I have finally managed to finish this chapter and I still had to make it a little tiny bit shorter. I hope that it's ok and you can still enjoy it! Unfortunately, the next chapter might come out next week again...but I will try to write whenever I can. 

I hope that everyone is doing well. Remember to take care of yourselves. Thank you for reading and keeping up with this story! 

 

 

Sana knew how to be a good friend. She had always been one for Momo and then Nayeon. The right behavior included always being there for each other, calling each other out if they did something stupid, spending time together doing silly things, talking about their day, keeping each other’s secrets and not lying to each other. So it should be an understatement that she was in a bit of a dilemma. Mina told her about what Mr. Myoi said and Sana didn’t want to go back home and babble all of it to Nayeon. She could tell how distressed Mina was and Sana knew that she probably wanted to tell her own sister about it personally. And Sana was a good friend…so she decided not to tell Nayeon about it. Which was quite a difficult spot to be in. On one hand, she was keeping a secret for her new friend, but on the other, she was keeping something from Nayeon.

But as she was contemplating everything on the couch, which was her bed, her hands on her tummy, she realized that there were quite a few things she was keeping away from both Nayeon and Momo. And they all related to Mina. Who was Nayeon’s younger sister. She might’ve dug her own grave a bit. She remembered when Nayeon told them about her sisters, Sana could tell how much her friend loved them and how cute they seemed. And she went to her new work with that image in her head. But when she actually interacted with Mina it turned out that she was so much more. 

Sana had a lot of crushes on girls, she even dated a girl once. So she knew very well how it all felt, how they all made her feel. And it would be a lie to say that-

 

“Can you help me with the laundry! I asked you 3 times.” Nayeon walked into the room with a basket full of clothes, her brows formed a menacing frown. Sana sighed internally. She had to act normal around Nayeon. And then when Mina decides to tell Nayeon about it all, Sana can brag about how good of a friend she is. She dragged herself off of the couch and walked up to Nayeon, then she took the basket and started leading to the balcony. 

 

“I was daydreaming, sorry.” Sana explained with a smile and started working.

 

“Figured. But you’re usually all giggly and giddy after you get back from work. Now you look a bit…unsure?” So maybe Sana wasn’t super good at keeping her emotions at bay. 

 

“It was just a tiring day, you know? The crew wanted to hammer down the wrong wall.” Sana didn’t lie at least.

 

“Did you shout at them? Did they feel the wrath of the least intimidating person alive?” Nayeon laughed and hanged a shirt on the wire. 

 

“I did. And they seemed quite intimidated.” Sana huffed, offended and Nayeon continued laughing at her friend. Sana rolled her eyes and grabbed another pair of jeans.

 

“But Momo and I keep wondering what got you so happy at work.” Nayeon questioned, a bit unsure. Sana felt exposed. She had no idea what she should tell them. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to admit the reason to herself.

 

“Well, you know, I like working. So I’m happy.” And the company is excellent. 

 

“Sure, you do. And you seem to be getting close with Mina.” 

 

“Yeah, I guess. She’s my supervisor and all. So we gotta keep up a friendly atmosphere and she’s your sister, I’m your friend.” Sana blurted out and started chuckling awkwardly after finishing her excuse. She quickly grabbed the next item and hung it up. Nayeon eyed her with a suspicious look.

 

“Ok? We love that you enjoy your time there. Mina seems comfortable around you as well.” Sana’s face lit up at the response. 

 

“I feel the same way.” She said softly and tried to end their conversation with that. And they finished their housework in relative silence. The conversation they had was a good sign though. It made Sana feel a bit better about everything related to Mina. 

Surviving the rest of the day wasn’t too hard either. Nayeon didn’t ask about work or Mina again, Momo came back home and the three of them cooked together, then ate their dinner while watching whatever on the tv. Their conversation never touched on Sana and her curious behavior. 

 

There was a thing that Sana wanted to do for a while. But the logical part of her brain told her that she should not turn it into reality. Somehow, on that day, Sana out that part of her consciousness and proceeded with doing what she wanted to do. 

 

“Why are you ready this early?” Momo eyed her suspiciously as she entered the kitchen and saw Sana fully dressed preparing coffee.

 

“Why can’t I wake up early?” Sana replied nonchalantly and just continued doing her own thing, a warm smile on her face.

