There was a distinct change in the complexion of the recording studio now. Ever since their group meeting, the atmosphere had become lighter and more favorable to the working environment they had to establish for their comeback. Momo had become more accepting and adapting too to the sudden changes she had been experiencing. She had been more understanding of everything and everyone around her. There was progress, slow progress, but at least she was trying. No longer was she in a constant hot temper around the members who could practically stay warm on her head because of how annoyed she easily would get at them. At least Momo was smiling now and everything else seemed to follow.

“That one sounds good,” she noted at the sample that played. “It has title track potential.”

“You think so?” Nayeon asked, looking back from the swivel chair she was sitting in against the knobs and buttons and switches.

They had decided to split the team into two so they could work more and efficiently. They were the first team, the morning shift. Momo, Nayeon, Tzuyu, and Sana. The others were to go song hunting in the afternoon shift. So far, there had been development in the sample selection, gathering enough to create options on which they could record.

“I think so too, unnie,” Tzuyu agreed from the back of the booth. “It has that girl crush vibe.”

“I can tell Momo’s creating the choreography for it now.” Sana joked, leaning beside their maknae.

Momo laughed. “Yeah. I have a good feeling on this one, guys. If this gets through the other members then what we have to do next are the lyrics and we’ll finally have one song for the album.”

“Had I known it was going to be this fast if we worked together then I shouldn’t have slacked off,” Nayeon said.

“Aish.” Momo flapped her hand at her. “Stop thinking about that. That’s all in the past. We need to listen to a few more samples before we leave.”

Sana teased. “’All in the past’ eh?”

“Yah,” Momo pointed at her, narrowing her eyes. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“What?” Sana chortled. “It’s not like we see you like this every day, Momoring. You’re beaming again.”

“True, unnie,” Tzuyu said. “You do seem new today.”

Nayeon looked at her, suspicious. “Who are you and what did you do to our grumpy, distant, never-talks-anymore Momo?”

Momo shook her head in laughter. “You guys are crazy. Let’s just finish this up now so we can all go home.”

The maknae was not mistaken, she thought. She did seem new to herself that day. It was only yesterday where she felt so worn out and grim but that morning she felt like a brand new pair of white sneakers. She was feeling quite summery now despite the approaching bite of the winter snow in Seoul. Maybe it was the words of Australian friend, she reckoned. That girl always had her words drilled into her skull for her to remember. If she wasn’t an idol, Momo knew she would be a preacher out to change people’s lives or maybe a counselor for emotional shipwrecks like her. She liked being in that state and she hoped to stay like that, at least, if not for the rest of her life, then for the rest of the day.

***

The weather was colder now. She wrapper herself with her arms as she ran to her car that was parked across the JYP building. There wasn’t much sunshine too, much to her liking. But she couldn’t have everything she wanted. She might have gotten less sunlight but there was also less warmth, somewhat taking away the smile that was found on her face in the recording studio earlier. She reached for her car door, as she planned on heading straight home after their shift, and that was when she heard Sana’s razor-edged voice shrieking her name from behind.

“Momoring! Wait! Wait!”

She turned around and caught her fellow Japanese running to her from the other side. Or maybe it was hopping. The woman was almost 30 but she still moved like a 5-year-old, aegyo-filled child. Out of all of them, it was perhaps Sana that didn’t get stained by the evils of the business, along with the ever pure Tzuyu and that gave some kind of reviving feeling to Momo. They were still very prudent.

“Hey, what’s up?” Momo said in response.

Sana caught her breath upon arriving in front of her. “So, oppa can’t pick me up as he had some meetings with his producers so is it okay if I carpool with you?”

“Aish,” Momo joshed. “That boyfriend of yours.”  

Sana pouted her lips, letting her round eyes grow and glimmer, making Momo fall for it. “Please?”   

“Fine, fine.” Her aegyo was a killer. “You live right around my block anyway. Let’s go.”

It was funny because their apartments were close to one another yet they rarely saw each other on the street. And it was even funnier because they were friends. Momo rarely left the house when she was inside and when she would be outside she’d take every chance not to go home as well. Sana had a regular home appearance and would be there when she needed to, never stayed out too late on her free time, never woke up on a bed she didn’t know, probably never slept with anyone she wasn’t dating. They were standing on two far ends of the spectrum and sometimes Momo would feel ashamed of herself whenever she was with the upright Sana.

“So,” Sana broke the silence as Momo steered her car. “How are things going?”

“Things are going well,” Momo said lightly.

“No, I mean between you and Rosie.”

Momo turned her head, glancing at Sana while she held a disbelieving laugh. “Why is everyone asking me about Rosie?”

“Aren’t you two dating?”

“No!” She cracked up. “We’re just friends!”

“Are you really just friends? But didn’t you date before though?”

“What?” Momo turned to her again, laughing. “Rosie and I never dated and we are just friends.”

“Just friends?” Sana inquired again. Momo understood her purpose behind this but it was for the best that she leave the fact out of someone immaculate like Sana.

“Yes, just friends.”

“Okay,” Sana smiled and shrugged. “I thought you were seeing someone since you’ve been in a better mood lately. Keep it up, Momoring. I was really missing how you were like this.”

Momo smiled. Sana was like a candle in the dark, a unicorn in the woods, a sweet candy in the bitterness of reality. She was impossibly optimistic to the point where it irked Momo. She was her polar opposite. Sometimes Momo wished she was more like Sana who was carefree and lively and always brought smiles to everyone she saw. If there was no Sana in the group, she doubted the group would ever be the same. Life without Sana would never be the same. No Sana, No Life.

“But, Momo,” Sana uttered lowly, almost like a whisper.

“Yeah?” Momo slowly went into a turn.

“Are you and Mina okay?”

Sana was a big c