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Nayeon’s grandma used to say that certain people were put on this earth with the sole purpose to make her left eye twitch.
When she was younger, Nayeon assumed that her grandma only used to say this because of her feud with her next door neighbor over who had the prettiest garden. Years later she realized her grandma was just passing on important wisdom because truly there’s no other explanation to why Minatozaki Sana bothered her so much.
Sana was life-long friends with Momo and Mina and she transferred from Japan during Nayeon's third year at university. Nayeon had heard much about her before even meeting her.
But no matter how many stories she had heard of her, Nayeon had barely gotten to actually know Sana before she knew she was everything she needed to avoid.
The first time Nayeon ever met Sana, Nayeon was there for the free food (Momo said she’d be paying) and sure, maybe she was a teeny bit curious about the best friend Momo and Mina never shut up about.
As always Momo was running late, so Nayeon found a spot to sit down in their campus coffee shop and perused the menu.
“Hi. You’re Nayeon, right?” A voice cut her through an internal debate about choosing a blueberry muffin versus a bagel. Nayeon glanced up to meet the most captivating pair of eyes, shining like they contained the light of a thousand stars. “I’m Sana.”
“Hi,” Nayeon said, clearing her throat to avoid any more voice cracks on monosyllabic words. “I’m Nayeon.”
Sana grinned and Nayeon swore the room got a little bit brighter. “I know, I just said that.” She giggled and it’s contagious enough that Nayeon did the same. “Can I buy you coffee while we wait for Momo?”
“I don’t usually drink coffee,” Nayeon told her, even as she got to her feet to follow Sana. “There’s no reason for people to enjoy something so bitter.”
“Me too!” Sana agreed happily. “Have you ever tried the drinks they pass off for coffee but actually have enough sugar to make you puke?”
That made her pause. “Uh, should I?”
Sana laughed as they stood in the line to order. It was a noise that reminded her of a highly annoying wind chime. Nayeon liked it. “They’re the best,” she whispered, leaning closer like they’d been friends all their lives.
Though she tried to repress this memory, for a few minutes that day, Nayeon had understood briefly why everyone would trip over themselves for this girl, even if it was something she hadn’t known about at the time.
That was until they had gotten to the front of the line.
“Sana, hi,” the barista greeted (a little too) cheerily, snapping out of the bored demeanor everyone else ahead of them in line had gotten. “What can I get you today?”
Nayeon didn’t like the way she was eyeing her, whatever happened to professionalism. It was like Nayeon wasn’t even there!
Sana quickly repeated the items they had decided upon together before turning to Nayeon. “Do you want anything else? I still say you get both the muffin and the bagel.”
“It’s all on the house because you’re with Sana,” the barista told Nayeon, no cheer this time, just an edge that seemed to say ‘you lucky bitch.’ As if? The good fortune would all be Sana’s.
“Oh no, please, you really don’t have to do that,” Sana protested gallantly. “I told her I’d pay.”
The barista had a chivalrous fit but Sana ended up paying. By the time they get back to their table, Nayeon’s earlier good mood was ruined.
“I think this is meant for you,” Nayeon said, scowling at her drink once she took a closer look.
“What do you mean?”
Nayeon slid her cup closer to Sana so she could see the ten digits hastily scribbled over it with a personalized message to call the owner of this number – this time from the barista who had made their order.
“Nayeon, I’m so sorry, this is so embarrassing!”
“You must be barista bait or something,” Nayeon huffed. “Are you the only pretty girl that walked in the door today or what?”
“So you think I’m pretty too?” Sana asked, chewing on the end of her straw and oh God, that statement told Nayeon everything she needed to know.
Safe to say their first meeting went downhill by the time Momo had joined them, unaware of what she was walking into.
One meeting was enough to know that Sana was the type of girl that had a group of admirers wherever she went, boys and girls always trying to get her attention. Sana seemed to always remain unbothered by the attention surrounding her as if she thrived in the spotlight, as if she'd never experienced rejection in her life.
She probably thinks the whole world is in love with her. Well, not Nayeon.
But as much as she tried to avoid her, Sana seemed to be everywhere after that.
First it was only Momo and Mina that she hung out with, which immediately involved Jeongyeon since she'd been dating Mina forever and then it evolved into the rest of her friends. All of them seemed to love Sana, inserting her into the group seamlessly.
This allowed Nayeon to keep a careful eye on Sana.
That's how Nayeon noticed a lot of things about her like how she always smiled at any girl who approached her, always friendly and willing to entertain them and how she seemed a bit more reserved when it was a man. But also how she interacted with her friends, how she seemed to match each of their respective energies, loud and hyperactive when with Jihyo and Jeongyeon, calm and quiet when it came to Tzuyu, Mina and Dahyun, introspective when it came to Chaeyoung.
And how it was different with Momo, Sana seemed to rely on Momo more than she did anyone else, she tended to gravitate towards Momo whenever they were in the same room and smile wider when she was with her.
When Nayeon mulled it over enough it clicked; Sana must be in love with her. Which just made her dislike Sana even more because even though Jihyo was nowhere near to realizing her feelings, this was definitely bound to cause some problems when it happened.
Still none of her friends shared her disdain towards Sana or her never ending group of admirers. That much was made clear when she mentioned it to two of the youngest in their group.
“You don't like Sana? That doesn't seem right," Dahyun said, taking out four pudding cups from her lunch bag. One for Chaeyoung, one for Nayeon and two for her. They had lunch just the three of them every week since they all had a free hour at the same time on Wednesdays. Nayeon enjoyed having lunch with them, they kept her updated on their lives, classes and campus gossip (Sana dating a new girl popped up every other week, which made Nayeon not as eager to hear campus gossip anymore. Thanks for that, Sana.). She also got to make sure that they were eating well enough this way.
"Everyone likes Sana. She’s like pudding,” Chaeyoung said, taking a spoonful of her own pudding. “Everyone likes pudding.”
Nayeon crossed her arms. “Well, I don’t like pudding.”
“You love pudding,” Chaeyoung argued. "We eat it every week."
“We’re not talking about real pudding,” Nayeon stressed. Why was she even entertaining this conversation?
"All I'm saying is don't be mean just because everyone else likes pudding too."
"That makes absolutely no sense," Nayeon complained. Dahyun and Chaeyoung shared a look and Nayeon felt like they knew something she didn't.
"It will someday," Dayhun said sympathetically.
Nayeon didn’t eat pudding that day.
Then it wasn't only during hanging out with her friends that she saw her, but literally everywhere. Nayeon started seeing her at all the places she went to, at her new favorite coffee shop, at the local book store, hell, even at the bank.
