Jihyo isn’t particularly happy with the situation. It’s nothing too out of the ordinay, her bestfriend is in love for the first time in her short life; she can deal with that. But the problem is that, she’s having a hard time accepting the fact that Nayeon is in love with Yoo Jungyeon, out of all people, the most mysterious person she ever came to encounter in her life.

It’s like, Jungyeon can’t really make up her mind between being sweet or cold toward Nayeon, and it results to Nayeon either feeling on top of the world or frustrated to the point of crying on her shoulder.

And as a long time friend (and a very long time at that) Jihyo is scared. Scared that, after this, she’ll have to pick up Nayeon’s broken heart piece by piece and mend them all back together, except that once the cracks are digged, nothing can make it one again.

Because if there is something Jihyo hates to see the most, it’s her bestfriend suffering.

“Hey, Nayeon.” She starts, set on finding the reason why Nayeon and Jungyeon refrained from talking to each other yet another whole week. It's like they're divorced already, without even having dated in the first place.

The black haired girl turns around, glancing at her for a second before averting her eyes on the pond again. The girl’s easy smile isn’t really there anymore and, it’s a mystery, Jihyo thinks, how did Nayeon ever find this pond in the park?

“Tell me, what’s the deal with Jungyeon exactly?” Jihyo asks with a controlled voice, and Nayeon answers with a wavering one.

“I, I don’t exactly know but… I told you already,”
 

Jihyo watches as Nayeon crosses her legs, fingers constricting around the ice cream cone.

“She said she wanted to figure me out.” Jihyo remembers Nayeon telling her a few days ago. The early semptember wind blows through their hair, and she just knows that Nayeon is avoiding her eyes. It should be soothing but really, it isn't.

“I just… I, I really like her and-- and I think she knows.”

“Yeah but does she like you?” Jihyo speaks before thinking, an edge of anger resonating in her head.

She just doesn’t like how… how messy Nayeon looks, when the girl used to have everything under control.

It’s so out of the blue, for Nayeon to look this emotionally tired. And the whole stuttering mess is new too.

“She told me s- she might like me.”

“What the heck is ‘might’ doing there!” The previous edge of anger burns into a full on speech as Jihyo sits up, searching for Nayeon’s eyes to get something out of the girl. Instead, Nayeon keeps her eyes trained on her melting ice cream.

“She’s messing with you!” She screams, not minding the weird rupture it makes from the silence of the park.

When she sees her bestfriend stay mum, her face softens. “I just… don’t want you to get, you know, hurt.”

The end comes as soft as a feather. She watches as Nayeon’s eyes brim with tears, and something stirs inside of her. Nayeon dives in for a hug, and Jihyo wraps her arms around the girl. That’s it. She knows what she needs to do.

“It’s okay,” Jihyo whispers. It really is, because tomorrow she’ll go find Jungyeon and she’ll have a word or two with her. If Nayeon will not do it, then she will.

"Just-- Hey don't spill your ice cream on me!"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Hey, you.” Jihyo calls out to the short haired girl walking ahead of her toward the cafeteria.

She left Nayeon back in the classroom with Sana (never alone, Jihyo knows better than to do that) and went to find Jungyeon, storming through the corridors with a frown on her face. The usual cheerful Jihyo isn't really there today.

And Jungyeon’s not that hard to miss actually, she’s the only girl with short hair in the school.

“Hey Jihyo,”  Jungyeon puts on an easy smile as she turns around to face her.

“We need to talk.”

And it falters as soon as Jihyo speaks the words, powerfully. She blinks in confusion.

“O… kay? Right now?”

Jihyo nods. She won’t wait any longer. If she can do anything to help Nayeon with the headache that is Yoo Jungyeon, she will; and the sooner, the better.

“But I’m hungr--” Jungyeon jokes, but Jihyo keeps her face as hard, maybe a little more than the second before. The taller girl butts on her words.

“Got it.” She whispers, and Jihyo turns around.

“Follow me.” Jihyo instructs, a confident bounce to her step. She’s just so pissed, she’d gladly slap the girl behind her. How dare she play with Nayeon's still innocent heart? But Jihyo liked to think people deserved a chance to talk (defend?), so she keeps her hand beside her thigh and rounds the corner toward the bleachers.

Jungyeon follows her suit, silent, (she probably understood that there isn’t anything she can say to lighten up the athmosphere) and Jihyo turns away from the football team training on the field.

“Okay.” She points an accusing finger right on Jungyeon’s face. “What’s your deal with Nayeon exactly?”

“My deal with N- Nayeon?”

Jihyo sighs, and crosses her arms on her chest. “Listen, I’m gonna tell you one thing.”

Jungyeon nods, eyes darting to the right. She’s thinking.

“Nayeon’s my bestfriend, right?”

“Right.”

