This isn’t quite how Tzuyu envisioned her weekend to go.

 

“Pass me the paprika?”

 

“The what???”

 

“The red powder thing right in front of you.”

 

“Oh.” Mina blinks as she hands the desired carton over to Momo, who currently dons a baby pink apron and is slaving over a large circle of dough on Tzuyu’s usually spotless, white marble counter tops. “Do you want me to get the sauce too?”

 

“Yes please.” Momo calls over her shoulder as she turns to grab a fork, aggressively stabbing it into the enormous dough-circle. Dahyun trots over to Tzuyu’s massive double-doored refrigerator to take out three jars of what seems to be tomato sauce.

 

“Thanks Dahyun.” Mina says appreciatively, smacking the lid with a spoon until it pops open. She goes around next to Momo and starts spooning the red liquid over the dough.

 

Nayeon and Jihyo are at the other side of the space hovering over a large cheese shredder. “Are- are we doing this right?” Jihyo huffs. Nayeon aggressive scrubs the block of mozzarella against the grater, showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.

 

“Probably. Keep going!” Momo replies as she begins to chop mushrooms on a cutting board. “Mina!”

 

“Sí señor?” Mina looks up from her sauce.

 

“Are you done yet?!”

 

“Sí señor. Qué debería hacer después?”

 

“Can you wash some bell peppers please?”

 

“Por supuesto, señor.” Mina carefully puts the sauce aside and goes to wash some green and yellow bell peppers.

 

“I’ve finished mixing the spices, Momo.” Jeongyeon calls from the spice rack.

 

“Good. Sprinkle it on the sauce, please!”

 

Jeongyeon takes the small porcelain bowl to the pizza and carefully begins to evenly distribute the powdery mixture. Nayeon and Jihyo are steadily accumulating a small mountain of cheese, already have ground through three blocks. Chaeyoung is washing utensils, and Sana is sharpening a knife for Mina.

 

Tzuyu watches, not knowing what to do. “Um, do you need help with anything?” She awkwardly approaches Momo, who has just about finished forming a perfectly round crust on the dough.

 

Momo dismisses her with the wave of her hand. “No no, we’re fine over here. Take a seat, young one. MINA!”

 

‘SÍ SEÑOR?!?”

 

“PEPPERS??”

 

“AQUÍ, SEÑOR!!” Mina serves up a fresh bowl of perfectly sliced bell peppers. Momo turns to Tzuyu with a bright grin.

 

“See? My sous chef is the best- don’t worry about us!”

 

“Yeah, don’t worry.” Nayeon calls from behind the cheese mountain. “We’re the ones who crashed your house anyway.”

 

Tzuyu blinks as Momo turns back to the ridiculously large pizza. “She seems really experienced.”

 

Mina looks up from the peppers. “Momo spent last last summer in Italy honing her pizza-making craft.”

 

“Ah.” Tzuyu is confused, but she accepts the explanation as it is.

 

Nayeon looks confused. “Didn’t she spend last summer in England?”

 

“This is last last summer.” Jeongyeon clarifies, dusting her hands off from the excess spices.

 

Dahyun tilts her head. “So if she was in Italy, why is Mina unnie speaking Spanish to her?”

 

“……”

 

“And where did Mina learn Spanish? What is she even saying?”

 

Jihyo rolls her eyes. “Lord only knows with that woman.” Mina looks up, startled and slightly offended but she doesn’t say anything at Momo’s withering glare and goes back to fiercely chopping the peppers.

 

“Did anyone preheat the oven?!” Momo turns around to screech at them.

 

“I did! It should be ready in a couple minutes.” Chaeyoung calls as she wipes her hands off and goes to set the table.

 

“Finally, someone useful in this place!”

 

“Is this enough cheese??” Nayeon and Jihyo finally put down the thoroughly abused cheese grater. They can barely peer over the towering pile.

 

Momo glances up. “Hopefully. I hope none of you are lactose intolerant.”

 

“Jihyo used to be.” Jeongyeon points at the smiling brunette, who, along with Nayeon, is carefully lifting one end of the concaving tray of cheese to bring to the main counter.

 

Momo blinks. “Used to be?”

 

“She isn’t anymore.”

 

“I used to drink a carton of milk everyday in elementary school, and somehow my body adapted to the dairy.” Jihyo explains proudly as she and Nayeon set the tray down with a ‘plunk’. “Now I can have anything!”

 

Mina looks readily impressed. “Really? That’s so admirable.”

