Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I fucking hate her!”

Jungha rips her helmet off and hurls it into her bag with an animalistic growl. She throws herself down on the bench and yanks out her ponytail. She roughly runs her hands through her sweaty hair, gripping the strands like that will do anything at all to calm her down. It, in fact, does nothing to calm her down. She spits out her mouth guard and rips her jersey off too, her heart pounding with poorly contained rage.

Yoonji walks into the locker room a few seconds later. She pauses, takes one look at Jungha’s furious state, and sighs. Then she plops down heavily onto the bench right next to Jungha, close enough that she jostles her. Yoonji lifts her own helmet off and raises one imploring eyebrow while she waits for Jungha’s explanation as to what has her so heated this time. But Jungha just continues to stew in her own fury without uttering a word. The rest of the players begin to shuffle into the locker room, and they all stare wide-eyed at Jungha as if they’re waiting for an explosion to rattle the ice rink. Which isn’t too far off from what might actually happen, considering that Jungha is absolutely, positively livid and there is metaphorical steam coming out of her ears.

“Oh shit, seems like Jimin really got to her this time,” one of the girls whispers.

Another girl hurriedly whispers back with a stricken expression, “I wonder what she said.”

Jungha huffs with enough force to expel her own lungs from her body and leans down to unlace her ice skates with quick, jerky movements. Her face is flushed from both the game’s exertion and her compounding anger, and she feels like she is on the verge of overheating. Angry tears cloud her vision and she loathes that they are going to spill over any minute now-

A squirt of freezing cold water hits her directly in the face.

“What the fuck?!” she screeches, lurching upright. She whips her head toward Yoonji, who has a water bottle in hand with the spout aimed in line with Jungha’s face. Jungha scowls and it earns her another harsh burst of water.

“You looked like you were going to cry, but now no one will ever know,” Yoonji drawls. She sets the water bottle on the bench beside her and continues shedding her hockey gear piece by piece, unbothered, as if blasting someone in the face with their own water bottle is a normal response to anything.

Yoonji isn’t really normal, though. Jungha loves her deeply, but she certainly has interesting ways of getting through life.

“Was that really necessary, though?” asks Jungha, wiping away the water clinging to her eyelashes and dripping off her face. “There really was no other way to accomplish that?”

“Nope,” Yoonji replies, nonchalant as ever. “You hate people seeing you cry in general. Did you really want someone to see you cry over something Jimin said?”

Jungha flattens her lips into a thin line. Yoonji does have a method to her madness no matter how deeply Jungha wishes to deny it. And after she worked her ass off during the game, the freezing water kind of felt good once she moved past the shock.

“No,” she begrudgingly admits, her shoulders slumping. She slouches backward until her shoulders hit the wall and she stares up at the ceiling with a frown. The anger has simmered down now, but it is likely to amp up again the second someone mentions Jimin. By now, though, most of the team knows to never mention Jimin to Jungha unless they want to start an argument or get her really riled up.

She lets out a heavy sigh and then straightens back up, pushing away from the wall to keep removing all her gear. Her mind wanders back to the game as she goes through the motions. It was a great game overall. Jungha’s team, Seoul National University, won against Yonsei University. The score was close and for most of the game, it was a tie. But then Jungha scored the winning goal with an excellently aimed wrist shot, sending the puck speeding right past Yonsei University's goalie, Minji. It was in the back of the net before anyone even realized. 

One of the other players it sped past was Jimin.

Unsportsmanlike as it was, Jimin did not take it well. She hissed curses at Jungha that quickly overpowered any joy she felt at scoring. Despite how pissed off it made Jungha, now she can’t even remember what Jimin said. Maybe it was the timing of it, or maybe it was just Jimin getting all up in her face that evoked such anger from her. That scenario is more likely. Her rivalry with Jimin has been building up for two years now, so it’s natural that the more they jab at each other, the more angry they both get each time. Jungha hasn’t really thought about what will happen one day once all that anger comes to a head. Today isn’t the day she is going to think about it, either.

Once the last of her gear is removed, Jungha forcefully jams it all down into her bag and zippers it shut. She slips on shorts and a t-shirt and then grabs her own water bottle, gulping the liquid down like she has been stranded in a desert for weeks. When she finally feels rehydrated, she stands up and nods toward Yoonji. 

“Are we walking back together? Or are you going somewhere?” Jungha asks. If they’re not going to walk back to their place together, Jungha is just going to go ahead. Recently, Yoonji has been spending much more time out of their apartment with some mystery person who sounds suspiciously like a love interest. And yet, no matter how much Jungha pesters her, Yoonji refuses to give up a name. She evades all questions related to their identity. Jungha is so curious that she has considered following Yoonji like a total creep, just to get a glimpse of this person who makes her smile so softly. 

Jungha won’t do that, though. Probably. Maybe if her curiosity finally wins against her self-control. If she has a disguise all planned out in case it comes to this, no one has to know.

“You go ahead,” Yoonji replies and begins typing on her phone. She hides her phone from view when Jungha leans over to sneak a glance. She narrows her eyes at Jungha, swatting her away. “No. Go away.”

“I don’t know why you still won’t tell me who it is,” whines Jungha. 

“Because you’re a pain in my ass already, but you’d be insufferable if I told you.”

“Okay but you love me. And also we share an apartment so if you’re ever going to bring this person home-” The rest of Jungha’s sentence is reduced to muffles when Yoonji slaps her palm over her mouth. 

“Hush.”

Grimacing, Jungha removes Yoonji’s palm from her face, and then wipes at her mouth with the back of her own hand. “That was nasty. Your hand is sweaty and gross.”

Yoonji shrugs. “Not like yours is much better.”

Touché. 

“Fine,” she huffs. “I’ll just go home all by my lonesome, watch some boring TV show and twiddle my thumbs while you go get some good pussy.”

“I will murder you,” Yoonji deadpans. 

“Please tell me you’re going to take a shower before-”

“Jungha,” interrupts Yoonji, softly. “Go home. Take a shower, a nap, or something calming. I see the wheels in your brain going a mile a minute so please do something to relax. I have a lavender scented bath bomb you can use if you want.”

Jungha loudly gasps, looking at Yoonji in shock like she has proposed something utterly outrageous. Which it kind of is. “You’d let me use one of your precious bath bombs?! You guard those like they are rare treasures.”

“If it gets you to calm the fuck down, then yes,” says Yoonji, rolling her eyes. “You’re radiating heaps of negative energy. I’ve been getting more and more concerned that you will give yourself a heart attack one of these days. And that is something I do not want to deal with. Don’t put me through that.”

Well, she doesn’t have to tell Jungha twice. She grabs her belongings and bids a rushed goodbye to all of her teammates. She is out of the rink in record time, lavender bath bomb on her brain.

🏒

Jungha lets out a sigh of relief as she lowers herself into the steaming hot bath water. Only when she is fully submerged does she realize how deep her muscles ache. It is the after-effect of playing such an intense sport, of course, but she cannot deny that her body is wound extra tight because of Jimin. But she refuses to think of Jimin while she relaxes here, enveloped in the calming scent of lavender.

Instead, she thinks about what she wants to do for the rest of the weekend. There must be a party somewhere on campus. Except, she also isn’t really a partier. She always feels extremely awkward and ends up standing in a corner alone with a too strong drink, ignoring the men who still have not learned that she won’t entertain their advances (it is no secret that she won’t go within 10 feet of an erect dick). She only eyes the women attending the parties, both because so many of them are drop-dead gorgeous and also because she monitors their safety. No one is going to mess with any woman around, Jungha makes sure of that. She made that clear to everyone the last time she whacked a guy hard with her hockey stick while walking past him. Accidentally, of course. Not because he was being a piece of shit to his girlfriend in broad daylight, no definitely not.

Hopefully, she is an ex-girlfriend now. Jungha doubts the asshole learned his lesson, but campus gossip spreads quickly so at the very least, everyone now knows that Jungha is Not To Be Messed With.

She thinks through other things she could do tonight. Maybe get on a dating app, find a pretty girl to hook up with. Possibly ask her out on a date if it goes well. She has been celibate for too long now and she yearns for intimate touch. It is no fair that Yoonji has someone to fuck her well and Jungha has absolutely no one.

In reality, Jungha could have had someone much sooner, but she just didn’t feel like taking the time to set up an account on an app. Dating apps suck and they take more time to create than they’re really worth.

Pout on her face, she abandons the dating app idea, too.

She could actually study for a big, important exam she has coming up. The date swirls in her mind like a looming monster. But like all her other problems, if she ignores it, it doesn’t exist, right? Because that’s totally, one hundred percent how it works.

Slipping deeper into the warm water, she leans her head back and stares at the ceiling. 

“I hate this,” she groans upon realizing that what she jokingly told Yoonji she would do has now become her reality. “I guess I really am just going to watch TV the rest of the weekend.”

She stays in the bath until she is pruning, but even then she is slow to get out. Once dressed in her favorite warm, bunny-printed pajamas with matching bunny slippers, she flops down on the couch and grabs the remote, absentmindedly browsing through Yoonji’s Netflix account.

(The Netflix account that Yoonji swears she is going to cancel because her anti-capitalist views do not align with the amount the company withdraws from her bank account every month).

Although, Jungha is glad she hasn’t canceled it yet. It is perfect for boring nights like these. And there are some good shows on there, no matter how much Yoonji grumbles that they aren’t good enough to justify the price. Whatever. Jungha is bored, lonely, and kinda sad, so she is going to watch The Glory. She knows nothing about the show and didn’t really care to read the synopsis, but surely it will cheer her up.

She presses play on the first episode and it registers very quickly that The Glory is not exactly a pick-me-up kind of show. It starts out pretty unnerving. She gets sucked into it anyway, grimacing at some parts but totally invested in the plot.

Eventually she begins to doze off on the couch. She wakes herself up with a startlingly loud snore and sits up, rubbing her eyes and yawning wide. She doesn’t move for a bit as her foggy brain catches up and she fights against the overwhelming urge to lay back down. There is a clock on a sofa table nearby and she glances at it, the numbers bright red against the darkness veiling her apartment. 2:30am. It’s about time she gets into bed.

Brain feeling like mashed potato, Jungha almost loses the battle. Almost.

Until, for some reason unknown to Jungha, Jimin’s face pops into her mind at the very moment her body begins to sway back toward the cushions. In her imagination, Jimin taunts her about her inability to stay awake long enough to move herself to bed, being weak, etc etc. Her pretty face contorts with a sneer, steely eyes cutting into Jungha’s like they do during the hockey games. Hurtful words fly from her plump, pink lips, her tongue as slicing as their freshly sharpened skate blades.

Does Jimin actually care that Jungha is struggling to move herself to her bed? No, of course not. Jimin doesn’t even know about Jungha’s current predicament. Why does it matter? Why is her brain making her think about her mortal enemy right now? She must have had a nightmare about her and now her mind cannot let it go. That is the only plausible explanation she can conjure.

Her body aches as she pushes herself up off of the couch. Multiple joints crack in succession and she draws in a deep breath, mentally scolding herself for once again falling asleep on the couch in such an awkwardly twisted position. Jimin’s chastising expression appears in her mind again, and Jungha is so sick of it that it provides her enough fuel to walk to bed. She flings herself onto the mattress and lets out a groan. She buries herself under the covers and closes her eyes, praying that she falls into a deep slumber soon.

The last thing Jungha unfortunately thinks about before falling asleep are Jimin’s full lips, bitten red with anger and spitting curses at her.

🏒

For as small and light-footed as Yoonji is, she sure makes a hell of a lot of noise when she comes back home from spending the night with her mystery lover. Dishes clink and pots clang around as she cooks up something. It smells delicious, the aroma even wafting into Jungha’s room. Whatever Yoonji is concocting, Jungha wants some. She is so hungry she would even go as far as to say she is ready to beg for some, and the smell is absolutely mouthwatering.

Is it breakfast? Must be. Surely it can't be lunch time yet.

One sideways peek at her alarm clock tells her that it is, indeed, lunch time. She rolls out of bed like a log, nearly losing her footing when she gets tangled in her blanket. Thankfully, she catches herself before falling flat on her face. No major injuries to report. Deeming food most important at this time, she doesn’t bother fixing her appearance, walking out into the kitchen in a daze with a bird's nest for hair.

“Whatcha makin’?” Jungha slurs tiredly, her voice gravelly from disuse. She rubs at her puffy eyes and then grabs a chair, plopping down into it and leaning her face forward onto the table. 

Yoonji lets out a startled yelp and spins around, slapping her hand over her heart.

“Jesus Christ, Jungha,” Yoonji gasps, still clutching her chest and hunched slightly over. “You almost gave me a heart attack. Are you trying to kill me? Fuck.”

Jungha shrugs as best as she can with her face plastered against their table. “More for me, then.”

“That’s the third time this week. I’m going to slam you with my hospital bill once it finally happens, and then you’ll be sorry,” Yoonji scolds, glowering while accusingly pointing a spatula at her. She whips back around to the stove, muttering a frantic ‘shit, it’s burning’ and flipping what looks like a pancake.

“You made pancakes,” moans Jungha, closing her eyes. Yoonji makes some really drool-worthy pancakes, but she doesn’t make them often. This is like a special treat, especially because Yoonji refuses to hand over the recipe despite Jungha’s attempts to coerce it out of her. Jungha would like to know how to make them herself, but Yoonji is steadfast in her resolve. 

Jungha has begun to think that Yoonji’s reluctance to share it has nothing to do with gatekeeping her special recipe. She would bet a lot of money that Yoonji won’t relent because she secretly loves making them for Jungha. Acts of service and whatnot. Yoonji will never confirm this, but no one will ever find Jungha complaining.

“Yeah, I made them for me,” replies Yoonji in a flat tone. 

Jungha slowly lifts her head off the table and narrows her eyes. “You literally have two plates sitting on the counter right now.”

“What plates? I don’t see any plates,” Yoonji says, indiscreetly using a spatula to push the plates out of Jungha’s sight.

