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"You really have to get rid of her, Mina. I mean it."Yeah, yeah. Mina rolls her eyes. She wanted it as well, but she couldn't. Not yet. She's also trying so hard to get rid her ex off from her mind, but it's no avail. Her heart still won't forget her."I'm trying, Momo. I'm trying, damn it," Mina heaves a heavy sigh, rolling her eyes at her best friend who's sitting on her bed, staring at her madly. It's been a month since that stupid Yoo dumped Mina, left Mina alone with a stupid excuse to break up. You're not pretty anymore. Bullshit. Momo knew it so well, Mina's beauty is just beyond perfect."You try? Really?" Momo scoffs, lifting up a rainbow colour bear doll given by Jeongyeon. Her hands squeeze the doll angrily. "By still keeping this in your bed? So, you can cuddle it whenever you miss that asshole?" Momo watches Mina clasping her lips, shut, blatantly beaten. "Mina, you're not even trying. Throw this away. If you won't, then I will."Mina gasps in shock when Momo dumps the poor doll onto the floor. Mina hauls herself out from the chair, adeptly catches the doll from the floor, giving it a soothing rubs like it injured. "Don't do that. You hurt her," she pouts, making Momo rolls her eyes and drops herself onto the bed, hands clasping her own tresses."Mina, you stupid."There's a halt before Mina quietly answers, "I know."///"Looseeeerr."Mina turns her face quickly when Momo drawls that word. Her previous gummy smile is totally gone from her face. "What do you mean?"Momo shrugs don't care, face showing a gruesome gaze, hand keeps pushing the fries from the tray into her mouth. "You loser. A fuckin' stupid loser."Mina halts, offended. "What the hell, Momo?""What the hell?" Momo mimics Mina's expression, throws the fries in her hand back to the plate. "If you think I'm blind enough to see you daze all the time, thinking of her, imagining spending time with her, then you're wrong, Mina. I'm not blind." Momo smacks her dinner with her fork, obviously upset by the fact Mina is still longing to Jeongyeon. "Can you please stop making me angry all the time, Mina?"Mina bites the inside of her cheeks, restraining herself to keep calm. No, she won't bicker with her best friend in the middle of this peaceful dinner. "Then, it's easy. Stop telling me to forget her, okay?"Momo looks surprised with Mina's reply. Her face still gruesome, blear. Mina knows by the time, it's a havoc for her. "Oh. If you promise me to stop crying all day like a little bitch, then I'll stop telling you that." Momo gets on her feet. "I'm done with you, Mina. Keep loving that asshole, you airhead. I give up." Then she stomps away, exits the dining room and left Mina alone.Mina could only watch the latter walks away from her. She can't blame her at all, Momo is right. Mina is a loser. A loser who keeps loving her ex, even though her ex was the one who dumped her.That day was a messed up. Jeongyeon was intoxicated, dragged by Mina to her house when suddenly she drew her hand off from Mina. With that stupid face, cheeks tinged reddish, unbalanced body, Jeongyeon spitted a break up spell. She said Mina isn't pretty anymore, which Mina own self knew that was a lame excuse. Jeongyeon left Mina after that, left Mina crying alone before Jeongyeon's house. If it wasn't because of Momo who pick her up from that road, Mina could end lying on the ground, lulling herself with her own tears and sobs.Mina doesn't know actually what was the reason Jeongyeon broke up with her. She could only surmising, guessing every single of possibility why Jeongyeon darely did that. It's an odd, even until now. They weren't a lovey dovey couple, actually, but they were good. Jeongyeon took care of Mina well and Mina stayed beside her girlfriend all day. That's why Mina sure, Jeongyeon wasn't totally sober that day. She can't control her own self that day, and unconsciously said a spell that tore Mina's heart into pieces.That's why Mina still waiting for her. Waiting for her to come back, come back into her embrace.But maybe, that's wrong. No. It's absolutely wrong.Mina heaves a heavy sigh. Momo's voice replays inside her head. Jeongyeon is an asshole, and Mina should stop being a dumb, who's still imagining the happy ending of a fairy tale Jeongyeon and her once made together. That's totally wrong.Momo is right. She has to move on. She needs to move on.///"You're right. I'm an airhead."Momo lifts up her head to see the face of her best friend who's taking a seat beside her. Mina brought two cans of soda as a bribe, shoves one into Momo's front. Momo still eyeing her, waiting for Mina to say another word. Mina sighs. "Alright. I'll come with you."Momo's eyes widened. At flash, she encircles her arms around the latter, grips the latter inside her embrace. "Mina, I love you!"Mina rolls her eyes. "Damn, Momo. I can't breathe!"Momo draws herself away from Mina after gave Mina a peck on the latter's temple. She found Mina's eyes, looks excited. "Look, Mina. I promise you this blind date will be great!"Mina heaves a sigh again. Momo had been offering Mina a blind date for the past few weeks. Momo oftenly attend that stupid affair, while Mina doesn't. Mina doesn't believe on that kind of event; meet up with new people, talking in brief, and end up dating. Mina always think a blind date is a stupid event, useless. But for Momo's sake, for her own sake, Mina needs to meet someone new.///"You look extremely beautiful, Mina!"If Momo means a combination of tight black jeans, plain white t-shirt, thick leather jacket could make a girl look beautiful, then she is. But Mina sure, beautiful isn't a correct word for her right now, especially with that look.Mina grabs a cap from the gallows, wearing it until it covers her forehead, makes her face shadowed. "You mean handsome? Or, cool, or swag, maybe?"Momo applies a thick red lipstick into her lips in front of the mirror. "Whatever you call it. Just make sure you got one in there." Momo tidying the smear around her lips. "Otherwise, I'll force you to attend that stupid affair every single week."Mina groans in protest.///When Mina enters the restaurant, she knows immediately, this will be a very long night.She follows Momo behind, trails after Momo who's stomping excitedly towards the swarm of people sitting in a big long table. Mina doesn't count, could only surmising there are over than twenty persons there. Momo takes a sit, and Mina takes one beside her. Momo abruptly leans into her side and whispers something right into her ear."You're lucky. There are some new faces I never saw before."Lucky. Mina laughs inside her head. Momo is absolutely into this stupid affair.Mina shakes her head, snaps herself. No, Mina really needs to move on. She can't be like this, she really has to find someone new here. So, she starts searching, studying one by one faces of the boys and girls there. Of course she's only interested with the girls, but she can't deny there are some handsome boys there.
Maybe I should try a dick.
That's the time when suddenly the restaurant door open; Mina could hear the bell sound of it. Someone's coming. Mina hears the steps coming closer into their direction. Two, no, three persons appear from behind her, walking towards the empty space across Mina's seat. Three, two of them Mina never met before, while the last one, Mina knows her so well."The fuck is she doing here?!" Mina hears Momo whispers at her, voice laden with madness. Mina couldn't reply the words, she could only gape at the creature who's sitting in front of her.It's Jeongyeon. She didn't recognize Mina's existence yet, so she sits in front of Mina calmly, still talking with her friend who's coming with her. When the chit chat ended, and she starts studying the situation there, she finally meets Mina's gazing at her. And she almost hauled out from her seat because of shock.Mina could feel Momo's hand over her on her thigh. Her best friend wrings her hand tightly. "Mina, tell me to calm down," Momo whispers, loud enough to be heard only by them two.Mina is staring at Jeongyeon for a few seconds, then turning her head at Momo, replacing her hand over Momo's. "It's okay, Momo. We're done. We're over." Mina's surprised that her voice sounds unsure. "I'll meet someone new today, okay?"Mina is relieved because the affair finally starts. They start to introduce themselves to the others one by one. And when it finally Jeongyeon's turn, Mina couldn't hold herself to not stare at her. And yeah, she couldn't deny another of her thought.
You're fuckin' handsome today, Jeong.
Mina didn't really paying attention to the others. The existence of her ex is distracting enough to make her unfocused. Even though she's pretending to pay attention to the others, throwing away the thought of Jeongyeon might be choose her again today, she still can't put herself into this affair. The people are talking each other, even Momo, who's completely forgot Jeongyeon's existence there. Momo just moved to an empty place beside a girl at the other end of the table. Pretty, straight hair, chubby cheeks, thin lips, nose so damn perfect. They look so happy talking together, like the world owned by them two. Whereas Mina, the one left by Momo, is in the middle of talking with a boy beside her. Bitter preambles, nothing special, nothing great. Indeed, dicks aren't interesting enough for her.Finally, it's the time for them to choose. To choose the one for a walk, or a one night stand sex, or luckily a long term relationship. The rule is simple. Everyone of them have to put one of their belongings on the table, putting them in a line, and every one of them can choose the person there by taking the stuff belongs to the chosen. They aren't forced to choose, but if they're chosen, then they have to accept it.Mina doesn't have anything except her cap, so she puts it there, a bit far enough from her. She studies the belongings of the girls, realizing hers is the most unattractive one. Too boyish, not pretty. Mina sure she couldn't find someone tonight, or chosen by someone. Shit. She has to attend this stupid event again next week.As expected, Momo's stuff grabbed by the girl Momo's been talking with. Her name is Sana, Mina heard Momo kept saying that girl's name, who's now smiling at Momo.It's finally Mina's stuff turn. And there's a long silence in there right now, hanging. No one take Mina's cap. Not even the boy Mina's been talking with before. See? He's not interested at her as well.Secretly, Mina keeps glancing at Jeongyeon's direction, watching the ex isn't twitching a bit. She's still like a stone, staring at Mina's cap solely with a solemn expression.
Take it, stupid.
"Anyone?" The 'MC' once again offers the cap, starts worrying because no one is interested. Mina still glaring at Jeongyeon, hoping her glare could hypnotize Jeongyeon to take the cap. Mina sees beads of sweat mars Jeongyeon's temples.
Take it, you asshole!
It was the time when Mina sees Jeongyeon lifts her arm to make a move when abruptly, someone grabs the cap in flash. Mina lifts up her head to sees a tiny, short hair girl is flicking her cap at ease, face looks so confident. The girl's big eyes are staring at her firmly."You." That tiny girl's pointing her index finger right into Mina's direction. The swarm watching her in silent. Petrified. "Date with me."

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

"Boss!"Chaeyoung cranes her neck, peering over a girl who's stomping eagerly towards her through the papers she's been studying at. Chaeyoung heaves a mad sigh when the girl arrives at her big table and leans her lower body onto the edge. "What are you doing, Miss Son?""Sana, could you please knock the door before coming in?" Chaeyoung puts the papers down onto the table, fixing the glasses she used. "I'm busy studying the papers of our sponsor for our upcoming project."Sana groans lazily. "Chill, girl. You need to rest." Sana snatches the papers and tosses it far from Chaeyoung. She glances at Chaeyoung and winks cutely. "Have some rest, Chaeng. Go somewhere for a few days or else. Find a solace."Chaeyoung halted for a moment. After heaves a sigh, she leans forwards to grab the papers Sana moved. "I don't have time to do that. And else," Chaeyoung finally got the papers back after struggled with Sana who kept trying to make the papers away from Chaeyoung. "This is my solace," Chaeyoung says, lifting up the papers after Sana's face and starts reading it again.Sana heaves. "Boring," she slurs, hauls herself up from the edge and crosses her arms over her chest. "Or at least find someone. For fun.""Sana," Chaeyoung doesn't have any choice except cease. Sana in unstoppable, she couldn't just say off to Sana right now. "Listen. We've been talking about this, right?" Chaeyoung sees Sana nods languidly. Chaeyoung carries on. "Then you should be knew the reason why I don't do that. Loving someone."Sana halted, couldn't reply immediately. "But, you don't have to love that person, though." Sana giggles bitterly as Chaeyoung winces at her. "Sex, I mean. Just for sex."Sex. A word Chaeyoung doesn't understand the meaning, the good of it, the reason why people craving it so much. Sana, her best friend, also her personal secretary, that girl seems like she understands the word so well, despite the fact that she doesn't have a girlfriend at the moment. That's why Sana keeps telling Chaeyoung to have that, at least once.But Chaeyoung always reject it. Not interested at all. There's no way she could have sex with someone. No way."No," Chaeyoung's voice sounds firm. "No free sex. That's not healthy."Heard that, Sana rolls her eyes and laughs. "Ohh, nerd." Sana groans. "Then, go marry someone, for a healthy sex.""I'm still your boss here, Sana," Chaeyoung mumbles without looking at Sana. She fixes her glasses again. "If you done, you can go out now."Chaeyoung feels Sana stares at her but she doesn't care. After a moment, Sana walks away from Chaeyoung, ambles towards the door wordlessly. When she grabs the knob, she ceases, stirs her body and found Chaeyoung is watching her, as though she's waiting for Sana to get out from the room. "At least don't forget to have a lunch, okay?" her voice laden of worry, and Chaeyoung smiles because of it, nods meekly.When the door closed by Sana, Chaeyoung heaves a sigh, leaning her back into the backrest. She's tired. Sana's right. She needs to have some rest. And also, she wanted it as well. It's just time won't allow her. She couldn't wasting the time she has. Time is gold, and therefore she has to spend it delicately.Chaeyoung heaves again, takes a sip of coffee on her desk. She squints as the coffee is already cold, even though it's still filled up the cup. Sana served her that an hour ago, and yet she didn't drink it a sip. Maybe that's why Sana always worrying her, keeps telling her to eat and rest."Damn," she curses, massaging her throbbing temples with eyes shut. Sana's right. She needs to rest. She needs a solace.///"Where are we going, Sana?"Sana didn't answer, keeps walking before her, eagerness in every steps of hers. Chaeyoung trails her behind, hobbled, not really excited with this solace thing. Honestly, she regrets it a bit.As Sana didn't answer her, Chaeyoung once again speaks up. "Sana!" This time, her voice is louder, makes the older girl turns lazily and rolls her eyes. "What?"If they're in the office, Sana might be get scolded by Chaeyoung for that impolite behaviour, but they're not in the office. Chaeyoung practically isn't Sana's boss out here. She's Sana's friend, younger friend, which is it's her who need to be polite.So, she relents. "Where are we going, Sana?" Chaeyoung repeats the unanswered question, tiredness etched on her face. Oppositely with Sana, who eyes beaming, showing how excited she is. "A blind date, bean. A blind date. I've told you a million times!""You did?" Chaeyoung doesn't remember Sana tell her that blind date thing. "However, how could a blind date be a solace for me?"Sana gives Chaeyoung a glare, as though she didn't believe Chaeyoung could asking her that shitty question. "Really, Chaeng? You can find someone there. And then get married, for your healthy sex's sake."Sana ambles again, left Chaeyoung behind, who's watching her with creases. She could just leave, as Sana might not see her do that. But, she refuses to do that, decides to trail Sana into somewhere she didn't know yet.She's been walking for ten minutes from her Black Porsche 911 Turbo, and almost let out a mad groan when finally she sees the destination. A small restaurant, serving kind of dishes Chaeyoung doesn't remember when was the last time she tasted it. She kinda misses the taste of dishes in this place, so involuntarily she kinda feels excited abruptly.She chases Sana and walks beside her. "Why don't we just ride my Porsche?" she asks, doesn't understand why Sana told her to park her car far away from here. "This is inconvenient.""Porsche. A damn expensive car." Sana ceases and stirs her body to face Chaeyoung. "You might be looking so rich, Chaeng.""I am," Chaeyoung slurs with ease, shrugging, which makes Sana squints her brows."And it might be attractive for someone who... loves money."Chaeyoung halted, doesn't find the problem Sana meant. "Everyone loves money, stupid.""No," Sana refutes, completely disagree with Chaeyoung's preposition. "Not someone who truly like you with their heart, not because you're a wealthy. And that's your job to find that holy person." Sana carries on to the restaurant. She ceases before the door, and stirs to face Chaeyoung again. "Ohh, and take off your suit. It makes you look so stiff and uncomfortable. And relax your strained shoulders, bean." That was the last words Sana told Chaeyoung before she enters the restaurant.Chaeyoung could only cussing whilst taking off the suit. It left her with a white shirt tucked into her trouser, and Chaeyoung decides to pull the shirt out from the trouser, to make her look more relaxed.She heaves a sigh, inconceivably nervous. She walks towards the restaurant and opens the door slowly, releasing a damn good smell of delicious foods. It does make Chaeyoung's stomach brusquely grumbling.She studies the inside, found Sana is sitting in a table of the blind date event. She heaves again, still can't believe herself joining this stupid thing.She sidles up to the table, takes a seat beside Sana who luckily sits on a seat at the tip of the table. Sana glances over her briefly, then attention back into the girl next to her.
Damn, Sana! Help me!
"Hey," a girl in front of her greets her with such a flirty tone. "What's your name, baby girl?"
Oh, great. It's been a few seconds I'm here and someone already baby-ing me!
Chaeyoung studies the girl, definitely not interested with her. But she won't break that girl's heart this fast, so she clears her throat and utters with ease, "Son Chaeyoung."Chaeyoung receives a small ooh from the girl. And then they start talking about common things. Not really interesting, something bullshit (tbh), because Chaeyoung knows the girl only tells her embellished stories. Just so Chaeyoung would interested into her. And obviously, it's no avail.The affair begins. Chaeyoung is relieved that the girl in front of her finally stop talking to her. Chaeyoung doesn't even remember her name, and she doesn't willing to anyway. Chaeyoung only leans her chin on the back of her hand, elbow rested on the desk, when the affair began by all of them introduce themselves to all of the people there.When Chaeyoung's turn comes, and she has to stand up to introduce herself, she could see some girls are giving her a seductive movements, like a wink or a flirty smile. Well, Chaeyoung does received that a lot, and that's why she's not surprised at all.When she back to her seat, Sana beside her nuzzles her arm, leaning onto her and whispers delightfully. "Damn, Son. You got a lot." Sana gives Chaeyoung a mischief smile, feels so proud of her tiny boss for receiving a lot of attentions. "You just have to pick one, then foila! Kisses, lovebites, cuddles, or maybe a marriage, for your healthy sex's sake!"It's plaguing Chaeyoung that Sana flippantly keeps mentioning her healthy sex thing, apparently mocking at it. So she glowers at Sana who petrified under that gaze of hers. "You gross, Minatozaki. And stop mentioning my briliant plan of life." Sana merely nods, slyly grins under that meek face. And Chaeyoung just rolls her eyes, neglects her silly friend.The affair carries on, and Sana absolutely forget about Chaeyoung. She's sunk deeper into a conversation between her and the girl who previously moved to her side just so she can talk with Sana. Chaeyoung doesn't understand why the hell Sana is into this kind of event so much, and still not bringing a girl from it. But, maybe Sana's just waiting for this day, a day when she finally found her mate. A girl named Momo. Chaeyoung studied her before, and found out that she's cute, yet hot and sexy (definitely Sana's type).While Chaeyoung was forcedly dragged into the middle of the table by some girls. And there she is now, clasped between two girls who are clinging onto her arms, asking Chaeyoung to tell them about herself. It's always bothering Chaeyoung, that she always got this kind of treatments from girls. Yeah, especially after she cut her hair short, girls start to interested on her. Her aloofness doesn't make them hurt. Oppositely, it makes the girls like her more. That she's cool, that she's kind of girl crush. Bitchy.And therefore, Chaeyoung could only attempts to supress her disgust, restraining herself from bursting.She could see Sana is grinning at her, saying "choose one, Son," without sound, and the thought of firing Sana passes her mind in brief.Reminded for the real intention of being here, Chaeyoung starts to studying the girls faces. They're pretty, and cute, but no one attracted Chaeyoung. Including the girls before her, who are leaning towards her just so they can speak with Chaeyoung, there are four of girls who's interested at Chaeyoung. Sana is right, that she just need to choose one amongst them, but stupidly, Chaeyoung doesn't even remember their names.And therefore, Chaeyoung decides to choose no one amongst them.The affair carries on, continued with a strange thing called 'pick the one you like'. So, they have to pick up the stuff of the person's they like, so they can date with him/her. Chaeyoung only watches in silent when Momo grabs Sana's item from the line, choosed her as the one she wants to date with. Chaeyoung sees Sana smiles widely, obviously happy with the fact that Momo bravely choosed her. And Chaeyoung wants to congratulate Sana when she remembers, she also has to choose.Chaeyoung gulps. Her stuff, a pen, the only thing she has on her pocket except her stuffy wallet and her Porsche's key, is there, in the line, still untaken. No, her stuff is the most favourite one, as there are four or more girls took hers. But as she can't date all of them, the rule'd been changed (for her only), that she has to take the stuffs of the girls who chose her. She's the one who'll decide who'll be her date.Chaeyoung's turn to choose is getting closer. The girls who previously chose her, start giving Chaeyoung some actions, beckoning Chaeyoung to take her stuff. It makes Chaeyoung confused, fraglantly hurts Chaeyoung's head.Chaeyoung catches a glimpse of Sana nodding at her, convincing her that whoever she choose, Chaeyoung already made a good decision. Chaeyoung once more studies the girls (the boys are absolutely out of her options). And she decides.
No, I won't choose any of you, airheads.
So, before the stuffs to choose on the table run out, Chaeyoung gets onto her feet, couldn't wait any longer until her turn, and blindly grabs the onsale stuff at the moment, which is a black cap.She remembers the girl who belongs the stuff. A girl with black, shoulders length hair, with a beauty mark on her nose. Who now is in shock as she didn't expect Chaeyoung to take her stuff. Chaeyoung gulps thickly."You," Chaeyoung points her index finger to the girl, fastly dismounting it as she catches her hand is trembling nervously. "Date with me."There's a long halted after that. Chaeyoung keeps her eyes at the girl, whom shoulders look heavier as she petrified. Her face looks dissapointed and bleak, yet, she blearly gives Chaeyoung a lopsided smile. Then, Chaeyoung hears someone starts clapping hands for her, and then the others do the same thing as well, finally giving Chaeyoung a praise she deserved for that brave action.Chaeyoung sits back onto her seat beside Sana, aparently avoiding the mad girls there, and Sana nudges her arm in proud. "Damn, Chaeng! You're so amazing!" Sana beams on her, looks proud. "I suddenly want to date you!"Chaeyoung shrugs Sana off from her, shooing her. "Shut up. Your date could hear your words," Chaeyoung lazily mumbles, suddenly feeling regret for being that over confident. She glances over the girl she chose, and caught off the girl is glancing at her too. They fastly duck their head down and avoid each other's gaze. "Damn, I don't even know her name.""What? What's wrong?" Sana, still feeling proud of her tiny boss, heard Chaeyoung cussed. She leans onto Chaeyoung's side and whispers, "what's wrong, Chaeng?"Chaeyoung bites her lower lip. "I don't know her name, dumbass. I chose her just so I can escape from those love seekers," Chaeyoung nods into the girls who choosed her previously. And now, they're glowering at Chaeyoung, creeps Chaeyoung out. "Damn, look at them. Holy shit!"Chaeyoung receives a gentle tap on her shoulder from Sana. She smiles sadly, as though she's empatic with Chaeyoung's situation. "You'll gonna die soon, Son.""Damn, Sana! Shut up!" she shrugs Sana's hand off her shoulder, left Sana laughs gleefully. Sana's laugh abruptly ceased as she remembers something. She leans onto Chaeyoung's side and utters, "by the way, her name is Myoui Mina. Damn, Son! What's the point of me bringing you here if you can't even remember their names?!"Chaeyoung just shrugs carelessly. "I don't fuckin' care, Sana. I just want to get out from here. From them!" Chaeyoung glances at the swarm of her fans, but regrets is as soon as she catches them still glowering at her.Sana shakes her head, decides to let Chaeyoung do what she want. "Whatever, Chaeng. Just, don't mess up with her. I'm going to date her bestfriend," Sana huffs, reminds Chaeyoung that she'll date Momo. "I hope you two will get along together. So we can do double date."Chaeyoung pushes Sana off from her side, decides to just enjoy the beef in front of her instead of mulling this over and over. Amid her munching, she catches Mina keeps glancing at her, with those indescribable looks firing through her eyes, leaden etched on her face.After 10 minutes, the so called 'pick the one you like' thing is ended. It's time for the couple to get out, go somewhere else, or they also could just hang out at the same restaurant. And yeah, most of them choose to hang out somewhere, left only a small amount of swarm far from Chaeyoung. Her fans are all gone, weirdly, and also Sana and Momo, who are heading towards the front door right now.Chaeyoung is hesitated for a moment. She isn't an aggresive person, and well, she never be the one of it. It's just simply she hates being in a serious relationship with someone. A thin, fragile relationship like dating, because it's possible to be broken up. And so she hates it, she doesn't want to be torn. Not again. She had enough.But this time, seeing Mina sitting alone there, totally forgotten by her friend Momo, is kinda makes Chaeyoung moved. The girl with that long shoulder length hair looks so lonely, so abandoned. And Chaeyoung could see the reflection of herself from Mina. She understands that feeling too well.So, Chaeyoung decides to be aggresive, and she gets to her feets, approaching Mina, who is aware of Chaeyoung's moves. Chaeyoung gulps thickly, oddly feeling nervous. She slogs to stomp towards Mina, who is following her with her eyes.And she found herself is standing beside Mina awkwardly. However, Chaeyoung was the one who picked Mina, and that makes her to be the one who should ask Mina to hang out.Chaeyoung rubs her nape and eyes Mina cautiously. Mina stares back wordlessly. "So, you wanna go somewhere or just staying here?"Mina halted for a moment before she abruptly stands up. Chaeyoung is stunned for a beat when Mina gives her a flash friendly smile. "Let's go somewhere."Mina leads the way outside, and Chaeyoung trails behind her. At the front door, they cease as Mina asks for an excuse to talk with Momo for a minute. And when Momo leaves from her side, Sana briskly stomps towards Chaeyoung."Chaeng," Sana whispers, loud enough for two of them. Her voice is laden with warning. "Remember. Don't show off your money. Make sure she fall in love with you because of you being yourself."At the briefiest moment, Chaeyoung thought maybe it's just Sana who really have an intention to retain Chaeyoung for herself. She swipes away the thought, nods in response. "I got that. No showing off. No riding Porsche. No paying the motel room for a hooked up."Sana nuzzles Chaeyoung's arm, smiling wolfishly. "Cross the last one. You got all my permission to do that," she slyly utters, winking at Chaeyoung who rolls her eyes lazily.Momo's call ends the brief yet rubbish talk of Sana and Chaeyoung's. Sana walks away after she gave Chaeyoung the last quote of hers; have fun tonight on somewhere's bed. It's really disgusting for her, that Sana is talking about sex endlessly. But she shrugs away, Sana is just being Sana.Momo and Sana leave Mina and Chaeyoung without a second glance. And the air is getting heavier again, a huge dome of awkwardness trapped them inside."Uhm," Mina suprisingly opens the talk, seeing Chaeyoung wasn't going to say anything. "Let's have some walk to somewhere."Chaeyoung merely nods, hums softly. "Okay."And then they walk side by side. Not so close, there's 10 centimetres gap between them. And the moment is so awkward, they just walk aimlessly. And after 5 minutes of silence, Mina chuckles bitterly."Oh my god, this is so awkward," she utters sheepishly. "I'm sorry, this is my first time attending a blind date. So, you know," she shrugs, Chaeyoung eyeing her wordlessly. "I don't know what I exactly supposed to do."Me either, Chaeyoung says inside her mind. She just nods, responding. "How about we introduce our own self first?" she suggests. "I'm Son Chaeyoung."Chaeyoung sees Mina smiles. "Myoui Mina.""Okay, Mina. How about we go to a park and have a seat there?" Chaeyoung offers another suggestion, and Mina winces in response. "Park?"Well, Mina doesn't like being outside. She prefer being inside her room rather than hanging out to somewhere. Day or night, both are the same. Perhaps Mina just hates to meet people, interacting with someone. The only persons she like to be interracted with are Momo and Jeongyeon.Oh, gosh. She thinks about Jeongyeon again.Speak the devil, Jeongyeon suddenly appears from the bent, enters her vision. She's with someone. A girl, long hair and a plump lips. They walks towards Mina and Chaeyoung, and it whisks Mina's tummy brusquely.Jeongyeon wasn't realize her pretence at first, but when they close enough, she snapped. Her face turns pale when she catches Mina's figure with her date.Mina eyes her wordlessly. She hates the vision of them two. She hates Jeongyeon for breaking up with her. She hates Jeongyeon for dating another girl this soon. She hates Jeongyeon for walking towards them."Hey, Mina," she greets, tries to ignore Mina's glower. She glances quickly at Chaeyoung, gives her a flash thin smile. When she stares back at Mina, she utters with ease, "enjoy your date."And then Jeongyeon walks past Mina and Chaeyoung, together with her date without a second glance. And Mina awares herself is boiled up by madness. Her fists gripped tightly beside her body."She's your ex?"A question snaps Mina, drags her back to the reality. The reality, where herself is walking with Son Chaeyoung next to her. Mina turns to her date's direction, catches Chaeyoung is eyeing her blankly."What?"Chaeyoung didn't answer immediately, instead, she states, "she's definitely your ex," without second questioning. She watches Mina in silent, who's a bit offended."Well, she is. But, we're over, okay?" Mina convinces Chaeyoung, or well, maybe she just tries to convince herself. Is she over her yet? Mina doesn't need someone to tell her the answer. She knows the answer so well.But, she runs away from the truth. Because she's a coward, and she knows that.Chaeyoung crosses her arms over her chest, still not responding, and it makes Mina getting nervous. "Say something," she begs, and Chaeyoung heaves a sigh. "Sorry, but I was just asking. I don't mind if she was once yours, because that's not my problem.""Then, why bother asking?" Mina huffs, her voice is raising.Chaeyoung was halted for a beat, mulling, before she answer again, still with ease. "Okay, sorry, my bad." Chaeyoung sinks her hands onto her pockets, relaxed. "So, we look like a real couple who are bickering right now. How about a date at the park with some snacks and beverages? My treat."Mina stunned for a moment. Thinking about Yoo Jeongyeon makes her furious, angry, mad but at the same time, feeling like she's the stupidest person in this world. Jeongyeon dumped her already, and why she has to think about her again? This is silly, and Mina knows that pretty well. She needs to forget Jeongyeon. And maybe, only maybe, talking with Chaeyoung, this over confident girl before her, would make her able to forget that asshole.And so Mina nods, taking Chaeyoung's offer. "Sure. Park and your treat."///Mina is waiting for Chaeyoung on the bench. The park is empty, and dark. The nearest street light is a few metres afar, and that makes her surrounded with dimness. The air is cold and light; Mina hugs herself into a light embrace."Feeling cold?" A voice comes from behind her. She doesn't need to turn her face to see Chaeyoung. The smaller girl is coming with plastic bags in both of her hands. She puts the plastic bags beside Mina, and then sits on the other side of the bench. "Here. I brought you a drink that maybe, could help you cope with the coldness."Mina rummages the plastic bag, and her eyes widened when she sees the thing inside it. "Hot chocolate?"She lifts her face up to see Chaeyoung is staring at her innocently. "Hot chocolate is the best drink for time like this, isn't it?"Mina watches Chaeyoung takes one of the cups, starts sipping it like nothing so wrong with hot chocolate."Well," Mina chuckles bitterly. "When you said you'll treat, I thought you'll buy me beer."That causing Chaeyoung to stir her face and says, "oh." She halts. "You don't like hot chocolate?"For a moment, Mina thinks Chaeyoung is a cute and innocent person. "No. I didn't mean that. I like it. Everyone loves hot chocolate," Mina takes the cup from the plastic bag, lifting it in front of Chaeyoung's face before taking a sip. "Cheers."Chaeyoung laughs.There's a few minutes of silence, they're just keep sipping the hot chocolate and eating the snacks Chaeyoung brought. Mina secretly glances over Chaeyoung for a few times, catches the small girl is wandering beyond her, coolly and with ease kept sipping the hot chocolate. Mina hesitates, fake coughing to get Chaeyoung's attention. Chaeyoung turns her head and raises her brows."I'm sorry for the earlier incident," Mina opens up a conversation. She feels awkward under Chaeyoung's stare. She heaves. "I-I didn't mean to yell at you."There's a beat of awkward silence before Mina sees Chaeyoung giggles. Her dimples shown, and that's so damn cute."It's fine. Don't worry," Chaeyoung shrugs, totally fine with the incident. She looks back to beyond her and sips her drink again. "I'm not easily hurt by a thing like that. Besides, that was my fault too. So, it's fine."Mina nods, relieved that this Chaeyoung is a take things slow person. A beat passed again, still awkward, and then Mina talks again. "So, tell me, Chaeyoung-ssi," Mina stirs her body to face Chaeyoung. "What makes you chose me?"Chaeyoung almost choke heard that. She coughs for a moment, makes Mina offers her hot chocolate. Chaeyoung pushes Mina's hand aside, gently rejects it. After a moment, she swallows hardly. "Oh," she slurs. Her eyes are teary because of the choke. "Can I tell you the reason?"Mina shrugs. "Of course you can. I want to know what is my attractive point, that made you, a complete stranger, chose me."Chaeyoung coughed a couple times before exhaling. She leans her back to the backrest, thoughtful. "I, uhm, I'm not sure to say this. Honestly, I was being forced by my friend to attend this... thing. And it was bad, as I thought. I never like this kind of event. It was so... silly."Mina nods, silently agree with that. She's not the only one who hates this thing."And she said she'll drag me to this event again if I didn't bring someone from here tonight." Chaeyoung bites her lower lip, seems hesitate to continue. "So... I'm sorry to say this. But, I just randomly picked you."Mina stoned hearing the reason. I just randomly picked you. It was so unexpected."I mean, the girls there before were so aggressive, and they kept asking me to date them, so, I took yours, who didn't really put an intention on me."Mina is speechless. She's not sure what to do. The thought that she's pretty attractive, at least for someone, which was Chaeyoung, suddenly vanished away. This girl was just randomly picked her. Randomly. Not because Mina is beautiful, or charming. No. She just randomly picked her for a reason to escape.Mina opens her mouth, still shocked. "Wow." She laughs bitterly, most to her stupidness. "That was... intriguing."And maybe Chaeyoung feels bad for saying the real reason, so she adds, "I mean yeah, you look beautiful, of course. Your face is so pretty and charming. But," she trails off. She licks her lips nervously, completely feeling guilty. "I'm sorry for making you look easy. But, I don't really have an interest on you, Mina-ssi. If you don't mind, please take this as an apology from me, would you?"She refers to the food. The hot chocolate and the late snacks.Chaeyoung is aware that she just ruins this date. She knows it. But she can't let this girl falls on her when she didn't even have an interest on her. She feels bad for Mina, for making her do this awkward and weird date with her. She doesn't want to make Mina knows her deeper and deeper, absolutely when Chaeyoung just used her for a stupid excuse, escaping."But, do you mind if I ask for your phone number? I mean, Sana might ask for an evidence that we were really having fun tonight."
What did she say? She asked for my phone number?
Mina couldn't believe what Chaeyoung just said. After all those shitty reasons, that she was used as an escape way from those bunch of bitches, this small bean just asked her for a phone number?!"You jerk," Mina mumbles easily. Chaeyoung raises her brows, petrified. "How dare you ask for my phone number?"Chaeyoung looks down, nodding. She understands why Mina upset. She's indeed a jerk. "I'm sorry, really. I shouldn't ask that to you. I'm really sorry."Mina draws herself and leans her back to the backrest. She can't believe this thing is happening to her. This small bean chose her randomly to run away from her fans, and then she bribed her with a goddamn hot chocolate and late snacks, so Mina would pretend that they're having fun tonight. And now, she asked her for a phone number?!
Who the hell is this jerk?!
She exhales. "Damn, I can't believe this happen to me," Mina grabs her hair and shuts her eyes. "Oh my god, how could I explain to Momo about this? I can't tell her that I was just being used as an escape way from those bitches of your fans."Mina really hates hearing Chaeyoung's voice, but she couldn't restrain that small bean from saying, "well, tell her that I was a jerk. That I was an asshole.""And, that you're not my type," Mina adds, emphasizing in every single word of it. Well, it wasn't a lie, anyway. Chaeyoung is not Mina's style. Not with that small body, and that pierced earlobes, and that bluntness. That badass aura oozing out from her, those brown big eyes, that plump lips, that mole near her below lip. No, Mina's style isn't like her at all.Or, maybe it's just her still longing at Jeongyeon.Mina didn't expect that Chaeyoung just nodding, agree. "Great." She claps her hands over her body, leaps to her feet. "Then, I think this should be the end of our meeting." She stretches her body. "So, you need a ride? I can drop you home if you want.""No, no need to do that," Mina quickly rejects. Besides the fact that she doesn't want to spend another minute with this small, she would like to spend some more minutes in this place, alone. Just thinking. "I'm okay. I'll spend some more minutes here.""Owh, okay," Chaeyoung nods again, doesn't let out any argument. "So, goodbye? Let's greet each other when we bumped later at the street, huh?" Chaeyoung smiles fondly, burying her hands into her pockets. Her short hair blown by the wind, she looks pretty cool to be honest. "I'll buy you beer next time."Mina smiles, not letting out any word.When Chaeyoung smiles for the last time, and then leaves, Mina stays there, sitting by herself. Alone and sad, miserable.She hopes there's no next time with this Chaeyoung.
Shit, Momo. I think I'll go with you again next week.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Sana couldn’t hide her excitement. She’s been waiting for an hour right now for her tiny boss. She’s curious about her date last night with Momo’s friend. She wants to hear the whole story. Well, she didn’t expect too much from Chaeyoung, but at least, she’ll get pleased with Chaeyoung’s first date story.She’s working on something right now. A file that Chaeyoung asked her to finish it as soon as possible. She knows that Chaeyoung would get mad if she found out that she didn’t finish it yet, but right now, she just couldn’t concentrate. She needs to hear something from Chaeyoung first.Speak the devil, the tiny boss finally comes. She comes out from the lift, bringing cups of coffee on both of her hands. She gives all the coffees to her employees, receiving a lot of thank you words, and then she ambles to her own room. Sana’s table is right beside her door, and so, Sana leaps to her feet when Chaeyoung is getting closer. Chaeyoung sees Sana standing there, looking directly towards her with that look in her eyes.“Good morning, Sana,” she greets kindly, doesn’t even stop for a talk, and gets inside her room without second glance. Sana halted for a moment, can’t believe that Chaeyoung just passed her without saying anything about last night. So, Sana scurries to Chaeyoung’s office, wanting a story from Chaeyoung.When she’s inside, Chaeyoung is already sitting on her desk, studying the files that scattered on her desk. Sana closes the door behind her quietly, and slowly approaching her boss’ desk. Chaeyoung catches her movements, looking up, and then mutters, “did you finish the file I asked you before, Sana?”Sana exhales resignedly. She sometimes doesn’t understand why her tiny boss is so clueless. Or maybe, she’s just too innocent about this. Sana keeps walking towards the desk, and then stops right beside her boss with her arms folded over her chest. “So?”Chaeyoung turns her head for a brief glance, but then her attention back to the files on the desk. “What’s wrong?”Sana exhales again. She’s kinda tired with this game. “So, how was she?”Chaeyoung didn’t answer immediately. She keeps studying the files for a moment, before finally she confesses, “well, she was nice. Way too nice for me.”Sana is almost smiled happily, thinking that her effort was at least worthy. But then she realizes that Chaeyoung’s last words sound suspicious. Her brief smile gradually faded. “What do you mean?”Chaeyoung can’t say their stupid date last night was ended tensely. Mina was hurt by Chaeyoung, and Chaeyoung would never talk about that with Sana. It’s really embarrassing for her that she once hurt someone that way, making someone looks easy and low. She feels sorry for that, but she just can’t help herself from doing that. She didn’t want to make Mina fall into her, not that way, when she’s just playing at her, using her as an escape way.And so, she shouldn’t tell Sana that she won last night. Mina deserves something better than being rejected.Chaeyoung shrugs, leaning to the backrest of her chair. “She rejected me, okay? She doesn’t want to be with me.”“But, why?” Sana questions seriously. Well, despite the fact that Chaeyoung is tiny and, uhm, tiny, she has a lot of good things. She’s funny, cute yet mature, sweet, and warm. She’s a right person for you who want to have a kind of fun relationship. She’s kind and friendly, and another good things that Chaeyoung has. An addition, she’s rich as fuck.And that’s why, when Chaeyoung said that Momo’s friend didn’t want to be with her, Sana doesn’t believe it easily. She wants a clear reason, not a blur answer like she doesn’t want to be with me.She couldn’t be more confused when Chaeyoung shrugs again. “Well, she said that I’m not her type. So,” Chaeyoung paused, managing the files on her desk. “That’s all.”“But, Momo is nice,” Sana pouts. Her date last night was amazing. She went along nicely with that Japanese. Momo is kind and cute, and she has a lot of aegyo. She also has a cool side, friendly and warm. So, it’s kind disappointing that Momo’s friend couldn’t continue dating her tiny boss. “And, we’re planning to date again soon.”“Then, good luck,” Chaeyoung says sincerely. She gives her last smile to Sana before she back to the files. Sana only watches her wordlessly, doesn’t know what to say or do. Her mouth was opened for a moment, wanting to say something, but then it closes without her saying anything. She wordlessly hobbles to the door and leaves Chaeyoung alone without second glance.Seeing that, Chaeyoung could only sigh resignedly.///“How was it?”Mina knew it, Momo will soon ask about it. About her, that tiny jerk. She’s been telling Mina about how fun her date with Sana was. And Mina also realizes that Momo was trying to make Mina spit out her date. But no, Mina won’t say anything about it. Until now, that Momo finally asked it out aloud. Mina doesn’t have any other choice except telling her. “Chaeyoung?” Mina opens, still busy cleaning the dishes she just used for dinner. This isn’t the first time Momo came to her house just for eat the dinner Mina made. But, yeah, Mina doesn’t mind at all. She looks up for a moment just to say, “she was a jerk. I knew it since the first time we do talk.”“What?” Momo sounds surprised. “What the hell did she do to you?”“Well,” Mina shrugs, drying her hands with the rag. “Nothing. She was just being an asshole. Besides, she’s not my type. My type is tall, and cool and—”“Like Jeongyeon, huh?” Momo fastly cuts Mina’s words off. She rolls her eyes and heaves a sigh. “Please, you said you want to move on.”“I didn’t say anything about her, though,” Mina pouts. She walks towards the sofa after the TV and sits on it. Momo follows her. “Anyway, Chaeyoung is just not my type, okay?”Momo didn’t answer immediately. She just joins Mina watching the movie, and then quietly says, “then, you’ll join that affair again next week.”
Oh shit.
///It's been a month since that failed date, and Mina never saw Chaeyoung after that day. What a relief, as she also hoped that there’s no next time with that Chaeyoung. Mina met Sana, Chaeyoung’s friend for couple times, as that girl’s dating her best friend. But luckily, Sana never mentioned that tiny girl. Well, she did for once, asking Mina the real reason why her date with Chaeyoung didn’t go well. She can’t say that Chaeyoung was an asshole to Sana, so she said that the tiny girl isn’t her type. And that’s all.Momo seems like she’s pretty tired and giving up for making Mina move on. She doesn’t care anymore about Mina still longing to Jeongyeon. She still wanted Mina to move on and find someone new, but as Mina keeps giving her a cold reaction, for now, Momo doesn’t do anything too much. She just keeps reminding Mina that she needs to find someone new if she wants to forget about Jeongyeon.It’s 1 pm right now. Mina is at her work place, a small restaurant of her, serving chicken and another food. She runs it with her co-worker, name Park Jihyo. They have two employees that work at the kitchen, while them two taking care in the front. Jihyo is Mina’s friend since a long time ago, she’s also friend with Momo. They usually hang out together, having fun and just talking.“Mina,” Jihyo, whose now is taking charge serving the customers, calls her. Mina for a moment stops maintaining the money, looking up to see Jihyo is leaning her body to the counter table. The restaurant is pretty vacated now, not so many customers, makes them two at least could talking lightly. “Are you busy this weekend? There’s a movie I want to watch. Let’s go there together.”Mina nods without hesitate. “Sure. I’m free this weekend. But I think Momo isn’t. She has another date with Sana.”“The girl from that blind date?” Jihyo asks while holding her laugh. When Mina nods lazily, a lopsided smile mars her face, Jihyo laughs. “You really hate that event, don’t you?”Mina back maintains the money at the cash register. She heaves a sigh. “I never like that event, Jihyo, you know that. But, I’m happy that Momo finally found someone there.” She looks up again, smiling wolfishly. “She’s kinda lonely, you know.”“Aren’t you too? Don’t think she’s the only one who’s lonely, Myoui-san. You are as well.”Hearing Jihyo’s words makes Mina shakes her head as a denial. No, she’s not lonely. Not after Jeongyeon left her. Well, she was spoiled back then by Jeongyeon. Jeongyeon took care of her nicely, always protected her, and she was really a good girlfriend back then. But, after she left her, Mina finally learnt that she really has to be an independent girl. She needs to learn to stand by her own self and not relying on another. And so, Mina bit a bit tries to be it.“I’m not in condition of needing someone, Jihyo. Not now.”At the moment, the door opens from outside. The bell that dangled above the door rings, a sign of someone is coming. Mina and Jihyo’s talk stopped. Jihyo just smiled before she slowly approaching the customer, while Mina’s attention back to the money.Mina, while counting the money, could hear the talk of Jihyo and the customer. The customer orders a strawberry milkshake with a vanilla cake. The customer’s voice sounds familiar, but Mina couldn’t remember where and when she heard that voice. She looks up to take a glance, but she couldn’t see the customer’s face as her back is facing her now. She vaguely recognizes that back, and those straight shoulders, but again, she couldn’t remember anything more about that person.And so, when Jihyo back after took the order of that girl, Mina fastly shoves her before Jihyo could give the order to the kitchen. “Hey, who is she?” Mina nods to the customer while whispering. Her eyes not leave the girl’s figure, whose now is talking at the phone with someone.Jihyo halted for a moment, and then shrugs off Mina’s hands from her arms. “How the hell could I know about her? Don’t be silly,” Jihyo huffs and sidles up to the kitchen, left Mina alone, still looking at the back of the girl.She’s still trying to remember the girl when she got her order. When she eats it peacefully, Mina’s eyes are still firing at the back of her. The girl’s posture is definitely familiar, and also her voice as well, but not with her blonde shoulder length hair. Mina doesn’t know anyone with that fiery hair.Until finally, the girl finished her lunch, and she’s walking towards the cashier where Mina is standing. The girl is busy fishing her wallet out from her pocket, while Mina almost gasps of shock.And they’re finally standing face to face, separated only by the cash register.“So, it’s you.”Mina finally recognizes her. That small body, that pierced earlobes, that badass aura coming out from her vaguely, those brown big pretty eyes, that plump lips, and the most memorable one, that mole under her lower lip.It’s Chaeyoung. The girl who used Mina as an escape way. The girl who randomly chose Mina just so she could run away from her crazy fans. The girl who was once, a jerk, an asshole.Chaeyoung seems like she doesn’t know Mina, because she frowns her brows for a moment. She seems thoughtful, confused. And that makes Mina becomes so upset, that this tiny Chaeyoung didn’t even remember her, even after she embarrassed her that way!And Mina almost yells right in front of her face when suddenly she says, “ahh! You! It’s you!”
Yes, it’s me, you damn asshole!
Mina doesn’t say anything, just staring at Chaeyoung coldly. The small girl is probably smiling, and saying it’s you it’s you as though she remember Mina’s name. But no. That small girl didn’t even remember Mina’s name. Because she just humming thoughtfully, as though she’s recalling the name of the girl after her.“Nice to meet you again, Miss... uhm...” Chaeyoung grins, asking for a hint of a name. She’s definitely forgot Mina’s name, which just makes Mina dislikes her more. Mina just lets out a heavy breath when Chaeyoung catches her name badge. She shamelessly flicks her fingers in front of her face and smiles proudly. “Mina. Myoui Mina.”Mina not budges. She just folds her arms over her chest and sighs again. “You forgot my name.”Chaeyoung replies it with a playful grin. “I’m sorry. I have hundreds name to remember in my head. So,” she shrugs, doesn’t continue. Instead, she asks, “how are you?”Mina doesn’t immediately answer. She keeps firing her gaze to Chaeyoung. She couldn’t believe that, after a month, she finally met this tiny again. Well, besides her very different look, that blonde silly hair, she’s still the same. The way she talks and smiles delightly.
Why do I have to meet this small bean again? At this place?
“You look different,” instead of answering Chaeyoung’s question, Mina comments at Chaeyoung’s new look. Chaeyoung seems surprised that Mina suddenly talk about her new look, touches her hair at the moment. “This? Do I look good?”“It’s weird,” Mina’s lips make a mocking curve. “Just like the person.”Chaeyoung seems undistracted with Mina’s attack, still touching her blonde hair. She likes it so much. “Am I weird? And this hair, does it look weird on me?” Chaeyoung’s smile not even left her face for a sec. “Nah. People around me tell me that this hair look good on me.”Mina doesn’t give a fuck on it. She just wants Chaeyoung to pay her bill and leave. So, she just starts counting the bill. “So, one strawberry milkshake and a vanilla cake. It’s $10.29.”Chaeyoung lowers her hand and takes out the money from her wallet. Mina involuntarily catches a sight of Chaeyoung’s wallet, and it’s thick. The small gives the money to Mina. “You work here?”Mina takes the bill, doesn’t even look at Chaeyoung in the eyes. “This is my place. I run this place with my friend.”“Momo? I met her a few times, but she never mentioned about this place.”Yeah, of course she knows Mina’s best friend’s name, Momo’s been dating Sana for a month. It’s good that Momo never mentioned about this place to her.Mina actually doesn’t want to answer that. She doesn’t need to answer that. But she’s just being kind, and replies, “no. Another one. The one who took your order before.”Hearing that, Chaeyoung nods. “Great. This place is good and the food is delicious. I would like to spend more time in here.”Mina frowns her brows after heard that. And what the hell do you mean by that?“By the way, do I forget something?” Chaeyoung asks again when Mina gives her back the change. “Or, do I owe you something?”Mina really dislikes the sight of Chaeyoung trying to remember the short moment they spent together a month ago. When this small embarrassed her and left her just like that. Maybe, just maybe, for Chaeyoung, that night was nothing. But for Mina, it was a very memorable night. The hot chocolate, the shitty cap (Mina never used that cap again since that night), the rubbish talk, and the promise of buying beer at their next meet.Oh, that’s it! Chaeyoung promised to buy Mina beer when they meet again, which is now. That’s mean Chaeyoung really does owe something to Mina.But, even though Mina really wants a booze at the moment, and she has an urge to tell Chaeyoung about the promise, she chooses to keep it by herself. If she reminds Chaeyoung about the promise, of course they’ll meet again for the next time. And that’s a no no for Mina.So, Mina shakes her head and fakes a smile. “No. You didn’t owe me anything. You can leave now.”“Are you just kicking me out?”“Exactly.”Instead of getting hurt, Chaeyoung chuckles lightly. In the end, she gives another smile, still kind and sweet. “Okay. Sure. I’ll leave now.”Chaeyoung gives her a slight bow before she sidles up towards the front door. Mina watches her in silent, seeing her walks away from her, the bell above the front door rings, and the small girl turns right at the street, finally disappear from Mina’s sight. She heaves a sigh, relieved.“Who’s that girl?” a voice came from behind her makes her jolt. She stirs her body just to see Jihyo is smirking, inconceivably. Jihyo waits, doesn’t say any words anymore, absolutely wanting to hear Mina’s answer.Mina shrugs, trying to look don’t care. “She’s nothing. Just, you know, an acquaintance.”“She’s hot.”“She’s a jerk, Jihyo. That’s all you have to know, okay? Can we stop talking about her right now? Let’s just focus on working.”Mina’s huff doesn’t make Jihyo stop. Instead, Jihyo sidles up back to the kitchen, mumbling, “well. She’s a freakin’ hot jerk.”Mina just rolls her eyes.She was about to stir her body when suddenly Jihyo’s face emerges again from the bend. “By the way, Mina. Could you throw out the trash, please? We’re pretty busy doing something back here.”Mina heaves a sigh and nods. “I’ll do it.” And then Mina goes to the kitchen, takes the two big plastics at the corner, and drags them to the front of the restaurant, where the trash bin placed in. She’s outside the restaurant, occupied by throwing the trashes, when she hears a deep vroom from behind her.She stirs her body and sees a damn expensive car is stopping right in front of her restaurant. She watches the car with a mouth open, vaguely amazed and confused why the car is there, in front of her so-so restaurant, when suddenly, the car’s window is lowering, showing the driver’s face.It’s Chaeyoung’s face which shown, smiling proudly.“Mina-ssi. Let’s meet again. Next time, I’ll buy you beer,” the small girl shouts, waving her hand towards Mina like they’re a good friend. Mina is completely petrified, hardly deciphering the vision on her eyes right now. When Chaeyoung waves for the last time, and then she drives her car away from Mina, Mina still stoned at her place right now.
She’s riding a fuckin’ damn Porsche!
///“You never said that Chaeyoung is a freaking rich person.”Momo stops her activity, which is munching the jokbal nonstoply, and lifts her face up to see Mina’s face. Mina looks vaguely mad, her face is tense. That’s how she looks when she has a bad mood. Obviously, something happened.“I thought you don’t want to talk about her anymore,” Momo finally replies quietly, hoping that her answer doesn’t make Mina’s mood gets worse. She gives Mina a small smile to relent her best friend, slowly starts lifting up the jokbal again from the plate.Mina folds her arms in front of her chest, sighing. “Well, I am,” she admits. She watches Momo eating the jokbal silently, and then she throws herself beside Momo on the couch. “I met her today, at my restaurant,” Mina opens up her story. “She didn’t recognize me at first. And she was smiling like she did nothing wrong.”“Well, what did she do to you back then? You look pretty mad right now talking about her,” Momo speaks in the middle of munching. “I supposed she did something so bad to you, huh? You said she was being an asshole back then. Should I punch her face when I meet her later?”Mina reminded of that night. The night where Chaeyoung casually and easily said that she just randomly chose Mina. Well, she said sorry for that, but that wasn’t enough. Mina was harshly embarrassed with that, that she can’t tell anybody about the real reason why they separated after the short date at the park that night. No one, including Momo. Chaeyoung was – no, is a jerk, who easily play with someone’s heart. She thinks it’s nothing to just insult someone, left them with ease, even after she broke someone’s heart.
Why the heck am I talking about heart?!
“She’s an asshole, Momo. That’s it, even until now,” Mina huffs. “I hate that type of person. Hurting people without feeling guilty.”Momo doesn’t really understand what makes Mina so angry right now, but she just nods agreeing. She’s just avoiding Mina gets angrier. “Yeah, yeah, you’re right.”Mina heaves a sigh after heard Momo’s insincerely reply. Momo always does that whenever she’s concentrating eating. Mina takes a glance to the floor, expecting something. “Ya! Stop dropping things! I just clean the house!”Momo quickly looks at the floor, sees small pieces of jokbal and the sauce she dropped. She grins foolishly at Mina. “Sorry. I’ll take a tissue,” Momo puts down the jokbal to the plate and then she scurries to the kitchen, left Mina alone in the living room.As the room silent so sudden, it makes Mina thinks. Of course it’s about how rude Chaeyoung is. The reason why her mood is so bad now.Mina heaves a heavy sighs. She needs to forget about Chaeyoung. There’s no reason why she should think about that small bean.
Forget her. Forget her.
Mina shuts her eyes and leans to the backrest. Even though she tries to forget about Chaeyoung, there’s something plaguing Mina right now. Chaeyoung’s last words.
Next time, I’ll buy you beer.
Mina involuntarily smiles.
She remembers the promise.
///It’s 8.30 am, and Mina is getting ready for work. She’s busy searching for her jacket when suddenly the bell rings. She doesn’t know who that is, but that’s absolutely not Momo. The bell rings again, makes she scurries towards the front door to meet the guest.And she almost jumps in shock when she sees the guest’s face. A very familiar face.It’s Son Chaeyoung.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Good morning, Mina-ssi,” Chaeyoung greets Mina with ease, a sweet smile on her face. Her hand is waving minimally. While Mina is completely petrified at the moment. Son Chaeyoung in front of her house!
What the hell is happening right now?!
“What are you doing here?!” Mina asks, her voice is kinda high. Chaeyoung probably is a bit surprised from that high tone, because she just jolts.“Woah, easy, girl.” She forces a chuckle. “I’m here for a reason.”“How did you know my place?!” Mina doesn’t cease from asking. Of course she’s shocked. This person, Son Chaeyoung, is the last person that passed her mind when she opened the door before. No, Chaeyoung didn’t even exist in her guest list. “Answer me!”Chaeyoung steps back involuntarily. Her face shows a vague of fear. “Chill, Mina. Calm down. You scared me.”Hearing that, Mina snapped. She isn’t someone like this, easily being angry to someone. Chaeyoung isn’t an exception, even though this girl deserves it. So, Mina calms herself down and exhales. “I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to yell at you,” Mina kinda feels guilty when she catches a fear etched on Chaeyoung’s face. “I’m, uhm, I’m just shocked.”Mina sees Chaeyoung bites her lower lip, the atmosphere suddenly turns awkward. “Geez. Did I really hurt you back then? That makes you hate me so much?”“No, no. I’m sorry,” Mina really feels sorry. Chaeyoung looks uncomfortable. “I, well, I dislike you, definitely, but I don’t hate you.” Chaeyoung doesn’t give any response, so Mina carries on. “You know the different between them, don’t you?”Chaeyoung halted for a moment before she exhales a heavy sigh. “My bad. I’m not supposed to appear in front of your door in the morning like this.” Chaeyoung grins. “I knew this is a bad idea. But, I have to do this, though.”The situation becomes really awkward right now. Chaeyoung isn’t smiling brightly like before, and Mina now is feeling sorry for yelling that way to Chaeyoung. There’s a quiet moment when they both are silent, until finally Mina asks again. This time, her voice is calm and subtle. “So, what are you doing here? And how did you know my place?”Mina kinda amazes of how Chaeyoung suddenly turns into bright again so fast, because the small girl’s smile just back. Still bright like before. “Actually, Sana asked me to take something from your house.”Mina squints deeply. Sana? Momo’s girlfriend? How the heck she knew about this place? And if she did know, she doesn’t have any right to tell anyone about her address.And Mina is about to ask again when Chaeyoung carries on. “Well, Momo asked Sana to take her stuff from your house. But, Sana was pretty busy, so she asked me to do the favor, which is this,” she explains, longer than before. “I’m here to take a stuff of my best friend’s girlfriend, which is your best friend as well, Momo.”Mina shakes her head even though she understands what Chaeyoung talking about. “Why didn’t Momo just call me?”Chaeyoung shrugs, doesn’t know as well. “Why don’t you just ask her instead me? I’m not even close with her, Mina-ssi.”
Damn, Momo.
“So,” Chaeyoung drawls. Mina raises her brows, waiting. “Can I come in?”Mina once again snapped. “Oh, yeah, sure. Come in.”Chaeyoung gives her a sweet smile while stepping inside the small apartment of Mina’s. Mina closes the door behind her, watching Chaeyoung who enters her house further wordlessly. Chaeyoung is looking around, her face is unreadable. Doesn’t know why, Mina is kinda nervous. Well, she doesn’t know how rich Chaeyoung is (Momo only told her that Chaeyoung is super rich. She owns a company, and she’s the CEO. Mina is kinda amazed of how humble Chaeyoung is, despite the fact that she has a lot of money to show off.), but she hopes her small house is good enough for this small wealthy.Chaeyoung stirs her body after a while studying the house. Her smile still on her face. “It’s cozy here. Warm and comfortable.”Mina, who was so nervous for a moment, involuntarily smiles proudly. “Of course. I spent a lot of time to arrange the set.” Chaeyoung nods eagerly. Another awkward moment passed. “So, what’s the thing?”“Oh,” Chaeyoung reminded of her real intention for being here. She shoves her pocket and fishes out her phone, probably checking the message from Sana. Mina watches her frowns her brows after reading the message. “It’s a paper bag under your desk inside your room. What inside is, uhm,” Chaeyoung rolls her eyes, her hand fall into beside her. “A pair of sweaters. A couple sweaters.”
Wait.
Mina halted for a moment, couldn’t believe what she just heard. The heck?! “It’s not even important,” Mina complaints, her voice raising. “She made someone disturb my beautiful and quiet morning just for... her stupid couple sweaters?”Chaeyoung shrugs, seems like she used with this shit. “Well, Sana said she has a date tonight. And she said that sweaters are so important, because they’ll wear it today. So, here I am.”Mina couldn’t believe what she just heard. This small. How could she just obey Sana’s request? This is so stupid and silly. Maybe that’s why Momo didn’t ask Mina about this, because Mina would absolutely refuse to deliver that stuffs to Momo.Mina shook her head before makes a beeline towards her bedroom. “Wait here. I’ll take it.”Chaeyoung nods, taking a seat on the couch in the living room.Mina was gone for few minutes. And when she finally emerges from her bedroom, holding a paper bag Chaeyoung mentioned before, her face looks disgusted.“Here. Those pinkish pair of sweaters make me wanna puke, sorry.”Chaeyoung laughs. “Don’t say that. It’s their style,” she takes the paper bag from Mina’s hand. “Besides, you probably would borrow it later for a date with your boyfriend.”Mina sighs, rolling her eyes. “I don’t have a girlfriend, Chaeyoung-ssi,” Mina clarifies, emphasizing the girlfriend word, makes sure Chaeyoung gets the hidden message from it. I’m a gay.Chaeyoung just nods understand, doesn’t even look surprised. Probably she just forgot about that.“Oh, and here,” Chaeyoung gives Mina the plastic bag she’s been holding since the beginning. Mina takes the plastic bag, and then she takes a peek of the stuffs inside it. Her eyes are widened when she sees it. “It’s—”“Two bottles of beers,” Mina’s words got cut off by Chaeyoung. Mina looks up and sees Chaeyoung is smiling at her fondly. “I promised to buy you beer in our next meet. So, there it is.”Mina frowns. “But, it’s still morning.”“Well, you can drink it with Momo later,” Chaeyoung fastly answers, easily blabbing things. While Mina’s taken back. She thought they’ll drink together. She thought Chaeyoung was asking to drink together. She never thought that Chaeyoung would just buy bottles of beer, and then just give it to Mina like a simple gift, instead of drink it together with her.Mina suddenly feels stupid. Was she the only one who thought that way?Honestly, she can’t blame Chaeyoung at all. The small girl is just being polite and tries her best to keep her promise. She never mentioned that she’ll drink together with Mina. Never. Mina for a moment thought that it probably the best for them. No more spending minutes together. Chaeyoung will just go and Mina will enjoy this expensive beers with Momo.But, it just feels so wrong. Like, Chaeyoung just fooled her again and again. Since their first meet, it’s been a couple times Chaeyoung fooled her. Chose her randomly, used her as an escape way, tried to bribe her with a stupid hot chocolate, forgot her name, drove a damn expensive Porsche (Mina felt kinda betrayed with this), and now this? She made Mina think that they’ll drink and be wasted together, when what she’s doing is just giving Mina the beers as a gift. No. Not again. Mina won’t be fooled again and again. Not with this richy small bean.“I thought when you said you’ll buy me a beer, we’re going to drink together,” finally, she braves herself to ask. She won’t let Chaeyoung makes her embarrassed again. Chaeyoung seems vaguely surprised.“Ouch,” she paused, thoughtful. She looks kinda confused, apparently didn’t see it’s coming. “So, you want to drink with me?”
Damn, this bean.
“Are you bad at drinking?” Mina fights back, not letting Chaeyoung win this war again. Chaeyoung makes a face of what?! for a second, obviously dislikes when someone judges her bad a drinking. “No! Honestly, I’m pretty good with it. It just...” she weirdly trails off, still thoughtful. Mina waits for the continuation, but Chaeyoung doesn’t let out anymore word, so Mina asks, “what’s wrong?”Chaeyoung needs couple seconds to answer it. She shakes her head and her eyes are shut. “Nothing. Everything’s fine,” she says. For a moment, Mina thought maybe it’s wrong to ask Chaeyoung to drink together. By the way how Chaeyoung’s face turns into a slight panic, and a thought which suddenly comes to her mind. The thought of they get drunk together. No, it’s absolutely wrong. It’s absolutely a very stupid idea.But, it’s too late for her to take back her words, because Chaeyoung is already asking, “so, tonight? Here, at your place?”Mina didn’t plan this. She never thought she will spend another time with this Chaeyoung at her house. A place that Mina loves the most in this world. A place that Mina protects so much from strangers, including this Chaeyoung. Not everyone could barge in into Mina’s apartment. This place is so private. If it wasn’t because of Momo, Mina wouldn’t ever let Chaeyoung in.But, of course Mina couldn’t just say no to Chaeyoung. Not after she gave Mina two bottles of this damn expensive beer. So, Mina nods, her lips forcing a thin smile. “Yeah. Sure. Here, at my place. Tonight.”“Should we invite Sana and Momo?”Mina also thinks that would be a good idea. But she remembers that Momo usually go home so late when she has a date with Sana. And also, if Mina asks Momo to join them, probably she would happily reject it. She would think that probably would be a good chance for Mina and Chaeyoung to get closer. Yeah, Momo still wants Mina to find someone else.Mina shakes her head. “I don’t think so. As you said before, they have a date.”“Oh, you’re right. So, it’s just two of us?”Mina halted, quietly drawling. “Yes. It’s just two of us.”After that, Chaeyoung leaves. She says that she has something urgent to do. So, she says bye to Mina, and leaves, left Mina alone inside her own house, thinking, still wondering what would happen tonight.///It’s 9 pm, and Mina is weirdly waiting for Son Chaeyoung. She’s been sitting on the couch, sitting uneasily, totally nervous and anxious about this plan. She doesn’t know why she’s being this anxious. Probably it’s because this would be the first time she letting someone not so close spending time at her apartment.When the bell rings, Mina needs a few seconds to gather her courage. She exhales heavily, calming herself, and then makes a beeline towards the front door. When she opens it, Chaeyoung is there, lifting two boxes of spicy fried chicken, and a sweet smile (which is never left her face for a sec) on her face. “Hi.”Mina forces a grin, probably looking too nervous. “Hi too.”Mina moves aside, giving Chaeyoung an enough space to get in. Chaeyoung enters the house without asking, and Mina closes the door when the small is inside. Chaeyoung puts the food she bought on the table, right beside the beer Mina already served.Mina sits on the carpet around the table, and Chaeyoung follows her, takes the empty space in front of Mina. Mina takes both two glasses of beer she prepared before, and then gives it one to Chaeyoung. It might be only her imagination, but Chaeyoung looks a bit nervous as well.“Cheers,” Mina lifts up her glass, starting the drink. Chaeyoung chuckles, also lifting up her glass. “Cheers.”Then they take a big slug of it. And that’s how they start their quiet drink.An half of hour passed, and Chaeyoung, who just drank one glass, is already drunk. Her cheeks are red and the way she sits isn’t proper like she used to. Her eyes are also half-closed, a sign that she’s already intoxicated.Mina watches Chaeyoung wordlessly. She can’t believe what’s in front of her, this Chaeyoung already drunk after her first glass. When Chaeyoung abruptly burps loudly, Mina squints and chuckles bitterly. “You said you’re good at drinking.”Chaeyoung replies it with a foolish grin which mars her face right now. She lifts up her glass and shouts, “one more glass, please!”“This is not a bar,” Mina lazily takes the glass from Chaeyoung’s hand and pours the beer into it. She only fills it half of the glass, then she pushes the glass towards Chaeyoung. “That’s the last for you. You’re already drunk.”“I’m not drunk. I’m completely sober,” Chaeyoung defends herself. And that only makes Mina surer that Chaeyoung should stop drinking.Chaeyoung empties the glass fastly, Mina still watches her in silent. After a while she watching Chaeyoung swaying on her place, Mina grabs her phone and messages Momo.