On one occasion, when Nayeon was in line at the campus coffee cart, she caught sight of Sana sitting in the quad, no group of admirers around, just some blonde girl Nayeon didn't even know. Sana had a book in front of her, grinning at whatever the girl sitting beside her was saying. She turned the page of her book, grin never leaving her face as the girl kept talking a mile a minute. And that was the thing about Sana that Nayeon had noticed drew people in, when she paid you even the littlest bit of attention you felt important, like what you said really mattered. Nayeon blamed it on her eyes, there was something about the way she looked at people with those brown eyes.
Sana was wearing one of those white t-shirts that seemed to be a hit with girls, not that Nayeon had noticed or agreed. She just heard Momo mention how Sana's probability of getting hit on while wearing a white t-shirt doubled from a normal day, as if the probability on a normal day wasn't already 100%.
Sana must have sensed Nayeon’s eyes on her because she turned around, scanning the crowd for a bit before her eyes fell on Nayeon. Sana looked at her curiously, an unsure smile on her face. Nayeon tried to ignore the blush on her cheeks at being caught staring by looking away from Sana to her companion who was also staring at Nayeon with interest. Nayeon’s blush deepened.
The girl looked towards Sana and said something, Sana elbowed her and they both giggled.
Something ugly settled in Nayeon’s stomach at that moment, something that she decided was annoyance and nothing more.
Nayeon scoffed, turned her attention to the coffee cart, ordered and stalked away.
Nayeon hated her.
Despite her best efforts, Nayeon never did manage to get rid of Sana after that. Having the best, most codependent friend group where they left nobody behind meant Sana was permanently etched into her life, no matter how much Nayeon insisted that Sana and her weren’t friends.
Whatever, Nayeon went on with her life, pretending Sana was a figment of everyone else’s imagination. She was mostly successful for the rest of her final two years in college, only being tested once or twice.
The first time was when Nayeon introduced a girlfriend to the group and Sana stared at them all night, a permanent crease between her eyebrows.
“Dude, cut it out,” Nayeon threatened, when they had both ventured into the kitchen to get more food.
“Cut what out?” Sana asked, the picture of innocence as she adjusted her glasses.
Oh yeah, that was another thing she was doing these days, those stupid round glasses were a campus hot topic for the swooning general public. What was so special about Sana picking glasses that suited her face shape, she’ll never know.
“I know she’s pretty but stop looking at my girlfriend,” Nayeon warned.
Sana scoffed like Nayeon said something particularly ridiculous. “She’s alright. Do you really want to date someone shorter than you?”
Nayeon rubbed her temples. “Sana, I’m serious about this one, behave, okay?”
“She’s in one of my business classes, she argued against taxing corporations, can you believe that?’ If Nayeon didn’t know any better, she’d say Sana was being petulant. “I’d rethink this entire thing if I were you.”
“Okay weirdo, I know what I’m doing, just mind your business.”
“Fine,” Sana huffed, purposefully snatching up the last few dumplings Nayeon had been eyeing. Bitch. “Why should I care when you don’t know anything and you’re okay with that?”
She stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Nayeon to wonder what the fuck her problem was.
Odd incidents like that aside, they’d mostly stayed out of each other’s way until Nayeon graduated and delved into adulthood before the other eight could.
There was this wonderful Sana free period in her life in her first year after college, where Nayeon had found a job as a production assistant with one of the bigger studios.
This peace lasted until Momo and Jihyo showed up to Jihyo’s graduation party her parents were throwing her, hand in hand and Nayeon immediately whirled around to watch Sana’s reaction. She kept an eye on her all evening and Sana didn’t even slip up once, there was nothing but genuine joy and good natured teasing from her - even when nobody else (except Nayeon, obviously) was paying attention to her.
This stayed true for the next many months and Nayeon got to be closer to this situation when Jeongyeon, Mina, Momo, Jihyo and Sana moved into the same apartment building as her, like they always planned.
As impossible as it was to believe, maybe Sana wasn’t in love with Momo?
Nayeon decided to let her off the hook for now, but was going to be vigilant in Sana’s case regardless. She could be a risk to Jihyo’s happiness if Nayeon was wrong and there was no way she would let that happen. Even if Momo seemed to have strictly platonic feelings for Sana, it never hurt to be careful.
Adulthood was an ugly thing and Nayeon was twenty six before she knew it but she was happy how the things most important to her stayed the same.
Jeongyeon and Mina were still disgustingly in love, except now they were also engaged. Momo and Jihyo still refused to admit they were together, while Nayeon stayed single. And she hadn’t lost the entertainment the kids gave her - there was still no clear answer to whether Tzuyu would pick Chaeyoung or Dahyun. Nayeon suspected Tzuyu wasn’t even aware that there was a choice to be made.
Unfortunately for her Sana stayed the same too, or maybe she’d gotten worse considering she’d managed to expand her dating pool and now there were actors, idols and even athletes vying for her attention.
Six years of experience meant Nayeon had learned to ignore it all fairly well.
Nayeon was sure whatever God was up there had a sense of humor - they were for sure having a laugh when they constructed her life. There could be no other explanation for why she would be given the best friends anyone could ever ask for but also make it such that they never cared about anything she wanted.
Take now for example, there she was, standing in the hallway of Jeongyeon’s apartment, all glammed up in this stupidly hot dress she had found last weekend and yet nobody wanted to leave the house with her.
“You guys, you don’t get it!” Nayeon declared helplessly. “This dress needs to be appreciated by the public, just look at me right now. I can’t be this sexy and stay inside the house, I just can’t. It’s not right!”
Of course her plea fell on deaf ears because Jeongyeon didn’t even glance away from the television, focused on a fucking football game of all things. Her concentration was finally broken by the sound of Jihyo cracking a beer open as she sauntered out the kitchen and back into the living room.
“I’m going to have to start charging you,” Jeongyeon said, frowning at Jihyo and Nayeon threw her hands up in defeat. “You’re drinking me out of house and home at this point.”
“We’ll discuss payment when you come over to drink with Momo and finish all my whiskey,” Jihyo returned, totally unbothered as she sat down on the couch next to her and eyeing the television critically. “It’s not looking great for us, is it?”
Jeongyeon sighed, yanking the beer can out of Jihyo’s grip and drinking deeply. “Nope, I fear we’re fucked,” she groaned, wiping her mouth.
Nayeon took this as an opening to grab their attention by standing directly in front of the TV, only to be booed loudly. “So why are we still watching?” Nayeon asked, bordering on desperation. “Outside! That’s where we should be - once again, have you seen my outfit?”
“We’re loyal, we’re not turning off the game just because our team is losing,” Jeongyeon explained, waving her hand dismissively as if Nayeon was the one being ridiculous right now.
“I really hate you both.”
Jihyo nodded. “Noted. So will you get out of the way now or what?”
