Aphrodite's Spell

Sun Kissed

She keeps staring. The logical part of her brain tells her that the offending item is not going to magically disappear if she stares at it long enough, but the childish part of her refuses to listen. What kind of god would create something so repulsive and put it in her breakfast bowl? It doesn't matter she's an atheist, the imaginary man or woman in the sky is going to take blame for the abomination in front of her.

"It's just a fruit, eat it Nayeon." Jihyo scoffs, pushing the bowl towards her. She hastily pushes it back with a finger, lips pulling tight in disgust. "Kash said it's a rich source of Vitamin C."

Her face scrunches further, the disgust more blatant in her features. "Who died and made her god?"

"She has a degree in Nutrition studies." Tzuyu states matter of factly, "And your doctor said you need more Vitamin C."

"I don't care wh-" She stops speaking, the angry throb in her temple and the tightness in her jaw leaving when she spots Mina walking arm in arm with Chaeyoung into the recording room. 

"You're still having your breakfast? Hurry up and finish it, our van will be here in ten minutes." Chaeyoung chides and Nayeon is ready to state a thousand reasons why she is opposed to it. Instead, she huffs, crosses her arms and shakes her head stubbornly.

"I don't want it."

A touch featherlight on her wrist gets her attention. Nayeon feels a buzz radiating from her wrist straight to her head. Mina's voice is a gentle whisper as she utters a single word, "Please?"

"Okay."

The younger girl retrieves her arm, a pleased smile on her face as Nayeon pretends to eat the blackberries like it's the best thing she's ever had.

Nayeon knows she's good looking, that she catches the eyes of men and women alike when she walks into a room, but the one thing she can never tell is when someone's making a move on her. "You know your intelligence is honest to god sexy," Sana has chuckled one day, "but you're an idiot when it comes to picking up hints." She has denied vehemently until the younger girl flat out asked if she knew she had a teeny tiny girl crush on her during their trainee days. Her only answer had been to sputter the juice she has been drinking all over the table.

So it's not really surprising when an idol she's been talking to at the A lister's party kisses her her cheek, a little too close to her mouth and slips her phone number in her coat pocket, leaves a husky call me in her ears throwing one last sultry grin at her before strutting towards her group- her own obliviousness to being flirted with is not surprising, she has come to terms with it, made peace with it even- neither is the members teasing her, it is definitely not surprising, she has learnt to tolerate it with an exasperated sigh and roll of her eyes. What's new is the flash of hurt she sees in Mina's eyes. Her stomach flips violently as the younger girl schools her features into a neutral expression and continues the conversation she's having with Momo.

She takes a step forward as if to reach out to Mina, but stops herself. What is she going to say? Apologize for letting someone hit on her? It would be presumptuous of her to act as if Mina still has feelings for her when she is with Kash.

So she hangs back, allowing herself to gather her thoughts, make sense of the dull ache in her heart at the probability of Mina having moved on from her.

Nayeon doesn't know what it's like to fall in love, not yet, the younger girl got there first, but she is the first to learn what heartbreak feels like when there's a Mina shaped hole in her life for the next few days.

When she's with members, she doesn't just exist, she lives, her whole being thrums with energy, thrives in the security of moral support and unconditional love. These days, she's barely surviving, even with the safety net of friendship around her. Few days have turned into few weeks, other than the polite nod here and there, and the forced conversations in public eye, she feels invisible to the one person who could make her feel alive. The one person who has her back turned to her at the moment, checking her makeup in the mirror.

 "There are dark circles around your eyes, haven't you been sleeping well?" Chaeyoung worries as she removes her glasses, and rubs soothing circles from under her eye to the top of her cheekbones. 

"Sana and I haven't been sleeping well either." Momo chuckles, shuffling the hair on Nayeon's head affectionately. "If we have to listen to Naeyon-chan playing and singing along to Quit playing games with my heart one more time, we'll have to get therapy."

From the corner of her eye, Nayeon catches Mina stilling, makeup brush mid air in her hand. "It was one time." She hisses under her breath, heat rising to the tip of her ears.

"Back Street Boys, really?" Joengyeon guffaws, throwing her hands up in mock surrender when the older girl throws a glare her way.

When Nayeon lifts her head and catches the eyes of the Japanese girl who's now turned around, giving her a look that's both curious and confused, she briefly wonders if Momo and Sana can tolerate the song for just one more night.

Pans and pots clattered all over the kitchen. A glass probably broken somewhere on the floor of their dorm. Nayeon guesses them all before she opens the door. Months of living with Momo and Sana has conditioned her to expect these on their days off, more so when it's accompanied by a text from one of the chaotic duo, 

We made dinner. Grab beer and wine. Love you.

But the dorm is in the exact shape she left it in, there's a pleasant aroma of unburnt food wafting in the air and Nayeon can't help but narrow her eyes at the pair of girls who are giggling in the kitchen.

"I was going to call the fire service on my way, just in case." She shrugs off her shirt and kicks off her shoes, the cool air in the room a welcome relief on her heated skin.

"That's because Jihyo, Dahyun and Mina helped us." Momo declares and Nayeon freezes. "They're staying over by the way."

Her eyes wander in search of Mina. 

"They're in the living room." Sana laughs.

Her heart is in her mouth as she makes way slowly down the corridor. She draws the curtain at the end of the corridor halfway, peering through the gap. Mina is sitting at the coffee table before Jihyo and Dahyun, nodding and giving soft encouraging soft smiles as the leader talks animatedly.

She must have come from the studio directly because she's still wearing the figure hugging red dress from earlier. It's sophisticated, classy and beautiful. Just like the girl wearing it.

Taking a deep breath, Nayeon draws the curtain fully open. The sharp sound of it gathers their attention.

"Where's my beer?" Jihyo demands.

Nayeon pulls at her muscle tee consciously avoiding a pair of breathtaking pair of brown eyes she knows, feels, is on her. "Hello to you too." She jokes, deflecting the tension building in her shoulders. "Here." She carries the heavy case of beer to place it on the coffee table, the muscles in her arm straining under the stress.

"Have you been hitting the gym without me?" Jihyo gasps in mock disapppointment, reaching out a hand to palm her biceps.

"Stop feeling me up and get drunk. I'll get you guys something to snack on." She bends down to give a quick hug to both Jihyo and Dahyun. 

"Mina." Here she dares to look at the girl who has avoided her for an achingly long time. 

"Nayeon-chan." Mina's cheeks are flushed pink and if Nayeon wasn't too busy trying to get her own racing heart in control, she would have worried that the younger girl was coming down with something. 

A silence stretches painfully between them, but she isn't willing to look away. An apology is at the tip of her tongue, but she doesn't know what to apologize for. The silence becomes unbearable, as her heartbeat echoes loudly in her own ears.

"Doritos and nachos still your favourite Mina?" She breathes.

The younger girl keeps her eyes on her, making Nayeon feel heady. "Certain things always remain favourite."