When Mina heard a knock on her door, she furrowed her eyebrows, wondering who it could be. As far as she knew, she was not expecting any visits — both Chaeyoung and Dahyun told her they couldn't come over that night, and as her parents were out of town, again, she guessed they wouldn't have anyone over either.

Nevertheless, Mina paused the anime she had been watching up until then — a frown crossing her features seeing as she would have been seeing the fight between the hero and its antagonist if it had not been for whoever had decided to knock at her door at that very moment —  before getting up.

As she walked to the door, she hated how silent it had suddenly become; she was home alone — her parents had left for another one of their work trips — and she was left behind to "take care of the house".

Usually, Mina would spend the night at Jihyo's whenever this happened; the girl's house feeling like home to her more than the house she grew up in ever did. Mina guessed it was because there she felt like she was actually loved and accepted for who she was, instead of feeling like a weight someone had to carry just because they made the mistake of having her.

However, going to Jihyo's place was not an available option anymore seeing as it had been weeks since they had last talked, so Mina had no choice but stay home alone, even if the mere idea made her uneasy.

Still, Mina told herself that it was time for her to get over her fear of loneliness and learn how to be by herself.

It should be easy, shouldn't it?

Mina found out that there were a lot of things she could do to pass the time; one of them being binge-watching the new season of her favourite anime that had just got out.

Sure, she wouldn't have minded having some company — perhaps, someone she could comment the show with, even if the had no idea about what was happening, like Jihyo — but Mina convinced herself that it was fine like that, even if it was lonely.

After all, Mina had been feeling quite lonely for awhile already; it was nothing new. 

Ever since Jihyo had started avoiding her, Mina felt like something was missing from her life; it didn't take her much to realise that it was the happiness and warmth Jihyo provided her with by simply being by her side.

Now that Jihyo wasn't talking to her anymore, Mina was heartbroken. And the fact she had no clue about what happened between them which made Jihyo distance herself from her made it even worse.

Simply because Mina wished she could make things right again so that she could get her Jihyo back.

Don't get her wrong; Mina did not blame Jihyo. 

She wasn't angry at her nor did she hate her.

How could she? 

Mina knew her better than she knew her own self, and if there was one thing she was sure of that was Jihyo being the kindest person she had ever met.

She was the one that had taught her how to ride a bicycle so that Mina and her could ride around the city; back then, she was only seven and Jihyo herself found it troublesome to ride a bike. Yet, she still made an effort.

When Mina asked Jihyo if she wanted to go to the movies with her and watch the new movie of The Avangers, Jihyo watched all the ones that had been put our before and did some research on the comic books version, so that she could go and later comment it with her; all of that in two days in which she should have been studying for their finals, but did not. 

Jihyo convinced Mina's parents to make the two of them fly back to Japan in occasion of an event about Mina's favourite anime that she swore they couldn't miss; in reality, Jihyo had made that up so that Mina could go back to Japan as she missed it. The younger girl had yet to understand how her best friend had been able to make them come round since she knew how strict and stubborn her parents were.

Whenever Mina had some problems — even before she herself acknowledged the fact she was having a hard time —Jihyo was the first to notice; she didn't know how, but in the end Jihyo would always be able to find a solution, to make her heart feel lighter. 

Overall, even a simple gesture coming from her — whether it was a smile, or a wave when they crossed paths going to school— could make her day a thousand times better.

Mina knew there was no way the girl would ever hurt her purposely; Jihyo was just too good, and she liked to think that she cared about her. A lot of things told her that she really did.

Plus, Mina had noticed that there was something wrong with Jihyo a long time ago; something that seemed to trouble the girl more than she wanted to show, or admit to herself and the people around her.

She could tell by the way the older girl would always zone out, getting trapped in her own mind; she had never told Jihyo, but the way her eyes would suddenly lose their usual light to a blankness she could not recognise as part of her always made her heart ache in ways she could not explain.

At first, the fact that she knew that Jihyo was not okay, but she still couldn't do anything about it broke her heart; then, she started being mad at her since she was not opening up and that was mainly the reason why she could not help her in any way, until Mina understood that there was only one way for her to be next to Jihyo, and that was exactly by not being physically by her side, letting her best friend distance herself from her in order to be better.

If you were to ask her why she needed to give her space, Mina wouldn't know what to answer; however, she knew Jihyo would never give up their friendship for nothing. 

If she had started avoiding her, there must be some kind of reasoning behind it that would explain it all.

Mina trusted Jihyo.

If Jihyo needed to be on her own to solve her problems, then Mina would help her by not looking for her.

She couldn't even remember how many times she had been tempted to call her name whenever she saw her passing by in the school's corridor; it was something that came natural to her, yet she had to refrain herself. 

She knew Jihyo would explain everything to her once she was ready; she didn't know when, but Mina was willing to wait for her.

Of course she would wait for her; it was Jihyo, after all, and Mina treasured her more than anything.

