The Couple

After the initial shock of Nayeon's surprising arrival in her house had faded, Jeongyeon found herself sitting on the bed with Nayeon beside her, talking to their members. The jolly bunny revealed her week-long plans to her and Jeongyeon's mother and that included spending the mornings with Jeongyeon. At first, the latter was hesitant to have Nayeon visit her everyday since she didn't want to cut into Nayeon's family time. However, her unnie insisted spending at least a few hours in their house to give her company.

"It's not like I don't trust Nanan and Bomb to entertain you while you are here but I won't be able to sleep at night without checking on you personally," Nayeon reasoned cheekily when Jeongyeon tried to argue with her again. "Besides, my parents will be working and my sister has school so it'll only be me and Kookeu alone at home most of the day."

It turns out Nayeon had also brought her dog with her since she couldn't leave him alone at home. Jeongyeon's mother let him play around with their pets and assured to take care of him while Nayeon was with Jeongyeon which the former was grateful for. Jeongyeon snickered at her pouting. "Stop pouting, you're turning 26. That's more than halfway to 50 already."

Nayeon shook her head, frowning indignantly. "I might be turning 26 but at least I still look like a 6 year-old. Unlike you." She stuck her tongue out towards Jeongyeon.

Both seemed to have forgotten about their members still present with them through the call and was almost surprised to hear Jihyo gagging and Dahyun and Chaeyoung giggling at Nayeon's antics.

"Nah, you're a childish halmeoni," Jeongyeon said, smirking.

Nayeon slapped her arm at the remark and Jeongyeon groaned, feigning pain and rubbing at her arm.

"Omo, mianhe, Jeongyeon-ah! Does it hurt?" Nayeon asked, gasping and grabbing at Jeongyeon's arm, rubbing over it.

"It really hurts, unnie," Jeongyeon said, pouting a little.

Smirking, Nayeon said, "Well, unnie knows what will make it better." She then leaned forward, her lips puckered in an exaggerated way, obviously leaning in for a kiss.

Jeongyeon's eyes widened and she shrieked, leaning back to avoid Nayeon's lips. While she loved Nayeon to death and would probably want to show and receive affection from her, Jeongyeon still couldn't help but feel shivers down her spine whenever Nayeon tries to kiss her. Just because she had feelings for the latter doesn't mean her aversion to kisses would just magically disappear as if it was a curse that would be cured with the infamous "true love's kiss". Even if she were to be in a relationship and become intimate with someone someday- hopefully with Nayeon- she thinks she'd still retain that trait of hers.

Nayeon pulled back before Jeongyeon could fall out of the bed and hurt her neck, chortling loudly at Jeongyeon's reaction. Dahyun and Chaeyoung laughed along with their unnie but Jihyo was scowling, feeling a little sympathetic for Jeongyeon. She was thankful she wasn't there and didn't have to deal with Nayeon wanting to show her affection through kissing and all. At the same time, she knew Jeongyeon would have the time of her life with Nayeon visiting her even just for a few hours.

"Omo!" Chaeyoung exclaimed, catching the others' attention. She was staring at her phone, probably reading at a notification. After a few seconds, a wide smile appeared on her face.

"Wae? What is it, Chae?" Dahyun asked, leaning forward to the phone.

"Mina-unnie texted, they just landed in Japan. Hold on, I have to end the call. I'll come back if I can. Annyeong!" Chaeyoung said in a rush, leaving the video call abruptly.

She left her unnies looking at each other in confusion.

"That was..." Nayeon trailed off, her head tilted to the side.

"Suspicious," Jihyo finished, nodding.

"50,000 Won says she and Mina are dating," Jeongyeon stated, grinning mischievously.

Dahyun scoffed. "I wouldn't be too sure about that. They're probably still too shy to confess to each other, let alone date."

"Not sure about that. You know how Chaeyoung is. She's assertive when needed, doesn't really fear anything, and whatever she wants she usually gets... which would be Mina in this case," Nayeon deduced, shaking her head. "I bet she would even make the first move."

