Destiny

Chapter 17

The sunlight filters through the blind, caressing the soft skin on her face. Mina takes a moment to shake off the sleep from her eyes. The first thing she's aware of is the fragrance of citrus and ocean looming in the room. It doesn't take long for last night's events to trickle through her consciousness and the rush of regret and shame to clog her mind.

She blinks her eyes open. It's time to face the reality. She can no longer pretend this thing, whatever it is, she feels for Nayeon is just friendship, is born out of platonic affection. Her body has reacted physically, sexually to the older girl and she wonders if she imagined seeing the same reciprocated in the dark eyes that haunts her every waking moment.

What am I doing? She buries her face into the soft, warm sheets. She's supposed to find Nayeon's mysterious person, she can't-isn't allowed to come in between them. She can't alter the timeline of the past, can't forget why she was sent to the past; to save Nayeon from eternal darkness, not to get distracted while at it.

She needs to focus, she needs a new plan, and she definitely needs to keep her distance from the older girl. Slowly, she pushes herself out of bed, letting her feet hit the cool, wooden floor. A shower gives her the clarity she needs.

If Nayeon is not going to tell her who she's in love with, then she is going to have to find it herself. All she needs to do is find the missing links and connect the dots. She has to start somewhere first and reluctantly decides it would have to be Nayeon's mother, no matter how strange or intrusive she's going to come across.

It's nearly midday when she reaches the studio with Momo and Sana. The pleasant aroma of coffee mixed with the laughter and chatter of the staff welcomes her as she opens the door. Mina takes a deep breath and heads towards the studio assigned for them.

"The J-line is finally here." Jeongyeon's teasing voice and amused face greets her first. "Some of us have been slaving away since five in the morning." It's a running joke between the girls that the producers' have a soft spot for the foreign line.

Mina is about to answer her when she hears Chaeyoung's soft voice behind her. "I wouldn't call snoring on that sofa slaving away."

She swallows hard and clutches at her chest, hoping that her heart would stop racing. She feels like her entire body might shut down- because her sharp senses doesn't fail to pick up on the familiar fragrance of citrus and ocean . A fragrance she knows that belongs to Im Nayeon. A fragrance she had desperately tried to hold on to for an agonizing four hundred days without her.

Mina remembers the first rule she jolted down this morning. Keep your distance. She takes a subconscious step closer to Momo and leans-cowers into her side when Chaeyoung and Nayeon walk around them and come into her line of vision.

She ignores Momo's quizzical glance on her as she doesn't let go for a while. "Are you okay?" Momo asks, wondering if Mina's coming down with something again.

"Do I have to be sick to hug you?" Mina jokes, to take the attention away from her overly clingy behaviour. She feels Nayeon's gaze on her but keeps her eyes fixated on Momo or Sana. She lets out a soft sigh of relief when the trio say their goodbye and head out to the dorm.

Couple of hours later, feet aching and killing, she wants to head home, get herself comfortable and warm, curl into a ball and sleep the rest of the day away. Her brain feels like its on a constant marathon, begs her to press stop and rest. She almost gives into the temptation, when her eyes skitter to the side and find the calendar. 22.12.2020. The date reads.

Nine days. The clock is unwavering in its ticking. Time is constantly slipping. Fate, like a mother's love is set, invariant and she can't run away from it forever.

Find her wish and set her free.

The ominous voice sounds in her head.

So with unsteady hands she dials the familiar number on her phone. "Minari, my darling." An affectionate voice sounds from the other end.