Work Text:
Minjeong hated camping. Between the bugs, the sun, and the outdoors, there was nothing for her to enjoy. Begrudgingly, she agreed to go on a trip with her friends mostly because they had log cabins, and also because she was promised to room with Jimin, her long-time friend and crush. Yizhuo had to essentially bribe her with the prospect of sharing a close space with Jimin for Minjeong to feel even remotely interested, and even then, she was hesitant. Yizhuo didn’t have to ask why, and Minjeong was thankful for that, but the embarrassment was still there.
You see, Minjeong had this… persistent night time problem, one that made it very difficult to sleep comfortably alone, let alone with your extremely perfect and beautiful crush. She had made it much more manageable in the past months but still, if Jimin found out, Minjeong was sure it would ruin everything between them, as friends and as more.
It didn’t help that the list of friends going with them included Yunjin. Minjeong truly didn’t understand why the girl liked to pick on her so much, she never did anything to her. Every time they showed up to the same gathering, Minjeong couldn’t escape without hearing at least one scathing remark from the other woman. Yizhuo promised that she wouldn’t let Yunjin do anything drastic, and that her girlfriend Chaewon had been on her about being on her best behavior.
Only after all of Yizhuo’s begging and pleading did Minjeong agree to go. Her reluctance on agreeing never seemed to disappear either, as it was written all over her face the moment the girls picked her up. Thankfully, it was only her three closest friends in the car, the others invited would be taking separate vehicles.
“Someone seems excited to come along.” Aeri teases from the driver’s seat, earning her a shoulder push from Yizhuo who was riding shotgun. Minjeong climbed into the back, cheeks aflame as she takes a seat next to Jimin who was smiling at her softly.
“I’m glad you came Minjeongie, I don’t have to third wheel with these two losers up front now.” Aeri rolls her eyes at Jimin’s teasing words while Yizhuo just scoffs and turns to look at her.
“I’ll have you know I got on my hands and knees to get her to agree to come along just for your sake.” Her phrasing didn’t get past them, all three of them quickly laughing at her to which Yizhuo just continues to scowl.
“Babe, you’re only supposed to get in that position for me.” Aeri laughs, earning another, albeit harder, hit to the shoulder. Minjeong feels a lot better now just from the casual and comfortable atmosphere in the car. They sing along to Aeri’s playlist and tell each other funny stories and jokes the entire ride to the campsite, and by the end, Minjeong practically forgot that she didn’t want to come along in the first place.
Her mood quickly sours the moment she spots Yunjin and the others, already having a bad feeling about what scheme the other girl had planned for her. Despite Yizhuo’s promise that she would be good, Minjeong just didn’t trust Yunjin to stick to her word. Still, she was determined to not let the other girl ruin her chance to spend quality time with her friends, and most importantly, with Jimin.
They greet everyone quickly, even Yunjin who gives her a smile and tells her she’s so happy Minjeong could make it. Her tone of voice didn’t make Minjeong feel any better. She shakes it off as they make their way to their assigned cabin. Two rooms, one for Aeri and Yizhuo and one for her and Jimin. Still, she didn’t expect to walk in and see only one bed in the room. Her heart skips a beat, and she wonders if Jimin is feeling any reluctance. But when she turns to face her, Jimin is smiling.
“You get to be my personal heater.” She jokes, placing her bags down at the foot of the bed, Minjeong following suit with her own. Her cheeks were flushed a little, the implication of cuddling with her pretty crush made her feel warm inside. They started to unpack but were quickly summoned by their other friends.
“We can do that tonight, let’s go to the lake before nightfall so we can swim.” Yizhuo doesn’t give Minjeong much of a choice as she tugs her along.
She has to admit, she’s having a good time with her friends by the lake. They had snacks and were playing good music through the speaker Kazuha brought. Jimin had dragged her into the water, splashing around with her. Eventually the others had joined, and they played games until the sun started to set. It was only when they climbed out of the water that Minjeong realized one person was not present, and it made her stomach twist with anxiety.
“Hey, where’s Yunjin?” She asked Chaewon, who handed her a towel to dry off. The other woman shrugged, looking around for her girlfriend.