 

“Really? How so?”

 

Mina tilts her head. “Well, the fact that an elementary school kid had the willpower to willingly be uncomfortable everyday and overcome her difficulty like that. That takes a lot of discipline, you know?”

 

“Oh.” Jihyo blinks at the explanation. “Well, really it’s because I was a pig and I wanted to have the chocolate milk.”

 

“…what?”

 

“Yeah. I mean, I like chocolate a lot you know?”

 

“Oh. I see.”

 

Sana snickers from behind her hand. “That sounds more like it, than whatever ‘admirable child’ theory Mina was on about.”

 

Mina sighs as Jihyo just shrugs. “It be your own self sometimes.”

 

“You literally overcame your lactose intolerance because you were greedy-”

 

“Oven’s ready.” Chaeyoung interjects quietly before Jihyo can vault over the cheese at Mina. Momo quickly enlists Mina and Nayeon to help her carefully slide the pizza into Tzuyu’s (fortunately) large oven. Momo shuts the door, Mina sets a timer, and then it’s a peaceful affair from there.

 

Tzuyu still isn’t quite sure how they all ended up at her house (she doesn’t recall giving any of them her address) but they were apologetic when Sana dragged them inside for trespassing and offered to make dinner. Tzuyu’s never been a big fan of western food, but Mina had insisted that she try Momo’s famous pizza, and now here they are.

 

Chaeyoung slides a light grey hoodie over to her. “Hey, I brought you the sweater you left at my place the other day.”

 

“Oh, thanks Chaeng. I’ve been looking for it!” Tzuyu smiles gratefully at her short friend as she takes the garnment.

 

“CHAEYOUNG! GET THE NAPKINS, QUICK!!! DAHYUN SPILLED OLIVE OIL ON NAYEON’S PANTS.”

 

Chaeyoung scrambles to her feet. “Coming!”

 

Tzuyu can only blink as her small friend scurries away. The girl takes a stack of napkins that Mina is holding out for her. The taller girl is smiling at Chaeyoung, who look… shy? For some reason, as she takes the stack from Mina. Chaeyoung spins on her heels, head down with a small smile and slight blush as she goes towards Momo and a flailing Nayeon, and Mina just watches her with a strangely fond expression.

 

Tzuyu squints at them from her spot but doesn’t say anything, making a mental note to ask Chaeyoung about it later. Momo yells soon that dinner is ready, so Tzuyu gets up to see if she can help them set up. There are nine sets of silverware and plates, a few bowls of fruit salad, and eight other individuals clamoring over each other to find seat. Sana and Nayeon seem to be arguing about who gets to sit next to Tzuyu (Chaeyoung has claimed the other side), Mina and Momo are trying to get the enormous pizza out of the oven. Dahyun is trying to move Sana and Nayeon’s argument out of their way, while Jeongyeon and Jihyo are making sure everyone has something to drink.

 

For some reason, it’s nice. Mina and Jihyo volunteer to wash the dishes after, and everyone helps to clean up. Since Sana is banned from touching anything breakable, she plays DJ on Tzuyu’s home speaker system and catches them up on the latest gossip instead. Tzuyu finds herself in the middle of an assembly line stretching from the sink where Mina and Jihyo are viciously scrubbing, to Nayeon and Momo drying dishes, and then Dahyun and Chaeyoung carefully slotting them back in their appropriate places.

 

It’s nice. It’s loud, it’s chaotic, but it’s warm and really, it’s just nice.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, I have something to tell you.”

 

Tzuyu lowers her mug of green tea to look at her best friend expectantly. “What is it?”

 

Chaeyoung stands before her, simmering with a small sort of nervous energy but bright-eyed and happy. “Mina and I are going out.” She blurts out, then glances shyly up at Tzuyu for the girl’s reaction.

 

Tzuyu smiles broadly, dimples showing and all. “I had a feeling something was going on ever since everyone barged in last week for pizza.”

 

“It was actually really good. I was surprised.”

 

“The pizza? I know, right? She really knows her stuff. I’m going to ask her what seasoning she used.”

 

Chaeyoung shakes her head to get them back on track. “Yeah. Anyway, I just- just wanted you to know.” The last part comes out as a mumble, the girl’s gaze falling on her shoes as she ducks her head in social embarrassment.

 

Tzuyu tilts her head as she appraises her small friend. Chaeyoung looks a little nervous as she waits for Tzuyu’s reaction, but she- she looks happy. “I’m happy for you, Chaeng.”

