Im Nayoung is adorable.

 

 It was during an interview that she was asked to describe her leader with one word and this was what she answered with.

 

 Nayoung blushed madly with her ears burning a bright shade of red while the other members burst into laughter but nodded their heads in agreement nonetheless.

 

 The older later whined to her in the car as they are driven back to their dorm, asking why she had to choose that among many other adjectives in the dictionary.

 

 Zhou Jieqiong can't find any other words to describe the girl to be honest.

 

 Well, there are a few special circumstances.

 

 Like she thinks Nayoung is y when she performs 'Say My Name' with her own choreography back then in Produce 101. Thank God for the existence of Jung Eunwoo that day, or else the whole waiting room would have been flooded by her own drool, and that's kind of disgusting merely by imagining it.

 

 She thinks Nayoung is charismatic when she stands in front of them, the cup of 'Rookie Awards Of The Year' tightly held in her hand as she gives out a totally not beforehand prepared yet totally awesome and impactful speech. Gosh she still remembers the looks of surprise if not minding the flowing tears on their members' faces that night.

 

 She thinks Nayoung is rather too strict for her own good when the girl strained to perfect the new dance moves without taking a sheer water break. It hurts her heart just remembering how she saw Nayoung collapsing down the floor and eventually got herself sick in bed for the next 3 days.

 

 But despite those special occasions, she just thinks Im Nayoung is a total fluff ball.

 

 Who even gave her the nickname stone anyway ?!

 

 Jieqiong hates it, to be honest.

 

 Though of course, she didn't show it as everyone, even Nayoung herself, acknowledges it and thinks it's true.

 

 Jieqiong thinks otherwise.

 

 Sure she is rather an extrovert and finds it hard to express herself but that's not a reasonable excuse.

 

 A stone is cold, heartless, stiff and other un-interesting adjectives.

 

 And Nayoung is anything but those listed above.

 

 Im Nayoung is warm.

 

 Like literally warm. Jieqiong can hug her all day long in the middle of winter and doesn't even need a padding jacket.

 

 She still remembers their members' reactions when it was a day in the cold November of Seoul and while everyone was wearing sweaters and hoodies, she was wearing solely a tee and shorts with arms wrapped around a lowkey happy Nayoung.

 

 Somi asked if Jieqiong was crazy and Yoojung poked Nayoung twice in the guts to find out if the girl has a secret fireplace installed inside her organs.

 

 Chungha, Doyeon and Sohye just stared at her in amazement, hands rubbing together to create more warm.

 

 She thinks it's hilarious herself really.

 

 Nayoung is figuratively warm as well.

 

 A stone surely doesn't caress Somi's head when she comes home with a straight row of 10s on her report card with a proud mother smile. She also saw Nayoung later pasted it on their fridge for everyone to see and gosh was it heartwarming when Somi gleamed at their leader with happy tears in her eyes.

 

 A stone surely doesn't talk Doyeon out of her insecurities with a gaze of a health consultant throughout the night despite tiring herself with an 8 hour dance practice just before returning to the dorm. Nayoung fell asleep during their PLEDIS Girlz meeting the next day and Jieqiong found it hilarious so she took bunches of photos before waking the girl up with a slap on the thigh.

 

 A stone surely doesn't personally feed Mina her favorite chicken then personally wipes that was dirtied by oil with a wet tissue. Jieqiong remembered seeing Mina's eyes turned into an eye smile and squealed to herself when Nayoung pinched the girl's nose with the same tissue, earning a loud and whiny 'Unnieeee' to echo through the dorm.

 

 See her point ? Nayoung is warm as hell.

 

 And Nayoung is anything but heartless.

 

 She may not speak out her good doings but Jieqiong knew it all.

 

 Jieqiong knew of when Nayoung secretly threw away the letters anti fans sent Yoojung without letting the younger know a single thing about their existence. She also knew about Nayoung secretly asking their friends on how to block several websites just in case Yoojung accidently reads anything else negative about herself or them as she regularly wanders around as she surfs the Internet.

 

 Jieqiong knew of when Nayoung sneaked out one night to buy a huge box for Pepero for Yeonjung who said she was dying to have some and she woke up next morning to Yeonjung's excited squeal, hands holding the package of sweet tightly without knowing who gave it to her. Glancing at their leader, Jieqiong almost burst in laughter when seeing the said girl secretly tries to get rid of the plastic bags, aka the evidence of where the Pepero came from.

 

 Jieqiong knew of when they were all on a strict diet where one only gets a small proportion of food and Nayoung pretended to be full and pushed her share to a hungry Sohye only to later returned home and munched on the few fresh fruits they have left in the fridge. She knew Nayoung did it several times again and eventually Sohye found out, whining to her unnie on why she did that and all she got in reply was a nonchalant shrug and a tray of well-done steak pushed to her once again.  

 

 Im Nayoung is really the living definition of a tsundere, someone who is so shy to do things in front of others but always do it for them behind their backs.

 

 And for your information, Nayoung isn't all stiff and strict at all.

 

 She remembers seeing Nayoung and Chaeyeon sharing secret looks at each other, glancing at their managers whose heads were turned away before putting all the snacks in their bags only to later distribute it to the hungry kids back at the dorm. Their managers asked them about the snacks the next day and Jieqiong had to pinch herself to keep herself from giggling when the 2 made up something about seeing the director's dog eating them all. Sure, it is so possible for a Golden Retriever to eat like 11 bags of Lays, no lies here.

