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She’s late.
Not for the first time, Chaeyoung finds herself sprinting down the street, a bag slung haphazardly over one shoulder.
The weather is nice today, a slightly chilly November morning, compared to the scorching heat of the week before. Chaeyoung thinks it’s a pity that she can’t stop and properly enjoy the good weather.
Maintaining a constant pace without too much trouble (she runs a mile around the track every Thursday after school and has built up her endurance), Chaeyoung hopes that she hasn’t missed her bus- and with that, her art class.
Rounding the corner, Chaeyoung barely refrains from uttering a few choice words as she narrowly avoids a collision with a pair of older women. Blurting out a hurried apology and ducking her head in a poor imitation of a respectful bow, Chaeyoung continues on her way.
A few minutes pass by, and Chaeyoung is relieved to see a small crowd of people waiting at the bus stop, evidence that the bus has yet to arrive.
Panting slightly (because let’s face it, any sort of physical activity is definitely not a part of her Saturday morning routine), Chaeyoung slows to a jog as she reaches the crowd.
Coming to a complete stop, she winces as she feels the muscles of her calves aching in protest. She adjusts her backpack so that both straps are in proper use and slips a cold bottle of water out from the side pouch.
Screwing the cap off, Chaeyoung lets out a blissful sigh as she takes a well-deserved sip, the cold water doing wonders for her parched throat. Raising the bottle at a slightly higher angle, Chaeyoung takes a few larger gulps of the ice-cold liquid.
And then proceeds to violently choke because her eyes have just landed on the most beautiful girl she’s ever seen, and yep, this is definitely not one of Chaeyoung’s better Saturday mornings.
To her right, a guy dressed in blue athletic wear gives her a concerned look. Chaeyoung turns away with a muttered “i’m all right, thanks,” eager to avoid any more attention.
Once she judges that she’s mostly recovered from her unexpected bout of choking, Chaeyoung turns back around, letting her eyes focus once more on the other girl.
And yeah, Chaeyoung’s seen plenty of pretty girls in her short lifetime (and has most definitely found herself attracted to more than a few), but there’s something that makes the girl standing a few meters away from her especially attractive.
Before Chaeyoung can really properly study the other girl, the bus arrives. Shaking her head slightly, Chaeyoung lets her feet drag her into the forming queue of people in front of the bus.
The wait to get on the bus is surprisingly short, despite the intimidating long queue. Chaeyoung, quickly checking to make sure nothing has managed to fall out of her bag in the past few minutes (a completely unnecessary action that Chaeyoung has unfortunately adopted from her older cousin), makes her way up the stairs and onto the actual bus.
Stopping right at the front of the bus, Chaeyoung does a quick scan of the bus, noting two things: her usual window spot in the middle of the bus is still empty (to her great satisfaction, as she’s become used to sitting in that same spot for the past weeks), and that the subject of her earlier staring is once again a few meters away.
Pretty Girl, as Chaeyoung’s overworked brain has so amazingly named the girl, takes her seat, astutely choosing a seat further down near the end of the bus, closer to the back exit. Putting her bag on her lap, the girl takes out a pair of earbuds and puts one in each of her ears.
There’s a pointed cough from behind Chaeyoung, and she feels the tips of her ears turning red as she realizes there’s a line of people behind her waiting to get on the bus. Flustered, she impulsively moves past her normal seat and sits herself in a seat close to the girl.
As in the seat right next to her.
Fumbling blindly with the zipper on her backpack, Chaeyoung takes out her phone, desperate for a distraction. She shoots a few panicked texts to Dahyun and Tzuyu and hopes they reply quickly (she’s not in luck).
In her panic, Chaeyoung forgets that her bag is still open, and when the bus goes over a bump in the road, the subsequent motion is enough for one of her cases of paint to slip out, landing on the floor of the bus, thankfully without spilling paint all over.
Before she can reach down and pick up the case of paint, another hand has already done so. Chaeyoung stares in bemusement at Pretty Girl’s outstretched hand, not quite comprehending the other girl’s action.
“It fell out of your bag,” Pretty Girl says quietly, nodding at the offending item in her hand. Chaeyoung can only stare back, looking back and forth between the Pretty Girl’s incredibly beautiful face and Pretty Girl’s incredibly delicate hand.
Possibly sensing that Chaeyoung is in no state to reply, much less actually reach out and take the case of paint back like any normal person would do, Pretty Girl leans forward (to Chaeyoung’s horror and delight), lifting the outer edge of Chaeyoung’s backpack and gently placing the paint case back inside.
Pretty Girl leans back into her own seat, and Chaeyoung finally snaps out of her dazed (and rather pitiful) state.
“Thank you,” she whispers, ducking her head gratefully at the other girl. She raises her head in time to see Pretty Girl smile softly at her, and Chaeyoung knows she’s so,
so
screwed.
The next ten minutes go by in a sort of comfortable silence, and faster than she would’ve thought, the bus reaches Chaeyoung’s stop. With some disappointment, Chaeyoung observes that Pretty Girl’s stop is later than hers, as the other girl makes no move to get up. Swinging her backpack onto one shoulder, Chaeyoung mutters a quick “bye” before making her way to the exit, determined to not look back.
As soon as she jumps off the stairs of the bus and onto the concrete of the street, Chaeyoung lets out a sigh, already impatient for the next Saturday to arrive.
The next week passes by rather slowly, in Chaeyoung’s opinion. After a whole week of waiting (and hoping that Pretty Girl rides the same exact bus at the same exact time again), Saturday morning comes by, and soon enough she’s lining up to board the bus once again. This time, however, is different.
Pretty Girl is in the same spot as last week, looking just as breathtaking. However, the seat next to her is taken- by a man who looks to be in his early twenties.
