Was there a possibility of spending too much time with the person you cared about the most? When Sana posed the question to Nayeon and Momo one day, she was met with a resounding "yes". Sana blinked back in surprise at the couple of a year and a half, not quite expecting such a flat response from two people who still seemed very much in love.

"Your relationship is still too new, so you wouldn't understand," Nayeon replied from across the coffee table. She brandished a Pocky stick at Sana with an air of wisdom about her. "You'll see soon enough."

From beside them, Momo nodded with her head bent down, fully absorbed in the assignment she was working on. "Yup. Relationship too new. You'll see," she agreed distractedly.

"The beginning of a relationship is just so fresh, you know? Everything's bright and shiny and fun," Nayeon explained matter-of-factly. "It feels like you can spend an infinite amount of time with each other because there's so much you don't know about each other. But once you've been together longer, the desire to spend every waking moment with each other goes away."

Sana was certain that the older girl had no intention of bursting her happy bubble when it came to her relationship with Mina, but Nayeon's practical words managed to do so anyway and she felt her heart twist with a wave of anxiety. Sana happened to LOVE the floaty feeling that washed over her every time she met up with Mina after they'd been apart. She actually WANTED to keep feeling that way about Mina for the rest of her life no matter how much time had passed in their relationship. But Sana found it difficult to retort with any amount of confidence that her relationship with Mina wasn't doomed to fall into Nayeon and Momo's predicted realm of nonchalance.

"Give me that," Sana grumbled, snatching the Pocky stick that Nayeon had been waving at her.

"I'm not trying to scare you on purpose," Nayeon said gently, her all-knowing grin softening into a sympathetic kind of smile as Sana munched unhappily on her pilfered snack. "I'm just... preparing you, I guess. I mean, that's what happens in most relationships, and it happened to us, too." Nayeon gestured to Momo, who finally looked up from her homework to join the conversation more attentively.

"It's not like we fell out of love or we got tired of each other or something," Momo explained, able to pinpoint her best friend's fears a little more closely than Nayeon could. "We're still in love, but it's just a more mature kind of love where we can willingly place some distance between ourselves sometimes."

Momo turned to Nayeon to get her girlfriend's agreement. "Right, babe?"

Rather than agree, however, Nayeon stifled an obvious laugh behind her hand. "Mature? Are you sure that's the best word to describe yourself?" Nayeon teased.

"You're one to talk!" Momo retorted, flaring up in an instant. She lunged forward and playfully tackled Nayeon onto the floor, holding the older girl down as they both struggled and laughed. "Who asked for a Pororo bowl set for her 20th birthday, hmm??"

Nayeon giggled hysterically with Momo on top of her. "Yeah, but you use those bowls more than I do! You know you love them!!"

Sana cracked a reluctant smile as she watched her friends bicker like children. After claiming that love was destined to become less intense or more nonchalant over time, their playful and petty fighting was a bit reassuring to see. Before the wrestling match could come to an end though, Sana thanked Nayeon (who seemed to be on the losing end of the fight) for having her over for dinner, and then she bid both of them goodnight and left.

Sana felt extra lonely as she stepped outside of Nayeon's warm apartment building. It was dark out and the cold had settled in for the late February evening. She headed back to her dorm slowly, her boots crunching on the last remnants of snow and ice that refused to melt and give way to spring. Momo was clearly going to be spending the night at Nayeon's apartment, so Sana would only have her own mind to keep her company tonight if she went back to her room. Somehow, Sana didn't think she could bear being alone with her thoughts since she couldn't quite shake the uneasiness she felt about her relationship with Mina after talking to Nayeon and Momo.

As Sana worried about whether she would be able to fall asleep tonight, she looked up and found herself standing in front of Mina's house, which wasn't exactly on the way home to her dorm. She smiled wryly at the discovery, musing that her subconscious was longing for Mina's company as much as her heart longed for it too. But unfortunately, Mina was busy tonight. The younger girl said she had a lot of work to do and wanted to focus on studying for the evening.

