Note: This is a long chapter. I mean it, it's LONG. But enjoy!

Apologies for any mistakes!

(Italics are for memories, mostly for the dialogue)

Chapter 9: True Love Waits

Mina was a quiet child growing up. Her parents would always tell her what to do, how she should live her life and what they wanted her to do when she grows up. Her and her brother have had a very civil relationship with each other. They never fought, probably over trivial things; like who gets to use the bathroom first or who was allowed to use the console in their living room during the weekends.

She used to think that she was living a normal life. But it suddenly felt so fast paced when all she did was study, do the activities her mother wanted her to do and then go to the doctor’s for her usual check-ups. Mina was aware that she was always sick. They never really told her the reason why, but they just kept telling her to be active and eat a lot of healthy meals.

It was true when she said that Nayeon was the only form of normalcy in her life. It was her first-time experiencing things that normal high school girls would do. She remembered the first time Nayeon had a boyfriend and when her best friend would come to her for advice, she had nothing to say. Mina was smart, she was the top of her batch in all aspects, but for the first time, she had no idea what to do. She had no answers.

Once Nayeon and her first boyfriend broke up, Mina’s world shook even more when the other girl opened up about her being biual. Mina at first was opposed to the idea, because that's what her mother told her ever since, but Nayeon wasn’t the type to just let it slide. She carefully and patiently explained to her Japanese friend that being biual wasn’t bad or liking anyone that isn’t the opposite gender was wrong either.

“Love is love.” Nayeon said to her and that stayed in her heart ever since.

Her mother would usually berate any kind of homouality that was shown on tv and would constantly tell her and her brother that it was wrong and that they should live a normal life with a wife and a husband, have children and grow old together. End of story.

When Nayeon and her got into college, things really did change. People would tell her that college is a plethora of learning, and they didn’t just mean it academically. You learn many things when you’re there. She remembers her first alcoholic beverage, her first hang over and the first time she almost kissed someone because they thought she was attracted to them. It was also the time where she learned that Nayeon loved to sleep around, and it boggled her how it was so easy for Nayeon to just give up her ity so easily. But Mina learned from her past mistakes from judging people so quickly. Something she needed to grow out of. Her mother wasn’t there anymore.

Sana and Dahyun were the first lesbian couple she’s met. She’s seen it happen, from the moment the two met, to how they confessed and then fell in love. Nayeon was all in for the idea and Mina finally saw for herself that there really wasn’t anything wrong with two girls being in a relationship.

For the longest time she knew she wanted to be in a relationship, she wanted to feel what falling in love was like because of Sana and Dahyun. In fact, she was partly the reason why the friends fell for each other; it made Mina happy—but couldn’t shake out the thoughts of what it was like to find love like how they did.

What bothered her was that she was never interested in anyone she encountered. Nayeon and her were really annoyed with the amount of men that have been swooning over her since she entered the college, she could already tell when someone was trying to hit on her or ask her out. It was tiring up to the end. She wasn’t interested in any of their advances, or with whatever flowery words they told her. It was the same thing, and she was tired of it.

It was during her senior year where she started to contemplate her uality. She’s never opened it up to anybody, not even Nayeon, in fear that she’d be judged for something like that. Nayeon invited her to an underground LGTBQ+ mixer and she met some girls there and was actually swooned by some of them. Tempted to go home with one, but because of her demeanour she chickened out and asked Nayeon if she could go home half way through the event.

The experience made Mina reflect a lot on her actions. Thinking her mother was scolding her senseless if she found out. But as the days go by, she notices how bold students are becoming. Embracing their ualities and being brave enough to show to the public that they were different from everyone else. Mina silently wished that she was as brave as these people. Still feeling like a bird that’s trapped in a cage, the silent fear that she will disappoint her parents if she exposes herself to things like that.

Everything took a turn when she got the invite from Jihyo to go to their last drinking party.

She hesitated at first, because every time she would go to these events, she would always get the same amount of attention she gets every year. It was exhausting, and she really had no energy to mingle with anyone, especially from men.

To her surprise, it was only Jeongyeon who attempted to hit on her that night. Due to her embarrassing amount of experience, she already knew what was happening, but couldn’t feel any hint of interest because she’s seen Jeongyeon inside and outside of school with girls under her arm and that Jeongyeon really was not her type.

