[Mina's POV]

 

"Give me 100 days." He stood up from his seat and offered me a handkerchief that he took out from his pocket.

"Bambam—" he held his right hand up and inched closer to me, and knelt down.

"Ani. Just give me 10 days." He looked up and stared directly to my eyes. "Before you make any rash decisions..."

I've seen this before. Chaeyoung's face flashed right in front of my eyes. Her hands raised up and her wide grin showing off her dimples. "...shib ilman naenwa (give me 10 days)."

I stared at him with eyes full of confusion. "W-why are you doing this?" tears stopped falling.

"I'm doing this for you, Mina." He sighed. "Even though Chaeyoung stated in the interview that the girl she's been dating is a non-celebrity, people have been speculating that it's you based on the pictures. Soon, people would start connecting the dots and knowing Dispatch, they'll reveal this eventually... when it's most advantageous for them to do so."

"I..." I don't know what to say.

"Chaeyoung's efforts to hide your identity will be worthless if we can't stop these rumors."

"So you think it's better if people talk about us dating instead of Chaeyoung and I?"

"Look. I'll be honest with you... Yes. It will divide the public's attention from both of you. It will soften the blow instead of them being focused on both of you together. I mean, you know how people's perceptions are..."

He's trying not to delve deep in the topic but I understand what he's talking about. Of course.

"I'm not trying to be your real boyfriend anymore, Mina. I'm offering to be your cover boyfriend. We don't really need to date, we just need to be seen in certain places or occasions together. That's it." My brain tells me to trust his plan and that it's the better option for all of us, but my gut tells me otherwise. I don't know how to feel about it anymore.

I shook my head, "L-let me think about it first. I can't really decide yet."

"Arraseo. I understand. Just give me a call when you're ready." He stood up and I followed.

"Mianhe." I stared at him and he looked back with a pained expression.

He gave me a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "As much as I want to comfort you right now, I know my company isn't the one you're needing. I'll just leave it to your members to take care of you. Get some rest, Minari."

I nodded and watched him as he left.

I was left standing there. Feeling empty.

 

 

[Chaeyoung's POV]

 

 

I've been in France for almost two days now. I was in Spain three days before I arrived here and time is both relatively slow and fast. The weather is chilly but it's bearable. It's not that different from South Korea.

I lowered my scarf and tried taking a picture of a flock of pigeons surrounding the water fountain. It's almost sunset and the golden light hitting the concrete sets a nice backdrop for the shot. This is nice. Appreciating pretty things and avoiding reality. I'm torn between the guilt and the relief I'm both feeling. And as much as I try to ignore my emotions, I keep thinking about her. 

I have my camera in hand and I bought a secondary phone that I only for GPS. I avoided all temptations of trying to check up on them, especially her. No SNS, no Korean numbers to call, nothing. I sighed. I'm aware that I need to face the reality eventually. I can't keep on running away.

I snapped another photo; it's a scene that includes two girls holding each other's hand comfortably in public. Then the taller girl wrapped her hand around the other girl's hip. I smiled.

Maybe I can just stay here? I thought as I shook the Polaroid and waited for the last photo I took to appear. It came out nicely.

I'm sitting at the outdoor seating of a quaint Café at the corner of Rue de la Grange aux Belles and Juliette Dodu.

I raised my hand, "Excuse me." I called out to a waitress.

She saw me and approached with a bright smile, "Bonjour. Comment puis-je vous aider? (Hello. How can I help you?)"

I smiled nervously, trying to remember the phrases I read and studied this morning. "Uh. B-bonjour." I lifted up my empty cup of coffee, "Je prendai un... autre café, s'il vous plaît? (Can I have another coffee, please?)"

She smiled at me. What? Did I say something wrong?

"You're Korean, right?" her Hangeul is better than my French. I just then realized that she's Asian. Crap. Does she know me?

I was supposed to deny it but instead of saying No in English or French, I said "Ani... aniya. (No, I'm not)" I winced and sighed.

"Jeosonghaminda. Ne. Hankuk salam-ibnida. (I'm sorry. Yes. I'm Korean)" I smiled sheepishly.

"I'll get you your coffee." She smiled and nodded, reaching for the empty cup on the table. As she did, the sleeve of her blouse hiked up and I noticed a tattoo in her arm. It's a blue circle with a drawing of waves inside. It's beautiful.

