Since the beginning of their relationship Mina had never felt ignored by her girlfriend, but in the last few days they had barely spoken and Chaeyoung had even stopped sleeping with her. The older couldn't understand the reason for this behavior, but she was too insecure about herself that she couldn't even ask what the problem might be and assuming it was herself.

That morning she was having breakfast alone with only a cup of coffee and two biscuits; she wasn't hungry, but skipping breakfast was absolutely inconceivable to her. She was joined by Tzuyu, with whom she shared her being silent and reserved.

"You have crazy dark circles, do you feel unwell?" the taller girl immediately asked, genuinely worried.

"I'm fine, I have dark circles because I haven't been able to sleep decently in the last few days" Mina let out a loud yawn, much more than usual "by the way: Chae seems very distant to me and I'm worried"

Tzuyu sat next to her, ready to devour her croissant with the hazelnut chocolate "don't worry, it always happens when she sees her ex. Give her another couple of days and she'll be the same idiot we all know"

The tranquility with which the younger had said those phrases was not reflected in the eyes of Mina "her ex?"

"Don't tell me she didn't tell you" she widened her eyes, realizing that she said more than she should "Mina, look.. It's not what you're think-" she couldn't finish the sentence because Mina was already out of the kitchen, bumping into her twin without even realizing it.

"How nice to be home again, I've been back for two days and I already got a shoulder from my twin" snorted the blonde, brightening up when she saw Tzuyu in the kitchen "hi, today you're having breakfast later than usual. What are you eating?"

"Hello to you, I'm sorry for your sister but you will soon know why she is so angry" she immediately sighed "it's a croissant with hazelnut cream, do you want a bite?"

Sharon nodded, sitting down on the chair where her twin was a few moments before and opening to be fed. It had been nearly a week since she and Dahyun had decided to stop trying to ruin their lives with drugs, and barring the times when the abstinence was unbearable, the blonde already looked healthier. They had decided to strengthen each other and to use their friendship to never collapse again, discovering that they had a special bond. They had talked for a long time and came to the conclusion that they didn't like each other in a romantic way, so it was very easy to spend time together, even sleeping together in the afternoon became normal for them.

"It's not bad, but I prefer jam" Sharon also stole a sip of coffee from her, immediately regretting it "it's more bitter than the medicines they gave me as a child"

Tzuyu smiled amused "Jihyo infected me and now I drink coffee without sugar, you should have asked before drinking it"

It was easy for them to talk and spend time together, as long as they didn't talk about romantic feelings or relationships because in those cases the only thing that remained between them was a deadly and embarrassing silence. In spite of everything, they felt comfortable being together, even though they both felt the lack of that special bond they had lost after they broke up.

They talked about this and that, stopping to do it when Chaeyoung entered the kitchen: she had a look that made the younger shivers "Chou Tzuyu, tell me in detail what you said to Mina. Now"

Although she hadn't screamed Tzuyu felt a chill go down her spine and had a hard time swallowing the last bite of her breakfast "I didn't do it to make you argue, I was convinced you told her about Jane and I was trying to console her"

"I didn't do it just to avoid the misunderstanding that there was! Now she is angry with me and thinks that she is not the only one I spend my time with, as a sensitive and complex person that you are you should know how much things like that can hurt someone"

Sharon passed her gaze between the two before getting up "I'm going to call Nayeon, the two of us together should be able to make my sister think. Can I leave you alone or would I risk being complicit in an attempted murder?"

"I've already asked Dahyun to join us, she was finishing drying her hair" Chaeyoung replied dryly.

"Okay, then I'll go. Don't argue, it's all solvable" she came out of the kitchen, almost slamming the door in Dahyun's face "hello beautiful, you made it out of your room" she said amused.

