The Storm and the Sea (A MiChaeng Fanfic)

Chapter 26: Chaeyoung

The storm thought that it could bend the sea to its will—only to realize that the world is mostly comprised of water...and that a whirlpool has started to form.

***

Did you find what you were searching for?

Mina stops me from putting my shirt back on by wrapping her arms around my shoulders.

"Are you feeling cold?" She hums behind my ear before giving it a small peck.

"Yeah, kinda," I answer, tilting my head towards my shoulder.

She chuckles behind my nape. "Omo, who'd have thought you were so ticklish?" Upon lying down the bed, she pats the space beside her. "Come here. I don't mind being the big spoon."

Do it, slut. You can't go back, anyway. Not after what you did with Mina.

I fix my gaze on the lava lamp, as Mina puts an arm and leg over me. As I've come to expect, she's soft and delicate—just like her expressions.

Oh my God, you didn't even last three days after your girlfriend left! Define brittle.

"Let's sleep? Good night," Mina whispers before sniffing my hair and kissing it.

"Good night." I hold her hand and kiss it in return.

What a sweet little whore you are.

The bubbles of the lamp part into blobs as they slowly rise. Once they fill the top, they slowly descend the vial as well. Rinse and repeat. Simple. Just like how I wish this situation is.

It is simple. You're the only one making it complicated, duh.

Even when Somi left for Canada, it didn't hurt as much as it did when we first parted ways. While I was doing it with Mina, the question "Would Somi be angry if she found out?" kept popping in the back of my head. But the weird part about this whole mess I'm in, is that I acted out of my sincere intention—there's no excuse to say that I was coerced or anything of the sort. Just me, wanting to find out if Mina felt the same way after all the pushing and pulling between us. And she does—she does! So...why do I feel empty right now?

Chaeyoung the Cheater. It has a nice ring to it, no?

The weight of Mina's arm goes limp as I turn to face her. I tuck the lock of hair that's blocking the face that I consumed earlier. My God. Even with her mouth slightly agape, she looks perfect. To admire her more, I lightly trace the moles on her face—from her nose, down to the one under her lips.

Sunbae. Friend. Girlfriend? Lover? What should I call you, Minari? Funnily, the song "Into The Unknown" plays in my head.

Hey, don't forget that she's also Jeongyeon's ex! Wow, you're really ticking all the right boxes!

My head is split in two, thinking whether I should own up to this choice and break it off with Somi, or just tell Mina that it's all a mistake. What have I gotten myself into?

Could I just rewind time, even just to the part wherein I was in front of her doorstep? I could've said anything else to her—"Wanna watch a movie? I'm hungry. Do you have some snacks?" would be better than asking to sleep in her apartment. The sofa was there but, no, I had the audacity to say thunder scares me!

Mina...why didn't you put your clothes back on? I brush my fingertips against the goosebumps on her shoulder—faint hair barely seen with the light of the moon.

"Chaeyoung-ah..." Mina murmurs, still asleep. "Just choose me...not Somi..." her voice trails off.

Again, did you find what you were looking for?

***

"Well, someone's blooming today," Jihyo notes, looking at Mina.

"What? No," Mina quickly retorts, side-eyeing me.

"I know that, the morning-after glow," Dahyun remarks with a chuckle.

"And how would you know that...virgin?" Mina shoots back, garnering a quick scowl from Dahyun.

"But is she lying, though?" our leader asks.

"I told you, nothing happened," Mina mutters, shaking her head. She gives me another glance and curls her lips inward.

Carl hums as he cracks his knuckles. "No...that's more like the 'I'm in love' look!"

The three of them zone in on Mina, like sharks circling around their prey. Meanwhile, hearing the word love knots up my insides as I try to move my chair back to my own workstation. Is it just me, or has the room gotten colder?

"But, seriously, is there someone?" Jihyo probes further, leaning into Mina's left side.

Mina stammers, darting glances between me and the rest of the team. No, don't make it obvious. Please. "Uh, why don't we just...get back to work?"

They all hiss at Mina before heading back to their respective desks. Thanks for being "covert" about it, Minari. You just doused the flame even more.

***

It's no surprise that, when Somi left, we're back to the "hardly interacting" dynamic. It makes me wonder why she was so hellbent on bringing the topic of me cheating. Was she already giving me away?

"Everything okay?" Mina asks, patting my head on her shoulder as we take the 8 p.m. bus home.

No, everything is not okay, Mina.

I nod, holding her abnormally smooth hand. "How do you keep your hands smooth?" The mild calluses on mine feel shame in the immaculate presence of Mina's.

"I dunno, maybe because mine's clammy most of the time," she shares with a chuckle.

"Don't be so humble. Your skin's lovely, okay?" I give her chin a little pinch. Would it kill Mina to be a little more confident about herself?

She keeps quiet, resting her head on mine as we look at the news on the bus' television. It shows a story about a woman stabbing her husband, gravely injuring him, after finding out he cheated on her.

"Aigoo. A bit extreme, but fuck cheaters. So annoying," Mina mutters. Her words immediately drop my chest and make me think of what she could potentially do once she finds out that I'm still with Somi. It's always the quiet ones who are scarier.

In an attempt to steer the conversation away from infidelity, I move the blades of the air conditioner away from my general direction. "Sorry, I'm so cold."

"Aww, is that so?" Mina takes off her purple crochet cardigan and puts it over me, even though her own hand is freezing. "Here, I wouldn't want you catching a cold."

For the record, this is the first time that someone shared a jacket without me explicitly asking if I could borrow it.

She doesn't know it, but Mina's act of kindness sends a chill that's worse than the cold air permeating the bus.