Before I could comment about it, she already left and headed inside the café. Maybe I'll ask her about it when she comes back.

I grabbed my bag from the chair beside me and reached for my notebook where I clipped all the photos I took from the past few days. A slightly creased white envelope fell out from it. I stared at it and slowly picked it up. It's Mina's letter.

I successfully avoided opening it for days. I know that if I open it, it would let loose a Pandora's Box of emotions I'm not yet ready to face. But it's been almost a week now. I tear the envelope and pulled out the folded paper inside.

 

 

[Mina's POV]

 

 

"What part of LET ME THINK ABOUT IT FIRST did you not understand??" I never expected that I'm capable of screaming this loud.

"I swear to God I didn't do this, Mina." Bambam has both his hands at the back of his head while pacing back and forth.

"Then how did this rumour come out? We're dating? Jinjja? A-and these photos were taken after you left the dorm the other day! Just right after you offered to be my cover boyfriend!" I think I'm about to have a mental breakdown.

Jihyo stood up and grabbed both my hands. "You need to compose yourself, Mina."

"But Jihyo—" before I could say another word, the meeting room door opened and our managers along with the company's PR team entered the room.

"Yeorobun, please take a seat." A tall guy with gray hair and large specs walked towards the other end of the room, we all took our seats as he paced, finding his spot. He stopped walking and faced all of us. "We've already released a statement denying the rumours that have recently started to circulate and we're doing the best we could to have Dispatch take down the malicious article they released. We're expecting their response with regards to the matter within the day, but if they don't comply, we'll move forward to pressing charges"

I nodded. "Kamsahamnida."

 

 

[Chaeyoung's POV]

 

 

A tear fell out of my eye as I finished reading Mina's letter. I have to call her.

I frantically reached out at a hidden zipper of my bag and pulled out my main phone. I turned it off as soon as I landed in Spain. I my other phone's mobile hotspot so I could access my SNS in my main phone. Pali, pali, pali. Seconds felt like hours as I wait for my phone to turn on and connect to the internet. I was about to open kakaotalk when a bunch of notifications started flooding. Missed calls from people, messages, article tags, but one out of all of it caught my attention. I think I just read Mina and Bambam's names. I immediately clicked on it.

The headline made my heart sank.

[BREAKING] GOT7 Bambam caught on date with TWICE Mina

I clicked on the picture, it's Bambam coming out of our dorm with Mina waving him goodbye by the door. There's another photo of them seemingly coming out of the car together and heading towards our dorm.

So... I guess they're officially dating now. I looked at her letter once again. The feeling the bittersweet regret started flooding all over me. What have you done, Chaeyoung-a? I smiled at myself. Pabo.

The waitress came back with my cup of coffee.

"Merci. (Thank you)" I muttered.

"Are you alright?" she asked me in Hangeul. I lifted my head.

"Ne. Uh. You're Korean, too right?"

"Ani. I'm actually Japanese." She smiled apologetically. Her wide smile showed her perfect set of teeth as well as her upper gums. It instantly reminded me of someone. "But I can speak Korean, because I lived in Seoul with my brother for two years."

"Oh. I see. How long have you been staying here in Paris?"

"More than a year. I actually study at the university. I'm part-timing as a waitress to earn extra income."

"Are they hiring?" I quipped. Trying to continue our conversation. I just don't want to be alone with my thoughts right now.

"I'll have to ask the manager." She joked back. "Listen, you look like you're travelling alone. If you want, I could give you a city tour after my shift. I'll be off in 30 minutes."

"Jinjja? Kamsahamnida..." I looked at her name tag. I blinked twice to make sure I read it right. "...Sharon." Sharon. Jinjja.

"Ne. That's my English name. People here can't pronounce my name properly so I opted to use this name instead." She laughed. "What's yours? If you don't mind me asking."

Should I tell her my name? Well, what's the harm? I don't think she knows who I am anyway. "Katarina." I said instead. Wae? I didn't lie. It's still my name.

She smiled, "Not what I was expecting but alright. I'll meet you in 30 minutes, Katarina." She bowed, when she was about to leave I held up one finger. She blinked, a little confused.

"By the way, I like your tattoo." I pointed on my arm to mimic the location of her tattoo.

She bowed. "Ah. Kamsahamnida. Are you interested in getting one?"

"Actually, yes. Do you know any tattoo artist from around here?"

