Mina adjusted the straps of her handbag, waiting outside TWICE’s dorm. She checked her watch. It was 7:58 a.m. Today was the day where Chaeyoung and Mina were going out for breakfast. They hadn’t been able to get some quiet in a long time, and even though they hung out often, it was never alone. There would always be someone else with them. Today was one of the days that they got to rest. Thus, Chaeyoung decided they’d go out today, and Mina agreed. Nayeon and Tzuyu had already left for something else, and the other members were sleeping. It was perfect.

“Mina! Sorry, I was telling the others where we were going,” Chaeyoung apologized, hopping on one foot and shoving her other foot into a sandal as she stumbled out of the dorm. She stopped, breathing heavily, and brushed her hair out of her face. “Okay, I’m good. Let’s go!”

“But where?” Mina asked. “You never told me where, did you?”

“It’s a secret!” Chaeyoung said, winking. She grabbed Mina’s hand and started to pull her along. “Now c’mon, I’m hungry!”

Mina sighed. “Fine. I hope the food is good.” She checked her watch again as they walked, realizing the local shops were open. She wondered if perhaps she’d have time to shop after breakfast. After all, she was in need of a new laptop, reserved especially for gaming.

Lost in thought (about shopping), Mina didn’t realize that Chaeyoung was still holding her hand until she looked down to her side to see if her handbag was okay and noticed Chaeyoung’s hand still entwined in hers. A little shocked, she looked up at Chaeyoung, but Chaeyoung was gazing into the space in front of them, scanning the area for the breakfast place she had picked out. Mina shrugged, and focused her attention back to the shops they were passing; she didn’t care. In fact, if she was being honest, she liked the feel of Chaeyoung’s hand in hers.

(Chaeyoung noticed Mina blinking rapidly, a dark red slowly fading from her cheeks.)

They kept walking until Chaeyoung finally stopped in front of a building that strongly resembled a hotel. “Chaeyoung,” Mina said, one eyebrow raised. “What is this?”

Chaeyoung grinned. “What does it look like? A hotel.” So it is a hotel.

“And why are we in front of a hotel?”

“For breakfast.”

“What are we going to eat? The bed sheets?”

“Um, no. We stayed at this hotel a year ago, and the staff told us that we could come any time for a free meal. I mean, obviously, we can come only once for free food, so by coming we’re ruining everyone else’s chances, but that’s okay. Best part is, we can eat as much as we want! The food is great, too!”

Mina couldn’t recall the time they stayed at this hotel, but she trusted Chaeyoung, and grudgingly followed her. They weaved in and out of lines of people trying to book rooms. The lines were longer than Mina had ever seen. “Wow, they really want a room here, don’t they?” she murmured to herself. Chaeyoung overheard, and replied, “Usually the biggest idols stay at this hotel, so people really want to stay in the rooms their idols had stayed in.” She flashed a charming smile at a squealing group of fans who had spotted her. Mina couldn’t help but snort as Chaeyoung’s smile wilted and died when the group got bigger and started to head towards them. “Good job, Chaeyoung. You’re such a genius.”

Without replying, Chaeyoung squeezed Mina’s hand and let go, heading towards the reception desk. She told the woman sitting behind the desk something, which transformed the woman’s startled expression to one of determination. Mina thought she saw something exchanged from Chaeyoung’s hands to the woman’s, but the crowd was getting closer and closer to her, not giving her time to dwell on it. “Chaeyoung,” she called, her tone desperate.

The younger girl jogged back to her, taking Mina’s hand in hers once again and dragging them towards a narrow hallway, where she opened a door and pulled Mina through it. Quickly, Chaeyoung closed the door behind them, and they stood there in silence, listening to the screams of the fans. Mina blinked, bewildered. “What did you do?”

