Two months later...

“Do you really think I can debut?”

The question comes out of the blue and it catches Momo like a deer in headlights.

“Where’s this coming from, Sana? You were just telling me you’re going to make it during our lesson last night. Where’s the optimism?”

Minatozaki Sana is already known as the cheerful trainee, her personality growing on the coaches at the speed of light. She doesn’t try too hard to put on a façade and most of the time, the smile is to keep herself going. Whenever the trainees near her start losing their confidence, Sana moves to comfort and encourage them; they’ve all made it too far to look back at the past.  Debut is right before their very eyes if everything goes well and no major mistakes are made... even with Joohyun’s doubts. In fact, her positivity balances out the negativity Joohyun tends to carry all the time.

For the first time in a while, Sana’s tears reveal themselves to a person that isn’t Joohyun or her family. “Miss Hirai, it’s tiring to be happy... but I try because if I stop, I don’t know when I’ll be able to stay strong again.”

Momo visibly flinches at the formality and sighs, – she thought Sana dropped the terms ever since that night – they’re not even in the company of other trainees or coaches. “Oh, honey. It’s okay to cry and it’s okay to stop being happy all the time, Sana... Knowing when to reveal your feelings is when you’re at your strongest, trust me. I’ve been there too, and I’m still finding my way out to managing my own strength.” Momo places a hand on Sana’s back, giving the latter comforting pats. She would envelope her in the tightest hug if they were anywhere else but the company but this will have to suffice for now.

Sana’s head bows even lower at the advice, her chest tightening uncomfortably at the overwhelming emotions. Her hands are tightly clasped against her legs, burrowing her face impossibly deeper into her sweatpants.

“Come here.”

Before Sana can look up or wonder what Momo said, she’s grabbed by the shoulder and pulled into awaiting arms.

“If you need to cry, I’m here.”

It’s the first time Sana lets herself go, the water dams opening within a single minute of being engulfed in Momo’s warm embrace. The soft sobs come first with a bit of sniffling, fingernails still digging into the back of her own hands; then the medium volumed ones where Sana starts to lift her head... and the most painful, heart-breaking wails Momo has ever heard in these walls. She turns just enough to wrap her arms around Momo’s neck, effectively crying into the crook of her neck. As inappropriate as this is, Sana needs this and Momo is not moving another limb.

Momo carefully scans the surrounding, stealing several glances at the door. Once the coast is clear, she quickly bends to press her lips against the crown of Sana’s head. “It’s okay... just cry, Sana.”

The door to the dance studio creaks open right as Momo moves her face away and her heart skips a beat, almost getting a at the thought of someone catching them in this compromising position. When it’s Seungwan that appears, Momo feels a wave of relief sweep over her.

“What’s wrong?” Seungwan mouths, eyes wide with worry. “Did you bully her?”

Flashing the middle finger at Seungwan, Momo shakes her head and mouths ‘I’ll tell you later” before coming her fingers through Sana’s hair. She doesn’t even bother waiting to watch Seungwan leave, still hugging Sana to her chest. The kind of vulnerability so hidden away that people probably don’t ever expect to see Sana like this; it’s quite sad for a person to keep pretending for fear they might break down one day. It can look mildly hypocritical because Momo too has difficulty being open with her emotions but she doesn’t want Sana to be in the same position, not if she can help it.

On the other hand, Sana’s face is completely squished against Momo’s sweater and she’s absolutely sure her cheeks are flushed in embarrassment. It’s one thing to eventually lose composure and break down but in front of her dance coach? In front of a crucial character that can affect her debut?

“I can feel you mumbling incoherent words to yourself, Minatozaki Sana.”

“Miss Hirai, you’re so comfy.”  

“You don’t have to call me that when we’re alone, you know that. I told you to drop the formalities because I know you don’t call me that way when you’re dreaming and don’t even lie, I’ve heard you talk and curse at me in your sleep.”

If Sana was already flushed after crying, her body temperature is ascending without control... that night changed the trajectory of things.

“That was a stupid decision. Don’t ever do that again.”

“Sorry, Miss Hirai...” Sana pouts, cuddling one of the spare pillows. She’s extremely thankful that her dance coach took the initiative to bring her back here. “I just wanted to keep improving. We don’t have the luxury of making mistakes and learning without a hitch, you know that.”

Momo holds the urge to scold the trainee harshly; the latter does have a strong point after all. Being an idol means having your actions magnified to the greatest level and it can go very badly with time. If Sana is so worried about making mistakes on stage, then Momo will do her best to support and coach her along the way – but not at the expense of her health – but that’s a conversation for another day.

Sana tucks her hair behind her ear, looking uncharacteristically bashful. “Thank you for bringing me back.”

“Of course… It’s not like I can let my favourite trainee just faint and not do anything, right?”

