2Yeon: Perception [Slow Updates]

Chapter 5

Dahyun's Birthday V-Live had just finished and Jeongyeon found herself in the restroom, fiddling with the clip of the neck brace. The girls minus Chaeyoung- who had somewhere else to be- decided to surprise her and join her in celebration of her 22nd birthday. She removed the neck brace beforehand, not wanting to bother their fans with her neck brace while they were live. She wanted them to focus on Dahyun instead of worrying over her.

The other members had already gone, probably waiting in the van downstairs since she said she had to go to the bathroom. Nayeon offered to go with her but she declined. She was beginning to regret her decision now. She was trying to close the neck brace but she couldn't see behind her, the mirror in front of her not really helping. She could only see her annoyed expression glaring back at her. Grunting in annoyance, she exited the restroom still holding on to the clip.

It was a stroke of luck that she found Mina walking down the hall.

"Minari!" she called.

Mina turned around and found Jeongyeon clutching onto her neck brace. No words were needed, she knew Jeongyeon needed help clipping it on. She approached her unnie and began to take the neck brace from Jeongyeon's grasp.

"Gomawo, Mina-yah," Jeongyeon said as she heard the clip being successfully close. "Aish, why did I have to be injured now?"

It happened a day after Chaeyoung's birthday, they had been filming for their music video and halfway through their dance in the chorus part, she felt numbness from her ears down to the nape of her neck. She was rushed to the hospital for that. The doctor diagnosed her of a herniated disk. She didn't really know what that meant but she knew it probably wasn't good.

This greatly annoyed Jeongyeon as it effectively impeded her ability to dance. While she is still able to perform, she had to be cautious with her neck as she couldn't risk worsening her injury. It can heal on its own but she has to wear a neck brace occasionally to help speed up the process.

"Gwaenchanha, unnie," Mina consoled her. "I'm sure you'll get better in no time."

Jeongyeon smiled at her then reached for Mina's hand. "Gaja! They're probably waiting for us."

They exited the building holding hands. The V-Live went longer than expected, the sky was beginning to darken. The sun hadn't fully sunken yet, painting the somewhat cloudy sky with an ombre of apricot, cerulean, and midnight blue.

They found their van waiting for them out the lobby, Jihyo and Nayeon were leaning on the hood and Jihyo held a phone near her ear. Nayeon had her arms crossed with a frown on her face. Once she caught sight of them, she tapped Jihyo's shoulder to call her attention. Jihyo put down the phone when she saw them walking towards them.

"Ya, what took you so long? I was about to call!" Jihyo whined.

"Mianhe, I had trouble closing my neck brace. Minari had to help me," Jeongyeon said.

She noticed Nayeon's piercing stare towards their clasped hands. At this, she immediately let go of Mina's hand. The action caused Nayeon to look up at her. Jeongyeon gave her a sheepish smile, feeling awkward at Nayeon's gaze. She was surprised when Nayeon rolled her eyes at her then entered the van.

She turned to Jihyo, frowning. "What's up with her?"

Jihyo shrugged. "Beats me. Why don't you ask her about it?" After giving Jeongyeon a knowing look, she entered the van, leaving Jeongyeon and Mina in confusion.

"Is Nayeon-unnie mad at us?" Mina asked nervously.

"Don't worry, it's probably only me," Jeongyeon pat her head. "You did nothing wrong."