“It’s way too early for gaslighting, unnie,” pouts Jungha. She lays it on thick, giving Yoonji the best puppy dog eyes she can muster. She can pinpoint the exact moment Yoonji’s resolve breaks, and Jungha flashes her a triumphant smile. 

Yoonji rolls her eyes, but there is a hint of a smile on her lips, too. “Fine. I made some for you too. Seems like we both woke up quite late and I assume you haven’t had breakfast either?” she casts a sideways glance at Jungha who nods. “So pancakes for lunch it is.”

“I think it’s perfectly acceptable to have pancakes at any time of day,” announces Jungha. “Especially your pancakes. They're, like, orgasmic. Better than sex, truly.”

“Maybe you just need some really good sex. Or any sex at all.”

“Wowwww,” Jungha huffs while Yoonji dissolves into laughter. “I can’t believe you just took my compliments and spun them into a dig at my lacking sex life. All I do is suffer around here.” 

While Jungha sulks, Yoonji walks over and gently sets one of the plates down in front of her. As soon as the plate is flat on the table, Jungha’s face brightens and she wraps an arm around Yoonji, pulling her into a tight hug before she can scramble away. 

“No, no whyyyyy,” complains Yoonji, weakly attempting to wiggle out of Jungha’s embrace. Jungha’s response is to pull into her lap and hug her tighter. It doesn’t take much at all for Yoonji to give up the fight, melting into Jungha instead. 

“Thank you, unnie, really,” Jungha sincerely mutters into Yoonji’s shoulder. Then, Jungha giggles mischievously and adds with a very teasing lilt to her voice, “And you even made bacon to go with it? If it means I get this after, you can degrade and humiliate me anytime. Please do, actually. I’d love it.” 

Yoonji makes a strangled noise and harshly pushes Jungha away, almost making her fall out of the chair as she cackles maniacally. 

“Keep your kinks between you and your non-existent partner,” whines Yoonji. Her expression conveys a mix of disgust, amusement, and exasperation, and Jungha thinks it is absolutely hilarious. 

“Aww, c’mon, I know you like-”

“Shut. Up.”

Unsurprisingly, Jungha does not. 

“At least I didn’t call you momm-”

“Do not finish that sentence. Do not utter a single word more. I will gag you.”

“Ooh, that’s hot- WAIT!” Jungha exclaims, rapidly lurching upward with a gasp. “Why are you here?”

Yoonji looks relieved now that Jungha is no longer draped over her, but once Jungha’s words register, she raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms.

“Because I live here?”

“Did you get kicked out of your mystery lover’s place?” 

Yoonji lifts an eyebrow and looks at her like she has three heads.  “Of course not?”

Jungha frowns and pokes her shoulder. “Then why did you say you overslept here?” she wonders, and then the possibility hits her:

“IS YOUR MYSTERY LOVER HERE THEN?!” she screeches, taking in the fact that said mystery lover may be in their apartment at this very moment and listening in on their questionable conversation. “YOU SAID YOU WEREN’T-” 

“Literally shut up,” Yoonji whines, throwing her head backward. “No. No one is here. I came back early in the morning and went back to sleep because Taehee picked up an early morning shift at the cafe, unfortunately.”

Jungha stiffens when she hears that name. Her hands involuntarily clench into fists and her heart pounds. Yoonji seems to have noticed her slip up, her wide eyes meeting Jungha’s narrowed ones as she draws in a deep breath. Now it makes sense why Yoonji has been so careful to keep their identity a secret. She knew Jungha wouldn’t react well, and rightfully so.  

“So,” Jungha says, lips pursed as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Taehee.”

Yoonji swallows hard and looks away, but then she gives a quick nod.

“You’ve been fucking Taehee,” reveals Jungha, disbelieving. “ Taehee , Yoonji.”

“Okay, fine!” snaps Yoonji. “I’ve been fucking her, so what?” 

“She’s Jimin’s best friend!” Jungha seethes. “You’ve been fucking the enemy!”

Yoonji scoffs, rolling her eyes, which only serves to rile Jungha up further. Jungha would not be shocked at all if her face is bright red with anger and betrayal. Her chest hurts with the idea of Yoonji having any kind of positive relationship with Taehee. Even friendship would be difficult to bear, but a whole ass romantic relationship? Yoonji hasn’t said it, but Jungha knows there are romantic feelings involved from the soft, goofy look plastered on her face every time she talks about Taehee. Which means, now that the cat’s out of the bag, that Jungha will inevitably get roped into social activities with those two. Which also means… Jimin will also be present during those. 

God, just kill Jungha now. 

“Why do you even care?” Yoonji wonders in a tone that is largely irritated but with a tinge of amusement. 

“Why do I- Are you fucking kidding me?!” shrieks Jungha. “Have you not thought about what this means for me!”

Yoonji gapes at her, and then furrows her brows with deep confusion. She tilts her head to the side in thought. Jungha watches the gears in her head turn and she waits to see if Yoonji figures it out or not.

Yoonji does not figure it out.

“I don’t get it. You’re not going to be in our bedroom with us. Unless…” 

She pauses and stares suspiciously at Jungha, who wants to sink into the ground the second Yoonji’s next words leave her mouth. “Is this your super weird way of saying you want a poly relationship?”

Jungha sits back down and thumps her forehead on the table again, grimacing at the sticky syrup smeared across the surface and now on her face.

“No, I don’t want in on whatever you two have going on,” she sighs, thumping her head once more for dramatics. “If you two are dating, that means you’re going to coerce me into your social plans. Which means that Taehee will rope Jimin in as well. Do you see my problem?”

Yoonji throws her head back and takes a deep breath. Then she straightens back up and before Jungha can react, she is getting swatted over the head by Yoonji. “Can you please leave Taehee out of whatever homoerotic rivalry you have going on with Jimin?”

“Homoerotic!?” Jungha bats Yoonji away, lurching upright again and scowling. “Rivalry? Yes. Although I think mortal enemies are a way more accurate way to describe us. But homoerotic? Give me a fucking break.” 

Yoonji deadpans, “You two have so much sexual tension it’s insane.”

“We do not!” Jungha argues back a little too quickly to be believable. But seriously, her and Jimin? Granted, Jimin is pretty. Anyone with eyes can see that. Jungha is definitely not blind to Jimin’s beauty, but unfortunately, Jimin does not have the personality to match. And Jungha has always been more of a personality girl. If she’s got the looks but has a shitty personality, it’s a huge, red NO in Jungha’s book. 

“Maybe if you stopped antagonizing her, you’d find out that she is actually quite nice,” states Yoonji like the absolute traitor she is. 

“She antagonizes me !” 

“And who started it?” Yoonji asks, point blank. 

Unfortunately for Jungha, that question makes her pause and think. Who actually started their feud? She realizes that she doesn’t remember. However, there is no way that Jungha could have been the catalyst to their rivalry. Jungha isn’t like that.

“Certainly not me,” Jungha insists. “I’m not like that.”

Yoonji blinks at her wordlessly and then turns away, shaking her head. 

Jungha scoffs in return. “C’mon, I’m not that evil. I’ll admit I’m not the greatest person, but I’m not evil.”

“I never said you were evil, and I never said you were a bad person. Or anything less than great,” explains Yoonji. “I just think that you need to reexamine your relationship with Jimin. Maybe look past some things and notice other parts instead.”

Vehemently shaking her head, Jungha disagrees with a tight smile, “No, I think I’ve noticed everything I need to, and I would like to stop noticing now. My brain has brained enough, thank you.”

Yoonji sighs, but says nothing more. She must recognize that this is a lost battle.  

With that, Jungha rises from her chair and puts a hand on Yoonji’s slumped shoulder. She intends it as a peace offering, or at the very least, as a way to let Yoonji know she isn’t mad at her. Just the situation she has put Jungha in. She knows Yoonji understands the gesture because even during the other times they have fought, Jungha has provided similar ways of reassurance. 

“Thanks for the pancakes,” she says.

It’s enough. 

🏒

There is no place that Jungha loves more than an ice rink. The crunch of skate blades cutting up the ice is like music to her ears. Crisp air filling her lungs with each heavy, exerted breath invigorates her. If it were reasonable and sustainable, Jungha would take up permanent residence in an ice rink. Which, when she really thinks about it, isn’t that far off from how she lives her life now. Between practices and games, there isn’t much time that she spends outside of the ice rink.

She just wishes her love for the ice rink- for the sport she has dedicated the majority of her life to- wasn’t so tainted by Jimin. 

It wasn’t always like this. Not even in the beginning of her time at SNU. In fact, things were pretty cordial between SNU and Yonsei University whenever they played each other. And now that Yoonji has mentioned it, Jungha really cannot pinpoint where the relationship morphed into something negative. 

Friendly rivalry was the original relationship. It was nothing more than friendly competition with some sneaky penalties dispersed throughout their games, but that’s natural in the sport. It is a natural aspect of any sport with an opposing team. 

Now, it is different.  They don’t want to hurt each other badly, not to the point of causing permanent damage, of course not. Even Jungha and Jimin being the two players who hate each other the most, they don’t want to cause the other serious damage. That doesn’t mean that they won’t rough each other up. Inflicting a few deeply purple bruises on each other during games isn’t a crime, especially in heavy contact sports like ice hockey. 

So sue Jungha if she bodyslams Jimin into the boards a few times during today’s game. 

She knows Jimin can take it, anyway. And man, is the sound of Jimin crashing into the boards sweet, sweet music to her ears. And then there is the primal, infuriated growl that Jimin lets out upon getting up and chasing after Jungha to do the same to her. 

Even better is the whistle of the referee when Jimin gets a penalty for it. 

Never retaliate, people always say. Retaliation is what gets you caught. 

So as Junga watches Jimin skate angrily to the penalty box, she winks and then cackles as a red-faced Jimin fumes, jailed behind the plexiglass for two minutes. 

The apex of the game- the one that makes Jungha feel like she is on the top of the world- is when she scores the winning goal during the powerplay afforded to Jungha’s team because of Jimin’s penalty. 

SNU: 2

Yonsei: 1

Or in a score that matters more to Jungha: 

Jungha: 1

Jimin: 0 

🏒

“Christ, where is the ramyeon?” Jungha mutters to herself as she wanders around the grocery store, cautiously peeking around corners and narrowly avoiding getting flattened by grocery carts. She has been here so many times, and yet nothing looks like how she remembers it. Why are the vegetables suddenly on the opposite side of the store? Why are all the gochujang containers in aisle 7? She is certain they were in aisle 3 before. She is concerned that she is hallucinating, not only because everything moved around, but also because there is no logical organization to the store now. 

“Where the hell did they move the ramyeon to? Where are the aisle labels? This is ridiculous,” she grumbles, glancing around and nearly walking into an older couple. She bows with a rushed apology and continues her search. “I literally only want a few packets of ramyeon-”

She turns down a random aisle and this time, she ends up fully colliding with a strong body. Jungha squeaks in surprise, knocked flat on her ass by the person who has not budged a smidge. How freaking strong must their legs be?

From her place on the ground, her eyes drag from the person’s feet up their legs, drifting further upward along deliciously muscular thighs until they reach a skirt. 

A wonderfully short skirt, might Jungha add. She briefly contemplates worshiping a skirt for allowing so much skin to be seen. For those thighs alone, though, Jungha could create a whole religion. 

“Oh no, fuck, I’m so sorry-” calls a frantic voice, one that Jungha knows. And knows it very well. She just has never heard it in this tone and that makes it seem unfamiliar, nearly unrecognizable, so it doesn’t click right away. But when it does, her heart sinks like a boulder. Of course the godly thighs standing before her would belong to her archnemesis and not to some other hot woman who isn’t Jimin. Can’t Jungha have anything good in this world? 

It is obvious that Jimin has not yet realized who she knocked to the floor. Jungha has not made any sound besides an embarrassingly pathetic squeak when she fell backward, and her unruly, tousled hair is currently veiling the most identifying parts of her face. 

If Jimin knew who she was, she definitely wouldn’t be offering her palm out to help Jungha up off the ground. She would let her lay on her back, starfished out on the store’s dirty tile floor. 

Jungha doesn’t take her hand. It would be so easy to be the bigger person, to grab on to her hand and let Jimin help her stand back up, but Jungha’s pride is much too hurt. Instead, she swipes her hair away from her face with one hand and glares daggers up at Jimin, whose face transforms from extremely concerned to frustrated in record time.

“You,” both women grumble simultaneously, also narrowing their eyes in sync. If she didn’t hate Jimin’s guts, Jungha would probably find it comical how in sync they are. Nothing is funny to her when it regards Jimin, though. 

Awkward silence ensues between them, neither woman wanting to give in and say something first. People shuffle around in the background, cash registers ding, and some baby is crying a few aisles over, but Jungha only focuses on the tense, wordless energy between her and Jimin. 

Eventually, Jimin clears her throat. At the sound, Jungha notices that she is still on the floor, the older woman standing high above her. 

Well, that power difference just won’t do. 

Jimin could kick her while she’s down. Jungha hopes that she would never do something like that, but it is also not entirely out of the question. Regardless of whether Yoonji swears on her life that Jimin is actually a kind person.

Sure, maybe she is a kind person. To everyone except Jungha. 

Childish as it is, Jungha bats away Jimin’s still-extended palm and scowls. She lifts herself up, wincing at the slight pain in her tailbone, and dusts off her jeans. She fixes her t-shirt, the fabric having ridden up to show parts of her midriff. Jungha does not miss the way Jimin’s eyes zero in on the exposed skin, even if they swiftly flick away. 

Jungha pokes her tongue into her cheek.

In normal Jimin fashion, she responds by rolling her eyes and retracting her hand. Her stance remains relaxed, even unbothered, and that only increases the younger’s upset. 

Jungha’s body stiffens more, though she really does attempt to keep cool past her speeding heart rate and reeling mind. It is an instant visceral reaction to the other woman’s presence, and Jungha fucking loathes that she can never stay as calm and collected as Jimin looks right now. 

