Waiting to Fall Asleep (Pt. 1)

(3rd Person P.O.V.)

It was 5 when the alarms went off, and Minji stumbled awake, muttering about hating Fridays. She raised her body up, stretching her long arms and taking a giant yawn before looking around. Her hair was all over the place, showing just how well she slept. Her hair had transformed into a mane, and she was looking around like a hungry lion. The moment her eyes met Jennie's, she jumped, clutching her heart.

"Ahh, you scared me." She half whispered. She was looking at Jennie, whose eyes hung low with dark circles underneath and red streaks covering most of her eyes. "Did you not sleep at all?" She looked with concern, and Jennie just shook her head.

"I tried, but it was hard." She yawned and stood up. She held out her hands for balance, trying not to let Minji see just how exhausted she was. It was already too late.

"Why don't you go lay in my bed?" She motioned, getting up and going towards Jennie.

"No, I'll be fine. I've done this before." She smiled, moving around Minji to start picking up the blankets. She began folding them, trying to take her mind off the much-needed sleep that she would rather be having right now.

"Wait, but didn't you say you had work?" Minji looked concerned, watching Jennie drag herself around like a corpse with limited energy. Her arms worked, flexing at every fold of the blankets, but she made sure to smile at Minji. This tricky smile she had played many times before, she was putting it back to the test. Minji had fallen for it, giving a small smile back before reaching out to begin helping.

"What classes do you have today?" Jennie asked, completely disregarding Minji's question so that she did not have to answer. She didn't really work a job, and she just enjoyed getting the extra spending money. She was just helping Tae and his mom, and it wasn't like it was the first time she had done this.

"Just two, Anatomy and Anthropology." She dragged out the sound, turning it into a grown before tumbling on top of the couch. "Why is responsibility so hard?" She asked, still staring down into the abysmal darkness that was in front of her.

Behind her stood Jennie, stone cold and waiting for Minji to get up. She was tired, obviously, pushing her hair back and looking to be as normal as she could. She watched Minji come up with a sigh and announce her departure to the bathroom. Jennie heard the door close before collapsing on the couch herself, pulling her arms around her upper body. She took a couple of deep breaths, pushing her hair from the side of her face.

"You can do this." She muttered to herself the mantra that she would tell herself every day. She took a final breath and stood up straight. Like on cue, Minji walked out of the bathroom humming cheerfully and turned to see Jennie, who was now standing with the heaviness of her body tilting her forward slightly.

"I don't know if I have breakfast, but we can go somewhere. My treat." She had turned around, facing the kitchen, before walking in. "I actually just eat breakfast at campus, so I don't have any here." She apologized as she poured herself a glass of water.

"Don't worry, we can go to my house." Jennie moved towards her bag, starting to pack everything away. Minji watched for a bit. Jennie's movements were slow, and she shook her head at the thought of her restless body exerting the remainder of its energy. She wanted to walk towards her, but there was something that held her back.

"Your house? You sure?" Her voice called from the kitchen, but Jennie didn't answer. She continued to pack her bag almost as if she had not heard Minji. With nothing else to do, Minji walked to her room to grab her own bag before returning to fill it. She saw the pile that Jennie had made for her, placing them all so neatly in her bag before she stood up. Jennie hadn't yet finished hers, still placing pens inside of it before looking up.

"You ready?" Her voice sounded drained, and although she hoped that Minji would ignore or not pay attention, Minji had heard it. With her final bit of strength, Jennie stood up and looked at the clothes she was wearing. She had almost forgotten that she had changed, but she didn't want to waste any strength on changing back. Minji was still in sweats and seemed the most comfortable she had ever been, but she held up a finger.

"Hold on," she took off to the bedroom, running back to the room. Jennie stood there, waiting, hearing shuffling and things being moved about. Before long, she saw Minji running back with a smile, still in sweats but now holding on to a packet of ginseng. Minji held it out to Jennie with the sweetest smile before she took it from her hand and began to open it. With the last little bit of strength remaining, she tore open the packet and began sucking on the red ginseng. Jennie finished it before pulling her red lips into a smile and grabbing hold of Minji's arm. 

"Ready?" She asked, looking at her. Minji nodded, bending down to grab her book bag and placing it over her shoulder. Jennie picked up her bag next and slung it over her shoulder, slightly tightening her grip on Minji, who was almost fully supporting her body.

