Seven beady eyes stared at the two girls on the other side of the lunch table. One was cooing and holding a bottle of pocari sweat, which had a roughly poked hole in the cap to make room for a straw. 

The other was shying away, throwing half-hearted glares as she was squirming to dodge the straw that was carelessly poking her chin.

"Sana. Jeongyeon. Stop fooling around," Jihyo berated.

The two immediately stiffened and scooted a little toward each respective end of the table, mumbling apologies. Jeongyeon kicked Sana's shin under the table, prompting a hiss and snarl thrown her way. 

They stared at each other for a few moments in disingenuous fury, before erupting in a fit of giggles and performing a small shoulder dance in adoration. 

The seven girls looked on, some rolling their eyes, some dismissing the entire scene, one waving their new friend, Eunha over. Eunha jogged to their lunch table, but her shoe got caught in a small concave in the dirt, and she nearly tumbled to the ground.

Sana turned around just in time for the small girl to fall into her lap, almost knocking the pocari sweat bottle over in the process. Jeongyeon looked at the scene in thinly veiled disdain before returning to her bowl of jajangmyun, shoveling a large mouthful in and chewing noisily. 

"Oh I'm so sorry!" Eunha bowed repeatedly to Sana, grateful that she wouldn't get a lecture from her mom later for dirtying her uniform. "Thank you so much for catching me!" 

"Oh you're so cute!" Sana squealed, patting the space in between her and Jeongyeon and motioning for Eunha to sit. Jeongyeon's nostrils flared as she drove her face deeper into her food, refusing to look up.

A fit of coughs captured Sana's attention as she turned to see Jeongyeon nearly choking on a few too many noodles. She hurriedly ran toward Jeongyeon's side, soothingly rubbing her back to ease the coughs. 

Once they waned to a near stop, she fully uncapped the pocari sweat, throwing the straw away and gently lifting Jeongyeon's chin up. "Drink."

Jeongyeon drank a few large gulps before pulling away and using her sleeve as a napkin. She quietly hummed to herself, reveling in the feeling of being babied, sending a subtle smirk in Eunha's way. 

"No more jajangmyun for you." Sana snatched the plate away as Jeongyeon's jaw dipped, clearly affronted. "Eunha, would you like some?" Sana asked sweetly. Jeongyeon's eyes widened as Eunha returned her smirk. 

"I'd love some, unnie. Can you feed me?" Eunha tilted her head and rose her voice up a key. Jeongyeon seethed in silence and downed the rest of her drink, crumpling and uncrumpling the bottle several times, earning annoyed glares from everyone at the table. 

The lunch bell rang and everyone moved to get up, but Eunha softly caught Sana's arm as she prepared to leave. "Unnie, can I ask you a question?" Eunha shifted her weight between her feet and fidgeted with her fingers. "Will you go on a date with me this Saturday?" 

Sana stared at her for a second, eyes swiftly moving toward Jeongyeon's direction, who was now trading air with the bottle, cheeks ballooning and deflating with every breath. The corner of Sana's lips turned up before her eyes shown a woeful glint. 

She turned back to a hopeful Eunha, figuring she might as well lay down all of her cards. She didn't want to hurt either but wanted, needed a change to happen. "Yes." Sana gave a small smile as Jeongyeon started coughing again from the excessive lung use. 

Sana didn't come to her aid this time, instead inputting her number into Eunha's phone. The onlookers watched them with worry, confusion, and a hint of anger.

Nayeon went to Jeongyeon's side, asking if she was alright. Sana snuck a remorseful glance at them, snickering when she saw Jeongyeon swatting Nayeon's hand away. 

- next day (wednesday) -

Sana and Jeongyeon were sitting hip to hip on the hallway floor, snacking on some sesame-flavored chips. Jeongyeon's arm was around Sana's shoulder as Sana fed them alternately. One bite for you, one bite for me, one bite fo-

"Yah! Why'd you bite me?!" Sana playfully asked.

"Oh I'm sorry! The chip was so small, I didn't realize." Jeongyeon looked genuinely remorseful. Sana immediately modified her expression into a cheery grin.

"Why don't you kiss it better?" Sana held up the marked finger with a teasing, yet hopeful glint in her eye. Jeongyeon stared back with an odd gaze before turning away and clearing .

"Hey, don't you and your dad usually go to the Han River on Saturday nights?"

Sana tilted her head, curious. "Yeah, but I have my date with Eunha, remember?"

