like we're made of starlight.
Don't You Dream Impossible Things
"And then we ran over and grabbed the thing by the barrel and it was super heavy and- yah, are you even listening?"
Mina smiles dreamily, her focus clearly beyond her best friend's face. "Of course I'm listening. Continue."
Nayeon frowns at her. "No you aren't. What is it over my shoulder that's got you so intrigued?" She turns around to look, only to see nothing particularly special. Just the normal scene- students milling about, reaching into their lockers, conversing with friends.
Mina sighs just as dreamy as before, with the same dazed smile on her face.
She's so pretty, today as well.
Hirai Momo is standing at her own locker a few feet away from Nayeon and Mina, chatting with some of her friends. Momo is smiling gently at something a younger girl (whom Mina recognizes to be a transfer student from Taiwan) is saying, with eyes only an unnie would have for her dongsaeng. She totally doesn't notice Mina and her unabashed staring. She doesn't look over, not even once.
Nayeon is still scanning the scene behind her with a pouty frown on her squirtle-like face. "Yah Myoui Mina, what could possibly be more interesting about a bunch of kids than me? I'm your unnie, at least try acting like you're listening to me!"
Her nasally shout does nothing to deter Mina from her silly reverie. It isn't until the bell rings, signaling the start of classes for the day, that Mina is unwillingly dragged to her first period class by Nayeon and Jeongyeon- but not without having to stop and greet the multitudes of students who smile and say a bunch of excited nothings to the most popular girl in school. Mina smiles and nods politely at them before hurrying off, but not without taking one last glance over her shoulder at Hirai Momo, who is shutting her locker and walking with Chou Tzuyu to the younger girl's class, undoubtedly to prevent the younger girl from getting lost in the new school.
Mina smiles secretly to herself and looks away.
Lunch rolls around, and Mina is finally free from the boring lectures of boring teachers. Not that she had been paying much attention anyway; she had other things on her mind all morning.
"Hey Mina, are you coming? Dahyun and Sana are going to eat with us as well." Jihyo says as she and Jeongyeon pass by her desk with a smile. They look at her hopefully, and Mina feels a bit apologetic.
"Sorry, I wanted to print some papers at the library. You guys go on without me." She says, and the other two exchange glances but don't press upon the matter.
"Okay, well, you know where to find us whenever you finish printing." Jeongyeon says, and they head off. Mina pretends to sort through her perfectly organized notebooks, examining old homework sheets in a thoughtful act to pass time as she waits, and it's only when everyone else finally filters out of the classroom that she shoves the books and papers in her backpack.
Momo is standing by her locker, rummaging through her backpack and putting books away when Mina finally makes her way to the secluded area of the hallway. Everyone else is in the cafeteria eating or in the teacher's offices asking questions, out of sight and out of way. Mina can't help the smile that spreads over her features as she catches sight of the other girl's side profile. Momo is tall, muscular, and has a killer jawline; Mina stands still for a moment to appreciate the sight.
Momo finally looks up and catches her eye. "Hey you." She smiles teasingly, and Mina is giddy as she makes her way over.
"How was class?" Momo asks, looping an arm around Mina's waist to pull her closer before brushing a gentle kiss to her forehead. Mina grins, relishing the warmth of the other girl, and hums softly.
"It was boring. I couldn't focus."
Momo taps her nose. "What did I tell you about your daydreaming tendencies?" She asks sternly, but not so sternly as she looks at Mina with mirth in her eyes and Mina smiles up at her in unadulterated adoration.
"I forgot. Tell me again." She says to Momo just as teasingly, placing a hand by the blonde's collarbone and tracing light patterns through cloth.
Momo chuckles at Mina's silly smile and brushes a hand over Mina's hair. "I don't even remember what I said." She replies honestly, and they both giggle at their silliness as they relish in their brief moment of alone time before they were to return to their respective social circles.
"Why don't you ever sit with me at lunch?" Mina asks after a moment, head resting on Momo's chest. She lifts her head briefly to look at the blonde.
Momo hums lightly. “Do you want me to?"
Mina pouts.
Suddenly they hear footsteps coming down the hall, and they exchange bemused glances before Momo shoves Mina away from her and continues to rummage through her locker. Mina barely manages to regain her footing, and she starts to head to the cafeteria before anyone can say anything else.
A few students come into view from behind them. They wave to Mina enthusiastically. “Mina! Are you going to eat lunch?”
Mina turns briefly and nods. “I was just on my way.”
The girls squeal. “Great! We’ll come with you!” They fall behind Mina like lovestruck fans and Mina doesn’t bother to try conversing; she knows she’ll just get tired of their incessant rambling and pitchy laughter. She casts a sideway glance at Momo though, who pays her no mind as she puts the last of her books in her backpack and closes the metal door quietly. No one pays her any mind either.