[Momoring, are you done dating with Sana? If yes, would you please tell her to pick her friend at my house?]

Send.And no need a long time for Momo to call Mina.Mina for a second, hesitated, but she still swipes the green button though.“Moshi moshi?”“Mina!” What a loud first word. Mina winces deeply. “What do you mean? Son Chaeyoung is in your house right now? What’s going on?”Mina glances over the unsteady Chaeyoung, heaves a heavy sigh. “Why don’t you ask your girlfriend there, Momo? She’s the one who’s responsible for this.” For sent Chaeyoung to her house. If Sana didn’t send her here, they probably wouldn’t have their third meet. And their fourth meet, which is right now.“What?!” Momo shouts again. Mina hears an unclear mumble from the other side, and then she hears Momo’s voice again. “Mina, explain me what is going on—”Momo’s words got cut off because Chaeyoung just snatches Mina’s phone from her hand. Mina is a bit shocked, only able to watch Chaeyoung who just presses the red button. She looks at Mina’s eyes after that, giving back Mina’s phone to her. “No calling Sana, please. I beg you.”“But, who’s going to pick you up?”“It’s not your problem, sweetie. Now, let’s just enjoy our time! You asked for this.” Chaeyoung foolishly lifts up her empty glass and shouts. Mina shakes her head, resignedly drinks her glass. This is her third glass, and it’s almost empty. She’s feeling slightly tipsy right now.They only drink in silent afterwards. Mina watches Chaeyoung swaying on her place, and Chaeyoung starts singing unclear song loudly. Mina was pleased because of that, until suddenly Chaeyoung stops singing and stares directly at Mina’s eyes.“Mina.”Mina doesn’t reply, so Chaeyoung carries on.“I’m sorry.”And for this, Mina responds. “What for?”“For forgetting your name at your restaurant back then,” Chaeyoung slurs. Her red cheeks make she looks shy while saying that, which is cute. “I had… a lot of things inside my head,” she adds. “And it stressed me out.”Heard that, Mina reminded of that time, when she met Chaeyoung for the second time, with that blonde hair which is good on her to be honest. And she slightly could feel the anger starts boiling again inside her. So, she takes her last gulp of the beer and says, “it’s fine. I was also rude back then, kicking you out.”“Nooo,” Chaeyoung cutely refuses Mina’s apology. Her eyes are shut while she says, “I deserve that. I was a jerk.”“You are—” Mina stops, fixing her words. “You were.”Well, Chaeyoung isn’t a bad person at all. Even less after this small just apologized to Mina right now. She’s drunk, that means what she says are all the truth. That makes Mina thinks that maybe, this Chaeyoung isn’t so bad at all. She isn’t a person who hurt people blindly, and not feeling guilty at all after that. She is this, starting to open up when she get drunk.Chaeyoung smiles hearing that, nodding slightly. “And also, I want to say something to you, Mina.” Chaeyoung paused, her hand playing with her glass. A couple of seconds passed, and Chaeyoung looks up to face Mina. Her eyes look calm and sweet. “You are so beautiful. Even back then.”
What?
“That’s why I’m feeling so sorry for you. You deserve someone better than me. If I didn’t take your stuff, probably, there will be someone good who take it. Someone other than me. Someone good, not like me.”Mina couldn’t say anything. She never thought about that. She only thought about how asshole Chaeyoung was to dump her that way, but also how impressive Chaeyoung was to ask her for a date that way. She never thought that Chaeyoung thought that way, that someone probably will take Mina’s stuff if she didn’t. Mina knew it so well, nobody gonna take her stuff that night. Even though she saw Jeongyeon was twitching right before Chaeyoung took her stuff, it’s a big no. There’s no way Jeongyeon would take her stuff.Mina suddenly feels sorry for Chaeyoung. Behind that endless smile, Chaeyoung felt this. It makes Mina feels sorry for thinking badly about Chaeyoung.“It’s okay,” Mina quietly mutters. Besides the fact that she hate Chaeyoung for taking her stuff but then dumped her in a night, she’s also thankful to Chaeyoung for doing that. Well, that made Mina seemed at least desirable. “It’s all fine.”Chaeyoung hums happily, Mina took her apology. She’s staring at Mina deeply, and makes Mina feels awkward under her gaze. It was a very long silence until suddenly, Chaeyoung blurts, “I want to kiss you right now.” A very short halt. “Do you want to kiss me?”Mina frowns at the sudden question. “What the heck are you talking about?” Mina suddenly wants to take her words back, the Chaeyoung isn’t so bad part. “Of course I don’t want to kiss you. You’re not my lover.”Chaeyoung giggles seeing Mina’s resentful reaction. “So, we just kiss when we are lovers? Why?” Chaeyoung questions absurdly. Her face looks stupid yet innocent. “It just lips touching, though.”Mina, heard Chaeyoung’s last sentence, lets out a disbelief sigh. “You are indeed a jerk, Son Chaeyoung.” And Chaeyoung just grins foolishly.But, doesn’t know why, probably because she’s tipsy and deep inside lonely, Mina involuntarily and slowly starts moving closer to Chaeyoung. She leans onto Chaeyoung’s side, puckering her lips, shutting her eyes, waiting for Chaeyoung to come over her. Chaeyoung, sees that, quickly sets herself for it.They kiss.At first, they’re just giving a little pressure to each other. It only remains for a couple seconds, because after Mina draws her face and breaks the kiss, Chaeyoung breathes heavily, as though she’s been holding her breath for that past seconds. Mina stares at Chaeyoung’s eyes, there’s a brief silent, and then Chaeyoung cups Mina’s face and initiates a kiss.This time, they play a bit. French kiss, their tongues met and tangled. Their lips move against each others, and it’s such a hot and lasting one.It only lasts for less than a minute. They part, and Chaeyoung's lips turn into a smile.“So, this is how a kiss feels like,” she mumbles quietly, loud enough for Mina to hear it. Mina lets out a soft laugh, draws herself away from Chaeyoung, stares at Chaeyoung’s satisfied face. “How it feels? The ‘lips touching’?”Chaeyoung, drunk, hums thoughtfully. “Wet. Soft. Unexpectedly great.”For that, Mina laughs again. “Unexpectedly great?” Mina replays Chaeyoung’s words. “Was it because with me, or—”“No,” Chaeyoung fastly interrupts. “That was my first.”Mina needs a few seconds to understand it. “Oh,” she says. Just that. She didn’t expect that she was Chaeyoung’s first kiss. She thought this bean is a playgirl. Well, she has money, means she has power to do that. She’s able to be bad, to be sucker, to be an asshole. But, she said it was her first kiss. Mina is her first kiss. Then, what’s that mean? Does it mean that Chaeyoung never had any relationship with anyone before?“Yes,” Chaeyoung abruptly interrupts Mina’s voice inside her head. “I never had any girl, Mina-ssi. You’re the first one who’s able to touch me. You should be pleased now.”
What the hell? Is she back to her jerk mode?
Damn, Mina really hates it when Chaeyoung becomes too confident. She sounds sucks.“Oh. Good for me, then,” Mina slightly offended, not pleased even a bit. “So, should we also have sex? I mean, it just we both unclothed and do stuffs until morning. I can be your first as well,” Mina says with a voice laden of mocking. Of course she didn’t really asking that. There’s no way she want to have sex with this small.And what makes Mina offended more is Chaeyoung’s reply. The small bean shakes her head and slurs, “thanks for your offer, but no. No sex before marriage, Mina. That’s not healthy.”Mina lets out a disbelief sigh. “Oh my god, Son Chaeyoung. What a nerd.”Mina watches Chaeyoung’s head falls to the table, makes a gentle thud. And then she hears a sound of snoring. Chaeyoung’s falling asleep. “And I wasn’t offering you. I was just… stupidly asking,” she adds, talking to herself because Chaeyoung isn’t conscious at the moment.She sighs again, watching the sleeping girl wordlessly. Her blonde hair is covering half of her face. She looks harmless when she sleeps. She looks less badass, less asshole, less sucker, and cute.Mina smiles fondly. Yeah, Chaeyoung looks cute when she sleeps.Mina involuntarily rests her head on the table, adjusting her head so she could see Chaeyoung’s face better. She just watches, and watches the sleeping girl wordlessly. Even though Chaeyoung starts snoring loudly, that doesn’t make Mina cease from watching. She’s amused just by seeing that moment.The moment breaks up when suddenly Mina hears her front door open. She also hears a murmur coming from that direction. Mina snapped, she shouldn’t get caught doing this – staring at Chaeyoung like this. So, she pushes herself up and manages herself to welcome her best friend.Right when Mina is ready, Momo emerges from the bend. She looks worried. “Mina, what’s happening here—?” Her words stop when she catches a figure of Son Chaeyoung is sleeping peacefully in front of Mina. Momo’s eyes widened, completely surprised. “What the hell?”Sana also emerges from the bend, also gives the same reaction with Momo.“Is that my tiny boss?” Sana makes a beeline towards her friend, while Momo towards hers. Mina only smiles when Momo squats beside her. “What happened, Mina?”
We kissed.
“We just drink together,” Mina slurs unclearly.Momo shakes her head. “Are you drunk?”“Probably.” Because I kissed her, Momo. I kissed Chaeyoung.Meanwhile Sana is busy trying to wake Chaeyoung up. The bean isn’t moving a bit, stills like a stone, totally falling asleep. Whilst Momo starts tidying the table, Sana heaves a mad sigh. Probably, she’s mad that Mina and Chaeyoung interrupted their date. “She won’t wake up.”Mina starts feeling sleepy, so she could only listen to their conversation.“Then, let’s just pick her up. I’ll carry her.” It was Momo’s voice. Yeah, no wonder she saying that. She’s the strongest amongst them.“Sure. She brought her Porsche here. I’ll just drive her home with that. Probably, she’ll get mad when she figure out I drove her Porsche. But, I don’t have any choice as well.”“That’s okay. Just tell me when she get mad at you, sweetie. Now, could you please help me here? My friend also couldn’t do anything properly at this moment.”And right at the moment, Mina’s head falls to the table. This time, she’s the one who falls asleep.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Wake up, you jackass. And explain me what the hell happened last night.”Well. That was a morning greeting Mina got from Momo. Right when Mina opened her eyes this morning, birds already chirping outside the window, and the sun is already high, Momo is there, sitting on the chair, arms folded over her chest and eyes firing her.Mina blinks. Her head still aching. She still has the hangover. “Could you please get me some water, please?”Momo halted for a beat before heaves a mad sigh and leaps to her feet. She goes to the kitchen to take a glass of water for Mina, while Mina slogs to move her body to the edge of the bed, trying so hard to sit on it. When Momo arrives with a glass of water in her hand, Mina forces a smile, fastly grabs the glass from Momo’s grip and sips it cautiously.Momo watches her in silent, flat but mad. “Now, explain yourself.”“Damn, Momo. Could you please wait until I get better?” Mina huffs resentful, yet quiet and weak. She puts the glass on the floor and lies her body again, wants to rest for some more minutes before starting her day. “My head is still so damn aching. Please, I’ll explain later.”Mina shuts her eyes, while Momo is watching her silently. She didn’t say anything, only heaves a resigned sigh, gets to her feet and makes a beeline towards the door. “Seriously, whatever your reason is, just get ready to hear me nagging you.”Momo leaves Mina alone inside the room, closes the door behind, giving Mina some more minutes to think. And yeah, Mina thinks. She thinks about how last night drinking beer together was like, about how they both became drunk, and weirdly, about how Chaeyoung’s lips moved against her.Yes, she knows, it’s weird. She also doesn’t know why she remember how exactly her lips tasted like when it wasn’t even special for her. How her lips giving hers a light pressure, how her lips parted and gave Mina an enough space to slip her own tongue through it, how her lips clasp her own, how wet they were, damn, those weren’t even special for Mina. She’d been kissing someone else more than once before (obviously Jeongyeon), and this kiss wasn’t even counted as a good one. But, why?Why it was so memorable to Mina, that she thinks about it right after she woke up this morning?“Damn,” Mina curses. She touches her throbbing temples, slightly massaging it. Hoping it would make her headache gone, together with those memories of last night with Son Chaeyoung.///Mina got nagged by Jihyo this morning because she came late to the restaurant. Mina was just listening to all her upset words, didn’t really mind it because obviously she’s the wrong side one. Also, her head still slightly aching, so she didn’t want to make it worse by taking Jihyo’s scold seriously. She’ll reflect herself later.She now is taking charge as the waiters. Her restaurant is a bit vacated, as it’s not its prime time. Lunch time is already passed a couple hours ago, left only a few customers that probably have some free time.Mina is taking an order when the bell above the front door rings. When she takes a glance over the door, she sees Momo and Sana are there, searching for an empty seat with arms linked. They catch Mina by their eyes, and wave their hands in sync eagerly. Mina only gives them a brief smile, then she back taking order from the customer.When Mina finished taking order, she ambles towards the lovers lazily. The lovers follow Mina with their eyes, beaming on Mina.“Good afternoon, Dumb and Dumber,” Mina greets bitterly, doesn’t really like the sight of Sana being so clingy towards Momo. Anyway, Momo seems like enjoying it so much.“Good afternoon, Waiters Myoui,” Sana greets her back, doesn’t bothered by Mina’s call. “Nice to see you here. This place is yours, right?”Mina only nods at this, writing Momo’s order, which is obviously a soda drink and strawberry cheese cake. Sana looks around the restaurant, kinda amazed with this little business Mina runs. “This place is great. Chaeyoung is right.”Heard this, Mina responds quickly. “What that small bean said to you?”“Oh. It’s just, that this place is great and I should visit it. I told Momo about this but she didn’t tell me that this place is actually yours. So, it’s kinda surprised me,” she looks around again, still amazed. “I should come here later with my tiny boss.”“Where’s she? Your tiny boss?”Sana, heard that Mina is asking her best friend, starts smirking. She shows a teasing gaze and says, “oh, are you just asking her?” Mina frowns confusedly, doesn’t get why Sana suddenly smirking that way. “You care about her?”“What? No! No way! I just—”“She’s on her vacation to Bali, if you want to know,” Sana cuts Mina’s words off. She’s still smirking, giving Mina a goosebumps, supplying her some information about the bean. “She’s such a hard-worker person, that small. And she’s been stressed out so much. So, I told her to have some fun. And this morning, she flew to Bali.”Mina’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe that Chaeyoung is already in Bali, when last night they still intoxicated together at Mina’s apartment. “Wow, she’s very…. scheduled.”“I prepared everything for her, though,” Sana pouts. “Anyway, she’ll be back in two days. You can meet her later, I’ll tell her that you were looking for her.”“I didn’t say that I want to meet her, Sana,” Mina drawls, explaining patiently. Sana seems too excited talking about Chaeyoung to Mina. “I was being polite, asking her doesn’t mean I’m looking for her.”Sana only smirks when Mina saying that. Momo, who’s been being a witness of this small war, abruptly gets to her feet. “Damn, girls. Could you two stop talking about it, please?” Momo walks away, probably going to the toilet. “Sana, please just order yours. We’re here to have a lunch, not to talk about Chaeyoung with my friend.”Momo left Mina and Sana without second glance, really doesn’t want to talk about Chaeyoung at this moment. This morning, she left Mina’s house when Mina was taking a bath, so Mina didn’t tell her yet about what happened last night. It’s obvious that she doesn’t want to talk about Chaeyoung in the middle of her date. Mina understands that.Watching Momo walks away from them, Mina clears her throat. “So, what’s your order?” she asks again, cutting the talk of Chaeyoung. Sana looks up at her eyes and stares wordlessly for seconds, and then she takes the menu. She hums as she observes what she wants. “One lemon tea and one cream cheese pasta, please.”Mina nods, writing down the order to her note. “Okay. Anything else?” Mina asks for the last time, and Sana shakes her head as a no. “Now, excuse me.”Mina gave Sana a slight bow before scurries to the kitchen, but Sana abruptly takes her wrist, holding her.Mina smiles thinly. “Yes, Sana-ssi?”“One last question, how did you do that?”Mina winces, doesn’t understand what the hell Sana talking about. “Do what?”“Luring Chaeyoung to drink together with you.” Sana’s grip still around Mina’s wrist. Still tight and firm. “How did you do that?”Mina chuckles bitterly, doesn’t really like Sana’s word ‘luring’. It sounds like Mina was the one who asked Chaeyoung to drink. Anyway, it’s true. Mina was the one who asked her that. But, ‘luring’ word makes it sounds like ‘Myoui Mina is a bitch who lured the wealthy Son Chaeyoung and took advantages from the small and blablabla’. It makes Mina seems cheap, flirting Chaeyoung to spend her night at her house with some kind of hidden plans.“I didn’t lure her, okay?” Mina draws her hand off from Sana. “I just asked her to drink together because she brought me two bottles of goddamn expensive beer while taking your stupid sweaters,” Mina explains offendedly, still triggered with that ‘luring’ word. “She accepted it without any argument. It was her who asked to drink together at my damn house, not me.”“What?” Sana seems pretty surprised. “Why the hell she did that?”“I don’t know, okay? You better just ask her instead of prying me.” Mina sighs heavily. She really hates it when someone misunderstands her like this. Probably, Sana just thought that Mina was taking advantages from Chaeyoung after she found out the fact that Chaeyoung is a wealthy. Sana just looked down at her, and that really upsetting for Mina. She isn’t a gold digger. She doesn’t care about Chaeyoung’s money. Chaeyoung was once a jerk, and that first impression will never be forgotten by Mina.But, Mina holds her anger back. Sana acts that way because she has a reason. Probably, as Chaeyoung’s personal secretary, she knows the life of her boss’. Probably, there are so much bitches who come to Chaeyoung, flirt the small bean, just so they can take advantage from her. It makes Sana’s action reasonable, even though Mina still hates it.Mina watches Sana thinks, a kinda strange sight because she never saw Sana with that serious expression before. It’s kinda scare her in a strange way. “Why the hell Chaeyoung did that? She never eat or drink with anyone.”
Eh?
“Excuse me?” Mina asks for a replay. “What’s that mean?”Sana looks up and gives Mina a solemn stare. “She never drink with anyone before this. She always drinks and eats alone,” Sana speaks with her low tone voice. “She said she hates it to eat with someone. She said it’s irritating to sit with someone else and eat together. She never did it with me, either.” Sana halted for few seconds. “Why did she eat with you, then? What made her did that?”“I—”“Still talking about her?” abruptly Momo appears, cuts Mina’s word. Both Mina and Sana turn their faces and see Momo is pouting, sulking. “Sana, I like your Chaeyoung. But please, could you for a moment stop talking about her? We’re in a date right now.” Momo groans cutely while sitting in front of Sana, pretending to be mad, which is only makes Mina winces at her act.“Alright, Momo-chan. I’m sorry,” Sana replies with the same cute tone as Momo, makes Mina winces deeper, disgusted. “Damn, guys. Excuse me, wanna throw up.” Mina then scurries towards the kitchen, delivering the orders.For the next hour, Jihyo is the one who do the service, while Mina’s taking the charge at the cash register. Mina keeps glancing over Sana and Momo, sometimes catches those two making out, feeding each other, and doing some lovey-dovey actions. Mina could only watch in silent, not so envy with them. Instead, she’s happy that Momo could smile that wide while spending her time with Sana.After almost two hours passed, and the restaurant is getting more crowded, Mina sees those two are getting ready to leave. Sana shoves her stuffs to her bag, while Momo walks towards the cash register, where Mina is standing at. Momo pays the bill, farewells Mina, and then exits the restaurant ahead, while Sana is still busy shoving stuffs inside her bag.After a minute, Momo is waiting outside, seems fine waiting for Sana, the latter finally walks to the front door. But, she halts when she passes the counter. Mina winces thinly, only watching wordlessly when Sana pushes something towards her side, forcing her to take it. “Here, take this,” she firms. Mina takes what inside Sana’s grip, and it’s a name card.“What’s this—?” Mina trails off when she sees Son Chaeyoung’s name written there. Below it, written CEO of Son Company in bold. She looks up just to see Sana smiles fondly. “That’s her phone number. Also, I wrote her KakaoTalk’s ID so you can contact her comfortably. Don’t worry, tell her that you got it from me. She won’t be mad.”“But, why?” Mina questions seriously. She doesn’t want Chaeyoung’s phone number, or her KakaoTalk’s ID. She doesn’t want to meet her again. She hopes that last night will be their last meet, and no more spending time with her. “I never asked for this, Sana. I don’t want this.”Mina watches Sana shrugs. “Just, in case.”“In case of what?”“In case you miss her,” Sana slurs easily, and fastly adds when Mina opens her mouth to refute. “And you are.”“What?! That’s a— Hey, Sana! Wait!” Mina could only watch upsetly when Sana sticks her tongue out and runs away from the scene, leaving Mina maundering madly. Mina heaves a resigned sigh while eyeing Sana joins Momo outside. They link their arms, walking away from the restaurant.Mina heaves a sigh again. Damn, she can’t deal with Sana again. That girl is pretty stubborn and Mina is having a hard time to face her. Probably, it’s because Chaeyoung’s face appears inside her head whenever she sees Sana’s face.Damn. That Son Chaeyoung. What she had done to Mina? Why she won’t leave Mina’s head?Mina heaves again, still heavily, lifting up her hand and staring at the crumpled card name. There’s a phone number there, and an business email Mina doesn’t care because she won’t use it anyway. She flips the paper, sees Sana’s pretty handwriting there, read strawberryprincess.Mina furrows her brows at this, re-read the handwriting, but it still show the same. That small’s KakaoTalk’s ID is…. strawberryprincess??“What the..?” Mina laughs at this, imagining Chaeyoung’s face inside her head, introducing herself as strawberry princess. No, it would be so damn funny. Chaeyoung would be look so ridiculous, so silly, and so cute.No, she won’t look cute. Not to Mina. Not again.Mina once again looks to the crumpled paper. She stares at it for seconds, and then without hesitate, she throws it to the trash bin next to her.///“You won’t tell me anything, aren’t you?”Mina looks up, for a moment ignoring the game she’s been playing since before, and eyes Momo. “What?”Momo’s eyes still captivated at the TV, one arm hugging snack while the other one keeps pushing the chips into her mouth. “You won’t tell me anything about last night, huh?”Mina halted, thinking. “I thought you don’t want to hear her name again. That small.”At this, Momo sighs. “That’s not what I mean when I said I don’t want to… Damn, forget it. Now, I want to hear the story. The complete one.”“The complete one?” Mina puts aside the phone and leans her body backwards to the backrest of the couch. “Uhm, remember when you asked Sana to take your silly sweaters from my house?” Mina glances over Momo briefly, seeing Momo nods a bit. “Actually, it was Chaeyoung who came over to take it. She said Sana was busy, so she asked Chaeyoung for a help. And there she was, appeared in front of my goddamn house at the morning.”Mina pauses for a moment, staring at Momo wordlessly. Deep inside, she wants Momo to say something, or at least say sorry for making Chaeyoung came to her house. But, the older girl says nothing, only munching the chips in silent, listening to Mina’s story carefully.“And she brought along two bottles of beer. She gave it to me then.”“Why she did that? Why she brought you those beer?”“Because she owed me. She owed me a beer.” Mina suddenly remembers that moment. And the more she remembers it, the more it feels like nothing. It’s not as bad as before. Especially when she knows Chaeyoung more and more right now. “She owed me a beer because she did something to me at our first met before. At the night we were set into a stupid date.”“She did what to you?” Momo asks firmly, sounds protective. She even stops munching her chips, and right now she’s staring at Mina solemnly. “Did she treat you badly? Or did she touch you or something?”Mina laughs at Momo’s words, somehow touched at the sight of Momo being protective. “No, Momo. She didn’t touch me.” Her laugh gradually faded out. “But she did treat me… not so nice.”Momo waits for Mina to carry on, face still solemn. Mina gulps. “She was… kind of, uhm, embarrassed me? She did something that made me so embarrassed. Made me looked cheap and easy.”Mina grins while turns her face to see Momo’s reaction. The older girl is frowning slightly. “What the hell did she do to you? Could you just tell me, so I can do something to her—”“Oh, No, Momo. No need to do that. She’s fine. We’re fine.” Mina takes her phone again, re-opening the game she played before, somehow hoping that this talk will get over soon. “We already talked about this that night. She explained me the reason she did that. And, push aside that I didn’t fully forgive her yet, she already said that she’s sorry.”“She’s sorry? For what she done to you?”“Yup, she is,” Mina utters with some kind of bright tone, hopes Momo feels better and not more tensed. “We were talking about this and that that night. So, we’re fine now.”Mina stares at Momo for few seconds, wanting some words from the latter. But, Momo just sighs, relieved. “That’s good, then. I’m happy that you’re fine with Chaeyoung. She’s Sana’s best friend, so we’re seeing each other oftenly. It somehow makes me not comfortable when I’m with her, since you said that she’s a jerk before. I really want to know the reason you called her that, but seems like you won’t tell me anyway.”Mina listens every single word Momo says. “I always try to find out her lack, to know the reason why you dislike her. But you know what, Mina? She’s perfect. She’s bright, kind, warm, friendly, and that’s why I didn’t get it when you hate her that much before. I just want to make sure that you’re alright, Mina. I don’t want you get hurt again. That shitty Jeong will be the last one who hurt you, because I absolutely will find and punch the next one’s face.”Mina smiles at this. Momo is always there to protect her, even since the beginning. She wasn’t so happy when Mina told her that Jeongyeon is her girlfriend at that time. She didn’t like Jeongyeon at all. That girl’s been very famous for being a flirty. The way she talks, she treats Mina, Momo never like all of them. Mina understands that though. Momo just won’t Mina hurted by anyone. That’s why when Jeongyeon broke up with Mina, Momo was totally mad as hell, yet relieved that Mina finally broke up with the asshole.“But, it’s okay now, since you’re fine with her, right?”There’s something fishy about Momo’s words, makes Mina winces in suspicious. “You’re not going to be a cupid to make us together, aren’t you?”“What?”“Don’t you dare, Momo. I know what inside your both heads, Momo. Yours and your girlfriend’s.” Mina leaps to her feet, leaving the scene, not going to continue this talk. “I really appreciate that you help me find someone else, Momo. But surely, that isn’t a right way for that. Forcing me to date with Chaeyoung just because you date her best friend.”Momo looks loss of words at this, speechless. “I didn’t—I—” she can’t even refute that. Not like she has any intention to do that anyway. It just, she vaguely wants Mina to know Chaeyoung more. She’s been hearing stories from Sana about Chaeyoung and that girl is surely amazing. Momo just wants the best for Mina, and she thinks Chaeyoung is a good candidate for it.Momo could only watch when Mina rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I know what’s inside your mind. Don’t be too surprised. We’ve been friends since a looong time ago.” She walks away, heading to her room, going to continue playing her game without anyone disturb her this time. She’s about to enter her room when Momo calls her. “Minari.”Mina turns lazily. “Yes, Momoring? You got another to say?”“It’s just,” Momo trails off, smiling awkwardly. “Are you free this weekend? I got bonus from my work, so, wanna go to watch a movie? My treat.”Mina beams at Momo, the glint back to her eyes. “We used to spend our weekend together, long lifetime ago, when we were still single,” Mina blurts easily, reminding Momo of days they used to spend together, being silly and having so much fun. She smiles when Momo pouts, probably feeling sorry that she couldn’t do that as often as she used to. “But, fine. I’ll go with you. You’ll treat, right?”Momo’s smile back, nodding eagerly. “Surely.”///“I want two buckets of popcorn, and two glasses of coke. Just. For. Me.”“The hell, Mina?” Momo turns to face Mina, her face looks so done with Mina. “Are you doing this just because I’ll treat you?”Mina giggles cutely, clings to Momo’s side. “Of course I am! You always eat dinner at my place and I didn’t even ask you to pay,” Mina blurts honestly, makes Momo pouts. “This is such a rare chance! I have to spend it considerately!”“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Momo rolls her eyes, couldn’t even disagree with that. “Come on, Mina. The movie will begin in few minutes.”Momo fastens her pace, so does Mina who trails her behind. Her face is full of smile. She’s happy that she finally is able to spend her weekend with Momo again. Since Momo has girlfriend, Sana, that ‘no bangs no life’ girl’s been spending those two days with Sana. She rarely having fun with Mina, much less than they used to. That’s kinda sad, Mina missed this so much. That’s why when Momo asked her to watch a movie with her together, Mina is so happy.But,the happiness doesn’t lasted so long. When Mina sees the figures of Sana and Chaeyoung standing right in front of the movie theater building, apparently waiting for them as Sana’s eyes beam when see Mina and Momo’s figures, Mina realizes, this plan isn’t like what she thought.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Sana!” Momo calls her girlfriend, makes Sana runs towards Momo, and leaps into her when she’s close. Mina has to take a few backwards steps, kinda afraid with that sudden moves. Her eyes move to Chaeyoung, sees that girl is watching the lovers with such a warm gaze. When the small catches Mina is looking at her, she waves a bit and gives Mina her wide smile. Mina doesn’t reply that, only stares at the latter expressionlessly.
She got tanned so much.
Mina doesn’t talk so much, not complaining at all. But when Sana ambles ahead first towards the building, giving a chance for Mina to talk with Momo, only two of them, Mina finally slurs, “I didn’t know there are four of us today.”Momo turns at this, seems totally fine. “Did I ever say it’s only two of us?”
Damn.
When Momo walks faster because Sana calls her to come closer, Mina slogs forwards, has no choice other than follow Momo behind. She could see Sana links her arms with Momo’s, dragging her towards the building, leaving Chaeyoung behind. Mina sighs, Chaeyoung’s fate is just like hers, abandoned by their own best friend. The different is, Chaeyoung looks totally okay with that, doesn’t really mind being the abandoned with those dumbers.Chaeyoung walks right behind the lovers, not really waiting for Mina. To be honest, Mina won’t do this any longer, spending time with Chaeyoung. She didn’t really like their first meeting, and also the second and the third. The forth was even more weird, they kissed that night. It just, it shouldn’t be like this. It’s odd, Mina never met someone in this way before. All of their meeting weren’t close with good. Bad, all are bad. Being together with Chaeyoung, Mina couldn’t imagine what else would happen between them. But now, she has to spend their weekend together. Though Sana and Momo are there with them, Mina could sense something off would happen in any time.Mina sighs, fastens her pace just to walk beside Chaeyoung. When she arrives at Chaeyoung’s side, the strawberry girl glances over her briefly. Her mouth stays shut, not letting out anything.“Hey,” Mina greets awkwardly, sounds too stiff and off. She forces a smile on her face, staring at Chaeyoung who just turns her face to look her back. “Hi, Mina.”Mina tucks her hair into behind her ears. “Those two really forgot that we’re actual here with them,” Mina nods to the couple a few meters afar in front of them, who are clinging each other, seems glued. “Momo fool me again, oh my god. I’m totally a foolish.”At this, Chaeyoung chortles. So loudly, that makes Mina also smiles involuntarily. “What did she say to you?”“She told me that she got a bonus from her work, and wanted to treat me,” Mina casually explains, rolling her eyes as she remembers how Momo lured her to this thing. “My false, I should’ve ask her are we two or four.”“Well, she didn’t lie, anyway,” Chaeyoung buries her hands into her shorts pockets, her voice is light and joyful. Mina observes her, she’s wearing a backpack. She looks so cool with those pair – a plain white shirt added with her denim jacket, and a black shorts. Her eyes back to Chaeyoung’s rounded eyes. “She’s really going to treat us. At least, that was what Sana said.”Mina winces as Chaeyoung looks a bit too excited at the moment. The latter’s been smiling widely like crazy, her steps are also a bit bouncy than usual. “You look so damn happy than usual.”Chaeyoung laughs at this, immediately ducks her head down as Mina caught her. “Am I that obvious?” she asks sheepishly, slightly glancing over Mina, her smile still on her face. “Well, this is the first time someone treat me.”Mina, heard that, involuntarily slowing down her pace, turning her face to see Chaeyoung. She vaguely hopes that Chaeyoung is just goofing around. Because if she doesn’t, it would be a very sad story.But, Chaeyoung only smiles, Mina could see a laced sadness between that wide smile. Mina gulps.
She didn’t lie.
This is really her first time being treated, means that none ever did it to her before.Mina suddenly feels bad of Chaeyoung. She remembers Sana’s words, that Chaeyoung never eat with someone else, that she’s a hard worker person, and that she always think about work and only work. Mina remembers Chaeyoung’s words, that she has a lot of things to think inside her head (their second meet), and that it stressed her. Mina could conclude it, Chaeyoung probably doesn’t have another friend except Sana. She probably comes out from her house just to lock herself inside her office room. She gets out from her bed just to drain her energy by working and working.Mina sighs, sincerely gives Chaeyoung a soothing smile. “I’ll treat you next time, okay? I can’t afford those beer you gave to me, so I’ll treat you something cheaper, yet delicious.” She nuzzles Chaeyoung’s arm, hopes it would cheer Chaeyoung up.Chaeyoung raises her brows. “So, there’ll be another next time between us?”
Oh.
At this, Mina stutters, “well,” she gulps. “As long as Momo still with Sana, I’m sure we’ll meet each other oftenly. They, uhm,” Mina stares at the figures of the couple, they are lining up to buy the tickets, while them two are waiting near the wall. “They probably are in a mission to set us two into a… thing.”Chaeyoung doesn’t respond at this, also watching Sana and Momo with a warm gaze. “Really?” She laughs, makes Mina baffled. “They are really good persons. I mean, they really do anything just to make sure we both found someone. You know what I mean, right?”Mina winces. “What kind of response is that?” she asks, glancing over Sana who beckoning Chaeyoung and Mina to buy the popcorn and the drinks. Mina hisses, kinda upset with the fact that Momo doesn’t treat everything. She sees Chaeyoung nods meekly, heading towards the popcorn store, leaving Mina behind. The Japanese fastly chasing her, walking beside her. “You… Don’t say that you are happy with that.”“With what?” Chaeyoung questions back, hands still buried inside her pockets, already in line to buy the popcorn. “I don’t really want to say this, to be honest. But, actually, Sana was really hyping when she knew I was drinking alcohol with you.” Chaeyoung turns her face and looks at Mina in the eyes, solely. “The fact that we were drinking at your apartment, and that it was only two of us that night, only made her happier.”Mina halts. Sana, that girl is really something. She has that vibe, kind of a person who willingly would force Mina and Chaeyoung into a kiss if she has to. And Mina knows, that girl is a total dangerous for her. She really needs to be careful starting from now when Sana’s around.Mina looks at the menus, choosing what she wants to buy. “You should handle your friend, then. She totally would do anything just to make us together.” Mina glances briefly, catches Chaeyoung is also staring at the menus. “If you don’t, we would really ended up together.”At this, Chaeyoung chortles. Her eyes still on the menus, the line is getting shorter. “Not a chance.”Mina paused, deciphering that words inside her head. “Eh?”Chaeyoung chortles again, looking at Mina. “That’s not possible. You don’t like me.”Mina doesn’t understand why Chaeyoung said that. But before Mina asks her more, the small adds, “I’m not your type. You said it before, remember?”Oh ya. Mina remembers it. She remembers she said it before, when their first meet, exactly. She said that rudely before, of course because she was mad with the fact that Chaeyoung dumped her that day.Chaeyoung isn’t her ideal type. And that’s not a lie.Mina sighs. “That’s not possible, huh? But, ideal type could be changed—”“Are four buckets enough for us?” Mina’s words got cut off by Chaeyoung who just ordered their popcorn. Mina halts, saying a low eh, then she realizes Chaeyoung’s question.“What the… Four? That’s too much!” she nuzzles Chaeyoung’s arm, while Chaeyoung just nods. “Then, how much?”Mina thinks, reminded that Momo is the biggest eater in this universe she’d ever met. “Three, just order three.” Mina joins Chaeyoung to the cash register, helping Chaeyoung ordering. This richy, she would buy the whole menus if Mina didn’t help her.After they ordered the popcorn and drinks, they walk towards Sana and Momo, who are waiting for them near the second studio door. When they arrive, Mina gives them two the popcorn. “There you go.”Momo pushes the third bucket Mina offered, giving it back to Mina. “You take one.” While Sana is observing the tickets. After a moment, Sana gives Mina the very first two tickets. “Yours and Chaeyoung’s.”Mina receives it in confuse, albeit she didn’t ask anything. She looks at the tickets, hers and Chaeyoung’s.
Row 10, seats number 14 and 15.

