It had happened yet again. The flower proved to be useless. But at least she was able to see the smile and hear a thank you. That was all Tzuyu needed at that moment. Just Jihyo smiling at her. So it was a small victory. Though Jihyo smiled at her and everyone else a lot. She had never expected to actually develop feelings for Jihyo. It had just happened. She had always thought that she might fall for Mina. Like everyone probably. But Mina remained like a sister to her. Something had just changed when the rest graduated high school and Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu remained in it. That absence of Jihyo did something to her. She still met with Mina the most though. She was the only person that knew about her feelings for Jihyo. Mina knew everything about her actually. She even knew about her troubles with her parents. And in return, Tzuyu knew everything about Mina. It might be a result of them knowing each other for 4 years. Tzuyu came over to Mina and Momo's dorm room every day. Momo was absent a lot though. As she was busy with Nayeon. No one blamed them. They were a couple they all loved even if they teased them. Tzuyu didn't knock. She just entered the room and saw Mina standing in the middle of the room staring outside through the window. Tzuyu got closer and saw the reason for that. Sana and some girl. 
"Do you think you will engrave this in your mind so you will be able to see it after you are blind?" The corners of Mina's lips moved up slightly and she glanced briefly at Tzuyu. 
"Not really." The answer was obvious. Tzuyu just tried to get Mina's mind off the scene. She couldn't understand why Mina kept looking. What was she gaining from that?
"Then why are you staring at it so intently?" Mina snorted and turned gaze to Tzuyu. She was smiling brightly. But Tzuyu knew it was just a mask. Mina somehow mastered the pretended smile to the point it was impossible to tell when it was real and when not. 
"Just because. Maybe if I stare long enough I will stop feeling anything." At least Mina was honest with her. But Tzuyu was never good at comforting. Mina was always the one that comforted her all the time. Albeit it was a situation where Mina needed it as well. What was she supposed to say? "How it went?" Mina changed the subject though. Maybe for the best. Maybe not. But Tzuyu wasn't going to argue with that.
"The same. Nothing new." Mina nodded and gave Tzuyu an apologetic smile. She knew it was pretty strenuous but Tzuyu wanted to do it that way. 
"I am sorry. Maybe you do have to be straight forward with Jihyo after all." Mina commented and gestured for Tzuyu to sit on her bed. There was no hesitation from Tzuyu. Mina sat right next to her and faced her so they could still talk comfortably. 
"I can't. I want it to be romantic like that. Maybe she will finally check the damn meaning of that flower." Mina giggled at the frustrated comment. Tzuyu thought Jihyo would check the meaning after receiving the first flower. But she didn't. And so it went on for months. Tzuyu was just a sweet girl. "Maybe she did but she doesn't like me back so she decided to feign obliviousness." 
"You know, I doubt that. She wouldn't lie to you." Tzuyu was aware of that. But she was just acting dramatic. Jihyo would have been honest with her. Jihyo was always honest with people even if she had to say something the person wouldn't like. 
"Still. She might not like me back." Mina grasped Tzuyu's hand for comfort. She didn't like that Tzuyu was hard on herself because of this.  She could make sure that Tzuyu wouldn't end up doing something silly though.
"Sometimes being with someone we love is worse than being without them. Don't forget that." Tzuyu didn't have to point out the irony in that sentence. Mina was completely aware of that as well. She should have been the first person to stay true to those words.
"Then why?" Tzuyu stared deeply into Mina's eyes. Mina fixed her glasses and shrugged. Then she looked at her hand. 
"Because I want her to be happy. And if I left, she would not be happy. Therefore, I would cause the thing I despise." Tzuyu couldn't argue with that. It was showing how selfless Mina was. She would do anything for them. And Tzuyu really wanted to do everything for Mina. Perhaps she should talk with Sana about it. But it might've made Mina sad. 
