“Do we really have to go to that party?” Mina huffed from her bed.

“Yes, we do. Get ready or I’ll drag you there with your pajamas on.” Jeongyeon snatched the phone from Mina’s hands and tossed it on her bed, ignoring the pout the younger girl was giving her.

“Why do I have to go again?” Mina kept complaining, but she was already up on her feet going through her wardrobe to find some appropriate clothes to put on.

“Because you promised Chaeyoung you’d go with her.” Jeongyeon looked at herself in the mirror, fixing the lapel of her jacket.

“And why are you coming?” the brunette had finally decided on wearing a black crop top and her leather shorts. If she had to go to that party, at least she was going to dress up properly for it.

“Someone has to look after the kids.” Jeongyeon turned around to give her some privacy to change and missed the smirk Mina threw her way.

“And here I thought it was because of a certain girl you met last week…” Mina didn’t have to look at the other girl to know she was blushing. “What was her name…” Jeongyeon had met a girl in campus last week and Mina was sure she was crushing hard on her. Of course, she wouldn’t admit it to her or anyone.

It had been a cute meeting, one of those that would be used as the first encounter between the two main characters in a romantic movie. One of those that would make you say ‘that doesn’t happen in real life’ —but there has to be a hint of reality in every artistic creation, right? It had involved someone running late, a coffee being spilled and a ruined shirt that Jeongyeon hadn’t thrown away yet. The girl had given her phone number to Jeongyeon because she wanted to pay for the shirt —not that the blonde girl would let her anyway— and, since then, Jeongyeon had this stupid smile on her face every time she looked at her phone.

“I don’t know.”

“Sa-something, I think.”

“Sana.”

“Oh, so you do know.” Mina chuckled behind her and startled the older girl, who turned around to face her again.

“I think you’re hanging out too much with Chaeyoung, you weren’t this mean before.” Mina saw the smile tugging at the corner of Jeongyeon’s lips and carefully fixed a strand of hair that had fallen out of place. Even though the older girl had never spoken it out loud, Mina knew Jeongyeon was worried about her not having many friends here. It wasn’t because of lack of opportunities, since everyone seemed to be drawn towards her, but it was hard to maintain most friendships when half of the time she didn’t feel like leaving her room.

“And yet you’re making me go to a party with her.”

“Why did you agree to go if you didn’t want to?” Jeongyeon huffed and ran a hand through her hair.

“Stop that.” Mina grabbed her hand and effectively stopped the girl from mussing her hair further, “You don’t have to be nervous, unnie, she already seems to like you and she’s only seen you covered in coffee.”

“Oh, shut up.” Jeongyeon slapped her arm and stepped away, fixing herself one more time in front of the mirror, trying to suppress the shy smile that had crept up her face.

***

The second they stepped a foot inside the house, Mina knew it was going to be a long night. The music was really loud and there were a lot of people already bumping into them. They had met at the front with Chaeyoung, who had been eager to go inside and had practically dragged them there.

She felt Jeongyeon envelop her hand in a tight grasp and saw her doing the same with Chaeyoung’s. They made it to the other side of the house, but upon seeing the amount of people around the table where the drinks were placed, Jeongyeon stopped walking and dragged them towards a corner of the room.

“Wait here, I’ll go get some drinks.”

Chaeyoung and Mina just nodded and watched the other girl walk decisively through the sea of people. Mina looked at the young girl beside her and nudged her with her elbow.

“Have you seen her yet?” Chaeyoung just shook her head, worrying her lip between her teeth.

“What if she doesn’t come?”

“She told you she was coming, didn’t she?”

“Yes, but—”

“No buts. Have a little faith in her.” Mina put an arm around the small frame of the younger girl and plant a kiss on the crown of her head, feeling the younger girl leaning into her embrace.

Soon enough, Mina felt the girl still and looked around. She tried to follow Chaeyoung’s gaze, but there were too many people there to be sure who was she looking at.

“The one with the pink and purple hair.” Chaeyoung muttered and freed herself from Mina’s embrace, shooting her a small smile.

“Go, I’ll be fine.” Chaeyoung hurriedly planted a chaste kiss on her cheek and almost ran towards the other girl.

Mina watched the two girls smiling shyly at each other and couldn’t help smiling too. When the two figures diluted among the crowd of people, Mina scanned the room with her eyes. At first, she was trying to find Jeongyeon, but in the end she was just looking at the people there. A few minutes went on until she felt a shift in the beat of the music, now it was low, sharper and her eyes caught the shape of a figure moving in the center of the room. It seemed like the crowd of people had deliberately moved aside to create a path between her and the other girl, making it inevitable for her to avoid following it towards her. Mina traced with her gaze the way her arms stretched above her head, the subtle movement of her hips and how her whole body was in perfect synchrony with the music.

