Plans to separate the couple, before they even got together
For the first time in a while Nayeon had a great day. She went to the park with Ryujin fed some ducks, afterwards they played together and went to get ice cream. (And Nayeon had to buy Pokémon cards for Ryujin because they stumbled upon a card machine.)
But overall it went great. It was the first time she remembers her former wedding anniversary going well and being happy, instead of feeling an overwhelming weight of things to plan (when they were still together) or the need to just forget and move on (when he left them behind.)
Lately Nayeon noticed the way she sleeps deeper and better. She does not worry about Ryujin and life in general anymore and overall she is more relaxed and laid back. If you would ask why. Nayeon would say that it’s because school started but every sane person who knows Nayeon would say it’s because the girl is getting more help with her daughter. And not only because of Jeongyeon but all the girls from TWICE, and especially Jeongyeon.
As you know everything has a down side, because the more at ease Nayeon feels the more uptight Jeongyeon becomes. The girl started stressing her members out. The girls had never seen their oldest one act so weird before. Her new quirks were especially concerning.
Like the way she was caught eating ice cream by Momo in the middle of the night. Which in itself wouldn’t be weird if only the girl had decided to use utensils. The sight of Jeongyeon with her head dunked in the vanilla ice cream was as Momo described it ‘traumatizing’. The worst of all was the fact that no one believed her when she told her members, until she showed the ice cream with Jeongyeons face print inside of it.
Not only that but the way Jeongyeon talked had changed too. The girl’s deep and authoritative voice used in a correct way used to silence the whole room. Now it seemed like Jeongyeon was too scared to raise her voice or it seemed like she couldn’t. The girl just closes her eyes and waits till everyone is done talking.
If they ignore it, all of it will probably go away. Or so they hoped. Because the girls got reminded of a soul crushing fact that their contract was ending and until now all of them just assumed that they would all renew their contracts but Jeongyeon’s changed behavior led to them arranging an emergency meeting.
They all sat in the living room of their shared dorm. The girls kept looking at each other waiting for one of them to start talking and discussing. Eventually, Sana took the lead in the gathering, she was after all the leader of the undebuted Japanese group years ago.
“We have a problem, I don’t think Jeongyeon wants to renew her contract.” Sana stands in front of the TV and the girls are sitting on the furniture that is pointed towards the standing girl.
Mina is the first of the sitting girls to say something “I wouldn’t assume, I think Jeongyeon unnie is in a lot of stress right now. That’s all”
Momo turned towards Mina with an obvious frown on her face, “I caught her looking at our debut pictures and crying yesterday. I think Sana is right.”
“So what,” Mina turns to look at Momo, the girl’s face looks even more calm than the way her voice sounds. “She got a little emotional, Jeongyeon unnie has always been on the emotional side.”
“She has never dunked her head in ice cream before. As far as I know that is totally new.” Sana said frantically pacing around the room.
Now Tzuyu joined in agreeing with Mina “Jeongyeon unnie loves us too much to abandon us. We all know that.”
Sana stopped with a sad look on her face “What if she met someone who is worth abandoning us for?”
Mina and Tzuyu turned towards each other with a frown on their faces. Momo stands up to start pacing the room with Sana on her side. “Sana I think you are right.” Momo said, her hands sliding down her face.
Sana looked in the direction of the two members who are more on the quiet side and said “It all started when unnie met Nayeon at the hospital.” She said as her last words to convince the girls. Both of the girls nodded then.
Momo sat on the couch again in between Tzuyu and Mina, she was facing Sana. “What do you have planned?” They all know Sana got a plan.
Sana’s heart begins to hurt because of what she has planned but she sees the faces of her group mates and reminds herself why she is doing this, the happiness of her group mates and when all of this is over Jeongyeon will be able to hang out with Nayeon as much as she wants but first they all have to renew their contracts.
“We are going to separate them until we have all renewed our contracts.”
The horrified look that crossed Tzuyu and Mina’s face almost made her back out of her own plan but Jeongyeon came in with red pants and an ugly blue t-shirt. “Hi guys, what are y’all doing?” She jumped right in between Mina and Tzuyu, who were sitting on the couch. Right on Momo.
The two younger girls of the group got reminded of what they were fighting for and both of them caught Sana’s eyes and nodded as if to say. We are in.
—
Nayeon wondered lately why Jihyo had been looking so sad when she saw her at the hospital. The week prior was an amazing week for her if she could go by anything Jeongyeon had told her about the blossoming relationship between her best friend and Jeongyeon’s best friend.
The girl should already know that she shouldn’t go by anything anyone ever tells her, because they always lead to situations like this. To her assuming everything is alright and never able to talk to her best friend. Then she remembers the last time she has talked to her friend outside of the usual patient and hospital things is when Jihyo had called her the first time Jeongyeon came to her house to babysit. After that it pretty much just became silent from both parties.