The instant those words leave Momo’s lips, she curses herself inwardly. It’s so dangerous becoming comfortable around Sana… this bout of honesty can get them both in trouble. From the neck up, she turns so pink that she resembles a peach and coincidentally, Sana notices that’s exactly what her name means. Maybe a little bit scandalous, maybe a little bit over-the-top to be proud of this but Momo’s original impression being that Sana can’t dance is clearly long gone. Pursuing her dreams have always been in Sana’s life plans, but meeting Momo certainly wasn’t expected.

“I’m your favourite, huh?”

“Shut up. I’ll get you some water and medicine.”

The door slams shut so hard that Sana jumps, though she’s thoroughly amused by how easily Momo gets riled up. One thing both their vocal and dance coaches have in common is that once the walls come down, their charming personalities start revealing themselves. All Sana can think about is Momo taking care of her; perhaps things can progress after the competition is over.

“Here.”

Sana pushes herself up and rests against the headboard. “Thanks... How did you know where to find these? I didn’t even know we had any.”

Momo just shrugs the question off, unwilling to reveal that she stopped by the pharmacy whilst Sana was sleeping soundly in the car. It certainly helps that the younger woman sleeps like she’s dead so Momo could just sneak off for five minutes. Taking another step forward, Momo completely misjudges the distance between where she’s standing and the carpet beside the bed...

Because she ends up stepping on it and slipping forward with flailing arms...

Her very own lips pressed against a pair of pillowy soft ones.

What is unexpected about it all is Sana not pushing her away with a scream, but closing her eyes and moving her lips.

“S-Sana…”

There is no coherent response from Sana, the younger woman’s hand simply moving up to cup Momo’s cheek. She has no idea what the she’s doing with her dance coach but God, this moment between them feels so right and she doesn't want it to stop. Momo, however, is in a huge dilemma – one, push Sana away and run from the dorms right now or two, continue kissing Sana and keep their little... connection a secret till Sana’s either out of the competition or finished with her produce group.

“Wait, wait… you're sick and you're supposed to be resting. That’s why I brought you back.” Momo says breathlessly. She places her hand upon Sana’s forehead, frowning when she notices how warm it is. “Take your medicine now.”

Sana mumbles out an ‘I will, mom’ in frustration, more annoyed at how Momo just stopped kissing her to say that. She was expecting a life-threatening situation with how firm Momo’s grip on her waist was. The next time something like this happens and Momo stops again, Sana’s going to squeeze her cheeks so hard…. wait, Momo again? Who even says they’re going to be kissing in the future when this is Momo's reaction, or lack thereof?

That’s annoying.

“Are we just going to pretend that I didn’t have your tongue in my mouth?” Sana huffs.

“SANA!”

Momo pinches the bridge of her nose, eyes squeezing shut at the question. She still doesn't know what to do about it but it’s very clear… Sana is also attracted to her. “Look, you're a trainee and I'm your dance coach. I could be fired and you could be kicked out right away, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

Sana’s grip on the pillow tightens, nostrils flaring at how upset she's feeling. “Then why didn’t you stop me at once? Why did you let me kiss you back? If it’s so wrong to you, why did you return it?”

“I don’t think it’s wrong. I don’t think it’s a mistake either, Sana.” Momo whispers.

The dance coach sits down beside Sana on the bed, her hand reaching for the trainee's. What’s the point of pretending that Sana didn’t grasp her attention from the get-go? Sure, it breaks almost every single rule in her contract with the company but morally, there’s nothing wrong. They’re not an adult and a minor, much less anything worse than that combination. It is, however, crazy to even think about it but Momo, starting her dance career at such a young age and Sana delaying her audition due to lack of courage and promise to finish school... no wonder they’re the same age.

“I don’t want to jeopardize your budding career, and I’m certainly not going to lose my job so we have to keep it secret for an indefinite amount of time... and I don’t know if you’re up for that.”

Well, it’s not like the worry is uncalled for.

The media are ready to pounce at any time, whether it’s a trainee or a professional. Although one can say they’re merely doing their jobs, these very people also voluntarily choose a profession whereby crossing boundaries and invasion of privacy is a norm. Momo hasn’t been targeted personally, but they’re one of the reasons why Seungwan stepped down as an idol and that is enough for her to detest them. To make things worse, they expect companies to shut their mouths with large amounts of money or else they’ll publish news anyway. What about trainees who are just starting out?

Momo has no respect for them.

“I wouldn’t dream of you losing your job because of me anyway...” Sana mumbles, playing with Momo’s fingers.  “I have so much to accomplish still and I will debut, whether it’s with the produce group or solo. I will find a way.”

If Momo wasn’t already attracted to Sana from the very beginning, she would be intrigued by the sheer determination in the latter’s eyes.

