Chapter 7

The way you fall

I hope I didn't rush anything. I just felt like everything fit the progress. I hope you all will enjoy this chapter just like you did the other chapters.


Sana was anxious the whole day of the banquet. She prayed that her plan would work and she would be able to talk with Mina. That's all she wanted. To let Mina know she has their unlimited support. But part of Sana didn't believe that she could succeed. That was what made her shake and jump every time the grand doors opened. Her parents and Hidenori tried to put her in bed, as they thought Sana was ill. At last the person she was waiting for arrived. Sana was paralyzed for a while after Mina entered with her parents. She was just staring at Mina and following her every move. She regained her senses when she lost Mina in the crowd. The princess turned to her mother and whispered in her ear, to let her know that she should begin. Her mother nodded and headed in the direction that the Myoui's went. Now Sana had to wait. 
She wasn't good at waiting, though. She kept looking in the direction they were even if she couldn't see anything. Why is it taking so long? To Sana time went by differently at that moment. It felt like hours but it lasted only a few minutes. But being patient always rewards you. She saw her mother walking with Mr. Myoui somewhere. Sana didn't know what her mother did to get him away but she was sure to give her a tight hug and thank you after. Mina's mother was the only obstacle left. Though, Sana felt like it wouldn't be a big problem to get Mina away from Mrs. Myoui. The princess's steps were steady. She was full of determination and couldn't be stopped. She would success and they would be all together again.
"Welcome, Mrs. Myoui." Sana wore a warm smile and Mina's mother reciprocated the gesture.
"There is our princess. Thank you for the invitation. You and your future husband look so good together." Mrs. Myoui patted Sana's shoulder. The princess thought that her plan was going too well. It was all too easy. But she got rid of the worry and resumed her plan.
"Thank you. Would you be offended if I steal Mina for a moment? We haven't seen each other in a while." Sana's big smile was contrasting Mina's worried expression. Nonetheless, Mrs. Myoui agreed. Which again was too easy. Sana just grabbed Mina's hand and led her out of the grand hall.
Only after they were in the hallway where no one else was present Mina snatched her hand away. Sana immediately turned to face Mina, who was, well, glaring at her. Sana didn't like it. 
"What are you doing?" Mina's voice was harsh. Sana had never heard that type of tone before. Mina's voice was soft and sweet. But then those two qualities were nonexistent. 
"What do you mean? I am trying to talk to you. You just disappeared a week ago without any explanation. We are all worried sick. This is not natural. Mina, you can tell me. I want to help. Together we can make everything right." Mina shook her head. Sana tried to grasp her hand again but Mina pulled away. 
"Don't you think that I disappeared for a reason? Maybe, I didn't want to hurt any of you and left? Just understand that sometimes bad things happen and we can't do anything about that. It's just better for all of you to not get involved. I need to take care of this myself. Goodbye, Sana." When the words ended, Sana could only stare at Mina's moving figure. She was too shocked to do anything. The more she stood in the hallway the more she realized. She understood then why it hurt her so much. She knew why she felt that way. But then she thought that the realization was unneeded. That it would've been better if she didn't understand. Because it somehow hurt even more than before. The fact that she lost and she couldn't win anymore. 

 

