Chapter Text
Nayeon's eyes scanned the room for the millionth time that night. It had been two hours since the event had started, yet there was no sight of the one person she had hoped to see. There had been something about the way Jihyo had walked away from her that didn't sit well with her. It made her stomach turn. Nayeon hadn't gone to her event with any malicious thoughts, she had just simply wanted to stir a reaction out of the girl. Not in a million years had she expected that her reaction would so stiff. Nayeon assumed that the younger would laugh at it maybe, that she would take it as a joke, as Nayeon had meant it. Or that she would take the bet and show her that there was no way he could please her like she did. It wasn't even like she would actually go that far with Jinyoung, it was just an opportunity for Jihyo to claim her like she wanted to. But instead, the night had taken a different turn.
And now, in the last two weeks, Nayeon found herself longing for a girl without knowing why she wanted her around so much.
She was aware that she was the reason why their relationship had changed. To her, the change was something good. She had never quite understood why their friendship was so different than any other, but it was theirs and that made her love it. Cherish it even. Nayeon loved the way Jihyo challenged her to become better and it seemed like that didn't just stay in their work field anymore. Now, how she had even gotten the courage to take the relationship to where they are now was a question to her as well. She blamed it on the alcohol and the way she had often found Jihyo starring at her. With each glass of Rosé finished, Nayeon found herself being more open to seeing Jihyo for how beautiful she was. How absolutely breathtaking she looked in her dress, the way it had fit her body perfectly like it was made just for her. It brought a different side to Nayeon that she was becoming quite fond of.
It only took her three steps to get to where she was now and it wasn't something she wanted to come back from.
She tried not to pay attention to how the younger had found herself more often than not on her mind in the last few weeks. Nayeon guessed it was because of the way they had left her show. The way Jihyo had looked absolutely defeated when she had brought the guy. It almost looked like she had managed to hurt Jihyo with her actions, but that couldn't be it Nayeon figured.
With a sigh, Nayeon walked back over to where she had been standing before. The question that burned on her tongue the entire night finally coming out as she looked at Jeongyeon. "Is Jihyo not coming tonight?"
Jeongyeon seemed to swallow her laughter as Mina elbowed her. "No, she's sick."
"Oh," Nayeon frowned. She made a mental note to wish her well once she got home. But then rethought the idea, was that something she could do? Were they those types of friends? "Wish her well for me."
Jeongyeon's eyebrow moved up, "You have her number, don't you Im?"
Any other event that came after was yet another event without Jihyo. She had either gotten excuse from her friends that the girl wasn't able to come, or that she had just missed her.
3 months of silence and it was slowly driving Nayeon insane.
The girl wasn't there with her, yet wouldn't leave her mind for some sick and twisted reason. Nayeon guessed it was because of her own guilt.
Jihyo stared at the white card in her hands, the rose gold letters elegantly decorating the card as her fingers traced the carton. Her name flawlessly crafted on the outside of the envelope, her eyes fully on the invitation itself.
COLLECTION AUTUMN/WINTER 2020
August 14, 2020, 20H00
You've been personally invited to a preview of Im Nayeon's new collection.
With a deep sigh, she combed her hand through her hair. The invitation so easy to take, so easy to give in and to forget about her pettiness. Except it wasn't petty. It was about her feelings, feelings that Nayeon had caused. She had to protect herself so the older couldn't ruin her again.
Sometimes it was better to take the loss if fighting to win meant offering yourself.
Nayeon's eyes had stayed on the door the entire night. Her eyes scanning through the crowd when the show started. Her legs walking multiple rounds to see if she had missed her.
But she hadn't.
When the last guest walked out, Nayeon breathed heavily.
"You ok?"
She quickly threw Momo a smile as she nodded, "Yeah. Just tired."
But was she okay? Jihyo hadn't appeared. The only person she had wanted to be there. She had missed her so terribly in the past months, the thought of her not coming to her show was something that didn't even cross her mind. Jihyo never missed her shows.
