There's a reoccurring dream that's been plaguing Mina's sleep over the last few days. Mina hates the intensity of this dream, the indecisiveness she feels in it. It hits too close to home for her liking.

In her dream, Mina stands on a lone dock overlooking the ocean. The sky is dark, the water is churning, and two women are drowning just beyond her reach. Mina is confident in her swimming skills so she knows she can rescue them, but panic rises in Mina's chest because there's only enough time to save one. She feels overwhelmed with the decision before her, as though she were the one drowning. The women cry out Mina's name as they struggle to keep their heads above the water, begging for her to choose them. And suddenly the water rushes over Mina's head and she can't breathe; she's the one drowning after all. There's a ringing in Mina's ears, everything goes black, and then--

Mina bolts upright, startled out of her dream by her ringing cell phone. The darkness of her dream fades and gives way to the sunlit glow of her bedroom just after dawn. Mina blinks slowly at the sunlight a few times as the drowning feeling in her chest recedes. She's awake, she can breath, and she doesn't have to make that difficult choice.

(Not yet, anyway.)

Mina finally realizes that her phone has been ringing for a while and she quickly takes a look. The display reads "Sana 💕", and instantly Mina's nightmare-addled heart feels light and warm.

"Morning, honey," Mina mumbles affectionately but sleepily into the phone. She falls back onto her pillow, her heart aflutter from the unexpected wakeup call. The bad dream is entirely forgotten. "Someone's up early." Mina waits for Sana's sunshine giggles to grace her ears. But instead of a cheerful greeting from her girlfriend, Sana replies with frantic urgency.

"Omg Mina, it's INSANE. Have you looked outside your window yet??"

There's a desperate tone in Sana's voice that has Mina worried and on edge in an instant. The sleepy fog in her brain clears and she hurries to the window wondering if there's some kind of mayhem to behold outside. A riot? A tornado? An alien invasion? Mina throws her curtain aside, heart in , phone clutched to her ear--and she finds that the world beyond her window is perfectly normal.

Nothing looks out of the ordinary on the bustling city street. The road is filled with cars headed to work, the sidewalk is packed with people rushing by each other as they hurry to their destinations... and there's also a pretty, orange-haired woman standing across the street holding a phone to her ear. The woman waves up at Mina with stars in her eyes as Mina finally notices and smirks down at her from the window.

"Very funny," Mina says into her phone as Sana's bubbly laughter tickles her ear. "Thought you'd wake me up with a scare this morning?"

"And pastries!" Sana's voice declares through the phone. From across the street, Sana holds up a white paper bag with a beaming smile. "Is it OK if I come up for a bit before work?"

And of course, Mina's answer is, "Yes."

It's moments like these that have made the last month of Mina's life feel like a happy dream. It's the way her heart flutters as she watches Sana rush eagerly across the street and into her apartment building, the anticipation in her chest as Mina races to brush her teeth and make herself presentable before Sana comes knocking on her door a moment later. And as Sana leaps into her arms the second she enters the apartment, Mina feels distinctly humbled to have found someone she enjoys being with as much as she enjoys being with Sana.

"Morning darling~!" Sana greets, squishing her cheek up against Mina's much like a cat would do. Sana wraps her up in the tightest hug, pushing Mina towards the living room until they topple backward onto the sofa. "I missed you so much!"

"You just saw me two days ago," Mina murmurs into Sana's hair as she returns the hug in full force. But truthfully, she's missed Sana dearly these past two days as well.

"That was way too long ago," Sana pouts, and Mina can't help but giggle and agree. "Sorry to surprise you like this, darling. I know you don't like unannounced visits, but I just wanted to drop off some breakfast for you since you'd be busy studying all day. I thought you might not have a chance to eat properly. And also, I just..." Sana looks away shyly as she places the white paper bag of pastries onto the coffee table. "I just wanted to cuddle for a bit before work... if you have time..."

Mina's heart melts as Sana gives her puppy eyes that would rival a pleading face emoji. Her girlfriend's expression is sickeningly sweet and impossible to refuse, so Mina simply responds to Sana's request with a gentle kiss. It's followed up with another kiss, and then another... And then thirty cozy and kiss-cuddle-filled moments later, Mina finds Sana agonizingly trying to tear herself away from the warmth of their hugs so that she's not late for her job.

"Do you still think it was a good idea to stop by on your way to work?" Mina teases as Sana begrudgingly rushes to put on her shoes.

"Don't be mean," Sana moans pitifully. The puppy eyes are back but there's nothing Mina can do for Sana now. "I'm gonna miss you even more today."

Mina thinks for a moment, making a mental check to confirm that she doesn't have any plans with anyone this evening. Today is scheduled to be a study-intensive catch up day for her grad school classes. But if she studied hard all day, there should be time to relax later. "How about you come by after work?" Mina suggests. "If you promise to work hard today, I promise to uh... reward you for it later."

"Really??" Sana squeals, absolutely delighted. Her eyes perk up even more after Mina nods in confirmation. "It's a date!"

Mina sends Sana off to work just like that with a smile and a glorious kiss that was sure to have Sana's strawberry lip gloss dancing on her taste buds all day long. And when Mina shuts the door, as she slowly leans back against it and savors those brilliantly happy moments she just spent with Sana, Mina feels like she just sent a part of her heart off to work with Sana too. It takes more than a few moments for the happy daze to wear off from Sana's visit, and Mina just lingers by the door until it does.

