Mimi refuses to go back to her place, which she shared with Hana for so long. She says something about the walls too close together and the welcome carpet by the door which would most probably sneer at her in greeting and Sejeong lets her stay in her apartment instead.

She lets her take the bed, but Mimi also refuses to sleep alone. She cries and cries until Sejeong climbs in bed with her, and cries and cries again until she finally, actually, falls asleep.

Sejeong tries hard to fall asleep, but it’s 6 am and the curtains are barely keeping the sunlight out, and Mimi’s still sobbing in her sleep, so Sejeong just pulls her closer and keeps her close.

-

She wakes up to a call from Doyeon, taking it out in the living room after making sure Mimi’s not shivering under the cold air from the AC.

“What?” she grumbles to her phone, squinting at the clock in the living room. 8 am.

Doyeon stops talking to someone from the other side of the call and says, “Sejeong.”

“What?” Sejeong repeats, stifling a yawn.

“You’re just waking up?”

“Still was sleeping.”

“So, you haven’t seen the messages in the swim team group chat?”

“No, why?” She plops down on the sofa, stretching her legs across it.

“Practice got cancelled yesterday. Practice is probably getting cancelled on Tuesday.”

Sejeong raises an amused brow, lips quirking. “A once in a lifetime thing. What’s going on?”

“A war.”

“What war? Did Yeonjung and Somi fight again?”

Doyeon cackles, actually cackles. “Oh, god. No. This is much worse than a fight over the first swimmer in the relay.”

She rolls her eyes, remembering the week it happened. Needless to say, it was one of the most stressful weeks of Sejeong’s life. “What happened, then?”

“Jieqiong and the leader’s broken up—” Sejeong bolts upright, eyebrows raising, “—Chaeyeon said something about an owl but I have no idea what she means, she’s so weird. Sohye thinks there’s some kind of other woman. Yeonjung bets it’s because Jieqiong went to that party of your friend. Nayoung can be so uptight.”

“Oh my god. She’s gonna be so much more uptight now, then!”

Doyeon huffs in annoyance, the sound loud from Sejeong’s phone. “Exactly. They broke up yesterday at the start of practice—” she laughs and Sejeong hears distinct reprimanding in the background, “—it was amazing. Nayoung got so mad at Jieqiong for some reason and kept making her redo her laps, and Jieqiong walked out of practice and changed clothes. The leader was fuming while Jieqiong was changing, and took it out on us. My arms are still sore.”

Sejeong almost laughs, but she keeps it in. “You mean Week-Before-Regionals Leader made an appearance so early in the sem?”

“Oh, no. Way worse. She made Chungha do fifteen laps, and we didn’t even finish the whole session—” Sejeong winces involuntarily, “Nayoung and Jieqiong were yelling at each other as soon as Jieqiong got out of the changing rooms with her backpack and they broke up right there in front of us. Jieqiong threatened to quit the team if Nayoung would continue being such a —” (“Doyeon! Stop calling our leader that,” Sejeong hears someone who sounds eerily like Yeonjung say) “—it’s Jieqiong’s words, not mine!”

“Doyeon, continue.”

“Anyway. Jieqiong’s too good to let quit, so they managed a truce. I highly doubt Nayoung can control herself though, so, like, get as much sleep and mental rest as you can right now before our practices later this week.”

Sejeong gaze travels to her bedroom door, Mimi still under her covers, and she sighs. “Not possible, I think. I’m just… gonna skip Thursday.”

“Not a wise decision, but if you have a death wish, then go.”

“I’m having a bad weekend, and I haven’t used up my two free skips yet. Yesterday doesn’t count since you guys didn’t even finish.”

“You’re having a bad weekend? Tell that to Nayoung.”

Sejeong smiles to herself. Nayoung’s also probably not having the best of weekends. She sighs into the phone. “Still skipping. Can’t handle the stress.”

“Fine. Rest in peace, you.”

“Thanks. Bye.”

“Bye.”

As soon as she hears the click, Sejeong chuckles. What an interesting weekend indeed.

