"How are your dreams these days, Tzuyu?" the man of this world of matresses asks as he flashes his signature smirk while lying down on the bed with me.
"Pretty peaceful" I smiled "But not as perfect before"

I would lie if I say it did not improve. It did, dramatically, but there are still the underlying problems— Dahyun still tries to kill Chaeyoung; Everyone keeps asking where is Momo unnie like she is Perry the platypus; and I am bugged that Jeongyeon unnie is getting late night walks with a boy we don't know.

"You now know the importance of fixing your problems, right?"
I nodded in agreement.

"Sleep well, my little Tzuyu"
His hand reaches for my forehead. Soft touches landed as he clears away strands of my hair and leans forward to plant a kiss.

And that kiss sends me back to my reality— Waking up.

_________

It has been 2 weeks since Nayeon unnie and I reconciled. In that 2 weeks, Mina unnie disappeared— well, not that kind of disappear. She just comes home later than Jeongyeon unnie actually, and so is Chaeyoung. And every day that passes by, Dahyun's blue days worsen. Her fake shifts also has taken a toll on her body but no one notice it except me. Sometimes I wish Jeongyeon unnie should go home with Dahyun from her late fake shifts, too, just for her saftey since she is walking home with a boy— and I think that it is not because they are dating. Why would she walk home with a boy when she's actually stronger than most of them? And the fact that she asked another police-in-training can be a little alarming.

There are things that I realized these few months and those realization intensifies after the past incident; I don't have a clear idea about their attitude. As what Jeongyeon unnie was saying to me last time, Nayeon unnie is actually not mad at me and as I prolonged not having conversation with her, it caused a lot of nerve-wracking emotions and misunderstandings. I have no idea that beneath Dahyun and Chaeyoung's bright and comedic personality lies a comforting silence and presence within them. I only know them from the surface; the very obvious mask that they show and I did not try to remove it to understand them better. It is actually a shame that my dreams are the one to send signals about them, not my actual curiosity and eagerness. And these are what I am trying to understand recently.

I lift myself up from the bed and exit my room. The aromatic smell of the garlic and onion gets through my nose, finding myself following it downstairs. The figure of a woman on her back as she cooks greeted me along with Nayeon unnie in her usual hair bun and oversized shirt, sitting at the table while she looks at her phone intently.

I have never seen this scene for a long time. Sana unnie is just cooking; on the couch is Jihyo unnie, reading— she will never stop studying to be honest; and Nayeon unnie is looking funny as she browse with her phone. It must be that time of year again— the end of the end of the school year is near and that means Nayeon unnie's days in this dorm is already numbered.

"Hey Tzuyu, what should I wear for my graduation ball?"
A question that I processed for a while because Korea deosn't have proms.
"Yeah, but our department decides to have one, something like a post-valentine and graduation party. It's pretty new to me too actually"
I look at her and see her shirt having a rabbit with red eyes printed on it, and because of that, instead of an ordinary look, I ended up staring for too long.

A rabbit. The mascot from my dream suddenly pops up in my head. That thing has been around my dream too frequently.

"A white gown with red accent?" I said, questioning my own pick.
"Ain't that too Christmas-y?"
"You do look like a christmas tree ornament" Sana unnie said as she cooks behind her.
"Really? Am I the angel one?" her voice has to end with a higher pitch whith curling her hands on her face, acting all cute that it makes us cringe.
"Who do you think wears red and white, huh?" the girl from the couch speaks.

You can't laugh, you can't laugh, you can't laugh Tzuyu.
"Pft. Santa Claus"
Laughters escapes us except from her. Instead, she sighs as if she's done with life.
"Can you guys at least let me BREATHE" an intonation at the end of her sentence. But no one took her seriously and continues to laugh, no one takes someone who talks to their stuffed toys at the age of 23, seriously.

But in all seriousness, the girl beside me looks good in red— it is her color that destined to be hers. Put her in a red lipstick? She's a hot stuff; Put her in a red sweater with her usual hair bun? A ball of cute fluff. And if only God creates our own separate worlds for each individual being— maybe this world can be our own house but bigger in setting or something along that concept, I will gladly make everything red for her even if it means it will resemble the pits of hell. She owns the color red and it was created for her and hers only.

"Momo!" the blonde cook shouts.

It is like watching a running phenakistiscope. A blonde beauty shouting her name that continues on loop, never getting a reply. Sana unnie never gets an answer these days and Momo unnie stops showing up to something important to her— food and Sana. No one knows where she is. The only source of information we got is by hearsays. 'Yeah, I passed her by', 'She's in her workout clothes'; the same lines we keep hearing like a broken record.

