- So…

- Do not start!

- But…

- No.

- And yet, unnie...

- Don't even think about it, Momo.

- Why?

- Nothing will come of this.

- It will work out, because it’s not just me who’s involved in this.

- That's it. Why did you drag Mina and Sana into this matter?

- They are my best friends. We have no secrets.

- Okay, but what about everyone else?

- I didn't tell them.

- Then how do they know?

- I didn't say so, unnie. I can vouch for Mina and Sana, they were also silent.

- God, I was already embarrassed to tell you this, but now everyone knows about my problem.

- Just us, 8 of us.

- Momo...

- Are you even aware that we can hear you, Nabongi? How long do we have to wait before we start discussing your problem? To be honest, this doesn't even seem like a problem. Think about asking a girl out on a date. Besides, you have known her for more than 4 years, you have been on dates many times, so how is this date different from the previous ones? – spread her hands to the sides, really not understanding, but starting to guess Jeongyeon.

Momo, exchanging glances with Sana, began to speak, but was stopped by Nayeon's hand:

- Doesn't matter. I can handle it myself! - making a sign for Momo to be silent.

- Apparently I couldn’t handle it, since Momo called us, - Jeongyeon chuckled, winking at the dumbfounded Momo.

- Um, unnie, I don’t... - cowardly cast a glance towards the incredulous Nayeon, Momo hung her head, realizing that she had “gotten it.” – Sorry, but I didn’t go into details. Just mentioned her briefly.

- Momo, please be quiet, - she bit her lower lip and asked Nayeon, wondering what to do next. Admit or deny?

- Nayeon-chan, you know, we will always help you regardless of the nature of the problem, - Mina said softly, thereby destroying all the walls that Nayeon had erected.

Everyone knew that Mina had such an influence on her, so they silently thanked everyone and everything that there was such a person on their team. Nayeon is too soft towards Mina.

Seeing that she could continue to insist, Jeongyeon wanted to continue, but she was interrupted by JiHyo’s voice:

- You want to confess to her, right, unnie? Is that why you want to ask Miyeon out ?

Nayeon did not answer, she simply nodded, hiding her reddened face behind her palms.

- Then invite her as usual, without mentioning the real purpose, - Sana suggested.

- Sana-unnie is right, Nayeon-unnie, - DaHyun nodded, - and when the right moment comes, admit it.

- She knows, -  Momo muttered, not addressing anyone in particular.

- Who knows? / Do you mean “knows”? / How did she know? – various questions rained down from all sides.

- Momo! – Nayeon was indignant, although it turned out weakly.

- Sorry, but…

- OK. Listen, I already confessed to her, but Miyeon didn’t answer me, we started communicating again, as if my confession never happened. This torments me. I want to know if she loves me as much as I do or not. Therefore, I am looking for a moment to invite her again, to tell her again, to demand an answer from her.

- Wow, Nabongi, this is the longest sentence you've had in the last hour. Who knew that I missed your verbosity?

“Haha, very funny, Jeongyeon,” Nayeon said sarcastically, casting a frown at the smug Jeongyeon.

- Wait, unnie, so you mean you were rejected the first time?

- They didn’t refuse, at least not verbally, - Nayeon sighed, smiling wryly at JiHyo.

- How long does this attitude last? – Chaeyoung decided to clarify with curiosity, feeling with her intuition that she would not like the answer.

- It’s been three months now, if I’m not mistaken,-  Momo answered first, having previously hid behind Mina.

- So long?! - everyone exclaimed. “You’re kidding, Momo, right?”

- What kind of jokes are there? What Momo said is true. Just not three months, tomorrow it will be already six months - a sad smile from Nayeon.

- It can’t be that she forgot?! How can she use your feelings like that?! What a vile person!

- Don't get angry, JiHyo, it doesn't matter here. I need to know the answer and that's it.

“You will find out soon, Nayeon-unnie,” JiHyo promised. – We need to think over a plan to “attack” unnie. You need to take her by surprise, squeeze her from all sides, not allowing her to get away. We will confuse her and force her to answer you.