It is weird not having talked to your best friend for a while. It did not feel like it because instead of Jihyo, Nayeon talked to Jeongyeon about everything. But what about her best friend? Who did she unload all her problems to? Nayeon hoped it would be Sana but if she looked at this week's schedule and counted all the hours Jihyo would be in the hospital she could confidently say that things were not going well in her friend's personal life.
Nayeon knows the best way to make her friend feel good again. They should get a drink. And Nayeon could ask Jeongyeon to babysit Ryujin. The doctor smiled at the way everything fell together.
So all those people who ever told me that verything will be alright were actually right!
—
Not long after that Nayeon found herself home about to cancel her plans with Jihyo. Jeongyeon and her members have a schedule today and the girl doesn’t think she will be back on time. Nayeon could also get the drinks and drink them at her house, but both of them are really loud drinkers and they probably would not let Ryujin sleep with the noise that they make.
She was already writing a text message saying how sorry she was that she had to cancel when Jeongyeon came in to inform her that she was let out earlier than the others and that she could come help.
Nayeon let out a deep sigh and made a note in her mind to remind her to thank the other woman and maybe even be nice to her for once.
—
Meanwhile at the dancing studio, the moods were low. None of the girls were happy to watch Jeongyeon leave them behind to watch the doctor's kid for the n-th time this week. The frowns were evident on the young girl's faces but as if she was ignoring them Jeongyeon took her stuff and left without saying goodbye. Even the dance instructor was confused.
Jeongyeon was never someone to ignore other people's feelings. The girls used to encourage her to be more selfish at times. When Jeongyeon first got the message from her crush, she immediately stood up but Momo had distracted her with the new dance she still had to learn for their upcoming comeback. And Sana had lured her in more by ordering food, but to no avail the girl still left.
The mood was down, no chatter over dinner. They were left with somber looks on their faces. Sana is not happy with this.
“Guys, we need to up our game.” She says focusing on every member one by one to really get her words across. “We need to make her stay with us again to remind her how much fun we can have with only the five of us.”
“What do you propose?” Tzuyu asks. The members don’t know how much this affects her. She was so young when she left her family and country to fulfill her dreams. And the one person who took her under her wing and cared for her like a big sister is planning to put everything behind. Tzuyu almost dares to say that she is the most affected one, but she doesn’t.
Her fellow quiet member looks at her. Realizing the fear in her eyes is the same emotion she feels. Jeongyeon had been the one to teach the girls Korean, she was after all the only fluent one. Mina had been so shy at first to speak, too scared she would be made fun of for her accent. The way Jeongyeon had helped her with her fears and anxieties was nothing new and now should not be different. “What if we just talked to her instead of going all aboard to sabotage her love life.”
“That will never work!”
Momo was the one to shut her idea off. Momo being Jeongyeons roommate made her believe that she was the closest to her. And in some terms she probably was. For example Momo knew for a fact that Jeongyeon first does her hair care routine then her skincare and lastly she goes to the toilet. Because if she goes to the toilet first she takes too long to finish the rest. She also knows all of Jeongyeon’s Icks and that is why she knows that Mina’s idea is not going to work.
Jeongyeon hates it when people are in her business. She hates it even more when she gets pressured to do things for people she doesn’t want to. Jeongyeon has truly chosen the wrong career.
“We could hide her phone.” Sana suggests. Sana being Sana she has always prided herself with the connections she made with fellow members. She is always there when someone needs a listening ear or a helping hand. She has been there when Jeongyeon wanted to talk about things and vice versa. And now everything is at sake and Sana does not know how to help Jeongyeon because the girl stopped talking to them. Sana had talked to new trainees more in their first week then she has talked to Jeongyeon this past month.
Sana is not happy. If Sana is not happy then someone will get hurt. Let’s pray it won’t be Jeongyeon.
After Sana explained to them why it is such a good idea to hide her phone.
“Guys just think about it. How else would she be able to text with her without her phone?”
They agreed to try it but only for a week, because a lengthier period would be inhumane to make someone go through.
—-
Jihyo has never laughed this much in her entire life. She is scared her mouth is going to rip open because of the amount of laughter it had spilled today. Nayeon is at exactly the same level of tipsy.
This is the first time after their graduation that they had done this again. They talked about things that made them both feel nostalgic and after that they both caught up with all the hospital gossip. And it all felt so childish and silly, exactly what Jihyo had needed.
It’s sad that it couldn’t stay that way but both of them knew why they were there. To catch up to real life events.
“So,” Nayeon started and Jihyo already started to dread this. “How is it going with Sana?”
Hearing the older woman's name made Jihyo’s heart skip a beat and a little smile appeared on her face. But she sighed thinking about the question. “I don’t know,” She answered honestly “I don’t think it’s going well, everytime I suggest an activity, she comes up with the weirdest excuses on why she couldn’t make it or that she doesn’t like the suggested activity.”
Nayeon frowned upon hearing that. If she went over all the things Jeongyeon had told her she would assume that everything was going really well. “Jeongyeon told me that you guys talk all the time with each other.”
