Truth be told, Tzuyu easily forgot about the bet as soon as the party was over. She had assignments due and a part-time job to work, so she really didn’t have much time to hang out with any of her friends aside from the occasional lunchtime meet-up.

That all changed Saturday night, exactly six days after the party. Exhausted after practicing for her dance performance, Tzuyu was ready to fall into bed and get a nice stress-free sleep.

So of course, her phone rang.

She buried her face in her pillow and ignored it, but the ringing persisted, someone either desperate or annoying enough to keep calling her. She reached her hand out to check who was ringing, and sighed when she saw it was Chaeyoung.

Annoying it was then.

She answered reluctantly, the refusal already on the tip of her tongue.

“What do you want?”

“Why do you assume I want something?”

Tzuyu waited silently.

“Funny story actually.” Chaeyoung said in a terrible attempt at casualness. “Remember when I made a diss track about those local rappers?”

“When you said they were more interested in looking like rappers then actually rapping? And you told them that their attempts at swagger came across as desperate and tacky?  Yeah I remember.”

“Well turns out they didn’t like that very much.”

“Shocking.”

“And they may be planning to fight me tomorrow night.”

“Oh my god.” Tzuyu shut her eyes again, resisting the urge to throw her phone away. “Just tell them no. Stay at home until this all blows over.”

“I can’t. If I don’t put my money where my mouth is I lose all credibility.”

“Chae, I love you, but right now you’re just a soundcloud rapper. You have no credibility to lose.”

“Tzuyu please.” Chaeyoung whined. “This is important to me!”

“What do you want me to do? Show up and support you as you get beaten up?”

“Of course not! That would be stupid.”

Tzuyu bit back a comment about how this whole conversation was stupid, because the rare occasions she actually managed to hurt Chaeyoung’s feelings were not pleasant.

“Then why are you telling me this?”

“Well there’s two of them and one of me, so I was kind of… maybe… sort of… hoping you would help me fight them?”

Tzuyu took a second to wait for the punchline. When there was silence from the other end of the phone, she realised that Chaeyoung was being serious.

“No.”

“Please? We’re best friends!”

“So are you and Dahyun. Go ask her instead.”

“Listen, I love Dahyun but we both know she’s terrible in a fight. I pretended to hit her once and she dropped to the ground and curled up in a ball.”

Tzuyu couldn’t deny that logic, but she also liked living and not getting punched in the face. She was tempted to sell Chaeyoung out to Jeongyeon and let her handle it, but nowadays Jeongyeon would probably join in the fight so that she could see her girlfriend at the hospital.

Stupid Nayeon, always making everything more difficult.

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Tzuyu.”

“Goodbye now.”

“They might actually kill me. Do you want that on your conscience?”

“Chae-”

“Will you be able to look my parents in the eye at my funeral and tell them that you did everything you could to help me?”

“Jesus.” Tzuyu groaned, feeling a migraine building up behind her eyes. “Fine. Whatever, you win. I’ll help you fight these guys and then you are going to help me with my music theory tutorials for the rest of the semester.”

“Deal! No take backs!”

Chaeyoung hung up then, and Tzuyu went back to burying her face in her pillow, already aware of how bad that decision had been. Two teenage girls fighting two grown men, there was no way this would end well.

But she did love Chaeyoung, even if the girl was responsible for ninety per cent of Tzuyu’s suffering, so after twenty-four hours of worrying she turned up at the local sports club parking lot at midnight. Chaeyoung grinned happily when she arrived, as if Tzuyu being there would magically intimidate the men into calling the whole thing off.

To be fair, she kind of understood why Chae had dissed them, because they really did look pathetic. Both of them looked incredibly pale, although that could be due to both their complexion and the lampposts illuminating them. The bigger man squaring off against Chaeyoung was shirtless, his hair in dreads and an honest to god gold tooth showing when he sneered at them. The smaller guy lacked the cultural appropriation, but his bucket hat looked stupid so Tzuyu didn’t think too highly of him either.

“I don’t like to hit girls.” The bigger guy drawled. “So if you want to apologize we can all go home, otherwise I’m going to have to defend my honour, and your girlfriend here won’t be able to stop me.”

Tzuyu was still hoping Chaeyoung would realise that this was all ridiculous, but the shorter girl had her own sense of pride that was clearly keeping her from realising how embarrassing this whole ordeal was.

