Jihyo had never been so nervous in her entire life.

Standing in front of Mina's house, she couldn't help her increased heartbeat and her quickened breath, just as she couldn't stop her hands from shaking or her lip-biting. 

The silence of the night was not helping her either; it only made the thumping of her heart more and more audible and that was the last Jihyo needed at that moment.

She knew she couldn't mess up this time; it was her only chance to get her life back, be happy again.

And when Jihyo thought about her happiness, the image of Mina smiling was the first thing that crossed her mind.

Then, it was Mina holding her hand or laughing at something she said.

Jihyo missed her.

So badly.

The talk with Dahyun had changed it all for her; if Jihyo had a chance to make things right between them, she couldn't let it pass away.

But why would Mina even forgive her?

She thought she didn't deserve her forgiveness, but then again Mina deserved to know why Jihyo acted the way she did.

What if Mina blamed herself?

The mere thought made Jihyo's heart clench so hard she felt like she couldn't breathe anymore.

She needed to tell her the truth. 

Jihyo sighed heavily as she tried to find the strength to bring herself to knock on the door in front of her; she had been to Mina's many times, but never had it been so nerve-wracking for her to knock on that wooden door.

She felt like the whole world was about to crumble down at her feet. 

Was she doing the right thing? 

She told herself she was, but fear was getting the best of her thoughts. 

She shook her head at her own indecisiveness; she needed to do this. 

There was no coming back now.

With a last sigh, closing her eyes as if it would make things easier, she knocked on the door and waited.

She couldn't tell how long it took for it to open, but to Jihyo, it felt like a whole lifetime.

Still, when she heard the sound of the handle being pulled, she widened her eyes and looked at the other end of it, biting the inside of her cheek when she finally saw Mina.

It was the most beautiful sight her eyes had ever been blessed with.

Suddenly, Jihyo's eyes got watery and she couldn't help but feel like she had been a fool; the biggest one that had ever stepped foot on earth.

How could she think she could go on without her? 

Mina was silent, but it was evident she wasn't expecting Jihyo to visit her. 

Jihyo didn't blame her for being confused; she hoped Mina wasn't blaming her for breaking down in tears the moment she saw her after acting like she didn't know her for weeks.

Everything became blurry as Jihyo kept standing still in front of Mina, unable to say anything in between her sobs.

However, everything felt better when she felt two arms engulfing her in a hug — a much needed hug from the person she had missed the most. 

A hug that she believed she didn't deserve, but feeling Mina so close to her, her perfume filling her and the feeling of safety Mina provided her with was something she couldn't refuse. 

"I'm so sorry," she was able to say, while tears kept wetting her cheeks and Mina's pyjamas.

She couldn't tell what was happening; one moment she was crying in Mina's arms, the next the younger girl was leading her inside her house, in the living room.

"Can I bring you something to eat?"

Jihyo didn't answer; she was too lost in Mina's features to concentrate on anything else.

Was it possible that she had gotten even prettier in just a few weeks?

Had she been so pretty all along?

Was Jihyo always more and more in love with Mina?

Yes, she was.

The thought made her heart clench; how could she ever think avoiding Mina could make her feelings go away?

Now, looking her in the eyes, Jihyo knew her feelings were still there and they had only gotten stronger and stronger.

"I'm a fool" she thought as she scratched the back of her hand, looking at the ground in shame. She couldn't believe her own self.

Was it normal to feel like this? 

"Hyo?"

The softness in which Mina spoke and the familiarity of the nickname made Jihyo's thoughts come to a halt.

She looked up at Mina, her hands trembling; she inhaled deeply.

The younger girl repeated her question and this time Jihyo registered her voice and shook her head decisively.

"I'm fine, thank you."

There was an awkward silence and Jihyo found herself stealing some glances at Mina, hoping the girl wouldn't catch her.

However, Mina did catch her and to Jihyo's surprises, she erupted in a fit of giggles, while the older girl widened her eyes and apologised.

"You can look at me, Hyo. I won't get angry, I swear."

Jihyo couldn't understand why Mina was being so kind to her, as if she hadn't been avoiding her for weeks.

"Mina, why aren't you angry at me?"

The girl seemed surprised by her question; Jihyo wasn't quite understanding what was happening.

