02. the best friend.

"Sorry, I really don't befriend delinquents." Mina then planned to leave after realizing that the older girl wasn't going to stop pestering her. 

Nayeon frowned, her eyes still fixated on the girl, "Why not?"

Suddenly the bell rang at the perfect moment and Mina stood up to leave, a mere sorry escaping her lips.

As she reached for the door handle, the door swung open and her blonde friend was blankly staring at Nayeon who was right behind Mina.

Momo's eyebrows slowly met at the center, "Mina, why are you two...?" 

Mina sighed, "Momo, let's go."

"Wait, you two know each other?" Nayeon blurted out in disbelief. Mina continued to walk away, not wanting to be near the two delinquents any longer.

Nayeon just glared at Momo, while the latter mirrored her exact movements. There was obvious tension in the air and both of them could feel it. It wasn't the first time anyway.

"Stay away from her," Momo muttered through her gritted teeth before leaving to chase after Mina.

"Mina, what was that about?" Momo hollered, desperately trying to catch up to the bothered girl. She looked left and right, feeling restless because she knew she was very late to her last class before lunch.

"Momo, I'll talk later." Mina hastily replied a few seconds before she finally entered Room 14.

"Let's eat at the restaurant in front of our school." Mina texted Momo after her class just finished.

"Why?" Momo texted back.

"Just go there for now. I don't want any of your friends to hear what I have to tell you." Mina replied.

"So, you have a lot of explaining to do." 

Momo and Mina were now sitting face to face, one small table separating them. Mina decided to just put aside Momo's obvious anger, which was more like jealousy from what happened earlier.

"Momo, I have something to say first." Mina stopped Momo from further interrogating her with the one thing that has been bothering her all day.

"Wait, tell me first. Are you friends with that Nayeon?" Momo stubbornly continued to speak.

"No, now can you listen to what I have to say?" Mina asked sincerely. Momo sighed and leaned back into her seat, letting her speak. Every time they had an argument, Momo always lost to Mina. She just couldn't win against her. 

"Momo... I can't involve myself with your group. We can't go back to how we were before. I'm not going to tolerate your gang activities anymore."

Momo cocked an eyebrow and blinked twice, wondering if she just heard it right. Since this morning up until lunch, all she had been thinking about was how they would go back to how they were in the States. She and Mina would rule the campus, their heads held high, and everyone would fear them. She wouldn't let anyone pick on Mina. She wanted to protect Mina, like how the latter protected her.

Flashback:

Momo screamed and ran across the streets while a gang continued to chase her from behind. "HELP!"

Suddenly someone grabbed her from a hidden wall of a dead end. As she was pulled in, the figure she couldn't recognize in the dark, hugged her tight, staring cautiously from the inner wall.

As Momo focused her eyes on the figure's lips, she noticed the familiar shade of burgundy. It was Mina.

"Mina..." Momo muttered in a daze. The latter pressed her finger against the blonde's lips and waited until they could no longer hear the intimidating footsteps. Momo was still feeling butterflies from Mina's touch when Mina sighed out of relief.

"What did you do this time?"

Momo bit her lip, "Sorry, I just wanted to get r-revenge on the guy who keeps hitting on you.." 

Mina rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Momo, I can take care of myself. You might be older than me, but that doesn't mean you have to feel the need to protect me."

Momo nodded sullenly, "You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just a burden who always ends up being protected instead of protecting." She slowly removed Mina's arm from her shoulder and left, feeling useless.

The younger girl ran after her and quickly pulled her in for another hug, "No, no... you're not a burden to me. Believe me when I say this; I appreciate your concern to protect me. I just don't want to be a burden to you."

Momo tried to stop her tears from falling, but she ended up crying on Mina's shoulder. If you only knew... She thought to herself.

End of Flashback:

"Why?" was all that came out of Momo's dry mouth. Mina let out a scoff, as she realized how indecisive Momo was being.

"Did it ever cross your mind of why I'd suddenly be here?"

Momo feels as if she had just be