The long-awaited lunch with Jeongyeon's parents had finally arrived and Nayeon, with Mina's help, was preparing very carefully despite her girlfriend having convinced her to put on jeans and a blouse. On one hand she was relieved that she was wearing comfortable clothes, but on the other hand she was afraid that it wouldn't be enough.

Jeongyeon was very relaxed and, before entering the huge mansion where she had lived most of her life, she took her hand "stop worrying and try to enjoy our lunch, I know they look like intimidating people, but I assure you it's just a facade to keep unwanted people at bay. Just be yourself, I assure you it'll be enough for them"

They were greeted by one of the cleaning ladies, who was very happy to see Jeongyeon; she said to the blonde that she got taller, that she was beautiful and took care to compliment Nayeon too. She led them into the dining room, where the blonde's parents were waiting for them.

"You have finally arrived, I was no longer in the skin!" the woman got up from her chair to kiss her daughter's cheek and to hold Nayeon in a strong hug "you are much more beautiful without the furious expression you had on the day of the contracts"

The girl felt a little embarrassed "I'm sorry for behaving like that, I was surprised and unable to realize the situation. I apologize for my disrespect"

"Too much formality, no need to apologize" Mr. Yoo put his arm around his wife's waist and smiled "you have to earn things and not take them for granted, you were right to refuse our daughter"

Jeongyeon's mother smiled amused "Nayeon, I advise you to be careful: in the Yoo family they are all exalted people who know they can get everything they want with the help of a single smile. Their charm always strikes and they are proud of it" she pointed to her husband and Jeongyeon "look at these two, they are really father and daughter"

"Mom, did you invite us to meet your daughter-in-law or to insult our whole family?" the blonde had a smile halfway between pleased and amused "I propose to eat, I'm starving"

They sat down at the table, talking about this and that between bites, but the air got tense when Sam was mentioned "honey, we're talking about it because his parents called us to tell us you beat him up and told him not to report you so as not to lose everything he has. Is that true?" the man asked with caution "you most of all should be against violence, considering everything you've been through"

Jeongyeon stopped eating and looked at him "whoever hurts the people I care about deserves all my violence thrown at and that worm should consider himself lucky to still have his stupid face"

"May I know what he did to make you so angry? We have settled with her family by now, but I would like to know your motivations" Ms. Yoo became serious, to the point that Nayeon felt intimidated by her presence.

"I can't say more, I'm sorry"

"She did it to protect me" interjected her girlfriend after seeing the disappointment in the eyes of the two adults "that guy never behaved well with me and wanted to repeat everything during the night of the event, so Jeong made him pay on my own. Don't be mad at her, she was impulsive but that worm deserved it"

The woman immediately smiled "look at them, they are already defending each other"

"Who would have thought that they would get along so well" continued Mr. Yoo "we want to get to know our daughter-in-law better" he smiled too, starting another much more pleasant conversation for everyone. They decided to move the 'Sam' topic for another occasion.

"A few days have passed since her departure and you are already in crisis? I can't believe it" Chaeyoung was filing her nails "where has all your love gone?"

Dahyun buried her head in the pillow, muttering incomprehensible words in a vain attempt to let off steam a bit, but she pulled herself up after realizing the uselessness of that gesture "she never answers the phone and displays my messages without answering, that's already a lot if she writes to me before going to bed"

"Did you mention this or are you just acting like an immature child?" Tzuyu sat on the bed next to her to make a braid with her hair "if you don't tell her she might think it's okay not to send messages all day"

Chaeyoung nodded at the words of the younger, crossing her legs on the chair and leaving the nail file on the desk "you don't even have to forget about her countless commitments, it's surely because of this if she never answers her cell phone"

"Of course with the Minatozaki it's a real mess" Tzuyu took the joke to raise the spirits of her best friend a little.

"Speak for yourselves, Mina is nothing short of perfect" she had a dreamy look "but the other three are not bad either and I am sure they will prove it to you"

Dahyun's cell phone started ringing, signaling the arrival of a video call "now disappear from my room, it's Sana" she was so excited that she answered even before the door closed behind her friends, smiling radiantly.

"I missed that smile" Sana smiled, settling herself comfortably on the sofa in her office "how are you? Sorry for not replying to your messages, but I never have a moment of peace"

"I'm fine, you look very tired" the younger worried immediately "are you getting enough sleep? Remember not to skip meals, you love to eat and you need it at regular intervals"

The brunette smiled again "I miss you so much, you know? I don't like hugging the pillow anymore since I slept with you for the first time"

"I understand perfectly, it makes me strange not to have you here and I'm having a hard time falling asleep again. When will you come back? It's been almost a week now and you should have an overview of the situation" Dahyun was very hopeful.

