"I told you not to go back here again." her mother's voice echoes inside the restricted room. "Why won't you listen to me Nayeon?" 

"I just want to make sure she's doing okay." the younger one answers. "I want to know whether I had made the right decision in letting her keep her memories of me."

"You're here instead of finishing your punishment in the library." Jihyo sighs tiredly. "And then, what have you realized?"

"I think she's okay. She smiles from time to time and she had stopped crying for the painting I left." Nayeon lied; Mina is not okay, she still cries for her and though she had seen the Japanese smiling, she's also well aware of the sadness the mortal's eyes are hiding.

"You really should have erased her memory." Jihyo mutters and bends down to grab the book from her daughter's hands.

Nayeon groans because her mother has a point and she wouldn't see Mina cry if she had just removed her memories; but then at the same time, Mina wouldn't miss her and wouldn't love her anymore; and that idea is inflicting pain on her chest.

"What did you give her?" she asks before standing up to follow Jihyo outside the room.

"You mean that bottle?" Jihyo glances at the young deity on her back. Nayeon nods as a response to her mother's question. "It's a drink wherein she could relive any memories she wanted. It feels real that she could even alter the scenes before."

"Why did you ask?" Jihyo adds after a short pause.

"Just making sure you're not poisoning Mina." Nayeon chuckles a bit.

The older one didn't hesitate to spank the mischievous goddess. Nayeon quickly distanced herself away from her mother after she was hit. "Your jokes are getting ridiculous and not funny anymore after you've stayed in the mortal world for months."

"I- sorry mother." she bows down to ask forgiveness.

"If you think I'll punish you again because you keep on doing things that irritate me then you have to use your brain better than that."

Nayeon scowls after seeing how her mother acted coldly on her lame attempt.

"You know we don't send the punished ones to the same person twice." Jihyo reminds her daughter. "And you know it's against our rules to live in their world for a long time if you won't choose to be mortal like them. You'll get exiled and Zeus will kill you."

"I know but I-" Nayeon lowers her head and cuts off her own words. She feels frustrated on how easy her mother can read her mind as if she's an open book. "Have you lifted the spell mother?" she asks.

Jihyo frowns as she stares at her own child. She picks up a rose from the ones planted on the side of the pathway going to her room. Nayeon watches how her mother slowly removes each petal from the flower with furrowed brows. "Of course, I already did." Jihyo muses.

The petals then fall to the ground one by one; Nayeon doesn't seem to understand why her mother is doing that right now but she let it slide and continued relaying the words she always wanted to say. "Then why am I still in pain?"

Her mother halts; leaving one petal on the stem and handed it to Nayeon after. "You already know why." the older one replies; Jihyo turns around to walk back to her room.

They reached the front door of Jihyo's room but before her mother opened it, the goddess took a last glance on her daughter and relayed a statement that made Nayeon frown. "Mortals die just like that flower in your hand; once the last petal falls, it losses its purpose. You'll forget about her because she'll fade; or you want to fade as well?"

Nayeon finds herself staring at the flower on her palm. She forgets that there are thorns and only winces when she feels the sting caused by the pointed object being pierced on her finger. The red liquid flows until it descended on the ground. Nayeon is so preoccupied to even think about her wound. Her mother's words just keep on running inside her mind. She's sure that she got what Jihyo meant by her last statement and so with that, Nayeon throws the flower on the ground as she makes her way back to the library to continue arranging the books. "No, I am not stupid." she murmurs.

~

Mina sets her notebook aside after writing down the notes from the subject she attended this day. She lies down comfortably on the bed and stares at the empty ceiling. 

Being alone again in her apartment made her miss Nayeon more. There's no persistent and loud girl that would plea her not to go to school. No one will waste the electricity by opening the fridge just because she wants to feel the cold. No more petty fights because of Nayeon forgetting to turn off the television; everything just went missing with her. The goddess is already gone and even though, every corner in Mina's apartment screams that for a brief time Nayeon existed in her life; with her, the Japanese still doesn't want to let go. It pains her but at the same time, the memories are the only thing she could hold onto.

"You're so rude Nayeon; but I still miss you." she slowly closes her eyes as hugs the pillow beside her. "Good night." she mumbles.

The sun beams its light through the window; reflecting some rays on the mirror causing Mina to wake up earlier than she had planned. Slightly peeved, Mina stretches her arms with a groan. She slowly opens her eyes and looks at the frame hanged on her wall like she always do everyday. Mina gets off her bed and walks straight to the bathroom to take a bath. 

It has became a habit of hers to spend couple of minutes staring at Nayeon's painting before heading out her house; even when she's running late, she would still stay for a bit to wipe off the dust. Momo and Dahyun visited her before when she skipped school for days after Nayeon had left. That was the time that she fully realized Nayeon has been telling the truth since herself had been stuck in denial and would still hope that when she wakes up the next day, Nayeon would be beside her again. 

Both Momo and Dahyun looked so puzzled when they saw the painting; they don't recognize the goddess and Mina could feel the bitterness filling . It's like the world had totally forgotten about Nayeon and she's the only one who knows that she existed.