Nayeon decided to give up after that, collapsing in a huff on the recliner that was the furthest from her two worst friends. “This is all my fault for choosing to come to you two actually,” she grumbled under breath, watching disdainfully as Jihyo ignored her in favor of watching the game and Jeongyeon ignored her in favor of texting someone on her phone - the dopey smile on her face indicating that it could only be one person. “This is what happens when I expect boring, old married people to be exciting and fun.”
“You’re older than both of us,” Jihyo pointed out while Jeongyeon’s stupid smile widened - Nayeon knew what was coming, they’ve all heard this at least a million times - as she said, “I’m not married yet, but I will be soon!”
“Gross,” Jihyo murmured, scrunching her face up in disgust at the sheer joy emanating from Jeongyeon at the mention of her engagement before turning on Nayeon. “Why would you lump me in with the likes of her?”
“Because you’re also someone that’s in a long term relationship?”
“Ew, don’t ever say that again,” Jihyo protested, shaking her head.
Nayeon sighed, tired of how many times they’d done this already. “Jihyo, for the last time, you live with her - you’re dating Momo and it’s very serious, whether you want to admit it or not.”
Jihyo looked like she wanted to argue about it some more but thankfully, Jeongyeon cut her off, still not glancing up from her phone. “Mina’s coming home in like five minutes, she says we’re all going out tonight.”
Maybe there was a God somewhere looking out for Nayeon somewhere after all!
But before Nayeon could jump to her feet and crow about her victory, Jeongyeon continued with the worst possible sentence she could say in this situation, “Her and Momo think that Sana could use some cheering up after the breakup.”
And suddenly, Nayeon was not thankful for Jeongyeon’s interruption at all.
Jihyo, that traitor, shrugs and agrees - just like that?! “Cool, I’ll come. Did they pick a place yet? We could always go to-”
“Well I hope you all have fun tonight,” Nayeon said, folding her arms in her lap because she just couldn’t take it anymore. She needed to speak her truth. “I’m going home.”
Jeongyeon looked at her like she’d grown a second head. “Weren't you just begging to go out somewhere?“
“And weren’t you two just refusing to come?”
“Oh my God, is this because Sana’s coming?”
“Yes, Jihyo, obviously it’s because Sana’s coming! What other reason could there be?”
Ignoring Jeongyeon and Jihyo’s protests, Nayeon pressed on. “I don’t want to go if it’s going to be all about Sana. Besides, all of Sana’s friends should be cheering her up - as if she needs even more cheer in her life by the way.” An eye roll punctuated that sentence. “And Sana and I are not friends. Everyone knows that, just ask her.”
“That’s too bad,” Jihyo said, clearly mocking Nayeon. “But I don’t care so you’re still coming.”
Nayeon’s resolve faltered at the intensity of her gaze, Jihyo was one of the two people she never wanted to go up against, but she forced herself to continue anyway.
“Also, can I just say, why does she even need to feel better - like, breaking up with that empty headed girl should’ve done that for her already. Why would she even date her is the real question here honestly.” Too involved in her rant, Nayeon didn't notice the glance that Jeongyeon and Jihyo exchanged at that or the door opening. “But I suppose Sana’s love life is none of my business.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that something was none of your business,” Mina said drily, looking as stunning as she always did, even in ratty scrubs and after a eight hour shift as she shut the door behind her. Call her biased but Nayeon could hear a hint of fondness in that statement. Nobody else would agree with her though.
Jeongyeon jumped up at the sight of Mina and even though Nayeon had witnessed this a million times, the single minded adoration in her eyes churned her stomach a little - yuck.
“Hi, you’re home,” Jeongyeon murmured breathlessly, stating the obvious and sounding stupider than usual as she swept Mina up into an embrace.
Mina snuggled deeper into Jeongyeon’s body. “Yeah, now I am,” she whispered into her shoulder.
Jihyo audibly gagged and when Mina pulled away from the hug (only a little because Jeongyeon wouldn’t let her get too far) to glare at her, she quickly diverted the attention off her. “Nayeon doesn’t want to come tonight.”
Ah, fuck.
Mina turned the full force of her gaze on Nayeon. She tried to keep a straight face even as her lips twitched in delight as she pretended to ignore Jeongyeon, who was now poking her shoulder like a petulant child as she leaned in closer and closer, lips jutted out in an exaggerated pout and silently begging for a kiss. Nayeon tried to not cringe at how pathetic her best friend was. “You’re coming with us. Right?”
And just like that, Nayeon’s fate was sealed because there was no way she could win now that Jihyo and Mina were teaming up against her - truly, they were the worst duo in Nayeon’s life.
“...I am. But I’m not happy about it.”
Mina narrowed her eyes. “Well I’m very happy you’ll be there, but you need to fix that attitude though and you,” she raised a finger in Jihyo’s direction, “change into something else.”
Jihyo frowned, looking down at the black tank top, oversized shirt and jeans combo she was currently in. “Why, what's wrong with what I’m wearing?”
Nayeon and Jeongyeon snorted in unison when Mina shook her head and said, “never mind, I forgot who I was talking to actually.”
“Hey, what do you mean by that?”
Mina pretended like she hadn’t heard Jihyo as she addressed Jeongyeon this time. “And you,” she said, grinning widely as she grabbed Jeongeon’s hand in hers and pulled her in the direction of their bedroom. “Come with me.”
“We’ll be ready in twenty minutes,” Mina threw over her shoulder as they disappeared into the room.
“Thirty!” Jeongyeon shouts giddily, voice muffled by the way she slammed the door shut.
“Um- yeah, thirty, thirty is good,” Mina agreed, giggling and gross, Nayeon didn’t even want to know what they were getting up to.
Nayeon and Jihyo turn to each other, both equally green around the gills, quietly making the decision to get up and sprint out of there right away, television on, open beer and all.
“Everyday they come up with a new way to traumatize me,” Jihyo said as they headed to Jihyo and Momo’s apartment next door.
“Ugh, how do we let Jeongyeon get away with acting that way every time?” Nayeon shook her head in disgust as Jihyo unlocked the door. “Anyway, are you seriously not changing?” She asked, picking up Boo who had come running to them the moment Jihyo and Nayeon walked in. “Do you have to dress everyday like you’re trying to attract women?”
Jihyo scoffed, face turning smug. “I don’t need to dress any certain way to do that.” There was a beat of silence and her face turned horrified as she realized where she was. Jihyo looked around frantically to check if Momo’s heard her and sighed in relief when there was no sign of her. “But uh, don’t tell Momo I said that.”
Nayeon can’t help herself, happy to transfer back the misery that Jihyo’s piled on her this evening. “Jihyo, are you scared of your girlfriend?”
