Immediately after setting foot in what by now had turned into a single apartment, the older ones of the group had hastened to lay Tzuyu on the sofa to check the wound on her knee.

The fall had been more violent than they thought, according to the blood that flowed relentlessly until it impregnated the ripped jeans that were dyeing red.

"Bring me the disinfectant and anything else could do to treat this horror" Nayeon had no problem putting her hands on the wound to check its severity "you took a good hit and I think it will hurt a lot, we need some painkillers or anything else to dull the pain. Is there at least one of us who knows anything about medicine? I'm totally ignorant"

Silence, she had learned, was in itself an answer and she found herself sighing as she gently dabbed at the wound with a damp cloth "I hope it doesn't become something serious"

“We could do it the old fashioned way” Chaeyoung's eyes were still alight with excitement.

"Speak, given the situation anything will do" Jeongyeon was still busy looking for something that could be useful to take care of Tzuyu's knee.

The youngest of the group delicately removed the knife that Jihyo still had in her pocket, also taking out the lighter and lifting the two objects "just press the flaming blade on her wound, it would hurt but she would be great"

"Does this sound like the right time to say bull?" Dahyun had spoken in her usual calm tone of voice, but her gaze was anything but calm "we are not in the Middle Ages and we have no certainty of doing the right thing, we could make the situation worse"

"I only gave an idea since you are all boring and uninventive"

"There wouldn't be any need to come up with something if someone had paid attention to where they put their feet" recovering from the shock, Mina was giving way to anger "running is one of the first things human beings can learn and you had the indecency to put us all in danger"

Tzuyu had her eyes down and her fists clenched on the worn cushion of the sofa, her eyes ready to let tears flow down her cheeks "nobody asked you to stop to protect me, at least I don't think I have screamed for help"

The blonde took a step towards her, her finger pointing in front of her nose "I'm not a lousy enough person to abandon a helpless girl, moron" 

"Then why are you blaming me? Do you think I'm glad I nearly broke my knee and nearly had your death on my shoulders?" at that point she was crying, her face darkened by a grimace of pure pain "I know I'm a mess, but I did my best until the end"

"Your best wasn't enough because if Jihyo and Chaeyoung hadn't arrived by now, all three of us would have died. You can't always count on the help of others, you have to take responsibility because out there is a real mess"

Momo took her best friend's wrist to make her lower her hand "stop it, can't you see she's trying not to start crying?"

The blonde freed herself from the grip to go and lock herself in the room alone, hoping to be able to calm down and return clear enough to face the situation without having to look for a culprit.

"The bleeding has finally stopped and the wound isn't as bad as we thought, it's a relief" Nayeon was totally dedicating herself to that difficult task, finding herself being observed by everyone with the same love addressed to a mother "for today look for not to stand up and if you have to go to the bathroom, ask one of us to accompany you, okay?"

Tzuyu had simply limited herself to nodding slowly, too shaken by the angry words that had been addressed to her to speak without bursting into desperate tears. She didn't say anything when Jeongyeon helped her lay down on the sofa, but she really appreciated how tenderly she pulled a blanket over her.

It didn't take long for her to abandon herself to the world of dreams, totally oblivious to the noise of the provisions being placed in the cupboard and the moderate chatter of the other girls. She was so tired that she didn't even notice the worried look Dahyun gave her.

Sana had waited a few minutes before reaching Mina in the small bedroom and had remained at a safe distance from her "have you calmed down or do you need an elephant tranquilizer?"

"How is Tzuyu?" her back was turned, her eyes closed so as not to have to bear the annoyance of her very existence and her body curled up as tightly as possible to feel safe.

"She is fast asleep and the wound is not as deep as we thought. A little rest will suffice for her, but she has to hope that the pain in her knee does not become unbearable or she may find it hard to walk"

"I was a real , I shouldn't have vented on her" she couldn't stop scratching her neck, so much so that her skin was very red "I'm completely wrong and I still took the liberty of blaming her"

The bed moved due to the weight of the pink-haired girl, who hadn't hesitated even a moment before hugging her best friend from behind "I won't justify your actions because it's true that you made a mistake, but it's not even right to stay here alone to blame you for everything. I'm sure that Tzuyu has already forgiven you and that it will be enough to tell her how you feel to make her understand that you have nothing against her"

"Do you really believe that?" she slowly turned to be able to look into her eyes, letting her see her vulnerability.