There were rumors going around that Tzuyu and her girlfriend already broke up; Mina is aware of the gossips but she doesn't give an ounce of interest to it. Momo already expressed her concern about how the younger girl acts differently from before; she keeps on asking what was bothering her but Mina couldn't find the right words to explain, she would just always assure her friend that she's fine and she's just missing someone.

"Someone...." Momo sighs and rests her head on the top of the table. "Who's that someone and why do both Dahyun and I have no idea about her?" the lines became redundant after each day; Momo keeps on asking and Mina always replies the same thing over and over again.

"It's that painting isn't it?" Dahyun butts in and lies down the tray full of food she had ordered for her girlfriend. 

"Burrito!" Momo squeals happily and reaches for the food.

"Food is her new girlfriend and not me. Cute." Dahyun murmurs sarcastically before she started eating her share and focuses on Mina once again. "So? Who's that?"

"Just someone..." Mina trails off and averts her eyes to the field.

"Doesn't she have a name?"

"She has." she answers.

"And that is?" Dahyun asked further.

"Nayeon."

Dahyun nods and sips a drink. "When did you meet her?"

Mina grows uncomfortable about the topic that's why she decided to shrug and force a laugh. "Let's talk about something else."

"Ohh okay..." the younger girl awkwardly chuckles. 

"Do you know what happen to Tzuyu and Sana?" Momo suddenly butts in.

"I honestly don't have any idea."

"Why? She's your ex..."

"I just don't care I think?" Mina wasn't sure if that's the right way to react to that statement.

"Wow, you've moved on and we didn't even know about it."

"Of course she had, that's why there's Nayeon." Dahyun nudges her girlfriend.

The two girls in front of Mina started to bicker; Dahyun grabs the drink away from Momo and even pulls the tray to her side. Mina heaves a deep sigh while watching the petty fight happening on her eyes. She suddenly misses the stubborn goddess who acts closely to what Momo is doing right now.

"Yah! W-why are you crying?" Momo shrieks in surprise when she glances at Mina.

Mina wipes her tears away; she wasn't even aware that she was already tearing up. 

"What did you do to her?" Dahyun whispers harshly to her girlfriend.

"I'm innocent here! I just wanted you to give me back the food and then when I looked at her, she's already crying." the older one denies defensively.

"You must have hit her unconsciously because you've been waving you long arms everywhere while whining." Dahyun squints her eyes as she accuses her girlfriend.

Momo tilts her head to Mina's side and looks at her in a very apologetic way. "Did I?" she asks.

"No. No one hit me or whatsoever; I just remembered something." Mina explains.

Both of the girls breathe in relief; especially Momo. They both stare at Mina at the same time before glancing at each other, which made Mina raise one of her brows.

"I think we should hunt that Nayeon down." Dahyun announces.

"She's been making Mina cry and sad for weeks now." Momo agrees.

Mina lets out a soft laughter after hearing what her friends just said. The laughter then drowned itself after few seconds and the bitter reality fills her up. A tiny smile stains Mina's lips. "If you'll manage to do that, then bring her to me please. I wanna see her again."

~

No matter how hard her other two friends invite her out for late parties and drinks, Mina always manages to say no. She'd rather spend her time playing video games alone in her apartment and lie on her bed to dream.

Sometimes, she would imagine herself going to the goddess' world. Other times, it was Nayeon who would go down and visit her. Then there's also times that Nayeon is a normal person living with her in the mortal world. Mina finds comfort in thinking about any possibilities; but she would always remind herself that no matter how much she dreams, Nayeon had always said that only stupid deity would give up everything and choose to live the cruel world. 

There are times when she plans about throwing the frame and flower away. Those things give her so much pain yet she always ends up embracing them because she's afraid to let go. It's harder to move on when there's no one to console you; maybe that's why Mina finds her current situation a lot terrible than with Tzuyu before. At least Nayeon was there to accompany her but right now, she totally has no one to mend her broken heart again.

One thing that Nayeon hates about humans is that people aren't loyal; they tend to easily get lured to temptations. Mina has heard that words from the goddess' mouth for countless of times and even when Mina tries to defend her kind, she can't hide the fact that what Nayeon has been saying is true. A lot of people are weak, that's why they tend to make mistakes that they would regret later on. Sometimes, a part of Mina's mind wants to move on; she wants to look for someone who could help her; being human makes her think about those stuffs. But then a bigger part of her screams that she can't just forget about Nayeon like that and she shouldn't use other person for her selfishness. Hence, she had decided to suffer alone.

~
The next day, Mina wakes up feeling light and without any worries in her mind. She wonders why it feels like it's been ages since she had breathed with ease; she doesn't understand why. Seeing an unfamiliar piece of art hanging on her wall caused her heart beat to race all of a sudden. Slowly, she strays away from the bed to approach the painting. The lady looks pretty but she's not someone Mina is familiar of; also, it troubles Mina that she doesn't remember when did she buy the painting. Her memory is empty whenever she tries to think anything related to the frame; so she lets it slide and walks to take a shower after seeing the time on the wall clock.

