Momo knew accepting her feelings would make an even bigger mess out of her. A million questions, worries and insecurities stormed in her mind.

First of all – how did she end up falling for a girl? She didn't remember liking a girl like that before. That meant she was... a lesbian? But she still loved Jungwon...  Even if not as much as she used to. So, was she bi? Why was she even worried about that? It was definitely the least of her worries. And those were just labels, after all. Momo was Momo, loving a boy or a girl.

And with that Momo came to ask herself how Mina felt about her. Momo never thought much about it, but... what if those feelings were one sided? What if Mina only saw her as her senpai and a close friend? But the things she says, the things she does, the way she looks at Momo, the way she acts when she sees Momo with Jungwon... What if Mina was in love with Momo, too?

She couldn't stop herself from smiling imagining Mina confessing to her – 'I... l-love you, M-Momo-senpai...' She'd whisper with stumbled words and a blush over her face. Momo bit her lower lip with her imagination running wild, but soon the image of her boyfriend flashed in her mind, making her stop the nonsense.

What she should really worry about was what she wanted to do about the way she felt. She could continue to reject her feelings and keep her happy, loving relationship with Jungwon. Because how in the world would she tell her boyfriend she had developed feelings for Mina? It would be a lot easier to stay with him. But would she really be happy that way, knowing deep down she loved Mina?

She also could try to find out how Mina felt about her, and if she really loved her back, she could break up with Jungwon and love the person her heart told her to love. But then again, what if Mina only saw her as a friend? Or even worse, what if Mina was disgusted by her? She would lose both of them! And she absolutely couldn't live with it. She would rather die than losing them.

What if she asked for her sister's advice? She could trust her with anything in the world. But she wasn't ready to tell anyone about something she had only just accepted herself.

She was on her own, and she had to make a decision, or else everyone would come out hurt.

So she chose to keep loving Jungwon, to make him happy and let him make her happy. She couldn't and wouldn't hurt him.

About Mina... she would find a way to stop her feelings from growing and to bury them somewhere that wasn't her heart.

---

Mina woke up a few moments after, with Momo still caressing her face. They shared an embarrassed look and smiled at each other. Momo dared to ask why she stayed overnight, and if she actually got permission. Nurse Luda let her stay, even though she shouldn't. Mina said "I stayed because I couldn't leave knowing you would be alone."

Aside from Mina, who was already there when she woke up, Sana, Tzuyu and Pinky visited her by lunch hour, then Jungwon joined later, with his sister. Momo was happy surrounded by everyone and it made her forget about her physical condition, but being in the same room as both Jungwon and Mina made her uncomfortable. Jungwon sat on the stool beside her, holding her hand all the time, while Mina stood beside Tzuyu, by the other side of her bed. Momo noticed how her expression was different from earlier, when they were alone. It was as if she didn't even try to hide the discomfort whenever Jungwon kissed Momo's hand or cheek, when he caressed her face or her hair. Momo tried her best to focus on him, but her eyes ended up taking enough glances at the opposite side to catch on to those subtle differences.

Maybe she was imagining it. Maybe she was wishing deep down that Mina felt jealous of him, because that meant she loved her back. But no. It was her mind playing tricks with her. It had to be that.

Mina spent all day at the hospital with her. It was a sunny Sunday, so she could have gone out to enjoy the good weather and spend some time with her mother and friends. But she chose to be with her instead, keeping her company and making sure she was alright, and most importantly, happy.

It was past visiting hours and nurse Luda came to tell Mina that she had to leave. Mina asked for five more minutes, to which Luda sighed and once again, complied.

"Your mom is going to pick you up, right?" Momo asked.

"Yes, she's on her way."

Momo sighed in relief, and then frowned.

"W-What?"

"I'm... not going to be able to take you to school and back home..." Momo said.

"Momo-senpai..." Mina held her hand, making Momo look at her eyes. "You need to worry about yourself, not me."

"Of course I need to worry about you!" Momo unconsciously squeezed her hand. "Your father can still be out there! I promised I would protect you, and now I'm stuck in an hospital bed..." She shook her head as she looked away from Mina's gaze, unable to see the reddish color filling her cheeks.

