Dahyun wakes up with a smile on her face.

Ironically enough, it’s their day off, so she doesn’t actually need to be radiating bright energy from the second she gets out of bed. But she can’t help it, throwing back the curtains with more energy than is probably necessary. Maybe it’s the fact that she got a full eight hours of sleep for once, or maybe it’s the thought of lying around in her pyjamas all day, but Dahyun just feels happy. Sure, Jihyo left a few chores for her and Chaeyoung to do, but judging by the birds chirping it’s still pretty early in the morning, which means there’s plenty of time to get the work before the leader gets back from her shopping with Jeongyeon.

(Dahyun only knows about this because of Jeongyeon, who complained all last night about getting up at the crack of dawn because Jihyo was hell bent on getting all her Christmas shopping done before noon. Nayeon had laughed and laughed until Jeongyeon hit her with a pillow.)

She stretches her back, turning around as the sunlight grows too bright for her eyes. Chaeyoung’s bed is empty, covers thrown back and half the sheet drooping onto the floor. Dahyun rolls her eyes fondly at that, her eyes moving to the third bed in the room. It’s still occupied, a mess of dark hair splayed out across the pillow. Dahyun tiptoes across to gently shake Tzuyu awake, but freezes when she gets close.

Tzuyu isn’t asleep. Tzuyu is shaking, muffled sobs seeping out from where she’s buried her face in Minjoong’s fur. Dahyun’s good mood vanishes and it feels like her heart is sinking into her stomach. Her legs finally start working again and she rushes over to Tzuyu’s side.

“Tzuyu? Tzuyu! Hey, Tzuyu what’s wrong?”

Tzuyu looks up, and Dahyun’s breath catches in . The pain in Tzuyu’s eyes, the little shake of her head when she tries to speak, it isn’t unfamiliar. Dahyun has seen her like this before. Heck, she’s seen all the girls like this before.

Homesickness can be a real sometimes.

Tzuyu confirms her thoughts a few seconds later, finally managing to take a breath between sobs.

“Mom texted me this morning.” Tzuyu whispered. “New picture of the whole family. It’s stupid but I just-”

“It’s not stupid.” Dahyun says firmly. “We’ve all been there. What can I do? Do you want to ring her? Facetime?”

“No!” Tzuyu shakes her head frantically. “No! I don’t want her to see me like this. I can’t… I need… I need Chaeyoung.”

The last part is mumbled into her pillow, barely loud enough to be a whisper, but Dahyun picks up on it anyways. It doesn’t hurt her, or make her feel jealous. If anything, she feels annoyed at herself for not anticipating it. When Tzuyu feels low, she usually shuts them all out, or latches on to Chaeyoung like crazy. Dahyun can tell Tzuyu feels embarrassed by it, but she’s glad the younger girl isn’t pretending she’s fine. She gives Tzuyu a comforting pat on the shoulder, then slips out in search of their girlfriend.

It’s not hard to find Chaeyoung. She’s sitting out in the living room, eating cereal on the couch while watching cartoons. It’s a clear sign that Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Jihyo are gone out, because otherwise Chaeyoung wouldn’t dare take her bowl of cereal off the table. The last time one of them (Momo) had stained the couch, Jeongyeon made her dab at it for over an hour until she was satisfied the sauce was thoroughly gone.

Chaeyoung looks away from the cartoon when she hears Dahyun’s footsteps, and she smiles when she sees her girlfriend. It makes Dahyun’s brain short circuit for a moment, because the whole image is just so adorably domestic that her heart starts doing the can-can. Then Chaeyoung’s smile dips into a concerned look when she notices Dahyun’s expression, and Dahyun is reminded of what she needs to do.

“It’s Tzuyu.” she explains. “She got hit with a bad day. Can’t get out of bed and feels too ty to talk to her family about it.”

