Mirror | Natzu

3

The more and more Nayeon thought about having a soulmate, the less and less she wanted one. A soulmate was someone your soul is tied to in a sense. Someone who was made for you; someone who you were made for. It sounded perfect in a way, until you considered the consequences of such a bond.

You feel their pain as if you were their mirror. A bruise on their left would appear on your right and vice versa. That's why Momo was so upset when Dahyun told her about her tooth. She would have to deal with the pain too. The pain of the extraction and even the aftereffects of the healing. She would feel it all with Dahyun. Mina and Jihyo had even told Nayeon a story of how they sometimes share each other's anxieties and fears.

"I hadn't usually been afraid of rollercoasters." Jihyo smiled, shaking her head softly. "Then I took Mina to a theme park once for her birthday and suddenly going on my favourite ride was the worst thing in the world." She laughed and Mina looked down sheepishly. "We talked to a specialist about it and apparently it's kind of rare."

Nayeon didn't know how she was supposed to deal with feeling things for someone else. Not the physical pain and definitely not the emotional pain. There was no way in hell she wanted a soulmate if that's how things worked.

***

Nayeon's bruise faded within the week, the talk of soulmates was left behind within a fortnight and all was forgotten by the end of the month. She passed her maths exam with a high mark but didn't do so well in English. She had never been very good at English, always having to ask for Jeongyeon and even sometimes Dahyun or Sana's help.

It was coincidentally another Tuesday when Chaeyoung, Dahyun's friend from middle school, decided to introduce them to a new transfer student from Taiwan.

Momo, Jeongyeon, Dahyun, Sana and Nayeon usually sat at a table outside in the courtyard together at lunch and recess. They were a unique group, all from different backgrounds and age groups and Nayeon loved it that way.

Chaeyoung didn't usually sit with them, preferring to hang around with girls and boys her own age, but also being a social butterfly, and with her attitude of inclusion, she was always likely to bring around a new friend to introduce to them. Nayeon never protested this, loving the company of new people, even when they all were four years younger than her. So, when Chaeyoung came waltzing over to their table holding the hand of a tall, thin girl that they had never seen before, nobody paid much mind.

"Hey guys!" Chaeyoung called, approaching Dahyun first to perform their secret handshake together and then pulled the new girl closer to the table. "I wanna introduce you to Chou Tzuyu, she came from Taiwan!" Chaeyoung waved the girl's hand for her.

But Chou Tzuyu's head remained pointed to the floor, her beautiful long hair falling across the side of her face. She stood almost a head taller than Chaeyoung and could easily be pushing Nayeon's own height at 17. She bowed gently, almost at a ninety-degree angle and introduced herself with adorable, accented Korean.

"Hello. I am Chou Tzuyu. Nice to meet you." She sounded soft, shy, and slightly robotic. Nayeon immediately felt the strangest need to protect the girl. She smiled big even though Tzuyu wasn't looking up and spoke softly to her.

"Hi Tzuyu. You have a very pretty name." The corners of Tzuyu's lips turned up a fraction at the sound of Nayeon's compliment.

"Do you guys want to sit down?" Jeongyeon asked, moving to sit closer to Nayeon to create a space for Chaeyoung and Tzuyu to sit in between her and Momo. Her thigh pressed against Nayeon's. A familiar feeling.

The pair sat. Tzuyu next to Jeongyeon with Chaeyoung manoeuvring herself so that she sat next to Momo. Momo became shy when it came to newcomers, so she kept her head down and her hand clutched in Dahyun's as the usual banter of the group continued, including Chaeyoung and Tzuyu. Everyone introduced themselves chaotically and it wasn't long before questions were flying left and right.

Tzuyu couldn't handle the many questions that Nayeon's friends produced. She looked simultaneously uncomfortable, overwhelmed, and excited at the same time, her mind trying to focus on one question at a time.

Nayeon could almost feel the intensity of the questions as if they were being directed to herself. A muddle of Korean words that made no sense suddenly. From all directions. All from people she didn't know. Her heart rate skyrocketed and she couldn't help but cry out.

"ONE AT A TIME!" Nayeon had her hands over her ears. "She can't understand you when you all talk at once!"

There was silence again. The girls looked at Nayeon guiltily and Tzuyu's eyes turned to stare at the table, feeling awkward and targeted.

"I'm sorry. Just..." Nayeon moved her hands down fromher head back into her lap. "Just try to speak a little slower for her. It'sgotta be difficult to listen to so many people at once."