“She was here not too long ago; she must’ve gone back to the cabins for something.” Chaewon didn’t seem concerned, but it didn’t quell Minjeong’s nerves. She just had a bad feeling about this. She tries to shake the feeling off as her and the others go back to the cabins to change and get ready to prepare dinner. Minjeong lets Jimin shower first while she intends to unpack most of her things.
It’s when she gets to her secondary bag that her heart drops into her stomach. Her nighttime protection was nowhere to be found, and Minjeong was one hundred percent certain that she had packed them, there was no chance in hell she’d ever forget those. She panics, sifting through her things frantically in hopes that they were just underneath something but to no avail. They were completely gone, and she felt like she was going to be sick.
Fear crept up her throat, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Yunjin had something to do with this. And if Yunjin took them, then that meant that she knew. She knew Minjeong’s horribly embarrassing secret that only Yizhuo knew, and Yizhuo only knew because they had been friends for over a decade and was there to experience the entire thing. She leaves her room quickly, going to look for her friend to see if she knew anything but she runs straight into the one person she was dreading.
“What’s got you in such a hurry?” Yunjin asked, an innocent smile spread across her lips. Minjeong bites the inside of her cheek and shakes her head quickly, trying to move past Yunjin but the redhead stops her in her tracks. “It’s almost like you’re looking for something.”
Minjeong’s blood runs cold, and she whirls around to face Yunjin. “Give them back.”
Yunjin just laughs, taking in Minjeong’s angry yet incredibly desperate appearance. She looked like a kicked puppy, so small and adorable and frightened. Minjeong willed herself not to cry as Yunjin just laughed at her.
“I’ll give them back,” Yunjin says, and Minjeong almost sags with relief but she knew it was too good to be true, “on one condition.”
“What?” Minjeong says through her teeth, balling her fists angrily. She didn’t have the time or patience for this, Yunjin had crossed a massive line this time and she was furious.
“You have to show everybody, so everyone can see just how pathetic you really are.” Minjeong’s heart shatters in her chest and she feels the tears threatening to spill. She shakes her head furiously.
“Yunjin, please. I just need them back; I won’t bother you ever again just please give them back and don’t tell anyone.” Yunjin simply laughs again, like this was the most amusing thing in the world to her. Minjeong felt her tears betraying her, slipping down her cheeks as the reality of what was going on finally hit her hard.
“You know the conditions; I’ll give them back if you show everyone.”
Minjeong couldn’t do that, she couldn’t humiliate herself in front of all of her friends, in front of Jimin like that. But if she didn’t, she might end up humiliating herself anyway. She couldn’t win, but she wasn’t necessarily guaranteed to lose either. She shakes her head furiously, watching as Yunjin walks away from her and out of their cabin.
The rest of the night is spent in a daze. Minjeong keeps meeting Yunjin’s condescending gaze as everyone else enjoys their time with one another. Minjeong sits by herself, away from the fire, unable to relax knowing how close her secret is to being revealed. She’s so lost in thought she startles a bit when someone sits down next to her, flinching the moment an arm wraps around her shoulder.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” Jimin says softly, handing her a mug of some sort of alcoholic beverage. Minjeong stares at the drink, inebriation was definitely out of the question tonight given her predicament. “What’s up with you? You seem out of it.”
“Sorry, just have a bit of a headache.” Minjeong lies, not wanting to bring any more attention to herself. Jimin rubs her shoulder comfortingly, a sympathetic smile plastered on her face as she takes the drink away.
“Why don’t you go lay down for a bit then?” Minjeong was initially going to reject, she didn’t want to leave the area in case Yunjin decided to do something, but she also felt overwhelmed by everything and thought maybe it would be a good idea to be alone for a bit. “I’ll come check on you in a bit if you want.”
Minjeong nods mutely, standing up and walking back to the cabin quickly before anyone could question it. She missed Yizhuo’s eyes following her as she went. It’s barely five minutes before the younger girl comes barging into her room with a frown on her face.