Chaeyoung is up and off the couch before Dahyun finishes her last sentence. Dahyun takes a few seconds to put the cereal bowl back on the kitchen table before following Chaeyoung into the bedroom.

Chaeyoung is crouched by Tzuyu’s bedside, running a soothing hand through the younger girl’s hair.

“Hey baby.” Chaeyoung says softly. “I heard you’re not feeling too good?”

Tzuyu shakes her head, and Dahyun’s heart twists at the little sob she lets out. The blanket lifts up and Chaeyoung immediately snuggles under. She wraps her arms around Tzuyu and lets her cry into her shoulder. Dahyun hovers anxiously until Chaeyoung turns around meets her eyes.

She nods. Just once, but it’s enough.

Dahyun makes her way out of the room quietly, her mind already going over her options. Whenever Chaeyoung or Tzuyu gets sad, the other one usually comforts them by cuddling with them until they feel better. But Dahyun has a different role. As the oldest, and the leader of the School Meal Club, she’s always considered it her job to find a way to cheer them up and help them move past their sadness. The transition from friendship to romance hasn’t changed that. Last time Chaeyoung felt low Tzuyu watched funny videos with her in bed for hours while Dahyun ran around organizing a party in the dorm that put a huge smile on Chaeyoung’s face.

That’s one thing Dahyun loves about being in a relationship with two other people. She can focus on being the energy maker knowing that the other two have the cuddling angle covered.

(Another thing she loves is that when she herself is feeling down, she has two girls who will smother her in hugs and kisses until she feels like smiling again. It works for them, because Chaeyoung and Tzuyu genuinely enjoy Dahyun’s attempts to cheer them up, whereas Dahyun doesn’t like being pushed into feel better and much prefers the simple comfort of just lying there with her two girlfriends in her arms.)

A party won’t work for Tzuyu, that much Dahyun knows for certain. Usually the best cure for homesickness is to facetime the family, but Tzuyu doesn’t want that and surprising her with it could end up making her mood even worse. Dahyun looks around the living room, racking her brain for an idea. When her eyes reach the kitchen, inspiration strikes.

She whips out her phone and searches the internet for specific Taiwanese food. She knows Tzuyu likes pidan but unless Dahyun buys the eggs already done there’s no way she can make them fast enough. So, after a quick search, she decides to make danzai noodles instead.

Dahyun runs into the kitchen and begins rooting around the presses for ingredients. Then she realises that she’s not a hundred percent sure what ingredients are needed, so it’s back to the internet to find a good recipe. Once she’s found one, the ingredient hunt begins again.

Dahyun sticks her headphones on while she works, so when someone taps her shoulder after a few minutes, it scares the life out of her. She whirls around, almost decapitating Mina with a vinegar bottle.

“Sorry!” Dahyun pops her headphones out. “What’s wrong?”

“I just wanted to see who was making all the noise.” Mina looks at the pots and pans Dahyun’s fished out sceptically. “Are you cooking?”

“Maybe.” Dahyun defensively hides the salt and pepper. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

“I overcooked the pasta one time!”

“You set the water on fire. I still don’t know how you managed to do that.”

“It was one time!”

Mina rolls her eyes, and Dahyun grins cheekily. She turns back to the fridge and continues her search.

“I know why I’m not dressed yet, but why are you still in your pyjamas?” Mina asks. “And shouldn’t you be washing the dishes? Jihyo and Jeongyeon are going to be back soon and they wanted them done before then.”

“It’s fine. I’ve got at least an hour before any of them come back. Are Sana and Momo here?”

“Nope, I think they’ve gone out to the arcade.” Mina eyes Dahyun suspiciously. “I take it Nayeon’s also out since neither you nor Chaeyoung are doing chores?”

“Correct.” Dahyun finds the cloves of garlic that she’s looking for, and puts them on the counter with the rest of the ingredients. “I need to run down to the store for some food. Chaeyoung and Tzuyu are in the bedroom if you need anything but don’t disturb them unless you absolutely have to.”

