They were in the car once again on their way to some university that Mina had already forgotten the name of for yet another performance. For as tired as she was, Mina just couldn't sleep so she stared out the window, lost in thought and as usual her thoughts traveled back to the blonde-haired girl sleeping beside her.

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One of Mina's favorite things in this world was to watch Momo dance. She could have brand new choreography locked down in almost a matter of hours. Give her half an hour and she could easily choreograph you a dance break. Girl groups or boy groups, Momo can dance them all shifting from powerful and precise to y and smooth within just a couple beats.

With schedules, Mina doesn't really get the chance to watch her anymore, not the way she wants to. She has to settle for watching Momo showcase her skills on variety shows and music shows. She schools her reactions, not staring for too long, keeping shut, and keeping her applause tempered down when her dancing is over. The camera (and fans) catch the most minute of details and while Mina isn't worried of getting reprimanded for showing more affection than what is considered 'normal', she played it safe the majority of the time, for her own sake.

It made her smile thinking about how Momo didn't care about any of those things. She clearly loved her members, always had, and took to showing it through action rather than words. Mina had been the victim of more back-hugs and kisses on the cheek than she could count. She tried to remind herself that Momo was just being her usual affectionate self; that it didn't mean to her what it meant to Mina but it was hard to put out the small flame of hope.

Mina had a crush on Momo almost the entire time she had been at JYP. She remembers their trainee days when she simply happened to be there at the exact same time as Momo in hopes of seeing the other girl and if she was lucky the girl would ask her to watch a routine she'd been working on. It was extremely fortunate that Sana and Momo had taken her under their wing almost immediately. Embarrassing as it seems now, Mina wanted to take what she could get at the time.

Her favorite memory was of Momo asking her to watch the dance she had been working on for the 1:1 competition during Sixteen. Momo seemed more anxious than usual at the time but Mina didn't blame her. It would hurt anyone's pride to be shown up by a 14 year old. But Mina had followed Momo into the practice room and settled herself against the mirror while Momo warmed up and stretched.

She played with her phone and pretended not to see the way her shirt rode up, exposing the most exquisite abs Mina had ever laid eyes on or the way her biceps flexed as she stretched out her triceps.

After about 15 minutes Momo was ready to go and plugged her phone into the sound system. As she scrolled through her music, Mina asked what song she was dancing to. She could hear a smile in her voice as she said, "Problems by Pentatonix".

She found it after a minute and then positioned herself in front of Mina.

She began and Mina was in awe. She knew how good Momo was but what made it even better was that she looked like she was having so much fun. There was a kind of exuberance in it that Mina hadn't seen in Momo's dancing for some time and it made her heart flutter. As she ended with her peace sign pose, Mina started clapping.

Momo skipped over to turn the music off, walked over to Mina, and sat down beside her slightly out of breath. "So?" she said.

"Wow...just wow."

Momo laughed a bit. "That's all you got for me? Just wow?"

Mina shook her head, still staring at the spot that Momo had been just a few moments ago.

"Yeah." she said honestly.

Except she knew Momo wanted something more concrete to go off of so she continued on. "Your movements were sharp yet flowed really well. And all the gestures you added like the microphone bit and your ending pose added a lot of character to it. PD-nim would be blind if he says he can't see your personality shine through this."

The older one ducked her head, clearly embarrassed at the praise. It made Mina's heart swell with affection when she saw the light pink covering cheeks.

Momo peeked over at Mina and said, "that means a lot coming from you. I mean, you know so much more about technique and stuff than me. I kinda just threw this together a couple days ago and have been tweaking things here and there."

There was a moment of silence before Momo asked, "So what was your favorite part?"

"The whole thing."

Momo scoffed, "Whatever. "

"Really." Mina insisted. "You made it fun to watch because i could tell you were having fun and that's what draws the audience in."

Momo shifted so she was directly facing Mina with a serious look on her face and stuck out her pinky. "You promise you aren't just saying this to make me feel better?"

Mina rolled her eyes at the semi-childish gesture but a smile betrayed her. She hooked her pinky with Momo's as a warmth flooded through her body at the contact. She looked Momo directly in the eyes and said, "I promise."

Satisfied, Momo went back to her original position against the mirror but didn't let go of Mina's hand, instead threading their fingers together and resting them on her knee. She laid her head on Mina's shoulder and mumbled something. Mina almost didn't catch it but when she did, it made her heart wrench.

