“So, how did Unnie confess to you?” Chaeyoung asks as she chews on her toast loudly, looking at Nayeon who places another two plates of breakfast on the table. It’s old news that the two has been together, but she hasn’t gotten the chance to ask about the process of it.

“I was the one who confessed first.” Nayeon huffs proudly, puffing her chest out at the memory of their confession outside the hospital.

Chaeyoung guffaws. “I knew it! Unnie is too big of a wimp to take the initiative. So what happened next?”

“Well…” Nayeon blushes as the memories flashed across in her mind. It’s embarrassing to recount it out loud because it’s so dramatic and over the top, and a part of her also wants to keep it as a secret that only Jeongyeon and her knows.

A loud sound of something dropping on the floor resounded, and Nayeon jumps before turning to the source. Jeongyeon is standing at the fridge, a bottle of orange juice on the floor. She makes eye contact with Nayeon, and immediately uses the towel that is still on her wet hair to cover her face slightly.

“You shouldn’t talk about that. Do you usually go around telling people that we kissed?” Jeongyeon says, embarrassed as she picks up the orange juice bottle.

“I didn’t say anything, you did.” Nayeon says with a roll of her eyes.

“Weren’t you going to?” Jeongyeon asks hesitantly, so sure that Nayeon was about to talk about it.

“I wasn’t.” She may like to gossip a lot, but she knows what to say and what not to. “Even if I did, it’s about me. Why do you care? We are talking about my kiss.”

“Yah,” Jeongyeon pulls the towel off her head, walking closer to Nayeon. “No one person can claim a kiss. Half of it is mine.”

“Fine, take half then.”

“Forget it, I don’t want it anymore.”

“Then I will keep it all.”

“You do that, you greedy pig.” Jeongyeon says with a huff, only to be met by a huff from Nayeon too. The two glare at each other before they storm off into their respective rooms.

Chaeyoung doesn’t know whether to cry or laugh at this situation as she fiddles with the omelette in her plate. Here you have a couple having a couple’s tiff about their kiss, while she can’t even see, let alone kiss, the girl she loves even if she wants to. Sighing, she pushes her half-eaten breakfast away, having lost her appetite. Time to head to the gym and hit some sandbags, and she can only hope that it will take her focus away from a certain penguin.

--

“Aigoo,” Dahyun laughs when she sees how Chaeyoung is walking like a grandma, “Do you want me to carry you instead? I think we will only reach the bus stop tomorrow at the rate you are walking at.”

Chaeyoung will send a kick over to her if her muscles are not screaming in pain, so she can only settle with a glare to the older girl. She has an upcoming UFC match coming soon, and Jihyo is not letting her go easy, really pushing her to her limits with her insane training regime. That is why she can only grit her teeth and force herself to move even though her whole body is aching. Dahyun may about it, but she’s still a loyal bro, walking alongside her even though she can just go ahead. They are just walking along the pavement of the car park, minding their own business when they hear loud veering of a vehicle behind them. A Lamborghini speeds past them, causing the puddle of rain water on the pavement to splash onto them. Dahyun, who is on the outer side of the pavement, is totally drenched by it, while Chaeyoung is luckier, escaping with only her shoes and sweatpants getting wet.

Dahyun wipes the water away from her face, fuming red as she stares at the Lambo that has stopped a few feet away from them. She had just taken a shower after their training, and she really didn’t appreciate having dirty rain water lying on the pavement being splashed all over her. And the width of the car lane is so huge, she doesn’t know why the driver has to drive so close to the pavement. It’s almost as if the driver is doing it on purpose. Storming over to the expensive car, she knocks on the tinted windows furiously. It rolls down slowly, revealing a guy dressed in a fancy suit. He doesn’t even look at them, just replying to a message on his phone as the window rolls down.  

“Excuse me, you splashed rain water all over us.” Dahyun is seething, and Chaeyoung finally catches up with the older girl, tugging at her sleeve from the back as if to ask her to forget about it.