Disappointed, Chaeyoung begins turning away, but a slight motion catches her eye and forces her to stay in her spot. Pretty Girl has shifted slightly to her right, further away from the man. It’s faint but noticeable, and Chaeyoung feels herself battling rising feelings of anger when she sees that the man shifts closer to Pretty Girl, this time leaning towards her and deliberately invading her personal space.
Before she knows it, Chaeyoung’s standing in front of the pair. “Excuse me,” she hears herself saying.
Both Pretty Girl and the man look up, but Chaeyoung’s focus is on the man alone.
“This isn’t your normal seat, is it?”
The man shakes his head. “Problem?”
Chaeyoung wills herself to stay calm. “Would you be willing to sit somewhere else? Just for today.”
The man cocks his head to one side, an unpleasant expression on his face. “Why?” His words are brusque and challenging.
Chaeyoung hesitates, almost turning back around and leaving, but she takes a single look at Pretty Girl’s uncomfortable expression and speaks again.
“She’s my girlfriend.” The words come out of Chaeyoung’s mouth before she can actually stop and think about what she’s saying. Pretty Girl’s head shoots up, and she stares at Chaeyoung in surprise. Chaeyoung continues, deliberately not making eye contact with the other girl. “I was late today, so she got on before I did. Would you mind switching seats so I can sit next to her?”
The man looks at her and then at Pretty Girl. “Girlfriend, huh?”
Chaeyoung swallows, nodding in what she hopes is a confident manner.
The man stares at her for a few long moments, and Chaeyoung’s beginning to think he’ll say no.
Finally, he clears his throat. “Fine.”
He gets up from his seat, moving away from Pretty Girl but still standing nearby. Chaeyoung blinks, wondering what he wants now.
“You said girlfriends,” the man tells her. “Prove it.”
“P-Prove it?” Chaeyoung tries to mask her shock at the man’s instructions.
“That’s what I said. Prove it. I don’t want to be cheated out of my spot next to a pretty girl by some random kid. But if you’re actually her girlfriend, I’ll move.”
Chaeyoung remains motionless, and the man smirks victoriously.
“I guess I’ll be taking my seat back” he starts to say before stopping abruptly.
Chaeyoung feels a hand tugging insistently at her own hand, and she stumbles forward, towards Pretty Girl. Another hand spins her around so she’s no longer facing the other girl, and to Chaeyoung’s complete astonishment, she’s dragged backwards onto Pretty Girl’s lap.
One of Pretty Girl’s hands sneaks around Chaeyoung’s waist, almost protectively, keeping Chaeyoung close. The other hand rests on Chaeyoung’s thigh. Chaeyoung has no time to process her new seating arrangement because she feels a weight settling onto her shoulder, and suddenly Pretty Girl’s face is inches away from her own. The smell of an unfamiliar lavender perfume invades her senses.
“Thank you for letting my girlfriend and I sit together.” The quiet yet assertive voice addresses the still standing man, who watches for a few moments before reluctantly turning away with a grunt of acknowledgement.
Chaeyoung watches as the man walks away with a displeased frown, choosing a seat at the very end of the bus.
“You know you can get off now.” The words startle Chaeyoung; fixed on watching the man’s departure, she had failed to notice that the other girl had moved her head from where it had been resting on Chaeyoung’s shoulder. The amusement is plain in the other girl’s voice, and Chaeyoung desperately tries to refrain from blushing.
Through all this, Chaeyoung notes that Pretty Girl has made no actual attempt to remove Chaeyoung from her lap, which makes Chaeyoung’s next words come out with a whole lot more bravado.
“I’m fine. It’s comfortable here.” The moment the words come out of her mouth, Chaeyoung freezes, instantly regretting all her life choices, only relaxing when she hears a light laugh in response.
“Suit yourself,” Pretty Girl says. Chaeyoung is painfully aware that the other girl’s hands are still wrapped around her waist and on her thigh.
There’s a brief pause in their short exchange, and Chaeyoung is debating whether to start another conversation. Pretty Girl beats her to it.
“So, exactly how many laws am I breaking right now?” Pretty girl says, an elegant eyebrow raised.
“W-what do you mean?” Chaeyoung asks, cursing her initial stutter, borne out of surprise at the other girl’s words. She cranes her head so that she’s able to see the other girl’s face.
She receives an amused look in response. “Well, I’m sitting on a crowded bus with a pretty girl who happens to be underaged on my lap. And it looks like she’s not getting off anytime soon, either.”
Chaeyoung doesn’t miss the fact that Pretty Girl just complimented her, and a warm feeling passes through her.
“Well, lucky for you I’m not underaged,” she lies, every part of her body hoping the other girl doesn’t call her bluff. “I know I have a baby face and I’m short, but I’m not underaged.”
Chaeyoung feels Pretty Girl studying her. “I guess I’ll have to believe you,” she finally responds. There’s another pause. “So, since we’ve moved past being strangers- I’m Mina.”
“Chaeyoung. Son Chaeyoung,” Chaeyoung replies, a quiet sigh of relief leaving her body.
Mina hums in acknowledgement, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. Chaeyoung stays quiet, alternating between staring out the window and committing the older girl’s features to memory.
Chaeyoung doesn’t get off at her normal stop. Instead, she stays seated in Mina’s lap, making a mental note to text an apology to her art teacher when she gets home.
Two more stops pass, and Chaeyoung feels Mina begin to move. “I’m getting off at the next stop,” Mina informs her. “Do you know how to get back? I know you missed your stop.”
“Don’t worry. This is my stop, too.” Mina gives her an unimpressed look. “Really,” Chaeyoung protests. “I promise.”
Mina sighs. The bus chooses that moment to come to a stop. Chaeyoung waits anxiously for the older girl’s reaction.
“Fine,” she finally breathes out. “Come on.” Chaeyoung scrambles off Mina’s lap, grabbing her backpack in one hand and following the other girl off the bus.
“Are you planning on following me the whole day?” Mina keeps her eyes on the street in front of her.
