The second Chaeyoung set foot into Nayeon’s car, she made a deal with herself that she would tell Mina about her feelings. Probably not today, that felt too soon, but in the near future.

 

“Does anyone know when they’re announcing the winners?” Chaeyoung moved her head forward to fit it in between the two front seats, speaking over the loud radio music. 

 

“They’ll most likely post something tonight online, that’s what they did last year.” Dahyun replied uninterestedly while keeping her head down; she was smiling at her phone. 

 

Nodding, the younger decided to stay quiet; Nayeon seemed focused on the road and singing along with the music and Dahyun was clearly busy talking to someone so that left her with the company of her own thoughts.

 

She had no idea why her friend had joined her and Nayeon. Chaeyoung had seen her blushing a bit as their group parted ways to go to the party, and she could assume what it was about, but she was scared about her assumptions being right. She was scared for Momo. 

 

Nayeon muttered some curses as she struggled to get out of the school’s parking lot and that only made Chaeyoung more nervous. She spun her phone between her hands, thinking about whether texting Mina would be a good idea. Was Mina interested in her? 

 

She was having a lot of trouble interpreting Mina’s signals, but Chaeyoung noticed. She noticed how her roommate would sometimes walk with her to class to make sure they sat together, or how she would take a glance at her lips when they talked, she just didn’t know if it was real, and if it was, what it meant.

 

Did Mina think about her the same way Chaeyoung did? Did Mina want to lay with her in bed forever just to hear her heartbeat like she did? Did Mina want to kiss her as much as she did? It was making her lose her mind.

 

The sound of Nayeon rushing them to get ready was what got Chaeyoung out of her unhealthy train of thoughts. Exiting the car, the younger slipped past the few people who had already arrived and ran up the stairs to get into more comfortable clothes.

 

She wasn’t that nervous anymore, the blonde trusted things would naturally fit into place. Still, she would need a few drinks to avoid overthinking everything that involved Mina. 

 

When she found Nayeon’s room, she grabbed the bag she had left a couple of hours earlier under the bed with a change of clothes and opened the door to the bathroom, confident no one was inside. 

 

She was wrong.

 

Mina was changing her shirt, her upper body only covered by her lace bra. Chaeyoung’s face turned immediately red, opening to try to explain herself but no words could come out. 

 

Mina looked dazed; she had completely stopped her movements to look at the intruder to the point where her forearms were still tangled in the sleeves. Everything had come to a stop and she had no idea of how to approach the situation. 

 

‘Play it cool, play it cool.’ “I have to learn how to ing knock!” Chaeyoung closed the door and dropped the bag to the floor. It was a moment that wasn’t supposed to be hers, and even though she liked the view, she wasn’t supposed to see it like that. Even less now that she was aware of her feelings. “I’m really ing sorry.” She apologized through the crack of the door, hoping she would be heard over the party that was getting louder by the second.

 

A few seconds later Mina sprung out the door wearing a red dress that hugged her waist but still flowed to her mid-thighs, decorated by some delicate gold necklaces and rings on her fingers. It made her look effortlessly breath-taking.

 

“I thought this dress looked better than the shirt.” She gave Chaeyoung her gummy smile, secretly wishing they wouldn't bring up the incident again. “Do you like it?”

 

Feeling she had been allowed to do so, the younger let her eyes wander off Mina’s body for a few seconds. Chaeyoung found it cute how Mina even started turning to let her see the outfit from every angle. “It looks really good on you. How come I’ve never seen it before?” They had been to their fair share of events by now, and not once she had seen a glimpse of this dress.

 

“I don’t know, I felt like I should keep it for a special occasion.” 

 

“Well, I’m glad I was the first one that got to see it. And you also have my approval, you look pretty.” Pretty didn’t make Mina enough justice; maybe stunning, bewitching, or alluring would be close, but Chaeyoung was convinced no word in the dictionary could describe it.

 

There were a few seconds of silence that made them both look to the ground. “I should probably go downstairs, Momo told me to hurry and I did the opposite.” 

 

“How did you all even get here so fast? We were supposed to get here to receive you all.”

 

“Well, Jihyo drove me and my friends here fast so she could go pick up Jeongyeon. They were supposed to have a girl’s night and I don’t know how but she’s gonna convince her to come.” Mina wasn't sure if their poorly constructed plan would succeed, but she hoped it would.

 

“I hope Jihyo gets a speeding ticket.” Chuckling, To avoid looking directly at her roommate, Chaeyoung kneeled to rummage through her bag for nothing in particular.

 

“Or maybe you should get Nayeon to stop driving like a grandma.” Mina approached the exit and was about to grab the handle when she unpredictably turned around. “Chaeyoung.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“If it makes you feel better, I should also learn how to lock the door.”

 

Chaeyoung entered the bathroom and breathed out, wiping off her exaggerated makeup and replacing it with a more natural one that would let her sweat without worrying about it smudging.

 

By the time Chaeyoung was done with her outfit, she walked down the stairs to a crowd of people speaking loudly and some dancing. The place was still not full, but the air she breathed already felt warm, and, for a second, she considered going back up to the room. Unfortunately, she was called before she could make a decision.

 

“Chaeyoung, get your here and help me with this.” Nayeon pointed down to her feet, where a keg of beer was sitting.

 

“That’s like double my weight, there is no way we can do it.” The younger hated the idea of asking the guys around for help, her relationship with them wasn’t exactly the best, however, they appeared to be the only ones around strong enough to do it. "I’ll figure something out.”

