[Bonus Chapter] Love

No Tofu, No Life

    Dahyun awoke to the fragrant smell of cooking wafting into her room, joined by the soft sizzle of food frying on a pan. Her stomach reflexively growled as she rolled over and brushed a heavy curtain of hair away from her face.

    There was a brief second of chagrin as she realized that her love was no longer lying beside her. It was quickly dissolved as her foggy, half-asleep brain recognized that Sana was likely in the kitchen, mere feet away.

    “Sana!” Dahyun called groggily, rubbing her eye, “Why’d you leave me? I’m so lonely in bed…”

    “I had to cook breakfast for my new fiance!” the older girl yelled back in a sing-songy, elated voice that conveyed an immense sense of happiness. It was a happiness that bled over into Dahyun’s own mood, filling her with vigor as a smile formed on her pale face.

    “I love you, baby,” Dahyun replied, pulling herself into a sitting position and sliding her body to the edge of the bed. Her wheelchair was parked right up against the side of the mattress, just as it always was, just as Sana always remembered to do for her. The black-haired girl lowered herself into the chair with a well-practiced ease, unlocking the wheels and pushing herself to the bathroom.

***

    Sana sat before her father, nervousness rising in her gut as she regarded the man’s hardened, weary eyes.

    Truthfully speaking, she felt terrible having to put him through something like this. She’d disappeared for hours without answering any of his calls or texts, gotten drunk and high at a party, and had to be delivered back to him by her (technically ex) girlfriend. After what had happened to her mother (a memory that still stung her even in passing thought), the man had grown significantly quieter and withdrawn. His lively, outgoing personality was stifled, and their interactions became tense and infrequent. It was a sad predicament, but Sana had never known what to do about it, instead relying on Dahyun’s advice and presence to navigate the emotional minefield that had become her family life. Using these tools, Sana was able to avoid conflict while keeping her father relatively happy. Up until earlier that day, that is.

    She didn’t want to see him, much less talk to him, after what he’d said today. Not that he’d been overly insulting or hurtful - in fact, he’d been very polite and articulate - but the underlying message was still there. Dahyun was a burden on Sana’s life, someone who would only hold her back from reaching her full potential. Someone who would be dependant on her help for the remainder of their lives, someone who offered little return for the amount of effort Sana would have to put into their relationship.

    He simply didn’t understand.

    And so, as soon as they sat down at Dahyun’s kitchen table, facing one another alone in the dark, silent room, Sana made up her mind. She was going to make him understand.

    “Dad,” she began, her voice solid and steady, despite her mental state, “I’m sorry about what I did tonight. Like, really sorry. But you have to understand-”

    “No,” Sana’s father growled, “There’s nothing to understand. Do you have any idea how worried I was for you?”

    “I know… I know… but I was angry. Honestly, I still am. Do you know how much Dahyun means to me?”

    “Sana, listen,” Mr. Minatozaki pinched the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger, sighing through his nose, “I know these feelings seem intense now, but they’re transient. You’re young, your priorities and outlook on life are all over the place. In the future, you won’t feel the same way.”

    “You don’t get it…” Sana muttered, “Dahyun’s not just someone I’m dating. She’s so much more than that.”

    Sana took a deep breath, shutting her eyes for a moment while she gathered her thoughts.

    “She’s been my friend since childhood. She knows me better than anyone else in the world. When I’m having a bad day, or something’s bothering me, she knows it. Immediately. She knows exactly how to make me feel better, every time. Just the feeling of her being next to me makes me twenty times happier. She’s like medicine to me… no, actually, she’s more than that. She’s like air. I can’t live without her. There have been times, especially since we lost mom, that I’ve had to deal with a lot of… negative thoughts. I was depressed, and there were times where I’d sit in my room and think about what the point even was, why I was continuing when I felt so empty and sad and lonely.”

    “Sana…” Mr. Minatozaki went pale, swallowing hard as he recognized the gravity of his daughter’s words, “I had no idea… why didn’t you tell me?”

    “How could I? At the time, you were probably in just as bad of a place as me, if not worse. I didn’t want to add anything to that. So I kept quiet about it. And the only reason I never gave up is because of Dahyun. She was the light at the end of the tunnel. Everything I did during that time, hell, everything I still do, is for her. She knew how to keep me calm, take care of me, ensure those bad thoughts didn’t get to me late at night… we spent hours on the phone, just me crying and ing about stupid and keeping her up for no reason, and she sat there patiently and listened to me, gave me advice, even offered to come over. She’s made more sacrifices for me than I have for her, in truth. Everyone thinks I’m this strong athlete with amazing grades who’s got it all, with nothing to worry about in the world. But I’m not. Not alone, anyway. Dahyun is my crutch, my backbone. Without her, I’d be a complete wreck… essentially how I was tonight. Stupid and uncaring and willing to do anything to make the pain go away. Dahyun saved my life, dad. In more ways than one. I love her. And she loves me. I wouldn’t be myself without her by my side.”

