"I know it's hard to escape the past and start it again / those memories of all the future hearts you killed // we got scars on our future hearts." - old scars / future hearts, all time low.

PRESENT

A few days later and Nayoung learns that Mina likes strawberry milk in her cereal instead of the normal one; she mentally praises herself for buying strawberry milk and smiles at the girl as she tries to reach out for the milk again. Sejeong takes it out of her reach instantly, cheeks full with orange juice.

There’s something very homey about this, something Nayoung doesn’t really mind getting used to, even if it breaks her apart in the end.

And she’s learning so much about Mina. It turns out she also doesn’t like butter on her pancakes and instead likes to flood the plate with chocolate syrup. She also doesn’t like orange juice and shook her head rapidly with that cute lower lip jutting out when Nayoung offered her some.

“Nayoung.”

She looks up, Sejeong’s using that ‘business’ voice she used to use years ago whenever Nayoung leaves behind her notebooks in the most random places. It’s like they’re pulled back into the college years, it’s like nothing ever changed. “Yes?”

“I think we need to go grocery shopping.”

She frowns. She just finished restacking her ‘essentials’ a few days ago when Chaeyeon ordered Heehyun to buy groceries and she was asked to tag along and ‘make sure she doesn’t buy more than five bags of chocolate’. “I just did that last Friday.”

Sejeong slightly points her chin towards Mina’s direction, and Nayoung forms an ‘O’ with , understanding. “Your fridge is stacked with alcoholic drinks and just one carton of milk and one bottle of orange juice. You don’t have any fruits nor vegetables. Your freezer is full of bags of hotdogs, bacons, and fries. You’re not living a healthy lifestyle.”

Nayoung slightly dips her head, ashamed. “I sometimes eat low fat cupcakes in The Ministry.” She gets a disappointed look. “Fine, I’ll go grocery shopping later before I go to work.”

“Which reminds me, I’ll be working in the amusement park today and I’ll bring Mina. We might come home at around midnight and-”

“I can take care of Mina while you’re gone. I don’t have to open the studio today because I’ll be working with Chaeyeon this afternoon. I’ll also take her grocery shopping.”

Sejeong frowns. “Isn’t your blind date today?”

Ah, and that instantly brings them back to the present. Years ago, Sejeong would’ve forced Nayoung not to go on a blind date for various reasons – because it’s dangerous; you don’t know who you’re going to meet; they might be just out to take your insides and sell them to the black market. But now, Nayoung shrugs.

A lot changed, she accepted that long ago.

She also frowns. “Is it Wednesday already?” she mutters, eyes blinking. She completely forgot, and she’s sure Juna will sprinkle saw dust in her cupcake if she bails. “I’ll take her to the shop.”

“Mommy, more?” Mina interrupts, holding up her empty bowl with an expectant look. “Please?”

Sejeong shakes her head. “You’ve had enough, baby. We’ll go shower after I wash the dishes, okay?”

Mina’s lower lip slowly bulges out, dimple appearing. But still she nods. “Okay.” Her voice is defeated and Nayoung chuckles.

“Hey, lil Chipmunk, let’s go to the mall later, okay?”

That changes the expression on her face. She instantly grins at Nayoung, dimple more evident than when she was pouting. Nayoung reaches over the table to poke her dimple. “Always smile, okay? So people can see your dimple.”

Mina grins wider, Nayoung squeals at the sight. Sejeong slightly smiles before standing up. “I’ll go wash the dishes, Nayoung, please bring Mina to the living room.”

“Aye aye, captain,” Nayoung replies, standing up quickly to squat in front of Mina and making her jump on her back. As she stands up, she grunts. “You’re heavy. You need to go on a diet.”

“Mommy, what’s a diet?”

Sejeong groans as Nayoung laughs, taking Mina to the living room in big, wobbling steps. She lies down on the couch, Mina still laughing on her back. “This is enough exercise for the day.”

“Let’s watch TV.”

She shakes her head, Sejeong told her days ago never to let Mina watch TV so early in the morning. “Mommy will kill me.”

“Mommy’s not a killer.”

A grin forms on her face as she leans closer to the kid. “Oh, but she is. She killed so many living things before…”

Mina’s eyes bulges, afraid. “Why would mommy do that?”