"I don't really care about whatever is going on with both of them, I just want them to be happy," Jihyo stated, which made them nod in agreement.

There was a silence as they let the thought sink in. Thinking back on the two suspicious members' actions towards each other, one would have thought they were anything but close friends. But lately, ever since Mina came back from her break, she and Chaeyoung have been closer to each other, on and off-cam. Of course, it wouldn't look like it as they were refraining from touching each other too much on-cam.

What they do in the dorms was another matter entirely. They spend too much time together inside Mina's or Chaeyoung's shared rooms. They do almost everything together. If Mina was playing, Chaeyoung would be either be playing with her or against her, depending on the game they were playing. If Chaeyoung was doodling in her drawing pad, Mina would take it as a challenge and try to outdo Chaeyoung. Of course, she wasn't able to beat Chaeyoung in terms of art but the younger girl loved to see her try at her favorite hobby. In fact, during those sessions, Mina got better. They were shooting for their school-themed "Time To Twice" when Mina was able to showcase her hidden talent for art during Chaeyoung's class, surprising their members and Chaeyoung, most of all. Momo kept her drawing of Boo in her room, posting it on the wall.

It was like they naturally gravitated towards each other, there was rarely a moment when they were apart. Some deduced it was maybe because Chaeyoung was being protective towards Mina, hence the constant closeness to Mina but in reality, it looked more than that. The amount of physical contact between the two of them have increased as well, especially since Mina had returned to the group. There was rarely a moment when the two were apart. No space existed between them. They could just be standing next to each other but their arms would always touch. If they were hidden enough, you would usually see them with their hands or arms intertwined. They seemed inseparable.

There was a long silence between them before Jeongyeon decided to break it. "Anyone want to take me up on that 50,000 Won?"

Jihyo clicked her tongue, frowning at Jeongyeon. "Ya, Yoo Jeongyeon, you shouldn't be bet-"

"How many years you want to bet?" Nayeon cut her off.

"Unnie!"

"Years? I'm betting they started dating when Mina came back," Jeongyeon proclaimed confidently, crossing her arms.

Nayeon shook her head. "They've probably been dating for at least 2 years."

"You really think they can hide it that long, unnie?" Dahyun asked, her face showing her apprehension. "If anything, Jeongyeon-unnie could be closer to the truth."

Jihyo was still protesting in the background, the others just ignored her. It's a wonder how they managed that, Jihyo's voice was louder than theirs combined.

"I'm willing to risk it," Nayeon said, shrugging. "You never know, those two could have been dating all along."

"It's a deal then? For 50,000 Won?" Jeongyeon asked, sticking her palm out.

"For 50,000 Won and one- no, five kisses anytime and anywhere I want," Nayeon said, smirking.

Jeongyeon scoffed. "Fat chance of that. Oh and if I win, I also want you to clean the dorm for a day. Dahyun and Jihyo are our witnesses."

"Deal."

And with that, they shook hands, sealing the deal. Jihyo groaned loudly. "Why do you dorks never listen to me?!" Sighing, she added, "But for the record, I think Nayeon-unnie will win. Better prepare for those kisses, Jeong."

Nayeon chuckled, pointing a teasing finger at Jihyo. "You were against the bet a while ago and now you're agreeing with me? Gomawo, Thomas!"

Jihyo shook her head. "How are you even going to find out if they are dating or not? If they've been dating for more than two years, that would mean they're too good at hiding their relationship from us so we can't exactly just observe. And I'm not about to ask any of them just for the sake of this stupid bet."

Jeongyeon waved her concerns off, her hand swinging up and down as if to bat away those uncertainties like bees. "Don't worry your pretty little head, leader-nim. I'll be the one doing the talking."

Just as she said that, multiple notification bells sounded from their phones as Chaeyoung entered the call again, along with the Japanese members.

"Annyeong, yeorobun! Tzuyu still not here yet?" Momo asked, taking note of the lack of members present in the call. MiSaMo were in their respective cars with their parents who came to pick them up from the airport. The three lived in separate cities but promised to meet up sometime during the week with their own families.

