Author's Note: This is where the angst tag comes through

---

June 9th, 2018. 11:14 AM.

 

Tzuyu woke up a bit later, but that was okay because it wasn't a school day. She was outside in the backyard, sitting on a lawn chair she had set up, staring at the swing set. She had always seen it there, and she wondered why it was there.

 

“Aw, you're so mean.” The bunny girl said, just now exiting. “I always stay in bed for you, and you don't even pay me back?”

 

“I just needed to go outside,” Tzuyu replied. “Besides, you snore.”

 

“Ugh-!” Nayeon scoffed. “I do not snore!”

 

“Mmmm.. so you think.” The younger girl smirked. “You're so loud.”

 

“God you really are mean!” The bunny girl said. “You snore too!”

 

“Now that's just a lie.” The Taiwanese girl remarked. “My parents tell me that I'm as quiet as a mouse when I'm asleep.”

 

“M-My parents say that...” Nayeon trailed off. “U-Used to say that, too..”

 

“Oh.” Tzuyu fell silent. “Bunny, I'm-”

 

“No, it's okay,” Nayeon replied. “I... haven't thought about them in a while.”

 

Tzuyu hates them. She hates Nayeon's parents. She's never met them, but if she does...

 

------------------------------

 

October 21st, 2010. 3:21 PM

 

Yeojin was surprised by a sight. She was just relaxing in her house, then suddenly... there was a knock. It wasn't just a calm knock, it... was a loud knock. Loud and multiple knocks.

 

She ran over to her door and opened it. Nayeon was there behind the door, and she was not okay. She was a sobbing mess.

 

“Jinnie..!” The girl said, pulling her girlfriend into a hug. “I-I-I”

 

“Nayeon, what happened?” Yeojin asked.

 

The girl couldn't let out her words, everything was too much.

 

------------------------------

 

3:49 PM.

 

Nayeon had finally calmed down.

 

“Nayeon, what happened?” Yeojin asked. The bunny girl looked at her. “You know... you know how we've been talking about me coming out to my parents for the past week?” The older girl nodded, and the younger one continued. “I-I.. finally worked up the courage. I.. told them. Everything. How I was a lesbian, about you, about how much we're in love..”

 

The bunny girl was starting to shake already. “They.. they..”

 

“They disowned me, Yeojin. T-They... said that I was disgusting.. that I-I should be ashamed of myself... t-that... I'm not their daughter anymore. M-My dad... he even slapped me. He never hit me..”

 

“Oh my god, Nayeon,” Yeojin said. “I am so sorry. I-I didn't know.”

 

“It's not your fault.” The younger girl said. “I... thought they would accept me... oh my god, Yeojin, what am I supposed to do?”

 

She hugged her girlfriend and started to sob into her shoulders. “What... am I going to do?”

 

------------------------------

 

June 9th, 2018. 11:19 AM.

 

“Honestly, I'm glad we haven't seen them,” Tzuyu said. “Your parents.”

 

“I know they're still here,” Nayeon replied. “In South Korea, anyways. Not that I've seen them in person, but I can see that their company office is still occupied.”

 

The younger girl was silent. “...Company? You never told us your parents owned a company.”

 

“Oh, well, you know..” The bunny girl fell silent. “Uh... Look, listen... I didn't think I needed to tell you. O-Or any of the girls, for that matter..”

 

“Which building is it?” The Taiwanese girl asked. The bunny girl looked away, but the younger girl continued. “Bunny. Which building is it?”

 

“T-This is why I didn't want to tell any of you!” Nayeon said. “Y-Y-You... you would...”

 

“B-Bunny,” Tzuyu said, approaching the older girl. Nayeon... is fine. She is. It's just... any time her parents are involved, she suddenly becomes a very sad girl. A girl who just wanted to be accepted and loved by her parents, but was instead shown hatred and disgust.

 

The bunny girl was shaking. “P-Please... d-don't be mad at me. P-P-Please...” 

 

Tzuyu put a hand on Nayeon's shoulder. “Hey! Hey... Nayeon, it's okay. I'm here, okay? I'm here.” She pulled the older girl into a hug.

 

“Tzuyu..”

 

------------------------------

 

1:15 PM.

 

She needed to take the bunny girl out. Outside of that house, outside of that backyard. At first, she couldn't think of where to take her, but then it struck her. The beach.

 

Not because it was going to be summertime soon, but because of the smell of the ocean, and the feeling it emitted. Of course, she didn't expect them to swim or anything, just to simply have a stroll along the shore.

 

“...” Nayeon was staring at the ocean, while Tzuyu was holding her hand as they walked. The Taiwanese girl looked at her girlfriend. “Bunny.”

 

“...” She looked at her but didn't respond. The younger girl sighed. “Nayeon.”

 

The older girl was still silent. “....what is it?” She finally said. 

 

The Taiwanese girl sighed. “How are you feeling?” 

 

The brown-haired Korean girl was silent. “I... don't know. Fine, I guess.”

 

She looked at the beach. “..Thank you, Tzuyu.” 

 

The black-haired Taiwanese girl nodded. “Anything for my bunny.”

 

------------------------------

 

2:17 PM.

 

Dahyun's parents have called the girl, asking her to meet them at the park. She wondered why, maybe they were having, after forever, a family picnic. Or... maybe they were going to tell the girl about their divorce.