"At least don't stare like that." Tzuyu was met with silence. But Mina nodded her head. She knew it was wrong to look at scenes such as that one. She just wanted to make sure that Sana was safe. And she just couldn't look away sometimes. To the point that most of the girls Sana hung out with, thought that Mina was weird. Always looking. Mina was doing it a lot. She was observing, watching people, nature all she could without speaking much. Because she knew she wouldn't see it soon. She wanted to get the best of it. She wanted to have a reason to say later that she experienced everything before she couldn't see anymore. But those girls didn't have to know that. They could have just kept thinking Mina is just a weird girl with thick glasses and gaming console. She didn't care about that. 
"Soon I won't." Tzuyu sighed but didn't comment. There was no point in correcting Mina. She was right to say that. She just wished that Mina didn't have to go through that. She loved playing games and watching movies the most and it would be taken away. She loved observing nature, sit in the park. And she wouldn't be able to see the light coming through the branches. It would be just a fog. A very thick fog. The two of them decided to drop that topic and focus on something fun in the end. Mina was just the most precious when she was all excited about winning with Tzuyu every time in Tekken. So it wasn't bad to lose for that matter.

"A very important question. You are sure about this?" Jisoo didn't want to be a pessimist. But the way she has seen the worst of Nayeon and Momo didn't make her overjoyed that they decided to be friends with the person that started it all again. Sure, she didn't know Sana. But she knew what had happened and what type of person Sana was before. And it didn't make her like the woman one bit. Nayeon and Momo also tried to start their friendship again with others which wasn't as bad of an idea but they were also a part of the troubles her friends had. 
"Jisoo. Don't be jealous." Jisoo wasn't ready for Momo to pretty much shot down her concern immediately. But it was very Momo like. That was why Nayeon and Jisoo became overprotective of Momo. 
"I am pretty much serious, Momo. They caused you harm-" Momo turned to Jisoo from her sit by the table looking serious. Jisoo knew that she has pissed Momo off. But it was worrying it happened so easily. 
"I am serious as well. Mina was my roommate for years and frankly, I know her as well as my sister thanks to that. She is the best person in the world. She didn't mind my snoring and always took care of me, even when I was sick. Sana had some questionable moments but she never hurt anyone on purpose. She was crying for an hour after we saw a dead bird on the street. Jihyo was always supportive and would probably fight anyone that said anything bad about us. Tzuyu is a big baby. That could kill you with her eyes. But baby. She always let me feed her. So I respectfully think you shouldn't worry about that." There was a silence after Momo's little speech. And during that silence, she realized she raised her voice. That she was angry. And it meant that Jisoo would tell Nayeon and they would both start being overprotective again.
"You are right. You know them best. If you are sure then I am supporting this." Momo couldn't tell what Jisoo was thinking. It was fishy that Jisoo just agreed so easily. Momo imagined Jisoo saying something about her raised voice and scowl. Momo was glad she didn't but at the same time, it made her more worried. That Jisoo didn't try to make her talk about her feelings. 
"That's it?" Jisoo nodded and smiled. Momo was even more suspicious of Jisoo after that. Jisoo then simply went back to writing an email and Momo went back to doing her crossword after a few seconds of just staring at Jisoo. She tried not to think about it but she couldn't do it. Her mind was occupied only with what was happening with Jisoo. She knew she needed to focus on something else and she tried to do that. But she was just pointlessly reading the same clue over and over again. 
"What is this about?" Momo couldn't take the rush of thoughts in her head and she needed an answer. Jisoo looked up at her confused. But Momo looked distraught and it worried her a great deal.
"What? What's wrong?" Jisoo got up from the armchair and moved closer to Momo. She kneeled in front of her and waited for an explanation.
"Why did you let go so easily? And why are you not bugging me about my raised voice and a scowl? You are always doing that. And you always start panicking when I start acting off. And aren't you going to tell Nayeon? You always tell Nayeon. And what would Nayeon do? She would think I need to be supervised again. But I feel normal." Jisoo put her hands on Momo's shoulders to calm her down. She was saying everything very frantically and she barely took any breaths. She also looked ready to cry at any time. Jisoo just wanted to let go for once. Considering that it wasn't about anything harmful. She should've thought that it would unsettle Momo. 