 

“You wake up at like 8:30 every day, it’s 6:00, Sana.” Momo said and put her mug down on the counter to prepare coffee for herself as well.

 

“Yeah, well, I want to get to work early today.”

 

“Right…is it related to the accident from yesterday?” Momo asked and moved to the coffee maker after Sana was done. 

 

“Eh, yeah, totally.” She tried to sound like she usually did and moved to the living room with her coffee. She stopped eating breakfast after her tradition, if she could call it that, with Mina started and she ate like 6 pastries every day for lunch. She assumed that she didn’t need breakfast.

Sana watched the time very carefully as she was sipping on her coffee and Momo was trying to engage her into a conversation before they both had to leave. Momo left first. And Sana? She was in front of Mina’s apartment about half an hour. Why for that long? Because the part of her that thought that it may be too much too quickly managed to drag itself from the depths. But she wanted to take their relationship outside of the work environment. 

When the clock was close to showing the time that Sana knew Mina was leaving at, she took the deepest breath she could ever take and rang the bell. She tried to present herself with utmost confidence. Though she was sure that she was trembling and sweating. The door opened after a short moment, though it felt much longer to her. She was greeted by a frown and an awkward stare. Sana was speechless and she could only stare at Tzuyu like an idiot.

 

“Hi,” Sana squeaked out then cleared . “Morning, Tzuyu.” 

 

“Mina!” Tzuyu yelled into the apartment, perhaps, they were both speechless until Sana broke the silence. Sana fixed her outfit and hair, though she couldn’t get rid of the dry feeling in . Tzuyu looked her up and down again before Mina walked into the corridor and Sana’s anxiety was erased in a split of a second after her eyes landed on Mina’s bright smile.

 

“Sana? What are you doing here so early?” Mina’s voice was lovely and the way she looked at Sana was a complete opposite to the way Tzuyu was staring at her. 

 

“Hi. I woke up early today. You know, going to bed early has benefits sometimes. And it’s so boring at our apartment, Momo left and Nayeon has a day off so she’s still sleeping. So I thought that it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to maybe catch a ride together?” Sana let out happily. 

 

“That’s the longest way I heard someone ask something as simple as giving you a ride.” Tzuyu deadpanned and Sana felt heat hit her cheeks. But Mina giggled sweetly.

 

“Tzuyu, be nice. And I think that it won’t be terrible to go together.” Mina replied while trying to pinch Tzuyu’s cheeks. 

 

“Yes, thank you. Also, you’re so adorable.” Tzuyu swatted Mina’s hand and groaned.

 

“You were supposed to drive me to uni.” 

 

“I will.” Mina said simply to Tzuyu. 

 

“And I am not giving up the front seat.” Tzuyu directed the sentence at Sana. And well, it was a tiny bit disappointing, but Sana wanted to get closer to the youngest sister.

 

“Perfect! Chaeyoung isn’t here?” Sana’s question visibly surprised Tzuyu but Mina seemed prepared for it. 

 

“Yes, Haru took her to kindergarten half an hour ago.” Mina said as she walked outside and waited for Tzuyu to join them so that she could lock the door. 

 

"Why are you curious?" Tzuyu asked behind them as they waited for the elevator to arrive. Sana felt a chill run down her spine and Tzuyu's eyes on the back of her head. 

 

"I want to know. Chaeyoung is so adorable as well. It would be nice to talk to her too." 

 

"Tzuyu, stop pressuring her." Mina defended Sana again and to be honest, that was all Sana cared about. They entered the elevator and Sana saw the exaggerated roll of Tzuyu's eyes. 

"I would've loved it if Chaeyoung liked you, Nayeon, and Momo. But that's still a bit tricky."

Mina said apologetically and they exited the building to get into Mina's car. 

 

"We know. We will never rush her. Or you, Tzuyu." Sana added with a soft smile and she could've sworn that Tzuyu's expression seemed less hostile. They reached the car and Mina unlocked it with her keys.

 

"Well, I have made my decision regarding Nayeon." Tzuyu announced and opened the door to the passenger seat to enter. Sana wanted to do the same thing with the backseat door, but Mina walked a little bit ahead of her and she pulled the handle. That action left Sana absolutely stunned and she didn't know what to do except lower her flushed face and enter the car while twirling her hair. Mina quickly closed the door and walked around the back to enter the car herself. "Anyways, as I was saying. I have decided to give Nayeon a chance." 