 

Jihyo had offered to drive Dahyun there, but the blonde rejected. She insisted that she'll be going there on her own. And she did. She was there at the park, and she could see her parents sitting together on a bench.

 

The blonde approached them. “Hey Mom, hey Dad.”

 

“Sweetie, we're glad you could make it.” Her mother smiled. Dahyun's father looked at the girl. “Maybe it's just because it's been a while since I've seen you, Dahyun, but you look a bit brighter than usual.”

 

The blonde just slightly smiled. “A lot's been happening..” She sighed. “I'm sure you didn't call me to just talk to me, right? You have some news too, don't you?”

 

Her father nodded. “Should you tell her, or should I?” 

 

Her mother looked at Dahyun. “Dahyun, our divorce is finalized.”

 

The blonde knew this moment was going to happen. Any day now, they would call her over. Try to act all friendly, when in reality, her parents hated each other. Or, at the very least, didn't love each other anymore. They would break this news to her and just expect her to be okay with it. Well, she wasn't okay.

 

“Okay,” Dahyun said, a little monotone.

 

“Dahyun?” Her mother asked. “Do you understand?”

 

“You're divorced.” She said. God, even saying it didn't feel real. All her life she's been used to her parents loving each other, she even looked up to them as THE standard for love. “I want a relationship like yours, mommy and daddy!”. She felt stupid for ever thinking that.

 

“We're so sorry.” Her father replied.

 

“It's fine.” The blonde stated, monotone. “Can I go now?”

 

“W-Well, we still wanted to check in on you.” Her mother said. “How your move with Jihyo has been.”

 

“I'm moved in with her. Happy? Can I go now?” Dahyun asked again.

 

Her mother could see it, she wasn't an idiot. Dahyun was angry. Dahyun's father, however... wasn't good at reading the blonde.

 

“Come on, it's been so long.” He said. “I feel like we deserve to hear a little more details.”

 

Dahyun scoffed. “You don't deserve anything.”

 

She turned around to start walking away.

 

“D-Dahyun!” Her mother shouted. “Don't talk to us like this! We've raised you better than that!”

 

The blonde turned around, anger in her eyes. “Oh really? You've raised me to believe that your love was something special when it turned out it was just fake. Your love is FAKE! I thought you loved each other, but you NEVER DID!”

 

“You don't understand.” Her father said. “Things just don't work out the way we want them to.”

 

“YOU PROMISED ME!” Dahyun yelled. “YOU PROMISED ME YOU TWO WOULD LOVE EACH OTHER TO THE END OF TIME! I BELIEVED YOU!”

 

At this point, tears to fall out of her eyes. “If... love isn't forever.... then..”

 

“Dubu.”

 

She heard a voice she wasn't expecting. She thought she told her not to come. Why is she here?

 

“J-Jihyo..”

 

“I knew this would happen.” The older girl said, pulling Dahyun into a hug. “It's okay..”

 

Dahyun's mother and father were a bit surprised at Jihyo's appearance, but they figured she would show up one way or another.

 

“Love is forever,” Jihyo said. “Our love is, anyways. Sure, you looked up to your parents, but sometimes you have to remember that things don't work out. But... I'll never stop loving you. I promise you: My heart belongs to you, and you only, okay? For as long as I live, I'll never let you go. Like we promised, Dahyun. Together forever.”

 

Her parents heard this, but they talked quietly.

 

“Their.. love?” Dahyun's father stated. “I see.”

 

“Saw that one coming.” The mother said. “You owe me 10 bucks.”

 

“I'm sure I owe you a lot more than that.” The man replied.

 

The older girl looked at Dahyun's parents. “I'll take it from here. Thank you.”

 

The parents just nodded and left.

 

------------------------------

 

2:25 PM.

 

They stayed there until Dahyun had settled down. Once she knew she was okay, Jihyo pulled away from the hug. The blonde looked at her.

 

“...Gosh.” Dahyun said. “I yelled at my parents, Jihyo... I yelled at them.”

 

“It's okay.” The older girl replied. “I understand where you're coming from.”

 

“I feel so stupid.” The blonde said. “I knew their divorce was coming... For a long time, I knew this day was going to come. So... why did child me come out at that moment?”

 

“I don't think you've ever really accepted it, Dahyun,” Jihyo replied. “I mean, sure, you kept on telling me “they're getting divorced.”. But... I don't think you believed it. It.. just didn't feel real. But now, now that they've made it official... it's probably all come to you.”

 

“I'm going to miss those days, Jihyo.” The younger girl said. “The days I would come home to my parents, they'd be laughing, talking to each other happily. Sometimes they would kiss and I would just act disgusted. It's.. been like that for so long. And now... I'm just expected to... let it go like that?”

 

“And you would always tell me you wanted a love like theirs.” The dark brown-haired girl said. “I guess seeing a love you looked up to just... go away like that, it hurt bad.”

 

The blonde nodded. “Yeah... And a part of me thought of... You and I. I love you with all my heart. And... I'm so scared. Their love ending like that.. it scares me. I don't want that to happen to us.”

 

“As I told you, it won't,” Jihyo replied. “Say it with me: Together forever.”

 

“Together forever,” Dahyun repeated. “I... really love that.”

 

The blonde sighed. “I don't know what's been going on lately, but these past few days have been... pretty sad.”