-

Mimi wakes up at 11 am and Sejeong has already made them brunch and there’s coffee in the pot. Mimi smiles softly and declines her offer of coffee, telling her she’s not really a habitual coffee drinker and dislikes the taste, and then joins Sejeong on the couch and watches horrible TV shows with her.

After a few moments of fidgeting, though, she asks Sejeong for a cup.

“You sure?”

Mimi nods. “I need caffeine. I need to, like, feel something.”

Sejeong bites back a sigh and stands to get Mimi a cup. She pours the coffee on one of her favorite mugs – one with lots of profanities and a middle finger on the bottom that Mimi tried to steal once – and pauses when Mimi cries out as she’s about to pour in the creamer.

“Don’t.”

“You’re not a habitual drinker, Mimi. I highly doubt you’d like bitter coffee.”

Mimi nibbles on her lower lip, thinking carefully. And then nods. “Fine. But not too sweet.”

“Believe me, the sugar will most likely give you a heart attack.”

A small smile spreads on Mimi's lips. “Oh, then lots of it please.”

Sejeong looks up from the crystals falling into the dark liquid and grins. “You’re such a masochist. But, sure.”

-

She gets a text from Nayoung as Mimi’s going through her movie collection on her laptop: you free and up for a video chat?

She stares at Mimi’s back, clad in one of Sejeong’s smaller pajamas since the girl had forgotten to pack her own pajamas for the trip, and types back her reply, sure, what for?

-

She meets Nayoung’s parents though Skype. She tries not to think too much about how serious and not-fake dating the whole thing feels, especially not when Nayoung’s face is covering her screen and she’s apologizing profusely for her parents demanding the video call happens.

“Grandpa told them all about you and they’re forcing me to do this. I’m so sorry,” she had said in one breath, looking disgruntled and stressed. “You can still back out if you want.”

Sejeong refuses to back out. She at least owes Nayoung a video chat. She holds her phone up and makes sure they can’t see how messy her living room is from the screen.

Nayoung’s parents are sweet, her father having Nayoung’s sense of humor and her mother having her smile. They gush over how Nayoung’s grandpa still remembers her and say they feel sorry for not meeting her in person. They even ask for promises to meet soon.

Sejeong merely nods and tries not to think about the inevitable end of this fake-dating thing.

As soon as Nayoung’s face covers the entire screen again, her fast heartbeat slows down. She smiles easily, genuinely. She tries not to think of what it might mean—that she relaxes at the sight of Nayoung’s smile. Tries not to think about how it was only Chungha who made her feel that way.

Tries not to think everything’s moving too fast.

-

She may have put on some makeup and changed into nicer clothes, fluffed her hair so it doesn’t look so disgustingly greasy and rolled her eyes at Mimi’s quirked eyebrow. But she doesn’t think too much about it either.

-

“God, Nayoung can be so clingy,” Mimi complains the twenty-eight time Sejeong takes her phone from the coffee table and smiles as it lights up.

Sejeong sends her a look, a cross between a question and feigned innocence. “Yeah?”

Mimi rolls her eyes. “Yeah.” She nudges at Sejeong’s phone with her socked foot, a scowl on her bare face. “She’s the one texting you, right?”

She keeps quiet, silently smiling at the captioned picture sent to her. “god save me” it says all over the picture of Nayoung making a face towards the camera, but eyes on somewhere above it, her nostrils flaring and her lips curled downwards exaggeratedly.

“You’re laughing again!” Mimi whines, kicking her feet like a little kid.

Sejeong merely sends her a small smile before scooting over so Mimi’s feet can’t reach her. “I’m allowed to laugh, aren’t I?”

“Of course.” Mimi huffs as her toes don’t reach Sejeong’s side. “But I want to be in on the joke.”

Before Sejeong can answer, Nayoung sends another picture. This time of Hana. Hana’s glaring into the camera, clad in an awfully pretty white dress. Her arms are crossed and her lips pouting and there’s a full plate in front of her. ‘ms. Grumpy the dwarf wasn’t allowed to get dessert before finishing her food’.

