“Yeah,” Mina smiled, ear to ear, blush on her cheeks and her pupils wavering slightly. “I’m with Jeongyeon.” Her feet, Nayeon could hear, were squirming slightly under the table they sat at; little excited scuffs on the toes of her converse.

“Oh wow!” Up came the mask and out came Nayeon’s best performance yet. She had been nominated for the main role in their school’s upcoming musical after all. “Jeongyeon? That’s so cute!”

Mina’s giggle was unsettling and sickeningly sweet. Nayeon’s stomach growled, flipping over and over again. She would love to mistake this feeling for hunger.

“I don’t know what I want. Just stay with me.”

“I really like her.” The tone in Mina’s quiet voice reminded Nayeon of the feelings she had once felt… a long time ago. They were long gone, yet something strange was climbing up her neck. Nayeon picked her cuticles as she continued the conversation. Perfect acting. Keeping the eye contact to a minimum.

“Well it must be true. Everyone can see that blush from a mile away!” Mina laughed nervously in response, covering with one hand and batting away Nayeon’s comment with the other. “You’re definitely Jeongyeon’s type.”

“I like beautiful women. You are a beautiful woman. What’s not to love?”

“It sure seems so.” Mina’s eyes curved into crescents. “She seemed so untouchable at first.” Her smile was so genuine and so full of love that it physically hurt Nayeon to look her way. So, she didn’t look. Instead, she turned her head to the right where she could see a flock of birds searching the grass of the school field. She adjusted her skirt. Perfect acting.

“She seems to be a lot of things before you really get to know her.” Nayeon sighed.

“I am so completely and entirely in love with you.”

“I didn’t think you knew her that well.” Mina leaned forward a bit. Through her peripheral vision Nayeon could see the interest in her body language. When she looked back, Mina was looking at her with her big brown eyes expectantly. She should have chosen her words more carefully. “I thought you guys only hung out after her and Momo have soccer practice. Did you hang out alone too? I don’t see you guys together anymore either.”

She didn’t talk about me. Nayeon’s stomach churned again and a little prickle found its way to the back of her eyes. She tried to ignore it, nodding slowly and wondering what was the best way to tell Mina just how close – not a word that exactly described their relationship – she had Jeongyeon had been once before.

“Jeongyeon and I…” Nayeon paused, not for dramatic effect, but to process what she was about to admit. “We were… involved.”

There was a pause. Expected, but still nerve wracking to say the least. For a second, Nayeon worried that Mina’s nose would scrunch up in disgust and she would never want to talk to her again. But of course, those thoughts were groundless. Mina was too pure and good for the world. She didn’t bat an eyelid at Nayeon’s words besides showing a little curiosity.

“Oh, really? I never noticed… was it a long time ago?” She was calm, asking the questions without thinking much. Just a genuine wonder in her eyes.

“About a month ago.” Nayeon said without thinking. She regretted it immediately as Mina’s cheeks flushed slightly and she looked to her hands that were clasped in front of her.

“A month? She’s quick.” She muttered under her breath.

“No… don’t get her wrong…” Nayeon rose her hands. “I was… I was the one holding on anyway.”

Do the words ‘I love you’ mean anything anymore? When you said them to me… what did you really mean?

Mina chuckled awkwardly and shook her head.

“No, no. I understand.”

“You really have nothing to worry about.” Nayeon assured, feeling as though she had to appease Mina and praise Jeongyeon all of a sudden. “Jeongyeon has all good intentions. She’s a sweet girl.” It hurt to say it like that.

“So, are you guys… okay?” Mina questioned.

Now that was a question Nayeon was asking herself too. She and Jeongyeon… were they okay with each other?

Nayeon remembered deleting all her conversations with the girl in a heated frenzy. Deleting them all and then wishing she hadn’t. Blocking her on all social medias then creating new accounts to check up on her. Throwing insults around desperately, trying to make Jeongyeon feel just what she had when everything was all over.

She wasn’t okay. Not in the slightest. Not with herself, and definitely not with Jeongyeon.

“Yeah. We’re all good. We worked things out.” Perfect acting. Nayeon was impressed with herself when she didn’t break down in tears. Mina’s smile was back in an instant.

“That’s great! It would be a shame if you guys didn’t talk anymore.”

They don’t.

“I’m sorry I can’t be there to catch you when you fall.”

Those words disgusted Nayeon to her core.

Nayeon mimicked Mina’s nervous laughter with her own, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

“Yeah. She’s a lovely girl. You guys will be good together.”

They better be good together.

“I think so too.” Mina glanced to the side, looking at someone who approached from the left. Nayeon knew who they were without looking. She knew the sound of those footsteps. She knew that lopsided rhythm. She could imagine it in her head right now.

“You don’t know a thing about me, Nayeon. But I know you. I know everything.”

So, who was it that I got to know? It wasn’t really you, was it.

“Mitang!” Nayeon forced herself to look, only to be polite. It wouldn’t be right for her to ignore her presence while she was right in front of her. Especially while Mina was here. Sweet, beautiful Mina who didn’t need to witness the hate and the regret. Nayeon would keep Jeongyeon’s persona slate clean for her. They were the perfect match after all.

There she stood in all her glory. Her uniform crumpled and stained from soccer practice. Her hair tied neatly in a little ponytail at the base of her skull. Her deep brown eyes. Her perfect nose. Her lips morphed into a smile as she laid her eyes on Mina. Then she shifted them to Nayeon. The smile did not falter.

“Hey Nayeon. Been keeping my girlfriend company?” Nayeon’s stomach dropped. Mina laughed, leaning over in her seat to smack Jeongyeon on the arm playfully.

“Stop! You don’t need to tell everyone in the universe.” She was blushy and smiling like a love-struck idiot. It was cute to see. But only one thing floated to the front of Nayeon’s thoughts.

She never called me her girlfriend. She never called me anything.

“What are we, Jeong?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

Maybe this was just Jeongyeon growing up. Learning from her mistakes.

Perfect acting. Nayeon forced a laugh.

“Stop acting so cute!”

She was always in love with you. You have nothing to worry about.

A/N: *slow screaming that builds up and* 않을래~ 

거기 너 I fancy you 아무나 원하지 않아
Hey I love you (love ya)
그래 너 I fancy you 꿈처럼 행복해도 돼
'Cause I need you

What? fancy you 누가 먼저 좋아하면 어때
Fancy you 지금 너에게로 갈래
Fancy, ooh

God Jihyo only thanks.