RACE YOU TO HER HEART; 
​Chapter 7: Chasing Im Nayeon (VII)

"Dubu! You're back! so did you see Na-" Jackson was asking when he noticed something, "Yo what's up with your hand? Are you hurt?"

"Oh I fell," Dahyun stated, looking at the cloth wrapped around her hand.

"What?"

"Someone pushed me accidentally and I fell down," Dahyun shrugged.

"Who the hel-" Jackson said, wide eyed, "and what is that thing around your hand are you like... bleeding seriously?" He rambled on concerned as he lifted up Dahyun's wrapped hand to examine it. "Oh my God aren't you anemic?! Are you even suppose to be bleeding? Do we have to go to th-"

"Shhh it's just a scratch, chill!" Dahyun reassured him. She unwrapped the handkerchief around her hand... why did she even leave it on for so long. 

"See," she showed Jackson her palm, "Just a scra-"

"Uh... Dubu-yah..." Jackson interrupted. "It's not just a scratch," he deadpanned. 

"Pish, yes it is..." Dahyun brushed him off. Ah, but it does sting... "You're overreacting like the sunbaenim backstage."

Jackson raised his eyebrows, "Sunbaenim backstage?"

"Yeah, he was so dramatic, wrapping up my hand and all..."

"Oh?" Jackson said, deciding to let the issue of Dahyun's small injury pass. Afterall, it wasn't uncommon for athletes to get hurt anyway. "Hey so you met someone else backstage?"

"Yeah I guess?" Dahyun said. "He helped me up and all."

"Oooooooh," Jackson cooed with a cheeky grin. Just then the lights in the hall turned off, signalling the end of the intermission. "So, who is he? Is he one of the guys on stage?" 

"Yeah..." Dahyun said straining her eyes as they adjusted to the lights that flickered on stage. Music started to play again and familiar faces in a different set of clothes appeared. "There," Dahyun pointed. "He's the tall one, next to Nayeon unnie."

"Ooooh... Hey did you see that other pretty noona backstage?" Jackson wondered, pointing to the rude unnie Dahyun had bumped into.

"Yes..." Dahyun said. "But she wasn't as pretty in real life."

-

"Dahyun-ah!" An excited Nayeon waved to Dahyun. The latter felt her lips tug upwards into a wide grin, matching Nayeon's. She jogged through the crowded place, towards the older girl, who was once again surrounded by people. Her hands were filled with things like flowers and little gifts. 

Nayeon excused herself from the people that were previously talking to her, before she walked towards Dahyun. 

"You came," Nayeon breathed, when they finally reach each other. She moved all the stuff she was carrying to one hand.

"What?" Dahyun said, raising her voice a bit. She couldn't really hear Nayeon speaking. The show ended not too long ago and now everyone was trying to meet their respective friends/family member that they were here to support.

"Nayeon unnie, I can't hear you very well," Dahyun half-yelled. Dahyun saw Nayeon laugh as she grabbed Dahyun's hand, tugging her away from the crowded place. Dahyun could only smile like a fool. Nayeon's laughter was so beautiful... Nayeon was so beautiful.

Nayeon led them outside of the bustling hall, where silence and the sound of crickets greeted them.

"I said," Nayeon repeated as she tugged a strain of hair behind Dahyun's ears. The younger girl blushed. "You made it, Dahyun-ah."

Dahyun chuckled shyly, "Of course," she chirped with a sense of pride, "it's the great vocalist, Im Nayeon's recital, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Nayeon laughed at that, lifting a hand to pull at Dahyun's cheek. "Aigo, look who has a glib-tongue?"

Dahyun rolled her eyes playfully. By now she had pretty much gotten used to Nayeon tugging at her face, as though she's a child. She didn't really fancy that (the part where she was treated like a kid) but she didn't hate Nayeon doting on her at all, so she wasn't complaining. 

"Hey Nayeon unnie, I know you have received plenty of flowers tonight... you're probably even already sick of them but... here," Dahyun said handing Nayeon a red daisy. "The wrapping is a little crumpled but," Dahyun mumbled a little embarrassed, "I hope you like it."

Nayeon accepted it with a grin plastered on her face. "Aw... thank you Dahyu-" Suddenly Nayeon's smile faded. "Your hand..." Nayeon said reaching for Dahyun's hand. "It's hurt?"

Dahyun shrugged, "oh it's nothing." She pulled her hand away from Nayeon trying to hide it. "It's just a scratch so..."