“Sorry.” Chaeyoung shrugged. “I stand by what I said. You can’t rap and your lyrics use slang in a way that makes no sense because you want to sound cool. ‘You be shookin when I’m deadass servin’. Really?”

“Talk all you want,” The man growled, moving closer “But you better be ready to deal with the consequences.”

The man swung at Chaeyoung, who dodged backwards and tried to kick his shin. Bucket hat guy pulled out a knife, his hand shaking and his face unsure. Tzuyu stared blankly at him, completely unimpressed.

“What are you going to do, stab me?”

He took her by surprise when he actually stabbed her, but then he screamed and took off running, so she had been mostly right in assuming he was all talk.

“Dammit Jeremy!” The big man snarled, turning his back on Chaeyoung to chase after his friend.

There was silence as Tzuyu tried to process the fact that she’d just been stabbed.

“I think we won.”

“Yeah.” Chaeyoung agreed. “Should I call an ambulance now?”

“That would be nice.”

She woke up to bright lights and a beautiful face smiling down at her.

“Are you an angel?” Tzuyu mumbled softly.

“Aw.” Jihyo patted her cheek. “You’re sweet. Congratulations by the way, we’ve mostly stopped your internal bleeding. Looks like you’ll survive.”

Jihyo was really pretty. How had she forgotten how pretty she was? It had only been six days since the party, right?

“Six days since what?” Jihyo asked, and Tzuyu jumped when she realised she’d said the last part out loud.

Damn these painkillers. She’d only been lightly stabbed; the dosage was completely unnecessary.

“Since we last saw each other.” She slurred out at last.

“Feels like longer.” Jihyo agreed. “I was kind of hoping I’d see you outside of the hospital instead of in the ICU, but I guess I shouldn’t have expected better from Jeongyeon’s friends.”

“It’s Chaeyoung’s fault.”

“That’s fair.” Chaeyoung piped up, curled up in the chair next to Tzuyu’s bed. “Also I may have had to lie about our relationship in order to be allowed in here, but don’t worry Jihyo knows we’re not really girlfriends.”

Tzuyu took a second to glare at her best friend, but she couldn’t stay completely mad when the woman she may be developing a small crush on was her nurse. She watched as Jihyo carefully injected more painkillers into her IV bag, and realised that this was an opportunity she shouldn’t let pass.

“If you want to meet up outside this place there’s an open mic night every Tuesday at the campus bar.” Tzuyu’s heart pounded and she was fairly certain it had nothing to do with her injuries. “I probably won’t be there this week because of, you know, all this, but I’ll definitely be there next week.”

“Yeah?” Jihyo smiled at her, and Tzuyu tried not to look too nervous. “I’d like that. Maybe-”

“So Jihyo!” Chaeyoung interrupted. “You got a girlfriend?”

And suddenly, Tzuyu remembered the bet.

“Oh, uh, not right now no.” Jihyo seemed confused at the abrupt subject change.

Chaeyoung smirked, and Tzuyu reached for her bedside locker, fumbling for the heavy water bottle on top of it.

“Are you interested in-”

Tzuyu flung the water bottle at Chaeyoung, proud when it hit its target even as the action sent her stomach into spasms of pain.

She may have out a little, because the next thing she knew Chaeyoung was gone and Tzuyu was alone with Jihyo.

“Sorry about her.” Tzuyu mumbled. “She and Sana flirt with all our new friends, it’s just how they are.”

“I don’t mind.” Jihyo chuckled, leaning forward to fluff up Tzuyu’s pillows.

Tzuyu gulped as Jihyo’s chest came perilously close to her face. It hovered above her for a good ten seconds, and then mercifully, Jihyo moved back, and Tzuyu could breathe again.

“I like you guys a lot.” Jihyo told her, unaware of Tzuyu’s red face. “You’re a fun bunch to be around, even if you do get a little crazy.”

“’A little crazy’ is an understatement.” Tzuyu grumbled. “But I’m glad you aren’t spooked by all our drama.”

“Nah.” Jihyo grinned at her. “To be honest, I really enjoy taking care of you.”

The logical part of Tzuyu knew that the ‘you’ Jihyo meant was their whole friend group, but that didn’t stop her from replaying the words over and over again in her head with a huge smile on her face until she fell back asleep.

If the first thing Tzuyu did once she was allowed out of the hospital was google How to get a girlfriend, she made sure that no one could ever prove it.

