Imperfectly Perfect 2

24 : Confrontation (3)

After a few more minutes, Jeongyeon lets out a sigh that is too loud and too heavy even the table next to them could overhear. She pauses to take a sip of her coffee, then glares daggers at Nayeon, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. "Since when? How did it happen? What's the reason?"

"Umm..." The younger Chou decided to speak again. "Since about four years ago. It was our dads that went ahead and made the arrangement themselves. Obviously, they are hoping that the merger will do a lot of wonders for both the families' businesses."

Jeongyeon roughly turns to Mina in a mutter. "And you knew all about this, Pres? Don't tell me you're okay with this?"

"About Tzuyu... it's also just now. About everything else..." The council president awkwardly looked around the table first, then her eyes stayed at the worried soccer ace beside her. "Umm..."

When Mina and Chaeyoung made eye contact, the latter slowly pouted and wore one of her best hopeful, puppy eyes for the council president to see. "Minari...?"

Mina paused for a while, stifling a gummy smile and enjoying the adorable sight she perfectly knows is dedicated to her. Shen then bites her lower lip, looks down and clears her throat. She heaves in a deep breath before finally answering Jeongyeon. "Well... even if I'm not fully okay about all of these... I don't think this tiger cub has any plans on letting me go. We all know how I already tried and miserably failed in shaking her off of my life."

"You lucky bastard!" The council treasurer started throwing random dispensable objects from their table to Chaeyoung like tissue papers, spare cutleries, and even receipts. "How could you put Pres through all of this?"

"Hey!" The smaller girl shields herself using her arms while chuckling, somehow knowing that her roommate's actions are nowhere too serious. "You know too well that Minari and I also had a lot of drama to settle before we got to this point! It's not like I simply got lucky just like that!"

The council treasurer simply glared at Chaeyoung who is challengingly looking back at her. All the other girls at the table were watching the two of them, holding their own laughter.

"So— Anyway," Jeongyeon cleared her throat, glancing around at her girlfriend, her girlfriend's sister, and her girlfriend's earlier alleged lover. "Why did you three hide this from me? Even going through the effort of putting on a show for everyone to be deceived."

After glancing at each other multiple times, Tzuyu simply looked down. Chaeyoung made a face to Nayeon. And the soccer manager glanced at the council treasurer, then chuckled awkwardly.

Jeongyeon put her hand down on the table with force, making an audible banging sound and visibly making the three guilty girls flinch a bit. "I want an explanation." She once again looked around to the girls and trailed in a commanding tone. "Right the hell now."

"B— babe."

The council treasurer simply paid her girlfriend a blank face.

"Umm..." Nayeon proceeded to talk. "Chaeyoung and Tzuyu requested not to let any other people know. They wanted the fixed marriage to be confined to just within the family and close business associates because—" She glances at Mina who is attentively listening while sipping some coffee. "Because they wanted the arrangement to just come and go like it never happened."

Jeongyeon raises an eyebrow at her. "For it to come and go? What do you mean by that?"

The soccer manager hesitated to answer. She looked at Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, as if asking for permission if she could answer what the council treasurer was asking about.

The soccer ace then heaves in a deep breath. Like in some kind of special silent friendship code, she nods at Nayeon who faintly smiles at her. "Tzuyu and I obviously don't want to get married to each other. We... Umm..."

Chaeyoung looks at Tzuyu who is visibly laced with worry, fiddling with her fingers. "Tzu...?"

"I— Actually, I—" The cheer captain paused to look at everyone who was waiting for her statement. "I'm— I'm so sorry, but I think... Sana should be the first one to hear about that part before I talk about this outside of the actual people involved."

And their table went silent again for a couple of minutes.

"Tzuyu, please correct me if I'm wrong." Mina carefully calls out. "What I'm getting from what you're implying is that... There is something else that is of equal importance to this fixed marriage and it mainly involves my best friend. Is that right?"

"Y— yeah. That's right, Mina."

"Wait. Now that you've mentioned that hamster... What about Sana?" Jeongyeon squints at Tzuyu. "Didn't she freak out when she found out that the girl she has been waiting for all these years ever since she was a kid is actually already engaged to someone else? Moreover, to her best friend's lover? I don't think she would just sit back and relax like how unbelievable Pres is right now."

"Umm... Sana—" Tzuyu uncomfortably shifts on her seat. "Jeongyeon Unnie, the truth is... Sana... She— she still doesn't know a single thing about this."

Mina scrunched her eyebrows and mumbles in comment. "Wow. So that's why my whiney best friend never whined about it."

"WHA— WHAT?" Like some deja vu, the council treasurer suddenly yells, earning once again some looks from the people around the shop. "Seriously? Why in the world— "

"Oh!" One familiar voice loudly reacts from the coffee shop's counter not too far from the girls' table, cutting Jeongyeon from her sudden burst of emotion. "What are you all girls doing here?"

Everyone in the table widens their eyes, knowing full well who that familiar voice belongs to. They all knowingly looked at each other before speedily looking to the direction of the voice. As soon as the girls from the table met the eyes of the now widely smiling vice president, they all awkwardly smiled back and called out in unison. "SANA!"