It wasn't just about how they interacted with each other anymore, Nayeon genuinely cared about the younger's opinion. Jihyo was never afraid to shy away from it and told her straight up if she liked it or not. Jihyo's opinion was one of the only ones that mattered to her. With the time that passed, Nayeon seemed to guess that her little stunt had affected the younger more than she guessed it would.
Jihyo was avoiding her and that realization burned more than it probably should.
Nayeon's eyes were focused on her phone, a lump forming in the back of her throat as she stared at the contact name. It would only take one touch to reach out to her, to finally hear the voice she had longed to hear for the past few months. But something in her was afraid to hit the call button. The same thing that was too afraid to reach out through texts. Because what if she left her on read? What if she would decline her calls? What if it was just Nayeon who was overthinking the whole situation, because why would JIhyo be avoiding her? If the younger was mad at her for her stunt - something she wouldn't blame her for - that would suggest that there was something between them. Something more than the challenges they had and that wasn't something Nayeon allowed herself to think about. They didn't even have a clear view of what type of relationship they had, so why would this be affecting her? And why was it affecting her so much?
The silence between the two left Nayeon with a lot of questions, questions that she had no answer to. Feelings that she didn't know where to place. And as time passed, it was only making her suffer more.
They had changed so quickly due to her actions and that scared her, but it wasn't something she had wanted to get back from. She didn't want to go back to a time where all they had was the way they tested each other, she had grown to love how the distance between them disappeared. She had never wanted it to be in a place where they were so far apart. Yet due to her own stupidity, she couldn't even get a simple hi from the girl.
"Did you really just come over to look at your phone and sulk?" Nayeon heard from her side. She blinked as she looked up from her phone to see Mina looking at her with her eyebrows raised.
Nayeon's hand went through her hair. "I'm not sulking."
"She is," She heard from behind her. Jeongyeon's breath hitting her neck as she felt the other crouch behind her. Before she could move her phone away, she had heard her chuckle as the other moved away and sat down next to her girlfriend. "You two are pathetic. I repeat, absolutely pathetic."
Nayeon frowned at that. Us two? Had Jihyo been in the same state as her? "What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing," Jeongyeon said with a shrug, but a slight shoulder push from her girlfriend made her sigh. "I just meant that you two are literal children, like grow the fuck up and communicate for once."
"Communicate about what exactly?" She answered hesitantly. She wasn't completely sure how much the other had said about the new challenges they had created. "I was just," She started again, but stopped when she didn't know where to take it. She was just what? Going to call her and ask her why she was avoiding her? Text her and tell her she missed her? That wasn't them. That wasn't what she was supposed to do.
"Aren't you tired of this whole thing you two have?" Jeongyeon asked with her gaze fully on Nayeon now. "I mean, if that's how you two want to act go ahead I won't stop you, but at least be more mature about it. It's great that you have this competition between the two of you but at least make it more friendly."
"Friendly?" Nayeon repeated softly, then hummed. "How can I be friendly to someone who isn't my friend?"
"You don't see Jihyo as your friend?" Mina asked with a frown. "If she isn't your friend, then what exactly is she to you?"
"Wouldn't a friend show up to a show?"
Mina and Jeongyeon looked at each other, the two having a conversation by eyes that she wasn't a part of. Like the two knew something she didn't and to be left out of that conversation didn't sit right with her. "What?"
"What would you have done if she did show up?" Jeongyeon asked her, but not allowing the girl to answer the question. Not that she could have. She had no idea how she would've handled that, the only thing she knew was that she wanted to see her. Wanted her there. Wanted her opinion on her clothes. Just wanted her and maybe even needed her. "Would you have greeted her like any of us or would you have made sure that she knew that your collection did better than hers?"
Nayeon frowned. "You're making it seem like I'm the only one who competes in this- in this friendship."
Jeongyeon darted her eyes at her. "So now it is a friendship?"