Jihyo would come back to her; that, Mina was sure of.

And she was proven right the moment she looked through the peephole of the door and saw her there: her Jihyo.

She had to look twice to make sure it was actually her and not her mind playing tricks on her.

She had to pinch her arm three times to make sure that was not a dream and she was still awake.

She felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips, her eyes almost watering; then, when she looked again, she notice how fidgety the girl was, keeping her head low, almost in shame.

It was almost if she was scared, or worried; Mina didn't like it.

She didn't like to know Jihyo was still struggling, but at the same time the fact that she came knocking at her door made her hopeful; was she ready to share her fears with her?

Mina hoped she would. All she ever wanted was to help Jihyo feel better.

When she opened the door, she kept a neutral expression, but couldn't help the surprise when Jihyo looked up and their eyes met; her heartbeat quickening instantly in her chest.

Jihyo was about to cry, Mina could tell, and she had to try so hard not to break down as well.

She had to be strong, for her.

As tears started flowing down her cheeks, Mina's heart clenched at the sight.

Mina didn't know why Jihyo was crying, she didn't know what had been troubling her, but all of that didn't matter in that moment. Mina did not care.

What she cared about was the fact that Jihyo was standing next to her, that she came to her and now it was Mina's job to help her just like Jihyo had done with her so many times in the past. 

She didn't think twice before bringing Jihyo's body closer to her, embracing her tightly and letting the girl rest her head on her chest.

They stood in that position for some minutes, Mina couldn't really tell how much time had passed; she really didn't care. However, when she saw Jihyo's body shiver because of the cold, she rushed her inside, closing the door behind and letting her sit on the sofa — the anime she had been watching long forgotten.

She called for her two times, before the girl eventually came back to her senses; Mina couldn't help but think she looked like a deer caught in red lights, fidgeting and stealing glances at her every now and then.

Mina thought it was adorable in a way, thus she couldn't help the fit of giggle that followed after Jihyo tried to subtly look at her without being noticed; she was really bad at being subtle, she noticed.

The whole situation became even funnier when the older girl apologised, as if she had done something wrong.

It was entertaining, Mina thought, because Jihyo was acting like she had forgotten they had been best friends for the longest time and she didn't have to be careful around her.

Not then, not ever.

When Jihyo asked her why she wasn't angry at her, Mina was surprised.

Did Jihyo think she would?

Truthfully, at first she was, but then she came back to her senses; she remembered it was Jihyo they were talking about. 

The same Jihyo whom she truly loved. 

There was nothing she could do to make her angry, not even start avoiding her.

As if her body had gotten a life of its own, Mina stood up and went to sit next to Jihyo; now that she was closer to the girl, she could see how nervous she was.

Mina hated it, knowing Jihyo was nervous because of her; or better, because she was blaming herself unfairly for something Mina wasn't even holding against her.

She brought her hands closer to Jihyo's to hold them, a spontaneous smile appearing on her lips when their eyes met, almost as if nothing had happened between them.

Because to Mina, nothing happened.

Jihyo was still the most important person of her life, the one she treasured the most.

Tightening her hold on Jihyo's hands, she tried to reassure her as best as she could; Mina had never been good at expressing her emotions, but in some ways Jihyo had always been able to understand her.

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

The mere thought that Jihyo must have been blaming herself for that hurt Mina more than she thought it would.

Out of habit, she brought a hand to Jihyo's cheek; she would be a liar if she said she didn't miss such contact.

Of course she did.

She told her what she had been keeping in for a while, those same thoughts that she had a hard time organising in her mind; hoping they'd sound more rational to Jihyo. 

Knowing Jihyo would understand.

She had to stop her voice from breaking a few times when she saw the vulnerability in Jihyo's eyes as she spoke until the girl started crying and Mina felt a pang in her heart, uncertain of what to do.

Her words were supposed to make her feel better, yet there she was crying because of them.

Jihyo rarely cried; she was always that type of person to act strong even when no one told her she had to. Perhaps, it was because she thought she didn't have to show people that she was vulnerable. Mina believed it was a pity; her vulnerability was one of the things she loved the most about her.

It reminded her of how sensitive Jihyo truly was. 

Mina smiled when Jihyo looked up at her, and when she kept trying to apologise, Mina told her what she needed to hear ever since she had gotten there.

"I forgive you."

But truth was, Mina didn't even need to forgive Jihyo, because she simply was never mad at her.

She knew deep down that Jihyo's words were not incorrect, that there was some truth underneath them, and that Jihyo hadn't definitely acted fairly with her those past few weeks, but she still didn't care. 

Jihyo had made a mistake, but to Mina it was okay. 

Everyone did and she hated that Jihyo was putting too much stress on herself for doing something she couldn't help.

Mina knew better than anyone that when you're at your lowest, you can make foolish decisions, rushed ones that you end up regretting and you have no idea how to make up for.

