Momo slowly opens her eyes as her heart feels heavy, taking a trip down the memory train has never been something she likes much, it just reminds her of how far down she has fallen

 

She looks at the clock again and can see that it's only been an hour, which means there's an hour left to pick up Tzuyu

 

She prepares to leave the house, but not before bowing and apologizing to the photo of Chaeyoung on the wall. She prefers to rest in the park before memories come back and remind her what a horrible person she is

 

*****************

 

Time passes quickly and Momo is already in front of the school waiting for Tzuyu

 

"Always punctual as always Momo-ya" 

 

Sana doesn't miss the opportunity to try to talk to her, but since Chaeyoung's death things have not been the same, sometimes they meet on weekends but the atmosphere is not the same, it feels incomplete and sometimes it just serves as a reminder that one of them is gone

 

"I don't want Tzuyu to think I forgot about her"  Sana smiles at her and walks over to hold her hand, it's an old habit she has 

 

"You love her very much, don't you?"  

 

That question caught her off guard, but try to act normal

 

"Maybe... I just take care of her while Mina works" Sana frowns and realizes she made the wrong move 

 

"That doesn't stop you from loving her, it's normal to get attached to someone by spending a lot of time with her"

 

Momo knows it's a comment harmless and true, but she can't help but get defensive 

 

"I'm not her mom, I have to set some limits" Sana is ready to refute but she cuts her off 

 

"I don't want to talk about it Sana, please" 

 

Sana looks confused, but agrees the request and remain silent

 

Fortunately for her, the exit bell rings and she can see Tzuyu and Dahyun walking side by side. Dahyun sees them and grabs Tzuyu by the wrist as she quickly runs to her mother

 

"Mommy! Mommy!" Momo can't help but smile, that girl is very energetic and cute

 

"Tomorrow is the day of parents and children, the teacher said that the parents have to come to play with us!" Dahyun smiled as she let go of Tzuyu and jumped into her mother's arms 

 

"You will be able to come, right?"  

 

The girl had puppy dog ​​eyes and a pout on her lips, the girl knew exactly what she was doing, she has so much in common with her mother and Momo doesn't know whether to feel, pride or terror

 

"Of course baby, your mommy and I are going to come and play with you" Dahyun smiled so big that Momo was afraid that her face was going to deform 

 

"Yey!! Thanks Mommy!"  

 

Her gaze lingered on the scene a little longer than she would like to accept, she always thought that Sana was going to be an excellent mother and she was not wrong

 

A smaller hand on hers brought her back to reality and she could see Tzuyu staring at her

 

"Oh, sorry, you must be hungry" The girl shook her head and spread her arms 

 

"I want you to carry me" 

 

Say that Momo was surprised would be an understatement 

 

"A-Are you sure? What happened to being a 'big girl'?"  The girl turned to see Sana and Dahyun, who were looking at them with a smile 

 

"I'm sure, carry me" 

 

Momo felt that this was too much, she was intruding too much, but she still accepted the girl's request and took her in her arms 

 

"Are you comfortable?"  The girl nodded and hid her face between her neck and her shoulder

 

Momo shifted her attention to Sana and Dahyun, and she didn't miss her best friend's gaze

 

"Well, I must go cook now, see you tomorrow"  Momo was about to turn around when Sana spoke

 

"Listen to your heart, Momoring"

 

Momo clenched her jaw and hurried to say goodbye to get home, it wasn't worth thinking about those things

 

**************

 

Momo was quite confused with Tzuyu's behavior, the girl should be watching her TV show right now, but instead the girl followed her to the kitchen and has been watching her since she started preparing the meal

 

"Are you alright Tzu?"  

 

Momo doesn't want to sound awkward, but the girl's behavior is really confusing her. Tzuyu nodded as she continued to watch Momo cut the vegetables. She thought that maybe the girl was curious about the kitchen 

 

"Do you want to help me prepare the food?"  The girl smiled widely and nodded.  Momo couldn't help but imitate her 

 

"Okay, then... come here" 

 

Tzuyu quickly approached and Momo  taught her how to bread the chicken and how to put the vegetables on the plate, something simple for her and that she could do with confidence and without any risk

 

"Look Auntie, I did it!" 

 

Tzuyu looked very happy, but Momo couldn't help but think about the domesticity of the situation, something that should only be between parents and children  

 

"Alright Tzu, now-"  Before she could continue, they heard the familiar click of keys and the girl bolted to the main door

 

Mina sighed in relief as she changed from her heels to her slippers 

 

"Mommy!, Mommy!, Aunt Momo is teaching me how to cook" Tzuyu took her mom's hand and dragged her into the kitchen in a hurry. The girl pointed to the plate with vegetables and stuck out her chest, proud of what she had done 

 

"I did that mommy!" Mina smiled at her daughter's emotion and kissed her cheeks

 

"You're so good honey, I'm proud of you" Tzuyu smiled widely before kissing her mom back

 

Momo felt so out of place, this scene was so familiar and her heart began to burn again, guilt, remorse and all the unspoken emotions hitting her again.  But she repressed them with determination and finished the meal in silence

 

"Hello to you too Momo" She nodded softly 

 

"Hello Mina, I hope you had a good day" Although her words were soft, they lacked emotion

 

"Actually yes, you know people love her paintings, but we'll need to add new things to keep people interested" Momo nodded absently, but she could see Mina fixing her sleeves and tying up her hair

