Jimin thinks that, for the first time in her life, she has witnessed what some call an actual “girl crush”. Because what the hell was that? How did Minjeong go from a teary mess to a confident smooth-talker in the span of what… ten minutes?
Jimin, the obvious extrovert of the two, had wanted to make the younger girl feel comfortable by taking the reins and asking for her number.
But before she could even realize it, she had the girl’s number in her phone, and she was requested to call her that very night? What would they even be talking about? Jimin hadn’t thought that far ahead when she asked for her number!
That’s why she’s currently pacing around her bedroom, brainstorming about what she could possibly say and talk about with Minjeong. But most importantly, she was mustering up the courage to actually call because it’s still scary, even for an extrovert like her!
Jimin took a deep breath, and grabbed her phone that she previously threw on her bed during one of her failed ‘Calling Minjeong’ attempts. She went to her contacts, and finally found her contact. The girl had named herself “Minjeongie❄️” and woah, the girl keeps on getting cuter and cuter… What’s with the nickname and the emote?
Mustering all of her courage, Jimin tapped the call button, and immediately looked away. So much for being brave, Yu Jimin!
There were a few rings, before she heard Minjeong’s… sleepy voice? “Hello..?”
Jimin immediately swooned hearing her tired yet endearing voice. How can someone be so cute, seriously! “Hi, I hope I’m not bothering you!” she blurted out.
Minjeong chuckled and gosh Jimin is weak to her sleepy tone already… “It’s okay, I just woke up from a nap but I’m here. What’s up?”
Jimin laughed a little. “Aren’t you the one who asked me to call you?”
“O-oh! True…” Minjeong sounded a bit embarrassed. But before Jimin could even feel worried about it, the younger woman resumed. “But I’m glad you called, no worries!”
Jimin released a small sigh. “I’m glad you’re not regretting it.”
“Of course not!,” giggled Minjeong, earning a small laugh from Jimin as well. A small silence erupted between the two, until Minjeong mustered up the courage to speak again. It’s funny how awkward they were now that they were on call, compared to the small and easy banters they already had the few times they properly talked face to face.
“So, tell me about yourself Jimin.”
Jimin was a bit taken aback by her boldness, but didn’t mind it. “Is this some kind of speed dating session?” she joked.
“Well…”
No. Way.
“Minjeong?” Jimin called, her heart already pounding loudly in her ribcage.
“It’s not! I’m just not a very sociable person so I’m awkward sorry…” If Minjeong had been in front of her, Jimin is sure she would have seen small dog ears flopping down on top of her head. She giggled at the thought.
“All good Minjeong! I guess I will start then.” Jimin cleared her throat, preparing herself for her little self introduction. Just thinking about this made her cringe a bit. It was very unusual for people to randomly introduce themselves over the phone after already interacting in real life. It felt like the first day of classes in college where you have to introduce yourself in front of the whole class, under the judging gaze of the professor.
But this is Minjeong, so it immediately makes this weird interaction a very interesting one. Jimin will take every opportunity she gets to know more about this mysterious girl.
She does have a lot of questions after all. Being the decent human-being she is, she obviously did not push when she had seen Minjeong almost crying back in the classroom. But it doesn’t stop her from still being extremely curious about the reasons.
It wasn’t from mere curiosity though. Jimin is already deeply concerned for the girl. She’s Yizhuo’s best friend after all, so it’s better if they get along well, isn’t it?
(And she also is very much intrigued by Minjeong. The girl’s whole aura screams mysteriousness, and Jimin can’t help but to be drawn by it.)
“As you already know, my name is Yu Jimin. I’m a sophomore in Business major, so I should be a year older than you. I obviously love bass, and also cats! I can’t own any since I’m allergic to them though… And I also love cute things! Hmm what else…”
She could hear Minjeong giggle a bit on the other line.
“What’s so funny!” she whined. It seems like Minjeong has already taken a liking to teasing her…
“Nothing nothing, it just sounds very… you.”
“You barely know me though!” replied Jimin.
She could already imagine Minjeong shrugging. “I got it from your vibes.”
“From my vibes you say…” Jimin snorted. “Weirdo…”
From the other end, she heard Minjeong whine. “Hey that’s mean!”
Jimin grinned. “Consider this a pay back Minjeongie~ But anyways, your turn!”
“Fine, fine…” Minjeong did not seem to be bothered by the nickname she herself initiated, so that’s a relief for Jimin who would have been damned embarrassed if she had misused it!
“My name’s Kim Minjeong, I’m a first year Law student who would love to study anything but it.” She felt the younger girl hesitate a bit, and heard her take a small breath. “I- I love music more than anything.”
Her voice sounded grave, almost stressed. This got Jimin even more intrigued.
“Sorry I just don’t mention it often, but yeah it’s probably what I like the most in the world. Along with dogs, and maybe snacks.”
“Thought so..” said Jimin, not realizing it had been out loud and not just in her head.
“Hey, what does that mean!”
