When Jihyo woke up she found three wads of bills on the desk, a clear sign that Momo hadn't listened to half a word she had told her about her debt to pay. She hadn't even wanted to tell her the amount, but the stubborn one made no sign of giving up and she used every opportunity to extract information about it.

She came out of her room and met her in the corridor "Momo, I really appreciate your interest, but you can't behave like this if I haven't asked you for help. It makes me feel embarrassed"

"It's the only thing I can do for you, if you don't accept them I'm offended" Momo made the little lip and sweet eyes "for me those are a tiny sum, but for you they can make a difference. I don't want anything in return, if that's what you're afraid of; I just want to know that you sleep peacefully at night instead of working in a disgusting place"

Jihyo looked at her sternly "did you follow me to the bar where I work? Seriously?"

Momo shrugged "I wanted to make sure you were okay, I wasn't following you. Okay, maybe a little bit" she added the last sentence after seeing the grim look she was given "I really want to help you, let me do it and I'll stop to torment you"

"May I know why you're insisting so hard? I've been puzzling for days, but I really can't understand it"

"You are a good person and I feel that there are things you don't want to say, things that make you feel bad. It's not because of the contract that binds us, I really want to help you get rid of this debt"

Jihyo sighed, running both hands through her hair and looking down "for this month I have already paid, but for the next payment you could come with me, after all it's your money. I only ask you one thing: don't start a war when you know everything"

"I was right to say that the situation is more serious than I thought, but I will do as you asked me. I will at least try, but I am afraid I won't be able to make promises"

"Scheduled Appointments?" they all asked in chorus.

Sonia looked at them as if they were idiots "that's right, each of you will decide on the activities you would like to do during a date and you will make an outing that will include all the things you have decided to do with your partner. It is very simple and you will have the possibility to know each other better"

"So if I wrote some extreme activity like 'bungee jumping' among the things I would like to do, the other person would be forced to do it with me?" Jeongyeon immediately asked, with a smirk on her face.

"Hell no, you go alone" Nayeon was strongly annoyed "choose something less extreme and that I can like too"

Jeongyeon looked at her with malice "then I choose to do "

"I refuse" Nayeon immediately got up from the couch, her cheeks on fire, and went to shut herself in the kitchen.

"Jeongyeon, they must be activities with limits. You can choose things she doesn't like, but you can't force her to do everything that comes into your mind" Sonia explained calmly; she was already about to lose her patience "who wants to try to propose something?"

Chaeyoung raised her hand "I love to draw, could I take Mina to a club where they teach us how to draw on T-shirts?"

Mina smiled immediately "it could be fun and I'd like to wear a shirt designed by you"

"This is what I wanted! You all should take an example from them and you will do great, I'm sure you will have a lot of fun and remember that I want a detailed report from each of you; it is very important" she left a few sheets on the glass table and stood up "for today we're done, try to have fun. Listen to me"

Momo was studying her nails "I already have some ideas, we'll have a lot of fun"

"I have already decided too, we will surely have a lot of time to talk" Jihyo was smiling as she jotted down her idea in the notes of the cell phone "I hope to see you hungry that day"

"I'm always hungry, there's nothing to fear" the brunette touched her belly with a smirk "don't be frightened by the amount of food I'll ingest"

Sana glanced at Dahyun "what do we want to do?"

"I'm buying tickets for a musical show, are you okay with Friday afternoon?"

"Absolutely not, I would be bored to death sitting there and watching people play boring instruments" Sana had a disgusted face.

Dahyun shrugged "I want to do that, I'm sorry for you"

"As you like, but afterwards we will go home to change because we will go to the disco to have fun" she smirked "and you can't refuse because I want to do go there"

Mina sighed "Sana, you need this appointment to get to know each other and with the one you have chosen you won't be able to talk at all, excluding the car journeys"

"It is precisely for this reason that it is a great plan, we will have a lot of fun" replied the auburn "in the disco we will know each other very well"

It was late afternoon when Jeongyeon managed to knock on Nayeon's door: she had spent an hour building up her courage, even though she couldn't understand why she was so hesitant and anxious. When the door opened she slammed the paper she was holding in Nayeon's face "tell me if you like it, otherwise I'll think of something else to do together"

"How delicate you are, you amaze me more every day" the girl quickly read the contents of that sheet and gave a small smile "I like it very much, I approve of both. I must say that you surprised me"

"Do you really like it?" Jeongyeon smiled without realizing it and wanted to cheer "have you thought of something?"

Nayeon nodded "these things are pretty obvious, but they will give us time to talk a bit. I propose to go out after lunch, so as to have time to do everything and without hurry"

"I would say we have a plan, when are you free? I always am, so you can choose the day you prefer"

"Tomorrow too, if you want to go out so early" Nayeon was smiling. She was excited, but she didn't even want to admit it to herself "if you want to drive we can take your car, I don't even have a license and with the means of transport it would be a bit uncomfortable to move from one place to another"

Jeongyeon winked at her "I'll take care of it, my little girl will take us wherever we want" she was talking about her beloved car. 

