Bloom

The two spent the whole Saturday inside Chaeyoung’s dorm room. Mina made sure to cancel most of what she had scheduled that day because she wanted to spend as much time with her partner as possible. As they spent the day doing absolutely nothing but watching movies and making out, eventually they ended up talking about how Nayeon and Jeongyeon got together. Chaeyoung finally told Mina the truth about Jeongyeon and her past, which didn’t settle in well with Mina and it showed.

“I can’t believe you kept all of this from me, Chaeng.” Mina said, sinking into Chaeyoung’s couch. The visible pout from her lover’s face made Chaeyoung smile from ear to ear. She walks up to her girlfriend and places a soft and gentle kiss on Mina’s lips, earning another pout with reddened cheeks. “You can’t keep doing that to calm me down.”

Chaeyoung chuckles and sits next to Mina. “I know. But I have nothing to hide anymore because our best friends are dating and we’re dating as well.” She grabs her hand and places soft kisses on it. “Jeongyeon changed and Nayeon is happy, they’re happy for us so you should be too.”

“I never said I wasn’t.” Mina countered, biting in a smile from all the soft kisses Chaeyoung was leaving on her hand. “It’s just hard to believe that Jeongyeon slept with that many women before Nayeon and that she was planning to treat my best friend like one of them.”

Chaeyoung leans her head on the couch and laughs. “But with my help, Nayeon managed to convert my asshole best friend to be a monogamous sap.”

Mina pouts again, playing with Chaeyoung’s fingers. “I still feel uneasy though.”

“Well you did tell me that you were able to hang out with them and observed Jeongyeon yourself. Nothing is going to happen, my love.” Chaeyoung says nonchalantly, watching their fingers intertwine. Mina lets her, enjoying each moment they could be this domestic with each other. But it was too quiet, she noticed that Mina hadn't said anything for a while and looked at her. “You okay?”

“Can you say that again?”

Chaeyoung looks at her in confusion. “Nothing is going to happen?”

Mina shakes her head, her gummy smile showing. “No, after that.”

The imaginary dim light bulb above Chaeyoung’s head lights up and she finally gets it, and her smile was bigger than earlier. “My love.” She says, eyes glued to Mina. They both lean in closer again, foreheads touching. Chaeyoung caresses Mina’s cheek gently, looking down on her lips. “My love.”

Mina giggles, feeling giddy from the words. “I love you.” She wraps her arms around Chaeyoung’s neck and presses her lips against the familiar ones again. They both smiled through their kisses, feeling and tasting as much as they could.

In a beat, Chaeyoung deepens the kiss, hearing a small moan from Mina. Chaeyoung slipped her hand through Mina’s hair and onto her nape. The feeling of her hands on her bare skin was electrifying, the neediness in their kiss was making Mina breathless.

Their lips parted, opening for each other and clumsily bumping their teeth as they indulge in each other more. Mina’s hands trail from Chaeyoung’s cheek down to her neck and now on her chest, grabbing a bit of her shirt and pulling her lover closer to her. Chaeyoung’s body was moving on its own, shifting Mina to go under her and slyly moving in between Mina’s legs.

Mina lets out another moan when she could feel a hand grazing her thigh, slowly making its way up into her skirt. She wanted Chaeyoung to explore her more, the touch of her hand burned her skin, and she couldn’t help but want it.

The moment Chaeyoung lets her tongue touch Mina’s lips, the sound of someone’s phone blasted in the silent room and Mina instinctively pushes Chaeyoung off of her, making the younger fall hard on the floor.

“S-sorry, Chaeng.” She quickly says before she sees her phone receiving a call, she quickly answers it, pushing the phone on her ear. “Nayeon?”

“Hey, I hope I’m not interrupting sexy time with your new lover.” She teases, emphasizing some syllables to her words. She knows that sentence made Mina blush. “But I was wondering if you and Chaeyoung want to go out for dinner with me and Jeongyeon?”

Mina was indeed blushing, Nayeon technically wasn’t wrong but at the same time, it didn’t lead anywhere yet. “Yeah, I’m down.” She managed to say without choking on her words, trying her best not to imagine what was going to happen next if Nayeon didn’t interrupt them. “I’ll ask Chaeng.”

