“It’s her again..” Yerim groaned when she caught sight of the loud and nosey woman entering the apartment once more on that certain Wednesday night. 

“HI GURL!! HOW YA DOING?” The boisterous voice screeched and the girl gave a forced smile to the woman, not willing to appear rude in front of the guest who’s been coming over pretty frequently lately. 

“Hey, do you mind getting her a drink? We have something to tell you after you’re done.” Her mom secretly gave the child a wink to get the girl going. 

“...”

The three of them sat in their respective chairs around the dining table. Everyone is in their usual seats, except for one. 

“Something is fishy.” Yerim thought to herself as she eyed the woman cautiously when her mom’s voice caught her attention back to the present. 

“So.. we’ve both decided that today might be a good time to tell you this news today.” Jungeun clutched her fists tightly while playing with her fingers. 

“WE’RE GETTING ENGAGED!!” The other woman shouts out loud. As if she wants the whole world to know about her engagement. 

“Great.” 

---

“This isn’t fair to me. And more importantly, where is Mummy in all of this? Did Mom just decide to kick her out of the family group chat ever since she decided to join the yoga class 6 months ago?” Questions were constantly uploading themselves to the brain chart of the bat as she took her own sweet time to digest each one of them slowly but carefully. 

The news of her mom getting engaged to a stranger has already been predicted. But what about her other mum who just vanished from her life 2 months ago without a word? How has she been since the last message from her? Is she also seeing someone or perhaps she went back to being an alcoholic..? Someone who used to get into fights for every small little thing whenever she’s moody?

Whatever the answer was, the girl was determined to crack down every clue she had in search of her mum. 

It’s not for Mom or the stranger. 

It’s for me. 

--- 

“It’s all about letting go of the past, honey.” JinSoul smiled through the pain while thinking of the past memories with the wife she used to love years ago. 

“But at the very least.. Take me with you.” The bat didn’t want to drag this any further. 

The woman looked back at her messy apartment with several beer cans sprawled onto the floor and stray newspaper lying on her bed together with her clothing as well. 

“I’m sorry.. But I don’t think I’m the parent you want to be under when you’re still growing up. I’m sure the other lady might raise you better than I do.” Says the alcoholic woman as she picked up the last can in the closet and had it opened with a loud crack reverberating throughout the four walls around them. 

The answer was clear. It had been in front of the girl’s eyes all this time, but it was only now that she accepted her own fate. 

“Then I guess this is Goodbye. Mummy.” 

The last greeting from her very own adopted daughter sounded so crisp clear to the woman’s ears, yet the moment when she wanted to grab it.. It vanished into thin air without a single trace left. 

---

“Hey Yerim, how do you think Mom looks in this wedding dress?” Jungeun happily showed off her OOTD to the teenage girl who’s sitting in the same lounge as her. 

She was already expecting a bland answer from the girl, knowing how she lost the older woman she had known since birth a month ago. But she certainly did not know how to react when the girl just took off without saying a word. 

The facial expression she had was so strikingly similar to her. 

It was as if the blue-betta had taken possession over the girl. With nothing but a shell left of her. 

“Ye-Yerim?” The owl stuttered as she tried to keep up with the girl, but seeing how the bat flew off after a few steps, she realized she had made a grave mistake. A mistake she can’t ever turn back. 

Even with the reverse of time.