She was so hypnotized by the unknown girl, that she missed Jeongyeon calling her name a couple of times. It wasn’t until the older girl tapped her shoulder that she turned to her side and finally acknowledge her.

“I called you like five times!” Jeongyeon yelled, trying to get her voice louder than the music.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you.” Mina wanted to look back at the girl, but something else caught her eyes. Jeongyeon wasn’t alone.

“Jeongie, aren’t you going to introduce me to your cute friend?” The girl besides Jeongyeon told her, getting too close to her ear even for the level of the music.

“Uh, right. Sana this is Mina.” Sana smiled brightly and titled her head to the side, extending her arm for Mina to shake her hand.

“Nice to finally meet you! I got a little jealous because Jeongie wouldn’t stop talking about you.” Sana smiled playfully and Jeongyeon felt her face getting hotter at every word the other girl said.

“Oh, don’t worry, she gets all flustered with every text you send her. Right, Jeongie?” Mina answered, making the older girl groan in embarrassment and Sana giggle.

“I’m regretting this already.” Jeongyeon grunted and then yelp when Sana kissed her cheek softly.

“You don’t need to act all tough, I know underneath all that you’re a softie.”

“I’m not!” Jeongyeon protested, making the other two girls laugh.

“Yes, you are.” Mina said, watching the two girls with a grin on her face. Sana looked like a nice girl and she was glad Jeongyeon had found her.

“Hey, there’s my friend.” Sana raised her arm and started waving. “Momo!”

Mina turned around and her jaw nearly dropped when she saw the girl, Momo, approaching. It was the girl she had seen dancing before Jeongyeon came back. She quickly averted her gaze, suddenly embarrassed of having been staring at her earlier.

Sana hugged the other girl tightly and ruffled her fringe a little, making the other brunette quickly fix it.

“Don’t do that.” Momo glared at Sana, but it quickly turned into a smile. Then, her gaze fell on Jeongyeon and Mina before elbowing Sana and gesturing towards them with her head.

“Oh, right! Momo this is Jeongyeon,” Sana pointed at the older girl, “and this is Mina.” Momo smiled, ducking her head and stepping closer to Sana.

Mina grabbed the plastic cup Jeongyeon had brought for her but had remained forgotten on her hand and took a small sip, as an excuse to look away from the girl that was now standing in front of her.

***

They had moved to sit on a couch to keep talking. Well, Jeongyeon, Sana and Momo were carrying most of the conversation, while Mina listened quietly and occasionally said something. She really tried to keep up with the other three girls, but her mind just kept wandering back to the memory of Momo dancing. Mina loved dancing, she had danced for more than ten years before she stopped two years ago and there was something about the way Momo danced that had her completely mesmerized. As she wondered if she’d ever had the chance to see her dancing again, she ventured a glance towards Momo and found her eyes staring right back at her. Both girls were quick to cast their gazes on the ground.

It didn’t take long for Sana to lean on Jeongyeon and whisper something to her ear, making the older girl’s cheeks turned redder. She looked between Mina and Sana, the struggle visible on her face. Mina knew the blonde well enough to know that she was debating with herself whether to go with Sana or not leaving Mina alone. The brunette could see that Jeongyeon wanted to go with the other girl, so she spoke before the other girl could back down.

“I’ll be alright, unnie.” Mina smiled reassuringly. She appreciated how deeply Jeongyeon cared about her and took care of her, but she wasn’t about to let her miss the chance to be with someone she clearly liked because of her.

“Are you sure?” Jeongyeon was doubting, but then Mina hit her forehead with her finger while grinning at her and the blonde knew it was ok. She couldn’t help it, when it came to Mina she had always protected her from the world, they had known each other way before Mina left Japan that it felt like having to choose between two parts of herself.

“I’m sure, don’t worry. I can walk back to the dorm on my own.”

“Momo can go with her, right, Momoring?” Sana asked, turning towards her and flashing her best smile for her best friend, who was looking at her with a shocked face.

“S-Sure.”

“Great!” Sana got up and gave Momo another tight hug –they surely liked to hug a lot, Mina thought— and smiled sweetly at Mina. “It was really nice meeting you, Mina. We have to meet up again soon.” The younger girl found herself smiling back and secretly giving a thumbs up to Jeongyeon, who in returned glared at her.

