MinJun

It had been about two and half weeks since I was able to see Juniper. She’s been working on her concept project. I love her tenacity, when she puts her mind to something she focuses really hard and gives her everything. I’m sure she’s going to get that position, I have no doubt in her whatsoever. She’s amazing. She has been through so much to keep going on, she has hope that things will turn around no matter what type of obstacles adversity may bring. She encouraged me to get back into dancing, something I absolutely love. She saw me before I saw myself; she hadn’t seen me dance and yet she had such positive encouragement. It made me want to feel that inspiration all the time; she made me feel good about myself again. She woke something in me that I had put to sleep a long time ago - my heart started beating again.

I figured today I would stop by her place and have a little fun. She called me and she said that she had just Friday night available, as she was going to be busy again this weekend. It’s been 3 weeks of weekends in a row, and we used to live for these weekends. The weekend was the only time we had to get away from work, text messages and video calls. We would be together, touching, feeling and seeing each other in real life. I wanted to touch her face and see the small pores in her satin, caramel skin as I looked into her chocolate brown eyes. I miss seeing the little corner dimples next to her lips as she smiles. I miss being able to hear her laugh, watching her throw her head back with her eyes closed. It always makes me smile because I know she is laughing hard; sometimes when she raises her head, there is a blush of red hue beneath her brown skin and a small tear full of joy streaming down her face; that’s when I know she’s enjoying herself tremendously. I looked at my phone with her picture as my screensaver; it's the picture we took together the first time we went out. It makes me happy and assures me that I miss her.

While I was at work, I decided to make a night of it and invited Jin and Mindi. They had been hinting around liking each other. She’s pretty nice. She’s really quiet, but she’s really funny when she really opens up. She’s a good fit for Jin, they have some kind of quirky little relationship. Both of them still haven’t confessed yet, so it’s still in the new stage. They enjoy being with each other, however both of them are shy when it comes to each other so they just need a little push. I figured Juniper could work on Mindi and I could work on Jin. I don’t know anyone better who could help Mindi come out of her shell than Juniper.

We arrived at Juniper’s apartment, as we pulled into the visitor’s parking space in the garage, Jin and Mindi were talking.

“Isn’t that restaurant near here?” Jin asked Mindi.

“Restaurant?” I asked.

“It’s a restaurant Mindi and I enjoyed, it’s not far from here, I think.” Jin answered.

“Yep, it’s not far from here at all. I thought this building looked familiar. I didn’t know Juniper lived here.” Mindi said.

“Yeah, she has a pretty nice place. I'm sure she will be happy to see you guys, she hasn’t been able to hang out with us much so we are giving her a night out, without actually having to go out.”

“I’m nervous.” Mindi whispered. Jin looked over to her and reassured her.

“She’s really nice, trust me. You’ll see.” Jin said, smiling at her. Mindi was very shy and she seemed as she doesn’t trust people too much.

“Ok.” She said, I noticed she didn’t want to make eye contact with me. It made me wonder what she had been through. She was nice and soft spoken, but she loosens up when she’s had a few drinks.

I knocked on Juniper’s door excited to see her, finally after almost 3 weeks, that felt like a lifetime. I could hear her run to the door and open it up. She smiled so hard when she saw me, I opened my arms as she ran directly to me. I grabbed her so quickly, I didn’t want to let her go. She wrapped her arms and legs around me; she enveloped me instantly. I missed her so much; she held my head close to hers and we were just in our moment, just the two of us.

“I missed you so much.” She whispered as I held her.

“Aegiya, me too. I missed you so much, it feels so good to hold you.” I said. I heard Jin clear his throat, I had totally forgotten they were standing behind me. Juniper and I laughed as I put her down gently.

“Hi. Sorry.” Juniper said as she was holding my arm. “Hi Jin and Mindi, I’m so glad you guys were able to come. I’ve been so busy with work I can’t hang out as much as I would like.” She said.

“Let’s go inside Juni.” I said, turning her towards the door. I wanted to kiss her immediately, but I didn’t want to make Jin and Mindi feel uncomfortable, so I had to get control.

“Ah, yes, let’s.” Juniper said, opening the door and we all followed. Jin and Mindi had brought a bottle of wine; Juniper took the bottle to the refrigerator while I pulled out the charcuterie platter. Juniper looked cute in her pair of burgundy lounge pants, fluffy white socks and a blue crop top hoodie.

