Momo knew she was screwed.

Of course she knows Jeongyeon is Nayeon’s bff. But what she didn’t expect is that they will see each other here. She stood there unmoving until Jeongyeon smiled and extended her hand to shake hers. Momo didn’t see any recognition from the older’s face, and Momo sighed inwardly in relief. 

“Nice to meet you Miss Kisaki. Say, have we met before?”

Momo bowed and accepted Jeong’s hand to shake, feeling that jolt of electricity when their hands touched. Jeong’s eyes widened slightly and look at Momo, who snatched her hand quickly.

Momo turned to Nayeon and smirked. “My, my, your best friend is smooth.” She then turned to Jeongyeon. “Do you say that to all the girls you meet?”

“Only to those pretty ones.” Jeongyeon teasingly answered.

Nayeon rolled her eyes but she seemed oblivious to what had passed between the two. She turned to Momo. “This is my hopeless friend that I told you about that needs to find a love life. Can you introduce her to your friends, Yumi-chan? She doesn’t bite—well, only if you want her to.”

“Nabongs!”

Momo laughed at Nayeon’s insinuation. “Hmm. I could introduce her to Rei  after show. Or to Hitomi. Actually, it’s almost time Nayeonie for the show to start. Ms. Yoo can just chose whoever she like in the catwalk and probably I can give her their number?”

Jeongyeon shrugged. She really doesn’t care for this blind date, she just want to indulge Nayeon. They slightly bowed to each other and Nayeon pulled Jeongyeon to sit near the catwalk.

“Is she your girlfriend?”

“No… Well, not yet.”

Jeongyeon’s eyebrow raised. ‘So there’s a possibility that she will be?”

“Well it depends.”

“On what?”

“If she likes me back.”

“Well, you looked, comfortable enough with each other.”

Nayeon then squealed excitedly, the first time that she saw Nayeon like this.  “I know, Jeong! We like the same things and last time, we just talked and talked for hours. I know that she’s my soulmate!  I am planning to tell father to get Yumi as the model for our auto business. and maybe with the clothing line. Or maybe the mall one…”

Jeongyeon hummed and nodded absentmindedly. She didn’t have interest on people revolving in Nayeon’s cicle—the rich, the famous, the powerful,, heck, she wouldn’t be friends with Nayeon if the girl was not their neighbor. The lights dimmed and she heard Nayeon’s breath hitched. She checked the programmed that was handed to her earlier: Victoria’s Spring Collection. The models took turns in exhibiting their clothes: pretty spring dresses with matching stylish small caps. The models modelled the clothes playfully, just like a breath of fresh air during spring. Jeongyeon could see that all the models are very beautiful, and when Yumi came out, the screams are louder and Jeongyeon could say that she is one of the most awaited in the group.  When Yumi was about to pass their side, her smile got bigger looking at their direction and when she passed them, she tuned back to look at her and winked. Jeongyeon blushed but she almost got deaf because of Nayeon’s screams.

‘Did you see that; did you see that Jeong? She winked at ME!”

 Jeongyeon did not have the heart to correct her best friend that Momo had definitely winked AT HER since she was excited and all, and she doesn’t want to ruin Nayeon’s fun.

Nayeon poked Jeongyeon’s stoic face. “Have you seen anybody you like, Jeong? Yumi is willing to introduce you later…”

“They are all pretty, unnie. I just.. I just don’t know if I want a MODEL girlfriend.

Nayeon sighed exasperatedly. “Cmon now Jeong! This is your chance! Why not try it out? If Yumi becomes my girlfriend, we could double date!”

Jeong rolled her eyes. Nayeon sounded so sure. Well, there’s no soubt about it since  what Nayeon wants, Nayeon gets.

