AU: “I work part-time as a cashier at the local corner store and you come here regularly to shop and bond with me over the microwavable chicken bites so how about I take you out on a proper date instead?” 

 

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Nayoung just needed cash.

 

That was the sole purpose why she was working at the local convenience store just two blocks away from her apartment during her semester break. Unfortunately, she was a broke college student who survives on just instant noodles and ty homemade coffee and so, she needed a job in order to survive and not depend on her parents’ trust fund for her. 

 

Her shifts at the local convenience store were … frustrating, to say the least.

 

Despite her working part-time, her boss, Nana, seem to always assume that she’s free anytime (okay, that is technically true but sometimes she just wants to lay in bed). Whenever Kyungwon or Minkyung don’t show up for their shifts for certain reasons — she’s pretty sure they’re just too busy ing each other to come to work — Nana would always call Nayoung to cover for them. Now, she didn’t mind the extra pay but she did mind when Nana would just tell her what to do for the day and leave her the keys to close up. 

 

But the pay was good for a local convenience store so she can’t really complain. Even she had to admit, Nana was loaded. She suspected that Nana only owns the store just to prove her parents wrong that she can be independent daughter who doesn’t just leech off of her parents’ money. 

 

Or so she heard. 

 

Working at the local convenience store wasn’t that bad, Nayoung thought, not when she gets double pay most of the time and especially when Jieqiong regularly visits her. 

 

It wasn’t bad at all.

 

(x)

 

Nayoung first met Jieqiong as one of the store’s regular customer.

 

According to Minkyung, Nana and Jieqiong went way back. Jieqiong was Nana’s high school junior whom Nana specially dotted on and took under her wing. Jieqiong was Nana’s weak spot — the younger girl basically has Nana wrapped around her little finger — and Nayoung never understood that until she met the said girl. The younger girl would always come to the store, either buying something she needed or just staying there till night time to catch up with Nana. It was hard not to miss Jieqiong especially when she brightened up the dark-lit store with her beagle-ness. 

 

The girl had taken a liking to Nayoung ever since the older girl started work as a cashier at Nana’s store. She was always by Nayoung’s side, chatting her life away and Nayoung didn’t have the heart to shoo her off, afraid of hurting Jieqiong who really just wanted someone to listen to her rambles. 

 

As time flew past, Nayoung and Jieqiong grew closer. Nayoung didn’t mind lending an ear to Jieqiong’s everlasting adventures and Jieqiong didn’t mind that Nayoung wasn’t much of a sharer. Not long, everyone, even Nana, could tell that they somewhat formed a bond that can only be describe as clingy.

 

They worked, they clicked. 

 

(x)

 

Jieqiong loved skinship.

 

The younger girl would always initiate skinship with Nayoung, no matter what the circumstances were. It was like, she needed to at least be within a foot range with Nayoung and their skins must connect no matter what. A few back hugs, some caresses on the face, few pokes here and there and a lot of hand holding made Nayoung much more comfortable with Jieqiong and her keenness on skinship since she wasn’t a touchy person to begin with. 

 

There was one time, it was well over 2AM in the morning and Minkyung was in the storage room, having her break so Nayoung took it upon herself to rearrange the new shipments that just came in onto the shelves. She was halfway through displaying cans of soup when she felt warm arms sneaking around her waist. 

 

She jumped, surprised as she let out a gasp. “J-jieqiong?”

 

“Unnie~~!” Jieqiong snuggled into Nayoung’s back since Nayoung was a few inches taller than her. “You smell nice,”

 

“Um…thank you?” 

 

“You’re welcome,” the younger girl tightened her hold on Nayoung’s waist. “How are you, unnie?”

 

“I-I’m doing good, just arranging these cans.”

 

“Yeah but how was your day?”

 

Jieqiong probed even further into Nayoung’s day, asking questions here and there. Nayoung admitted that it felt nice to be held, so she didn’t say anything to make Jieqiong let go and Jieqiong didn’t seem to mind to stay in that position. 

 

So, they did.

 

With Nayoung still arranging soup cans on the shelves and Jieqiong back-hugging her, just talking the night away. 

 

(x)

 

Nayoung was in the middle of microwaving chicken bites near the slushy machine. She was hungry and Nana was out so she might as well make the best out of it. Besides, she could always just say that Jieqiong wanted the chicken bites and she would get off the hook from Nana. 

 

“Nayoung unnie!!” 

 

Speaking of the devil.

