The morning began the way that most things did for Sana: with Jihyo and Mina. Her two girlfriends were on her mind from the moment she woke up, coloring her morning in bright and wondrous ways as she rushed to get ready for school. Sana brushed her teeth, changed into her uniform, and then paused for just a moment to admire the photobooth pictures tucked around the edge of her bedroom mirror. There were countless photos of herself with Mina and Jihyo, the three of them hugging and giggling together for the camera. An outsider could easily mistaken their relationship as just a really close friendship, but only the three of them knew the truth.

Despite spending time with both of them nearly every day, Sana was always buzzing with excitement to see Mina and Jihyo. When she arrived at school, she immediately went to pick up her girlfriends from their various activities. She snagged Jihyo from the student council room, snagged Mina from the tutoring center, and then proceeded to drag them both to their favorite secluded classroom for a bit of fun before the first bell rang.

"Sanaaa," Mina whined as she found herself backed up against the teacher's desk the moment Jihyo shut the door behind them. She sat herself upon the of corner of the desk, her legs dangling off the edge as Sana began to lay kisses against the side of her neck, as Sana began whispering sweet compliments into her ear. Mina pressed her hands lightly against Sana's chest to temper the attack. "Homeroom's gonna start soon. If you wanted to fool around this morning, you should've gotten here earlier!"

Sana pulled back for a brief moment to cast Mina an appropriately chastised look before resuming her kisses. "I woke up late, I couldn't help it," Sana mumbled into Mina's collarbone.

Mina sighed at Sana's lack of concern and then turned to their other girlfriend for support. "Jihyo-ya, help me talk some sense into her."

"Yeah," Sana giggled, also turning and waggling her eyebrows suggestively at Jihyo. She moved to the side slightly to make room for Jihyo to join them. "Help me talk some sense into her," Sana echoed, where 'help me talk some sense into her' clearly meant 'help me kiss Mina before class starts'.

Jihyo watched the exchange between Mina and Sana with an affectionate smile. Somehow Mina, the youngest and most responsible of the three, and Sana, the eldest and definitely the most irresponsible, always bickered a bit when it came to situations like this. And somehow Jihyo, the middle in both age and personality, was always there to mediate.

"Mina's right," Jihyo declared, coming to the younger girl's rescue. She directed her response toward Sana. "You should've gotten here earlier if you wanted to make out. So no kisses for you." She stepped deftly between Mina and Sana and pressed a kiss to Mina's lips, much to Mina's delight. Jihyo let Mina take the lead on it, mildly surprised when what Jihyo expected to be a quick kiss soon turned into a slow and heated mess right before Sana's eyes. Jihyo leaned deeply into Mina and let herself become overwhelmed with the kiss before Sana's complaints broke them apart.

"That's not fair," Sana whined. Her hands tugged at the hems of Jihyo's and Mina's pleated skirts pitifully. "I want kisses, too!" She nuzzled against Jihyo's cheeks and then Mina's, urging them to kiss her back, but Mina chuckled and pulled away.

"Then maybe next time you'll plan on getting here sooner," Mina replied with a smirk. She gave Jihyo another kiss and then hopped off the desk, straightening her ruffled tie as she went. "I need to meet up with Momo before homeroom starts. I'll see you guys later."

"W-wait. Do I really not get a kiss?" Sana asked. She hurried forward with a pout, catching Mina before the younger girl reached the door. "I promise I'll pay attention in class today," she added hopefully, wondering if Mina would make her beg for affection. Instead, Mina replied with an exasperated giggle that shot to the top of Sana's heart. Sana closed her eyes as Mina kissed her quickly, the ghost of a touch making Sana wonder if Mina's lips were impossibly soft or if Mina hadn't really kissed her at all.

"You better pay REALLY good attention," Mina said firmly, swiping her thumb gently across Sana's bottom lip like a promise of the reward to come if Sana behaved today. "Or else," she added pointedly. And then Mina turned and exited the classroom with an ethereal grin that left Sana's cheeks pink with shyness.

"Ooooh, someone's in trouble," Jihyo teased. She threw her arms playfully around Sana's neck as she hugged Sana from behind. And Sana smiled wistfully at Mina's retreating form as she pulled Jihyo closer, feeling a faintly nagging tug at her otherwise carefree heart.

Sana knew she had a life that most high school students could only dream of. She was pretty (or so she was often told), and popular (indisputably so), and she had not one but TWO beautiful girlfriends adorning either arm. Sana never imagined that she would ever find another person she connected with deeply enough that she would want to date them and they, in turn, would want to date her back. But life proved her wrong twice by sending both Jihyo and Mina to her.

If Sana were to compare her relationship with Jihyo to her relationship with Mina (not that she ever liked to compare her girlfriends to each other), it was easy to point out that Sana had been friends with Jihyo longer and therefore knew the older of her two girlfriends better. Sana and Jihyo were "partners" before they were ever girlfriends, a troublemaking tag team that formed at the beginning of freshman year. Being friends with Jihyo was easy for Sana, indescribably effortless, sometimes akin to the feeling that they shared a single brain. They laughed at the same jokes, that had all the same preferences, and they were both oblivious to their own feelings for each other for the longest time, their incredibly fun friendship leaving no room for romance at first.