 

The older girl let out a little laugh. “I noticed it too. Maybe we should change that?”

 

“Friend get together?”

 

“Yup!”

 

------------------------------

 

FRIENDIES!

 

Jihyo: MEET UP AT THE MALL?

 

Seulgi: watch the caps

 

Jihyo: ;-;

 

Dahyun: WHOMST'VE

 

Nayeon: did... you really just write that whole English word?

 

Momo: owo is that english?

 

Dahyun: SEULGI HOW DARE

 

Seulgi: watch the caps

 

Sana: I would love to, but we're... kind of in Japan.

 

Tzuyu: lol looks like we have to make a new group without the people in Japan.

 

Seulgi: smh how rude you stupid

 

~~Kim Dahyun has kicked Kang Seulgi from the group chat!~~

 

Chaeyoung: OML

 

Momo: oh my god

 

Sana: that's not cool

 

Tzuyu: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

Nayeon: holy Seulgi just got murdered

 

~~Kim Dahyun has added Kang Seulgi into the groupchat~~

 

Dahyun: I brought you into this group chat, I can easily take you out.

 

Seulgi: smh dubu

 

Jihyo: only I can call her dubu ;-;

 

Chaeyoung: lol haven't we all called her dubu at one point

 

Wonpil: I haven't

 

Seulgi: god you and Mina have the same amount of activity on this group chat

 

Seulgi: like, I completely forget Mina is even on this group chat sometimes

 

Wonpil: I spend a lot of time with her.

 

Wonpil: if she's not using her phone, then I'm not going to use my phone

 

Dahyun: gosh wonpil you're an actual angel on earth

 

Nayeon: seriously man

 

Wonpil: I don't know about that

 

Wonpil: I just don't want to see other people hurting.

 

Tzuyu: so WHOLESOME

 

Jeongyeon: if you continue treating him like this then he'll become egotistical

 

Dahyun: jesus christ jeongyeon

 

Jeongyeon: it's happened to a friend of mine

 

Jeongyeon: everyone kept on praising her for how nice she was, and then the next moment she was SERIOUSLY full of herself.

 

Dahyun: wait like before you met me and jihyo?

 

Jeongyeon: yeah duh.

 

Jihyo: a kid got egotistical?

 

Jeongyeon: it's a kid of course she ing did

 

Nayeon: wonpil isn't a child tho

 

Wonpil: honestly, while I do appreciate all of you calling me a good person...

 

Wonpil: I don't want you guys to JUST be saying that to me all the time, you know?

 

Wonpil: if that makes sense.

 

Nayeon: no I get it

 

Nayeon: u have a lot more qualities than just “he's so wholesome uwu”

 

Wonpil: thank you

 

Tzuyu: ok so... uh...

 

Chaeyoung: I like we all just ignored Jihyo asking if we wanted to have a friendly get together

 

Jihyo: that's so mean

 

Dahyun: jihyo, it's more like

 

Dahyun: WAAAHHHH! THAT'S SOO MEAANNN!

 

Nayeon: ing cool it ouma

 

Dahyun: ouma?

 

Tzuyu: you losers really need to play Danganronpa

 

Seulgi: isn't that the one game where all your waifus and husbandos die, apparently

 

Tzuyu: ew who says that

 

Nayeon: changing subject

 

Nayeon: yes, it is that one game. Game series.

 

Seulgi: man I don't need that negative energy in my life

 

Jihyo: I tried playing it, but I cried after Maizono died

 

Dahyun: oh yeah

 

Dahyun: jihyo had a whole breakdown

 

Tzuyu: maizono's a whole anyways

 

Nayeon: CHANGING SUBJECT

 

Nayeon: I'm sure Tzuyu and I can spend some time with you, Jihyo.

 

Nayeon: a mall though?

 

Jihyo: you don't like the mall?

 

Seulgi: buy me an outfit from there

 

Tzuyu: lol buy it yourself sailfish

 

Seulgi: AGAIN WITH THE SAILFISH

 

Sana: Seulgi, come.

 

Seulgi: ?

 

Sana: NOW

 

~~Minatozaki Sana is now offline~~

 

Momo: yeah come to the hotel pls

 

Momo: it's... important

 

~~Hirai Momo is now offline~~

 

Seulgi: uh, peace out

 

~~Kang Seulgi is now offline~~

 

Wonpil: So comeback preparations being made at JYP rn

 

Wonpil: I have to work overtime since I haven't been there lately.

 

Wonpil: Sungjin isn't pleased with me

 

Wonpil: so I won't be able to come

 

Wonpil: @MyouiMina

 

~~Myoui Mina is now online~~

 

Mina: Wonpil?

 

Wonpil: do you want to spend some time with the girls?

 

Mina: a mall?

 

Nayeon: mina's bubble keeps on disappearing

 

Tzuyu: she's really thinking about it

 

Mina: sure

 

Jihyo: YAY! Mina's going to come!

 

Dahyun: so, Jihyo, I, Mina, Nayeon, and Tzuyu are coming. Chaeyoung? Jeongyeon?

 

Jeongyeon: uh

 

Jeongyeon: something important came up

 

Jeongyeon: raincheck?

 

~~Yoo Jeongyeon is now offline~~

 

Dahyun: chae?

