It has been six months since Mina and Chaeyoung last saw each other. It wasn't easy for both of them but neither could do anything about it. They left every remaining ounce of their story to fate.

They embarked on a new path; a road wherein they might never cross each other again. It was fearsome but it was necessary. There was no such thing as going back but only moving forward.

•

Mina waltzed her way in the university she had always planned on taking, that was then when she had no clue of Son Chaeyoung's existence. She cursed herself after remembering the cub's endearing face. She made a promise that her heart and mind should not be thoroughly bothered by Chaeng's charm; she agreed to herself that she would only think of Chaeng for five minutes a day. Was she keeping her word? Hell, no. It was hard enough not to stare at her phone and wonder if she should call, what more of ridding herself of everything she knew about Chaeng. All the while she stood there and stared blankly at the institution that her father, mother, and brother graduated, Mina thought to herself if she'll be able to find the true happiness that she well deserves just like her family did, if only she could gradually unmount Chaeng from her heart and open it up for another person to live in. She sighed and gave up mooning away all about it, it was, after all, only 8:30 AM.

•

"Chaeng, are you sure about all this stupidity that you're doing?" Dahyun stared at Chaeyoung with utter annoyance, "And to forcefully make me help you by blackmailing me?"

"Would you just please carry those boxes already. I'm already drenched with sweat yet you had barely moved from your place!" Chaeng said as she dropped two boxes on the floor, "And, please, oh, please, remove that unsightly sunglasses of yours!"

Dahyun took off her sunglasses and glared at Chaeyoung, "This was a gift from Sana! And she says I look cute. You're just jealous because you have no gi-" ! I got carried away!

Chaeyoung turned and walked away from her presumptuous best friend. She looked over the window and stared at the path she took, it was all new to her senses. This was something she had never thought of doing. It was hard but it was worth the shot. She had  to do this.

•

[Two years after the breakup]

"Mina!" A guy called out, sounding more like a shriek rather than a greeting, "We should walk to our class together!" The slim guy made his way through the crowd bumping at almost everybody.

"No thanks, Bamboo." Mina bluntly, and almost immediately, replied.

"It's Bambam!" His voiced cracked a bit on the last tone. He cleared his throat and hurried to catch up with Mina's pace, "Come on, now, I didn't change my schedule just to be left out like this."

What an astounding personality  for such a flimsy guy.

Mina halted her steps and grabbed Bambam's shoulders, "Listen, Bambi, I'm never going out with you and I don't care if you changed your schedule for me, wore beautiful contact lenses, and even dyed your hair red all just for me. So..." She searched for any sign of sadness or anything else that could tell her that the guy finally understands that he was being rejected, "Stop stalking me."

Completely opposite to Mina's wish, Bambam lit up, "I love a challenging girl, you make it more worthwhile and I don't believe someone like you's easy to get. You're so... perfect."

Mina clenched her fists but still maintained her uninterested composure. If I was perfect, I would be with her right now.

Bambam noticed her trembling hands, he took and kissed them both. Mina was caught off guard by the gentleness of the slender guy in front of her.

"Whatever kind of jerk left you, I'll make him regret it. I'll make it my life's goal to make you happy, and I won't stop until I make you forget about that person." It was said with so much affection that Mina was, once again, left mute.

Despite the way he looks weak and thin, the way he clumsily moves, the way his voice sounds as if he skipped the adolescent stage, Bambam was sincere. All in all, he was actually cute and caring. Was this Mina's rabbit hole?

"I'll think about it..."

Before she knew it, the words escaped and, what was worse was that- she didn't feel any regret at all.

•

Chaeyoung stared at her palms and saw how the sweats that formed looked like diamonds glittering under the sunshine. She could see how her hands weren't the same anymore, or, perhaps, how everything in her life was different now. Seeing how busy she was with her current standing in the university, she seldom had the time to see Dahyun and Tzuyu even if they were just close by. Chaeyoung couldn't begin to explain how foreign it was to her to be independent; to be free. She closed her fists and looked up. Ah, we're still under the same sky, aren't we?

"There you are, lil creature!" Tzuyu called and jogged to Chaeyoung's side, "What the hell were you wishing to the heavens?"

Chaeng chuckled in return and hugged the tallest friend she has, "Has it been a month since I last saw you?"

"Right, you are! It can’t be helped, though. It was either you were busy or you have somewhere important to go to." A grin formed on her beautiful face as Tzuyu playfully patted Chaeyoung's back, "Let's go, I bet Dahyun's pissed off by now. I lied to her about our call time."

Well, maybe not everything's different.

