"Notice anything different?" Are the first words out of Minjeong's mouth when she sees Jimin the next morning. She meaningfully shakes her head, allowing her hair to fall.

Jimin examines her closely starting with her feet, making Minjeong's face heat up a little. Her mouth drops open when her gaze reaches Minjeong's hair. "You did not."

Minjeong beams. "Yep!" She tugs at the dark locks of hair, pleased with her work. "What do you think? It's like a physical manifestation of how very, very sorry I am."

Truth be told, she doesn't feel all that sorry about the destruction of Jimin's garden. If it weren't for that damn bleach bottle, she wouldn't be here right now— wouldn't feel like her chest is filled with butterflies whenever Jimin looks at her.

"It doesn't count." Jimin grumbles good-naturedly, crossing her arms over her chest. "It looks good."

"Damn right it does!" Minjeong beams, putting her cap back on. "So, are we ready to finish or what?"

Jimin's amusement fades and she stares down at the garden they've made together. It's almost an exact replica Jimin's first garden, right down to the placement of the plants. It's oddly fulfilling to see all their hard work amount to something, and it's even more rewarding to see how happy Jimin is with the whole thing.

"Right, we'll be finished soon." Jimin says after a moment, teeth tugging at her bottom lip as if she wants to add something. She leans down instead, reaching for a trowel.

Minjeong mimics the motion, snatching the trowel and making sure it's out of Jimin's reach. She thinks she knows just why Jimin is reluctant about finishing the garden.

"You gonna miss me after this?" She asks, though instead of the teasing tone she was going for, the question comes out soft and genuine.

Jimin's cheeks pinken and she looks up at Minjeong with those gorgeous eyes. "What if I will?" She asks in return, equally serious.

"Then..." Minjeong begins, trying to keep herself from closing the distance between them and just kissing her already. "Then I'd like to invite you to Yunjin's party on Saturday. As like, a date."

Yes. She mentally high-fives herself for putting the 'd' word out there. Now Jimin will know she likes her as more than a friend. And she hadn't been misreading things, right? Unless she was hallucinating, Jimin seemed to like her just as much.

A heartbreakingly beautiful smile begins to break across Jimin's face, but then it abruptly fades, replaced with worry. "My dad's home now."

Minjeong raises an eyebrow, unable to see how that fact related to what she had said. "Okay?"

Jimin's eyes drop to the soil between them. "He's not going to let me go to a party." She mumbles. "Especially if he knows you'll be there."

"Then sneak out." Minjeong says like it's obvious.

"You were able to sneak me out last night without a problem. Put a few pillows under your comforter and say you're going to bed early. Then when he's in his own room, you can meet me out here. Yunjin doesn't live too far away, so we won't need to take your car."

Jimin's eyes widen in something like admiration. "Wow, you've done this a lot, haven't you?"

Minjeong shrugs. "I used to, back when my mom was in nursing school. Now she usually works evening or night shifts so it's not really an issue." Her mom also seemed content to let Minjeong roam free as long as she didn't get into too much trouble. But she didn't want bring that point up; it would just serve to highlight how much of a hardass Jimin's dad is in comparison.

"I think I'd like to go." Jimin says after turning the idea over. "It sounds like it'll be fun."

Minjeong's smart enough to realize this will probably be the first party Jimin ever gone to that didn't involve balloon animals or bouncy castles. She'll make damn sure Jimin has a good time.

"Then it's a date." She declares and Jimin's pleased smile is all it takes for her for feel like she just won the lottery.

They get back to work soon after Minjeong talking animatedly about whatever is on her mind. She can sense Jimin stealing glances at her every now and then, and sometimes it's enough for Minjeong to lose her train of thought and stumble over her words.

Minjeong whoops when Jimin pats the soil down around the final strawberry plant. "This gardening thing isn't so hard after all." She says with a shit-eating grin.

Jimin rolls her eyes, used to her sarcasm by now. "Could you stay here for a moment? There's something I want to give you."

Minjeong raises her eyebrows in curiosity. "Sure, and I won't even destroy anything."

