growing by wishyourgirlfriend on tumblr
You and Jihyo had been practically inseparable since the very first day you met each other. When you moved just down the road from Jihyo and her family when you were little, her mother was kind enough to come over and introduce herself, and, upon seeing you, was overjoyed knowing that her daughter had someone around her age to play with that summer.
Your mother and Jihyo's mother set up a playdate only a few days later, and that was the first time you ever met Jihyo- she was a small, shy girl, holding onto her mother for dear life during your first introduction, but with every playdate your parents set up, Jihyo opened up more and more. You saw early on that despite her initial timid behavior, she always wore a bright smile on her face that never failed to bring one to your own. She was quiet sometimes, yes, but she still had a big personality that clicked so well with yours.
From then on, you were always by Jihyo's side. In and out of school, you were always seen together, holding hands as you crossed the street on the way home, racing down the block in an effort to see who was faster- it was all good fun, and anyone who ever crossed paths with the two of you knew your friendship would last a lifetime and then some.
You two had grown so close to each other in your early school years that you began to introduce Jihyo as your "girlfriend" when people would ask who she was. Of course, you were young and no one took it seriously, but folks let you have your fun, and giggled when you'd kiss Jihyo on the cheek like a "girlfriend" should. What they didn't realize is that you really thought of Jihyo as your girlfriend, and she thought of you as hers.
As you grew older, you and Jihyo found different interests and fell in with different crowds, and of course, the "girlfriend" show was dropped over time, but not once did that change your relationship with her. You two were still the best of friends, leaving classmates wondering how, despite how different you were from each other, you two remained so close. The bond you had with Jihyo was unbreakable, and you always, always made time for each other, no matter what.
You were in the seventh grade when a mutual friend dared you to kiss Jihyo at her birthday party. It was typical preteen shenanigans, when birthday parties consisted on corny games and gossip about cute boys, and this was a part that came with it all. You were surprised, of course, because you were a girl and so was Jihyo, and you had only ever seen girls kissing boys. It was a new seed that was planted in your mind from that moment forward, despite your playful girlfriend antics when you were younger, and with a small rush of bravery, you pecked Jihyo on the lips quickly, your cheeks bright red out of embarrassment. Through the gasps of your friends, Jihyo just giggled, and it made you think that yeah, maybe kissing girls was okay after all.
After the whole kissing incident, you found yourself, if possible, even closer to Jihyo than you had ever been before. At that point, you felt connected to her in a new way, as you were each other's first kiss (though, it was hardly a real kiss), and it opened up a whole new level of trust between you two.
In your freshman year, Jihyo had gotten her first serious boyfriend, and that's when your friendship began to crumble a bit. Now that she had a boyfriend, she was obviously dedicating so much time to him, and, as most young people do, she had a problem managing her time between you and her boyfriend. You began to see Jihyo less and less, and although you did stay on good terms with her, your friendship wasn't as strong as it used to be.
In the time that Jihyo had a boyfriend, you had your small share of girlfriends, scattered across two years. None of your relationships were serious, and it was always you calling things off- you felt like there was something missing, something that you couldn't quite place.