 

Sana almost didn't hear Tzuyu at first. As her mind was cluttered with squealing, giggling, and all of the happy, giddy things. But she somehow shook it all off as quickly as she could.

"That's so good to hear. Nayeon will burst out into tears when she finds out. Oh, does it mean that you'll join us for the next meeting?"

 

"Why did you sound disappointed at the end there?" Tzuyu said plainly and Sana only then noticed that she had the mirror down and was staring at the back through it.

 

"No! I wasn't disappointed! Not at all. I'm so happy. All three sisters together, it's a historic moment." Sana tried to talk herself out of that. Because she did feel a bit disappointed. Which was stupid. Because of course, Mina wasn't going to those meetings for Sana in the first place. And with Tzuyu joining, Sana might've as well go and do something else.

 

"Sana, don't let Tzuyu get to you. She's trying to pressure you because you're Nayeon's friend. She's testing you to-" 

 

"Nobody asked you, Mina." Tzuyu cut Mina off quickly, in fear that her older sister would expose a hidden truth behind all of the questions. 

 

"I get that. But I promise that we are a lovely bunch. I'm sure that Mina will vouch for me." Sana said proudly and glanced at Mina. Her side profile was breathtaking in the morning light. And perhaps, she was lost in the sight for a moment. 

 

"I can vouch. Sana is lovely." But how could she not register that sentence. She had to bite her lower lip to stop herself from letting out her excitement and keeping herself still was hard on her muscles as well.

 

"Ok? So are we meeting up today?" Tzuyu glanced from Mina to Sana with a weird look. But neither of them cared. 

 

"Oh, yeah. We're ready to meet today. And Momo should join us as well." Sana said after clearing and touching her cheeks with the back of her hands a few times. 

 

"Maybe around 5? I'll have to go to see the place for that event I'm in charge of now." All of the joy seemed to have flown away from Mina at the mention of work. And to be honest, Sana forgot that Mina was transferred as well. 

 

"That's fine. We'll be available until midnight. That's when Momo and Nayeon go to sleep most of the days. Like they seriously fall asleep right as the clock turns 12am." Sana explained with a bit of a chuckle and she hoped that it would bring Mina back into the happy mood. 

 

"I'm sure that we'll manage before that." Mina assured with a soft laugh and with that, they were at the University. 

"See you later, Tzuyu. Eat lunch!" Tzuyu rolled her eyes at Mina and moved out of the car.

 

"See you, Mina, Sana too, I guess." Sana waved at her with a cute smile. Then she closed the door and made her way into the building.

 

"I'm sorry for her." Mina looked back at Sana with an apologetic smile. A strand of her hair fell over her face and Sana felt an unquenchable need to brush it behind her ear. She didn't do that, of course.

 

"I understand her. Don't worry. And you two seem to have such a close relationship, it's heartwarming." Sana was slowly getting used to the way Mina kept eye contact almost constantly during conversation. And that her eyes observed Sana's every move. So she didn't look away almost immediately.

 

"I'm thankful that we do. It made everything much more bearable. But you know that." Mina answered with a dismissive tone and turned back to look at the road. Then they were driving again. 

 

"I know." Sana whispered. But the corner of Mina's lips lifted higher. "So, Momo was shocked in the morning when she saw me up." Sana informed, as she felt the need to share everything with Mina.

 

"Did you really wake up this early on your own?" 

 

"Yes." She didn't, but she couldn't tell Mina that. "No," But was there a reason to lie?

 

"Sana, you should get a full night's rest." Mina sounded genuinely concerned. Which made Sana even more giddy than she was before. 

 

"I did! I went to sleep at 9 pm. And my motives are harmless. I just…" Sana suddenly felt her body's attempt at stopping her from exposing herself. But when Mina stopped at a red light and her eyes watched Sana through the mirror, there was no way that the truth wasn't going to come out. "You see, it's just silly. You know, we only get like an hour during the day to spend together. And it wouldn't be awful if we could spend more time together. Especially outside of work." Sana managed to say it all without stuttering, somehow. But Mina didn't reply right away, the street light turned green and she focused on the road for a few seconds. It was enough time for Sana to regret opening and going through with that weird plan in the first place.

