I have been a bit busy this week and didn't have that much time to write. I managed to get this done though and I hope that it will be satisfying. I'm entering a month of final exams and assignments of the semester so I may actually update less frequently, sorry about that. As always, thank you everyone for reading and keeping up with the story. Hope you're doing well. Take care!

 

 

 

"I want to speak with my mother." Mina said in a stern voice as she corrected her posture and expression so as not to show any emotions. Her father looked at her with raised eyebrows. As if he expected her to just go along with everything he said. 

 

"You're free to do that. But my decisions still stand. Inform Ms Minatozaki that her contract was terminated and make sure to call the department responsible for the event." He said dismissively and returned to his work making it obvious that he was done talking to her.

 

"I don't think I will do that. You don't actually have a reason to fire her. It would be a petty decision you made based solely on who her friend is. That's personal vendetta. Isn't it unacceptable for us, the strict followers of rules and honorable behavior?" Mina tried to use his own teachings against him. She knew that he had no comeback. That was why he remained silent. "I can be transferred. But you can't fire Ms Minatozaki without betraying what you believe in."

 

"Consult with the event department. And don't create trouble for Chaeyoung." 

 

"You're creating trouble for her. I'll go to your house today and we'll talk about it. I am Chaeyoung's mom and you have no right to take her away." Mina kept her composure. She knew that getting emotional would've worked against her. And she had to argue. Whatever their plan was, wasn't made to guarantee anybody's happiness.

 

"Then act like it and stop exposing her to stressful situations." He replied in a slightly raised voice.

 

"I'm not the one doing that. But there's no reason to continue this conversation. We'll resume in the afternoon. Now, excuse me." She finished and picked up the piece of paper from her father's desk, then, she walked out of the office with a depressing aura.

 

She couldn't focus on anything after the conversation she'd had with her father. She was acting confident in her father's office but that bravery was all gone once she locked herself in her own office. There was no point in arguing with them. No matter what she would say, they would still go along with the plan. And even if Mina had tried to talk them out of it, they would've made Mina and Nayeon into unpredictable people. They would scare Chaeyoung and bury all hopes for good. 

The solution to the problem could've been quite simple. Just stay away from Nayeon. Mina could've done that without much effort. The thing was, she didn't want to do that. She didn't want to cut Nayeon off. Even if everyone would have advised her to do so. Therefore, she couldn't tell Jihyo, Jeongyeon, and Tzuyu yet. Until she spoke to her parents and made an agreement with them. And most importantly, she couldn't tell Nayeon about it. 

But there was one person she could involve and demand answers from. She didn't even think about that for long. She picked up her phone and chose a contact from the list. The person picked up after 4 rings.

 

"Did something happen to Chaeyoung?" Haru asked as if he couldn't figure out why she called him.

 

"You told my parents about Nayeon." Mina said in a calm voice. 

 

"You were taking too long. And they deserve to know." He replied with a sigh.

 

"Can you imagine that I wanted to tell them today? And assuming from the fact that my father called me in to announce that Chaeyoung will be living with them today, you must've told them yesterday night or early morning today." Mina was sure that he was going to say something to defend himself and take all of the responsibility off of him.

 

"Living with them? I told them that Nayeon is here and that you're trying to be sisters again, also about that architect being her friend. Then they said that they needed to think about what they were going to do. I swear." Even though it was hard to take him seriously, he actually never lied to her. And it seemed like he might've had some decency left inside of his bitter soul.

 

"Well, they want you to join and told me to stay away for most part." Mina let a bit of annoyance slip into her voice. 

 

"I just thought that they were going to take Nayeon away or something. I don't really look forward to living with them. They aren't exactly my biggest fans." 'Who is?' ran through Mina's mind but she didn't say anything for a short while. Maybe if he wasn't on board with the whole thing, she wouldn't be alone in the fight with her parents. 

