It was her. The Girl. Momo watched her put her apron on, practiced hands quickly tying the knot and readying her for another day of baking, when The Girl’s eyes shifted over to meet hers. Momo’s eyes widened and she looked away quickly as the inevitable blush spread over her cheeks. She pretended to busy herself with the near-nonexistent English paper on her laptop for several minutes, giving herself time for the redness to leave her cheeks. Once her heart rate was back to somewhat normal, she dared to sneak a glance toward the bakery’s counter once more, only to find The Girl already looking right at her. Unlike Momo, The Girl didn’t seem to be bothered by being caught staring, and instead smiled and gave a small wave with an already flour-covered hand. She had such pretty hands. And eyes. And her smile, wow. Momo shook herself out of her daze with the realization that she’d been idiotically staring at the girl like a deer caught in the headlights for almost a solid minute without doing anything. Momo lifted her hand to weakly return the wave before sinking back into the plush armchair and looking down, letting out a shaky sigh. Closing her eyes and focusing on the soft jazz playing from the speakers, Momo wished she wasn’t so nervous about starting a conversation with this girl. She’d never had this much trouble speaking to strangers she didn’t know, at least with small talk. Sure, she wasn’t a pro at holding conversations that went deeper than a “how are you today” but she should at least be able to go up and say hello. However, every time she heard The Girl’s voice, dried up and her hands started shaking, and she was only able to nod her head and give a small smile while she took her food and coffee before she darted back to her seat or out the door. It was a small blessing that the bakery had a cashier, and she never had to actually say anything to The Girl.

Momo was startled out of her thoughts by someone lightly tapping her on her shoulder. She turned her head to find (who else?) The Girl standing over her, beautiful smile and all. Momo resisted the urge to faint and tried to open to speak, frustrated when she couldn’t even manage a single sound. Was it really that hard to be polite and say hello?

“Um, I’m sorry if this is over the line, but I couldn’t help but notice you hadn’t gotten your order yet, and you always get the same thing every time, so I decided to go ahead and bring it to you, and maybe I’m being a bit overbearing, but this one is on me, since you’re such a loyal customer, and I even threw in the cookie of the day. It’s double chocolate chip.” Momo suddenly noticed the paper bag and to-go cup in The Girl’s hands. She reached out and took the items, in a deep breath when their fingers brushed against one another. So much for controlling her heart rate.

“I’m Sana, by the way. I always see you in here but we’ve never talked, and I always thought about talking to you since you’re such a steady source of income, but you always seemed really shy. I thought I’d take the initiative to come talk to you today, since I had an excuse,” she shrugged, half-smiling. Momo, inspired by Sana’s friendliness, finally felt a conviction to speak.

“Hi, I’m Momo. Your brownies are really good and you’re really pretty,” she croaked out before immediately covering her face with her hands. Of course, the one time she actually gets the courage to talk to this girl, and she’s a complete dork. Fantastic. Real lady killer, Momo. Really, just a prime example of functional social skills.

Momo peeked out through her fingers to see The Gi- Sana standing frozen, mouth slightly open in shock, a bright red blush illuminating her face. At least Momo wasn’t the only one. Momo barely caught a hushed “thank you” before Sana was gone as quickly as she came, hurrying back behind the counter and through the door to the kitchen. Momo slumped down in her seat with a deep sigh, running a hand through her hair. Way to up so badly that you physically scared her off, Momo. There has truly never been someone more socially adept. Chancing another glance at the bakery counter, and seeing no sign of Sana, Momo gathered her things quickly and left, willing her blush to go away before one of her friends saw and decided to ask questions. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to deal with her own secondhand embarrassment for a very long time.

A few hours later, in her apartment’s living room, Mina’s laugh reached new volumes.

“You’re such a doofus, Momo, God,” Mina wheezed between breaths, clutching her stomach. Most people saw Mina as the quiet, reserved girl who was polite and considerate, but Momo knew better. Her absolute demon of a roommate was never going to let her live this down, but Momo couldn’t have kept it from her if she wanted. Mina was masterful at getting the truth out of someone, whether they liked it or not, and she could tell something was going on as soon as she saw Momo’s “sad puppy face” (Mina’s words, not Momo’s) walk through the door. Momo just wanted to lay down and die.

