March 24, 2018

5:03 PM

It hadonly been a few weeks since Chaeyoung started college and she already felt drained from all the tasks assigned to her. Turns out a major in film was more demanding than she anticipated. It involved a substantial amount of literature, which wasn’t much of a surprise to her, and also a lot of English. Granted, she wasn’t awful at the language, but she wasn’t exactly fluent either. It was because of these things that she adored heading back to her dorm. The walk was always quiet and managed to give her some peace of mind. It also helped that she was always alone whenever she got back. She was told that she had a roommate, an upperclassman to be exact, but she's never actually seen her yet. She was aware that her roommate was a pre-med student and was usually the first to leave the dorm and last to get back. However there were a few instances where Chaeyoung would wake up, or come back, to find her sleeping roommate covered head to toe by a blanket. She’d be lying if she said she never thought about taking a peek under those sheets just to see what her roommate looked like, but she respected her and more importantly she didn't want to seem like a creep, so she always chose to leave her be.

On this particular day, Chaeyoung did not head straight back to her dorm room and instead decided to have an early dinner. She figured that she would fall asleep the moment she steps in her room and decided to eat now rather than not at all. She felt a bit gluttonous as she stared at the burger joint across the campus and contemplated on whether or not she would order herself three burgers. “ it,” she thought as she started walking there. 

5:47 PM

Chaeyoung regretted her decision to order three burgers. She wasn’t aware of the actual size of her food, that is until it was given to her, and called B.S. on the menu photos. In the end she was only able to eat two, so she kindly asked for a paper bag from the cashier and slowly, agonizingly made her way back to back to her dorm. She swore she hadn’t felt this full since she was a child and her mother made the mistake of introducing her to strawberries. She did her best not to throw up since she was nearly back and she could just throw up at her toilet. She tried distracting herself by thinking about what to do with the remaining burger. She thought about saving it for tomorrow but immediately dismissed the idea as the burger would no doubt turn soggy by morning. She then thought about giving it to her roommate instead and how she would do it. She figured she’d just leave write a note and leave it on her study table. She instantly thought it was a great idea and started writing something down on the white paper bag. Her mind was suddenly filled with thoughts about formally meeting her roommate as she fished for her keys. Apparently she got pretty popular around the university for dancing at a talent show, at least that’s what she heard from Tzuyu. A moment passed and she realized that her keys were nowhere to be found. It dawned on her that she might have left it inside her dorm, on her desk to be exact. She brought her palm to her face and sighed at her own negligence. She grabbed the doorknob, wanting to angrily twist it a few times, but to her surprise the door was unlocked. Feeling a bit paranoid, Chaeyoung proceeded to open the door with caution, fearing that there might be an ongoing burglary. However, as she silently opened the door, all she saw was a girl in her underwear, checking herself out on the mirror. 

Chaeyoung gulped harder than she ever had in her life when she saw the girl cup her own s. What unfolded before her felt surreal to her. The logical side of her kept screaming, “Stop! Look away you ing weirdo,” but her eyes were glued to her. It’s wasn’t some sort of ual awakening for her, she’s known for a while now that she’s uninterested in men, she just couldn’t help but check her out from head to toe. Chaeyoung was in a trance, all she could think about at the moment was how attracted she was to the girl before her, however that trance would soon be broken by a loud scream followed by a pencil case hitting her square on the nose. “Ow! Motherer!” Chaeyoung shouted as she grabbed the injured area in pain.

“What the do you think you’re doing, you ing ?” she said as she continually threw random objects at Chaeyoung.

“Stop! Please, I’m sorry! Mina unnie, I’m your roommate!” She stopped her relentless attack on the younger girl who groaned in pain due to the barrage of pillows, slippers and various schools supplies. 

“You’re Chaeyoung?” Mina looked at the her, a hint of shock and recognition evident on her face upon the mention of her roommate’s name. She lowered her gaze to the young girl’s hand and saw a paper bag with a familiar logo as well as a short note addressed to her. 

Hey, I know we haven’t actually met yet, but here’s a burger. Don’t worry, there's nothing weird in it. It's just really damn big. -Chaeyoung

She laughed a little on the inside and found the younger girl to be quite adorable. “That really for me?” She walked closer to her and held her hand out to help the younger up. Chaeyoung looked at Mina, dumbfounded by the complete 180 turn and also the fact that she was still wearing the same amount of clothing, which was almost nothing. 

“Yeah, I figured you were hungry from always coming back late,” she answered. She then took her hand and stood up. “Sorry about whatever just happened. I was just surprised and I had no idea what you looked like until now. I thought we’d meet under different circumstances.”

“That’s alright, but how did you know it was me just now?” Mina asked.

“Well, who else has access to this room?” Chaeyoung stated.

“Right,” Mina said as she giggled. She noticed Chaeyoung’s unease, the light blush she had on her face and her refusal to look her way. It was then when realized she was still in her underwear. “I’m just gonna go and get changed in the bathroom. You can just leave that on the desk for now,” she said as she grabbed the outfit she had laid on her bed earlier and hastily made her way towards the bathroom.

“Good job, Chaeng. Nothing says, ‘Hello, roomie,’ like drooling over her for half a minute.” For the second time in the day, Chaeyoung brought her palm to her face and sighed. This definitely wasn’t how she pictured meeting her roommate.