"Momo, it's okay. I just really am okay. You sound very sure so I don't worry that much. And I won't tell Nayeon. I don't think it was anything worrying. Considering the subject. Please, it is fine." Momo started nodding and breathing deeply. Jisoo hugged Momo tightly for a few seconds and then smiled. Momo smiled back and was ready to get back to her crossword. Jisoo went back to the armchair knowing that she lied to Momo. And then it was her turn to overthinking and not being able to focus on her work. 

There was not enough free time even after the movie was out already. Couldn't they all just interview the director? Nayeon loved acting but participating in hundreds of interviews that have stupid questions wasn't her favorite thing. She didn't mind it that much when Jimin was around but sometimes they were separated. And Nayeon had to always smile and pretend she finds all the lame jokes funny. She was sometimes so bored during an interview that she stopped paying attention. But that only happened during interviews when she was with someone else there. So she could pretend she wanted to let her partner answer. She was sitting at an interview at that moment and she only was able to take it thanks to Jimin who was taking all the dumb questions and would take the attention on him. She just hoped that people wouldn't start saying that he is selfish and he steals all the attention. Somehow she went through the interview without falling asleep. And apparently, it was a pleasure to talk with her. A fact that Jimin used to for another twenty minutes. She let him have it though. She knew that she was not fond of some of the interviews. And she was suspecting that the interviewers knew when she was insincere with them. 
She was the most relieved when she saw Jisoo's car and she knew would be at home in just several minutes. She could just get rid of that facade and be herself. She could just spend time with Momo and not care about all those people that managed to get on her nerves. But she couldn't help but notice that Jisoo looked troubled. And she didn't like that. 
"What is wrong?" Nayeon finally decided to start the conversation and it was obvious that Jisoo was grateful for that as she relaxed her tensed shoulders. She kept her eyes on the road and made the hard decision to tell Nayeon what had happened. 
"Momo got pretty angry today. For quite a small reason. Just that I wanted to know if she thinks it is truly safe to get involved with your friends. Voicing my concern. It only took one sentence. I think something is bothering her and she doesn't really let herself acknowledge it." Nayeon's stomach dropped when she heard what has happened. Momo didn't lose her temper as easily as she used to right after the fight. So it was concerning. But Nayeon had no idea what could have caused it. They just reconciled with Mina and Sana and they would meet Jihyo and Tzuyu. So shouldn't Momo be happy about that? She was the one that insisted to bring them back together. She needed to talk with Momo immediately when she was back home. She couldn't let Momo be frustrated for long like that.
"And did it last for long?" Jisoo shook her head. And it made Nayeon a tad bit less worried.
"She seemed to realize she was pissed off. But she got bothered by my reaction. That I admitted she was right." Jisoo stopped talking for a moment. She needed to tell Nayeon that she had lied to Momo. She couldn't keep it a secret, especially that she felt very guilty about it. 
"I have lied to her. I told her that I won't tell you about it. And that there is nothing to be worried about." Nayeon wasn't very surprised. They were both guilty of lying to Momo sometimes. She thought that Jisoo did what she had to. Momo would freak out if she was aware of the fact Nayeon found out. That would make things probably worse. Nayeon had to be discretive about it. So that Momo wouldn't figure out that she knew what had happened. But Momo was smart. There was a chance that she would see right through Nayeon and it would just cause trouble. 
"I will try to handle it. I would hate it if Momo's state declined again. I can't lose her. How did Mina always know how to handle that? I don't remember Momo having trouble back then. She only got really sad when Jeongyeon didn't win that baking contest." Jisoo smiled at that memory. She always loved to hear about all the things her friends had done before they met. It always sounded so easy for them. And it made her wonder how that one thing destroyed all that they had. She couldn't believe there wasn't anything else that was the cause of it as well. But she would never outright ask Nayeon or Momo about that. She was worried it would upset her friends.
