Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The first day of classes is a monumental time in a person’s life, whether it’s the first day of kindergarten or the first day of graduate school, the nerves and anticipation never get more manageable, especially not for Mina.

She thought she was prepared. After twenty minutes of double-checking everything and then triple-checking she had barely enough time to get across campus so she wasn’t late. 

The first week of classes was all about experimenting and deciding which types to drop and keep, and so far, she liked every one of her choices. However, it took a lot of work to keep up with a new language she had only become a bit accustomed to thus far. 

She secured a seat in one of the rows farther back of the lecture hall, the first few were already filled with eager students, most of them foreign, she assumed since native Koreans probably didn’t need to be in ‘Advanced Hangul 101’. 

Digging around in her backpack for a notebook, she placed it on the desk, then panic started settling when she realized she had forgotten any writing utensil, of all things she had triple-checked that had somehow surpassed her senses. 

Sighing, she looked up as the professor set up at the front and wondered if she had enough time to dip out to find a pen until one appeared before her face.

Mina blinked and followed the hand holding the pen to the bright face of a woman her age with long brown hair flowing over her shoulders and a broad smile to match.

“Oh, thank you. I was in such a hurry to leave that I forgot everything.”

“Anytime. I always bring extra.”

Mina bowed her head in thanks, then; “I’m Mina.”

She chuckled and held out her hand, and missed the quirk in the other woman’s eyebrow until she responded, this time in Japanese; 

She took Mina’s hand, “Minatozaki Sana, nice to meet you.”

Mina smiled, tilting her head, “How did you know I’m Japanese?”

“Your Kansai accent. I’m also from Osaka.” 

She heard it then, the similar accent in Sana’s tone, Mina’s smile grew wider. A whiff of the alpha’s scent hit her; solid and confident, a perfect painting of the woman sitting beside her. 

Mina was about to say something else when the professor called everyone’s attention to the front, “Okay, let’s pick up where we left off last week.”

Midway through the lesson, Mina heard someone slip into the seat behind her, she didn’t care to look back until said person tapped her on the shoulder and asked in a low whisper, “Hey, can I borrow a piece of paper?”

Mina was trying to keep up with the notes, some new Korean phrases were lost on her when the professor spoke, pen working furiously, she tried to rip out a blank piece from her notebook and hand it back. 

“Thanks!” The other woman whispered, Mina didn’t say anything, just waved her hand.

A few minutes later, there was another tap on her shoulder, it took everything in her not to whirl around in anger.

“Sorry, I need a pen too–” 

Sana, once again, came to the rescue, her smile still wide as she held one over her shoulder, her eyes never leaving her notes.

“Now, we’ll split off into groups for the upcoming project. Choose a region of the country and give a brief presentation in full Korean about the heritage and culture there.”

Sana turned to Mina before she could ask the same question, “Want to be partners?”

“I’d love that.” 

Mina smiled and then turned to look over her shoulder, getting a clear view of the mystery person, she could see how confused the other looked at her scribbled notes, brow furrowed under perfectly cut bangs.

“Do you…want to be in our group? We need a third person.” 

She watched as the other alpha her head and glanced between her and Sana, an expression of gratitude crossing her sharp features. 

“If you don’t mind, I couldn’t catch a word he was saying.”

She cleared her throat and held out her hand, “I’m Momo, Hirai Momo.”

They introduced themselves again, followed by a silence when the three realized they were all from Japan, surprised smiles adorning their faces. 

“Kyoto.” Momo pointed to herself and answered the silent question, she then asked;

“Are you guys hungry? There’s a ramen place not far from this building. An old couple from Tokyo owns it, so it’s authentic and good.” 

Mina’s stomach suddenly grumbled when she remembered how much she missed a good bowl of ramen. 

“Honestly? That’s about the only thing I want right now.”

A low but full-bellied, laugh came from Momo and she nodded in understanding, “I’ve already gone like twice this week, it’s the only thing that reminds me of home.”

They gathered their things and then walked the short distance to the restaurant. Momo waved to an old man behind the counter and led them to a booth to sit.

The restaurant wasn’t big, could only fit four or five tables, but it was cozy and filled Mina with a warmth she had been missing for so long.

Once they put in their orders and grabbed beers, Sana propped her hands on the table and eyed both of them, a glint of curiosity that the two would come to see a lot in her;

“So what’s your stories?” 

Momo tilted her head, “Stories?”

“Yeah, your reason for leaving Japan. Everyone I’ve met here has at least one, so what’re yours?”

Momo answered first, her voice honest and a little defeated;

“I wanted to get away far from my parents, wanted to make something of myself without their…expectations.” They felt the weight of the last word on Momo’s tongue, “I didn’t know if I’d even get into this university, but when they accepted me I was on the first plane out of there.”

Sana made a sympathetic noise as Momo glanced down, embarrassed by her confession. She turned the attention away from Momo, eyes finding Mina’s as she rolled her cold beer between her hands.

“And yours?”

Mina shrugged, face thoughtful, she didn’t have some big dramatic story. She loved her parents for the most part, she wasn’t on the run from the law or had some big secret mission in Korea, it was much simpler than that. 

“I came here to find myself. I’m not sure what I want and I thought maybe going to an entirely new place and starting over would help me.”

“Has it?” Momo asked.

“I think so.” 

Mina shared a smile with her and Sana. Leaning forward she tapped Sana’s arm, “What’s your story, Minatozaki?”

“Adventure.” She answered simply, took a sip from her beer and continued, “I want a career that will take me places, and allow me to travel, choosing to study journalism was easy, but Seoul has always called to me—I wanted to go somewhere new and immerse myself in it completely.”

When their food arrived the conversation was just as good as the meal, and the two alphas gave Mina a sense of grounding she hadn’t felt since arriving in the new city.

They had all left Japan to find parts of themselves they thought this new city may have, and as fate would have it, they found each other. 

Mina felt at home for once.

Dahyun and Jihyo knew that it was serious if Nayeon suggested they meet for lunch on a workday, not only that, but she sounded stressed, frantic—emotions that they didn’t typically put in the same category as her.

But with the events of the last few weeks, they agreed they certainly had a lot to discuss. 

An hour later, each of them two drinks deep, Nayeon finally broached the topic hanging over their heads since the night they all rushed to the police station.

“We’re gonna need more alcohol.” Jihyo sighed and flagged down the waiter for another round; martinis for her and Nayeon, and a daiquiri for Dahyun, because if she was going to drink alcohol in the middle of the day she was going to get the fruitiest drink she could. 

“Momo…didn’t know how to handle the whole situation—” Dahyun started, trying to find the right words, but Nayeon finished the thought for her, 

“She yelled, didn’t she?”

Dahyun groaned and put her face in her hands, “She screamed, so did Sakura, I swear the walls were shaking. I had to air the apartment for hours, and it was freezing!”

Jihyo winced and took Dahyun’s hand to give it a sympathetic squeeze. 

“I wish Haewon yelled, then maybe I could get an insight on what’s going on inside her little head, she probably wanted us to yell at her, but she’s been so hard on herself since.”

The omega became lost in her thoughts, looking distant, Dahyun turned to Nayeon.

“How is Yoona doing…?”

Nayeon mashed her lips together and squinted the exhaustion from her eyes, her nights mostly sleepless these days.

“She wants to act like nothing has happened, but,” She hesitated, “She’s hurting. I can feel it but we can’t access her anymore, she’s closed herself off.”

Nayeon exhaled long and stared down the glass of her empty martini, licking her lips to taste the lingering alcohol. 

“I’m in over my head, Mina says we should just give her space and that she’ll come to us eventually, but the drinking…it feels like acting out because she can’t talk to us.”

“Do you still trust her?” Dahyun asked, chewing on the maraschino cherry from her glass. 

After a long pause, Nayeon answered, “We do.”

“Then I think you’ll have to trust she will come to you when she’s ready.” 

The older omega scrunched her nose, the answer was the right one but that doesn’t mean she had to like it. 

While Dahyun launched into a short, but exasperated, rant about how hot-headed Momo was about Sakura, Nayeon noticed Jihyo was uncharacteristically quiet, sipping her martini and casting her eyes everywhere but them. 

The youngest omega seemed to notice it too, narrowing her eyes, she poked Jihyo in the arm, 

“What do you know? I know that face.”

Jihyo shifted in her chair and stared at the ceiling. 

“You two can’t tell anyone, especially not Momo and Mina.”

Nayeon leaned forward, curiosity peaked, and she and Dahyun agreed to the terms.

Jihyo took two long sips to polish off her martini and then cleared her throat. 

No one was supposed to be home, at least for another few hours. 

Jihyo texted Sana when she was leaving her shoot early, they had wrapped early, and the day wouldn’t be as long as she had predicted. She was tired and just wanted to sink into a bubble bath. 

The penthouse was quiet when she exited the elevator and dumped her keys by the door. Most of the lights off. 

Bbuyo hopped off his tower by the window and purred against her legs in greeting, rubbing his grey head along her ankles, she bent down and scratched his head, cooing.

“Hey buddy, did you have a good day?”

A crash from upstairs made both of them jump, Bbuyo hissing and bushing out his tail, Jihyo frowned and turned her head toward the noise. 

“Is it that devious Kuma again?”

Bbuyo flicked his tail at the mention of his younger sibling, 

Jihyo’s parents gifted Haewon a few Christmases ago, and the young girl became instantly attached, so any hope for Bbuyo getting rid of him was squashed.

He eventually warmed up to the kitten,; he no longer hissed at him whenever he scampered by or ate his food out of spite.

Jihyo gave his head one last pat before heading up the stairs to get Kuma out of whatever trouble he was stuck in but raised an eyebrow when the other cat met her at the top of the stairs, an innocent purr leaving him when he saw her.

“What did you get into, little one?”

He tilted his head before the sound of voices came from down the hall, “Huh, weird.” Jihyo realized the noise was coming from Haewon’s room.

She didn’t expect her daughter to be home so early, she typically had an afterschool club to attend on the weekdays. 

“Wonnie, honey, are you in here?”

She turned the doorknob and pushed the door open; everything happened all at once; first she heard her daughter yelp, then a figure flung itself off her bed and onto the floor, causing Jihyo to gasp and cover her eyes.

“Oh shit, I mean—sorry! I didn’t see anything!”

“Eomma, you need to knock!”

“I’m sorry, I finished my shoot early and returned!” 

She still had her eyes covered but heard Haewon huff, “You don’t need to cover your eyes, we—we were just studying.”

Jihyo slowly removed her hands from her face and squinted, her daughter coming into view perched on her bed, notebooks, and pencils strewn around the mattress. 

Still, her features seemed a bit flushed, and the collar of her school uniform was crumpled. 

She raised an eyebrow, “And who’s this ‘we’?”

A pause, then a hand shot up from beside the bed where the figure was still hunched over, hiding.

“Hey, aunt Jihyo.” 

Sakura’s voice was small, and Haewon’s eyes darted to her and then back to her mother. 

Jihyo laughed in shock, “Oh Saki, what are you doing on the ground, sweetie?”

“She dropped her pen, then you scared us, and yeah—she dropped her pen.” 

Haewon supplied an answer but Jihyo pursed her lips and crossed her arms, “A pencil?”

“I think it’s here somewhere!” 

“How was work?” Haewon tried to change the subject while Sakura continued to search for her pencil, and Jihyo switched her attention back to her,

“It was great, but I’m tired, so I’m going to lie down before dinner. Saki, are you staying for dinner?”

Another pause and a sigh from Sakura still obscured from Jihyo’s view;

“Oh, sure, sounds great. Thanks, auntie.”

Jihyo gave Haewon a smirk before backing out of the room, but not before catching a scent in the air, she raised her eyebrows and ensured the door was wide open.

“And keep this…open.”

She started down the hall, hearing Haewon groan behind her, followed by hushed whispers. 

Later at dinner, everyone else completely oblivious, Jihyo watched the two teenagers avoid eye contact, eating quietly. 

“So, how are you and Rei doing?” 

Sana asked as she dished a portion of salad onto Haruto’s plate. Sakura took a long sip of water and smiled tightly, “We’re good…she’s good.”

“How is she doing now that Miyeon and Yeri are separated?”

Jihyo tsked Sana and gave Sakura a reassuring look, “Ignore your aunt, she just wants to gossip about adult things.”

Sana shrugged and swirled her wine glass pensively, her eyes trained on Sakura sitting straight back in her chair. 

The younger alpha answered anyway, shifting in her seat,

“It’s okay…she’s doing better.”

The truth of it was Rei was all over the place, going from Miyeon’s house to Yeri’s, and had little time to be with Sakura, and when they were together, all they did was argue. 

Haewon tried vainly to change the subject, feeling prickly at even the mention of Rei’s name. 

“The soccer team is probably going to the championships!” 

“Oh, that’s wonderful! Wonnie tells me this season has been great for the team.” Jihyo ruffled Haruto’s hair, “Ruto wants to try out for the team next year, maybe you could give him a few tips?”

Sakura nodded eagerly at Haruto, a soft smile on her lips, “I’d love to,” She said genuinely, making Haewon’s heart jump, “Anytime Ruto, seriously, just tell me when. Mako is trying for the team, too, I’ll do everything I can to help.”

“Really? Thank you so much, Kura!” Haruto lit up with excitement, admiration glowing on his face for the older girl. 

Haewon stared at Sakura with nothing but pure adoration, it tugged at Jihyo’s heart to see her daughter so obviously in love.

Across the city, Mina, Momo, and Sana were stationed at a bar next to Sana’s office, in a similar predicament.  

While they weren’t as many drinks deep as their counterparts, confusion was just as evident around the table. 

Mina wasn’t even drinking, she hadn’t much since Yoona came into their lives. 

The alpha stared at her soda and tapped her fingers on the side of the glass. Across from her, Sana had her face resting on her palms, elbows on the table, pushing her cheeks up she was deep in thought while Momo held two beers in either hand, looking the most relaxed of the three. 

“I wouldn’t be as upset if she talked to me, Yoona’s never hidden anything from us.”

Momo grunted, “Get used to it, they’re fully teenagers now, it’s inevitable that they’re going to hide things from us.”

Mina’s frown deepened, she didn’t care how old Yoona was, they were still supposed to be close. 

“They’re full of hormones and feelings they don’t know what to do with, of course, they’re going to act out.”

Momo would know, she now had three daughters in the midst of being or becoming teenagers. Everything felt like the end of the world to them, she just tried to go with the flow. 

“That’s easy for you to say, Sakura has been acting out since she was five.” 

Mina pointed out and Momo shrugged but didn’t disagree.

“Oh my god, they’re teenagers .” 

Sana suddenly piped into the conversation, her eyes still far away. Her empty beer sat beside her, now folding her arms, she rested her chin atop them, blowing a strand of hair away from her face.

“Haewon will always be my baby forever, though…”

Momo made a face and flicked the back of Sana’s head.

“Then you’re going to have to get used to the idea of your ‘baby’ having se–”

“Hirai, if you want to go home with both of your balls, you’ll shut your mouth right now.” 

Sana didn’t leave room to argue, effectively shutting Momo up. She tried to change the subject hastily. 

“I almost told Sakura she couldn't go on the senior trip,” Momo sighed, “Dahyun talked me out of it. Sometimes I just want to shake Sakura, but I doubt that would get her to listen to me.”

