“Hey, relax. It's just another normal day, except…” Jeongyeon’s voice subsides. “It’s the same day as when you were born 24 years ago. At least don't fret about it if you're not going to celebrate it”, she smiled at Mina with her lips pressed in together.

“I wanna celebrate,” Mina said with a soft, low voice as she pouts. Right now, Mina is looking like a little girl to Jeongyeon. A little girl who is sitting on a blue sofa in her dormitory’s living room with her knees touching each other and her hands on top of them.

“Then, let's celebrate!” Jeongyeon put down the throw pillow that she was hugging before she continued, “So, what’s the plan?”

“I don't know.” Mina contemplates for a second whether to continue but, without her approval, just decides to do so as if it has a mind of its own. “Can somebody else decide on that?” She said with a sarcastic tone and smile. “Like, surprise me? No one's ever surprised me before or ever planned a birthday celebration for me!" Mina started to raise her voice. "It's always me who does the planning for my own birthday but when, like… when it was Sana's birthday, Jihyo gathered the whole squad to plan a surprise for her! And everybody does the same thing for everyone except for me!” Mina's tears started to well up. She felt pain in her chest as she said those words. She did her best not to allow her tears to escape the confines of her eyelids. Her emotion was choking her, making it slightly hard for her to breathe.

What Mina said may seem superficial to others, but it was a big deal to her and Jeongyeon understood where Mina was coming from. She went through many silent battles that no one, except Jeongyeon, will ever know about.

Looking at her crying friend with pity in her eyes, Jeongyeon didn't know what to say so she replaced those nonexistent words with something she knows that will soothe the crying girl. She approached Mina and gently caressed her shoulder. The warmth of the older girl's touch melted Mina's cold, aching heart. This really comforted Mina and she was so softened by the gesture that she could no longer contain her tears. She eventually gave up and just allowed them to roll down her face.

The pain, the pity she had for herself, the envy she had for her friends and every human being on earth, her hatred and love for herself…everything. Everything she felt and every thought in her mind, she let out through her tears.

Jeongyeon reached for the napkins on the side table and handed it to Mina before she hugged her beloved dongsaeng. The latter rested her head on her unnie’s shoulder.

Mina and Jeongyeon are not biological sisters. They are more than that. They are bestfriends. Friends, not family, as Mina emphasized. According to her, “friends like and support each other. They spend time together, make good memories, tell each other their problems, and help each other out. Family members don’t do such things.” Mina knows this is not true to everyone. This belief was formed by her experiences. Mina needed at least one person to understand that—and everything that goes on in her heart and mind—and Jeongyeon does, which the former is grateful for.

The older girl still can’t find the right words to say. She knew that saying something like "it's okay”, “you'll be alright”, or “I'm here for you" does not comfort Mina anymore. As Mina told Jeongyeon before, “they are the most overused, useless words to say.” The meaning of the phrases has worn out on her that it doesn't have any effect anymore.

Jeongyeon allowed her vintage shirt to get soaked with Mina's tears. The latter, then, tried to calm herself down. The tears that seemed to not run out just a few minutes ago now stopped flowing. Mina took a deep breath before she let go of the long hug and sat back up properly. She wiped her now pinkish nose with a napkin as her sobs eased up.

Jeongyeon watched the younger girl as she wiped—what she could—the evidence of crying off her face.

Mina looked up at Jeongyeon and as soon as their eyes met, Mina giggled, which then turned into a loud laugh. It made Jeongyeon laugh, too. They’re both laughing hysterically, with their hands on their tummies, as if they just heard the funniest joke ever. Mina is laughing at herself for crying. She didn't feel embarrassed though, because she feels very comfortable to cry in front of her bestfriend.

Jeongyeon’s eyes communicate the love she has for her friend and Mina can read that. She probably has overemphasized this to Jeongyeon, but she’s very glad that she has her in her life right now. She wouldn’t be able to survive the chaos in her head if it wasn’t for Jeongyeon.

