“You can’t just join band your final year.”

 

Nayeon held up a suspiciously formal paper for Mina to view. She scanned the contents, biting back the shock. “A letter of recommendation? You don’t even know how to play an instrument.”

 

“That’s what I have you for!”

 

Mina could only scowl in response. She knows exactly why Nayeon is doing this. Not because she has to fill a credit requirement, not because she loves to play an instrument, not because she wants to spend time with Mina. 

 

All because of one Minatozaki Sana. 

 

“You can’t play the flute.” Mina says, matter of factly, pointedly avoiding the other girl’s pout. “You’re better off starting with the clarinet.” 

 

“But Sana plays the flute! How am I supposed to talk to her if I’m in a different section?” 

 

Mina has been in band ever since middle school. She lived and breathed the flute long before then, learning how to play as a young child. This was serious for her.

 

She met Nayeon a few years ago, their sophomore year. Funnily enough, it was through a hilarious mishap that Mina would never forget. 

 

 

 

The band was meeting up an hour before school started to practice the piece for the welcome back to school assembly. 

 

Mina stood out in the hallway, polishing her flute absentmindedly when she heard a huge crash coming from the lobby. 

 

There, amongst all the empty tuba cases, laid a groaning girl. The sight before her was so comical it almost brought out an uncharacteristic giggle from Mina. She hadn’t realized she was standing next to the mess when the stranger finally scrambled up. 

 

The move proved to be unsuccessful when all it did was shift around the empty cases, causing the girl to sink further in. “A little help here, please?”

 

Mina was hesitant. She tried to reach forward to grasp onto a limb of some sort to pull her out, but—

 

“Oh crap!”

 

She stumbles into the pile of tuba cases, right on top of the stranger. 

 

 

 

“You have to be serious about this, Nayeon.” Mina grew more stern, this wasn’t the class to be fooling around in. “Band is a team effort. If one of us is off, everyone is off.”

 

Nayeon’s eyes softened. “Don’t worry. You know I’m a fast learner! I’ll catch up and thenmake my move.” Mina couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. 

 

“I don’t know what you see in her.”

 

Mina could see Nayeon’s eyes start to twinkle, her lips twitching lopsidedly, indicating that she was daydreaming. She’s seen this happen pretty much everyday, whenever they talked about Sana, but it always stirred something within her. And she isn’t fond of that something. 

 

 

 

“Mina?” 

 

Mina hears her name being called from somewhere nearby. She quickly searches her surroundings, finding it difficult to do so while having a hard case digging into her back. Why do tubas have to be so ginormous?! 

 

It’s her bandmate, Sana. 

 

The two don’t speak much even though they’re seated next to each other. Mina doesn’t even think they’ve spoken outside of class or have any classes together. 

 

She approaches, and Mina notices her biting back a teasing grin. “What happened here?”

 

“Please help!” It seems to register in Sana’s mind then that there was another body among the mess. Mina gives up, sprawling out onto the massive case that’s been underneath her for five minutes too long. 

 

Sana throws her an apologetic look and walks around to help the stranger she attempted to help first. And she does so with surprising ease. She pulls the other girl up onto her feet. “Are you alright?”

 

From her angle, Mina’s able to see the awestruck look on the stranger’s face as Sana just stares back with mild concern. She oddly feels like she’s intruding in on a moment, but it passes before she could linger on it. 

 

“Wow. What a great start to my first day here, huh?” 

 

Mina shuffles her body, catching their attention. They hurry over and each offer a hand to help. She takes both and she’s heaved into a standing position. 

 

“I’m Nayeon! I just transferred here.” 

 

Finally giving her a proper look, Mina’s mouth immediately dries up in embarrassment. How has she made the biggest fool out of herself in front of the most gorgeous girl she’s ever seen?!

 

Her lip twitches nervously. She tries to muster up the courage to introduce herself, but Sana beats her to it. “That’s Mina, I’m Sana, and we’re late for practice. Hope your first day gets better!”

 

Sana whisks her away back to the band room without even sparing another glance at Nayeon. Mina, however, looks back. She catches Nayeon’s lingering gaze on Sana. 

 

 

 

“She’s nice, she’s pretty, she’s talented.”

“You hardly know her.” 

 

“You’re right, I don’t.” Mina thinks she’s finally gotten through to Nayeon when— “so this is my chance to get to know her!” 

 

“Why do you have to do it through band? Why can’t you just approach her like a normal person?”