 

Chaeyoung: ya, I need a break from Kyungmin anyways

 

Tzuyu: OOF

 

Chaeyoung: no I mean like

 

Chaeyoung: He's my bf and all, but I need to spend some time with my girls.

 

Dahyun: aw <3

 

Tzuyu: ok well

 

Tzuyu: bunny and I are going to go then

 

Tzuyu: what time?

 

Jihyo: like, right now

 

Jihyo: we're heading to the car rn

 

Dahyun: ok jihyo's in the driver's seat already

 

Dahyun: start heading towards the mall

 

Chaeyoung: RACE TIME!

 

Mina: um... I don't have a car.

 

Dahyun: we're coming your way

 

~~Kang Seulgi is now online~~

 

Seulgi: poly?

 

Dahyun: what does that mean?

 

Nayeon: also Jihyo and Dahyun aren't even dating for there to be poly with Mina.

 

Tzuyu: ya lol

 

Seulgi: ok I was joking lol

 

~~Kang Seulgi is now offline~~

 

Tzuyu: alright, let's go

 

------------------------------

 

2:53 PM.

 

Mina heard a knock on her door. Usually, she would wear whatever, but since she's going out with her friends, Mina had put on something more... casual and stylish. She opened her door and saw Jihyo and Dahyun there.

 

“A-Ah.. did you dye your hair, Jihyo?” Mina asked. “I... didn't notice.”

 

“Oh, that's okay,” Jihyo replied. “I don't think we saw each other at all yesterday.”

 

Mina was silent. “You look good.” She said.

 

“A lot of us have brown hair.” Dahyun out loud, looking at Mina. “Jihyo, You, Jeongyeon, Sana, and Nayeon.”

 

“And Tzuyu, Momo, Seulgi, and Wonpil have black hair.” The older girl replied, looking at Dahyun. “Only You and Chaeyoung have different hair colors.”

 

“So I win.” The blonde replied. The Japanese girl was silent. “Should we go now?”

 

Jihyo looked at her. “Yeah, let's go.”

 

------------------------------

 

3:37 PM.

 

Eventually, all of the friends were at the front of the mall. The ones that had chosen to go, of course.

 

“Just six?” Chaeyoung said. “Wow.”

 

The orange-haired girl looked at Dahyun. Chaeyoung.. noticed. It's been 11 days since Dahyun's birthday party, and she's interacted with the girl many times since then. She couldn't see the hurt in Dahyun's eyes anymore, so... she knew what has happened. She's hurt that the girl hasn't told her about their relationship.

 

Chae knows she isn't entitled to that information, but like she had told the blonde that day, it hurts to see her hurt. She thought maybe Dahyun would tell her just to let her know she's okay. But.. she hasn't. And Chaeyoung doesn't like that she hasn't.

 

“3 in Japan, 2 rainchecks,” Nayeon said. “Anyone else wants to leave before we start?”

 

“Even if I wanted to, Jihyo and Dahyun drove me here..” Mina said. “It would take me a long time to get home.”

 

“I see,” Nayeon replied. The Taiwanese girl looked at Nayeon. “Well, obviously they came together, bunny. You saw them walk here.”

 

“What's poly?” Mina asked. “I... saw Seulgi say that in the group chat.”

 

“Ah, it's nothing,” Chaeyoung replied. “Just Seulgi being Seulgi.”

 

“Seulgi.,” Mina replied. “I like her.”

 

All five of the girls looked at her. Not judgmentally, just... surprised. The only one to speak up was Chaeyoung. “Like-like?”

 

“Like-like?” The Japanese girl asked. “What does that mean?”

 

“Do you have a crush on her?” Nayeon asked.

 

The Japanese girl started to blush. “What? No..! I just like her as a friend! She's really nice to me!”

 

“Aww! Mina's so cute when she gets flustered!” Tzuyu teased.

 

Jihyo smiled. “Minguin, it's okay if you romantically like Seulgi.”

 

“I.. don't even know if I have a crush,” Mina replied.

 

“Hey, let's take this talk on the road,” Chaeyoung said. “We've been standing here too long, people are going to think we're weirdos”

 

And with that, the girls entered the mall.

 

They walked around, and Mina continued speaking.

 

“When you say crush... how do you know?” Mina asked.

 

Nayeon spoke up. “Like, when you're close to someone that you like, your heart starts to beat faster. Or for me, anyway, you start to think about them as more than a friend.”

 

“Hey, Minguin?” Tzuyu asked the soon to debut idol. The girl nodded. “Mina likes penguins, and her name is Mina. So, Minguin!”

 

“That's cute!” Nayeon said. “I like it! Minguin!”

 

“I-I didn't want to ask, because I've been your friend for so long... but what are all your nicknames?” Mina asked. “I hear bunny... dubu... chae.. but, any other ones?”

 

“We do have ones for everyone, but we never used them,” Jihyo replied. “You remember Yoda, right?-” The Japanese girl nodded. “-That's what we used to call Tzuyu, but she stopped liking that. Momo's nickname was peach, but she didn't like that. Sana's nickname was... um... nana? I don't remember, honestly, it's been too long. My nickname was..”

 

“ Jigglypuff,” Nayeon said.

 

“Why was it that, anyway?” Jihyo asked.

 

All the girls went silent, but Mina was confused. “Jigglypuff?” 

 

Chaeyoung spoke up. “Well, uh... because..”