“Be careful, ok? And text me when you get to the dorm.” Jeongyeon said while patting her head carefully.

“Yes, just go already.” Mina rolled her eyes and pushed her towards the awaiting Sana, who grabbed Jeongyeon’s hand and started dragging her out of the house, while waving back at them.

Once they were out of sight, it finally settled in Mina’s mind that she was alone with Momo. She tugged nervously at the fabric of her hoodie, which was securely tied around her waist. She saw movement at her side from the corner of her eye and suddenly there was a hand in front of her.

“Let’s go?” Mina hesitated for a moment. She could trust this girl, right? She had just met her, but Sana seemed to trust her as much as Mina trusted Jeongyeon, and if the older girl trusted Sana, that meant that she could too. Mina’s gaze traveled from Momo’s hand up to her face, searching her eyes for something to tell her what she should do. The house wasn’t dark, but the constant flashing of lights made it hard for Mina to truly decipher the different shades that were looking back at her.

Momo saw the doubt in the younger girl’s expression and soften her gaze, stretching out more her hand towards her. “You can trust me.” Something about the tenderness in her voice made Mina move and let the older girl grab her hand in hers. Her chest tightened a bit when Momo smiled back at her.

They successfully squeezed themselves between countless bodies and out of the house, the cold air hitting them right away. They made a quick work of putting their coat and hoodie on to warm up. On her way to the party, Jeongyeon had brought them with her car, that’s why Mina hadn’t really grabbed anything warmer to wear. Now she was deeply regretting it. Despite the cold, her mind focused on the warmth coming from the hand that was holding hers. Momo had taken Mina’s hand again right away before starting to walk back to the dorm. It was an odd and unnecessary contact for Mina to let a stranger hold her hand, but Momo didn’t seem to give it a second thought.

She didn’t pull it away.

“Did you have fun?” Momo asked after a while. The silence hadn’t been extremely uncomfortable given the situation, but it had made Momo think about the smoothness of Mina’s hand and she had had to stop herself from running her thumb across the skin there.

“I guess.”

“You guess?”

“I don’t really like parties.” Mina felt her cheeks redden and not just because of the cold. She furrowed her brows when she found herself thinking what if Momo found her boring for not liking parties. Why did she care about that, anyway? She didn’t even know the girl.

“Oh.” Momo turned to look briefly at her. “Why did you come, then?”

“I promised a friend.” Momo hummed, it wasn’t her place to ask for more details. “Did you have fun?” Mina asked back the same question.

“Yeah.” Momo smiled, her eyes back on the path in front of them. The few leaves that still remained on the branches were slowly falling off to the ground. “I like parties.”

“I saw you dance.” Mina blurted out. “Before we met, while I was waiting for Jeongyeon, you were in the middle of the room dancing.” Momo was silent and Mina didn’t want to know if she was looking at her or what expression was painted on her face. When she was about to apologize she heard the older girl’s voice.

“What did you think of it?”

“I—" the images of Momo moving between the crowd, the way her body contorted, the smirk on her face, the darkness of her eyes –why was she only remembering all of this now? —, everything had felt like different pieces of the same gear fitting perfectly and moving together as they were meant to be. “I think you’re great at it.”

“Thanks.” Mina felt Momo squeeze her hand and shuddered, making the older girl look at her with worry in her eyes. “Are you cold?” Before she could answer, Momo extended her arms and engulfed her in a hug inside her coat. Mina stood still while the warm from both the coat and the hug enveloped her and a faintly fruity scent surrounded her.

It didn’t last enough, Mina thought, because Momo quickly retreated, apologizing. “I’m sorry, you barely know me, I shouldn’t have done that. I—,” she started taking her coat off, “Here, just take it.” She put her coat around Mina’s shoulders and started walking again, hiding her hands inside the pockets of the jacket she had been wearing underneath the coat.

It took Mina a few seconds and the blowing of the freezing wind to react and she jogged until she was near the older girl again. She put on the coat properly and kept walking besides Momo, their arms brushing.

“Thank you.” Mina said, a small smile forming on her lips. “For the coat and the hug.” She wanted to say that she had missed the warmth of her body as soon as she had stepped back, but wouldn’t it be weird? They had just met and Mina felt like she was on a rollercoaster of contradictions, constantly feeling safe and comfortable with Momo, but knowing they’d only met a couple of hours ago.