They walked out of the house, walking very closely with one another as they made their way through the gate. The way to Jennie's house wasn't that far, but it was not going to be by any means a short walk. Minji filled the silence by talking to Jennie about music, movies, shows, and, probably the best part, food. The girls were the most talkative when it came to food, both of their mouths practically salivating everywhere from the conversation. As they approached Jennie's house, she took out her key from her bag to unlock the door. The door flung open, a man standing there looking at her.

"Where have you been?" His voice was serious, but Jennie pushed him aside and pulled Minji in alongside her.

"I was at a friend's house. Leave." Jennie was not in the mood to play around, and they both were starving. Jennie put her bag on the floor, taking Minji's and placing it next to hers.

"I was looking for you." Jennie rolled her eyes and motioned for Minji to follow her further into the house, entering the kitchen.

"Who is that?" Minji whispered, looking at the guy strangely and then back at Jennie. She took a big breath, trying to focus on making rice.

"That's Tae. Ignore him, and he will go away." She whispered loudly enough for him to hear, continuing to prepare the rice. "Why don't you grab the dishes out of the fridge?" She asked Minji, and she moved to the sound, opening the fridge to help.

"Wait," Tae walked over and pulled Jennie's arm, trying to pull her to the living room before she snatched her arm away.

"Tae, please leave." She spoke; her voice was weak, but her eyes told him that she was serious.

"Talk to me first," He said, looking at her with a soft face before she turned to Minji.

"I'll be back." She walked towards her bedroom, and Tae followed suit. When in the room, Tae closed the door and moved close to Jennie before she took a step back. He sighed, looking at her with sunken eyes that were red.

"Are you okay?" She shook her head, looking so annoyed.

"Okay. I'm not doing this; you wanted to talk, talk." Jennie crossed her arms and stood waiting.

"I'm sorry." He stood there a moment, breathing, before speaking once again. "I was looking for you last night." He stared at her, and she was still looking at him with crossed arms.

"Why?" Tae looked at the floor, thinking intensely about something that the vein in his forehead was slightly twitching.

"I-I wanted to see," he paused, looking around to collect himself and think about the words he was trying to find. "I- uh wanted to see you." He took a step forward before altogether moving in and hugging Jennie. She let him hold on, thinking about the warmth and comforting feeling that it almost made her fall asleep. Her body jolted, awakening itself and backing immediately away from him.

"I stayed the night to study. We came back to eat. She has class soon." She kept her words, yawning after each sentence she spoke. He nodded, looking at her and studying her movements.

"Are you still coming to the shop later?" He asked, taking a step closer, and Jennie took that one step back.

"Yes. Now leave, please?" She asked nicely now, thinking that he was not going to leave until she at least tried to convince him.

"Fine." He sighed the words through his teeth and began to back up. "The moment you don't text me later, I'm coming back." He huffed.

"Okay." Jennie's voice turned soft. She had given up and was ready to finish the conversation.

Tae watched Jennie a little more before deciding to open the door. He walked out of the room, heading straight to the door to leave. Jennie walked out of the room the moment the door had closed, moving to the kitchen to check on the rice. Minji sat at the table she prepared while Jennie moved towards the chair and sat down.

"Is that your brother?" Minji spoke, breaking the awkwardness in the air.

"Oh no," Jennie shook her head. "He's like a younger brother, but he was my neighborhood friend." She leaned forward on her arms to rest her head, which was getting heavier. 

"Oh, so he is, like, single?" She said with hopeful eyes, and Jennie looked at her with complete worry in her eyes.

"No, no, no," she shook her head. "Really? He can be so annoying." 

Minji smiled, thinking about the moment she walked through the door and saw him standing there. The moment when she brushed against him as Jennie pulled her, she blushed. Jennie watched, not sure what to do herself. She stood up, not even being noticed by Minji, who was in a dream-like state. Jennie walked over to the rice cooker, noticing it had one minute remaining. While she got the bowls, Minji was making herself smile and giggle at the thought of Tae. Jennie tried to ignore the thought of it, and there wasn't enough energy in her body to care even if she wanted to.

"Hey, just be careful with your thoughts." She said, moving around the kitchen to the rice cooker that just beeped.

"Is there something wrong with him?" She asked, looking concerned. Jennie shook her head and placed a full bowl of rice in front of Minji.

"Just eat," Jennie spoke softly and sat down with her bowl of rice.

The girls began eating, Minji complementing the food and stuffing her mouth until it was more than full. Jennie stared, wondering if she was even chewing all the way. 

"There's more. Don't rush." Minji blushed at the thought of what she possibly looked like and nodded before taking a swallow of water to wash down the food.