“I dunno, Unnie, models are busy, and usually hooked up at after party’s and you know I can’t handle that…”

Nayeon leaned her head on Jeongyoen and patted her shoulders. She almost forgot that her friend had an ex who was a budding TV actress and starred in some commercials. At first, they were okay and Jeongyeon had supported Ji Eun and her career, but as times go on and Ji Eun got busier, she had less time for Jeongyeon ---they even fought because of the gossip that Ji Eun was dating on of her co-actors, which she didn’t bother to deny. They broke up after that, and Jeongyeon swore not to be involved with people like her.

The room dimmed again and the song changed to a Latino beat. There was a collective gasp when the models came out of the backstage in their Spring collection lingerie. Jeongyeon gulped. The lingerie was still classy, mostly made of lace, satin, feathers and fur. The models took their time on the catwalk, slightly dancing to the beat of the music.   Jeongyeon was just watching with mild interest and looked at her watch. She checked the program, the show will be done after this set. Might as well stay for a while, not to offend Nayeon’s friend.

After a few minutes, Yumi went out the stage, wearing a red one-piece corset made of heavy brocades and gems, then a skirt made of red tulle. For this set, Momo’s hair were tied in a bun and with feathers adorning the back of her head.

Jeongyeon cannot describe what was Yumi doing, she was strutting, hips moving with the beat, and then dancing. The girl’s face was so expressive—she looks like she was into what she was doing. When she looked at the audience, she slightly parted her lips and touched herself while dancing, making the atmosphere in the hall kind of hot and anticipating. Yumi smirked, as if she knows what the people around her are thinking and before she goes back to the backstage she turned around again and did the come-hither gesture and then the room erupted with applause.

The lights came on and Jeong had to nudge Nayeon to get her back to earth.

“Yah!”

“You were drooling, unnie!”

“Maybe. That was hot. She was hot.”

Jeongyeon shrugged. The models all came out and they informally walked on the catwalk, waving to the audience giving out flying kisses. The room burst in an applause as the models bowed and said goodbye, ending the show.

“Unnie, five minutes only, okay?”

Nayeon whined. You promise to meet up Yumi’s friends.”

As if on cue, Yumi came and she was all smiles.

“How was it Nayeon-ssi?”

“It was perfect, as always! You girls really make a show explode like that!”

Yumi grinned. “Thanks! Oh, these are my friends, Rei and Hitomi. Girls, Miss Im Nayeon and Miss Yoo Jeongyeon.”

The two girls eyed the jock and smiled. “Pleasure is ours.”

Jeongyeon blushed. Yumi looked at the interaction with interest—it seems her friends took a special liking with the jock. Nayeon subtly pulled Yumi on the side to talk to her while the other two models talked to Jeongyeon.

“Thank you for watching tonight, Nayeon-shi.”

“As I will for the next shows.”

“Would Ms. Yoo come with you?”

Nayeon looked at Jeongyeon’s expression. She’s not sure if Jeongyeon will be back next time. She was smiling but she could see that she was quite uncomfortable. Maybe it’s time to save her friend.

“Oh, I didn’t notice the time, it’s kind of late. We will see you next time, girls, right?”

Yumi smiled and the two other models nodded at Jeongyeon.

“Nice meeting you,”

“Oh text us.”

“Or we’ll text YOU.”

Then they giggled. Yumi waved at them and the three disappeared to the backstage.

“They liked you.”

“Well, everybody does.”

Nayeon pushed Jeongyeon’s shoulder and the jock almost fell on her side.

“You are egoistical.”

Jeongyeon smiled smugly. “it’s the truth.”

Nayeon shrugged. “Accompany me to the comfort room, first Jeong. My bladder’s gonna burst.”

Yumi was about to enter the comfort room when she saw Jeongyeon waiting on the front of the stalls. She quickly went out and ran to the stairs leading to the basement—there’s another CR there. She cannot go home as Yumi, her roommates will be curious and might ask her a lot of questions, and she cannot change in the model’s changing room to Momo because the other models might see her so she always change in the hotels’ bathrooms.

She removed her wig, removed her makeup, wore her eyeglasses and changed to a more comfortable outfit. She put all her things in her gym bag and went out to the taxi loading stop. She was about to step out to the pavement when she heard Nayeon and Jeongyeon talking!