Mina allows a small smile to ghost over her lips as she turns her head back to face forward, chin up and shoulders back as she walks proudly to her destination. The other girls behind her follow readily, eager to be seen with the most popular girl in school, and they all try to talk to her at the same time. They're practically shouting over each other and the noise of the cafeteria in their poor attempts at conversation.
Mina forces a smile, obvious relief in her eyes as she spots Nayeon waving to her from a corner. She hastily bids the others farewell as she scurries over to her own lunch table with Nayeon, Jihyo, Dahyun, and Jeongyeon. Nayeon is the eldest among them; she, Sana, and Jeongyeon are seniors while Jihyo and Mina are juniors, just shy of each other’s age. Dahyun is just a sophomore, the baby of the group, and is currently trying to eat way more food than she should be consuming.
Mina chuckles lightly at the scene. “Stop that Dahyun, you’ll choke.” She gently removes the sandwich from the younger girl’s hand, who looks displeased.
“So,” Nayeon begins, leaning forward “have any of you guys talked to the new girl yet?”
“What new girl?” Jihyo asks blandly as she chews.
“There’s some new transfer girl from Taiwan who got here a couple weeks ago- she’s really tall and quiet and has eyes almost as big as Jihyo’s. I was wondering if any of you losers know her.” Nayeon explains, picking at her salad. She slides it over to Dahyun who, after a moment’s hesitation, begins to eat it.
“Ah, that one- I think I’ve seen her around.” Sana comments listlessly. “She doesn’t seem to have many friends.”
“She’s always hanging out with some blonde girl- I think that girl’s a senior.” Jihyo chips in.
“Oh, Momo? Momo’s also a transfer student. She came a couple months ago.” Jeongyeon eyes Dahyun distastefully as the younger girl begins to eat her sandwich again.
“She’s really quiet. Doesn’t seem to say much either.”
Mina takes it all in silently as she nibbles at her pasta.
“Ah, by the way, that bakery near my house finally opened recently. We should all go tonight and check it out.” Sana claps excitedly and everyone else nods in agreement.
Mina smiles apologetically. “Ah, I’m sorry. I can’t go tonight.”
Sana looks sad and Mina almost feels bad. “What? Why not?”
Mina shrugs helplessly. “I have a lot of homework. I can’t afford to put it off any longer.” She explains lamely, not quite knowing what else to say.
“Mina, it’s Friday.” Even Jeongyeon speaks up. “Who does homework on a Friday?"
Nayeon squints at her. “You’ve been staying in a lot these days, Myoui. Are you sure it’s homework that’s keeping you back?”
Mina blinks at her. “What? What else could it be?” She asks innocently.
There’s a glint in Nayeon’s eyes, and Mina gulps because that can never be good. “Hm, I guess I’m not sure- well maybe, oh, I don’t know- maybe you’ve found yourself a date?”
Mina’s eyes widen almost comically and she furiously shakes her head while everyone else at the table is suddenly brought to life. Even Jihyo looks alive now.
“You found a girlfriend? Minari, why didn’t you say anything?” Jihyo says, staring at her with incredulous wide eyes.
“It’s not like that!” Oh, but it’s completely like that.
Nayeon, the unofficial group leader, looks knowingly at Jeongyeon and Sana before anything else can happen. “Hm, whatever you say then Minari. It’d be nice if you found someone though.”
Oh dear.
Friday was a warm spring evening. The sun was casting soft, warm light over the landscape, and Mina rushed downstairs to open the door.
“Hey.” Momo stands before her with her hands in her pockets.
“Hi.” Mina greets back. “Let me get my jacket.”
She locks the door after her and swings into the passenger seat besides Momo who promptly starts the engine. “So, what’d you have in mind this time?”
Momo grins. “It’s a secret.” She replies in her normal fashion as she pulls out of Mina’s driveway.
Mina sighs but smiles despite herself, kind of used to Momo and her unconventional ideas by now. She says little else, choosing to relax in her seat and enjoy the sun glowing on her skin instead. Momo eventually reaches over to turn on the radio, and soon all thoughts of secrecy and sad Sana are off her mind as they start screaming singing along to Taylor Swift’s “22,” with the occasional voice crack and weird looks from the other drivers. Mina couldn’t care less though because Momo is smiling at her with the brightness of ten thousand suns, and before she realizes, they’re at a lake about half an hour from their suburban town with sunlight filtering through the trees and glistening over the vast expanse of water.
