Making Plans

They stayed there on the floor for a while. Chaeyoung let Mina cry more on her chest until her breathing was even.

“You okay?”

Mina nodded, hands still gripping on Chaeyoung’s blazer. “I have to check on Yukiko, though.”

“Okay.” Chaeyoung loosened her grip on her and helped Mina sit up. But the older one stopped midway when she saw the discarded flowers on the floor and carefully picked them up.

“Did you buy flowers?” Her eyes lit up when she asked, scooting herself closer to Chaeyoung.

Chaeyoung could help but smile, putting a hand on hers. “Yeah, I bought them for you.”

Mina suddenly leaped into Chaeyoung and hugged her tightly around her neck. “I love them. Thank you.” She pulled away and pressed a long kiss on her cheek.

“I’m glad you do.” She gently took the flowers away from Mina and helped her stand up. “I’ll place these in a vase or whatever I can find. You should go to Yukiko.”

Mina hesitated at first, but eventually nodded and walked towards upstairs. Chaeyoung went outside the backyard to check if there were any empty vases or containers lying around.

She settled with a water bottle that was tall enough to fit the flowers in. So she cleaned it up and filled it with water, carefully placing the flowers in so it wouldn’t fall. She looked at it and winced at how horrible the plastic bottle made the flowers look. Mina really was better at this.

After that, Chaeyoung walked back inside the kitchen and noticed that Mina was in the middle of prepping food for dinner. She scanned the ingredients and seemed to know the recipe so far, so Chaeyoung decided that maybe she should help out. Maybe adding a bit of what she knew from Korea.

Chaeyoung checked the clock and it had been an hour since the two were talking. But it gave her a good amount of time to fish out whatever she could find in the fridge and make something from home and then served the food on the table.

“Oh—” Mina‘s voice was by the doorway. “Did you cook?”

“No, I had a bunch of people sneak in the house so they could cook all of this for us.”

Mina glared at her, but she could hear Yukiko giggle from behind.

“I’m kidding,” Chaeyoung said cheekily, beckoning them to sit down. “I did cook. I hope you don’t mind.”

Mina was surprised with how much she made. Probably realizing that most of these dishes were Korean. “You know you could have asked me to make you something back from home if you missed it that much.”

Chaeyoung waved a hand as they all sit down. “Nah, I think it would be more fitting if I made it.” She wiggled a brow at Yukiko and then leaned in. “I'm sure you’ll like my cooking better than your aunt’s.”

That made Yukiko smile again, but Mina simply rolled her eyes at that. The teenager didn’t hesitate to start filling herself with the food and true enough, she really did like it.

“Your first time trying Korean food?”

Yukiko nodded. “Yeah, well, something homemade that is. It’s great. I like it.”

Chaeyoung then gave a shit-eating grin at Mina. “Told you.”

“Sure, sure.” Mina waved her off as she took in a serving of her own. Her expression changed and looked up at Chaeyoung. “We need to ask you something—well, she does.”

Chaeyoung swallowed her food and nodded. “Anything.”

Yukiko and Mina shared a look and the older beckoned her to speak. “I have a violin recital next month,” the teen said shyly, using her chopsticks to pick on her noodles. “Would it be okay if you come and attend?”

Chaeyoung's eyes widened at the request, her mouth then turned to a big smile. “Of course.” She beamed. “If you really want me there.”

“Of course I do,” Yukiko answered instantly, she couldn’t hold in her smile as she looked at Mina and then back at Chaeyoung.

Mina smiled at both of them. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“It’s perfect too because you and Chaeyoung are finally dating,” Yukiko said as she took another serving of her food.

Mina stared at Chaeyoung and the other just shrugged. “Me and who are what?”

Yukiko rolled her eyes at her aunt. “I saw you guys cuddling the other night on the couch. And it’s obvious when you guys are talking over dinner these past few days.”

Mina raised her brows at that. “Oh.”

Chaeyoung rested her hand over Mina’s and smiled. She turned to Yukiko. “Well, do I get your blessing then?”

“Of course!” Yukiko said excitedly. “Aunt Mina really needs to start dating again. She’s been holed up in this house for too long.”

“Yuki,” Mina called her sternly, trying not to feel too embarrassed by this conversation. “Sometimes you need to realize that you should be comfortable with yourself before you open up to another person.”

Chaeyoung remembered Nayeon’s words about Mina’s past relationship. It made her wonder what kind of person would do such a thing to make Mina so heart broken. She only wished she was enough for Mina.

After a while, they finished their food and their conversations. Yukiko offered to wash the dishes, but Mina insisted that she did it. Instead she told her to rest upstairs and hesitantly, the teenager agreed, leaving the two in the kitchen. But Chaeyoung still stayed and helped her clean up the table.

She felt arms circling her waist and Mina’s body was wrapping her up. “Thank you,” she said softly, resting her head on Chaeyoung’s shoulders.

Chaeyoung rubbed her hands on hers and nuzzled closer. “Anytime. We can take turns cooking if you get too tired.”

Mina moved her to face each other, grabbing onto her cheeks and pulling her for a kiss. They melted into it instantly and Chaeyoung slid her hands on her waist, pulling her closer. Mina pulled away for a bit and pecked her lips before giving her a hug.

“I meant about saying yes to Yukiko,” Mina said, hugging her tightly. “My brother was supposed to be there, but he told us he can’t make it because of work.”

Chaeyoung hummed, rubbing her hands on Mina’s back. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yeah, I probably should,” Mina said with a sigh. Then she turned her head to put a chaste kiss on her ear, she whispered. “Maybe we can relax in the tub together after I’m done here.”

Chaeyoung felt herself get tight in her pants. She nodded hastily. “Yes, ma’am.”

Mina was able to open up about what happened. Chaeyoung tried her best to understand the situation between her brother, it seemed more complicated than she expected.

Mina used to teach dance classes in Korea but had to immediately resign from that job when Yukiko’s mom died in a car accident and her brother had to continue his work abroad.

She didn’t mind at first. She wanted to be there for her niece as much as she could. But there was a tinge of hurt and bitterness in her voice with the way she talked about her brother.

It made Chaeyoung think that Mina probably missed her job. Being stuck all day, just doing house chores and making sure Yuki was fed and went to school. Her brother barely came home, maybe for Christmas and tried his best to be there during Yukiko’s birthday.

Yukiko was understanding of the situation, Mina had been a very attentive guardian and she had enough attention from her friends. It was just sad seeing her upset about wanting her dad to be there for one special moment for her and Mina getting the brunt of the situation.

“Are you sure your brother was okay with me staying here?” Chaeyoung asked as Mina relaxed her back on her. The water in the tub was warm and the two fit inside perfectly without any water spilling out.