Momo entered Mina’s house for the first time and noticed an instant difference in the warmness of a house filled with people as opposed to living alone. She also noticed an emanating smell of roast beef and vegetables. watered slightly as she sat down at her place at the table joined by Mina’s parents; her dad a serious but kindly looking man and her mum an elegant lady. They said a quick grace before tucking into the delicious meal. After filling their bellies, Momo helped clear away the dishes and dry off the rinsed plates before they sat back down to drink some tea and play Jenga. Momo lost herself in her joy at the exciting game and the group played a few rounds before Mr. Myoui retreated back to his study to complete some work.

Mina led Momo to her room and Momo marvelled at the differences but also the similarities their rooms shared. Mina had a few photos and ballet awards on her shelf and Momo browsed through some of Mina’s infant photos before the other girl hid away the album out of embarrassment. Momo made to ask where the spare bed or the sleeping bag was before Mina invited her to sleep together with her on the bed. They went to brush first and made funny faces at each other in the mirror. Mina changed into some pink pyjamas and Momo wore her customary t-shirt and shorts and they slipped under the covers together.

Mina quickly feel asleep but Momo who was still bursting with excitement, couldn’t sleep and kept thinking about Sana’s words earlier in the day. Was the thumping in her chest only because she was full of adrenalin or was she excited at being completely sober whilst being in such close proximity with Mina? She shook her head slightly and tried to focus on sleeping so as to best prepare for the coming days.

~

Momo woke up feeling nervous, Monday having finally come around and it being the day she returned to school. She took the quick walk to her house and changed into her school uniform. She looked into her full length mirror and her collar as she looked at her neck, having removed the bandage the day before. She looked the same as always but seeing as how things had been recently, she couldn’t help but feel that something was different; more intimidating. She pulled on her backpack and set out, joined along the way by Mina who looked radiant as ever.

They arrived at school and Momo deposited her bag in her locker that was pleasantly clean and clear of any signs of vandalism, before steadying herself to enter her classroom. To her surprise, no one turned to stare at her when she entered, only receiving a rare glance and Mina nudged her slightly from behind to enter. She was blocking the doorway and quickly moved to her seat. She sat down and looked around the classroom, happy that no one was paying her special attention and Mina gave her a thumbs up and a smile.

Dazzled by the smile, Momo stopped paying heed to her thoughts and thought that maybe Sana was right. Maybe she was a girl in love. She focused as Ms. Kim entered and spotted Momo. The teacher gave a curt nod to Momo and waved to settle down the class as lessons began. Grateful for her luck, Momo worked hard on the work and made it through the day without a single mention of what had happened with Mi sun and Soo-eun, though she did wonder where the two girls had gone to.

At lunchtime as she was about to walk to the cafeteria with Mina, she was called by Ms. Kim and they walked to and empty classroom. Worried that something was wrong, she stood nervously as the older woman closed the door and sat down. “Calm down,” she said amused. “I’m not going to bite so no need to stand at attention.” Momo sat down and Ms. Kim explained her intentions for their meeting.

‘How have you been recently? You looked fine when I walked in this morning and you seemed to have been able to successfully merge back into your normal school life.’

‘I’ve been fine. The doctor said I was alright to take off the bandage and I was lucky that there was no scar.’

Momo leaned her head to the side and showed the healed area where she had been cut. “What happened to those girls though?” she asked, a bit curious. Ms. Kim sighed but held her stern expression.

‘Our school has a strict policy of non-tolerance for bullying and thus there were immediately expelled and made to look for schooling elsewhere of their own accord. But that’s not we need to think of right now. I’m just happy that you’re recovering well and hope that this trend continues. And do remind Sana that she’s missed out on a bit of school and she will need to catch up in her own time. Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say so you can go back to your lunch.’

Momo left the room happily with the assurance that she’d no longer suffer from any undeserved bullying. She walked hand in hand with Mina and went to eat. At the end of the school day, Momo went on ahead by herself and visited her practice room. It seemed like an eternity since she had been here and she missed the room that badly needed refurbishing. She did a spin in the centre of the room and noticed that the room looked decidedly neater than she remembered it.

