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Mina is on her fifth cup of Americano, and is on the verge of choking Nayeon to death. That is if Nayeon will even have eternal sleep after that. They are supposed to be studying. MINA should be studying right now. The semester is about to end, finals are really just around the corner and here comes Nayeon, knocking on her apartment, 3 am in the morning, wrapped in a scarf and a beanie Mina knitted for her last Christmas, and with a whining voice she crashes into Mina with a bone crushing hug.
“I can’t sleep, Minari.” She mutters before dragging her chair close, snuggling closer, sniffing Mina’s neck. The latter takes a deep breath and prays to god Nayeon can’t hear her heart’s resonating thumping and frantically continues to write. Jungian’s Theory of Collective Unconscious...
Nayeon promised that she wouldn’t be a bother, so Mina continued to study. But she should have known better. Nayeon WILL be a bother to Mina. She couldn't just sit still on her bed, reading a random book she pulls from Mina’s mini shelf, looking magnificent that it distracts Mina from studying and instead studies Nayeon’s features as she reads. Her brows will start to crease if a certain scene confuses her, then she’ll ease and hum when it gets better. She’ll openly chuckle if she reads something funny; sometimes she will hit Mina’s arm and lie down on her stomach laughing.
Just watching her do all of that, Mina completely forgets she’s studying for the finals.
“Aren’t you going to study?” Mina clears her throat and glances at Nayeon who’s now wrapped under her blanket, her head hanging at the edge of the bed. Nayeon has a habit invading every space Mina occupies. This is Mina’s room but its corners have Nayeon’s essence in them. The sheets of that bed she’s cozying in will definitely smell like Nayeon later - a subtle scent of freesia flower, soft and fresh scent that reminds her of blown-off strawberry fields that could be light and fruity, with a hint of honey sweetness. No, that’s not her perfume, it’s her lotion, she is not a perfume person.
Nayeon’s article of clothing she leaves whenever she visits starts to pile up too. It already occupies a space in Mina’s closet. Nayeon often forgets her hanky, cardigan, scarves, sometimes her glasses too. These are tucked in a box on the top shelf of Mina’s large closet. Come to think of it, Mina may have tons of clothes at Nayeon’s house too. Not that she frequently visits, but Nayeon rarely leaves her house without wearing Mina’s clothes. It can be a cute limited edition shirt she bought online, most of the time a hoodie, and during winter, she steals some of Mina's coats too.
A resounding “No” is heard with Nayeon groaning and whining. She turns around to unwrap herself and heads towards the television set. Oh, Nayeon has some stuff in there too. During her unannounced visits, Nayeon usually brings a movie with her. She considers herself an old soul and brought with her DVDs of the film she wants to watch with Mina. Not the blu-ray ones, she bought this from a small shop in that one dark alley near the university selling bootleg dvds. Nayeon hates subscribing to anything, aside from the fact that she doesn’t know how those things work (logging in to anything is hard for her.) She hates paid content. She’d often scold Mina for having a netflix account but sometimes when Nayeon forgets to bring a bootleg movie with her, they’d scour that thing for hours until they choose a film Nayeon has seen a thousand times already.
“Pause that studying, we’ll watch Eternal Sunshine. Again.” Nayeon loves that movie so much no one can understand. Mina agrees, the film is so good. This film broke her heart so many times, Nayeon’s words, not hers. Mina felt sad the first time she saw the film. Nayeon said she fell asleep the first time she did. The second time she watched the film, Mina felt bad for them. Nayeon was intrigued when Mina told her that. Probably because Nayeon was in full confusion the second time she watched the film. They have seen this movie so much they can recite the whole thing even the sound effects and breathing of each character. This has been twice this week and more or less 30 times since they started being friends.
Friends.
Ah, yes. Nayeon climbs back on Mina's bed, stuffing her pillow against the headboard before sitting comfortably. Mina is still on her study table, watching Nayeon with a small tender smile, the latter returning the same bright mirth while tapping the space beside her. “Come here, you silly.”
