i'm yours to keep | winrina

- 6

"So how long are we gonna be here for?" Minjeong asks after banging her head against another hanging pot. She scowls at the object in question, muttering curses under her breath.

Jimin suppresses a smile at the sight. "As long as it takes to find all the seeds and bulbs I want."

Truthfully, she's already lingered longer than necessary just to spend more time with Minjeong. Last night seemed like some sort of fever dream, something she may have imagined in the twilight between sleep and wakefulness. Even now, she can't picture herself unlawfully entering the botanical garden. But with Minjeong it seemed almost like it was the right thing to do at the time. Maybe Minjeong was onto something when she said she'd be corrupting her. Jimin doesn't feel as bothered by that fact as she probably should.

Minjeong certainly doesn't seem to be acting any different; she's just as energetic as usual, happy to occasionally push Jimin's buttons as they look through all the plants in the flower shop.

"What is this one?" Minjeong points at a potted bunch of white-and-pink flowers. "I saw a lot of these ones last night."

"Those are stargazer lilies." Jimin responds after giving them a quick inspection. "Do you like them?"

Minjeong nods, not taking her eyes off the flowers. "Stargazer..." She mumbles. There's a dangerous gleam in her eyes that Jimin is already beginning to recognize. Minjeong had an idea, and it probably involved another illegal activity.

Before Jimin can ask about what she's thinking, Minjeong turns away to fiddle with some of garden gnomes on display. "You should really get a few of these guys." She suggests, poking the creature's belly.

"And why is that?" Jimin asks, amused.

"To scare away anyone who might want to ruin the garden like a complete ass." Minjeong answers after a moment of thought. She finally looks directly at Jimin, her smile fainter than usual.

"I don't think I ever properly apologized for the damage I caused to the original garden." Her head dips down and she scuffs the floor with her shoe. "So, I'm sorry."

Jimin can't help but run a hand up Minjeong's arm. "I forgive you." She says simply. A smile curves onto her lips.

"You've been very helpful with the new garden."

It's true; despite some occasional grumbling, she put more than a half-hearted effort into her digging the other day, which was frankly unexpected. And there weren't any complaints when Jimin asked for her assistance at the flower shop.

But the garden would most likely be done by the end of the day. All they needed to do was finish the barrier around the area and place the new seeds and bulbs in the ground. What would happen after that? Would Minjeong leave her life as abruptly as she entered it? Would she pretend she never knew Jimin once school started again?

She glances over at Minjeong, who's chatting with the shopkeeper, waving towards the gnomes and trying to haggle over their price. Just about all the rumors Jimin heard about her were false, so surely she wouldn't treat Jimin as someone who wasn't 'cool' enough to hang out with, right?

"I think I'm done." She says, interrupting Minjeong. "We can bring these back to my place and plant them." She tucks away the item she's going to purchase for Minjeong, determined to give it to her whether or not she ever saw the other girl after today.

Minjeong blinks in surprise. "Oh, okay." She turns and smiles at the shopkeeper. "You win this round, but I'll be back with a better offer."

Once all the new plants are secured in the trunk of Jimin's car, they head back to her house and start the tedious process of figuring out where each plant will be. Jimin, who would normally be able to plot a garden in no time at all, is going much slower than usual. By the time the first half of the plants are in the ground, the sun is starting to set.