Realizing her slip-up, Jimin had no choice but to explain. “Well, you’re an introvert for sure… but you always gave me puppy vibes!”
“What makes you say that!” Minjeong whined, exactly like a puppy, which made Jimin laugh harder.
“You just gave me the answer Minjeongie.” And if the camera was on, Jimin is completely certain that Minjeong would have a pout painted on her adorable face at this exact moment.
“Well, I think you’re a stupid cheese cat!”
It was Jimin’s turn to whine at the surname. “Hey, where did you hear that!”
The chuckles Minjeong let out made it all worth it though. “I heard Aeri call you that earlier. I’m not sure what it means, but it fits you!”
Jimin groaned. She’ll make sure Aeri pays for this offense!
The two of them eventually fell in a light conversation about their favorite snack brands, places to be on campus and so on. Overall, things felt really good, and Jimin really hopes that Minjeong shared the feeling.
And when she heard the younger girl yawn, she decided that she had taken enough of her time already. She would probably see her soon anyways, so there was no need to rush things. Jimin has a feeling they will see each other more than she thinks after all.
Despite the supposed mysteriousness that surrounds Minjeong, at the end of the day, she really just is a normal yet endearingly awkward girl. And Jimin can’t wait to learn more about her each day from now on.
***
It had been around a week or two since Jimin and her had called for the very first time and after school, as usual, Minjeong found herself standing inside of the empty classroom, guitar in hand. She plugged it to her amp, lowered the volume to not gather too much attention, and sat down on a chair.
Today had been a particularly busy one for the young woman. Between never ending lectures and mandatory study time spent at the library, Minjeong simply felt spent.
So finding herself alone with her instrument felt like a warm shower before bed. A pure bliss.
When everything was set, Minjeong began scratching the strings, and dive into the familiar feeling of music. That day, she decided to play the famous guitar solo from the song ‘Fade to Black’ by Metallica.
This solo was quite the odd one because, while most guitar solos are there to basically show off the guitarist’s skills in a very powerful way, this one is more on the calm side of the spectrum.
It’s a slow yet extremely tricky solo that requires very sharp skills. Minjeong took ages to finally master it, and is still working on it. But nonetheless, even she got submerged by the calm yet sad feelings this sound brought to her. It felt sorrowful and nostalgic, feelings that Minjeong is all too familiar with.
When she was done with her piece, she let out a small sigh of relief. Luckily, she managed to play it decently, and didn’t miss any notes.
“Woah Minjeong, that was awesome!”
Minjeong whipped her head to the side, and saw Jimin standing at the door frame, looking at her with literal stars in her eyes. She was not even surprised to see the older girl standing there. Having Jimin coming over to see her after school had been a recurrent thing after all.
During the past couple days, she had seen Jimin almost everyday. The older girl would just sit down and listen to her play, while Minjeong would practice her riffs and hum softly to some of her tunes. Heck, she’s sure Jimin probably saw her way more than her own bandmates!
It had been nice occasions to know more about the older girl, as well as talking about herself a bit. Seeing someone outside of Yizhuo and her teachers felt very refreshing too. Don’t get her wrong though! She loves her best friend a whole lot, but she finds herself enjoying Jimin’s company even more with each day.
That day though, Jimin had asked for something a bit unusual.
“Hey, can we jam together for a bit?”
Minjeong had never ever played with someone else before aside from her grandpa. And her sound had never been accompanied by another instrument before! The thought felt tempting, yet a bit scary. What if she didn’t sound as good, or just ruined Jimin’s own melody? What if they did not match at all and things would become awkward between them?
But when she looked at Jimin, she noticed the woman’s pleading gaze. Heck, she looked like the exact copy of that one Puss in Boots picture!
Not able to resist Jimin already, Minjeong sighed and indulged the girl. “Fine, but just a couple songs.”
“Yay!” cheered Jimin.
“Cute… ”
Jimin happily skipped towards where Minjeong was sitting, grabbed a chair and sat next to her. Minjeong doesn’t know if Jimin realized it or not but in her excitement, she put the chair a bit too close to Minjeong’s, resulting in their knees slightly touching.
However, like the last time Jimin held her hand, the touch felt soft and relaxing. Jimin felt way too nice to her liking.
It was barely noticeable, but Minjeong felt her cheeks heat up a bit at the thought.
“So, any ideas for what to play?” asked Jimin, all while getting her bass out of its case.
This made Minjeong laugh softly. “You asked me to play together but you don’t even have an idea what?” She lightly pinched the older girl’s cheek, and discovered that it was as soft as a marshmallow. She’ll keep this fact in mind.
“Weirdo,” she grinned.
Jimin’s ears noticeably reddened as she softly swatted Minjeong’s hand away. “Stop teasing me!” She tried masking her embarrassment by cleaning her throat. “Let’s just go for the first song in my playlist, deal?”
Minjeong nodded, and Jimin saw this as her cue to grab her phone and open her music app. Minjeong leaned over her shoulder slightly and immediately recognized the latest song the older girl added in her playlist.
