Epilogue

In the shadows and the stillness of the evening, all traces of life seemed to have extinguished from this lonesome road. However, a white flash of light could be seen driving through the thick blanket of the night.

And inside this flash, that appeared to be a white van, sat four girls. From an outsider point of view, they could have looked like four wandering souls, venturing through the night with no real goal in mind. 

However, in reality, three of those girls were busy screaming their lungs out inside of the vehicle, while the other one, a blonde haired woman, was peacefully resting her head against a window of the car. 

But alas, this peace only seemed fleeting, as it abruptly vanished when said woman clumsily bumped her head against the window, when the van unfortunately drove over a pothole. 

“Ah shi-,” cursed Minjeong, while rubbing her now pained head. 

This caused the girl, who was excitedly jumping in her seat next to her, to momentarily stop, and fondly look at her. 

“Are you okay Minjeongie?,” asked Jimin. However, while Minjeong could feel the empathy leaking out of her girlfriend’s words, she could also feel that Jimin was trying really hard to not laugh at her clumsiness. 

“Am’ fine…,” groaned the blonde. And obviously, as usual, Jimin snickered at her.

“You’re so clumsy!”

And obviously as well, Jimin’s teasing reaction caused Minjeong to pout and turn her head away, facing the window of the car. However, as usual when Jimin could sense that Minjeong was getting a tad annoyed with her antics, she softly wrapped her arms against Minjeong’s, and carefully rested her head on top of the sulky girl’s shoulder. 

Of course, Minjeong wasn’t mad at all. How could she ever be mad at Jimin after all! But being woken up by the sensation of your head abruptly bumping against the cold surface of a car’s window was not the optimal way to start the evening. So her being a tad annoyed was completely legitimate in her book.

However, thinking back on how they got here, as well as feeling the soft scent of Jimin’s perfume delicately invading her nostrils, Minjeong felt her initial sulkiness slowly fade away.

The four of them were currently on their summer break, and it had been a few months ever since the concert that really marked their debut as an official band unfolded. 

Obviously, after the whole ordeal with Minjeong’s mother and their impromptu concert, they had kept going as a music band. And guess what. They got approached by several people after that specific performance, and got the chance to perform some gigs in bars, cafés, and even in small festivals! The feeling of getting recognized for their hard work really felt great, and the four of them felt incredibly fulfilled with the progress and attention their small band was slowly but surely making and gathering. 

And one day, they had received the offer to perform in a pretty big outdoor music festival during the summer break! So obviously, they accepted the offer, explaining why they’re currently driving through the outskirts of Seoul, on their way to said festival.

However, they were so excited by the prospect of performing that they left way before the date of the actual performance, and decided to just take it easy and have a small roadtrip in the Korean countryside. 

All in all, the band was doing incredibly well, and Minjeong was having so much fun everyday. In all honesty, if the Minjeong of so many months ago had seen her, she would have sarcastically scoffed in her face. But the current Minjeong finally, after years of hiding her true love and passion for music, felt fulfilled and at peace with it.

And for that, she had her best friends and girlfriend to thank. 

Talking about her girlfriend, the two of them have been basking in their unconditional and obnoxious affection ever since they confessed their feelings for each other on that fateful day. 

Don’t get her wrong though, Minjeong absolutely despises obnoxious public displays of affection. But if constantly holding hands, lightly bickering or simply cuddling against each other in front of Aeri and Yizhuo counted as PDA, then she helplessly found herself guilty of this crime.

And as expected, Jimin had been, and still is, incredibly good to her. Whenever she felt the need to share exciting news, or just whatever was going through her head, Jimin would always, and without fault, give her her utmost attention, and carefully listen to whatever she was spilling out. 

But also, whenever Minjeong felt down, and like the whole world was against her, Jimin was always there to hold her hand, and let her know that it’s okay, and that she is not alone in this. 

In short, Jimin is the dream girlfriend literally anybody could dream of. But Minjeong refuses to admit it out loud, because she knows that her silly girlfriend will absolutely boast about it, scream it at every door, and ultimately get super cocky about it. And Minjeong could not let her girlfriend’s head inflate too much! It was out of concern for her poor head, really!

But really, Jimin really is the best partner she could have ever asked for. And the sole fact that she accepted to have dinner with Minjeong and her parents on countless occasions suffices to show this.