 

Chaeyoung glances up. “Really? You mean it?”

 

“Of course. You’ve been staring at her since freshman year- about time, I’d say.”

 

“Yah!”

 

Tzuyu laughs aloud, not even bothering to try and dodge Chaeyoung’s tiny fist flying at her arm. “Never mind that, though. Tell me about it.”

 

Chaeyoung smiles softly, lowering herself onto the couch next to Tzuyu. “Well, we were on your roof…”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“MINA CHAN!”

 

Mina jumps, visibly startled, as Sana all but tumbles in to the practice room she’s occupied for the hour. “Minatozaki san???”

 

The flute player kneels over, hands on her knees as she heaves for breath. “MINA CHAN. IS IT TRUE???”

 

The saxophonist carefully lowers her instrument. “What’s true?”

 

“Don’t ‘what’s true’ me! You know exactly what I’m talking about!” Sana jabs a finger at Mina’s chest. “Come on now, out with it!”

 

Mina doesn’t know what to say. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about, Sana.”

 

“YOU AND CHAEYOUNG. I HEARD SOMEONE SAY THEY SAW YOU KISSING HER IN THE HALLWAY THIS MORNING.”

 

Mina blinks. “That’s what girlfriends do, isn’t it?”

 

Sana’s jaw all but drops to the ground. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?”

 

“No- why would I joke about that??”

 

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS. I CAN’T BELIEVE I’VE BEEN ONE-UPPED BY MYOUI MINA CHAN.”

 

“HA. TAKE THAT!”

 

Sana collapses dramatically into Mina’s arms. Luckily, Mina has long anticipated this and has safely put her saxophone aside. “MINA CHAN, WHEN WILL TZUYU NOTICE ME?”

 

“I’m almost positive she knows who you are.”

 

“HOW CAN YOU BE SO SURE?”

 

“She invited you to her house, remember?”

 

Sana visibly perks up at that. “Oh yeah. Yeah! Yeah! She knows who I am!”

 

Mina stares at her as she hops off Mina’s lap to do a victorious fist pump. “I’m so happy!”

 

Mina is content to watch her hop around the small room excitedly, until Sana seems to remember something and halt in her tracks. She stands in front of Mina, hands on hips and looking a lot more intimidating than Mina’s ever seen her.

 

“If you hurt Chaeyoung I’ll end you!”

 

Oh my.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Sana has been waiting for this for a long time.

 

“Are the balloons here yet?!?”

 

“Right here!” Jackson Wang from the football team calls as he and some others on the team carefully unload four massive boxes. Moonbyul from the cheering squad comes over to take the massive bundles of orange and black balloons.

 

“Scatter them around the house, please!”

 

“Roger that!”

 

It’s finally Halloween. The weekend she’s been waiting for. The weekend everyone’s been waiting for. The weekend the whole- school has been waiting for.

 

Sana is known for her awesome parties. She doesn’t throw them often, but when she does, they’re of incomparable proportion. Invite only, exclusive access to the Minatozaki estate, and guaranteed good food and awesome music. It’s always a good time.

 

The one party Sana has consistently hosted every single year of high school is the Halloween party. Sana loves Halloween. It’s such a great time, so much fun- who doesn’t like dressing up and stuffing themselves diabetes with sugary, calorie-laden sweets? Whoever it is, they must not like life very much. And so, the stage is set.

 

The football team and the cheer squad have come over again, faithfully, to help her set up. Sana is grateful to them- they were the first friends she made upon coming in high school as a freshman, straight from Japan. Sana had always been a little more outgoing, so naturally she’d gravitated towards the extroverts who’d happily accepted her into their circles. But lately, she’s found herself gravitating more and more towards the new friends she’s made this year; the ragtag, somewhat strange group of mismatched band kids somehow felt like the strangers she never knew she’d needed in her life. She’d have asked them to come over and help out and hang out before everyone else came, but truthfully she was afraid to impose. After all, she’d only really gotten to know them recently and it might be rude to ask so much so soon.

 

“Hey Sana, where do you want the pumpkin cauldron?

 

“On the buffet table, please! Towards the end.”

 

“On it.”

 

She’d started hosting her famous Halloween parties initially to feed her inner social butterfly, but this year, something is a little different.

 

“I really hope Tzuyu shows up.”

