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It had been two weeks since “the incident”, as Jihyo liked to call it. The day when Nayeon and Sana had thought making Mina and Chaeyoung get over their stupid fight would be easy as casting a simple spell. Well, the spell had completely backfired and let's just say the girls got a lot closer to each other than they ever wanted to be. Since then, not much had changed, but Mina and Chaeyoung were friends again. More than friends, maybe, and Nayeon liked to think that she was behind it, although she’d never say it out loud in fear of getting her ear pulled by Jihyo. It was oddly comforting knowing that Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, due to the entire debacle, now knew their coven’s secret. The four girls could truly be themselves in front of their two youngest friends. It was a relief.

While Mina and Chaeyoung’s love lives were heating up, albeit slowly, given the fact that they were...well...Mina and Chaeyoung, Nayeon’s was moving at an annoyingly slow pace. It had become common knowledge that Nayeon had a crush on Jeongyeon, which was all the more embarrassing. Sana teased the girl about it mercilessly and Nayeon had whacked her roommate with a pillow countless times because of it.

Nayeon had tried to find ways to cause her path to cross with Jeongyeon's in a way that wasn’t so...creepy. It was hard though, not having any classes with the girl. Nayeon thought of how Jeongyeon had looked at her, well, the person Jeongyeon thought was Mina, at the diner a few weeks ago. Nayeon would give anything for Jeongyeon to look at her that way; the real her. But right now, Nayeon was nothing more than “Mina’s roommate” to Jeongyeon, and she hated it.

Sana on the other hand was having the same amount of luck with her future prospect. Sana made her crush on Dahyun obvious...maybe a little too obvious. It was a wonder Dahyun hadn’t figured it out yet. Sana could be a bit forthcoming and usually held nothing back. However, Sana still found herself in the same boat as Nayeon. The girls had no classes together...no way to make sure their paths collided other than Sana being “Chaeyoung’s almost girlfriend’s roommate.”

Noticing Nayeon sulking one day after classes, an idea popped into Sana’s head...one that could help both of them, and motivate them to step up their game.     

“I bet you that I can make Dahyun fall for me before Jeongyeon falls for you.” 

Nayeon’s head snapped in Sana’s direction, glaring the girl down across the room. Sana was smiling slightly, leaning forward, not backing down. Challenging Nayeon. Daring her.

If it was a challenge she wanted, it was a challenge she’d get. “Oh please, you’re on. And let’s make things even more interesting. If you’re wrong, you have to wear an outfit of my choice to school for one full day” Nayeon smirked, imaging the most embarrassing outfit possible.

Sana twitched but tried to regain her composure. “Alright, and if I’m right you’ll have to wear the outfit of my choice.”

Nayeon hummed to herself, but hesitantly nodded.

“What, are you scared?” Sana smirked at her, crossing her arms in satisfaction.

“Ugh, fine. You’re on.” Nayeon peeled herself off of her bed and crossed the bedroom. “Let’s shake on it.” Extending her hand, she shook Sana’s firmly, the two girls glaring at each other all the while.

“Let’s start tomorrow, no contact with Dahyun or Jeongyeon until then,” Sana added.

Little did these two know this bet was about stir things up...a lot.
 

Day 1. Mission: Jeongyeon.

During the night, Nayeon made a game plan. First, she’d have to capture Jeongyeon’s attention, which could prove to be difficult. They had mutual friends, so Nayeon knew she needed Mina’s help. As much as she didn’t want to ask Mina for a favor—she hated owing the younger girl anything—she knew it was her best bet. They could start hanging out in a group, and then sparks would fly, she’d ask Jeongyeon out for lunch, and the rest would be history. Then Sana would have to wear a crazy outfit AND Nayeon would have a new girlfriend. Losing was not an option.

The next morning after the bet was made, Nayeon made sure to wake up early enough to catch Mina before her morning classes. She entered the downstairs kitchen in her pajamas sneakily, waiting for her opportunity to pounce. Luckily Mina was there, sitting at the table, drinking some fruit smoothie she made religiously every morning. Target acquired.