-Can we just help her realize her feelings towards Nayeon-chan? Without violence?

- Of course, we will do so. We'll make her jealous! – DaHyun suddenly applauded her idea, expecting praise from the others, which immediately followed. – We have plenty of girls for the role we need.

- Miyeon will never believe that Nayeon-unnie has non-sisterly feelings for us, bro. He won’t believe the same about Jeongyeon, JiHyo and Tzuyu.

- You're right here, Chengy. Well, we only have Sana-unnie and Mina-unnie left. It's hard to believe here that you're not dating. You have such chemistry with each other that half of my campus is sure that you have a triangular relationship,” DaHyun laughed, ignoring the faint “ah” and “oh” from the girls.

- Um, sorry, are you suggesting that I fake date them to make Miyeon jealous? – Nayeon clarified, afraid to meet her friends’ eyes.

- That's what I said.

- But... you didn’t ask the girls’ opinions...

- We agree, - Sana answered for both, smiling brightly at the shocked Nayeon. - We will do everything to make you happy, unnie, am I right, Minari?

- Yes. “We don’t mind, Nayeon-chan,” Mina confirmed, smiling sweetly, not hiding her blush of embarrassment on her cheeks.

- Of course, I am grateful to you, but this is somehow not natural, what if our friendship deteriorates?

“This won’t happen, you’re always number one, Nayeon-unnie,” Sana answered with all confidence, squeezing Mina’s sweaty palm in her hands.

“Great,” the joyful DaHyun clapped her hands, now all that’s left is to make a plan. But we will do this ourselves, and you, Nayeon-unnie, go home. We'll tell you everything later - gently but persistently, DaHyun persuaded Nayeon to go to his room, to leave their friendly gatherings earlier.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hear anything. Therefore, she gave in, closing her eyes and completely trusting her best friends.

**

Sana:

- What should we do? We're lost!

Mine:

- We hid our feelings for Nayeon for so long, and now our secret crush will be revealed to everyone.

Momo:

- This is cruel, Dubu , even if girls show their love openly, Nayeon-unnie will still think that they are good actresses.

DaHyun:

- We will make a plan so that instead of Miyeon , unnie will fall in love with Sana and Mina.

Chaeyoung:

- You've already come up with something, right, bro? What's on your mind?

DaHyun:

- Kim Miyeon is not even worth our little finger to our Nayeon-unnie. How dare she refuse her, how dare she manipulate her feelings, communicate with her as if the calling did not exist. She crossed the path of all of us by offending Nayeon. Why does she need it? No, if I want Nayeon-unnie to be happy and loved, then there are no better candidates for “girlfriends”.

Jeongyeon:

- You're right, DaHyun. There is no one better than Sana and Mina. They are already blowing away specks of dust from her, what will happen when this stupid person falls in love with them! Oh, JiHyo, why?

Jihyo:

- Nayeon is not stupid, stop saying that. Do you already have a plan, DaHyun?

DaHyun:

- Yes, I prepared it, now I’ll share it with him. So here's what we'll do...

***

In fact, the plan was quite simple - proceed as usual. In the days that followed, no matter how much Nayeon thought about what the plan was, it all came down to this assumption.

Both Mina and Sana, none of them insisted on more intimate touches, that is, holding hands or kissing the cheek goodbye. No, as before, Nayeon was always the first to touch. She was so used to always holding Sana’s hand when they walked to the university, she liked to feel the trembling fingers (Sana was cold in any weather, Nayeon thought it was too cute), she liked to realize that her wide palms were warm.

It also became a habit to always treat Mina with care when they met her on a lunch break (the girl was always in a hurry to meet them, so she often forgot to button up or change clothes if she was coming from training). In such cases, Nayeon always brought a spare jacket with her, covered her shoulders, sometimes simply hugging Mina, pulling her towards her. When she and Sana walked Mina home after a long walk, Nayeon had gotten used to kissing her on the cheek and wishing her sweet dreams instead of waving goodbye.