“Of course not,” Chaeyoung assures her. “This is just a coincidence.”
Mina mutters something under her breath that sounds suspiciously like
“coincidence my ass”
.
A few more minutes of walking silently side by side pass by, and Mina suddenly stops. Chaeyoung throws her a puzzled glance.
The older girl clears her throat. “I’m meeting up with a few friends since we don’t have class today. We’re eating off campus.”
Chaeyoung blinks, not sure where the other girl is going with this.
Mina runs a hand through her dark hair. “Look, I know you said this was all coincidence and that you’re definitely not following me, but you’re welcome to join us. If you want.”
“Are you sure?” Chaeyoung asks, puzzled at the sudden offer.
Mina nods. “I just don’t feel like a good person if I leave you wandering by yourself. They’re nice people. My friends,” she clarifies.
“If you’re actually fine with it,” Chaeyoung replies doubtfully.
“I wouldn't offer if I wasn’t” is her reply. Seeing Chaeyoung’s obvious hesitation, Mina sighs, grabbing her hand. “Come on.” And Chaeyoung can’t find it in herself to argue.
Chaeyoung finds herself walking into a cozy cafe located on a corner of a street. With Mina not showing any signs of letting go of Chaeyoung’s hand, the duo enter the cafe together.
Chaeyoung has only a few seconds to look around-enough time for her to realize that she’s been here before, with a few of her older friends- before Mina’s tugging insistently at her hand, nodding towards a table in the corner of the cafe, already surrounded by a group of college-aged girls.
Mina leads her to the table right when the girls burst into laughter. A girl with light-red hair, sitting the furthest away, ducks her head, obviously pleased at how well-received her joke was. Another girl looks up, smiling widely when she notices Mina.
“Minari!” She calls out excitedly, causing all the other girls to look up.
Chaeyoung stands behind Mina, watching awkwardly as all girls greet Mina.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend?” A loud voice calls out, and a chorus of agreement follows.
Mina laughs lightly. “Everyone this is Chaeyoung. Chaeyoung, these are my friends. They’ll introduce themselves.”
The girl who had initially greeted Mina introduces herself as Sana; the girl next to her introduces herself as Nayeon. The loud voice belongs to Jihyo, and the girl with the red hair is Momo.
“Come on you two, sit down!” Jihyo gestures towards two vacant seats. Mina and Chaeyoung comply, and Chaeyoung quickly notices that Mina is looking around the cafe, obviously searching for something.
“She’s in the restroom,” Nayeon says before Chaeyoung can ask what’s wrong. Mina raises her head slightly, mouth forming an ‘o’.
Chaeyoung finds herself being pulled into a conversation with Momo and Sana about the benefits of renting an apartment versus living on campus in a dorm. Chaeyoung, who has yet to experience either of the two options, smiles and nods her head politely at the right times.
All side conversations come to a stop when an unbelievably high pitched shriek is heard. Chaeyoung looks up at Nayeon, who is furiously slapping the hand of a new girl. Chaeyoung can only make out slightly ruffled blond hair, as the new girl’s face is buried into Nayeon’s shoulder.
Momo leans towards Chaeyoung. “They’re always trying to sneak up on each other. I think Jeong got her good this time.”
Jeong?
“Yoo, leave her alone. Mina’s friend is here.” At Jihyo’s words, the blond girl looks up, and Chaeyoung gasps.
“Jeongyeon?”
“Chaeyoung? What are you doing here?” Jeongyeon asks at the same time, Chaeyoung’s own shock at seeing her cousin reflected in Jeongyeon’s eyes.
“You two know each other?” Mina looks at Jeongyeon while asking the question.
Jeongyeon snorts. “She’s my younger cousin. My younger cousin who’s supposed to be
on the other side of the city now.
” She directs an icy glare at Chaeyoung, who’s reminded of the fact that Jeongyeon knows she has art class at this time of the day.
Oops.
“It was cancelled,” Chaeyoung supplies with a shrug.
Good. Vague but not vague enough for Jeongyeon to not understand.
Jeongyeon lets out a disbelieving “yeah okay,” but shrugs, slumping back in her seat and slinging an arm around a very unamused Nayeon (If looks could kill, Jeongyeon would be six feet under).
“Jeong, since you know Chaeyoung, she’s definitely of age, right?” Mina’s words are casual, but Chaeyoung’s suddenly sitting straight up in her chair, directing a pleading look at her cousin.
Jeongyeon gives her a hard look.
Please, o dear cousin of mine. We’ve been in so much together. There have been tears, laughter, death threats, you name it. If you ever loved me, now’s the time to show it.
Jeongyeon exhales. “Yeah, Chaeyoung? She’s old enough.”
And if Chaeyoung makes a mental note to buy something nice (probably food related) for her older cousin the next time she sees her, it’s totally unrelated and just out of the goodness of her heart.
“Okay, cool. You can take her home then.” Mina smiles at Chaeyoung, who returns the smile after a few seconds, extremely certain that all her previous decisions (sitting next to Mina on the bus, missing her stop and following the older girl, and allowing herself to be dragged to lunch with a bunch of older girls, including her cousin) were the right ones.
Okay, cool, is right.
Jeongyeon drags her into the restroom of the cafe as soon as the other girls leave.
“Are you crazy?” is the first thing that comes out of her mouth. Chaeyoung can’t find it in her to fully protest.
She smiles sheepishly instead.
“You’re completely out of your mind.” Jeongyeon’s tone leaves no room for argument. She’s entered her trademark “Scolding Parent” mode (Chaeyoung’s affectionately dubbed it “Rabid Dog” mode, just not to her face), and Chaeyoung knows that she’s in for a rough lecture.
Jeongyeon takes a deep breath, and Chaeyoung knows that the older girl’s about to let loose on her. But Jeongyeon simply exhales. “Explain. Now.”