Mina sighs. Not a bad seat, at least.
But what with this movie? Room 336? What the hell is that?
The announcement heard, the movie will start soon. They should get inside now.“Come on,” Sana leads the way, also with arm linked with Momo’s. Mina watches them in silent, sighing, somehow got irritated that Chaeyoung doesn’t really mind with this thing—they got ignored.They get inside the studio, Momo and Sana are ahead, Mina not far behind them, while Chaeyoung is kinda left behind. The screen is still playing some ads. When Mina turns her face to see the whole studio, she gasps in shock. The whole seats are occupied, only left a few in empty, which is Mina sure those would be occupied as well soon.She trails Sana and Momo behind, thoughts that they also heading to the same direction as her, row 10. But, they turn right when they’re in row 7. Before they walk further, Mina grabs Momo’s wrist, latching her. Momo turns to face Mina, her face looks flat. “Wait, Momo. This isn’t our row.”Momo winces. “It is. It’s written on the tickets, Mina. Could you please re-read it, huh?”Mina hisses as Momo mocks her. She re-reads the tickets again, written row 10. She flicks the tickets in front of Momo’s face. “It’s row 10 written here, you dummy. Come on.”When Mina is about to drag Momo to row 10, Momo draws her hand off from Mina. Mina turns to nag Momo, but then she failed to do it as Momo sighs. “Wait, Mina. I forgot to tell you,” she grins foolishly, Mina starts feeling that there’s something off. “Our seats are different. Me and Sana, with yours and Chaeyoung’s.”
Wait.
“What?” Mina involuntarily shrieks, makes people around them stare at her sharply. Mina bites her lip, restraining herself from bursting. But of course it’s hard for her to keep herself calm, because Momo did what?! She bought them four some tickets with separated seats?!“The hell, Momo?!” Mina spits, whispering, keeping her voice low but still full of rage. “Why the hell you did this?! What the hell is your intention?!”Momo takes a backwards step, vaguely scared with Mina’s mad expression. “I’m sorry. I don’t have any hidden intention, really. It’s just, could you see this place, Mina?” Momo looks around the studio. “It’s totally packed. There were only few empty seats before, and we’re lucky that we got the tickets. Even though we’re separated.” Momo paused, biting her lower lip as Mina keeps glowering at her. “If you want another seat, I can buy a new one for you. I’m sure there are some single seats left as no one wants to watch this movie alone.”“And, you think I want to watch the movie alone?” Mina whispers again, still madly. Sana is watching them wordlessly, while Chaeyoung, Mina can’t see her though as she’s right behind her. “Seriously, Momo. Why the hell did you ask me to spend our weekend together?”“Mina, I—”“Hey, the movie is about to start. Please, continue the fight outside,” someone cuts Momo’s words, make them four turn into him. Chaeyoung and Sana bow as an apology, while Mina just shrugs off and Momo only stills.“Mina, I’m really—”“Ooh, shut up, Momo. I’ll just watch this movie with this Chaeyoung, considering that you spent your bonus for this. Thank you. Thank you so much, Hirai Momo.” Mina stomps towards her seats, with Chaeyoung following behind her. People they pass are watching them in silent, some of them are whispering, apparently talking about them.Mina only realizes that Chaeyoung is following her behind when she just sat on her seat. The small looks in trouble, bringing a bucket of popcorn with a hand, while the other is managing two cups of soft drink to stay still.“Excuse me. Excuse me?” she says while passing the occupied seats. Her head keeps ducking down, politely apologizes for disturbing the others, probably also for the previous fight. When she arrives beside Mina, she pushes the popcorn into Mina’s lap, and she seats beside Mina.Mina hears Chaeyoung sighs resignedly. “I know you are mad. But, please, I’m still here with you,” Chaeyoung sets the drinks on its place. “I’ll be glad if you helped me bringing this stuffs before.”Mina rolls her eyes, her angriness is flooding her as Chaeyoung didn’t sound mad at all. She doesn’t understand why Chaeyoung is so calm and patient in every moments. Mina glances over Chaeyoung, seeing the small is sipping her soft drink, face in total ease.“Aren’t you mad?” Mina asks Chaeyoung, very very upset with Momo. “This isn’t a holiday I want. What’s the point of asking me out and watch a movie together when we’re ended separated?”“Chill, girl. She said she doesn’t have any intention, right? It was solely because this place is totally packed and she didn’t have any other choice,” Chaeyoung patiently explains, there’s a wide smile plastered on her face. “It’s okay. Just enjoy this movie, huh? I heard this movie is a lit!”Mina huffs. Chaeyoung obviously is trying to cheer her up. But, heck, how could Mina smile at this moment? She feels betrayed by Momo, her friend since a long time ago. This is the first time she got betrayed by the peach, and damn, it hurts.“Oh, the movie starts!” Chaeyoung nudges Mina’s arm, informs Mina about the movie when Mina also can see it. Mina takes a peek over Chaeyoung, somehow amazed by how ease and tolerant Chaeyoung is. The small is paying attention into the movie, apparently looking forwards for it so much. And somehow, she looks cute while paying her attention into a thing this much.Mina sighs. Chaeyoung is right. It wasn’t solely Momo’s fault. Well, it is Momo’s fault, the part that she didn’t tell Mina anything. If Momo did tell her about this before, probably she won’t be as mad as she is at the moment. The fact that Momo didn’t tell her anything, made Mina distrusted that Sana and Momo were planning this. Made her felt so betrayed, being played like a toy.But no. There’s no evidence of it. Momo really bought those separated tickets because there was nothing left except those seats. She didn’t have any hidden plan behind it. Also Sana. That girl didn’t say anything before, probably didn’t know what to do as Mina looked so mad previously. They two weren’t planning anything, they didn’t betrayed Mina.Damn, Mina curses. She doesn’t know why she was so mad before. Now that she could clearly think about it, the couple didn’t do anything wrong.Mina shuts her eyes for seconds, calming herself down, telling herself to apologize to Momo later.When Mina opens her eyes, the screen shows a naked girl coming out from the bath tub, which previously covered by a curtain. Meanwhile the other girl there is doing stuff on the toilet.“Jesus Christ!” Chaeyoung shuts her eyes immediately, in shock that the movie is showing such a nude scene. Mina, seeing that Chaeyoung got surprised with the scene, involuntarily laughs delightly. Chaeyoung slowly takes a peek over Mina, seeing the latter is laughing at her.“What so funny, huh?” Chaeyoung huffs offendedly. She really purely shocked by the nude scene, didn’t expect that this Room 336 movie could be that extreme. She sighs resignedly, regretting for watching this movie. “Damn, what was that?”Mina laughs more seeing Chaeyoung frowning deeply. The small looks so surprised and shocked, apparently couldn’t enjoy the movie anymore. Chaeyoung glances over Mina who still giggling. “What so funny, Mina?” she rolls her eyes and sighs, makes Mina giggles more. “Are you used to watch a nude movie, Mina? Because you looks so damn calm and happy with that sight before,” Chaeyoung opens her lids completely, continues watching the movie, where the two actors are talking. She winces, just realizing that it is a gay movie. “Because that sight wasn’t something usual to watch.”Mina besides her still laughing. “You are funny. Why so shocked with that scene?” she asks easily, makes Chaeyoung widens her eyes in disbelief.“That was so surprising, Myoui-san,” Chaeyoung scoffs in protest, voice a bit too loud that makes people around them turn their face and glare to them. Mina grins in guilty, bows as an apology while Chaeyoung still mumbling unclearly. Mina nudges her arm to stop the unclear blabs, glancing over Chaeyoung who is pouting right now.She’s pouting, and she looks like a five years old girl.Snaps herself, Mina moves her sight to the screen, which’s showing the new traumatic character, a girl who left by her boyfriend and did abortion. As she doesn’t want to chat any longer with Chaeyoung, and also want to enjoy the movie, Mina starts leaning her back to the backrest and puts all of her attention to the movie.The movie’s getting darker and sadder. The main character’s life, Sharon, is very sad and painful. While the other girl, Katarina, who’s apparently in love with her roommate Sharon, is trying her best to help the roommate, even when the roommate is in love with someone else. It hurts Mina’s heart, the story is just too much pain to watch.They’re still in the middle of the movie when suddenly Mina sees Sana and Momo stand up. Mina could only watch wordlessly when the couple slowly walk towards the exit door, and they leave the studio in quick without second glance, as though they forgot about Mina and Chaeyoung.“Where are they going?” finally Chaeyoung asks. The small is also watching them, asking Mina what’s going on. But of course Mina also has no idea of what’s going on. Mina shrugs, tries to keep her positive thoughts and stays calm, preventing herself from angry. She only realizes that her phone inside her pocket is vibrating after a while.She fastly fishes out her phone, opens the message from Bestie Peach.
Miguri, Sana’s parents abruptly came from Japan and departed in South Korea this morning. They didn’t tell anything to Sana so she was kinda shocked too. I’m sorry that we have to leave you to like this, but Sana asked me to join her meeting her parents. Sana said she’s sorry too, and we promise that we’ll meet you two at dinner. Your restaurant. Okay?
Mina sighs, damn-ing inside her head.“What’s wrong?” Chaeyoung cranes her neck to take a peek over Mina’s screen phone. Mina once again sighs and throws her phone onto Chaeyoung’s lap. “Your friend.” Mina sees Chaeyoung takes the phone and reads the message. “They really left us to right now, damn it.”“Ooh,” Chaeyoung mumbles quietly, quickly turning the phone off as the person besides her protests and asks her to turn off the phone. “They can’t do anything, though. Sana’s parents are used to do that, coming to Korea without telling Sana. Sometimes Sana has to leave the job when they come.”“And you let her go? Left the job she has to finish?”“Yup.” Chaeyoung grins, makes Mina shakes her head, doesn’t understand at all with Chaeyoung’s head. “She’s very lucky to work with you, then. She won’t be able to do that in another company.”“No, Mina,” Chaeyoung calmly refutes. The smile on her face, there’s something laced behind it, something indescribable. Her smile is soft and calm, yet somehow sad and dejected. “I’m the one who’s very lucky that she works with me.”Mina couldn’t say any word, not sure what to say. Glad that Chaeyoung carries on the talk. “She’s a very nice person, Mina. So bright and joyful. When I’m down, she…” Chaeyoung paused, gulping nervously. “She’s always there for me. She’s very helpful and patient, mood maker, and so positive.” Chaeyoung paused again, this time staring at the screen. “You might be seeing her as an annoying girl, who is clumsy and couldn’t stay still for a minute. But you have to know that she’s very precious to me. Don’t hurt her, and tell Momo to not hurt her too.”Mina exhales slowly, nodding. Somehow, listening those kind of nice words from Chaeyoung, is kinda strange for Mina. She never thought that Sana is very meaningful to Chaeyoung.“That was so romantic, Chaeng,” Mina jokes, tries to chill the situation as Chaeyoung seems pretty serious at the moment. “Why don’t you just date her? Looks like you’re in love with her.”“I’m in love with her, Mina, since a long time ago.” Heard this, Mina’s heart skipped a beat. She failed goofing around, as Chaeyoung adds another sincere words. When Chaeyoung turns her face and looks at Mina in the eyes, Mina could clearly see it. The sign of love. Chaeyoung adores Sana that much. “I really love her, but not in context that I want to date her.” A short halt. “I love her as a friend. A very good friend.”Chaeyoung smiles, her head filled with Sana’s smile. “She deserves someone better than me.” At this, she glances at Mina and stares. “I hope Momo is as nice as she is right now.”Mina chuckles, couldn’t believe what she just heard. “Don’t worry. Momo, that girl will fight anybody who hurt Sana at this moment.” Mina winces as Momo’s silly face passes her mind at sudden. “That girl protects hers so well.”“That’s great.” Chaeyoung’s face brighten up. “I hope they stay together for a long time. Sana, she’s really happy when she got Momo from that blind date thing. She said Momo is probably the most compatible person with her she’d ever met.”“Well, Momo didn’t talk about Sana that much, but I know that she really adores her,” Mina adds, reminded of Sana being clingy onto Momo without Momo hating it. As Mina thinks about it just now, Momo should be loving Sana that much.After that, Chaeyoung didn’t say anything. She continues watching the movie, but Mina could see it. The glint on her eyes are gone. She’s no longer excited with the movie, no more beaming eyes. Instead, it replaced by a sad eyes, gloomy and blank eyes, as though she’s staring at the movie but her mind is in somewhere else.Mina bites her lip. Somehow, she wants that smile back. She wants Chaeyoung’s wide smile back. This sight, Chaeyoung being sad and sombre, is something unpleasant to see.Mina gathers her courage, nudging Chaeyoung’s arm and utters in her brightest tone. “Hey, cheer up. Sana’s in on the right hands.”“It’s not about her. It just, I just reminded of the past...” Chaeyoung trails off, couldn’t carry on her words, ducking down and hiding her face from Mina. Mina doesn’t know what happened in Chaeyoung’s past, but seems like it wasn’t a good story to tell. It might be very painful to Chaeyoung, to a state that she could be sad at sudden when she remembers it.Mina doesn’t like this. She never liked someone’s becoming sad like this, especially when the person used to be the bright, calm, composed and positive one.Mina shifts her sight to the movie, which is so sudden becoming a very sad movie. Someone’s dead and etc, a lot of sad things happened. So, Mina makes a decision.She grabs Chaeyoung’s hand and wrings it subtly. “Come on.”When Mina leaps to her feet and pulls Chaeyoung’s hand to come along with her, all Chaeyoung could do is just following her behind. The grip is so tight and sure, as though Mina didn’t even hesitate to do it. They say excuse me for a lot, as they head to the exit door.It is when they’re outside, Chaeyoung holds back herself and makes Mina ceased. Mina turns and raises her brows. “What is it, Mina? What are you doing?” Chaeyoung asks, couldn’t understand the whole situation, yet still meekly letting Mina dragged her out of the studio.“Oh, sorry. That Room 336 movie is suck and boring. The story is so sad and dreadful. I hate that kind of movie,” Mina rolls her eyes, convincing Chaeyoung who looks confused at the moment. “I don’t want to watch it anymore. It could make my mood getting worse.”“Ooh,” Chaeyoung nods, doesn’t complaining at all. “It would be nice if we discuss about it before leaving the studio. We left the popcorn and the drinks.”Chaeyoung pouts, doesn’t disagree at all, which makes Mina smiles at it. This small, how could she be a boss with this kind of obedient behavior? At first, she looked fearless and tough. But now, as Mina knows her more, she could see Chaeyoung’s real personalities. This small is kinda cute and not as tough as Mina thought before. She has the vibe of badass and bitchy, but at the same time, she also has the gentle and soft side. It makes Mina confused, couldn’t understand Chaeyoung at all.“So, where are we going right now?” Chaeyoung finally asks. “Momo and Sana will meet us at dinner, and dinner is still four hours to go.”Mina smiles, slightly been waiting for Chaeyoung to ask that. “You’re going to play with me.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

