Mina was in the 4th grade when she realized the girl from upper level in the committee was cute. She extremely felt giddy whenever the older girl would drop by in her classroom and would inform them about the occurred meeting and whatever information it holds that Mina usually forgets – Mina took it upon herself to become her class representative just so she could talk with her senior – which ends up for more talking.

Of course, Mina felt ecstatic.

Mina was in 7th grade when she felt herself blushing whenever her homeroom teacher would ask her for the handouts. As ever she has been, Mina was chosen as a class rep for her class and it seems it somehow had favored the latter. She felt herself getting flustered whenever her homeroom teacher would pat and give her encouragement.

Of course, Mina felt even more flustered when her homeroom adviser would smile at her.

Mina was in 9th grade when she felt rejection for the first time. She was the straight A student she has always been and there was no need for her to get a tutor but the recent rejection she felt when she saw her senior crush getting a boyfriend was enough to topple such gay like the one she owns.

Of course, Mina knows and it was painfully obvious to herself she likes women not in the platonic and friendly way but rather in the – I kinda wanna date and maybe them way too. Mina was also in her 9th grade when she moved on quickly and her gay fell for her tutor who is a woman in her 30s technically married and had three kids.

At this point of her life, Mina thinks she wasn’t only gay but also a dumb .

Mina was in her 10th grade when she finally had come to terms in her uality and preference as she travels all the way to Seoul – she’s a curve way gay and likes older women who seem to be far out of her reach. In her defense, teens at her age whose sole focus is getting straight As isn’t her type – both literal and figurative way. Mina having such peculiar standards of course, suffered too many heartbreaks and some of them were literally her fault for pining married women.

Lord just hates gay women who gets straight As, I know it.

Currently, Mina is at her 12th year in her senior year and she finally passed the age of adulthood but her preferences seems to have stood rooted with her even until she reached this stage. Mina feels like she’ll be a single old woman who will live with thirty cats at this point – she’s exaggerating.

“Earth to Mina, hey!” Mina blinked after seeing a hand obstructing her view, she glanced towards the pretty flower boy of the next class – not her type. She cocked her eyebrow in inquiry and this boy, named Hwang Hyunjin grinned sheepishly, “Have you seen Yeji? We need to go home together today”

“Haven’t seen that dumb dragon sister of yours” Mina answered – Yeji, have been a friend of her since 11th year and they became sort of best friends that in Mina’s opinion she didn’t know how the knots came to that but she kinda sorted it out when she saw Yeji kissing another woman at the third stall of the bathroom.

Hyunjin scrunched his nose, “Hey, we’re twins”

Mina rolled her eyes, “Great that makes two dumb dragons. It’s kinda rare for the two of you going home together, though?” she pondered as Yeji would be running off to her as they go home, talking about gay activities.

“Oh, family dinner” Hyunjin answered shortly when his friends started calling him out on the door of the class, “Tell her, alright? Thanks, Myoui!” and the brother went running off while Mina sighed glancing down as she fished her phone typing a quick message towards her best friend.

It seems it’s gonna be another day of wailing for Mina and her defeated love life.

--

It was class dismissal and she was able to informed her friend who returned within minutes before the resume of classes with her hair a little bit messy and it didn’t take Mina to solve where her friend had gone off which got Mina to roll her eyes off unamusingly to Yeji which was return by a sheepish grin from Yeji.

“What did he say, anyways?” Yeji ask – they are currently walking towards the gate as the Japanese lad decided to drop off the latter before going off her own. Mina shrugged as she replied, “I dunno. He just said family dinner then went off. Anyways, instead of that, where the were you again?”

“Eating lunch?” Yeji feign innocence even though she was far from it making the Japanese’s eyes to roll, “Does your lunch consists of eating whatever was it between in Jisu’s legs?”