6:20 PM

Over thirty minutes had passed and her roommate was still in the bathroom. Chaeyoung wondered if Mina was just as embarrassed as she was. She shrugged it off, however. Some girls like to take their time and she understood that. She busied herself by going on Instagram, checking out what her friends were up to. Mina came out a minute later with an all black outfit and a bit of light makeup which made Chaeyoung tear her eyes away from her phone and unconsciously whistle. “Still ing on me, I see.” It wasn’t very loud, but apparently it was enough for Mina to hear.

“What? I wasn’t- I mean, that wasn’t- Oh God.” Mina laughed at how she reduced her roommate to a stuttering mess. Chaeyoung could only pout in response to her roommate’s teasing. 

“I’m kidding, Chaeyoung,” she said as picked up her purse. “Anyway, wanna come with?” 

“Where are we going?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m gonna go to a bar. It’s my birthday today, I’m gonna celebrate.”

March 22, 2027

9:37 PM 

Hey, Chaeng,

How have you been? Good, I hope. I heard you were coming to Tokyo to promote your film. That’s great, I thought. Until I wondered how this letter would ever reach you... or if you would even find the time to read it. You’ve really made a name for yourself over the years. Anyway, I don’t know if you remember but my birthday’s coming up. I don’t know how long you’ll be in Japan for but it would be nice if you and I could meet up, even if it’s just for a little while. I miss you. I’ll be at Mother Moon tomorrow, feel free to join me for lunch. 

“Yours, Mina.... what a load of horse .” It’s as the letter says, Chaeyoung was in Japan promoting her film, To the Woman I Love the Most, when received the letter from her ex-girlfriend. She found it amongst the fan letters she got that her people collected from the crowd outside their press conference. She thought that directors didn't get this type of attention. Granted, her onscreen talents get way more letters than her, but it was still a large amount. Her friend and star of her film, Im Nayeon, was aware of the history between the two women and just happened to be in Chaeyoung’s hotel room when she found it. She saw the amount of sadness and anxiety that was present on the director’s face, the hesitation to open the letter, so she swiped it from her hands and read it aloud for her. “The nerve of that ,” she started as she angrily slammed the letter down on the bedside table, “How long has it been since you broke up?”

“I don’t know, 3 years I guess? Almost 4.” She knew exactly how long it’s been since they broke up, but she played it off as if she wasn’t counting the days she’s spent apart from her. Nayeon knew this seeing as the film is basically about Mina, and everything Chaeyoung would’ve done differently. “Did anyone actually see her hand that out?” she asked

“No, and even if they did, no one would recognize her besides us,” Nayeon replied. 

“Mother Moon. I’ve never actually been there, but she always talked about how much she loved that place.” She remembered the first time Mina mentioned the cafe. She immediately felt homesick after talking so much about it and Chaeyoung cuddled with her, told her that she’ll be with her the next time she goes there. She felt a pang in her heart knowing that it never happened. 

“You’re not seriously considering going there, are you?” Nayeon exclaimed.

“Like she said, it’ll only be for a little while, and... I miss her too.” Her voice was ever so soft, her friend pitied her. She didn’t like seeing Chaeyoung this way, but she knew how deeply she cared for Mina. 

“Whatever, cub. Just don’t get your heart broken again. God knows it’s barely even fixed.” She whispered her last sentence as she made her way out of the hotel room. She was well aware of how things ended between them, and that’s why she let her have this. Chaeyoung, on the other hand, lied down on her bed and ran her fingers through her hair. The thought of seeing Mina again both excited and terrified her. She had a feeling that it’s a terrible idea, and it probably will be. Worst case scenario, she spends an entire night crying in her hotel room. She was willing to take those odds, because at the very least she’ll end up gathering material for her next project. 

March 23, 2027

11:43 AM

Chaeyoung woke up earlier than she usually does on her days off, if it hadn’t been such an important day for her, she’d probably still be asleep. As for the promotions, Nayeon and her co-stars were set to appear in a talk show, so she wasn’t really needed. She didn’t really mind because it meant she wouldn’t be bothered by work throughout the day. She woke up around six in the morning because she was lucky enough to book an eight o’clock flight to Kobe the night before. She could’ve have taken the train but, just like the plane, it would also take her around three hours to get there and she preferred not to be molested by a middle-aged man with an . She found the flight to be quite lovely, probably because she flew business class. Now she’s riding a cab headed to Mother Moon. She tried to distract herself by taking in the sights of Mina’s hometown. Being in Kobe felt surreal to her since she only ever heard stories about it. It didn’t really amaze her however. To her it just looked like a city, albeit a little less crowded than Tokyo, then again she’s yet to see the specific spots that her ex talked about. 

“We’re here.” The cab driver pulled over at a nearby cafe. She looked to her right and saw it, a quaint little cafe with fairy lights and an unusual amount of plants out by the entrance. For a moment, she thought about telling the cab driver to turn around and take her back to the airport, but she wasn’t going to get her demons get the best of her, so she paid for the ride and hopped out. She stood outside for a little while, scanning the inside of the cafe through its glass doors. She wasn’t able to find her, so she took a few deep breaths and mustered up the courage to walk inside and face her ex-girlfriend. The place was pretty packed seeing as it was lunch time, so looking for Mina took longer than she anticipated, but then she heard a familiar voice from right behind her.

“Son Chaeyoung,” the woman said. She turned around to confirm whether or not she thought right about who it was. Just like that, Chaeyoung was more terrified now than she was the previous night. 

“Yoo Jeongyeon.” Because last night she expected to be face to face with her ex-girlfriend, not the woman who replaced her.