Chaeyoung

(We return to the present – Nayeon’s locked in her room, and Mina and Chaeyoung are cuddling bc michaeng fluff of course)

Chaeyoung flinched as she heard a creak from outside the room. Slowly, she untangled herself from Mina, and tiptoed over to the door. She peeked outside...

No one was there.

She let out a breath of relief, and made her way back to Mina, laying back down beside her and resting her head on her shoulder. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she whispered, guilt flooding her. “What if Nayeon comes out? What if she catches us?”

“She’s not coming out for three hours,” Mina assured her softly, her hair, their hands entwined. “We’ll be fine. I believe I’ve told you this already, Chaeyoungie.”

Chaeyoung sighed. She couldn’t help but be cautious. After all, she didn’t want to be caught with someone else’s girlfriend...

Well, not exactly girlfriend.

Mina hadn’t told Nayeon how she felt. How she didn’t want to date Nayeon anymore. But she had made it clear to Chaeyoung that she had no feelings for Nayeon. Nayeon was just an unnie to her now.

However, she had made it very, very clear that she liked Chaeyoung.

Mina had told Chaeyoung everything, like how she had liked Chaeyoung since the day they met. How she was actually typing up a text revealing her feelings, not watching a video. And fortunately for Mina, Chaeyoung shared the same feelings.

Chaeyoung had kept her uality to herself. Of course, she had realized she wasn’t straight when she took a liking to Mina. It overjoyed her when Mina had told everyone she wasn’t straight, and Chaeyoung had decided to tell everyone as well.

Then Nayeon came out. And immediately afterwards, started dating Mina.

Chaeyoung was crushed. She didn’t tell anyone about her uality after that. She was heartbroken. Mina didn’t like her. Mina liked Nayeon. She had meant what she had told Mina, about how getting rejected by the person you love can hurt. It had happened to her. She was speaking from experience.

It hurt even more when she was told that she’d be staying behind with Mina and Nayeon. How could she stay with the girl she liked and the girlfriend of the girl she liked? She didn’t know if she’d be able to handle it. She despised the thought so much, she begged Jeongyeon to bring her along to New York. But of course, Jeongyeon said no, and instead told her kindly to bear with them for the time they’d be alone together.

...That went well.

Chaeyoung managed to hide her jealousy and sadness from the couple, disguising it with her usual calm and quiet, but when she was alone in her room, her door locked, she’d cry. It was ugly. She’d be so furious, she’d scream into her pillow. She’d punch her bed so hard, she’d see feathers from the mattress on Dahyun’s bed, which was under hers (they shared a bunk bed). She’d pull her hair and clench her teeth and crumple up papers and scribble on the walls. She was so angry and hurt, she didn’t even care if Nayeon and Mina overheard her raging.

...Of course, they didn’t.

They were so occupied with each other, they didn’t notice how uncomfortable and tense Chaeyoung had become around them. And that infuriated Chaeyoung even more, up to the point where she’d have to physically stop herself from screaming at them (particularly Nayeon), either pinching herself or excusing herself, getting up, and leaving the room. It was a wonder how Nayeon didn’t notice how tense Chaeyoung was around her. That one day in the car, Chaeyoung felt so uncomfortable, she wanted to cry. She didn’t want to be stuck in the same car with her crush’s girlfriend. She was living a nightmare.

And then, it changed.

When Chaeyoung had gotten that text from Mina, she was bewildered. Why’d Mina text her and not Nayeon? She decided to ignore the fact and went to do as Mina indirectly asked, getting up and informing Nayeon.

Mina was in the car, the huge bags of snacks next to Chaeyoung in the backseat. Chaeyoung felt like stabbing someone when she saw Mina’s hand entwined in Nayeon’s. But then, Mina turned around and gave her a warm smile.

Mina had been acting differently around Chaeyoung. She was more warmer. Happier. Nice. Could it have meant something? Perhaps. But Chaeyoung wasn’t convinced. She’d never be until she saw Mina turning her back on Nayeon.

When Mina told her she didn’t like Nayeon anymore, Chaeyoung wanted to laugh. She wanted to smile. She wanted to bounce around and tell the world that she might actually have a chance.

Of course, she couldn’t.