I placed the game of the night, Monopoly, on the table in the living room along with drinks.

I joined Juniper in the kitchen for a moment; I missed her so much, I wanted to get my moment in with her before we joined the others.

“Hi there.” I said coming up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. I inhaled her scent as I kissed her on her cheek.

“Hello there.” She smiled and turned around to face me. She was so beautiful; it seemed as though she had gotten more beautiful; I hadn’t seen her in what seemed like forever. I held her face in my hands and gently placed a kiss on her lips. I missed those lips of hers, so soft and plump, her lips welcomed me home.

“I missed you.” She said in between kisses.

“I missed you too.” I replied.

“Are you staying tonight?” She asked. She didn’t have to ask me twice.

“Yes.I.Am.” I said simply. She smiled and we joined the others in the living room.

Juniper

I was so happy to have Min Jun come over and spend some time with me. I have a very early start tomorrow for work, but I will take advantage of any free time I get to spend with him. I was happy for him to bring Jin and Mindi, it made it feel like a couples night, even though they are really not a couple. They are cute together, both of them are shy and Mindi is extremely timid; She just needs to break out of her shell. We haven’t had a chance for us to really get to know each other, since the incident at the restaurant, so I was going to make it a point to get to know her a little better.

We were in a heated game of Monopoly by the time our food order was delivered. We ordered so much food, Mindi helped me in the kitchen to prepare the food. .

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“I’m so glad you came Mindi, we get to have some girl time. I’ve been craving some, honestly I’ve been craving any kind of time ‘cuz I don’t see anybody.” I laughed.

“Oh, I see.” She said. She didn’t know what to say, she’s so shy, I had to find another approach.

“So Mindi, tell me about yourself. Were you born in Seoul?” I asked. She looked at me as if I had asked her if she had committed murder. “I’m sorry, if you don’t want to talk about personal stuff if it’s hard for you. Trust me, I have some serious mother issues.” I said referring to my drama with my mama.

“Oh, it’s not that. It’s just not too many people asking me about, well - me.” She said, I felt so bad. Why would people not ask her or speak to her? I thought. Maybe because she doesn’t really have the confidence to keep her head up and make eye contact with others. She was shy and no one took the time to get to know her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, well, I would like to get to know all about you. That is, if you don’t mind?” I asked and her eyes lit up.

“I don’t mind at all.” She smiled.

“Great! I don’t have any sisters, that I talk to anyway, so basically all I have are some really good friends who I can call my sisters.” I confessed. I felt that if I was open about my relationship with my family, then maybe Mindi would be willing to be open up about her personal life.

“What do you mean? You have sisters that you don’t talk to?” She asked.

“ Well, I have a step sister, but we are not friends. I caught my ex-boyfriend fucking my step sister in the bathroom.” I said bluntly. Mindi’s mouth opened and her eyes widened, she covered her mouth.

“I’m sorry, sometimes I have no filter with my honesty.”

“No, I completely understand. I’m just shocked that you are so happy and cheerful.”

“Well, just because something bad has happened to me, doesn’t mean I need to wallow in it and feel bad everyday, I gotta look for the silver lining. It sucks because I got hurt, but I look at it like this, if it didn’t happen I wouldn’t be here with Min Jun, who I think is the best thing that has happened to me so far.”

“So far?” She asked.

“Yes, I’m optimistic, there’s always great things that will happen as well. Shit happens, but it's how you roll with the punches that come your way. You don’t have to be a victim because shit’s fucked up, sometimes you turn it around right back at the one that is throwing it.”

“So did you ever get your sister back?” She asked, she was open and curious. I had never seen this side of her before. She seems interested in what I’ve been through, I figured she’s had to deal with her share of shit and she just lets what happens, happen.

“Nah, not yet. I don’t know if I’m really going to be honest. There is this thing called Karma and that comes back around like a Bitch. Sometimes, you can just let Karma handle it because when it comes back, it comes back hard like a motherfucker. Yet sometimes, when you’re lucky, Karma can give you the opportunity to get them back.” I said.

“Really?” She said smiling. “I’ve never had that happen before. My sister and I don't actually like each other. It’s like I don’t have a sister, honestly.” She said looking down, she looked as if she was thinking about the past.

“Well, you do now. I’ll be there for you, whenever you need to talk. And hopefully, I can do the same in return.” I asked.

“Of course, I would like that.” She said smiling. She looked as if she had found her best friend.

