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It’s when Mina rejects the third guy that’s come up to her in the last hour that she begins to wonder if her friends were right about her solo vacation.
Depending on which of them she asked, they had insisted that a solo vacation would be “boring”, “a waste of half a bed”, “a chance to explore new sides of herself but also potentially dangerous”, and “stressful as hell”.
In turn, she had told Sana, Momo, Chaeyoung, and Dahyun that she would be totally fine and that they needed to live a little.
They had taken one look at her, wrapped up in a blanket and halfway through her rewatch of the Iron Man movies and promptly laughed until they cried. Mina had just scowled, determined to prove them all wrong.
And here she was. Eight hours and five-thousand miles from said friends.
Sitting at a restaurant table. By herself. Fending off thoroughly unwanted advances.
She’d be sure to leave this part of her day out of her call back home.
That’s not to say the vacation hadn’t been going well. Mina had only been here for four days, and she was already in love.
Hawaii was beautiful and exciting and completely new to her. She had tried surfing, swam in the clearest oceans she’d ever seen, and best of all, no one had recognized her.
There was a freedom in knowing that she could exist in a public space without eyes watching her every move.
Though, she thinks as she sees yet another guy eyeing her from across the restaurant, there were certain advantages to bodyguards that she missed.
She takes a final sip from her drink, appreciating that this place seemed to backup it’s claim as having “The Best Smoothies This Side of Paradise”.
She had been looking for a place to eat, wanting to rest her feet after walking along the beach all morning, and had found herself standing in front of a small diner.
She had never heard of 3MIXX, hadn’t seen it in any of the articles she read nor the guidebooks she perused, but she could see a colorful mural on the wall and found herself inside before she could think much of it.
It was a compact place, probably seating about 25 people across its array of stools and booths. Mina had been promptly seated and served by a kind young woman who thankfully seemed to share Mina’s disdain for unnecessary conversation.
The food had been delicious, and Mina finds herself lingering a bit longer than she had planned to. The men were annoying, yes, but the atmosphere in this place was comfortable and welcoming. Not the worst place to spend some of her last day.
Not to mention the air conditioning.
She hears footsteps getting closer and braces herself for the inevitable interaction. She mentally bets that he’ll open with a pick-up line about coconuts.
“Hey buddy, is there something you need over here? The bathrooms are behind you and to the right.”
Mina’s head snaps up at the distinctly feminine voice, and what she sees causes her to all but crush her cup in her grasp.
Standing about five feet away from her table and glaring at a sheepishly retreating man, is a woman Mina can only describe as upsettingly attractive.
Mina’s eyes trace over impossibly long legs covered only by a pair of jean shorts that are short enough to give Mina a view of the other’s woman’s thigh muscle flexing under smooth skin.
Her eyes catch again on the woman’s hands, taking note of twitching fingers and firmly crossed arms.
It’s when she takes in her side profile that Mina finds herself crushing the cup she had just finished emptying.
The angle prevents Mina from seeing her full face, but she can see a set jaw and raised chin and a confidence that’s undeniable.
Her hair is blonde, falling to just below her jawline and ruffled in a way that immediately gives Mina flashes of crumpled bed sheets and roaming fingers.
Mina does her best to push those images away and begins to wonder if she has a thing for blondes.
The woman begins to turn towards her, and Mina is overtaken with a strong desire to make eye-contact with her. She needs to know what she properly looks like, wants to capture the face of the woman who injected some excitement into Mina’s afternoon.
Movement to her left steals her focus, and Mina’s eyes dart over to see her server, Tzuyu, moving to stand right next to her table. Mina feels her cheeks warming, an inexplicable bolt of guilt shooting through her, and she does her best to focus on Tzuyu instead of her mystery savior.
“I’m so sorry, Miss. I wanted to help you after the second guy came over, but,” Tzuyu’s eyes drop to the table, and all thoughts of the blonde woman dissolve away, “I’m not really great with confrontation. I went and got one of my bosses instead. I’m sorry.”
“Oh god, no,” Mina starts. The woman in front of her looks downright remorseful, and Mina feels a small ache in her heart. “You did more than you had to. I could’ve just left. Thank you for helping me.”
Tzuyu smiles, small and gentle, and Mina feels a surprisingly large rush of affection come over her.
“No one would’ve had to do anything if these assholes learned to fucking mind their manners.”
Mina’s eyes flicker over to the source of the voice before she can prepare herself, and she is once again taken with this woman. She’s somehow even more attractive from this perspective.
There was an accessory Mina hadn’t been able to see before, but she can see it clear as day now and god does it suit her.
“Glasses.”