The guy sends his message before finally looking up at them, giving them a once over before sighing, reaching for his wallet in the compartment beside him. He pulls out a few notes from it, waving it at them arrogantly. Seeing that they are not taking it from him, he raises his eyebrows. “Why? Is it not enough?”

He pulls out a few more from his wallet, throwing the notes onto the floor, as if they are not even worthy enough for him to hand the money over to them. “This should be enough for you to buy 10 sets of what you are wearing, and a decent meal at a restaurant.”

“We don’t need your filthy money, you dirty .” Dahyun just wants to stretch into the car and cobble the arrogant guy to death. What, does he think he can just use money to solve everything? Having money doesn’t mean he can get away with everything and anything. “Don’t you know how to apologize?”

Chaeyoung uses all her strength to pull Dahyun away, knowing that they can’t afford to offend this man, who drives a Lamborghini and throws a few hundred dollars at them like it’s just a few cents.”Come on Dubs, let’s just go.”

Dahyun lets the shorter fighter pull her away, but not forgetting to send a glare to the driver before going. Chaeyoung finally lets her go when they are far away from the car, but the eagle just crosses her arms with a huff. “You shouldn’t have dragged me away, rich arrogant asshats like him need to be taught a lesson.”

“Forget it, he’s not going to apologize no matter what you say.” Chaeyoung shakes her head, there’s no point fighting someone like that, they will just lose in the end. She digs her hands into her huge duffel bag to look for her phone. Patting her pockets, there is still no sign of her phone anywhere. She recalls placing it on the bench while wearing her shoes, she probably left it there. “Ah , I left my phone back at the gym, why don’t you go ahead first?”

They exchange goodbyes and Chaeyoung shakes her head as she watches Dahyun walk away, still fuming because of the incident. The tofu may look all soft, but the girl gets really scary when she gets angry. Maybe that is why they are both in MMA, it’s a place where they can vent out all the anger in them. She’s humming to a song in her head when she sees that the guy has stepped out from his flamboyant car, leaning against it while holding a bouquet of flowers. Chaeyoung smiles, reminiscing on how she used to be in that position too. She will be waiting for Mina at that spot outside the dance studio, and even though she may not have that car and flowers, Mina’s face will light up when she sees her, before engulfing her in a tight hug. Well, he may be a snob, but at least he is nice to his girlfriend, Chaeyoung reckons. She’s sure the guy’s girlfriend will like it too, just like how Mina liked it then.

The dance class must have ended because people start streaming out from the studio, and the little fighter stops in her tracks when she sees her favourite girl in the world. Mina steps out with another girl, still talking to her, a serious look on her face. Even though Chaeyoung is so far away, and can only watch from far away from now on, a smile grows on her face. Even with that focused frown on her face, Chaeyoung still thinks she looks so pretty, the prettiest in the whole wide world.

She’s so focused on Mina that she doesn’t realize fancy snob is walking up to Mina and her friend until he is in front of them. When the two of them see him, Mina’s friend nudges her with a knowing smile, before waving goodbye and walking away, leaving only the two of them. After sending her friend off, the guy holds out the bouquet to Mina, and she accepts it with a small smile. They talk while walking back to his fancy car, where he opens the car door for her, and Mina shoots another smile at him before entering his car gracefully. He runs back to his seat, getting in and starting the engine.

Chaeyoung pulls up her hoodie and steps further back into the darkness as the Lambo drives past her, and she can see Mina’s gummy smile through the tinted glass of the car as it drives past. That’s right, this is the kind of lifestyle Mina should be living. She should be driven around in expensive cars, eating in Michelin star restaurants with an heir of a company, and not be taking the public transport, eating convenience food at convenience stores with her. They should have been two parallel lines, never crossing paths, never falling in love. So that is why, it’s okay even if she’s in pain after seeing Mina just now.

