commented.
Miyeon realized she might've actually done that on purpose just to get rid of him. Well, whatever, not her problem.
"Why does weird shit happen every time I see you?" Miyeon muttered under her breath and re-arranged the books in her arms, "uh, nice running into you, I've got midterms to study for so I'm gonna head home now." alone, thank you very much, she added in her head.
"Wait, wait, Miyeon I was just kidding earlier!" Minnie looked almost...bashful? "Can we - um, wanna just...catch up for a bit?"
Miyeon knew very well that those puppy eyes were just for show, but she had to admit that Minnie looked a bit like a lost kid, standing in the street in clothes that showed too much skin to possibly be warm enough in the brisk weather. She sighed, and cursed herself silently as she heard herself agreeing.
"Okay, just for a bit, I guess? But-" she added firmly, "we're not going to anyone's home this time."
Minnie's face lit up and she smiled brightly, like Miyeon had just made her entire day.
"Okay," she immediately agreed, "I know where we can go, there's this bench I go to every time I think about you."
"What??"
Minnie burst out laughing, "I'm kidding I'm kidding!"
Yep, she was still exactly as Miyeon had remembered.
--
"Is this it? This is the bench where you think about me?" Miyeon looked out at the view of the city from where they were standing in front of the bench, "wow, kinda romantic, Minnie," she couldn't help herself from remarking teasingly.
"Shut up," Minnie rolled her eyes.
They had been sitting there for a minute when Miyeon broke the silence:
"Do you, you know, just take people home all the time?"
Wow Miyeon, what a great icebreaker, she berated herself immediately. But Minnie looked like she was actually considering the question seriously.
"No, I almost never do. I usually just follow other people around, if I'm bored or something" she said, sounding a little less outspoken than usual, "I don't really like having other people in my home. You were an exception, though, you're pretty and you smell nice, so I didn't mind."
"Oh...um, wow I'm flattered?" Miyeon figured she shouldn't have expected Minnie's explanations to make much sense anyway. Feeling somewhat obliged to offer her side of the story, she added: "You know, when I first met you I never would've imagined you were like this. I genuinely thought you were the most adorable person ever."
Minnie gasped dramatically: "What, are you telling me you don't think I'm adorable anymore?" an exaggeratedly hurt expression on her face.
Miyeon laughed at that, and thought for a second.
"No, I still kinda think so. You're still adorable but also a little messed up."
Minnie sighed a little, and let her gaze fall to her hands in her lap.
"Well, of all the people I've ever met at the club, you're the first one I've ever invited to come sit on a bench and just talk."
Miyeon was somewhat aware that the atmosphere had changed a bit; she couldn't remember seeing this side of Minnie before.
"That's kind of the opposite of me. I don't think I've ever had a real, proper one-night stand ever," Miyeon confessed, honest in a way that was possible only with a stranger, "Like I have kinda? but it's never clean, you know? There're always some feelings or something stupid like that involved every time. I think you were the closest I've ever been to the real thing."
Minnie turned to look at her, but stayed silent, waiting for her to go on.
So she did.
"I, um, I don't know, catch feelings so easily, way too easily, really. And it's always for the stupidest reasons, or sometimes no reason at all. It's not like I'm a saint that just refuses to do the whole one-night stand thing, though," she added, "Honestly I might as well have been doing that, because I also get sick of the people that I fall in love with so fast. It's pretty shitty," she sighed. Why did she just say all that?
Minnie didn't say anything for a few seconds, and her voice was a bit quieter when she asked: "Did you fall in love with me back then?"
Miyeon giggled at that and looked at the other girl: "You actually are kinda adorable, you know?"
The other girl seemed almost offended and opened her mouth to say something back, but Miyeon had turned away, looking like she was thinking about what to say.
"You never really gave me a chance to get sick of you or anything," Miyeon admitted, "you left so fast."
"Excuse me, that was your fault," Minnie quipped.
"Yeah, but you were gonna leave either way."
"Not necessarily," Minnie smirked, "I might've stayed if you begged me to, after we were done."
Miyeon rolled her eyes. Leave it up to Minnie to say something like that, she thought.
"Honestly," the other girl wasn't done, "I'm still kinda upset about that. At least you were home; I couldn't even take a cold shower."
"Oh my god Minnie shut up," Miyeon half-giggled, face starting to grow warm.
Minnie opened her mouth, looking like she was about to say some more embarrassing things, when suddenly she noticed the textbooks sitting in Miyeon's lap.
"What are those for?"
"Oh these? I'm an art history major. It's midterm season so I've been living in the library these days," she explained as Minnie reached out to touch one of the books.
"No more club for me," Miyeon said, a hint of a smile in her voice, "plus, look what kind of a weirdo I met the last time I went to the club."
Minnie scoffed amusedly but didn't say anything, instead grabbing one of the thick textbooks and opening it carefully like it was some fragile treasure. She flipped through a few pages and squinted at the crowded, tiny print for a few moments. When she looked back up at Miyeon, there was real admiration in her eyes.
"Wow, cool," she said softly, "Do you like it? Art history, I mean."
Miyeon sighed, "Sometimes, I guess? I used to love art so much in high school." She had no idea why she was being so honest with the other girl, "I really wanted to be an art teacher. But sometimes, I don't know, school just makes me hate everything."
The other girl laughed a little, "kinda like your love life, huh?"
Miyeon stopped to think for a moment, "Haha wow," she breathed out slightly incredulously, "I've never thought about it like that."
Minnie smiled at her, eyes turning into little crescents. For a second, Miyeon's brain saw absolutely nothing else.
Jesus, she thought thickly, I think I want to kiss her. Wait what? No, what the fuck Miyeon; she slapped herself mentally. She tried to force her stupid brain to regain some good sense and abruptly stood up.
"Okay, you know what, I should probably go home, I'm trying to sleep at a normal hour these days, since you know, gotta wake up for classes on time during exam season at least."
Minnie looked slightly saddened at the sudden end to their little reunion, but she said "okay" and handed the textbook back to Miyeon, "good luck on your midterms Miyeon."
"Thanks Minnie," Miyeon smiled for real at the other girl.
As she was hoisting her backpack back on her shoulders, Minnie added:
"You should come back to the club some time after your tests are done. We can hang out again; you're funny when you're drunk," a slightly mischievous glint in her eyes.
Miyeon remembered some embarrassing memories that she thought Minnie might have been alluding to and told her to screw off.
"You are never ever getting the privilege of seeing me drunk ever again," she retorted.
Minnie laughed, the sound free like the wind, and Miyeon thought it might've been impossible for her not to get carried along a little. A sense of familiarity settled between the two of them. Miyeon noticed that the other girl wasn't getting up.
"Aren't you going home too?" She asked.
"Eventually," Minnie said, "I kinda want to sit here a bit longer though."
"What, to think about me some more?" Miyeon smirked, "on your think-about-Miyeon bench?"
Miyeon swore she saw Minnie actually blush a bit.
"You screw off," she protested indignantly, "don't you have midterms to study for? Go home and sleep already."
Laughing, Miyeon stood and re-arranged the textbooks in her arms one last time, starting to leave.
"Okay, whatever you say Minnie, just keep your thoughts PG on my bench please."
"They were going to be!" Minnie yelled after her, "but thanks for reminding me!"
She watched as Miyeon left, crossing the street and disappearing behind a tall building. After a minute, she stood up, deciding that maybe she'd go home too, not really want to sit on the goddamn Miyeon bench anymore. After all, she figured, she'd probably wind up thinking about Miyeon anyway, bench or no bench.