“Nayeon?” Mina asked incredulously, brow furrowed at the sight of the older girl. Nayeon rarely woke up before 11AM, not having classes until noon anyway. “What are you doing up so early?”

“I wanted to ask you something...a favor.” Nayeon walked up to the table until she was standing next to Mina’s side.

“Oh?” Mina asked, leaning forward curiously and looking up at Nayeon.

“I was wondering if you could...maybe…”

“Hm?” Mina asked, sipping from her straw loudly.

“Help set me up with Jeongyeon,” Nayeon whispered, looking at the ground shyly.

“What was that?” Mina asked, smiling slightly. She’d heard every word the older girl said, but she just enjoyed watching Nayeon squirm—especially after the stunt Nayeon had pulled only weeks earlier, with the whole body switching incident. An incident which still caused Mina’s cheeks to flush at the thought of it. A little payback wouldn’t hurt.

Nayeon sighed and tried to hide her annoyance. “Could you help set me up with Jeongyeon?” she said, louder this time, cheeks flaming.

Mina took a loud sip of her drink, leaving Nayeon in dramatic silence for a minute, before she smiled and said: “of course!”

“Wait, you’re not surprised at all?”

“Nayeon, I know you...like her. It’s not like it's a secret. Or, if it was, you did a terrible job of hiding it.” Mina smiled genuinely at Nayeon, who sighed again. “I can set up some sort of group date. You know, there’s this new laser tag place that opened up near the mall that might be fun to bring a group to.”

“Laser tag...are you serious? What are we, five?”

Mina frowned at Nayeon. “Hey, laser tag can be fun, okay? I know there’s teams so I can make sure you’re both on the same one.”

Nayeon nervously bit her fingernail, a bad habit she couldn’t quite kick. “Alright, yeah maybe that’ll work.”

“It’ll be a start at least. After hanging out as a group a few times I’m sure you’ll be able to hang out just the two of you. I guess I’ll invite all the usual people…”

“No!” Nayeon started, and Mina flinched. “Sorry, it’s just...don’t invite Sana...or Dahyun…”

Mina cocked her head in confusion, staring suspiciously at Nayeon.

“I think they already have plans for this weekend so…” Nayeon said quickly. No way she’d let Sana make moves on Dahyun and benefit from her well thought out plan.

Mina still looked suspicious but decided not to pry. “So, Jeongyeon, Momo because she’s her roommate, me, you, Jihyo and Chaeyoung? That’d make six.”

Nayeon nodded her head enthusiastically. “Perfect! Thanks Mina.” Nayeon held out a little finger heart and Mina just shook her head. “You’re the best!” And with that, Nayeon skipped back up into her room to get back to bed. She didn’t need to go to class for a few more hours so she’d take all the sleep she could get.

Day 1. Mission: Dahyun.

During her first class of the day, Mina’s phone buzzed and she stealthily checked the phone screen. It was a message from Sana.

Hey, want to grab lunch today at 12? The usual spot. xx

Mina looked up at her professor, who had her back turned and quickly messaged back.

Sure, see you then.

“Mina,” Jeongyeon whispered. The girl was sitting to Mina’s left. “I can’t believe you’re texting in class. What a rebel.”

She was joking, of course. Mina saw Jeongyeon on her phone quite often during class. Mina just rolled her eyes and smiled back, being too afraid to talk and get yelled at by the professor.

When class was letting out, as Jeongyeon was packing up to leave, she felt a cool touch on her shoulder and looked up to see Mina right beside her. “Are you free this weekend?” Mina asked.

“Yeah, just some school work, why?”

“I wanted to get a group together to try out the new laser tag place by the mall. Would you be interested?”

“Yeah!” Jeongyeon nodded, smiling her lazy grin. “Just text me a time and place and I’ll be there. I love to procrastinate.”

“Can you pass the information along to Momo as well?” Mina asked.

“Of course, I bet she’d be in for sure.”