 

"Then come with me to them today after picking Chaeyoung up. We'll talk to them and try to reach an agreement. But we won't accept any form of Chaeyoung can't stay with you. Are we clear?" She might've left him no space to refuse, but that wasn't important. 

 

"I'll go. But I don't think that we'll agree on what to do with the problem of Nayeon."

 

"I don't care about that right now. I can't let them take Chaeyoung for petty reasons." Haru hummed in agreement. It was quite unimaginable for them to be on the same page without a quarrel. She was glad that it was the case.

 

"Fine. Anything for Chaeyoung." Mina couldn't agree more with those words. It wouldn't be beneficial in any way to their daughter. Especially because she was already forced to deal with a lot of difficult situations.

 

"Thank you. See you later." She finished the call and collapsed onto her desk. She had to keep a good face until the end of her shift. But a few more minutes of succumbing to her feelings wouldn't be a crime.

 

She claimed that the lunch break was the part of the day she was looking forward to the most. After the conversation with her father she wasn't so sure anymore. She wasn't sure how Sana was going to react to the news. It would either be a scowl and crossed arms or a tearful reaction. She wasn't a fan of either of them. Nonetheless, she had to tell Sana about everything. She was directly involved in one of the subjects. As to the rest, she didn't have to disclose anything yet.

 

The time was dragging itself uneasy as she was trying to work. It felt like she had to wait twice as long for the break to come. But at last, the door to her office opened carefully and Sana walked in balancing a tray full of food and drinks. But her expression was a bit troubled instead of focused or bright, the way it usually was. Mina observed her, feeling a bit uncomfortable as she knew what she was going to talk about. But Sana put the tray down and flopped onto the chair with a sigh of relief.

 

"I'm telling you, they were going to destroy the wrong wall this morning. Like I came in there just in time to stop them. And then they claimed that it was my fault because the directions weren't clear enough. Be serious right now, it's perfectly clear on paper and ok, I may gesticulate quite a lot but you can still check it before you ram into a wall." Sana said almost in one breath with a cute pout. And if Mina had to be absolutely honest, that somehow lifted her mood up a bit. 

 

"If they ended up doing that, I'm sure that you would still make adjustments to make it right." Mina replied sincerely and watched as Sana stuffed her face with a chocolate doughnut. Though her aura returned to the usual.

 

"I'm not saying that I wouldn't. But it would destroy my vision." The fact that Sana said all of that while chewing made Mina feel quite…warm. It was obvious that Sana was finally fully comfortable around her. 

 

"Apart from that mishap, are you all right?" The question seemed to have taken Sana by surprise. She swallowed the last bite of the doughnut and took a sip of the coffee before speaking.

 

"And here I was trying to distract you." She answered with a chuckle. "Nayeon was pacing until midnight, completely angry. She wasn't ready for a meeting with her ex yet. Momo and I tried all of the tricks to make her calm down, but even all of them combined had minimal effect. I mean, hot chocolate and ice cream with her favorite blanket and romcom soundtracks barely did anything." 

 

"I'm truly sorry. He definitely came back early on purpose to mess with Nayeon." Sana shook her head quickly.

 

"Absolutely not your fault. He's just an ." Mina couldn't argue with that. But he wasn't all that terrible at the end of the day as it turned out.

 

"We have to meet up somewhere else next time. Maybe at your apartment?" 

 

"Sure thing. Just let us know like 2 days early so that we can clean the mess." Mina smiled softly at the request.

 

"I think that it could be arranged." Sana reciprocated the smile and for a short few seconds, they held eye contact. Until Sana panicked, quite visibly, and handed Mina a different doughnut with a filling.

 

"So…I was wondering, I mean not that I'm thinking about you-, wait that might've come out wrong, I do think about you just moderately, like a normal person would, but what I am trying to say is that I wanted to know what do you like doing in your spare time?" Sana looked quite red and she couldn't meet Mina's eyes. Frankly, Mina wouldn't have batted an eye at the way Sana began her speech and she definitely made it more awkward after trying to explain herself. 