She received a punch in her arm while her best friend’s face was plastered with a flushed expression, “Shut it. It wasn’t like that”

“Sure, your hair sticking out and that hickey jus–” her words was cut off as Yeji covered her neck in panic, “Where?! Oh god, mom will kill me if she sees another one of these”

Mina snorted, “So, there were more of these”

“Hey! Where? I told her not to put any beca–”

“I was kidding”

“What?!” Yeji whined, letting out a glare and a sigh at the same time while Mina only shrugged and chuckled in response, “I was right”

“Right my ”

Mina humored, “Don’t tell me you guys did it at the third bathroom stall again? That’s kind of getting old, Ye–ah” she received a disapproving grunt from the latter beside her making her to laugh. It was really fun for Mina to be teasing people around.

Couple of teasing made it through the air until they were finally at the gate where they easily spotted Yeji’s huge brother waving like a kid at them beside a black car. Mina rolled her eyes as she dropped her best friend towards her brother.

“Thank you, Myoui! I thought she went off running somewhere again, and you, where were you at lunch?” Hyunjin asked in question shifting her attention toward her sister who squirmed nervously under her brother’s inquiry.

Mina, raised her eyebrow at her best friend who looked at her in plead, sighing internally, “I found her at the clinic few minutes after you left” Mina informed, and she immediately saw the shift of Hyunjin’s look, his eyes immediately being laced with worry.

“Are you alright? You were still noisy this morning”

Yeji sighed in relief, “False alarm. I was having cramps earlier”

Hyunjin nodded thoughtfully, “You alright now?”

Yeji nodded her head and Mina took this as a cue to leave now, not wanting to impose anymore longer to the twins schedule, “I’ll go now. Make sure to treat those cramps” Mina teased earning an unwanted look from Yeji.

“I’ll be sure to do so” Yeji response in sarcasm.

“Who is this beautiful lady, Yeji? Your brother’s girlfriend?”

Mina blinked for second time around this day. Her eyes slowly trained to the source of voice and had kept their place after seeing the face of the woman inside the car of the twins – smooth black jetted hair flowing in, thick lips, pointed nose perfectly place in the round shape of the woman while the eyes are in crescent form and that’s where she realize the woman behind the wheels was smiling at her – also realized the creeping heat in her neck.

Also realized that this woman is pretty as .

“N–no” Mina croaked out while Hyunjin whined a reply of, “Mom!”

“What? None of you introduced her to me so I’m guessing” the woman chuckled and doesn’t seem to have taken any offense to the way her child had replied at her.

Yeji rolled her eyes, “Mom, this is Mina. Mina, my mom”

“Oh!” there was a flash of recognition in the face of the older woman, “Yeji’s best friend! Nice to finally meet you, I’ve been asking for this silly girl to bring you over”

Mina’s ears went into shade of red and she kind of breath in relief that they were covered in her long hair, “N–nice to meet you too, Mrs. Hwang. I’ll be sure to drop by some time”

There was a full blown smile in the woman’s lips, “Just address me as Auntie, that’s too old and formal”

“Well, you’re old” Yeji supplied while their mother dramatically placed her hand in her chest, “Hey! I’m not that old!” the woman whined and Mina definitely see where the twins had gotten that habit of them, “Where are you off to, Mina–ah? I might be able to drop you off”

“O–oh no, that’s alright” Mina needs to refuse because there’s no in goddamn way can she prevent herself of staring at this gorgeous woman and that’s definitely a no–no when this woman’s children are just right there and one of them is actually her best friend, “I’ll be fi–”

“The 29th station mom. Is it around our route?” Yeji answered for her while she felt her guardian entity fleeing her shoulders.

Mina feels like she just wants to have that thirty cats she was thinking of earlier rather than endure this ride of getting her to own up the chance of liking another older woman.

Lord definitely hates me.

“Oh it is! Hop on in, we’ll drop you off”

The end – or what is Mina’s wish for her to meet her end because she feels like the Lord up above had forsaken her and is having a tea time because why for the love of God is she seating in the shotgun seat maintaining a conversation with her best friend’s mother.

“Oh, so you do sleep off on class, Yeji” the mother remarked in a humorous laugh as Mina answered in whatever can her shrinking brain can think of.

The mentioned name let out a whine, “I wasn’t!”