In the appearance of a raging dragon, her eyes screams inconsolable sadness. Only one cure exists in this world for her, and that is for Momo unnie to answer her calling. She badly needs it. They were meant for each other; an invisible red thread connects them, no one knows if it's platonic or romantic but only them.

"Eat everything up!" Sana unnie place the dish in front of us rather rough before walking out. She has been cooking constantly for everyone but for Momo unnie in particular, hoping that she will eat with us. Everyone is aware how the missing girl has been dropping in weight recently and everyone is alarmed. Imagine seeing the other half of your body dying, I can't process how much Sana unnie must be suffering.

"Why's that pig even stopped being a pig?" A question that everyone has in their minds for a while now escapes from the girl in the couch. She sighs and join us at the table, reluctantly tries to eat the prepared food with us.

No one answers.

But It was actually an answer.

Because no one knows.

"You're not going to do that, Chaeyoung!" the door blasts open, leaving us three jolting up and stunned. Dahyun enters in rage as Chaeyoung tails her like a puppy curling its tail downward while looking at its owner with pleading eyes.
"Just this once, please. I don't have money for my allow—" but the other never let her finish.
"That's the thing, Chaeyoung! You don't know how hard to earn that money you just used it to buy those unecessary things! Do you think your parents just up those from their asses and got rich? NO!"

The enraged girl rushed upstairs, leaving Chaeyoung stupefied and us three frozen on spot— hanging our mouths open with the spoon full of food that has gotten cold from the sudden negligence.

I learned a lot about money from the two years of my stay here and that is thanks to Dahyun. It is not easy to live hanging at the edge of poverty and a steady life. She has to work part-time just to get allowance for her to live day-by-day. We are all disappointed at Chaeyoung's money spending habit, but it was more for Dahyun. Not only she is disappointed, she's irritated at how Chaeyoung can spontaneously let go of money in one go—multiple times in a month— that is worth her two months allowance

When Chaeyoung left, that is the only time we feel the air again as we release a long exhale follwed by pantings.
"Damn, what did we do to deserve awkward encounters?" the dejected Nayeon unnie sighs and sinks further at her chair.
"I felt even more bad for Sana's food when we can't take that bite" Jihyo unnie added as she sighs in defeat.

________________
"You skipped breakfast again, Tzuyu?" Dahyun was never thrilled seeing me enter the convenience store so early in the morning every Saturday. But one thing that I am sure of is that she's glad that her secret is safe with me.

And I know the only reason she's not happy to see me is because I give up breakfast just to see her.

"I though you and Nayeon unnie made up already?" she sits in front of me as I eat the choco-filled bun and a box of milk on my side. I nod in response.

"Why are you avoiding Chaeyoung?" I said nonchalantly while taking a bite from the bread and proceeds to take a sip from my milk, watching her choking from her own saliva.

"D-Damn Tzuyu. So straight-forward" pounding her chest, still coughing from the choke "I guess I can't deny that since you saw me frantically hide from her 2 weeks ago that I even left the cash register open" I offer my milk to her but she kindly rejects even though I can see she is near dying from coughing hard.
"I am just disappointed. You saw the phonograph, right?"
The look on her face. I know the stressed part is real but her eyes quiver as she looks straight at me— I break it first because I find it awkward and nerve-wracking.
"Yeah. I saw that you're getting jealous at Mina unnie, too" another round of chest-pounding cough and choking surfaced. Her reaction says it all. Given that she is choking, but her face is literally beet red not because of the cough, but because what I said is the truth.
"Damn Chou Tzuyu. Aren't you too perceptive?"
"So you're not denying it?"

"" is all she can say.

Because no one will think she is in love with her. I wouldn't. If my dreams did not imply that she is romantically involved with her, that thought would never enter my mind. You can get jealous at your friend who stopped hanging out with you for a while, and most people will see that is likely the case.

"I rarely get to see her these days" fiddling with her fingers, her head hangs down as she stay silent for a few seconds, biting her lower lip in hesitation.
"She's being a pain actually. I tried persuading her about money— I know it's not on me how she should use it, but it's not hers also. I wouldn't interfere to be honest if she's not whining how her parents scold her for using their credit card to the point she almost reaches the credit limit"

The credit limit?! What does she even buy?

"She buys those stuff as props for her shoot with Mina unnie— I mean, I really don't mind her passion. But photographies don't require regal items to get good shots, right?" I nodded and keep quiet to let her continue.