 

The sophomore had never shown up to any of Sana’s parties- or any parties in general. No one had really thought much of it, considering her choice of company (aka nerdy lil Chaeng), but Sana knows better. Her position as an insider amongst the popular groups in school give her much more insight; she knows for a fact that people invite Tzuyu to attend on the regular, but the taller always declines. It’s no wonder people always try to befriend her. Smart, tall, chic, and absolutely gorgeous- anyone with eyes could see how attractive Chou Tzuyu was in all her 5’7” glory. Why Tzuyu would always decline, Sana never knew, until she saw her and Chaeyoung at that community band concert a few weeks ago.

 

It’s sweet, Sana thinks to herself. It’s really sweet how loyal Tzuyu is to Chaeyoung- as a friend, supporter, confident. As far as Sana’s concerned, Chaeyoung’s never had any other friends. How they came to be, she’s not too sure- but one thing she can say for certain is that any friend like Tzuyu would be a friend worth keeping. Chaeyoung knows this. Sana knows this too.

 

Unfortunately for Sana though, her take on Tzuyu extends in a different direction than Chaeyoung’s, who has apparently acquired new friends and a girlfriend recently in the form of glowing senior hottie Myoui Mina. So now she stands here, single, and ready to mingle- but only if it’s with someone named Chou Tzuyu from Taiwan who plays the clarinet.

 

Anyway.

 

“Don’t drop the freaking banana bouquet! Seulgi!”

 

There’s still hope.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“So? Are you coming?”

 

Dahyun and Chaeyoung stare at her from the couch. Tzuyu feels herself sweat under their stares.

 

“Uh, I don’t know. I’m not too sure about this.”

 

Chaeyoung looks curious. “Why not?”

 

Tzuyu really doesn’t have a solid answer for that, but she tries her best anyway. “I- uh- I don’t have a costume.”

 

“Nor do we.” Dahyun pipes up. “Momo unnie invited us to join them though- apparently Nayeon decided that they should go.”

 

Tzuyu turns to stare at her. “And they all listen to her??”

 

“Well, Jihyo agreed. Something about owing Nayeon unnie three dollars.”

 

“Is this equal compensation??”

 

Dahyun shrugs. “Apparently.”

 

Huh. Tzuyu muses over the thought for a moment, her eyes landing on her vase of Lillies as she thinks. “Would it be bad if I didn’t go?”

“Yes.” Dahyun says flatly. Chaeyoung just shrugs, remaining silent but giving Tzuyu that look. You know. The one she always gets when she’s communicating a vague ‘you should know this already’ message without words.

 

Tzuyu sighs. “Why is Momo unnie getting people ready?”

 

“Apparently she and Mina are the only ones who are good at hair and makeup. They gave Nayeon a makeover one time.”

 

“What??”

 

Dahyun shrugs. “Nayeon unnie looked good, so no one really sat anything. Anyway, are you in or not?”

 

Tzuyu casts a wary side glance at Chaeyoung, who still has that look on her face and offers no concrete help.

“Fine. This better be worth it.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Come on in!”

 

Sana grins brilliantly at the guests that have just showed up at her door. They wave, cheering as they gleefully stream into Sana’s house where the lights are going, music’s on, and candy shoots out from the Candy Cannon every fifteen minutes. It’s a good time- you can bet your life on it.

 

She turns around just in time to witness the Candy Cannon take out five dancers with a blast of colorful lollipops. Seulgi waves at her cheerfully as she and Wendy refill the tub from which the Candy Cannon is supplied from. Sana nods her thanks and goes on her way.

 

“Hey Sana! This is an awesome party!” Some kids she’d invited from the archery club call from the kitchen, where they sit on barstools and the countertops chatting and laughing. Sana beams back at them.

 

“I’m glad! Enjoy yourselves, everyone!”

 

It’s a lot of fun so far, seeing everyone dressed up- everyone’s really gone all out this year. The kids she’d just passed were dressed as archers, looking straight out of a Robin Hood story. There were a couple dancing zombies, clowns, and a chef (??) in her living room. Sana herself has opted to dress as the Queen of Hearts this year- a classic she’s had in the back of her mind for months now. She’s received a lot of compliments already, and things are just starting to pick up.

 

Party after party of guests stream through her door, bearing bright greetings and sick costumes. Seriously. Everyone looks really good. The Candy Cannon goes off like clockwork, more faithful than Old Faithful (Sana still doesn’t really understand her parents’ odd fascination with the geyser). But a certain group of quirky individuals still hasn’t shown up- actually, she hasn’t heard from them for days. Radio silence. It’s a little disconcerting.

