Work Text:
“Strawberries, Strawberries! Come n’ get your strawberries!” The guy with the cardboard sign shouted at passerby, his words muffled by the woosh of cars flying down the highway.
“Who the hell decided to build a highway in the middle of a field?!” He cried out into the blue, cloudless sky above. The sun beat down on the few people, mainly tourists, who stopped by to roam the strawberry fields and hopefully, take home a few.
Mina giggled into the back of her hand whilst she fanned herself with the other. It was warmer than usual for an April afternoon but the sun would set soon, bringing with it the cool relief of the night.
Her uncle had finally gone crazy, she thought as she pulled her blonde hair up, increasing the speed in which she fanned her hand. She sighed, feeling the droplets of sweats roll down her back. She looked out onto the field, there weren’t many people here today, there never were, really. It worried her, Mina worked here for fun but she knew she should get a paying job somewhere in the city to help support her family. Every year it got harder, every winter harsher. But she tried not to think about it.
She tried to think about the sweetness of strawberries and how good they taste with a little bit of chocolate under summer skies. She closed her eyes, breathed in the sweet scent of them and of freshly cut grass that spread over miles and miles of beautiful, lush countryside. She loved it here but she wanted more.
“Mina!” Her uncle snapped his fingers right in front of her face, making her jump back a step and spring her eyes wide open.
“You have to stop spacing out like that. I need you to keep a close eye on the grounds and the customers while I run to the store.” He then added in a lower voice as to not be overheard, “Watch out for the racoons, if you see them just grab that stick behind you and shoo them off.” Mina scoffed at this and murmured under her breath, “As if anything that fun ever happened here.”
“Yes, uncle, I’ll keep an eye out. Don’t worry about it.” She smiled at him, he ruffled her hair, making it stand up at odd angles around her face. She swatted his hand away, glaring, as he laughed at her disgruntled look.
Mina watched him get into his car and flee the scene. He probably wanted a break from the unrelenting heat and even more unrelenting customers. She rested her elbows against the wood of the counter in front of her, playing with her nails to pass the time when she sensed someone approach it, shadows elongating in the slowly lowering sun, and looked up. Her eyes widened like saucers when she took in the girl in front of her. She recomposed herself the moment she realized she had slipped and schooled her features into a nonchalant expression, feigning indifference towards a perfectly normal customer. Except this customer wasn’t perfectly normal, she was perfect.
“Hi” The girl greeted her with a small smile splaying on her lips. Those Mina couldn’t help but stare at for a few seconds, noticing she had a mole just below them. How cute, she thought to herself.
“H-hi, how can I help you?” She managed to spell out breathlessly, cringing internally at her uncharacteristic behavior, her feigned composure dissipating completely. She didn’t even know this girl, how was she evoking such a powerful reaction from her? It must be the heat, or the intoxicating scent of strawberries. Or the intoxicating scent of her.
Mina started breathing through her mouth.
“I was wondering if I could just go ahead and browse for some strawberries or if there was some sort of protocol I had to follow first?” The girl pulled her eyebrows together as she waited for Mina to answer. Mina stuttered for a few long seconds before answering “Yes?”
She was wishing for the bushes to come alive and suffocate her right about now.
The girl looked at her and laughed, her big eyes squinting as she brushed her blue bangs behind her ear. Mina was sure her cheeks were as red as the strawberries lounging in their lively shrubs. She was going to overheat and pass out before she could get this girl’s number.
“I’ll bring you the prettiest strawberry in the field for your troubles.” The girl winked at Mina before walking away, her flower laden basket bouncing against her hip with every step.
———
Mina couldn’t stop thinking about the wink and the laugh and her lips. She thought about it all afternoon, the girl’s words replaying in her head like a broken record. Her eyes followed the girl across the small field, never losing sight. She knew she should be keeping an eye on things. Technically she was… on some things. It was hard to concentrate when the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen is right in front of you and she told you she’d bring you the prettiest strawberry. Mina was surprised her body hadn’t liquified and sat in a puddle on the ground.