It's difficult to want to focus on school work now that Mina has a date with Sana later tonight to look forward to. But she made Sana promise to work hard, so Mina reasons that she ought to do the same as well. She reluctantly starts to walk away from her spot by the front door to grab her textbooks when a knock suddenly startles her. Had Sana forgotten something? It seemed like a very Sana-thing to do if that was the case.

Mina quickly throws open the door with a smile, without a thought to any other possible scenarios. "Did you forget--!!" The "something" gets lost halfway to her tongue because it's not Sana in the hallway like Mina had expected.

"Nayeon??" Mina exclaims, quickly trying to hide her surprise by masking it with genuine excitement.

"Who else would it be?" replies Nayeon, who smirks playfully back at Mina. The older woman steps forward and she kisses Mina who is still unsure what was going on, but Mina quickly remembers to kiss her girlfriend back. "Mmm..." Nayeon hums thoughtfully, her lips. "You taste like strawberries. Since when do you wear that kind of lip gloss?"

Mina tastes the flavor of Sana's strawberry goodbye kiss on her lips mingled with Nayeon's kiss hello. "Er... I bought some over the weekend," Mina says with a nervous laugh even though the lie sounds lame to her own ears.

"Anyway, I know you hate surprise visits, but would it be OK if I l crash here for a few hours? Last night was brutal and I don't have the energy to go all the way back to my place..." Nayeon asks tentatively. Mina is surprised by Nayeon's meekness since the older woman is rarely anything but confident, but Mina can see the fatigue etched across her girlfriend's face. Nayeon works at the bar across the street as a bartender, and her shifts often started late in the day and went on throughout the night until closing. Worse yet, Nayeon's apartment is all the way across town.

Mina feels sympathetic to Nayeon's plight and normally she would say "yes" unconditionally to this kind of request, but right now Mina hesitates because Sana is coming over later. Nayeon and Sana's visits aren't likely to overlap, but still...

"If it helps your decision, I brought over lunch for you," Nayeon mentions, sheepish yet hopeful. "Actually, I MADE you lunch. I just put together a few sandwiches using the leftovers at the bar, but..." Nayeon grabs a large paper bag of food that she left in the hallway and then steps into the apartment. She dangles the bag in front of Mina enticingly. "I figured you might not have time to eat lunch properly since you were planning to study all day, so I wanted to give you this. It's yours even if you don't want me crashing here today," she adds with a smile, and it's the knockout blow for Mina because she finds Nayeon's cherry red lips and her bunny toothed smile irresistible.

With her heart racing in her chest, Mina starts to cave in to Nayeon's charm and then concedes entirely. "Yes, you can stay," she says with a smile, much to Nayeon's delight. She accepts the bag from Nayeon and a few heated kisses as a thank you.

"Mind if I use your shower?" Nayeon asks, and Mina--still a bit dazed and breathless from Nayeon's kisses--simply smiles and nods.

"I'll put the food away," she calls after Nayeon, who flashes back a playful wink and a pair of finger guns in reply. It makes Mina giggle because Nayeon is really something else. She's fun and flirty and completely unapologetic about who she is, and Mina loves that about her girlfriend.

The water starts running in the shower a moment later and prompts Mina to head to the kitchen with the food Nayeon brought. She spots Sana's pastry bag on the coffee table and picks it up along the way. But as Mina stands in front of the refrigerator with both bags in hand, she gets a sense of deja vu from this morning's dream. Two bags to unpack, but which one to open first? It's only faint, but the drowning feeling returns as Mina remembers the decision that she doesn't want to make just yet, and she starts to feel like she's barely keeping her head above the water again.

Mina takes a shuddered breath, shoves both bags into the fridge unopened, and slams the door shut.

"I'm going out to pick up some coffee for us," she calls out to Nayeon, not waiting for the older woman's reply. Then she rushes out of the apartment, undeniably running away from the situation for a moment.

Mina takes a few deep breaths of the cool morning air to calm herself down once she's on the street. It helps, but Mina's heart is still racing. It's been a little over a month since she started dating Nayeon and Sana, and neither of them knows about the other, and today is the closest that they've ever come to running into each other. It makes Mina feel overwhelmed just thinking about it, the closeness of the encounters. Mina feels weak at the thought of having to tell them the truth one day. And on top of that, there's the unbearable guilt Mina harbors from secretly dating two people at once. She never meant for things to turn out this way, but that didn't make the current situation any better.

Mina sighs heavily before entering the nearest coffee shop. Once her order is placed, she steps to the side to wait for the drinks while contemplating her feelings for her two girlfriends. Sana is bright like sunshine and impossibly soft. Nayeon is wild and loud and makes Mina laugh harder than she ever thought possible. She really likes them both so so much and Mina knows they're both OK with open relationships, but Mina knows she's crossed a line by not telling Sana and Nayeon about each other.

Just as Mina's name is called and she picks up the cardboard holder with both drinks, Mina's phone buzzes. She quickly checks the message and stifles a small whimper because she's received a message that's far sweeter than she feels she deserves.

[Sana]: Thanks for letting me come over this morning! You're the bestest girlfriend ever! 🥺🥺🥺 Looking forward to more cuddles and kisses later 😘

The guilt would eat her alive one day if the truth didn't come out soon. It makes Mina's chest ache with shame as she sends back a cheerful reply to Sana and starts to walk back to her apartment to see Nayeon with drinks in hand.