“Because they were standing in her way. And asking to watch TV at-” she glances at the clock; Mina mimics her, “-at 7 in the morning.”

“Will- will mommy kill me?” Mina asks, voice small and terrified. “I don’t want to die.”

Her heart suddenly aches. “I-”

“Mina, let’s go take a bath.”

They both turn their attention to Sejeong. Nayoung wonders how she can wash the dishes so fast, probably the same reason why Chaeyeon can resist the urge to slap Heehyun fifty times a day – kids.

“Mommy, will you kill me?”

Sejeong’s eyebrows meet, Nayoung sinks in her seat. “What? No, baby, why would I do that?”

“Nayoung said-”

“Nayoung said we’ll go take a bath, yay!” she interrupts, sending a warning look towards Mina. “Let’s go start this day early, shall we?”

Sejeong steps forward, eyes disapproving. “What did Nayoung say, Mina?”

Nayoung stiffens, Sejeong wasn’t really one to take things lightly since before.

But then Mina stands up and takes Nayoung’s hand, dragging her to the bathroom. “She said she’ll help me take a bath.”

“I can barely even take a bath on my own,” she grumbles, letting herself be dragged by the kid. “Sejeong!”

“But you’re a woman of your word, aren’t you, Nayoung?”

Her glare travels to Sejeong’s face. And she mouths, ‘ you’. Sejeong grins.

This doesn’t take a lot of getting used to after all.

-

“Sejeong!”

She drops the dresses on the bed with a roll of the eyes. This is the fifth time Nayoung called her, the first few times, she asked about which shampoo she should use on Mina, did Mina have to strip all her clothes, and even ‘can’t she take a bath on her own?’

She wonders what it is this time as she walks to the bathroom connected to the bedroom. The sight of Nayoung half drenched in water, already inside the tub with Mina, and scowling, greets her.

“What happened?” She laughs, not even bothering to stop Mina from putting a massive amount of shampoo on Nayoung’s head.

Nayoung’s scowl deepens. “I told her she smells bad, she pulled me in the tub and told me I smell ‘badder’ and that I need to wash myself too. Control your kid, please.”

Sejeong laughs, shaking her head. “I think you brought this upon yourself.” She walks towards the tub, a very gentle smile on her face. Nayoung almost falls for her again, but then she remembers this is Sejeong and Sejeong always leaves. And when Sejeong leaves, Nayoung’s heart always breaks.

She tries to brush away all negativity as Mina massages her head with her tiny but chubby fingers. “Ah, that’s right, Mina, right there.”

Mina, realizing that Nayoung’s taking advantage of this, fills a water dipper with water and pours everything on Nayoung’s head, a grin on her face.

Shocked, Nayoung abruptly stands up, the motion sends water everywhere – even on Sejeong.

“Nayoung!”

Mina laughs, dimple appearing as her eyes disappear. Nayoung’s shocked face turns into a grin, and Sejeong also smiles. The bathroom is filled with laughter and Nayoung thinks that maybe, just maybe, Sejeong will find a reason to stay this time.

-

Sejeong leaves after a while. For work, of course.

And Nayoung is left with a still kinda fresh Mina and a really messy apartment. But she still chooses to sit in the middle of the Lego blocks she bought Mina yesterday. She sits in the middle of the mess, cross-legged on the carpeted floor, with Mina on her lap, playing with both of her hands so she can’t take the remote away.

Smart kid, that one.

The commercials stop playing and the next show flashes on the screen.

A few minutes into the show, Mina perks up in her seat on Nayoung’s lap and stops playing with her fingers. She looks up at Nayoung, wide eyed, then back at the TV. Using Nayoung’s hand, she points at the TV.

“What is it?” Nayoung asks, also looking at the platypus kicking the scientist’s . “What’s wrong?”

Suddenly, the little girl jumps up from her lap and runs to their room. Nayoung waits patiently for her to come back, and when she does she’s wearing a bright smile and holding up a green plastic. She takes it from her and unfolds it – it’s the balloon she gave her the first day. “Oh, it’s the same as the one on TV?” Mina nods. “His name’s Perry. Perry the Platypus.”

“Papitus?”

She chuckles, beckoning the girl to sit back down on her lap and she does. “Pla-tuh-pus.”

“Pa-pi-tus.”