"Yah, let me see" Nayeon said. Dahyun sighed, reluctantly lifting her hand back up. Nayeon frowned as she stared at the scratches on Dahyun's palm. "It's fresh..."

"Huh?"

"Your wound... you just got it?" Nayeon asked.

Dahyun nodded, "yeah... how did you kn-" Of course she knew, she was Nayeon unnie. Smart. Observant. The unnie who knew everything. 

"How did this happen?" Nayeon interrupted her worriedly as she met eyes with Dahyun.

"Uh- I just..." Dahyun looked away, as she felt her heart skipped a beat. "I fell..." 

'I guess the sunbaenim didn't tell Nayeon unnie anything...' the younger girl thought.

"What? How? Does it hurt a lot?"

"Not really," Dahyun shrugged. 

Nayeon raised a finger to poke near Dahyun's wound. The younger girl flinched. "Ouch!" She stared, wide eyed, at the older girl. "N-nayeon unnie!"

"See it does hurt," Nayeon shook her head.

"Of course it does, you went and poke it," Dahyun pouted.

"Ah, sorry..." Nayeon said, lifting Dahyun's hand and gently blowing at it. Dahyun stared at her...

'My heart... is racing again?'

"Let's go," Nayeon suddenly said, tugging at Dahyun's hand.

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"To the convenient store," Nayeon said. "To get you ointment and some band aids."

"What?" Dahyun said, bewildered. She thought back to the sunbaenim backstage. Is everyone from the showchior like this? 

"Nayeon unnie there's no need to-"

"It'll get infected if you leave it like that."

"No it wo-"

"Shhhhh... I'm a biology student, you should listen to my advice kiddo."

Dahyun sighed, letting Nayeon hold her hand as she led them across the road. "Don't you have to gather with the showchior on a chartered bus and go back to school or something?" Dahyun asked, ignoring her beating heart and the overwhelming warmth that seemed to be travelling from Nayeon's hand to hers.

"Yeah," Nayeon said. "But I have to patch up your hand first."

"But won't you miss the bus?"

"Don't worry I'll get back in time," Nayeon said. "I have 15 more minutes and the store is just across the street."

Dahyun nodded. 'Ah but... why does it feel like... I've forgotten something?' 

-

It turned out... Dahyun did forget something. Or more specifically... someone.

"Yah! Kim Dahyun where did you go?" An annoyed Jackson yelled through the phone.

Dahyun face palmed herself. "Crap..." she muttered, followed by uttering an 'ouch'. 

"Eh, don't hit yourself with that hand silly, I just patched it up nicely," Nayeon nagged beside her.

"H-hey mandu..." Dahyun trailed off awkwardly feeling bad for leaving her friend in the hall. She was suppose to meet him after they both went to the washroom, but she caught sight of Nayeon and had forgotten about him. "I'm outside the hall."

"What? You were suppose to wait for me you traitor," Jackson grumbled.

"Sorry! I'm coming back to meet you now!" Dahyun rushed out. "I'll see you by the entrance okay?"

"Aish some friend you are, how could you leave m-"

"Hehe see you, bye!" Dahyun said playfully, before hanging up on him.

"Your friend?" Nayeon asked, as they crossed the road back to the concert venue.

"Yeah, I brought Jackson along since you gave me two tickets," Dahyun shrugged.

"Oh," Nayeon said. Just then they spotted Jackson, leaning against a wall, tapping his feet impatiently against the ground with his arms crossed.

Jackson pointed to Dahyun, the moment he saw her. "You!" he said, jokingly glaring at Dahyun and the latter waved back.

"You ditched me." He deadpanned and Dahyun thought she heard Nayeon scoff secretly beside her. 

"Sorry, there was..." Dahyun eyes darted to Nayeon then to the entrance of the bustling hall, "too many people and it made me dizzy so I forgot I had to wait for you," Dahyun apologized. "I'll buy you a drink in school, so forgive me pwease Mandu!" Dahyun tried, inwardly cringing at her own agyeo, which she only used when she was desperate. 

"Fine," Jackson sighed. "But don't do it again." He then shifted his gaze to the older girl beside them. "Hi," He said to Nayeon with a smile.

"Ah, yes. Nayeon unnie, this is Jackson. And Jackson this is Nayeon unnie." Dahyun introduced. 

"Hi, Jackson-ssi," Nayeon nodded at him.

"A pleasure to meet you Nayeon noona, you were amazing tonight," Jackson complimented with a wink. 