Jihyo looked at all the girls sitting in the living room. Except for one girl they were waiting for Sana's update on the situation. Sana told them she will call them when the banquet ends at 10 p.m. Only 12 minutes were left. Jihyo glanced at the stairs. Tzuyu didn't join them. She just stayed in her room, never telling them why. Jihyo liked to think that her hand still hurt from the broken bones. But Tzuyu had been taking painkillers so she wouldn't feel anything. Jihyo knew that Tzuyu was just scared of the outcome and she didn't want to hear it from Sana immediately after the banquet. Neither of them was very confident about the plan. It was flawed and they didn't have any backup plan ready. 
"Hey. Do you want some tea?" Nayeon approached her and caressed her arm. Jihyo was glad for Nayeon who was being a great distractor in that whole situation.
"Can you make it? For everyone? I will go to talk to Tzuyu." Nayeon smiled gently and nodded. She pulled Jihyo into a warm hug before going to the kitchen. Jihyo took a deep breath and walked up the stairs. 
Chaeyoung was observing Jihyo as she was heading upstairs. She knew what was the reason for that. She thought that Tzuyu really needed the support of Jihyo. They all always took care of Tzuyu so it wasn't different at that time. Chaeyoung was keeping her feelings in check for that reason. Jihyo had to comfort Tzuyu and deal with her own feelings. There were also Nayeon, Momo, and Sana that joined the group and Jihyo wasn't herself if she didn't act like a mom to them. It wasn't like she didn't care about Chaeyoung's well being. Chaeyoung just told her she is dealing with it fine and she should focus on others. But she was telling a white lie. She wasn't dealing with it fine. She was frustrated as everyone else. But she could be the only one that didn't have any hope in the plan. She was sitting there knowing that when Sana would call them, they would hear bad news. She knew Mina, maybe not as well as Jihyo, nonetheless, she did. Mina is someone that follows the rules. If she was told not to see them, she won't. No matter how much it hurt both parties. And Chaeyoung was sure Jihyo and Tzuyu were aware of this as well. The three of them just never talked about it. The only people that could have some hope were Sana, Momo, and Nayeon. It wasn't naive. They just didn't know better. They had the right to do that. Even if Chaeyoung was getting frustrated with the false hope they had. It made her feel like a bad friend. Because she didn't believe but the people Mina knew for a few months believed. She checked the time. One minute left to the inevitable. 
Or maybe it was inevitable. Sana didn't call that night. She didn't answer when they tried to contact her. The girls present in the living room could only sigh heavily. Nayeon and Momo decided to head to the palace in the morning to talk with Sana personally. They figured that if the princess was silent, the plan was a total disaster.

 

