their plane landed on incheon airport at exactly 12 o'clock midnight. to their surprise, the airport was packed with reporters who immediately swarmed over them asking series of questions about the accident that sakura was involved in.

how is sakura's condition now?

what are your reactions when you heard the news?

will she come back here in korea? do you know when?

as the reporters were forcing themselves to gain a statement, the tight space as well as the rowdy environment seems to have been triggering minjoo's panic attack. she then flinches when she felt a hand sneaking around her waist and swiftly faced the figure right besides her.

"it's just me. sorry i kinda noticed you trembling. calm down, i'm here." junkyu assured her as his grip on her waist tightens. thankfully, it helped the pink haired girl to calm down a bit. the raven haired guy looked back at her and flashed a soft smile.

"thank you." minjoo said and tears her gaze elsewhere. with much struggle trying to escape from the pool of reporters, they eventually got to the van safely.

"get in. i'll call you later, is that okay?" the young lad asked, the south korean beauty answered him with a nod and stepped inside the van. the whole time, minjoo was silently staring outside the window and her friends couldn't help but sympathize over her.

as her thoughts were elsewhere, a gentle tap on her shoulder caused her to pull herself together and face wonyoung.

"unnie, let's go get some ice cream." the goddess wanted to refuse at first. but with wonyoung's persistence, she was able to convince the older girl to get off and follow them inside the ice cream shop.

given her current situation, it's no surprise that everyone's taking care of her and the redhead is just thankful to have them as her friends. she couldn't imagine what her life would've been without them.

"what the hell jo yuri, i told you to buy plain chocolate for the mint choco squad. god that tastes like toothpaste, this is why i will only date you and not marry you." yena exclaimed out of nowhere causing laughter to erupt from their lips. thanks to her, for the first time since sakura's accident, minjoo was able to laugh genuinely.

"and how do you know i'm even going to accept your proposal?" as yena and yuri's silly fight carries on, the others couldn't help but gawk at the pink haired girl adoringly as they wondered how did they even get to this? and why does it have to be sakura?

"yah yah yah that's enough flirting for today. let's go home." with that, they head towards pdx's dorm. the crew decided to just spend the night there together considering the time.

minjoo, chaewon, and wonyoung settled down in sakura and yujin's shared room. the moment the beauty stepped a foot inside, the room's aroma filled her nose in an instant. it felt like she was back in japan, even the strawberry scent of the room smells the same. it was as if she never left, like her lover is engulfing her in her presence.

she didn't notice that she was clenching her fist so tight that her fingernails began to leave a mark on her palm. chaewon having noticed, patted her shoulder and lead her towards the bed.

moments have passed, while the other three were ready hit the hay, minjoo was still sitting at the edge of the bed. seemingly getting lost in her own thoughts, the trio sighed as they watch the girl's back in silence.