It’s not like it was helpful either. The first step was ‘Stop trying to get a girlfriend’, which in Tzuyu’s opinion was completely useless and counterproductive advice. She considered asking her friends for help, but Jeongyeon had terrible taste in women, and Momo and Mina were just friends with benefits. Sana and Dahyun were in a pretty happy relationship, but Tzuyu had a feeling that what worked for them wouldn’t work for her, or for anyone else honestly.

So when Tuesday came around, and Tzuyu was fit enough to walk to the campus bar, she did so with no game plan. Naturally, she was nervous to see Jihyo again, and even the drink Chaeyoung bought her as compensation for getting stabbed did nothing to calm her nerves.

When Jihyo walked in Tzuyu promptly choked on her drink, and it took both Momo and Chaeyoung hitting her on the back for her to be able to breathe again. It would be embarrassing if it was just Jihyo’s presence that stunned her, but what actually caused Tzuyu to swallow the wrong way was Jihyo’s hair. It had changed since the last time Tzuyu saw her, and if Tzuyu thought she had been attracted to her before with dark hair and bangs, it was nothing compared to how she felt now, as Jihyo smiled at her with her straight, red hair.

“I’ve never seen you this gay before.” Chaeyoung whispered to her. “I’m so proud.”

Tzuyu thumped her on the shoulder, but forced a hopefully normal smile on her face as Jihyo walked over. A chorus of “Hey” and “Hi Jihyo” greeted her, and Tzuyu’s smile grew real at the genuine delight in Jihyo’s eyes. Regardless of crushes and bets, there was no doubt that Jihyo was fitting in just fine with their little group.

“I love your hair.” Momo piped up.

“Thank you!” Jihyo beamed, and Tzuyu forced herself to swallow the irrational jealousy she could feel bubbling up inside.

“I hope you’re planning to sing tonight. I was kind of hoping to make your voice my ringtone.” Chaeyoung’s tone was clearly flirtatious, and Tzuyu was tempted to ‘accidentally’ spill a drink on her.

Get a grip. She told herself, ignoring the way her heart sank when Jihyo blushed at Chaeyoung’s words.

Luckily, her bad mood didn’t last long, because Jihyo was quick to get up on the stage. Unlike Mina’s party, the cheers started before she’d even chosen her song, and Tzuyu’s smile grew wider as Jihyo ducked her head in embarrassment.

Unlike the silky jazz she sang at Mina’s, this time Jihyo chose to sing All About That Bass. Their table was up and dancing before she even got to the chorus, all except for Tzuyu. She remained seated, clapping along with her full focus on Jihyo. Something about the way she performed, her expressions and her voice, it was mesmerising. Jihyo looked like the kind of girl who belonged in Tzuyu’s performing arts class, not a nursing prodigy. Even singing a light pop song, Tzuyu was utterly captivated.

She stood up and cheered along with the rest of the bar once Jihyo had finished, a warm glow in her chest as Jihyo bowed shyly and made her way back over to the table. Tzuyu didn’t understand it, why Jihyo’s happiness made her own heart so soft. Realistically Tzuyu barely knew her, yet if felt like she would do anything to keep that smile on Jihyo’s face.

How terrifying.

The night wore on, with different people going up on stage. Tzuyu clapped and cheered for them all, but her attention never left Jihyo. The older girl was just so… bright. Even just sitting there, Tzuyu’s eyes were drawn to her. Her laugh, her energetic way of talking, the cute way her eyes scrunched up when she was enjoying something, Tzuyu was torn between fear and embarrassment at just how many feelings Jihyo could elicit from her without even trying.

Around 2am people began heading home, although most of their table stayed for a bit longer. Tzuyu was surprised when Jihyo got up to leave, despite Nayeon being wrapped around Jeongyeon in a way that reminded Tzuyu of a squid trapping its prey.

“You walking home alone?”

“It’s fine.” Jihyo smiled at her, and even after hours of exposure Tzuyu still blushed. “I live pretty near.”

A large part of Tzuyu wanted to offer to walk her home, but that was too forward and she was a little too drunk to trust herself not to say something embarrassing if it was just the two of them.

“At least let me give you my number. In case something happens, I mean!” Tzuyu could feel her cheeks burning. “I just- I’d feel safer if I knew you could call someone other than her.”

