What the heart wants

Chapter 13

They have nothing scheduled for the morning because the girls want to sleep in atleast for day. They have to go the local flee market and carnival in the evening.

"Chaeyoungah, Mina loves carnivals. Get her on the ferris wheel and ask her out." Nayeon asserts with the confidence Chaeyoung is lacking.

"I'm scared of heights Unnie."

Nayeon rolls her eyes. "Overcome them because Ferris wheels are romantic."

At least in Mina's eyes. Nayeon has never seen why she thinks so highly of Ferris wheels.

"I'm starting to feel like this romance thing isn't cut out for me." Chaeyoung sulks as she leans against the brick wall in Nayeon's room.

Nayeon looks out at the ocean, the waves are strong and hollow and looks ideal for surfing. It's been a long time since she'd been on a surfboard. Her dad taught her how to surf when she was younger. She remembers how she kept falling and coughing up water the first time she tried to surf and her father asking if she wanted to give up and go home. She recalls standing on her unsteady feet riding her first wave after three hours of trying and failing. She'll never forget the proud look on her father's face that day.

"Good things in life don't come easy Chaeyoungah."

Another perfectly hollowed shape wave crashes close to the shore.

Nayeon is the kind to never give up, she's relentless and ceaseless in her efforts when she wants to get something, but there are certain things unattainable and out of reach even for her. Things that are pointless to even try because you know you're only going to end up hurt.

She doesn't tell Chaeyoung that because the younger girl isn't yearning for the stars like her. Chaeyoung is reaching for what's within her grasp.

"And you know she's a good thing."

Chaeyoung nods her head silently, her converse sneakers makes a light tapping noise on the wooden floor as she worries about how the day is going to go.

"Will you keep that for me?" Mina pleads with her eyes at the shop keeper. Her mind is set on a rare vinyl record of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It's a boxed set reissue of 1982 and only 5000 copies were handed out. She never thought she'd come across this colllector's item in a small store in a flee market in Hawaii. Unfortunately for her, the store keeper doesn't take cards.

"No promises lady." The grumpy old woman scowls.

Mina rushes to find Chaeyoung who always carries change around.

"I'll never understand Mina and your obsession with Vinyls." Dahyun jokes.

Nayoen smiles because she's never going to understand. There's something romantic and nostalgic about Vinyls. Even though Nayeon's boom box has all the bass and fine tune, the soothing pleasant sound of a gramophone remains unmatchable.

A particular record catches her eyes. She casts her mind back to a moment in their trainee days when Jeongyeon asked Mina why she likes the Beatles so much and Mina said because she spent most of her summer holidays as a child with her grandmother and they always listened to The Beatles together on the old weary gramophone that laid on the kitchen counter. They sang along to it as they made breakfasts every morning. Mina spoke of the memory fondly but there was a tinge of sadness in her voice. And Nayeon knew even without her telling that her grandmother wasn't around to make those memories anymore.

"I'll take this." She pays for the record and moves along to the next stall.

Chaeyoung looks at Mina worriedly. She has been upset since they left the flee market. They'd spent most of the afternoon in a dingy store looking for some god damn record which Mina is obsessed with and she's completely exhausted by the time they get on the van to reach the carnival.

"Chaeyoungah, What did you do to make my baby penguin so upset?" Jihyo who's sitting right across Chaeyoung and Mina, waves a finger warningly at her.

Chaeyoung sighs. "Don't blame me, you know I'll never hurt her." She puts an arm around Mina who turns to her side and gives a smile that doesn't really reaches her eye. "She's sad because she can't find some stupid vinyl."

Nayeon who's sitting next to Jeongyeon stares at Chaeyoung, shakes her head disapprovingly and signals her to shut up.

Chaeyoung rolls her eyes. She hasn't even done anything wrong, she's just confessed that she'll never hurt Mina so why is Nayeon giving her the third degree through her eyes?

She ignores Nayeon for the rest of the ride but when Nayeon pulls her to the side at the carnival and hisses in her ears not to fuck things up like she did in the car, Chaeyoung is adorably confused and Nayoen softens a bit.

"You know she loves Vinyl records, why would you call them stupid?"

Chaeyoung realises the slip of tongue she made. She was tired and grumpy and hadn't meant to take it out on those round old things.

"I didn't know she loved them so much."

Nayeon wants to tell the reason why Mina loves Vinyl so Chaeyoung can understand the weight of the sentiment. But Mina has never spoken about her grandmother passing away to anyone, so she decides it's not her place to tell Chaeyoung. Mina would, when she's ready.

"I'll make it up to her Unnie. Just watch." Chaeyoung asserts confidently.

Chaeyoung knows the best way to make Mina's night as a plan forms in her head.