It was seven in the morning when Jihyo's phone started ringing, but it wasn't the alarm, it was the signal that always prompted her to go and pay the monthly payment of her debt. At first glance she panicked: she knew she didn't have enough money. She got up quickly from the bed and ran to the door of Momo's room, knocking softly.

The door opened shortly after, revealing Momo's sleepy face "good morning, why are you already awake? Last night we were very late" she rubbed her eyes and, as soon as she was finished, she realized the situation "it's due to debt, am I right?" she whispered.

"I have already paid this month, but I think they have already run out of money and I have to deliver the rest by tonight or I'll be in trouble" Jihyo had her hands in her hair and a scared look "they wouldn't let me get away with it even if I had good reasons"

Momo gently took her hands, taking care not to pull her hair "calm down and listen to me, okay? Now we get ready and go to deliver the entire sum. You will be free soon, focus on this"

Sharon was sitting on a very familiar sofa counting the pills she had in her hands "I'll try to make them enough for a week, I'll give you the rest of the money one of these days" she got up quickly, swallowed one pill and smiled at Jack "see you around"

"You know you don't have to pay me, at least not like that" the look he gave to her didn't need any more words.

"I'm practically engaged and I have no intention of cheating on my girlfriend, look for another"

Jack stood up and looked at her of his six feet height "the Sharon I know would have jumped on me already, what are you waiting for? You're not the kind of person to want a serious relationship. You like to have fun"

The blonde sighed and looked him straight in the eye "that person no longer exists and you should have understood it from the fact that now I can contain myself and make the things you propose to me last longer. I feel something for her and I want to carry on our relationship seriously"

"Speaking of seriousness: does she know that she us the girlfriend of a drug addict?" Jack smiled "I really don't think so and I'm sure she wouldn't like the news at all. She would never accept it, she's too pure"

"Jack, I appreciate everything you are doing for me to help me not get caught by my sisters, the idea of ​​pretending to be a friend of mine I met online and the fake profile you created was a salvation for me, but if you do it for something in exchange then I prefer to close it here"

"I'm not going to get in the way, I care about you and I don't want to ruin your relationship with that girl, but I know that you will be the same again, that you will come back to me. I just have to wait"

Jihyo and Momo were able to leave home only in the afternoon, having had a series of unspeakable commitments, such as cleaning the living room and kitchen. The first was taking advantage of the drive to count the money again, with the anxiety that threatened to devour her anytime.

"They are all, we counted them three times" Momo glanced at her "why are you so worried? It will be the last time and then you will finally be free; you should be happy"

The other girl closed the bag containing the wads of cash and allowed herself to relax for a second "I'm happy about that, you don't even know how much; I'm just afraid of your reaction"

"You don't have to worry about this now, you have to think about one thing at a time and give me directions"

"Turn to the right and stop in front of the gate of the house at the end of the road, we have now arrived"

Momo did what she was told and waited patiently for her girlfriend to ring the bell to open the gate. That little villa was nothing special, it looked like a simple two-story house in the eyes of the brunette.

They got out of the car and entered the house, as the door was ajar and they arrived in the living room, but when Momo saw the people who had to collect the money she stopped in the middle of the room. She was confused, but Jihyo wasn't looking at her, too busy waving politely despite everything.

"Dad, Mom, I'm here to put an end to this. I have all the money, so please leave me alone from now on" she put the bag on the coffee table, in front of her parents "you can count them, if you don't trust me" 

Mr. Park looked from the bag to Momo, before opening it and pulling out some banknotes "you get paid well I see, who would have thought that in the end you would have sold yourself to make a profit"

Momo's eyes widened even more at that bad taste statement and she remembered the detachment Jihyo had shown towards her parents the day they learned of the marriage contracts. She began to understand and she didn't like it at all.