Just a few steps toward her apartment, Mina gets another text. Again, Mina instinctively thinks it's Sana because Sana just messaged her. And again, Mina is flabbergasted to find that she's wrong. She opens her phone and finds the -est picture of Nayeon that she's ever received in her life. Mina almost drops both lattes, her phone, and her jaw in shock.

She quickly brings her phone to her chest to shield the picture from the gazes of passersby and then she rakes her eyes across Nayeon's scantily clad form and the mind-boggling position Nayeon is posing in on top of her bed. Mina is drooling so hard that she doesn't notice the message accompanying the picture for a few moments.

[Nayeon]: Thanks for letting me use your shower. Can't wait to thank you PROPERLY when you return... 😏

Mina's heart catches on fire and her mind goes blank. She starts sprinting towards her apartment single-mindedly wondering exactly how Nayeon was going to thank her.

One day, Mina was going to pay for not being honest with these two women. But today was not that day.

Mina feels like she's in over her head. With Sana dropping by unexpectedly in the morning and then Nayeon crashing at her place without warning for most of the afternoon, Mina's anxiety levels were already a bit elevated throughout the day even though she enjoyed Nayeon's visit. But now that Nayeon had left and Sana had come back over after work as promised for a continuation of this morning, Mina definitely feels overwhelmed.

The fact that Sana has Mina lightly bound to the headboard by her wrists probably isn't helping. She's been stripped bare by Sana in between heated kisses and gentle touches, in between muffled moans and high pitched cries that made Mina's head spin. These kinds of interactions with Sana aren't new though, and it's not the reason why Mina suddenly feels overwhelmed (even though it isn't helping). Mina feels like she's in over her head because Mina has finally noticed Nayeon's on her dresser, neatly folded and sitting on the corner closest to her bed as though Nayeon left them there for her intentionally as a gift.

Mina quickly looks away from her discovery, quickly tries to focus on the sensitive spot where Sana is currently running her tongue all over, but seeing Nayeon's makes Mina's mind wander back to this morning, to the steamy memories that followed after Nayeon borrowed her shower. Mina had rushed back to her apartment after receiving Nayeon's text and discovered that yes, Nayeon was waiting for her in the exact same position she had contorted herself into when she took that selca. It was hard to say if Mina's cheeks were red from sprinting two blocks or due to the sultry gaze on Nayeon's face when Mina entered her bedroom.

But it didn't matter. Nayeon beckoned to her with a single outstretched finger and Mina found herself drawn to the older woman like a mouth to a flame. Their lips clashed, Mina's clothes were torn away, and the last words Mina uttered before she and Nayeon sent each other spiraling from one to the next is that Nayeon looked absolutely sinful in her lacey and barely existent black silk thong.

"Are you OK?" Sana asks, and Mina is forced to let go of her thoughts of Nayeon for a moment. She focuses her eyes on Sana and finds her girlfriend looking back at her with concern. "You look distracted darling, or uncomfortable. Do you want to stop?"

Mina shakes head to rid herself of thoughts of Nayeon. And really, she can't think of any place she would rather be right now than in Sana's caring hands; impossibly soft and skilled hands that are currently touching her in all kinds of places that make Mina blush to very core of her existence.

"Don't stop," Mina breathes heavily as Sana's hand keep moving throughout their conversation. "B-blindfold me," she begs so that she can focus only on Sana's touch, and the older woman complies eagerly. Sana's dark yet tender smile fills Mina's vision just before a silk scarf covers her eyes and everything goes black.

Mina feels like she's drowning. She's definitely in too deep. She never meant for things to get so serious with Sana and Nayeon both. But Mina feels Sana's soft lips dance along her neck, scorchingly hot. Sana's hands trail wildfire along her inner thighs until Mina is burning from the inside out. Then Sana kisses her roughly, messily, pushing Mina past her melting point until Mina is certain that she's made of lava in this very moment, overflowing with emotion.

Just like Nayeon made her feeling this morning.

It's all too much and it's not enough, and Mina is sure this overwhelming sensation is what it feels like to fall in love with not one but two people at the exact same time.

FLASHBACK - One Month Ago

The bar is packed. Mina has never been a fan of drinking in crowded places like this, but she's here because, as Momo put it, "It'd do our love lives some good to mix it up every once in a while."

Mina's heard of this "Twicelights" bar before, but tonight is the first night she's set foot in this place. She immediately regrets coming when she and Momo find themselves crammed in the corner at one end of the bar with an extremely rowdy crowd pushed up against them, clamoring for drinks. Mina regrets it even more later on when she finds herself sitting in the same spot all alone.

Mina sighs and toys with the pina colada in front of her. The drink had been much more delicious about 15 minutes ago when she had been sipping on it with Momo by her side, laughing about various things. But then Momo moved to the other side of the bar to sit with the insanely hot blonde woman making eyes at her, and Mina had been left by herself to watch.

"A beautiful face like yours shouldn't have to frown," Nayeon says, coming back to refill the bowl of pretzels in front of her. Mina manages a sad but bemused smile. The bartender with the bunny toothed smile had ignored her most of the night while Momo was drinking with her. But as soon as Mina was left alone, Nayeon had started to keep her company in between serving the crowded bar.

"Think your friend is coming back any time soon?" Nayeon wonders. They look over to the other end of the bar where Momo is now seated in the lap of the pretty blonde. The two of them are making out hard and heavy, as though daring the nearby patrons to tell them to get a room.

"What do you think?" Mina asks Nayeon sarcastically and they share a laugh before Nayeon goes to collect more orders.

