Our secret moments in your crowded room
They've got no idea about me and you
There is an indentation in the shape of you
Made your mark on me, a golden tattoo

“Alright let’s take a break for now, Mina we’ll take a 10-minute break is that okay?” The director of the music video proposed to which Mina gave a small nod in agreement.

As the entire crew fussed over the details of Mina’s next scene, the dark-haired girl was left to muse over her thoughts. She’d been planning this surprise for their fans since they have mentioned their interest of Mina having a full cover of Sia’s Snowman. Significantly, it had been a while since she’s released something on her own- music wise. So, this small project is something she was both excited and nervous about.

“Unnie, can I borrow my phone?” As soon as Mina received the device, she briefly went to check her member’s chatroom and saw that some of the members greeted her a good luck while the others never went active, to which she assumed they were still asleep as it was their vacation time.

While scrolling through her phone, a few stylists approached her to adjust her hair volume and fuss over her dress, trying to find an angle for her dress to flow naturally. Her fingers were itching to open a certain app to check whether this member was going to fulfill her promise to Mina or not. However, with all the stylists around her, Mina fought the urge to open anything that could give away a sign of their secret.

She could only hope the small black-haired girl was true to her word, but Mina also knew that it was rare for them to have a rest day. So even if the girl didn’t turn up, she didn’t mind so long as the girl received the rest she needed.

From her peripheral view, Mina could see the director and cameraman preparing to start shooting again. Slowly the stylists leave Mina, and the dark-haired beauty hands her phone to her manager. “Give us a few more minutes Mina, and we’ll begin shooting shortly.”

Mina shows them a smile and wonders why one of the cameramen responsible for taking behind the scenes footage was a little further away than the others. She was about to the cameraman beside her, but soon hears a familiar loud “Hi!”

“What?!” Shortly after that, Chaeyoung appears from the door, and in her hands a bag of what Mina assumes to be treats. Unable to move from her spot, she gestures for Chaeyoung to come closer, but the smaller girl openly announces her refusal to approach her. Chaeyoung’s antics adding with her continuous shower of compliments to Mina, the latter couldn’t stop the wide smile forming from her lips.

As the shoot continued, Mina was glad that the scene they were shooting was a close-up one. Seeing as the gestures of their staff from behind the director, Mina knew she wouldn’t be able to do the serious scene without bursting into laughter for a moment knowing that Chaeyoung was leading their staff to join in her antics.

Once finishing the close-up scene, Chaeyoung approaches her and proceeds to shower her with compliments whilst their stylists adjust Mina’s hair, and the behind-the-scenes cameraman approaches them to capture their interaction.

“So pretty!”

“Really?” At this point Mina thinks the younger girl was exaggerating her compliments. The Japanese beauty was no stranger to the younger Korean’s affection and incessant shower of compliments as their time in the group progressed. Chaeyoung was as consistent in her compliments as Mina was in choosing Chaeyoung when it comes to choosing “suitable partners” questions.

“Yeah, I’m shocked with how pretty you look today” Chaeyoung slowly maneuvers to stand beside Mina, but with the proximity, the Japanese girl was able to pull her to her side and proceeds to wrap her arms around Chaeyoung’s waist whilst speaking to the camera. Expressing how the girls have their free day and although the others have sent their greetings, Chaeyoung went to see her for her shooting.

Mina knew that this was all smoke that she and Chaeyoung had to do for the camera, as behind all the cameras, and behind the closed doors of their apartments. The two girls were much closer than what people presumed; much closer than what people think to be “friendly”.

Chaeyoung played the exchange coolly, citing that she was merely in the area and brought desserts for Min and the entire staff. As the shooting continued, Mina expected the younger girl to disappear before she finishes. But to her surprise, Chaeyoung was still in the location taking picture after picture of Mina whenever the taping took a pause and up until the entire schedule was finished.

As Mina finished changing into her post-work clothes, she briefly scans the area looking for a short black-haired girl. Finding no trace of Chaeyoung, Mina unconsciously pouts from behind her face mask and proceeds to thank the entire staff one last time before being led out by her manager to the awaiting car.