 

Or more like the angel, Nayoung thought.

 

“Hey Jieqiong.”

 

“Unnie! I haven’t seen you in so long,” Jieqiong walked towards her and gave Nayoung a hug.

 

A simple hug shouldn’t made her feel anything. 

 

It really shouldn’t.

 

(But it did.)

 

Nayoung chuckled, the younger girl sure liked to exaggerate. “We just saw each other yesterday, idiot.”

 

Jieqiong pouted. “That’s 24 hours too long, 1440 minutes too long and—”

 

“—86400 seconds too long,” Nayoung continued, shaking her head at the girl’s antics. “You’ve used this line on me way too many times.”

 

“I’m glad my influences are rubbing on you,” Jieqiong grinned.

 

Of course, Minkyung chose that timing to interrupt them. “I’m sure that’s not the only thing Nayoung wants rubbed from you, Jieqiong.”

 

Nayoung briefly wondered if Nana would notice an absence of a co-worker.

 

“Aw, look at our stone,” Minkyung pinched her cheeks. “She’s as red as your sweater, Jieqiong.”

 

“Now that’s a couple look!”

 

Nayoung shot a glare at Kyungwon who just strolled into the store. “You’re late.”

 

“Nana wouldn’t notice.”

 

She hated how Kyungwon was right and she especially hated how her cheeks were still red from the teasing she had to endure from both Minkyung and Kyungwon. If she wasn’t too lazy and stuck behind the cashier, she would have given them a piece of her own mind. And maybe a black eye, depending on her mood.

 

“Whatever.”

 

A ding was heard and Nayoung suddenly remembered her chicken bites. She quickly took it out and inhaled the sweet smell of greasy chicken. Her stomach grumbled instantaneously but just as she was about to take a bite, Jieqiong was stuck by her side, eyeing her and her chicken bites. 

 

Jieqiong only had to look up at Nayoung with her puppy dog eyes. 

 

.

 

“Okay,” Nayoung sighed, defeated as she handed over the chicken bites. “You can have them.” 

 

Behind her, Minkyung was making whipping noises, clearly trying to annoy her but she ignored her and only focused on how Jieqiong’s eyes lit up as she munched on the chicken bites.

 

How cute.

 

(x)

 

It was a Friday night when Jieqiong come strolling in, milkshakes in her hand.

 

“Unnie!” she skipped to the cashier. “Look what I brought!”

 

A vanilla milkshake was pushed into her hands. “Thanks Jieqiong,”

 

She ignored the fact that Jieqiong remembered one of their recent late conversations where Nayoung was rambling on about how milkshakes were the epitome of change in a new generation. She remembered she mentioned her favourite flavour — vanilla over chocolate, any day — and how long it had been for her to survive without a milkshake from her favourite diner across the street. 

 

She ignored all of it especially the flutter in her stomach.

 

“The waitress at the diner actually treated me for these milkshakes,” Jieqiong smiled. “I think Chaeyeon was her name..? She said it was on the house! That was so kind of her!”

 

Ah.

 

Jung Chaeyeon.

 

Nayoung heard about her, courtesy of gossip queen, Minkyung. It was no secret that Chaeyeon, the waitress from the diner across the store, had a tiny crush on Jieqiong, seeing how she always treated the younger girl with milkshakes and sometimes, a free burger to go along. She even treated Nana once and it was safe to say that Nana was on board the Chaeyeon train as long as she gets her free burgers — Nayoung felt a bit betrayed.

 

Nayoung had tried asking Jieqiong about it but Jieqiong would always shrug it off with a “She’s just too nice for her own good, unnie.” or “She’s just a friend.”

 

Nayoung could only hope that it’s true. 

 

“Yeah,” she tried to smile, but it only turned to be a grimace. “Really nice of her.”

 

The drop in her stomach was something Nayoung didn’t want to think about, let alone talk about it.

 

(x)

 

 

Nana thought that she and Jieqiong are a thing.

 

“If you want my blessing, just say so.” Nana leaned forward at the cashier. “Do you?”

 

Nayoung played dumb, rearranging the cigarettes behind her. “What blessing?” 

 

“Ah,” the older girl nodded her head, as if she finally saw the problem. “You’re in denial.”

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

“You’re in denial,” 

 

“Bla bla bla,” 

 

“That’s the thing about young love,” Nana sighed, chin in her hand. “You’re too busy being in denial about it that Jieqiong might just get bored of waiting for you and thus, she runs off with another. She really doesn’t seem to have any lack of suitors, you know.”

