As the group sat down during their lunch time get-together, the rest were rowdy about the things they did during the holidays. Most of the conversation stirred on Mina and Chaeyoung’s little vacation together.

Jeongyeon nudged Mina’s arm, “So what did you do, huh? Did you manage to peel yourselves off of each other?” The older one laughed as the Japanese playfully smacked her arm. 

“We were at my parents’ house. Stop thinking dirty, unnie,” Chaeyoung rolled her eyes. 

“So you’re saying you didn’t do anything dirty the whole five days you were there?”

The little cub kept quite, then the corners of turned to a smile which only caused the older one to squeal with anticipation. “Well, there was a time when my family went out for a drive and left us alone. But my doors have no lock so obviously we couldn’t do whatever it is your thinking about.”

“What exactly do you think I’m thinking about?” Jeongyeon grinned.

“ I’m sure,” Nayeon chimed in and burst into laughter. 

The goofy Jeongyeon kicked her under the table. “I do not have such thoughts. Maybe that’s what you were thinking.”

The entire time the group were talking about their thoughts of tendencies in bed, Dahyun and Sana remained quiet. The two kept to themselves as they ate their meal, neither one glancing at the other and they even went as far as to not sit near each other. This sort of unusual behavior from the two who were particularly clingy with each other did not, of course, go unnoticed by the rest.

“Dahyun-unnie, Sana-unnie, why are you two so quiet?” Tzuyu was the first to ask.

The group’s attention suddenly turned towards the two who were now sinking back in their seats. 

“Did you two have a fight or something?” Jihyo asked. 

Sana glanced at Dahyun who was avoiding eye contact with her. To avoid putting their awkwardness on the spot, Sana smiled brightly to put some sort of reassurance to their friends’ worries. “Aw are we fighting, Dahyun-chan? I didn’t know.” 

Dahyun looked at Sana who gave her a pleading look to not give them a reason to inquire further about why they were being shy towards each other. The younger one managed a retort, “Sana drooled on my favorite jacket. I’m giving her the silent treatment.”

“It wasn’t even a lot!” Sana exclaimed. “And it was your fault for making me sleepy. You didn’t pay enough attention to me.” The older one pouted as she finished her meal. 

“Wow, these two are having a lover’s quarrel,” Jeongyeon smirked.

“Kind of like how you and Nayeon are 24/7,” Momo remarked.

Nayeon sat up in defense, “Not true! I really do hate Jeongyeon.”

“Sure you do.” The rest of the group laughed and continued on with their bickering, temporarily giving relief to the other two who were still at odds with each other. 

Sana couldn’t stop feeling regret at what she did that night. The Chuseok holiday ended in a melancholy way, as she sank into her bed in despair. Dahyun would not look her in the eye after that, and not once had she texted her. Even on the way to school, Sana walked alone, looking at the once beautiful flowers by herself. For some reason, the path she took to school, one that she usually shared with Dahyun, suddenly became gloomy and a bore. What she wouldn’t do to take back those moments of impulse, to casually brush off the emotions that were surging within her then, just so she can walk in that path with Dahyun again and keep it as a memory of happiness. 

After lunch, Sana had to go back to school for a make-up exam, a requirement for missing the beginning of the school year. Dahyun had classes after lunch as well, but the two of them walked on different paths back to the university.

The Japanese texted her, Talk to me.

Dahyun looked down at the text and left it unopened. She didn’t want to be mean, but the happenings of that night left her in so much confusion with her feelings that she didn’t know how to deal with it. 

Sana quickly finished her exam and texted dubu once again. Please, I can’t stand this. 

Although her messages were left unread, the older one kept spamming her. 

Let’s talk about it.

Or not.

We can just ignore the whole thing. Let’s just go back to how it used to be.

I’m walking to the dorms by myself, are you really going to leave a woman so defenseless?

I’m not mad, if that’s what you’re thinking. 

But if you’re mad at me, that’s okay. I didn’t mean it.

At her last message, the little tofu became angry. How could she say she didn’t mean it, when she looked so hurt after? Dahyun felt sorry for pushing her away, and deep down she wanted to redo the whole thing. But the fact that Sana wasn’t admitting her feelings only made her want to avoid a conversation with her even more.  

At her room, her lion roommate found the silence of dubu odd, and as a concerned friend, Chaeyoung inquired her about what’s really going on. “I know something is wrong,” the little cub said. “I can tell. You’re not exactly good at masking your expressions either.”

“I’m fine,” Dahyun sighed and continued to focus on the book she was reading.

The little one was peeking at her from the upper bunk, and was then descending to sit next to her hushed friend. “You can tell me anything, you know that. We tell each other everything, the good and the bad, so whatever it is I will listen.”

Dahyun looked up at Chaeng’s worried look, and finally dropped down her book. “Sana tried to kiss me.”

Chaeyoung’s eyes widened, “Are you sure it wasn’t one of her flirty tactics? You know, just Sana being Sana. We all know how much of a snake she is.”

The older one shook her head. “This was real this time. But I did a terrible thing, Chaeng. I pushed her away. You should have seen the pain in her eyes when I did, like her heart was breaking right in front of me. To think I caused such a thing to this beautiful being, I can’t stand myself.”

“Wait, so you didn’t kiss?”

“No, I pulled back before she could.”

“Unnie, I’m sure it’s fine. Sana will forgive you. It’s not that much of a shock that you pulled back, you were caught off guard. Even I do that to Mina sometimes.”

“But Chaeyoung,” Dahyun sat up on her bed. “I slapped her. I didn’t just lightly push her away, I slapped her. Right at her cute, puffy cheeks, and then I ran away, and even when she ran after me, I slammed my door on her face. How could she ever think well of me after all that?”

“Oh...” the little one became silent. Suddenly, Chaeyoung wished Tzuyu was there to give input on her thoughts. The maknae was usually good at giving such advice, with her straightforward solutions and positive outlook on things. 

Dahyun looked at the younger one with a pleading look, hoping for her to say something that could uplift her spirits that were now buried deep within her consciousness. When Chaeng didn’t have anything to say, dubu curled herself under the blankets. 

“It’s going to be okay, unnie! I’m sure Sana isn’t mad.” The little one shook her roommate over her covers. 

Dahyun’s phone was constantly vibrating with messages. The little one took notice of it and glanced at the notifications.

I arrived safely to my room, no thanks to you.