 

"Haven't we talked about that?" Mina inquired with a bit of humor behind her words. Sana's eyes widened for a moment but she returned to the bashful expression quickly.

 

"Yes, we did. But you only mentioned spending time with Chaeyoung, Tzuyu, and Dahyun. I wanted to know if there's something else you can do, just for yourself. You know, I like putting on my hamster onesie, as you've found out. And I put on my favorite songs then have a party in the living room. Though now it's quite difficult to do it with Nayeon and Momo because apparently it's annoying." Sana rambled, her embarrassment forgotten. She gesticulated with her hands to every word and her facial expression probably changed a dozen times. 

 

"Why won't they join you?" Mina asked, genuinely curious as she leaned forward and grasped her cup of tea.

 

"Because I only play like the same 10 songs and they, and I quote, 'feel like throwing up their dinner when they hear one of them'." Mina snorted softly, almost spilling the tea, and surprised herself by letting out that sound all of a sudden. But she couldn't help but imagine Sana in her hamster onesie, blasting music and dancing while Nayeon and Momo were gagging in the background. And it was quite comical. Sana seemed to have liked her reaction though.

 

"I assume they are your comfort songs." Sana nodded with a warm smile, not so shy anymore. "To think about it, I haven't really listened to music in quite some time."

 

"What?!" Sana exclaimed and moved closer to the desk with a scandalized expression. "How can you not listen to music?!" Mina shrugged.

 

"I find it distracting when I work or study. I can't listen to it during my classes and at home I am forced to listen to all of the Disney songs because of Chaeyoung. I guess I just didn't find the right time to just enjoy music." They held eye contact for a short moment and then Sana pursed her lips and clapped her hands.

 

"All right. I have a vision." 

 

"You have a vision?" Sana nodded and leaned in even closer.

 

"We have to make space for you to enjoy music for a few hours. And I know how to do it! When we'll have our next meeting, I'll share my favorite songs with you and you'll immerse yourself in them, then you'll tell me that they are awesome and show Nayeon and Momo that they are wrong about them." She said happily. Her grin was contagious and Mina didn't even think her answer through. She just accepted the idea in a heartbeat.

 

"That doesn't sound so bad. Though I'll feel a bit pressured with the whole critique aspect." They shared a soft laugh.

 

"I'm just looking for an ally here. They are always teaming up against me. I tell you, it's true." Sana whined and suddenly seemed a bit startled. She distanced herself a bit with an awkward chuckle. Mina didn't even realize that they were moving even closer to each other over the desk. There truly was something about the two of them. Something that Mina couldn't place and certainly didn't experience before. 

 

"You can count on me then. And if you ask me real nice I can lie to them that I enjoy the music even if I don't actually." Mina tried to bring back the comfortable and happy atmosphere with a joke. And it seemed to work, perhaps not exactly because she delivered the joke perfectly.

 

"You're telling jokes in such an awkward way, seriously, it's endearing." Judging from the way Sana covered after saying that, Mina wasn't supposed to hear that.

 

"Thank you. I guess I can be quite…aloof sometimes." Mina admitted and took another sip of the tea.

 

"I think that you just don't match the way you talk with the way you think. I imagine the funniest delivery must've appeared in your head but your brain couldn't translate it into speech." Mina thought that the explanation was ridiculous, but that wasn't a bad thing. 

 

"That may be true. I'm glad that you can still understand my intentions."

 

"We might just be on the same wavelength together. So it's not difficult." Sana replied, bashful again, her right hand reached up to tuck her hair behind her ears. 

 

"It might just be the case. We're lucky to have met then." Mina added and Sana's mouth stretched out into a grin that she was trying to control. 

 

"Yes, we are." She said softly in a sweet voice. And for a fews seconds, they savored the lovely atmosphere. Mina was sure though, that Sana didn't like it when they were sitting in silence, as she went back to talking after clearing and adjusting her position on the chair. Mina decided to lean back on her own chair to give Sana a break. "Anyway, anything you wanna talk about? Cause for now it seems like I am making you participate in a conversation on the topic I want."

