It's in the email that Minjeong sees pop up right above the chat conversation with her slightly more than best friend.

 

[Congratulations! You've been accepted to...] 

 

MIT.

 

So many years of burying her head in her books, skipping regular hangouts in favour of studying just a little more.

 

It pays off with that one email.

 

Minjeong screams, causing her brother to run into the room; followed by her father and mother, holding the tv remote and a ladle. 
 

"Toltolie? Is something wrong?"

 

Wordlessly, the blonde flashes her phone screen towards her family with a grin.

 

"Ohh~ So the person that's been making you laugh so much is Yu Jimin? You screamed because she sent a heart? Aigooo my daughter~~"

 

"WAIT NO-" Hurriedly tapping on the screen to show her parents the email instead, Minjeong ignores the chatroom, leaving Yu Jimin who lived an hour away scratching her head, staring at her phone screen.

 

"Wha- why did she leave me on read??" Reading back on their texts to see if she'd said anything wrong, the raven bit her lips; still unable to spot anything that might've pissed off the younger woman.

 

"Mwoya..." 

 

Sighing, Jimin drops her phone onto her bed as she sprawls out. Looking up at her ceiling.

 

The music she's listening to, [I bet on losing dogs- Mitski] it's just enough to get her to tear up slightly; wondering if Minjeong truly loved her.

 

Maybe she's a little sensitive today, you know, when you realise you love someone more than they probably do for you.

 

This started off as a joke, Kim Minjeong was just a little too cute, and so; wanting to get a reaction out of the younger girl, the raven had sent a dm, playfully flirting with her.

 

But one thing turned to another, and now here they are; talking day and night, stuck to each other like glue whenever they're able to.

 

Whenever they're able to; because ever since they'd finally got out of college, they'd only been hanging out with the band; Ning, Aeri, Minjeong, Jimin. 
 

Never alone.
 

It's a little unfulfilling...and so, truth be told, Yu Jimin was planning to confess soon.

 

After all, two years of this...slightly more but less than type of relationship they've had; there's no way the younger woman hadn't fallen even a little...right?

 

Right??

 

It's that uncertainty that weighs down on Yu Jimin's mind. 
 

It's that uncertainty that locks the words within her heart.

 

It's that uncertainty that causes her to just sit and stare for a little longer. Eyes sticky when it comes to Minjeong, her gaze lingering on the blonde whenever it could. 
 

Even if it's just a little longer.

 

Her phone screen flashes once more, Jimin immediately sits up just to see that it's a notification from gardenscapes.

 

A sigh.

 

 

 

 

"Aeri unnie...can you come over? Just for a little while- I just- I...please.." Immediately, Aeri throws a leather jacket over her black tank top, swapping out her dirty sweatpants for some loose baggy jeans.

 

"I'm coming over, where are you?" She reaches for the keys besides her door, grabbing the pack of mints beside it too, along with her wallet.

 

"I'm in our band room...Sorry, I think I just need some time alone- I don't want to- you don't need to come, I'm fine.." Aeri scrunches her brow, recognising that Yizhuo was feeling like a burden; it's a bad habit of the younger woman's.

 

"Just sit there for me Ning, why don't you try playing with my bass for now? I'll be there in the blink of an eye, you won't even realise time has passed." The ignition is , Aeri sits for just a little longer, waiting for the engine to warm up.

 

"6 seconds went by as you said that." Yizhuo's tone is so deadpan Aeri scoffs lightheartedly, placing her phone into the little claw grip she'd attached onto her bike just so she's able to follow gps's

 

"DAMN- where's my instant teleportation..." Tapping the screen to pull up the location of the 'band room', Aeri puts on her helmet, pushes up the kickstand and pulls lightly on the throttle.

 

"Hehehehe; tell me if you somehow manage to make that happen, unnie." The little buzzes from the white bass sound just a little too distorted through the speakers in the helmet that Aeri had bought it specifically for, but it's pretty sounding. Everything she does sounds good to me.

 

A simp; that's Aeri Uchinaga.

 

"Apple teleport? Wasn't that something that came out recently?" Another giggle from the younger woman, Aeri finds herself smiling under the helmet.

 

There's just a certain serotonin you get from making someone you love laugh. It's like a drug; and Ning Yizhuo just happens to be Aeri's supplier.

 

"You have a casual million dollars to do that frequently?" A chuckle as Aeri slows to a stop at a red light.

 

" Not really." The older woman spots an overnight convenience store ahead, finding herself debating with her mind over buying some snacks for the both of them.

 

"Oh my god you trust fund baby." Trust fund baby. When was the last time Aeri checked her bank account? She can't remember, she's never really had to worry about having enough before buying something for herself or her bandmates.

 

Speaking of trust fund babies.

 

"I need a man in finance. Trust fund, 6'5, blue eyes." A tiktok remix she'd heard previously sticks around in her mind; Aeri watches as the convenience store gets closer.

