CHAPTER 6

            Silence filled the car. Dahyun was awfully quiet from the sudden turn of events, and Momo was hesitant to bother her fiancé from her well-deserved rest.

            “So how long have you three been friends?” Dahyun suddenly blurted out. Momo looked over and tried to count the years with her fingers. “A long time, really. Our families were close, and we were all practically raised together.” She explained as she recalled her shared childhood. This gave the younger girl a feeling that stung her core. She didn’t want to betray anyone, especially when she’s been put into the receiving end of it already. But why did it feel like she was doing something wrong?

            “That’s nice.” Dahyun smiled as she looked out the window, deciding to take in Osaka’s view to distract herself. Momo put her arm over her fiancé’s shoulder, embracing her. “I love you.” She said. “I love you too.” Dahyun said effortlessly.

            It was a really silent trip. They got dropped off at a private condominium, which Momo’s family owned. It was only a temporary thing. Momo had planned to stay at her parent’s place, but she wanted her lover to rest before facing her parents.

            “We’ll sleep here tonight before we go to the charity banquet tomorrow.” Momo carried most of the luggage. Dahyun was about to enter the elevator, but stopped as Momo finished her sentence. A wave of shock was evident on her face. “Charity… Banquet?...” She questioned.

            “O-Oh.” A dawn of realization hit Momo. . I forgot to tell her. She scratched her head without replying and nudged Dahyun to get into the elevator. Her fiancé scoffed and got it, pouting. She was utterly confused. “I’ll explain when we get to the unit.”

            Fair enough, they both got to the unit that was on the top floor. It was the biggest unit, reserved for their prestigious clients. The moment they both got in and settled the luggage, the younger girl had her arms crossed in front of her chest. “So?”

            Momo giggled, trying to calm her now fuming fiancé. Putting up her hands in front of her defensively, she started to explain. “I maybe forgot to tell you about the fact that we’ll be meeting my parents at our charity event, and that I’ll be announcing our engagement there.” Dahyun squinted her eyes in disbelief. She was never fond of big, grand parties. “And you didn’t tell me this before, because…?” She was less mad, but her eyebrows were still well stitched together. “…I-It... slipped my mind?”

            “Yah!!” Dahyun hit the girl’s shoulders gently. Amidst controlled by anger, she still was careful about hurting people. She was genuinely mad at her fiancé, though. “You could’ve told me earlier! You know I’m not a fan of public gatherings!” Panic slowly seeped in through the girl’s expression. Momo couldn’t protest at all, knowing very well that it was her fault.

            “Oh, god… What will I even wear!?” Dahyun started pacing back and forth, thinking about the clothes she packed for the trip. Jeans, hoodies, pyjamas, winter dresses… No fancy gowns. She squatted down and pouted adorably. “H-Hey…” Momo sat in front of her, attempting to comfort her. The only thing she got out of that was a flick on the forehead. “Ow.”

            “Come on, angel~ You didn’t even let me finish completely.” She said in defense. Offering her hand to Dahyun, which the girl took after a few seconds of debating, she stood up and lead her fiancé to the bedroom. “I am most definitely NOT having with you after you just bombarded me with su-“

            Sitting on the bed was a beautiful white dress. Momo let Dahyun in first. “W-Wait…” Dahyun pointed to the dress and back to her face, implying her inquisition. Momo nodded and smiled, seeing the utter joy splash against Dahyun’s expression. There we go, angel.

            “I’m admittedly stupid, clumsy, and forgetful; but I’m not that stupid.” Momo gave Dahyun a backhug as they stared at the dress. “I know you’re already beautiful, so I prepared a dress that would match the goddess that you are angel.” She said in a sweet, persuasive voice. She intended to cheer Dahyun up, but she subconsciously just didn’t want to get beat up by an angry Kim Dahyun.

            “Thank you, Momo.” The younger girl smiled, her thoughts now steered away from Sana Minatozaki. Maybe this is the world’s cruel way of testing me, but I’m not going to give up my happiness with Momo. She thought strongly to herself. It’s time to move forward. Albeit convincing her brain, her heart isn’t so easily swayed.

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            Mina left Sana’s place after taking a few pictures of the polaroids. She was too eager to find out what happened 2 years ago. She was on the way to an appointment that concerned the charity event tomorrow. The thought of the event tomorrow got her to think about Momo. Her grip on the handles tightened. “Momo… Out of all the girls you could’ve met…” She sighed heavily, sensing a mess coming their way. She obviously doesn’t think things will end well. “To think that I considered this to be an opportunity to bring back the old, cheery Sana.” She scoffed at her obliviousness.

            The highways were starting to get busy, only adding up to the woman’s frustration. Everything was in such a mess. Sana isn’t responding to her texts, either.

            It didn’t take long for her to reach the venue of her appointment. It was a fancy private dress shop. She walked in and greeted the receptionist, sitting down on the couch in the waiting lounge. “Sooyoung will be with you in a few, Ms. Myoui.” The receptionist announced. Mina smiled and immediately opened her laptop, intending to dig deeper into Momo’s new fiancé.

            “Alright… Where do I start?” She whispered under her breath, opening her browser and looking at the pictures she took a while ago. She scrolled through them, searching for some sort of trail. She kept staring at them intently.

            Spotting a certain picture, she zoomed in. Sana was wearing a uniform with a blue blazer, a school crest embedded at the chest pocket. Squinting here eyes, she tried to read the stitches at the gilded ribbon. They were in a language foreign to her. . I can’t read Korean. She pouted. Just as she was about to search up a translation, a tall woman came out of a door. “Mina-ah!” She called out excitedly.

            Mina looked up as her name was called and grinned, closing her laptop and putting it off to the side as she stood up and embraced the woman. “Hey, Joy!” Mina said after she let go. Standing in front of her was a tall girl in a rainbow dress. The dress fit her so amazingly. Park Sooyoung, a prominent name in the fashion industry. She was often called Joy as the locals had a hard time pronouncing her name. Obviously, she wasn’t natural to Japanese roots. This gave Mina an idea.

            “You’re Korean, right?” Mina asked as she gathered her stuff and entered a room accompanied by Joy. “Yeah, why?” The room they entered was filled with designer clothes and shoes. A display of an assortment of jewelry was installed into a corner wall. Joy pat the couch, telling the other girl to sit. Mina sat down and crossed her legs. “That means you can read Korean?” Obviously stunned, Joy paused from searching for a specific dress and looked at Mina with a confused expression. “…No , Sherlock?” She laughed.

            Mina giggled at her own question, only then realizing how stupid it would’ve sounded. “I have something I need you to read.” Mina was about to pull out her phone to show the crest to the girl, but Joy brought out a black off-shoulder dress. She grinned and presented it to Mina. “What do you think?” Joy asked. Mina scanned the dress, but the image of the crest still burned her mind, distracting her. “It’s great, bu-“

            “Great.” Joy interrupted, ushering Mina into a changing room. The latter sighed in defeat, letting the other girl do her job without int