“So do you come here often?” Jeongyeon asks after ordering two bottles of beer, she is leaning on the bar and faces Mina.

Mina was kind of grossed out by the overused line but since she was Jihyo’s friend she had to be polite. “No, I only come here because of Jihyo and my friends.” She wishes Jeongyeon would leave her alone at that point.

Jeongyeon chuckles. “Right, you seem like a quiet girl, huh?”

Mina could only nod at the response as she patiently waited for her drink. But luckily the bartender handed the two bottles to Jeongyeon, and she could sense that the taller girl wanted to say more but hesitated and said she’ll give the bottle to her friend., then left. She let out a sigh of relief and waited for her drink again.

But when that night continued on, she saw Chaeyoung from the bar, who instantly recognized when she was being introduced to them by Jihyo. She remembers the cute face from the school paper article she edited a year ago.

Suddenly, there was something within her that made her want to talk to the younger one. As if it was a magnet, and Chaeyoung had one too and it was drawing her closer and closer. The first time she read the article about the mural painting event, she was so engrossed at how many students there were who participated in it.

Mina had a love for art and painting, but she was never good at them, so seeing these students put their skills to the task fascinated her. When she read that a certain Son Chaeyoung, a second year Visual Arts student, pioneered the whole project made her so enamoured. Mina loved seeing people be so passionate about the things they loved to do and in the article she read that this was a course Chaeyoung chose made her feel even more amazed.

It was like she was seeing a celebrity for the first time. Chaeyoung was there, sitting alone in front of her friends and she had the chance to talk to her. It was like the universe wanted her to meet her. Fate, as what she calls it. She had to take a big sip of her drink to gain the liquid courage she needed to actually start a conversation with the young artist.

Mina remembered walking over to her seat, hoping to sit in front of Chaeyoung again but stopped when she saw Sana was sitting there already. Of course it was so she could sit closer to her girlfriend, Dahyun. She also noticed that the new friend Jihyo introduced to her was also next to their younger friend as well, she now had the perfect spot to execute her plan. The seat right next to Chaeyoung was empty and she had to move fast before someone would claim it.

As nervous as she was, she walks up to the empty chair and asks Chaeyoung if she can take it. Chaeyoung’s face when she asked was unforgettable for her. As if she found a wild animal that was caught going through the trash, it was cute. Her big chocolate eyes were so captivating, the mole sitting at the bottom of her lip was beautiful. Mina wasn’t sure if she could go through the night without staring at Chaeyoung so much.

The alcohol was finally mixing in her system, and she managed to introduce herself. Even if she knew who Chaeyoung was, she still pretended to not know and introduced herself. Then she tries to play her cards right by stating the facts that she knew so that they could talk about the mural painting. It was so shocking to her that her plan was working so smoothly.

She loved talking to Chaeyoung, she was smart and so fun to be around. They kept talking about school and Chaeyoung kept asking her things that she did for the school paper. Her voice was sweet and charming, and Mina felt like she was falling into it. It didn’t help that Chaeyoung had the cutest dimple she’s ever seen, so she unconsciously would try to make her smile just so she can see it.

Mina’s heart was racing, not sure if it was the alcohol or because of this person in front of her. But she wasn’t sure if she could handle it. Though Chaeyoung shared some similarities to Jeongyeon, for some reason, Mina realized that Chaeyoung was more charming than the other girl.

The music from the bar was getting louder and Mina felt her energy depleting from each pounding of the beats. She tries to play coy and tells Chaeyoung that she had to go, hoping that the younger would take her bait and leave with her. Within a heartbeat Chaeyoung does go with her and offers her hand. Mina felt her heart skip a beat for the first time and without thinking, she took it.

It was probably the best decision she’s made ever. They ended the night perfectly. When they said their goodbyes after spending time at the park, she found herself on her bed and staring at the ceiling. Thinking about how much fun she had with Chaeyoung and all she could think of was when she was going to see her again.

But at the back of her mind, she can hear her mother telling her to not feel this way for a girl. She can imagine her dad looking disappointed with her decisions and it was making her heart fall down to her stomach. She hated feeling so trapped, she didn’t want to keep herself from wanting something like this. There was nothing wrong with it at all, exactly the way Nayeon described it. Though, with the way she was taught growing up, she didn’t want to disappoint her parents.

Maybe she could go through with this by just being friends with Chaeyoung. That could work, she would tell herself.

But goodness, was she wrong.

