Sunflower - Post Malone, Swae Lee

 

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Act I: The Parks and the Ims (or something).

 

Dahyun looks on solemnly as every older member of TWICE files into Momo and Jeongyeon’s shared room sluggishly. They sit like clockwork- concise and uniform, in a way only TWICE could pull off despite being half-asleep and caffeine-deprived.

 

Nayeon is first to break the silence. “What is going on, Dahyun??”

 

“Thank you for coming today.” Dahyun starts, voice just as solemn as the expression on her face. “I’ve assembled you all this morning because there is something really, very, extremely important that I would like to bring to your attention.”

 

“Like what.” Jeongyeon mutters saltily under her breath, clearly unenthused at the sight of the entire unnie line sitting on her freshly-made sheets in their snack-covered PJ’s and ugly oversized shirts.

 

Dahyun doesn’t beat around the bush. “Chaeyoung is in love with Tzuyu.”

 

As expected, there are a round of disbelieving scoffs that go around the room. “What?!”

 

“Hear me out, you guys!” Dahyun waves her hands around in an attempt to keep their focus. “As their third roommate and leader of the maknae line, I spend more time with them on a more personal level than any of you losers do-“

 

“Did she just call us losers?” Mina murmurs curiously under her breath to Sana, who sits beside her. Sana shrugs, sharing a bemused glance with Mina, and Dahyun continues her rant.

 

“-and I know this is kind of sudden, but I’ve been noticing a lot of things about Chaeyoung’s recent behavior that have led me to reach such conclusions.”

 

“Like what?” Jeongyeon asks, not salty this time but genuinely curious, leaning forward with the rest of the girls.

 

“Chaeyoung blushes every time Tzuyu smiles at her.”

 

Another round of scandalized gasps. Dahyun nods solemnly, before presenting her next piece of evidence.

 

“Recently, Chaeyoung’s been trying excessively hard to have physical contact with Tzuyu. She’ll go out of her way to hug her, or talk to her and cling to her.”

 

Nayeon frowns. “Well, they’re good friends aren’t they? Chaeyoung has always been kind of clingy to all of us.”

 

Dahyun shakes her head. “That’s what I thought at first too. But, Chaeyoung’s always sitting in Tzuyu’s bed and clinging on to her when we’re going to sleep. Tzuyu just kind of lets her for the most part, but I can’t tell if that’s her liking Chaeyoung back or just not caring. It’s more than just clingy- it’s like, super clingy!”

 

Mina purses her lips, steady, rational and ever the voice of reason. “That’s just a really vague description. I don’t think I’m following you.”

 

“Relative. Everything is relative here, people!” Dahyun waves her hands around in the air. “We all know that Chaeyoung tries to be all chic and stuff all the time- she thinks she’s cool or something I don’t know- anyway! She’s in love, I’m telling you!”

 

Jihyo squints suspiciously at the pale girl. “Fine. Let’s just assume that she’s in love this time, or whatever. How can you be sure that she’s in love with Tzuyu and not someone else?”

 

Dahyun swallows nervously. “Um-“

 

“Dahyun unnie?”

 

Dahyun looks up from her phone. “Hey Chaeng.”

 

Chaeyoung stands before her looking uncharacteristically nervous. Dahyun smiles at her, eyes curving into crescents as she pats the spot on the couch next to her. It’s a pretty quiet day; a lot of the members are out. Jihyo and Jeongyeon have gone shopping. Nayeon has gone to visit her parents. Momo is out with a friend, and Dahyun’s pretty sure Chaeyoung was supposed to be at the supermarket.

 

Chaeyoung sits down next to her, and Dahyun can really hear the girl’s shallow, slightly quick breathing. She frowns. “Are you alright?”

 

“Hm? What?? Oh, yeah! I’m great!” Chaeyoung chuckles nervously. Her eyes dart side to side as she waves her hands about, and she’s got a strangely constipated smile on her face. 

 

Dahyun narrows her eyes at the younger’s strange smile. Constipated smiles are usually the J-line’s go-to default when they’re a). lying (Sana), b). trying to get out of something (Mina), or c). actually kind of constipated (Momo). Not Chaeyoung- in fact, Dahyun’s not sure she’s even ever seen the look on the girl. It’s all very suspicious. Very suspicious.

 

Dahyun takes a moment assesses the situation silently before speaking again. “Aren’t you supposed to be grocery shopping?”

 

“Yeah.” Chaeyoung’s constipated grin morphs into a more familiar sheepish smile. “It was a quick trip- I just bought some stuff for Sana and Mina and a couple of snacks.”

 

Dahyun casts a wary side grin at the kitchen, where she can see Sana and Mina crouching down, digging frantically through the grocery bags that Chaeyoung must’ve dropped off. She’d almost forgotten that those two had chosen to stay in today, despite various offers traveling to various places. Suspicious.

 

She shrugs it off and turns her attention back to Chaeyoung who clearly has something she wants to say but seems like she has no intention of saying it herself anytime soon. Dahyun decides to get to the point. “So?”

 

“So what?” Chaeyoung blinks back at her.

 

Dahyun leans back in their new, luxurious couch cushions and waves a hand at her young protégé. “You look like your little secret is going to explode inside you any minute now. Out with it!”

 

Chaeyoung looks kind of embarrassed at being found out so quickly, but she really shouldn’t be surprised because Dahyun pretty much knows everything about her. “Um, I…”

 

“I what?” Dahyun presses.

 

Chaeyoung halts her sentence, takes a visible gulp of air, looks like she’s steeling herself, and then-

 

“What do you do when you’re in love?”

 

That was not what Dahyun was expecting. Not what she was expecting at all. Dahyun had expected something more along the lines of ‘what should I do when I’ve sneezed snot on Sana’s makeup bottles’, or ‘what should I do when I’ve accidentally used up the rest of Mina’s ketchup stash’, or even ‘how should I tell Momo that her eyebrows are on fire’ (long story, don’t ask). Definitely not this though.