I may not be able to give you my blessings for your new relationship, but I will always be wishing for your happiness. That’s because your happiness is most important to me, even if that happiness is without me.

--

Mina just stands around, greeting all the guests that pass her politely, even if she doesn’t recognize any of them. It’s her mother’s law firm’s company function, and even though she straight up detests such social functions and has a sour relationship with her mother currently, she still has to attend, putting on a show so that no one knows about the riff she has with her mother, so that everyone thinks that they are still the picture perfect family.

She looks around the huge ballroom, sighing as she waits for her two best friends. They promised to come, but she doesn’t see them anywhere. Probably late because they are too busy making out with each other, she thinks as she bows politely at the guests that walks by. She jumps when she feels hands on her waist, but she heaves a sigh of relief when she realizes it’s just Jaekyung. Shifting away from his hands, she smiles at him. “Thanks for coming.”

“Don’t mention it.” Jaekyung smiles. “It’s only been a week since I met you, but how did you become prettier already?”

Mina chuckles and shakes her head. Many girls would die to be in her spot, being complimented like that by the CEO of JT Corporations, but his compliment doesn’t seem to make her heart beat. It makes her feel flattered, but it doesn’t make her heart flutter. (Only one person can do that anyway.)

“How have you been?” Although they are sort of seeing each other, Mina hasn’t opened her heart to him, still keeping him at arm’s length.

“Great.” He doesn’t seem to notice the distance Mina is putting against them, or he may just have the foresight not to say anything about it. A man walks by them, and Jaekyung calls out to him. “Tadashi!” 

Tadashi turns to them, surprise showing on his face as he walks over to the couple. He shakes Jaekyung’s hand, greeting him. “Mr Seo, fancy meeting you here.”

“Well, Mrs Myoui is my girlfriend’s mother, I have to come and support the in-law.” Jaekyung says while putting his hand around Mina's waist, as if he’s showing off a prized possession. “This is Myoui Mina, my girlfriend.”

Mina shifts uncomfortably in Jaekyung’s arms, hoping it doesn’t show as she takes Tadashi’s outstretched hand. She doesn’t feel comfortable with how Jaekyung is being so touchy with her, and she didn’t agree to be his girlfriend yet, so he doesn’t have any right to be going around touching her and introducing her like that. But she doesn’t want to make him embarrassed, so she just forces a smile on her face as she listens to the two of them talk about their business. She can only pray for someone to come and save her from his wandering hands.

--

“Come on Momo, Mina must be waiting for us already!” Sana huffs as she pulls Momo along, speed walking to the ballroom once they get out from the lift. They all hate such social functions, but they will always be there for each other’s family functions, more to accompany each other than to make any social connections with the other attendees there. But now, they are almost an hour late, and the socially awkward penguin must be dying already, having to greet and mingle with all the guests alone.

“Well, we wouldn’t be late if you didn’t insist on taking that bath together.” Momo rolls her eyes, knowing fully well they were delayed because her girlfriend insisted on bathing together, saying that it saves time. It only caused them to take even longer in the bathroom, totally forgetting about the time as they get lost in each other’s bodies.

“You touched me first!” Sana retorts. It takes two hands to clap, she might be the one to suggest taking a bath together, but Momo was the one who initiated it. She shows their invitation card to the guard at the door, and he bows before pulling the door open. 

“Damn, the Myoui’s really do not play around.” Momo whistles as she looks at the huge ballroom that seems to stretch endlessly. Her gaze already heads to the food table, and her feet almost follows, if not for Sana’s grip on her hand.

“Find Mina first.” Sana chides, and Momo can only follow with a pout. Trying to find someone in this humongous ballroom might as well be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but they finally find her greeting a group of guys, Jaekyung standing beside her.

“Ugh.” Momo lets out a sound of contempt at the sight of the guy, and Sana just hits her arm lightly, as if warning her to be nice. They approach the two, Sana greeting them loudly to announce their presence.