Chaeyoung and her would meet often and it was making it difficult for Mina to trap whatever feeling she was starting to have with her. Mina tried her best to just stay friends with Chaeyoung, keeping down every hint of attraction she has.

It came to a point that Mina would go around at night just to see if she can find someone else to get her mind off of things. It was so new to her, it made her feel cheap; but she was becoming desperate at that point. This silly crush wasn’t going to get the best of her.

There was one night that she wandered into a bar, alone, and someone that she knew from one of her classes invited himself to accompany her. She thought he was attractive, but his long hair reminded her so much of Chaeyoung. She tried to shake the image out of her head, but once he placed on his glasses, she immediately saw Chaeyoung, and it made her heart beat even more.

She actually tells the guy that she doesn’t want to drink anymore but he ordered more soju for her to handle and got her drunk before she even noticed it. Once he leaves to go to the bathroom, she tries with all that’s left of her sane brain to call her friends. Feeling panicked that no one responded, calling Nayeon a couple of more times, she felt hopeless. But the one contact in her list made her think hard. She didn’t have much time until she finally called Chaeyoung’s number.

The sound of her voice was so chilling to her, she could sense the concern from it, and it made her drunken heart sing. She couldn’t hold back a smile and blurted out that she wanted to see her. She suddenly realizes what came out of and instantly blames the soju for ruining her brain.

But when Chaeyoung muttered that she’ll come get her, it made her happy. Mina was desperate to ignore these feelings but the idea of seeing Chaeyoung again made her eager.

It quickly faded when the guy came back to the bar and noticed Mina’s state. He insisted that she goes home with him, stating that she was in no condition to go back home alone but she immediately said no and that someone was coming to get her. But the words didn’t bite for him, he kept telling her to just leave with him instead. After a few annoying attempts, he tries to grab her out of the stool she was on but suddenly he was stunned when a presence was next to her. Chaeyoung was quick to grab her hand away from him and told her to go. She lets herself be pulled by Chaeyoung. The feeling of her hand was warm, and it felt right on her skin. She remembers apologizing to Chaeyoung as they exit the bar, but the music was so loud that Chaeyoung wasn’t able to respond to what she said.

But she was scared that the man was going to catch up with them. In a blink of an eye, she was outside of the bar, Chaeyoung’s palm was now gently holding hers and it fit perfectly. She tries to catch her senses, forcing herself to sober up and attempting to apologize to the younger friend again. But Chaeyoung let out a shaky breath and said that she wasn’t angry and that she didn’t want Mina to get hurt.

Chaeyoung was not making this easier for Mina. She swallows the giddy feeling, and the rush of alcohol makes her lose her balance, leaning now on Chaeyoung. She remembered the feeling of strong arms around her and next thing she knew she was in the cab on the way to her apartment.

The night was hazy, she couldn’t remember a thing. She could only remember the soft pillows on her head and the warmness of the piece of clothing she received from Chaeyoung. It smelled like perfume and Mina wanted to drown herself in it, drifting off into sleep.

When she woke up, the sun was rising. But the constant ringing in her head made her wish she didn’t wake up. Her eyes fixate on the sleeping figure by her bed, a sudden rush came into her when she realized that it was Chaeyoung sleeping uncomfortably on her living chair. She felt so guilty not inviting Chaeyoung to sleep on her bed, but at the same time, she was lucky she didn’t because then drunken Mina would have done things she would have regretted.

She quietly gets out and washes her face in the bathroom, rubbing off the makeup she had the night before and lets out a disappointed sigh. If only Nayeon was the one who rescued her then she would have saved herself from this kind of embarrassment. Nayeon has seen too much, and their bond was enough for them to not mind the ridiculousness they would do.

Mina walks over to the kitchen and notices that one of her glasses was missing, she goes back to her bedroom and sees the glass by the end table. She creeps over to it, hoping to not wake up Chaeyoung and leaves to the kitchen and fills it with water. She downs the drink and feels a sudden relief to finally have healthy liquids in her system. Mina vowed to never do that again, if she saw that guy in school, she would have to avoid him at all costs.

She comes back to the room silently and sees Chaeyoung shuffling in the seat and stretches. Mina quietly waits for Chaeyoung to be fully awake before she can hand her the glass of water she got for her.

“I should have slept on the floor.” Chaeyoung said to herself as she rubs her neck.