Mina is grateful for Nayeon's company. She doesn't do well eating or drinking alone and Nayeon is very comfortable to talk to. As she finishes up the last of her pina colada and debates ordering another drink versus leaving, her phone buzzes with a text message.

[Momo]: Sorry for ditching you but don't wait for me. Jeongyeon are I are headed to her place! XD XD

Momo follows up her message with a few stickers that show just how very excited she is about her new hookup, and Mina finds that she can't be mad at her friend for being a terrible wingman tonight. She waves at an ecstatic Momo from across the bar.

[Mina]: Congrats! Be safe! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!

[Momo]: Oh you know I'm gonna! :D get home safely! Text me when you're home!

Mina laughs as Momo eagerly stands up with a small wave and then slips into the crowd hand-in-hand with Jeongyeon, the hot blonde.

As Mina puts her phone down, Nayeon catches Mina's attention by clearing . When Mina looks up, Nayeon passes her a drink that she didn't order. It's a colorful ordeal in a wide mouthed glass that looks plenty sweet with a tiny umbrella and a skewer of fruit.

"Strawberry margarita," Nayeon says, pushing it closer.

"Oh, uh, not mine. I didn't order it," Mina replies with confusion.

Nayeon nods. "I know. This is from the woman over there." The bartender points down the bar and Mina sees a pretty girl with stars in her eyes giggling and waving cheerfully. She looks every bit as bright and sweet as the drink she bought for Mina. The woman makes eye contact and winks at her in a way that has Mina suddenly flustered, and then the woman turns around and disappears into the crowd before Mina can even think of how to respond.

"Oh my god, what's am I supposed to do? No one's ever ordered me a drink before!" Mina panics, turning to look at Nayeon. "Am I supposed to send her one back?!"

Nayeon smirks at Mina's inexperienced reaction. "Only if you're interested in her. But before you do that..." Nayeon clears again awkwardly before pulling out a fresh shot glass and pouring a plain shot of tequila with salt on the rim. She passes Mina the drink with a wedge of lime. The tiny shot glass looks simple and clean alongside the flashy tropical drink and Mina looks at Nayeon's new offering in confusion.

"Look, I... I don't really do this, and never when someone's on the verge of getting picked up," Nayeon begins nervously. "But this one is on the house, too--from me, I mean." Nayeon's smile turns bashful yet earnest, and that's all it takes for Mina to catch the bartender's meaning.

Mina is speechless. She not uninterested in Nayeon, who has been kindly keeping her company in lieu of her absentee wingman all night, but Mina is absolutely floored that the first time she get sent a drink in her life, it happens twice.

Nayeon scratches her head sheepishly. "You don't have to send me one back. And this is on the house whether you're interested in me or not. I was just wondering if I could take you out on a date sometime? Casual or open dating or whatever is fine with me if you're not looking for something serious, and--"

"I'd love to," Mina replies without hesitation. And Mina can feel something stutter in her chest from the way Nayeon's eyes crinkle in delight at the enthusiastic reply. The rest of the night with Nayeon is a hectic blur as the over-packed bar somehow becomes even busier. Mina sips on the sinfully sweet but incredibly delicious strawberry margarita as she waits for Nayeon to free up again, only to realize by the bottom of the glass that Nayeon probably won't get a chance to take a breath until closing time hours later.

"I'm so sorry! I can't believe how busy it is tonight!" Nayeon apologizes profusely as she momentarily steps away from the dense pack of patrons barking drink orders at her. She slides Mina a business card with her number on it and offers Mina a remorseful smile. "Call me tomorrow around dinner time?"

Mina smiles and pockets the card. Then, with her eyes locked onto Nayeon's in the five seconds that this crowded bar has given them, Mina grabs the shot glass in front of her, the salt off the rim, downs Nayeon's tequila in a gulp, and then bites into the lime wedge. The drink burns like fire down and simmers heatedly in her stomach like her growing attraction to Nayeon. And then Mina winks at the bartender, who looks like she rather enjoyed watching Mina take that shot. "Have a good night, Nayeon."

Mina turns and walks away from the bar feeling giddy and light. What started as a dull night with Momo ditching her turned into a rather pleasant night of getting Nayeon's number--as well as getting sent a drink from another pretty woman. Mina's thoughts immediately turn to the woman with stars in her eyes and she wonders if it would be polite to thank the woman personally for the drink and decline it, or if it would be better to slip out without saying anything at all. Before Mina can come to the conclusion on her own though, she feels a soft tap on her shoulder.

"It's you!" a bubbly voice says as Mina turns and finds herself facing the woman who sent the strawberry margarita. Somehow the woman is even prettier up close, and Mina discovers that she was right: the stars really do sparkle in this woman's eyes. "My name's Sana. Did you like the drink I sent? Strawberry margarita is one of my favorites!"

"Er... yeah, I really liked it," Mina replies awkwardly because Sana is staring at her as though Mina single handedly placed the stars in the sky, whereas Mina only came to Sana bearing a rejection. "Look, about that--"

"I'm glad I made the right choice," Sana continues with breathless excitement. "I was wondering if you'd prefer a mojito or mimosa instead. I was watching you all night to see what else you ordered so I could figure out your tastes, but all you had was the pina colada so I thought maybe you'd want something fruity too. I'm so happy you liked it!"

The stars in Sana's eyes are so brilliant that Mina couldn't help but fall into Sana's night sky. Sana's voice is so melodic, her personality so brilliant, that Mina quickly forgets the reason why she wanted to find the woman to begin with.