“Sheesh, you can’t be saved, huh? He’s a semi aquatic secret agent.”

“Why is his name so long?”

“His name’s actually just Perry. But he’s a pla-tuh-pus. So, he’s Perry the pla-tuh-pus.”

Mina turns her head to King Pegasus sitting beside them. “King Pegasus the Dog?”

“What about King Simba?”

“King Simba the other Dog! And Brr the Cat!” She jumps up again and runs to the aquarium. She points at the fishes. “And Nemo, Dory, and Deb the fishes!” Her eyes light up in excitement, Nayoung inwardly squeals. “Why are they fighting the doctor? Is he bad? Are doctors bad?”

“Nope, just him.”

“What’s his name?”

Nayoung grimaces, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is too hard to pronounce. “You can call him Dr. Doofus.”

“Why is his name funny?” Mina asks, giggling behind her hand. “Are doctors’ names always funny?”

“Again, just him.”

Mina’s eyes land on the screen again, wide and watching. “Are they going to kill him?”

She winces. “No, no, killing is bad.” She crawls to Mina and stares at the fishes with her. “Hey, you know who the best secret agent is?”

“Who?” Mina asks, eye level almost the same as Nayoung’s.

Nayoung nudges her, a smile breaking out of her face. “Mina the Princess.”

Mina’s face lights up excitedly and she points at Nayoung. “And you’re Nayoung the Kitty!” She looks at the door Sejeong exited an hour ago. “What about mommy?”

“Mommy is… a unicorn.”

“But unicorns don’t exist.”

“Yeah, they’re too good for this world. Just like your mommy.”

“But mommy exists.”

Nayoung glances at her pout and slightly smiles. “Does she?”

“Yeah, she wakes me up every morning and cleans my body before I go to school… and Fridays are always bath days and- and she cooks for me every day when we were still in-”

She just laughs as Mina keeps rambling on about how her mommy exists. But as she glances back up at the door, her smile dims, does she really exist? Or is Nayoung just making up the Sejeong in her mind? Sure, Sejeong does exist, but does she exist in the way Nayoung thinks she does?

Again with the cryptic thinking, she really should stop. What matters is the now.

But that doesn’t mean she can’t be scared of the ‘what will be’.

Sighing, she looks around. Then she sighs again. “Mina.”

“Hmm?”

“Let’s go clean up.”

Mina frowns. “But I’m watching Perry the Papitus.”

“But we have to clean up or else your mommy will step on one of the legos and she’ll cry. You don’t want to see mommy cry, right?” Mina shakes her head. “Same. So, let’s go clean up.”

-

After cleaning up the whole apartment – which consist of Nayoung cleaning up and Mina gasping and being excited every time she sees a toy she was looking for since last night or last week – she dresses Mina up in pants and a sweater and takes her to the car.

“We’re going grocery shopping, kid.”

“What’s a grocery?” Mina asks as Nayoung tries to put a seatbelt on her.

She frowns, the seatbelt’s too high for Mina. “We need to buy you a booster seat too.”

“What’s a booster seat?”

Nayoung groans. “Why do you have so many questions?”

Mina pouts. “But you’re not answering any of them.”

She scowls at her pitiful look before closing the door and getting in other side of the car. She locks all doors and sends Mina another glare. “Because it’s tiring.”

“Mommy always answered my questions.”

“For a four year old, you’re pretty good at speaking. I was hoping you’d speak less than Dani.”

That only adds another series of questions about why Dani liked Gary the snail and why they were in the amusement park that day.

And why they have to drive to places and stop when the light turns red and why the buildings are so tall and what’s keeping them standing and do they every get tired of standing and staying in the same place their whole life.

If only Mina asks about Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity and not ‘do aliens like fries, too?’, then maybe Nayoung can answer her questions. But she doesn’t ask about those; she just asks why the leaves are falling and why the ground is twinkling. Nayoung doesn’t have an answer to those. Not ones that Mina can understand, anyway.

They reach the mall with Nayoung’s ears still attached to her, she’s thankful for that. But she’s sure that a few more hours alone with this kid and she’ll personally cut her ears off.

As soon as they enter the grocery store, Mina points at the line of carts excitedly, tugging at the end of the sleeve of Nayoung’s sweater. “Can I ride it?”

