“I’m gonna kill myself.” Mina groaned, her voice low and rough and the aftertaste of alcohol still evident in . She opened one eye and saw the sun entering from the window, temporarily staining her wall.

As she attempted to turn around, she realized it was an almost impossible task. The feeling was very similar to the crash after drinking too much caffeine: the behind the eyes headache, the nauseous feeling, the sensitivity to light. She basically felt like she got hit by a bus.

She heard a low chuckle from the other side of the room, signaling she wasn’t alone. “I made you some soup, in case that helps with your hangover.” Chaeyoung got up from her bed and walked out, time Mina used to sit on the bed and get used to the intruding light. She also took her hair tie out of her messy ponytail and redid it in an attempt to look better.

“Here,” Chaeyoung set up a food tray on Mina’s bed and offered her a bowl, “once you’re done with it you can take a painkiller or something.”

The blonde barely knew what she was doing; all she knew was that she pitied Mina and would do all she could to alleviate her suffering. That morning she had woken up extra early to look up 'how to help someone with a hangover' and did everything the page said. Initially, she thought a pill and some water would make Mina go back to normal because it was what she usually did, but she quickly learned it wasn't. So, with all the new knowledge she had, she cut some veggies and made soup that hopefully was edible.

“Thank you.” Mina devoured the bowl and would have even asked for more if she had been living there for more than two days. Although the meal had clearly helped, she could still feel the pulsating thump in her head.

“Here.” Chaeyoung handed Mina the pill and water bottle she had previously left on her bedside table when she woke up because she noticed Mina was a wreck. “I’m assuming you’ll want to stay home today.” Chaeyoung smiled.

“You assume correctly.” Mina shortly replied but offered a slight grin in return.

“I’ll be here all day, but I have to go to Nayeon's house for a while later today.” Chaeyoung sat back on her bed and continued what she had been doing - sketching on her black notebook. These few days Mina had noticed Chaeyoung was always with it whenever she was home.

Mina hummed but decided she wanted more information. “What for?” Maybe her tone sounded dry, but it was hard to focus on it with her aching body.

“She’s dating a girl, Jeongyeon, and they have a date today so she asked me to help her cook before she arrives.” Mina opened to ask what Chaeyoung already knew, so she continued, “Yeah, I know. Why is she asking me to help? I have no idea.” She chuckled lightly.

“Well, if you need any help, let me know.” Mina smiled warmly and slowly closed her eyes, losing her fight against sleep in less than 10 minutes.

Mina let herself recharge for a few hours before waking up to the sound of her own stomach growling. She felt a lot better, just hungry.

“Maybe we should have lunch?” Chaeyoung rose from her seat once again and sat on Mina’s bed, “I can order some food if you want.”

“Do you wanna cook? I can’t just send you to Nayeon’s without training.” She teased and hit Chaeyoung’s arm lightly.

“For someone feeling like , you sure like to tease.” They both giggled but quickly agreed on cooking something fast. They worked efficiently and Mina was back to normal, which was a huge relief for the both of them.

Chaeyoung decided this was a great time to know more about Mina, and she felt like they trusted each other a lot more than before.

“So,” She kept chopping the onions, often clicking her tongue in annoyance by her watery eyes, “why did you decide to come here?”

Mina looked at Chaeyoung, who seemed unbothered by her stare. “I- My parents work a lot, so I thought it would be nice to- I don’t know. Experience something different, I guess.”

Chaeyoung hummed. She had recently learned that if she kept quiet, people usually talked on their own to avoid uncomfortable silences.

“It’s not like they don’t love me, you know? It’s just,” Mina sighed, “complicated.”

“I understand. It must have been hard for you when you were little.” Chaeyoung replied and decided to lighten the mood by asking another question. “How did you meet your friends? Momo and Sana.”

Mina was surprised by the sudden interest in her personal life, but she actually liked having someone care other than her friends. It was refreshing. “Our parents work together. We’ve known each other basically our whole lives.”

“Oh, that’s so cool.” Chaeyoung decided to ask a bit more. “Did you always like each other?”

Mina stared at Chaeyoung in confusion. “Huh?”

“Oh, come on. For example, when I met Dahyun I thought she was a self-centered . And I was 6.”

Mina dropped her knife on the counter and broke out in laughter, causing Chaeyoung to smile. She loved Mina’s gummy smile, and knowing that she had caused it made it a thousand times better.

“She proved me wrong over time. So?”

She tried to get herself together and answered between giggles, “Well. I didn’t like Momo at first.” She continued cutting the vegetables, “She didn’t do anything to me, I was just jealous because she was a lot better than me in dancing.”

Chaeyoung shook her head and pointed her index finger towards Mina. “I’ll have to be the judge of that.”

“Okay,” Mina was having a lot more fun than she thought. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling, “maybe you will see me dance someday.”

“Oh, I will.” Chaeyoung answered with complete certainty in her voice. “One- Two more questions.”

“I feel like I’m being questioned.”

“Funny, Myoui.” She mocked. “First, how did you learn Korean? You’re really good.”

Mina smiled from ear to ear. She had been working on mastering the language for years, and hearing a native praise her about it really encouraged her to keep going. “Well, school. I still studied a lot after and watched movies and stuff to improve.”

“Well, they worked really well.” She was glad Mina liked her compliment. “Last, but not least, do you miss your other friends in Japan?”

Mina shook her head, “Momo and Sana are like my closest friends. I think the rest are mostly acquaintances. And I miss my parents a bit, but I know this will be worth it.”

Chaeyoung added the last chopped vegetables to the frying pan and started stirring. “Well, ma'am, the questioning is over.”

“Do I get to ask questions too?” Mina was now interested in knowing more about her host. She leaned her arms on the counter next to Chaeyoung and looked at her.

“Be my guest.” Curiosity had taken over her.

“I am, literally.” She smiled for the hundredth time, “How did you meet Tzuyu and Dahyun? I assume you met Nayeon because she’s your neighbor.”

“You assume correctly.” She teased. “Well, Dahyun was my friend since elementary school. And Tzu came from Taiwan in like- 4th grade, maybe? Around that time. She didn’t really speak a lot of Korean so we tried to speak to her using ea