 

"I'd like that too. But maybe we can do that in the afternoon, not early in the morning." Sana had to make her whole body stiff to stop herself from jumping up and down on the seat out of happiness. There were so many possibilities, so much they could do. 

 

"I can agree on that. I honestly was scared that you'll think that I am weird for waking up extra early to go to work with you." Sana let out with a sigh of relief.

 

"Somehow, I feel like this is a normal thing for you." Sana nodded to show that Mina was right. 

 

"Wait! I don't just do that with everyone! It's not like that!" Sana exclaimed after a few seconds of thinking about Mina's words. And her reply might've been even worse. "I mean, I don't do that with just anybody, that's true, but it's no-"

 

"Calm down, Sana. I understand. I think that it's lovely from you." That was the second time that day that Mina called her lovely. She hoped that she could hear it every day, more than once.

 

"Yeah, I'm like that." She replied with an awkward laugh and her eyes glued to her lap. 

"But I guess it's good that I did it today, because we wouldn't get a chance to hang out today. With the historical meeting." 

 

"That's true. It's going to go well. Though you may have to get ready to see me cry." Mina said, embarrassed. 

 

"Hey, you know that I'm a great hugger. You can count on me." Sana sounded confident when the words were coming out of , but instantaneously after they were hanging in the air she was overheating. 

 

"I do." Mina said with a melodious giggle. "I can let my emotions all out then. I admit that I felt a bit emotional during the first meeting. But I felt a bit embarrassed to do it in front of you, Nayeon, and Momo." 

 

"You have some dignity left. And I bawled my eyes out in front of you after a couple of minutes of our first meeting. And then some more." Sana was truly lucky to have received this position because she met Mina. 

 

"You sure did. You're an honest person. You don't hide anything, you don't try to be strong in front of your older sister." Mina continued to praise Sana, so comfortably. And Sana wanted to do the same, if only she could be as confident. 

 

"Thank you. But acting strong in front of your sister isn't a bad thing. Especially after everything that went down."

 

"I guess so." Mina inhaled a bit shakily and then looked back at Sana, with an easy smile. And Sana almost had a heart attack because why was she doing that in the middle of the traffic. But one glance out of the window made it clear that they were parked in the parking lot. Mina must've noticed Sana's confusion and laughed sweetly. "We've arrived."

 

"I was too focused on you- on our conversation! That's what I meant! Yes, I was lost in the conversation, not in you." Sana could not look at Mina, but she could feel Mina's eyes on her. And she prayed that she didn't screw it up completely.

 

"I get that too. I feel so comfortable with you that I get lost in the moment too." Sana dared to lift her head up and there was something so warm and inviting in Mina's eyes and smile. Sana was lost again. But only for a second or two. And what came out of was a nervous giggle and one of her hands automatically reached up to her steaming face and the other one grabbed the door handle.

 

"We're quite a good match then." She squeaked out and jumped out of the car before Mina could open the door for her. She needed a second to compose herself and be presentable. She fanned her face frantically and her brain tried to come up with something normal to say before they went their separate ways for the morning. She turned around on her heel when she heard Mina's footsteps and she was again taken aback when she saw how close they were standing. And she truly couldn't comprehend how Mina was so composed. She didn't seem one bit bashful. 

 

"Shall-"

 

"Mina, you don't have to walk me there." Sana read Mina's mind quickly. 

 

"Fine, I'll see you during lunch." Sana nodded and took a deep breath to prepare herself to look Mina in the eyes. 

 

"I'll be there."

 

Now that Tzuyu agreed to the meeting, she couldn't pull out of the agreement. Mina would be disappointed, even if she wouldn't admit that. So she used the few hours before the inevitable to hang out with Dahyun. But of course, for the first hour they were doing stuff for their classes and then Dahyun had to help an elderly neighbor to get groceries. Of course, Tzuyu helped out. And then for the last 2 hours they could do whatever. Which meant that Tzuyu could've finally brought up the thing that was eating her up the whole day. She made Dahyun sit on the bed next to her and she inhaled deep.

 

"Mina's acting all flirty and lovely with that architect girl. Like they were acting like that right in front of me." Dahyun stared at her with a blank expression. She looked back with a frown.

 

"I'm sorry, Mina, flirting?" Tzuyu nodded hard.

 

"Why would I make it up? She's never even done that before? She ignored everyone that has ever tried to ask her out? And she's flirting all confidently?" Tzuyu was absolutely baffled. And Dahyun didn't look like she was comprehending it all either.