“Nothing much,” Chaeyoung said, letting out a heavy sigh. “I just told the receptionist to tell the fans we’re here on important business, and the room we stayed in is...classified.” She shrugged, smiling sheepishly. “Of course, that’s only going to rile them up, but they’ll understand. I mean, I hope so, before anyone gets hurt. Especially the receptionist. She’s kind, and I slipped her more than enough money, so it’d be a shame to see all that go to waste.”

Mina was beyond shocked. Bribing the receptionist? A possibility of fans getting hurt? That was unacceptable, and if their manager caught word of what Chaeyoung did, both Chaeyoung and Mina would be in serious trouble. She opened to scold Chaeyoung, but Chaeyoung interrupted her, putting a finger to her lips. “Today isn’t the day where we worry about the fans, Mina. Or anything else, for that matter. Today, focus on me, and I’ll focus on you. Okay?”

Mina felt a pleasant chill travel down her spine as she gazed into Chaeyoung’s eyes. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity – Mina certainly wouldn’t have minded if it was an eternity – before Chaeyoung removed her finger from Mina’s lips. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re here,” she said, mirth dancing in her eyes. Mina turned around, and took in their surroundings.

They were in an immense room. On one side was a buffet, with cooks constantly refilling the trays full of food, and on the other side were many tables and chairs, most already occupied. Chaeyoung pointed to a table for two in the corner, situated right beside the glass wall. “That’s our place. I’ll get our food. Want anything in particular?”

“I don’t care,” Mina said, shaking her head. Chaeyoung nodded, and hurried to the buffet, taking two plates. Mina made her way to the table, and sat down, placing her purse down beside her chair. She looked outside. People were walking here and there, cars were passing by every now and then, and the sidewalks were littered with food stalls. Just an ordinary morning.

Mina glanced at her watch for the nth time that morning (specifically, the third time). It read 8:25 a.m. The other members would be up by now. What were they doing? Trying to cook breakfast for themselves? No, they’d probably be getting some kind of heat and eat meal, or eating cereal. Mina giggled, imagining Momo trying to fry eggs, then burning them and having Jeongyeon and Jihyo scream at her. Sana would try to defend Momo, while Dahyun would wearily watch the chaos unfold. They were strange, very strange at that, but they were her friends, and Mina loved them.

“I’m back!” Chaeyoung announced, setting a plate in front of Mina and sitting across from her. Mina pretended to still be lost in thought, shifting her gaze to a different spot, so it would look like she was thinking, but at the same time she’d be able to see Chaeyoung. The younger girl had set their plates down and was looking at Mina with a softness in her eyes, her lips curled into a gentle smile Mina knew was an unconscious smile. Seconds passed before Chaeyoung finally spoke, her voice as soft as her eyes. “What’s on your mind?”

Mina finally turned towards Chaeyoung, smirking. “I could ask you the same thing. What were you thinking about, Chaeyoungie?” Her smirk only deepened as a blush took over Chaeyoung’s features, turning her whole face beetroot red. “It’s nothing,” she mumbled, quickly recovering and gesturing to their plates. “Anyways, we have food now. Let’s eat!”

Looking over their plates, Mina noticed that Chaeyoung had chosen the same foods for both of them. The only difference was that there was ketchup slathered over everything on Mina’s plate, just the way she liked it. “The ketchup,” Mina said happily. Chaeyoung smiled at her, picking up her fork and stabbing it into some eggs on her own plate. “Yep, there was a full bottle of Heinz, so I made do. I figured you’d want everything drowning in ketchup.”

Mina smiled back, appreciating how Chaeyoung knew exactly what Mina would want, just like that. “You know me well, don’t you?”

“Very, very well,” Chaeyoung mumbled around a mouthful of toast. Mina took this as her cue to eat, and so she did, but slowly, taking a knife and fork and cutting her eggs into pieces. As she put a piece into , she watched Chaeyoung eat. Chaeyoung, like the rest of the members, liked eating, but she didn’t eat as much as Jeongyeon and Momo did, and definitely not as messily. Only when she was really hungry (like now) did she throw away the proper etiquette and eat like someone who hadn’t seen food in a month. But despite that, she managed to not get crumbs everywhere and not make a mess. It was her unique way of eating.

