Minjeong is nervous.
 

It's her first day in class after the two weeks semester break. Everything is back to normal.

Well, except for one. 

Aeri has yet to be seen. The class will start in five minutes and the Japanese girl is still out of sight. This should be the calm before the storm for Minjeong, but no. Not when she knows that something might happen later on. 

If it's good or bad? Minjeong doesn't know herself. 

Earlier, Jimin noticed the odd look on Minjeong's face, and she just knew right then and there that the girl was feeling really nervous. She tried to comfort Minjeong, telling the girl that everything will be okay, and it did help a bit. 

Just a bit. 

Because now that the door of the classroom opened, revealing the girl that Minjeong has been waiting for, she felt nothing but nervousness. 

Their eyes met. 

No one dared to look away. They are just staring at each other as if they're the only ones who are inside the room. Aeri slowly walked towards Minjeong and sat beside her. 

Silence. 

It's funny how no one between the both of them is even speaking, but it's still deafening. The silence is deafening. There's a whole awkward atmosphere around them and Minjeong wouldn't even be surprised if their other classmates feel it too. 

Minjeong bit her lower lip.

She wants to speak. She wants to break the silence, but she can't. She couldn't even look at the girl for God's sake, how will she do it?

"…How are you?"

The short haired girl flinched as soon as she heard Aeri's quiet voice. 

Without looking at the girl, she answered. "I'm fine…you?"

"Can we talk later?" Aeri suddenly asked. Minjeong took a hold of the hem of her own shirt.

"S-sure."

"Thank you."

No one dared to speak after that. 

Their professor came and Minjeong decided to focus on the lesson rather than overthinking about what might happen later. 

Nothing changed, though.

She is still nervous.




 

____

 

"Up for lunch?"
 

"Uh…" Minjeong glanced at the room behind her. "Can't."

"Hmm, busy?"

"Not really." Minjeong muttered to the phone. "Aeri and I will talk." 

"Oh," Jimin mumbled from the end of the line. "Will you be okay, though?"

"Of course, I will. This is just Aeri, we're just going to talk."

Lie.

"…Sure." Jimin responded. "I'll be at the cafeteria with Yeji and the others, okay? Call me if you need me."

"Okay." Minjeong said. "Bye, I love you."

"I love you too."

The call ended. 

Minjeong turned to look inside the classroom again, seeing Aeri who's already finished fixing her stuff. She's now walking towards her. 

"Minjeong," Aeri called as soon as she got closer. 

The short haired girl cleared . "Let's go?"

Aeri nodded. They started walking, the Japanese girl is a few steps ahead from Minjeong while the latter is just following her quietly. 

Minjeong only realized where they're going when Aeri stopped in front of the door of the rooftop, opening it.

Minjeong continued to follow her until she saw Aeri stopping in front of the railings. She quietly went beside her. 

Silence. 

"Minjeong—"

"Aeri—"

They looked at each other. 

"Uh…go on first."

"It's okay, you first."

"No it's fine, you can go."

"Let me hear you first."

"No, it's—" Minjeong stopped. "Why are we even fighting about this?" She muttered.

Aeri couldn't help but to let out a small smile. 

"Alright, I'll go first."

The Japanese took a deep breath, before speaking. "I'm sorry, Minjeongie."

"Aeri—"

"I keep saying sorry, I know." Aeri chuckled softly. "And as long as I still feel the guiltiness in me, I will keep saying sorry again and again."

"I've been a bad friend," Her hands gripped tightly on the railings. "I was willing to hate you, Minjeong. Just for some petty feelings, just for Jimin. And I regret thinking of that."

"I was just so used to getting everything that this mere fact of not having Jimin in my life irked something inside me. It's…shocking, in a way, that I even wondered what went wrong. I wondered, what do you have that I don't? What does Jimin see in you that I don't have?"

"And, it's ironic, because without a doubt, I know you were also thinking about the same thing." Aeri looked at her. "You were discouraged, you felt like you can't give everything to her, that you don't deserve her because she's too far from you."

"But would you look at that," The Japanese smiled. "You didn't reach her first, she did. She's willing to defy everything just for you, Min