It’s not a date.

 

That’s what Nayeon tells herself when she says yes to Sana asking if she’d want to go out for pancakes after class.

 

It’s not a date, she tells herself as she walks to her next class and convinces herself that Sana only asked to have dinner with her because it’s Friday and not because it’s Valentine’s Day.

 

It’s not a date, she tells herself as she goes back to her dorm room to change into a tight turtleneck sweater and a knee-length overcoat and convinces herself that it’s because she doesn’t want to be seen outside of campus wearing a Gudetama hoodie with the word “eggs-hausted” on it and not because she wants to look good for Sana.

 

It’s not a date, she tells herself as she makes her way to the university’s main gate and reminds herself of all the reasons why Minatozaki Sana would be the last person she’d ever want to go on a date with.

 

One, Sana isn’t even her friend. They’re just classmates who somehow have a silent agreement to sit next to each other in this one math class.

 

Also, two, she asks Nayeon so many questions during lectures as if she doesn’t understand the lessons but always ends up getting higher exam scores.

 

Sana never even talked to her about anything other than math questions until today which is why, three, they don’t know anything about each other at all.

 

Except maybe Nayeon knows that Sana always brings these cute notepads to class with different shiba inu designs, so it’s safe to say that Sana likes shibas.

 

(Maybe that’s also what made Nayeon look for cute bunny notepads for herself.)

 

The point still stands however, that they are practically strangers, so she doesn’t know what… this is exactly, but one thing’s for sure.

 

It’s not a date.

 

“This is a date.”

 

For a second, Nayeon pauses, staring at Sana who has her back turned as she’s exiting the train. Nayeon snaps out of her trance just in time to hop off the train before the doors close, and when she catches up to Sana, she exclaims, “Excuse me?!”

 

“If anyone asks, this is a date,” Sana says nonchalantly before elaborating as they continue walking. “The place has a 50% off discount for couples today. I want that discount.”

 

Huh.

 

It makes more sense now, why Sana asked for her company today even though she has never spoken to Nayeon at all about anything non-math related.

 

She doesn’t know how to react to this new information, if she’s supposed to feel used or anxious about pretending to be on a date with a... mere acquaintance, but she decides that there are a lot of worse ways to spend Valentine’s Day.

 

Besides, the said acquaintance is a gorgeous acquaintance, Nayeon has to admit. She definitely shouldn’t complain, so—

 

“Okay.”

 

“Okay?”

 

“Okay…” Nayeon repeats before trying, “… babe?”

 

Sana winces. “Nayeon…”

 

“Yeah, let’s not do that.”

 

“Agreed,” Sana nods. “Maybe let’s just hold hands?”

 

“Yeah, maybe.”

 

It takes Nayeon by surprise when Sana immediately reaches for her hand and tucks their intertwined hands into the pocket of her coat. She knows that she did agree to the idea, but she thought Sana meant they should hold hands when they’re near the restaurant, not when they’re still a good ten-minute walk away from it.

 

But it felt nice.

 

Everything about it was nice—the soufflé pancakes, the restaurant’s ambience, the soufflé pancakes, the way their conversation flows naturally, the soufflé pancakes, the way Sana laughs at every little thing she says, the soufflé pancakes, the way this waitress is evidently eyeing Sana as she’s trying to offer them special Valentine’s Day milkshakes—

 

Okay, maybe not everything.

 

“She’s not interested,” Nayeon cuts the waitress off. “I mean, we’re not interested. In the drinks.”

 

Nayeon almost feels guilty for snapping, especially when she remembers that they’re not even on an actual date, but then the waitress turns to her and says “you’re a very lucky woman” with a cheeky grin, and wow, is this really happening?

 

“Oh, you have no idea,” Nayeon replies with an frighteningly wide smile and places her hand over Sana’s which is resting on the table.

 

There’s a feeling of satisfaction and relief that washes over Nayeon when the waitress leaves them—finally—but then she meets Sana’s slightly questioning, mostly amused look.

 

“Look, I know it’s like really tough out there for everyone trying to find someone to date, but damn, people really have no respect anymore,” Nayeon justifies her behavior.

 

“Why are you explaining? I wasn’t gonna say anything.”

 

“You didn’t have to. I can hear you thinking.”

 

“All I’m thinking about is that you play the possessive girlfriend role quite well,” Sana teases, and Nayeon just wants the ground to swallow her whole.

 

“Y-yeah, well, we’re here for the discount, so we better sell it, you know?”

 

As Nayeon stutters through that excuse, she realizes that her hand is still above Sana’s, so she moves it until Sana stops her.

 

“Hey, it’s all good,” Sana reassures as she keeps Nayeon’s hand in place. “I’m just glad you’re cool with this.”

 

Oh, Nayeon is absolutely cool with this, whatever this is.

 

(Holding hands with Sana across the table even if it’s kind of hard to eat pancakes with one hand is definitely an enough indication of how cool Nayeon is about this.

 

Sure, the whole thing is probably unnecessary given that they were already given their discounted receipt, and it’s not like they’ll be charged more if they stop holding hands for just one second.

 

Anyway, the point is that Nayeon is cool with this.)

