Im Nayeon is, without any hint of doubt, gay. 

 

A glaring hypothesis formed after replaying Amanda Seyfried and Megan Fox's kissing scene on Jennifer's Body an unhealthy amount of times. One that was proven to be correct after having a terrible smooching session with the school's notorious gay Minatozaki Sana on sleepover night.

 

It was not the best experience, the kiss, that is, (coming out was a different story, not that it was any better, no ).  Sana had a nosebleed with how hard their noses bumped when Nayeon leaned in. And their teeth were a tangled mess — ah , it would be better to leave that memory behind.

 

(Jihyo would kill her if she knew Nayeon had been thinking about that fleeting atrocity she had with her girlfriend.)

 

She's had several relationships after that, girlfriends, and when she's feeling like making some really, really bad decisions, boyfriends too, during high school. 

 

But yes, despite getting sidetracked, the sole purpose of this unplanned internal monologue, was to say that, ultimately, Im Nayeon is gay.

 

“Nayeon,” Mina snaps her fingers, “did I lose you again?”

 

Mina ran her hand through the mint green surfboard, a small penguin etched at the back of it along with a really ugly drawing of a bunny (courtesy of Nayeon herself). She stood up, tucking the board under her arm. Her eyebrows are furrowed. 

 

She has grown a lot, Nayeon noted. They both did. Long gone were the short summer nights they spent camping in front of Grandma Im's beach house, sprawled out on the fine sand with nothing but flashlights and a jar of cookies.

 

Well, they still do that. But pajamas were tossed aside for bikinis, and jars of cookies were traded for bottles of beer. Sometimes, their party of two would become four, Jeongyeon and Momo adding to the mix. 

 

But most of the time, it's just the waves and the sand. Nayeon and Mina, under the pale moonlight. And to be completely honest, she prefers it much better when they're alone.

 

(It gave her an ample amount of opportunities to bask in Mina's glory away from the prying eyes of Hirai Momo — who had grown a bit protective of Mina over the last summer.)

 

“What were you saying?”

 

“Jeongyeon borrowed a boat. They're planning on going to the lighthouse,” Mina hums, fingers fumbling at the hem of her shirt before pulling it above her head, “you up for it?” Then she hands Nayeon the fabric, and Nayeon instinctively places it on her side. 

 

Now, there are a lot of women at the beach, and Nayeon should focus on that. Mina surfs, Nayeon flirts. It had been a running joke  between them for several years now. 

 

But Mina looks particularly breath-taking this summer. Her skin is smooth and honey-ed. It glistens with saltwater and sand under the heat of July. Her then jet-black hair that falls in generous waves over her shoulder is now dyed blonde. A Momo-induced decision. Apparently, the older girl had managed to rope Mina into bleaching their hairs, which then became orange. Both had to run to the nearest salon to get it fixed.

 

It sounded stupid when Mina described it on a quick phone call in between Nayeon's classes. Seeing it now though, Nayeon could not have been more thankful to Momo's spontaneity and Mina's weak resolve when it comes to older girl's whining.

 

Because God, blonde Mina is the bomb.  

 

Mina puts her hair into a messy bun. Stray tendrils run through her face. Nayeon panics. She averts her gaze from Mina's face to her feet, wrong move , because her eyes caught something that definitely wasn't there the last time she visited the island.

 

“When did that happen?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Nayeon's eyes snap back to the skin of Mina's stomach, her point finger an inch away from poking Mina's tanned and definitely toned abs. Really, has it been that long? Mina wasn't that ripped last summer. What the did Mama Myoui fed her daughter? 

 

“You have abs.”

 

Mina laughs, maybe a bit smug for Nayeon's liking. But it was hot. Confident women who could rival her flamboyance have always been Nayeon's type, “Okay?”

 

Nayeon frowns, throwing Mina's shirt back at the younger girl's face. Mina just shakes her head and sashays away to her friends.

 

Going a few thought process back before Mina proudly flashed her muscles: Im Nayeon is gay.

 

But, the question is, is she gay for Mina? 