There’s this moment of awkwardness that Mina hates so much. Because based on how Chaeyoung’s face vaguely changes into confusedness, Mina somehow regrets that she did this. Dragged the small out of the theater probably isn’t the best plan she ever had.“Play with you?” Chaeyoung drawls, not really used with the suggestion. “Play what? I’m not good at playing.”Mina only rolls her eyes. “When I said play with me, it didn’t really mean that we’re going to play something,” Mina patiently explains. She holds her laughter when she sees Chaeyoung’s baffled face. It’s kinda cute, to be honest. “We can just, you know, do something fun. Do what you enjoy the most.”Mina thinks that that explanation is enough to make Chaeyoung understand what they’re going to do for the rest of the day. But no, Mina is wrong. Chaeyoung still looks as confused as before. The small asks with her very serious tone, “do what I enjoy the most?”At this point, Mina starts getting a bit tired. Why this small can’t understand what I’m talking easily? “Yeah. Like eating, or shopping, or—”“You like shopping? Then, let’s go shopping.” Chaeyoung takes Mina’s hand, starts pulling it into somewhere. “I’ll treat you something nice.”What? This isn’t it. It supposed to be her who pleased the small, not the opposite. And so, Mina gently draws her hand from Chaeyoung, makes Chaeyoung ceases. “No, no, Chaeyoung. It’s not my things,” Mina once again elaborates the plan. “It’s yours. We’ll do what you like.”Mina sees Chaeyoung fidgets, nervous. She doesn’t know why this small is so nervous at the moment, but before Mina could decipher her strange acts, Chaeyoung heaves a sigh. She hums, thinking. “Do what I like?” she questions cautiously. She bites her lips, seems thoughtful, and it’s kinda confusing for Mina. Why she doesn’t even know what she likes?After a while Chaeyoung fidgeting, Chaeyoung nods, as though she’s convincing herself to say her next words. “I’m not sure if this could be call a hobby or something like that, but I enjoy speeding.” Chaeyoung grins, meanwhile Mina doesn’t respond anything, so Chaeyoung carries on explaining. “I used to drive fastly in highway when I have some free time. It does releasing all my stress out.”And after all those explanation, Mina could only respond, “oh.” She halts a beat. “With your Porsche?” And Chaeyoung nods in eager as a reply. “Yup. Sometimes, I use my other cars as well, but yeah, Berry is my fav.”Wait.“Be—” Mina chokes. “Berry?”At this, Chaeyoung’s face turns into nervous, as though she’s just caught doing something embarrassing. “Ouh, sorry. That my Porsche’s name.” Chaeyoung scratches her not itchy nape, nervous and doesn’t know what to do. “Is it weird if I give name for my stuffs?”“What? No, of course. It’s not weird at all,” Mina fastly refutes it, suddenly remembers herself giving name for stuffs Jeongyeon gave her back then. “Honestly, it’s cute. And, I’m sure other girls also do the same.”Mina sees Chaeyoung suddenly smiles, apparently relieved. “Great, then.”The awkward moment continues, and Mina is totally done with it.“So, you like driving cars? Speeding?” Mina once again asks, seeing Chaeyoung’s eyes suddenly beam at her as the small nods excitedly. “Yeah. You should try it at least once. I know that’s not a very good thing, but it does help you forget your worries.”Mina chuckles, imagining herself driving crazily in a highway, speeding with a damn expensive car, is kinda funny for her. She’s not very good at driving car. “Okay, I got it. But,” Mina tails off, back to the main plan. “Are we going to do it now? Drive your… Berry?”Chaeyoung’s smile widens when she heard Berry’s name called by someone. “Berry. Yeah, Berry. I love driving Berry. But,” suddenly Chaeyoung’s face turns into flat. “I didn’t drive Berry today.”“Oh, really?” Mina slightly feels relieved. Deep inside, she doesn’t really like driving a car in a highway, speeding, death-defying. It’s just, Mina is scared with that thing. She has this reason she doesn’t want to talk about. “Then, you have another thing you like? Probably, going to arcade, or comic-café, maybe?” Mina tries to lure Chaeyoung to do another thing except speeding. She slightly hopes that Chaeyoung would change her mind and do another thing she likes. It’s impossible if someone only have this one certain thing she like, isn’t it?But, Mina’s heart starts thumping again when Chaeyoung slurs easily, “I don’t like those things. I only do speeding whenever I got stressed.” A very short moment of halt, much enough to make Mina’s heart skipped a beat. “We could just rental a car. I’ll bring you into somewhere good.”Mina couldn’t say anything when Chaeyoung walks away from her. “Where’s the nearest car rental place around here?” Chaeyoung mumbles, talking with herself while looking around for what she had mentioned before. Mina could just watch, not sure what to do. She’s the one who offered Chaeyoung to do what she likes. It’s her idea since the first. But that was before she knows that Chaeyoung only loves speeding. She thought that Chaeyoung maybe likes playing basketball, or eating pizza, or another normal and easy-to-do things. She never thought that Chaeyoung only does this certain thing whenever she’s stressed, and shit, it’s a thing Mina dislikes.Damn. Mina was never been a very lucky person.She shuts her eyes, gulping. She doesn’t want to go drive a car into somewhere. Not a chance. She needs to do something. That exact courage is the thing that makes Mina chases Chaeyoung quickly.She’s right behind the small who’s still looking around for a car rental place. “Hey,” she opens, only gets a brief glance from Chaeyoung. This small is pretty quick-walker. “Do you even remember that Sana and Momo are going to meet us at dinner?” Mina’s still trying to make Chaeyoung does something else. “We can’t travel to somewhere far. They’ll be waiting for us if we do.”At this, Chaeyoung laughs. She’s not even ceasing. “They’re not gonna meet us anytime soon. Sana’s parents will hold them from leaving at least until the end of the day. I know it because, well, they always do that every time they visit here.” Chaeyoung turns her face a bit, looks directly into Mina’s eyes and smiles. “We have a plenty of time to spend, Mina.”“But—” Mina’s words never come to its end as Chaeyoung isn’t even listening to her. The decision had been made. They’ll go to somewhere using a car, only two of them, and probably until the day comes to its end. And Mina can’t even do anything, except watching Chaeyoung walks away further from her, apparently excited with this driving thing, not even care about Mina who left far behind her.Mina gulps, realizing what’s coming. It’s not a thing she hates the most, but not a thing she likes as well. But, hell. She can’t do much. Because she knows, she’s already lose. They’ll do this thing Chaeyoung likes, speeding in a fucking highway.
Damn.
///“Your seatbelt, lady,” is all what Chaeyoung says when she gets inside the car. She holds her laughter as she sees Mina is sitting nervously on the seat next to hers. She sets her seatbelt as well and mumbles, “you don’t look so good.”Mina heaves a sigh slowly, her hands are gripping the seatbelt tightly. “To be honest, I’m not so into this thing. You know, speeding, doing thrilling things,” Mina says while gritting her teeth, still can’t believe she’s there with Chaeyoung. Her hands grip the seat belt tightly. “I hoped we could just do something normal, like playing arcade, or going to amusement park, or something else.”“But you said we’ll do what I like, right?” Chaeyoung slurs while getting herself ready to drive the rental car. Not a very good car for speeding, but at least it’s comfortable. “However, driving to somewhere is a very normal thing, isn’t it?”“To you, it is,” Mina quickly responds, a bit nervous when Chaeyoung starts the engine and begins to drive. “To me, it brings back bad memories.”Mina glances over Chaeyoung just to see the driving girl’s face suddenly changed. “Ohh,” Chaeyoung mumbles quietly, somehow sounds surprised. “Why is that?” she asks cautiously, suddenly hesitates when she sees Mina heaves a sigh nervously. “I mean, if you don’t mind to tell me.”Mina only gulps, doesn’t really want to talk about it. Her mind is full with those bad memories, scenes she never want to remember again. But as now they are here, inside a car and going into somewhere as it’s Chaeyoung’s will, speeding, Mina starts to feel uneasy.Maybe Chaeyoung catches that sight, the sight of Mina suddenly being nervous and jittery, not okay with the situation, that makes Chaeyoung suddenly asks, “you want me to stop the car and just do something else?”At this, Mina quickly shakes her head, totally disagrees with the suggestion. “No, no. No need to do that. You already rent this thing.”Mina knows, money isn’t something that could bother Chaeyoung because she has plenty. It’s because of her, because of Mina, that this small wants to stop the plan and do something else. Mina slightly feels it, she now knows that Chaeyoung is that kind of person. A person who puts someone else before her own self. It surprises Mina that this image is recently becoming Chaeyoung’s image, which is totally the opposite with her first impression of Chaeyoung; a jerk.Mina could see Chaeyoung nods beside her, paying attention to the front again. “Okay,” she drawls. “But, if you tell me what makes you hate this, maybe I can try to avoid that thing while driving.”She’s right. Probably she just has to tell Chaeyoung why being inside a car does make her so nervous.“Uhm,” Mina clears her throat, licking her lips which suddenly feel so dry. “It was my ex.” Jeongyeon, that bitch. Mina glances at Chaeyoung and sees no respond from the small. “It was when we were speeding in a high way. She was a bit tipsy, me as well, and we hit the side of the road. It was a big accident. My back injured pretty bad.”Chaeyoung lets out a small oh, pretty surprised with the story. “That’s bad,” she mutters, face shows a sympathetic gaze. “And since then, you never like being inside the car anymore?”“It’s not like that,” Mina quickly corrects. “It just, the fact that you like speeding in a high way, and we’re going to do it right now, all of it does make me nervous.” Mina smiles minimally. “But I’ll be fine if you drive harmlessly,” she adds, reassuring Chaeyoung that she’ll be fine as long as Chaeyoung keeps driving safely.Chaeyoung nods eagerly. “Of course. I always drive safely, you know. If you want, I can just bring you to somewhere and not going to do the speeding.”“Eh?”Chaeyoung shrugs. “Let’s forget about the speeding. I’m going to show you a nice place to release the stress, Mina,” Chaeyoung suddenly smiles excitedly, shifting her sitting position. “Hold on tight, Mina. I’m gonna give you the best sunset you’ve ever had.”
Oh, shit.
Mina shuts her eyes tightly, gets ready for whatever Chaeyoung’s plan is. She hopes there’s no more accident happen here, even the small one. Got injured from accident with Jeongyeon is the last one, please. Mina still has a big scar on her back, etched, will never off from her damn body. That proof will stay there on her body forever, would always be a strict reminder of what happened in the past. Mina hopes it will never ever happen again.And she knows, that will never happen again. With Chaeyoung, she’s safe, and she knows it.///They finally arrived. Mina doesn’t know where they are right now. Chaeyoung said they’re still in Seoul, Mapo district. That’s mean they travel not so far. But Mina felt like forever inside the car before. Chaeyoung might be driving the car not so fast (perhaps she was decreasing her real speed), but she wasn’t driving slowly as well. Every time Chaeyoung increased her speed, Mina would shriek or scream like they’re going to face death. And Chaeyoung just laughed in joy every time Mina did that.Right after Chaeyoung parks the car, Mina quickly gets herself out from the car and breathes the air like she’d been suffocated inside there. Chaeyoung once again laughs seeing that, she never saw this image of Mina before.“You really are an old lady, Mina,” says Chaeyoung when she joins Mina. She buries her hands inside her pockets, wearing a bucket hat that suddenly came out from somewhere. Mina winces, a bit offended but can’t do anything because, well, Chaeyoung is right. She’s like an old woman. “Shut up. You were the one who enjoying this sight of old woman shrieking like crazy. You rude.”Chaeyoung laughs again. Mina still can’t move on from being sick.Then, they start walking towards their destination. Mina still has no idea where are they now. She glances at Chaeyoung who’s staring at something beyond her fondly. “Anyway, where are we right now?”Mina doesn’t recognize any of this place. She came to South Korea a few years ago, but she doesn’t really like going outside, except for doing things she wants. She doesn’t really like ‘just walking’. She goes outside mostly for working, shopping, ‘dating’ with Momo, and going to arcade. Other than that, she doesn’t really have any interest.Mina sees Chaeyoung smiles, proudly introduce the place. “We’re at Haneul Park, Mina.” She grins, apparently excited. “It’s a very beautiful place. Really. You would never regret coming here.”Chaeyoung’s face really brighten up than before. Seeing that, Mina smiles. Well, it’s her real intention, right? To make Chaeyoung bright again. To make Chaeyoung’s smile back. And she did, she successfully did it.She shrugs, trying to be calm and composed. “Okay.”They walk for a while, keeping the silence fill the air because they’ve been chatting too much since before. Until suddenly Chaeyoung grabs Mina’s hand, makes Mina vaguely jolts.“We better be fast. We’re gonna miss the sunset if we keep walking at this pace,” says Chaeyoung confidently, increasing the speed of her walk towards the place she mentioned, and still holding Mina’s hand, dragging Mina. Mina only trails her behind, her pace also increase than before, her eyes won’t left the sight of their hands which are connected. She doesn’t understand why Chaeyoung has to hold her hand, because obviously it isn’t necessary. But Mina weirdly doesn’t protest at all.
It’s warm.
So, they walk like that. Holding hands, though saying nothing. They are just walking quicker, heading to this Haneul Park. Mina groans when she found out that they have to ascend hundred stairs to get into the park. It takes over than 20 minutes, and Chaeyoung is still holding Mina’s hand, while they together climb the stairs. Well, Mina thinks it’s something so helpful, as her feet is aching now and she’s a bit tired.After 20 minutes, they arrive at the park, welcomed by orange grasses everywhere, chest-high and all in tidy. The sun is so low right now, everywhere is orange, and it’s freakin’ beautiful. Mina involuntarily lets out an amazed ooh, totally enjoying the scenery before her eyes. And when she turns around, she also could see buildings, Seoul city with its bustle and hustle. “Wow,” Mina once again wow-ing. Her eyes can’t even move from the sun. “It’s amazing, Son Chaeyoung. Really.”“I know right?” Chaeyoung proudly brags off, she succeed to amaze Mina. “It’s been a while since my last time visit here. And yet, it still successfully amaze me.” Chaeyoung halts. “Let’s move to a better place, Mina.”Chaeyoung, with hand still holding Mina’s, excitedly pulls Mina’s hand and drags her away. That’s the time when Mina jolts in shock because she still in amazed with the picturesque scenery. “Wait, wait, hey.”Chaeyoung stops, turns around and sees Mina is staring at their connected hands with a weird gaze. That’s the only time when Chaeyoung realizes it, that her hand’s been holding Mina’s since before. She fastly draws her hand, hides it behind her own body. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to.”Chaeyoung hopes that Mina doesn’t think too much about it. Because it’s really nothing to Chaeyoung. It’s only hands holding each other, skin meets skin, if Chaeyoung could say. But Mina is staring at her wordlessly, eyes expecting something from Chaeyoung. So, Chaeyoung gulps, clearing her throat. “I used to hold Sana’s hand when we’re going somewhere together. You know,” Chaeyoung shrugs, trying to keep her cool and chill image. “She’s very clumsy. She could tripped over an ant.”Mina halts for a beat. Somehow, there’s something gone from her eyes. After a moment of silence, which is somehow awkward, Mina nods. “That’s pretty shit if she really could tripped over an ant, but, no problem. It’s just, hands holding each other, right?” She smiles, shrugging. “Let’s go to a better place, Chaeng.”Chaeyoung halts for seconds, Mina really soundings her thought out aloud. Hands holding each other, yeah, of course it was nothing. Chaeyoung hopes Mina really thinks that way.She quickly chases Mina, walking beside her with the same pace and just enjoying the scenery. Chaeyoung could see Mina’s smiling happily, like she really likes the place. Mina seems distracted by her surrounding, even ignoring Chaeyoung when the girl asks about her feeling being here.After a few seconds, Mina asks back, only realizes that Chaeyoung was asking her. “Sorry. What is it again?”Chaeyoung chuckles, totally understand if Mina was dazed out for a moment. Chaeyoung was also dazed out when she came to this place for the first time. Sana was the one who brought her to this place, and Chaeyoung is very thankful to Sana for introduced her to this park. She’s so adamant when it comes to make Chaeyoung out from her room. Even until now.After that first time, this Haneul Park’s been becoming Chaeyoung’s favorite place. She oftenly comes here alone, without Sana knowing about it. Even though it’s been dozen times Chaeyoung comes to this place, she still amazed with the scenery.These days, Chaeyoung’s been so busy with her work, that she can’t visit this place. It’s good that she finally is able to come here again today, especially with a new friend, Mina.Chaeyoung stares back to Mina, who’s looking at her, waiting for Chaeyoung to repeat her previous question. Chaeyoung smiles. “How is it being here, Mina?”“Ahh, that,” Mina nods. Her smile suddenly back. “This is so good! Really!” She laughs, nudges Chaeyoung’s arm. “It supposed to be me who should make your smile back, but here I am, being hyper by my own self,” she paused, giving Chaeyoung her best gummy smile. “Thank you so much, really. This is such a healing.”Chaeyoung, seeing that Mina’s totally happy being here, also smiles. But, there’s a thing about Mina’s state she doesn’t understand. “Anyway, why you said you’re the one who supposed to make my smile back?”Mina answers with her eyes staring at beyond her, orange grasses. “You were reminded with your past before, at the theater. I don’t know what happened with you at the past, but apparently it wasn’t good enough as your smile abruptly disappeared at the time you talked about it,” Mina glances over Chaeyoung, wanting to see the small’s reaction. “But, forget about it, okay? We’re here now. Let’s just forget all of those shitty stuffs and just relax yourself with this beautiful sight.”Chaeyoung, for a moment, thinks. Yeah, she absolutely forgot about that thing. She doesn’t even remember that she reminded with her past at the theater. All of those shitty moments could suddenly barge in into Chaeyoung’s head and mess up everything. Thanks to Mina, that she could sense it, and made Chaeyoung forget about it.Chaeyoung glances over Mina, seeing Mina still captivated with the scenery. She clears her throat, wanting to get Mina’s attention. “Mina,” she calls, makes the Japanese turns her head and faces Chaeyoung. “Thank you, for making me forget those stuffs.”Mina halts for a moment, and then she chuckles. “It’s not a big deal, girl. I just hate seeing someone sad. Moreover, I also get to know about this place. So, it’s a win win situation,” Mina slurs. She’s really happy that Chaeyoung brought her here, instead of doing her silly speeding in a highway. Now, she knows this beautiful place, which is absolutely could be Mina’s favorite place for healing. “I really should move my lazy ass from my bed and start going to place like this. If I didn’t, I’ll be regretting my boring life.”Chaeyoung laughs at that, didn’t expecting Mina has a lazy ass. “We should hang out again sometimes,” Chaeyoung easily slurs, makes Mina turns her face in quick. She observes Chaeyoung’s face, tries to find something she doesn’t know what.“You mean, four of us?”“Oh,” Chaeyoung mumbles. “I was talking about us two,” Chaeyoung sheepishly grins. And before Mina could respond that, Chaeyoung fastly adds, “but, if you want us four to hang out together sometimes, that’s fine. I want to know more about Momo though.”Mina doesn’t paying attention to Chaeyoung’s last words. The one she caught is that Chaeyoung meant two of them, only Mina and Chaeyoung, exclude Sana and Momo. It confuses Mina. She doesn’t understand what’s inside Chaeyoung’s head. When Mina expects Chaeyoung to do A, the latter would do B. And also the opposite. Just like this very moment. When Mina thought Chaeyoung was talking about them four, turned out that Chaeyoung was talking about them two. Mina knows it doesn’t mean much for Chaeyoung, or maybe doesn’t mean anything to her. But, it just stresses Mina. That makes Mina couldn’t understand Chaeyoung well. She’s like a riddle, hard to solve, difficult to predict.Mina sighs. No, she’s not disappointed. It just, she wants to understand this small, at least slightly. But, this girl keeps making Mina surprised, keeps doing something Mina never expected.“Well,” Mina answers. “I bet when we four hang out again sometimes, those silly couple would do what they failed today.”“And what is that?”“Set us into a thing.”Chaeyoung hums for a moment. “Then, I would be glad to show you another beautiful place, Mina,” Chaeyoung replies with the most positive answer. Not resent with Momo and Sana’s set up, or mad with their stupid obvious plan. She’s purely accepting being set up with Mina. “I would be happy to drive you to somewhere great.”Mina winces, doesn’t understand why Chaeyoung being positive almost everytime. “Aren’t you mad? Being set up with me?”Chaeyoung’s brows raised. “Why should I?” she asks Mina back, which makes Mina snapped. Why should she dislikes it? “Isn’t that good, that we could go somewhere else together? While giving Sana and Momo some private time?” Chaeyoung innocently asks. “They are girlfriends, and it would be great if we give them time for their own.”Chaeyoung turns her head and faces Mina, a sincere smile etched on her face. “I’m not mad being set up with you, Mina. Really. I do understand if you mad at that, because I was a jerk that dumped you before. I deserve that. But, I also feel bad to treat you that way. I shouldn’t do that, playing… you, just because I want to survive those girls.” Chaeyoung’s voice suddenly sounds softer. “I’m sorry, Mina. I’m really sorry.”Mina halts for a moment. In silent, she tries to find out the reason why she resents that thing so much. Well, Chaeyoung isn’t a jerk anymore. She’s so kind, so positive, so bright, that makes Mina confuses of her. That makes Mina somehow jealous of her. She’s a very humble person, and Mina has no reason to hate her.Mina clears her throat. “That’s fine, Chaeng. You were such an asshole at our first meet, but now, you’re not.” Mina shrugs, kinda nervous when Chaeyoung is solely staring at her. “I mean, you’ve been being so nice to us, me and Momo. And you’re Sana’s friend, so I should really stop seeing you as an enemy.”“Oh, I was an enemy before?”“Well, you dumped me, you forgot my name, you acted like you don’t regret anything,” Mina utters, grinning, still nervous under Chaeyoung’s stare. “That’s enough to make me disliking on you.” Mina sees Chaeyoung nods, as though she now just found out why Mina dislikes her that much. “But, we’re fine now. However, you already apologized before.”At this, Chaeyoung halts. She winces her brows, her face looks confuse. “Did I?”“Yeah, it was when you came to my apartment to take Momo’s silly sweaters,” Mina chuckles bitterly, suddenly reminded with that day. “You came over and brought me two bottles of beer. And we ended up drink together at night.”Chaeyoung gasps, seems like she doesn’t remember that day so well. “Shit,” she curses. “I remember coming to your apartment and that we drank together that day. But, I didn’t remember the rest of the day so well,” Chaeyoung facepalms herself. “So, did I do something stupid?”“Uhm,” Mina bites her lower lip, recalling the memories. “You were drunk after your first glass. Your face was all red, and you kept mumbling things I can’t even remember what.”“Damn,” Chaeyoung once again facepalms herself. “That’s why I don’t want to drink with others. I do embarrassing things when I’m drunk, and I got drunk so easily,” Chaeyoung explains, nose-scrunching. “And then, what did I do that time?”“Well,” Mina clears her throat. “You apologized about that. That you used me to save your own self, and that you forgot my name back at my restaurant.” Mina pauses. “You said you were so sorry about that.”Chaeyoung’s head keeps nodding. “I am so sorry, Mina, even until now.” Chaeyoung admits it. “Any other things?”
Yeah. You said that I’m beautiful, and you kissed me.
“No,” Mina shakes her head weakly, smiling, convincing Chaeyoung that she didn’t do anything more than that. “That was all. You didn’t do something stupid.”Yeah. Mina won’t remind Chaeyoung about that kiss. That isn’t necessary, right? There’s no good to tell Chaeyoung about what they did that night. Chaeyoung doesn’t remember it a though, and Mina also wants to forget it. So, it’s better for her to not tell Chaeyoung about that. That way they both could forget it.For a moment, there’s this kind of awkward silence, as Chaeyoung just stares at Mina, wordlessly, as though she still can’t believe that she just did that far. But, after that moment, Chaeyoung’s smile suddenly blooms on her face. “Great. I thought I did something big. Glad to know that I didn’t.”Mina smiles. “Yeah, you didn’t do anything stupid. So, don’t be so worry.” Mina glances over Chaeyoung, sees the small girl’s face laced with something. Something Mina doesn’t know, something Mina couldn’t reach. Something so mysterious, that Mina is triggered to reach out, to know it, to understand it. But of course, it’s not easy. Chaeyoung’s been so mysterious since their first meet. Mina wants to know why she acts that way, but yeah, Mina won’t ask her as well. Everybody has a secret, and maybe this thing Mina couldn’t reach out about Chaeyoung is a big secret to her.“Anyway, Chaeng,” Mina calls the person beside her. “What are we going to do after this? I mean, you said that Sana’s parents wouldn’t let go of them at least until the end of the day. So, I guess, a dinner?”Chaeyoung’s brows raised. “Are you hungry?”Mina grins bitterly, rubbing her flat belly. “A bit. Momo promised to buy me a dinner. But, well, obviously she can’t.”Chaeyoung laughs at this, amused with the sight of Mina being hungry. “Okay, let’s eat something after this. I’ll treat you—”“Don’t you dare,” Mina cuts her off. “Let me treat you this time, you richy girl.”“Owh, really? You’ll treat me?” Chaeyoung’s eyes suddenly beam at Mina, which is somehow cute. “Great! I’ll be looking forward for it.”Mina holds herself from smiling widely, seeing Chaeyoung becomes so happy when she said she’ll treat her. She remembers when Chaeyoung said she doesn’t get treated oftenly, mostly she’s the one who pay as she has tons of won. And it pleases Mina that Chaeyoung looks totally happy with Mina treating her. She looks like a kid who just gifted a free candy. Cute.Well, this is all. Today is very surprising. Started by Mina being resent with the fact that they were actually four of them, Momo didn’t fully treat her, the apart seats, and that Sana and Momo had to leave the movie; Mina thought that this day would be the worst day she’s ever had. But, that’s totally wrong. Today isn’t as bad as she thought. She got a chance to hang out with this small, having some small talk with her while facing her fear back in the car. Turn out that hang out with Chaeyoung isn’t bad at all. Turn out that Chaeyoung isn’t as bad and boring as she thought.This day is getting closer to its end. The sun almost completely gone, no more orange, it’s almost dark now. Though, even it was a very short time that she spent with Chaeyoung, Mina still had a lot of fun. When Chaeyoung teased her back in the car by increasing the speed, professionally slipped between car and car, made Mina shrieked like an old lady. Or when they just talked about something normal, about the work, about their hobby, and else. Mina had a lot of fun today. It’s such a waste that they only had a very short time to visit only one place, but hey, they’ll have a dinner after this. That means Mina still has a time to do talk with this small.Mina smiles. She suddenly is so thankful to Momo to leave them two like this. Because this way, Mina would spend times with Chaeyoung.
Oh my god, Mina, you’re such a bitch.
Mina quietly glances over Chaeyoung, seeing the girl is still looking ahead. Seeing that, Mina smiles again. She knows, she would have another great time at today’s dinner. With Chaeyoung.///So, it’s past 9 pm. Not so late, of course. Chaeyoung really suggested them to come home not too late, because it’s been so dangerous for girl to walk in the road alone at night. She also suggested that she should drop Mina home, to make sure Mina is arrived at home safely. And Mina, being a meek, couldn’t disagree that.But there they are, ascending Mina’s apartment’s stairs. Quietly and silently, no one talk. Chaeyoung supposed to just drop Mina at her apartment and then leave, when Mina remembered that Chaeyoung left her jacket when the last time she came over (that drunk night). Chaeyoung had no choice to also go upstairs with Mina to take her jacket. Both never thought that this would be such an awkward moment.They arrive at Mina’s door. Mina slips the key into the keyhole and opens the door, telling Chaeyoung to go inside. It’s dark inside, so Mina fastly turns the light on. That moment, she could see Chaeyoung’s face clearly.And the awkward moment continues, this time by the two staring at each other wordlessly.“I-I’ll take the jacket,” Mina stutters, suddenly feels nervous, thoughts that the room is so tight for two of them. While Chaeyoung looks totally fine, not even nervous a bit. “Okay. I’ll wait here.”Mina walks to her room, while Chaeyoung takes a seat on the couch, looking around, wandering Mina’s properties. After a while, Mina comes out from her room with a jacket on her hand. She approaches Chaeyoung and hands her the jacket. “There you go.”Chaeyoung takes it while smiling. “Thank you.”And again, the awkward air caught them again. The two are just staring at each other wordlessly.“I think I should go now,” that’s the thing that breaks up the silent. Chaeyoung gets onto her feet and smiles. “Thanks for today, Mina. I really had a lot of fun.”Mina replies the smile with another one. She’s glad that she’s not the only one who is happy. “Yeah, me too. Thank you.”Chaeyoung walks to the front door, while Mina follows her behind. She just stares at Chaeyoung when the latter wears her shoes. When Chaeyoung finished, she looks up at Mina and waves her hand a little. “Bye.”“Yeah, bye.”Chaeyoung opens the door and ready to leave, while Mina is standing at the door, gonna close the door when Chaeyoung is completely gone from her vision, when someone emerges into their sight, comes out from the dark hallway.“Son Chaeyoung?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It’s a girl. Tall, long hair, and so beautiful. She just appeared out of nowhere, called Chaeyoung’s name that cause Chaeyoung shocked right now. The small girl is apparently loss of word, couldn’t say a thing. Her eyes are fixed to the figure of the tall girl, but no word comes out from her mouth.Mina isn’t sure what to do right now. She could only stare at the tall girl, who’s slowly and carefully approaching them. Her face looks happy, probably feeling so good to meet an old friend, who is Chaeyoung. And Mina thought, Chaeyoung would be happy as well. But no. Chaeyoung doesn’t look good at all.Mina could see Chaeyoung’s face turns into bitter and strained. Her smile is no longer prettying her face, as though it never been there before. Her eyes are staring at the pretty girl’s figure, while she doesn’t move a bit from her place.When the tall girl is only 2 meters apart, she greets again. “Chaeyoung.” Her eyes move from Chaeyoung to Mina, only for giving Mina a friendly smile followed with a small bow. Mina replies the bow, wanting to give a good first impression in front of Chaeyoung’s friend. But again, Chaeyoung’s not moving a bit. And that thing makes Mina confused.The tall girl’s smiling so brightly, so widely, so obvious that she’s happy meeting Chaeyoung. “I can’t believe I would meet you at this very moment. In here,” she says, smile never left her face. Her eyes are staring at Chaeyoung with some warm gaze. “I-I miss you.”She’s stuttering, Mina heard it very well. But, of course, she doesn’t know it why. All she knows is, that she’s happy meeting Chaeyoung, but not with Chaeyoung. This small bean really doesn’t say a thing. She just keeps looking sharply at the tall girl.Probably, seeing that she gets no reaction from Chaeyoung, the tall girl tries to take Chaeyoung’s hand. But, unexpectedly, Chaeyoung just flicks her hand off from hers, as though she doesn’t want to be touched by this tall girl. While her eyes are still on her, still firing something inconceivable.The tall girl jolts when Chaeyoung flicks her hand off, receiving a hateful gaze from Chaeyoung. She could only smiles thinly, draws her hand slowly. Mina, being the only witness of everything, yet has no idea of what’s happening before her, could only nudge Chaeyoung’s arm, asking her to behave.“Chaeng,” she says softly, yet warningly. “Behave. She just want to—”“Oh, that’s okay, miss. I’m fine,” the tall girl fastly stops Mina from ‘nagging’ Chaeyoung. Her eyes are back again to Chaeyoung. She’s still smiling, but this time, it wasn’t a happy smile. It’s a sad smile.Mina could only watch the tall girl rummages her bag in sudden. “I don’t really have a very much time right now, so, here,” her hand’s out with a piece of name card on her hand. She hands it to Chaeyoung, who’s obviously won’t take it. After a beat, the tall girl puts her name card inside Chaeyoung’s grip in force. “Please, take it. And contact me, okay?” Chaeyoung has no choice except accepts it, while the tall girl is now tidying her bag. “I have an appointment right now. I need to go.”She glances over Mina, bows politely with a kind smile. And after Mina replied the bow, she stares at Chaeyoung and mutters, “please, contact me. I want to talk to you.”Chaeyoung doesn’t give any respond, but the tall girl just smiles and then leaves. Mina watches the tall girl descends the stairs. After a while, the tall girl is out of their sight. And left them two standing before Mina’s apartment.Mina doesn’t really understand the situation. The tall girl seemed so happy that she met Chaeyoung just before. But unlike her, Chaeyoung seemed like she was so surprised, too shocked to realize that she met the tall girl. This two kind of different reactions could only make Mina surmising that there were some things, probably bad things, which happened between them two in the past.Based on Chaeyoung’s tone when she talked about her past at the Haneul Park before, Mina guesses that her past wasn’t something very pleasuring. This small girl’s been a huge mystery to Mina. The way she always acts cool, takes things easily, smiles all the time, and else, are an odd things to Mina. She never met someone that so kind, so bright, so positive like Chaeyoung in her entire life. She never saw Chaeyoung get mad, even though Mina did kick her out from her restaurant, and she resents all the time to Chaeyoung. This small girl never show her madness, and that what makes Mina amazed her somehow.And so, seeing Chaeyoung’s strange expression just now, kinda makes Mina worried.Chaeyoung’s face is so tense. Her forehead mars with beads of sweat. Her eyes are dilating, wavering nervously. Mina vaguely could hear Chaeyoung’s breath is racing, yet unstable. She also could see that Chaeyoung’s body starts trembling.Mina, for a very short beat, is confused, doesn’t know what to do. All she knows is that Chaeyoung isn’t okay.She touches Chaeyoung’s shoulder in careful, doesn’t want to shock the latter more. “Chaeng?” she calls, hoping Chaeyoung could reply it, or at least hear it and show a reaction. But no, she doesn’t react. So, Mina carries on her effort. “Hey, you okay?”But, apparently, Chaeyoung can’t answer that. She’s breathing so fastly, her chest is up and down in quick pace, and her face is pale. Mina watches her hand is up, on her chest, as though it’s hurting at the moment.It’s a panic attack, Mina once read it on the internet. But, Mina doesn’t know what to do. She never saw this thing happening before her eyes. All she could do is just staring at Chaeyoung in concern, her hand still on Chaeyoung’s shoulder, slightly massaging it. “Chaeyoung, are you ok—?”“My medicine.”“Eh?”“My medicine!” this time, she shouts. Not too loud, but firm enough to make Mina realizes that she must be fast. Mina, aware that she can’t help much except following what Chaeyoung said, could only nod and in quick, starts rummages Chaeyoung’s bag on her back.“Hold on, okay?” Mina says, could only watch Chaeyoung from behind. Her body’s still up and down, her breath is so fast, and hearing that just makes Mina nervous more. “I’m searching, okay? Please, hold—”Her words get cut by Chaeyoung suddenly falls onto the floor. She just falls down, as though her legs couldn’t hold the weight of her any longer and they just give up. Mina in reflect tries to catch Chaeyoung from slipping down, could only catches Chaeyoung’s arm. Mina helps Chaeyoung to lean onto the nearest wall, then she continues searching for Chaeyoung’s medicine.The sight of Chaeyoung doesn’t seem any better. She still looks pale, tense, and is breathing so fastly. Mina wants to help Chaeyoung, and so, she fastens searching Chaeyoung’s medicine, which is still nowhere to found.“Mina—”“I can’t find it. It’s-oh! I found it!” Mina fastly fishes out the small bottle of Chaeyoung’s medicine, opens it when Chaeyoung says, “two.”“Okay. Two,” Mina takes two pills and then hands it to Chaeyoung. Chaeyoung, with her breathe still racing and eyes dilating, takes medicine and throws it inside her mouth, swallows it hardly. She starts hitting her chest softly, probably tries to save herself from choking, or maybe just because her heart won’t stop throbbing fastly. After a while, she looks slightly better, as she starts leaning to the wall in ease, yet her breathe still unstable. Mina’s squatting beside her, when she feels Chaeyoung’s hand found hers.She only watches when Chaeyoung takes her hand and holds it, clutches it to her chest. Mina keeps in silent, knows it’s better for her to just sit and accompany Chaeyoung at this very moment. And so, Mina shifts herself closer to Chaeyoung, her hand is on Chaeyoung’s chest, held tightly by Chaeyoung. She could feel Chaeyoung’s drumming chest, her breathe is gradually being normal and stable.And their eyes met, just stare at each other without saying anything. Chaeyoung with her teary eyes, and Mina with her concern yet warm eyes.After a few minutes of silent, and Chaeyoung looks much better than before, Mina smiles, hoping it could soothe and calm Chaeyoung after a tense moment just before. “You okay?” Mina asks, but doesn’t really expect a reply from Chaeyoung as she understand if the latter still won’t talk. But when Chaeyoung nods weakly, Mina really feels relieved.“You want to take a rest at my house for a while?” Mina asks again. Chaeyoung could only watch Mina wordlessly, still trying to control her breathe. Mina, knowing what the best to do, fastly shoves Chaeyoung’s stuffs (which were scattered around them as Mina rummaged her bag roughly before) to Chaeyoung’s bag. After she makes sure there’s no stuff left, she puts in on her shoulder and delicately takes Chaeyoung’s arm and puts it around her shoulder. She also puts her hand around Chaeyoung waist, helping the small to stand.Chaeyoung whimpers in pain, as though she’s not ready yet to stand. But once they get to stand on their feet, Mina smiles in proud. “It’s okay. You’ll be fine,” she says, while Chaeyoung just breathes, couldn’t even reply that words.Mina carefully brings Chaeyoung back inside her apartment. Chaeyoung walks with a very slow pace, but Mina patiently helps her. They walk to the couch. Mina then helps Chaeyoung to take a sit on it. Chaeyoung takes a sit there, leaning there. She looks so weak, as though she’s out of energy. Her eyes are staring at Mina, still teary.Mina clears her throat, standing before Chaeyoung. “I’ll take some water for you. Just, take a rest, okay?” Mina demands, wanting Chaeyoung to don’t worry about anything and just rest. “I’ll be back in seconds.” And after that, Mina leaves Chaeyoung to the kitchen and takes a water for the latter. When she back, she sees Chaeyoung is laying herself on the couch.She approaches the latter. “Chaeyoung, please take some water first,” she hands the glass of water to Chaeyoung. She takes the glass and takes a sip of it. She lays her body again on the couch after that, her eyes are shut. Mina, realizes that Chaeyoung couldn’t leave like this, thinks what the best for Chaeyoung right now.“You should just stay here tonight.” Yeah. That’s the best idea Mina could think for now. There’s no way Chaeyoung could go home like this. No, even if Chaeyoung assists to go home, Mina won’t let her do it. She doesn’t want something bad happen to Chaeyoung. She’s still weak and in need of resting. “You can sleep in my room. I can sleep in anywhere.”At this, Chaeyoung’s eyes fly open. She looks at Mina in the eyes and shakes her head minimally. “No. I can’t stay here, Mina,” she finally talks. Her voice is far from her usual tone, which is bright and playful. This time, she sounds gloomy and strengthless. “I just need a few minutes, okay? After that, I’ll lea—”“Don’t you dare, Son Chaeyoung,” Mina cuts Chaeyoung’s words off, won’t let the small finish her words. “I want you to stay here for a night. You can’t just leave right now with yourself still weak like that. So, don’t you dare.”“But, I—”“No, no, Son Chaeyoung. I will never let you go out of this house tonight. Now, you will lay yourself on that couch and sleep. I will hate you for real if you really try to leave,” Mina once again states, sounds pretty demanding. She sees Chaeyoung could only stay in silent, obeying what Mina just said. “Now, I’ll take a blanket for you, and you will stay there and sleep.”After make sure that Chaeyoung understand what she said, Mina walks to her room and takes a blanket for Chaeyoung. She walks back to the living room and in relief when she sees Chaeyoung is there, still laying on the couch. She approaches Chaeyoung and covers her body with the blanket. Chaeyoung, like a meek kid, just stills, only stares at Mina with an inconceivable gaze.Mina sighs after covering Chaeyoung’s body. “Okay, Chaeng. I want to take a bath right now. I hope you stay here and not going anywhere, okay?” Mina sees Chaeyoung nods as a reply. “Okay.”And so, Mina leaves Chaeyoung there alone, and goes to the bathroom to clean herself. Deep inside, she’s freakin’ curious with what just happened before. What’s so bad with that girl, that could cause Chaeyoung having a panic attack. What happened in Chaeyoung’s past, that could make Chaeyoung has a stuff like that. Mina’s pretty sure that the girl before was a trigger of Chaeyoung’s panic attack, because the way Chaeyoung looked at her before, was such a bad shocked expression.Mina is curious, obviously. And she wants to know more about that. Perhaps, Chaeyoung would tell her about that later, after she gets better. Perhaps, Chaeyoung would share her pain with Mina later. Perhaps, Chaeyoung would open herself to Mina, and let Mina in to her private life. Yeah, Mina wants it so. Mina hopes so. Mina would willingly listen to all of Chaeyoung’s concerns, and probably, she could help her.And that what makes Mina fastens her bath, wanting to listen of Chaeyoung’s story as soon as possible.But no, it’s not gonna happen. It’s Mina’s fault. She shouldn’t have left Chaeyoung alone for a stupid quick bath. Because when she finishes her bath and comes out from the bathroom just to walk to the living room in quick, she sees no one there. No Chaeyoung, no stuff of hers, just a blanket that neatly folded, and a piece of paper on the floor.Mina approaches that paper, only to see that it’s a name card from the tall girl before. It was clean and nice before. But now, it’s crumpled. Dumped, ugly.Mina takes it, just to read the name of the girl. The girl from Chaeyoung’s past.

At the same time, her phone rings. Mina briskly walks towards her phone, sees Momo’s contact on her screen. She swipes the green button, accepting the call.“Moshi moshi?”
“Mina-chan, we’re in theater right now. Where are you?”
Mina squints, couldn’t believe that Momo and her girlfriend really come back to that building just to meet them again. Mina glances over the clock, seeing it’s almost 10 pm.“You know what time it is, Momo?” Mina takes a look at the name card that still on her grip. “There’s no way we still in that building, you dumbass. The movie ended a few hours ago, geez.”Mina hears Momo sighing. “I’m sorry, Mina. Sana’s parents are really… something. They’re so energetic like their daughter. I had no choice except following them until they get tired,” Momo defends herself. “Anyway, where are you now? Sana’s parents are at Sana’s house. Probably I’ll stay at her house as well.”Mina sits down at the edge of her bed, still staring at the name card. “I’m at my apartment. What’s wrong?”
“Ah, nothing. It’s just, are you still with Chaeyoung? Sana said she wants to talk to her. She can’t contact her.”
Mina’s hand falls onto her lap. She sighs, stares at something beyond her. “Well, she’s not here. She just left a few minutes ago.”“Oh, really?” Momo pauses, Mina hears Sana’s voice at the background. “Wait, Mina. Sana wants to talk with you.” And probably, Momo just hands the phone to Sana, because the next second, Sana’s voice is on the line. “Mina? Are you with Chaeyoung right now?”Mina sighs again. “I’ve told you before, she’s not here,” Mina explains. “Well, she was, just a few minutes ago. But, she’s already left now. She’s not here.”“Geez, where that small girl is?” Mina hears Sana mumbles by herself. “Okay, then. Sorry for disturbing your night. Good bye—”“Wait!” Mina stops Sana from hanging up. Sana from the other side of the line says, “eh? What’s wrong?”Mina halts. She’s thinking. Should she tell Sana what just happened before? Sana is Chaeyoung’s private assistant, isn’t she? And also, she’s the closest friend of Chaeyoung Mina ever met. She doesn’t know any relative of Chaeyoung’s, and she really thinks that she needs to tell someone about Chaeyoung’s situation.And so, Mina clears her throat. “Well, do Chaeyoung has a trauma or something?” Mina doesn’t know how to start the talk about the panic attack. She facepalms herself for being a stupid who can’t just tell Sana everything. But, she doesn’t think that way anymore when Sana’s voice suddenly turns into serious. “What happened?”Mina clears her throat again, somehow thrilled by Sana’s serious tone. “So, she was going to go home, when this girl suddenly appeared,” Mina explains the pervious tragedy. “That girl, she talked to Chaeyoung for a while. She excused herself because she has something important to do. And, just right after that she left, Chaeyoung, she, uhm,” Mina halts. “She had a panic attack. Or something kind of it.”“What?!” Mina hears Sana’s loud shout. “When was it?! When was it happened?!”Somehow, Sana sounds more panic than mad or shocked. Mina could understand if Sana already knows about this thing of Chaeyoung. “It just a few moments ago. But, she’s fi—”“Where’s she now?!” this time, Sana sounds a bit demanding. “Tell me! Where’s she now?!”“I don’t know, okay? She just left a few minutes ago.”
“How could you let her left after that thing happened to her?!”
“I didn’t, geez. She just left when I was taking a bath. I’ve told her to stay, but she assisted to go and she just left when I wasn’t looking,” Mina defends herself, doesn’t want Sana put a blame on her. “I don’t know where she is. Probably she isn’t too far either, as she just left a moment ago.”“Then, could you please find her?” Sana’s tone sounds slightly softer than before, no more resent or high tone. “Please, I beg you. Find her and look after her until I come, okay? Please, before something bad happen.”And the way Sana begs Mina to go find Chaeyoung is really something. It’s indescribable, mixed of sad, worry, and hope. It somehow touches Mina’s heart. And so, she nods, even though Sana can’t see her. “Okay. I’ll find her. Don’t worry.” Mina pauses for a very brief moment. “And I’m sorry for… I’m sorry for not look after her before. I’m sorry.”
“That’s fine. Now please, just go find her, okay?”
After that, Mina hangs up the call. She fastly dresses herself and wears her jacket. She can’t believe that she’s really going out again to find Chaeyoung. But, hell, she feels like she’s responsible is something happen with that small bean. She also doesn’t want something bad happen to Chaeyoung. Not after that small bean brought her into somewhere so beautiful, and made her day, and made Mina smiles all day long.Damn, she really has to be fast, or Sana would murder her later.///Mina is in front of her apartment building, when she sees the car Chaeyoung rent before is still there, parked at the same place they two left it before. Mina suggests that Chaeyoung probably is still around, not so far from her neighborhood. And so, Mina walks fast towards the closest convenience store, hopes that Chaeyoung is there.And, thanks God, Mina doesn’t need to go to somewhere else, because she sees the figure of Chaeyoung is there, sitting on one of the seat in front of the convenience store, and just sitting. Mina, gritting her teeth, fastly stomps towards the small in somewhat madness, yet relief. When she’s close enough with Chaeyoung, she shouts. “Ya!”Chaeyoung turns her head in surprised, could only stare blankly when Mina starts running towards her. She shuts her eyes in shock when Mina jumps onto her side, and lands a rock fist on Chaeyoung’s head.“Aww!”“You stupid bean! I’ve told you to stay!” Mina scolds Chaeyoung loudly. People around them, which are just a few, glance at them in curious. “You’re such a little rebel! I swear to God, I’ll kill you if—”“Geez, Mina. Calm down,” Chaeyoung, with her wide smile, quickly gets onto her feet and chills Mina. She puts her hands on Mina’s shoulders, brings the latter to the seat in front of her. “Just sit and calm down, okay?”Mina suddenly stopped, could only follow Chaeyoung and sits on the empty seat before Chaeyoung’s.
It’s weird.
Mina still remembers it. It’s still fresh, the memory of the previous situation.Chaeyoung met the tall girl. The tall girl greeted them excitedly, while Chaeyoung didn’t look so good. And just right after the tall girl left, Chaeyoung had this shocking panic attack.Mina still remembers how Chaeyoung’s face turned into pale and tensed. And when her breathe became so fast and unstable, and she had to swallow that two pills just to calm herself down. And when her hand found Mina’s just to put it on her chest, clutched it tightly by the small girl. Mina still remembers how fast Chaeyoung’s heart was beating.It was a very tense, scary, terrifying moment, and it just happened a few minutes ago, less than an hour.And yet, here Chaeyoung is, smiling so kindly to Mina, as though the previous moment was never happened.Mina, still with her head full of questions, squints her brows and asks, “Chaeyoung, are you—”“Hey, you want something to drink?” Chaeyoung fastly cuts Mina’s words, stands from her place and fires Mina her cutie smile. “I’ll buy something for you. It’s such a hot night, isn’t it?”“But—”Mina can’t continue her words, as Chaeyoung just leaves and ambles entering the convenience store. Mina turns her body, watching the small girl choosing a beverages and snacks for two of them through the transparent glass window. Her eyes follow the latter pays the stuffs at the cashier, and keep following until the latter back to her seat.When Chaeyoung puts the beverage and snacks on the table, serves it to Mina, she could only look at her with that kind of gaze. A gaze that makes Chaeyoung a bit nervous, yet she still tries to manage her chill face. She sits in front of Mina, starts enjoying the stuffs she bought.But, Mina keeps staring at her with that inconceivable stare, and Chaeyoung just can’t bear it no more. She puts down all the stuffs on her hands and stares back at Mina.“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asks with her bright tone, tries to joke around. But of course, it just makes Mina stares at her sharper and more serious. Mina leans forwards, wanting a serious talk with Chaeyoung. “What was that?”“What was what?”“You were having a panic attack,” Mina says to the point, doesn’t want any rubbish talk. “Are you okay right now?”Chaeyoung leans backward, seeing Mina leaning forward just makes her a bit nervous. She chuckles brightly, sounds forced. “I’m fine. Don’t worry. It was nothing,” Chaeyoung utters in ease, as though it was really nothing. “It just happened sometimes in a certain time. I’m okay right now.”Mina halts for a moment. She doesn’t understand. Why Chaeyoung talked about it so easily? As though it wasn’t a big deal, as though it wouldn’t harm her if it happen in somewhere so sudden. She talked it like everyone has this panic attack, which is not. And how could Chaeyoung just let it go like it was nothing? It was something that should be discussed, to be fixed. And maybe, Mina could help with that.Mina still stares at Chaeyoung with that unreadable gaze. “Was that because of that tall girl?”And at this, Chaeyoung’s face turns into flat, and gloomy. No more smile on her face. “You don’t talk about that girl in front of me, Mina. You don’t,” Chaeyoung warns Mina with her firm tone. It’s obvious to Mina, that it was the tall girl who triggered Chaeyoung’s panic attack. But, probably Mina can’t pry at Chaeyoung at this time. Not after that attack which just happened a few moments ago.And it confuses Mina more when Chaeyoung, just after saying that things, now is smiling again. “At least I’m okay right now, right?”Mina could only watch the latter smiles so brightly, just like her usual self. But now, Mina could easily see that. It wasn’t a happy smile at all. Now, it seems forced, fake, like she’s trying to fool everyone with that pretty smile. If it’s really her real intention, lying to everyone, pretending like she’s fine all the time, faking her bright image, then, she’s succeed. At least, she’s succeed fooling Mina.Mina leans forward again. For a moment, she keeps in silent, just watching Chaeyoung keeps smiling at her. Mina shakes her head, couldn’t believe that Chaeyoung, this very unique person, is really exist.“You hide something big behind that stupid smile, aren’t you?”Chaeyoung’s face gradually changes. The smile’s faded, her playful gaze turns into sad, lost, and aimlessly stares at Mina. And at the moment, Mina knows, she’s right about that.Their moment cuts off by the arrival of Sana and Momo. Mina hears Sana shouts Chaeyoung’s name, and when they turn their face, Sana leaps into Chaeyoung’s side, snatches her small friend into a very tight hug. Mina hears Sana even sobs, sounds so relieved that her small friend is alright.And at that time, Mina knows. There’s something going on with Chaeyoung. Something terrible.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Hey, toss me that soda,” Momo asks Mina to give her the bottle on the table, while herself is laying on the couch lazily. Mina’s been cleaning the floor of Momo’s apartment, as a payment of Momo’s great set up between Mina and Chaeyoung. Though Mina couldn’t understand what the hell’s that mean, still, she cleans the house like it’s hers. Momo is a lazy racoon and Mina can’t bear seeing the house in mess. That’s why Momo always welcomes Mina so much. She knows her house would be so clean after Mina left the house.Mina ceases from mopping, takes a moment to throw a glare to Momo on the couch. There’s a cheese ring snack upon her belly, and her face is a mess. She keeps munching her snack, eyes are still on the TV, not even looking at Mina when she asked the latter to toss her the drink. “Excuse me?”Momo stops munching, now is staring at her. “Throw me the goddamn soda, Mina,” she replays the order, not even realizes that Mina didn’t really asking her again.Mina shakes her head, staring at Momo in disbelief. “Why don’t you just take it by yourself, huh?” Mina grits her teeth, continues mopping the damn floor. Geez, it’s so dusty!But, Momo acts like she’s innocent, because the latter just easily mumbles, “well, I can’t.”“And why is that?”“Because right now, you’re mopping the floor, and I have this snack on my belly.” Momo halts a moment, pointing the snack upon her tummy. She sees Mina ceases and stares at her again, waiting her to continue the silly excuse. “If I move, this snack would fall onto the floor, and the floor will be dirty again.”
What the?!
Mina chokes, can’t believe what she just heard before. Sometimes, she wonders what’s inside Momo’s mind. That girl really has a random thoughts. Like once, she said she wants to know how it feels like to be a pig. She said she wonders how the pig feels when someone refer their fat body and huge appetite with a pig. They must be hurted, she said. And this moment, just the sentence she said before, was the same nonsense like it.Mina then continues mopping the floor, doesn’t really see the need to answer Momo. While Momo’s staring at her, slightly knowing that she just failed. She moves the snack from her tummy while slogs to pull herself up. And shit, the snack really slips from Momo’s grip, falls to the floor and the crumbs are scattered around it.Mina gasps loudly, gripping the mop tightly. While Momo grins ruefully. “Told ya.”“Damn, Momo. Why you gotta be so clumsy?!” Mina shakes her head, letting off the mop and walking towards the couch. She sits beside Momo. “Oh god, you’re really something, Momo!”“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I’ll clean this, and continue your doing, huh?” Momo stands up, taking the tools she needs to clean the mess. “I’m sorry, Mina. Really.”Mina exhales loudly, laying herself down on the couch while Momo starts cleaning the mess she made. “Whatever, Momo,” Mina closes her lids. “I don’t wanna argue with you right now.”Momo pouts at this. However, ‘arguing’ with Mina is a intriguing to her. She doesn’t know why exactly the reason is, but surely, seeing Mina’s irritated face is somehow makes her pleased. And seeing Mina is on her tame mode, makes Momo a bit down. She stares at the latter. “You okay?”Mina hums as a yes. “I’m fine,” Mina mumbles softly. “It just, I’ve been thinking about something nowadays.” Mina sighs soullessly. Momo’s still watching her.“Is that about Chaeyoung?”That words makes Mina’s eyes open, fastly meet Momo’s. But she doesn’t say anything, which makes Momo smiles, pretty sure her blab is right. “I know it.”“No, Momo,” Mina quickly pulls her body up, sitting down on the couch with her eyes on Momo. “I mean, yeah, it’s about her. But, it’s not like what you think.”Momo frowns at this. “Do you even know what’s inside my mind?”Mina rolls her eyes. She doesn’t need to be a fortune teller or mind reader to tell what’s inside Momo’s mind. That girl’s been trying to be a cupid and wanting Mina to find a girlfriend. So, Momo’s mind is kinda obvious to Mina. And absolutely, that’s not what Mina thinking about right now.Momo sees Mina’s head falls, and she really hates the sight of sad Mina. So, Momo approaches Mina, and sits beside her, completrly forgot about teasing Mina. “What happened that night, Mina?”Mina sighs at this. “I-I don’t know, Momo. It happened so fast,” Mina begins the storytelling. “She was about to go when this girl suddenly appeared from the bend. They talked a little, and then she left.” Mina’s pausing, that moment’s still fresh that she could feel the tense. “Chaeyoung didn’t look so good that day. She was... mad. Filled with anger. Like she hates that girl so much. But, that girl seemed totally fine. Like she didn’t do anything wrong.”Mina pauses again, looking at Momo, waiting the girl to give a reaction of her words. But, she just stills, also staring at Mina, nodding to make Mina sure she’s listening. Mina sighs, saying the most tense part of that night episode. “And Chaeyoung had a panic attack. She... she was hyperventilating and falling down onto the floor. And.. and she looked terrible. She had to swallow this medicine to stop the episode,” Mina’s heart twitches when she says those words. The sight of Chaeyoung’s face that night, that weak, soulless face, it hurts Mina.“Sana,” Momo finally starts talking, shifts her eyes from Mina to somewhere beyond here. “She was so.. mad? I’m not sure it’s the right word to describe it. She was worried as hell. She even scolded me harshly for being so slow after the call with you ended. It was like, if we don’t walk fast, it would be the end for Chaeyoung. And for Sana as well.”Mina exhales sadly. The image of bright and happy Chaeyoung right now is kinda blurred, placed by the portrait of Chaeyoung’s panic attack. She still could hear Chaeyoung’s heavy and hasty breath, her teary eyes, and her quick heart beats as Chaeyoung’s clucthed Mina’s hand tightly into her chest.And those images are scary, terrifying for Mina. Chaeyoung’s been being a puzzle with thousand pieces, hard, needs time to solve and finish. And probably, Mina hasn’t done the half way yet. She’s still a mysterious person, hiding so much things from Mina.Well, she can’t blame that to her. They just met few months ago, with a very unique way to meet someone. She, Mina, was hating Chaeyoung so much, and was hoping to never meet the girl again. But, they met again, like they’re destined. They get along pretty well. They’re doing nice, because Chaeyoung’s a sweet girl that never see Mina as an enemy, or at least someone to avoid. She’s brave and bold, bright and energetic. And meeting someone like that, is shifting something inside Mina.The girl did so many sweet things towards Mina. Bought her two bottles of alcohol, which were expensive as hell, they spent this honest time and Chaeyoung apologized to her, they kissed (ehem), they went to a beautiful place together, and else. Probably, those weren’t much enough to say this, but damn, now, Mina can’t stop thinking about her.Mina doesn’t understand. She tends to take time for liking someone. Not like she already adores Chaeyoung though right now, but she can’t run from herself. She can’t fool herself. She admits, Chaeyoung has already inside her life, she already means someone to Mina. And Mina, can’t let someone down in her life. Not someone like Chaeyoung.“And the cause of those things, is that girl,” Mina mumbles, telling Momo further about the girl. “Her name is Chou Tzuyu. Do you know her?”Momo frowns, kinda confused with what puspose Mina asked her that. It’s obvious that Momo doesn’t know her. They both are introvert, comfortable with such a small amount of friends, real friends. Momo’s friends are also Mina’s, so they have same friends. Mina should be knowing that already. But yet, Momo still shakes her head. “Nope. Never heard that name before.”Mina wanders, doesn’t really listening to Momo like she already knows the answer. “Gotta look for that girl, Momo,” Mina utters firmly. “Gotta confront her, and ask what the hell she did to Chaeyoung.”“You know what you’re saying, right?” Momo chuckles bitterly. Mina sounds silly to her. “She’s one of hundred thousands people—”“She’s living at the same building as mine,” Mina rolls her eyes. After all this time, Momo still didn’t get it that she’s staying at the same apartment as Mina. “It’s not that hard to look for her.”Momo halts, thinking. “Then, you go, girl!” she leaps to her feet, continues cleaning the mess she made. “Go find her, and go slap a bitch!”Momo laughs at her own joke, leaving Mina’s side and going to the kitchen. While Mina’s deeply thinking, didn’t even respond Momo’s joke. She will find that girl, she has to.///Mina checks her phone, wanting to know what time it is. She sighs when sees it’s almost 11 pm. Geez, Momo is really something when it comes to food. They spent too much for dinner, and now Mina’s tummy aches. Momo even drunk, getting sad by the fact that Sana yelled at her (Momo has a soft heart, and can’t bear a yell) before. And Mina had to comfort her over and over, telling her it was nothing, compare with Mina’s relationship with Jeongyeon. Well, it wasn’t a competition of who’s the poorest one, but Momo got a bit calm after Mina said that.Mina arrives at her apartment building and ascends the stairs. Her mind is full, thinking of what she gonna do to this Tzuyu girl. Should she act upset, and confront her rudely? Or should she act high? Or what? Mina has to prepare everything, so she doesn’t stutter when the time comes.She arrives at her floor, still thoughtful, when she sees someone’s leaning to the wall right next to her door.It’s her. Chou Tzuyu, who’s beaming at Mina when she catches the figure of the house owner appears into her sight. Mina could see the bright smile on her pretty face, while greeting Mina politely. “Hi, Mina.”Mina doesn’t have an enough time to think about how the hell she knew her name, or what is she doing there, or what purpose she has for doing this. All her stupid plan of how to act in front of this girl suddenly vanishes, and all she could think is, wow. This girl is surely pretty. And she’s so polite, that makes Mina who wanted to act cold in front of her before, can’t do nothing except reply her bow.Mina’s totally baffled. She never expected this. She thought that maybe she’s the one who has to find this girl, forces her to spit her mistakes she did to Chaeyoung. And she thought it’s gonna be hard, remembering that she never met this girl before, and they barely know each other. But this, Tzuyu shocks her by showing herself in front of Mina’s door. And now, Mina can’t really think anything clearly.“I’m Tzuyu,” the girl offers her hand to Mina, wanting to introduce herself properly this time. Mina snaps herself and accepts the hand. It’s cold. Probably, it’s been a while since she waits for Mina in front of her door. “I’m sorry for my sudden appearance. Is it okay if we talk for minutes? I want to ask you something.”Gosh. That smile. It’s cute and warm. Mina who was kinda riled up before, suddenly feels guilty for thinking that way. “No, no. I’m fine with that.” Despite that she’s a bit dizzy, and wanting to rest so bad right now, she can’t let this moment off that easy. “What do you want to talk about?”“It’s about Chaeyoung.” Wow, this girl’s pretty straightful. She didn’t even do preamble, or even hesitate to talk about Chaeyoung. But, Mina could slightly see the change of her face. “This is very important. So, I need you to talk honestly to me, okay?”Mina starts getting nervous at this. Her tone was so firm and bold, like she’s in her total serious mode and won’t take any joke at the moment. When Mina sees right into her eyes, she could feel it. The tension, pretty tight. And so, when Tzuyu is about to say the thing she wanted to say, Mina cuts her off.“Why don’t we just come my house and talk inside?” Mina offers her own house as a more comfortable place to talk. Seems like it won’t end in a short time. “We can talk inside, please. If you really want to talk about something that serious.”Tzuyu halts, thoughtful. Seems like she considers that offer. After a while, she nods. “Well, if you okay with that.”Mina understands why Tzuyu considers that offer. They barely meet each other, know each other, and yet, right now they’re going to talk about something so serious. They’re strangers, yet they feel like they’re more than that, connected by someone named Chaeyoung. And right now, they’re gonna talk about that someone, who’s been a very difficult, complicated riddle to solve for Mina.Mina doesn’t dare to guess what it is, the topic Tzuyu wants to talk about. Chaeyoung doesn’t seem like someone who prioritizes love thing, remembering that she even rejected all the girl that attracted to her that night at the blind date and chose Mina randomly just to escape their grasp. Or even work thing, as she’s a young CEO, who has this Sana who helps her a lot. Though she never saw Chaeyoung grunts over her work. So, what it is? What Tzuyu wants to talk about?And who the hell she is? Is she Chaeyoung’s friend? Or.. Chaeyoung’s ex? Gosh, Mina doesn’t want to imagine that. But for sure, this girl left pain to Chaeyoung. And Mina really wants to know about that. She has to pry information over Tzuyu, about Chaeyoung.That night, when Tzuyu enters her house for the first time of her life, Mina didn’t know. It’s the start, the very first line, very first beginning of her involvement of Chaeyoung’s private life. Which is dark, sad, and painful. She has no idea about how heavy it is, about how powerful it is that makes her want to protect Chaeyoung more and more.///Mina sighs, leaning to the backrest of her seat, which is the most back seat on the bus. Her mind is wandering, doesn’t really mind the bouncy bus. It’s pretty vacated, not too filled with passengers. There’re just few more passengers other than her, no one sits on the other back seats. She’s the only one, which is good, because it allows her to think deeply without being distracted or annoyed.Jihyo told her to go home earlier, saying that she looked bad. There’s a big black eye bag under her eyes, pretty apparent, though Mina tried to cover it by using specs. And after a little argue with Jihyo, about how could she handle the restaurant alone, Jihyo won the war. Mina went home, take rest, just like what Jihyo told her to.And now, there she is, inside the bouncy medium speed bus on the line, sitting in the behind, on her way back home, wandering. Though her eyes really want to shut, her mind wants to rest, and her body wants to just slump down onto the bed, no. Mina still wants to think about this, about the topic she discussed with Tzuyu until the dawn. Yup, that’s the cause of her damn eye bag. The talk.Mina sighs again, heavily. Her mind can’t stop thinking about that, about what Tzuyu told her. Mina didn’t know it would be this heavy, this complicated. Now, it’s too late for her to ignore the fact. The fact about what happened to Chaeyoung at the past, about how it affected her current behaviours, about why she had this panic attack before.It’s not a puzzle anymore. Everything she was once thought it’s weird about Chaeyoung, now starts making sense. She now starts knowing Chaeyoung, the riddle girl, who hides this big mystery behind her small body, and bears this huge burden upon her broad shoulders. Mina starts knowing Chaeyoung more, now understands why Sana acted that way before. This girl, she’s thin as glass, could break anytime soon if someone doesn’t look after her, or burst if someone doesn’t hold her.Mina closes her lids, recalling every moments she had with Tzuyu last night. She still remembers all the expressions Tzuyu made, the words she said, and the mistakes she confessed to Mina./
“I did something bad to Chaeyoung.”