It’s starting. When Joel met Clementine again, talking to her while they were in an empty train coaster. Mina is not watching the film. She can hear the whole thing muffled by Nayeon’s own voice whispering the whole movie herself. It’s fascinating. Mina silently gazes her, Nayeon’s face is illuminated by the television’s light. She opens her mouth to say something, I love- but no sound comes out. Then Nayeon starts singing. “‘Oh my darlin', oh my darlin', oh my darlin' Clementine? No?’” She laughs a little and turns to Mina. She flinches and quickly faces front, making it utterly obvious that she has been staring. Nayeon laughs louder and shoves her shoulder a little. “Are you watching me instead of the film, Minari?”
I was. You’re too beautiful to look at.
Mina keeps her head straight facing the screen. “Nope, don’t get ahead of yourself.” Nayeon is still staring. Mina can feel her. She clenches on the sheets tighter when she feels Nayeon leaning closer. Mina eases her breath, counting one to five, If Nayeon will lean further I- Nayeon stops. She feels her head resting on her left shoulder instead. Mina slowly releases a deep breath. They snuggle close and watch the film until they fall asleep before it even ends.
-
Mina loves hanging out alone. Sometimes. Alright, maybe she likes solitude a little too much. But Nayeon rarely leaves her alone. Mina doesn't hate it. In fact, she looks forward to it. Usually after class, if Nayeon isn't already waiting for her outside the lecture hall, Mina will wander around the campus grounds. Either that one less populated bench, or the small garden beside the college of law, the library during the snooze hour, and sometimes she just heads out and goes to a cafe. There are tons of them outside the campus, you will find underrated ones. Mina likes the underrated ones.
She’s on her second cup of coffee already, her cake barely touched and is flipping on the fifteenth page of her book, scribbling notes and highlighting important words. This place is peaceful. Mina probably counts only four people here. The chimes of the cafe rings, but she doesn’t notice.
Nayeon slips into the booth with her, shoving her closer to the window. Mina’s notes got a little messed up- the highlighter line runs until the end of the page. She glares at the other girl. She’s greeted with a warm smile. “I caught you earlier this time.” Nayeon checks her wristwatch. “It took me 9 minutes and 28 seconds.” Mina shrugs and continues writing. She sees Nayeon smelling her hot mug and taking a quick sip. Nayeon’s red lipstick smeared over hers. Mina feels a growing warmth on her cheeks.
The satisfied hum from Nayeon is an indication they might frequent here. “Try the cake.” Mina pushes the plate closer. Nayeon eyes the chocolate cake then Mina. She remains unmoving and opens her mouth instead. Mina rolls her eyes and proceeds to feed Nayeon a small piece. Another satisfied squeal is heard, Mina chuckles and gives her the spoon. Nayeon enjoys the cake for the next few minutes. Mina enjoys watching her the whole time, ignoring her notes and book splayed out on her side of the table. A crumb and a small chocolate icing on Nayeon’s lower lip prompts Mina to close in their gap, holding her face ever so lightly, wiping the crumb off. Nayeon freezes, and so does Mina.
I love…
Nayeon is not moving. She’s holding Mina’s gaze. Mina’s brain is too fried to function. Why did she do that? Is she out of her mind? She could’ve just handed Nayeon the napkin, why did she have to initiate this very intimate position and wipe the crumb off using her thumb? She’s going to make everything awkward now!
“Oh my god, what are you guys doinghmpf!’ They both jump away from each other. Mina scrambles to hold the pen and leaning down to write whatever is in her notebook. So clumsily that she fails to notice that her pen’s cap is still on. Nayeon coughs and drinks on an empty mug of coffee, making this fake loud sipping sound. Sana eyes the whole thing with disbelief, while still struggling to remove Jeongyeon’s tight hold on her. Momo’s mouth is wide open, slowly lowering her handholding her lollipop.
Mina winces when Nayeon greets their friends awkwardly. “He-hey. We didn’t see you there. Haha.” Sana manages to free herself from Jeongyeon and crosses her arms. “Of course you didn’t,” she greets back with full accusation. Jeongyeon snickers and smirks. Sana starts rapping, asking once again what’s going on. Mina repeatedly explains ‘nothing is going on’ and Sana fully rejects her excuses, her right brow is rising higher every time she tells her what exactly happened. Momo staggers and holds onto the booth’s cushioned seat. “God, I need water.” The whole group falls silent. Momo has been standing this whole time and they didn’t notice. Also, Momo doesn’t like water.
“You okay, Momo?” Momo doesn’t answer, she instead pounds her chest and turns beet red.
