Nayeon’s Sunshine

-Mina-

The morning breeze around the busy streets of the city passes through Nayeon’s thick thrift shop cream colored jacket. She tightens her scarf around her neck and takes a deep breath. In about fifteen more minutes of walking, she’ll arrive for work. She’ll be busy the whole day taking care of the choir ranging from pre-schoolers to high school students. Not that she minded. Her high school students love her because she’s nice and a chill teacher. While the children adore her because they think she’s a princess. She wouldn’t deny, she liked the idea of being called ‘Princess Nayeon’.

A loud horn coming from a black motorbike drags Nayeon back to reality. She takes a step back and looks at the stoplight. Seeing that it was green, she glares at the rider.

“What the ’s your problem?!” she shouts. The rider raises the glass lid of the helmet and looks at her with zero interest.

“If you want to die, don’t drag me into it, ,” the rider spoke. It was a woman’s voice and the woman sounded beyond rude and full of herself. Nayeon felt her blood reach way over the boiling point.

“You bastard, the light was green and you were over speeding!” she exclaims. Nayeon looks at the rider’s outfit. Tattered jeans, black shirt topped with a metal studded leather jacket.

“If you were paying attention, you would have stopped,” Nayeon heard the woman click her tongue. “You made me lost the bet. Damn it.” The rider looked at her straight in the eyes. She had to squint her eyes a little, slowly recognizing the rider.

“You...” she automatically grabbed the woman’s wrist. “You leave me outside the bar, message me that it’s okay to like you, and then now you’re trying to run me over with a motor,” she spitted the words like acid.

Mina once again yanked her arm away and laughed mockingly, “Look, lady, I don’t know you. But if you want, I can give you what you want. How about we see each other later tonight?”

Nayeon was surprised to hear Mina’s words. Where‘s the sweet and soft Mina? The one she spends every afternoon with? “Are you crazy?!”

Still with the helmet on, Mina let go of her and cocked her head, “I’d love to be in bed with you now but I have to go. Grandpa will kill me if I miss that lame recital,” with those words, Mina closed the glass lid of the helmet and then sped off. Nayeon was just standing at the sidewalk, confused and surprised by how Mina’s attitude changed.

She shook her head and started walking towards the school again. Students greeted her from left to right when she entered the premises. Different signs and banners were put up since it was not just the sports festival but also the annual school festival. Nayeon saw students dressed like maids because one of the classes in the senior batch wanted to have a maid cafe as a booth. Make-shift fish ponds were also present in different forms and sizes. A lot of games and booths can be seen. Nayeon couldn’t help but be amazed. She never experienced a school festival before. Whenever there was an event, she’d be out in a part time job. When she graduated, it was already too late because she was already set to go to the city. She never accompanied Jihyo in her school festivals for outsiders weren’t allowed unless from another prestigious school. So now, the sight was something foreign for Nayeon’s eyes.

She grabbed her almost broken phone and messaged her best friend.

[To: Jeongyeon 08:13AM]

The festival looks amazing! If you have time, bring Chaeng and then let’s roam around together!

She placed her phone back in her packet before proceeding to the choir room. Some of her students were already there, waiting for her.

“Everyone ready for later?” she smiled. Her students greeted her and bowed. She sat down by the piano and started warming up her fingers, “Let’s do one dry run of every song and then you’re all free to roam around, okay?”

She first played the songs for the high school choir. The kids were assigned to play five songs each. The high school setlist were driven from different plays. Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, La La Land, and the likes. She played each music perfectly while the students sang in the perfect tune. Proud of how her high school choir sounded, she let them sit. For the grade school and pre-school choir, the songs were from different Disney movies. Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and more. While Nayeon was playing, the memories of her and Mina collaborating inside the ballet room flooded her mind. Mina’s hair brushing on her cheek while leaning down to see the notes of the songs they chose. The way Mina explains each ballet step she had come up with. The graceful points of the woman. All of which Nayeon memorized already.

When they finished the single run of all the songs, she smiled and faced her students, “Okay. I’m very impressed by the way you all sounded. Soloists, don’t be nervous later, okay? You all sound beautiful. Have confidence,” she reminded them. The kids all nodded, “Be sure to be back here before two-thirty, okay? We’ll be preparing early so that any sudden problem will be resolved.”

With the choir room empty, Nayeon leaned on the wall and looked out the window. She could see the students having fun, something she never experienced. There was a sad smile between her lips. A smile filled with regrets but also contentment. Nayeon will willingly sacrifice every festival for the sake of her family. Although there are certain times when she wishes that things were different.

Her sad reverie was disrupted when her phone vibrated against her thigh. She pulled it out and read the message.

[From: Jeongyeon 09:47AM]

We wouldn’t miss it for the world, Nayeon. Chaeng and I are here by the gate. Pick us up. :)

If there is one thing she’s grateful for when she went to the metro, is that she met Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung. She doesn’t know where she’ll be without the two girls. Jeongyeon serves as her rock, keeping her steady when she’s at the brink of breaking while Chaeyoung is the reminder of the childhood that was taken away from her. Whenever she’s with Chaeng, she feels like she can have fun. And when Jeong’s around, she feels like everything will get better. Not as fast as she wants but at least, there’s a certain reassurance.

To say that Nayeon walked to the main gate is an understatement. She practically ran to it, excited to have fun. She saw Jeongyeon’s now pink hair, denim jeans, and white statement tee. She stopped and stared at her best friend. Jeongyeon noticed her and waved, “Sup?”

“Who the hell dipped you in paint?” she asked. Chaeyoung laughed so hard while clapping.

“I think I look good,” the pink haired girl rolled her eyes. Nayeon looked at Chaeyoung, noticing the khaki cargo pants and oversized shirt she’s wearing.

“You should learn from Jeong when it comes to fashion, Smol,” she smirked. Chaeyoung pouted while it was Jeongyeon’s turn to laugh.

“If I had known that you’ll just insult us like this, I shouldn’t have come,” Chaeyoung crossed her arms and pretended to walk away. Nayeon laughed and pulled the youngest and squished her cheeks.

“Cuuuuuuute!” she said in gritted teeth. She wanted to squish Chaeyoung to death. The younger girl just laughed.

“I know, Unnie. I missed you too,” Chaeyoung said while chuckling. Jeongyeon was smiling with her hands inside her pocket. Little does Nayeon know, Jeongyeon cancelled her date just so she can see her best friend. She knows that it’s Nayeon’s first festival ever. In her mind, a date can happen again but Nayeon’s first school festival experience will only happen once.

The vocal teacher dragged her two best friends inside the school. “What do you want to do?” Jeongyeon asked.

“I don’t know. I haven’t been in a festival so I don’t have an idea,” she answered honestly, scratching her nape. Chaeyoung grinned and pulled her by the fish catching booth.

“We’ll try this, Unnie! You must catch a fish while the paper is still intact,” the youngest explained. The student attendant asked for two dollars as payment. Nayeon was about to pull out her wallet when Jeongyeon already gave ten dollars.

She glared at Jeongyeon, “What? Pretty sure you’ll fail all five times. You at games.”

Chaeyoung laughed and squatted, pulling her Nayeon-unnie down with her. Nayeon didn’t have any chance to complain. She simply followed the younger girl’s lead. She was even biting her lip when she was trying to catch a fish. With all five tries, Nayeon had five failures. Jeongyeon was laughing her lungs out while slapping her own lap.

“Shut up!” Nayeon hisses but the pink haired girl cont