“Mina-chan!” Sana greets, and Mina visibly heaves a sigh of relief at her friends. Sana greets Jaekyung politely, but she has to nudge Momo before the girl takes his hand begrudgingly.

“Nice to meet you ladies, but Mina and I still have to greet some other guests, do excuse us please.” Jaekyung says, ushering Mina away with his firm grip on her waist. She looks at them, her eyes begging them to help her, but there’s nothing they can do, because he’s already leading them away from them and into the crowd.

“Ack, I really do not like that guy.” Momo growls. She knows she isn’t fair to the guy, already having a bias against him because she prefers Chaeyoung for Mina, but she doesn’t like how he is ushering her around like his trophy. And anyone with a pair of eyes can see that Mina looks so uncomfortable with his touches, but he doesn’t seem to care, still touching her like he owns her. Now tell Momo how that is not a big blaring alarm for creep alert?

Sana sighs, having to agree with Momo on this. She doesn’t have such a strong opinion against Jaekyung like Momo, but even she felt uncomfortable seeing how he is treating Mina right now. And if this is how he is treating her before they are even a thing, she cannot even imagine how he will treat her when they really get together, or even worse, get married. She really has to talk to Mina about this, makes sure she realizes that this is a problem. Her mom wants her to get married to a rich guy, but it doesn’t have to be this rich guy. She’s sure she can find a rich guy that knows how to respect her like how she deserves to be. For now, she pulls Momo towards the food table, knowing that her girlfriend needs some food in her stomach to calm down, or else she might just jump on Jaekyung and scratch his face out for mistreating Mina, their baby.

--

Momo comes out from the toilet, rubbing her stomach. She’s ready to eat more now, and she’s about to go in and fill her stomach again when she sees Jaekyung stomping out of the ballroom, another man following closely behind him. She hides behind a pillar, not wanting them to spot her, and sees how the man behind Jaekyung is shaking as he follows the rich CEO. She may not be as perceptive as Sana about things, but she knows something big is about to happen, and she’s not going to miss this chance to dig out dirt about Seo Jaekyung.

The two men head to the deserted cargo car park, and Momo hides herself discreetly behind a big green dustbin. She doesn’t care about the stench, all focused on the scene in front of her.

Jaekyung blows out air from his mouth. “You didn’t get the job done? You usually aren’t this sloppy, Secretary Lee.”

Ah, so the man is his secretary.

She can’t hear what they are talking about with the distance between them, but from the looks of it, Jaekyung looks like he’s scolding his secretary for not completing a task he assigned. But the next thing she knows, he punches his secretary straight in the face, causing the latter to fall to the floor. Momo had to stifle her gasp, knowing that she can’t get caught right now, when she’s about to witness a very big secret.

Jaekyung s his sleeves and loosens his bow tie, as if he’s letting off the anger from his body. But that’s not his intentions, because he just hoists his secretary off the floor, repeatedly pounding into his face until the man lies there unmoving, blood flowing out of his nose and mouth. The rich guy finally stops, standing up with a huff as he fixes his outfit, making him look immaculate, as if he didn’t just nearly thrash his secretary unconscious.

He sends another kick to the man on the floor before he leaves, and Momo plasters herself against the rubbish bin as he walks past and heads back into the ballroom. She waits a few minutes, making sure he’s really gone before she sprints out towards the unconscious man, going to help him.

--

Momo storms into the ballroom, doesn’t care if she’s getting the attention of the whole hall. She needs to get Mina away from Seo Jaekyung immediately. She had called an ambulance for the man, but he had rejected, insisting on getting on a cab and going back home instead. While waiting for the cab with him, Momo had talked to him to know more, and thankfully, the man must have gone into shock from the pain, easily telling her everything. This happens often, and Jaekyung doesn’t allow them to go to the hospital because then, the police will be involved. He will just deposit some money into their account after the beating to compensate them for it, but they never actually recover from the hits, whether physically or mentally.

