"Let me understand, you had and you mentioned your ex? What's in your brain, dead midges?" Katarina's eyes were so wide open to give the impression that they could fall at any moment "and you also came to seek my approval, you have a really good face"

Chaeyoung was very nervous "you are my twin, who else should I go to and confide in?"

"You should count on me of course, but one thing is to ask for advice and another is to affirm with certainty that you have been wronged. Mina may have used harsh words, but you were no better than her, quite the contrary"

"Is it possible that you, my sister, always have to take sides with her? Is it so difficult to try to understand what I am feeling?"

Katarina let out a sigh, then took the hand of the pink-haired girl to make her feel some comfort "Chae, you know that I love you with all my heart and that I would never want to argue with you, but you have to understand that if you're wrong it's right for someone to point it out to you and, as much as I hate to admit it, you were very wrong. Mina was really down in the dumps, I had never seen her like this"

Chaeyoung also sighed, much louder than her twin to emphasize how annoyed she was, and took her hand away from her sister's to bite her nails "I can't help it if the things we do or talk about remind me of my ex. I like Mina a lot, but for now I don't think I'm in love with her"

"Sometimes I wonder if you are stupid because you make certain speeches that border on total deficiency" she had put a hand to her forehead, ready for the headache that would soon come to her "you have just met and it's normal do not immediately experience overwhelming feelings"

"For you and Jeongyeon it was like that, I remember very well your first meeting when we moved to the new school. You fell in love from the first moment and, apart from those few days when you broke up, you were never one without the other"

"We were lucky, that's all"

Chaeyoung finally sought the gaze of her twin, showing angry "you've always had a blatant luck in anything and I can't stand it"

At those words Katarina's smile, who was lost in the first memories with Jeongyeon, disappeared immediately "I had a lot of problems too and what you said is really bad of you"

"You were the best in school, so much so that you graduated with honors, and you got your driver's license on the first try. You got a girlfriend when you were still a high school and you're still lousy in love with her. You have a respectable job and everywhere you go you are loved by everyone" her hostility was obvious at that point "you always had everything you wanted, you were the princess of the house in need of attention because of bad health. Poor baby"

The blonde's vision was blurred with tears forming in her eyes "I've always rolled up my sleeves to get to where I am now and you know very well that we had to change schools twice due to the bullying I was subjected to every day"

"The fact remains that you have always been everyone's favorite, even for our parents"

"That's not true, you know we received the same treatment. You speak like this only because you are angry about the things I said" her cheeks were streaked with tears that she couldn't hold back "you.. do you hate me?"

The answer from her twin came after several seconds of silence "sometimes yes, I can't help but hate you and feel disgust"

"Enough now, I've heard enough of your bull and I'm fed up" Jeongyeon had joined them in the living room to grab her wrist "get up and leave my house or I'll have to kick your "

Katarina tried to get in the way "Jeong, it's no use.."

"I beg your pardon, I know that you are more sorry for what I am doing than for the things this immature person told you, but this house is mine too and until she changes her attitude I do not want her to set foot in it. Chaeyoung, I am saying calmly, go away"

The pink-haired girl walked away with her head down, aware that she had exaggerated but too proud to admit it, leaving Jeongyeon to deal with her twin's broken heart.

"She said those things with the purpose of hurting you, it is obvious that she doesn't hate you" the brunette was quick to hug her girlfriend, not failing to give her tender kisses on the head "she knows very well how much you have suffered and fought to be the one you are and she is also aware that she has had the road smoothed thanks to you. I hope she realizes the mistake she made and that she apologizes properly or I will tear off all her colored hair with the highlighter"

Katarina had laughed at that joke, even if the tears had not stopped their descent on her cheeks.

That sunny day, although the breeze was quite cold, was perfect for a hike and the three season ticket holders were enjoying a short break. Their lunch consisted of simple sandwiches, but Sana's happiness hadn't wavered even after taking a bite of that bland bread.

Dahyun had given her a small smile "I already know everything, so if you want to talk I will gladly listen to you"

"Did I miss something?" Jihyo had raised her eyebrows, moving hwr gaze between the two younger girls "spit the toad, it's not fair that I am always the last to know the news"

"Tzuyu and I are officially together" Sana's cheeks were redder than her hair and her stupid smile completed that picture of love "she is suddenly more likeable and beautiful in my eyes, is that normal in your opinion?"