"I want to be honest with you" her eyes had lost all their cheerfulness "it could take a month or more. The situation is critical and I'm here alone, it won't be easy to fix everything in a short time. I'm so sorry"

The other girl hid her disappointment by pretending an encouraging smile "it doesn't matter, I'll wait for you. Promise me not to neglect yourself though, from here I can't control you and take care of you and I would like to know you are healthy"

"I promise you, but I expect the same from you" Sana smiled, looking away from her cell phone and widening her smile in the direction of someone Dahyun couldn't see "of course I do, I'm starving. Dahyun, I'm going to eat something with my secretary, I'll write you for goodnight" she immediately closed the call.

Dahyun dropped the phone on the bed, feeling a weight on her chest "she was in such a hurry to go out with her secretary that she didn't even leave me time to say goodbye" she tried to tell herself it was just kindness, but to see her girlfriend smile in that way to another girl made her jealous to the point of having to hold back the tears.

Momo was very enthusiastic at the time: things with Jihyo were going great and she was excited about a dance competition that she had been entered by her teacher and that would be held shortly thereafter. She missed her sisters, but she was determined to cheer on Sana and not to stress Sharon in any way by hanging out with her and Mina from time to time.

She had rehearsal in the afternoon and smiled to see Jihyo's small cooler bag next to the backpack where she kept the necessary to go to dance school "my girlfriend is wonderful, I'm so lucky" she took her cell phone and thanked her with a selfie in which she had a 'chicken- mouth', as Dahyun's grandmother always said.

She got into the car, the music and drove off after making sure everything was okay. She liked driving a lot and she tried to do it often, especially when she had a lot of things to think about. She smiled at the thought of the engagement ring she had bought for her girlfriend "she will cry like a child, I can't wait to see her face when I make the official proposal"

When the light turned green, she resumed her journey at a brisk pace, something the man behind the wheel of a modified car was not doing. The crash was immediate and Momo's car made two turns on itself, causing her to hit her head on the wheel. The driver's side was all back and her left leg was stuck, but what scared the girl was that she couldn't feel any pain.

There was a scream and the noise of cars stopping on the asphalt, but Momo felt only her senses that were abandoning her in an endless darkness.

While the Minatozakis were talking to a doctor Mina and Sharon were keeping company to their sister, who was still a little shaken by the incident. Momo looked at both of them and tried to smile to reassure them "stop whimpering, I only have a bruise on my forehead and a broken leg. It went to me like a luxury, I could have died on the spot"

"I don't think it's the time to start joking, moron" Sharon had a serious look "not in front of Mina at least"

"Hey, no panic attacks" the eldest took Mina's hand "I'm fine, I just need to rest and I'll be as good as new"

The brunette sniffed loudly, she was shaking "it's not my fault if you all like to scare me, you're terrible sisters"

The door opened and almost all the other girls entered, without the doctor's consent, and filled Momo with questions about her physical condition until they were thrown out. Although the presence of her friends was comforting, the brunette seemed sad "where is Jihyo? I would like to see her"

"I sent her a message, but you know that when she goes to do repetitions she keeps her cell phone off" Mina was a little sorry "I'm sure she'll be here soon, by now she should be done"

"I'm going out for a moment, I hate the smell of hospitals" Sharon kissed her sisters' heads and went to sit on the terrace to smoke a cigarette.

"Smoking is bad, don't you know?" Tzuyu sat down next to her, keeping a certain distance and looking at the view "I didn't know about your vice, I know you less than I thought"

The blonde smiled without glee "I don't have the habit of smoking, I just need it to replace what I really want. I'll stop soon, I'm tired of all this"

"You have lost a lot of weight, are you sick?"

"I've been worse, there's no reason to worry about me now. Momo is the person we need to take care of"

Tzuyu nodded slowly "you're right, sorry for asking" she got up and left without saying anything else.

Sharon put out her cigarette even before she finished it "I have to stop this and go back to her"

When Jihyo set foot in her girlfriend's hospital room her eyes were already swollen from the constant tears she shed and seeing the person she loved asleep in that bed made her cry again. She took her hand, being very careful not to hurt her "I apologize for not arriving before, I will never turn off my phone again"

"The important thing is that you are here with me now" Momo squeezed her hand weakly and opened her eyes "I thought of you before I passed out and I felt relieved that I was alone in the car, I thank you for refusing the ride and having taken public transport today"

"Don't think about these things, what matters is that nothing irreparable has happened to you. I'm sorry about the leg, you were working hard for the competition and because of a fool you will have to give up"

Momo hugged her, feeling a little bit better "I will ask Mina to participate in my place, even if we have different styles she is as good as me and my dance teacher is aware of it. What I need now is to be in your arms and not think about my destroyed car, my heart cries to know it in that state. There was also the snack you had prepared for me, I'm very sad"

"You're the usual fool" Jihyo smiled and gave her a little kiss on the nose "take the snack off the list of things that make you sad because from now on I will prepare lots of sandwiches of all kinds, only for you"

"This is the person I want to marry" she closed her eyes, relaxing to the point of immediately falling into a half-sleep "I love you so much"

"I love you too" the redhead whispered before placing her girlfriend in bed to let her rest.