After a total of five minutes of trying to think of how the hell she’s going to confront of two youngest, Jihyo finally realized what was the best thing she could do right now. And that decision was to not.

“You remember when you were sad about not being the leader because you wanted to do leader-like things?” Jihyo says in a slightly high-pitch voice that just made her more suspicious.

Jeongyeon narrows her eyes at her.

“Now’s your chance!” Jihyo says before pushing Jeongyeon closer to Chaeyu’s door.

“H-hey!” Jeongyeon complains, a bit of fear in her eyes at what ungodly things she might see if she opens the door now. “You can’t just make me go alone!”

“Oh, you’re right!” Jihyo manages to nab Nayeon before she can run off. “Both of you can go!”

Jeongyeon looks at Nayeon for help, but Nayeon just shrugs.

“Make sure they’re safe!” Jihyo says before skirting out of the hallway. “I’ll make sure Sana doesn’t accidentally burn the place down!”

Jeongyeon just sighs. She looks at the door and hesitates.

“Rock, paper, scissors?” Nayeon offers.

Jeongyeon cringes. “Please don’t say scissors right now.”

Nayeon can’t help but laugh a little at that. “I didn’t mean it like that, but fine. I’ll go in.”

She gets a little bit closer to Chaeyu’s bedroom door. She knocks softly once, twice, and then quickly takes a step backwards, mentally preparing herself of her image of her cute little babies be completely ruined.

Tzuyu opens the door immediately, and she… doesn’t look like she just woke up. Her hair’s all done up and she even has a little bit of makeup on. She raises an eyebrow at the two girls. “What’s up?”

Nayeon tentatively looks inside the room, only to find Chaeyoung right behind Tzuyu. She, too, has a bit of makeup done, thought her hair’s a little messy. Not -messy though, just bed-messy.

“Is breakfast done?” Tzuyu asks, and she seems so innocent that Nayeon instinctively knows that it’s an act. “Chaeng and I are hungry.”

“Y-yeah, Sana should be done by now,” Jeongyeon tells them.

The two guilty youngsters walk out of their room and start making their way downstairs.

Nayeon gives a look to Jeongyeon. Jeongyeon glances inside the youngins room and sees nothing out of the ordinary, except for a video game console that had been left carelessly on the floor.

And on one of the consoles was a familiar blurry sticker, placed there as a way to tell that it's Jeongyeon’s.

~

“Video games,” Tzuyu informs everyone all of a sudden after they had all finished their breakfast in an awkward silence. “We were playing video games.”

“A little loud for video games…” Momo says, trying to stop a laugh from escaping her lips.

“Aggressive video games,” Tzuyu says this time without missing a beat. “Still video games.”

Jeongyeon remembers that she had seen her console in their room. A few mental images pass through her head. She vows to never play video games ever again, or at least until she goes out and buys a new console. So, she'll never play video games ever, ever again, or until next weak.

Momo takes out her phone and plays an audio of some very loud , stifling a laugh when everyone hears a voice that's clearly Tzuyu call out for Chaeng."

A flash of fear passes through Tzuyu’s eyes before her confidence comes back. “You can’t prove that was us. There's probably a bunch of couples with those names.”

“Oh, I can-” Momo says but Jihyo just steals her phone and deletes the audio before Momo can even begin to try and get it back.

“Video games!” Jihyo says a little too loud. “Let’s just all decide that it was video games and move on with our lives, m'kay?” Barely a second passes. “Great! I’m going to my room,” Jihyo says before grabbing Mina’s hand and pulling her away.

~

“The concert’s tomorrow, so did you finish the song?” Sana asks Dahyun, practically falling down next to her in the sofa.

“Mostly…” Dahyun hesitates to answer. “I’ve made so many changes, I feel like I’m not prepared enough. I’ve barely even practiced the full thing because I kept making so many last minute changes.”

“I can help you practice,” Sana offers.

“But it’s supposed to be a surprise,” Dahyun whines.

“I already saw it though,” Sana says with a soft smile. “I really like it, by the way. Let’s make it our best song, okay?”

Dahyun can’t help but smile at that, turning her gaze away from her so that maybe her heart can calm down a little bit.

“We can make it a duet!” Sana offers, the idea making her eyes sparkle with wonder at how it could go.

“How are you supposed to learn all the lines in a day?”

“Are you challenging me, Dubu?” Sana gives her that signature pout, which is annoying because it just makes her look so goddamn kissable.

Dahyun’s smile just widens.