Once Mina was able to recover from the laughs, she looked down and said, “Well, I guess I’m just not anyone’s favorite.” She turned her gaze to Jeongyeon and smiled.

“Yah! I thought I already made it clear that I favorite you!” Jeongyeon pouts playfully.

“Is that counted?” Mina chuckles.

“Oh, so you mean I don’t count?” Jeongyeon said as she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

“That’s not what I meant!” Mina giggled as she playfully punched Jeongyeon’s arm. “You count, but you favoriting me doesn’t.”

“Right”, Jeongyeon chuckled.

Today is Mina’s birthday. She received text messages from her family, friends, relatives that she doesn’t even know and more people that she’s not sure if they are her relatives or if they are just mutual Facebook friends with the people she actually knows. She received all those electronic greetings but no one dared to give her any gifts or anything at all. She never expects anything anymore although she would really love it if at least one person throws her a birthday party.

She had planned to watch a movie at the cinema with Jeongyeon and then eat dinner at a fancy restaurant. Before she left her dormitory, she checked her mailbox, as she does every day as a habit before leaving and when she arrives at the dormitory. She was surprised when she saw a green envelope was in her mailbox. The design looked familiar. It was a bit similar to the one she received last year.

One of Mina’s friends from her only circle had sent Mina a birthday letter today as well as last year, but there was no sender name. The letters were even printed so Mina won’t get any clue—such as a handwriting— as to whom they were from.

The first time Mina received a letter from this Mr. or Ms. No name, she wasn’t sure if it was really for her but it has her name on it. Nevertheless, she was happy to receive it back then and another one for this year. “At least I got an actual letter”, she thought to herself, smiling.

After reading the letter, Mina happily left the building and went to the cinema to meet with Jeongyeon.

“She looked so touched”, one of the security guards of the dormitory said with a little pout on his face.

Chaeyoung, the sender of the letter, watched through the CCTV with a smile as Mina read the letter.  The former is friends with one of the dormitory guards. He discreetly allowed her to come into the CCTV room to watch Mina’s reaction—from finding the letter to reading it.

Chaeyoung lives in the same dormitory. She and Mina don’t talk much. It’s like they’re only friends whenever they are together with their circle. Mina doesn’t feel close to any of her friends and she doesn’t feel very “included” in the group. She’s only staying with them because she needs to be not seen alone by people as she’s afraid to be called a “friendless” weirdo. She had been called that when she was younger. The pain from that made her try hard to fit in with this friendly group when she started college.

With Jeongyeon at the restaurant

“Guess what!” Mina excitedly said.

“What?” Jeongyeon asked.

“I received another letter!” Mina answered as she took the said letter out of her purse.

“Woah! That’s so sweet! I’m so happy for you!” Jeongyeon said as she went around the table to go to Mina and hug her.

“Thanks”, Mina giggled. “I think it’s from the same person who gave me the other letter last year.”

“Oh yeah, the design looks similar!” Jeongyeon said as she examined the envelope that encased the precious letter for her bestfriend. “I wonder why the sender never puts their name. Maybe it’s from a secret admirer!” She teasingly quirked an eyebrow as she smelled the envelope.

“Nah, I don’t think so. The letter itself doesn’t sound like that. It’s just a simple happy birthday and a four-lined poem. Just like before but a different one.”

Jeongyeon opens and reads the letter. “Is this an original poem?” She asked, turning her gaze at Mina.

“I think so. I googled this one and the one last year, they didn’t come up in the search results”, Mina replied.

“Aww! This is so cool, Mina! I’m so happy for you and I’m happy that you’re happy!” Jeongyeon hugged her again before she went back to her seat.

Mina arrived back at the dormitory. The elevator doors opened, and she went in and pressed the number of her floor. As the doors were closing, someone ran and slid their hand on the remaining distance between the elevator doors.

It’s Chaeyoung.

“Oh, hi”, Mina smiled at the girl standing in front of her.

