It’s weird, this feeling of being familiar yet unfamiliar with a place. It’s been so long since she stepped into this apartment complex, but it feels just like yesterday that she dragged her luggage out with Sana. But what she doesn’t understand the most is why she has to come here to find Chaeyoung. She will get her answer soon though, as she heaves the duffel bag on her shoulder before pressing the doorbell.

There’s no response, and Mina presses it again. She's trapped outside the apartment she used to live in. How ironic.

The door swings open, and it doesn’t take a genius to tell that Chaeyoung has been awaken by her. The riled-up expression and bed hair is a dead giveaway, but she sees how it immediately changes to surprise when she registers who is standing in front of her.

“How… how are you here?” Chaeyoung asks incredulously, all traces of sleep gone.

Mina doesn’t speak, looking beyond Chaeyoung into the apartment. Quietly, Chaeyoung takes the duffel bag off her shoulder and tugs her into the apartment, having the sense to keep quiet, knowing that Mina needs it to register everything she’s seeing. Nothing seems to have changed, the furniture and arrangement of them looks just like how she had left them, with the exception of Chaeyoung’s work desk and computer being the only new additions. But she still doesn’t understand.

“Why?”

“Hmm?”

She turns to look at Chaeyoung. “Why did you buy this apartment?”

“I don’t know, I guess I wanted to have something to remember you by…” Chaeyoung trails off. Back then, Mina had left her without anything (but a broken heart), so she bought this place as a way to tell herself that it really happened, that it wasn’t just a figment of her imagination. But now, they have come a full circle, and both of them are standing in this apartment together again (something Chaeyoung thought she wouldn’t live to see, if she was going to be honest).

Mina closes the gap between them and engulfs the other girl in a tight hug. Chaeyoung is so sentimental for no good reason (but maybe that’s the reason why she loves her so much). She snuggles into the crook of Chaeyoung’s neck, feeling the tears build up in her eyes. “You are such an idiot.”

“Says the one who is crying now.” Chaeyoung teases as she wraps her arms around Mina, running her hands through her hair. This is what she missed, being able to hold Mina like this. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Mina mumbles.

(“Do you do this to all your previous lovers too?” Mina asks and Chaeyoung lets out a sound of confusion as she continues to draw patterns on the former’s back. It’s the first time they got to cuddle in bed like that ever since they met again, the previous meetings with each other too brief for such luxury.

“Do you buy something just to keep your memories with your previous lovers?” Mina looks up at Chaeyoung, poking those squishable cheeks.

“Nah, only you.” Chaeyoung tries to bite Mina’s finger, her attempt a tad too late as Mina retracts her finger.

“Why?”

“Because you are special.”)

--

“Son Chaeyoung!” Mina chides for the thousandth time that day as said girl chomps down on the sample food she’s holding. She throws away the toothpick and bows at the auntie before hurrying back to where Mina is, the latter already having her arms crossed in front of her.

Chaeyoung smiles sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“Stop eating, you won’t have space for dinner at this rate.” Mina grumbles as she pushes the shopping cart while walking ahead, Chaeyoung following behind like a puppy. She puts her arms around Mina, effectively trapping the girl between the cart and herself as they trudge along in the mart.

“Don’t worry, I am still going to eat everything you cook later.” Chaeyoung assures Mina. “What is for dinner tonight though?”

Mina stops, scanning the shelves for what she wants. “Spaghetti. You are okay with it, right?”

Chaeyoung hums. “Anything is fine if you are cooking.”

Mina taps on Chaeyoung’s arms, wanting to be freed but the latter just shakes her head, jutting her cheek out. “How about a kiss first?”

“We are in public.” Mina frowns but Chaeyoung doesn’t care, just leaning in to peck her cheeks before letting the girl out of her arms.

“But we are the only ones in here.” They are the only ones in this row, the shelves of products giving them perfect cover from other people.

“But still! Have you forgotten how we got caught in the first place?” Mina reproaches as she puts the jar of tomato sauce into their cart.