 

“Wh- what?!”

 

Chaeyoung’s blushing a full shade of crimson, but she doesn’t back down. “I said, what should I do when I’m in love?”

 

Dahyun’s blinking gets so rapid, Chaeyoung wonders briefly if she’s having a . “Wh- I- you- fetus- love-“

 

“You’re not that much older than me, unnie.” Chaeyoung frowns disapprovingly. “And I- I figured you’d be the best person to ask.”

 

“Really?? What on earth made you think that?!” Dahyun looks and feels unimpressed.

 

Chaeyoung shrugs and she’s looking very much like the cute lil bean she used to be- the one that Dahyun’s watched grow into the magnificent, talented, striking young woman sitting before her right now. She almost smiles at the thought.

 

Chaeyoung fidgets with the silver band on her index finger. “Well, you’re always someone who listens to me and doesn’t just jump to conclusions. And I trust you- you’re always got experience with everything and you’re really smart. I just thought that since you have some experience with love, maybe you could give me some advice.”

 

The look Chaeyoung’s giving her is so pure, so trusting, and it’s moments like these where Dahyun still sees that little bean in the woman who’s grown into her age. She accepts somewhere in the recesses of her mind that no matter how mature, sophisticated, or mellow Chaeyoung becomes, she’ll always be that spunky, somewhat clumsy, precious little kid to Dahyun. Always.

 

But that’s not important right now, and the present definitely is.

 

“Plus, I saw you rejecting all those guys back in high school so don’t even try to lie to me.”

 

Dahyun rescinds her previous statements. Chaeyoung is a little demon.

 

“Behind the staircase, after lunch. I saw you, unnie.”

 

Brat. She pushes the thought aside though, and angles herself to face Chaeyoung. “Um, well, does this person like you back?”

 

Chaeyoung pauses, mulling over the thought before she honestly responds. “I’m not really sure. Sometimes I think she does, but I also feel like that could just be my hopeful thinking.”

 

Dahyun runs all of Chaeyoung’s acquaintances through her head, brain churning to generate a list of possible love interests who could have Chaeyoung so- well, so mushy.

 

“Well you should be sure that you’re the one who likes them first then, and that it’s not you liking them because they’ve shown interest in you.”

 

Chaeyoung shakes her head firmly. “No, I’m sure I like them first. If that makes sense. This person probably doesn’t even know I exist.”

 

Dahyun arches a skeptical brow, although she’s got a fond look in her eyes. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that last part, Chaeng. It’s pretty hard not to know who you are these days.”

 

Chaeyoung’s cheeks dust pink as she swats half-heartedly at Dahyun’s hand. “Unnie!”

 

Dahyun laughs. “C’mon, it can’t be that bad! Just make an effort to talk to her a little more, and work your way up to a date. What happened to the cool, confident Chaeyoung we’re all used to seeing?”

 

Chaeyoung takes in a big breath as she nods. “You’re right. Maybe I’m just overthinking this.”

 

Somewhere in the background, Mina and Sana have whipped out a bucket and a very large whisk. They seem to be baking.

 

At the still somewhat dejected expression on Chaeyoung’s face, Dahyun reaches out to pat her shoulder encouragingly. “Hey, don’t look so down! Tell you what- this is totally up to you, but if you need me to try and help you out in making conversation and stuff, I’m totally willing to do that for you.”

 

Chaeyoung looks up, seeming somewhat more hopeful. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

 

Dahyun nods wholeheartedly. “Of course! Can’t let my favorite little one do this on her own, can I? What kind of School Lunch Meal Club leader would I be if I did?”

 

Chaeyoung is looking a lot more grateful now. “Thank you, Dahyun unnie. That means a lot to me.”

 

“It’s no problem- I’m happy to help!” Dahyun smiles reassuringly. “But, would you want to tell me who this person is, exactly?”

 

“Wh- what??”

 

Dahyun shrugs. “Again, it’s up to you but if I know who it is I can probably better assess how to help you. But you don’t have to tell me- I understand.”

 

Chaeyoung looks side to side, biting her lips nervously, before she lifts an anxious gaze up to meet Dahyun’s eyes.

 

“Um, I- it’s Tzuyu.”

 

Dahyun’s heart almost stops in shock. “Wait-“

 

As if on cue, Tzuyu stumbles out of her room to the kitchen, a large bag of- of something weird- in her grasp. Sana and Mina have obviously summoned her out for an errand (not that Dahyun really wants to know though). Sana’s shrieking something over Mina’s whisk whirring away and Tzuyu trips right in front of their feet. Sana and Mina look down at her fallen figure with a sigh.

 

Dahyun turns her attention back to Chaeyoung. “Tzuyu? Like, Chou Tzuyu?”

 

Chaeyoung’s blushing something fierce. It’s a sight to behold. “Yeah.”

 

“The one who just tripped over nothing?”

 

“Ah, yeah. That’s the one.”

 

Dahyun shakes her head, numb with shock and wonder. Chaeyoung looks at Tzuyu who is still on the ground, half sheepish and half nervous and a whole lotta lovestruck, all heart eyes and dreamy sighs as she steals glances at the other.

 

Things just got a lot more interesting.

 

“She told me.”

 

The third round of gasps sounds, plus a high-pitched ‘OMO!’ from Momo, whose eyes have opened wide as saucers.

 

Jihyo’s wide- eyes blink rapidly from underneath Jeongyeon’s covers. “Are you serious?”

 

Dahyun nods solemnly, and things just got real. They know Dahyun wouldn’t joke about something like this, no matter how silly she might be.

 

“Ohhh, so is that what she was on all about that other day?” Mina muses, more to herself than anyone, but the room’s pretty small and everyone hears her this time.

 

Jihyo’s head snaps to owlishly staaaaaaareee at Mina. “ What do you mean?”

 

Mina shrugs. “When Sana and I were baking the other day, I saw Dahyun and Chaeyoung looking at us when we called Tzuyu out to help us mix stuff.”

