A/N: Hello readers! Sorry for the delay! I've been having fun looking at pictures, videos, and fan accounts of Twiceland. After receiving some feedback, I decided to make updates longer than before so I can get the plot moving but it does mean that chapters won't be as frequent because of it. And I also noticed and realized not many of you understand Japanese honorfics so I'll take time to explain since it does play a part in MiMo's relationship in the story. (Disclaimer: I'm not an expert in Japanese honorifics and I'm giving a simplified explanation. It's a lot more detailed than I'll be explaining because it depends on the situation and the context of the relationship between the two people involved. Anyone more knowledgable in Japanese honorifics feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!)

In Japanese culture when you first meet someone for the first time, you address each other by surnames + -san to be polite until you become closer with the other person (ex. Myoui-san,). When you are more comfortable with the person, you can change the honorific to -chan or -kun (ex. Myoui-chan). It is also possible to say a person's given name + -san (ex. Momo-san) but it's not as polite. Normally, you shouldn't address someone by their given name + honorific upon meeting them. You must ask if you can or else you'll come off as rude.

The fact Momo asked Mina if she could call her "Mina-chan" is basically asking Mina for permission if they can become closer and become friends since they'd be skipping all the formalities. It's no surprise why it'd fluster Mina.

But why does Mina call Momo "Momo-kun" instead of "Momo-chan", you're asking? 

Typically, -chan is used between girls who are friends as a term of endearment or used to call something/someone cute. -Kun is usually used between young boys who are friends or for a female to address her male friend in a cute way. However, girls can also address their female friends using -kun, which holds a bit more respect than -chan since -chan is a very cutesy honorific

For Mina to call her "Momo-kun" explains how she now views Momo, now admiring Momo for standing up to the bullies which earned her Mina's respect, while also implying that she would also like to become closer friends with Momo. It's why Momo doesn't mind being addressed as -kun despite wanting to be called -chan instead. She's happy knowing that Mina also wants to be friends with her.

Lastly, you NEVER address a person by their given name without honorifics unless you are family, very close friends, or lovers. Otherwise, it's very rude.

Hopefully that helped out some of you because like I said, honorifics will play a small part in the story. Enough of my Japanese 101 though. Enjoy the chapter~

Mina stood in front of her locker once her final class was dismissed, opening the lock with one hand while she gingerly held the bag of cookies Momo gave her in the other. From the corner of her eye, she could see Sana skipping over to her, her dark brunette locks bouncing with each step. "Hey, Mina! Let's walk to the station together. Jihyo isn't coming because she said she's staying behind to get some English tutoring at the library."

"Sure. It's nice to be able to head home early for once," Mina said, flashing Sana a smile as she closed her locker.

Sana noticed the small bag was holding and pointed to it with a grin. "What's that? Did someone confess to you again?"

Normally, Mina would scoff at Sana's teasing but the familiar warmth returned to her cheeks as she tried to explain herself. "Hey. You get more confessions than I do. They're only cookies. I was given to them by―"

"Mina-chan!"

The vice president inwardly groaned.

That girl sure has perfect timing...

Mina forced a smile on as Momo approached them already preparing herself for Sana's inquiries as she could already feel Sana's eyes on her while Momo remained blissfully unaware. "A-ah... Hello, Momo-kun. What can I do for you?"

"Nothing, really. Just wanted to say hello and wondered if you tried the cookies yet," Momo answered simply, adjusting her framed glasses on her nose before greeting Sana with a 90 degree bow.

"Oh? You're the one who made Mina cookies?" Sana asked innocently with a smile but Mina could hear the amused lilt in Sana's voice that made Mina want to jump off a cliff in embarrassment.

Momo straightened her posture, lifting her chin proudly and gripped at the straps of her backpack. "Yep! I really appreciated what Mina-chan did for me the other day and felt that words weren't enough so I baked her cookies."

"It was nothing," Mina muttered, shifting in place. "I was simply doing my duty."

"That's Minari for you. Always humble no matter the circumstance," Sana praised and patted Mina on the back which only made Mina grit her teeth behind her forced smile. She really wanted to smack that smile off Sana's perfect face.