"Maybe you can ask Mina for help? If she knew how to help Momo back then." Nayeon could do that. It would be so easy. But she didn't want to admit that she couldn't handle the situation. Momo was her girlfriend for years. So she should know her the best. But Mina was the last person on Earth to judge a person for something like that. She would use Mina's help but she would try to get to Momo first herself. 
"I will. But I will talk to Momo myself first. Also, she hasn't seen Mina in years. So maybe she wouldn't be as comfortable with her as much as she was back then." Jisoo considered that to be a reasonable way to handle that. She didn't want to have anything against Mina or Sana, of course. But she was just being cautious. The two of them stuck to that plan and Nayeon went to find Momo immediately after entering the house.

She had found Momo in the living room. Lying on the couch with a bag of potato chips on her stomach. That was a very Momo sight. The barbie movie that was playing on the TV Momo has watched at least a hundred times already. Yet she still looked very into it. Again, a very Momo thing. Nayeon moved closer to the couch as soundless as she could. She didn't want to interrupt the song that was being performed by the characters. She sat down and reached for the bag on Momo's stomach. Momo didn't even flinch. Of course, she wouldn't when the song was playing. And Nayeon knew it. So she waited for the song to finish while shoving some potato chips into . And as soon as the song finished Momo turned to Nayeon and threw her arms around her waist. Nayeon patted her girlfriend on the head and then gave it a soft kiss.
"Hello, girlfriend. How many people irritated you today?" Nayeon couldn't help the laugh that escaped . Momo was too endearing. And she well knew that Nayeon hated most interviews. So Momo most likely expected to hear that everyone got on her nerves. And Nayeon decided that would be a good way to open the conversation. Then gradually take the conversation to Momo's day and hopefully, Momo would be honest with her. 
"Don't get me started. I am convinced those interviewers have a secret contest to see who can annoy me more." Momo giggled at the silly exaggeration. Though she knew what type of questions Nayeon got asked sometimes. And she can't blame her girlfriend for getting irritated. She was annoyed as well upon hearing a lot of them. "I just want some peace for once. Why does everyone need to know what type of hand cream I use."
"They just want to have hands as soft as yours. I wonder who will win that contest though." Nayeon pushed Momo away from her and feigned being offended. Momo knew that and just threw herself on Nayeon again. Nayeon tried to keep her away but after a few seconds, she let her girlfriend fall on her. 
"And how bored were you today?" Momo didn't reply at first. She was contemplating hard if she should just tell Nayeon about what had happened. But she didn't want to cause Nayeon any concern. So she decided not to say anything.
"I was not that bored. Jisoo kept me company and then Barbie replaced her." Nayeon was not surprised that Momo didn't tell her anything. Momo had never really told her what she was exactly doing during the day. Probably so that she wouldn't worry Nayeon and made her feel guilty for sometimes not being home much. She was happy that Momo still told her if she was feeling any strong emotions. Or more accurately, showed. 
" Thank God for Jisoo and Barbie." Momo hummed in approval and then raised her head to bow at the TV. Nayeon shook her head with a huge smile on her face. 
"You know. I called Mina today. She told Jihyo that we are happy to meet with her. Apparently, Jihyo was happy as well. So perhaps, she forgot how she swore she would send you on a ship far away so you can never piss her off again." Let out an awkward laugh at the memory. She certainly would never forget how mad Jihyo was when she forgot to pick Tzuyu up from school when she had to stay there once until 9 p.m. There were no buses left at that time and Tzuyu lived 15 kilometers away from the school. And Nayeon had no doubt that Jihyo would not hesitate to do that. 
"God, I hope that isn't the reason why she is so happy to meet with us. So she can finally ship me over somewhere far away." They shared a hearty laugh after that and just stayed quiet. They opted to watch the rest of the barbie movie. Nayeon didn't really focus on the movie though. She was trying to figure out what to do with Momo. Maybe she really should talk to Mina about it? Perhaps, it would be even easier for Momo to talk about it with Mina. She should arrange a meeting for Momo and Mina alone then. She was sure Momo would be excited to go out without Nayeon or Jisoo. And she was pretty sure Mina didn't exactly go out without Sana either. The way Sana was always pretty much hanging off of Mina whenever they were outside told her everything. It could be a great way to let the two of them try something old that would feel new.