 

Then she hears a shriek that has her running to the kitchen. It’s not uncommon, since it’s pretty loud in here- but that’s a real shriek of fright, piercing through the air. She pushes through a couple party-goers, spouting apologies as she mows them over, until she finally makes it to the kitchen.

 

A terrifying rendition of Kaonashi is hovering over the pretzel bowl. “Oh, hey Sana!”

 

Sana stares at the figure.

“Hey Sana! We’re hereeee.” A recognizable Nayeon pops out of somewhere next to the Kaonashi, dressed as a cat of some sorts.

 

Sana is still a little shook about the Kaonashi. “Who- who is that?”

 

“It’s Jeongyeon!”

 

Sana is impressed. “Wow. I’d have never-”

 

Momo pops out, some garish rendition of the evil lady from that movie about puppies that made Sana cry when she was three. “Hey, Satang!”

 

Damn. Momo looks hot- Sana might have to revise her earlier statement about not dating Momo if she were the last lesbian on earth. “Momo?? Is that you?”

 

She gets an exasperated eyeroll in return. “Obviously- who did you think it was- Mina??”

 

“Is Mina even here??”

 

“BOO!”

 

“AAAEYIIEEEEE!” Sana shrieks, leaping up in the air in fright. Her dress flounces around comically, hitting some unfortunate passerbys in the face.

 

A zombified Mina peers down at her shaken form. “Wow. I should do that more often.”

 

Sana huffs as she snatches Momo’s arm to haul herself upright. “It’s not that- it’s your costume, that’s all.”

 

“I stand by my previous statement.”

 

Mina waddles away to join the Kaonashi by the pretzel bowl, and Momo laughs. “If you think she’s scary, you haven’t seen Dahyun yet.”

 

Right on cue, someone screams from the living room. “Oh no.” Sana scurries off to remedy the chaos. Momo snickers in her wake.

 

“WHAT ARE YOU WEARING??”

 

Dahyun blinks comically from the dance floor. “My costume! Do you like it?”

 

Sana stares at her incredulously. “Where did you even get that?”

 

Dahyun tilts her too-too-realistic Annabelle head at the frazzled older girl. “Jihyo unnie?”

 

Of course.

 

“Anyway, if you’re looking for Tzuyu and Chaeyoung, they’re in the back preparing to go trick-or-treating with Momo unnie and Mina unnie. 

 

At the mention of the taller’s name, Sana visibly perks up. “Is she here??”

 

Momo squints at the people around them. “She should be here somewhere.”

 

Sana almost faints. “Oh my gosh!”

 

“I might join them later- I think Nayeon and Jihyo have left already.”

 

“Wh-” Sana turns to dash off once again back to the kitchen.

 

Chaeyoung has a very realistic Joker costume on, and to her immense surprise, Tzuyu is standing next to her looking like some sort of blue water corpse. Mina and Momo look up once Sana bursts into the room. “You again!”

 

“Where even are you going?!”

 

“Trick or treating.” Momo replies, rolling her eyes like it’s the most obvious thing in the world as she hands Tzuyu a plastic pumpkin. “It’s Halloween, sis. Are you not going?”

 

Sana looks rather cautiously. “I mean-”

 

“It’s free candy, Sana!” Mina chirps from her spot next to Chaeyoung. They look very strange, standing next to each other. It’s kind of funny and Sana would laugh, but this just got a lot more- well, interesting.

 

“Alright kidlets, let’s get going!” Momo pushes another plastic pumpkin into Chaeyoung’s hands and gleefully herds them all out the door. Mina almost trips on her way out, over some of her mummy bandages. Sana can only watch with a slacked jaw.

 

“We’ll be back, Sana! Great party by the way.” Momo waves at her before giving Mina one last shove (the girl really trips this time, bowling into Chaeyoung and Tzuyu and they all go down with a screech from the usually quiet Tzuyu, in a heap on Sana’s porch).

 

Chaeyoung grins at her through the layers of white makeup on her skin, and Tzuyu shoots her a small wave on their way out, her torso solidly stuck underneath a winded Mina. Sana feels her heart leap just a little at the gesture.

 

It’s not much, but it’s a start.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

For anyone who actually cares, Sana’s party was relatively successful. Either way, it’s all anyone is actually talking about the next week at school.

 

“I can’t believe it! She actually came!” Sana is to the moon, excitedly ranting about the outcome of her party to Irene and Wendy.