“Or you could have slept on my bed?” Mina says with a soft voice, feeling flushed from it. But then remembering that Chaeyoung had to go through all of that for her made her even more embarrassed. Chaeyoung’s face without her glasses made Mina’s heart skip, she was so cute, and it amazed her how masculine her features were and that there was a moment where Mina forgot that she was a girl.

“Oh.” Chaeyoung kept blinking her eyes open and then rubbed them roughly, Mina watched her grab her glasses from the window sill behind her and gently took the glass of water from Mina. “Thank you.”

Mina watches her drink and then walks over to her bed and sits down. She was reminded of the many penguin items she had scattered all over the room and it made her want to lie down and die of embarrassment. “I’m sorry.” She could only say.

“Why are you apologizing?”

Mina was somewhat shocked by that question, but she waved it off in her mind and said it was because she was being so shameful the night before. “But thank you. I’m glad you were there and that I’m here safe.”

Chaeyoung responded but a sudden noise from outside the room interrupted her, Mina heard the familiar voice of Sana and a couple of added footsteps and next thing she knew her three friends barged in her bedroom, and it made her jump. She knew that Nayeon was going to kill her, and she knew her time was coming when Nayeon immediately questioned the unfamiliar shirt she was wearing. She really didn’t fancy flannel, but it was Chaeyoung’s flannel, and she didn’t mind at all.

Everything happened in a blur, Chaeyoung said something to Sana, and it made her overly extroverted friend come over to wrap Chaeyoung in a hug. She felt a petty lump of jealousy for some reason and was so shocked at the sudden feeling. There was no real reason for her to feel that way, since she was actively trying to avoid any weird feelings for Chaeyoung. But her head was spinning, and her first instinct was to push everyone out of her room.

Once they were out, she couldn’t seem to escape the unwanted feeling.

“Chaeng.” The name came out so easily from , she trailed off and without thinking she grabbed Chaeyoung and hugged her. She felt like she’s already done this before, and it felt so right. “Thank you.”

She felt her heart skip again once she felt the soft hands wrap around her waist and was pulled in the hug. Mina wanted to hide her face from showing any hint of blushing. “You can call me anytime you’re in a pinch.” Chaeyoung said so quietly.

They finally break off from the hug, it was unfortunate, she didn’t want to stop hugging her. But the moment she looked down she remembered that she was still wearing Chaeyoung’s shirt. “Oh no.” She says as she looks at it. “I’ll get this washed for you. I’m sorry for being so much trouble.”

Chaeyoung suddenly smiled at her, she hated it now. “It’s fine.” Chaeyoung opened the door but before she left she looked back at Mina and smirks—yeah, she really hated her smile now. “You look good in my shirt.” She winks and then exits, not waiting for Mina’s response and closes the door.

Mina fell on the floor, and she held both hands on her face. It was probably beet red from the compliment and how y Chaeyoung looked when she winked. This was really killing her.

It didn’t help that after that, Nayeon went into the room and found her on the floor and asked if she was okay. She had to play it cool and ask what Nayeon needed, her friend simply informed her the three were going out for brunch and wanted to invite Mina as well, but the sudden rush of the hang over filled her head with a lot of pain and told Nayeon to tell them she couldn’t go. Nayeon paused and said that she’ll accompany her instead until Mina feels better.

She’s glad that Nayeon was willing to stay by her side despite of the stupid things she did. Once they were alone, Nayeon decided to wash her hair for her, and Mina explained everything that happened to her during the bath.

Mina kept repeating how embarrassing it was for her to let Chaeyoung witness everything that she probably did the night before and Nayeon could only laugh at her for being so flushed about it. Nayeon kept telling her that Chaeyoung was her friend and that it was only natural for friends to have that one drunk experience together. But Nayeon didn’t understand, well—she couldn’t blame her for it because she couldn’t tell her best friend about the confusing feelings she’s been having because of Chaeyoung. She just nods and lets herself sink into the horrible feeling she was having.

She was hoping that it would stop there. Maybe if she spent some time away from Chaeyoung, she would start to forget about these ‘confusing feelings’ she was having.

Lo’ and behold, as months went by it got harder and harder. Chaeyoung would always send her pictures of things that she randomly sees and share them in their chat. Mina finds herself waiting for Chaeyoung’s next reply and would fuss over the messages she was sending back. It came to a point that she would invite Chaeyoung over to her apartment again to have dinner or to hang out somewhere nearby.