"Then there's her, ditching our yearly plans just to have a shoot with her. How can she even forgot our yearly ritual? I am okay if she do that to me, but my parents has been expecting her every year and I really don't want to ruin their anniversary"

The way she said the last part. This whole conversation is already depressing but when she started talking about her parents, I feel it. And when that one instance Chaeyoung fought her parents last week, I understand why this girl in front of me was disappointed. She love her parents and she wants the people around her do the same to theirs. I assume that the 21st is her parents' anniversary they supposed to go to.

"You still haven't answered my question" I take another bite and sip my milk as I watch her hang from disbelief.
"I know you know the answer, Tzuyu. You just want to hear it from my lips"
"I don't" I lie.
"Yeah, yeah, sure. We know how bad you are at lying" she said in an all knowing tone, pointing at my shaking hands. I instantly retracted it.
"How about you guess what I think?"
"Dude I am not dumb! You guess what my real reason is"

The silence lingers as I take a deep breath preparing my answer. Her cheerful facade hardens and her stare cuts deep in to my brain as if she has a specific answer she is waiting for. I don't know, all I can see in her eyes is how lonely she is without Chaeyoung.

"You love her" my words echoes like a fire alarm in her mind, alerting each senses in her body as if it catches fire. Her back stiffened and gulped as she looks me right in the eye like it is the one answering for her. No, her insides has been in fire since this hide-and-seek has started. She has no one to tell and no one to ask to extinguish it.

She nods. "So much" breaking in to a smile, holding her hands together as she grounds herself.

The fire has been put out. Dahyun is now face the aftermat of her feelings.

_________________
I sprawl myself on Chaeyoungs bed, watching her do some homework on her laptop at the side table with her nose all scrunched up and her eyebrows furrowed, definitely disturbed by the early event.

I find my eyes wander the walls of her room and realized she changed layout again— all lit up with neon lights signage of blue, pink, and purple resembling a club while The 1975's Somebody Else plays on her stereo. And according to Dahyun, her parents cut off support to her allowance. I think it is kind of her parents to be even paying for her tuition at this point after I found out that she maxes her credit card. The bills will hit the ceiling this month if she keeps using these neon lights.

"Are you free this 21st, my friend?" I ask lazily as I hang my head upside down on the edge of the bed.

A frustrated sigh escapes her lips as she turns to her side but instantly got confused and chuckled as soon as she sees me.
"What the hell are you doing?" She chuckles in between "You never crash in to any of our rooms; it is usually us. This is so not you. What do you want, Chou?"

"Let me sleep here"

"Suit yourself" She turns back and works again "I have a shoot with Mina unnie on the 21st. Why do you ask?"

I said nothing and continue to lie on her bed for minutes or maybe an hour. Because if I do talk, I might unconsciously push the idea of Dahyun's parent's anniversary and I don't want that to happen. It shouldn't be my business but another part of me wants to help.

As she continues her work, the more she shows her irritation. She will either drop her pen harshly or sigh loud following with a groan.
"Why am I so antsy!" she shouted and closed her laptop. "!"
"Maybe you are forgetting something important?" I said, hinting at the 21st of this month. She spins her chair and faces me in her confused stare, demanding an answer.
"Y-you can ask Dahyun— I mean maybe you are forgetting about assignments, and you two have classes together" I turn my back from her and close my eyes for a brief moment. Chaeyoung will know I am lying if she sees my eyes and I don't want her to suspect me about Dahyun.

"Oh, Bro. You're here!" it went silent. Chuckles from a young man is all I hear. The moment I open my eyes, I see Donghan at the edge of the window, entering from the outside, looking at me with his signature smirk. The heat is creeping up my face, I forgot that Chaeyoung's bed is adjacent to the wall below the window. And for him to come down, he has to climb down to the bed.

"Hey there Tzuyu!" he sits on the railings of the window and waves at me then followed with a wink. I instantly curl at the corner of the bed and leaned on the headboard, hugging my knees and covered my lower part with Chaeyoung's blanket. I wasn't informed that she will have a visitor. I don't even like them seeing me in a shorts and a shirt then an acquaintance suddenly pops up and saw me in my most embarassing clothes.

"Hey, stop" he chuckles "We're cool. You're cool. No need to get embarassed" I felt the bed dip but soon bounced back to its original form.

It was all about money. I didn't knew I will see the extravagant collector Son Chaeyoung asking for money for food instead of her hobby.

"You really should follow her advice since you don't have money anymore" the boy utters in concern and I can feel the i