[CONTENTID1] ch 1: white lies. [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]  “You’ll be back, right?”

Tzuyu tilted her head in confusion, her loving gaze melting Sana. She took a step forward and caressed her wife’s cheek, “Why do you say that? Of course, I will.”

Sana shrugged, avoiding Tzuyu’s eyes and turning her head away to hide her eyes b with tears, “I… I don’t know, I just have a bad feeling.”

The younger one chuckled bitterly, not because she believed in her intuition but because she felt her wife’s pain. They were going to be separated again and it has only been two weeks since they reunited at Sana’s homeland, Osaka. The helicopter’s rotor blades caused a strong wind to push against Tzuyu’s dark black hair, making her seem ethereal. Overwhelmed with the various emotions she felt, Sana abruptly wrapped her arms around Tzuyu’s waist and dug her face into her collarbone.

“Please don’t go… we don’t need money, right Tzuyu-ah?” She muttered weakly, her grip tightening as if Tzuyu would fly away. The taller one slowly brought her right hand to the back of Sana’s head and ran her fingers through her golden brown locks. She smiled despite knowing her wife’s fear. She always smiled when Sana cried. She knew if she cried along with her, the latter would only worry more. And so, she smiled, trying to ease the situation as she always did.

“Okay, so what if I do stay?” Sana lifted her wet face, stained with tears, and gave Tzuyu an innocent look of curiosity, “R-Really? You will?”

Tzuyu nodded her head, “I stay, and we use up all our remaining money. Then what? We starve and die.” She stated the obvious with her poker face, showing no signs of joking around. Sana punched her shoulder in annoyance, “Smartass.”

The younger one pretended to be hurt with her punch and smirked once she realized that Sana wouldn’t fall for her acting. “So, you agree? I need to do this, Sana. It’s your fault for choosing to marry a busy daughter of a Congressman.”

Sana pouted and crossed her arms, “A very beautiful and irresistible daughter of a congressman.” Tzuyu brought her arms down to her sides and brought her in for another hug, placing her chin on her wife’s shoulder, “I promise, I’ll come home safely. Don’t worry too much.”

Sana pulled away and stuck out her pinky like they used to do as kids, “Pinky promise me.”

Tzuyu gave her a loving look and her smile got wider. As she wrapped her pinky around Sana’s tiny one, her smile faded away without the older one noticing. She knew she was making a bad promise. A bad promise on behalf of the God who had already planned her fate. She knows anything is possible - that Sana isn’t being unreasonable. She knows she could die on the ride to Korea, but still, she made a promise that wasn’t guaranteed… a bad promise.

“We’re ready, Ms. Chou.” The pilot exclaimed from the cockpit.

Tzuyu dropped her hand and forced a smile once more, stepping back towards the helicopter.

“I’ll call you once I arrive.”

As the helicopter took off, Sana brought both hands to her chest and cried the tears she had restrained for until Tzuyu was out of sight. God, please let her be safe.

~~~

“Will you stop pacing around? You’re making me dizzy…” Chaeyoung, Tzuyu’s Korean step-sister rolled her eyes. She is trying to read her book on the living room’s sofa, but Sana couldn’t stop worrying. She checked her phone every 2 minutes and still, no call came.

“It’s been 3 hours, Chae. The flight from Japan to Korea takes only 2 and a half hours… She told me she’d call once she arrived. She…” Sana’s hand shook as she trailed off. Chaeyoung stood up and sighed, bringing her sister-in-law to sit down next to her on the sofa.

“Unnie, calm down. She must’ve collapsed from exhaustion. You know my sister, she can fall asleep anywhere if she’s really tired.”

Sana shook her head, “But… she knows how worried I am. She-”

“Why don’t you try calling her, then?”

And so, Sana immediately pressed numbers on her phone and brought it to her ear, expecting to hear her wife’s voice after the 3rd ring.

“We're sorry the person you are trying to reach is not available…”

Sana dropped her phone on the floor and her eyes bulged out in horror, “No… no, Chae, she isn’t answering…Tzuyu… Why isn’t she-”

Chaeyoung held her by the shoulders, her eyes showing obvious concern for her younger sister despite speaking otherwise, “Hey, m-maybe her phone died. Ah, I should’ve pressed harder in convincing her to change brands… iPhones die easily,  you know? That’s why I switched to Samsung-”

Sana couldn’t hold her tears anymore and she scrambled to grab her phone on the ground, dialing her wife’s number once more.

“Tzuyu-ah, pick up please…”

“Breaking news: Flight KE1225 on the way from Korea to Japan reportedly crashed with a private helicopter. Only 12 passengers, who are allegedly injured, have survived. Three male passengers of the helicopter, including the pilot, are found dead. One reported missing.”

Chaeyoung brought both her hands to , “This can’t be… our Tzuyu...” She turned to Sana, whose eyes were empty with shock. Those eyes rolled back and she passed out, causing Chaeyoung to cry out for help, “Someone get the car ready! We need to go to the hospital!”

The maids immediately ushered to the phone without a word. Chaeyoung supported Sana and her tears instantly started to flow to her cheeks.

“No… Tzuyu, where are you?”

~~~

Taiwan. 9:26 PM.

“Thank you.” Mina thanked the server for the small cappuccino and headed back to her office. Another all-night shift automatically calls for more caffeine. As she walked the hallway, another