"Yeah, but won't he get mad at you? Last time you forgot to take the trash out, we couldn't go to that Day6 concert together. I had to smell some fat guy's armpits for the entire night by myself."

Sana solemnly, gently smiled. "It's just one night, Jeong. I already asked him for permission. Besides, I wouldn't have let you miss that concert for anything, even if I wasn't there to share that experience with you." Sana fed her another chip, eying the teeth imprint with slight pride, wishing it was permanent. 

- thursday -

Sana and Jeongyeon were seeking respite from the blazing sun under a large oak tree on campus, heads leaning against each other as they shared a pair of stereo earbuds. They listened with slight confusion as the music was split into two channels, resulting in erratic silences and lacking harmonies. 

"I hear there will be a thunderstorm this weekend. Probably best to stay inside," Jeongyeon uttered. "My sister gave me some ty B-horror movie we could watch?"

Sana stared at her with raised eyebrows as the sheen of sweat on her forehead glistened. "This entire week has been like 32°C. A thunderstorm seems highly unlikely."

"Yeah, but weather is unpredictable, right? I mean you never know," Jeongyeon attempted to reason.

Sana's lips were parted as she watched a bead of sweat slowly trickle down Jeongyeon's cheek before clutching onto her sharp jawline. Her side of the earbuds fell out during the observation, unnoticed. 

- friday -

It was lunchtime as a group of nine girls sat at their usual table, carrying on with their usual antics. One was disengaged entirely, too focused on her food. One was nearly embedded into the grass as she crouched, camera in hand with a squinted eye on the adjacent landscape. Two were knitting, paying no mind to the others. 

Sana was smiling and chuckling down at her phone while Jeongyeon huffed, trying to discreetly glance at the screen. 

"What's so funny?" Dahyun asked.

"Oh, Eunha just sent me a picture of her teacher's ugly toupee," Sana replied, turning the screen toward Dahyun. 

Dahyun stifled her laughs with her hand, sharing the image with Tzuyu and Nayeon, who both guffawed as well and complimented Eunha's humor. 

Jeongyeon snarled in the corner, mumbling "it's not even funny" despite having never seen the picture. She was incessantly poking a piece of chicken with a chopstick, focusing on the deepening notch.

"Where is she taking you?" Tzuyu wondered. 

"Oh, that new place is having a grand opening! The Best Thing I Ever Ate, I think?"

Jeongyeon abruptly rose to her feet, discarding her food in the nearby trash can as she stomped away, ignoring the cries of her name. Sana stared at her retreating figure as a gloomy atmosphere clouded over the group. "What a waste.." could be heard from the far corner. 

On her way home, Jeongyeon decided to bully a tiny rock on the sidewalk, kicking it for about a mile until karma took its course and she nearly collided with a utility pole. Cursing under her breath, her eyes landed on a bulky man sporting a garish nigiri costume across the street. 

He was waving around a large sign that said "The Best Thing I Ever Ate Grand Opening" as he obnoxiously whistled during every red light. Jeongyeon stared for a split second before her feet involuntarily moved toward the back of the restaurant, her heart racing. 

Two men were unloading pounds of raw fish from the back of a commercial truck, groaning with every crate filled with salmon, tuna, mackerel, the works. There was about a thirty-second leeway between each batch as the workers disappeared into the restaurant. 

Jeongyeon ran toward the truck once the last hint of shoe was out of sight, hopping into it with little difficulty. The first box she spotted had a piece of paper taped to it, reading "SPECIAL." She took off her lanyard, which was adorned with her trusty swiss army knife and the Wonpil keychain Sana gave her ("I thought of you").

Jeongyeon unraveled the multi-tool, swiveling out the actual knife portion and cutting across the tape to reveal the box's contents. Ten pounds of caviar and grade A5 wagyu beef. She impulsively tipped the box upside down, spilling the precious items onto the dirty truck floor.

"Hey, make sure to be careful with that special box!" A man from inside the restaurant yelled. "We can't open without it!"

Muffled confirmations replied as the sound of footsteps drew nearer. Jeongyeon hastily jumped off the truck, turning around to viciously slice the vacuum-sealed bags before running off to the safety of the crowded pedestrians on the street. 

- saturday (d-day) -

A quiet lull washed over the dining table as Sana spent her habitual Saturday morning with the Yu's. Sana was sipping on a cup of honeyed tea while Jeongyeon and her dad favored a dark brew of black coffee. 