Sana made a face, “I’m hoping Haewon won’t want to go, I don’t like her being that far away from Jihyo and I.”

Mina chewed on her straw thoughtfully, “I think it will be good for Yoona, she’s so tense when she’s home.”

The fact broke Mina’s heart, her daughter walked around their home as if she were in a haunted house, waiting for a jumpscare around every corner, her demeanor strained. 

It took everything in Mina not to blame herself, but she worried now if she had ever said or done anything to make Yoona think she couldn’t speak to her or Nayeon. 

“Hey,” Sana put her hand on Mina’s, reassurance reflected in her eyes, “Whatever it is, I promise, Yoona will come to you when she’s ready.”

A long silence blanketed them until Momo mumbled, fingers massaging the headache forming in her temple. 

“I think this part of parenthood is going to kill me.”

Mina and Sana answered in unison, 

“Same.” 

“Ten minutes remain, please turn your booklet in at the front when you’re finished.”

The teacher standing at the front of the exam hall announced before the room fell silent again, only the sound of writing and the turning of papers echoing into the space. 

Haewon turned her sheet to the last part of the exam and breathed a sigh of relief. She attempted to concentrate on the jumble of words, scribbling down a few answers, when a tap on her shoulder distracted her. 

“Psst, Haewon-ah, I need a pen.” 

She squinted, looked over her shoulder, and saw Sakura, breathless and a little sweaty, trying to get herself situated at her desk without drawing attention. 

“Where the hell have you been?” She whispered, frowning.

“Nowhere, just give me a pen.” Sakura muttered, trying to keep her voice down she ducked her head when the proctor at the front tried to see where the noise was coming from.

Haewon rolled her eyes but handed her one from her desk when her eyes caught Rei settling into a seat a few rows away, having just snuck in simultaneously, her eyes darting around to see if anyone noticed.

She noticed Sakura and Rei exchange a glance and then felt the hot anger flood her chest, embarrassed that her first reaction was to want to cry at the sight. She wanted to scream but instead spun around, snatched the pen from Sakura’s hand, and brought her concentration back to her exam.

She ignored the glare the other burned into the back of her head. 

Sakura whipped her head across the aisle, trying her only and last hope. 

“Yoona, give me a pen, and the first few answers.”

Sakura only had five minutes left now to catch up to an entire hour and a half of questions she hadn’t studied for, she reached across the aisle and tried to get the other alpha’s attention but all she received was a side eye from her friend.

“Come on Yoonie, please,” She tried once more but Yoona waved her hand dismissively, as if Sakura were an annoying bug in her ear. 

Another minute flew by and Yoona decided to take pity on her, she tossed a pen at her and leaned forward to point out the first answer when a voice halted her,

“Ah, Miss Hirai, how lovely of you to join us.”

The teacher approached her desk, tone cold and unwavering.

“There are only three minutes left in this exam period, so unless you can magically finish your entire test within that time, you should go and wait outside and we’ll let your parents know when the retake session will be held.”

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but the teacher gave her a long sigh and motioned to the doors, “Out. Or would you like us to get the headmaster down here to tell you herself?”

With one last long glare aimed in Yoona and Haewon’s direction, she stood and shouldered her backpack, her head hung low as she exited the hall. 

“I’m so fucking screwed once my parents find out.”

Sakura slammed her cafeteria tray on the table and then plopped down into her seat, anger rolling off of her hunched shoulders. 

Momo had already threatened once to take Sakura out of the senior trip, this was going to push her over the edge.

Yoona looked up from her tray, chopsticks aimlessly pushing around the food before her while Haewon read beside her, her food untouched. 

Yoona popped open her soda, her voice holding little sympathy for her friend, 

“These are finals , why are you fucking off somewhere?”

Sakura ripped the packaging off her chopsticks and stabbed into a piece of cucumber, holding it up accusatorily at her friends across the table. 

“You know Rei’s parents won’t let her see me after the whole…park thing. School is the only time we can sneak off.”

Haewon couldn’t help the loud scoff that left her lips but didn’t lift her eyes from her book. 

Sakura tried to ignore her, but the clench in her jaw said otherwise. 

“That’s not my problem, and aunt Momo is so going to kill you.”

Yoona teased but before she could say more, Rei was at their table, setting her tray down, she was immediately all over Sakura, fretting over her girlfriend.

“I’m so sorry I got you in trouble baby, are you okay?”

Her voice was sickly sweet when she addressed her, and Yoona and Haewon had to look away before the sight made them gag. 

Sakura made a show of wrapping her arm around her waist and kissing her cheek, “I’ll be okay babe, it was worth it.”

Her last words were shot in Haewon’s direction, but Rei didn’t seem to notice. Finally, she acknowledged the other two at the table.

“Haewon-ah, you need to get your academic skills to rub off on Sakura or else she’s going to flunk out of university!”

Snapping her book shut, Haewon put on her best fake smile, “Trust me, I’ve tried, but she’s a lost cause.”

She ignored how Sakura looked at her as if her words were a bullet straight to her chest. 

Rei pouted and took a bite of her food, moping around her bites. 

“I’m so jealous you all get to spend the summer in Jeju, I’d give anything not to go to the States.”

“It’s set in stone then?” Sakura asked sadly and Rei nodded with a long sigh. 

To spite Miyeon, Yeri decided to take their kids on a cross-country road trip across the States for the entire summer before Rei went off to university and could entirely cut Yeri out from her life. 

Yoona almost felt bad for her if it weren’t for how flippantly she treated her lately, when she had been nothing but kind to her throughout the years, especially Haewon, whom Rei seemed to be the most apprehensive of. 

Something shifted at the mention of the summer, making Haewon start to pack her bag in a hurry, standing she collected her untouched tray and threw out some excuse about needing to prep for a club meeting. 

Yoona looked confused, “You’re going? There’s still twenty minutes left, and you said you’d give me your jello.”

Haewon stared past her, a sudden pained expression marring her soft features, it made Yoona tense. 

She took the cup of jello off her tray and placed it next to Yoona’s before turning away, 

“I’ll catch up with you next period.”

She nodded dumbfounded, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught Sakura watching her go, an indecipherable emotion in her eyes before Rei returned her attention. 

Soon after Haewon left, another tray clattered onto the table, making Yoona jump and her face pale when Chaewon and a few other teammates joined them. 

Wonyoung was attached to the alpha’s side, blabbering away about something she was only half paying attention to, her eyes finding Yoona’s momentarily.

When there was a lull in Wonyoung’s rant, Chaewon cleared her throat and aimed her sights on Yoona, making any bit of air leave her lungs in a mass exodus.

“Are you excited about Tokyo? Only one more final to go.”

The rest of the table quickly burst into electrifying chatter over the impending senior trip, now that most of them had finished the last of their high school exams, freedom was well on the horizon. 

“This was my last one, I-I did an art elective this semester, so my final is to find a location on the trip to sketch or whatever.”

She cursed inwardly at the stutter in her voice, but couldn’t help that she became weak every time Chaewon glanced in her direction.

Sakura snorted across from her, not bothering to glance up from her food,

“No idea why you’d want even to spend time with those weird art kids, you could’ve just taken a different elective with me.”

She mumbled the words flippantly, and Yoona had had it, her attitude and whatever little feud she had with Haewon was getting old, feeling defensive, she snapped; 

“If you cared to get to know them, you’d see they aren’t weird. I wanted to try something different, get off my back.”

Yoona didn’t leave room to argue, shifting uncomfortably when the rest of the talk fell silent around them, Sakura taken aback by her abruptness.

She caught a glimpse of the table a few rows away where Jinsol and the other students from her studio class typically sat, engaged in laughter and bright conversation, and somehow their happiness made her jealous. 

Sakura noticed, and perhaps it was a combination of her academic failures and the fact that she needed to take her anger out on someone else, but either way it made a deadly combination.

“Has Jinsol suddenly turned you gay or something? Are you defensive because we’re making fun of your girlfriend ?” 

She sneered the words and could see how Yoona visibly stiffened, her eyes daring her to say more.

“Kura, you sound so bigoted.” Rei sighed, a feeble attempt at scolding her, which Haewon would be doing ten times louder any other day, but Sakura wouldn’t take her eyes off Yoona, their scents subtly taking jabs at the other. 

She could have told her then that she was gay, it was always ‘ could have’ for her.

But she was reminded then of the years of offhand comments that Sakura threw around about Jinsol and people like her, never enough to sound like a complete bigot but just enough that it had slowly deteriorated any sense of confidence Yoona had ever built.

She gathered her bag and excused herself quietly, but not before she bit out; 

“You can be such an asshole sometimes.” 

Those words were tossed around regularly with them, always joking, but the severe tone in Yoona’s voice was something Sakura had only heard a handful of times for as long as she’d known her. 

Sakura scoffed and held up her hands defensively.

“What? I was just joking .”

It was childish, no doubt, the microaggressions that Sakura liked to drop here and there about anyone who was visibly different from her. She needed to feel significant, her ego was a fiend in the back of her head telling her to go for the throat of those who were different.

She needed to make them feel just as small as she felt regularly. 

“Here’s your change.”

Yoona dropped the bills and coins into the customer’s outstretched hand and gave them a polite smile. 

“Have a nice day.” 

The doorbell jingled when they exited the store, followed by a long exhale from Yoona. She reopened her book and found the sentence she left off on before her aunt emerged from the back room, wiping her hands on her apron. 

“Hey, Yoonie, can you stock the new shipment of ice cream? After, feel free to take your break.”

“Sure, auntie.” 

She closed her book and extracted herself from the counter, picking up the box of cold treats she set up in the back by the freezers, meticulously sorting them into rows. 

With no customers around then, the hours between school and the evening were primarily relaxed, she put her earphones in and opened her music app, humming along to a random playlist.

With music filling her head, she failed to hear the doorbell jingle until a figure appeared at the end of the aisle, eyes hesitant and staring at her.  

She lifted the last pint of ice cream onto the designated rack and then went to collapse the cardboard box for recycling when the figure caught her attention. 

Quickly pulling the pods from her ears she swallowed and stared at the other girl, who was pretending to look through the racks of instant noodles at the end, brow furrowed.

“Can I…help you?” Yoona coughed and Chaewon finally turned back to her with an awkward smile.

“Hi…uh, sorry, my parents are next door doing errands, I just wanted to pop in and say hi and buy some...noodles.”

Chaewon grabbed the first pack in front of her and held it up. 

Without giving her another thought, Yoona turned back at the pile of ice cream bars before her, 

“Well, hi, then, my aunt can ring you up at the counter.”

She almost regretted the coolness of her voice, but she was sick of folding around the other alpha, her heart was dangling by a string, suspended in the air.

Whenever she thought about Chaewon, saw her and Wonyoung holding hands, or sharing a kiss in the hall, she felt the string snap and collapse into her chest. 

Sliding the door to the freezer open, she started to stack the bars up high, attempting to ignore the way Chaewon stood frozen in place, eyes still focusing on her. 

“Do you need something else?” She didn’t look away from her task when she heard Chaewon sigh. 

The action made Yoona freeze, hand outstretched in front of her, holding an ice cream sandwich, she peered through the freezer door, through the foggy glass, at the blurry figure of her first heartbreak. 

She felt her heart seize up when she started down the aisle toward her, footsteps intentional, her hands wringing together nervously.

The other girl, who rarely showed any sign of nerves, knelt on the other side of the door, head hung low.

“I’m sorry Yoona,” voice just above a sharp whisper, but it implied so many things, “I’m sorry everything had to get so messed up with us.”

Had to?

The taller alpha’s jaw tightened, and while she continued restocking, Chaewon shifted closer to the door between them.

“It’s not a big deal,” Yoona lied, “People kiss all the time, and it means–nothing.” 

The word ‘nothing’ almost suffocated her, and Chaewon did not fare better, tears springing to her eyes. 

“This isn’t easy, who we are, it’s never going to be fucking easy,” Chaewon bit out, and Yoona wanted to slam the door shut to get a clear view of her face but stayed still.

She wanted to challenge her to say it, say the words, this was just another way of dancing around the word; gay. 

“I never asked anything of you, Chaewon, I never said anything to anyone, yet here you are, so what do you want? What more can you take from me?”

The door jingled again, and both looked toward the sound of a new customer. Yoona huffed and haphazardly stacked the rest of the items and swung the freezer close, the barrier between them crumbling.

“I’m taking my break!” She called toward the front and nodded to the alley behind the store. 

They stood a reasonable distance from each other, Yoona against the wall by the garbage, and Chaewon just watched her, pain evident on both of their faces.

Yoona was reminded of the day the other girl came to her, after their kiss, frenzied, begging her to keep her mouth shut, and hoping in some unrealistic way that they would both forget anything ever happened. 

After a few eternities of silence, Chaewon spoke shakily, “Wonyoung means nothing, I—don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You’re hiding.”

Yoona wasn’t trying to be mean, but her voice came out that way; harsh, unforgiving.

“You’re no better than me.” Chaewon retorted, eyes darkening in anger. 

She pushed off the wall and frowned, “At least I’m not dragging along my best friend and giving her false hope.”

That shut her up. Chaewon stiffened, her eyes casting downward. She shrunk back, arms wrapping around herself in shame. 

It was no secret that Wonyoung had been in love with Chaewon since elementary school, and to anyone, it would appear that the omega was having a dream fulfilled, but to her, she saw right through the curtain.

“You don’t get it, your parents will probably welcome you with open arms—I might as well start looking into witness protection if mine ever find out.”

Yoona doesn’t deny it, in the grand scope of things, she has nothing to worry about when it comes to Mina and Nayeon.

“I’m sorry,” She shut her eyes, “You’re right. But I haven’t told them, or anyone. Every time I try, I chicken out. So yeah, I guess I am no better than you.”

The other girl raised her head in surprise, 

“Yoona, you’re the person I want to be with. If I could then you have no idea—I would be at your door in a heartbeat.”

Yoona’s heart slammed against her ribcage, threatening to break every bone in her chest with its loud beating. 

Chaewon says the words so firmly Yoona thinks she may be dreaming because of all the words she dreamed of hearing her say she didn’t know these would ever be within reach, but here they were laid bare in front of her—and it made her furious.

“You don’t get to do this to me,” She suddenly cried, “You don’t get to seek me out just to give me false hope, I’ve been sick over us for weeks, I can barely hold myself together and then you come barging into my life whenever it’s convenient for you.”

“Yoona—” Chaewon reached for her, but the words died in her throat, she wanted to beg for something that she may never be able to have, but couldn’t find it in herself to do so.  

Yoona recoiled, burned, fists clenched at her sides. 

“I will not become your secret keeper. I won’t spend my life hiding with you.”

She hastily wiped the tears from her eyes and couldn’t even bring herself to look at Chaewon, she turned and yanked the back door open.

“Go. You should go.” 

Her aunt was standing on the other side, a garbage bag in hand, eyebrows raised.

“You okay, honey?” Her aunt tried to see Yoona’s face, dropping the bag the young alpha brushed her off, “Yeah, f-fine.”

She glanced over her shoulder to see Chaewon standing in the alley, tears streaming down her face before the door slammed shut. 

There were many perks to being a parent, some that Mina wouldn’t realize until she started raising Yoona, Nayeon claimed they couldn’t have gotten luckier with such a good kid, but it was beyond luck for Mina.