"I'm Mina," she says when Sana takes a break in her cheerful banter. Mina hadn't meant to give Sana her name (this is a rejection, after all), but the introduction tumbles out of Mina's mouth quite easily.

"Very nice to meet you," Sana replies sincerely. Her eyes somehow sparkle even brighter after receiving Mina's name. "Are you headed out?" Sana asks, noticing Mina's coat tucked under her arm. "I was about to leave too. Mind if I join you?"

The correct answer here would be, "no" because Mina isn't really looking to give Sana the wrong impression. She already has Nayeon's number and she doesn't need to double up on her success tonight, but somehow Mina can't bring herself to refuse Sana's earnest request. She nods and ends up nervously waiting outside by the entrance for a minute until Sana comes out and joins her.

"Thanks for waiting!" Sana cheerfully greets her as she steps outside of the bar. Sana then compliments the night air for being cool and refreshing before giving a little spin. The action is adorable and Mina can't help but smile. Mina doesn't want to compare, but Sana is immediately different than Nayeon, who is kind in a mature and straight forward way. Sana is kind too, but more in a sugar overloaded way. Mina can't say that one personality is better than the other, but being around both of them tonight has been nice in its own ways.

"You look like you might've had too much to drink. Your cheeks are pretty red. Or could it be because you're with me?" Sana jokes.

Mina thinks about how she downed Nayeon's shot on top of Sana's drink and the pina colada she had with Momo. She's feeling the effects of the alcohol for sure, although perhaps Sana IS partly to blame for how red her cheeks currently are.

"I was about to call a cab for myself," Sana says, pulling out her cellphone. "Can I take you home? I mean, drop you off at your home. I didn't mean like I was inviting you over to my place for the night or something!!" Sana quickly corrects herself even though Mina understood what she meant with her original wording. Sana giggles embarrassedly, half a little too drunk and the other half very sincere. And Mina giggles as well because Sana is just plain cute.

"I actually live right over there," Mina says, pointing a few buildings down and across the street. "If you want, you could walk me home?" And Sana is already nodding eagerly at the invite before Mina finishes her question.

They set off down the street side by side in the chilly night air. They chat as they walk, exchanging a few high level details about their lives. Mina learns that Sana manages a clothing store while Sana learns that Mina works part time as a waitress to put herself through grad school. It's a pleasant chat for the two blocks that they walk, and as they approach the entrance to Mina's building, Sana springs the question that Mina was prepared to reject the moment that they started talking at the bar.

"So... I hope you understood by the drink I sent you earlier that I'm interested in you. I was wondering... Are you interested in me? Enough for a first date?" Sana asks hopefully, heart on her sleeve.

Surprisingly, Mina finds that she honestly is interested in Sana now, her heart somehow swayed by their short, twenty minute conversation since meeting at the bar. Mina really did have every intention of rejecting Sana earlier since she already agreed to a date with Nayeon. Mina isn't one for casual dating and she hadn't planned on starting now, but Sana's charm is making it very difficult for Mina to refuse.

"I'm definitely interested," Mina finds herself admitting to Sana far too easily.

Sana giggles. "Then I have another question for you: are you and that bartender seeing each other? It looked like you two were having a really good time tonight."

Mina shakes her head at Sana's question even though Nayeon's number is burning a hole in her pocket. But it's the truth though, because at this point in time, she and Nayeon are just two people who chatted for the night with plans to meet for dinner.

"I mean, it's totally OK if you are dating her," Sana continues. "I'm OK with open relationships. I just don't want to interfere if there's something serious between you two."

"Don't worry, you're not interfering," Mina says truthfully. And Mina can tell by Sana's genuine concern for her that Sana is someone that Mina wants to get to know better. They exchange phone numbers with each other and make tentative plans to meet up before they part ways.

It seems too good to be true. As Mina lays in her bed later that night, recalling the encounters with Nayeon and Sana, Mina really can't believe that she picked up two numbers on a single night when normally she struggled to even get one. There's no guilt on Mina's conscience, only excitement about the possibility of falling in love with one of these two incredible women. Mina goes to sleep peacefully that night, happily imagining her upcoming first dates and wondering which of these women she was going to choose.

END FLASHBACK

Mina honestly never went into this situation thinking that she would continue to date Sana and Nayeon at the same time. In the beginning, she simply planned to get to know each woman a bit and decide which one she liked best, maybe go out on one date each see how things went; then she would end things with one woman and continue to see the other. Simple, right?

But Mina never imagined that Sana and Nayeon would both impress her so much on their respective first dates. Nayeon was full of steadfast confidence and Sana was overflowing with charisma. And they were both so fun to be around that Mina couldn't pick between them based on one date alone. So one date became two. Then two dates became three. One kiss came, and then the other kiss followed. There was one hot and steamy night... And then there was another...

And then before Mina knew it, five weeks had gone by and she could do nothing else but let herself get swept along by her overwhelming feelings for Sana and Nayeon.

Mina feels like she's crumbling under the stress of it all, and it's starting to show. She comes to this realization while out on a clothes shopping date with Nayeon one afternoon. It's a light-hearted and carefree event, and Mina feels so at ease with Nayeon that she lets her guard down just a little too much when she hands the older woman a shirt that she thinks would suit her.

"Here you go honey, I bet this would look great on you," Mina says a bit absentmindedly. She's determined to find Nayeon a matching skirt to go with the suggested top, and Mina is so wrapped up in her search that she doesn't notice her little slip up.