Momo keeps driving until they’re at an isolated part of the area, with evergreens sand and a couple shrubs here and there, before she puts the car in park. “It’s gotten warmer recently. I thought we could check out the area around here before the April rain starts up.” She explains as she opens the passenger door for Mina, extending her hand.
Mina takes her hand and Momo helps her swing up out of the car. “You know, normal people usually go to the mall or the movies on a Friday.” Mina quips, looking around with eyes of wonder nonetheless.
Momo rolls her eyes with a smile. “Well consider us abnormal.”
Mina can’t lie though- she loves it here, loves what Momo’s showing her, and she can’t but marvel at the girl’s sculpture-like figure as Momo makes her way from the gravelly, grassy road lot to the edge of the clear water through the sand. Mina takes out her phone to take pictures- pictures of the sun, of the trees, the water, of her.
Momo’s skipping stones on the clear water, and Mina watches her from behind, admiring the way the stones leap so smoothly several times before finally sinking into the reflective depths of the lake.
“Momo?”
“Hm?”
“Remember the time we snuck into some stranger’s wedding just for the food?”
Momo stands by the door with an innocent expression. Mina looks at her incredulously.
“What are you doing? We’re going to get kicked out!” She hisses at the older girl, who merely shrugs and looks over where the front gate is.
“They have amazing food. I can tell already.”
Mina gapes at Momo as the blonde casually opens the back gate and walks in without a care in the world. She heads straight for the food, and Mina has no choice but to follow her (but not after looking around to make sure no one else is watching).
Momo is all smiles by the time Mina reaches her, and she holds out a piece of fancy bread with fancy cheese on it for Mina as the younger finally reaches her.
“This is pretty good, try it!”
Mina blinks, cross-eyed at the food in front of her nose, but eats it nonetheless and damn Momo is totally right; the food here is amazing and they just snuck into a stranger’s wedding-
She feels a soft tap on her nose. “Stop overthinking.” Momo drawls simply as she eats another piece of the delicacy, and Mina sighs but begins to fill her stomach; it’d be a waste if they went through all the trouble of sneaking in and got kicked out without eating anything, she reasons.
Music starts to play some time later and everyone starts to dance. Mina freezes momentarily; for sure they’re caught now, she thinks. Even the stiff, shy teenage boys present are getting up as not to stick out.
Momo notices her shocked expression and is amused. She holds out a hand for the younger girl and says very simply- “Mina, dance with me.”
The song is good- old, but good, and everyone looks wonderful in their suits and dresses. Momo’s hands are around her waist and Mina finds her hands around Momo’s neck and they sway with everyone else to soft acoustic and strings.
They don’t get kicked out, much to Mina’s surprise, and they manage to leave some time later peacefully through the back door with full stomachs and big smiles.
Momo chuckles. “How on earth could I forget? The smoked salmon was delicious.” She snickers as she throws another flat stone, only managing two leaps this time before going down with a plunk.
Mina smiles fondly. “I still can’t believe you convinced me to do that.”
“I still can’t believe you agreed.” Momo laughs, grinning over her shoulder as she hops down from her perch on the sand and makes her way over to where Mina sits She puts an arm around Mina’s waist and Mina leans her head on Momo’s shoulder and they look out over the lake where the sun is glowing orange rays of bright light and casting shimmers over the rippling water.
“So, what’d you tell Nayeon and Sana this time?”
"Not sure. Something about homework, I think."
She remembers the first time she meets Hirai Momo.
It’s an average day, it’s an average time, and she sees Momo for the first time in school talking to a teacher; the girl is undoubtedly getting settled into the new environment. She remembers passing by that classroom and thinking to herself, she’s never seen that girl before.
Momo exits the classroom and Mina is standing nearby, surrounded by her schoolmates chattering away. They met each other’s eyes and all Mina gets is a blank stare- nothing more, nothing less.
She later learns that Momo is a senior, she’s Japanese like Mina, and she really could care less.
Mina is head-over-heels.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mina is usually one of the happiest, most confused people on the planet, but sometimes she gets sad and she tends to overthink.
“I figured you’d be up here.”
Mina turns as the door to the rooftop creaks open, and Momo steps out. The taller girl crosses over to where Mina is sitting on an old bench, standing before her.
“So? What’s up?”
Mina sighs and tells her all the things on her mind. All the silly things, the serious things, the sad things, the tough things. She half-expects Momo to roll her eyes halfway through her rant, expects the girl to get up and leave, but Momo does none of those things. Momo listens to her whole rant with a neutral expression, not commenting or trying to change the subject. She just listens and pats Mina’s head when she’s done.
Momo is different.
