Work Text:
“I’m outside.”
Mina hung up and put her smartphone back in her jacket’s pocket. She hadn’t dressed heavily since it was summer. The wind sure was strong, but it didn’t make her want to wear something thick during her visit.
Nobody was in the apartment hallway when she came around. Everybody might be outside at this hour, looking for something to eat. She had her dinner already though. Just before she came here.
Her mind was wandering somewhere when she suddenly heard the lock behind the door before her went unlocked and followed next by a key opened it. When she looked inside the apartment, the owner stood there welcoming her with a bunny smile plastered on her face.
“Welcome! Please come in!” Nayeon led the way inside her apartment, pulling Mina by her hand. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. A glasses hung in between her nose. Her home fit.
Judging by the television that was turned on and a bowl of fruit salad on the table, Mina concluded that Nayeon was eating it while watching whatever show played on the big television in her living room. “Pardon me for intruding on you.”
Nayeon, who sat first on the sofa, patted the spot next to her, ordering Mina to sit down beside her. She raised her eyebrows, “What do you mean? I’m the one who asked you for souvenirs though.”
“Well, you did.” Mina put a paper bag of Nayeon’s souvenir she had brought this whole time on the table. “But I still don’t understand why you asked for it, though. You literally went to Japan just like us.” Mina sighed.
Nayeon chuckled, responding to that. Yeah, she did come to Japan at the same time, just like Mina, Sana, and Momo to attend their showcase. She came without letting them know though. “It would feel more special if it was given, you know?” She replied while sending a piece of apple into her mouth.
Mina took a seat while sighing. They had done all the promotion for their unit album. The girls had time to rest while the leader Jihyo was currently working her best on promoting her solo. There was never been a really long rest for them to relax. Not that she was complaining, since nobody was going to like too much holiday either.
“How’s your schedule?” The younger decided to fill in the silence by asking.
Nayeon, who was eating her fruit salad, stopped munching before answering: “Just a commercial film shooting in the morning, and nothing else happened for the rest of the day.” Another spoonful of creamy fruit was sent to her mouth.
Mina turned her face toward the television. Nayeon had not averted her gaze from the screen since she arrived. She watched a romance-comedy show that was likely in its umpteenth episode, since the characters were already goofing around each other while bantering. The actor and actress sure were good-looking. Korean is something else when they talk about beauty, Mina thought.
Nayeon let out a laugh when something funny appeared on the screen. She tried to close her mouth with her hand, but Mina could still see her prominent bunny-teeth. She’s prettily cute.
“You might choke on your food if you laugh like that.” Mina warned the older woman, while Nayeon, on the other hand, still tried to hold her laughter. She also didn’t want to choke on her food.
Nayeon wheezed for around a minute before slowly calming down and carefully putting her spoon back into the bowl. Mina chuckled, seeing her cheeks which were puffed, keeping the laughter inside.
“How could they put in such an act while I was scooping my meal? That’s unfair!” Nayeon fetched the remote and turned the volume down, and didn’t want to hear another joke that could get her rolling on the floor laughing when she put a spoonful inside her mouth.
Seeing that she had nothing more to do, Mina stood up and tidied her clothes up. She drove alone, it might be better to not come home late. Just before she said to Nayeon a goodbye, she saw Nayeon’s face turned toward her,
“Where are you going?” Her face giving Mina that confused look like she really didn’t know what she was going to do next.
“Of course going home, what do you mean?” Just with a face as confused as Nayeon’s, Mina responded.
“And who exactly let you go home just yet? Hm?” She grabbed Mina’s arm and pulled her close. Mina sat down right in front of her. She swore she could feel her breath just by how close they were.
Those eyes pierced through hers. Gazing longingly. Nobody spoke or broke the ice before a chuckle came out from Nayeon’s lips.
“I will not let you go home before at least drink something, you know?” Nayeon erected from the sofa while taking the paperbag Mina brought her. Her little steps then led her to the mini kitchen right next to the living room.
Mina tried to stop the older woman. Saying that she couldn’t drink and how she drove by herself tonight, but not even a word got into Nayeon’s head. She eagerly prepared two highball glasses from the cabinet.