Jihyo groaned and Nayeon couldn’t help but smile at how tortured she sounded. Maybe luck was on her side tonight.
As it turns out - luck was definitely, most certainly not on Nayeon’s side tonight.
At first, it wasn’t so bad.
Even if Sana was there and she had to watch all of her friends fawn over her like she was some helpless baby deer - sure, her sparkly doe eyes sometimes made her look like Bambi but that didn’t mean anything. It was the end of a three month relationship for god’s sake, it wasn’t like she was going through a divorce! But of course that didn’t stop them.
And even though Nayeon hated the girl so much, she could see why the rest of them were watching Sana’s every move and being overbearingly insufferable to make her feel better. It must hurt to watch Sana hurt.
Even for Nayeon herself, it was… odd. There was this weird weight pressing down on her chest when she realized that Sana hadn’t smiled in the entire hour they’d been in that club. For someone who wore that aggravating smile like an ever present accessory, that was downright concerning - if Nayeon was capable of feeling concern for Sana, of course.
Still, Nayeon found things to be happy about. They were at a great club, with amazing music and even better food. Throw in the most important factor for her good mood: she looked sexy as hell. Then adding to that the fact that Sana’s irritating ex who would cling to her like she was trying to graft their skin together would no longer be a part of their lives anymore, Nayeon was all but ready to throw a party!
It was in the midst of flirting with a pretty stranger (and they really were getting somewhere by the way) that her night started taking a downturn, Momo had popped up at her shoulder, the cute expression she always wore whenever she needed something from Nayeon on her face.
“Whatever it is, no Momo, I’m not doing it.”
At that, Momo’s face turned even more angelic, turning up the cuteness and Nayeon had no idea how she managed that. “You don’t even know what it is. Trust me, you’re not gonna mind.”
“I always mind.”
“It’s not much! Jihyo and I are gonna go get some food now-”
“Yeah, right,” Nayeon says, sounding thoroughly unconvinced.
“Shut up, we’re literally going to get ice cream. So I need you to drive Sana home whenever the both of you feel ready to leave. I don’t want to take her with us cause she’s finally having a good time.” She nodded over to where Sana was, finally on the dance floor.
“Um, no? Why would I do that? No way in hell, absolutely not!”
Momo grinned at her, patting her cheek in a faux sympathetic fashion, not unlike the way Jihyo had looked at her earlier in the evening. There was a reason they were together. It was also the reason why Nayeon hated both of them so damn much, they had no regard for anything Nayeon wanted. “Thanks, see you later, love you!” Momo grinned, turning around to all but bolt out of there.
Nayeon gripped Momo’s arm as though it was a lifeline. “Get Jeongyeon to drive her Momo, we all live in the same fucking building!”
“I would,” Momo said slowly as if she was handling a particularly cranky five year old, effortlessly slipping from Nayeon’s hold. “If she hadn’t disappeared with Mina a while ago. It’s been like two hours. Damn, you really didn’t notice?”
An hour and a half later, Nayeon made sure to make her displeasure known as she stomped to her car while Sana followed mutely, pulling her coat tighter against her body.
“I don’t why you’re so sad about this breakup,” Nayeon grumbled, finally breaking the awkward silence of her car after Sana’s tenth desolate sigh in ten minutes. Sana straightened up at the sound of her voice, snapping out of whatever depressing internal monologue she was lost in. “She wasn’t even that good looking, Minatozaki.”
Sana stared at her, eyes widening and head tilted in confusion like Nayeon was speaking in Latin. A beat. And then, “Firstly that’s not true,” she began, still in a daze, incredulous that they were actually having this conversation. “She was an idol, Nayeon. A very famous one.”
Nayeon barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes. As if it was that hard to be an idol! Nayeon was sure she could do it in her sleep if she had to. “Popularity means nothing, she’s a very stiff dancer. And don’t even get me started on her singing.”
And there it was, the full strength of Sana’s smile - almost as blinding as it was annoying. The first smile Nayeon had seen from Sana all night. It did something funny to Nayeon’s stomach and well, she just couldn’t have that. “All I’m saying is that even someone as irritating as you could do better.”
Sana’s lips turned downward instantly at that, face falling and she was quiet until Nayeon pulled into their parking lot. “Can I ask you something?”
“You just did,” Nayeon griped childishly, staring straight ahead.
“Why- why do you hate me so much?” She murmured so quietly that Nayeon had to strain her ears to catch it.
“What?”
“I know you heard me,” Sana replied, louder this time.
Nayeon hesitated, unsure of how to answer that. How could she even put into words all the reasons why she hated Sana. But if they were asking each other questions, she had one for Sana. “Well, why do you hate me?”
Sana’s eyebrows pulled together, face scrunching up in a frown, like that was the last thing she expected Nayeon to say. “I don’t,” she said finally, soft but earnest and firm. “I never have.”
What the fuck?
Nayeon was about to ask what she meant by that when Sana shook her head and bid her a quick goodnight, before all but bolting out the car leaving Nayeon to go back home and lie in her bed, obsessing over what the fuck had just happened.
Which was not only inconvenient but also super aggravating.
Just like Minatozaki Sana herself.
God, Nayeon thought as she screamed into a pillow, she really hated Sana.
Two weeks ago, Nayeon was one hundred percent sure she had an enemy. A nemesis. An opponent. A thorn in her side. Two weeks ago, seeing Sana’s face in the morning with those starry eyes and the megawatt smile and a girl hanging from her arm was enough to ruin her mood for at least half the day.
Whenever she was in one of her Sana moods, Momo would avoid being in the same room as her. Mina, the godsend that she was, would at least pretend to listen to her angry rants which was more than Jeongyeon and Jihyo did. Dahyun practically ran in the other direction if she saw even a slight glower on Nayeon’s face, Chaeyoung would simply buy her a cookie and tell her to calm down and Tzuyu? Well, Tzuyu liked to act as if Nayeon wasn’t speaking in the first place.
This animosity had been going on for years, Nayeon had never questioned it. Not once did she wonder if it was one-sided, never once did she doubt her hatred, nor did it leave this uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach. Not until two weeks ago in her car.
And also on a Friday at Jeongyeon and Mina’s apartment, when she arrived half an hour late to dinner just out of sheer spite (she bailed last week so Jeongyeon basically forced her to come to this one) and her eyes immediately found Sana, sitting in between Mina and Momo on one of the recliners in the living room.
Mina and Momo barely got a greeting out before a burning smell filled the apartment and they both ran down the hallway towards the kitchen. Mina reprimanded Momo as they went, “I told you that we shouldn’t have left both of them in the kitchen unsupervised!”
Their departure left Nayeon alone… with Sana.