-
Mina hates the crowd, but she hates it a little less when she’s with her friends.
They are in the amusement park to celebrate the survival of this semester. It’s the perfect time to go here too. Spring’s about to end and the summer is nearing. It’s getting warmer. Like the hand that is holding hers right now. Nayeon’s hand is warm. She’s holding her as they push through the crowd with Jeongyeon yelling over the noise that they are headed to the roller coaster before the line gets even longer. Sana is dragging Momo with her who refuses to ride basically anything. But all Mina can think of is Nayeon’s warm hand securely intertwined with hers. Nayeon’s hand is big, it makes Mina’s heart flutter.
“Are you okay?” Nayeon whispers to her when they are queueing. Mina is silent the whole time, she tries not to make the panic visible. No, she’s not nervous about the ride, she’s nervous about Nayeon still holding her hand. The only few moments Nayeon lets go of her hand is when she went to the comfort room and when they had to stop Momo from running away. Mina gulps and nods. “Yeah. I’m fine.” Jeongyeon is excitedly craning her neck ahead, checking their number.
The entire ride is pure chaos. Momo and Sana are now riding the frontmost cart. Jeongyeon, the only one in their friend group who really wants to ride the coaster, suddenly feels her stomach growling and runs to the comfort room when they’re already up next. They want to wait for her but Jeongyeon insists they will have to wait all day if they do so she tells them to enjoy the whole thing for her while she fights for her life in a cubicle like a “pathetic loser.” The whole ordeal is dramatic, Jeongyeon hastily shoving the crumpled tickets on Mina’s hand while she runs away and Sana screaming “no, Jeongyeon!” in a slow motion voice.
When the roller coaster started moving, Momo started screaming too. Sana lowers her head and hits Momo’s arm. “It’s not even speeding up yet, Momoring!” Mina giggles and turns to Nayeon, who’s completely rooted on her seat. “Nayeon?” A nervous and half-baked chuckle is all her friend can reply as she tightens her grip on Mina’s hand. The coaster slowly moved up and everyone else is either screaming or uttering a prayer.
In Nayeon's case, she’s reassuring herself, refusing to look anywhere other than their joined hands. She covers her eyes with her right hand, repeatedly chanting, “I’m okay. It’s okay, Nayeon. It’s alright. I’m alright. I’m Nayeon, I’m okay. Everything fi- aaaaaaaaahhhhhh.” Mina happily shouts her adrenaline as the rollercoaster zooms in loops and steep rails. She glances at Nayeon from time to time, giving her a reassuring grip every time.
They decided to grab a meal after the ride. Momo is still pale and is silently munching on their food while Jeongyeon dizzily clutches her stomach, whining about missing out on the roller coaster ride. Sana tends to both of them, comforting Momo and applying an ointment on Jeongyeon’s tummy. And they still call Jeongyeon their mom-friend?
The medicine finally kicks in and Jeongyeon is back in her vigor. They line up for every single ride. Momo wants to ride the carousel, they granted her wish. Momo did so well today. Nayeon is a scaredy-cat, but they have to endure Jeongyeon’s obsession on thrill rides. They queue for a horror ride too. Mina cannot really identify whether the pounding in her chest is the fear when that white lady came out of nowhere or if it's because Nayeon is hiding her face on Mina’s neck and is breathing heavily directly sending electrocuting zaps on Mina’s spine it makes her shiver.
Nayeon doesn’t let go of her hand the whole ride too.
Momo is now chasing Jeongyeon for letting them ride that. Their hands are getting clammy. Mina stops and untangles their hands. Nayeon frowns but doesn’t speak anyway. She pulls out her handkerchief, carefully placing it on her palm. She holds Nayeon’s hand once again and looks at her. “My hands are sweaty. Sorry.” Nayeon doesn’t speak still, Mina smiles at her and is the one to pull her through the crowd this time.
The sunset is nearing. Unlike the common belief, the best time to ride the ferris wheel is not in the evening. It’s before the sunset. Especially with a bright and sunny day like this, it is surely to end with a very picturesque sunset. Besides, the line is relatively shorter than in the evening right before the firework display.