“What’s going on with you? You were having such a good time earlier.” Minjeong couldn’t even look at her friend, she didn’t want to cry or have to explain anything, not even to Yizhuo. But it was hard when she was already tearing up, her shoulders shaking as she turned away.
“Jeongie… What’s going on?” Yizhuo’s voice softens, and she rests a warm hand on the blonde’s back. Minjeong lets out a sob, turning into her friend’s arms and letting her emotions overwhelm her.
“Yunjin took my protection, and she won’t give them back unless I tell everyone.” She admits weakly, choking on a sob as Yizhuo’s arms tighten around her. She wishes she never came in the first place, she could’ve avoided this entire mess.
“That bitch. I’ll talk to her and make her give them back.” Yizhuo was about to let go of her but Minjeong held on tighter, shaking her head against her friend’s chest.
“No! No I don’t want a scene to be made or anyone else to find out, please don’t.” Minjeong was frantic, and Yizhuo could tell she really didn’t want her to do this, so she conceded.
“But what are you going to do? Do you think you’ll be fine tonight?” Minjeong just sighs, shrugging her shoulders a bit as she pulls away to wipe her tears. She’s been taking every possible precaution since her conversation with Yunjin. She had limited her liquid intake, had been using the bathroom frequently, and planned on setting alarms to get up to go in the middle of the night so she could avoid any embarrassing incidents.
“I’m going to try, I don’t want everyone to find out. I don’t want Jimin to find out either but… it would be easier if just one person found out rather than our whole friend group.” Yizhuo gives her a sad look, squeezing her shoulder affectionately.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to talk to Yunjin?” Minjeong shakes her head immediately and Yizhuo just sighs and concedes, nodding her head. “Okay, if you change your mind let me know.”
“You could always share the bed with me, Aeri won’t mind if I kick her out for you.” Minjeong was about to reply but a voice cut through her thoughts before she could.
“What’s wrong Minjeongie, you don’t want to be my bedmate?” Jimin appeared in the doorway, a faux frown on her face as she pretended to be upset. Minjeong shakes her head quickly, not wanting to offend the other girl.
“No that’s not it at all! I…” Minjeong trails off, not knowing what to say and looking at Yizhuo for help. The younger girl looks at Jimin with a smile, trying to quickly come up with something in her head.
“Oh, Minjeong just moves around a lot, she’s a kicker and she didn’t want to bother you. I’m used to it so I offered to sleep next to her instead.” Minjeong shoots her friend a thankful glance, but Jimin just laughs.
“That’s it? I don’t care if you kick me. I want to share the bed with you cause you’re small and cute.” She pulls Minjeong into her arms, peppering her with affection much to the younger’s chagrin. Her cheeks were deep red, flustered by her crush’s sudden clinginess.
“Okay, I’ll stay here with you then.” Minjeong agrees, trying to calm her nerves. Yizhuo leaves them alone and Jimin decides to call it a night after that. Minjeong still can’t get herself to calm down even after Jimin had fallen asleep right beside her. She can’t bring herself to sleep, too scared to cause a scene.
Still, she finds it hard to stay awake as her eyelids slowly drop closed and the soft sounds of Jimin’s snoring lull her into a dream state. She tries to fight it, but it’s impossible and eventually she succumbs to the darkness.
It’s just too dark.
“Minjeong! Help me!” Minjeong can’t see a thing; all she can hear are the distant screams in the vast darkness. She feels herself barely floating in the warm water, trying with all her might to stay above and not sink. The screams move farther and farther away as she tries to move towards them, her arms and legs burning from exertion.
“Minjeong help!”
“Minjeong!”
“Help me!”
“Minjeong!”
And then she sinks.
“Minjeong wake up!” The blonde shoots up with a scream, remnants of the dreams still clinging to her mind. She can faintly hear the cries for help as her eyes dart around the dark room of the cabin. She feels a warm hand on her shoulder, shaking it gently as she turns to meet Jimin’s concerned gaze. She studies every inch of Jimin’s face, just making sure this was real. Then she notices Jimin’s gaze soften.
“Jeongie… I think you wet the bed.” Those words turned Minjeong’s veins to ice, and she immediately darts out of the bed, completely aware of how soaked her sweatpants were. The tears fall quickly, sobs forming in her throat as she chokes out apology after apology to Jimin before rushing to the bathroom before the older woman could even say another word.
