“Meat, fish, veggies, fruits, bread, dairy…” Chaeyoung writes it all down while she hides a yawn escaping .

“You should catch more sleep, Chaeyoung-ah. I’ll finish that for you,” Mina suggests after setting her phone’s timer to three minutes. “Besides, we have enough food left for a week.”

Chaeyoung dismisses her and continues writing. “Yes, we still have enough left, if you consider alternating hotdogs and ramen for a week.”

Mina chuckles as she leans against the marble kitchen counter.

The morning light feels pleasant on her skin.

She thanks the mansion’s architect for putting a shaft upstairs, creating a well-lit and ventilated kitchen despite being underground.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay my share. I think I should probably pay monthly rent as well if I continue living here,” Mina muses while waiting for the ramen to cook but gets startled by Chaeyoung’s loud,

“No!” 

Mina takes the awkward silence that follows the wrong way. “I mean… I’ll find a new place to stay, of course. You’ll probably be uncomfortable with me around here, and it’s better to get a proper housekeeper who knows how to clean the house…”

Mina's voice is tinged with sadness, so Chaeyoung mentally smacks herself. “No, no, Mina. What I mean is you don’t have to pay anything, especially with the stuff I’ll be buying, and you can stay here as long as you want,” Chaeyoung tells her sincerely.

“That’s what Nana Nayeon would have wanted,” she adds with a chuckle.

Chaeyoung steals a glance, and sees Mina still looking down, so, despite her warming cheeks, Chaeyoung tries again. “I’ll also like it if you stay here,” Mina’s head snaps towards her, “because we’re friends, right?”

Mina blossoms into a smile, but her phone suddenly rings, making them jump and inadvertently breaking their stare.

Chaeyoung exhales the breath she's been holding.

Mina skips towards the boiled noodles, and Chaeyoung observes how the girl meticulously adds spices to the soup.

By now, Chaeyoung has noted Mina’s streak of perfection; although using a measuring cup for instant ramen is a bit of an overkill for her.

Either way, Chaeyoung thinks she can get used to this.

Mina then serves two big bowls of ramen on the countertop and smiles before saying, “A delicious meal for me and my friend.”

Chaeyoung shakes her head and uses the spoon Mina has passed to her. She moans at the taste of the soup. 

“You’re the only one I know that can make the same brand of ramen tastes differently good every day.”

A minute filled with slurping and sipping passes by. 

Chaeyoung stares at her empty bowl and hears Mina say, “You can show your appreciation by letting me pay rent, Chaeyoung-ah.” Before she can argue, Mina adds, “At least half of all the groceries, furniture, and appliances that both of us will use every day.” Chaeyoung still looks unconvinced. “I’m a runaway, I know, but I have a few gigs here and there. I know it must be hard on your pocket to renovate and sustain this mansion alone, so please let me help.” Mina’s face becomes serious as she finishes, “Think of it as my token of gratitude for Nayeon’s kindness.”

Chaeyoung keeps mum but, in the end, relents with a sigh. “Okay, okay. You win.”

Mina lets out a small “Yay!” 

Chaeyoung then stands up and readies the dishes to be washed.

“So what’s next in our cleaning agenda for today?” Mina asks while helping Chaeyoung pile the dishes.

“Well, you said that all rooms in the basement are okay, and all the rooms upstairs are vacant, so I think Nana’s bedroom is the only room left,” Chaeyoung recites absentmindedly.

Mina looks at Chaeyoung, weirdly amused.

“What?” Chaeyoung asks as she washes the pots.

“For a few nights, you stayed and slept in an unkempt room, Chaeyoung-ah?” Mina fakes a scoff, earning a loud “Yah!” from Chaeyoung.

“Excuse me, Miss Minari, but I’ve cleaned enough space for me to sleep in,” Chaeyoung pouts as she puts the washed dishes on the rack. “Besides, I intended it to be like that because I’m still unsure if I’m ready to see the things she left behind.” She dries her hand using the dishcloth. “It was her bedroom, after all.”

Chaeyoung doesn’t intend it to sound so melancholic, so she’s surprised when Mina’s hand suddenly clasps her own. “Don’t worry, Chaeyoung-ah,” Mina breathes, “I’ll be right there with you...”

It’s so easy being lost in Mina’s eyes when she’s looking at Chaeyoung like this. Like—

“... to help you with another shelf you can’t reach,” Mina adds before breaking into a cheeky grin.

Nevermind.

Chaeyoung removes her hand and chuckles along with Mina.

Early in the afternoon, sitting on Nana’s canopy bed, Chaeyoung sees the whole room in a different light.

For the first time since she set foot inside the house, she draws the curtains of Nana’s bedroom and lets the daylight flood in.

Along with the fancy window, a comfy recamier sits directly across the King's size bed in the middle of the room. 

“So where do we start?” Mina asks, standing tentatively in the doorframe. The sight reminds Chaeyoung of the first night they met. 

“The comfort room, I guess?” She announces, pacing to the said restroom and ignoring the confused look on Mina’s face. 

The spacious washroom which almost occupies a third of the whole room has two entry points from both sides of the bed. Those doors lead to an end-to-end walk-in closet. (Chaeyoung notes the contrasting features and shrugs at the master bedroom, having two closets unmistakably made for two girls.) The two powder rooms meet into one big central bathroom with a bathtub, lavatory, and glass-paneled shower room — definitely lavish indulgence for the previous owners.

Chaeyoung starts scrubbing the bathtub like a maniac. She brushes the already spotless tub, ignoring Mina’s concerned looks, but then stops when a small skin peels off her hand.

In an instant, Mina is by her side, reprimanding