Their idyll.

Nayeon cherished every moment with the girls, skillfully hiding her true feelings towards them.

The truth is that Nayeon has been in love with both of them for a long time, since her first year, although she met them separately. Sanu, when she got lost and couldn’t find the welcoming ceremony hall, and Mina, whom she helped with translation.

Two Japanese girls who did not know the Korean language, who came to Seoul of their own accord and did not know anyone in the city, were pleasantly surprised when a “Korean unnie” helped them on the very first day of entering the university.

Then Nayeon took patronage over them. She was everywhere they needed help. Recognizing them, Nayeon fell more in love, and when she wanted to confess her feelings, she accidentally heard:

- Yes, we love Nayeon, but our love is more like “sisterly” than romantic. So you don't have to worry.

So Mina said, Sana confirmed, and Nayeon understood that her love should remain with her, buried in the depths of her broken heart.

It was from that day that Nayeon zealously began to look for another crush.

It was from that day that everyone at the university began to follow the love affairs of Im Nayeon, the most popular student.

Having hidden all her true feelings, Nayeon nevertheless could not completely distance herself from the girls. She needed to be near them.

She learned to live with unrequited feelings in her heart, filling it with reckless meetings with other girls.

Nayeon thought that she would never fall in love with anyone except Sana and Mina, but Miyeon appeared on the horizon , combining two of Nayeon’s beloved ones at once. Sana's playfulness with Mina's elegance, plus her own awkwardness and first-class flair for dance. Miyeon was the same as Momo in the dance club that Sana and Mina attended. Nayeon was just a spectator and support, no matter how many times you tried to persuade her to join.

- No, no, girls, I still want to live, - Nayeon laughed off another request, partly jokingly, because in fact everything is simple, being next to scantily clad girls, Nayeon was afraid that she could lose control and voice her feelings publicly.

So, she could barely contain her urge to run her hand down her neck and remove a drop of sweat, or to inhale more deeply of the natural body odor, or simply to hug them longer as usual.

Kim Miyeon appeared out of nowhere, just walked in and applied to be admitted to the dance studio. Nayeon was then in the role of a spectator, watching the selection with interest, although, to be honest, she was constantly looking towards Sana, who was warming up, or Mina, who was laughing sweetly at a joke.

The first beat of the dance composition sounded, Nayeon turned her head and froze. Throughout the dance, she did not take her eyes off the dancer. And when she finished, without holding back the impulse, she jumped up from her seat and applauded loudly.

Their glances accidentally crossed, and for the first time in so many years of silence, Nayeon heard the response of her heartbeat to the smile of another girl.

Maybe I found you?

With this thought, Nayeon began to act.

She flirted, courted, gave hints about their relationship, invited them on various dates, gave gifts, did everything to attract the attention of Kim Miyeon . When Nayeon convinced herself that she couldn’t live even a day without Miyeon , she decided to take the boldest step - to confess.

It seemed to her that Miyeon understood the hints, but, alas, after that romantic date, where Nayeon voiced her feelings, Miyeon seemed to have lost interest in her and began to avoid her.

Momo doesn't know this because Nayeon didn't share all the details of that date.

How will she become jealous of me if she never had feelings for me?

But Nayeon did not dare to ask DaHyun this question then, she simply decided - let her go her own way.

Maybe with this plan I can at least find out why she's avoiding me?

***

- This is funny, - Miyeon chuckled , watching from the side of the convenience store, where she went with her fellow students to buy something to eat.

Her eyes never for a second lost sight of Nayeon walking arm in arm with Sana. Nayeon beamed, her loud voice sounding childish as she complained to Sana about something. Sana's melodic laughter calmed Nayeon with all tenderness, assuring her that she would succeed next time.

- Oh, isn’t this Nayeon-unnie? She hasn't been seen for so long. So that's why she refused to come with us today? It turns out she has a date with Sana.