“Aren’t you too old for that?”

“I’m not, I’m only this-” she holds up four fingers “-old.”

She looks back at the carts and frowns deeper. She knows Mina’s not too old for it, but she’s tired and Mina’s… heavy. “Fine. You may ride it.”

Mina squeals, eyes smiling. She drags Nayoung to the carts and tries to pull one out, Nayoung guffaws as she lands on her . “Why are you so weak?” she asks as she pulls out a cart.

“I’m a kid!” Mina exclaims at her, pouting.

Nayoung grins. “Of course you are.” She puts her hands under Mina’s armpits and puts her in the cart. “Now, let’s go shopping.”

Shopping takes much more time that Nayoung thought it should’ve. Mina sits on the other end of the cart instead of the seat for kids, pretending to be a pirate on a quest to fill her ‘treasure chest’ aka the cart. Nayoung drives her around the store, pausing or walking faster whenever Mina tells her to.

There’s just something about her pouting lips and chubby cheeks and cute dimple that makes it so hard to say ‘no’ to her. That’s why when they passed by a section selling slippers and Mina saw the cute monster slippers – the ones with claws and fur, she instantly takes three pairs and puts them in the cart.

Huh, look at that, the ability to order Nayoung around without much difficulty runs in the family.

Besides, Mina reminds her of the childhood she always wanted to have. Mina doesn’t have it yet, but she wants her to. She wants her to have the happiness her parents stopped giving her. She wants her to be happy, just eternally happy. She wants her to look back at this point of her life and see only happy things, no crying under the covers as her parents shout at each other, no silent dining tables as her parents send each other death glares.

Just happiness.

“Strawberry milk!” Mina squeals, pointing at the milk cartons lined up on the shelf. “Let’s buy ten!”

She laughs. “Ten? Kid, you’re going to make me broke.” She takes three and places them around Mina. “Let’s go find the next treasure, which is…” she takes out her phone and scans the list, “oh, look, fun, vegetables.”

“I don’t like vegetables.”

“Same, Mina, same.”

The vegetables are on the other side and as they pass by the other sections of the store, Mina points to the chips. “Let’s buy!”

“Mina, we already have three bags of candies and two bags of chocolates, we are not going to-”

“Please?”

She sighs. “Fine.”

-

Mina stands by the side as she attaches the booster seat to the passenger seat. As soon as she’s finished, she makes Mina sit and smiles, she never knew there’d be a time she’d have to buy a booster seat for her car.

She gets on the driver’s seat and starts the car. “We’re going to pick up your Aunt Eunwoo on the way to The Ministry.”

“What’s a ministry?”

Nayoung sighs, here we go again. She drives to Eunwoo’s house while answering all of Mina’s questions with ‘I don’t know’, ‘I don’t think so’, and ‘God made them, duh’.

Mina stops asking questions as they reach Eunwoo’s driveway. Eunwoo immediately stands up from where she was waiting and frowns as she sees Mina sitting in front. She knocks on the window and Nayoung opens it with a smirk. “I got shotgun for life on all cars. What’s she doing in my seat?”

“She wants to sit in front.”

Eunwoo scowls at Mina. “Look, I had to drink a whole glass of a mixture of every alcoholic drink we found in a convenience store just to get shotgun for life. The next day was hell, alright? I’m sitting there.”

The kid looks up at her, eyes wide and innocent, cheeks puffing out and eyebrows raised. “Hmm?”

“Alright, if Mina agrees she’s okay with sitting at the back, then you get to sit in front,” Nayoung says, a laugh in her words. “Mina, do you want to sit in the back?”

The singer leans closer, glaring. Mina’s eyes aren’t fazed as she shakes her head, still staring straight into Eunwoo’s eyes. “No.”

“See?” Nayoung laughs, pointing to the backseat. “Your days of sitting shotgun ends here.”

“That’s not fair,” Eunwoo mutters as she slams the door close, sulking in the back seat. “Dani already stole my right to their car. I mean, what right does she have? Even Chaeyeon sits at the back whenever I’m riding with them because I won the title fair and square.”

“Well, you’re not the youngest around here anymore. They have better kicked puppy faces than you ever did.”