 

No one knows, maybe she'll ask Jihyo when she's not busy canoodling with Sana — but that'll be a chore for another day. Because a beautiful woman with a milkshake in hand is walking towards her direction. Nayeon smiles, pushes her sunglasses up to her head before flirtily tilting her head to the side.

 

(Completely oblivious to Mina's glare from far away.)

 

Nayeon was banished to the island at the tender age of thirteen. 

 

For vacation, her mom clarified. But for Nayeon's teenage brain, it was a punishment. The place was remote, and what could Nayeon, with her inability to deal with water and sun, do in a place like that?

 

She could still remember Jihyo's ugly crying while trailing their car — snot and tears, with her teeth bared and nostrils flaring as she pedals aggressively on her red bike.

 

She would have laughed, if it weren't for the fact that she was in the same disposition as her best friend. Nayeon's flushed face was pressed on the window of their car. Her cheeks were moist, and if she remembered correctly, she was even banging on the glass.

 

It was a bit dramatic really. Given she would only be away for the summer. But still — she would miss Jihyo. They have been attached to the hips ever since.

 

Her mom comforted her, saying that her grandmother's beach house was grand, and that she could learn how to swim while enjoying the ocean breeze.

 

(Nayeon never learned how to swim. But she did enjoy the breeze.)

 

Nayeon was holed up in her bed during the first week. Sulking that her free time with her best friend was snatched away. Sometimes, she peeks at the balcony to watch a swarm of tourists plague the nearby resort. She never went out, and she could definitely say that her grandmother was slowly getting concerned.

 

“Nayeon, darling,” Grandma Im cooed, “I baked cookies. It's in the jar, and oh, why don't you go to the hammock outside? The weather is nice, come on.”

 

The weather is always nice, but Nayeon kept mum.

 

Nayeon was surprised at the strength her grandmother possessed at seventy, pushing her out of the house with b enthusiasm that she felt the pads of her feet chafe on the wooden floor. She sighed, gripping the jar of cookies closer to her chest. 

 

“Mina!”

 

A girl, probably her age, maybe younger, walked towards where her grandmother is. Nayeon saw how they both stared at Nayeon before whispering to each other. Okay, rude . Nayeon rolled her eyes.

 

A few minutes later, the girl was bouncing in front of her.

 

“I'm Mina.”

 

“I heard.”

 

“Would you like to swim?”

 

Nayeon looked up, “I don't know how.”

 

“Do you want to watch me surf?” Mina smiled, she still had her braces on at that time. Nayeon, on the other hand, just gave up on them. She's still pretty anyways.

 

“Nayeon.” She nodded, realizing that if she's going to be stuck in this place, she might as well make some friends, “cookies?”

 

Mina beamed.

 

The simple exchange blossomed into something remotely casual. Nayeon wouldn't call Mina the bestest friend in the world, that's Jihyo's title. But Mina lets her doodle on her surfboard, and with Nayeon's level of artistry, she guesses calling Mina a stranger would be unfair.

 

Nayeon spent the next few weeks sitting under the shade of a huge umbrella. Armed with sunscreen, sunglasses that occupied half of her face, and an obnoxiously large straw hat. She would watch Mina surf, the latter smiling and waving shyly every time she saw Nayeon.

 

When she's awake, she'd return the gesture without making any attempt at getting closer. Nayeon enjoys the peace of hearing the waves crash towards the shore, that's her limit. Mina, however, was a different case. She revels in being one with the water. Nayeon never really understood it — Mina's undying love for the ocean, but to each their own, right? 

 

Nayeon would also learn that Mina didn't have that many friends. Which was fine, not like she has a lot of friends either. Sure, she floats around different social circles, but if you squint hard enough, it's really just Jihyo.

 

“You could sleep here, if you want,” Nayeon offered, kicking Mina's feet to snap her attention away from the movie. 

 

“Really?”

 

Nayeon laughed at Mina's wide-eyed reaction, “Yeah! I don't think grandma would mind.”