It was the very first words Tzuyu said to open the conversation with Mina last night. Well, they were silent for a while, Mina didn’t know what to say, and Tzuyu felt responsible to start the talk as she initiated this at the first place. But, Mina really had no idea that this tall girl really didn’t do preamble. She was very blunt and honest, which was another unique person to Mina.

Mina only stared at her figure in silent, already expected that. Like, if she didn’t do anything bad to Chaeyoung, then why Chaeyoung had a panic attack after meeting her? It was pretty obvious that she was the trigger of it.

“I know,” Mina replied her bluntness with another direct hit, caused the tall girl’s eyes widened in confused.

“You know?”

Mina shrugged. “Well, I’d been guessing about it. But now, you confessed it. So, I know that.”

Heard that, Tzuyu squinted slightly. “I’m sorry, but, how well you know about Chaeyoung?” Tzuyu asked. “Are you Chaeyoung’s girlfriend?”

Mina halted at this. She was thinking about how to pry information about Chaeyoung from this old friend of her. She was thinking about maybe, Tzuyu won’t tell her nothing if she’s not more than friend to Chaeyoung. And so, without thinking twice, Mina blabbed. “Yeah, I’m her girlfriend,” she paused again. “Though, I still don’t know about her that much. We’ve been spending times together nowadays. But, I know she still hides so much things from me.”

Tzuyu didn’t seem mad or upset. Instead, she was nodding, giving Mina her happy yet sad smile. “I’m glad she finally found someone. Trust me, Chaeyoung’s the best person in this silly rude world. She’ll make you happy.” Tzuyu paused. “And hopefully you treat her nicely.”

That state makes Mina kinda curious. No, of course she’s always curious about this. “And who are you?” The fact that Tzuyu was able to praise the small girl, complimenting her, was a clear evident that they were once so close. “Are you her ex?”

“Oh, no, girl. I’m not. I’m her friend,” she uttered. Her face became sadder when she said, “was. Not pretty sure that I still am.”

Mina halted, didn’t know what to say or do. She wanted to be mad at Tzuyu for making Chaeyoung had a panic attack. But, when the latter was sitting before her, she can’t do that. Not to this sad, feeling guilty girl. Mina’s not that rude.

“What did you do to her?” That was what Mina could ask. Tzuyu didn’t know that Chaeyoung had an episode that night, and Mina was thinking if she should tell her about that. “What did you do to Chaeyoung?”

Tzuyu ducked down. “I did bad things.”

Mina, really wanted Tzuyu to confess, asked her again. “How bad?”

Tzuyu gulped thickly. “I did bad things, and I’m not sure you could manage yourself to be calm and chill after heard what my mistakes are. I’m... I’m kinda scared.”

At this, Mina bursted. “You kidding me? Chaeyoung had an episode that night!”

Tzuyu was snapped. “What?”

“She had a panic attack that night. The night when she met you,” Mina leaned back to the couch, crossing her arms over her chest, sharply eyeing Tzuyu who face suddenly lost and speechless. “You triggered that. How bad the things were, that could make a bright girl like Chaeyoung had that?”

Mina just eyed Tzuyu in silent after that, can’t throw a spit no more. The tall girl’s face looked shocked, yet managing herself to stay calm. “A panic attack? But, how-! Oh my god.”

Mina started feeling worried when Tzuyu breathed faster. She was sweating, her face was pale. “Oh, god, Son Chaeyoung.”

When Tzuyu started wringing her hair, mulling Chaeyoung’s name again and again, Mina reached out, worried. “Hey, you okay?”

Tzuyu looked up, and Mina could see her teary eyes. “I’m sorry, but could you please tell Chaeyoung to call me? I have so much to say. I didn’t receive any call yet since I gave her my name card.”

Mina remembered the crumpled name card of Tzuyu was dumped that night. And obviously, Chaeyoung did that before she even thought to save the contact. Of course, Tzuyu wouldn’t receive anything from Chaeyoung. Not now.

Mina really wanted to help. Chaeyoung might be hurted, but this girl was also hurted, she guessed. The way she was so adamant and kept wanting to meet and talk with Chaeyoung, was a prove that she’s really sorry and wanting to apologize to Chaeyoung.

But, Mina also remembered that night at the mart.  When she found Chaeyoung was there after having a damn episode, just chilling like nothing happened before. When Mina mentioned Tzuyu’s name, Chaeyoung was rejecting to hear, telling Mina to not ever mention that name again. Chaeyoung won’t meet Tzuyu.

“I’m afraid that she doesn’t want to meet you,” Mina finally spitted it, and Tzuyu immediately asked. “Why?”

“You know the reasons more than me,” Mina shrugged. “I really had no idea about how bad the thing was between you and Chaeyoung. But I need to know that, so I’ll be able to help you.”

Tzuyu looked not sure about that for a while. She was thoughtful, didn’t know if she could trust this Mina. But, she’s Chaeyoung’s girlfriend. If Chaeyoung does trust this girl, then she had to trust the girl too.

“I’ll tell you everything, with one condition,” Tzuyu stated, baffled Mina who didn’t believe it was that fast for Tzuyu to agree telling Mina everything. “Do not interrupt me. You’ll just listen. Keep yourself calm, and,” she paused, a bit longer than usual. “Please, don’t hate me when I finished the story.”

The last part hit Mina. The way she said that, like she was begging to not get any hate after all the mistakes she confessed. “If you agree with that, I’ll start.”

And Mina, without even hesitate, nodded. “Deal.”

“Okay. So,” Tzuyu exhaled, calming herself. “It started at this certain place. An orphanage.”
/Mina opens her lids. The moment of last night keeps playing over and over inside her head. It’s hurting, both her head and her heart. Her temples are throbbing and her chest is aching. The face of Chaeyoung is stucked on her mind. And it just hurts her more and more.Mina and Tzuyu, they spent hours for their midnight story last night. It was done with no tense. Mina really didn’t upset to the girl, as now she finally knows that she’s right. They both are hurting. Though what Tzuyu had done to Chaeyoung was reasonable, still, it was a rude thing, especially when Chaeyoung’s friend, no, family, that time was only Tzuyu.Tzuyu left with her eyes were swollen. The latter can’t stop crying, ended with her eyes were red and puffy. While Mina was barely tearing up, too baffled to react Tzuyu’s story.After hours of story time, Mina could summarize few things.
Tzuyu and Chaeyoung were once an orphans. Tzuyu didn’t tell Mina about how could they ended up and were growing up at that place, but for sure, Chaeyoung’s real parents dumped her. They left Chaeyoung when the latter was still months old in front of the orphanage and never show theirselves anymore until now.
They got close when Chaeyoung bravely kicked a boy who tried to harrash Tzuyu. Tzuyu was innocent at that time, made she really interesting to be teased. And Chaeyoung, being too cool for a girl, defended Tzuyu when a boy tried to do something to her. They never separated anymore since then.
They spent years on the orphanage. Never wanted to separate, they promised for always be together, no matter what happen. They always prayed to god to let them be together for the rest of their life. And luckily, when they were seven, they got adopted by the same couple. A pair of adults in their fourthies with no kids, giving them their best smiles when they said they willingly adopted both.
Same parents, same fate. They got abushed. Severe. Tzuyu won’t tell Mina how bad it was, because it was her worst memories that she wanted to rid off from her mind forever. But, she told Mina that she’s pretty sure there’s a big scar, long wide slash, on Chaeyoung’s back. She still remembered about that day, when their parents beat them up very harsh and endlessly. Both were crying, but damn, they were just a kid. They can do nothing.
It was a very quiet night, they were ten, when suddenly Tzuyu asked Chaeyoung to run away together. They just need to break the window with the most solid thing inside their room, climb the window, and run away. Chaeyoung agreed to come along, of course, could no longer bear the pain of being their parents’ kid. They thought it would be easy, but no. Just right after Tzuyu jumped from the sash, the locked door was barged by their dad, who probably heard the breaking window sound. Chaeyoung got caught, while Tzuyu didn’t. She left, and never came back, even though she knew Chaeyoung was waiting for her.
That was the last time Tzuyu ever saw Chaeyoung. She never came back to the house, didn’t even check Chaeyoung’s condition for once. She was too afraid, didn’t want to get caught by their parents anymore.
The conclusion is, Tzuyu betrayed Chaeyoung. She left the latter behind, ignored her, dumped her, and forgot about their promise of being together forever. She knew that it would be harder for Chaeyoung to cope the abusive parents, but it didn’t make her want so save Chaeyoung. She was too afraid, was a freakin coward, who chose to betray her own sister other than have to face the parents.Mina sighs. Why is it so heavy, the story? Now, knowing that Chaeyoung was once being abushed by her parents, and betrayed by her sister, how could Mina help solving the problem? She’s just an outsider, who know nothing more than just a story. She doesn’t know how it feels like, and surely, she’ll break immediately if she has to face that.Now, Mina knows why Chaeyoung behaves like that. She won’t show a tear, because if she does, she’ll break right away. She’s always bright, because she’s trying to be alright and won’t feel sad no more. And maybe, she won’t love, because people she trusted kept betraying her.She’s just so done with life, and just won’t let her life got messed up again. And, the way she chose to cope this shitty life, is to become emotionless, careless to every things that could threat her current ‘fine’ life. She won’t start caring, because if she does, then she’ll start putting hope. And hoping could be rude and mean, especially when someone else break the hope.In Chaeyoung’s case, she was betrayed twice. First, when she got adopted. She surely trusted her new parents, but when they started beating her and Tzuyu, her hope vanished just like dust. And second, betrayed by Tzuyu, her very first friend, sister, family. And that’s enough to turn Chaeyoung into this emotionless.Mina blinks, her eyes sting. Thinking Chaeyoung had to go through that shit, it must be so hard for her. Though Mina would never understand how exactly it feels like, still, imagining Chaeyoung had those past really hurts her heart. The image of always smiling Chaeyoung, only makes her sadder. It must be hard for her, staying bright all day long just to avoid her sad self come out.Mina really wants to hug Chaeyoung right now. Or if that’s too much, Mina would really like to stay beside Chaeyoung and play along with her, or whatever it is that makes Chaeyoung happy. She wants to pat the girl’s crown, comfort her.And well, she could do that right now. Because, when the bus stops at a bus station, someone gets into the bus. It’s Chaeyoung.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

What a super weird coincidence that Chaeyoung got into the bus just right when Mina wanted to comfort the girl.The girl steps into the bus, taps the bus card, and walks through the aisle to find an empty seat. She doesn’t see Mina, wobbling when the bus slogs to move forwards. Mina just watches in silent, amused with the scene of Chaeyoung politely keeps saying ‘excuse me’ to everyone she passes, while trying her best to walk to the empty seat she saw without tripping.When she finally sits on it, Mina sees Chaeyoung exhales in relief. Probably feels safe now, that she successfully sit without stumbling. She could only see the back of Chaeyoung’s head, eyeing the girl leans her back onto the seat, chilling, and starts wandering outside the bus.It’s 3 pm. She should be in the office, working. So, what’s she doing here?And so, Mina grabs her bag and stands up. She cautiously walks towards the girl, and slops onto the seat next to her. Chaeyoung doesn’t notice though, doesn’t really bother the person who sits beside her, still wandering, aimlessly staring at the outside. Seeing that, Mina nudges the girl’s arm softly.Chaeyoung turns her head, and expressionlessly stares at Mina, doesn’t look surprised at all.“Hi,” Mina greets, smiling towards the girl, kinder than usual. Chaeyoung raises her brows, vaguely didn’t expect seeing Mina there, but not showing any surprised expression at all. After a beat, a smile blooms on her face. “Hi, Mina.”It’s kinda weird, the way Chaeyoung talks just now. It sounds bitter and toneless, like she forces herself to sound bright. But, Mina just shrugs it off. She just heard a bunch of sad stories of Chaeyoung’s life last night, and it’s rude and selfish if Mina wants to get a happy face from Chaeyoung like all the time.After last night, Mina tends to pay more attention to every movements Chaeyoung do. The way she talks, she smiles, her gestures, all of that is now different. Mina doesn’t know what exactly the difference is, but she could feel it. It makes her wonder if Chaeyoung always behaves like this, or she changed after she met Tzuyu.Mina doesn’t say anything. She just replies the smile, wanting to make Chaeyoung comfortable being with her. Maybe, Chaeyoung finds it’s weird to see Mina being so tame and smiley, when usually she’s a grumpy girl and always so touchy by everything about Chaeyoung. Because just now, her smile’s gradually gone, replaced with a slight concern gaze. “Mina? You okay?”Mina’s still smiling, her heart gets warmed hearing that worried question. “That supposed to be my question for you, Son Chaeyoung. But, yeah. I’m good.” Mina shrugs, seeing Chaeyoung’s eyes shaken a bit because of Mina’s words. “How about you there? You fine?”After a beat of halting, Chaeyoung’s smile back. “I’m always okay. You know that.”Though, Chaeyoung said that she’s fine, Mina could sense something hidden behind that safe words. She now could sense it all. Stupid, how could she didn’t realize it any sooner?“You don’t have to be okay all the time, you know,” Mina mumbles, still giving a smile to Chaeyoung. She sees Chaeyoung squints a bit. And so, Mina continues the words. “You can be sad, or angry, or just simply not okay. We’re human being, and we’re not perfect. We have our own problems, giving us rollercoaster feelings. And there’s a time we have to embrace those feelings. Laugh when we happy, or cry when we sad.”Mina halts, receiving a confused face from Chaeyoung, who apparently doesn’t understand what Mina’s talking about. “What’s that mean?”“It means, you can be yourself, Chaeng. At least in front of me,” Mina directly tells Chaeyoung the message, wanting Chaeyoung to know that she’s able to be her true self in front of Mina. “I’ll try my best to be there when you need someone.”Mina sees Chaeyoung’s face gets tenser. Her eyes are fixated onto Mina’s eyes, trying to find something on that gaze. She doesn’t say anything, just staring at Mina deeply, wordlessly. After a while, Chaeyoung’s lips form a smile. Not a bright or happy smile. It’s a sad yet relieved smile. “Okay.”Mina never expected that that ‘okay’ would be this impactful. Instead of asking back why Mina said those thing, Chaeyoung just said okay. It’s like she’s actually agreeing that she’s been being not her real self for this entire time. It means that Chaeyoung really did pretending to be someone who’s always fine. And Mina’s heart aches from thinking this.Chaeyoung starts wandering outside the window again, doesn’t really minding Mina sitting beside her. Mina hears Chaeyoung exhales heavily, like she’s having a very heavy thought right now.“What are you doing here, Chaeyoung?” Mina leans back to the seat, glancing at the side of Chaeyoung. The small girl turns her face, looking at Mina. “Yes?”“Aren’t you supposed to be at the office right now? You’re the big boss.”Chaeyoung halts, probably thinking about what answer she should say. But then, she smiles afterwards. “Well, I’m outside because I’m the big boss,” she shrugs coolly, smiling like a dork. Mina scrunches her nose, acting like she’s disgusted with that super confident state, and Chaeyoung laughs because of the look. “Kidding. Sana told me, no, forced me, to have some fresh air. She gave me her bus card and told me to just take a ride with the bus and chill out. Having my me time while she handle every work I have at the office.”Mina once again is really touched by the way Sana takes care of Chaeyoung. She treats her so nicely, like her own sister and not just boss-employee relationship. She probably already knows about Chaeyoung’s past. It explains a lot, like why she treats Chaeyoung like this, and why she always says to Chaeyoung to take a rest and find a solace. It also explains why Sana’s very protective over Chaeyoung, like when she knew Chaeyoung had an episode, or when Chaeyoung drank with Mina at Mina’s place, and more. That’s good that Chaeyoung has Sana to help her. It warms Mina’s heart, and relieved that she’s the girl Momo dates right now. “She’s a very decent person. Sana.”“She is,” Chaeyoung proudly brags off about Sana, smiling. “She’s my best friend, you know. Probably the only friend I have.” Mina hears Chaeyoung exhales. “I hope that she always happy. She deserves it.”Mina paused at the state, squinting mildly. “Everyone deserves to be happy, Chaeyoung. Including you.”Hearing this, Chaeyoung stares solely at Mina. Her eyes are unreadable and she looks so confused with all Mina’s words. Her smile’s still there, but gets thinner. “Okay, girl. Now, it’s getting weirder,” she goofs around, but apparently suspicious with Mina’s actions. “Why are you acting like this, Mina?”Mina chuckles, enjoying the sight of confused Chaeyoung. She really does look like a kid when she makes that face. “You don’t like me being like this?”“No, it’s nothing like that,” Chaeyoung quickly refutes. “It’s just… weird. And so sudden. The change.”Of course Chaeyoung would be suspicious towards Mina’s action. Mina used to scold or just act mean towards Chaeyoung. She doesn’t really do sweet stuffs towards Chaeyoung, and Mina saying those words, encouraging and cheering Chaeyoung like this, is probably kinda odd to her.Mina’s been thinking about how she could tell Chaeyoung. That now she knew everything. That she knew about her past, about her shits, about her pains. Mina shouldn’t hide the fact from Chaeyoung, that she knew her problems. She wants to do something for her, even if it’s a little thing. She wants to make Chaeyoung feels better, though she doesn’t really know how.Mina gulps, a bit nervous. Not ready to tell Chaeyoung, but can’t hide it any longer. “It’s Tzuyu.”Chaeyoung turns her face in haste hearing that name. No more smile, it’s finally gone. Now, her face in unreadable, a mix of many expressions, and Mina can’t decipher it at all. “Huh?”“Tzuyu. She was waiting for me in front of my door last night.”Mina halts, waiting and wanting a word from the girl before she elaborate more. There’s a long silence of Chaeyoung just stares at Mina, probably wanting to make sure that Mina is telling the truth. “What?” she mumbles in disbelief, too baffled. “What was she doing there?”Chaeyoung’s voice is wobbled, like she’s gonna crack or something. It makes Mina nervous, thinking about how bad it would affect Chaeyoung. Meeting Tzuyu was enough to make her had a panic attack, and Mina could only hopes that Chaeyoung could handle this one. Because Mina isn’t sure she can handle seeing Chaeyoung at that state anymore. “She asked for a help. From me.”“What help?” This time, Chaeyoung answers it fastly, obviously wanting to know everything.“She wanted to meet you,” Mina tries to calm Chaeyoung by giving her a smile, but it’s no avail as the latter still looks tense and somehow triggered.Chaeyoung mumbles unclearly. “Meet me? Why?” She looks a bit offended right now. Probably can’t believe that Tzuyu really had a big courage to come to Mina’s house and asked Mina to help herself uniting her and Chaeyoung. “She has nothing to do with me.”“Actually, she does,” Mina fastly fixes the words. “She wanted to meet you and explain everything to you.”Mina catches a glimpse of Chaeyoung’s shaken eyes. She probably knew it, about that Tzuyu wanted to explain something to her. But, it’s understandable that it would be hard for her to listen or just meet her at this time. The fact that they met after years, it’s so shocking and triggering for Chaeyoung. It brought the pains back, once again destroying her. She needs time, Mina knows that. That’s why she can’t blame her at all for rejecting everything about Tzuyu.Chaeyoung still stares at Mina with that gaze. “Mina, you don’t understand. I—” her words suddenly stop. Her mouth’s gaping and the stare’s getting tenser. “Wait,” she creases deeply, feeling something off with the situation. “What were you two exactly doing? Did she say something off about me? That cause you doing this right now?”Mina smiles, somehow beaten seeing Chaeyoung being like this. She looks so anxious, terrified that someone might know her past. “She didn’t talk bad about you, Chaeng. Actually, she talked about how amazing you are.”Chaeyoung doesn’t stop from creasing. “And if I allow to know, what exactly her words were?”There’s something laced within Chaeyoung’s words. Like she’s somehow upset, yet still wanting to hear stuffs about Tzuyu. Mina eyes the girl, examines her. She looks on edge, jittery. She’s way too different with her bright side. This part of her, this is the first time Mina saw it and it squeezes her heart to see her like this.Mina isn’t sure, if she should tell Chaeyoung about her knowing her past. It’s probably not a very right thing to do, prying Tzuyu about Chaeyoung’s past. It’s not a very pleasant thing to know it from someone, not from Chaeyoung herself. Mina doesn’t know if she would ever be able to hear these stories from Chaeyoung. She’s sure that the girl doesn’t trust her that much. And perhaps, Mina almost has no chance for that.She gulps, getting ready to receive every kind of reactions Chaeyoung would give. “She told me everything.” Mina’s heart is currently thumping, so nervous, while looking at Chaeyoung’s face. She watches cautiously, wanting to be aware of every change Chaeyoung does. But, the latter just stills, tense. No, she looks worse than before. Like the sentence Mina just said to her is the thing she fears the most. “Now I know, Chaeng.”“You know about what?” once again, Chaeyoung quickly responds. By how trembling her voice is, Mina could tell that Chaeyoung is really scared with this moment. The moment someone find out about her past.“Everything. I know everything,” Mina also replies without hesitate. It doesn’t feel easier, of course, but, Chaeyoung really has to know this right now. “I know about your past. About the orphanage. The abusive parents.” Mina halts, swallowing thickly. “The betrayal.”At that, Chaeyoung exhales resignedly, heavily, like her soul is being taken. Mina sees the girl slumps onto her seat, trying to bury herself on it even though it’s impossible. “You know it?” she mumbles unclearly, weak and sad. “Now, you know it.”Seeing that, Mina becomes worried. She’s afraid that it would trigger Chaeyoung and cause her panic attack. “Hey, you okay?” Mina touches the girl’s shoulder, in afraid watching the girl’s having a breathing problem at sudden. “Chaeng, calm down. Everything’s gonna be okay. I’ll—”“Nothing is okay, Mina,” Chaeyoung firmly states, shrugs off Mina’s touch on her shoulder. Her face is so far from bright and good. It’s kinda surprised Mina that Chaeyoung has this expression. It feels weird to see it. She doesn’t dislike it though, it just, feels weird, strange and new. Chaeyoung eyes Mina sharply. “Not even a single thing is okay.”“What are you talking about?” Mina gets more worries after seeing Chaeyoung grins in pain. Her eyes are somehow teary and beads of sweat mar her temple. “Don’t worry. It’s gonna be fine.”“What’s gonna be fine, Mina? Tell me one certain thing,” Chaeyoung huffs madly, probably gets sick with Mina’s comforting words. Her brows are squinting deeply and her voice is raised. “Everything has changed. Including you.”Mina looks around the bus, afraid that people might hear their conversation. It’s such a relief because there are only two passengers other than them. One of them is sleeping while the other one is blasting music through his headphone. Mina’s attention’s back to Chaeyoung. “What do you mean? I don’t do or say anything.”Chaeyoung rolls her eyes after hearing that. “Oh, dear. You do. You’re doing it right now.”“What—?!”“You stare at me with that look!” Chaeyoung frustratedly huffs, voice is high enough to make Mina mildly jolts in shock. Mina halts for a moment, doesn’t get what Chaeyoung means. “What’s wrong with my stare?”“You stare at me like you pity me!” Chaeyoung’s voice is so high, that the old man who was sleeping get awoken by it. For seconds, Mina eyes the old man, makes sure he doesn’t paying attention into them. The old man looks around the bus for a beat, probably trying to find the thing that wake him up. But as he found nothing, he continues his little nap.And Mina back to Chaeyoung, who’s staring at her fiercely. There’s a madness, sadness, and a lot of other emotions within her gaze, and Mina almost breaks when Chaeyoung whispers, thin and weak. “You do, don’t you?”Mina wishes she could unseen that expression. That beaten, hurted, painful expression of Chaeyoung really makes Mina suffocated. It’s like she can feel it, the past, the wounds she got from those memories. It churns Mina’s stomach, makes her sick. Makes her wants to throw up.Chaeyoung said Mina looks at her in a different way now. She said Mina had changed after she found out about her past. She said Mina pities her. And Mina, deep inside, not even sure if she could deny it.She still stares at Chaeyoung, doesn’t know what to say. She doesn’t even deny it, and that only makes Chaeyoung smiles in pain. “You do.”And it suffocates Mina more. The way she said it, it’s like all of the happiness that ever happened in her life is all dissipated, and nothing’s left. The way she exhales so heavily, it’s like she’s now hopeless with everything.“I—” Mina swallows hardly, feeling so hard to say the thing she wants to tell Chaeyoung. “I’m… I’m sorry.”Chaeyoung laughs in despair, avoiding Mina’s eyes and wandering outside the window again. Mina could only duck down, not sure what to do. Chaeyoung beside her also doesn’t say anything, just keeps exhaling heavily and chuckles bitterly sometimes.After a very suffocating minutes, Mina finally hears Chaeyoung mumbles weakly. “What should I do now, Mina?”Mina slowly looks up, only to see Chaeyoung’s smiling sadly and still staring aimlessly to something beyond her. A beat passed, and Chaeyoung glances at Mina. Her eyes are so lost, no more light left on it, and Mina involuntarily holds her breath seeing that sight. “What should I do?”“Why you asked me that, Chaeyoung?”“Because now, you know me,” Chaeyoung slurs. Her eyes are teary. “And now, you’re going to treat me like I’m a weak and fragile person. Like the others do.”Mina gulps. Again, she can’t even deny it, that she would see Chaeyoung as a person with so much pains after hearing the stories. But, there’s a little difference between Chaeyoung’s words and Mina’s thought. And Mina thinks it would affect a lot in Chaeyoung’s side if she say it out aloud.“I... don’t think you’re a weak and fragile person, Son Chaeyoung,” Mina says quietly and cautiously, doesn’t mean any harm and just won’t upset Chaeyoung more. She glances over the girl beside her, only to find Chaeyoung’s still wandering aimlessly. “Instead, it makes you look stronger.”Chaeyoung halts, silently listening and thinking it deeply. She slowly turns her head and faces Mina, seeing the girl’s staring at her warmly. “Weak and fragile aren’t the right words to describe someone who went through a lot of bad stuffs. Strong and awesome, are better than the previous two,” Mina elaborates calmly, somehow hopes it could soothe Chaeyoung a bit.And yes, it does. Because Chaeyoung’s eyes are dilating, like it’s the first time she ever heard someone say it. “What?”“The pains build you, Chaeyoung. It makes who you are now. And, to be honest, I always think that you’re a very cool person,” Mina says more, feels shy with the last part because this is the first time she admits it. “The way you go cool with everything, not even think twice to make a decision, and so positive about everything. Those parts of you, I really respect that and so amazed. You are... so awesome.”Mina’s heart gets warmed when she sees a little smile emerges on Chaeyoung’s face. Though it’s thin and brief, still, it’s an improvement and Mina’s proud of that. “You know, Chaeyoung. You might be a jerk at the first time we met. And I won’t ever forget that, because that was the first time I ever felt that. But now, you’re more a person that I’m so curious about.”Probably, Chaeyoung wants to ask why is that, because her mouth is open like she wants to say something. But, as there’s nothing coming out from her mouth, Mina just smiles understandingly. “It’s because your actions make me confuse all the time.”Mina halts just to remember the moments she had with Chaeyoung. “You act so cool, so chill with everything. When I told you to leave my restaurant, when I shouted at your face when you came to my house to take those stupid sweaters, and when Sana and Momo set us into a thing at the theater. You faced those times with a very easy feeling. I can feel it. Though, those weren’t a big deal, still, your bright energy and that silly smiley face are enough to make me question myself. ‘How she did that?’ or ‘Why was she being so.. nice and bright all the time?’”Chaeyoung keeps staring at Mina, doesn’t say anything, and Mina just sighs. “Silly, right? I probably always act cold towards you, but inside, I’m so curious of you. Because you’re one of a kind, and I just can’t understand you.” Mina halts, taking a break. “The way you treat Sana way too nice, and the way you really cherish her, though you’re the boss one, it’s really confuse me.”Mina isn’t sure what is she doing right now. Why is she saying those things, Mina doesn’t really understand the reason behind it. But, there’s a part of her that hoping it could comfort Chaeyoung. Telling that Chaeyoung is an amazing person, Mina thinks it’s the right time for her to bring it up.Chaeyoung’s been a puzzle to Mina, hard to solve, yet can’t stop trying to finish it. The way she do her things, so chill and no burden at all. The way she smiles all the damn times, the way she’s so positive about everything. The way she gives everything for her people, the way she cares about someone else before herself. The way she’s being bright all the time, but will turn so sad when she talks about her past. This girl is really something. And Mina always know that there’s something going on with Chaeyoung. Now, that she knew already about her past, makes her wants to do something for her. Something good, something Chaeyoung deserves.Heard Chaeyoung upsetly said that Mina now has that look in the eyes, the pity gaze towards Chaeyoung, makes Mina’s heart throbs in pain. She doesn’t mean that action. She’s not pitying Chaeyoung. Pitying someone who went through a very bad shits is not a very decent action. Mina only wants to pay back all the goodness that Chaeyoung gave to her, despite having all of those shitty memories. But, perhaps Chaeyoung had been receiving a lot of that stare, which makes her sick and just so done with it. Or maybe, she’s just too familiar with that gaze.Chaeyoung’s very nice person. She protects, because she’s hurted. And it really touches Mina. Chaeyoung’s a great person, and Mina hopes Chaeyoung knows it.And so, Mina cautiously takes Chaeyoung’s hand. The small girl mildly jolts, not used with the affection. Maybe it’s strange for her, especially when she gets it from the girl who most of the time being cold to her. “You’re a great person, Chaeyoung. You are. And you have to realize it, that you’re strong and tough,” Mina utters softly. “And even if now I know your pains, it doesn’t make you weaker or smaller. You’re not a whiny bitch, or a clingy kid, and I absolutely don’t see you that way.”Mina eyes Chaeyoung kindly. The girl seems so calm, probably thinking about what Mina just said. Her eyes are fixated to Mina’s hand that’s holding hers. Mina heaves a sigh, solely wanting to make Chaeyoung feel better. “It’s a wrong thought that people would pity you when they find out about your past. And you have to fix that thought.”“But, a lot of people really did pity me, Mina,” Chaeyoung talks back. She looks like a kid who just reports her whole day to her mom. “And it sucks, it hurts, and I just want it to fuckin’ stop.”Mina chuckles at Chaeyoung cursing. She didn’t know this girl could do it. “Well, you really do have a lot of bad shits, Chaeng,” Mina shrugs, suddenly wants to melt the icy situation. She can’t bear looking at Chaeyoung’s sad eyes, so she tries to joke around. “They probably aren’t pitying you, though. Maybe you just, misunderstand the look. Or, if they really did pity, they probably did it without knowing.”Mina grins, waiting for Chaeyoung’s reaction, which is a very heavy exhale. “I hate it when people look at me with that eyes. That look makes me feel small and strenghtless. Like I have no power at all to cope my life.”“Well, that’s a very wrong thought there, girl,” Mina shrugs, trying to ease the situation. “They probably look at you as a lesson.”Chaeyoung mildly squints. “A lesson?”“Yup. A lesson of life, which’s so expensive. I mean, you’re inspiring, Chaeng,” Mina wrings the girl’s hand. It’s so tense, Mina could feel how strained Chaeyoung is right now. “Like how strong you are that you still able to smile until today, and that you could still be happy, still so bright and nice to others.” Mina halts, smiling when she sees Chaeyoung pouts, like she wants to cry. “And this might be a little harsh, but they also feel that they’re so lucky, that they didn’t have to go through bad shits like yours. It makes us feel grateful. I do. I feel so grateful, thankful that I didn’t have to experience all of that, and that’s why you are amazing to me. Because you teach me so much lessons.”Chaeyoung doesn’t say anything, seems thoughtful though. Probably she’s thinking about Mina’s words, which kinda slap her right in the face. Mina watches the girl in amused. It’s probably out of nowhere, but Chaeyoung being like this is somehow cute.“Instead of having the pains as the things that destroy you, why don’t you project it into something positive?” Mina talks again. “I mean, let’s just forget the negative sides and develop the positive one. Like, how impactful you are, and that you might inspired someone with your past. You have so much positive things, Chaeyoung. Just focus on that and make yourself happy. Okay?”There’s a moment of deep silence, Chaeyoung just keeps heaving a sigh heavily. But then, Chaeyoung utters hoarsely. “What should I do now, Mina?”Mina halts, thinking. She shouldn’t be the one who tell Chaeyoung to do this and that. Chaeyoung has to be the one who decides it. But, perhaps, this girl’s not on her best mode, and probably is so confused right now. So, Mina smiles, once again squeezes Chaeyoung’s hand. “Love yourself. Embrace the sad part of yours, because it’s you after all,” Mina answers it softly, loving the sight if Chaeyoung solely listening to her, and seems toughtful, like she’s considering it. “And don’t lie to yourself. Open yourself, so people could get closer to you and help you.”After that, Chaeyoung sighs. She looks lost, like she doesn’t know where to go and what to do. Her breath’s racing and Mina bets her chest probably is thumping so loudly right now. Mina sees Chaeyoung gulps. “You want to get closer to me, Mina? Would you like to help me?”It hurts, seeing Chaeyoung saying this things with that face. Like she’s begging, cautious and afraid to ask, but at the same time, feeling the need to ask. Mina’s heart once again throbs in pain, and she’s legit teared up a little bit when she says, “yeah. Of course. I’m here. I’ll help you.”At that, Chaeyoung smiles in pleasure. She slowly leans onto Mina’s side, resting her head on Mina’s shoulder. Mina gets nervous with that sudden move, but still accepting it, and letting Chaeyoung there, hoping she feels comfortable and safe.“Then, would you come to my house, Mina?” Chaeyoung questions, makes Mina a bit surprised with her very blunt and intimate query. And before Mina could ask why she asked that, Chaeyoung elaborates more. “I’ll show you everything.” She halts. “I’ll show you all my pains.”And Mina doesn’t know why the hell she accepted the invitation. She knows the consequences, that she’s not allowed to abandon or ignore it anymore after this. How bad and heavy it is, Mina has to take it, swallow it, and gets herself involved on it.Mina always thinks that brave and stupid are somehow close. And yeah, what she’s currently doing right now, is either brave or stupid. Or maybe it’s both. Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. Right now, they’re heading to Chaeyoung’s house. And Mina only needs to get ready for everything she has to encounter with.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It’s an apartment in Gangnam, Chaeyoung’s house. Mina tries to be cool with it, but the fact that they’re heading to the most elite building in Gangnam is somehow bothering Mina. How wealthy this small kid could be?“Don’t say you own this building,” Mina mutters, while they’re walking through the lobby, going to the lift. The fact that she’s living in this apartment, which rent’s probably over than $2,500 per month, is giving Mina goosebumps. She can’t imagine Chaeyoung owning this too. Other people might willing to die just to be a close friend with this richy.Chaeyoung turns her head to Mina, halting for a moment before she shakes her head. “Oh, no. I don’t own this building, though it would be a great asset to me,” Chaeyoung chuckles at Mina’s relieved face, which she doesn’t know why Mina makes that expression. “But, I own some in other areas though, not Gangnam. But, I like this place more than mine. So,” Chaeyoung shrugs, clasping her lips. “Here I am, choosing living in someone’s asset and not mine.”Mina’s jaw drops at this. “Gosh, Son Chaeyoung. Who are you?” Mina couldn’t believe that this girl beside her, the one she’s been treating rudely, is so freakin hella rich. The fact that she’s a big boss, own some buildings, and still freely wandering around the street without a bodyguard protecting her small bean body, is confused and amazed Mina at the same time.And then they go to the lift. Looks expensive, Mina doesn’t want to ask how much she has to pay monthly. They go to the 21st floor, and everything’s really look expensive. Mina can’t stop looking around, somehow feels small being surrounded by these expensive things.As they arrive at the 21st floor, they come out from the lift and go to Chaeyoung’s apartment. Chaeyoung’s ahead, leading the way, and Mina follows her behind. When they arrive at Chaeyoung’s door, Chaeyoung stirs her body and faces Mina. She exhales.“Are you sure about this, Mina?” she asks, somehow sounds hesitated. She looks nervous, probably suddenly thinks that this isn’t right. But Mina quickly comforts her, putting her hand on Chaeyoung's shoulder and squeezes it gently. “It’s fine, Chaeyoung. You’ll be alright, and I’ll be alright too.” She smiles, hoping it would lessen Chaeyoung's nervousness. Chaeyoung nods, exhales loudly. “Okay, here we go.”Chaeyoung presses her security pin numbers, Mina slightly takes a peek at it. It’s 230499, Mina probably has to remember it, considering that Chaeyoung has this traumatic thing and she might need an urgent help. When they enter the house, Chaeyoung sheepishly tells Mina to wait on the couch in front of the TV, while herself immediately makes a beeline towards her own room.Mina waits, sitting on the couch. She looks around, wanting to know the things Chaeyoung owned. It’s a very big house, obviously, but surprisingly, Chaeyoung only has a very few stuffs inside this huge house. Well, by the look of the interiors, Mina could surmise that those are pricey. But empty spaces are everywhere, and Mina slightly could feel the emptiness within this house.There’s no a single photo inside this house. The wall is all empty, plain, white and clean. The stuffs inside are also plain, cold, abandoned. And Mina could only gulp, because she feels sadness and loneliness in everywhere.When Chaeyoung suddenly emerges from her own room, Mina eyes the small bean. She brings some old newspapers inside her arms, her face looks blatantly tense. She walks very slowly towards Mina, like she’s hesitating, like she’s regretting doing this.Inside her arms, there’s a pile of old newspaper. Mina stares confusedly, thinking about why Chaeyoung brings that. Aren’t they here to know Chaeyoung’s pains?Chaeyoung really walks so slowly. She also looks not good, uptight and nervous. When she arrives beside Mina, who still stares at her confusedly, she makes a small thin smile. “Here we go.”She sits before Mina, who’s ready to find out more about Chaeyoung. When Chaeyoung hands the newspapers, Mina takes it slowly, a bit confused.“It was me in the headline,” Chaeyoung explains, as though she could read Mina’s mind. Mina halts, shifting her eyes from Chaeyoung to the very first page of the newspaper.

Two of a family burnt to death in Seoul.

