What the heart wants

Chapter 30

Dahyun suppresses a snort at the scene unfolding in front of her. They've just reached their dorm after spending nearly eight hours shooting outside. It's lunchtime but Mina and Sana are making hot chocolate in the kitchen to warm everyone up.

What has Dahyun chuckling is the two girls on the couch. One of them is sulking and has an ice pack on her foot, the other one keeps trying to apologize.

"Chaeyoungah I've said sorry about hundred times."

"You stepped on my foot about two hundred times."

Jeongyeon sighs defeated.

Chaeyoung softens a little at the crestfallen look on the older girl. "Fine, I'll forgive you if you take us all to have black bean noodles in your secret spot."

Jeongyeon chuckles. "You tricked me into this."

Chaeyoung throws her hand above her head, eyes twinkling with mirth. "You walked into this baby, more like stepped into this."

Jeongyeon rolls her eyes but she takes all the girls to the restaurant she's been frequenting willingly. It's not like she's been hiding the spot from them, it's just that nobody ever asked.

The restaurant turns out to be not the place you book in advance, it's the kind of place you stumble upon accidentally. With its large wooden windows, long flowery curtains, carefully lit candles, dark walnut tables, flowers on each table, delicate music and embroidered couches, it reminds them of their villa in Hawaii.

"I feel like we opened a magic portal and stepped into this place." Momo exclaims and Tzuyu nods her head in agreement.

Nayeon who's still in the same clothes from the shoot because they didn't get time to change, tries to loosen her suspenders after a hearty meal that tastes delicious and homemade. "I shouldn't have eaten so much. "

Next to her Jeongyeon belches loudly making Chaeyoung snigger.

"We should have changed our clothes." Dahyun points at two younger girls sitting across the table from theirs. "They haven't stopped checking out Nayeonnie."

Jeongyeon looks uncomfortable as she quickly takes a glance at the girls who look away from Nayeon when they feel eyes on them. "They look like teens."

Chaeyoung whispers to Mina, "They look older than that. I think she's just jealous."

"They're probably wondering how we ended up here." Nayeon dismisses Dayun's claim. Her breath comes out a little hard and her throat itches a little , so she takes a sip of her warm water.

Sana gives a pointed look at Nayeon. "Unnie, you're like completely thick when people like you."

Nayeon looks offended, her hand twists and plays with the tissue on the table." That's not true."

Jeongyeon takes the tissue away from her. "Can you stop fidgeting for a second? "

"It's true." Sana continues, "Did you know I used to have a really big girl crush on you when we first joined?"

"Shut up." Nayeon grins widely, like that's the best joke she's heard today.

Jihyo sniggers. Nayeon pretends to be highly self assured but the truth is she's not really aware just how much effect she has on people.

"Ask Mina if you want. I used to talk about you all the time. Oh Nayeonnie looks so good in that T-shirt, look Nayeonnie is smiling ain't that so cute, ah Nayeonnie is breathing isn't that the best thing ever." Sana recalls her trainee days with a glazed over look in her eye.

"Jeongyeon used to be like that too." Jihyo butts in. "Even though she used to pretend she's annoyed by Nayeon."

Jeongyeon scowls at her.

"Mina, if you cut the meat any stronger you'd be cutting the plate."  Tzuyu laughs because Mina is concentrating really hard on getting it cut neatly, she has a near death grip on the fork and knife.

Mina doesn't reply nor does she takes her eyes off the plate.

Across her, Nayeon wonders if she should switch seats so the Japanese girl can actually look up and take part in the conversation around her.

Momo lifts her hand up excitedly.

"What is it Momo?" Nayeon gazes at her fondly when the girl bounces on her seat like a child.

"Ten bucks if they flirt with you?"

Nayeon suppresses a laugh. The girl sure loves to bet and even though Momo loses most of the time she's always the one to start them.

"Make that a hundred." Nayeon slaps the fresh currency bills on the table, confident of herself.

Jeongyeon holds back the laughter for the benefit of Nayeon.

It's pretty dark in the van but even through the dim lights she sees how annoyed the girl looks and doesn't want to irk her further.

Momo is counting the currency in her hands, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

Because sitting in Nayeon's lap are the phone numbers the girls have slipped in.

"You are hotter in person." One of them has whispered close to her ears, as her hand gently trailed down Nayeon's arm who turned the brightest shade of pink.

Momo thinks Nayeon's gobsmacked face alone is more satisfactory than the hundred dollar bet but she still collects them.

Mina thinks it takes an extraordinary amount of courage to tell someone you like them. She glances at Chaeyoung for a fleeting second. The kind of courage she would never have.

Her heart aches painfully as she tries to move away from the past but it feels like she's struck on treadmill in a never ending run.

Nayeon doesn't miss the way Mina looks at Chaeyoung. She wonders what's holding her back from getting into a relationship when it's obvious she has feelings for the younger girl.

"So Nayeonnie," Chaeyoung begins with a teasing tone and Nayeon tears her eyes away from Mina. "When are you going to call them?"

Nayeon gives a middle finger in response. "I liked you better when you weren't talking to me."

Chaeyoung's loud laugh booms through the van.

Mina breaks into a smile as well because Chaeyoung doesn't stop when she gets a laughing fit and two minutes later all of them are holding their ribs because they're laughing so hard and Mina forgets the ache in her heart at least for the moment.