"Hello?" Mina asked, puzzled about an unknown number calling her, worrying about the possibility some fans could have found out it.

"Hello?" Said a voice that instantly sent her heart pumping, because she realized it belonged to the girl who hasn't left her mind since yesterday. "Is this Myoui Mina?"

Mina tried processing what was happening and couldn't manage to say anything. How did Nayeon get her number? She was sure she didn't give it to her. 

"Hello...?" Repeated the voice, this time sounding a bit quieter than before. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, I can just hang up if you-"

"Wait, don't hang up!" Mina replied abruptly, scared that Nayeon would misunderstand. "Nayeon-unnie, i-is this you?" She added shyly, her voice mellow.

"It is me," she answered, her voice sounding equally as shy as Mina, and for some reason, that brought a smile to the Japanese girl's face. "I'm sorry to be calling you out of the blue... I wanted to talk to you again."

"It's alright," Mina said, blushing with Nayeon's admission. "I wanted to talk to you again, too... but how did you get my number?"

"Oh. I realized that I was stupid yesterday and forgot to get it," Nayeon answered, making Mina laugh a bit. "But my friend Chaeyoung knows your friend Dahyun, so she managed to get it for me."

"That makes sense," Mina replied, making a mental note to thank Dahyun later.

"Oh! Are you busy right now?" Nayeon suddenly asked, sounding a bit apprehensive. "I hope I'm not disturbing you." 

"Don't worry, I'm just having lunch," Mina assured.

"I was just having lunch too, but I'll have to go back to practice soon," Nayeon told. "What are you eating?"

"Hmm," Mina mumbled, looking down at her plate. "Just some vegetables, rice, and egg with ketchup."

"Eggs with ketchup?" Nayeon asked, giggling. "Is that good?"

"Of course," Mina answered, smiling as she played with the fork. "Anything is good with ketchup."

Nayeon laughed, and Mina felt her heart warm at the sound. "I take it you're a fan of ketchup."

"That would be accurate," Mina responded, her smile growing wider at Nayeon's capacity to keep the conversation going.

"I'll keep that in mind," Nayeon said, and Mina could hear the sound of people speaking around her. "I have to go soon, but before that, I... I was w-wondering if you wanted to come to my friends' birthday party? If you're free, of course, and if you want to."

Nayeon was visibly nervous, and Mina found that and her rambling cute. But she also felt nervous at the prospect of seeing Nayeon again, around so many people she's not familiar with. 

She was also uncertain where all of this was going, unable to tell Nayeon's intentions. Mina was sure that if she continued seeing the older girl again, she would end up falling for her, and that terrified her.

So many things could go wrong. It was entirely possible that Nayeon only wanted a friendship with her. And even if she returned Mina's feelings, what if she ended up getting hurt again? 

The scars from her previous relationship still vividly stung, like tattoos she didn't want on her skin anymore. 

"Mina-ya...?" Nayeon said, her voice somewhat shaky, and Mina realized she left the poor girl hanging. "I'll understand if you don't want to go."

She couldn't stand how sad Nayeon sounded. Even if it was scary, she thought it was worth a shot. She was dying to see the girl again, after all.

"I'd like to see you again," she finally replied, trying to sound assured. "W-When is the party?"

"Really?!" Nayeon asked, her voice already wholly different and back to the usual cheerful voice Mina was growing used to. "Thank you, Mina-ya... the party is this Saturday... it's for my friends' Jeongyeon and Momo's birthday... they couldn't celebrate it on the actual dates because of our schedule, so we're throwing a party for them. You can also bring your friends if you'd like to." Mina could hear a high-pitched voice beside Nayeon saying something, and the older girl added, somewhat reluctantly. "Including Park Jihyo, my friend asked me to say."

"How do you know I'm friends with her?" Mina asked, confusedly, avoiding saying Jihyo's name since the girl was right in front of her.

"Oh, geez, I swear I wasn't stalking you," Nayeon said embarrassedly. "She was with Dahyun on her profile picture, and my friend saw it and won't shut up about it." Mina could practically imagine her rolling her eyes and smiled at the thought.

"Okay, I'll invite them too," Mina returned, giggling a little bit.

