Chapter 3
mina has a clear picture in her head of how she's going to spend her friday night; in her room, perfectly tucked in bed and peacefully sleeping.
no, she's not going to the party park sooyoung is throwing even when she got invited by the host herself. she doubts she'll even have a bit of energy left in her body for such event after another hard training that she's sure will end up late again. she'll probably just send a text to the girl. it's not like it would matter if she shows up or not anyway.
and never, not even once, did it cross her mind when she woke up this morning that she'll be spending it inside her room wondering instead of whether she'll tell nayeon that the gifts and some of the letters - just some because she's not stupid to assume that she's the only one who has been slipping notes inside the girl's locker. she is im nayeon after all - were from her or not.
she thought her day is just going to be the same as it has been the past few weeks.
she thought she's going to spend most of her time waiting.
she will never admit it to jihyo and she might have acted like she hated the idea before but she did wait for her best friend to tell her that nayeon has taken up her offer and now wants to meet the person jihyo has mentioned whose gonna help her build her lego set.
and waiting is torture. really.
it seems like jihyo and nayeon has already forgotten about it. it has been three weeks. three whole weeks and jihyo hasn't brought it up again.
still, mina waits.
but that's not the point. so going back, mina really thought it's going to be just one of those days but boy, she's never been more wrong.
they were already stretching in the field when their coach got a call from home. there has been an emergency and he has to leave, putting seulgi in charge. it took a while but their captain gave in to chaeyoung and dahyun's pout in the end and training was canceled.
it was one of those very rare moments that they get to go home earlier than all the other athletes and jihyo is surely making the best out of it as she lazily walks in the halls, ignoring mina's pleas for her to hurry up.
sure, mina can just leave her and let her wait until nayeon's done with her own practice to make a point but that would be too cruel. and mina is anything but cruel.
"jihyo, come on!"
"why are you in such a hurry? it's not like you have plans tonight!"
"oh, i do."
"what, sleep?"
"yes, now hurry up!"
lisa - who has been walking ahead of them, with her head tilted up - chuckles before raising her right hand like she's in one of her classes.
"hey, you two, quick question."
"yeah?" jihyo nods.
"do you think the president, or the vice, or anyone in sc position is allowed to view the school's cctv footage?"
mina freezes. her gym bag feels heavy in her shoulder and she's suddenly aware of the cameras above their head.
"what?"
"what?" lisa stares at her then she shrugs.
"oh. you know, sc officers privilege or something?"
sc privilege… there's no way, right?
right?
mina can already feel the panic rising inside her chest, she looks at jihyo but before she can ask any question, lisa raises her hand again. and this time, it's to stop them from talking.
"do you hear that?" she asks.
"hear what?"
"voices."
but it seems like she doesn't really need an answer to any of her questions when she grabs mina and jihyo and starts dragging them to where she thinks the voices are from.
"lisa, what are you doing?" mina tries pulling her hand off of the girls grip.
"we're just going to check what's going on in there. someone could be needing help."
"or we're about to eavesdrop to some private conversations that we have no business with, you mean." jihyo interjects.
"what, like someone confessing?"
"worse, but that too."
it's not until they turn on the right wing that mina realized where exactly they are heading and it was already a little too late to retrace their steps when three, no, four - when jeon jungkook turns his head to look at them - pairs of eyes shoot in their direction, instantly freezing them on their spot.
it wasn't a confession that they walked in to but a confrontation.
a confrontation that they oh so rudely interrupted. and mina was never rude. in any other situations, she would've already apologized the very moment she realized what is happening. but she's a loss for words - like always - when she meets nayeon's eyes.
nayeon's gaze is intense and probing. mina doesn't know what nayeon is searching in her eyes and she fears of what the older girl might see, yet she finds herself unable to look away.
that is until sana speaks.
"what's that in your hand, kookie?"
mina's breath hitch when she looks at what the guy is holding. she turns to jihyo and it's clear in her best friend's face that she too, recognize what it is.
"okay… should we take our leave now? you were right, this is definitely a conversation we have no business with." lisa whispers beside her but neither she nor jihyo said anything.
"is that…"
a letter.
the very one mina slipped in nayeon's locker earlier before she and jihyo went to training.
how it got into the wrestling captain's position, mina doesn't know. but jungkook has it anyway and now momo's dramatically covering her mouth like she has solved the world's hardest riddle.
great. just great.
"it's… you?" momo breathes out. "it has been you all along?"
"guys?" lisa whispers again and for the second time, jihyo and mina didn't answer.
"wait, what exactly did i do?" jungkook finally ask and mina noticed the shake in his voice.
"you were the one putting those gifts and letters in nayeon unnie's locker, of course!"
"what?" jungkook glances at nayeon. he looks just as confused as mina and jihyo.
"no!"
everyone turns to where they stood and mina realizes that the protest came from her best friend when jihyo takes a few steps forward.
"no." jihyo repeats, much louder tgis time. "nayeon unnie, there's no way it's him. it's… it just can't be."
"why?"
nayeon who has been quiet throughout the entire exchange finally breaks her silence.
