nayeon released a deep sigh as she watches mina and jihyo - who seemed to be lost in their own thoughts - cross the field and head to their school parking.

jihyo's usual wild hand gestures as she talks to mina and the latter's small yet genuine smile while listening to her best friend's whines were absent and replaced instead by a tensed silence as they walk by. 

nayeon sighs again. 

it was obvious. 

mina was nervous. maybe even scared.

nayeon saw it in the younger girl's eyes earlier. noticed it in the way mina held her breath when jihyo stepped forward. yet, she didn't say anything. didn't protest. didn't even pull her best friend back. and nayeon wonders if she would've stayed mum and rooted to where she was standing had yerim not arrive.

she wonders if mina would have come clean had jihyo was able to say more. 

"hopeless."

she hears sana speak beside her and nayeon tilts her head in her direction but it was momo who voiced out the question that crossed her mind. 

"what is?"

"this minayeon ship - and don't you even tell me again not to call you that." sana warns with a glare when she saw nayeon opening in protest. 

even with her best efforts, she doesn't look even a bit intimidating. if anything, she looks adorable with her cheek puffed out. but nayeon has been friends with her long enough to know that the younger means business so she swallowed her protest, closed and forced her hands behind her back to prevent herself from pinching sana's face. 

"as i was saying," she continues.

"you and mina are hopeless. being your ship's captain is a hundred times more exhausting than being a cheerleader, i tell you. i mean, have you seen her earlier? girlie didn't even say anything!"

nayeon hears momo breathes out. an almost laugh or an almost sigh. it's hard to tell when it comes to that girl. 

"satang. we are co-captains, remember?" she whines then pauses. thinking. "wait, is that a thing for ships? co - captains?" 

sana blinks. stares at momo. hard. and nayeon can tell a silent battle happened between the two when momo offers a sheepish smile to sana after a few seconds. 

"right. sorry. not the time." momo pushes her black, loosely waved hair away from her face and holds out her hands in surrender before turning to nayeon.

"but i do agree, unnie. this ship is bound to sink unless you do something."

"it's about time, don't you think?" sana adds.

"you've waited long enough and mina still hasn't mustered a courage to talk to you. at the rate she's taking, we'd be out of high school and you guys would stil be at the hey minari! and see you around, unnie! stage!" 

nayeon looks away from her friends' knowing gazes.

in front of them, the girls are huddled up in groups much like the three of them. some are deep in conversations while the others are dancing to a choreography they did last year. 

coach wendy didn't seem to believe them when they said they got hold up in the hallways by a classmate, which isn't entirely a lie, but considering that it was the first time they showed up late in practice, the older woman decided to let it slide. with a warning, of course and gave them a few minutes to themselves while she runs something with the student assigned on their music. 

nayeon's eyes land on yerim trying to match sooyoung's, joy, as what the girl prefers to be called, steps.

nayeon can tell that the younger is having a hard time in doing so, after all, she was yet part of the squad when they learned that choreography. but it wasn't yerim's awkward version of joy's moves the caught nayeon's attention. it's the look on her face as she moves along the taller girl that made the cheer captain stare. 

it reminds her so much of a certain girl who walks like a penguin.

mina

it's the same look that mina has whenever she's inside the pitch.

a look of someone with stubborn determination.

it's the look that mina always wear when her team is down and badly needs a goal to tie the match.

when she pushes past defenders.

when she studies the goalie's movement before she shoots the penalty. 

and beneath it is pure confidence. a knowledge of what she's capable of. 

confidence in the work she has put in every practice and the nights she spent learning the opponents' tendencies inside the pitch. confidence in her teammates. in her coaches. in her game. in what she can do with a ball in her feet. 

it's that determination paired with confidence that mina always slips into when everyone else is running inside the pitch to execute a play while she's just calmly walking with her head turning from one point to the other, eyes scanning the area before jumping into the chaos of moving bodies and flying balls and most often than not, it leads to mina giving an as