365 Days of You

Chapter 15

Nayeon sits back up only to be restrained by a soft pair of hands. Even through all the haziness induced by her uncomfortable sleep on the hard floor, she remains wise enough not to startle Mina and subject her to the awkwardness that is sure to follow.

The one she is already feeling by their current position.

She gently removes the blonde's arms that are holding her and puts a respectable distance between them.

She watches the girl stir from her sleep and a panic sets within her. She tries to remember her day and her thoughts arranges themselves into a loop of words that only says brown eyes.

She shakes her head lightly as if to make sense of her thoughts. The last thing she remembers is crashing on the dance floor, trying to catch up with her sleep.

She observes Mina with rising panic, her instincts demanding her to run, run from the girl who is destroying the walls she has so carefully erected around her.

She almost springs to her feet, giving in to her instinct, only to be regarded gently by sleepy eyes that stops her in her tracks.

The singer looks away from the girl who is carefully observing her.

"Nayeon-san?"

"Yes?"

Run, run. She ignores all the pleas from her mind and gazes back at the girl. The girl she has married, insulted and destroyed.

Yet, here she is, taking care of her, looking at her with soft eyes and warm smile.

For once, she decides to listen to her heart and sits back on the floor and looks at the mirror on the opposite wall to escape the stunning brown that seems to trap her.

"Thank you."

She almost scoffs.

Why is this girl thanking her, for calling her names? For making her life a living hell? For all the hurtful words she has so easily thrown at her?

"Mina." She sighs chancing a glance at the younger girl, who looks almost afraid of her response.

She feels a bile rising up her throat at the realization that Mina is afraid of her. Isn't that what she wanted? Has she not hurt her with the sole purpose of keeping her at arms length? So why does she suddenly no longer like being a monster? '

"You shouldn't be thanking me."

Mina smiles in relief at her response. She has almost expected more insults and abuses thrown her way. Almost.

Yet deep down she knows that it is only a facade, a mask the dark hair girl wears to protect herself, to keep everyone away from the real person beneath all the harsh words. A girl just as scared and vulnerable as her.

Mina knows she still has a long way to go before she forgets all the hurtful words that has so carelessly broken her, but she also knows she has already begun treading down that path.

"I should. I couldn't have made a hundred boxes in an hour." She chuckles nervously to lessen the tension that appears to envelope them.

"No. You couldn't have."

Nayeon agrees throwing a genuine smile at the blonde, silently thanking her for easing the awkwardness.

"So modest."

Nayeon smiles again as she becomes conscious of how easy and natural it feels to hold a conversation with Mina. A conversation with no hidden agenda, no personal gain and it is something she realises she has missed in her life.