That’s the headline. And reading that doesn’t make Mina understand a thing. Instead, she gets confused more. She looks up, wanting Chaeyoung to explain what the meaning of it. But Chaeyoung’s eyes are full of stories, sad, beaten, yet herself keeps shutting her mouth, won’t talk anything yet. And so, Mina looks down again, reading the whole article.It’s about a fire that burnt a well-build house about 10 years ago. As Mina read more and more, everything’s get blurry. All she could see is SC initial, which is obviously Son Chaeyoung. It’s written that Chaeyoung was the only person who survive the fire accident, and the two who were dead in the accident were—“Your parents?!”  Mina shrieks, couldn’t believe what she just read. She glances up, seeing Chaeyoung swallowing thickly, nervous, or maybe fear. The memories are back and Mina wouldn’t blame her for being traumatic.“Your parents were dead in a... fire accident?” Mina cautiously asks again, oddly wants to make sure with what’s written on the newspaper. Chaeyoung chuckles bitterly, briefly, probably just wants to cover her sadness. “Yeah, they were dead in that accident. I was 13, just a year after... Tzuyu left me.”Mina’s heart stings, seeing Chaeyoung’s taking a deep breath, apparently controlling her emotions. It hurts to know that Chaeyoung faced this thing alone, without a single person supporting her, or to be with her. She was 12 when her sister left her, and 13 when her parents died in an accident. What a tough life she had to go through.“Oh my, Chaeyoung. I’m so sorry,” Mina puts down the newspaper, approaching Chaeyoung who’s sitting before her. “I’m so sorry, Chaeyoung.” She sits beside her, wraps her arms around Chaeyoung, hugging her tightly, “I’m sorry that this happened to you.”Chaeyoung stills when Mina buries her face into her blonde hair. And Mina’s hug involuntarily is loosened when suddenly, Chaeyoung blabs, “I killed them.”Mina halts, deciphering, processing the moment, the words Chaeyoung said. She slowly draws herself away from Chaeyoung, looking for the big eyes of Chaeyoung. “What?”She sees Chaeyoung gulps. Her eyes look sad, but her voice’s firm enough when she says, “I killed them.”Mina holds her breathe, still trying to understand, to find the truth through Chaeyoung’s eyes. But all she could see is pain, and it also starts hurting her too. “B-but, you were 13,” Mina rejects the confession. There’s no way Chaeyoung would kill someone. No way. “You were 13, Chaeng. It’s impossible.”Chaeyoung smiles sadly. “But I did.”Mina shakes her head, still won’t accept this. She needs an explanation. “Did you set the fire or something?” Chaeyoung shakes her head lightly. “Did you forget to turn off the stove? Or maybe you were playing with fire and you accidently burned something?” Chaeyoung shakes her head again, Mina’s guesses still wrong. “Then tell me, Chaeng. Tell me what you did.”There was a moment of suffocating silence before Chaeyoung weakly shakes her head. “I-I don’t know,” she says. “I don’t know what I did. But they said I killed them.”Heard that, Mina winces. There’s obviously a wrong thing within Chaeyoung’s words just before. “Wait. They?”Chaeyoung stares at Mina in the eyes, nodding. “Yes. They said I killed my parents.” And Mina gets more confused at this. “Who are they, Chaeyoung? And why did they say that?”“People, Mina,” Chaeyoung’s eyes get teary. Her breath is so heavy, that makes her looks difficult to even take a breath. “They said I was the cause of my parents’ dead, that I brought curse to them who are with me.”Mina chokes in disbelief. “And why did they say that? It’s rude.”“Because,” Chaeyoung trails off, gulping, getting herself ready to say it. “Because my next parent was also dead, Mina. A few years after he adopted me.”Mina stares at Chaeyoung, wanting to know if it’s true or not. But all she could see on Chaeyoung’s face is seriousness, and it means everything is really happened. Mina really hopes that it isn’t true, but it is, and again, it stings her heart, knowing that Chaeyoung had to face all of this alone.“Everyone who stay around me are dead, Mina,” Chaeyoung states her own conclusion. “Everyone. That’s why I don’t do friend. It isn’t a thing for someone who’s cursed like me.”Mina’s heart is somehow relieved that Chaeyoung didn’t really kill her parents. But the thing that Chaeyoung has this thought, that everyone who stay around her are and going to dead, is somehow plaguing Mina. She never thought that this is the reason why Chaeyoung becomes such a free soul, who looks like she’s fine being alone. Turns out that Chaeyoung did that because she just wants to make sure that no one’s hurt because of her.Looking at Chaeyoung right now is really painful to Mina. This girl’s been a very nice, kind, warm, confident, lovely person, and seeing her like this, ugh, Mina would do anything to unsee it. And so, she takes Chaeyoung’s hands, wrings them gently. “Tell me what exactly happened, Chaeyoung. I’ll listen.”Chaeyoung stares at the hands, controlling her breathing. After a moment of thinking, probably hesitating if she should tell Mina or not, she exhales. She looks up, eyes Mina in the eyes, and begins the story.“After Tzuyu left, my parents were so angry. They broke things, including me. And they shouted, they raged, they—” Chaeyoung gulps, halting. “It was the worst time in my entire life, Mina. They didn’t let me out even for school, and they locked me inside my room all the time. They gave me unpleasant food, and they got mad every time. I don’t get why were they adopting us if they just want to harm us, but losing Tzuyu was a very upsetting thing for them, that they blamed me for Tzuyu’s runaway. And I spent a year without a day being happy. I-I wanted to die, Mina.”Mina stares, listening. She can’t say a word, not sure if it’s good for her to interrupt and give advice to Chaeyoung. Probably not, because sometimes, people just need someone to listen, not to help fixing their problem. But, if thing goes wrong, Mina might give her an insight. But for now, she’ll just listen, because Chaeyoung needs it right now.“I got bruises in everywhere, and I cried all the time. It was like, my tears got dry up because how often I cry. I felt lonely, like no one really care about me, even Tzuyu, who was my sister that time, who was also the only person who got through the same thing like me. Even my closest person left me behind. Betrayed me,” Chaeyoung chuckles, laughing at her miserable life. “That’s why I don’t trust anybody, Mina. I don’t trust anybody else except me.”Mina inhales, listening to Chaeyoung’s story is kinda difficult. But she has to do it until finish.“One day, I was fall asleep after my dad beat me. He said he will kill me later for sure, and all I could do was crying in silent, all night long. It wasn’t the first time he threatened me that he’ll kill me, so I know he was just bluffing around. I went to my bed and tried to sleep. My eyes were all swollen, my head was aching, and all the bruises were all throbbing. I was wailing to my dreadful life when I fall asleep. And then, it happened.”She pauses just to take a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. It’s definitely awful to recall the memories, the horrifying memories. And Mina won’t force Chaeyoung to continue. She can stop if she can’t carry on the story. But then Chaeyoung nods, probably convincing herself that she can do this.“It was 3 in the morning. Everyone was asleep, including me. I was awoken by the hot air around me. When I opened my eyes, smoke was everywhere, thick, heavy, black. I tried to get out of my room, but the door was locked. The window was also locked, my parents did those because they would never let me do the same thing like what Tzuyu did. And I trapped. I trapped inside my room, suffocated, dying.”Mina could feel Chaeyoung’s hands get shaky. So she tightens her hold, hoping it would lessen the anxiousness. Chaeyoung’s eyes are fixated to the hands again, while herself trying to focus, to control her emotion.“I went to the corner, and started screaming. My eyes couldn’t move from the door, and I was hoping, praying to god that the door was strong enough to latch the fire from coming to my room. I screamed and screamed, until I heard someone’s voice. It was the firefighter, telling me to stay away from the door. And the next second, he barged into my room, saving me. And it was also the time that I lost my conscious.”“When I woke up, I was in the hospital. Alone,” she chuckles at the last part, laughing at herself. “I was injured a bit by the fire, but the nurses found out about my bruises, and they took care of that too. The news about the fire accident was reported on the TV, and that was how I found out that my parents were dead in the accident. The news about me, an adopted child who was apparently got abused by her step parents, plus just faced a huge traumatic incident, was also everywhere. And it didn’t take a long time for this man to come to me.”This man? Mina could only surmise. Did Chaeyoung got adopted again? This is the first time Mina hears this. Tzuyu didn’t tell her about this part, obviously because she wasn’t the part of Chaeyoung’s life anymore at that time. Mina hopes he didn’t abuse Chaeyoung too. And her hope is right because she sees Chaeyoung slightly smiles.“Mr. Son was a very good man. Her wife was died after surviving a cancer, and he had no kid. He came to see me after hearing the news from the TV. He said he pitied me, and wanted to take care of me, to give me love that I deserve it. I thought I would never trust anyone anymore, but he was different, and he was the best dad in the world to me.”By Chaeyoung’s smile that just emerges after talking about Mr. Son, Mina knows that Chaeyoung really adored that man. And Mina’s relieved with that, knowing that she at least felt love for once when went through her childhood. Mina sees Chaeyoung wipes her tears, while herself is smiling, probably figuring Mr. Son’s face right now inside her head.“He gave me loved. He was a very wealthy man, that owned a company I currently run, but he gave me a real love. He didn’t shut me up with his money, or satisfied me with it. He... treated me like human being,” Chaeyoung’s voice is shaky, and Mina tightens her hold. “I loved him. I adored him so much. But he died because of me.”Again, the way Chaeyoung blames herself for someone’s death is really painful to watch. Mina moves herself closer to Chaeyoung, wanting Chaeyoung to feel her warmth. That Mina’s there for her, making sure she feels safe and sound. “What happened this time?”Chaeyoung drops her first tear, laughing sadly. “He just died. He died a few years after adopted me. He died because I brought curse.”Really, this curse thing is obviously silly for Mina. She never believe on that, that someone or something is able to bring curse or else. When a shit thing happened, it just happened. Because that’s how life works. Bad stuffs, good stuffs, everything happen in life, and it’s normal. Everything happen for a reason, and there are a meaning behind it. All we should do is find that meaning, and make it as a lesson of life.Mina still doesn’t understand why these people said that Chaeyoung brought curse. Was that because her parents were all dead now? Geez, people come and go, and go sometimes means death. Again, it’s just how life works. We can’t blame someone for leaving, or even blame ourselves for someone’s death. We don’t have a control of it. When it happens, we could mourn for a while, but then, we have to go back to our own feet, start walking forwards again, with our stronger self.Chaeyoung kept mentioning that she brought curse to her two parents. That people die and will die if they stick around to her. It’s really hurting, imagining Chaeyoung was afraid to get closer to someone just because she didn’t want anybody get hurt by her ‘curse thing’. Chaeyoung might be holding herself from having a relationship with anybody, choosing to stay away rather than has to take a risk of hurting someone.It’s hard for Mina to take all of this, to process this Chaeyoung’s pains. How cautious she could be, when meeting someone new? How afraid she could be, to build a relationship with someone? How anxious she could be, to be alone all the time?Mina can’t bear the pains. Seeing Chaeyoung in her weakest state is also painful to watch. So, she lifts her arms and wraps Chaeyoung’s body with them. Tight, but also gentle. “Chaeyoung,” she calls, swallowing hardly when she feels Chaeyoung’s body’s shaken. “You’re not cursed. No one’s cursed. People come and go, and you can’t blame yourself for what happened. Especially when you did nothing wrong,” Mina mumbles, could feel her eyes are also get teary. “You will be alright. Everyone’ll be alright.”“But, Mina, you heard me. My parents are all dead—”“No one’s going to die, Chaeyoung. Not me, not Sana, not Momo, not even Tzuyu.” Mina tightens her hug. “We’ll be alright. And you’ll be alright too. But you have to stop this. You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened in your past. You have to let it go and face what’s in beyond you. You have to move on, and be happy.”Chaeyoung halts, Mina could hear her sobbing. “How?” she asks with her low voice. “How to be happy?”“You create it,” Mina quickly answers. “You make your own happiness, Chaeng.” Mina draws herself away from Chaeyoung, looking at Chaeyoung’s red eyes. It’s weird to say this at the moment, but a frail and soft Chaeyoung is really something to Mina. It makes Mina wants to protect her. It also makes Mina says, “or I’ll make it for you.”Chaeyoung’s eyes widened at that, but she doesn’t say anything. She cries even harder, and she draws Mina closer, hugging her like it’s all what she needs right now. And Mina willingly be her cry place, even if later, she could end up with snot in everywhere. She doesn’t care. All what she wants to do right now is comforting Chaeyoung, making her feels better.As Mina hugs Chaeyoung, her heart tells her something. She likes Chaeyoung, definitely. But obviously, it’s not a right time for them to become a real thing, and Mina doesn’t even know about Chaeyoung’s feeling towards her. And what Mina could do right now is to promise. Promise to herself, that she would never let this girl go. Never.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“So, you’re going to meet Tzuyu?” Mina asks again, wanting to make sure that she heard it right. Beside her, Chaeyoung nods, looking beyond her, which is a beautiful sight of Seoul city from the height of 21st floor. It’s 8 pm and the sight’s so wonderful and pretty. They’ve been sitting there for minutes, just enjoying the cold breeze, talking about what Chaeyoung would do after this.“I can’t run away forever, though.” Chaeyoung sips her wine a bit. Mina warned her to not drink too much because she gets drunk so quick, but she insisted to enjoy her wine. “If I want to find my own happiness, then I have to face my fear, and meeting her is a good start.”Mina halts, looking at Chaeyoung who looks forwards. “You sure you’ll be okay?” Mina asks in concern, suddenly the image of Chaeyoung having a panic attack passes her mind. It still looks awful, no matter how much Mina’s been thinking about that. “You want me to go with you?”At this, Chaeyoung turns her head, smiling at Mina fondly. “That’s sweet, Mina. But, I’ll be alright. She was my sister after all.” Chaeyoung sips her wine again. “She was a good kid back then, and I’m sure she doesn’t change much.”Mina smiles, nodding, agreeing with Chaeyoung. “She’s indeed a good person.” Yeah, Mina’s pretty sure with that. Tzuyu was all polite and kind, and also soft when they talked about Chaeyoung the other night. And also, she’s a vet. Mina always thinks that people who like animals are a good person with a soft heart, and Tzuyu might be one of them. “But, please tell me if something goes wrong.”Chaeyoung turns her head to face Mina. The older girl looks worried, and it warms Chaeyoung’s heart. It’s been a long time since she feels this way. This warm, is really comforting, really amusing. And so, she smiles, touched by Mina’s concerned words. “Okay. I’ll call you right away when things go wrong.”And then, the silence continue. Mina watches Chaeyoung silently, her mind is imagining if Chaeyoung go out with Tzuyu and the panic attack happens. It’s not like Mina’s good at handling it, because apparently, she only experienced it once with Chaeyoung. It’s not like she doesn’t trust Tzuyu either. It’s purely because she’s worried of Chaeyoung, and really wants to look up after her.When Chaeyoung’s about to down her wine, Mina quickly but cautiously stops her from doing that. “No, no, Chaeng. You really need to stop drinking this,” she takes the glass from Chaeyoung’s grip, receiving a confused look from Chaeyoung. “You get drunk fastly, and a glass of wine is enough to make you completely drunk.”Chaeyoung merely watches Mina emptying her glass, couldn’t say anything. She knows Mina’s right, it’s better for her to stop right there. Geez, she hopes she’s good at drinking.She watches Mina keeps pouring the wine into her own glass, continue the drink. Chaeyoung chuckles at the sight. “That’s an expensive wine, Ms. Myoui,” she smiles lopsidedly. “Your drink tab is going to be huge.”Mina giggles at that, emptying another glass. “It’s fine,” Mina shrugs in chill. “Alcohol is needed to help me processing things.”Chaeyoung doesn’t ask what Mina meant by processing things, because she slightly knows what she’s talking about. Mina glances over her, a thin sad smile on her face. “Your shits are too loaded, Chaeng. My head’s heavy now, my heart’s tight.”Hearing this, Chaeyoung ducks down, fidgeting. “Sorry,” she mumbles ruefully. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.”Mina halts, still smiling. “I didn’t say that to make you feel sorry, Chaeng. I really don’t want to hear you apologizing,” Mina pours the wine again, ready to down another glass. “I’m just happy to know that you’re opening yourself to me. Isn’t that a good thing?”Yeah. Thinking about that, Chaeyoung never really did opening herself to people. Before, she only had Sana. This girl’s really care about her, and she’s one of the best amongst the best to Chaeyoung. She doesn’t really remember her first meet with Sana, but this girl was so polite and all composed at the time she joined the company. She was also all bright and energetic. Chaeyoung didn’t really pay attention at Sana that time. She was just a secretary, and not more than that. And then, something happened.It was 9.30 pm in a Friday. The office was close a few hours ago and most of the employee left already. Chaeyoung had to stay a bit late for some works, and she was leaving her room when she passed the restroom and heard a sob. It was a soft sob, but as the office was all quiet at the time, she heard it clearly. When she approached the source of the sobbing noise, she saw Sana was inside the restroom, crying by her own self.Turned out that her mom was sick, and she was so sad and sorry that she can’t be there for her mom, which was in Japan. Chaeyoung was stunned there, behind the wall, listening to Sana sobbing and crying, and saying sorry to her parents that she can’t be there for them. She didn’t feel sad or touched by Sana’s crying, she was jealous. She was jealous that Sana had a lovely parents, that she had a home. And it whisked something inside her chest, that she wanted to burst, to be mad and upset. But then she realized, she had nothing and no one to release it. She could only keep it inside her chest, which probably gonna explode because she kept holding everything for too long and too much.She was about to leave the scene when Sana appeared into her sight, caught her eavesdropping. Sana’s eyes were all red and puffy, and that was the time when Chaeyoung’s heart touched. All this time, Sana she knew was all bright and delightful, and seeing Sana’s crying face was an awful view.“B-boss,” Sana, who was already stopped crying, suddenly started sobbing again. She tugged Chaeyoung into her hug, making Chaeyoung gasped in shock by the sudden movement. She shamelessly cried on Chaeyoung’s, her boss, shoulder. But weirdly, Chaeyoung didn’t push her away, just kept silent, didn’t do anything and just waited till Sana settle down.They went for a walk afterwards. Chaeyoung felt so awkward with the situation, but Sana seemed too fine with them walking together. It was so odd because their relationship was between a boss and a secretary, and they weren’t even close. But as they walked together, Sana told Chaeyoung about her problem.It was a long night, Sana kept telling Chaeyoung about her story. And Chaeyoung was just listening, only giving a mere reaction, because she still awkward with Sana. But then, Sana asked her, “what about you, boss? Do you have a problem to share?”A lot. Chaeyoung had a lot that time. But no, she can’t blab everything to someone she barely knows. And so, she shook her head, refusing to open up. And Sana just smiled that time. “Isn’t this weird? Me and you, talking and walking together like this?” she halted to exhale. “But thank you, boss. I’m sorry for being disrespectful. But, I know you’re a nice person. And I’ll be here whenever you need someone, okay?”Chaeyoung stunned at her words. She was a nice person? Did she look like a nice person to anyone? Wow, really, a small smile really could trick everyone. Sana must be mistaken about it, because she was definitely not a nice person.That night was just a start. The next day, Sana looked happier than before, and she was clingier to Chaeyoung, like they had a ‘special’ thing between them. Sana, who found out that Chaeyoung’s actually younger than her, started treating her like a younger sister. And she was so warm, so lovely, that Chaeyoung can’t resist to be friend with her.She doesn’t remember when she began to open up to Sana, but that girl’s been so kind and bright, and been a good listener. Chaeyoung can’t deny that Sana really helps her a lot. She helps her to start trusting people again. She helps her to trust that she can depend on other people. She helps her to believe that she’s not all alone in this world. And that’s why Sana means a lot to Chaeyoung.Chaeyoung thought Sana would be the only person she could rely and trust on. But then, Mina appeared. Their first meet wasn’t so good, but now, they’re getting closer, so much closer than Chaeyoung ever thought. Mina knows her weakness, Mina knows her pains, Mina knows her real face, and that’s enough to make Mina becomes more than a common friend.Chaeyoung glances over Mina, seeing the latter is looking at beyond her, probably still not over with the mesmerizing view of Seoul’s city from here. She stares at Mina in secret, somehow doesn’t understand how Mina did that. How Mina made Chaeyoung open herself towards her, how she did that?She’s definitely different with Sana. Meanwhile Sana’s warm and full of affection, Mina is the opposite. She was a bit rude at the beginning, and she’s way quieter than Sana. They were also used to be awkward, becoming friend because their best friends are dating. But now, they’re in a different state. And it felt so normal, the things between them, at least until now, that Chaeyoung finally realizes that this isn’t something that happen everyday.Chaeyoung doesn’t like to invite someone to her house, and yet, Mina’s here now, enjoying the cold breeze from 21st floor, with the pretty view before her, and also a pricey wine with them. Chaeyoung’s been enjoying her time alone, prefer eating and do stuffs alone because it just feels right. But now, drinking with Mina doesn’t feel bad at all. It feels normal, even better, Chaeyoung’s glad that they do this talking. It feels great, and Chaeyoung doesn’t know why it feels that way.Mina turns her head and faces Chaeyoung makes her mildly jolts, somehow afraid that Mina caught her staring at her secretly. But Mina doesn’t seem bothered, now is smiling happily. “I like it here. Can I come again?” she asks, seems really enjoying the moment. And Chaeyoung halts for a moment, still thinking about how Mina makes her feels so normal being with her.But then, she nods, also smiling. “Yeah. You can come whenever you want.”///Chaeyoung’s inside her room, studying some files, when she hears Sana’s voice calling her name from afar. She looks up, staring at the door, waiting for Sana’s arrival. Her loud voice’s getting louder and closer, and then finally, she opens Chaeyoung’s door recklessly and she emerges into Chaeyoung’s sight. Their eyes meet, and another loud noise heard. “Chaeyoung!”As Sana makes a beeline towards her, Chaeyoung exhales, taking off her glasses and putting it aside. “Sana, please don’t call my name that way when we’re in the office. People might get suspicious.”Sana rolls her eyes, sitting on the chair across Chaeyoung’s. “Please, kiddo. They know we’re friends. They’re gossiping about it, I know that,” Sana blabs. “Anyway, it’s not important. What important is your message that you sent to me last night.”“What message?” Chaeyoung wears her glasses back, going to do her job. But then, Sana snatches the files on her desk, gripping it close so Chaeyoung can focus on her.“Don’t be silly, my tiny boss,” Sana halts. “You said you want to meet her. That Tzuyu.”Chaeyoung knows what message Sana’s talking about, because she just sent one to her last night. But, Chaeyoung doesn’t really want to talk about it right now, because it’s working time, and she better focus on her job. “Sana, please, can we talk about it later?”“Come on, Chaeng. Tell me. What do you mean by that? Do you really mean that?” Sana impatiently pushes Chaeyoung to tell her more about it. And Chaeyoung knows, Sana won’t stop asking until she explains it. So, she stares at Sana, and nods. “Yeah. I’m going to meet her.”At this, Sana gasps, obviously shocked that it wasn’t a prank. “Gosh, but when?”“Soon,” Chaeyoung quickly answers. She looks Sana’s face isn’t so good, but Chaeyoung doesn’t care because she can’t change Chaeyoung’s mind. “I want to meet her soon, so we can talk.”Sana doesn’t say anything for a moment, as though she’s processing things. She looks shocked, but also upset and worried at the same time. “So you guys can talk? Please, Chaeng. What do you want to talk about with her?”Chaeyoung halts, thinking. Well, she doesn’t really know what are they gonna talk about, but first, all what she wants to do is meeting her. “I don’t know what are we going to talk about, but, I want to see her first,” Chaeyoung elaborates. Sana’s face is getting darker, and Chaeyoung chuckles at it, wanting to melt the tense situation. “Sana, don’t worry.”“Of course I’m worried! She gave you a panic attack, Chaeng!” Sana snaps, hating this Chaeyoung who takes everything calmly. Chaeyoung looks surprised with the sudden burst, but she doesn’t dislike it, because she understands why Sana resents at that. “I’m not gonna let you meet her! Not a chance!”Chaeyoung stares at Sana wordlessly. She looks upset and firm, so different with her daily Sana. This Sana only appears in a very serious situation, which now is one of it. But, Chaeyoung also won’t change her mind. She wants to meet Tzuyu, so she can start facing her fear, so she can start searching for her happiness.“She was my sister,” Chaeyoung softly mumbles, Sana stares at her wordlessly, still won’t take Chaeyoung’s plan. “She was my sister, and I lie if I say I don’t want to know how she doing right now.”“She dumped you. She left you,” Sana states firmly, trying to convince Chaeyoung that it’s a bad idea to meet Tzuyu. “She didn’t care about you, Chaeyoung. So, why do you care about her?” Sana utters in frustrate. “Wake up, Chaeyoung! Don’t do something stupid!”Chaeyoung stares at Sana gently. The fact that Sana’s upset at her right now, and calling meeting with Tzuyu is a stupid move, it doesn’t make Chaeyoung offended. It’s somehow touching, the way Sana cares about her, and fondly doesn’t want something bad happen to Chaeyoung. But again, Chaeyoung won’t budge. She has to meet Tzuyu. She doesn’t want to run away forever. She wants to be brave, to be a person who can deal with her own fear. Convincing Sana wouldn’t be an easy task, but she will try.She smiles, trying to soothe Sana. “I don’t know if she cares about me or not, Sana. But,” Chaeyoung halts, still smiling. “I care about her. I want to know how her life’s going. And I hope she’s happy now.” Sana looks speechless with Chaeyoung’s words, and she completely shut when Chaeyoung adds, “we were used to get abused together. So, I hope at least one of us is happy now.”Sana doesn’t say anything, seems thoughtful though. It’s good, because it means Sana’s now considering it. “She was a kid back then, a kid that was scared and afraid. I’m not saying that what she did was right, but I can’t be resentful at her for my entire life.” Chaeyoung grins, showing that she’s fine now, that she’s ready to meet Tzuyu. “She was a good kid, and she’s been trying to meet me, to talk to me. So, I think she also cares about me.”Yeah, Tzuyu’s been trying to reach her, and all the time Chaeyoung’s been avoiding her, refusing to meet her. But now, she wants it. She wants to know how’s her life now, and if she’s happy or not. Tzuyu left her, yes, it can’t be denied anymore. But they once went through shits together, and at that time, they were the power of each other. They were there for each other, being strong for each other. They laughed and cried together, and Chaeyoung would never forget that moment.“I want to meet her, Sana,” Chaeyoung lastly states, smiling when she sees Sana relents. “Because I want this to be done, so I don’t have to hide, to run away anymore from my fear.”Sana stares in silent, jaw clenched, apparently defeated. She feels that meeting Tzuyu is a bad idea, but also, she slightly realizes that it’s a good start for Chaeyoung to find a peace in her heart. Chaeyoung’s been so picky at choosing a friend, and this Tzuyu was once her friend, her sister. And the fact that now, Chaeyoung’s pretty adamant to meet Tzuyu, is enough for Sana to realize that Chaeyoung wants Tzuyu back.Sana really couldn’t resist anymore. She doesn’t trust this Tzuyu, but if this meeting goes smoothly and ends nicely, is that mean Tzuyu becomes Chaeyoung’s friend (again)? Thinking about it disgusts Sana, but she can’t be greedy, keeping Chaeyoung all by herself and not letting the small making another friend.“If,” Sana talks, obviously convinced. “If I let you go meeting her, and you have another panic attack, what are you gonna do?”Chaeyoung smiles, still trying to soothe Sana so she doesn’t resent more. “She’ll take care of me, Sana. She definitely will,” she confidently states. “I trust her.”Sana gives Chaeyoung another inconceivable look. She still dislikes the idea of Chaeyoung meeting Tzuyu, but this is what Chaeyoung wants. All this time, she’s been being the one who hold back her will, and Sana won’t be the person who block Chaeyoung from doing what she wants.And so, she gets up, giving Chaeyoung a firm gaze. “If she hurt you again, I’ll hunt her down,” she states before leaving the room. Chaeyoung stares at her back, smiling, glad that Sana lets her meeting her old friend.Now, she just needs to meet her, and she hopes everything goes well.///“So, you’re really going to meet her? When?” Mina asks, talking to Chaeyoung through a call. Her eyes are wandering for a beat, looking for the can of coffee she’s been wanting to drink since this morning. When she finds it, her free hand takes two cans and she walks to the cashier.“Soon. Sana was a bit upset knowing that I’m going to see her, but she’s fine now,” Chaeyoung’s voice sounds heavier, which Mina somehow finds it attractive. “I hope I do the right thing.”“You do the right thing, Chaeng,” Mina fastly replies, hating Chaeyoung’s tone changing from normal to sad. She pays the coffee and walks out from the convenience store. She walks to the closest bench, sitting down and gonna enjoy there for a beat. “You’re doing great. Sana will understand after she sees the good result of it.”There’s a beat of halt before Chaeyoung hums, agreeing. “I hope so. She was so worried, but I know she did that because she cares about me.”“Yeah, because you’re precious to her,” Mina smiles, opening one of the can and taking a sip. “She’s taking care of you like an older sister, just like me to Momo, even though Momo’s basically the older one.”Mina hears Chaeyoung laughs from the other side of the line. “Well, we’re taking care of each other, Mina. Sana’s a clumsy squirrel. Just like what I mentioned before, she could trip over an ant.”This time, they laugh together, and Mina feels so contented right now.When their laugh gradually gone, Mina hears Chaeyoung clears her throat. “Anyway, Mina,” she mutters, Mina listening. “Thank you. Thank you for listening to my shits. Thank you for changing my mind. Thank you for helping me facing my fear.”Mina smiles. Hearing Chaeyoung thanking her really feels great, and she’s glad that she’s there for her. “My pleasure, Ms. Son. But, if you really want to pay for my kindness so bad, you can bring me another pricey wine.”Chaeyoung chuckles delightfully. “Okay, noted,” she easily agrees. “So, you come over or I come over?”Mina smiles wider, sheepishly replies, “both sound great.”There’s a moment of silence afterwards, but Mina knows Chaeyoung’s also smiling there.“Okay, then,” Chaeyoung breaks the silence. “Gotta go now. See you later, Mina.”Mina nods, even though Chaeyoung couldn’t see it. “See you later, Chaeyoung.” And the call ends. It was short, but it really made Mina’s day.She stares at her phone screen, looking at Chaeyoung’s contact name. ‘Chaeyoung 💕’ is how she saved her number. Mina still remembers when Sana offered Chaeyoung’s KakaoTalk ID a few months ago. It’s strawberryprincess, Chaeyoung’s ID. Mina remembers it because it’s so unique and cute, but she didn’t bother to text Chaeyoung at the time. She was all offended and upset at the small bean, and didn’t think twice to crumple the name card before throwing it to the trash bin. It’s amazing, that now, they’re in this state, where they could talking lightly, laughing together, helping each other.She’s still staring at her phone screen, still amazes with how they become closer, when something stops her from smiling like crazy.“Girlfriend?”A voice interrupts her me time. A familiar voice. A voice Mina used to love to hear.She turns her head to the left, seeing the familiar figure’s sitting on the other side of the bench, smiling towards her, a cigarettes clasped between her lips.“Jeongyeon.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The ex-girlfriend smiles at the call. She inhales the cigarettes deeply, and then takes it away from her lips, holding it between her fingers. She smiles, smoke everywhere around her. “Or, I should say, new girlfriend?” she fixes her words, emphasizing at new word.Mina stares at the familiar figure in silent. She’s not shocked, she doesn’t hate to see Jeongyeon as well. Well, it’ll be much better if they never meet again. But, the world’s so small, and Jeongyeon lives nearby, so, she can’t avoid this very unpleasing and sudden encounter forever.She sneers, throws her gaze away from the figure, doesn’t really want to look at her any longer. “It’s none of your business,” she mumbles, receiving a brief bitter chuckle from Jeongyeon. Mina leans to the backrest, quietly glances over the ex and frowns deeply at the sight of smoke around her. “Still smoking?”Jeongyeon takes another deep inhale, and then she shrugs, smirking. “It’s none of your business.”“It’s killing you,” Mina quickly replies. She doesn’t understand why she stay and do this talk, though, instead of leaving. “And it’s killing people around you too.”Jeongyeon doesn’t look like she cares, only shrugging a bit. “My new girlfriend doesn’t seem bothered, though.” She smirks, watching Mina’s face. “Yeah, I have a new girlfriend. She’s buying something for us, will be back soon. And she seems fine with me smoking, not like someone.”Mina stares at her wordlessly. She has a new girlfriend already? That’s fast. She used to say that she’s gonna love Mina forever, that her heart only belongs to Mina. What a bullshit, because look at her now, bragging her new love story to Mina, doesn’t seem guilty at all.But, if Jeongyeon’s already move on, so does Mina. She has Chaeyoung now, and that small girl is way much better than Jeongyeon. She has no bad habit, she’s polite and kind, warm and cute. She’s way much better than this girl, and Mina feels happy that they both able to find someone new.She should have thank Jeongyeon for breaking up with her, because if they didn’t, they’ll still be in this toxic relationship. If the didn’t, Momo would never demand her to go into a blind date, and she’ll never meet Chaeyoung. Oh shit, thinking of it again, Momo’s plan, bringing Mina to attend a blind date so she could forget this girl and find a new love, is really succeed. She really should thank her later.“That’s good,” Mina merely nods, smiling thinly, seeing Jeongyeon somehow is waiting for her to respond. “You have a new girlfriend. Congratulation.”Mina notices a slight change of Jeongyeon’s face, which turns into bitter, as though she didn’t expect Mina would congrat her. But then, she quickly manages her chill face, smiling wolfishly. “Yeah, she’s very pretty. And will always be pretty, not like someone.”Mina chuckles, still remembers what excuse Jeongyeon had for breaking up with her. You’re not pretty anymore, Mina would never be able to forget that excuse, because it sounded like shit. She’s always pretty, and she knows that.“Sorry if I’m not pretty enough for you anymore,” Mina shrugs, laughing. “But, I’m also not sorry. Because I don’t care about that anymore,” she sneers, getting ready to leave. “I hope your new girlfriend’s prettiness last forever. You’re obviously gonna leave her after you used her.”Jeongyeon’s face turns tense again, weird. When Mina gets to her feet, apparently leaving, Jeongyeon stutters. “Y-you’re leaving?”Mina takes her bag, doesn’t look back at the ex when she says, “gotta go. Not gonna spend my beautiful night with a jerk.” She stares at Jeongyeon at the last part. “Goodbye, Jeongyeon.”And Mina leaves, walking away from the scene. But then, she suddenly feels a tight grip around her wrist. She looks back and sees Jeongyeon’s holding her hand. “W-wait, Mina.”Mina doesn’t understand what’s happening. Just a moment ago, this asshole was bragging about her new girlfriend to Mina, as though she was mocking at her, as though she was telling Mina that she’s able to find someone new. But, look at her now. She looks a bit uneasy, no more annoying smile on her face. “Please, stay longer. I wanna say something.”Mina furrows her brows deeply. Her eyes stare at the grip, tight and harsh, hurting Mina’s wrist. This is one of the reason why breaking up with Jeongyeon was really a good thing. She was harsh at treating Mina, no gentleness, only bruising touches. No honesty, only shitty lies. No sincere love, just filthy lust. Mina doesn’t understand why she used to love this jerk, when she probably was just using Mina as an object to project her animal lust.“You want to talk about how stupid I was, for loving you? And crying over you for weeks after you dumped me like shit? No way, asshole.” Mina flicks Jeongyeon’s hand, trying to draw her hand. But the ex seems adamant to talk with Mina, and only resulting her gripping Mina’s wrist tighter. Shit, this taekwondo bitch is very strong. “Let me go.”“Please, Mina. Baby,” Jeongyeon calls Mina with the call she used to use. It was Mina’s favorite call, that baby call. And it was always a success to melt Mina’s heart whenever they argue, making her relents and forgives Jeongyeon so easily.But no, it was a long time ago. It doesn’t work anymore, it doesn’t affect anything, except Mina getting angrier, very offended. And she doesn’t think when she swings her hand right to Jeongyeon’s face, so ready to slap her. But Jeongyeon’s reflexes are great, and she easily catches Mina’s hand.“Your hand’s still slow, baby. Just like before,” Jeongyeon smiles in victory, only making Mina upset more. “Let me go!” she shrieks, getting attention from their surroundings, and that’s the time Jeongyeon lets her go.“Okay, Mina. But please. Listen to me,” Jeongyeon begs, her voice sounds exactly the same with her voice whenever she begged Mina to forgive her. Mina obviously doesn’t bother to stay any longer, starts walking away in a quick pace. And Jeongyeon, knowing that she can’t make Mina stay, says, “I want to say that I’m sorry,” in a very loud voice, making Mina ceases.Mina slowly stirs her body, sharply glares over the ex. “You what?”“I—” Jeongyeon swallows thickly. “I want to say that I’m sorry. For breaking up with you that way. For not taking your thing from the table at that blind date few months ago.”Mina blinks. What? She doesn’t even remember the details of that night. Yes, if she recalls now, she was all distracted by Jeongyeon’s existence. But, she doesn’t remember that night as a memory of Jeongyeon. It was the night she met Chaeyoung, and that’s all she could remember about the night right now. It becomes a memory of Chaeyoung, and Mina would always feel grateful that it happened that way.“If I take your thing that night, we might be still together right now,” Jeongyeon smiles, seeing Mina seems thoughtful, thinking that she’s having the same thoughts. “I’m so sorry, Mina. Please, come back to me.”Mina stares at her in disbelief. She didn’t even know if Jeongyeon thought that way. What?! They might be still together? Come back to her? What some bullshits are that!At this, Mina seems so done, so offended. She clenches her jaw when she stomps closer to Jeongyeon, so she could whisper some words harshly to the ex. “Listen, you bitch,” she starts. “I don’t know what the fuck is inside your rotten head, but there is no way we could be together again. No. Fucking. Way.” Mina’s words sound rude and mad, but Jeongyeon deserves it. “And you’re sorry for not taking my thing from the table before? You still remember that night? What a pathetic you are. Stop dreaming and face the truth, bitch. We are over. Forever.”Jeongyeon could only stare in silent, seems surprised with Mina’s words. Mina was a very kind girl before. No, she was all kind to Jeongyeon. When it was about Jeongyeon, Mina would do everything. Mina was so in love with Jeongyeon, that it was very easy for Jeongyeon to get her heart again and again, even after she hurt her. And now, seeing Mina upset this much, really surprised her, makes her kinda baffled.“Mina, what’s wrong with you?” Jeongyeon’s still trying, somehow still hoping that she could get Mina’s heart back. “It’s me, it’s Jeongyeon. Your—”“Shut up,” Mina cuts her words firmly. “We are over, asshole. And you better not appear into my sight again, because I don’t think I can hold myself from punching your face that time.” Mina steps back, doesn’t see any need to talk more with the ex. “And you have a girlfriend, bitch. So, you’re going to dump her for me? You are a total jerk.”Mina gives Jeongyeon a last deadly glare, and then she walks away. That’s the time when she catches a sight of someone, who’s been watching them in few meters away. Her face looks confused, but surprised to see a very tense scene before her. There are two cups of coffee on her hands.“What’s happening here?” she asks, cautiously steps closer towards them. She looks at Mina in confuse, and then moves to Jeongyeon. “You guys okay?”“Nayeon, come here,” Jeongyeon calls the girl’s name, somehow sounds panic. The girl notices Jeongyeon’s uneasy tone, scurries towards Jeongyeon. “Here’s your coffee, dude,” she offers one of the cup to Jeongyeon, whose eyes are still on Mina.Mina narrows her eyes to Nayeon, seeing this as an opportunity to stop Jeongyeon right now. “Hey,” Mina calls the new girlfriend, who now perks up at the call, stares at Mina wordlessly. “Could you please keep her close to you, so she won’t flirt a random girl whenever you’re not around? And don’t forget to dress up prettily whenever you’re going to a date, because once you look ugly to her, she’ll leave you.”Nayeon widens her eyes, doesn’t understand what’s happening. “What are you talking about?” she drawls carefully, doesn’t want to upset Mina more. But her question only makes Mina rolls her eyes. “Your girlfriend. Stick close to her, or she’ll leave you in flash.”But, Mina’s elaboration doesn’t make Nayeon understand the whole situation. “Girlfriend?” she asks, confused with the call. Jeongyeon seems weirdly nervous beside her. And Mina knows why she looks that way when Nayeon says, “I’m not her girlfriend. We’re just friend.”Mina stares in disbelief, processing what the hell’s happening. Nayeon still looks confused, doesn’t know why Jeongyeon said she’s her girlfriend to this stranger. “I mean, yeah, she’s pretty and cool, but,” Nayeon glances over Jeongyeon, nudging her. “She’s not my style. We’re just friend.”“Damn, Nayeon. Shut up,” Jeongyeon cusses under her breath, and that’s the time when Mina realizes, Jeongyeon just lied to her again. Mina glares at the ex, who looks nervous, can’t even look at Mina in the eyes. Mina recognizes that face so well. It’s the face Jeongyeon makes whenever she made a mistake. It’s the face Jeongyeon makes whenever Mina caught her lying again and again.“Shit,” Mina laughs bitterly. “You even lied to me? Saying that you have a new girlfriend? What was that for?” Mina’s beyond offended. She’s very upset. The thing that upset her more is that Jeongyeon still tried to fool her, even after few months since they break up. “You tried to look like you’re the needed one, when the truth is, you need me.”Jeongyeon doesn’t try to say something, just ducking down, staring at the ground.“Fuck you, Jeongyeon,” Mina gives a middle finger to Jeongyeon. “And leave me the fuck alone.” And then she quickly stomps away from the pair, leaving Jeongyeon still staring at the ground, and Nayeon still confused, couldn’t fully understand the situation.///“Oh my god, I’m so ready to kill someone tonight! Let’s meet that bitch!”Mina eyes Momo in silent, just sitting on the couch casually. After Mina told Momo about that thing, Momo was suddenly filled with anger. And now, she’s ready to punch Jeongyeon in the face, her small yet strong fists are so ready to mess up that asshole’s face.“Chill,” Mina smiles, amused by Momo’s sudden burst. Momo rarely gets upset over something, but when it’s about Jeongyeon, she’s always ready to fight her. She never agrees with Mina dating Jeongyeon. She knew that girl’s something, and she never likes her. Now, Mina knows why Momo feels that way. “I told her to stay away from me. I hope her brain works this time, that she understand what I was talking about.”“She’s dumb,” Momo leaps to the couch, taking the place beside Mina. “I know she’ll do something soon. Something off. But, don’t worry, my pretty bestie.” Momo flexes her tight biceps, showing off her muscles. “I’m so ready to mess her ugly face.”Mina laughs again, a sight of Momo being upset over Jeongyeon is really pleasing. “Thanks, Momo. But,” Mina tails off, sighing. “I can’t believe she wants us to be back. I thought she didn’t think about me anymore.”Momo stares at Mina in silent, thinking. “I thought you’re forgetting her and starting a new page, Mina.”“I do, Momo. I do, believe me,” Mina defends herself, doesn’t allow Momo to think that she’s still into Jeongyeon, because she isn’t. “I just... I never thought it would turn this way. I thought we’re over forever.”“You guys are over, Mina. Forever,” Momo states. “She coming back to you doesn’t mean you have to accept her. You’d went through that dark and painful road, girl. And there’s no chance I would allow you to get hurt by her again. No way.”Momo nudges Mina’s arm, wanting to get her sole attention. Mina turns her head and faces Momo. “It was really upsetting to see you dating her, Mina. The most upsetting thing is, that you were once so in love with her, and got blinded by your love. I hate to see you crying over her whenever you caught her went out with someone, or when she spitted some rude words to you. I hate it, and I don’t want you to choose that road again.”Mina smiles, nodding. She understands why Momo feels this way, and it warms her heart. Momo isn’t a person that she could fully rely on, because she’s clumsy and slow, and Mina tends to be the mature and leading one. But, Momo’s trustworthy, and she knows this girl only wants the best for Mina.“Yeah, I’m not a fool anymore,” Mina sighs. “I would never give her another chance, Momo. Trust me.” Momo smiles in relief, very happy that Mina’s done with those painful past. “And dude, I’m liking someone else right now.”At this, Momo smirks flirty. “Of course you do,” she rolls her eyes. “You’ve been thinking about her so much lately. There are a lot of times I caught you zoning out, probably thinking of her,” Momo smiles lopsidedly, yet glad that Mina’s opening a new page. “So, when will you confess? I can’t wait to do a double date with Sana and your small cutie tiny crush.”Mina chuckles, imagining herself and Chaeyoung being together. She’s lying if she says she doesn’t want it happen, but she knows, it’s not the right time now. She doesn’t know Chaeyoung’s feeling, and if she being impatient, recklessly confess her feeling towards Chaeyoung without knowing what she feels about ‘them’, Mina’s afraid that she would just make them awkward. Chaeyoung still has to deal with her trauma, her past, that made her built this invincible walls around her. And Mina just won’t scare her, suddenly telling her that she likes her, and wanting them to be official and blablabla. It definitely would scare her, and in worse case, she might make a distance with Mina.It’s better this way. For now, let Mina helps this tiny girl dealing with her shits. Geez, they know each other less than 3 months, and yet, Mina already involving herself in to Chaeyoung’s pains. Weirdly, it’s the thing that attracted Mina, that makes her wants to be beside Chaeyoung. It makes her wants to protect Chaeyoung, to make sure that she’s fine and contented.“I don’t know, Momo. But, we’re not going to do that double date anytime soon. We’re still processing, and it’s gonna take some more time,” Mina smiles fondly, and Momo beside her nods, understanding. “I know. She’s a tricky person, that Chaeyoung. Sana told me a lot about her tiny boss. Sometimes, I’m kinda jealous when she talks about her. But I know they’re just friends, a very close friends. Like you and me, huh?”Mina furrows her brows, moving further from Momo. “Please, Momo. You know I’m scared whenever you do a cheesy talk like that,” Mina mutters, making Momo even gets more excited to tease the younger.At that time, they hear the bell rings. Momo stops from teasing Mina, suddenly perks up at the sound. She faces Mina, who looks confused as well. “You have a guest?”Mina shakes her head, doesn’t remember she has an appointment with someone. Besides, it’s already 11 pm. Who’s going to visit someone’s house at this late?She gets to her feet and heads to the door. Somehow, she feels nervous. She doesn’t want to think something bad, but her chest just won’t stop thumping. She can’t lie that she’s afraid the person outside her door is Jeongyeon.She gulps, opening the door slowly. Her eyes widen at the sight before her.“Surprised!” Sana’s loud voice really surprises her. Mina could only stare when Sana’s hands are up, showing the things in her hands. “We brought this for you!”And before Mina could give a reaction, Momo emerges from behind, probably heard her girlfriend’s voice from the inside, and pushes Mina aside. “Honey, what are you doing here?” she asks in confused, because Sana appeared before Mina’s door instead of hers, is definitely an odd thing.But, Sana won’t bother to answer the query. Her eyes beam at Momo’s figure. “Baby!” Sana’s loud squeal makes Momo involuntarily smiles. She opens her arms, ready to welcome Sana. They’re hugging so longing and tight, as though they got separated for years, when it’s only been hours since their last date.While the couple’s hugging before her, exchanging some pecks, Mina’s eyes meet Chaeyoung’s, who’s been there all the time, standing quietly behind Sana, watching the pair in silent. She notices Mina’s look, and they both smile in sync.“Okay, okay. That’s enough,” Momo draws herself away from Sana, and Mina could see some lipstick stains on her cheek. “What are you doing here, babe? It’s weird seeing your face in here.”Sana smiles, drawing Chaeyoung forwards. “It’s her idea,” she points her index finger to Chaeyoung, who just grins. “We were passing by when my tiny boss said that she wanted to visit you. Again,” Sana emphasizes the again word. “Seems like she enjoys being here, huh? Or maybe, she just likes it being with you?”Mina halts, thinking Sana’s last sentences, involuntarily blushing. While Chaeyoung just smiles, showing no necessary reaction at Sana’s sentences.“Anyway, can we come in? I’m hungry and this spicy chickens are going to get cold soon.” Sana ambles in, doesn’t wait for an answer. But yeah, Mina and Momo also don’t seem bothered. They are surely an unexpected guests, but well, Mina doesn’t mind at all with their appearance.While Sana’s inside, Chaeyoung’s still standing outside wordlessly. Momo’s trailing behind her girlfriend, probably very excited with the spicy chickens, so it’s only two of them there now. And it’s very awkward, Mina doesn’t know why it feels that way.Chaeyoung looks up, smiling. “Sorry that we just came without telling you,” she sheepishly mumbles, rubbing her nape. “Didn’t know you were having a bestie time with Momo.”Mina chokes. “What? Why are you talking like we’re strangers who just met yesterday?” Mina chuckles. “You said I can come to your house whenever I want. So,” Mina smiles, nodding, beckoning Chaeyoung to just come inside. “You can come whenever you want too.”Chaeyoung looks satisfied with Mina’s answer, because she just grins happily like a little kid. “Okay,” she says as she steps inside the house.They’re inside, and Sana and Momo are preparing the dishes before the TV. When Mina’s about to approach and help them, Chaeyoung calls her name. “Mina, wait.” Mina stops, looking at Chaeyoung. “Where’s the kitchen?”“It’s right there,” Mina points out the direction, but when she thought Chaeyoung got it, the small adds, “come with me, please?”And Mina halted for a beat, eyeing Chaeyoung smiles to her while walking towards the kitchen, before she follows the small behind. When they’re in the kitchen, separated with the couple in the living room, Mina teasingly smirks. “Is this a booty call?”Chaeyoung widens her eyes, surprised with Mina’s sudden flirty words. “What? No~” She laughs hardly, seems amused with Mina’s dorky question. Well, Mina didn’t really mean it, though. It was just a joke. “I’m here to give you this.”She hands the paper bag on her hand, giving it to Mina. And Mina doesn’t need to see the inside, because she knows what it is. “You really give me the wine,” Mina smiles, happy that Chaeyoung really did it, both coming over and giving the wine. She really kept her words, and Mina likes it so much. “Thanks. I like it a lot.”Chaeyoung smiles, glad that Mina likes it.“So,” Mina puts the wine on the table, now focus on Chaeyoung. “When would you talk with her? Tzuyu,” she asks, wanting to know the update of Chaeyoung’s thing. Chaeyoung merely nods. “Soon, I think. I sent her a message, saying that we should meet. She replied so quick, obviously agreed with the idea.”“She’s very excited to see you,” Mina states. “I could tell that.”Chaeyoung exhales, looks nervous. “Yeah. Me too, actually.” She chuckles briefly. “I’m very nervous, but also excited.”“Don’t worry,” Mina sets her hand on Chaeyoung’s shoulder, giving her a soothing touch. “You’ll do great. I know that.” She halts, smiling. “And even if it doesn’t work well, remember that at least, you’d tried.”Chaeyoung seems relieved with Mina’s words. “You’re right.”“Hey! We see you two there! Don’t do something fishy in our watch!” Sana’s shout interrupts their moment. They turn their head into the shout direction, seeing Sana narrowing her eyes, like a protective sister. “You two better come here now.”Momo laughs so hard at this, Mina and Chaeyoung could hear it. They both exchange stare for a beat, and then they smile. “Your protective secretary could be scary too, I guess,” Mina jokingly sneers as they walk to the living room. Chaeyoung chuckles. “You’ve seen nothing of her. She’s a very unexpected person.”As they join the couple, they sit around the dishes and begin eating. They’re watching a drama, but it’s only background, because the main thing is their talk. Yeah, they surprisingly have a lot of things to discuss. Not a heavy talk though, mostly just simple things, like there’s a new restaurant across Mina’s. And about a new trip plan of them four. Mina jokingly suggests Hawaii, adding that Chaeyoung should pay all the expenses because she’s the youngest amongst them, and Chaeyoung easily agrees with it. Shit, Mina shouldn’t have suggested that.They don’t drink alcohol because Chaeyoung has to drive her Berry and Sana needs to look after her. Also, Mina has to reduce consuming it, so they just drink the sodas. Momo’s confused for a moment with the Berry call, but after Mina told her that it’s Chaeyoung’s Porsche name, instead of laughing at it, Momo says it’s a cute name with a very loud voice. Well, she loves Boo and Barbie at this age, so it’s not really surprising.After a while, Momo says, “gosh, never know that eating with my best friend, my girlfriend, and my girlfriend’s friend could be this exciting.”Mina nods, agreeing. While Chaeyoung beside her just smiles.“I know right?” Sana adds eagerly. “I mean, I never thought that we could eat together like this. Me, you, Mina, and Chae— Wait.” Sana drops her chopsticks, staring at Chaeyoung. Mina and Momo could only eye her wordlessly, while Chaeyoung just blinks. “This is weird.”“What’s so weird?” Momo seems confused with Sana’s sudden change. When Sana points out her finger towards Chaeyoung, Mina and Momo turn their head and look at Chaeyoung.“She... she never eat together with me before this,” Sana drawls, somehow feeling stupid for not realizing it any sooner. “She used to eat alone, always rejected to eat together with me. And now, she’s eating with us.” Sana solely focuses on Chaeyoung, who’s now halting, seems thoughtful. “You… Why did you suddenly want to do this?”Chaeyoung doesn’t say anything, neither the others. While Sana’s still staring at her in curious, Momo also stares wordlessly, silently munching her food, Mina’s somehow waiting for Chaeyoung’s answer. She wants to know why she did that. Sana once accused her for luring Chaeyoung into a dinner, when actually she didn’t do anything. So, it’s all Chaeyoung’s do, right?Mina stares, noticing Chaeyoung’s fidgeting on her seat. She seems confused, or maybe she really does confused. Perhaps, she doesn’t know what to answer. Mina senses it, Chaeyoung didn’t even know if she began to eat with someone.“I—” Chaeyoung tries to say something, but she doesn’t know what to say. She looks up, meeting Sana’s eyes. “I—”TING TONGThe bell sound interrupts the moment. And Momo perhaps dislikes the previous moment, which was a bit tense and awkward, because she leaps to her feet, squeals, “it’s my pizza!” with a very happy tone. She scurries to the door, obviously wanting to leave the previous moment. And it’s only Sana, Mina, and Chaeyoung there now, still tight.“Chaeng,” Sana calls. “Why did you want this out of nowhere?”Chaeyoung doesn’t have an enough time to answer, because the moment got interrupt again. Not by the bell sound this time. It’s Momo. Momo’s voice is very loud, sounds mad and very angry when she shouts, “what the fuck are you doing here?!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When Mina hears that shout, she knows there’s something wrong happening out there. Sana and Chaeyoung are also aware, as they stop talking, surprised with the sudden interruption.“Babe?” Sana swiftly leaps to her feet, worried, making a beeline towards the front door. Chaeyoung looks confused. She isn’t sure what to do, but she’s still standing up and following behind Sana. But Mina, she has to brave herself, because she’s afraid that it’s really her this time.She stands up, gulping. Momo shouts again, still mad and loud, and Mina scurries towards the front door. She sees the other girls’ backs, and the uninvited guest is covered by their bodies. But fuck, she’s taller than most of them, and Mina could still see the top of her head. Her voice blatantly hurts Mina’s ears when she says to Momo, “hey, dude. Long time no see, huh?” with a friendly tone, as though they’re close friends.“Don’t dude me, you bitch!” Momo snaps again, still furious and enraged, and Sana has to hold her girlfriend back so she won’t jump the guest. “You better piss off now before I fuckin’ punch your ugly face! You’re not invited to the party, you bitch!”Mina steps forwards, wanting to see Jeongyeon’s face. She feels her tummy churn when she sees Jeongyeon’s smile. “Geez, Momo. Chill. I just want to talk to Mina.” And when her eyes catch Mina’s figure, her stupid smile gets wider. “Oh, there she is.”Mina stares at Jeongyeon in silence. Yes, she really wants to slap this girl. Yes, she really wants to snap at her, telling her to piss off. But she doesn’t understand why she just stands there, looking at Jeongyeon wordlessly. She’s mad and upset. But she knows, it’s useless to just simply tell her to go. She won’t listen, she never listens.And so, she sighs. “Momo, go inside,” Mina demands, wanting to end this calmly. “Let me talk to her.”But, of course, Momo won’t take that and insists to end this with violence. She has experience with this Jeongyeon, and she knows, a calm talk won’t do any good. She learned that she can’t end things in a good way when it’s about this taekwondo bitch.“What the fuck, Mina?” Momo protests, she really can’t calm down now. “No! I won’t let you talk with this bitch! I—”“Sana, please,” Mina begs Sana to bring Momo inside, and the girlfriend’s willing to do that. While she pulls Momo inside, Mina could hear Momo’s curses and harsh words, obviously addressed to the ex of Mina.And now, it’s only the three of them. Mina who’s eyeing Jeongyeon sharply, Jeongyeon who’s staring at Mina with her puppy eyes and stupid smile, and Chaeyoung who’s watching the two of them in confusion, yet doesn’t say anything.The silence’s break when Jeongyeon says, “hi, Mina.”“Cut it off, Jeong,” Mina calmly yet firmly stops Jeongyeon. Though she looks completely calm, Chaeyoung notices her clenched jaw, and that’s enough to make her know, Mina’s holding in her anger. “What are you doing here?”“I’m here to give you this.” Mina just stares when Jeongyeon hands her a bucket of flowers. “There you go, your favorite flower,” she says confidently, hoping it would ease Mina. But no, of course. It doesn’t affect anything anymore, just like the pet names, or the puppy eyes, or the stupid smile, those don’t affect Mina. She used to love them all, but not anymore, not from this girl.“Stop it,” Mina demands again, her voice sounding shaky. And as the flowers are descending, Mina repeats, “stop this, Jeongyeon.”And the stupid smile’s gone. The puppy eyes aren’t there any longer, instead replaced by a cold gaze. “Hey, I came here for you, Mina. But what the hell are you telling me to do?”The change of her tone, and the words the guest uses, makes Chaeyoung kinda surprised. But still, she just watches them two in silence from behind Mina, not wanting to interrupt because she barely knows the problem.“I’m telling you to stop this.” Mina grits her teeth, still trying to be calm and collected. “Please leave or else I’m calling the cops. Please, stop bothering me, and do not come here again.”Jeongyeon sneers at this. She smiles lopsidedly, harsh, and unfriendly. “You used to love it when I came here at midnight. To fuck you,” she ends with a sly chuckle. “Did you forget how my fingers work the best down there?”“Stop it!” The way Jeongyeon tries to humiliate her, even though it’s only three of them there, is really upsetting Mina. Chaeyoung behind her also feels uncomfortable with her words, very unpleasing and rude. “Please! I beg you!”“Beg me? Oh, I also remember when you begged me to do you harder. To fuck you rougher.”“Gosh, Jeongyeon! Stop it!”But, it’s not easy to make Jeongyeon leave. Instead, she carries on the mockery by adding, “come on, bitch. You used to love it when I talked dirty. What the fuck is wrong with you?” And Jeongyeon approaches Mina with an arrogant step, which makes Chaeyoung finally move forward quickly, tugging Mina’s body behind her, as she faces Jeongyeon.She smiles. “Hi,” she greets warmly, receiving a death glare from Jeongyeon. But well, Chaeyoung maintains her smile. “Sorry, but who are you?”Jeongyeon stares at her with mad, angry eyes. She hates it when someone interrupts her, and the way this small girl smiles kindly at her makes Jeongyeon more upset. “I’m her girlfriend!” she yells to Chaeyoung’s face, loud and overconfident. “And who the fuck are you?!”Mina’s completely baffled. She could only watch Chaeyoung’s back, listening to her calm words while facing the rage-induced Jeongyeon. She doesn’t know what Chaeyoung is doing, and she’s even confused when Chaeyoung replies, “I’m her girlfriend.” Chaeyoung halts, smiling, noticing a sudden change on Jeongyeon’s face. “Her real girlfriend.”And Mina can’t think straight anymore when Jeongyeon halts, completely shocked with the sudden statement. “No fucking way,” she laughs, obviously trying to cover her insecurity. “She never liked a damn dwarf, you short!”Mina grabs Chaeyoung’s shirt from behind, tugging her so she could face Jeongyeon once more. But, Chaeyoung won’t move, and instead of getting hurt from the insult, she smiles again. “Well, I guess she’s changing her ideal type, then.”