“Relax, the ahjummas here don’t even recognize me.” It is true that they got caught in Japan because they weren’t discreet enough, but Chaeyoung looks around the mart and she’s 100% sure nobody is going to care if she engages in a deep kissing battle with Mina right there and then. They are only a few middle-aged women doing grocery shopping in the mart right now, and they didn’t even bat an eyelid as they make eye contact with her, obviously not knowing or recognizing her star status. “And also,” she leans closer to Mina, “since we are caught, there’s no need to hide anymore. There’s nothing more to be exposed anyway.”

Mina just rolls her eyes, unable to fight Chaeyoung when she has already made her mind up. (She also can’t deny how nice it feels to have the smaller girl close to her.)

They continue to be attached by the hip as they make their way around the mart, only receiving some unwanted attention at the meat section. Like always, Mina is busy choosing the food while Chaeyoung just hugs the girl from the back as she looks on, a lady beside them smiling as she looks at them.

“Are you guys siblings? It’s so cute that you guys are grocery shopping together. I can’t even get my daughters to sit amicably with each other for more than a minute.” She says as she shakes her head with a fond smile.

“Yeah…” Mina laughs awkwardly as she tries to shrug herself out of Chaeyoung’s embrace. Being shy and introverted, she would rather let it pass than correct the lady’s obvious mistake.

But Chaeyoung doesn’t back down, choosing instead to entwine her fingers with Mina’s. “No madam, we are not siblings. We are together.”

The lady looks confused before realization hits her as she looks at their entwined hands. “Are you guys…” she says the next word like it’s venom. “gay?”

“Yes, you can say that.” Chaeyoung answers without fear as she just tightens the hold she has on Mina when she feels the latter trying to slip out from her hands. Mina wishes she can tell Chaeyoung to stop talking, not liking where this conversation is headed.

The fondness in the woman’s demeanour is gone immediately, being replaced with contempt. “Well, you guys shouldn’t be together. A girl should be with a guy, and vice versa. This,” she wildly gestures towards the two of them, “isn’t right!”

“Have a good day, mam.” Mina greets, pulling Chaeyoung away before this turns into a full-fledged argument.

“One day, you guys will realize the sins you are committing!” She hollers after them, and Mina is the one tightening the grip on their entwined hands this time so that Chaeyoung doesn’t think of going back to sprout some sense into the ill-informed woman. (They should, but she doesn’t think it will actually make a difference.)

--

They are walking back to the apartment, hands still entwined but Chaeyoung’s mood is obviously dampened, kicking at the stones on the pavement as they walk along. Mina tugs at her. “Are you mad at me?”

Chaeyoung stops to fix Mina’s hair with a small smile. “Never. I’m just mad at her, is all.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to fight for us just now…” Mina trails off but Chaeyoung just shakes her head. “It’s okay, you did the right thing. It could have gone worse if we stayed.”

Mina sighs as she wraps her arms around Chaeyoung’s waist. It to see how backwards people still are nowadays, but there is nothing they can do to change that. The only thing they can do, is to love each other harder. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Chaeyoung pulls away to stare into Mina’s eyes. “And I will still love you no matter who curses at me.”  

Suddenly, a lightbulb seems to have gone off in Chaeyoung’s head as her eyes widen. Grabbing Mina’s hands, she says hastily, “And we have to go back. Now.”

“Wha-“ Before Mina can even question it, she’s being pulled by Chaeyoung and she almost stumbles as she tries to keep up with the speed of the smaller girl. (For a small girl, she sure can run fast.)

“Song inspiration. We have to go now!” Chaeyoung huffs as she runs ahead. Mina just furrows her brows at the other girl’s eccentricity, but nevertheless goes along with it. She lets go of Chaeyoung’s hands before breaking into a dead sprint. “Last person back to the apartment has to wash the dishes!”

