The group of J-Trinity and the sophomore (maknae) line arrived first at the school canteen, they settled themselves in their usual spot, at the wide round table situated on the middle. It was considered a privilege to be able to sit there as only the richest and most popular students were allowed to occupy it, a.k.a our beloved OT9.
"You're really so pretty, Tzuyu!" Momo said as she dreamily stare at Tzuyu. "If I was single, I'd totally date you!"
"HA! As if she'd date you!" Sana mocked.
"Why not?! Between you and me, she will definitely choose me!" Momo counter-reacted.
"No way! She met me first!"
"So what!"
"Yah! Shut up you two. She is mine already!" Mina joined in.
Tzuyu stared at the trio in astonishment.
These are the three Japanese girls almost all student in their school go crazy for. At first look, they seemed like those typical popular girls with bitchy attitude you'll find in movies, but in reality, the infamous J-Trinity were just a bunch of dorks with adorable personalities one couldn't help but like. And Tzuyu was no exception to that, as she found the three to be extremely likable.
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Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Jihyo arrived 5 minutes later. They headed straight for the others at the middle table, smiling. They were excited that finally, after a long time, they were complete again.
Sana, Momo and Dahyun waved at the approaching seniors; Chaeyoung had a huge smile on her face, she wasn't really a stranger to them, in fact she was a member of the school's musical band last year as their rapper, and had even composed a song for them which earned them a trophy from one competition they had joined; Mina and Tzuyu just had a small smile on their faces.
The sitting arrangement was: Sana – Dahyun – Chaeyoung – Tzuyu – Mina – Momo – Sana. There were gaps in between the Japanese trio. When the seniors arrived, Momo scooted a little closer to Mina, prompting Jeongyeon to sit in between her and Sana, while Jihyo squeezed in between Jeongyeon and Sana, leaving the only vacant spot between Mina and Momo. Mina looked up at Nayeon, who was still standing behind them, as the latter was a bit hesitant to sit beside her. Mina gave Nayeon a slight nod and smile, prompting the oldest girl to finally take a sit.
After a couple minutes of introduction and 'hi-and-hello', the group queued to buy their foods. It was Jihyo who returned first followed by Sana and Dahyun, then Chaeyoung, then Tzuyu and Mina, and then Nayeon.
When Nayeon was placing her food tray on the table, her water bottle fell down, but Mina quickly caught it and handed it over back to Nayeon.
"Thanks." Nayeon said as she grabbed the water bottle, making sure that a part of her hand was on top of Mina's hand.
Mina instantly retracted her hand upon contact. Tzuyu and the others watched in silence. Awkward~
The awkwardness didn't stop there, as some time while they were eating...
"Wanna try this?" Mina asked Tzuyu as she pointed her chopsticks down.
"Stir-fried udon?"
"Mhm. Seafood." Mina took a small amount of udon and lifted it up towards Tzuyu's mouth. Tzuyu was a little surprised by the action, she wanted to decline but the other girls were looking intently at her as if watching an interesting scene from a drama show, so she opened her mouth and ate the udon, making Mina beam in delight in the process.
"Tasty. Thank you." She said with a tight lip smile. Her cheeks showed tinge of pink hue.
"Aww ain't they cute?" Sana cooed. The others approved in their own ways except for Nayeon, who was busy eating and staring down at her food.
Tzuyu thought that since Mina offered and fed her her own food, it was only right to return the gesture back to the older. She looked down at her food tray and chose to offer the untouched vegetables salad with soy bean paste.
"Try this one too." She shyly offered to Mina.
Mina looked at the salad, for a moment there was a glint of hesitation in her eyes, but then she smiled and was going to accept the offer when Nayeon spoke,
"Mina doesn't like green peas or beans or any green vegetables."
"Oh... I'm sorry I didn't know." Tzuyu muttered, feeling somehow embarrassed.
Mina placed a hand on top of Tzuyu's and gave it a few gentle pats. "No problem."
"Seems like your girlfriend doesn't know much about you." Nayeon nonchalantly said, and shrugged.
That was it for Tzuyu, she knew she had to say something to defend herself as Nayeon had been subtly attacking her. "Yeah, that may be true, but that's because we are still a new couple. It takes time to really get to know each other, right?"
"Sure." Nayeon mumbled.
Jeongyeon cleared her throat louder than necessary, while the other girls around them remained silent shooting glances at one another.
"So what made you change your mind, Tzuyu?" Jeongyeon asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Rumor has it that you aren't into dating yet."