“I’m sorry?” Both Tzuyu and the mystery woman are looking at her in confusion, and Mina realizes with horror that she has spoken aloud.
“I said ‘Thank you for going to ask.’” Mina says, stuttering a bit more than she wants. She can tell she's getting flustered. “I apologize. I still trip over my English sometimes.”
“Oh that’s okay,” the mystery woman exclaims, a smile coming to her face. “It took me forever to string a full sentence together.”
She reaches out and wraps an arm around Tzuyu’s shoulders, pulling the other woman down to her level. Mina doesn’t miss the playful annoyance that comes over Tzuyu’s face at the gesture. “Tzuyu here, though. She picks up languages like it was her second calling in life. The first, of course, being working with me, her favorite sister.”
Tzuyu ducks out of the gesture when a hand begins messing up her hair, muttering something about having to see to her other tables before all but running away, but not before shooting Mina a smile that is easily returned.
“I’m Jeongyeon, by the way. I’m sorry you were being harassed here. That’s not something I want in my restaurant.” Mina sees Jeongyeon’s mouth tighten at the corners, sees her fist clench.
“There’s always an uptick in incidents like these during spring break. Please, accept a free meal as an apology.” Jeongyeon bows slightly, and Mina realizes something.
She had noticed Jeongyeon’s accent when she first spoke, had acknowledged that it existed and then moved her focus to other things.
“Ah,” Mina starts hesitantly, switching back to the language she uses the most, “do you by any chance speak Korean? I’m much better in that language than in English.”
Jeongyeon perks up, and she shoots Mina a disbelieving smile. “I do! What gave it away?”
“A number of things.”
“Well, then allow me to offer you an apology in a second language. I really am sorry about that.”
Mina waves off Jeongyeon’s apology. “It’s okay, really. I’m used to the attention.”
A beat passes before Mina realizes how that sounded, and Jeongyeon acknowledges her words with a tilt of her head before she can explain. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”
Mina’s mouth snaps shut as she feels a blush beginning to form on her cheeks. Something in the air must be different here, because she normally had no trouble accepting compliments with a simple smile.
Jeongyeon smiles at her again, and Mina feels her words catch in her throat. She clears it, preparing to speak, but Jeongyeon once again beats her to the punch.
“I’ll go clear the check with Tzuyu so you can be on your way, Miss. Please, enjoy the rest of your time here.” Jeongyeon nods, and she turns to begin walking away.
Mina almost lets her go, almost lets her diner knight slip away without another word. She knows she could chalk this momentary infatuation up to simple attraction, but then she sees Jeongyeon’s steps falter.
Jeongyeon gets about two feet away and hesitates, interrupts her gait for just a second. Mina would’ve missed it if she could bring herself to blink, but she sees what looks like reluctance and decides to take risk.
She should be thinking about how bad of an idea that is, should be considering how her day would be much simpler if she just left the diner and went to the meeting spot for her snorkeling class.
Instead, Mina thinks about how Jeongyeon stood up for her, thinks about watching Jeongyeon’s lips form words in her native tongue and is hit with a desire to hear Jeongyeon say her name.
“Jeongyeon, wait.” Mina winces at how quiet her voice is, thinks for a moment that Jeongyeon didn’t hear her, but then she stutter-steps again.
Jeongyeon turns, a questioning, and maybe just slightly hopeful, look on her face, and Mina does her best to send her a reassuring smile.
“How about instead of a free meal, you tell me about this place? I didn’t read about it online, and I’m curious.”
A lopsided grin blossoms on Jeongyeon’s face, and Mina knows that she made the right decision.
“Curious? What an interesting name.” Mina lets out a small giggle before she can stop herself.
“How about this? I tell you this place’s story and give you a free meal, and you promise to spread the word of how awesome this place is when you go back home.” Jeongyeon slides into the booth and offers Mina her hand.
“I have a feeling you’re going to insist on the free meal thing, so you have a deal.” Mina places her hand into Jeongyeon’s, fully intending to give her a quick handshake and pull away.
But then there’s a spark.
Mina’s eyes widen in surprise at the shock when their hands touch, and she sees the same surprise in Jeongyeon’s eyes.
“I’m sorry. That’s probably my sweater,” Mina says, eyes going back to their hands.
“Aw damn,” Jeongyeon says, just a hint of whine in her voice, “I was really hoping that was a sign of me getting superpowers or of us being soulmates or something.”
Mina freezes, unable to do anything other than let her mouth drop open slightly. Was she being flirted with?
“Oh well,” Jeongyeon says, pulling her hand back, “you can’t win ‘em all. So, the story of this place! It’s a pretty neat one if I do say so myself.”