“Why not?” Mina’s eyes widen. “Are they-”

“No!” Dahyun almost feels offended. “Of course not! Why are you so dirty minded?”

“What else was I supposed to think! What’s going on Dahyun? Why are you cooking and why aren’t you and Chaeyoung doing the dishes?”

Dahyun bites her lip as she debates whether or not to lie. She knows Tzuyu gets embarrassed about things like this, even though none of the girls would ever judge her for it. But Dahyun can’t think of a convincing lie, so she gives up and tells Mina what’s going on.

“Tzuyu’s really low today. Homesickness hit her bad, so I’m trying to cook her a Taiwanese dish to make her feel better.”

The suspicion on Mina’s face immediately vanishes, replaced by a look of sympathy and understanding. They’ve all had days like this, and for the non-Korean members it can be especially rough.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“I think Chaeyoung and I have it covered. You know how Tzuyu is, she doesn’t like it when we make a big fuss.”

Mina nods sadly, and Dahyun is reminded of how lucky she is, to not only have two loving girlfriends but also six equally as loving friends. They may tease each other and pretend they don’t care, but at the end of the day all nine girls would do anything for each other without question.

“Alright then, let me know if you need any help. I’ll be in my room.”

“Will do.” Dahyun smiles. “Enjoy… Fortnite? Overwatch?”

“PUBG. This wouldn’t stop camping and kept killing my squad but I sniped him eventually.”

“Right, well I’m going to pretend I understand what any of that means. Good luck!”

Mina smiles, and then she shuffles back to her room. Dahyun scribbles down a quick list of what she needs at the grocery store, and then she tiptoes over to her bedroom. Pressing her ear against the crack in the door, she can faintly hear two voices conversing in low tones.

“It’s just… I miss them so much. I want my dad to hug me but he’s so far away and it’s stupid but I saw on the news that a man died in a car crash and I kept thinking… it’s stupid but-”

“It’s not stupid.” Chaeyoung says firmly. “It’s not stupid at all to feel like this.”

Dahyun feels torn as she hears Tzuyu start to cry again. She wants to run in there and wrap both her girls up in a huge bear hug, but at the same time she wants to complete the noodles as fast as possible so that she can hopefully put a smile back on Tzuyu’s face. It takes a lot of effort for her to walk away from the door, but she grabs her list, throws her coat and shoes on, and heads out to the nearest store that sells shrimp, ground pork and chow mein noodles.

Dahyun zooms through the store like a woman on a mission. Soon she has all the ingredients she needs except for the shrimp. Some of the other shoppers are shooting her confused looks as she races from aisle to aisle, and Dahyun almost laughs as she imagines the media getting wind of this.

Was that Dahyun of Twice running around the store in her pyjamas? Why was she in such a hurry?

My girlfriends need me. is probably not an answer they will accept, but at least the fans will get a good laugh out of the mystery.

She finally finds the shrimp, and with a grin she adds it to her cart. Now all she has to do is-

“Dahyun?”

She spins around, surprised to see Momo and Sana standing in front of her. They seem equally as shocked to see her, especially once they notice her cart full of food.

“Are you cooking?” Momo asks, causing Sana to gasp.

“Oh no! Please don’t set the kitchen on fire again.”

“That was one time.” Dahyun stresses as she runs past them. “Got to go can’t talk right now Mina can explain!”

She leaves two completely baffled girls behind as she speeds over to the checkout counter. The poor cashier seems to sense the manic energy radiating off Dahyun, because she scans all her items at a rapid pace.

Dahyun sprints all the way home, fumbling with the key in her hurry to get inside. She knows it’s silly to feel so nervous, but right now she doesn’t like being too far away from Tzuyu. She dumps the ingredients on the kitchen table then peeks into the bedroom.

Tzuyu has her eyes closed, lying with her head on Chaeyoung’s lap. Chaeyoung notices Dahyun and winks at her.

