Chapter 9
Chaeyoung slumped down on her couch, watching some insane talk show. There was never much to do at noon on a Friday. Yuri had given her a day off; at first it seemed like a blessing, but now that Chaeyoung was close to dying of boredom, it was obviously more like a curse.
If she had her motorcycle, she'd be cruising around Tokyo right now, but nooooo, the stupid battery had to be replaced. Cruising around in Jihyo's old car just wasn't the same.
Chaeyoung's cell chose that moment to ring. Chaeyoung happily accepted the call at seeing it was Mina . "Shouldn't you be in class right now?"
"Being the Student Council President has its privileges. What is Chaeyoung doing right now?"
"Nothing much, why?"
"How does Chaeyoung feel like taking a little excursion?"
Chaeyoung grinned. Mina always had roundabout ways of asking to hang out. "What do you have in mind?"
"Mira's car broke down on the highway. Can you pick her up?"
Chaeyoung suddenly jerked up, bumping her knee against the coffee table. "Fuck!"
"Is that a yes?"
"Absolutely not, Mina!"
"I know you don't like her—"
"Try undisputed loathing—"
"—but since I'm in school right now, you're the only one who can pick her up."
"Why don't you call Mr. I'm-Better-Than-Everyone-Else Kizan? I'm sure having a fiancé comes with some perks. Hell, even if it doesn't, she can call a freaking taxi!"
"Ayato's in a business meeting, my parents are out of town again, and Mira has an irrational fear that she'll get kidnapped by the taxi driver."
"You're right, that is an irrational fear. Who would want to kidnap her?"
"Chaeyoung, do it for me? She won't stop calling me; I nearly had my phone confiscated!"
Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. "So I'm the one getting thrown under the bus?"
"Better you than me?"
"Fantastic." Chaeyoung sighed in frustration. "Alright, where is she?"
She internally cursed her inability to say no to Mina. Suckered again.
_____
Chaeyoung came to a stop in front of an angry dark blonde screaming at a flustered man looking underneath the hood of an expensive-looking car. She sighed and got out of Jihyo's junk car.
Mira's back was turned to her as she yelled at her poor driver. "Do you realize how late you've made me, you imbecile? Give me one reason I shouldn't fire you right now—"
"How about 'it's not his fault?'" Chaeyoung interrupted dryly. Mira's whirled around, her angry expression quickly morphing into a more pleasant one at seeing Chaeyoung.
"Well, if it isn't my baby sister's girl." Mira licked her lips in a decidedly predatory way. "You have no idea how glad I am that you came."
"And you have no idea how much I'm not," Chaeyoung grumbled under her breath. Leave it to Mira to single-handedly cause a traffic jam by breaking down in the middle of a highway, though the woman seemed unperturbed by the belligerent honking behind her.
"What was that?"
"Just talking to myself," Chaeyoung waved her off. She coughed at the amount of smoke that billowed out. "That looks pretty bad." The elderly driver shrugged helplessly.
"You know, I really appreciate this." Mira said.
"Hmm." Chaeyoung settled for a grunt—no telling what scathing remark would blurt out if she opened her mouth.
Mira yawned. "So, are you going to fix it?"
Chaeyoung fixed her with an incredulous stare. "Do I look like a mechanic to you?"
"No, but you look like you have talented hands."
Chaeyoung ignored Mira's flirtatious remark. "Sir, did you call a tow truck?" she asked the driver.
The white-haired man nodded. "Please, call me Yoshi. They said it would take anywhere from one hour to three hours to get to us—"
"—and I have a meeting with the board in half an hour." Mira's interrupted.
"I suppose you want a ride?" Chaeyoung asked reluctantly.
"Always." Mira winked.
Chaeyoung and Mira's driver exchanged glances and rolled their eyes. Chaeyoung slid into her car. "Hurry up, then. I don't have all day."
Mira turned and hissed to her driver, "Stay with the car, Yoshi, and I may consider keeping your services."