“You drool”

“I do not!”

“Oh, sweetie, please make sure you brush your teeth”

“Mom!” Yeji whined again and Mina’s suffering came to a halt but her misery began when the car stopped at the station she usually takes to get home. She gracefully went out and bowed her head, muttering a quick thank you to the Hwang’s, “Take care, Mrs. Hwa–I mean auntie”

The older woman beamed at her, “Make sure to drop by soon, Mina”

--

Mina was definitely hoping that soon was somewhere very very very very very very far away. But it seems just like the usual her hopes weren’t heard and pass the ears of the deity leaving her now with the situation she has to deal with. She is currently within the premises of Yeji’s room as the finals were making their presence known.

It wasn’t that Yeji was the dumbest but the repetitive occurrence of her dozing off the classes left her with her dreams to write towards the exam papers and both in Yeji and the professor’s perception that isn’t really the dream they were talking about for the students to pursue.

Hence, her presence here.

“Mina! Mina! Earth to you” Yeji grumbled as she frustratingly let out a whine while her eyes trained to the worksheet in her hand, “Why the hell are we studying this ?”

Mina rolled her eyes, “Maybe if you actually listened, you’d know. Can I have some water?”

“Just go to the kitchen” Yeji murmured while still boring glares to her worksheet, sighing, Mina took her way out towards the kitchen to which she had seen first when they entered the spacious house of the Hwang’s. She was halfway cursing and halfway taking a drink out when a voice made its presence known.

She choked violently in her water, turning around, she hoped her smile was somewhat passable as human’s because she’s afraid the water might be dripping out of her nose, “G–good afternoon too, Auntie”

“Oh dear, I’m sorry, I must have shaken you up, haven’t I?” there was a visible worry in the tone that older woman had used, fishing out her hanky and dropping some of the grocery bags she was carry, “Come here”

“O–oh, I can–” Mina’s words stood muted when the woman had evidently invaded her space and wiping the remnants of the waters from Mina’s lips – Mina was kind of thankful it wasn’t from the nose but the sudden closeness of the gap made Mina hoped she passed out from the violent choking earlier.

Please, just let the gays die in peace.

“There” the woman beamed while she felt the redness from her ear creeping into her cheeks, “Thank you” she murmured quietly before clearing before glancing towards the bags of groceries, “Do you need help?”

I really do know how to make myself mop around.

“Oh, it is okay?” she nodded while realizing that it wasn’t probably the Lord who brought upon the suffering of unrequited and failed romance of her life but rather her who failed to curve herself away from pretty ladies and their straight as uality.

me.

“How was school? I hope Yeji isn’t imposing too much on you, sweetie”

Oh, God, why would she call me that?

Mina tried to smile, gently taking out the other groceries out of the paper bag, “She doesn’t. She’s the one I usually get along so it’s all good, I’m just worried she might flunk this upcoming finals”

The mother laughed gently, “She might have gotten that part from me. I would usually doze off from class because I find it too boring” Mina smiled along, with a little bit more ease now when the mother spoke again, “Thank you”

Mina hummed, catching the eyes of the older woman, “Pardon?”

“For getting along with her, it took quiet some time again before she came bubbly” Mina returned the smile – pondering a bit of what Yeji’s mom meant but before she could even ask what was it, the devil itself suddenly appeared.

“I thought you got lost” Yeji greeted, immediately helping her mother as well, “Those goddamn formula can burn itself, I’ll just help here”

“Language, young lady” Yeji mother reprimanded while the Yeji herself could only roll her eyes, “You’re the same as me!”

The elder woman owned a not so amused expression, “Well, I’m done there but you’re not. Go back along with Mina–ssi, I’ll finish this or its your who is gonna get some whooping”

That doesn’t sound to bad for me, at least.

Mina internally groaned hearing her immoral thoughts of desiring her friend’s mom, “Your mom’s right. I’m still not ready to talk to another human being”

“That’s what you’re worried about?!” Yeji whined while Mina shrugged dragging her friend along with her back to the latter’s room leaving the chuckling woman behind who busied herself in the groceries.