The girls smiled at each other, before they both headed out of the aisle together for the exit.

At lunch, sitting at the booth at their school’s dining hall, Mina looked up from her phone as Sana sauntered over and sat down in the seat across from her. “Hey!” Sana chirped. “How was class?”

“Oh, you know, the usual. How was yours?”

“Same old same old,” Sana sang. “So…”

“Do you need to ask me a favor too?” Mina asked.

Sana looked caught off guard. “Well...I um...yeah. I was going to ask you about Dahyun actually.” She smiled sheepishly at Mina.

“Dahyun?” Mina had a feeling she knew where this was going...

“Yeah, well since you and Chaeyoung are basically a thing now,” Sana said, causing Mina to blush and look down at her salad. “And Chaeyoung and Dahyun are close…”

“You want me to set you up?”

“Yeah, maybe you could organize some big group thing? Something to give me an excuse to hang out with her?”

Mina almost laughed. “I mean, yeah I can do that. I just hope you and Nayeon don’t put too much faith in me. I’m not a professional matchmaker, you know, but I can try my best.”

“Nayeon? Wait! Nayeon asked you to set her up with Jeongyeon?” Sana’s voice was rising, and she looked a bit angry and annoyed.

“Um, yeah this morning,” Mina shrunk back a little. “But maybe I can just invite all of us out together. I already asked Jeongyeon and Momo if they’d like to do laser tag. I was going to ask Chaeyoung and Jihyo too. Of course I’d invite you as well but...Nayeon said you’d already had plans with Dahyun.”

Sana pressed her lips together. That witch. “If you wouldn’t mind inviting Dahyun and I, I’d appreciate it.”

“Is everything alright between you and Nayeon?” Mina asked, looking worried. The two girls rarely got into fights. Well, actual fights. They teased each other constantly.

Sana was practically sizzling, but she took a sip of her water to cool down. “Let’s just say we have a bit of a bet going and...she just declared war.”

Mina practically turned pale. She did not want to be in the middle of whatever it was they were planning. “Please tell me this doesn’t involve magic.”

“Nope, just a good ol’ fashioned war of hearts.”

Mina shook her head and sighed. “If I invite you two it means I have to invite Tzuyu as well…so no one is left out...”

Things were still a bit weird between Mina and Tzuyu, mostly because Tzuyu was still wary of the way Mina had hurt Chaeyoung. Chaeyoung had tried to tell Tzuyu that it was in the past but Tzuyu still looked at Mina a bit suspiciously when she was around.

“You were Mina for a bit, you know. Didn’t that make you gain a little empathy for her?” Chaeyoung had asked Tzuyu when they were alone in their dorm after a group hang out session where Chaeyoung had caught Tzuyu glaring apprehensively at Mina whenever she got close to Chaeyoung.

Tzuyu shrugged, face expressionless. “Not really, no. That was so weird...I don’t want to ever think about that again.” She made a bit of a face and Chaeyoung couldn’t help but smile. Yeah, the whole thing had been quite awkward.

Mina might be slightly oblivious but she wasn’t oblivious enough to miss Tzuyu’s glares at that hang out session. “She hates me, doesn’t she?” Mina asked, sighing to Chaeyoung when the two were hanging out in her room.

“No!” Chaeyoung had assured Mina. “Of course not! It’s not possible for someone to hate you,” Chaeyoung reached out and affectionately pinched the older girl’s cheek. Mina smiled and playfully pushed the girl’s hand away. “It’ll just take some time...but she’ll get over it. She just doesn’t want to see me get hurt again.”

“I don’t ever want to hurt you again,” Mina confirmed, eyes shining.

“Tzuyu!” Sana squealed, snapping Mina back into the present. “Of course she has to come!” Despite her crush on Dahyun, Sana still had a soft spot for the youngest friend in their group. Sana paused and looked at Mina’s nervous expression. “Oh, are things still weird between you two? Don’t worry, it’ll pass.”