"Ah, thanks..." Nayeon replied.

Dahyun didn't know if she was just being over sensitive but
... she could feel some sort of awkwardness in the air after that. 

"Hey Nayeon unnie, don't you-" Dahyun started before she got cut off.

"YAH! IM NAYEON!" A loud familiar voice echoed through the night. 

Dahyun's eyes widened, while Jackson jumped a little, startled by the sound.

"Ah, Jihyo," Nayeon greeted. 

The girl who yelled soon came walking closer to them and Dahyun easily recognised her as the rude unnie backstage. Jackson stared at her. "Woah her eyes are so huge and sparkly up close..." he whispered to Dahyun. 

"Where have you been?" The girl with the huge and sparkly eyes scolded. "Everyone is looking for you! We're about to leave without you, you know?!"

"Oh I had to do something," Nayeon said, glancing at Dahyun with a small grin, "But I'm back so let's go?"

Jihyo was about to walk away, after sighing rather exasperatedly, when she noticed Dahyun. "Oh, it's you," she said.

Dahyun waved awkwardly. "H-hi?" Dang this unnie is so loud and fierce... 

"Ah, you guys know each other?" Nayeon asked.

"No, but this lost girl was looking for you backstage," Jihyo said a hint of nonchalance evident in her voice. Nayeon looked at Dahyun as though asking if what Jihyo had said was true, and Dahyun nodded. "Anyway let's hurry up and go, the bus is leaving soon," Jihyo said, annoyed, before hurriedly walking away.

"I'll see you soon then, Dahyun-ah," Nayeon said, going to pinch Dahyun's cheek. "Thanks for coming to the show." Nayeon then moved in closer, "oh yeah, by the way," she whispered, cupping a hand by Dahyun's ear, "you look really pretty tonight." Then she jogged away, running after the annoyed Jihyo. 

Dahyun froze afer that, standing rooted to the ground. "Damn that Jihyo noona is feisty..." Jackson commented with a smirk. "Yah Dubu? Dubu-yah?... hello?" Jackson waved a hand in front of the dazed girl. "Kim Dahyun?"

And Jackson had almost wanted to slap his friend when she suddnly broke out into the widest grin he had ever seen.

'You looked beautiful tonight too, Nayeon unnie.'

-

Winter break finally came by, and Dahyun spent a huge part of it at her hometown visiting her grandparents. It was a yearly tradition for her family every winterbreak.

Dahyun loved her grandparents, but she can't help feeling a tiny bit upset that particular year though. Leaving for her hometown meant she wouldn't get to see Nayeon. It also meant that she couldn't practice running because of the snow and because her parents would be keeping a close eye on her.

Christmas soon came along and the Kim family was busy preparing for their annual Chistmas celebratory gathering. Dahyun was tasked to go collect some food her grandparents had ordered at a local store.

"Oh Old Mrs Kim's order? Hold on for a moment... you may want to take a seat first." The lady at the counter told her. 

"Okay, thank you," Dahyun said with a polite bow. 

She looked around the small rather traditional looking restaurant and decided to take a seat at a corner where she had a good view of the counter. "This place hasn't changed a bit..." she said to herself. Since it was a cold winter evening, not to mention Christmas eve, there weren't many people there... at least not till the night comes. 

Dahyun was staring outside the window, noticing how it had started to snow again. Ah, how pretty, she thought, a finger lifting to trace the snowflake that had landed on the glass window. 

I wonder if it's snowing now, where Nayeon unnie is at...

Just then her phone buzzed with a text message from Nayeon. Dahyun smiled.

"What do you mean no more?!" A voice suddenly yelled, breaking the serene atmosphere Dahyun had previously felt. Dahyun turned to look at the counter where a girl with long light brown hair, in the fluffiest (and probably most expensive looking) winter coat she had ever seen, arguing with the lady at the counter. 

"I'm sorry but you have to make an order beforehand."

"What?!" The girl said incredulously. "I'll give you extra."

"I beg your pardon?" The lady asked, not understanding what the girl was saying. 

"I said..." the girl paused for a moment, seeming to be finding the right words. "I will... give you extra money," she nodded to herself with each word.

"Ah, you meant you will pay me more money for the jokbal?"

"Yes," the girl said, glad that she got her message across. "So just give me a box of jokbal!" She demanded in an odd accent. 