She would have fought the entire world if they disagreed because everyone likes to say that their kid is the best but Mina believed this to her very core; there was no one like Yoona. 

One of those perks, unique to her kid; was that she would, without complaining, wait in line with Mina for hours outside of the Lego store whenever there was an exclusive drop. Sometimes she would even suggest it before Mina could. 

It was their thing that filled her with immense joy to share this with her daughter. 

Nayeon had parts of her relationship with Yoona that Mina would never understand and didn’t need to be privy to, and then she and Yoona had their ‘nerd things’, as her wife so lovingly referred to them.

On this particular day, the line was longer than average. Although they had become familiar with the same faces that showed up to these things, there were many new ones this time. 

“I think we should try to get two of the big sets so we can race to see who can finish theirs first.”

Yoona was crouched beside her, legs tired after the last few hours of standing, face buried in the guide they had printed of the new sets releasing that day. 

“Yeah? Counteroffer: One big set and two of the smaller ones.”

Mina smiled proudly, and Yoona held out her hand, “Deal!”

The rest of the mall was quiet except for the growing line outside the store, entering its fifth hour of waiting. 

They’d been doing these kinds of drops for years, and with Mina’s connections through her company, she could easily snag them the sets they wanted. They could have left behind the fuss of waiting in line with everyone else long ago, but they both agreed there was some kind of thrill in doing it this way. 

The satisfaction of holding a brand new, bright yellow, box in their hands wasn’t nearly as exhilarating if they could just have it handed to them—no, this was a part of the experience besides building the damn thing. 

Yoona checked her phone when a text from Nayeon lit up the screen, with many typos, probably because it was very early and her mother was not a morning person. 

Eomma: Sty safee, loive youu!!

She read the text aloud with a laugh and showed the screen to her mother, who snorted at her wife’s sleepy message. 

Nayeon was always invited to these things, but her typical response was, ‘I’d rather be anywhere else.' but, that didn’t stop her from packing snacks and thermoses full of coffee to get them through. 

“How’s work going? Your aunt isn’t overworking you, is she?” Mina asked casually and Yoona was taken back to the other day in the alley, a rock dropping into her stomach.

“It’s good, yeah, nothing new. She’s sad I'll have to leave when university starts, the commute would be too much.”

Mina chose her following words carefully, “She mentioned to us that you looked upset the other day…that some friend had come into the store and you were arguing or something.”

Yoona froze up, slightly annoyed her aunt had given her away but she didn’t ask her to do otherwise, too upset from the whole thing, she’d forgotten to ask not to mention it to her already anxious parents. 

“Oh, I’m fine, it was just a friend I was doing a project with—we were rushing to finish it.”

She rushed out the excuse and hoped her mother didn’t question it, if it had been Nayeon, maybe she would but Mina wasn’t one to push where she shouldn’t. 

Mina smiled tightly at her but nodded.

“Okaasan?”

“Hm?”

“I don’t think I’ve heard your side of it—meaning your love story with eomma.”

Mina blinked and then crouched down to be beside her, “Oh,” She blinked again, “What do you want to know?”

Yoona tilted her head, “I know that you two went in circles before actually getting together, eomma told me she let you go the first time and it was the biggest mistake she’d ever made.”

The older alpha chuckled, tucking that away in the back of her head to later tease Nayeon about.

“So I wondered, why didn’t you fight for her?”

Mina set down her coffee thermos and took a singular, quick breath. Her daughter’s fascination with her and Nayeon’s story had started early, so they gave her a condensed version growing up—like a fairytale. 

Mina had loved Nayeon, but she rejected her. Mina waited until Nayeon realized her mistake, and then it was history from there; very simplified. 

“You can’t make someone love you, even if they already do, they have to admit it to themselves first. It’s an important, but difficult, lesson to learn in life.”

She didn’t give her the simplified version this time. 

“Was it hard for you?”

Mina let her head fall against the wall with a gentle thud, a sliver of pain passing through her eyes so quickly that if Yoona blinked, she would have missed it,

“It was the hardest thing.”

The story of her divorce would be for another time, far, far in the future. 

“Did you just wait around for her?”

“Not really, I…I dated someone else for a bit, then I guess she had to do her waiting.”

“You did?!” Yoona straightened up, face full of childish curiosity. 

Mina scrunched her nose, embarrassment settling into her cheeks, but it was too late to backtrack. Both she and Nayeon had long avoided the topic, and they couldn’t dodge it any longer. 

“Who? What’s her name?” Yoona grabbed her mother’s sleeve and Mina mumbled quietly, “It was Lisa–”

“Aunt Lisa?! That Lisa?!”

She almost shouted but realized they were still in public, so she lowered her voice as if she were being told a secret in the school hallway. 

Her mother laughed again and shrugged as if to say; ‘what can you do?’

“How long did you date? Did you love her?”

“A couple of months, and I—didn’t love her in that way, I was pretty unfair to her actually. I have a lot of love for her, and always will, but nothing compared to your mother, and Lisa eventually realized that.”

Yoona noticed the regretful tone and understood, reaching out she squeezed her arm. 

“What would you have done if eomma never admitted she loved you back?”

“I would have waited, for as long as she needed, even if it never happened, I would have waited forever if she asked. There is no one like Nayeon,” Mina answered instantly, it was the most straightforward thing she didn’t even have to think about it. 

She observed her daughter’s face closley, a range of emotions making themselves known before disappearing. 

“Waiting for Nayeon was worth it, when you know you just know, but we got lucky –” She lifted her arm and pulled Yoona against her, ruffling her hair affectionately. “The wait isn’t always worth it. You can only do so much if someone’s heart or head is elsewhere. You have to learn to choose yourself, okay?”

Mina tried to convey her severeness, hoping her words would get past Yoona’s glass wall. 

Yoona exhaled, “Wow,” She smiled, “Us alphas have it bad, huh?”

Mina barked out a laugh, surprising even herself. 

“Yeah, I guess we really do, kid.”

A part of her heart hurt for the long journey her daughter would eventually have to endure and she prayed it would have as little heartache as possible, but something told her that already wasn’t the case. 

Mina stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind her with a click, stretching her stiff arms over her head, she called into the space, “I’m home!”

A second later, 

“We’re in here!” Her wife called back, the sound coming from Yoona’s room.

She rolled her shoulders and stepped down the hall, trying to work out the kinks from being hunched over her desk all day.

Nayeon was on the edge of Yoona’s bed, holding up various articles of clothing as the teenager stepped around a suitcase and tried to answer her mother’s questions.

“And just in case it gets cold, I think three sweaters should be enough–”

“Eomma, it’s the beginning of the summer, I think one is more than enough.” Yoona stood in the middle of her room as Nayeon folded the sweater and placed it in her suitcase. 

“Still packing?” Mina mused from the doorway before closing the short distance to her wife with a few strides to kiss her. 

“She thinks I need to pack for the apocalypse, it’s only a week .” 

Their daughter complained, and Mina laughed good-naturedly, stepping in to diffuse the situation when she saw Nayeon ready to launch into a rant about temperature drops.

“I think she just wants you to be prepared, it’s your first big trip away from home.” 

“Okay,” Yoona conceded, and Nayeon perked up, “I’ll take two sweaters.”

“Fine. I’ll take that.” Nayeon accepted the terms begrudgingly. 

“Ready to go?” Mina turned to her wife, prying her away from the suitcase and giving Yoona a second to breathe.

“Give me a second to touch up my makeup!”

She quickly kissed Mina’s lips and hurried to their bathroom, the alpha loitered in the doorway of Yoona’s room, “You gonna be okay without us tonight?”

Yoona glanced away from her phone screen, and the frown on her face disappeared. “I’ll be fine. I'm just gonna order takeout, and Haewon might come over.”

Mina nodded awkwardly, trying to scrounge up something else to say but falling flat, instead, she made a complete fool of herself.

“Don’t do anything…I wouldn’t do! Ha…”

The confused expression Yoona gave her would have made a teenage Mina want to lock herself in the bathroom and sob in humiliation. 

She straightened up and tried to put on her parenting hat, “I know you two are friends , but–”

“Oh my god, okaasan, we’re not dating, I promise.”

“Okay, I’m ready!”

Saved just in time. 

Nayeon reappeared, having changed from her work clothes into a light summery dress, her hair out of its usual bun and flowing over her shoulders. She noticed Mina’s awkward stance and gave her a confused eyebrow raise, 

Mina’s breath caught at the sight of her, “Every time I see you, it’s like the first time.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and pressed their lips together, ignoring the eye roll Yoona gave them.

“Please get out of my room before you start making out.”

Nayeon giggled and tugged Mina from the door and back to the hall, pressing her against the wall for one last firm kiss.

Her touch, her lips, never ceased to leave Mina breathless, grasping to remember her name, age, and where she lived every time Nayeon pulled away, a mischievous smirk on her lips. 

“Hi.”

Mina grinned, “Hi.”

Nayeon turned to face Yoona, “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us? I’m sure Jeong would love to see you, she hasn’t since Christmas.”

She held out her hand and hoped her daughter would say yes, leaving her alone lately made her nervous, a fact she hadn’t told anyone—not even Mina.

But Yoona shook her head, “I’m fine, Haewon is probably coming over anyways, thank you eomma.”

She conceded with some difficulty, touching her neck when Mina offered her a comforting nudge. 

Nayeon reached for her purse in the front hall and called over her shoulder to Yoona, “Be good! We’ll be home no later than ten.”

“I will! Tell auntie Jeongyeon hello for me.”

“We will!”

The door shut behind them, and Mina linked their hands, “How was your lunch with Jihyo and Dahyun?”

Nayeon tried to remember exactly how the afternoon ended, the alcohol had long left her system but the memories were still a little fuzzy, she mainly remembered worrying over Yoona and then the shock of Jihyo telling them about Sakura and Haewon.

Yet, she promised she wouldn’t say anything, not even to Mina.

“It was good; they just told me to trust she’ll talk to us eventually.”

There was an abnormally higher pitch to her wife’s voice when she answered, and from years of being with her, Mina knew there was something else underneath it. But she didn’t push. 

“Momo and Sana told me to do the same.”

Nayeon pursed her lips and sagged against her, finding comfort in the satisfied rumble that left Mina’s chest.

“But you don’t want to, do you?” Nayeon pushed against her teasingly, and Mina groaned.

“Of course not.”

Mina was concerned, but she didn’t show it as much as Nayeon did, she didn’t want Yoona to freak out and push herself further away from them. 

She reminded Mina of when she was a teenager; pensive and preferred to process her feelings before talking about them. 

They got into Mina’s car and left the garage, the alpha punching in the address to the restaurant Jeongyeon picked into the GPS. 

“She’s also a hormonal teenager, it’s normal.” She tried to reassure Nayeon.

“That’s what you say, but for all we know, she could be doing drugs and ditching class!”

Nayeon threw her hands up, and Mina tried to appease her, forcing her laughter down. 

“Okay, first of all, you know that isn’t Yoona at all, she won’t even take a sip of our wine when we offer it to her, and secondly, she has near-perfect grades she’s not ditching.”

The omega sighed and let her head loll back against the seat to watch the passing cars and buildings. 

“What are the odds she got her heart broken?” 

Nayeon said it without thinking, the thought so flippant, but it made Mina slam on the brakes, head whipping to face her wife. 

Jeongyeon was uncharacteristically early, the hostess informed them she was already seated at their table, making both Nayeon and Mina confused when they followed her to see that the other was waiting for them, a glass of wine already in front of her.

Her hair was a bit shorter from when Nayeon had seen her last winter, but she didn’t look as tired as she typed frantically on her phone when she spotted them.

“Hi, how are you?” 

She walked around the table to hug Nayeon and Mina before they sat down, motioning to the waitress for another glass of wine.

They exchanged the usual casualties, although Mina noticed Jeongyeon was bouncing her leg under the table, folding and unfolding her hands every few minutes, eyes darting around the menu.

“How’s Yoona? How’s she doing?” 

They were thrown off by the number of questions Jeongyeon had, usually, she would have a lot to talk about with work and Jungwoo but the spotlight was on them tonight.

“She’s good, graduating in a month, I can’t believe it.” 

Nayeon looped her arm through Mina’s and rested her chin on her shoulder.

“Which school did she decide on?”

“Korea University, just like her okaasan.” 

Nayeon grinned, and Mina blushed, “I had no influence! She made the decision herself.”

After placing their orders, Jeongyeon cleared her throat, voice low and quiet, “Jisoo and I have decided to separate, I’m going to move back to Seoul, and she’s going to stay in Daegu.”

The other shoe finally dropped. 

“Oh, Jeong—” Nayeon began, but she shook her head and gave her friend a sad shrug,

“It’s for the best, Jungwoo is off to university, we–we tried our best but I can’t pretend anymore.”

Mina swallowed and stared down at her empty plate, unsure of what to say, she felt her wife shift anxiously beside her. 

“Are you sure? I thought therapy was going well for you two.”

Jeongyeon sighed and tore off a piece of bread from the basket, shrugging, “It was, but it helped us realize we’re not compatible anymore. I don’t know if we ever were.”

Before Nayeon could intervene with another comment, the older alpha kept going, “We tried for a long time, for him, but we decided to end before things got nasty.”

They still loved each other, Jeongyeon knew she always would, and she would never trade their years of marriage for anything, but the time to close their chapter was here, no matter how long they tried to avoid it.

“Good thing we’re both lawyers, the process is ten times easier.” She tried to joke with a half-hearted chuckle but Nayeon kept a serious exterior, arms crossed. 

She stayed quiet for the rest of the meal, save for a few words here and there, making Mina have to carry most of the conversation with Jeongyeon—not one of her strong suits.

She stuttered around different topics of conversation, glancing at Nayeon for help occasionally. 

Still, her mate had set her eyes on Jeongyeon’s face as if she were trying to read into her thoughts. 

The other alpha seemed to be used to it, writing it off as an overreaction from her oldest friend, she knew Nayeon would take a day or two to process her divorce and then come back at her with a million questions.

“How long are you in town for?”

Mina dabbed her napkin at her lips before setting it on her empty plate. Jeongyeon scratched her neck and chuckled, “Only for another couple of days. I’m starting back up at the Seoul office, so I have to return to Deagu to get my things. Then I move into my new apartment in a few weeks.”

“If you need any help let us know.” 

Mina offered with a nod, and Jeongyeon returned it, both sharing a sad smile. 

“You’ve said about three words since we left dinner, should I be worried?”

Mina was pulling back the duvet on their bed, glasses on and her book in hand, when Nayeon exited the bathroom, in her sleep clothes, still carrying a deep frown on her otherwise beautiful features.

“Baby?” Mina tried again, climbing onto the bed after her, fluffing the pillows behind her head.

Nayeon wrapped herself up in the blankets and sank back into the mattress, eyes fixed on the ceiling when she spoke, her voice was a little husky after hours of not using it. 

“When did it all start changing?”

Mina sighed and leaned close to wrap an arm around her, pressing her lips against her forehead. 

“When did what start changing?"

Nayeon huffed, “Our lives…our friend’s lives.” She sat up, arms folded in front of her once more. 

“My best friend is getting a–divorce? Our daughter is graduating high school in a matter of weeks–” Her voice got small, afraid, making Mina sit up and tighten her arms around her.

“I’m scared I’ll blink, and the next thing you know, we’ll be at Jeongyeon’s second wedding or something, and then Yoona will have a family of her own.”