“So Sis,” I playfully added. “Tell me about you and Jin. How’s that going?” I asked.

“Oh, uh, well, uh.” She stammered, I threw her off center. “Well, he’s nice.” She muttered out.

“He is very nice. He likes you and from your response, you like him too. Have either one of you confessed?” I asked.

“No!”She almost shouted, she started shaking as if she had seen a mouse or something. “I, uh, just don’t uh, want to be disappointed.” She responded.

“Wait, why do you think he would disappoint you? This man talks about you every day. He is really into you, but the thing is, he’s shy, pretty much just like you.” I said honestly. She looked surprised. I wasn’t going to sugar coat anything, she’s too grown for that. I can understand she’s shy but she is also an adult and she needs to learn how to process some serious shit.

“He is? I thought he didn’t like me that much. I just thought he was being nice because we work together.”

“Girl, no he likes you, and a Lot from what Min Jun has been telling me.” I stated. She blushed and smiled, she really liked him.

“I didn’t know. I’m not good at this Juniper. I don’t know how to do this. What am I to do?” She started panicking. I grabbed her hands and made her face me.

“First, I want you to breathe.” I looked her directly in the eyes. I inhaled with the expectation of her doing the same. She finally caught on and we were breathing in out together. “Ok good. Now listen Mindi, you got this. You can control your emotions, you just have to understand them. You know he likes you, Done. So now you let him know you like him and in doing so, you are allowing him to make the first move. That way he takes control of the situation. This is a way of letting the guy be a guy; it allows him to come forward to make a move. Yes, we women can do it, but sometimes it’s nice to let a guy just be a guy and just enjoy being the woman. Nice guys usually treat nice women very nicely. And Jin is a really nice guy.” I said smiling. It’s true and I know Jin to be a nice guy because he’s friends with Min Jun.

“Thank you Juniper. No one ever broke it down for me or even helped me understand.” She said being appreciative.

“You’re welcome. I can help you. Just go along with the flow. There is no right way or wrong to trying to get to know a person and letting them know how you feel. As long as you are honest with yourself you should be fine. It’s okay to be honest to your feelings, those are yours, you know how you feel more than anyone.”

“Wow. Juniper, how do you do it?” She asked.

“Do what?”

“Stay so positive? Even though you’ve been through that shit with your ex, and your mom, how do you keep going?” She asked.

“I have to. I can’t let those who choose to do me wrong, see me down. I don’t want them to think I’m defeated. I will always come back up. Sometimes it may take longer than normal, but I will always come back up. I won’t be down for long, and they will see me again with my head held high, proving to them no matter what shit they tried to put me through, I will always come out better than I went in. I won’t let them see me sweat.” I said and I meant that shit. I didn’t have time to sit and let someone keep me down because they feel that’s where I belong, fuck them.

“I love that. I like the way you think, so positive. I wish I could say the same thing. I wish I had someone like you when I grew up.” She said.

“Well, you have me now, so hold your head up. Don’t give anyone your power. That’s yours, no one deserves it, especially if they don’t treat you right. Keep your power close to you because there are those who will use it against you and leave you alone in the end. Your power is what makes you, you. Don’t let anyone tell you who you are with your power, You tell them who you are with your power. Your power is life, Your life. You value that more than anything.” I said and she was taking it all in. She looked at me as I had given her some wise advice.

“Wow.” She looked at me as if I had opened something in her that had been dormant for a while and she started glowing.

“Now let's go and put this on the dining table for us to eat. I’m sure the guys are famished.” I said grabbing two big dishes of food while motioning to Mindi to grab a few bowls.

“Oh yes, I’m sure they are. Juniper, thank you for talking to me.” She said picking up two big bowls.

“Anytime Mindi.” We set all of the food on the table and sat down to eat.

As we sat at the table, Min Jun and I were paying more attention to each other; letting Mindi and Jin find out a bit about each other. I saw Mindi pick a bite of food up from one of the bowls in, laying it on Jin’s bowl of rice in front of him. He looked at her as if she had done the most lovable thing ever. He smiled at Mindi and she smiled back. She took another small serving of another dish and placed it in his bowl again. She was feeding her potential man. She wanted to make sure he had enough to eat. It was a beautiful gesture; I honestly think she will see small changes in her relationship for the better. She just needs to work on it. I'm sure she will call me if she has questions, and I will be more than happy to answer them all.