It took a lot for her to tell Mr. Hwan, the doorman, to not mind Chaeyoung because she was a friend from school. She knew that her father asked the building to keep a close eye on Mina in case something happens. Mr. Hwan has been of service to her dad for the longest time, so Mina’s safety was number one priority. She understood that very well, but it also took courage to go up to the older man and ask him to promise not to let her father know about Chaeyoung’s consistent visits.

He hesitated at first, but he couldn’t resist Mina. He’s seen her grow up and the fact she was putting a lot of trust in him made him convinced that he wasn’t going to ruin it.

And that was how the rest of her months have passed. Chaeyoung would always find a way to break down the walls Mina put up for herself and for some reason, she was okay with it. She told herself that if she doesn’t stop this, it’ll be too late for her.

But she had to keep her cool. She had to find a way to fight these feelings. Things did change when she started noticing Nayeon has been quite busy lately. Mina was aware of Jeongyeon’s consistent presence with her best friend. But knowing how Jeongyeon tried to hit on her first left a bad taste in . It got worse when Nayeon told her that they slept with each other on that same night.

Mina tried to subtly tell Nayeon that it was a bad idea. But she would have this guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach when she would remind herself that Jeongyeon was Chaeyoung’s best friend. She listened to the many stories Chaeyoung told her about how her and Jeongyeon would get in trouble back when they were still in high school, and it fascinated Mina. She also felt like a coward when she couldn’t tell Chaeyoung about her best friend’s attempt to flirt with her.

She was a mess. Mina hated lying, but recently she’s been catching herself hiding the truth from her friends and especially to Nayeon. But what made things worse was that she was starting to lie to herself.

She denied all her feelings for Chaeyoung. Passing it off as simple adoration for the younger one. Maybe she just liked the way Chaeyoung looked or the way she smelled. Her hand felt soft, and it seemed to fit hers perfectly and it was silently driving Mina crazy. When Chaeyoung would grab her hand and hold it gently, she felt her heartbeat go faster with each second their fingers lingered on their skins. The way it tangled with each other felt like it was a missing puzzle piece, like it was meant to be there, and Mina wished it was true.

If that didn’t make things even more difficult for Mina, she dug her own grave when she couldn’t hold back her sudden disappointment when Chaeyoung told her she had to go to work that one time. It was as if she woke up and chose to be clingy to Chaeyoung and it made her feel so disgusted with herself. She was never clingy to anyone but Nayeon. But she had to find a reason why she was suddenly dialling Chaeyoung’s number and walking aimlessly in school that day.

She was taken aback with how Chaeyoung responded to the call. Mina was about to feel bad about it but then she realized that maybe that was how she and Jeongyeon talked to each other. But the moment she laid eyes on the familiar yet breathtaking view of the person she was silently yearning for, her mind just went blank.

Mina was in trouble.

The scarf that wrapped around Chaeyoung’s neck made her feel jealous, wanting to be under that and maybe snuggle up on the crook of her neck and start planting kissing on the chin of the younger one— she tried to pinch herself from continuing any of the erted thoughts she was having when Chaeyoung met her half way through the patch of grass in school.

Chaeyoung was looking handsome as ever, the way her hands ran through the silky, short hair that smelled like aftershave for some reason. It was y for Mina, and she hated it. Her coat made her even more irresistible, and Mina felt like she was going to choke on her thoughts when she felt a sudden panic of these feelings starting to swell.

Trying to grasp whatever rational brain cell that was left in her, she tries to divert the conversation somewhere else. Luckily, the camera that also hugged Chaeyoung’s neck was there, and she commented on it.

It was a good excuse, now they were talking about something else. Mina treads to the table to let Chaeyoung continue what she was doing but was confused when she sees the younger stare at her. Was there something on her face? Mina wanted to panic, it could be that her makeup was smudged by her scarf and Chaeyoung was going to mention it, but she didn’t. She quickly asked her if she could take a picture of her, and Mina panicked again. She wasn’t feeling confident about it, smiling as a defence mechanism but before she could register anything she heard the click from the camera and felt her face warm up.

Mina asked if she could take another one and decided to try to at least humour Chaeyoung by posing for her. Chaeyoung quickly showed her the photo and was very impressed with how it turned out. Mina was even more amazed at her now, not only was she gifted in painting