 

Mina grinned sheepishly, stuffing with cookies. Nayeon pushed a glass of milk towards her which the younger girl happily chugged.

 

That invitation stretched out to discovering parts of the island during the morning, watching Mina surf and teaching Nayeon how to swim (without actually having to swim) during the afternoon, and running around Myoui's household pranking Mina's older brother at night.

 

Grandma Im no longer have to wake her up because Nayeon would be out of the house the second she sees Mina walking towards their door with a mint green surfboard twice her size.

 

There was even a point when Nayeon felt guilty because Mina was slowly competing with Jihyo's place on the friendship ranking. The thought that she would eventually leave provided a false sense of comfort though.

 

“You'll be back?”

 

Mina swayed on her feet. She was biting on the inside of her cheek. An obvious tell that she was nervous. Nayeon picked up that much during the limited days they have spent together.

 

“I don't know,” Nayeon shook her head. 

 

Mina looked absolutely crestfallen. The girl watched Nayeon load her belongings to their car, waving sadly. 

 

Nayeon felt a pang of guilt strike her gut that when she woke up after a short cat nap during her trip back to the city, her first instinct was to tell her mom that she had a good time, her next words coming as a surprise both to herself and to her parents.

 

“Can I spend the next summer at grandma's again?”

 

Oh, Jihyo would be so mad.

 

But friendship is all about compromising and bribery.

 

So, they decided that Nayeon would spend half of summer at the island, and another half at the city. Jihyo was still upset, but she quickly got over it after Nayeon offered to buy her ice cream every week on school days.

 

(And Jihyo even got mad once because Nayeon seemed to be stuck on a constant loop of Mina, Mina, Mina after she went back, it was nothing an additional scoop of ice cream couldn't fix.)

 

Mina practically jumped Nayeon the moment she stepped out of the car the next summer. Mina was giggling like an idiot, and Nayeon pretended to hate it, but the way she stuck with Mina all day made it all apparent that her indifference was feigned.

 

They spent the summer doing different jobs. Nayeon and Mina were commissioned by Papa Myoui to paint the tables outside their restaurant. Nayeon wasn't that great at painting, and honestly, there are a lot of things she could do with her free time, but Mina looked so happy. Her gummy smile and paint-tainted cheeks was enough to keep Nayeon from whining… a bit.

 

“Nayeon, mix the paint, please.”

 

Nayeon pouted, and Mina's soft giggles echoed. It reminded Nayeon of their nightly hang-outs lying on the sand. Nayeon talks a lot, and Mina listens, laughing no matter how terrible her jokes were. Although, it might have something to do with the fact that Mina is Japanese, and she wasn't that fluent in Korean, so, maybe her laughter was a compensation for her lack of understanding rather than an admiration for Nayeon's god-tier sense of humor?

 

Eitherway, it was nice. Hearing Mina laugh. Infinitely better than Jihyo's for three reasons, first , her best friend has a tendency to spoil her jokes by asking every possible question there is about it,  second , Mina doesn't have an affinity for violence when she finds something funny. Jihyo, however — well , you just have to stay a few meters away from her. And third , the sound of Mina's laugh sends Nayeon on cloud nine, her stomach tickling with inexplicable warmth that made her cheeks hurt from smiling too much.

 

The succeeding summers were all a blur of bonfires and smores, sneaking Mina out of the Myoui household at night and stargazing till dawn. Nayeon would be in charge of making fire while Mina showed her the new routines she learned from her dance class. And Nayeon would stare, because Mina looks so good in her element. The slight bounces in her steps, how her eyes flutter, hands flicking in a way that drew Nayeon in. 

 

Mina dances like the way she surfs, unafraid and lost in her own world. A beautiful ensemble of fine sand and delicate fingers, seafoam kissing bare feet, and moonlight glistening unabashedly over a mapped out constellation on sun-kissed skin.

 

( Beautiful , Nayeon whispered to the night sky like the universe owed her to keep it a secret — a confession punctuated with the soft pitter patter of her heart.)