Mr. Myoui felt uneasy. He wasn't sure why but it could've been due to Mina sitting with them. By the dining table, eating with them and holding conversations. He tried to think of a predicament that could've caused that behavior. But that should make him feel happy. Mr. Myoui should feel accomplished. The thing was, he didn't. He thought that Mina would be angry with him for forcing her to attend the banquet. She didn't seem like she was angrier than a few days ago, before the banquet. He decided to talk with his daughter after the meal and find out what was she plotting. Mr. Myoui waited for Mina to finish cleaning from the table and went to her room after a few minutes. When he thought Mina would be settled doing whatever in there. He never knocked on his daughter's room door but he did that day. Not sure himself why. He entered only when he got a reply from Mina. 
Mina didn't seem surprised to see her father enter. Though, the polite knock threw her off. She wasn't sure what to expect from him. Mr. Myoui moved closer to Mina that was sitting by her desk. He didn't sit.
"What happened?" Mina knew what he was referring to. But she didn't want to answer. She felt awful about what happened at the banquet and wanted to forget it all. Even if it was impossible. She turned towards the monitor to avoid eye contact.
"Nothing. You told me to get a grip. So I did." Mr. Myoui was taken aback. Mina's voice was mocking. She had never used such a tone with him. 
"Don't use that tone with me." He tried to sound intimidating. Mr. Myoui wanted to make Mina obedient again. It didn't work.
"Or what?" Mina turned to face her father, with an unreadable expression. "You will tell me how pathetic I am? I've heard it so much already, can't you come up with something new?" Her father wasn't the only one shocked. She was surprised herself. That she talked back. She had never dared to do that but she did it then. She didn't have time to figure out how he had found that strength because her father spoke again.
"Are you talking back to me? Is this how you treat your father? It's rude and it shows how little respect you have for me." Mr. Myoui stared his daughter down. His attempt at making Mina frightened didn't work again. She got up and looked straight into her father's eyes.
"I don't have any respect for you? Are you serious? If I didn't you wouldn't have seen me ever again after I turned 18. You are the one with no respect. You are treating me like a punching bag, not like your daughter. The worst thing is that I have never done anything to you." Mina's voice was louder than ever. She didn't feel furious often, she actually can't recall one occasion where she was angry with someone. But after everything that happened in the previous month and now broke her.
"You haven't done anything? You treated me like a stranger for 7 years. I looked at all those fathers being happy playing with their daughters. And then there we were. My daughter, that feared me and me. A daughter that hates me." That was the first time that Mr. Myoui shared his feelings with Mina. For a strange reason, it felt good to get it out of him. Though, he met a confused face of his daughter in answer.
"Hate you? I don't hate you. I was like that because you were always away when I was a child. I felt awkward and shy around you. I can agree that I was scared but it was because I didn't know you. I just knew that you are my father thanks to mom telling me that. But I have never hated you. Even now, after years of you always putting me down, controlling me, making me feel awful about myself. I still can't hate you because you somehow managed to live nice memories in my mind. And just simply because you are my dad. I should be the one thinking that you hate me." They stood in the room just staring at each other for what felt like ages. Until her father took a deep breath.
"I don't hate you. I am just trying to gain your attention and affection that I have never received. You've hurt me. You are my daughter and I love you but always felt that you hated me." It was the first time in Mina's life that she heard her father say that he loves her. That was unreal, it was new. She was conflicted though, part of her wanted to believe her father but there was another part that told her that he was manipulating her. Like he did for all those years.
"You wanted to gain my affection by forcing me? Manipulating me? You can't gain love by making someone miserable. I have given up so many things just because of you. I don't have my own life. I have to live the way you tell me to. How was that supposed to get me closer to you? Did you planned on locking me with you forever so that I don't have any other option but to love you?" Mina's words were hitting all the right places. Mr. Myoui could see the fault in his behavior only then when Mina pointed it all out to him. He still thought that his intentions were good. That he didn't mean to harm his daughter. That maybe if Mina played along his plan would've worked without negative outcomes.
"I thought it was the only option. It was the only thing that worked. You always came to me in the end." Mina shook her head baffled at how her father kept defending himself.
"Can't you see how toxic you are? This is not how a father should be. If that's who you want to be, you need to see that you are wrong first. Then you need to actually change. If you keep doing this, you won't fix anything." Mina wanted for her father to see, to understand. She always hoped that one day this misery would end. That her father would become someone she could lean on. But those thoughts were always destroyed by him easily. 
"I am a good father." Mr. Myoui was keeping his act. He couldn't show any weakness to his daughter. He was always scolding her for being weak so that would be hypocritical of him.
"To Kai, yes. To me, no. Just think about how you are with him." She paused for a moment to let her father gather his thoughts. "Is this how you treat me? Or do you see a difference? Because I think there is a very noticeable difference between the treatment." Mr. Myoui felt helpless. He was losing against Mina. He understood what his daughter meant. He's never thought of it before. He was too focused on his hurt feelings. He felt embarrassed standing there in front of Mina. Facing her and all of his sins. It was hard to stand it. He couldn't let her know he felt like that.
"I can't treat you the same way. You two are different." Mina was losing her mind. She was ready to just end it there and go back to distracting herself from her misery. 
"Why can't you let go? Why can't you admit that how you are acting is wrong? If you could just to that, we could actually try to fix our relationship. I want to try, don't you?" Mina decided that it would be the last resort. If her father would still keep his stance and wouldn't budge, she would give up. She would just accept that they would never have a healthy relationship. She would most likely give up on everything. Because that would show her that no matter how hard you try, how hard you work, the results won't match it. So what was the point of even trying? Mr. Myoui lowered his head. He was thinking. Could this conversation be the beginning of them fixing the lost connection? That was all he wanted. But he knew it would take a while for them to be truly happy. Was it worth trying? Mina was waiting anxiously. Her hope was dying fast. She was ready to ask her father out when he finally looked at her again.
"I am sorry." Mina stopped working for a few seconds. Did she hear it correctly? If there was something her father never told her except for I love you, it apologies. 
"You are sorry?" Mr. Myoui nodded slowly but with assurance. 
"I am very sorry. I think we needed that conversation. I understand how my behavior was wrong. I want to try fixing this. I know it will take a long time but I am ready. If you want to, that is. I know it is hard for you." Mina was in disbelief. She wasn't sure what to do or say. Not once in her life did she think that she would hear such words from her father. It felt like she was dreaming. 
"I want to. I think that you the fact you admitted to being wrong is the first step. And it would probably take years until we will be truly fine." Mr. Myoui understood. He was still embarrassed but his daughter didn't mock him. He noticed the difference. That he should've acted like Mina from the beginning and they would be having a different conversation right then. "Also, I am sorry for acting like that in childhood. I know it was hurtful." 
"I see now that it wasn't your fault. I should've listened to your mother. I mean, it will take me some time to fully grasp it but I know now. Let's work on this." They weren't comfortable with being affectionate so the two of them shook hands. It was all they could do for now. Hopefully, they would hug each other in the future.
"Thank you, father." Mina smiled at her father for the first time in so long. It was a soft one but it was still progress.
"There is one more thing-"