"To the surprise of no one, that girl got what she deserved." Chaeyoung observed the girl that was furiously wiping her shirt from the spilled shake. It wasn't exactly anyone's fault. But she apparently said something rude about Dahyun so the fact that her shake spilled on her made Dahyun, Rosé, and Yeri happy. Chaeyoung sighed heavily and started sipping her apple juice. She had to admit that the three girls tried to behave themselves. They weren't even swearing. But it wasn't ideal nonetheless.
"She had it coming. Karma is a , right? Now she will have to stroll around in a dirty, wet shirt." Yeri went along with Dahyun's comment. And Chaeyoung hoped they would settle on that. She didn't have to hear a whole story about other people that have met karma. Dahyun nodded and laughed to prove that the situation was pathetic to her. Rosé was the only one that didn't really engage. And it was more than surprising to Chaeyoung. But it was most likely because she was busy with glaring at Chaeyoung. What had she ever done? She was actually pretty scared of Rosé. Something was intimidating about her. 
"Rosé, stop staring at Chaeyoung. She won't like you anyway, her heart is taken." Dahyun and Yeri both burst out laughing and it looked like they were suffocating, to Chaeyoung at least. Rosé didn't look as amused though and she looked the other way. Which Chaeyoung was grateful for. 
"Rosé can't even flirt properly. She will just stare at you until you notice and get freaked out because her gaze is scary." Yeri continued making fun of her friend and Dahyun started laughing even harder. Rosé took a deep breath and lifted her glass to take a big sip of her green tea. Well, at least they weren't ridiculing people around them. And it seemed like Rosé was used to such behavior. 
"You two are as mature as 3-year-olds. Though on the second thought I don't want to insult 3-year-olds." Dahyun and Yeri stopped laughing at once and both shot a glare at Rosé. Who quite frankly, looked unbothered. 
"Alright. Sorry. I just thought that Chaeyoung feels pressured by your constant glaring." Dahyun patted Chaeyoung on the shoulder a little bit to hard not to hurt. Since when was Dahyun even strong? 
"I was not glaring. I was simply letting her know I see all of her movements." Rosé still didn't look Chaeyoung's way. Well, it was easy. Chaeyoung was sitting right in front of her so Rosé just had to look anywhere else. But Chaeyoung wasn't sure if that glaring was necessary. She was pretty much sitting silently next to Dahyun and would engage in the conversation when it wasn't about something offensive. 
"We all know you are a softie anyway. Let the girl live. Look at her. She is scared of you." Yeri gestured at Chaeyoung and then punched Rosé lightly on the arm. Rosé only rolled her eyes. She was allowed not to like Chaeyoung. And if Yeri somehow changed her mind about Chaeyoung, even though that girl didn't do anything to show she means no harm, that's her decision. Rosé didn't like the way Chaeyoung looked at them with judging expression. As if she was better than them. And she didn't like the way Chaeyoung would make a disgusted face whenever they talked about someone. And she didn't like the way Chaeyoung slurped her juice. 
"It's fine. I guess I don't click well with you guys." Dahyun leaned away from Chaeyoung and put her hand on her chest offended. Yeri did a similar thing and punched Rosé on the arm a little bit harder than before. 
"How dare you? You click just right with us. You are like that one friend that annoys everyone but people still like her." Yet again, Chaeyoung felt insulted and complimented at the same time by Dahyun. At least, they didn't decide to make fun of her for defending every person the three friends try to insult.
"Exactly. You are pretty chill. Even if a little irritating." Yeri also didn't spare Chaeyoung but at least she didn't hate her. Like Chaeyoung was convinced Rosé did. For what though? She could not provide even a single answer. 
"Great. Then you can like her. Congratulations." Rosé tried to sound like she wasn't serious. And she hoped neither of the girls caught on to that. They didn't. She somehow didn't want that girl to get close to Dahyun again. Didn't she suffer enough? Why did that girl have to come back? She would bring back those bad memories for sure. 