- What nonsense – paying for drinks and food, Miyeon felt anger and discontent rising.

- You said that the most popular girl in the university will eat from your hand, Miyeon . But all we see is Nayeon hanging out with Sana and sometimes flirting with Mina. They have an idyll. Maybe you went a little overboard when you started ignoring her?

- Everything was perfect for me, - Miyeon hissed at them , being the first to leave the store and almost bumping into the incoming Mina. She managed to return the beautiful smile, the quiet voice that had always attracted Nayeon so much as she greeted Mina: - Hello, what an unexpected meeting.

- Hello, Miyeon , - Mina bowed back, without stopping, walking straight into the store.

-Are you here alone? – Miyeon stopped the question .

- No. Sorry, but they are waiting for me, I don’t want to detain my loved one - I quickly took a couple of bottles of juice, some kind of bun, and also bought chewing gummies. Just as she was about to go out, the phone sounded; when she picked it up, the softest smile spontaneously blossomed on her lips, her voice became sweet as she listened.

Miyeon heard Nayeon's voice and almost winced at the plaintive tone, so similar to a child's:

- Minari, buy me bears, I want to satisfy my grief with sweets.

- I already bought them, honey.

- Did you buy it? I love you, you are the best. Hey, Sana, I said that Minari is the best. She immediately understood what I needed. So Mina will get a kiss from me.

- Ha-ha, Nayeon-chan, don’t be so angry, Sana deserves a kiss too.

- Minari, I don’t want to wait for you for long.

- I'm on my way, I'll be there soon. Oh, - she grabbed her heart when she almost ran into Miyeon , who was standing in the aisle , - I’m sorry, they’re waiting for me. Bye.

- So is it true that they started dating? Wow, I need to screenshot it and send it to the chats.

- Don't you dare do this! I forbid it! We'll see who wins. Nayeon belongs to me and only me – she narrowed her eyes at the happy picture in front of her. “You’ll see, starting tomorrow, she will again seek to meet with me and again confess her love.” I will never lose to Sana, much less Mina.

***

- Nayeon-unnie, no need to play anymore. Miyeon left - Sana said a little shyly as Nayeon's arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her closer to warm her.

- We played great, -  Mina laughed, handing Nayeon the gummy bears, still looking at Miyeon’s distant back . - Oh, - she suddenly became embarrassed when she felt unnie’s lips on her cheek, - for what?

- This is your reward, - Nayeon said in all seriousness, pouting at Sana. - She, - pointing in her direction, - assured me that winning would be a piece of cake, but it turned out the other way around. - The boy beat me! He took all my prizes and also bullied me.

- He wasn’t mocking, unnie, he just said that you need to learn from professionals, and for a fee he wouldn’t mind becoming one, - Sana said with a kind smile, enjoying the warmth and comfort.

- It sounded like a mockery! I studied with Mina, and she is a pro in her field! How could he say that about you, Minari? – Nayeon complained loudly, reaching out with her other hand, took Mina’s hand and squeezed.

- You really need to learn, unnie, - she couldn’t lie to her, Mina poured the remaining gummies into her palm and tenderly began to feed Nayeon while she continued to lament about losing.

- And instead of being on my side, you, Sana, laughed. You had fun, right?

- Very much, unnie. Admit it, you are all so proud with the bravado of starting a competition in a game that you just saw before your eyes yesterday. And that’s because with her prayers she persuaded Mina to show herself in the game. Even our Mina could not go beyond level 4, and you wanted to fly higher and further.

- Sana, did you do it on purpose? If you continue, from tomorrow morning, I will only walk with Mina.

- Hey, why?

- Because I love Mina more than you, - she stuck out her tongue, but did not take her hand away, squeezing it tighter.

- I love you too, Nayeon-chan, - she frankly admitted her feelings, expecting to hear, as always, a chuckle from her older friend, but instead:

- It’s so nice to hear that, - she leaned over and kissed her on the cheek again.

- Unnie, it’s not fair, you’ve already kissed her twice, but not me, - Sana said offended, pretending that she wanted to go herself.