 

After a moment, Mina remembered about her father. It seemed like her worry about his words disappeared when Sana walked in. But she decided to inform Sana about it all.

 

"Actually," She started reluctantly. Sana was all ears though. "I talked to my father in the morning. To keep it short. Haru told my parents that Nayeon is back and that you're her friend. My father wanted to fire you. But I think that I have persuaded him to revoke it. I am going to be transferred, I don't think I can change it. It shouldn't have a big influence on our meetings. But that's something I'll have to keep in touch with you. As I may have to go and check on the event plans. I'm sorry."

 

"He transferred you because of that?!" Sana asked, clearly upset about the wrong thing.

 

"He doesn't want me to get involved with you. I assume he might've actually anticipated that I may argue with him and he took precautions. I mean, he even wants Chaeyoung to live with them." Sana almost jumped out of the chair. The movement surprised Mina, as she watched Sana's expression go from disbelief to anger.

 

"What?! Take her away from you?! In what way would that be beneficial?!" 

 

"They want to force me to stop meeting with Nayeon. And also to keep Chaeyoung away from her. But I talked to Haru and we will try everything to make my parents change their decision." Mina said, determined. She could tell that there were many things that Sana wanted to say but kept to herself. And finally, she inhaled and held the air in her lungs for a short while with her eyes closed.

 

"May I hug you?" Mina was completely taken aback. Sana usually had a waterfall of words ready. And she chose to hug Mina… The most shocking thing in that whole scenario though, would be the fact that Mina gave Sana her consent.

 

"Yes." She whispered and just remained on the chair. The only people she hugged were the people she knew for years or months. It wasn't a full month in their case. But she knew that she was comfortable with Sana. So as Sana stood up and walked around the desk, Mina sprung up and tried not to be too awkward. Sana wrapped her arms around her torso and soon after Mina mimicked the action. The hug lasted 5 seconds, Mina counted by looking at the watch on the wall. After that Sana squeezed her lightly and that extended the embrace to 7 seconds. Then they separated and the air became just a tiny bit…weird. Mina couldn't quite describe what that was. Sana stepped back and smiled bashfully. 

 

"I don't think that I have the right words, so I wanted to show my support, that I'm on your side. I hope that your parents can be reasoned with." 

 

"Thank you, Sana. I actually felt much better thanks to you." Mina admitted without much trouble. Her statement made Sana put her hands on her cheeks and she giggled melodiously. 

 

"You can depend on me. That's what friends do."

 

The time after Sana left took Mina back to the state of anxiety she had been in before. Though, she was just a tiny bit relieved knowing that Sana was going to support her in whatever she did. But she still wasn't looking forward to the conversation with her parents. It wasn't like they had a choice. She picked up Chaeyoung with Haru and left her at home with Tzuyu and Dahyun. They only told the two girls that they had to talk to Mina and Tzuyu's parents about something important. Though Mina could tell that Tzuyu was suspicious of the whole thing. She would explain everything to her younger sister after the talk. 

And so, Mina and Haru approached the house that she grew up in and pushed the button to ring the bell. They didn't have to wait for long to be welcomed in by her mother. 

 

"Mina, Haru, come on in. Chaeyoung's not with you?" She said after the two of them entered the house and started to take off their outer wear.

 

"She's at home." Mina replied shortly and was ready to get to the point. She had no time for playing .

 

"I see." Her mother seemed to have understood the implications of that action. But she didn't say anything until they were all in the living room. "Your father should be here in half an hour or so. I'll make tea for us." She excused herself and walked away. And the two of them waited in heavy silence. Though she was sure that Haru was planning the whole conversation out in his head the same way Mina was. 

About 35 minutes later and a mug full of tea, her father came home. He was obviously expecting them. He didn't seem eager to start a conversation though. As he quite literally ignored her and Haru for the first 5 minutes. He only started talking once his wife brought him a cup of tea as well. 