“I’m truly sorry about the hug.” Momo kicked an invisible rock with her feet and Mina couldn’t help how the smile on her face grew at the sight of the older girl.

“Don’t worry, it was nice.” It was Momo’s turn to smile, ducking her head timidly in a way that Mina already recognized as typically hers. “Do you dance somewhere?” She asked, wanting to change the subject and spare the other girl from the embarrassment she was feeling.

“I dance anywhere.” Momo chuckled when Mina rolled her eyes at her and hit her arm playfully.

“You know what I mean.”

“JYP Academy.” Mina looked at her with a proud smile.

“I knew you were good.” Momo shrugged.

“Where do you dance at?” The older girl asked back.

“I don’t. Not anymore.” Mina felt Momo taking her hand once again and this time she welcomed the contact, stepping closer to her.

“Did you do ballet?” Momo asked softly, this time she let herself caress the back of Mina’s hand with her thumb.

“How did you kn—?” Mina trailed off when she saw Momo looking down at her feet. “They say I look like a penguin when I walk.” Mina pouted without realizing it.

“Penguins are cute.” Momo smoothly answered but became shy right away. Mina would’ve found that amusing if she wasn’t busy blushing because Momo had just called her cute.

Mina felt a tug at her hand when Momo stopped walking. She turned around to look questioningly at the older girl. She saw Momo open and close , not letting a word escape.

“What is it?” Mina took a step closer without thinking. Mina assumed they were the same height, but the older girl’s boots made her slightly taller than her, so she had to look up to meet her eyes.

“Nothing, I—," Momo bit her lip, looking anywhere but the girl in front of her. “We should dance together, someday.”

Mina was taken aback by that but couldn't help the smile that crept on her face. If you had asked her a couple of hours ago if she would consider the possibility of dancing with a stranger on the street, she wouldn't have hesitated to say no. The thing about Momo was she didn't feel like a stranger. Mina didn't know her at all, barely knew anything about her life —besides the fact that she danced at JYP and what she had been able to infer from what she and Sana had said back at the party— and yet, Mina felt like she had known her from years.

It was unsettling in a way, Mina realized, the amount of trust she had on this girl after a few hours together. She remembered perfectly when she was a little girl and her parents taught her about not talking to strangers, and then again before they sent her here, reminding her to no trust people easily. Despite it all, she made tightened her hold on Momo’s hand.

“Yes. Yes, we should.” Her smile could only grow when the older girl grinned at her. Mina thought she could find everything she’d lost the pasts years in that smile, if only she could see it over and over. Mina exhaled and watched her breath condense, she tried to picture the molecules packing themselves closer. She forced her feet to move again, dragging Momo along.

Silence fell between them again and Mina noticed Momo’s big grin had transformed into the shy smile that she was sure was already printed behind her eyelids. Momo felt like the sun and she was freezing. She couldn’t help but gravitate towards her. It had been like that since the first time her eyes had caught sight of the older girl back at the party, she had been drawn to her, helplessly and effortlessly, as if it was the natural thing for them to be together. This hold she had felt from the beginning had such force that Mina didn’t know how to stop it.

And so, she didn’t.

***

The rest of the walk went by too fast for both girls. Mina wasn’t much of a talker, even less with people she hardly knew but, as everything else, it was different with Momo. She didn’t hold hands with strangers either, and yet here she was, with her hand secured around Momo’s and protected from the cold in the pocket of the older girl’s jacket.

They had talked about everything. Momo had explained she had known Sana her whole life back in Japan and they had come here together. Mina had told her she had had to quit ballet when her parents had send her here two years ago to study what they wanted. They had talked about their siblings and their dogs, had shared memories about dancing since they were little, the common places they used to go back when they were in their country, that inevitably leading to the sadness caused by being away from home.

There were many things left to say when they had reached Mina’s destination. Momo had let go of her hand and Mina thought she had never missed someone’s touch that much.

“I had a great time tonight.” Momo said, both girls trying to delay the departure.

“Me too. Thank you for accompanying me.” Mina bit her bottom lip when Momo smiled sweetly at her. How people were able to flawlessly carry a conversation with someone they liked was beyond her knowledge.   

“Anytime.” They stood awkwardly, finding each other’s eyes from time to time. “I’ll get going.” Momo reluctantly said, sometimes she wished she could take the confidence she had in her dancing to other parts of her life, like talking to a pretty girl with a gummy smile and a constellation painted on her face. “I’ll see you soon.”

“You seem pretty sure about that.” Mina teased, and easy smile on her face.