“You think I don’t know that?” Momo pouted, crossing her arms. Sure, it was probably funny to an outsider, but show some sensitivity, dammit! Momo’s life was practically ruined! No, she wasn’t being dramatic at all! Suddenly, Momo caught a glint in Mina’s eyes that she didn’t like one bit.

“Please let me tell Nayeon,” Mina pleaded, phone already out and ready.

“Absolutely not! Myoui Mina, you better put that phone down this instant,” Momo demanded, leaping toward her as her roommate raised the phone to her ear, the line ringing.

“Nabongs, you’re never going to believe- oof!” Mina was cut off as Momo dove into her with a tackle any American football player would be proud of. They wrestled on the ground for a moment, Momo’s superior strength matched only by Mina’s ability to slip out of any hold she was placed in.

“Now now, girls, no need to fight over me, there’s plenty to go around.” The playful voice made the two roommates freeze in their tracks and whip their heads around to see Nayeon standing in the doorway of their apartment (neither Momo nor Mina knew when she had gotten a key, but Nayeon had her ways).

“Why are you here?” Momo asked as she rolled off of Mina and sat up. It wasn’t that she didn’t love Nayeon, she did, but if Mina was a demon, Nayeon was Satan herself when it came to moments of embarrassment. If Nayeon found out about it, Momo would be hearing about it 10 years from now, like that time in middle school when she fell down a whole flight of stairs and broke her arm because she was too focused on eating while walking. Nayeon had brought it up just last week, for no reason.

“I just have a sixth sense for juicy gossip,” Nayeon answered, striking a pose and tossing her hair over her shoulder over-dramatically.

“Actually, we’re cheap and hungry so we came to steal your food,” Jeongyeon interjected, strolling through the door and closing it behind her. Great, it just had to be both of them.

“Babe, I’m trying to be cool!” Nayeon whined, pushing Jeongyeon’s shoulder lightly.

“Yeah, and you’re failing,” Jeongyeon deadpanned, walking past the three of them and into the kitchen. Well, at least she’s equally an to all of them. Ignoring Nayeon’s offended gasp, she began rummaging through the fridge.

“You know, you might as well just start helping us pay for groceries.” Mina lifted herself to her feet and sat back down on the couch, not bothering to try and stop the inevitable food theft.

“But then it would be my food, and that defeats the point of me eating your food,” Jeongyeon explained, pulling out a container and opening the lid to see inside.

“So Mina, what did you have to tell me before Momo started a wrestling match? Something embarrassing happened, didn’t it?” Nayeon asked excitedly, sitting beside a now equally gleeful Mina. Momo groaned, laying down on the floor and covering her face with her arm. She’d really thought Jeongyeon’s banter would’ve bought her more time, but Nayeon wasn’t quick to forget anything that sounded potentially embarrassing.

“So you remember how I told you Momo has a huge crush on one of the bakers at that little shop right beside campus?” Mina started, catching Jeongyeon’s attention enough to temporarily stop making her sandwich. Usually she didn’t have Nayeon’s passion for gossip, but something had piqued her interest.

“Wait, are you talking about Sana?” Jeongyeon asked, startling all of them. Momo shot up with a speed none of them had ever seen. None of them had expected Jeongyeon to even be listening, much less know who they were talking about.

“How do you know her name?” Momo demanded, shocked and also dying to know more about Sana, despite the fact that she’d ruined her chances of ever getting to know her as more than the girl she’d scared off by being a public menace. She couldn’t believe she’d been so close to knowing who Sana was all this time.

“She lives with Jihyo and Tzuyu, dude. She’s known Tzuyu since they were kids. I’ve hung out with her a bunch of times, whenever Chae drags me over there. Nayeon, you know who Sana is, you idiot,” Jeongyeon chastised, resuming her sandwich construction.

“How was I supposed to know it was her, you ? She’s not the only baker there!” Nayeon protested with a huff.

“Because she’s the only baker there who isn’t over 40 years old, Nayeon. Think a little every once in a while,” Jeongyeon rolled her eyes, carrying her plate into the living room and sitting next to her girlfriend.

“Don’t treat me like an idiot, Yoo Jeongyeon!” Nayeon smacked her shoulder, prompting Jeongyeon to mutter something under her breath about “acting like one”. Nayeon elbowed her. Hard.

