“Nayeon are you done?! The café isn’t going to open itself!” Jeongyeon hollers exasperatedly from outside the house as she leans against her bike, not understanding why her girlfriend is taking so long to get ready for work. She’s been waiting for 15 minutes in the cold, and Nayeon still isn’t out yet.

“Okay, I’m here, grump!” Nayeon shuts the door and runs out to her, grabbing the helmet in Jeongyeon’s hands. As the girl puts on the helmet, Jeongyeon takes a closer look at the very familiar purple jacket she has on.

“Is that… my jacket?” Jeongyeon asks incredulously. The purple jacket Nayeon has on is the one she lost a few weeks ago, having put it in the washer, but it never came back. (Now that she thinks about it, it’s not the first time her clothes went missing after going to the washer. Now she knows where it all went.)

“Yeah, it’s so comfortable.” Nayeon says nonchalantly as if she didn’t just steal her clothes. She clicks the buckle of Jeongyeon’s helmet for her before climbing onto the bike, but Jeongyeon just stares at her, not moving.

“Is this why my clothes go missing all the time?” Jeongyeon asks as she starts up the engine and gets on the bike herself, feeling Nayeon’s arms go around her waist.

“Well, you were my best friend, and best friends share clothes all the time. But now, you are my girlfriend, and what’s wrong with wearing my girlfriend’s clothes?” Nayeon says it like it’s supposed to be the most obvious thing in the world, so much so that Jeongyeon can’t even refute it. Besides, it’s not like she hates it, and she actually finds it cute that Nayeon is wearing her clothes. (Last time in school, she had always wanted her girlfriend to wear her varsity jacket that has her name on her back so that everyone knew about them, but Bona had refused to wear her jacket, saying that it looks ugly and unfashionable. Although they are no longer in school and it isn’t a varsity jacket, she will still take this anyway.)

But she’s not going to tell Nayeon that she’s cute and boost her already inflated ego. “Okay you win, let’s just get to work already.”

Nayeon tightens her grip around her waist and smuggles into her, and even though Jeongyeon can’t see her, she knows Nayeon must have a smug grin on her face for getting away with stealing her clothes. (Jeongyeon will let her get away with anything, but Nayeon doesn’t need to know that.)

--

“Mina?” Akira calls out to his daughter, who just sits in a daze beside him. He’s sharing the car with her today, sending her to school before he goes to work, but it’s like there’s only an empty shell of his daughter left beside him. “Penguin?”

This time, he gets her attention, the girl slowly raising her head to look at him. He gives her a warm smile, hoping it will make her feel better. “We are here.”

Mina takes a look outside and nods. “Right. Bye Papa, have a good day at work.” She leans in to kiss him on the cheek before getting out of the car, and Akira stays, makes sure she gets into the building safely before asking Yoshi to drive off. He sighs, the way his daughter is dragging her feet to class did not escape him.

“Yoshi, do you happen to know why Mina is so unhappy these few days?” Akira asks their family driver, he drives Mina around, so there is a high possibility that he knows things from chauffeuring the girl around.

“No sir.” Yoshi replies, and anyone else would have believed him. But Yoshi has been their driver for decades, and Akira can tell he’s lying from the way his grip tightened around the wheel slightly. He doesn’t want to distract Yoshi from driving, so he decides to leave the questioning later when they arrive at the hospital.

When the car pulls up at the hospital, Akira doesn’t get out, just looks at Yoshi expectantly. “Tell me everything.”

Yoshi sighs, knowing he can’t hide anything from Akira. Sachiko had threatened to fire him if he is to tell anyone about what she did, but he finds that he is unable to keep her secrets for her anymore. He has seen the daughter of the Myoui family grow up, and can say with confidence that she looks the happiest when she is with her small girlfriend. Looking at how upset she looks now, it breaks his heart. She’s just a young girl in love, she doesn’t deserve suffering this type of pain, especially when it is all avoidable. That is why, he knows he is making the right decision to tell Akira everything, since he might be the only one who can salvage this situation.

