Jihyo wakes up alone, the sheets beside her still warm to the touch. She stretches, feeling her muscles burn and then with a swoop of her stomach, remembers last night in vivid detail. Panic trembles up her spine. Before it settles unforgivingly in her bones, the door to the ensuite bathroom opens and Mina steps out, wrapped in a silk robe. It drapes over her collarbones, barely concealing the purple blossoms that colour her porcelain skin.
Jihyo swallows dangerously and tears her eyes away, feeling her cheeks burn. God, she wasn't even drunk last night, why did she - what if Mina -
The bed dips, and then gentle fingers brush her fringe away from her face, smoothing over her hair.
"Stop overthinking." Mina's thumb brushes over the apple of her cheek.
"I'm not," Jihyo says before letting out a little sigh. "But we should still talk about it. About last night."
Mina doesn't say anything but her thumb doesn't stop tracing the curve of Jihyo's cheekbone - over and over until some of the tension in Jihyo melts away and she leans into the touch.
"I know there's a lot we still need to figure out," Mina murmurs, her voice a soothing balm that calms the panic trembling up Jihyo's spine and the flames of self-doubt licking her insides. "But - I didn't do anything I didn't want to do, Jihyo-yah. Did - did you?"
Jihyo looks up then, catching the flicker of doubt laced with raw vulnerability that dims Mina's edges.
"I always want you, Mina," Jihyo admits, the words flooding out of her in a single breath like a damn breaking. "I've wanted you - only you - for a long long time. I - I can't remember how to not want you."
Mina goes still at the confession, then she smiles in a way that reminds Jihyo of sunshine on the first day of spring - a smile full of the promise of new beginnings.
"Then, stop overthinking, okay?" Mina leans down and presses her lips to Jihyo's forehead. "You're not something I can or will ever regret, Jihyo. We'll figure the rest out, okay? Together."
Something in Jihyo's heart settles at the words. Despite everything else, Mina is always the calm that quiets her storms, always the anchor that grounds her. This time, Jihyo is no longer afraid; she latches on, tilts her face up in a wordless plea. Mina obliges immediately, chuckling fondly right before she leans down again and kisses Jihyo good morning.
"Wanna grab breakfast and then knit by the beach?" Mina reads the question off her face before Jihyo voices it out loud. "I thought we could do something we both like together. Like old times, even if we're creating new memories now."
Jihyo blinks. "I never realised how cheesy you really are."
Mina smacks her shoulder but she's laughing, brighter than the sun. Something in Jihyo's heart settles, somewhere right in the melody of Mina's laugh.
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They spend the next few weeks enjoying each other's company. Sometimes, they stay at home, spending lazy days in bed and then going for sunset walks by the beach. Sometimes, they drive around to see the sights or just head out for lunch or dinner in a nice restaurant.
It's so easy, so effortless, and Jihyo's the happiest she's ever been.