As Jimin hurries back into the house, Minjeong sprawls out next to the garden, admiring the plants. In a few months, they'll probably be in full bloom. She'll definitely have to come back and see them.

Jimin comes back a few minutes later, clutching a brown paper bag. Situating herself next to Minjeong, she hands her the bag. "This is a thank you, of sorts." She sounds nervous as she watches Minjeong's hand dip into the bag.

"Wait, careful!" Her words come too late and the tip of Minjeong's fingers prick against something sharp.

"Fuck!" Minjeong exclaims, quickly withdrawing her hand. A bead of blood wells up on her middle finger and she shakes the pain away. "Are you sure this is a 'thank you' gift?" She grouses.

"I'm sorry, I was about to tell you to open it from the side." Jimin says, worry filling her eyes.

Jimin catches Minjeong's flailing hand and wipes away the drop of blood on her finger. After a moment of consideration, she leans down and places the tip of Minjeong's finger into her mouth, sucking gently. Her lips stay there for a moment, and Minjeong swears she feels the soft pressure of Jimin's tongue against her worried skin.

Minjeong swallows hard, forgetting the pain, as Jimin releases her hand. "Here." Jimin beckons for Minjeong to return the bag, acting as if she didn't just do the sweetest thing Minjeong ever seen.

Minjeong mutely places the bag between them, trying to stop her pulse from pounding in her ears. Man, if this is her reaction to Jimin kissing her finger, she can't begin to imagine what it will be like to really kiss Ji—

The sound of the bag being ripped open startles her and she blinks hard, trying not to slip into any inappropriate daydreams. Jimin throws the bag to the side and holds out a potted cactus.

The ceramic pot has been carefully painted in different shades of green, and the cactus resembles one she used to see in the old Road Runner cartoon; the main body is tall and thin, with two 'arms' sticking out of either side. At the base of the cactus, nestled amongst the rocks, is a small red-and-blue clothed gnome.

"Jimin..." She breathes, oddly touched by the gesture. "This is awesome."

Jimin smiles, relieved by Minjeong's reaction. "I figured even you could take care of a cactus. Just don't give it too much water and it'll be fine."

Minjeong hesitantly grabs the base of the pot when Jimin hands it to her, hugging it as close to herself as she can without getting pricked again. "Thank you."

She stands up, careful to keep the cactus level. "I'm going to show it to my mom. I'm sure she'll love it too." She grins.

Jimin follows her up, and they linger together in silence for a moment. Before she can think better of it, Minjeong leans in and presses a kiss to Jimin's cheek. It's light and quick, leaving Jimin wanting more.

"I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?"

Jimin touches her cheek and nods slowly, looking like she's thoroughly distracted. "Sure." She murmurs. "See you then."

Minjeong flashes her one more grin and heads out of the backyard, this time using the gate instead of trying to clamber over the fence with her new cactus.

Tomorrow can't come soon enough.

—

Possibly the scariest thing about Kim Minjeong is how easily she can convince Jimin to do— well, just about anything. 'Break into the botanical gardens', 'come to a party', and 'sneak out of your house' were never phrases Jimin was familiar with before she came across Minjeong trying to plant flowers in her garden.

But now she's following her advice, fluffing up her pillows and carefully placing them under her bedspread. Her pillow doppelganger is quite a bit rounder than she is, but her dad has never been one to check on her while she was sleeping— he never had a reason to, and hopefully Jimin won't be giving him one tonight.

Once she quietly closes and locks the front door, she texts Minjeong. An anxious hand comes up to smooth away any wrinkles on her shirt, and she hopes she's dressed decently enough. Her jeans are almost brand new, as is the soft white shirt. The clothes suit her figure perfectly, and she even put on her nicest bra and underwear on to give herself a boost of confidence.

Not even ten minutes pass when Minjeong skids to a stop in front of her house, having been running down the street nearly full-tilt. Jimin snorts at the sight; if Minjeong had a decent pair of running shoes instead of the worn-out sneaker she was wearing, she could probably crack a few schools records.

"Hey!" Minjeong greets her once she catches her breath. Under her arm is the leather jacket Jimin often saw her wear at school. Her hair is as tamed as Jimin ever seen it, tied back carefully and her cap is nowhere to be seen. Her loose black jeans and the forest-green of her t-shirt makes her honey-brown eyes stand out even in the dark.

