It's stupid really, how hung up Minjeong still is, months after Jimin's departure. They'd decided from the start that their fake relationship would end once Jimin finished filming here; there's no reason she should still be so upset when Jimin's gone.

Except for the part where she fell in love when she totally should not have.

So it's both a blessing and a curse that Jimin starts doing a lot of promotional work for her new movie just a couple of months after she leaves. Talk show appearances, magazine interviews, photoshoots— all of them give Minjeong an opportunity to see her, even if she can't actually see her.

Minjeong refuses to let herself dwell on just how much Jimin has changed her, how she went from someone oblivious to celebrities and their lives to someone desperate to hear more and more about an actress. She ignores how her priorities have flipped, how she spends fewer nights out at clubs or bars and more nights in her apartment, keeping up on Jimin's celebrity gossip.

She searches online almost compulsively now, eating up any information she can about the girl she fake dated for five months, and as ridiculous as it is, she stop herself for now, to keep herself from going overboard.

And that's how Minjeong finds herself watching some vapid, late-night talk show while her friends are out at the bar living up their mid-twenties like she used to. She doesn't care about the jokes or skits that take up the first half-hour of the show, nor does she even know whose show it is, but she is painfully aware that the commercial previews advertised that Jimin would be on the show that day to promote her new movie.

Her phone is buzzing incessantly—her friends, no doubt, insisting that she come join them; she never told them about her deal with Jimin, so they only know what the media knows, and they're worried that she's taking the break-up badly. If only they knew— but the sound doesn't register once she sees a familiar girl walk on-screen, looking just as beautiful as she did the day Minjeong saw her off in the airport.

The interview starts off slowly as Jimin and the talk show host chat about how great she looks (Minjeong doesn't need them to tell her that; she's all too aware already) and the movie's plot. In a few minutes, the screen cuts to a scene from the movie. Jimin and Jaemin holding hands as they run from the rain before stopping under a bus stop overhang to finally confess the feelings they have for each other. The sneak peak stops before the kiss that Minjeong remembers watching from the sidelines.

That had been so early in their relationship, Minjeong hadn't even considered being jealous about it. Now, overwhelming relief floods through her once she realizes she won't have to watch it again.

Refocusing on the screen, the audience's applause dies down as Jimin smiles proudly at her work and the host turns back to her.

"Amazing." He says. "You've really grown as an actress since the first time you sat in that chair."

"Thank you." Jimin replies, still smiling brightly. "It means a lot to hear you say that."

The host grins back, like an affectionate uncle. "But a lot has happened in your life beside your acting career, hasn't it?" He asks. "People can not stop talking about that five-month fling you had with your personal assistant. Could you tell us about that?"

Jimin laughs, but to Minjeong's ears, it sounds nervous. "What do you want to know?"

"How did it happen? Are you still together? That kind of thing. There aren't many details out there."

"Well, I've been trying not to talk about it too much, out of respect for her privacy. No one likes having their lives on display, but Minjeong's not a celebrity, so she's definitely not used to things like this." Jimin explains, hands fiddling with each other.

"Oh, so her name is Minjeong?" The host asks, and Jimin winces. Not enough for most people to pick up, but Minjeong's used to noticing all of Jimin's subtleties.

"Yes, and that's all you're getting about her private life!" Jimin jokes back, the audience chuckling with her.

The host laughs too and takes a quick sip from the mug on his desk. "So how did you start seeing this Minjeong girl?"

"Well as I'm sure you already know, she was my personal assistant for the new movie 'Forever'. We spent a lot of time together, and we just sort of clicked," Jimin says. "I don't think either of us was expecting anything lasting out of it, really, but having her there on set made it one of my favorite movies to film." The audience coos, as if on cue and Jimin turns to the crowd to smile, embarrassed.

"Wow, it sounds like you really care about her. So are you still dating?"

Jimin shakes her head. "No, we broke up after filming ended, shortly before I left."

"Why is that?" The host asks, pressing for a more detailed answer, and Minjeong waits for Jimin to recite one of the reasons they had practiced. They play in her head (long distance is so hard, we always knew it would only last as long as the filming did, we're from different worlds so it would have never lasted) and it's going to kill her to hear Jimin say one out loud.

But Jimin doesn't answer like she's expecting.

Rather, she smiles sadly, hands clasped in her lap and no longer fidgeting. "I realized a little too late that I'm in love with her." The audience erupts in chatter and Minjeong can feel her throat go dry, exposed to the open air by her hanging jaw. "By the time I figured out how much I need her, I was already on the plane back to LA, and she was still on the ground in South Korea."

The host splutters, obviously blindsided by Jimin's answer. Minjeong doesn't blame the man; she feels the same way. "So what are you going to do?" He asks, slowly regaining his composure.

"I'm not sure what I can do, honestly. She was given a disposable business phone as part of her contract, so I don't have a way to contact her anymore. Besides that, I don't even know if she would want to continue a relationship with me. We were pretty clear when it started that it was only supposed to last as long as I was there."

"Wow, that's rough." The host says.

"It's hardly ideal." Jimin agrees with a small smile.

"Well, do you know what I think you should do?" He asks, smiling when Jimin shakes her head.

"I think you should book a ticket for the next flight to South Korea, find her, and let her know how you feel."

And that's when Minjeong hears a knock on her door.

Jimin's saying something on the TV still, so it takes all of Minjeong's willpower to drag herself from her couch to answer the door. Once she gets there, she flings it open, not wasting time to check the peephole first.