"I have no proof but no doubt about it" Sana's palm was soft on the blonde's cheek, thumb slowly tracing the outline of her lips "I want to strangle you for most of the time we spend together, but when you allow me to see you for who you are my heart goes crazy"

Mina kissed the finger that had stopped on , allowing herself to smile briefly "you too are unbearable with all your talk about beauty products or idols, you don't even realize you're repetitive like a broken CD"

"Make fun of me all you want if it pleases you, but don't forget that you were the first to declare yourself" her proud expression was annoying, but the beauty of her face was such as to prevail over all the rest.

"How could I forget the disappointment caused by your refusal? When I think about it, I still feel like crying with shame"

"You'll hold it against me for the rest of your life, right?" Sana's laugh was adorable "I finally gave in to your overwhelming love and that's what matters"

The blonde had pouted "but you keep telling people that nobody wants me because I'm unbearable and that you'd like to get engaged with one of your biases"

"It's just a cover, I think I showed you how crazy I am about you"

"But if Momo doesn't even know we're together, liar"

Sana, to remove that pout from her face, had gotten even closer to her girlfriend, intending to be forgiven for the distance that there had been between them in those days with a passionate kiss. It only took a few seconds to regain the confidence they had lost and the confidence with which their hands moved in search of bare skin was the overwhelming proof.

"I love you, you must never forget it" it was Mina who whispered it, unable to hold back her feelings and the fear of not having the possibility to express what she felt "even if we always pretend we can't stand each other my love for you will never disappear"

"You're talking like it's your last chance to do it" the closeness between their bodies was immediately nullified as she sat back to back, her eyes teary and an incredible desire to scream in frustration.

"The bad experience just now made me realize that at least when we're alone I should take the opportunity to say what I think, I don't want to have regrets whatever happens"

Sana's nervousness was such that it could almost be touched with her fingers "stop saying this , it's not really like you"

"Satang, listen to me.."

"I don't feel like it, if you want to keep making these pessimistic speeches do it with the wall because I don't feel like living with the image of the person I love reduced to shreds. We'll all three go home and talk to Momo like we had decided to do once we got back from the holiday"

At that point Mina had resigned and for that reason she limited herself to kissing her head "forgive me, I didn't want to make you suffer"

She didn't receive any answer as Chaeyoung's tone of voice was so loud that it reached them "I want a kiss, what's it cost you to give me one? I also found the mints!"

"I said I don't feel like it, please don't insist anymore" Jihyo was so exasperated that she sat with Momo on her lap in a desperate attempt to keep the youngest of the group away "ask someone else if you care so much"

"But I want your kiss, I don't like these here. Dahyun is too dark even for me, Tzuyu instead is too delicate, Nayeon reminds me of a mother and I wouldn't be able to kiss her, Jeongyeon doesn't inspire me at all, the two who are locked in the room aren't my types and Momo is.. Momo"

The last person mentioned had raised eyebrows "what are you insinuating? I'm a good catch"

Chaeyoung looked at her visibly bored "I don't know what to do with a coward who only thinks about eating and saving her skin"

"Look, Jihyo is just like me, she cries a lot more in one day than I could in two months"

"You say that because you haven't seen her in action, in case of need she manages to be really badass and y" she winked at the person who had managed to capture all her interest, adoring her shyness "but you are just a parasite that lives off us idiots risking our lives"

Dahyun joined them with the simple purpose of grabbing both of their ears "go through the hole in the wall and go and argue in the other apartment, I'm trying to rest and your useless chatter prevents me from doing it. If you want to continue sleeping peacefully during the night you'd better let me make up for the hours of sleep I lost to stay on guard"

Neither of them opened their mouth for fear of being reduced to thin slices, but the exchange of grim looks lasted long enough to have annoyed the older ones of the group, who had decided to go to Jeongyeon's room to rest a bit. 

The silence that had arisen was such as to be almost embarrassing and, precisely for that reason, the three girls who remained awake had started playing cards to quickly pass the time until lunchtime.

Predictably Jihyo regretted that choice only a few minutes later, as the match had been interrupted by the umpteenth discussion of the other two, but fortunately Sana and Mina saved the situation, given that the former had joined the match and the second seemed ready to strangle anyone who uttered a word.

Tzuyu had skipped lunch, continuing to sleep for a few hours and the sun was close to setting, but her restless sleep and flushed cheeks had been a wake-up call especially for Dahyun "she has a fever, maybe she caught cold this morning?" she knew she had asked a stupid question, but in this case she didn't want to be pessimistic. Concern was skyrocketing.

"I think the wound is infected, maybe we didn't clean it properly" Jeongyeon was checking the younger's knee, but she knew she was ignorant and not able to give a correct answer at all.

Nayeon and Momo looked at each other at the same time and didn't need words to understand that it was their turn to go out. The pharmacy was a bit far away, but they knew they had to do everything in their power to fix that problem as soon as possible.