Minjeong wiped one counter clean after another. She wasn’t really fond of her job, sure she at least had an excuse to turn on a movie that had been stably sitting in her watchlist for a few months on the café TV, but she always thought about how much more she could be doing with her time rather than wiping croissant crumbs off of tables.
But it wasn’t like she was doing it without a motivation, that’s unlike Minjeong after all. “What are you doing? It’s 10 past 3.” Ningning barged in, startling Minjeong.
“Ah..” she took out one airbud after the other, putting them back in their case. “Sorry, I was lost in thought, I guess..”
“You’re not even watching one of your movies to leave me waiting in the parking lot for 10 minutes. Come on, I’ve waited long enough!” Ningning grabbed Minjeong who was still in her apron.
“Ningning, just give me a minute!” Exclaimed Minjeong, messing up her uncared for mid-length hair as she roughly dragged the apron from her head. “Come on.”
The two walked to Ningning’s car, it was almost a daily routine, though it was against Ningning’s will. As usual, Minjeong was the one who begged Ningning to pick her up from her part-time job since it was on Ningning’s route home anyway.
“What is it?” Waiting for the car to hear up, Ningning spoke up, noticing Minjeong’s zoned out behavior.
“Huh?”
“I can tell something’s off, and not in the usual weird Minjeong way. Don’t tell me you’re quitting your job, after all the times I’ve picked you up, you’re actually giving up?” Ningning nagged Minjeong like the best friend she was to her.
“No, I’m not quitting. I still need this film camera even if it means getting another job.” Minjeong talked as if she started mumbling to herself mid-sentence, but Ningning was used to her strange speech patterns.
“Then what is it? School?” Ningning moved closer to her friend.
Minjeong shook her head, wondering if she should open up just this once. “…You know how I barely have any friends?” Ningning nodded in response, motioning for Minjeong to continue. “That doesn’t really bother me anymore, since I have you.”
Ningning’s eyes lit up. “Aww, Minjeong~ that’s what been in your mind?” She moved closer, attempting to hug her friend.
Minjeong gently pushed Ningning away.” No! God, just listen for a second. What’s on my mind is… Ugh, just I want a girlfriend.”
“Wait, for real? I thought you were a few social steps away from getting a partner, but of course I’ll help you out.”
“Very motivating, Ningning.” Minjeong commented sarcastically.
Ningning started driving, backing up from the parking lot. “So, what? You want me to introduce you to someone?”
“No.. that’s too much pressure.” Minjeong hesitated before saying what was on her mind “…What about a blind date? I’m not really familiar with the concept exactly, but it sounds more comfortable.”
“You should’ve said you wanted a blind date sooner. I’ll try to ask around my friends to see if anyone is interested.”
Minjeong nodded, a mix of anticipation and nerves in her system. She grabbed her phone as soon as she noticed they were approaching her house. “Thanks, Ning.”
“Of course! See you tomorrow. I’ll text you if I get anywhere, alright?” Ningning drove off.
Minjeong entered the house, greeting her parents on her way upstairs. They barely saw her, especially these days; wether it be because of a project, a movie, or her doing that thing where she just kinda stares into the wall making scripts in her head. But it was nothing new, Minjeong had always been their girl who kept herself locked up in her room.
Minjeong set her phone aside, laying on her bed. She didn’t know why, but today out of all days she was just a little more exhausted than she usually was. She just wanted to lay back and analyze her favorite movies like she did every other day. She liked the familiarity of her interest more than anything after all.
A ding, she hears coming from her phone. She crawls on her bed and grabs her phone, checking the notification which happened to be from the face she had just seen not even 5 minutes ago.
“Found a girl!” Ningning messaged Minjeong.
“Don’t make it sound like they’re a Pokémon. What’s their name?”
“Yu Jimin, art student. I don’t know much other than that she’s Giselle’s close friend.” … “Tomorrow’s the date” Ningning gave Minjeong the location and time.
“Got it” Minjeong exited the conversation just like that, setting her phone back down.
Despite Minjeong confident sounding closer, she had a timid feeling in her stomach. She had never really made an effort to go out of her way to befriend someone, let alone go on a date. She was a loner, that’s the way it went in her life, and she didn’t really mind it; quite the opposite actually. But something about the idea of adding a person she loved to her loner lifestyle just sounded right all of a sudden, to the point where even her movie taste had been leaning more towards romance, a genre which she didn’t have the most positive feelings about before.
“Yu Jimin..” Minjeong looked at her phone, reading the name out loud, hoping Ningning knew her well enough to know the type of girl she liked was someone who could be silent around her, never bug her, not too clingy, but still like her. Will that be Yu Jimin?