« Hey there, my name is Jihyo. You seem to look quite troubled, can I help you with something ? » 

The first time Chaeyoung heard her voice, she thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard - before the magnificent sound of the violin but, it was a loud and clear voice, filled with confidence and maturity, even if the girl looked young. And chaeyoung, trapped into her 12th years old body, was feeling like she was lacking all of that. 

She began to look up at Jihyo the minute they met. When the girl offered her help with mastering the new rollerblades the younger girl just got, she accepted right away. Jihyo was more into skateboarding, but it wouldn’t stop her from helping the young helpless girl girl. 

Frankly, their first lesson had been catastrophic. Chaeyoung fell multiple times, almost cried once or twice from frustration, but Jihyo always kept her patience, and never stopped believing into Chaeyoung’s capacities. Their next lessons got way better, and their relationship quickly turned into friendship. 

Chaeyoung would ask Jihyo to go to the movie with her sometimes, or the oldest liked to invite her friend to her baseball games on weekends ; simple rollerblading lessons turned into fun filled afternoons and Sunday brunch with their families. Chaeyoung felt like she had made a true friend. 

It’s only when Jihyo moved out of town and when Chaeyoung lost contact with her that she realized she had been feeling more than admiration for the older girl. It might have been love, and she felt her heart truly break for the first time in her short life. It took a few days for her mother to get her to go out and rollerblade again. She never stopped ; even went to school with them, struggled to throw them away when her feet got to big. They held too many memories. 

But truth to be told, she never got rid of them, and lied to her father about giving them to charity. They were kept in a secured box in her closet, usually next to the letters, before Nayeon decided to steal them. When she was packing her things for college, she had opened the box for the first time in years. It had felt weird to see her first blades next to the brand new ones her aunt had given her. 

She had took them with her to uni, of course. Leaving them at home would have been dumb. She was pretty sure she had seen a skatepark on the map earlier ; it was a good thing. 

And now, as she was holding Jihyo’s arm to help her get up, all these memories were flooding her mind. She didn’t know what to say, neither did Jihyo, apparently. Only a small thank you, and they shared a quiet moment. It was not uncomfortable, they were just taking in what 6 years apart had done to each other. Chaeyoung was still short, Jihyo thought, and the younger girl still only saw her old friend as more mature than she used to be. 

« Hi ! » the older girl finally hushed.

« H-hey, Jihyo, nice new skateboard ! »  Chaeyoung mentally kicked herself in the . What a dumb thing to say ! What a nice skateboard ?! To someone you used to love and had never seen in 6 years ! She forced a smile but Jihyo’s beaming one melted her worries away. 

« Right ! I got new wheels recently, see ? Just like when we first met. They’re golden, now. » she laughed, and felt her heart tingle a bit. If that was even possible. 

Then, she realized 2 things. 

First of all, 3 out of her 5 crushes were in the same university as her. Second of all, she couldn’t be feeling like that again. No, no,  no way. She must have been frozen in a weird expression, because Jihyo seemed to get worried. Her brows were furrowed, and she was holding her hand the same she used to do whenever Chaeyoung would fall, back during their lessons. 

« Chaeyoung ? and, um ? » Tzuyu’s voice interrupted them, and Chaeyong felt thankful more than anything. 

« Oh, Tzuyu ! Sorry, I was just helping this poor… student… who fell right in front of our eyes, haha ! » she let go of jihyo’s hand, feeling bad the second she saw the girl’s expression get more confused. « We were actually eating lunch, see you later ! Maybe ! Have a good day ! » she gripped Tzuyu by the shoulders and forced her to go back inside the café, hiding her face between her bestfriend’s shoulder blades. 

Tzuyu didn’t ask any questions, but Chaeyoung could feel the girl was curious ; the intense gaze focused on her head was the first indication, the other was the taller girl softly tapping her fork against the table. An habit the tall girl had gotten a few years back. After Chaeyoung ran away for the first time, but that’s a story fro another time. They parted ways after they finished eating,  Tzuyu with an uneasy feeling in her chest and Chaeyoung feeling more confused than ever. 

What could go worse than experiencing 3 gay panic moments in the same day ? Meeting the others, of course. She knew she would see Jeongyeon, but her first dance teacher ? Her first crush ? The one who lit the passion for her first hobby ? 

Momo, right in front of her eyes, opening the door opposed to her own dorm room ?