It was ‘the perfect pair’ from beabadoobee. It’s a song that Minjeong actually loves, and that fits her voice range perfectly.
However, despite Minjeong’s contentment, Jimin sent her a swift worried gaze. “Is it okay?”
Minjeong isn’t sure why Jimin felt so self conscious about her song choice, but she decided to shrug it off and just not question it further.
When she was ready, Jimin glanced at her and Minjeong sent her a thumbs in response. She tried masking her emotions, but Minjeong felt completely stressed. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but to feel excited.
She was going to jam with someone else for the first time!
Unbeknownst to Minjeong, Jimin noticed the obvious excitement the other girl felt, and couldn’t help but to crack a fond smile at the sight.
Minjeong took a deep breath, and started playing the first notes. The tempo was a slow one, and the notes were not the trickiest. But Minjeong still felt her fingers slightly trembling.
Shortly after, she accompanied the guitar’s sound with her soft and melodious voice, as she started to sing the lyrics.
“You ought to know that I think we’re one and the same.”
And as soon as the first word came out of her mouth, Jimin joined in and delicately pulled the strings of her bass in such a precise way that she immediately aligned with Minjeong’s melody.
Minjeong almost gasped when she heard Jimin’s sound join her own.
At first, it felt completely weird. It was as if Jimin’s sound barged in so abruptly that her own sound found itself disoriented. She had never felt so stiff playing before.
But like two warm arms delicately warping up around her small frame, Jimin’s sound was quick to appease Minjeong’s. No words nor gazes were needed to achieve this perfect harmony. Jimin’s arrival alongside her melody might have been a rough one, but it adapted to it almost instantly, creating a sense of comfort and warmth inside Minjeong’s usually cold and angry sound.
This made Minjeong wonder how she even managed to be worried about their sounds connecting in the first place.
Playing with Jimin simply felt good.
And the symphony they made together was such a pure and beautiful one that Minjeong was almost brought to tears.
So this is how playing with someone else feels.
Or is it just playing with Jimin that makes her feel so strongly?
When the song came to an end, Minjeong finally felt like she could breathe again.
Next to her, Jimin seemed to be waking up from a daze as well. “Woah…”
Jimin had summed up Minjeong’s feelings to perfection. Just, woah.
“Minjeong that… that was amazing!” beamed the older girl who basically jumped on a very stunned Minjeong.
The reason for her freezing? Jimin’s face was only an inch apart from hers. Like. Literally.
Minjeong could feel the older girl’s breath on her mouth, and the feeling drove her crazy. Pretty girl is way too close to her and if she doesn’t back off right now, Minjeong might just combust right now.
Seeing the lack of response from Minjeong, Jimin tilted her head on the side. “Hey, you okay?”
“Oh! Um.. yes I am! Sorry I just-” muttered a very red Minjeong. Her answer must have surprised Jimin because the girl seemed to finally be aware of their closeness. Her eyes widened, and she swiftly backed off.
“Sorry!”
Minjeong waved a weak hand in front of her face. “It’s okay, don't worry about it.”
It was not okay at all actually. Minjeong was still freaking out internally! Yu Jimin, what kind of power do you hold?
It was the first time Minjeong reacted to someone so strongly and weirdly enough, it didn’t feel as scary as she thought it would be. It just felt… natural in a way?
She doesn’t know why but the warmth Jimin radiates is just so damn contagious that everytime her eyes cross the older girl’s, she has the urge to smile with her. To smile for her.
And playing together had just enhanced this feeling even more.
Meeting Jimin just feels like finally reuniting with someone she had been missing her whole life.
“Hey I was wondering…” tentatively asked Jimin who sat down on her chair again. “Are you really sure you don’t want to join the band? You’re probably the best guitarist I’ve heard before! And your voice sounds so good too.”
Should Minjeong really push away this part of her any longer? Maybe joining a band will feel even better than just playing with Jimin.
And it would also give her an excuse to spend even more time with the older girl.
She can’t help but to feel frightened at the mere thought of revealing her secret to Yizhuo though. But it was also a chance to play alongside her best friend.
In the end, the only bad thing that could happen would be for her mother to learn about this extracurricular activity. But does she really need to know?
Minjeong is an adult now, so she should be able to do whatever she wants. Was it finally the time to break free from those chains?
She met Jimin’s gaze. As usual, it held a deep sense of fondness and a warmth Minjeong had never felt before. The old girl softly extended her hand towards Minjeong, who watched it intensely.
Maybe Jimin is the person Minjeong had always been waiting for without knowing it. In such a short amount of time, she opened her eyes to so many feelings, and allowed her to finally speak out about her biggest passion.
Jimin feels like music. She feels free. But unlike music, Jimin doesn’t bring pain to Minjeong. She has been good for her on every point, and Minjeong never laughed as much before she knew the older woman.
Maybe Jimin will help her finally accept this part of herself. Minjeong sighed.
Fuck this.
Minjeong hurriedly grabbed Jimin’s hand, and looked into the girl’s surprised eyes.
“Jimin. Can I join your band?”
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