“Are you sure you don’t want to join us on VLive, Minari? I’m sure Once miss you and your cute little smile.”

“Yeah, sorry, Jihyo,” Mina yawned and nodded, leaving the room for the night with her pillow under her arm. “I’m way too tired to do anything except lay down and sleep. I’ll find someone else to sleep with tonight, though, so don’t worry about me.”

“Alrighty, I’ll tell the fans you said hi, though,” the leader said in a warm and understanding tone. She tapped on the VLive icon and waved goodbye, their other roommates doing the same. “Sleep tight!”

Mina looked over the room once more before leaving. See, Nayeon and Jihyo were bored when Sana and Mina arrived from their date and wanted to go live for an hour to say hello to their fans, who they missed after not promoting for a few months. Sana agreed to join immediately, but Mina didn’t feel like it at all. She was way too sleepy, so much so that she wasn’t sure how she had managed to stay standing during that short conversation with Jihyo.

Mina yawned once more and, rolling her shoulders, she quietly padded across the quiet dorm. She stopped at the last door in the hallway, trying to recall the time. Was it sometime after 1? She remembered it being pretty late. If her roommates weren’t planning on going live in the bedroom, maybe Mina wouldn’t have dared knock on the door, disturbing the sleep of the two girls inside. But, alas, her roommates were going live, and the sleepiness was slowly taking over all of Mina’s senses, so... she knocked. Mina knew they’d welcome her with wide open arms and sleepy smiles, anyway.

Not too long after Mina’s one, two, three light knocks, she heard the bed inside squeak and footsteps approach. The door opened and Mina was met with the sweetest sight of Momo clad in her bright pink pajamas, rubbing her eye with a small smile on her lips.

“Mitang? What’s wrong?” Momo noticed the pillow under Mina’s arm and wondered what had happened.

“Nothing is wrong, Momoring. Just– the girls are going live and I’m too sleepy to join, so I thought you and Jeong wouldn’t mind letting me interrupt you.”

No other words were needed. Momo ushered Mina inside the dark room and pulled away the covers so that she could jump in, Momo following behind. To her left, Mina heard a grumble and found Jeongyeon buried under a pile of soft pillows.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Jeong. Did I wake you up?” Mina worried again about disturbing their sleep, but it seemed like this was for naught, for as soon as the youngest was settled in, Jeongyeon wrapped her tired arms around Mina’s waist, indirectly telling her that she was welcome anytime.

Momo turned to Mina, the light peeking through the blinds letting her see how excited Momo looked. “Sleepover?” 

“I suppose,” Mina replied, “but without truth or dare, and without pillow fights.”

Momo thought for a second before saying “Why not? We can have those right now.”

“It’s 1:10!” Mina glanced at the purple Barbie-themed clock. “It’s time to sleep!”

Mina couldn’t see the pout very well, but she certainly heard it in her friend’s voice when she said “But I can handle it! I’m not even sleepy anymore!”

Exactly two minutes later, at 1:12, Mina had to close a sleeping Momo’s mouth before she started catching flies. She chuckled at the sight and pulled the covers closer to the older girl’s chin before twisting to find a more comfortable position. Sighing contentedly, she closed her eyes and let herself drift off to sleep.

Sana put her ear to the door.

She heard nothing but soft snores coming from within, letting her know that the coast was clear. She tiptoed back to her room, where Nayeon and Jihyo nervously waited for her. In their arms were different rolls of yarn and large knitting needles.

“She’s asleep in Jeongyeon and Momo’s room,” Sana announced in a whisper.

“Awesome!” Nayeon said as she celebrated with a triumphant fist in the air. “This gives us plenty of time to get everything ready.”

Sana nodded happily. “Yeah. And again, thank you girls for this. It means a lot to me. Really.”

Jihyo pouted as she thought of how to reply to Sana’s sincere gratitude. The words she’d say would have a lot of impact and if she wasn’t careful, they may give off the wrong impression. “Sana…” she began, speaking slowly, “In light of what Nayeon and I are about to help you do… I hope you understand how selfish I want to be right now. The date with Mina woke something within me that I didn’t even realize had been dormant. The fact that I’m helping you right now, with this…” She played with the yarn in her lap, then briefly glanced up to see Sana’s expression. It was understanding, open. Ready to listen. As Sana always has been. Jihyo continued. “I’m using all of my self control right now.”

Sana pursed her lips and kneeled before Jihyo, who sat at the edge of her bed. 

“Nayeon and I talked about how if it weren’t for you, Sana, nobody would have realized we harbored a special kind of love for Mina. That’s the only thing keeping me from going to Mina myself,” Jihyo said in one breath, and when she finished, she gasped out, breathless. Sana stayed kneeling before her, her big eyes saying many things, but mainly: Thank you. Jihyo was no stranger to sacrificing her own happiness for the sake of her team, but this one must've taken Herculean effort to do.