“Well, you owe me a dance and you strike me as a person who pays her debts.” Momo playfully shot back, raising an eyebrow at the younger girl and eliciting a laugh from her.

“I’ll wait for you to come and collect that dance.” Mina grabbed the door handle but didn’t open the door.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Good. I—” Momo took a step towards Mina and, gathering the remaining drops of confidence she had in her, kissed her cheek. “Goodnight, Mina.” She didn’t wait for the other girl to answer and quickly turned around, her face turning a full shade of red.

It took Mina full five minutes to react and finally entering her dorm, only to step inside and realize she still had Momo’s coat on. She smiled because that meant she was, in fact, going to see her again.

***

It had been nearly half an hour since Momo had left when Mina heard someone knocking. She had imagined that it’d take more time for Jeongyeon to come back, but maybe the night hadn’t gone as well as she had imagined it would from the interactions between the two girls she had seen earlier that night. But when she opened the door, it wasn’t Jeongyeon who she found there standing, but Momo. Perhaps she realized she had left without her coat and came back for it. She had imagined she could return the coat some other day, maybe use it as an excuse to go out for coffee. That possibility slipping away saddened her a bit.

“You left your coat!” Mina made her way quickly back inside to grab the piece of clothing, collect herself a little and give it back to her owner.

“Yeah…” Momo took the coat, but stood there, awkwardly shifting her weight from foot to foot.

“Didn’t you come back for it?”

“Actually… Sana texted me saying that maybe I’d rather spend the night here… since your roommate it’s going to be at our dorm.” Momo blushed, scratching the back of her neck.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Well, it turned out the night was going alright for her best friend.

“So…” Momo trailed off.

“Right! Come on in.” Mina stepped aside, letting the older girl enter the dorm. Momo was holding her coat tightly against her chest and Mina, after closing the door, eyed her from head to toes. “I can lend you more comfortable clothes, if you want.”

“Uh…” Momo looked down at the clothes she was wearing and decided it wouldn’t hurt to change them into something comfortable and warm. “Yeah, thanks.” Mina nodded and went to one of the drawers on the left of the room. Momo looked at the other girl while she was searching for some clothes. Mina was wearing the same hoodie she had brought to the party, but the shorts had been replaced with sweatpants.

“These should do.” Mina said as she handed Momo a purple hoodie and a pair of black sweatpants. “The bathroom is that way.” She pointed to a closed door behind her.

Momo nodded and made her way quickly to the bathroom. Mina sat on her bed, trying to calm her really-fast beating heart. If it wasn’t enough the anxiety that overcame her just because of the perspective of having to spend more time with Momo, just thinking about her sleeping here, practically right next to her, made her heart bump furiously against her ribs. She heard the door of the bathroom crack open and turned her head to watch Momo with the coat still held tightly between her hands now along with the clothes she was previously wearing.

“You can leave it over there.” She pointed at a chair on the other side of the room, near a desk. Momo stood by the chair once she had left the clothes there. She was nervous about the whole situation and, as much as she tried not to show it, she was failing miserably at it. “You can sit.” Mina finally said, but Momo didn’t move, she just ran her eyes across the room, finding it very interesting to look at a book about… economics. “Are you alright, Momo?”

“Just nervous, I guess?” Momo said and went to sit beside Mina when the younger girl patted a spot on her bed.

“About staying here?” Mina asked softly.

“Maybe…” Momo had started playing with the hem of the sleeves but stopped when she felt a hand on hers. It hadn’t been an hour since she had last held that same hand in hers, but for both girls it felt like eternity ago.

“Do you want to tell me why?” Mina forced herself to calm down, something was bothering Momo and that felt more important that whatever her heart was trying to say. She tenderly caressed the hand that was below hers, trying to appease the uneasiness the other girl felt.

“I—,” Momo hesitated, she looked Mina in the eyes, searching for something, even though she wasn’t sure what it was. She then moved her eyes to their hands, the warm she felt there spreading to the rest of her body and unexpectedly soothing her heart instead of making it beat faster. “I don’t really like sleeping in a place other than my bed. When I do, Sana is usually there, so it’s not that hard. I know it’s stupid.” Momo blurted out.

“It’s not stupid.” Mina squeezed her hand and smiled at her. “We’ll find a way to make it easier, ok?” She saw Momo nodding, but the girl still looked kind of down, so she thought about something to try and lift the mood. “Would you like to watch a movie before going to sleep?”

“Can I choose the movie?” Mina laughed when Momo pouted at her.