“Yeah, we facetime when she is in her dorm but I am starting to think that she is beginning to feel a bit ashamed everytime she talks to me.” It’s something Jihyo did not want to think about and only thought for a second after noticing the way Sana would hide when they were on the phone and when one of her members who she was talking to the way she would lie made Jihyo feel uneasy and unwanted.
“I don’t know much about Sana or the two of you together but based on everything Jeongyeon has told me I think she likes you too but does not know it yet or she does not know how to show it. I think she is running away from her feelings.”
Jihyo had to laugh “Since when did you become so good at analyzing people's feelings?”
Nayeon laughed with her.
“So speaking of Jeongyeon, how is she doing? Has she texted you already?” Nayeon notices the way Jihyo changed the topic and lets her this time. Even though she had to frown on the direction the conversation was going in. The idol was the last thing she wanted to bring up tonight. Not because she hates her. No, she changed her mind about her, but because she wants to keep everything light hearted tonight. That is what she gets for trying to make Jihyo talk about her feelings.
“Yeah, thank you for giving my number to her. I could have never been happier to get texts from her.” Nayeon said in her most sarcastic sounding voice.
“Sorry about that.” Jihyo interrupted her with a smile on her face that made it hard for Nayeon to take her apology seriously.
“Well,” Nayeon continued under Jihyo’s encouraging look. “She has helped me a lot with Ryujin and I think she really enjoys spending time with her.” She does not know why she would be so surprised by that.
“Well, Ryujin is an amazing kid. Anyone would be lucky to spend time with her.” Jihyo found that she really meant those words. That is what happens when you help someone raise a child. It almost feels like her own child.
“I know.” Nayeon responds to that with a matching smile to Jihyo. “I think she is good with all kids.” She thinks back to the day they visited the kids at the hospital, right after the day they met.
“Yeah, I can imagine but what I meant is. When are you guys getting married?” Jihyo giggled at herself. She begins to feel the alcohol more and more.
“You know it’s not like that.” Nayeon said firmly, sobering up a little bit. “She is just a friend who helps out with Ryujin.”
“Well okay if you insist. I have one last question.” Jihyo says, taking a sip from her beer before asking. “How many times have you guys eaten dinner together last week?”
Nayeon lets out a sigh “Five times.” She answers simply.
“Oh and is that because Jeongyeon only came over five times or did you two have dinner twice a day?” She says to Nayeon with a smirk.
“Well, it’s just easier that way. She cooks and it would not be very hospitable of me to kick her out before she ate anything. Also she shops for all the ingredients herself and pays for them. The least I can do is let her eat from her own food.”
Jihyo raised an eyebrow at the new information that was revealed to her. “Does she cook well?”
“Yeah, her father is Yoo Chang Jun the famous chef, who worked for the former president.”
Now both of Jihyo’s eyebrows are raised. “Do you mind if I come to eat with you guys?”
“No, you are welcome anytime you want, but you should let Jeongyeon know you are coming over, so she can make some extra food.”
Perfect, Jihyo thought. If Nayeon marries someone who can cook she can eat at their house anytime she wants. Jihyo is a bit embarrassed to admit that she still feels a bit shy around the TWICE members but she will probably just get over it.
“Oh, Chaeng and Dahyunie are coming over this wednesday, Jeongyeon is cooking for us. If you want to, you can come too and invite Sana over. Then it won’t be too unfamiliar territory for her because she will still have Jeongyeon.”
It made perfect sense. Even more after what Nayeon told her about Sana. She was already planning in her head what she would wear and how to style her hair. She should also shower today if she wants to be fresh then. Otherwise her shower schedule will clash with the event.
Nayeon stood up to get another drink from the bar. Jihyo hadn’t even noticed it at first. If it did not take this much time to get a beer she would have never noticed the missing of her best friend from their table.
She looked over at the bar searching for Nayeon. When she did not see her at the bar she started looking around and she saw the fresh glass of beer on the table and Nayeon’s frown focusing on her.
“Are you looking for someone?” She asks.
“No, I thought you were getting a beer.” She said but Nayeon’s face just seemed even more confused.
Nayeon was about to say something but Jihyo interrupted her and said that they should probably finish up. And go home. They don’t have an early day tomorrow, thank god. Both of them however will probably get a massive hangover.
Conversation still flowed naturally between them and before they knew it the both of them took an Uber to their homes.
When Jihyo came home she felt the coldness of her home hit her in the face. The way the feeling of loneliness washed over her was unfamiliar. Like every sane person Jihyo had experienced loneliness before but not this amount and not this frequently.
What do lonely people do?
Well, they glue themselves to people that don’t want them. That is why Jihyo in her drunken mind started texting Sana.
Well Nayeon you may ask, she had a different experience. She came home to see Ryujin still not in her bed. And Jeongyeon curled up on the small sofa sleeping. She ushered Ryujin upstairs and made her promise to immediately go to bed while she woke up Jeongyeon.