 

“What even did you make that day?” Momo asks curiously.

 

Mina shrugs. “Stuff.”

 

“What kind of stu-“ Momo starts, but Sana’s prompt shriek cuts her off.

 

“OHYO! IS THAT WHY DAHYUN LOOKED SO SHOOK WHEN TZUYU CAME OUT AND FELL ON HER -“

 

Mina nods enthusiastically, responding with the same vigor although at a substantially lower volume. “YES, I THINK SO. AND ALSO WHY CHAEYOUNG LOOKED SO STARSTRUCK, LIKE YOU WHENEVER YOU’RE STARING AT BEYONCÉ ON YOUTUBE-“

 

“CAN YOU BLAME ME THOUGH, BEYONCÉ SUNBAENIM IS SO COOL-“

 

“Wait, so you knew??” Jeongyeon gapes at Mina, who shrugs again.

 

“I won’t say I knew, but it’s not a big stretch.”

 

“I can’t believe this!” Nayeon’s hands fly to her hair in some sort of despair. “My babies! My babies!!!!! When have my babies ever been in love?!?”

 

Jihyo sighs. “Calm yourself. It’s not abnormal, you know. They’re humans after all.”

 

Nayeon suddenly stands, pointing a long, accusatory finger at Jihyo, who looks up at her warily. “Park Jihyo! Control your tree child and tell her to-“

 

Jihyo shoots up too, looking somewhat affronted. “My tree child??”

 

“She means our tree child!” Sana leaps up to stand next to Jihyo. She squints defiantly at Nayeon.

 

Nayeon glares at the two of them (and in any other situation, they would laugh at her because she looks so ratchet in her inside clothes), but this is obviously a serious matter and no one has it in them to laugh quite yet. Nayeon’s arm shoots out to yank Jeongyeon upright next to her. “Jeongyeon, tell them that they are being ridiculous and-“

 

Jihyo gasps. “How are we ridiculous, you’re the ones who-“

 

They collapse into what looks oddly like two neighboring families bickering over a fence placement on the lawn. Dahyun looks like she doesn’t know what’s going on, and she turns to the last two in the room for help.

 

Mina and Momo are sitting next to each other, absently staring into space. Dahyun looks back and forth between them, silently asking for help. The remaining two share a glance and a shrug, and then Mina leaps nimbly to Jihyo’s side while Momo rolls over to Nayeon’s.

 

“Leave Tzuyu alone!” Mina shouts (“shouts”) at the opposing side.

 

“No, leave Chaeyoung alone!” Momo shoots back. She looks like she’s having way too much fun with this.

 

The respective heads of the households, however, are taking things a little more seriously. “If your little midget dares to taint my beautiful baby, I swear I’ll-“

 

“Your ‘baby’ is literally like, two meters tall and you’re just a tree stump sitting there-“

 

Lines have clearly been drawn in a rather comical reenactment of a bunch of squabbling suburban neighbors. Dahyun pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs.

 

Why did she think this was a good idea?

 

---

 

Act II: The Parks Make Some Interesting Observations.

 

The ‘unnie line investigation’ is officially underway. It’s been a rather strange weekend of Jihyo and Nayeon giving each other suspicious looks, Jeongyeon hovering protectively over Chaeyoung whenever she remembers the latest conversation, and Sana making it a point to know every single detail about Tzuyu’s life.

 

“So no other pets besides Gucci?”

 

Tzuyu looks like she’d rather be somewhere else. “Yes- for the hundredth time. No pets except for Gucci. Why are you asking me all these questions all of a sudden anyway?”

 

Sana gasps, placing a hand over her heart. “I’m just trying to get to know you more! Excuse me for trying to be invested in your life!”

 

“But you keep asking questions you already know the answers to, I mean, what am I supposed to think-“

 

“How do you know that I know all this what if I didn’t actually understand any Korean when I first met you-“

 

Tzuyu walks a little faster, looking very much like she’s hoping that Sana will fall behind. No such luck. Sana can be quite fast when she wants to be. They disappear into the dressing room.

 

Jihyo sits on her chair, staring contemplatively after them. Mina notices her odd silence. “Jihyo?”

 

“Yes?”

 

Mina pauses in her step, considering what she should say next. “Are- are you alright?”

 

Jihyo’s large eyes dart back and forth across the room twice before she seems to come to some sort of decision. “Mina, please take a seat.”

 

Mina obeys, taking the vacant space next to Jihyo who still hasn’t really moved. “Mina tell me, have you talked to Tzuyu recently?”

 

Mina blinks. “Well- yes, of course. Have you not?”

 

Jihyo shakes her head. “Not really.”

 

The other girl looks mildly concerned. “Is everything alright?”

 

“She’s been ignoring me since I accidentally ate her lunch last week.”

 

“You ate her lunch?!”

 

“By accident! Keep your nonexistent voice down, will you??” Jihyo hisses through gritted teeth, eyes flitting around as she grabs Mina’s wrist

 

Mina looks like she wants to say more but she relents, giving in for now. “What are you getting at?”

 

“I want to know if you’ve noticed anything unusual about her.”

 

“Is this about her and Chaeyoung?” Mina asks placidly. Jihyo nods, enthused.

 

“Do you know anything?”

 

Mina just shakes her head. “I really haven’t noticed any out-of-the-ordinary behavior from her. She goes about her days like she always has.”

 

“HOW INTERESTING.” Jihyo whisper-shouts. She suddenly looks a lot more giddy.

 

Mina looks at her with slight surprise written across her forehead. Jihyo grins gleefully, leaning in to murmur lowly to her same-age friend. “Chaeyoung’s been absolutely tripping over herself recently. Have you noticed??”

 

Mina tilts her head curiously, gaze lifting to take a discreet peek at the aforementioned younger girl across the room. Chaeyoung isn’t really doing much- sitting in a chair getting her hair done, tapping away on her phone. Same old, same old.

 

“Um, I haven’t really noticed.”