Mina hoped Sana was right. She really wanted to get along with Chaeyoung’s best friend.

Day 2. Mission: Jeongyeon & Dahyun. 

The laser tag place was tucked away by the mall. Going on a saturday night, the place was filled with parents and their children. Because it was so crowded, the group of nine friends was joined by a few little kids, probably each not more than nine years old.

After being ushered into a small, dark room where the rules of the game were explained, Nayeon smiled and waved at all of the kids. She loved kids of all ages and was a total softie around them.

The teams were split up, with Mina, Chaeyoung, Jihyo, Sana, Dahyun and two boys on one team, the blue team. Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Tzuyu and three little girls made up the red team.

“Hello!” Nayeon beamed at the girls on her team, showing her bunny teeth as she bent down to be on the same level as them. They politely smiled and whispered their hellos.

Meanwhile, she heard laughter coming from the two little boys on the blue team, who were staring at her as they were being outfitted with their laser vests. She turned to them and continued to smile. “Hello!”

“You’re going down Grandma!” one of the boys yelled. He pointed his laser gun at Nayeon and began pulling the trigger despite it not being activated yet.

Nayeon stood up and put a hand to her chest, looking offended. Jeongyeon, standing next to her, snickered while slipping on her vest.

The playing field was split in half into two sides, one for the red team and one for the blue team. On each side there was a homebase, in which the other team could shoot to rack up points. Randomly throughout the game, each person would be given power ups, including rapid fire mode, double points mode, and stealth mode. Stealth mode would turn off the lights of the vest of the player, which lit up either red or blue normally, depending on their team.

Each laser gun was connected to the vest worn by each player, and had a small screen on the back with the player’s code name and points displayed. Once someone was shot, their gun would be disabled for a few moments, and their vest would begin flashing. The team that racked up the most amount of points total would win, and there would also be a ranking for the individual with the most points as well.

The match went as follows:

As soon as the music sounded, signaling for everyone to get to their places, despite the “no running” rule, everyone raced to their assigned side. Mina took off, and Chaeyoung had to struggle to keep up with her, weaving around the pillars and corners that made the giant room into a maze.

Sana clung onto Dahyun immediately, whining about the dark. Dahyun simply laughed and continued forward, following behind Chaeyoung.

Jihyo conspired with the two boys on her team, and whispered to them about targeting a certain player on the other team for fun.

Meanwhile, Jeongyeon, Momo, Nayeon and Tzuyu all stuck together while making their way to their side of the room while the three little girls on their team raced ahead.

Their laser guns powered up, meaning the match had officially begun.

Mina took off for the other team's side, planning on staking out their homebase to get points that way. Chaeyoung followed, a bit unsure of what to do.

Tzuyu bravely went to the blue team’s side, going solo for their homebase. Jeongyeon whispered to Momo and Nayeon that they should remain on their side and guard the base, to which the other girls happily agreed.

Jihyo and the two boys began planning their attack, slinking in the shadows towards the red team’s side. Sana and Dahyun stayed put at the homebase, finding a spot on the second floor where they had full view of their own homebase where they could shoot any red team members on sight.

The two blue team boys spotted Nayeon, their new target, and began rapid firing. Nayeon screamed and tried to hide for cover but it was too late; her vest was lighting up and her gun was powered down. She’d been hit. Jeongyeon and Momo made a break for it, leaving Nayeon—the casualty—behind. As Nayeon whined for them to wait for her, the two boys drew nearer, constantly firing so that the moment she was back in the game she was out again. Jihyo, seeing it all happen from afar, snickered gleefully, and began her trek towards the red team’s homebase.

On the boundary between the two sides, two figures, moving fast, collided. “Ow!” the two girls cried out in unison, stumbling backwards at the force of the impact.

Mina looked up with wide eyes at the person she’d just run into—Tzuyu of all people—and quickly regained her composure. “Tzuyu…” she began, unsure of what to say. She had never had any time alone with the younger girl before. They were always in groups when they interacted. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to run into you.”