It would be a bit of a lie if Nayeon said she knew how to act around Sana after their last conversation (Jihyo would argue that Nayeon didn’t know how to act in any situation). Ignoring Sana like she always did didn’t feel quite right but neither did acting like they were friends, because they weren’t. So that left Nayeon with either being polite or mean. And in this case being polite didn’t sound so bad. Nayeon could be polite. She could act civilly (no matter what Jihyo said).
So in the spirit of being civil and normal, Nayeon spoke first, clearing her throat. “Hey.”
Sana looked around, eyes widening when she realized there was no one else in the room and Nayeon was speaking to her. “Hi…”
They fell into an awkward silence after that, and given the situation, Nayeon thought it was the most normal part of this conversation. What’s the polite thing to say to your enemy that you’re not so sure is your enemy anymore?
“So,” Nayeon prompted.
“So,” Sana repeated.
Nayeon sighed. “This is weird.” It really was.
“A little,” Sana admitted, laughing lightly before rushing to say, “Not in a bad way though.”
“Right,” Nayeon said, not truly sharing the sentiment. She was still trying to decide if this was a good idea or not.
They fell into another awkward silence when the clatter of kitchen utensils and a muffled “ouch” was heard from the kitchen. They made no attempt to move though, Jeongyeon had made it abundantly clear that under no circumstance were either of them allowed in her kitchen.
Sana took the opportunity and said, “I hope everything’s okay in there.”
“It’ll be fine. As long as Jihyo doesn't drop half a cup of salt in the food Jeongyeon cooked again.”
They both winced at the memory, weekly dinners were canceled for two weeks after that until Mina convinced Jeongyeon to host again and Jihyo apologized about 20 times. No other event had been catastrophic enough to get their weekly dinners canceled except for that one time they played Monopoly and UNO on the same night.
"I felt really bad for Jihyo that day.”
"Me too," Nayeon admitted, as someone who had faced Jeongyeon’s wrath often, she could be sympathetic.
"You laughed the whole time," Sana pointed out.
"It was really funny!" Nayeon defended and Sana smiled, amused.
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Sana said abruptly but so genuinely that it made Nayeon feel funny even if she didn't know what Sana was talking about. At Nayeon’s confused look, she explained, "Momo said you were sick, that's why you didn't come last week."
"Oh, right." That was the lie that Nayeon had told Jihyo to bail last week. "Nothing major, we've been filming in the snow so there was a cold bug going around."
They talked a bit more after that, nothing too important or too friendly, just small talk about work. Sana mentioned a promotion, Nayeon congratulated her and Sana smiled as if Nayeon gave her the promotion herself. Sana worked at a venture capital firm and despite how much she talked about it, trying to explain what she did, Nayeon had never once paid attention.
All she knew was that because of that job, Sana had way more designer clothes and money than anyone in their twenties reasonably needed, especially in comparison to Nayeon, who was a measly assistant director, unemployed at least 6 months out of the year. Yet another reason why Sana was so annoyingly Sana.
Before long, Mina appeared in the living room again. “Good news, dinner is one hundred percent edible!” she announced cheerily. “Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for our appetizers though.”
That marked the end of her conversation with Sana and Nayeon thought that wasn't so bad, maybe being polite was the right option.
“I saw Jeongyeon go into the closet where they keep the board games, you know what that means,” Sana warned, walking up to her side after dinner.
“That Jeongyeon is boring and my fun, young life took a drastic turn somewhere?”
“Totally,” Sana agreed, smiling and Nayeon had to look away.
Unsurprisingly, Nayeon ended up paired with Sana for all the games and, for the first time in her life when it came to Sana, Nayeon just went with it. Because she was being polite, of course.
Once they settled down in the living room it didn’t take long for the room to descend into chaos, the primary culprits being Jihyo and Nayeon who refused to go down without a fight despite their less than passionate teammates and Jeongyeon yelling whenever she was (rightfully) accused of cheating.
Also unsurprisingly, Sana and Nayeon lost every game spectacularly, playing against two couples meant they were doomed from the start. And the fact that she was sharing a couch with Sana didn't help either.
When the games first started Sana had left a respectable amount of space between them and as the night progressed the space seemed to get smaller and smaller along with Nayeon’s sanity. She absolutely hated how Sana was close enough for her to discern her Prada perfume and her laundry detergent. It was distracting.
Seriously, how does anyone get anything done when having Sana this close to them? How?
Things changed very quickly after that.
The next time they hung out as a group, they went to a movie theater to catch an artsy, foreign film that only Nayeon and Chaeyoung were interested in watching.
Sana smiled at her when she sat down next to her at the end of the aisle and Nayeon couldn’t not smile back because how rude would that be?
She also took the incentive to chat with her during the previews and normally, Nayeon would tell her (or anyone) to shut up if they talked during the actual movie, because it was Nayeon’s duty as an assistant director to analyze and learn from every piece of cinema the best she could. But somehow, this time, Sana’s silly reactions and comments she whispered to Nayeon were even more entertaining than the actual film - whatever, it was possible that the movie sucked.
(Chaeyoung wouldn’t stop raving about it afterwards though.)
Then, Nayeon helped Sana with bringing back the drinks for everyone at a concert. Sana sat next to Nayeon on a rollercoaster during their amusement park visit. Sana and Nayeon teamed up to demand that they hike the shorter trail, even high fiving when Mina gave in. (When Mina gave in, everyone always followed right afterwards.) They were also on the same team during bowling – though that ended in catastrophe. Sana and a bowling ball were not a safe combination.
“Are you and Sana friends now?” Tzuyu brazenly interrogated when they were ice skating and Nayeon helped Sana lace up her skates, slowing down to skate alongside Nayeon and match her shaky pace.
The question caught her so off guard she almost fell and Tzuyu grabbed her arm to steady her. Nayeon had no idea how to reply to that, so she settled on, “I can see how it may appear that way.”
“So that’s not a no?”
“No,” Nayeon replied, refusing to elaborate because she really had no idea and concentrating on not falling on her ass was more important at the moment.
She felt Tzuyu’s suspicious eyes on her the entire evening.
At Tzuyu’s request they took a trip to the beach and because it was Tzuyu, everyone showed up bright and early, on time with little to no complaints.
It was a gorgeous day and even as her friends rushed around to take a swim or surf or do something else that seemed too exhausting for Nayeon, she chose to simply sit down on the warm sand and stare out at the horizon beyond the sea.
As it always seemed to happen these days, Nayeon was soon joined by Sana, who collapsed next to her, equally quiet and introspective.
“Need a moment to yourself too?” Nayeon asked, eyes idly tracking the slope of Sana’s perfect nose - it pissed her off, how did one person have a side profile that looked like that?