“Hi, Mina”, Chaeyoung greeted back as she waved at Mina before entering the elevator.

Chaeyoung pressed the number to her floor. A few seconds of awkward silence surrounded the atmosphere. Chaeyoung broke the silence with a, “Oh, uhm, happy birthday, Mina.”

“Oh, thank you”, Mina replied with an awkward giggle.

Before another awkward silence transpired, the elevator quivered and stopped moving. The two girls screamed as their bodies instinctively moved to cling to each other.

“It’s okay. We’re alright”, Chaeyoung said, her hands trembling in Mina’s arm.

“We should press the alarm thing”, Mina said as her eyes pointed towards the alarm button. As she reached for it, the light suddenly blinked. She screamed as Chaeyoung screamed and she quickly pressed the alarm button.

“We’re okay. We’re okay. We’re okay”, Chaeyoung repeated, trying to calm herself and Mina down as they continued holding onto each other.

“Look at us. We’re such big cowards”, Mina said as a little distraction. They both laughed despite still being scared.

“Mina?”, Chaeyoung nervously said.

Mina looked at her.

“If ever we don’t get out of here alive, I just wanna say...” She paused for two seconds, which made Mina’s brows frown slightly because of the sudden suspense.

“Did you like the letter?” Chaeyoung finally continued. Her chest pounded as nervousness joined her fear.

Mina’s eyes widened. “It was from you?”

“Yup”, she replied.

“And the one from last year.”

“And the one from last year?”

They said simultaneously.

Chaeyoung chuckled. “Did you like them?”

“I loved them, Chaeyoung. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. You don’t know how happy it made me today and last year”, Mina said sincerely. She’s not usually a huggy person but she awkwardly removed her arms from Chaeyoung’s grip to give her a proper quick hug to show her appreciation. The latter hugged her back.

“I’m glad”, Chaeyoung said with a smile as they pulled back from the short hug.

A man’s voice was heard from the two-way speaker system, informing the girls stuck in the elevator that they are fixing it as fast as they can and that everything’s fine. They asked for their patience and to stay calm.

“Oh, thank God”, the two girls said in relief.  They decided to sit down while they wait.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Mina asked.

“Hmm?”

“Why did you have to keep it a secret?”

“I was just shy. That’s all”, Chaeyoung replied with a grin.

Mina quietly nodded, her lips pressed together.

The elevator started moving again. It went back down to the ground floor. The doors finally opened and they were met with some personnel of the building. After reassuring that they were fine, they pressed the close button and went up again to their floors.

“Now I don’t feel like going home anymore.” Mina said.

“Hmm. Me, too. Wanna go somewhere?” Chaeyoung replied, gazing at the older girl.

They both giggled as Mina looked back at her.

Without saying a word, Mina pressed on the elevator buttons to take them back to the ground floor.

“You know what, I always wanted sit at the park at night while drinking something, but I have no one to go with”, Mina said.

“Then let’s do that!” Chaeyoung smilingly replied.

“You sure you wanna hang out with me tonight? You know how boring I can get.”

“Pfft!” Chaeyoung dismissed Mina’s self-degradation. “I don’t find you boring. You just don’t talk much and I don’t, too, and that’s fine.”

“You’re just being nice”, Mina playfully rolled her eyes.

“No, I’m not!” Chaeyoung makes a frown. “I’m being mean right now”, she said jokingly, making the both of them laugh.

“But seriously, we can just sit there and not say anything. I don’t think it would be boring”, Chaeyoung continued.

“I’d like that”, Mina chuckled. “If things get too awkward because we ran out of things to say, that’s what we’re gonna do”, Mina said with a laugh.

“Yes”, Chaeyoung said politely as she laughed back.

They went to a convenience store nearby to buy snacks. Chaeyoung remembered that Mina mentioned about ‘drinking’ earlier so she also grabbed some non-alcoholics for the both of them. She knew Mina doesn’t like the taste of alcohol.

