Imperfectly Perfect 3

32 : Something

Chaeyoung has her arm on Mina's waist while they tread straight to the table where Jihyo, Sana, and Tzuyu's work hour team are.

"Finally!" Sana comments as soon as the two new girls arrive at their table. "We were worried that your food might go cold."

"We already started eating." Jihyo apologetically adds. "I hope you two don't mind."

"No, no. It's totally fine." Mina smiles at everyone. "The kitchen task was just— Well, when you all get a try in taking the cooking task one of these days, I'm sure you will understand the extra struggle my team had to go through."

The other council president replies after taking a sip from her iced tea. "There's one group who won't be able to handle the cooking task though."

"Good for them." Sana comments again while munching some rice. "But, of course, I hope our team will get that luxury."

"Minari." Chaeyoung calls out as she pulls one of the available seats. "Sit here." And she just lets Mina's body slide off her arm as the council president takes the chair.

The soccer ace then takes the seat right next to it. However, she pulls her chair awfully close to Mina that is why the council president is now giving her a curious look.

"Chaeng."

"Hmm?" Chaeyoung innocently hums.

"Umm—" Mina leans on the other girl's ear to whisper. "Aren't we too close? We'll be bumping elbows while we eat."

"Nope." The soccer ace confidently answers as she moves her left hand and puts it over the council president's lap. She continued in a low voice, getting a hint of Mina's cautious voice in public. "I don't need a fork. The dinner is just rice, pulled pork, and soup. I can manage eating with my right hand alone. I'll just have my left hand here so that in that way... we're not bumping our elbows."

"Huh? That solution is a bit—"

Mina was about to say something when Chaeyoung leaned back and casually ended their ongoing conversation.

The soccer ace then started digging onto her food. She also naturally joined the ongoing conversation around the table, not giving Mina any chance to protest more about the hand that is comfortably resting on the council president's lap while all of them are nonchalantly eating right now.

The table went buzzing after one of Tzuyu's teammates energetically began a general topic, evidently trying to socialize with everyone else.

Moments after, when it was like fifteen minutes had already passed after they sat at the dining table, Mina starts to get somehow bothered by the fact that Chaeyoung is not even paying a glance to her.

The soccer player is just laughing, joking around, exchanging stories with everyone else, maintaining her awfully close distance with Mina's chair, and has her hand over the council president's lap. All of that but she has never looked at her seatmate even once after that last semi-finished conversation they had.

"Ah— Mina." Sana calls out to her best friend who is right opposite her seat at the table. "I just remembered."

"Yep?"

"Dahyun messaged me earlier." The cheer captain grins. "She was asking how I'm doing here."

"Ahh. Really?" Mina faintly smiles. "She did that?"

"Yeah! Maybe the girl is still not over the feeling of being left out for the camp."

"Could be." The council president slowly nods while chewing on some food. "Or maybe she just misses you?"

Tzuyu glances at her girlfriend. "You two are that close?"

"Sana and Dahyun are like sisters, Tzuyu." Mina answers for her best friend. "If not for me, I'm sure that hamster there has Dahyun as her official best friend. They are that close."

"Ugh." Sana playfully scoffs. "That girl just can't live without me by her side. But, I already told her that my Tzu is with me so she doesn't need to worry."

"I see." The younger girl then just nods a couple of times in acknowledgment and silently continues with her meal.

After another ten more minutes, Mina abruptly darts her eyes to the girl beside her. She gulps and slowly glances down because Chaeyoung's hand that has been resting on her lap is no longer in a resting state.

The soccer ace suddenly began to play with the fabric of the council president's loose pants. And, as oddly as it sounds, Chaeyoung has been doing everything without still paying a glance at Mina and maintaining that casual look she is giving everyone else at the table with them.

"Chae—" The council president subtly clears her throat and leans again towards the ear of the girl fiddling with the fabric of her pants which is also bothering her thigh. "Chaeng."

"Hmm?" Chaeyoung innocently hums again like earlier, like she is not doing anything with Mina at the moment, like she is not aware of that tone that the other girl is now using on her. She already finished her food and is just occasionally sipping her remaining iced tea.

"What are you doing?"

The soccer ace also moves closer to Mina's face. "What do you mean?"

"What—" Mina eyes the busy hand on her lap. "What. Are. You. Doing."

"Hmm?" In like some kind of deja vu, Chaeyoung innocently hums again.

"Chaeng— You're acting weird with me. I'm not sure but is this about that scene earlier with Ba—"

"Please, don't mind me."

"What— Hey, Son Chae—"

Chaeyoung abruptly flashes a smile and shrugs at the council president. She consecutively faces back the people around the table and once again ends the conversation herself without giving the other girl a chance to properly protest.

Mina slowly closes her eyes, inhaling deeply and also exhaling deeply in return. She is obviously not in the mood to play some weird mind games at the moment. Oddly enough on her part, she could have swatted the soccer ace's hand, but she is choosing to tolerate the other girl's current behavior.

In the end, Mina wasn't able to do anything else but to shake her head a bit and try her best to calmly slurp the remaining kimchi soup in her bowl with the barely remaining patience in her.

On the contrary, Chaeyoung and Mina are seeming to act good at making it casual since no one else is noticing how there is a weird tension building up around the two of them.

Ten more minutes pass and Jihyo finally derails from their non stop chit chatting about random general topics. "Should we head back to the rooms now? Tzuyu and the others still have dishwashing duty to do."

"Ugh." The young cheer captain rolls her eyes. "That's right."

Tzuyu's teammates then politely bow at everyone else and promptly leave the table to walk straight towards the villa's kitchen side.

"Hey. Don't be such a lazy baby." Sana immediately tells her girlfriend, as soon as it was just their closer friends within earshot. "Everyone here already did their part of the work hour. It's now time for your team to square it up with us."

Jihyo loudly scoffs and butts in. "Like you did something for real earlier, Minatozaki Sana."

"HEY. I'M SURE YOU KNOW THAT I'VE TRIED!"

Jihyo chuckles and shakes her head. "I never saw a person as clumsy as you. That's one thing I'm sure of."

"Minari." Chaeyoung whispers to the council president while the three other girls are busy teasing one another. "Come with me."

"Huh? Whe—" Mina replies in almost a mumble while eyeing the other girls with them who are now starting to walk towards the exit of the common villa. "Where?"

"Later. You'll see."