She met eyes with Chaeyoung, who had glanced up and paused in her destruction of the food on her plate. Once again, the beetroot red flooded Chaeyoung’s face, and she chewed slowly before swallowing. Mina could practically see the panicked thoughts flying all over Chaeyoung’s mind. It was cute. “Is...is there something on my face?” Chaeyoung said, her eyes wide. That was cute, too. Mina shook her head, managing to stifle a giggle. “You’re shoving food into your mouth, and yet you manage not to get crumbs everywhere. It’s interesting, is all.”

Chaeyoung shrugged, her panic from earlier apparently gone. She picked up her fork, scooping up more food with it. “I guess. I mean, it’s how I’ve always –”

“Mina, Chaeyoung! Hey!”

Mina peered over Chaeyoung’s head (it wasn’t that hard, really, Chaeyoung was very short after all) to see Nayeon heading towards them. “Oh, hello, Nayeon.” She looked around and was surprised to see Nayeon alone. “Weren’t you with Tzuyu?”

Nayeon dragged a chair up to their table and sat down. “Well, we were actually done with the radio show guest talk, so I said I wanted to eat breakfast here – and I swear I didn’t know you guys came here – and right at that moment, Tzuyu got a call from Jihyo. Apparently Jihyo wanted Tzuyu to come to the dorm to help her make breakfast. The other members had gone back to sleep, for some reason, and Jihyo wanted to surprise them with breakfast, but she needed help bringing ingredients from the convenience store. The only people available were you two, Tzuyu, and me, and she didn’t want to disturb your, um, ‘breakfast date,’ so she called Tzuyu instead. So Tzuyu told me to go on without her. And here I am. I don’t think I’m going to eat anything, though, I want to sabotage her surprise and eat some of their food.”

“Then why are you here,” Chaeyoung said. Mina glanced swiftly at her; Chaeyoung’s face was tense, and her voice was polite, but strained. With a rush of guilt, Mina realized Chaeyoung was disappointed Nayeon had shown up and ruined their alone time together. She silently apologized, lowering her eyes.

Nayeon shrugged. “I had a hunch you two would be here, and I wanted to check up on you. I mean, where else would you be for a breakfast date?” She winked at Chaeyoung, who did not return the gesture. Mina hoped Chaeyoung wasn’t extremely angry, but she knew if she didn’t change the topic, Chaeyoung would eventually get extremely angry. How’d you get past the crowds in the lobby?” she asked, trying her best to inject a curious tone in her voice.

Nayeon reached into her bag and pulled out an oversized hat and a mask, looking satisified. “If you have this, you’re good to go. I’m sure every idol alive has this. Plus oversized hoodies. Oversized hoodies are our friends.”

\Mina nodded, letting Nayeon turn to the topic of Momo’s uality. As the older girl introduced all of her theories, Mina looked at Chaeyoung again, letting herself linger on Chaeyoung for longer this time. Chaeyoung looked like she was trying to control her anger. She wore an increasingly strained smile, her eye twitched, and her hands, lying on top of the table beside her plate (which was empty), were clenched and shaking slightly. Mina was certain Chaeyoung had counted on this event being just for them, not for them and Nayeon. Another wave of guilt washed over her, and once again, her eyes lowered to the floor. (Her head never ceased in its endless nodding, so Nayeon wouldn’t realize she wasn’t paying attention.) She didn’t like seeing that expression on Chaeyoung’s face. That expression of anger, and concealed hurt, disappointment, and defeat. It shouldn’t have existed in the first place. Mina needed to make sure she got rid of it permanently. Plus, I’m getting exceedingly tired of Nayeon’s guesses at Momo’s uality.

“...Hey, Nayeon?”

