Mina's POV
I don't know what has come over me. I have experienced the ins and outs of fame: performed on stage in front of thousands of people, got mobbed by paparazzi, and appeared on live television. Yet this is the most excited I have been in a couple of years.
It's like I'm a little girl all over again. Thrilled to hang out with her best friend, except Nayeon is an old friend. A very pretty one at that.
She dressed more casually than me but I would be lying if I said my heart didn't flutter when I saw her in the kitchen. She's in low-waisted wide legged blue jeans and a tan knitted cropped sweater with a baggy black jacket on top, complimented by white sneakers.
I'm overdressed. I wanted to dress for the occasion. It's not every day you reunite with your ex-best friend and girl you used to like after 8 years you know?
"You aren't kidnapping me are you?"
"Why would I be kidnapping you?"
"You're strangling my hand"
My mind buffers. Oops. I forgot I was dragging Nayeon by her hand. I unravel my fingers from hers and let go. I feel a tint of emptiness.
"Mianhae, don't go anywhere though"
She released her charming laugh
"I wasn't going to"
She playfully links her hands onto my right arm leaning her head onto my shoulder just like she did in high school. I hold back a smile as that hint of emptiness exits my body.
"How have you been Minaya?"
Minaya. I missed hearing that nickname. Nayeon was the only one who called me it. I'm really happy she still does.
"I've been good"
"That's good"
Awkward silence.
I guess it's not unusual for people to be awkward after not seeing each other for a while. It's like we're strangers all over again, yet I know Nayeon's entire tragic back story.
We turn the corner onto a familiar street I know by heart. The street I once walked every day after school and still visit when I'm feeling a little lonely.
It's changed over the past years. It was once dirty concrete littered with cracks with the neighboring stores being built out of wood with low ceilings. Now it's quality black asphalt with fresh white lines painted in parallel. There are new apartment complexes and modernized restaurants and shops.
I continue to guide Nayeon, who is still linked to my arm with a bright smile.
We stop in front of a cafe with plants accentuating its beautiful modern wood and glass exterior.
"Do you know where we are?"
"Aniyo"
"This is where the toy shop used to be"
I watch her face change. Her carefree smile turned stoic. Her eyes widened the tiniest amount but her eyebrows arched with wrinkles forming on her forehead. She's thinking.
"They tore it down about 2 years after you left. The whole area wasn't keeping up with the economy and urbanization"
Her face has transitioned into a subtle bittersweet smile. Her eyes are deep in reflection, probably reminiscing on the endless memories that were once contained in the toy shop. I let her absorb to sad news.
It took me a while to get over the loss of the shop. Watching the construction team tear down that small wooden store that harnessed my treasured memories with Nayeon felt like a piece of my heart was getting torn out with it.
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Unfold | Minayeon
أدب الهواة"Please, don't leave me" Im Nayeon is the girl of everyone's dreams at Hanlim High School. She is perfect inside and out, and it's presumed that every aspect of her life is the same way. In reality, her personal life that she keeps a secret is nothi...