This was the reason that Sana now hesitated to ring the doorbell even though she was only a few steps from the front door. It would be so incredibly comforting to receive a kiss from Mina right now, or a warm hug to dispel any of the worries that Nayeon and Momo had inadvertently induced. But Mina was busy and Sana needed to learn how to put some distance between herself and Mina, even if only for a night. With a heavy sigh, Sana turned away from Mina's house and once again headed in the direction of her dorm.

"Hey, isn't that Sana?"

Sana turned toward the direction of the familiar voice. Behind her, Jihyo and Jeongyeon emerged from the house and waved at her.

"So it is," Jihyo smiled. She and Jeongyeon walked over to where Sana stood on the sidewalk, both of them smiling warmly at her. "Hi, Sana."

"Heya!" Jeongyeon greeted her cheerfully. "Long time no see!"

"Right back at you," Sana agreed with a grin. Mina's friends and housemates had a habit of going on long business trips together, sometimes disappearing for weeks at a time. "Are you guys back in town for a while?"

"Yup, we just got back today," Jihyo said. "We should be here for at least a week or two this time."

"Awesome!" Sana replied. "I'd like to catch up with you guys. It feels like forever since I've seen you!"

Jeongyeon nodded at Sana with a fond smile. "Come over again tomorrow night. We'll make you dinner. But for tonight…" She leaned over towards Jihyo and threw an arm around her shoulder. "I'm gonna take the missus out for a nice meal," she joked.

"Knock it off," Jihyo laughed and pushed Jeongyeon's arm away. She then turned back to Sana. "Are you here to see Mina? She should be upstairs in her room. Go right on in."

"Er…" Sana hesitated. "It sounded like Mina was gonna be busy tonight. I don't wanna bother her..."

"Nonsense," Jeongyeon replied easily. "Mina will be happy to see you. And you guys'll have the house to yourselves. Make sure to have fun!" She waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Sana.

Jihyo rolled her eyes and pushed her annoying girlfriend toward the car. "OK, that's enough outta you. Move your ."

"Don't wait up for us!" Jeongyeon grinned before heading to the car first.

Jihyo giggled and then turned to Sana. "Lock up for me when you get inside please." She gave Sana's arm a friendly squeeze. "Have a good night!"

Sana waved at Jihyo and Jeongyeon as they drove off, her spirits a bit lighter after talking to them. Then she turned toward the house, still a bit hesitant to disturb her girlfriend, but less so now that she had received Jihyo and Jeongyeon's invitation to see Mina. Holding her breath, Sana opened the door and went inside, locking it behind her as Jihyo had requested.

The house was silent, but as cozy as it always was. Sana knew her way around the place, having visited Mina here frequently since they started dating. She quickly ascended the stairs and headed to Mina's room, tracing the familiar path through the house. The door was slightly ajar with light flooding through the open spaces. Sana poked her head inside and found Mina studying at her desk, with Mina's back to the door.

There was that floaty feeling again, that stomach-tingling sensation that made Sana feel like gravity had turned off and she was suddenly lighter than air. Sana watched Mina work for a few moments, still very much wanting a hug from her girlfriend, but also not eager to bother her. There was no point in coming this far without saying ‘hi’ though. But Mina was studying so intensely that Sana wasn't sure how to get her attention without startling her.

"D… darling?" Sana asked tentatively, using the newly appointed pet name that had been embarrassingly tested out for the first time earlier in the week.

Mina's shoulders perked up and she whirled around in an instant, a beaming smile spreading across her face. "Sana?!"

It might've been an understatement to say that Mina looked absolutely thrilled to see her. She forcefully slammed her textbook shut and jumped up from her chair. A couple of notebooks and a thick package of papers fell to the floor in the process and Mina carelessly flipped the mess back onto her desk before rushing over to welcome Sana with a bear hug. It filled Sana with an instantaneous kind of relief to have Mina's arms wrapped around her, the comforting scent of Mina's Aerin Ikat Jasmine enveloping her,