Coming for you- Minayeon

Chapter 5

Mina's POV

So now Nayeon was staying over. I had either made the best decision of my life or one of the worst. She did seem sympathetic, offering to cook dinner and watch a movie. I didn't want to make her feel bad, but I also didn't trust her to cook. Jeongyeon had told me of her massive kitchen failures, and despite being prone to exaggeration, I could tell Jeongyeon wasn't doing much of it in this case.

Still, the offer made me blush. And I couldn't resist her adorableness, especially when she pouted.

"What do you want?" I asked her, flipping through a recipe book for ideas. Nayeon was curiously exploring the kitchen, looking around like a toddler seeing something for the first time. I had to admit, it was pretty cute.

"I don't care. Whatever you want." She walked over to me after thoroughly inspecting the stove and looked over my shoulder.

I pointed to a tomato sauce recipe. "Here, this looks easy enough. And I have some pasta in the cabinet."

She agreed and we got to work. She was doing the pasta, I was doing the sauce. I still didn't fully trust her to make edible food, so I gave her the easier job.

I grabbed a box from the cabinet and handed it to her.

"The instructions are here, and the pots are over there." I pointed to a small pot rack by the stove. "Shouldn't take too long."

She nodded and grabbed a pot, filling it with water and setting it on the stove with steady hands. Once I was sure she wouldn't cause a major catastrophe, I started on the sauce.

I had just started chopping the tomatoes when she yelped. I dropped my knife and ran over to her.

"Are you okay?" I panted.

She was blowing on her finger and shaking it back and forth. "Yeah, I accidentally touched the pot. I'm fine."

"Lemme see." I grabbed her hand and pulled it towards me. She started to say something but it fell flat when I caressed her finger.

"Mina, it's okay. It doesn't hurt anymore." She took her other hand and placed it on mine. I shook my head and waved her to the sink. She hissed when the cold water hit her burn, but I could tell she felt better afterwards; her face relaxed and she stopped sweating.

The rest of the cooking went by pretty smoothly, except when Nayeon asked me to strain the pasta because she had no idea how to. I just chuckled and did it while she watched, fascinated. I dumped the pasta back into the pot and mixed in the sauce while she kept following me around and looked over my shoulder. I smiled back at her and let her rest her chin on my shoulder.

"Would you mind grabbing the bowls? They're in the cabinet to the right." I switched to mixing with my left hand, having tired out my right. She simply nodded and walked over to the cabinet. I watched as she brought them over and put them down on the marble counter next to me. Nayeon walked back behind me and rested her head on my shoulder again, this time with a hand on the side of my waist. I tensed up slightly, shocked. She just patted the spot where her hand was resting.

I finished putting the pasta into bowls and grabbed two forks, and Nayeon held onto me the whole time. She eventually detached from me when I started walking to the table, and she grabbed one of the bowls form my hand and walked to the table with me.

Nayeon's POV

I let Mina sit down first at her wood table. She awkwardly stood behind her chair, waiting for me to sit down across from her. I pulled my chair out and sat down hesitantly. She quickly sat down after me, looking around nervously. I smiled at her, trying to break the tension. She smiled back, relieved. I managed to start a conversation with her. She didn't talk much at first, probably thinking of her grandmother. I did manage to get her to talk a little, then eventually stopped to avoid making her uncomfortable.

I offered to wash the dishes when we finished but she refused and told me to pick a movie. I returned to her living room and grabbed the remote off the coffee table.

After browsing through all her TV subscriptions, I settled on Home Alone. I thought she might like some comedy, especially today. I set the remote down next to me and grabbed a blanket while I waited for her.

I texted with Dahyun for about 10 minutes, but Mina hadn't returned. Unable to wait anymore, I tossed aside the blanket and walked to the kitchen. Leaning over the sink, a box of tissues next to her, was Mina, sobbing. When I saw her, I stopped in the doorway. The sight of her there made something in my chest crack.

The aura around her was filled with loneliness and sadness. I couldn't leave her by herself any longer. I tiptoed behind her and placed a hand on her upper back and leaned over her shoulder. She jumped, startled. I slowly stretched my arm around her and she leaned into me a little. I sighed and patted her shoulder. After her crying didn't stop, I grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes, trying to calm her down. She grabbed the tissue and bent down to throw it out of the trash can under the sink. She hadn't stopped crying, however. I pulled her back up and into my chest, my arms around her shoulders. She sniffed and leaned the side of her head on my collarbone, her face buried in my neck. I grabbed one of her hands with one of mine and pulled it around my waist. When Mina hugged me back, I gently rested my cheek on the top of her head.

Mina slowly pulled away, and only then did I get a good look at her face. Tear tracks stained her cheeks, and her eyes and nose were red from being rubbed so much. She let her arms flop to her sides, and I placed a hand on one of her shoulders.

"Do you want to go watch the movie?" she whispered. She sounded like a shy toddler, like someone who couldn't be left alone.

I nodded and grabbed her hand, leading her to the living room. She trailed behind me, taking slow and lazy steps, clinging on to one of my hands with both of hers.

I let her hand go when we got to the couch, then immediately regretted it when she got the lost look in her eyes again. I couldn't grab her hand again because that would be weird, so I just sat down and patted the spot next to me. She sat hesitantly. I grabbed the remote and hit play, letting her lean on my shoulder.

Mina's POV

Home Alone was her favorite movie. We watched it every Christmas with the whole family at our house. I kept up the tradition even after I moved to South Korea. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

I couldn't watch the movie without remembering her laughing at certain parts or criticizing the scriptwriters at others. And I couldn't remember those memories without remembering her. I let my mind run wild, the movie memories turning into Christmas memories and then into her memories. And then the accident flashbacks started again. Not only the memories, but the emotions with them.

I buried my face in Nayeon's shoulder, but I couldn't escape. Then I started crying again. She didn't notice, at least at first. I heard her chuckle at the movie a couple times before she put an arm around me and patted my back, dragging me back to the present. I hadn't even noticed the movie stopped.

"Mina, it's okay. Do you want to go to bed now? Or watch a different movie?" Nayeon rested her head on mine and gently hushed me.

I didn't want to watch anymore, but I didn't want to seem like a bad host and do whatever I wanted when she was the guest and I should be listening to her. What I really wanted to do was turn on depressing music, curl up in bed, and not move for the next week.

But that wasn't an option.

"Can we go to bed? If you don't mind," I whispered into her shoulder.

"Yeah, of course." She stood up, expecting me to follow. When I didn't, she stood in front of me and pulled my head into her stomach and oh my god A B S. There was no denying that Nayeon was fit as hell. She stroked my hair soothingly, calming me down.

"I can stay with you tonight if you, uh, want me to." She broke the silence.

I nodded, and I could practically hear her smile.

"Let's go then."