And who knew? Who knew that in a few years they’d be taking care of two kids, two daughters to everyone? No one. And heart feels a bit more warm at how not everything changed for the worse. Mina and Dani are the best changes ever.

-

Pinky greets them in front of The Ministry, all smiles and rainbows and everything that makes Nayoung puke.

“Is this the kid?” Pinky asks, crouching in front of Mina with a smile. “Are you Mina?”

Mina nods, eyes uncertain. “Yes.”

The Chinese nurse holds out a hand. “I’m Jieqiong.”

“Call her Pinky,” Nayoung tells Mina, rolling her eyes at ‘Jieqiong’. She never used that name on her, none of them ever did. They all liked the name ‘Pinky’ better.

“Hi,” Mina mutters, shaking Pinky’s hand shyly.

Nayoung sees Eunwoo smiling at the two, and she rolls her eyes. She can’t be saved. “Let’s go in.” They enter the shop and find Juna arguing with a familiar face. They all smile.

“Haein!” they greet, and the said girl looks up, a smile readily on her face. They walk to each other and hug in the middle of the shop. Being an adult means having less time for yourself, and your friends. It’s been a month since they’ve seen Haein.

“You’re my new boss, huh?” she asks, gaze running up and down Nayoung’s body as if they’re just meeting today. “I can’t believe I’m stooping this low.”

“This low?” she exclaims, jaw dropping. “Look at that, a month later and I still hate your guts.” She grabs Mina’s hand and takes her to the table they always sit in, just a few tables away from the cashier. “Get me coffee, assistant.”

Haein grumbles under her breath, going back to the counter as Eunwoo and Pinky follow Nayoung to the table.

“Did you schedule the surgery yet?” Pinky asks, chin on her palm, smiling fondly at Mina.

Nayoung shakes her head. “I haven’t taken her yet.”

“Don’t worry, we rarely have any complications when it comes to holes in the heart,” Pinky assures, sending Nayoung a smile. “She’ll be fine. It won’t even hurt.”

“What won’t hurt?” Mina asks, eyes on Nayoung.

She looks back at her and tries to smile. “Everything. I won’t let anything hurt you.” She sighs and directs her gaze back on the two in front of her. “How’s the wedding planning?”

“Eunwoo’s helping me so much.” Pinky grins, a very thankful and painfully platonic glance on Eunwoo. “And Suhyun’s in charge of the pastry.”

“She’d be mad if she wasn’t,” Nayoung mutters. “Is Im helping?”

Pinky nods. “She is, but she’s busy with everything right now, so Eunwoo’s-”

“Replacing her?”

A frown. “-the one helping.”

“Don’t you have work?” she asks Eunwoo. “How come you’re not busy?”

She sees Eunwoo shift uncomfortably in her seat, and she feels the slightest bit of guilt. “I just finished promoting, remember? I’m on a break.”

She hums, nodding. She knows Eunwoo knows nothing about her questions are innocent. As she looks up at Pinky, she knows that the Chinese knows it too.

“I don’t really know why I have to work for you until Suhyun forgives me,” Haein grumbles under her breath as she places two cups of coffee on the table. She sits down in front of Nayoung, side-eyeing the same aged friends beside her.

Ah, another misfortune to their group. “Because you hurt Suhyun and I’m her best friend. And in dire need of assistance.”

“I didn’t hurt her.”

“Yeah, you did. You-” she glances at Mina, “-made love with Hyelin.”

“Hyelin- she happened when Suhyun was outside the country, remember? We weren’t together. We were on a break.”

Nayoung points a finger at her, eyes blazing with annoyance. “Don’t you pull that Ross bull-” she pauses as she remembers Mina, but thank goodness the kid’s too busy playing with Nayoung’s phone, “-on me. She trusted you to wait for her while she’s busy putting up this shop. What did you do? Go to Hyelin’s house and her senseless the first night Suhyun’s gone.”

“I didn’t-”

“Lee Haein, for goodness’s sake, let it go. If you want Suhyun to go back to you, prove it. It hasn’t even been a month yet,” Eunwoo interrupts, also really annoyed. Pinky stays quiet. She’s part of the group now, too, but she’s not one to join conversations like this.

“Why is no one on my side?” Haein exclaims, ignoring the looks the other occupants of the shop were giving her. “I’m just as much a victim as Suhyun is.”

