Mina doesn’t remember the last time she saw Jihyo this troubled; how both her brows knitted at the center, how her arms folded onto her chest, how those low grumbles filled the air, and how her pointed lips would decorate her face from time to time. But she remembers seeing this before, remembers clearly that look is always backed up by something Mina never accepted with open arms

“So let me get this straight.” Jihyo finally speaks up, and Mina readies her for the wave of mockery that eventually, surely , would come. “You told Jeongyeon you’re going out on a date with Key?”

Mina doesn’t say anything but nods.

“To make Jeongyeon jealous as I advised?”

“Yes.”

“But Key is-”

“Jihyo!” Mina quickly cuts her off, hand covering her friend’s mouth. “Don’t. But yes he is.”

“Tell me again how that happened?”

“You see….”

---x---

There are numerous things Mina was certain she’d never let herself be, some would be flirty, desperate, immature and all just to get someone’s affection. 

Earlier actions were already too low for Mina, too low for someone who never even stoop a level down just to attain anyone’s undivided attention. She just gets it, just given without even meaning to have it.

But lately, she’s been constantly taking a few steps down, not minding how those qualities she never liked are one by one defining her and all just to get Jeongyeon looking her way.

And the undivided attention she always gets from everyone, they no longer satisfy her. It no longer matters. All pale in comparison with what she wants from her roommate.

Whether it is still wanting to prove a point or something else, Mina no longer analyzes. For now, she would rather analyze how to convince a completely unaware being to date her.

“You asked for me?”

Mina’s expression quickly changes to that of a seductress, a well polished façade she mastered years back to keep herself always at an advantage. Men are really, really, shallow human beings after all. 

“Ki-bum.” Mina calls out, hand landing on the guy’s chest. “Can I call you Ki-bum?”

“That is my name, Mina-ssi.”

Mina lets the sarcasm slip. There’s no time to question it. The guy’s heart is pounding, that’s enough reason to proceed further. “A man with a sense of humor, I like that.”

"What can I do for you?"

"The right question, Ki-bum, is..." The smile on Mina’s face is still as flirtatious as the way her finger traces the boy’s well toned chest "...what I can do for you."

The wordless reaction is what Mina has expected. After all, it’s never easy to react when someone as strikingly attractive as her approaches with such enticing sultriness any man wishes to be the receiving end of.

“How about you and me go out this weekend? A date if you must. Wouldn’t that be something you like?” Mina her lower lip as she ends, looking up to meet his eyes then down to his lips. Of course this easy boy would like that proposition, love it in fact, anybody would. 

“Mina-ssi.” Ki-bum takes Mina’s finger from his body and drops it, and Mina wonders if she had gone overboard with the flirting and awakened something that shouldn’t had somewhere down south. Men are too easy. Their feeble self-control is laughable, is silly. But Mina will not laugh, will not crack even a small smile, not at the expense of her plans(Ki-bum’s pride is not of her concern). “I don’t think I’d like that.”

Mina smiles, wide and bright, holding herself off from letting out a scowl. She would have sneered at the ridiculous response and probably have put Ki-bum into his rightful place, but that wouldn’t help her plan at all. And Mina's priority is all about achieving that. “You don’t have to be shy about it. I know you’d get a lot of heat from other men, but don’t let that stop you from having this once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“That’s the thing, Mina-ssi, I get my heat from men.”

“What do you mean?” Mina isn’t stupid. She understands the statement, as clear as day, but she had to ask; needs to hear it directly from Ki-bum if what he actually means is exactly the same thing she thinks.

“I am gay, Mina-ssi.” The revelation comes in one huge wave, sweeping away all future plans Mina had laid out, and ruining her chance to make her object of desire jealous. “That guy over there, he’s my boyfriend.”

That overused saying, Truth hurts, well it does. And for Mina, well she found that not only does it hurts, it’s a ing ego crushing. 

---x---

Jihyo burst into fits of laughter, and mercilessly louder this time, gaining the entire class’ attention. The boisterous sound enrages Mina to her core but she remains silent, holding back the balled up fist eager to swing across. “I can’t believe he-”

“Jihyo!”

She’s used to Jihyo laughing, this unpretentious as reaction to her antics is nothing new. her friend is after all her ultimate critic(aside from being her number one supporter). But the joyous roars and the trembling finger pointing her way as the other hand slaps the table, is a whole lot of infuriating this time. Mina’s struggle with Jeongyeon’s undivided attention is not a laughing matter.

“And you’re still-”

The laughter continues and Jihyo even has the audacity to wipe the tears off of her eyes as she breathlessly “ this is gold!” despite the grimace hanging on Mina’s face.

Mina’s failed attempts and unfortunate predicament were apparently things that delighted Jihyo tremendously. “If you don’t stop, I’m leaving.”

