08. the confusing couple

Nayeon squinted her eyes and then her eyebrows met at the center. Confusion was an understatement of what the girl felt at the moment. She couldn't believe her own eyes. 

"Chae, look-" Nayeon elbowed the grimacing girl, "Hey, that hurts!" Nayeon rolled her eyes in response and pointed at the two girls from a distance holding hands, "What's up with them?"

Chaeyoung's expression turned 180 degrees when she realized the huge deal. Her eyebrows rose in fascination, "Woah, that's a rare sight. The strangest things happen overnight." She shook her head calmly, gaining an annoyed look from Nayeon.

"Wait, you're okay with this?" She scoffed, receiving a smirk from the younger girl, "Of course. Why, are you not?"

Nayeon immediately retracted back, "I... I guess?" She awkwardly spoke and put her hands in the pockets of her coat to convince Chaeyoung that she was laid back with the whole thing of them dating.

The younger girl shrugged and continued walking. Nayeon bit her lip, "But wait, since when? Why didn't we know about this?" She asked persistently, making Chaeyoung roll her eyes, "Why don't you ask Dahyun herself? And besides, why do you care so much?"

Nayeon pouted, "Because she's our friend... and I don't trust Momo, for some reason." She muttered under her breath. Chaeyoung turned around and pointed at her accusingly, making Nayeon almost fall back in shock.

"I know you too well, unnie. You're jealous, aren't you?"

Nayeon scoffed, "Excuse me, Chae. I am not. Besides, I like someone else already. I'm just a concerned friend, that's all."

Chaeyoung wasn't convinced, but she nodded anyway, "Just wait until lunch. I'm pretty sure they'll announce it."

As the bell rang, Mina felt joyous that it was finally lunch. After putting her stuff in her bag, she cast a look at the desk two seats in front of her, only to find that the girl she was looking for was already dashing towards the door. Mina pouted to herself, "She didn't wait for me today..."

She was obviously upset, but nevertheless, she tried to understand that maybe the older girl was just on an urgent mission.

"Hey, Mina. Heading to lunch?" Jihyo smiled at her. Mina nodded silently, her eyes focused on the ground. The older girl frowned in recognition of the girl's unusual behavior, "Are you okay?"

Mina took notice of her attitude and immediately forced to smile, "Y-yeah, of course."

Jihyo scowled at her, "Liar. Unless you didn't know, I'm a master at telling the difference between true and fake smiles. That one just now? Fake." She spoke like her mother. Mina blushed and Jihyo just heaved a sigh.

"Tell me, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing, really. It's just... Nayeon's been avoiding me all day. I don't know if intentionally or not, but whenever I talk to her... she just spaces out. Also, she didn't wait for me so we could walk to lunch together and she ALWAYS does." Mina ranted, the tone of her voice unconsciously rising by each sentence. Jihyo giggled, "So it's Nayeon..." She teased. Mina's face turned redder she realized how much she had said. She didn't know why, but the girl affected her so much. She hadn't realized how long she's been keeping this in and when she finally had the chance, wouldn't stop talking.

Jihyo seemed to be in deep thought before giving Mina her view on the whole situation. She stopped in her tracks and faced the younger girl, "Actually... I think her problem's Dahyun."

Mina frowned, "Da- who?"

"Kim Dahyun. Haven't you heard? The whole school's been talking about Momo and Dahyun. They seem to be together now. Now, if you're wondering what that has to do anything we're discussing right now, it's because-"

Mina's eyes widened upon hearing the first part, "Wait, hold on... Momo's dating Dahyun?"

Jihyo chuckled, "Where have you been? You know, we should probably just go down to lunch. Our groups are most likely together, talking about them at this very moment."

Jihyo was right. As Mina and Jihyo arrived at the cafeteria, Momo's group was already at their table. The awkward tension filling the whole scene. Mina didn't really want to approach them, knowing how awkward she was even just observing from afar. However, Jihyo enthusiastically grabbed Mina's hand and headed over to the table.

"Guess we're late to the party. What's the commotion about?" Jihyo awkwardly smiled. Momo just smirked at the sight of Mina's crumbling expression of discomfort. Nayeon's eyes went from Mina to Momo, noticing the obvious tension between them. She suspiciously eyed Mina's wandering eyes, not able to meet Momo's.

"Well, since Dahyun's my girlfriend now..." Momo swung her arm around Dahyun, who was sitting next to Nayeon. Momo remained standing near the table, along with Tzuyu and Sana right behind her. Their positions note that they arrived not long ago. 

"...I think our groups should hang out more. To start it off, maybe we could sit together during lunch?" Momo proposed. Mina became anxious at her bold suggestion. She felt like something was off. It didn't feel right. She had never seen Momo and Dahyun talk and everything just seemed so... rushed. 

Nayeon raised an eyebrow, "Why do we need to? You and Dahyun could date outside of school. But to join our two groups? Isn't that unnecessary?"

Momo's eye twitched, "Unnecessary? Why, Nayeon? Do you have a problem with us wanting to be near each other during lunch?"

Dahy