Chaeyoung’s not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but she also realizes that maybe she’s better off not telling Jeongyeon why she’s here instead of diligently putting the finishing touches on another piece for her art portfolio.
So she settles for a somewhat intelligent response. “Um, I was hungry, so I stepped into the cafe and saw a bunch of other girls there.”
“Momo says you arrived with Mina.” Jeongyeon has yet to remove her steely gaze from Chaeyoung.
Chaeyoung feels a sheepish smile forming. “Coincidence?” Her answer is received by a scowl, and Chaeyoung remembers that Jeongyeon knows where she lives and is fully capable of ratting her out to her parents if she wants to.
“Fine. Mina asked if I wanted to go with her, so I said yes,” Chaeyoung grumbles out.
“Why would Mina invite you of all people?”
Yeah, um, ouch?
She sends Jeongyeon an indignant look. “What’s wrong with me?”
Jeongyeon smirks. “You said it not me.” She pauses. “But really, why?”
Chaeyoung sighs. “We ride the same bus together. Sit next to each other.” She looks up, seeing Jeongyeon struggling to hide a grin.
“What?” Chaeyoung’s instinctively on the defensive, not quite trusting her older cousin.
“That makes so much more sense,” Jeongyeon breathes out, snickering.
“What?” Chaeyoung repeats, more insistently this time.
“You
like
her.” Jeongyeon puts an emphasis on ‘like,’ as if it makes it any more real. “You like Mina.”
Chaeyoung lets out an undignified squawk. “Excuse me?”
Jeongyeon nods her head thoughtfully. “Yeah, it, all makes sense now. Nobody in their right mind, even you, would follow another person off the bus and agree to have lunch with them. Unless there were feelings involved.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. Chaeyoung is not amused.
“Okay fine. I might like her. Just a tiny bit,” she reluctantly admits, and Jeongyeon lets out a whoop.
“My baby cousin, crushing on older girls.” Jeongyeon dramatically pretends to wipe a tear away. There’s a pause. “Wait, does she know you’re still in high school?”
Chaeyoung shakes her head. “And it’s staying like that.” Jeongyeon laughs delightedly. “Whatever you say, Chaeng. Still can’t believe you’re crushing on a college girl.”
Chaeyoung, feeling slightly irritated, has to ask. “So you’re not angry?”
Jeongyeon tilts her head. “That you like Mina? Why would I be angry?”
Chaeyoung lets out a relieved sigh. “Okay, maybe i like her a lot.”
“I know,” Jeongyeon replies humorously. Chaeyoung doesn’t laugh.
“Do you think I have a chance?”
Jeongyeon raises a hand, looking at it critically, seemingly thinking deeply.
“I don’t know,” she finally replies. “Mina doesn’t date a lot. But I can tell you that Mina’s not as old as she tries to say she is.”
“So I do have a chance, albeit an extremely small one,” Chaeyoung concludes, Jeongyeon nodding happily.
“Come out, let’s leave. I want to get ice cream before I drop you off.” And with that, Chaeyoung knows that Jeongyeon is far from angry with her and has learned that maybe, just maybe, she has a chance with Mina.
It starts off like all new relationships do, with more than a few shared conversations and friendly encounters. After the lunch encounter, where Jeongyeon had reassured that Chaeyoung was “old enough”, Mina has become more open with her. Chaeyoung learns that Mina is in her second year of college and lives in an apartment that she shares with Momo and Sana. Although she’s studying to become a doctor, she enjoys dancing, more specifically ballet, far more, and she’s part of a dance team that’s well-known across her university. She plays video games in her free time (and she’s extremely good at them) and likes to watch funny videos of penguins, her favorite animal. (“Look,” she tells Chaeyoung, moving her phone slightly so that Chaeyoung can see the video playing. “They’re so adorable. So cute.” Chaeyoung wants to tell her that she’s cute too).
In turn, Chaeyoung divulges information about herself, from her favorite color, to her family, to the fact that she’s an artist (“I could tell from the case of paint you had in your bag the first time we met,” Mina says. “Show me some of your art pieces some time?” And Chaeyoung readily agrees).
It’s been a couple months of actually knowing each other, and this is the seventh time they’ve sat side by side on the same bus (not that Chaeyoung’s been counting or anything).
There’s a comfortable silence between them. Chaeyoung’s learned that Mina is a normally reserved person, usually preferring to not talk too much. And Chaeyoung’s fine with that; Mina’s head is resting on her shoulder, and she can tell that the other girl’s become relaxed around her.
“Chaeyoung?” Chaeyoung hums in response.
“You’re still in high school, right?” Chaeyoung stiffens, opening her mouth to disagree.
“Don’t lie to me. It’s okay,” Mina continues. Chaeyoung pursues her lips.
“How’d you know?” She keeps her question casual.
“Trust me, I can tell.” Mina chuckles, lifting her head from Chaeyoung’s shoulder. “And Jeongyeon’s probably the worst liar I’ve ever met.”
Chaeyoung keeps her silence. Mina notices. “Don’t worry too much about it. I don’t really care.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “Really?”
Mina shrugs. “We’re still friends, aren’t we?” At Chaeyoung’s hesitant nod, Mina smiles softly.
But what if I want more than that?
Chaeyoung wants to ask. She doesn’t, and the rest of the trip passes by silently.
“Have you ever thought about what you want to do?” The question catches Chaeyoung by surprise, and she blinks. It’s the middle of January.
“You know, after high school. Is there anything you want to study in college?” Mina clarifies, a fond smile on her face at the other’s obvious confusion.
“You,” Chaeyoung replies without missing a beat, inwardly praising herself for her bold remark when Mina blushes prettily.
“I’m serious, Chaeyoung,” Mina protests.
“I am too,” she retorts.
Mina huffs, and Chaeyoung takes pity on her. “I’m not sure yet,” she admits with a rueful grin. “I know graduation’s just around the corner, but I still don’t know what I want to do.”