What was it Sana had told her about flirting with women?
“Now, Mina. Listen. You are my most gifted student and—“
“Sana, I’m your only student. Actually, I’m not even your student! You just had Momo push me into your room and haven’t let me out.”
“Shush. We’re doing this for your own good. Now, as I was saying. A surefire way to know if a woman is flirting with you is to see if she lingers. I don’t mean standing next to you all night, though I guess that could be something. I’m talking about her hands. Does she find excuses to touch you? Does she let her fingers drag over your palm after a handshake?”
“Mina are you even writing this down?”
“Yup. Word for word. But listen, do I get a lunch break?”
“Minari!”
Right. Well, Jeongyeon certainly didn’t let their handshake linger. She just threw out a comment about them being soulmates and carried on like it was nothing.
Mina knows romances don’t just materialize out of nowhere. She knows that she’s not going to fall in love during the last day of her trip, but maybe a small part of her gets a thrill out of interacting with Jeongyeon anyway.
Was there any harm in developing a crush on someone you met 5 minutes ago?
The sound of Jeongyeon clearing her throat draws her attention, and for a second, Mina fears that she’s missed part of the story or offended the woman sitting across from her.
Instead, she sees Jeongyeon sitting across from her with her eyes closed and hands folded in front of her. Just as Mina begins to wonder whether or not Jeongyeon is going to speak, her mouth opens.
“Yoo Jeongyeon was born during a thunderstorm, a shock of dark hair on her head and power in her lungs. Upon seeing her, the doctors and nurses exclaimed in surprise. ‘This,’ they cried, ‘this is the chosen one! She will lead us to a new era of diners near beaches in a foreign country.’, and thus begins our story.”
For a moment, just a moment, Mina is reminded of Dahyun and Chaeyoung. The gravitas in Jeongyeon’s voice is so heavy and her words so ridiculous that Mina is unable to stop herself from bursting into laughter.
Jeongyeon opens one eye to look at her, and the sight only makes Mina giggle harder. It’s only a few more seconds until Jeongyeon is joining her, façade cracking.
“Sorry,” Mina says, still fighting off giggles, “your story seems very sincere. Please, continue.”
“Ah yes.” Jeongyeon slides back into faux-solemnness effortlessly.
“Well, you see—,” Jeongyeon stops short, a look of confusion on her features, and she cocks her head to the side before speaking.
“I just realized I don’t know what your name is.”
“Oh,” Mina breathes. Right. She had wanted to hear Jeongyeon say her name. “My name is Mina.”
She waits. She wonders if a look of recognition will steal over Jeongyeon’s features, wonders if this is going to have to be the end of their conversation.
She really hopes that Jeongyeon has never heard of her, never heard of TWICE.
Jeongyeon, kind, beautiful, lovely, Jeongyeon, just accepts her name with a smile. “Cool. That’s a pretty name.”
“Thank you.” She tucks away her disappointment and focuses on Jeongyeon’s storytelling.
“So! The origin story of this place. I was indeed born during a thunderstorm, but that unfortunately has very little relevance to how I ended up here.” Jeongyeon shifts slightly in her seat as she speaks, and Mina wonders how someone can be so adorable.
“I actually co-own the diner with two other people. Nayeon and Jihyo.” Jeongyeon eyes soften as she speaks, and Mina suddenly wants to know everything about these two women.
“The three of us grew up together. Well, kind of. Jihyo and I met when we were kids, and we met Nayeon a few years later. We actually trained to be idols for a number of years,” Jeongyeon chuckles and shakes her head. “That was a time.”
Mina hopes that the shock she’s feeling is well concealed.
“We trained under JYP. I don’t know if you’re familiar with that company.” All Mina can do is nod.
“We were actually slated to debut, but issues kept arising in our group. The three of us kept going back and forth on whether or not we wanted to stick around, but then—,” Jeongyeon pauses for a moment.
Mina lets her eyes focus on Jeongyeon’s fingers, which are toying with the silver bracelet around her wrist, and tries to ignore the implications of Jeongyeon having trained at the company Mina herself debuted with.
Jeongyeon sighs before continuing, a fond smile pulling her lips to the left. “Then, Nayeon and Jihyo decided that they had actually been in love with each other the whole time and were going to date each other.”
Mina raises her eyebrows in shock.
“Yeah, it surprised me too,” Jeongyeon says before chuckling. “Though, looking back it was kind of obvious.”
“So yeah. They looked at their prospects and looked at each other and made their choice. They knew being an idol who was anything other than straight would be an issue so,” Jeongyeon shrugs. “They decided to leave behind a ‘maybe someday’ and go for an ‘undeniably today’.”