And before Sejeong can hide her phone, Mimi’s beside her and peering at it. She stiffens and lets out a shaky breath. “Oh. On second thought, I don’t think the joke’s that funny.” She smiles sheepishly before going back to her seat at the end of the couch, blank eyes on the TV and palms over her second refill of coffee.

Sejeong manages a quirk of the lips before sending Nayoung a reply.

-

‘MY UNCLE BROUGHT HIS DOGGO’ and a picture of a husky beaming at the camera, Nayoung’s face squished against its ears. Sejeong almost melts at the cuteness.

-

Mimi keeps asking for refills, grimacing her way through each mug. By the time she’s on her fourth cup, she’s so restless that Sejeong forbids her to take another cup.

She makes her a cup of hot tea instead and it doesn’t really help much with the slowing of Mimi’s heart, but she somehow stops shaking and covers herself with a blanket, leaning against Sejeong as they watch another movie.

Sejeong doesn’t look at her phone for another hour.

-

(“I just want to feel something,” Mimi had said, staring down at the dark liquid sadly. “Something that isn’t related to her.”

Sejeong almost caved, almost let her have another cup of coffee. But she was shaking, and coffee wouldn’t make it better. It might be better to give her something she likes. Something sweet, but wouldn’t hurt.)

-

Mimi falls asleep on the couch, and Sejeong’s mildly amused at how she managed to fall asleep after four cups of coffee.

Sejeong sits in the kitchen, grinning at Nayoung’s face in the camera.

”I think,” she pauses to smile sheepishly, “you’re my best friend.”

Nayoung blinks, then a slow, lazy smile forms on her lips - teasing. “You think?”

“Well, I mean, I don’t usually fake date my best friends to make my ex jealous. And it’s only been two weeks since we met.”

“I told you, haven’t I? History rarely matters.”

“Why rarely?”

“Well, simply because sometimes it does.”

Sejeong in a breath, eyes flicking to an asleep Mimi shifting in her sleep. “How’s Hana?”

“Sad.” Nayoung’s eyes move and Sejeong knows she’s staring at Hana. “Just so… she’s not having fun.”

“You think they’ll work it out?”

Nayoung smiles at Sejeong, the smile of an adult towards a hopeful child. “I hope so.”

-

“I’ve thought about it,” Mimi says to the webcam, Sejeong stiffening beside her.

Sejeong can see Hana’s eyes wavering on the screen, Nayoung reaching out to wrap an arm around her.

Mimi winces. “We need to break up.”

Hana’s eyes widen and she’s suddenly out of Nayoung’s arms and leaning into her own camera. Instead of the anger Sejeong had expected, there’s fear. “We’ve been through a break before, Mimi, please… please don’t.”

“That wasn’t a real break,” Mimi says with a short laugh. “We weren’t even together.”

“Still was the worst month of my life.”

“You’ll manage.”

“Sejeong—” she looks up and Hana’s eyes makes her ache, “—please. Please tell Mimi she’s being unreasonable.”

“I—”

“Don’t drag Sejeong into this.”

Both Nayoung and Hana freeze at the authority and annoyance in Mimi’s voice. Hana’s jaw twitches. “Fine. Fine. Get your month off, get your year off. Get your well-deserved break. Just the like when we first did it, I’ll be waiting. And just like what I told you a million times before I do not like Nayoung romantically anymore.”

Nayoung flinches, hurt lacing her features for a moment before she’s back to being friend-Nayoung. But it’s a moment too long and Sejeong notices it a little too well. She used to see that look in the mirror every day after the break up.

“I don’t—I have no idea what I have to do to make you believe me, Mimi. I’m trying so hard. You just never believe I can love you, huh?”

“I’m not one to believe the impossi—”

“ you, Mimi,” Hana spits before reaching out to press the keyboard.

And then the call ends and Mimi’s clenching and unclenching her fists on the keyboard. Sejeong reaches out but she shakes her head. “I’m… I’m gonna go pack up.”

“Pack up?”

