Winter was finally ending and that meant it was a bit more bearable to stay outside of their house for longer. Chaeyoung decided to take Yukiko out to shop during that weekend for their trip to Korea. The teenager was excited to buy new clothes and a dress for the wedding and she was happier that Chaeyoung decided to come with.
It was better for Chaeyoung to come with her anyway since she knew what Seoul was like during the start of Spring. Then again, she thought about it and there really wasn’t much of a difference between there and Japan. But who was she to miss out on quality time with Yukiko?
Mina wasn’t with them since she was at the dance studio again, her friends had been inviting her there more often and at this point, they should just ask Mina to join in with them. Chaeyoung knew the studio had programs where they taught classes to certain age groups and she thought it would be perfect if Mina could get back into the employment status again.
Kai seemed to be alright with the idea, he had been telling Mina that she was finally free to look for a job again if there are any offers for her. At least his new change of heart lifted a heavy load on the family and they were happy enough to indulge it.
At least Mina and Yukiko were slowly warming up to him again. But Chaeyoung didn’t bother attempting to get them to like him again, they were being cautious, or angsty. She wasn’t sure if there was a difference but she didn’t want to push. In due time, she believed.
“Chaeyoung, does this look nice?” Yukiko asked, pulling out a dress she saw from the racks.
She looked at it, watching Yukiko drape it in front of her and waited for an answer. Chaeyoung smiled. “It looks great. The air will still be a bit chilly so we should also look for a new coat for you while we’re at it.”
Yukiko smiled and placed the dress over her arm. “Okay!” Then the teen ran over to the other racks to look for something else.
Chaeyoung followed behind her and scanned some of the clothes, thinking if she should go to the adults section and pick something nice for Mina. But she wasn’t good at stuff like this, she only knew how to choose the specific things that Mina liked. So if it was something like clothes or perfume, Chaeyoung might fuck it up. If only Sana was here to help. Or Nayeon. They knew how to choose the best gifts for Mina.
After paying for the items Yukiko wanted to get, the two were walking inside the mall, passing by different stores, Yukiko occasionally checking out what were on display while Chaeyoung leisurely walked beside her.
“Wanna get ice cream?” Chaeyoung asked, leaning sideways towards Yukiko and the teenager giggled and softly punched Chaeyoung’s arm.
“I’m not a kid anymore.” She puffed her chest and that made Chaeyoung chuckle. Then the teen softened her expression. “How about a drink? Like a shake or something.”
Chaeyoung smiled and nodded her head, letting Yukiko lead her to wherever the girl wanted to buy the drink. But as they walked along the stores, something caught Chaeyoung’s attention and couldn’t help but stop to look at it.
The teen seemed to notice as well, walking beside Chaeyoung, and looking at the shiny band with the small rock sitting beautifully on top.
It was perfect. Silver seemed to look best on Mina. Though her girlfriend really wasn’t the type to wear a lot of accessories. An occasional necklace but that was only when they had a date and Mina would immediately keep it once they got home, when they still had time to change before diving into sex.
But there was something about that ring that made Chaeyoung feel so drawn to it. Did she want to propose already? Wasn’t it too early? They weren’t going to reach an anniversary yet until a couple of more months. But she couldn’t shake the need to get it already.
“Do you wanna get it for Auntie?”
That made Chaeyoung shake herself awake from her imaginations. She blinked a couple of times, rubbing the back of her neck when she realized they stopped because she got distracted.
“Sorry, let’s just get the drink.” Chaeyoung tried to shrug off. But she stopped when Yukiko just looked at her.
“We could totally check it out? Maybe it’s not that expensive?” Yukiko seemed to be insistent about it. She didn’t wait for Chaeyoung’s response and grabbed her arm to pull her in the store, already asking the clerk to pull out the ring on the display.
Chaeyoung wasn’t sure how everything was happening so fast but when the actual thing was sitting in front of her, she was amazed. It was so small, but it seemed perfect. The clerk allowed her to pick it up from the box and when she did, there was this unknown pull coming from it and she was compelled to get it.