The driver rolled his eyes heavenward. Why was he always saddled with the spoiled sister?
Chaeyoung glanced over as Mira got in the passenger seat and looked around the car with barely concealed distaste. "Where's Yoshi?"
"He volunteered to wait for the tow truck. Nice car."
"It's my friend's, and it works, which is more than I can say for yours."
"Ooh, kitty's got claws. Nice to know you're more than just a pretty face."
"So Mina tells me." Chaeyoung smirked when Mira scowled at the mention of her sister.
Chaeyoung studied her high-school tormenter through the corner of her eyes. She had to admit, it was understandable why people found Mira so fascinating. Her beauty, wit, and arrogance were captivating to those who didn't experience her cruelty firsthand. Her flirtatious manner, disconcertingly similar to Mira's , drew men and women to her like bees to a flower. Hell, the one advantage that Mira had over Mina was age—5 years older meant she exuded a greater aura of confidence and maturity than her younger sister. Still, Mira was that same bully she was as a teenager—the treatment of her driver proved it.
If Chaeyoung knew Mira as well as she (unfortunately) did, Mira would turn up the charm near anyone she found attractive, and Chaeyoung wasn't blind—she knew Mira found her attractive. The plan was to be as rude and short as possible with Mira …maybe her complete lack of manners would discourage the other woman!
"Mina said you were quiet, but I didn't think you were mute," Mira commented.
"Does it bother you?" Because if it did, Chaeyoung would happily stay silent for the entire ride.
"Not at all. I like the strong and silent type."
Fuck. Shit. Balls. The one time Chaeyoung wanted to discourage a pretty girl from hitting on her, it was failing miserably.
"Aww, I didn't mean to get you flustered—even if it is cute."
"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not even remotely flustered." Chaeyoung shot back scathingly.
"Ohhh, so defensive! Relax, it was a joke." Mira winked.
Chaeyoung's jaw tightened. "I'm not sure if Pretty-Boy Kizan would laugh at your jokes."
Mira made a sound of amusement. "And what has my fiancé done to earn such dislike?"
"I didn't say anything."
"It's quite all right—ayato doesn't seem to hold much affection for you, either."
"I don't really care."
"My, my. Are you always this rude?"
"Depends, are you always this nosy?"
Mira rested her head on her fist and looked at Chaeyoung in amusement. "I heard temperamental women make the best lovers."
Chaeyoung nearly crashed into a car. She swerved around just in time and scowled at Mira , who threw her head back and laughed merrily. "Aha, so easy to tease."
"Jesus Christ, can you tone it down? I'm not sure if Mina would appreciate this; I know I don't."
Mira lazily waved a hand. "No need to get so snippy. If you're satisfied with my baby sister, who am I to argue?"
Chaeyoung ignored her. She only had to tolerate a few more minutes of Mira before they arrived at their destination, and she was determined to spend it in complete silence on her part.
"Chaeyoung" Mira sounded out. "That's a nice name. We're the same age, aren't we?"
"Hm."
"I always knew my baby sister was attractive to others—she is a Myōi, after all—but I've always seen her as a baby. How strange that she managed to snag someone my age…it makes me wonder what I can do."
"Why don't you try it out and let me know? Wait, scratch that—I'm not very interested." The car came to a smooth stop in front of Mira's building.
Mira's amusement was still there, but now it was tinged with irritation. "If I'm not mistaken, Mina's probably told you horror stories about her superficial, hedonistic older sister."
Chaeyoung raised an eyebrow. "You're referring to yourself, right?"
"Guilty as charged. But Mina enjoys her fair share of parties, too…actually, she might even be worse than I am—the whole teenage rebellion thing, you know." Mira winked. "She's just a kid; any relationship that lasts longer than a month is practically a lifelong commitment. Her attention will move on to someone else pretty soon. You need someone who's proved to be capable of commitment…" Mira made a show of inspecting the diamond ring on her left hand.
"She's a lot more mature than you give her credit for; I respect her decisions. Shouldn't you be leaving?" Chaeyoung impatiently gestured to the door.