Jimin was left there stunned and concerned, her heart aching as she heard the shower start and Minjeong’s soft sobs mix with the sound of the water. She sighs, running a hand through her hair and getting up to take care of the accident before Minjeong came back, wanting to help any way she could. She ignores the way the left leg of her pants clings to her wetly as she strips the bedding and bundles it up in her arms.
Wanting to be as quiet as possible, Jimin slowly exits the room and doesn’t turn the light in the hallway on. However, her body immediately collides with another and they both let out a yelp of surprise.
“Ow, fuck.” Yizhuo turns the light on quickly, rubbing her forehead with a scowl on her face. She takes in Jimin’s stunned gaze and the sheets bundled in her arms and immediately freezes. She had a feeling something happened when Minjeong’s scream woke her up, knowing it could only mean one thing.
“Minjeong uh…” Jimin trails off, feeling bad for exposing what happened, but the look on Yizhuo’s face tells her she knows more than Jimin does.
“I’m going to fucking kill Yunjin.” Yizhuo growls, missing the way Jimin;s brows furrow in confusion at the mention of the other woman.
“Yunjin? What does she have to do with this.” Yizhuo curses at herself silently for saying that out loud, biting her lip as she decides whether or not to explain what happened to Minjeong earlier. But seeing as Jimin was carrying the evidence of her best friend’s habit in her arms, there was no point in trying to hide it.
“Minjeong wets the bed. She usually wears protection to prevent having to clean up her sheets all the time, but Yunjin snooped through her things and took them today. She told Minjeong she’d only give them back if Minjeong exposed her secret to everyone.” Even just explaining it was making Yizhuo mad. She had half a mind to rip Yunjin apart, but she was more concerned about Minjeong.
Jimin was silent for a moment as she absorbed what Yizhuo had told her, but the moment everything clicked she dropped the bedding, bolting out the front door and making a beeline straight towards the redhead’s cabin. Yizhuo barely registers what happened, taking a pregnant pause before racing after her friend.
This was not good.
Not good indeed as Jimin was already angrily pounding on Yunjin’s bedroom door when Yizhuo managed to catch up to her. The redhead didn’t have any time to ask questions after opening the door before Jimin was shoving her angrily by the shoulders.
“What the fuck is your problem? Why the hell would you do that to Minjeong?” She keeps shoving her back towards the bed, shaking with anger. Yunjin can only scoff as she takes in what Jimin was saying in her sleepy haze.
“So she really is a bedwetter huh? How pathetic.” Jimin raises her hand immediately, ready to strike Yunjin, but Yizhuo grabs her and pulls her back before she can start a physical fight.
“No Yunjin, you’re the pathetic one. You’ve done nothing but torment Minjeong every chance you get, and for what? To make yourself feel bigger than you are? Minjeong is the sweetest person ever, and you used a big insecurity against her just to humiliate her. Grow the fuck up. And give me back the damn diapers.” Jimin was furious, she wanted nothing more than to rip Yunjin to shreds, but Yizhuo refused to let her go until she relaxed.
By this point, Chaewon who had been awoken by the commotion, had gotten up to search for the stolen items, finding them buried in one of the drawers. She hands the package over to Yizhuo with a concerned frown on her face. Yizhuo nods at her softly, letting go of Jimin to return to Minjeong, not wanting her to be alone.
Jimin stays behind for a moment, staring Yunjin down as the other girl stays mute. “If I ever see you talk to Minjeong again, I’ll fucking kill you.”
She doesn’t waste anymore time with the redhead, turning on her heel and leaving the cabin. She hears the beginning of what she could only assume would be a nasty argument as Chaewon angrily scolds her girlfriend for what she did. Jimin didn’t think too much about it though, wanting to return to Minjeong to make sure she was alright.
