“You’re going to California?” Sana can’t help but eavesdrop on Chaeyoung and Dahyun’s conversation.

“Yeah,” is Dahyun’s reply to her roommate. “Chungha told me a while ago. Apparently I and another one from the Testing Team are being assigned to a project in Tech Solutions’ U.S. branch.”

“Wow,” Chaeyoung sighs. “That’s cool. How long will you stay there?”

“Just a week or maybe less, I’m not sure. I told Chungha you were gonna miss me if I stayed longer.”

Chaeyoung scoffs in response. “Are you kidding? I’m already inviting everyone to the party.”

“No souvenirs for you, then!” Dahyun teases.

“So when are you going to San Francisco?” Nayeon asks Momo, who just received the news from Jennie that she will be going with Dahyun to visit the company’s U.S. branch.

“This weekend,” Momo answers.

“When you get back, will there be presents?”

“For Jeongyeon, yes. Oh, and for Sana, too.” Momo snickers.

“Yah, Momo-ya,” Nayeon mutters, “don’t forget the pink purse I gave you last Christmas. I remember you carrying it around so much.”

Momo chuckles at Nayeon. “Fine. I’ll see if there’s something there for you and your big feet.”

The weekend comes and Sana drives Momo to the airport in what is pretty much a quiet ride. When they come closer to the drop-off point, Sana sees Dahyun waiting.

“Oh, right, I forgot Dahyun was waiting for me,” says Momo. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Sana replies as she pulls up in front of Dahyun. Momo grabs her luggage from the trunk and knocks on Sana’s window to say goodbye.

“You’re not gonna say hi to Dahyun over there?” Momo asks.

Sana shakes her head in response. “Have a safe flight,” says Sana, before driving off back home. Momo makes her way over to Dahyun.

“Ready?”

“Jihyo,” Mina calls as they’re in the cafeteria eating together. She noticed that her friend’s been spacing out as soon as they left their stations to grab lunch. “What’s bothering you?”

“Could see right through me, huh?” Jihyo gives Mina a sly smile.

“We’ve been friends for more than 10 years,” Mina reminds her.

“I don’t think you wanna know what my problem is,” Jihyo confesses.

“What? How come?”

“Well… It has something to do with your girlfriend.”

“Jennie? What about her?”

Jihyo looks down on her plate, mindlessly twirling the pasta around her fork, sighing.

“Jihyo, you can tell me,” Mina assures her.

“I just… I don’t understand why she didn’t send me to go to California with Dahyun for the new partnership. I’m not pulling the friend card here, and I’m not saying that Momo isn’t good or anything… I just thought that with the experience I have, I would’ve been chosen for the job.”

Mina hums as she listens to Jihyo rant. Come to think about it, of all the members in the Testing Team, Jihyo’s the one Jennie’s worked with the longest. Almost everybody showed up when Jennie was already at the hospital. So she, too, finds it curious that Jennie sends Momo, the latest addition to the team, to a partnership with one of the bigger branches of the company.

Mina makes a mental note to talk to her girlfriend about it later.

Momo and Dahyun finally arrive at the San Francisco International Airport. After picking up their luggage they head for the exit, looking for their ride. A few minutes of skimming the area and Dahyun spots a woman holding a placard with their company’s logo on it.

“Unnie,” she says as she taps Momo’s shoulders and points to the woman.

“Hello, are you Kim Dahyun and Hirai Momo?” the woman asks in perfect Korean when the two visitors approach her.

“Yes,” Dahyun replies.

“I’m Park Sooyoung but people in here refer to me as Joy,” she says, extending her arm. “Nice to meet you.”

“Jennie, why did you send Momo to California?”

They’re at Jennie’s place, something Mina has frequented now that she’s woken up. Of course it was to make up for lost time, but also Mina just doesn’t want Jennie to come over her house. No one’s ever visited Mina’s house—not even Jihyo.

“Well, I think she’s a really good asset to the team,” Jennie answers her.