Mira opened the door. "Thanks for the ride, babe—I'll see you soon." She blew a kiss at a fuming Chaeyoung and shut the door before sauntering off.
Chaeyoung wasted no time in driving away. Never, everwould she do that ever again—not for a million dollars, not even if Mina offered up her first-born child—actually, she could give the last one some thought.
Chaeyoung twisted the bottle of beer in her hands before giving the person next to her a heartbroken look. "I need her, but she doesn't need me! She only wants me for my looks!"
Nakahara Sunako, a solemn, almost robotic acquaintance of Sana , gave the extremely inebriated Chaeyoung an exasperated look before looking around. Seriously, this Blonde weepy girl—whom she had never met before—had come out of nowhere to cling onto Sunako. Wasn't this girl Sana's best friend or something? Where was that damn Snake?
Meanwhile, from across the room, Sana and Jihyo observed Chaeyoung gesture dramatically at an annoyed Sunako before dissolving into tears.
"This is all your fault." Jihyo scowled.
Sana nodded. "Yeah. Jeez, Sunako doesn't look too happy, does she? I thought the alcohol would at least loosen her up enough to appreciate having a hot girl hang all over her."
"I'm not talking about Sunako! That 'hot girl' is Chaeyoung! Fix it!"
"I know, I know. Call her?"
"Call her."
"Okay." Sana took out her phone and dialed a number. Jihyo leaned in to hear the conversation, but the thumping music made it impossible.
Sana ended the call. "She'll be here in five minutes."
True to word, both redhead heard frantic pounding on Sana door in five minutes. Sana opened the door to let in an out-of-breath Mina .
Mina glanced around in a panic. "Chaeyoung's dying and you're throwing a party?"
"What? Chaeyoung's not dying." Jihyo blinked and glared at Sana . "What did you tell her?"
Sana shrugged and sipped her beer. "I may or may not have said that Chaeyoung was bitten by a black mamba." She caught Jihyo incredulous look. "What? I saw Kill Bill last night—that shit went down in Japan, you know."
"Why the hell would you ever say that?" Jihyo demanded while Mina glared at Sana .
Sana gestured at Mina ."It got her to come ASAP, didn't it? Also, the Heineken may or may not be getting to my head."
Mina took a moment to catch her breath before hauling back and socking Sana in the arm.
"Owwww."
"You scared me! You're lucky I didn't hit a nerve," Mina hissed.
"No, I'm pretty sure that got on my nerves," Sana sniped back.
"If Chaeyoung's not dying, why did you call me?"
Jihyo glared at Sana . "It's this one's fault, so I'll let her explain."
"So being the awesome person I am, I decided to throw a party tonight—you haven't partied until you experience a Minatozaki party—and for some unfathomable reason, Chaeyoung wanted to fly solo, which is why she didn't call you—"
"Okay, I'll explain," Jihyo interrupted. "See, Chaeyoung was going to invite you here tonight, but this moron here—" she pointed at a sheepish Sana "—wouldn't stop teasing her about how needy she was being. So chaeyoung got pissed off and decided not to invite you to prove to us that she wasn't needy, even though I thought it was incredibly sweet that she wanted you here, and now she's in danger of alcohol poisoning."
"Not to mention she's bringing down the entire party with her weepy hysterics," Sana grumbled.
Mina glared at Sana . Sana held her hands up in supplication. "Hey, I didn't plant the seed; Chaeyoung was obviously already self-conscious about being too needy or some shit like that. My joke just made her snap."
Mina groaned. "I asked Chaeyoung to pick up Mira today. I bet my sister only made whatever insecurities she may have had worse."
"Well, there you go! Not my fault, see?" Sana said to Jihyo.
"Right, well, since Chaeyoung apparently decided to replace you with alcohol, she's been acting…not like her usual self." Jihyo jerked her thumb at Chaeyoung, who by this time was drunkenly examining an extremely-uncomfortable Sunako's hand in awe.