"I can't do that miss. It's Christmas eve and we have plenty of orders to fulfil. So if you want a box of jokbal, you have to make an order beforehand..." the lady explained, as she flipped through a thick file. "If you order now, the earliest I can get your order ready is probably tomorrow evening."

"No!" The girl said in distress, a palm slamming against the table, "Today, I have to have it today, the jokbal!"

"I'm sorry then," the lady replied, her face taken aback at first, before it changed into an annoyed expression. "I guess you have to get your jokbal elsewhere miss."

"Look, I will pay you the price three times, if you give me someone else jokbal," the girl tried.

Dahyun's eyes widened at that request (well, also partly at the girl's lack of manners and horrible sentence structure). How ridiculous.

"You mean you'll pay me triple the price for someone else's order?"

The girl nodded.

"I'm afraid I can't do that miss."

"Why?!" She shrieked.

"Rules are rules. You have to make an order beforehand. What am I going to tell my customers if I just gave you their jokbal?"

"I don't know," she said, pondering for a short moment. "Ah I don't care! Are you going to give me or not?"

"Like I said, I can't do that miss," The lady at the counter insisted. And with that, the girl in the fluffy coat, and odd accent, stormed out of the restaurant. 

-

"Hey your order is ready," the lady at the counter called Dahyun over. Dahyun's face lit up at that. If not for Nayeon texting her she'd have fallen asleep from being so bored while waiting alone. 

"Just who did that girl think she is?" She heard the lady at the counter grumble to her co-worker as she handed Dahyun two bags of food boxes. "She was even talking to me informally, how dare she!"  

Her co-worker laughed, "She's probably some spoilt kid from the city, she didn't even sound local though..." her co-worker replied. "Kids nowadays..."

The lady scoffed before glancing at Dahyun. "Hey are you sure you can carry all that alone?" She asked Dahyun, noticing her small built. Dahyun nodded, thanking her before leaving the store. 

The snow had started to get a little heavier the moment Dahyun stepped out. Perhaps it was because of her anemia, but after walking past a few rows of shop houses, Dahyun decided that it was too cold to walk all the way back and the food was getting much too heavy. She placed one of the bags down on the floor, taking out her phone to call her older brother.

"Oppa, it's me. Are you done with your errands? Could you come pick me up on your way back? Yes, I'm near that street. Okay I'll wait for you. Hurry up please, it's really cold! Eh but drive safely though... okay, see you."

Dahyun went to lean against one of the walls of a store, feeling weak all of a sudden. She looked around the neighborhood, noticing how most of the stores were closed and how the streets were void of people. Dahyun subconsciously snickered to herself, imagining how funny it'd be if she fainted out there in the snow with a whole pile of food next to her. She didn't have to worry much about that though, at least her brother would find her. 

Dahyun was starting to feel a little better after resting for a while when she started hearing an odd sound... a sniffing sound coupled with a sort of whimpering... 

Was someone... crying? 

Dahyun turned to where the sound was coming from, spotting a figure in a familiar looking coat sitting by the steps of one of the closed stores.

As though having a mind of their own, Dahyun's feet started walking towards the figure. "H-hey?" Dahyun tapped her cautiously. "Are you... alright?"

The figure ignored her, continuing to cry bitterly to herself, her legs pulled towards her chest and her head covered by light brown locks, resting on her knees. Dahyun was pretty sure she was the girl at the restaurant just now, with her identical looking fluffy coat and similar hair colour. 

Dahyun sat down next to her. "Um... Do you... want a tissue?" She offered awkwardly, taking a packet out of her pocket. The girl looked up for a few seconds, her eyes puffy and red from crying. She stared at Dahyun bitterly before snatching the entire packet of tissue from her hand, using it to wipe her tear stained face. 

Dahyun would have glared at her, in slight shock from her rudeness, but she suddenly felt a slight sense of pity for the girl. What was someone like that doing, sitting alone along the street in the snow crying, on Christmas eve?

"Gee... you could have at least said a thank you," Dahyun wanted to mutter... but she couldn't bring herself to. "Why are you crying?" She found herself asking instead... which was something Dahyun imediately regretted, for the girl started to sob even harder, hiding her face and hugging her knees, the moment that question left Dahyun's mouth.

"Hey I-I'm sorry... look d-don't cry! Um..." Dahyun stuttered out. 'Oh gosh what have I done.' 

Not knowing what to do, Dahyun decided to do what most people would do when they were at a lost. 

Ask google. 

