bloom again. // jinjoo

epilogue: until forever

"Hi!"

Ten-year-old Minjoo, who's scribbling something on her notebook, looked up to the owner of the squeaky voice.

It's one sunny afternoon and Minjoo is doing her usual business in the park nearby, drawing some trees, flowers, and stuff that she found very beautiful- she's having a peaceful and bright day not until some kid bothered her. She was annoyed but this girl looks friendly, especially with her missing front teeth- she looks so harmless.

She closed her notebook to properly greet the kid since she's not rude, she can hear the voice of her mom through the back of her head. "Don't talk with strangers." but she's already old enough to tell which people are dangerous and not.

"Yes? What can I do for you?" Minjoo asked politely, even though she had a hunch that this girl is younger than her, she still used a formal tone to her. She scanned her face further.

Fluffy dimpled cheeks, coconut hair, and she's wearing a designer shirt, and wearing those dusty shoes. Minjoo's eyes widened a bit when she recognized those shoes, it's the expensive brand she saw from the mall that she wanted to buy badly.

"I heard you from Yuri-unnie!" The kid responded with a smile, giggling, and tilted her head cutely. Minjoo's ears perked up at the mention of her friend. "So this might be one of Yuri's playmates." She thought.

Minjoo nodded, gesturing that she's listening, and shifted her position to the swing so she's fully facing the girl.

"She said to me that there's a beautiful girl who always goes to this very park every weekend! She also mentioned that that beautiful girl would always stay here at the playground with her notebook!" The kid with missing front teeth said, even clasping her hands and eyes glimmering in excitement and adoration as she stared at Minjoo.

The older girl blushed furiously, averting her gaze and looked down to her lap, shy. She will surely give Yena a good smack on the butt when they meet tomorrow.

"And wow, I thought she was lying but you really do exist!" The kid muttered, amused. "You're really beautiful!" She complimented and grinned at the blushing girl in front of her. Frowning, she got confused as to why the pretty girl was hiding her face with her long hair.

But that didn't stop her from blabbering. "Hey, beauty! What's your name?" She asked, blinking cutely.

Minjoo tried to compose herself and cleared her throat but there's still an evident red tint on her cheeks. "My name is Kim Minjoo," She responded simply. She witnessed how the other girl's eyes sparkled even more upon learning her name.

"Wow! Your name is so beautiful too~" She exclaimed, chuckling to herself.

It made Minjoo blush again. She's used to compliments from other people, most especially with her relatives but this girl she just met a few minutes ago made her blush and giddy already.

"Anyway, nice to meet you Minjoo-unnie!" The kid then paused, looking hesitant. "Can I call you that? I know you're the same age as Yena-unnie." She muttered, pouting, and kicking some pebbles away.

Minjoo blinked before bursting out into a pit of giggles, amused then nodded. "It's okay, just call me Minjoo-unnie." She replied with a sweet smile, making Yujin's eyes sparkle again in delight. "How about you, young one? What's your name?" She asked.

The kid's mouth went agape when she realized that she hadn't properly introduced herself out of excitement and smacked her head cutely. The gesture made Minjoo chuckle. Somehow, she can feel her face burning.