When Mina finishes her rant, Momo smiles down at her affectionately. “Look at you, worrying too much about things you can’t change.” She isn’t condescending or judgmental, just Momo being Momo and it makes Mina look up from her lap.
Momo ruffles her hair and takes a seat next to the younger girl. “Life isn’t going to give you a GPS or a map to follow all the time, you know? So what if you think you want to be a doctor instead of a dancer? And so what if you want to do something that no one expects? It’s your life- you’ll always be blue if you’re thinking that way. Trying to do things to fill people’s expectations."
Mina looks at her wordlessly.
She continues, “if it feels right, sometimes you just gotta go for it. Don’t be afraid of these things- enjoy them while you can. Don’t you ever dream impossible dreams?"
When she finishes, she misses the way Mina looks at her like she’s made of starlight.
Prom is coming up, and the whole school is abuzz. Promposals are posted all over the internet, every success and failure included. Facebook groups are made where girls post their dresses to make sure no one buys the same dress as them, prom tickets are on sale every lunch time and there never seem to be enough, and people are coughing up extreme amounts of money on corsages and dresses to vainly try to outdo the other person. Promhouse reservations are made, limousine rentals are discussed, there’s talk of who’s gonna spike the punch bowl this year, and there’s constant gossip as to who will ask who, who will says yes and who won’t. Girls are discussing where they’re going to get their makeup done, guys are trying to decide what kind of gel would hold their hair up best, and everyone wants to leave early to get ready for prom but that’s going to be harder than it should be given the strict nature of the school’s attendance policy.
All this is nice and dandy, but it's tiring and frankly, Mina is not interested. Fortunately, Momo isn’t either.
“Mina, did you want to go to prom?” Momo asks one day as they laze about next to each other on the hammock Momo’s set up on her rooftop apartment between two large potted trees that have been there since Momo’s moved in.
Mina hums, feeling warm sunlight on her face and she feels absolutely content with the current situation as she replies. “Normally I would say yes, but for some reason I’m losing interest in prom.”
Momo shrugs from next to her. “That’s weird, huh. I almost asked you because I thought you’d want to go.”
Mina cracks one eye open and glances over at Momo. “I think I’ve been spending way too much time with you.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
Mina laughs at the offended response, and she rolls over to throw an arm over Momo’s abdomen. The hammock teeters dangerously and Momo squeals, gripping her side of the hammock and Mina in an attempt to prevent them from meeting with the floor. “Stop that! We’re going to flip over!”
Mina ignores her and moves her chin onto Momo’s shoulder. “So I guess neither of us are going to prom then.” She hums, gazing at Momo as the older girl continues to stare up at the clouds.
Momo shrugs. “I mean, I wasn’t planning on it anyway.”
“What were you planning on doing then?”
Momo grins. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“What do you mean you’re not going to prom?!” Nayeon shrieks so loudly, she’s sure everyone in the school has heard it.
Good thing though- this would save Mina from any unwarranted promposals that would undoubtedly end in failure for the poor brave soul who tried. She mentally pats herself on the back. Telling Nayeon first was the right thing to do.
“I don’t have a date.” She half-fibs, half-truths. She’s not wrong; Momo hasn’t asked her and nor has anyone else (thankfully). “And I might already have plans on that day.”
“WHAT PLANS?” Nayeon shouts even more loudly, and Mina winces as the sound hits her tender ears.
Jihyo, on the other hand, is not as surprised. “I knew it! You’re dating someone, aren’t you?” She points giddily at Mina, and Nayeon is about to explode.
“SO WHY ISN’T YOUR GIRLFRIEND TAKING YOU TO PROM?”
Mina smiles meekly. “She’s actually going to take me hiking.”
She witnesses something terrible the week after.
Tzuyu- poor, gentle Tzuyu- is shoved roughly against a row of lockers by some of the girls who had trailed Mina earlier in the month to the cafeteria. Mina doesn’t know what happened before, but she’s close enough to hear the huge clang the lockers make when Tzuyu’s body is pushed into them.
She, along with many other curious peers, makes her way over and stops in her tracks- Tzuyu is on the ground with her books scattered about and her hands shielding her face- one of the girls is shouting curses at the younger girl as she and her friends shove and kick at Tzuyu
Mina is stunned- she never pegged those girls to be ones for violence- but she’s already unconsciously making her way over to the scene, ignoring her friend’s calls of how it isn’t worth it, how she’ll get in trouble.
What bothers her more is a crowd has formed around them, yet no one steps out to help Tzuyu.
She tries her best to shove through the crowd, tries to make her way to the scene, but someone beats her to it- suddenly the lead girl is slammed harshly against the lockers and she crumples, taken by surprise by the sudden offense.