She’s ok. I’ve got her.

Dahyun blows her a kiss, then darts back out of the room.

Despite what the other girls say, Dahyun isn’t a complete disaster in the kitchen. She doesn’t burn the water this time, and soon all her dishes are cooking nicely. She washes a few pots in the meantime, but there’s still a big pile of dishes that she knows aren’t going to get done in time.

Oh well. The older members won’t be pleased, but Dahyun is firm in her priorities, and she knows Chaeyoung isn’t going to budge either until Tzuyu’s smiling and laughing again.

Once all the food is done (and not burnt at all, which she is very proud of), Dahyun puts it all in a bowl and brings it over to the bedroom. She knocks once, then enters.

Tzuyu and Chaeyoung are sitting on the bed leaning up against the wall. They’re watching some video on Chaeyoung’s phone, but they pause it once Dahyun enters. Tzuyu looks up curiously as Dahyun places the tray on her lap. drops open when she realises what Dahyun’s cooked for her.

“I know you’re homesick, so uh…” Dahyun coughs nervously. “It’s probably not how they make it in Taiwan but I tried my best to get it right.”

Tzuyu’s eyes fill up with tears again, but she smiles, and they can tell it’s genuine. The knot in Dahyun’s stomach finally loosens and she allows herself to grin back.

“Thank you.” Tzuyu says, her voice raspy. “I’m sorry you had to-”

“None of that.”

“Don’t even think about apologising!”

They all laugh at Dahyun and Chaeyoung’s simultaneous interruptions. Tzuyu leans down to smell the sauce, and Dahyun bonces on her feet in anticipation.

“Babe?”

“Hm?” Dahyun looks over at Chaeyoung.

“You forgot to bring chopsticks.”

“What?” Dahyun looks down at the plate again. “. Be right back.”

The sound of the girls laughing is enough to make up for the embarrassment she feels. When she returns with chopsticks for all of them, the atmosphere in the room has lightened considerably. As they eat, the knot in Dahyun’s stomach loosens completely at the look of happiness on Tzuyu’s face.

“So what are we watching?” Dahyun scoots in next to them, smiling when Tzuyu reaches over to squeeze her hand. “Funny dog videos?”

“A drama actually.” Chaeyoung tosses aside the headphones she had been sharing with Tzuyu, pushing the volume up so that the three of them can listen. “Have you seen any of Sky Castle?”

“Not at all.” Dahyun leans over to snag a bite of the noodles. “Is it good?”

“We’re on the first episode so not sure yet.”

“I like the kids.” Tzuyu chimes in.

“Me too.” Chaeyoung looks at her with this soft smile, and Dahyun’s heart is filled with so much love for the both of them.

It’s overwhelming, how she wants to give these two the world. She wants to shower them with so much love and affection every day that they never once doubt themselves or feel miserable. She wants to stay by their side for more than just their time in Twice. She wants to grow old with them, to still throw dance parties in their house even when Tzuyu’s using a walking stick and Chaeyoung’s had a hip replacement. She wants to be there through all the ups and downs, all the highs and lows.

Dahyun clears and hits play on the drama before she can start crying and ruin the mood she worked so hard to lift. Tzuyu snuggles into her side, and she wraps her arm around the younger girl’s shoulder while Chaeyoung holds her hand.

The next hour passes peacefully. Tzuyu and Chaeyoung get immersed in the drama, and Dahyun watches them fondly, enjoying every reaction they have. She can feel Tzuyu’s heartbeat pressed against her side, and the rhythm sooths the last of her nerves.

When the episode ends, Chaeyoung goes to click on the next one. But Tzuyu hesitates, and they both notice.

“Did you wash and dry the dishes like Jihyo asked?” she asks nervously. “I don’t want you guys to get in trouble because of me.”

Dahyun looks at Chaeyoung. Chaeyoung looks at Dahyun.

“Yes.”

“Absolutely.”