The brunette mimicked her "it's not my fault if I can only fall asleep at dawn"

Sharon nodded slowly "all my sister's fault, I hope this physical need will pass you soon or I'll take a flight to Japan and I'll carry her here on my shoulder"

"Thank you for your concern, but now there is nothing left between me and your sister" she gave her a light pat on the back "now we have to do our best to avoid a fight and a hysterical attack"

"You're right, but I'll wait for you in my room later to play Mario Kart, you promised!" the blonde immediately ran upstairs in search of her sister's best friend.

Dahyun smiled in exasperation and took a deep breath "it's really difficult to have more than two friends, now I also have to play video games"

"Why don't you go and ask her for explanations instead of sitting here hugging the pillow?" Nayeon was being very patient with her best friend "there was definitely a misunderstanding"

Mina was sullen "she should have told me, we promised to always tell each other everything and, with this omission and her behavior in the last few days she is only making me doubt her sincerity towards me"

"Don't you think you're exaggerating?" Sharon said calmly "you are right to say that she was wrong to hide it and to behave like that, but by acting like this you are exaggerating the situation"

Nayeon nodded at those words "I must agree with you, I am of the opinion that sitting at the table and talking can be of great help to understand each other. If Chae has acted in this way there must be a reason behind it that you don't know"

The two girls continued to talk in a direct and comforting way for several minutes, always repeating the same things but using different terms and making Mina laugh.

"You look like two dictionaries of synonyms and antonyms" her pout was replaced by an adorable smile "you convinced me, I'll go apologize and talk to her"

"You are the best girlfriend Chae could ever want, no ex will ever be as good as you" Sharon threw herself on the bed, squeezing her tightly and kissing her cheek "now go, before Tzuyu is eliminated by one of her best friends"

Mina stood up after a few seconds, taking the hands of her twin and her best friend and pulling them with her until she arrived in the kitchen.

"I don't care if you did it in good faith, you still put an unnecessary flea in my girlfriend's ear. Dahyun take off, she deserves a lesson" Chaeyoung was trying to get past the older in a vain attempt to clench her fists in the hair of the youngest.

Dahyun seemed amused "stop it and make up, it's been since we were little that you put a spoke in each other's wheels. By now you are even"

Seeing that the situation was under control Nayeon went back to the couch to play cards with Jeongyeon, Jihyo and Momo, gossiping about everything and thinking about a double date.

In the kitchen the situation had calmed down and the girls in the room had sat down. Tzuyu felt guilty and, after calming down, Chaeyoung apologized for the overreaction she had had.

"I attacked you without even giving you the chance to defend yourself, I'm sorry Tzu. Friends like before?"

"Okay, but from now on I want to know first if there are things you don't want to be known"

Dahyun patted both of them lightly on the backs "good girls, I'm proud of you"

"Now disappear" the shorter of the group fixed her eyes on her best friends and on Sharon "me and Mina we need to talk"

To the surprise of the couple, the three girls immediately left the kitchen. They both laughed when they heard Sharon yell something about video games and the exasperated noises of the other two.

"Can I start?" Chaeyoung took her girlfriend's hand, waiting for her to nod before continuing "I'm sorry for acting this way and for not telling you about my ex, but there is a reason behind my way of behaving"

Mina laced her fingers with hers, suddenly feeling very fragile "I'm listening to you"

"I would be a liar if I said that Jane was completely indifferent to me and that is why seeing her again made me react so badly. I thought about our past and I felt the need to spend some time alone in order to understand my feelings towards her"

The silence that followed those words was like a hammer to the heart for the brunette, who immediately removed her hand "tell me that's not what I'm thinking about"

Chaeyoung looked at her with sorry "not exactly, but your thinking is not entirely wrong either. I'm sure of my feelings for you, but what I felt having her close to me has destabilized me a bit. Nothing happened between us, I want to specify it, but I don't know how to behave now"

Mina's eyes were teary and the girl was struggling not to let the tears flow "okay, I understand. You don't have to add anything else" she started to get up, but Chaeyoung's hand on her wrist kept her from doing so.