 

Jihyo shakes her head, grip on Mina’s wrist tightening significantly. “Just wait!”

 

One of their team makeup artists pokes her head in the room. “Has anyone seen Sana??”

 

Jihyo blinks. “She went in there.” She points to the changing room door.

 

“Tell her it’s her turn for makeup!” The makeup artist calls. One of their managers rises to get her, and Sana emerges from the dressing room with a pout. Tzuyu follows suit, looking humorously relieved. Mina chuckles lightly to herself.

 

The tallest of TWICE makes her way over to an unsuspecting Chaeyoung’s spot. “I like your hair today.”

 

Jihyo almost cuts off Mina’s circulation in glee as Chaeyoung’s phone clatters to the ground. “Wh- you startled me!”

 

Tzuyu grins teasingly at her friend, bending down to pick up the fallen device. “Sorry.” She doesn’t sound sorry at all though, grinning brightly as she swiftly swoops down to retrieve the device. She keeps the same expression on her face as she sticks the phone back in Chaeyoung’s hand.

 

Chaeyoung takes it and Mina almost gasps- she’s got this absolutely pink, teenage-girl-esque blush on her face that is absolutely so not Son Chaeyoung and it’s so strange and just- wow. Mina sees it with her own eyes. She’s shook.

 

Jihyo slaps her shoulder a bit too hard in her barely-contained excitement. “What did I tell you!!” She hisses elatedly. Mina’s wrist is almost white from the lack of blood reaching her distal limbs.

 

The girl can’t believe it. “So Dahyun was right?!?”

 

“I mean- maybe! But look! Just look at her, look at her! Got her eye on some girl and now she don’t know how to act-“

 

Mina shakes her head disbelievingly, leaning back in her seat to watch the scene before her unfold.

 

Maybe Dahyun wasn’t crazy after all.

 

---

 

Act III: The Ims Devise a Plan.

 

“We need to help her.”

 

“Huh??” Jeongyeon looks up through her mouthful of food.

 

Nayeon paces back and forth across the room. “We need to help her!”

 

“Help who?”

 

“Chaeyoung! Who else?!” The eldest rolls her eyes dramatically before resuming her paces. “This must not get out of hand!”

 

“Was it even in-hand to begin with?” Momo muses aloud from her spot on the ground. Surprisingly, she’s not eating at the moment- she’s got lens-less glasses on and she seems to be leafing through what looks like the Japanese version of National Geographic. If that’s even a thing.

 

Nayeon glares at her. “That’s for me to say and you to never know.”

 

“Then what’s the point-“

 

“Shush! So, I’ve made some interesting observations lately.”

 

Jeongyeon rolls her eyes. “Like what, granny?”

 

“I think Dahyun might be right.”

 

She gets a gasp from Jeongyeon plus a high-pitched ‘OMO!’ from Momo (who then proceeds to drop her magazine) in reply. Nayeon rolls her eyes.

 

“Oh come on now. We all know that Chaeyoung is kind of foolish-“

 

“Is that something you’re supposed to say about your own child??” Jeongyeon interjects, somewhat aghast on Chaeyoung’s behalf.

 

Nayeon sighs dramatically. “Probably not but I’m trying to be honest here. Think objectively, Jeong. Did you see the way she was looking at Tzuyu at the waiting room the other day??”

 

Jeongyeon pauses. “You’re right.” She admits dejectedly. “She looks at Tzuyu the way Momo looks at jokbal and Mina on a sunny day-“

 

“She really likes Tzuyu! I know she does! Wait, what-“ Momo tries to insert her two cents but is quickly cut off by Nayeon, who waves a large tablet in the air at the duo before her.

 

“And all these pictures on the internet! Just look at our precious baby!”

 

Momo bounces forward and cranes her neck to look at the collage on Nayeon’s iPad. “She’s so cute! So cute! Her and Chewy both!”

 

Even Jeongyeon can’t hold back her small smile. “What beautiful children.”

 

Nayeon cranes her neck to get a better look too. “They’re beautiful. My children. My heart.” She sighs, placing one large hand over her chest. It’s nice and peaceful for a brief moment as they all think of the youngest members of TWICE.

 

“But that’s not the point! The point is, Chaeyoung has obviously caught feels for Jihyo’s gigantic child and we need to help her!”

 

“Weren’t you swooning over ‘Jihyo’s gigantic child’ like two seconds ago-“

 

“And didn’t you basically just inadvertently claim her as your own as well-“

 

“Any ideas? Come on people, we haven’t got all day!” Nayeon glares at Momo, daring her to finish her sentence as she cuts her off (again) with an extremely sharp bark. Momo sulks but shrinks back.

 

Jeongyeon looks contemplative. “We could try to get them more alone time together?”

 

“But they’re already roommates.” Momo points out. “There isn’t much we can do there to really get them some other time together.”

 

“We could set them up?”

 

“On a date? Chaeyoung would faint before she even got to the venue.” Nayeon snorts, a sure display of lack of faith in her own ’child’.

 

“How about shopping?”

 

“Does Tzuyu even like to shop??”

 

The three eldest members look at each other in dismay, their reality sinking in like gravity on a flying stick.

 

Momo just sighs, clearly wanting to go. “I wonder what the other side is going to do about all this.”

 

“You mean the Parks? Psh. I’d wager nothing good, if anything.” Nayeon sulks as she slumps back in her pillows.

 

Jeongyeon’s shoulders sag as she flops down next to her roommate. “Guess we’ll have to wait and find out.”

 

---

 

Act IV: Chaeyoung makes some progress (read: Chaeyoung is crazy).

 

It’s a nice day for a certain Chaeyoung. The sun is shining, there’s no set schedule for the day, and she knows she can sleep in today without consequence. It’s a lovely day. It’s a normal day.

 

Until it’s not.

 

“Chaeyoung.”

 

There’s an incessant hand shaking at her shoulder. The girl whines. Who on earth is up on a day off so early in the goddam morning?!

