The parents of the three sisters weren't bad people, but they had backward and wrong ideals in most cases, so much so that Jihyo's legs shake at the thought of having to talk about her pregnancy during that day's lunch.

A week had passed since the events that had made her cry for two consecutive days and things seemed to have stabilized: her sisters had accepted the pregnancy and had promised to give her a hand in everything so that she would never tire herself; Sana was acting like a true friend and was always doing her best to cheer her up.

The only thing that made her sad was the separation from Momo, who in spite of everything hadn't stopped making her find breakfast on her desk every morning, replacing the usual coffee with juice, but who didn't even mention wanting to talk to her.

She missed her very much and she wanted so much to sleep in her arms one last time, enjoying that feeling she had never felt before but that made her heart beat faster. She shook her head, focusing on her reflection in the mirror "you've made your decision and you'll go through with it, you don't need anyone to be happy"

"Why are you talking to yourself?" Tzuyu had entered the bathroom to comb her hair "did you go crazy because of pregnancy? I didn't know there were any side effects besides your disgusting vomit and your constant crying"

"You are always so sweet to me" the other immediately retorted with irony "I'm not crazy, I'm just trying to cheer me up for the day ahead. I have to tell mum and dad everything and I just hope they understand"

Tzuyu removed a hair from her shirt, keeping her gaze down "I don't have any faith in them, but I hope they don't treat you badly because of the brat"

The older kissed her forehead "everything will be fine, now let's go or we'll be late for lunch"

Their family wasn't rich, but it couldn't even be said that it was poor: they lived in a house they owned just outside the capital city, which had two floors and a beautiful garden in which the girls always played as children.

The downside of that perfect place was the fact that the perfection of the house had to be perfect even for those who entered it and for that reason the sisters had worn jeans and a sober T-shirt, as well as having tied their hair in high ponytails. 

Those who had brought them into the world didn't greet them warmly, merely nodding at their daughters and beckoning them to sit at the table. Lunch had already been served and they began to eat without saying anything, creating an awkward atmosphere.

The woman broke the silence first "how is life in Seoul?"

"It's going quite well, I've already found a stable job with good pay. Thanks to the help you give us we won't have any problems with our daily expenses"

"I am very pleased; what do my girls have to tell?" she turned to the little ones of the house.

Tzuyu hadn't looked up since her entry into the house, feeling an enormous and almost impossible weight to bear; Dahyun decided to behave like a good older sister and answered with a false smile "wonderful, the school is fantastic"

Mr. Park gave a mocking smile "of course, for a troublemaker and a retard it must be really fun to be among the young people of the city"

"Dad, you promised to behave well with them" Jihyo was about to bend her fork due to the force she was exerting on it "I have to tell you something, now it's to no use waiting"

The two sitting across the table looked at her curiously, urging her to speak. The girl took a deep breath, trying to draw the courage from her "I'm almost two months pregnant"

The man wiped his lips with his handkerchief to take some time to answer "I wonder why you didn't bring him here"

"Who are you talking about?"

"About your boyfriend, he got you pregnant and could have at least introduced himself to his future in-laws. When will you get married? I hope soon, it's not well seen giving birth to a child out of marriage"

Jihyo felt caught off guard "there is no boyfriend, dad. It happened before our move, I drank too much and I didn't pay attention"

Her father's hand collided against the table with such violence that even his wife trembled "let's see if I understand correctly: my daughter is a who got pregnant by who knows who? It's a disgrace!"

"Dear, you should calm down.." the woman tried to take his hand, but he pushed it away without any regard.

"You still have time to get rid of it, I'll take you straight to a friend of mine"

"I want to keep the baby and it won't be your wickedness to stop me from doing it. I made a mistake, but the child is not to blame"

The man pointed to Tzuyu with contempt "do you see that? She's an emotionless girl with a serious mental problem that could very well be compared to stupidity and requires a lot of attention. You can't replace one mistake by giving birth to another"

"How the you dare, bastard" Dahyun threw her plate still full of food at him "don't you dare talk to my sisters like that!"

"I should have abandoned you in the hospital when you were just born, you have done nothing but create problems with your bad temper. Look what you have done, this shirt costs a lot of money" he was cleaning himself nervously "I wanted sons and instead it happened to me to have three girls, one who likes to be a , one that can't be managed and a retarded one" 

"You don't say anything?" Dahyun looked at her mother angrily "speak!" she kicked the chair she was sitting on until just before, knocking it over "you are horrible parents, you have caused all our problems"

"You are right and you know what we will do? You will think about paying for your nice apartment in the capital, I won't give you a penny anymore and I will make sure to remove you from the family" Mr. Park threw the dirty napkin on the table "now disappear, you are freaks of nature and it would have been much better to have adopted a bastard instead of bringing you three into the world"

Jihyo was shaking, but she tried to hold her sisters as they left the house. The return journey was silent, and what frightened her most was Tzuyu's more impassive than usual expression. Dahyun was also giving her cause for concern and she had to stop the car to get out and throw up.