When she got back to the cabin, she discovered the blonde wrapped up in between Aeri and Yizhuo’s arms, clearly not okay. Her heart broke as she listened to the distraught sobs coming from her friend. Her wet hair was hanging over her face, blocking Jimin from seeing anything. Jimin makes brief eye contact with Aeri, who looked just as stunned and confused as she had, leading the woman to believe she also didn’t know about Minjeong’s issue.
“It’s okay Minjeongie, nobody thinks any different of you.” Yizhuo whispers softly, running her hand along the back of Minjeong’s head in an attempt to soothe her.
“She’s right baby, we love you no matter what.” Aeri says, all traces of her usual goofy persona gone as she rests her chin on the blonde’s shoulder, arms wrapped around her waist gently.
“Jimin hates me now.” Minjeong sobs, and hearing her friend say that makes Jimin want to fall apart. How could she ever hate Minjeong? The blonde was the sweetest, most kind and caring person she has ever met.
“Minjeong I could never, ever hate you. Especially not over something like this.” Jimin makes her presence known to the smaller girl then, coming to kneel in front of her on the ground. Minjeong looked at her, eyes rimmed red and full of tears. Jimin wanted nothing more than to kiss each tear away.
“I’m so sorry.” She whispers, voice cracking. Jimin can really see how much this was tearing Minjeong up and she hated it. She never wants Minjeong to feel this poorly ever again.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Jeongie. I’m not mad or upset with you. I would never judge you for something like this, I promise. You’re perfect to me as you are.” Jimin hesitantly reaches up to cup Minjeong’s cheeks, thumbs swiping away the tears that continued to fall. Minjeong slowly moves out of Yizhuo and Aeri’s hold, moving forward to hug Jimin tightly. Jimin wraps her arms around the blonde just as quickly, kissing the top of her head. She can feel Minjeong shaking against her, tears soaking into her shirt from where Minjeong’s face was pressed against her chest.
“I love you, Minjeong. No matter what.”
“I love you too.”
The four of them stay here like this for a while, until Minjeong had finally relaxed and could look them all in the eye again. She had apologized profusely for waking them and causing a scene, but none of them wanted to hear it. Yizhuo eventually got up to wash the bedding and Aeri helped Jimin remake the bed as Minjeong was finally able to put on protection for the rest of the night.
Jimin was already back in bed by the time she reemerged from the bathroom, blushing and looking away as Jimin eyed her expectantly.
“C’mere cutie, I want to cuddle.” Minjeong wasn’t going to deny Jimin, slowly crawling into the bed and letting Jimin pull her closer so that the blonde’s head was resting on her chest. They stay like this in silence for a while, Minjeong picking at Jimin’s sleeve while the older woman rubbed circles on her back tenderly.
“Thank you… for being so nice about it.” Mineong says eventually. Jimin just sighs softly, moving up to stroke her hair.
“Of course, Minjeongie, I would never treat you poorly because of something like this. I would never even treat you poorly in general. You’re too precious to me.” That makes Minjeong blush even more, and she doesn’t know what to say. Thankfully, Jimin continues. “Yunjin won’t bother you again, okay? And if she dares to tell anyone else, she won’t live to see another day.”
“It’s okay if she does, I should learn not to be so embarrassed about it.” Minjeong says after a beat, biting her lip. Jimin hums thoughtfully.
“I agree, but I understand why it can feel so embarrassing. But don’t worry, if anyone makes fun of you they’ll have to answer to me.” Jimin adds on lightheartedly. She wanted Minjeong to feel normal about this, to not have to carry this burden by herself.
“I’m so lucky to have you.” Minjeong admits, sitting up so she could look Jimin in the eye. It was Jimin’s turn to blush now, the proximity of their faces was something she was highly aware of.
“If anyone is lucky it’s me, I have the most beautiful perfect girl in the world in my arms right now, and I really want to kiss her.” Jimin whispers.
“She really wants to kiss you too.” Minjeong responds without hesitation. Taking initiative, Jimin leans in to capture her lips in a gentle kiss. It didn’t last very long, and it wasn’t very intense, but it was perfect enough.
Minjeong lays down again, a smile plastered on her face as she nestles against Jimin’s chest. “Goodnight Jimin.”
“Goodnight Minjeong. Sweet dreams.”
And for once, they finally were.