The members won’t call her a drinker, but they at least would acknowledged that Nayeon is serious about her drink. One way to prove it was how Nayeon prepared the ice. She legitimately bought it from an ice dealer in town, since they couldn’t drink with good ice carelessly in any bar without any arrangement.
“It has been ages since I wanted to try this.” She said while putting two long cubes of ice each glasses. They were almost as tall as the glass standing on each other. She then stirred the ice to cool the glass down for some time to the point where water came out from the ice’s melt. She proceeded to remove it before continuing. Come next, she took out Suntory’s Toki from the paper bag. Nayeon took a full minute to stare at the bottle, checking all the writing on the surface before opening it up and filling a third of the glass. She gave more time stirring both of the glasses after that.
On the other hand, Mina took a peek behind the sofa, watching her senior in action of cocktail making. Both she and Nayeon’s fruit salad were left in uncertainty. They didn’t really know what came next.
Nayeon, in the kitchen, finished the beverages with water topping all the previous filling. She proudly smiled, looking into her creation.
“Mizuwari,” Nayeon said shortly before joining Mina once again on the sofa. She directly gave Mina the cold glass. The other just doubtfully looking at the very glass in her hand.
“Cheers?” Nayeon raised her glass. Mina also raised her glass and let the clink be heard between the series Nayeon just continued playing on television.
What came next was the gulping sound both of them produced while savouring the drink. Mina hadn’t been drinking much, so she wasn’t sure about what to taste; she highlighted how it had vanilla fruitiness while it also felt like fruity citrus and finished with a peppery taste.
Mina furrowed her forehead facing all the flavour in her mouth, while Nayeon just laughed at her reaction. Nayeon picked back her bowl of salad and continued eating since she only had some left.
“It’s good, isn’t it? All light and just flowing down your throat.” She commented while delivering another spoonful to her mouth.
“Well, let’s say it tastes better for me than drinking it plainly straight from the bottle.” Mina put her glass down on the table. She smacked her tongue, trying to get used to the taste.
“To be honest, I surprised myself how well I did it. Ignoring how easy it actually is.”
They enjoyed the night after that with Nayeon finishing her salad and binge-watching the drama she was on, accompanied by Mina who was forced to emptied her glass by Nayeon every five minutes.
Just when the ending played, Nayeon realized Mina had finished her drink, leaving only the ice cube cooling the glass down. The younger girl massaged her nose, trying so hard to retain her consciousness in front of Nayeon. She, on the other hand, had the biggest grin on her face. It was a big success on making Mina stay.
Nayeon collected the glass Mina used and her bowl, intending to wash it in the kitchen. Her glass herself still had some content in it. She won’t get drunk with just a glass of highball.
“Let me get these tidi-” She was going to wash the dishes when she felt Mina grabbing her on the arm. With a confused look, Nayeon asked: “Mina?”
“Don’t go.”
Nayeon raised her eyebrows. She lowered her sight and caught a glimpse of blush on both of Mina’s cheeks. Her gaze also seemed blank and couldn’t focus. ‘She really is drunk, huh?’ Nayeon found it cute how she actually get drunk easily. Although deep inside she felt a little bad for doing this to her.
“You want me to stay?” Nayeon put the dishes back on the table and received Mina, who got closer before pulling her in a tight embrace. Nayeon only chuckled seeing Mina’s behaviour.
“I’m calm when you’re near.” Mina whispered to Nayeon’s ear in her hug. Nayeon felt ticklish because of how close they were and how Mina’s breath was literally greeting her nape.
“Is that so?” Nayeon began to caress Mina’s back softly. Ups and downs. She could feel she nodded responding to her question in her embrace.
It was not that late, but Nayeon knew Mina wouldn't in any way return to her home just by looking into her condition. They only spent the next few minutes enjoying each other’s company in a tight, warm hug.
“I have a schedule for tomorrow noon,” Mina muttered in between what was left of her consciousness.
Nayeon pulled herself and faced Mina. She cupped her face and chuckled, seeing her droopy eyes. “I’ll wake you up early tomorrow, so how about hitting bed now?”
Mina nodded obediently when Nayeon kissed her on the forehead.