"'Honey'?" Nayeon wonders, taking the blouse but tilting her head slightly in mild confusion. "Are you trying out new nicknames for us?"

It takes Mina a few seconds to realize what she said, that she just called Nayeon by the pet name she uses exclusively for Sana. Panic starts to rise in Mina's chest, her stomach twisting with fear and guilt. Meanwhile, Nayeon casually holds the article of clothing up against her torso to get an idea of how it would fit her, seemingly oblivious to Mina's panic.

"No offense," Nayeon says nonchalantly to her girlfriend, "but I don't think the cutesy nickname stuff is for me." She turns to Mina to ask for her opinion of the top, and she's stunned to see the younger woman looking so stricken.

"Er, I mean, I'm open to trying nicknames!" Nayeon quickly backpedals in an attempt to cheer up Mina. "It's OK to call me, 'honey'. I just have to get used to it. And I can call you whatever you'd like me to call you. Um... baby?"

Mina bursts out laughing at Nayeon's contritely worried reaction. It helps to alleviate the wave of guilt Mina feels, and she simply hugs the older woman. She wants to feel Nayeon's arms around her, wants to cherish Nayeon's kindness, but mainly she wants to silently apologize for mixing Nayeon up with Sana, because Nayeon is not Sana. Nayeon is Nayeon and Mina enjoys Nayeon exactly as she is.

"You don't have to do that," Mina says firmly, pulling back from the hug and gazing at her girlfriend affectionately. "You're right, nicknames don't suit us. I like us better as 'Mina and Nayeon' after all."

Mina turns back to the rack of clothing and selects a beige skirt. She hands it to Nayeon with a gentle smile. "I think this would look great with that top. Try it on for me?"

"Definitely!" Nayeon agrees and she heads for the dressing rooms. Mina watches Nayeon as she walks away, sullenly reflecting on her actions toward Nayeon--both today's actions and the ones from the past six weeks.

"Not good," Mina tells herself, thinking of how unfairly she is and has been treating Nayeon. "Not good at all."

If the mistake with Nayeon could be called the "honey" incident, Mina reluctantly thinks that the mistake with Sana would be called the "grapefruit" incident.

Mina would like to think that she's gotten to know Nayeon and Sana very well over these last few weeks. She knows their tastes in music, in TV shows, in fashion, and especially in food and drink. There's a lot of details to remember but Mina does her best to remember it all because it's important to Mina to do things that make her girlfriends smile.

For example, Sana absolutely adores the Starbucks limited edition "Midnight Bergamot Cold Brew". It's purple, it's creamy, and it's delicious (a direct quote by Sana), and it's also only available for a few more weeks and Sana has made it abundantly clear that she wishes to drink the "Midnight Bergamot" as many times as possible until it's off the menu. But as much as Sana adores the drink, apparently the name is too difficult for Sana to remember and there have been many occasions so far in which Sana has cutely asked Mina to order for her. And Mina always orders gladly because Sana's radiant eye smile, complete with adorable nose scrunch, is the pinnacle of rewards when Mina hands Sana a beloved "Midnight Bergamot".

Suffice it to say, Mina knows exactly what Sana loves to drink and it's never a question what to order when they go to Starbucks. So imagine Sana's surprise when Mina meets up with Sana for a coffee date with not a "Midnight Bergamot" but a "Grapefruit Passion Jewel" drink in her hand.

"What's this?" Sana asks curiously as Mina hands her the cool drink.

Mina is a bit surprised by the question. "What do you mean? It's your favorite 'Midnight Ber--'" she pauses as she looks closer at the drink in Sana's hand and realizes that it's NOT the familiar milky purple/brown concoction that Sana loves to drink. It's the vibrant purple/red of Nayeon's favorite grapefruit drink. Worse yet, Sana hates all things grapefruit. It's the ultimate slap in the face and Mina feels horrible about her mistake.

"Oh my god!" Mina panics. "I'm so sorry!!"

Sana giggles in reply, completely unfazed. "Did you pick up someone else's order?"

No, that wasn't the case. Mina was distracted as she ordered and absentmindedly gave the barista Nayeon's drink order by accident and then picked it up without realizing her mistake. But the truth seems cruel to Sana and Mina feels like too much of a coward at the moment to explain what really happened, so she meekly latches onto the lie that Sana offers. "I think I did. Sorry honey, I'll go back and get you a 'Midnight Bergamot'."

A gentle hand catches Mina as she quickly turns to head back to the order counter. "No need," Sana says kindly. "Maybe this is a sign that I should give grapefruit another try. It looks really delicious."

Mina can feel her heart breaking, much like it did when Nayeon reacted so considerately when Mina accidentally called her "honey". Her girlfriends are far too kind and forgiving, and Mina doesn't know how much more undeserved consideration she can take.

"You don't even like grapefruit," Mina protests. She takes the "Grapefruit Passion Jewel" out of Sana's hands and offers the other drink she's holding. "Here, have my mocha frappachino instead."

Sana giggles and they exchange drinks. "Chivalrous, are we? Thank you, darling~!"

"Not chivalrous," Mina denies truthfully. "Just very guilty for screwing up your order. I'll be more careful next time, I promise."

There's a dark cloud hanging over Mina's head and she looks away because looking into Sana's eyes makes her feel even worse. But Sana, sensing her girlfriend's remorse, caresses Mina's cheek and kisses her sweetly. "It's really not a big deal. There are more chances for me to drink a "Midnight Bergamot", so I don't care if I don't get to drink it as long as I get to spend time with you."

