Operation: Win Nayeon's Heart - Day 2 of 7

Jeongyeon woke up early yet again to prepare for her supposed date with Nayeon. She practically jumped out of her bed and raced towards the bathroom, surpassing a groggy Seoyeon who was making her way there as well. She reached the bathroom first and slammed it in front of her unnie's face.

"Ya, Yoo Kyungwan!" Seoyeon shrieked, banging the door. Her unnies only call her by her birth name when they are really annoyed and want to get back at her by calling her that former boyish name of hers. "I was here first!"

"Not my fault you're a slowpoke, unnie," Jeongyeon said through the door.

"My bladder is going to burst any minute, you brat! Open the door!"

"Use appa and eomma's bathroom then!"

"I am so going to get back at you, mark my words. You're lucky I'm still too groggy to beat your ass," Seoyeon groaned loudly, hitting the door one last time. She turned rushed down the hallway, passing by- and ignoring- her eomma and unnie giggling at their dongsaengs' banter.

"What did Nayeon say to convince you to let Jeong out?" Seungyeon asked her mother as she was chopping some onions.

"Aish, what do you take me for, huh? I wasn't going to keep Jeongyeon here for long anyway. I don't like the thought of her staying inside the house for an entire week, even with Nayeon to keep her company. That girl reassured me they won't be doing anything too strenuous but I trust her enough that I didn't need her to persuade me to let her go because I was already planning to agree in the first place."

"Playing matchmaker, eomma?"

"God knows those kids are too stubborn for their own good. A little push won't hurt them."

...

It was a bright, sunny day and Jeongyeon was grateful for the trees surrounding her to protect her from the sun's glare. Normally, she'd be basking in the heat given that Korea was usually cold but the weather was quite hot today, she had to stay in a place where she could hide from the sun. She hadn't applied any sun cream and given her pale skin, she was prone to sunburns. Her thoughts on weather wasn't exactly the issue at hand, though.

She pulls her mask up the bridge of her nose nervously, the man in front of her squinting his eyes as if trying to recognize her. She and Nayeon were in the park right now with Nanan, Bomb, Tan, and Kookeu on leashes so they won't wander off. Nayeon went off to buy food for them from a convenience store nearby and Jeongyeon was left on a bench with their pets playing on the grass beside her. A young man stood a few meters from her, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was staring at her.

Though she wore a black cap with her hair in a bun, glasses, and a face mask to hide her face, she was worried he might recognize her. Not to mention the whole of South Korea know she was injured and she was probably the only idol who had a neck brace on so she would definitely attract attention should she be recognized. If he does manage to figure out who she is, she could only pray he doesn't call her out or shower her with incessant reverence like some fans ought to do. There were quite a lot of people around and she didn't want to think what would happen should people find out an idol was out and about, especially without security.

She hadn't expected this many people around the park on this Tuesday morning. Her parents and unnies were long gone by the time Nayeon had arrived that morning. A smile slowly crept on her face as she remembered how Nayeon looked cute in her outfit for the day: a lavender pink, short sleeve ruffled pointelle knit cardigan paired with baggy jeans, white sneakers, and black bucket hat. She also had glasses perched on her nose and she didn't bother with make-up since she was going to be wearing a face mask for majority of the day. On her right shoulder was the strap of her small, white purse. Jeongyeon swore even if she only wears a blanket she'd still look good.

Her face blushed deep red as the meaning of her words had just registered to her. She shook her head to clear her mind of the dirty thoughts that came unsolicited. To distract herself, she turned to Bomb who was licking at his paw beside her. He was content to sit beside her while the dogs played with each other in the grass. Jeongyeon brought a hand up to scratch at his neck. He instantly stopped cleaning himself and leaned into her hand to feel it more.

Through the corner of her eye, she saw the man finally look away and continued reading something on his phone. She breathed a small sigh of relief and continued to wait patiently for Nayeon to come back with their food. Her stomach grumbled a little even though she just had breakfast not too long ago. She couldn't wait for Nayeon to arrive with snacks. Speaking of Nayeon...

"Jagiya!" a certain annoying, bunny-toothed idol came skipping towards her, clutching a paper bag to her side. The term of endearment was exclaimed loud enough to call the attention of the staring man again as well as other civilians strolling about.

Jeongyeon was grateful for the cover on her face as she could definitely feel her cheeks begin to warm up. "Unnie!" she hissed, pulling at Nayeon's free arm to situate the bunny beside her on the bench. "Keep it down! You might be wearing a disguise but the whole nation can recognize your voice."