“Dinner with Jeong?” Chaeyoung whispered, apparently she did hear Nayeon over the phone. But her reaction was neutral, so she wasn’t able to hear the first thing Nayeon said to Mina. She nods her head at her girlfriend, who picks herself from the floor, immediately rushing towards her closet.

“Yeah, we’ll be there.” Mina finalizes as she watches Chaeyoung pick out a jacket from her closet.

She could hear Nayeon shout at Jeongyeon over the phone, saying that they confirmed to meet up. “Alright, we’ll text you the time and place and we’ll meet you there.”

“Alright, see you.” Mina said before ending the call. She drops her phone by the couch and looks back at Chaeyoung, who was still looking for a jacket to wear. Mina stood up from her seat and walked behind Chaeyoung, wrapping her arms around her lover’s stomach, they both melted in the embrace instantly.

“What’s up?” Chaeyoung whispers, her hands gently caressing Mina’s. She turns her head to leave a soft kiss on Mina’s temple.

Mina gave a soft giggle and closed her eyes as Chaeyoung’s lips pressed on her skin. “Nothing. I just love looking at you.”

The comment made Chaeyoung blush, turning her body around to wrap her arms around Mina. Mina’s arms hug Chaeyoung’s neck again and they press their lips together one more time. It was slow, her pacing was gentler than their last kiss. It made Mina’s heart flutter at how Chaeyoung was so gentle with her, the way her hands danced around her waist and how her lips would always caress her skin. Mina now knows that letting her heart win this time was the best decision she’s ever made.

They’ve been dating for more than a month now. Her father would check in from time to time to see if Mina has been doing better since the time she was in the hospital. To her surprise, her father would ask about Chaeyoung constantly when they get into calls and requests if he can speak to her, which would keep Chaeyoung on the phone longer than they intended. It wasn’t something that Mina expected from her strict father, but it made her heart warm to know that he has fully accepted Chaeyoung and their relationship.

She finally told her mother as well, as promised, her dad was with her the whole time and helped Mina explain things when she would choke on her words. Mina didn’t expect a positive reaction, but her mother didn’t say anything bad about it either. She told Mina in her usual calm voice that it was fine as long as she was happy, but it was obvious that her mother was having a hard time accepting it.

During their video calls, her mother would wave at Chaeyoung if she was part of the calls but would leave immediately after. Kai, her brother, would always tell Mina not to mind it because she’ll get over the initial shock eventually. He assured Mina that they accepted her, her relationship and that she didn’t have to worry about any expectations from them. She has their support to the end, and she could not be happier.

Mina never imagined that months ago, she was fighting her feelings for Chaeyoung, forcing herself to not fall in love with this person. Then in a blink of an eye and after a couple of official dates, Chaeyoung finally asked her to be her girlfriend and Mina has never answered a question so quickly in her life.

She loved everything about her, even before they confessed their feelings. Chaeyoung was such a free spirit, a delicate soul and Mina realized that all the younger needed was love.

Mina would sometimes pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming because she finally had the one person she was fighting herself for. Chaeyoung never faltered with showering her with sweet words, her small acts of service and simple I love you’s here and there. Mina didn’t need any flowery words from others, she just needed Chaeyoung’s words and that was more than enough to make her heart full.

“I really don’t like getting interrogated like this.” Jeongyeon whined as they walked out of the restaurant. They had a nice dinner together at a restaurant near Mina’s apartment, but the fun soon ended for Jeongyeon when they spent the whole-time making fun of her. “Am I that easy to pick on?”

Chaeyoung laughs, she had Mina’s hand in the pocket of her jacket and was holding her hand in it. “Well, it’s not every day where you find a play boy in a serious relationship for almost more than three months.” She said, giving her best friend a shit-eating grin.

Jeongyeon scoffs and wraps her arm around Nayeon’s shoulders. “Whatever.” She looks at Nayeon’s smiling face. “You’re enjoying this too much.”

Nayeon shrugs cutely and smiles. “I didn’t say anything, you’re the one who keeps reacting to all the questions.” She then gives Jeongyeon a serious stare. “If you say you’re gonna regret this relationship, I will murder you in your sleep.”

