47 : Tangled

                                    

                                          
"Chaeyoung!" Sana's voice is heard clearly as she yells and waves to the soccer player.
Chaeyoung is currently walking along the jog path at the side of the open field. Coming out from the direction of the sophomore dormitories, she is in her go-to light jeans and shirt.
It is a late morning on the first weekend of February.
The student's academic plates are still relatively free except for the normal homework and class activities. Club events that usually give extra work are now also at a minimum since the term is already halfway through and the school year is about to end.
The cheer captain flails her arm as soon as the soccer ace looks into her direction.
"Hey! Why are you girls playing without me?" Chaeyoung yells back while lazily walking towards the field.
"Jeongyeon told us that you have plans."
The soccer player is now right beside Sana who is sitting on a picnic mat laid over the green grass. Jeongyeon and Dahyun are a couple of meters away, throwing the frisbee disc back and forth.
"Yeah, I do. I'm meeting some friends outside. I was actually on my way to the school gates."
"Wow. Good for you! You even have the time to hang outside with friends while someone's sulking by burying herself in some research papers at the library right now."
Chaeyoung flashes an awkward smile. "So... you know, huh?"
"Of course, I know! I still hold the title as her best friend." Sana rolls her eyes. "What's your plan now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Son Chaeyoung."
Chaeyoung heaves in a deep breath. "How was she this past week?"
"Barely recognizable!" Sana mutters. "She never rests. She always wanted to do something like rewriting lectures or preparing proposals that can be done the next week or reading lessons that are scheduled for the next term!"
The cheer captain shakes her head in dismay. She pauses to glare at the soccer player standing beside her. "Yes, she is a studious, responsible student but I know her. This is Mina, using school as a way to keep herself occupied from whatever thing that she doesn't want to pollute her mind. I know my best friend and this... this is her coping mechanism."
"I—" Chaeyoung lets out a sigh. "I..."
"Shove your explanations to your cowardly ass, Son Chaeyoung." Sana scoffs. "You better fix this quickly or I swear I will do my best to keep Mina away from you."
The soccer simply nods softly. "I promise I will fix this."
"Good." Sana rolls her eyes. "Ugh! You're one problematic lover that my best friend chose."
Chaeyoung widens her eyes and also playfully scoffs. "And you're one problematic best friend that Minari chose."
"Hey—"
"CHAEYOUNG!" Dahyun yells, cutting in the girls' ongoing conversation. Both her and Jeongyeon are now jogging towards them.
"I thought you're going out today?" The council secretary promptly asks as soon as they reach the picnic mat that Sana is in. She quickly lays down on it while panting from the physical activity they just did.
"Yeah, I was on my way out when this hamster here called me."
Sana shot her eyes to the soccer player. "Who told you about that?"
"Huh?" Chaeyoung looks at her in confusion. "Now, I seriously don't get you."
"The nickname hamster. Who told you that?"
The soccer player pursed her lips, unable to relay some words for an answer.
Jeongyeon cuts in to answer, "I've been hearing Tzuyu call you that."
"Yeah. Only Tzuyu and Mina call me that... So, who did this cub hear it from?" Sana raises one of her eyebrows as she stares at Chaeyoung. "Don't tell me Tzuyu once again was able to relay that to you on that small time that we were in the cabin."
"Hey, maybe Minari—"
Before the soccer player could complete her sentence, Jeongyeon called out to her. "Bro."
"Yeah?"
"That's your shirt, right?"
Chaeyoung chuckles. "What do you mean by this is my shirt? Of course it is my shirt! I'm wearing it right now, right?"
"Is that a famous trend or design somewhere?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I swear I saw that shirt in Nayeon's house when I picked her up early this year. That day when she had to skip the first day of classes due to some party. She said the shirt was owned by one of Tzuyu's close friends."
"Ah— AHHH! Yeah, this might be a trend then if— if that's the case."
"Hmm..." Dahyun comments. "The shirt's not even that good looking. It looks pretty normal to me."
Chaeyoung simply scoffs.
"By the way, Chaeyoung." The council secretary continues, "Does the soccer team still practice like there's no tomorrow? I heard from Nayeon that you have already gone back to your normal schedule."
The soccer ace nods. "Yeah, we did. Why?"
"I was just expecting for you to hang out a lot at the council office again after the Collegiate League. If you're not busy with the soccer team, then what's keeping you away from the office these days?"
"Actually... I—"
"Don't tell me you finally figured you want to be an honor student and you're finally studying." Dahyun butts in. "There's no way I'm buying that."
The soccer ace rolls her eyes. "That's not what I was about to say!"
Jeongyeon laughs loudly. "I also won't believe that."
"So, why?" The secretary pursues.
"Umm... Minari and I are..." Chaeyoung glances at Sana who is knowingly staring at her. "We're kind of... having some misunderstanding."
"WHAT? What the hell in the world did you do to Pres? I swear I'm snapping you into two if you break her heart!"
"You're overreacting!" Chaeyoung looks at the ground. "It— it's just something that we have to settle from our past."
Sana is just silently listening to them, softly shaking her head.
Jeongyeon pauses and squints at Chaeyoung. "You're not cheating at Pres, are you?"
"NO! Gosh, NO! Why do you always bring that up?"
The council treasurer just gives her a suspicious look.
"I— I'm going now!" Chaeyoung quickly waves her hand at the other girls to which they simply nodded.
A moment of comfortable silence passed by the place where the council girls were while a faint gush of wind was blowing in the open field.
"Dahyun! Why don't the two of us play this time?" Sana suddenly suggests.
"Let's go!" The council secretary giggles as she quickly stands up from the mat.
The vice president runs to distance herself while Dahyun looks around to pick up the frisbee disc they left somewhere on the grass earlier.
Jeongyeon is now alone on the picnic mat, looking like seriously contemplating something. She is just blankly staring at the far end of the open field. She stayed like that for a couple more minutes.
Then, the council treasurer heaves in a deep breath and mumbles to herself, "That shirt was definitely identical with what I saw at the Chou mansion that day. Plus... Nayeon's also meeting some friends today outside of the university. Are those really just coincidences?" She violently shakes her head. "ARGHH! No, no, no, no—"
Jeongyeon roughly ruffles her hair. She lets out a sigh and continues in a whisper, "It can't be. It can't possibly be."