 

"You're a design major, trust fund, can't do the conversion, and have brown eyes, Ri." NingNing is giggling through the speaker, the serotonin injection that she administers gets Aeri to sit up just a little more, feeling her fatigue wash away from her shoulders.

 

"Hey I said I need, not I am." Her tone is defensive, but the smile under the helmet gives her away just a little too much.

 

" Too bad you're not my man in finance, trust fund, 6'5, blue eyes then." A glance at the street, it's completely deserted ,safe for a few other midnight bike gangs.

 

"Pfft- what happened to that girl you were crushing on? The masc girl." Just as she was about to pass the convenience store, a beep is heard.

 

The line goes dead.

 

. That was the landmine.

 

Aeri slows to a stop, turning into the store.

 

 

 

"So...what happened?" Pulling the large metal door open, Aeri spots Yizhuo in the corner, still silently plucking at the thick metal strings.

 

"Unnie, how do you get it to sound groovy?" She's avoiding the question...

 

But who was Aeri to call the younger woman out on that? Rather than pushing Yizhuo for an explanation, she sits down right besides the younger woman, holding her hand gently before placing it over the strings.

 

The music they play is nowhere near satisfactory, nowhere near a proper bass line but the moment is tranquil, the singular incandescent light bulb that lights up the room currently projecting a warm, almost orange hue onto their bodies.

 

Yizhuo leans back slightly, melting into Aeri's shoulders, there's a slight pause when Yizhuo doesn't choose a note to play that reveals their beating hearts.

 

"She told me she saw me only as a friend." Aeri freezes, surprised that this was the time NingNing chooses to explain her thoughts.

 

"I went home after our da- hangout; and my mom was there. " Mother. Yizhuo's once told the raven about her relationship with her mom, Aeri finds herself breathing in, bracing herself for the words she was about to hear.

 

" She saw me crying...and asked me to wash up the dishes and get a hold of myself." Aeri only watches as tears gather behind obsidian eyes, as Yizhuo softly chuckles.

 

"Told me that everyone's tired, that I'm not special, that I should just get over it." It's self pitying, the way Yizhuo smiles, her eyes dulled, drilling into the coffee table in front of them, the snacks Aeri bought placed in a plastic bag atop it.

 

There's a scrunch of raven brows, the older woman bites her lip in an attempt to hold back her own tears; one of them had to stay strong for the other. I have to be reliable for her.

 

"Told me that it was my fault. That I'm just too much to handle." Yizhuo wordlessly looks back down to the bass guitar, picking loosely at metal strings, the sound is awkward, out of place.

 

Exactly how she is.

 

"When I packed up my bags, she called me spoiled, useless, burdensome. Isn't that funny? Don't you need to be loved to be spoiled? Yet here I am. Crying over never being loved." A blink.

 

"No matter how hard I try to be." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Other than that, Yu Jimin; who is it?" The blonde's father has his chin between his index and thumb, the family of 4 was seated, surrounding their youngest as they listened to her gushing about being accepted and being able to study robotics in an advanced level.

 

To be honest, her parents could care less about her grades, her degree, her research. It was always about her happiness for them. If their princess would be happy, the tuition would be mere cents in their eyes. And if Minjeong chose to stay, they'd support her too.

 

The Kim Maknae was a precious existence, capable of many things; but sometimes one doesn't need to fully live up to their potential.

 

Sometimes one only needs to live their life, exactly how they want to . 

 

"She's...someone I've been- seeing? I like her." Thinking of the older woman always brings a smile to the blonde's face; involuntarily of course.

 

"Our daughter is dating?" Her mom gasps.

 

"My baby sister...' Minjeong's older brother has his hand over his lips, looking over at her incredulously.

 

"No we're not dating" He scrunches his brows together, leaning back.

 

"What?" The blonde avoids her parent's eyes, looking to ground instead.

 

"It's...complicated." Her brother jumps from the bed, holding his hands out in front of his body. 

 

"MY BABY SISTER HAS A SITUATIONSHIP!?!?!" The scream is loud; Minjeong worries if they'd accidentally wake up their neighbours.

 

"S-shut up." 

 

"Is Yu Jimin blind?! SHE CAN'T SEE HOW PRETTY AND CUTE MY TOLTOLIE IS!???" Hiding her face behind the collar of her shirt, the youngest only whispers.

 

"She calls me that all the time..." 

 

"Minjeong, you're pretty with this new hair. I like it a lot."

 

"When I first saw you? You were just in the corner, looking so small and tin- Ah ah! That hurts Mindoongie..."

 

"Words may only show half the love I have for you; yet it's frightening. The words I speak carry so much, and yet it's never fully able to encapsulate it."

 

"This love I carry...it's all contained within this body of mine."

 

"This love that rivals the oceans."

 

"So why aren't you dating yet?" Looking down, fiddling with her fingers, Minjeong chews on her lower lip, thinking about it.

 

"Neither of us has confessed. And now- between moving over to america, to getting ready to enter the number one university, to homesickness..." A dark cloud weighs on the youngest's mind, the distance, the time.

 

"I don't think