"I hope it's enough."

Mina gripped her hand a little tighter and laid her head on top of Momo's and whispered into the other girl's hair, "It will be."

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After that, their relationship deepened as did Mina's feelings. They were two peas in a pod; wherever Momo was, you'd be sure to find Mina close by. They were teased good-naturedly by the other girls, Jungyeon often commenting about how they looked and acted like a married couple and Jihyo yelling at them to stop making goo-goo eyes at each other. Momo, being Momo, would laugh it off and usually just pull Mina closer to her or held her hand just a little bit tighter.

So of course she had felt her heart shatter when JYP had called Momo's name for elimination.

She couldn't imagine going through the rest of the competition without her. She loved the other girls dearly but her, Momo and Sana had a special bond that could only come with being a foreigner. She would lie awake at night sometimes, relaying the scene over and over, remembering the look of pure devastation on her face and how she cried until she couldn't cry anymore. Mina stayed until the other members left, not willing to leave Momo by herself.

She could barely hold back her own tears as the girl tried but failed to give her a watery smile and choked out a, "guess we were wrong, huh?".

Mina knelt down next to the girl she had never seen look so small before and held her tightly until her sobs turned into silent tears and then into sniffling. Her heart broke along with Momo's that day. Going forward was one of the hardest experiences Mina ever had; she felt Momo's absence every step of the way.

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She had to be hallucinating. Did JYP actually say he was bringing back Momo to be a member of Twice? She looked at Sana who was equally stunned.

"Did he just say what I think he said?"

Sana nodded. "I can't believe this." A huge smile broke out onto her face as she latched onto Mina and squealed, "We finally made it, Miguri! We get to debut together!"

A big dumb smile spread out on Mina's face as she watched Momo come up the stairs, tears once again streaming down her face. Sana finally let go and shared a quick glance with Mina before they both bum-rushed Momo, wrapping her up in the tightest hug. They swayed violently back and forth before regaining their balance and Momo was returning the hug with equal force. Mina was smiling from ear to ear as she whispered into her ear, "I knew it was enough."

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She glanced over at the girl in question to find her soundly asleep on the car window, earphones in. The corner of Mina's lips tugged up as the older girl snored away looking the most peaceful she had seemed her in awhile. Except the car went over a loud bump which stirred the girl out of her slumber. She looked around and blinked blearily at Mina, taking out her earphones and Mina responded to her unasked question. "Speed bump."

The blonde girl sighed and sat up a bit. Her voice was rough from sleep as she asked, "you've been awake this whole time?"

Mina shrugged. "Yeah, sitting in the middle ." She nodded her head at Sana seated to her right, who was somehow still sleeping soundly. "You guys were both out like a light five minutes in. You know I don't sleep well in the car. "

"Well you should at least try. When else do we get to sleep? Here." She patted her shoulder. "Lean on me."

Mina felt her pulse quicken even as she protested. "But your arm will fall asleep."

Momo furrowed her brow in thought. "You're right. Then....I'll just put my arm around your shoulder if that's okay? That way you can still lean on me but my arm won't fall asleep."

Mina's mouth opened and closed a few times before realizing she didn't have an argument. And how was she supposed to deny Momo who already had her arms out with a bright smile? Mina slowly leaned into the older girl as Momo settled her arm around her shoulders.

"Comfy?" She asked.

Mina nodded, not trusting her voice as she took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of jasmine, tulips, and white tea. Something uniquely Momo. It's not like they hadn't ever cuddled before but the way Momo's arm was curled around her shoulder felt different this time.

She felt a tap on her head and looked up to see her offering an earphone. "It might help to drown out some of the noise." she explained. She took the proffered earphone and put it in. She smiled, already feeling sleepy as the sound of Frank Sinatra filled her ears. She snuggled deeper into Momo's side and closed her eyes, letting the music wash over. It might have been her imagination but as she drifted, she thought she felt a kiss drop on her head and heard a whispered, "sleep tight, beautiful."

Her stomach flip-flopped and she, in an impulsive uncharacteristic move, leaned back up just a little to reach the blonde's cheek and leave a kiss on the soft skin. She leaned back down again, head down hoping that Momo wouldn't see the blush spreading rapidly across her face. Instead, she felt her smile into her hair and kissed her head again letting out a contented sigh.

"Love you, Minari."

"Love you too, Momoring."