"Promise me you'll ask Pinky to at least take you home after visiting me." Momo pleaded. "No, leave it to me, I'll ask her."

Mina smiled and her phone rang.

"It's my mom, I need to go." She said with a pout.

"I’ll be fine. Remember, I'm a tough girl." Momo grinned playfully.

"I'll be back tomorrow after classes." Mina said as she got up from the stool.

Momo nodded, her smile growing even more. Mina took a step towards the door but stopped and froze for a second. Momo frowned in confusion. She was about to ask if she was okay when she turned again and took a step back towards the bed. Momo's breath caught up in as she felt Mina's hand gently cupping her cheek and her soft lips pressed softly against her forehead.

"Good night, Momo-senpai." Mina whispered, before rushing to the door with big steps.

Momo was still frozen, only her mind wondering how she was supposed to push back her feelings for Mina when she kept doing things like that and leaving her heart a beating mess.

---

Monday. Everyone was at school and Momo couldn't stop counting the minutes down for everyone to arrive and pull her out of bore-land. She started worrying about missing classes but she needed lots of rest. She thought about the assignments she had for the upcoming weeks, and she realized something – her performance for Project class with Mina would be in less than two weeks. Nurse Luda said she needed, at least, about two weeks of full rest, for her bruises to heal completely and for it to be safe to resume her usual everyday dancing routine.

Momo was okay with skipping most of her assignments, except the one with Mina. Especially when Mina worked so hard to create the masterpiece the choreo was, not when Momo had already put so much effort into every little detail. And of course she didn't want to lose an opportunity to be on the same stage as Mina. So she was going to be fine until then.

The girls were the first to arrive after school. Momo felt her whole body lighten just looking at her. She could swear her smile had healing powers because she forgot about all the pain whenever Mina was there.

It was almost dinner time, so Sana and Tzuyu excused themselves to buy some food for everyone. Mina sat on the stool, gazing at Momo. The latter found her eyes and she had to do everything in her power to stop her heart from beating that fast.

“How was school?”

“Boring without you.”

Momo's face heated up.

“I felt lonely at project class. I was just worrying if you were okay and whishing you were there." Mina gave her a small smile.

“I wished I was there too. I already miss dancing with you.”

Momo was suppose to stop at the word dancing, but her tongue decided to betray her and spill the rest of her thoughts.

Mina chuckled, covering her pink cheeks with her hand.

“You danced with me yesterday, silly.”

Momo's eyes widened a bit and she decided to play along.

“Silly? Who do you think you are calling silly? I’m your senpai!" She said, faking an offended expression.

Mina’s smile disappeared just as fast as it has appeared. She looked at Momo and bowed her head.

“I-Im sorry, Momo senpai, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Momo held her laugh for as long as she could, meaning two seconds. Mina rose her head slowly and threw a confused look at the laughing girl.

“I was just kidding! I’m sorry, it was evil, but God, besides being painful, it feels good to laugh."

Mina’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

“If you weren’t in a hospital bed full of bruises you can bet I would hit you.” Mina said, trying not to laugh along with Momo.

It felt good knowing Mina was that comfortable around her. She really changed from the shy, quiet girl she used to be.

“But I’m happy I could make you laugh.” Mina added with a smile.

Momo found Mina's eyes. When Mina looked at her like that, Momo felt her weakest. It was completely impossible for someone to be that pretty, both inside and outside. And even if she dedicated her whole life trying to put it into words, her lifetime wouldn’t be enough. She only asked herself how was she going to overcome her love for the girl.

"Sing for me. That song you sang at your house." Momo asked on a whim.

Mina's brows rose in surprise as she stared at Momo for a couple seconds. She could see in Momo's eyes that she meant it, and she was eager for it. Without asking why, Mina cleared and let her eyes go shut. Mina hadn't opened yet and Momo's breath had already ceased its natural flow. It was amazing how much of an effect Mina's voice had on Momo. And it was ironic how her brain told her she should restrain her feelings, yet her heart took control of most of the time.