Momo is standing before Tzuyu with her fists clenched and a livid look in her eyes. “What is going on?” She yells as the girl gets back up, standing protectively in front of the younger girl- daring any of the bullies to come closer.
The girls glare at Momo as they scramble backward to regroup. “Who the hell are you?!” One asks, flabbergasted.
Momo slams her hand against the metal lockers and the loud bang scares them all, bystanders included. “Why are you beating someone up four to one?”
“Are you picking a fight?” One of the girls asks as they start to advance. Tzuyu has tears streaming down her cheeks as she looks up at Momo. Momo looks down and she actually smiles comfortingly at the younger girl, her hard expression giving way for a brief moment before it returns and her stance becomes defensive.
The lead girl glares hatefully at Tzuyu on the ground, at Momo standing before her, and she screams, lunging out to swing at Momo with her lackeys following close behind.
Mina’s eyes widen and she shoves faster. No!
And Momo beats the absolute out of them.
Mina shoves her way through the crowd and gets to the front just in time to have one of the lackeys thrown at her feet, landing with a thud and a groan, and Momo’s lunging to her right to take a heavy punch from the leader meant for Tzuyu.
The dull thwack of the girl’s fist against Momo’s ribs is sickening, and Mina doesn’t even have time to process what’s happening, but one of the lackeys suddenly starts to run, and the rest of them follow suit. Their leader suddenly realizes she’s alone, and she runs as well and the rest of the onlookers begin to disperse in fear of being caught by a teacher.
Soon it’s just Momo and Tzuyu, and Mina is still standing thirty-something feet away in shock. Momo takes Tzuyu’s hands and pulls the younger girl to her feet, then bends down to start collecting the younger girl’s things.
Tzuyu is still relatively new to Korean so she can’t communicate too well yet, but she sniffs and takes her books from Momo’s hands with a bowed head and Momo has that unnie smile on again- she reaches over and wipes Tzuyu’s tears with her thumb and carefully lifts the girl’s chin, brushing her hair out of her eyes and patting her head. Tzuyu looks at Momo through tear-filled eyes, and Mina swears she’s never seen anyone look so thankful, so adoringly at another human.
Momo hands Tzuyu the last of her things and looks the younger girl in the eye. “If anyone ever comes to bother you again, you come straight to me and let me know. I’ll take care of it, okay?”
A teacher finally shows up and Momo takes all responsibility, although her punishment is lessened greatly given the situation (but still, she hit another student so she has to be punished no matter what the reason). She accepts her after-school detention for the next three days without protest, and walks Tzuyu to her next class when all is settled.
Mina starts to see things differently from then on.
She gets a text from Momo during the last period of school that day. “Hey, I won’t be able to hang out with you for the next few days :(“
It’s obvious that Momo doesn’t know that she witnessed the whole thing, so she asks “Aw, why not?”
The response is quick, and Mina gathers it's because school’s almost over and cell phones aren’t allowed in detention. “I beat up some kids and got in trouble.”
Mina reads the text and mulls over it for a moment. Momo doesn’t blame anyone- she doesn’t try to pin blame elsewhere even when she can, and it’s because Momo’s so foolishly noble that Mina is frustrated and a little upset at the unfairness of it all. It’s then she that realizes Momo is different from all the other kids in more than just her bizarre tendencies
She waits for Momo at her apartment for the next three nights and makes her jokbal since the girl is living in Korea alone. Not once does Momo mention the real reason behind her detentions; instead, she asks Mina about her day, asks Mina about her dog Ray, and talks about impossible dreams that are so amazing and beautiful and so Momo that Mina’s actually finding herself entertaining these kinds of impossible dreams- dreams about seeing the world, about getting married and having ten kids, about dancing, about all kinds of things.
Seeing Momo’s smile under the soft globe lights on the rooftop apartment convinces Mina that Momo is indeed made of starlight.
She wishes she were too, if only she could stay with Momo a little longer.
Prom finally rolls around, and Mina was unfortunately unsuccessful in avoiding any promposals. She turned down four people before prom actually happened, feeling less apologetic as each one occurred. Seriously though, can’t people take a hint?
Word finally gets around that Mina- the most popular girl in school- isn't going to prom. She can tell that people are dying of curiosity, but are too afraid to actually ask her. Her turning down four people and their extravagant promposals is clear enough at the end though, although everyone has begun speculating that she's dating someone.
Well, she reasons. They aren't wrong.
Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Sana look beautiful. They’re all dolled up for their senior prom, and everyone gets together at Nayeon’s house to take pictures. Nayeon and Jeongyeon end up going together and Mina has never seen a happier Nayeon as they pose together for pictures on Nayeon’s large green lawn. Sana is actually going with a cute junior named Eunha, much to Dahyun’s chagrin, and Jihyo is going with a senior Doyoung. Prom is for the seniors, but many of the juniors go because the seniors ask them, and occasionally a freshman or sophomore will appear if a senior asks them.
Mina smiles and poses with her friends as they fuss about, fitting corsages and getting in Jeongyeon’s family limo. Mina and Dahyun stand behind to see them off, and Dahyun’s friend Chaeyoung is there as well (the two had made plans for that Friday evening like everyone else).
Nayeon rolls down the window just as the engine starts. “Mina, you better have a good excuse as to why you turned down four people and skipped out on this prom when I come back.” She squints accusingly at the girl who giggles and waves her off.
“Of course, of course. Don’t worry unnie, I’ll tell you everything.”
Nayeon is pulled back into the limo by Jeongyeon, and they take off. Mina and Dahyun are left standing on Nayeon’s lawn, and the second they’re out of sight, Mina books it to Nayeon’s bathroom to change her clothes.
Dahyun is surprised, but follows nonetheless. “Unnie, are you sure you don’t want to join us? We’re going to hang out with some other kids at the mall.” She calls through the bathroom door, referring to herself and Chaeyoung.
Mina comes out panting, and she smiles as she catches sight of Momo’s car pulling up. “Don’t worry Dahyun, you two go on and have fun alright?” She smiles at the younger girls.
Momo parks by the curb right by Nayeon’s driveway, and Dahyun looks up. “Unnie, you never actually told us where you were going instead of prom.” Dahyun says slowly, eyeing Momo’s car carefully.
Mina tilts her head as she gathers her things and grabs a water bottle from Nayeon’s kitchen. “Yes I did? I told you all the other day, remember?"
Chaeyoung is upstairs so it’s just Mina and Dahyun standing in front of Nayeon’s front door. “I remember you said something about a mysterious girlfriend.” Dahyun starts slowly.
“And?”
“And something about… hiking?” Dahyun finishes confusedly, looking more lost by the second.
Mina smiles at the younger girl and pats her head. “There you go. I knew I’d told you!” She waves as she jogs across the lawn to Momo’s car, swinging in the passenger seat and giving Momo a quick hello kiss.
Dahyun is confused. Mina rolls the windows down and the sound of Momo’s music fills the space around the car. “See you later Dahyun! Be safe, okay?” She calls out as Momo pulls away, similarly dressed in sports attire with her hair pulled back.
Chaeyoung finds Dahyun still standing in the same spot when she comes down.
They drive about an hour to reach the mountains- Momo speeds on the highway- before they park and get out. It’s warm but not hot, and not too cold; the perfect day for prom and hiking, and they bring nothing but water and Mina’s camera, their phones safely (and silently) stashed in the depths of Momo’s backpack. Momo locks her car before throwing her keys in the bag as well, and they’re off excitedly as the clock strikes 5:30pm.
It’s beautiful- the sun, the trees, the rocks, and the view. It’s a difficult hike, but Momo’s there to help her through it and she’s there to help Momo. There are all kinds of different trees in the mountains, and the leaves are so pretty that Mina stops every few minutes to take some pictures.
After about an hour and a half of hardcore climbing, they reach the top. There aren’t too many people here today- most of the kids are at prom or at the mall or the movies, most of the adults are tired from working hard all week, and most of the elderly are enjoying dinner together at some of the fancy Italian restaurants downtown near their school. There’s the occasional wanderer, the occasional couple, the occasional dog-walker, but other than that it’s quiet and it’s just Mina and Momo sitting with their legs dangling over the edge of the cliff, sitting there overlooking then entire town and more.
Momo hands her a bottle of cucumber-mint-lemon water and they make a silent toast through smiles as the sun starts to set. Mina looks awestruck at the sunset- it’s even more stunning from this high up, and Momo chuckles quietly.
“It’s beautiful huh?” She asks Mina, leaning back on her hands. Mina can’t agree more as she nods and smiles her gummy smile at Momo- Momo who always finds good food to eat, who always goes her own way, who always knows what to say, who has a smile worth more than a hundred trillion-billion-million- you get the idea. Momo, whose laugh could literally light up a room (and Mina’s day), who always looks out for her dongsaengs, who’s so kind and smart, who managed to charm Mina off her feet in minutes without a word, who always dreams impossible things that suddenly don’t seem so impossible anymore.
Mina smiles. “Nayeon would have a fit if she knew.”
Momo chuckles sheepishly and looks apologetic for a moment. “I guess this is a bit too far huh? Maybe we should’ve just gone to prom.”