They sat at one of the benches at the park. It’s a chilly night but the night sky is clear. They can see the stars and the full moon above them. They talked about how they never hung out like this before and how Mina doesn’t seem to hang out with their friends much anymore.

“I like them, but it’s just hard for me to make real connections with people. I don’t know how to socialize, let alone make friends and have deep connections with people. My friendships always don’t last long. I guess I’m just bad at maintaining friendships”, Mina explained.

Chaeyoung nodded. Silence surrounded them after Mina expressed herself. A chilly wind blew. Their bodies shivered.

“My body’s frail for the cold”, Mina said with a chuckle. Smoke came out of because of the cold.

Chaeyoung removed her hoodie. “Here”, she offered it to the shivering Mina beside her.

“What about you?”

“I still have two layers on”, Chaeyoung said, showing the piece of clothing under her sweater.

Mina smiled as she took the jacket from the kind girl’s hand. “Thank you.”

They talked the night away until they both felt sleepy. As they were walking back to the dormitory building, Mina took Chaeyoung’s hand. The younger girl looked at their hands, surprised. Mina gave her a warm smile. She had never seen Mina initiate holding hands with their friends before. Chaeyoung smiled. She liked it even though she’s not a touchy person. She felt Mina’s connection. She never knew holding hands could feel this comfortable.

“Thank you for tonight, Chaeyoung”, Mina said, tightening her grip on the younger girl’s hand. “I feel like I have a real friend for real, now. I never felt this kind of connection before , so thank you, Chaeyoung. I thank the universe for making me bump into you at the elevator earlier and for the elevator for getting stuck.” They both chuckled. “I hope you can sense my sincerity and how grateful I am because I can’t say it enough with words”, Mina continued.

“You’re welcome”, Chaeyoung smiled and took a glance at Mina before she continued, “I wanna thank you, too, for letting me understand you and know you more. And I’m honored that it’s with me that you felt a real connection for the first time.”

The elevator doors opened and they went in. It felt like the quickest elevator ride ever. Mina wished the elevator would get stuck again but she bet with herself that Chaeyoung wouldn’t like that so she took the wish back.

The elevator stopped and it opened its doors at Chaeyoung’s floor.

“I’ll go ahead”, Chaeyoung said with a smile. “Oh! Wanna walk to school with me tomorrow?” She asked, holding the open button.

“I’d love to, Chaeyoung. I’ll text you tomorrow”, Mina said with a smile.

“Okay. Bye bye!” Chaeyoung said as she walked out of the elevator.

“Bye”, Mina said with a nod.

Mina laid in her bed and told Jeongyeon about everything that transpired that night. The latter was very proud and happy for her friend.

They all slept that night with gladness in their hearts.

Mina and Chaeyoung became closer as the weeks went by. Chaeyoung encouraged Mina to hang out with their friends more. Mina agreed as long as Chaeyoung was with her. The semester ended and a new one started. The two girls kind of drifted away from their circle. Chaeyoung made a new friend. Her name is Tzuyu. She is a transferee from Taiwan. Also, her bestfriend from high school, Somi, came back from Canada to continue her studies in Korea. Their moms have been best friends ever since high school. Chaeyoung ‘s family lived in Canada for 4 years because of her dad’s job. Chaeyoung went to an international high school there with Somi. They have been friends since they were little. Somi’s family would go to Korea every summer and Christmas break and their families would get together and go on road trips and vacations.

Mina, Chaeyoung, Tzuyu, and Somi are all in their first year in college but Tzuyu and Somi are one year younger than Chaeyoung and Mina. The four girls became close friends. Chaeyoung helped Mina with her struggles with making friends and opening herself up to new people.

Mina became busy with school works and she’s always with her three girl friends. Jeongyeon was rarely in the picture anymore. Mina has been forgetting about her so she started setting an alarm to remind herself of Jeongyeon.

During a weekend, after midterms season, Mina invited her friends to her dorm for a sleepover celebration.

