It’s that time of the year again when the members constantly go on tour overseas. Whether it is for a concert or for a fanmeeting. Most of the time, they have their solo rooms but the management had some mishaps with the room reservations so they had to pick a pairing to go to each room.

They’re now in the hotel’s lobby, struggling to choose who should room with who.

“How about we do it the same way we used to? By age?” Jihyo said.

“No way. I don’t want to room with Jeongyeon.” Nayeon protested.

“Like I want to be roommates with you, you’re so loud” Jeongyeon said before sticking her tongue out.

“I want the only solo room,” Dahyun said.

“Dibs on Chaeyoung!” Sana and Tzuyu shouted at the same time.

Jihyo hushed everyone and thought of a pretty fair solution

“Alright, everyone shut up for a sec! Here’s a fair idea. The rooms have 2 keys each so when it’s given to us, just pick whatever key is handed without looking. Obviously, the roommates will be decided by your chosen keys. No switching!”

Some members exclaimed with disappointment, some agreed but they can’t do anything anymore since they don’t want to waste their time either.

“Whoever Jeongyeon’s roommate will be, please be careful,” Nayeon teases.

“Oh shut up, Im Nayeon. I am well behaved.” Jeongyeon said while pushing Nayeon aside.

“Tell that to the 8 girls who flooded my messages last year after our US trip. ‘Can you please tell Jeong to message me back?’ ‘ Do you know where Jeongie is because she hasn’t replied after last night?’ ‘I love Jeongyeon, please tell her I’ll give her everything even if she’ll treat me as her sla-’

Jeongyeon hurriedly covered Nayeon’s mouth, “I told you to shut up. That was a year ago. I am different now.”

Their banter gets cut off when the keys are handed to them. They started picking out the keys without looking. The members started to look around for their roommates. Jeongyeon was the last one to pick a key. She got Room 133.

“I got the solo room.” Jeongyeon said.

“Huh? What room number did you get, because I got the solo room. Room 313.” Jihyo protested.

“I thought Room 133 is the solo room? I'm confused.” Jeongyeon said while scratching her head.

Jeongyeon then felt a tug on her jacket. She looked behind and she saw Mina holding her key up to her face.

“Jeongyeon-chan, we’re roommates.” Mina said with a smile.

“Oh. okay okay. I’m sorry, Minari.”

“It’s okay.” Mina giggled and shrugged her shoulders.

“Wait… Mina’s with Jeongyeon? Oh-” Nayeon caught everyone’s attention.

“Oh oh.” most members said almost in sync.

“Hays. shut up guys. I told you, that was a long time ago. You can even check on us, whatever helps you sleep at night.” Jeongyeon said then sighed.

They were rushed by their managers to settle quickly because they have to get ready soon. Their event is scheduled the same day at night. All they did was drop off their things in their rooms and rushed back to the arena to prep for the event.

Their event today is a fan meeting. They performed a few songs, did some games, etc. One of the tasks was to tell the person beside you what you wanted to tell them. It was all fun and games, Tzuyu did Chaeyoung, Chaeyoung did Jeongyeon, and it’s now time for Jeongyeon to tell Mina her message.

“Minari, you’re so pretty. If I'm born again, I'd like you to be my wife in my next life. I want to see your beautiful face every morning when I wake up” Jeongyeon said and then laughed.

It’s not something Jeongyeon usually says, not ever. Most members were caught off guard by this but they laughed at how ridiculous it sounded coming from Jeongyeon.

Mina panicked deep inside so she didn’t know much what to say.

“I thought Nayeon was your wife?”

Nayeon jokingly threatened to punch Jeongyeon and everyone laughed.

The event continued with other games and performances. It was a long night. It was fun but tiring as well. After the fanmeeting, their service came right away. Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, and Chaeyoung were in the same van while Sana, Mina, Dahyun, and Tzuyu were in the other.

As usual, Nayeon would still have the energy to tease Jeongyeon.

“So, you wanna wife Mina up?”

Everyone laughed. Jihyo even pinched Jeongyeon’s sides.

“Yeah, why not?” Jeongyeon said.

The laugh died down so quickly. The other members were looking at each other, like asking non-verbally if they heard the same thing.

