Yena was nudged by her other friends, Yujin and Hyewon. They pointed at a quiet girl reading her book and listening through her earphones.

“I heard Kim Minju is a ‘hard to get’ kind of girl.” Hyewon whispered. “Why don’t you try and make a move towards her, Yujin?”

“Back to you~” Yujin chanted. “I already have the beautiful Jang Wonyoung.”

Yena shuts them up yet the two cooed and pushed her forward. Nonetheless, Yena went towards the girl’s direction. 

It wasn’t to make a move towards her. It was to say her apologies. 

“Hey, Minju~”

The person took off her earphones and once she saw Yena, she scoffed. “I still won’t forgive you.”

Minju walked off. Hyewon and Yujin witnessed it and thought Yena had just humiliated herself. But for the latter, she caught up to Minju. Yena was inches behind her when Minju faced her.

“Uhh…you look great today.”

“Not buying it, Yena.” Minju spoke and ran off.

Yena’s lips did a short and sad motorboat as she walked away. She returned to see Hyewon and Yujin and nudged her. 

“How do you know her?” Hyewon asked.

“Are you two close?” 

“Oh, to hell they are.” The voice shocked the trio.

“Don’t ever do that again, Chaewon.” Yena spoke, rubbing temples. “I almost had a heart attack.”

“You’re gonna have it when Minju keeps on ignoring you.” Chaewon chuckled. “To think you two were best friends.”

Hyewon and Yujin were shocked. Yena didn’t want to explain yet Chaewon persuaded her to tell them. Yena had no choice but to agree.

And it was a trip towards the canteen.

+++

Hyewon was met with wide eyes as she was indulging a feast of sandwiches. Chaewon averted their gazes and nudged Yena to talk. Yujin was just curious.

“Minju and I have been friends since we were kids, even with Chaewon.”

“Plus with Yuri…who’s happened to be my girlfriend….which happened to be Yena’s ex.”

Hyewon almost spits her sandwich as Yujin had agape, her juice poured back on her cup, making Chaewon and Yena react in disgust.

“Is there anything else? Like, this Minju being your ex, Chaewon?”

“Apparently so.” Chaewon shrugged, causing Hyewon to choke again.

“That’s quite the relationship. So…Minju’s ignoring you?” Yujin pointed at a nodding Yena. “Why?”

Chaewon and Yena had the look before they spoke together. “Hoverboard.”

Yena was the cool kid in school for being so good at flexing with her hoverboard. But then, it was a luxury she never wanted to keep to herself that she bought an extra one for someone special.

“Min~”

Minju waved and got closer to her. “Yen~ what’s that on your back?”

Yena showed the hoverboard and Minju wowed while clapping. Yena puts it on the ground and lends a hand. “Come on. Hop in.”

“Is that for me?”

“Yes. It’s my birthday present for you. It’s white, your favorite color.” 

“But I don’t know how to use it – “

“I’ll teach you.” Yena spoke. “Don’t worry. I’ll hold your hand.”

“Promise me something first.” Minju pointed with her pen.

“What is?”

“That you won’t let go.”

Yena crossed her heart and helped Minju on her hoverboard. Yena was quick to support her as she told her how to ride it. Minju was like a whiny baby as she yelped, body wobbling and feet trying to stay in balance.

Yena made her stop and Minju almost hugged the life out of her. Yena felt tingly, either because of being out of breath due to Minju’s weight or because of her thumping heart.

“You did great for your first time.” Yena spoke as she got her foldable hoverboard from her bag. “Shall we ride together?”

Minju whined yet Yena insisted her to try again. Yena got up front with her hoverboard as she helped Minju on hers.

“You’re going to ride backwards?”

“I’m a pro at this. Just tell me where to reversely turn.”

Minju nodded and got on her hoverboard and leaned forward while Yena held onto her hands and drove backwards. Minju was scared at first but somehow, Yena’s presence made her calm. Minju started getting a hang of her hoverboard…

…until Yena decided to let go.

“Yen! You promised not to let go!” Minju reached for her hands again.

“Sorry.” Yena held them again. “How about we play a game?”

“What game?”

Yena turned around and pulled Minju from the back. She called for a familiar short head who was taking selfies.