 

Trust her, Nayoung knows.

 

A moment of silence. 

 

“But you don’t have to worry about that.” Nayoung raised her eyebrow. And then, “She likes you, you know?”

 

Nayoung almost fell off the counter. “W-what?”

 

“She. Likes. You.” Nana punctuated every word, knocking her fingers on Nayoung’s head. “It’s quite obvious.”

 

“N-no,” she stuttered, heat rising up to her cheeks. “I don’t think so.”

 

“I knew you were a stone but I didn’t know you were incapable of feeling,”

 

“Hey,” she argued halfheartedly. “I can feel,”

 

Nana smiled innocently. “Then, tell me how do you feel when you’re with Jieqiong?”

 

Nayoung frankly didn’t know how she felt whenever she’s with Jieqiong. All she knew was that she enjoyed the younger girl’s company, with her blinding smile and her vanilla perfume. She enjoyed listening to the stories the girl would tell her — it didn’t matter to her what those stories were, she just liked listening to Jieqiong’s voice. She enjoyed making up imaginary scenarios just for the two of them. She enjoyed the warmth that the younger girl exhibited. She enjoyed cracking jokes and making Jieqiong double over with laughter. She enjoyed making her smile. She enjoyed spending time with her.

 

She enjoyed Jieqiong. 

 

It was as simple as that. It didn’t have to mean anything more, right? Or did it?

 

And it was just from that simple question from Nana, to plant a seed of uncertainty in her head that made her doubt about her true feelings for Jieqiong.

 

(x)

 

Nayoung was worried.

 

Jieqiong hasn’t come in for two days already and it was weird considering the younger girl would always at least stop by the store just to visit and catch up if she had the time. The girl wouldn’t miss a day to visit, or would she?

 

Ever since Nayoung somewhat discover her true feelings for Jieqiong, she had been acting a bit out of it. She kept thinking of the possibilities of Jieqiong liking her back that resulted her in being oblivious to Jieqiong’s pout and hurt whenever the older girl was up in her own head, not registering the stories Jieqiong had for the day. She was less talkative as well — it’s not as if she was talkative before. 

 

She didn’t realise that it was as if she was ignoring the other girl. She didn’t realise that she may have accidentally hurt the other girl’s feelings. Way to go, Im.

 

“Stop overthinking things,” Minkyung rolled her eyes, as if she could read her thoughts. “She’s probably just sick and can’t get out of her bed.”

 

“That’s only making me worry even more!”

 

“God, you idiotic stone,” Kyungwon sighed. “If you’re that worried so much, just ask Nana for Jieqiong’s address and go surprise her with chicken soup or something,”

 

Nayoung thought that it seemed like a good idea.

 

“Or, better yet, a kiss!”

 

Nayoung also thought that it seemed like a good idea to commit homicide.

 

(x)

 

Jieqiong was sick, Nana had told her. 

 

After multiple attempts of asking Nana for Jieqiong’s address — the older girl was so protective of Jieqiong that she was so reluctant to give the girl’s address to Nayoung in fear that she’d try to kill the younger girl with her homemade chicken soup —  and a promise that no, she won’t kill Jieqiong, her mom made the recipe, will you shut up, Nana, I got everything in control, Nayoung was finally in front of Jieqiong’s apartment.

 

She knocked once. 

 

Then, twice. 

 

Thrice.

 

It wasn’t until the fifth knock that the door finally opened. 

 

The last person she expected to be behind the door was standing in front of her. Jung Chaeyeon stood in all her glory in a white t-shirt and denim shorts, her beauty blinding Nayoung just a bit. She smiled curiously, “Ah, Im Nayoung. What are you doing here?”

 

Nayoung briefly wondered how she knew her name. “I’m here for Jieqiong.”

 

“Um,” Chaeyeon blinked, unsure. “I don’t think this is a good time. Jieqiong’s sick and she needs to rest, so maybe you can stop by another time.” 

 

Something foreign flowed in her bloodstream — it could only be identified as jealousy, Nayoung would only realise later — as she stuck her foot between the door just in time before Chaeyeon could close the door completely. “I need to see her.”

 

“I don’t want you to.”

 

“Chae?” A soft voice called out. “Who’s that?”

 

Before Chaeyeon could react, Nayoung was quick to yell. “Jieqiong! It’s me!”