"I was thinking of taking her for a walk in the rose garden nearby, it's a beautiful and peaceful place and I'm sure she won't feel uncomfortable surrounded by flowers" Tzuyu announced with a smile "do you think it's a good idea?"

Dahyun nodded, smiling "she will surely like it, you had a nice thought"

"But take off that damn cell phone, she starts to play even while she walks and always risks tripping. The other morning she ended up against the kitchen table" Chaeyoung sighed, even though Sharon's carelessness amused her a lot "Mina is fantastic, I really like spending time with her"

"We all understood it, you are practically a super tender couple" Tzuyu smiled at her "but sometimes you are too much and it stress all of us; you two are too sweet and honeyed most of the time"

"You talk like that because you are envious, but remember that the worst mass is Dahyun"

The girl, hearing her name, looked at both of them with a raised eyebrow "you were talking about your twins, keep doing it without putting Sana in the way"

Chaeyoung threw her a ball of paper "she likes you and I think it's the same for you, stop being stubborn and give yourself a chance. You've had a bad impression of each other and you should use your date to prove you are wrong to each other, not to annoy each other"

"I don't like her at all, you know very well that I'm interested in another person"

"A person who doesn't give a damn about you, unless she needs something. You behave like her little dog" Tzuyu intervened "I'm nobody to judge you and the choices you make, but that one there really doesn't deserve you"

"I agree with Tzuyu, I said that in my opinion the interest is mutual just to see Sana's reaction and I must admit that her annoyance was evident. By this I am not saying that she is already madly in love with you, but she's certainly interested in you"

Dahyun gave a fake smile "if it's true that she is interested I would like her to stop treating me badly when she's in a bad mood or someone is doing her wrong. Above all I would like not to be told anymore that I am a loser, that would be really nice of her"

Chaeyoung took her hand, squeezing it tightly "you have to make her understand, she is definitely used to behaving like this and doesn't know how to approach you. Teach her to respect you because, whether you like it or not, you will have to spend a lot of time together and it would be horrible to do it in bad terms , no?"

"You're right, but it's a constant discussion between us" she touched her forehead, where Sana had kissed her a few days earlier "we are not compatible"

"As your best friend I have a duty to tell you that you have overcome worse and that everything will be fine" Tzuyu took her free hand "you are tough"

"I'm her best friend! And I'm yours too, now that I think about it. We make a nice triangle, don't you think?"

"Chae, you are the best friend of all. More than a triangle we are a figure still unknown to man" Dahyun was finally smiling.

During the night, silence reigned in the house, but the kitchen light was on and Dahyun was leaning against the huge island, which was in the middle of the room, with an almost empty glass of water in one hand and a small white jar in the other.

She put the glass in the sink and sighed "when will this be over? I want to sleep" she whispered on the verge of tears. She studied the small jar, which contained the tranquilizer pills "maybe taking more than one I'll be able to sleep a few hours"

She opened the little container, ready to take another pill, her hands shaking. Her grandmother had forbidden her to continue taking those pills, especially after the rush to the hospital that she had made her take one morning. She almost never woke up again, and the pained expression of the one person who loved her had stuck in her mind, just like a tattoo on her skin.

In those moments of weakness found herself alone it could cost her life, but she had enough strength to close the jar and breathe deeply "I can do it, I've always done it"

She went back to her room and threw herself on the bed, hugging the pillow tightly. She could hear Sharon and Tzuyu playing video games in the room next to hers and she smiled: she found them weird and adorable at the same time.

She thought of her grandmother, her two best friends, the girls she'd been living with for a while and her historical crush. She too thought of Sana, how sorry she was for the fate of both of them. She wanted to change many things in her life, but as usual she found herself in the midst of a series of events that she could not control or change.

She hated her parents with all of her being, but she realized she couldn't give Sana the same treatment because of them and she decided to give that girl a chance. She wanted to take advantage of the date with her to get to know her at least a little and to become two allies or something similar.

She had no intention of being part of her collection of conquests and even less of falling in love with one playgirl like her, she just wanted to make their condition as light as possible for both of them; it seemed to her the best option for not collapsing permanently.

After much thought she decided to try to sleep, but just as she closed her eyes she heard Sharon scream.

"Damn idiot, I hope your PlayStation explodes!"

"Don't scream, you'll wake them all up!" whispered Tzuyu, already anxious about the scream and the possible consequences.

That night it was Momo who burst into her sister's room, with her hair so disheveled it resembled a bird's nest and her eyes half closed "I was sleeping very well, now what am I supposed to do with you, huh?"

"You could look in the mirror, I assure you that the fright would make you go back to sleep instantly" replied the younger simply, making Tzuyu tremble even more and irritate her sister.

Momo replied by pulling the plug out of the socket and taking away the console cable, so as to prevent her from playing with it.

Sharon turned to Tzuyu "shall we play Mario Kart on my Nintendo Switch?"

"You are really awful" they both giggled.