“You got that from like a week of working with her? What about Jihyo?”

“What about Jihyo?”

Mina huffs in frustration. “Jennie.”

“Look, it’s nothing personal. Why, did Jihyo talk to you?”

“No,” Mina lies, knowing that Jihyo wouldn’t want Jennie, her boss, to find about her thoughts on the matter.

“Do you like Momo?”

“What?”

The accusation is so sudden that Mina’s not sure where it’s coming from.

Jennie lets out a harsh laugh. “People talk, Mina. People talk with their friends and colleagues. And they ask them why they aren’t dating that quiet girl from Design that they’d been planning to ask out!” Jennie’s voice becomes increasingly louder as she says this, and Mina flinches.

“Okay, she did ask me out, but—Wait is this the reason why you sent Momo to San Francisco?”

Jennie doesn’t say anything—and it told Mina a lot.

“Unbelievable!” Mina screams.

“No, what’s unbelievable is that you didn’t tell me about Momo in the first place!”

“There was nothing to tell!” Okay, that was a lie, because they did have breakfast together at the same spot where Mina and Jennie used to sneak out. To be fair, Mina discovered it on her own one time, and when she told Jennie about it, her girlfriend begged her to take her there. Still, Mina decides not to say this to Jennie because she knows how jealous she can get. Besides, she already made the decision to stay with her.

“Don’t you trust me?” Mina looks at Jennie with pleading eyes.

“I don’t trust Momo.”

The next day at the office, Jennie and Mina arrive together, holding hands. After last night’s fight, they have finally decided to make their relationship public. It was the only way Mina could think of to remove Jennie’s jealousy of Momo, but she was actually surprised when Jennie, who had been so adamant about the idea, agreed to it immediately.

“Oh, they’ve decided to tell everyone already,” Sana thinks out loud, not realizing that Chaeyoung was standing beside her.

“You knew?” the shorter girl asks, her eyes wide open.

“Oh, yeah.” Sana scratches her head. “Momo told me about it.”

“Momo… Is that the reason why she and Mina…” Chaeyoung trails off when Sana looks at her with sorry eyes.

“I’m so glad Momo isn’t here right now—Hey!” Sana yells when she feels Chaeyoung suddenly wrap her in a tight embrace. She isn’t used to people initiating affection with her.

“I miss you,” Chaeyoung says, her face resting on Sana’s chest.

Sana chuckles at this, but she relaxes and hugs Chaeyoung back. “Chaeyoung-ah, we’re in the same team, you know.”

“I know, but… You know what I mean. It hasn’t been the same lately because you and Dahyun are being stupidly stubborn.”

“I miss you and your frankness, too, Chaeyoung-ah.”

Momo and Dahyun pretty much have a smooth experience during their stay in Tech Solutions San Francisco. On their last day Joy treats the two of them and her team to some clam chowder at Pier 39, and then they proceed to one of the local bars.

 “Stick with me, girls!” Joy calls out to the two from the front. She grabs Momo’s hand while Dahyun closely follows them from behind.

“What would you girls like to drink?” Joy asks when they’re settled at a table.

“Hm, I’ll have a Mudslide—”

“Just beer for the two of us, thanks,” Momo cuts Dahyun off. “Enough of the Mudslides, Dahyun. We’re not in Korea.”

“Fine,” Dahyun groans.

A couple of drinks later Dahyun’s already feeling antsy, so she excuses herself from the group to go to the restroom.

“So, Momo,” Joy starts, subtly putting one of her hands on Momo’s arm, “I have to say your work ethic is pretty much outstanding. Your girlfriend must be so proud.”

“Girlfriend?” Momo blinks, then chuckles a bit. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Oh?” Joy’s mouth curves upward, forming a mischievous smile. “That’s good to hear. Hey, wanna dance?”

“Sure.”