Strangely enough though, there seemed to be some kind of weird understanding, should she say sense of respect, between Jimin and her mother. In fact, the first time her mother had requested for Jimin to join them, although Minjeong hadn’t even told her that they were dating, the blonde thought she was in some kind of twisted dream.

But it turns out that her mother now pays almost more attention to Jimin than to her! Of course, there is still some lingering tension between her mother and her, and Minjeong thinks that it will take a lot of time for it to vanish. And she knows that in the deepest confines of her heart, a part of her will never really forgive her mother for what she made her go through, even if she knows that the woman’s intentions were born from her own traumas of the past. 

But their relationship was beginning to feel more comfortable again. Slowly but surely, one step after the other. It wasn’t the same as before, but they were getting there.

And having Jimin standing next to her every time, anchoring her every time Minjeong felt herself falling and sinking again, made all of this more bearable. 

“Hey girls, I can see some kind of building. Do you want to settle there for the night?” 

Aeri’s voice broke Minjeong out of her thoughts. Still looking through the window, she noticed that the darkness of the night really settled in, and a break would definitely be good for her legs, that she just realized were aching slightly from sitting down for a couple hours now. 

Yizhuo, who was sitting on the front next to Aeri, seemed to rejoice at the suggestion, all while dramatically patting her stomach. “Yes please, I’m starving!”

Jimin nodded as well. “I could use some actual rest as well… and you should too Aeri. You’ve been driving for hours now.”

Aeri let out a small sigh, and threw a tired but cheerful thumbs up to the rest of the group. “Alrighty then, off to another abandoned building we go!”

In fact, they had been wandering on the roads for about a week now. Obviously, like any sane human-being, Minjeong had initially planned to book rooms at some motels they could find here and there on their way. 

But she forgot that she was surrounded by three crazy women, who thought that a road trip meant sleeping in the wild. Sometimes, Minjeong envies how carefree they can be, and especially Yizhuo, the unconcerned culprit behind this whole scheme. But truth be told, sleeping inside the van, and sometimes inside abandoned buildings hadn’t been too bad. They always made sure that it was super safe, as per Minjeong’s one and only desperate request in all of this, and since it was warm in the summer anyways, some urban camping really couldn’t hurt them that much. 

Jimin did tell her countless times that she needed to go outside more often, and touch some grass. And Minjeong damn hopes that her girlfriend sees how much grass she has been touching ever since this nomad week started!

“Woahh,” suddenly exclaimed Yizhuo, her face almost glued to the window. “There’s a super big lake here I think!” She excitedly pointed outside, and despite how dark it was outside, Minjeong squinted and was able to catch the sight of a, rightful, big lake. 

Aeri pulled the van over, and immediately exited the vehicle. She then stretched, and let out a big sigh. “Aaaah, finally some rest!” 

The other three laughed at that, and took some of their essential stuff for the night, before making their way towards the building. It looked like an old warehouse. Maybe it was a place where boats had been stored in the past, Minjeong isn’t sure. 

They made their way deeper inside the building and to their shared surprise, a small portion of it had been transformed into a living space. Two couches were scattered around, and an imposing but undeniably dusty bookcase could be seen at the very back of the area. Next to the bookcase, was a long, and once probably, white counter, with countless books and some random jumble sprinkled on top of it.

Next to her, Jimin ungraciously plopped down on one of the couches, and softly patted the spot next to her, gesturing for Minjeong to join her. And obviously, Minjeong gladly obliged, and took a seat next to her girlfriend. 

As soon as her back hit the soft cushions of the couch, she felt herself drifting away to sleep. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she actually was.

“Are you sleepy Minjeongie?” carefully asked Jimin next to her, as she delicately patted the younger woman’s right cheek. 

Minjeong could only nod, and softly placed her face in the crook of the raven’s neck, finding easy comfort in her girlfriend’s familiar and warm smell. 

Jimin cooed at her, and wrapped one arm around Minjeong’s waist, while the other one softly cradled the back of her head. 

“Aw… Rest up baby, okay?” Jimin gently smothered Minjeong’s hair, and placed a feathery kiss on top of the younger’s head. 

A bit farther away from where Jimin and Minjeong were now resting, Aeri and Yizhuo were busy setting up their own makeshift bed for the night. 

“Hey Ning,” started Aeri, a mischievous smile painted on her face.  “Do you think we should just abandon them here?” 

Yizhuo snorted in response. “Agreed, it’s almost as if we’re not even here to them!”