Mina should be yelling at her, telling her she didn't want anything to do with someone like her; instead there she was, smiling at her as if Jihyo hadn't hurt her.

She thought she should be glad Mina wasn't angry at her; yet, she couldn't bring herself to accept it.

Mina deserved better than what Jihyo did to her.

She saw Mina get up from the sofa where she was sitting opposite to Jihyo; as she slowly walked towards her and sat next to her, the older girl felt herself becoming more and more nervous, unable to control her trembling hands.

Mina looked down at them and then back at Jihyo, smiling softly as she suddenly reached for them and held them in hers.

Jihyo felt a blush crept up her cheeks; she missed Mina's tender touch.

She missed the way she would look at her; her eyes glistening every time they met Jihyo's.

And she missed the way her lips would curl up in a reassuring smile, just so she could let Jihyo know that everything was okay.

"Did you really think I'd be angry at you?" 

Jihyo couldn't help but notice how gentle her voice was; it was barely a murmur, but she could hear it loud and clear.

The older girl opened to answer, but she found herself unable to say anything.

She was at a loss of words.

Why wouldn't she think Mina would be angry at her? After the way she had acted?

Even Dahyun had told her she had broken Mina's heart.

So why wasn't she angry?

Jihyo froze as Mina's hand slowly graced her cheek as she had done a million times before; still, every time she did, Jihyo's hear would flutter and the girl felt as if the world had just stopped.

She had always wished she could be able to stop time and live those moments for a bit longer. 

"I've known you since we were kids; you have always cared about me even before I opened up to you and let you in. You would never hurt me intentionally so it's okay."

Jihyo didn't say anything, but she kept listening to her words as tears welled up in the corner of her eyes.

"I noticed that something was troubling you and I knew that you needed time to deal with things on your own; I was hurt when you started avoiding me, but then I remembered all the things you've done for me and I thought it was my time to return the favour by letting you take your distance from me."

She was crying now, and when Mina noticed, she seemed to panic at first; that made a small laugh leave Jihyo's lips. 

When she looked at her again, Mina was smiling and that smile was enough to make Jihyo feel lighter.

"Still, what I did was wrong; you didn't deserve that, Mina."

Jihyo's voice was broken and she couldn't really look Mina in the eyes. 

Even though she now knew Mina wasn't mad at her, she couldn't help but blame herself for hurting her.

Hate herself because she was about to lose her.

"It's okay, Hyo. It doesn't matter; I forgive you."

This time, Jihyo snapped her head up to look at Mina, agape.

"You do?" she asked in disbelief, but Mina simply nodded her head while Jihyo was left trying to comprehend what was happening.

Did Mina really forgive her? After what she had done?

"But I hurt you, Mina."

The words left involuntarily and she was surprised to hear herself saying that; however, Mina didn't seemed phased at all.

"You were hurting too, Jihyo."

This time, the older girl shook her head; thoughts were swarming in her head and they weren't letting her rest.

"Why are you so understanding? You should hate me!"

Jihyo's hands flew to as she heard herself raise her voice at Mina; she quickly apologised to her, while her eyes were shaking and she couldn't understand what had taken over her.

Mina grabbed her by the shoulders; her grip was firm, but her touch was still tender, calming to Jihyo.

She smiled sadly at her and Jihyo sniffed, closing her eyes and resting her head on Mina's shoulder.

"Stop hating yourself for what you did, Jihyo, because I don't." Jihyo let the tears flow from her eyes, feeling her breath getting heavier. "I know you think I should be hating you because that's how you feel towards yourself, but I swear I still care about you and I would never be able to hate you."

There was a beat of silence before Mina spoke again and what she said warmed Jihyo's heart.

"I'll always care about you."

It was barely a whisper, but since Jihyo was laying her head on Mina's shoulder, she was able to catch her words and she smiled sadly.

She would always care about her too.

Mina let Jihyo rest on her shoulder for a little longer, resting her cheek on her head while she played with Jihyo's hair, knowing well it was the best way to calm her.

When Jihyo stopped crying and her breath became steady again, Mina called her name and the girl looked up at her, detaching her body from hers.

"Can I ask you something?" Mina asked her and Jihyo instantly noticed the insecurity in her voice.

She was quick to nod her head and get ahold of Mina's hands, squeezing them lightly. 

"You can ask me anything, you know that."