She remained calm, at least, on the outside. She was playing the part of Mina’s calm, kind, advising dongsaeng. She comforted Mina, her giddiness evaporating once she saw how sad and guilty Mina felt. She took it farther than she had to when she took Mina’s chin in her hand and leaned close to her face. But she wasn’t thinking at the time. All she wanted to do was make Mina happy again.

Chaeyoung snapped out of her daze at the very end of all that, when Mina wouldn’t let her see what she was doing on her phone. She shrugged, pretending not to care, but left suspicious and a bit sad. What could Mina have possibly been doing that Chaeyoung couldn’t see? What if it had something to do with Nayeon? What if Mina was lying to Chaeyoung?

No, that couldn’t be. Mina was the most honest person Chaeyoung knew, next to Tzuyu. Mina would never lie to Chaeyoung about something like that...would she?

The next few days were hell for Chaeyoung. She couldn’t enjoy any of her dramas, any of her games, any of her anythings, really. Suspicion and doubt were brewing in her mind, and her stomach churned whenever she saw Mina around Nayeon. Mina didn’t seem to be changed in any way towards Nayeon. They acted the same. Mina seemed a bit happier, even. Maybe Mina feels so guilty, she just doesn’t want to make Nayeon sad or anything, Chaeyoung thought at one point. But that thought disappeared from her mind when she saw Nayeon kiss Mina, and Mina didn’t pull away. On top of that, it was awkward between her and Mina, the latter not talking to her at all, and glancing away whenever their eyes met. Chaeyoung was beyond confused. Why was Mina acting this way towards her...? What they discussed wasn’t something to be awkward about! It was a secret between just the two of them, something only they knew about, something they would never tell anyone else...something private meant for only them...

Screw it, she’s not going to like me back.

Chaeyoung was done. She gave up. What could’ve been the start of their relationship disintegrated into piles of dust. It would just never happen. Mina would fall in love with Nayeon again somehow, or maybe start liking someone else. She’d consider Chaeyoung just a friend. They’d never be together.

She was sitting down on her bed a week after they had the talk, browsing social media on her phone, when Mina burst into the room, her eyes widened and full of panic. All thoughts of doubt and suspcion that had lingered in Chaeyoung’s mind evaporated, and all she wanted to know about was what was making Mina so panicked. She had risen to her feet and crossed the room to Mina, looking into her eyes and asking her what was wrong. Mina had started stammering about how she was sorry for avoiding Chaeyoung all that time, how she should’ve made it clear before...clear about what?

After a few minutes, Mina calmed down, and answered Chaeyoung’s question:

Clear about her feelings.

Mina loved Chaeyoung, and had done so ever since the beginning.

She told Chaeyoung about what she had really been doing on her phone. She told Chaeyoung how she had gotten a weird feeling when she saw Chaeyoung that one day during Sixteen, when all the contestants were meeting. She had loved Chaeyoung ever since they met, and had only realized it now.

Chaeyoung asked about Nayeon. Nayeon had been a...mistake. A person Mina had adored so much, she thought she liked Nayeon. Chaeyoung was the one who made Mina feel warm inside, the one who made Mina smile and laugh. The one whose texts Mina would always anticipate. The one who Mina wanted to be with always.

Chaeyoung couldn’t describe how she felt at the time. It was all sunshine, rainbows, clear skies, and...happiness. A jumbled up mix of several emotions, varieties of happiness, different versions of the same thing.

The problem was, even though they still loved each other, Mina hadn’t told Nayeon that she liked Chaeyoung. Chaeyoung was worried about this. She repeatedly asked when Mina would confront Nayeon, but Mina always brushed her off, saying that she’d do it when the time was right. When would the time ever be right?

Curled up in Mina’s arms, the question rose once more in Chaeyoung’s mind. “Seriously, Mina, you have got to tell her what’s going on,” she whispered. “I don’t want this to end badly.”

Mina sighed. “I have a feeling she already knows what’s going on. I mean, we’ve been spending a lot of time together for just about three weeks now. She’d know. She just doesn’t care.” Chaeyoung felt Mina’s arms tense, then relax, something she did often when she was stressed. “Let’s not think about this now, Chaeyoungie.”

“If that’s what you want,” Chaeyoung murmured, closing her eyes. Whatever Mina wanted, she’d be fine with...

“Hey, guys?”

Chaeyoung’s eyes flew open.

“I’m coming in, okay?”

Nayeon!

ok hi hello yes im late asf but school yanno

;-;-;-;-; ok ill work on the next chapter now bai