Chaeyoung, Somi, and Tzuyu were gazing at the picture frames on Mina’s table. Chaeyoung saw a slightly opened notebook and she, accidentally on purpose, read what she could see from the small opening. “’Jeongyeon’. Who could it be?” She mentally asked herself.

“Unnie, who’s this?” Tzuyu asked, pointing at a picture of Mina and a girl.

“Could it be Jeongyeon?” Chaeyoung internally asked herself again.

“That’s Sana, my best friend in high school”, Mina answered.

“You never mentioned her to us. Where is she now?”, Somi asked.

“She passed away”, Mina pursed her lips and continued, “She got hit by a car literally seconds after we took that photo. “

The other girls listened intently to Mina’s story.

“We were on a school trip. We were taking pictures when suddenly we heard a loud braking sound and a car approached us. Thankfully, I didn’t get hurt. But Sana…” She let out a heavy exhale.

Chaeyoung approached Mina and held her hand tightly. Mina smiled as she tried to hold back her tears.

“Aww, Mina unnie. I’m sorry”, Somi said as she hugged Mina from the side.

Tzuyu and Chaeyoung joined in hugging Mina.

“Awwkay girls” Mina tapped the girls surrounding her. “It’s time we go through Netflix to find something to binge on”, she said.

“By the way, Mina unnie, I already ordered Hawaiian pizza”, Somi said. Chaeyoung glared at her. She doesn’t like pineapples on pizza but Somi loves them. Their disagreement on this used to always end up in hair-pulling when they were little. They are mature college students now, so Somi and Chaeyoung don’t fight over such trivial things anymore, unless it’s just the two of them.

Mina giggled at the sight of her two friends bickering silently.

“And I also ordered jajangmyeon for you, Tzuyu-yah”, Somi continued, flashing her eyebrows at her same-age friend.

Chaeyoung wanted to buy some stuff at the convenience store. Somi and Mina accompanied her as Tzuyu stayed at Mina’s unit to look for something to watch.

The elevator opened on the 7th floor. A guy stood there, about to enter the elevator. Somi looked surprised and she quickly held Chaeyoung’s hand and stood closer to her. Mina watched it from behind as they tightly held hands. She rolled her eyes at the sight. The guy was reluctant to enter but he did anyway. He stood at the back corner, as far away from the girls as possible.

Somi and Chaeyoung started giving cheesy looks at each other. It’s like they were shooting hearts at each other with their eyes. Then, suddenly, Somi grabbed Chaeyoung’s face and kissed her. It wasn’t just a peck. Mina’s jaw dropped as her eyes opened widely in shock. The same facial expression flashed on the guy’s face. The same feeling was also felt by Mina and the guy. Their hearts dropped to their stomach as they witnessed the two girls kiss. The sound of the two girls’ lips pressing against and pulling away from each other crushed Mina inside. She wasn’t sure why she felt that way. She thought maybe it was just the result of her shock. She brushed the feeling off. Thankfully she was able to.

As the three girls exited the dormitory, Chaeyoung and Somi bursted out the laughter they’d been containing since the elevator scene that happened earlier. “We will explain everything later, Mina”, Chaeyoung said to Mina as she saw how the girl is perplexed about what happened earlier.

Back at the dorm, Tzuyu presented some options to watch. The girls were divided between watching a romantic K-drama that Somi and Chaeng chose and suspense and thrilling drama that Mina and Tzuyu chose. Not getting into an agreement, they ended up looking for a different drama that has both romance and suspense.

“So what was the kiss all about?”, Mina blurted out as they settled on the floor.

Tzuyu was sitting beside Mina, who was sitting beside Chaeyoung, who was sitting beside Somi.

“Who kissed who?” Tzuyu asked in confusion.

Mina’s phone suddenly rang. “Unnie, your phone”, Somi handed her the phone.

“Jeongyeon?” Somi read the name that was set for the alarm.