“I mean, friends for 6 years, she’s really important to me.” Jungyeon nods again, a strange look on her face.

Jihyo keeps her eyes trained on Jungyeon’s. Unlike Nayeon, she’s straightforward, and hates beating around the bush.

“And I obviously don’t like when Nayeon is being played, ”

“Yeah.” Jungyeon exhales, now shifting her gaze elsewhere.

“Then what the are you doing with her?”

“What?”

“She’s pretty messed up right now. What do you want from her exactly?”

“I… It’s my fault, isn’t it?”

“I’m glad you finally woke up Sherlock.” Jungyeon glances back at her when her tone turns borderline venomenous.

With a sigh, Jihyo lets her arms fall back to her sides. “Look, I just want to know.”

“Right.” Jungyeon answers, running a hand through her locks. Jihyo keeps her lips pursed and waits for Jungyeon to continue.

“I’m just… I’m wary of… doing anything that will make her run away.”

“You pretty much did just that a few days ago.” Jihyo adds, unamused at the memory. Nayeon was shaking, pushing a forced smile on her face, when she found her in the bathroom last time.

“You can’t just, do that and, act as if you don’t know her a minute after, Jungyeon. That’s not reasonable.”

“I’ve never been the reasonable kind.”

Jihyo feels anger bubble up in her blood. “And that means you can get away with it?” She hears her own voice elevate in the hot air surrounding them and Jungyeon shakes her head, defensive hands metaphorically shielding her chest.

“N- No, but… I don’t know if… If she’ll ever be able to, to feel what I… feel.”

She glances up to the very blue sky, clear from any cloud.

“That’s not an issue.” She says, eyes carrying a meaning that Jungyeon surely catches, judging from the way she blinks the surprise away. Jihyo lets a silence settle between them as she glances down the bleachers, to the guys running and screaming playfully, no trouble on their shoulders just yet.

“You need to talk to her,” She speaks back toward Jungyeon. “Not corner her here and there and then leave her wondering why you suddenly act as cold as, I don’t know, Hitler.”

Jungyeon winces at the reference and Jihyo chuckles, because she knows it was a bad one.

“I’m sorry.” The short haired girl finishes by muttering a pretty sincere sounding apology with her head hanging low, and Jihyo’s eyes soften at the sight.

“You need to tell her that, not me.” She pats Jungyeon’s shoulder, and the girl looks up at her with hopeful eyes.

“O- Okay. Thanks Jihyo.” Jungyeon smiles for a second, full and happy, and Jihyo spies a dimple creasing into Jungyeon’s chin. Now she kind of gets why Nayeon fell for the girl.

She’s charming.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Jihyo apologizes as she slouches back against Mina’s shoulder.

“The teacher kept us longer because Jackson couldn’t shut his mouth,” She explains to a smiling Mina.

“It’s okay,” The girl giggles and Jihyo smiles. After a while of comfortable silence, Jihyo stares out of the window, wondering how all these kids outside could run around and not feel like fainting under the scorching sun.

“Actually, I have something for you.”

Jihyo crans her neck toward the japanese girl with wide eyes.

“For me?” Jihyo squeaks out in a high pitched voice, unable to tone down her excitment.

Mina giggles yet again. “Yes.”

“Come on.” She grabs Jihyo’s hand as a red hue settles on her soft cheeks, a phenomenon that doesn’t discard Jihyo too.

The brunette clutches Mina’s hand. Her chest swells in hapiness.

“Is this a hidden camera?” She jokes to relieve the pressure from her own self, and she hears Mina’s soft laugh bounce against the walls of the school as they step up the stairs toward the rooftop.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to know if it is one,” Mina whispers, pushing the door open. Wind engulfs the both of them as they step outside to the rooftop.

The sky is, today, covered in clouds. White and pure ones though, no need to worry about it. Jihyo chuckles and doesn’t let go of Mina’s hand, even when the taller girl struggles with closing the door.

Then, Mina leads her to a corner of the rooftop and Jihyo watches the way her hair sway under the power of the wind, but her smile doesn’t, and she thinks that nature really is perfect.

“Here.” Mina pushes an object in her hand. Jihyo takes it and scrutinizes it.

“It’s a diary,” Jihyo whispers. Suddenly, her heart gets warm.

“How did you remember?” She stunnedly asks and Mina shrugs, a shy smile ardoring her face.

How did Mina remember that she ran out of pages in her usual diary? Furthermore, she only stated it out loud one time she doesn’t exactly recall, probably in the midst of the whole school canteen too loudly as usual; yet Mina did rememer, and Mina went as far as to buy her a new one. Mina is just special.

Jihyo lets her eyes travel on the smooth surface of the small book, taking it the texture, the design, the colors. She loves everything about it. Jihyo has never been the type to like huge gifts and huge declarations because she simply felt entitled to the person afterwards; she'd rather make them than receive them. She likes to think that the best stuff remains in the small details that the person doesn't miss.