“You got your limbs torn from , Suhyun got her heart broken by trusting,” Eunwoo says, voice low and mad.

Nayoung looks up and unconsciously stares at Pinky. “Yeah, and I have a feeling someone else’s heart will break by trusting.”

Pinky squirms under her gaze, uncomfortable even though she isn’t doing anything wrong. Not on purpose, anyway. She suddenly touches Eunwoo’s arm, hesitant. “We have to meet the caterer, remember? Let’s go.”

Eunwoo nods, avoiding Nayoung’s eyes at all cost at they leave The Ministry, not even a goodbye.

“What’s going on with them?” Haein asks, frowning. “Eunwoo still loves her?”

“Head over heels for her.” Nayoung sighs, taking the cup off the table. “How about you?”

“What about me?”

“You still love Suhyun?”

“You think I’d stay here if I don’t?”

Another sigh. Maybe that’s all you can do when you’re surrounded by idiots. “Set up the studio downstairs, will you? Chaeyeon’s arriving in an hour.”

Haein nods without any protests before taking the key and walking down to the basement.

Juna immediately walks towards the table. “Hey, you’re not bailing, right?”

“Of course not. I’m here, aren’t I? But this is all friendly, okay? I’m engaged.”

She hears a small ‘bull’ from the cashier and rolls her eyes. “Tell me her name.”

“Park Hayi.”

She pauses, frowning. Her gaze travels back to Juna’s face. “Park Hayi? Where did you meet her?”

“In one of my yoga classes. I was planning on having a- um, one night thing with her, but then she immediately said she’s not interested. So, we became friends instead. And, um, she saw your picture - the one we took when the shop first opened, and she said she wanted to meet you.”

Nayoung groans, head falling to her hands. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”

“Look, camera boss, you wouldn’t have agreed to it if you knew.”

“Of course I wouldn’t have!” she exclaims, surprising Mina. She puts a hand to her shoulder, trying to tell her everything’s okay, and the kid goes back to playing. “I can’t believe you, Juna.”

“It’s just one day. She just wanted to clear things.”

The door chimes ring and something tells Nayoung she’ll see that face again behind Juna. Juna turns around and greets the costumer. “Hayi!”

She sighs, leaning back in her seat and trying to relax her facial muscles. The face appears and her breath is caught on . “Hey, Cottontail.”

-

No one touches the cupcakes except Mina, who Hayi keeps on watching since they settled down on the table. “Your kid?”

“Sejeong’s.”

She nods, sadness taking over her face. “Sejeong’s your fiancée?”

This time, it’s Nayoung who nods. “Yeah.” She clears , why did she have to have two awkward reunions in just one month? “So, why did you want to meet up?”

“I- I’m just sorry.”

And two awkward and heavy apologies in the same month. “I should be the one who’s sorry.”

“We both should be. We didn’t really have the best of partings. I want to restore our friendship.”

Can she do that? Can Nayoung restore two broken relationships from the past simultaneously? Isn’t that too much stress to handle? “I’m not-”

“Please?”

Why does her heart always melt when it comes to ‘please’? She sighs. “Okay. But what exactly were you thinking?”

“Mondays dates?”

She shrugs. “I’m engaged.”

“Friendly Monday dates.”

She can’t help but chuckle, eyes on Mina’s fingers tapping on her phone screen. “Sure.”

“Nayoung.”

They both look up and see Chaeyeon staring at Hayi with curiosity. Nayoung stands up. “Chaeyeon, you’re early.”

“I came here earlier because I need to finish earlier too.” The model looks back at Hayi. “You’re Hayi, right?”

“Right, Chaeyeon? Big fan.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry but can I take Nayoung now? My wife and my kid are going to throw tantrums once I miss another movie night.”

Hayi nods, although the regret is evident on her face. Their ‘date’ barely lasted an hour. “Sure.” Her gaze is back on Nayoung. “I’ll see you next Monday?” She hands her phone to Nayoung. “Your number, please.”

The photographer takes it, punching in her number before giving it back and sending her a smile. She watches her leave the shop and drive away in her motorcycle before looking back at Chaeyeon. “Hey.”

“So, this is Mina, huh?” Chaeyeon leans towards the kid and she suddenly looks like a mother and not a model. “Hey, I’m Chaeyeon.”

