Me, Myself & I (Catnipz)

Danielle had lost the bet.

 Finally, Minji agreed. But she refused to go in my car, so we had to take hers. We arrived at an ice cream shop that the kids chose because it had a huge play area. They had at least twenty flavors of ice cream, which Minji had to mention at least three times for Jongin and Sihyun to decide. Especially Sihyun, who still couldn't read very well.

"Strawberry!" exclaimed Sihyun, who was in his sister's arms.

"Vanilla!" joined Jongin.

"You made me repeat the flavors three times just to choose the same ones as always!" I teased them, and both laughed, just like the cashier, who couldn't stop staring at Minji with a huge, silly smile.

"Chocolate," I said reluctantly.

As expected, she didn't let me pay. Not out of kindness, but more of a "I don't need anything from you" attitude. "I invited them," I said, annoyed, as I sat in one of the comfortable, eye-catching armchairs in the colorful place. She didn't reply, just rested her elbows on her knees and covered her face. "Why did you tell me you were 'starting' to like me if it wasn't true?" I asked as I scooped some ice cream into my mouth.

"I didn't lie," she said, turning to me. "I liked the Haerin from that day."

"The Haerin from that day?" I asked, laughing.

"Yes," she leaned back in the chair and rested her arm on the backrest, almost at the same distance as my shoulder. "Carefree, no makeup, none of those extra accessories," she chuckled.

"It's the same, Minji," I said, laughing. "In a dress, in pants, in shorts, with makeup or without, I'm the same."

"No, you're not," she said seriously. "You're never the same. You're one person on campus, another at home, with me, with Danielle, with Garam, with my brothers," she was right. "And you know what's bad?"

"What?" I asked, feeling a bit intimidated.

"No one knows which one is the real you," she said, and silence filled the air. Just between us, everything around us continued at its usual pace. People chatted, children ran around...

"So we have something in common," I said, looking at her. Minji turned to me, waiting for an explanation. "You're different on campus, at home, with me... even yesterday, you were different," I returned my gaze to the ice cream, which was starting to melt.

"It's not..." she began, but I cut her off, not asking for explanations.

"Say nothing," I interrupted. "Do you want some?" I asked, breaking the silence again.

"I hate chocolate," she said, shaking her head.

"You're a liar!" I laughed. "You almost finished a chocolate cake by yourself and now you hate it," I joined her laughter; I couldn't deny she was different now.

"I only had a little," she said, frowning but with a half-smile.

"A little? Sure," I said sarcastically, scooping some ice cream with the spoon and bringing it toward her. "Just a little," I got on my knees on the chair to get closer.

"No," she refused again.

"It will melt and drip on your clothes," I teased.

"I told you no," she said, laughing as she hugged me around the waist, making me sit again.

Our distance had become almost nothing. I raised the white spoon again, brought it to her, and finally, she opened her mouth. I smiled triumphantly and took her cheek with my free hand. I didn't need to guide her, and certainly didn't need to get closer. She understood and moved toward my lips. She lifted her hand to my neck, preventing me from pulling away, but that was something I wouldn't do in a million years.

"Your hand is cold," she said, laughing between kisses, which was logical after holding the ice cream cup for more than fifteen minutes.

I smiled and kissed her lips again. I took her hand from my neck, lowered it to intertwine our fingers, and let my hand warm hers. Once again, she moved away from my lips, focusing on our intertwined hands. Minji raised one of her naturally well-defined eyebrows.

"It's not cold anymore," was all I managed to say, and she shook her head, laughing. For some unknown reason, I turned my head and found something unexpected. Danielle and Hanni were looking at us, more than surprised. Hanni reacted and looked at Danielle, who still had wide eyes.

Danielle had lost the bet.