To be honest, Jieqiong is a little tired of Nayoung’s...whatever this is. Nayoung has been avoiding her for almost a week, which should have been hard, but between the transition back to the Pledis dorm and all of the press conferences following the dissolution of the task force, Jieqiong has had almost no time to confront Nayoung. And that’s annoying. Almost as annoying as Nayoung avoiding her.

Jieqiong isn’t stupid, no matter how much Siyeon tells people the opposite. She’ll admit that she can be a little spacey, but she knows why Nayoung is avoiding her. And she knows it’s not (entirely) her fault. Sure, she might have been the one whose birthday it was and she might have suggested the alcohol, but Nayoung was the one who agreed. Who was to know that responsible mom Kyungwon was going to sneak Yewon a few drinks? And that Yewon was observant enough to pick up on the various tensions, ual or otherwise, between the girls? And that Yewon would take it upon herself to fix things by suggesting a game of spin the bottle? How did she even know what spin the bottle is? Okay. Jieqiong might be partially responsible for that one. But it was certainly not Jieqiong’s fault that everyone had so readily agreed. She was just going along with the rest of the girls. They seemed excited. She definitely didn’t list off reasons that they should play. Or tickle Nayoung into letting them.

Jieqiong hadn’t been that drunk. Tipsy, sure, but not drunk enough to be able to deny that it was definitely her cheering as Yebin pulled Minkyung into a kiss that had a floppy eared Eunwoo covering Kyla’s eyes and definitely her booing as a glowing, flushed Yewon gave Sungyeon a boringly chaste peck on the cheek. And it was definitely her crawling faux-seductively toward a buzzed and blushing Nayoung and pulling her into a kiss that was so mind-blowing that Nayoung may or may not have levitated them a few inches off the floor. Jieqiong doesn’t know whether the levitating happened or not, but the only logical explanation for her bruised knees was her falling when Nayoung broke the kiss off and fled to her room for the rest of the night. That, or she challenged Yebin to a rap battle again.

Okay, so the kiss was her fault.

She can’t even say that she hadn’t thought of it before. She had. A lot. When she and Nayoung were on the task force, Sejeong had regaled them with tales of her conquests and specifically her conquest to win the heart of her teammate back at her organization. Another Nayoung. Jieqiong might not have remembered if not for the time Sejeong had teasingly suggested that maybe Nayoungs were her type and winked at her Nayoung. Or, well, the Nayoung from her organization. Jieqiong admits that maybe she was a little unreasonably grumpy at Sejeong for the rest of the week before Nayoung (her Nayoung) had pulled her aside and told her to get a grip and not let whatever personal feelings she was dealing with get in the way of her job. A funny thing to say, given Sejeong’s empath powers. Nayoung suggested that she might try finding the root of whatever the issue was and talking it over with someone. Jieqiong knew she was reciting a part of the handbook all of the trainees were given. She was using her adorably awkward reciting voice. Nevertheless, it wasn’t bad advice. Jieqiong even considered going to Sejeong, but when she pictured Sejeong’s teasing smirk directed at Nayoung (her Nayoung!), she could almost feel her blood pressure spike. She figured it would be better for everyone if she went to someone else.

In hindsight, her first choice for fake counselor was pretty stupid. She realizes now that Eunwoo might not have been the sanest pick on her part, but she and Eunwoo had been roommates for a while and friends for longer and Eunwoo had awkward with everyone without making anything awkward. Jieqiong barely got halfway through telling her problem to Eunwoo before Eunwoo lost it, letting out an ugly snort and spluttering an incredulous laugh that sprayed the side of Jieqiong's face with spit. Jieqiong left the girl laughing, grimacing as she wiped the spit off her face. Maybe not the best pick for a counselor.

Jieqiong's relationship with Siyeon is friendly, but there is an edge to Siyeon that puts Jieqiong on edge. Jieqiong is still not used to it, even though the two of them are among the oldest trainees at the oranization. That's what, in Jieqiong's opinion, made her the best pick to solve Jieqiong's Nayoung problem. She also has the benefit of knowing everyone the longest. That was her reasoning as she waited for Yebin to leave before crossing the hall and knocking on the wall next to the open door. Siyeon was sitting there, earbuds in, with her head buried in a book. Jieqiong figured Siyeon probably wouldn't be able to hear her, so she took a few steps into the room and knocked harder, this time on Siyeon's footboard. The girl startled, pulling out her earbuds.

Jieqiong cut straight to the question. At this point, little could make them feel awkward. That's what living together for more than half a decade could do. "Could I talk to you? It's about Nayoung."

Siyeon straightened at the mention of Nayoung. She put her book aside and scooted up, patting the bed as if she had been expecting this. Maybe she had developed prophecy or something. Maybe Jieqiong was easy to read. "Hop on."

Jieqiong got herself situated and started. "Nayoung has been acting weird lately. Around me."

"No ."

Jieqiong looked at Siyeon as if the girl had grown another head. She hadn't thought it was that obvious. It wasn't, was it? "How did you know?"

"About the awkward? I was at your birthday, and Nayoung didn't let me drink. I saw the whole thing. And was sober, so you can't convice me it didn't happen, like Yewon tried to do yesterday. Minkyung has the whole thing on film." Siyeon leaned back on her headboard as if this were normal. This was not normal. An intoxicated makeout session with your teammate and close friend resulting in a week's worth of awkwardness and avoision was not normal. And Jieqiong made a note to find something on Minkyung so she could get the video and burn it. Or hide it. For safekeeping.

"Yeah. Okay. So it happened. But now it's awkward. Nayoung has been avoiding me since the morning after and I want to talk to her." Jieqiong's voice had taken on a nasal tone, and she knew she was whining, but it was so frustrating. "I just want to talk to her."

Siyeon's eyes hadn't left her this whole time. It was unnerving. If it was Sejeong, Jieqiong might have thought she was picking up on her emotions. Jieqiong was forced to endure a few more awkward seconds of starting before Siyeon spoke. "Why do you want to talk to her?"

"I just want to get everything sorted out. I want the awkwardness to be gone. I want to be able to hang out with her again." Jieqiong missed the other girl's quiet, grounding company.

Siyeon's reply was immediate this time. "But have you thought about what you want to say? Nayoung remembers it too, you know. You can't pretend it didn't happen."

Pretending it didn't happen hadn't even crossed Jieqiong's mind. Neither did the idea of planning out what she was going to say. Or how she was going to say it. Or how she was even going to catch Nayoung to say it. Jieqiong's head fell into her hands. "I don't know anything."

Siyeon leaned over and retrieved her book. "Figuring out that 'anything' might be the first step. Come back when you've done that." Siyeon opened her book and resumed reading. It almost looked as if the conversation never happened, except Siyeon's earbuds were laying next to her on the bed, music still quietly playing from them.

Figuring out the 'anything.' Jieqiong had the start of a plan.

--

A/N

Hey guys,

I finally started that Napink chapter that I've been hinting at. It will have a sequel. Don't worry. I'm not that mean.

In other news, I'm nearly done with college apps. Exciting! (But now the schoolwork kicks back up. Yikes!)

No idea who's next. Maybe Eunwoo, but maybe Kyla...maybe someone else entirely.

I've also added the roommates to the lists at the end, so if you're confused about that, it's there.

Elly