 

Ignoring the heated glare Chaeyeon was giving her, she observed sick little Jieqiong staggering her way to the door with a blanket wrapped around her small torso, opening the door a bit wider. “Nayoung unnie?”

 

“Hey.”

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“Visiting you,” she smiled sheepishly. “Is it okay if I come in?”

 

She saw Jieqiong and Chaeyeon exchange glances, it was as if they were sending signals to each other, no words were needed for them to understand what the other was thinking. 

 

Nayoung felt it again — her skin crawling with that hideous burn of jealousy. Jieqiong and her were never like that. 

 

It wasn’t long before Chaeyeon let out a resigned sigh and nodding. “I’ll be going now.” She took her keys and purse from the kitchen counter and gave Jieqiong a side hug.

 

Nayoung watched as Chaeyeon whispered something in Jieqiong’s ear before kissing her cheek. Her eyes glowed with jealousy as she tightened her jaw. Chaeyeon then moved towards the front door and stopped right in front of Nayoung. “Take care of her.”

 

The older girl could only nod, watching Chaeyeon leave with defeated steps. 

 

“Come in, unnie.”

 

She did just that, placing the warm chicken soup on the kitchen counter before placing a hand on Jieqiong’s forehead. “You’re still warm.”

 

Jieqiong shuddered. “I’m still feeling cold though. How did you know I was sick?”

 

“Nana told me,” she answered, proceeding to wrap her arms around Jieqiong’s shoulders. “Actually, I had to dig it out from her.”

 

Automatically, Jieqiong wrapped her arms around her waist, immediately snuggling into the warmth Nayoung provided. “I didn’t want her to tell you. Don’t blame her.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“I didn’t want to make you worry.”

 

Nayoung only hummed, acknowledging her response. They stayed standing together in the living room like that, arms wrapped around each other, hearts beating fast.

 

It wasn’t long before Jieqiong felt a cramp in her foot, a result of standing too long. “Unnie, my legs hurt.”

 

“Hm?” Nayoung looked down at Jieqiong who was a few inches shorter. “You want to let go?”

 

“No, I like your hugs but my legs hurt.”

 

“Then, let’s go to your bedroom?” Nayoung only realised how that sentence could be interpreted in different ways after a long silence from Jieqiong. Their eyes met as they stared into each other’s eyes.

 

“Okay, let’s go.”

 

Jieqiong dragged Nayoung into her room by hand, and Nayoung could only smile at the pinkness of the younger girl’s room. It was expected of her to have a pink room. Jieqiong gently pushed Nayoung to lie down on her bed as she crawled over the older girl and back into Nayoung’s arms. 

 

As Jieqiong snuggled and laid her head onto the other girl’s chest, Nayoung ran her fingers through Jieqiong’s hair. Jieqiong could hear the older girl’s rapid heartbeat, the rhythms almost lulling her to sleep.

 

She was on her way to dreamland until she felt Nayoung stop playing with her hair. 

 

“Jieqiong?” Nayoung whispered into the dark room, almost as if she was afraid to break the bubble they were in. “Are you awake?”

 

Humming her response, Jieqiong gently nodded her head. “Yes, unnie?”

 

“I-” Nayoung started, weighing the pros and cons in her head. In the end, she threw all of her consciousness out of the window. “I-I think I like you, Zhou Jieqiong.”

 

She held in a breath and closed her eyes, afraid of the reaction she’d get from the younger girl as she thought of the worst. She could feel Jieqiong turning her head to look at Nayoung, she could feel Jieqiong’s stare. After a moment of silence, a finger sneaked up and poked Nayoung gently in the cheek. It poked and poked until Nayoung finally got the message and opened her eyes, staring directly into the other’s eyes. 

 

“I think I like you too, Im Nayoung.”

 

A genuine smile broke apart on Nayoung’s face, relief evident in her facial expressions. She felt the glee of having her crush reciprocated, arms tightening their hold around Jieqiong.

 

“Go out on a date with me?’

 

Jieqiong kissed her cheek. “Of course.”

 

 

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A/N:

 

Firstly, thank you for enjoying and subscribing to my little collection of Napink one-shots. Thank you for your comments as well, they really motivated me to finish this piece so I hope you guys enjoy the fluffy Napink (since nowadays, Napink is tragic and angsty). But anyway, did you guys hear about Pristin?! I thought the name sounded weird for the first time but it grew on me, slowly but surely. Continue to support the girls and let's hope for a successful debut from our beautiful Pristin girls! 

 

Thank you again! :)