Hearing the constant sound of the doorbell had made Jihyo jump out of bed in less than a second, moved by fear. She had cautiously approached the front door to peer through the peephole and her heart had skipped a beat upon seeing the person who had hurt her feelings just hours before.

She had no desire to face her, but being immature was not part of her character and she had opened the door as slowly as possible "does it seem normal to swoop here and stick to the doorbell? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Don't be dramatic, it's four in the morning and the night is still young!" she was clearly drunk, so much so that she had a hard time standing up without losing her balance every two seconds "you know, red looks great on you, but when you had black hair you were even more beautiful"

"Go home to sleep, you don't seem in a condition to make a meaningful speech"

In response, Momo's body collided with her "where did you put the woman I fell in love with? She was a born party girl and she really liked having fun with me on every occasion" she took her face in her hands to chain their gaze "give her back, I know she's still there"

Jihyo's eyes were bright and ready to shed tears "I shouldn't have had any kind of connection with you, I would have spared all this suffering"

"Do you want to know the truth? You are fine with me as you are, what I miss about the old you are our plans, the conversations we had, all our memories.." her voice had cracked in mid-sentence and her legs, unable to support the weight of both her body and the pain, had yielded until she dropped to her knees. She had clung to the redhead's waist, resting her forehead on her belly to keep her as close as possible "I know you're here and I love you even without your memories, but the emptiness I feel every time you can't understand me at a glance is unbridgeable. We have lost our special bond and this is what destroys me"

"I blame myself every day for a lot of things, including the ones you just mentioned, but it's one thing to scourge yourself and another to see your fears become real. If I am not enough for you, you shouldn't waste time with me, the world it's full of women who are better than me and who could give you everything you want"

Momo didn't answer right away because of the sobs that she couldn't hold back "I don't want anyone but you, why don't you understand?"

"It's impossible to do that if you just point out everything you don't like about me, it's a constant making me feel guilty about things that I can't control even under stress. Before you broke my heart and now you're done with tearing it to pieces"

"And don't you think about my heart? It just beats for you and you still don't understand it"

Jihyo's hands had squeezed the brunette's wrists to free herself from her grip and move away from her "I thought too much about your well-being to have put mine aside. I learned to love you again and did what I could to build something different and special, but you are stubborn to stay still in the past and I cannot do it so, if you are going to blame me for not worrying about you, please leave my house"

"Don't leave me again, please. I don't even know why I'm behaving this way" she struggled to her feet, intending to give her a kiss of reconciliation, finding only the palm of the redhead's hand "Jihyo, please.."

"Go away, right now I can't even look you in the face"

"What's the point of being honest if we then get to a blind spot like this?"

"It is one thing to be honest, another is to always have something to say about the same topic. You are really selfish and you don't even realize it, you should remember that you are not the only person in the world who suffers from something"

Momo was suddenly sober and perfectly stable on her legs "did you just call me selfish?"

"Yes and I will not take back a single word, I am tired of living in the anxiety of making a mistake that can upset you and of putting myself aside. I prefer to close it here, knowing what you think of me is enough to make me stop continuing this unhealthy relationship"

"No, I don't want it to end" she grabbed her hands in a desperate grip "I won't let you go again, I won't let it. Forgive me, I really don't know what's gotten into me lately and I apologize from the bottom of my heart"

The cold look that Jihyo was giving her was the same as when they broke up the first time "do you want to know an absolute truth? Sometimes an apology is not enough. Now go away"

Even if the weather promised heavy rain and the sky was obscured by clouds, for Sana it was a fantastic day: she was finally able to sleep peacefully all night, moreover next to the person she liked even at a safe distance, and the latter had got up early to go buy breakfast.

For the first time in her life she was enjoying being courted and her dreamy gaze hadn't gone unnoticed "are you okay? You've been trying to soak the croissant in milk for at least a minute. The circumference of your cup is quite remarkable and I don't understand how you keep on missing it"

"Don't say anything and let me fantasize a bit, I'd like to treasure these moments"

"As you like, I shut up" Dahyun hadn't been able to hold back a smile. She found it absurd how the mere presence of that girl could make her feel good, but she didn't mind at all.

"Are you busy today?"

"I was planning on lying on the couch watching TV"

Sana smiled "we can do it together, I'm sure that in this way we will be able to get to know each other better and, who knows, maybe we have more things in common than we imagine"

The brunette just shrugged "I watch anything, it shouldn't be difficult to choose a movie or a TV series that both of us would like. What genre do you prefer?"