“Will she like this?” she absentmindedly asked. Looking down at Yukiko and presenting the ring to her. Yukiko bent over to inspect the ring closely and she nodded.
“Of course she will!” she said happily.
Chaeyoung gulped. The clerk looked at her with a smile on her face as well, then she proceeded to explain the little details of the piece of jewelry. But all of those words were clouded in her mind since all she could think about was what Mina would say if Chaeyoung did go on one knee and asked her the one question that she had never imagined herself asking ever.
“Okay,” she breathed out. “I’ll buy it.”
“So do you want to join the team?” her friend asked, panting a bit as they rested at the side of the practice room of the studio.
Mina tried to catch her breath and drank the water from her bottle quickly, gulping it down before she spoke. “What?”
Her friend smiled and giggled a bit. “Do you want to join the team? I mean, we checked your resume, and you have a pretty solid history with teaching kids and adults. I think we need that here.” She leaned back on the wall, looking at Mina. “We really need the extra help.”
“Really?” Mina had a hard time believing what she was saying. It had been three long years since she had done this and even if her insecurities were shrouding her logical thoughts. “I’m kinda rusty though.”
“Mina, we’ve been watching you dance since last month. It doesn’t look like you stopped,” she said, looking at Mina and placing a hand gently on her arm. “I get it, it’s scary and the insecurities are probably going to make you hesitant. But we’ve seen your moves and your abilities, and we think it’ll be great for you to join our team. You’re great with handling kids too and that’s a great benefit cause our rookie keeps swearing.”
She pursed her lips, thinking about what would Chaeyoung say if she was with her right now. The soft and loving expression played vividly in her mind and the comfort she was looking for was there.
“Okay, when do I start?”
Chaeyoung and Yukiko were busy trying to find a place inside Yukiko’s bedroom to hide the ring. It was silly, but Chaeyoung knew how Mina cleaned their bedroom and she knew that she would find it eventually if they didn't take extra measures.
Mina barely went inside Yukiko’s room, only when it was direly needed. So hiding the ring there was the perfect idea.
“You sure she won't find it here?” Chaeyoung asked in a loud whisper, looking away but pointing at the dresser.
“Chaeyoung, this is my underwear drawer, I don’t think she’ll snoop through it,” Yukiko deadpanned and then patted her back. “It’ll be fine—“
“What are you two doing?” Mina asked by the doorway. Crossing her arms and raising a brow at the both of them.
The two whipped their heads at her, Chaeyoung immediately started stuttering, a bit shocked to see how Mina was home already and her timing was impeccable as always. “We just came home from the mall and we’re just—“
“We’re picking out the clothes I have here that we can bring to Korea.” Yukiko saved her before she stumbled on her words.
God why was she acting like Dahyun all of a sudden? Mina could read her like a book, and it was making her even more nervous because if Mina asked one question that pressed the situation, Chaeyoung was going to spill.
Instead Mina shrugged. “I was wondering why you two weren’t downstairs when I got home.” Then she placed her arms on her hips and smiled widely at them. “I got a job again.”
Chaeyoung and Yukiko looked at each other with big eyes and then back at Mina, rushing to capture her in a big hug.
“Wow!” Chaeyoung breathed out, a bit uncomfortable to keep her excitement PG since there was a child in the vicinity, so swearing was strictly prohibited. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Yeah, I’m proud of you too!” Yukiko said happily, looking up at her aunt. “Are you gonna teach kids how to dance again?”
Mina nodded. “Yeah but they said I can start with the kids after a week. You know, to orient myself.”
“That’s fine. Pace yourself.” Chaeyoung placed a kiss on her hand. “You’ll do great.” Then she looked at Yukiko. “I’m sure it’s because we got her those joggers. They are lucky.”
Yukiko giggled, before she could respond, her cell phone started ringing and she rushed to answer it. Mina decided to leave her to her call and pulled Chaeyoung towards their bedroom.
Once they were inside, Mina closed the door to a lock and crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, spill.”
Chaeyoung stopped on her tracks and turned around slowly. “What do you mean?”
Mina raised her brow. “I know you two like the back of my hand. You’re hiding something and you’re using Yuki to help you.”
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