So technically Satzu won the poll I did on twitter but I discovered it’s because Axel cheated and I cannot condone that behaviour. So now Chaeyu is the first love and Satzu is the endgame.

That’s right bro you think about what you did.

Respect the anonymous polls.

Plus I suddenly felt really bad because imma angst Satzu hard later on.

Denial

Tzuyu could tell you the exact moment her world fell apart.

She was a bright eyed nineteen year old, who had just graduated from high school and was deciding which college she wanted to attend. A Taiwan native, Tzuyu had moved to Korea when she was 14 in order to attend school. Her parents thought it was a valuable experience for her to have and so gladly sent her, expecting her to return one she had graduated. But unfortunately Tzuyu’s own plans had changed and she was desperate to stay in Korea.

This was where she had made her life. Her friends lived here, her pseudo-family were here, her girlfriend was here. Chaeyoung and Tzuyu had started dating towards the end of their first year in high school. Tzuyu had been utterly smitten by the young artist. She was transfixed by Chaeyoung’s outlook on life, in the way she found the beauty in everything. Safe to say that for Tzuyu it was love at first sight.

Chaeyoung eventually confirmed that the feelings were mutual and they began dating. At first the couple only told their close friends, but one day Chaeyoung’s mother caught them and so they came out to her too. The elder of the pair had been raised to be a creative, free-thinker and she definitely took those traits from her mother who accepted them instantly.

Tzuyu’s parents however, they had a very different reaction. She introduced them to Chaeyoung when they flew over for her graduation and it did not go well. They demanded she leave for Taiwan with them and got over her “sickness”. When Tzuyu stood up for herself and said no, her parents gave her a choice. Chaeyoung or them. She made her choice and her parents disowned her, their parting shot:

“Don’t come crying to us when this little fad is over.”

But Tzuyu was young and in love, she knew that they would prove them wrong. Chaeyoung loved her too, they were each others first love. In fact until she met Chaeyoung, Tzuyu didn’t think she liked anyone. Her feelings just snuck up on her one day and completely blind sided her. Then Chaeyoung turned round one day and just blurted out “Hey! I like you.” which was it for them. Tzuyu had always been in love with Chaeyoung but the elder girl only said it senior year.

Tzuyu had saved up and bought herself a camera. The couple had gone to the park to test it out and Chaeyoung found a bench she could sit on to sketch. Tzuyu had been taking pictures of flowers and the lake in the park before turning and spotting her beautiful girlfriend sat at the bench. Raising the camera she snapped a quick shot, the click of the camera gaining Chaeyoung’s attention. She sent Tzuyu a smile, showing her dimples.

“What was that for?”

“I just love you.” Tzuyu said looking at the picture,

She’d said it a few times before then, but respected that Chaeyoung would need some time.

“I love you too.”

So that moment meant the world to Tzuyu and the first thing she did was print that photograph of Chaeyoung and frame it. To immortalise what she thought would be the best moment of her life. She had thought over their future; college, married life, maybe kids. Tzuyu liked having a plan, she would accept that sometimes things would be beyond her control but still - something to look forward to wasn’t a bad thing.

But then her plans changed again. Chaeyoung said she didn’t want to go to college, that it wasn’t for her. She didn’t want to leave her home town and whilst Tzuyu was sad to miss out she didn’t want to leave Chaeyoung behind. So she turned down her offers, politely just in case things changed again and she wanted to go.

Tzuyu made so many sacrifices for Chaeyoung. She gave up her family and college, she even got two jobs to support them both when they moved out. The shorter woman longed to be an artist, that was her dream and so it was up to Tzuyu to support them until she made it big. They had a tiny apartment in a dangerous part of town, covered in various art styles from oil paintings to clay sculptures. Chaeyoung was still trying to find her voice.

Tzuyu hated having to work so much, but it was worth it to support Chaeyoung’s dream. Love will have its sacrifices…right? She knew that. She accepted that.

Which was why it killed her when she came home early one day and found Chaeyoung having with their friend. Not just any friend either, but Nayeon. Someone who, whilst Tzuyu joined in teasing her, she had so much respect for. She looked up to the elder girl like a big sister and Chaeyoung had always equated her to a motherly figure. They always joked that Jihyo was Tzuyu’s mother and Nayeon was Chaeyoung’s.

It made the betrayal all the more shocking. When had their relationship changed into something more romantic? Had Tzuyu really been working so much that she hadn’t noticed the innocent touches lingering? Three months was the number Tzuyu received when asked, Nayeon had come over to model for a painting and something between them had changed. They tried to explain, to lessen the hurt. It failed. It hurt more than anything she had ever felt. Tzuyu didn’t understand it, but this story wasn’t about them.

This was about Tzuyu, heartbroken and trying to pick up the pieces of her life.

Tzuyu moved into a hotel that night, not having the heart to tell Chaeyoung too. She couldn’t go to Jihyo and Jeongyeon’s because Nayeon lived with them and Dahyun and Mina were in Japan for the week. Later they would scold her for being the one to move out, claiming she had doormat written on her forehead. But Tzuyu wasn’t like that, she was too passive. Even if she was hurting she refused to make anyone else feel the same way.

And that was it, the moment that completely derailed her life into the unknown.

That had been a month ago. A month of Tzuyu continuing to work her two jobs and completely severing herself from her old life. The sad truth was, their friends were originally Chaeyoung’s friends. Tzuyu didn’t want to steal anyone from her. However, this did leave Tzuyu all alone. She was once again living in a town in which she had nobody. She didn’t let herself grieve after that first night in the hotel, instead immediately trying to keep moving forward.

She had spent her first night in the hotel doing the cliché. Ice cream and sad films to cry over. Honestly, she looked a mess but nobody was around to see it. She switched off her phone for the first week or so, hoping and praying that the distance would make her feel better. Tzuyu kept imagining how good it would feel when she turned her phone on and saw the messages from Chaeyoung.

After that first night Tzuyu reminded herself of the fact that she and Chaeyoung were in love. Chaeyoung had always made it clear that she loved Tzuyu and Tzuyu had sacrificed so much for them. There was no way Chaeyoung would willingly want them to end things. They had been each others first kiss, first time, first everything. It just couldn’t be over.

So she lived in her denial for two weeks.

Then she switched her phone back on.

Only one notification:

Son Chaeyoung has changed status to: Single