"Hi." Jimin responds, suddenly shy. A rush of nerves goes through her and she is a breath away from asking if they could go somewhere other than the party.

But then Minjeong looks her up and down, a gentle smile tugging at her lips. "You look great."

"You too." Jimin says honestly, because she can't remember a time Minjeong didn't look great, even back when she knew nothing else about her.

Minjeong extends a hand to her. "Shall we? Yunjin lives a little less than a mile and a half from here. The party should be in full swing by the time we arrive."

Exhaling and settling her nerves, Jimin nods and clasps Minjeong's hand. "Let's go."

The walk goes by quickly enough, with Minjeong giving Jimin a few pieces of advice about how the behave at the party. "Never let your drink go out of your sight, and don't accept a drink from anyone but me or Yunjin. Don't feel pressured to do anything you don't want to. This is supposed to be fun. And if someone tries to hit on you, shoot them with those laser eyes of yours and they'll probably run away."

Minjeong's motormouth slows to a stop when they reach a house at the end of the alley. It's huge and Jimin can already hear throbbing, bass-heavy music coming from within. Minjeong squeezes her hand. "You ready?"

Jimin nods quietly. This won't be a big deal. Not at all. Teenagers went to parties all the time. Parties are fun and Minjeong's going to be by her side for most of the night, so she doesn't have a thing to worry about.

Minjeong leads her up the driveway and opens the front door without knocking. The sounds of yelling and cheering combined with the music make the inside of the house almost deafening, and almost all the overhead lights are off, replaced with strobe lights.

A few people shout out Minjeong's name as she and Jimin pass by them and she waves in return. Her hand never let go of Jimin's, making it clear they came together. She can see a few people lean close to each other and whisper, their eyes on Jimin. She keeps her head tilted up and her eyes forward, not wanting to appear affected by their stares.

Minjeong leads her to the spacious kitchen, where almost all flat surfaces are covered in different alcoholic drinks or plastic cups. "You want anything?" Minjeong asks, plucking a cup from a teetering stack, quickly pouring Sprite and a blue liquid into it.

Jimin swallows hard. One drink wouldn't be the end of the world, right? "I'll have whatever you're having." She yells over the music.

Minjeong flashes her a thumbs up and hands her the first cup, busying herself with another serving for herself. "The blue stuff is curacao and it is delicious. You'll love it." She crashes her cup into Jimin. "Cheers!"

Jimin tentatively takes a sip, surprised at how fruity it tastes. She takes a few more gulps and grins at the warmth unfurling in her stomach. Oh, she could get used to this.

"Do you wanna dance?" Minjeong asks, pointing her cup towards the living room. All the furniture in the room is pushed to the walls, creating a makeshift dance floor. It looks like half of the academy's soon-to-be graduating class is there, bobbing their heads to the music or grinding against one another.

"I'm not really a dancer." Jimin admits. The idea of looking like a total idiot in front of her classmates isn't very appealing to her.

Minjeong takes another swig of her drink and winks. "If I show you some of my moves, maybe you'll change your mind."

Jimin nearly chokes. Minjeong is shamelessly flirting with her and she imagines how Minjeong must look when she's on the dance floor, how her hips would look when she's swaying to the music, how—

"Alright." She says, surprising herself. "If you impress me, I'll dance with you."

"Challenge accepted!" Minjeong crows. She takes a nearby bottle of vodka and pours some into her cup. She tosses it back, lips puckering cutely as the alcohol slides down her throat. "I'll wow you in no time."

Jimin grins around the rim of her cup, following Minjeong towards the dance area. This will be good. She hangs out along the back wall with a few people she vaguely recognizes from English or Math. They squint at her as if she looks familiar to them, but the looks don't bother her this time. Instead, she raises her cup towards them. Grinning, they do the same.

"This is my jam!" Jimin hears Minjeong's excited voice from the dance floor. Expecting (and hoping) to see some sort of sexy, seductive moves coming from Minjeong, Jimin's mouth drops open.