She pointed at Nayeon, who was laughing so hard at something Momo said that she fell off Jeongyeon’s lap. Jeongyeon tried to grab her as she fell and got dragged down on top of Nayeon instead. Strange noises began coming from the floor, and everyone tactfully ignored them as they did things Tzuyu didn’t want to think about.

“Fair enough.” Jihyo laughed. “Pass me your phone and we can swap numbers.”

Tzuyu did just that, and when Jihyo finally said goodbye to everyone she remained clutching her phone, looking down at her new contact.

Park Jihyo :)

“Well look at you!” Chaeyoung sidled up to her with a grin. “I thought I had this in the bag, but you went right ahead and got her number. Keep it up and you might just win the bet.”

Something sour and uncertain seeped into the giddiness Tzuyu felt, and she didn’t fully understand where it came from.

“Maybe.” She shrugged in reply, wondering why she wasn’t more excited about that.

She wanted to be with Jihyo, right? Which meant she wanted to win the bet, right?

So why didn’t it feel that simple?

Exactly two weeks after Tzuyu’s visit to the hospital, Sana and Momo threw a small party in their dorm. It was nothing like Mina’s extravaganzas where half the college was invited, this was more intimate, just for the nine of them.

It was fun at first, until Sana got the idea to play spin the bottle.

Really, Tzuyu should have seen this coming. Sana loved kissing girls. Dahyun was obviously her favourite but she’d kissed every one of them except Jihyo and Nayeon at least once. When she spun the bottle to land on Nayeon, she didn’t even try to hide her delight, even though Nayeon didn’t seem as enthused.

Nayeon’s spin landed on Chaeyoung, who seemed equally as happy as Sana to kiss one of the newcomers. Jeongyeon just laughed, although she did seem slightly concerned about Nayeon’s comfort level, whispering reassurances that she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to. But Nayeon didn’t back down, and there were cheers and wolf whistles when she leant forward to aggressively kiss Chaeyoung.

Chaeyoung spun the bottle and sighed when it landed on Momo. Momo faked a dramatic gasp, pretending to look hurt.

“No offence Moguri but you know I’m trying to beat Sana here. I was hoping for Jihyo or Tzuyu since they’re the only ones I’ve yet to kiss.”

“Wow.” Momo pouted. “What, I’m not good enough for you anymore? That’s not what you said three weeks ago when-”

“Just kiss!” Jeongyeon hurriedly interrupted, seeing Mina’s face darken.

Everyone laughed and whistled when they kissed, tactfully ignoring how uncomfortable Mina was. Tzuyu had no interest in dissecting the mess that was Mina’s relationship with Momo, so she idly sipped her beer and smiled when Chaeyoung pointed dramatically at her.

“Next time your lips are mine.”

“I don’t think so.” Tzuyu snorted. “I want my first kiss to actually mean something.”

They all laughed at that, bursting into their usual uncoordinated babble.

“Oooh burn!”

“Wait you guys aren’t secretly together? Damn it I owe Mina money now.”

“Aw you haven’t had your first kiss yet? That’s so cute.”

Chaeyoung looked upset for a second, and Tzuyu worried that she actually hurt her feelings, but then her friend smirked.

“Let’s not forget I know exactly who you want to kiss.”

Tzuyu ducked her head, avoiding her friends’ curious looks. Chaeyoung decided to have mercy on her, and pushed Momo into taking her go. Unfortunately, Momo spun the bottle straight onto Jihyo, and Tzuyu decided she’d had enough.

“I need some air.” She muttered, standing up and leaving before Jihyo even realised she’d been picked.

Sana and Momo lived on the top floor of their apartment complex, so it was easy for Tzuyu to slip out onto the roof. Technically it was forbidden for anyone but staff to be up there, but some engineering students kept disabling the alarms on the door, so she pushed it open without a problem.

She sat for a while with her feet dangling over the edge, unafraid of the chill winds that gently brushed against her bare arms. Up here with the cars below nothing more than tiny lights, all her problems felt insignificant. Her little crush that wasn’t so little anymore and the pressing weight of the bet on her conscience, none of that mattered when the stars stretched out endlessly above her. Her problems would work themselves out, and in the grand scheme of things she was as insignificant as a molecule of dust.

Yikes, she was really spending too much time with Chaeyoung. Next thing you know they’d be going to slam poetry sessions together.

“Hey.”

Speak of the devil.