“We're all in love with her. Deeply, truly in love with her, but we know who we owe this to.” Nayeon spoke up, looking a little odd without her usual smile. It was a serious matter that had been bothering her too, though. There was a time for everything and a silly smile had no place there, right then. “We spoke to the younger girls too, and they all agreed. This honor will be all yours, and no one will fight you about it."

Sana’s eyes became an ocean then, and her heart became full, so full that she had to do something about the overwhelming love she felt for her roommates, team members, friends . 

She did what she did best.

“Thank you! Thank you!” Sana shouted as she threw herself into Jihyo and Nayeon’s arms. “I love you girls! So much!”

Jihyo laughed and struggled to get Sana off of her, but Sana was as stuck to her as rice on a pot. She wasn’t coming off until Jihyo and Nayeon understood just how thankful she was that they were willing to help her.

Finally, after tons of warm kisses and tight hugs, Sana allowed Jihyo to pull away to grab the clock on her nightstand. “Alright, well, we don’t have much time. We better get started. This yarn isn’t going to work itself!”

2 am.

Mina stirred in her sleep, unable to resist the tickle Momo’s breath caused on her neck, the tingling feeling Jeongyeon’s arms around her waist created. Both sensations set off the love buzz Mina had tried so hard to set aside in order to sleep soundly, but duty calls, and it was a one Mina could no longer ignore. 

Her lips curved into a sleepy smile as she raised her head in order to look at the two that held her so lovingly. Momo was curled like a shrimp into Mina’s back and Jeongyeon had slightly loosened her arms around her waist in her sleep, but not too much.

Both were sound asleep, and the youngest could hear their heavy breathing create a steady, sleepy tune. One of Mina's favorite songs.

Mina bit her lip, already kind of excited about kissing the two. The inner peace she always felt after planting a kiss on her member’s faces was addicting, the way a warm bed and a soft cup of tea lingers on one’s mind. It was a gift that always gave back, hopefully bringing the recipient sweet dreams while also allowing Mina to express her love for her friends in a subtle, intimate way.

When Mina turned her head, she was face to face with Momo, who seemed to be having some type of troubling dream. Her eyebrows were furrowed and every now and then, she’d frown and mumble something. Mina watched her for a minute, wondering what it was that she was dreaming. She slid an arm out from under the soft blanket and laid her hand on Momo’s forehead, caressing it gently until she ironed out all of the creases. She ran a thumb across her cheek, trying her best to soothe her the way the older girl liked it. Eventually, little by little, Momo seemed to relax. Mina hadn’t even noticed how tense Momo’s shoulders were, but once she loosened up, it was obvious.

Mina smiled to herself as she leaned forward and kissed Momo on the cheek she had caressed, then smiled even more when she heard Momo sigh happily. 

Momo deserves the most restful sleep, Mina thought as she continued to caress Momo's face, remembering the tough schedule that they would be having in the coming days. Their comeback was soon, less than two days, in fact, and Momo would have to stress about her main dancer duties. Mina, of course, was a main dancer too, but the pressure always seemed to get to the older girl more than it did to the younger.  Momo was especially hard on herself when it came to her singing. She often compared herself to Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Jihyo, and though she had an angelic voice too, Momo tended to regard every small mistake as giant, Titanic-sized ones. Even their vocal trainer said that she improving day by day, but Momo chose to believe the words of thoughtless people online sometimes.

Mina wished there was something she could do to ease the massive weight on her friend’s shoulders, but she wasn’t sure how to. There would be many television shows, award shows, live performances and other types of appearances to promote their new song where Momo would feel the pressure to not make a single mistake. If she did, she’d take the full blame, as she always did. Momo was always hard on herself thanks to the cruel words of netizens and mindless critics, and that hurt Mina too. 

Mina was about to give in to the sadness she felt when, suddenly, she remembered the conversations she had with Dahyun and Jeongyeon; if Mina took the time to talk to Momo and ask her what was on her mind, maybe Momo would open up enough to express her worries about dancing, singing and the constant stress she feels she’s under. It would work the same way Mina had done with Momo nearly a week ago at that family owned restaurant. Just talking about their problems in an honest way. Yeah, Mina thought, the sadness subsiding. It’s all about being a good friend and listening to other’s problems to help them solve them. The same way all of her friends, not just Momo, had taken the time to listen to her worries and insecurities during their dates and make them even smaller, less burdensome.

“Don’t worry, Momoring. You’re the best dancer I know,” Mina whispered, tenderly running her hand through the girl’s hair, “And your singing is great just the way it is. Lean on me, and I promise I’ll do my best to share the burden with you for this comeback and beyond." Mina smiled again, hoping the words entered Momo’s heart and healed any pain she felt. 