Sana holds Mina's hand reassuringly as they set off on their date, and Mina just thinks for the billionth time that Sana is really more than Mina deserves, and she just can't do this to Sana anymore.

In a perfect world, Mina wants to keep dating Sana and Nayeon at the same time. Sana and Nayeon would learn about the other's existence in Mina's life and no one would get mad, no one would be jealous, and everyone would just be happy. Mina wouldn't have to choose between Nayeon and Sana and she could continue to enjoy a peaceful life with both of her girlfriends at her side.

In her head, Mina literally calls this idea her "perfect world" dream. She thinks about it a lot these days as she feels the inevitable "D-day" drawing near. "D-day" is the term that Mina uses to refer to the day she tells Sana and Nayeon the truth. Doom-day. Disappointment-day. Destruction-of-all-happiness-day. Depression-to-follow-soon-after-day.

Mina heaves a heavy sigh as she walks down the busy city street in her neighborhood. She just finished a study session at the library and she's headed back to her apartment in the late afternoon. Within the silence of her walk, Mina daydreams about "perfect world" scenarios in which she wakes up in the morning in Nayeon's arms and falls asleep at night curled up against Sana and everyone is fine with the situation. Mina's well aware that there are couples who practice open relationships or even poly relationships where everyone involved is perfectly happy, but Mina can't see herself getting there with Sana and Nayeon; not with all the secrets she kept.

She rounds the block and turns down the street that will lead to her apartment. The "Twicelights" bar comes into view and Mina's stomach twists with guilt even though her memories at the bar--those initial meetings with Sana and Nayeon--are very much happy memories. If Mina could go back in time and change things, if she could've known in advance how hard she was going to fall in love with both of them, Mina would've handled things differently. She would've told them both the truth from the start. Even though Mina can't fix the past, she decides then and there that it's time to come clean. She plans to invite Nayeon and Sana to her place tomorrow afternoon at the same time. Then she'll reveal the truth about her relationships with them, for better or for worse.

Mina thinks the universe will choose the "worse" outcome. The universe has a habit of making things difficult for her at the most inopportune times. And, as though trying to prove Mina right, the universe decides to have Sana and Nayeon walk out of "Twicelights" together, right in front of her eyes.

Mina freezes mid-step and tries to process what she's seeing. Sana and Nayeon are cheerfully chatting with each other as they walk out onto the street. They're oblivious to Mina's presence since they're facing each other as they talk. They're full of smiles, full of laughs, and their closest hands are clasped together, fingers intertwined. They don't know Mina's here, but Mina knows THEY'RE here. Together. Holding hands. Happy. Without her.

The realization that Sana and Nayeon know each other feels mind-blowing. Like, Mina literally cannot formulate a coherent thought. Her brain is stuck somewhere between: "have they known each other all along and this was somehow a setup?" and "did they find out about each other and are cheating on me to get revenge?". Neither of these thoughts or any of the thoughts in between are good, and Mina feels her brain go numb and her heart grow heavy with despair.

"I deserve it," Mina tells herself. "I did this to myself," even though Mina doesn't know what, this really is.

She wants to run. She doesn't want Nayeon and Sana to come any closer and notice her standing there, and she doesn't want to hear the truth from them. But she wants to know. Mina wants Sana and Nayeon to look her in the eye and explain exactly what's going on, and she wants the right to be upset if they're cheating on her. (Even though Nayeon and Sana literally have the right to be mad at Mina for the same).

It's a mess in her brain and Mina doesn't know whether to run or to stay. And it turns out she doesn't even get a choice in the matter because Sana and Nayeon turn forward in the next moment. They both see her at the same time, they both smile when they recognize her at the same time, and then they both appear horrified when they see Mina's expression and realize how this scene must look in Mina's eyes.

Someone calls out her name, but Mina doesn't hear who. She doesn't want the truth after all. Mina runs right past them as her thoughts turn blank and tears start falling. She slams the access code into the keypad at the entrance of her building and runs inside. But Sana and Nayeon are right behind her, and they slip through the doorway uninvited and catch up with Mina easily.

"Wait, this isn't what it looks like!" Sana pleads as Mina storms her way up the stairs, too hurt and angry to wait for the elevator.

"We're doing this for you!" Nayeon adds, hoping to calm Mina down. But the words have the opposite effect and Mina finally stops and spins around to face them with tears in her eyes.

"FOR me?? How could any of this be FOR me?"

Nayeon takes the opportunity to grabs one of Mina's hands to offer her reassurance while Sana grabs the other. "We're not cheating on you," Nayeon says breathlessly, her hand warm and firm around Mina's trembling fingers, and Mina knows she means it. "Sana and I ran into each other in front of your building a few weeks ago. We recognized each other from the bar."

Sana squeezes Mina's hand to get her attention. "Nayeon and I, we talked and we figured it out pretty quickly that we were both seeing you at the same time. We exchanged numbers and we--"

"I'm sorry!" Mina blurts out, unable to hold it back. The tears fall even harder now, this time from shame rather than hurt. Mina is relieved to hear they aren't cheating on her, but the relief is only a doorway for the guilt to return. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you two about each other. I'm sorry I've been cheating on both of you!"

Sana laughs softly but kindly at Mina's apology. "We're not mad at you about that. Didn't I tell you the first night we met that it was OK if you were dating other people?"