“It’s okay,” the girl replied; face lit up in red and blue shadows from her vest and the glowing lights around them.

There was an awkward silence, and both of the girls anxiously had their fingers on the triggers of their guns hanging at their sides, itching to see who would be the first one to shoot. “I didn’t mean to hurt Chaeyoung, you know,” Mina blurted out.

Tzuyu’s eyes, which were downcast, suddenly flickered up at Mina and came into deep focus. Her face remained neutral though.

“I really care about her,” Mina continued. “And I know you mean a lot to her...so I’d really like it if we could be friends.” Mina looked hopefully suddenly, but her small smile wavered at the sight of Tzuyu’s unchanged expression. “Or at least we could tolerate each other, for Chaeyoung’s sake.”

“For Chaeyoung’s sake, alright,” Tzuyu agreed, and Mina felt a wave of relief wash over her. “Let’s get back to the game now.”

Mina nodded. They stepped around each other and continued on their separate ways. A couple steps forward and Mina’s vest suddenly vibrated, flashing lights. She gasped and looked around, seeing no one in front of her, before she turned around and saw Tzuyu standing a ways away with her gun raised directly at her.

“You know what I’ll do if you hurt her again,” Tzuyu warned. Her voice was sharp like a knife, slicing through the air. Mina gulped. Tzuyu backed away and ran towards the blue side, disappearing into the shadows. Mina stood for a moment in shock before the sounds of laser fire reminded her that she had a game to win. That was just a joke...right? With Tzuyu she might never be sure. She took off toward the red side, prepared to make up for the short interruption.

After a few minutes of darting through the labyrinth which made up the playing field, Mina had found a hidden spot, and was swiftly gaining points by shooting the red team’s homebase. She fired as many times as she could before changing location, as the base set off a loud alarm when it was under attack.

Chaeyoung had somehow lost Mina on her way over to the red team’s home base and ran into a terrified looking Momo. The girls drew their weapons and Momo surprisingly was the first to hit Chaeyoung. The younger girl grumbled in surprise and quickly ran off in a different direction, desperate to find Mina. So much for this being a group date.  

Nayeon screamed for Jeongyeon as the two boys continued to follow behind her, constantly shooting. She couldn’t catch a break. “This is so unfair!” she yelled at the boys, who were smiling evilly. “At least give me a chance to fire back!”

Jeongyeon caught sight of Nayeon and the two boys trailing behind her and couldn’t stop laughing. Nayeon heard the laughter and her head whipped in Jeongyeon’s direction. They briefly made eye contact before Jeongyeon held up a finger, signaling her to wait a minute, before she disappeared. “Yoo Jeongyeon!” Nayeon whined, pouting her feet. She looked in despair as the small screen on her gun read negative points. Her vest was constantly lighting up and making a depressing sound effect every time it was hit.

After another minute or so, a red beam came out of nowhere and hit one of the boys, who spun around in surprise, and then the other. The two boys ran for cover and Nayeon cheered. She stuck her tongue out at them, although they were both long gone.

Jeongyeon appeared from the shadows with a huge smile on her face, crinkling her eyes. Nayeon sighed with relief. “My hero,” she sighed.

Tzuyu had found the other team’s home base and immediately began firing. Sana and Dahyun aimed and hit her from above, and Tzuyu took off, cursing (PG curses) under her breath. She’d have to find another spot. Dahyun cheered and Sana gave her a high five. They were both greatly satisfied with their sniping skills.

Jihyo, Mina, and now Chaeyoung were all taking turns attacking the red team’s home base. Occasionally being hit by the three little girls on the red team.

Momo was hopelessly lost, and she hated being alone. “Hello? Anyone?” Only her voice echoing back responded. How big could this place be?

Jeongyeon and Nayeon made it to the blue team’s homebase and took their shots.

Sana and Dahyun’s vests lit up suddenly and they both jumped. Startled they spun around to see a triumphant looking Tzuyu, whose vest was temporarily on stealth mode given her power up.