 

“You have big s.” Nayeon bluntly stated. “Like, REALLY big s. And, uh... they jiggle.”

 

“Oh my gosh,” Dahyun said. “W-What the heck?” 

 

Jihyo started to blush. “H-Hey..” 

 

The blonde looked at the others (save for Mina) with a scolding expression. “You had the audacity to call her that! TO HER FACE!?”

 

“Hey, Sana came up with it!” Nayeon remarked. “She's the one who made a big deal of Jihyo's s!”

 

“Ugh, Sana's such a ert!” Dahyun said. “I'm really going to give her a stern talking to!”

 

“You sound like a mom,” Tzuyu remarked. “Slow your roll, Dubu.”

 

“I-It's not that I'm ashamed of my s..” Jihyo said all of a sudden. “I... just don't want people to think that they're all there is to me, you know?”

 

“Oh trust me, Jihyo,” Nayeon said. “That's why we ditched Jigglypuff, it was starting to make us feel awful.” 

 

The soon to debut idol nodded. “Thanks.”

 

“What about Jeongyeon?” Mina asked. “Do you have a nickname for her?”

 

“Ah...” Tzuyu thought about it. “Not really. Jeongyeon's kind of boring.”

 

“Yeah, so... no nicknames for her.” Nayeon replied. “Even if we did give her one, she probably would want us to immediately ditch it.”

 

“I dunno... I like Jeongyeon.” Mina replied. “I thought maybe she would like Yeonnie.”

 

“Yeonnie, huh?” Dahyun said. “I called her Jeongyeonnie once.”

 

“You did?” Nayeon asked. “Did she diss you immediately?”

 

“I’m literally one of her best friends, so no, she didn’t,” Dahyun replied.

 

“Ah, so maybe Jeongyeon isn't boring after all!” Tzuyu said.

 

“Hey, do any of you want something?” Jihyo asked, looking at one of the ice cream shops.

 

“I'm good, how about you, honey?” Nayeon asked Tzuyu. The tall girl just shook her head. “Don't feel like getting ice cream.”

 

“Min-” Jihyo noticed that Mina had already made her way inside the shop. “Chaeyoung and Dahyun?”

 

The two girls just shook their heads. The soon to debut idol looked inside the shop. “Okay, I'll go pay for Mina.”

 

Jihyo made her way inside the shop and saw Mina was in the process of ordering a 3-scoop cone. The older girl approached the Japanese girl. She waited until Mina was done ordering, and then she spoke up. “I'll pay for her.”

 

The cashier just nodded, and Jihyo paid with her credit card. The Japanese girl felt a bit sad.

 

“You... didn't have to do that,” Mina said. Jihyo looked at her and spoke. “I pay for the girls all of the time! I haven't paid for you yet, so it's only fair I do it now!”

 

The Japanese girl... appreciated it. Sometimes it's hard to remember that she deserves so many good things. It's so easy to fall back into her mom's words, but she needs to fight. Fight it. Miss Myoui isn't here anymore. Her friends are here. Jihyo's here.

 

“Thank you.” Mina smiled at the girl. “Really, I mean it.”

 

Mina was then handed her cone by the ice cream server, and the two girls headed out of the shop, meeting up with their friends.

 

“Oh hey!” Tzuyu said. “Damn, that cone looks good... Oh well, gotta live with my choices.”

 

 The Japanese girl looked at her cone, then looked at Tzuyu. “Y-You can have it if you want..”

 

The Taiwanese girl REALLY didn't like the thought of just taking away Mina's ice cream. “No. It's yours. Enjoy it, Minguin.”

 

“Okay..” Mina fell silent.

 

“Let's continue, shall we?” Nayeon asked, and the girls continued walking their way through the mall.

 

“Did we just about cover all the nicknames?” Chaeyoung asked. The other girls thought about it. Tzuyu spoke up. “I think that's about it.”

 

The orange-haired girl looked at Dahyun, who was holding hands with Jihyo. The conversations started to diverge, so all she saw was Dahyun smiling and looking at Jihyo with so much love.

 

Just tell me Dahyun. Dammit! Tell me!

 

“Chae, you're about to walk into a tree,” Tzuyu remarked. The girl looked at her confused, and then

 

BAM!

 

“Owwwwww!”

 

Chaeyoung had walked into one of those planted fake trees in the mall, the ones planted inside on those big flower pots. It.. wasn't a pretty sight. Of course, Tzuyu started to laugh, which caught the other girls' attention.

 

“Oh my gosh, Chaeyoung, are you okay?” Jihyo said, running to the girl with concern. 

 

Chaeyoung had fallen down, but she slowly got up. “Y-Yeah, I'm fine. That just took me by surprise.”

 

“It was literally right there!” Tzuyu said between laughs. “You were facing it!”

 

“Okay, well...” Chaeyoung replied. “I was spacing out!”

 

“Why would you space while walking in a crowded mall!?” Dahyun yelled-asked.

 

Of course, this caught the attention of bystanders, who were asking if the girl was okay.

 

“Yeah, don't worry people!” Chaeyoung said. “I'm A-Okay!”

 

The crowd started to dissipate. Tzuyu was still laughing. “I really should have recorded that!”

 

“Oh shut up!” Chaeyoung said, annoyed. “Jeez! Now those people are going to think I'm an idiot!”