"Oh, Rosé. We still love you. And maybe Chaeyoung will reciprocate your feelings one day as well." Dahyun didn't even manage to laugh before Rosé kicked her shin and she had to keep her yelp in. Yeri laughed even more though when she noticed what had happened. Chaeyoung, on the other hand, started thinking. And she didn't like that. She managed not to think about that for the whole time she was with the other girls. And Dahyun had to bring that up again. She never thought it would be possible for her to stop loving Mina. She had tried already and it didn't work at all. So could it ever? What if she actually met Mina again? Would it help her get over her feelings? It would just make her fall for Mina more. But it would have been so much easier if she was just able to move on. 

After they were done with their lunch and the whole getting to know each other, Dahyun offered that they would walk Chaeyoung back home. The offer was declined though. Chaeyoung decided to go to see her mom. She wanted to talk about that whole thing with Dahyun. Because her friend told her finally that her mom was to blame for the visit from Dahyun. Not that she was angry or anything. She just wanted to know why her mom didn't tell her about it. She had the right to know after all. And the whole way to her parents' house Chaeyoung wondered how to start that conversation. Because was it right to just walk in and demand an answer to why her mom told Dahyun where she lived. 
Chaeyoung's mom was waiting for her at the door after she has seen her daughter approach the house from the window in the living room. She wanted to hear all about Chaeyoung's day and how she was feeling about seeing Dahyun again. So Chaeyoung was greeted by her weirdly smiley mom. 
"Hi." Chaeyoung muttered and took off her shoes. Her mom waited patiently and then lead her daughter to the living room. She sat Chaeyoung down on the couch. Mrs. Son told Chaeyoung to wait for her to come back with tea and pie. Chaeyoung was quite worried about what could've caused the behavior her mother exhibited. But she seemed happy so Chaeyoung didn't mind it that much. 
"So how was your day? Did you have fun? I think you could use some fresh air once in a while so I am glad you were out today." She should've expected that was the reason for her mom's good mood. Her mom tried to push her to have friends again. And Dahyun was back. So it meant that she somehow succeeded. Chaeyoung couldn't tell her mom that Dahyun was just a rude person now though. It would make her sad. But could she just lie to her mom like that? She could just say half-truth.
"So Dahyun somehow learned where I live." Her mom waved her hand and just smiled innocently. She didn't mean anything bad by telling Dahyun where Chaeyoung lives. 
"Aren't you happy that you have met Dahyun again? You two were so close. It's a good sign. You have your friend back. You can tell her anything that bothers you that you are too embarrassed to talk with me. And her new friends were really sweet." Chaeyoung shouldn't have expected that the three of them put on a great show for her mom. She wished that they had put on a show for her as well. At least she wouldn't have to listen to their rude comments. She also wondered if Dahyun, Rosé, and Yeri nearly died from being nice for the whole time they were talking with her mom. 
"Yeah. It's cool. Just so much time has passed that it's not as easy as it was before. And I think her friends are very lovely." If her mom didn't see through her very forced smile then Chaeyoung got very good at acting. It felt wrong to even call them lovely. She couldn't believe she was protecting those girls' good name. 
"I am so relieved. You deserve to have someone close to you again, Chaeyoung. Dahyun was very happy to see you again. Though she was a little guilty for some reason. And she had a bruise on her cheek. I hope she is okay." Mrs. Son had to thank God for bringing Dahyun back. And that Dahyun managed to get through her hardship. Chaeyoung was thinking about something different at the same time. That she was the reason that Dahyun had a bruise. She decided not to tell her mom about that either.
"Hopefully, we will go back to how it was. That bruise was from hitting a drawer. Don't worry. I am kinda worried though. I wouldn't want this to end in a similar way it did last time." Chaeyoung's mom embraced her daughter and didn't let go until Chaeyoung decided it was enough. She wanted to be sure that Dahyun would stay and Chaeyoung wouldn't be alone anymore. 