Both girls giggled, faking disgust at their friend’s obnoxious lovey-dovey behavior. However, Jimin, who wasn’t entirely dozing off yet, suddenly interrupted their laughter, as she showed them her middle finger in a teasing manner.

“Suck it up losers, you’re just salty you’re both still bitchless.”

And as expected, this successfully made the two others whine. 

“Damn, that was so mean and for what Jiminie?” scoffed Aeri in disbelief, while Yizhuo faked crying. 

Jimin couldn’t help but to laugh at her friends’ ridiculous behavior. But not wanting to wake up the resting puppy cuddled up on her side, she immediately toned it down, and closed her eyes again, waiting for sleep to slowly take over her as the soft snores of Minjeong began to smoothly lulle her back to sleep.

***

The following morning, the group of girls found themselves basking in the cool rays of the sun, in front of the lake Yizhuo spotted the night before. 

“Jimin, say hi to the camera!” 

Jimin, who was laying down on top of a bunch of blankets they had sprawled over a wooden hulk, turned towards Aeri who was almost bending down on her, and putting her vintage camcorder way too close to Jimin’s face. 

Groggily, Jimin smiled at her best friend, and slowly waved. “Hi cameraaa...” 

The action made Yizhuo and Minjeong, who were previously both zoning out while staring at the gentle back and forth of the water, giggle at the raven. 

“What are you doing Aeri?” asked Minjeong, all while trying to stifle her small giggles. 

Aeri laid down on top of Jimin’s back, and started to review the film of her camera. “I’m making a vlog for when we’ll be super famous!” she cheerfully boasted. “I’m sure our fans will love to see how we looked during our rookie years!”

Yizhuo, whose snickers somehow already toned down, nodded in agreement. “That’s a good idea… as expected of you leader!” And Aeri couldn’t help but to proudly grin at that, while doing a salute gesture towards the youngest of the group. 

The girls stayed lounging peacefully like that for a while, before Minjeong eventually felt bored. She loves nature and the still calmness that comes with it, but even she wants to be a bit more stimulated sometimes! And her immediate solution for that was to call out for her girlfriend, who was still laying down on her side, seemingly busy zoning out, her full attention focused on some piece of grass gently swaying right in front of her. 

Minjeong got up from her seat, and approached the raven. “Jimiiiin,” she whispered, trying to catch the raven’s attention. And she apparently succeeded, because Jimin whipped her head around to meet her gaze, and offered her a soft smile.

“Minjeongie! Wachup’?” 

Since Jimin was resting almost face first against the hulk, her right cheek was adorably squished against the wood, ultimately making her speech a tad slurred. And Minjeong’s heart skipped a beat at her girlfriend’s undeniable cuteness, making a soft chuckle slip out of her mouth, which, unbeknownst to her, immediately formed a small and endeared smile.

“Wanna go on a walk?”

Without a second thought, Jimin got up on her two feet at the speed of the light, and immediately joined Minjeong’s side, taking the girl’s slightly bigger hand in hers. 

Jimin tilted her head to the side, and smiled at Minjeong, giving her hand a soft squeeze. “Let’s go?”

The two girls started to walk in a comfortable silence, both taking in the relaxing sight of their surroundings. The lake was surrounded by what seemed to be a dense forest, almost as if protecting this safe haven from any potential intruders. The scenery looked almost mystical, and the lack of any sign of human life aside from them really reinforced this whole enchanting mood. 

“Hey,” softly spoke Jimin, her deep voice catching Minjeong’s attention. “Do you remember when we first met?” 

Minjeong smiled at the thought. It had been a while already since their odd encounter, back inside the empty classroom. The ‘place where everything started’, like Jimin would say. 

She nodded, and affectionately squeezed Jimin’s small hand. “Of course I do. How could I ever forget the jumpscare you gave me that day when you suddenly barged in like that!” 

The memory made Jimin unclench her hand from Minjeong’s, and bury her already reddened face behind her hands. To no avail though, because Minjeong could easily see how red her girlfriend’s ears were. The sight made her giggle softly, as she decided to softly wrap her arms around Jimin’s. 

“Pleaaaase,” whined the raven. “Don’t make me remember…” 

“You’re the one who mentioned it though!” cheekily retorted the younger woman. 

Hearing her, Jimin removed her hands from her face, and couldn’t help but to let out a warm smile after seeing Minjeong’s soft expression, at the mention of their first meeting. 

“We’ve come a long way though, haven’t we?” 