 

“Trust me, they don't gotta see that to know,” Tzuyu remarked. The orange-haired girl glared at her. “You !”

 

And then, they heard something rare. Mina laughed. She actually laughed. It was one of the cutest laughs in the world. The one that warms your heart up just by hearing it.

 

It wasn't for long, but it was amazing to hear. This immediately stopped any conflict Chaeyoung and Tzuyu were having, since just hearing Mina's laugh was something special.

 

There was silence between the group. The Japanese girl just continued enjoying her ice cream cone.

 

“A-Anyways,” Nayeon said. “Minguin, you said you like penguins, right?”

 

The Japanese girl nodded. “Yes. I also like swans.”

 

“Swans?” The blonde asked. The Japanese girl nodded again. “I just like them.. is... that bad?”

 

Dahyun shook her head. “No, that's fine! You don't need a reason to like something!”

 

“Okay..” Mina said. They continued walking. The Japanese girl trailed behind a bit just to have a full look at her friends. This... is what she's been missing out on the past three years. Every time they invited her out, and she just rejected them... she was missing out on this. Missing out on hearing their fun conversations, seeing their smiles, feeling their warmth...

 

While Mina was angry at herself for depriving herself of this joy for three years, she was also happy with herself for FINALLY deciding to go out with them. If this is how the rest of their hangouts is going to go, with her interacting with them... she would like to hang out with them more.

 

------------------------------

 

3:52 PM

 

They eventually found themselves inside a store with plushies, and they looked around. Tzuyu was looking for a bunny, while Nayeon looked for a bee. Chaeyoung was.. just walking around the store, not paying attention to anything. Dahyun and Jihyo, however, were looking for one thing, and one thing only: A penguin.

 

Mina had decided to stay behind because she saw something that interested her in another store. They had agreed to still meet up in the front of the plush store, and Mina specifically requested to text her once they're done. She also specified if she doesn't respond or show up in 3 minutes, then they should go look for her.

 

The Japanese girl wandered into a jewelry store, looking at all the pretty necklaces. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, just wanting to see all the pretty things. Then, she received a call. It was from Seulgi, so she immediately picked up.

 

“Hey, girl! I just wanted to check up on you!” Seulgi said. “How's the mall treating you?”

 

“It's been good, Seulgi,” Mina replied. “How about you in Japan? What.. what happened earlier in the group chat”

 

“Ah, it was just a false call. So, we're in Kobe.” Seulgi replied. “The ballet school was in Kobe too... you used to live here, right? In Kobe?”

 

“Y-Yeah, I lived in Kobe before I moved here..” The Japanese girl replied. “

 

“Hey... so... I feel a bit bad that I'm just now asking, but..” The Korean girl sighed. “Where are your parents? I'm... pretty sure you don't talk to them anymore, right?”

 

“...Y-Yeah, I don't.” The younger girl replied. “My father died in 2013... and I lost contact... I-I can't... I can't lie to you, Seulgi.”

 

“Huh?” The older girl said. Mina made sure the jewelry store was empty enough, save for the employee in the front. She moved to the back and started to speak.

 

“When I was young... I used to go to that ballet school.” Mina replied. “M-My mom wanted me to... but as I got older... I slowly stopped liking ballet. I-I couldn't enjoy it, it was hurting me to do it. So... I wanted to leave school. I told my parents that I wanted to leave... M-My dad agreed, but my mom..”

 

Mina could already feel herself shaking. Please no, she thought. Not here. Not now.

 

“My mom... she yelled at me. S-She told me... that I was disgracing our family.. b-because ballet was a family tradition. A-After that... she hated me.” Mina took a deep breath. “And when dad died... I couldn't take it anymore. I had... I had to leave. I-I saved up for the last two years and in 2015... I left..”

 

Mina's voice started to break up, but she kept strong. “A-And.. at the airport, the day that I left.. M-My mom.. she let her true colors out. S-She... told me so much . S-She yelled at me... called me stupid... S-She said... t-that... I was a.. d-d-disappointment.”

 

“Oh my god,” Seulgi said. “Mina... I wish I was there in person. I want to hug you!”

 

“I-It's okay,” Mina replied. She could still feel the tears about to come in, and her shaking hand intensified... but she fought it. Her mother isn't here anymore. Miss Myoui can't hurt her. She's here. Her friends are here. Seulgi's... not here.

 

Oh god. Seulgi isn't here. It's just a phone. She's.. talking to a phone. A phone can't help her. A phone can't hug her and tell her everything's okay. She can't feel comforting warmth from a phone.

 

“A-Ah..” Mina... broke. “I-I wish.. you were here.”

 

Seulgi knew exactly what was going to happen.

 

“Take a deep breath, okay?” Seulgi said. “I know I'm not here, but-”

 

Mina dropped her phone, then.. the tears came. She fell on the ground and huddled into the corner.

 

“Mina?” Seulgi said. “Mina!”

 

It all started to happen again. It was like her mother was here. She could hear it, as clear as day.

 

“You're such a ing disappointment.”

 

Oh god. She's here. She's going to hurt her. Miss Myoui is going to hurt Mina. She started to hyperventilate, and the tears just couldn't stop coming. The employee in the front didn't even hear her, they must have gone away.