After the discussion with Nayeon, Jeongyeon had noticed a change in her: she no longer tried to have a minimum of physical contact and only talked to her about things about their little girl. She was aware that she was the one who caused that reaction, but she didn't like seeing her girlfriend so distant from her at all.

The front door opened slowly and Mina peeked her head out after reaching the living room, smiling at her sister "I arrived early, disturbance?"

"You never disturb, come here" the older welcomed her with a hug "you seem a bit down in the dumps, did something happen?"

"Teenage problems, nothing to worry about. Where's Nayeon? Haven't seen her in a lifetime"

Jeongyeon smiled amused "it will have been a little over a week since you saw each other"

"I know, but she didn't come to the family lunch and it was a huge loss for me" the girl reached her niece's bedroom, finding the latter intent on playing with rubber constructions and saying mostly incomprehensible words.

Nana looked up and smiled "auntie!" she stood up a little awkwardly, trudging to reach the blonde and cling to her leg. She was a very loving child, just like her older mom, and it was impossible not to love her.

"Is it just me or are you growing visibly? You're already very tall" Mina picked her up and went to her sister-in-law, who was still sitting on the carpet, to sit next to her "hello to you too"

Nayeon kissed her head "you were right to arrive early, I was thinking of cooking something new and for the two of us it could be a lot of fun" she showed her a picture of the things she wanted to cook "I studied the recipe to perfection and in my opinion we could do it"

"Have you learned a whole recipe by heart? Sometimes I forget about your career as a lawyer, you have a terrifying memory"

"At the moment I'm still a newbie, I'm not so scary" she was tidying up Nana's toys, helped by the latter "she's only two years old and loves cleaning, she's the really scary one"

Jeongyeon had a proud look "she is my daughter, I wouldn't have expected otherwise"

The older completely ignored her comment, getting up from the ground to go and prepare all the ingredients for the recipe. Mina couldn't shut up in front of that scene and looked at her sister accusingly "what did you do to her this time?"

"I screwed up, probably one of the biggest bull in the last two years" she ran a hand through her hair, immediately trying to silence her little girl "don't repeat or your mom will kill me, be quiet"

Mina looked down "it makes me angry to see you don't realize how lucky you are. Hiding behind what happened after Nana was born doesn't justify your actions, considering Nayeon isn't even aware of the reasons behind your selfish behavior. Stay with Nana, I'm going to help her cook" she left the room without adding a word.

Jeongyeon kissed her daughter's hand "I know I'm the bad one, but I just can't change my attitude" she took a soft toy in the shape of a bunny, thinking back to her girlfriend while she was buying that item: she had a nice baby bump and a radiant smile, the same smile that had made her fall in love since their first meeting. The smile she had lost to her since that fateful day.

"I told you the guy over there is a first-rate idiot, he sent an unedited article to the press and made sure to blame me even I had nothing to do with it. " Momo took a long sip of beer, trying her best to relax a bit.

Sana was absent-mindedly trying to take her label off her beer bottle "I hope her boss gives him a good grooming, he always gets away with everything he does"

"I hope so or I'll fix it myself with my fists" the older clenched her fist and hit the air with a threatening look "I'll change his features"

She fell silent, interrupted only by the slight noise of the duvet that covered them with their every movement. They used to sleep together when their moods weren't at their best, a habit they had taken as little girls thanks to their mothers who were also best friends.

Sana was looking at the ceiling "I screwed up"

"What are we talking about?" Momo had placed the glass bottle on her bedside table "have you lost the documents you were working on again?"

She shook her head "do you remember the girl from the club? The one I can't get out of my head" she started talking again when her best friend nodded "I found her, but I would have preferred to just remember her"

The brunette jumped up "why are you saying this? It's a fantastic news! You absolutely have to make a ruthless courting her and make her fall at your feet"

"She is one of Jihyo's sisters and, much worse, she is only seventeen" Sana's voice had lost all its cheerfulness "she said she wanted to get to know me better, but I don't even have the courage to look her in the face after all the fantasies I made about her, about us. It was horrible to have dinner with them, that discovery ruined my whole day and I'm devastated"

Momo couldn't hide the shock "is she only seventeen? This is a nice mess"