Minjeong squeezed her arms tighter against Jimin’s, and nodded on the girl’s shoulder. “We really did…” She took a small breath. “Thank you for being here Jimin… really. Back then, and now.”

Sensing that the lighthearted conversation was taking a more serious turn, Jimin stopped walking, and whipped her head towards Minjeong. She then delicately put both of her warm palms on Minjeong’s cold cheeks, and looked at her girlfriend straight in the eyes.

“Of course, Minjeongie.” She offered the blonde a smile so soft that it almost made her heart ache from endearment. “But you know, I was only here in case you were to fall. To help you get back up, and to support you.” Jimin blushed a bit, but didn’t break eye contact with Minjeong. 

“O-obviously,” she awkwardly stammered,” I’m still here to support you and to help you in case you need anything! But what I want to say is that, even if I might have helped you, you’re the one who did most of the job Minjeongie.”

Jimin gave her the same look as the one Minjeong vividly remembers, back in the empty classroom, on the day where they had confessed their feelings for each other. This look that she never fails to offer to Minjeong each time their gazes meet.

The look of love.

“Minjeongie. You, and only you allowed yourself to finally live your life freely. And I’m so proud of you, you can’t even imagine… You made this happen, and I’ll always be there to make sure that you never forget how strong you actually are, Minjeong.” 

Minjeong felt hot tears prickling in her eyes at Jimin’s heartfelt confession. However, she wouldn’t say that she’s surprised by her girlfriend’s warm words. Jimin has always been so… full of love and caring. And everyday, Minjeong thanks the universe for sending this ball of sunshine in her life, and for finally making her feel complete. 

She felt like bursting into tears at Jimin’s overwhelming but oh so endearing words, but in true Minjeong fashion, she decided to lighten up the mood a little, by cracking up a small joke. Blame her awkward and shy self for this. She let out a sobbed chuckle, before wearing a genuine but cocky smirk, as she put both of her hands on her waist, taking a triumphant pose.

“Hell yeah I did, I’m finally the main character of my own story!”

Jimin looked at her in a gentle disbelief, before erupting into laughter. “You did it Minjeongie!!” Jimin hyped her up, making Minjeong proudly hum.

However Jimin, always the tease, brought her face closer to Minjeong’s, and slightly raised an eyebrow. “Though… if you’re the main character of your story… Who am I supposed to be?”

Without missing a beat, Minjeong immediately answered. “You’re the love interest of course! You know, the one that everybody loves way more than me, because you’re that awesome.” 

Jimin snorted at the blonde’s silliness. This is a side of Minjeong that only comes out whenever she’s with Jimin, and the younger always whines about how much Jimin’s loser tendencies spread out on her. But it turns out that Minjeong can actually be way more silly than Jimin. However, Jimin plans on gatekeeping this endearing and hidden side of her girlfriend just for herself!

She softly smacked Minjeong’s shoulder, who began to laugh along with her. Things are easy between them. Everything feels simple, and just a few words are enough to make each day all the more special. 

Thinking back on it, Minjeong is glad to have met those three girls, and especially Jimin, who helped her change her life for the better. 

Hit with a wave of overwhelming affection, Minjeong softly grabbed Jimin’s hand, and stood on her tip-toes. In a beat, Jimin’s gaze caught hers, and they stared at each other for a bit. However, no words are needed between them. And maybe they never really were, because they don’t even need to use words to be able to communicate. Just from a single glance, they are able to understand each other perfectly.

And at that moment, Jimin instantly understood Minjeong’s shy intentions. She smiled at the blonde, before closing her eyes, and letting her know that it was okay to get closer. 

Which is what Minjeong did. She delicately squeezed Jimin’s hand, and sweetly kissed her soft lips. And while the sensation became familiar to them over time, its effects were still the same to Minjeong. The fireworks and buzzing butterflies always came back inside her stomach during those moments, and her heart always went crazy, as if it was the first time she was feeling Jimin’s plump lips on hers.

Minjeong slightly broke their kiss apart, and softly whispered against Jimin’s reddened lips. 

“Thank you for everything, Jimin. I love you .”

And loving her, she surely did. 

***

A sun and a moon. A guitarist and a bassist. Those two sides of the same coin who finally reunited with each other.

Deep inside, Minjeong liked to think that they were always meant to meet and to be, like two wandering souls destined to, one day, be reunited and become one. And to Jimin, being with Minjeong always felt evident. 

And like those two souls, who finally met with each other, they eventually merged into one, making a soft but incredibly strong love bloom between them.