Apricity

apricity - noun

The warmth of the sun in winter.

*

Mornings were always something Jimin deeply dreaded. 

While some love the calmness that usually comes with mornings, or the fact that it symbolizes a new beginning, for Jimin, the sole action of having to get up from the comfort of her fluffy bed has always been nothing but an immensely painful feeling. 

And winter mornings are always the worst for her. Because, on top of having to step out of her bed to ultimately start her day, she also has to fight the chilling cold that always comes to attack her as soon as she slips out of her warm bed sheets. 

Winter has always been her least favorite season for this exact reason. Each time Jimin could feel the icy air caress her face, seeping through every bone in her body and chilling her to the core, she would scoff, and ultimately lose herself in her thoughts, silently hoping for spring to point the tip of its nose again. 

In short, her life had been a never-ending cycle of enjoying herself to the fullest for three seasons straight, and finding herself at the lowest point of her life whenever the hiemal season would come around the corner. 

But somehow, for some reason , Jimin has eventually come to enjoy winter a tiny bit more.

The reason being a small, in her perspective, pouty maltese-looking girl. Kim Minjeong .

And this is also because of this very person that she’s currently finding herself to be awake at six in the morning sharp, on a winter day at that. 

Don’t get her wrong. She still very much hates winter mornings. But her burning hatred for it has greatly diminished ever since the girl, who is currently comfortably nestled against a pillow in the bed next to her, came into the picture. 

In comparison with her, Minjeong always claimed to love winter. 

“Winter is the season where I was born, and I like to play with the snow, it’s as simple as that. I really don’t understand why you hate winter so much unnie!,” exclaimed the small girl when she heard Jimin scoff for the nth time, while they had been waiting for the bus together on a particularly chilly day.

“I know, but I really can’t handle the cold…” Jimin shivered, as she wrapped her arms tighter around her own body. 

Seeing how small Jimin somehow managed to look, Minjeong saccharinely smiled, and laced her fingers with Jimin’s gloved ones, softly enough to not hurt the older girl’s already fragile hand, but firmly enough to ground her, and let her know that she is there for her. 

“Trust me unnie,” she started, a small but mischievous grin painted on her face, blended with a glint of determination. Jimin always loved this expression on the younger girl’s face, but never really admitted it in front of her. She knows how smug the revelation would make Minjeong after all. 

“I will make you love winter!,” confidently announced Minjeong.

In all honesty, Jimin would say that Minjeong only half accomplished her goal. Indeed, Jimin is still far from loving winter. And she thinks that she will never truly love it. 

But in the course of spending time with Minjeong, she learned to endure the excruciating season.

Not for herself though. Because if she had never met Minjeong, Jimin is pretty much certain that she would have never even considered sparring a joyous thought to this terrible season. 

However, if Jimin is weak to winter, then she is a literal mop for Minjeong. If the girl asks her to kneel down and bow to her, Jimin knows for sure that she will immediately proceed (not without grunting and pinching Minjeong’s cheeks first though, she still knows her worth!).

In fact, it had always been the case, for as long as she remembers. In the span of a few years, the two had evolved from mere acquaintances introduced by their friends during a fleeting highschool outing, to the cheesy couple everyone around them looked at with envy and exasperation.

And ironically enough, the two of them had admitted their feelings for each other, on a winter morning . 

The biting air was particularly cold on that day, but for once, Jimin could barely feel it. While her cheeks were gently caressed by the freezing breeze, her heart was beating erratically, after hearing what the awkward-looking, but terribly adorable, small girl standing in front of her had just said. 

“W-when you say you like me, you mean like like?”

Minjeong sheepishly nodded, while purposely avoiding Jimin’s gleaming gaze. 

“Gosh I…” Jimin took a shaky breath, and looked at Minjeong. The girl in front of her was an obvious mess. From her disheveled hair, probably caused by the wind, to her awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other, Minjeong had never looked so uncomfortable under Jimin’s gaze. 

But Jimin, at that moment, found Minjeong to be the loveliest version of herself she had ever witnessed before.

She tentatively raised her neatly manicured hand towards Minjeong’s own one, who was seemingly busy twiddling with the hem of her shirt. 

And when their cold skins brushed against each other, Jimin heard Minjeong let out a small gasp. The nervousness in Minjeong’s sole expression strengthened Jimin’s resolve, as she held Minjeong’s hand tighter. 

“I’m glad,” Jimin’s eyes softly disappeared into crescent moons, as a careful but warm smile made its way to her lips. 

“Because I like you too, Minjeongie. So much.”

Jimin smiled at the heartfelt memory, as she softly brushed some rebellious strand of hair that seemed to be bothering the sleeping beauty resting next to her, away from her face. 

Minjeong had managed to worm her way inside Jimin’s heart like no one else did before. And on that fateful winter morning, Minjeong managed to warm Jimin’s heart, so much that she didn’t even notice the cold she usually dreaded, softly bundling up around them. Almost akin to a blanket, shielding them from the world, and wrapping them in a soft bubble of love and affection. 

Jimin couldn’t help but to smile to herself, as she saw Minjeong’s softly exalting, seemingly content to sense Jimin’s hand delicately brushing her hair. At least, that’s what Jimin guesses. After all, the girl always says how much she likes it when Jimin combs her hair and scratches her scalp, saying that Jimin should become a hair masseuse if she ever wanted to do a professional retraining. 

Jimin always admired the infinite imagination her girlfriend has. Just being beside Minjeong, as her partner , but also as so much more than that, makes every mundane day a thrilling ride for Jimin. Every time Minjeong sees something, she can’t help but to deeply analyze it, and she always marvels on whatever catches her eye.

By analyzing her, Jimin came to realize that Minjeong looks at the world with a childlike innocence, and she can’t help but to find it absolutely adorable. 

But behind this endless creativity and curiosity, lies a profound knowledge that Jimin truly admires. Because everytime Minjeong finds interest in something, she studies it to the core, and always teaches Jimin some information she would have never ever attempted to search for in the first place.

Like that one time, when Minjeong found herself to be hyperfixated with names and their meanings.

“I called my mom the other day because I was curious about the meaning of my name,” started Minjeong, while chewing on a piece of salad. Jimin, sensing that Minjeong was about to go on one of her usual smarty-pants rambles, put her fork back on the table, and slightly leaned forward, showing her girlfriend that she was listening. 

“She told me that ‘Minjeong’ can mean a lot of things. Like gentle and affable, smart and loyal, or pure and virtuous. But she also told me that it can mean apricity.” Minjeong put her own fork on the table, and stared at Jimin, a glint of curiosity lying beneath her puppy-like pupils. 

“Do you know what that means? It was my first time hearing that word.”

Jimin softly shook her head. “I have no idea, no. What does it mean, Minjeongie?,” she asked, genuine interest lacing her words.

“Apparently, it means ‘the warmth of the sun’.”

Jimin hummed. “That’s a very pretty word for such a great sensation.” However, Minjeong smirked, as she resumed her explanation. 

“I didn’t finish unnie, and what you’ll hear next might not be to your liking…,” she teasingly stated, making Jimin tilt her head in confusion. 

“What are you planning again…”