Momo’s playing Mario Kart by herself, trying to sort out her thoughts. She doesn’t know what took over her; her mind just instantly went blank when she saw Mina and Chaeyoung together at the lounge.

 

“Thank you for today,” she heard Mina say to Chaeng. She’s still wondering what happened for Chaeng to lead her to their lounge. Suddenly she’s got her guard up against one of her best friends.

 

But why should Momo even care? It’s not like she and Mina are real lovers, anyway. Why should Momo be jealous of some interaction between her and anyone else?

 

No, no, Momo can’t be jealous. She’s just… She’s just making sure no one finds out the truth about their relationship. If Mina gets too close to Chaeyoung then people might start getting suspicious.

 

Yes, that’s it.

 

That has to be it.

 

Momo places 2nd in her game, finishing after a computer-aided Yoshi. She groans and throws her controller on the couch.

 

Then she remembers the way Mina giggled when she heard Nayeon call her Moguri. She remembers the way her heart skipped a beat then.

 

Aish, this is all that bunny’s fault, she thinks to herself, shaking her head.

 

Momo glances at her watch and sees that it’s almost 6 PM. The girls should be nearly done fixing Mina by now. Momo decides she should change into her dress and apply her make-up.

 

Several minutes later, Momo’s wearing a light green asymmetrical tube dress (A/N: think Twiceland photocards), finishing her outfit by putting a headband.

 

“Knock knock,” she hears Nayeon say from outside.

 

“It’s open,” Momo replies.

 

Only Nayeon enters the room, and she opens , smiling at a fully dressed up Momo.

 

“Oh my,” she utters. “My baby has turned into a beautiful woman.”

 

Momo rolls her eyes. “You’re just 14 months older than me, Nabongs.”

 

“I’m still so proud.”

 

Momo sticks her tongue out, and this time it’s Nayeon’s turn to roll her eyes.

 

“Where’s Mina?” Momo asks the older girl.

 

Nayeon steps aside, giving way for Mina to enter.

 

The first thing Momo looks at is her dress—she’s wearing the same style as Momo’s, except its color is blue, and Mina’s wearing a black belt on hers.

 

Then Momo tilts her head upwards. Mina’s hair, which is tied into a ponytail, is now black.

 

She doesn’t realize it, but Momo’s grinning now. The new hair color seems to look good on Mina—really good.

 

“You look… Uh… Um…”

 

Mina giggles, and there goes Momo’s heart again. Stop sweating or you’ll ruin your make-up, she tells herself.

 

“Thanks, Momo,” Mina replies. “You too.”

 

“Ahem.”

 

Nayeon’s cough snaps the two back to reality, and they both turn their heads to her.

 

“You guys should go.” Nayeon turns to Momo. “You shouldn’t keep your father waiting. I’ll join in on the fun later, I’m just waiting for my date.”

 

“Eh?” Momo utters. “You have a date?”

 

“Just because I work for you doesn’t mean I don’t have a life, Momo. I go to the same school as you guys.”

 

“Whatever. Just don’t be too fashionably late, or else you’ll miss out on all the food.”

 

“You can count it. My date’s appetite is as big as yours.”

 

Mina sees Momo chuckle, and once again she’s astonished at the older girl’s smile. She wishes she could see this side of Momo more often.

 

“We’ll see about that, Nabongs.”

 

—

 

Momo and Mina enter the designated hall at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. Mina’s got her grip on Momo’s arm. “Don’t let go of me if you don’t want to get lost,” Momo tells her. And Mina follows, because she’s overwhelmed by the amount of people inside the hall.

 

They walk down the stairs together, and people are starting to notice them. It seems that Momo knows these people as she was smiling and nodding at them. Mina on the other hand looks like a lost puppy, clutching onto Momo for dear life.

 

Momo leads Mina as they approach two men in a tux and a woman wearing a tweed dress. When the elders take notice of them, Momo bows at a 90-degree angle.

 

“Otosama, okasama.”

