Chaeyoung closes her eyes as she rubs her temples. She has a heart to delete the message and pretend it doesn’t exist, but she also knows this is how Mina gets by. If she does that, Mina will be losing her main source of income. But the thought of Mina having to entertain, to be touched by those greasy old men (and maybe even more), makes Chaeyoung’s blood boil. She huffs as she hops up, kicking her chair over and ruffles her hair in frustration. What does she do now?

--

In the end, she doesn’t do anything. She pretends she doesn’t see the message, pretends she doesn’t see the way Mina’s face fall as she reads her messages, pretends she doesn’t realize how down Mina was as she drove her home. She doesn’t say anything as she bids Mina goodbye below her apartment block, doesn’t say anything as she watches Mina stagger back home as if she had the weight of the whole world on her shoulders. It’s only when Mina disappears into the lift and out of Chaeyoung’s sight that she lets out a groan as she bangs her head against the steering wheel. Chaeyoung may not be the brightest bulb around, but it frustrates her to no end that when it comes to Mina, she has no idea what to do all the time. She ruffles her hair. She has one last chance left: stop Mina before she gets to the club.

--

Chaeyoung hates waiting the most and ironically all she has done is to wait for and wait on Mina. She paces the sideway, too nervous to sit in the car. She finally hears footsteps, and reels around to see Mina frozen in her spot, like a thief who was caught red-handed. The girl is in her dark green padding and a black dress that Chaeyoung can barely see, almost entirely hidden by the outer jacket. She sighs as she thinks about what Mina is about to do and before she knew it, she has taken Mina’s hands in her own. Before she can even begin to speak, Mina retracts her hands, probably getting an idea of what’s going on.

“You saw the message, didn’t you?” Mina asks, her voice accusing.

“I didn’t read it on purpose! Your phone just lit up with the notification and I just happened to see it! Do you think I have nothing better to do to meddle with someone else’s business?” Chaeyoung retorts, angered at how she’s painted like the one at fault now.

“Good,” Mina nods solemnly, “then continue to stay out of it.”

Mina walks away from Chaeyoung and the latter curses and ruffles her hair. Running after Mina, she grabs her by the wrist. Her plan is thwarted even before it started, so that means she has to come up with a new one. If she cannot stop her, at least she can be there to protect her (even if Mina doesn’t want her protection). “Get on. I will drive you there.”

--

Chaeyoung settles down in her usual seat at the bar as she watches Mina make a beeline for the toilet. Bambam is in front of her immediately, shooting a teasing smile at her as he puts down her usual drink in front of her.

“What are you smiling at?” Chaeyoung grimaces as she pushes the cup back towards Bambam. She’s in a foul mood already so she can do without Bambam’s teasing, or whatever he has in mind. “And just give me some juice, I’m driving today.”

“You and -nim have gotten very close huh? Even sending her to work today.” Bambam asks teasingly with a raised eyebrow as he replaces Chaeyoung’s drink.

“We get along okay, I guess.” She grunts as she takes a big swig of her juice. That’s the truth though, they didn’t get off to a pretty good start, but things have been going well lately. Well, until today, that is. Mina is back from the toilet, having taken off the dark green padding and is left only in this skimpy black dress that Chaeyoung finds it so revealing that it’s distasteful. She watches as Mina climbs the stairs to the VIP room, and she hates herself for not being able to stop her from entering the lion’s den. She sighs as she gulps down the rest of the drink.

“You are in trouble, my friend.” Bambam says as he puts down a whole jug of orange juice in front of her. He gives her this look that looks like pity and sympathy. “Good luck.”

“What trouble?” Chaeyoung frowns. What does that even mean? What does this tightening feeling in her chest mean? She groans as she rests her head against the bar table. This is all too much for her to process, and the worse thing is, she has to stay sober for the whole night.

Bambam just shakes his head and pats her on the back. “You look at her like…”

“Like what?” Chaeyoung swears if Bambam doesn’t just spit it out she’s going to choke it out of him.

“Like you love her.”

Chaeyoung immediately shoots up. “What are you talking about? We are just friends.”

“Sure, you know yourself the best.” Bambam gives her this look that tells her that he doesn’t believe her before he waltzes off to another customer at the other side of the bar.

--

Chaeyoung kicks the pebbles on the floor, watching it skirt across the pavement onto the road. She grumbles as she thinks about what Bambam said. She doesn’t know why she’s so affected by Bambam’s words; maybe she’s annoyed at such a preposterous suggestion, or maybe she’s just afraid that it may be true after all. She sees a black Mercedes pull up in front of the club, and a few minutes later, the door of the club opens, revealing Mina with a man all over her. Chaeyoung feels her blood rise when she sees the man looking at Mina with such a predatory look in his eyes, even going as far as smacking her before he gets into his black Mercedes.

It drives off, and Chaeyoung notices how Mina’s smile drops immediately. At this point in time, Chaeyoung is just so, so furious. She’s furious that Mina still insisted on coming even though it hurts her every time, she’s furious that other people leer at and touch Mina and most importantly, she’s furious at herself for not being able to stop Mina and even went as far as sending her straight to her torture. She squeezes her eyes shut, hoping when she opens them, a solution will miraculously appear in front of her.

