There were about a dozen reasons why Mina hadn't told anyone about her relationship with Sana yet. A few of her reasons were a bit fickle (she didn't want her members teasing them or staring at them all the time). A few of her reasons were a little more concerning, like not wanting to jeopardize Twice's success or risking JYP finding out and forcing them to break up.

But a few of her reasons were realistically alarming. Mina could still remember a dark period of time about two years ago when she was mixed up in a dating rumor with a member of Got7, a dangerous rumor that had resulted in her receiving a death threat.

If the public had reacted so negatively to the idea of her dating a male idol, Mina couldn't even imagine the level of backlash she would face when the public learned that she was dating a female idol. Their secret was no joke, it was no laughing matter. And when Mina saw the seriousness and the sobering effect her kiss with Sana had on their Twice members, Mina couldn't help but feel afraid.

A nervous laugh from Chaeyoung broke up the prolonged and awkward silence in the room. "Is this a joke or something? What are you guys doing?"

Sana vehemently shook her head and stepped forward. "We're not joking around."

"What is this then?" Jihyo asked with a calculated calmness in her voice.

"It's--"

Mina reached out and grabbed Sana's wrist, stopping the older girl mid-sentence. Sana looked back to Mina, the tension in her shoulders receding a bit after seeing the desperate, fearful look in Mina's eyes.

Sana had been prepared to boldly profess the depths of her feelings for Mina, but Mina's expression reigned in her excitement. Because as much as Sana wanted to do away with their secret and to love her girlfriend openly, at least in front of their Twice members, Sana knew and understood Mina's fears about going public.

Sana gave Mina the smallest of smiles before turning back to face the others. "It's the alcohol. I've had waaaay too much," Sana laughed, purposely stumbling a bit and falling into Nayeon's arms. She gave Nayeon a lopsided smile. "Can I have a kiss, too, Nayeon-unnie?"

The temperature in the room slowly warmed up as Sana's laughter filled the air. There was one small giggle, and then another. This was just their typical, overly-affectionate, drunken Sana, the members thought.

Nayeon glanced at Sana with uncertainty, half supporting her body amid Sana's drunken act. Mina swallowed deeply as Nayeon cast her a quizzical frown. From behind the eldest member, Momo's concerned expression deepened as well.

"Jeez, unnie," Tzuyu laughed, apparently fooled by Sana's behavior. She stepped forward to help Sana to her feet and Dahyun did the same, affectionate yet exasperated smiles growing across both of their faces. "You've gotta learn your drinking tolerance better."

Another small wave of laughter flowed through the room, easing everyone's tension and causing Mina's to grow. Watching Sana pretend to be a fool to protect them was gut-wrenching. Even though Sana's careless actions had put them into this situation to begin with, Mina's stomach churned with guilt as she watched Sana pretend to stumble into Tzuyu's arms.

"Or maybe our Tzuyu-ah wants a kiss, too?" Sana teased, leaning up on her tiptoes and pretending to aim for Tzuyu's lips.

"Stop," Mina said softly, somehow gaining the attention of the entire room even though her voice was barely audible. "Sattang, you don't have to do this."

Sana stood up and looked at Mina, the cheerfulness in her tone not quite reaching her eyes as she smiled. "Don't do what, Mina Mina Minari~?"

The Twice members laughed again, commenting about how they needed to keep the alcohol away from Sana for the rest of the night or vice versa as Sana smiled along. Unable to watch any longer, Mina ignored everyone's comments, ignored Sana's drunken act, and went over to her girlfriend and placed a real kiss on her lips.

The quick kiss was gentle and soft, b with practiced ease. But upon seeing Mina's uncharacteristic actions that even alcohol couldn't explain away, a tense silence settled back over the room.

Nayeon, who hadn't been convinced by Sana's drunken show earlier, was now frowning deeply at them. "Guys, seriously. What is this? What's going on?"

Sana looked at Mina with eyes that were flooded with remorse for allowing a single moment of jealous behavior to put them into this situation. But Mina simply smiled at Sana, at the person who was willing to do whatever it took to protect them. Mina laced the fingers of her left hand with Sana's right, making sure all the members could see them.

"What's going on is that Sana and I have been dating for about six months now," Mina announced shakily, staring at the stunned expressions that followed. In the background, Momo gestured encouragingly for her to keep going. "Sana and I started dating during Chuseok, when we were here by ourselves. We both liked each other for a while before that, but neither of us had confessed to each other until then because..."

Mina turned to look at Sana, trying to ignore everyone else in the room as she searched for courage in Sana's eyes. "...because it felt like a one in a million chance that Sana liked me as much as I liked her."

Sana smiled shyly under Mina's gaze. "Me too. It was impossible for me to imagine that Mittang liked me as much as I liked her."

They were in their own world again for just a moment even though seven pairs of curious eyes watched their every action. Mina and Sana leaned in slightly, letting their foreheads touch gently for just a moment, staring deeply into each others eyes.

"But we confessed to each other and then we started dating," Mina continued softly, finally turning back to address their team directly. The stunned expressions caused Mina to become nervous again. "Um... and that's it. Sana and I are together now, and we've been really happy."

The resulting reaction was unsurprisingly mixed. Chaeyoung, ever the helpless romantic, couldn't help but let out a squeak of delight upon hearing that two of her members were now happily dating. But Jeongyeon, Dahyun, and Tzuyu remained silent with their stunned expressions while Jihyo merely eyed them with a neutral face. Nayeon, on the other hand, approached Sana with an apologetic expression.

"My kiss with Mina was joke," Nayeon explained to Sana solemnly. "I thought it would make her laugh. I didn't know you two were dating and I'm sorry I kissed her." She then turned to Mina and apologized again. "I'm sorry I kissed you."

Mina blinked in surprise at Nayeon's contrite expression, at her unexpected apology. She was honestly shocked that Nayeon hadn't questioned the fact that they were two girls dating, and that Nayeon hadn't menti