 

She hopes they’ll go away if she ignores them but to her dismay (and mild annoyance), the shaking doesn’t stop. In fact, it gets faster.

 

“Chaeyoung!”

 

She finally cracks one eye open, ready to give whoever’s disturbing her beauty sleep a right piece of her mind, but the foul words die on the tip of her tongue as she registers who hovers above her.

 

Tzuyu stares down at her, unmoving and unblinking. Chaeyoung scrambles up, completely awake and surprised. She notices that the girl’s fully dressed, like she’s ready to head out.

 

“Tzuyu?”

 

Tzuyu grins at her. “Good morning.”

 

Chaeyoung doesn’t believe what she’s experiencing. “Wh- it’s six in the morning, Tzuyu.”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?” Tzuyu doesn’t look sorry in the least, still staring at Chaeyoung with that characteristic cheeky grin on her lips. Chaeyoung grudgingly admits that Tzuyu is still very attractive, even when she’s trolling Chaeyoung at ungodly hours of the day.

 

“We don’t have any schedules for today. Are you not going to sleep some more?”

 

Tzuyu’s teasing grin suddenly morphs into something a little more sheepish. “I was wondering if you’d like to go on a walk with me.”

 

Chaeyoung stares at her haggardly. She’s sure her eye bags are visible. “What?”

 

“I said, would you like to go on a walk-“

 

“I heard what you said!” Chaeyoung cuts her off with her whisper-shout, as not to wake Dahyun who’s sleeping soundly next to them. “Where on earth are you going to walk though?”

 

“Around the neighborhood.” Tzuyu shrugs, pointing vaguely out their window. “I want to see the sunrise.”

 

Chaeyoung stares at her with the same haggard look on her face. Tzuyu doesn’t budge.

 

“Will you come?”

 

Chaeyoung can’t believe this. “Fine.” She mutters somewhat cross, tossing her covers aside and forcing her limbs to carry her away from the call of her bed. “Give me ten minutes to change.”

 

She can’t believe she’s doing this, she thinks to herself, as she drags herself to the bathroom to quickly splash some water on her face and change out of her pajamas. She can’t believe that she, Son Chaeyoung, one-third of the ‘let’s not get up before double digits if we can help it’, is actually getting up to walk around the neighborhood to… see the sunrise?

 

It’s absurd. It’s ludicrous, lunatic, absolutely mad behavior.

 

But the unrelenting smile of joy on Tzuyu’s face as she holds the door open for her makes her reconsider the notion- just a little bit.

 

---

 

Act V: Tzuyu Makes a Confession.

 

The walk is a lot more pleasant than Chaeyoung expects it to be.

 

Tzuyu is sweet. She’s got a big smile on her face the entire time that they’re together. She holds doors open for Chaeyoung, she cracks jokes to wake her up, and she slows her pace down just enough to match Chaeyoung’s shorter stride perfectly. They’ve bundled up in hoodies for the morning chill, and Chaeyoung begrudgingly admits that the sunrise is a lot nicer than she’d anticipated. Mostly because she’s never seen a sunrise, or at least not voluntarily. But that’s besides the point.

 

Tzuyu waits as Chaeyoung takes another picture, before tucking the device in her pocket and slugging back over to Tzuyu on the sidewalk. Tzuyu just smiles down at her.

 

“Not that bad, right?”

 

“I’m exhausted.” Chaeyoung declares dramatically. “Do you do this often??”

 

Tzuyu shrugs as they start to walk again. “As often as I can within reasonable limits.”

 

Chaeyoung rolls her eyes. “So yes?”

 

“I guess.”

 

Chaeyoung chuckles fondly. The response is just so Tzuyu- soft, calm, almost diplomatic but self-assured. “Well, I think the sun’s just about done rising- any more pictures I take will probably be all blown out. Want to get breakfast since we’re out?”

 

Tzuyu nods happily, stepping forward to take Chaeyoung’s hand. “Of course.”

 

Chaeyoung doesn’t say anything about their intertwined fingers but she lets it happen anyway. Tzuyu leads them to a café not too far from their dorm and holds the door open. They’re seated with menus in their hands in no time.

 

“So,” Tzuyu begins, flipping somewhat absently as she decides what she wants to eat. “Some of the unnies have been acting a little oddly lately, don’t you think?”

 

Chaeyoung thinks hard. “How so?”

 

Tzuyu smiles amusedly, leaning forward after they’ve placed their orders. “Nayeon unnie looks like she’s going to cry every time she sees me. She also glares at Jihyo unnie for like, 65% of the day now. Sana unnie’s been following me nonstop and asking me a bunch of random questions that we all already know the answers to. Momo unnie keeps giggling every time she sees me, like she’s got some big secret that she’s dying to share. And Dahyun unnie just looks tired all the time, even though she sleeps at least ten hours a day.”

 

Chaeyoung looks impressed. “Huh. I guess you’re right- they have been acting a little odd lately.”

 

“You’ve noticed too?”

 

Chaeyoung nods as she takes a sip of tea. “Jihyo unnie kind of just lurks around glaring at Nayeon unnie. Jeongyeon unnie also looks like she’s going to cry every time she sees me. Mina unnie- well, actually she’s alright. Who knows what’s she’s thinking though. And Momo unnie keeps cooing at me, like she’s about to marry off her little sister or something.”

 

Tzuyu rolls her eyes fondly as Chaeyoung recounts the older members’ antics. “They’re so strange.”

 

“Definitely.” Chaeyoung readily agrees. “Do you think something’s up with them?”

 

Tzuyu just shrugs, a coy smile playing on her lips. “Well that depends.”

 

“On what?”

 

Another cryptic shrug. “On a couple of things. Hey, doesn’t this kind of feel like a date?”

 

Chaeyoung does her best to hold down a blush, but even without a mirror she knows that it doesn’t work. “A- a date??”

 

Tzuyu nods enthusiastically. “Yeah! I mean, we don’t get to do this often anyway right? I feel like every time we go out together there’s some sort of third party.”

