~

 

Momo and Sana spent every moment they could together before Sana was set to leave. It saddened Momo to see Sana's room be packed away little by little. All the photos of the pair of them stored away in boxes. 

 

Their time was mostly spent learning Korean, so Sana wouldn't be completely clueless when she arrived. 

 

A week before Sana was to leave, Momo received a letter.

 

"Momorin! You have mail!" Her mother called for her from downstairs. 

 

"How many times have I said that only Sana is allowed to call me that." Momo replied, descending. 

 

Her mother smacked her head with the letter and laughed. 

 

Smiling, Momo grabbed the letter from her hands. Noticing the business imprint she began jumping. "They replied!" 

 

Her mother's eyes widened, "Open it! Open it!" 

 

Excitedly, Momo ripped open the letter. 

 

Shrieking, she dropped the letter and ran out the door.

 

"Momorin your shoes!" Her mother called after her as she ran. 

 

Waisting no time, Momo jumped over the small fence that separated her home from Sana's. Knocking on the door rapidly, she bounced on her feet like an excited child on Christmas. 

 

"Momo?" Sana's father looked down at her questioningly. "We weren't expecting you for another hour." He said jokingly. 

 

"Good morning Mr. Minatozaki." Momo bowed quickly, "Is Sana awake?" 

 

"She's in the kitchen eating breakfast as we speak." He replied, moving aside for her to enter. 

 

Momo raced past him, familiar with the home she was able to find Sana quickly.

 

"Momo?" She looked over at her in confusion. 

 

"I'm going to Korea!" Momo said instantly. 

 

Sana's eyes widened and she dropped the spoon she was holding. "What? What do you mean?" 

 

Momo could feel the eyes of Sana's parents on her but she was focused solely on Sana. "I sent a video of me dancing to several companies. I start training for JYP Entertainment next month!" 

 

Sana gasped, "Are you serious?" 

 

Momo nodded excitedly. 

 

"Oh my god." Was all Sana could say, prompting Momo to laugh and hug her. "Wait, this means you're gonna be an idol." Sana said pulling away. 

 

"Maybe." Momo shrugged. "But I don't care about that. I'll be close to you and that's all that matters." 

 

~

 

Sana left the next week and Momo promised to be their soon. She hadn't taken into account all the paper work that had to be signed and processed before she could leave. She also didn't mind the extra time she got to spend with her family before she left. She would miss them dearly but Sana was more important to her at the moment. They understood and promised to support her in whatever path life would take her. 

 

The first year, she hardly had anytime to visit Sana. Her schedule consisted of learning Korean, training in both singing and dancing, the latter she excelled in without any trouble. But even being as busy as she was she always made sure she was able to visit Sana at least once a week. And although she didn't like it, it was much better than being in different countries. 

 

The second year, Momo was finally getting fluent in Korean. She was able to talk to the other trainees and make friends.

 

 She even found herself having a small crush. 

 

Her name was Yoo Jeongyeon and she had caught Momos attention with her chic appearance and beauty. 

 

~

 

Jeongyeon had been her first kiss. It had been just the pair of them left in the dance room one afternoon and the dance had led them to brush up against one another briefly. 

 

Jeongyeon had been the one to kiss her first. Momo had been stunned but quickly reciprocated the kiss. 

 

Relationships were forbidden for trainees but the two of them agreed to date casually. 

 

Momo decided this would be one thing she would keep from Sana. 

 

~

 

"Momo, when are you gonna introduce us to your friend?" Jihyo said one evening as the girls packed their training bags. Training had just ended and the girls were discussing weekend plans.

 

"Why do you want to meet her?" Momo asked in confusion. The girls knew Momo had a childhood friend who lived nearby whom she would visit but they knew nothing more than that. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jeongyeon watching intently.

 

Jihyo shrugged. "You always sneak off to go see her. It's just strange that you never talk about her but she's your best friend." 

 

"You should invite her to come out with us tonight!" Nayeon suggested. 

 

"I don't know if she'll be okay enough to come." Momo said nervously. Of course she wanted them to meet Sana, she was just worried about Sana's health as she hadn't been feeling well the last time they spoke. She also knew that Sana would figure out that something was happening between her and Jeongyeon. "I could ask I guess." She supplied. 

 

The girls nodded and focused back on their stuff. 

 

Momo hoped Sana would say no.

 

~

 

Sana agreed to meet them at the bowling alley, excitedly shrieking into the phone. 

 

Momo stood beside the other girls as they waited at the entrance for Sana to arrive. Jeongyeon stood especially close as they spoke about their busy day. 

 

"Is that your friend Momo?" Dahyun pointed to a silver car pulling up to the sidewalk. Momo nodded and approached the car. 

 

Sana smiled brightly at her as she exited before quickly rolling her eyes as her mother said something to her.

 

"Hello Mrs. Minatozaki." Momo greeted, as Sana closed the door and the window lowered. 

 

"Hello Momo, you look well."