But she hears retching sounds and it’s Mina, bent over the drain as she throws up. Chaeyoung curses under her breath as she runs to her, holding up her hair and patting her on the back. Mina finally stops after a while and she turns around slightly to give the shorter girl a weak smile, as if telling her she’s okay. Both of them know that’s just lies, but none of them say it out. Some things are better left unsaid.

But it’s also at this moment that Chaeyoung realizes Bambam could be right after all. She pulls Mina closer, not even caring about the stench. She runs her fingers through Mina’s hair, hoping that it will soothe her, even if slightly. Slowly, she feels Mina resting against her shoulders, her hands tugging at her coat.

"Let's go home?” Chaeyoung asks gently and Mina hums as she snuggles into the former’s embrace.

“Okay.”

--

Driving in the wee hours of the morning is kind of therapeutic, there’s no traffic and you can go at your desired speed without fear of obstructing anyone. Usually, Chaeyoung would have stepped on the accelerator all the way to her destination, but with Mina on board, she’s more careful. She takes a quick glance at the girl, and sees that she has her eyes closed and Chaeyoung relaxes, thinking Mina has fallen asleep but they pass a streetlight and Chaeyoung knows that’s not true. She sees the tear trails glistering against Mina’s face before the latter turns away to wipe it away and Chaeyoung feels an ache grow in her chest. She turns back to the road ahead, her grip on the steering wheel tightening. Looking at the road signs, she decides to take an earlier exit from the highway. She’s not going to let Mina go back home so down and depressed (and also, she’s going to worry to death if she just sends Mina home like this).

Thankfully, Mina doesn’t complain when she opens her eyes and sees that Chaeyoung didn’t bring her home, so they are leaning against the railings facing the Han River, the wind blowing in their faces as they look out at the river. It’s winter and the wind is harsh and unforgiving, but both of them don’t find a need to seek shelter. Chaeyoung peeks at Mina, the latter looking so vulnerable as she hugs herself (for comfort or for warmth, Chaeyoung doesn’t know). In the spur of the moment, Chaeyoung finds herself stepping behind Mina, engulfing her in a back hug. She feels Mina stiffen at the contact and her heart aches again. No one should feel this afraid to someone else’s touches.

“Aigoo, it’s cold today.” Chaeyoung laments as she rests her head on Mina’s shoulders. It takes a while before the tension leaves Mina’s body, the girl relaxing against Chaeyoung as she leans back slightly. Embolden by Mina’s approval, Chaeyoung takes the former’s hand, caressing it gently. But it has the opposite effect because Mina seems to snap awake, leaning forward, away from Chaeyoung’s embrace.

Mina sighs. “You shouldn’t be around me, Chaeyoung-ah.”

Her tone lacks her usual aloofness, as if she’s drained from pretending, from hiding, from fighting anymore. She sounds so broken, so scared, so tired that Chaeyoung doesn't heed her words, but instead tightens her hug as she hums. Mina pulls away and turns around to frown at Chaeyoung. “I’m serious, Son Chaeyoung. I… ” Mina gulps. “I let other people do whatever they want with me for money. I’m disgusting. I’m dirty, I’m-“

But Chaeyoung has already lean forward to shut Mina up. She pulls away to stare at Mina, the taste of the former’s chapstick lingering on her lips. “I don’t care.”

Mina looks visibly flustered, cheeks flushed red, and it’s not because of the cold wind. Before she can protest, Chaeyoung leans in again to steal another kiss. This time, she pulls back with a frown. She frowns at the familiar taste, but is unable to put a name to it. She leans as close as she can to Mina’s lips, trying to get a sniff of her chapstick. Mina tries to avoid, beyond flustered at this point in time by Chaeyoung’s random actions.

“What-“

Her protest is cut off by Chaeyoung’s exclaims. “It’s ketchup, right!”

Mina looks at Chaeyoung with a bewildered expression. “What.”

“Your chapstick flavor. Right?”

Mina stands shell shocked at the childishness of the child in front of her. She suddenly kisses her, doesn’t explain the sudden kiss and simply demands to know the flavor of her chapstick? This girl is really one in a million. She just sighs, but Chaeyoung’s grin just grows bigger.

“Assa I’m right!” Chaeyoung pulls Mina in by the waist, pecking her again on the lips. “That’s my present for getting it right.”

Mina hits her by the shoulders. “I never agreed!”

“I’m a rebel.” Chaeyoung shrugs and Mina can only sigh as she hesitantly loops her arms around Chaeyoung’s neck slowly. Chaeyoung just beams widely at her, causing Mina to roll her eyes at the former.

“You are going to regret this.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Chaeyoung says. The way Chaeyoung says it with so much finality and firmness in her voice, the way she’s looking at her so earnestly; Mina can feel herself reeling from the intensity of it all. She finds her own resolve dissolving, all the reasons to say no disappearing as she locks eyes with Chaeyoung. All this while, she avoids staring too long at Chaeyoung’s eyes because she’s afraid of drowning, but this time, she lets herself drown. This time, she’s the one who leans in.

--

a/n: because chaeng is impulsive af both in this story and in real life (i mean that girl just chopped off her hair that she has been growing out for a good whole year because of k.steward (NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING COS SHE LOOKS GOOD 200/100))

also any ioi stans here........ i am very depressed and looping downpour again and again..... TT