Jimin collapses on her bed, exhausted. The first part of the garden was complete, though at the cost of her skin burning under the sun despite all the sunblock she applied throughout the day. Even Minjeong's skin wasn't spared the sun's wrath.

She grabs a pillow and puts it over her face, stifling a groan. Alright, so she noticed how good the delinquent looked in those cut-offs short jeans and sleeveless band shirt. She'd like to blame it on sunstroke, but even she's not in that much denial. Everyone at school knows Kim Minjeong is good looking despite— or perhaps because— her beauty is unconventional.

That short blonde hair of hers is usually an unruly mess, even if it's occasionally held back in a cute small ponytail. Her cute ass smile is crooked, tilting more towards the left than maybe it should.

But those bright brown eyes are undeniably gorgeous, and are probably responsible for getting her out of trouble countless times. And of course the rest of her body is equally nice— Jimin tosses the pillow at the ceiling and catches it when it falls back towards her.

Stupid. This is so stupid.

The last thing she needs is a hopeless crush on a troublemaker who's only helping her as a way to buy her silence.

The thought sobers her, and she wonders if there was some truth to her dad's words about Minjeong. Surely she can't be so— so fun and charming and interesting without a catch. Not that Jimin really wants to accept that her dad might be right about something now.

She scowls deeply, relieved he's currently out of the house. Over dinner last night, he held yet another one-sided 'discussion' with her about what her college major would be. Engineering or architecture were her only options, at least as far as he was concerned. He refused to hear her arguments about degrees in environmental science or forest resources conservation, had actually pounded his fist on the table to silence her.

"Those are the only two degrees I will pay for." He had said firmly, unclenching his fist. "And I'm tired of you pushing this 'save the forest' nonsense."

Jimin went to her room shortly after that. Her dinner left untouched on the table. Even now, she couldn't stop fuming over his words. It's her future, isn't it? How dare he just blow off what she wanted to do with it. She wouldn't be pigeon holed into some degree and occupation just to make him happy.

There were scholarships she could apply for, or maybe she would work her way through her degree instead of accepting her dad's money—

A crash, followed by the sound of broken glass echoing down the hall, jolts her from her thoughts. She's out of her bed in an instant, heart beating fast. Was there an intruder in the house? Did someone from school come to vandalize the house again?

As quietly as she can, she takes a broom stick, prepared to defend herself should anyone come through her door.

Unexpectedly, a light tapping sound rattles her window. Whatever is making the sound is repeated, this time with a little more force. Lowering the broom stick, Jimin side-eyes the window suspiciously. After only a moment of hesitation and against her better judgement, she brushes aside her curtains and looks outside.

The glow of the full moon illuminates Minjeong, who's about to throw an item in her hand before spotting Jimin. She drops what appears to be a rock to wave both of her hands over her head.

I should have known.

A sigh of relief passes through Jimin, but she's still angry from being startled. "What the hell, Minjeong?" She hisses when she opens her window.

Minjeong shrugs like the situation is out of her hands. "I was trying to get your attention! I didn't know which window was yours so—"

"So, what? You were just going to break all of them?" Jimin pinches the bridge of her nose and peers over to the damaged window.

"I think that was the one in my dad's room."

There's no mistaking Minjeong's pleased laugh for anything else. "Ha, oops." She says, not sounding the least bit remorseful.

"Can I come up?" She asks after a moment, grin still firmly in place.

Jimin gives her a critical once-over. The other girl is wearing a pair of ripped jeans, a white crop top and a flannel is tied around her waist. Her arms fold over her chest as she waits for Jimin's response.

"Why?" Jimin questions her. There's a zero-percent chance Minjeong just wants to talk with her; whatever has her coming over here at this time of night is bound to lead to trouble one way or another.

"Okay, then you can come down." Minjeong says, unperturbed. "I have a surprise for you, but you'll need to drive us there."

"First you break a window and now you want me to drive you somewhere?" The nerves of this girl is simply unbelievable. Still, Jimin's only human and the word 'surprise' does pique her interest.

Minjeong's hands fall to her sides, and she looks like she's a second away from stomping her foot against the ground in impatience. "Oh, come on. Just trust me for once, this will be really fun."

Despite her feelings about the other girl, Jimin still has absolutely no reason to trust her. Which is why it's something of a surprise to hear herself say.

"I'll be down in a few minutes."

But perhaps she shouldn't be too surprised; the very idea of spending more time with Minjeong is a tantalizing one. Then there's the fact Minjeong came here just to see her— not for gardening or causing trouble.

Jimin quickly changes into a white shirt and a pair of jeans she just bought. Going over to her mirror, she touches up her lips with some lip gloss and makes sure her hair looks alright. Giving herself one last re-affirming glance, she heads out to meet Minjeong in the backyard.

She made herself comfortable on the patio steps, stretching out her long legs in front of her. She tilts her head back towards Minjeong when she makes her appearance known.

"Ready?" Minjeong asks, looking like an excited puppy— more like a maltese to her.