 

Nayeon whines, petulant. “You know why! All she does is band band band.”

 

It’s true. Sana was a lot more dedicated than Mina, even though Mina was first chair for the flutes. “I still find it a bit dramatic to be doing all this just to flirt with a girl.” 

 

“She’s not just a girl, Mina.” Nayeon sighs dreamily. “She’s my angel savior.”

 

~~

 

Mina knew exactly how it looked. She’s watched enough romance movies, read enough love stories, heard enough experiences from her classmates to know that this was a classic tale. 

 

“It’s all a part of growing up!” She could hear her parents say, but she honestly found it condescending. To minimize something so grand, so raw, so full of feeling. No, it was more than just a part of growing up.

 

“What are you thinking about?” Nayeon asks from across the room. The two were spending Sunday night cramming for a History test they had the following day. Mina looks up from where she sits at her desk to see Nayeon’s gaze locked onto a textbook, her glasses sliding down the bridge of her nose. 

 

She always looks cute in those glasses.

 

“Before you ask, it’s because I can practically hear you thinking from all the way over here.” Nayeon was sitting against the headboard of Mina’s spacious queen bed. Notebooks and textbooks surrounded her in a messy manner. Mina, on the other hand, her workspace was neat and organized. 

 

They grew closer after sharing a few classes together sophomore year. It took a while for Mina to ease up, have her guard down around Nayeon. She couldn’t help her nerves whenever she was with her. 

 

Now all of that was in the past. 

 

Mina hasn’t said anything yet, making Nayeon speak up again. “Don’t try to lie. You’re terrible at it.”

 

She considers her next words. “I’m thinking about love.” It’s not a complete lie. “How people experience love differently.” Nayeon closes her textbook, finally giving her full attention. She stared at Mina curiously. 

 

“Mina, do you have a crush on someone?” The unexpected question sends Mina swiveling around in her chair, facing away from Nayeon. She splutters nervously, trying to think of a convincing excuse. “It’s alright if you do.” What?

 

“What?”

 

“It’s normal to have crushes.” Mina dreaded what was next. “It’s all a part of growing up.” The words light a fire within her, but she shuts her eyes tight, willing the feeling away. She’s glad that she’s turned away from Nayeon’s view. 

 

“I don’t have a crush.” She doesn’t. It’s more than that. 

 

She can hear Nayeon flop backwards onto her bed, a stray textbook falling to the floor next to them. “You already know about my crush.” There it was, that dreamy tone. Reserved for Sana and Sana only. “It makes me feel like I’m floating on a fluffy cloud.” 

 

But, is that it? Mina wants so badly to say. It can’t be as simple as that. 

 

“It should be as simple as that.” Nayeon continues to rant, like she could read Mina’s mind.

 

~~

 

Nayeon likes to ask a lot of questions that Mina can’t answer.

 

Like does Sana like girls? is she interested in someone right now? 

 

It’s better than the ones she asks about Mina herself.

 

Like when was your first kiss? was your first ever crush also on some lame boy in elementary school?

 

Mina answers none of them.

 

~~

 

“Do you want some of my fries?”

 

A large basket of fries enters Mina’s vision. She’s been staring at the table for who knows how long at this point. Her thoughts were running a million miles per second. 

 

She invited a friend, Son Chaeyoung, to the diner she frequents often with Nayeon. Burrowed deep into the crevices of her mind was the idea that this was an attempt to draw further away from what she felt for Im Nayeon.

 

“Earth to Mina?” She feels a fry bounce off her forehead. “I can only stand so much silence from you.”

 

Mina rolls her eyes in response. “That’s my usual already.”

 

Chaeyoung hums, shaking her head. “No. Today you’re extra quiet.” She narrows her gaze. “Is this about Nayeon?”

 

This causes Mina to whip her attention up to the girl across the table. “Why would you think that?” Chaeyoung shrugs. 

 

There’s an odd sparkle in Chaeyoung’s eyes, almost like she knows something that Mina doesn’t. 

 

Mina speaks again, Chaeyoung’s gaze was starting to feel unbearable. “My life doesn’t revolve around her.”

 

“I didn’t say that.”

 

Another silence washes over them and Mina’s unsure of what to say next. Unsure of a lot of things, really. 

 

“Motivational speeches aren’t exactly my forte, but let me say this one thing, Mina.” She reaches out a hand, placing it gently over hers. “Some things in life are worth the pain.”