“MaiMai. Just one more cup. Please…” Fukagawa Mai or better known as MaiMai shook her head at the pregnant woman who is basically pleading to her for one more cup of caffeine which is one cup too many for her daily intake considering she is pregnant.

“No. And I am not budging from what I have said Chorong. A pregnant lady should not have too much caffeine intake! Plus, Naa-chan is not going to be happy if I let break another rule!”

“What Naa-chan does not know is not going to harm anyone.”

“You know you’ll give in soon enough MaiMai. You always do.” another voice called from behind of the cake display counters, stating the obvious which MaiMai frowned upon.

“I do not.”

“And you are in denial. Again.” she rolled her eyes at the older woman’s denial as she plated a slice of cake and place a lid on top of a huge mug which contains a steaming hot drink and walked over to the table where Chorong and MaiMai sat. “Here.  Eat this-” she said as she placed the slice of cake, “and drink this-“ motioning to the lidded mug, “to wash the cake down.”

Warily Chorong eyed the cake and the mug that was set in front of her. Especially the lidded mug.

“It’s not poisoned if that is what you are thinking.” Chorong rolled her eyes at the sarcasm as she hesitantly sipped the drink. She almost gagged.

“Nanamin!” the one called Nanamin laughed at Chorong’s reaction. “Come on Chorong-san. It’s only milk.”

“Hashimoto Nanami! You know I despise milk!”

“She knows. We all know you hate milk. But need I to remind you that milk is good for those little ones inside of you?” her voice itself is enough to send shivers through Chorong’s spine. Crossing her fingers, Chorong could only hope that she would not be scolded again today.

“Tough day again today Naa-chan?” Nishino Nanase only nodded as she rested her head onto the table. MaiMai then stood up and head to the kitchen part of the café, probably fixing something for Nanase to eat.  Finally after a while, Nanase lift her head off the table and looked at Chorong who was getting restless.

“Chorong-san…” judging from the tone that she had used, Chorong would not be able to say no. nor she is able to get her way around the younger female in front of her.

After quite some time spent on the staring competition, Chorong sighed as she knows that she had no chance of winning it. “You girls are the worst.”  grudgingly, she drank the hot milk while pinching her nose in an attempt to lose the smell and flavour.

“And you love us anyway. I almost forgot. Rina, Maiyan and Kazumin said they will be over in about 30 minutes from now.”

“Naa-chan! You should have told me that earlier!” hollered MaiMai from the kitchen as she fumbled with the ingredients  and the pots and pans. Hectic to cook faster for the rest of the girls who would be there in just a while.  Chorong could not help but smile when she sees all this.

It had been almost 3 months since the day she boarded the plane from Korea to the main city of Japan ; Tokyo and it is probably safe to say that she did not regret a second of it.

Chorong was still sobbing as Nanase set down a cup of green tea onto the small coffee table. She said nothing as she sat next to the pregnant woman, giving her a soft side-hug as Chorong leaned her head onto Nanase’s shoulder.

“Can I stay here for a while Naa-chan?”

“I don’t really mind but may I ask why?” it took a quite while of silence before Chorong was able to recollect herself. But once she started, she did not even realised that she finished. By the end of it, Nanase said nothing else rather than enveloping Chorong into another hug.

The day after, it was a weekend thus with much persuasion, Nanase was able to convince Chorong to follow her to a café that is owned by her friend. It was there where she met the owner of the small café, Fukagawa Mai or prefer to be known as MaiMai who is apparently the same age as she is, Hashimoto Nanami or Nanamin is an owner a boutique next to the café and she is a year younger than Chorong, Ikoma Rina on the other hand is a photographer to a famous fashion magazine, Ray. And is the youngest of the group. Shiraishi Mai who prefers to be called Maiyan is the same age as Chorong and a famous fashion model. Takayama Kazumi or Kazumin is a hairdresser by profession and a freelance writer by heart and most of her works had been published in newspapers and magazines, she is the same age as Nanase, making her 3 years younger than Chorong.

Last but not least, Nishino Nanase who prefers to be referred as Naa-chan is a nurse at a nearby hospital. She and Chorong met when Chorong was an exchange student during the college years and apparently Chorong was placed into Nanase’s dorm room , their friendship was able to bloom beautifully and had made her one of the few people that Chorong trusts and able to confide into. Thus when Chorong was lost and had no idea where to go when she really just wants to get away from her home country, Japan was the first one that came to  mind simply because she knew that there would be someone that she could count on there.

The girls never treated her as an outsider nor did they just treated her a Nanase’s friends, they befriended her, tried to get to know her better and though Chorong never told them about the reason of why she landed in the country of the rising sun, they are sensitive enough to know that they should not try to pry further which a huge relief to Chorong. It was hard enough for her to spill the story to Naa-chan but she did it because she knows Nishino Nanase well enough to know that the younger female would not be able to have a peace of mind if she does not know the truth.

Multiple voices chattering loudly were enough to snap Chorong out of her trance. She turned to the door. The three girls are here.

It was Maiyan who announced triumphly, “We got sushi and udon!”

“Thank goodness. I don’t have enough ingredients to feed all of you.” MaiMai who apparently heard Maiyan loud and clear, walked out of the kitchen with plates enough for everyone. “ Especially that one over there.”  MaiMai finished as she pointed to the Korean lady.

“Hey! I am eating for more than one person okay?”

“Yes. Yes. We get it. Okay, what does everyone wants to drink?” ask Nanamin.

“Caramel latte for me.”

“Hot chocolate please.”

“Espresso. Make it just slightly strong.”

“Green tea for me.”

And before Chorong could even say what she wanted, Nanamin interrupted her, “And Orange juice for the pregnant lady right?” Chorong was about to sulked and Nanamin chuckled, “Or you prefer milk over juice?”

“I’ll take the juice!” her instant reply made the other girls laughed.

“You really hate milk don’t you Chorong?”

“Especially when you people try to force in down my throat.”

“It is for your own good!” chorused the six girls which made Chorong gapped in surprised but soon she smiled. She missed Korea of course. Especially her family and friends. Bomi, Eunji, Naeun, Yookyung, Namjoo and Hayoung. She misses all of them. But having these girls alongside her, it makes things a slight better than they used to.

Nishino Nanase looked over to Chorong and saw that she indeed was smiling contently. When the older woman came knocking in the middle of the night 3 months past, crying in her arms as she told her everything that went wrong with her married life, Nanase honestly had no idea how to comforted her, she had never been through things like Chorong just did. Thankfully her circle of friends are able to help her with Chorong.

Though she knows that Chorong still weeps herself to sleep. Even after all these while.  She never mentioned to Chorong that she heard her when she wept every night or when she was talking to herself. Nanase had no idea what Chorong said anyway due to the fact that the pregnant woman choose to use her native tongue. But there is one thing that she heard and understood. Every single time, whether she wept or she talked to herself, there is always one name that keeps coming up every single time.

Lu Han.

The name of her husband. Even when Chorong said that she despised the man who she was wedded to, Nanase knows that her heart is still beating Lu Han’s name. There is not much that she could do for the friend that she looked up as a sister rather than being by her side when she needs her the most. That much she can do. And that is what she plans to do.

A/N: The name of the girls are not random actually. They are members of a Japanese idol group, Nogizaka46 and honestly, you guys need to listen to their songs! It is divine! I love every single one of their single! And no, these 6 are not the only members, I'm just using my favorite members of the group. I can't exactly use all of them. They have like 32 members!