Main characters featured in this chapter:

♡━━━ January | Mina’s PoV ━━━♡

“Aw, the two lovebirds are arriving at school together?” Sana asked as we walked through the classroom door.

I blushed and Nayeon squeezed my hand, her face also slightly flushing. There were still around 10 minutes before class would start, and she sat on top of a desk, while Tzuyu was on the chair that is glued to the desk. The sight of her immediately reminded me of last night’s events, and I wondered if she was aware of them.  

“Mina slept at my place last night,” Nayeon explained, simply.

“Oh, wow, I didn’t know you guys were on that stage yet,” Sana said, crossing her arms and smirking at us, and what she suggested made my cheeks burn even more.

“I-It’s not like that!” Countered Nayeon, whose face was beet red, lightly pushing Sana’s shoulder. “Stop distorting what I said, you ert!”

The cheeky girl was giggling uncontrollably as Nayeon glared at her. I cleared my voice, and moved my gaze to Tzuyu, who was still quiet. Our eyes met, and the hint of guilt I saw in them told me that she knew.

“Actually I… I can’t go back home anymore,” I explained, and Nayeon returned to holding my hand tightly.

Sana’s expression immediately became confused, her eyebrows furrowing. Her previous cheerful energy was turned into obvious concern. “What happened…?” She softly asked.

“I’m so sorry,” Tzuyu said suddenly, and all eyes turned to her. She was clenching her fists and looking down. “My family is partially responsible for this, Mina-unnie, and I’m really sorry.”

My eyes widened. She wasn’t responsible for this, and she had no need to apologize. Sana worriedly looked at the tall girl, gently placing a hand on her head and whispering, “What are you talking about, Tzuyu-ya?”

“It’s not your fault, Tzuyu,” I reassuringly said, trying my best to convey sincerity with a smile. “So there is no need to be sorry.” I then glanced at Sana, so I could explain to the intrigued girl what was happening. “It’s a long story, but my parents kicked me out of the house because they found out I was dating Nayeon-unnie.”

Her eyes look horrified, and she rose from the desk to embrace the two of us, whispering, “I don’t even know what to say… that’s awful and nobody deserves to go through that.” As she pulled back, she still seemed confused, and added, “I don’t understand how this has to do with Tzuyu-ya though?”

“My parents and Mina-unnie’s parents wanted to arrange a marriage between her and my older brother… right?” Tzuyu responded, her eyes fixed on me.

“What?! That’s horrible… people still do this sorta thing?” Sana asked, frowning.

“It’s still common among a few families, I suppose,” I responded. “It’s all business, really.”

“My brother told me about it yesterday… he was also really upset, I mean, you two don’t even know each other,” Tzuyu said, shaking her head.

“You two deserve to be with people you love,” Sana gently said, and Nayeon tightly hugged me from behind, causing my stomach to erupt with butterflies. Sana’s eyes turned to Tzuyu, and it was clear she was apprehensive. “They won’t try doing that with you, will they, Tzuyu-ya?”

“I hope they learned their lesson and won’t try doing it again… especially after they find out what happened to Mina-unnie,” Tzuyu reassured, grasping Sana’s hands to comfort her. “My parents may have agreed to this, but they had no problem with us dating, so I’m sure they wouldn’t pull this stunt again.”

Sana seemed relieved and pecked Tzuyu in the cheek.

“So you’ll be staying at Nayeon-unnie’s house now?” Tzuyu asked, her face a bit red from the contact with her girlfriend.

“I was going to, but… my mother surprised me this morning and said she would rent an apartment for me,” I answered, still quite surprised about our encounter earlier.

“This is it,” Nayeon said, looking at her phone screen, which had a GPS app opened. We stood in front of a tall building located in a pricey district of the city. “This is the apartment your mother rented for you.”

The keys had been delivered to Nayeon’s address just a few days after my mother met me at school.

“Well, let’s go in then,” I said, sighing and gripping tightly the handle of Mochi’s carrier, as we walked inside the building. The lobby area was ample and tastefully decorated.

I pressed the button for the 7th floor on the elevator. Nayeon smiled reassuringly at me when we arrived. There were probably around twenty apartments on each floor, and the one I would call home was number 704.

Unlocking the door, I glanced around, taking in the environment. It had mostly modern, white furniture and looked very bright. There was a large window that occupied most of a wall, with a beautiful view of the city of Seoul.

“Nice place,” Nayeon commented, seemingly impressed as she roamed around. I released Mochi from her carrier, and the cat joined her in exploring the apartment.

“Even at this point, my mother insists in having me living this big,” I said, running my hand on the silky white curtains that surrounded the windows.

Nayeon smiled at me and came closer, resting her forehead on mine and cupping my cheeks. “It’s because she cares about you… if she can afford this, of course she’s going to want the best for her baby.”

“If she truly cared, shouldn’t she have shown me any form of affection during all these years?” I responded, frowning as she gently my head.

“M