“Yo, Chae~” Yena waved, causing Minju to clutch onto her shoulders. “Can we use your camera and stopwatch?”

“What for?” Chaewon askes then looked behind her. “Wow. New hoverboard?”

“Yeah. Birthday gift,” said Minju.

“Buy me one for my birthday, Yen.”  

“Deal.” Yena gave a thumbs-up. “Min and I are playing a game to see who can balance on the hoverboard the longest.”

“And the camera?” Minju asked.

“Video~” Yena spoke.

Chaewon shrugged and volunteered to take a video of them. Yena and Minju faced each and balanced on their hoverboards. Slowly, Yena distances herself amid Minju’s whines before letting go completely.

“Yah, Choi Yena! Save me!!” Minju yelled as she started to wobble.

“You can do it, Min.” Yena cheered while doing a spin.

Her cheer came back to bite her in the as Minju fell first. Yena and Chaewon rushed to help her up and the next thing made Yena want to kill herself.

Minju was crying. “That hurt…”

Minju tried to stand up straight when she felt her back hurt. Chaewon had to help her up, saying. “Yen, don’t make her do that again.”

Yena was still as she nodded. “We…we’re done…”

Yena got to Minju’s left when Minju pushed her away. Yena insisted to help but with Minju’s anger, she grew scared. Chaewon had to help Minju to the infirmary herself. What made it worse was that there were other students laughing at them.

Yena got the two hoverboards and went home dejectedly.

“You should be thankful that Minju didn’t suffer a fracture of you’ll be screwed.” Chaewon spoke. 

Hyewon and Yujin clicked the tongues and shook their heads, making Yena lower her head while scratching it. 

“It’s my fault. I know.”

“Then why don’t you apologize to her?” Hyewon asked. 

“I’m scared…” Yena mumbled yet Chaewon smacked her head with a rolled magazine. “Ow! Can’t a compliment be enough?”

“No.” The trio spat.

Yena did a motorboat with her lips again as she slumped her head on the table. She got up again as she saw Minju coming inside. 

“Hey. She’s here.” Chaewon nudged her. “She may not go easy on you now but you have to woman up and face her.”

Yena saw her dropped hanky and had a plan. She went to grab it and got to Minju’s table. “Hey, hey.”

“Ugh. I don’t want to eat anymore – “

“You dropped this.” Yena waved the article around.

“Cheap. That’s a Good Morning hanky.” Minju spat. “Do I look like a driver?!”

“I wouldn’t mind if a beautiful woman like yourself becomes a driver.” Yena grinned. “Can I interest you with some coffee?”

“If I was a driver, ducks won’t be allowed inside my vehicle.” Minju grinned back. “And I want Kool Aide.”

Minju ate her meal as Yena stuttered and did her task of buying juice. The three friends just laughed, even Chaewon spared a wave towards Minju to which the latter waved back. Yena returned with the Kool Aide yet Minju was already done with her meal.

“You can have it.” Minju waved and went off.

Yena was shocked yet she followed her. “But I bought this for you – “

“Stop following me.” Minju turned back and walked again.

“Even if we reach Jeju, I’ll still follow you.” Yena spoke with the Kool Aide on hand.

Minju lets her be when Yena tripped on the stairs. Minju caught the drink and got a taste before leaving her. Yena got up with a dizzy head but she walked back to the canteen like nothing happened.

Minju looked back to see her friend. After being teased up on a failed game, being insisted to be riding a hoverboard, and being the cause to make her cry, she had every right to be angry and to ignore her.

But for all people know, that can’t last forever.

+++

“Do you want to go back on her?”

Yena nodded as they were at the library. Minju was a student assistant there so it was a chance to actually ask for forgiveness.

“Can I court her?”

“Idiot. You’re here to apologize, not flirt!” Chaewon slapped her shoulders. 

“On second thought, maybe we shouldn’t do this.” Yujin spoke.

“We’re already here. There’s no turning back.” Yena spoke and initiated her plan.

Yena saw Minju going towards the shelves and followed her. With every step Minju took, Yena followed. She noticed that Minju had a fine face, lovely hair, and had vixen eyes…

…vixen eyes that somehow intrigued her and at the same time, glared at her.