So Momo dances. With Joy. With Joy’s hands on her waist and her hands are around Joy’s shoulders. This is fine, Momo thinks, and she knows this could lead somewhere, but hey—she doesn’t have a girlfriend, right? Momo decides to go with the flow. Even when Joy surprises her by pulling her away from the crowd of sweaty, dancing people to push her up against the wall, leaning into her—

“I can’t do this,” Momo mumbles, looking away from the girl in front of her.

“Come on, Momo,” Joy tries seducing her with her tone.

“I…” Momo wishes she could go through with this, she really does, because that would mean that she has no strings attached to anyone back home, that she’s moved on from a certain co-worker of hers that she used to eat breakfast with, used to wake up early for.

But she hasn’t.

“I’m sorry.”

Momo drags Dahyun out of the bar to go back to the hotel, but not before saying goodbye to Joy and their team, and thanking them for welcome her and Dahyun during their stay.

“Wow, Momo, first Seulgi and now Joy?” Dahyun says when Momo tells the story during their flight. “How many girls do you plan on rejecting?”

Momo only scoffs, letting silence engulf her before she drifts off to sleep in the plane. When they arrive back at the Incheon International Airport, she and Dahyun immediately open up their phones for messages.

“Chaeyoung’s at the pub,” Dahyun informs Momo. “She’s wondering if we could catch up at the pub since it’s only 9 P.M.”

“I guess I could stop by,” Momo replies. “But we’ve got our luggage, though.”

“No, this way we can make an excuse to leave early.” Dahyun winks.

“Ah, smart.”

If Dahyun’s being honest, she wanted to go to the pub because there was a certain someone she wanted to see. Being away from Sana made Dahyun miss her even more, especially because they’re still not talking. But Dahyun tells herself to be strong, to prepare herself for Sana’s decision (because she’s 99% sure that Sana will reject her), so she’s content with simply looking at her for now.

That’s why she couldn’t hide her disappointment when she sees that Sana isn’t at the pub.

“Dahyun?” she hears Momo utter beside her. “You okay?”

“Hm? Y-Yeah, unnie, I’m fine.”

“Where’s Sana?” Momo asks Chaeyoung.

“I think she stayed behind at the office; she said she was gonna take care of some things.”

“I don’t feel so good,” says Dahyun, making up an excuse to go home. “I better head out.”

“Do you need someone to go with you?” Chaeyoung puts her hand on Dahyun’s forehead.

“No Chaeng, I’ll be fine,” Dahyun replies with a smile. “See you later,” she tells her roommate.

Dahyun calls a cab to take her to her apartment. She wonders what project Sana’s been working on that it would actually make her pass up the opportunity to go the pub where all the girls are.

You’ll see her tomorrow, Dahyun tells herself. Don’t think about her too much.

Dahyun sluggishly drags her luggage in and out of the elevator in her building. It’s been a long day and now she’s suffering from jetlag. She doesn’t even see the figure standing outside her apartment door until she’s right in front of her.

“Sana?”

“Hi,” Sana greets her with a soft voice and a shy smile.

“W-What are you doing here?” Dahyun gulps, trying to restrain herself from smiling. She still needs to put up a cold front towards this girl.

Sana looks at Dahyun with an intense gaze, holding Dahyun to the ground. Dahyun told Sana to make a choice, so here she is. And she chooses to connect her lips to Dahyun’s, just like the first time.

It isn’t a slow one—no, Sana kisses Dahyun hard, as if she’s been waiting for this her whole life, because she may as well be.

And Dahyun doesn’t stop her because she’s been waiting for this, too.

Sana grabs Dahyun by the waist and pulls her closer, squeezing her so tight so that their bodies are as close as possible. When their heads pull up for air, Dahyun fumbles for her keys to open the door and she pushes Sana inside.

“Dahyun, wait.” Sana stops Dahyun who’s leaning towards her for another make out session.

“What?”

Sana giggles, seeing the excitement in Dahyun’s eyes. “You forgot your luggage outside.”