Upon opening the car door, Mina’s eyes light up as she sees the curled-up figure seated in the car waiting for her. Once the car door closes behind her, Mina takes note of the rolled-up partition and momentarily pulls down both hers and Chaeyoung’s masks to plant a quick kiss on the smaller girl’s lips.

Returning both their masks in place and relaxing in her seat, the partition in front of them rolls down and their manager looks at them with a confused face. “You two alright? I thought I felt the car shift…” their manager says, “ah it’s nothing unnie, I just adjusted on my seat” Chaeyoung shoots an eye smile to their manager who seemed to have taken the explanation.

The sound of her phone notification takes Chaeyoung’s attention, and upon reading the received message, she smiles behind her mask and gives a subtle and quick side glance to the beauty seated beside her before completely giving her focus on the rectangular device.

From: Mon amour
Thank you for coming today ma Cherie, and you even stayed until the end 🥺 . Let’s rest up once we get home later, okay? I love you ❤

Half-way through the car ride, Mina hears light snores coming from the person beside her. For a moment she stares at Chaeyoung’s serene face before fixing the girl in a better position. As their apartment complex comes into view, Mina thinks that out of all the tattoo Chaeyoung has, nothing can top the tattoo the younger girl marked in her heart.

All of this silence and patience, pining in anticipation
My hands are shaking from holding back from you
All of this silence and patience, pining and desperately waiting
My hands are shaking from holding back from all this

Nayeon opens the door and proceeds to turn on the light, illuminating the still and quiet room. She takes in the shelves filled with numerous finished Legos and miniature glass puzzles, the walls that are filled with canvas puzzles, the lined up cosmetic products on the vanity table, the stacked records above one dresser, and the faint smell of bamboo shoots.

To Nayeon, Jeongyeon’s room always smelled like bamboo shoots. She didn’t know why, but Nayeon assumes this was because out of all the Twice member’s bedrooms, Jeongyeon’s was the cleanest. And for Nayeon the scent of bamboo shoots meant that the girl didn’t want her sinuses acting up, thus the presence of the scent.

The brunette walked around the room before sitting on the bed, her eyes quickly take notice of a familiar spectacles case. Her hands reach for the case and a faint smile appears on her lips as she felt the lightness of the case, indicating that the glasses inside was not present.

Immediately her mind wanders to earlier that year when the secret Santa event happened, “you were always a softy, no matter how much you tried to be tough in front of the other girls. You can never lie to me Yoo Jeongyeon...” Nayeon whispers in the silence of the room.

She faintly remembers shedding a few tears whilst writing her letter to Jeongyeon, it was the reason why she told the girl not to read the letter until later at night. She only took her eyes off from the girl momentarily and next thing she notices was Jeongyeon shedding silent tears while reading the said letter.

That night when they were all dropped off in their apartment complex, Jihyo knocked on their unit door with a personal request to exchange rooms for the night. That night however, Nayeon didn’t sleep in Jihyo’s room. She slept in Jeongyeon’s room beside the girl, and as they slowly drowned themselves in hushed conversations and soft declarations of promises; Nayeon wakes up the next morning alone, the room smelling like bamboo shoots, and no Jeongyeon beside her.

A short letter was left at the bed side table and although the letter was supposed to be sweet and give her hope, it pained Nayeon to read every word of it:

To my dearest Yeon,

I want to thank you for staying beside me tonight, I honestly expected only for you to be staying in the same space as me since I requested from Jihyo for you to exchange rooms. Nevertheless, thank you. This letter of mine may not be as emotional as the one you have given me, but I hope you know that I wrote this with my most sincere feelings. I’m almost there Nay, just a little bit more. I know you said to not be pressured into rushing this, but I want to be beside you and the rest of the girls soon. From the moment it happened till now, you have been nothing but supportive to me and I wish to return that to you soon. To return your love for me soon. I love you Yeon, I really do, and I promise you I will get better. I only ask for you to wait just a bit more, just a little more. And soon I will be in your arms again, and I will be with our girls again. Just a little more patience my Yeon, and I will be with you soon.