 

She's... alone. Mina's alone, and her mother's going to hurt her. Why? Why did this happen? She… she could see her. She could see feet just in her vision. Her mother... she's going to hurt her.

 

“Mina!” A very familiar voice said. It's not... her. It isn't Miss Myoui. Who is it? The figure knelt down.

 

“J-Jihyo..” Mina just made out. The older girl hugged the younger girl. “It's okay, you're okay. I'm here.”

 

Jihyo's here...

 

Jihyo's here.

 

Jihyo... her warmth. Her soothing voice reminding Mina that she's okay. That Jihyo is here for her. Miss Myoui isn't here. Not anymore. Mina doesn't hear her voice anymore. All she hears now is

 

“I'm here for you, Mina. You're okay. It's going to be okay.”

 

------------------------------

 

4:15

 

Jihyo held Mina until she stopped crying. God, it hurt her to see Mina this way. Just a few minutes ago she heard Mina laugh for the first time. And now.. she's seeing Mina in pain.

 

The Japanese girl didn't say anything, she just wanted to be held by Jihyo. The rest of the girls had already arrived, but they hadn't said anything. Dahyun was holding a big penguin plushie Jihyo had bought for Mina. They had planned on finding the girl and surprising her with it... but that didn't happen.

 

“...Jihyo.” Mina said. “T-Thank you.”

 

“You're welcome,” Jihyo replied. “Can you stand up?”

 

The older girl got up and helped the Japanese girl up. She wiped some of Mina's leftover tears away.

 

“You're okay, Mina,” Jihyo said. The Japanese girl looked at her. “I... need to talk to you... you and Dahyun.”

 

Chaeyoung wanted to say something, but Dahyun immediately walked over to Mina. The orange-haired girl sighed. She saw this breakdown too, so why was Mina just counting only Jihyo and Dahyun? Her, Nayeon, and Tzuyu saw it! How rude! Mina's so-

 

“Let's give them some space,” Nayeon said. “Come on you two.”

 

“What?” Chaeyoung said. “You did see that too, right?”

 

“Yes, but I'm not going to make a big deal of it,” Nayeon replied. “It's Mina we're talking about.”

 

“...” The orange-haired girl groaned in frustration and walked out. Mina... had seen this interaction.

 

“W-What's-” a sniff. “her deal?” Mina asked. The bunny girl looked at the Japanese girl. “I don't know. I'll go talk to her.”

 

As Nayeon walked out of the store, she heard the blonde telling Mina about the penguin plush.

 

“Ok, so lo-”

 

“Son Chaeyoung, just WHAT is your problem?!” Nayeon said.

 

“Ugh,” Chaeyoung replied. “Now you're going to try and act like the oldest?”

 

“Just...” The bunny girl sighed. “Look, you know how Mina is.”

 

“It's...” The orange-haired girl slowly calmed herself. “It's not Mina. It's Jihyo and Dahyun.”

 

“What?” The older girl said. “I don't understand.”

 

“You know how Dahyun has been in love with..” Chaeyoung moved closer to Nayeon so no one could hear their conversation. “In love with Jihyo for such a long time? I know you weren't there when Dahyun was depressed, but... it was really bad. So, when I saw Dahyun on her birthday... I saw the same pain in her eyes that she had so many years ago. And I knew it was because she was hiding her feelings for Jihyo. So... I told her that she needed to confess her feelings to Jihyo. For her sake, so she would stop hurting. And... I see it. Dahyun isn't hurting anymore, so... that means she must be together with Jihyo now.”

 

“But why would that frustrate you?” Nayeon asked. 

 

The orange-haired girl sighed. “Because... Dahyun knows how concerned I am for her... and now that she's happy, she should at least tell me that she's okay now, because... as far as she concerned, I could still be worried sick for her.”

 

The bunny girl nodded. “Okay. Apologize to Mina, though. She doesn't deserve any ill will right now.” The younger girl walked back inside the shop with Nayeon.

 

To their surprise, Mina was tightly hugging the penguin plush, while Jihyo and Dahyun were talking to Tzuyu. The three girls faced Chaeyoung.

 

“Hey, Chae, are you okay?” Dahyun asked. 

 

The orange-haired girl looked at her. “Can I talk to you in private, Dahyun?” 

 

The blonde looked at her girlfriend. “Go, Dubu, we'll be okay here,” Jihyo replied. 

 

Chaeyoung exited, and Dahyun followed her out.

 

“What is it, Chae?” Dahyun asked. 

 

The orange-haired girl looked at her. “It almost feels like you forget our conversation on your birthday.”

 

The blonde fell silent. “I-I didn't forget.” 

 

Chaeyoung groaned. “Dahyun, I don't want to see you hurt. And... I don't see that pain in your eyes anymore. I just see happiness in them now, so I know. You told Jihyo, didn't you?”

 

Dahyun just looked at her, and the orange-haired girl continued. “You told Jihyo about your feelings, and she felt the same way, right?”

 

“...” The blonde's stare almost turned into a glare. “Chae, please drop this.”

 

“But I'm concerned about you, Dahyun!” Chaeyoung replied.

 

“Don't worry about me, okay?” The blonde said. “I'm fine now, okay?”

 

Chaeyoung fell silent. So.. Dahyun wasn't going to tell her about their relationship, then. Fine. Guess she'll just wait until she does.

 

“Okay.” The orange-haired girl said. “I'm glad that you aren't hurting, Dahyun.”

