‘national’s night’

‘national’s night’

‘national’s night’

mina thinks about it over and over. she can barely even focus in any of her classes. the big event is literally two days from now and so is the hangout that her newly acquainted friends have planned.

but most especially, it would be the night that she and her best friends plan on confessing to their respective crushes.

mina already regrets ever agreeing to the decision. she thinks it’s way too early. she doesn’t even know how to speak to nayeon normally yet. she doesn’t even have the capacity to keep looking at the brunette in the eyes either. so how could she even formulate a proper confession sentence?

a combination of fear, regret, anxiety, and frustration builds up in mina and it bubbles up within her throughout the whole day at school. she wonders if it’s too late to just back out or maybe suggest that they move the date.

when she meets sana and momo for lunch however, she sees that they aren’t doing any better than herself. sana is absolutely restless while momo is stress eating. it’s a little comforting to see she’s not alone.

they spend much of their lunch in silence with the same concerns occupying their minds. until mina takes it upon herself to break the silence.

“have you guys thought of how you’re going to tell them?”

mina finds out both sana and momo both have something in mind and she instantly regrets asking because it sends a tidal wave of pressure through her body. while she…

she has absolutely nothing.

no idea nor a plan. not even a possible scenario of how her confession would pan out. maybe she should just follow the basics of sana and momo’s plan just to be safe.

simply, find some time alone with the object of affection during the outing. then admit your feelings.

it doesn’t sound hard.

not. at. all.

just two major steps...

mina tries to convince herself that. but with every time she repeats it, it just seems more and more difficult. before she knows it, she’s walking to her last class of the day, tuning out the chaos of students around her. little did she know, that same chaos would ensue in her own body once cold fingers attached themselves to her face, successfully covering her eyes.

“guess who.” the culprit says, hovering dangerously close to her ear. mina can sense a presence behind her. one that she knows all too well.

“uh...” mina can’t verbalize anything else because her mind has short circuited and has gone dry.

a chuckle escapes what mina imagines are heart-shaped lips before the hands uncover her eyes.

“it’s me silly.”

mina knew that.

she doesn’t turn to her side right away knowing full well that nayeon would only be inches away from her. but despite her determination to keep her eyes forward, she’s forcibly turned to the side anyway.

“i forgot to return this yesterday.” mina hears but she doesn’t really process what’s going on when nayeon is literally right in front of her, wrapping the sleeves of her hoodie around her neck into a loose knot, like she’s a gift. “thank you, mina.”

there’s something so intimate about their position that mina forgets her surroundings and her eyes just naturally gravitate to nayeon’s.

it’s one of the rare times mina doesn’t look away. despite her heart pounding out of her chest, she doesn’t turn away. she even forgets to count. right now honestly, she feels like she could stare at nayeon and never get tired of it.

because somehow, someway mina sees everything in her...

it’s only until the word “ten,” escapes nayeon’s lips that mina snaps out of her daze. she has to take a few seconds to fully process the word and the reality that she has suddenly returned to.

“ten seconds!” nayeon repeats, excitement laced in her voice, mina hears a little more giddiness than usual. “you kept eye contact with me for 10 seconds!”

“i did,” mina says timidly, now feeling a heat creep in from her ears to her cheeks. she wonders if it was really ten seconds? it had gone by like a blink of an eye.

“wow mina! great progress! how did that feel?” nayeon questions, smile plastered on her face.

“i... i can’t even put it to words.” mina replies, sincerely. it’s true.

nayeon’s expression softens, she opens to speak but then she closes it and smiles instead, she links their arms together.

“let’s go to class!”

--

thirty minutes into class, and nayeon has long tuned out the boring old man standing at the front of the classroom babbling about the weird symbols and numbers on the board. she figures she’ll just use jeongyeon’s notes later. for now she settles with mindlessly doodling on her notebook aka, the one with all the funny drawings that mina took account for.

in a matter of a few minutes, there isn’t a sketch of the annoying professor. but of a simple milk carton…

nayeon’s heart skips when her eyes somehow find a way to the blonde sitting a few seats up front.

and it doubles when the blonde shyly glances at her direction with those warm eyes of hers. nayeon doesn’t know why she suddenly feels a little self-conscious now.

she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, curving her lips just enough for mina and only mina to see her grin. nayeon catches how a faint red quickly spreads throughout the blonde’s cheeks before she whips her head back to the front. it’s kind of adorable.

it’s funny how right before class, mina had managed to keep eye contact for ten seconds but now, she’s all red and bashful again. nayeon doesn’t mind it, because at least mina is making progress.