- Because she is cuter than you today, Sana. Don't go that far, you'll freeze in your dress. Who even decided to wear such a light dress? You know that today the weather is not as hot as it was a week ago.

- I wanted to please you, stupid, - Sana pouted, nevertheless allowing herself to be pulled even closer.

- I already like you, - Nayeon muttered under her breath, turning away. – If you get sick, I won’t visit you. I will spend all my time with Minari.

- Nayeon-chan, - Sana said in a sweet voice, looking at her friend,  - what did I just hear? Do you like me?

- Stupid. Certainly. If she didn’t like her, she didn’t ask her out, she’d blurt out without thinking, without even realizing that she’d blurted out.

- Oh, date...

- Sana-chan, - Mina quietly asked to stop, she nodded, keeping Nayeon’s words in her happy heart, and did not insist.

As usual, they brought Mina home, wished her good night, and went to the station to catch the last train to their street. Their houses were next to each other, so Nayeon always accompanied Sana.

They walked in silence, accustomed to silence. With every step closer to the station, Sana felt hotter, blaming it all on Nayeon holding her hand, pressing her to her body, allowing her from time to time to inhale the aroma of the gummy bears that the girl had recently eaten. When the last train arrived, it was usually empty, there were many empty seats, but they always sat next to each other. The train made me feel sick, so Sana always fell asleep first, and woke up lying on Nayeon’s lap with a hand on her head, caressing her. At such moments my heart was ready to burst with happiness. Afterwards, Sana couldn’t fall asleep for a long time.

She thought that this would happen today too.

She was wrong.

Instead, Nayeon was the first to get sick, and Sana literally didn’t know where to put her hands, afraid to move at all, so as not to wake up the girl. Her head lay on Sana's shoulder, quietly snoring. She was so cute that Sanya wanted to take a photo and keep it as a keepsake. But the phone is in the bag, taking it out means waking you up, no.

It's a pity that this frame is missing.

When Nayeon woke up, or rather Sana had to wake her up, because they arrived at their station, the girl, half asleep, looking into the eyes of the blushing Sana (Nayeon brought her face almost right next to Sana’s face), said:

“You’re so beautiful, I can barely restrain myself from kissing you.” Please dress like this just for me. I don't want anyone else to see you in it.

- I dress like this just for you, unnie. You are my priority. Always – Sana admitted just as quietly, trembling from Nayeon’s lips in the corner of her lips.

Can this be considered the first kiss on the lips? – the question tormented Sana throughout the night after they said goodbye to Nayeon, arranging to meet tomorrow as usual.

***

The next morning began with bad news. All of Sana's good mood was instantly ruined when she heard the voice of Nayeon calling on her phone. The sweet voice of Miyeon , asking Nayeon for help in writing some postcards.

- Sorry, Miyeon , but I can't right now. I'm going with Sana.

- Just a couple of minutes, that’s what I ask , - Miyeon insisted , which irritated Sana. - We haven’t seen each other for so long, don’t you miss me? I miss our communication, Nayeon.

- And who is to blame for this, Miyeon ? You yourself ignored me. Look, I'm sorry, but I really can't leave right now. I have other things to do.

- With Sana? So what you heard is true? You are dating?

- Yes. We are dating. Come on later, I can't talk anymore. Bye.

The spoiled mood disappeared in the blink of an eye, Sana began to shine with new colors, and even began to dance.

- Why are you so happy, Sana? – Nayeon laughed, looking cheerfully at her satisfied friend.

- I just liked what I heard. Even though our relationship is fake, it’s still so nice.

- Why don’t we make everything official? – Nayeon said, quickening her pace when she saw Mina waiting for them near the university gates.

- What? – Sana froze in place, looking after her friend with all her eyes. She's not serious, is she?

- Nayeon-chan! Sana! I'm here!