The words strike Mina, and she feels them sink into her as her eyes drop to the table. When Jeongyeon fails to continue the story, Mina raises her eyes, only to be met with a questioning eyebrow.
“Sorry,” she says. “That was just quite lovely.”
Jeongyeon frowns in response. “For the record, those were Nayeon’s gross words, not mine. I will absolutely not tell her you said that.”
Mina laughs lightly. “Okay.”
“But yeah, so they decided to withdraw from the program, and for some weird reason they thought I’d stay while they left. If I couldn’t debut with those two, it wasn’t worth debuting.”
Mina thinks of Sana and Momo and how, even though she had only known them for a year before debuting, standing on stage only felt right if both of them were there with her.
“So suddenly we had no planned future and a relationship that didn’t exactly fly in our home country. We sat down, and we made a plan. We’d attend school in Korea for two more years, taking English classes on the side, and then we’d transfer to a school in the states where Nayeon and Jihyo could be as openly and grossly in love as they wanted. Hawaii was the easy choice because it's so close.”
“Wait,” Mina says, holding up a hand, “you’re telling me that Nayeon and Jihyo were so in love that you just uprooted all three of your lives for it?”
“Yup.” Jeongyeon leans back in the booth and smirks at the skeptical look on Mina’s face. “It sounds ridiculous, but trust me. These two were it for each other. The three of us were a package deal, but they were a 2-for-1.”
Mina shakes her head. “That just sounds so…”
“Perfect,” Jeongyeon finishes with a smile. “They’re kind of so in love that it hurts sometimes. I’m jealous, honestly.”
“If they’re as in love as you say, then so am I.”
“Tsk,” Jeongyeon scoffs, “I have trouble believing a woman like you isn’t able to get whoever she wants.”
Mina sits back, slightly off-kilter at the blunt assessment. She carefully considers what she knows before responding.
1. Jeongyeon is apparently single, or at least not madly in love with someone.
2. Jeongyeon has been sitting with her for the last ten minutes instead of running the business she owns.
3. Jeongyeon apparently thinks she’s someone worthy of having people at the drop of a hat.
4. Chaeyoung had once told her that she was actually pretty good at flirting when she tried.
“What kind of woman is a ‘woman like me’ Jeongyeon?” Mina smirks and narrows her eyes slightly and does her best to come across as coy and playful.
Jeongyeon lets out a laugh and Mina feels her heart sink and flutter at the same time. “One who probably fields away suitors with a stick on a day to day basis. You did say you were used to the attention.”
Mina is unable to come up with anything in response, and she just shakes her head and gestures for Jeongyeon to continue. When she got back home, she’d have to yell at Chaeyoung for lying to her.
“Right, so, basically we end up over here, and Jihyo has an even more specific plan. That woman is probably the smartest person I know, and the only dumb thing she ever did was ask Nayeon to marry her. Those two get business degrees, and I go to culinary school. One risky decision led to another, and here we are!”
Jeongyeon spreads her arms wide as a proud smile comes over her face. “We’ve owned this place together for four years now. Tzuyu was another JYP trainee who we were close with while training. She decided to follow in our footsteps right before being put on some survival show of some sort. We welcomed her with open arms and never looked back. She’s family.”
Mina chokes on her drink, waving off Jeongyeon’s concerned look as she tries to process the fact that, in another universe, Tzuyu could’ve been one of her group members. The chances of her picking the one place where she could encounter previous trainees had to be abysmal, right?
Yet here she was. Sitting in a diner ran by women who could’ve very well been in Mina’s position had things gone a bit differently.
A shout from behind the counter draws Jeongyeon’s attention, and she turns to Mina with a slightly embarrassed smile. “I think I have to go back to the kitchen now. I’m sorry for keeping you so long. I really did just mean to give you a brief overview.”
Jeongyeon stands, and Mina mentally scrambles for a reason to keep her here.
“You’re actually really easy to talk to, Mina,” Jeongyeon laughs and runs her fingers through her hair. “I’m glad you stopped by. Sorry again about the jerk. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your vacation, and you’re more than welcome to come back.”
Jeongyeon’s voice softens as she reaches the end of her sentence, and Mina can do little else other then watch her turn and walk away.
Tzuyu intercepts Jeongyeon about ten feet away from her table, and Mina is glad for the few more seconds of the other woman she gets to see. She might as well just have fun with this infatuation while she can.
Tomorrow morning, she would be on a plane back home, and Jeongyeon would be here, living her normal life, far away from Mina.