A good few minutes later, the car is silent, and Akira has his eyes closed as he tries to process everything he has just heard. A part of him finds it hard to believe that Sachiko would do something like that, but another part of him knows that this is exactly something his wife would do. He wants to go over to her office now to take this out with her, but knows how unprofessional that is. That is why he decides to confront her later at home, where there won’t be any prying eyes and ears and they are able to argue it out.

--

“Jeongyeon, come over here.” Nayeon says as she puckers out her lips, wanting to give the other girl a kiss. But Jeongyeon just grimaces and leans away, trying to be as far away as the bunny as possible.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jeongyeon retorts, still avoiding the older girl. It’s pretty quiet at the café now, so they have some free time to horse around.

Nayeon gasps, offended at the reaction. “Am I bothering you?”

Jeongyeon is taking the free time to wipe the doors of their cupboards and fridges, making sure the café is clean and presentable, so she is busy at the moment and really does not appreciate Nayeon’s affection right now. “Yeah.”

Nayeon lets out a click of discontent and turns her back to the other girl, totally sulking. “I hate you too.” 

Jeongyeon sighs, putting down the cloth she is holding in her hand to walk over to give Nayeon a back hug. She can’t stand the older girl annoying her, but she can’t stand an angry Nayeon even more. She rests her head on Nayeon’s shoulder. But Nayeon just ignores her even when Jeongyeon is clinging onto her like a koala, she’s not going to be placated so easily.

 “Come on, don’t be angry at me, hmm?” Jeongyeon consoles the girl in her arms, and Nayeon stifles a smile. “I will do the laundry tonight, okay?”

Nayeon shakes her head. “One week.”

Jeongyeon rolls her eyes. “Fine. So, are you not mad anymore?”

Nayeon turns around to give her a kiss, and Jeongyeon knows all is forgiven, breaking out in a huge Totoro-like smile. The bell rings, signalling new customers, and they pull apart, wanting to maintain some professionalism while at work. Sana steps in, dragging a very reluctant-looking Momo behind her.

“Well, about damn time you guys got together, but can you guys please cut down on the PDA and give me a cup of green tea latte.” Sana orders while Momo sulks behind her.

“You guys should be honoured we are giving you a free show.” Nayeon jokes and looks at the pouting Momo behind Sana. “What has gotten the peach behind you so upset?”

“Your kid, actually. She’s angry that your kid broke up with ours.” Sana tells them while shaking her head. If Nayeon and Jeongyeon had adopted Chaeyoung, Momo and Sana had adopted Mina. The four of them expected to be in-laws in the future, but alas, things don’t work out as they wished.

Momo sneers. “I hope she loses all her matches from now on.”

Jeongyeon slams the milk jug down, fire in her eyes. Nayeon is usually the overly protective and easily riled up one, but how dare this stupid peach in front of her curse her little baby sister like that?! She’s not going to let her go so easily. “Oh yeah? And I hope Mina breaks her ankles every time she does ballet.”

“How dare you! Do you want to have a go with me, huh?!” Momo lifts the sleeves of her jacket up and has her hands into a fist.

“No one is fighting anyone here.” Nayeon narrows her eyes at both of them. “In this situation, all the more we have to remain level-headed and try to help them out. You guys fighting will not help to solve anything.”

Nayeon’s words kick some sense into the two of them, because Momo grumbles and settles down beside Sana at the counter seats like a kicked puppy, while Jeongyeon just clenches her jaw and continues to make Momo’s drink. Sana throws an arm around Momo to comfort her, “So, how is it going on your side?”

Nayeon shakes her head. “Not good. She just mopes around all day, and doesn’t even train seriously. We have told her many times to go and make up with Mina, but that stubborn oaf just refuses to listen. What about your side?”

“Same. Mina tells us she’s fine, but we can all tell she’s not. She’s always in a daze nowadays.” Sana sighs.

“Maybe we should just lock them in a room until they clear everything out, works every time.” Jeongyeon suggests, pushing the cup of green tea latte to Momo as if they didn’t just threaten to rip each other’s throats out a few minutes ago.