Behind her silver-rimmed spectacles, Nayeon rolled her eyes. "Relax, grumpy. They won't bother us." She began to bring out the snacks and drinks and set it between them.

"And I'm willing to bet Dispatch and other news sites will publish articles and pictures about us eating out in the park just because you lured them here with your big mouth."

"Shut up, they'll find out anyway since we have to take off our masks when we eat. Now are you going to keep nagging me or are you going to eat?" Nayeon said, her face showing indifference and a little irritation.

"Ne, arasseo. Calm down, halmeoni," Jeongyeon said, opening up a pack of blueberry-flavored yogurt. Nayeon knew she wasn't allowed to eat anything other than soft, wet food while she is recovering from her surgery. She technically wasn't allowed meat yesterday but she begged her parents to cook some for her and they agreed though she had to eat them in bite-sized portions. She had to resort to a lot of aegyo to convince them too and was grateful her father never learned to resist her whenever she voluntarily does aegyo- which is a rare occurrence.

"You're lucky you're injured or I would slap you to death," Nayeon grumbled, pulling down her mask to take a bite out of her cookie.

Jeongyeon took a sip out of the Caffe Americano Nayeon bought for her and rummaged the bag for their pets' treats. She opened a pack and offered a bone shaped bit to a curious Bomb beside her. The cat accepted it without hesitation, purring heavily. The dogs might have smelled the treats and soon, Jeongyeon found herself surrounded by their pets, eagerly awaiting at her feet.

Nayeon giggled at how they were staring at the pack of treats she was holding. She watched as Jeongyeon gave each one a treat after doing tricks first, especially Tan who was still learning. Picking up Jeongyeon's yogurt, she offered a spoonful to the younger girl who was busy feeding their pets. Jeongyeon raised a brow at the action.

"You feed them and I feed you," Nayeon said nonchalantly, answering her silent query. "Now take it, my arm is starting to hurt."

Snickering, Jeongyeon munched on the yogurt from Nayeon's outstretched hand, feeling giddy at the thought of being fed by Nayeon again. "Where are we going to eat lunch?" she asked.

"There's a new restaurant nearby and I wanted to check out. I was thinking about meeting up with our members for lunch but they all declined. Jihyo has a date with Daniel, Dahyun is out with her family, and Chaeyoung is moping in her room without Mina around."

Jeongyeon snorted in amusement. "Aish, that kid. Wait 'til Mina hears what she's been doing." Though she felt sympathetic at her dongsaeng's plight, she was relieved none of them agreed to come. Jihyo and Chaeyoung knew she needed to be alone with Nayeon for this week and it was a blessing in disguise that Dahyun already had plans for the day.

Nayeon rolled her eyes, nibbling on a her cookie. "I bet Mina is feeling the same- if not worse- with how she snapped at Momo two days ago. Who do you think would have a tantrum first?"

"Mina, for sure. We both know she's probably the most mature and disciplined out of all of us but she has her moments, too. And it's not only that she has a soft spot for the baby cub... Chaeyoung is her weakness."

Nayeon nodded in agreement, chuckling a bit. "That's true. Chaeyoung would whine and all but to throw a tantrum? She's too proud for that. She's spent all these years trying to convince us she's not a baby anymore, she's not going to cave in just because she has to spend an entire week without Mina. She'll get over it." She held out another chip for Jeongyeon and the latter took it without question.

This was what she liked about Nayeon. Almost ten years of friendship and they never run out of things to talk about, even if they were only teasing and annoying each other most of the time. There was never a time wherein Jeongyeon felt awkward with Nayeon's presence. She didn't want to change that dynamic of theirs but she knew she wouldn't be content without knowing if they have a chance at being more than best friends. Their friendship wasn't something she was willing to risk but she also wanted to be more than that with Nayeon.

Jeongyeon felt something poke her cheek. She turned to see Nayeon looking worriedly at her with her finger on her cheek. "You alright? You were lost for a minute there."

Jeongyeon smiled to reassure her. "Nothing, I was just thinking about something."

"Any chance you're willing to share? Who knows, I might be able to help."

The latter was about to refuse but she was struck with an idea. Deciding to find out Nayeon's opinion on her dilemma, she asked, "Unnie... was there ever a time when you had a crush on a close friend?"

Nayeon seemed taken aback at the sudden question. Nevertheless, she nodded but with a little hesitation. "Yes, it was when we were still trainees."