Tzuyu catches her eye over Jeongyeon’s shoulder and gives Mina a look she can’t quite decipher. She continues to talk to Jeongyeon, but as she does so, her eyes dart back and forth between them.
It takes Mina a few more pointed glances than she’s willing to admit to understand what Tzuyu is doing. The other woman smiles at her when she nods in understanding, continuing to keep Jeongyeon in one place.
She grabs her things and stands, doing her best to exude confidence as she walks over. She’s Myoui Mina, dammit. She’s wanted by people all across the world. She’s part of an incredibly successful group and she can sing and dance and—Mina pauses as she passes the door to check her reflection—she’s having an incredible hair day.
Tzuyu pats Jeongyeon on the shoulder and goes to leave right as Mina approaches them, giving Mina a wink and a sly smile as she does.
Mina sees Jeongyeon begin to move again, and she speaks before she can lose any of her courage.
“Jeongyeon, wait.” Her voice is calm and steady, and Mina feels another surge of confidence. Jeongyeon turns to face her, question clear on her face.
She opens her mouth to speak, but Mina finally gets the first word in. “Do you want to get together tonight, after your shift ends?”
Jeongyeon’s lips form a perfect “O”, eyebrows raised in surprise. In the silence that follows, Mina becomes incredibly aware of how fast her heart is beating.
“I have to be here until 10,” Jeongyeon says, and Mina’s hit with a wave of disappointment. Right, of course. She nods and does her best to smile before moving away.
“Wait, no I’m not saying no,” Jeongyeon exclaims, waving her hands in front of her. For the first time, she seems to be off-kilter. “In fact, I’m saying yes! It’s just a yes with an asterisk. My lovely best friends are off on their honeymoon, so it’s just Tzuyu and I running the place.”
“Oh, okay,” Mina says as she tries not to get too hopeful, “So you’re free at 10?”
Jeongyeon nods quickly, the motion sending her glasses sliding down her nose, and Mina is somehow even more charmed than she was before. “I am.”
“Great, then it’s a date.”
“It is.”
The smile that pulls at Jeongyeon’s lips sets Mina’s stomach aflutter, and she feels just a bit like she’s floating. She returns the smile automatically, unable to stop it if she tried.
She notices then that Jeongyeon’s eyes are a beautiful shade of brown, and Mina feels like she could fall into them if she stared long enough. Her eyes linger on Jeongyeon’s delicate features, trace over the slope of her cheekbones and curve of her lips.
The sound of someone clearing their throat jolts her back to realty, and the slightly unfocused look on Jeongyeon’s face tells her she may not have been alone in her admiring. Mina turns, meeting Tzuyu’s amused look that shifts into a glare when she focuses on Jeongyeon.
“Hey, Romeo, your kitchen is about 2 seconds away from disaster. Felix touched the oven.”
If Mina wasn’t trying to get her emotions back under control, she would’ve found the sudden terror on Jeongyeon’s face amusing.
“Oh dear god. Mina, I’ll see you later tonight!” Jeongyeon turns and runs off without another word, and Mina has another moment of appreciation for short shorts.
“She likes roses. I’d recommend purple.” Tzuyu’s voice once again shakes her out of a stupor, and the knowing tone that comes with it tells Mina that Tzuyu knows exactly what she was thinking about.
“I—,” Mina opens her mouth to speak and finds herself unable to string a sentence together in the face of Tzuyu’s raised eyebrow and ever-so-slightly-smug grin.
Tzuyu steps behind her, gathering up napkins and dirty plates from an abandoned booth. “There’s a florist three doors down that closes at 7.”
Mina nods, repeating the information to herself to make sure she remembers. Tzuyu moves past her, patting her on the shoulder as she does. “Enjoy the rest of your afternoon, Mina.”
Right, yes. She had about 7 hours to kill before her date with Jeongyeon.
Oh god, she had a date.
“Oh, one more thing,” Tzuyu calls, holding open the kitchen door with her foot to poke her head out. “It’s nice to see you again, Mina. Your voice was lovely on the newest song.”
And with a smile that could send the devil running, Tzuyu lets the door close behind her, leaving Mina’s life in a blur of swinging metal that Mina feels like she’s just been smacked with.
Mina wracks her brain in an attempt to remember ever having seen Tzuyu before. The other woman was beautiful, and surely she’d remember having seen her? She comes up short, unable to recall ever having crossed paths with her during her trainee days.
Regardless, Mina thanks whoever was listening that Tzuyu had apparently had a good enough impression of her to set her up with her boss. It’s an easy decision to go back to her booth and leave a large tip.
Even if her date with Jeongyeon ends up being a total bust, Tzuyu earned it.