 

"She told me not to get involved. That she left for a reason. She said those things but I still don't understand." Sana was lying on her stomach. She was hugging the dog plushie Mina gave her. It was the only comfort she could get. It wasn't like Momo and Nayeon that were sitting in her room weren't. Just no matter what they had said, it didn't help. She didn't tell them about the revelation she had at the banquet. She thought that it would make them angry with Mina and they would hate her. Even after all those things that happened, Sana couldn't be angry with Mina. She still didn't want to let go.
"For what reason? I swear this is so frustrating. I think we should listen to Tzuyu and raid her home." Nayeon wasn't even joking at this point. Momo shot her a glare. Nayeon only rolled her eyes.
"All we can do is wait, Sana. We can't force her. I can't promise you but I think Mina won't just disappear." Momo chose her words carefully. The last thing she wanted was for Sana to start crying again. They just calmed her several minutes ago. 
"I know. I can wait. If I can see her again, I can wait." Sana's voice was too quiet for the other two to hear. They could tell the princess said something, they just couldn't tell what. Nayeon glanced at Momo with a raised eyebrow. Momo could only shrug. "Let's wait then." Sana said it clearly that time.
"Yeah, let's."
Sana was ready to go through anything if it meant she could see Mina again. No matter how much it hurt her. She could ignore it. She could get used to that. Because as soon as she hears Mina's voice it would be alright. With that thought, she can go on with her life. Then she could only hug the dog tighter and let her friends comfort her.

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PlayerMina
So, the story got some attention. I hope it's not too predictable and it's enjoyable. Thank you everyone that read, commented, upvoted the story, it means a lot. I wish you all a great week!

Comments

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mNa2zk
#1
No bonus chapter?😢😢😢
xLlama08
#2
Chapter 12: My MiSana heart <3
Thank you so much for this wonderful story authornim
AmberSykes #3
Chapter 12: Finally my babies are happy together. Thank you for a such beautiful heartwarming story. I truly adore this story. Thank you for writing. Hopefully there'll another works from you :D
Belzebub
#4
Chapter 12: WAHHHHHHH MY HEART IS FULL AND WARM! I LOVE THIS! (ToT). Thank you author-nim for this story! See u in your other works!
Belzebub
#5
Chapter 11: <span class='smalltext text--lighter'>Comment on <a href='/story/view/1418305/11'>Chapter 11</a></span>
AWWWW HIDENORI IS SUCH A SWEETHEART
(/◕ヮ◕)/
Mayumi37
#6
Chapter 12: Awww it’s a nice ending :) i really enjoyed reading this and all the emotions it gave <3
jummjumm #7
Chapter 12: this was an amazing story. thank you so much. i really hope you will write more 2na stories <3
rainbowfluff
#8
Chapter 12: Omg yesh woot I'm so glad everything turn out just fine! Mina parents finally accepting everything and they all forgave each other and the empress being the biggest 2na shipper/the source that made them together! Tysm for writing this amazing 2na story! I hope you'll write more on the future ❤️
SurfingPen
#9
Chapter 12: I love it. Thank you author!! :) <3 I like the way how you put everything. The way it's not focusing on romatic love always but acceptance of someone's choice in life. Also, the friendship that bloomed that it's not typical story of everyone has partners romantically but partners in life in a form of friendship :)) CONGRATS!!
Rayshauna #10
Chapter 12: I can’t believe it ended. This was a nice story tho. Also I really loved the ending Mina and Sana are so cute. Now I’m gonna be waiting for you to put out your next story.