~

Dahyun looks nervously at the waiting crowd that’s going by their seats. There’s still an hour before the show starts and she had just realized that she was performing to them the first song she’s ever made. What if Once didn’t like it? What if it caused speculations that they were going to start doing solo projects outside of the group? What if- what if rumors started about them disbanding and this being the first signs of it?

“You okay there, Dahyun-ah?” a male voice from behind her asks, and the familiar sound of his voice almost brings tears to her eyes when she realizes who it is.

“Myungsoo?” Dahyun turns around and, sure enough, her big brother was standing there, that calming smile on his face that never failed to make her feel supported and love, now more than ever.

“Myungsoo-oppa,” he corrects cheekily, immediately giving her a hug.

Dahyun hugs him back tightly. He smells of spring flowers, he smells of a home she hasn’t been in so long. His hugs feel like a memory and she hopes that she’ll never forget it. When she pulls away, she sees Sana standing a little bit away from them, a pleased smile on her face at the two siblings.

“He texted me that he wanted to surprise you, so I made sure he could see you before the concert started,” Sana explains.

“I’ve talked to Sana before, but you still need to introduce us again,” Myungsoo encourages her. “I’ve only known her as your friend.”

Dahyun nods, understanding what he means. “Myungsoo... oppa, this is my girlfriend, Sana. And Sana-yah, this is my older brother, Myungsoo.”

Sana feels her heart pounding against her chest, this sudden euphoria coursing through her.

“Thank you for always being there for my sister,” Myungsoo tells Sana. “I’m glad she’s found someone as caring as you to love.”

Sana kisses Dahyun’s cheek, and she’s never known how such a simple gesture can feel so intimate. “I’m the one who’s glad she found me.”

~

That wasn’t the end of all the surprises Sana had prepared for Dahyun. They had planned to sing Dahyun’s song together, with the recorded instrumental playing in the background, but Sana had managed to somehow convince a couple staff members to go the extra mile and get a piano. Well, getting it wasn't the problem. The problem was keeping it a secret and somehow sneaking it in without anyone noticing.

The girls had finished performing a few songs and were catching their breath, talking to the crowd about the songs and what they meant to them. Dahyun was sitting at the edge of the concert stage, the light shining softly on her and giving a halo effect over her.

“Dahyun-ah also has started writing her own songs!” Chaeyoung says all of a sudden, earning cheers from their fans.

Dahyun takes it that that’s her cue to start talking, and Chaeyoung walks to her and passes her the microphone. “That was supposed to be a surprise!” Dahyun whines playfully.

“I taught her all she knows!” Chaeyoung says through the microphone before walking a little bit away. She looks at the end of the stage and finds an awaiting staff member, signaling to him to bring the instrument.

“It was fun writing it. I had a lot on my mind when I was writing it so I kept editing it and changing things, but I think I’m finally satisfied with it,” Dahyun says just to say anything, binding herself some time before she has to get up and perform it.

“Talk to them about what it’s about!” Sana says from somewhere behind her, and Dahyun can’t help but smile at that.

“It’s about Sana-yah,” Dahyun says. She looks through the front row of the crowd and spots Myungsoo, who smiles proudly at her and nods at her to continue. “I’ve learned a lot about myself in the time I’ve known her.”

Dahyun turns to look at Sana, but she can’t help but feel a little confused why she’s sitting right by a piano. Also, when did a whole- piano get here?!

“Surprise?” Sana giggles cutely at Dahyun’s confused expression.

~

In a perfect world, Dahyun would have been able to play each note perfectly, but she honestly couldn't really care. It sounds good--feels good--singing out all the words her heart used to have trouble saying.

The light was lowered and less glaring for the sake of ambiance. Dahyun would occasionally look up to see Sana, who was singing right by her, and she couldn’t help but feel love and affection bloom in her heart for her. A lock of Sana’s hair kept falling out of place and dangling by her nose, and her makeup was a little smudged from the dancing performances they did earlier, but she still looked perfect.

“Maybe we’re forever, maybe we’re infinite,” Dahyun sang the ending chorus, smiling as their audience tries to sing along despite having just heard the song for the first time. “It’s always love when it’s you.”

yoyoyo i'm BACK!
btw, if you follow my other saida works, i've decided to finish them one-by-one because i realized that focusing on multiple works at the same time will not end well...

for now, "maybe" will be the only fic i'm actively working on, and after i finish it i'll continue to the next. love you!! i hope you didn't miss me too much~