SIGNAL

Part 6

Jeongyeon sat still and silent during the jolty bus journey into town; not to say she was in a bad mood, but rather she couldn't stop her mind from wandering to and fro. Tzuyu's hand lay between her own two, resting in Jeongyeon's lap where with her finger she drew the occasional shape or two upon the younger girl's palm. They sat quietly, tuning in and out of the useless drabble Sana, Momo, Dahyun and Chaeyoung were arguing over, though they had no idea what the girls were on about.

Thinking back to the night she spent sat by the lake under the starry sky by Tzuyu's side brought a smile to her face, Jeongyeon holding the girl's hand just a little closer. They sat like this for maybe five more minutes, until the bus came to a dangerously creaky stop and snapped them out of their little moment of calm, the exhaust almost sounding like a violent breath out.

Following the rest of the girls as they all poured out of the bus, Jeongyeon's eyes widened in realisation, abruptly pulling Tzuyu a little further away from the group.

"It's Sana!" She whisper-yelled. "It has to be Sana!"

Tzuyu had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

"What are you on about? What did Sana do this time?"

"Remember that night we spent by the lake?"

Tzuyu nodded, still confused as to what the girl was getting at.

"When we got back, Mina was gone, right?"

"Yeah... And what about it? She went for a walk to the garden room."

"-No, Chungha said that she walked out of the room as though she was being led by someone! But there was no-one there. That's because they were invisible!"

Raising her eyebrows, the younger girl nodded again, this time in understanding.

"So you think it was Sana? Why does it even matter what them two get up to? It's none of our business."

Jeongyeon's mouth gaped open at this blunt response, a little lost for words.

Before she could form a string of words as a reply, she felt a hand shove her back, making her stumble forward.

"Chaeyoung, what the hell?!" Tzuyu spoke, pushing the shorter girl away.

"You two have the longest legs out of all of us, yet you're taking fifty million years to walk 20 metres!" Chaeyoung groaned, her mind only on the paintbrush she was owed. "We have to stop every five minutes just because you two are so ridiculously slow!"

She grabbed one of each girl's hands and began purposefully marching them towards a dainty art shop, in which the rest of the girls had already entered, and were browsing around the various products here and there.

Dahyun was trying her best to hide behind Jihyo, but failing miserably, primarily because Jihyo forcefully shoved the girl into Chaeyoung's line of sight.

"There you are! Now come on, I'll show you the brush I need!" Chaeyoung grinned whilst grabbing an unwilling Dahyun's arm and leading her to the extensive display of paintbrushes.

Mina remained stuck to Sana and Momo's side, though occasionally falling behind to browse the aisles, or studying the various paintings decorating the walls. For such a small shop, it really managed to transport you to a different era, making it strangely enticing.

The two older girls were much the opposite, bickering over the fact that Sana (though she insisted it was Momo) had already knocked over two canvases, earning a stern glare from the owner of the store. Nayeon just watched them and sighed.

Soon enough the demanded paintbrush had been located (much to Jihyo's relief; she wasn't sure how much longer she could prevent some sort of accident in the tiny shop). Chaeyoung's face beamed with happiness as the group made their way to whatever other shops they needed to visit, content now that she'd gotten what she had wanted.

This also meant that she immediately became bored of the rest of the trip and was itching to go back to the dorms (she really wanted to paint something).

"Dahyun!" Chaeyoung poked the older girl in the side, to which the latter responded with an over exaggerated clutch to the 'wounded' area.

"What now?! You've got your brush!" Dahyun sighed, turning back to look at the t-shirts that had grasped her attention.

Another poke.

"I know but I'm bored, you ready to head back?"

Dahyun slapped away Chaeyoung's finger before another poke attacked her.

"You expect me to just ditch everyone for you? No chance! I prefer them anyway!"

Chaeyoung just grumbled in response and glared at nothing in silence.

In a flash, Momo was by her side, pulling her into a side hug. "You fed up? Mina and I were thinking of heading back soon anyways, so you can come with us!"

Mina also walked over, slapping Momo's arm when she settled at her side.

"We're in public. Be more subtle with your abilities," She hissed, before turning to Chaeyoung. "She's right though, my social battery's all drained out."

Sana soon bounded over to the group, never spending too long without either of  her two fellow Japanese girls.

"Are you sureeeee you wanna head back?" She pouted, Momo responding with a scoff and Mina just nodding firmly.  "You guys didn't even get anything! Only  Chaeyoung did, and she didn't even buy it!"

Mina smiled and shook her head. "I'm not bothered. My switch is practically calling my name from the dorms."
Chaeyoung cupped a hand round her ear and nodded in agreement. "Yep I can hear it! It's vital we head back!"

Sana just rolled her eyes and gave up, waving the girls goodbye and then diverted her attention to (annoying) Dahyun.

Momo, Mina and Chaeyoung said quick goodbyes to the other girls, before making their way to the bus stop, all looking forward to getting back.

The bus journey was quiet and uneventful, but as bumpy and uncomfortable as ever, meaning when the vehicle eventually reached the girls' stop, they were more than eager to jump off, heading straight to the dorms. 

Mina nudged Momo's arm as the walked through the long hallway, nearing their rooms. "Fancy coming back to ours for a bit? We could play Mario Kart!", Chaeyoung nodding in agreement.

Momo shook her head, denying the offer. "I've been sleeping through most of my Chemistry classes and we've got a test tomorrow so I better go revise." 

Mina pouted, not satisfied with this response. 

"You'd beat me anyway. You always do!" Momo grumbled, before hugging the two girls and heading into her room, Mina and Chaeyoung  also heading back to their own.

"It's true, I do always beat her," Mina laughed as she turned on the switch. 

"You won't beat me!" Chaeyoung grinned as she sat down on her bed, Mina doing the same, sitting opposite. 

"Is that a challenge? Because you're going down!"

"We'll see about that..."

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