It was like the whole room stood still, silence hanging over them. Mina couldn’t bear to look at Chaeyoung – she wanted to look, badly, but she couldn’t – and Nayeon’s gaze seemed challenging. Mina inhaled deeply, returning her eyes to the floor, before raising them again and meeting Nayeon’s confidently. She smiled apologetically at Nayeon. “Chaeyoung and I really have to hurry. The manager told us to head somewhere after this, so we can’t stay and indulge too much.”

Nayeon got up with surprising speed, seeming all too eager to drag her chair back to its original place and leave. “Okay, then, I’ll leave you two lovebirds to whatever you’re doing.” She waggled her eyebrows playfully. “I’ll see you back at the dorm.” She turned and left, the buffet door swinging to a shut behind her.

Mina was confused. Chaeyoung’s face showed she was equally as confused. There was no way Nayeon had believed Mina’s excuse. But, Mina realized quickly, Nayeon hadn’t, because she knew what Mina really meant. Nayeon’s parting words rushed through Mina’s mind, and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Nayeon knew very well what was going on.

Chaeyoung let out an audible breath of relief, and Mina turned to her. She could tell Chaeyoung was glad she had Mina all to herself; it was written all over her face. Though Mina was glad Chaeyoung was happy again, she couldn’t erase the dismayed expression she had seen on Chaeyoung’s face from her thoughts. She caught Chaeyoung’s eyes, and the younger girl’s expression of relief melted into one of concern. “Mina? What’s wrong?”

“I saw your expression before.” Mina recalled the way Chaeyoung’s hands were shaking, her strained smile, her twitching eye. It was evident Chaeyoung was angry, jealous, sad, hurt. Mina never wanted to see that expression on Chaeyoung’s face again. Mina needed to finish erasing it. Mina needed to make sure Chaeyoung knew how Mina felt, and Mina needed to make sure Chaeyoung never forgot it.

She stared into Chaeyoung’s eyes calmly, and even more confidently than she had with Nayeon. “We’ll be together forever, Chaeyoung.”

Chaeyoung didn’t speak. The corners of twitched, and her head slightly tipped to the side. She finally opened , nervous laughter pealing out of it. “Where did this come from?”

“I know you were angry when Nayeon came,” Mina said quietly, trying to control the heat creeping up her face. “I saw you. Your hands were shaking. You obviously had a fake smile on. Your whole face screamed you wanted Nayeon to leave. You didn’t want this day to be ruined. You wanted for it to be just the two of us.” Again, the beetroot red overwhelmed Chaeyoung’s face, meaning Mina was correct. She was also sure her face was a similar beetroot red, but she continued on, ignoring it. “Chaeyoungie, even if someone else gets between us, we’ll still be together. I’ll always find a way to be with you. I won’t give up. You make me smile, more than anyone else can. You’re the reason behind my happiness.” She placed her hands on both sides of Chaeyoung’s face, leaning close to her. “Do you understand, Chaeyoung? You don’t need to be jealous. At the end of the day, it’s you. It’s only you. I’ll come back to you, and we’ll be together, not to mention alone.”

The two gazed into each other’s eyes, until Chaeyoung broke it off, looking to the side. She was blushing furiously, probably because of what Mina had said and because Mina’s hands had not yet dropped from the sides of her face. Her eyes wandered, before they fixed themselves on Mina. She seemed to have decided on something to say. Mina knew exactly what she was going to say. “Mina, I...”

I love you.

Mina placed a finger on Chaeyoung’s lips, not unlike what Chaeyoung had done to her before. “You don’t need to say anything,” she whispered, hoping Chaeyoung could hear just how much Mina loved her. “We know each other well, don’t we? We know exactly how we feel about each other.”

Chaeyoung smiled. She took Mina’s finger off of her lips and clenched her hand tightly. “You said we’ll be together forever?”

Mina touched her forehead to Chaeyoung’s, her heart soaring above the clouds. “That’s right, Chaeyoung. The two of us. No one else.

“It’s just us.”

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ya girl revised this story, saving you all from cringe :)