“Okay. Okay.” Jihyo tries to suppress the laughter as she grabs the hem of Mina’s shirt. Mina sits back again, frown is still on display but let’s those contained chuckles on Jihyo’s end slip. 

“So let me just get this straight” Pun was not intended, although enough for Jihyo to let out a restrained cackle. She barely manages to hold it in but not entirely well as it earns an eyebrow raise from Mina. “You’re still on with the jealous plan and you’re still doing that through Key?”

“I’ve already said that it was with him. It’s not like I have any other choice.”

“Well…” Jihyo purses her lips, that knowing grin out,” You could have started asking a straight guy out.”

The slight jab finally loosened the grip that had been wrapped around Mina’s patience. The laughter she could let go, as irritating as Jihyo's unwomanly laugh can be, but add it with a snarky comment, well that’s another different story. And boy did it set Mina's anger firing up. “This is entirely your fault! YOU and your goddamn advice!”

“My fault?" Jihyo sounds surprised, genuinely surprised. "You want to get a lesbian jealous over a gay guy, how was that my fault?"

"Well if you hadn't told me to get her jealous, I wouldn't be asking a gay guy out!"

Jihyo sighs, hands cradling both temples. “You are so hopeless.”

Mina wants to retaliate, badly wants to, but the moment she opens , a loud groan escapes instead. She slumps her head down the table, the feeling of defeat, that entirely new feeling, is now slowly scratching its way in her. “I am hopeless, Jihyo. I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Jihyo would lie if that dispirited look and that small admission, didn’t catch her off guard. Because it did. Her friend has never recognized defeat, heck she might not even know the word. But here she is, head down the table, slight presence of dejection in her voice, and uttered the very words she has never used even through the adversities that came into her life.

It’s too petty, this whole thing is petty, Jihyo had to admit, laughable in most post(if not entirely). But this Mina, this new look on Mina, Jihyo couldn’t help but soften and set aside all the teases that had been piling up one after another. 

Jihyo leans in, hand resting on top of Mina’s head, “It’ll work, Mina.” 

“You think?”

“Yeah.” Jihyo smiles as Mina finally looks up to meet her eyes. “You’re Myoi Mina, anything is possible.”

…

..

.

Mina swore she would never wait for a man, would never hope for a man to consider going out with her. She’s always been the one on the other side of the fence. But now, she’s standing by the fountain on a Saturday afternoon anticipating whether that man would entertain the proposition she had set for him. And believe her, Mina has laid out quite an alluring offer. 

But patience has never been a virtue of hers, given that there were really no instances where it has been exercised thoroughly(aside from recent events with Jeongyeon). And it’s pretty obvious with how her left foot has been tapping restlessly(too much it managed to turn away nearby guys intending to pick her up).

“I didn’t think you’d be this confident.”

The statement(along with that familiar voice) manages to pull a smile out of Mina’s face, and that constant tapping, it finally stops. She turns around, her smile turning into a self-assured grin, “Well, It got you here.”

“Slow down, you hag. It’s Jinki who told me to come.”

“I see your boyfriend finds me charming.”

“Believe me, charming is not the word. More like undeniably pitiful.”

“You know how I would find that offensive but I’m just so happy you’re here.” That was the truth. She's happy and relieved. If Mina is in the position to shoot back, she would have gladly taken a jab against that flamboyant being. But she isn’t. He needs him too much to drive him away and let her pride take over.

“So, what’s our agenda today?”

“I did promise you free food, so we’ll go to this romantic restaurant and we’ll take a lot of snaps I could post.”

“And that will work?”

“I've never been wrong." Mina gloats. And it was mostly true, Mina's track record would back her up on that; succeeding in everything she planned on doing. Well, mostly. Because Jeongyeon is now that little red line separating her from making it entirely. "let’s make it realistic, enough to make Jeong-” 

“JEONGYEON!”

“Yes, Key, it’s Jeongyeon. You don’t have to sound so enthusiastic about it. Where was I-”

“No, I mean, It’s Jeongyeon!” Ki-bum reiterates, his mouth pointing to the direction behind Mina.

Mina hesitates for a second in turning around, but unconsciously does so a second later. It might sound ridiculous, but she felt her neck cracking as she peered over her shoulder.

She spots the object of her frustration and questionable attraction from afar, her aquamarine locks standing out through the sea of common hues. And god, how Jeongyeon radiates even from a far is beyond her- a little too much Mina finds herself with an open mouth. The way wind swift trough Jeongyeon's soft hair, or how her smooth skin glows or how her smile shines brighter than the sun. Jeongyeon really is damn stunning, and consequently, holds a lot more enticing qualities than anyone Mina knows combined.

Mina shakes the thought out of her head. This is no time to admire those charming features or reminisce on Jeongyeon's pleasing personality, what time does permit is to panic. And sure enough, they did, even more when the