This chapter is the preparation for the nine-slaps-scene. Just like the previous chapter, this will be heavily focused on Mina's POV, and not so much of Nayeon's POV anymore. We already know what is inside Nayeon's mind anyway, what is so fun in writing the obvious? The mystery that is left for us now is, what is inside Mina's mind? How does a dense mind work? What do dense people think? And what is inside a dense mind?

@ Everyone who comments on the previous chapter: Nine-slaps-scene is coming up next LOL

@ Hosana_to_highest : You know Chiaki is the embodiment of the Author's mind, so forgiving her means I am forgiving myself. And don’t forget the original nine-slaps-scene was MinaChiaki in the pirate fic (Chapter 48), Chiaki gave Mina nine slaps after Nayeon ordered Mina to try to make Chiaki angry.

@ 1stanMichaeng : Right. Sana will be paired with Tzuyu next.

@ krina_love : Before Mina started dating Sana, Tzuyu came and scolded Mina, saying she shouldn’t toy with Sana’s heart. Now Jeongyeon would come to scold Mina, saying she shouldn’t toy with Nayeon’s heart.

@ Jenolen : In the pirate au, Nayeon loves Mina as her little sister (platonic). MiChaeng and MiNayeon roles are reversed in both fics. In pirate fic, MiChaeng is romantic while MiNayeon is sisterly. In cowgirl fic, MiNayeon is romantic while MiChaeng is sisterly.

THURSDAY MORNING. AT THE SAVANNAH.

Mina was sitting alone on the grass field, her Gameboy in hand. Her horses were busy feeding themselves on the grass field, while their owner was busy playing with her Gameboy.

The gameboy did help a lot. It helped her passing time while herding her horses in the savannah. And Mina figured she would need to but a lot of batteries to play with the gameboy for long hours.

However, the thing that the gameboy couldn't do was to help Mina take her mind off Nayeon. Mina's eyes were locked on the gameboy, her fingers were busy pressing the buttons, but her mind was clearly elsewhere.

The Japanese cowgirl still couldn't believe what actually happened between her and the CEO. And she didn't know what to do about it.

But now she understood what Jeongyeon meant when she said she would take Nayeon for her if she didn't take action. Jeongyeon had given her time until Friday to take action. And it was probably Mina's subconscious mind speaking back then, when she decided to take Sana to go for a date to the amusement park yesterday. Mina didn't want to admit it, but deep inside she was afraid she wouldn't be able to take Sana out for a date again after this Friday.

Mina still couldn't decide which one she loved the most, Sana or Nayeon. All she knew now was that both Sana and Nayeon were in love with her, and that she wanted to love them both. But that will make her become a greedy person. She knew she had to choose only one.

Mina remembered before she decided to accept Sana's confession, she wasn't very sure if she loved Sana more than friends or not. Back then she thought love could be grown, and she thought she could try to love Sana. She did enjoy every moment she had with Sana, but she still wasn't sure if she loved her or not, and how much her love had grown for her.

If love means protection, she had already acted as Sana's protector ever since they were in school. She saved Sana from bullies. She picked Sana up and walked her home whenever Sana felt scared walking alone. She watched over Sana and protected her from danger. Heck, she even took a torturous beating from the sheriff's younger brother as a price for protecting Sana from getting by him.

And if love means comfort, Mina had already been there to give Sana comfort ever since they were younger. If love means company, they have already been there for each other as a company for a long time. If love means giving each other happiness, they already did that since they were a kid. Mina and Sana had always been happy just being with each other.

And now Mina couldn't help but wonder, is that what love means? Protection? Comfort? Company? Happiness?

Is there anything else that could define what love is?

And what is the difference between romantic love and friendship?

Mina had no idea.

Now she was dating Sana, and she didn't want to break up with her. But she also didn't want to leave Nayeon alone, now that she knew Nayeon loved her. As much as she wanted to love Sana, she wanted to love Nayeon too.

She wanted to give Nayeon protection, comfort, company, and happiness. She knew Nayeon was hurting and lonely, and she wanted to save Nayeon from her misery.

Mina kept thinking about Sana and Nayeon for the whole day, while herding her horses on the savannah.

An hour before the sunset, Mina prepared herself to go home. And just then, from a distance she saw a car coming at her direction.

She recognized the car as Jeongyeon's car. And she knew what was coming to her next. Jeongyeon wanted to talk to her about the recording, and about Nayeon.

The car parked on the side of the road. Jeongyeon got out and walked up to Mina.

"I called you yesterday, but you weren't home." Jeongyeon said.

"I had a date with Sana." Mina replied shruggingly.

Jeongyeon glared at her.

"You had a date with Sana? On weekdays?"

"Yes. And what's wrong with it? I can have a date with anyone anytime that I want." Mina said without a care.

Jeongyeon sighed. She wanted to smack Mina but afraid Mina would smack her back and knock her out. This penguin could really pack a punch even when she's not in a dark mode. Jeongyeon knew she was just a little fish and she was nothing compared to the penguin. And therefore she chose to use a nonviolent, but more intimidating way to confront Mina.

"Have you listened to the tape?" Jeongyeon then asked.

"Yes." Mina nodded.

Jeongyeon stared at Mina. "What do you think about it?"

"I don't know. This is so sudden. I still need more time to think." Mina said, still not showing a care.

"Well, if you don’t take action until Friday, I will take Nayeon away from you."

"She's not mine. Take her if you want. You kissed her back then, in the restaurant. You like her, and I bet she will like you too." Mina said, again without a care.

And it made Jeongyeon want to smack Mina even more. Now she knew why Nayeon wanted to slap Mina all the time. The girl was just so dense and annoying.

