Nayeon and Mina were walking ahead of Jungyeon and Jihyo who were busy singing every love song that they know existed just to make fun of their friend. The two were also very relieved and glad that they didn't have to receive any punishment from Sana.

"Do they make you feel uncomfortable?" Nayeon asked as she glanced at Mina.

"No but I'm getting secondhand embarrassment from them."

"Yah! You two! Could you go home first and I'll catch up!"

Jungyeon protested. "But we want to see more of you two."

"Jihyo, I swear if you don't drag Jungyeon away with you, you two are going to get it." Nayeon glared and it seemed to have been enough reason for them to go running past her and Mina.

When Mina didn't speak after, Nayeon started regretting sending her friends running. "So...you haven't said anything yet."

Mina knew exactly what Nayeon was talking about and she knew it was going to be brought up. Truth be told, she really didn't know what to say. She tried to think of what to say but she hasn't experienced getting confessed to. What does she say to someone who just told her that they have fallen in love with her? Thank you? Congratulations? No bueno? So she went to the oblivious route.

"What are you talking about?"

Nayeon laughed. "You know what I'm talking about. That was such a long pause and there was too much gulping." Mina touched and asked herself if she was that obvious. "I was watching you, that's why I noticed."

"Honestly..." Mina looked at Nayeon and she kind of wished she hadn't or not at that moment at least. Nayeon was looking at her with hopeful eyes and a smile on her face and it wasn't the -eating grin or the smile that looked like she just pulled the chair of someone who was about to sit on it. It was the smile that looked like she was satisfied at where she was at that moment. A smile that said she was just happy standing beside Mina.

"You hated me when we first met and the feeling was mutual then. That was just a little over two months ago and now you're saying you've fallen in love with me. I'm not saying I still hate you. In fact, I could kind of tolerate you better now."

"Okay. That's a good thing, right?"

"Yes, of course, it is. I can't tolerate most of the people at school...but I can't...I can't trust people easily. Their words. Their actions. For me it's like if you give someone your trust then you're giving them the permission to hurt you. Hurt you real bad." Mina glanced at Nayeon once again. Nayeon looked like she was trying really hard to understand what Mina was saying and Mina appreciated that.

"I want to say I'm immune to the pain. I mean, I should be. Getting hurt over and over by the people I care about the most."

Nayeon had a hunch that Mina was talking about her dad and her sister, Krystal.

"But I'm not so having someone that could hurt me again...I just...I don't know."

Nayeon thought about what Mina just said and it made sense to her. She wanted to know what happened to her and Krystal but she knew it wasn't the right time to ask. She knew that doing so might just push Mina away and that was the last thing she would want to happen.

The rest of the walk to Mina's house was quiet with both of them trying to figure out the right words to say. When they arrived in front of Mina's house, Mina was about to say goodbye but Nayeon have found the words to say. "I know I haven't given you any reason to do so but will you at least give me a chance?"

"A chance? To do what?"

"To prove to you that I won't hurt you?"

Mina didn't like how Nayeon sounded unsure. "How are you going to do that?"

"I...you ask the hardest questions to answer. You know I'm no genius. You're the one who's always calling me stupid." Mina laughed at this and Nayeon watched in admiration how her eyes got smaller and how she only showed her gummy smile when she finds something really funny. Nayeon decided this was her favorite Mina expression.

She poked Mina's cheek and said, "That smile. I don't want it to ever leave your face so if you find it funny for someone to fall flat on their face then I will gladly push someone off a flight of stairs."

"That's horrible."

"Or just joke about doing it, you seem to like that, too."

"I don't."

"You're saying that but that smile is still on your face." Mina's smile only got wider and she had to cover her face with both hands which Nayeon found to be endearing. "Seeing you like this makes me want to protect that smile even more."

Mina noticed the change in Nayeon's tone. It was that same serious tone she used when she confessed to her earlier. "I'm not going to ask you to trust me with all your secrets or tell me everything about you. If you want to share it, I'll be there to listen. If you don't then I won't say anything. I won't force it out of you. I just want you to trust me enough to tell me when you're sad so I could be there and if you want to cry, you could cry on my shoulder. Or if you're angry and frustrated, I'll be there, too. I'll lend you my other shoulder to punch. I'll be there always and I won't leave until I see that smile of yours again. You probably feel like you're always alone and that you're better off that way but it gets quite lonely and when that happens, you could always call me. I'll drop everything that I'm doing and run to you."

Mina wondered how Nayeon could've known that she felt like there was nobody there for her when she needed someone. She started to think she was that easy to read but then why was it only Nayeon who knew? Maybe Nayeon was the only one who cared enough or maybe it was her own doing. Maybe she unconsciously showed Nayeon that side of her that she was careful not to let anyone see. "I have your number."