She scans the ballroom carefully, trying to spot that scumbag and Mina in the sea of people. But she hears a gasp and Sana is by her side, holding up her hands when she sees the blood on Momo’s hands. “What happened?! Are you hurt anywhere?”

Momo doesn’t reply, just focuses on trying to find them. She finally spots them near the middle of the ballroom, Jaekyung with his hands around Mina as he laughs and jokes with the other guests, like he didn’t just nearly kill a man outside just now. It just makes Momo angrier, and she flings off Sana’s hands, storming towards them. When she reaches the couple, she tugs on Mina harshly, making her fall out of Jaekyung’s embrace and into her own.

“Let’s go.” She pulls Mina towards the direction of the exit, but Jaekyung quickly holds onto Mina’s other hand.

“The function is not over yet.” He stares at Momo, as if daring her to drag Mina away. He’s acting like he owns Mina, and that she’s not leaving his side without his permission, and it just makes Momo sick to be even looking at him right now.

Momo’s grip on Mina’s hand tightens with her anger, and it’s only then that Mina looks down at the former’s hand, gasping. “Momoring, your hands!”

 “Yes, Momo is injured and we need Mina’s help to clean the wound.” Sana takes this chance to step in. “Please excuse us, gentleman.” She smiles her megawatt smile that immediately charms all the men into agreeing, and begins to usher the two Japanese towards the exit before Jaekyung can say anything else.

They head to the garden at the roof of the hotel, and Mina immediately inspects Momo carefully, wanting to see where the blood is from. “Where did you hurt yourself?” It’s strange, there is a significant amount of blood on Momo’s hands, which means the wound should be quite big too, but she doesn’t see any visible wound anywhere on the older girl’s body.

“It’s not my blood.” Momo finally says, making Sana and Mina look at her.

“Just now after coming out from the toilet, I saw Jaekyung heading out with his secretary. They went to the cargo car park, and he beat up his secretary, until the guy almost passed out. All of this,” she raises her hands to show the blood, “it’s all his secretary’s blood.”

Sana gasps, but Mina just frowns, unable to believe what Momo is saying. Yes, Jaekyung might be a little too touchy today, but he is still a nice guy in general, respecting others regardless of their occupation and status level. So she just can’t believe what Momo is telling them. “I don’t know… I find that hard to believe.”  

Momo grunts frustratedly, not understanding why she isn’t able to get to Mina. “What reason do I have to lie?”

Mina knows that Momo doesn’t like Jaekyung, and might be making this up to sully the image she has of him in her mind. “I don’t know… I just don’t think Jaekyung is someone like that.”

“Mina… Don’t you think he was touching you a little too much just now? Even I felt uncomfortable watching.” Sana speaks up, wanting to diffuse the tension before the two end up fighting. “We are just worried because he seems a little iffy.”

“A little?” Momo snorts incredulously. “Look at the blood on my hands, I’m telling you he nearly killed his secretary just now! And the worst thing is, it’s not even the first time this is happening.”

“But he was really nice every time we went out…” Mina says timidly, choosing to believe what she saw than Momo’s words.

“But you don’t even know him that well, he might just be acting in front of you.” Sana says patiently, knowing that Mina will not listen to them even more if they come on too strongly.

Momo doesn’t understand why Mina just can’t comprehend such a simple fact; Jaekyung is a bad guy, and she needs to leave him. The most baffling thing to her is why Mina just refuses to believe the two of them. Who would be more likely to lie to her, her friends who have grown up with her, or the guy she met just months ago? She knows that Mina can be very stubborn sometimes and there’s no point trying to convince her now. That is why she will let time tell the truth, let time expose Jaekyung’s true personality. “Forget it Sana-chan, let’s just go. Just don’t come to us crying when you finally see what he is like.”

--

a/n: i can't believe i was gone for 3 months... i will work hard to make sure the next update isn't 3 months later