Mina shakes her head and looks at Momo with all sincerity. “No- it’s perfect Momo. It’s absolutely perfect.” She says and she’s truly happy- here with Momo, feet dangling over the edge of a cliff, drinking cucumber-mint-lemon water and watching the sunset paint the sky pink. She wants to capture this moment, so she retracts her legs from over the edge of the cliff and turns to two nearby dog-walkers, who have a white Maltese and a black poodle on their respective leashes.
“Excuse me, would you mind taking a picture for us?”
The stranger with the Maltese smiles kindly and takes Mina’s camera. “Sure, I’ll take a couple. Say cheese!"
Momo is looking at her in the third photo, and Mina suddenly can’t help herself- she tilts her head up and leans closer, pressing a sweet kiss to an unsuspecting Momo’s lips just as the camera shutter goes off. The stranger is delighted at her good shot, and Momo is blushing when they finish.
Mina smiles to herself as she scrolls through her camera roll. This is one for the gram.
The sun sets fast and it’s getting late, so they decide to head back. Luckily, they make it back to Momo’s car just as it gets completely dark, and they spend another hour driving and singing to Ed Sheeran's 'Barcelona' and the rest of that amazing album, and they actually end up stopping by a cute nearby town to grab some dinner- Italian, just like the old people in their own town. They have Italian food for dinner and they talk until closing time. They have dessert as well; Mina sips at decaf coffee while Momo nurses a cup of ginger-peach tea and they talk some more over a shared fruit tart. They drive back after dessert, singing along to Chris Daughtry this time, and it’s almost three in the morning when they get back to Momo’s apartment. Mina’s parents are on an extended business trip, and all their friends are at prom houses or sleeping, so Mina decides to stay over.
It’s a comfortable night- it’s a cool sixty-five degrees, dry and slightly breezy- and Mina swings up onto Momo’s hammock as the older girl goes in to wash up. She lies comfortably on her back, the globe lights strung out there providing a pleasant ambiance, and she looks up at the stars twinkling up in the nighttime sky. They aren’t nearly as clear as they are in the mountain town, but they’re pretty nonetheless and Mina is so happy. She loves rooftop apartments with hammocks, cooking, globe lights, and city skylines. She loves adventures with Momo, car rides full of good songs and bad singing, playful bickering and sneaky kisses. She loves good food and talking about anything and everything under the sun, from snowflakes to palm trees, from college plans to Nayeon losing her socks everytime she does laundry, from mountain towns to Tzuyu's penchant for puppies as big as pigs, from pink sunsets to impossible dreams that don’t seem so impossible anymore.
She ends up falling asleep on the hammock, with a silly smile on her face and a cup of cucumber-mint-lemon water beside her, and Momo finds her this way when she comes out after washing. She chuckles- it’s such a Mina thing to do- and goes inside to fetch a couple blankets before coming back and joining Mina on the hammock.
That night, Mina gets twenty-five missed calls from Nayeon (fifteen of which also contain angry voicemails demanding her whereabouts and plans for that night) but her phone is silenced and in the depths of Momo’s backpack, so neither of them know and they sleep peacefully until the first rays of light start to peek over the horizon.
“What?!”
“I’m serious! She actually went hiking!” Dahyun tries her best to explain to her unnies the following Monday, waving her arms about in a bizarre, slightly frantic manner. “There was a car with a very cool sunbae inside, and Mina unnie put on exercise clothes and kissed that sunbae!”
“What?!”
“And she had a backpack on and the sunbae was playing Taylor Swift’s music!”
“How is that relevant to anything?” Jeongyeon playfully gives Dahyun a noogie, the least shocked of all the girls present.
Nayeon is fanning herself with her hands. Jihyo looks shook, and Sana clearly has no idea what’s going on.
“So this whole time, Mina has been dating some super cool senior girl we don’t know about?”
Dahyun nods. “Pretty much, yeah.”
Nayeon almost faints.
Momo gives Mina a ride to school that day. Mina had spent the weekend at her place loitering about and eating all her food, and her parents are still away on a long business trip, so Momo pulls into the senior parking lot with an almost-asleep Mina in her passenger seat.
They walk inside together, but not without getting some looks. Momo pays them no mind so neither does Mina, and after a bit of whining and rarely-seen aegyo, Momo agrees to let Mina cling to her until they reach Momo's locker.
Tzuyu is standing there like she always does, and she seems mildly surprised to see Mina with Momo today. “Oh, are you finally making a statement Momo unnie?” She grins freely at Momo who fake-glares at her and scowls, eliciting a laugh from the younger girl.