Jeongyeon explains to Mina even on her way to the cab why it’s the perfect time to ride the ferris wheel when Momo suddenly pulls her out. “No, Jeong, YOU ride the ferris wheel with us in the next cab.” Jeongyeon frowns and looks at Sana who’s making a face until it dawns to her, “Oooooh. Yes, yes. In the next cab with you two. Of course.” She gestures at the cab and beams at Mina and Nayeon. “Hop on, miladies.”
The staff reminds them of the protocol before closing the cab’s door. Mina watches her friends wave at them before riding their own cab. Sana surely mouthed something she can’t decipher. “Weird.” Mina expects Nayeon to say something but she remains mum. Another weird thing. She touches Nayeon’s forehead and lays the back of her hand on her neck. “Are you feeling sick?” Nayeon seems to be taken aback and recovers herself. “No, I’m okay. Just tired.” Mina doesn’t push her but she can feel the sudden shift. Did she do something wrong today?
The ferris wheel slowly moved up and Mina enjoyed seeing the whole park as they rose. Nayeon tightens her grip on Mina, pulling the other girl’s attention away from the view. “Hmm?” Nayeon closes her eyes and finally looks at Mina in the eye. “I-” She stops talking when the sun suddenly hits her eyes. They slowly turn to watch the sunset, squinting a little. It’s so beautiful. Jeongyeon is right, riding the ferris wheel right now is better than watching it later in the evening.
“Mina.” Nayeon calls her. Mina slowly draws her attention away from the sunset and gives Nayeon her full attention. The other girl takes a deep breath, “I… I-” Mina watches Nayeon, the other girl looks away, closing her eyes again. She looks so beautiful as the sun touches her skin. The bright orange glow touching them, blanketing them in a comforting warmth it makes Mina’s heart clench. Maybe it’s the right time to tell Nayeon what you feel, Mina.
Mina gathers the miniscule of courage she has in her and holds her chin up, “Nayeon, look at me.” Nayeon opens her eyes, looking at Mina for a split second before looking at the glass panel again. “Look at me, please?”
Nayeon releases a shaky breath and looks at her. Mina smiles widely and is about to give Nayeon the cheesiest confession she’ll probably hear, but before Mina could even say the first word, Nayeon bridges their gap and crashes their lips. Under the sunset, inside the ferris wheel’s cab. Mina freezes, eyes wide open in confusion, delight, and relief. She slowly closes her eyes and relishes the feeling, reciprocating Nayeon’s kisses.
-
Mina is having her morning coffee in a newly opened cafe near her apartment. She told the girls about it in their group chat and is on their way to eat breakfast with her. The doors open and she sees the four walking in, she raises her hand and Nayeon immediately runs to her table. “Morning, babe.” Nayeon greets her with a peck on the lips and scoots her over the booth. “I missed you.” Nayeon whispers before planting another kiss on her cheek.
Jeongyeon feigns a frown and turns to Momo who mirrors the same expression. “God, you saw each other until the wee hours of the night yesterday. Please.”
Sana got their order and is now taking her time leisurely talking to the barista. At this rate, they might not get their breakfast, but Sana will surely secure the girl’s number. Momo fakes a gag when Nayeon and Mina are all affectionate with each other. She’s hungry and Sana is still not ordering. “Ugh, please, Jeongyeon’s right, keep it low.” Momo glares at their friend openly flirting with the barista before she loudly talks to Jeongyeon. “I don’t know, Jeong. DO YOU THINK WE’LL EVEN GET OUR BREAKFAST?!” Sana eyes her briefly and subtly raises a finger.
Momo’s about to yell another jab when Jeongyeon holds her head and lightly turns it to the disgustingly sweet scene before them: Nayeon whispering whatever the hell it is in Mina’s ear and the latter giggling at every word. GOd.
“Nah, I totally feel that part-timer at the ferris wheel, Momoring.” Jeongyeon “whispers” on Momo. This picks the couple’s attention. Momo nods and leans in, “whispering” as well. “Imagine just doing your job and you see two lesbians making out inside the cab, I too, will sound the alarm.”
Nayeon rolls her eyes and kicks them under the table. “Let it go, it’s been a month already!” Mina chuckles and turns red.
Sana finally arrives at their table. Holding a plastic number, 02. “I got our order and a number.” She places the number on the table and smugly whips out a napkin with tiny numbers in them. “And oh, I got the barista’s number too.”