Chapter Text
Yoohyeon might be going insane.
She was a person who felt, and she felt a lot of things throughout the day. She felt appreciation for Yubin, who never failed to be a steady pillar to lean on. She felt admiration and respect for Gahyun, who never failed to explain a complicated math term for her with barely restrained impatience. She felt annoyance for Bora, who loved to scream directly into her ear which left it ringing for what felt like the whole day. She didn’t even want to know what other hybrids felt about that one.
But those were simple things that she felt for her friends. Nothing that made her want to run and hide until people forgot about her existence.
No.
The more complicated feelings, the ones she wasn’t able to name most of the time, the ones that reminded her how unbelievably gay she was, were reserved for one girl, and one girl only.
Kim Minji, the most adorable bunny hybrid Yoohyeon has ever had the pleasure of interacting with, and she’s interacted with quite a few.
See, the thing about Minji was that she was just like everyone else. There wasn’t anything drastically different. She was a hybrid, like about half of the student body, she was kind, like about 90% of the student body pretended to be. She liked to read, and she was smart, and she was so, so pretty it made Yoohyeon’s knees weak, palms sweaty, arms heavy- everything that m&m dude rapped about. Part of her still couldn’t fathom why she felt like this for the most normal person ever.
And then, she would be gently woken up from a nap she would be taking at her desk, and her eyes would be greeted by that sunshine smile only Minji could muster at 8 am, and suddenly Yoohyeon would remember all over again.
“You gotta go to your next class, Yoohyeon,” Minji would say kindly, the early morning sun making all of her features stand out, and tilting her head in a way that emphasized the bunny ears that tended to blend in with her hair. Unlike the usual bunny ears Yoohyeon would see sticking out from crowds in the halls, Minji’s were limp and floppy and Yoohyeon wanted to die right then and there if it meant this was the last thing she would see.
“Uh huh,” she would respond intelligently, which never failed to get a giggle out of the other girl, and she would be the biggest idiot in the world if it meant she got to hear the sound of an angel again.
And then- and then , Minji would offer to walk her there every time, her smile not once faltering, and Yoohyeon was a big girl, she could get to class on her own the same way she had been for the last few years, but she’d really be an idiot if she refused a pretty girl’s offer. Especially when this was the only interaction she ever had with Minji during the whole school day for the last three years.
With that, the two would set off, not a word being shared between them. Yoohyeon was never sure why Minji never spoke, but Yoohyeon didn’t because she was scared that the second she opened her mouth she would accidentally spill out everything she was thinking, which was quite literally the last thing she needed to happen. Ever. She would have to enlist Bora, Yubin, and Gahyun to dig her early grave.
Then, they’d arrive at Yoohyeon's classroom, and Minji would give her a cheery “goodbye!” before rushing off to her own class. Yoohyeon would notice that Minji left in the direction they had come in, but that would also mean that Minji’s class was on the other side of the school, and there was no way Minji would go out of her way for Yoohyeon like that. Nope. Must be a shortcut to avoid the crowds.
That would be all for the rest of the school day. Yoohyeon would be reinvigorated from the small interaction with her crush, therefore no more naps she needed to be awoken from, and she would discreetly send glances Minji’s way during their shared lunch.
Yoohyeon would then head home, and she’d do her homework, and she’d eat dinner with her family, maybe watch a movie with them if she felt like it, then go to bed to dream about Minji until she could wake up to do it all over again.
Under the guise of night, when there was no one to judge her while she was alone in her room and under her blanket, she would sigh and wonder what was wrong with her.
Everyone seemed to be able to talk to Minji effortlessly, hell, even confess. Minji was so pretty and kind and smart and funny and everyone could see that. Everyone wanted a chance to take Minji out on a date.
Everyone but Yoohyeon.
***
One Monday morning, after a long weekend of looking forward to seeing Minji, Yoohyeon nearly shat herself in front of the whole class.
Unlike a lot of schools, their first class wasn’t a homeroom where they sat around to study or do something else. They got about ten minutes of that before jumping into science, which Yoohyeon felt was too cruel for them. So many damn terms to memorize at such an early hour. And when they actually did a lab? Everyone’s sleepiness made it a recipe for disaster.
Which is why Yoohyeon preferred to nap in the back and study at home when she was better rested.
She vaguely processed what was going on. Something about a project and blah blah blah. Going to be separated into pairs randomly selected-
She shot up, suddenly awake.
Ah, hell.
