Chapter Text
"Let's move on to the next quiz," said Jung Shik, "please pick one this time as well."
"Ok. The one you would like to date the most," said Jessi.
Mina smiled to herself. Chaeyoung. As the girls around her seemed to be finding difficulty with their answer, this was an easy question for Mina.
"Dating with marriage in mind," Jung Shik clarified.
Still Chaeyoung. She stole a glance at the younger girl, who was also quiet amongst the chaos. She loved all the members and had unique bonds with all of them, but Chaeyoung was different. She felt safe, at home with her. They had a special connection, something that made them click perfectly together.
"Three, two one!"
Mina pointed at Chaeyoung without hesitation, and the biggest smile appeared on her face when she saw Chaeyoung do the same for her. Their grins soon turned into embarrassed laughs and flushed faces as they felt the stare of all the eyes in the room. Mina, hiding behind her hands, had never felt her face get this warm before. Why do the members always get so weird when things like this happen? All she could do was laugh as the members teased the pair, leaving the talking to Chaeyoung. Sorry Chaeng. She smiled as Chaeyoung tried to defend herself, stomping her feet in frustration. Hehe cute. Deep breaths, Mina. She tried to regain her composure as Chaeyoung answered why she would want to date her.
"What about you, Mina?"
"Even before our debut, every time I was asked this kind of question, I always picked Chaeyoung," Mina replied. That was true. No one else came close to how Chaeyoung made her felt. "She's beloved so much and very lovely."
Mina tried not to think too much about it. She felt like she was floating amongst the stars when Chaeyoung picked her, but Chaeyoung had always been nice to her. She shook her head, deciding to focus on the rest of the interview for now; she didn't want to zone out into a lovey dovey dream world on camera.
"Cut!"
The room was filled with applause as the interview ended. As the members slowly filed out of the room after thanking everyone, Mina felt a hand on her shoulder. Surprised, she turned to see the Korean-American artist.
"Hey, thank you for coming. I just wanted to make sure everything was all right, I hope I didn't cross a line with that dating question?" asked Jessi with a concerned look on her face.
"No, thank you for having us. Yes you're good, this kind of thing happens all the time." Mina gave her a warm smile in reassurance.
"I was wondering-" Jessi hesitated. "I was wondering, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to, if there's anything going on between you and Chaeyoung?"
Mina was taken aback; no one had ever been this straightforward with her before, but she trusted Jessi. "No," she replied, "we've always had a special bond but I've never really thought about it like that."
Jessi had a strange look on her face, as if she was deciding whether or not to say the words she wanted to say. She eventually spit it out. "Maybe try thinking about it like that. You two look like you click very well, and this is just my opinion, but life's too short to not explore that." She hastily bid Mina goodbye, and left Mina with her own thoughts.