Sana watched Mina narrow her eyes and stalk over to the two like a cat—like a jungle cat. Yeah, like a motherfuckin' jaguar. Sana shook her head and set down her beer. Time to switch to water, it seemed.
Chaeyoung was enthusiastically prodding at Sunako's palm, oblivious to the stoic girl's discomfort. "This is the metacarpus. It has 5 metacarpal bones—yours are very nice, by the way—"
Mina, now towering over a seated Chaeyoung, cleared her throat. Chaeyoung's head jerked up and she gasped at seeing Mina . She flung Sunako's hand down like it burned her. "Mina, it didn't mean anything, I swear! Please don't leave me!"
Sunako rolled her eyes and wriggled out of Chaeyoung's hold. "Thanks," she muttered to Mina before making a swift exit.
Mina bit back her smile. "So this is what Chaeyoung does when I'm not around? Play doctor with other girls?"
"I'll never hold another girl's hand again!" Chaeyoung declared.
Mina couldn't hold back her laugh any longer and sat on Chaeyoung's lap, threading her fingers through blonde hair. "Oh, Chaeyoung is adorable when drunk." She grasped Chaeyoung's wrists to stop her roaming hands and quirked an eyebrow. "Pretty hands-on, too."
Chaeyoung untangled her hand from Mina's and reached for her drink. "Would you still love me if I were ugly?"
Mina tugged the bottle out of Chaeyoung's grasp and kissed away her pout. "I think you've had enough to drink, Chaeyoung."
"Define enough!"
"'Enough' as in Chaeyoung is a lush and should really stop drinking."
Chaeyoung tried to frown and ended up cross-eyed. "Not my fault I have low alcohol tolerance. Blame my mother for that."
"You can bring it up with her yourself tomorrow."
"What?"
Mina groaned. "Chaeyoung forgot about our lunch date with her mother tomorrow, didn't she?"
"Would you still love me if I were ugly and senile?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Mira said you like to move on to fresh meat every few weeks or so. I'm not fresh anymore!"
Mina's narrowed her eyes. Mira had always interfered in her relationships, and Mina had never really minded before. Now, though, it pissed her off that Mira was interfering in her relationship with Chaeyoung.
Mina didn't know what love felt like, but when she was with Chaeyoung, it felt like falling off a cliff—exhilarating and fucking terrifying at the same time. Mina decided to forget thinking and just say the first words that she thought of. From the heartbroken look on Drunk Chaeyoung's face, she was taking too long to respond. Besides, it wasn't like Chaeyoung was going to remember what she said in the morning, right?
Mina leaned down and murmured in Chaeyoung's ear, "Yes, I'd still love you—even if you are drunk out of your mind."
Chaeyoung looked at her with remarkably lucid eyes. "Good."
"What are you guys talking about?" Sana plopped down next to Chaeyoung,effectively ruining the moment. Jihyo,slid in next to her, ruining any attempt to salvage it.
"Mina said she likes me for my mind." Drunk Chaeyoung was back with a vengeance.
Sana squinted at her. "Well, that mind is going to have a brutal hangover tomorrow."
"Chaeyoung can't handle her alcohol very well," Jihyo unnecessarily explained to Mina . "Maybe I should take her home."
"What are you talking about? I am home," Chaeyoung protested.
"This isn't your crappy apartment, it's my crappy apartment," Sana stressed.
Chaeyoung frowned. "Home is where the heart is, and my heart is where Mina is. Duh, Sana."
Sana choked on her beer while Jihyo cooed, "Adorable!" Mina smiled adoringly at her oblivious girlfriend.
"Fucking sappy. When the fuck did you turn into a walking Hallmark card, Chaeng?" Sana laughed.
"Probably after that fifth shot of vodka, Sanake," Chaeyoung supplied helpfully.
Jihyo leaned in towards Mina . "You know they're totally wasted when they break out the nicknames." She tapped Chaeyoung's shoulder. "Time to go before your liver decides to give out."