Now Jeongyeon was the one surprised at the revelation. For some reason, she expected Nayeon to say no. She'd forgotten about what she wanted to ask Nayeon and found herself wondering which friend the former was talking about. Instead, she exclaimed, "Wait, what?! How come you never told me that? Is it someone I know?"

All the names of the possible men Nayeon could like entered her mind. She remembered one time on television the older mentioned she liked buff guys and her thoughts immediately went to the guys Nayeon might find attractive. God forbid she still likes Jimin or the bastard was going to get another visit from her.

Blushing a little, Nayeon stuttered out, "Y-Yes, you know who it is b-but I'm not telling you! You'll just tease me."

"D-Do you still like him until now?"

Nayeon's face turned redder. "I-It's not a guy," she murmured in a small voice, enough to be heard by Jeongyeon.

Now Jeongyeon's mouth hung open. "Wait... don't tell me..." she trailed off here, gasping loudly. "Is it someone from Sixteen?!"

Now the list of potential crushes went down to fifteen... or fourteen if she herself didn't count. It couldn't be Mina or Chaeyoung since they were involved, nor Jihyo and Momo who have boyfriends. That leaves Sana, Dahyun, Tzuyu, and- hopefully- her, including the trainees from Sixteen so eleven girls as potentials. Excluding her and their members altogether, that just leaves seven girls Nayeon could choose from. (Though it seemed like a joke at the time, it seems Nayeon does like younger guys... or girls.) Even then, she wasn't sure of who was Nayeon's type or who would be able to catch her attention. Who could it be?

At her lack of response, Nayeon couldn't meet her eyes anymore and looked away, feeling embarrassed. Shocked at the unexpected turn of events, Jeongyeon did as well. Her head was spinning from overthinking again and there was an all too familiar feeling of her stomach sinking in disappointment but this was the worst one she'd experienced yet. "D-Do you... whoever it is... do you still like her?" She doesn't know what came over her to keep asking. Why are you such a masochist, Yoo Jeongyeon, she thought to herself in exasperation.

Nayeon sighed, smiling a little. "I do, but... I don't think she likes me back." And just when she thought Nayeon couldn't surprise her anymore.

A big part of her was delighted Nayeon wasn't currently in a relationship but she was also feeling quite miffed that someone had the audacity to not feel the same for her unnie. Who in their right mind would reject Im Nayeon?! "That's a load of bull," Jeongyeon scoffed, resuming on her task of feeding their pets. She'd been too surprised at Nayeon's confession a few moments ago that she'd stopped feeding their pets. "Anyone who doesn't like Im Nayeon is a pabo."

Jeongyeon felt a pair of soft, warm lips land on her cheeks for a second. She froze in her seat, the treat she was holding stuck in midair. Their poor dogs were left hanging, waiting for her to give them the treat until Tan- who was getting impatient- jumped up and took it from her hand instead. She was startled out of her stupor and looked back at Nayeon, shock still evident on her face. "What was that for?"

Nayeon chuckled. "Relax, grumpy. I was only thanking you for the compliment."

Jeongyeon shook her head, feeding their pets again. "You could've just said it, you know." She wiped her grimy hands on a set of tissues beside them and proceeded to take a big sip of her coffee.

"You know that's not how I roll, babe."

The pet name had Jeongyeon's coffee going down the wrong pipe. The poor girl coughed, the coffee shooting out from her mouth and snot dripping down her nose. Luckily, their pets managed to steer clear of what would've been a downpour of coffee mixed with sputum straight towards them. It was an unpleasant sight to behold, especially since she was a female idol with an image to maintain... even though said image wasn't that clean to begin with, thanks to her constant butchering of her face, much to their fans' chagrins.

She sure hoped no one would be able to see her like that and film that moment or she'd make sure Nayeon won't live for another day, her status as the love of her life be damned. Sure, she was used to making ugly faces to make people laugh but those moments were intentional and she was usually embarrassed right after. This was downright humiliating.

(While she was hacking away at her lungs, she couldn't help but be reminded of that one time she coughed on stage and her fans compared her to that weird coughing cat from the internet. It was a stupidly accurate comparison, too.)

"Omo!" Nayeon was scrambling for a tissue to wipe at her mouth while rubbing and occasionally patting her back. "Mianhaeyo, Jeongyeon-ah," she apologized sincerely but Jeongyeon could almost feel her trying to hold back a laugh.

It took Jeongyeon a whole minute to recover. She spat out the remaining spittle drizzling out her lips on the ground and turned her head sideways to glower at Nayeon. The moment she was able to breathe normally again, she delivered an open-handed smack at Nayeon's thigh in retaliation for what happened to her that was caused by her companion. Her hand wasn't as big as Nayeon's but she can hit like a professional fighter- just ask Jimin.