"Sure." Jimin sighs, because she can control herself enough to not be totally obvious about her crush. They walk around the outside of the house, and Jimin looks around in curiosity.

"Did you walk here?" She asks, noting the lack of Minjeong's yellow bike in the vicinity.

"I ran, actually." Minjeong replies breezily.

"The chain snapped on my way home earlier. But it's not a big deal." She quickly adds when Jimin's eyes widen.

"It's a nice night and I prefer running anyways."

Jimin's mind flashes back to their coffee shop meeting where Minjeong had said she biked three miles to get there. Her house was a couple miles beyond that and Minjeong didn't even look winded, though her cheeks were flushed an adorable red and there's a light sheen of sweat covering her body.

"Have you ever thought about trying out for cross country?" Jimin asks, half-serious. "Since you're already so good at running from the law."

Minjeong turns and gawks at her, clearly not expecting her to have a sense of humor. She's silent as Jimin unlocks the car doors and they slide into their seats. It isn't until Jimin starts backing out of the driveway that Minjeong speaks up. "I know you meant that as a joke, but that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea."

Jimin's eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. Was Kim Minjeong actually taking her advice on something? She distracts herself from this startling revelation by asking an important question.

"Where exactly am I taking us? Because I don't feel comfortable knocking over mailboxes or lighting anything on fire."

"What kind of delinquent do you think I am?" Minjeong asks, sounding scandalized.

"I'll give you the directions, but this is a surprise so I'm not gonna tell you anything else." Jimin keeps her eyes on the road, but her smile is directed towards Minjeong.

"You know, you could have just texted me earlier. There wasn't a need to knock on my window with rocks." She muses after Minjeong tells her to take a right turn out of the neighborhood.

That action could be misconstrued as romantic, which Minjeong certainly didn't seem to be. Besides, it wasn't as if Minjeong liked her that way anyways, but she did like her enough to surprise her in the middle of the night, so that was something to hold onto.

Minjeong shifts in her seat to better face Jimin. "This was kind of a last minute idea. And actually, I don't know why I decided to pelt your house with rocks. That was weird of me." Jimin glances over at Minjeong in time to see her frown.

Jimin rolls her eyes because 'weird' and 'Minjeong' were becoming synonymous to her. But she is enjoying how easily words flow between them. Even earlier— when she was in a bad mood, they knew just what to say to one another to keep the conversation going.

Or at least they did until Minjeong went and touched her face. What had that been about? The sensation of Minjeong's fingers against her forehead made her want to lean forward and kiss that lopsided grin right off the troublemaker's face—

"We're here!" Minjeong chirps next to her, causing her to come back to the present. "Just park wherever there's a space."

Jimin must have been unconsciously following Minjeong's directions and she takes in their surroundings; they're still in a residential area, though the houses are even more extravagant than the ones in her neighborhood. On one side of the road, there's a giant, wrought-iron fence spreading the length of the entire street and beyond. Behind the fence, the ground is heavy with freely growing trees and shrubs. Jimin carefully parks and steps out of her car, eyes narrowing in thought.

"Are we..."

"Welcome to the Evergreen Arboretum and Botanical Garden, after dark edition!" With the fence behind her, Minjeong dramatically spreads her arms out.

Slowly, Jimin walks over and touches one of the fence posts. Minjeong. She really brought her here? She hadn't visited the gardens in years, even though it used to be one of her favorite places when she was little. One of the only things Minjeong knew about Jimin was that she liked plants— what better place to bring her than here?

"Well?" Minjeong asks anxiously, lowering her arms at Jimin's lack of reaction.

"Do you wanna go inside?"

"I'd love to." Jimin says softly. But reality crashes through her haze of elation. "Wait, isn't it closed?"

Minjeong waves away her concern. "It's no big deal. I have a friend who works here and he said we'd be fine."

That's not a real answer. Jimin casts her gaze between Minjeong and the fence. "We're already here, so I guess—"

"Great!" Minjeong exclaims before Jimin can change her mind. "This fence looks super easy to climb, so just follow my lead and we'll be over in no time."

With that, she latches onto the fence and scales it so quickly even Spider-Man would be impressed. She's on the other side in no time, ushering Jimin forward.

"Okay, so step here." She points at a potential foothold. "And put your hand up there."

In a much more hesitant and wobbly fashion, Jimin makes it over the fence and turns to face Minjeong, almost bumping into her. Minjeong beams at her with something close to pride in her eyes and reaches for her hand, tugging her along as she begins to walk into the trees. It's only after a few steps that Minjeong suddenly drops her hand with a muttered 'sorry', though her pace doesn't slow.

Jimin stares down at her hand. The flash of warmth from Minjeong's palm hadn't been unwelcome, but perhaps Minjeong remembered her reaction in the kitchen this afternoon and didn't want to agitate her. Jimin curses her past self; if she had hadn't snapped at Minjeong earlier for wiping the dirt off her face, they'd still be holding hands.

That (frankly ridiculous) thought is whisked away after the two of the clear the underbrush and emerge into the botanical garden. The moon's glow has painted everything silver, from the winding brick path she and Minjeong are now on, to the wildflowers and plants surrounding them.