“Are you high? I don’t know you. Who are you?” Momo said while touching Jeongyeon’s forehead, checking for her temperature.

“The Jeongyeon who never wants a commitment, the Jeongyeon who never had a relationship but had hundreds of one night stands, talking about marriage?” Nayeon is almost lost for words.

“Oh shhh. It’s not like I’m going to do it. I’m tired. I just want to sleep.” Jeongyeon said while the other members still kept glancing at each other.

After a few minutes on the road, they’re all back in their rooms. Some members went to shower and some ate first. For Jeongyeon and Mina, Mina went in the shower first. Jeongyeon played some games while waiting for Mina to finish so they could eat together.

“I’m done showering. Do you want to shower first before we eat or..” Mina asked while drying her hair with a towel.

“We can eat first. I’m sure you’re hungry too. Just tell me if you’re bothered by my smell”

“Not at all. You always smell good.”

Mina was surprised by what came out of her but she just hoped Jeongyeon wouldn't take it too seriously but obviously she did. Jeongyeon was caught off guard but didn’t want it to be awkward so she just shrugged it off.

They finished eating and went to tidy things up before Jeongyeon hit the showers. As she brushes her teeth, she keeps reminiscing about everything that has happened within the day. She’s just as confused as everyone else but maybe it all makes sense somehow.

She used to go out every night, finding girls to hook up with but no feelings were involved at all. She didn’t want commitments, she didn’t want any strings attached because she didn’t want responsibilities that come with relationships. To her, being in a relationship is a waste of time. She didn’t want anyone asking for her time when she barely has time for herself. At the same time, she’s not scared to love compared to how everyone else portrays her to be. How can she be scared of something she hasn’t encountered even once in her life?

But last year, everything just stopped. Going out to parties, sleeping with different girls, even flirting; because one morning was like a snap of fate.

__

She always goes out in the afternoon and then comes back in the afternoon the day after for almost everyday. She barely sleeps in their apartment anymore because of her lifestyle, but that morning, they had a radio guesting by 11am so she had to come home at 7am to have enough time to prepare.

She still has her usual light hangover when she entered their apartment. Jihyo and Mina live with her. First thing she saw was Jihyo on the couch barely awake, waiting for her coffee. Mina was probably making coffee for the both of them so she had to look for Mina.

She saw Mina standing by the kitchen counter cooking for breakfast. She called her to ask if she could make some for her as well.

Mina turned to her and it was like a movie. Everything was so slow, the strands of her hair were floating as she turned her head to face Jeongyeon while the corners of slowly curved into a smile.

“Wow she’s so beautiful” Jeongyeon said in her head.

“Jeongyeon-chan? Did you hear me? I said if you want an egg too or just coffee?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Just coffee would be amazing, thank you.”

Their day continued, they went to their radio guesting and did the usual idol activities. All the members were having fun but Jeongyeon wasn’t herself at all. Mina’s image kept rewinding in her head like a movie scene. She hasn’t looked at Mina like that ever before so she’s confused as to why this is happening to her.

That day became days, then weeks, then months. She tried avoiding Mina and even led to her staying with her sister for a few weeks but Mina still hasn’t left her mind. That’s when the going out stopped. Everything involved in her past lifestyle stopped.

But she kept shrugging it off. It was nothing.

___

Jeongyeon shook her head to make herself stop thinking about what happened before. She knows she can’t. She knows it won’t be good, not for her but for Mina.

She finished doing her night routine and dried her hair. She came out of the shower quickly to prepare for bed. She then noticed Mina was already sound asleep so she moved quietly. As she lays down on her own bed, she notices Mina was laying down facing her. She can see her face clearly.

Her hair tucked in behind her ears, squished by her arm almost looking like a pout, her moles are clearly visible. Jeongyeon can’t help but to admire this beauty in front of her. As she smiled, she also felt a pain in her chest.

“I can’t. It’s not good for her..” she whispers to herself.

At that moment, Jeongyeon knows and understands what she feels. She knew that this was it. She has never looked at a girl so wholesomely like how she looks at Mina.

But with her history, Mina will never see her that way.

She’s not scared to love, not even now, she’s just scared that she might hurt the person she loves.

“Maybe in my next life, I will do better. In that lifetime, I will do my best to pursue you.”

FIN.