Chaeyoung pauses briefly. “I mean, in an ideal world, I’d love to do something related to art. It’s one of the things I’d say I enjoy doing, enough to want to do it for a living. But everyone keeps telling me that having an art major or something similar is a waste of time. I don’t know.” She looks up at the other girl.
“I guess if all else fails, I’ll just study premed like you. That way I’d be able to see you more and everything.” Chaeyoung dares to look at the older girl, who merely lifts an eyebrow.
“Is that so?” Mina asks, amusement clear in her voice.
Chaeyoung nods her head eagerly, and Mina laughs despite herself.
It’s another Saturday, which means art lessons, which means having to ride the bus, which in turn means getting to see Mina. Chaeyoung is all nerves and excitement at the same time, for one important reason.
She’s early to the bus stop today, and she notes with some surprise that the bus is already here. Shrugging, she gets on, scanning the rows of seats in front of her, not surprised to see that Mina is already sitting in their usual spot.
“Hey,” Mina greets her with a smile. She smiles back automatically, seating herself in her usual seat next to the other girl.
Mina, perceptive as always, is quick to notice the rolled-up sheet of paper in Chaeyoung’s hand. Chaeyoung releases her clenched fist, still holding the sheet of paper in her hand.
“Here,” she hears herself saying, nodding at the paper.
“It’s for you,” she adds, just in case it’s not already obvious enough.
Mina reaches out, taking the colored flyer and touching Chaeyoung’s hand in the process. She takes a moment to read the flyer while Chaeyoung watches anxiously.
“Regional art exhibition?” Mina reads out, glancing at the shorter girl.
“It’s a school thing,” Chaeyoung explains. “The art department is hosting a competition for all high school artists. The top artists will be able to go to the state competition.”
“And I’m guessing you’re taking part in it?” Mina’s question is met with a swift nod.
“I’m submitting the portfolio I told you about. Hopefully, one of my pieces will be enough for me to qualify for state.”
Mina hums, still intently studying the flyer. “And the theme of the competition is...free love?”
Chaeyoung nods again, not trusting herself to not give herself away and do something she’d regret later. There’s a moment where neither of them is saying anything, and Chaeyoung notices that Mina has yet to look away from the flyer clutched in her hand.
“I-I just wanted to see if you could come.” Mina doesn’t immediately respond, fueling Chaeyoung’s internal panic.
“Of course, you don’t have to- I’m sure you have other things to do, and even if you didn’t, you probably don’t want to come to some boring high school thing. This was stupid of me to ask, sorry.”
“Hey.” Mina’s voice, the quiet and soothing voice she’s come to love in the past months, is firm and authoritative. “Don’t be like that. Of course I’d like to support my favorite artist.”
Chaeyoung holds in a breath as Mina continues. “Three weeks from now. February 24th?” Chaeyoung bobs her head.
“I’ll be glad to go,” Mina assures her. “Text me the details later.”
Chaeyoung’s goofy smile stays with her the rest of the day.
February 24th arrives sooner than expected. It’s been a busy month for Chaeyoung: juggling her heavy school workload, managing a decent social life, and of course, working tirelessly on completing and perfecting her art portfolio.
She hopes it’ll all pay off.
The day of the competition begins like any other day: getting up at an atrociously early time, checking her phone, eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast.
In less than an hour, Chaeyoung’s ready to leave, her art portfolio case in her hand.
The car ride to her high school is relatively short, and Chaeyoung makes her way to the art classroom. She’s five minutes earlier than the time they were told to be there, but many of the other high school artists are already there.
“Chaeyoung!” She whips her head around at the call. Bae Joohyun, clipboard in hand, walks up to her.
“Unnie, hi!” Chaeyoung’s glad to see the other girl. Joohyun’s always been one of those high achieving students who also finds time to help the underclassmen. But Joohyun also graduated last year, so Chaeyoung’s sort of surprised to see her here.
“You’re over here,” Joohyun says briskly, pointing at an empty station. “You have about an hour and a half to set up- everything that you want to present needs to be ready by 9. Judging will begin at 10.”
Chaeyoung bows her head. “Thanks unnie. Are you here just to help out?”
Joohyun beams at her. “Yep! This week has been easy for us college kids, so we decided to come help. Seulgi and Wendy are here too.” She motions at the other side of the room, where Chaeyoung can see Joohyun’s girlfriend and Wendy arguing over something.
Seulgi looks up from their heated exchange, waving excitedly at Chaeyoung. Chaeyoung waves back.
“Well, I’m going to go break up Dumb and Dumber before they find a way to screw something up,” Joohyun tells her. “Have fun and good luck!”
Chaeyoung spends the next hour carefully taking her various pieces and making sure they are all perfect, with no accidental markings. It takes her four trips to transport her three art pieces (two paintings and one drawing) and all the other supplies she needs to the school’s library.
She’s adjusting her final piece on the stand when she hears a polite cough. A very familiar cough.
“Hey there,” Mina grins. She’s holding a cup of coffee in each hand. “I’m not that late, am I?”
“Nope, you’re perfectly on time. The actual judging starts at 10.” Chaeyoung gratefully takes one of the coffee cups, humming in appreciation, not entirely believing that Mina is actually here.
“Great. I guess you’re setting up now?” Chaeyoung makes a noise of agreement. “Do you need any help?”
“I think I’m good, thanks. This is the last one.” Chaeyoung frowns, adjusting the piece one more time before deciding that it looks fine.
She finds Mina staring intently at her third piece, one of the two paintings. Her favorite, and in her opinion, her best piece.
“What do you think?” Her question seems to catch Mina off guard. The other girl mumbles a distracted “what?”, eyes still fixed on the painting.
Chaeyoung waits a few seconds. “Your art style is amazing. I’ve never seen someone paint like this before,” Mina comments.
Chaeyoung is happy for the praise, but that wasn’t what she was really aiming to hear. “What do you think about the painting itself? Do you like it?”