(she says she doesn’t mind it, however, that simple moment is all she’s been thinking about.)

nayeon doesn’t realize she sports a similar color on her own face as well...

soon, mr. dried tomato dismisses the class and nayeon readily slings her bag over her shoulder because she had packed up her stuff minutes prior.

“are you in such a hurry?” jeongyeon asks sarcastically, neatly organizing her things into her backpack.

“we have to catch up to mina before she runs off again.” nayeon says like it’s the most obvious thing ever, crossing her arms, while scanning the crowd of students flooding the classroom doors.

just as she had feared, she sees a certain blonde exit the classroom without as much as a glance at their direction and nayeon has to hide the utter disappointment she feels when the main reason she had packed up early was to catch up with said blonde.

“how could she go just like that?” she wonders out loud.

she reminds herself to lecture mina on saying goodbye, or farewell, or waving goodbye, or even just exchanging glances before leaving. surely this is what friends do.

“let’s go?” jeongyeon finally says after minutes of organizing her backpack. and like usual, they’re the last ones to leave. nayeon crosses her arms feigning annoyance although she honestly feels more upset than annoyed.

“someone’s moody” jeongyeon comments as they make their way out through the door.

“i am not moo—” nayeon stops in her tracks when she sees the blonde standing just a few meters away and leaning against the wall as if she were waiting for something or maybe someone. nayeon silently hopes it’s the latter and she also hopes that someone is her. mina doesn’t seem to notice however, so nayeon takes a moment to take in the girl’s features. like her nose, her pouted lips, her warm eyes, her prominent moles.

“hey mina!” jeongyeon greets first, successfully calling the blonde’s attention. there’s another skip in nayeon’s heart when mina’s lips curve up shyly. “were you waiting for us?”

mina nods, standing up straight now.

nayeon catches the subtle glance that mina throws her way and notices how the girl bites her lips and whips her head to the opposite direction, her ears burning a shade of red.

nayeon thinks it’s cute...

...in a platonic, kind of way of course.

but then, nayeon remembers she had planned to lecture the girl, so she stomps on over to her.

“you!” she frowns at the unsuspecting girl, approaching the wide-eyed blonde until she’s literally two feet away. mina’s already beginning to turn red, taking a step back to distance themselves.

“na-nayeon?” she ask softly, tilting her head curiously.

“you shouldn’t...” nayeon loses her train of thought because there’s something so electrifying about mina’s warm brown gaze on her that she momentarily forgets her words. “you-you um, you shouldn’t...”

she’s stuttering now.

‘what’s going on with me?’

“don’t mind her mina.” jeongyeon joins in, standing beside nayeon and she’s never felt more grateful for her best friend saving her from embarrassment. “she’s butthurt because she packed up early to catch up with you but you left.”

nayeon’s eyes dart toward her best friend in alarm. god, she didn’t have to mention all that. she bites her lips in even more embarrassment. soon she feels the same pair of eyes on her. it feels like the blonde is staring straight through her. for some reason, nayeon can’t bring herself to look at the owner.

“i am not butthurt.” she mutters.

jeongyeon lets out an unconvinced “hmm” before changing the subject. “well anyway! it’s your last day of detention today mina!”

“yeah it is.”

“aren’t you excited? detention must’ve been such a burden to you.”

a burden...

nayeon’s ears perk up in curiosity. had it really been a burden for mina? she can’t help but feel a little guilty after being reminded once again that mina had wrongly gotten detention for her sake. perhaps, it had been a burden all along. mina had no choice but to deal with it and maybe all this time, she had been pretending to be okay because she’s just too nice.

yet the heaviness on nayeon’s shoulders eases up when mina speaks.

“it’s been quite enjoyable actually.”

nayeon whips her head to the blonde and catches the way mina is looking at her so shyly before turning away after being caught. nayeon tries to bite back the uncontrollable smile that takes over her lips.

“well that’s good to hear.” jeongyeon replies with a relieved smile. “well, this is our stop.” she informs, gesturing to the exit door leading to the field. oh right, nayeon remembers they each have practice today.

“okay.” mina nods. “good luck.” she adds before waving goodbye.

but nayeon wants to say “wait,” and catch up to the blonde. she wants walk her to the classroom. she wants to link their arms as they do so.

but she’s also frozen in her stance. why is she thinking so hard about it? why is she suddenly so unsure of herself? she’s never been one to mull it over this much.