I'm keeping Mina's name the same just as the poll results had shown me :D...

~~0~~

Mark Tuan cut a tall, strapping figure as he hung around the departure hall of Seoul’s Airport. Decked in a blinding yellow Hawaiian shirt and maroon bermuda shorts with a pair of aviator shades sitting atop his head, he clearly stood out from the listless crowd. It was after all, barely five in the morning.

In the distance, he spied the sleepy-looking Im Nayeon and Hirai Momo trudging towards him. The petite woman was dragging a trolley luggage bag behind her while Momo had a navy duffel bag slung across his slouching torso. Mark broke into a broad grin and waved wildly at the pair.

“Hey! Over here!” his energetic voice boomed, startling the people around him. When the duo finally reached him, he remarked, “Man, you guys are slow!”

Nayeon shot a glare at the loud man through half-lidded eyes. “Look at the time, you overgrown Duracell bunny. We are early!”

Next to her, Momo nodded in agreement as he stifled a yawn. Mark checked his watch and discovered it was still ten minutes before the group’s meeting time.

“Oops,” he let out a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of his head. “Anyway, you two look horrible.”

“Easy for you to say, Captain Obvious,” Nayeon grumbled. “You aren’t the one who had to do overtime till 3am,” the grouchy woman leant against the pillar beside her, allowing her disheveled hair to fall over her face.

“Looks like someone can’t enjoy the vacation,” an all-too-familiar haughty voice from behind invaded Nayeon’s ears, making her skin crawl in annoyance.

“Shut up, you stick!” she spun around and snapped only to bolt upright when she noticed the woman beside Yoo Jeongyeon. “J-Jihyo!” Nayeon hastily smoothed her messy hair back and straightened her pink hooded sweater.

“Jeongyeon!” Mark’s face lit up at the sight of his long-time colleague in the Department of Neurosurgery. “And a very good morning to you, Jihyo!” he greeted the gorgeous woman with luscious, wavy brown hair and alluring feminine curves. Park Jihyo, a gynaecologist at JYP Hospital smiled and returned his greeting.

“Why are the two of you together?” Nayeon questioned. Jeongyeon smirked at the displeased look on her face. Putting his arm around Jihyo’s shoulders, he replied, “I gave Jihyo a ride here. Any problem?”

Clenching her fists, Nayeon suppressed a low growl and forced a smile onto her face, “No. No problem at all.” The blush that was spreading across Jihyo’s cheeks irked her to no end. Just you wait, you stick.

“Ah, Sattang is here!” Mark’s excited yell broke the rising tension in the air…

Until Momo’s brow twitched at the way he addressed Sana.

‘What Sattang?’ I’m the only one who calls her that. Momo narrowed his eyes at the oblivious neurosurgeon who was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, trying to gain the attention of the nurse who had just entered the hall with her boyfriend. Momo’s irritation did not go unnoticed by Jeongyeon whose smirk widened at his new discovery.

“Good morning, everyone! Sorry we are a little late,” Sana bowed apologetically. The bright-eyed lady appeared fresh-faced in her white sundress with yellow daisies print while Mina went with his usual fuss-free look with a simple white short-sleeved shirt and khaki pants.

“Oh no, you aren’t late!” Mark blurted, flashing his famous charming smile. “Our watches are just faster than the actual time, right guys?” he turned and winked at the rest, hoping that they would play along but they either looked away or rolled their eyes as in Nayeon and Momo’s case, obviously miffed at the double standard treatment. Feeling betrayed and embarrassed by the lack of support, the tanned doctor tried to change the subject. “Er… ah… Sattang, have you had breakfast? I have some snacks here in case you are hungry,” he slipped his backpack to the front and rummaged through its contents.

“It’s okay,” Sana interrupted him before he overturned his entire bag. “Mina has prepared sandwiches for me,” she hugged the waist of her boyfriend who had been observing the exchange with an amused smile all this while.

“I’m hungry too! Did you make my share?” Nayeon looked at Mina with pleading eyes.

“No.”

“What? How could you?” the female doctor whined loudly, tugging his sleeve like a spoilt child.

“You need to cut down on your food intake,” Mina replied flatly. Nayeon snorted in response and mumbled, “Ungrateful brat.”

“I have Pocky if you want,” Jihyo offered, taking pity on her. Nayeon’s eyes shot open with glee and she launched herself at the woman, “I love you, Jihyo! Thank you!” and planted a resounding wet smooch on her face, earning a surprised yelp from Jihyo.