She shifted around to look at Jeongyeon. It was hard, since Jeongyeon liked to sleep under three pillows. (She swears it’s to keep Momo away, but Mina has always known that she’s just a softie that can’t sleep unless she has some weight on top of her. Momo hates heavy blankets, so she stacks pillows on top of herself in compromise.)

Mina lifted the corner of the pillow on top of Jeongyeon’s head and peeked in. Jeongyeon’s head was turned toward her and there was a hint of a serene expression on her face that could only belong to someone in deep and peaceful sleep.

Mina scooted closer and wrapped her arms around Jeongyeon, mirroring the way the older girl had held her earlier. Jeongyeon sensed this and nuzzled closer, burying her head into Mina’s chest. Mina was suddenly overwhelmed by the scent of Jeongyeon’s shampoo. She wasn’t sure what the specific scent was, but it was a calming one that made her eyes want to close by themselves. 

Mina hugged the Korean tight, remembering how much Jeongyeon had exposed herself to Mina on their date the day before. 

Mina had always known that Jeongyeon wasn’t some one-dimensional knight in shining armor that was always brave and came to save the day all the time; she knew Jeongyeon was as perfectly imperfect as everyone else, had her own demons to fight. Never in a million years would she have thought that Jeongyeon would consider herself to be useless to the group, too ‘irresponsible’ to hold a specific title, though. Mina was glad that the topic was brought up by chance, because she couldn’t bear the thought of Jeongyeon thinking so lowly of herself for one more second.

“You’re my desert, Jeong,” she said, as quietly as possible, repeating the words she’d said to her on the walkway above the gorgeous gardens. “You’re beautiful, underestimated, and full of surprises. Hopefully one day you’ll see, really see, just how important you are to me and the rest of the girls.” Having said that, she placed a kiss charged with love and affection right on Jeongyeon’s temple. The older girl, seemingly in response, pouted in her sleep, making Mina struggle not to giggle at how cute she looked.

What a pouty baby, Mina said inwardly, and gently removed the arm that rested on Jeongyeon’s side to pull Momo, who was behind Mina, closer. She struggled a little to do so, since she was trying to be careful and not wake Momo, but eventually she had the two girls very close to her, just the way she wanted. Momo nuzzled her head against Mina’s neck and Jeongyeon seemed to find Mina’s shoulder to be softer than the pillow because she rested it there.

The closeness created a sense of bliss within Mina, one she’d been feeling everyday since these dates began.

Wow, she thought, I really owe Sana one. These dates are therapy to me. 

Mina hummed, extra comfortable with her two girls holding her so lovingly, and her thoughts wandered until they found themselves in Sana Territory. 

The date earlier that day played in her memories like a film, highlighting the tender looks Sana sent her way, the strength the reassuring words she said to Mina held. Mina’s eyes shifted to the window to her left and felt an urge; she wanted to open the curtains, raise the blinds and drink in the Milky Way, the deep dark abyss known as space and all the secrets it held.

On the topic of bright and beautiful things... Mina pictured Sana’s heavenly smile when Mina promised to go out with her again if she ever figured out what it was that was missing from their date. Am I really that bad at going out? Mina thought, frowning a bit. Sana appeared to be really happy to hear it from Mina. No matter, she quickly reminded herself. Sana (and damn near everybody) assured her that nobody, not a single member of TWICE, held anything against her for putting herself first and enjoying alone time. 

Many things had changed thanks to Sana’s intervention. So many things. Mina had so much to be grateful for, because these moments spent with her best friends were priceless, and it was all because Sana saw her and thought “She needs to go out a little more often.” Yes, it really was all thanks to Sana. Sana, Sana, Sana. 

Mina wasn’t sure for how long, but her mind refused to think about anything but Sana. She kept her from sleeping– lovely Sana, caring for others, making average days amazing days with just a laugh, or even a smile. Even the tiniest ones were dazzling. As dazzling, bright and lively as the smile that Mina saw on her face when out of the blue, Sana confessed that she loved Mina.

Mina had to admit it to herself; Sana’s confession made her feel some special type of way. 

But what, exactly, was that supposed ‘special’ way? 

Mina was unsure. 

She closed her eyes again and sighed deeply. She’d figure it out in due time, maybe during that date they would have some day. For now, she decided, it was time to go back to sleep. She’d already kissed her two girls and the love buzz was calmed once again. Mina wiggled around a little until she was deeper under JeongMo’s covers before slowly letting her eyes close.

this was a short one for the jeongmimonators! I know you're out there! also hii i hope you enjoyed this! next is the final chapter! feel free to comment which ones were your fav dates!!