"I don't know Jeongyeon!" Nayeon exclaimed, the whole thing frustrating her more than it should. "I Just, ugh! I just miss her and I hate that I somehow fucked up that much that she's doing whatever she can to avoid me."
Mina's eyes were soft, almost like she had expected this. Like she had waited for it. "You miss her?"
"Yeah," Nayeon sighed as rubbed her face in defeat. "I did something stupid and-"
"As expected."
"Jeongyeon, shut up. I did something stupid but at the end of the day, I don't regret doing it. I know that we wouldn't be here if I hadn't done it but it's just so confusing and I, I don't know."
"What did you do?"
Nayeon looked at Mina almost like she was begging her not to let her say it. Jeongyeon caught onto her hesitance. "Look, something obviously happened between the two of you that neither wants to talk about but it's not going to fix itself. You're not going to get out of this state if you don't do something."
"I- I have to go."
Jihyo groaned as she heard the doorbell ring through her ears. She had just sat down and instantly felt how tired she had been. Lately, the days seemed longer, draining her energy more than they should. She knew why though, her concentration had been completely gone making it almost impossible to do her job. With a sigh, she opened the door. Her eyebrows raising and her heart racing as she saw who it was. "What are you doing here?"
Nayeon didn't answer at first, she just simply walked into the apartment like she had done so many times before. She suddenly halted as she turned around to face Jihyo who had carefully followed her. Nayeon just stared, observing the look on Jihyo's face as she took a few steps closer. Jihyo took a few steps back. The action made Nayeon hum. "You didn't come to my event."
"I didn't," Jihyo confirmed.
"Why not?"
"Why?" Jihyo deadpanned. "Was I supposed to?"
"You've never missed one of my events."
Jihyo let out a deep sigh as she crossed her hands in front of herself. The older showing up to her door confused her. The months had gone by slowly and she had missed the girl enormously, she had nights where she had been craving for her. Where she had woken up in a sweat as she had dreamed of her. To have her lips on her one more time. To feel her touch, to hear her whimper, to just have her close. It was so easy to give in, but Jihyo knew that if she did, she wouldn't be destroying herself in the process. It didn't affect Nayeon as it affected her, at least that's what she assumed.
She wasn't so sure now when she looked at Nayeon's tired eyes. "There's a first time for anything."
Nayeon swallowed the block in her throat. "You never miss a show of one of your friends on purpose."
Jihyo just looked at her. "We're not exactly friends, Nayeon. Remember?"
"Then what are we, Jihyo?" The older asked with a frown on her face as she took another step closer. This time she couldn't back away. Her feet staying right in place. "I know we have a different relationship, but if we're not friends, then what am I to you?"
"It doesn't matter what you mean to me if all that I am to you is just a game."
"You're not a game to me," Nayeon said softly, the way she was bringing it making Jihyo huff. "I'm serious. You're not."
"Right," She said. "Don't you have a date to go to?"
Nayeon let out a sigh, knew that she had deserved it. Knew that she was going to bring it up. The only thing she had done to Jihyo in the past months that she had deeply regretted. "That was stupid and insensitive of me. I shouldn't have done that and frankly, I don't even know why I did it, but I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."
"You're allowed to date whoever you want," Jihyo stated. "Don't let our challenges hold you back from it."
"You weren't just a challenge." The older answered. "I genuinely missed you and the fact that you have been avoiding me because I fucked up hurt. You're right, our challenges are getting old and I shouldn't have treated you like that. You're so much more than this stupid game between us."
"Is that all?"
"No," Nayeon said as she took a step closer. Her eyes darted down and before she knew it she reached up to pull Jihyo's hand in her own. "I want one more challenge before we close this off."
Jihyo almost yanked her hand away but Nayeon tightly held on. A hurt expression written on her face. "Are you serious? I'm not going to sleep with-"
"I'm not talking about that," Nayeon softly answered. "I meant a new challenge."
"Nayeon-"
Her eyes softened. "I bet I can take you on the best date you've ever been on."