Mina almost groaned at the thought of their daughter marrying anyone, shaking her head to dispel any of those thoughts. 

“I want to freeze time, I don’t feel like I ever have enough—what if Yoona doesn’t need us one day? What if she doesn’t want to be around us?”

“Hey, hey…” Mina framed her cheeks and finally got Nayeon to look at her, fingers trailing from her cheek to the mark on her wife’s neck.

“That’s never going to happen, you know it will always be the three of us. And yes, we can’t freeze time, but we can try to enjoy every minute of it.”

Mina kissed along her shoulder and neck, nudging her nose softly against their shared mark. 

“I get that feeling sometimes, too; that time is happening around me instead of to me, but I’ll always ground you–I’ll always bring you back home.”

Nayeon relaxed a little and let the calm feeling emanating from her mark wash over her, 

“Feels like yesterday you were teaching Yoona how to ride a bike and now she wants to get her license. I just don’t want to miss anything—big or small.”

The alpha laid back and brought Nayeon with her, letting her rest her head against her chest to hear her soft rumbles.

“You won’t, I’d never let you miss a minute.”

“Now! Passback!” 

Yoona swiveled around, the soccer ball under her cleats moving with her before she saw Yunjin calling attention to her open position. 

Vaulting the ball in her direction, everyone groaned when the other team intercepted, her hands flying to her hair in frustration. 

“Yoona, hustle back!”

The coach yelled from the sideline, pointing to the hustling teammates at the other end of the field. 

They were tied with Seoul Prep, 7-7, with just ten minutes left of the championship game.

A blur from the corner of her eye made her turn and spot Sakura and Kazuha coming down the center of the field, quickly mowing down anyone who tried to get in their way.

She repositioned herself toward the goal and held up her hand, 

“Kura! Now!”

Sakura gave the signal, then took a shot on the goal, the crowd holding their breath. 

The ball whizzed past the field before another player took possession, the rapid speed making it easy to lose track of the game. 

Their parents sat in the crowd, following down to the very second. 

“Oh my god, how do you watch this? I’m on the edge of my seat!” 

Jihyo covered her face, clinging to her wife, every so often peaking an eye out to see the scoreboard. 

Sana laughed beside her and squeezed her hand, “What do you mean? You don’t find this calming?”

“At least you’re not like Momo, she’s going to have an aneurysm, I can see her forehead vein popping out.”

Mina teased and pointed to their friend standing by the edge of the field, arms crossed, her head swiveling back and forth as intensely as someone following a tennis match. 

Dahyun laughed beside them, legs crossed and relaxed in her lawn chair, “The funny thing is she claims not to be that invested.”

“This is so boring, I have no idea why you come to these things by choice .”

Eunchae was on the grass before her mother, sitting beside Haewon, who was furiously making notes in her journal for the school paper. She peered over her shoulder to glimpse what she was writing but it just looked like a jumble of nonsensical words.

She had to stifle her laughter when the referee made a bad call and Haewon shot off her knees, 

“That was such a lousy call!”

The younger omega snorted and poked Haewon’s side, “See? Lame.”

Dahyun sighed and gave Jihyo and Sana a look, leaning forward to rub Eunchae’s shoulder, 

“She thinks anything that isn’t punk rock is boring, pay no mind to her.”

Eunchae gave her mother an annoyed eye roll, then fit a pair of large headphones over her head and took out her phone. 

“Look at our little journalist, she’s so cute!” Sana leaned forward and tried to pet Haewon’s hair and giggled when she batted her hand away, whining. 

Jihyo whispered to Dahyun, “She insisted she couldn’t miss this game.”

“I couldn’t! I’m head of the school paper! it’s going to be the cover story!”

“Mmhmm.” Jihyo blew Haewon a kiss when she scrunched her nose in embarrassment, the tips of her ears turning red. 

“Did I miss anything?” Nayeon appeared beside Mina frantically, holding two sodas while her eyes eagerly searched the scoreboard.

“Nothing still, Sakura almost scored but the goalie got it, now there’s only seven minutes left.” 

Mina muttered anxiously, covering her hands with her sleeves so she wouldn’t start biting her nails.

“What was the result last year?” Sana asked as she took the time to answer a few work emails on her phone. 

“We lost.”

Mina, Nayeon, and Dahyun all responded in unison. 

“Oh, huh.” She exhaled through her teeth, sharing an apprehensive look with Jihyo.  

They won, the final score was 8-7, and Sakura clinched the winning goal in the last minute with Yoona's assist. 

But it didn’t feel like winning at all to Yoona. 

Her conversation with Chaewon weighed her down like cement in her cleats, and it didn’t help that the entire game, they could barely make eye contact causing too many fumbles and missed shots to count.

When the crowd erupted in cheers and shouts of victory the sound left her ears and all she could do was fall in with the rest of the team when they lifted her and Sakura in the air.

They glow under the stadium lights, raising their arms in victory, and their captain armbands shine under the glow.

She has to remind herself to smile. 

“Can I get a shot of the captains for the paper?”

Haewon was the first to run up to them, camera in hand, brimming with pride for her best friends. 

Their captain armbands shimmered in the sunlight when Sakura wrapped her arm around Yoona’s shoulder, making a goofy peace sign and sticking her tongue out, there was nothing but pride plastered on her face.

She tried to mimic Sakura’s cheerfulness with a broad smile, but her eyes were far, far away. 

“Do you have everything? Are you sure you don’t need me to check again?”

Yoona laughed and pulled the straps of her backpack out of Nayeon’s grip before she could unzip and pull everything out.

She had already done it once during the car ride to the airport. 

“I promise, eomma, I have everything, and if by some impossibility I did forget something, from your very meticulous packing list, I can just buy it when I get there.”

Mina put her hand over her mouth to suppress a chuckle when Nayeon realized that their kid wasn’t going to the middle of the desert but to one of the most resourceful cities in Japan.

“Oh, right.”

“I love you eomma, I’ll call you when we get to the hotel.”

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Nayeon in a tight hug, now that she was taller than her mother, the omega had to get up on her tiptoes just to return the hug properly. 

Nayeon waved Mina over to join the hug, the alpha awkwardly fitting herself into the pile. 

“Be good, okay? We love you.”

Yoona smiled and took her passport from Mina, “I will, and I love you too.”

Sana was clinging to Haewon a few feet away, rocking her back and forth while Jihyo tried to pull her arms off their daughter, the young omega giggling into her mother’s shoulder.  

“You’ll call us if you need anything? Even if you just want to say hi I’ll pick up no matter what!”

Sana squeezed Haewon a little too tight, voice sad, and her daughter had to twist her body to get away, smoothing down her clothes.

“I will, I will, it’s only a week. Don’t worry okaasan, I’ll be fine.”

Jihyo ruffled her hair and kissed her forehead, “Of course she will, she’s a Minatozaki.”

Dahyun was zipping up Sakura’s bag and ensuring she had her passport when Momo jerked their daughter aside. 

A warning was already on the tip of her tongue when the young alpha held a hand up to stop her. 

“Don’t cause trouble, don’t get myself kicked off the trip, don’t do this, blah, blah, I get it.”

Momo took in a sharp breath through her nose and hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder,

“Sakura, you’re a good kid, you just have to start acting like one.”

Without another word, they rejoined the group and said their last goodbyes before heading through security to meet the rest of their class. 

Mina took Yoona’s hand and slipped a stack of Japanese bills into it, closing her fist around it.

She explained quickly, “I know you’ve been working a ton of shifts at the store and saving money for yourself but don’t spend a dime, just enjoy yourself okay?”

Yoona opened her palm and counted the money, eyes wide, “Thank you okaasan,” She hugged Mina once more before running after Sakura and Haewon on their way through security. 

Nayeon sighed as she watched them go through the security line, leaning into her wife, head resting on her shoulder. 

“Want to watch one of your action movies and get takeout?”

Mina grinned like a child in front of a brand new toy, the omega giggling at her infectious excitement. 

“Ha, nerd.” 

Momo snickered at Mina, who stuck her tongue out in response, from where she was standing behind Dahyun, arms wrapped around her wife and nosing against her soft hair.

“We’re going to do what adults actually do when the kids are busy…” Momo smirked down at Dahyun, and the omega’s eyes lit up, 

“Yes! We’re going to see all the art exhibits I've been putting off, and then we’re going to do a huge restock of kimchi, and then call your mother—”

Momo groaned and tried to quiet her, Mina sending her a smug smile. 

“Who’s the nerd now?”

Next to them, Jihyo whispered something in Sana’s ear, causing the alpha’s face to redden before she yanked her mate toward the exit, casting a rushed goodbye wave toward the general direction of her confused friends.

“Ruto’s away at a soccer intensive camp for a few days so—” Jihyo tried to explain as she was dragged away but had trouble getting the words out when Sana picked up the pace.

“Don’t call or text!” The alpha yelled over her shoulder before they were out of sight. 

The terminal was abuzz with eager students and stressed teachers trying to take attendance and wrangle anyone who had wandered off to the Starbucks or duty-free shops.

They secured a row of seats nearby, and Haewon settled in to sort through the many books on historical Tokyo she had picked up for this specific occasion. 

“Leave it to you to do work on a fun trip.” 

Yoona poked at her ear, and Haewon reached out to flick her arm.

Her tone was studious, almost chastising, and Yoona and Sakura tried not to tease. 

“While some people might use this trip as a chance to goof off it is still an educational one, and I am not going to look like an idiot if we’re quizzed on it later.”

Sakura snorted, a neck pillow secured around her shoulders, head tipped back while she flitted between dozing and paying attention to their conversation.

“Wonnie, I doubt anyone will be quizzing us on this.”

“You never know! Now shh, I’m reading.”

Haewon pushed up her glasses and put her nose back into the book, Sakura and Yoona sharing a teasing snicker. 

“Where’s Rei? Aren’t you two sitting together on the flight?”

Yoona observed everyone amid their rousing chatter when she realized she didn’t see the omega in the gaggle of other students. 

Sakura sat up and shrugged, trying to look everywhere but Haewon. 

“She said Yeri wouldn’t let her go, it’s a punishment for the entire park thing or whatever.”

“Really? That sucks, I’m sorry.”

“It is what it is.”

Sakura changed the subject, “I’m going to get a magazine and some gum before we board, anyone want to come with?”

Haewon shook her head, and Yoona frowned but declined, “We’ll stay here and watch your stuff.”

Without attention to her book wavering, Haewon nudged Yoona’s leg, “Did you hear Chaewon dumped Wonyoung?”

Yoona’s head whipped to hers and swallowed hard, any coherent words running away from her. 

“What—what? Before the trip?”

Haewon turned a page over, “Pretty cold, right? I went to her place last week, she’s a wreck. I’m surprised she still decided to come.”

Yoona tried to hide her surprise, she could see Wonyoung a few seats away with two of her friends, and every so often, she’d glance in Chaewon’s direction longingly. 

Haewon lifted her eyes from her book to follow Yoona’s line of sight, tilting her head slightly. 

“Hey, Jinsol, want to sit with us?” Haewon saw the alpha searching for an unclaimed seat and waved her over, Yoona giving her a friendly smile when she sat beside the omega.

She set her bag down and chuckled, a little embarrassed. 

“Thanks, I figured getting here a little late meant all the seats would be taken.” 

A few more pleasantries and conversational topics later, Haewon had roped Jinsol into perusing her books together, though the alpha showed a genuine interest. 

“Have you ever been?”

Yoona blinked and realized Jinsol was directing the question to her. She nodded, “Only once, every time we visit, it’s mostly in Osaka to see my grandparents and my eomma used to work at the aquarium there.”

Jinsol nodded and returned to the page Haewon was on, something about Japanese sculpture gardens.

“My eomma mentioned the aquarium to me, we visited when I was an infant, I don’t remember it but from the photos, it looks like I had a lot of fun.”

In some weird way that she hadn’t thought of until now, because of their mothers' decades-long friendship, Nayeon had known Jinsol before Yoona was in her life. 

She wished, deep down, that she had known Jinsol earlier than just a few years. 

The other alpha smiled softly up at Yoona and she returned the gesture, lingering for a moment on her soft features. 

Her eyes were big, very similar to Yoona’s, but they had a gentleness that she didn’t believe her own to have. Her hair was longer and a little darker than when they had initially met, and it filled Yoona with a pang of confusing guilt that she didn’t notice these things until now. 

Jinsol was pretty when she smiled, and when it was aimed in Yoona’s direction, her stomach did a flip. 

“Everyone, gather around for your room assignments, quiet, no wandering off!”

Their teacher, Ms. Sato, stood at the front of the gaggle of teenagers, waving her hand frantically to get their attention.

“Hey, silence !”

The hotel lobby noise fell quiet, the barking voice coming from Coach, who wasn’t only their intimidating soccer coach but an equally intimidating history teacher. 

“Uh, yes, thank you Coach Lee,” Ms. Sato cleared her throat and held up her clipboard, “These room assignments are final, we will not entertain complaining or swaps. Once your name is called please come collect your key and head up to your assigned floor.”

“And remember, omegas are prohibited from being in any alpha’s rooms at all times, and vice versa. Anyone found violating this rule will be sent home and their parents will be notified immediately.” 

Coach Lee added, voice severe, she remained beside Ms. Sato, arms crossed and a permanent frown on her face.

“Think Coach will ever pull that stick out of her ass?” Sakura joked quietly so only Haewon and Yoona could hear it, both trying to suppress their laughs. 

Much to their delight, Yoona and Sakura were assigned roommates, and they ended up on the same floor as Haewon, who was rooming with her friend Tsuki. 

“Dude, I wanna start exploring already—I’m antsy!” 

Sakura was sprawled on her bed, making snow angel-like movements with her limbs, while Yoona unpacked and arranged her clothes neatly, unlike her roommate, who had haphazardly thrown her suitcase on a chair the moment they arrived.

“I think you’ll get plenty of that in an hour.” 

Yoona was tired from the trip, although a short flight, she hadn’t slept well the night before, and having to get up at the crack of dawn for the flight wasn’t all that helpful either. 

“You chose the temple walking tour, right?” Sakura lifted her head from the pillows and Yoona bit her lip, head down.

Sakura groaned, “Yoona, you promised we’d sign up for it together!”

“I ended up choosing the museum visit at the last minute, I have an art final to finish!”

Yoona tried to defend herself but Sakura was already annoyed, rubbing her forehead.

“I’ll be with you at dinner, you’ll survive without me.” Yoona intoned before she could get any more upset, laughing when the other teenager tossed a pillow at her. 

There were certain things that Dahyun had grown accustomed to in her daily routine, those things typically consisted of Momo and Sakura fighting about something, Eunchae not being able to find an item of clothing, and Mako leaving her cleats or sports gear somewhere in the house where it wasn’t meant to be. 

But today, her routine felt different. 

She didn’t trip over Sakura’s skateboard, usually left at the bottom of the stairs, and the laundry room was void of any of Mako’s sports equipment.

The house was quieter, with Sakura away, it was a given that there would be small instances of peace instead of her eldest daughter yelling at her mother or her siblings, but this was a silence that Dahyun wasn’t used to even when any of their children spent a few days away from them.

There wasn’t much cleaning for her to do either, she had taken care of the laundry earlier in the week and Momo had taken the day off yesterday to help deep clean their pantry; in all sense, Dahyun should have felt relaxed. Still, her hands were itching to find something to do because she knew nothing was this easy.