 

Chaeyoung supposes she’s right. Whether it’s Momo wanting to eat something, Sana not wanting to be left out, Jihyo making sure they don’t do anything stupid while they’re outside, or Nayeon just butting in their business, one of the others is almost always with them- they seem to always travel in groups of three. That’s what happens when you’re part of a group of nine though, she supposes.

 

“We should go on another one.”

 

Chaeyoung’s attention refocuses on the girl sitting across from her. “What?”

 

“We should go on anoth-” Tzuyu begins to repeat, slower like she thought Chaeyoung couldn’t understand her the first time.

 

“No I heard what you said.” Chaeyoung quickly cuts her off. “I- I just- what??”

 

“Another date.” Tzuyu bluntly clarifies as she cuts another piece of her French toast into . “I said, we should go on another date. Did I pronounce it wrong?”

 

Chaeyoung’s positive her ears are burning. “Are you asking me out?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Oh. She never expects Tzuyu’s straightforwardness and she finds herself at a bit of a loss. “I- I guess this is nice.”

 

“Isn’t it?”

 

“And the food is really good.”

 

“Toast has never tasted so wonderful to me.”

 

“And it’s kind of nice, when it’s so early and there’s no one out at this part of town.”

 

“I mean, I don’t even like people to begin with.”

 

Tzuyu’s looking at her amusedly, like she already knows the answers to all Chaeyoung’s thoughts and she’s just waiting for her to realize them herself. Chaeyoung can’t help the way her eyes curve slightly at the fond, teasing expression on her friend’s face.

 

“Alright then. Set a time and place Chou Tzu- I’ll do my best to get up early.”

 

The taller girl finally leans back in her seat, looking extremely satisfied. “Are you sure? I know how much you hate getting up early.

 

Chaeyoung must be crazy. This whole thing is just ludicrous; she can’t believe she’s just willingly agreed to get up early, literally at the asscrack of dawn, at hours when the sun literally doesn’t shine when she knows well that one of the things most important and close to her heart is sleep. She can’t believe she’s agreeing to give up the hours of her rest that are so scarce to her sleep schedule- for this. For- for what, exactly?

 

She must be crazy. There’s no other explanation.

 

“Of course I’m sure. I’m Son Chaeyoung, I’m always sure. Just let me know when.”

 

Tzuyu grins at her, charmed and obviously in love. “Look forward to it.”

 

---

 

Act VI: The Unnies Do Some Research.

 

“Okay, so I found this website.” Momo walks briskly into the biggest room with her laptop and lens-less glasses, where Nayeon and Sana lie on their respective beds staring at the internet.

 

Sana sits up. “About?”

 

“Well, I found two, actually- the first is an article that some mom wrote, and the second is this one here, but it’s in English and I can’t read it.” Momo sticks out her bottom lip in a signature pout, flopping on Sana’s bed and dumping the laptop in her friend’s lap.

 

Sana just manages to catch the thing and adjusts her glasses to peer at the two tabs Momo has opened on her browser. “You went on parents.com?” She asks, holding back a chuckle.

 

Momo shrugs. “Why not? The site seems to have good advice. Just read the thing!”

 

Sana’s eyes start to skim over the page. “‘How to Handle Your Child’s First Crush.’” She reads aloud. “Momo, this is an article about children!”

 

Nayeon looks up from her phone with an amused gleam in her eyes. Momo glares petulantly at Sana. “And??”

 

Sana seems a little flustered at her best friend’s strongly defensive response. “A- And, they’re twenty years old!”

 

“And??????”

 

Sana splutters a little. “Whatever! Forget I said anything!”

 

Momo leans back, arms crossed in satisfaction as she glowers victoriously at the petulant victory. “That’s what I thought.”

 

“What does it say?” Nayeon asks, scooting onto Sana’s bed as well to peer at the computer screen. She looks like an old lady, and Sana doesn’t hesitate to tell her so. She receives a smack with her own pillow for her efforts.

 

Nayeon glares at her one last time before turning her full attention back to the screen. “Determine if the crush is mutual: suppose your daughter likes a boy in her class-“

 

“Tzuyu isn’t a boy though?” Momo interjects, curious.

 

“Hush! After you explore what she’s going through, ask about whether she thinks that boy feels the same about her.”

 

“Oi Sana, you’re in the Park family, you tell us if Tzu feels the same about Chae-“

 

“HusHSHUSHSHUSHSHUSHSHUSH!” Nayeon barks, snapping her head up to glare at the other girl. Momo shrinks back in her seat. Sana snickers at her misfortune as Nayeon continues to read. “If she doesn’t think he likes her in that way, explain that it’s important to respect his feelings.”

 

“Is any of this actually applicable to this situation?” Sana asks, exasperated, as Nayeon continues to read.

 

Momo shrugs. “Why not? We should try it!”

 

Nayeon hums, leaning back in the bed. “Maybe we should. Should we try the explanation?”

 

“Yes of course!” Momo cheers her on while Sana just sighs, massaging her eyes with a hand. 

 

What could possibly go wrong?”

 

---

 

Act VII: Tzuyu and Momo Have a Heart-to-Heart.

 

Tzuyu doesn’t know what’s going on.

 

There are a couple of things wrong with this situation. First: she and Momo are sitting across from each other at the shared kitchen table. There’s nothing wrong with that exact situation per say, but it’s the surrounding circumstances that are wrong. There’s not a soul in sight- and that’s definitely suspicious because Tzuyu knows for sure that the only members who are out today have already adjourned their meetings and are just being shady about their whereabouts, considering the lack of bull turning up in their group chat at the moment. Second: Momo isn’t eating anything at the kitchen table and that’s just wrong. Third: Momo seems to be reading something on her laptop. Momo doesn’t read.

 

Tzuyu gathers her courage and finally breaks the silence. “Um, Momo unnie?”

 

“Yes?”

 

Tzuyu shifts a little in her seat. “Why- why are we here?”