And Nayeon didn't need to hear anything else.

"I'll go inside now."

Nayeon nodded but she wanted to try something she knew she hasn't done before. "Mina."

"Hm?"

"It's my first time calling you by your name. It feels like...like it's what my tongue is made for. To say your name. It's so weird. Mina. Mina, Mina, Mina."

"Go home." Mina has finally reached their front door but Nayeon still hasn't stopped saying her name.

"But you haven't said mine yet," Nayeon yelled from the gate.

"You mean stupid is not your name?"

"I'll wait for you to call me by my name even if it takes aeons. Yeah, that's right I read the dictionary just like you told me to. Who's stupid now?" Nayeon saw Mina shaking her head before she entered the house and she, too, went home with a huge smile on her face, knowing that she's told Mina what she honestly felt about her that day.

---

"Why are the three of you staring at those rice balls instead of eating it. It's not like Sana put mini bombs inside them."

Jihyo nudged Jungyeon and asked, "Is that possible?"

Mina rolled her eyes. "It's not. She made rice balls for everyone because we did well yesterday."

"But we're still not sure whether it's poisoned or not. Jihyo, you try one."

"What? No way! Pretty Myoui, you seem to be sure it's safe to eat so why don't you try one."

Nayeon loudly protested. "No!" She looked around and saw Momo coming in. "Momo, can you come here, for a sec."

Momo groggily walked towards them. They always found it odd how she looks so sleepy all the time but moves like a firecracker whenever the dance club has to perform.

"Could you maybe try one of these for us?"

"It's not poisoned."

Nayeon and her friends faked a laugh. "No one's thinking it was poisoned, silly. We just wanted to know what you think about the taste."

Momo popped a rice ball in . "Tastes like a poisonless rice ball."

"Thank you for that honest feedback." Momo nodded and walked away. "Well, she hasn't dropped on the floor with foam in yet so I guess it's safe."

The trio grabbed one each and ate it as Mina watched them shamelessly grabbed another after finishing one. "One of these days, you three are really going to get in trouble with Sana."

"Just so we're clear. We're not afraid of Sana. We just don't want to die this early."

"Yes, especially Nayeon because she wants you to like her first before she could die peacefully. Ouch!"

Nayeon grinned at Mina after landing a hard punch on Jihyo's arm.

"Mina, someone's asking for you," one of the members said. Mina stood up and headed for the door.

"What are you doing still sitting there?" Nayeon stared at Jihyo blankly. "It's starting. I'm sure that whoever that is out there is going to be making a move on her. Go." She pushed Nayeon and the latter stumbled to get to the door hurriedly.

Nayeon got there just in time to stop Mina from shaking hands with some guy who was wearing more eye make-up than she and Mina combined. "Whoaaa! That was a huge mosquito. It was probably carrying some deadly virus or something. Technically, I just saved both of your lives." She swatted the guy's hand away before it made contact with Mina's. "Hi, I'm Nayeon." She leaned at the door frame and glared menacingly at the poor guy.

"Uh, hi...I'm Jungkook. So Mina, I was wondering if I could invite you after school so we could grab a snack."

Nayeon tried not to strangle Jungkook in front of Mina and waited patiently for Mina's answer. "Oh, I can't. Nayeon and I have to study together to prepare for the upcoming exams." Mina glanced at Nayeon and she knew she was going to see the familiar -eating grin.

"Oh...how about tomorrow?"

Nayeon was so ecstatic that she couldn't help but in. "She can't. Not even the day after tomorrow or the day after that. We have a lot of studying to do. You see, I'm very stupid so I need all the help that I could get. In fact, she was just doing exercises for me to work on later." She gently pushed Mina. "Go, go over there."

Once mina has returned to where Jungyeon and Jihyo were, Nayeon gave Jungkook the best death glare that she could muster. "If I see you near her again, I will kill your cat."

"I don't have a cat."

"Well, go get one, future cat person. What are you still doing here? Go!" Jungkook didn't need to be told twice. He ran as fast as he could and as far away as he could from Nayeon.

Nayeon sat beside Mina. "It's done. That's one less person that'll make you feel uncomfortable."

Mina really did feel somewhat uncomfortable but she wasn't going to admit that to Nayeon. She was really starting to feel like Nayeon has the ability to read her like an open book.

"But we're really going to to study later, right? Or did you just use that as an excuse?"

"No, you could come over later."

Nayeon grinned and grabbed Jihyo by the neck to cover . "Whatever you were going to say, keep it to yourself." She knew her friends well enough.