It hadn’t been since they became parents, and more for her when she had decided to take a complete step back to be a full-time mother. 

Her days were filled with crying, whining, laughter, and plenty of tears, none of that had changed even as the kids grew—only multiplied. 

Just to be sure, she checked the wall calendar she had in the kitchen, usually marked up with giant red circles and scribbled in appointments and activities but to her shock the rest of the week was entirely open. 

“That doesn’t make any sense…” She mumbled to herself when she heard the footsteps of her youngest enter the kitchen, “Eomma!”

Ah, finally, something she could do. 

“Yes, honey?” She whirled around and found Mako with a jacket already on, shoes in hand, and a backpack clutched in her other hand.

“Just wanted to say goodbye, I’ll be back tomorrow evening.” 

Dahyun blinked and then removed her kitchen gloves, wracking her brain for an answer until Mako caught onto her confusion.

“Riku’s family is taking us to the water park for the day, remember?”

She regained composure and nodded slowly at her daughter, “Right, I remember now! Do you need me to pack you any snacks, do you have both of your bathing suits?”

Mako smiled and held up the backpack, “I have everything I need, I promise, eomma.”

The omega wiped her hands on her apron and moved past the counter to hug her, “When do you leave? I was going to do our kimchi restock and I know you love doing it with me.”

The youngest Hirai appeared guilty and touched her mother’s arm.

“I’m so sorry eomma, they’re going to be here any minute to pick me up—if I had known—”

She stopped her daughter and kissed the top of her head, not wanting her to feel any more guilty than she looked, returning to the counter, she slipped her gloves back on.

“I understand entirely honey, have the best time.”

She smiled tightly and heard the door buzzer, indicating that Mako’s friend was waiting for her downstairs. 

“I will, I love you!” Mako hurried to the door and almost stumbled over herself to secure both her shoes simultaneously.

“I love you!” Dahyun called back with a light-hearted giggle.

The house was quiet once more, only the gentle sounds of her music filled the kitchen as she chopped and washed the giant cabbages to prepare them for the kimchi-making process. 

“Eomma, I’m headed out.”

Eunchae appeared in the doorway, balancing her drumsticks on top of a stack of music sheets.

“Oh! I didn’t even know you were home.” Dahyun jumped a little, putting a hand on her chest over her fast-beating heart. 

“Don’t wait up–I have practice and then we’re going to the music festival in the park.”

She turned without giving her mother a chance to react, before she called out, “Wait! Are you sure you have to hurry out? Do you want to stay and help restock the kimchi? You used to love doing it together!”

The younger omega was tying up her shoes and stopped, sighing a bit, “I’m sorry eomma,” She did sound genuinely regretful, “I’m just swamped today. Next time, I promise.”

Dahyun felt a sting in her heart but didn’t let it show, with a nod, she blew Eunchae a kiss and helped her out the door, letting it close her into the silence once more.

There was a heaviness to her movements now, a slowness she wasn’t afforded when all three kids crowded her for things, to take them places or make food for them, but now it was all she had. And she didn’t like it.

She thought about calling Chaeyoung while she worked, they liked to talk while doing chores and the like, and it was only a one-hour time difference between Seoul and Taipei, but she thought better of it, not wanting to interrupt her friend’s trip. 

It was hard to think of a time when Dahyun wasn’t doing something related to their children, whether school or otherwise. She felt obsolete now, the feeling creeping in ever so slowly like an omen that was bound to come true eventually. 

Momo was constantly telling her that their growing up was good she was counting the days until they were old enough to walk and feed themselves, this could give Dahyun more time to return to her hobbies but in truth, if you asked her what those were she wouldn’t be able to name them. 

Many a time had she thought about going back to composing, picking up a project here and there, Mina had offered more than once since the launch of her company—insisting that no one could compose a score like Dahyun, but she politely declined because it would be too taxing with all three girls still at home.

Then a year or two after Mako was born, Dahyun considered picking up her pencil and dusting off the grand piano in the living room, even though she barely played it anymore, she still made sure it kept in tune, her ability to possess perfect pitch made it easy, until Momo one night after drinking one too many beers floated the idea of a fourth child. 

The concept didn’t catch her off guard, but her wife being the one to bring it up made her pause. Half-heartedly, they tried to conceive for a couple of months, but nothing too serious. If it happened, it happened, but after a few false starts, the task became too much of a hassle when they had to juggle multiple toddlers, Dahyun’s overbearing parents, and Momo’s restaurant schedule. 

But once again, Dahyun had put any thoughts of a career on hold. 

She finished chopping and washing the cabbage quietly, leaving it sit in the salt before completing the process. She made the spice paste and hummed to herself, the time ticking by. 

If she thought long and hard enough back to a time before the children, even before Momo, she had aspired to be a mother, as cliché and perhaps a little backward as it may sound. Nayeon certainly had a lot to say about it when they were younger. 

Despite her genetic makeup and rank as an omega, she wanted it more than those who fell into it out of obligation.

Finally, she jarred the last bits of the cabbage to ferment in her homemade paste and arranged them in the pantry. She took her time cleaning up the kitchen, but it barely killed half an hour and Momo wouldn’t be home until late that night. 

She sunk into the couch and flipped through their many streaming services, trying to find a movie or a drama she had yet to watch. Everything was cluttered with Sakura and Eunchae’s lists causing her to give up or else she’d have a headache organizing them.

Dahyun, before three kids, would have loved to curl up with a book, one of the many she had let fall to the wayside, but now Dahyun, with three kids, couldn’t concentrate on a page for more than a minute without the feeling of impatience hanging over her.

With nothing to do, she stared out the far window, watching the bustle of the city—people with things to do and places to be, until the sun set for the evening. 

The dogs nudged their noses against her leg curiously and she reached out to scratch their ears, making sure to give them each their dinner, but then returned to the couch and kept her eyes still.

Momo stepped through the door at her usual time and bent down to greet the dogs. Their eager noses nudged and prodded her hands, which probably smelled of salt and meat from hours in the kitchen.

She frowned when she realized most of the lights were off and the house quiet, she thought for a moment that Dahyun might have stepped out and forgotten to send her a text, but her shoes were by the door.

Undoing the front of her chef’s jacket she slid it off her arms and walked to the laundry room behind the kitchen to deposit it into the wash. 

“Dahyun?” She called into the kitchen when she noticed two bags of untouched takeout on the island, the food was most definitely cold by now. 

She searched further into the house until she saw the back of her wife’s head on the couch, she smiled and headed into the large room, “There you are, I thought you had gone out it’s so quiet. Did you get takeout?”

When there was no response, her frown grew and she stepped around the couch to find Dahyun in the same position, her hair was combed over her back, makeup gone, and wearing one of Momo’s t-shirts she looked from the outside relaxed but when she got closer she could see the red rims under her eyes.

She was tiny against the cushions, curled into herself.

“Baby, have you been crying? What’s wrong?”

Momo was before her in seconds, deep concern replacing her frown, she reached for Dahyun’s hands, and only then did the omega move her eyes away from the window to her mate. 

The alpha put a hand over the mark on her neck in search of answers, and suddenly realized she hadn’t felt a thing all afternoon and evening. 

Momo never had trouble feeling Dahyun, she could almost decipher the exact mood she would find her wife in upon getting home, but now a wall was up. 

Every alarm in Momo’s head went off at once. She didn’t feel sadness, despair, pain, happiness, nothing—and that nothing terrified her.

“Sweetie, you’re scaring me–” Momo whispered shakily, thumbs rubbing slowly over Dahyun’s knuckles she didn’t know whether to call 911 or take her to the hospital herself, but sensing the panic rising from Momo she shook her head, fresh tears in her eyes.

“Am I useless?”

Momo exhaled a long sigh of relief and then, “What do you mean, baby?”

Dahyun shifted and her eyes fell to their hands.

“Without the kids around, am I useless? I–I feel purposeless without something to do for them or with them.” 

She shook her head, hot embarrassment flooding her chest, but Momo looked at her with nothing but worry and love.

“Dahyun, you’re the least useless person I know.”

The younger woman hiccuped and then gestured around with her hands,

“I was a person before them…I was someone before my life became playdates, school meetings, and everything else.”

Momo got onto the couch and pulled her seamlessly onto her lap, brushing the hair away from her face.

“I know that, baby, what’s got you thinking about this?”

Dahyun pushed her face into her wife’s shoulder, wanting the alpha’s scent to suffocate her if it couldn’t ground her. 

“The calendar…it’s empty. All of our kids are out of the house doing things. There’s nothing for me to do. I’m nothing.”

Her voice got small, raw, and Momo tightened her arms around her protectively. 

“ No , I won’t let you talk about yourself like that. Your routine is changing. It was bound to happen, but now you can figure out what you like doing with all this freedom. ” 

There was no response, just a few more sniffles until Momo whispered close to her ear, “Hey, hey, sweetie, it’s okay.” 

Dahyun was fully crying now, tears wetting Momo’s shirt, she held her wife closer and rocked her, and even if comforting wasn’t her forte she tried her hardest.

“How about I give you a bath, maybe wash your hair? Then I’ll make you some real food and we can go from here, okay?”

The smaller one didn’t argue just nodded through her tears and let Momo carry her up the stairs and to their ensuite. 

The water was the perfect temperature when she slowly lowered Dahyun into the suds and helped her relax.

Kneeling beside the edge, she cupped pools of water in her hand and then let them cascade over her shoulders, back, and chest, speaking to her quietly the entire time.

Her sniffles and hiccups slowly dwindled as she relaxed into the water and let her alpha take care of her until only small satisfied sighs left her lips. 

Momo wouldn’t say it aloud now, but Dahyun was stunning, even when she cried, after all this time, she had only grown more exceptionally stunning to her, she looked pretty even through her hiccups and watery words.

With careful hands, she drew back Dahyun’s hair and motioned for her to tip her head back so she could run through it with the shower head, gently the water sifting through her hair and over her shoulders.

“Does this feel good?” She asked while massaging the shampoo onto her scalp, a satisfied smile stretching across her wife’s face, “It feels amazing, thank you, baby.”

“You know,” Momo’s voice had a tinge of vulnerability to it, “Without you, all of our lives would fall apart, that’s obvious, but I think I’ve failed you as a wife and a mate.” 

Dahyun’s eyes flew open and she stared at her, confused, “What do you mean ‘fail’? You haven’t failed me in the slightest.”

Momo shook her head, “I should have encouraged you to go back to composing, or at least take more time for yourself—you’ve dedicated your entire life to our family and now it’s time for me to support you, whatever you want to do.”

The omega sighed and grabbed Momo’s hand, “That’s the thing, I don’t know what the hell I want.”

Momo smiled slowly, nodding her head, 

“That’s the fun in it, you have so many interests to explore, and I’ll be there. Every step of the way.”

“Take a sheet from this pile and try to fill in as much of it as you can, it’s fine if you don’t get to see every gallery floor, but try to identify as many paintings and sculptures as time permits.”

The assignment was passed around and everyone took a sheet and a pen.

“Now listen up for partner assignments…”

Yoona scanned the paper and looked over Haewon’s shoulder to see her filling out some names and artists next to the photos. 

“You know we have like two hours to do this, you can take your time.”

Haewon smiled up at her and shrugged before tucking her pen behind her ear, “I like getting a head start.”

“Minatozaki Haewon, you and Huh Yunjin are partners.” 

“See you soon.” Haewon nudged her shoulder goodbye and skipped after Yunjin out of the hall and into the museum.

“Myoi Yoona, you're paired up with Bae Jinsol.”

Yoona inhaled sharply and glanced in Jinsol’s direction, their gazes meeting.

Her stomach did another flip.

They leisurely walked through the galleries, discussing various pieces and what interested them, while working together to complete the assignment. 

They talked about casual things like finals and their summer plans before university, Yoona discovering they were going to the same college next year.

“They have a great art scholarship, my parents were relieved when I qualified for it.” 

Jinsol said as she used Yoona’s back as a makeshift table to write another answer on her sheet. 

Yoona straightened up and they continued into the next room of sculptures, “My eomma, she speaks so highly of yours, you know, she’s so happy to have her back in Seoul.”

“It’s funny,” Jinsol began while observing the sculpture before them, “Aunt Nayeon was one of the first people my eomma told me about when I was growing up, how stubborn and strong she is, you take after her a lot.”

The other alpha turned so Jinsol wouldn't see the blush sprouting on her cheeks, clearing her throat, “Thank you, that means a lot.”

Yoona turned back to her, stuffing her hands in her pockets.

“It’s nice to hear that—sometimes I remember I’m not…biologically related to either of my parents, so yeah, it’s just nice to know I resemble them somehow.”

Jinsol’s expression eased and she nodded in understanding, “I think you resemble both of them in many ways. I get that, sort of—my other mother, I didn’t get to know her growing up, but my eomma says I have a lot of her mannerisms. It’s hard for me to see that.”

They walked side-by-side, shoulders almost touching, Yoona gave her a tentative smile. 

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What did your parents say when you—came out?”

They stopped and Jinsol turned to her, a thoughtful look on her face.

“My eomma was instantly supportive, sometimes she goes a little overboard now, anything rainbow she sees she buys for me,” Jinsol laughed with a slight wince, “But I know she means well.” 

She continued, “It was terrifying, but I’m so glad I told her when I did. Telling my other mother wasn’t hard, but she wasn’t as…responsive. I don’t think she knows what to do with a gay kid.”

Yoona could tell that this was just a broad stroke of her experience, and suddenly she felt comforted that she didn’t feel as different anymore.

Jinsol stayed on Yoona’s face, then with some hesitation, asked her, in a whisper only they could hear,

“Have you told your parents yet?”

Yoona’s eyes grew wide, and she choked out, “How—” before she stopped. She understood then that the other alpha knew her—even if they weren’t close. 

Jinsol saw the reflection in the mirror. 

All she can do is shake her head and let her shoulders sag. 

Without talking Jinsol motioned for them to sit on one of the benches. Yoona sat, confused, but found the other alpha staring at the painting before them.

It was a beautiful scene, flowers and lilypads floating over a water bed, done by the incomparable Monét. 

After a few moments of silence, during which they admired the work of art, Jinsol reached out and linked their pinkies. The gesture wasn’t overtly romantic, but it was comforting. She saw the pain in Yoona; she had often been there.

The other alpha tensed for a second but then relaxed in the other’s presence, finding comfort in the small gesture; meant to ground her and let her know she wasn’t alone. 

“How was the trip?! Tell me everything!”

Nayeon linked arms with Yoona as they exited the garage and waited for the elevator, while Mina followed closely behind with their daughter’s luggage. 

She noticed a slight change in the young alpha, rather than this dark cloud visibly hanging over her head, there seemed to be a lighter cloud there now.

Yoona looked genuinely happy to be home, a tiredness but an excitement prominent on her eyes. 

Mina pressed the button with her free hand, as she rattled off about the various landmarks and places they visited. 

“Did you go to the old ramen shop like I recommended?”

“It was good…fun! I learned a lot and saw a lot. I also got you and Okaasan something at the museum gift shop.”

When they entered the living room she leaned down to unzip her suitcase and produced the neatly wrapped coffee table book, complete with Monét’s paintings. 

They fawned over it, instantly engrossed as they sat on the couch to flip through the pages while Yoona watched them with amusement. 