"So is your dad going to make you sit and watch him fish for three hours tonight?" Mr. Yu asked, lightly blowing on his hot beverage as the steam partially fogged his glasses. 

"Oh, I actually have a date tonight. With a girl from school."

Mr. Yu paused, glancing toward Jeongyeon, who was currently scowling over a self-inflicted burnt tongue. "Mm, and where is this lovely lady taking you?"

"We were supposed to go to that new place in Twice Square, but I guess some meat got damaged (Jeongyeon snickered), so they had to postpone the opening." Sana stirred in more honey, taking care not to clank against the sides of the cup too much. "So we're gonna go to Summer Nights instead."

Jeongyeon took hot gulps of her coffee, ignoring the strong protest from her tongue.

"Well. I hope you have fun tonight then." Mr. Yu coughed, grabbing the mini bottle of antacid tablets from his shirt pocket and dryly swallowing one. 

Sana cupped her hands around the tea cup, lightly throwing her head back to elegantly finish the last few sips as Jeongyeon discreetly stared in despair. "Sorry, I have to leave early today. I promised my dad I'd at least spend lunch with him." 

Sana got up, pecking both of their cheeks before briskly walking out of the front door, making sure to lock it. 

"Sana.. she's a good girl." Mr. Yu gave a pointed look to Jeongyeon. "Anyone would be a fool to let her go."

Jeongyeon heavily sighed in exasperation. "Dad.. can you please not do this?"

"Me? I'm not doing anything. You're the one being a doofus and missing a chance at a great girl. Now if you'll excuse me-" Mr. Yu cautiously walked over to their couch before settling himself down on it, cradling the mostly-full cup of coffee. "The newest episode of Sixteen just came out. I'm rooting for that girl with the tall legs, she's really talented."

Jeongyeon rolled her eyes and stared into her near-empty cup, steam filling her nostrils and welling up her eyes. She groaned and pressed her palms against her eyelids, taking a deep breath and letting her elbows heavily rest on the table. 

---------

It was dusk as Jeongyeon traipsed along the Han River, faintly pleading with the night air to soothe her sorrows. To her left, off in the distance, was a lone fisherman muttering curses in Japanese. To her right was a row of street food stands, all operated by robust middle-aged women in hairnets and identical hot pink aprons. 

She decided to buy a cup of dukbokki, choosing the loneliest stall at the end. Taking her wallet out, she brushed her thumb over the picture of her and Sana in a purikura. Jeongyeon focused on Sana's face, tracing her smile with the tip of her nail.

"Miss?" The street food lady waved her hands in front of Jeongyeon's face. "Miss?"

Jeongyeon looked up to see a steaming cup of food before her. She stared blankly for a moment before dashing off in the other direction, her feet in accelerating decision before her mind caught up. 

"Your food!"

Jeongyeon doubled back around, hurriedly grabbing the container and shoving it into the chest of a bewildered passerby. "Have this!" She was already at the end of the street when she heard a shout of gratitude, throwing the rocker hand sign over her shoulder in response. 

After about fifteen minutes of sprinting, she arrived at the front of the Minatozaki household, sweating and heaving. Sana was situated on the porch swing, going over her notes for a Geometry test on Monday. 

"Jeongyeon?" Sana rose to her feet, shooting Jeongyeon a confused look. "What are you- "

Jeongyeon interrupted her with a bruising kiss, leaving Sana's mind in gooey shambles as something between a moan and a whimper escaped her lips. 

"I like you. I like you. Since the day we met I- " Sana shut her up with a forceful tug at her nape but gentle pressing of lips, giggling into it. 

"I know." Sana smiled brilliantly. "I like you too." 

Jeongyeon's brows furrowed as she asked, "But why.. ?" 

"I didn't think you were ever going to confess. I can't stay alone forever, you know. And besides," Sana led them back to the swing, throwing Jeongyeon's arm around her and getting comfortable, "I ended up canceling. Eunha kept sending me pictures of gross men and I mean, it was funny at first but I don't exactly want to wake up to a picture of a random buttcrack."

Jeongyeon nodded, placing a chaste kiss onto Sana's cheek and smiling contentedly. "You're lucky to have me then."

Sana scoffed, lifting her head to lightly bite the underside of Jeongyeon's jaw. "Says the weenie who took a million years until jealousy overrode her to confess."

Jeongyeon indignantly smacked her. "I am not a- " Sana intervened with a kiss, bringing her hands up to entangle themselves into Jeongyeon's hair as she deepened it. 

"Your tongue feels weird."