Dahyun and Tzuyu ascended the stairs to their room and came upon a sleeping Mina, seated on the floor in front of their door. The Japanese had her knees to her chest and with arms wrapped around them, had her head planted on top.

Dubu sighed and was about to wake her up when Tzuyu stopped her. “Let’s leave her for now,” the youngest said.

“Are you kidding? It’s chilly out, she’s going to get sick.”

“We’ll leave her to Chaeyoung-unnie.”

“You told her during lunch, right? Do you think she’s been there all this time?”

Tzuyu shrugged. “Let’s have them settle this themselves,” she said.

“Said the one who intervened by telling her where Chaeyoung was,” Dahyun rolled her eyes.

“I was just trying to push her in the right direction. Now, let’s go. We’ll crash at Jeongyeon-unnie’s room.” Tzuyu grabbed a hold of her unnie’s hand and descended the stairs. 

~
As she reached for her 4th bag of chips, a ping on Chaeyoung’s phone led her to pause her show to check the notification. It was a message from Tzuyu. Look outside. 

Chaeyoung groaned as she groggily got up from her bed. She went and opened her door, expecting to see the maknae standing before her but instead saw a sleeping penguin slightly shivering in the cold night.

“This woman,” she sighed. The cub crouched in front of her. “Mina,” she called in a hushed voice. When there was no sign of movement, she leaned close and called once more. “Mina.”

The Japanese shifted her head from one side to the other, facing Chaeyoung, but remained asleep. The younger one couldn’t help but gaze at her beautiful sleeping face. She was mesmerizing even when her eyes were closed, her lips would quiver every now and then, signs of when she’s usually dreaming. 

Chaeyoung smiled when Mina slightly scrunched her face. She went inside her room and came back out with a blanket. Placing herself next to her, she squeezed close enough to ensure the blanket would cover both of them. 

She was still upset with what happened, of course, but when she saw Mina’s face and felt her breath graze her cheek, for a moment she forgot about her anger. Chaeng continued to feel her warmth while looking out to the night sky in front of her. The moon was only partly visible as the clouds hover around it, and the stars were nowhere to be seen. The cloudy night sky much resembled her current emotions. Chaeng couldn’t decide what to feel, whether it be anger, sadness, frustration, or confusion. Whatever it may be, she knew she was incapable of remaining angry at Mina for a long period of time. As she sat there, sharing the same blanket with her, she could already feel her heart soften. However, once in a while an image of that kiss would climb its way back in her thoughts, and she would sink back in her own bubble to avoid the pain of the blow. 

Chaeyoung remained that way for a while, slightly leaning into Mina as she listened to her peaceful breathing. “If only I didn’t agree to let him come,” she muttered. “If only I grabbed your hand when he asked you to dance. If only I pulled you away earlier. If only...” her voice trailed off and she buried her face in her hands. If only I was strong enough, then it wouldn’t have to hurt. 

Drowned in her own thoughts, Chaeyoung soon felt sleep seep in, and in a moment’s time she dozed off. 

~
Mina wasn’t sure how much time had passed. When she awoke, the moon was in its prime, shining brightly above the clouds, and the warmth of a blanket and the sleeping little cub beside her felt comfortable. Mina smiled at seeing Chaeyoung’s peaceful face. The blanket was coming off of Chaeyoung’s shoulder and the younger one gave a slight shiver. When the Japanese moved the blanket back over her shoulder, she felt the coldness of the younger one’s skin. It was then that she realized the thin blanket was not at all protecting Chaeng from the cold and that she may very well get sick from sleeping outside. 

Mina slowly slipped out of the blanket, careful not to let Chaeyoung fall who was leaning on her. The penguin did not have the strength to be able to lift this petite woman, however she did not hesitate on the idea of carrying her back to her room without waking her up. 

The Japanese crouched in front of her, and with her back facing Chaeng, gently took hold of her arms and positioned them over her shoulders. Lifting her with the strength of her arms alone was definitely out of the question, therefore a piggy back was the most probable solution she could think of. Carefully and ever so slowly, Mina leaned Chaeyoung onto her back. Grabbing hold of both her legs, she began to get up. It didn’t occur to her precisely how weak she was until that moment as she staggered side to side just trying to stand up. Just when she managed to remain upright, the moment she took the first step had her stumbling back, which led to Chaeyoung’s back hitting the wall behind them. 

It gave a loud thud and Chaeyoung awoke in surprise. “Ow!” she bellowed.

“S-sorry!” 

The little cub looked around her and was now completely awake and aware of the situation. “What do you think you’re doing? Put me down!”

“I was trying to bring you to your room without waking you up.” Mina took another step forward and ended up stumbling in her own two feet. The ballerina who had perfect balance, became unstable with the little cub on her back and ended up falling to the ground, getting crushed by Chaeyoung in the aftermath.

Chaeyoung got up from her back and started scolding her. “Are you dumb? With your fragile physique, there was no way you could’ve carried me all the way without mishap. What if you’d gotten injured, huh? You can’t afford that as a dancer.”

The little cub, with her arms folded, looked down on Mina who was now sitting up on the floor.

The penguin kept her head low and muttered, “Sorry…”

Chaeng sighed and reached out her hand to help her get up. Mina looked at it for a moment before taking it, but as she placed her right foot on the ground, a pang of pain shot through her whole leg which left her weak and back to the floor again.

The little cub reacted fast and supported her by her arms. “What’s wrong?” she asked, worried.

“Nothing, I think it’s just a sprain.”

Chaeyoung clicked her tongue, “See what I told you? You’re smart enough to know what your body can and can’t do. Look where it got you.”

“Sorry,” was all Mina could mutter.

The little cub took Mina’s arm and slung it around her shoulder, and she escorted her back to the room. Slowly placing her on the bed, Chaeyoung mumbled so low Mina almost missed it. “I’m sorry,” she said. 

Mina kept her eyes on her as Chaeyoung had her lay down, placed both her feet on top of her lap, and inspected the sprained ankle. Even when the younger one scolded her, Mina felt her sincere care and generosity. “I love you,” Mina said.

Chaeyoung turned bright red. “Huh?! What random nonsense are you spouting now?”

“I was just thinking how kind you are.”

“I’m mad at you.”

“But you still care. It’s a relief to know that you still care even after what I did.”

The younger one continued to massage Mina’s ankle, gently and with great care. She did not take her eyes off it. “That’s because I still love you. Just because you did something I didn’t like doesn’t mean I no longer feel anything for you. My feelings are not that shallow.”

“I know. And I just wish I can show you exactly how much I love you, that there is nobody in this world that I’d rather spend my time with.” Mina looked up at the ceiling and sighed, “What happened with Jimin was-”

Chaeyoung squeezed Mina’s ankle before she could finish the sentence, causing the Japanese to scream with pain. “I don’t want to hear about it just yet,” she said. “Just… make it up to me.”

Mina felt her heart melt, like the time Chaeyoung first told her she felt the same way about her. “I will,” Mina said. For the rest of my life. 

~
Sana came out of the cafeteria clinging onto Dahyun. They took a stroll around campus with Momo and Tzuyu tagging along. The two were in their own world as they spoke and argued about which movie was better than the other.

Momo and Tzuyu stayed behind them, observing the two. “Do you think they remembered what happened between them?” Momo whispered to the maknae.

“I think they were too intoxicated to remember anything,” Tzuyu whispered back. 

“Should we tell them?”

The youngest one shook her head, “We should leave it. It might make things awkward betw