"Given the situation I would focus on something romantic that could convince you to accept the fact that you and I want each other" she was looking at her with a seemingly innocent smile but hiding something else "but know that I'm not just aiming at , I want have the complete package that includes your love"

"Sana, I'm as affectionate as a cactus hugging a balloon and it won't be fuss-filled movies that will change my personality. Get the idea of ​​us as a couple out of your head and you will live much better"

"I really like your personality and being with you would mean being the only person you would let get close to you, it's a privilege that I'm not going to let me escape"

Dahyun had given her a smile halfway between mischievous and amused "you are cute when you behave like a child and immediately afterwards you become serious"

"You just paid me a compliment" she was covering her face with her hands so as not to show the blush on her cheeks "Kim Dahyun told me I'm pretty, I have to mark it on the calendar"

"It's not the first time I've said this, but now that I think about it, you're the only one I haven't already said because everyone knows what I think of you" she got up to put the now empty cup in the sink "and then, since I'm in the mood for confidences, I don't think you're just pretty"

Sana's heart was doing a series of endless somersaults "I'll take it as a declaration of love so from today we are a couple and I expect to spend the whole day in your company, we need to know each other better and there are a lot of things I don't know of you. Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"You just made one, but keep going" she leaned against the kitchen counter, looking at the auburn with her arms folded.

"I noticed that you tend to push even Tzuyu away.. Why do you do that? She is not your best friend?"

"Tzuyu knows very well how immeasurable my affection for her is and my detached behavior will not change that. I love all of you, even that idiot Chae, but I find it hard to prove it because I don't believe in happy ending, in any scope"

"Do you have so little faith in the people around you?"

The fact that Dahyun needed some time to respond was an answer in itself, but Sana had decided to wait "unconsciously, but yes. Nobody has my complete trust, neither do I"

"It's not good for you, are you aware of it?"

"Of course, but it is part of my being and it is not easy to change something that has gone deep like the roots of a tree in the earth"

Sana's gaze had softened "I'm fine, I accept you for who you are"

"You'll get tired too, I already told you"

"You have no idea how stubborn I can be in things and, just to be with you, I could make myself fit with everything"

Dahyun's mischievous smirk had returned to her face "so would you be okay with having a girlfriend who would like at least three wives?"

The auburn was left with open in surprise, rousing herself shortly after "absolutely not, I don't want to share you with anyone"

"Don't worry, you won't have to do it because you are enough to handle. You can be as annoying as five people" she had approached her to give her a quick kiss on the lips, giving her an angelic smile immediately after "now stop chatting, we have movies to watch"

Mina had returned after having lunch with Tzuyu, happier than ever and her head still projected to what had happened that night. Her heart was bursting with joy and she had never felt so good in her life.

To dampen much of her enthusiasm was her girlfriend, who had waited for her sitting on the couch with her arms folded and a funeral look "in the early hours, you had never come back so late"

"Have you been back long?"

"I spent the night here, alone" she made sure to accentuate the last word as much as possible, with the intent of making her feel guilty "but don't worry, I hope you enjoyed yourself with Tzuyu"

"I'm sorry, if you had warned me I would have come back sooner. I'm going to take a shower, if you feel like waiting a bit I'll prepare your favorite snack to make me forgive"

Chaeyoung stood up and stood in front of her, her gaze fixed on one particular point "cute this hickey, does that mean you belong to her now?"

Mina's eyes were wide open in surprise and the shorter girl had tried to put her finger on her collarbone, in a place left uncovered by her oversized shirt.

"That's not good, I never expected it from you. Have you forgotten that you are committed? What you are doing goes against the principles of an open relationship"

"Honestly, I don't think it's appropriate to argue and if it bothers you so much I'll keep it covered" she had passed her at a brisk pace, heading for the stairs to reach the bathroom.

"I'm sorry to tell you that, but you shouldn't trust Tzuyu too much"

Those words had captured all the attention of Mina, who had stopped on the first step "what do you mean?"