****

Mina always took the task at hand during dance practice seriously. The dance itself was easy to remember, but dancing as the choreographer required was very difficult. Maybe she would float freely in the dance hall if she were alone. But she was paired with Miyeon out of all the contenders for this production. Mina did not like to go into conflict, but Miyeon thought completely differently. For the entire hour that they spent here, the girl tried by any means to find out whether it was true or not about dating Nayeon. More precisely, she was interested in the question:

-Are you really dating?

Her answer did not completely satisfy her, Miyeon needed confirmation.

Only now the question is “why”.

It doesn't look like jealousy at all.

No, it feels like Miyeon 's favorite toy was taken away and she wants it back.

To be honest, Mina was tired, but she couldn’t ask her to leave, otherwise she could completely ruin her career as a future dancer.

Mina wanted someone to enter the dance hall and interrupt Miyeon who was constantly talking .

- Minari, honey, are you finished yet? – the prayers were heard only by the wrong person. Nayeon opened the doors and looked inside.

- Unnie, why are you here? Have you come for me? – Miyeon smiled , running up to Nayeon standing in the aisle, hugging her waist, pressing her body. - How did you know that I was here?

- I came for Mina, - Nayeon said, breaking away from Miyeon’s hands , coming closer to Mina, handing her a towel and water. - I didn’t know that you would be here too. Minari, are we going?

- Yes, wait a second, I'll pack my things now.

- Nayeon-unnie, can you give me a towel too? – she blinked coquettishly, stretching seductively.

- I have my hands full, - Nayeon answered simply, defiantly taking the bag from Mina’s hands and hanging it on her shoulder.

- You have changed, unnie. Previously, the first thing you did was take care of me - you pursed your lower lip offended.

- I didn’t have a girlfriend before, but now I do, and I want to transfer all the worries to her alone.

- Girls? Ha. So it’s still true that you’re dating two girls at once. With Sana and Mina. Is this by any chance not the plan to make me jealous and admit that I was wrong in not responding to your feelings?

- There is no plan, I love them longer than you. I'm glad they returned my feelings, I'm so happy now - a soft smile graced her face, touching the expression in her eyes too, as Nayeon looked at Mina.

- Why do we need a plan if we have true feelings? – to prove her words, Mina boldly took a step forward and, in front of Miyeon’s stunned eyes , kissed the corner of Nayeon’s lips. - Sorry, Miyeon , but we have to go. We'll finalize the dance tomorrow, bye.

**

- Listen, I’m sorry that I kissed you so suddenly, - the redness from embarrassment reached its limit right near the exit, when Mina stopped Nayeon by the hand, turning him towards her.

- There is no need for you to ask for forgiveness, Mina. You and I are a couple, - Nayeon said shyly, touching the place where the kiss was. - Besides, I liked getting sudden kisses from you.” Can we really become a real couple?

- What...ha-ha...you’re not serious, - the stuttering question was asked into the air, because Nayeon, who asked her, had already left the doors of the dance studio. - Nayeon-chan, were you asking everything seriously?

- Minari, are you coming?

- Yes, yes, - she hurried after the broadly smiling Nayeon.

****

A little later that day, a bell rang in JiHyo's apartment, the melody of which told her exactly who was calling at midnight.

At about the same time, a video call also sounded in another apartment where Momo lived. At such a time, only Sana and Mina could call, again something from Nayeon.

Both girls picked up the phone, not expecting to hear anything new.

However, this time, everything turned out differently.

***

- Jihyo...

- Hm? What happened, Nayeon-unnie?

- I... I will confess tomorrow...

- Oh, okay.

- Not Miyeon .

- Oh... really?

- Yes. I'm so scared, JiHyo.

- No need. Do you want me to be your support?

- No. I just…

- I'll be there, unnie.

***

- Momo.

- Hm?

- We will confess to Nayeon tomorrow.

- Are you sure?

- Yes.

- What if you get a refusal?

- We won't get it.

- Where such confidence?

- We know. Nayeon-chan hasn't been too secretive lately.

- Oh, ... okay, I hope you're right. Wish you luck.