 

When they finish their food, Sana pays for both of their meals. Nayeon lets her, figuring that couples probably won’t split the bill and she can just give Sana her share after they leave the restaurant.

 

“How much do I owe you?” Nayeon asks as they walk back to the train station.

 

“For what?”

 

“For dinner?”

 

“Oh, nothing, it’s my treat.”

 

At that, Nayeon stops walking and furrows her eyebrows in confusion. “I thought the whole point of you asking me out for dinner was getting a discount and paying less.”

 

“Exactly,” Sana answers with a nod. “If I buy one meal, then I’ll be saving 50% for one meal, but if I pay for two meals, then I’ll be saving twice as much,” she further explains.

 

“Oh,” Nayeon blinks, trying to process the math in her head. All that Nayeon can think of is the stonks meme, however, and she has no choice but to decide that whatever Sana said made sense when the girl asks another question.

 

“Hey, can we stop by the arcade real quick?”

 

It doesn’t feel like Sana is waiting for an answer though, because Nayeon hasn’t even answered and yet she’s already being dragged by the elbow to the nearby arcade.

 

It’s been a while since the last time that Nayeon went to an arcade. She used to go to play Mario Kart while her roommate, Mina, plays the Taiko drum game. Ever since Mina bought a Switch, however, they had no reason to go out to the arcade anymore.

 

Nayeon is wondering what Sana does in arcades since she doesn’t seem to be an arcade kind of girl (maybe they’re just here for the photo booth?) when Sana stops in front of a UFO catcher filled with stuffed bunnies.

 

“Oh my God, they’re so cute,” Nayeon gushes.

 

“You’re cute,” Sana counters, and Nayeon feels her cheeks get warm. “Your eyes are literally shining at stuffed bunnies.”

 

“Yeah, because they’re cute!”

 

“Mhm,” Sana hums in agreement. “If I get one for you, will you give me a kiss?”

 

“Ha! Sure.” Nayeon accepts confidently.

 

She has never played claw machine games before, but she has watched other people play it. Multiple times. She knows this game is rigged, so there’s no way that Sana will win anything.

 

… Except Sana does get the toy on her second try.

 

“I…” Nayeon blinks as Sana hands her the prize, and Sana just laughs.

 

“I’m joking about the kiss, Nayeon,” Sana says with a comforting pat on Nayeon’s shoulder. “Relax.”

 

“I am relaxed!” Nayeon answers in a high-pitched, not-so-relaxed voice. “A-also, thank you.”

 

“Anything for my girlfriend.” Sana winks, and Nayeon wonders what is this feeling?

 

“Wait, I wanna win you something, too,” Nayeon declares, looking around, and bingo, she sees a UFO catcher filled with cute shiba inu plushies lying on their bellies.

 

Nayeon practically skips to the machine, and Sana follows, worried as she watches Nayeon drop a coin to start the game.

 

“Hmm, if you’ve never played this before, maybe you should start with something small?”

 

“You won on your second try, though,” Nayeon reasons as she presses the button for her first attempt. “How hard can it be?”

 

It is… quite hard, Nayeon learns as she watches the claw merely touching the stuffed animal instead of grabbing and lifting it.

 

“Okay, I should try the small ones, yeah,” Nayeon concurs. She walks around until she sees a smaller machine with shiba inu bag charms and decides to try that instead.

 

Turns out the size of the prize isn’t the problem because Nayeon misses the small item entirely on her first attempt.

 

“Is your depth perception okay?” Sana teases when the claw still releases nothing onto the hatch on Nayeon’s fifth try.

 

“Shh.” Nayeon puts her sixth coin in, determined to make a better attempt this time, not that it can get much worse than the first five.

 

“Here, let me help,” is the only warning that Nayeon gets before she feels Sana’s right hand on her waist and sees the left reaching for the crane controller. She watches as Sana moves the joystick to position the claw better, and okay, Nayeon has so many question including why does Sana seem like such a pro in this game and why is it suddenly so hot in here and why does Sana smell so freaking good?

 

“Uhh, you should push the button now,” Nayeon hears next and… what was she doing again?

 

Oh, right. She’s playing.

 

Nayeon pushes the trigger button and watches the claw go down then wrap around the plush keychain perfectly. She holds her breath as the claw slowly lifts the prize but—

 

“WHAT THE HECK?!” Nayeon yells when the claw drops it before making it to the hatch.

 

“Come on, one more try,” Sana says encouragingly. “You’ve got this.”

 

Nayeon cracks her knuckles before putting in another coin and reaching for the game controls, not that it will be of any help because this game is obviously hopeless.

 

She adjusts the claw carefully, even walking to the sides of the machine to check if the position of the claw is okay, and before pushing the button, she looks at Sana who gives her two thumbs up for approval.

 

As she watches the claw go down, she thinks about how proud she is for finally being able to get this thing right but also how nice it would have been if she screwed up again and Sana had moved closer to correct her positioning and—

 

Whoa, where did that thought come from?

 

“Yes!” Sana shouts excitedly. “You got it!”

 

At that, Nayeon snaps out of her thoughts and gasps.