Mina smiled at her and seemed to ponder on her next words. Even if Jihyo would never admit it, she was nervous.

"Do you remember when you said one day you’d tell me what was going on with you? Why you were always spacing out? Do you think you're ready to tell me?"

Jihyo could easily play dumb, tell her she had no idea of what she was talking about to avoid answering her, telling her the truth.

But she knew what Mina was referring to and she was aware that she couldn't lie to her; this time, Jihyo had to be honest with her.

This time, she couldn't run away from her feelings. 

No, she could not.

Jihyo had thought many times about how she would confess to Mina, but the fear of Mina's reaction always stopped her.

She dreamed about it too.

Once she imagined they were having a sleepover at her place; they were watching a film together and when the main characters kissed, Jihyo finally told Mina how she felt.

Another time, they were walking back home together after a long day at school; Mina was complaining about how hard her Math class was and Jihyo was squeezing her hand.

They saw an old couple walk hand in hand; Mina would joke about how they looked like them, Jihyo would tell her she wished they would be like them one day.

She also dreamed they were having dinner together; they were at Mina's place and the younger girl had cooked for Jihyo.

She would comment on how Mina was the perfect girl to marry and then she told her she wished she could be the one marrying her.

Those were just a few of the many dreams Jihyo had about the two of them in which she ended up confessing; however, she would always wake up before Mina could say anything.

Even in her own dreams, Jihyo was scared to see what Mina's reaction would be like.

She knew that it was now or never, yet she couldn't stop thinking about how she had just gotten her friendship with Mina back and she risked losing her again.

Jihyo knew Mina would never stop being her best friend even if she didn't return her feelings; still, something would change between them, and Jihyo didn't like changes.

She wished she could stop time and live this moment forever.

The moment before the truth, when she would finally discover what Mina's reaction to her feelings would be. 

Jihyo had thought she couldn't be more nervous than she had been when she was about to knock on Mina's door just half a hour before; nonetheless, she had been proven wrong. 

Her hands resumed their shaking and her eyelids felt heavy. 

She was about to pass out.

A soft voice made her come back to her senses.

"If you're not ready, you don't have to."

Jihyo shook her head; she couldn't avoid this.

She had to tell Mina the truth; if she didn't do it now, then she would never do it.

She knew herself too well.

She took a deep breath; she was doing this for Mina and for Dahyun.

But mostly, she was doing it for herself.

A life spent hiding her feelings could not be considered living.

"There's something I need to tell you." Jihyo was a bundle of nerves, her hands closed in a fist and she was biting her lower lip while she tried to stop her leg from bouncing up and down.

Mina kept smiling at her and it made Jihyo calm down a bit.

There was something in her eyes — perhaps, the way she was looking so gently at Jihyo as if nothing in the world could ever make her hate her — that made Jihyo think it was going to be okay.

She could do this.

"I've been keeping it in for awhile now, and I hope you won't see me differently after I tell you," she said as her voice broke a little; nevertheless, Jihyo knew there was nothing that would make Mina change the view she had of her.

Mina was too kind, too good; now that she thought about it, when you meet someone like her, it's impossible not to fall in love. 

The thought made her smile a little; it was easy to love Mina when she was the most amazing person Jihyo had ever met.

As Mina kept looking expectantly at her, Jihyo knew she had to do it now.

The thought that once her words would be out she wouldn't be able to take them back scared her to death.

But the thought of hiding her feelings forever made her feel much worse.

Jihyo needed this.

She needed to tell Mina the truth.

It took her awhile to come to this realisation, but now that she knew what she had to do everything was crystal clear to her.

The key to happiness is the truth.

Jihyo was one step away from her happiness.

Whether Mina would return her feelings or not, she wouldn't have to live in fear of the younger girl discovering them anymore. 

Even if it wasn't going to end up as she wanted, she would know she tried.

She would have no regrets.

So, she finally took that step; she didn't know what was going to happen, but she knew it was the right thing.

As she kept scratching the back of her hand, she looked Mina in the eyes and she told her what she had been keeping in for the longest of times. 

The one thing she thought she would never be able to tell her out loud and yet there she was, finally opening her heart to her.

She smiled at Mina as she looked at her in a lovingly way and she did it.

She said it.

"I'm in love with you."

A simple sentence that would change her life forever.