Chaeyoung studied her friend a bit before letting out another soft chuckle. Is it just my eyes, or is Tzuyu getting more and more beautiful every time we meet up?  There was something about her Taiwanese friend that made her more mature than she was the last time she saw her, whether it was her hairstyle or the way her eyes looked like they can easily see through your soul, Chaeng couldn't really care less; Tzuyu was still Tzuyu even with the changes. She reflected and often asked herself who Son Chaeyoung really was. The search for the answer made her drift far away from her comfort zone, such distance caused her to jump the gun and make a double edged decision. It was probably the worst decision she could ever make in her life; leaving Mina, but, it was the right thing to do.

"You're getting quieter every passing month..." Tzuyu glanced at her short friend. They were approaching their meeting place where Dahyun was waiting, "Something's up?"

Chaeng pondered a bit before answering. Tzuyu really was the most level headed of them three. "Nothing much. I don't really have that much to talk about these days." 

It was a lie, though, she wanted to talk but Chaeng wanted to stand up on her feet alone and not be too dependent on her friends anymore. She wanted to say how hard it was being in college, how she couldn't meet up with the deadlines for almost everything, how sleep was barely an option, and how badly she missed Mina. However, this was the very first time she did something she truly wanted; the first time she had something she wanted to achieve, so, she kept everything to herself.

"You miss her, don't you?" Tzuyu said, barely a whisper, and it wasn't much of a question but more of an underlying statement.

Chaeng, for a brief moment, threw a shocked reaction but gathered her emotions intact right away. Tzuyu laughed at her friend's quick retrieval of her respond.

"It's written all over your face. I won't force you to talk to me if you aren't ready yet, but don't forget to lighten up just even a bit once in a while." Tzuyu winked at her as they entered the coffee shop.

The ambience, the music, the tranquility, and the scent of coffee- these were just few of the reasons why Chaeyoung loved coffee houses. Or maybe it was just the assurance of how easy you could sit there and do nothing but sip your choice of caffeine, never to be bothered by the strain of constantly walking trying to find what productive deeds you could act for the day.

But, furthermore with the tranquility of what Chaeng likes, Kim Dahyun crushed her thoughts like an orange pulp.

"Chou Tzuyu! You evil witch!" Dahyun jumped off her seat and rushed to Tzuyu, "What on Earth did I ever do to you? I waited for two hours here! Thank God for Sana who had a vacant hour!"

"Serves you right for using me as an excuse to spend an hour in the clinic." A smug smile formed on Tzuyu's face, “How was the cute nu-!”

Dahyun swiftly covered Tzuyu's mouth before Sana could apprehend the situation, “Okay, that’s enough! I’m sorry!” She growled at Tzuyu who was laughing loudly.

They went to their table and sat comfortably. Chaeyoung felt warmness spreading in her chest. Her friends were right in front of her- Tzuyu glaring at Dahyun after her inappropriate joke about dog and their poop, Sana was staring at Dahyun like she was the only person she sees. It was like how they were before, not exactly but close enough.

“Say, Chaeng, we got some good news for you.” Sana said with a sweet smile, a little too much, actually. Chaeng eyed her carefully, suspicion evident on every pore of her face.

“How about for me, love? Any good news for tonight?” Dahyun interrupted. She wiggled her eyebrows in a way she thought was suave but everyone else disagreed with either a scowl or a grimace.

“We are actually talking about something significant so please leave if you’d rather spout nonsense. Do it now or I’ll literally kick you out.” The owner of the scowl, Tzuyu, groaned.

“Oh, come on, let’s try and loosenhmff-“

Dahyun's words were muffled by a hand, Sana glared at her, “Let’s have that kind of conversation to ourselves, shall we?”

“So, what’s the good news?” Chaeng kind of had the feeling she knows what it is.

“Saturday next week…” Sana glanced at Dahyun and Tzuyu before continuing, “We'll visit Mina. Come with us.” The gentlest of smiles shaped on Sana's eyes and lips.

An awkward silence grew between the four. If it weren’t for the soft background music of the café, the silence would’ve been deafening, and, maybe suffocating, even.

Chaeyoung ducked her head down a little bit to stare at the rim of the coffee cup that she has been tracing out of an unknown manner to her. She missed Mina but she just couldn’t show herself to her anymore. Her heart pinched and a sudden lump formed in . She was terrible through and through. She wanted to see her but she couldn’t. Mina deserves someone better than her.

“Sorry, guys. You have to go there without me.”

•

[Three years after the break up]

Blinding lights, grinding bodies, blasting music, and the stench of alcohol- Mina was back at the place she first met her. Once a month, she visits the club where they first met, sat on the chair where she first saw her, drank the same liquor she ordered on that day, and reminisce the fiery start that turned into cotton candies as they began to unravel each others identities; stories that kept their strings attached.

“Ah! Mademoiselle!