Mina and Chaeyoung laugh; their best friends may be in love with each other, but they tease and bicker at each other endlessly. Despite that, they did enjoy their time with them. Especially with making Jeongyeon extremely uncomfortable, both of them teamed up and started asking awkward questions, adding that Chaeyoung wanted to tell embarrassing stories to Nayeon about Jeongyeon.

Before the dinner, Mina quietly told Chaeyoung that she’s always wanted to have a double date with Nayeon and of course, Chaeyoung would do anything to grant her wishes. But she made sure to remind Mina that she would also like dates where it was just the two of them. Mina giggles at her girlfriend’s words and agrees.

But it was nice, it’s been a while since they were able to have any free time like this. Mina has been busy with her internship, knowing that her graduation was coming close, she barely had any time to spend with Chaeyoung or her friends. Of course, it was easy for Chaeyoung to understand. Knowing that Mina wanted to make a good impression at her internship and that she would probably feel the wrath from her parents if Mina’s grades fell because she’s been distracting their daughter recently.

The snow was starting to fall more, Christmas was already around the corner, and they knew they had to go home before they get stuck in the snow fall. Jeongyeon and Nayeon said they should have dinner again another time, maybe if the weather wasn’t bad, they would go out for dessert after. Chaeyoung and Mina agreed, and they waved their friends goodbye as they hopped in a taxi.

Since the restaurant was just around the corner to Mina’s apartment, the couple decided to walk quickly back. But Mina couldn’t help but bask in the atmosphere. She would tighten her grip on Chaeyoung’s hand and would tell her that she wanted to stay longer in the snow. Saying it was probably the most romantic thing to do when you’re with your partner.

Chaeyoung couldn’t help but blush at her statement. As they walked closer to the apartment, Chaeyoung would stop from time to time, just to take random photos of Mina and each picture would make Chaeyoung’s heart swell. She really was in love with this woman, and she was lucky that this beautiful person was hers.

Before they could enter, and not caring that Mr. Hwan was watching them, Chaeyoung stops Mina and pulls her in. Mina gave a confused face; it was starting to become a habit of giving spontaneous acts of love that would completely get Mina off-guard. The snow falls over their heads, Chaeyoung takes her hand and looks at her, all the love that she could give at that moment, she wanted to show it to her by just looking at her. Her eyes were perfect, the soft pools of chocolate that bewitched her from day one.

“I love you.” Chaeyoung whispers, pulling Mina even closer and placing her forehead on hers. Mina couldn’t help but smile, the weather was cold outside but inside her chest, it was the warmest feeling ever.

“I love you, Chaeyoung.” She whispers back. Chaeyoung leans in and places a soft kiss on her lips and Mina accepts it immediately. It was impossible to resist this person, Chaeyoung loved her with every fibre in her being and her heart couldn’t control it any more. She wants to be with Mina for as long as she can, she wants to make her fall in love every time they see each other. It didn’t have to be with kissing or hugging, even just being there and doing mundane things with her. She wanted to wake up with Mina wrapped around her arms and end the day with seeing her falling into deep sleep.

Falling in love was easy, especially if it was with the right person. Mina was her person. They were right for each other and Chaeyoung was willing to do everything she could to make that statement true all the time. The best part about it was that Mina felt the same way.

They break the long kiss and smile at each other. The weather was definitely ruining their romantic moment because Mina starts to shiver and Chaeyoung snaps herself out of her daze to bring her girlfriend inside the apartment building. The two gave shy hellos to Mr. Hwan, who definitely saw everything, but he greeted them back with nothing but a nod and a welcoming smile.

The two were walking back to the apartment room hand in hand and once they reached Mina’s door, Chaeyoung leaned in to give her a kiss goodbye, but Mina pulled away suddenly.

“You’re not going to go inside?” Mina asked, already swiping the card on the sensor and opening the door for them.

Chaeyoung was taken aback, maybe because since they started dating Mina has never rejected a kiss from her. Or maybe because she was inviting her in. “Oh? I thought this was already goodbye?”