Her basket… her basket made Mina’s heart swoon. It was the cutest shit she had ever seen. it was big, woven and decorated with the most beautiful and colorful flowers. It complemented the girl perfectly. Mina had never wanted to be a basket so bad in her life, to be held by her… She wondered if the girl’s hands were as soft as they looked, as soft as petals.
Mina’s lips parted in ecstasy as she watched her rub her hand over her neck, lifting her hair up to reveal pale skin, the perfect place to color purple and red, for them to bloom like the buds in her basket. Mina sighed and rested her cheek on her hand. She knew that if the girl looked back at her she would catch her staring but Mina had already made such a fool of herself that this wouldn’t change a thing.
She could hear a faint scuttling and rustling of leaves, could it be... No, she paid no mind to it. Instead, she kept her eyes focused on the girl. Maybe she should go over there and show her how to pick the best berries, she certainly seemed to be struggling, an adorable frown gracing her features. She took in a deep breath and stepped around the counter before she lost her nerve.
“Hey” Mina called out before she convinced herself to spin on her heel and disappear behind the bushes. The girl turned around, her skirts swirling around her in the spring breeze, she looked ethereal. Mina caught her breath.
“Hey” The girl smiled and walked toward her. Mina averted her gaze, feeling that eye contact for longer than two seconds was going to make her combust.
“I’m Mina.” She held out her hand awkwardly, waiting for the girl to shake it and respond with her own name.
She did, and they were softer than petals.
“Chaeyoung.” Her grasp was firm, inviting and warm just like her smile was warm. Everything about her was warm and so much… more.
“I thought you might need some help.” Mina stammered as she pulled her hand free of Chaeyoung’s grip, the slight frown returning to her face. Mina opted for fidgeting with her own hand instead.
“Oh, yes, please. I’ve never been strawberry picking before. I’m from a big city.” She laughed awkwardly, her skin coloring with embarrassment.
“Really? Where from? I’ve always wanted to go to the city.” Mina answered with an air of dreamlike fondness, imagining what it would be like to live somewhere where there were people all around you, not acres away. She felt a little jealous.
“From Seoul. You should visit sometime if you like them so much.” I will if you’re there, Mina thought.
“I’ll definitely add it to my list, right after New York City.”
“Lemme let you in on a secret, it’s really dirty there.” Chaeyoung looked at Mina and they both burst out laughing, inspiring in Mina the thought that this could actually happen. They locked eyes for seconds that felt too long, Chaeyoung’s cheeks maintaining their blossoming color.
As Mina looked into Chaeyoung’s eyes for those opportune seconds, images flashed through her mind. Chaeyoung laughing in a city, on a beach, in a bedroom… Mina shook her head to rid it of those thoughts and instead scolded herself for being so delusional. She had just met Chaeyoung, didn’t know anything about her and certainly it wasn’t likely she felt the same way, right?...
There was no way this girl’s heartbeat would quicken, palms sweat, cheeks flame and mind reel with thoughts of a stranger. No, it was all in Mina’s head.
She decided to throw out her romance novels once she got home.
——
They spent the majority of that afternoon walking across the fields, Mina didn’t even mind when her legs started to ache, and chatting about everything and nothing.
Mina taught her how to choose the ripest strawberries and showed her where the best bushes were, Chaeyoung was a fast learner. Mina wondered what other things Chaeyoung could learn quickly…
They had picked the nicest berries they could find, tossing them in Chaeyoung’s basket with the flowers and proceeded to spread themselves on a patch of grass surrounded by shrubbery, warded off from the few people that still roamed the area.
“Shouldn’t you be working?” Chaeyoung asked with an amused expression.
“I am, I just taught a customer how to pick berries and am now showing her the best way to eat them. It’s a personal approach if you look at it that way.” Mina answered while rifling through the strawberries in the basket, looking for the prettiest one.