She tried to sound convincing, that the trip overall was fun and not at all full of drama, and without a shroud of doubt, her parents believed her. 

A few blocks away, the door to Jihyo and Sana’s apartment flew open and Haewon marched inside, dragging her suitcase behind her.

Jihyo sighed and kissed her head, whispering, “Go get settled, I’ll take care of okaasan.”

She dropped her car keys in the basket by the door, bracing herself for the onslaught. 

Sana was at the kitchen table with Haruto, attempting to help with his math homework, when she heard the door and jumped up eagerly.

“Where’s my baby?” She made grabby hands and ran into the hall but stopped in her tracks when Jihyo held a hand to her chest and shook her head furiously. 

Sana bristled instantly, catching the angry scent trailing down the hall. 

“What?! What the fuck happened?” 

She tried to move around her wife when their daughter slammed her bedroom door.

Jihyo tried to calm her, dragging her away from the hallway and into the living room, where she set her hands on her tense shoulders.

“Just give her some space, sweetie, she’s alright.”

That was a way to put it, but Sana would have someone’s head on a platter in hours if she didn't sugarcoat it. 

“What’s happening?” Sana looked bewildered, the inside of her chest contorting in pain at the sight of her daughter so hurt.

“I need to tell you something, but you have to promise me you won’t freak out, okay?”

The rest of the week went by at an exhilarating pace, and by the end of the trip, everyone felt like it was all ending far too soon. 

Because of that, Sakura devised a plan to make everyone’s last night memorable. 

Yoona and Haewon were roped into being accomplices. Alcohol was secured by bribing a hotel staff member. A room was chosen, well away from the chaperone’s floor, and soon, drinks were poured, music was put on low, and the conversation started.

They were still teenagers, not yet adults, but certainly not kids anymore—this felt like a right of passage to many of them. 

The atmosphere was filled with a pleasant, drunken fuzziness. They were set up in Yunjin’s room on the hotel's top floor. 

Yoona’s sips were careful throughout the night, some kind of vodka concoction that Sakura called her “party drink”, which was code for ‘it tastes like gasoline’. 

Sakura couldn’t be more opposite, within the first hour, she had consumed three cups of whatever liquid she could get her hands on, then spent the rest of the time being the life of the party.

The time was around midnight when Yoona finally checked the clock on her phone, then surveying the room, her eyes fell on Haewon off in a corner, talking closely with Yunjin. The omega was leaning against the wall, while the alpha’s arm held herself against the wall and seemingly caged the omega in.

Their heads were close together, and they spoke in tones that only the two could probably hear. If Yoona wasn’t mistaken, there was a light blush on Haewon’s cheeks, and then her head tipped back when she laughed at something Yunjin said.

It appeared that Sakura’s eyes also found the two when Yoona did, in seconds she was crossing the room in rushed steps until she wedged herself between the two abruptly, a growl almost leaving her mouth.

“Kura, what the hell?” Haewon huffed but Yunjin tried to laugh it off, stiffly scratching her head, she reached out to balance Sakura when she almost stumbled.

“Whoa, you okay there, Hirai? Had too much to drink?”

Sakura flung her hand off her shoulder, bared her teeth, and said, “I’m fine.” But she didn’t make a move to leave. 

Yunjin rocked on her heels and leaned around Sakura’s shoulder to speak to Haewon, “Do you want ano—”

“She’s fine,” Sakura growled and Yunjin had the mind to back away than start a fight with a Hirai, a confused frown knitting her eyebrows together.

She tried to put herself between Haewon and the hulking alpha, asking, “Do you feel safe? Are you okay?” And ignored Sakura’s piercing stare. 

“Say that again, Huh, and I’ll lay you out—”

Haewon shoved past Sakura, hard, hissing at her, “You’re such an asshole.”

Leaving behind a confused Yunjin, Sakura stormed after her, clenching her fists. 

She watched her two best friends walk off and awkwardly found Chaewon across the room, staring at her. 

Her gaze felt heavy, carrying the entire weight of their secret.

Yoona tipped the edge of the cup against her lips, finished her drink, and then searched for another.

Haewon rushed outside and let the cool breeze prickle her overheated skin, her face still flushed from the alcohol. She didn’t turn when the door opened and closed behind her, just looked up at the sky quizzically. 

“Sakura, I don’t feel like talking to you, just go away.”

The alpha’s presence was behind her, mere meters away, but it was suffocating and oppressive, calling to every one of Haewon’s instincts so strongly that her heart physically hurt. 

“So you’re just going to flirt with Yunjin like that openly?”

Sakura threw the words in an accusatory sense, which she had no right to do, she knew that on a fundamental level, but her rational brain wasn’t usually present with her when Haewon was in front of her.

Haewon scoffed but didn’t turn around to face her.

“What’s it to you? You’re with Rei, you made your fucking choice. You made that very clear weeks ago.”

She broke around every word and then whirled around, “You don’t get to tell me what to do!”

Sakura walked closer in deliberate steps, and without answering, cupped Haewon’s cheeks and pressed their lips together in a breathless, heart-stopping, earth shattering, kiss.

She immediately melted into it, tasting the hours of alcohol still lingering on the alpha’s lips combined with the overwhelming scent of her. 

It was almost perfect. Almost.

Sakura sighed, a happiness she never knew filling her chest until a sharp shove made her stumble away. 

“Haewon—” She tried but the other’s face is twisted in anger again, hot tears blurring her vision.

“Fuck you, Sakura.”

She walked to the door and left the alpha standing, one hand touching her lips, attempting to hold onto the taste of her.

Yoona was exiting the party, looking for fresh air and maybe an anvil to drop her head, when Haewon ran past her, wiping tears from her eyes. 

“Haewon? Wait, what’s happened?”

She ran after her and into the stairwell, reaching out to pull her friend into her chest, her protective instinct kicking in. 

Enveloping the omega tightly, she waited for her to find her voice through the sobs and angry mumbling. 

“Sakura—she’s, she’s such an asshole. I should have never—” She stopped herself before she could say anything but Yoona caught it, and in a way, she had always known what had gone on between the two, so she didn’t push, instead she held Haewon for as long as she asked until her cries died into gentle sniffles.

“Why couldn’t it have been you? Why do I have to love Sakura?”

Yoona chuckled dryly because in her own spiral she had asked herself the same thing many times. 

“Everything would be certainly easier, wouldn’t it?” She sighed sadly, and Haewon grabbed for her hand.

“I wish I could—love you, in that way, Haewon.”

She couldn’t look at her friend but knew Haewon was staring at her.

“You don’t like any omegas, do you?” she asked, and Yoona swallowed with difficulty, feeling like all the oxygen had been sucked from her lungs.

“No.”

Haewon was observant, she knew plenty of omegas showed interest in Yoona, and even asked her out a couple of times, but the alpha showed anything but interest in return—at first, she thought maybe it was because her friend was shy, or perhaps she just didn’t find any of them attractive, but it was when Haewon got close to Yoona, too close, her scent didn’t change, didn’t spike, and she understood then.

“Have you told Sakura?”

Yoona shook her head again. 

“I will, but you know, she’s....”

Haewon hummed, the alpha didn’t need to say anymore. 

Sakura meant well, but she had a lot of growing up to do. They all did. 

Momo and Dahyun were far from conservative, but Sakura’s grandparents, the Kims, were strict traditionalists. 

Yoona didn’t hold it against her friend but made these conversations difficult. 

She was surprised when a pair of small arms wrapped around her and held on tightly. 

A hug that only conveyed unconditional love. 

“I love you, Yoona. Everything about you.”

For the first time, in Yoona’s entire life, one weight was lifted from her shoulder. 

The party ended soon after Haewon’s storm out, everyone quickly snuck back to their rooms before they ran the risk of being caught. 

When Yoona returned to her shared room with Sakura, all the lights were off, and there was just one giant lump of hair and blankets in the middle of the other alpha’s bed. 

Worldlessly she changed into her night clothes and brushed her teeth, when she got into her bed, Sakura still hadn’t moved. 

Yoona laid her head back on the pillows and heard a faint voice, “Is she okay?”

She grit her teeth and inhaled a sharp breath.

“She’s fine, no thanks to you.”

Yoona didn’t try to hide the bite in her response.

“When did it start?”

“The summer after freshman year.”

Yoona did the mental math in her head, then her heart broke all over again for Haewon.

“That week when Rei was supposed to visit—when you had your—”

It was more clear now; Sakura called into the shack ‘sick’ for two days and then Haewon was absent from the restaurant on the same days, mentioning offhandedly that she went back to the city for a school thing. 

She didn’t know why she hadn’t seen it before, Sakura had returned differently—and Yoona knew then she had stepped over the threshold that every young alpha goes through eventually.

Now the dots were connected in her head she blinked up at the ceiling, her heart almost stopping.

Sakura didn’t reply, she let the silence speak the many truths she couldn’t say out loud.

“Hey sweetie, how was Tokyo? Was it everything you hoped?”

Dahyun poked her head from the kitchen when she heard Momo and Sakura in the front hall, one of her cheeks covered in flour after hours of baking cookies for her arrival. 

“Something like that.” Sakura said curtly.

“I made cookies, your favorite! Why don’t you settle in, and I’ll call you when dinner is ready?”

Sakura nodded, quickly kissed Dahyun’s cheek, then headed up the stairs. 

Momo watched her go, then looked reproachfully at her wife.

“What–” Dahyun opened her mouth, but Momo’s ringtone cut her off. 

The alpha swiped on the caller with a frown and lifted it to her ear, “What do I owe the pleasure, Sana?”

“Get your fucking ass to the park right now, Hirai.”

The snarl in Sana’s voice caught her off guard, and she had to yank the phone away from her ear for a second. 

“Well, since you asked so nicely—” Momo started to drawl, but the line went dead before she could finish. 

“Jeez, what’s up her ass?” She muttered to herself, Dahyun giving her a quizzical expression.

“I’ll be right back, keep dinner warm!” 

She quickly kissed her and then turned to leave, not bothering to grab her coat where she’d left it.

She briskly walked the short block to the park between their buildings and spotted Mina standing next to Sana, pacing back and forth with her hands on her hips.

At this moment, Momo did not envy the numerous employees who worked under her.

When she noticed finally Momo, a snarl curled her lips, her eyes were dangerously dark, and Momo slowed her approach to the two,

“Okay, what’s got you up in arms? I’m barely through the door and you’re yanking me out.”

Mina sighed and kept her scent neutral, placing herself between Sana and Momo. 

“Satang called me, I’m just here to keep things civil.”

Momo rolled her eyes at the childish situation, “Keep what civil? What’s going to happen?”

“I’m going to fucking kill you, that’s what’s going to happen!” Sana rounded on her, growling low from her chest, and if Momo were a lesser alpha, she would have submitted at the drop of a penny, but she held her own, feigning disinterest. 

“Elaborate?”

She glanced to Mina for an answer but the other alpha looked away quickly. 

“You really don’t know? Of course you wouldn’t!” Sana threw her hands up and Momo pinched the bridge of her nose, “I don’t want to solve riddles tonight, Sana, so tell–”

“Sakura did something— said something to Haewon, and now my baby is up in her room sobbing, because of your knotheaded daughter!”

Sana jammed a finger against Momo’s chest, and with a low snarl, she slapped it away, snapping when the insult was hurled at her pup.

“I’d back it up if I were you.”

“Like hell I will! She’s got my daughter fucked up and you need to get her in line or else I will do it myself!”

Mina sighed and gently pushed Sana back, silently asking her to go and cool off, but she was ignored.

“Sana, I don’t control my daughter and you don’t control yours! Her actions are her own, if Haewon has an issue with Sakura I have no doubt they’ll take it up with each other.”

Sana looked like she wanted to rip Momo’s head from her body. 

“Haewon is an omega , plenty of people are going to try to take advantage of her in life."

"Oh, how very traditionalist of you, Sana."

"I don't need your daughter to be one of those alphas."

Momo growled again and stepped closer, “You shouldn’t imply that Sakura has done anything to Haewon. They’re teenagers, Sana, what happens between them is none of our business.” 

Sana almost dove for Momo’s throat this time, a strangled growl ripping from her lips until Mina held her off, 

“Sana, just calm down!”

Momo pulled out the big guns; the only drive in her now was to hurt her friend- her alpha pride was far too compromised to think about any of this rationally.

“You would be the last one to know they slept together.” 

Momo taunted her, lesser judgment getting the best of her. 

Mina rubbed her forehead, “I don’t think we need to be discussing that–”

Sana’s eyes were black when she tried to launch herself at Momo again, and Mina, exhaustingly, had to work a little harder to stop her than the first time.

She was getting tired of this. Momo backed away, hands raised, but the sneer she directed at Sana said anything but surrender. 

“You and your daughter can go to hell!” Sana barked after her, trying to duck around Mina, but the other alpha was fast and blocked her once again.

Momo turned to walk away and threw up her middle finger, 

“Right back at you!”

The graduation was a momentous occasion, despite Momo and Sana barely speaking, as well as their children. 

Grandparents flew in from Japan, and now Mina had to host Nayeon’s mother and her own parents for the entire weekend. 

Sana went as far as to hire an entire camera crew to film the ceremony, because Haewon was the valedictorian, and she would rather die than not document this historic moment. 

Although she acted embarrassed by it, Yoona knew she relished in the attention. 

Momo was forced to act friendly while her parents and the Kims were around, watching her every move, but whenever she and Sana were left alone they could only exchange a few words.  

Nayeon almost cried when she saw Yoona in her graduation gown, and when her tassel was moved to the other side of her cap, she lost it against Mina’s shoulder in the audience and nearly missed the rest of the ceremony.

Yoona looked for her parents in the crowd so she could wave to them, holding up her diploma in triumph as she walked to the end of the stage. 

A party for the graduates is held that night at one of Momo’s establishments in a private event room that soon becomes crowded by the students and their families. 

A few of their friends stop by with their parents to eat some fantastic food and share in each other’s excitement about the future.

Sakura forgot to invite Rei. She would later claim she did, but the text must have gotten lost. 

Midway through the party, Mina noticed Momo lingering by the dessert table, checking on the life-sized, graduation cap-shaped cake, and beside her was Sana, both mumbling lowly about something. 

She approached the table slowly, praying that there was no situation she had to jump into diffuse, not at their kid’s graduation party.

But when she got within earshot, Sana’s tone was at her normal chirpiness;

“Wow, you did good Momoring, this cake is about as tall as Jihyo.”

Momo snorted and held her hand over the top to show the actual scale of the cake. 

“Jihyo wishes she was this tall.”

Sana laughed loudly, genuinely for the first time since they fought, and hit Momo’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, she does.”

Mina smiled at the two and they caught her watching their awkward make-up. There’s still so much to say, there always is, but it’s never been that way between Momo and Sana. 

“So…” Mina breathed out, and Momo caught on, nodding, “You successfully got your kid through high school, I think we deserve a drink.”

Sana giggled and held up her near-empty wine glass, “I still have to get one through, and Momo has two, but you’re free, Mina!”

The youngest alpha lifted her glass and sipped, “I have a sneaking suspicion that this isn’t the end of the road, though.”

Momo chuckled evilly, “We’re not even close.”

“I’ve already chosen some of my classes, but I’m keeping a few slots open for anything that interests me.”