Goddamn it, Jimin.  

“Why the fuck are you here?” hisses Jungha. 

Jimin appears surprised by the question but recovers quickly, cocking her hip to the side and crossing her arms. She eyes Jungha up and down, huffing a sharp laugh through her nose. The gesture is so condescending and makes Jungha warm up, the all-too-familiar heat prickling at her skin whenever Jimin is mean to her.

“What do you mean ‘why the fuck am I here’?” Jimin asks, her tone sharp. “I needed ramyeon. We are in a grocery store and this is the ramyeon aisle, is it not?” 

“Well- yes,” stammers Jungha, caught off guard. Her skin begins to feel clammy.

“So surely you can put two-and-two together,” Jimin patronizes. Her voice sounds much too sweet to be spewing such humiliating words. “Or did you have one too many concussions on the ice?”

That makes Jungha’s blood boil. “Oh fuck you.”

Jimin steps forward, invading Jungha’s space. She leans in close enough that her lips barely brush Jungha’s ear, making the younger girl’s body shiver with a feeling she doesn’t dare examine. Jungha cannot help but notice how good Jimin smells now that they are chest-to-chest; she struggles to hold herself back from burying her nose in the soft skin of Jimin’s neck and inhaling her delicious scent. Warm air puffs against the sensitive shell of her ear and she purrs, low and sultry and only for Jungha to hear, “You wish.” 

And then Jimin is pulling back so fast that Jungha wonders if she hallucinated the whole thing. Jimin sends her a smirk, her tongue poking past those full, rose-tinted lips while eyeing Jungha up and down once more.

“See you at our next game,” she bids goodbye with a teasing wink and a peace sign thrown her way as she retreats down the aisle and out of sight.

Jungha stands in shock in the middle of the aisle, surrounded by the ramyeon that she now regrets craving. The whole encounter feels like a fever dream, but the lingering feeling of Jimin’s breath against her ear reminds Jungha that it was real. It was not a figment of her imagination at all, no matter how much she wishes it were. 

Jimin’s lips were really a millimeter from her ear. 

Jungha didn’t push her away.

“What the fuck,” Jungha mutters once the other is out of sight. “What the actual fuck was that.”

🏒

Jungha stands face-to-face with Yoonji the second she opens her apartment door. She yelps and stumbles backward for the second time tonight. Yoonji waits expectantly in the doorway, arms crossed, one of her backpack’s straps slung over her shoulder.

“Where are you going?” Jungha asks despite knowing fully well that Yoonji heading out at night with a full backpack and looking extra presentable only means one thing, and that thing is Taehee.

“Why do you look like you have seen a ghost?” Yoonji retorts.

Jungha pouts down at the ground and mumbles, “Don’t change the subject.”

“I will change the subject any damn time I please,” says Yoonji. She pokes Jungha’s forehead, making her pout more. “Especially when I think the new subject is way more interesting and important to address.”

“Are you saying I am more interesting and important than Taehee? Because I don’t think that’s very girlfriend of you.”

“You-” Yoonji chokes, and then she sighs. “Do not misconstrue my words. You’re both very important to me, as much as I rag on you. But I just watched you walk up our street in a spooked out daze, and I would like to get to the bottom of it. Taehee can wait a bit.”

“So basically you want to get to the bottom of my problems so you can get to your bottom.”

"Be serious for once.”

“C’mon Yoonji, we both know Taehee is a bottom.”

“For the record, we switch,” Yoonji reveals, laughing as Jungha’s expression turns sour. “Stop using humor to run away from this conversation. With how hard you’re trying to avoid it, I wouldn’t be shocked if you ran into Jimin somewhere.”

Jungha barges past Yoonji, who squeaks as she is jostled but still has the sense to reach out and grab hold of Jungha’s arm before she gets too far away. 

“Oh no, no,” tuts Yoonji, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. “You are going to tell me exactly what happened because if you don’t I will contact my alternate sources.”

“What alternate sources?” Jungha asks grumpily, spinning around and ripping her arm out of Yoonji’s hold. “You don’t have-”

Yoonji stares her down, raising her eyebrows and tilting her chin downward as if waiting for Jungha to figure it out. With a little bit of extra time, Jungha does figure it out and she gasps, scandalized. The only non-sketchy alternate source Yoonji has is the one and only Taehee, and there is no way that Taehee is not already fully aware of what happened. Surely, Jimin flocked to her immediately and ranted about Jungha’s clumsiness, how dumb and awful she is. 

“You wouldn’t!”

“Oh, but I would ,” insists Yoonji. “So fess up.”

“Fine,” Jungha gives in with a frustrated grunt, throwing her purse on the sofa. Then instead of walking around the sofa to sit down, she launches herself over the back, bouncing when she lands on the cushions. She slumps into the soft material and grabs the throw blanket they always keep draped over the sofa, wrapping herself in a cocoon and sighing.

Yoonji watches the whole process, unimpressed but expectant.

“Yes, I ran into Jimin. And by ‘ran into’ I mean literally collided with her,” Jungha retells. “Knocked me back flat on my ass. Which, by the way, I think is bruised.” 

Striding around the sofa, Yoonji lowers herself next to Jungha and nods, encouraging her to continue. “Okay, so then what?”

“So then I got mad, right? Like how dare she cause me to fall. I didn’t even know who she was at first, all I saw was thigh. A lot of thigh,” Junga coughs. Yoonji narrows her eyes at the sound and Jungha rushes to explain. “She was wearing a super short skirt and I was on the ground! They were in my direct line of vision!” 

“Okay.”

“She recognized who I was and stopped trying to help me up,” Jungha says, conveniently omitting that she was the one who batted Jimin’s helping hand away. “Long story short, we exchanged words, she invaded my personal bubble, and then left,” sighs Jungha, slinking deeper into the cushions in a feeble attempt to disappear between them. 

“Invaded your personal bubble,” Yoonji repeats slowly, punctuating with finger quotes and a look that says she does not fully believe Jungha’s version of the story. It is difficult to get anything past Yoonji to begin with, and Jungha is a shit liar. “Elaborate on that a bit more.”

Jungha shakes her head firmly. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to. I have many thoughts and no organization to them, so I really just want to eat my ramyeon and sleep,” she answers truthfully. “And then when I wake up tomorrow I will either think about why I didn’t immediately push her away, or I will pretend that nothing ever happened tonight and go about my life a hater, as I have been all this time. The latter option is infinitely more likely, by the way.”

Yoonji snorts. “Yeah, no shit.”

She nudges Yoonji to the edge of the couch, telling her to get up and go see Taehee, but Yoonji seems hesitant. She moves from the sofa slowly, as if Jungha will suddenly change her mind and spill more details of what happened tonight, but Jungha remains tight lipped. She will not reveal to Yoonji that she and Jimin were chest-to-chest, that Jimin’s lips brushed her ear. And worst of all, that Jungha came way too close to burying her nose in Jimin’s neck because of her delectable smell alone.

No, Yoonji needs to know none of that because if she does, Jungha will never hear the end of their “overwhelming sexual tension” that has apparently been brewing since the first time she and Jimin laid eyes on each other.

“Go,” urges Jungha. “Go eat Taehee so I can eat my ramyeon in peace.”

Yoonji sends her an exasperated look, but she knows that this is the end of their discussion. Jungha won’t budge and divulge any more information than she already has. So Yoonji lets out a long sigh, sends Jungha a two-finger salute, scoops up her backpack, and leaves, their apartment door sounding loud against the silence Jungha is left to wallow in. 

“This ramyeon better taste the best it has ever tasted,” mutters Jungha while she watches the water boil. It is the same brand she typically gets, so it tends to stay pretty consistent in taste each time. But for the shit she went through tonight to buy it? This packet better hold some 5-star ramyeon. Maybe she can spice it up, make it a little fancier with some kimchi or chicken. Or something. 

Chicken would take longer to prepare and she just does not have the energy to devote to that. The whole reason she made the trek to the store was because she wanted something quick and easy. Her body ached before from a particularly hard crash into the boards during hockey practice. Coupled with the injuries from tonight’s encounter with her mortal enemy, she definitely does not feel up to cooking anything. 

She has kimchi, though, and that only requires her to pop a lid off of a container. 

After what seems like an eternity, the water stops boiling. Jungha removes the flavor packets from the bowl and pours the hot water over the dry noodles inside. She covers the bowl again and lets her mind go blank. She stares down at the counter in a daze. It feels so good to zone out like this; she feels like her brain is constantly active no matter what she is doing. Moving from one thought to the next, one emotion to the next so quickly that it is tiring. Being angry at Jimin so often too… that is exhausting. Anger is a draining emotion. 

Suddenly, Jungha’s stomach rumbles loudly and yanks her harshly back to reality. She finishes making the ramyeon and brings it to the couch again, stirring it with chopsticks and hissing when she grasps the cup for too long, the heat hurting her hands. She curls up on the couch again with the blanket and her ramyeon cup, scoops up a big bite of the noodles with the chopsticks, and practically inhales it so fast she is surprised when she doesn't choke.

Her face scrunches into a grimace. 

It doesn’t taste good, Jungha thinks, dismayed. And to her absolute chagrin, she realizes that the only reason it doesn’t taste good anymore is because she now associates the brand with Jimin. So, she is left with no other choice but to find a new brand to make her staple ramyeon. 

“This isn’t fair,” she whines to no one but the lucky spider on the wall that Yoonji won’t let her get rid of because ‘it will eat any pesky mosquitoes that trespass inside.’ Which means that if Jungha will allow the spider to take up permanent residence in their apartment without contributing to rent, the least it can do is function as her therapist. She nods its way like it totally understands her pain. “Now I have to change brands because Jimin has ruined this one for me. Ugh.”

She watches the spider crawl along the wall to where a bug is trapped in its web. 

“Well that’s fucking rude,” Jungha says, glaring at the spider-turned-therapist. “I just told you my ramyeon is ruined and so you decide this is the perfect time to feast. Right in front of me. So rude. Also rather morbid.” 

She frowns. 

“God, that’s disgusting.”

Jungha does not want to stick around to watch so she tosses the blanket off of her, dumps the mostly uneaten ramyeon, and slowly makes her way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. 

She hopes she has good dreams tonight.

🏒

Chapter Text

Jungha does not have good dreams overnight. 

In fact, she had very weird dreams. She doesn’t remember what happened in them, only that she dreamt of Jimin and woke up this morning feeling very odd. Pounding heart, heat enveloping her body. Sweaty skin, rapid breathing.

And very, very wet between her legs. 

Unfortunately, Jungha knows exactly what that means, what kind of dreams they were. Why she woke up with Jimin’s name chanting in her head, even though she cannot remember exactly what the Jimin in her dream was doing to her. She doesn’t care to remember what Jimin did, but the fact that it was Jimin in the first place makes her want to scream in frustration.

Even worse, Jungha is still horny. The Jimin in her wet dream didn’t even let her come, and it fucking sucks. Because now she is extremely horny, agonizingly soaked, and miserably overheated, but she refuses to do anything about it. She is not about to masturbate to a wet dream starring her archnemesis. Maybe it’s ridiculous because the real Jimin will never know anything about this current predicament, but Jungha absolutely will NOT give dream Jimin the satisfaction of making her so horny that she can’t stop herself from using her favorite vibrator. 

Also, using her favorite vibrator now would make her associate the toy with Jimin. Obviously, that did not turn out well for her ramyeon, eating it after associating it with Jimin. However, it is so much easier to change brands of ramyeon than it would be for her to give up her most valued (and most expensive) toy. 

Jungha groans, flipping herself over to dig her face in her pillow like smothering herself would make the thoughts disappear. It would, technically, if she smothered herself to death. She is not too keen on that outcome, though.

“This is the worst,” she complains to no one but the air. She flips on her back and rests her forearm over her eyes, imagining unpleasant things to try to rid herself of her horny state. But as she lies in bed for another 30 minutes and none of it dissipates, she begins to consider using her vibrator and just getting it over with. It doesn’t make a difference if Jimin doesn’t know, right? It is something that she would take to the grave, anyway. The last thing she wants to do is give in but… would it really be so bad? Starting off the day with a good orgasm is certainly not the worst thing. 

Yoonji bursts through her bedroom door and Jungha silently thanks the heavens for her timing. Unbeknownst to her, Yoonji just saved Jungha from making a decision that she would later end up regretting. 

“Wake the fuck up,” Yoonji commands, walking around Jungha’s bed to shake her. “Jungha. Wake up. Get your ass out of bed.”

Groaning loudly, Jungha removes the arm covering her face and cracks one eye open. They feel puffy from the ramyeon last night, and her mouth and throat feel dry enough she could gulp down a whole gallon of water this very minute. She glances at Yoonji and her voice is scratchy when she speaks.

“Why?” 

Yoonji stares back at her like she has three heads for a good 15 seconds, and then she blinks. “Did you forget that we had plans today?”

Yes, Jungha actually did forget that she and Yoonji had plans today. In fact, she forgot so much that she cannot recall even having the conversation during which they supposedly made the plans, let alone what the plans were or what time they were for. With no recollection at all, there is no way she can fake remembering, and she wails internally because Yoonji is about to give her so much shit for it.

Lips pursed, Jungha avoids Yoonji’s gaze and absentmindedly picks at a stray thread in her blanket as she waits for her sentence.

“You did forget,” says Yoonji flatly. 

“Apparently, yes,” Jungha replies. 

“Do you have any memory of our conversation at all?” 

“Uh…” Jungha trails off and then answers in an unsure, questioning tone despite being very sure she remembers nothing. “No?”

Yoonji responds by playfully whacking her upside the head. It doesn’t hurt in the slightest, but Jungha is a brat. 

“Ouch,” she pouts, exaggeratedly rubbing the point of impact. 

Yoonji does not react. 