She doesn’t dare breathe in the time it takes Mina to answer. The older girl gives her an unreadable look. “It’s...interesting. Captivating, really. I’m sure the judges will love it.”
Mina clears her throat. “I promised I’d pick up some stuff for Momo. I’ll be back in time for the judging, don’t worry.” She begins moving away, towards the doors of the library.
“Wait!” Chaeyoung’s call is louder than she expected. A few meters away, Wendy, busy with helping one of the freshman set up, shoots her a questioning look.
Mina stops, waiting for Chaeyoung to continue.
“Can I talk to you after this whole thing is over? It’s not important, but if you have time…” She trails off.
“Of course. I’ll find you after, yeah?” And with that, Mina exits the library. Chaeyoung refuses to connect her request with her suddenly clammy hands and rapidly beating heart and returns to her assigned area, intent on focusing on the upcoming competition.
“CONGRATULATIONS CHAEYOUNG!” A chorus of voices greets her as she reenters the art classroom. Someone lets out a shrill whistle. Probably Sooyoung.
Chaeyoung blinks in shock, spinning around to face a grinning Seulgi. “So that’s why you made me stay in the library with you?”
Seulgi spreads her hands in a ‘what can i do’ gesture, pushing Chaeyoung inside. “Come on, you deserved this.”
Joohyun takes her by the hand, leading her to one of the larger tables in the classroom. “We ordered a cake and food,” the college student explains. “Wendy and a couple of the seniors went to pick everything up, so we’ll probably start properly celebrating in half an hour.”
Chaeyoung barely has enough time to stammer out a series of “thank you’s” and “you really didn’t have to, unnie” before she’s crushed in a hug.
“Chaengie! You did so well!” Dahyun exclaims, her arms wrapped tightly around Chaeyoung.
“Congratulations, unnie,” Tzuyu says after Dahyun finally lets go of her. “You deserve it.”
Chaeyoung beams at her two best friends. “Thanks guys. For everything.” Content on just sitting there, surrounded by the festivities and her friends, Chaeyoung relaxes completely.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a flash of dark hair and looks up. Standing uncertainly in the doorway is Mina, and as soon as she sees that Chaeyoung has seen her, she steps back into the outside hallway.
“Hold on, I’ll be back in a few,” she mutters to Tzuyu. Without waiting for a reply, she follows Mina into the hallway.
“Congratulations” is the first word that comes out of Mina’s mouth once they’re alone in one of the empty classrooms near the art room. “I’m so proud of you.”
Chaeyoung ducks her head, suddenly shy. “I just got lucky.”
Mina shakes her head adamantly. “Lucky would be barely qualifying for state, Chaeyoung. Placing first is definitely more than just luck.” Chaeyoung shrugs.
“So, I guess the next step is the state competition?”
Chaeyoung nods. “Next month.”
“Is it the same set up as today?”
“Nope, sadly,” Chaeyoung replies. “We don’t get to watch the judging, and results aren’t released until late April.”
“That long, huh?” Mina shakes her head. “That’s crazy.”
“Yup,” Chaeyoung returns, popping the ‘p.’
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
And Chaeyoung’s pretty sure she looks like a deer caught in the headlights. She scrambles for something to say. “You never answered my question, you know.”
It’s Mina’s turn to look confused. “What do you mean?”
Chaeyoung continues. “When I asked what you thought about my painting.”
Mina’s confusion transforms into understanding. “I told you. It was great, just like the other two. The judges loved your pieces, especially that last one.”
“But do you like it?” Chaeyoung presses on. There’s a brief pause. “What do you think I painted?”
Mina’s slow to respond, and when she does, her voice is quiet. “Two girls. On the same bus, sitting next to each other.”
Chaeyoung waits, but Mina refuses to continue. “One of the girls, the younger one, is looking up at the other girl.”
“Staring, really,” Mina mutters.
“The theme of the competition was free love,” Chaeyoung intones. Mina makes a sound of acknowledgement. “Can you see how I expressed it in the painting? With the two girls?”
“The age gap between the two girls.” Chaeyoung nods swiftly at Mina’s words. The older girl seems to struggle before she continues.
“The younger one. She’s in love with the older girl, even though there’s an age difference,” Mina whispers.
You don’t even know,
Chaeyoung thinks.
“Does that remind you of anything?” Mina remains silent.
“I painted the two of us, Mina. The day I first saw you.” There, she’s said it, and now all her cards are laid out on the table.
“I know,” Mina admits so quietly Chaeyoung can barely hear. “I knew as soon as I saw it.”
Chaeyoung opens her mouth to say something, anything, but Mina beats her to it. “I-I have to go,” the older girl mutters, glancing at her watch. She’s halfway to the door when Chaeyoung actually says something.
“Mina.” The older girl doesn’t turn around, but she’s slowed in her haste to leave the room.
“I like you.” The words hang in the air. Mina freezes at the declaration, hand on the doorknob.
Chaeyoung waits a few seconds, her heart threatening to jump out of her chest, as Mina sighs, turning back around to face the younger girl.
“Chaeyoung, you know I can’t,” Mina begins, an apologetic smile on her face, one Chaeyoung has seen too many times.
“Why?” Chaeyoung’s voice is unnaturally loud, even to her, and she’s sure she sounds like a petulant child. But it doesn’t matter, because Mina is still here, and she
needs
to know why Mina is so keen on rejecting her.
Mina sighs again, running a delicate hand through her dark hair, a nervous gesture Chaeyoung has become acquainted with.
“You know why,” Mina says, continuing before Chaeyoung can open her mouth and object. “I’m a college student who just turned twenty. You’re still in high school. You’re underaged- a minor. I can’t possibly...” She trails off.
“I’ll be eighteen in April,” Chaeyoung says stubbornly. “And then I’ll be in college.”
With you.