Mina scoffed. "Momoring, we left earlier than Tzuyu. I won't be surprised if she was still in the middle of her flight."

"Excuse the pabo, Minari. She hasn't eaten yet," Sana stated.

"Hasn't eaten yet? What had she been doing the whole flight then?! I swear everyone was looking at us weird with how noisy she was, the pig," Mina ranted, rolling her eyes.

"Omo, calm down, Mina," Jihyo said, giggling. With the absence of their resident savage maknae, it seemed Mina had been her temporary replacement. It was one thing their most introverted members had in common. With Mina being acknowledged as the brain of TWICE, her witty comebacks and insults were as impressive as Tzuyu's bluntness and overall talent in roasting her unnies.

Whereas the others found amusement at Mina's exasperation towards Momo, Chaeyoung could sense something was wrong with Mina. She could see Mina was quite stressed and it wasn't just because of Momo's lack of etiquette when it came to eating. Frowning slightly, she asked, "Gwaenchanha, Mina-unnie? You don't look too good." Chaeyoung had this special, radar-like senses- almost like spidey senses- for Mina where she could easily sense what the older girl was feeling or thinking, something even her Japanese best friends had a hard time doing.

Mina sighed, smiling apologetically at her phone. "I'm just feeling tired, that's all. Mianhe, Momoring." Chaeyoung nodded at her reply though she was still concerned for her unnie.

Jeongyeon smirked, seeing an opportunity to bring up a subject they had all been avoiding until now. "It's a shame Chaeyoungie isn't there to take care of you. Right, Mina-ssi?" Nayeon had her palm raised over her head to hit her but Jeongyeon brought up her own hand while flinching a bit, preventing her from swinging her hand down. "I'm injured, unnie. That grants me temporary immunity from your hits."

"Ya, what do you think you're doing, Yoo Jeongyeon?" The J-Line was looking at her in confusion and the Korean members minus Chaeyoung were looking quite panicked.

Ignoring Jihyo, Jeongyeon addressed her No Jam Bro, "Chaeng, you wouldn't mind me asking something a little personal, right?"

Tilting her head in mock confusion, Chaeyoung replied, "I don't see why not." Unbeknownst to them, she was fighting to keep a smirk off their face. Always wondered if this day would come but these idiots are denser than I thought, she figured. Truth to be told, she was half-expecting them to talk to her about this and she couldn't help but feel quite giddy.

"See, Nayeon-unnie, Jihyo, Dahyun, and I talked about you while you guys were out." Resounding noises and cries of protest came from the three that were mentioned. "We had a little wager on whether you and Mina are... you know... more than just friends?"

Chaeyoung put a finger on her chin and jutted her bottom lip out in contemplation. She made a humming sound to complete the "thinking" image. Despite the hesitation of the others formerly mentioned, they were genuinely curious about what was going on with her and Mina. The same could be said for Momo and Sana who had been wondering about the real score between them as well. They've all had their suspicions for a while but this would be the first time they were going to discuss about it.

While they were focused and waiting for Chaeyoung's answer, a blush creeping up on Mina's face escaped their attention. She sneakily managed to avert her face from the camera to smile a little. Finally, she acknowledged.

"Before I answer, how much are we talking about here?" Chaeyoung asked.

"50,000 Won and our own personal conditions," Jeongyeon answered nonchalantly.

Chaeyoung shook her head, smirking. "You sure are confident about your chances, huh? Have you talked about dates?"

Jeongyeon shrugged. "Dahyun and I think it was after Mina came back and Jihyo and Nayeon-unnie agreed that it was at least two years."

"Ohh... not so sure about that though. What do you think, Mina-unnie? Are they ready to know yet?" Chaeyoung asked.

They all turned to Mina's face on the screen, sporting a smirk that mirrored Chaeyoung's. She pretended to think about it for a second before answering, "I don't see why not. Besides, this would mean we don't need to sneak around anymore."

"Jinjja?!" The other members exclaimed.