“What the fuck?!” Jeongyeon steps forward, hating the way Chaeyoung is all smiley to her. “Don’t smile at me, you dwarf! Do you want to fight me?!”Mina holds her breath when Jeongyeon smiles in victory. Jeongyeon likes to challenge everyone to have a fight with her. She likes it when someone’s weaker than her. She likes it when everyone admits that she’s strong and terrifying. She likes to be intimidating. And Mina knows, Jeongyeon will win the fight if they really do it. “Come on, fight me! I got 11 years in taekwondo, bitch! Come on, let’s fight!”No. This shouldn’t be like this. They should’ve enjoyed the night, chatting, and eating together. But this? This is the worst scenario that could have ever happened. Chaeyoung shouldn’t have to meet Jeongyeon, no one should. Jeongyeon should’ve stay away from Mina, because they are done. So, why is she doing this?Chaeyoung is also here and has to encounter her ex like this. No, Mina can’t let Chaeyoung get hurt. She’s already dealing with too much, and another physical wound will worsen her pain. She’s about to stop the fight when Chaeyoung giggles. “Oh, no, thanks. I’m gonna lose for sure, so why bother to fight?” Chaeyoung refuses the fight invitation. “But, if you want to hit me, then go ahead. Hit me.”“Hey, Chaeng! Stop it!”“You fucker!” Jeongyeon steps forward, bumping her body into Chaeyoung, she desperately wants to prove that she’s way stronger than the dwarf. But the short girl doesn’t seem scared at all. She’s all smiley, brave and confident, and somehow, that makes Jeongyeon feel small.“I’m not scared of you,” is what makes Jeongyeon step back, appearing defeated. “And you better leave before I get mad for real.” This time, Chaeyoung’s voice is heavy and firm, she means it when she says those words. And Mina can’t believe when she catches Jeongyeon gulping thickly, eyes wavering as she huffs, “you dwarf! I’m not gonna let you off of this!”Jeongyeon spits angrily to the floor, and she gives Mina and Chaeyoung a glare before she finally steps away from them. Mina hears her curse loudly, but the fact that she’s leaving after Chaeyoung confronted her is shocking to her. She’s a violent girl, and she never leaves without finishing a fight. But now, she’s leaving, just by Chaeyoung’s words.“Woah,” Chaeyoung heaves a long sigh. Her tense shoulders are finally relaxed. “That was pretty thrilling,” she adds while stirring her body to face Mina. She smiles, checking Mina out. “You okay?”Mina’s still staring at the stairs, she can’t believe Jeongyeon really disappeared that easily. “What just happened?”“I don’t know,” Chaeyoung shrugs, pushing Mina inside gently. “But, let’s get inside before she changes her mind and comes back to fight for real.”Mina doesn’t say anything when Chaeyoung brings her inside. As they head to the living room, Mina could see Sana sitting on the couch. She looks uneasy, worried, and she quickly stands up when she sees the figures of Chaeyoung and Mina are walking towards her.“Hey guys,” she looks relieved, approaching the duo. “Is everything fine out there?”Chaeyoung nods. “It’s fine. She’s gone, at least for tonight,” she taps Sana’s shoulder, soothing her because she looks like the one who’s not fine. “How about you? How’s Momo?”Sana gives a long sigh at this. Her eyes look sad, and Mina somehow feels bad for causing a mess tonight. “She’s inside the room. I don’t know, she won’t talk much to me,” Sana pouts, looks like she’s going to cry. “I can’t leave her like this, Chaeng. I’m not going home until I know she’s fine.”Mina hears that and clears her throat. “You want to stay?” she asks, making Sana and Chaeyoung turn their heads towards her. “I have one guest room, so you guys can use that.”Chaeyoung halts for a beat and then nods. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I also want to make sure she doesn’t come back,” she says, sitting on the couch, chilling. Mina then adds, “so, you sleep with Momo because you’re girlfriends,” she talks to Sana. “And I’ll sleep in the guest room with—”“No, no. You go sleep with Momo,” Sana cuts off firmly. “It’s about you, Mina. And she was incredibly upset, so you two better talk about whatever this is.”Mina can’t say anything. She glances over to Chaeyoung and sees the small girl nod, agreeing with Sana’s words.And so, Mina sighs. “Okay, guys. I’ll talk with Momo.” She walks to her room. Before she goes in, she glances at over the two, smiling. “Good night, guys.”///Mina can’t sleep.It’s because Momo’s hands are around her waist, hugging her tight. Despite the fact that Momo often stays at Mina’s house, they don’t really sleep together. That’s why Mina has one guest room, so Momo could sleep there when she stays at her house, instead of sleep together in her small bed. Also, her girlfriend’s here. What if Sana sees them in this... position?And so, she quietly loosens the arms around her waist and gets off from the bed. She tip-toes to the door, leaving the room and heading to her small balcony. She always goes there whenever she can’t sleep, and she would just stare at the night sky, enjoying the cold air. She thinks it’s beautiful, the world. She always wonders how big the world is. She wonders about the deep sea, about the universe, about the dark sky. It reminds her that she’s just a human being, that she’s small and imperfect.She planned to spend a few minutes there, when she catches a figure is there already, sitting on a long bench Mina set there.It’s Chaeyoung. She looks amazed by the sky, although the sight from her huge balcony in her huge house is so much better than this. Mina smiles, preparing to interrupt the moment.“Hey,” she says, smoothly joining Chaeyoung and sitting on the other side of the bench. Chaeyoung looks surprised that Mina’s awake too, but she manages a smile. “Hey.”“Can’t sleep?” Mina teases the small, and Chaeyoung answers with a nod. “Yep.”Mina continues to tease her. “Not used to the the small-sized bed, Miss?”Chaeyoung laughs at the joke. “For real, Mina?” Chaeyoung replies. “Should I remind you that I was once living in an orphanage? I slept in a damn bunk, girl.”Oh, shit. Mina shouldn’t have joked about that. She clasps her lips, mumbling, “sorry.”Chaeyoung doesn’t respond, just smiling. After a while, she turns her head to Mina. “You can’t sleep either?”“Yeah,” Mina ducks down, pausing. “Well, Momo was being too clingy, and I can’t sleep with her arms around my waist.”Chaeyoung chuckles. “You guys talked?”“We did. I told her everything.” Mina recalls the moment when she told Momo about what happened. Momo was troubled by the fact that Jeongyeon was here, and she really wanted to punch the bitch’s face. However, she was gone, and Momo was relieved with that, though she felt that Jeongyeon won’t give up that easily. “She felt better, and even went to bed after I promised to make her a poke with a bunch of avocado on it.”Chaeyoung laughs again. “Yeah, she looked mad before. And actually, it was quite shitty that the rude girl just appeared before your door tonight.” Chaeyoung sighs. “I mean, where did you meet that person, Mina?”Mina sees Chaeyoung stare up, looking at the sky again. As Mina remembers her first time meeting with Jeongyeon, she exhales. “I met her on a blind date.” And Chaeyoung quickly turns her head, facing her. She looks pretty surprised. “Yeah, just like how I met you, I met her on a blind date too.”Mina remembers it clearly. She was there with her college friends, including Momo. “Her name is Jeongyeon. I met her in a blind date when I was on college. Momo was there too, and it’s probably the reason why she hates her so much.”Chaeyoung looks interested in the story. And so, Mina carries on.“Jeongyeon, she came to me and asked me if I want to go out with her. And she was so sweet that night. And I probably wanted to feel loved and wanted to discard my single status. So I accepted her easily.” Mina pauses, thinking about the old version of herself makes her realizes how stupid she was. “And we started dating a week after that night.”Chaeyoung’s eyes grow wider, surprised once again. “Wow, that was quick.”“Yep. But she was so kind and sweet, so I fell so deeply for her.” Yeah, Mina knows it was too quick to start dating. They barely knew each other, and they just met a week ago. But, Mina thought that they could build their relationship pretty well. Jeongyeon with her sweet words and Mina with her patience, she thought that displays of affection and repeating ‘I love you’ words was enough for them. But no, it wasn’t enough. At least for Jeongyeon.“Momo never agreed with me dating her. She said that Jeongyeon was filthy, and that I should break up with her. I didn’t know why she kept saying that, but probably because Jeongyeon was also an ex of Momo’s friend. So, she knew her background, which wasn’t so good.”Mina takes a break to remember those moments. It was fun, actually. Jeongyeon was her first girlfriend, and she was able to feel love. Some moments with Jeongyeon were memorable and beautiful, until one day, something happened.“One day, when I was working at my restaurant, Momo came in. She was extremely angry. She told me that she saw Jeongyeon hanging out with another girl. And I didn’t believe that, of course. Momo was mad at me for not believing her, and it was the first time we had a fight. Me and Momo, and it was because of her. Jeongyeon.”Chaeyoung doesn’t say anything, just listening with her eyes on Mina. She looks serious though, like she’s genuinely curious about the story, and wants to know why MiMo dislikes Jeongyeon so much.“I kept convincing myself that Jeongyeon didn’t do that. When she didn’t reply to my texts or answer my calls, I thought she was just busy. I don’t know why I kept telling myself that Jeongyeon was fine at that time, like I was convincing myself that she didn’t cheat on me. But that time, I can’t stop thinking about it. I was afraid almost all the time. And then I realized. If I really trusted her, why did it bother me so much?”Chaeyoung stares and smiles thinly. “You didn’t trust her.”Mina nods. “Yeah. That was the reason. I didn’t trust her,” Mina laughs at herself, thinking about it really makes her feels stupid. “And, not long after that, I saw it by myself. She went out with another girl. And I confronted her right away, but then we made up after she apologized. So easy, too easy for her to fix things. I think that was why she kept making the same mistakes. She didn’t learn and kept going out with different girls again and again. But I was so blind with love that I pretended I didn’t know.”Chaeyoung sneers. “She was a jerk, and you were a stupid girl.”Yeah, Chaeyoung’s right. She was incredibly stupid. But the thing that hurts Mina the most is that even after Jeongyeon cheated on her, again and again, Mina was still in love with her. “She even used my money to buy gifts for those bitches,” Mina adds, another shitty thing Jeongyeon did to her. “But, just like what I mentioned before, I still loved her.”There was a halt, a comforting silence before Chaeyoung quietly asks, “even until now?”Mina turns her head and faces Chaeyoung, smiling. “No, Chaeng. Of course not,” she somehow feels happy that Chaeyoung asked about that. It’s like she cares about Mina’s feelings. “We’re over now. We broke up after she told me that I wasn’t pretty anymore.”Chaeyoung laughs at the silly reason. “Even until you guys broke up, she was still a jerk.”Mina and Chaeyoung laugh together at this. When the laughs fade out, Mina secretly glances over at Chaeyoung and asks, “what if she really hit you before?”At that, Chaeyoung raises her eyebrows, confused. “What?”“Just before, when she asked you to fight her, and you told her to just hit you, what if she really hit you?” That moment’s been plaguing Mina’s mind. Before she knew Chaeyoung well, she saw Chaeyoung as a rather chill person. A person who does everything calmly, and doesn’t really worry about much. She knows Chaeyoung is a brave person, but asking a stranger to just hit her? It’s different.Mina wants to know why Chaeyoung didn’t even flinch when Jeongyeon yelled at her. She wants to know why Chaeyoung did that. It was stupid but also amazing to Mina.Chaeyoung seems thoughtful, thinking about what to say. “She was just bluffing,” she starts. “She’s the kind of person who likes it when someone fears her. She likes it when someone’s weaker than her. She’s very proud of her taekwondo shit, that’s why she dared me to fight her. If she really meant her words, she would have just hit me instead of threatening me.”Mina just listens. Chaeyoung sounds like she knows it all too well. And as though she could read Mina’s mind, Chaeyoung adds, “I used to know a person like that, so I know about it pretty well.” She pauses, shifting in her seat. “And what you have to do when you face a person like that is show them that you’re not afraid of them. That they don’t scare you. That they don’t make you feel pressured.”“Wow. I didn’t know that.” Mina’s quite surprised that Chaeyoung had to handle a person like Jeongyeon. “She always wants to win the fight. I thought it was normal, that she was just being competitive and ambitious. I guess I was wrong.”“Next time, do what I said, then. Show her that she doesn’t control you. Show her that you’re stronger than she thought. That’s the way to beat her,” Chaeyoung shrugs. “Though, I feel like she won’t give up just like that, Mina. I think she’ll come back to bother you again.”Mina exhales. “She definitely will,” she mumbles. “I know her. She just won’t let me off this easily.” She could feel Chaeyoung’s stare on her, and then she hears Chaeyoung say, “want me to hire a bodyguard for you?”“What?” Okay, that’s so random, and Mina thinks it’s kinda silly. “Are you really offering me a bodyguard, while you, a rich girl who owns a god damn apartment and more, doesn’t even have one?”Chaeyoung shrugs, confident that she’s all safe. “Well, no one wants to harm me.”“Well, now, you have someone. And it’s that bitch Yoo Jeongyeon.”At that, Chaeyoung’s eyes widen, pretending like she’s afraid. “Oh, shit. Should I hire one, then?”Mina sees that Chaeyoung’s just goofing around. “I’m being serious, Chaeng. She’ll go for you.” Mina’s concerned about that. Jeongyeon will definitely go for her, and when that time comes, Mina knows, she won’t just let Chaeyoung off easily like this time. And Mina’s afraid of what Jeongyeon is capable of.But, Chaeyoung doesn’t look scared at all. “I know, Mina. And you don’t have to worry, because I can protect myself,” Chaeyoung smiles, seeing Mina worry over her is kinda cute. “I know she’ll do something to me. But, don’t worry, I can handle her.”Mina just listens. Although Chaeyoung keeps saying that she doesn’t have to worry about her, she still feels uneasy. Handling Jeongyeon is hard, and even though she left tonight without harming them, Mina feels like it was all just luck.But, she doesn’t say anything. Tonight was ruined by that bitch, and Mina won’t ruin this moment with Chaeyoung by talking about her.“By the way, Mina,” Chaeyoung talks again. When she turns her head and their eyes meet, she grins, sheepishly she says, “I’m sorry for saying that you’re my girlfriend.”Mina halts, thinking. Why would Chaeyoung even feel sorry about that?“It’s fine, Chaeng. Really,” Mina smiles. She didn’t think about it earlier, but now, as she thinks back at that moment, it was kinda touching. “You did make her step back by saying that. I saw it, she looked defeated.”Chaeyoung blinks. “She did?”“Yeah, she did. And also, I think it was one way to show her that she doesn’t own me anymore. That I’ve moved on from her,” Mina adds, smiling proudly. “So, it’s all fine.”As Mina mentioned that, Chaeyoung nods, agreeing. “If you say so, then.”“But,” Mina quickly responds. So quickly that it makes Chaeyoung raise her brows. Mina can’t hold back her smile while she says, “you don’t have any other choice except pretending to be my girl whenever she’s around.”Chaeyoung listens, looking thoughtful. “Oh,” she finally responds, her expression is all blank like she just realized it now. “You’re right,” she drawls. And just for a moment, Mina thought Chaeyoung would say no and refuse to do it. She thought Chaeyoung would say no to that idea, as she seems like she isn’t ready for any serious romantic gestures. But then Chaeyoung shrugs, as though it doesn’t bother her a bit. “Okay.”Hearing that, Mina involuntarily holds her breath. “Okay, what?”“I can do that,” Chaeyoung says, not even looking at Mina and staring at the night. There’s a moment of silence, and then she turns her head, looking directly into Mina’s eyes. “I’m your girlfriend when she’s around.”Those first three words. Yes, it’s just pretending, but hearing Chaeyoung say that out loud makes Mina feel content. As Chaeyoung perks up, eyeing the sky again, Mina examines her side profile. She’s very beautiful, she thinks. And she smiles when she blabs, “you can be my girlfriend even when she’s not around.”And perhaps, that was too bold, because Chaeyoung just turns her head quickly, she seems surprised. “Eh?”Oh, teasing Chaeyoung is so much fun! Look at that confused face, her eyes stare solely at Mina. She looks cute! And even after teasing Chaeyoung by saying all those bold things, Mina doesn’t really bother to explain herself. Instead, she shifts closer to Chaeyoung, setting herself shoulder to shoulder with the small girl.Chaeyoung’s kinda baffled with the move and Mina’s words before. She doesn’t say anything when Mina clings onto her side, slipping her arm under Chaeyoung’s and leans her head on her shoulder. She could feel her body get stiffen, especially her right side, where Mina’s located.She doesn’t know why Mina’s doing this now. If she’s being her girlfriend right now… well, did Chaeyoung mention that it’s only when Jeongyeon is around? She really wants to ask Mina what’s wrong with her, but when she sees Mina’s closing her lids, a happy smile on her face, as though she’s enjoying the moment and feels comfortable, Chaeyoung holds back her words, smiling.“By the way, Mina,” Chaeyoung breaks the silence, letting Mina cling to her side. “I’m gonna meet Tzuyu tomorrow. At dinner.”Mina smiles, happy. She’s glad that Chaeyoung’s relationship with Tzuyu seems to be working well. She’s glad that finally, Chaeyoung comes out to face her fears. She’s glad that Chaeyoung seems lighter because now, she doesn’t have to pretend like she’s fine all the time again. Now, she could be fine for real. And, Mina’s so happy for her.
Also, she’s happy with this position.
And so, Mina nods on Chaeyoung’s shoulder, muttering, “good luck, babe,” boldly, which again, makes Chaeyoung baffled.Chaeyoung knows that they should have just pretended to be girlfriends only when Jeongyeon is around, but, she doesn’t have the heart to tell Mina no. So instead, she just smiles.Although if you were to ask Chaeyoung, truthfully she would say it doesn’t sound bad at all.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chaeyoung stares at the restaurant where she planned to meet Tzuyu. She’s still inside her car in front of the restaurant. She can see Tzuyu is there, inside the restaurant through the glass wall. She seems quite nervous, just the same as Chaeyoung.This is their second meet after years. The first one was a mess. Tzuyu showed up out of nowhere and Chaeyoung had an episode after months of her last one. It was beyond surprising to Chaeyoung. Tzuyu never showed up before that day. And not gonna lie, Chaeyoung was curious, where had she been all this time? Did she avoiding her in purpose, or did she move out to another country? Did she become a successful person? Chaeyoung was even curious if Tzuyu’s still alive or not.And she got the answers to all of her questions that night.Tzuyu seemed fine that night. She was healthy and honestly, Chaeyoung took a look at her name card that night. She’s a vet, which means she’s a successful woman. Despite that Chaeyoung never wanted to see Tzuyu again, wished they would never bump into each other, she was actually relieved that Tzuyu is fine. At least one of them is happy and living a decent life.Chaeyoung always thought that the part of her life she spent with Tzuyu was a scar of her. A wound, a flaw of her she’d been tried to hide from everyone. She used to hope that Tzuyu would never appear in her life again. She wished that Tzuyu would just disappear from her life, so she can forget that scar. So she can bury that part of her life deep inside her heart.But now, she’s in here, in front of a restaurant to meet Tzuyu. To talk with her, to face her fear, to finish her shit with Tzuyu. What a surprising thing, she never thought she would do this.Chaeyoung exhales slowly. Her chest is thumping loudly and fastly, nervous but also excited. She isn’t sure if she can do this. What if she gets another episode? What if she gets mad and upset? What if she cries before Tzuyu? Well, she doesn’t know what will happen. But for sure, she needs to do this first.And so, after inhaling and exhaling several times to calm herself down, Chaeyoung gets off from her car. She’s exposed and Tzuyu catches her figure, quickly turns her head and sees Chaeyoung.Their eyes meet and Chaeyoung’s heart beats even faster and louder.“Fuck.” Chaeyoung walks into the restaurant. She tries to look calm, but actually her legs are limp. Before she enters the restaurant, she takes another deep breath. And then she pushes the door and walks in.She’s inside, her head turns to see Tzuyu. She’s there, sitting uptightly, eyes are on Chaeyoung. She seems nervous as well. Geez, it’s indeed hard for both of them. But, Chaeyoung has to do this. Or she will never be able to sleep in peace.So, she walks towards Tzuyu. Everything feels like in slow motion, Chaeyoung can feel her breath is heavier. After a few seconds, she arrives at Tzuyu’s side. They’re looking into each other, no one’s saying anything.The silence break when Tzuyu suddenly stands up. She stands nervously, trying to smile. “Hi.”Chaeyoung also smiles, doesn’t want to look all rude and uptight. “Hi.”She sits before Tzuyu, the taller girl also sits. And the awkward silence continues.“Oh god, this is awkward.” Chaeyoung can’t stop herself from saying that, because it is. She looks at Tzuyu’s face, noticing the tall girl is ducking down, also couldn’t start anything. “How are you, Tzuyu?”Geez, calling her name after years, after what happened between them, suddenly brings back memories. Not only the painful memories but also the beautiful one. And Chaeyoung unconsciously smiles when she sees Tzuyu perk up, surprised with the sudden question.“I, uhm, I’m fine,” she stutters, her voice sounds shaky. Does she restrain herself from crying? Because Chaeyoung somehow could see her teary eyes. When she smiles, Chaeyoung’s heart throbs in an indescribable way. Not gonna lie, but she misses that smile. “Thanks for asking. And how about you?”Chaeyoung is about to answer when the waiter interrupts their moment. “Excuse me. Do you want to order something?” And both of them suddenly look at the menu, trying to find something to eat, even though they’re there not for it. Chaeyoung flips the menu book quickly, going straight to the dessert page next to the drink.“One strawberry juice and one strawberry cake,” she orders, Tzuyu watches at her in silence. After Tzuyu orders something, the waiter excuses himself. That’s the time when Tzuyu mumbles. “Still into strawberry?”Chaeyoung raises her eyebrows, quite surprised. Does she remember it?“Yeah, they’re always attractive.” Chaeyoung shrugs, somehow feel happy that Tzuyu remembers something about her. But, well, she does remember something about Tzuyu too. She replies, “and you still into animals?” Chaeyoung nods into Tzuyu’s identity card as a vet upon the table. Tzuyu quickly grabs it and shoves it into her bag. “Do you still cry for them? You cry when treating them?”Tzuyu chuckles awkwardly. “I don’t cry over them anymore, Chaeng,” Tzuyu says Chaeyoung’s shortened call, makes Chaeyoung feel nostalgic. “Well, I mean a bit. Just when the pets are very sick and only when nobody’s looking.” Tzuyu quickly adds, her cheeks turn red, embarrassed. Seeing that, Chaeyoung holds her laughter. She can imagine Tzuyu cry alone in her room after treating the animals.“Well, at least one of us is successful,” Chaeyoung says, somehow amused with the look of Tzuyu being shy. Hearing that, Tzuyu perks up, smiling teasingly. “Girl, please. I saw you drive a Porsche.”The Porsche. It is an expensive car, of course. But, does a wealthiness becoming the sole proof of a successness? Does being rich make you a successful person? Well, yeah, rich means you’re good at handling business or something. But to Chaeyoung, it’s not a sole proof. For her, success means doing what you want. Being happy and free is a real success.“I didn’t build the company. I inherited it. So, it’s not purely my success,” Chaeyoung mumbles, somehow makes the light situation become tense again as Tzuyu stops smiling. “But you are the real success, Tzu. You always wanted to be a vet. You made it.”Tzuyu stares at Chaeyoung for a moment, doesn’t say anything. She seems guilty, and Chaeyoung knows why she feels that way. She halts, staring back at Tzuyu for some more seconds. “Where have you been all this time?”Perhaps, the words are powerful enough to strike Tzuyu, because the tall’s girl eyes suddenly become teary. “Chaeyoung, I—”“So, tell me, Tzu,” Chaeyoung interrupts Tzuyu’s words. She thinks she can’t bear hearing Tzuyu saying sorry. “What happened after you—” Ran away? Escaped the hell? Abandoned me? “—left?”Tzuyu ducks down, can’t see at Chaeyoung in the eyes. After a while, she shakes her head. “I’m so sorry.”Chaeyoung could see Tzuyu’s tears drop, and she could feel her heart thump harder and louder. Those words, she isn’t sure if she really wants that word from Tzuyu. A sorry won’t fix the past, her heart is wounded already.Is it too late for Tzuyu to apologize? Does she even owe Chaeyoung an apology? She was just ten, was young and scared, and perhaps if they switch places, Chaeyoung would do the same. She would run away and abandon Tzuyu, never wanted to go back to the hellhole ever again.So, why is it so hard for Chaeyoung to accept it? To accept that Tzuyu wasn’t guilty at all, that she did what she had to do. She was just saving her life. Not everyone could be a hero by also saving another person’s life. She was just ten, small and weak. She can’t do much about it even if she wanted to.It’s been plaguing Chaeyoung’s mind for years. How can she survive these feelings? This lonely, betrayed, disappointed, upset feelings. Ten years old Tzuyu was someone who abandoned her, but now, they’re 24. It’s been years, it’s a cold case, and Chaeyoung, even though it’s hard, really has to let this go, right?And so, she smiles. “It’s fine, Tzu,” she says. At that moment, she feels relieved and lighter. A feeling she never imagined. “At least you’re here now, right?” Tzuyu perks up, stares at Chaeyoung eyes with tears wetting her cheeks. Chaeyoung chuckles, amused with the sight of baby Tzuyu. “Don’t you ever fucking leave me again.”The next moment is Tzuyu crying harder, until the waiter who brings their orders stares at them in confusion.///“So, tell me.” Chaeyoung gives Tzuyu the beverage she just bought from a convenience store. They figured out that they shouldn’t have choose a restaurant as a place of their special talk, so they left immediately after finished their food. Now, they’re sitting on a random bench in a park. It’s dim-lighted, so Tzuyu said it’s a good place so Chaeyoung won’t be able to see her crying face and make fun of it anymore.“Tell you what?” Tzuyu takes the drink Chaeyoung offer. They somehow survived the awkward and tense moment and now, both of them are trying to be calm and chill.Chaeyoung takes a sit beside Tzuyu, sighing. After a beat, she asks. “Did you ever think about me even for a moment?” She just wants to know. Not gonna lie, but Chaeyoung’s been trying so hard to forget Tzuyu. But she can’t, because Tzuyu was a part of her life. So, Chaeyoung’s kinda curious if Tzuyu did the same.Tzuyu smiles sadly. “Do I sound like I’m lying if I say all the time?” Chaeyoung doesn’t respond, just looking at the tall girl. “Because I really do thinking about you all the time. I can’t stop myself from feeling guilty.”“But, it wasn’t your fault,” Chaeyoung replies, feeling beaten to know Tzuyu has to live with guilt for years. She knows Tzuyu so well. She knows Tzuyu would think about her. She knows Tzuyu won’t live in total peace. She knows Tzuyu would feel guilty for leaving Chaeyoung behind. “You can stop feeling that way. I don’t blame you, Tzu.”There’s no reason for Chaeyoung to keep being upset and disappointed. Tzuyu is a grown-up lady now. The mistake she made when she was ten, let it be a mistake to be learned. So there won’t be another mistake or farewell.Holding grudges isn’t good for Chaeyoung either. If she pushes Tzuyu away this time, when she trying to apologize and fix up the mistakes she did, then Chaeyoung would be the rude and bad one. It won’t fix anything. Tzuyu will live her life feeling guilty forever and Chaeyoung will pretend like she’s fine all the time when she is actually not.This should end now. This should stop, this heavy feeling. This dark, scary thing inside her heart that keeps giving her nightmare every night. She wants to live a decent life. A life where she could feel peaceful and grateful.“What happened after that day?” Chaeyoung asks again. She really wants to know how was it going for Tzuyu. It was a rough moment, yes. But she’s curious as hell to know how Tzuyu can be a successful lady like now. She glances at Tzuyu and smiles. “I’ll tell you my story if you tell yours first.”Tzuyu exhales. “Fuck, you really want to know about it, huh?” She chuckles bitterly, obviously doesn’t really want to talk about it. But she wants to know about Chaeyoung as well. So, she nods. “Okay. I’ll tell you what happened after that day.”She squeezes the beverage inside her hand, sighing. “I was wandering the streets for days, had to rummage trash bins behind some restaurants to find leftover food. I had to sleep in random places, even met a pervert old man who tried to touch me and shit.” She pauses, maybe needing a moment as recalling that moment isn’t an easy task to do. “It was hard and humiliating. And for a moment, I thought it would be better if I go back to the house. I thought maybe I could stand being abused rather than have to live in the streets.”Chaeyoung doesn’t say anything. She never thought Tzuyu would feel that way. Days they spent in that hellish house were difficult. How hard could living in the streets be that made Tzuyu think that back into the house is much better than it?“But, living in that house wasn’t any better, Tzu.”“Yeah, I know. But at least you were there,” Tzuyu replies. “Living in the street could be better if you were there. I felt fucking lonely.”Chaeyoung stares in silence, thinking. Yeah, it sucked that they had to get separated that way. They were so close to each other, even since they were in the orphanage. They protected each other even though they both were weak and strengthless. They trusted each other more than anyone. It’s extremely upsetting that now they’re in this state, where they have to build the trust again.She smiles sadly. “Well, our pasts are the same but also different. Both were sucked and painful, but we did it, right?” She halts for a moment, picturing all that she has now. Money, freedom, friends. Those are the stuff Chaeyoung never thought she would have it. Therefore, she feels so grateful, even more, when she found out Tzuyu is also in a good condition. “At least we didn’t bump into each other with you being a beggar or something.”Tzuyu laughs, nodding as she can’t disagree. “Oh, and then one day, I got caught up by the police officers and they brought me back to an orphanage, but a different one. And I got adopted again, but this time by amazing parents. They have a great connection with someone in the entertainment industry, and I got cast up. I was a model a long time ago.”Chaeyoung woah-ing for a beat. “Suit you well, girl. I mean, look at that face,” she teases the tall girl who gets shy immediately. “But, you aren’t a model no more?”Tzuyu shakes her head. “No. I told them I wanted to be a vet and they were very supportive. I really love them,” she sheepishly mumbles. “Do you want to meet them? I actually told them about you and they said they want to adopt you too if they could.”Hearing Tzuyu said that she has good parents now is really good news to Chaeyoung. At least she didn’t have to face more shits after that day. And it’s very surprising that Tzuyu told them about her. It’s a proof that this tall girl is really thinking about her all the time. “That’s very touching, Tzu. I’ll be happy to meet your parents someday.”Tzuyu stares at Chaeyoung for a moment, as though she’s waiting. Actually, Chaeyoung knows what she waiting for. The adopting thing was actually a question. A question that Tzuyu hopes the answer is yes. But, Chaeyoung can’t answer it now. Losing someone she loves, which was her adoptive dad, was very hard for Chaeyoung and she isn’t ready to feel that again. She has to be more careful to love and care about someone.Even though Tzuyu seems hoping that Chaeyoung would say yes, she doesn’t force Chaeyoung to say so. She just nods, sad but smiling. “So, how about you? What’s your story?”Chaeyoung ducks down. “It was the hardest moment of my life, Tzu. They were... extremely upset, and they abused me more.”Tzuyu feels her chest tighten. “Fuck. I wish I can meet them now. I’m gonna fuck them up.”Hearing that, Chaeyoung exhales. “Well, I wish that too. But, we’ll never meet them again. Because they’re gone.” She pauses just to recall the night. It was hot, the fire was everywhere, smoke suffocated her. “They’re dead, Tzu.”Tzuyu was very mad just a moment ago, but hearing that their abusive parents are dead surprises her more. She stares at Chaeyoung in disbelief. “What?! How?!”“It’s a long story,” Chaeyoung feels her breath heavier. “Sorry, but can we talk about this another time? I don’t feel to talk about it right now.”By the tone of Chaeyoung’s voice, Tzuyu realizes that Chaeyoung is having a hard time talking about the past. So, she moves closer and touches Chaeyoung’s shoulder. “Hey, you okay?” She asks, full of concern. “We can talk about it later, you know. It’s fine. You don’t need to talk about it if you won’t to.”Chaeyoung nods, wordlessly telling Tzuyu that she’s fine. It’s just very hard for her to remember those moments. The pain, bruises, tears, she can still feel those. And it’s not gonna be good if she forces herself to talk about it.After a moment, Chaeyoung’s calm down and Tzuyu sits beside her in silence, checking Chaeyoung up, completely concerned especially after Mina mentioned about her having an episode that night. As nothing’s bad happened now, Tzuyu leans backward and exhales loudly. “Fuck, dude. I thought you’re going to have an episode. You’re freaking me out.”Chaeyoung chuckles shortly. “You know about that?”“Yeah. Mina told me about that and I’m so sorry that this is happening to you, Chaeng.” Tzuyu’s face turns sad and beaten. Knowing Chaeyoung had a panic attack hurt Tzuyu’s heart, especially when she might be one of the reasons why Chaeyoung had that thing.But, Chaeyoung shakes her head in quick. “It’s fine. It’s not gonna kill me, anyway,” Chaeyoung tries to smile so Tzuyu will feel better. “I’m taking care of it, so you don’t have to worry about it.”Tzuyu doesn’t say anything, just staring at Chaeyoung. Geez, this small doesn’t change at all. She always does that, telling others to not worry about her. Of course, Tzuyu concerns about it. She herself had to go to a professional help to help her deal with it. So she knows how bad and hard it is to handle that shit.But, instead of saying her concern, Tzuyu nods, smiling. “Okay, if you say so.” She stares at Chaeyoung for a moment. “By the way, Chaeng. Thank you for giving me a chance to talk.”Chaeyoung smiles at the thank. “You should thank her instead of me. She convinced me really good.”“Who? Your girlfriend Mina?” Tzuyu asks, making Chaeyoung halts, thinking of her words. My girlfriend? Didn’t we agree that we’re girlfriends only when Jeongyeon is around?When Chaeyoung is about to clear the misunderstanding, Tzuyu adds, “I’m glad you have her. She’s a very kind and beautiful person. I should visit and thank her later.”Chaeyoung nods, couldn’t disagree. Though She doesn’t understand why Tzuyu assumed that Mina is her girlfriend, she doesn’t try to tell her the truth. It’s harmless, so Chaeyoung decides to let her think that way.The rest of the day is beautiful. They talk about the small stuff, not too heavy. They decide to not talk about the past and talk more about the present. Chaeyoung finds out that Tzuyu is seeing someone. She says they’re probably gonna get married soon. Chaeyoung tells Tzuyu that she wants to meet her new parents and her boyfriend. She says she want to meet the people in Tzuyu’s new life. Tzuyu agrees, but only if Chaeyoung also introduces her new friends to Tzuyu.It’s a beautiful moment. Chaeyoung would never regret to give Tzuyu another chance. She’s maybe failed as her sister, but she could be her friend, her new friend.///Mina stares at her phone screen. She’s waiting for an update from Chaeyoung. But she’s sure she’s having a good time with Tzuyu and she doesn’t want to disturb them.She’s just back from work and in on her way home. Oh, today was pretty packed. Customers came nonstop and Mina spent so many energies on her work. She needs to take a quick shower and then go to sleep straightly.She’s arrived at her apartment. As usual, she goes inside, puts her stuff on the floor, and lays down on her couch. She rests there for minutes, checking her phone again. She planned to take a shower, but suddenly she’s hungry. So, she decides to eat a ramyeon first.So, she goes to the kitchen and is about to boil water. That’s the time when she realizes there’s something wrong in her kitchen.There’s a pan in the sink. Still dirty, as though someone just used it minutes ago. And she knows she’s right because when she touches the pan, it’s still warm.She frowns, thinking. Did Momo come here and make noodles or something? But, Mina’s been telling Momo to clean up every time she stops by. She’s strict about it, so Momo listens to her well, even more since Mina forbade her to come if she left a mess in her home.Speaking the girl, Mina’s phone suddenly rings. She fishes it out from her pocket, seeing Momo’s name on the screen. She slides the green button. “Moshi moshi?”“Hey, my Mina,” Momo’s voice sounds delightful. “I just want to ask. Do you remember where I put the new clothes we bought last week?” Geez, this raccoon. Mina always tells her to tidy her things up and puts everything in their places. Every time she forgets something, she will ask Mina as though she always knows about it.“Nope, I don’t remember,” Mina sighs, her eyes are still on the pan in the sink. “Maybe Sana knows. She comes to your house even more often than me these days.”“Nah, she doesn’t remember as well. We share the same brain cells,” Momo laughs at her own joke. “Okay then, I’ll try to look it by myself. Bye—”“Wait, Momo!” Mina stops Momo from hanging up. “Did you... did you come to my place today?”There’s a halt of silence before Momo answers, “no, I didn’t. Been doing my work all day. Why?”At the answer, Mina’s heart stops beating for a moment. What?! Then, who did this?“Nothing,” Mina stutters, doesn’t want Momo to know about this because she’ll definitely freak out. “Then, bye.” And Mina hangs up before Momo could say something.Shit. Momo didn’t stop by. Then who? Was it Chaeyoung? Nah, that girl doesn’t know Mina’s door password. Jihyo? She doesn’t know either, and she was with Mina all the time. Sana? No, she can’t even remember Momo’s door password, so there’s no way she remembers Mina’s, right?With her heart thumps loud and quick, Mina walks to the entrance. She makes sure she locks the door, and then she leans to the nearest wall, taking an inhale. Maybe I forgot to clean up, right? She tries to convince herself that everything is good, but she can’t lie to herself that she feels terrified.She decides to go to her bedroom, going to sleep and trying to forget about this. But when she goes inside her bedroom and finds out her messy bed, she knows, she should be terrified of this.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chaeyoung stares at her phone screen, which is showing Tzuyu’s number at the time. She smiles, currently so happy that she had a good time with Tzuyu. They sorted some things out and they planned to meet and talk again in the future. As she has her number now, she can contact her often.This is all thanks to Mina, she made this moment possible. If she didn’t tell Chaeyoung to give Tzuyu a chance, they would never be in this state, where they can talk again like they used to do. Chaeyoung feels so much lighter right now, like one of the biggest burden and stress in her life is finally gone. And it’s all thanks to Mina.And so, she scrolls the screen of her phone looking for Mina’s number. It’s 10 pm right now, Mina must be at home now, right? Either way, she pushes the call button after she found it, and puts the phone next to her ear while she’s heading to the lift of her apartment.The call dials a few times, and Chaeyoung thought Mina wouldn’t pick up the call when she suddenly does. Chaeyoung smiles widely, probably being too elated when she greets, “hey there, Mina.”There’s a halt before Mina answers the greeting. “Hi.” It’s surprisingly short, because Chaeyoung thought Mina would be so happy to know the update about her and Tzuyu. But then Mina adds, “oh hey, Chaeng. What’s up?” This time more excited, as though she just realizes that it’s Chaeyoung who is calling.“It’s about me and Tzuyu,” Chaeyoung pushes the lift button, seeing it’s going down from 25th floor. “We were doing nice. We talked a lot and we have a plan to meet again. I also have her number now.”Chaeyoung bites her lower lip. Actually, she’s kinda nervous with Mina’s reaction, and she doesn’t know why she feels that way. She doesn’t even know why she has to report this to Mina. But, still, Chaeyoung smiles when Mina says, “that’s nice! I should join your next meet up. I want to hang out with her too. She’s living in the same apartment with me afterall.”“Of course, that would be a good idea,” Chaeyoung’s heart is delightful. She’s glad that Mina is happy to hang out with Tzuyu. “Tzuyu said she want to visit you too. Probably gonna thank you for—”Chaeyoung’s words got cut off by a loud noise from Mina’s side, like a broken glass sound. “Oh fuck!” Mina curses afterwards, making Chaeyoung stops for a beat, concerned. She hears another unclear curses, and then she asks, “hey, is everything fine there?”She waits for a moment and feels relieved when Mina says, “oh yes, Chaeng. I’m fine.” Her voice sounds odd, which is not okay at all. It sounds like she’s in rush or something. “I just-I’m doing something now.”“Oh. Did I just interrupt you?” Chaeyoung asks, doesn’t want to interfere whatever it is Mina doing now. She enters the lift and continues, “I’m sorry. I should have call you tomorrow—”“No, no, Chaeng! It’s fine,” Mina cuts the sorry line. “I was about to call you too, actually. But, something happened and I need to do something about it,” Mina says quickly, noticing Chaeyoung’s voice is no more excited.Meanwhile in the other side, Chaeyoung frowns her eyebrows. “Something happened?” She genuinely worried because the way Mina mentioned it was not okay at all. “Was it a bad thing?”Chaeyoung hears another loud noise from Mina’s side before the older girl states, “nah. It wasn’t a bad thing. So, don’t worry.”No. The way Mina say it doesn’t sound okay at all. “Are you sure you’re okay? Because you sound weird actually.”“It’s fine, Chaeyoung,” this time, Mina firmly states, convincing Chaeyoung that everything’s fine. “But, sorry to say this. Can we talk again another time? Because I really need to fix something.”Chaeyoung is still worried, actually. Mina doesn’t seem like a person who easily got panic. She’s calm and composed when it’s about facing a problem. But this? This behaviour is not Mina’s thing. And therefore, Chaeyoung thinks something bad happened with Mina.Even though she wants Mina to tell her about it, still, if she doesn’t want to, then Chaeyoung can’t force her to. She’ll tell her when she’s ready, so Chaeyoung nods in understanding. “Okay, then. I’ll call you again later.” She’s inside the lift, still going up to her floor. “I’m considering having a lunch at your restaurant tomorrow. Will you be there?”Mina doesn’t immediately answer. This thing she’s fixing now is pretty distracting, obviously. But Chaeyoung doesn’t want to exaggerate when Mina clearly said that she’s fine. She trusts her, whether what she said is the truth or not. She smiles when Mina says, “someone misses me, huh?”Chaeyoung doesn’t refute because it’s not 100% wrong. “So?”“Yes, Ms. Son. I’ll be there at lunch. Jihyo would kill me if I’m not,” Mina laughs at the other side. “So, bye?”“Yeah. See you tomorrow, Mina—”“Wait, Chaeng,” Mina stops Chaeyoung from hanging up. The smaller girl pauses, listening. “It’s nice to know you were doing well with Tzuyu. I was worried just before.”Hearing it weirdly makes Chaeyoung smile. “Someone missed me, huh?” She jokes back, the same joke with Mina’s. But, not like Chaeyoung, Mina easily admits by saying, “yeah. I kinda missed you. Is it bad?”Chaeyoung halts, kinda surprised with how blunt Mina is. But there’s a part of her heart that is happy to hear that. Her heart is warm and she doesn’t know why. “Well. We should talk a lot tomorrow.”And that’s how they end the call. It’s nice to know Mina is happy with Chaeyoung and Tzuyu becoming friends again. Though Chaeyoung isn’t totally sure that Mina is fine now, still, she hopes she’s doing okay.What Chaeyoung doesn’t know is that Mina currently freaking out, someone just barged into her house and made a mess.///The next day, Chaeyoung really comes to the restaurant. She’s alone, no Sana with her. She, as usual, orders a strawberry stuff. Geez, this girl must be like strawberry that much. She even named her Porsche Berry, which Mina found it’s cute.She parks Berry in front of her so-so restaurant, making Jihyo’s jaw drops when she sees the expensive car stops before the building. She gets shocked even more when Mina greets the driver, which is the owner of the car herself. Therefore, Mina introduces Chaeyoung to her, who gives Mina a teasing look after they’re out of Chaeyoung’s sight.“I remember you said that she’s a jerk,” Jihyo whispers when they enter the kitchen, giving a mere glance over Chaeyoung who cutely sitting at the table number 9, reading the menu. “It was her, right? The blonde girl we saw a few weeks ago? The one you called a jerk?”Mina heaves a sigh. “Yeah, it was her. And I also remember you called her a hot jerk.”“Well, I still think that way. She’s a freakin’ hot jerk,” Jihyo replays her words from a few weeks ago. She takes a look at Chaeyoung once again, still amazed with the fact that a rich just visited her restaurant. “Even hotter when I know she’s riding a Porsche. Anyway, what is she doing here?”Jihyo follows Mina behind, still curious as hell. She never saw Mina ‘inviting’ someone to the restaurant other than Momo and the ex, Jeongyeon. But now, it’s happening. Mina invited someone else, and the fact that they might have a history, makes Jihyo get more curious. She trails Mina behind, who appearing annoyed with the move as she’s preparing Chaeyoung’s orders at the moment. “What happened between you two?”“Geez,” Mina puts down everything on her hands and puts it on the counter. She faces Jihyo, who now is waiting for the answer. She loves gossip and ‘drama’. “Well, she left the jerk title somewhere. She’s not a jerk anymore.”Jihyo’s eyes get bigger. “Oh, so now, she’s a freakin’ hot lady?” She says teasingly, successfully making Mina roll her eyes and continue preparing the order. “You two dating now?” Jihyo adds bluntly, kinda surprised Mina and now, she has a question for Jihyo.She chuckles, asking, “do we look like we’re dating?” She’s silently kinda hoping that Jihyo would say yes. But, instead of saying yes or no, Jihyo asks her back. “Are you two really dating?”Mina halts, suddenly snapped. She’s not dating with Chaeyoung (yet), so she shouldn’t joke around or tell everyone about something that isn’t true. If she do this, she’s just the same with Jeongyeon, who lied about something just because it pleasured herself.And so, Mina shakes her head, doesn’t say anything, continuing preparing the order. Jihyo, noticing Mina isn’t interested with answering her questions anymore, pouts. “I’ll go to the cashier.”As Jihyo leaving the scene, Mina prepares even faster. When the order is ready, she goes out from the back and makes a beeline towards Chaeyoung. The small girl beams at Mina’s figure, and Mina suddenly forgets all of her concerns from last night.When Mina serves the food, Chaeyoung whispers. “Sit with me for a minute.” Her voice sounds playful, and she looks excited like a student who invite her to skip classes. Mina is tempted, even more when Chaeyoung gives her the amazingly pretty smile. She glances over Jihyo, catching the latter is smiling at her teasingly. At that, she knows, she gets the permission to spend some minutes with Chaeyoung. The restaurant isn’t so crowded at the moment as well, so it’s gonna be okay if she chill a bit.She sits before Chaeyoung, who smiles in victory when Mina sits. Mina smiles. “So, am I supposed to just watch you eating lunch?” Well, she doesn’t mind though. Chaeyoung eats cutely, and Mina wouldn’t mind to watch her doing it.Chaeyoung swallows her first bite. “Well, can you take your break time and eat with me now?” She offers a better idea than Mina just watching Chaeyoung eat. Mina seems thoughtful, and then she stands up and walks away from the table. Chaeyoung sees her talking with her friend at the cashier. And after a moment, Mina takes a paper bag from the counter and walks back to Chaeyoung.“I have about 20 minutes before this place starts to pack up,” Mina sits before her, unwrapping the paper bag and revealing her lunch, which is a homemade sandwiches. “So, how’s your day?”Chaeyoung smiles, happy that they eat lunch together at the time. “Well, I have a proper breakfast because Sana visited me this morning and cooked for us. The job is fine. I got my old friend back.” She halts, seems relieved when she adds, “I feel lighter.”“Right?” Mina is glad that meeting with Tzuyu makes Chaeyoung feel better. “Now I’m curious with this Tzuyu. She’s a nice person, but I feel like she’s a dorky too.”“She is!” Chaeyoung states, her face is delightful. “I’ll set a dinner for all of us. Including Sana, because she needs to know that Tzuyu isn’t harmful to me, and also Momo, if she wants to join.”“Momo loves food, so, she’ll join the dinner for sure.”That’s how they spend their small, quiet lunch. There’s nothing special with that dinner, but it does feel like one to Mina. Seeing Chaeyoung’s happy and lighter face, sincerely in joy, not pretending to be fine, really makes Mina happy. She forgets about how terrifying last night was, at least until Chaeyoung mentions it.“Anyway, Mina,” she opens, Mina doesn’t expect anything at first. “Were you really okay last night? Because you sounded not okay at all.”Hearing that, Mina pauses from eating. She stares at Chaeyoung’s eyes for a beat, hesitating. She knows she can trust this woman, but it’s not the thing that bothers her. She doesn’t want to make Chaeyoung worried.And so, Mina shakes her head. “I’m fine, Chaeng. Last night was just... chaotic. But it’s probably because I was so tired.” Even though Mina is sure that she’s very convincing, still, Chaeyoung seems like she doesn’t buy the saying. Therefore, Mina adds, “really. I’m really fine.”Chaeyoung somehow knows that Mina is hiding something. But she doesn’t want to accuse her anything. Maybe it’s a private thing, that Mina can’t tell anyone about it. Chaeyoung also has a thing she can’t tell to anyone. So, she doesn’t want to force Mina to tell about what happened last night. It would make her feel uncomfortable.Mina, in the other side, feeling nervous and anxious again. She’s not blaming Chaeyoung for reminding her about last night, but now, she has to think about it again.Who was it? Who barged into her house and made a mess in her kitchen and her room? It wasn’t Momo and she’s the only person who knows Mina’s door password. And even though Mina wants to keep her positive mind, still, she can’t stop herself from thinking that it was Jeongyeon.She doesn’t know how Jeongyeon got her door password, but it was even more terrifying if it was really her. If it was a thieve, at least Mina would know that they were looking for some precious stuff. But if it was Jeongyeon, Mina wouldn’t understand why she did that. Was it to annoy Mina? Or terror her? Or what? Mina can’t read anything. This almost has no reason and purpose, if Jeongyeon is a ‘normal’ person.The Jeongyeon Mina knew wasn’t a person like this. She was all sweet and lovely at the beginning of their relationship. She doesn’t know when and why she began to change. All rude, angry and harsh most of the time, even until they broke up. And Mina is confused even more when that night, Jeongyeon appeared before her door and asked her to come back.It’s like a new Jeongyeon, the Jeongyeon she doesn’t know. The Jeongyeon who is different and crazy.Although, it’s not confirmed that it was her. There is no evidence, so Mina can’t really say that it was really her.Mina doesn’t want to overthink about this, because whoever did this didn’t take anything other than made a mess inside her house. So, Mina hopes it’s end yesterday. Yeah, because if it’s not, she really doesn’t know what to do.///But, Mina indeed should be terrified of this.Because when she gets home, she finds another mess, even more than yesterday.When she arrives at her apartment, the door was locked. But, there are some stuff that are moved, the kitchen is dirty again and her bed is in mess.Mina can feel her heart thump very loud and hard. Her lips feel dry, and she can’t deny that she’s terrified. And her heart skips a beat when she sees a thing upon her messy bed.A bucket of flowers. The flowers she likes. The flowers Jeongyeon also bought that night. Even though there’s no a card of the sender’s name, still, it’s confirmed. It’s Jeongyeon, the crazy ex.Mina feels her body start shaking. Without wasting another minute, she scurries to the kitchen and takes a knife. She spends the next minutes to check her whole apartment, making sure that Jeongyeon isn’t inside, with the knife as a weapon for protection.When she’s done, she leans to the nearest wall and falls down. Her legs feel weak, and her breath is unstable. She can’t think clearly.
It’s her. It’s Jeongyeon.
Dozen of questions are messing her head. How did she do this? What was her intention? When did she messing her place? And another questions are filling her head. But, the thing that bothers her the most is, what should she do now?She can’t confront her, she’s stronger than Mina. But Mina can’t just do nothing, and just waiting until she end this, because she can’t live in terror like this. So, what is she supposed to do now?///It’s like a dejavu. This moment, where Mina is cleaning the floor while Momo is laying down on the couch, watching TV with a snack upon her belly. Her mouth is full of snack, and she sometimes laughs seeing the comedy from the TV. Mina exhales hardly, it’s almost 3 hours and Momo doesn’t move a bit from the couch.Mina halts from cleaning the floor, staring at Momo in disbelief. “Are you gonna spend your day lying down there?” she says coldly, but as usual, Momo doesn’t seem bothered at all. She keeps munching her snack with her eyes on TV.“This is how I spend my weekend, you know that,” is all what Momo says after a moment. She glances over Mina for a beat, pausing for snacking. “What are you doing in here, by the way?”Mina halts. “I’m here to play with you, Momo. Why are you asking me that?”“Because it’s weekend, Mina,” Momo pulls her body up, putting aside her snack carefully. “Why don’t you go out with your girlfriend? Because me and Sana really need a private time in here tonight.”“Chaeyoung isn’t my girlfriend,” Mina defends herself, somehow feeling sad after saying it. “And I can just hide inside the room if you two want to make out.”Hearing that makes Momo gasp in shock. “What the hell?” Momo shakes her head. “But you’ve been staying here for days, Mina. Why don’t you go home, anyway? Isn’t your house is bigger and cleaner than mine?”Yes. Mina’s been staying at Momo’s house for days. It was when she found out that Jeongyeon was the culprit of her messy house, she decided to leave the house for a while. It’s for my protection, she thought. And so, she’s been sleeping at Momo’s house for the past 4 days.Momo’s actually questioned with Mina’s behaviour, because she knows Mina don’t really like staying at her house. It’s mostly because it’s dirty, and it’s always ended up Mina cleaning the whole house. The second reason is because sometimes, Sana comes and stays at Momo’s place, and they obviously is a bit annoyed by Mina’s existence.Well, it’s not like Mina want to witness this stupid couple making out. But she doesn’t have anywhere else to go. Well, she does have other friends, but Momo is her best friend and she did stay at Mina’s a lot. At least before she had a girlfriend.Though Mina’s been staying at her house for days, Momo still doesn’t know what her intention is. She won’t buy the ‘I miss my friend’ excuse, the very first excuse Mina told Momo when she came to her house in the middle of the night. She was bringing a huge bag, where Momo found was filled with clothes afterwards.“Why are you here, dude? Is there something wrong with your house? Something leaking again?” Momo asks desperatedly. It’s not like she doesn’t like Mina staying at her house, but Sana’s been asking about it as well and she told Momo to ask Mina what was her intention. Sana once thought that Mina was there to make sure the couple didn’t do anything, but Momo assured her that Mina isn’t a person like that. “Tell me, is there something happened with you? Because I’m so confused right now.”Deep inside, Mina really wants to tell Momo what happened. About Jeongyeon barged into her house and made a mess, about how it terrors her. But she doesn’t want to make her worried. So, instead of saying her intention, she says, “I’ll leave in Sunday.” It’s Friday today, so Mina has two days to figure out what is she going to do. “I’ll go out with Chaeyoung, gonna meet this Tzuyu.”“Great!” She squeals, appearing too excited with the state and weirdly it kinda makes Mina offended. “I mean, it’s great that you’re going out with Chaeyoung. I think we can go for a double date very soon.”Mina doesn’t listen to Momo’s words. Her head is filled with the fact that she should be out in two days. She doesn’t know what could be more terrifying than found out that Jeongyeon is still messing her house even after days since she started ‘it’. Mina could only hope that it’s only last for a moment, and that she stops doing it when Mina back to her house in two days.///It’s finally Sunday, and Mina still hasn’t decided anything. She has zero plan, and she wishes she could stay at Momo’s place any longer. But probably, Momo told Sana that Mina will be out in Sunday, resulting the girlfriend coming in the morning, ‘waiting’ for Mina to leave so they can have their private time.Mina isn’t offended at all, by the way. She understands that they need their time together. It’s good enough that they didn’t just make out in front of Mina. It could be very awkward. So, Mina’s grateful that Momo and Sana hold it, at least until Mina left the house.She’s ready to leave. She has to go back to her house first to get ready for the dinner with Chaeyoung and Tzuyu. She takes her bag from the bed and walks out from the bedroom, just to find out a sight that makes her speechless.Sana and Momo are before the TV, Momo is sitting on the couch, her hand is up taking a video of Sana dancing seductively towards Momo with Billie Eilish’s ‘Bad Guy’ as the music.
https://youtu.be/Q7UP0uka3Q8
Momo seems very pleased, and Sana’s also pleased that Momo is happy. Mina takes a backstep, averting her eyes, feeling her cheeks are heated. After a beat, she walks out the bedroom with her eyes to the ground.When she’s close enough for Sana to notice her, Sana squeals and stops immediately. “I-I didn’t know you’re still here!” Momo stirs her body and stares at Mina in disappointment. You interrupted this masterpiece! is the message Mina got within those stare.Mina grins ruefully. “Surprised! I’m leaving right now,” she says. The couple stare at her in unreadable gaze. Doesn’t want to waste another minute, Mina heads to the front door. But then Momo calls her, “wait Mina!”Mina stops, stirring her body and seeing Momo approaching her in quick. Sana stays before the TV, giving the two bestie a moment. “Hey, are you really okay to leave today?” Momo asks in concern.Mina chuckles. “Well, you want me to spend another day in here and interrupt your special time with your girlfriend like what I just did a few seconds ago?”Momo seems hesitated to answer. “Well,” she halts. “I’m sorry if it feels like I’m kicking you out. Sana’s place is a bit far from here and she wants to stay in here rather than me staying at her place. And she has this cute little pout which she uses whenever she asks for something. And that cute pout is a masterpiece.” Momo pauses for a beat. “Don’t tell her the last sentence. She’ll use that trick more often if you do.”Mina blinks a few times after hearing Momo’s words. “O-okay,” she manages to reply, quite surprised that Momo is weak for a cute pout. “Also, it’s fine. I understand that you need a moment with her. I’ve been staying here for days, so I think it’s enough.”Momo halts for a moment. “Are you sure you’re doing okay there? Because you seem a little... anxious for the last few days.”“I’m fine,” Mina rolls her eyes, hoping that Momo believes what she said. “I think I just missed staying at your place. It’s been a while since we have this ‘slumber weekend talk’. Just two of us.”Hearing that makes Momo feel guilty. “Tell you what? Let’s have this ‘slumber weekend talk’ next weekend. I’ll tell Sana to give us a time.”“Sure,” Mina quickly answers. “I’ll bring some of our fav snacks.”And that’s how Mina leaves Momo’s house. Now, she’s heading to her own apartment. Her mind suddenly feels heavy, and her steps feel so slow as she heads to the nearest bus station.She hopes when she arrives, the house is still like when she left it. She hopes nothing are moved or in mess. She hopes there’s no flower on her bed. She hopes whatever she faced a few days ago is finally ended.///Mina is standing before her apartment door. She’s hesitated and afraid to go in, which is weird because it is her own house. A place where she used to love to go when she’s tired and sleepy. But now, the only thing she could think is Jeongyeon messing her apartment with a creepy psychotic smile on her face.But, she can’t do this forever. She can’t hide and run away from this for the rest of her life. She has to face it and solve it, finds the solution. She has to finish it today, right now.And so, she unlockes the door and goes in. She tries to be positive and thinks that everything’s gonna be alright, but the thought is vanished away as soon as she steps inside. Her eyes are down, looking at this unfamiliar thing before her.A pair of shoes. Not her shoes, obviously. Because if it is Mina’s, then she shouldn’t have feel terrified, just like now.For a beat, her mind is empty. She can’t just leave the house, and she shouldn’t be! This is her house, and she needs to protect it with her best.Therefore, the next moment, Mina scurries to the kitchen and takes a knife, the only thing she could count as a weapon for a protection. She doesn’t see Jeongyeon, probably she’s hiding her ass somewhere. So, Mina sets the knife before her, is ready to confront the bitch, when she hears a voice from the bathroom.How dare you using my bathroom?! is what Mina thinks while she stomps towards the voice’s source. When she’s close, she could hear the voice clearer. And she surprisingly is singing loudly inside the bathroom! What a psycho!Mina is very mad right now. The fact that she feels terrified only makes her feel madder. She can’t live in terror like this, so she’s gonna face the bitch inside the bathroom. This should end right now!And so, she sets herself before the bathroom, knife is pointing towards the bathroom, very threatening. The bitch inside the bathroom stops singing, probably done with her business.When the bathroom door open from the inside, Mina is so ready to snap the bitch.
Here we go, you fucker!