 

"Are you sure that she wasn't just nice?" Tzuyu grabbed Dahyun's shoulders and shook her lightly.

 

"I saw Sana become a blushing mess. And she woke up early so that Mina could drive her to work. Like I am shocked…" Tzuyu was serious about it. Mina had never been in a relationship. And she didn't count the stupid arranged marriage with that man. Her older sister never flirted with anyone. Mina did nothing romantic for anyone ever. It was unbelievable.

 

"Well…I actually have no idea what to say because this is unexpected. But it's also a good thing." Dahyun grasped Tzuyu's hands and squeezed them.

 

"I mean…I guess it is. I just expected her to find someone more…"

 

"More…?" Dahyun repeated. But it was a bit difficult to explain what Tzuyu imagined. When she thought about it, she truly expected, or more like wanted Mina to be with someone who was nothing like Haru. Would Mina be so happy around Sana if she was like Haru?

 

"To be honest, I just don't want her to be with Haru and she seems to like Sana." Dahyun nodded in agreement.

 

"That's an understatement. Though that would be quite awkward and hard to navigate." Unfortunately. But Tzuyu had a solution.

 

"Maybe she'll finally divorce his annoying ." 

 

"It would be the hardest on Chaeyoung." Tzuyu sighed heavily and fell into Dahyun's arms.

 

"I know. But considering how there's no love in their fake marriage, it may be better for Chaeyoung to have them separated. And have someone that actually loves and respects Mina." Dahyun hummed and caressed Tzuyu's back slowly.

 

"You might be right. But let's see where this is going. And for the rest of the time before the big event, let's not think about your sisters." Dahyun said half-jokingly. But Tzuyu liked that idea. She didn't need to wind herself up even more. 

 

"There's no excuse! She didn't tell us!" Tzuyu heard Jihyo's voice through the closed front door. They must've been having a lovely conversation inside. She opened the door and the first thing she saw was Chaeyoung walking out of the bathroom with all of their towels. Their eyes met and Chaeyoung looked close to bursting into tears. So Tzuyu pretended not to see what she was doing and took her shoes off. Chaeyoung quickly returned to dragging the towels to her room. 

 

"To be fair, we did tell her that we were busy." Jeongyeon tried to calm the situation down. But Tzuyu knew that there was no calming Jihyo.

 

"So almost having your child taken away from you isn't a dire enough situation to tell your best friends even when they're out?" Tzuyu walked into the living room and was met with Mina sitting on the couch as if she was the 5 year old being scolded by her mother. Jihyo was standing in front of her, her hands in her hips, a scowl on her face. Jeongyeon sat down next to Mina and put her arm around her, with a worried look.

 

"She didn't want to worry you for the night." Tzuyu stepped in to defend her older sister and the wrath was turned to her immediately. 

 

"But she didn't mind worrying you for the night?" Jihyo pointed accusatory at Tzuyu and the younger girl couldn't make a sound.

 

"Ok, I'm sure that they are sorry and that they will start crying soon. And Mina said that she handled it." Jeongyeon tried to win with her upset girlfriend one more time. 

 

"I wanted to tell you but then it turned out that you are having a lovely night out. I didn't want to destroy it. And my father didn't even contact me today at work." Jihyo glared at Mina, who was looking at her best friend with puppy eyes, and soon she relented with a sigh.

 

"It was more important than a dinner date. But I'm glad that you managed to solve it for some time." It was quite obvious that Jihyo couldn't have been angry at Mina for long. 

 

"Yeah, your parents went too far." Jeongyeon patted Mina on the back one last time before letting go of her. Jihyo then sat down on the other side of Mina. Tzuyu decided to just take a chair.

 

"That we can all agree on. Being mad at Nayeon is one thing, involving Cheyoung is ridiculous." Tzuyu joined in. 

 

"Well, they'll leave us alone. I just hope that we can talk about it some time and be on good terms again." Mina said softly, Jihyo squeezed her hand. 

 

"Wait, why aren't you screaming and crying about it? Like you don't want Nayeon back, shouldn't you be telling Mina to listen to your parents?" Jeongyeon her question at Tzuyu with a suspicious look. And it was a fair question.