Momo almost moans as she sips on the drink, she missed this taste so much. She had avoided the café because she didn’t want to run into Chaeyoung and accidentally cause a murder because she might actually beat the girl to death for breaking her little penguin’s heart. (Although she might be the one passing away instead since the cub is a professional MMA fighter after all, but that’s beside the point.) She feels herself calm down as the sweet drink enters her stomach and warms her up. “I think we should just leave them alone, they will sort it out themselves. I trust them.”

“Wow, Momo being the wise one for once.” Jeongyeon teases, and Momo glares at her.

“Anyway,” Sana interrupts before the two start fighting again, “I’m so glad you guys finally got together, it’s about time.”

“Yeah, I still thought you will be moping again when you find out Bona is going to get married soon.” Momo says.

“Bona is getting married?” Nayeon asks incredulously, surprised that someone actually wants to marry the greatest in the world.

But Jeongyeon is quiet, because she is reminded of how she was that person who wanted to marry Bona then. She doesn’t date for fun, so when she dates someone, she really wants to have a future with them. But things didn’t work out, and she’s left with a broken heart. Looking back, it’s probably best that things didn’t work out, because she has her best friend who is also her girlfriend, and she don’t want to have it any other way. She grabs Nayeon’s hands, squeezing it to remind herself of how great her present is, and how great the future is going to be with this bunny. “I’m happy for her.”

--

“You are back early today.” Sachiko says as she spares a glance towards her husband, who just entered the house. “We still have to wait for Mina to come back before we can eat dinner, so-“

“Why did you do that?” Akira skips the small talk and gets straight to the point.

Sachiko raises her eyebrows at him before looking back down at the documents in her hand. “I have done many things, please tell me specifically what you are referring to.”

“Why did you make the girl break up with Mina?”

Sachiko puts her documents down, entwining her hands together. “Your daughter is Myoui Mina, she’s the future successor of the biggest hospital chain in East Asia. What do you think the board of directors at your hospital will say when they realize she’s dating a girl? A girl who is an orphan, and comes from a high middle class adopted family at best.”

“It doesn’t matter what they say. My shares are enough to secure her the spot.”

“Don’t be naïve.” Sachiko scoffs. “Your brother has been eyeing your spot even before we got married. He will do everything he can to bring you or Mina down, because that’s how much he covets your position. That is why Mina needs to be perfect, she can’t have any flaws in her life. I’m just removing the weed from Mina’s life.”

A loud thud is heard behind them, and they turn to see Mina standing at the door of the house, her files on the floor. “You… You made Chaeyoung leave me.”

Sachiko stands up, slightly taken aback at Mina’s appearance. She wasn’t supposed to hear this conversation! Why is everyone home so early today? Nevertheless, she tries to fix this mess, maintaining her composure as she speaks, “No. She didn’t love you enough and gave you up. If she really loved you, she wouldn’t have given up on you and your relationship so easily.”

Mina didn’t believe her mother’s words for even a second. Chaeyoung would never give up on her so easily, her mother must have said something to force her to back off. She should have suspected something when Chaeyoung told her to break up when it was just a small conflict they could definitely work out. It just didn’t make sense, but now she knows. Her poor sunshine who had to pretend to be the bad guy, who is probably suffering just as much as her, maybe even more. She needs to see her right now. That is why, she turns and heads out of the door, ignoring her father’s calls.

--

Nayeon frowns at the phone call, because she will never expect this person to call her (especially with the situation now), but she doesn’t hesitate to pick it up. She probably called her because of an emergency. “Yeah Mina, what’s up?”

“Hey Nayeon-unnie,” Mina sniffs over the phone, “where can I find Chaeyoung?”

Mina obviously sounds like she’s crying. Nayeon frowns, what did her troublesome kid do this time? “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Nothing… I just really need to see her right now. Please.”

There’s a desperation in her voice that really makes Nayeon want to help her, but Chaeyoung is in Chuncheon, which is 2 hours away. “Mina, I really want to help you, but Chaengie is not in Seoul right now. She went back to her parents’ home.”

“Can I… have the address then?”