"I am in love with you, I have no doubt about this, but you wanted my sincerity and the reality of the facts is this. I'm so sorry, I promise you that this thing will change and it will only be thanks to you. You changed me and you have me made it clear what a healthy relationship should be like; I won't let this moment of bewilderment ruin everything we have"

"We both need time after what you just admitted, I ask you to respect me as I will respect you" she took her hand from her wrist and placed it gently on the table "try to understand if I am the person who you want next to all your life and then we can talk again" she looked into her eyes for a few seconds, then went back to her room without saying a word.

It was late afternoon and the sun was already setting by the time Sana set foot in the airport, her heart pounding and her legs weak from the strong emotions she was feeling at the moment. In a matter of hours she would see her sisters, the other girls and the person she missed most of all, even more than her parents.

She was going to apologize for being a coward and for hurting the girl who had stolen her heart, ready to do anything to get her trust and love back. She wanted to make up for all the lost time and give her all the love she had kept to herself for all those months that seemed to last a century.

She took her cell phone and called her twin, patiently waiting for an answer "my flight will leave in about half an hour, I should arrive when you have finished dinner"

"Are you sure you don't want the others to know before you arrive?"

"I'm sure, I need to see you all and that Dahyun doesn't leave because of me, you know I have to talk to her"

Momo nodded even though the other girl couldn't see her "as you like"

"So I'll go, I'll send you a message as soon as I arrive. I love you, can't wait to hug you again"

"Me too, but I know that Dahyun will take precedence and I sincerely hope that everything goes well between you. I know you love each other and know that if you do the coward again I will be the one to kick your without mercy" she said with an amused tone, but they both knew she was going to do it for real.

Sana smiled a bit sadly "I'll do my best, I really mean it. Now I really have to go, see you later!" she closed the call and waited patiently for the plane to take off "I'm ready, I just hope it's not too late"

After dinner the girls were cleaning the table, with the exception of Nayeon and Jihyo who were already washing the pans and Mina who was carefully sweeping around the table. They had eaten in peace despite the fact that there was a bit of tension between the two girls who made up the most close-knit couple in the villa.

Momo was still eating some bread, much to the disapproval of her sister who was cleaning the floor and the others who were trying to finish to clean, since it was taking longer than they should have been because of her.

"Get a move on, I don't want to stay here cleaning until tomorrow morning" Jeongyeon gave her chair a light kick "I have a hard day ahead of all the meetings my parents have scheduled, so I would like you to hurry up"

The reason for Momo's slowness was given by her plan not to let any of them go to sleep before the arrival of her twin "I'm doing it as fast as I can, if I hurry I would surely choke and you would have all my life on your conscience"

The blonde, in order not to unleash her anger on the girl still sitting at the table, went to the kitchen to help Nayeon and Jihyo. Meanwhile Dahyun and Sharon were carefully folding the tablecloth, talking about some video games with Tzuyu.

At that moment Dahyun's cell phone screen lit up due to a phone call and Chaeyoung, already being where her best friend had left the phone, immediately saw the contact's name "hey Bro, who is Jack?"

Sharon and Dahyun's shoulders stiffened immediately and both Mina and Momo had turned to the look at Chaeyoung. The brunette got up from her chair, slowly, alarmed by the fact that in Korea it was very difficult to find someone with a similar name.

"He's a friend of mine from music school" she tried to be as convincing as possible.

"Strange, I know everyone in that school and I don't remember anyone by that name. Is he new?" Chaeyoung was genuinely curious to know "I thought you don't like boys" 

Mina went up to her and stretched out her hand "give me the phone" as soon as the girl gave it to her she accepted the call and she didn't say anything to hear that guy's voice.

Her suspicions and Momo's turned out to be right as soon as Jack started talking "hi Dahyun, sorry for phoning you at this hour, but Sharon stopped answering me and you've both been missing for a week. My house is empty without you two and the new things that I created do not swallow themselves alone"

The look Mina gave to her twin and Dahyun was somewhere between blind fury and utter terror. That was enough to give the older of the sisters a déjà vu.