"They are all, I would never have expected it" remarked Mrs. Park "our daughter always knows how to surprise us"

"Now we're leaving, we have things to do" Jihyo had a broken voice and shining eyes "don't look for me anymore, we're done"

The man got up from the couch and ran his hand over his chin "we have not closed anything, darling. We are your parents and it is your duty to help us in case of difficulty, you belong to us" he took his daughter's arm with force "I'm sure you can understand what I'm saying"

Momo could no longer endure that disgusting scene and stepped in the middle, pulling that man's hand away from Jihyo "your behavior is shameful, how dare you even call yourself parents? I'm ashamed for you" she took her girlfriend's hand and she felt her heart break as her grip got desperate "you have your stupid money now, there's no reason to get close to her anymore. If we really want to talk about possession I think I can say that she is mine, as the contract says, so try to touch her again and I'll put my family in the middle of this mess"

"Insolent girl, you are just like your father, he is always ready to put his power in the middle" said Mr. Park through gritted teeth "do whatever you want, you can keep that failure of a daughter and let her make you become poor, just like it happened to me. She should have died as a baby, at least I wouldn't have spent all that money to cure her"

"Please, let's go away" Jihyo murmured, clinging to her shirt "I'll explain everything to you, but don't stay here listening to his wickedness" she was shaking like a leaf and that was enough for Momo to take her away from that house.

Jihyo had been crying all the way in the car and Momo hadn't felt like asking her questions, she was giving her enough time to let off steam. She clenched her hands on the wheel, furious and incredulous about what had happened, and wondered how the girl sitting next to her had managed to bear that weight of hers alone. She had a deep respect for her and promised to protect her from everything and everyone.

When they got home she followed her to her room and sat next to her on the bed, waiting for her to feel ready to talk.

Jihyo took her hand, calming the sobs as much as possible and sniffling "I was five when I got sick. I don't remember much about it, so I can't tell you what disease it was, I just know it's very rare and deadly in most cases if not treated in time. I was always sick and had to take a lot of medicines, I spent seven years of my life going back and forth between home and hospital. When I turned twelve they were all convinced that I was cured of everything, but I had a relapse and the doctors were convinced that I had little left to live; my parents insisted on having me treated and I also had to be followed by a psychologist, who required other considerable expenses"

Seeing that she had stopped talking, Momo took the opportunity to wipe away her tears, without saying a word. That gesture warmed Jihyo's heart and convinced her to keep talking "it is true that my parents have spent a huge amount of money on me and I thank them for that, as I am completely healed and I hardly ever get sick, but it's not true that it was my fault that they lost everything. They felt stressed and spent their days making bets and gambling, leaving me alone at home and confined to bed"

"I can assure you that you have no fault, you didn't decide to get sick and you didn't make him lose everything. They are horrible people, how long has this been going on?"

"Since I came of age, I gave them all the money that was paid monthly into my personal account and that was enough to cover the medical bills of the past years, but they got greedy and threatened to disown me or worse if I didn't continue to pay them. I bet that marriage with you was their tactic to always have money, that's why I wouldn't take it out on you if you decide to leave me"

"Hey, look at me" Momo gently took her face in her hands "I don't care about their intentions regarding our marriage and do you know why? Because they won't be able to do anything to you anymore, you'll be part of my family and they won't even be able to get close to you. This whole thing is horrible, but it made me realize your true worth, even though I already had a vague idea of ​​it, and it's pushing me to really love you. I care a lot about you, I can't deny it. This is a feeling unknown to me and I want to do my part to make you happy. You are safe with me"

Jihyo closed her eyes, leaning on one of the hands that she had on her face "you are so good to me, I don't know what to do to repay you"

"If you care so much about repaying me then do it with a promise" she took the hand on which she had not rested from her face and put her little finger close to hers "promise me to live for yourself and be happy. These two things are enough for me to feel rewarded"

Their little fingers met and Jihyo smiled through tears, her heart was bursting with joy at the thought of finally being free and having someone who really cared about her "I promise you, thanks for everything"

Momo held her in a hug and kissed her head "I'm the one who should thank you because thanks to you I learned that there are things really precious and priceless in the world"

Jihyo raised her chin to look into her eyes: she had stopped crying and was finally able to understand what her heart was trying to communicate to her in the last period. She looked at Momo's lips for a few seconds, then she took some courage and kissed her, putting in that kiss all the emotions she had felt that day, but she put her feelings for that girl above all into it.