Nayeon sighs, knowing that Mina is not going to take no for an answer. Maybe this is why the two are so compatible, because they are both stubborn oafs. “I will text you the address. You stay safe, okay? It’s cold and it’s a long journey to her parents’ house.”

Mina thanks her, and they get off the phone. “Mina?” Jeongyeon finally asks, not wanting to interrupt her phone call.

Nayeon hums to indicate yes as she texts the address to Mina. “I think she’s going down to see Chaeyoung.”

Jeongyeon shakes her head at the kids’ mess. “Well, at least they are finally sorting things out.”

The bell chimes, and Jeongyeon looks up to greet the new customer. But it’s Bona, who immediately grins, taking off her sunglasses to meet eyes with her. “Jeongyeon-ah!”

Nayeon immediately looks up at the newcomer and scoffs. She always knew the girl was shameless, but she didn’t know she was this shameless to keep pestering Jeongyeon even when she is about to get married. “Well, to what do I owe this pleasure of having you in my small little café? Shouldn’t you be busy planning for your wedding?”

Bona seems a little taken aback that they know, but she immediately recovers. “Jeongyeon, I can explain-“

“You don’t owe me an explanation.” Jeongyeon tells her nonchalantly, and that scares Bona. Because the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference, and for Jeongyeon to be so indifferent to her now means that she might have just lost that 0.1% chance she had of getting her back.

“I don’t owe you an explanation either, but I just want to make things clear.” Jeongyeon continues, grabbing Nayeon’s hands to entwine with hers. “We are dating, so stop bothering us.”

The news doesn’t come as a surprise, she had expected this since years ago. Bona finally directs her attention to Nayeon. “Congratulations, you finally get what you want after so many years. But now that you are Jeongyeon’s girlfriend, I will take on the role of being her best friend then, so you will finally realize how annoying that is.”

“Sorry to break it to you, but I’m now both her best friend, and her girlfriend.” Nayeon spits back but Bona just smirks. “Yeah, and you will lose both if you break up. You guys can’t go back anymore, it’s all or nothing.”

Nayeon looks visibly affected by her words, and Bona’s smirk just grows, because she has successfully provoked the girl. But Jeongyeon isn’t just going to sit by and watch, because Nayeon is her girlfriend now and she has the responsibility to protect her. She’s going to make things clear with Bona.

“Bona, let’s talk outside.”

Jeongyeon squeezes Nayeon’s hand in hers reassuringly, giving her a light peck on her forehead. “I will be back, okay? Don’t worry.”

Nayeon is nervous, but she trusts Jeongyeon, so she nods and watches the two walk out of the café, Bona shooting her another smirk before doing so.

--

Jeongyeon leans against the lamppost outside the café, looking at Bona, who is suddenly very nervous in front of such a serious Jeongyeon. She had seldom seen this side of Jeongyeon when they are dating, and they were definitely not directed at her even when she did. So, it makes her anxious to have a serious Jeongyeon stare at her like that.

“Why do you keep coming here, Bona?” Jeongyeon starts the ball rolling, not wanting to take up more time than necessary.

“Jeongyeon-ah, can’t we go back to how we were last time?” Bona pleads, “I really miss you.”

She feels a sense of deja-vu, this feels just like how Bona begged to come back to her every time after she cheated on her. “Bona, you are getting married soon.” Jeongyeon reminds the girl in front of her, just in case she conveniently forgot about that fact.

“I can call it off, I don’t even want to marry him, I only want you.” Bona tugs at her arms, but Jeongyeon just shrugs it off. It’s time to put an end to this.

“Bona, do you know what my first reaction was when you appeared here a few weeks ago? I was scared to see you again, because I got reminded of how tired and painful our relationship was. And I don’t want to go back there anymore. We can’t go back anymore.”

“Jeongyeon, give me one more chance, I swear-“

“Haven’t I given you enough?” Jeongyeon cuts her off. “I took you back every single time you cheated, and I don’t even know how many times that is because I lost count.” She sighs, exhaustion evident. “Enough is enough, hmm? If you have cold feet for your wedding, I can lend you some socks, but stop coming to look for me anymore. Leave me, and also Nayeon alone, I won’t be as nice if you bother us again.”