"do you know something, jihyo?"
but instead of looking at her sister, her gaze remains fixed on mina. brows furrowed but her eyes are soft. gentle. like she wants… hopes, that mina would say something. anything.
but whatever it is that she wants to hear, mina isn't sure.
"i - unnie…" jihyo pauses.
with the way she's shifting her weight from one foot to another restlessly, mina can tell that jihyo's trying to weigh her options and mina isn't sure if she wants to stop jihyo from saying anything or just let the girl spill her secrets.
she didn't get the chance to make up her mind though. it was kim yerim who made the decision for them when she walks in.
she scans her eyes around, taking in the silence before shrugging her shoulders like she couldn't care less.
"i' don't know what awkward conversation i just walked in but coach wendy sent me to look for her captain and two seniors whom according to her, were never late for practice before. i think she's close to organizing a search party for you, unnies."
and nayeon who has her eyes on mina this whole time turns to look at the younger cheerleader.
"okay." she nods.
she looks at mina. stares at her like there's something she wants to say. then she sighs and starts walking.
"let's go."
when the girls are no longer in sight, jungkook clears his throat. he too looks like he has something to say to mina but in the end, he simply sighs, slips the letter back into nayeon's locker and walks away.
silence settles between the girls after as they try to make sense of what they just witnessed.
then lisa shakes her head.
"i don't know what all that was about but i probably should go ahead."
mina and jihyo nod, bidding goodbye to the retreating girl.
mina is silent the entire drive and jihyo lets her be until they stop outside her house.
"so what's the plan?"
"what?"
"the plan to get the girl, mina." she clears and mina sighs.
"i don't know, jih."
"what, so you're just gonna let my sister think it was jungkook? i mean, okay he is nice and all that. and he and nayeon unnie will surely be a golden couple but there's no way i'm letting you sit still and do nothing while the two of them get together."
"okay, two things." mina shifts in her seat to properly look at her best friend.
"one, you just crushed my heart on that golden couple part and two, i am thinking."
it's not that she's never thought of telling nayeon the truth and how she feels. she has. and she knows she's gonna have to, eventually. she just didn't think it would be like this.
"okay." jihyo stares at her. her eyes searching before she nods. "you do that, think things through if you must. just know that i always have your back, alright?"
"i know."
"good." she nods again before getting off the car and leaving mina alone in her thoughts as she drives off.
and now here she is, pacing inside her room instead of sleeping like how she planned.
this is definitely not how she thought her day will turn out.
just this morning, she was fine with leaving gifts and letters in nayeon's locker and now she's faced with two choices. one is for her to brave her fear of being rejected and getting her heart broken by nayeon. and two, she could keep her mouth shut, sit still, in jihyo's words, and do nothing.
she sighs and sits on her bed, gaze landing on the polaroids on her wall before zeroing in on the picture of the girl with huge front teeth smiling fully in the camera.
it's a picture mina took of nayeon on the summer of sixth grade when she, jihyo and nayeon volunteered to help on one of her parents' out reach programs.
they didn't do much, really. just helped out handing foods and clothes to the children. still, it's an experience she treasures the most. she might say it's because it was fun and fulfilling but she knows it's mostly because it was in that summer that she got to see nayeon.
actually see her.
not as jihyo's older sister. not as the girl who sometimes plays with them. not even the girl who put a penguin band-aid on her scraped knee.
mina saw her as who she truly is. im nayeon. a girl with a genuine heart, a kind soul and an even bigger heart to help.
it was in that summer that mina realized there was nothing wrong with her heart or her stomach with the way both organs react when nayeon's around. it was also in that summer, the moment she took nayeon's photo, really, that she realized she was in deep, deep trouble.
and of course, nayeon really has to grow up as someone who offered to tutor kids who were having a hard time catching up in class when she was in middle school. someone who skipped classes in tenth grade after finding a stray cat near her school and decided to bring it to a shelter. someone who works triple to perfect her routine even with her weak leg.
so yes, the longer that mina knows nayeon, the deeper in trouble she gets. who can blame her?
and as she stares at the photo, the clearer her mind gets. she doesn't think she'll bare to see that full smile directed on jungkook just because she chose not to shoot her shot. no. she's not gonna spend the next years of her life thinking of all the could've and would've been had she not purposely miss her chance of being with nayeon.
mina stands up, the unfinished sweater she's knitting for kookue falls on her floor but she doesn't bother picking it up. she dials jihyo's number.
"so what's the plan, myoui?"
"i'll talk to nayeon." she breathes out. "and whatever happens after, i'll live with it."
"there we go. go get your girl, minari!" her best friend cheers and she swears she can hear the grin in jihyo's voice on the other line.
"and hey, whatever happens, i got you."
"thank you, jihyo-yah!"
when the call ends, mina finds a message waiting for her from the person she least expected.
nayeonnie the contact reads.
she opens it with her heartbeat loud on her ears.
minari...
then another comes in.
are you up still?
yes
she types.
did you need anything, unnie?
three dots appear on her screen after she sent the message.
a minute later, nayeon's reply comes in.
there's something i need to show you.
are you free tomorrow afternoon?
mina breath hitches. her heartbeat quickens.
'kay. see you tomorrow, unnie
alright. i'll pick you up
good night, mina <3