"Hmm what can I say? She is just too irresistible," Tzuyu started, pausing for a moment, lips curling slowly into a smile, "and she inspires me to do better in my studies. I thought that being in a relationship will just get me distracted, but I was wrong."
Tzuyu turned to stare right into Mina's eyes, "You are my motivation."
Mina blushed furiously, her heart beat so fast she thought it was gonna jump out of her chest anytime soon. It was the first time Tzuyu made her feel that way. Sana, Momo and Dahyun were all grinning in awe at them; Jihyo and Chaeyoung had their mouths hanging open; Jeongyeon and Nayeon both looked unamused.
"Are you even aware that she has broken many hearts before?" Jeongyeon asked without thinking. Momo and Jihyo hit her on either side of her thigh under the table, while Mina shot her a death glare.
Tzuyu, on the other hand, kept her cool as she answered, "I am fully aware of that. And just because her past relationships didn't work out does not mean ours will end up the same."
"What makes you think you're any different?!" Nayeon butted in, sounding a little too bitter that she herself got surprised.
Everyone seemed shocked by the sudden remark made by Nayeon. The air around them was gradually becoming thick and they could literally feel the tension crawling onto their skin.
Mina gave Nayeon an incredulous look, then she whispered, "Stop."
Nayeon ducked her head, feeling ashamed of her sudden outburst. "I'm sorry..." she breathed out.
"AHHH! I'm so full! Time for a walk!" Sana exclaimed as she stretched her arms. The others eagerly nodded their head in agreement.
"Good idea!" Momo added.
"Let's go, Tzuyu." Mina held Tzuyu's hand, then she got up from her seat urging the younger to follow, without even saying goodbye to the others.
Chaeyoung, Dahyun, Sana and Momo also made their way out after saying their goodbyes to their sunbaes.
"What the heck was that all about, you two?" Jihyo scolded, as she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at her two friends.
"We were just asking." Jeongyeon muttered.
"Tss that's not asking. You were attacking the poor girl," Jihyo irritably said. "Aish! We were supposed to fix our broken connection with Mina, not make it worse!"
"Sorry..." Nayeon mumbled. "I don't know what had gotten into me."
"Just tell her the goddamn truth already, Nayeon!" Jeongyeon whisper yelled.
"No. No need..."
"What are you saying?"
"What for? Even if I tell her the real reason why I broke up with her, it won't change a thing. It won't erase the pain that I've caused her." Nayeon said, her eyes were starting to get watery.
Jeongyeon shook her head in protest, "But you still love her and if she finds out the truth, she might –"
"She likes her... I felt it."
Jihyo and Jeongyeon both placed a comforting hand over Nayeon's.
"The least I can do is support her and let her be happy..."
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"Bye Chaeng."
"Bye Chaeyoungie! See you tomorrow."
"Bye! Take care of my Chewy, Mina unnie." Chaeyoung said, and waved before getting in the car.
MiTzu started walking their way back to Tzuyu's dorm. They walked in silence until they reached the dorm's parking area where Mina's car was at.
"You've been awfully quiet." Tzuyu said.
"I'm really sorry about what happened earlier." Mina said, sadness mixed with guilt evident on her tone and facial expression. She was looking down at the pavement.
"Mina, I told you it's okay." Tzuyu held onto Mina's wrists and rubbed them soothingly using her thumbs.
"No it's not okay. We shouldn't have joined them. I should have known better." Mina shook her head.
"But they are your friends too and you can't just avoid them..." Tzuyu paused as she swallowed a lump forming on her throat, "...you can't avoid her all the time."
Mina finally looked up and met Tzuyu's gentle gaze.
"You told me the reason why you asked me to pretend as your girlfriend was to keep people away, right? But now I realize that you're not really trying to keep them away, instead you're trying to keep 'someone' away. And that someone is Nayeon-ssi." Tzuyu said, while still giving soothing rubs on Mina's wrists.
Mina sighed, "I'm so pathetic, right?"
"No, you're not. We all have our reasons why we do things."
"Tzuyu..."
"You don't have to tell me about it. Just know that if ever you need someone to talk to, I'm here." Tzuyu softly said with a wide smile. "I mean aside from being your fake girlfriend, I am also your friend, right?"
Mina couldn't help but smile at that, a real happy smile.
"You finally smiled. I kinda missed it." Tzuyu teased.
"Oh wow, you learn fast." Mina chuckled.
"Of course. I learn from the best after all. Sensei."
Both of them burst out laughing, temporarily forgetting about all the bad stuff that happened. Mina pulled her hands back a little from Tzuyu's grasp so that she would be holding her palms instead.
"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Take care, Mina."
"I will."