Sincerely from the bottom of my heart,
your Yeon

To say the short letter didn’t make her cry was understatement, in fact no matter how many times she would read that letter, her eyes will automatically spill tears. None of the other girls knew of the existence of the letter. That was for Nayeon to keep, and for her to take to wherever life takes her.

She doesn’t miss the subtle glances Jihyo gives her from time to time when she shows up with albeit puffed up eyes and a flushed face. But after years of knowing each other, Nayeon knows that Jihyo would not approach her unless it would be damaging to the entire group. The latter doesn’t involve herself in the events of others to respect the members’ privacies unless the members themselves talk to her about it. And for Nayeon that was enough, Jihyo is caring that way.

She reached for one of the pillows and slowly raised it to her nose to smell. There was a faint smell of Jeongyeon on the cases that indicated that the presence of the room’s owner had been gone for a good while. Upon closer inspection of the entire room, none of the items were moved since she left that morning.

The sound of a knock on the door broke her from her trance. She turns her head and sees the last person she’d expect to be standing by the door. “Hey Nay…”

“Jeong…”

“I went to look for you in your apartment, but Sana said you went out. I didn’t expect to find you here though…” Jeongyeon trailed as she slowly entered the room. Nayeon watched as Jeongyeon moves around the room picking a specific record and placing it on the turntable. As the soft tunes of mild jazz fills the room, Nayeon’s eyes follow Jeongyeon as the blonde joins her on the bed and sits beside her.

“How’ve you been?” “You act as if we haven’t seen each other for years…” “You know what I mean Yoo Jeongyeon…” “I’ve been doing great Yeon, I think I’m ready to try again…”

To this Nayeon looks at the person beside her, there was something in Jeongyeon’s eyes this time. Something that got lost as their careers progressed, and the older girl wasn’t going to lie, she missed seeing that fire in those eyes. It was that fire that got her to fall for the girl beside her after all.

“Are you sure?” Nayeon places her hand between them, silently offering her hand to Jeongyeon, to which the latter openly reaches for. As Jeongyeon fiddles with the brunette’s fingers, she responds “Yeah I think I’m ready to face them again…”

“You don’t have to force yourself-” “I know I don’t have to, but I want to.”

A moment of silence passes between both, and Nayeon wonders if Jeongyeon could feel how much she is holding herself back from reaching over and pulling the younger girl into her arms and just keep her there, away from the rest of the world.

And just before Nayeon drowns in her own thoughts of Jeongyeon, the subject of her thoughts moves closer and slowly wraps her arms around the silent brunette. “I can do this Yeon, don’t worry… I’ve thought about it, I know I can do this…”

Having Jeongyeon that close to Nayeon brought the girl back to reality and like Jeongyeon, she wraps her arms around the younger girl and pull the girl close. Jeongyeon shifts and places her face on the crook of Nayeon’s neck, inhaling the scent of the older girl that brings her calmness.

The two stay that way for the next few minutes. Silently basking in the comfort that they give to each other, and their breathing slowly being in sync.

“Yeon?”

“Yeah?”

“You’ll stay beside me the entire time, won’t you?”

“Always.”

Inescapable, I'm not even gonna try
And if I get burned, at least we were electrified
I'm spilling wine in the bathtub, you kiss my face and we're both drunk
Everyone thinks that they know us, but they know nothing about

“Okay Momo-unnie, you enjoy your day… yes I just got here with Butter and Kaya… Okay we’ll handle that, thank you unnie bye!” Tzuyu ends the call and reaches down to remove the two dog’s leashes to let them roam the apartment. As soon as the leashes unclasped Butter began to sprint around the apartment, meanwhile Kaya walked over to the couch and proceeded to make herself at home.

Tzuyu took a quick survey around the room and noticed that a faint light came from the bathroom door. Walking over to the closed door, she knocked “Sana-unnie, is that you? It’s me, I came for a visit…” there was a few seconds of silence before Tzuyu heard a perky yet slurred voice from behind the door.

“Oh Tzuyu, I’m glad you visited! Come in!” Sana exclaimed from inside the bathroom, Tzuyu raised a brow at first but quickly shru