Chaeyoung walked across and sat down next to her, her left hand side by side with Tzuyu’s right. Tzuyu expected her to rest her head on Tzuyu’s shoulder, but instead Chaeyoung looked at her with an expression she didn’t recognize.

That was strange. Usually Tzuyu could read Chaeyoung like an open book.

“This bet…” Chaeyoung said quietly. “Do you want to call it off?”

Tzuyu stared at her, but in the dim moonlight she couldn’t quite see Chaeyoung’s face properly.

“Why?”

“I can tell you like her. A lot.” Chaeyoung shrugged. “I feel like you’re in too deep. Even if you win you’ll feel guilty about it. If we call it off neither of us win, but we can both be friends with her without any complications. No harm done and she never needs to know about the bet.”

Tzuyu looked up at the stars, only the brightest ones visible through the light pollution. Right now, her mind felt as hazy as the sky above her. Was Chaeyoung right? Tzuyu did feel guilty, but she still wanted to date Jihyo even with the bet hanging over her. Should they call it off and just be friends? Was that the best option she had?”

“No.” She said at last. “It’s ok. I don’t… I don’t think I’d be happy just being friends if I didn’t at least try for girlfriend first.”

They descended into silence, Chaeyoung watching her carefully. Tzuyu kept her eyes on the stars, unwilling to let her friend know just how deep her feelings for Jihyo went. She wasn’t sure why she was trying to hide it from Chaeyoung, just some instinct telling her that it wouldn’t end well.

“Suit yourself.” Chaeyoung said at last, standing up. “If the bet’s still on I’m going to go back down to try and spin her. Want to come?”

“I think I’ll stay up here for a little while.”

Chaeyoung shrugged, turning to walk back to the rooftop door. Tzuyu lingered, idly kicking her feet off the wall of the building.

“Mind if I join you?”

She jumped a little, mostly due to surprise but also because of who that voice belonged to.

“Sure.” She replied, proud of her voice for staying steady.

Jihyo sat down on her left side, and Tzuyu hated how her body instinctively moved closer. She should have brought a jacket, because right now she had goosebumps and Jihyo had waves of tempting heat practically rolling off her.

“You ok?” Jihyo asked.

It was a simple question, but her tone contained so much genuine concern that Tzuyu was amazed once again at just how caring Jihyo was. Maybe in another life Jihyo was a singer, but at moments like this Tzuyu understood why she made such a good nurse.

“Yeah. Just needed to clear my head a little.”

“Me too.”

Jihyo looked up at the stars, with such a soft look on her face that Tzuyu couldn’t help but stare.

“I think that one’s the North Star.”

Quickly flicking her gaze upwards, Tzuyu shook her head and pointed over to the left.

“That’s it over there. See how bright it is?”

“Oh, I see it now.” Jihyo smiled at her. “They’re all so beautiful tonight.”

“We can barely see them tonight.”

“Come on!” Jihyo laughed. “You were supposed to agree with me! The meme doesn’t work otherwise!”

“You wanted to go ‘you know what else is beautiful?’” Tzuyu found herself laughing along. “That’s so cheesy!”

“Well now you ruined the joke.” Jihyo kept laughing, and Tzuyu felt lighter than she had in days. “But you still haven’t topped Nayeon’s reply.”

“Why? What did she say?”

“Not as beautiful as me.”

“Wow.” Tzuyu deadpanned, making Jihyo laugh harder. “Jeongyeon sure knows how to pick ‘em.”

There was silence for a moment, the two of them basking in each other’s presence and the tranquillity of the empty roof. Tzuyu felt herself begin to nod off as the alcohol took effect, but was jolted away by Jihyo moving.

“Come on.” Jihyo stood up, still smiling, and held out her hand. “You’re going to freeze out here.”

She was right, but still Tzuyu hesitated. She wanted to stay forever on this rooftop with Jihyo. Everything was so easy between the two of them right now, she didn’t want to go back to uncertainty and hesitation.

“Five more minutes.” She said, curious if Jihyo would stay.

To her surprise, Jihyo shrugged off her coat and draped it around Tzuyu’s shoulders, and then she sat back down next to her.

“I see enough people with colds every day. Next time at least bring a jacket.”

Tzuyu wrapped the coat around her like a blanket, and buried her face in the soft material so that Jihyo wouldn’t see how big her smile was.

“I can’t believe you’re so soft. This is ridiculous.”