 

"I think I'm going to give her a chance. So I am not going to scream and cry about it." She replied, with a bit of an attitude that everyone present was used to.

 

"That's good to hear. We wouldn't want another break in your sisterhood." Jihyo said, relieved. Jeongyeon nodded, absolutely agreeing with her girlfriend. They both squeezed Mina in the middle and Tzuyu was wondering how her sister was putting up with that.

 

"Why are all the towels gone?" Haru walked in and soured the mood completely. Tzuyu didn't even spare a glance in his direction.

 

"I didn't put them into the laundry." Mina replied, confused herself. She detached herself from Jeongyeon and Jihyo and walked to the bathroom to check the situation. She walked back even more confused. And no matter how much she wanted to keep her sister in that uneasy state, she also wanted to know what Chaeyoung was doing with all of them.

 

"Chaeyoung has them." Tzuyu explained plainly, her hand hid a smirk. Mina and Haru shared a look and they both made their way to Chaeyoung's room. The rest didn't follow, they stared in the direction of the room and listened in carefully.

 

"Chaeyoung!" Haru's raised voice reached their ears and curiosity won over them. The three of them got up and walked up to the center of attention. Inside, Chaeyoung was in the middle of painting over the towels she grabbed from the bathroom. Tzuyu couldn't help but snort at the sight of everything, and Chaeyoung's guilty expression. 

 

"ChaengChaeng, what are you doing?" Mina's voice was as calm as ever. Though Tzuyu was sure that she wasn't that calm inside.

 

"Painting. All our towels are white. They're boring so I wanted to make them pretty." At that, Jeongyeon and Jihyo smiled widely as well.

 

"Baby cub," Haru started but halted his words to inhale. "We can buy a prettier towel. We need these to dry ourselves."

 

"I guess they'll get washed easily." Mina followed up and walked to Chaeyoung to see the artwork closer. 

 

"True. So go and pick the spare towels." Tzuyu directed her words at Haru. He only rolled his eyes at her and moved out of the room.

 

"What is this? A bunny?" Mina asked and pointed at a figure that resembled a bunny in some way.

 

"No, it's a dog." 

 

"What's the dog's name?" Jihyo joined in and that was how they spent several minutes listening to Chaeyoung explain what she painted on the towels. They all agreed to keep one of them fully decorated. The rest went into the washing machine. 

 

And then the time had come. Tzuyu was following Mina to Nayeon's apartment in silence. She knew that there was nothing to be afraid of, but she still felt uneasy. She wasn't sure how to talk with Nayeon without being upset. She wasn't sure how to stay collected and listen to Nayeon. She wasn't sure how to believe her. She still wanted to try. Besides, there was no time to run away when the door to the apartment opened and Sana's radiating face greeted them. And Tzuyu was 100% sure that she only registered Mina's existence. Tzuyu could've been gone for all she cared. Mina though, Tzuyu had never seen that look on Mina's face. Which she guessed was nothing concerning. 

 

"You arrived just as Nayeon stopped freaking out. Your timing is perfect." Sana said with humor and stepped aside to let the two of them walk in. Tzuyu ignored the girl for a moment and decided to look around. Her eyes spotted Nayeon and Momo quickly. Nayeon seemed like she was a defendant in court, pleading for innocence. Momo seemed more relaxed, but she was obviously worried for Nayeon. 

 

"We would've come earlier if Chaeyoung didn't paint over most of our towels. You should see the masterpiece she made." Mina giggled again. Tzuyu was already weirded the first time she heard it in the morning. Because Mina didn't do that girly giggle, that wasn't her thing. And yet, Sana made her let out these sounds. 

 

"Oh! I want to see it. Are you going to preserve it?" Sana replied, almost bouncing in excitement. And Tzuyu was sure, no one else existed in the room except for Sana and Mina for the two of them. And when she looked back at Nayeon and Momo, they were both eyeing the two suspiciously and in confusion as well. So it wasn't just Tzuyu.

 

"One of them. They were all adorable, but we decided that one would be enough. And now we also have to buy Chaeyoung a cute towel. She can't decide which one to get." 

 

"Oh, I understand her completely. It's so hard to choose when everything is so cute and pretty. I spent 30 minutes deciding which blanket I wanted and it landed on Winnie the Pooh one." Sana shared with a cute laugh. Mina was standing quite close to her, with that look and a grin. And then Momo burst the lovely bubble.

