**Chaeng climbed on their bed after spending half an hour under their steaming shower.**

Mina: Are you okay?

**Chaeng didn’t turn to her. Instead, she continued to tuck herself under the sheet. Sheet rustling around is the only thing Mina heard after her question.**

Mina: Is there something wrong, hon? I don’t know, but it feels like you’re ignoring me for quite some time now.

**Mina and her mom were holding each other’s hands while waiting at the airport.**

**Mom still wants Mina to stay with them. She misses her so much, but Mina’s right regardless if there’s an issue or none. Flying back isn’t an option. It’s a must.**

Mina: Mom, I’ll be fine.

**Then she tilted her head towards Chaeng, who’s standing behind her.**

Sana: Hey! What are you doing here?

**Sana shouted as she walks towards Mina. The music is so loud that she has to raise her voice whenever she speaks. She reached Mina, who just gave her a quick smile. Mina’s sitting at the corner table, leaning her arms on it and playing with the ice in her glass.**

Sana: Why are you here? Why not join Chaeyoung and everyone?

I still have numerous questions for Lisa about a lot of things, but grandma already called us downstairs. Telling us that the food is ready. So, the only choice it left me was to park every question I have in my head.

“Wow! I miss this!”

Lisa blurted out when we entered the dining room.

Chaeng: Hey!

**Chaeng was lying on the bed in the guest room—alone. She wants to be with Mina, but Mina offered her the guest room instead of her room. Well, she could see from Mina’s parents that they were as surprised as she was.**

Hyun: Hey? What’s up?

Chaeng: Did you receive my email?

**It’s been a year since the incident with Bam happened, yet Chaeng still has the nightmare once in a while. And even though it wakes her up in the middle of the night with sweats all over her face, Mina never noticed the struggles she’s going through, and she has no intention of revealing it to Mina. She knows that her lover already has enough on her shoulders. And she wants to be someone who will lighten her burden, and not make it heavier.**

**She’s sitting in the middle of an elevated platform with a book in her lap. It isn’t the first time she sits in front of a crowd, but her heart’s fluttering just like when she first saw a bunch of faces waiting for her words to be heard. She gulped and stared at the first page of the book in front of her.**

It’s only five in the morning, and the probability of her being awake at this hour is close to zero percent. But here I am dialing her number. Not because I want to disturb her from snoring, but because I want to hear her voice before I go back to sleep.

She clicked the answer button, but instead of hearing her voice, I heard a thud on the other line. She might have dropped her phone on the floor.

Atty. Leeteuk: Thank you, Ms. Myoui, Ms. Son.

**Atty. Leeteuk said after he tucked the documents that Mina and Chaeyoung signed in his briefcase. They meet at Atty. Min’s office to discuss everything written on the agreement.**

Mina: Thank you, Atty.

**Then Atty. Leeteuk headed to the exit with a smile on his face.**

**Ryujin came back with a tray in her hand.**

Ryujin: Uhm… I don’t know what to get us, so I brought the generic. Blueberry cheesecakes and our special coffee here.

**She laid it one by one on the table and Lia’s eyes widened. Her mouth instantly watered as soon as the cheesecake sat in front of her.**

Am I dreaming? Because if I am, it feels so real. And if you’ll ask me if I want to wake up, no, I don’t want to. Never again.

She pulled away and sat back in her seat. Rested her head on the headrest. Eyes closed. Maybe she’s steadying herself before she’ll say something about it.

I flattened my back to my seat, too. Breathing heavily, and I could feel my chest pounding up and down. Everything is burning inside, from my cheeks down to my toes.