daydreamin'

since mina had come back from her business trip, things had been different. there was no longer a need to disguise her feelings as purely lust or excuse her neediness as her insatiable need for control. so she didn’t. instead she tried to be more open with her emotions and express her needs. it didn’t always come out quite as eloquent or kind as she had hoped, but she was trying and that’s all that mattered for now. 

jihyo was patient and encouraging. she didn’t push mina to give more than she was ready to. despite how much she wanted to hear mina voice her feelings, she knew mina wasn’t there yet. so she took what she could get from the ceo and rewarded mina’s efforts through affirmations and loving kisses. 

over time mina became more comfortable voicing her feelings. she would even say she liked it to an extent. every time she voiced what she felt toward jihyo, she knew it would make jihyo happy. and to mina there was no better feeling in the world than being the reason jihyo smiled.

eventually mina worked up the courage to take a step forward with their relationship. she knew it had to be her to make the decision to move forward. after all she was the one who changed their dynamic in the first place. so, one night after work she asked jihyo out on a real date. jihyo had agreed, but only on one condition: she got to decide what they would do. mina would have preferred the control, but agreed nonetheless. she was mostly just happy jihyo had said yes (though there was no way she’d say no).

so here mina was, sitting on a picnic blanket in the park and basking in the sun. “wow, is that myoi mina actually enjoying the outdoors?” jihyo teased as she approached the blanket, two ice cream cones in hand. a giggle erupted past mina’s pink lips, “oh hush. i was just enjoying the peace and quiet without somebody talking my ear off.” jihyo playfully rolled her eyes as she sat beside the other girl. “take your ice cream miss ‘peace and quiet.’” 

mina leaned over to place a soft peck on jihyo’s cheek as she took one of the cone’s out of jihyo’s hand. “thank you for the dessert baby. are you sure you don’t want me to pay you back for it?” mina asked earnestly. jihyo couldn’t help but laugh, “how poor do you think i am? it’s just ice cream.” the ceo’s eyes widened and cheeks flushed a bright pink. “i didn’t mean to- i just meant- i could pay- i don’t think you’re-” mina stumbled over her words in an attempt to save herself from a misunderstanding. jihyo could only laugh harder, “i’m just kidding honey, relax. besides, you need to start saving up. from now on you’re going to be paying and just so you know, i have expensive taste.” mina lightly pushed jihyo’s arm at the relentless joking, “stop teasing me and eat your ice cream.”

jihyo smiled, obviously proud of herself for successfully teasing her now girlfriend. mina watched her fondly as she began to lick the treat in front of her. she let out a content hum as the sweetness of the ice cream filled her mouth. “this is delicious. what flavor did you get?” mina asked, eyeing the green scoop on top of jihyo’s sugar cone. jihyo held out her dessert for mina to taste, “mint chocolate chip, here try some.” mina took the cone in her hand and took a small lick of the dessert, handing her own cone over for jihyo to try the black cherry flavor she had requested. mina nodded in approval at the taste, “i hate that it was actually good. there’s no reason mint flavored ice cream should taste good.” mina joked as she took another lick of jihyo’s dessert which prompted the other girl to whine and reach for her cone. the ceo couldn’t help but laugh at jihyo faux annoyance. 

the pair continued to chat as they enjoyed their respective ice cream. mina couldn’t recall the last time she had smiled this much. she was almost positive by the time the date was over her face would hurt because of it. thinking about it only made her smile harder. 

after their ice cream had long been eaten and the position of the sun had moved closer to the west, jihyo laid with her head on mina’s lap while she played with her hair. mina studied jihyo’s face, committing every detail to memory. “thank you for today. i haven’t had this much fun since... i don’t know when.” mina confessed as she twirled a strand of jihyo’s hair around her finger. jihyo’s lips curved into a warm smile that mina then mirrored. “don’t thank me quite yet. i have one more thing i want to do, if you’re up for it?” 