 

"What are you doing?"  Mina looked at her confused 

 

"I'll help you prepare the food?"  Although Mina wanted to say a statement, it ended up coming off as a question. Momo grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her out of the kitchen 

 

"That's not going to happen, now go change and get some rest" Mina looked at her with the eyes of a kicked puppy but Momo resisted 

 

"I'm not arguing this" Mina sighed, but smiled softly at her 

 

"Okay... thank you very much Momo"

 

****************

 

Tzuyu told her mom about her day whit Mina reacting to her daughter's stories while Momo ate in silence 

 

"The teacher said tomorrow is parent-child day, she said it's going to be a lot of fun and there are going to be lots of games... Dahyunnie is going to go with Aunt Sana and Aunt Jihyo" Tzuyu looked expectantly at her mother and Mina smiled 

 

"Okay then I'll go with you darling, I'll ask someone to take over for tomorrow" Tzuyu jumped up from her chair and hugged her mother with the biggest smile she's ever seen

 

Tzuyu returned to her chair and fixed her gaze on the Alpha in the room

 

"And is Aunt Momo going too?"  

 

Momo almost choked on the diced vegetables and Mina had confusion written all over her face

 

Tzuyu walked over to her and showed her puppy dog ​​eyes 

 

"You're going to come with us tomorrow, right?"  Momo felt her heart racing, she didn't have the courage to look at Mina

 

"W-Well, remember it's fathers and sons day, it's not Aunt's day Tzu" The girl pouted 

 

"But my other mom hasn't come back from heaven..." Momo felt her breath hitch, her hands were sweating and her heart was pounding

 

"T-Tzuyu, I-" 

 

"C-Calm down Tzuyu, Aunt Momo will go with us" 

 

Momo looked up completely in shock and could see Mina crying silently as tears came out of her eyes but a smile was plastered on her lips. Tzuyu walked over to her and wiped away her tears with her little hands 

 

"Don't cry mommy, why are you crying?"  Mina hugged Tzuyu and kissed her head 

 

"Because I have a very beautiful daughter" The Omega separated a bit and kissed her forehead 

 

"Now go do your homework baby, I have to plan tomorrow with Aunt Momo" Tzuyu nodded with a smile and ran to her room

 

Momo felt like she was drowning in the silence that filled the room

 

"I always knew that Tzuyu missed her mom, but I was always afraid to ask..." Mina smiled bitterly

 

"I am the most cowardly person in the world"  

 

It looks like you don't know me

 

Momo swallowed the lump in and approached to comfort the Omega 

 

"That's not true Mina" She took one of her hands and made her look into her eyes 

 

"Look at me... you are one of the strongest women I have ever met" 

 

"But-" 

 

"When Chaeyoung was absent, you were always there for Tzuyu, even when you had a thousand fears and a thousand doubts, you always managed to get ahead" Mina managed to smile a little but still cried 

 

"You are not a coward Mina, you are the bravest person I have ever known" The Omega lunged forward and the Alpha let her cry 

 

"T-Thank you Momo, t-thank you very much"

 

Mina managed to recover little by little and Momo let her take as much time as she wanted, she knows when a situation is a priority and at this moment, it's Mina, not her fears

 

"You know, I'm not as brave as you think..." Momo looked at her confused 

 

"If I've managed to get ahead, it's because I've never been alone" Mina took a deep breath and smiled 

 

"Thank you for being there for me Mo" 

 

It's not true, I'm just taking advantage of the situation

 

Momo smiled slightly and nodded 

 

"Well... about tomorrow, you don't have to worry about that... you and Tzuyu can go, I'll tell Sana and Jihyo to get together and-" Mina placed a hand over and silenced her 

 

"What are you saying Momo?"  

 

The Alpha felt her face heat up from the proximity and she moved away a little 

 

"I-I don't think my presence there is a good idea" Mina frowned 

 

"Why not?"  

 

Because I love you and I need to take care of my heart 

 

"B-Because I'm not Tzuyu's mom?"  Momo tried to sound forceful, but her nerves betrayed her 

 

"That's true, but Tzuyu wants you to be there, she has taken a lot of affection for you and... I wouldn't be surprised if she already thinks of you as a second mother" Those words felt like a bucket of cold water

 

What?

 

"W-What do you mean?"  Mina met her eyes and smiled

 

"I'm not stupid Momo, Tzuyu can't sleep without the penguin you gave her" 

 

"O-Only because it reminds her of you" Momo got defensive, trying to push away stupid thoughts but Mina laughed and showed that (beautiful) smile

 

"Momo, I've given her ten thousand penguin cuddly toys and she only sleeps with yours..." Momo was about to protest 

 

"Besides, it's obvious that she loves you very much... I'm not going to push her away of you when she's that happy, she talks a lot about you when you go to work" 

 

And what about you?

 

Why do you accept it so easily?  

 

Momo wanted to say more, fight even, because this is so unfair

 

Mina smiles so softly at her and let her get closer to her daughter, while her head fills with thoughts that shouldn't be there

 

"O-Okay, if that makes her happy..." 

 

Mina smiles at her again and hugs her like it's nothing

 

As if her heart isn't racing and breathing becomes difficult

 

Unfair

 

Myoui Mina is so unfair

 

Pathetic

 

Always so pathetic

.

.

.

 

To be continued...