"I don't know what to do, a part of me would like to give a damn about everything and ask her out, but I couldn't stand the thought of stealing her adolescence to make her adapt to an adult mentality. She seems like a smart girl, but it wouldn't be fair in any case"

"As your best friend I have the task of encouraging and supporting you in your decisions, but as an adult I feel compelled to try to make you think" she took her hand in an attempt to reassure her a little "I can understand how you feel and I know that , but if there are other people involved we can't just think about what we want"

Sana finished her beer, lying down completely immediately after "your case may be less complicated than mine and you know it very well, but you're doing everything to keep Jihyo away from you. I honestly don't understand what pleasure you have in making her cry"

"I don't want to take on such a big commitment and you aren't in a position to judge me"

The redhead pointed her finger at her "no one asked you to behave like the child's parent and Jihyo didn't even think about it. She didn't have any claim on you, but she told you to be fair because she cares about you to be afraid of losing your relationship and you abandoned her in time of need"

Momo pinched her arm "you should stop drinking, you're annoying when you get drunk. Don't point your finger at me anymore and don't judge the things you don't understand" she got out of bed, feeling heavier and heavier with every step she took to reach the door of her room.

"I can't understand your situation, it's true, but don't come crying to me when a person arrives ready to love her and make her happy"

Those words crept like needles into Momo's heart, prompting her to lock herself in the bathroom to cry. The very thought of losing Jihyo's special affection for her made her die inside, but the knowledge of not being able to be next to her was somehow robbing her of her romantic feelings, making her feel incapable to love.

Jihyo had spent the evening trying to figure out if her salary could be enough to cover all their expenses, sighing right after she finished "I'm in "

"We have money problems, right?" Dahyun spoke in a low voice so as not to scare her sister, sitting next to her on the couch.

"You should be in bed, it's very late and tomorrow there is school" the older immediately closed the notebook on which she had marked all the numbers "you don't have to worry about anything, you'll see that everything will be fine. I'm good at finding solutions"

"I could look for a part-time job, it won't earn me a huge amount, but at least it can lighten your weight" she took her hand "you are pregnant and you shouldn't stress yourself more than necessary, it hurts you and the baby"

Yet another sigh escaped from Jihyo's lips, who kissed her little sister's hand "dad decided not to help us anymore and this apartment is quite expensive despite being so small; I will find a solution by myself, you have to think about studying and have fun"

Dahyun took the notebook from her hand, taking a quick look at everything that was written "the real problem is this apartment because Tzuyu and I can live very well bringing lunch from home and not buying it every day" she took the pen, erasing those small daily expenses "the costs of a pregnancy are many, but with your salary you can get by very well without being broke. By not buying lunch, the money spent during the week can be used to go shopping, so it's a lot less weight"

"I don't want to deprive you of the only thing you like about school, Tzuyu told me about your favorite bench and your friend"

"We won't lose our beloved break because I will take care of cooking, Mina will be envious of our lunch prepared exclusively by myself" she smiled reassuringly "but we need a solution to manage the expenses of the apartment without your salary ending before the end of each month" they looked at each other at the same time, making the same exalted expression "are we thinking about the same thing?"

"It will be enough to have a roommate, the area we are in is quite advantageous and we live in a recently built building, practically a luxury! Who will tell Tzuyu? We will have to free a room" Jihyo was her slightly swollen belly, lazily tracing circles with her fingers "you know, I shouldn't stress myself.." she did the little lip and sweet eyes.

"You're a " Dahyun lay down, resting her head on her sister's legs and closing her eyes as the older her hair "I'll talk to her, but I already know she'll hate the idea of ​​sharing a room with me" she turned to one side to kiss the her sister's belly lightly, smiling at the thought of becoming aunt.

"We are lucky to have a sister like you and it makes me sad to know that you don't feel enough"

Dahyun looked at her with wide eyes "who told you?"

She pinched her cheek lightly, a gesture of affection reserved only for her since she was little "I know you and I know you're afraid to become the last wheel of the wagon" she pointed to her belly "I know you're happy for the baby, but I wouldn't want to see you look down when I have to take care of the kid like when I dedicate myself to Tzuyu"

"I'm not sad for these things, sometimes I feel like I'm unnecessary and it's undeniable, but I can swear to you that these thoughts aren't saddening me. I can't wait for the baby to be born, I think it will be a nice boy"

Jihyo knew very well what her sister was doing: changing the subject had always been her best weapon; she decided to indulge her so as not to burden the situation "he would be the first male in a long time and I think Tzuyu wouldn't be so thrilled" she smiled amused, cuddling her little sister and thinking about the best way to find a roommate as soon as possible.