“All clean and dry.”

“As clean and dry as the day we bought them.”

Tzuyu rolls her eyes fondly.

“I can tell you guys are lying.” She smiles despite her stern tone. “If you need to do them, I’ll be ok on my own.”

“Nonsense. You’re not getting rid of us that easily.” Dahyun gently boops Tzuyu on the nose. “You’re way more important then those dumb dishes. Who even cares about them anyways?”

“Jihyo.”

“Screw Jihyo.”

They all burst into shocked giggles at Chaeyoung’s bold words. They all know she doesn’t mean that, and that she definitely would never dare say that to Jihyo’s face, but maybe that’s what makes it so funny. Dahyun feels like a preteen who’s just heard someone curse out the intimidating teacher for the first time.

“I mean, we all know Tzuyu’s wanted to.” Dahyun can’t resist adding.

The immature teenager act continues as she and Chaeyoung burst into a fresh round of giggles, while Tzuyu turns bright red.

“It was just a crush! I never wanted to do that!”

“It’s ok.” Chaeyoung pats her on the shoulder. “We’ve all been there.”

“We have?”

They both shoot Dahyun a look, and she relents.

“Alright, alright. I may have felt something when she got that haircut.”

“I think the whole world felt something when she got that haircut.”

The sound of the front door opening causes them all to tense up, and despite their brave words all three girls are nervous. There’s no doubt Jihyo and Jeongyeon will be sympathetic towards Tzuyu, but they’ve had hours to do one simple task and realistically they don’t have a good excuse.

The sound of Sana’s high-pitched laughter and Momo’s whine makes them all breathe a sigh of relief.

“Seriously.” Tzuyu gently slaps both of their wrists. “Get going. I’m alright now.”

“Not a chance.” Dahyun says firmly, and Chaeyoung nods, wrapping herself tightly around Tzuyu’s arm.

“When they come in just start crying again.” she suggests. “We’ll pretend that you’ve been hysterical since we woke up and they can’t give out to us then.”

Tzuyu looks like she’s seriously considering Chaeyoung’s scheme, so Dahyun hastily intervenes.

“You don’t need to cry Tzuyu. It’ll be fine.” She bends over to click on the next episode. “Even if we don’t use you as an excuse, they won’t be that mad at us. We didn’t do anything terrible, we were just lazy. They’ll probably remind us to do the dishes and that will be that.”

Dahyun deliberately does not think about all the times Jihyo or Jeongyeon got scarily angry. Their concern over Tzuyu should trump any annoyance they feel towards the rest of the maknae line, but if for whatever reason it doesn’t…

Nope. Not going to worry about that. Dahyun focuses in on the drama and reaches over to squeeze Chaeyoung’s hand.

For the next twenty minutes, it feels like nothing exists outside of this room. The only part of the universe that matters are the three girls cuddled together and the drama they’re engrossed in. Dahyun holds Chaeyoung’s hand and with every breath she takes she feels Tzuyu’s head lying cosily on her chest. It’s soft and warm and they are all safe and content. It’s the kind of atmosphere that Dahyun wants to preserve in a bottle, to open whenever things get rough so she can be reminded of how peaceful and lovely life can be sometimes.

Then the front door opens again. And look, it’s not like they’re really scared of anyone, but Dahyun knows she should have washed the dishes and the guilt makes her worry.

They hear Jihyo’s voice, then Jeongyeon and Nayeon. Another door opens and Mina can be heard greeting them. There’s a bunch of talking none of them can hear properly, and then footsteps move closer to the bedroom door.

Instinctively, they all hold each other’s hands under the blanket. Chaeyoung snorts at how overdramatic they’re being, but she still squeezes Dahyun’s hand like she’s dying.

“I can try making myself sad again if you need?” Tzuyu offers.

It’s too late. The door opens, and Jihyo steps in. She isn’t angry, but she isn’t smiling either. She just looks concerned.