--

Chaeyoung watches as her father stir fry the spicy marinated pork on the stove. Her mother cooks really well, but her father runs a restaurant and is a good cook himself too. He seldom cooks at home because he will be tired after cooking for the whole day in the restaurant, but he’s doing so today because his youngest daughter is back home after a long time, and she deserves the treat. She picks up and eats a piece of meat, and she immediately lets out a loud exclamation. “It’s so good! If there’s only one thing I can eat for the rest of my life, it will be this.”

Yoo Changjun laughs. “You can have all of it later.”

“Is it Appa’s stir fried pork, or my bean paste stew?” Jinhee asks as she rests her hands on her waist, glaring jealously at Chaeyoung. She’s just joking, but it is pretty funny to see her daughter panic a little.

That’s unfair, because that’s basically asking her if she likes her mother more, or her father more. Chaeyoung sweats as she thinks of a way to answer this without offending anyone, but she has to thank the heavens, because the doorbell goes off, saving her . “I will go get it!” She shouts enthusiastically, immediately running out of the kitchen and to the door. (The Yoo parents just laugh, it’s so easy to tease their daughter.)

If you ask Chaeyoung who she thinks is at the door, she will tell you maybe it’s a deliveryman, or maybe even a neighbour coming over to borrow some salt or something. But she would never have gotten the correct answer, because standing outside her house is the person she hurt the most, yet also misses the most. She doesn’t even have time to react because Mina just pounces on her, engulfing her in a tight hug and her arms immediately go on the girl’s waist, staggering a little at their combined weight.

Mina is crying, and Chaeyoung panics, because if Mina is her weakness, a crying Mina is her fatal flaw. Despite knowing that she doesn’t have any right to hold Mina like this (not anymore, at least), her main aim right now is to comfort her so she pulls Mina closer to her and runs her fingers through the ballerina’s hair. “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t cry, hmm?”

“Chaeyoung, who’s at the door?” Her mother calls out from the kitchen when the girl doesn’t return after a while.

“It’s just… my friend.” It hurts to call Mina her friend, but that’s what they are, and that is only if Mina is being generous and still wants to be her friend after how she broke her heart.

Jinhee steps out from the kitchen to see her daughter holding her ‘friend’ tightly as the said friend continues to cry on her shoulders, and she immediately knows who it is even without the introduction. It’s good that they are dealing with their issues, but these idiots should come into the house and not stand at the door when it’s winter and -12 degree Celsius outside. “Chaeyoung?” She calls out gently, causing the two to break away, her daughter’s friend bowing to her but keeping her head down while her daughter turns to look at her, hands still on her friend’s waist. Jinhee smiles, more at Mina than Chaeyoung. “Come on in, it's cold outside."

--

Dinner at the Yoo’s household is drastically different from her own home. Mr Yoo makes lame jokes every 10 minutes, causing Chaeyoung to chuckle loudly and Mrs Yoo to roll her eyes. (Mina finally realizes where Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon get their bad dad jokes from.) Mrs Yoo makes sure her plate is never empty, always putting some food on her plate. It’s ironic how the person she actually is closest to in this house is the coldest to her, Chaeyoung just focusing on eating and talking to her parents. But Mina guesses that should be expected, given their relationship (or the lack of one) now.

After dinner, Mrs Yoo insisted that she stay over since it’s too late into the night for her to make the trip back to Seoul, and she doesn’t disagree because she still hasn’t gotten a chance to talk things out with Chaeyoung, which was what she came here to do. That is why she finds herself in Chaeyoung’s clothes, drying her hair as she steps into the room the two sisters shared in their childhood. The fighter is missing, probably still in the shower herself, and Mina takes the chance to look around the room.

The sisters’ segregation of the room is obvious, where one half is absolutely clean without any clutter (Jeongyeon’s), and the other half filled with different kinds of art supplies, and paintings on the walls. She smiles as she looks at the paintings, feeling like she is getting a look into Chaeyoung’s world.

