Main characters featured in this chapter:

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♡━━━ May | Nayeon's PoV ━━━♡

Through the white gates, I could see a beautiful garden that leads to a mansion that probably had at least three floors. “Wow, this place is huge…” I murmured to myself. I knew Mina was rich, but I didn’t realize she was this rich.

Taking a deep breath, I rang the bell so I could be allowed inside. “Um, this is Im Nayeon. I am Mina’s friend,” I nervously said, grasping the fabric of my shirt to try calming my anxiety.

“Lady Mina will be there soon,” a voice responded, and instantly afterward the gates opened, so I slowly started making my way inside. The garden had a beautiful variety of different plants and flowers, and there was a fountain right in the middle.

I looked around in awe, taking in the stunning view and feeling smaller every second that passed. Mina lives in a completely different world from me. It’s as though she is a noble princess encircled by luxury and I am nothing but a simple daughter of bakers, struggling to make enough just to pay our bills.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a familiar voice say, “Hi,” I looked in the direction of the voice, my eyes being completely mesmerized as they were met with a view even more enchanting than the beautiful garden I found myself in.

Myoui Mina smiled at me as she timidly said, “I hope you’re not too intimidated…” She looked beautiful in a blue plaid dress, walking in my direction and completely overshadowing all the flowers.

“You’re beautiful. I-I mean – your house is beautiful… but you are too, so,” I blushed, fumbling with my sentences and rubbing my neck in embarrassment.

My clumsiness, however, managed to earn a giggle and an adorable pink blush from Mina, so I happily smiled at her. “Thank you,” she said, ever so softly. “I think the house is too much though…” she added, cutely scrunching her nose and I cackled in surprise, feeling more relieved as I was reminded of how uncomplicated Mina was.

Mina also laughed a bit, warmly looking into my eyes, even though her gaze faltered every now and then, probably due to her shy personality. It was one of the things I loved the most about her. She’s a beautiful and rich girl who could intimidate anyone, yet the smallest compliments were enough to fluster her and make her happy.

“Are you finally telling me where we’re going to?” she asked, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

“Of course not,” I responded, placing my hands on my waist and cutely pouting at her. “What would be the point of keeping it a secret just to tell you before we’re there?”

Mina laughed in response, shaking her head as we started walking. There was comfortable silence for a while, and luckily the place we were going to wasn’t too far away from her house, so we wouldn’t have to walk much.

“We’re here,” I announced, stopping in front of a trendy sandwich shop. “I wanted to bring you here because I know you love snack foods.” I carefully observed Mina’s reaction, hoping she wouldn’t be disappointed. “But most of all, I wanted to bring you here because I heard they have their own ketchup recipe and it’s supposed to be amazing.”

Looking at me and smiling in that adorable way that shows her gums, Mina seemed delighted. Just like a child who was about to open a Christmas gift. I returned the smile, feeling glad that she seemed to have enjoyed my choice.

“This place sounds amazing, Nayeon-unnie,” She exclaimed, sounding more excited than usual and making me feel more and more enchanted by her, my heart happily fluttering on my chest.

“Let’s hurry up inside then!” I cheerfully exclaimed, smiling brightly as we entered the shop. It had a very stylish interior and resembled a vintage diner. It seemed to be very busy and we were cheerfully greeted by a hostess.

“Welcome, girls,” she said, and we smiled at her. “Table for two?” We nodded and she took us to a booth seat, where we sat on opposite sides. The hostess gave each one of us a menu and left us to decide what to order.

Mina grinned at me and opened the menu, starting to flip through the pages. I just stared at her for a while, smiling and admiring the adorable moles on her face, or how her eyebrows furrowed whenever she was concentrated. She caught me looking and I closed my eyes, cracking a toothy smile.

“What?” She asked, bashfully smiling at me.

“You’re cute,” I simply said, shrugging and managing to get a blush from her.

“Nayeon-unnie, you should concentrate on the food menu instead,” Mina answered in between giggles.

“It’s hard to concentrate when you’re being so cute in front of me,” I replied, challengingly raising my eyebrows. Mina blushed even more and shook her head in reply, her smile never leaving her face.

“You’re silly,” Mina said, and we both laughed.

Finally picking up my menu and opening it, I read through the pages, trying to find something that suited my taste. “Wow, they have such big variety of sandwiches here,” I said, sounding impressed. “And they have other stuff too.”

A waiter arrived at our table, politely smiling and asking, “Hello! Have you girls decided what to order yet?”

“Um, I would like the spicy mahi mahi and eggs sandwich,” Mina said, putting down the menu and glancing at me.

“I’d like the same as her,” I grinned, figuring I trusted Mina’s taste. “Also, we'd like a large portion of ketchup and two soft drinks.”

The waiter nodded and wrote down our orders, excusing himself and leaving us alone again.

“Is this your first time here?” Mina asked me, seeming curious.

“Yup! I never came here before,” I replied, resting my chin on my hand. “But our bakery provides the bread they use here, so that’s how I knew it.”

“Oh, that’s really impressive!”

“What can I say? I really do think our bakery has the best bread in town,” I cheekily said, winking.

She giggled in response to my silliness, and said, “I don’t doubt your word, unnie. I’m sure the bread is amazing.”

We kept exchanging silly jokes and