"Alright," Nayeon spoke, before sighing a bit. "I have to go now... thank you, Mina-ya... for talking to me, and for agreeing to see me again."

"You don't need to thank me for that," Mina replied, smiling softly. "I'm glad you called me, so I guess I should be thanking you too..." 

Nayeon giggled a bit and said, her voice sounding sweet, "I'll see you soon then, have a great day, Mina-ya."

"Take care, unnie... I can't wait to see you again," Mina replied, reddening at her last statement and hanging up the phone embarrassedly.

She saved Nayeon's contact with a cute bunny emoji beside her name and put her phone down, finally realizing Jihyo was staring at her with a weird face. 

"Who was that?" She asked, seeming curious. 

"Oh... that was Nayeon-unnie," Mina replied nonchalantly, taking a bite of her eggs.

"Nayeon-unnie...?" Jihyo asked, raising her eyebrows. "As in Im Nayeon, from TWICE?" 

Mina simply nodded in reply, feeling her cheeks warm up once again. 

"I didn't know you knew her," Jihyo commented, still surprised.

"I met her last night," Mina answered, not looking at Jihyo and focusing all of her attention on the food. 

"Interesting," Jihyo said, supporting her chin with her hand.

"What's interesting?" Mina asked, deciding to take a glance at Jihyo but immediately regretting it when she saw the smirk on her friend's face. 

"You having a crush on Im Nayeon," Jihyo replied, simply, but that was enough to make Mina's face redder than the ketchup on her plate. 

"W-Who said I have a crush on her?" She asked, sounding quite desperate, and Jihyo's smile widened.

"Your heart eyes when you talked to her, your little shy smile," Jihyo said, and Mina detested how she burned harder with every word her friend said. "The way you blushed -"

"Alright, I-I get it already!" Mina interrupted her friend, who laughed lightly.

"I'm sorry," she said, raising her hands. "I'll stop now... so what did she want?"

"She invited me to her friends' birthday party," Mina countered. "She also said I can take my friends with me, so... could you come with me... please?"

"Of course," Jihyo beamed, getting up and pinching Mina's cheeks. " I wouldn't leave my sweet Minari all alone."

Mina blushed, embarrassed at her friend's constant teasing, but she still felt thankful that she would tag along. "Thank you... I'll ask Dahyun and Tzuyu to go with us too."

The "JeongMo birthday party", as Nayeon had been referring to it, was being held at a private party lounge. JYPE's staff made sure the security was tight, and it was only possible to get in if your name was on their list. She was waiting for her friend Dahyun to show her documents, and then it would be her turn.

Mina could nearly feel her heart jumping through . She' had been texting Nayeon for the past few days, but seeing the older girl in person was genuinely unnerving.

"Name?" Asked the security, reaching out his hand.

"Myoui Mina," she answered, giving him her document. He went through his list and repeated her name, signaling that she could enter.

Her friends were already at the entrance, waiting for her, and she could instantly see a beautiful wall with red roses. There was music playing inside, and the place was mostly lit by neon lights. The group hung their coats in an area destinated for that, and Dahyun was looking around, grinning widely as she said, "Wow, this is a bigger party than I expected."

Mina thought the same thing, but she was definitely less thrilled about it than her friend. The number of people made her a bit anxious. She glanced around, trying to find anyone she knew when her eyes landed on familiar ones. The ones she's been longing to see.

Nayeon wore a white Balenciaga crop top, light pink jeans, white sneakers, and a red beret. But what stood out the most to Mina was her adorable smile, showcasing her bunny teeth, as she walked in her direction.

When she got close enough, Mina noticed that her blush was in a heart shape and that she had blue contact lenses, along with a few blonde streaks extensions on her hair. The Japanese girl thought she certainly lived up to being the center of the number one girl group in South Korea. Nayeon was undoubtedly gorgeous.

"Mina-ya!" She said, smiling widely. 

Mina was unsure if she should hug Nayeon, but before she could do anything, the older girl gently pulled her into her arms, enabling her to feel her warmth and smell her sweet perfume. It was the closest she'd ever been to Nayeon, and she didn't know if her fast-beating heart would be able to hand it. 

"Thank you for coming," she whis