When Jihyo raised her voice at her, all Mina wanted to do was to hold her and tell her she needed to stop blaming herself. In a way, that's what she did.

Jihyo was a bit shaken up when she grabbed her by the shoulders, and she herself was surprised when she heard how firm her voice was.

As Jihyo broke down in tears against her shoulder, her voice softened instantly, and she stopped for a second, before letting her heart speak for herself.

"I'll always care about you."

Mina didn't mean for it to come out in a whisper, but she hoped Jihyo heard her.

She needed her to know that she always would.

A peaceful silence settled between them, Mina allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts as she combed through Jihyo's hair. 

There was something she had to ask Jihyo before it was too late, the one thing that kept her up at night and didn't allow her to be there for Jihyo how she ough to be as her best friend.

When she noticed Jihyo's breath became steady again, Mina decided to take a risk and ask her.

However, she suddenly regretted it when she caught her eyes lose focus and the girl slowly getting trapped in her mind. 

Mina didn't want for it to happen again.

"If you're not ready, you don't have to," she was able to get out in a rushed voice, her heartbeat going crazy because of her nerves. Nevertheless, she was surprised when she saw the girl shaking her head.

Was it really happening? 

Would Mina find the truth? Would she finally be able to help Jihyo?

Jihyo was a bundle of nerves when she spoke, so was Mina, but as she felt Jihyo's legs bouncing up and down next to hers, showing her how nervous the girl was, she tried her best to smile at her, and as her eyes and Jihyo's locked, Mina felt all that nervousness fading away.

Why was she even nervous?

Nothing Jihyo could say was going to change things between them, wasn't it?

Or maybe that's exactly what Mina was hoping would happen. 

Maybe that's exactly why Mina was nervous.

Perhaps, she had been trying so hard to understand what was going with her, because in the deepest depths of her heart, Mina hoped it would be what she had waited to hear her say for years.

What she herself had always wanted to tell Jihyo, but she had never found the courage to; perhaps because the mere thought of losing Jihyo because of it scared her to the point where Mina would try to avoid thinking about it as much as she could.

As if she could keep her feelings stored in a box and put them away until she stopped being a coward.

As if she could act like Jihyo wasn't the best thing that had ever happened to her and she was not in love with her.

Foolish thoughts she had pushed upon herself.

Oh, how foolish it was of her to deny herself from the pleasure of loving Jihyo.

Of screaming it to the whole world.

Because deep down that's what Mina had always wanted. She wanted the whole world to know how hopelessly in love she was with Park Jihyo.

It all happened in a rush after she came to that realisation; one moment Mina was thinking about how much she loved Jihyo, the second she heard the girl say the one thing that Mina thought she would only hear her say in her deepest dreams.

"I'm in love with you."

At that point, Mina didn't know what to say; she felt like cursing herself when tears started flowing down her cheeks and she saw Jihyo look at her alarmed, a wave of regret flashing across her face.

Mina took a deep breath as she kept tearing up and Jihyo looked at her confusedly when she smiled brightly at her.

Tears were wetting her cheeks, but Mina had never smiled so widely. 

She thought she must have looked silly, but she had just found out that Jihyo returned her feelings so why would she care? 

"I can't believe you made me stress for your well-being for that," she was able to say when she stopped sobbing; the smile on her lips was only getting bigger and Mina had never felt so happy.

Everything was coming back together.

Before, she felt like her life was missing its most important piece; now, everything was perfect.

She had never felt so alive.

Just like she had never seen Jihyo look so confused.

And what better occasion to about it? After all, Mina loved making her blush.

"Oh God, this is going to change a lot of things between us," her voice was vibrant and she giggled when she saw Jihyo widen her eyes in pure fear.

She was too cute.

So cute that Mina'a heart was about to explode in her chest.

"Wait, what? But why are you smili—"

Jihyo never got to finish her sentence, not when Mina's lips suddenly clashed with hers, but she didn't mind; Mina could tell by the way she instantly kissed her back, so needful.

It was just like she had always dreamt of, only this time it was true.

This time she could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins, her heart bursting out of her chest and happiness overflowing in her veins.

And all of it was true.

In need of air, Mina detached her lips from Jihyo's, already missing the feeling of wholeness she felt when she was kissing her, when she realised that she loved her back.

She rested her forehead on Jihyo's; the girl was panting and smiling like she had never done before.

It was radiant, just like her.

"Does that mean you love me back?" Jihyo asked in between giggles.

Mina giggled and nodded her head before casting a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"It does," she told her, before laying down on the sofa, Jihyo mirroring her actions. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the crook of Jihyo's neck, feeling at peace for the first time in a long time. "Now, hold me tight, please."

Jihyo didn't say anything; she simply held her through the night as she always did.

Only this time she did it with a light heart and the knowledge that she had nothing to be scared of.

Mina was in love with her.

Jihyo was finally able to fell asleep with no worries suffocating her; only love flowing through every part of her body. 

She had never been so happy.