“Hey guys, we’re back.” she smiles softly. “Tzuyu, Mina told us that you weren’t feeling too well. Is there anything I can do?”

And now Dahyun feels guilty for being such an earlier. From the look on Chaeyoung’s face she feels even worse. They didn’t even say anything super mean, but Jihyo is the best leader in the world and they’ve been hyping up each other’s fear so much that they forgot how kind and caring she is.

“It’s ok, thank you.” Tzuyu smiles back. “Dahyun and Chaeyoung are taking good care of me.”

“I’m sure.” Jihyo smiles fondly at them.

For a second, Dahyun thinks this is it. She’s going to bring up the dishes or tell them that Jeongyeon’s waiting outside to yell at them. But Jihyo just… leaves. No comment on the undone chores whatsoever.

They all take a second to make sure that’s really it, and then Chaeyoung finally unclenches her grip on Dahyun’s hand. Dahyun shakes it to get the blood flow working again, unable to shake the wary feeling that it was all to easy.

“What the heck was that?” Chaeyoung hisses. “We knew she’d feel bad for Tzuyu but nothing about us?”

“Maybe Jeongyeon-”

“She would have mentioned Jeongyeon if she was upset.”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Dahyun crawls over to the edge of the bed. “I’m going out there.”

“Dahyun, you don’t have to sacrifice yourself like this.”

“It’s the only way we’ll know for sure if we’re in trouble or not. Don’t come out until I come back, and if I don’t come back…”

“We’ll play Bbasae in your honour.” Chaeyoung promises.

“You guys know me so well.” Dahyun sniffs dramatically.

They salute her as she leaves the room, and the theatrics make her laugh even though she’s still a little worried. There’s no one waiting to ambush her outside the bedroom, but Nayeon and Jeongyeon are watching TV in the living room. Both of them glance up when they notice her, but that’s it.

Confused, Dahyun moves into the kitchen. Her jaw drops when she sees all the dishes gone. Someone must have washed and dried them before the others got back, but who?

Mina enters the kitchen, her head down and focused on whatever game she’s playing on her phone. The pieces all fall into place, and Dahyun runs over to hug her. She’s pretty sure she’s just cost Mina life points or whatever in her game but right now she doesn’t care.

“What’s this all about?” Mina laughs.

“You know what it’s for.” Dahyun hugs her tighter.

“You mean the dishes? That wasn’t me.”

“What?” Dahyun releases her. “Then who-”

“When Momo and Sana got home they wanted to know what was wrong with you. Something about shrimp and a stressed out cashier?”

“Oh right, that.” Dahyun chuckles sheepishly. “So you told them what was going on?”

“I did, and they decided to help you out. We all just want Tzuyu to feel happier, so the more time she gets to spend with you two the better.”

Dahyun can’t help it. She starts laughing. All the dramatics and panic over one simple chore, fixed so easily. God, she loves them all so much.

“Are you alright?” Mina seems genuinely concerned at Dahyun’s outburst, but that just makes Dahyun laugh harder.

“I’m fine.” She replies once she’s finally calmed down. “I’m going to go back to snuggling my girlfriends. Tell Momo and Sana I said thanks, ok?”

“Will do.” Mina doesn’t seem completely convinced that Dahyun’s not in the middle of a mental breakdown, but she lets the younger girl leave the kitchen without further questioning.

When she walks back into the bedroom with a smile on her face, she’s met with dramatic cries of relief. Chaeyoung and Tzuyu jump off the bed to embrace her, but their combined force tips Dahyun over and they end up falling to the floor in one big pile of laughter.

Dahyun lies there, buried under her two girlfriends, and thinks about how lucky she is. All the fans, her supportive family, her six wonderful best friends and the two precious loves of her life. She wouldn’t trade it for anything.

It’s not her birthday, or any traditional moment to make a wish. But Dahyun still closes her eyes, and prays that this love she feels never changes.