"Yeah, what do you want?" She asks, the words dying in her throat as she recognizes the brown eyes staring at her.

Wait.

"Jimin?"

The name is barely out of her mouth before Jimin steps closer and kisses her hard, hands grabbing her neck to pull her close. Minjeong reacts instinctively, kissing back without a second thought as her arms wrap themselves around Jimin's waist. When they finally break apart, Jimin burrows her face in the crook of Minjeong's neck, arms tightening around her shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" Minjeong asks, enjoying the feeling of Jimin's breath on her neck and arms around her shoulders. Jimin mumbles something into her collarbone, and Minjeong chuckles both from the tickling sensation of Jimin's lips and the action itself. "No, really, Jimin. Why did you come back here?"

Jimin lifts her head and frowns. "Isn't it obvious?"

Minjeong laughs, and the sound is foreign to her ears. When was the last time she actually laughed? "Maybe," She says. "But maybe I want to hear you say it."

Jimin's face splits into a huge grin at the sound of Minjeong's laugh, and she leans forward to press her forehead against Minjeong's.

"I love you." Jimin says. "And I was really stupid to not have noticed it sooner."

"Yeah, you are," Minjeong agrees, the grin on her face stretching from ear to ear. "But I love you anyway."

Chuckling breathlessly, Jimin drops her head to Minjeong's shoulder and squeezes her. "I'm so happy to hear you say that."

"You're not the only one." Minjeong replies, lifting a hand to stroke Jimin's hair. "Do you want to come inside?"

"Give me a minute. I'm enjoying this." Minjeong laughs again, tightening her hold on the actress in her arms. "That's good, but I have idea that I think you'd like even more."

Jimin lifts her head, one eyebrow raised in challenge, so Minjeong leans forward and presses their lips together. When Jimin clutches her shoulders even tighter, she slips her hands around to grab the front of Minjeong's shirt, pulling her as close a possible.

They stand like that for a few moments longer, but when they break apart, Minjeong yanks Jimin into her apartment and kicks the door closed behind them.

—

"This Tuesday at three? And there's no way to reschedule that?" Jimin asks, sending Minjeong an apologetic smile over her shoulder. "No, I understand, Giselle. Thanks for setting everything up, really. I'll see you tomorrow? Alright, bye." She hangs up, tossing her phone onto the bed with a huff.

"Woah there, watch where you throw that thing, babe!" Minjeong jokes from her place on the bed, a foot away from Jimin's phone-missile. Jimin gives her a look, the one with the raised eyebrow and set jaw like she doesn't find Minjeong just about the funniest person in the world. Minjeong opens her arms in invitation and mild apology.

"Hey, we can always reschedule date time." Jimin, for all her exasperated looks, accepts the cuddle without hesitation.

"We've had this planned for the past three weeks." She complains, nuzzling her head into the crook of Minjeong's neck. "And I just got back from three months of filming in Japan. Excuse me for wanting some quality time with my girlfriend."

"You're excused." Minjeong says with a chuckle at Jimin's deadpan expression. "Tuesday's in three days, Jimin. That's plenty of time for us to make up for the past three months. We're doing it right now."

"Believe it or not, I occasionally like showing my cute girlfriend off to media sometimes." Jimin protests. "Cuddling is nice, but I'm not about to let those skeeves into the house."

Minjeong hums, pulling Jimin as close as she can. "Don't tell me this is about that tabloid that came out last month." Jimin just squirms in her arms.

"Jimin, you know I don't believe that crap. Hell, I wouldn't have seen it even, if Yeri hadn't insisted on texting me about it."

"Just because you know better doesn't mean other people do." Jimin says, finally settling down. "I want the media to know that I have someone that I'm very happy with, and that's not about to change any time soon."

"So, Jaehyun, huh?" Minjeong asks, laughing when Jimin smacks her chest, a little harder than entirely necessary.

"Hey," She says, sobering, "Let's just move date time to Wednesday. I never look good on Tuesdays, anyway."

"Dork," Jimin accuses, rolling her eyes when Minjeong sends her a faux-outraged look. "Alright fine, Wednesday date time, but you better make this up to me with amazing sex that night."

Minjeong scoffs, playing up the offended act as much as she can. "'Make it up to you'?" She asks. "You should be making this up to me, moving date time because you have work."

"Says the girl who couldn't go out with me on Monday because 'the new gallery I helped curate opens Monday night, and I need to spend the whole day being nervous about it.'"

"That is a perfectly good reason, thank you very much." Minjeong protests, though her façade of ire is no doubt ruined by the laughter coloring her voice.

"You're welcome, babe." Jimin says, pressing a kiss to Minjeong's cheek before snuggling back under her chin. "So, do we have a deal?"

"Tell you what," Minjeong offers. "You do well at your audition on Tuesday, and I'll give you amazing sex both nights. And maybe in the afternoon too, if you're feeling up to it."

"You're insatiable."

"You were the one who asked." Minjeong shoots back, mood settling down as she and Jimin sink more and more into each others' embraces.

"I love you."

"I love you, too"

Jimin smiles, absolutely radiant, and Minjeong can hardly believe that they managed get this far— not that she's about to give it up any time soon.

Probably never.

| The End |

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and we're finished! this is the end of this story! i hope everyone enjoyed this story and thank you to the original author ©uber-tastic for creating this amazing story, do make sure to check out the original one too! their works are all amazing!

thank you so much to everyone who read, voted, and commented! i truly appreciate it! let's enjoy the next winrina adaptation! <3