“We should probably focus to your darkening future” Mina beamed at her in the not so good way, effectively scaring Yeji into studying again with her guidance this time but Mina’s intention was probably that it was her future who is darkening by associating herself with her friend’s mother in the not so platonic way.

Mina is starting to curse herself for having so specific criteria on who she likes romantically, and even more so loathing herself for the criteria to be so fitting towards Yeji’s mother. Her best friend is actually aware about her preferred type but her friend is surely isn’t aware that her mother is fitting all of it.

Why the am I like this?

Mina felt hope vanishing into thin air, her eyes boring intently towards her friend that Yeji herself couldn’t help but to break the trance, “Stop staring. You’re not my type”

“Do you think if I get baptized, God will forgive me?” Mina asked.

Yeji pondered, “Maybe? I mean He is known to forgive cursed souls”

“What the you mean by that?”

“That he’ll forgive you?”

Mina rolled her eyes at her best friend, “Then I hope the finals can be as forgiving as Him”

Yeji was struck with fear.

--

Mina thinks that what Yeji had told her is somewhat true. That she might be really a cursed soul or that she is the actual curse, because why on Yeji’s is her mother here at the same grocery store she’s in? After her visit over Yeji’s house weeks ago for tutoring her best friend about the finals, she swore to the hotdogs and eggs she had eaten for breakfast the day after that she won’t ever try to meet the woman again.

Because she isn’t in the fan of getting herself into another unrequited and almost impossible feat of love, soon anytime, Mina is sure she’ll have the longest record in cupid’s history of failing too many times whenever they tried shooting the arrows.

“Oh, hello, Mina! How are you?” the mother greeted while Mina felt the Heaven rejoicing with dark clouds looming in sky, “I’m well, Auntie. How are you?”

“The usual, I suppose” the woman beamed, “You’re doing your groceries?”

Mina nodded her head, pushing her cart beside the woman, “Yes, I live alone and my parents will profusely nag me if they know I’ll order takeouts instead of home cooking” Mina should have let the living alone part out when she immediately noticed the worry in the older woman’s glance – she sees me as kid, alright.

“You can spend the evenings with us, so you won’t have to eat by yourself” the mother offered while Mina feels like rejoicing – she winced at the idea of eating with the whole family of Hwangs and seeing the woman she’s starting to have a thing for all lovey dovey with her husband.

Mina smiled kindly in return, “It’s alright. I don’t really want to impose too much”

“Oh, sweetie, nonsense. You’re always welcome”

Mina felt her ears reddening and cleared , grabbing some ramen from the rack, “Thank you” was all she replied because the way she had been addressed is something doesn’t do well with the gays and she’s gay as so she is now a fumbling mess.

“Is that what you mean by home cooking?” the woman’s eyes doubled in surprised while Mina nodded her head dumbfoundedly, “I cook it in home – home cooking”

Mina can evidently see the stress that crossed the woman’s face, “Are you sure you don’t want to spend the evenings with us?”

Mina chuckled in response, “It’s home cooking”

“That is instant” the worry was too evident that another chuckle escaped past through Mina’s lips, winking, and before she can even realize what in forsaken devil she is doing she said, “I’ll get a wife to cook for me, Auntie”

There was a slight tint in the older woman’s cheeks hearing what Mina had just said, while Mina’s brain started to chant – – she grinned awkwardly, “Or I think I’ll take up the offer. Just for tonight”

Crossing the line between being treated as a kid and more than that is scary.

“You really should” the older woman replied quietly, pushing her cart while Mina followed along trying not to make run for it for how embarrassing she was earlier ago. Just how useless gay could she be and drop such flirting hints towards the older woman?

Mina was sure when her mother had given birth to her – it was a normal delivery and she was also a well known achieving student and thus, a mystery to her on how hopeless and dumb could she be in such situation. She grumbled internally while still having a repeated session in her brain of what she did earlier.

She knows at this point the heavens would be denying her plea of taking her there so she’s shooting her shot in hell as she continues to glare at the floor while they are currently payin