Sana turned to face Nayeon, a wistful look on her face and the frontal view was somehow even better. “Nah, I just didn’t wanna be in the middle of that-” she nodded in the direction of where Jihyo was trying to get Boo and Dobby to sprint down the side of the shore with her and Momo was yelling at her to take it easy on her children.
“My nephews are not meant for running, they’re too pretty for that,” Nayeon muttered under her breath, making Sana laugh.
“Then there was the option of either being third wheel- or, the fourth wheel? I don’t know, I didn’t want to get in the middle of the love triangle,” Sana finished, referring to Jeongyeon and Mina standing with their feet in the surf, lost in their own little world as they were bound to and then to Chaeyoung and Dahyun who were scouring the beach in a silent competition to find the prettiest seashells to decorate Tzuyu’s sandcastle.
“Okay, I see your predicament,” Nayeon conceded, huffing out a laugh.
“It's hard being the only single ones.”
That caught Nayeon by surprise. “You are?”
Sana blinked slowly. “Am I what?”
“Single?”
“You drove me home after my post breakup pity party four months ago,” Sana stated tightly, a hint of fire in her eyes and for once, Nayeon had no idea what she said or did to set her off.
“There’s always people asking you out,” Nayeon explained quickly, trying to placate her. “I just assumed.”
One corner of Sana’s lips twitched slightly, like she was enjoying a private joke Nayeon was clueless about. “Do you know you always make that face when someone asks me out?” She asks, as if she hadn’t heard a word Nayeon just said.
Nayeon frowned. “What face?”
“The exact one you’re making right now. Repulsed but somehow pissed. It’s very impressive how consistent you are,” Sana replied smugly.
“Woah woah, there’s no way it’s repulsed,” Nayeon protested, not even sure why she was protesting. “Why would I be repulsed?”
Sana shrugged, apparently unbothered. “I don’t know, you tell me,” she replied. It appeared the answer didn’t even matter to her. Was it because she didn’t care what Nayeon said or did she already know why? Despite how civil they were these days, Sana managed to get on Nayeon’s nerves, she probably had a PhD in messing with Nayeon’s head.
Nayeon contemplated it for a second. It was a good question, what reason would there be for her to be bothered by how people were interested in Sana? Not that it did, but you know, hypothetically. Logically, there should only be one reason why. “No, it’s like there’s always people all over you, it must be so exhausting. Also, how is it that you have so many people asking you out but it never goes anywhere? How are you still single?”
Sana winced at that, like Nayeon had unknowingly pressed down on a bruise that never seemed to fully heal. She exhaled shakily, eyebrows scrunching together as she found the right words. “There’s this girl that I’m holding out for who unfortunately seems to be in her head too much to get the hint,” she said and when her eyes met Nayeon’s again, there was a manic desperation to them, almost begging. “Nobody wants to be in a relationship with someone that wants to be with someone else.”
Oh dear God, this was exactly what Nayeon had been afraid of the entire time she’d known Sana.
It’s only the fierce protectiveness that she felt for Jihyo that compelled her to say, “I’m so sorry and please don’t take this the wrong way,” Nayeon began and Sana recoiled like Nayeon had slapped her. Nayeon’s heart broke a little but she still powered through the rest of her sentence. “But if it’s Momo you’re waiting for, you need to get over it. And fast.”
Sana’s jaw slackened, clearly this was the last thing she was expecting. The stunned silence unsettled Nayeon so she explained herself further. “I know Momo is your best friend but she’s dating my best friend now and I won’t let you ruin her happiness because they're actually deliriously happy together. Everyone who knows them can see that, even if we don't understand how.”
And then Sana laughed, much to Nayeon’s bewilderment, for at least thirty seconds. “I can’t believe you,” she said, wiping a stray tear. “I knew you were a little bit crazy-”
“Hey!”
“-but I liked that and I knew you were dense too, but to this extent? Ridiculous.” She shook her head, almost fond this time, before leaning closer to Nayeon, hands sliding up Nayeon’s shoulders and neck, calming the restless agitation she felt before lightly cupping her jaw, forcing her to maintain eye contact. A difficult task considering it was like looking into the sun.
“Nayeon, please listen to me very carefully. I am not in love with Momo,” she whispered but the words were full of conviction and Nayeon found herself nodding along, breathless at their proximity. “Or any of our other friends before you get any ideas and not even anyone that I’ve dated so far. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” Nayeon responded and Sana grinned, relieved, and gestured for Nayeon to continue. “And, uhhh, I’m sorry I accused you of being in love with Momo.”
“Is that all?” Sana asked, dispirited as she dropped her hands, the lack of contact leaving Nayeon freezing, despite the sun and the heat.
“I think so?”
“Right.” Sana pinched the bridge of her nose, taking the time to collect herself before getting to her feet. “Nayeon, you really are so-” she cut herself off even though she looked like she wanted to say something she’s been holding in forever. “Never mind, I think I left my book in the car, excuse me.”
Nayeon was- what, exactly?
She was off before Nayeon could ask her to finish her sentence and never came back to Nayeon’s side for the rest of the evening. (Nayeon waited.)
Perfect, yet another conversation with Sana that she’ll spend combing through for weeks.
Chaeyoung once told Nayeon, “the answer to all your problems isn't always the most obvious one, but if you look close enough, it will be right there, screaming for you to notice it.”
Granted, she was high off her ass when she said this so you could forgive Nayeon for not taking her seriously.
Until now.
When her epiphany forced her awake at 3 AM, completely drenched in cold sweat and she knew exactly what Sana was gonna say. “Nayeon, you really are so-”
Nayeon was so, so stupid, that’s what she was. A downright moron.
She dealt with her emotions the only way she knew how, by pulling on a hoodie, shoving her feet in the first pair of sneakers she saw and flying up the building stairs.
“Guys, I figured it out,” she exclaimed loudly, roughly shoving the bedroom door open.
“What the-” Jihyo yelped, startled into consciousness and she would have fallen off the bed if it weren’t for Momo clinging to her while they were asleep.
Nayeon was too preoccupied with her revelation to make fun of the discovery that Momo and Jihyo were cuddlers.
“I told you this would happen,” Momo muttered to Jihyo, crossly - well, as cross as she could be while half asleep. “We should have gotten Sana, she would have crawled into bed and left it at that but no, we ended up with this one. Why do Jeongyeon and Mina get to have it easier than us?”
“I know. This one never shuts up,” Jihyo replied in horror, both of them fully pretending like Nayeon wasn’t in the room, anxiously pacing the length of it.
Proving Jihyo’s point further, Nayeon talked over whatever Momo had to say, “Okay, so I figured it out.”
Momo groaned loudly, flopping back onto her pillow. “What did you figure out?”