    Mr. Minatozaki sat in silence, his expression pained as he absorbed the carpet bomb of information that his daughter had just dropped on him.

***

    Sana scooped a pile of eggs, rice and beef onto Dahyun’s plate, pausing afterwards to give her girlfriend a swift kiss on the forehead. Dahyun giggled cutely, reaching her arms up to capture Sana in a long embrace, enjoying the mere sensation of being pressed up against her love.

    “Hey, be careful,” Sana warned, standing up and pulling the hot pan away when Dahyun finally decided to release her, “You could’ve burned yourself.”

    “That’s okay, as long as I still got that hug,” Dahyun said cheerily.

    “Wow, you’re much more sappy today than usual,” Sana pinched Dahyun’s cheek exaggeratedly before scampering back to the stove like a child, “Is it because I agreed to marry you?”

    “Well, duh…” Dahyun muttered as she ravenously dug into her meal, “I was already thinking about who I would invite to the wedding.”

    “Not Momo,” Sana said with mock apprehension, “I don’t want her trying to steal you away. Especially when you’re all dressed up.”

    “No one can steal me from you. I’m exclusively Sana-ual.”

    The blonde snorted with laughter.

    “Oh, by the way,” Dahyun said, “I was thinking about it last night, and we haven’t seen Sooyoung or Yerim in awhile. We should get in contact with them. Just to see how they’re doing.”

    “And to invite them to the wedding,” Sana grinned, “I can already hear Sooyoung’s reaction now: ‘Wow, totally didn’t see that coming’...”

    Sana mimicked Sooyoung’s sarcastic yet soft tone perfectly; it was Dahyun’s turn to laugh, although it almost caused her to choke on her food.

    “I really do wish we’d see them more often than once every months,” Dahyun said when she’d recovered, in part due to Sana’s aggressive back-slaps to help push the food down, “They were the closest friends I had besides you in high school.”

    “Yeah… but they’re busy with their own lives, and so are we. Adulthood kinda sometimes.”

    “Remember the time they helped me pick you up from that party? When you got really hammered and ended up getting lost in Chaeyoung’s backyard?” Dahyun stared into the distance as she reminisced, lost in her memories.

    “Yeah… it was around the time my dad tried to break us up. I remember that day… it was awful.” Sana scratched the back of her head awkwardly, as if she didn’t like the direction the conversation was taking. Dahyun, who normally would have picked up on this and changed the subject, was too busy thinking of the past to recognize her girlfriend’s hesitation.

    “And we went to my house, ‘cus my dad was cool with you staying over. And your dad showed up, since you hadn’t been answering him… I remember waiting in my living room with my dad while you guys talked in the kitchen. I was so nervous, I thought I was gonna puke. I really didn’t have any hope for it, either. I thought that he’d just wave you off again, take you home, split us up… but he didn’t. He came out, apologized quietly, asked if you could still stay the night, and left. And to this day, I don’t know what you said to him in there. What did you say to him?”

    Sana smiled sadly, walking over and placing her hand at the back of Dahyun’s head, her hair and bending over to offer her a few kisses on the cheeks and forehead. The younger girl could see the adoration in her girlfriend’s eyes as she stood there.

    “I told him I loved you,” Sana said simply.

    “That’s it?” the black-haired girl asked in disbelief.

    “In short, yeah.”

    Sana then turned and walked back to the kitchen sink, continuing to clean up after herself, leaving Dahyun to contemplate the gravity of her lover's words in silence.

---------------------------------

Thanks for reading<3

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JamieStardust
Hey guys! If you enjoy Aespa fics in a fantasy setting, check out my newest fic, "Black Mamba"! It's a Winrina fic that will also feature Red Velvet members.

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https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1471733/black-mamba
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railtracer08
358 streak #1
Chapter 15: This was beautiful 😍 *cries in saida
gnpunpun
#2
Chapter 15: this is legit one of the most adorable and beautiful saida fics i've ever read.
myouivl #3
Chapter 2: how they met was so cute
saidahmo0902 #4
Chapter 15: This is so freaking cute! I seriously cannot get enough of this story. It just gives me so much serotonin <33
Imnoone_13 #5
Chapter 15: Ho did yeri and sooyoung(?) Became good?
Dubusstuff
#6
Chapter 11: I love how Dahyun's father was so respectfully and accepting
Dubusstuff
#7
Chapter 6: I'M CRYING THIS IS SO SAD 😭😭😢
Dubusstuff
#8
Chapter 2: THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND CHAPTER AND I'M DYING OF CUTENESS 😭😭♥️
Teudoongie1
#9
Chapter 15: This is the best!! I really love the plot!
Emkayytee #10
Chapter 15: Still one of the most adorable stories out there of saida !