"Ne. A friend from just three blocks away from here did my tattoo. If you want, we can go to him later. I mean, if you're free—"

"Sure!" I instantly replied before even thinking twice.

---

We went out of the tattoo shop after an hour. It was faster than I expected. I pulled up my sleeve one last time to check my arm.

"Remember, clean it with lukewarm water, also don't scratch it." Sharon reminded me.

"Yes, don't worry. I'll do everything he told me to do." I smiled at her. "Thank you for accompanying me tonight. It was really great meeting people like you."

"You already have my number, just call me anytime"

I honestly enjoyed Sharon's company. She's a great listener and her stories from her backpacking travels are awesome, even for a few hours I forgot about the things that troubled me. She extended her arm and I did, too.

"Safe travels, little nugget." She tapped my back as we hugged.

And from a distance, I saw a familiar figure. Even with that oversized coat, and the glaring light from the streetlight, I could easily identify that person.

"Mina..."

 

 

[Mina's POV]

 

 

I booked the earliest flight to France after seeing that post from a fan, it's a picture of Chaeyoung at the Metier's art museum In Paris yesterday. Just like that, I sneaked out without the knowledge of our label, not even our managers. I spent the whole day looking for her at the places I expected she'd go to. Art museums, bars, cafés. I was running out of places to go to. What if we already crossed paths but I just failed to notice her. Ani. I know I'll notice her instantly if I see even just her silhouette. Defeated, I started walking back to the hotel I booked after looking for her after I went the last café at my list.

Then I saw her. I saw her walking out of that building with a taller lady. She looks familiar but I couldn't really place who she looks like. It's her! It's really her! The exhaustion immediately vanished when I saw her. I was so excited to yell out her name, Chaeyoung-a— but I felt a sudden lump in my throat when I saw them hugging each other.

Chaeyoung-a...

I was frozen from where I'm standing.

[Chaeyoung's POV]

"Mina..."

I immediately let go of Sharon.

"Are you okay, Katarina?" she asked, looking concerned.

"I-I'm sorry. I think I just saw someone familiar..." I saw her turn her back. "Unnie, thank you so much for accompanying me today. You helped me a lot. Let's keep in touch, okay?"

She smiled. "I'm not sure if we'll be able to meet again but I hope that you live a full and happy life. Goodbye, Katarina." She patted my shoulder and walked away before I could even reply.

I looked at the direction where I saw Mina. She's not there anymore. Was I just imagining things?

 

 

[Mina's POV]

 

 

I turned to an alley, walking as fast as I could.

I made a huge mistake going here. Of course, Chaeyoung doesn't need me. If she wanted to see me, she would've gone home or sent me a message—

I felt a hand grab my arm.

I turned around and all I could see is red. It's the red sweater Chaeyoung is wearing. The weather is cold but I felt warm. I realized that both her arms are wrapped around me. The fruity scent of her strawberry perfume filled up my lungs.

"You came." She whispered to my ear.

Slowly, we pulled away from each other.

She smiled at me.

"Hi."

I didn't know what to say, I have a lot of questions in my mind but I don't know where to begin.

How can you just leave me like that?

Why didn't you come back? We're you just planning to run away like that after telling me you love me?

HOW DARE YOU??

"I love you, too." Her words echoed in my head. She's looking straight to my eyes, still smiling.

Too? Wait, did I say I love you already?

She read the confusion in my face and took something out of her pocket.

It's a folded piece of paper. She opened it up and held it I immediately noticed my hand writing.

I can feel my face turn red. I felt a surge of emotions all at once, and without warning, tears started streaming down my face. I thought she wasn't able to receive it because she left so hastily, I was so scared she won't be able to know how I felt.

"My brother chased me to the airport to give me this. It arrived just after I left home." She explained. Slowly, she folded up the sleeves of her jacket. Revealing something in her arm, inked in apricot and magenta.

        

"I loved your signature line so much that I had it tattooed in my arm."

Chaeyoung-a...

She grabbed my hand pulled me in. "Mianhe."

Hugging me tightly and sending warmth all over my body. I wrapped my arms around her waist and burrowed my face on her shoulder. I can feel her hand caress the top of my head.

We stayed like that for minutes until we pulled away from each other.

"So what now?" I asked.

"Now..." she slid her hand down to mine and let our fingers intertwine. "I'm going to hold this hand and never let it go."

And so will I.