“Why did you just text your chauffer now? it’s going to take 30 minutes to arrive!”

“I forgot, okay?”

“Just say you are smitten for that model, unnie.”

Then the two friends bickered and Momo slapped her forehead. How can she go out there, where Nayeon and Jeongyeon can see her? She was thinking of going back where she had come from, when a motorcycle flashed it’s headlight on her.

“What the---“

“You need a ride, Hirai?”

“What the f— are you doing here Minatozaki?”

“Waiting for you.”

Momo looked around. She could still hear Nayeon and Jeongyeon talking, it seems like only the hedge are separating them and she looked nervously at Sana.

“Hmm, that’s Nayeon right?”

Momo didn’t answer. Sana smirked. “Wouldn’t it be interesting that Nayeon and Jeongyeon would see you like that Hirai?”

Momo gripped her bag tighter. She was darting glances at the highway, her chance to escape but it’s not an assurance that the two will see her, or stay but with how Sana sounded, she might reveal Momo to her friends.

Sana went down her motorcycle and Momo stepped back. Sana smirked. “Do not try to outrun me, Hirai. Here, catch.”

Momo  dropped her bag and caught whatever Sana threw at her. “Wear it. Let’s go.”

Momo stood there a few seconds before she got what Sana meant. Whatever.

She wore the helmet and cradled the bag in front of her. She has not ridden a motorcycle before, she was looking for a place to hold when Sana started the ignition.

“Hold on to me.”

“What—“

The motor jerked forwards and Momo slammed on Sana’s back. She closed her eyes and put her arms around Sana’s waist. Sana laughed and increased the speed.

Momo screamed and shouted at Sana. “Stop! Stop! I am getting off! Sana, I don’t want to die!”

Sana slowed down but Momo was still holding tight on Sana’s waist. She could hear Sana’s chuckles and as she deliberately went through the heavy traffic in Seoul, she made the motorcycle tilt dangerously to the left or right making Momo scream more.

Atlast Sana stopped. Momo opened her eyes and she could see that they are in front of a fast food chain. Momo was trembling and Sana helped Momo to go down. Her knees buckling, she stared daggers at Sana which amused Sana more.

“Why are we here?”

“I was hungry.”

Momo regain the strength on her knees and handed the helmet back to Sana  . “I am going home. I’ll just take the bus.”

“I’ll take you home after we eat.”

“If I can make it at home alive. You’re going to kill me, I know.”

Sana laughed. It sounded musical, even to Momo who is very annoyed right now. “You owe me one Hirai. I could have called Nayeonie and Jeongyeonie and you will be exposed but I didn’t. So you owe me dinner.”

Momo sighed. The girl has a point. She followed the blonde inside the fastfood. She let Sana order and she sat at the faraway booth.

When Sana came with a tray of food that could feed five people.

“You’re that hungry?”

“Yes. And since it’s free, I took the chance. I really like their hamburgers here.”

They eat in silence with Sana looking at her from time to time.

“Do I have dirt on my face Minatozaki?””

Sana snatched her eye glasses and looked at her straight to the eyes.

“No. On the contrary, you looked very pretty today. Especially without the eye glasses.”

Momo tried to snatch the glasses but Sana held it away from Momo’s reach.

“What do you want?”

“Nothing. I just want to talk to you.”

“We are talking. Can I have my glasses back please?”

Sana put the glasses in front of her. “Why do you bother to wear this, it doesn’t even have a prescription?”

Momo snatched it back and put it on. “I just want to.”

“Until when are you going to do this?”

“Until I die, which I think, will happen today.”

“Stop being melodramatic.”

“I am not the actress between the two of us.”

“Well, I can say you ARE the better actress, since nobody had found out your secret.”

“Until you.”

“Lucky me.”

“Nosy you.”

“Pretty me.”

“I---“

“Speechless, Hirai?”

“No, I was thinking of words like abominable, vile and despicable?”

Sana laughed. So loud that the people on the other table looked at them.

