With Sana's arms wrapped around her, Mina tried to steady her racing heart. Mina was scared of having her confession rejected, but at the same time she knew that Sana would always be her friend even if she didn't feel the same way. It might be painful and awkward at first if Sana rejected her, but Mina knew they could get past the awkwardness with time if it happened. Drawing on Sana's hug for strength, Mina gathered every bit of courage she had and went for it.

"Sattang..." Mina said in a shaky voice, clinging to Sana tightly. "Sattang suki desu." Sana, I love you.

Mina's heart thudded painfully in her chest as she laid her feelings out in the open for Sana to see. Her legs feel like jelly and Mina wondered if she could keep herself standing long enough to hear Sana's reply. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long at all.

"I love you, too," Sana immediately replied, cheerfully using the same "suki" that Mina used.

It was a surreal experience for Mina to hear Sana accept her confession. It was like watching her wildest dreams come to life and Mina's heart feel light and full of joy. But her feelings crashed back to the ground a moment later when she realized that Sana didn't understand what she had said. The two of them frequently told each other "I love you" in a platonic way in both Japanese and Korean. In fact, Sana had said "suki / I love you" to Mina earlier in the afternoon, so it should've been expected for Sana to mistake Mina's love confession as an expression of platonic love.

Sure enough, when Mina pulled back from the hug, Sana's usual smile confirmed that she hadn't received the message properly. Mina smiled a bit wryly at the misunderstanding. There were many ways to express love in Japanese, so Mina tried to confess again using a deeper form of the expression.

"Sattang, you don't understand... I really love you," Mina said, using the Japanese word "daisuki" to convey her feelings this time.

Sana laughed, still not understanding that this was a love confession and not their usual familial love expressions even though the "daisuki" that Mina used described a deeper love than "suki". "I really love you too," Sana repeated, seemingly unaffected by Mina's new word choice.

How ironic that their close friendship was suddenly making it difficult for Mina to confess properly. She would have laughed at the situation if her heart wasn't currently trying to jump out of her chest with anxiety. The Japanese language made it difficult for even native speakers to differentiate between like and love, so Mina dug through her Japanese vocabulary for a surefire way to get her meaning across.

"...Sattang," Mina tried again. She reached out and gently caressed Sana's cheek with her hand. The older girl's eyes fluttered shut with delight at the feel of Mina's touch, the warm reaction giving Mina the strength she needed to be brave. "Aieru yo." I love you.

It was an expression of deep love between lovers, something that mere friends would never say to each other. Non-native Japanese speakers liked to use "aieru" far too causally to say "I love you," but it was the kind of phrase that native Japanese speakers would rarely ever say even to a spouse.

Sana's eyes snapped opened when she heard Mina use "aieru". The phrase was stronger in meaning than what Mina wanted to say, but it was still an appropriate phrase for her feelings. And as Sana stared at her with wide eyes full of surprise, Mina knew her message had finally been received.

To Mina, it seemed like an eternity passed before Sana reacted. And to her relief, the older girl slowly covered with her hands, looking quite pleased. At the very least, this meant that Sana was not disgusted by Mina's feelings. But as to whether or not Sana felt the same, Mina still had no idea. Sana's wide eyes were glittering as she stared at Mina. The older girl looked so ethereal in the moonlight that Mina could hardly breathe. Mina just stood there, frozen by Sana's beauty and by the fear of whether Sana would accept her feelings or not.

"Thank you..." Sana whispered. She touched Mina's cheek affectionately in return and Mina felt the most