 

Back in the shop, Mina was still silently hugging the penguin plush. Jihyo... bought this for her. She truly cares about Mina. Jihyo...

 

“Hey, Minguin,” Jihyo said. “I would like to follow up on that talk.”

 

The girl looked at her. “Okay.”

 

Mina looked at her phone, seeing the call with Seulgi was still going on.

 

“Seulgi..?” Mina asked, picking her phone up.

 

“Oh my god..” Seulgi said. “I-I heard you... then I-I heard voices.. and I didn't know what was going on.”

 

“Why.. didn't you hang up?” Mina asked. There was silence on the other line, and then she spoke up.

 

“Even if I'm not there physically, I won't just abandon you, Mina,” Seulgi replied. “You're okay now, right?”

 

The girl nodded, but then she realized Seulgi couldn't see that. “Yes. Thank you, Seulgi.”

 

“...what? …really? ...ugh.” Seulgi spoke into the phone more directly. “So sorry, Mina, but I have to go. Sana and Momo found something that seems pretty urgent.”

 

“It's okay,” Mina said. “Jihyo's here. A-And the others too. I'll be fine. You can go now.”

 

Seulgi hung up. Jihyo was respectful and waited for the conversation to end, and then she spoke up. “Is there somewhere you would like to go? Maybe place that you feel safe in.”

 

“Ah...” Mina fell silent, then spoke up. “My forest.”

 

“Forest?” Jihyo said. The Japanese girl nodded. “Yeah.”

 

Without even thinking, Mina intertwined her hand with Jihyo's and led the girl away from the shop.

 

------------------------------

 

FRIENDIES!

 

Nayeon: lol so jihyo and mina just totally dipped

 

Nayeon: like, they were holding hands and everything

 

Seulgi: oh so it's jihyo and mina?

 

Seulgi: JiNa?

 

Seulgi: MiHyo

 

Seulgi: MiHyo!

 

Chaeyoung: also Dahyun's following them lol

 

Dahyun: idk where they're going but Mina said it was fine I follow them so

 

Jeongyeon: ok so

 

Jeongyeon: turns out what I thought was an emergency was actually nothing.

 

Seulgi: lol what was it

 

Jeongyeon: turns out seungyeon is a drama queen

 

Jeongyeon: sigh stupid sister

 

Seulgi: hey I just realized how unoriginal your parents are

 

Jeongyeon: what?

 

Seulgi: Jeongyeon, Seungyeon

 

Seulgi: names end with YEON

 

Jeongyeon: ah...

 

Jeongyeon: well.

 

Jeongyeon: my birth name is actually Yoo Kyungwan

 

Seulgi: Kyungwan?

 

Seulgi: holy crap I think I've dated a girl named Kyungwan at one point

 

Seulgi: damn, I love that name.

 

Seulgi: such a nice girl's name

 

Jeongyeon: GIRL'S NAME?

 

Jeongyeon: KYUNGWAN IS A GOOD GIRL'S NAME?

 

Dahyun: lol seulgi u just opened a can of worms.

 

Jeongyeon: kids used to bully me because they thought Kyungwan sounded like a boy's name

 

Seulgi: lol what a bunch of kids

 

Seulgi: so then you renamed yourself?

 

Jeongyeon: yeah

 

Jeongyeon: I really looked up to Seungyeon, so I thought “Why not just change my name to Jeongyeon?”

 

Jeongyeon: I don't regret it, honestly.

 

Seulgi: meh you don't really look like a Kyungwan anyways

 

Seulgi: Jeongyeon definitely fits you better

 

Jeongyeon: thank you

 

------------------------------

 

4:52 PM

 

Eventually, Jihyo, Dahyun, and Mina ended up in the forest. Of course, Jihyo drove them.

 

“I've seen this forest before,” Jihyo said. “I always thought it looked pretty.”

 

Mina nodded. “It really is.”

 

The Japanese girl led the two girls over to her favorite spot. The blonde commented. “So, you spend a lot of time in this specific spot?”

 

The brown-haired Japanese girl nodded. “Usually when I need to take a break for everything.”

 

“It's so beautiful out here,” Dahyun replied. “You picked a good place.”

 

Mina frowned. “Ah, I didn't bring my blanket..”

 

“Blanket?” Jihyo asked. The Japanese girl nodded. “I usually set a blanket down here so I can lie down.”

 

Dahyun smiled as she saw the sun. “We don't need to lie down.”

 

She walked over to Mina. “Have you ever just wanted to play around here? Run around, enjoy the outside?”

 

The Japanese girl thought about it. “I-I haven't really thought about that.”

 

“Okay,” Dahyun said. “Then... catch me if you can!”

 

The blonde took off. Jihyo smiled. “I see what she's doing.” Mina looked at her. “Huh?”

 

The older girl smiled at her. “Follow her. This is going to be fine, I promise.”

 

Jihyo started to chase after Dahyun, and Mina stood there. So... this is what it's like. Like Wonpil said... Jihyo, Dahyun, Him, Seulgi, all of her other friends.. they care for her.

 

Why spend so much time in the darkness, when you can live your life in the light?

 

Mina took off, following the other girls. For the first time in forever, she felt like she could run for a good reason. She was running towards the bright future ahead.

 

Myoui Mina is going to be okay.