Nayoung does not speak when she walks alongside Chungha in the hallways of the college campus. Her heart thumps in her chest, pressurising her with each step she takes: how could she have wanted to hurt Haebin? Guilt overwhelms Nayoung when she feels a gulp in . Her teeth are tightly grind, and her eyes are trembling while her hands roll into semi-tight fists and she grips on the bag that is slung by her side. 

"Nayoung ah," Chungha softly calls out, bringing Nayoung back to her senses. 

"Ne?" Nayoung pushes her lips into a smile, afraid of intimidating the shorter girl beside her whose shyness somewhat reminds her of herself. 

"This way," Chungha directs them with a small smile, "We'll be eating at the cafe just outside the West gate."

"Okay," Nayoung smiles and follows after. 

Nayoung soon recalls that they are going to be eating as a team. Beads of perspiration form on her forehead, and Nayoung doesn't know if it's the heat or if she's nervous- wait, why am I nervous? She asks herself. "It's going to be okay," she mutters softly after a sigh. 

"Hmm?" Chungha turns to face her, having heard her.

"Nothing," Nayoung shakes her head with a sheepish smile. 

"Um..." Chungha tries a question, "Who do you normally hang out with in the team?"

Nayoung stops short. Her lips curve into a frown. "I don't talk much to the others," Nayoung reveals after slight consideration that she could perhaps trust and open up to Chungha. 

Chungha flashes an apologetic look. "Mian! I..." 

Nayoung notices her anxiety with the situation and chuckles, "It's okay. Thanks for talking to me today," Nayoung now shows a genuine smile. 

"It's nothing," Chungha smiles once again. 

"You're really close to Heehyun ssi, right?" Nayoung notices after a semester, and from their short conversations during which Chungha frequently mentions Heehyun. "Did something happen to her?"

Chungha's eyes dart left and right for a little before she her lips and answers, "We've been friends since we were children. And oh, she's just down with a flu."

"I see," Nayoung nods her head, mumbling.

"Sohee and the others are really nice too, they talked to me first when I was really early for practice one day," Chungha explains, "they even called me to go for a snack with them after that day. That's how..." Chungha's voice trails away as she gives small repeated nods. 

Nayoung smiles. When their eyes meet, they somehow meet a consensus. 

"We're similar," Nayoung laughs with the comment. 

"That's exactly what I thought," Chungha laughs in reply. "It's going to be okay! It's nice knowing you," Chungha adds with a twinkle in her eyes, "and it'll be great to know the rest of the team later on."

To Nayoung's relief and surprise, lunch with her cheerleading team is actually going well as the other girls are actually speaking to her. Nayoung has also found a friend in Chungha and she cannot be any more grateful. Nayoung doesn't feel left out, and releases all the jitter she's been holding in since agreeing to the invitation made by Chungha earlier on. She wonders why she hadn't gotten to know them better earlier, for she is actually enjoying their company.

"Oh, you're from Busan too?" Nayoung's eyes widen upon the discovery. 

Sohee who is seated beside her turn towards Nayoung with surprised eyes, and answers while the rest continue their conversations, "Ne! Are you too?"

Nayoung immediately shakes her head to deny. "I'm not, I just know a friend who's from Busan," Nayoung explains.

"What's her name?" Sohee asks. 

Nayoung her lips, in preparation for the mention of the name, "Han Haebin."

"Omona!" Sohee's strong reaction startles Nayoung.

"You know her?" Nayoung asks, shocked. 

"She was in my high school," Sohee answers, still slightly shaken. Bringing her hand down from , she starts to explain, "Everyone knew her. She was the top student. I heard that she was really good after coming back from Seoul, so she was pushed to be outstanding because of her good grades and all- she joined the student council, and had to represent the school in certain competitions as well. She got so many opportunities I think I was even envious of her with all that elitism. Getting into a Seoul university was definitely easier for her than for all of us," Sohee blabbers, her satoori showing a little.

Nayoung chuckles at the long piece of information, which slightly alarms Sohee.

"Mianhaeyo, was that very exaggerated?" Sohee sheepishly apologises. "Also, I'm still not good at Seoul dialect," she bashfully adds.

Nayoung shakes her head. "It's okay," Nayoung smiles, warming up rather nicely to the girl beside her,  "Well you did pretty well to get into a university in Seoul too!"

"Ani," Sohee denies, "I had to work so hard for this. To someone like Han Haebin, it was probably a piece of cake," she laughs. 

Nayoung stops, slightly taken aback at the sudden intimacy. 

"Mianhaeyo, can I speak informally with you?" Sohee once again grows cautious. 

"Sure, Sohee yah," Nayoung's lips spread into a beam at the request, delighted to have made another friend.