 

 She remembers seeing Nayoung and Chungha suggesting a dance battle to relax in the middle of their practice and practically begged their teachers to lengthen it out when Somi and Yoojung declared that 30 minutes wasn't enough to let out their inner beagleness. And when the battle ended, she and the rest were flustered when their two eldest fell asleep on the couch, having no intention of getting up despite one being pushed down the floor (no it wasn't Nayoung, Jieqiong would never allow that). Eventually, the practice ended right there with their teachers shaking their heads in disapprovement and a tired smile on their faces.

 

 She remembers seeing Nayoung  and Sejeong doing dorky parody skits during one of their especially tiring shoots and she swore she had never seen Nayoung letting herself go so much before. So much for saving her image for their PLEDIS Girlz debut, Jieqiong thinks sarcastically as she watches Nayoung playing Elsa and Sejeong playing the snowman Olaf. A video was actually taken by yours truly but since Nayoung practically begged her to not upload, maybe Jieqiong has to consider whether to send it to PLEDIS Girlz chat room or 'accidently' to their I.O.I Instagram once again.

 

 That was Nayoung being adorable to other members in Jieqiong's eyes.

 

 Nayoung being adorable to her is a whole other story.

 

 It was why she fell for the older girl in the first place.

 

 When they first met, Nayoung couldn't even look at her in the eye.

 

 Well she did look once when they first introduced each other but she turned away right after and Jieqiong pouted about not being able to see that beautiful shade of brown.

 

 It was adorable how that leader can talk in front of huge crowds yet can't look at her in the eye without blushing like a teenager.

 

 Nayoung tends to blush a lot around Jieqiong actually.

 

 Like when Jieqiong teasingly sends Nayoung a wink from the other side of the room during practice back then in Produce 101 and Kim Nayoung would ask her why are her ears suddenly the color of apples.

 

 Or when they didn't have enough time to change one by one and had to change into their outfits in pairs, Jieqiong needed help with her dress zipper so she asked for help and she could see how Nayoung's face was so close to bursting in flames as she tried to zip the dress up without looking.

 

 She still teases her about that until this day.

 

 There are many times she finds Nayoung adorable though.

 

 There is a list actually.

 

 One that stands on top of her list is how Nayoung reacts and sometimes initiates skinship.

 

 Unlike Jieqiong, who can wrap her arms over Nayoung so naturally, Nayoung tends to hesitate in her steps.

 

 If she wants to hold her hand, she thinks about it for 3 seconds, then raises her hand, hesitates again then decides to just holds her pinky instead. Moments later, frustrated, she then would release from the hold and entangle their fingers together and looks away as if nothing happened but with a subtle proud smile on her face.

 

 Or if she wants to hug Jieqiong, she would subtly raise an arm over Jieqiong's shoulder, wait for a bit, pulling the younger closer before finally having her in her arms.

 

 Which was why them both prefer back hugs anyway. Not that much effort needed and both parties are satisfied. (You all know how happy Jieqiong was when Nayoung finally back hugged her for the first time in front of thousands of eyes)

 

 Close second on the list is how Nayoung spoils her and takes care of her.

 

 Like the girl would actually get up and cook ramen for her in the middle of the night if she asked.

 

 Or would run to the store 2km away from home to get her the medicine she needs when she's sick.

 

 Another mention worthy on the list is how Nayoung so shy to express her feelings.

 

 Jieqiong was the first to say the important 3 words, and till this day, Jieqiong has only heard Nayoung saying them directly once.

 

 No, she wasn't insecure or worried that Nayoung doesn't love her.

 

 She is sure she does.

 

 Because instead of saying I love you, Nayoung finds other way to speak without using .

 

 Jieqiong once woke up with 3 small teddy bears the morning of their first anniversary. Each bear had a number, and together they made 1-4-3. Her eyes filled up with tears as she walked into the kitchen and found Nayoung shyly stood there, a cheeky smile on her face as she said happy anniversary and Jieqiong sprinted into the embrace that was Nayoung's.

 

 Whenever they get to share a room, which was rare due to their schedules, Jieqiong would say I love you and then Nayoung would reply with one kiss on her forehead, one kiss on her nose and then a deep kiss on her lips. She had asked why must it be that order and Nayoung would just shrug, a secret smirk on her face. She later found out that Nayoung was trying to say 'I like you', reminding her about Nayoung's confession, 'I cherish you' and 'I love you'. And gosh, she was being especially clingy that day to show how much she appreciates the elder's thinking.

 

 She can even make small post-it notes romantic.

 

 Jieqiong loves finding notes in her personal stuffs. Like 'Drink this so you won't get throat-ache' on her herbal tea, 'Dress warm or else I won't hug if you get a cold' on her favorite green jacket (gifted by yours truly) or even just a simple 'I miss you' on her favorite Squirrel teddy bear.

 

 She can list a lot of things she finds in Nayoung that is adorable.

 

 But that is just as much as the list of why she loves her so she guesses this was enough.

 

 Now she has to find a way to say this to Nayoung without turning it into a president election speech like its length.

 

 This is gonna be hard.