"Woah." Jimin breathes, surging ahead to see everything the garden contained. In one moment, she's crouching down to identify a flower, and in the next she's nearly skipping steps, hopping off the path and onto the manicured lawn just because there's no one to stop her from doing otherwise.

This is amazing.

There's no one else around, no slow moving photographers or giant, mob-like tour groups. The grounds are hers and she can see whatever she wants, when she wants. She leads Minjeong through the swampy aquatic gardens, the small bamboo forest, and even the tropical greenhouse.

For her part, Minjeong seems to be content with staying in the background. Jimin sneaks a few glances at her; Minjeong alternates between looking around herself in mild interest, her hands stuffed in her jeans pockets, or staring at Jimin, gauging her reactions to each new area. It almost seems like Minjeong is making sure she's enjoying herself and there's even a small, almost wistful smile on her face instead of her usual broad grin.

"Are you having a good time?" Minjeong asks her the next time their eyes meet.

"This is pretty cool, right?"

Jimin feels compelled to drift closer to her. "It really is." She assures Minjeong when there's only a few feet separating them.

"This is so so nice." Just a few days ago, 'nice' was the last word she'd used to describe Minjeong. But this surprise, this seemingly selfless present is possibly the nicest thing anyone's ever done for her.

Minjeong swallows, uncharacteristically timid. "Ah, that's good. You seemed like you were in a bad mood earlier and I don't know..." She directs her gaze towards the ground as she mutters her next words. "...I wanted you to feel better."

Something warm swells in Jimin's chest and she reaches out towards Minjeong. She doesn't know for what end— to embrace her, to kiss her?— but she's interrupted by a beam of light flashing towards them, followed by the unmistakable sound of footsteps.

Minjeong stiffens at the sight and without a second thought she pushes Jimin into the nearest bush before jumping in after her. They land with matching grunts, and Jimin is about to complain when Minjeong pushes a finger against her lips, looking out towards the garden.

"Don't speak yet." She whispers urgently, "I think that's a security guard."

Jimin shoves Minjeong's hand away from her face, causing the other girl to lose her balance and topple closer to her. Minjeong ends up with her hips bracketed between Jimin's legs, their chests pressed together in a way that elicits a shiver from Jimin. Their faces are so close that she can smell the bubblegum Minjeong must have been chewing earlier.

Jimin feels heat emanating from her face but does her best to speak. "I— y-you said your friend let us in!" She nearly hisses back, turning her face to the side so she won't accidentally brush her lips against Minjeong's.

Minjeong pushes herself back up so there's at least a little more space between them, but she doesn't get off of Jimin. "I might have over exaggerated when I said 'friend'." She admits, not looking the slightest bit bothered by their positioning. "What I meant was that I don't actually know anyone who works here."

Jimin bites back a retort when the flashlight and footsteps come closer to them, until the person is practically right next to their little hideout. After a few tense moments, the person moves on, heading off in the direction of the greenhouse. Minjeong sighs in relief and again the smell of bubblegum wafts over Jimin. She tilts her head back towards Minjeong, looking into her eyes.

"You're nothing but trouble, aren't you?" Jimin murmurs, impulsively tucking a loose strand of hair behind one of Minjeong's ears.

"I told you I'd corrupt you." Minjeong responds softly, a teasing grin on her face. "How does it feel to be a rule breaker?"

Jimin expels a laugh that rolls through her body. "How much trouble would we have gotten in if we got caught?"

Minjeong carefully considers the question. "I mean, I'd try to shorten my time by telling them this was all your idea. So you'd probably be looking at like, ten years in supermax."

"What a harsh punishment." Jimin plays along, an easy smile coming across her lips. "Would you come and visit me?"

Unexpectedly, the question causes Minjeong to blush. She stills, finally becoming aware of the fact that she's completely on top of Jimin.

"Well, I umm..." She starts, biting at her lip. "I think they only allow conjugal visits, so..."

Ah, so that's what caused such a reaction. Seeing the normally cocky Minjeong so flustered is unspeakably cute, but Minjeong is quick to get off her after the words leave her mouth. She offers Jimin a hand and helps haul her up, absentmindedly brushing leaves off the back of her jeans.

"Ready to go home?" She asks, checking her phone for the time. "It's starting to get pretty late."

"Sure." Jimin responds and they start to walk towards her car. She can't help but be a little disappointed in leaving, even if they've been here for a few hours. Perhaps she could come back some other night and really be thorough with her exploration of the garden.

"Thank you for taking me here."

And in the boldest move she made in her life, she takes a hold of Minjeong's hand, brushing her fingers against the back of Minjeong's palm. The other girl looks down at their interlaced fingers in surprise but then smiles, giving Jimin's hand a light squeeze in return.

She's falling for Kim Minjeong.

Jimin realizes. Dazed.

But for once, she doesn't panic or dismiss the thought outright. Instead, warmth once again fills her chest and it's all she can do to keep holding onto Minjeong's hand as she leads them through the silver-dappled trees.

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