“Of course.” Momo bit her lip, hiding a smile. Mina found it adorable.

“Monsters Inc.” Mina chuckled. Of course, Momo would want to watch that kind of movie.

“Alright.”

“I hope you have snacks.”

“…” Momo gasped and Mina nearly laughed at the tragic expression her face held.

“We can’t watch a movie without snacks.”

“Why not? I definitely can.” Mina teased the older girl, feeling relieved to see her slowly cheering up.

“Then I’ll go buy for me, eat them in front of you and see how that works for you.”

“You wouldn’t.” Mina gasped, mimicking the expression Momo had made moments ago.

“You can always come buy them with me.” Momo shrugged, pretending she didn’t really wanted to go to the store alone.

“I guess I’ll have to come with you, so you don’t get lost.” Mina played along. It certainly wasn’t because the memories of them walking earlier hand in hand on the streets was still burning in her brain.

***

The store wasn’t far from the dorm and they made it there quickly. They spent way too much time choosing the snacks, mostly because Momo couldn’t decide on which ones she wanted since she wanted almost everything. Mina, upon seeing it had been more than fifteen minutes, had decided to simply watch the older girl, trying not to make her amusement too obvious when Momo pouted at a bag of candy.

“I don’t understand why they had to made it watermelon flavor… but the cat on the bag is so cute…” Momo whined, making Mina finally laugh.

“You dislike watermelon that much, huh.” Mina took some of the many bags of candy Momo was carrying.

“What food do you dislike?” Momo crouched down to look at the bottom of the shelf.

“I don’t like avocado.” Mina accidentally dropped one of the bags of candy when she saw Momo getting up within a second to look at her with a shocked expression.

“You don’t like avocado?”

“That’s what I said.” Mina shrugged and squatted down to pick up the bag of candy.

“But I love avocados.” Momo’s brow furrowed as if not understanding why this wasn’t a problem for Mina.

“So?”

“I’m going to change your mind.”

“Why is avocado so important to you?” Mina chuckled and slightly pushed Momo with her shoulder to get the girl to keep walking.

“Well, I just like to cook a lot with it and if you don’t like it then how am I going to cook for you?” Momo rambled, moving her hands and somehow not dropping everything she was carrying on her arms.

“Y-You want to cook for me?” Mina toughen her hold on the bags, trying really hard to contain the smile that was threatening to appear on her face.

“Huh?” Momo’s eyed widened when she realized what she had said. “Yeah, I mean, maybe, if you want me to?” She turned around to look at a nearby shelf and hide as much as she could from Mina. “I’m not that great at cooking, though, so don’t get too excited. You know, just forget I said an—”

“I want you to.” Mina interrupted, her voice barely a whisper, but enough for the older girl to hear.

“You do?” Momo turned to look at her and Mina was glad they were both equally flustered.

“I do.” Honestly, Mina didn’t know how long she could survive being in this constant state of existing as a blushing mess, but the wide smile Momo gave her every single time made it, at least, ten thousand times worth it.

“Great! Then, you’ll end up liking avocado.”

Mina was sure she would.

***

They finally went to pay for everything and left the store with way too many snacks for one movie. That’s what Mina thought, at least. She was eager to go back, not just because it was really cold outside, but because, maybe, just maybe, she had been thinking a lot about sitting close to Momo while watching the movie. It wouldn’t make sense for them to sit one on each bed, right? It had been a while since her brain had stopped telling her how stupid she was for liking Momo this quickly, and she was now simply enjoying the possibilities that could unfold overnight and the days after that.

Mina had been so caught up on her thoughts that she hadn’t registered Momo’s absence from her side until she heard the older girl call her name. She turned around and saw her standing outside the store, barely a few steps away from it. Mina walked back to her and eyed her questioningly.

“I think I will collect that dance now.”

“What?” Mina looked around, becoming nervous with every second passing. “We can’t dance here, Momo.” She had wanted to dance with her the moment she had seen Momo for the first time. Ever since Momo had told her they would dance together someday, her mind had been playing every possible scenario in which they could dance. Or so she thought, because dancing in the middle of a cold night in front of a store in a barely illuminated street hadn’t been one of them. She had even thought about going to another party just for that dance.

“I told you I dance anywhere.” Momo stood closer and took the bag full of snacks Mina was holding. She didn’t fight it, she couldn’t fight the way Momo was looking at her, with the intensity that Mina already recognized as a light tug on her chest, as the invisible string that made it impossible for her to step away from Momo.