Mina steps out of the diner, skin warming pleasantly under the sun. She slides her sunglasses on and once again is grateful that no one here—except for one former trainee—seems to know who she is.
She could imagine the headlines now.
Idol Myoui Mina Seen Lusting Over Gorgeous Woman in Hawaii
Vacation or Playcation? Myoui Mina Seen Flirting at Local Diner
Tzuyu: Former Trainee Turned Goddess Matchmaker. Look Inside to See Our 21 Tips on How to Be This Perfect!
//
Mina fiddles with the stem of the rose as she stands outside of 3MIXX. The nerves that she had suppressed during the day were back in full force now, and she hopes that she can maintain some semblance of cool during their date.
She had spent the rest of her day exactly as she had planned: snorkeling, lounging on the beach, and gaining the courage to ask random strangers to take photos of her.
The highlight had been watching the sunset from her hotel room as she had done every night since she got here. The sun set a brilliant red, scattering into deep blues and purples that made Mina’s heart swell with joy.
She loved it here.
She would love it even more if she could stop pacing back and forth. The sound of the door opening pauses her steps, and she looks up.
And there she is.
Bounding down the steps with an uneven smile and an impressive amount of energy for 10 PM is Jeongyeon. Her outfit had changed slightly, shorts traded for full-length jeans and brown t-shirt untucked.
She still had glasses and tousled hair, though.
“Hey,” Jeongyeon says, slightly out of breath.
“Hi,” Mina breathes, smiling.
“This is for you.” She extends the rose to Jeongyeon and focuses on keeping her hand steady.
Jeongyeon looks at her with something close to wonder, and she mentally thanks Tzuyu yet again.
“Thank you. This is beautiful,” Jeongyeon says. She lifts the hand not holding the rose and sheepishly rubs the back of her head. “I didn’t bring you anything, though. Do you want a smoothie?”
The question is a genuine one, but asked so humbly that Mina can’t help but laugh. “No, thank you. How about you show me the best beaches to walk along at night, instead?”
Mina had tried coming up with an amazing date idea that would impress Jeongyeon beyond belief, but she found herself unable to think of anything special. She knew Hawaii as a tourist, not a local. It would be a slightly different story if they were in Korea, but then again, Jeongyeon had the homefield advantage there too.
In the end, she decided it would be best if they just strolled along the beach for a bit until the night either compelled them to end things or move somewhere else.
“I would be delighted,” Jeongyeon says, stepping towards her and offering her arm. “Allow me to show you the best beaches around.”
She slides her arm through Jeongyeon’s, and this time when they touch, there’s no spark, but there is a tingling warmth spreading through Mina’s body. She knows what it feels like to have a crush, knows the feeling of brightness in her chest and a light feeling in her step.
But she’s never had it happen over lunch, and she’s never been so excited to get to know someone.
Jeongyeon leads her down the road, pointing out shops and telling stories that make it clear to Mina how much she loves it here. Jeongyeon talks of her daily shopping for the diner and of restaurants her and her friends tried once and never again.
She references places Mina herself has been to back home, and she jokes about “typical Americans” and how hard it is to find a good cook.
And Mina forgets. She forgets that in the morning she’ll be flying away. She forgets that she’s all but forbidden from having a relationship, let alone with another woman. She forgets about being nervous.
She forgets that this will never go anywhere, and she lets Jeongyeon’s voice and smile and laugh carry her away. They walk along the beach, shoes held in their free hands.
It’s about thirty minutes into their walk when Mina adjusts her arm, letting her hand drop down and tap Jeongyeon’s in a silent question. Jeongyeon doesn’t hesitate, moving to hold Mina’s hand with a shy smile.
Her hands are warm and smooth, and Mina is happy.
They sit, eventually, leaning back against palm trees near the shore, just far enough away from the water to prevent them from getting damp.
Mina doesn’t let go of Jeongyeon’s hand, and Jeongyeon makes no moves to pull away. She settles her head on the other woman’s shoulder, smiling to herself when Jeongyeon’s head leans on hers.
Silence fills the space between them, and Mina can’t find it in herself to break it. She takes this moment in, crystallizes it in her brain. She tries to pick up on every detail, studies the sound of the waves and the wind moving through the palm trees.
She runs her fingers through the sand, presses on a rock she finds, pulling away with an imprint on her finger. She studies Jeongyeon as best as she can from her spot on her shoulder.
She sees the crooked smile and the rose still in her other hand and lets the image bleed into her. What she wants is to be able to revisit this night years down the road. She wants to be able to remember every detail about the evening, from Jeongyeon’s laugh to the way she scrunches her nose when talking about Nayeon's weird recipe ideas.