Chaeyoung tried to stand and ended up falling sideways before Mina steadied her.
"I think Chaeyoung had a little too much fun tonight. I'll help you get her home," Mina told Jihyo.
Jihyo flung Chaeyoung's other arm around her neck. "See you tomorrow, Sana "
Sana cackled at the dumbfounded look on Chaeyoung's face when Jihyo dragged her towards the door. "She's going to feel like shit in the morning."
____
"One, two, three!" Jihyo unceremoniously threw Chaeyoung onto her bed. Mina chuckled when Chaeyoung attempted to sit up and failed.
Jihyo placed a bottle of ibuprofen and a glass of water by Chaeyoung's bedside. "You'll need this tomorrow."
Chaeyoung rolled onto her back. "Look, Jihyo,it's Mina ! She's in my room!"
Jihyo rolled her eyes in exasperation. "And now she's leaving. Say goodnight, Chaeyoung"
"Goodnight, Chaeyoung." Chaeyoung obediently parroted.
Jihyo's cell phone rang. The redhead impatiently took it out of her pocket. "Hello?...What do you want, Sana ?...Why are the cops there?...You did what! How did you even get a refrigerator onto the roof?—"
"Sounds like an interesting conversation, doesn't it?" Mina whispered to Chaeyoung.
Chaeyoung frowned. "Jihyo's phone is talking to her."
Jihyo snapped her phone shut and turned apologetic eyes toward Mina . "I'm really sorry to have to ask you this, but do you think you can stay with Chaeyoung tonight? Sana needs someone sober to deal with the cops at her place, and Chaeyoung does weird shit when she's drunk and alone. Last time, she ended up at the airport about to board a plane to Seoul before I caught up to her."
"No problem, Jihyo," Mina assured. "I think an intoxicated Chaeyoung is the lesser of two evils."
"Thanks! I'll probably end up staying at Sana's , so feel free to take my bed." Jihyo rushed out of the apartment.
Mina placed a kiss on Chaeyoung's forehead. "Sweet dreams." She turned to leave the room, yelping when a pair of surprisingly strong arms wrapped around her middle and tugged her into bed.
Chaeyoung turned on her stomach to gaze solemnly at Mina . "Stay with me. My bed is so much better than Jihyo's."
Mina chuckled and ran a hand through luscious blonde hair. "And why is that?"
"Because I'm here." Chaeyoung gave her a look that screamed out obviously.
"You're drunk."
"I am. But you're soft and you smell good—"
Mina peered over to see why Chaeyoung had stopped talking so abruptly, only to have her heart melt at seeing Chaeyoung asleep. It was true, you did look younger in your sleep.
"Goodnight, Chaeyoung."
Chaeyoung unconsciously responded by pulling Mina closer. Mina smirked. First sleepover for the win.
_____
An annoyed Jihyo pounded on sana's door. There were no cops! She could still hear the party raging on inside!
Sana opened the door and looked mischievously at her friend. "Keep it down, the neighbors are sleeping."
Jihyo shouldered her way into the apartment and scowled. "The hell, Sana ? I had to leave Mina to watch over Chaeyoung because you said you needed help with the cops!"
"Nah. I mean, my neighbors did call the cops, but my cousin Jin is on the police force, and my apartment just so happens to be in the district that he patrols." Sana cackled. "My neighbors despise me."
"Why'd you call me?"
"My good friend Jack Daniels here gave me an inspirational idea." Sana tapped her head. "See, if we let Mina sleep over with Chaeyoung, that just begs for some bonding time. Then Chaeyoung realizes that she's a miserable sack of crap without Mina and presto! They live happily ever after."
"You're full of shit."
"Thank you."
"I offered Mina my bed."
"Chaeyoung's like a fucking octopus when she sleeps—she clings onto everything and everyone, remember?"
Jihyo shook her head. "I can't deal with this. I'm crashing at your place tonight."
"Sure thing. Breakfast will be served on the roof, by the way; I wasn't kidding about the refrigerator."