“Still,” Mina says. “As of right now, you’re still a minor.”
Mina smiles softly, remorsefully. Later, as she reflects on their conversation, Chaeyoung would describe it as a smile of defeat.
“Chaeyoung, a relationship between us isn’t
legal
.”
And before Chaeyoung can say anything to possibly change the older girl’s mind, Mina is gone, leaving just the faintest scent of lavender and the shattered pieces of Chaeyoung’s heart behind.
The audible click of the door shutting is the last thing she hears for a while.
Chaeyoung finds that time passes by much easier if she refuses to think about the entire situation, even if her heart keeps reminding her of it every few seconds. Days pass by, turning into weeks, and she buries herself in schoolwork and art. Chaeyoung knows she probably isn’t her usual energetic self, but she does try. More than once, she’s caught Tzuyu or Dahyun looking at her, a worried look on their face. She knows that her almost robotic, “I’m fine,” hasn’t fooled either of them.
It all comes to a head when Dahyun and Tzuyu drag her to trio’s favorite ice cream shop after school one day.
Chaeyoung studies the ice cream in the cup container, intent on avoiding any eye contact with the other two. She knows that if she looks up, she’ll find herself on the receiving end of Dahyun’s disapproving scowl and Tzuyu’s worried frown.
“Chaeyoung.” Chaeyoung forces herself to not look up at Dahyun. Resolutely ignores the pleading tone in her best friend’s voice. “Chaeyoung, this has to stop.”
“You’ve been like this for weeks,” Tzuyu chimes in. “Quiet, sad, moping.”
Chaeyoung eventually raises her head, meeting the two worried faces of her friends. “I’m fine, guys.”
“No you’re not,” Dahyun snaps. “You’re clearly upset, even now.”
Chaeyoung carefully moves the green plastic spoon out of her cup and onto a napkin.
“Look, it’s been weeks since the competition. A month,” Tzuyu reasons. “Don’t you think it’s time you stop thinking about her?”
Her. Pretty Girl.
Mina.
“I’m not,” Chaeyoung begins. She’s cut off by Tzuyu. “You’re clearly heartbroken, unnie. I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but I don’t think coming back to the room crying is a sign that you’re fine.”
“She’s got a point, Chaeng,” Dahyun adds. “Look, we just want you to be okay. Talk to us.”
Chaeyoung sighs. “I think I loved her,” she confesses in a small voice. Dahyun smiles at her encouragingly. “And it really just sucks because she thinks I’m too young.”
“She’s in college, unnie,” Tzuyu points out. “She has reason to think that.”
“Still, I felt like we had some sort of connection, as stupid as it sounds.” Chaeyoung grins ruefully. “I guess she didn’t feel the same way.”
Tzuyu smiles sympathetically. Dahyun frowns. “Her whole argument was that you weren’t legal, right?”
Chaeyoung nods. “That’s it?” Dahyun asks.
“She never mentioned anything else, at least.”
“She said she wouldn’t date you because you’re a minor right now, but what about when you become of age?” Chaeyoung frowns.
“I don’t know,” she admits. “It just always came back to the fact that I wasn’t old enough at the time.”
And it’s not like Chaeyoung could ask Mina about it, any of it, because she hasn’t seen the other girl since the older girl rejected her, at the art competition. The college student has been noticeably absent from their bus stop, and the seat next to Chaeyoung has stayed empty for the past month. Chaeyoung likes to pretend that Mina’s busy with her studies, but it’s more likely that the older girl’s keen on avoiding her.
“I think you should talk to her,” Tzuyu states. “If you like her that much.”
“Even if she doesn’t return your feelings, at least you’d get some sort of comfort,” is Dahyun’s contribution.
Chaeyoung doesn’t respond. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to try,” she says with some uncertainty.
Dahyun sends her a confident smile. “Good to hear, cuz she’s right behind you.”
What?
Chaeyoung turns her head so quickly that she thinks she’s going to get whiplash. Dahyun’s right, in a way. Mina is not “right behind her” but across the street, walking with her phone pressed to her ear. Chaeyoung has to admit the other girl looks striking, and her heart thumps in her chest.
“I guess it’s a sign,” Tzuyu says, exchanging a look with Dahyun.
“Come on, Chae. Go talk to her,” Dahyun urges. And she really doesn’t have to, because Chaeyoung’s feet are on autopilot, and she’s already standing up, ice cream forgotten.
“Fighting!” Tzuyu cheers her on as she ties her hair back in preparation. Chaeyoung hasn’t taken her eyes off of Mina’s retreating form.
“Go get her tiger,” is the last thing she hears Dahyun say before she’s running, yet again, much like the first day Chaeyoung met her, chasing after the slowly disappearing figure of the one who stole her heart, head filled with dreams and high hopes.
She follows Mina until the latter enters a very familiar cafe- the same cafe she had brought Chaeyoung to months ago.
Waiting a few moments to make sure Mina wouldn’t be able to notice her as soon as she walked in, Chaeyoung breathes in deeply in an attempt to calm her nervous self down. It doesn’t work.
She finally works up the courage to open the door and enter the cafe when a uniformed man-presumably a waiter- politely asks if she needed help.
Inside, she finds Mina seated at the very same table as last time. This time, she’s with only Nayeon and Jeongyeon. Chaeyoung watches as Jeongyeon shoves Nayeon good naturedly, Mina smiling in amusement at their antics.
She’s aware of the exact moment they spot her. Nayeon’s the one who sees her first, and she elbows Jeongyeon and says something. Jeongyeon looks up at her in surprise and mouths a “what are you doing here?” to her. Chaeyoung doesn’t miss the concerned glance her cousin gives Mina. Mina, who’s staring at Chaeyoung with a mixture of shock, unwilling acceptance, and confusion.
Chaeyoung makes her way to their table quickly, giving Mina no time to flee. “Hi,” she addresses Jeongyeon, the one she’s most familiar with. “Do you guys mind if I talk to Mina for a minute?”
