one summer | winrina

➥ five

The next day, Jimin's parents announced they would be out all night and would come back the next morning at noon, and Jimin shot Minjeong a conspiratorial grin.

"We can totally party," the cat-eyed girl announced, bouncing up and down on her bed as Minjeong scrolled through her phone next to her. The two girls had gotten a little closer, and Minjeong looked up at her and sighed with a laugh.

"Who would you invite?"

"I think you mean we!" the other girl laughed. "Let's choose. Ning, Aeri, and the boys. You and me. That's seven so far. Ooh, let's invite the pretty lifeguards down at the beach also. And, um, that's enough actually. That way we can do those spicy truth-or-dare games and get drunk in a totally fair way. Let's do it!"

Minjeong laughed again. "Pretty lifeguards? Who?"

"Yunjin and Chaewon," Jimin informed her. "They're dating, but they're both really hot and so much fun to be around. They'll say yes. It'll be a really fun night, and your first party here in Orlando! It'll be great."

Minjeong shrugged. "If you say so. I trust you."

Jimin blushed at that, and Minjeong realized what she'd just said and laughed it off awkwardly.

❃

Jimin was right on both counts; Yunjin and Chaewon both said yes, and they were also both really hot.

Yunjin was tall with long orange hair and a playful smile, and Chaewon was a little shorter with a black bob cut and and cute grin. The two appeared inseparable, both wearing lifeguard T-shirts and shorts. Minjeong just wore cutoffs and a tee, and the boys showed up in basically the same outfit. Ning and Aeri showed up in a tank top and cargo shorts, and Jimin wore... well.

She came downstairs in a strapless crop top and short cutoffs, drawing everyone's attention to her exposed skin. Her hair was down, fluttering around her shoulders lazily as she smiled. Jeno kept looking at her from the corner of his eyes, blushing.

Minjeong found herself looking also. Not for any reason specifically, obviously. She and Jimin weren't very close friends yet- they'd agreed to be closer but nothing had really developed. The occasional smile or laugh every few minutes, but Minjeong mostly stuck around Ning.

"He really likes her, huh?" Minjeong mused to Ning, who took a long sip of some unknown reddish concoction and nodded. "He's been staring this whole time."

"Yeah, Jeno's down bad," Ning agreed. "Ever since he first saw her in the area. They text a lot during the winter months. I've seen it. 'Are you cold,' 'how's school,' 'are you feeling okay,' that kind of sappy stuff."

Minjeong looked up at her, surprised. "Sappy? You don't like love?"

"Ehh." Ning gave a lazy shrug. "It's not really my thing. I just date around to have fun, you know? Settling down forever isn't really my idea of happiness. If I ever do get into long-term with someone, I want it to be an adventure."

Minjeong nodded slowly, processing that. "That's an interesting perspective. I like that."

Ning grinned. "Thanks, university student. What's your idea of love?"

Before Minjeong could answer, Jimin walked over to them both, a lazy smirk plastered onto her face and her head tilted to the side. "You all having fun?"

"I'm sure you are," Minjeong answered with a half-laugh and nod towards Jeno. "Thanks for inviting me."

"Yeah, of course," Jimin acknowledged, disregarding Minjeong's comment about Jeno. "You're welcome. Glad you're having fun."

She turned to go, but Ning whispered to her, "You should make a move tonight, you know. There's no point in waiting."

Jimin instantly turned back, her beautiful... no, Minjeong, really pretty eyes glinting in the flood lights illuminating the dark pool. "Really? I should? But he's been hanging around Aeri all night..."

Minjeong rolled her eyes, and Ning copied her, causing both girls to giggle. Then Ning turned serious. "Really, though? He doesn't like Aeri. Aeri likes someone else, too, so that's a dead end."

"She does? Really? Who?!" Jimin leaned forward interestedly, and Minjeong could smell her strawberry gum. Minjeong leaned back a few inches, blushing, as Ningning suddenly developed the look of a deer caught in headlights.

"Uhm, did I say she likes someone? I just meant she's unavailable. That's all."

"Ning Yizhuo," Jimin laughed, "you're terrible at lying. But don't worry, I'll find out eventually." She smirked, and Minjeong's stomach did a completely unneeded backflip.

Why am I so on edge tonight? It's my first party here. I should be relaxing.

"I'm gonna go use the bathroom," Minjeong announced, and she stood, walking past the two lifeguards, who were leaning against each other and whispering softly. She made it into the white tiled bathroom before she turned on the sink and let the water run over her hands, splashing it onto her face. Minjeong blinked the water out of her eyes and prepared to leave when-

"Do you like her?"

"Yeah, I do. I really do. I don't know how to tell her, though, 'cause she might leave soon, you know?"

She knew those voices. Jaehyun's, and the second was Jeno's. Of course it was. Minjeong listened.

"You should. You two already keep in touch long-distance. It'll make it easier to transition into a relationship."

"I guess. Do you think I should go for it? I've never felt the same way about her like I do about anyone else."

Minjeong silently tried to picture Jeno and Jimin together. The tall, choppy-haired boy and the beautiful cat-eyed girl. They would be a good visual couple, but function-wise? They didn't go much beyond childhood crush.

Minjeong was good at psychoanalyzing. She'd done it on several people, and was good enough that she could tell a lot about someone just from observing them. She wanted to be a biographer when she grew up. It combined both of her talents- writing and analyzing people, and she felt she'd be amazing at it. She was currently working on a profile of marine biologist Sylvia Earle. It was turning out pretty well.

Aside from that, Minjeong could easily tell that Jeno wasn't enough for Jimin. He seemed nice as a goal to reach for, but once they actually entered the relationship stage, all that awkwardness would turn it into a mess of childhood crushes figuring out how to be comfortable around each other after years of stasis.

And Minjeong didn't think it would go well. She left the bathroom, thoughts swirling in her brain, and decided to ask Jimin.

How did she feel about Jeno?

Only because she didn't want her host getting her heart broken.

Only that, right?