Her nervousness slowly began to build up. She didn't mind her classmates. They were calm, though, that was probably because of the early morning hour. However, they all seemed to wake up at the news, and there was only one name going around.
Kim Minji.
Everyone wanted to pair up with her. She wasn't some sort of super genius that would do the project for them easily, but she was extremely popular. People seemed to just want Minji as their partner for the sake of being able to brag about it.
Suddenly, Yoohyeon minded her classmates a lot more.
But, she also was the only one who didn't want to pair up with Minji, simply because she knew that she wouldn't be able to talk to the older girl normally.
Well, the chances of Yoohyeon being paired up with her crush were slim to none.
And then the first pair was called out, and Yoohyeon felt the color drain from her face.
She slowly turned in Minji’s direction, seeing the bunny hybrid already sending her one of her signature sunshine smiles. Yoohyeon tried to muster one back, but she thinks it came out too strained to be considered normal.
She was just paired with Kim Minji.
Oh, fuck .
Bora was gonna get a kick out of this one.
***
Clearly, she wasn’t able to get a nap in by that point. Her mind was going haywire. She had to work with her crush. On a project. Where she had to talk to her.
“Yoohyeon?”
The girl in question swallowed, raising her gaze to meet Minji’s gentle eyes.
“Y-yeah?” Yoohyeon managed to respond. Closest thing to a word she’s said to Minji. Ever. She gave herself a mental pat on the back for that one.
Minji smiled brightly as she clutched the strap of her bag.
“Can I walk you to class?” Minji asked, and Yoohyeon once again thinks she might be going insane because no way was she hearing hope in Minji’s voice. Nope.
Unable to muster any words, Yoohyeon simply nodded, earning an even brighter grin from Minji. If she went blind, she would probably thank Minji.
Just like always, Yoohyeon trotted next to Minji, nervously clutching her textbook to her chest in an effort to make herself smaller. Some bunny hybrids were skittish, and Yoohyeon had spent enough time observing Minji from a distance (not in a creepy manner but in a ‘i-don’t-know-how-to-act-normal-around-pretty-girls’ manner) to know that while Minji might not run away, she was jumpy. While Yoohyeon didn’t think she was particularly intimidating, especially since she and Minji were basically the same size, she’d still rather be safe than sorry.
“This is where I leave you,” Minji said gently, her face lit up by an adorable smile that sent Yoohyeon’s heart pounding.
Right. Yoohyeon had a class.
“But before I go,” Minji continued, reaching into her bag and pulling out her phone. “Your number? So we can contact each other about the project!” She said, her grin showing off her slightly crooked teeth. Is this why people drank? To stop their hearts from racing at the sight of angels walking among them? To hide the way they blushed at the sight of the angels? Thank goodness Yoohyeon was still underage.
And then she processed exactly what Minji said.
Her number.
Minji wanted her number.
Yoohyeon slowly took Minji’s phone into her shaking hands. Her clumsiness knew no bounds, and the last thing she wanted was to drop her crush’s phone. She would never hear the end of it from her friends if that happened.
Double checking five times to make sure she put in the correct number, she handed Minji’s phone back with an embarrassed flush on her cheeks.
“Thank you,” Minji said through a toothy grin. “I’ll text you?”
Yoohyeon nodded, hearing the warning bell go off. She made a vague gesture towards the classroom behind her. Speak, dumbass, speak!
But Minji only giggled. “See you around, Yoohyeon!”
Yoohyeon nodded again, waving timidly and trying to back into the classroom, only to bump into the doorway. The embarrassed flush on her cheeks deepened, and Minji giggled even louder. Oh, god.
Somehow, she managed to step into the classroom, shooting Minji finger guns in success. Weirdo.
Minji shook her head with a grin, waved from outside the door before scurrying off in the direction they came in. Yoohyeon almost melted into a puddle from seeing Minji’s tail wiggling behind her as she sped off. Again, cutest bunny hybrid ever.
Yoohyeon was on cloud nine as she took her seat. Minji had been paired up with her for the project and didn’t look like she was annoyed by it, still walked Yoohyeon to class and even asked for her number! Admittedly, it was just for the project, but Yoohyeon couldn’t bring herself to care about that right now.
Then she realized she was physically unable to speak to Minji like a normal person.
She sighed, burying her face into her crossed arms on the desk.
She really, really hoped she didn’t make a fool out of herself.
She’s not sure what face Minji would make at her if she did.