THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT US. winrina

13: Perfume

"Jeongie?"

Head first into a freezing cold fridge, Minjeong has never expected to be caught or recognized like this. Not in her black and white star printed pajamas, or Yizhuo's fluffy pink crocs, or with her hair tied up into a half-assed ponytail, and certainly not with her eyes barely possessing life in them.

Karina is standing before her when she ducks out of the freezer and stands up straight and then turns around on her heels. Karina looks like she just got out of bed, too, so Minjeong doesn't entirely feel like absolute shit compared to her camera friendly girlfriend. In a T-shirt that's way too big for her thin body, Karina looks extra.. fluffy tonight. Like her mere presence demands for Minjeong's full and undivided attention. She isn't sporting her usual makeup face but rather her bare, baby face one. (Minjeong wishes to reach up and squish Karina's soft looking cheeks but the devil on her shoulder refrains her from doing so. "She's not your real girlfriend!" It screams repeatedly, over and over again. "Fuck off," Minjeong would always counter inwardly.)

Realizing just how long she's been standing there like a coward and staring, Minjeong coughs to hide her ears that have grown red. "Jimin," She looks away, looks over Karina's shoulder at the young clerk behind the cash register who's sneaking pictures of the unmasked Karina. "What are you doing here?"

"Stalking you." Karina answers with a goofy smile on her face. Minjeong doesn't swoon — or tries not to — and tugs on the artist's arm to step out of the clerk's sight. "Okay, no, I'm not. I was driving back home from the agency and saw you walking into the store. Thought I'd say hi."

Stop being so.. Minjeong catches herself before she can smile. "Jimin."

"Hm?"

"You should be asleep."

She's not wrong. It is almost one in the morning. One should be tucked into bed and in deep sleep at this hour, and Minjeong's saying that as a college student whose body clock is fucked up but even she knows that 1 AM is not a preferable time to be up and about. However, with the way Karina's bottom lip juts out and her pupils dilate to form big adorable puppy eyes — or cat eyes, whichever fits — Minjeong ultimately feels conflicted.

Karina looks like a kicked puppy dog. (Fuck. Okay, let's not think of her as cute animals tonight, Minjeong tells herself.) "But I'm not sleepy."

"That doesn't mean you aren't tired." Minjeong tries to argue, although knowing this will most probably get them nowhere. The most this will turn into is a debate consisting of oddities and stupidity. (Not a totally bad idea right now but maybe that's just Minjeong's jumbled up rationality.)

"Fine."

Oh? Karina's giving up faster than estimated. She's probably too lazy to argue. Either that, or she sees no point in keeping the conversation alive just like what Minjeong thinks. Well, great minds do think alike.

"But for now," Karina steps forward and into Minjeong's personal space before leaning down to press a chaste kiss on her cheek. She pulls back but keeps just a good enough distance away, smiling, "Hi, Jeongie."

Karina's breath smells like mint. Her breath is both warm and cool against Minjeong's skin. Though she can't tell if that's Karina or a combo of the blood rushing to her cheeks and the air conditioner above their heads. It manages to make Minjeong's heart pound angrily in her chest, still. Because no matter what, Karina seems to be the only one who can truly make her heart turbulent, make her lungs feel constricted like chains are wrapped around them, make her knees weak and wobbly like her legs are made of jelly. It's an actual miracle that she hasn't dropped everything in her arms because her hands sure feel numb right now.