“I need to move out of our shared apartment. It’s—I can’t deal with that. I think my old apartment’s vacant, I’m gonna go talk to the landlord. Oh, god, I have so many things to pack, and it’s—” she shoots the clock a look and her face crumples in dismay, “—4 pm. I need to move out by tonight. I can’t—it’s hard. I’ll cave once I see her face in person and—”

“Stay here for a while, then. I don’t have a spare bedroom, but I do have a spare mattress and I can—”

“You’ve helped enough,” Mimi interrupts. She sends Sejeong an apologetic look before adding, “I can’t bother you with too much. I’ll see if Haebin’s still looking for a roommate in case my old apartment’s not available.”

Sejeong stands as Mimi looks through her bag. “You sure?”

“I’m sure,” is Mimi’s reply. She zips her bag, finds her reflection in the TV and frowns. “Should I shower first or pack?”

“Shower. You can pack when Hana’s not home.”

Mimi nods absentmindedly, fishing out some clothes from her bag. “Can I—”

“Go.”

Sejeong watches as Mimi enters her bathroom, stares at the door too long, and thinks about the pain in Nayoung’s eyes as Hana insists she’s not in love with her.

She sighs and drops down on the couch, head rolling off the side and eyes on the carpet. When did everything turn to messy?

-

Mimi leaves almost immediately after she’s done showering, thanking Sejeong the whole elevator ride down and hugging her before calling a cab.

Sejeong walks back to her own place, passing by Nayoung’s door and trying to imagine what Nayoung would’ve been doing if she were home, and rolling her eyes at herself before making her way to her own door. She immediately climbs in her bed and thinks about the static silence in her head—the sound of trying hard not to think—and tries to fall asleep.

-

Nayoung sends her another picture, one of her on the car, cheeks squished by the neck pillow over her shoulders and pouting at the camera, looking like she just snuck a picture of herself. “i’m tired love”.

And Sejeong melts at the look in her eyes, at the hearts she designed the picture with, at Nayoung being so adorably clingy. She sends back a “take care on your way home” turns her phone off, and falls asleep with Nayoung’s smile floating in her dreams, Chungha not even crossing her mind.

-

In the middle of the night, just as she’s reaching a probably good part of her dream (nightmare), she jolts awake as the door to her bedroom opens and a Nayoung shaped shadow stumbles in with drunken steps.

She sits up and watches her struggle with taking off her shoes, then her clothes. And bites back a small amused scoff as Nayoung walks to her closet - Sejeong’s closet - and takes out a pair sleeping shorts and a huge baggy band shirt Sejeong loves. She puts them on with much difficulty.

Still watching in amusement, Sejeong shifts to the right side of her bed and lets Nayoung climb in bed with her, the smell of alcohol stinking the whole room.

Sejeong smoothens out the folded part of Nayoung’s - her - shirt that the girl didn’t put on correctly, and with a chuckle, she mutters, “For a drunk person, you sure do know your way around someone else’s apartment. What brings you here?”

Silence, and she thinks Nayoung’s asleep but she knows the girl’s staring at her ceiling. At the dome shaped light up there. At the small stains of uneven paint. And Sejeong knows she just doesn’t want to look her in the face.

“Love?”

It’s funny how used she is to the term “love” by now. It almost makes her gag, but at the same time, it fills her with a certain kind of warmth and happiness.

“Hana kissed me.”

Oh.

She slowly slides down her bed and stares up at the ceiling too. At the dome shaped light. At the small stains of uneven paint. Anything at all that will take her mind off the sudden pain overwhelming her heart.

(Nothing works. It still hurts. Though she’s not entirely sure why.)

“My best friend’s girl—ex-girlfriend kissed me. My ex-girlfriend kissed me. I— she kissed me to prove to Hakyeon that she didn’t love me anymore.”

She in a deep breath and counts to fifteen, trying to focus on anything but Nayoung’s slow breathing - which is anything but calm.

But still she asks, “And?”

Silence, then a small, trembling “And I kissed back.”

“Oh.”

A/N:

Bet y'all thought I wouldn't update this until next year, but here it is. Also, don't expect I'll be updating this as often as I did when I first started it, I just luckily finished this chapter faster.

Title from The Kids Aren't Alright by Fall Out Boys (which only because I used that line for one of the scenes).

Thank you for reading, and leave a comment! They're so nice to read and I get ideas from them too. Thank you!