one.

"even if i try to forget about you, i like you"

~~~

The day Mrs. Im told her eldest daughter that they would be moving to South Korea, Nayeon was unsure of what to feel. She had never been the social type, so she had few friends. She would be leaving behind one of her closest friends, Park Jisoo. She was never one to be attached to people either. With a slight nod, Nayeon knew there was no going back. She would be leaving her life here in the United States and begin anew in her hometown.

Little did she know that she had underestimated leaving her birthplace. She would be on her way to meet a certain Japanese girl who would change her life forever.

As she stepped into the Incheon International Airport, she took a breath and a brief moment to observe her surroundings. She would be living here for the rest of her life now, without even knowing the exact reason why she had to leave the United States in the first place. 

Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder, "We're home, darling."

~~~

Home is wherever I'm with you. 
Home is where I'm alone with you.
Home is where the heart is.
My heart belongs to you.

Mina closed her eyes that were previously focused on the empty ceiling. She heaved a sigh full of worries and anxious thoughts as she blindly grabbed her phone from her side. For some reason, the empty screen did not surprise her. She knew Sana too well. That girlfriend (ex-girlfriend now) of hers was the epitome of a woman on her period. The only difference?

Her sensitivity to little things and her uncontrollable jealousy was permanent. She loved too much, cared too much, felt too much... and Mina did not. People often call her a tsundere for being so cold in every relationship she has ever been in. She did not mean to appear uninterested. It was just her way of avoiding attachment and falling into a deeper state of love.

She feared the idea of falling in love. She feared trusting people. 

But Sana changed her. Her relationship with Sana had lasted the longest with a timeframe of two long years. However, people change. People lose interest. People fade away like you never really mattered to them. As Mina closed her eyes, the flashbacks of the earlier events failed to fade away like she hoped they would...

"Sana, please tell me... What should I do in order for you to stay?" Mina pleaded in the rain. Sana stood in her room, at least ten feet above Mina's current standpoint. She leaned against the railing and looked down on her as if the pitiful girl meant nothing to her now.

She rolled her eyes, "Wow, are you really that desperate? You should have done that earlier... I didn't think you cared for me while we were together." She coldly replied, obviously trying to guilt trip the naive girl. 

The tears Mina had tried to keep in for so long finally managed to escape. Those tears ran down her cheeks along with the raindrops that dripped from her wet hair. Unfortunately, Sana could not see those tears in the pouring rain.

"Do you really want to be like this?" Mina asked, her voice cracking somehow in the middle of her sentence. She was sobbing now, but Sana, being the fool she was, was not even paying attention. Apparently, her nails were a lot more important than the suffering girl below her.

She rolled her eyes, "Actually... you know what you can do?"

Mina waited for her to continue. Her heart lit up with anticipation. Hope filled her mind, soul, and everything in her system. She was ready to do anything... if it meant getting the one person she has ever loved back.

"Leave."

~~~

Mina left. She left with the promise that she would never chase after anyone again. It has been three days since she had last talked to Sana in the rain that Friday night. Luckily, she only caught a slight cold that lasted for less than a week. She would catch Sana giving her secret glances during class, but she pretended not to notice. Secretly, she still carried a small chance of hope that Sana would take her back again. The chances were really slim, however.

Since that day, rumors of them breaking up were scattered around the campus. Being the most popular student of the whole school, it was quite inevitable for gossip to spread. As usual, Mina with her two closest friends, Tzuyu and Jungyeon, ignored the constant whispers they got whenever they walked through the hallways. 

"Mina-chan! Is it true that you and Sana-chan broke up?"

"Mina senpai, it's alright! I'm here!"

"Did Sana-chan really break up with you and not the other way around? It's hard to believe!"

Mina had the hardest time suppressing an eye roll that entire day. It's only been one day of facing the persistent paparazzi-like students, yet she was already sick of it. She sighed and halted in her steps, preparing her answer.

"Yes, we've broken up. That also means that I'm not in any way associated with her anymore and I would simply like to bury this in the past."

Sana, who was hiding behind the wall this whole time, blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears that threatened to fall. It was all her fault for letting her pride get ahead of her feelings. She felt pathetic. She broke up with Mina, but here she was... wanting to cry so badly even though she had no right. She took a deep breath, gathering all of her courage to walk away. It's not my fault. I only wanted to test her. It turns out I was right all along. She just played with my feelings, just like she did in all of her past relationships. I'm not any different.

~~~

Mina closed her eyes. Another day was finished. She was back in her bedroom where she felt at peace. Nobody could judge her here. Nobody could have these unnecessary expectations for her. She did not need to wear makeup. She did not need to hear all the fangirls squealing whenever she passed them by. She did not need to feel the guilt that crept in her heart whenever Jungyeon or Tzuyu would urge her to ignore them.

All she was right now was the Myoui Mina that lived before she was faced with popularity.

As she took out her physics textbook, she prepared herself for another night of doing the same usual homework that never seemed to end. She had no id