Chef-d'oeuvre

"You're in the deep, unnie. What's up?"

Chaeyoung was... calmer this morning. Her painting was ready to be given. She was actually happy about it, even though it was more lowkey than the painting yesterday.

She painted a rose this time, and there was another quote in the back, saying:

A rose's rarest essence lives in the thorn.

—Rumi

I don't care if I'd get hurt picking you.

She smiled when she saw the sticky note on the back of thr canvas.

Chaeyoung was ready as ever, all she needs to do is to go to the campus and Dahyun will take care of the rest.

The moment she opened the door, she saw Mina about to knock on it. She quickly hid the paper bag on her back.

“H-hey, unnie. W-what are you doing h-here?” Chaeyoung stuttered almost every word that came out of her mouth. “I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry for my attitude last night at the call, also for not going to the café yesterday. I just wasn't feeling good.” Mina's head was faced down, the only thing she saw was Chaeyoung's shoes. Chaeyoung scratched her nape and let out a soft chuckle. "It's fine, unnie. We have our bad days."

Mina's head slowly went up, finding the younger's eyes. “You forgive me?” She pouted. Chaeyoung blushed at her action. "Y-yes, unnie." Mina let out a gummy smile. Her signature smile that Chaeyoung always fall for. "Wanna go to school together? Also, what's that?" Mina pointed at the paper bag that Chaeyoung was hiding.

"U-uhh." Chaeyoung started to panic and looked around— finding a good excuse. "I don't have class today, so I decided to bake some muffins for my friend I'm going to meet today." Mina responded an Oh, thinking of the girl Chaeyoung was with yesterday, holding flowers. Chaeyoung knew that she was buying her excuse, so she continued to talk. "Want me to drive you to campus? I'm not really busy this morning." Mina smiled and nodded. She thought that maybe even if she's meeting someone that is not her, she's still so sweet towards her, and that gesture warms her heart.

They drove to the campus after their talk. Good thing there was only little to no traffic since it was early in the morning. Chaeyoung smoothly drives, stealing glances on Mina occasionally. The girl was just looking outside the window, going down to the deepest of her thoughts. "A penny for your thoughts?" Chaeyoung broke their silence. Mina was evidently startled, "W-what?" She blurted out, going back to reality.

"You're in the deep, unnie. What's up?" Chaeyoung laughed at her reaction when she asked the first question. "Just... club stuffs. It frustrates me." Mina lied, as if she's going to say that she's thinking about her and that girl. "Don't think about it too much, unnie. We still got three more months." Chaeyoung rubbed the girl's shoulder, comforting her as much as she can. "Yeah, but we'll be both busy in the following months... I'm... I'm gonna miss you." Mina's voice fell as Chaeyoung's heart did.

Chaeyoung doesn't know why Mina was acting like that, and she doesn't know if she likes it or not. "What do you mean, unnie? We're inseparable, right? We'll make ways to see each other." Chaeyoung replied, which is true. "I know, but you didn't have a club back then, which means you'll be busy roaming around the city for shootings and I'll be trapped inside the dance room. We're more busy now than we are last year." Chaeyoung smiled. "Don't worry, unnie. We're sure to find ourselves some time."

For more than a year they've been friends, they make time to see each other, no matter how hectic their schedule was. But for some reasons, Chaeyoung felt different this time. She knows so well that she will make Mina time, but it feels like something bad is going to happen and it'll be hindering her to do it. Maybe it's different now because she is in a club, or she's just being pessimistic and anxious.

Everything's fine, Chaeyoung. Mina and you are doing good. No pressure at all.

They arrived safely at the universty. Mina grabbed her things, retouched her make up, then faced Chaeyoung.

"Thank you for the free ride, Chae." Mina kissed her on the cheek. "You know, any person who would date you is considered lucky. It's rare to have someone who's sweet like you." Mina continued, leaving the car while she's at it.

But you're the only one I want.

Chaeyoung was frozen on her seat, touching her cheek where Mina kissed her. She never does that, like, never. It was the first time she did it and now Chaeyoung is receiving mixed signals that confuses her so much. At times she would treat her as her bestfriends, and sometimes, she treats her more than that.

And it frustrates me.

When Mina was no longer in sight of Chaeyoung, she went out of the car to meet Dahyun.

“You're still going to continue this, huh?” Dahyun sighed at her friend. "Just... bare with me now, Hyun. I know it's a little distrubance to you, but please. Just a little bit longer." Dahyun shook her head at disbelief. Chaeyoung doesn't get what she means. "That's not the point, Chae. Mina unnie is such a beautiful girl. Students admire her from afar and you being her bestfriend doesn't mean you're ahead of all of them." Chaeyoung tilted her head, still not getting what Dahyun said. "You sure are smart but can be dense at times." Dahyun pinches the bridge of her nose. "What I mean is, you better tell her what you feel before someone joins in the picture. You wouldn't want that now, do you?"

As much as Chaeyoung wants to tell what she truely feels towards Mina, she isn't ready. She's still contemplating if she's ready to take the risk of their friendship. Yes, Mina sometimes show more than she should, but Chaeyoung knows that she shouldn't be confident about that. Mina is the type of person who shows more love and affection, especially for the people whom she's close with.

Chaeyoung chuckled and shook her head. "Dahyun, there's a great time for everything. Things happen for a reason, right? We're soulmates. We're sure to meet when it's time."