She wants a mental painting she can step inside, wants a rewind button and the ability to freeze time.
She wants tonight to keep going.
She wants.
Mina raises her head from Jeongyeon’s shoulder and sends the other woman a smile.
“I’m leaving tomorrow morning on a 5 o’clock flight.”
“Oh,” Jeongyeon says, her features just shy of crestfallen. “I thought you had a few more days.” She swallows. “We should probably get you back to your hotel then, huh?”
Mina hears the disappointment, sees that Jeongyeon doesn’t want the night to end either, and she makes a decision.
“Come back to my room with me.”
Jeongyeon’s jaw drops, and over the sound of her heartbeat in her ears, Mina hears an intake of breath.
“I–, we don’t have to do anything, obviously. I just. I really like you, Jeongyeon.” She’s too far gone to care about how much sense this might be making. She can’t pay mind to her manager’s warnings about behaving herself abroad.
She just wants. Wants whatever Jeongyeon is willing to give her.
Jeongyeon stands abruptly, and Mina wonders if she’s made a terrible mistake.
But then Jeongyeon offers her a hand and a smile and says, “Where are you staying?” and Mina smiles.
//
The walk back to her hotel is quiet, a stark contrast to their earlier stroll, and Mina is thankful for that. She’s not sure exactly what she would say, and the silence is welcome.
It also carries the weight of possibility, and Mina tries not to let herself think too far ahead. She’s trying to live in the moment.
They step into the lobby, hands intertwined, and Mina tries not to get nervous as she hits the elevator button.
Should she have a plan here? Should she just wing it? What would Sana tell her?
“Hey, Mina,” Jeongyeon’s voice interrupts her thoughts, “the elevator is here.”
Jeongyeon tugs her through the open doors with a small smile, and Mina feels a different type of nervousness in her stomach.
The doors close, and the elevator begins to climb, and Mina takes a slow breath.
“Can I say something before we get to your room,” Jeongyeon asks, and Mina turns to see that damn crooked smile.
“I really like you too, Mina. I realized I never said it back at the beach, so, yeah.” Jeongyeon’s smile grows, and Mina notices that Jeongyeon’s other hand is fiddling with the stem of the rose, twirling it around her fingers.
She suddenly realizes that she has nothing to be worried about. That this is Jeongyeon. That even though they met half a day ago, Mina feels comfortable and safe.
Jeongyeon loves her diner, her friends, and playing with stray cats even though she’s allergic. Mina loves her job, her groupmates, and the face Jeongyeon makes when Mina compliments her.
She feels a calm settle over her, and just a little bit of excitement creeps in. She unlocks her door with steady hands, and pulls Jeongyeon through the doorway.
Jeongyeon looks around the space, letting out a low whistle. “Fancy. You have a great view.”
“Thanks, I picked out the room myself,” Mina says, closing the door and stepping around to stand in front of Jeongyeon.
“Such talent,” Jeongyeon jokes, and Mina laughs lightly.
Silence settles around them once more, and for at least the 10th time that night, Mina lets her eyes linger on Jeongyeon’s face.
She notices a freckle she hasn’t seen before and a light flush on Jeongyeon’s face. Jeongyeon runs her fingers through her hair and Mina watches.
She steps closer, fingers trailing over Jeongyeon’s wrist as she takes the rose from her. She tosses it on the couch, and hears Jeongyeon’s breath catch.
“So,” Jeongyeon starts, “it’s okay if I kiss you, right?”
Mina giggles and nods, and their first kiss is more of a meeting of smiles than anything else. She shifts and tilts her head slightly and is suddenly reminded of what she thought of the first time she saw Jeongyeon.
She wants.
Jeongyeon’s back hits the door with a thud, and for just a moment, Mina is concerned, but then Jeongyeon is tugging on the collar of her sweatshirt with one hand and gripping her waist with the other.
She slips her fingers into Jeongyeon’s hair and lets the warmth that’s spreading over her drive her motions. Jeongyeon’s hand slips beneath her shirt and she feels it brush against the skin of her waist.
She wants to hear Jeongyeon moan her name.
She breaks the kiss reluctantly, taking in Jeongyeon’s rapidly rising and falling chest and even more mussed hair and has to stop herself from kissing her again. She feels lightheaded and giddy and it’s wonderful.
“Not to push, obviously, but my bedroom is down the hall and—" Jeongyeon is pulling her down the hallway before she can even finish her sentence, stopping at what she assumes to be Mina’s door.
Mina knows she should open her door and let them tumble inside, but she can’t help herself. She pushes Jeongyeon up against the door again, feels the other woman’s body press against her own and hears her gasp.