” You amuse me Hirai.”

“Uhmm, do I need to say thank you?”

“You should. I don’t give compliments freely.”

“I thought you hate me?”

“Hmmmm I am reconsidering.”

“Depends on?”

“If you will come to my play.”

“If I did?”

“Then we will be friends.”

Momo’s eyebrow shot skeptically. “Friends?”

“Yup!”

“Define friends. Like you and Mina?”

Sana stilled with the mention of Mina’s name. “I’m sorry, Minatozaki—“

“Sana.”

“Huh?”

“If we are going to be friends call me Sana.”

“I haven’t said yes.”

“Well, you were considering it I know.”

“I don’t want to come between you and Mina...”

Sana sighed.

“I miss her.”

“She misses you more.”

Sana didn’t reply to that.

“So, are you coming to my play?”

“I’ll try.”

“Don’t just try!”

“I don’t know my schedule yet…”

“I’ll give you a ticket.” Sana gave her a gold ticket.

“It’s still three weeks from now.”

“I like to invite early.”

Momo kept the ticket on her pouch. “Thank you.”

Sana stood up. “So shall we?”

“Could you please try not kill me with your driving?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll try!”

“Sana!”

Sana laughed, loving how her name came out naturally from Momo’s lips.

***

Mina is bored.

And that’s saying a lot because Mina is NEVER bored while playing her favorite game. But she is.  Mina puts down her gaming consoles and just focused on the girl beside her sketching seriously, teeth biting her lower lip.

And Mina just stared at her with wonder.

It was their weekly game night but none of her friends are available. Mina texted Momo as her last resort and the girl readily agreed, though she apologetically said that she will just accompany Mina that she will not play and that she has a project to do. And now they are sprawled on the living room, bags of chips around, doing their own thing.

“What are you so busy anyway?”

Momo then detached the paper from the pad and crumpled it. “It’s our project in clothes designing. The concept is 4 elements and the other one is “flight”. I am out of ideas.”

“Hmmm. Let me see.”

Mina moved near to Momo, their shoulders touching and Mina soft jasmine scent filled Momo’s senses.  Mina borrowed her pencil and tried to scribble something on Momo’s sketch pad. 

“Flight. Fying. Being free. How are you going to show this based on your clothes?”

“Uhm. I want to show it in the flow of fabric that when my model move, it’s like she is flying. I want different colors, like a peacocks, but then I figured out peacock does not fly. So maybe a colorful hummingbird or a two toned-black or white swan?”

Mina appeared thoughtful. “Your costume could be anything? or just runway-type clothes?”

“The professor didn’t elaborate. She said it depends on us.”

“I see.”

“Why?”

“Well, I will have a ballet performance for the Foundation Day..”

“..and?”

“Well, it’s the Swan Lake.”

“o-kay..?”

“Why don’t you design my costume?”

“Are you serious??!”

“Why not?”

“I mean, of course, it’s a great opportunity to showcase my work..”

“…but?”

“What if it’s not good enough? I mean, you haven’t even seen my other works, how would you know that it’s good?”

“Because it’s you?”

“Huh?”

“Just a hunch. The look in your eyes when you sketched. The strive for perfection. And I had a glimpse of what you were working on earlier and it looks good already but it was not even good for you.”

“Because it is not.”

“Momo-chan...not because I hole myself in this room doing games doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about art.”

"I didn’t say that. You’re a performing artist and been in a lot of places in the world,of course you live and breathe art.”

“So you will believe me if I say that you are good?”

“I—“

“Give yourself a little credit,will you?”

“But…”

“So why don’t you sketch something now?”

Mina extended the pencil to Momo and Momo took it hesitatantly, but when she looked at Mina, smiling reassuringly, she suddenly felt that she herself could fly.

“Could you stand for me there, Mina-chan? Yes, and do one of those poses you do in ballet? Yes, the pose where you extend your leg back? Yes, that one.” Momo took a picture of Mina doing several poses for reference. An idea is slowly forming on her head and she cannot wait to put into paper.