“What the heck are you doing here?”

Yena almost fell on the floor yet she grabbed a book and got up. “Uhh…I’m here to borrow a book.”

Minju motioned her to follow and like a baby duck, Yena obeyed. Her three friends were blending in as they made dibs that Yena won’t apologize for the incident. Minju secured Yena’s borrowing as Yena spoke.

“You know, Min…I wish you were like this book about return of investment.” Yena spoke. “I want to achieve goal congruence with our friendship.”

Minju raised an eyebrow, saying. “To be honest, our friendship’s like the satisfactory definition of profit and investment.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s difficult to find.”

Yena was burned with those words. She borrowed the book nonetheless and returned to her friends with a dejected look.

“You owe me twenty dollars, Ssamu~” Hyewon chanted.

“Me too,” said Yujin.

“I can’t believe you made dibs~” Yena whined as she slumped.

+++

Yena was down for despite being in her favorite subject. The opportunities of trying to win against Minju’s ignorance were low, giving her little to no chances of reconciling with her.

She had part of the blame. If she wasn’t such a nosy quacker and just admitted to her mistake, Minju wouldn’t be crying because of being on a hoverboard. She wouldn’t give her the cold shoulder and they could’ve still been friends.

They watched a volleyball practicum and Minju was part of the playing teams. She did wonderful services and as a witness, Yena couldn’t help but admire her.

The ball got to the opposing team as the forward spikes the ball hard, aiming at Minju. Yena grew worried and rushed to protect her.

A crying Minju was hurt because a bully hit her hard with a ball. Yena dealt with him and he ran off. She got to Minju and comforted her, getting a tight hug in return.

“Hey…it’s okay.” Yena rubbed her back. “No matter what happens, I will always protect you.”

The ball hits Yena’s face and she fell over, head meeting the hard concrete. Minju was the worried one this time that she rushed to her side and nudged her awake.

“Yena! Yah, Choi Yena!” Minju nudged but Yena was unconscious. “Yen…”

Yujin and Hyewon went to help Yena out as Chaewon pulled Minju away. They carried her to the infirmary and laid her on a bed. The nurse saw Yena’s bruise and got a compress for it.

“She’ll be okay. She needs to rest for the whole period,” said the nurse.

Hyewon and Yujin had to go ahead. Chaewon wondered if Minju will come but seeing her shake her head, Chaewon caught up with the duo. Minju decided to stay by Yena’s side.

Looking at the unconscious duck, Minju had a trip to memory lane – from the first day that they became friends to the hoverboard incident. She was really disappointed that Yena wasn’t being accountable for her mistake but she understood that Yena was always scared of her when angry and that she acted like that because of care.

“I’m sorry, Yen…but seriously, thanks for saving me.” Minju spoke. “If you didn’t came in and saved the day, I could’ve been hit again.”

Silence. Minju thought it was crazy to talk to herself but she wanted to say that. Nonetheless, she decided to return to class…

…when a hand stopped her.

“Hey. It’s okay.” Yena woke up, mumbling. “I swore to protect you…and I wanted to apologize for the hoverboard incident.”

Minju didn’t look back but she sat down again. Yena’s hold on her hand was still intact.

“Look, I’m never really good with words but for your sake, I’ll try to confess.” Yena spoke. “When I insisted on letting you play a game with your hovercraft, I never had the intention to tease you. I just wanted to make you happy in a way I know how.”

“Yen…” Minju finally looked at her.

“I wouldn’t have become a scared duck. I would’ve apologized beforehand and stayed with you till you stopped crying. I would’ve respected and listened to what you really want and not jump to conclusions too much and I would’ve been there for you because I love you – “

Yena hiccupped in denial. Minju just looked at her but her tears built up, making Yena rise up despite her injury to comfort her.

“Y-Yah! Did I hurt you again?!” 

“No…” Minju still teared up despite her smile. “…you don’t realize how happy I am to hear that from you.” 

Minju got to hug Yena and apologized for ignoring her. Yena hugged back and apologized about the hoverboard incident, swearing to teach her properly with proper gear.

Outside, the three friends witnessed it and Chaewon cackled silently while collecting forty dollars.