 

Momo thinks for a moment. “Hmm…”

 

This is a quick interlude to explain where Momo’s plans all went wrong.

 

“There she is!” Nayeon hisses, pointing a finger at Chaeyoung who has just emerged from her shared room. “Go!”

 

Momo wastes no time. “Chaeyoung! Chaeyoung!”

 

This is it. They’ve planned carefully for this moment; the moment where Momo would take it upon herself like the good citizen she is to care for Chaeyoung and explain to her the intricacies of a relationship. It’s going to be great. It’s going to be awesome.

 

Chaeyoung glances over her shoulder. “Good morning, unnie.”

 

Nayeon stumbles out next to Momo. “Chaeng! Come here for a second, will you?”

 

At this moment, Momo notices that she looks surprisingly put-together for a group of girls who are supposed to be spending their day lounging around inside. Chaeyoung looks up curiously but stops her steps. “What’s up?”

 

“I want to talk to you about something.” Nayeon starts, but Chaeyoung holds up an apologetic hand.

 

“Ah, can it wait until later? I have that meeting with the album artwork creators in an hour. Manager unnie is here to pick me up.”

 

Momo finally notices Mina and Sana standing behind Chaeyoung, also looking like they’re ready to sit in a long, boring- corporate meeting.”Wh- what?”

 

Chaeyoung grins apologetically. “Sorry. Make sure you catch me about it later?”

 

She waves over her shoulder as she follows Sana out the door. Nayeon and Momo are left staring after her back.

 

“I totally forgot she had something scheduled for today.” Nayeon breaks their stunned silence.

 

Momo just stares at the now-closed door. “Me too.”

 

Nayeon swallows nervously. “I may or may not have gotten everyone out of the house already because I really thought this would go through.”

 

Momo glances up and sees Jeongyeon and Dahyun lacing up a pair of sneakers. Jeongyeon glares at them. “Granny, you’re the one who insisted on ice-skating for four hours today. If you bail now, I swear I’ll-“

 

“I’m coming, I’m coming! Geez, have a little patience will you?” Nayeon growls back at her, quickly stumbling to get her jacket and put on her shoes. “Patience is a virtue!”

 

Tzuyu passes by the foyer and stops to look at them. “Where are you all going?”

 

“Ice skating, apparently.” Jeongyeon rolls her eyes, clearly unhappy with the current situation.

 

“Got a problem??” Nayeon glares back at her.

 

“Oh Tzuyu, you’re up! Want to come? We’ve got the ice rink booked for the next four hours.” Dahyun waves at her cheerily.

 

“Um, actually it’s six.”

 

Jeongyeon whips around to stare incredulously at their eldest. “What?!?”

 

“What???” Nayeon stares back, unblinking.

 

“Who goes ice skating for six consecutive hours-“

 

“We do, apparently!”

 

Tzuyu looks like she’s trying to hold in a laugh. “I think I’ll pass. Thank you though.”

 

“Oh, that’s alright! Why don’t you hang out with Momo then- I think you two are the only ones left in for the morning.” Jeongyeon smiles reassuringly at the youngest before redirecting her attention to Nayeon, who glares back just as fiercely.

 

“I’ll never let you outdo me at the ice rink!”

 

“Puhlease. You couldn’t even beat me at flappy bird.” Jeongyeon comes back just as fiercely.

 

“I’m excited. I haven’t been ice skating in so long!” Dahyun remarks cheerfully as she tugs on her sneakers. Momo just stares as Nayeon holds out a hand to steady the younger girl.

 

“You bet- I hope you’re all ready to get your assess cooked on the ice because I am amazing at ice skating-“

 

“Less talking, more skating.” Jeongyeon cuts her off lazily. “I’ve yet to see you walk in a straight line without almost breaking your ankle.”

 

Their bickering can be heard even when they exit and start making their way down the stairs. Momo is left alone.

 

She finds Tzuyu sitting at the kitchen table, serenely sipping a cup of coffee- and that’s when her worsening instincts kick in.

 

“Well, there’s something that’s been on my mind recently.”

 

Tzuyu looks up at her curiously. “Oh?”

 

Momo nods seriously. “Tzuyu, you know I trust you right?”

 

“I guess, yeah.”

 

Momo ignores the half- reply and forges on. “Do you know what it’s like to be in love?”

 

Tzuyu’s eyes almost fall out of her head. “What?!?”

 

“Did I stutter?”

 

Tzuyu reverts back to her normal state of poker face calm quickly, but she’s obviously still a little surprised. “Wh- you’re in love?”

 

“Well, I didn’t say that.”

 

Tzuyu leans back in her seat, looking empowered and enlightened with this new half-false knowledge. “Who’s the lucky girl?”

 

“I didn’t say that- you’re not answering my question!“

 

Tzuyu has the decency to at least look slightly apologetic. “Oh, sorry. Uh, I don’t think I know. What that’s like, I mean”

 

Momo reaches across the table to steal Tzuyu’s mug of coffee. “Right. But, there’s something I want you to understand.”

 

“Which is??”

 

Momo suddenly looks much more solemn. “Sometimes, we don’t get everything we want in life. Sometimes, no matter how much we like someone, they’re not going to like us back. That’s just life, Tzuyu; that’s just the truth of life. But even in the face of rejection, it’s important for us to respect that. We need to respect their decisions, because even when we think we’re a perfect match, if the other half is not on board then it just can’t happen. And it shouldn’t happen. There are always other people out in the sea, Tzuyu, and no matter how much it hurts to let them go, you’ll find your soulmate somewhere, somehow, someday- and that’s going to be the person who will love you for the rest of your life.”

 

She hopes that she’s said that all correctly. She’d spend her whole morning poring over the parents.com article with Nayeon and Sana- they’ve boiled it down pretty well and Momo’s sure her speech about lack of reciprocity has gotten across pretty well.

 

Tzuyu looks contemplative. Momo waits patiently for her thoughtful, heartfelt, well-articulated response.