"Try to keep a positive mind, Chaeyoung. Don't think negatively all the time. I know it's not easy but it's better that way." Chaeyoung could only nod. She couldn't argue about that. She was aware of the fact that she was being very pessimistic and that it could be the reason for her worries to come true. The worst thing that could happen was that she was wrong and Dahyun would leave again and she would be alone. 

Dahyun thought that everything was going well. She felt like she went back those five years. She had never forgotten how close she was with Chaeyoung back then. And it probably was the hardest to leave because of her. But she did what she needed to do. She had to cut herself off. She was too ashamed of the whole situation to the point that she couldn't look anyone in the eyes. She would admit that she could've handled that better. Maybe be more honest. She pretty much just told them one day that she couldn't meet them anymore. But it seemed like they had all understood why she did it. Well, Chaeyoung only reacted that way to her because she was really rude to her. And she had something to brag about to her mom. She would see that Dahyun doesn't need to see a therapist. She has reconciled with Chaeyoung after all. 
"Mom?!" Dahyun was actually very excited about it. She wanted to prove a point to her mom. She believed that it would finally give her some space. Dahyun spotted her mom walking out of the bathroom with a mop and she was looking alarmed. But Dahyun approached her and put on a smug smile. "Guess what? I have met Chaeyoung recently. And we are friends again." Mrs. Kim was quite baffled. She could see how proud of herself Dahyun was and it was truly good news. But somehow she had a hard time imagining that Dahyun and Chaeyoung were friends again so fast. Even if she felt bad for thinking so. 
"That's good. I can tell you are very happy about that. Chaeyoung was always a great friend." Dahyun nodded along, nearly dismissively. Which was an obvious clue that there was something else to that news.
"Of course. Chaeyoung was happy to see me as well. See? I am doing fine." And there was the real reason. Mrs. Kim couldn't say she was surprised. Nonetheless, she was disappointed. She didn't think that Dahyun should use her friendship with Chaeyoung as bribery. But obviously, Dahyun was ready to do that just not to get help. Dahyun didn't like the expression on her mom's face. Her plan was supposed to get a different reaction. 
"Dahyun, I am happy that you met Chaeyoung. But that doesn't mean that your burdens are gone. Just because you have faced someone from your past." Dahyun's expression immediately changed from an expectant smile to a scowl. Why was her mom acting like that? 
"Why can't you understand that I don't want to go to therapy. I am handling myself, aren't I? I live normally, I have friends, I can talk about what happened. What would I get from telling some random person that I was a star five years ago?" Dahyun wasn't yelling but her voice was full of anger. Mrs. Kim wished that Dahyun would see that she just showed one of the reasons why she needs to seek help. She was trying to do everything to ignore that she was struggling. And it was true that Dahyun talked about the incident. Perhaps, even too much and in a rather vulgar language most of the time.
"You are trying to ignore everything. You pretend that nothing burdens you but it does." Mrs. Kim tried to take Dahyun's hands in hers and give some comfort to her daughter. But Dahyun moved her hands away.
"How do you know? You are not sitting in my head. You are just telling me how I feel but you don't know . You just want me to need help because you have to take care of someone. Take care of your own business. And leave me alone for 's sake." And so Dahyun left after exclaiming all of it. She didn't look back. She didn't want to stay at her house. Maybe because she knew she shouldn't have said those words. Perhaps because she was angry with her mom. Or it was both. She ignored those feelings, as she usually did though. And she went to the only person that she felt like fully supported her and never judged her. She didn't think about texting her first or calling her. Dahyun just went straight to her place. And desperately knocked on the door. The door opened and Dahyun just went in.
"What happened? You were home?" Dahyun just took Rosé's hand and dragged her to her friend's room. Rosé was used to such behavior. She hated it. Because Dahyun was obviously hurting. But she could only be there for Dahyun as emotional support. Dahyun didn't let her do anything else. If you asked Rosé, she agreed with Dahyun's mom. Her friend needed therapy. She was couldn't order Dahyun to do it though. Rosé didn't want to lose her. And she was scared something like that would cause Dahyun to be angry with her. So she could only hold Dahyun in her arms while the girl cried. And tell her the things that Dahyun wanted to hear. Everything to make Dahyun feel better.