“i’ll do anything you want me to,” mina’s voice was sincere. she didn’t want to get too invested too soon, but she knew she meant what she said in every sense of it. she would follow jihyo anywhere and do anything jihyo asked of her. jihyo must have known it too based on the fond look in her eyes. jihyo removed herself from mina’s lap and placed a delicate kiss on mina’s lips before she stood up and held out her hand. mina took her hand with no hesitation. she had no idea what was in store, but as long as she was with jihyo she couldn’t wait to find out what it was.

the pair gathered their belongings and stored them in jihyo’s car. “are we driving there?” mina questioned, unsure. “we certainly can if you want to. but, it’s only like a ten minute walk from here.” mina didn’t exactly like the idea of walking but she did love the idea of getting to hold jihyo’s hand as they walked. mina held out her hand for jihyo to lead the way. 

jihyo laced their fingers together as they made their way back through the park and toward the city. she thought she’d be more nervous at the prospect of holding mina’s hand out in public- especially after having to hide her feelings for her boss for so long- but honestly, holding mina’s hand couldn’t have felt more natural. like mina’s hand was made to fit her own. 

the two had been so engulfed in their conversation that the walk didn’t even feel like ten minutes. if jihyo hadn’t stopped her mina would have just kept walking without a care in the world just listening to jihyo talk. they had stopped outside of a small, dark building mina couldn’t see inside of. “what is this place?” mina asked skeptically as she searched for a sign or any indication of what was inside. jihyo was practically buzzing with excitement as she made her way over to the door. “are you sure this is the right place? this looks like the back of the building, shouldn’t we go to the other side or something?” mina asked even more confused the more she observed the building. jihyo ignored mina’s questions as she typed a code into the lock pad above the door handle.

the sound of the dead bolt shifting inside the door took mina by surprise. she truly had no idea what was going on or what to expect behind those doors. jihyo’s smile practically spanned from ear to ear as she hurriedly opened the door for mina, “after you.” mina looked at her girlfriend with a puzzled expression for a moment as jihyo urged her to enter the building. “are you going to murder me? was this all a set up?” jihyo rolled her eyes in impatience, “babe, just go inside.” 

mina sighed in defeat and stepped forward, “if i step through those doors and die, i want you to know i will haunt you for the rest of time.” jihyo chuckled as she ushered mina through the door. before them was a empty hallway with a black door on the other end. “jihyo-” before the ceo could finish her sentence, put her hand on the base of her back and urged her toward the door. “trust me,” jihyo said softly as she lead them through the black door.

mina stood there in shock for a moment as she processed her new surroundings. a symphony of buzzes, dings, cheers and music filled the air. blue and purple neon lights illuminated the otherwise dark room. “oh my god,” mina whispered as she took in the vibrancy of the arcade. jihyo’s smile grew almost impossibly bigger as she watched mina’s eyes fill with excitement and wonder. the younger turned to her, surprise etched in her every feature. jihyo nodded toward the arcade as if to give mina permission to explore. mina needed no further instruction as she excitedly darted through the room, gasping and pointing out which games she wanted to play. “holy shit. i can’t believe they have this, i haven’t played this since i was a kid.” mina marveled at the old machine, a bright smile on her face as the nostalgia washed over her. “how did you find this place?” 

jihyo half-shrugged although the look on her face gave away how proud she was, “just found it. wait here and i’ll get us some tokens.” mina was so entranced by the game she barely even registered jihyo leaving and coming back. it wasn’t until jihyo rattled the cup of coins that mina looked away from the screen. 

for the next hour jihyo and mina played game after game, laughing and teasing each other at every chance they could. they moved from one machine to the other as mina recalled stories of her playing them in the past and jihyo listened attentively. she’d never seen mina this giddy and playful. it was almost like watching mina revert into a ten year old version of herself. she’s so used to mina’s more stoic and professional nature around the office and her commanding yet caring way at home, she never imagined this side to the ceo.

mina fiddled a game token between her fingers as she contemplated which game was worthy of their final coin. “we could play another round of dance dance revolution or do the racing game again- wait, maybe we should do the bowling one you’re good at so we can get more tickets and try to get better prizes. actually maybe we should do one more round of mortal combat since you can never go wrong with that,” mina rambled as her brows furrowed in contemplation. jihyo lightly placed her hand on top of mina’s, “actually i was hoping to try one we haven’t done yet.” 