--

Chaeyoung leans back in her chair as she pulls off her headphones, satisfied with her work on the computer. She looks at the clock and sees that it’s been an hour since she sat here which also means it’s been an hour she left Mina alone. She stretches while walking out of the room, and sees Mina bent over the weighing scale, measuring… spaghetti? She blinks a little, trying to comprehend the sight but decides not to interrupt as she leans against the wall, just contended with watching Mina even if the girl doesn’t acknowledge her.

Mina removes a few strands of spaghetti from the weighing scale, and it seems like she’s satisfied with the weight because she throws it into the boiling pot, putting the few strands back into the packaging. Chaeyoung is just beyond confused at this point in time, was the girl seriously measuring spaghetti? She keeps quiet though, preferring to stay here to look at Mina waltzing around the kitchen and she feels something warm, something that feels like love growing in her chest. Maybe this is the moment when a person realizes for sure that they want to spend the rest of their life with their partner. (If her friends are here, they are not going to let her live this sappiness down. (But she had always been a hopeless romantic.))

Mina turns around to get some ingredients from the sink and jumps when she notices Chaeyoung leaning against the wall, watching her. She smiles at her, and Chaeyoung smiles back before closing the gap between the two of them, wrapping her arms around Mina’s middle. The latter immediately melts against her embrace as she adds the mushrooms into the tomato sauce.

 “Are you done with your song?”

“Not quite. But it can wait.” Chaeyoung snuggles against Mina like the latter is a teddy bear.

“Go back and work on it. Dinner is not quite ready yet.” Mina pats Chaeyoung’s arm lightly as she stirs the sauce on the stove gently.

“Nah, I want to spend more time with you. What can I do to help?” Chaeyoung pulls away to pull up her sleeve a little, showing that she’s ready.

“I’m already making the pasta and the sauce, so maybe you can do up some side dishes?” Mina suggests.

“Leave it to me, Madame.” Chaeyoung bows with her hands on her stomach.

--

After a satisfying meal, the two of them are huddled up on the couch, sharing a blanket as they watch some random movie Chaeyoung has the television. Mina is not really watching the movie, instead choosing to focus on Chaeyoung.

“I have always wanted to ask you.” Mina runs her fingers through Chaeyoung’s hair. “Why did you change your hairstyle?”

Ever since she met Chaeyoung again, the girl’s hairstyle is what intrigued her the most. Why did she make such a drastic change to her hairstyle? Don’t get her wrong, she loves the new short cut on her, thinks she looks super cute (and cool and hot), but it must have taken a lot of courage on Chaeyoung’s part to decide to chop it all off.

“Well, you know how they always say people who make drastic changes to their hairstyle is because they went through a heartbreak?” Chaeyoung raises her eyebrows and shoots a teasing smile at her.

She didn’t get a haircut after getting heartbroken by her, right…? Mina frowns as she tries to decipher Chaeyoung’s words. “Was it me?”

Chaeyoung laughs and Mina can feel it resonating throughout her chest. “I was just joking. You should have seen your face.”

Mina sulks as she tries to wiggle out of Chaeyoung’s embrace, but the latter just tightens her arms more as she chuckles. Realizing her struggle is futile, Mina just pouts as she sinks back into Chaeyoung’s embrace. “But really, why though?”

Chaeyoung shrugs. “I just felt like it.”

“You never change, don’t you?” Mina rolls her eyes as she remembers how Chaeyoung was really rebellious when they just knew each other. (And really, it was that rebelliousness that actually broke down her walls.)

“Maybe. My love for you didn’t change too.” Chaeyoung blurts out what she should have said three years ago. They have confessed their love for each other many times, but this one feels different. It speaks of the words they couldn’t and didn’t say to each other then because Chaeyoung didn’t have the maturity to be in a relationship, and Mina didn’t have the luxury to be in one.

“I think I loved you back then too.” Mina whispers back and Chaeyoung just raises an eyebrow.

“You think?” She squints her eyes as she gets closer and closer to Mina, before launching a tickle attack on her. The girl shrieks as the tickles come unceasingly, unable to escape from the cocoon they have made with the blanket.