Seeing as she was alone, she took the opportunity to practice the choreography she’d revised since she had shown it to Mina the other day. Her mp3 player played out the sad American song ‘See You Again’ and she was able to execute the moves more easily, pleased that her changes from Mina’s suggestion had been successful. She only hoped that her partners would think the same. Suddenly the door opened and Mina walked in nervously with Jeongyeon following close behind her. “Speak of the devil,” thought Momo. Jeongyeon said nothing as she walked in but after Momo had demonstrated the heart of their end of term performance, she gave some apt criticism with a smile.

‘I suppose we do need you since you do have some good ideas about the choreography.’

Suddenly Jeongyeon’s bright smile disappeared and her face turned frosty. “It’s not like I care anyways. It’s all for the project.”

Momo turned away and hid a smile, happy that she had made up with Jeongyeon and amused with her tsundere personality. They danced for the next hour trying to perfect the transition from one move to the next. Given that Momo had been absent for a week and they had altogether missed out on a number of days on working on their project, they practiced extra hard after school every day to make up for lost time.

The trio all had fierce determination to perfect the dance, but it was understandable that Jeongyeon would try harder as she had her recital a few days before their normal school performance would be held. Momo was able to tease out a few clues and discovered the time and place of Jeongyeon’s recital. She made a silent promise to attend as having experienced firsthand the true ability of Jeongyeon as an idol.

~

Momo draped her coat over her arm, ready to attend Jeongyeon’s recital in a skirt and stockings outfit. She took the bus to the town hall and rushed to get in the doors in time. She took a seat at the back of the hall and watched awed as Jeongyeon put on a dazzling display. She looked radiant in a teal dress that accentuated her unusual short brown hair and her dancing was as smooth as her powerful voice. Her movements had an edge and her voice was able hit notes that Momo could only dream of. Momo didn’t want to blink for fear that she would miss even a second of Jeongyeon.

She didn’t know when the recital ended but was one of the first to applaud for the girl in the blue dress. She snuck backstage hoping to surprise Jeongyeon who was not aware that Momo would be in attendance. However, when Momo reached Jeongyeon’s change room, small sobs could be heard emanating from inside. Worried that something had happened, Momo opened the door up only to see Jeongyeon slouched over her makeup table. She closed the door behind her and stepped forward to rub the crying girl’s back. Jeongyeon turned around in shock that someone was with her. “You! Why are you here? How did you know?” she asked. “Of course I’d be here,” Momo replied proud. “Why would I miss my friend’s recital?” “You truly are a good friend,’ Jeongyeon sniffed. She wiped away her tears on the back of her hand and tsked at smudging her makeup.

‘Don’t worry. You look just as beautiful like that. Heck, you don’t even need to wear makeup and you’d be the prettiest girl in any room.’

Jeongyeon beamed at her. “You really think so?” she asked. Momo reassured her that she did and took note that even girls as perfect as Jeongyeon had insecurities about their appearance. “Anyway,” Jeongyeon continued, “Thank you for coming. My parents were busy and I was a bit sad that no one had come to cheer me on.”

‘For real? What about all your other trainee idol friends?’

‘Oh them? They were all selfish stuck-ups who didn’t associate with anyone unless they could use them to their advantage. We just knew each other from the same dance school. And anyway, who would want to be friends with such malicious people.’

Momo stayed silent, not wanting to say anything out of place and Jeongyeon once again apologised for her beguiling actions. Jeongyeon collected her stuff and Momo put on her coat as Jeongyeon’s mum pulled up in her car and offered to drop Momo off. Momo gratefully accepted the offer and they drove to Momo’s home in silence. As she exited the car, Momo remembered something.

‘I forgot to tell you. Mina wanted to come but her mum needed her so she wasn’t able to find the time.’

Glad that she did have some friends after all, Jeongyeon once again showed her rare smile and waved goodbye to Momo. Momo went into her house and collapsed on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling, wondering why it was so hard to make friends sometimes and she wished knowing how cool Jeongyeon was, that she had met the other girl sooner and in better circumstances.