 

"You can show Mina the blanket later, we are supposed to talk with Tzuyu." Sana and Mina had the same reaction, they seemed lost for a short moment, then Sana turned all red. Tzuyu thought that something like that was Impossible. And Mina, she looked a bit bashful but that was it. She kept her cool and didn't even step away from Sana.

 

"Yes, thank you for agreeing to meet with us Tzuyu." Nayeon finally spoke up, her voice unsure. Then she gestured for them all to sit on the couch. That is, Sana, Mina, and Tzuyu sat on the couch while Nayeon and Momo brought chairs for themselves.

 

"I thought that you deserve at least one chance." Tzuyu said honestly.

 

"I know that you're disappointed. And I know that I was a bad sister." Nayeon began. And Tzuyu didn't want to listen to all of that. She heard Nayeon's explanation before. 

 

"Ok, yeah, I know that. You apologized, we're good. So let's just get to talking." Everyone was a bit caught off guard, but Nayeon didn't waste more time before speaking up.

 

"So what are you doing? Are you studying? Working? What about your hobbies?" 

 

"I'm studying biology. I want to go into marine biology. Hobbies include anything with marine life and spending time with my girlfriend." Nayeon's eyes grew wide.

 

"Girlfriend?!" Tzuyu hated the feeling of fear she felt in the bottom of her stomach. She was not ashamed of it, but she knew that not everyone was accepting. "You're dating?! Aren't you a baby?!" But she guessed that fear was for nothing. 

 

"I'm 19." Tzuyu deadpanned. 

 

"It's normal. I had my first girlfriend when I was 16." Sana spoke up, to side with Tzuyu. 

 

"But you're not my sister." Nayeon said plainly, which made Mina and Momo laugh softly.

 

"Dahyun is lovely. She asked Tzuyu to be her girlfriend by making her a playlist where all of the song titles lined up into 'Will you be my girlfriend?'." Mina chimed in and Tzuyu wanted to slap her for sharing that information. 

 

"Aww, that's so cute." Nayeon, Momo, and Sana said in unison, while Tzuyu tried not to look absolutely embarrassed. 

 

"Anyway, isn't marine biology more curious?" She tried to change the subject before they tried to make her show Dahyun's photo or even call her. 

 

"I remember how many encyclopedias you read. One of those topics must've caught your attention." Nayeon answered with a warm smile. Tzuyu had to admit that she felt a bit happy to know that Nayeon remembered that.

 

"What about you? What are you up to?" 

 

"I'm working with Momo at a Japanese restaurant. She's one of the cooks, I am a waitress. It's thanks to Momo that I got this job and learned everything I need to improve." Nayeon said with a proud smile and her hand reached toward Momo to pat her friend on the back.

 

"You were always good at talking to people." Tzuyu admitted.

 

"Oh, some clients come back just so that they can talk to her. But some ask for someone else." Momo said a bit jokingly.

 

"Some people just can't appreciate how good a little talk is." Nayeon scoffed and rolled her eyes. Remembering the rude clients, no doubt. 

 

"Sometimes you just try too hard, Nayeon." Mina pointed out and Nayeon acted offended, her hands over her chest.

 

"I just want to be nice."

 

"And some people just want to eat in peace." Sana added with a teasing expression. 

 

"Ok, then I'll pull back a little." Nayeon relented. "Oh, we should go to eat at our restaurant. You have to try Momo's cooking." 

And that's how the meeting went. Tzuyu expected more…anxiety, guilt, anger. But they moved into a comfortable conversation smoothly. They talked about Tzuyu's studies, Nayeon's work, and some funny stories from the three friends. They even went back to their childhood. Tzuyu had to admit to herself that it felt like they were back. All three sisters. That could laugh together, that could talk about nothing, that could tease each other. That was what Tzuyu had been craving all those years. 

And of course, the meeting had to come to an end, after 2 hours. It ended with Nayeon tearing up, which actually, shockingly, made Mina cry too. And Tzuyu couldn't help but join them as well. They hugged each other for the first time in years and deep inside, Tzuyu didn't want to let go. She even decided to ignore the embrace Sana and Mina shared before leaving the apartment. Because she actually felt…happy. So she pushed the uncertainty far to the side of her brain and focused on the positive feelings the meeting gave her. Perhaps, they were back. The sisters were back.