Dreamcatcher Imagines

𝗷𝗶𝘂 | take me back

Reader Is: Neutral Age (Non-DC AU)
Categories: Angst, Fluff
Summary: Minji returns to her hometown to take care of her ill mother and reconnects with the reader, her ex-girlfriend.

♡

It had been years since you'd seen Kim Minji, but it seemed that the world had treated her well since then. Time only enhanced her beauty, which was to be expected. It had done the same when you were together, why would it stop after you parted?

She stood in the entrance of the bar, looking around, likely taking note of what had changed since she left town. Her coffee-colored tresses fell in tousled waves over her inky coat, similarly hued stockings shielding her legs from the cold. Her naturally beautiful face was hardly veiled by the simple makeup that she had on.

Though the last time that you had seen her rendered a mental image of blonde curls and smoky eyeshadow dripping onto her oversized t-shirt in painful tears, you knew that you would recognize her with any hair color, any outfit, any makeup. Nothing like that could change the fact that she was still your Minji.

It seemed as though she felt the same about you, whose changes she noticed with wide eyes when she saw you standing behind the bar instead of sitting on a stool on the opposite side. "Hey, stranger," she kidded as she took a seat in front of you. Her voice was soft and almost melancholy in tone.

You had daydreamed about Minji returning until you lost count of your imaginings. It was what kept you going after the breakup – and then for far too long afterwards, what kept you from seeing someone else. Yet hearing her voice made every last vision disappear abruptly, leaving you unsure if you had a line for the scenario at all.

"What brings you back, Ji?" you asked simply. Without meaning to, your question took on her lilt. It just didn't feel right to talk to her the way that you used to, so full of energy and life. You didn't feel as though you had much of either anymore.

You continued drying glasses as she began to speak, and you set aside a wine one before filling it with a red variety of the drink. "My mother isn't well."

Your eyes widened. "I'm sorry." Minji's parents had been nothing but kind to you throughout the entire time that you knew the woman. Though you couldn't quite remember the last time you saw them – which made more sense after Minji's explanation – it pained you to hear that one of them was not at their best.

Minji sighed, swirling the wine in her glass before she sampled it. Part of you wanted to smile at the way that she didn't acknowledge you giving it to her. It seemed that her mind was far away, perhaps forgetting that things had changed between you.

In truth, not much had besides her absence. She had received an unexpected opportunity that warranted a likewise breakup, one that had been almost too civil to accept. A sliver of hope in you still held onto the notion that she wanted to dissolve what stood between you: distance. "It is what it is," she replied, snapping you out of your reverie.

You grabbed your on-duty soda of choice and refilled the glass that you had been nursing, taking a sip once you had emptied the can into it. "How long will you be here?"

Last you knew, Minji had a high-power executive job in the big city. It was what she had left for, the offer. It was a huge step up from managing the local branch of said company where you still lived. But the woman shrugged dejectedly before she responded, twirling a napkin around on the bar with her slender fingers. "Indefinitely. I quit."

"Minji, you quit?!" You couldn't hold back the surprise in your voice, making Minji crack a rather unamused smile. "I would never have thought...I guess you have changed."