 

The cheer girls smile amusedly at Sana’s obvious excitement. “Tzuyu, right?”

 

“YES!” Sana screeches enthusiastically, right in their fragile ears. “Maybe I stand a chance!”

 

“Huh. Good for you.” Irene muses quietly. “You should increase your efforts, then.”

 

“Right?” Sana says thoughtfully alongside her. “I don’t really know where to start though.”

 

Wendy leans forward, interested. “Well, what does she like?” She blinks at Sana with rounded eyes.

 

Sana thinks about this for a moment. “I- I’m not too sure??”

 

At their exasperated glances, Sana is quick to amend. “I mean, we haven’t really known each other all that long. All I know about her is she likes music and like, flowers or something.”

 

Wendy snaps three times in front of a startled Sana’s nose. “Hello? You just answered your own question.”

 

“Huh???”

 

“Flowers! What girl wouldn’t like a bunch of flowers?” Irene claps, delighted at the discovery, and settles down into the ‘case-closed’ stance. “That’s easy, and pretty foolproof if you ask me.”

 

Sana frowns. “Where can I get flowers though? There aren’t really any stores that sell them around here.”

 

Wendy frowns thoughtfully. “That’s true- but I actually heard that there was a flower shop that opened recently. They seem to have a really nice selection too, from what I’ve heard from friends.”

 

“Do you have the address?”

 

Wendy fumbles through her pocket for her phone. “Yeah, I’ll text it to you. Are you going to go?”

 

Sana shrugs as she leans back in her seat. “I mean, what do I have to lose? Either I find something she’ll like or I don’t. Plus, I have some time after school today.”

 

“Good luck, Sana!” Irene smiles at her. “Go get that girl!”

 

Sana waves at them as she stands to leave. “I mean, it’s just flower shopping. Not much can go wrong, right?”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Sana squints up at the house in front of her.

 

“Is this it??”

 

She’s standing in a quaint suburban neighborhood, staring up at a familiar house. “This isn’t a shop. Did Wendy give me the wrong address??”

 

“Oh, hello. Are you looking for the 9-Way Flower Shop?”

 

Sana turns and stops dead in her tracks.

 

Jeongyeon is staring expectantly at her, pushing a wheelbarrow of daisies with green-gloved hands.

 

No way.

 

“Step on up, everyone! Fresh flowers, the only ones in town!” Nayeon’s distinct voice cuts through the still air. Sana’s head turns immediately to see the girl with an extremely unflattering rice-paddy hat on her head, waving a bouquet of daisies with Jihyo perched next to her behind the large cash register.

 

There’s a couple of adults milling in the double-doored garage, which has apparently been emptied out and set up to resemble a flower shop. There’s someone who looks like Dahyun inside the open doors, chatting with an elderly lady by the petunia section. Sana doesn’t know what’s going on.

 

“J-Jeongyeon???”

 

“Yes?”

 

Sana is undoubtedly flustered. “What are you doing here??”

 

Jeongyeon stares at her like she’s stupid. “I work here?”

 

Sana’s brows pull together in the ultimate expression of confusion. “Wait, isn’t this-”

 

“Oh, hey Sana!”

 

Both girls turn to the source of the voice. Momo is sitting on a barstool underneath an umbrella-covered table, stirring a humongous bowl of some yellow liquid. Mina is lazily sprawled on a green lawn chair next to her, chewing on a candy bar.

 

Sana blinks. “Are you selling that?”

 

“Yup. Want some? Eight dollars a cup.” Momo points to the teeniest plastic cup that Sana’s ever seen at a lemonade sale. Mina downs three.

 

“Wh- eight dollars?? For lemonade??”

 

Momo looks extremely affronted. “Limoncello! And it’s not just any limoncello- my recipe is from the oldest lemon farmer in Italy!”

 

“She’s not joking- sis was mad old.” Mina chimes in innocently, staring at Sana over the rim of the teeny-tiny cup.

 

Sana looks back and forth between the duo. “Wait, hold on a minute- Mina, why are you having a lemonade sale at your house??”

 

“Limoncello!” Momo barks, glaring.

 

Mina ignores her and grabs the ladle from Momo’s hands. “Well, the limoncello isn’t the main attraction-”

 

“What lovely flowers these are!”

 

All three heads snap over to an older gentleman and his grandson who have stopped to gaze at the flowers in Jeongyeon’s wheelbarrow. Jeongyeon beams proudly. “Thank you so much!”