"Wait, you're not kidding, right?!"

"I knew it!"

"How could you hide this from us?!

"How long have you been dating?"

"Have you guys kissed yet?"

"Ya, Momo!"

"Mwoya?! I'm just asking!"

Mina had a hand on her forehead, looking pretty stressed by the noise while Chaeyoung was laughing in amusement at their reactions.

"So what is the real score then?" Jihyo asked when the commotion had died down.

"Well... Jeongyeon-unnie and Nayeon-unnie were partially right," Mina confirmed.

"How?" Sana asked, eyes wide open.

"If you let her talk, we would know, Sana-yah," Nayeon said, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

Sana pouted in reply.

"Arasseo. What do you guys want to know?" Chaeyoung asked.

"You don't need to tell us everything about you, just the important parts like your relationship status, how it started, how long has it been going on... that kind of stuff," Jeongyeon said.

Chaeyoung nodded. "Arasseo. First off, we aren't official... yet, but we are exclusive. It kinda means we can't date other people because of our claim on each other but we don't have a label for both of us either. So I think it started around three years ago, after ISAC. Right, Mina-unnie?"

"A week after ISAC, 27th of January, to be exact," Mina confirmed. "Momo and I were feeling pretty hungry that night but she wasn't willing to go out with me to buy food. Chaeng offered to accompany me since she had to buy something too and we went to the convenience store nearby to buy some snacks, just the two of us. We didn't go back to the dorm immediately though because she said she had something to discuss with me."

...

"Mina-unnie, can we sit there for a sec? I kinda need to talk to you about something," Chaeyoung pointed to a bench on the sidewalk as they were making their way back to the dorm. The bench was under a tall tree and beside a dimly lit lamppost which was perfect for hiding their identities when they decide to not wear their masks. It was quite late into the night, only a few people could be seen on the other side of the narrow street.

As soon as they settled on the rickety bench, munching on chips, Chaeyoung said, "I have a confession to make, Mina-unnie."

Curious, Mina stopped eating and turned her full attention towards her. She had an inkling as to what Chaeyoung was talking about. In fact, she wanted to talk to Chaeyoung about the same thing but wasn't sure how to approach her.

They both were aware of their mutual attraction towards each other. Neither of them were sure when it started as it felt like the attraction was always there ever since they'd gotten closer during 'Sixteen'. That attraction cultivated when they'd debuted together, living in the same space with their other members. Mina admits to denying the first time she found herself falling for Chaeyoung. They were both girls and her feelings may just be based on her admiration towards the younger girl.

It didn't take long for Mina to figure out it was more than that. Her admiration was mostly centered towards Chaeyoung's physical features and her many talents. However, it was Chaeyoung's overall personality and how comfortable she felt with her that made Mina fall. The more she got to know Chaeyoung, the more Mina found herself loving their baby cub. She'd always wondered if the younger girl could accept her feelings if ever she decided to confess. In fact, confessing was something Mina was open to doing, assured with the fact that Chaeyoung wasn't judgmental.

It wasn't until Chaeyoung became more touchy with her that she knew the cub felt the same way, if not more. Chaeyoung had always complimented her whenever she can and it helped boost Mina's confidence in herself and she would do the same thing to Chaeyoung. Not long after, those compliments turned to blatant flirting and constant touching between the two but of course both had been very careful only to do it off-cam and when the other members were not around. They hadn't discussed whatever was going on between them until that moment.

"What is it, Chaeng?" Mina asked, feeling giddy all of a sudden. She had to calm herself down and try not to expect too much from Chaeyoung.

What she wasn't anticipating, however, was how forward Chaeyoung was going to be. Truth to be told, they'd all known she was a no-nonsense kind of person but her bluntness never failed to surprise them.

"Will you be my girlfriend, Mina-unnie?" Chaeyoung said with a serious look on her face.

Mina's eyes widened at the sudden request. She had only been expecting a mere confession or a declaration of love. Chaeyoung was definitely fearless and Mina wished to have her assertiveness. "W-Wait, what?"