 

“Oh my God, I did!” As she grabs the small bag charm from the prize chute, Nayeon squeals, making Sana giggle.

 

Sana stretches out her hand, and wait for Nayeon to place the tiny shiba on her palm. “Good job, babe,” she praises a beaming Nayeon with pats on the head.

 

“Oh please, these things are so rigged.”

 

“Who cares? We got these.”

 

“Damn right we did,” Nayeon agrees and high fives Sana. “Wow, this gives me such a rush.”

 

“Same,” Sana seconds then grabs Nayeon’s arm and starts to lead her out of the arcade. “Let’s go before we try to win more.”

 

Nayeon couldn’t stop smiling even after they’ve left the building and made their way to the train station. She doesn’t know how something literally so small can make her feel this happy.

 

Her exhilaration is so overwhelming that it almost makes her forget about the thought that she had just before winning.

 

Almost.

 

It’s hard not to remember because she also can’t stop thinking about how she wants to hold Sana’s hand again while they’re on their way home.

 

It’s so unsettling, and it’s not even because Nayeon doesn’t understand why she’s craving for affection from someone she has only hung out with for about two hours. The unsettling part is that Nayeon isn’t surprised at all about how she’s feeling right now.

 

It does make sense, why all this time Nayeon was so bothered about not being closer to Sana when she doesn’t even bother talking to anyone else in her entire college life so far, why Nayeon kept answering all of Sana’s math questions even if she’s pretty sure Sana understands the subject better than she does, why she somehow always looked forward to being in that class even though calculus is just another word for torture.

 

Maybe Nayeon had a little, teeny, tiny crush on Sana this entire time, and she just didn’t realize it until—

 

“We’re here,” Sana says, interrupting Nayeon’s deep thoughts and making Nayeon realize that they are, in fact, already in front of her dormitory.

 

“Thanks for walking me home.” Nayeon clears , trying not to melt when Sana smiles at her because damn does she look even better under the yellow streetlights, before asking, “You live on the other side of the campus, right?”

 

Sana nods. “Did you have fun today?”

 

“I got a free meal and a bunny,” Nayeon reminds Sana. “Can it even get better than that?”

 

“Well,” Sana starts as she puts both of her hands in her coat pockets before shyly adding, “there is one way to find out, right?”

 

Oh.

 

“Yeah?” Nayeon replies, unsure whether she’s reading the situation right.

 

“Nayeon, I…” Sana trails off, looking at the ground and chewing on her bottom lip for a while, then finally meets Nayeon’s waiting gaze. “I’d like to see you everyday.”

 

“Well, I sure hope so because we do see each other everyday,” Nayeon plays it cool with a shrug but deep inside she’s screaming. “You know, in the class that we attend daily.”

 

Sana pouts. “You know what I meant.”

 

“Do I?” Nayeon further teases, and she can’t stop herself from smiling because she doesn’t even remember the last time she felt this giddy.

 

Ask me.

 

“Would you like to go out again sometime?”

 

Finally.

 

“For the discount?” Nayeon jokes.

 

“Mostly,” Sana plays along. “But also because I wanna find more ways to make you blush.”

 

“Me? I don’t blush!” Nayeon exclaims as her cheeks start getting red again.

 

“If you say so,” Sana says in a tone that doesn’t sound convinced at all, and Nayeon sighs.

 

“I just wasn’t expecting anything that happened today at all, you know?” Nayeon starts before rambling, “I mean, you asking me out for dinner, us pretending we’re on a date, you suddenly being interested in me after a few hours then asking me out again for real. How did that even happen? Was it because of how weird I look while eating with one hand or was it my nonexistent arcade skills? What was it?”

 

Sana crosses her arms and stares at Nayeon, seemingly amused. “You think I only started liking you today?”

 

Nayeon narrows her eyes. “Am I wrong?”

 

“Well, why do you think I was so awkward around you all the time?”

 

“Because you hated me?” Nayeon supplies. “You only talked to me when you had questions about the lecture!”

 

“You mean all those questions with obvious answers that are obviously a lame excuse to talk to you?” Sana asks rhetorically. “I’m not a snob, Nayeon. I’m just gay.”

 

Oh.

 

“That... is the best way anyone has ever confessed to me,” Nayeon laughs.

 

“So… we’re cool?”

 

Nayeon nods. “We’re cool.”

 

“Cool.”

 

“Cool.”

 

“I…” Sana trails off nervously. “I better get going. Umm, thank you for today.”

 

“Thank you,” Nayeon returns. “And good night,” she adds and, before she can change her mind, gives Sana a quick peck on the cheek.

 

For a moment, Sana is stunned and barely manages to reply, “G-good night.”

 

“What? I did owe you a kiss, right?” Nayeon says innocently and grins when she sees how red Sana is. “Who’s blushing now?”

 

“Shut up.” Sana lightly slaps Nayeon’s arm. “I guess I'll see you?”

 

“Mhm,” Nayeon hums.

 

“In class and after class?” Sana asks with an expectant smile, and Nayeon gives her a shy one in return.

 

“It’s a date.”

 

---

A/N: I'm at twitter.com/sanayeonsmina