 

The fire crackled louder than it was supposed to, and the waves aggressively hit the shore — all accompanied by strong gusts of wind, breezing with a combination of odd temperature, warm and cold. A little bit of in-between. 

 

And it was dark, and the stars were littered in the sky like freckles — or moles — and the imagery of it all was just… poetically beautiful.

 

At seventeen, Nayeon realized that she's fallen too deep with the island life.

 

She looked at where Mina stood, smiling at the sea.

 

(And maybe, just maybe , everything that comes with it.)

 

Nayeon is now twenty-one, and still pretty much in love with the island, albeit thoroughly disgusted with her least (?) favorite island girl's eating habits.

 

“Momo, what the .”

 

Momo looks at her boredly, “Exactly what a city girl would say.”

 

Nayeon rolls her eyes, watching Momo drink a combination of milkshakes that she's pretty sure does not go well with each other. Her frown fades though, when Mina comes holding a tray of food, sitting on her lap out of habit.

 

“ You ,” Momo squints, “you are both disgusting.”

 

“Shut up, Hirai. And stop playing with your food.”

 

“You play with Mina,” Momo spat out nonchalantly.

 

Mina chokes on air and Nayeon automatically runs her hand through the younger girl's back.

 

“What does that even mean?” Nayeon throws a piece of fry on Momo's face. The latter glares at her. Nayeon pouts, hiding behind Mina's back.

 

“Mina,” Nayeon whines, “your dog is scaring me.”

 

Momo hears this and she makes a reach for Nayeon. Mina tuts and swats her friend's hand away. Nayeon laughs at Momo's demise, but she quickly composes herself when Joohyun, the woman who approached her the other day, walks towards her direction.

 

She pushes Mina off of her lap.

 

“Nayeon, seriously — ” Mina complains, but she goes silent when Joohyun smiles at them.

 

“Still up for movie night?” Joohyun asks softly. Nayeon knows she's beautiful, and that's not up for debate, but Joohyun — God , Joohyun is on another level, Nayeon doesn't even want to think about it. 

 

“Yes,” Nayeon grins, “but can I bring Mina?”

 

Joohyun nods, “Of course. You can invite your other friends too, it will be more fun.”

 

When Joohyun left, Nayeon made grabby hands for Mina's waist so she could settle her back on her lap. But the younger girl was already seated near Momo, and speaking of the peachy devil, why the hell is she looking at Nayeon like that?

 

“What did I do now?”

 

“Nayeon, I like you, really. But sometimes, you're just so dumb.” Momo shakes her head and pulls Mina away from the table.

 

“Mina!” Nayeon yells, “You're coming with me for grocery shopping later, okay!”

 

“Mina unnie!”

 

Oh, no.

 

It came off as a squeak, followed by giggles that anyone would deem adorable but not Nayeon. She could see past those big brown eyes and squishy cheeks. That kid isn't as innocent as she portrays to be —

 

Nayeon protectively hides Mina behind her back, she raises her hand allowing the little demon to halt. 

 

“Dahyun,” Nayeon nods.

 

Dahyun did the same, “Noyeon.”

 

Nayeon groans, “It's Na-yeon.”

 

“Move over, Noyeon .”

 

“No.”

 

“Mina unnie!” The girl starts screaming, getting frustrated at Nayeon's refusal to let her corrupt Mina with her questionable cute antics. She closes the gap, wobbling with her chubby legs, “Noyeon!”

 

“It's Nayeon, Dahyun,” Mina laughs, pushing Nayeon to the side. Once free of the barrier, Dahyun runs and hugs Mina's legs. The baby demon glares at Nayeon openly, the older girl just huffs in response.

 

“Why…” Dahyun stutters, trying to find her words, then she looks at Nayeon, her eyes squinting like an eagle. She cowers, then with a small voice — she thinks she's being discreet — she asks, “why is Noyeon here?”

 

“It's Nayeon,” she huffs.

 

“ Whatev-uh ,” Dahyun shakes her head, seemingly proud of the word.

 

“Who taught you that?” Mina asks, her eyebrows knitted together.