Jungha juts her lower lip out in an even deeper pout to which Yoonji softens a little bit. Shaking her head in half-real-half-mock disappointment, Yoonji gently pats Jungha’s head, smoothing the black locks behind her behind her ear as best as she can given the bird’s nest of bedhead hair that she has to work with. Jungha watches with tired eyes as her friend pauses, her brows furrowing. She flips her palm over to rest the back against Jungha’s forehead. Immediately, her cat-like eyes widen with concern. 

“Are you sick?” Yoonji questions worriedly. 

Jungha heaves a long sigh, hoping that she doesn’t end up having to answer truthfully. She could say that she is sick, but then she would also have to miss the hockey game tomorrow against Yonsei. Which means that she also cannot show her face at the party that night, the only party that she has been looking forward to. She hasn’t seen her high school best friend Hyejin in way too long, their schedules never aligning. Since they have no classes together and Jungha’s hockey schedule occupies a ton of her time, and Hyejin has her own interests and commitments, it has been literal months since there has been any interaction between them aside from texting. So when Hyejin informed her of the campus party she decided to attend for once and Jungha saw that she had the evening free herself, she told her friend that she would absolutely attend. In a lapse of judgment, she also promised Hyejin she would dance with her. 

Just a bit of dancing between a raging lesbian and her straight-as-a-ruler bestie, complete with mild homoerotic undertones to confuse all the onlookers. The ruler is one of those slightly bendy ones, but still. There is nothing deeper than friendship between them, but damn is it amusing to see the befuddled expressions of everyone around. 

So, she really cannot cancel. There are a lot of people that Jungha wouldn’t feel bad about disappointing. Yoonji and Hyejin happen to be the two that Jungha does care about disappointing. She mildly disappoints Yoonji every day, she’s sure, but Jungha never wants to truly disappoint her. But Hyejin? She helped Jungha through way too much in high school, and Jungha might even venture to say that she owes Hyejin her life. And if she can pay her back in the form of adhering to plans and partaking in a bit of homoerotic dancing with her, then she certainly will. 

Even if that means she has no other lie on hand to tell Yoonji.

“No,” she answers, closing her eyes and wishing she could roll herself under her bed and hide.

“You look it,” mutters Yoonji. 

“Well…I’m not.”

“Did you have a nightmare or something?”

“No- I mean,” Jungha sucks in a sharp breath. She kind of did have a nightmare. “Yes. Kind of.”

Yoonji raises an eyebrow. “Kind of?”

“Listen-” Jungha protests, and then whines when Yoonji plops onto her mattress next to her and stares. Waiting for Jungha to elaborate. Her fate is inescapable. 

“I’m listening. Both ears wide open, eardrums functional. I just had my hearing checked. It’s perfect, by the way,” says Yoonji. “So. Explain.”

“I should have just said ‘yes, I had a nightmare’ and then left it at that,” Jungha laments. 

Yoonji laughs. “Hindsight is 20/20. But yeah, I probably wouldn’t have questioned that. You’re the one that made it sound suspicious. And the obvious panic when I asked. Actually, that was more telling than anything.”

Jungha flops backward and throws her arm over her face again to hide her embarrassment.

“You had a wet dream,” says Yoonji. Blunt and to the point, as usual.

The pained, pitiful whine Jungha lets out is confirmation, but she gives a small nod anyway. She feels the bed shift as Yoonji turns onto her side, propping her head up with one arm to face Jungha.

“It happens,” she reassures, the hand that isn’t holding her up reaching out to gently ruffle her hair. “Doesn’t clarify what made it ‘kind of a nightmare,’ though.”

At this point, Jungha thinks it would be best just to spit out the truth. Yoonji will extract it from her anyway, and dancing around the topic is only delaying the inevitable. 

Drawing in a deep breath, she steels herself to divulge her dream’s true nature.

“It was about Jimin,” she reluctantly reveals. Mild anxiety simmers under her skin and her throat suddenly feels dry. She sits up and reaches for the water bottle she keeps on her nightstand. She gulps the water down like she has been stranded in a desert for weeks, using the back of her hand to wipe away a small droplet escaping down her chin. 

With a little too much force, she thumps the water bottle back down on her nightstand and mutters, “Actually, it was starring Jimin. Like, she was doing crazy things to me and I fucking loved it.” She shakes her head when she notices Yoonji opening her mouth, no doubt to ask a question. 

“No, I don’t remember exactly what dream Jimin was doing to me,” states Jungha. “And frankly, I don’t care to remember. Whatever she was doing was amazing, but you know what wasn’t amazing? The part that made it a nightmare?” Jungha stares at the ceiling and then rolls her head to the side, making intentional eye contact with her roommate and waiting for her to answer.

“Because it was Jimin,” responds Yoonji after a slight pause. 

“YES! BINGO!” Jungha yells, emphasizing her exclamation with a startlingly loud clap, and then she keeps her palms together and angles them toward Yoonji. She nods quickly with wide, frazzled eyes. “Because it was Jimin. And I hate Jimin.”

“Oh, really? I never would have guessed,” Yoonji snorts. Her tone drips with heavy sarcasm, prompting Jungha to glare at her. “You’ve literally only been repeating ‘I hate Jimin’ every day for the past…hmm…”

Trailing off slowly, Yoonji counts the years with her fingers. “Three- wait, no- two years. Two fucking years. It honestly feels like ten but holy shit, I can’t believe I’ve listened to you say the same three words in that order at least once per day, every day for two whole years. My god, how have I not pushed you off a cliff by now?”

Jungha blinks at her. “Um, because that’s homicide and wrong? And severely punishable by law?”

“Not if I make it look like an accident.”

Jungha pales. “Also, you love me?”

“Yeah,” sighs Yoonji. “I do. Hence why I’ve listened to you moan and groan over Jimin for two years. Never thought I’d sacrifice my precious sanity for anyone, but here we are.”

“Wow. Thanks for your sacrifice,” Jungha replies dryly.

“You’re welcome.”

With a hum, Jungha shoots her an unamused expression in return and then deflates. She grabs her water bottle. She unscrews the cap and before taking a sip, she asks, “Okay, so now that we have established that I am totally shook by my nightmare and that I also have zero recollection of planning any activities with you, what are we going to do today?”

“We are going dress shopping. I need your help with it,” Yoonji casually explains, causing Jungha to choke mid-sip. The younger woman coughs violently and sputters for air, bent forward and harshly thumping her fist on her chest. Yoonji appears completely unfazed by Jungha’s struggles.  

“How- okay, wait.” Jungha wheezes. She screws the bottle cap back on, slams it down, and then points accusingly at her roommate. “You.”

“Yes, me.”

“You’re going dress shopping. You. Min Yoonji. Miss ‘I’d rather burn alive than walk into some cutesy, girly clothing store’ is going dress shopping,” Jungha disbelieves.

“Listen-”

“What’s even more insane is that you think me, Jeon Jungha, tomboy extraordinaire, is the best person to help you dress shop. I have never worn a dress in my life, Yoonji.”

“Okay, but-”

“There is no way I agreed to this.”

“You did, though,” insists Yoonji.

“Did you ask me when I was asleep or something? Because there really is no way I said I’d do this unless I was heavily distracted, drugged, or held at gunpoint,” reasons Jungha, raising her eyebrows and waiting for the truth. 

Yoonji at least has the sense to look a bit sheepish when she answers. “You may have been gaming at the same time. But you still answered like you understood what I asked!”

“If I’m focused on something else, I’m not taking in anything anyone says,” complains Jungha, very displeased by this turn of events, and yet she is already halfway resigned to her fate. “Especially not when I am fighting for my life in a game. C’mon Yoonji, you know that.”

“Yeah, I do, sorry.” Not a hint of remorse is detectable in the apology. 

“And that’s called ~manipulation~” Jungha sing-songs while Yoonji rolls her eyes.

“Consider it my price for constantly having to listen to you bitch about Jimin. Also for refraining from throwing you off a cliff, but that’s still not entirely out of possibility.” 

“Fine,” Jungha concedes, reluctantly accepting that there is no winning this argument. “When?”

“As soon as you get your ass out of bed.”

Disgruntled but resigned, Jungha rolls herself out of bed. Now at least her mind is taken off of her wet dream. If there is anything good coming out of Yoonji coercing her into shopping, it is that.

🏒

The next day is a game day, and Jungha could not be more ready for it. There is an itch for competition and exertion under her skin, and a SNU vs. Yonsei game is just what she needs to scratch it. Her anticipation is intense, and the need to show up Yonsei is enormous. 

As is the need to defeat Jimin. That one is alive and thriving. 

She has pent up irritation after getting dragged between multiple stores yesterday, so the upcoming energy bursts and a hit or two into the boards sounds like the perfect way to get it all out. 

She never even figured out why Yoonji needed to go dress shopping, and the lack of explanation has just made her all the more resentful. She might consider bashing Jimin into the boards an extra time for that. If she can’t slam Yoonji, she has no qualms about taking it out on Jimin, even if that makes Jungha the asshole. 

Jungha lugs her hockey bag into the locker room and lets it fall like a log from her shoulder onto the padded floor, startling the poor player lacing up her skates next to her. She murmurs an apology to her and sits down on the bench. She unzips her bag and starts searching for the first piece of equipment while the girls around her chatter. Usually, she doesn’t listen all that much and just psychs herself up for the game as she dons her gear. She considers her teammates her friends, but Jungha doesn’t relate to most of the stuff they talk about. Especially not before a game. Sometimes she wonders how their minds can focus on other things before a game. For Jungha, the anticipation consumes her.

However, one of the girls mentions Jimin. That makes Jungha’s ears perk up and she lifts her head to find her teammate Mina staring at her. Jungha blinks and more heads turn to her.

“What?” she asks, feeling immensely unnerved by all the pairs of eyes trained on her. The peeling velcro from her shin guards as she readjusts them sounds disproportionately loud compared to the hush that has fallen over the locker room. She chuckles awkwardly, trying to break the tension. “Can you all stop staring at me like this? I’m feeling like a caged animal at a zoo.”

“Just…” one girl begins hesitantly. She breaks eye contact with Jungha, turning her attention down to her skate laces while muttering something Jungha cannot decipher. 

“You can’t all sit there staring at me like this and not tell me what the hell for,” Jungha remarks. “Please spit it out so this awkward atmosphere can dissipate and we can focus on what really matters, like the game. Defeating Yonsei like the badass bitches we are.”

Another girl, Sana, sighs and reveals, “Jimin was talking shit about you.”

Jungha shrugs, playing it cool even though she is racking up tallies on her envisioned ‘Jimin-meets-the-boards-up-close-and-personal’ list. Though, she probably does not appear as nonchalant to the other women as she hopes. 

“Okay, and? Am I supposed to be upset by this?” she responds, knowing fully well that she is indeed upset. 

“I mean, you do normally get pretty upset by things like this,” Minji pipes up while the other women nod along.

“You’re lucky you’re our goalie, Minji,” Jungha teases goodnaturedly. “We’re fucked without you. Sana over there, though….”

“Rude,” laughs Sana. She knows Jungha’s humor quite well at this point. 

Yoonji barges into the locker room and diverts everyone’s attention. “Sorry I’m late. Got held up. Why is everyone gawking at Jungha like she’s a caged zoo animal?”

One of the defensemen, Jihyo, chimes in to answer Yoonji’s question. “Jimin was shit-talking her. Some of us overheard her when we walked past the Yonsei locker room. And then Mina-” Jihyo throws a burning glare at said girl. “Brought it up instead of letting Jungha live in blissful ignorance.”

“Sorry!” Mina squeaks. “I just didn’t think about it. Bad timing.”

“Yeah, a better timing would have been never,” quips Jihyo.

“Jimin talking shit about Jungha isn’t anything new,” says Yoonji. “They’ve been talking shit about each other for the past two years. Unless they both get themselves together, the shit-talking is going to continue and it’s best not to engage. Which means that it’s best not to mention it anymore so Jungha doesn’t have a heart attack and die young. She’s annoying but I’d like to keep her around for a few more years.”

Jungha is in the midst of putting her jersey on when Yoonji says that. She pops her head through the collar and accuses, “You literally told me yesterday morning that you’re going to throw me off a cliff one day.”

Her teammates’ expressions are priceless as Yoonji cackles. “I said I have refrained from it thus far. Your chances of being plunked into the oceanic abyss by me are low, but never zero.”

“Should we be concerned?” Sana whispers to Mina, sharing a mortified look.

“Always,” Jihyo leans closer to them and answers, her pretty eyes filled with amusement as she watches the scene.  

Jungha redirects everyone’s attention away from her and back to the upcoming game. “Can we please focus on the pressing matter at hand? A.k.a the hockey game that starts in…” Jungha checks the time on her phone. “Literally 10 minutes?”

“Oh crap!” multiple girls exclaim and scramble to put the rest of their gear on. 

Jungha smiles to herself. 

🏒

Jungha swears if Jimin manages to steal the puck from her one more time, she is going to lose it. If Jimin makes one more comment, says ‘oops’ so cutely with a saccharine smile… Jungha is going to have to find a way to shut her up. Whatever form that takes. There are multiple ways Jungha can think of that would shut Jimin up, and at least two of those come from parts of her brain that she would rather not venture into. 

It doesn’t help at all that SNU is losing this game 3-0. There have been some real bullshit calls. She wonders at this point if the referee has a bias against SNU because he has been handing out penalties left and right to her team. Jungha has watched Yonsei commit the same crimes and yet only one of them has actually ended with a Yonsei player spending time in the penalty box. 

The whistle blows once again, the shrill sound carrying through the rink and Jungha doesn’t need to look to know that there is yet another penalty about to be awarded to someone on her team. She whips her head around to see Jimin on all fours, seemingly in pain, and Jungha is startled by the small flash of worry she feels at the sight. It quickly fades when she sees Jimin slowly lift herself back up onto her feet, breathing heavily but apparently feeling alright enough to laugh off the pain. Any of the worry that was left transforms into anger when the referee signals a tripping penalty and points to Jihyo. By the expression on Jihyo’s face, Jungha can tell that she is shocked and frustrated by the call as well. 