 

“Are these coreopsis plants? My grandmother used to grow them back in Italy!”

 

“They are.” Jeongyeon explains. “We’ve just started to grow them here in the shop.”

The man looks at the flowers adoringly. “Well you’re doing a great job- these are absolutely lovely, such vibrant color. Are they for sale?”

 

Jeongyeon grins lopsidedly. “We don’t have a lot in stock, but I think I can make an exception for you today.” The man looks delighted, immediately grabbing his grandson and saying something in Italian. The boy points at a bunch in the wheelbarrow, looking up at Jeongyeon hopefully. 

 

Jeongyeon points to the bunch. “These?”

 

“Yes please!”

 

“Sure thing- I’ll pot them for you real quick, and you can just bring them to Jihyo right here and she’ll ring you up.” Jeongyeon smiles, taking the wheelbarrow and wheeling it to a table in the back. Sana squints and sees Nayeon carefully shoveling soil into a couple of pots.

 

“Thank you!” The man and his grandson smile widely at Jeongyeon, who just salutes them before carefully cutting the flowers and handing them to Nayeon.

 

Sana looks back to the duo before her. Momo smiles at a lady who’s approached her for the tiny cup of limoncello. “Thanks so much- come again!”

 

She vaguely hears the woman exclaiming to her friends about how good the limoncello is. Momo’s line grows longer. Mina idly hands the teeny paper cups to Momo to distribute to the masses. “So, since when have you had an entire flower shop in your garage??”

 

Mina shrugs, chewing on a candy bar. “A couple weeks ago, actually.”

 

“Why didn’t you say anything??”

 

“You never asked!”

 

Sana notices Mina’s car parked on the street in front of her house, along with Nayeon’s jeep and Momo’s jeep and Jeongyeon’s minivan. “Can you please explain this to me??”

 

“Have a nice day!” Momo calls after the last customer in the queue. Mina looks up to wave the man off, who smiles and raises his cup before heading back to the garage.

 

“What are you eating, by the way?”

 

“Halloween leftovers.” Mina responds absently, watching Jihyo who’s right next to them, make another sale of daffodils and petunias.

 

“We got so much candy!” Momo crows, chewing on an Almond Joy. Mina doesn’t say anything from besides her, but she finally has something to eat that she didn’t pay for, so she definitely isn’t complaining.

 

Jihyo is eyeing the Kit Kat on Momo’s right, so the Japanese girl takes the candy and reaches it across to her. “Want some?”

 

Jihyo guzzles it down in seconds. Momo blinks. Did she even chew??

 

“Can- can someone please explain this to me??”

 

Mina hums, propping her feet up and looking pensive. “Well, we’ve started a flower shop in my garage so I’ve parked my car on the street today.”

 

“We?”

 

Mina nods. “Yeah. It was originally Nayeon’s idea.”

 

Sana looks impressed. “Really.”

 

“Contrary to popular belief, she actually knows more. It’s just, a lot of her information is useless.” Momo explains tritely, chomping down on another candy bar.

 

“Turns out though, her family is really good at planting things. So she knows a lot about flowers and botany and stuff like that.” Mina continues as she takes a sip of the limoncello.

 

“And Jeongyeon has an uncanny knack for these kinds of housework things as well. So naturally she was recruited.”

 

Sana takes a moment to process all this, before turning to Jihyo who is still sitting behind the cash register. “Then why is she here?”

 

Mina ignores Jihyo’s glare and just chuckles instead. “Jihyo likes money. She runs the register.”

 

“Her?” Sana points at Momo next.

 

“Manpower. Plus, her limoncello is unrivaled in this town. Attracts a lot of bonus customers, you know.”

 

Sana stares at Mina incredulously. “Huh. And you?”

 

Mina shrugs. “I have a house and a decently-sized garage.”

 

“The location’s good too, and she doens’t have to pay for water.” Nayeon pops up out of nowhere. “Hi Sana!”

 

“Oh, hello.” Sana returns the greeting. “I hear this is your flower shop.”

 

“Our flower shop.” Nayeon corrects her. “It’s a joint effort.”

 

Sana balks a little bit. “Right.”

 

“Anyway, are you trying to buy anything today or are you just going to loaf here?” Jihyo looks at her expectantly. Sana brightens up at her inquiry.

 

“Ah! Actually, I am looking for flowers today.”

 

Jihyo doesn’t blink. “For what?”