“Is that your girlfriend or something?” Chaeyoung said, suspicious.

Mina chuckled as she stopped the alarm. “Of course not! You know I don’t-“ Tzuyu cuts her. “If it’s your baby time a.k.a. your Jeongyeon time, you can excuse yourself”, Tzuyu teased. She had been loving teasing her unnies lately. Somi laughed.

Mina rolled her eyes. “Go on”, she said, giving Chaeyoung a signal to answer her question.

“Okay, so the guy in the elevator earlier had been trying to pursue Somi for a year. When he saw Somi visit me here last year, the guy non-stop stalked and messaged her on facebook”, Chaeyoung explained.

“I told him that I’m not interested but he kept on bugging me. So, we came with a plan that will make him stop. Whenever we see him, we would kiss and pretend we’re girlfriends. Although he’d stopped bothering me, we still do it whenever we see him”, Somi continued, laughing.

The girls laughed. Mina laughed along as she felt her chest lighten like a feather as she felt relieved that she was jealous for nothing. “Jealous?” She mentally asked herself. She tried to brush that thought off but it wasn’t successful this time. Her heart felt light but her head wanted to talk to her about the jealousy she was feeling.

“We’ve kissed a lot already, right Chaeyoungie?” Somi said, teasing Chaeyoung as she bumped the latter’s shoulder with hers.

“But it was only for that one musical play we did in senior year!” Chaeyoung countered.

“We kissed for the rehearsals and-“

“Too much information?” Chaeyoung cut Somi.

“She’s so defensive”, Tzuyu laughed as she looked at Somi.

“They allow high schoolers to kiss in plays?” Mina gasped.

“Yeah. In Canada, it’s pretty unlike the conservative Korea”, Somi explained.

After chatting about that topic, they focused on watching the drama and as they did, Somi tried to take the pineapples from Chaeng’s pizza but she hit the former’s hand. “Hey! Those are for Mina!”, Chaeyoung glared at Somi.

“Gosh! Then why didn’t you give them to her already?” Somi glared back.

Mina chuckled. “You can have them, Somi. You’ve touched them anyway”, she laughed. They know Mina is crazy about hygiene.

When Chaeyoung took another slice of pizza, she picked her pineapples and put them on the slice of pizza in Mina’s hand. Mina didn’t even notice it until she felt Chaeyoung’s hand lightly brush against hers. They both chuckled.

“Aww, Somi look at them!” Tzuyu teased.

“Why are you guys so sweet?”, Somi chuckled as she joined the teasing.

“Yah~!” Chaeyoung whined.

Mina couldn’t help but giggle which was then replaced by a smile that never left her face until the episode they were watching ended. Tzuyu, eyeing Mina from the side, noticed that smile. “There’s something fishy about these two that I need to find out and I will find it out”, she thought to herself. She unconsciously let out a chuckle.

“It’s not even funny, Tzuyu. Why do you like corny jokes that much?”, Chaeyoung said. She thought Tzuyu laughed because of the current scene in the drama.

Later, Somi and Tzuyu cleaned up the living room as Mina and Chaeyoung prepared the beds.

“Choose your spots”, Mina said with her arms wide open, presenting the beds they prepared.

“I’ll sleep on the floor, unnie!” Tzuyu yelled as she skipped through the room. She doesn’t like sleeping with anyone beside her.

“Somi, Chaeyoung, do you wanna take my bed?”, Mina asked.

“No, no. Unnie, you take your bed. I’ll sleep on the floor”, Somi said.

“You sure?”, Mina asked again.

“Yup”, Chaeyoung responded for Somi as she placed herself comfortably on one side of the bed.

The next day, Mina woke up earlier than her friends to make breakfast. Chaeyoung woke up when she felt the bed move as the other girl got up. She tried to go back to sleep, but she gave up trying when she heard Mina scream from the kitchen. She tiptoed out of the room as fast as she could and into the kitchen.