“I can’t believe this. I find out that I was this close to her the whole time, right after I make sure she’ll never wanna talk to me ever again,” Momo groaned, falling back down and covering her face with her hands. Mina, who’d been silent while taking in all the new information, suddenly sprung back to life, giggling.

“Oh please tell me Mina, I have literally never wanted anything more in my entire life,” Nayeon pleaded, causing Jeongyeon to snort at her dramatics, which earned her another elbow.

“Well Momo’s opening line was also her closing line, because when dear Sana made the effort to come over and start a conversation with her and bring her free food, Momo decided to make it clear how bad she is at speaking out loud and made Sana run away, though she won’t tell me what she said,” Mina explained. The delight on Nayeon’s face only grew with each word, and Jeongyeon covered with a hand as she started to laugh.

“You made her run away? This tops you falling down the stairs in 7th grade by miles,” Nayeon laughed, smacking Jeongyeon’s thigh. Jeongyeon herself was hysterical by this point. Momo fought the urge to jump out a window.

“Just leave me here to die,” Momo grumbled, rolling over to lie face first on the ground.

“Oh, no, no no no, I have to tell Chae and Dahyun, and we have to go over to Tzuyu’s apartment,” Jeongyeon gasped, on the verge of tears from laughing so hard. Momo sat up once more.

“We are not doing either of those things, put down the phone, Jung,” Momo warned, though by the time she’d gotten the words out, Jeongyeon’s fingers were already pressing send on the text. “Oh come on!” Momo whined, foiled once again in her attempts to stop the story from spreading. Oh well, she wasn’t going down without a fight.

Momo couldn’t believe she’d allowed herself to be brought to what was soon to be the most awkward location in history. It had been a week since The Event, and Momo had been embarrassed just thinking about going near the bakery Sana worked at, much less resuming her routine of going at least every other day. It felt a bit strange, spending so much more time at home, but boredom and dealing with Mina’s looks (Momo refused to let Mina call her sulky, because she wasn’t, so her roommate resorted to saying it with looks whenever Momo did something she thought was sulky, which was practically all the time) was better than the alternative of facing Sana ever again. As a result, Mina had nearly physically dragged her out of the apartment and into Nayeon’s car when Jeongyeon suggested that they all go out for dinner. What she conveniently forgot to mention, however, was that the dinner was going to be held at a certain apartment. One that housed three people. One of which was the girl that Momo had completely made a fool of herself in front of. ing Jeongyeon. And now here Momo was, sitting on the couch beside Tzuyu and Jihyo, waiting for her living nightmare to walk though the door after work. Not that Sana was nightmarish in any way, just the thought of seeing her again after what happened made Momo want to be very violently sick. Or fling herself off the balcony. Whichever came first. The uncomfortable atmosphere was only increased by the fact that Momo barely knew any of the apartment's tenants.

Momo had never interacted with Tzuyu much, and Jihyo even less, so it was no wonder she didn’t realize they had a third roommate, much less one that happened to be the girl that Momo had been crushing on from afar for the past month and a half. Despite only speaking to Tzuyu a few times, Momo really liked her. She was quiet and calm, especially around strangers, but had a goofy side and a tendency to laugh at Momo’s dumb jokes, which Momo appreciated greatly. Tzuyu’s girlfriend, Chaeyoung, was one of Jeongyeon’s best friends, and by extension one of Momo’s friends, but the times when Chae brought Tzuyu around were few and far in-between, most likely due to conflicting schedules. Momo had met Jihyo once, when she’d dropped Chae off at their apartment. She’d offered Momo a cookie and complimented her, so she was okay in Momo’s book. As far as Momo knew, the two girls didn’t know about Momo’s dilemma with their third roommate, and she was definitely not going to bring it up, and Momo thought that if she wasn’t actually a part of it, the upcoming confrontation would probably be pretty funny.