Jeongyeon took a deep breath. She then spoke,

"You see, Nayeon loves you, Mina. Everything she did, she did it for you. Back then, when you were taken into her mansion after you were kidnapped and beaten by Seunghyun, she already knew about what happened to you. She asked me to help you send Seunghyun to prison. And she told me to lie to you, saying I was working for free. The truth is, she paid me to work on Seunghyun's case. And she was the one who hired those bodyguards for us. When you were about to have a gang fight with Seunghyun's men, Nayeon already knew it and she called the police in order to prevent the gang fight. And actually, Nayeon and I were there inside the warehouse when you had a one-on-one fight with Youngbae. We were there, we watched your fight, and Nayeon was so worried about you back then. She kept begging me to order our bodyguards to stop the fight and help you. But I didn't do it because I knew you were going to win the fight without our help."

Mina didn't say anything, only staring at Jeongyeon.

"She gave you a lot of projects, not caring whether it would give her profit or loss, as long as she could spend more time with you. She even covered up the loss for the projects for you. She lied to her family, and even Jaebum, just so that she could go for a horse-riding trip with you to the savannah and mountain. She did everything to get closer to you, but you never realized it."

Mina still said nothing.

"She still has a high hope for you. She loves you, Mina. If you don't love her, you gotta tell her so that she can stop waiting for you, and start moving on from you. But if you love her, then go to her and tell her that. If you don't take action, I will take Nayeon for me. Seriously, I won't hesitate to take Nayeon away from you. She deserves to be happy and to be loved." Jeongyeon said.

Mina took a deep breath. "I will think about it."

Jeongyeon stared at Mina. "Mina, now you have Sana. Both Sana and Nayeon love you. But you can't be with them both. You have to make your decision. Don't play with their hearts. Don't be with one of them and cheat with the other one. You have to choose only one. That's the rule. If you don't play by the rule, you will not only break one heart, but two hearts. And if you do that, I will find a way to frame you with a horrendous crime, then I will sue you and send you to prison, and let you rot in there for the rest of your life." The lawyer said threateningly.

Mina didn’t say anything. Jeongyeon then left with a smug, victorious smile on her face, feeling satisfied to be able to intimidate Mina. Of course, not even someone who is brave and strong like Mina can win against a lawyer and a jail-threat.

Mina let out a desperate sigh. She never thought falling in love would be so complicated and dilemmatic like this. Now she has to make a choice between Sana and Nayeon.

Mina arrived home after the sunset, and she still had a lot of things in her mind.

Mina took a shower and then joined dinner with Yejin, Chaeyoung, and Seoyeon. And after they finished, she came closer and sat next to Yejin, wanting to have a talk with her.

"Yejin, I have a question again." She said.

"What is it?"

"Before I decided to date Sana, I asked you a question about you and my father. I asked you whether you've loved my father before you married him. And you said you didn't love him back then when you married him, but you started growing love for him everyday as you live together with him. You said love can be grown if we try to." Mina said.

"Yes, I said that." Yejin nodded.

Mina stared at Yejin, seemingly hesitant to ask the next question.

Yejin waited, and Mina continued.

"What if... What if after you got married with my father, you found yourself still unable to love him? What if you still can't love him even though you have tried to? What will you do then? Divorce him?"

That question put Yejin in daze for a moment.

"Hm. Interesting question." Yejin thought for a moment, and then she spoke. "Honestly, Mina, I cannot answer your question, because everything will depend on our feelings and our circumstances. I cannot answer it because, even I can decide it differently in a different time and different circumstances. Everybody has a reason for loving someone and not loving someone. Everybody has a reason for retaining their marriage or taking the path of divorce. There must be a reason. For example, if your father cheats on me, or conducts domestic violence on me, of course I will take action and probably divorce him."

Mina interrupted. "What if everything is still fine? I mean no one cheating and no domestic violence, but you still cannot love him. Will you divorce him?"

Yejin smiled. "Hm. I still cannot answer it, Mina. Just like I said, it is a very personalized question. It depends on many factors, for example our personality, and the personality of current partners, and how much our personality matches with our partners. It also depends on how both parties view themselves and the world around them. It depends on what you want for yourself and for your partner."

Mina was still not satisfied with those answers.

"What if your personality matches, you have the same views and the same goals, but you find another person who you love more than you love your current partner? Will you divorce him? Will you leave your husband and go for the other guy?"

Yejin thought for a moment. "Some people will. Some people will not. And right now, I don't know what I will do, until I am in that position."

"Ah! Yejin! You're not answering my question!" Mina exclaimed in frustration, upon which Yejin just smiled.

As if knowing what Mina was facing, Yejin spoke to her. "Make your decision, Mina. Don't worry, there's no right or wrong in this." She smiled, and then left the room.

It was still 7 PM that day.

Mina spent another hour thinking. There was a huge battle inside her heart.

And finally, she made her decision.

She picked her phone and called a number. She talked for a few seconds with that person.

And after that, she grabbed her jacket and her key, and left with her car, driving to Sana's house.

AT SANA'S HOUSE.

Sana had just come back from her work, and she had just finished eating her dinner when suddenly she received a phone call from her beloved girlfriend.

"Sana, can I come and talk to you tonight? I have something important to say to you." Mina said on the telephone.

"Sure, just come, Mina. I'll be waiting." Sana said, and they hung up.

Deep inside, Sana already knew what Mina was going to talk about. She had noticed it, the change in Mina's behavior for the past few weeks. Mina still treated Sana well, but there was something lacking between them. And Sana knew what it was. So when Mina called her on the phone tonight, she already had a gut feeling about what was going to happen, and she couldn't help but feel so sad.

After Sana received that phone call, she didn't do anything other than sitting on her bed in her room, waiting for Mina to come. Waiting for the storm to come.

Mina arrived at Sana's house a few minutes later. Sana noticed the serious