Momo seemed to agree and opened but the sound of a phone ringing cut her off, looking down at the flashing screen. "Ah. I really need to take this call. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Bye." Mina waved goodbye as Momo left her alone with Sana to talk on the phone, the smile immediately curving downward into a frown the moment she turned to meet Sana's sly smile.

"Mina-chan, huh? Momo-kun too, hm?" Sana snickered while gently prodding Mina's upper arm with her index finger, earning her a groan from Mina. "I was very surprised. You and I haven't use Japanese honorifics with each other since we were in primary yet you're using them with Momo who only arrived here recently."

"She asked me if it was alright to call me that so I said yes and decided I might as well use honorifics back," Mina explained with certainty as her rebuttal, making her way to the exit and motioning Sana to follow her.

Sana pursed her lips and let out an audible hum that signaled she wasn't satisfied with her answer. "Is that really all there is to it?"

"Yes," Mina flatly replied with knitted brows, inwardly cringing at herself. Why was she getting so defensive all of a sudden?

Luckily for her, Sana didn't press the issue further despite the fact it was obvious her curiosity wasn't satiated and instead suggested that they go buy some bubble tea on their way to the subway station.

Mina locked herself in her room after dinner to focus on her homework for the rest of the evening. Her beloved pup, Ray, quietly laid beside her feet as the sound of pencil across paper filled the silence in her room, diligently finishing the remaining problems of her physics homework. Her evenings were always like this, a constant set routine that she has followed since the beginning of high school when her parents told her she had to become more serious with her studies. Mina never disobeyed her parents and was the type of child other parents would call the "ideal daughter", although Mina silently disgreed whenever parents praised her because she was nowhere near perfect because of the flaws she knew she had nor did she enjoy the attention. In truth, she always listened to her parents not only because she didn't want to disappoint them but because she had no sense of independence. When it came to her future, Mina didn't know what she wanted to do so she let her parents decide for her.

She exhaled loudly upon finishing the last set of problems and set her pencil down to review and double check her work. Out of the corner of her eye sat the bag of cookies she received from Momo, still remained untouched due to the fact her mother didn't allow her to eat sweets before dinner. Mina opted that it was time for a well-deserved break and reached for the bag to indulge in. When she opened the bag, a delectable and fresh aroma wafted into her nostrils that made Mina's mouth water and she swiftly took a cookie between her fingers and took a bite. The moment the chewy, chocolately softness of the cookie melted on her tongue, she hummed in delight and wiggled in her seat while consuming the rest of the cookie.

"Wow... that was delicious," Mina admitted to herself. Ray seemed to have smelled the cookies and plopped his muzzle atop of Mina's lap, to which she chuckled at the literal puppy dog eyes he was giving her. "No, no. You can't eat these cookies because you can't have chocolate, silly."

Ray simply stared and darted out his tongue to swipe over his nose, making Mina giggle to herself softly and scratched between his ears.

Mina knew it was unhealthy to snack on cookies at this time of night but she was unable to resist the homemade goodies and grabbed another. As she chewed on her second cookie, her eyes fell on the stationary tag with her name.

Momo has nice handwriting, Mina thought to herself before Momo's face popped into her mind.

"Mina-chan!"

Mina squeezed her eyes shut when she could feel her stomach doing flips and sighed while she ran a hand through her hair in mild frustration. Why can't she get Momo's voice out of her head? It was bothering her but instead of Momo being the cause of her distress like before, Mina is more annoyed with herself. She hasn't been able to think straight as of late since the other girl began calling her that. It was strange how fate seemed to work considering how she went from disliking the other’s girl presence to somehow allowing a blossoming friendship to happen between them. Mina had a newfound respect for Momo after witnessing her stand up to Yuna and her clique, something that doesn’t happen often. She also couldn’t deny that there was something Momo was hiding and hoped that befriending the girl with the fake glasses would quell her curiosity once she finally summons the courage to ask.

But Mina was getting ahead of herself.

Pushing aside those troubling thoughts, Mina gave Ray the last tiny crumb of her cookie without chocolate to satisfy him then stood from her chair after deciding she had worked enough for the night, leaving her room to brush her teeth and do her nightly skin care routine with Ray trailing behind her. As she was squeezing toothpaste onto her toothbrush, she felt her phone vibrate int her pocke