What Minjeong is doing is certainly not sexy, but it's still impossible to look away. To the beat of the song and with no signs of embarrassment, she dances like no one's watching. It's an experience watching her, an amalgamation of dance moves that should probably be banned.

For a few seconds, she twirls her hips, arms pumping up and down. The she's strutting around, looking suspiciously like a peacock before she pretends she's holding a shopping cart and picking groceries off imaginary shelves. Then it's onto the 'lawn mower' and the 'sprinkler head'; moves Jimin hasn't seen in action since elementary school.

Despite the sheer ridiculousness of her moves, Minjeong somehow manages to look good. There's unbridled delight radiating from her body, an infectious grin on her face. Even when she does Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' dance towards Jimin, she pulls it off.

"Hey, you're Jimin, right?" A voice sounds from Jimin's side. As she turns to see who asked her that, a pungent, herbal smell hits her with full force. A boy looks expectantly at her, a carefully rolled joint in one of his hands. "I'm Juyeon."

Jimin nods hesitantly, because whatever he's smoking is not legal. He leans in closer to her, and the smell of marijuana is almost overwhelming. "Do you wanna hit?"

Is this going to turn into an after school special?

Very nearly whispering, she answers. "I don't like the smell."

Instead of pushing the matter, Juyeon shrugs good naturedly. "It's not for everyone, but nice meeting you anyway." He turns his attention towards a guy on his other side, passing him the joint and gesturing towards the crowd of people.

Jimin sighs in relief, glad her first interaction with drugs went smoothly. Her dad would be so proud.

Minjeong chooses this time to return, face flushed and happy as she leans against the wall next to Jimin, sliding in between her and Juyeon. "So, are you wowed yet?"

"Oh, I definitely am." Jimin responds dryly, even if it means she'll have to dance too.

"Then let's dance, dance!" Minjeong tugs on her hand, drawing her towards the other dancers. Her hands drift down to Jimin's hips.

"Shake your moneymaker!"

Jimin burns in embarrassment but the feeling isn't as pronounced as it was before. She tries rocking her hips side to side to the song, but it takes her a few moments to find the rhythm.

"That's a good start!" Minjeong shouts, laughing.

"But try to roll your hips a bit more. Like this." And then she rocks her hips, the move sexy enough for Jimin to just unabashedly stare at her for a moment.

Trying to keep herself together, Jimin copies the move as best as she can. Minjeong cheers in response and then pulls her closer. Mouth hot against her ear.

"Now try doing that with me."

Minjeong guides Jimin's hands to rest on her shoulder and then she places her own hands against Jimin's hips. They're still for a moment until they find the rhythm, and then it's like there's no one else around them.

Their hips brush tantalizingly close together, and then they're pulling at each other, drifting closer and closer. But right as their noses brush, the song changes and the dance space is suddenly much more crowded.

Ducking her head with a smile, Minjeong makes her way out of the living room and back into the kitchen for another drink. When she offers one to Jimin, she easily accepts it, the liquid cool and refreshing after the hot crowd of people and Minjeong's breath against her neck.

"Do you wanna go somewhere?" Minjeong abruptly asks Jimin. "It's not too far away."

"Umm, sure." After seeing her dance, Jimin is down for just about anything Minjeong might want to do.

They head towards the front door, and it isn't until they're outside that Jimin realizes something. "Where was Yunjin? You said this was her party, right?" She expected the girl to be lording over the party, mingling with everyone and playing bartender.

Minjeong rolls her eyes. "I almost never see her at her own party. She's always occupied with the school's head cheerleader, Kim Chaewon." She shudders and makes a face. "Trust me, you do not want to walk in on them."

Jimin doesn't know what to say to that, but it does make her wonder about Minjeong's level of...experience. She probably has an encyclopedic knowledge of how to successfully date someone, how to flirt, how to kiss.

Jimin doesn't. She kissed one boy before, and that was at a stupid middle school dance. He had used way too much tongue, and had been bad enough that Jimin wasn't eager to try it again anytime soon.

But now, confident from the alcohol and with Minjeong leading her on another adventure, she wouldn't like anything more than to kiss her senseless.

____

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