Nayeon murmurs in agreement. "I said I was OK with it too, and I meant it. I was a little surprised to find out you were dating Sana since you hadn't mentioned it, but I wasn't mad. Sana and I were more worried about you actually."

Mina sniffles and Sana ushers her in for a comforting hug that the younger girl can't help but collapse into. Nayeon joins by wrapping her arms around Mina and Sana both. And together they try to soothe Mina until she's calm enough to listen to them explain. Mina learns, much to her embarrassment, that Sana and Nayeon had talked and realized that both the "honey" incident and "grapefruit" incident were situations where Mina accidentally mixed up details about them. And to Mina's surprise, their first reactions after realizing the mix-up was not anger but concern.

"We put it all together and realized how hard it's been on you, that you've been keeping things from us because you felt bad about the situation," Nayeon explains. "So Sana and I met today for the first time to discuss how to handle it, and we made plans to tell you this weekend that we know about each other. And we wanted to make sure you understood that we aren't mad at you, we aren't jealous of each other, and that we just want you to be happy."

Mina feels electricity tingle down the back of her spine at Nayeon's words, as though she's experiencing deja vu. She looks up and blinks incredulously as Nayeon, who looks back at her with a warm smile. Nayeon is literally reciting her "perfect world" scenario, damn near close enough. It's a surreal feeling, as though Mina is experiencing a lucid dream. And if this really is a dream, Mina holds her breath and prays that Sana and Nayeon will answer her next question correctly. "R-really? You guys mean it? What... What happens now?"

Sana smiles and loosens her grip so that Mina can pull back enough to see the stars shimmer in Sana's brilliant eyes. "We both want to keep dating you at the same time," Sana says sincerely. "Nothing has to change unless you want it too. But for us, we want to continue to enjoy life with you by our side."

It's the perfect answer. It's her "perfect world" answer. The dam in Mina's heart bursts and she begins to sob loudly much to Nayeon and Sana's surprise. It echoes loudly in the stairwell even though they try to calm her down. Mina is drowning again, but in a good way. She's drowning in hugs, downing in reassurance, downing in love... Mina is over the moon with joy, but she can't stop crying long enough to tell Sana and Nayeon this.

"Are you OK?" Sana asks. She quickly drops Mina's hand in lieu for another hug. "Did we say something wrong?"

"No, you said everything perfectly," Mina says, trying to wipe away her tears.

"Then why are you crying?"

Mina lets out a shaky laugh. "Because I'm so relieved that you're both OK with still dating me after everything that happened. But is it really as simple as that? I lie for two months and I get rewarded by continuing to date both of you at the same time?"

Nayeon caresses Mina's cheek affectionately. "You make it sound like Sana and I have been suffering this whole time. Did you miss the part where we said we didn't mind open dating? And we got to date YOU these past two months. Definitely not a punishment for either of us, not even close."

"But I can't forgive myself," Mina admits, happy yet anguished all at once. "I feel like lying to you two was unforgivable, and I can't let that feeling go."

Sana kisses her gently, then passes her to Nayeon who kisses her too. "Then we'll forgive you as many times as you need to hear it until you forgive yourself, too," Sana promises gently and sincerely. "And if you still feel like you need to make it up to us, then just cherish us just that much more in return."

Sana and Nayeon rain quick kisses down upon Mina, one after the other in quick succession. They attack her cheeks, her forehead, her lips. It's silly and it's messy, but it's effective in stopping Mina's tears and building up her giggles. The kisses from Sana and Nayeon come in so excessively and so lightning-quick that at some point it's almost as through they're sharing a three-way kiss.

"Enough, enough," Mina laughs, finally trying to break away from her girlfriends' affection. "I feel a lot better now. Thanks for forgiving me and cheering me up."

"Does that mean you want to keep dating us?" Sana asks hopefully even though the answer is obviously "yes". But Mina confirms it anyway, much to Sana and Nayeon's delight. The two older women clasp hands and jump up and down a bit on the tiny stairwell landing before pulling each other into a hug. Mina enjoys watching her girlfriends being so kind and affectionate to each other, but she can hardly believe that this is Sana and Nayeon's first real meeting with each other given how friendly their actions are. Mina quickly thinks about the almost-three-way kiss just moments ago.

"...have you two kissed before?" Mina wonders, looking back and forth between Sana and Nayeon. The two older women just look at each other and then back at Mina and laugh.

"It's not like that between us," Nayeon says with an amused shake of her head. "I mean, we're not even friends yet. Or are we, Sana-ssi?"

"I think we can say we're friends," Sana laughs. "We should be at least friends if we're sharing a girlfriend, right?"

Mina smiles and accepts the answer. Then she invites them up to her place for a bit to discuss the adjustments to their relationships in more detail. The whole while, Mina thinks it would be all too perfect if Sana and Nayeon were to fall in love with each other, too. In a perfect world, maybe. (Perhaps in a really perfect world...). But right now, this setup is more than Mina could ever hope for. She walks up the stairwell hand-in-hand-in-hand with and Sana and Nayeon, immensely grateful that she had fallen in too deeply with both of them.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story!

There are a few more sections that I wanted to write in this fic before I posted it, but I stopped here due to lack of time. I was hoping to show more of Misanayeon's relationship after all three of them were on the same page. (The Sanayeon tags are just begging to be explored more...) If you'd like to see what happens with Misanayeon in the future and to see whether they make it to Mina's "really perfect world" scenario, please show some love and I'll do my best to post a chapter 2 in the future!