mina halted her suggestions for a moment, “we missed one?” she had been sure they played with every worthy machine. jihyo grabbed mina’s hand and lead her to the other end of the room, “babe, no offense but are we seriously going to waste our last coin on a claw machine? that’s not even really a game-” mina started to protest, since she had purposely been avoiding this corner of the room. jihyo continued to lead them forward until the reached the very edge of the room, “i want to play that one.” jihyo nodded toward an older machine that seemed to be excluded from the rest of the arcade. mina’s eyes widened once she realized what game it had been. she slowly approached the machine in disbelief, “i didn’t think they still had these anywhere.” she lightly traced over the machine’s controls, “when i was growing up i used to come to the arcade to play this with my dad every weekend when he was off work. this is part of the reason i fell in love with video games.” mina said with a fondness in her voice at the distant memories.

jihyo stood to the side of the machine and patted the coin slot, “show me how to play?” mina eagerly agreed as she dropped the token into the slot. she excitedly rattled off the rules of the game before she started her turn. jihyo barely paid the game any mind, content to just watch mina do the cute little face she makes when she’s concentrating. after a few minutes the machine erupted with a victorious trumpet sound to indicate mina had won. the ceo threw her fist in the air, “fuck yeah! i still got it!” she exclaimed, pride overflowing from her demeanor.

jihyo applauded her girlfriend before placing a kiss on her cheek, “congratulations babe! i knew you could do it.” mina wrapped her arms around jihyo’s waist and pulled her close. mina’s eyes filled with love as she looked at jihyo. she placed a loving kiss onto jihyo’s lips. jihyo smiled into the kiss before she pulled away and grabbed the tickets from the machine. “let’s go collect your prizes.” 

the pair brought their abundance of tickets to the front of the arcade. a tall, older man stood behind the prize counter with a smile on his face, “wow, you weren’t kidding when you said she was into video games.” mina looked puzzled for a moment when she realized he was speaking to jihyo who had placed the tickets on the counter. jihyo laughed at his comment, “next time i need to bring more money so we can play longer. she kicked my ass at everything.” the man filtered the tickets through a machine and shook his head playfully at jihyo’s words. “i’m glad you two had fun. you can pick anything from the top shelf or from the stuffed animals hanging below it.” 

jihyo turned toward mina, “you won the tickets so you pick.” mina still looked confused at the interaction she just witnessed and how little time she had to process it before they moved on. she turned her attention to the wall of prizes. she contemplated for a moment before pointing, “that one please.” the man grabbed a step stool and took the large pokemon plushie from it’s place on the wall. he then handed it to mina, the couple thanked him for the prize. “thank you again for everything. i’m sure we’ll be back,” jihyo bowed slightly toward the man before waving goodbye. 

“did you know him?” mina asked as she held the plushie against her chest. jihyo giggled as they made their way through the exit. “kind of. we’ve been emailing back and forth.” mina raised her brow, “why?” jihyo shrugged, “i emailed a few arcades in the area to see if they had qix. this was the only place in like a hundred miles that had one that still worked.” mina stopped in her tracks along the sidewalk, “how did you know to do all this?” jihyo stopped alongside her, her demeanor turning sheepish at what she was about to confess.

“well, when you were out of town and i was staying at your place i tidying up around the house and went into your office. i noticed that picture of you and your dad playing qix on your desk. i figured since you haven’t been able to go back home in a while i could do something to try to bring home to you. it’s the only reason i insisted you let me pick what we did today.”

mina stood there in shock for a moment. she’s been homesick for so long she’d gone numb to it at this point. with the influx of work she had to deal with, it became easy to forget how much she yearned to be back in the place she grew up in and surrounded by her family. she’d been in work mode for so many years that anything other than work took a back seat. mina’s hands dropped to her side as she processed the information. no one had ever done anything this thoughtful for her. in a swift motion she pulled jihyo close and pressed a passionate kiss against her lips. she tried to pour every once of love and gratefulness she had into their kiss, knowing she wouldn’t be able to express it all properly with words. jihyo kissed back with so much tenderness and care it almost made mina cry.

once the two pulled away to replenish their lungs with air mina took jihyo’s hand in her own. “thank you.” jihyo smiled at her girlfriend, “you really don’t need to thank me. i had so much fun, so really i should be thanking you.” mina squeezed jihyo’s hand, “no, i am thanking you. this was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. so thank you. this was seriously like my favorite day ever. i’ll never forget this.” mina said sincerely as she handed jihyo the plushie she had won, “i want you to have this.”