“Are you fucking kidding me,” grumbles Jungha. She rolls her eyes.

Sana skates by, shaking her head and muttering under her breath, “It’s not Jihyo’s fault Jimin tripped over the blue line.”

Jungha’s gaze follows Jihyo as she skates to the penalty box and throws herself down on the bench. Seems like Jungha is not the only woman fed up with this terrible referee. Every single player on her team wears disgruntled expressions. 

Both teams line up for a face-off with Jungha taking the center position, directly across from Jimin. Jungha looks up to see Jimin staring at her with those sharp, pretty eyes. They’re serious, but taunting at the same time, especially as one corner of her mouth tilts up into a smirk. 

In that exact moment, it fully dawns on Jungha that Jimin caused that penalty on purpose. She definitely made it appear that Jihyo tripped her. She pulled a dirty move that the referee fell for much too easily.

Retaliation is the worst way to handle this situation, but Jungha is so over Jimin’s antics that reasoning is thrown to the back burner. Challengingly, she narrows her eyes at Jimin. It does nothing to wipe the smirk off of the other woman’s face. In fact, it grows, but that will just make it all the more satisfying when Jungha gets her revenge. 

The referee drops the puck to the ice and Jungha slaps Jimin’s stick out of the way, taking possession of the puck and skillfully stickhandling it around Jimin. She sprints away from Jimin, but Jimin has always been a faster skater than Jungha. Not by a lot, but by enough that she can catch up to Jungha if she really exerts herself.

Which, of course, she is doing right now. 

Jungha is forced to pass the puck to her Sana just as Jimin gets close enough to bump her off balance, so the pass isn’t as on-target as intended. Sana darts toward the puck, but it seems that Taehee anticipated Jimin’s move before anyone else and she intercepts the pass, breaking away from the play and straight to Minji.

Jungha’s heart sinks the second Taehee gets a breakaway. When Taehee gets a clear shot, it is almost always a lost cause. Nine times out of ten, the puck ends up in the back of the net. 

No one is able to catch up to her. It is just Taehee vs. Minji, and as phenomenal of a goalie as Minji is, Taehee’s impeccable aim and insane force with which she launches the puck sends it whizzing past Minji easily. The goal buzzer sounds and Jungha knows the game is over, even if there are five minutes left of game time. With a score of 4-0, there is a miniscule chance of tying the game, let alone winning it. Jungha doesn’t even expect her team to score a single goal at this point and she hates that she is thinking that way but…

She ends up being correct. 

🏒

The mood in the locker room is somber. Velcro ripping apart is the only sound in the room; there is none of the usual chatter between the players. Even after some pretty bad losses, the mood is never really this low. Except, typically, they don’t have to deal with referees who let their biases impede their calls. And every woman in the locker room knows that this particular referee was out to make them lose.

In addition, Yonsei played exceptionally dirty in this game. They knew that they were backed by the referee and they had no problem manipulating that to their advantage.

All of the circumstances surrounding this game are really fucking infuriating, and every single person in the room is feeling it. Jungha seems to be the most affected by it, though. She wants to smash something, scream, anything to decrease the fury.

Yoonji might be right when she says Jungha will send herself to an early grave with all the stress. But it’s not something that Jungha can help. Jimin could do her part and stop provoking Jungha, but she will never do that. Today, she didn’t even have to say anything to get under Jungha’s skin. She always makes snide remarks that piss her off, but this time? She didn’t say shit to Jungha, but her face conveyed everything. Her actions spoke louder than words.

Suddenly, Jungha remembers that Hyejin’s party is tonight, and that may just be the perfect way to blow off some steam. If Jungha can’t smash something, then at least she can get smashed and dance all her anger away. Maybe she can even find a pretty girl there to make out with and take her mind off of Jimin.

Jungha throws all her equipment into her bag and tugs the zipper shut with way too much force, and then she turns to Yoonji who looks almost as upset as Jungha is as she stares blankly at the rubber floor. She lightly nudges Yoonji with her elbow to grab her attention, startling her out of her trance. She lifts her head and frowns at Jungha.

“What?” she mumbles tiredly, smoothing back sweaty strands of hair clinging to her forehead.

“Are you going to the party later?” asks Jungha.

“Hyejin’s?”

Jungha nods, “Yeah. I said I’d go. Haven’t seen her in forever.”

“Me neither. I’ll probably go,” Yoonji says, pursing her lips.

Jungha raises an eyebrow. “You don’t sound too happy about that.”

Yoonji lets out an exhausted laugh. “I mean, I’m not. I’m tired and my mood is shitty now. I’d rather be at Taehee’s, snuggled up in a warm blanket and leaning my back into her chest, but that’s not going to happen.”

She must notice Jungha’s expression turns to stone at her mention of Taehee because she sighs, slumping her shoulders. She refrains from making any comment.

Jungha does not.

“And why not?” she presses, her tone clipped.

“Taehee is going to the party," she reveals, and Jungha’s heart sinks. “And I really don’t want to mope and brainrot all alone at our apartment, so I said I’d go with her.”

“Why would Taehee be going to a party on our campus?” 

Yoonji shrugs. “I think she knows one Hyejin’s friends or something. I don’t know.”

“So if Taehee is going…”

“Jimin is also going,” Yoonji confirms.

“Fuck,” hisses Jungha, kicking her bag. She immediately regrets it when pain spreads through her ankle. She rotates it around and waits for the pain to subside before she stands. “I swear, Jimin gets in the way of everything fun. Maybe I should cancel. Hyejin would understand,” she says and then adds as an afterthought, “I think. Right? Hyejin would understand?”

“Probably, yeah. But also I don’t think you should cancel,” Yoonji tells her. “I really think you should still go. It might be good for you.”

Jungha snorts loudly. There is not a fucking chance in hell that going to the party will be good for her. There is a much higher probability of this party being her downfall. She fears she may snap if she sees Jimin so soon after this game. What if she punches Jimin in the face? Jungha can imagine it wayyyy too clearly, the ensuing chaos that would cause. The reprimanding she would receive from the dean of SNU, and even getting booted off the team. So as satisfying as it would be to land a punch on Jimin’s frustratingly beautiful face, Jungha isn’t willing to gamble with her position on the team nor her education.

“Yoonji,” Jungha says with a long sigh. “You know me. You know I am the number one certified Jimin hater. You must be well aware that me and Jimin in an enclosed space is a horrible idea. And-” she shakes her head and holds up one finger when Yoonji parts her lips to interrupt. “- and we have to calculate in that there is going to be alcohol involved. It’s almost certain that neither of us will be completely sober. Sober Jungha wishes she could punch Jimin, but she can control herself when off the ice. Drunk Jungha would not care. She has no inhibitions. She will put a fist to Jimin’s face even in an entire room filled with people. Potential witnesses to her crime.”

"They’re all going to be drunk anyway,” Yoonji argues.

Jungha narrows her eyes. Why must Yoonji be so persistent with this? What is she getting out of pushing Jungha to go? There must be an ulterior motive. She must know something. There has to be some kind of reason Yoonji just hasn’t given up yet.

“I cannot leave any witnesses to my off-ice crimes,” Jungha replies with finality, which Yoonji chooses to completely ignore.

Instead, Yoonji looks at her like she has three heads and says, “Literally just don’t get drunk then.”

“It’s a campus party, Yoonji, and I want to let loose a bit.”

Rolling her eyes, Yoonji stands up and slings her equipment bag over her shoulder. Jungha follows suit and they leave the locker room, grabbing their sticks and letting the door slam shut behind them. Yoonji then halts and turns to Jungha, pausing like she is thinking carefully about what is the best thing to say. Her tone is flat and weaved with exhaustion when she finally responds. “You’re an adult, Jungha. You do whatever you want. I just don’t want you to stay cooped up in our apartment, not talking to anyone. You need to go out and make friends-”

“I do have friends-”

“-Who are not our teammates,” finishes Yoonji, undeterred by Jungha’s interruption. She lifts an eyebrow when Jungha grunts, “I have Hyejin.”

“Exactly. You have our teammates and Hyejin, who you barely see, by the way. Which is why this is the perfect opportunity for you to go see her, make friends, have fun and maybe even make out with a pretty girl because Jesus fuck, you need to get laid.”

“I hate when you are the voice of reason,” mutters Jungha. She closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose, blowing out a heavy breath through her mouth. “If I run into Jimin at all during this party, I’m blaming you. I’ll use your favorite mug every morning as retaliation.”

A loud laugh bursts out of Yoonji. She sounds so amused by Jungha’s threat that Jungha can’t help but laugh herself.

“Okay, sure,” Yoonji cackles. “If it all blows up in your face, then by all means, use my favorite mug every morning.” She pats Jungha on the shoulder and smirks. “That’s if you can find it.”

Jungha is about to respond, but she hears an all-too-familiar voice in the distance laughing obnoxiously loudly. Jungha grabs onto Yoonji and starts to drag her toward the door, but she is too slow. Not even 5 seconds later, Jimin appears from behind a wall with all her gear, side-by-side with Taehee. Side-by-side is not even an accurate description; it’s really more like Jimin hanging off of Taehee’s shoulder as she laughs, and the sight grates on Jungha’s nerves. Why must Jimin fling her body around as she laughs? Does that not bother Taehee?

Jimin’s laughter comes to an abrupt stop when she looks up and meets Jungha’s eyes. Her body goes taut. Her lips flatten into an annoyed line and any amusement that previously shined in her eyes is wiped away and replaced by a suspicious squint, which then morphs into an icy glare. It’s one that has Jungha immediately on guard. Is it too much to hope that Jimin continues on her merry way and leaves Jungha alone?

She watches Taehee and Yoonji exchange meaningful glances that Jungha has no idea how to interpret. Taehee whispers something in Jimin’s ear to which she nods, still glaring coldly at Jungha, and then Taehee guides her away gently by the upper arm until they leave the rink. Wordlessly, Jungha stares at their retreating backs. Relief washes over her, knowing that whatever silent exchange happened between Taehee and Yoonji saved Jungha from losing her cool. But it’s relief along with something else- some kind of negative emotion that she cannot place. Is that…disappointment?

Disappointment. Seriously? Jungha doesn’t want nor need Jimin’s attention.

But the disappointment spreads through her body anyway and weighs her down, her shoulders slumping and her frown becoming more pronounced the longer she stares at the exit.

Yoonji awkwardly clears her throat.

Jungha turns toward her and blinks. “Okay, well, that was weird. I don’t know what you just telepathically communicated with Taehee, but thanks for that,” she says, loathing the way the disappointment grows stronger and her gratitude feels insincere. Yoonji did just save her from a narrowly avoided catastrophe.

“Let’s go home?” suggests Yoonji. “We still have to shower, eat, and get ready before we head to Hyejin’s. And I don’t know about you, but I’d really like a power nap before I have to suffer awake until a horrendous, ungodly hour.”

A power nap does sound really nice, in Jungha’s opinion.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

🏒

There is a lot going on at Hyejin’s. Except a lot is an understatement. Students are everywhere. Jungha has yet to even find Hyejin. One of Hyejin’s friends- Namjoo is her name, if she remembers correctly- let her and Yoonji inside. The woman had introduced herself, but Jungha couldn’t hear anything past the thumping bass and lively chatter so she resorted to very undeveloped lip-reading skills and minimal prior knowledge of Hyejin’s friends’ names.

Yoonji hadn’t caught her name either, so at least that makes Jungha feel a little less bad.

But now Yoonji has wandered off and left Jungha to fend for herself with only a red solo cup in hand, filled to the brim with a drink that tastes like it’s 90% alcohol, 7% ice, and 3% juice. Consuming this concoction so quickly is unquestionably 100% a bad idea, but the prospect of a hangover has never stopped her and certainly won’t tonight.

Multiple people pull her aside to make small talk with her. Not that she minds. Usually, she would hate that and try to scurry away as quickly as possible, but what else is she going to do right now? Maybe one of these girls talking to her is interested in getting to know her. How is Jungha ever supposed to find a girlfriend if she doesn’t talk to people? Yoonji’s words ring too true.

She wanders by a group of people playing a drinking game. She stops and watches for a bit, but the people playing are all a bunch of men she has no interest in interacting with. Off to the side, a group of pretty women watch the men and talk amongst each other. No doubt they’re talking about the men, judging from the glances and giggles. Jungha almost rolls her eyes. She can’t imagine ever being like that over a man.

A woman, however… Jungha supposes she can’t really judge them for it when she is no better than a man in the presence of a beautiful woman.

Every woman standing there is definitely straight. Not a single one of them looks at any of the women here like they are looking at the men, and Jungha moves on. That group is a lost cause. As she is walking by, she makes eye contact with one of them who she knows is possibly the biggest homophobe she has ever met. Jungha readies herself for the awful remark that is about to be spit at her, but loud cheers erupt from the group of men and the girl whips her head back around with gooey heart eyes. She completely forgets about Jungha, thankfully.

Jungha blows out a relieved breath. She really didn’t feel like dealing with that tonight.

She wanders around for a while looking for a good space to chill against the wall, preferably in a corner away from the speakers. She spots a place across the room and maneuvers her way clumsily past throngs of students.

Along the way, she finally bumps into Hyejin. By bumping into her, Jungha means that she actually falls into her after she trips over someone’s shoe. She stumbles right onto Hyejin’s shoulder, catching herself by flinging an arm around her. She plays it off smoothly, like it was a purposeful movement instead of a desperate flail for balance.

"Oh my god, hey,” she greets excitedly and a little breathlessly. The moment Hyejin recognizes that the person hanging onto her is Jungha and not some weird creep, her defensive expression melts into joy and her eyes light up.

“Jungha! I’ve been wondering where you ran off to. Namjoo said you were here, but I haven’t been able to spot you,” she says with a bright smile.