And google just have to suggest 'telling lame jokes' as a solution, so Dahyun went ahead to do just that, googling further for some lame jokes on her phone while the poor girl continued to sob beside her.

"H-hey," she tapped the girl again. "Uh... where do animals go when their tails fall off?" She asked the girl.

The girl peaked out from her knees, genuinely confused. Dahyun ignored her stare, "The retail store!" She said, with a sheepish grin plastered on her face. The girl lifted her head up slowly, staring at Dahyun as though Dahyun was crazy.

"Oh here's another one!" Dahyun chirped, reading off her phone. "How does a train eat?" 

Dahyun glaced at the girl, who kept quiet, sniffing once in awhile. "It goes, chew chew!" 
Dahyun inwardly cringed at that joke. Gosh, that's so lame. But at least the girl wasn't crying as much anymore. 

"Ahahaha, this one's great! What do you call a fake noodle?" Dahyun asked. "An impasta!" She answered herself, slapping her own thigh as she laughed. 'Okay that one was kinda funny,' she thought to herself.

The girl looked down after that, and Dahyun was about to read out another one when she heard her murmur something. 

"Huh?"

"S-stop... your j-jokes... t-terrible," the girl sniffled out in her odd accent.  

Dahyun sighed, releasing carbon dioxide in the form of smoke into the cold winter air. It was freezing. "I know..." she admitted. "They are terribly lame. I'm sorry." Dahyun pouted.

The girl looked up slightly, then looked away quickly, trying to hide a small smile that was threatening to form on her lips.

"Hey, were you about to laugh at me?" Dahyun asked.

The girl whipped her head back around to stare at Dahyun with a stoic expression. Dahyun stared back at her... feeling as though the girl was trying to challenge her. A lone tear soon rolled down the girl's cheek, as she half-glared at Dahyun, and Dahyun had the urge to wipe it off. So she did.

The girl's expression softened. "Don't cry anymore," Dahyun said gently. "At least not out here on the street... it's dangerous."

It seemed Dahyun would have been better off telling more stupid lame jokes from google instead of saying anything else because more tears started to escape from the girl's eyes again. The girl then went back to her initial position... leaving Dahyun sulking to herself. Way to go Kim Dahyun.

Suddenly she had an idea. "Hey," she tapped the girl... who decided to ignore her this time. Dahyun tried another time. "Heyyyyy," she poked her continuously until she looked up. Dahyun flashed her the brightest smile she could ever muster out in the cold (though it proved to be rather difficult, since almost every part of her face felt as though it was frozen). "I want you to have this." She said handing the girl a box of food. 'Damn I'm going to get an earful from my mom later on...'  Dahyun inwardly sighed.

The girl stared at it motionlessly, but Dahyun insisted she have it. Eventually, the box of piping hot food was stuffed into her shaky hands by a persistent Dahyun.

The brown haired girl opened the box, revealing plenty of glistening, mouth watering jokbal, of which it's delicious scent smacked both the girls in the face. She stared at the food in front of her in a daze. And Dahyun stared at the girl, satisfied that she had finally made her stop crying. The scolding Dahyun got from the mom later on would be worthwhile, she told herself.

The sound of a car horn beeping snapped them out of their little world. "Oh I have to go now!" Dahyun said, looking towards the van that was parked in front of them. From the driver seat, Dahyun's brother was motioning for her to hurry up and get in. She picked up all her bags. "Do you um... need a ride or something?"

The girl looked up at Dahyun, an innocent expression now plastered on her face. She shook her head as she wiped at her own tears. "Okay then, you should uh... go home soon. It really isn't safe for you to just sit here alone." Dahyun told her. "Enjoy the jokbal," she said starting to walk away. "Oh yeah also," she turned around with a genuine smile, "Merry Christmas to you!"

A/N: Hullo my lovely readers!:) How is everyone? I was so excited to publish this chapter hehehe, I really really hope you enjoyed it. It's 1a.m. where I am at and I'm suppose to be doing my assignment but... haha I'm here instead distracting myself. Procrastination. SAY IT WITH ME Y'ALL, PRO-CRAS-TI-NA-TION. It's a terrible terrible thing. Don't succumb to it my dearies! Anyway, I'm excited for the next couple of chapters hohoho, I hope I don't do a bad job at writing it. Once again thank you for all your comments on the previous chapter! Let me know what you think of this chapter in the comments yeah? Hehe, have a great week ahead everyone! I'll see y'all soon:)

~strangemagnet