 

Mina recognizes these Japanese words as the respectful terms for one’s mother and father. She gulps, not really ready to face them yet. But they're here now, and there's nothing she could do about it.

 

“Momo, this is Kang Hanjeon,” Mr. Hirai tells Momo. “He’s the man responsible for upgrading our company’s security system. We have a lot to thank for this one.”

 

Momo bows at a right angle again. “Hello, Hanjeon-ssi. Pleased to meet you. I’m Momo.”

 

Mr. Kang bellows in laughter. “Oh please, Hirai. I didn’t really do much.”

 

“Momo will take my place in a few years, and she needs to know what you did for the company.”

 

Did Mina hear that right? Momo’s gonna take over a multi-billion enterprise “in a few years”? Does that mean after college?

 

“What happened to the other one?” Mr. Kang asks.

 

“Hana is… on a study leave,” Mr. Hirai replies. Mina assumes Hana is Momo's sister. Wow, I've never heard of Hana before, Mina thinks.

 

Momo’s mom glances at Mina. “Momo, why don’t you introduce this lovely girl you brought with you?”

 

“This is Mina. She’s my girlfriend.”

 

Mina bows upon her introduction, mimicking Momo.

 

“Girlfriend?” Mrs. Hirai repeats. “How come we’ve never heard of her before?”

 

“I just… didn’t want to tell you guys if I wasn’t sure yet. But now I’m ready to introduce her to everyone here.”

 

Momo’s dad, however, still doesn’t seem convinced. “How did you two meet?”

 

Mina gulps, her palms already starting to sweat even though the hall is well-ventilated. She decides she’ll let Momo come up with whatever story about how they met.

 

“We’re dance partners in a class.”

 

Mina tries her best to hide her shock. They’ve never talked about dancing before. Mina has 11 years of ballet lessons up her sleeve, but it’s been 10 months since she did actual ballet, and she hasn’t even told Momo any of that yet.

 

“Oh, really?” Mr. Hirai asks, one of his eyebrows raised now.

 

“Yeah. We’re working on a dance routine and I just knew from the moment I saw her dance that I wanted to have her.” Momo puts an arm around Mina. Mina manages to force out a smile to the three adults in front of them.

 

“What a sweet tale of young love,” Mr. Kang chimes in. “Well how about you two lovebirds perform your routine for us?”

 

“Oh no, Mr. Kang,” Momo politely refuses, “we’re not done with the choreography yet.”

 

“Well, I have a friend who’s a senior high principal. She would love it if you’d dance for them for their foundation day, in about a month? Having a Hirai as a guest would really boost the school’s publicity.”

 

“Sure, Mr. Kang,” replies Momo.

 

Mr. Hirai breaks his silence. “Momo. I’d like to talk to you for a second.”

 

The daughter obeys and lets go of Mina’s hand. Mr. Kang and Mrs. Hirai walk away, tending to their own business.

 

“Nice meeting you, Mina,” they say before leaving her to her own.

 

What now?

 

Mina glances over at Momo and her father. They seem to be having a serious conversation. Then she takes a look around, eyeing the tables with plates full of food on them. She suddenly remember Nayeon’s remark about Momo’s big appetite and wonders how much truth there is to that.

 

“Boring, isn’t it?” somebody speaks, snapping Mina back from her thoughts. She glances around and sees Chaeyoung.

 

“Hi, Mina.”

 

“Hey, Chaeng. Don’t have a date for tonight?”

 

Chaeyoung shakes her head. “I’m not really into that kind of scene right now.”

 

Mina nods, respecting Chaeyoung’s principle. Mina used to be that way, too—well, she still is; it’s just that people don’t know that.

 

Suddenly the music changes and a lot of couples make their way to the center for a dance.

 

“May I have this dance?” Chaeyoung asks, holding her hand out for Mina, who gladly takes it.

 

The two remain quiet throughout the dance. Momo, after the talk with her father, rushes to the dancing pair.

“Hey, Chaeng,” Momo says in a low voice. “I want to dance with my girlfriend now.”