"Okay so that was Namjoo,” Jungha laughs sheepishly. “She told me her name but I couldn’t hear with all the background noise. I had to rely on lip-reading, which unfortunately is not something I’m good at.”

“Yeah, it’s a little loud in here,” Hyejin agrees, tucking a lock of her wavy hair behind her ear. She brings Jungha in for a hug. She hooks her chin over her shoulder and squeezes Jungha tightly, almost knocking the wind out of her. “It’s been way too long. I’ve missed you a lot.”

Jungha squeezes her back just as tightly and nods. “It’s been an appalling amount of time. You live literally less than a 10 minute walk away. We’ve been so bad at this friendship thing.”

Hyejin pulls away and purses her lips, but her eyes still twinkle with amusement. “Hey, we are victims of our schedules. Not our fault our schedules consistently don’t align.”

“Yeah, but it sucks anyway. I’ve really missed you so much. What’s been going on with you?” asks Jungha. “I feel like there is soooo much catching up that we need to do.”

“So much,” Hyejin agrees. “This is probably the worst place to do that, though. I can barely hear you as is.”

Jungha frowns. “True.”

Hyejin seems to remember something. She stands on her tiptoes and looks around like she’s searching for someone, confusing Jungha until she asks, “Wait, where’s Yoonji?”

Jungha snorts. “That traitor ran off with Taehee. I haven’t seen her in at least an hour. I don’t want to search either,” she says and then shudders. “I don’t know what horrors I’d be subjected to if I were to search around for them. You’d have to lobotomize me.”

“Yeah, I don’t do neurosurgery, sorry,” giggles Hyejin. “I’m an arts and humanities girlie. I’d botch your lobotomy horribly.”

Jungha sucks air in through her teeth. “Oof, true. I’m not letting you anywhere near my brain.”

“Glad we’re on the same page.”

Someone calls Hyejin over and she smiles apologetically, telling Jungha with a hug that she will find her later and that she hopes they can talk more tonight. She leaves Jungha chilling awkwardly alone with her back leaning into the wall, drink in hand, while everyone else talks amongst themselves. The problem with venturing outside of her friend group- aka her teammates- by herself in a situation like this is that she can’t just inject herself into a circle of unfamiliar people talking and fit right in. At least if her teammates were around, they could introduce her to their friend circles. But nope, Jungha is alone and she curses Yoonji for making her go, even if Jungha is the one who originally agreed to attend. 

Jungha scans the room absentmindedly until her eyes land upon a tuft of blonde hair weaving in between people. She immediately knows who it belongs to, and she feels the anger rise again. She never was able to get her revenge during the game today.

There is a tiny voice in the back of her head that sounds suspiciously like Yoonji that urges her to just leave Jimin alone. To not engage, to just let it go, leave it behind and let the events of the game stay as events of the game. There is no reason for Jungha to talk to Jimin tonight, and in fact, there is very good reason to not talk to Jimin tonight. But will Jungha listen? There is some liquid courage flowing through her veins, yet her decision-making abilities are still largely intact.

Whatever negative choices she makes tonight are inexcusable.

Oh well.

She watches Jimin go from person to person, ever the social butterfly. She notices that Jimin seems to already know many of the people here and acts quite friendly with them. It just serves to piss off Jungha even more. 

Jungha sneaks closer, muttering quiet ‘excuse me’s and ‘sorry’s to each person she pushes past, until she gets close enough that she can see Jimin, hopefully without Jimin seeing her. She feels like a total creep right now, but whatever. Jimin has her back to Jungha as she cheerily converses with a group of three other women, all of whom Jungha doesn’t recognize.

It doesn’t matter. All of the women fade into the background alongside everyone moving around in the room. It all blurs until the only thing that remains in focus is Jimin. She has styled her blonde hair differently tonight. The strands look soft and silky as usual, but she has styled her hair into beautiful waves instead of its typical straight texture. She wears a white crop top with rips in it and deep red skirt, even shorter than the one she wore in the grocery store. Much to Jungha’s dismay- or so she tells herself- Jimin’s glorious thighs are once more on display and causing Jungha intense, existential pain. She wants to sink to her knees wailing to a god she doesn’t really believe in because this is so, so unfair. It is downright despicable that those toned thighs belong to her mortal enemy. If they belonged to any other woman, Jungha’s teeth would’ve been sunk into them years ago. They would’ve been decorated with the prettiest hickies, beautiful shades of purple and blue created from Jungha’s mouth and fingers.

How devastating. It’s sickening.

Jimin looks to be telling a funny story, waving her hands around and rocking back-and-forth, heel-to-toe as she recounts something with boosted emotion. Jungha watches the way the muscles flex each time Jimin shifts. Her vision is locked into the movement and she stares spellbound for what seems like hours. To make matters worse, the crop top exposes a decent amount of Jimin’s midriff. Even if all Jungha can see right now is Jimin’s back, in combination with her legs, that is all that is needed to send her into a violent downward spiral.

The women burst out laughing at something Jimin says. The sudden jarring sound yanks Jungha back out of her trance, bringing her surroundings back into focus.

She rolls her eyes.

Almost as if Jimin senses Jungha’s presence, all of her excitement drains and she twists around, pursing her lips and pushing her tongue into her cheek in an irritated fashion. Contempt flashes in her eyes before she turns back to the three women. Awkwardly, all of them shift their gaze from Jimin to Jungha and then back to Jimin. They picked up on the negative change in mood and now look at the scene with heavy discomfort, paired with rapidly increasing concern.

Jimin mumbles something to the group, waving away their worries and shaking her head. She plasters a strained smile on her face and assures them that nothing is wrong and she will catch up with them later.

Suddenly, Jungha realizes that she doesn’t want to be there. Jimin is going to talk to her, that much is obvious, and it sinks in all at once that it was a horrible idea to approach Jimin. Of course, Jungha has made many bad decisions in her life, but this one is downright atrocious. What did she think was going to happen, really? What was her plan? She didn’t think, just acted, and now Jimin is walking her way and looking very unhappy, and Jungha doesn’t know what the fuck to do except escape.

She spins around and panics. Frantically, she looks around for an easy getaway path. There are too many people in this small space, claustrophobia is sinking its claws into her, and Jimin is walking closer and making it all worse. There is no easy escape route, so Jungha must pave her own, apparently.

If that takes a bit of bumping around and elbow-nudging people out of her way, so be it. She plays hockey, after all. 

Avoiding any further eye contact with Jimin, Jungha rushes forward with her head down, clumsily stumbling past groups of people. Most are too inebriated to care that she has bumped into them, with only a few people giving her a nasty side-glare. She squawks quick apologies to them, never pausing or lifting her head. She doesn’t know where she is headed. She just knows that there are less people in the direction she is going. The volume of the music and chatter lowers with each step she takes, until she is in a hallway somewhere in Hyejin’s place with only a few people passing by.

Jungha halts here, closing her eyes and breathing deeply through her nose. She really had no plan, didn’t she? She almost had yet another off-ice encounter with Jimin, which was going to go very, very badly because of the unresolved tension from the game earlier, but hey, at least she got away-

“It wasn’t fair to make me chase you down when you looked like you wanted to talk to me first.”

Heart jumping in her chest, Jungha whirls around at lightning speed and finds herself facing Jimin, who has her arms crossed and her hip cocked to the side. Jimin does not look happy in the slightest. Her red lips are painted into a deep frown, and she glares icily at Jungha. Irritation emanates from her entire body.

Jungha immediately bristles. “Who said I wanted to talk to you?”

“Seriously?” Jimin scoffs and shakes her head. “Are you seriously asking me that? You just watched me from behind like a creep until I noticed you-”

“I did n-”

Jimin rolls her eyes.

“You did. And then when I noticed you, you ran away,” she insists, stepping closer. Jungha takes a step backward. Jimin takes another step forward, advancing like a predator, and when Jungha takes another step backward, her spine thumps against the wall. She flattens herself against it and Jimin inches closer until they’re chest-to-chest. She wonders briefly if Jimin can feel the pounding in her chest, if she can sense how nervous Jimin is making her just by being so close. But it’s not only nervousness, it’s…

Arousal.

Fuck.

Jungha hopes she can’t sense how much she likes it. The lighting is dim in this hallway, so Jimin shouldn’t be able to see how much she is blushing. She shouldn’t be able to see the aroused look in her eyes, or the way having her body so close is making her knees weak. Jungha wouldn’t be so lucky, though, because Jimin can sniff out all of Jungha’s emotions and she knows how to play with them, like a cat toying with a mouse.

A knowing, sly smirk spreads on Jimin’s face. She leans in closer until their noses brush. “I’m right, aren’t I? Didn’t you want me to chase you, Jungha?”

Jungha sucks in a deep breath and then spits, “Of course not. I hate you.”

“Aww,” Jimin laughs condescendingly. She reaches up and pinches Jungha’s cheek a little too hard. “That’s cute.”

“I hate your fucking guts, you asshole. You played dirty today, and you know it,” hisses Jungha, batting Jimin’s hand away from her face. “You had to resort to playing dirty because you couldn’t win otherwise.”

“Oh, c’mon. You know that’s not true,” Jimin dismisses. She stares deep into Jungha’s soul as she says it, her heavy gaze hypnotizing Jungha. Even with all the fury brewing in her chest, she cannot break away. Jimin has much too strong of a mental hold on her, and it has been that way for a very long time. Much too long. But Jimin wants a response, so Jungha pushes her back with both palms to her chest. 

Jimin’s eyes grow wide at the impact. The shove was not harsh enough to make her fall, but it was definitely hard enough to startle her.

“Isn’t it?” goads Jungha, standing up straighter. Firmly, she pokes Jimin in the chest. “C’mon. Jihyo didn’t do shit to trip you, you were just klutzy and tripped over the blue line. But you played into it like the lying bitch you are. Fucking snake.”

Jimin’s face shifts from shocked to annoyed very quickly. And with each word that spills from Jungha’s mouth, Jimin’s expression darkens even more. Jungha detects cold fury brewing with the way Jimin’s jaw clenches shut and her brow furrows, her lips pressing into a thin line and an icy glint flashing in her eyes. She would be so much better off shutting up and walking away. Common sense tells her to not poke the bear. The bear is going to roar and attack.

Shutting up and walking away is not as satisfying as giving Jimin a piece of her mind, though, and Jungha has a penchant for making terrible decisions in the heat of the moment. She pokes Jimin’s chest again, harder this time, and she finds some sick satisfaction in the way Jimin flinches in pain.

“Why did the ref side with you for every call, huh?” Jungha spits. “He ignored every single foul play you fucking made, and he gave us all the bullshit penalties instead. Why could that be, I wonder?” She shakes her head and then laughs mockingly. “You sucking his dick or something?”

It seems like Jungha plunged the knife right where it hurts the most because Jimin suddenly slams her hard against the wall using both hands. Jungha stumbles and her spine crashes against it. She yelps in surprise and pain, and then Jimin tangles one hand in her hair. She twists the strands tightly between her fingers and bends Jungha’s neck backward, holding her firmly in place.

Jimin glares at her, and Jungha feels her body slacken a little. There is heat building between her legs, and a trace of wetness, too. 

She shifts one leg to the side and is barely able to suppress a gasp.

Oh, no. It’s not a little bit of wetness. It’s a lot of wetness. She is very, very wet, and her face burns at the revelation. She hopes there is not a damp spot on her clothes because there is no way that she will ever live it down if Jimin were to see that. It would be absolutely humiliating, and Jungha does not have a humiliation kink. Not when it involves Jimin, at least.

Looking every bit ready to violently murder Jungha and dump her carcass along the side of the road, Jimin grips her hair even tighter, brings her face closer, and seethes, “Fuck you.”

The words fly past Jungha’s traitorous lips before her brain can catch up and stop them. “Fuck me yourself then, coward.”

Jimin falters, shock painted across her features, but it’s soon replaced by a darker expression. One that makes Jungha think that maybe, this time, she crossed the line. She went too far for her own good. Or did she?

“You know what-” 

Jimin crashes her lips into Jungha’s without missing a beat. A small ‘umph’ escapes Jungha, but she doesn’t fight against Jimin. The exact opposite happens, in fact. Her body goes slack, her legs turning to jelly. Jimin must notice that Jungha’s knees are in danger of giving out because she inserts a knee between Jungha’s legs, pushes her body further against Jungha’s, and tightens the grip in her hair. 

The kiss is charged with multiple years of pent up tension. It’s animalistic and rough, as if Jimin is taking out all her frustration on her. And maybe she is, because Jimin has her pinned flat against the wall, devouring her lips like she’s been starved for weeks. She bites hard enough to bruise, to smear her lipstick all over her face. She forces her tongue into her mouth and Jungha’s body responds immediately, melting from the sheer dominance that Jimin displays. It makes her as nervous as it makes her horny.

No one has ever made Jungha bend to their will so easily like this, and of-fucking-course Jimin is the one to do it. With only one rough kiss, Jimin has her like putty in her hands, ready to sink to her knees the second Jimin orders her to. She hates it, and she loves it.

But she hates it more than she loves it, right? That’s what the logical part of her brain is telling her. It’s telling her that she needs to fight back, push Jimin away, scream at her, anything to salvage her pride. Jungha is not one to submit easily to anyone and she is very sure that if she does, there is no coming back from it. There is no redeeming herself if Jimin, of all people, is the one to make her submit.

She is just about to fight Jimin off of her, but Jimin chooses that exact moment to look Jungha in the eyes. 

She looks a mess. Her blonde hair is frazzled and sticking to her skin in some places as if she has been sweating profusely. There is a rosy blush dusting her cheeks and bright crimson smeared on her lips. Her gaze brims with fiery anger and dark hunger like she could consume Jungha whole.

The knee lodged between her legs hitches higher and now it presses against her clit, drawing a gasp out of Jungha. Her eyes fly open and her hands latch onto Jimin’s arms. Her fingers curl into the skin, probably hard enough to leave bruises that she won’t feel remorse for at all. It is obvious that Jimin plans to paint bruises on Jungha’s body, and Jungha refuses to be outdone. Naturally, she resolves to scatter bruises on Jimin’s annoyingly perfect skin, too.

