Like the eye of a hurricane, the sight of her mom’s name calling on her phone brought a brief moment of respite to her burdened mind. With teary eyes and quivering hands, she pressed the “answer” button on the screen. “H-hi mom!” She greeted with a tremble in her voice.

 

“Hi sweetie! How have you been?” 

 

“W-well, I-i’ve been pretty stressed lately, b-but I’m doing okay. What about you? How are things there?””

 

“Oh same old, same old. Your dad’s been ranting about how irresponsible his co-workers are, but besides that, things are going pretty well.”

 

“T-that’s good to know. How’s Gucci and Wutzu doing?”

 

“They’re doing a bit better since you left, though I can tell they still miss you a lot like we do.”

 

Tzuyu was about to continue asking about how things were going, but the thought of being at home made her choke up. She just wanted to feel the warm comfort of home again. It was all she could think of that would ease her weary mind.

 

“Tzuyu? Are you okay? Is everything alright?”

 

She thought about lying to her mom about what she was feeling, but she realized keeping what she felt to herself would just hurt her more.

 

“N-no, not really.”. 

 

“What’s wrong, sweetie?”

 

Tzuyu took a moment to collect herself to try and explain what she was feeling, even though she was on the verge of tears. “I’ve been feeling...I feel like, I’ve been doing everything wrong. I-i feel like I’m not going anywhere and everything I do is pointless and I just-”

 

She couldn’t hold the tears back anymore, and so they fell. She sobbed, burying her face into her pillow again. “I-i don’t know what to do anymore...” She said as she cried. “I can’t stop thinking that I’m not doing enough. That I… that I’m never gonna be enough.”

 

"It's okay, sweetie, just let it all out. I'll wait for you."

 

And Tzuyu did, spending a good minute crying, easing the weight on her chest. It wasn’t that the support group or her friends didn’t help her with dealing with her problems, but sometimes crying it all out is the best way to feel better. Sure, you might feel everything all the more, but it’s better than bottling it up and letting it build up until it explodes.

 

“Feel any better, sweetie?”

 

“Y-yeah.” Tzuyu said, sniffling as she wiped her tears. “I-i just… gah, I don’t know, mom.”

 

“It’s alright. Take a moment to breath. So, what’s been on your mind?”

 

“I guess the pressure of school is getting to me, you know? It’s not the same when I’m home.”

 

“I understand, sweetie. I know that feeling too. When the stress is just too much and everything just keeps on piling up, and it’s even harder because you’re far from home, and then boom. You just pop like a balloon.”

 

“Heh, yeah, just like that. Pop like a balloon.”

 

They shared a brief chuckle before her mom sighed and spoke again.

 

“Oh if I could hug you right now, I would hug you real tight. You’ll always be enough for us, sweetie. Never forget that, okay? Even when you don’t feel like you aren’t, we’ll always be here to remind you. Me, your dad, and your buddies too! So hang in there, okay? You can do this!” 

 

Tears welled up in Tzuyu’s eyes again, but this time, they were tears of joy. “Aw, mom, you just made me cry again. Ah, anyway, I think I’m gonna go rest up now. I’ve got a lot of studying to catch up with tomorrow.”

 

“Haha, alright, rest easy now. Good night, sweetie. I love you!”

 

“I love you too mom. Bye!” Tzuyu said before hanging up. She laid down and stared up at the ceiling, letting her thoughts drift for a moment. Everything might not be alright, but that’s okay. It’ll pass. It’ll pass...

 

She nearly fell asleep when she heard her door creak open. She sat up to see Dahyun and Chaeyoung peeking their heads in.

 

“Hey Tzu, you okay?” Chaeyoung asked. “Dahyun said we should check on you because you suddenly-”

 

Tzuyu had never gotten on her feet faster as she ran over and opened the door to wrap her friends in a big, tight hug. Dahyun and Chaeyoung were confused at first, but they just hugged back, feeling that Tzuyu really needed it.

 

“I love you guys.” Tzuyu mumbled, still not letting go of the two.

 

“We love you too, Tzuyu.” Dahyun replied before slowly trying to squirm her way out of the hug. “Uhh, can we let go now? I can’t breathe.”

 

“Nope, you’re staying here.” Chaeyoung said as she hugged tighter. Dahyun whined before managing to slip underneath and get out of the hug. She huffed as she caught her breath after being hugged tight for that long, until Tzuyu and Chaeyoung looked at each other before looking at Dahyun with a glint of mischief in their eyes. 

 

“Uhh, why are you two looking at me like that?” Dahyun asked.

 

“Get her!” Chaeyoung yelled as they began to run after Dahyun, who proceeded to run away and head down the stairs. However, upon reaching the second-to-the-last step before getting to the bottom, she lost balance. She managed to grab hold of one of the handrails, but that didn’t save her from slipping and landing flat on her .

 

“Ow!” She yelled in pain. It took a moment for Chaeyoung and Tzuyu to process what had just happened as they stood at the top of the staircase.

 

“Oh my god, Dahyun! Are you okay?!” Tzuyu yelled as they ran to her side to help her up. 

 

“Y-yeah, but my really hurts a lot. I think I need an ice pack.” Dahyun said as they helped her to the couch. “Chae, can you get it for me?”