“What do you want me to do? Leave it in the middle of the road?”

“It’s not a bad thing.” Jihyo reassured her, smiling as Tzuyu gently carried a snail over to the grass. “It’s just, when I first met you, you seemed so cool and above everyone. And now you’re walking me home from bars and helping every stray creature you see in trouble.”

“Of course I help animals, they’re better than people.”

“I can’t argue with that.” Jihyo admitted. “But I see how you smile at Chaeyoung. You’re nowhere near as cold as you seem at first.”

“Take that back.” Tzuyu said with mock outrage, hiding her amusement when she made Jihyo laugh. “I am the most cold-hearted person there is! The only thing I like about people are their pets!”

“Mhm. Sure.” Jihyo smirked. “Then why are you walking me home right now?”

Well shoot.

“You’re special.” Tzuyu mumbled, hoping it came across as lightly as the rest of their conversation.

“Aw.” Jihyo grinned at her, sliding her arms around Tzuyu’s waist. “You’re special to me too.”

Tzuyu laughed and brushed her off, holding it together up until she dropped Jihyo off at her house. Then as soon as she was alone she let the huge smile appear on her face, jumping up and down in a circle with delight. At this point, she didn’t even care if she was overreacting. Jihyo’s words were like a shot of concentrated dopamine, and Tzuyu practically skipped the whole way home.

This might be more than a simple crush, but if Tzuyu didn’t think too hard about it then it wouldn’t become a problem.

Something was different this week at the bar. Jihyo was there before her, and the rest of their friends were buzzing with a strange kind of energy. Tzuyu and Chaeyoung were the last two to arrive, and when they sat down Jihyo made her way up onto the stage.

Their table immediately started cheering, and Jihyo laughed with none of the embarrassment from her first time in front of an audience. She held the mic confidently, a spark in her eyes that Tzuyu had never seen before.

“This song is dedicated to a special someone.”

There were more cheers from the usual tables, along with some stranger going “Awww.”

As the instrumental to Seventeen’s Adore U began playing, Jihyo looked straight at Tzuyu, and suddenly she realised what was going on.

Well, part of her brain realised straight away. It took the other half until the chorus to fully comprehend the fact that Jihyo was serenading her. She sang the song with her usual flair and charisma, but while she interacted with all of the audience there was no doubt who she was singing this song to.

"Yeah right next to me is good. Yeah I have a lot of interest in you.”

Tzuyu smiled at Jihyo as the older girl winked at her. Her friends were looking at her with poorly concealed grins, probably expecting her to be embarrassed or surprised. But Tzuyu wasn’t, because some part of her had known for a while now that this was where they were headed. She hadn’t been able to admit it to herself, making everything unnecessarily complicated. But now that Jihyo was up there bearing her heart for Tzuyu to see, she couldn’t hide her own feelings anymore. Now that she knew that Jihyo liked her back, liked her enough to take the first step and confess, the bet seemed like the stupidest mistake Tzuyu had ever made.

It was all so clear now. She knew what she needed to do.

As the song ended Tzuyu was the first one up and clapping, but as Jihyo made her way down she turned to look at Chaeyoung.

“I have to tell her.” She said.

Chaeyoung nodded slowly, her face solemn but unsurprised.

“You know that she might hate us both afterwards.”

“She deserves to know.”

“I get it.” Chaeyoung sighed, that strange expression on her face that Tzuyu couldn’t understand. “Good luck.”

Jihyo reached the table, and Tzuyu flung her arms around her, savouring every second of the hug. Just like on the rooftop, she wanted to stay like this forever, but Jihyo deserved better and she understood that now.

“Can we talk?” She murmured as she leant back.

“Sure.” Jihyo smiled, a little nervous.

Tzuyu kept her face blank as she took Jihyo’s hand and guided her outside, to the smokers’ area that was thankfully empty. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face Jihyo, who was looking anxious and confused. Tzuyu felt her heart break a little, because that performance had been wonderful and romantic and none of this was Jihyo’s fault. She deserved better than Tzuyu and her stupid inability to handle feelings like a normal person.

Jihyo was staring expectantly at her, and the concern in her eyes was unbearable. She deserved the truth, regardless of what would happen afterwards. Steeling herself, Tzuyu looked straight into her soft brown eyes, and tried not to feel like the worst person in the world.

“I have something I need to tell you.”