Any and all thoughts Jungha had about pushing Jimin away fly right out the window when Jimin starts kissing and biting down her neck, leaving a trail of red lipstick and purpling marks in her wake. Jungha lets her eyes flutter shut while Jimin ravages her. She feels a cool hand on her waist and it slides up, creeping beneath Jungha’s shirt to cup her breast over her bra. She gives it a squeeze at the same time that she sucks a particularly hard hickey.

Her other hand leaves Jungha’s hair and slips down her body. It slows as it crosses her throat, pressing a little harder as Junhga’s knees quiver, and then it continues down to her hip. She digs her nails into the skin there and drags them a short distance.

Jungha whimpers pathetically. She didn’t think it was possible to get even more turned on, but no. Her pussy disagrees. She is practically a waterfall. She is scared to look down because for all she knows, there could be a puddle on the floor and it would be all her fault (and Jimin’s).

Much to Jungha’s mortification, the sound catches Jimin’s attention and her head snaps up. There’s a short moment that they stare at each other in shock, and then Jungha’s surroundings blur as Jimin drags her further down the hallway. Jimin swings open one of the doors, pulls Jungha inside by her shirt, and then slams the door behind her. With two hands tangled in the fabric, Jimin shoves her hard against the door and continues ravaging her like a starved animal. 

Jungha’s mind is blurred, but it’s not the alcohol. She is, unfortunately, too sober to blame her bad judgment on alcohol. She’s just drunk off raging hormones. 

And Jimin. 

Being drunk off of Jimin is infinitely worse, she thinks. This is her mortal enemy, and she’s about to let Jimin have her way with her. 

She flinches when Jimin slaps her palm against the wooden door, far enough to avoid accidentally hitting Jungha but close enough to instill a bit of fear in her. She loves it, and so does her body. It reacts with a harsh shiver, but not out of fear. By now, her pussy is hot and throbbing with need. 

“You piss me the fuck off,” Jimin growls as she tugs Jungha’s shirt off, tossing it on the floor and kicking it to the side before she can protest. 

No fucking shit. Jungha rolls her eyes at Jimin’s grievance. In a record time response, Jimin’s hand flies to Jungha’s jaw and forces her to look at her. Her grip is strong and her fingertips dig painfully into her jaw. Instead of squirming away, Jungha lulls and stares deep into Jimin’s eyes with a clouded brain.

“No. It’s my turn to talk now. Be a good girl for once and fucking listen to me,” Jimin demands. Jungha’s breath hitches and a satisfied smirk tugs at Jimin’s lips.

Great. Wonderful. Jungha just figured out that she likes being called a good girl, and Jimin now knows too and will use it to her advantage. Jungha doesn’t have a response, and her silence seems to appease Jimin, who continues on her tirade.

“You piss me the fuck off, Jungha. You’re a total pain in my ass,” she berates. Her hands reach around Jungha to unlatch her bra, which she lets fall to the ground, too. “You’re rude and mean to me, and only me. I don’t fucking get it because from what I’ve observed and heard, you’re a very kind person to literally everyone else, but for some reason you have had an axe to grind with me for years.”

Cold air hits Jungha’s exposed breasts, and Jimin’s sight quickly zeroes in on her hardening nipples. Her gaze darkens when she sees the shiny silver barbells decorating her nipples and she thumbs at one, rubbing and flicking at it before giving it a rough pinch, eliciting a yelp from Jungha. 

“Pierced,” Jimin mumbles in awe, as if she cannot believe what she is seeing. 

Jungha nods and Jimin hums. 

“That’s hot, but don’t think for one second it excuses anything,” advises Jimin.

“Doubted it would,” replies Jungha, anticipation building as Jimin gives the same treatment to her other nipple. Tired of waiting and just wanting to get to the fucking, Jungha hastily reaches down to unbutton her own jeans, but Jimin swats her hands away. Pinning her wrists against the wall, Jimin shakes her head.

“No,” she says. “I thought you were going to be a good girl. Good girls are patient. Keep your hands there. Do not move them.”

Fucking hell. Jimin presses Jungha’s wrists firmly into the wall once more as a stern warning before she lets go and focuses her attention lower. Jungha’s head drops backward and thumps loudly against the door while Jimin continues playing with her nipples. She spends what feels like an eternity there, just rolling and pinching them between her fingers, eventually lowering her face to latch her mouth over one. Jungha immediately arches into the feeling. 

Jimin sucks and licks at the hardened nub with fervor, making sure it is thoroughly attended to before switching her focus to the other one. 

“You like it, don’t you?”

Jungha’s mind is spinning with pleasure. Her body is drenched in sweat, flushed, and Jimin hasn’t even removed her pants yet. She nods feverishly. 

“Say it.”

Jungha doesn’t know if she can. 

“You have to say it,” states Jimin while finally unbuttoning her jeans. She pulls the zipper down and snakes her fingers into Jungha’s panties.

“Oh god,” Jungha gasps, mouth falling open. Her cheeks burn with embarrassment as Jimin rubs her fingers against her overly sensitive clit, spreading the copious amounts of slick. She is already so dangerously close to coming, it is ridiculous.

“Aww, you’re so wet, Jungha,” laughs Jimin. “So wet for me, of all people.”

Past the overwhelming pleasure, Jungha mentally snorts because yeah, being reduced to a drenched, quivering, whimpering mess at the hands of her nemesis was certainly not on her bingo card for the year…or ever.   

“Tell me you love it when I touch you like this,” commands Jimin. “Tell me you love it when I’m mean to you. That’s why you always provoke me, isn’t it? You want me to be mean. Say it.”

Well, not totally. Jungha can recognize that their ongoing feud runs deeper than just anger and that it does something to her when Jimin is mean. But at the same time, Jungha is very certain that she really does hate Jimin and that ninety-five percent of her behavior stems from that hate. 

However, in this particular situation, it would be quite a brazen lie to say that she doesn’t want Jimin to be mean to her. It feels like pulling teeth for her to admit it, but it is unfortunately very true. When Jimin clicks her tongue and begins to withdraw her hand, Jungha panics and the words tumble past her lips.

“Fine! Yes!” she cries. “I love it.”

“You love what?” prompts Jimin, expectant and amused. She raises an eyebrow, her lips twitching like she’s trying not to smile, and waits. 

Reluctantly, Jungha closes her eyes and mutters, “I love it when you touch me.”

Jimin nods. “Mhm, and what else?”

Jungha wishes the ground would open up and swallow her whole. She averts her eyes and swallows hard. “And…I love it when you’re…mean to me.”

“You do. You think I don’t notice the look in your pretty eyes, but I do,” reveals Jimin. “It’s subtle, but I always notice the excitement there. You always look a little more alive.”

Jimin slides her hand back into Jungha’s underwear and this time she presses against her clit harder, rubbing it in borderline painful circles. Jungha rocks her hips against her hand, aching for even more touch until Jimin slips two fingers inside her. Her pussy swallows them with ease, and the moan she releases is so wanton and desperate that she surprises herself. Her face burns and she feels pathetic, but it also feels so good that she can’t stop. It would be torture to stop. 

Each sound that flows past Jungha’s open lips feeds into Jimin’s dominance. She leans in close and whispers in Jungha’s ear, her lips ghosting the shell and making her shiver. “I think you want me to put you in your place, don’t you, Jungha?”

Jungha’s next breath is shaky. Her eyes are wide and glassy, and just like that, she gives in completely. She gazes straight into Jimin’s eyes and nods, “Yes.”

“Good girl.”

It will be a miracle Jungha doesn’t pass out if Jimin keeps this up. 

Jimin’s gaze wanders to the bed nearby and then flickers back to Jungha. 

“Strip,” she says, authoritative and demanding. Jungha immediately removes the rest of her clothing, swallowing nervously while Jimin admires every part of her exposed body. Heavy bass thumps and people chatter and cheer in the background, but for Jungha, it has all faded away to a barely perceptible hum. The pounding of her heart drowns it all out and her attention is latched onto Jimin. 

Only Jimin. It’s impossible to look away. 

Jimin is loving it, that much is clear. She looks like she’s on a high, her eyes glimmering when she directs a sharp nod toward the bed. 

“Go lay on the bed. On your back. Legs open.” 

Jungha obeys immediately. Like she is in a daze, she walks toward the bed and lies back on it. She looks straight at Jimin as she lies down, but hesitates to spread her legs. First from the jolt of nervousness that arises from her intimate parts being entirely exposed, and then from a sudden rush of defiance. She keeps them tightly closed and says nothing as she waits for Jimin to register. 

The silence between them is charged. It dawns on Jimin rather quickly that Jungha is purposefully disobeying her, and her body language changes in a flash. She pushes her tongue into her cheek and then the next thing Jungha knows, Jimin is at the edge of the bed and looking down at her disapprovingly. 

“I thought I told you to open your legs,” she scolds, watching not-so-patiently while Jungha weighs her options. Cave and spread her legs, or put up a bit of a fight? It is easier to put up a fight now that there is some distance between their bodies and Jimin isn’t making her mind spin with her fingers and lips. And anyway, it is much more fun to be forced into submission, she thinks. 

Also, she wants to make Jimin work for it a little. Jungha cannot let this be too easy for her. 

“Make me,” she challenges with a shrug, looking up at Jimin with a taunting, mischievous glint in her eyes. 

“Oh babygirl,” Jimin laughs, and then clicks her tongue. “I will. I will make you listen to me.”

Babygirl. Jungha can’t say she hates that name.

“Is that a promise?” Jungha tests playfully.

Jimin responds by grasping Jungha’s thighs tightly, digging her fingers into the hard muscle. Jungha resists, but after a small struggle, Jimin succeeds in forcing her legs to part. 

“Does this seem like a promise to you?” asks Jimin, grinning wildly. 

As a test, Jungha tries to close her legs again, but Jimin’s hold doesn’t falter. She never knew that Jimin has so much upper body strength. She keeps her thighs apart with surprising ease considering how strong Jungha’s legs are. 

Jimin doesn’t bother holding back a laugh when she catches Jungha frowning. “Well? It seems like a promise now, doesn’t it?”

She doesn’t wait for an answer before lowering herself to lay on the bed between Jungha’s legs. She brings a thumb to Jungha’s clit and rubs it slowly in repetitive circles while intently watching every reaction it elicits. 

Every gasp, moan, quivering breath that Jungha takes spurs Jimin on. Her touch becomes firmer, faster while Jungha creeps closer and closer to orgasm. Just when Jungha thinks she is going to come, Jimin’s touch disappears and she raises her head. 

“No, not yet,” she says when Jungha protests. “You wanted me to be mean. Mean is what you’ll get.”

It irritates Jungha even though she did this to herself. She feels the spike of frustration and narrows her eyes into slits, spitting curses at Jimin in her head. But of course, that’s not enough. Like a petulant child instead of the adult she really is, she rolls her eyes hard. She feels the mattress dip right afterwards and then Jimin is on top of her, one hand flying up to dig her fingers into her jaw once again. 

“Don’t you dare narrow or roll your eyes at me again,” Jimin orders her sternly.

Jungha winces at the pain spreading along her jaw. She sucks in a sharp breath, her cheeks warming with slight shame when the pain travels straight south and transforms into pleasure instead. 

Jimin notices, of course. “Turns out you’re a bit of a masochist too, huh?”

“Apparently,” mumbles Jungha, averting her eyes. She knows that she didn’t do a good job at concealing how the pain affected her.

Jimin laughs, giving Jungha’s jaw another squeeze. “I should’ve figured as much. Now stop looking away. Don’t do it again,” she instructs, her tone leaving no room for disobedience. “We can stop whenever you want. All you have to do is say ‘stop’ and we will stop. Otherwise, you will get what I decide to give you, and only what I decide to give you. Is that clear?”

Jungha nods. “Yes.”

“Good girl,” praises Jimin, smiling. She returns to the foot of the bed and lays flat on her stomach again, her face right in line with Jungha’s pussy. 

Jungha’s stomach twists with anticipation and she waits with wide eyes while Jimin takes in the sight hungrily. If this were any other situation, Jungha would feel extremely uncomfortable- at the very least - with someone staring so intently at her intimate parts. She would want to stop it all and leave the room. Earlier with Jimin, she felt some nervousness at being so displayed after Jimin ordered her to lay on the bed with her legs spread, but it wasn’t overbearing. It didn’t make her want to run away. The same nervousness returns, but it still doesn’t make her want to run away.

She wants to know what Jimin’s next move is. She needs to know. 

Fortunately, she finds out very fast. Jimin’s eyes flick upward to meet Jungha’s, and then she dives in to give her clit a quick, single lick. 

The sound that flies past Jungha’s lips is one that she has never heard herself make before in her entire life, but it feels much too good to be embarrassed at all. Her back arches and her legs instinctively begin to close, though Jimin keeps them spread. 

“Oh god,” she says breathlessly. It’s insane how sensitive she is. She isn’t going to hold on much longer, and Jimin has only licked her once.  

“Tastes good, babygirl,” Jimin says. Her eyes glitter as she runs her tongue along the sheen coating her lips. A smug smile tugs at the corners of her mouth and she lightly brushes her fingertips along Jungha’s pussy, collecting the wetness. She lifts her hand to show Jungha. 

“Look how wet you are. Didn’t think you could get any wetter, but look at you now.” 

The statement is full of admiration and wonder, expertly masked as condescension. Jungha’s mouth falls open, waiting, and she sees the exact moment Jimin realizes what Jungha is offering. A spark ignites. 

“Sit up.”

Jungha springs up so fast she makes herself dizzy. 

Presenting two slick, glistening fingers in front of Jungha, Jimin gives a singular nod. 

“Taste yourself.”