“Is there any way to make it more personal?” Mina hoped she wasn’t imagining the way Chaeyoung’s voice dropped slightly, arousingly. Mina looked up at her, a plump, red berry in her hand, Chaeyoung had shifted closer. Instinctively, Mina shifted her body even closer, bringing the strawberry up to Chaeyoung’s mouth, her own not so far away from the berry either. As Chaeyoung parted her lips, never looking away from Mina’s eyes, and stuck her tongue out to lick it. Mina’s gaze shifted repeatedly from Chaeyoung’s lips closed around the fruit to her eyes that never left her own. Her heart was beating out of her chest, she prayed the other girl couldn’t hear it or her heavy breathing. She swallowed, audibly, as Chaeyoung licked her lips clean of any strawberry juice.
Mina mused on how sweet those lips would taste…
She was pulled out of her daze as a racoon ran between them, eliciting a high screech from Chaeyoung.
“Oh fuck! My uncle’s gonna kill me!” Mina jumped up from the ground, grabbing Chaeyoung’s hand and running out onto the main field. They stopped at the counter, both of them out of breath.
“What the hell was that?!” Chaeyoung’s hair had fallen out of its ponytail, laying softly on her shoulders. Mina didn’t have time to marvel at the sight. She needed to get the sticks and shoo them off before her uncle got back.
“Racoons.” Mina took the sticks and handed one to Chaeyoung, she looked at her like she was crazy. “Help me shoo them off, please.” Mina pleaded. Chaeyoung had no choice but to give in.
They took their sticks and ran back into the bushes, Mina signaled for her to crouch as low as possible, make no sound. They had to find the source. The racoons had probably ransacked around a dozen of them by now. It had been hours since Mina had paid any sort of attention to the state of her family’s field.
After a couple minutes of searching, stumbling through shrubs, twigs in their hair, they found the little parasites. Just as Mina had suspected, they had completely destroyed over a dozen bushes, it was a disaster.
Mina covered her face with her hands in shock and whispered into them “I’m dead.” As she lowered herself into the ground. “I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead.” She kept repeating to herself. Chaeyoung crouched down in front of her and snapped her fingers in her face, “Snap out of it! We’re gonna get all of these motherfuckers out of here and I'll come by tomorrow to help you plant new ones. Now get up and get whacking.” She held her hand out for Mina and she took it, a spark of electricity igniting her body, shooting a dose of adrenaline through it.
To any onlooker, they must’ve looked insane, shouting at racoons and hitting shrubs with sticks, making branches and leaves fly all over the place. The sound of them scrurrying over the ground was defeaning. Chaeyoung tried to use some of the strawberries in her basket to lure them out, it worked for a while until they caught on.
Once they were sure they had gotten rid of all the racoons, they threw themself down on the grass, panting and giggling uncontrollably, their bodies pressed together from shoulder to hip.
The stubborn sun was finally setting over the horizon, casting an orange glow over mountains. They lay in a weak ray of tangerine sunlight, illuminating their damp skin. Chaeyoung laced her fingers through Mina’s, holding on tight, warmth spread through Mina’s body, all the way to her soul. She really wished this wouldn’t be the last of it. She wished Chaeyoung would grow and change with her like the strawberry fields did every season, every year.
“How do you say strawberry in korean?” She asked, feeling Chaeyoung moving to rest her cheek against her shoulder as she answered barely above a whisper, “Dalgi”
“Dalgi, I like that.” Mina giggled, the foreign word feeling strange but oddly familiar on her tongue.
Chaeyoung sat up and Mina mirrored her movements. Their hands still laced together between them on the grass, tickling their palms, as Chaeyoung leaned into Mina. Mina absentmindedly picked a twig out of Chaeyoung’s hair, brushing a strand behind her ear.
“I really like strawberries.” Chaeyoung murmured, a whisper away from Mina’s lips.
“I really like strawberries too.”
Mina made the last centimeter of space between them disappear. She cupped Chaeyoung’s face gently, the other girl’s hand pressing into her lower back, a comfortable pressure. Her fingers traced along Mina’s spine, a feather light touch that made her shiver and melt into the feeling. Mina gasped, parting her lips, deepening the kiss. She was floating. Chaeyoung broke it to catch her breath, resting her forehead against Mina’s. She looked into her eyes and smiled. Mina mirrored her once again. The warmth they radiated between each other was greater than the sun settling between the peaks.
Mina’s prediction had been right, strawberries taste sweeter on Chaeyoung’s lips.