“There isn’t even music here, Momo.” She whispered, the last drop of resistance leaving her. Momo left the bags on the ground and closed the last gap between them, leaving just enough space for Mina to back away if she wanted.

“We don’t need it.”

There were times when Momo would say things with such conviction that every doubt Mina could have within herself was erased. And then, all that hovered was the certainty that the only remaining possibility for her was to say yes.

And so, she did.

“No, we don’t.”

Mina lost herself for the nth time that night in Momo’s smile while an almost familiar warmth travelled from her face down her arms to the tip of her toes, only to go back up again until it found home behind her ribs and inside her chest. A shaky breath left her lips when Momo took her hands in hers to bring them up on her shoulders. Mina grasped at the fabric there when she felt those same hands find their way to her waist first, and then move around until they remained still on her lower back, only applying the faintest of pressure to move her closer and remove the space that was left between them.

“You can relax.” Momo whispered and moved one of Mina’s hand from her shoulder to the back of her neck. The younger girl took the hint and her other hand followed the same path until she could interlace her fingers on Momo’s neck. She played with the hair she found there, some of it stuck in the coat.

Then Momo started moving. Slowly swaying from side to side at first, and gradually taking a few steps here and there. Mina hadn’t imagined it like this. If she was to be honest, she had imagined her dance would resemble more like how Momo had been dancing back at the party, perhaps with Mina showing off some of her ballet moves to impress the other girl.

She wouldn’t change it now, though. They still had a lifetime to keep dancing.  

“Is this ok?” Momo asked when she slid her hands inside of Mina’s coat, letting them rest at the same spot on her lower back. The former ballerina could only nod. Mina was glad she had changed her shoes before leaving the dorm and was now able to be at eye-level with Momo. The sides of her fringe, messy from the wind, slightly covered her eyes, but she could still see the way the weak street lights reflected in them.

There had been a shift in Momo at some point. It wasn’t hard to tell the difference between the Momo that was now holding her and the Momo that was shy every time they smiled at each other. Mina could understand it more than anyone, her mind and her body hadn’t forgotten about the confidence flowing through her every cell when she was dancing. And just like that, disappearing once she was done. They were so different yet so alike, full of contradictions that made Mina’s head spin.

Momo started humming then. Low, barely audible if Mina hadn’t been that close to her. She let herself imagine she could recognize the song and play it in her head, dancing along to it. Mina broke the eye contact when she placed her chin on Momo’s shoulder, her fingers getting lost in black hair.

“I thought you said we didn’t need music.” Mina barely whispered and felt the way Momo’s chest shake a little when she laughed.

“Do you want me to stop?” Momo tilted her head ever so slightly, her breath tickling Mina’s ear and making her shudder.

It was then, right in that moment that Mina grasped the reality that had been unraveling right in front of her since Momo had grabbed her hand outside the party hours before: it was inevitable that she would fall for her. She didn’t believe love at first sight existed, she knew it wasn’t love what she was now feeling for Momo, but she was sure she would get there. Perhaps love at first sight wasn’t falling for someone right away but having the certainty that you would.

“Never.” She sighed underneath her breath, knowing she was conveying every bit of her newfound truth into that word. She closed her eyes and hoped and prayed to every name and every creature her family had told her about when she was little to grant her just this one wish: for Momo to understand what she was saying.

She would remember this five seconds as one of the most agonizing moments of her entire existence. Five seconds of silence, of Momo not saying anything, not humming, just swaying. Barely. Mina was ready to run away, to hide and regret this whole night when Momo tightened her hold on her, humming again against her ear. Mina wouldn’t fight the smile on her face this time because Momo had understood.

“Let’s go.” Mina whispered, her lips faintly brushing the older girl’s ear, before cupping her face with a hand on her neck and leaving the most tender kiss on her cheek, lingering there just a few seconds longer for the kiss to not be mistaken with something less that what it really meant.

Just as Momo had done earlier, Mina stepped away before Momo could react and quickly grabbed the bags she had been carrying. She started walking, knowing that the other girl would eventually catch up with her. She barely had time to miss the warm besides her body when she felt Momo there again.

“Mina?” Momo’s voice told Mina it was the shy girl once again and for some reason that widened her smile. She hummed, waiting for her to elaborate. “Is it ok if I hold your hand?”

It took two seconds for Mina to burst out laughing when Momo asked her that. After that dance, after everything that had been implied between the two of them, she still thought she had to ask her for permission to hold her hand. “Of course, it is, Momo.”

She was indeed going to fall hard for this girl.

