Paper Constellations 🌌

Minjeong changes her class in the middle of the year. She does not want to. She has her friends, her routine, her safe space. But she has no choice. She has to go.
Jimin sits in the first row. Quiet. Calm. Almost invisible behind her friends' loud voices. Her friends laugh too much, tease too much, and sometimes they are mean. At first, Jimin joins them. She laughs, she points, she teases without thinking. She does not know she is hurting Minjeong. She does not mean to, but she does.
Minjeong hates her at first. She thinks Jimin could stop her friends. She thinks Jimin should care. But Jimin does nothing. She just sits quietly. Her silence hurts Minjeong too much. Every joke, every laugh, every teasing word-it builds little fires in her chest.
After some time, guilt starts to grow in Jimin. She realizes she is hurting Minjeong. She feels bad. She stops laughing at her. She stops joining the teasing. She tries to do the right thing, even if it is scary.
Minjeong notices the change. She is still angry. She is still careful. She does not forgive Jimin yet. She does not trust her. She does not want to. But something is different now. She sees that maybe Jimin is not so cruel after all.
They do not talk much. They do not laugh together yet. They are still far from friends. They are still enemies by first impression. They are still people who notice each other but pretend they do not.