Mina wasn't sure why her friends are giving her a quizzical look when they met near the gate of their school.

"You didn't join us last night and now you're acting so jolly. What has happened to you?" Momo inquires with a pout.

"I-" she can't exactly remember what has happened before she fell asleep;  she's sure she was playing video games but there's something missing. She remembers lying on the bed and thinking about something that she can't manage to work out what. "I was just playing video games." she answers.

"As always." Dahyun chortles.

They started walking to attend their class when Mina remembers something. "Do you have any idea about the painting in my room?"

"What painting?" both of the girls ask at the same time.

"There's this art of a beautiful lady but I don't know where did I get it from."

"Maybe Tzuyu's gift to you?" Momo answers cluelessly.

She rolls her eyes. "She won't give me a painting of another woman and that frame won't be there anymore if it's from her." Mina replies.

"Hmm good point." Momo acknowledges. "But I don't have any idea about the thing you're saying though."

"Yeah, me too." Dahyun says.

Mina nods and takes her friends' hands to drag them to their room. She decided to shrug off the thoughts about the painting.

Their classmates started cheering and teasing once they had entered the room. The three of them stare with puzzlement in their orbs. "What's happening here?" it was Dahyun who decided to break the loud chats.

"Mina has a secret admirer. Look at her seat." one of their classmates answered.

Mina retracts from her friends and marches to her chair. All she had seen are paper cranes and flowers that are also made with paper. She frowns as she tries to absorb the current situation. 
"Who did this?" she asks the people in the room.

No one replied and most of the girls just shrugged.

"It's me." an unfamiliar voice from the back suddenly rises.

All of the people decided to look at the direction where the voice came from. She is wearing their uniform but Mina doesn't remember having a classmate that looks like her. The girl continued walking and stops in front of Mina.

"You've made me stupid." she muses with a serious eyes. 

"Excuse me?" Mina could hear the whispers of her classmates because of what the stranger had said.

The girl just smiles widely with a short chuckle. Mina feels her heart beating at a fast pace all of a sudden. She doesn't understand how can a smile of a person she doesn't know can make her heart pound in an instant.

Suddenly, the woman standing in front of her pulls her for a hug. Mina couldn't stop herself from shrieking but her classmates' yells are louder that they had drown her soft voice.

"Remember my name this time." the girl whispers. "Nayeon."

Everything happened in a blink of an eye. The girl named Nayeon already pulled away even before Mina could do something or utter a word. When she snaps out from the trance, Mina quickly reaches for the girl's hand to stop her from walking any further. Nayeon almost losses her balance from how hard Mina had pulled her. Good thing Mina was fast enough to have a proper grip of the girl before she would fall. 

"I didn't know you like this much of attention before." Nayeon chuckles while glancing at the people around them.

Embarrassment strikes Mina but she didn't let go of the girl. She continued to stare as she tries to understand why does Nayeon can make her feel a tingling feeling inside, the sudden butterflies in her stomach, the tightening of her chest. Mina doesn't understand why looking at the girl made her sad and happy at the same time. The feelings are new and confusing; it's making her feel pain but also bliss.

"Who are you?" Mina whispers, still gripping the palm of the woman.

"I already told you my name." Nayeon fixes her gaze at their hands before answering. She then traces circles on Mina's hand and raises her head to look directly to the Japanese' orbs. "Don't worry, I won't disappear again this time." Nayeon smiles genuinely. A smile that got Mina thinking even more. All of a sudden, everything strikes at once; the stupid lines, the paper cranes, the flower, her name. 

"Nayeon." Mina mutters.

There was a brief pause before Nayeon answers with a smile.
"Yes, it's me. I came back to you."

~

Jihyo carefully stares at her daughter in the mortal world through the book. She wasn't sure at first if she had made the right decision but seeing how Mina takes good care of her hardheaded child and how happy Nayeon is, she knows she did.

"Why did you even erase her memory if you'll just give it back again?" Cupid lands on her side and tucks the bow on his back.

"I didn't give it back." she replies. "Others don't remember Nayeon but I don't know what happened and how Mina recognized her but just let it slide, don't report it to Zeus."

Deep inside Jihyo's mind, she knows it was her daughter's fault. She failed to notice it since the effect wasn't as fast as removing one's memories; but Nayeon used her powers one last time to give Mina her memories back before deciding to be a mortal. It was already too late to punish her mischievous child. Nayeon still managed to be stubborn at the last moment of being a deity.

"Why did you let her go? Won't you miss her?" Cupid asks in a subtle tone.

"She'll feel lonely for eternity if I didn't let her go; and I can't bear to watch my child being hurt and punished because she fell in love with a human."

"So you chose to be bear the punishment of missing her instead." Cupid stares at her while uttering those words.

Jihyo forms a tiny smile as she stares back to the book. "It's okay; Mina's worthy of Nayeon anyway."

+++THE END+++

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