“Why all my sleep paralysis demons look like Sana,” Nayeon snapped, as if the answer should’ve been obvious. “Pay attention.”
“Okay, you have five seconds to tell us or I’m locking you out and changing the passcode,” Jihyo threatened, running a hand through her bed hair.
Nayeon paused her pacing and sat down at the edge of the bed. She took a deep breath, hands trembling as though she was confessing to a crime. “I think- no, actually I know this but-” she leaned even closer to Momo and Jihyo, her voice lowering an octave as she forced the words out. “-I’m in love with Sana.”
Nayeon braced herself for impact, fully ready for the world to end now that she’d admitted to her deepest, darkest secret that she’d only known about for six minutes.
Instead, Jihyo shot her a ‘is that it’ look and turned away from Nayeon. She tucked herself under Momo’s chin and pulled the duvet higher to cover them better.
Momo didn’t even bother to say a word.
“Are you serious? How can you both be quiet like this, this is huge! Life changing, even!” Nayeon insisted.
“Maybe for you,” Momo offered sympathetically. “We already knew about this.”
Nayeon’s sure she’s never felt as betrayed as did in this moment. “What? Momo, what?! Since when?”
“Since you met Sana,” Jihyo snapped, mimicking Nayeon’s tone from earlier. “Pay attention.”
“Who else knows about this?”
“Basically everyone and their mother,” Jihyo said, shrugging casually.
“No way. You guys are exaggerating.”
“No, we’re serious,” Momo explained patiently like she was talking to a child, this was becoming something of a pattern for Nayeon and Momo. “Literally everyone and their mother. Like even your mother has talked to my mother about this.”
And Nayeon - well, Nayeon had no idea what the fuck she could say to that. There was literally no coherent reply a person could have but because she’s her, she opens her mouth to try anyway.
Thankfully Jihyo cut her off, which was just as well because who knew what Nayeon could’ve said. “Okay, it’s three AM and in this apartment we actually love sleeping. It makes us hotter and keeps me from killing my crazy friends.” She lifted the edge of her duvet, waving Nayeon over. “So, you can either shut up and sleep here-” Nayeon was next to her before she could even finish her sentence but because Jihyo loved bossing Nayeon around she continued anyway, just to torment her.
“Or you can discuss this with the one person who would love to talk to you about this right now. You know, an annoying ball of sunshine, lives five floors down?”
“Famously also known as the one you’re in love with?” Momo added snidely, joining in on the ‘lets torture Nayeon’ party.
“Holy shit.” A thought had just occurred to Nayeon very very belatedly.
“What is it now?” Jihyo sounded exhausted.
Nayeon sat up abruptly. “Guys, does this mean I have to… tell Sana about this?”
“Oh, Im Nayeon.”
Telling Sana - right, Nayeon could totally do that.
She had even hatched a plan with Momo the next morning while Jihyo stepped out to buy them breakfast. They were both going to be at the birthday party of a mutual college friend that evening, so Nayeon was going to find her and just lay it on her and say: “Sana, I’m in love with you, are you in love with me too?”
Boom, that was it, a perfect set up that ended with the ball in Sana’s court.
A perfect plan in theory, unfortunately horrible in practice because Nayeon had frozen up as soon as she stepped into the house and spotted Sana in the kitchen, surrounded by people from college that Nayeon was more than happy to never see again.
Contrary to popular belief, the problem wasn’t that she was being mobbed by the usual suspects. It was that for the first time in her life, Nayeon was allowing herself to actually appreciate how truly beautiful Sana was. Especially now, in a simple white blouse and blue jeans. That outfit paired with the knowledge that Nayeon was actually in love with her? Sana was pure, unprecedented devastation in the form of a stunning woman. Nayeon gave herself no chance to successfully execute her plan.
And then, Sana’s eyes met Nayeon’s across the crowded room. It would be a totally romantic moment, one ripped straight from the drama playbook if Nayeon hadn’t flinched and ran in the opposite direction.
Very smooth, Im Nayeon, congratulations you coward.
“You’re acting very weirdly around me today,” Sana noted as she sat down next to Nayeon on one of the couches in the living room about thirty minutes later. She leaned in closer so that they didn’t have to yell to communicate in the deafening din of the party. “Even more than usual.”
Nayeon startled, nearly emptying the contents of her glass on herself at the sound of Sana’s voice. “I’m not,” she countered immediately, arguing with Sana was a well developed reflex at this point - imminent love confession or not. “Why would I do that?”
“You’re right,” Sana said, eyeing the still trembling glass in Nayeon’s hands critically. “This is not the usual, it’s something new. You're fidgeting. Are you… nervous? And don’t say ‘why would I be?’” Sana rushed to add, cutting off Nayeon who was about to say just that.
In the grand scheme of things, she supposed it was silly to feel warm over something so mundane but how well Sana knew her made her head spin. In a good way. (That could have also been the three glasses of wine she had already gulped down.)
“I’m fine,” Nayeon insisted.
“Nayeon, you’re blushing.”
“It’s the wine! Er, have you, by any chance, talked to Momo today?”
Sana’s face scrunched up in confusion and Nayeon could finally, finally admit that it was the cutest thing she’d ever seen. “I talk to Momo everyday, why- oh my God, do you still think I have feelings for her, I told-”
“No!” Nayeon yelped, stunning Sana into silence. She cleared her throat, using the time to calm down so she could behave like a normal person instead of someone who was so… ahem, impassioned by the glory of a first love finally realized. “Feelings- that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Oh, this should be good.” Sana drained her drink and flopped back to get more comfortable on the couch. “Who are you going to accuse me of being in love with now? I hope it’s not Mina. In Momo’s case I could’ve maybe sweet talked Jihyo but Jeongyeon is definitely going to try to strangle me.”
Ouch.
A cheap shot, but Nayeon herself was guilty of taking many over the years so she could let this one (and the several that will surely follow) slide.
Besides, it was Sana. Nobody else owned the privilege of making fun of Nayeon the way she did - or would, if things went to plan.
“Do you remember how you told me you were waiting on a fucking moron who couldn’t take a hint?” Nayeon asked, waiting for her to catch on and Sana didn’t disappoint. She could tell the exact microsecond at which she got it because those eyes - those maddeningly beautiful eyes she could write several books about - burned with a violent delight that Nayeon was sure she would never forget.
(Violent delight????? Who the hell was she turning into, Shakespeare? Or worse, Jeongyeon?)
“Well,” Sana began, shifting towards her a little and like a moth to a flame, Nayeon mirrored the movement so that their knees knocked against each other. Her lips curved upwards as she said, “I don’t recall calling her a moron, but I should have.”