 

"I see that you didn't come here alone." 

 

"We're both Chaeyoung's parents. I deserve to be here as well." Haru answered, with as much confidence as he could gather. 

 

"Well, you informed us about Nayeon and Mina's willingness to forget everything that happened and take Nayeon back." Her father  shot her a pointed look from his armchair. She wasn't going to falter.

 

"I have met Nayeon and talked with her. I believe that she's changed and she truly wants to be a part of our family again." Mina explained, calmly. She was sitting with a perfect posture on the couch and her eyes didn't leave her parents. 

 

"And you believe her based on what?" He countered her explanation. 

 

"As I said, I talked with her and-" 

 

"Can you truly believe Nayeon based solely on her words?" Her mother cut her off. That was exactly the reason why she was so reluctant to tell them about Nayeon. 

 

"I think that it's the way it works. Someone apologizes and promises to be better so you give them a chance and let them prove that they are honest." Mina couldn't let them talk her down. 

 

"She abandoned her own daughter, her own family, she stole money from us. How can you simply forgive such actions?" Mina's jaw clenched. She was more than aware of the things that Nayeon did. But she knew that there was a reason for all of that. And she couldn't be angry anymore. 

 

"And she's truly sorry. We just have to give her time to show us that she's not going to repeat her behavior." Mina continued after her father tried to invalidate her reasoning.

 

"You can choose to believe whatever you want. But we can't let Chaeyoung go through that. She can't just come back and expect to be fully welcomed and take back the life she had." Her father said, a bit of annoyance showed in his tone. 

 

"Nayeon doesn't want to hurt Chaeyoung. She is even avoiding confrontations to make it less difficult. Your crazy idea of forcing Chaeyoung to stay with you is what will make it difficult."

 

"I live with them. I've been taking Chaeyoung out whenever Nayeon would be meeting with Mina and I will continue to do that. I also am making sure that Nayeon doesn't try anything. Separating us is going to create more trouble." Haru backed her up, like he said he would. She was grateful for having him at a time like that. Even if they weren't close.

 

"If you want to continue acting this way, we don't want to see until you see reason." How very expected of them. But Mina couldn't care less about that.

 

"Maybe that's a bit-" Her father silenced her mother with a gesture of his hand. 

 

"We will be waiting for you two to see that living such a sad and bitter life won't do you any good." Mina was done with the conversation. She stood up and shot a glance at Haru to signal to him that he should join her. And he did without a word. 

They entered the car and stayed in silence for a short moment. 

 

"Let's go home." She said softly and fastened her seatbelt. He didn't say anything in response. He simply started the engine and drove back to their apartment. 

 

She called Jihyo and Jeongyeon a few minutes after returning home. She wanted to tell everyone at the same time. But apparently, the two couldn't come because of a restaurant reservation that Jeongyeon made on the wrong day and Jihyo instead of canceling it and making a new one made them go because she couldn't let people know that they could make mistakes apparently. So Mina wasn't sure if she wanted to tell them through the phone. She told them that they should talk the following day and she wished them a great dinner. Jeongyeon mumbled something about dessert but Mina didn't really get to ask what it was about before the call ended. 

So she gathered Tzuyu and Dahyun in the living room after Chaeyoung fell asleep and Haru went to put her into the bed.

 

"Our parents know about Nayeon." Mina started cautiously. Tzuyu nodded in acknowledgement.

 

"Yeah, you wanted to tell them."

 

"I didn't. Haru did. And it caused some problems. Our parents are angry at me for forgiving Nayeon. They wanted to take Chaeyoung away from here because Nayeon lives in our building." Tzuyu stared at her with a blank expression and Dahyun quickly grasped her girlfriend's hands.

 

"Take her away? Have they gone mad?" Tzuyu sounded upset but she remained seated. Her hands squeezed Dahyun's.