 

The dimmed light made it hard to move around the euphoric dancing bodies comfortably, but Chaeyoung eventually made it to the corner. She analyzed each one of them, debating on which one she hated the least. 

 

Approaching one with blonde hair, she stood on her tiptoes to seem taller. “Hey, Bang.” 

 

The guy was nice, at least in the few times they had exchanged words, but he had asked Chaeyoung out when everyone knew she wasn’t single and was friends with BamBam, so she always preferred to keep her distance. Looking at it now, maybe it would have been better if she had gone out with him instead.

 

“Hey Chaeng! We haven’t talked in a while.” He smiled widely and took a sip from his drink. After seeing Chaeyoung struggling to say whatever she needed, he continued. “How have you been?”

 

A sigh of relief escaped the blonde's lips. “I’m great actually, I have to start studying now that the contest has passed. Can I ask you a favor?” 

 

It’s not like he would say no, but it still made Chaeyoung anxious. “Only if I get something in return.”

 

“What do you want?” 

 

“Dance with me.” He tried again after seeing the girl's face of disapproval. “Pretty please?”

 

“Maybe if I’m drunk enough later.” Turning to lead him where the keg was waiting, she confirmed the deal. “Does that sound good?”

 

He gave her one of his biggest smiles and nodded. “I guess it’s better than nothing.”

 

“Sounds like a deal to me.” She took his hand and dragged him across the dancefloor until they reached the other side.

 

The keg had been moved mere centimeters to the side before whoever was trying - Chaeyoung could guess it had been Nayeon - gave up. 

 

“I need to move this to the kitchen, like, now.” Pointing with her fingers down, she put her dimples on full display to convince him. If he did give in, Chaeyoung would dance with him in return.

 

Putting his hands on the handles, Bang grunted as he lifted the barrel. “I better get my reward later.”

 

Chaeyoung walked in front of him to empty the way, and after a few minutes, everything had been set in place. She had been there for less than an hour yet she already felt like leaving to get in the warmth of her bed, even better if Mina joined her.

 

Suddenly the music was turned down, and a voice (who she was almost sure was from Nayeon) spoke from a microphone. “Jeong is arriving in a minute, so everyone ing hide or something. I’ll turn the lights off now.” Before it was disconnected, the sound of the microphone saturating blasted for a second.

 

The rumbling of people moving around and clumsily hiding behind furniture or columns annoyed Chaeyoung, and she thought about just how much Jeongyeon might hate the surprise her girlfriend had planned. 

 

The place was just nothing like Jeongyeon or the things she liked, but Chaeyoung wasn’t sure the girl would have the courage to confront her girlfriend about it.

 

When the porch's sensory light switched on, the place fell silent. The steps got closer and closer, and when the door opened a synchronized scream rang in her ear. “Surprise!”

 

Jeongyeon’s eyes darted around the room until she found her girlfriend, and when she saw her hopeful eyes, she forced the fakest smile of her life and spoke. “Holy . Thank you, everyone!”

 

People quickly diverted back to their previous activities, leaving an impotent Jeongyeon in the company of a tired Chaeyoung. Everything was too much for them.

 

“Hi, Chae.” Slumping on the seat next to the blonde, Jeongyeon grabbed the younger’s cup and took a sip. “Congrats on the dance thing today. You all did an amazing job.”

 

She shrugged her shoulders, not feeling like talking about that topic. “Thanks, but I don’t think we’re gonna win. Happy birthday by the way.”

 

“Not winning doesn’t mean you didn’t do a great thing. You put a lot of effort into your writing, and you shouldn’t discredit yourself like that. And thank you, but it’s not my birthday yet.” 

 

“I feel like I should apologize.” Chaeyoung hissed, making a weird face at the feeling of the residue of vodka in the back of . “I didn’t exactly stop this.”

 

Jeongyeon opened her arm to welcome her. “It wasn’t your job, you just did what Nayeon asked you to. But I told her I didn’t want something big and she didn’t listen. She never ing listens to me, I feel like I’m just her puppy she toy’s around with when she’s bored.”

 

That didn’t sound good. Perhaps Nayeon wasn't aware of these feelings, but it was evident that their relationship lacked communication. “You should talk to her about it, but she really likes you. I don’t know if that’s what you’re worried about.”

 

“I just don’t know if she likes me or the idea of not being alone.”

 

‘.’ Chaeyoung thought about how, maybe, if she had insisted more, Nayeon would have changed her mind and followed her girlfriend’s wishes instead of doing what she thought was best. “Nayeon can be a little conceited at times, but I know she genuinely cares about you.”

 

Except for the few times she had to get her drink refilled, the short girl rarely moved from her spot on the couch.

 

It was around 10:30 pm that Chaeyoung found out fuzzy navels hit a lot more than she ever thought they could. She was having a hard time focusing on the things around her, and her eyes drifted around the room as her gaze floated around her surroundings. 

 

Somehow, they still landed on Mina. 

 

Mina, who was dancing like it was her last night on Earth, but that might have just been her way of avoiding thinking about the hangover to come. Mina, whose body moved like a puppet on strings, and whose mind was buzzing with pure joy from the high of the drug that was music. Mina’s soul shone so brightly that her skin almost glowed to the point her aura would become visible.

 

Chaeyoung’s mouth was hanging slack, open ever so slightly as she stared intently at the older’s every move. How her hands moved pronouncedly from the air across her body, enjoying the alcohol’s effects. 

 

For the first time, Chaeyoung didn’t care if Mina noticed she was staring. She wanted her to feel wanted because that was