Nayeon didn’t have an immediate retort, all her higher brain functions currently focused on the way Sana’s hand was resting right by her own. For the first time in her life, sass was taking a backseat, defeated by the enticing possibility of getting to hold Sana’s hand, the most worthy of opponents.
In the end, “you should’ve” is the best she could do and she slowly inched her hand forward. Lucky for her, Sana’s grin widened enough to turn her eyes into crescents like agreeing with her was the best thing Nayeon could’ve done. There was a lesson in here somewhere for future Nayeon but she couldn’t bring herself to pay attention.
Sana’s fingers were agonizingly close when there was an interruption in the form of a grating voice calling for Sana and Nayeon never hated someone more (not even Sana herself) than she did now.
The voice belonged to - surprise, surprise - one of Sana’s college exes. Racking her brain, Nayeon recalled that this wasn’t an ex that stuck around long but was still interested. A week ago, this fact would have gotten on her nerves but now, she found that she couldn’t really blame the girl.
That was until she started talking at least. “Do you want to maybe get a drink?” she asked eagerly and yeah, she deserved Nayeon’s ire now.
Sana opened her mouth to reply but seemed to change her mind midway, smirking as she turned to Nayeon instead. “Nayeon, should I?”
Nayeon blinked rapidly. “Should you what?”
“Get a drink with her?” Sana’s tone was serious but Nayeon could tell she was mocking her. She was a shit actress and that was okay, they could work on that in the future together.
“I’m sorry,” Nayeon started, making sure to sound as apologetic as possible, “but you can’t, you’re busy.”
Sana nodded, delighted before reluctantly looking away from Nayeon to address the other girl. “I’m sorry,” Sana parroted, angelic in a way that only she could be. “I can’t, I’m busy.”
“Is that your girlfriend?” The girl asked Sana, scandalized. “She’s possessive, do you think that’s healthy in a relationship?”
Nayeon couldn’t help the snort she let out and when she caught Sana’s eye, they both burst into laughter, the deranged edge to it scared their unwelcome guest away.
“It was nice seeing you again!” Nayeon called out to her retreating form.
“Do you maybe want to go somewhere quieter?” Sana asked, getting to her feet and extending a hand.
“Somewhere far away from your adoring fans would be nice,” Nayeon said, reaching out to take it, forcing herself to act cool when Sana intertwined their fingers together.
“Well, that’s not possible,” Sana replied seriously as she led them out of the house, pausing just enough to get Nayeon curious. “You’ll still be there.”
Nayeon scoffed, shoving a cackling Sana away. “I hate you so much.”
“Yeah, I know better than to believe you now,” Sana declared smugly, pulling her along and Nayeon followed, helpless to do anything else.
They ended up on a wooden bench in the quieter part of the garden where the music was still audible, but at much more bearable decibel levels.
“You have me all alone now, Im Nayeon, what did you want to do with me?” Sana asked cheekily, once they settled down on the bench, hands still entangled between them.
“You can’t just say that and expect me to behave,” Nayeon groaned, taking a deep breath - she still had things she needed to say before she could take Sana up on her… proposition.
“I have never once expected you to behave in your entire life and you know it,” Sana said, mildly offended.
“I know.” Nayeon sighed, bringing her free hand to trap Sana’s in both of hers, absently noting how adorable Sana’s tiny hands were in her considerably bigger ones. Maybe everything about them looked great together. “Which is why, I need to now. Just this once.”
Sana stayed quiet, waiting for Nayeon to get through whatever was on her mind.
“I owe you a huge apology. I’m so sorry that I have been awful to you when you’ve been nothing but wonderful to me and it was because I’m self centered and self absorbed and stupid and in my head all the time and I didn’t know how to deal with the fact that literally everyone seems to want you when I’m so obviously and inconveniently and embarrassingly in love with you-”
Her humiliating ramble was cut off by Sana surging forward to yank Nayeon closer by the back of her neck so she could press their lips together. It’s everything a first kiss should be and it’s the sweetest kiss Nayeon had ever experienced. Sana was shy in a way that Nayeon would’ve never foreseen. She kissed her slowly like she was trying to tell Nayeon that they had all the time in the world, that she wasn’t going anywhere. Her gentle hands moved from the back of her neck to caress her jaw, holding Nayeon in place.
When they eventually broke apart, it was Sana that pulled away first. Nayeon blindly lunged forward to chase after her, only opening her eyes when she heard the sound of Sana’s breathless chuckle. She was still cradling Nayeon’s jaw, brushing her thumb against her lower lips as she said, “I don’t think you’re stupid.”
The after effects of the kiss were wreaking havoc on her cognitive abilities which is why, very eloquently, Nayeon squeaked, “huh?”
“I don’t think you’re stupid,” Sana replied, amused but still patient as ever.
Nayeon got there eventually. “So you agree with the rest? I think that’s fair. Is it okay then, that I’m- I’m in love with you.” Nayeon originally intended to ask it like a question but she couldn’t help it when it came out like the irrefutable fact that it was.
“If it’s okay that I’m in love with you too,” Sana offered, easily matching Nayeon’s tone and this time, Nayeon is the one to grab Sana, tangling her fingers in her hair, and kiss her. This time, there was nothing gentle or slow or sweet about the kiss. Nayeon kissed Sana like she was trying to build a home in her body.
When they separate, Sana was giddy and flushed, all wild eyes and kiss swollen lips. If it were physically possible, Nayeon would be kicking herself right now for denying herself this stunning sight for so goddamn long. “I see now why you did the ‘shut me up with a kiss’ thing,'' Nayeon told her, panting just the tiniest bit.
“Right?” Sana agreed conversationally, like they were talking about the weather. “It’s the whole first declaration of love thing, humanly impossible to resist. Especially if it’s you, you’re humanly impossible to resist,” she cooed, poking Nayeon’s cheek and Nayeon felt her skin get hot under her touch. She was sure even her ears were pink. They were going to be the most nauseating couple known to mankind and Nayeon was more than okay with that. “And I know we’ve had a few… challenges getting here Nayeon, but I’ve never felt this way before about anyone else, you’re the only one who matters to me.”
“It’s alright,” Nayeon said with a grace she didn’t think she was capable of, toying with a strand of Sana’s hair that had escaped her once perfect hairdo. It was fucking surreal to think that Nayeon was the one responsible for its current state of disarray. “It’s not your fault you’re everyone’s perfect woman, I’m just lucky you’ve chosen to be mine.”
Sana melted, just like Nayeon knew she would. “Oooh, that was a good one, how long did it take you to come up with it?” Her eyes twinkled as she cupped Nayeon’s face again and brushed their noses together.
“Oh about six years, give or take.”
Sana laughed against Nayeon’s lips. “Better late than never, I suppose,” she conceded, closing the distance between them again.