Jungha expects her to shove the fingers in her mouth, but of course, that doesn’t happen. She waits for Jungha to lean forward on her own. There is something excitingly degrading about the way Jimin makes Jungha chase her own taste, as if she has molded Jungha into putty in her hands, pliant and ready to give in to her every demand. 

It is also kind of degrading just how easily Jimin accomplishes it.

Jungha never considered herself submissive in the bedroom. If anything, up until this point with her limited experience, she had leaned more on the dominant side. Yet from the moment Jimin exhibited the slightest amount of dominance in the bedroom, Jungha never stood a chance. She was fooling herself thinking that she could successfully resist anything the second Jimin was mean to her. She was bound to submit, in the end. 

She doesn’t hate it, she realizes as she closes her lips around Jimin’s fingers. She holds Jimin’s mesmerized gaze through hooded eyes and runs her tongue along the digits slowly, tasting herself. 

“You taste good, don’t you?” says Jimin while Jungha nods. She can definitely agree that she does taste pretty good. Nodding isn’t good enough for Jimin, though. She shakes her head, biting her lip like she’s trying and failing to hold back a smirk, and she orders Jungha to answer verbally. 

“Words, babygirl. I’ll ask again. You taste good, don’t you?”

Jungha narrows her eyes. The words are going to sound garbled with the fingers still stuffed in her mouth. From the smug mischief reflected in Jimin’s gaze, that is exactly what she is looking for. She wants Jungha to struggle to speak. 

God-fucking-damnit. 

Jungha lets the garbled mess flow from her mouth anyway and Jimin laughs at the muffled, distorted sounds.

“Good girl,” she says, smiling and pleased by the attempt. “Now suck.”

Jungha does. She wraps her tongue around them and hollows her cheeks while Jimin observes, captivated. She gags when Jimin pushes her fingers deeper into her mouth, but she relaxes her jaw so Jimin can thrust in and out. Drool collects and dribbles down her chin. It is so messy, but it’s so hot. Even when Jimin jams her fingers deep into Jungha’s throat, which spasms as Jungha coughs and sputters while she fights her gag reflex, it is still hot. And both of them know that. 

It feels good, the way Jimin watches her every move. Jimin looks at her with intense desire. She looks like she wants to completely devour Jungha while taking her sweet time doing so. In this moment, it almost feels like Jimin doesn’t hate her.

In this moment, as they’re together in this room, breaths heavy and skin glimmering with sweat, it almost feels like Jungha doesn’t hate her either. 

“Seems like you love this,” says Jimin. Jungha’s eyes flutter shut and she nods with her mouth still full. 

“Next time, I’ll make you suck my strap,” Jimin continues. A dreamy quality colors her voice, as if she’s imagining it right now. She probably is. “You’d look so pretty on your knees as I fuck your mouth.”

Leaning backward so Jimin’s fingers slip free from her mouth, Jungha reveals something she shouldn’t. 

“You know, I look extra pretty when I cry.”

It’s a true statement. Jungha does think that her eyes look even more beautiful when shiny with tears. Should she have said that, though? Should Jimin ever have been made aware of this fact? Because now, Jimin will want to find out for herself. Jungha might have just sealed her own fate, but she can’t take it back now that it’s out in the open. 

Jimin remains quiet, blinking at her with a stupefied expression as if she can’t believe what she just heard. Jungha has effectively rendered her speechless, but at a cost. Because now, there are multiple scenarios flashing through Jimin’s imagination. She doesn’t have to say any of them for Jungha to know what she is envisioning.

Jungha’s brain is supplying its own images. And oh, they are downright filthy. 

It takes a while for Jimin to compose herself. When the ability to speak finally returns, her voice takes on a deeper, smoother pitch, reminding Jungha of dripping honey.

“I bet you do. You’d look so beautiful gagging with tears streaming down your face. God -” she lets out a disbelieving laugh. “Just imagining you like that gives me heart palpitations. Why did you have to say that? I’m just going to be left wondering forever now.”

Jungha gets a nagging, uneasy feeling in her chest at that last sentence. It holds a finality that Jungha doesn’t like. But, like all other emotions that she doesn’t like, she pushes it to the back of her mind and fakes nonchalance by shrugging. 

“Guess so,” she replies. 

It seems like Jimin has something else she wants to say. Conflict flashes across her face and Jungha waits with bated breath. Fear and curiosity keep her rooted to the spot and unable to look away. However, Jimin ends up saying nothing. She breathes in deep and just like that, the moment breaks. She is back to the way she was, composed and authoritative once more. 

“Lay down. Legs open.”

Jungha sinks into the position, and Jimin is on her within seconds. She wastes no time getting her mouth on Jungha, diving between her legs to devour her. She spreads Jungha’s lips and licks all around, from the opening up to her clit. 

Jimin is no novice at eating pussy, Jungha realizes. She is really good at it. Really good. She knows exactly what to do with her tongue, what amount of pressure and which speed feels the best. When to hum, when to close her lips around Jungha’s clit and suck. She eats pussy with the confidence of someone with tons of experience. Much more experience than Jungha can claim. 

It feels so fucking good and Jungha can feel her orgasm barreling toward her. Her breathing speeds up. Her legs shake and every muscle in her body tenses, and that is the moment Jimin chooses to hum while sucking her clit. It tips Jungha over the edge and her orgasm slams into her. 

Waves of pleasure crash over her as she thrashes against the bed. It never seems to end. Jimin doesn’t let up, either. She continues eating her out like she’s ravenous, even after Jungha becomes oversensitive and whines pitifully.

“Jesus,” gasps Jungha. Her chest heaves as she recovers from what was the most intense orgasm she has ever had in her entire life. 

Jimin backs up and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, grinning wildly. 

“You screamed,” she states proudly. 

Jungha is still rendered largely speechless. She stares at the ceiling and only manages a small nod with a weak hum. Did she scream? She doesn’t remember. But she doesn’t think Jimin would lie about that either, not with how accomplished she looks. 

“It sounded so pretty,” praises Jimin, lowering her face again. In the same low, honey-like voice she used earlier, she dictates, “Again.”

Before Jungha can catch up, Jimin’s mouth is back on her. She doubles down on her grip, preventing Jungha from moving away. Although, truthfully, Jungha does not want to move away even if her body attempts to. Oversensitivity hurts. It’s too much, yet she loves it. The sensation changes back to pleasure as Jimin’s mouth works its magic and then she is back at the peak embarrassingly quick. Quivering and breathless, another orgasm crashes over her. 

“Again.” 

Perhaps Jungha is in for a longer night than she thought. A monster has been unleashed. 

This time, Jimin fucks her with her fingers, no mouth. She inserts two inside with zero resistance and curls them to brush Jungha’s g-spot, lightly at first. Even the small amount of pressure has Jungha’s toes curling and her muscles tightening again. Jimin’s touch grows firmer and she thrusts in and out, building speed. It is exactly the treatment Jungha needs- rough and fast. She has never come from penetration alone, but she is so insanely close. She thinks that she could do it for the first time ever. And with the way her body is reacting to each thrust, it is going to happen within minutes.

She can’t believe that Jimin is going to be the person to make it happen. 

Jimin bites back a smile. She knows Jungha is almost there. 

“You’re so tight around me, babygirl.”

“Fucking hell-” Jungha chokes out as she comes for the third time, spasming around Jimin’s fingers hard.

“Good girl.”

Jungha can’t do anything but ride the waves of pleasure that seem like they will never end. It’s all so overwhelming. Her head spins and she thinks she might pass out. It takes a while, but when her orgasm finally subsides, she is only left with the capability to stare bonelessly up at the ceiling. 

Laughing, Jimin crawls up the bed and hovers over Jungha. She props herself up on one arm and tangles her other hand in Jungha’s sweaty, messy hair. She pulls on the strands, not too hard but not gently either. Like she is reminding Jungha that she is in charge even if she just made her orgasm three times. 

Jimin raises an eyebrow at her and remarks in a pretty impressed tone, “You nearly broke my hand there. Must have been really good, hm?” 

Jungha responds with a weak nod. She licks her lips, noticing that her mouth feels incredibly dry. Her throat feels raw like she has been screaming the entire time. Has she? At some point, she lost track of the sounds she was making. Her voice comes out raspy, cracking when she responds. 

“It was,” she says, clearing her throat and swallowing. It doesn’t help. 

Jimin hums. The question was rhetorical anyway. The answer is blatantly obvious. Jungha has just had the best sex of her life, and it hasn’t totally sunk in yet that it was with her mortal enemy. Jimin doesn’t give it time to sink in. 

“I’m going to ride your face,” Jimin tells her, lifting her skirt to slide her panties down her legs. It is a sure statement. Not a proposal or a question, but simply one conveying intent. Of course, Jungha knows she can decline despite the way the statement is posed. Jimin may be domming the hell out of her, but she does have a say. 

As if Jungha would deny the opportunity. Maybe the Jungha of the past would have vehemently refused. The Jungha of tonight has already made copious awful decisions that she will regret in the future. What’s one more, at this point? The mere idea of Jimin rubbing her pussy all on her face is enough to send energy and desire rushing through her veins. She needs to feel Jimin, to taste her. She reaches out with desperate hands, beckoning Jimin closer. Jimin climbs to the head of the bed where Jungha lies waiting, eager for what comes next. Jimin’s knees dip into the mattress on each side of Jungha’s head. 

She never took off her skirt, only her panties, Jungha realizes. Jimin is going to ride her face while still wearing the skirt and Jungha has never heard of anything hotter than that. Her mouth waters. 

Jimin lowers herself where Jungha’s mouth awaits, tongue ready, and begins moving her hips. Moving slowly at first, she slides her hips back and forth while Jungha receives a faceful of pussy. 

Jimin smells and tastes fantastic. She undoubtedly has the best pussy that Jungha has ever encountered, and that is not a good sign for Jungha. She could get addicted to this- addicted to Jimin. 

I’m in danger, she thinks as Jimin speeds up her movements. Her lips, tongue, and jaw are completely coated with Jimin’s slick. She breathes through her nose as much as she can, which isn’t really a lot at all. She kind of feels like she is drowning. 

And well, if this is the way she goes out, so be it. She would rather her demise not be Jimin’s doing, but then at least she wouldn’t have to face the inevitable consequences. Namely, the inescapable postcoital regret of sleeping with your enemy who you also have to see every few weeks at a minimum. 

Jungha grips tighter onto Jimin’s thighs as she increases her speed even more. Jimin rides her face like there is no tomorrow. From the way her thighs tremble, Jungha can tell she is close. Her movements lose their fluidity, each moan that leaves her lips is a higher pitch than the last. 

When she looks up at Jimin’s face, Jungha can’t hold back a moan from how beautiful Jimin looks. Flushed and face, eyes scrunched closed, mouth slackened as the pleasure builds.  

Apparently, the vibration is what does it for Jimin. Jungha feels Jimin’s core and legs tighten, and then Jimin is tipping over the edge with a gasp. The mere sight almost makes Jungha come again without any stimulation. It is so beautiful to watch the way Jimin comes undone and the way she rides through the aftershocks. Her whole body twitches with each one until she slumps forward, steadying herself against the wall and tries to catch her breath. 

“Fuck,” Jimin pants heavily.

Jungha agrees entirely. 

Much too quickly, the hormones wear off and Jungha becomes very aware that air is a necessity which she currently lacks.  

“Mmh,” she mumbles as a signal for Jimin to move. The sound is muffled by pussy, and Jimin laughs breathlessly before climbing off of Jungha’s face.

Jungha sits up and inhales deeply, feeling the air rush into her lungs. She closes her eyes and licks her lips to taste Jimin once more. Once she’s satisfied, she wipes the remaining wetness away with her hand and locks eyes with Jimin. 

And that- that is the moment when it all crashes down hard. There is heavy silence as regret arrives much more rapidly than expected. It permeates the room and grows thicker the longer they stare at each other. 

Jungha has just had the best sex of her life. Jimin looks like she just had a religious experience, so Jungha can confidently assume that it was pretty damn good sex for her too. It is just too bad that they hate each other’s guts with a burning passion. Jungha could use good sex like this more often. 

Neither of them know what to say, but they can’t just continue to stare stupidly at each other. Someone has to say something and it seems like that someone will have to be Jungha. But what is there to say? ‘So hormones just caused us to make the worst decision of our lives, let’s just forget that this ever happened.’ 

Unfortunately, there is no way Jungha is ever forgetting this. Not when she sees Jimin so frequently. But she needs to say something, so she swallows down the regret and anxiety. 

“So I- uh-” she stammers with a racing mind. 

Jimin cuts her off. “Don’t think this changes anything.”

Jungha’s jaw snaps shut and she blinks incredulously. But what they just did- letting their hormones run wild and overpower all common sense- it does change things. It has the capacity to change everything between them. Hell, as ridiculous as it sounds, it could even impact their friends, their teams. 

Most of all, it changed Jungha. She has had a taste of Jimin, literally and figuratively, and now she is in immense danger because she fucking wants more. She can’t let it show, though, so she crosses her arms and rolls her eyes with a scoff. 

“Of course not. You still piss me the fuck off,” she spits. “Believe me, I still hate you.”

“Good.”

“Fuck you.”

“Already did,” counters Jimin before she slips her panties back on and readjusts her skirt. Jungha throws her head back and groans, and then she stands up. She glares at Jimin while she puts her own clothes back on in a rush. 

“We won't talk of this ever again,” says Jimin, outwardly unaffected by Jungha glaring. How can she appear so unaffected while Jungha feels like a mess? There is no way she is actually indifferent, right? It’s not fair that Jungha is the only one spiraling.

Jimin grabs her phone that was discarded somewhere on the floor in their frenzy and checks the time. “Fuck, we’ve been in here a long time. Taehee has been looking for me.” 

Crap, that means Yoonji has probably been looking for her too. 

“Don’t leave too soon after me. Give it at least five minutes,” Jimin commands while briskly walking away. She exits the room without looking back.

Jungha gives it more like thirty minutes. 

🏒