Sitting for an hour in her car wasn't exactly what she wanted to do. But she couldn't go inside and face Tzuyu. She promised herself that she would finish early and go see Jeongyeon. She was even close to doing just that. But at the last moment, she was stopped. The recording of one of her new songs stretched in time. She had to sing it so many times because apparently, something was always wrong. She went out of work pretty pissed. She didn't even want to imagine how upset Tzuyu was. That was also why she didn't enter their house. It was better to imagine that Tzuyu was just slightly sad that she couldn't be there again. But that most likely wasn't the case. She put her head on the steering wheel and sighed. She stayed in that position until a knocking startled her. She rolled the window down looking down so that she wouldn't have to look at Tzuyu.
"Are you going to sleep here?" Tzuyu's voice didn't sound out of the ordinary. But Jihyo still didn't dare to look up. She just decided to shake her head. "Then what are you doing here?" Jihyo took the keys from the passenger's seat and opened the door. Tzuyu moved away and just walked back inside without waiting for Jihyo. Jihyo watched Tzuyu disappear inside the house and only then she started moving. She took her outerwear off and then patted Gucci. Their dog could never be angry with them. But she probably should be angry with Jihyo. Tzuyu was nowhere to be found downstairs. So she was upset. Jihyo guessed she was in her room already. And she definitely didn't want to talk with Jihyo.
"Am I not supposed to be the responsible, caring girl? Why can't I handle this?" Gucci barked back at Jihyo. She even wanted to interpret what that could mean but she shook her head in the last second. It didn't mean anything. "Do you think I should talk about it with someone? Like with Mina?" She was just talking to herself even if she was looking at Gucci. Her idea sounded the most reasonable. Mina had always found a way out of trouble. She would definitely help. Mina had never refused to help anyone. Jihyo had to only figure out how to explain everything to Mina. She wouldn't judge her. Obviously. But Tzuyu was her close friend. If she had learned that Jihyo was hurting her she would have been hurt as well. 
She had never thought she would be too weak for something. Everyone used to lean on her. Where did that go? Perhaps, that incident had more influence on her than she thought. Why did she ask Tzuyu to move in with her in the first place? To make her sit alone in the house? And why did she lashed out on Sana back then? She didn't even ask for an explanation. She didn't try to stop Jeongyeon? Why did she let Chaeyoung say those things? If Sana was really innocent, Jihyo was the one to blame for that whole thing. Maybe they would've been still friends if she had stopped them and let Sana explain. 
Jihyo stopped dwelling on that after a few minutes. She couldn't just fall into the blaming game. She went upstairs with Gucci trailing after her and she knocked on Tzuyu's door. She didn't get an answer. As she had expected. So she opened the door and peeked in. Tzuyu was sitting on her bed watching something on TV. She definitely knew Jihyo opened the door but kept ignoring her.
"I am sorry. Good night." Her sorry probably didn't mean anything. But it was sincere. She stayed there for a moment. Hoping that Tzuyu would say something. And she did.
"I know. Good night." Tzuyu didn't look at her. Jihyo couldn't blame her for that. Gucci moved around Jihyo's legs and walked inside Tzuyu's room. Jihyo closed the door when she saw the tiny dog got picked up and placed on the bed. She hoped she could get some sleep that night. She lied in bed thinking instead. She wanted to promise herself again that she would be present the next time. But she didn't want to break that promise. So she grabbed her phone from the nightstand and typed a short message to Mina. She didn't care when she would get a reply. She just hoped she would get one. And that Mina would be willing to talk about her problems with her the next day. Even though they should be working at that time. Mina replied faster that Jihyo had anticipated. With a positive answer. She didn't ask about anything. She just said that she would be there for Jihyo. Perhaps, she missed that. Having her friend just one text away. She was able to fall asleep after that. But it wasn't a good sleep. And it was an even worse morning. With Tzuyu being silent the whole time except for saying good morning and see you.