Chaeyoung steps in, pointing to the bed nearer to the door. “This is my bed, you can sleep here for tonight, I will just sleep in Jeongyeon-unnie’s bed.”

Mina grabs her before she can move away. “Stay beside me tonight.”

When she sees no response from Chaeyoung, she tries again. “Just for tonight, please.”

Chaeyoung sighs, plopping down on her bed. Although she misses Mina like crazy and wants to hold her so desperately, she knows she can’t do that anymore. Not after breaking her heart. That is also why she doesn’t understand why Mina is standing in front of her like that, in her clothes and her parents’ home in Chuncheon in the middle of the night. She thought she had made it clear, made sure that she broke Mina’s heart utterly so that she will give up on her totally. “Why are you here, Mina?”

Mina doesn’t know what has gotten into her, but if she made her mind to come all the way down from Seoul to here to find Chaeyoung, she might as well go all the way. She sits on Chaeyoung’s lap, causing the girl to look up at her in shock at the proximity. She loops her arms around the fighter’s neck, pecking her lips continuously. Breathless, she leans her forehead against Chaeyoung’s. “I heard Papa and Mama fighting today.”

She opens her eyes to see Chaeyoung’s concerned ones boring back at her, there is no way this girl isn’t still in love with her. “About me. And you. About us… Why… We could have worked through it together.”

Chaeyoung froze. She did everything just so she can be the bad guy, taking the blame for ruining their relationship, but Mina still found out in the end. She sighs because her defences all come tumbling down when she sees Mina crying. There is no need to pretend anymore, since the medical student has already found out. For the first time that night, Chaeyoung reaches out for her, wiping the tears away from her face. “Don’t cry for me, I’m not worth your tears.”

“I’m just a nobody who didn’t even graduate high school, who only knows how to use my fists to cause trouble.” Chaeyoung continues, “I’m not worth your tears, I’m not worthy of you.”

Mina sniffs, slightly miffed that her sunshine thinks of herself that way, but she also knows it must be the seeds of discord and doubt that her mother planted in Chaeyoung’s head. “Bull. You are the bravest, kindest and most beautiful person I ever know, don’t let my Mama, or anyone tell you otherwise.”

She leans in to kiss Chaeyoung, thinking that everything is okay now, but the girl just pulls and turns away, thinking about what Mrs Myoui told her. She can’t let Mina lose everything because of her. “We… can’t.”

The elegant girl frowns, wondering what her mother actually told her to make her so hesitant. They love each other, shouldn’t that be enough? “What did my mom tell you?”

“She threatened to take everything away from you.”

Mina frowns, she should have realized her mom uses the same tricks on them, threatening to hurt the other to force them into compliance. It doesn’t matter to her, she didn’t care about owning the hospital, not then, not now. “I don’t need the hospital, I just need you.”

“No, Mina. Everything, including your family. She threatened to disown you.” Chaeyoung says, voice barely above a whisper. As an orphan, family is very important to her, and she will never want Mina to lose hers because of her. So this is the ultimatum her mother gave to her sunshine; love or family. Her mom knows Chaeyoung will never make her pick her over her family, being one that puts her family first. It is no wonder her mother is the best lawyer around, being able to manipulate such information for her to win the case, or in this case, for her to convince Chaeyoung to give her up. That is also why, she knows that she will not be able to convince Chaeyoung to come back to her unless her mother approves of them.

Mina came all the way here hoping they can make up, but it seems like it’s not possible now. But she’s not going back empty-handed, so the least they can do is to make out. She leans in to close the gap, her desperation, longing apparent in the kiss. She pulls away, hates how her sunshine is not responding to her kisses. “Kiss me like I’m yours. Just for tonight, please.”

She leans back in, and finally, Chaeyoung responds back, her kisses just as desperate and filled with want as much as hers. Mina doesn’t know why she’s crying when her kisses are finally reciprocated, but it probably has something to do with this being the last few times they are going to be able to do this.

--

a/n: not an april fool's joke :) 

sorry this took longer than usual, was swamped by school assignments and was working on another au for mina's bday 

link here: https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1395841/flower-girl-cafe