"Hear me out first, okay? I really, really like you, Mina. I know you feel the same way, too. So I'm not exactly taking no for an answer. If you're worried about what will others say about us, we can hide it but I'm planning to inform JYP PD-nim so he can help us hide. If you're scared about starting a relationship with me, I understand, this is very new to us but I'm willing to try and fight for you if you will allow me. And I don't really care if we're both girls, all I know is I want be with you, Mina."

The absence of an honorific gave Mina the idea of how serious Chaeyoung was about her. And she'd be lying if she said she wasn't thrilled at the prospect of them becoming official but those fears Chaeyoung mentioned did make her a bit hesitant. Not to mention she wasn't really comfortable hiding her feelings for Chaeyoung if they do decide to date exclusively. It wasn't that she was afraid, she just wanted to be able to have the freedom to express her feelings for Chaeyoung, even in public.

Mina smiled apologetically at Chaeyoung. She reached out and grabbed the cub's hand, intertwining their fingers and squeezing. Looking into her eyes, Mina said, "You don't know how much I want to be with you, Chaeng. The idea of us being together as more than friends is something I've wanted these past weeks... but I'm afraid I'd have to decline becoming your girlfriend."

Chaeyoung was about to protest when Mina shook her head. "I heard you out a while ago, Chaeng, now it's my turn. Let me finish first before you say anything." When Chaeyoung hesitantly nodded her head, she continued, "I'm not exactly saying no to being your girlfriend, okay? No, this isn't about me being scared at all, it's quite the opposite. This thing- whatever we have between us feels absolutely right.

"But I don't want to lie or hide, Chaeng, not to our members, not to the company, not to our parents, and most importantly, not to our fans. I need to be assured first that I can freely express what I feel for you without anyone judging, like any other heterosexual couple out there. And not to mention our careers. Imagine the publicity we could attract to the group and the company. I want to be selfish and say I still want to be with you despite all that but what about the other members? We've worked so hard to get where we are now, Chaeng, we can't exactly give it up."

There was a silence between them as both let Mina's words sink in. The points Mina brought up were pretty accurate and made Chaeyoung question her sudden decision to ask Mina out. It's not that she was having second thoughts on wanting to start a relationship with Mina, she was just thinking about what they should do now as she was at a loss on what was going to happen next. When she offered to accompany Mina to buy food, she was expecting to leave with a friend and return home with a lover. Perhaps her decision to get together with Mina was a little too rash and Mina rejecting her made Chaeyoung backtrack a bit.

This just goes to show Mina's effect on her. Usually, no one would be able to stop her when she makes her mind up about something. With Mina's more rational and logical approach to decision-making, they'd be able to balance each other out. Too bad her hopes of acquiring a girlfriend that night looks to be in vain. Chaeyoung wonders if she'd still be able to salvage this.

"There has to be something we could do, Mina-unnie. After confessing to each other, I don't want us to go back as just friends. I might seem selfish but I'm not willing to let you go, unnie."

Mina smiled, she was actually thinking the same thing. "I don't want to let you go, too, Chaeng. That's why I've come up with a kind of solution." In the silence that ensued a few moments ago, Chaeyoung wasn't the only one thinking. While the cub was rethinking her decisions, Mina was thinking of what they can do to be with each other without having to lie or hide.

"I would propose a sort of agreement between us. While we are still part of TWICE, we cannot be together as girlfriends. Instead, we claim each other and become exclusive that way. This would mean we can't date other people and we can't accept other people's offers to date as well. We can sneak around and date each other in secret but we aren't official... yet... so if others ask about our relationship status, we can deny and that wouldn't be a lie. I agree with you wanting to tell JYP PD-nim but I also want to tell our families. Our members could know later on but for now, those that I mentioned should know about us if you accept this. Then after our time as TWICE is over and we've disbanded, we'd both be open to this discussion again." Here, Mina had to pause to catch her breath before continuing, "So... what do you think?"

Chaeyoung's answer didn't come in a verbal form but both pretty much understood it meant "yes" anyway.