 

"I refused to do it so now they won't speak to us until I change my mind about Nayeon." Mina knew that Tzuyu was still apprehensive about their older sister. But she hoped that they could be on the same side in that argument.

 

"You did the right thing." Tzuyu replied with a much softer voice. And Mina could feel relief wash over her.

 

"They were hurt, but they can't control and punish you this way for giving Nayeon a chance." Dahyun added. Mina truly considered herself lucky with the support group she had. 

 

"I hope that they won't make us wait long for their minds to change. I think that Nayeon would like to get them back as well." 

 

"Yeah, but what about Haru? You said that he told them about Nayeon." Tzuyu changed the subject, which Mina didn't blame her for. 

 

"He did it but he didn't want them to take Chaeyoung away. He thought that they would make Nayeon go away." Mina doubted that Tzuyu and Dahyun would believe that. But at least she knew that it was true.

 

"That sounds like something he made up." Tzuyu said dryly.

 

"I mean, I don't think he hates us. So I'm inclined to believe it." Dahyun surprised both sisters with that response. Mina was positively surprised, while Tzuyu just rolled her eyes and accepted that Dahyun had a different opinion.

 

"Exactly. He loves Chaeyoung very much, you know that. He wouldn't do anything to hurt her more." Mina tried to give an argument that would support her claim. And it might've temporarily worked.

 

"Fine. Let's say that I believe you. And if he doesn't hate us, he should move out of my room." Tzuyu complained but the other two laughed in response. She huffed, a bit upset.

 

"Don't you feel nostalgic? About sharing a bed like we did when you were as little as Chaeyoung." Mina gushed in a cute voice. Tzuyu made a disgusted face.

 

"It's more annoying. And we shared a bed because our parents made us do it."

 

"But didn't you still do that sometimes when you were like 13?" Dahyun asked, a bit mischievously, and a bit uncertain because she wasn't completely sure.

 

"It was different." Tzuyu whined. "And I am an adult so you should stop babying me." Mina was thankful for this moment. She could unwind after the whole day of worrying. 

 

"But you like it." Mina teased.

 

"I do not." Tzuyu defended herself. Though both Mina and Dahyun knew that she was lying. "Ok, why did we even change the subject?"

 

"You changed it." Dahyun pointed out with a chuckle and she kissed Tzuyu on the cheek to get rid of the frown.

 

"Well, we can't do anything else for now. I am not going to brush Nayeon off. Whatever our parents want to do, so be it." Mina said, determined. She was sure that her father wouldn't fire her or do anything else. They were going to pretend that they don't exist for a while until one of them is tired and they would have to talk again.

 

"Ok. And are you going to tell Nayeon?" Tzuyu asked shyly. Sana probably didn't say a word to Nayeon and Momo. So she would have to do it the following day. 

 

"Tomorrow. I don't want to worry more people so late." She answered with a sigh. Tzuyu and Dahyun remained silent for a moment and Mina could sense that they wanted to tell her something. She didn't pressure them to talk and used the quiet time to try to relax a tiny bit.

 

"Maybe I can go with you?" Tzuyu's question was quite shocking, but very much welcomed.

 

"Absolutely. She'll be happy to see you. And you don't have to talk. It'll be fine even if you're just sitting with us." Mina reassured and she smiled warmly at the soft smile that appeared on Tzuyu's face. 

 

"It's going to be all right, Tzuyu. And if someone pisses you off, I'll be right there!" Dahyun proclaimed and Tzuyu smiled wider at her girlfriend. 

 

"Thank you. I want to try." Mina nodded at her with the same smile. Dahyun pulled Tzuyu into a hug. They looked comfortable and Mina felt warm because of the sight of her sister's happiness. And thanks to that the stressful day ended on a sweeter note. Mina could halt her worrying for a few hours. Maybe. She would have to see after getting into the bed. But for the time being, she enjoyed the tiny moment of warmth and love with Tzuyu and Dahyun.