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The door is opening, and Mina is about to scream the hell out of her when she sees the bitch.It’s not Jeongyeon’s tall figure like she expected to be. It’s a short figure, black shoulder length hair. The person Mina never expected to be the bitch.“Risky risky, wiggy wi-OH FUCK!” It’s Chaeyoung, who squeals in shock when she catches the sight of Mina pointing out a knife towards her. “Oh god, Mina! I swear I flush my shits!”Mina gasps in shock as well, lowering the knife quickly as her hand runs through her hair. “What the fuck, Chaeng?!” Mina snaps frustratedly, stepping back, starting to feel limp after using her energy to focus on the bathroom door. She looks at Chaeyoung’s figure who hands are up, surrendering, face seems terrified. “What are you doing in my bathroom?!”Chaeyoung gulps thickly, hands are still up. “I-I was in need to relief myself. I swear I didn’t do anything else,” she stutters, her eyes can’t stop looking at the knife in Mina’s hand. “Can you... please put away that... thing?” She asks cautiously, she doesn’t want to cause any trouble.Mina, realizing that she just scared Chaeyoung with her knife, quickly puts away the thing on the nearest table. “Oh, sorry,” she mutters, still processing everything. It’s not Jeongyeon, it’s Chaeyoung. So, was she also the one who messed her house?“How?” Mina asks Chaeyoung, who slowly lowering her hands. Though, her face is still tensed up. “How did you get into my house?”Chaeyoung blinks, confused with why Mina asking that in the first place. “Because you gave me your password, Mina,” she explains carefully. And at the answer, Mina gets surprised once again. “What? What are you talking about?”“We’re meeting with Tzuyu later, right?” Chaeyoung elaborates. Her eyes are on Mina’s shaking ones. “You told me to wait inside your house and you sent me the password.”What? Mina is completely shocked with the answer. She tries to recall, and yes, she actually did that this morning, just a few hours ago. How come she didn’t remember it?“Oh, god. Chaeng, sorry. I forgot,” Mina takes a seat on the nearest chair. She tries to manage her unstable breath. The fact that she forgot about it is somehow making her feel ashamed. She was too focus on what she should do with Jeongyeon, and forgot about the thing with Chaeyoung. She exhales madly adressed to herself. “Sorry, Chaeng. I really forgot about it.”Chaeyoung nods, though starts worrying about Mina who seems down. “It’s fine,” she walks closer. “But, what was that knife thing for?”Mina chuckles bitterly, laughing at the stupid thing she just did. “I just-I thought you were... someone else.”Okay, that’s a weird statement. Weird enough for Chaeyoung to take a sit in front of the house owner and eye her in concern. “What? Did you... expect someone else?”Mina halts, she doesn’t want to talk about it with Chaeyoung. She looks back at Chaeyoung and shakes her head, smiling. “No, Chaeng. It’s fine. Let’s forget about it.”“Well, I really want to know who was the person you expected,” Chaeyoung asks again, wanting Mina to spill the explanation of her surprising encounter. “I mean, your welcome to this person was obviously... far from nice.”There’s a long halt afterwards. Mina is ducking her head down, staring at the floor. She doesn’t want to make Chaeyoung worried, or anyone else worried. She can handle this alone. Handling Jeongyeon is easy, or maybe was. Anyway, she just won’t let the woman she adores get dragged into this thing.She looks up, catching the sight of Chaeyoung waiting for an answer. At that, Mina sighs. “It’s fine, Chaeng.”“No, Mina. Please, tell me,” Chaeyoung demands, her voice sounds firm and even a bit mad. “Because you’ve been acting weird since last week and I really need to know why.” Once again, Chaeyoung asks Mina to spill her everything. Her eyes are sharp, seriousness all over her face. “Do you trust me?”Mina gulps thickly. She does trust Chaeyoung, but what if she gets hurt for involving herself into this thing? What if she only gives another burden to Chaeyoung, who is already dealing with so much pains at the moment?Though, even Mina doesn’t want to tell Chaeyoung, deep inside she knows, she needs help. She knows Jeongyeon was a good person, but absolutely she isn’t one anymore. Handling her could be more difficult than Mina thought. And so, she nods weakly. “Okay, Chaeyoung. I’ll tell you.”Chaeyoung seems relieved that Mina is opening up right now. She leans forwards, waiting. She saw Mina exhale slowly before she says, “It’s Jeongyeon. She barged into my house.”Mina notices Chaeyoung gasping in shock, though too speechless to say anything. So, Mina continues. “She didn’t steal anything. But, she made a little mess. It... creeps me out.”There was a beat of tense silence before Chaeyoung curses under her breath. “That asshole,” she grits her teeth angry, but then she asks, “but, how? Did she know your password?”Mina shakes her head, she also doesn’t know how Jeongyeon managed to get inside her house. “I don’t know. She came into my house twice, last time I left my house and stayed at Momo’s for a few days.” She exhales, she’s terryfied everytime she remembers those moments. “She even left the flower she used to give to me.”Chaeyoung still looks surprised, probably still trying to process things. “Well, are you sure it was her? Not Momo or your other friends?”Once again, Mina shakes her head. “No, Chaeyoung. I already asked Momo. She didn’t come to my house those days,” Mina elaborates. “Also, I have no crazy friends who just came into my house without permission. It was definitely her.”“What did she do?” Chaeyoung still can’t believe that this was the thing Mina hid from her. “What the fuck was she doing here?”Mina halts, never really seeing Chaeyoung mad before now. She could see the fire in her eyes, how upset she is. “She didn’t take anything. She just... made a mess.”“What mess?” Chaeyoung asks again, sounds demanding. Mina answers with, “Just a little mess. But it—”“It terrors you, right?” Chaeyoung cuts Mina’s words. And by the silence, Chaeyoung knows the answer is yes. “She does. Even until now, after you stayed at Momo’s for days. That’s why you encountered me with that... knife thing.”Mina couldn’t deny what Chaeyoung said, because it’s all true. She just keeps silent when Chaeyoung exhales. “Have you called the police yet?”Hearing that, Mina looks up a bit too fast. “No, don’t involve the police, Chaeng.”Chaeyoung stares at Mina in confused. “What?”Mina shakes her head, ducking down again. “Don’t call the police, please.”There’s a halt of awkward silence between them afterwards. Chaeyoung is waiting for Mina’s explanation for not wanting to involve police, while Mina is hesitating to tell Chaeyoung the reason.“Why?” Chaeyoung asks, doesn’t understand why Mina is refusing to call the police. “This is a crime, Mina. What she did to you wasn’t right. And we have to call the police.”Chaeyoung stares in silence when Mina shakes her head weakly. “I don’t... I don’t want to give her any trouble.”“What?” Chaeyoung quickly responds. After what her ex did to her, she can’t believe Mina is still protecting her shits. It’s either Mina is stupid or— “Do you still have feelings for her?”Mina chuckles bitterly. “No, Chaeng. I don’t.” You’re the only one in my heart right now. “I just, she wasn’t like this before. She was all nice and lovely.” Mina looks up, exhaling while looking at the upset eyes of Chaeyoung. “Is it stupid if I want to know her reason for doing this to me?”Chaeyoung sighs in disbelief. “Yes, it is. This sounds like a possessive ex’s move. And I’m afraid she’ll do even worse,” Chaeyoung says her thoughts, obviously disagreeing with Mina’s reason. “You welcomed me with a knife pointing at my face, Mina. Everyone can assume that you’re terrified by her actions.”Yes, it’s true. Mina is terrified with what Jeongyeon did to her. And even though she has no feeling left for her anymore, there’s a part of her heart that knows she won’t give her troubles. She doesn’t know why she feels this way though, but she really doesn’t want to call the police.Chaeyoung, seeing no change in Mina’s determined face, asks again. “Still won’t call the police?”Mina sighs. “I think... I think I need some more time to think.”There’s an uncomfortable silence afterwards. Mina hears Chaeyoung exhaling, standing up from her seat and starting to message someone. “You know what? Let’s cancel the meeting with Tzuyu. We can do it later. For now,” Chaeyoung pauses, typing the message to her old friend and sending it. Her eyes back to Mina. “Let’s talk about this more.”Mina doesn’t say anything, just nodding in agreement. Yeah, she probably needs someone to help her solve this. She can’t deal with this alone forever, and Chaeyoung now knows, so she better lets her help her.Afterwards, Chaeyoung excuses herself. She says she has to do something before talking about it. She also tells Mina to not open the door for anyone else except her, and to call Chaeyoung if Jeongyeon suddenly barges in while she’s inside the house. Mina agrees to do it, promising the small girl that she won’t do anything stupid while she’s away.When the door closes from outside by Chaeyoung, Mina knows, it’s gonna be a long day.///Mina is snacking herself with a homemade sandwich when her bell rings. When it rings, she jolts in shock, her body tenses up as she’s slowly putting her sandwich down and heading to the front door. It’s been an hour since Chaeyoung left the house, and if Mina recalls, Chaeyoung said she will be back in 2-3 hours. So, who is it?While Mina is sinking in her own thoughts, the bell rings again, making her jolt again. And as that it’s not enough to make Mina scared, this person starts to bang her door hard.“Hey! Open the door! It’s me!” Fuck, it’s Momo’s voice. It’s good that it’s Momo, but hearing how upset Momo’s voice is, Mina knows she’s in trouble. “Open the door now or I’ll break this shit down!”Mina swallows, scurrying to the door and holding the knob tightly. She exhales, and slowly opens the door. She sets a pretty happy smile on herself when she meets Momo’s mad eyes. “Oh, hi my bestie.”“Shut up,” Momo pushes Mina’s body aside as she enters the house. Mina closes the door and trails behind her. Her best friend stops in the living room; her hand is running through her hair in frustration.“God damn it, Mina,” she cusses, stirring her body and facing Mina. “Why am I the second person to know this shit? Why didn’t you tell me anything about this?”Yep, Momo is absolutely mad. Chaeyoung must have told her about this, and she doesn’t blame Chaeyoung for it. Momo deserves to know, because she’s her best friend. And yes, she has the right to be upset for knowing about this from someone else, not from Mina.“I...” Mina stutters, walking closer to Momo. The older girl seems very mad, obviously at the ex for doing this to her best friend, and also at her best friend for hiding this from her. “I guess I just didn’t want to give you more troubles.”Momo stares in disbelief. “The fuck? That’s like the most stupid reason you’d ever said,” Momo snaps, refuses to take Mina’s stupid excuse. “Was that the reason why you stayed at my place for days?”Mina sighs, nodding. At that, Momo groans madly. “Oh god, Mina. I can’t believe this is happening.”“I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know what to do,” Mina tries to defend herself, even though she knows she was wrong. “I’m not trying to find an excuse to correct my doings, but I need you to understand how terrifying this is for me, Momo.”Momo doesn’t answer, chooses to sit down on Mina’s couch. She looks calmer, but still upset. “Yeah, I know you’re terrified. That’s why I’m here.” She halts for a beat before cursing under her breath. “That asshole. I know she is something. Should I kill her?”Mina tries to laugh at Momo’s stupid question, but she knows she didn’t fully joke about it. She sits beside Momo and sighs loudly. “So, what should I do now, Momo?”“Call the police. Let’s get her in jail,” Momo answers without hesitate. “I can’t forgive her for doing this to you, girl. We should make her pay for this.”Mina doesn’t answer, she’s still thinking. She knows what Jeongyeon did to her is unexplainable and unforgivable. What is her purpose, what is she gaining from this? Mina doesn’t know the reason, and she is wrong for hesitating about this. But, Mina really can’t call the police. She’s dumb, she knows.“You don’t want to do it, right?” Momo suddenly asks, like she’s reading Mina’s mind. When she glances over her best friend, she could see Mina’s answer through her eyes. At that, Momo rolls her eyes. “Geez, Mina. I know you won’t do it. Just like the time when she stole $500 from you.”Oh yeah, Jeongyeon also did that when they were still together. Geez, as Momo reminds her about it, the roll of their love story’s film suddenly shows inside her head. Not only she broke up with Mina in a very unpleasing way and stole money from her, she also did stuff like embarrassing her in front of her friends, making a scene in public, and sometimes acting like the victim whenever they fought.Her relationship was indeed super toxic. So, why can’t Mina report the ex to the police right now?“I don’t know, Momo,” Mina speaks up. Momo glances over the latter, waiting for the rest of the sentence. “I just, it doesn’t feel real. It feels like I’m in a movie, or a fanfiction that’s written by an author who loves drama.” (LOL)Momo stares in silent before replying, “You’re crazy for saying that.”“She wasn’t like this before. Remember when she paid for all of your dinner on your first meet with her?” Mina says sadly, making Momo exhales in loud. “That was because it was our first meet, dude. She never did it again after that one time.” Momo shakes her head, picturing the face of Jeongyeon inside her head. Oh, Momo really wants to mess that stupid face so bad. “She tried to make a nice first impression on me. What a fucker.”Momo stands up suddenly. “I really hate her, Mina. She hurt you so bad, and even though you guys are not together  anymore, she still tries to hurt you.”Mina halts, seeming thoughtful. “I know. But I’m still not sure if we should call the police. We have no strong evidence to prove that she did this.”Hearing that makes Momo says, “Oh,” in small voice. She thinks for a beat. “Let’s check the CCTV. There must be one in front of the building, or somewhere around here.”Mina shakes her head. “I’ve already checked those. But there is no video of it. They said the cameras are broken and they didn’t fix it yet.”Momo exhales in frustration. “Fuck this stupid apartment. You’re leaving when I come back, okay? I’ll help you find a better place than this.”At that, Mina looks up and eyes Momo, her eyebrows are frowned. “What did you say? Are you going somewhere?”Looking at Mina’s surprised face makes Momo gasps. “Oh, shit. I forgot to tell you about it, didn’t I?”Mina shakes her head, confused, doesn’t know what Momo is talking about. “Tell me about what?”“I’ll go back to Japan tomorrow,” Momo tells Mina about the thing, making Mina gawks in shock, speechless. “I’ll be away for maybe a week.”“What?” Mina shrieks, can’t believe what she just heard. “But, I’m facing this situation right now. Can you stay with me, please? At least until I figure out what I’m gonna do.”Momo sits beside Mina, feeling sorry for not telling her earlier. “Hana’s getting married, I have to be there, Mina.” Hearing the reason makes Mina relent. “I’m going with Sana. She’ll be staying for a few days, but she will come back earlier than me.” She pauses for a beat. “Shit, I’m sorry for not telling you earlier. Things have been a little chaotic for me too.”Mina really can’t say anything. She knew Hana, she met her a couple times. She is a nice sister to Momo, and Mina knows she can’t do anything to make Momo stay with her, accompany her in the house.“Then, can I stay at your place instead of here?” Mina suddenly has an idea, that might be a good idea than have to deal with Jeongyeon alone. But Momo shakes her head. “Nah, you have to face this problem instead of running away like before.”Mina chokes in disbelief. “So, you’re telling me to face her alone here?”“What? No! I never said that. You’re not gonna be a—”TING TONGMina jolts at the sound of her ringing bell. She turns her head quickly to the front door, staring at it with fear in her eyes. But Momo quickly stands up and says, “Chill. It’s probably Sana.”She slowly exhales, calming herself, while her eyes are on Momo’s figure walking towards the front door. When she opens the door, Sana is there standing before the door with a smile on her face.“Baby!” She squeals, leaping on Momo’s side to give a big hug to her lover. While they are hugging each others, Mina stands up, approaching them slowly. There’s a big bag outside of the apartment. Mina points it out. “What is that?”Sana and Momo stop the affection, staring at the thing Mina pointing at. “Why are you asking that?” Sana asks bubbly, a creepy tone slightly heard. “It’s her corpse, of course. Your ex’s corpse.”Mina turns her head quickly, shocked like hell. “What?!” Seeing her surprised face, Momo and Sana laugh hardly. “Hahaha, you should have seen your face!”Eugh, Mina hates this. It’s clearly not the time to joke around, especially a joke like that. She sighs madly, asking again, “Okay, tell me what is that.”Instead of answering Mina’s question, Sana comes inside the house and she sits on the couch, leaving the big bag outside the house. “Isn’t it obvious? It’s a bunch of clothes.” Sana massages her arm, probably a little bit tired after bringing that big bag to here. “Geez, that small bean really made me bringing her stuff.”Mina shakes her head, she still doesn’t understand what is happening right now. “What do you mean? Whose clothes are those?”And before Sana has the time to answer, someone from outside the house answers it. “It’s mine.”Hearing that, Mina turns her head back to the big bag direction, seeing the figure of someone that she just encounter with a stupid knife a few hours ago. She’s there, bringing the big bag inside the house. “These are my clothes.”What?Mina can’t say anything, utterly lost of words when she watches Chaeyoung putting the bag down beside the couch. “Sana, I’ll cut your salary for not bringing this inside.”“Aw, what a lovely abuse of power,” Sana pretends to be scared of the threat while Mina is still confused with what is happening right now, asking again for the umpteenth time, “What is happening here?”The three heads other than her are now looking at her face, Mina’s eyes are on Chaeyoung with her big bag. Mina could feel her body gets tenser when Chaeyoung answers, “I’ll stay here for few days, with you.”///“Okay, so, because we have no evidence that this was that bitch’s doing, so, we’re gonna wait for her to.... do this again? Okay, this sounds ridiculous,” Momo rolls her eyes, can’t believe that they have to let Jeongyeon do this again to Mina. “I wish I can be here to smack her ugly face.”Sana shrugs. “Well, we have no choice. There’s no CCTV videos, she didn’t steal anything, she actually just... barged in and did nothing.”“Yeah, but it makes her terrified,” Chaeyoung nods towards Mina’s direction, who’s been sitting in silence, listening to the other three discussing about their next moves. “We have to get her the next time she did this.”The couple nod in sync. “So, what do you think, Mina?” Momo asks, a bit worried because Mina has been not responsive with this talk. “Do you have another idea?”Mina swallows, not really focusing on the talk. “Uhm, well, do we have another choice?” Mina responds hesitatedly. “I don’t know. Can I just stay at your house, Momo?”Momo immediately shakes her head. “No, you should not run away again, Mina. We have to catch her for sure this time. We can’t let her come and go whenever she wants like this!” Momo’s voice is raised. “When she comes in through that door, we have to get her.”Mina rolls her eyes. “Dude, don’t say that. You’re not gonna be here anyway,” she snaps, a nervous tone is in her voice. “It’s just me and Chaeyoung, and she has years of Taekwondo.”“But again, do we have another choice?” Momo asks back to Mina, and the answer is no. But still, staying at her house, waiting Jeongyeon to come inside just to get an evidence, is a super crazy idea. Mina doesn’t even know which option is worse.No, what?! Of course she knows. Staying at her place is worse. Period.But, Chaeyoung’s here now, with her. So, they’re gonna be fine.... right?Mina isn’t sure about this decision yet though. It doesn’t sound good at all. It makes her feel very uncomfortable to stay here, she feels even worse because now Chaeyoung is here, and she’s worried that she’ll get her into a big trouble.Though, time is ticking. Momo and Sana need to go to pack up their clothes for tomorrow’s flight. And so, they get up from their seats, Momo saying some more words mostly telling Mina that she’ll be fine with Chaeyoung, and then they head to the front door.“You guys please be fine, okay? I’ll come back as fast as I could,” says Momo while wearing her pink sneakers. Sana watches the two youngest girls in concern, but she doesn’t say anything though. “You guys will be fine. Please keep in contact with me, okay?”Mina stays silent watching the couple wordlessly while Chaeyoung replies the question with a nod. “Got it, Momo.”When they farewell, Sana finally says, “You guys please be fine, okay? I’ll call you whenever I can.” She walks out the house, following Momo who looks concerned too. When they’re finally gone from their vision, Mina exhales slowly.This is really happening. She’s staying here with Chaeyoung, stupidly waiting for Jeongyeon to do this again. This is very silly, but Mina really doesn’t want to call the police. Though if she does, she has zero evidence. So, what should she do now?“So,” Chaeyoung’s words break the silence. Mina turns her head only to realize that yes, this girl is staying at her place for only god knows how long. “I sleep in the guest room, like before?”Mina swallows, still trying to process everything. “Yep, you know where it is, right?” She leads the way to the guest room, Chaeyoung following behind her with her big bag in her hand. When they enter the room, is still tidy like the last time Mina came inside.“Wow, I’m back here again,” Chaeyoung smiles while approaching the bed. She puts her bag beside it and sits on the edge of the bed. “The bed still feels nice like before.”Mina shakes her head, can’t believe how chill Chaeyoung is. “Chaeng, are you really okay with this?” She couldn’t stop herself from asking.Chaeyoung, hearing it, looks up and nods. “Yes, of course I’m okay. I love being here anyway,” she grins. “It’s comfy and warm here. Totally love it.”“No, no. That’s not what I’m talking about,” Mina shakes her head. “This could be dangerous for us, for you,” Mina explains. “I don’t want you to get hurt by Jeongyeon.”There’s a beat of silence before Chaeyoung gets up and stands before Mina. “And I don’t want you to get hurt too.”What?Before Mina respond those words, Chaeyoung squats near her bag and starts unpacking it. “This is my idea, Mina. I told Sana and Momo that I’ll stay with you here.”Mina shakes her head, doesn’t understand why Chaeyoung did that. “Why?”Hearing that question, Chaeyoung pauses and stands up. “Because you helped me went through a lot of things. When Tzuyu appeared in front of me, when I needed to decide whether giving Tzuyu another chance, when I needed someone to talk to, you were there. And I want to be here for you, too.” Chaeyoung pauses for a beat. “I’m staying here, you can’t make me go.”Mina can only watch when Chaeyoung takes her towel and her casual clothes from her bag. “I’m going to take a quick shower. Talk more later?”Seeing Mina is not gonna respond, Chaeyoung smiles and walks away from the house owner, heading to the bathroom that she visited this morning.Behind her, Mina is still processing. You can’t make me go, those words still linger in her mind. Mina is supposed to feel safe with Chaeyoung’s existence. Even though Jeongyeon has Taekwondo experience, she’s still a girl, right? Her power couldn’t be that strong.Mina keeps replaying words that might convince her that they’ll be fine in here. But deep inside, she still feels anxious, no matter how much she tells herself that they’ll be alright together.///Mina is walking past the bathroom, drinking her orange juice, when Chaeyoung comes out from the bathroom. When Mina catches her figure, she bursts her juice out, making a mess right before the bathroom, her clothes is wet with orange color.Chaeyoung, seeing that scene, quickly approaches the latter. “Hey, you alright?” She looks at Mina in concern, seeing Mina is coughing. “Yes, I’m all fine.”“I’ll take water and a rag, wait,” she scurries to the kitchen, taking all the things she mentioned before. While Mina is currently managing her breath.Fuck, she curses inside her mind. What was that?When Chaeyoung walks back to her, Mina is kinda avoiding to look at her. Chaeyoung doesn’t notice, handing the glass of water and squating down to clean the mess. “You go chance your clothes. I’ll clean this up,” Chaeyoung says without looking at her. Mina nods, fast-walks to her own bathroom.She opens the door quickly, also closing it very hastily. After a beat, she leans her back to the door, trying to picture the image she just saw.Chaeyoung’s hair was wet, water dripping from it. Her hand was rubbing the towel to her hair, drying it. Her short sleeves making her bicep shown, and Mina could see some of her tattoos.She looked hot. And it shocked Mina very much.Mina exhales, calming herself. Her heart thumps hard and fast. Yes, Chaeyoung looked sexy just before, but what makes her shocked more is that she was able to make her feel this, being in a gay panic.Mina laughs at herself. “You’re not a fucking teenager, Mina. Calm the fuck down,” she tells herself to stop panicking. It’s just Chaeyoung finishing her bath, not more.At that moment, she realizes. She’s gonna deal with that sight everyday from now on. And she isn’t sure if she can survive next time.