‘Score!’ Nayeon did a victorious fist pump and stuck her tongue out at Jeongyeon who inhaled sharply and promptly turned the other way.

On the side, Sana was studying Mina’s face for any sign of discomfort.

“What is it?” he asked, feeling perturbed at how she was looking at him as if he was some sort of rare virus specimen.

“You sure you are okay? Do you feel pain anywhere?”

Ruffling her hair, he chided good-naturedly, “Stop worrying. You should be enjoying this holiday, not stressing yourself out over me.”

She pouted, “It’s your first time leaving the house on a long trip after your surgery. Of course I’m worried.”

Enveloping her hands in his, he played with her smooth fingers, noting the missing presence of a certain diamond ring which was tucked away in his pocket. “I’m on a mission to get Mrs. Myoui so I won’t go down so easily. Trust me, alright? I’ll let you know if I’m not feeling well.”

Smiling shyly at his words, she nodded and wrapped her arms around her dearest doctor, hiding her blushing face in his shoulder. She was having butterflies in her stomach just thinking about being formally proposed to. A few steps away, Momo and Mark stared wistfully at the loving yet gut-wrenching scene.

Hurried footsteps approached the group and the notorious gossiping trio of Joy, Wendy and Eunha arrived at the meeting point, breathing heavily amidst messy gasps from their run.

“Morning guys! Sorry we are late! Joy over…” Wendy’s voice trailed off when she noticed no one was paying them any heed. Sana and Mina were in their own world. Mark and Momo bore pensive looks. Jihyo was absorbed in smashing buttons on her PlayStation Portable despite being in the line of fire of Jeongyeon and Nayeon’s heated staring contest.

“…slept?” Wendy finished with a tiny squeak. She cast a helpless glance at her buddies who had become aware of the awkward situation too. Joy shrugged, making a ‘don’t-ask-me face.’

“Ah,” Eunha pounded her fist against her palm, suddenly struck by a brilliant idea, “we need a knife!”

“Why?” Joy frowned at her airheaded friend’s odd suggestion.

“To cut the tension in the air!”

The other two ladies facepalmed and sighed.

“It’s going to be a looong trip.”

---

The moment the group boarded the plane, Nayeon shoved her way past everyone to snag the seat beside Jihyo, even going to the extent of throwing Jeongyeon’s sling bag to the seat behind her although there were three seats on each side of the aisle.

“Excuse me Im, that seat belongs to me,” Jeongyeon who had been preoccupied with storing Jihyo’s carry-on luggage in the overhead compartment returned to find a rude shock in the form of a erted lesbian in his seat.

“Can’t you see that there are six ladies in our group? Shouldn’t you be a gentleman and let us sit together inside of being the thorn among the roses?”

Jeongyeon mentally gagged at the uncouth woman referring to herself as a rose. “I already spot a thorn in the flesh in front of me,” he countered, folding his arms.

“Sattang!” Nayeon stood and shouted at the younger woman who was still making her way to the group’s allocated seats. “Come and sit with me and Jihyo! Yoo is going to take your seat!”

“I don’t want! I’m sitting with Mina!”

“Traitor,” Nayeon muttered under her breath.

With a triumphant smile, Jeongyeon fished out his boarding pass and brandished it before Nayeon’s face.

“Look at this. It clearly states that I’m sitting in J58 which is the seat that you are occupying.”

“So? It doesn’t mean that we have to stick strictly to what’s printed on the tickets,” Nayeon argued stubbornly.

“Aish!” Jihyo slammed her PSP down on her lap, unable to take their squabbling anymore. “I can’t focus on my game!”

Jeongyeon and Nayeon stiffened at Jihyo’s unexpected outburst.

“Nayeon, you give Jeongyeon his seat back.”

“B-but…”

“I’m not done talking,” Jihyo cut Nayeon off. “Nayeon, you take the window seat and Jeongyeon, you take this aisle seat. Now no more complaints, if not I’m going to change seats!”

Even Jeongyeon the master of comebacks was stunned beyond words by the easy-going woman’s rare display of rage. Swallowing their pride, the two rivals buried their hatchet for the time being and obediently followed Jihyo’s instructions. When they had finally settled down, the gynecologist relaxed into her seat and went back to her game while Jeongyeon and Nayeon sighed at playing second fiddle to some cutesy virtual characters.

In the row behind them sat Mina, Sana and Momo, another tension-filled combination. Momo took the window seat, giving the excuse that he wanted minimum distraction to catch up on his sleep whereas Mina sat in the middle to reduce the chances of a