 

"Thank you." Momo replied politely.

 

"You'll watch over her right?" Her mother asked.

 

"Of course." Momo nodded. 

 

"Mom." Sana whined. "It's only a couple of hours. I'll be fine. Momo already knows the drill." 

 

Her mother nodded and waved them off. 

 

"Ah I see our old friend is back." Momo said pointing at Sana's puppy backpack. 

 

"My other one is being cleaned." Sana pouted, wrapping her arm around Momos. Momo looked over quickly to see Jeongyeon quickly avert her eyes. "Did you tell them?" Sana whispered, a smile still on her face.

 

"No, I wasn't sure if I should have." 

 

Sana rolled her eyes. "I told you it would be fine. Now they're gonna be staring." 

 

"They still would have." Momo replied. "It took me a while to get used to it." She reminded her.

 

"You were little." Sana replied. 

 

"Still would have even at this age." Momo said snapping one of Sana's breathing tubes lightly. 

 

Sana glared over at her as they neared Momos friends.

 

"Everyone this is Minatozaki Sana, my best friend since my ugly days." Sana huffed and listened as Momo introduced all the girls. 

 

"Hello it's nice to meet you all. Momo talks very fondly of all you." Sana greeted.

 

"Wish we could say the same." Nayeon said nervously, "She doesn't talk about you much." 

 

Sana's face displayed a look of hurt as she looked down at her feet. "She's probably just too busy dancing to remember lil ole me." Sana finally responded jokingly, hurt still evident in her voice. "Momorin are you already forgetting me? I thought I told you that you could only do that once you introduced me to Xiumin, Kai and Suho." 

 

"Momorin?" Jihyo repeated. 

 

Momo quickly shook her head, "Don't call me that." 

 

Sana giggled and squished her cheek. "Momos biggest pet peeve is people calling her Momorin, well everyone except for me of course." 

 

"Come on, I thought we came here to bowel." Momo guided them inside.  

 

~

 

Sana was only able to bowel twice before she felt discomfort. Momo made sure she was okay before she continued on bowling with the rest of the girls. When she noticed Jeongyeon struggling to hit the pins, Momo decided to help her out. 

 

"And then you swing your arm." Momo guided her arm. They watched the ball glide across the shiny floor and hit two pins. The pair cheered and hugged quickly, Momo keeping her eyes away from where she was sure Sana was watching. 

 

Sana didn't say anything as they rejoined the group or when they left to go catch a movie. 

 

The group made their way down the block to the nearby theater, laughing and speaking too loudly for a group of girls. For a moment Momo wasn't stressing out about training or debuting, she was just a regular teenage girl. 

 

That of course ended quickly when she realized Sana wasn't walking with the group any more. 

 

"Sana?" She called out in fear. Looking behind them she noticed a girl leaning heavily on a nearby wall. Hunched over, wiping at her eyes weakly. 

 

Momo quickly ran over. "Sana! Are you okay." Gently lifting her face to look up at her, Momos face saddened as she spotted a hint of blood on the girls lips and chin. Taking out the handkerchief she kept on hand, she quickly wiped at her chin. She looked down and spotted a spot of throw up on the ground beside them. Behind her she could hear her friends whispering worriedly. 

 

"I threw up." Sana said weakly. "I'm sorry." 

 

"It's okay." Momo said wiping away her tears. "Why didn't you say anything!" 

 

"I didn't want to ruin the night, you were having so much fun." Momos heart broke as she realized how selfish she had been, completely forgetting how easily Sana got tired and how she had been complaining about feeling sick earlier in the week. Sana had put her troubles aside for Momo, and Momo had taken advantage of that. "I'm sorry Momorin." Sana choked out, tears threatening to spill. 

 

Momo hugged her, gently, rubbing her back. Sana wasn't one to cry so easily, even when she thought it was the end, she hadn't shed a tear. Momo knew these tears were tears of shame. Momo knew the one thing Sana hated about her sickness was holding Momo back. They weren't able to do normal teenage girl things, tonight had reminded them of that. Sana always carried the guilt which Momo constantly had to reassure her that she didn't mind. She couldn't imagine how Sana was feeling in that moment. 

 

"It's okay my squirrel." Momo whispered. 

 

"Please don't call my mom. I don't want to go back home yet." She asked.

 

"Sana..." 

 

"Please." She pleaded desperately.

 

Momo bit her lip and nodded. "Okay but you're not leaving my side for one moment." 

 

"Thank you Momorin." Sana exhaled gratefully. 

 

They broke apart and Sana wiped away at her face, adjusting her tubes.

 

"Do I look okay?" Momo nodded and led them back to where the other girls stood.

 

"Are you okay?" Chaeyoung asked. 

 

Sana nodded. "Sorry for that. My lungs decided to misbehave but I put them in check." She joked. 

 

The girls seemed stunned to see the girl they had just witnessed on the verge of breaking down smiling brightly at them.

 

That was just Sana and Momo wouldn't want it any other way.