“Alright, alright.” Mina heaves, and Chaeyoung pauses momentarily. “I love you, you little brat.”

Satisfied with the answer, Chaeyoung smiles smugly before leaning in to kiss Mina. They kiss for a few minutes, before Chaeyoung pulls away, staring at Mina with a dazed look. She can’t believe she has another chance to hold this girl in her arms again, and she is definitely not going to let this chance go just like that.

“Wait here.” Chaeyoung says as she gets out from the blanket cocoon she’s in, hurrying into the bedroom. Mina just waits patiently, not knowing what the eccentric girl has up her sleeves again. Chaeyoung appears with a guitar before sitting back down in her previous spot, taking a deep breath to muster up her courage.

“This is actually the first song I have ever written. I have never shown it to anyone, but I think it’s time for you to listen to it.” Chaeyoung bites her lower lip in nervousness, but Mina just smiles reassuringly as she places a hand on Chaeyoung’s knee. Gaining strength from Mina’s actions, Chaeyoung nods and smiles as she adjusts the guitar on her lap.

I met you in the dark, you lit me up

You made me feel as though I was enough

We danced the night away, we drank too much

I held your hair back when

You were throwing up

Then you smiled over your shoulder

For a minute, I was stone-cold sober

I pulled you closer to my chest

And you asked me to stay over

I said, I already told ya

I think that you should get some rest

I knew I loved you then

But you'd never know

'Cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go

I know I needed you

But I never showed

But I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old

Just say you won't let go

Just say you won't let go

I'm so in love with you

And I hope you know

Darling your love is more than worth its weight in gold

We've come so far my dear

Look how we've grown

And I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old

Just say you won't let go

Just say you won't let go

Chaeyoung strums the last chord of the song, and she reaches over to wipe a tear off Mina’s face, trying to maintain her composure to finish what she has in mind. She places the guitar away to the side, and holds Mina’s hand instead. “Minari, I don’t have any fancy rings or bracelet, but I mean every word in the song. I really want to stay with you till we are grey and old, and this is not a proposal, yet! But we will get there. So how about starting off as girlfriends first?”

Mina sniffs. “Yes.” She leans in to connect their lips. “Yes.”

It’s Chaeyoung’s turn to tear up as she stares at the girl she’s holding. After all this time, she can finally call Mina hers. It took so long, but it is worth it. “I love you, my girlfriend.”

“I love you too, my smol girlfriend.” Mina chuckles as she wipes off Chaeyoung's tears amidst her own.

--

“Call me when you arrive, alright?” Chaeyoung says as she hands over Mina’s duffel bag to her.

Mina hums in agreement as she takes a good look at her girlfriend (finally being able to call her this term brings butterflies to her stomach). It’s going to be a long time before they can meet each other again, so she makes sure to memorize every single detail of her face. The girl is wearing this ridiculously big bucket hat that covers her entire face, and Mina pouts when she can’t see her face.

Chaeyoung seems to understand what she wants, pulling the hat back to reveal her face. She smiles, but there is a hint of sadness in her smile. “I’m going to miss you. A lot.”

“Me too.” Mina mumbles as she steps forward to lean against Chaeyoung, the latter resting her hands on her waist.

The shorter girl sighs reluctantly, kissing Mina on her temple before pulling back. She pats her a few times. “It’s time to go.”

Mina nods reluctantly as she adjusts the duffel bag on her shoulder. She walks to the guard to get her passport and boarding pass checked, turning around to look at Chaeyoung every few steps she took. The guard clears her to pass, and she turns to look at Chaeyoung for one last time. They separate many times before, but it seems like it just gets harder and harder every single time.

Chaeyoung smiles at her while nodding, as if egging her to go ahead. She puts her hand against her ear like a phone, and Mina nods and waves for the last time before heading into the departure area. Chaeyoung stands for a few seconds, making sure Mina is really gone before she leaves the airport, feeling as if half of her heart has left her.

--

a/n: next chapter is the last one!