After Mina posed, Momo immediately went to work on her sketch pad.

Mina put her hands under her chin and watched Momo sketch her ballet costume. Momo’s eyebrows would furrow from time to time, then her eyes would lit up animatedly like a little child, her tongue out and she would be doing those cute nose scrunches.

“Cute.”

Mina muttered under her breath but Momo was able to catch it.

“Eh?”

Mina giggled and held up her hands. “Nothing! Just continue that, I’ll go get us more drinks.”

Momo shrugged and went back to sketching and Mina went to the kitchen and get their drinks.

She placed the cold soda on her cheeks, cooling her already red and warm cheeks.

Way to go Mina.

Mina grabbed other snacks and when she went back, Momo was already using colored pencils to bring her drawing back to life.

“I thought we could put a thin satin or tulle from your wrist, attached to your back to form a wing on top of your already white tutu.  So when you extend your arms like this, it looks like a wing.”

“I see.”

“Wait, are you Odille or Odette?”

“Actually, there’s a plot twist. I am Odette however because of me grieving for the Prince, I transformed into a Black swan. The Prince tried to win back my love but since he hurt me so much, I cannot change back and just remained a Black Swan and didn’t end up with anyone.

“That’s angsty and sad.”

“Yeah.”

“People should learn how to forgive others, anyway, everybody makes me mistakes, right?”

“Well, Odette got hurt.”

“Understandable.”

"..and when you hurt someone it's hard to go back to how the things used to be."

“But true love should persist.”

"Hmmm."

“Also friendship. So forgive Sana. She misses you.”

Mina was speechless on how the topic was changed.

“How did you know?”

“I could see her, wallowing in sadness. Very pathetic to see Minatozaki.”

Mina pushes Momo lightly. “I—I will give her a call tomorrow.”

“Glad to hear that Mina!So.. can you stand right there, I’ll get your measurements so I could start with this over the weekend?”

Momo searched for the tape measure and notebook from her back and stood in front of Mina.

Mina’s breath hitched with every movement that Momo makes, especially when she accidentally brushed her fingers to Mina’s body. Mina blushes when Momo took her chest measurements, or when she brought the tape around Mina’s waist and pulled her a little closer.

Momo seems to be oblivious to Mina’s flushed state and just to continue to professionally did her job until she’s done and she saw Mina’s red face.

“Are you ok? Sorry if it took longer than usual.”

“Iie! I’m alright, just a little hot in here.”

Momo looked confused but nodded.

 “I’ll probably start tomorrow with this one so I could have it ready before your performance.”

Mina just stood there, watching the girls gathered her things.

“Momo?”

“Hmmm?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being here.”

“Where would I rather be?”

 “I know you are busy but still—“

“I’m the one who should say sorry for ruining your game night—“

“That’s okay—“

“…and to thank you for providing me idea for my project.”

“I—you’re welcome.”

Momo grinned and held her hand for a high five. “We make a good team, don’t we Myoui?”

Mina did the high five and they laughed. “Yes, we do Hirai.”

***

Sana groaned when she heard her doorbell ring. Checking her phone, it’s not even 7. Who would have been knocking on her door so f* early in the morning on a Saturday?

Whoever was on the door was very persistent. Annoyed, Sana angrily swung the door and prepared to lash at the person who was at the other side when she saw Mina looking very apologetic, bearing a basket of freshly baked bread and coffee from their favorite shop.

“I’m sorry.”

“For waking me?”

“That. And among other things.”

Sana knows she cannot stay angry at Mina for far too long. She enveloped the girl into a hug, squeezing the girl around the waist.

“Let’s not fight about Hirai next time okay?”

“Let’s not fight about ANYTHING.”

“Good thing I love you.”

“Yeah. I love you too.”

“Uhm, Sana?”

“Hmmm?”

“The coffee is getting cold.”

Sana laughs and let’s go of her then ushered her inside. Waking up early in a Saturday doesn’t seem to be so bad, after all.