---

Nayeon was trying to focus on the exercises that Mina told her to do but she kept on getting distracted by Mina even though the latter was playing quietly. She droped the texbook on Mina's bed and got off of Mina's bed to stand behind her. "Will you teach me how to play that game?"

"Why? Have you finished those exercises?"

"Not yet but you seem really into this game so I find it interesting."

"Oh so you don't think they're just little computer games now?"

Nayeon pouted. "We need to let go of what was said in the past."

Mina leaned back and close her yes, massaging her temples. "Fine. Try and play while I rest my eyes."

Nayeon waited for Mina to stand up from the chair but she never did. "Um...do I sit on your lap?"

Mina opened her eyes to glare at Nayeon. "No! Go grab that chair over there!"

"Okay. You don't have to scream." Nayeon grabbed tha chair that was on the other side of the room as Mina rolled away from her desk so she could rest her feet on her bed.

"How do I play this though?" Mina told her what keys to press and what they're used for but they were too many for her to memorize so quickly. She only remembered the keys so she ended pressing random ones at first. Once she figured out which keys to press, she had to learn how to not get killed. She got killed every 5 seconds. She would type a quick "sorry" and a "thank you" when other players revived her.

"I keep getting killed but my teammates keep on reviving me. They're very nice." Nayeon kept on having to squint to read what her teammates were typing. "Hey, Mina, could you get my glasses from my bag?"

Mina sighed and tried very hard to reach Nayeon's bag without having to get up. "Where is it?"

"It's in a blue case."

Mina immediately spotted the blue case that Nayeon was talking about. She grabbed it and opened it but before she handed it to Nayeon, she decided to try them on first. "Jesus Christ, how bad are your eyes? Are you legally blind?" She quickly took it off and gently massaged her eyes. It made her dizzy. She was doubting what image Nayeon sees when she looks at her without her glasses on. She rolled her swivel chair beside Nayeon and gave her the glasses.

"Why are they so angry?" Mina asked when she saw the things that the other players were saying. "How many times have you died?"

"Not much. Probably about 5...within the span of 3 minutes."

Mina's mouth gaped. "No wonder they're mad at you. Someone's even cursing you. 'The next time you die, I will shoot you multiple times first before I revive you, you piece of .' What the hell and you're using my account."

"I didn't know how to make one of my own."

"Oh, god."

Nayeon stopped playing altogether because other players have stopped reviving her and now she was just reading what the other players were saying about her. "'Get your together, penguin' why this idiot." She started typing a reply furiously. "She's not a penguin!"

"That is literally my username," Mina deadpanned.

"'Penguin, you shouldn't be letting your girlfriend play!'" Nayeon scoffed and replied again, "I'm not her girlfriend yet!"

Mina took the keyboard away from her. "Oh my god, stop! You need to go home."

Nayeon frowned and felt apologetic, thinking that Mina didn't want her around her anymore because of what she has done. "I'm sorry. I'm not going to do that again."

Mina stared at the dejected Nayeon and had a small smile on her face. "No, I mean, you need to go home because it's getting late.

Nayeon checked her watch and it really was late. She wished time flew faster when they had their classes. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yes. Both of us don't have any choice. We're in the same class."

Nayeon grabbed her things and headed for the door. "Good night. See you tomorrow."

"Hey, don't forget your grandma glasses. How could you even see without it?" Mina gave it to Nayeon and was suprised when Nayeon suddenly put it on her. She closed her eyes. "Your glasses make me dizzy."

"I didn't get to see you wear it earlier. It looks good on you." Mina still had her eyes closed but Nayeon thought she looked cute wearing her glasses. She removed it and put it in her pocket.

Mina still had her eyes closed and Nayeon found herself staring again. "Have you taken it off?" She opened her eyes to see Nayeon who was looking at her directly in the eyes. "What?"

"I was just checking if I'm still in love with you."

The long pause made Mina curious and she almost asked Nayeon if she was.

"Is it possible to be more in love?"

Mina broke the eye contact and gently pushed Nayeon. "Go home and have dinner. You're just hungry."

"You're not going to walk me to the door?"

"No because you might think of something cheesy to say again. Go home."

Nayeon took one last glance at Mina before descending the stairs. She grabbed the glasses form her pocket, put it on and pretended to walk like she was holding a cane. "If this old woman falls off the stairs, it'll be your fault," she said using her best imitation of an old woman's voice.

"Careful going down the stairs, grandma. I would hate to laugh at you if you did."

Nayeon went home with a huge smile on her face. Mina might not trust her yet but shewas starting to think that Mina was finally warming up to her.

_____

sorry if this update took quite a while. again thank you for subcribing and for reading this. for the people saying they love it, i love you guys for loving it. 

to those people on twitter, yes i see you. thank you. and im spazzing so much at mina wearing specs, too.