Jeongyeon kisses her hard, fingers tangling in her collar once more and pulling her in so tight she feels her hood bunching up against her neck. Jeongyeon's glasses press almost uncomfortably against her, but she can't find it in herself to care. She swipes her tongue against Jeongyeon’s bottom lip, a thrill rushing through her at how quickly Jeongyeon’s lips separate.
Her hand drops from its place at Jeongyeon’s waist, and she blindly fumbles for the door knob, grinning into the kiss when she successfully turns the handle.
They fall through the doorway suddenly, Jeongyeon not expecting the door to give way, and they stumble together. Their kiss dissolves into giggles and half-muttered curses as they try to make their way to the bed.
Jeongyeon’s knees hit the back of the bed and she lets herself fall. Mina sees Jeongyeon looking up at her from her bed and suddenly feels far too overdressed. Her hand goes for the zipper of her jacket.
“God, that was a work out,” Jeongyeon mutters as Mina moves to capture her lips again. Mina pauses and lets out a laugh.
Mina kisses Jeongyeon and presses her down into the bed and it tastes like home.
//
Mina walks back into her room to do one final sweep for her things, and she almost calls her manager and tells him she’ll need to stay another day.
Jeongyeon is lying in her bed, eyes shut and breathing softly. She wears a spare sweatshirt Mina had brought, and it makes Mina’s heart ache.
For just a moment, Mina allows herself to imagine that Jeongyeon is hers. She lets herself pretend that she’ll be stopping by the diner again tonight to say hello to Jeongyeon and Tzuyu. She imagines a life in which they could be each other’s ‘undeniably today’.
She wants.
Her phone vibrates with a reminder that she should be leaving for the airport, and she feels something in her chest crack.
She walks over to Jeongyeon’s side of the bed, and sets a glass of water on the side table. She writes a message on the hotel stationary and fights to not leave her phone number. She adjusts everything so that it looks just right, and then she turns her focus to Jeongyeon.
She lets her fingers slide over the other woman’s cheek, fights to not follow the movement with a kiss. Jeongyeon’s eyes open, and Mina is immediately greeted with a smile.
“Hey,” Jeongyeon murmurs. “Heading out to catch your flight?”
“Yeah,” Mina whispers. She tries to push down the longing as best as she can, but then Jeongyeon’s fingers catch her sleeve.
“A kiss for the road?”
She’s helpless to resist.
Mina leans in, does her best to focus all of her senses on her final kiss with Jeongyeon. She tries to keep it light, tries to make this separation as painless as possible.
But then Jeongyeon is tilting her head and deepening the kiss. Mina leans in further, a spark skittering over her skin as one of Jeongyeon’s hands fist into the side of her coat.
Jeongyeon is the one to break the kiss, and Mina is thankful one of them has the strength to.
“Checkout is at 10, right?”
“Yeah. You have a few hours. I set the alarm.”
“Awesome.”
“Yeah.”
“Fly safe, Mina. Thank you for the date.”
“I will, and you too, Jeongyeon. Tell Tzuyu I said thank you, okay?”
“You got it.”
Mina tears her eyes away from Jeongyeon, and it feels like something inside of her rips.
She closes the bedroom door behind her and takes a deep breath. She can have feelings on the plane, but right now she needs to find a taxi driver willing to break a few speed limits so that she doesn’t miss her flight.
//
She gets on her flight just in time, and when she sits down the first thing she does is order a glass of scotch.
She sips her drink and grimaces at the taste and does her best to not think about what she left behind.
//
Mina arrives home and passes through crowds taking her photo, and she considers turning around and buying a one way ticket to Hawaii.
//
Her girls are there to pick her up, and she climbs into the van and all but falls into Momo’s arms, waving away a dozen questions with feigned tiredness.
She wonders if not leaving her phone number was a mistake.
//
She arrives at their dorm and promises to be ready for breakfast in thirty minutes. She knows she’ll have to answer questions then, and she knows she’ll eventually get to Jeongyeon.
Mina sits down on her bed with a sigh. She unbuttons her jacket and checks her pockets to make sure she’s not forgetting anything.
Her fingers brush over a piece of paper.
She pulls it out without much thought, expecting an old receipt.
Mina stops breathing.
In case you want to be my ‘how about today?’
— Yoo Jeongyeon (AKA Rad Diner Woman)
Mina pulls out her phone with shaking hands and sends a text message before she can stop herself.
She falls back on the bed and presses her fingers to her lips, unable to hold back a smile.
Unknown
[9:31 AM] Hey =] It’s Mina. I just realized I left my absolute favorite sweater with you. I think I’m going to have to come back and get that someday.