Mina tears her gaze from the phone and looks up. “Hi, I’m Mina.”

Nayoung frowns. Mina’s not at all shy, it’s like she knew Chaeyeon since before, a very different approach from when she first met Pinky a few minutes ago. “Why are you so good with kids?”

“I have one of my own, remember?”

“Oh, right. Dani.”

Chaeyeon shakes her head. “You forgot about her already? Must be why she’s always whining about her aunt Nayoung forgetting about her. Heehyun’s also always complaining about you helping Sejeong again. You’re becoming a really sensitive topic at home.”

She feels a pang of jealousy at how easily Chaeyeon can say the word ‘home’. “Heehyun hates what I’m doing, huh?”

“Yeah, and I agree with her.”

She frowns, taken aback. “Sejeong’s your friend, why would you-” she feels Mina grab her fingers, probably afraid she’d snap again.

“Nayoung… I agree with Heehyun not because I don’t want you to help Sejeong. Sejeong’s my friend, yes. But we both know it’s not just you who’s capable of hurting. At the end of this façade, you’re both going to hurt.” Her gaze lands back on Mina, whose hand is still gripping Nayoung’s fingers as she waits for the game to load. “And she will too.”

“Nayoung, the studio’s ready," Haein says, standing near the stairs. She sends Chaeyeon a nod. “Hey, Chaeyeon.”

Chaeyeon sighs and rolls her eyes. Another love idiot, she thinks as she looks at Haein. She glances at Nayoung before going to the basement, Haein following her.

Nayoung looks down and sees Mina still holding her fingers and trying to play using only one hand. Doubt creeps in and she thinks, am I really doing the right thing? She won't ever forgive herself once Mina feels what 11 year old her felt when her parents left.

-

She wakes up that night and sees that Sejeong’s still not beside her and Mina. Unable to go back to sleep, she walks to the kitchen and finds Sejeong leaning against the counter, a glass of water in her hands as she stares at the kitchen tiles, a frown on her face. She’s already wearing her bed clothes, it seems like Nayoung’s not the only one who can’t go to sleep.

“Hey.”

Sejeong looks up, frightened. Then she smiles. “Hey.”

Nayoung walks to the counter, pours herself some hot water and proceeds to mix coffee for herself. Coffee always calmed her nerves, and she sleeps much better when she drinks coffee before bed, although of course it takes her at least two hours to go to bed after a cup of coffee. She furtively glances at Sejeong. “Why are you still awake?”

“I just came home. I got thirsty so I got myself a glass of water.”

She hums, not buying it. “What were you thinking about?”

“Just… things.”

If this was four years ago, Nayoung wouldn’t have accepted a ‘just things’. But this is the present time and nothing’s the same as before. “Oh. Okay.”

“How was your day?”

“Mina’s a handful, huh?” She chuckles, bringing the cup to her lips and blowing on the liquid. “It was an eventful day.”

“Your date?”

Nayoung shrugs. “Hayi.”

Sejeong frowns, blinking. “Oh, Hayi. Hayi from college?”

“Yeah, Hayi. We didn’t get to talk that much though, because Chaeyeon arrived and wanted to start the photoshoot early.”

A small “oh” escapes Sejeong’s lips, her gaze goes back to the floor.

They stand in silence, side by side against the counter but not even their arm hairs touching. Nayoung sips her coffee in silence, Sejeong stares at the tiles wordlessly.

There’s the doubt again, that maybe this isn’t right. Maybe this is the biggest mistake Nayoung’s ever had. She can’t count with one hand how many times Sejeong’s left her in the past, who says she won’t this time around? Maybe she’s being a fool, hoping everything goes back to how they were four years ago.

Then she remembers Hayi, and she sighs against the cup. Whoever said past is past is bullting. In a span on one month, two people from the past comes haunting Nayoung. But then, things are different this time. Relationships are broken, trusts faded, and hearts aren’t fully healed yet.

Her mind tells her everything’s going downhill, she’s going to regret this soon enough.

But she follows her heart one more time. Maybe this time it’ll lead her home.

A/N:

Another long chapter. I want to thank betadine senpai for suggesting Hayi as Mint Girl and both stysica and baejoohyunswife for helping me pick her from the ones I had in mind. I hope you liked this! :D