“You okay?” Chaeyoung asked as she saw Mina washing her hand, hissing from pain.

“Oh, you’re up”, Mina said, taking a quick glance at Chaeyoung. “It’s just a small cut. No big deal. But, uhm, can you get me a band-aid? It’s right over there”, Mina points at the drawer near Chaeyoung.

“Aigoo, Minari”, Chaeyoung said, almost sounding like a mom, but a cute one. Mina felt butterflies in her stomach. She placed the band-aid on Mina’s finger then the latter returned to peeling the garlics. They were totally unaware that Tzuyu was already outside the bedroom, watching them. The two girls were startled when they saw Tzuyu standing near them.

“Oh, you startled me, Tzuyu-yah” Mina said as she giggled. Her voice as soft and kind as she is.

“Tzuyu, you should at least make some noise when you come out of nowhere”, Chaeyoung said a bit harshly.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to barge in on your sweet moment”, Tzuyu said nicely, on teasing mode again. Mina giggled at her apology, while Chaeyoung just scoffed.

“You’re such a meany, Chaeyoungie”, Mina said cutely.

“Okay, I’m gonna go to the bathroom now”, Tzuyu said. She felt awkward witnessing more of the two older girls’ “moments”. As she was about to open the bathroom door, she stopped and said, “By the way, Mina unnie, your “Jeongyeon” alarm went off again. I turned it off for you”, she smiled.

“Oh! Thanks for reminding me!” Mina said as she ran to her bedroom quietly not to wake Somi up to get her phone.

Later that morning, Somi and Tzuyu went home after breakfast, while Chaeyoung stayed. She lives in the same building anyway.

“Bye girls!”, the younger girls said to their unnies.

“You may now have your private time”, Tzuyu said as Somi laughed beside her.

“What the heck is wrong with them?” Chaeyoung asks Mina, pointing a finger at the two laughing girls. Mina shrugged.

“Let’s go Somi”, Tzuyu said and they finally left.

Mina sat at her dorm’s balcony, inhaling the young afternoon’s air that is accompanied by the distant sound of vehicles and the smell of grilled meat from a nearby barbecue restaurant.

“Jeongyeon unnie?”

“I thought I’d never hear you say my name again”, Jeongyeon chuckled. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been really good! School’s been very demanding, but I’m surviving”, Mina responded blithely as she ate from her box of pretzel sticks.

“That’s so good to hear!” Jeongyeon looked at her, lightly touching her shoulder. She noticed that Mina was not in a happy mood.

“Hey.”

Mina didn’t respond but tears started to well up in her eyes.

Jeongyeon thinks she knows what the matter is. She clicks her tongue. “You’ve been doing great, Mina. You’ve become less independent from me. I’m really proud of you and I know you can and you will keep at it.”

“It’s all thanks to you”, Mina replied.

“Looks like my job here is done”, Jeongyeon said as she carefully Mina’s hair. She looks like a little girl again.

“Can you take that back?”, Mina pleaded. “If this is your way of saying goodbye, I don’t like it”, Mina pouted but the other girl just ignored what she said.

“I remember the time when we first met. I heard you crying and wishing for a friend so I appeared to you. I said ‘hi’, and then you just stared at me like,” Jeongyeon looked up with open, imitating the way Mina looked at her. The memory made them grin.

 “I thought you were a ghost but luckily, before I screamed my off, I realized you weren’t when you hugged me. I felt you. You were warm.”

They both stared at a distance.

“It was Sana’s warmth.”

“I knew it was Sana.”

“You did?”

Mina nodded. “I smelled her scent.”

“Okay, now that I know that you know about that,” Jeongyeon chuckled. “I never told you this but, she was the one who sent me to you.”

Mina looked at her with shock painted all over her face. “You mean, you were her-?”

“Yup”, Jeongyeon smiled at her.

“By the way, I collected all of our stuff and placed them in a-”

“Jeongyeon unnie,” Mina cuts her. “Can you save that for later? Chaeyoung will be here in like 10 minutes so I have to get changed.”