Momo's lips were gentle on hers, expert but without any pretense "I have to inform you that I may not answer for myself" she whispered, biting Jihyo's lower lip softly "so for today let's finish it here, you need to rest" she definitively interrupted their kiss and smiled at her, immediately getting out of bed "would you like to completely fix this day with a movie and a pizza? I'll order it now"

"Sounds like a perfect plan to me" Jihyo's smile was brighter than the sun itself.

At the same time some of the girls were in the living room watching TV, lying lazily on the couch. Jeongyeon was looking at the screen with a look halfway between disgusted and satisfied "when I watch these programs I don't understand if it makes me sick or if I like to see people who perfectly clean houses that look like garbage dumps. I'm undecided"

Tzuyu sat up, putting her feet on the couch and resting her chin on her knees "maybe you try both at the same time because you are obsessed with cleanliness so I think it's normal for you to try both the feelings"

"You hit the right spot" she leaned over to the table to take her bottle of water "why is there all this silence today?"

"Chae and Mina have gone out to dinner, Sharon is already sleeping, Momo and Jihyo are upstairs, I haven't seen Nayeon and Dahyun is busy ignoring Sana" Tzuyu replied immediately "we are the only ones awake right now, between the people present in the house"

Jeongyeon nodded, wondering where Nayeon had gone "I miss her, I haven't seen her since this morning" she admitted shortly after.

The younger smiled, turning to her "when she comes home tell her, she'll surely be happy to know it"

"Are you crazy? Absolutely not, I would give her power over me. Never look weak, keep my words in mind" she shook her head, strongly annoyed.

Tzuyu looked at her hands "giving demonstrations to someone is not weak, it's probably the other way around. I like to say this kind of thing to Sharon, she always smiles when I do it and it makes me feel good"

The eldest was about to answer, but she was interrupted by the screams of Sana and by the sound of the house door that slammed shut behind her "she will drive me crazy, I really can't do it"

Dahyun opened the door right after "you almost hit me on the nose, be more careful"

"Do you see her? She doesn't get angry! How can I apologize to a person who doesn't prove to me that she is angry with me?" the girl with auburn hair was about to hit the ground.

The two girls sitting on the couch watched the scene in silence, enjoying Sana's frustration and Dahyun's impassive face. It was a funny scene from the outside, but they refrained from laughing.

"Dahyun, scream in my face or slap me, but don't ignore me or I'll go crazy" Sana took her hands, moving them as if they were dancing "let's make up, what do you think?"

"I'm not mad at you, but I don't want you near me. Is it that hard to understand?" she seemed annoyed "I don't like you and I don't want to have any connection with you, get over it"

Sana's face was turning red with anger "it seems to me that when we went out you wanted me more than close, you were particularly chatty and physical with me"

Dahyun rolled her eyes "when I drink my brain goes out, in fact we both saw my terrible mistake" she pulled her hands away from hers with a snap "leave me alone, I'm tired and I want to go to sleep"

"You are really intractable!" Sana opened her arms in exasperation, hitting Nayeon in the face with her hand "oh " she passed her gaze between her victim and Jeongyeon, a little scared.

Nayeon was keeping a hand pressed to her cheek "I wanted to greet you with a hug to calm your souls, but being a champion of love is not for me as far as I can see" she run in the downstairs bathroom to check that she wasn't hurt too much.

"Are you okay? If she hurt you I'll kill her with my bare hands" Jeongyeon was watching her from the bathroom doorway "do you need help?"

"Everything's alright, maybe it will swell a little, but nothing unbearable" she showed her thumbs up "Sana should really learn to control herself, sometimes she is dangerous. Dahyun instead is scary with her impassive face, what a beautiful couple"

Jeongyeon hugged her from behind "we are a nice couple too, don't you think?"

They both looked at their reflection in the mirror "maybe we really are. Anyway I missed you today, the days are boring without you and your continuous spite"

Hearing those words made the taller girl smile "I missed you too"

Tzuyu, who was passing in front of the bathroom to go upstairs, shook her head and smiled amused "no one is coherent in this house" she said in a low voice, hearing the laughter of Mina and Chaeyoung: Sana's behavior was entertaining them since their return from dinner.