Yoona was on her third topic in just ten minutes, clearly grasping at straws.

She lingered between Haewon and Sakura, pushing around the piece of cake on her plate while she eyed her friends, who had only contributed a hum and acknowledging grunt here and there for the entire evening. 

“But yeah, I think university soccer season will be much harder and—oh my god, you two are impossible!”

She almost threw her plate on the ground when Haewon blinked at her, taken out of whatever reverie she was lost in.

“Ah, sorry, Yoonie, I’m paying attention.”

Sakura cleared her throat and scuffed her shoes along the floor.

She had spent the entire time staring at Haewon when she wasn’t looking, and Yoona was sick of it. 

Yoona was about to walk away and find her parents when the clinking of silverware on a wineglass stopped her. 

Sana and Jihyo stood at the front, looking giddy and pretty drunk. Sana wrapped her arm around her wife and smiled when everyone turned to them.

“I know we already gave speeches earlier but I can’t contain myself any longer, Haewon would you come up here with us?”

Sakura and Yoona watched in confusion as Haewon made her way to the front and clasped her hands in front of her. 

“Tonight isn’t just a party to celebrate our graduates but also serves as a going away party for our little girl!”

The color drained from Sakura’s face altogether, and beside her, Yoona heard a ringing in her ears.

Sana gestured to her father sitting at one of the tables, “Our talented, genius and amazing daughter is the newest summer intern at Minatozaki Law!” 

The old man stood and proudly bowed his head to his daughter and granddaughter, the crowd breaking into slow and surprised applause. 

“And that’s not all,” Jihyo took the mic and glanced adoringly at her daughter, “She’s decided to spend her first year of university in Osaka as well!”

Yoona felt ill but clapped along with everyone else and held a smile on her face, making her lip twitch from the effort. 

Haewon thought she was smiling too, maybe she wasn’t, but her gaze never left Sakura’s crestfallen face. 

“Say something, sweetie!” Sana shoved the mic into Haewon’s hands. The young omega stuttered, shook her head, and shoved it back into her mother’s hands. 

“Aw, look at her, she’s speechless!” 

Sana hugged her, “So come say bon voyage to her tonight!”

After the applause faded and Yoona felt her legs weren’t as frozen, she turned to Sakura and asked, “Did you know about this?”

“Does it look like I fucking did?” Sakura shot back at her, “I gotta get the fuck out of here.” She brushed past Yoona and wove her way out of the room before the walls closed around her. 

Yoona stood stock still until Haewon approached her slowly, guilt plastered on her face, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you…I didn’t even know if I was going to accept until like, the last minute.”

The alpha stopped her, and forced whatever little strength she had left, to will her a sad but reassuring smile, “Don’t apologize Haewon, we’re—I’m happy for you.”

Haewon searched the room and sighed when she realized Sakura had probably stormed out. 

“She’ll be happy for you, too, just give her time,” Yoona read her thoughts before pulling her into a hug, clinging to her while she still could. “I bet she’ll be over it by next Thursday's dinner.”

“Promise?” Haewon asked shakily and Yoona swallowed “Yeah, of course.”, both knowing it was a lie. 

“Whew, now that was a party! I can’t believe Haewon is leaving so soon!” 

Nayeon set her purse on the table and kicked off her heels, still a little buzzed, she wrapped her arms around Mina’s torso and shared a nod that Yoona didn’t notice while she untied her shoes. 

The alpha was relieved their house wasn’t as loud as it had been these last few days, with her parents and Nayeon’s mother flitting about. They dropped the Myois off at their hotel and promised to see them tomorrow for breakfast before their flight.

Nayeon tapped Yoona’s shoulder, grinning mischievously. 

“Hey, Yoonie, we have a gift for you.”

Mina nodded her head to the kitchen and Yoona frowned, “But you already threw me the party, plus Ojiisan gave me a huge check—”

The envelope her grandfather had slipped her during dinner weighed heavily in her pocket.

Nayeon took hold of her daughter’s arm and paraded her into the kitchen.

“So? You didn’t think we would let you get away without a proper graduation gift.”

A small square box sat in the center of the kitchen table, covered in simple wrapping paper with a neat bow on top. 

Yoona laughed but sat down, her parents moving across from her, excitedly bouncing out of their seats.

“Open it, open it!” Nayeon chanted and Mina shushed her, “Baby, let her do it.”

Yoona chuckled at her parents and then carefully lifted the lid off the box, expecting a piece of jewelry or maybe a camera she was utterly shocked when a shiny set of car keys greeted her. 

“Okaasan, eomma, I—” She was speechless, blinking she shakily picked up the shiny keys, expecting them to disintegrate into a mirage at any moment.

“This is— no way , you got me a car?”

Nayeon nodded happily, throwing her arms around Mina and shaking her. “I told you she didn’t suspect a thing. She’s stunned!”

“Thank you, thank you so much,” Yoona said in a quick breath, eyes wide, “I have no idea what even to say.”

Holding them in the palm of her hand, she shook her head, swallowing a lump of emotion, Mina noticed something felt weird and spoke directly to her, “Hey, don’t think for a second you don’t deserve this, you, more than anyone, have earned this, kid. 

Nayeon extended her hand across the table and linked their fingers, “We love you so much, Yoona, we wanted to do this for you.”

“No–it’s, not that, I—”

Their love for her was one of the singular things that grounded Yoona, and simultaneously, it tore her heart to pieces to feel this far from them.

Everything had changed, the minute she got back from Tokyo, things were irrevocably different—Haewon and Sakura were strangers to each other, and the unparalleled torment inside of Yoona was getting no better as time dragged on. 

She ran her hands over her legs anxiously. 

“Is it the wrong model? Did you get the newest one, like I said?” Nayeon frowned and turned to Mina, who rushed to pull up the papers from the dealership but stopped when Yoona waved her hand to stop them, “No, eomma, the car is perfect. I just—I there’s something I need to tell you both.”

“What is it?” Mina kept the concern in her voice minimal, but Nayeon looked everything but calm, bracing for the worst. 

“I—” The words, jammed in her throat, for the umpteenth time, the courage left her body in waves, stranding her out at sea, with no lifeline to grab onto. 

Nayeon and Mina tried not to make eye contact when their marks ached with worry.

Time slowed and the world faded away until it was just Yoona, Mina, and Nayeon sitting at the kitchen table. She traced the veins of the wooden table beneath her fingers, and when she opened her mouth, voice the smallest they had ever heard it before, she felt the first tear fall onto the mahogany surface.

“I don’t want you to look at me differently,” Yoona pleaded, “I’m still me.”

“Sweetie, of course you are,” Nayeon said, distraught at the very idea that her daughter, who was taller than her, had become so small in a matter of seconds.

Yoona's life hung, suspended, in front of her—taunting; the life she wanted to have versus the life she had right now, a life of secrecy and lies, a life where she couldn't talk to her parents about silly little crushes she had. She'd been swinging between these two worlds for too long now, and it was time to choose a door, time to seal her fate. 

“I’m—” Yoona forced herself to face them, 

“I’m gay.”

“Oh, honey,” Mina whispered, the worry and despair exiting her and Nayeon at the same time to be followed by a flood of relief. 

She turned to her wife, but Nayeon had already stood from her seat and was gathering Yoona in her arms, cupping her cheeks to wipe her tears. 

“I thought you were going to tell us you got someone pregnant!” Nayeon laughed through her tears, and Yoona shook her head vigorously, more tears falling, “Far from it.”

Mina rounded the table and went to her other side to kneel. 

“Yoona, the first day we met you—you had that little hat pulled shyly over your head, and your big, big eyes just kept staring at us like we were aliens,” Mina sniffed around a chuckle, “We knew then that you were meant to be ours. Since then, I have never, and will never, look at you any differently, you will always be that tiny pup to us.”

Yoona bit her lip, hands flying to her necklace, “Did you—did you know?”

Nayeon shook her head and took Mina’s hand across from her, “We knew something was holding you back, we could see you holding your breath, and it pained me so much to see you struggling so internally.”

Yoona pressed her palm against Nayeon’s cheek, “I’m sorry I scared you, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner–”

“Hey, no,” Nayeon said, putting her free hand over Yoona’s, “None of that.” 

Mina pushed a strand of hair behind her daughter’s ear, 

“You need to know, Yoonie, you will always be the same person; the person who keeps Sakura out of trouble, who will get up early on a Saturday to join whatever new club Haewon has started without even being asked to, who will wait in line with me for hours for some little plastic bricks, who takes cooking classes with her eomma and then says her food is great, even if it’s bad,” Nayeon laughed and pushed Mina’s shoulder, “You will never stop being the kindhearted, genuine, and loveable person that you are .”

Nayeon stood and pressed her lips firmly to Yoona’s forehead, “There are some paths you will have to walk in this life alone, no matter how many times I try to follow you, but I am so, so fucking excited that you will get to have the authentic and real love that you deserve.”

Yoona’s lips trembled, squeezing her eyes shut she felt more tears fall to be quickly wiped away by Nayeon, who was grinning ear-to-ear,

“The only thing that matters is that you get to be yourself now, Yoona.”

Finally, Yoona let her shoulders sag, and she exhaled—years of pain and secrets escaping her lungs.  

Eunchae, in truth, didn’t mind being the middle child, most of the time. 

If someone was in trouble, the chances it was her were small. Sakura claimed the top spot, and while Mako rarely got in trouble, their parents were getting stricter now that she had settled into her rank as an alpha.

She was pleasantly in her own world where she listened to her music, and her shoulders were void of any pre-existing pressures from her parents that fell onto Sakura and Mako.

She flew right below the radar, able to mind her own business and keep to herself. 

Regarding family meals, she liked being the middle child the most.

Most of the time, Sakura went on about something or Dahyun and Momo fussed over Mako, leaving Eunchae in a comfortable place just to observe. 

But ever since Sakura returned from Tokyo, the atmosphere couldn’t have changed more and it was messing with Eunchae’s ability to support her sister blindly.

The person with the least to say always knows the most; and in Eunchae’s case, she saw right through Sakura and Haewon’s ruse, they thought they had everyone fooled but her.  

For the first few years of their lives, it had only been the two of them, and they shared a bond that way, but she could no longer ignore how thickheaded her sister was when it came to Haewon.

Perhaps Sakura needed to hear it from someone who knew her fundamentally more than most, and Eunchae was willing to step up to the plate.

“It’s sad to think our Thursday dinners will be different without Haewon, don’t you think?”

Dahyun was dishing more rice onto her plate when she nudged Sakura for an answer, the eldest had barely said a word, eyes cast down at the table for the entire meal. 

“Yeah, sure.” She grumbled and Momo raised an eyebrow over her wine glass. 

“I think it’s good,” Eunchae piped up, setting her napkin down, “Maybe she can figure out what she wants in Japan.”

Sakura’s head snapped up and she glared at Eunchae, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Eunchae held her ground, feigning ignorance of the situation, “I think it means that she got tired of waiting around for someone to get their head out of their ass–”

“Language.” Dahyun warned with a wag of her finger, and Mako swiveled her head back and forth between her siblings. 

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

Sakura’s voice was dangerously close to a growl, and Momo tsked her warningly. 

“Maybe not,” Eunchae crossed her arms, “But I do know that being a coward about it is good for no one.”

“Shut the hell up!” Sakura slammed her fist on the table, a real growl leaving her lips, making everyone, but Momo, at the table flinch.

Then Momo took all of two seconds to stand and yank the eldest from her chair with a snarl. 

Dahyun was on her feet next, the air around the table putting everyone on edge. 

“Don’t you dare growl at your sister, and don’t ever raise your voice! Apologize to her right now!”

Momo’s voice was more than a warning, it was at the end of its rope, exhausted and frustrated with the amount of butting heads they had done in the last few years. 

“Let’s just calm—” Dahyun tried but it was too late. 

“ No ! I’m sick of apologizing for just being me in this fucking house! I’m sick of your disappointed looks and never meeting your expectations ! I’m sick of you!” 

Sakura kicked her chair over, and Momo shoved her to the hallway with a low growl, “If you’re going to throw a tantrum and swear at me, then get out of my house until you cool off.”

She flung open the door and set her jaw, pointing to the hallway, her eyes cold and distant; Sakura no longer recognized her mother.

“You can come back when you decide to be a civil adult about this.”

Sakura hid the quiver in her bottom lip while she tugged her shoes on and reached for her skateboard, refusing to make eye contact with her, because Momo would then see the scared child cowering in her eyes. 

Kura: Haewon, please pick up.

One missed call from Hirai Kura.

Kura: I’m going to keep calling until you pick up. 

Haewon groaned and threw her headphones off her bed. She grabbed her phone as if it were a human she wanted to wring the neck of. She swiped the notifications away and thought for a second about blocking her number until her name lit up the screen again.

“What do you want?” She hissed, pressing the phone to her ear. 

“Can you come downstairs? I’m outside.”

“And why the hell would I do that?”

A sigh, then a rustle.

“Please, Wonnie?”

“It’s ten o’clock.”

“I’ll be quick, please?”

Haewon looked up at the ceiling, shook her head, and exhaled.

“Fine, give me five minutes.”

When she stepped through the lobby doors it took her a second to find Sakura, she was standing by a lamppost, hands shoved deep in her jean pockets, hunched over herself.

Crossing her arms she walked the short distance and stopped a few feet away, she was tired, and she still had so much packing to do. 

“Okay, I’m here, what is it?”

Sakura stared down at her shoes and then finally at her, shrugging, “My okaasan kicked me out—told me to come back when I fixed my attitude or something, I walked around for a couple of hours and then just found myself coming here.”

Haewon felt apprehensive, her guard was up, and even if Sakura looked just as defeated as she felt she didn’t waver.

“You can’t come hide at my place if that’s what you’re asking for–”

“Run away with me.”

Sakura was the master of pranks, had a PhD in sarcasm—knew just how to play someone like a fiddle, which is why Haewon knew she was serious because she had never sounded like this before. 

“Sakura, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“Don’t go to Japan. Let’s just fucking go somewhere, Haewon, anywhere. Hop on the next train—I don’t know, see where it takes us.”

Haewon stepped back, “Have you lost your mind?”

“Just—” She was desperate, “Don’t go to Japan, please? Stay here. What’s this all about anyway? Why have you decided to run away?”

The anger flared now, setting every one of Haewon’s nerves alight in a fury, “You have no idea–”

She turned away and tried to collect her thoughts and remind herself to stand her ground.

“Japan is about you, Sakura.”

“What?”

“Jesus Christ!” Haewon tilted her head to the night sky, cursing whoever up there gave Sakura such a thick skull, “These last two years, I have been trying so hard to fall out of love with you! I have been trying to forget you!”

“Haewon, don’t do this–”

“No, you don’t do this!” 

Sakura shoved her face into her hands and groaned, pinching her eyes shut so hard they hurt until she opened them again. 

“I need to be someone who isn’t sitting around waiting for you to love me,” Haewon looked at the stranger in front of her, “I’ve done my time, Sakura, I can’t do this anymore.”

Sakura waved her hands, trying to make her stop, the stab of each word went straight to her gut, making her double over. 

“I fucked up, I know this is all my fault, okay? I know I did this, but fuck, let me at least try to make this right.”

Haewon crouched on the ground, arms wrapped around herself, feeling like she would rather be sick; to purge the memory of this person out of her body completely.

A few beats later, she stood and dusted off her pants. 