“But we might not-“

“Please?”

“Mina” Jeongyeon took a heavy sigh.

“If you’re gonna say your goodbye speech, you can postpone it for I don’t care how long. I just don’t wanna hear it right now.” Mina raised her voice.

“I’m gonna have to disappear anyway, whether we like it or not”, Jeongyeon held Mina’s hands. “And it would be better to leave sooner than prolong the agony. I don’t wanna hurt anymore and I don’t want this to hurt you anymore”, she continued as tears started falling on her cheeks. This is the first time she cried.

Mina hugs her, as her tears fell. “I love you, unnie. You know that, right? I can’t thank you enough for everything”, Mina said emphatically and continued, “You really helped me a lot”, she looked up at Jeongyeon while still in a hug, her head resting on the older girl’s shoulder.

“I love you, too”, Jeongyeon looked down at her.

“Is this really it?” Mina asked.

“I honestly don’t know.” Jeongyeon pulled from the hug. “But if it is, it’s been a pleasure, Mina.”

A week later, at the park

Chaeyoung couldn’t help but notice that Mina’s been sad lately. She sat beside Mina who was looking blankly at Somi and Tzuyu who were playing catch. “Hey, you may not want talk about it but suppressing it might only make you feel worse, you know”, Chaeyoung said in a soft voice.

A tear fell on Mina’s face, and another until it became uncontrollable. She started crying hysterically. Hearing her sniffles, Tzuyu and Somi stopped playing and approached their unnies.

“Unnie,” Tzuyu touched Mina’s shoulder.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Somi wiped a tear in Mina’s face.

“Jeongyeon”, Mina said, forcing her voice to come out amid her uncontrollable sobs.

“Jeongyeon?“, Somi asked, exchanging looks with Chaeyoung and Tzuyu. “Why? Did something happen to her?”

Mina shook her head.

Tzuyu and Chaeyoung Mina’s hair as Somi knelt down, watching her cry. They don’t know what to say as Mina never talked about her. They only know Jeongyeon as the alarm name in her phone.

“I don’t want to be alone. I’ll always need her”, Mina said, trying to ease her sobs.

The three girls furrowed their brows in confusion because of the vagueness in Mina’s words.

Mina sighed heavily, knowing that her friends are not getting what she was saying and she didn’t want them to get it. Chaeyoung handed her a handkerchief. She wiped her face, took a deep breath and tried to steady her breathing.

“We may not know what’s happening, Mina, but we’re here for you, okay? Please know that you’ll never be alone because we’ll always be here for you. We love you” Chaeyoung said reassuringly. “We love you, Mina unnie”, Somi and Tzuyu also said, forming a hug around her and Chaeyoung.

Mina was able to relearn how to believe because of her three best friends. She knows that the four of them will always love and be there for each other no matter what—even when time and space will try to separate them.

From then on, Mina never mentioned Jeongyeon again, neither did the other girls. Mina can only remember what she promised to Jeongyeon: that she will always have a place in her heart and she’s going to keep that promise for as long as she can.

“That’s not what I meant!” Mina giggled as she playfully punched Jeongyeon’s arm. “You count, but you favoriting me doesn’t because you have no other option to favorite besides me.”

“Right”, Jeongyeon said, pretending to forget that she only exists because of Mina.

Mina took Jeongyeon’s hands, intertwined them with hers and said, “Thanks for being with me for the past couple of years and for not allowing me to celebrate my birthdays by myself after Sana left. And I might be technically crazy but I would have gone crazy if you weren’t here.”

End

a/n: i already posted this but i did a little revision and made it availabe again.

how did you find this one-shot? please tell me in the comments and i hope you be nice hehe 😅

im not good at describing but i'd like to try to be more descriptive in my future writings. i'll try to do that once im not that busy :)

again, im looking for someone to collab with, please dm me on twitter if you wanna: @namyoim