Jeongyeon and Nayeon exchange a look. “Be our guest,” Nayeon says, standing up. “Jeong and I need to use the restroom.” The betrayed look Mina shoots the other two girls would be extremely entertaining to Chaeyoung under different circumstances.
Chaeyoung remains standing as the two girls leave. Nayeon whispers something in Mina’s ear, something that has her blushing furiously, before leaving, Jeongyeon following close behind.
“Did you need something?” Chaeyoung doesn’t falter. Mina’s looking everywhere but at her. “I want to talk about what happened the last time we met.” Mina stiffens, facing the younger girl. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Mina,” Chaeyoung hears herself say. “You know how I feel about you. Can you tell me you’ve never thought about me romantically- about us, together?”
A long moment passes. Mina exhales deeply. “No, I can’t.”
“Then let me make a deal with you,” Chaeyoung begins hurriedly, hoping that the older girl won’t just get up and leave. She takes Mina’s raised eyebrow as a sign to continue. “If I manage to place at state- qualify for nationals- you’ll let me have a chance.”
Mina begins to shake her head, most likely preparing to give another rejection.
“Just one date. Please,” Chaeyoung pleads. “Results come out the day after my birthday.”
There’s a long, long pause before Mina speaks. “One date.”
Chaeyoung doesn’t know if it’s a question, but she nods her head. “I’ll be legal by then.”
Mina’s gaze is unreadable, but Chaeyoung refuses to look away. “One date,” she repeats.
Mina’s the one to look away first, shoving both hands inside the pockets of her jeans. She sighs deeply. “Fine,” she says, slowly and deliberately. “One date. If you make it to nationals.”
The “and after you’re old enough” goes unsaid, but Chaeyoung knows the sentiment is still there.
“Thank you,” she whispers. Mina nods tightly, obviously unwilling to speak any longer, and Chaeyoung takes that as a sign to leave the cafe.
Halfway down the street, she starts whistling jauntily, waving at all the children she passes by as she walks, more than happy at the chance she’s been given.
“Open it.” The annoyance is plain in Jeongyeon’s voice.
Chaeyoung grabs a pillow, hugging it to her chest.
“Just open it, you little gremlin.” Chaeyoung hugs the pillow even tighter. “What if I didn’t make it?” She whines.
Jeongyeon glares at her. “You’re never going to know if you don’t open the damn envelope,” she says for what seems to be the fiftieth time in the last half hour.
Chaeyoung makes a sound incredibly similar to that of a kicked puppy.
“Son Chaeyoung.” Jeongyeon scowls. “I did not drive all the way over to your house at 8 AM on a Saturday morning just for you to refuse to open the envelope.”
“I’m serious,” she continues with a shake of her head. “I did not endure two months of you and Minari being sad and mopey just out of the goodness of my pure heart. I’ve never seen Mina sad for so long.”
Chaeyoung’s head shoots up. “Mina was sad?”
Jeongyeon shoots her an unimpressed look. “Yes, you oblivious baby. It’s not like she likes you as much as you like her or anything.” She gestures violently to the envelope lying on the lone desk in Chaeyoung’s room. “Open it,” she repeats with more force.
Chaeyoung, stunned by the revelation, lets her pillow prisoner go, picking up the envelope with her right hand. Jeongyeon nods at her encouragingly, and she breaks the seal with a trembling finger.
She empties the envelope of its contents and unfolds the papers. The first one is a general statement about the competition, how the judging worked, and the difficulty in picking the qualifying pieces.
It’s the second paper that causes Chaeyoung’s eyes to widen, and she lets out a simple “huh.”
Jeongyeon coughs impatiently. Chaeyoung reads the final sentence of the last paragraph out loud. Jeongyeon blinks before letting out a loud whoop.
“Congratulations!” She yells at the top of her lungs, loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood. “You know what this means?”
“Mina,” Chaeyoung says. She grabs her phone, shooting off a rapid text and jumping off her bed.
Her cousin gives her a mischievous look. “Go get her, Son!”
Jeongyeon’s cackling laughter follows her downstairs and well out of the house.
Mina’s already there when she arrives at the bus stop. Dressed in a baby blue hoodie, she’s leaning against the wall of a nearby bookstore, eyes scanning the small but growing crowd of people.
“Hey,” Chaeyoung breathes. Her calf muscles hurt like hell, and she probably looks like a deranged madwoman, but none of that matters.
Mina stands in front of her, smiling her usual gummy smile and looking as beautiful as the first time Chaeyoung saw her (probably even more stunning, if Chaeyoung’s honest with herself). Nothing’s changed, except for the small but important fact that Chaeyoung is finally officially of age, no longer a minor. Most important, she’s
legal.
“Hey, you,” Mina says fondly, seemingly waiting for Chaeyoung to catch her breath.
“I placed at state,” she blurts out, unable to wait any longer. Mina sends her an amused look. “I know. Jeongyeon told me. I’m proud of you.”
Chaeyoung shuffles her feet. “It was my birthday yesterday,” she says quietly but determinedly.
Mina raises an eyebrow. “And?” Chaeyoung scowls at the older girl, who seems to be enjoying making Chaeyoung suffer.
“You promised me a date if I qualified for nationals,” she reminds the other girl.
“I did,” is Mina’s non committal response.
“Go out with me,” she says. Boldly, unlike her usual self. Mina blinks before smiling even more brilliantly than before. “Okay.”
Chaeyoung lets out a disbelieving huff. “Really, just like that?”
“Just like that,” Mina agrees. “Oh, and Chaeyoung? Happy Birthday.”
With that, Mina reaches over and grabs Chaeyoung’s hand in hers, intertwining their fingers together. And if Chaeyoung can’t keep herself from smiling from ear to ear as they wait for the bus to arrive, well, then that’s for only her and Mina to know.