 

“Okay. Uhh, where’s the medicine box again?” Chaeyoung asked as they let Dahyun down on the couch.

 

“It’s on top of the fridge.” Tzuyu answered. “Ehh, you know what, maybe I should go get it. You stay with Dahyun.” She said before leaving the two in the living room.

 

“You know, maybe it wasn’t the best decision to run down the stairs.” Chaeyoung remarked, smirking as she sat next to Dahyun. 

 

“Don’t give me that look, Chae.” Dahyun replied, with narrowed eyes trained on Chaeyoung’s mischievous expression. “If you two hadn’t chased me, I wouldn’t’ve had to run in the first place.”

 

“Well, at least your was big enough to cushion your fall.” Chaeyoung continued.

 

Dahyun’s eyes widened as she inhaled sharply before hitting Chaeyoung on the shoulder. “Ow! What was that for?”

 

“You still got the nerve to joke about my , huh? You know what, just for that, no cuddles until exams are over!” Dahyun answered.

 

“Aw come on, I’m sorry!” Chaeyoung said as she tried to wrap Dahyun in a hug, but Dahyun resisted easily.

 

“No no no, I’m standing by what I said. No. Cuddles.” Dahyun said, pushing Chaeyoung away and standing her ground. Chaeyoung slumped back into her spot on the couch in defeat as Tzuyu finally came back with the ice pack. 

 

“Alright, Dahyun, here’s the ice pack.” She said as she handed it over to her before noticing the tension between her two friends, made obvious because Chaeyoung was facing away from Dahyun with her arms folded. “Uhh, what’s going on here?”

 

“Dahyun won’t give me cuddles.” Chaeyoung mumbled.

 

“Chaeyoung said my was big.” Dahyun mumbled as well as she pressed the ice pack onto the spot where her hurt the most.

 

Tzuyu scratched her head in confusion as she looked at them. “Uhh, but your is big, Dahyun.”

 

The same shocked expression re Dahyun’s face, making Tzuyu realize she may have worded it wrong. “B-but not in the bad way!” Tzuyu added. “I mean, it’s the nice kind of big. I’d say it’s one of your best features!”

 

“You’re lucky you have a big …” Chaeyoung muttered under her breath.

 

“Shut up, you’re not making me feel any better.” Dahyun responded.

 

“So... I think I’ll go get ready for bed now. I’ll let you two deal with this by yourselves.” Tzuyu said before heading to the bathroom to wash up a little. They constantly fight over the smallest of things, but neither of them can’t stay mad at each other for too long. I’m sure I’ll find them both in Dahyun’s bed in the morning.

 

After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she headed back to her room to change into her favorite pair of pajamas and went straight to bed. She tucked herself in and closed her eyes, almost falling asleep until her phone dinged. 

 

Just when I actually wanna go to sleep… She thought to herself as she took her phone from her nightstand, momentarily being blinded as the bright screen as she checked the text.

 

Jeongyeon?! 

 

The sight of Jeongyeon’s name on the notification sent a jolt down her spine as she bolted upright to read the text.

 

--

hey tzuyu, i know its kinda late and hope im not bothering you, but can i ask for a favor? 

--

 

She tried thinking about it for a moment, but she really couldn’t think straight. She was still reeling from crying her eyes out, so she was pretty out of it, but she tried her best to answer anyway.

 

--

oh sure! what is it?

--

its kinda hard to explain through text. is it ok if i call?

--

 

Ah, screw it, why not? She thought. Things can’t possibly get any worse, right?

 

--

umm sure! 

--

 

Tzuyu waited for the longest ten seconds of her life before her phone finally rang. She quickly put her ear to her phone as she answered the call.

 

“Hi Jeongyeon!”

 

“Tzuyu! Hey! So uhh, I’m gonna keep it short, but basically, I need some extra hands at the bakery in a week or two. We’re working with one of the nearby sandwich shops because they’re gonna provide sandwiches for an event and they need bread for sandwiches. Like, a lot of bread. Mom insists that we could do it by ourselves, but I don’t wanna overwork her. So umm, is it okay if I could ask for some help from you? I understand if you don’t want to, so no pressure.”

 

“N-no! I mean, it’s alright. I’d be happy to help. Maybe I could even convince my friends to help too!”

 

“Really? You’d do that? Aww, thanks Tzuyu. I’ll update you with the details, but it’s definitely gonna be on a weekend so that it won’t mess with our schedules. Thanks again, Tzuyu. I owe you big time.” 

 

“Oh, don’t worry about it. So umm, I’m gonna go to bed now. You should too.”

 

“God, I wish I could. They’re making us submit a draft of our thesis online by Sunday evening so I gotta finish up by tonight.”

 

“Damn, that’s rough. Well, anyway, good luck with your thesis! I’ll leave you to it then. Bye now!”

 

“Bye Tzuyu! Have a good night!”

 

After hanging up, Tzuyu laid back down and stared up at the ceiling, processing what had just happened. She felt oddly giddy, which was the last thing she’d think she’d feel that night. She tried to sleep it off, but the ecstatic feeling in her chest was too great. 

So much for wanting to sleep tonight…