“You know, I’ve come to realize that the way I love you is like a sickness—” She clenched her fists, “It’s not healthy. Just when I think things get better, they get worse, it’s something you spend your whole life just learning how to exist with it.”

The strike to her ego was almost enough to topple Sakura’s balance. 

“I don’t want to lose you, Haewon.”

It was selfish, she knew it was.

“I’ve already lost you, Sakura,” Haewon whispered brokenly, “I lost you when you chose Rei.”

Sakura refused to hear this, refused to believe that this was what it had come to between her and the person she had known since the beginning of time. 

“Please, just, take my hand—and we’ll go anywhere you want, and I promise I will not leave your side. Please , Haewon, please? ”

She begged, the desperation clawing to release itself from her body, staggering up her throat. 

“Are you still with Rei?”

“Yes, but–”

“Then go home, Sakura.”

Haewon didn’t turn back as she walked steadily back to her building, and out of sight.

“Hirai Momo.”

Dahyun closed the door to their bedroom, hands on her hips. She glared at her mate, who was sitting deflated in a large armchair, head tipped against the back, eyes closed. 

“Baby–”

“Don’t you ‘baby’ me, what the hell were you thinking? Kicking her out like that?!”

Momo sat up, fixing her eyes on Dahyun.

“She needs to be taught a lesson, she can’t talk like that to her sisters and certainly not to her parents.”

Dahyun threw her hands up and stomped her foot. She looked cute when angry, but Momo would never admit this scared her a bit. 

“She doesn’t need a lesson, she needs her okaasan! She needs you to support her instead of pushing her away!”

“Dahyun–”

“Do you want her to resent you for the rest of her life? Do you want to become your parents?” 

Momo exhaled loudly, ashamed, elbows on her knees, she stared at the floor. 

“Would it kill you to tell her how proud you are of her? You may see some rebellious teenager but I see the little girl who’s looked up to you since she could speak. Momo, she has tried to meet your expectations her entire life, and you don’t even see it.”

Dahyun opened the door and directed her to leave, 

“Now I’m kicking you out. Don’t come back until you have our daughter with you.”

The summer whirled by, Jeju wasn’t nearly as fun without Haewon, but Yoona and Sakura scraped by and even saved up some cash to buy new surfboards for the following summer. 

Soon, their parents were helping them move into their new apartment by campus, a simple two-bedroom just for them.

The university was only a few subway stops from home, and now that Yoona had a car she could commute back as much as she wanted, something Nayeon urged her to do as frequently as she could. 

Yoona and Haewon talked as often as they could. Her internship and school kept her hours full, but she was doing well. 

Haewon didn’t tell her about the night with Sakura.

Sakura never asked about her, and Yoona never said anything.

She liked all her classes, and soccer wasn’t so bad either, she was mostly taking science and math electives, which filled her time enormously. 

Sakura signed up for all the intro classes that sounded easy or met in the evening so she could nap during them. 

She was quieter, and didn’t razz Yoona as much about her nerdy schoolwork, they didn’t say much because Sakura was either shut up in her room or asleep on the couch when Yoona got home. 

Liquor bottles gathered slowly by their garbage can, and Yoona nearly tripped over them whenever she left. 

It was enough for her to be worried, but every time she tried to broach the subject, Sakura would say she was tired from soccer and run away to her room.

They don’t go out, except to a few team parties, and Sakura drinks alone.

She doesn’t go to class anymore, her attendance wavers and she receives the first warning about her academic standing and leaves it on the kitchen counter for Yoona to see. 

Yoona was returning from class one afternoon when she ran into Rei in their school's parking lot. She had a large box in her arms, and Yoona rushed to help her carry it.

“I haven’t seen you around lately, how is everything?”

The look Rei gave her made her think she’d missed something big.

“Sakura didn’t tell you? I broke up with her weeks ago. I was just coming to get my stuff.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” 

Yoona doesn’t know what to say.

“Don’t be,” Rei reassures her with a flippant hand gesture, “It should’ve happened ages ago.”

Yoona doesn’t know what to make of that but helps her load the rest of her things into her car and then sees her off. 

She doesn’t say anything to Sakura. 

One day after her biochem class, she finds one of her classmates, an alpha girl, tall and lanky like her, waiting for her.

She asks her out, and after overcoming her shock, Yoona accepts. 

The whole dating thing is new to Yoona in many ways, and she discovered that navigating dating and being openly out is harder to do than she thought. They dated for a couple of weeks, but her comfort with some of the looks gets to her.

The other alpha gently breaks it off a month and a half in. She’s been nothing but understanding and even patient with Yoona’s newfound identity, but it still hurts to feel rejected. 

She’s huffing in the kitchen, trying to make her morning coffee, when Sakura sits up from the couch, hair mussed from sleep.

“What are you so pissed off about?”

Yoona doesn’t respond at first, but when she almost breaks her coffee mug by holding it too tightly, Sakura sighs and gets her attention.

“Talk to me, what’s going on?”

“I…I was seeing someone, and they broke it off the other day, it wasn’t serious, but I’m annoyed.”

“Oh,” Sakura raised her eyebrows and tried to offer words of awkward support, “There are still plenty of omegas in the sea, you’ll find the right one.”

Yoona inhaled through her nose and slowly exited the kitchen to stand stoically in the living room.

“She wasn’t an omega…she was an alpha.”

“Oh?” Sakura stared at her, but Yoona came out with it, before she could put it off any longer, “I’m gay.”

The other alpha’s voice was scratchy, but her face didn’t change expressions, “Cool.”

“We don’t have a problem, do we?” Yoona had to get to class, or she would be late, and didn’t have time if Sakura was going to continue to give her one-syllable answers. 

She knew when she woke up from whatever daze she was in, she’d have a lot to say, but right now, Yoona just needed to know she wasn’t about to get punched.

“No, we don’t, thanks—thanks for telling me.” 

Yoona shouldered her backpack and gave her a tight-lipped smile before leaving for class. 

During one of their phone calls, Haewon let it slip that she’s started dating someone, Yoona isn’t surprised, but when the omega dances around naming the person, she wonders if it’s someone they know.

She wracked her brain for who else could be in Osaka but couldn’t come up with anything.

“How is she?” 

Haewon hesitated, but it’s been too long since she last asked about Sakura.

“Fine.” 

Drunk. Heartbroken over you. 

She and Sakura are at a noodle restaurant on campus, talking about the end of the soccer season, when Sakura broaches the topic;

“So…you’re gay.”

It’s a simplified term in this day and age, but it worked.

“Yep.” 

“How long have you known?”

Yoona tapped her chopsticks against the bottom of her bowl and shrugged.

“Since I was a kid?”

They finish eating in silence and are getting ready to leave when Sakura stopped her, expression serious.

“I’m sorry I’m such an asshole–I’m happy for you dude, I’ll try to be better.”

“It’s okay, I get it.”

“I’ll like totally punch a homophobe for you, too, just give me the word.”

Yoona chuckled and pushed her friend out the door, zipping her jacket up.

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”

When the first semester started to wind down, the cold weather fell over the campus, and a crisp November breeze accompanied most of the days. 

Sakura’s attendance was still wavering, a little better, but not nearly enough to get her the grades she needed. Yoona was sure she would declare pre-med as her path of study, which she was excited to tell her parents when she saw them next. 

The time was a little past noon and Sakura was still asleep, face down on her bed, clothes, and trash were strewn everywhere in her hurricane of a space.

She almost screamed when the curtains were yanked open the sunlight poured into the room. The harsh light ripped her from sleep, and she looked around bleary-eyed at the culprit. 

“What the hell, Yoona!”

She grabbed a pillow to cover her head but the item was pulled away before she can, sitting up she fully prepared to launch into a rant at Yoona but found Momo instead.

“Okaasan?”

Momo sighed and grimaced at her daughter’s living situation but decided there were more pressing matters. 

“What are you doing here?”

Her mother entered her closet and came out a few seconds later with a suitcase before throwing it into the middle of the room and pointing to it. 

“Pack your stuff, but first, maybe take a shower.”

Sakura shuffled to the edge of the bed and wiped the sleep from her eyes, “Did I fail out?”

Momo snorted and started to throw all the clean clothes she could find into the luggage, 

“Surprisingly no, but that doesn't matter. You’re going to Osaka.”

“Huh?”

The older alpha straightened her back and snapped her fingers for her to get up, 

“We’re Hirais, Sakura. We don’t mope around; we make things happen. You’re going to Osaka, and you’re going to get Haewon back.”

“But–”

“Go shower and help me finish this. Your plane leaves in three hours.”

“Korea Airlines’s flight to Itami International will be boarding in ten minutes.”

  Yoona helped fix her jacket, straightening the collar and wiping her shoulders.

“Nervous?”

Sakura felt jittery like she had drunk ten cups of coffee all in one go. 

“Sort of.”

She chuckled, seeing right through her friend. 

“These are some snacks for the plane, and those cookies are for Haewon, so don’t eat them!”

Dahyun interrupted the two and shoved a large cooler bag into Sakura’s arms. Then, she stood on her tiptoes and drew Sakura in for a hug, whispering, “This is from Jihyo.” 

She sneakily dropped a folded piece of paper into Sakura’s jacket pocket, “It’s Haewon’s address.”

“Thank you, eomma.” Sakura squeezed her tightly and pressed her nose into her hair. She looked between Dahyun, Momo, and Yoona.

“Thank you, for being my people, for—doing this.”

“Don’t thank us yet.” Yoona joked and Sakura pushed her shoulder, grinning genuinely for the first time in months. 

“Go get your girl.” Momo stuck out her hand to shake and Sakura took it firmly. 

“I’ll call you when I land,” She directed the words to Dahyun and Yoona before she picked up her suitcase and headed to the terminal. 

“Yoona, thank you for watching out for her–I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

Momo smiled, tilting her head, 

“Mina is the same kind of friend to me that you are to Sakura, everyone should be so lucky to have someone like the Myois in their life.”

The earnest words meant everything to the young alpha. 

“Okaasan!”

Confusion made their heads turn to see Sakura running back in hurried steps, before she threw herself at Momo, dragging her mother into the tightest hug imaginable. 

“Thank you,” She whispered in her ear, “I love you.”

Momo, stunned, stuttered as her brain tried to process everything all at once but managed, “I love you too, Saki. So much.”

Giving her one last squeeze, they separated before Sakura returned hurriedly to the security line just in time to make her flight. 

“Do you want to want to grab dinner with us oldies? I don’t want you to return to your apartment alone.”

Dahyun offered kindly, but Yoona politely declined, “That’s okay. Thank you, auntie Dahyun.”

“If you’re sure.” She kissed Yoona’s cheek and gave her a wink, “We’ll see you next Thursday, okay?”

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

Yoona started the drive back to school, but midway through, she changed her mind and took the first exit she saw. 

An hour of traffic later, she pulled up to the cafe that had once belonged to Nayeon’s family. She’d been a handful of times as a kid and only a few times as a teenager. It was out of the way, but she knew her parents liked their honey bread. 

The new owners kept the original name, and photos of the old establishment lined the walls. The Ims were in every creak and crack of the walls. 

She hopped into the line and fiddled around her phone, and even though Sakura wouldn’t be landing for another hour or so, she was anxious to receive an update from her friend.

She wondered how Haewon would react, if she would slap her, yell at her, or kiss her—maybe all three.

“Hi, what can I get you?”

When she reached the counter she smiled at the cashier and got two bags of pastries and a coffee to go. 

“Yoona, order number six.”

The voice calling her to the pick-up counter was familiar, and when she turned to see Jinsol came into view, wearing an apron and a visor. 

“Thanks, have a nice day.”

She said without looking in the customer’s direction and Yoona cleared her throat, 

“Hey, Jinsol.”

Her eyes widened, and she laughed in surprise, “Whoa, hey. What’s up?”

“Just picking up some stuff. How’s university going for you?”

Even though they were on the same campus, she had yet to run into the other girl, despite having wished for it to happen several times. 

“It’s good, I practically live at the art studio if I’m not here.” 

Jinsol joked and then took an order to the counter, speaking into the microphone.

“Seokjin, order number seven.”

A taller man shuffled past Yoona and she moved to the side to allow him to retrieve his coffee.

“I have to get back to work but I’ll hopefully see you around soon.”

Jinsol smiled again and turned to leave, but Yoona reached out a hand and called her back, 

“H-Hey, wait.”

“What’s up?”

“Would you maybe want to go out—to dinner sometime?”

Jinsol looked at Yoona honestly, as if she were meeting her all over again. She was happier, and that symbolic weight was no longer breaking her shoulders. She was different, anew. She had stepped through the door that used to separate them; now, it only connected them. 

“I’d love to.” 

She took Yoona’s receipt from her, uncrumpled it, and scribbled down her number. 

“Text me a time and place.”

“Eomma! Okaasan, are you home?”

She called into the house, balancing her coffee and the pastry bags in her arms as she used her shoe to close the door. 

Dropping her keys by the bowl, she touched the photo of Ray they kept on the table.

“Yoonie, is that you?”

She heard Nayeon’s voice from the living room before her mother came around the corner, cleaning her glasses on her shirt.

“What are you doing here?” She grinned and beckoned her daughter in for a hug. “Is that…?”

She pointed to the bags, and Yoona nodded, “I couldn’t come empty-handed. I wanted to surprise you two.”

Nayeon wasted no time grabbing the bags from her and bounding back to the kitchen, calling to Mina wherever she was in the house.

“Mina! Our daughter is here and she brought honey bread!” 

A second later, “What? Where?!”

There was a bit of rustling and then Mina appeared in the kitchen, a pair of gardening gloves in her hands. 

“To what do we owe this amazing surprise?”

Yoona helped Nayeon grab a few plates to put the bread on, taking a seat at the island.

“I just…missed you guys. Sakura is on her flight, so the apartment would have been too quiet for my liking.”

“Ah, that’s right!” Mina smiled and popped a piece into her mouth, “You’re just in time, we ordered dinner and it should be here any minute.”

The doorbell buzzed, and Nayeon went to tip the delivery person while the other two set up the dining table. 

“How’s the homework going? Are you nervous about finals?”

“Weirdly, I feel calm, I think I’m going to declare pre-med next semester.”

Mina’s mouth fell open before she launched herself at Yoona to hug her, “That’s so great! Honey, Yoona is going to be pre-med!”

“Oh, that’s so wonderful, Yoonie! I can’t wait to brag to Jihyo and Dahyun that my daughter is a doctor.”

Yoona chuckled and opened the take-out containers, sifting through them to make her plate.

“That won’t be for a very long time, eomma.”

“Still, I’ll take any opportunity to brag about you.”

She pushed the food around her plate and then, after taking a huge bite, told them about that afternoon.

“I asked someone out.”

Her parents had a dozen questions immediately, and Nayeon almost burst into happy tears when she mentioned Jinsol. They wanted to know every detail about the upcoming date, where they would go and when. She had yet to hammer out the details, so Nayeon started listing off places and possibilities, Mina watching them amusedly. 

As they talked, laughed, and teased their daughter, Nayeon grasped Mina’s hand over the table, running her thumb over her knuckles. They briefly paused from the conversation when Yoona got a text from Sakura.

Nayeon used the opportunity to gaze into Mina’s eyes, basking in each other’s pure contentment, their marks emanating nothing but complete and perfect love.