“Let’s just go with the flow, okay?”

And go with the flow, they did.

Momo didn’t go to the dorms after that one night, but she sent Sana text messages every day without fail – so much for keeping up appearances. Very much unlike her cold demeanour, Momo shares pictures of her dogs and cooking at the most random times. If it isn’t a selfie or a timed photo, then it’s usually a photo taken by Seungwan. Speaking of the vocal coach, Sana’s been meaning to ask what is going on between her and Joohyun because the older woman has been giggling to herself in the middle of the night. Besides herself, Joohyun quite literally doesn’t interact with anyone else so... it has to be.

“Sorry...” Sana whispers, pointing at the wet patch on Momo’s chest. “It’s in a terrible position, goodness. Do you need to go and change?”

“No one will misunderstand, don’t worry.” Momo ruffles Sana’s hair affectionately, significantly relieved that the trainee is now smiling again. “Come on, I’ll walk you to the canteen; maybe we can have dinner together if there aren’t many people around.”

Patiently waiting for Sana to retrieve her things, Momo debates whether to grab her hoodie lying on the couch or not; she did, after all, choose this white top because it’s in one of Sana’s favourite colours.

“Shall we?”

Momo coos at the sight of Sana rubbing her swollen eyes and feels her heart ache a little bit; she’s the personification of a Shiba Inu. “You’re so cute.”

Reaching for the handle, Momo shrieks when the door flies open with a bang, revealing two people falling over themselves.

“WHAT THE HELL! SON SEUNGWAN!”

The shock of seeing both Seungwan and Joohyun piled on top of one another at their feet – and with rather annoying -eating grins at that – is clearly enough to make Momo disregard their two-year . Her eyes narrow into slits, scowling at the snickering vocal coach on the floor. Sana bites down on her lip to prevent herself from laughing out loud, seeing as Momo is clearly annoyed at the sight; it doesn’t make the situation any less funny though. She makes eye contact with Joohyun and the latter wriggles her eyebrows, making the latter turn beetroot red within record timing.

“You can be such a child, Unnie. Get up. Now.”  

*

“They look cute together, don’t they?”

No response.

Seungwan stops in her footsteps and turns to the quiet woman, taking hold of Joohyun’s delicate wrist to grab her attention. “Joohyun?”

Not that Seungwan’s watching Joohyun (she is), but the trainee’s mind seems to be miles away from where they are, and has been since they fell into the dance studio. Granted, most trainees would never dream of crossing boundaries like that since their dreams are on the line but Seungwan’s willing to guarantee, that’s not the reason at all. If Joohyun isn’t on board with this, she won’t keep leaving Sana and Momo alone with the lame excuse that ‘Momo can only give her attention to one trainee at a time’. That’s not even a well-thought-out excuse because Momo teaches girl GROUPS too, but Seungwan’s going to pretend Joohyun’s right.

“Just worried... If they get caught, things can go so wrongly for Sana and her dreams are going to be crushed. Miss Hirai is already famous so people might look past it but Sana? We’re still nothing in the industry.” Joohyun sighs, burying her face into her palms.

Maybe teasing Sana about her little crush is a mistake.

Seungwan’s eyebrows meet in the middle, not sure if she should be offended on Momo’s behalf or not. “Joohyun, it’s risky to both of them. I know you’re worried about your friend but Momo has a lot to lose too, you know? She’s a dance coach and she’s supposed to be a professional. She can be blacklisted here and hell, even sent back to Japan because she can’t maintain a work relationship with the trainees.”

It’s clear that Seungwan is not having this conversation at all, and she’s rightfully protective of her friend. Her steely gaze softens when she spots Joohyun’s clasped hands on her lap; this is new to them all.

“I don’t mean to be rude or disrespectful to Miss Hirai, I’m sorry... I’m just really worried. Sana’s so far away from her family and she has no support here.” Joohyun finally looks up at Seungwan, revealing teary eyes that are about to overflow any time now.

Logically speaking, Seungwan understands where Joohyun is coming from and that’s quite frankly, the only reason why she isn’t acting on her attraction in the least. Sure, they got off on the wrong foot and all but Joohyun is a very nice woman. There are so many traits about Joohyun that make her the person she is; thoughtful, hardworking, mature and honestly, incredibly attractive. Speaking of these random points though, she also found out that Joohyun loathes coffee. The fact that she kept to her word and finished the coffee that night…. Seungwan couldn't have guessed she hated coffee.

If the night Momo sent Sana home is a pivotal turn in their relationship, then the night Seungwan bought coffee for Joohyun as a peace offering is the equivalent for theirs.

“Look, we can only support our friends through their decisions and honestly, what matters more than their happiness?”

That’s true.

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