Mina blinks. “You knew?” She asks Tzuyu, who shrugs and nods. Mina is impressed. Tzuyu is sharper than she lets on.
Momo rolls her eyes. “Don’t believe anything the young one says about me. She hates me.” She says to Mina, sharing a glance and smile with Tzuyu who snickers and just shakes her head.
“Maybe I had something nice to say about you unnie.”
Momo scoffs at that. “You never have anything nice to say about anyone.” She shoots back, and Mina sees just how much of a wonderful person the world is missing out on by overlooking Tzuyu.
Tzuyu just smiles at Momo, and Mina has to admit that Chou Tzuyu is one of the most attractive girls she’s ever met. “Well I’ll get going now. Bye Momo unnie.”
“See you.” Momo waves at Tzuyu’s retreating figure, and Mina watches their interaction with mirth. Tzuyu doesn’t forget to turn around and wave at Mina as well, and Mina grins as she returns the gesture.
“Hey, classes start soon Minari. Do you have all your things?” Momo’s voice nudges her out of hr reverie.
Mina starts slightly. “Ah- oh yeah, I’m good. I have everything.” She replies, and Momo shuts her locker so they can start making their way to their respective classes.
Nayeon has recovered from her near-fainting episode, and she takes the rest of the girls to storm the hallways to find Mina, who has betrayed them on their prom night. They storm each and every corridor, and they’re running out of time, but they finally find her and are just in time to witness their precious Myoui Minari placing a delicate goodbye kiss on Hirai Momo’s lips.
Nayeon faints for real this time.
If they weren’t talking before, they certainly were talking now.
News of Mina’s ‘new’ relationship status spreads faster than the stomach virus. Soon, every person in the school is aware of Myoui Mina, the most popular girl in school, kissing Hirai Momo, who no one really knew before all this happened. Momo is a bit put-off (she wasn’t exactly expecting that kiss- much less to be in Nayeon’s presence when it happened) but she loves Mina and because it’s Mina, it’s okay, so she tries her best to continue on like nothing happened. Mina in turn tries her best to ignore the whispers and the quiet sobbing sounds of her fangirls.
Mina hangs out with Sana after school (Nayeon is resting at her extremely large, expensive home, Jeongyeon is prohibited from leaving her side, and Jihyo is stuck babysitting some of her younger cousins) and she catches up with the relatively clueless, confused girl who is more than happy to share a slice of cake with her to make up for the other time Mina couldn’t come with them to the bakery.
(“But Mina! They have strawberries on them!” Sana protests, trying her best to highlight all the strong points about the bakery’s cakes. Mina blinks.
“So?”
“Strawberries are delicious! Better than peaches anyway…” Sana trails off in a mumble, suddenly quite sullen.
Mina tilts her head. “Peaches?”
Sana sighs briefly, then shakes her head. “Never mind.” She says, turning back to meet Mina’s gaze with a bright smile- almost too bright. “Maybe next time, okay Mina-chan?”)
Mina side-eyes Sana warily, who actually might know more than she lets on. But Sana is currently staring dazedly out the bakery window and inadvertently wiping cream all over her face. She certainly doesn’t look like a person who could make such connections… right?
Mina frowns. “No. Not Sana. Sana doesn’t even know how to tie her shoes."
Sana tilts her head. “Oh. Nayeon is calling me. Should I pick up?” She breaks from her daydream temporarily to look at Mina.
“No!” Mina answers almost immediately, and Sana hums airily before returning her gaze to something out the window, not failing to accidentally wipe more cream on her face while she’s at it.
Mina winces at the sight of the missed-call notification flashing on Sana’s screen. She smiles despite herself though, she doesn’t know what she’d do without them.
She still has some worries, some silly and some sad and some plain stupid, but she figures she’ll be alright. She has Sana, she has Jihyo, she’s starting to dream impossible dreams that aren’t so out of reach anymore, and yeah she’ll have to deal with a frantic Nayeon later (who she knows really has nothing but love for her precious Minari) but it’s okay because Jeongyeon will also be there to subdue her and Dahyun will probably say something stupid and distract Nayeon from whatever lecture she’ll give Mina.
Her phone buzzes, and it’s a text from Momo. “Hey. Found ur sweater in the back of my car- ill drop it off sometime?”
She quickly responds “dw, ill stop by later 2nite.”
Momo replies quickly too. “Alright, just lmk when ur here. No rush.”
Mina smiles and changes Momo’s contact name to Starmo (???). Momo probably won’t be too amused when she finds out, but that’s okay because Mina has a bunch of other shiny nicknames she can give to Momo. They have all the time in the world, and for a brief moment, Mina finds herself wishing she was made of starlight if only she could be with Momo forever.
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