chaeyoung's relationship with dahyun was rapidly going downhill. they were constantly on edge with each other, and every conversation seemed to lead to a fight. the hangout with everyone at tzuyu's pool certainly did not serve them well.
"don't you think they're getting along a little too much?" dahyun asked tzuyu, watching the chaeyoung and mina mess around in the pool.
tzuyu stared at them and furrowed her eyebrows. "it's kind of hard to say. they were always clinging to each other in high school. they were just friends back then, if that's what you're worried about.
"i mean, i guess," dahyun mumbled, shrugging her shoulders. "are you sure they were just friends back then? i always thought they liked each other."
tzuyu had trouble making eye with dahyun. "it's probably fizzled out by now."
"doubt it," dahyun scoffed. "i just—i don't like them being together. chaeyoung and i are already barely together right now anyways."
"what do you mean?" tzuyu asked, turning to look at dahyun.
"i don't think chaeyoung is really happy with our relationship. i try my best with her, but it always seems like it's one-sided. it wasn't as bad when it was just chaeyoung and i, but it got worse when mina came along," dahyun explained.
tzuyu frowned. "you two must do a good job at hiding it. when i see you guys, you're always laughing and smiling."
"that's exactly what i'm saying. we just make each other laugh like friends and hold hands sometimes. we're barely girlfriends."
dahyun and tzuyu sighed simultaneously. they watched as chaeyoung splashed mina with water. chaeyoung laughed manically while mina pouted and wiped fake tears away. chaeyoung just kept laughing when mina playfully pushed her. mina smiled as she got her revenge by kicking water into chaeyoung's face.
chaeyoung gasped while wiping her face with her hands. "how dare you! you're really going to get it now!" chaeyoung exclaimed.
dahyun and tzuyu continued to watch as chaeyoung and mina battled each other. dahyun stopped to distract herself with her phone. tzuyu kept watching, analyzing chaeyoung and mina. she could understand why dahyun was insecure about their relationship. tzuyu saw how chaeyoung looked at mina in way she never did with dahyun.
tzuyu looked over at dahyun. "just talk to chaeyoung about it when everyone is winding down."
dahyun merely shrugged in response. if they talked here, it would help prevent them from yelling at each other. dahyun doubted they would, but she knew their relationship was already rocky. it never hurt to play it safe.
the sun eventually set, making the cool pool into an ice bath. the girls got out of the pool, scrambling for towels. dahyun stared at chaeyoung from across the pool. mina laughed at a stupid inside joke made by chaeyoung as they walked towards tzuyu's towels.
"there's only one towel left," chaeyoung pointed out before grabbing the last towel.
"oh," mina replied disappointedly.
"dude, don't look so down. we can just share," chaeyoung said as she wrapped the towel around themselves.
mina smiled with a faint blush on her face. "thanks."
chaeyoung and mina smiled at each other for a moment before sana ruined their moment. "AW! IT'S A TWO PERSON BURRITO!" sana yelled from the across the pool.
sana ran over to them while giggling, taking her phone out to snap pictures. dahyun watched jealously from afar. tzuyu patted her back and nodded at her. dahyun knew what she was trying to say. she knew she had to talk to chaeyoung some time tonight. it really was now or never. if dahyun didn't tell to her tonight, she would probably just ignore it and continue to struggle with her relationship.
dahyun walked towards chaeyoung. "can we talk?"
chaeyoung nodded. "yeah, sure."
dahyun took chaeyoung's hand and led her into tzuyu's house, leaving mina alone. chaeyoung and dahyun walked to the kitchen in silence. dahyun took a seat at a barstool while chaeyoung roamed the kitchen. dahyun rested her head on one of her hands while she watched chaeyoung fill two cups with lemonade.
chaeyoung stood on the other side of the counter and pushed one of the cups towards dahyun before speaking. "so, what did you want to talk about?"
"maybe i'm just being stupid, but i'm still not a fan of the chaeyoung and mina duo you have," dahyun replied.
"dahyun, you really don't need to worry about that," chaeyoung said as she put a hand over dahyun's. "mina is straight. you can ask anyone. there's nothing going on between us."
dahyun sighed. "it really doesn't seem like that."
"i'm serious, dahyun. we just seem weird because we haven't seen each other in a long time."
"chaeyoung, i just-" dahyun sighed and dragged a hand down her face. "-i'm not confident with our relationship. i'm not saying you would cheat or anything, but we don't exactly have a strong relationship."
chaeyoung furrowed her eyebrows. "what do you mean? we're fine."
"yeah, we're fine. we're not great. we're not fantastic. we're just fine."
"dahyun, just say it. whatever you want to say, just say it," chaeyoung said, getting slighty mad.
dahyun threw her hands up in the air. "i don't know what you what me to say! what? you want me to say that i'm perfectly okay with you hanging out with your old crush? you want me to say that i'm just ecstatic that you refuse to realise my situation right now?"
"sure, i had a crush on mina, but that was in high school! it's different now. i'm different now. we've all grown since then," chaeyoung sighed. "it was unrequited anyway! i don't know why you can't understand that mina is straight and wouldn't ever like me like that!"
"we could be wrong about her. she could be wrong about herself! you thought you were straight too!" dahyun said, pointing at chaeyoung.
"and so did you!" chaeyoung exclaimed before sighing. "mina is just a friend, and we will only ever be friends! mina is the most put together person i know. she would know by now if she was straight or not!"
dahyun stared at chaeyoung before responding. "sure, whatever," dahyun scoffed, rolling her eyes.
chaeyoung watched dahyun get out of her seat and walk out of the room. once she was out of sight, dahyun quickly wiped away tears, so she wouldn't raise any suspicions in the friend group. she put on a bright smile before she walked out to the pool. chaeyoung stayed in the kitchen, gripping the counter tightly. she let her own tears flow freely as she glared at nothing. chaeyoung didn't mean for their talk to end up this way, but things don't always go according to plan.
a/n:
sorry for the lack of updates! i had a small slump for a couple days, but i'm fine now. this chapter is currently unedited because i just wanted to be able to get this out for my birthday. 1k views was a great present!
thanks for reading!