Momo's hand found its way to Mina's. The latter trembled at the sudden touch, but she let Momo squeeze her hand.

They were in their own world until a knock on the door snapped them back to reality. Mina's voice disappeared into the air and before they could have a reaction, Jungwon was already inside, looking at them with a frown. Mina cleared and stood up, backing off slightly, as he sat and greeted Momo with his usual kiss.

Momo exchanged an apologetic look with Mina and the discomfort was evident by how Mina drifted her gaze away from them.

Sana and Tzuyu were back with the food, managing to lighten up the weird mood that had filled the room. Momo felt self-conscious, even though she wasn't doing anything unusual with Mina. Or was she?

---

Since she was visited by her closest friends every single day, the days went by quickly.

Over the week, many good news reached Momo's ears. A new student joined the dance academy on Thursday. A korean girl named Im Nayeon, who was a year senior to Momo. She joined after watching their showcase, and that made Momo proud of the work they'd done and how it paid off. The girls said she was easy-going, very talented and pretty. Momo was looking forward to meet her.

But the best piece of news was about Mina – the police found Mina's father wandering close to their house. Because he had violated the restraining order and he was physically abusive towards Mina and Momo, he was arrested and was now awaiting trial. Mina and her mother were now free to live their life again, at least while he was locked up.

Mina thought if it was wrong to be happy about her dad being in jail. He was still her father, after all. But soon after she shook that off, reminding herself of what he did to Momo, and what he could have done to her if things hadn't turned out that way.

Momo would finally be going home on Sunday. She stood by the window of her hospital room, enjoying the morning breeze, while waiting for everyone to arrive. How much she missed her home, her room, her bed. How much she missed school, and above all, dancing.

Her bruises healed as the days of the week went by, and with the help of doctors and nurses, she could already stand, walk and move without feeling the excruciating pain from before. Nurse Luda warned her that getting discharged didn't mean a free pass to dive straight into her normal routine again. Momo knew it, but in a few days she would have the performance with Mina.

Having spent a week with harsh limitations for moving her body, it would be hard to dance again and execute such a challenging choreography. But she didn't care. Even if her whole body ached, she would do it.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She looked over her shoulder, a smile already growing wide on her lips, expecting to see who she wanted to see the most. But she was surprised. A holy damn good surprise. Her jaw dropped and her hands moved to cover her wide open mouth, letting out a loud gasp.

"DAD!"

Momo took a couple big steps and was embraced in her father's strong, caring arms she missed so much.

Right after the accident, Sana contacted their father to tell him what happened. He couldn't go right away because he was overseas, but he would do his best to go see Momo as soon as possible. He asked Sana to keep the secret so he could surprise his daughter. And hell, was she surprised! She hadn't considered or expected him to come, since she was so used to him being busy, and she had no idea he knew about the accident.

"How's my beloved daughter feeling?" He asked, kissing her forehead.

"I was great, now I'm even better! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Momo slapped his arm, pretending to be mad, making him chuckle.

"Because I wanted to surprise you."

"You sure did!"

After talking with nurse Luda and taking note of everything Momo needed to do in the next few days, she was ready to go home.

Her father and Pinky drove all of Momo's visitors to the Hirai home. Her father stood behind while everyone let themselves in, to help her get out of the car. And as soon as Momo opened the door -

"WELCOME BACK!" They shouted, exploding confetti over the blonde's head.

Momo let out a high pitched screech and shut her eyes, shocked with the loud sound the party poppers made. A second later, she could hear everyone laugh and she opened her eyes again. Everyone was smiling at her, welcoming her. Her eyes found Mina and her gummy smile made her face melt into a grin as well. A large banner hung from the ceiling, where she could read 'Welcome home, Momo'.

It felt good to be back.

---

A/N: I know I took too long to update again, please bear with my slow updates ;____;
I hope you all liked the chapter! As some of you suggested, here's Nayeon making her appearance :P I planned on including her in the story for some time now and I was happy that you guys thought about her as well c:

Please, look forward to the next chapter.
That's everything I have to say kekekeke