***

“Are you going to eat all of that?” Mina asked incredulously, looking at all the food that was now laying sprawled on the bed.

“Probably, yes.” Momo was on Mina’s laptop, searching for the movie.

“This is a lot of food, Momo. Won’t you get sick?” Mina grabbed some napkins, she didn’t want to make a mess —more like she didn’t want to piss off Jeongyeon by making a mess.

“I won’t. Stop worrying and come sit, the movie’s ready.” Momo moved closer to the wall to give more space in the bed for Mina. The younger girl hesitated, suddenly very aware of how close they’d be sitting. She gulped down the lump in and sit beside the other girl. Momo didn’t waste time and started the movie, starting to eat from one of the bags of candy.

Mina had tried. She really had, but it was extremely difficult to focus on the movie when her eyes kept going back to the girl next to her, and the way she muttered some lines because, Mina was sure, she had seen the movie probably a hundred times already. Or the way she was really loud when she laughed or the impressive ability to miss when she ate.

How could she focus on the movie when she could start learning every little detail about Momo instead? Mina found the need to learn about her both exhilarating and overwhelming. She felt like what she knew about Momo needed to catch up with how she was feeling about her. The unknown was thrilling as much as it was terrifying, and it was complicated to fall for a stranger. That’s what she had thought until now, anyway.

Luckily, Momo was too engrossed in the movie to notice her stare —if she did notice, she didn’t tell— and Mina found herself wanting to learn other things about Momo the more she looked at her. If she made an effort, she could still remember the soft skin of her cheek on her lips, the tight but tender grasp of her hand or her silky hair.

She wanted more. Wanted to trace the sharp line of her jaw with the tips of her fingers, to feel her laughter through the skin of while she kissed her there, and the warmth that drowned her when Momo hugged her. But, above all, she wanted to kiss her. She could feel the touch of her lips on her cheek from earlier almost fading and she longed to kiss her over and over to keep that feeling from disappearing completely from her memory.

There had been an emptiness in her chest for the past years, since she had come here from Japan. It wasn’t the kind of emptiness that hurt, but Mina could feel it all the time. The kind of emptiness that came from losing what she had loved the most since she was a kid. She could still feel it now, but she felt it getting smaller, softening the sharp edges than pressed into her soul, threatening to pierce through it and drain it. Fear crept inside her at the thought of Momo being the cause of it, that every smile and every touch from her was slowly filling up that emptiness.

She scooted closer to Momo, then, letting her head drop on her shoulder and her hand find her way into hers. The other girl immediately squeezed it.

“Momo?”

There was a sudden urgency in her now. The consequences of everything downing abruptly on her. She had jumped carelessly without making sure if there was something to keep her from falling.

“Yes?” Momo seemed to sense it because she turned her attention completely away from the movie and lowered her gaze to Mina’s face.

“Will you stay?” There was vulnerability in her voice and in the way her nails scrapped her skin —Momo stopped her, replacing it with soft caresses, and perhaps that meant she was there to catch her, Mina thought.

“That’s why I came back here earlier, Mina.” The young girl shook her head and sat upright, her hand never leaving Momo’s, as if she was going to vanish if she let her go for a second.

“I mean after today. Will you stay?” She knew she wasn’t making much sense and could practically feel the struggle going inside Momo’s head, trying to understand the meaning behind that question.

Mina could swear her heart stopped when Momo let go of her hand. Had she been reading it all wrong? What if Momo wasn’t feeling the same way and she was the only one falling irredeemably for the other? She couldn’t look Momo in the eye, the fear of not finding what she wanted there stopped her from maybe seeing something else.

And then, Momo’s hand were on her face, cupping her cheeks and forcing her to face her fears and drown in those eyes that still held so many shades of mystery that Mina wanted to decipher, one by one, until she reached the bottom and found all the love she thought was laying there, awaiting.

“As long as you want me to.” The sincerity in her voice was all it took for Mina to be sure again, to let herself breathe and lean forward to, finally, kiss her.

She knew then, she had found everything she thought was long gone, and all the things she didn’t know she missed in the first place. She had tasted the safety of Momo’s arms and she didn’t want to let go.

Tomorrow would come and Jeongyeon would found them just like that: wrapped in each other’s arms and the bed full of empty, and not so empty, bags of snacks. She knew the older girl would to no end for it, but she couldn’t care less. Nothing else mattered, because Momo would still be there and, somehow, everything made sense if they were together. She still had to figure it out, but she had a lifetime to do so.