Lost in your lens - NewJeans' Minji x M!Reader

Ch. 19 - Renovation

"Babe, I swear to god if you take one more photo of me covered in paint-"

Click.

"Sorry," Minji grinned, not sorry at all. "But you've got some on your nose and it's kind of adorable."

"You're the worst." I tried to wipe my nose but probably just made it worse, judging by her laugh. The studio's walls were only half-painted, but somehow I'd managed to get more paint on myself than anywhere else.

"Stop flirting and help me with this wall!" Hyein called from across the room. She'd shown up an hour ago with coffee and boundless energy, declaring herself "Chief Design Officer" despite Danielle's protests through the video call.

"Your not the Chief Design Officer," Danielle's voice crackled through Hanni's phone, propped up on a stepladder. "I'm the actual architect who designed this space, and that wall is supposed to be eggshell white, not- Hyein, what color is that?"

"It's called 'Summer Dream' and it's perfect for my classroom!"

"Your classroom is supposed to be a multi-purpose space-"

"Yeah, multi-purpose for all the purposes I want to teach in!"

I caught Minji's eye and we both tried not to laugh. The renovation had been going for two weeks, and somehow every day brought a new battle between Danielle's precise vision and Hyein's... creative interpretations.

"Don't worry," Haerin said quietly, appearing beside me with fresh coffee. She'd been quietly painting perfect straight lines while everyone else argued. "I'll fix it when she's not looking."

"I HEARD THAT!"

The space was slowly coming together, though. The main gallery area was almost finished, its walls the perfect shade of white that Minji and Danielle had spent three days choosing. The classroom spaces were taking shape, even if one wall was currently a color that definitely wasn't in the original plans. And the small café corner - because of course we needed one - was waiting for the furniture Hanni swore would "perfectly capture our aesthetic, trust me."

"Hey," Minji nudged me with her elbow, camera temporarily lowered. "You good? You got that thinking face on."

"Just... never thought I'd be here, you know? Like, a year ago I was barely keeping it together as an exchange student, and now..."

"Now you're barely keeping it together as a graduate student?"

"Shut up," I laughed, pulling her closer despite the paint probably getting on her clothes. "You know what I mean."

She did. Of course she did. She always saw the things I couldn't quite say.

"I know," she said softly, fitting perfectly against my side like always. "Pretty wild how things work out, huh?"

"EXCUSE ME, this is a CONSTRUCTION ZONE, not a CUDDLING ZONE!" Hyein's voice broke our moment. "Unless you're gonna help me convince Danielle that this color is totally workspace appropriate?"

"Don't drag them into this!" Danielle protested through the phone. "And that is NOT a workspace appropriate color!"

"Watch me make it work-appropriate!"

As they descended into another friendly argument about color theory and learning environments, with Haerin quietly continuing her perfect paint lines and Hanni documenting everything "for the renovation episode," I looked around at our half-finished space. At all the possibilities it held.

The light through the big windows (Minji's one non-negotiable feature) painted everything in that soft glow she loved to capture. Soon this space would be filled with students finding their way, with photos telling stories of belonging, with our friends building their own dreams alongside ours.