 

“So Mina unnie rejected you?”

 

Momo blinks twice. “Na- nani??”

 

“That’s strange.” The youngest mulls quietly, placing a thoughtful hand on her chin. “That doesn’t add up.”

 

Momo doesn’t know what is going on. “What are you-“

 

“I could’ve sworn she liked you too, but she definitely didn’t tell me that you confessed to her.” Tzuyu mutters to herself more than Momo. “That doesn’t make sense. She would have told me.”

 

Momo feels a strange heat rising to her ears. “I don’t-“

 

“I need to ask her about this.” Tzuyu states definitively, looking satisfied with the conclusion she’s reached with herself.

 

Momo is absolutely flabbergasted. “How did you even know I like Mina-“

 

“It’s not very difficult to see, Momo unnie.” Tzuyu shakes her head disapprovingly, like she’s disappointed it took Momo this long to realize that she’s not the most subtle person around.

 

“Wh- you- I didn’t-“ Momo starts, stumbling over her words and tripping sentences everywhere. Tzuyu places a reassuring hand on top of hers.

 

“Don’t worry unnie. I know it’s hard, but there’s a lot more to this that I think you haven’t caught on to yet. Don’t lose hope- just because she might’ve said no once doesn’t mean she won’t change her mind. She feels for you a lot more than she lets on- don’t let one rejection deter you, alright? We’ll get to the bottom of this together. I promise.”

 

Momo is left shell-shocked as Tzuyu more or less forces her limp hand into a pinky promise before solemnly nodding and walking away.

 

Well that didn’t go as planned.

 

---

 

Act VIII: All’s Well That Ends Well.

 

“This is kind of nice.”

 

Tzuyu grins that same heart-stealing smile from across the table. “Yeah?”

 

Chaeyoung finds that even after the initial shock of dating Tzuyu wore off a little, she still can’t help the flutters in her chest at the sight of that smile. “Yeah.”

 

Tzuyu holds a fork with a bite of peach cobbler in front of Chaeyoung’s lips lovingly. “Nice enough to compensate for the- and I quote- ‘waking at the ungodliest hours of the morning before the angels can see and protect us’?”

 

The blush on Chaeyoung’s cheeks deepens as she accepts the pastry bite before her but she nods anyway. “I guess it is.”

 

Tzuyu hums, watching in satisfaction as Chaeyoung chews the morsel. “So, since we’ve been going out for a couple weeks now, would it be too ambitious of me to ask you to be mine?”

 

Tzuyu is nowhere near perfect. Chaeyoung has learned this over the course of the past few weeks. Tzuyu is a closeted dork, a far cry from the untouchable model persona she carries into their careers; she stumbles over her words, she’s unnecessarily sporadic at insanely early hours of the day, she trips over air when bringing Mina and Sana their baking equipment, she forgets to bring her carry-on when going home to Taiwan, and she probably spends almost all of her free time thinking about Gucci and how cute his little paws look when he’s stealing the watermelon right out of her bowl. Her own bowl!

 

She’s nowhere near perfect.

 

“Do I get free breakfast if I say yes?”

 

The grin is already spreading slowly over her features. Tzuyu just leans her head on her palms as she gazes at Chaeyoung like she carries the galaxies in her eyes. “I can only make toast. And coffee. Sometimes.”

 

“I guess we can just go out for breakfast.”

 

“We’ll do anything you want to do.” Tzuyu hums easily. Her hair falls over her shoulders in beautiful waves, framing her face like the model she is, accentuating her natural beauty underneath the makeup and flashy clothes-  now it’s just Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, Tzuyu and Chaeyoung and nothing in between.

 

“Do you think the others will quit their stupid scheming if we tell them we’re together now?”

 

Chaeyoung stares at her. “Scheming?”

 

Tzuyu just looks amused, leaning back in her seat as she sips her beverage. It’s coffee for this morning, with a splash of coconut milk. Tzuyu says it’s because she needs the electrolytes. Chaeyoung tries to tell her that that’s probably not how it works, but Tzuyu pretends like she doesn’t understand Korean so she just lets it be. “You know. The whole ‘family feud’ thing Nayeon and Jihyo have wrapped everyone into.”

 

Chaeyoung thinks back to all the suspicious stares, awkward questions, slamming of laptop screens whenever she enters a room. “Huh. Is that what was going on?”

 

“Something along those lines. It’s pretty stupid, so I’m hoping they’ll quit soon- Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Dahyun literally ice-skated for six hours a few days ago and Jeongyeon unnie has been walking a little funny since. Do you think they’ll stop if we just tell them?”

 

Chaeyoung shrugs, finding that she actually doesn’t really care anymore because she knows that they love her and Tzuyu both in the end and that they’d never do anything to hurt her in that way. “Eh. Doesn’t matter to me.”

 

They eat in silence for a few subsequent moments, until Tzuyu leans forward with a pensive look in her eyes. “By the way, did you know that you’re apparently part of the Im family and I’m apparently part of the Parks?”

 

Chaeyoung blinks. “What?”

 

“The Ims and the Parks. Nayeon and Jihyo. They’ve claimed us as their children, and we’ve each got a whole bunch of relatives too.”

 

Chaeyoung sighs. “Not this again.”

 

Tzuyu just laughs, pouring some more coffee in Chaeyoung’s mug. “Oh, come on. You know they’re just worried.”

 

“About nothing like common idiots-“

 

“There there.” Tzuyu soothes, shoving a piece of pie in Chaeyoung’s mouth. “But anyway, I overheard one of the morning joggers say something about a sunflower stand opening a few blocks away from our dorm. Want to check it out?”

 

Chaeyoung frowns as she chews her pie. “We have a schedule later today.”

 

“Tomorrow then?”

 

She grins. Looks like she’ll have to start really getting used to these early morning type of rendezvous’. Tzuyu grins at her expectantly, and she knows she’ll never have any other answer. 

 

“Of course, Chou Tzu. We’ll do anything you want to.”