Looking back on it though, given enough time, Sana felt like she and Jihyo would've eventually realized that they liked each other and they would've naturally fallen in love on their own, had it not been for an unexpected variable in their friendship in the form of a transfer student named Myoui Mina.

"Sometimes I wonder if Mina's just putting up with me," Sana found herself admitting out loud to Jihyo later that day. They were in the courtyard after school waiting for Mina's ballet lesson to end so they could pick her up together. And while resting on a bench and passing the time with Jihyo, Sana couldn't help but voice the concern that was currently on her mind.

Jihyo sat up straight with her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Are you crazy?" Jihyo asked Sana seriously. "Mina ADORES you. How could you think she's just putting up with you?"

"I dunno... Lately I feel like I'm always doing things she disapproves of," Sana sighed heavily. "Coming to school late, forgetting to do my homework, failing tests..."

Jihyo laughed gently, her fingers tenderly playing with Sana's long locks of hair. "Are you thinking about Mina scolding you this morning for being late? I wouldn't worry about it. She's just very serious when it comes to school." She patted Sana lightly on the head when she noticed how dejected the older girl continued to look. "But by the way," Jihyo added, "I also disapprove of everything you just mentioned. Please try harder at school."

Sana cracked the smallest of smiles because she knew Jihyo was trying to make her laugh. "I'm serious though. Sometimes I feel like... Like Mina and I just aren't as close as you guys are. We barely have anything in common."

"Aren't you just overthinking things a little bit?" Jihyo asked gently.

"Maybe. But sometimes I wonder if Mina could be just as happy dating only you. Like if I wasn't even around."

Jihyo hesitated slightly, letting Sana's confession sink in. "...are you thinking about breaking up with her?

"No! Definitely not!" Sana quickly denied, the fervor of her words causing her to jump to her feet, but then Sana's energy deflated just as quickly. With her shoulders sagging, she softly mumbled, "I just wonder what I need to do to get Mina to like me as much as she likes you. As much as I like her..."

Jihyo breathed a soft sigh of relief that went undetected by Sana. "Then talk to her. Let her know how you're feeling. If Mina cares about you as much as I know she does, she'll make you feel better."

"Yeah, I guess," Sana mumbled, still unconvinced.

"But in the meantime," Jihyo announced, checking the time on her phone, "we still have about 20 minutes before Mina's lesson ends. How about I try to cheer you up, too?"

"What'd you have in mind?" Sana asked dully.

Jihyo stood up with a brilliant smile and held out a hand to Sana. "Make out session in the rose garden."

Sana perked up immediately. That DID sound really appealing. It was staggering how well Jihyo knew what to do to lift her mood in an instant. With an eager smile, Sana slipped her hand into Jihyo's and let her girlfriend lead them to the elaborate garden on the other side of the courtyard.

There was a secret spot in the back corner of the garden that no one else at school seemed to know about. It was a small enclosure hidden behind a high hedge just beyond a lonely weeping willow tree that also obscured the enclosure from view from above. It was the perfect place for three people to sneak off to in the middle of the day when all the classrooms were in use. It was another place in the school that Mina, Sana, and Jihyo liked to call their own.

The moment they rounded the hedges and were hidden from sight, Jihyo pulled Sana close and kissed her, slowly and heatedly, her hands daringly sliding up the back of Sana's thighs and trailing a bit higher... Sana smiled into the kiss; this was EXACTLY what she needed to cheer up.

"If it makes you feel any better," Jihyo murmured, her voice low with flirtation and secrecy, "you can close your eyes and pretend that it's Mina kissing you."

Sana knew Jihyo had only said that as a joke to get her to laugh, and yet Sana couldn't help but feel appalled at the suggestion. She stopped the kiss instantly, pulling away and taking Jihyo's cheeks carefully in both hands to make sure Jihyo was staring into her eyes before she spoke. "Jihyo-ya... when I'm kissing you, I'm ONLY thinking about you. I like you a lot too, Park Jihyo," Sana confessed shakily, her voice trembling over the desperate words that tumbled out of . "As much as I worry and think about Mina's feelings for me, I hope you know that I worry and think a lot about you, too."

The idea that Jihyo thought of herself as anything less than Mina in Sana's heart was an ache that was suddenly too painful for Sana to bear. One day, when all three of them were more confident in their relationship and in their feelings for each other, Sana knew a joke like that would make them all laugh. But right now, the joke just made Sana worry about a world of things she wished she wasn't so worried about.

"I know you do, I know," Jihyo replied soothingly, shaken by Sana's strong reaction but remorseful all the same. "You're right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have joked around like that. I like you a lot too, Sana." She brought the older girl into a tight hug, rubbing her back reassuringly. When Sana stopped trembling in her arms, Jihyo pulled back gently, dipping her head to rest Sana's forehead against her own. "I'm only thinking of you right now, OK?" Jihyo said softly, leaning in slowly for a tentative kiss. "Think only about me, too."

Sana closed her eyes and felt the touch of Jihyo's lips, hesitant at first, then much more surely upon the next kiss. And as Sana started to reciprocate again, she felt Jihyo's kisses grow deeper and more intense, full of the kind of ache and want that Sana was certain could only exist from a "first love" relationship. It was intense enough for both of them that they didn't hear anyone approach until that person was basically on top of them, loudly clearing to get their attention.

"Ahem!"

Sana and Jihyo looked up in a daze to find Mina staring at them with a rather amused expression.