Tzuyu, on her left, was scribbling in a notebook as she flipped through a textbook, and Momo admired her dedication to studying amidst the commotion in her apartment. Jihyo was alternating between checking the food in the oven and sitting on the couch, scrolling through her phone. Momo turned her attention to the TV, where Chae and Dahyun, Chae’s best friend since high school, were playing a video game that Momo couldn’t even guess the name of. Sitting on the floor in front of the couch, the two girls yelled and shoved each other while playing, apparently not getting the memo that video games were not a contact sport. Mina sat in the armchair to the right, offering advice and looking annoyed when neither of the girls listened to her. Momo inwardly laughed at the thought that Mina could probably wipe the floor with both of them, considering how many hours she spent playing games herself. Jeongyeon and Nayeon, true to form, were squeezed into the other armchair, quietly bickering about something, all while cuddled up and holding hands. All in all, it was a nice scene, and it almost made Momo forget about the terror to come, at least until she heard the sound of a key in the lock on the front door.

“Wow, who started the party withou-” Sana cut herself off and froze in the doorway as she noticed Momo, equally still and shocked. The temperature in the room seemed to drop 10 degrees as everyone grew aware of the tension-filled gaze that Momo was too startled to break. Even the ambient noise of the video game came to a halt as Chaeyoung unthinkingly paused, caught up in what was happening. Momo could almost feel the confusion radiating off Jihyo and Tzuyu, completely unaware that Sana and Momo even knew about each other, much less had some sort of tension between them.

“How did- who… why is she here?” Sana asked her roommates, finally managing to break out of her stupor and close the door.

“She’s friends with Jeongyeon and Chae, and we invited them over for dinner,” Tzuyu haltingly explained.

“You’re friends with Jeongyeon and Chae?” Sana directed her question directly to Momo, whose mouth suddenly decided to return to its old habits and dry up and the sight of Sana. Nerves getting the better of her, Momo barely managed a small nod, staring blankly at her crush.

“What is going on here?” Jihyo asked, looking around at the group of friends who were doing their best impressions of statues.

“Guys, this is the girl from the coffee shop. The one I’ve been telling you about?” Sana explained. Momo perked up slightly. Sana talked about her? Then again, she could have been telling them about the crazy girl who freaked her out.

“The cute girl you have a crush on is Momo?” Tzuyu asked incredulously. Wait, crush?

“You have a crush on me?” Momo asked weakly, almost to herself. This was the furthest thing from what she’d been expecting, and she didn’t know how to process it.

“Dude, the girl you’ve had a crush on for like two whole months likes you back, and you were just too much of a dork to talk to her? This is even funnier than you scaring her off!” Jeongyeon laughed, bending over Nayeon’s legs.

“You have a crush on me?” Sana echoed Momo’s earlier statement, much louder.

Five seconds of silence permeated the apartment before everyone except Momo and Sana burst into laughter. The aforementioned girls were stunned into openmouthed silence, mentally putting the pieces together. They’d been so close, the whole time. Momo wanted to slap herself. This all felt like a dream, so maybe she should.

Once again, Momo was curled up into her customary armchair in the small bakery next to campus, an unfinished English paper staring her down. She focused on the empty plate in front of her, a few crumbs the only sign of the cookies that were served on it, wondering if she should go back up to the counter and order more. Her thoughts were interrupted by a pair of arms looping around her shoulders and a head coming close to her own. Instead of panicking like she would anywhere else, Momo leaned into the embrace with a sigh, reaching up to grab the hands dangling by her chest.

“You should have looked to see who I was instead of just accepting the hug. What if I was some strange girl flirting with you, huh?” Sana pouted, lower lip pushed out. Momo wanted to kiss it away, but she knew that if they started it would be too hard to stop. She turned her head so that they were facing each other and grinned.

“Well if she was brave enough to come over and cuddle me then I should probably indulge her a little,” Momo teased, laughing when Sana’s pout increased.

“I should have never thought you were some cute shy girl, you’re so rude to me. Pay me back for all the free food I’ve given you and get out,” Sana demanded, though her serious tone was undermined by the fact that she didn’t make any moves to let go and the slight smile she was obviously trying to fight.

“Or,” Momo drew out the word, “you could bring me some more cookies and help me eat them,” she suggested, knowing Sana was weak to Momo sharing food with her. Just as Momo expected, Sana broke out into a smile and rolled her eyes, standing up and pushing Momo’s shoulders lightly.

“Only because you’re cute,” Sana said, fondly smiling.

“And you love me,” Momo prompted.

“And I love you,” Sana agreed, shaking her head at her own weakness as she walked toward the counter.