The brunette gave her a light shoulder, giggling "look how she is in love with the person she considered a nuisance, and to think that for days you have been denying that you are interested in her"

"From hate comes love, it is well known" even Dahyun was having fun teasing their friend "and trust that your feelings are well hidden, Tzuyu does nothing but think about you and it is almost annoying to hear her talk about you all the time"

"We accepted a project to be carried out together and I can't wait to start" her eyes were brighter than ever, totally different from the coldness they used to convey "we will have to spend a lot of time together to complete it, we have to paint a rather large canvas"

The younger was unable to hold back a mischievous smile "I bet that most of the hours you will be together will not be dedicated to your project"

Given the unexpected allusion, the water Sana was drinking ended up on the lawn in front of her "did it seem like the time to say such a thing? I could have choked instead of spitting and it wouldn't have been a good sight"

"But that didn't happen, so don't act angry and just agree with me" she took a bite of the chocolate bar she had brought from home, making sure to give a piece to her friends too.

Jihyo also seemed particularly in the mood to joke "it is natural to want to dedicate time to the couple too, there are not only tasks in life"

Sana seemed to light up with her own light "Tzuyu is calling me and please don't say anything embarrassing" she replied with a radiant smile, even changing tone of voice to a softer one and tracing circles in the earth in a distracted way.

However, as innocent as that phone call was, Dahyun had wasted no time making jokes that were inappropriate to the context, motivated by Jihyo's constant laughter and the redhead's flushed face.

Despite the contagious joy transmitted by those three, Dahyun and Jihyo were anything but happy: the first, as much as she was trying to forget, was madly in love with Sharon, as well as destroyed by the latest events; the second was heartbroken for someone she shouldn't even have considered in a way that went beyond friendship.

The return from work was not the best for Sally due to the strong smell of burning that had filled her nostrils even before setting foot in the apartment "what the hell happened here? Nayeon?"

She had run into the kitchen to check what was causing that stench, finding her girlfriend sitting on the floor in front of the oven, the blackened pan in front of her and a spatula gripped between her fingers and the palm of her hand.

The other girl was immediately reassured to see that everything was under control "what is it?"

"It must have been a chocolate donut, but I was too busy with housework and I forgot to check the cooking" she was trying to scrape the burnt off the pan, visibly annoyed by what had happened. She hated spoiling sweets as it was the only thing she thought she could do decently.

Sally sat in the chair, watching her girlfriend in silence for a few seconds and noticing a burn on her hand "you hurt yourself. You should have called me, I would have stopped to buy some ointment"

"There would have been no need, I was quick to put my hand under the cold water. I think I better throw everything away, now there is nothing to save" she got up, going to throw the pan into the rubbish "I'll buy a new one, don't worry. Maybe it would be good to buy a new spatula too"

"Now can I check your hand? I just want to make sure you're okay"

"No, you can't do it and I warn you that your attempts to soften me will be useless from now on" Nayeon's hurt gaze was still there, a clear sign that the bad words that had previously been addressed to her were a cause of pain constant.

Sally was running her hands through her hair "Nay, I already apologized and I did everything I could to make up for it. If there is anything else I can do for you tell me and I will, I don't want us to stay like this, it makes me suffer"

"You keep putting yourself first even in situations that don't concern you. It was you who spit bad things on me and such a reaction on my part was inevitable, don't you think?"

"So it seems excessive and immature to me, but what the hell are you doing? Not even kindergarten kids behave in this childish way, act like an adult for once"

Nayeon had stood still, her eyes on her girlfriend's "you're insulting me again and, at this point, I'm sure you would do it on many other occasions. Your problem is that if things don't go your way you want to you turn into another person and I was a fool to understand it just now. You have held me in your clutches for all these years, you made fun of me by taking advantage of the fact that I did not notice and, as if that weren't enough, you often made sure to make me feel insignificant and my course of study confirms this"

"I don't understand where you would like to go with this very articulate speech"

"I mean you just gave me confirmation that I made the right decision. I've already brought my things to my dad's house and I'm leaving today, I'm just sorry I can't leave a cake for Tzuyu"

Sally's hands immediately sought those of the older, holding them tightly before kneeling in front of her "please, you can't leave me and throw away all these years of love"

"I'm not throwing them away because I will always keep them in my heart, but the person I am seeing now is not the one I fell in love with and I prefer to suffer for a while and then be free to remain locked in a cage of pain"

"Do you realize what you are saying? If you leave me what will we tell Tzuyu? She is still a little girl and she would suffer a lot"

What Sally had just pressed was Nayeon's sore spot, who was holding back to keep from crying "she's a smart girl and I'm sure she'll understand that sometimes feelings just aren't enough to keep two people together. We will all go our own way, that's right"

She freed herself from her grip, walking away with a heavy step: she loved the family she had built with Sally, their routine and the little things they used to share, but the tiredness of not being able to be herself had finally got the better of that suffocating love story.