“What’s Mina doing?” Momo asks, peeking from behind a couch arm.

Sana, comfortable in the massage chair, opens her eyes to look into their kitchen. “She’s cooking.”

Momo launches a pillow at Sana. “I know that, but like that?”

Sana reaches for her glasses in the crease of the massage chair and puts them on. “Oh. Well, there’s no one around, really, and it is more comfortable like that, so I don’t really see the problem with it.”

“Does that happen often?”

Sana nods. “Nearly every other morning, Momo. It’s just that you never wake up early enough for it. And the other members prefer to let her have her privacy, so they just keep to their business in their own rooms.”

Momo’s lower jaw has fallen open as she nods dully. “Oh. Wait, then why are you here?”

“Uh, a massage.”

“Oh, Momo-unnie,” a voice interrupts what is about to be Momo’s morning tirade, “you’re up early. Do you want some breakfast?”

Sure, there’s a whole pile of ketchup on one side of the sausage plate and the toast looks half-burnt, but Momo isn’t looking at the plate in Mina’s hands. Instead, she’s staring at Mina’s bare legs and the way the loose, baggy shirt drapes itself carelessly over Mina’s chest, neck-hole too large and revealing collarbones and more.

“Oh, you’re right, this isn’t enough for the three of us. I’ll go make some more,” Mina says, nodding to herself before turning towards the kitchen again. Momo stares at Mina’s retreating figure, her thighs especially, and how the shirt rides up slightly to expose some bum. Momo’s seen some stuff during their fast-changes backstage but usually Mina’s sheepish and all that.

“Why is she so comfortable like that? Is she a secret exhibitionist?”

Sana shrugs, reaches for tissue, and busies herself with the drool on Momo’s chin. “I don’t know, au naturel I guess; the morning is her element and all that jazz. Do you want to go help her?”

“Can I?” Momo perks up instantly.

“God, I have never seen you so awake at five in the morning. Yeah, sure you can go help her. Just stop staring at her like she’s a piece of meat; she’s younger than you for heaven’s sake, be a role model,” Sana puts on an uncharacteristically mature tone of voice, chiding Momo.

Momo bounds off into the kitchen and stops short at Mina’s barely clothed body moving from sink to stove. Momo grabs the mugs Mina’s looking for and sets them down on the counter, right next to the carton of orange juice.

“I’m making eggs,” Mina says, following Momo’s eyes down to her own chest. “Are you okay?”

Momo runs a hand through her messy hair and wills herself not to go red; she’s already feeling warm in the cashmere pyjamas she got with Jungyeon. “Super. I mean, I’m okay. I’m feeling good.”

“It’s not like you to be up so early,” Mina comments as she moves a mass of eggs the frying pan.

“I… couldn’t sleep,” Momo admits. “The mosquito came back, and then I was afraid it was going to bite me, and so I just stayed awake looking at it on the wall, and the staring contest was going on for too long and I was tired but I didn’t want to die-”

Mina carries a spoonful of scrambled eggs to Momo’s lips and Momo stops talking. Wordlessly, Mina nudges Momo’s lips and is this the pepero kiss again Momo opens obediently and chews.

“I think it needs more salt.”

Mina shakes her head. “You think everything needs more salt. On the back of that sore throat? Absolutely not.”

As Mina moves the wooden spoon back to the frying pan, a dollop of semi-solid egg falls onto Mina’s thigh. She yelps from the pain and raises her thigh, beginning a balancing act where the trick is to not let the slippery mass of food fall onto the floor.

“Could you- could you help me with this?” Mina asks.

Spellbound, Momo reaches for Mina’s calf and steps closer to Mina. She raises the calf and admires the shimmering dollop of food set on Mina’s thigh, as if Mina were the serving plate. Momo would opt to have all of her food off Mina’s body were that an option in daily life at all. Keeping their gazes locked on each other, Momo bends down and the food off Mina’s thigh. What is left is a glossy shine from Momo’s saliva. Mina’s breathing is suddenly very loud.

Mina adjusts herself, lowering her leg slowly. Momo wistfully lets her fingers brush themselves against Mina’s knee as the leg falls straight. There is palpable tension in the air as the pan sizzles and the eggs are just close to burning.

“I meant,” Mina pauses to inhale loudly, “help me take over with the pan and the eggs so I could, you know, handle the leg situation.”

“Oh,” Momo says for the second time that morning, “sorry.”

“No,” Mina says, “it’s okay. You can touch if you want.”

With Mina’s permission Momo snakes an arm around Mina’s waist and pulls Mina’s frame into her own body. Her nose dips into Mina’s shoulder blade and skates the peak. Mina is watching intently, confusion just beginning to show itself on her face.

“Oh my God the eggs,” Mina suddenly says, looking back down at the frying pan; she leaps for a plate and brings the eggs off the heat, hoping they were just in time.

Momo scratches her temple, temporarily freed from the mesmerising sight of Mina’s chest from above. She walks over to the eggs. The edges are tinged with black and a whole flat area is brown. Mina sheepishly flips the scrambled mass over so the beautiful yellow-white is facing up. Momo stops her and pulls a chunk out of the mass with her fingers. She reaches forward to Mina’s lips. Mina, as Momo had done before, opens obediently and Momo’s fingers in.

Mina smiles slowly.

Momo raises an eyebrow. “What? Completely inedible?”

Mina shakes her head, smile getting wider. “No, you were right. It needed more salt.”

Momo nods. From the kitchen they look into the living room and the balcony, where the sky is getting lighter, yellowing on the edges and suggesting sunrise. When they look back at each other both seem to think what the hell have I been doing at five in the morning?

“I didn’t mean to be so touchy,” Momo suddenly blurts out, “it was just, I was watching you cook, and you’re wearing just that and… I shouldn’t have said that. Anyway, Mitang, you look really great cooking. Cooking in that.”

Mina looks down at her outfit. She scoots closer to Momo and gently presses a kiss against Momo’s lips. “It’s fine. I was hoping you would show up on one of these mornings. We’ve been so… distant since that pepero kiss happened.”

“Ah,” Momo says, brain screaming. “I thought you hated it.”

Mina shakes her head. “Just… a little embarrassing in public. Here it’s fine.”

Momo almost implodes at this new, brave side to Mina. She nods dumbly and looks back down at the eggs.

“What is taking so long?” Sana yells from outside. “I want my breakfast!”

They detach themselves from each other quickly and Momo rips off the burnt parts of the scrambled eggs. She stuffs them into and swallows. Mina laughs and does the same. They laugh until they choke and Sana just wishes she hadn’t gotten up early for all of this.