 

“For Tzuyu!”

 

They kind of stare at her. “Tzuyu??”

 

“Yeah, Tzuyu!”

 

“Chou Tzuyu??”

 

“That’s her.”

 

They look at her uncertainly. “Would she even want flowers from you?”

 

“Wh- that’s so rude!” Sana splutters indignantly. “No one asked you!”

 

“No one asked you either. Including Tzuyu.” Momo snickers behind her hand. Jeongyeon cracks up, extending her hand for a high-five.

 

Sana is done with this nonsense. “Aren’t you supposed to be trying to sell me flowers?”

 

“Yeah, stop hackling her- just make her buy something!” Nayeon barks from a nearby flower wagon. Her eyes glow ominously from underneath her hat.

 

Jeongyeon gulps. “So what can we find for you today?” She, Momo, and Mina simultaneously turn to her with tilted heads and matching smiles. It’s honestly a little creepy.

 

“Uh, I’m not too sure actually.” Sana scratches her nape, suddenly awkward and caught off guard. “I don’t really know anything about flowers.”

 

“Of course you don’t.” Jeongyeon sighs. “Well, fortunately for your uneducated , we do. Are you trying to send any messages?”

 

Sana blinks once. “No.”

 

“Then go find your own flowers, you don’t need help.” Jeongyeon promptly spins on the heel of her green rubber boots and walks away, leaving Sana to her own devices.

 

She looks over at Mina and Momo helplessly. They just shrug and take more limoncello shots. They’re no help.

 

Sana scowls. “Fine. I’ll do it myself then!”

 

She ends up wandering around the shop for forty-five minutes on her own, perusing the surprisingly large variety that the makeshift garage-based shop has to offer. Mina and Momo are staring at her from under their stupidly large umbrella, drinking Momo’s stupidly good limoncello and eating Halloween candy while chatting with various customers and Jihyo, who is insanely fast at counting money. Dahyun hands her a basket at some point, and she ends up selecting this purple-fancy-shaped flower thing that Nayeon is more than happy to cut for her. The other girl is mysterious excited about it. Sana’s not too sure why.

 

“Here you go! A whole bouquet of Hellebore flowers, just for you!” Nayeon extends the bundled plants enthusiastically. Sana thanks her with an awkward smile, because this is kind of weird.

 

“Thanks. How much?”

 

Nayeon shrugs. “Ask Jihyo. I’m sure she’ll give you a discount.”

 

Sana shrugs but accepts it. “Okay then. Thanks Nayeon.”

“See you in school!” Nayeon waves, smiling from under her ugly farmer hat, and goes back to t the stems of these unnecessarily bright orange flowers. Sana pays for her bouquet, which ends up being cheaper than she’d initially expected (maybe Jihyo really did give her a discount. Or not. Who knows).

 

“What are these again?”

 

Jihyo hums noncommittally, wrapping a pretty pink bow around the bouquet. “Hellebores or something.”

 

Sana scowls at her and is about to roast her for poor customer service, but she’s promptly distracted by the sight of Mina and Dahyun marching onto the lawn with a saxophone and trumpet respectively. Momo is still standing under the limoncello umbrella, but now she’s got a lei on and green sunglasses, and bongos???

 

Dahyun turns to look at the drummer. “Hit it!”

 

“UNO, DOS, TRES, CUATRO-”

 

Mina’s saxophone starts blaring in horrifying harmony with Dahyun’s shining gold trumpet and then it’s an all-out marathon of Katy Perry’s Firework (they must really like this song) and they don’t necessarily sound bad, but it’s so ridiculously loud that Sana’s sure that everyone on the block can hear them, even from inside.

 

Wait till the police show up.

 

Fortunately for the Nayeon, the police don’t show up- but a ton of customers do. Apparently intrigued by the racket at the normally peaceful Myoui household, the casual passerby have all stopped to drop by to either watch the racket on the lawn and subsequently get in by the flowers on display and the limoncello. Sana has to admit, she’s pretty impressed; it look really lucrative. Really, really lucrative.

 

“Hey Jihyo, how do you give flowers to someone?”

 

She’s promptly met with a bouquet to the face. She shrieks, swatting at the offending object while  Jeongyeon laughs from a safe distance.

 

“Just like that.” Nayeon snickers, looking on amusedly. Sana finally gets the last of the leaves out of her hair and glares at Jihyo, who blinks at her innocently.

 

The nerve of these idiots. Just wait until Tzuyu is mine.