“I love it.” When she looks up, she meets Mina’s bending eyes; stunning as always.

Her heart beats over her mind, and she leans in, pressing a kiss on the corner of the japanese girl’s smiling lips. Today is a good day.

“Thank you.” She whispers, one hand holding the gift and the other holding Mina’s.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 

Nayeon considers the prospects of giving up to be quite a good idea. Giving up on what? On Yoo Jungyeon. Ever since that incident in the bathroom (a bathroom that she doesn’t dare to use anymore) the two of them not only didn’t have any study session, but their interaction keep being, really, close to the negatives. How do two people go to the negatives? By simply shifting their heels the other way when one is looking at the other, and Nayeon might have walked outside of the cafeteria when she saw Jungyeon sitting there once.

Nayeon was avoiding Jungyeon like plague, and that worked the other way around too. It doesn’t help that they’re in the same class.

She steps inside the classroom and meets Jungyeon’s eyes (they’re not cold, but not warm either) and she immediatly bends down her head when she feels a sudden heat crawl up her neck to her ears, noticing that Jungyeon does the same. She walks to her desk faster than how she walked to class.

This is what keeps it hard for Nayeon to do. It’s just that… Jungyeon is so... mesmerizing. It’s all about their eyecontact, Nayeon thinks.

“You okay?” Jackson turns around as soon as he hears her sigh behind her.

Nayeon shrugs with a small, forced smile. She feels a hole dig in her chest, like she just wasted an important opportunity; and it’s been there for a while now.

“I’m good. When’s the party again?” She asks her blonde friend, who wears a sudden smug expression at the question.

“This Friday. Still coming?”

“About that, um,” Nayeon starts. She really isn’t in the mood to go to a party. She opens to a confused looking Jackson, but, (of course) Jihyo suddenly pops out of nowhere before she chances emitting a syllabe out of her plump lips.

“About that, yes, we’ll be there.” Her bestfriend grins one of the specific grin, one that covers the whole situation with it’s charm and that makes people forget what they were talking about. Nayeon feels Jihyo’s small hand crawl on her shoulder, and a squeeze, and she knows that she needs to keep silent in order to avoid any impeding wrath.

So Nayeon nods, and Jackson flashes them his two thumbs up.

“S’gonna be fire.”

Nayeon midly wonders if Jungyeon will be there too, and then wonders if they will keep the study session on Friday afternoon. But who is she kidding, when they missed two of those already. She glances at the back of the class and finds Jungyeon furrowing her eyebrows while doodling something on her copybook.

She looks cute (no surprise there), but Nayeon forces the thought deep down her mind; because that’s what she needs to do.

She needs to forget about it. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“But I don’t want to go,” Nayeon rolls on her bed to face the wall, her whining getting muffled against the matress.

“You need to get up. You can’t just stop living because Jungyeon stopped talking to you.” Jihyo complains as Nayeon feels the bed dip beside her, then a weight pushing on her back. She groans.

“I mean, what about me then? You'll let me go there by my own?"

“Jihyo, no offense but you’re heavy,”

Jihyo laughs but stays where she is, and Nayeon doesn’t exactly have trouble with it but it gets somewhat suffocating with her nose burried in her pillow. When she thinks about it, it doesn't bother her that much either.

“I’ll move only if you swear to come to the party with me tomorrow.”

Nayeon shifts to look at Jihyo, and finds the girl wearing a very determined smile.

She stands next to no chances, Jihyo is a very stubborn one. Ever since they met in middle school, that's all that Nayeon has been getting: a very stubborn Jihyo.

“But Jihyo!” Nayeon wails her legs like a kid in distress. “I don’t feel like going at all,”

Jihyo grunts in annoyance, slipping off of Nayeon to sit down on the bed. Finally some peace.

“Hey,” When Nayeon thinks she won the argument, Jihyo calls out, tone a tad more serious that before. Nayeon turns around to face her.

“I swear, in my own name, that you’ll be happy once you’ll get there.” Jihyo exclaims and gesticulates in a faux-grandiose performance, posters of various boybands and girlbands on the walls all around providing a satiric touch to the scene and Nayeon laughs, out loud, for the first time in a while.

“And what makes you say that?”

Once the words leave , Jihyo meets her eyes with honest ones.

“Trust me.” She says. “Trust me and you’ll come thank me later.” And the glint disappears as soon as Nayeon frowns. Jihyo starts humming to an old song and she blinks in confusion, turning to stare up to the ceiling. What does Jihyo mean by that?

“It’s settled, we’re going tomorrow!” Jihyo cheers up with her usual megawatt smile, and Nayeon turns back to face the wall with a grunt.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes: I am sorry for not updating fast, was pretty busy these pas few days. And I mean, parties stand for self-understanding and coming to terms with stuff so...