Sana screamed at Tzuyu for literally shooting her in the back, but the younger girl didn’t stick around for long, and Dahyun and Sana began chasing after her.

Mina got herself in a shoot out with the three little girls on the red team. She was trapped in a corner, but she was holding her ground

Jihyo reconvened with the two boys on her team and together they all went after Nayeon and Jeongyeon.

Chaeyoung found Mina after following the sound of gunfire, still trapped in a corner. She raised her gun to help, but before she could even get a shot in, Mina got a rapid fire mode power up charged forward, scaring the little girls off and running in who-knows-what direction. Chaeyoung sighed.

Momo had finally found her way to the blue team’s side, in which she finally saw Tzuyu and waved happily. The younger girl simply ignored her and ran past as Sana and Dahyun were on her heals. Bang. Momo was hit. She screamed in agony and Sana and Dahyun ran past her as well, leaving her alone once again.

Before they knew it, the lights blazed on, signaling the match was over. Everyone dragged their feet out of the room, following the arrows signaling the exit. Momo was the last to exit, stumbling out of the room with wide eyes. “I never thought I’d get out of there,” she whined, and Jeongyeon quickly shuffled over to comfort the girl.

After the vests were taken off, everyone was guided out of the room to the main waiting area where the winning team and player of the game would be revealed.

Mina was still jittery from the adrenaline of the game. Chaeyoung had never seen her that excited before. Nayeon was sulking a bit, walking behind Jeongyeon and Momo. So much for getting closer to Jeongyeon...those little twerps had made her look pathetic! She seethed at the kids, who made faces at her back.

Jihyo slapped her on the back lightly. “Hey, it’s just a game, right?”

Nayeon sighed. It didn’t help that Sana and Dahyun looked closer than ever...it seemed this little excursion, which had technically been her idea, had brought the two closer together.

“The winner of the match is…” an unenthusiastic teenager working the at the place announced, holding a microphone that did nothing to amplify his voice. He paused for dramatic effect. “The blue team!”

There were cheers from the blue team and grumbles from the red team. Mina gave Chaeyoung a high five and the little boys on their team made obnoxious noises in celebration. Tzuyu rolled her eyes.

“And the player of the game, with a whooping 1,018 points is...Black Swan. Come on up and get your certificate.” Mina timidly stepped forwardly, smiling giddily, and took the certificate. Everyone clapped for her, as the scores of all of the players were revealed on a screen overhead. Nayeon, much to her embarrassment, was last place.

“Last, huh?” Jeongyeon had turned around, smiling slightly at Nayeon. The older girl wanted to run away. This had backfired so badly.

After everyone said their goodbyes, Nayeon hung her head on the car ride home as Jihyo drove her four roommates back to their apartment. “You’re awfully happy back there,” Jihyo mused, looking at Sana in the rearview mirror.

Sana beamed. “I had fun! This was a great idea,” she said, looking at Mina, who smiled back.

Upon getting back to the apartment, Nayeon lingered at the doorway, not really wanting to go back to her room with Sana who was in an annoyingly good mood. She felt a soft hand on her back, and spun around to see Mina, looking at her with knowing eyes.

“This was an epic failure,” Nayeon sighed, and Mina quickly took a hold of her arm and dragged her over to the couch, where they both plopped down. “I basically dug my own grave.”

“I think Jeongyeon thought it was cute...she told me we should all hang out again at least,” Mina tried to cheer Nayeon up, but the girl was in no mood for any positive thinking. She leaned back into the couch and groaned in her usual, over-the-top and dramatic way.

“Sana’s gonna beat me now…I can’t handle that level of embarrassment,” Nayeon moaned, shaking her head.

“Whatever you guys are doing, remember what happened two weeks ago…” Mina warned. She knew the two of them were bound to cause trouble again sometime soon.

“Wait...that’s it!” Nayeon jumped up suddenly, making Mina flinch.

Nayeon ran up the stairs and into her room without a word, leaving Mina on the couch watching her go, shaking her head. What would they all be in for this time?