"So how are things between you and Bora unnie? You haven't really updated us about what you did that day," asks Nayoung while she leans against the headboard on Mimi's bed. 

"Oh," Mimi the purses her lips together. "I did call her," she starts carefully, "and she did pick up..."

"Oh!" Nayoung starts to be excited for the older girl. "How did it go?" she asks next, taking Mimi aback with her sudden rise in enthusiasm. 

"Nothing much," Mimi says in a slur, "the call was a really short one."

"Aish," there is a tinge of annoyance in Nayoung's voice as she loses interest and turns away, running her fingers along her hair as she does so. 

"You know we never really talked about our lives like that in the past," Mimi gives it a sudden mention. 

"Yeah, we hung out and had fun but it was only until unnie became a university student that we could talk about our problems and so on," Nayoung who too, did ever realise this before, voices her thoughts. 

"Well, you guys were kids before entering high school so it was kind of impossible-"

"That's so mean!" Nayoung interrupts, "And don't lump me together with Sejeong. She's still a kid now," Nayoung retorts. 

Mimi wrinkles her nose. "Anyway, what about you?" changing the topic, she asks. "How are things with Haebin?"

Seeing the scowl on Nayoung's face, she answers herself, "Not good, I guess?"

"Oh but unnie, you're not going to call me a loner anymore," Nayoung speaks with much conviction and it is her turn to change the topic, "I managed to make a few friends in my cheerleading team."

"Wow!" Mimi gasps, partially with sarcasm, but inside genuinely happy for Nayoung and of course, slightly surprised. 

Nayoung sends a light smack at the girl beside her.

"But anyway, what's it like in the cheerleading team?" Mimi passes a casual enquiry. 

"We don't have many people in the team because the season's only once a year at the end of the spring semester," Nayoung responds with a seemingly standard answer. 

"I realised," Mimi dryly answers. 

"Yeah, so we just learn stunts throughout the fall semester while the spring semester is used up to prepare for the season. So first-years recruited in the spring semester who can't do stunts are in charge of the dancing and spotting," Nayoung explains with a little glitter in her eyes. 

"But you did a stunt, didn't you?" Mimi asks the very question Nayoung has been waiting for. 

"Yeah," Nayoung tries to hide her pride, with a sheepish smile, "You know, don't you? I was the one who suggested that stunt so they let me do it."

"Look at you being all arrogant now," Mimi eyes Nayoung from the corner of her eyes, a behaviour that constantly irks the latter. 

"Oh and, I thought you were going to move in to the student hall?" Mimi asks just as the question occurs in her mind. 

"Yeah, but I haven't completed any regulations yet," Nayoung plainly answers. 

"Such procrastination. By the time you get it done, you're done with your driving exams," Mimi says after clicking her tongue. 

"Right," Nayoung mutters. "Then should I still move in?" Nayoung asks. 

"Shouldn't you?" shooting Nayoung a look, she replied with a question, "Since it's Haebin you're moving in with?"

Nayoung closes , keeping quiet as Mimi's question rings in her head. "What are you saying?" Nayoung retorts, a little too strongly, when she recovers her voice. 

Mimi rolls her eyes with a smug on her lips, but she certainly understands Nayoung. She decides to that she could be gentler. With a small smile, she asks, "What does Haebin major in?"

"Physics," Nayoung gives a direct answer. 

Mimi narrows her eyes in slight annoyance. "Club activity?"

"Community service," Nayoung answers in a similar manner as before. 

"Oh," Mimi silently responds. "Community service is really busy though," Mimi adds after that. "You might still not see her as much," Mimi then explains, as if she's warning Nayoung. "I have a high school friend in the club too, and from what I know she barely has any time to hang out, even catching sleep is hard."

Nayoung catches the warning, and the look in Mimi's eyes. She wonders if she should be alarmed. 

author's note: i'm so so so so sorry for the long period of inactivity!! i'm guessing i should've warned yall bec the last i wrote, which was when i wrote this, was the start of the year before school was in. and you know how i have a crazy of a school life as well as all the drama with my interpersonal relationships (hence this fic :') sounds pathetic tbh) which kinda leaves me very little energy (and time) to write. but since you guys have been nice readers i really wanna just update yall on how this goes hehe :) 

just another warning tho (apart from the fact that i'll be quite inactive) is that i have no idea how to write this anymore tbh i'll need to reread this whole thing and find those emotions again + i wrote nayoung and haebin's relationship based on a relationship i have w a certain person but the thing is it's only been a few months and things between us have changed a tON i am not sure how to perceive things to write into nayoung and haebin anymore so i guess when i have the time i'll rethink and maybe at the end of the year after graduating and national exams i have all the time in the world to write :")

but bless yall readers im so thankful yall read this