The older girl's pained shriek could be heard from within a mile radius.

...

"So what were you going to ask me earlier?" Nayeon asked, fiddling with the straw of her iced tea. They are currently at the new restaurant she wanted to visit, sitting beside Jeongyeon in a small booth, a plate of spicy buffalo wings, a bowl of samgyetang with shredded chicken for Jeongyeon, and a side of fries in front of them. Nayeon ordered a glass of iced tea for her drink while Jeongyeon opted for a soda. They'd dropped their pets off at home first and gave them a generous amount of food while they ate out.

Jeongyeon was having the time of her life. She's on a date with Nayeon, inhaling two meals worth of food, and she didn't have to pay since the latter threatened to keep her locked up in her room for the remainder of the week if she ever attempted to pay for the both of them. "What do you mean?"

"When you asked me if I've ever had a crush on a close friend, I sensed that you were going to ask me something after. I guess me revealing that I did experience that caused it to slip from your mind. Do you want to talk about it?"

Here she was, trying to forget about Nayeon's stupid, ungrateful crush and the latter just had to make her remember about her. The whole way towards her house, she was still racking her brain for who would be Nayeon's potential crush out of all the girls- now women- from Sixteen. That woman threw away a blessing she probably wasn't even aware she had- a blessing Jeongyeon would do anything to have.

With that thought in mind, Jeongyeon glanced at her, afraid that she might blush if she looked her in the eyes. She hesitated to tell her for fear that if she did make a move on Nayeon later, the latter would notice since they were only just talking about crushes. Nayeon is too perceptive and has excellent memory recall, she'll surely figure out what Jeongyeon will do.

I just have to play my cards right, I guess, she sighed. Trying not to make herself too obvious, she shrugged nonchalantly and said, "It's not a big deal, anyway. I was just wondering... did you ever do something about that crush of yours?"

Nayeon narrowed her eyes at her in suspicion while biting down on a wing. "You know, I'm starting to think you have a crush. Why are you so interested in my love life?"

I knew it. She had to pause to avoid panicking even though her heart is threatening to beat out of her chest for getting caught. Thankfully, she had expected Nayeon to call her out so she had already mentally prepared what she was going to say. She's survived for so long hiding her feelings for Nayeon, she would rarely get caught off guard now. "What? Am I not allowed to be curious? It's not my fault it's the first time I heard about it. You're the one who revealed it just now and I want to know everything about that mystery woman of yours."

Apparently, her reasoning was sound because Nayeon nodded and didn't say anything else. She sat back on her seat to get more comfortable and faced Jeongyeon. "Fair point," she began solemnly. "To answer your question, yes. I did do something about it but she was either oblivious or ignorant to my feelings. I never confessed upfront though, I was too much of a coward to do it. It's both kind of disappointing and relieving in a way. I mean, I obviously liked her enough to want to ask her out but she never gave any sign that she noticed my advances or if she feels the same way so I decided to just let it go. We were- are very good friends and I don't want to lose our friendship."

The more Nayeon revealed, the more Jeongyeon became curious and furious at her supposed crush. Who in their right mind would not want to date Nayeon? What's not there to love? She's kind, fun, caring, thoughtful, understanding, laid back, humble, and honest. She's not quick to judge and she can't hurt a fly. She's there to hold your hand when times get rough, she's there to support you no matter what, she takes care of you like a good unnie should, and she can easily make everything better. What more could she want? She could almost hear Jihyo's voice in her head teasing her for thinking all that.

Frowning, she took Nayeon's hand. "Forget about her then. A lot of other people would be lucky to have you."

Nayeon squeezed her hand, giving her a small smile in reassurance. Jeongyeon hated how she was trying so hard to show a strong face to her. Out of all the people they know, she knew well enough she never has to hide from Jeongyeon. The latter could see how affected she was by her situation and wanted nothing more than to wrap her in her arms and never let her go. "I'll try. It's just... I've liked her for so long and it's hard to forget about her."

"But you're not happy." She wondered how long Nayeon had to suffer from her supposed unrequited feelings. She didn't want Nayeon to experience what she's going through and was quite mad at herself for not knowing about this sooner. She could've made Nayeon hers a long time ago and she wouldn't have to go through this. If only she was brave enough...

There was a silence before Nayeon gave her a weak but genuine smile. "It's okay... because she's worth it."

Jeongyeon gave a pained smile back as she faltered and felt her heart start to break with her words.