"Her intentions are not the best and you shouldn't get too involved in the attention she gives you because, as bad as it may be to say, is all a farce"

"Could you please tell me what you are referring to? I'm getting anxious and you know very well that I shouldn't let anxiety dominate me"

The now faded pink haired girl was looking straight into her eyes, looking away after a second to look for one thing in particular on her cell phone "read these messages and judge for yourself"

Having read the words bet and money was enough to make the gears move in Mina's brain "tell me it's all fake, you can't have bet on me"

"That's exactly what happened, seeing you so involved with her made me realize I made a mistake and I thought it was right to tell you. The rest is up to you, you have to decide what to do with this information"

The brunette had eyes full of tears and hands trembling "is this the value you give to people?"

"I'm not going to justify myself as knowing I was wrong, but if I were you I would ask myself about why Tzuyu didn't tell you anything about our bet. If her feelings are as genuine as she says she should have talked about it as soon as possible"

Mina did not answer and ran upstairs to wash and change in a few minutes, hurrying to leave the villa without looking back and getting into the first available taxi. The anxiety was devouring her stomach and the desire to cry didn't want to diminish a bit, but she had promised herself not to collapse before having had confirmation.

Tzuyu's surprise at seeing her had been a lot, but the concern given by the way she felt observed was stronger than the joy "did something happen? Don't tell me that Chae was acting like a as usual"

"On the contrary, she made me a rather unpleasant revelation"

"Sit here with me and let's talk" she had reached out to take her hand, but her intent was in vain as the other girl did not want to be touched in the least.

"I don't want to sit down and I'd like to keep my distance. I'll ask you only once: is there something you need to tell me?"

Mina's dull gaze and serious voice had immobilized the girl taller than her, to the point of making her look like a wax statue with attention to every detail "what did she tell you?" the fear of having to face the speech she so much wanted to avoid was making her head spin.

"You could tell me since you definitely know more than me, after all I'm just the object of your whims" she seemed totally another person, demonstrating that pain really leads to sudden changes.

"She told you about the bet"

"Yeah, one thing you should have told me from the start"

"I never cared about winning against her, I didn't even want the money she proposed herself. I only accepted to get her out of my way, you have to believe me"

Mina was intimidating and fragile at the same time "you didn't care, but you still made sure to have with me within the time established to win. What a coincidence"

"It was just a coincidence, I really mean it. If I wanted to win and that was it I would have jumped on you at the first opportunity, don't you think? It would have been much more comfortable for everyone"

"By now I expect everything, I honestly don't know what to think anymore"

"Listen, I know it's hard to believe, but my intentions have always been sincere. I liked you a lot and I talked to Chae about it to be honest, but she persisted with this bet and I couldn't help but accept" she had tried to approach, without any success "I never thought of using you for my ego, the love I have for you is the purest feeling I have ever felt since I can remember"

"So why didn't you tell me about it? I would have believed you" the tears that she had been holding back were sliding quickly down her cheeks "I trusted you enough to give you my heart and you were just playing"

Tzuyu was crying with her "I didn't say it because I was afraid of losing you, I hoped you didn't know just to avoid suffering. I never wanted to see you cry for this bull"

"Lies always come out, a wise person like you should know" she was wiping her face with both hands "why do I always fall in love with the wrong person?"

"I love you, do you understand? I really love you" she hugged her to comfort her and not to fall apart herself "I would like to spend my life with you, you are not a stupid bet for me. Believe me, please"

"I can't do it, who knows how much fun you have had behind my back. Now leave me, I don't want to stay here a second longer"

Tzuyu's arms didn't want to loosen the grip "absolutely not, I want you to feel my love since you can't believe my words"

"If you really care about me let me go, I don't want you to touch me"

"Okay, but don't go away" she released the embrace very slowly, immediately feeling her absence "don't cry, it's nothing"

"But for me it's everything. For you it may seem the most stupid and insignificant thing in the world, but the whole universe is collapsing on me and I will not allow you to belittle what I feel. I was not the one who bet on you then you have no right to make fun of my feelings"

"I'm not going to belittle what you feel, I just want to make you understand that it's all a misunderstanding"

Mina had sniffed "between the two of us it ends here, I can't trust a person who takes certain things so lightly" said those words she went away closing the door softly, leaving a Tzuyu in tears behind. 

Hearing her heart explode into a thousand bloody pieces had been traumatic for the brunette, who had turned off her cell phone so as not to be disturbed by anyone while she was hiding in a bar drinking to chase away at least a minimum the feeling of being slowly dying and painfully. Tzuyu, on the other hand, didn't want to stay still.